Bengaluru, April 16, 2020: As part of its continued fight against Covid-19, HAL has produced and handed over more than 300 Aerosol boxes to various state governments like Karnataka, UP, Maharashtra, AP, Telangana and Kerala to be used in hospitals. The transparent box acts as an insulator between the doctor and the patient. It can significantly reduce the possibility of Covid-19 transmission to doctors and medical staff treating Corona patients. “The results are encouraging and we can cater to more hospitals and states in this hour of need”, says Mr R Madhavan, CMD, HAL. The boxes are produced at various divisions of HAL across the country.
In Uttar Pradesh, 30 Aerosol boxes produced by the Kanpur Division were handed over to Mr Awanish Kumar Awasthi, ACS (Home) by Mr Apurba Roy, GM, Transport Aircraft Division, Kanpur and Mr Rakesh Mishra, Chief of Projects, Accessories Division, Lucknow in the presence of Mr Amit Mohan Prasad (Principal Secretary, Health).
HAL management has already announced contribution of 26.25 crores in PM-CARES fund
Imported COVID-19 Advanced Diagnostic Testing Kits worth Rs 4 Crore Manufactured by South Korean Company
Kits to benefit over 25000 people in affected regions
April 16, 2020: Hyundai Motor India (HMI), country’s first Smart Mobility Solutions Provider and largest exporter since inception, today handed over COVID-19 Advanced Diagnostic Testing Kits to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The globally proven Diagnostic Kits worth Rs 4 Crore have been imported from South Korea and offer high levels of accuracy, catering to the testing requirements of over 25000 individuals. These Diagnostic Kits are also being exported to USA, Europe and other countries.
Commenting on the Hand over, Mr. SS Kim, MD & CEO, Hyundai Motor India Ltd. said, “As a socially responsible and caring brand, Hyundai is committed to the fight against COVID-19. To provide further assistance to the Government’s efforts, we have handed over Globally Proven – COVID-19 Advanced Diagnostic Testing Kits imported from South Korea. These highly accurate diagnostic kits can help the Government scale up the testing efforts in affected regions and arrest the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in India.”
As part of Hyundai’s road map of giving back to the society, series of initiatives have been developed to assist the Government in the battle against COVID-19. The range of initiatives include:
Donation of Rs 5 Crore to Tamil Nadu Chief Minster Relief Fund
Augment the supply of ventilators and other respiratory aids such as the in-house developed Ambu Bag Actuator
Distribution of PPEs, masks and other safety kits
Distribution of dry rations to adversely impacted sections of society
Hyundai has also announced initiatives to support customers in these challenging times. Customers who were unable to avail vehicle’s Warranty/Extended Warranty/Free Service due to Health Emergency or Dealership shutdown in affected cities, HMI will offer extended support of 2 months. Customers (Doctors/Police/Bankers etc) who are in essential services are already being given Road Side Assistance by Allianz Partner/Dealers, in case of any emergency.
Face shield costs Rs 30 and can be fabricated rapidly to meet nation’s demand
Bengaluru: With the nation’s healthcare fraternity facing shortage in Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) to tackle Covid-19, Bengaluru-based CMR Institute of Technology (CMRIT) has developed a face shield that can be mass-produced rapidly and at a low cost.
The face shields can be worn over regular masks to protect Covid-19 warriors like healthcare workers, police personnel, volunteers and workers of the civic agencies. OHP sheet, plastic tube and elastic bands have been used to develop the face shield.
The first batch of 300 face shields, fabricated by five students and staff of the CMRIT, were donated to the Bengaluru Police.
“CMRIT has been at the forefront of innovation and the situation provided a good opportunity for students to develop a product for the benefit of society. Face shield is the first of such products from CMRIT. Many such innovations are in the pipeline,” said Dr. Sanjay Jain, Principal, CMRIT.
This shield (Rs 30 per unit) has been developed in collaboration with ANSU 3D Tech Pvt Ltd Bangalore and the design of the face shield was inspired by Pune’s Venture Center and Maker Asylum of Mumbai.
CMRIT faculty members involved in the face shield project, Dr Sagar Baligidad and Anjan Kumar, said, “These face shields must be mass produced rapidly and at a low cost because they are disposable. Our technique combines low-cost materials with a high-rate of manufacturing that has potential of meeting the need for face shields nationwide.”
11.04.2020 : The discontinuation of classroom learning due to COVID-19 lockdown is bound to impact the nation’s 200 million student community negatively, if educational institutions and the government do not proactively change the standard methodology of teaching asap.
A beginning has already been made by some schools and institutions, who have quickly embraced e-learning solutions that have the potential to reboot and reset the Indian Educational system. Caution should be taken while embracing new technology so that they are not quick fix solutions and will not lead to any sustainable learning outcomes.
Manipal Technologies Limited (MTL), one of India’s most trusted print and technology major, had forayed into online learning solutions way back in 2015. Partnering with the largest Kenya based publisher Longhorn Publisher PLC, MTL had developed and implemented the Longhorn Learning Platform across 150+ institutes in Kenya, that benefits over 250 thousand students. The learning management platform was built considering the poor and low internet connectivity.
(Image: Students in Kenya using the Longhorn Learning platform in classrooms)
According to Guruprasad Kamath, Vice President, Digital Solutions Business, Manipal Technologies Limited, “The platform, “MiClass”, was built keeping in mind the bandwidth challenges that can act as deterrents in full-fledged online education with streaming videos, etc. The platform uses e-textbooks, notes and assessments to keep students abreast with their regular curriculum and anyone with a basic smartphone can use it. The platform is light and available across both Android and iOS platforms, across the web and as a desktop app as well. Since it is light, it also negates the requirement of heavy data packs in continuing education from home.”
India, with more than 51,000 colleges and about 1.4 million schools can also take advantage of such technology in the current scenario. As of September 2019, India had more than 66 Million internet users in the age group of 5 to 11 years. India also has to overcome the challenge of teaching in vernacular languages in many of the primary and secondary schools.
Currently, all state and CBSE exams have been postponed. Professional institutes are continuing the classes using video conferencing methods to complete the syllabus. These ad-hoc methods are neither secure or provide a complete solution.
During a shift to remote teaching, one also needs to consider the low bandwidth availability, a mobile-first approach, and the language challenges that are unique to India. Over the last few weeks, there has been a significant surge of activities from the virtual classroom platforms and online course providers.
State governments in Karnataka and Telangana are mulling over using online teaching methods. Soon, other state governments might be onboard. Various state governments have already employed Smart Classes under the Smart City projects to teach the students with relevant audio-visuals effectively. However, extending that to the virtual classrooms are still one step behind.
These are the testing times and institutes might find significant cost saving on their infrastructure by transitioning to online teaching platforms. Powering up platforms like the ones built by Manipal Technologies Limited with language capabilities could be the future.
City Today News 
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