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<ul><li>The dedicated section gives users access to comprehensive statewise travel guidelines, including e-pass or entry registration requirement, visibility to restrictions while booking a hotel, and quarantine requirements, the company said in a statement.</li><li><keyword id="2808667" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO">OYO</keyword> has also tied up with <keyword id="190897" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="SRL">SRL</keyword> Diagnostics, 1mg, and Indus Health Plus to enable Covid-19 tests through ICMR approved pathology labs.</li></ul>OYO Hotels &amp; Homes on Friday has launched a one-stop solution for all travel-related <keyword id="44609" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="assistance">assistance</keyword> on the OYO app in India. The dedicated section gives users access to comprehensive statewise travel guidelines, including e-pass or entry registration requirement, visibility to restrictions while booking a hotel, and quarantine requirements, the company said in a statement. OYO has also tied up with SRL Diagnostics, 1mg, and Indus Health Plus to enable Covid-19 tests through ICMR approved pathology labs. "Once the consumer books an OYO hotel or home for a destination that mandates the traveller to carry a Covid-19 negative certificate, they will receive an auto-call back option from a trusted pathology lab for the Covid-19 test," it said. Rohit Kapoor, CEO, India &amp; South Asia, OYO said: "We believe our partnership with trusted pathology labs like SRL Diagnostics, 1mg and Indus Health Plus will bring a sense of ease to our customers who are planning their travels." SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/heres-how-covid-19-has-changed-the-bihar-election-2020-preparations/articleshow/78313687.cms">Bihar Assembly Election 2020 — Here’s how COVID-19 has changed the election preparations</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/legendary-singer-sp-balasubrahmanyam-passes-away-at-the-age-of-74/articleshow/78312636.cms">Legendary singer SP Balasubrahmanyam passes away at the age of 74</a>

OYO launches 1-stop travel assistance, ties up with SRL Diagnostics

Nearly every third Indian suffers from one or the other kind of <keyword id="49683" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Thyroid">thyroid</keyword> disorder, which most often causes weight gain and hormonal imbalances, and is more commonly seen in women, according to a survey. North India recorded the maximum cases of hypothyroidism, a condition in which thyroid gland cannot make enough hormone to keep the body running, said the survey, adding the south and the west zones reported cases of hyperthyroidism and its variants. The analysis is based on in-house data collected from over 33 lakh adults pan India from 2014-2016 and revealed that about 32 per cent of the Indian population is suffering from various kinds of thyroid disorders. Sub clinical hypothyroidism, a milder form of hypothyroidism where the diagnosis is made unexpectedly, emerged as the most prevalent form of thyroid disorder across the country with maximum cases being present in the eastern part of the country. North India reported maximum cases of hypothyroidism while the south and west zones reported cases of hyperthyroidism and its variants, as per the survey carried out by <keyword id="1420338" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="SRL-Diagnostics">SRL Diagnostics</keyword>. "The data shows how thyroid abnormalities are present all across the country in its various forms. The finding of sub-clinical hypothyroidism as the most widespread thyroid dysfunction in India is not that unexpected, as without regular testing this condition remains clinically undetected," Dr <keyword id="4575033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="avinash-phadke">Avinash Phadke</keyword> from SRL Diagnostics said. Thyroid diseases are more commonly seen in women and cause a multitude of problems, most notably, weight gain and hormonal imbalances. However, even m .. Symptoms of under-active thyroid are similar in men as they are in women, with weakness, fatigue, weight gain, depression and high cholesterol dominating day to day life. Though common statistics reports that men have up to eight times less chance of developing a thyroid disorder than women, it would be amiss to remove it as a threat altogether. With early diagnosis and treatment, thyroid hormone replacement is a safe and effective treatment that can manage one's symptoms and prevent complications. As this report showed sub-clinical hypothyroidism, in which thyroid functions just below normal level, is a silent disease which is being increasingly diagnosed in the Indian population.

A survey reveals nearly every third Indian suffers from a thyroid disorder

Chandigarh, Apr 25 () A private laboratory which has been under the Haryana government's scanner for alleged discrepancies in COVID-19 test results on Saturday asserted that it stands by its findings and is open to getting these samples re-tested at any government lab.The Haryana government had on Monday ordered a probe after four samples reported positive for coronavirus by SRL Diagnostics tested negative in confirmation tests done at different government labs in the state.The state government will give no samples for testing to the private lab, pending the outcome of the probe, Health Minister Anil Vij had said.Gurgaon-based SRL Diagnostics on Saturday said it re-tested the samples, which were first tested on April 18, and the results again came back positive for coronavirus.It said it conducted a re-test "using the RNA extracts from the same samples which are stored with the lab under the recommended guidelines by ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research).""The test results are out and once again read positive," said Dr. Anurag Bansal, technical head for north and east India and lab operations director for Gurgaon Clinical Reference Laboratory, SRL Ltd.Bansal and Arindam Haldar, Chief Executive Officer of SRL Ltd., addressed the media through a video conference."We would like to reiterate our testing lab in Gurgaon is ICMR-approved and is also NABL (National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories) accredited.... and is run by highly professional, qualified and experienced doctors. With reference to COVID-19 testing, we are only using ICMR-approved kits and testing technique - RT PCR," Haldar said.Bansal said it is critical to understand that there are multiple reasons which can influence a test result."When we got the notice from them (health department) stating that there is (a) discrepancy in these four results, we again ran these tests and again these came positive," Bansal said.Asked why the four people tested negative in confirmation tests carried out by Haryana health authorities, he said the virus keeps shedding its virulence and maybe when they (SRL Diagnostics) took the samples virus shedding was not taking place in the patients' bodies.Bansal said he had explained in detail the entire process and protocols followed in conducting COVID-19 tests to the four-member team, including a microbiologist and a biochemist, of the health department that had visited their lab."I told them they can take our sample and get it tested again from any government lab. We stand (by the fact) that our test is positive," he said.He said though the state government has stopped sending samples to them for the time being, they are getting samples from other hospitals.Asked about SRL Diagnostics' stand, Health Minister Vij said a probe is underway and one would have to wait for its outcome."We got these four samples tested at different government labs in the state and they came negative. The patients have been discharged from hospitals," he said.To a question that the virus may have shed its virulence by the time the samples were taken by the health department authorities, Vij said, "As soon as these four patients were tested positive for coronavirus by SRL Laboratory, we sent their samples for testing to labs for confirmation."After their reports came back negative, we got them tested again for a second confirmation. The results came negative again and then we decided to discharge the patients," he said.The four samples in question include those of an auxiliary nurse midwife (ANM), who worked in a containment zone in Ambala, and three members of a family from Sahjadpur village near Ambala city. SUN VSD DIVDIV

Haryana: Pvt lab being probed for discrepancy in COVID-19 test results says it stands by its reports

<ul><li>Doctors and medical experts say that one may get infected with <keyword id="8764262" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="covid" source="Orion">COVID</keyword> again but may have very mild symptoms or even can be asymptomatic.</li><li>Emerging strains and sub variants of <keyword id="1609796" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="omicron" source="Orion">Omicron</keyword> are largely responsible for the recent spike but is milder than the previous waves.</li><li>“Though vaccines do not provide complete protection against reinfection, they have been effectively preventing,” Dr Rashmi Khadapkar told Business Insider India.</li></ul>Sudhanshu Singh, a Noida resident, is suffering from COVID for the second time after having severe body ache, fever, cold and cough for a few days. He along with his flatmates, who are fully vaccinated, have been isolating for the last ten days. Singh, who had tested positive last year as well in April, believes that this COVID strain has lasted longer than the previous one. “Last time when I got COVID, I had recovered within 4-5 days only and tested negative on the tenth day itself. However, this time it's been 10 days, I haven’t tested negative yet,” Singh told Business Insider India. “For a few days I couldn't stand nor sit properly because of severe body ache. I couldn't even eat and sleep,” he added. Loss of appetite, loss of taste and smell and weight loss were some of the other symptoms Singh had during reinfection. In fact, people reinfected with the virus constitute a large chunk of the recent cases detected in the country, <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/pune/pune-many-new-covid-cases-are-reinfections-but-symptoms-mostly-mild-say-experts/articleshow/92191897.cms">experts and members of state COVID task force say</a>. “Nearly 40% of the patients that this hospital is currently treating have been reinfected. A majority of them are those who caught Omicron during the third wave. We suspect BA.4 and BA.5 are reinfecting not just the Delta-recovered but also those who contracted Covid during the Omicron wave,” Dr Ameet Dravid, Noble Hospital's infectious disease specialist in Maharashtra told Times of India. Experts say that the emerging strains and sub variants of Omicron, largely irresponsible for the recent spike, are milder than the previous waves. Another resident of Delhi, Shashi Sethi, told us that she had a mild one for the second time. “I had fever, cold and cough, and body ache and I knew it is COVID again. I took a RAT and it showed positive,” Sethi said. “The first time I tested positive, my lungs had become weak as I’m an asthmetic patient as well. But in the second one, I was comparatively not that weak and felt better after resting for 4-5 days itself,” she added. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="New variants are milder but can come back again ‘sooner’" comment="subhead" text="New variants are milder but can come back again ‘sooner’">New variants are milder but can come back again ‘sooner’</cmsannotation> Doctors say that one may get infected with COVID again but may have mild symptoms or can even be asymptomatic. Yet its chances of reinfection are very high. “The chances of reinfection are significant because we do not have cross-immunity against all the variants. The same variant can infect you again as well, as seen in the previous wave. Some people had reinfections after completely recovering from COVID,” Dr Akshay Budhraja, senior consultant, Aakash Healthcare in Dwarka told Business Insider India, in an interview. It is very rare that reinfection would cause severe symptoms, Dr Budhraja said. A team of scientists, led by Laith Abu-Raddad at Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/11/well/live/covid-reinfection.html">estimated</a> that the chances of reinfection in earlier variants were quite low but this is not the case in Omicron. “Delta or an earlier coronavirus strain was roughly 90% effective in preventing a reinfection in both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. But Omicron really changed that calculation,” said Dr Abu-Raddad, an infectious disease epidemiologist. Various strains and sub variants have emerged since the pandemic began in 2020 which have been highly transmissible and severe. However, vaccines are the ultimate solution to this, say experts. “Vaccines stimulate adaptive immunity against different SARS-CoV-2 proteins. Though vaccines do not provide complete protection against reinfection, they have been effectively preventing severe infection with significantly lower morbidity and mortality,” Dr Rashmi Khadapkar, Head of department, Molecular infectious department, SRL diagnostics told Business Insider. However, to avoid reinfection one should take all precautionary measures. “Reinfection can be avoided if recommended COVID-19 precautions are continually practiced — wearing mask, physical distancing, washing hands frequently, avoiding large gatherings/crowded places, cleaning and disinfecting home and vicinity,” she further added. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/zee-and-sun-tv-might-not-have-won-ipl-media-mandates-but-heres-how-they-will-benefit-from-the-ipl-auction/articleshow/92223279.cms">Zee and Sun TV might not have won IPL media mandates but here’s how they will benefit from the IPL auction</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="http://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/domestic-travel-fuelled-by-revenge-tourism-aids-growth-in-hospitality-sector/articleshow/92223929.cms">Domestic travel, fuelled by revenge tourism, aids growth in hospitality sector</a>

COVID re-infections are mild but last long and come ‘back’ sooner say experts

Twelve private lab chains have been roped in for conducting tests for novel <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> disease, Indian Council of Medical Research (<keyword id="6364396" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICMR">ICMR</keyword>) said on Monday. Speaking at a press conference, Dr Balram Bhargava, Director of the apex medical research body ICMR said, "12 laboratory chains have been registered and have started functioning. These 12 labs have at least 15,000 collection centres across the country." Bhargava also said that two companies have started working on manufacturing test kits to conduct the test on a fast track basis. Lal Path Labs, Block -E, Sector 18, Rohini, Delhi has been accredited for conducting the novel coronavirus test in Delhi. In Gujarat, Unipath Specialty laboratory limited has been given the nod by the ICMR. There are two labs in Haryana - Strand Life Sciences and SRL Limited, both in Gurugram. Most number of private lab chains has been accredited in Maharashtra - at least five. These are Thyrocare Technologies Limited in Navi Mumbai, Suburban Diagnostics (India) Pvt Ltd in <keyword id="54522" type="LOCATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Andheri-West">Andheri West</keyword>, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd in Kohinoor mall, Sir H.N. Reliance Foundation Hospital and Research Centre and Molecular Medicine, Reliance Life Sciences Pvt Ltd in Navi Mumbai, and SRL Limited in Goregaon. In Tamil Nadu, two private labs have been roped in. These are Department of Clinical Virology, CMC, Vellore and Department of Laboratory Services, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd, Chennai. As per the health ministry guidelines, the price for COVID-19 test ranges from Rs 1,500 to Rs 4,500, and not complying to the price range could invite legal action.

India ropes in 12 private lab chains to test Coronavirus

list of private Coronavirus testing labs approved by the government

<ul><li>closerAt 7:45 am, the SGX Nifty was up 0.10%, indicating a tepid start for Nifty50.</li><li>Here’s a list of stocks to watch for in trade today. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/">Check out the latest news and updates on Business Insider.</a> </li></ul>Indian stock-market indices are likely to begin on a flat note on Thursday, led by mixed cues from the global markets. The Indian markets ended at record highs on Wednesday, with Nifty inching to the 14,000 mark. At 7:45 am, the SGX Nifty was up 0.10%, indicating a tepid start for Nifty50. On Wednesday, the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/us-stocks-end-higher-as-600-stimulus-checks-set-to-arrive-this-week/articleshow/80037170.cms">US stocks closed higher</a> as $600 stimulus checks were set to hit the bank accounts of millions of Americans later this week, according to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 0.24% higher, and the S&amp;P 500 was up 0.13%. These are the stocks to watch out for during the trading session today: Tata Motors, Maruti, M&amp;M, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and other auto stocks Tata Motors, Maruti, M&amp;M, Hero Motocorp, Bajaj Auto and other auto stocks will be in focus during trade today. The auto companies are slated to report their <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/auto/news/heres-what-to-expect-from-maruti-mm-hero-bajaj-auto-and-other-automakers-in-december-month-2020-auto-sale/articleshow/80021695.cms">monthly sales</a> for December tomorrow . Tata Steel Tata Steel CEO TV Narendran in his outlook for 2021 <a href="https://www.business-standard.com/article/companies/despite-covid-19-pandemic-tata-steel-bullish-on-fy22-demand-in-india-120123100070_1.html">said</a> the company is optimistic about demand for steel in India. And, the steel demand is expected to grow proportional to or higher than the GDP growth in FY22. Vedanta Vedanta emerged as the highest bidder for Radhikapur west coal block in Odisha. The mine has total reserves of 312 million tonnes and an approved per annum extraction capacity of 6 million tonnes. Adani Green Energy Adani Green Energy said it had commissioned a 100 megawatt (MW) solar power project at Khirasara in Gujarat. V-Mart Retail V-Mart Retail informed investors that it had opened four new stores, three in the state of Uttar Pradesh, one in the state of Jharkhand, taking its total number of stores in the country to 274. Shriram Transport Finance Shriram Transport Finance has approved and allotted senior secured rated, listed redeemable non-convertible debentures (NCD) of the face value of ₹10 lakh each on a private placement basis. Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) Kapil Wadhawan has yet again come up with a revised proposal for acquiring Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL). In a letter to RBI, DHFL administrator R Subramaniakumar and the Committee of Creditors (CoC), the erstwhile promoter of the bankrupt NBFC said that he would make an upfront payment of ₹9,000 crore in cash and ₹31,000 crore will be paid within a period of seven years in equal annual instalments with 8.5% per annum interest. Indian Bank Indian Bank said it had raised ₹392 crore through perpetual bonds. The bank has further raised tier 1 capital funds through a private placement of Basel III compliant AT-1 perpetual bonds aggregating to ₹392 crore, the public sector bank said in a regulatory filing. Fortis Healthcare The rating agency ICRA has upgraded the long-term rating for the line of credit of Fortis Healthcare’s subsidiaries — SRL Limited and SRL Diagnostics Private Limited. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/politics/world/news/mitch-mcconnell-says-the-senate-will-consider-trumps-demand-for-2000-stimulus-checks-but-rejects-initial-vote/articleshow/80017236.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Mitch McConnell says the Senate will consider Trump's demand for $2,000 stimulus checks but rejects initial vote</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/american-airlines-just-completed-the-boeing-737-maxs-first-passenger-flight-in-the-us-since-march-2019/articleshow/80016117.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">American Airlines just completed the Boeing 737 Max's first passenger flight in the US since March 2019</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/new-strain-of-uk-covid-19-virus-is-a-lot-more-contagious-warns-indias-health-ministry/articleshow/80011618.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink"></a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/new-strain-of-uk-covid-19-virus-is-a-lot-more-contagious-warns-indias-health-ministry/articleshow/80011618.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">The new strain of COVID-19 is a lot more contagious, warns India's Health Ministry</a>

Top stocks to watch — Tata Steel, Vedanta, Adani Green, Tata Motors, Maruti, M&M, DHFL, V-Mart, Indian Bank, and others

Three private laboratories in Gurugram in neighbouring Haryana have been authorised to conduct tests for suspected <keyword id="1754604" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="coronavirus">coronavirus</keyword> cases to help authorities diagnose such cases with speed. A senior state Health Department officer said there laboratories in Gurugram are Strand Life Sciences in Sector 34, SRL Ltd in Sector 18, and Core Diagnostics Pvt Ltd in Udyog Vihar Phase I. These labs will charge a total of Rs 4,500 for each test --- Rs 1,500 for screening and Rs 3,000 for confirmatory tests only, as per the government fixed limit, and as per the norms set by the Indian Council of Medical Research, <keyword id="210071" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Ministry-of-Health">Ministry of Health</keyword> and <keyword id="426373" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="family-welfare">Family Welfare</keyword>. These labs will use 50 per cent of their respective capacities to test samples of suspected corona cases sent by government authorities. Private medical practitioners referring their patients for testing for suspected coronavirus cases are required to report their names, addresses and contact numbers to the <keyword id="8984370" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="haryana-heath-department">Haryana Heath Department</keyword>. Both private doctors and labs would keep the government posted of suspected and confirmed cases through their respective district's Civil Surgeon. Gurugram district adjoining Delhi has so far reported the maximum positive cases in whole of Haryana, and has a high number of foreigners living there. At least 10 corona positive cases have so far been reported in Gurugram, out of which five have since been cured and discharged from hospital. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coronavirus-myths-and-facts-here-are-some-rumours-about-covid-19-that-arent-true/articleshow/74487962.cms">Coronavirus myths and facts</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/science/health/news/coronavirus-dos-and-donts-for-protection-against-convid-19/articleshow/74475858.cms">Do’s and Don’ts for protection against COVID-19</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/data-of-coronavirus-patients-state-wise-in-india/articleshow/74669748.cms">Coronavirus cases in India state wise</a>

Three private laboratories in Gurugram authorised to conduct Coronavirus  tests

The financial capital, home to the maximum Covid-19 cases in the country, on Sunday witnessed the launch of its first drive-through testing sites. SRL Diagnostics, which has launched three such facilities in the city, said a test sample will be collected within 10 minutes without a person needing to step out of his car and results conveyed the same or next day over e-mail. Tests done at the facilities will be free of cost for everybody as per a recent Supreme Court judgement, a company representative said. The facilities at Indiabulls Finance Centre in Lower Parel, Celestia Spaces in Sewri and Lodha Supremeus in Kanjurmarg will be operational between 9 am to 6 pm everyday and the patient can receive the report the same day if the test is conducted before noon, the company said. The drive-throughs or mobile testing centres were used massively by South Korea to successfully arrest the rate of infections. They have also been started in the national capital region and Kerala by different bodies. The announcement comes at a time when India is still working to increase the testing for the infection. In a statement, the company's regional chief operating officer Ravi Aggarwal said Covid-19 cases are rising exponentially in Mumbai and such facilities will be of help as it fast-tracks testing. Its director for lab operations Dr Prabal Deb said there is a huge shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) like masks, gloves and hazmat suits and we need to find innovative ways to conduct tests efficiently. A person can make an appointment by calling the company, and present a doctor's prescription seeking a Covid-19 test and a copy of Aadhaar Card, the statement added.

Drive-through Covid-19 testing centres launched in Mumbai

<keyword id="3502552" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Awfis">Awfis</keyword> Space Solutions Pvt. Ltd which is now South Asia’s largest network of collaborative co-working spaces, has received an investment of USD 20 million from <keyword id="563136" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Sequoia-India">Sequoia India</keyword>, recently. The funds will be used to grow its network of centers, launch new and innovative products/services and further enhance the existing technology platform. It’s international competitor WeWork launches in the Indian market shortly, starting with <keyword id="6354321" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Bengaluru">Bengaluru</keyword> and then expanding to Mumbai. Working towards achieving its target of having an Awfis centre within a 10 minutes driving radius in each of the key metros, the company plans to establish 100+ centres with 35,000+ seats across Mumbai, NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Pune in the next 24 months. 

 <div type="embedgroup"> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="58530868" title="Exclusive: AdvantEdge Partner, Kunal Khattar on why Failure should be Celebrated in an Entrepreneur’s Risky Life" rank="1.0" kind="RELATED" publishDate="May 05, 2017, 6:00 PM" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div></div>


Amit Ramani – Founder &amp; CEO, Awfis told Business Insider, “To expand at a rapid pace,we have embraced a joint venture model where 75% of our centers are managed by us but owned by others.We have 500 companies with us, currently ranging from India’s leading startups/MSMEs to Fortune 500 companies, forming the largest co-working community in India.” The co-working has a lot of features like: • A network of over 7,500+ seats across 21 centers in 8 cities across India • Strong demand from an eclectic community of entrepreneurs, SMEs, freelancers and business corporates who have helped create a thriving community of over 5,000+ Awfis members • An average 90%+ occupancy across its established centers • A unique, ‘Just-in-Time’ booking facility through its customized mobile app and website 

 <div type="embedgroup"> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="58531903" title="The International MetLife Foundation Inclusion Plus Competition has awarded this startup $100,000" rank="1.0" kind="RELATED" publishDate="May 05, 2017, 3:07 PM" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div></div>


Apart from its own proprietary centers, Awfis also has a unique, asset light ‘managed aggregation’ model - partnering with space owners who have unused commercial space and transforming them into suitable places to work for the Awfis community. The company has a successful shared economy business model that not just provides a network of ready to use work spaces across India, but also offers value driven services that can be booked ‘just-in-time’ through its website and mobile app. The Awfis Rewards program provides its members access to exclusive offers from 100+ renowned partners (including Amazon Web Services, Oyo Rooms, Hard Rock Café, SRL Diagnostics, etc) just by registering a seat. 

 <div type="embedgroup"> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="58532304" title="Flipkart announces the Big 10 Sale, which starts just after Amazon’s sale" rank="1.0" kind="RELATED" publishDate="May 05, 2017, 3:21 PM" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div></div> Their newest innovation is truly set to revolutionize mobility as they are even allowing their partner companies to work while travelling by remodeling car models like <keyword id="560486" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tata-Innova">Tata Innova</keyword> to allow people to work inside their cars, enabled by facilities like desk, printers and even a coffee machine. That’s innovation at its Indian best!

Awfis Remodeled Cars with Printers, Coffee Machines is the Kind of Workplace We Need

<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, <keyword id="8869254" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="arpan-biswas">Arpan Biswas</keyword>, VP – Marketing, <keyword id="6439410" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="housejoy">Housejoy</keyword> tells us how the startup adapted to this new way of functioning and all that it has been doing to keep all its stakeholders safe and connected with the brand.</li></ul> Since the government decided to impose a <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword> on the country to curb the spread of Covid-19, businesses and organizations across the country, and the world, have been impacted. During this time, its organizations that have managed to stay agile and open to evolving how they function have been the ones that have been less impacted. Over the past few weeks we have read of a lot of organizations and brands that have diversified their businesses, in an attempt to stay relevant to the dynamic times. Among many other examples, we saw Housejoy, a tech-driven construction, renovation, interiors, and <keyword id="9385246" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="home-maintenance-company">home maintenance company</keyword>, launching a service for the delivery of essentials. The startup was able to pull this off right at the start of the lockdown, when people were stuck at home and were struggling to get essentials delivered as supply chain had been impacted too. This was a good example of how the startup (whose core offering in the construction and maintenance space came to a complete halt) innovated quickly to make itself relevant to the consumer’s evolving needs by expanding its offerings. We caught up with Arpan Biswas, VP – Marketing, Housejoy recently, to understand how challenging diversification under the lockdown was, and what kind of reception they have seen in the past few weeks. We also ask him what his learnings as a marketer from this whole experience has been and how Housejoy, as an organization, is gearing up to function efficiently in the post-Covid world. Excerpts: Q) How has the last 2 months been for Housejoy as an organization? Were you prepared as an organization to make the transition to WFH? Just like most other startups, the pandemic did have an impact on Housejoy and our operations given that our construction and maintenance services came to a complete halt. Now, we are back on track and all our businesses across all cities have resumed, except in containment zones. Our teams are back in office and our construction services have resumed. Though we were not completely ready for WFH initially, our tech and HR teams facilitated the transition and top management ensured the teams are well engaged with regular virtual catchups. Q) Your core offering is in the sphere of construction, renovation, interiors, and home maintenance. However, the lockdown has forced most work in the sphere to come to a complete standstill. How do you anticipate the next few months will pan out for you as an organization? Yes, construction and home maintenance do not fall under essentials. Hence, our businesses came to a standstill. During lockdown, we encouraged our construction and interiors customers to get their house designs finalized. We have also been working on building confidence among our existing customers and keeping them updated about our activities. As WFH will become a norm in the future, we foresee demand for home offices and an overhaul of how new spaces will be constructed. We anticipate a high demand for home maintenance, fumigation, and beauty services post the lockdown. Post easing of the stringent lockdowns, demand has picked up and our B2C business is getting more orders vis-a-vis pre-Covid period, partially due to the pent-up demand. We are also seeing considerable traction from construction and renovation. When our core businesses were halted, we took several initiatives like <keyword id="9385245" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="housejoy-mart">Housejoy mart</keyword> to ensure customers get super-fast grocery delivery and our idle service providers get a mode to earn. Additionally, we also collaborated with the Karnataka state government in their effort to combat the pandemic by offering free fumigation in public places. We recently joined hands with leading healthcare brands like Portea Medical, SRL Diagnostics, Biognosys and BAF to set up mobile COVID-19 testing camps across Bengaluru to arrest the spread of the virus. Q) How have you been communicating with your consumers during this time? As a marketer, what has your priority been, in terms of the marketing communications going out? Our external communication is focused on the essentials and customer’s needs like fumigation, grocery delivery, etc. We have stopped all spends on traditional mediums and primarily focusing on digital as a medium to generate demand and educate customers of our offerings. Within digital, the focus is on intent-based searches and quirky content to engage with our consumers. Additionally, we have reached out to all our existing construction customers on the delays and provided them assurance on their investments. A large chunk of our content is dedicated towards informing our customers about the measures our service providers have taken to keep themselves and our customer’s safe. Internally, we are trying to keep the team’s morale high by sharing all the media buzz we have received, the deals we have cracked. These are testing times for all employees and it’s important to assure them about the financial health of their organization. Q) What was your media mix pre-COVID and how did that change during the lockdown? Do you think you will tweak your media mix even after the lockdown is called off? Has digital seen most of your marketing investments? Prior to the COVID pandemic, it was a mix of traditional and digital. However, during the lockdown, digital marketing and PR have been our go-to medium. We are implementing and leaning toward strengthening our digital marketing strategies. Our strategy has been to engage customers with quirky and interesting themes and messaging, and we will continue to do this going forward. Q) Did content marketing play a big role for you during the lockdown? Content marketing is one of our focus areas and our single-minded objective on digital is to improve the shareability of our content. We wish to keep our construction and interiors customers updated with newest technologies, trendy designs, and latest ways to upgrade their lifestyles. For our on-demand customers, the focus is to educate them of the WHO-suggested safety measures we have implemented and keep them aligned to our new offerings like car sanitization and labor on hire. Q) You recently entered the grocery-delivery space. Was it a natural extension for the brand? What kind of uptake has this service seen during the lockdown? How have you been marketing this offering? Expansion to grocery-delivery was a natural extension as we have the necessary tech and supply for the same. Our primary focus through this initiative has been to ensure work continuity for our teams and helping our customers in this hour of crisis. We partnered with various Kirana stores and helped them in expanding their business. This is a very new field for us, and we are evaluating the business model currently. Once that is set, we plan to invest in marketing. Q) What have your key learnings from the COVID-19 experience been, both as a marketer and as an organization? As an organization, we have learnt that flexibility is one of the biggest virtues and we have exhibited the same. We entered two new categories – healthcare and delivery services – keeping in mind the growing demand. We have also realized that great companies are built when people stick together in such times of crisis. Our employees have exhibited immense character, took complete ownership and executed some tough projects. As marketers, we have learnt that marketing is not about big budgets. Focus should be on improving quality of content and adding value to our customer’s lives. The distribution is taken care of by customers. Q) While the lockdown might be lifted soon, things might still take a few more months to settle down. How are you going to cope with the post-COVID world? How are you preparing as an organization? Though the lockdown will be lifted, the fear of transmission will still loom large. There will be some permanent changes in customer’s behavior and way of consumption. We are trying to keep our eyes and ears open to understand and validate the changes and work on ways to connect with them better. There is no denying the fact that we must adapt to this new normal and we are doing everything possible to ensure things run smoothly.

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