Archives May 2023

25th May 2023 Guwahati, India – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, has illuminated 43 villages in Majuli Island, Assam, with solar street lighting to enhance the safety of local citizens. The project executed in partnership with Evangelical Social Action Forum (ESAF) is part of the company’s Har Gaon Roshan CSR program, that focuses on sustainable rural development.

Majuli is one of the world’s largest river islands and is often dubbed the cultural capital of Assam as it is home to many ethnic groups that have lived here for centuries. It is also a natural habitat for rich flora and fauna, harboring many rare and endangered species, especially migratory birds, that make Majuli their home during the cold winters.

But every year, during the monsoons, the swirling waters of the Bramhaputra river bring life on the island to a standstill, making it inaccessible and cut off from the mainland. After sunset, the island is engulfed in a thick veil of darkness, making it unsafe to venture out or conduct any economic activity.

Keeping in mind these unique challenges faced by the locals, Signify worked closely with ESAF to install 100 solar-powered streetlights to make the streets safer for the citizens after dark. The company also donated 2,000 solar portable lamps to households for indoor lighting, replacing the kerosene lamps that left harmful fumes. According to the project estimates, more than 32,000 people living on the island will benefit from this initiative.

Shri Bhuban Gam, Honorable MLA of Majuli constituency, added, “The welfare of our people is of utmost importance to us, and this project will significantly impact the lives of people living on the island, providing them with access to clean and affordable energy. We appreciate Signify’s efforts towards enhancing the safety of the local people.”

Commenting on the project, Natasha Wadhwa, Head – CSR, Signify Innovations India Limited said “By lighting up the lives of more than 32,000 inhabitants of the beautiful Majuli Island with sustainable solar lighting solutions, Signify is not just illuminating the present, but paving the way for a brighter, more sustainable future for generations to come. We are proud to play a part in illuminating the path towards a greener and equitable world. “

The ‘Har Gaon Roshan’ project focuses on promoting rural development by providing solar energy-based lighting facilities in rural villages to enhance the safety of women and children after sunset and extend the working hours of the village, thereby also enabling economic activities after dark.

25th May,2023: Ashwinder R Singh, CEO – Residential at Bhartiya Urban and a bestselling author, is set to revolutionize the market again with the launch of his groundbreaking second book, “Master Residential Real Estate.”

His latest release has sparked immense excitement among homebuyers, channel partners, developers and real estate professionals. The anticipation surrounding “Master Residential Real Estate” is a testament to Singh’s reputation as a trusted authority and his ability to offer insights into the industry. His first book was “The A to Z of Residential Real Estate.”

“I am excited about ‘Master Residential Real Estate.’ This book is a comprehensive guide that empowers homebuyers and industry professionals with the knowledge and strategies to successfully navigate the real estate market. It is a culmination of my experience and expertise, aimed at helping individuals achieve their dreams in the world of real estate.” – Ashwinder R Singh, Author of “Master Residential Real Estate.”

Singh’s exceptional achievements have garnered recognition from industry giants such as Boman Rustom Irani, Chairman and Managing Director of Rustomjee Group and National President, CREDAI. Mr Irani commended Singh’s unwavering commitment to sharing his extensive knowledge and experience with others. He praised “Master Residential Real Estate” as a comprehensive resource that provides unparalleled information, empowering individuals to realize their aspirations in the real estate world.

Sharing his views, Rajan Bandelkar, President, NAREDCO, and Founder & MD Raunak Group, lauds the book as a thoughtfully researched guide and an invaluable resource for all industry stakeholders. Bandelkar highlighted Singh’s dedication and hard work, evident in the winning strategies presented within the book, aimed at fostering success in the real estate realm.

Hailing the book as a tried and tested tool for guaranteed success in home buying and real estate development, Harshvardhan Patodia, CMD, Unimark Group and Immediate Past President of CREDAI National said, “Singh’s second opus is the culmination of multiple years of relentless research, passion, and unwavering commitment, resulting in a powerful resource that handpicks the most relevant facts and figures.”

Ananta Raghuvanshi, Founder & President of NAREDCO Mahi, under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, commented, “The readers will benefit immensely from the outpourings of the tremendous knowledge he gained through sheer effort and intellect.”

“Ashwinder is a fine blend of a financial wizard and realty Moghul. Banking and realty are experiences which have shaped his decisions where logic and emotion together weave a success story. I have seen his journey, hard work, and growth,” Raghuvanshi added.

“Master Residential Real Estate” tackles the challenges faced by homebuyers head-on, offering industry secrets, priceless tips, and step-by-step guidance on seizing market opportunities, selecting the perfect location, implementing effective pricing strategies, and demystifying the home loan process. Going beyond expectations, the book also addresses the issue of inadequate knowledge in regulatory frameworks, empowering readers to make informed decisions and turn their dream homes into reality.

Featuring visually stunning presentations, “Master Residential Real Estate” offers more than just surface-level knowledge. It delves deep into real estate policies, regulations, and market trends, simplifying the complex documentation process. The book highlights legal essentials and pitfalls to avoid, making it a comprehensive homebuyer’s guide. It takes a fresh and captivating approach to demystify the complexities of the real estate industry.” The book has been published by ZebraLearn.

Enclosed is the press release on UltraTech Cement Limited partnering with Finland-based Coolbrook, a transformational technology and engineering company, to start a joint development project with the aim to install Coolbrook’s RotoDynamic HeaterTM (RDH) technology at an UltraTech production plant for electrification of cement production.

UltraTech is the first cement company in India and among the first in the sector globally to explore the use of this innovative technology that will help reduce burning of coal in cement production processes. The technology uses electrification from renewable sources for the heating processes in cement production and removes the need to use fossil fuels, thus accelerating decarbonisation of cement manufacturing operations.

We are all acutely aware of the fact that the cement sector, which is a critical enabler for the country’s development, being a hard-to-abate sector also has a very high carbon footprint. The key challenge is finding a technological breakthrough to reduce the carbon footprint. The partnership with Coolbrook assumes significance in this background.

Equally, India is at a very nascent stage of infrastructure development and our journey to becoming a $5 trillion economy will be possible only when we have the best-in-class infrastructure. UltraTech’s efforts to leverage innovative technology to decarbonise cement manufacturing will help to catalyse similar initiatives across the industry thus contributing to reducing the overall carbon footprint burden of India which is key in the country’s efforts to meet its Climate Change goals.

Photo Caption (from left to right): Mr. Joonas Rauramo, CEO, Coolbrook; Mr. K C Jhanwar, Managing Director, UltraTech Cement; Mr. Ilpo Kuokkanen, Executive Chairman, Coolbrook; and Mr. E R Raj Narayanan, Business Head and Chief Manufacturing Officer, UltraTech Cement, at the signing of the continued collaboration.

Mumbai, 25th May 2023: NTPC has been bestowed with the prestigious ATD BEST Award. This international award was received by Shri D.K. Patel, Director (HR) at a ceremony held on 22nd May, 2023 at San Diego, CA, USA. The ATD BEST Award instituted by Association for Talent Development, USA (previously referred as American Society for Training) is considered as one of the most coveted and the highest level of award in the field of Learning and Development.

It recognizes organizations that practice talent development as a strategic business tool and demonstrate enterprise-wide success as a result of employee talent development. NTPC secured an overall 13th rank, thereby figuring amongst the top international level awardees consequent to a rigorous evaluation and assessment processes. It ranked best amongst Indian PSUs and is the only PSU to have won this award six times. This is so far the best performance by NTPC in an international award in the domain of HR.

The award is a testament to NTPCs outstanding Learning and Development practices and its relentless pursuit of excellence through innovative approach, adopting technology, setting benchmark and fostering a culture of continuous learning by investing and providing opportunities to its employees tailored to business imperatives and employee’s needs.

NTPC has been in the forefront in adopting and institutionalising progressive and best HR practices, which have also been recognised by various awards and accolades.

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New Delhi 25th May 2023: CuriousJr, India’s pioneering mobile-based coding platform for K12 students, has successfully enabled students from various locations in Madhya Pradesh, including Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior, and Jabalpur, to acquire coding skills and develop a diverse range of apps on their mobile phones.The platform has till now enabled more than 750 school students of Madhya Pradesh mostly hailing from the remote areas of the state.

In today’s digital era, coding has become an indispensable skill, and CuriousJr is dedicated to making it accessible to all. With its user-friendly interface and interactive learning modules, the app/platform caters to students of all ages and backgrounds.

Mridul Ranjan Sahu, Co-founder, and CEO of Curious Jr, expressed, “Our core objective has consistently been to democratize coding education and guarantee its availability to a wide range of students. We are delighted by the students in Madhya Pradesh who have enthusiastically embraced our platform, honed their coding skills, and unleashed their creative potential to develop groundbreaking applications. Our ultimate aim is to ignite a passion for coding in more students and motivate them to pursue careers in the dynamic field of technology.”

CuriousJr’s initiative has provided an opportunity for school children in Madhya Pradesh, who possess a passion for coding but lack access to laptops, to learn coding and develop their own apps using smartphones. Through this initiative, students have gained valuable problem-solving and critical-thinking skills while nurturing their creativity.

A student from Bhopal, Anurag Sharma, shared his experience, saying, “My journey with CuriousJr over the past year has been nothing short of wonderful, offering an incredible learning experience. It has made coding an engaging and captivating process for me. I have discovered a whole new world of possibilities and found coding to be remarkably intriguing. I am immensely grateful to CuriousJr for providing me with such an enriching experience!”

CuriousJr’s efforts in Madhya Pradesh mark just the beginning of its mission to make coding accessible to all, regardless of their geographical or socioeconomic background. The app/platform continually enhances its features and expands its reach to enable more students to learn to code and develop invaluable skills for the future.

CuriousJr aims to enable students without access to laptops to learn coding on their mobile devices, considering that 88% of K12 students in India lack laptop accessibility. The team envisions and innovates coding for small displays, empowering students to study and code on mobile devices. The COVID lockdown raised awareness about coding, leading the government to make it a mandatory subject in the school curriculum. However, the majority of users and schools still lack access to laptops or desktop computers, posing a challenge for mobile-based code learning. CuriousJr strives to bridge this gap, providing access to coding education to people across the country.

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New Delhi, 25th May 2023: With an objective to address mental wellbeing for healthcare professionals, Apollo Hospitals, Group, hosted the HR Conclave 2023 in New Delhi. The event was addressed by Dr Tarun Sahni, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi and Dr Nandini Ali, Chief Marketing Officer, Apollo Hospitals Group who spoke about harnessing the benefits of a dynamic health ecosystem.

Addressing the conference, Dr Tarun Sahni, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, New Delhi, said,” We believe that a dynamic health ecosystem is the cornerstone of unlocking untapped potential within employees, leading to enhanced performance and productivity. By prioritizing comprehensive healthcare strategies, we empower individuals to thrive physically, mentally, and emotionally. Through our innovative approach, we are revolutionizing the workplace by fostering a culture of well-being, enabling organizations to harness the full capabilities of their workforce and achieve unprecedented success.”

Dr Nandini Ali, Chief Marketing Officer, Apollo Hospitals Group, said, “Our mission at Apollo Hospitals is to cultivate a culture of well-being that not only fosters healthier lifestyles but also drives productivity, engagement, and overall satisfaction among employees. We offer a comprehensive range of services tailored to meet the diverse needs seeking to enhance their employees’ performance. The hospital’s holistic approach encompasses personalized health assessments, wellness programs, mental health support, and cutting-edge technological solutions, designed to empower individuals to thrive in both their personal and professional lives.”

At the event the leaders highlighted the importance of cultivating an eco-environment where every individual’s engagement & wellbeing can flourish, and also that prioritizing holistic development and happiness of the people should be of utmost importance to organisations.

As we celebrate Environment Day, it’s an appropriatetime to renew our pledge for building a sustainable planet for our people with products as an enabler.Small sustainability changes can lead to big results.While clean energy is a critical goal, there are other ways that utilities can embed greener practices throughout their organizations, such as financial and administrative processes that can be reviewed and reimagined in more sustainable ways. One such area of opportunity is travel and expense (T&E) management, as it affects nearly every employee across an organization. Turning to cloud-based software to manage T&E — or further optimizing SaaScan help businesses create more sustainable processes and influence employees to recognize the environmental impact of their travel and purchases.

Here are three ways that digitized intelligent T&E processes can help move the needle on sustainability across utilities and energy companies:

Integration of Sustainability Metrics

The integration of sustainability metrics offers significant benefits to organizations, fostering a harmonious blend of purpose and profit. The integration of sustainability metrics brings forth numerous benefits for utility and energy companies committed to sustainability. By infusing these metrics into their operations, companies can gain valuable insights into their environmental and social impact. This enables them to identify areas for improvement, set meaningful sustainability goals, and track progress over time. Integration of sustainability metrics also fosters transparency and accountability, allowing companies to communicate their sustainability efforts effectively to stakeholders and the public.
Some sustainability metrics like Trees saved by taking a particular travel route, Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions with transport types, recyclability Index, green procurement with vendor ratings,employee engagement index helps in identifying cost-saving opportunities and enhancing operational efficiency through optimized resource allocation in a purpose driven way. Ultimately, the integration of sustainability metrics empowers utility and energy companies help to drive positive change, strengthen their reputation, and contribute to a more sustainable future.

Paperless Expense Management

A paperless expense management system that takes care of itself and lets employees work on their business brings a plethora of benefits to organizations, aligning efficiency with sustainability. By digitizing expense processes, companies streamline workflows, saving valuable time and resources. Providing only needed touch points to create expense reports, to automate PDF receipt, credit card transaction, and invoice data ingestionand to compile travel itineraries can save employees and accounts payable (AP) staff time, save valuable efforts in post-facto reconciliation, data errors& hence better compliance to local tax regulations.

Measure success and find areas for improvement with data

Gamification of success KPIs and metrics is critical. By incorporating elements such as competition, rewards, challenges, and interactive experiences, gamification aims to make sustainability more enjoyable, accessible, and impactful.Robust tracking and analytics can help companies turn employee spending decisions into visibility and tangible measurement of sustainability actions. By adopting data driven decision making, companies can track progress, share results, and include these details in communications to employees, leaders, customers, regulators, and the greater community.

For example, with SAP Concur solutions, companies can observe monthly, quarterly, and annual data points on travel& spend patterns, by employee, department, route, green procurement vendors& act on it in responsible way. Infuse sustainability in your foundational fabric!

New Delhi,25th May 2023: In today’s fast-paced digital world, we spend an increasing amount of time working on laptops at home and office. Though the portable computing device may prove to be highly productive that allows you to work from anywhere, many recent surveys have also reported potential health issues due to poor ergonomics and bad sitting posture. A simple addition, such as an ergonomic laptop stand, can significantly help reduce known fatigue. Leading innovator in the digital and portable consumer electronics market, Portronics introduces the latest product in its ergonomic office solutions segment – My Buddy K9 Laptop Stand. Designed to revolutionise the way professionals work, this cutting-edge accessory offers unparalleled comfort, convenience, and productivity enhancement for laptop users.

Key features of the Portronics My Buddy K9 include:

360° Rotation: Featuring a 360-degree rotating base, that helps you easily turn around the laptop stand to any side of the desk.

Posture Correction: Owing long hours of sitting at a workstation can prove hazardous to your posture. Having the right elevation is the key here and My Buddy K9 does the job well.

Enhanced Comfort: Specifically designed to provide optimum comfort through its multiple adjustable elevation levels to give you the required comfort while working.

Better Compatibility: Compatible with laptops and tablets of any size (10” to 17”), work carefree without space and size issues.

Sturdy Carbon Steel Frame: A rugged, strong, and sturdy Carbon Steel body designed to support up to 510kg of weight.

Ventilated Design: Through the naturally ventilated base, your laptop gets better heat dissipation. And being fan-less too, you can work peacefully without any noise.

Anti-slip Silicone Pads: With specially designed anti-slip silicone pads that hold your tablet or laptop in place, you can now work seamlessly without the fear of it slipping or moving around.

The Portronics My Buddy K9 provides a sleek and versatile solution for home and office users by elevating the laptop and/or tablet to an optimal viewing and typing height. By promoting proper posture, reducing strain, and improving airflow, this stand creates an ergonomic workspace that maximises comfort and minimises the risk of musculoskeletal problems. With its minimalist aesthetic and premium finish, the My Buddy K9 seamlessly integrates into any modern office or home environment, complementing the user’s personal style.

Pricing and Availability:

The Portronics My Buddy K9 Laptop Stand is available in the market in two color variants Black and White an introductory price of INR 1,599 (MRP 3,499). Backed with 12-month warranty users can purchase this product from the company’s official website Portronics.com, Amazon.in, Flipkart.com, and other leading online and offline stores.

Mumbai, 25th May 2023: Despite the increasing number of fire accidents in high-rise buildings, the city is still looking for answers to fire safety and evacuation measures. Once again the city’s vertical development turned the spotlight on evacuation plans in high-rise buildings. Since the 1944 explosions, Mumbai has been a witness to some of the worst fire accidents. Whether it was the July 2014 fire of Lotus Business Park Andheri or the January 2023 fire at R A Residency Tower, the residents of Mumbai’s high-rise buildings have suffered from the loss of lives and assets.

The data states that Mumbai Fire Brigade (MFB) receives between 6000 and 7000 emergency calls in a year, of which nearly 90% were calls made for fire-related complaints. The manpower and equipment required to manage such rescue operations have become a challenge for the Fire Brigade Department. The main challenge for Firefighters to rescue people on time in high-rise buildings is carrying heavy-weight equipment. They have reported that only the first 50 meters of a ladder can be reached with ease. The usual 90-meter ladder can give access to the 30th floor, but as they go higher, the wind velocity makes it challenging. They do not have any option to ascend high-rises, the available Fire Chutes can only be used to come down and not to go up.

In a recent statement, Mr. Manjrekar, Chief Fire Officer of Mumbai, said, “The joint efforts of the citizens and the fire department can only make the city fire free. Looking at the fires in recent months in the city, specifically in the high rises need to have evacuation solutions in place. Accordingly, the ‘Fire evacuation lift’ concept was already implemented in 2018 after the approval of Honorable M.C.sir. This will help the self-evacuation of occupants as well as Firefighters in case of fire emergencies. An adequate evacuation solution and proper training can save millions of lives during fire accidents.”

Dr. Virkam Mehta, an Industry Expert, and MD of SPARTAN Fire Evacuation Lift said, “The fire evacuation lift is considered as a new PPE ‘public protection equipment’ that reaches on time to evacuate on time and thus saves lives and assets. These lifts are designed with well-advanced technologies like IoT. It helps firefighters to ascend high-rise buildings with heavy equipment to reach fire-affected floors faster and safer. It carries rapid evacuation of people of all ages and abilities. A dream city of many needs evacuation solutions for a safer and happy living, especially in high-rise buildings.”

The vertical evacuation solution ‘Fire Evacuation Lift’ for high-rise buildings was made mandatory by the Maharashtra Energy Department on 2oth July 2022 for buildings having heights of 70 meters or above.

Dr. Deepak Monga, Fire Safety and Evacuation Expert said, “Although we have a 90-meter ladder, firefighters can’t use this to reach 40th, 50th, or on higher floors because of the wind velocity and limited space. If we thought of using a staircase, then due to inhaling excessive carbon monoxide people die. The other available options, like fire chutes, are not practical for all ages or firefighters as they can’t use them to reach higher floors. Therefore, we need to understand the importance and need for a proper evacuation solution. The infra developers need to add the Fire Evacuation Lift in their plan to save people’s lives and assets. The Evacuation plan plays a pivotal role in fighting the fire.”

The Body Shop, the original ethical British beauty brand, is launching a new communication campaign in India, showcasing three remarkable female changemakers who embody the brand’s new signature, “changemaking beauty”. The campaign aims to celebrate and inspire everyone to believe in their own power to effect positive change in the world.

The campaign features three trailblazing women who have made significant impact in their respective fields: Shefali Shah, Indian Actor; Bala Devi, Forward, Indian Women’s Football and Anny Divya, the youngest female commander to fly a Boeing 777. In the powerful campaign film, the three women draw from their life experiences across diverse walks of life, united in their belief of the power of positive change. In their own way, the three women are inspiring beacons of self-expression, resilience, and self-love, all key emotional benefits that The Body Shop delivers as a brand.

The Body Shop is a truly unique brand and has been a trailblazer since its establishment by entrepreneur and activist Anita Roddick in 1976. The brand pioneered the philosophy that business can be a force for good and this ethos is encapsulated in its purpose ‘to exist to fight for a fairer and more beautiful world’.

Harmeet Singh, VP of Marketing E-commerce & Product, Asia South, The Body Shop, said, “At The Body Shop, everything we do is about creating positive change, for you, for communities and for our planet; and we are working continuously to make a positive systemic impact, across society, within the beauty culture and right into the corridors of power. With this new communication campaign in India, we are shedding light on how every individual can be a Changemaker in their own way.”

The campaign features a series of videos and social media posts, showcasing the stories and work of Shefali, Bala and Anny and featuring some of The Body Shop’s most loved products, such as iconic Edelweiss Daily Serum Concentrate. Harmeet Singh adds “We hope this campaign will inspire people in India to recognize their own power to make a difference. We are excited to showcase the beauty of change through the stories of these incredible women.”

The campaign will be launched on May 18th, 2023, and will run across all The Body Shop India stores and digital platforms. With this communication campaign, The Body Shop is taking a step towards further embracing Changemaking Beauty in a meaningful way. The brand is expanding its presence rapidly in India and has more than 200 stores in the market.