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New Delhi, Apr 20 () Non-profit body The Akshaya Patra Foundation on Monday said it has already served over 2 crore meals to vulnerable communities like migrant workers and homeless people affected due to the lockdown imposed to contain the COVID-19 outbreak. As on April 17, the Foundation has cumulatively served 2,19,44,385 meals which include 93,57,839 freshly cooked meals and 3,02,541 food relief kits (1,25,86,546 meal servings) to people in need in various locations across India, an official statement said. The relief feeding endeavour has been initiated in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Delhi and NCR, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. "We have been able to serve over 2 crore meals to people in need during these difficult times due to the collaborative efforts of everyone involved," The Akshaya Patra Foundation Chairman Madhu Pandi Dasa said and thanked everyone for the donation. "I sincerely hope that the situation will improve soon and people will be able to get back to their day-to-day life. Until then, we will continue our efforts to serve as many people as possible," he added. The Foundation said it is using its kitchen network to prepare the meals and deliver them to the centres assigned by the authorities. Simultaneously, packaging centres have been set up in various locations across the country where food relief kits are packed with essential groceries based on the local palate. The kits to be distributed in Bangalore, for instance, contain rice, tur dal, oil, spices, sambar and rasam powder, and vegetables which are known to have a long shelf-life, such as potatoes and pumpkins. Each kit has groceries sufficient for either 42 or 28 meals, it said. In this endeavour, the Foundation said it has been supported by proactive corporate partners and individual donors. For instance, Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy and his family contributed Rs 10 crore from their personal funds toward Akshaya Patra's COVID-19 relief work. Their generous donation has enabled the Foundation to distribute 1.33 lakh food relief kits, which are equivalent to 55,86,000 meals, it said. Several corporate houses, such as the Biocon Foundation, Capgemini, CISCO, Coca–Cola, CLP, Deutsche Bank, DLF Foundation, Goldman Sachs, Gland Pharmaceuticals, HT Parekh Foundation, Hero Moto Corp, Infosys Foundation, LG Electronics, Morgan Stanley, Nestle India, PepsiCo Foundation, Sarojini Trust, Texas Instruments, Vedanta, Vivo, Walmart and many others, have come forward to contribute to the relief feeding endeavour. The Foundation further said it has also received in-kind support for the endeavour with General Mills (Mumbai) donating cookies and cakes for distribution in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Noida, Britannia donating around 20,000 packs of 'Good Day' biscuits to be distributed in Bangalore, and Epigamia donating 17,000 premium yoghurt cups for distribution in Bangalore and Ahmedabad. Similarly, Bollywood personalities, such as Hrithik Roshan and Raveena Tandon, have also donated to the Foundation's efforts. Also supporting the Foundation are motivated volunteers who have selflessly come forward at this hour of need. These include volunteering groups, such as Inspiring Indians and Corona Warriors, as well as corporate volunteers from organisations such as the Infosys Foundation and Biocon. LUX HRS

Akshaya Patra serves over 2 cr meals to lockdown-hit vulnerable people

It’s been 15 years that <keyword id="6458290" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Akshaya-Patra-Foundation">Akshaya Patra Foundation</keyword> (<keyword id="700543" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="APF">APF</keyword>), headquartered in Bengaluru, has been serving afternoon meals to government school children, and in a few weeks, it will touch the glorious mark of its two billionth meal. 
 APF, the world's largest school lunch programme, was founded by IITian <keyword id="208800" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Madhu-Pandit-Dasa">Madhu Pandit Dasa</keyword>, who was conferred with the prestigious honour of Padma Shri last month. 
 
"I still remember the day when I took the first meal to a government school. The children loved it. I did not believe that we would go with the food the next day. But for 15 years now, we have been able to sustain," Dasa told TOI. Dasa wants to ensure that no child in India shall be deprived of education because of hunger; because of his vision, this scheme has won many accolades for its transparency, hygiene and tech savvy delivery of cooked meals. 
 
"Growth has not been a challenge but sustainably growing is a challenge. Every time we start a kitchen, children come with a hope that they will get a good meal every day. Ensuring food safety especially at the school level which is the last mile and on a daily basis is a challenge. The road ahead is to implement innovative ideas in operations, fundraising and sourcing. We also would like to freely share our learnings with any organigation or an individual who wants to work on alleviating hunger amongst children," said APF CEO Shridhar Venkat. 
 
APF trustee T V Mohandas Pai told TOI: "I think the reason for our success has been how different competencies which are mutually inclusive and collectively exclusive have come together to fight hunger among children." 
 
<a href="http://annapoorneswaricf.com/images/designs2.jpg">Image source</a>

This Bengaluru-based NGO would serve its 2 billionth afternoon meal soon

New Delhi, Dec 5 () The National Health Authority (NHA) on Thursday said it has signed an agreement with Bharti Foundation, The Akshaya Patra Foundation and HelpAge India to raise awareness about Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
 Under the agreement, Bharti Foundation will raise awareness about the the public health scheme across 16 states, HelpAge among the elderlies and Akshay Patra will raise awareness about the project through its school network.
 Indu Bhushan, chief executive officer of AB-PMJAY and NHA, in a joint statement said the partnership with The Akshaya Patra Foundation, Bharti Foundation and HelpAge India has provided us an opportunity to reach out to the potential beneficiaries.
 "We believe that these organisations' long-term presence in the rural areas and their grassroot connection will help us in achieving the desired awareness level for the scheme across the country," Bhushan said.
 AB-PMJAY scheme provides an annual health cover of Rs 5 lakh to poor families for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation through a network of empanelled health care providers (EHCP).
 Under the agreement, Bharti Foundation will hold sensitisation drives with its school network targeting stakeholders such as school children, parents and the immediate village community.
 "This collaboration is in line with our efforts to ensure better life for underprivileged families in rural India," Mamta Saikia, chief executive officer of Bharti Foundation, said
 NHA will conduct various community campaigns, parent meetings and rallies and engage with local panchayats and other community members to sensitise the underprivileged community about objectives and benefits of the AB-PMJAY, the statement said.
 AB-PMJAY has more than 19,000 hospitals empanelled where nearly 68,37,588 people have availed of treatments under the scheme. PRS HRS

NHA signs pact with Bharti Foundation, HelpAge India for awareness about Ayushman Bharat

New Delhi, Dec 24 () Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday inaugurated a centralised new kitchen, supported by Swiss power major ABB India, to feed 21,000 children in government schools in the national capital.
"Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia inaugurated the Akshaya Patra Foundation's new centralised kitchen in Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area of New Delhi," ABB India said in a statement said.
According to the statement, the kitchen - sponsored by ABB India - has the capacity to cater to the nutrition needs of students through 25,000 midday meals across various government schools in the surrounding areas.
Initially, it will serve over 21,000 children of 24 government schools in the national capital and gradually extend its reach.
Mohan Cooperative kitchen will be the Akshaya Patra Foundation's 51st kitchen in the country.
From January 1, 2020, Akshaya Patra will begin operations in Mohan Cooperative Industrial Area, Jahangir Puri and Samaypur Badli, feeding 64,179 children across 134 schools in the national capital through these three kitchens.
ABB India's partnership with Akshaya Patra is over a decade old and has been expanding in line with the mission of Akshaya Patra to feed 5 million children by 2025.
Over the years, the support by ABB India towards Akshaya Patra has increased many folds from the Mid-Day Meal Programme to supporting a centralised kitchen. The current partnership of ABB India with Akshaya Patra supports around 50,000 meals daily to government school children across Gujarat, Karnataka and Delhi. KKS BAL

Sisodia inaugurates ABB India sponsored kitchen to provide midday meal to school kids

New Delhi, Apr 28 () Beverages major Coca-Cola on Tuesday said it has committed an initial Rs 100 crore to help the healthcare system and communities combat the coronavirus pandemic. The relief programmes initiated by Coca-Cola in India aim at benefitting and positively impacting over 10 lakh lives across the country, the company said in a statement. Coca-Cola said its financial contribution will be utilised for various purposes, which include activation of over 50 locations across 10 states in partnership with its bottlers to support the hydration needs of the underserved communities through distribution of beverages during the lockdown period. The company further said that with support from The Coca-Cola Foundation, Atlanta, it has forged partnerships with United Way and Care India to augment initiatives towards COVD-19 healthcare and food security support. Coca-Cola India is also working with its partner civil society organisations (CSOs) and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), such as Akshaya Patra Foundation, Vanarai, Chintan, Hasirudala, Manthan Sansthan, and American India Foundation, to provide free meals to distressed communities and relief to sanitisation workers through provisioning of dry rations, personal protective equipment and emergency medical funds, it added. Through its employee fundraiser campaign in partnership with GiveIndia, the company said it is securing donations to support waste collectors and rag pickers with food and hygiene essentials. The company will match to the employee contribution with an equal amount. RKL HRS

Coca-Cola commits Rs 100 crore to support fight against coronavirus in India

Hyderabad, Apr 14 (): NMDC Ltd's Donimalai Iron OreMines Complex is distributing food to police personnel, ASHAworkers and paramedical staff at Ballari district in Karnatakaas part of the ongoing fight to check coronavirus spread, thestate-owned miner said on Tuesday.NMDC has tied up with the Akshaya Patra Foundation forthis "Annadanam" initiative through which over 35,000personnel who were involved in the containment activities weredistributed free food, an official release said.The personnel are provided wholesome breakfast, lunchand dinner from April 1 and is being done on a continuousbasis, NMDC said."The Donimalai Iron Ore Mines Complex of NMDC isalways at the forefront of this exercise and had earliercontributed Rs 60 lakh to the District Administration, Ballarifor implementation of improved treatment and preventivemeasures at the District Hospital, now designated as a COVID-19 Hospital," it said.NMDC has also taken up sanitation drives inresidential areas, public buildings, market places, hospitalsand RO (Reverse Osmosis) plants, among others atthe NMDCDonimalaiTownship, and surrounding areas at Ballari, itadded. GDK SS

COVID-19 fight: NMDC offers free food to police, other staff at Ballari

Mumbai, Apr 7 () Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan has partnered with a non-profit organisation to facilitate 1.2 lakh meals for senior citizens, daily wage workers and low-income group during the lockdown period.The country is witnessing a 21-day lockdown period to contain the spread of coronavirus pandemic. This has severely affected the lives of daily wage workers and others.The foundation, Akshaya Patra, shared the news on Twitter, thanking Hrithik for extending support for the cause."We are happy to share, our Foundation is now empowered by superstar Hrithik Roshan. Together, we will facilitate 1.2 lakh nutritious cooked meals to old age homes, daily wage labourers &amp; low income groups across India, until normalcy in work routine."We salute the immediate help from superstar Hrithik Roshan in providing relief and supporting the health &amp; well-being of all Indians in need of care. We deeply thank you for your gesture," the NGO tweeted.Hrithik lauded the foundation and its team the "real superheroes" for the work they have done on the ground level."I wish you the power to ensure that NO ONE in our country sleeps hungry. You all are the real superheroes on ground. #IndiaFightsCorona #CovidRelief" he tweeted."Let's all keep doing what we can in our own ways. No contribution is too large or too small. All the best to us," he said in another post.Last month, the "War" star had announced that he had procured masks for BMC workers and caretakers and will be distributing it among them. RB RB SHDSHD

Hrithik ties up with NGO to provide 1.2 lakh meals for daily wage earners, senior citizens

Hyderabad, Apr 25 () Amid the coronavirus spread,an Inter-Ministerial Central Team (IMCT) on Saturday visitedTelangana to assess the COVID-19 situation. The IMCT was led by Arun Baroka, AddltionalSecretary, Ministry of Jal Shakti.The Central team appreciated the initiatives takenby the State government to contain COVID-19 in the state, anofficial release said.Telangana Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar made adetailed presentation on the steps taken by the stategovernment to contain the spread of COVID-19.The Chief Secretary informed the team that all thedepartments are working as a team and prepared overallstrategy for managing the COVID-19, the release said.Earlier, the team visited the 1,500-bedded COVID-19hospital set up by the state government at Gachibowli and alsothe kitchen of Akshaya Patra Foundation where food, served tothe migrant workers and the poor in the city, is prepared. A 14-storied sports facility at Gachibowli in thecity has been converted into a COVID-19 hospital by the stategovernment in just 20 days. State government officials explained about thefacilities arranged at the hospital, another release said. The team saw the ICU, emergency wards, isolationwards and others at the Gachibowli hospital , it said. The team members enquired whether different protocolcommittees have been formed as per the guidelines issued bythe Union Health Ministry and whether medical and para medicalpersonnel have been trained on the precautions to be taken andothers, it said. During its visit to the main kitchen of AkshayaPatra Foundation, the team was told that about 1.50 lakhpeople are provided meals, in the afternoon and evening, everyday. Food is served through the 'Annapurna' canteens ofthe Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC),representatives of the Foundation told the team. The Central representatives asked about quality offood, hygiene, transportation and distribution and others, therelease added. Observing that the COVID-19 situation is "especiallyserious" in major or emerging hotspots like Ahmedabad, Surat,Hyderabad, Chennai and Thane, the Centre on Friday rushedinter-ministerial central teams(IMCT) to monitor the situationin these cities. The IMCTs would use expertise of the centralgovernment and augment the states' efforts to fight andcontain the spread of COVID-19 effectively, the Centre said.Other members in the IMCT team are ChandrashekharGedam, Sr Public Health Specialist, Hemlatha, Director,National Institute of Nutrition, Ministry of Health and FamilyWelfare, S S Thakur, Director, Ministry of Consumers Affairsand Shekhar Chaturvedi, Associate Professor, NationalInstitute of Disaster Management. SJR BNWELCOME BNWELCOME

IMCT visits new COVID-19 hospital,interacts with state officials during Hyderabad visit

New Delhi, Apr 14 () Donation platform GiveIndia on Tuesday said it has launched the 'India COVID Response Fund' (ICRF) with initial donations worth Rs 75 crore to support the on-ground COVID relief efforts being carried out by its network of verified non-profits.Some of the early donors to the fund include the Bill &amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, Google.org, HSBC India, Omidyar Network India, UBS Optimus Foundation, Marico, Uber India (through Uber Care driver fund), Binny Bansal and A.T.E. Chandra Foundation.The fund will use a data-backed approach to identify the most critical areas of intervention and scale the relief efforts pan India, a statement said.The donation platform is aiming at creation of a larger corpus that can support up to 10 million people nationally, it added."Since we started fundraising for COVID relief work on March 22, we have received donations from more than 2 lakh people globally, raised Rs 75 crores, partnered with over 40 organisations, onboarded more than 100 non-profits, and these initial efforts will impact one million people," GiveIndia Director and ICRF Advisor Govind Iyer said.However, the on-ground requirement is much larger and the fund is an open platform for all to come together and support the most critical need of the hour, he added.Other partners in the collective are CSIP (Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy) from Ashoka University, Bridgespan, Indiaspora, Sattva, Dasra and IIFL Wealth, the statement said.An expert advisory group has been set up to guide fundraise and allocations, including Dr Devi Shetty, (Chairman, Narayana Health), Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (Chairman, Biocon), Sanjiv Mehta (Chairman, HUL), Surendra Rosha (CEO, HSBC India), Binny Bansal (Co-founder, Flipkart), Manoj Kohli (Country Head, Softbank) and Amitabh Chaudhry (CEO, Axis Bank).Shilpa Kumar (Investment Partner, Omidyar Network India), Ingrid Srinath (Director, CSIP, Ashoka University), Arun Seth (former Chairman-BT), Amita Chauhan (Chairperson, SVP Mumbai), Shailesh Haribhakti (CA), Haigreve Khaitan (Managing Partner, Khaitan &amp; Co), V Vaidyanathan (MD &amp; CEO, IDFC First Bank), Neeraj Aggarwal (Head APAC, BCG) and Karan Bhagat (MD &amp; CEO, IIFL Wealth) are also part of the effort."ICRF will focus on preventing the spread of the coronavirus, providing humanitarian aid, supporting our health workers and enabling the COVID-hit families to rebuild their livelihoods. GiveIndia will be working with and supporting non-profits across health, disaster relief, rural livelihoods, etc including Akshaya Patra, Goonj, HelpAge India, ActionAid, Oxfam, CRY, Srijan and many others through this fund," the statement said. SR RSN RUJ

GiveIndia starts India COVID Response Fund with Rs 75 cr in initial donations

<ul><li><keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> has launched its Fundraisers initiative in India and has partnered with GiveIndia to verify the charities.</li><li>Personal fundraisers have not been enabled in India due to the ongoing <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">Coronavirus</keyword> pandemic.</li><li>Facebook does not charge any fee on donations to charitable organisations.</li></ul>Social media giant Facebook recently launched its Fundraisers initiative in India. Fundraisers allow people to raise money for charitable organisations, themselves, friends or family members. The company partnered with GiveIndia, one of India’s largest online donation platforms to verify charities in the country. Currently, Indian users can create fundraisers only for charitable organisations. This includes over 70 charitable organisations, including The Akshaya Patra Foundation, HelpAge India, Foundation for Mother and Child Health and more. Facebook has de-prioritised personal charities worldwide due to ongoing the Coronavirus pandemic. “We have fewer people available to review personal fundraisers because of the coronavirus outbreak. Because we’re also trying hard to prioritize the review of personal fundraisers related to COVID-19, we may be unable to review your fundraiser, or it may take longer than usual. Non-profit fundraisers will not be impacted,” said Facebook. Does Facebook charge any fee for fundraisers? Facebook does not charge any fees on donations made to charities. However, the social media giant does charge a small fee for donations made to personal fundraisers. The <a href="https://www.facebook.com/help/901370616673951">fee</a> ranges from 1.46% to 2.99% depending on the country. How to create a fundraiser for charitable organisations? <div type="image" title="Image 1" msid="75316510" hostid="261"></div> <ul><li>To create a fundraiser for a charitable organisation, click on ‘Fundraisers’ in the Explore section on Facebook or click <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers/about/">here</a>.</li></ul><div type="image" title="Image 2" msid="75316522" hostid="261"></div> <ul><li>Now, search a charity or scroll down and select one of the charities. You can only choose from the available charities.</li></ul><div type="image" title="Image 3" msid="75316539" hostid="261"></div> <ul><li>Now, you can change the amount of money that you want to raise. </li><li>Next, select the date when you want to end your fundraiser. </li><li>Now, click on ‘Next’.</li></ul><div type="image" title="Image 4" msid="75316557" hostid="261"></div> <ul><li>You can now change the title and reason for raising the money. </li><li>Now, click on ‘Next’.</li></ul><div type="image" title="Image 5" msid="75316576" hostid="261"></div><ul><li>Now, you can change the cover photo of the fundraiser. You can use one of the available photos or use a custom photo. </li><li>Once you have selected the photo, click on ‘Create’. </li></ul>What happens if you don’t meet your fundraiser target? Facebook allows you to set a goal while creating a fundraiser. However, even if you do not reach the goal, you will still receive the money raised by you. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/heres-why-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg-is-paying-top-dollar-for-a-stake-in-mukesh-ambanis-reliance-jio/articleshow/75286331.cms">Here's why Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is paying top dollar for a stake in Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Jio</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/jio-a-3-year-old-telecom-company-is-now-bigger-than-hdfc-infosys-and-itc-and-indias-largest-bank/articleshow/75290132.cms">Jio, a 3-year old telecom company, is now bigger than HDFC, Infosys and ITC – and India's largest bank</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/mrbeast-announces-youtube-rock-paper-scissors-tournament-with-a-250000-prize-for-charity/articleshow/75307247.cms">MrBeast announces YouTube 'Rock, paper, scissors' tournament with a $250,000 prize for charity</a>

How to start a fundraiser on Facebook

New Delhi, Mar 31 () To help authorities and people increase preparedness against Covid-19, electronic majors Samsung and LG have pledged to offer products and protective equipment like surgeon gown, face masks, glove, refrigerators, water purifiers, among others, to hospitals. LG Electronics India on Tuesday said it has also partnered with Akshaya Patra Foundation to sponsor one million meals to migrant labourers and daily wage workers, who are struggling amid the 21-day lockdown in the country. "With the rise in confirmed cases of COVID-19, LG has taken a pledge to support India's fight against the pandemic. LG is committed to offer active support to people in need in this current situation," it said in a statement. LG Electronics India will donate products like water purifiers, air conditioners, refrigerators and TVs to the hospitals for their quarantine/isolation wards, covering 50 state and district hospitals across the country. Samsung India, on the other hand, will provide preventive kits to hospitals, which includes a surgeon gown, face mask, gloves, preventive eye wear, hood cap and shoe cover. It will also provide infra-red thermometers and public addressal systems that can be used by the authorities at hospitals and other facilities, along with air purifiers in medical facilities. The India unit of Samsung said it will also support local police by providing cooked food packets to local communities around its manufacturing facility. "Samsung is committed to work together with the people of India in this hour of difficulty. Over the last few days, our teams have engaged round-the-clock with various governments, local authorities, and healthcare professionals to prepare a broad and meaningful strategy to win this battle together," Samsung India in a statement. COVID-19 infection, which originated in Wuhan in China, has spread across the world and claimed around 34,000 lives. Countries like South Korea, Spain, Italy, Iran and the US have been badly hit. In India, the total number of COVID-19 cases has risen to 1,251, while the death toll touched 32. To combat the spread, the government had announced a 21-day lockdown that ends on April 14. Corporate India has been rushing in to help the government and citizens fight the covid-19 pandemic in India. Tata Trusts &amp; Tata group together have pledged Rs 1,500 crore - by far the highest by any corporate. Reliance Industries chief Mukesh Ambani has also committed a further Rs 500 crore to the Prime Minister's COVID-19 fund, topping up over the multi-crore initiative of India's first coronavirus hospital, meals to the needy, and fuel to emergency vehicles. Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Infosys, has committed Rs 100 crore, while a number of other companies are also extending support efforts towards fighting COVID-19 in India. "In these precarious and uncertain times, LG India believes in helping and supporting the Government &amp; citizen of India with a meaningful contribution. Our initiative is designed to help those in need and contribute to society, at this critical juncture in a positive way. We will further monitor the situation and accordingly align our CSR endeavours," LG Electronics India MD Young Lak Kim said. KRH SR MKJ

Covid-19: Samsung, LG to provide preventive kits, other electronic products to hospitals in India

<ul><li>In our latest interview series, we talk to brands to understand how they are coping with the new normal and their strategies towards navigating these difficult times.</li><li>In today’s interview, Shoma Narayanan, Executive Director- Strategic Marketing &amp; Communications, <keyword id="133737" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="DBS-Bank">DBS Bank</keyword> India, tells us about their key learnings from the Covid-19 experience so far, a few tips on how to help consumers deal with today’s challenges, and how they are becoming digital-first to connect with their audience. </li></ul>After the COVID-19 outbreak came to India and slowly started spreading across the country, banks were forced to work at limited capacities, while trying to cater to the essential needs of their customers. However, as market forces and consumer behaviour continue to evolve and unemployment increases day-by-day, it is important for marketers to be agile and keep recalibrating their strategy. Applying a few learning from its fellow markets in Asia, DBS Bank was quick to see the writing on the wall. Earlier, it was using an integrated approach to marketing its brand communications. Albeit, in light of the spreading virus, it has shifted all its marketing monies to digital and is replugging some of its old content to keep engaging with its consumers. There is a lot of uncertainty and anxiety around -- the safety of one's family, public health care, and long-term economic impact are some of the key concerns in people's minds. DBS bank is, therefore, using its communications tools to help its audience navigate these challenges. We caught up with Shoma Narayanan, Executive Director- Strategic Marketing &amp; Communications, DBS Bank India to further understand how they are building a connect with their consumers at a time they are scared to step out of their homes, how is the brand doing its bit to help the society and a few learnings that she has picked on her way in these unprecedented days. Excerpts: Q) How have the past few weeks been for the brand, considering the country has been in a lockdown? These are extremely challenging times and with banking being an essential service, our top priority as an organization is to safeguard customers and colleagues while continuing to fully support client needs. We have a wide range of digital solutions that allow both retail and corporate customers to bank from the comfort and safety of their homes. Our branches remain open with extensive safety measures in place to support physical transactions. DBS has also partnered with Bharti AXA to roll out a health insurance plan covering medical conditions including Covid-19. Additionally, we have launched a series of Covid-19 relief measures to help strengthen healthcare infrastructure and support vulnerable communities such as daily wage earners. Q) What is your marketing strategy right now? How have you been trying to continue building a connect with your audience? Consumers are facing more uncertainty today than ever before. Their family's safety and overall public health are primary concerns and there are worries around long-term economic impact. Our marketing strategy therefore focuses on reassuring customers of our support, sharing relevant and useful content and encouraging them to use digital modes of banking as much as possible. While speaking to customers, we found that many of them were keen on helping people less fortunate than themselves, and were not sure how they could do this during a lockdown. We partnered with The Akshaya Patra Foundation to run a programme under which our customers could donate meals to daily wage earners who have been severely impacted. For every donation made by a customer, DBS is making a matching contribution of double the amount, thereby tripling the impact. We have received a higher than expected response to this campaign, and it has helped us strengthen our connect with customers as well as a wider audience. Q) If the lockdown is further extended, will you be tweaking your marketing strategy further? We follow an agile approach, and our marketing strategy will evolve to meet the needs of the situation at hand. Q) How is your brand making a difference in spreading awareness/contributing in whichever way you can? DBS recently launched the ‘DBS Stronger Together Fund’ to provide help to Covid-19 affected communities across its six key markets, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, China, India, Indonesia and Taiwan. In India, DBS is partnering with United Way, Metropolis Labs and others to help scale up public health infrastructure, provide medical supplies and equipment, and sponsor free testing for the underprivileged. DBS is also working with organisations such as Pratham, Akshaya Patra and United Way to provide the equivalent of 2 million meals (in the form of food supplies and pre-packaged meals) to daily wage earners whose earnings have been affected by the temporary closure of factories and workplaces. We plan to roll out more such initiatives in the coming months. Q) TV viewership and digital engagement continue to increase, where are you betting your money? In normal circumstances, we have found that an integrated approach across TV, outdoor and digital gives us the best results. Right now, most of our spends are focused on digital and social media as that is where we are able to best connect with our audiences. We are seeing increased traction on digital even on slightly older content. Earlier this year, around International Women’s Day, we had launched a new episode of our mini-series, SPARKS, featuring our brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar. The episode traces the journey of a social enterprise that is supported by DBS and is helping women become delivery agents, a profession that was traditionally inaccessible to them. As there is a heightened demand for online content as well as increased interest in cause-related material, we have seen a recent spike in views. Q) What are a few key learnings for you as a brand in the last few weeks? The importance of agility was brought home to us, and we pivoted some of our campaigns really quickly to make sure they were relevant in the current context. DBS is present in multiple countries across Asia, and we had important learnings from our colleagues in Singapore, China and Hong Kong who had faced similar situations in their markets some months/weeks before we did. Our key learnings are around being digital-first, staying true to our brand ethos of ‘Live More, Bank Less’ in everything we do, and ensuring we understand evolving consumer sentiment and respond appropriately.

Marketing in the times of COVID-19: DBS Bank

India has emerged as a fertile ground for many budding start-ups and medium enterprises. While a majority of these have resorted to equity investors and venture capitalists for funding, the idea of crowd-funding has largely remained untapped. It’s considered more a donation. However with the recent start-up boom it’s becoming essential to pull up one’s socks and look beyond conventional funding sources for business ideas or awareness campaigns. 
 
SMEs can’t often afford to offer products and services in online marketplace models due to the lack of infrastructure and technical expertise. While platforms like Shopify do allow access to online e-commerce start-up models, what if you need these only for a limited period of time? 
 
Jack of all Threads is a platform that allows one to design t-shirts online which they can then promote using social media. The website takes care of logistics, production, customer support, finance and technology while the money raised goes to the organization. There are in-house designers waiting to help if you do need assistance. 
 
To sum it up, “Jack of all Threads makes it easy and accessible for people to become creative entrepreneurs”, Co-Founder Yash Vardhan Kanoi says. 
 
The website has hosted around 2500 campaigns a month since it’s inception, with over 500 new users joining every month. This includes NGOs like Akshaya Patra Foundation, CRY, Teach For India and Make A Difference that find it convenient to fund their campaigns. 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

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<ul><li><keyword id="54572" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PepsiCo">PepsiCo</keyword> India said within 30 years of our establishment in India, PepsiCo India has grown exponentially to emerge as one of the largest Food and Beverage company in the country.</li><li>On account of such a tremendous growth, PepsiCo India has committed to invest over $2.1 billion in the country over a five-year period ending in 2022. </li><li>"While there have been some short-term head winds due to Covid, we at PepsiCo are extremely optimistic about the future and are committed to provide consumers the right portfolio of products across food and <keyword id="23943" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="beverages">beverages</keyword>," they said.</li></ul> In an interview with IANS, Vishal Kaul, Vice President &amp; Business Head, Beverages, PepsiCo India and Dilen Gandhi, Senior Director and Category Head of Foods, PepsiCo India said within 30 years of our establishment in India, PepsiCo India has grown exponentially to emerge as one of the largest Food and Beverage company in the country. On account of such a tremendous growth, PepsiCo India has committed to invest over $2.1 billion in the country over a five-year period ending in 2022. "'As people adjust to the enew normal', in-home consumption is witnessing a significant uptake. We are witnessing a jump in both penetration and frequency of our food and beverage categories. There is a growing demand for our larger packs as in-home occasions of togetherness have increased manifold. While the consumers are looking at in-home experiences and seeking convenience, they are also looking at value," they said. "While there have been some short-term head winds due to Covid, we at PepsiCo are extremely optimistic about the future and are committed to provide consumers the right portfolio of products across food and beverages," they said. "Even in the COVID environment, our categories are seeing robust demand and growth across most channels," they added. Q: How is PepsiCo India responding with its business models to the Covid-19 situation? A: The COVID-19 has led to a complete paradigm shift as everything around us has changed- consumer behavior, retail landscape, competitive environment. Very early on, we realized there was no playbook to tackle the COVID challenge and the situation would continue to change. So, we had to arm ourselves with taking quick decisions while not having all the relevant information. To help us navigate the crisis, we established 6 guiding principles: Being People Centric, Being Consumer Centric, Being Customer Centric, Being Community Stewards, Being Agile and Being Prudent. These were the lens through which we saw every decision and we empowered our teams for agile decision making. At a time when stepping out for even essentials was fraught with risks, making our product conveniently available for our retailers and consumers was a key focus area. Hyper-local delivery emerged as a solution and we invested in emergent channels like Ecommerce for both B2C and B2B. We partnered with Amazon, Big Basket, Grofers, Swiggy and Dunzo to ensure uninterrupted availability of our food and beverage products to consumers across locations with safe delivery-on demand for all our consumers. For B2B, we further strengthened our existing Distributor model with the EB2B model, where we partnered with Udaan and Big Basket to help small and medium businesses. This partnership ensured our product portfolio was easily made available to retailers, so that they can cater to demand in the market. Q: How does PepsiCo view the big jump in consumption of snacks and beverages at home? A: PepsiCo India has always kept a pulse on consumer trends and continued to develop its portfolio in line with what consumers want. As people adjust to the enew normal', in-home consumption is witnessing a significant uptake. We are witnessing a jump in both penetration and frequency of our food and beverage categories. There is a growing demand for our larger packs as in-home occasions of togetherness have increased manifold. While the consumers are looking at in home experiences and seeking convenience, they are also looking at value. In order to serve the consumer better and rapidly adapt to their changing requirements we have introduced a 1.25-liter PET pack in our beverage portfolio at a very affordable price of Rs 50 which will enable the stay-at- home times even more special for our consumers. We have also introduced various combo packs for our food portfolio creating and further driving in-home consumption.Q: What are the investment plans for PepsiCo in India? A: Within 30 years of our establishment in India, PepsiCo India has grown exponentially to emerge as the largest Food and Beverage company in the country. On account of such a tremendous growth, PepsiCo India has committed to invest over $2.1 billion in the country over a five-year period ending in 2022. This commitment is a part of our previously disclosed commitment to invest $5.5 billion in India and includes our plan to double our manufacturing capabilities locally in the next five years, to cater to the ever-increasing demand of our products among the consumers. In recent years, we have announced an investment of Rs 514 Crores in a new foods facility in Uttar Pradesh which will provide 1,500 direct/indirect jobs. We have also invested in increasing capacity at our existing foods plants in West Bengal and Maharashtra and have additionally proposed to set up a greenfield project in Assam. Q: What is the production capacity for the PepsiCo products, and has it reached pre-Covid levels? A: We have resumed operations/ manufacturing across foods and beverages in the best manner possible, ensuring that all guidelines regarding safety of our employees are strictly adhered to. In the current environment and limited workforce across shifts, we are trying to ensure that we can meet the demand and operate at an optimal level to cater to our consumers with their favorite snacks and beverages. Nonetheless, we remain committed towards our employees and our consumers and see an uptake in both supply and demand in both categories. Q: What has been the response to the Covid situation? A: As brands look at engaging with consumers, the first and foremost part is that the current situation requires brands to provide consumers with a seamless and safe buying experience. That apart, this is also a unique opportunity to build an even more authentic relationship with the consumers by listening to them and providing the functional and emotional comfort. While there have been new ways of ensuring consumers had 24X7 accessibility of our products in a safe and hygienic manner, Brands across the PepsiCo India portfolio have also initiated interesting campaigns rooted into insights that we mined through the real time social listening we do at PepsiCo For consumers, safety comes first, and they are now refraining from going to crowded places and prefer low exposure. Hence, we partnered with SWIGGY and Dunzo to provide our products across food and beverages at their doorsteps, 24X7. We also saw that with low touch format being the new trend, there was a need to work with our partners to find low or no touch solutions for dispensing water. After extensive research and trials, we were able to finalize the Aquafina Low touch dispenser model as a product that we could roll out now given it meets key criteria including safety of consumer,practicality as well as economies of scale. We also evolved in the way we communicated to our consumers with messaging that were more relevant in current times. For example, <keyword id="44672" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pepsi">Pepsi</keyword> identified that while social distancing was the new normal, however a lot of consumers were either not aware of it or were not following it fully. Salaam and Namaste, which were deeply rooted into Indian culture are actually the best forms of contactless greetings, which was the need of the hour during the COVID times. In an endeavor to make these contactless Indian greetings a part of pop culture, Pepsi introduced a digital forward campaign that aimed at inspiring the world that greeting each other with salaam/namaste is a perfect way to ensure social distancing and yet maintain connections responsibly. It encouraged behavioral change through adherence to social distancing norms in an entertaining manner. The campaign broke all past records in India and made a meaningful impact to the consumers' lives. On the other hand, LAY'S, started a special initiative for the many unsung heroes of India - farmers, truck drivers, retailers, etc. e who continue to bring joy to millions even in these challenging times. The brand partnered with Smile Foundation to provide hygiene kits to over 40,000 families of such unsung heroes. These hygiene kits contain masks and sanitizers, to support these champions as they continue to work hard even in these unprecedented times. As part of the initiative LAY'S has also collaborated with leading Indian brands like Airtel, ICICI Bank, Parachute, Dunzo, Big Basket, JK Type, Vistara, Grofers and together have thanked millions of these unsung heroes. We also had other brands from our portfolio like Mountain Dew, Quaker, Tropicana etc do similar contextual campaigns and the response from the consumers has been overwhelming.Q: What have been the sustainability initiatives of PepsiCo? A: In its role as a responsible social citizen, PepsiCo India has taken several initiatives to contribute to the nation's ongoing efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. As part of its #GiveMealsGiveHope global programme, PepsiCo India provided over 10 million meals to the underprivileged and marginalized families impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak across India. The meals were distributed in partnership with Akshaya Patra Foundation, Smile Foundation &amp; CII Foundation, across the country. The company also extended support to the healthcare and diagnostic facilities by providing over 35,000 COVID-19 testing kits to government labs, supplementing their efforts to combat the pandemic. Furthermore, the COVID 19 crisis has impacted the restaurants and the workers significantly. It is forecasted that 4 out of 10 restaurants would shut down. Pepsi initiated a campaign #PepsiSaveOurResturants, an inclusive program where every time you order food and add a beverage to your order and it can be any beverage -- Pepsi or any other beverage, Pepsi will give that many meals to the restaurant workers who have served us. Pepsi partnered with NRAI and Swiggy to bring this campaign to life. The campaign has got great response as it has provided many consumers an avenue to support the restaurant workers who have always served them. Q: What are the changing consumer patterns expected due to Covid? A: The COVID-19 challenge is making both consumers and brands face a new reality. Consumer behavior and pattern is emerging and evolving at a fast pace. Some of the key insights that are emerging are as follows: #Mobile is the new TV: Consumers, customers, employees and our ecosystem partners have leap frogged towards leveraging digital solutions and the mobile is at the epicenter of all this. Be it work from home, communication to consumers, taking orders from customers or Ecom, consumers are practically dependent on their mobiles. They are consuming content online, buying online and even engaging with extended family and finds online. Therefore, it's important to jump shift this capability and work with the ecosystem partners to strengthen this muscle. #Value in Table Stakes: While value has always been important for consumers, going forward it would become even more crucial. The brands/companies who can re-engineer their business models to deliver this via an advantaged model, would succeed in the long term. #Hope Trust and Fun: We believe consumers would be looking at 3 emotional benefits and brands that can provide the same authentically, would be the ones that consumers would choose - The first is Hope. Hope is tied very closely to empathy. Brands need to be empathic and craft messages which are reassuring and relatable to consumers in these unprecedented times. - The second is Trust. Now more than ever, consumers need to see brands walk the talk in everything they do e whether it is the core product promise or leading a cause to support communities. -The third is Fun. Today, consumers are working twice as hard, donning multiple hats and with sources of entertainment and recreation limited, a brand that can that can present an opportunity for consumers to express themselves in a fun manner will be able to build deeper connects with the consumers The situation would continue to evolve and it is important we continuously have our ear to the ground and we keep sharpening the strategy basis consumer needs. Q: What are the initiatives to bolster the retail network by PepsiCo? A: The pandemic has given rise to a enew-normal' world and we at PepsiCo India have maintained a close look out on the evolving consumer behavior pattern to be better prepared for the future. We take cognizance of the fact that we need to cater to different audiences, be it consumers, partners, distributors through different channels. For the consumers, demand for online deliveries has soared since the start of the stay-at-home order. Thereby, it was almost imperative for businesses to enhance their Direct to Customer (D2C) channels like Swiggy, Dunzo to ensure we have exclusive e-stores and a mechanism to cater to our consumers at their doorstep 24/7. By tapping the 'Daily Grocery' on Dunzo's app, customers can visit the LAY'S E-store and get these products delivered within an hour of ordering. The initiative has currently been launched as a pilot in <keyword id="6354321" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> and will eventually expand to 4 more cities across Mumbai, Gurugram, Delhi, and Jaipur. For the beverage category, we have tied up with Swiggy stores where we ensure availability of our products to the consumer on demand and delivery within 2 hours. On the other hand, Aquafina has tied up with a micro delivery platform OwO is for expanding reach into "At -home" consumption of packaged water. From a consumer perspective, our research has shown that consumers prefer dealing with apps such as OwO as they find it convenient. For the retailers and wholesalers, an interesting emerging channel is the EB2B model, under which PepsiCo India has entered into deep partnership with Udaan and Big Basket to help small and medium businesses. They should always have access to our product portfolio to ensure that they always meet demand. On the other hand, we remain committed to the distributors and ensure that we grow them and grow with them. Q: How does PepsiCo view the recent agriculture reforms including the flexibility to farmers to sell their products? A: Let's talk briefly about our collaborative programme and how that is focused on working closely with the farmers and based on years of trust and relationship. At PepsiCo India, we are guided by eWinning with Purpose' - our fundamental belief that the success of the company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around. Agriculture is at the heart of PepsiCo India, and the companies relationship with farmers in India goes back 30 years. PepsiCo was the first company to introduce own researched processed grade varieties in India in late 90's. At present, PepsiCo is largest processed grade potato buyer in India. To fulfill its chip grade potato demand locally, PepsiCo developed largest collaborative farming for potato in India spread across 13 states working involving over 24,000 farmers. The potatoes are then processed in 3 manufacturing plants which employ close to 2,000 direct and indirect employees. The retention rate of farmers being part of the collaborative farming program is as high as 98 per cent. All the potato used in Lay's and Uncle Chipps is sourced from farmers in India e in fact, PepsiCo is the largest buyer of chip grade potato in the country today. Q: What are your views on the outlook for consumer sentiment? Is it an essential versus discretionary choice? A: India consumption story has just started and according to industry reports, India will be the 3rd largest consumption market by 2025. While there have been some short-term head winds due to Covid, we at PepsiCo are extremely optimistic about the future and are committed to provide consumers the right portfolio of products across food and beverages. Even in the COVID environment, our categories are seeing robust demand and growth across most channels. Our robust and balanced portfolio across "Fun for You" products like Pepsi, Lays Dew, Kurkure or "Better For You" products like Lipton, Pepsi Black or "Good For You" products like Quaker, Tropicana and Gatorade are getting greater acceptance from consumers. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/after-google-pwc-india-declares-a-company-wide-holiday-for-its-employees-this-friday-offers-time-off-for-a-well-deserved-break/articleshow/77125627.cms">After Google, PwC India declares a company-wide holiday for its employees this Friday – offers time off for a 'well-deserved' break</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/personalities/news/mukesh-ambani-is-now-the-fifth-richest-person-in-the-world-according-to-forbes/articleshow/77105843.cms">Mukesh Ambani is now the fifth richest person in the world, according to Forbes</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/tcs-infosys-hcl-tech-dont-want-h1b-ban-but-are-pocketing-savings-while-it-lasts/articleshow/77120776.cms">The H1-B visa ban is not what Indian IT firms want⁠— but they are pocketing some savings while it last</a>

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