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The 9-year wait is finally approaching its end as India prepares for one of the most historical space mission, the launch of <keyword id="6357965" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="pratham">Pratham</keyword> - a satellite made IIT-Bombay students. It's going to be a moment of pride because it's the first student-led satellite programme of the country. 
 Currently six students from <keyword id="61708" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="IIT-Bombay">IIT Bombay</keyword> are working at the <keyword id="6358064" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="ISRO">ISRO</keyword> in Bengaluru for the pre-launch of the satellite. ISRO has not only provided the students with facilities for testing, it is also going to bear the expenses of the launch. 
 
Pratham missed its 2012 launch deadline due to administrative delays and technical glitches, however, the satellite is now ready to be launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle on its 37th flight. With this, the efforts of almost seven batches of students who worked on the satellite all these years will finally come true. ISRO has itself called it one of the most historic space missions as it is the first time they will be launching a student satellite. 
 
The satellite was conceptualised by two students of the Aerospace Engineering department—Saptarshi Bandyopadhyay and Shashank Tamaskar — in July 2007. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with ISRO in September 2009, and later extended in 2014. 
 The much-awaited launch will happen at 9:12 am on September 26 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in <keyword id="6355143" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sriharikota">Sriharikota</keyword>. The satellite will be placed at an altitude of 720km and its main will be the measurement of 'electron count'.This will benefit scientific studies correcting errors in communication like the GPS and will also help in tsunami warnings. The total cost of the project is estimated at around Rs 1.5 crore. Satellite data will be transmitted to any university with a small ground station. Currently, 15 Indian universities are setting up their own ground stations. <keyword id="3676335" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="atharva-college">Atharva College</keyword> in Mumbai already has one. 
 
Moreover, only 18 days after successfully launching Pratham, ISRO's ScatSat-1 PSLV will be placed in orbit for the first time. It will help in ocean and weather-related studies.

IIT Bombay students' satellite 'Pratham' is all set for launch, and here's why it is going to be one of the most historical space missions ever

<ul><li><keyword id="3401450" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="pg-shiksha">P&amp;G Shiksha</keyword> through its intervention has provided online education to 50,000+ <keyword id="4989" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="underprivileged-children">underprivileged children</keyword> in the past year, and has built and supported more than 2300 schools till date that will benefit more than 20 lakh children in the future.</li><li>The <keyword id="11410330" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="pg-shiksha-film">P&amp;G Shiksha film</keyword> has been conceptualised and created by <keyword id="131262" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Leo-Burnett">Leo Burnett</keyword>.</li></ul>P&amp;G Shiksha, the flagship CSR program of <keyword id="113078" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="PG-India">P&amp;G India</keyword>, recently unveiled its new heart-warming film that highlights the story of sisters Munni and Vidya who realize their dream of attending school and receiving education. The film has been launched across social media platforms YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. P&amp;G Shiksha focuses on providing underprivileged children access to holistic education. The prolonged school closure due to the pandemic has posed a growing concern on learning and continuity of education, especially for underprivileged children. During the past year, P&amp;G Shiksha provided online education to 50,000+ underprivileged children. Till date, P&amp;G Shiksha has built and supported more than 2,300 schools which will impact the lives of more than 20 lakh children. The film, inspired by true events, showcases two parallel worlds around us – one where the slightest disturbance in online schooling is a big matter of concern and the other world where children are still dreaming of going to school in remote parts of the country. Munni and Vidya’s story is a simple yet heart-warming instance of the dreams fulfilled by P&amp;G Shiksha through its interventions. The P&amp;G Shiksha film has been conceptualised and created by Leo Burnett. <div type="Youtube" id="bErKJIWV_sU" title="P&amp;G Shiksha | Munni" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bErKJIWV_sU/mqdefault.jpg"></div> Speaking about the new film, Girish Kalyanaraman, Vice President – Marketing Operations, P&amp;G India said, “We know that education is essential for development of children and society’s growth at large. Education is critical, now more than ever, given the prolonged closure of schools and the impact on children due to the pandemic. During this challenging time, we upgraded P&amp;G Shiksha with online education so that thousands of children could continue learning from home. We hope the film builds an emotional connect with the audience and inspires them to do their bit towards Shiksha.” Rajdeepak Das, MD India and Chief Creative Officer – South Asia, Leo Burnett, said “The lockdown pushed one part of India into online schooling overnight. We have seen when the internet is down, and the child loses even 5 mins of online class there is chaos in the house to get the class back online. And then there is another India where kids don’t have any hope of getting education because there is no school in their entire vicinity. This film portrays the contrast between both worlds in one frame. P&amp;G Shiksha always gives us a canvas to tell a powerful HumanKind story to the world where they can act and bring about a change.” Since its inception in 2005, P&amp;G Shiksha has focused on improving access to holistic education for underprivileged children. P&amp;G partners with leading NGOs and partners who serve as specialists, lending their expertise to specific aspects of the educational system. For instance, Educational Initiatives has expertise in computer-assisted learning software to improve learning levels among children and has been an instrumental partner for P&amp;G Shiksha to reach out to underprivileged children via online education over the last one year. Similarly, the NGO Round Table India, is dedicated to constructing educational infrastructure and supporting schools across India. Pratham has unique expertise in remedial learning to help bring children up to speed with the learning levels as per their curriculum.

P&G Shiksha’s latest ad puts the spotlight on parts of India where children are still dreaming of going to school

<ul><li><keyword id="570619" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cadbury-Dairy-Milk">Cadbury Dairy Milk</keyword>, for the past 2 years, has been running several campaigns across the globe around the theme of <keyword id="131597" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Generosity">generosity</keyword>.</li><li>However, 2020 was a year when the whole world needed just a bit more generosity and Cadbury Dairy Milk came up with campaigns and initiatives to not just talk about the philosophy of giving but also do something about it.</li><li>We talk to <keyword id="1825451" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anil-Viswanathan">Anil Viswanathan</keyword>, Senior Director, Marketing (Chocolates), Insights and Analytics, <keyword id="2200852" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mondelez-India">Mondelez India</keyword> who tells us why generosity is at the core of everything the brand does and how it is not only translating into its campaigns but also in the way it functions as an organization.</li></ul>For years, Cadbury Dairy Milk has been associated with joy, sweetness and happiness, the most obvious feelings one would associate with eating chocolates. And that has been the route they have taken in their communications too. Remember its iconic ‘Cricket’ commercial from 1993 that is still a sheer joy to watch? <div type="Youtube" id="e7JATezA1nY" title="Cadbury Dairy Milk and Cricket are back" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e7JATezA1nY/mqdefault.jpg"></div> When <keyword id="305900" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="John-Cadbury">John Cadbury</keyword>, the founder of the now iconic brand had set up the company in 1824, he firmly believed that chocolates had the power to make the world a better place. The brand’s logo of a glass and a half of milk used to signify that each bar has that amount of milk in it. The brand also believed that a glass and a half signifies generosity and that every person has a glass and a half in them. Over the years, the Cadbury family continued to work towards improving the conditions of society which was both the producer and consumer of the products, and it is this spirit of doing something good for the society that has now become entrenched in the heart of the brand. With this thought of making the world a more generous place, Mondelez International launched a generosity campaign globally. In India, it launched this generosity theme with a heart-warming campaign in 2018 where an elder brother sacrifices his bar of chocolate to make his younger brother happy. It changed its tagline from ‘Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’ to ‘Kuch Accha Ho Jaaye, Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye’. <div type="Youtube" id="HctFehbv8-E" title="Cadbury Dairy Milk - Kuch Achha Ho Jaaye, Kuch Meetha Ho Jaaye" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HctFehbv8-E/mqdefault.jpg"></div> It also kickstarted its journey of doing something more than just talking about generosity by partnering with Jio for its ‘The Wrapper That Gives’ initiative. The idea was to make the wrappers useful. People could click a photo of the wrapper that would give them 1GB of data. They could either choose to keep the data or donate it to Pratham Education Foundation that would donate the data to needy schools in rural areas. “Through this collaboration with Pratham, we were able to provide for the data requirements for one whole year for 120 schools in Maharashtra,” shared Anil Viswanathan, Senior Director, Marketing (Chocolates), Insights and Analytics, Mondelez India. The next year, the brand wanted to take a stand against cyber-bullying which led to the #Heartthehate campaign, where the brand tried to throw light on the growing issue of trolling on social media. “Our research showed us how trolling is a tension point for consumers. We also came across this concept called the bystander effect where people don’t do much to stop a troll. The aim of the purple hearts campaign was to simply interrupt a troll. <div type="Youtube" id="XsPd6sOhyWo" title="Cadbury Dairy Milk - Purple Heart💜 | 20 secs" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XsPd6sOhyWo/mqdefault.jpg"></div> The same year, the brand also came up with its limited edition Unity Bar to promote diversity. The bar featured dark, blended, milk and white chocolate in one block of chocolate, to signify ‘people of different castes, creed, languages, regions and religions’ and bring them together. In 2020, pre-Covid, the brand wanted to take the generosity theme further and its idea was to acknowledge the unacknowledged in our society. “There is an increasing social divide in urban India, an increasing gap between the haves and the have-nots. In India, the power difference between the two groups is dramatic. The have-nots have also become nameless, they are a bunch of people who are keeping our houses and lives in action, the drivers, maids, the peons, the working class, everybody identified by their professions but don’t have a name and remain unacknowledged. As a country, we have not been generous to them. That was the insight we got and we wanted to act on it,” said Vishwanathan. However, that was when Covid-19 struck the world and the brand had to take a pause. “But as a few weeks and months passed, all of us went through certain realizations, firstly that we should be thankful that we are safe and secondly, there are a lot of people out there who are risking their lives to take care of others. And with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also acknowledging their efforts, there was a feeling of camaraderie and gratitude across the nation. It seamlessly built a bridge for us to strengthen our generosity message,” added Vishwanathan. With the numerous lockdowns and the impact it had not just on the economy but also on people from different strata of life, the health workers, the migrant workers, suddenly the idea of generosity became much more important than it would in a normal year. It turned out to be a year when the world needed a much more generous dose of generosity. This led to the brand launching a limited-edition Cadbury Dairy Milk ‘Thank You’ bars. And to take the campaign further, the company had committed a part of the proceeds from the sale of these bars towards health insurance policies of the daily wage earners through a partnership with Nirmana, an NGO that works with the unorganized sector. It also partnered with Times of India for its Fill in the Thanks campaign and with Zee Network to #SayThankYou to the unsung heroes during the lockdown. “We ended up selling around 15 million bars and could sponsor insurance for around 15,000 domestic workers,” he shared. The brand also came up with its much-talked-about ‘Iss Diwali Aap #KiseKhushKarenge?’ campaign where it used technology to acknowledge local shopkeepers. When asked what it translated into on-ground, Vishwanathan said, “It was a huge communication program where we needed to individually reach out to these businesses and take their legal approvals. While many of the businesses were skeptical at first because nothing like this had ever been done, eventually they got excited. People were excited too when they spotted the name of neighborhood shops in the ads.” On what the exact motive behind the campaign was, he added, “Clearly the motive was not to drive more Cadbury sale but to help these businesses get more visibility, and through that, to get people to gift more during Diwali. If people gifted more during Diwali, our products would also be gifted. And we were able to tap into the momentum of people gifting during the festive season and we did see that translate into market sales.” <div type="Youtube" id="So16ZBPK6mo" title="This is not just a Cadbury ad" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/So16ZBPK6mo/mqdefault.jpg"></div> He also said that the brand was able to create a lot of positive buzz and also led to other brands getting inspired to do something similar. While communicating this philosophy to its consumers is important, the brand is also trying to build an atmosphere of generosity within the organization too. Throwing light on a few things the organization did during this tough year, <keyword id="3328797" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mahalakshmi-R">Mahalakshmi R</keyword>, Director – Human Resources, Mondelez India said, “Throughout this tough year, one thing stayed constant at Mondelez India – ‘people’ continued to remain at the heart of our winning growth culture. We infused a sense of balance, agility, and resilience across all our functions, while ensuring we equip our leaders with skills to inspire remotely and pause for celebrating our teams. Little wonder that Mondelez India is at the top 10% of external market on employee engagement this year (Source: Glint Engagement survey) and has more of our colleagues in the frontlines creating magic for our consumers. “Specifically on gratitude – our online recognition platform ‘Bravos’ saw a significant uptake with over 3000 bravos being given. We also created pauses, dedicating specific days for our leaders and colleagues to take a pause and express their thanks – either on the Bravos platform, or Yammer or using music, cards and calls. Titled #MDLZThanksU – this year we saw over 12,000 thank you messages go by across functions. A lovely way to make each of those who helped us in the year, in big ways and small, feel special!” Going into 2021, the brand aims to further build on its generosity philosophy and come up with similar campaigns that will endeavor to bring about a difference while also spreading joy.

Why Cadbury Dairy Milk’s ongoing campaigns on the theme of generosity became even more important in 2020

<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

With over a billion people in the country, it's always been difficult to gauge the public's mood in <keyword id="3658" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="India">India</keyword>, as far as elections are concerned. Take the 2014 elections for instance. While everyone had an inkling that the BJP would take the cake, no one expected the sweeping victory the party pulled off. But what if you could marry voting with one of the fastest growing sectors in the country? Would that help gauge the public's reactions better? An app called Neta aims to do just that. Created by Pratham Mittal, a Wharton alumnus, the app lets you "review" politicians, just like you do Uber drivers. The idea is to create a ‘Zomato of politicians’. Mittal argues that ratings on apps like Zomato and Yelp are major drivers for service quality in a restaurant, just like Uber drivers care about the rating you give to them. So, why shouldn't politicians? Mittal and his team have created a database of constituencies in the country, including the politicians who are competing from these places. After signing up, users can find their constituency using the pin code and cast a vote for a neta (Hindi for politician). While this is not an official vote, it helps gauge what users in a particular area think of their leaders. The votes can be changed at will, which means if a politician isn't performing after an election, the public can change their vote. 
	
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(<keyword id="6579226" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="neta-app">Neta app</keyword>) Mittal says he wants the app to be a watchdog for politicians in the country. The votes are displayed in the form of a leaderboard, that ranks politicians based on the votes they receive. There's also a separate area for discussions and polls. The app allows users to run polls and add issues in their area. That gets even more feedback from users, providing better insight into what's happening on the ground. In the 2014 elections, 540 million Indians voted in the central elections. That was 66.4% of the electorate, up 8.4% from the 58% turnout in the 2009 elections. Yet, India doesn't have an easy method to gauge the public's mood. Once the app is launched across the country, Mittal says he can take the data to political parties and sell it to them. His app has 100,000 downloads on the Play Store right now, most of which were acquired during the recent Karnataka elections. It can also be accessed through the web, while Mittal's team also sends mass WhatsApp messages to people and makes IVR-driven calls to get votes from users. In fact, Mittal claims that through the data in his app, he was able to predict the eventually hung assembly beforehand. He says he has received over 2.5 million votes on the platform so far, despite only being in Ajmer, Alwar and Karnataka. Fake votes While that's an impressive number, there seems to be a very real chance of fake votes being cast. To battle that, the app takes the user's phone number when signing up. It uses this to tap into telecom operators' databases and get your name. It then tallies this to voter databases and decides which constituency you belong to. There's also Aadhaar. Since most numbers today are being attached to Aadhaar cards, the app taps into the UIDAI's APIs to verify users using their Aadhaar numbers. It doesn't actually see your Aadhaar number here but uses the mobile number and name to verify what constituency you belong to. Mittal says that his app will still have a 4% margin for error, but argues that this margin won't matter when it's reaching millions of users. What's the end game? While Mittal's goal is to make his app a watchdog, he has business opportunities in the analytics he can sell to political parties. But more importantly, he wants to sell this data to media outlets, making him a direct competitor to election research firms like Cvoter, Today's Chanakya and more. Further, Mittal says that he can also access user data if he wants to, but he's wary of doing so in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal. He says he can extrapolate caste and religion from a person's name, while data about birth and some other information can be obtained from the election commission. Having started less than six months ago, this is a long-term plan. The app is yet to launch in all cities, though databases are being built for all of them. The hook here is in transparency, the fact that the votes come from real users. Mittal’s users aren’t obtained from Facebook ads alone, he says he sends real people down to villages etc. to put the app directly on people’s phones.

This app lets you 'review' politicians in India

Last year, IIT Bombay’s Techfest saw a staggering footfall of 1,65,000 enthusiasts in a span of three days. The Asia’s biggest Science and Technology Festival is back once again, with a bang. 
 
The fest will see an interesting lineup of events, lectures, panel discussion and competitions this season as well, but ‘IIT-B exhibition’ remains one of the biggest draws of this fest every year. Displaying technological marvels, the exhibition has, over the years, exposed Indians to major breakthroughs in science and technology, scientific thinking and innovation. 
 
With a theme of Space Expedition this year, the exhibition, open to all, will once again give visitors a peek into innovations in the field of space research. 
 
Mind-controlled drones from the US, Morphofunctional drones — which mimic actions of living creatures — from Switzerland, ISRO’s launch vehicles used for space missions like Chandrayan and Mars Orbiter will be a part of the fest. Each one of these will highlight the fundamental research and the technologies developed at IIT Bombay. 
 A working prototype of the droid, which first appeared in last year’s <keyword id="61596" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="Star-Wars">Star Wars</keyword>: The Force Awakens, will also be one of the technological marvels to be exhibited. It has been prepared by students of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University in Russia. 
 
A Formula One racing car and an underwater vehicle built by IIT-B students will be on display. Visitors will also get a peek into the data received from Pratham, Mumbai’s first student satellite launched in September. 
 
Another attraction will be hearing India's first spaceman, Rakesh Sharma, and Isro chairman AS Kiran Kumar interact with students. This is the second time in three years that Sharma will participate in TechFest—he had earlier visited the campus in 2013. 
 Bedabrata Pain, a <keyword id="6360409" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="NASA">Nasa</keyword> scientist-turned-film director, and Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, former Isro chairman, will also speak at TechFest. Pain had directed the National Award-winning film, 'Chittagong'. 
 
On the exhibition front, some of the highlights of last year included Jinn Bot from Switzerland, who showcased the first 3D printed walking humanoid robot, which made heads turn. 
 NASA Chondrobot from Bangladesh was an automated robot which is capable of mining in lunar environments. In others, the Dutch Nao Team from Netherlands were present which showed off autonomous football playing Nao <keyword id="16719" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="robots">robots</keyword> from RoboCup. 
 
Other exhibits included a Poker Robot from Hungary, All Terrain Rescue and Relief Robot from Bangladesh and Minirobots from South Korea. 
 
Apart from robotics, there were many artists present at the event too. Afishal from the United Kingdom, who is known to be the father of a unique technology for visual DJ drums showcased his talent for the first time in India. Some of the setups also included an All-Terrain vehicle, laser tag, 9D simulator, aerodrums, drona, F1 simulator, flying simulator, paintball, bungee run, BMX bikes, 3D chess, quilling and cards tricks workshops too.

Mind-controlled drones, Star Wars' inspired Droids: The Amazing Technology Marvels to be exhibited at IIT-B's upcoming Tech Fest

<ul><li>Like most businesses dependent on retail and delivery, <keyword id="2200852" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mondelez-India">Mondelez India</keyword>'s business was impacted too in the first few weeks of the lockdown, considering the complete closure of retail stores, super markets and e-commerce.</li><li>However, with the gradual relaxation of the lockdown, things are slowly picking up. </li><li><keyword id="1825451" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Anil-Viswanathan">Anil Viswanathan</keyword>, Director – <keyword id="6354839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="marketing">Marketing</keyword> (Chocolates), Mondelez India tells us how the importance of agility has been one of his major learning from this experience. He also tells us all that the brand is doing to ensure business continuity and the safety of all its stakeholders.</li><li>He also tells us the brand's broad marketing strategy and how things will be different in the post-Covid world.</li></ul> Dirk Van de Put, Mondelez’s global chairman and chief executive officer (CEO), during a recent investor call, spoke about the impact of the initial phase of the lockdown when the confectionary major saw almost zero sales, according to reports. Mondelez, like most other organizations, experienced disruptions in the initial phase due to strict lockdown which led to widespread trade closures and operational and distribution difficulties. However, with the easing of restrictions, shops opening up and online grocery platforms delivering again, people have been ordering more and more snacking products. As people spend more time at home and with family, there has been a steep increase in the demand of chocolates, biscuits and beverages. According to Anil Viswanathan, Director – Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India, there has been a perceptible shift in buying patterns of consumers. “There has been an increase in demand for packaged food items. As most of us are stranded in the confines of four walls, in-home munching is gaining momentum and we foresee a spike in demand for snack items,” he said. As things are slowly falling back in place, we caught up with Viswanathan to understand how Mondelez as a brand, dealt with the adverse situation. We also try to understand how the rest of the year looks. We also try to understand how the brand was able to stay connected with its consumers, and how things will be different, in the post-Covid world. Excerpts: Q) Considering the initial weeks of lockdown was a complete closure of trade and production units, how were the past few weeks for you as a brand? What has the brand’s focus been? Over the last few months, we have all experienced the importance of availability, safety and convenience of packaged foods in times of lockdown. Our products are an integral part of the consumer’s grocery basket. We’ve seen consumers seek out our trusted brands like Cadbury, <keyword id="6384472" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="oreo">Oreo</keyword>, <keyword id="6398866" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bournvita">Bournvita</keyword> and Tang – especially as they spend more time with family at home and need treats like their favourite chocolate, biscuit or beverage. Like all companies, we did experience some disruptions in the initial phase due to strict lockdowns that caused widespread trade closures as well as operational and distribution difficulties. However, we’re seeing significant easing of the situation on ground as our manufacturing scales up and our sales and distribution network can more easily service the market. I’m very proud of how our teams geared up to meet these unprecedented challenges - so, while we have experienced a short-term disruption, business is getting back on track. Our focus through all of this has been on our people – firstly, protecting our sales and manufacturing colleagues who have been at the frontline even during the lockdown and ensuring they stay safe and secondly, through continuous engagement with our colleagues working remotely. Our utmost priority has always been to build a resilient system that will enable us to maintain good service levels across channels. Understanding that time and safety are the essence of the moment, we have cautiously configured ways such as direct to consumer storefront, strategic partnerships etc. We are also working directly with hypermarkets to negate any possible time lag or safety risks for the consumers. As far as the exigent demands are concerned, we’re leveraging the strong relationship we have with our suppliers in order to maintain consistent supplies of critical raw materials and packaging. Additionally, we’re constantly working with the central and local government bodies to keep our factories open during the lockdown and have reconfigured our supply chain network to fortify our routes to reach the consumers. Correspondingly, our staff across factories and our agile workforce at the back-end are all working dedicatedly to maintain good service levels. Considering the pandemic and the challenges that followed, it is important more than ever to have consistency in production and a well-thought-out RTM (Routes-to-market) strategy to ensure shelf visibility across channels. Q) As the pandemic led to people stuck inside their homes, did you witness any interesting consumer trends? Were people ordering more chocolates during the lockdown, maybe to tackle the stress? We are starting to see a steep rise in demand for chocolates in the last one month after a slow start at the beginning of the lockdown. This is at the back of increased in-house snacking which has taken precedence as part of the ritual of spending more time with family or with oneself. Amplified social media influence has also triggered a trend wherein homebound consumers are now increasingly looking at ways to indulge in or create-at-home eating experiences and in doing so, they are predominantly relying on brands like Cadbury, for superior quality and the assurance of safety. This has resulted in increased demand which is further fuelled by the rise in online shopping. With lockdown and the new norms of social distancing, the market and the consumption pattern of consumers are significantly leaning towards e-commerce, as health and safety has become a non-negotiable priority for people. Q) With people getting more time to stay at home, almost everybody is experimenting with cooking/baking. We have seen a lot of brands take up this opportunity and use content marketing as an effective tool to stay connected with consumers by hosting cooking classes/using chefs to share recipes etc. How have you been communicating with your consumers during the lockdown? Considering the ongoing scenario, we have reconfigured our communication strategy to adapt to this lockdown phase. We are leveraging our innovation arm to connect and communicate with our consumers in a light-hearted manner. With Cadbury 5Star, we directed the proposition towards a larger purpose of encouraging consumers to stay indoors by creating a distraction in the consumer’s life and help them breakaway from the monotony of daily life. We curated a Cadbury 5Star campaign namely #5StarDoNothingOutside challenge in order to generate some light-hearted content and at the same time equip consumers to better live the new way of life by reimaging their outdoor activities in the indoor space. <keyword id="570619" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Cadbury-Dairy-Milk">Cadbury Dairy Milk</keyword> released a heart-warming film encouraging consumers to stay in and celebrate all those moments of joy with your loved ones. On the other hand, with Oreo where playfulness was always a part of the brand’s DNA, the lockdown provided an opportunity to naturally advance the legacy and help consumers steer away from the pandemic gloom. Through the ‘#AtHomeWithOreo’ campaign, the brand wanted to showcase to the world that even if you are locked-down, the world is as playful as we make it. As the lockdown continues, we aim to amplify our connect with the consumers through our campaigns and provide them avenues to keep their innovation plug sparking. Q) How are you, as an organization, preparing to tackle the post-Covid world? The retail space might see a complete overhaul, so will you increase focus on online/e-commerce channels? Although we are already complying with the new normal where daily processes and operations have significantly changed, we believe the reconfiguration in the coming months will be even more rigorous. However, any change in plans, partnerships and processes will be undertaken keeping the interest of our people and consumers at the core. The retail space will witness an overhaul, but traditional outlets will not lose its position on the network map given the system’s ability to reach the deepest pockets of the country with convenience. However, the spotlight will be on e-commerce. There is a definite shift in the traditional shopping habit of individuals fueled by the fear of stepping out into crowded places, which favored the growing appetite for online shopping in the country. A trend which will be taking precedence even in the post COVID-19 world considering that health and safety will be a non-negotiable priority for people going forward. Keeping this in mind, we are strengthening our efforts in this space by changing the nature of our partnerships and pushing several of our sales and marketing activities through e-commerce platforms. Having said that, we believe the role of physical retail stores cannot be negated and the traditional route will retain primacy in our layout, but the key to success will lie in building a resilient system by adopting a balanced approach amongst all conduits. Q) Cadbury Dairy Milk has been using 'Generosity' as a global theme in its communication. You also launched limited-edition Thank You bars during the lockdown. How else have you been spreading this message to your consumers? Purpose resides at the very core of our business which we are fostering today by evoking the spirit of generosity with Cadbury Dairy Milk. Since the progressive journey of Cadbury Dairy Milk in India has been nothing but a blend of emotions for close to 75 years, the cultural infusion that the brand holds only made it a natural choice for us to push our generosity agenda. The aim was to address social issues by conceptualizing purpose-driven campaign. We started with the campaign ‘The Wrapper that Gives’ to address the issue of lack of resources in the rural areas. Through this campaign, consumers could click a photo of an empty wrapper of Cadbury Dairy Milk and choose to either keep the data offered for themselves or donate to Pratham Education Foundation who ensured that the collected data reached the right schools to carry out the internet enabled learning activities among children. The Purple Heart Campaign addressed the impending issue of cyber bullying. It was based on the idea of standing up for each other and expressing solidarity with victims by replying with the ‘Purple Heart’ emoticon in response to every troll comment on the victim’s timeline, along with the hashtag #HeartTheHate. And the recent example of infusing generosity has been the launch of limited-edition Cadbury Dairy Milk ‘Thank You’ bar in recognition of the relentless spirit of health care workers who are battling it out at the frontline, as well as the ancillary staff, whether ambulance driver or IT personnel, who are enabling seamless operations at hospitals, at all times. The campaign came full circle with the part of sale proceeds committed towards health insurance policies of the daily wage earners, via a partnership with Nirmana, an NGO that works with the unorganized sector. Q) While it might still be difficult to predict, do you anticipate business to get back on track within the next few months? In the initial days of the lockdown, most industries witnessed a slump in sales and production, as consumers predominantly focused on staples and essential items. However, the packaged food industry has weathered the storm and has slowly started observing signs of an uptick in consumer demand. At Mondelez India, we have witnessed a perceptible shift in buying patterns of consumers and an increase in demand for packaged food items. As most of us are stranded in the confines of four walls, in-home munching is gaining momentum and we foresee a spike in demand for snack items. Consumers have started becoming more vigilant and cautious about safety and hygiene, hence naturally leaning towards brands they have trusted for years. Q) What have been your key learnings from this experience so far? We have learned that agility will be the primary factor dominating all operations for brands to align themselves with unanticipated challenges and opportunities that influences the consumer’s consumption/demand graph. Case in example being the increased in-home consumption which has not only led us to reinvent our supply chain network that now includes direct deliveries to housing societies,but also change our communication directive considering many consumers are taking reference from social media to create new eat experiences at home. Therefore, even the communication plans require a re-haul where with drastic change in customer’s motivation and paths to purchase, it has become imperative to adopt a focused approach to ensure that every message is relevant to the current times with empathy residing at its core. This will further help in reinforcing the emotional connect with our consumers who are closely observing the brand’s reaction and their critical role in combating the pandemic. Consequently, paving way for purpose-led marketing which will command better impact and resonance. Hence, the need of the hour will be to innovate every step of the way, be it externally or internally,to keep the business engine running hot.

Retail will witness an overhaul, but traditional outlets won’t lose their position on the network map: Anil Viswanathan, Mondelez India

Motherhood no longer means sitting at home and feeling sad about the rocking career you have left behind. New-age mommies are a new breed of multitasking divas who are fast learning the art of striking work-life-balance and not letting motherhood ruin their future plans. These career <keyword id="624" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="Women">women</keyword> are awesome mommies, nevertheless. Are you looking for inspiration as you want to do the same? Here’s a look at 9 <keyword id="143" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Bollywood">Bollywood</keyword> mommies who are enthusiastic career women as well. 
 
1. <keyword id="99676" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Shilpa-Shetty-Kundra">Shilpa Shetty Kundra</keyword> 
From owning an IPL team to running her own spa, there’s a lot to talk about this yummy mummy. Mother of a 2-year-old son, Shilpa has a number of popular brand endorsements to her name, including cord blood banking, water purifiers, shampoos and pregnancy test kits. She also judges a dance reality show on TV and keeps launching her fitness DVDs to inspire other mommies. 
 
 
 
2. <keyword id="111282" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Kajol-Devgn">Kajol Devgn</keyword> Although we don’t see her on-screen too frequently, <keyword id="6354713" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="kajol">Kajol</keyword> is doing some helluva job off-screen. This mom of a 10-year-old girl, <keyword id="19572" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="nysa">Nysa</keyword>, and a 3-year-old boy, <keyword id="287729" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Yug">Yug</keyword>, is actively involved with Shiksha, an NGO focusing on children’s education. She is also the brand ambassador of a children’s charity association called Pratham. She might be away from mainstream movies, but you get to see her every day on your TV screen, promoting products like hand wash brands, instant health foods, and probiotic and energy drinks, to name a few. 
 
3. <keyword id="11193" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Karisma-Kapoor">Karisma Kapoor</keyword> Here is another Bollywood mommy, a mother of two – an 8-year-old daughter called Samaira and a 3-year-old son, <keyword id="328143" type="PERSON" weightage="80" keywordseo="Kiaan">Kiaan</keyword>. Of late, Karisma has done a few roles and also turned entreprenure by investing in an e-commerce company selling baby care products. But that’s just a small part of her career. She is also playing the RJ for a popular radio channel. And then, brand endorsements are also there. The light-eyed beauty endorses dairy products and breakfast cereals. 
 
 
 
4. <keyword id="289" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="madhuri-dixit-nene">Madhuri Dixit Nene</keyword> 
The dhak dhak girl of Bollywood is a mommy of two boys now. During the early days of motherhood, she took a sabbatical and moved to the US. And now she’s back and how! The once reigning queen of Bollywood has re-established herself as a superstar with her stint with the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhla Jaa. What’s more? She couldn’t keep herself away from the silver screen and treated her fans with two power-packed performances in Gulaab Gang and Dedh Ishqiya. 
 
5. <keyword id="3783" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Farah-Khan">Farah Khan</keyword> 
She had all the reasons to sit at home and relax after giving birth to triplets. But Farah Khan chose to play a super mommy and continued making it big in Bollywood. She had directed Om Shanti Om while she was carrying. And these days, Farah is busy wrapping up her next big film, Happy New Year. Plus, she makes TV appearances as a judge of popular reality shows. 
 
6. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Movies can wait, said Aishwarya when she gave birth to beautiful <keyword id="971577" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Aaradhya">Aaradhya</keyword>. And that had certainly set the tongues wagging about her career coming to a pre-mature halt. But Aishwarya proved them wrong and stood by her commitments. Not only did she make Red Carpet appearances after Aaradhya was born but also endorsed high-end beauty brands and jewellery. 
 
7. <keyword id="915794" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Tara-Sharma-Saluja">Tara Sharma Saluja</keyword> 
Tara proved to be a smart mommy as she made sure that motherhood would evolve into a career for her. Just when she could have been tied up with raising her two boys, she launched her own TV show and shared her journey as a mother with the mommies of the world. Today, she is an active mommy-blogger. 
 
8. <keyword id="6368871" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Gauri-Khan">Gauri Khan</keyword> A doting mother of three, Gauri launched her own interior design store called The Design Cell earlier this year. Her stint with interior designing started with her own home Mannat and now it’s a profession for her. In 2002, she also turned a <keyword id="6356809" type="POSITION" weightage="80" keywordseo="producer">producer</keyword> for Farah Khan-directed Main Hoon Na. 
 
9. <keyword id="5357" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Twinkle-Khanna">Twinkle Khanna</keyword> After quitting Bollywood in 2001, the gorgeous <keyword id="31838" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Twinkle">Twinkle</keyword>, a mother of two, ventured into interior designing and is now the co-owner of The White Window store. She has also produced films including Tees Maar Khan and Patiala House. 
 
Images: Indiatimes

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