Eight Local Inventors Selected to Compete in Bengaluru April 27 in First Global Competition Seeking Hardware with a Social Purpose

Bangalore, April 27, 2017 – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the world’s largest organization for the field of mechanical engineering, today announced the finalists of the 2017 ASME Innovation Showcase (ISHOW), the first international competition of hardware-led social innovation.

Eight social-minded inventors from India, Indonesia, and Hong Kong will present their design prototypes in Bengaluru. They are among 24 finalists who’ll compete in India, Kenya, and the United States over the coming months. Here’s a link to the eight finalists who'll be available with their prototypes from 8:30-10:00am April 27 at Le Méridien Bangalore: 

https://thisishardware.org/competition/2017/india

An esteemed panel of judges will choose three hardware designs per country as grand prize winners. This year, ASME received more than 150 submissions vying for the $500,000 in cash and in-kind prizes that the organization has offered to help bring these socially innovative hardware-led solutions to market.

“ASME originally created ISHOW three years ago after our research showed a tremendous lack of support for hardware innovators seeking to enter global markets and make a societal impact,” said K. Keith Roe, president of ASME. “With this year’s entries among the most promising we’ve seen since ISHOW first launched, we’re confident they all have the potential to address some of the most vexing issues faced by mankind.”

The 2017 ASME ISHOW will feature a range of devices that promise to make a transformational economic, environmental, and social impact in underserved communities around the world. During the competition, the finalists will pitch their product prototypes to a panel of judges that include successful entrepreneurs, academics, and founders of venture-funded startup companies. The pitches will outline the

The winners selected in Bengaluru and two other ISHOW events in Nairobi, Kenya (May 25), and Washington, D.C. (June 22), will share $500,000 in seed grants, technical assistance, design and engineering reviews and access to ISHOW’s partnership network.

“ASME congratulates all finalists,” noted Roe.  “We celebrate their new ideas and innovations, which are pushing our collective knowledge frontier outward and solving problems to improve the lives of all people.”

For more information about the finalists and the ISHOW, please visit:

ThisIsHardware.org

About ASME

ASME helps the global engineering community develop solutions to real world challenges.  Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization that enables collaboration, knowledge sharing and skill development across all engineering disciplines, while promoting the vital role of the engineer in society.  ASME codes and standards, publications, conferences, continuing education and professional development programs provide a foundation for advancing technical knowledge and a safer world.  For more information, visit www.asme.org.

Artha Yantra Launches Financial Wellness as a new age employee benefit

Bengaluru, 25th April 2017: ArthaYantra, world’s only full service robo advisory today announced the launch of a dedicated ‘Financial Wellness Program’ for corporates as part of Employee Benefit. This initiative helps employers to address financial well-being of employees by providing them access to a comprehensive financial plan, a roadmap to achieve all their financial goals.



According to Financial Wellness Survey conducted across 1,000 employees by ArthaYantra, 68% of employees face financial stress. 37% confirm that issues with personal finance are a major cause of distraction at work. A large percentage of about, 72% have not thought about retirement or don’t know how to save for retirement. Above all more than 85% of employees want their organisations to provide personal finance advice that will help them reduce stress. Looking at these facts, it is imperative for employers to partner with experts to address employee’s financial worries.  These findings resonates the global trends across all corporates.



At a fraction of the cost incurred by companies on employees’ recreation and engagement, ArthaYantra FOR CORPORATE enables organizations to help employees plan their financial goals and be retirement ready. As an online advisory, ArthaYantra bridges the gap of servicing the large number of employees spread across geographies, by enabling them with an unbiased advice that helps them take the right financial decisions. Thus, ArthaYantra’s Financial Wellness program helps Engage, Motivate and Retain talent.



“Employees spend more than two-third of their time at work and are a critical asset to any organisation. Financial wellness today is the fastest growing Employee Benefit program. We have received immense response from many big names and are already implementing the program with a two-wheeler manufacturing giant in India at multiple locations and world’s leading insurance company in Mumbai.” said Nitin Vyakaranam, Founder & CEO, ArthaYantra

Financial planning starts with a comprehensive online assessment of the employee’s financial health. This is followed up by tailor made program that addresses the issues faced by the employee. The requirements for each employee range from saving for retirement, buying a home, liquidity crunch, not meeting household expenses, planning for medical emergencies, children’s education and marriage or just taking a vacation!

 

Aster CMI unveils its state-of-the art medical center for children born with Primary Immune Deficiency

 Bangalore, April 26th 2017:  In advance to the World Immunology Day observed on April 29th every year,  Aster CMI Hospital unveiled its dedicated centre of care for primary immune deficiency (PIDs) diseases today. During the announcement today, a parent support group from Bangalore also detailed out their plea submitted to the government to rationalise the treatment for PIDs.



PIDs are a rare form of diseases genetically transferred to a child. In a typical scenario, the child’s immune system bears a defect and thus is prone to slightest of the infections. Organs like lungs, gastro-intestinal tract are affected first in a PID and hence it is likely to be misunderstood as a general infection. PIDs usually go undiagnosed owing to unawareness amongst not just people but also the medical community. A PID patient if not diagnosed timely, cannot survive beyond 2-5 years of age. Early identification can help increase the life expectancy of a patient by injecting anti-bodies artificially which is a very costly mode of treatment. “While there is no study conducted in India to assess the prevalence of primary immune deficiency diseases, estimates have shown that in India there would be almost 1 million individuals with a PID. In Bangalore, anywhere between 1000-5000 children are suffering from PIDs”, said Dr Sagar Bhattad, MBBS, MD, DM Pediatric Immunologist, Aster CMI Hospital-one amongst the very few formally trained Pediatric Immunologists in the county.

 Currently there is just one center of care for children suffering from immune deficiency diseases in Chandigarh and thus a patient from elsewhere have to travel to this center for care. With Aster CMI Pediatric Immunology center, patients from the region can now avail end to end treatment here in Bangalore. “If a child is repeatedly falling sick, it is advised to scan him for a PID. Thus far, we have seen numerous cases wherein a child is repeatedly hospitalized during first few years of his life. These are clear indications of a PID”, added Dr Bhattad.

 PIDPWS (PID Patient Welfare Society), a patient support group of 15 couples from Bangalore elaborated on the plea submitted to the government. “In the past considering the sensitivity on Hemophilia, a disease where children could bleed to death, government did make the injections available for free at the primary healthcare centres. Motivated with this move, we are now in talks with the government to support treatment of children with PID, as the treatment is very expensive and most of our families cannot bear the cost”, said Mrs Rukhsana, representative of the patient support group.

Organizations like Lions Club along with Aster CMI hospitals have come together to announce their commitment to sponsor the treatment along with medications and diagnostic costs of about 15 children suffering from PID. “The treatment for this disorder is extremely expensive and often is unaffordable for the families of the children suffering from it. Thereby, it is important to provide assistance to the families of the children who are suffering from this disorder to ensure that they receive the necessary treatment”, said Dr Chetan Ginigeri, Pediatric Intensivist at Aster CMI.


Highlighting the need of a dedicated centre for these diseases, Dr Sagar further added, “Affected children get hospitalized on several occasions and are treated with variety of antibiotics. However, one wonders the root cause of multiple hospitalization in a short frame of time. The problems go undiagnosed or incorrectly diagnosed as there is not awareness amongst the medical fraternity themselves about PIDs. In India, the medical specialization in Pediatric Immunology has been introduced only three years ago and thus the number of experts are just handful. The need for a formally trained Pediatric Immunologist is long felt by paediatricians now and thus the Doctorate of Medicine (DM), Pediatric Immunology was introduced about three years back in medical education.”

The awareness about PID, is very minimal even amongst the medical fraternity. In order to increase awareness amongst pediatricians and physicians about the disorder, ASTER CMI have been on warpath reaching out to doctors, Pediatricians through the continuous medical education format, Pharma companies and the common public using the print, audiovisual and social media. A city and state wise database creation is on the anvil.

Aster CMI also marked completion of 30 years of existence with an Aster Volunteer Campaign ‘Aster @ 30’. “We strive to provide end-to-end healthcare solutions to a patient. The Aster Pediatric Immunology Centre will help cater to all problems faced by a PID patient as the centre now has best domain experts along with advanced technology to diagnose and treat the patient”, says  Dr Nitish Shetty , CEO Aster CMI hospital Under Aster@30 campaign, the hospital has announced free services towards in-patient and out-patients along with day care for patients suffering from Primary Immunology Diseases.



About Aster CMI Hospital:

Aster CMI Hospital, Bangalore is DM Healthcare’s continuation of its endeavour to create world-class, patient-centric hospitals driven by medical innovations and a culture of excellence. Aster DM Healthcare group, having revamped the existing massive structure, launched a comprehensive super-specialty hospital. The Aster CMI Hospital has contemporary state-of-the-art facilities accommodating close to 500 beds and offers comprehensive primary care to quaternary care services with Centres of Excellence in Cardiac Sciences, Neurosciences, Gastroenterology Sciences, Surgery and Allied Specialties, Integrated Liver Care, Organ Transplant, Urology and Nephrology, Orthopaedics, Women’s Health, and Child & Adolescent Health. Everything at Aster CMI is designed keeping in mind the comfort of our patients. The serene environment, spacious interiors and advanced facilities create a positive ambience that is conducive to healing. In a nutshell, Aster CMI stands out from the rest of the peer hospitals on the hospitality front.

 

Shoppers Stop creates the world’s largest cricket bat!

Bengaluru, April 20^th, 2017: In celebration of the ongoing cricket fervor in the nation, Shoppers Stop has created the world’s largest cricket bat which measures 160 feet in height and 18 feet in width.

The record-setting cricket bat is displayed at Magrath Road Junction (opposite Garuda mall). To mark the occasion, Shoppers Stop invited Mithali Raj - Captain of the Indian Women's Cricket Team to sign the cricket bat. Also present for the occasion was Mr. Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd. 

An ode to cricket aficionados, this one-of-its-kind cricket bat has been made in a record time of 10 days by the in-house Visual Merchandising team. Over 60 people worked round the clock to construct this enormous structure. Shoppers Stop is set to apply for a mention in the Limca Book of Records.

Mr. Govind Shrikhande, Customer Care Associate & Managing Director, Shoppers Stop Ltd said, “Our focus is to create exciting and engaging experiences for our customers and thereby bring the romance back to retail. The ongoing cricket buzz gave us the perfect opportunity to delight our customers by creating this record-setting world’s largest cricket bat. And who better to celebrate this occasion than the Captain of our beloved Indian Women’s Cricket Team Mithali Raj.” 

Ace Cricketer and Captain of the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, Mithali Raj commented, “It is so great to see Shoppers Stop, India’s leading and most loved fashion retailer, celebrate Cricket, one of India’s most loved sports, in such a wonderful way.  

The record-setting 160 ft. cricket bat looks remarkable. It is a great opportunity for cricket lovers to express their love and enthusiasm for the game.”

Student innovators demonstrate disruptive ideas in the semi-finals of 7th India Innovation Challenge Design Contest

India, Bangalore, April 15, 2017: The DST & Texas Instruments India Inc. Innovation Challenge Design Contest 2016 enters its semi-final phase with the start of the first of the two semi-final rounds today at IIM Bangalore.  The contest saw the participation of ~11000 students from 624 engineering colleges from across India. The semi-final event was inaugurated by Mr. Sanjay Srivastava, Director - University Program, Texas Instruments India & Mr. Nagaraja Prakasam, Mentor, NSRCEL IIM Bangalore. 

30 student teams from 30 engineering colleges presented their innovative products to a panel of evaluators who are thought leaders and accomplished achievers from various walks of life.  The panel consisted of entrepreneurs, professors, bureaucrats and entries were judged based on customer validation, strategic innovation, marketing innovation, business interdependence, etc. The second semi-final is scheduled to be on April 22, 2017 at BML University, Gurugram.

IICDC over the years has become a platform that nurtures innovation. Engineering students have displayed path breaking innovation that has the potential to bring about socio economic change for India. It aspires to foster innovation at the formative years of a student. Most of 2016 entries have corroborated closely with the Government’s vision of Swaach Bharat, Digital India, Smart Cities projects, etc. Most solutions that have been shortlisted to the semi-finals have the potential to solve pressing problems across various sectors and to help bring positive change to the lives of millions of people. This contest aims to propel the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative through student start-ups and contribute to the country’s manufacturing ecosystem.

Texas Instruments has taken this contest to greater heights by collaborating with IIM Bangalore and DST. IIM Bangalore through its efforts at NSRCEL will mentor the top 10 teams and help them to incubate their innovative product into start-up ventures. DST will fund INR 3.5 crore to the student start-ups, which will go towards the product development fund of INR 1.5 crore and seed fund of INR 2 crore for the top teams to incubate their start-ups.

“Texas Instruments India, through India Innovation Challenge has been the pioneer in creating a platform for young engineering students across the country to showcase innovation. It is heartening to see around 11,000 students across 624 top engineering colleges participating in this contest. The scale of this year contest would not have been possible without the unrelenting support from partners IIM B, DST and MyGov. Some path breaking innovations are being witnessed this year and we are confident that with the support of our partners the students are well poised to bring a change in the eco-system making it safer, cleaner, smarter, productive and more efficient” said Sanjay Srivastava, Director - University Program, Texas Instruments India.

Professor Suresh Bhagavatula, Chairperson, Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Development, at IIM Bangalore, said, “IICDC is an excellent platform for the students who are having a dream to convert their ideas to successful enterprises. The last few months, we have encouraged and mentored some of the talented engineers and with semi-finals they are very close to build their own start-ups to get incubated at the Nadathur S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) from IIM Bangalore”.


 “DST plays a pivotal role in promoting science and technology in the country. Collaborating with India Innovation Challenge we were able to witness innovations that had the right amalgamation of ideas and technology to help build and transform this nation into an economic power house”, said Mr. H.K. Mittal, Advisor and Head, NSTEDB, DST, GOI.
About Texas Instruments
Texas Instruments semiconductor innovations help 100,000 customers unlock the possibilities of the world as it could be – smarter, safer, greener, healthier and more fun. Our commitment to building a better future is ingrained in everything we do – from the responsible manufacturing of our semiconductors, to caring for our employees, to giving back inside our communities. This is just the beginning of our story. Learn more at www.ti.com.

About IIMB & NSRCEL
The Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) builds leaders and entrepreneurs through holistic, transformative and innovative education. An EQUIS accredit school, IIMB is an acknowledged hub of academic activity in India and globally. IIMB’s research centres include the Centre for Public Policy, the Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning, the Centre for Financial Markets & Risk Management, the Centre for Corporate Governance & Citizenship, the Centre for Software & IT Management, and the Centre for Supply Chain Management. The N S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning (NSRCEL) incubates start-ups and provides free mentoring for budding entrepreneurs. NSRCEL currently incubates 18 start-ups – perhaps the largest number for an incubation center in an academic institution.  In 2015-16, NSRCEL conducted 400 mentoring sessions and 34 events. Through its rapidly growing open mentoring initiatives, it is conservatively estimated that NSRCEL may have directly impacted in excess of 10,000 entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs or other participants in the ecosystem since it was established in 2000.

About DST
The Department of Science and Technology (DST), set up in 1971 by the Government of India plays a pivotal role in promotion of science & technology in the country. The department has wide ranging activities ranging from promoting high end basic research and development of cutting edge technologies on one hand to service the technological requirements of the common man through development of appropriate skills and technologies on the other. One of the mandates of DST is to support innovations, science and technology based entrepreneurship development and technology business incubation activity through National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board (https://www.nstedb.com/). The board engages with academic and R&D institutions and also partners with leading industries to promote entrepreneurship across the country

Texas Instruments India host’s “DIY with TI” Worldwide Program in Bangalore

Bengaluru, April 12, 2017: Texas Instruments (TI) India, today, hosted the “DIY with TI” event designed to recognize and encourage TI hobbyists who innovate in their spare time using TI devices, and showcase their creativity with innovations that help solve real-life problems. More than 40 engineers got together in teams at TI in India and showcased their passion for creating simple and innovative solutions by showcasing 15 interesting demos across home automation, agriculture, education, personal electronics, renewable energy, healthcare, etc.

This year, S KeerthiBala, Priyankar Mathuria, Ankur Patel, Aarti Malgaonkar won the Chief Geek award for their DIY project ‘Non-invasive Blood Sugar Prediction’. The winners were chosen based on the potential of this application for creating future smart cities. Also, Abhijit Ray, Tarunvir Singh, Gaurang Kuchchal were recognized as runners-up for their project on ‘FINDO-track your valuables’. There were other notable projects in the realm of making solar energy harvesting with a smart tracking system, cloud based tracker to measure electrical power consumption in home, a pen that can remember what you scribbled- no paper required.

“We are proud to continue to host the ‘DIY with TI’ in India to encourage TI hobbyists, develop and demonstrate their innovations by collaborating & sharing ideas with other DIY-ers. These innovations are created in their own time. The worldwide program, works as a catalyst to enhance their problem solving skills in the most engaging manner. This helps us to recognize the talented engineers across all TI offices globally,” said Santhosh Kumar, President and Managing Director at Texas Instruments India.

‘DIY with TI’ is a global event held within TI in its U.S., Germany, China and India offices. The event aims to nurture a culture of innovation in TI by providing a platform to TIers that helps them explore alternate and newer ways to solve a problem by doing what they love.