Bosch inaugurates fully automated production lines

Bosch inaugurates fully automated production lines for protective face masks in India

• Bosch India’s in-house special-purpose machinery unit will manufacture up to 100,000 protective face masks a day

„  Masks will be used for associates as well as community distribution

„  This is one of our key steps towards honouring our INR 50 crore commitment to combat COVID-19 pandemic

In the fight against coronavirus, Bosch has designed its own line of protective face masks. Bosch India inaugurated its fully-automated in-house production line at its Naganathapura location in Bengaluru. With this, the company aims to manufacture nearly 100,000 masks a day to protect its associates and contribute to the protection of the community at large in India. In doing so, Bosch is helping to relieve the burden on the market. The line was virtually inaugurated with active participation from both Central as well as State Government officials.

Globally, Bosch will produce over 500,000 (half a million) protective face masks per day across five fully automated production lines at four Bosch locations, including the Naganathapura plant in India. These mask production lines have been designed by Bosch’s special-purpose machinery unit and will be available for usage to the workforce at Bosch in India as well. About 3,000,000 of these surgical masks will be supplied free of cost to second level COVID -19 such as healthcare workers, police, municipal corporation workers, ASHA and Anaganwadi workers as well as NGOs. The three-layered masks impede the spread of pathogens from the wearer’s nose and throat with a bacterial filtration efficiency greater than 95 percent. To ensure that these masks are not sold, each mask carries the Bosch logo at the bottom corner.

Speaking at the inauguration, Mr. Soumitra Bhattacharya, Managing Director, Bosch Limited & President, Bosch Group in India said: “At Bosch, we have always kept safety and security of our asscociates at the forefront across all our operations. This initiative is one of our key steps towards honouring our INR 50 crore commitment to combat COVID-19 pandemic using our innovative technologies and high competence in manufacturing.”

Bosch will leverage its mask manufacturing lines set up in Germany, Mexico, and India to cater to associate protection and regional requirements, effectively extending its COVID-19 protection initiative to the world. This will significantly boost the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ campaign. Overall, by the end of June, the production volume of the five lines is set to exceed ten million masks a month.

AirAsia India announced a special initiative the

AirAsia India announced a special initiative, the 'AirAsia RedPass', acknowledging the contribution made by doctors in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. Doctors have been at the forefront of the nation's fight against the pandemic, working tirelessly to save lives without fearing for their own.

As part of this initiative to pay a tribute to doctors, AirAsia India will give away 50,000 free seats on flights across its domestic sectors to doctors as a gesture of gratitude for their commendable efforts in support of the nation.

Doctors can submit their contact details and desired sector and date of travel between 1 Jul 2020 to 30 Sep 2020 with their registration number or ID as proof on https://air.asia/GCs2R. Applications are open till 12 June 2020 with up to 50,000 AirAsia RedPasses available for doctors across the country who would also be given special privileges like priority boarding at the airport. The RedPass would be valid for a one way flight for the successful applicant doctors on the AirAsia India domestic network.

Speaking of the concept and inspiration behind the AirAsia RedPass, Mr. Ankur Garg, Chief Commercial Officer, AirAsia India said “As a mark of respect to our doctors and in recognition of the admirable values they have displayed through the last few months - grit, determination and strength, we at AirAsia India wanted to express our gratitude for their tireless efforts in keeping the nation safe and healthy. We understand that a lot of doctors have been away from their family and friends in the course of their commitment to their duty. True to our essence of connecting people and destinations, we would be honoured to play a part in connecting them to their loved ones.”

AirAsia has been working closely with medical professionals and regulatory authorities to ensure the health and safety of its guests and cabin crew. In line with WHO guidelines to contain the spread of coronavirus, AirAsia India undertakes robust measures to upkeep the hygiene levels of its aircraft and minimise the risk of spread of any infectious diseases. AirAsia India's fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft are all equipped with HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Arresters) aircraft filtration system which filter 99.99% of dust particles and airborne contaminants such as viruses and bacteria similar to those used to keep the air clean in hospital surgical operating rooms. The filtration system also ensures a constant 'downwash' wash of air @ 1m/sec, minimising the risk of cross contamination and refreshing the air in the entire cabin every 2-3 minutes, offering the highest possible quality of air. The fleet undergoes transit cleaning at each stop and regular disinfection to control or kill infectious agents using cleaning, sanitising and disinfecting products approved by the Public Health Authority and aircraft manufacturers.

Additional precautionary measures have been deployed on all flights since the resumption of flight operations and include thermal screening to detect any passengers who may be symptomatic at time of boarding the plane. Customised safety kits are being given by AirAsia India to all guests at the boarding gates including sanitisers, face masks and face shields for use onboard to prevent infection from potentially asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic co-passengers while also reducing the potential for autoinoculation. The safety of guests and crew is an utmost priority and these additional enhancements demonstrate the continued commitment to keeping flying as the safest mode of travel. 

*Base Fare will be waived off under the RedPass Scheme, airport fees, charges and statutory taxes will be borne by the traveler. 

Bata donates 1 million pairs of shoes

Bata donates 1 million pairs of shoes

to health care workers, volunteers and their families.

As a global leading shoe company, Bata feels responsible towards all its stakeholders including the communities in which it operates across countries and regions. This is why the Bata Group commits to donate 1 million pairs of shoes to health care workers, volunteers and their families, the front-liners fighting the Covid-19 with admirable courage and dedication every day. The donation will impact a number of countries, in Europe, Latin America, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and India.

“During these unprecedented times, Bata is committed to doing everything possible to ensure the health and safety of our employees and consumers, to continue to serve our consumers to the best of our ability, and to take meaningful action to help communities in need and those on the frontlines” said Alexis Nasard, Bata CEO. 

“Now more than ever, we are committed to upholding our values and to improving the lives of our consumers, employees, suppliers, customers and communities”.

Since the onset of the outbreak, Bata through its ‘Bata Heroes’ initiative, has been working with its long-standing foundations, charitable partners, government officials, and other organizations to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, in countries as diverse as India, Czech Republic, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Colombia, Italy, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Chile, Peru, Thailand, Malaysia.  Bata produced and donated face masks, face shields and protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers, as well as donated food, hygienic products, or funds through the Bata Children’s Program and the Bata Shoe Foundation.

NIT Tiruchirappalli is proactively responding to the COVID-19

NIT Tiruchirappalli is proactively responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and making its best effort to provide support and solutions.


The Director, NIT Tiruchirappalli, Dr. Mini Shaji Thomas said re-usable 3D printed face shields are one such product developed at NIT Tiruchirappalli which are transparent screens that cover the face and help prevent infectious droplets from entering the eyes, nose and mouth. It is very much essential for front line people like doctors and nurses who are closely moving with COVID-19 patients, she added.

Dr.M.Duraiselvam, Dean (Planning and Development) handed over 100 such 3D printed Face shields to Prof.Dr.K.Vanitha, Dean along with Dr.R Yeganathan, Medical Superintendent,MGMGH,Tiruchirappalli. The Dean of GH, Trichy indicated the importance of wearing face shields together with face masks. She appreciated the efforts of NIT Tiruchirappalli and thanked the Director, NIT Tiruchirappalli for her initiative and timely help.

Star Health donates 1.5 lakh facemasks for Chennai City

Star Health donates 1.5 lakh face masks for Chennai City police during Covid-19 pandemic

In its effort to help the Chennai police personnel stay safe during the Covid 19 outbreak, Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Ltd., India’s leading standalone health insurance company, donated 1.5 Lakh 3 ply disposable face masks to Dr. A. K. Viswanathan, the Commissioner of Police of Chennai City. With this move, Star Health Insurance is glad for the opportunity to serve the society. These face masks will be distributed internally amongst the police officers who are on duty and are deployed across the state.

The Chennai City Police have deployed over 20,000 personnel for the imposition of the lockdown and ensuring that social distancing norms are being met. While they are on duty, these protective masks will go a long way in helping these heroes to stay protected.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. S. Prakash, Managing Director, Star Health and Allied Insurance Co. Ltd. said, “Our Police force is doing a tremendous job we are grateful for the services rendered by the Police Department and as a small token of our gratitude we want to offer these masks which can help them to stay protected. The Police are working tirelessly at par with the health workers in the war against the deadly Covid 19. We thank them for their management and their assistance while being away from their families and taking care of us. We hope these masks will help them keep themselves safe in these trying times. We are glad to offer protection for those who are protecting our country and its people.”

The leading standalone health insurer believes that the war against the deadly corona virus can be led to victory by rendering all our support and cooperation to the government.