covid Archives - Exhibit Tech

Top Tech Companies Fighting India’s Second Wave

As the worldwide grip of Covid loosens, the citizens of Earth breathe a sigh of relief. However, the situation is yet to die down in India, where the cases are on an ever-rising curve. Even with all doctors running on full steam and state-of-the-art medical equipment, the sheer number of cases has become overwhelming.

Luckily, India has a bright silver lining behind this dark cloud. Global technology giants are coming together to do their bit for the recovery and stability of our motherland. Be it Google or Ethereum, these companies contribute massive amounts of money to help India get out of Covid’s web. Here are some of the feats that they have achieved so far.

Swiss computer accessory expert Logitech recently announced its contribution to India. In a press statement, the company confirmed that it was the largest one-time donation in its history, of two million dollars (roughly Rs 14 crores), supporting Oxygen for India. Oxygen for India is working with the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), United Airlines, Tech Mahindra, and others to provide oxygen cylinders and oxygen concentrators to help those in need.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai has also stepped in to help India in its crisis. In a tweet, he announced Rs 135 crore in funding for medical supplies, organisations supporting high-risk communities, and grants to help spread critical information. Yet another American tech giant is Microsoft, whose CEO Satya Nadella also announced in a tweet that the company would support the country by using its voice, resources, and technology to aid relief efforts and help purchase critical oxygen concentration devices.

Apple, too, has announced its support for India. Its CEO Tim Cook confirmed on Twitter that the American tech giant would be donating to support and relief efforts on the ground. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg has also confirmed that the company is working with UNICEF to raise ten million dollars (roughly Rs 73 crores) towards India’s emergency response efforts.

Samsung has pledged USD 5 million (INR 37 Crores) to contribute to India’s fight against the current surge of Covid-19, providing donations to central and state governments and boosting the healthcare sector with essential medical equipment for hospitals as part of its citizenship initiatives. Samsung will donate USD 3 million to the Centre and the states of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Samsung has pledged USD 5 million (INR 37 Crores) to contribute to India’s fight against the current surge of Covid-19, providing donations to central and state governments and boosting the healthcare sector with essential medical equipment for hospitals as part of its citizenship initiatives.

Yet another smartphone giant, Oppo, has also stepped in. It has pledged to donate 1000 oxygenators and 500 breathing machines worth Rs 4.3 crore to the Indian Red Cross Society and the Government of Uttar Pradesh to help in the fight against Covid. They are also donating 5000 units of OPPO Band Style worth INR 1.5 Crore to front-line warriors of the Delhi Police and Greater Noida Authority to help them monitor their health as they serve others.

Another industry giant that is helping India as much as it can is Amazon US. Joining the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Task Force, Amazon US is working with NITI Aayog and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW). As part of this, critical life-saving equipment, including 82 anaesthesia ventilators, 1238 BiPAP machines and 60 ventilators, have already reached India. Amazon US will distribute medical equipment to its on-the-ground community partners such as the American India Foundation, ACT Grants and Swasth, who will distribute it to verified hospitals and nonprofit organisations across the country to ensure it reaches the communities it needs most.

Twitter India reminded its users of many features such as Twitter Advanced Search, Twitter Near You and the Latest Tweet to direct people’s searches towards Covid related information in India. LinkedIn has partnered with GiveIndia to raise funds for critical medical supplies.

Among the leading global financial services, Mastercard announced ten million dollars to cover all vaccine-related costs for its India-based employees and immediate family members. It also confirmed that it would allocate funds for additional shipments of 1,000 oxygen generators as part of its CSR effort.

Pledging its support towards India’s fight against coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Canon India has provided essential food and sanitation items across the villages. Canon employees PAN India are enthusiastically coming together and contributing to the PM CARES Fund as well. As part of the support, Canon India is providing 3000 food packets in its adopted villages. In addition to this, to provide sanitation support to children of SOS Children’s Villages of Faridabad, Hyderabad, Canon India has distributed essential items such as sanitisers, liquid soap, cotton masks, etc. other home cleaning products.

Mi India has also pledged to donate over Rs 3 crore to procure thousands of oxygen concentrators. They also confirmed they have partnered with GiveIndia to raise Rs 1 crore to support frontline Covid fighters across the country. Amazon India has also collaborated with multiple organisations to import more than eight thousand oxygen concentrators and five hundred bi-level positive airway pressure (BiPAP) machines from Singapore.

OnePlus is also doing its bit to help the country. In a recent blog post, its CEO Pete Lau confirmed that the smartphone giant would donate 400 oxygenators to India to help meet the immediate need for oxygen in several parts. The company also promised to add up to Rs 1 crore to public donations towards the Covid battle.

India’s tech giant and one of the worldwide leaders, Infosys, installed Covid-19 care centres in Pune and Bengaluru for its employees and their families. It will also educate children, expand bed capacity in hospitals, and assist the government in spreading awareness. Tech Mahindra has also announced its Covid-19 vaccination drive for its associates and dependent family members. It confirmed that it would cover all the incurred expenses. Similarly, TCS also announced that it would provide the Covid-19 vaccine to all its employees and family members, starting from May 1, 2021.

IBM India called out to its employees to come together in this crisis. Its chairman and CEO, Arvind Krishna, wrote to his employees to support the cause. This resulted in the donation of funds for 2500 oxygen cylinders and is continuing to grow.

Paytm, a popular digital payment platform, successfully raised Rs 1 crore through public donations and added the same amount from its end, which doubled the donations to source oxygen concentrators. Now, the company aims to raise Rs 10 crore! CRED founder Kunal Shah tweeted about the company’s plans to raise funds for procuring one billion litres of oxygen. It also encourages CRED users to donate the CRED coins that are present in their accounts.

Zomato’s founder Deepinder Goyal confirmed that the company’s not-for-profit organisation, Zomato Feeding India, has kickstarted the “Help Save My India” project in collaboration with Delhivery. It aims to raise Rs 50 crore to source oxygen concentrators and related supplies to help hospitals and families in India.

Ethereum’s co-founder Vitalik Buterin also confirmed via Twitter his donation of Rs 4.5 crore. Naturally, he donated 100 ETH and 100 MKR, whose proof he shared on Twitter. The co-founder of Sun Microsystem, Vinod Khosla, also announced his wish to fund hospitals in India for importing oxygen and other supplies in India. Following that, he received many requests from non-profit organisations, non-government organisations, and private initiatives such as Manjinder Singh Sirsa (President of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee), the Cancer Aid Society, and Hemkunt Foundation to fund hospitals needing medical supplies to fight Covid, which he gladly received.

Apart from the significant organisations and global tech leaders, there are also many Indian companies working hard to save the country. Among such is Oxicare, which aims to help as many blue collared technicians as possible. The company hires technicians who can repair oxygen concentrators. The efforts were further emphasised on LinkedIn by Rajesh Bansal, who stated that they were on a mission to train 1000 technicians across India.

These companies have proven that despite being divided by the market, they are united by a single cause; the cause of saving lives!

A trip to Crypto

The power of a tweet has grown immensely. Elon Musk could take the Dogecoin down by 25 % and affect the robust BITCOIN to go down by 18% with just a tweet. The second tweet was his realization that crypto mining affects the environment and contributes to global warming. If this environmental tweet would have been done by Donal Trump or even Warren Buffet, for that matter, it’s still understandable. But coming from someone the ilk of Musk who has more tech in his DNA than red blood cells? That’s something new. Paypal, SpaceX, Tesla, if he did not get in the first instance that mining crypto has environmental issues, then it’s a severe problem.

Quite vocally, he announced his investments in Crypto, making it mainstream and making it fashionable for people everywhere to invest their disposable income and play with it. No one wants to be sitting ten years hence and miss the rocket of crypto, which can either explode or take you to Mars, where Elon’s colony is being made. It seems to be a safer bet to have a holiday home on Mars with the viruses around!

The Crypto industry is volatile and confusing. It’s not for everyone and is radically different from investment in mutual funds and equity, which comes with a disclaimer: Investments are subjected to market risks. Crypto Investments are sometimes subjected to powerful mens’ tweets, mood, temperament, and global warming. Sure, there are opportunities, and I genuinely believe in blockchain. The next issue is coming up with a unique story on Crypto Billionaires.

I remember six years ago, we had organized a conference on Crypto where we invited gentlemen from France, the Netherlands, and other parts of Europe. Still, the laws of the land were so confusing that we had to keep its profile low. For now, investing in crypto is not illegal. Still, there are very grey areas that we have to be careful about, for no bank and politicians worldwide would like to cede control on financial markets. That might just be a significant deterrent to the rocketship called Crypto. Till we duck the second wave, stay home, stay safe.

[button href=”https://www.exhibitstore.in/product/exhibit-may-2021-digital-edition/” type=”btn-primary” size=”btn-lg”]CLICK TO GRAB YOUR LATEST ISSUE![/button]

How To Improve India’s Primary Healthcare With Data Analytics

There are some phrases which patients do not deserve to hear.

“Only if we knew more about the symptoms earlier.”

“We would have been in a better position had you approached us last month!”

“We could have avoided hospitalization if you had taken the right precautions.”

Nor should the doctors be made to say such things given the skill sets they possess. Delays in care are directly related to health risks, high costs, and unnecessary complications. However, what can we do to avoid such instances?

Where does the problem lie?

We have some of the best doctors and pharmaceutical brains in the world, and we also have world-class medical schools and quality care delivery institutions around the country. Yet, we aren’t anywhere close to being called the “best healthcare system in the world.” Reasons are plenty:

Culture of “self-treatment” – Many patients tend to avoid visiting a doctor to save money.
Lack of the culture of wellness – Our healthcare system is based on the goal of treating patients instead of ensuring their wellbeing.
Not enough care providers – Against the WHO recommended ratio of 1:1000, India has 1 doctor for every 1456 people.
Uneven distribution of care providers in urban and rural areas – According to another report, 75% of the healthcare infrastructure of India is concentrated in urban areas despite the fact that more than 65% of the population resides in rural regions.
Unavailability of a connected care continuum – Our healthcare system is not digitized in the major part of the country. The patient information exists in digital or non-digital files which aren’t always accessible to each care stakeholder.
Lack of enough resources – India spends less than 2% of its GDP on healthcare, one of the lowest in the world.

Doctors Deserve To Witness The Innovation

As a nation, we often talk about technology and engineering prowess. From ordering the cereal we eat in the morning to the AR-powered video games we play, technology is at the root of it. From the way we book our movie tickets to how we transfer money from one bank account to another, technology has made this world more convenient and exciting for everyone. However, healthcare has still stayed an exception.

Our banks know more about us than your family physicians – and they are in a better position to manage our preferences than our care providers. One simple reason – our bank piled up every piece of information about its clients and analyzed it to add value to it. On the contrary, our physicians never had the means to analyze anything they ever knew about us!

Role of Data Analytics In Improving Wellness

Early detection of symptoms and making patients aware of their susceptibility to certain health issues have a two-fold benefit of better care outcomes and reduced cost. However, to ensure the same, it is necessary that doctors remain connected with their patients in near or real-time, are empowered with trustworthy data, and supported with actionable insights.

This is where data comes into play. By aggregating, analyzing, and activating data coming from disparate sources, healthcare technology innovations can empower care providers with insights that matter the most right in the moment of care. Imagine your doctor has access to your medical history, your ongoing medication, your vitals, and even your food habits – and then they customize a care plan for you to address every facet of your lifestyle. Double this up with the fact that your doctor regularly recommends wellness checkups and sends you awareness literature around possible health issues. Sounds comprehensive, right?

Such highly sophisticated algorithms can also eliminate the need for manual administrative interventions during patient-doctor interaction time, and thus substantially increase doctors’ understanding of their patients. When implemented across the entire network, AI-enabled, data-driven insights can have a great impact on care and cost outcomes.

Strengthening Primary Care For Quality Healthcare

For any nation, primary care facilities represent the first touchpoint between the system and the people. It is where the at-risk population can be identified and triaged into buckets for the hospitals and even governments to act upon systematically. Once vulnerable groups are identified, we can dedicate ample resources to ensure that their health conditions don’t exacerbate unnecessarily. These timely interventions can not only result in avoiding health complications, but also ensure our already-burdened health system is not further burdened with avoidable emergency care needs.

A population-level comprehension of patient data serves multiple purposes simultaneously. Population health analytics, in fact, can solve different use-cases for different stakeholders too, some of them are listed below:

Hospitals

Increased patient satisfaction and outcomes
Reduced administrative burden on care teams
Enhanced patient awareness
Better resource management and timely care delivery

Rural facilities/ community centres

Quality-focused patient triaging and triggering
Low-cost treatment
Early detection of symptoms
Disburdened facilities

Patients

Increased awareness
Improved relationships with care teams
Reduced expenditure on care needs
Better care outcomes

Policymakers

Evidence-based resource allocation
Rigorous policy improvement cycles
YoY population-level health trends monitoring mechanisms
Timely public health emergency troubleshooting

The Road Ahead

The canvas of technology is untamed, and so should be our aspirations! We need to believe that India’s healthcare system can one day become one of the greatest in this world, but for that to happen, we would need to follow a quality-driven and data-backed approach that can take us closer to this collective objective! Undeniably, primary care will play a crucial role in this transition.

A New Tomorrow

Back to square one. This time last year, things were pretty much the same. We were in lockdown, confused, and the fear of the unknown. This year, we know how to deal with Covid and know somewhere there are vaccines, but still, uncertainty looms large on us. It’s been almost a year since we have attended any tech launches. Automobile brands have no choice, and they have also been forthcoming.

We have seen the whole house attending almost whenever a launch invite hits our mailboxes, be it the Hyundai Alcazar at Alila fort or the VW Taigun in Goa, the Renault Kyger, or the Mercedes A-class. I really can’t wait to meet folks from the tech industry at a banquet hall or on top of a fort or a boat. Face to Face meets is what the craving is for.

Uncertainty breeds chaos and challenges the status quo. This is why we are seeing a colossal jump in Bitcoin pricing to reach its current price of Rs 46 lakh. It’s mind-boggling to see the opportunity lost, and tech entrepreneurs, including Musk, have been investing rather openly in it. Most tech entrepreneurs have this resulting fire to change the world, challenge everything, and don’t want to hand control currencies into the hands of the government. There are massive pros and cons of bitcoin and cryptocurrency, and we can quickly write a book about it, but we can’t ignore it either. Ether is another crypto on a meteoric rise, and we have gone down to a miniature crash course to mine it, just in case, it tickles your brain somewhere.

It is impossible to decode the future of the world. Electric cars and lithium batteries leave an enormous carbon footprint and have damaging effects. Improperly disposed batteries contribute to water and air pollution. When depleted, these batteries are tossed into the trash, and they end up in landfills, where they decay and leak. As the batteries corrode, their chemicals soak into the soil and contaminate groundwater and surface water.

With the large-scale adoption of electric cars and waiting on the brink is a booming recycling industry, these batteries will also find better use after discarding. Hopefully, we will breathe clean air in time to come. Until that happens, do your bit to save energy. Remember that a 2 degree further rise in our temperature will have catastrophic effects. Even worse than Covid.

Enjoy the issue.