SBI commits Rs. 11 crores to

 SBI commits Rs. 11 crores to support GOI’s COVID-19 vaccination drive

 

In order to support next phase of government’s COVID-19 vaccination drive, State Bank of India (SBI) has decided to contribute Rs. 11 crore to the PM CARES Fund.

 

Dinesh Khara, Chairman, SBI said, “It is at times of adversity that the true form of unity is tested, and we all can take pride in the efforts that our nation has put in to fight the pandemic. The fight against the pandemic is not yet over, and as a responsible Corporate Citizen, we consider it our duty to support the government's efforts to vaccinate all. I request everyone to come forward and help in whatever way they can to ensure a successful vaccination drive.”

 

Early last year, SBI had committed 0.25% of its annual profit to support the fight against COVID-19 and also made significant contribution in the form of supply of masks, sanitizers among others to the needy. Additionally, SBI employees in their effort to support the nation in the unprecedented times had contributed Rs. 107 crores to the PM CARES Fund.

 

Inauguration of the Golden Jubilee Building of the Department of Chemical Engineering by

Inauguration by the Hon'ble Shiksha Mantri Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Hon'ble Minister of Education through
VC on

Inauguration of the Golden Jubilee Building of the Department of  Chemical Engineering will be done by the Hon'ble Shiksha Mantri Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank,Hon'ble Minister of Education,GoI through Video Conferencing on 20th October 2020 at 16 30 PM.

Program Schedule: 20th October 2020 at 16 30 PM.

The live streaming link - http://streaming.nitt.edu/chemicalgjb/

Inauguration of the Golden Jubilee Building of the Department of  Chemical Engineering by

Hon'ble Shiksha Mantri Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank,Hon'ble Minister  of Education,GoI through Video Conferencing on

in the presence of Shri. Bhaskar Bhat, Chairperson BOG, NIT Tiruchirappalli, Dr.(Mrs.) Mini Shaji Thomas, Director, NIT Tiruchirappalli

The National Institute of Technology (NIT),Tiruchirappalli is one of  the leading Technical Institutions of National importance, established in 1964, and has been ranked as the best among all NITs for the last 5 years and the NINETH among all engineering institutions in India, as per the National Institute Ranking Framework [NIRF] India Rankings 2020 released by MHRD,Government of India.

The Institute improved last year’s 10th rank to 9th, with an overall score of 64.1 compared to 61.62 in 2019.In ‘Teaching-Learning Resources’, with the recruitment of new faculty, improvement in 
student strength and better utilization of financial resources the score improved from 68.36 to 72.11 

In “Research and Professional Practice” there is a substantial increase from 46.64 to 50.04,due to 
surge in number of publications and improvement in the quality of  publications.The Institute gave a strong push to Intellectual Property Rights and filing of patents and this proved to be a game changer in improving this parameter.In ‘Graduation Outcome, the score showed considerable improvement from 72.76 to 74.71, with increase in placement and the median salary offered to graduates and the number of  Ph.D. scholars graduated.

The Institute has good infrastructure in place, however due to the increased need for research and increase in student strength, we are in the process of creating new infrastructure. Hence, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee of the Department of Chemical Engineering, a new
building has been constructed for the Department.The Building houses classrooms, Laboratories, Seminar halls  and faculty rooms and is connected to the existing Chemical Engineering building . 

The new  Golden Jubilee Building was initiated as a part of the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Department. The Department of Chemical Engineering, NIT Tiruchirappalli is one of  the premier centers for Chemical Engineering in India by industries as well as academia. The department’s vision is to be a global centre of  academic and research excellence and serve the society.

The Department was started in 1967 and Dr S.H.Ibrahim as the Founder-Head, strived to make it one of the premier Institutes offering UG, PG  and Ph. D Programs. The department has so far produced over 80  Doctorates, 5 in M.S., Over 1200 post graduates and more than 2500 under graduates.

Inauguration will be by the Hon'ble Shiksha Mantri Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank  through video conferencing mode in  the presence of Shri. Bhaskar Bhat, Chairperson BOG, NIT Tiruchirappalli,Dr.(Mrs.)  Mini Shaji Thomas, Director, NIT Tiruchirappalli and Dr. (Mrs.) K.M.  Meera Sheriffa Begum, Head of the Department, Chemical Engg.,NIT  Tiruchirappalli.

GRIHA Council launches tool to assess safety and hygiene standards

GRIHA Council launches tool to assess safety and hygiene standards
 of workplaces post lockdown

More than 100 organizations/individuals have so far registered to use the BFI tool

To prevent the spread of coronavirus post-lockdown, GRIHA Council launched a self-assessment online tool Building Fitness Indicator (BFI) to assess safety and hygiene standards for workplaces in India. GRIHA Council has developed this tool and is offering it as a free service to help organizations make their workplaces safe and sanitized in the post-lockdown period.

Available for commercial buildings specifically designed for office spaces, the overall intent of the BFI is to:

• Provide confidence to the building occupants that the building of it being safe and fit to occupy in the current situation of the pandemic
• Enhance the health and well-being of the workforce
• Enhance productivity and business processes

In accordance with the highest standards of safety guidelines to be followed as per World Health Organisation (WHO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India (GoI), The Indian Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ISHARE) and a few more,  the tool evaluates the sanitization and safety of a building based on three categories – Workplace, Workforce, and Awareness – that are assessed for its policy intervention, social distancing, and hygiene aspects. 

The BFI appraises the workplace on all necessary policies such as waste management, proper housekeeping, government guidelines for Covid-19, and social distancing to deal with the post-lockdown phase. Furthermore, the tool evaluates the ideal working conditions based on certain aspects, including ventilation rate, indoor temperature and so on, to provide a healthy working environment for its occupants.

The tool also measures the health of a workplace based on other key parameters including availability and safe access to drinking water, a COVID-19 aid corner as a precaution, and social distancing norms.

Speaking about the indicator, Mr Sanjay Seth, Chief Executive Officer, GRIHA Council and Senior Director, Sustainable Habitat Programme, TERI, said, “BFI is a self-assessment tool developed by GRIHA Council as a social initiative. GRIHA Council has always worked on the underlying principles of ‘What gets measured, gets managed’. The BFI has been developed based on guidelines issued globally and nationally. However, the tool is not a rating or a certification but is advisory in nature and we encourage all organizations to use this tool to provide guidance to prevent workplace exposure to COVID-19.”

Interest on BFI has been evoked internationally with participants from countries like Switzerland, UAE, Nepal, Sri Lanka etc.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Kamal Meattle, an environmental activist and CEO of Paharpur Business Centre & Software Technology Incubator Park, said, "The Building Fitness Indicator is a simple to use tool that assesses if a workplace is relatively safe for the health of its employees/occupants in the current pandemic. This initiative by GRIHA Council is the need of the day."

Talking about the urgent need of building safety standards in the face of the COVID-19 crisis, Dr Ajay Mathur, Director General, TERI, and President, GRIHA Council, said, “The International Labour Organization (ILO) declared 28th April as the World Day for Safety and Health at Work. What better a day for GRIHA Council to conduct a webinar on the Building Fitness Indicator tool that enables organizations to assess hygiene and safety readiness levels of their workplaces post the lockdown. The BFI is a very timely initiative by the GRIHA Council as we are in the midst of fighting this COVID-19 crisis.”

Any organization that would like to evaluate their workplace readiness, please visit www.bfi.grihaindia.org and sign up to use the tool. Even post lockdown, the tool would be available for any organization/individual that would like to assess their workplace readiness. If you are an individual interested in learning more about the tool, please visit www.bfi.grihaindia.org/checklist.