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Piramal Foundation said its primary healthcare body Piramal Swasthya has handled and addressed over 2.5 lakh phone calls related to COVID-19 queries during the lockdown period so far. Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute has tied up with

Piramal Foundation said its primary healthcare body Piramal Swasthya has handled and addressed over 2.5 lakh phone calls related to COVID-19 queries during the lockdown period so far.

Piramal Swasthya Management and Research Institute has tied up with seven states — Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Bihar — for providing its 104- Health Information Helpline service in this COVID-19 crisis period.

So far, the institute has received 2.5 lakh plus phone calls on this helpline platform and addressed callers’ queries on coronavirus disease, the Foundation said in a statement.

On an average, the health helpline received around 20,000 calls in a day. The calls were received from seven states, but maximum were from Bihar, Assam, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, it said.

During this COVID-19 pandemic, the health helpline service has been acting as a channel between the governments and the communities by offering validated medical advice to the callers 24×7 every day.

Piramal Swasthya said to deal with increased number of calls, the frontline staff team has been significantly expanded as per state requirement.

Currently, over 1200 staff across various centres that includes paramedics, counsellors and doctors, are relentlessly attending to calls related to health advice, counselling, information sharing and reporting of COVID-19.

Commenting about the helpline, Piramal Foundation CEO Paresh Parasnis said: “This initiative has helped in creating awareness thus bringing down the anxiety and fear in the society caused due to the coronavirus.”

The 104-health helpline proved to be a simple and yet effective tool to share validated information as per the guidelines of WHO and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, especially for people who are not technology savvy or live in areas where access to media is challenging, he added.

It was in 2006, Piramal Swasthya had started 104 Health Information Helpline in India as a one stop solution for all health-related information and advice.

The service is supported by innovative software application and Clinical Decision Support System of validated algorithms and disease summaries and helps in tackling shortage of human resource enabling access to quality Healthcare services.

PNB Housing Finance on Wednesday said it has signed a pact with IIT-Delhi for developing sustainable and reusable personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for healthcare workers. Under the agreement, the PNB Housing Finance Ltd (PNBHFL)

PNB Housing Finance on Wednesday said it has signed a pact with IIT-Delhi for developing sustainable and reusable personal protective equipment (PPE) kits for healthcare workers.

Under the agreement, the PNB Housing Finance Ltd (PNBHFL) will support research and development of a unique prototype material to be used in manufacturing sustainable (washable and reusable) PPE surgical gowns and masks.

The PPE kits developed will then be supplied to government hospitals, PNBHFL said in a release.

In managing patients afflicted with the highly-contagious COVID-19, healthcare workers rely heavily on PPE kits in protecting themselves from being infected or infecting others.

But a shortage of PPE kits is exposing doctors, nurses and other frontline workers to the risk of infection while caring for COVID-19 patients.

Amid rise in number of COVID-19 cases, PepsiCo India funded first batch of test kits for coronavirus have started reaching testing sites across India. These kits are being procured and distributed by Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) with funding

Amid rise in number of COVID-19 cases, PepsiCo India funded first batch of test kits for coronavirus have started reaching testing sites across India.

These kits are being procured and distributed by Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) with funding from PepsiCo India and have been approved by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the company said in a statement.

PepsiCo India had volunteered to support the scale up of India’s COVID-19 testing capacity through support provided to FIND.

Besides, it has taken other initiatives including providing over 7 million meals to families impacted by COVID-19 outbreak in partnership with non-government organisation (NGO) partners.

The test kits and reagents have been procured from manufacturers approved by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) and are run using reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technology, which is currently the gold standard for detecting patients with COVID-19, the company said.

Commenting on the initiative, PepsiCo India President Ahmed ElSheikh said, “PepsiCo India stands committed to lending its full support to the GoI (Government of India) in its fight against the pandemic. Our partnership with FIND is all about scaling up access to diagnostics and testing kits across the country.”

During these challenging times, he further said, “We have been working very closely with FIND to distribute testing kits to public and private healthcare laboratories in India. We believe lending assistance through such initiatives is also one of the best ways to support our real heroes the healthcare community who are battling on the front lines against COVID-19.”

FIND India Head Sanjay Sarin said the sheer size of India and the density of urban populations increases the challenges and complexity of scaling up testing capacity quickly and efficiently.

“Testing is our first-line of defence against this pandemic and it is actionable today,” he said, adding private sector partnerships such as the one with PepsiCo India are critical to make COVID-19 tests available to everyone who needs it.

With COVID-19 cases rising fast in Maharasthra, Startup IndField Services Pvt Ltd has started from today free one-time disinfection service to the Mumbai police. There are 250-odd police stations and offices in Mumbai. It would take 30 days to disinfect all of

With COVID-19 cases rising fast in Maharasthra, Startup IndField Services Pvt Ltd has started from today free one-time disinfection service to the Mumbai police.

There are 250-odd police stations and offices in Mumbai. It would take 30 days to disinfect all of them, company’s Chief Managing Officer Krishna Anand said.

The free disinfection service would cost the company Rs 25 lakh, he said.

“It is a difficult time for all of us. Being a startup it was a difficult step knowing the financial crisis each company is facing during this turmoil, still our partners stood strong together and believed that it is the least we can do to express our gratitude,” he said.

Mumbai-based IndField Services provides affordable disinfection services to housing societies, offices, commercial centres and hospitals.

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor has partnered with Taj Group to distribute over 5,000 specially made meal packets per day for medical staffs in Kasturba Hospital, KEM Hospital and Sion Hospital in Mumbai. Every day, more than 5,000 food packets – being made and packed

Chef Sanjeev Kapoor has partnered with Taj Group to distribute over 5,000 specially made meal packets per day for medical staffs in Kasturba Hospital, KEM Hospital and Sion Hospital in Mumbai.

“Every day, more than 5,000 food packets – being made and packed at TajSats are being delivered as a gesture of gratitude to the white coat warriors of Mumbai,” he said in a statement.

At the same time, the Chef also banked on innovative gig economy strategy – by partnering with restaurant owners and caterers to use their facility and limited staff to cook for the needy.

While Sanjeev arranges for the staples and vegetables – through a donor-led approach; the meals are prepared by the local kitchens and restaurants.

The First pilot was started and funded yesterday by Sanjeev himself, wherein Pratap’s Dhaba in Andheri West, Mumbai came forward to cook Khichadi for 1,000 poor daily wage labourers. The distribution of the same was managed by Roti Bank.

“It’s the time to give back to the society; to strengthen those who are fighting with this pandemic on humanity’s behalf as well as to look after those who have been hit hard by this lockdown”, Sanjeev said.

“I have been lucky to have credible partners with equal concerns and sense of responsibility. The initial response has been very good from the restaurant and catering industry and we hope to extend these measures to Delhi too within a week” he added.

Being associated with AkshayaPatra for a few years now, Sanjeev is also in discussions with them to reopenAkshayapatra kitchen in Thane, which has been closed due to the lockdown.

Chennai-based TVS Motor Company along with group firm Sundaram-Clayton Ltd on Friday announced Rs 30-crore plan to support nationwide efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus. The funding will come through Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), the social arm

Chennai-based TVS Motor Company along with group firm Sundaram-Clayton Ltd on Friday announced Rs 30-crore plan to support nationwide efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus.

The funding will come through Srinivasan Services Trust (SST), the social arm of TVS Motor Company, and Sundaram-Clayton Ltd (SCL), and will include measures ranging from manufacturing and supplying supportive equipment such as masks to providing cooked meals to those in the frontline — from healthcare workers to police officers, TVS Motor Co said in a statement.

The first phase of the program is underway and SST has supplied 10 tractors fitted with disinfectant spray along with about 30 personnel to the Hosur Municipal Corporation in Tamil Nadu, and municipalities in Krishnagiri and Mysuru, it added.

The streets and villages in and around these towns are being sprayed with disinfectant as an ongoing process.

SST will also manufacture and distribute 1 million face masks to those delivering essential services from healthcare to food supplies, it added.

Commenting on the initiative, TVS Motor Co Chairman Venu Srinivasan said, “This is an unprecedented crisis that requires all of us to cooperate and support each other as a nation. Our priority is to help the government efforts to contain and mitigate the effects of this pandemic.”

“We will continue to do what we can for the community and people, as we have done in our 100-year history,” he added.

TVS Motor Company and SCL are using canteen kitchens in Hosur, Padi (Chennai) and Mysuru to make cooked food which is being distributed to police, healthcare workers and essential services workers in and around Hosur, Chennai and Mysuru.

In Himachal Pradesh’s Baddi, the company is distributing daily dry ration kits to daily wage workers who have been displaced, and also to villagers who need food supplies, it added.

“In addition, they are evaluating collaborations with 3D printing companies to make ventilators that will help support hospitals which lack the necessary life support systems to cope with patient care for COVID-19 victims,” the company said.

TVS Motor Company and SCL have shut all offices and manufacturing facilities as per the guidelines.

The company said this is a difficult time for all stakeholders and it is exploring various methods to mitigate the financial duress.

About 1.2 million packaged meals willl be distributed to vulnerable groups like daily labourers who are rendered jobless in four cities due to the lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, NGO Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) said on Tuesday

About 1.2 million packaged meals willl be distributed to vulnerable groups like daily labourers who are rendered jobless in four cities due to the lockdown in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic, NGO Rise Against Hunger India (RAHI) said on Tuesday.

The Bengaluru-based hunger relief organisation said it will distribute the packaged meals across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad in the coming months

According to RAHI, the lowest strata of the society comprising of daily wage workers, construction workers, contract laborers, street vendors have been the worst hit due to the lockdown in many states.

These vulnerable groups have lost the only source of their income and are now under the threat of dying from hunger, it said in a statement.

“Even if we take conservative estimates, about half a million such people will be in need of support in Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi and Hyderabad alone. Hunger is the biggest enemy for these groups as of today and we need to work towards providing them ample provisions, so that they along with their families can have 2 decent meals per day. In these tough times, we need to support them,” RAHI Executive Director Dola Mohapatra said.

RAHI said it has “started supplying packaged food packets to these vulnerable worst-hit group and plans to supply around 1.2 million meals to these groups across the cities in the coming months.”

Under this lockdown across the country, RAHI is planning to respond in two scenarios. One is it plans to continue uninterrupted supply of packaged meals to their existing group of beneficiaries.

Simultaneously, RAHI is provisioning packaged meals to these vulnerable groups affected by the COVID-19 lockdown, who have been rendered jobless and are in dire need of support.

The Centre has announced nationwide lockdown for next 21 days to stop the spread of coronavirus.

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) DCB Bank on Tuesday announced Rs 1 crore CSR spending in the next three months for intervention and measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. The announcement comes a day after the government allowed companies

New Delhi, Mar 24 (PTI) DCB Bank on Tuesday announced Rs 1 crore CSR spending in the next three months for intervention and measures to contain the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country.

The announcement comes a day after the government allowed companies to use Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds for tackling the deadline disease.

“The Bank will engage with various agencies and partners to manage the response to COVID-19 in India. It aims to deploy this fund within the next 3 months,” DCB Bank said in a statement.

DCB Bank remains committed to its CSR initiative for the overall betterment of Indian society and its people.

Hero Cycles on Tuesday said it is setting aside Rs 100 crore as a contingency fund to address and mitigate the impact of coronavirus pandemic on partners and the community at large. As an organisation that stands for the principles of business with a humane

Hero Cycles on Tuesday said it is setting aside Rs 100 crore as a contingency fund to address and mitigate the impact of coronavirus pandemic on partners and the community at large.

“As an organisation that stands for the principles of business with a humane approach, we are allocating Rs 100 crore as a contingency fund to help the entire ecosystem around our organisation survive this crisis,” Pankaj M Munjal, chairman HMC, a Hero Motors Company said in a statement.

The company is also reaching out to different state governments to offer all possible help, he added.

Hero Cycles has also set up an emergency monitoring cell headed by Munjal to closely monitor the economic repercussions of the pandemic and, its impact on the organisational supply chains.

The cell is overseeing planning of supply chain resumption as and when the situation normalises, medical support for employees and their families, and support for communities around key manufacturing facilities, the company said.