Healthcare workers at hospitals are risking COVID-19 infection by taking care of those infected by it 24/7. Perhaps the level of risk may get reduced hereafter with the help of a new friend, HCARD. The robotic device HCARD, in short for Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device, can help frontline healthcare workers in maintaining physical distance from those infected by coronavirus. 

HCARD is developed by the Durgapur-based CSIR lab, Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute. The device is equipped with various state-of-the-art technologies and works both in automatic as well as manual modes of navigation. 

This robot can be controlled and monitored by a nursing booth with a control station having such features as navigation, drawer activation for providing medicines and food to patients, sample collection and audio-visual communication. 

Prof. (Dr.) Harish Hirani, Director, CSIR-CMERI stated that “This Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device could be effective for frontline healthcare officials dealing with COVID-19 patients in delivering services while maintaining mandatory physical distancing”. The cost of this device is less than Rs 5 lakh and the weight is less than 80 kilograms, added Prof. Hirani. 

CSIR-CMERI is working on war footing to minimize the impact of COVID-19 through technological interventions. As spelled out by WHO, personal protective equipment (PPE) is very important in preventing transmission of coronavirus in the society, thus the Institute has channelized its resources optimally to develop PPE and community-level safety equipment for helping the public at large and healthcare institutions.

Scientists at CMERI have also developed a few other customized technologies, including Disinfection Walkway, Road Sanitizer Unit, Face Mask, Mechanical Ventilator and Hospital Waste Management Facility. 

The rising cases of coronavirus in India and other parts of the world have created a major hurdle for everyone. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 has surpassed 1 million globally. While in India, the number of positive cases has crossed the mark of 2,550 in total. To prevent the deadly virus, India is currently on a 21-day lockdown until April 14, 2020. As reported, the confirmed cases in Gujarat have reached 95. Many people are practicing social distancing and are taking all the precautions against the virus. The notable politician, social activist, and land developer of Gujarat, Pinakin Shukla is time and again hitting the headlines for his noble deeds.

He recently made a huge contribution by donating ration and other essential groceries in large numbers in Virpur, Mahisagar district. Trying his best to fulfill all the fundamental needs of the people in his area, Pinakin is leaving no stone unturned to help them out in any capacity. Adding to that, he just wants people to remain safe and not step out. “We have testing times ahead. Do not create history by doing the same mistake which Italy did. Be home. This is the time you need to be with your near and dear ones. I am spending much needed time with my family and my children. Let’s all unite together and destroy the coronavirus.” For the underprivileged people in Mahisagar district, the politician even stated that he would help them financially and also distribute essential commodities if required again. 

A few days back, Pinakin donated a total of 10,000 kg wheat, 6,000 kg rice, 500 kg dal, 1000 liter refined oil, 1000 kg salt, 100 kg red chili powder, and 100 kg turmeric powder. The kits were distributed among 2,000 people in and across Mahisagar. Well, it is not just during this pandemic, Pinakin Shukla has come forward to do charities. He earlier constructed various temples including Mukeshwar Mahadev Temple, Bhatiji Mandir, and Ramji Mandir in his locality. Besides this, every year Pinakin Donates waters, blankets, etc. in his locality, he donated his land &constructed a bus stand in Mahisagar which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Pinakin Shukla has won a kheda district panchayat election with the highest margin in Gujarat in the year of 2013, he also was the youngest chairman of APMC virpur, In the year of 2015 he also won mahisagar district panchayat election with the highest margin in whole Gujarat, He was the youngest chairman of the standing committee of mahisagar district panchayat. Pinakin is truly living his life to uplift other people and in return, all he wants is to cooperate at this moment and stay safe by being at home.

When a wedding photography studio receives laurels from a prestigious institution like the Australian Bridal Industry Academy (ABIA), it means something more than just the award. For the past many years now, Shootime Alsaboory has remained firmly placed among the top 10 wedding photography studios in Sydney, as per the ABIA. No wonder then that the brides and grooms, not just in Australia, but around the world, agree wholeheartedly!

In addition, in the year 2018, Shootime Alsaboory also stood 6^th among 97 other wedding photography studios after garnering 90.87% votes. 

Past brides, who have had an experience with a bridal supplier and have, subsequently, rated him on the basis of his products, service, value and staff, are called in to determine the AIBA awards. Each year, the best wedding supplies from different regions of Australia compete for these awards.

The brides determine the nominees and finalists by assigning scores out of 100. These scores are awarded for the quality of the product, service, and value for money as well as staff behavior of the suppliers.

It is the unique style of working adopted by Shootime Alsaboory that makes them stand apart in the crowd. The wedding photography service is not just attuned to the things that matter the most to the couple, they also know how to become a part of their wedding story.

After gaining the trust of their subjects, the service offers creative ideas to capture wedding portraits. Some of these ideas are quite unorthodox but equally loved by the bride and the groom. But that doesn’t mean that they don’t accept out-of-the-box ideas of the couple as well as the members of the bridal party. The studio starts with listening to the reasons behind the venue choice, style of the ceremony, etc. 

At Shootime Alsaboory, they believe that “the more you break down that barrier, the easier it becomes to get inspired and creative.”

Not everyone can travel abroad for that perfect wedding. Therefore, Shootime Alsaboory manages to provide an out-of-this-world wedding photography experience to their clients, right where they are!

Many tax officers have voluntarily joined the frontline force to help the needy and poor during Covid-19 crisis. A group of them in Mumbai has pooled resources to provide free ration and other essential items to the poor

What might be a regular day in a tax officer’s life? Most of the times, their focus is on bolstering tax collection. Tasked by the government to mop up more, they keep looking for possible evasion by taxpayers. They issue notice for payment and pursue them vehemently to cough up tax.

This is perhaps the reason they are sometimes accused of misusing power and being harsh to the general public. Over the years, the perception has only got stronger. But some of the officers are set to change this, and tide of public opinion could be headed to turn sooner than later.

As Coronavirus takes the country in its grip, many tax officers have voluntarily joined the frontline force to help the needy and poor. A group of them in the financial capital Mumbai has pooled resources to provide free ration and other essential items to help migrant workers and daily-wagers during this difficult time.

The Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officers Megha Bhargava and Suresh Kataria have taken the lead and tied up with NGO Samparpan to ease the pain and hardship being faced by thousands of workers who are stuck in Mumbai and around during the nationwide lockdown.

Soon after the lockdown was announced, the two officers along with some of their colleagues quickly devised a plan to organize relief efforts through Samarpan for daily wagers.

As the officers swiftly came into action many more joined along. Now, almost 40 officers are shouldering the responsibility in giving back to the society.

While most of them are from IRS fraternity based in Mumbai and Bangalore, the team consists of officers posted all over the country.  Many more like-minded people have also joined the team and contributing in cash and kind.

Samarpan has been at the forefront of mitigating the harshest effects of the outbreak, and has launched a comprehensive relief programme. But the enormity of work needs more support in donations.

The most critical factor for all the above initiatives is access to funds. An amount of merely Rs 1,000 can help one person survive at least one entire month (or a family of 4 for around 8-10 days).

Samarpan has appealed for donations by all well-wishers, which is also eligible for tax benefits u/s 80G of the Income Tax Act. The donations can be made through Samarpan’s website or by crowd funding website Ketto through net banking or credit/debit cards/Paytm etc.

Samarpan is trying hard to help a minimum of 15,000 daily wage earners/migrant workers whose needs are extreme. Apart from this, Samarpan is trying to provide around 100,000 cooked meals in Mumbai.

Story link: https://topleadindia.com/2020/04/26/tax-officers-join-frontline-workers-pool-funds-from-salaries-to-help-needy-fight-covid-crisis/

For most of the girls in the world, one thing that really drives their attention from anything could possibly be or most of the times anything to do with ‘fashion’. The constant desire to go for shopping with or without the need of it is also enough proof why girls always want to keep their wardrobe up-to-date. Almost all of them want to keep it trendy, stylish & chic all the time when they step out of their house. Whether they are going to a party or attending those business meetings, they want to organise every outfit they wish to wear accordingly to suit the occasion & never want to go out of clothes ever. One such girl who has always been crazy behind fashion made her take a swift jump from being a chartered accountant to being an owner of a fashion brand called “Stilig.”

Can you believe that? A girl who already had an excellent corporate profile at hand & who is a certified chartered accountant holding rich experience of 4 years in Project finance & Investment banking, made one of the most significant decisions of her life switching from being a CA to being the owner of a fashion line. Both of these fields have nothing to do with each other & to take such bold decisions in life one needs the right attitude, enthusiasm & confidence & Roshni passes with the highest grades in that matter.

Roshni Agrawal’s “Stilig” is a Mumbai based fashion brand that was launched this year in February, offers a variety of wardrobe solutions to women to cater to their varied choices of outfits for almost all events. Launching the brand with women workwear pieces that could easily transition from office to post-work cocktails to a fun weekend life saw an unmatched demand of the apparel. What started off as only a fashion line that was dedicated for making workwear dresses for the ladies all around the country soon saw a jump in the demand of the brand & its outfits & Stilig as a fashion company dived into making a variety of casual wear as well.

The startup that talks all about fashion & only fashion, whether for workplaces or casual events cater to fashion-conscious girls & ladies between the age of 16 to 40 years to spread the brand all across India & to gradually make a name for itself in the elite fashion brands of the country.

When we have people like Roshni we have enough inspiration as this young girl proves the world that when you have passion for something & the determination to work towards it you must take the first step in doing that & then nobody can stop you.

International makeup artist Anu Nagpal is a master at the art of contemporary and modern makeup techniques. Having created an impressive brand image for herself, Anu’s determination, research, understanding of beauty and people has made her one of the most sought after makeup artists today.

Originally from Delhi with an engineering background, Anu had always been fascinated with makeup and its intricate craftsmanship. It was her perfectionist attitude for everything in life that compelled her to professionally pursue the skill of applying make-up. Needless to say, she got her hair and makeup artistry training at Bangkok from the most renowned makeup school in all of Asia. Gaining impeccable proficiency in bridal, fashion, fantasy, and special effects make-up, learning from the best of the best, Anu Nagpal was all geared up for the industry. She started out with small projects, quickly making her way up to the top as people became instantly impressed by her style of work. She worked with Thailand’s leading production companies, making her a very popular name in the fashion circuit there. She has also worked her magic with international models from the UK as well as Russia, and teamed up with well-known photographers from India, Ireland, Germany and Thailand, spreading her wings across several countries.

After carving a niche for herself internationally, Anu Nagpal moved to India in January this year planning to work extensively with brides and celebrities, conducting majestic bridal and red carpet shoots. Anu had always been a sharp learner with an inventive mind, and her uncanny sense of perception of her client’s needs is what sets her a class apart. This, along with her superlative experience has already made her an absolute favorite in and outside Delhi, upping the bridal and fashion make-up game to another level.

Anu Nagpal is the epitome of creativity and originality, pouring her heart and soul into her work. At times when she isn’t glamorizing the world, one makeup brush at a time, she works as an educator, training aspiring makeup artists to become expert professionals like her.

For all the makeup fans who want some beauty inspo, her portfolio on her website www.anunagpal.com is exceptionally stunning, as is her Instagram page ANU NAGPAL. Follow her – it is undoubtedly going to make your scrolling time worth your while!

With the ‘International Mother Earth Day’ commemorated every 22nd April ever since 1970 when its founder, former US Senator Gaylord Nelson witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in California and decided to mark this date as an annual reminder for us “earthlings” to understand the pressing need for greater environmental protection, the 50th Anniversary of the significant day has been chosen by UN to declare “Climate Action” as the broad theme this year for global activities centering around the environment.

This makes me ponder whether the theory I heard once, of instant karma (much like ‘instant coffee’!) is actually coming alive. At this point, let me just assist you to board my ‘train of thoughts’. So, with the global-scale COVID-19 death-dance all around, isn’t only nature having its last laugh? Since the last three decades of my humble existence on the blue planet, as a citizen of the world’s largest democracy, I have never had the fortune to witness such a clear blue summer-sky during the day and a star-woven black velvet as gateway to the heavens above! With the holy Ganges regaining its long-lost clean water and the ancient Yamuna improving by the day, aren’t these river-lifelines springing back to life? Although depressing news tabloids continue to scream out the increasing number of pandemic-induced deaths, the roads outside illustrate what we heard at school – “pin-drxop silence”! The stressful vehicular-honking and urban-madness has given way to delightful sounds of ‘chirpy-conversations’ among birds, with the melodious koyal always being the all-time favorite. Regular sightings of majestic wild animals peacefully crossing streets are getting viral through social media posts. Shall we say, ‘Social Distancing’ = ‘Nature-Embracing’!

Had we known karma would pop up its ugly head with such rude leveling, we might have had second thoughts before neglecting and abusing our common mother, our Mother Earth!

Nature-reboot camp 2020 has indeed made the world its campus…

Yale researchers will begin a clinical trial at Yale-New Haven Hospital to test the effectiveness of a drug called ibudilast (MN-166) for treating acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), a life-threatening lung condition developed by some of the most seriously ill COVID-19 patients. The researchers are part of Yale’s Advanced Therapies Group, which was formed in response to the pandemic and is identifying and advancing possible treatments for the disease.

The drug — which has been approved for years in Japan and Korea for the treatment of asthma — has shown promising results for reducing inflammation associated with ARDS in mouse models. The researchers have partnered with the California company MediciNova to launch the trial. MediciNova had been developing ibudilast as a treatment for multiple sclerosis and neuroinflammation before shifting its attention to COVID-19.

The trials will be controlled studies that test the safety and efficacy of ibudilast for use in patients with COVID-19.

The researchers anticipate FDA approval soon “to treat patients with COVID-19 pneumonia before they develop severe respiratory distress and require mechanical ventilation,” said Dr. Geoffrey Chupp, professor of medicine (pulmonary), director of the Yale Center for Asthma and Airways Disease, and principal investigator of the clinical trial.

The most severely ill COVID-19 patients develop ARDS, which causes hyper-inflammation and fluid buildup in the lungs and leads to a sharp drop in oxygen levels. These patients need ventilators to support their breathing, and their prognosis for survival has been poor. The researchers hope that the drug will reduce damaging inflammation and mitigate the progression of COVID-19-related ARDS, diminish lung injury, and allow patients to recover.  

“COVID-19 causes an intense inflammation reaction known as a ‘cytokine storm,’” said Chupp. In patients, this presents as COVID-19-related pneumonia or ARDS.

“If you can modulate that,” he said, “you can dial back the severity of the illness.”

“We have designed a placebo-controlled trial to see if blocking the effects of macrophage inhibitory factor, or MIF, can protect patients with COVID-19 from developing ARDS,” said Dr. Maor Sauler, assistant professor of medicine (pulmonary) and co-investigator in the study, who researches the effects of MIF on inflammatory diseases in the lung.

Ibudilast is a type of drug known as a MIF inhibitor. MIF is a gene that regulates the immune response —a driver of inflammation and the so-called “cytokine storm.” Over-expression of the gene has been found to play a key role in a number of diseases, including ARDS, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and multiple sclerosis.

Dr. Richard Bucala, chief of rheumatology, allergy, and immunology at Yale School of Medicine and rheumatologist-in-chief at Yale-New Haven Health, is a pioneer in the discovery of drugs that interfere with the MIF pathway to target disease. He was the first to clone MIF and its receptor, and he has developed small-molecule MIF inhibitors to treat autoimmune diseases and cancer. Bucala, who co-directs the Advanced Therapies Group with Dr. Naftali Kaminski, led the partnership with MediciNova. Kaminski is the Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc. professor of medicine (pulmonary).

“We are excited for this partnership opportunity to initiate this study, given the high morbidity and mortality of COVID-19, and the present lack of any evidence-based therapies,” said Bucala. “We additionally hope that insights from this trial will help us to better understand how ARDS develops, irrespective of its underlying cause.”

COVID-19 patients who are on ventilators for ARDS currently have few treatment options.

“Once a patient is in respiratory failure on a ventilator, there is no specific treatment for reducing lung injury and minimizing ARDS,” Chupp said. “All approaches are just to support the patient until the lung heals.”

The effort is one of many by Yale’s Advanced Therapies Group to find new treatments, diagnostics, and targets for combatting COVID-19. Recently, the group helped to lay the groundwork for clinical trials of the novel drug sobetirome to treat patients with ARDS, also at Yale-New Haven Hospital.

We the humans’ lookout to share. Be it happiness or suffering; we want someone to be out there, holding our hands and supporting us through our ways. Our social nature is what differentiates us, and this is what is helping around all, at the time of this lockdown and the distress of pandemic. We are trying our best possible, and so are the governments of all those countries, which came together to help each other and provide everything they can. On the one hand, where these officials and holders of authority are trying to keep us safe and ensure our well-being, there are some people around too who are not just trying to help the government fight against the coronavirus but are also assuring that the nearby families don’t suffer. Considering them, Pandit Devkinandan Thakur, the Bhagwat Katha Vachak  & Spiritual Guru, is one among those who ensured that the society they live in doesn’t suffer either due to financial or mental stress. He said, 

“he who is capable must make sure to give a helping hand.” 

And this is what they are trying to do. Thakur Ji felt devastated, sitting inside and doing nothing but seeing the misery around. He wanted to do something, at least for what was within his capability, and that’s it, one thought, and there came in a start.

                 Â“For ones who will help, they find nothing in their dictionary called an excuse.”

The words of Thakur Ji have always helped us around to attain a peace of mind, and now Thakur Ji, the founder of Vishwa Shanti Sewa Charitable Trust stepped up together with his pupils and other organization members to help in the situation of distress too. 

The days of lockdown have been too distasteful for the people and especially for the daily wage earners and the poor who fought against the virus and the financial crisis also. Being well aware of the same, what the least he could offer was delivering the essentials in and around Mathura-Vrindavan, and he started doing so along with his pupils and members of Vishwa Shanti Mission Organization. He further also ensured his preaching to reach out to his followers through all his social media handles (having more than 20 lacs followers and subscribers) and included the message to follow around the government provided measures and to stay home. Apart from the same, he, along with his disciples and organizational support, pledged contributing to the government created funds, an amount of 51 lacs. Eleven lacs were deposited in the PM care fund, and ten lacs is being used for delivering essentials around.

Masks, sanitizers, gloves, Dettol, etc., for people safety together with bare essentials like flour, lentils, spices, oil, vegetables, etc. have also been ensured to be distributed amidst the daily wage earners and labor sections. As for what is known as per the count available by the organization, 1500+ families have been helped to date by supplying them with essentials required during the pandemic. Apart from the same, few of the organizations, disciples, and their families, they were also requested by Thakur Ji to take a step ahead and contribute towards what we earn from. Best is that his followers are stepping up. In the words of the organization Secretary Vijay Sharma, a follower from Bangalore, Dr. Mukesh Sharma did make a contribution of 22 Lacs in the government funds. 

“None of the efforts goes to waste, only and only if, the same is made from the heart.” Right are the words of Thakur Ji as from what is seen, from many states like Kanpur, Prayag, Patna, and so on, many of the organization set-ups are trying to help people with whatever they can. Dozens of families staying in different colonies of Mathura-Vrindavan are being reached out with essentials through the members of Vishwa Shanti’s mission with the Secretary on the field, who ensures that social distancing is maintained and no-touch delivery can be functional. Apart from all, those who reached out to Thakur Priyakant Ju Mandir and registered their names, also have been helped by the organization.

“Together, we fight, together we abide. For the rules of government is for the well-being of all.”

Spreading around this message, Pandit Devkinandan Thakur, through his online preaching, is reaching out to significant people and ensuring the calmness within their chaotic or depressed minds. He was also seen thanking all those real-life warriors like the cleaners, the doctors and the officials together with the media who are risking their lives and fighting against the deadly coronavirus, for us. We might be within the four walls, but a simple appreciation and a little concern is something we can offer in our words for them. Thakur Ji was also found thanking the citizens in between his preaching as for they too are doing what is possible for them by staying home after all this is how we are showing our true patriotism and care for humanity. Apart from the same, he also ensures that his pupils follow the social distancing measure just as the government asked to.

By all means, his words, his help, his ideas and his support, Thakur Ji is making his efforts to ensure whatever he can do towards the society as this is where we live in this is where we earn from and “a little of contribution won’t take our future away. It will just ensure someone’s good presence today.” So, we must all step up and help and make this society the best in during the distress as when we win this, we would need our loved ones back again, safe and secure, and happy.

As COVID19 pandemic and lockdown spreads, the situation for farmers, particularly poultry, fruits, vegetables, and dairy farmers are getting worse every day. 

Villageagro.com, an Agritech startup founded by a bunch of IITians, comes to the rescue of these farmers. Villageagro.com has launched the “RYTHUSTHAN” campaign, an app-based online dashboard, and a helpline number to onboard farmers to sell their farm produce directly from their farm without going to the markets. Also, at the same time, it solves the lack of fruits, vegetables, poultry, and dairy products available in the market due to the lockdown.

“We are hoping to on-board more than 5000 farmers in the Hyderabad region during the lockdown under the RYTHUSTHAN campaign and we aim to offer them higher margins on their Poultry, fruits, and vegetables through supply chain optimization. We are encouraging farmers to stay at their farms and homes and leave the logistics and negotiations with us. We are launching a farmer-friendly android application as well.” said Devender Dharavath, CEO and Founder of Villageagro.com who is an IIT Madras alumni. 

Villageagro delivers fresh and organic fruits, vegetables, dairy, and poultry products directly from farms to the businesses. The bright and dedicated team of IITians, strong supply chain optimization tools, and in-depth research has led Villageagro to grow more than 30X in the very early stage of the business. Villageagro offers higher margins to the farmers and provides them with the latest updates on technologies and trends in agriculture, horticulture, and animal husbandry.  

“I had a 10-acre crop of tomatoes, I was very worried about not being able to sell my three months of hard work because the markets were closed and coronavirus lockdown was in effect. I sold more than half of my crop through Villageagro at my farm and got 1.5 times margins than the rest of the crop,” said Bandeppa Patil a vegetable farmer from Bidar, Telangana.

Villageagro Agritech has tied up with Meesho and several other businesses to strengthen the other end of the supply chain.