PNB to provide COVID-19 prevention materials in 662 districts
Hon’ble Union Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhaninaugurates the campaign
Bengaluru, 20th July 2020 : India’s second-largest Public Sector Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a nationwide initiative to combat the spread of COVID-19, complementing the Government of India’s extensive efforts to contain challenges and risks posed by the growing pandemic.
Dr. Rajesh Kumar Yaduvanshi, Executive Director, PNB, Shri CH SS Malikarjuna Rao, MD & CEO, PNB, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology, and Earth Sciences & Shri B N Mishra, Chief General Manager, PNB.
Honourable Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Science and Technology, and Earth Sciences, Dr. Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the campaign at Nirman Bhawan, New Delhi. The initiative is launched as PNB’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) campaign and it will entail providing COVID-19 related prevention materials like masks, sanitizers, etc. across India in 662 districts.
The Honourable Union Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said, “This is a great initiative, taken by Punjab National Bank, to distribute the COVID-19 precautionary kits nation-wide. PNB has a distinguished history of undertaking such an act of kindness. This initiative of PNB will inspire public and private institutions to come forward and help the citizens of our country, not only to fight the pandemic but also to come out healthy and strong.
On behalf of the Ministry of Health, I would like to thank PNB and its officials for supporting and fighting this pandemic together.”
Commenting on PNB’s biggest CSR effort so far, Shri CH SS Malikarjuna Rao, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said, “The Honourable Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan is in forefront of the fight against COVID-19 and we are certain that the country will soon come out of this pandemic under his capable leadership. We are highly obliged that he took his valuable time for the Bank’s noble cause. On this occasion, we also assure him that Punjab National Bank is committed to play its role in this difficult time.”
Besides the MD and CEO, other senior officials, Executive Director, Dr. Rajesh Kumar Yaduvanshi and Chief General Manager Shri B N Mishra were also present at Nirman Bhawan for the inauguration of the campaign. The same campaign was launched at 5 locations simultaneously. Further Bank’s 22 zonal offices across the nation also marked their presence through live video conferencing.
Pioneering tertiary care hospital’s program brings Covid-19 management to the safety of patient’s home using technology
Bangalore, July 20th 2020:As the pandemic grows and number of cases swells in major metros, the healthcare system is stretched to its limits. With more and more people getting infected and as the virus is spreading exponentially, our country’s hospital infrastructure is been challenged. Keeping this in view, and based on the fact that 70-80% of people afflicted with coronavirus have no or mild symptoms, Gleneagles Global Hospitals & Continental Hospitals have designed Covid- 19 Home Care Services for patients who do not require hospitalization.
Through this comprehensive program designed by top experts in infectious disease management and intensive care, the patient can be monitored through an online portal and any worsening of symptoms can be identified and attended to at the earliest. There has been an upsurge in the COVID cases in Karnataka and if the present state continues, a dearth of beds will beimminent and it must be avoided at all costs with such all – inclusive programmes.
In case, a patient is having symptoms or has been diagnosed with Covid-19, they can reach the hospital where they will undergo a “Risk Assessment” to evaluate their condition and judge severity of symptoms. This is an essential assessment as it highlights whether a patient is fit for Home Care or requires hospitalization. If the patient does not require hospitalization, they enrol for the program and are given access to a portal where they can update their daily vitals like temperature, SPO2, pulse rate etc. These are monitored by a fully trained designated nurse and a doctor on the daily basis, to ensure that the patient is healthy and following the program. Every alternative daythese doctors do consultation via VideoConsult platform and nurses do Telecall every day with their patients to keep track over their health condition.During these calls, the patient can discuss their condition and update on any new developments.
“Since most of the patients with Covid- 19 do not require hospitalization, our team of doctors and nurses can manage these patients from the safety of their home. As long as the patients are compliant and following all the basic instructions, they can recover within a period of 14 days and become symptom- free again. The combination of initial risk assessment, daily follow ups and a clear manual on do’s and don’ts for the patient and the caregiver makes this program extremely robust and comprehensive” said Dr Subramanian Swaminathan, Chairperson, Infection Control Advisory Board- Group, Gleneagles Global Hospitals & Program Director.
This majority of patients, who do not have severe symptoms, only need to isolate themselves at home and monitor symptoms- ensuring that they do not spread the disease. Another key feature of this program is an educational video and manual on do’s and don’ts for the patient and the caregiver- for them to better understand their responsibilities and be fully compliant to the program. The caregiver’s responsibility is probably the highest, both towards the patient and caring for them and also towards themselves- maintaining optimal hygiene and ensuring that they do not transfer the disease to themselves and others.
Citing the current scenario and how healthcare is dealing with it, Shriram Vijayakumar, Chief Operating Officer, India Operations Division, Parkway Pantai which is the parent company of Gleneagles Global Hospitals & Continental Hospitals said “Being a major player in Indian healthcare with a legacy of many years, we feel it is our responsibility to care for patients suffering from this disease in these critical times. This program will ensure that all patients get the highest quality of treatment as we utilize the strength of technology to monitor the patient daily, just like we would in a hospital setting. Thus, in the safety of their home, the patients get access to the top-of-the-line quality healthcare that we offer.”
The Covid-19 Home Care Services are available for all patients with minor symptoms and those who are undergoing home isolation. On enrolling for the program, the patient also receives a Home Monitoring Kit, which has been assembled by the hospital for patient convenience, consisting of a digital thermometer, pulse oximeter, gloves, hand sanitizer, masks and recording sheet. Designed by India’s top medical experts in the field and powered by digital technology and daily monitoring, this program is exactly what is needed for a majority of patients diagnosed with Covid-19.
New Delhi, July 20, 2020 – Following the direction of the Vietnamese government, Vietjet has cooperated with relevant Vietnamese agencies within the country and overseas to bring Vietnamese citizens home in response to the citizens’ wishes and in line with the country’s quarantine capacity.
On July 18, Vietjet operated an international flight bringing 240 Vietnamese citizens from the Philippines back home safely. In July, Vietjet has also operated three other repatriation flights from Singapore, Taiwan, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh. The airline is expected to operate four more flights to bring more Vietnamese citizens home from the Philippines, Russia, Brunei, Indonesia, and Myanmar in the coming time.
Passengers on the repatriation flight are categorized in the priority group, including children under 18, the elderly, pregnant women, people with health problems, workers with expired labor contracts with no accommodation, students without residence due to dormitory closure and other particular difficult circumstances.
Vietjet expects to bring nearly 10,000 Vietnamese citizens abroad safely back home, fully complying with entry requirements, and quarantine upon arrival. All Vietjet flights are in accordance with supreme global standards and recommendations from authorities, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) to ensure the safety of all passengers and crews before, during, and after the flights.
In the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietjet had quickly launched a campaign to repatriate passengers with many free flights and one-way ferry flights to bring Vietnamese and foreign citizens back home. All of the passengers, cabin crew, vehicles, and aircraft are completely safe. Besides, Vietjet also participated in transporting thousands of tons of essential goods, medical equipment and donated more than 2.5 million medical masks to the people of the UK, France, Germany, and the US to support the countries in preventing and repelling the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on the results of repatriation flights, Vietjet will continue to work closely with the authorities and the Government to adjust the flight frequencies under the actual situation; increase repatriation and commercial flights to bring Vietnamese citizens back home. Currently, the airline has completed preparations to resume international flights and been awaiting official approval from the Government.
Special focus towards boosting exports is the need of the hour for quick revival of the MSME sector – Shri Nitin Gadkari
Indian MSMEs, brands on Amazon Global Selling cross $2 billion in cumulative exports
· Amazon Global Selling program is taking crores of ‘Made in India’ products to hundreds of millions of customers worldwide
· The program is witnessing momentous growth; the cumulative exports have doubled compared to the previous year
Bengaluru, 20 July, 2020: Shri. Nitin Gadkari, Hon’ble Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India unveiled the Amazon India ‘Exports Digest 2020’, strongly reinforcing that boosting exports is the key to the quick revival of the MSME sector.At the launch, Amazon announced that cumulative exports through Indian sellers on the Amazon Global Selling program have crossed the $2 billion milestone. In January 2020, Amazon had pledged to enable $10 billion in cumulative exports by 2025 helping Indian businesses grow by selling online worldwide.
Amazon Global Selling today enables more than 60,000 Indian exporters to sell millions of ‘Made in India’ products to customers worldwide through its 15 international websites in countries such as USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Netherlands, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, Australia and Singapore. In 2019, more than 800 Indian MSMEs on the program surpassed $131, 375 (INR 1 crore) in e-commerce exports sales.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Nitin Gadkari said, “I would like to congratulate all the MSMEs who have been working with Amazon to take their locally manufactured products, global. It is a testament of the skill and entrepreneurial spirit of Indian MSMEs. The MSME sector is a major job creator and the backbone of the Indian economy, contributing over 28% to India’s GDP and about 48% to the country’s exports. They will continue to play a critical role in the country’s economic revival and help overcome the current pandemic. Exports is a key priority for the Government and we are focused on supporting the Indian MSMEs be more successful in the international markets and increasing the MSMEs’ share of exports to 60%.”
Amit Agarwal, Senior VP and Country Head Amazon India, said, “We are excited with the rapid growth being witnessed by Indian MSMEs and brands on Amazon Global Selling. It took the program three years to hit cumulative exports of $1 billion and it has grown 100% to hit the next $1 billion in less than 18 months, to cross the $2 billion milestone in cumulative exports from India. The program is rapidly boosting exports from India and helping build global Indian brands. We are excited to build a strong foundation for MSMEs to realize their export potential and contribute to the vision of an Aatmanirbhar Bharat. We will continue to make exports easy for Indian entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes and fulfil our pledge of enabling $10 billion in e-commerce exports by 2025.”
Highlights of Exports Digest 2020
The just published third edition of Amazon’s annual Exports Digest provides insights into the success and scale of exports from India through the Amazon Global Selling program, reflecting a significant increase in demand for Indian products across global markets and the growth of Indian exporters selling globally. Indian MSMEs are increasingly seeing e-commerce exports as an opportunity to grow their business. The number of exporters on the Amazon has grown to over 60,000, with sellers joining from metros as well as tier 2 and tier 3 cities. In 2019, several Indian entrepreneurs and businesses including Wow Skincare (Hair and Beauty), California Design Den (Bed Linens), Chandrakala Creations (Indian Fashion), Aheli (Jewelry), SVA Organics (Herbal products) emerged as globally successful brands, underlining the popularity of ‘Made in India’ products in international markets.
Rishabh Chokhani, Founder & CEO of Naturevibe Botanicals said, “For us, it was a strategic decision to sell directly to customers across the world and Amazon Global Selling provided us the right channel to start quickly. In 2017, we started exporting with Amazon to the US and Canada and after seeing the customer response, quickly expanded to the UK. In the last 3 years we have seen consistent demand for our range of organic products across international markets and it reflects in our growth from a 3 member set up back in 2017 to nearly 150 member strong team now. Last year, the business grew at 56% YOY and with people opting for natural, healthier options – we are seeing even greater demand in the recent months.”
Exports Helping Indian MSMEs in the crisis
In the beginning of 2020, as the world faced an unprecedented situation that necessitated people to stay at and work from home, thousands of Indian MSMEs helped serve customers globally through e-commerce exports. Made in India products across categories like Health and Hygiene, Nutritional Supplements and Home essentials saw heightened demand from customers in markets like the United States of America, Canada, Europe, Mexico, Japan, Australia amongst others.
“As people worldwide stayed at home over the last couple of months, it has been heartening to see thousands of Indian MSMEs who are part of the Global Selling program successfully fulfill customer needs around the world. In these challenging times, e-commerce exports has provided a robust model for these Indian exporters helping them sustain their business and support the people and families who depend on their business. Amazon Global Selling will continue to provide an easy and quick-to-scale channel for exports for Indian MSMEs”, added Amit Agarwal.
· Introduces an App to record employees’ well-being everyday
· Allowing only a minimum number of employees to work inside the factory
· Implemented a novel concept of working in small isolated groups
· Hot spots with vulnerable touchpoints identified and are monitored and restricted
· Disables all biometric based touchpoints
· Continues with safety audit of the factories using digital mediums
Bengaluru, July 20, 2020 – In what could be termed as unique initiatives,Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), one of India’s leading FMCG companies has introduced a concept of working in small independent groups to prevent transmission of COVID-19 among people in its factories. This has been implemented essentially to minimise human contacts and help immediately identify and isolate employees with exposure to any COVID-19 case. The small groups are carefully formed to make each one of them self-sufficient thus eliminating any need for criss-crossing of individuals from one group to the other. This is part of the several unique safety measures implemented by the company to ensure complete safety of its employees and other partners working in all the factories spread across 15 locations in India.
To begin with HCCB carried out a detailed risk assessment of its factories and identified hot spots where people are likely to come face to face for specific activities. The company also instilled mandatory work from home for all office-based staff who are not required to be physically present in factories. As a preventive measure, the company redesigned the work and rerouted the work flow to minimise people contact at all these vulnerable points. A case in point is the special cubicles created for the security staff posted at all the factory gates. Working as a barrier, the covered enclosure helps the security guard take temperature of every individual entering the factory premise without any physical exposure to anyone. The company has also made it mandatory for people working in all the hot spots to wear additional personal protective equipment such as face shields and hand gloves.
Besides, HCCB has abolished the general shifts, revised standard operating practices (SOPs) wherever necessary, introduced staggered timings with provision for social distancing in canteens, restricted number of people in personal or official vehicles, and created separate gates for people to enter and leave the factories as a one-way flow to further minimise people contact. Apart from ensuring regular sanitization and deep cleaning of the entire factory premises, the company also created clearly-defined floor signages in all walking and operating areas to further help people maintain social distancing. In addition to strict sanitisation protocols for employees entering sensitive processing areas, HCCB added a provision for foot pedals and door steps in most door handles across all factories to prevent any possibility of contraction of germs.
HCCB also introduced an APP that encourages the employees to provide a daily update on their health conditions. The App keeps the employees informed of all the COVID-19 related policies and preventive measures as the situation unfolds. Among other measures, HCCB implemented facilities to spray all vehicles and goods entering the factory premises with disinfectant. Additionally, every factory has identified isolation rooms for people showing any COVID-19 related symptoms as per the Government protocol. The company also issued guidelines to discourage any work-related travel or in-person meeting with any individual, colleagues or visitors, inside the factories. That’s why the company is today operating its factories with a bare minimum capacity with even less manpower than the government approved strength to further minimise human contacts.
Commenting on the significance of safety measures at factories, Mr. G.S. Raghu, Vice President, Health, Safety & Wellness, HCCB, said, “There’s a clear mandate in our company that nothing is more important than the life of our people and partners including customers, suppliers and community. We are committed to make every effort to not only comply with the strict personal hygiene protocols of wearing face masks, hand sanitising and social distancing norms prescribed by the Government but also implement several additional measures required to further mitigate the risks of transmission.”
Building on the preventive steps taken, HCCB designed and deployed a method for carrying out internal virtual safety audit of its factories. One such audit is being executed by Global Audit Organisation, a separate entity of the Coca-Coca System. Among other confidence building measures, HCCB has ensured that the treatment for COVID-19 is covered under the company’s employee insurance scheme.
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