Ola unveils ‘Ride Safe India’ initiative; commits ₹500 crores to enable safe mobility for citizens and driver-partners

●        Ola to launch a host of initiatives across technology innovation, driver training and vehicle standards

●        Ola to ensure strict adherence to hygiene and safety including mandatory fumigation of cars every 48 hours; opens its network of 500+ fumigation centres across the country in hotspots and airports

Bangalore, 5th June 2020: India’s leading mobility platform and one of the world’s largest ride-hailing companies, Ola, has committed a sum of ₹500 crores over the next year towards various initiatives globally, to enhance safety in mobility in our fight against COVID-19. Ola has resumed operations across the country and is now available in 200+ cities with enhanced safety protocols. Unveiling its new initiative ‘Ride Safe India’, Ola is reaffirming its long-term focus to providing driver-partners and citizens, a safe and reliable mobility experience, as India continues its fight against the pandemic, post the lockdown.

Resolute in its approach to enhancing cleanliness and hygiene protocols, Ola will aim to drive various safety initiatives which include highest levels of driver standards, a host of technology advancements including a newly designed COVID-ready app, hygiene and safety benchmark for vehicles and an industry-wide collective mission in its fight against COVID.

‘Ride Safe India’ centers on Ola’s commitment to go beyond and enable customers and drivers partners to collectively enjoy the highest standards of cleanliness with prevention and sanitisation protocols. This will cover all modes of Ola’s offerings, be it 4-Wheelers, 3-Wheelers and 2-Wheelers. As a large number of major cities saw  operations resuming on the Ola app in the previous week, Ola has set up a network of over 500 fumigation centres across the country at various hotspots and airports, to enable mandatory fumigation for all vehicles every 48 hours. This will be above and beyond the routine wipe downs and sanitisation of high touch surfaces of vehicles by drivers after every ride.

Driver safety will continue to be a focus for the company with the introduction of dedicated training modules and certification. This will also include strict adherence to daily temperature checks and wearing of masks through the selfie authentication mechanism. From monitoring wellness of drivers to integration with the Arogya Setu app, technology innovations will help shape the new norm in the mobility industry. Ola has also introduced 5 layers of safety that include strictly adhering to steps that ensure the highest standards of safety and hygiene for every ride.

Here is a link to a video highlighting all the steps taken before and after every ride.

Speaking about Ola’s continued push towards providing safe mobility solutions, Anand Subramanian, Spokesperson and Head of Communications, Ola said, “Mobility is at the core of economic and social progress and the country at this time needs substantive action and sustained innovation to be able to revive from the effects of the pandemic. ‘Ride Safe India’ is Ola’s commitment to helping the industry raise its benchmarks and collectively bring best practices and innovation for the larger good of the community.”

He added, “We have already pioneered a series of initiatives including regular driver wellness checks, vehicle fumigation protocols and mask-detection technology amongst others to raise the bar of safety for consumers and driver-partners. We are taking this further by building a robust network of 500+ fumigation centres across the country. Our commitment of ₹500 crores towards various safety initiatives globally in the time to come, will help pave the way for new standards of mobility in the post-COVID world.”

Citizens and driver-partners will also be able to access the Ride Safe India Microsite which will have information on Ola’s safety initiatives across the platform, community and the Industry. Ola is also inviting feedback and ideas from citizens through this platform, that can help towards building a safer mobility ecosystem for the country.

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HCCB keeps its Promise, provides Unique & Fulsome Digital Experience to Interns from Premiere B-Schools

Around 30 graduates from leading B-Schools in India including IIM-B, IIM-L, MDI-Gurgaon and NMIMS are undergoing virtual summer internship at HCCB

Bangalore, June 5, 2020 – Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages (HCCB), one of India’s leading FMCG companies, went digital to accommodate around 30 interns from the leading B-Schools of the country amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. HCCB tweaked its internship programme to fulfil its promise at a time when many organisations in the country have revoked their internship programmes due to logistical reasons.

Indrajeet Sengupta, Executive Director & Chief Human Resources Officer, HCCB says, “The pandemic seemed to have arrived to play spoilsport but we at HCCB decided to keep our promise by going fully digital! It was not only about living up to our values but also about their careers. But most importantly, we did not want to compromise with the quality of our programme that we have so diligently designed and developed. Doing the right thing matters to us.”

HCCB’s virtual summer internship programme covers on-the-job training, working on a real business problem, and an end to end solution through online classes, interactions with senior leadership teams. online mentoring, data analysis, and project reviews. The online module of the internship also meant that the company had to make arrangements for providing access to company’s data and database while also ensuring security of the systems, data and devices.

The programme has been designed and executed to ensure a seamless transition for the interns from college to the corporate world, without visiting the workplace or meeting anyone in person. The young graduates have the chance to engage with the leadership team at regular intervals including the CEO of HCCB, Christina Ruggiero. The virtual experience allows interns to seek clarifications from the leadership at any time of the day who are all ears.

With the markets being shut, production at factories being halted and only select depots and distributors being operational at the start of the internship program, HCCB customised its modules while ensuring a holistic internship programme that merits the learning experience at one of India’s top FMCG companies. For the interns, the detailed groundwork for analysing the market was done using secondary research data. Regular reviews took place by project guides for fine tuning the outcomes, reports and recommendations.

The important lesson that interns got to learn from the experience was adapting to adversity, being flexible, and trying to control only what is under one’s control. For most interns their computer screens became a “home inside their homes”, as they got an opportunity to interact with the leadership team and bond with each other online, thus instilling a sense of belonging.

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Usha International ups its Cool quotient. Launches AEROSmartCoolers 

Powered by new age technology, this innovative cooler range strengthens company’s portfolio and is ideal to beat the summer heat

New Delhi, 05th June 2020: Usha International, India’s leading consumer durables brand launched an innovative, sleek, and portable range of AEROSmart air-coolers. These coolers are energy-efficient and cool the room within minutes with their effective cooling technology, a feature bound to make them a favourite with consumers wanting to beat the relentless summer heat. With temperatures soaring, air coolers have become somewhat of a necessity for homes in India especially as coolers come with many health benefits as well.

Speaking about new range, Mr Saurabh Baishakhia, President, Appliances, Usha International said, “The newly launched AEROSmart Air Coolers effectively provide efficient cooling, and are a much healthier choice vis-a-vis other options available in the market. With the lockdown being lifted, we are witnessing a pent up demand due to postponed purchases and a delayed summer. To enhance our customer experience, we have also introduced a booking platform on our website to allow contactless deliveries in sanitized boxes in permissible zones. With this launch, we have strengthened our portfolio to cater to the new age needs of our consumers and expect to expand our market share.”

True to its name, the AEROSmart Cooler comes with not just one, but four Ice Cool Pads, to give homes superior cooling, even adapting to climatic changes in the summer months. Its premium finish Feather Touch Control Panel is easy to use, and it comes with a Honeycomb Clean Reminder. These air coolers come with Remote Control Feature, Feather Touch Digital Panel, Intelligent Low Water Alarm, an Auto Switch off after 15 hours of uninterrupted operation, and even run uninterrupted on inverters to keep one cool during India’s hot summers. The new innovation by Usha International is priced at INR 13,990/- and is available in two colors – Black and White – each with 20 litres capacity.

Usha Air Coolers are designed to cater to variation in weather conditions across India. Customers now have the choice to select coolers that combine smart design, healthy cooling, and are durable. Use Usha’s latest cooling calculator to know which cooler is best suited for your room and go buy the coolest one for you!

For more details please visit – https://www.ushaaircoolers.com/

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PepsiCo India and Smile Foundation join hands to provide meals to 550 families of artists and musicians affected by COVID-19 in Mysuru

Meals provided as part of PepsiCo India’s #GiveMealsGiveHope global program to the families of artists impacted due to COVID-19 outbreak in Mysuru

Dry rations distribution programme flagged off by D. V. Sadananda Gowda, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers,Govt of India in Delhi.

Mysuru,June3,2020: PepsiCo India in partnership with Smile Foundation launched a meal distribution program in Mysuru to provide meals to 550 families of artists from the creative industries. The program was flagged off by D. V. Sadananda Gowda, Minister of Chemicals and Fertilisers, Govt of India. The first phase of distribution kicked off on Saturday starting with Mandya and reaching out to artists in cities of Mysuru, Priyapattna and Hunsur. The second phase will commence in the next few weeks, reaching out to remote pockets in H.D Kote and T. Narasipura.

Speaking about the initiative, Mr. Santanu Mishra, Co-Founder & Executive Trustee, Smile Foundation said,“Many artists who were dependent on concerts, marriages, soirees for their daily bread are now struggling to make ends meet. It is our endeavour to come to the rescue of these artists and musicians and negate the effect that this entire pandemic is having on the community. We are happy to partner with PepsiCo to provide for meals to the artists in this region. Under Smile’s  #IndiaShares initiative, which is larger campaign, we have provided 10 million meals so far and hope to distribute another 10 million meals in the coming months . Let’s hope the situation improves soon.”

Ahmed ElSheikh, President, PepsiCo India, said, “The pandemic has undoubtedly impacted the livelihoods of so many people and communities across India. It is quite disheartening to see how breadwinners are making innumerable efforts to fill empty stomachs of their families. To extend food relief to such families, we have launched #GiveMealsGiveHope program through which we have committed to provide for over 10 million meals. We are delighted that through this program we are also supportingthe musicians, dancers, and artists who are undergoing a financial strain due to the cancelled and postponed events. We are in this together and will continue to do our best to serve the Nation in these challenging times.”

This initiative is a part of PepsiCo’s #GiveMealsGiveHope global program under which PepsiCo has committed to distribute over 10 million meals to communities most impacted by COVID-19 Outbreak.

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TTK Prestige unveils first ever Prestige Lifestyle store in Bengaluru

Marks the brand’s foray into the luxury kitchen segment with new line of premium products

·         Launches new categories such as dishwashers, built-in ovens and island chimneys amongst others

Bengaluru, 5thJune 2020: TTK Prestige, India’s largest kitchen appliances brand, opened the doors of its first-everPrestige Lifestyle storeat Hennur Road in Bengaluru, marking the brand’s foray into the luxury kitchen segment. Prestige Lifestyle is a new line of premium stores aimed at catering to the discerning Indian home chef, who seeks a state-of-the-art kitchen. As the leader in the kitchen appliances segment, TTK Prestige’s expansion into new categories such as dishwashers, built-in ovens and island chimneys, is in keeping with their existing strategy of gaining a strong foothold in this fast-growing segment.

The new900 sq ft Prestige lifestyle store provides consumers with an unmatched shopping experience, with over 70 different products to pick from. The range of products combines innovativeglobal technology along with durability to meet the most exacting Indian conditions and cooking habits. The overall plan is to establish a strong footprint for Prestige Lifestyle stores in other select markets. In the first year, 5 new stores are scheduled for launch across India.

Commenting on the new launch, Chandru Kalro, Managing Director, TTK Prestige, said: ‘We pride ourselves on placing the Indian home-maker at the core of our business. People’s exposure to luxury and a better standard of living is what is fuelling the demand for high-end kitchen appliances. As most of us are spending time indoors, the kitchen is becoming the heart of the home. This means that people are becoming increasingly keen to create a space that epitomizes luxury and comfort. We are immensely proud of our first store situated at Hennur Road and we are sure that Bengaluru residents are going to enjoy their shopping experience. ’’

The store also offers free installation and smart EMI options for customers to avail of.

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