Larsen & Toubro Ltd has supplied 100 semi-fowler bed with mattress and lines, 2 ventilators, 7 Bipap ventilators, and 20 multiparameter monitors to King Institute as per the directive of the Tamil Nadu Health and Family Welfare Department.
L&T will also supply 8 more ventilators shortly, the company said.
It has also supplied 35 COVID-19 test kits and has provided 10,000 N95 masks so far, out of a total of 30,000 N95 masks to be supplied.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – April 14th, 2020
Over a lakh shields have been distributed. (Photo | EPS)
Chennai :
On March 22, as the nation locked itself in observing the government-ordered Janta curfew, Coimbatore-based Ebin Ephrem Elavathingal, senior manager at AIC Raise, and his team — student start-up JK Data Systems incubated in AIC Raise, supported by Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog and students of Rathinam Group of Institutions, Coimbatore — came up with an idea.
A version of face shields to protect the essential workers in the frontlines of the pandemic.
Now, three weeks later, with over one lakh shields distributed across the country, they’re not done just yet, creating a working prototype of an Intermittent Positive Pressure Breathing ventilator (IPPV).
The five-member team headed by Ebin and comprising the student start-ups by Karthik S, Gowtham Santhakumar and their team, with support of the Bio-Medical and Computer Science department of Rathinam College, are the people behind this ambitious project.
But despite their remarkable final model, you’d be surprised to find out that none of them has any prior experience with medical equipment.
“Once we started watching the global news and understanding the urgent need for ventilators in this pandemic, we immediately dropped what we were working on, and began to educate ourselves about ventilators through open source libraries and other resources,” says Ebin. Within a week, they already had their first prototype with basic features.
But keen on enhancing the model even further, the team re-engineered the design of an international open-source ventilator project to produce their second working prototype, with improved control facilities, within four days.
“We haven’t gotten an Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) license yet, but this device can monitor control of the tidal volume, breath per minute and inspiration expiration ratio adjustments. It is also enhanced with pressure, flow and oxygen monitoring systems,” he explains. With most of the country’s ICU ventilators costing over Rs 5 lakh, their simpler model comes in at just Rs 25,000, with the basic first prototype at RS 10,000.
Ready to take the next steps, Ebin assures us that they are currently at a production capacity of 100 ventilators a day.
Once they receive government approval, the team is ready to spring into action. “Our thoughts upon taking up this massive new project was to help save our nation. It’s as simple as that. I even quarantined myself at the office to ensure that we can truly build something of value,” says Ebin.
Still choosing not to rest on their laurels, the team is already brainstorming on their next project, something that could help in a post-coronavirus world. And while they’re hard at work on it, Ebin’s only plea — if you have the intellectual property to make a difference, now’s the time.
The team
The five-member team headed by Ebin and comprising student start-ups by Karthik S, Gowtham Santhakumar and their team, with support of the Bio-Medical and Computer Science department of Rathinam College, are the people behind this project.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by Shwetha Surendran / Express News Service / April 13th, 2020
TVS Motors group have covered 2,108 villages helping the local body and community to fight COVID19.
TVS Motors have provided PPEs to health workers, police and villagers
Chennai :
TVS Motors group have covered 2,108 villages helping the local body and community to fight COVID19. According to a statement, they have provided disinfectant sprayers, masks, gloves, to health workers, police and community members in the villages. Some of the places covered are Hosur, Thirukkurungudi, Arni, Padaiveedu, Javadhu Hills and Kothagiri among others.
The company also conducted public awareness programs, social distancing awareness programs and have distributed 6.5 lakh face masks.
The company has also been involved in COVID19 relief works in Pune and have helped several migrant families affected.
Currently, TVS is working with the Kancheepuram District Collectorate in providing dry ration kits and further they plan to cover 3500 villages totally.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service / April 07th, 2020
Chennai-based CavinKare has come out with sanitiser sachets priced at ₹1 (2 ml).
“It is our responsibility to make the essential product accessible and affordable with utmost quality,” said company CMD C.K. Ranganathan.
He said, “The concept of launching the sanitiser in a sachet as well and making them available in a typical FMCG kirana outlet is an ideal step to ensure safety of the masses at this crucial time.” The company has introduced these sanitisers under its personal care brands.
According to a statement, the company’s decision of providing sanitiser from ₹1 is well within the government’s current stipulated pricing norm which has been duly followed across all other SKUs such as 10 ml, 50 ml, 90 ml, 400 ml, 800 ml and 5l pack . While the 5l pack is already introduced in market nationwide, the other SKUs will be launched soon.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – March 30th, 2020
Meet good samaritans in Chennai who are working to ensure that people don’t go hungry during the lockdown imposed to fight the coronavirus.
Image for representation: PTI
HIGHLIGHTS
Chennai eatery distributes free food packets
NGO volunteers provide dry rations, health kits
‘We have to help each other out’: Eatery owner
It’s tough to find better words than Trilok Babu’s to capture spirit of good samaritans working to ease the pain of life under lockdown: “We have to help each other out.”
This owner of a Chennai eatery, Dosa Corner, is having free packets of food — rice, sambhar, rasam, buttermilk and pickle — made for anyone who needs it.
“No questions asked,” he said.
Trilok Babu underscored the importance of such charity in a situation that he said was unprecedented for him.
“In my 40 years, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
– Trilok Babu to India Today TV
All of India is under lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus, a new kind (Sars-CoV-2) that was first detected in China and causes a potentially fatal respiratory illness, Covid-19.
In Tamil Nadu, over 300 people have, or have had, the virus, according to an India Today tracker . One person has died.
Many of the infections were traced to a religious congregation held at a markaz in Delhi’s Nizamuddin, now linked to a large cluster of coronavirus cases.
DRY RATIONS AND SANITISING KITS
Sneha Mohandoss, the founder of the NGO Food Bank, is also working to make sure people don’t go hungry during the lockdown and has teamed up with the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC).
Since the corporation is asking the public to provide dry rations instead of cooked food, the Food Bank, too, is asking its volunteers — a small number, since prohibitory orders are in place — to donate accordingly.
“We are a small group of volunteers working together, as it isn’t advisable for a huge group to be out on the streets,” said Sneha Mohandoss, one of several women who took over Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Twitter account on Women’s Day this year.
The Greater Chennai Corporation has developed an app to geographically map people having fever, the most common symptom of COVID-19.
Chennai :
The Greater Chennai Corporation has developed an app to geographically map people having fever, the most common symptom of COVID-19. Touted as the first such technology to be used in any city in the country, the app, named as GCC Corona Monitoring, will mark people in home quarantine as well as the areas where crowd gathers against social distancing norms. The app developed by a team of volunteers from Mr Cooper will be officially launched within a week, confirmed official sources.
“Currently, most of the urban civic bodies in the country are actively monitoring only people under home quarantine. But, there could also be a cluster of people with fever symptoms in a particular area. Since most people are staying indoors, nobody knows if the person next door is having fever. This can lead to community spread,” said M P Azhagu Pandia Raja, a research fellow with Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, who conceptualised the app for Greater Chennai Corporation.
How it works?
1) Click on the option in app
2) Photo of house for location
3) As more people notify fever symptoms, officials can identify clusters and send health workers
Home-quarantined people
1) App geo-tags people
2) Will help civic body to channelise more resources
3) Over 1,000 have downloaded the app and marked themselves
Notifying about crowds
There is an option to notify the civic body about crowd in an area. Anyone can click the picture of a group and send it through the app
Where to get it?
Since Playstore is taking down apps related to COVID to stop spread of fake news, it will be released on GCC’s website
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by KV Navya / Express News Service / March 31st, 2020
India’s most sophisticated, indigenously designed battle tank, Arjun Mk-1A, has cleared all trials and is ready to go into production.
Arjun Mk-1A
Chennai :
It’s the most lethal, sophisticated and all-weather battle tank that India has indigenously designed and conceptualised till date. Meet Arjun Mk-1A main battle tank, a 68-tonne rugged bull, waiting to join the Indian army. It will be a star attraction at the DefExpo India 2020 to be held in Lucknow in February.
Armoured Corps cleared the tank after successful completion of final integration tests conducted earlier this year in the western sector of Rajasthan. Arjun Mk-1A is an improved variant of Arjun Mk-1, whose two regiments (124 tanks) are in service.
Scientists of Chennai-based Combat Vehicles Research and Development Establishment (CVRDE), a Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) lab, are the architects of this improved avatar of Arjun. The Heavy Vehicles Factory in Avadi is expected to commence production after receiving the order.
Top DRDO officials confirmed the new variant of Arjun had passed the rigorous army evaluation. “The tank has fulfilled all user specifications and undergone elaborate field trials. We expect the order of intent any time soon.” Officials said 72 improvements were made to Arjun MBT Mk-1A, of which 14 were major upgrades specifically requested by the army.
CVRDE Director V Balamurugan said the fundamental parameters of a battle tank are “fire power, protection and mobility”. Arjun MBT Mk-1A is improved on all these fronts.
Four upgrades were made to firepower. An improved Gunner’s Main Sight (GMS) integrated with Automatic Target Tracking (ATT) was fitted. This helps the crew track moving targets automatically, making it easy for the gunner to fire even when the tank is moving. The Commander’s Panoramic Sight (CPS Mk II) was integrated with Thermal Imager that enables the commander to effectively conduct surveillance in both day and night through eye-safe Laser Range Finder with advanced Hunter Killer Capability. Besides, additional varieties of ammunition were incorporated to enhance the lethality of the battle tank. Other than conventional Fin Stabilised Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot (FSAPDS) and High Explosive Squash Head (HESH) ammunition, Thermo Baric (TB) and Penetration Cum Blast (PCB) ammunition were developed.
Lastly, the vehicle was upgraded with a Remote Controlled Weapon Station that provides the loader capability of engaging ground and aerial targets from the protective envelop of the tank armour. It provides an additional capability to fight in urban areas called Hatch-closed firing.
Extra protection for crew
The battle tank will have a crew of a commander, gunner, loader and driver. Keeping them out of harm’s way is paramount. For this, Arjun Mk-1A comes with a slew of new features. Balamurugan said Track Width Mine Plough (TWMP) is a significant addition, which provides capability for the tank to easily cross minefields as the plough mounted to the front creates a mine-free path by tossing mines to the sides of the tank. The Explosive Reactive Armour (ERA) panels are provided for effective protection against ever-evolving anti-tank threats like shoulder-fired anti-tank grenades and missiles. These were mounted along the frontal arc of the hull and turret.
Another new feature is a Containerised Ammunition Bin with Individual Shutter (CABIS) that provides enhanced protection to the crew from inadvertent burning of ammunition stored in the ready round bin. Hot gas generated by ammunition burning is vented out by blow-off panels from the roof of the turret.
Besides, Arjun Mk-1A has protection against chemical attacks. A special chemical sensor is mounted to detect the presence of harmful toxic chemicals around the tank. “The sensor detects harmful chemicals, triggers an alarm and the Nuclear Chemical warfare system increases the pressure in the tank compartment to a level higher than in the atmosphere outside preventing toxic air from entering. The crew gets air through a particulate filter,” officials said.
The Roof Mounted Driver’s Seat protects the driver from shocks and enhances driving comfort. Other upgrades include a Laser Warning and Counter Measure System that protects the crew by creating a smokescreen between itself and the enemy and Anti Infra Red/Anti Thermal Imaging paints that reduce the tank’s signature when viewed through IR/TI cameras or goggles making it difficult for enemies to detect.
Mobility-related improvements
Officials said one of the challenges in making of Arjun MBT Mk-1A was the overall weight. Every improvement comes with baggage, which the user may not like as it may compromise mobility. To counter added weight, an Advanced Running Gear System was developed where the hydro-pneumatic suspension system was redesigned to enhance the tank’s agility. Tweaking the final drive also ensured the required agility.
An Advanced Land Navigation System was added to provide enhanced navigation capability in desert terrains during war. It provides accurate information of where the tank is using Inertial Navigation or GPS or both and where the tank needs to go in the absence of any signage in the war theater. An uncooled Night Vision camera for the driver has been provided. The obsolete Image Intensifier for the driver has been replaced with un-cooled Thermal imager with binocular sights, providing him with a capability to travel at reasonable speeds even in pitch-dark conditions.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / by S V Krishna Chaitanya / Express News Service / December 09th, 2019
Padman may have become a household name owing to his single-minded crusade to make sanitary napkins accessible to women across all range of the socio-economic spectrum.
READ NGO and women self-help group members at the pad-making unit in Erode | special arrangement
Erode :
Padman may have become a household name owing to his single-minded crusade to make sanitary napkins accessible to women across all range of the socio-economic spectrum. However, in his own state are many villages, where neither padman nor a sanitary napkin is known. This is an anomaly Rights Education and Development Center (READ) NGO has undertaken to set right.
In collaboration with women self-help groups (SHGs), READ set up 10 pad-making units at 10 villages at Sathyamangalam and Gobichettipalayam, TN Palayam blocks of Erode. Now, these women have access to pads at Rs 3 per piece and Rs 30 per packet of 10 pads. The added benefit is jobs for 100 women.
READ NGO Director Karuppusamy told Express, “Even today many women use cloths in tribal hamlets and villages in Erode. When we enquired about the reason, they pointed out two factors — affordability and lack of awareness on the importance of using sanitary pads. So we decided to pool funds and develop a social enterprise model to manufacture sanitary napkins at a subsidised cost.” A few of them were inaugurated earlier this week, he added.
The NGO identified major places that require immediate intervention and did a pilot study to set up a pad manufacturing unit. To make it more effective, the NGO collaborated with the local women self-help groups (SHGs) and directed them to take over the social enterprise. There are ten members in each SHGs and the work is equally divided among them — one group takes care of production and another does marketing. The units are registered under the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises under the brand name ‘Feel Free’.
One member of an SHG at Polavakaliyampalam in Gobichettipayalam, Nirmala, said, “Our motive is to make women in our region aware of sanitary pads. We go to every house, schools and colleges and talk about its significance. We do not just sell the pads but also teach them everything from using them, the time period for which one pad can be used to the disposing methods.”
On an average one unit produces up to 200 pads a day. The units are set up on a 10*12 sq ft area and it cost Rs 4,20,000 to set up one unit. The machines were sourced from Uttarkhand.
“Since it is an automatic machine, work is easy and quick. We need to place the cotton tissue sheets in the machine, which converts them into a series of pads. The organic winged napkins are made of cloth, wood-pulp cotton. All the pads are sterilized using ultraviolet radiation before packaging,” she added.
Opened in 2014, The Brew Room is one of the first cafés in the city to introduce different brewing methods, including Japanese, Turkish and Italian.
Nivruti with mother Nina Reddy
Born into one of the most prominent families in Chennai, Nivruti Reddy, 35, says business was all she knew while growing up. However, for her, choosing a career in hospitality was not about joining the family enterprise.
“Unless you are passionate about it, you cannot make it big,” says the Managing Director of The Brew Room at The Savera Hotel.
“My parents never told me or my sister (Ritika) what to study or which career to choose. My initiation into the field was of course, with a firm hand-holding by both my parents (Nina and Vijayakumar Reddy). At the same time, they also gave me the freedom to explore,” adds the management graduate from the University of Warwick.
Having taken her baby steps in the industry with a brief stint with Savera’s sister company Shyam Group of Restaurants in 2008, Nivruti’s first project was Baker’s Code that specialises in fresh bread, cakes and cookies. She recalls, “Here, I got to try a lot of new things with respect to the menu, customer experience and marketing.”
Opened in 2014, The Brew Room is one of the first cafés in the city to introduce different brewing methods, including Japanese, Turkish and Italian. With Auroville-based coffee consultant Marc, they also introduced the concept of an interactive coffee bar where the beans are ground and the coffee brewed fresh in front of the customer.
Mother knows best!
Being the daughter of Nina Reddy, joint MD at the 50-year-old Savera, we ask her what she has learned from her mother and her list goes on. “My mother’s greatest ability is to turn most of the things she’s passionate about into successful businesses like fitness and people management. Her interpersonal skills, positivity and perseverance shine through anything she does. She pioneered a health studio called O2. Today, the brand has nine gyms. She believes that growth is the only way to sustain and constantly strives to bring out the best in all the teams she works with.”
Talking further about working with her mother, she says, “We are constantly bouncing ideas off each other. We value each other’s opinions a lot. From something as simple as introducing a new product to something as big as creating a new restaurant brand, every idea is discussed among us. She encourages me to dream and also gives me the courage to make decisions.”
As for her future plans, she adds, “Right now, my main focus is to expand The Brew Room brand through franchising. We have opened two outlets in Chennai, one in Delhi and Pune, and want to expand to other cities.”
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Food / by Fathima Ashraf / Express News Service / October 25th, 2019
Choreographed by Jeffery Vardon, the audience was taken aback by the flamboyant display of elegant embroidered shararas supported by young models and Kanjivaram saris supported by smart ladies.
Chennai :
In what one could call a fitting display of festive fashion, A Nina Reddy, joint managing director of Savera Hotel, along with The Duchess Club, organised an fashion extravaganza, showcasing the latest festive collection by Dhwaraka, a boutique owned by Sowmya Vijay, who recently opened a branch at Chamiers Road. Supermodel Sameea Bangera was the show-stopper at the event and was interviewed by former model Uma Muthuswamy.
Choreographed by Jeffery Vardon, the audience was taken aback by the flamboyant display of elegant embroidered shararas supported by young models and Kanjivaram saris supported by smart ladies.
Launched in 2018, Dhwaraka was Sowmya’s dream project. “Saris take two weeks to a month to be stitched. I had an in-house tailor who could do the job in two days. That’s when I decided to launch my boutique,” she said. Actress Suhasini Maniratnam, actress Lissy Lakshmi, journalist Mini Menon and actress Poornima Bhagyaraj were present at the event.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Naaz Ghani / Expres News Service / October 26th, 2019
Received a Bright Smile as soon as I gave her the meal box 
