Deepak Kochhar tests Covid positive, lands in AIIMS

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Deepak Kochhar tests Covid positive, lands in AIIMS

Former ICICI Bank chairman Chanda Kochhar’s husband Deepak Kochchar who was recently arrested in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate has tested positive for Covid-19.

Kochhar has been admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here, the businessman’s legal team confirmed to IANS over the phone. His Counsel Vijay Aggarwal who met him on Sunday in the ED office also made himself self-quarantined.

A Special Court earlier this month sent Kochhar to 11 days ED custody after the federal agents arrested him in a money-laundering case.

Kochhar, the husband of the high-profile former ICICI Bank CEO and MD Chanda Kochhar, is facing charges of money-laundering in the ICICI Bank-Videocon Group case.

A Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act Court had sent him to the ED custody till September 19.

The action came nearly a year after the Central Bureau of Investigation launched a probe against Videocon Group Director Venugopal Dhoot, his companies Videocon International Electronics Ltd. and Videocon Industries Ltd, and the Kochhars.

Following the CBI complaint, the ED launched its own probe into the money-laundering angle, and earlier this year, provisionally attached assets valued at around Rs 78 crore, including a flat in Mumbai, land, and plant and machinery of a wind power project in Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which were “owned/controlled” by the Kochhar.

The probe revealed that bank loans were refinanced and new loans aggregating to Rs 1,730 crore were sanctioned to Videocon and its group companies, and these loans later became non-performing assets (NPA) for ICICI Bank on June 30, 2017.

Khattar back in Chandigarh after Covid-19 recovery

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Khattar back in Chandigarh after Covid-19 recovery

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday returned to the state capital Chandigarh after recovering from Covid-19.

He asked people to follow all guidelines like wearing masks and physical distancing to prevent the spread of the virus.

Khattar was discharged from the Medanta hospital in Gurugram on September 10.

After testing positive for novel coronavirus on August 24, just ahead of the day-long monsoon session of the state Assembly, he was admitted to Medanta hospital for treatment.

Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor starrer ‘Stree’ releases in Japan

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Rajkummar Rao-Shraddha Kapoor starrer ‘Stree’ releases in Japan

The Shraddha Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao-starrer horror comedy Stree has released in Japan.

Shraddha took to Twitter to share the news, with a poster of her 2018 film. “#Stree is all set to conquer #Japan! Releasing today, beware (sic),” she captioned the poster.

Helmed by Amar Kaushik, “Stree” revolves around the people of Chanderi village, where the spirit of a woman attacks men at night during four days of a religious festival every year.

Apart from Shraddha and Rajkummar, “Stree” also features Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, and Abhishek Banerjee, among others. Nora Fatehi’s special dance number “Kamariya” has gone on to become a rage.

Amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the theatres in Japan reopened in mid-May when the government started easing restrictions. Initially, the cinema halls in Japan started with the screening of old Hollywood classics like “Ben-Hur” (1959), “East of Eden” (1955), “Bonnie and Clyde” (1969), and “The Towering Inferno” (1974).

Haryana bans visit to Kurukshetra, Pehowa on September 17

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Haryana bans visit to Kurukshetra, Pehowa on September 17

The Haryana government on Monday announced the imposition of ban on gathering during “Amavasya” on September 17 at pilgrimage sites — Kurukshetra and Pehowa — due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The devotees usually congregate at Kurukshetra and Pehowa for “pindaan” of their forefathers on “Pitrapaksha”.

To prevent the spread of the corona, the Kurukshetra administration imposed a complete ban on the gathering of devotees at both the pilgrimage sites on September 17, an official statement said.

Lok Sabha passes two AYUSH Ministry Bills

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Lok Sabha passes two AYUSH Ministry Bills

The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the National Commission for Homoeopathy Bill, 2020, and the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill, 2020 by voice vote on the first day of the Monsoon Session.

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan introduced both the bills in the absence of AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik in the House.

The homeopathy Bill seeks to improve the medical education system through the availability of adequate and high-quality homeopathy practitioners across the country. The Bill promotes equitable and universal healthcare by making the services of homeopathy professionals accessible to all citizens.

The Bill promotes national health goals, encourages homeopathy practitioners to use the latest medical research in their work and also to contribute to research, and facilitates maintenance of a homeopathy medical register for India. It is flexible to adapt to the changing needs and ensures an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Bill too aims to improve access to quality and affordable medical education. The purpose is to ensure the availability of adequate and high-quality professionals in the Indian System of Medicine in the country.

It also promotes equitable and universal healthcare, promotes national health goals, encourages medical professionals to adopt the latest medical research in their work, and also to contributes to research.

The Bill also focuses on an objective, periodic, and transparent assessment of medical institutions and facilitates, maintenance of a medical register of the Indian System of Medicine and enforces high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services, and flexibility to adapt to the changing needs, and an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

English football clubs concerned about financial health: report

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English football clubs concerned about financial health: report

Half of the clubs across England’s top four football leagues are worried about their financial condition and 43 percent say they have been approached by outside investors in the last 12 months, as per a report from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO.

“Many clubs were already struggling to balance the books, but Covid-19 has accelerated and exacerbated the problem,” said Ian Clayden, BDO’s national head of professional sports.

“At club level, as well as working hard to activate new revenue streams, there is a trend towards leveraging future receivables to manage current liquidity constraints. Care needs to be taken of course to secure the future rather than mortgage it and kick the problem into the long grass. Supplementing incomes now will only help in the medium term if action is being taken to dial back player costs – which inevitably take time.

“If matches continue to be played behind closed doors for an extended period, we may see a number of clubs, particularly in the lower leagues, at risk of insolvency or takeover in the coming year,” he added.

Clubs in England’s top four divisions stood to collectively generate record revenues of more than 6 billion pounds ($7.6 billion) before the 2019/20 season but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the financial struggles have intensified and left some in dire straits, the BDO report further said.

ByteDance not to sell TikTok’s US operations to Oracle: CGTN

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ByteDance not to sell TikTok’s US operations to Oracle: CGTN

In an interesting development, ByteDance has reportedly said it will neither sell TikTok’s US operations to Oracle nor give the source code to any US buyers, state-owned China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported on Monday.

The report came as The New York Times and other US media outlets reported on Sunday that Bytedance, the Chinese owner of TikTok, has chosen Cloud major Oracle over Microsoft to run its US operations as a ‘trusted tech partner’.

The CGTN said that it “has learned from sources that ByteDance will also not sell TikTok’s US operations to Oracle”.

ByteDance declined to comment on this matter, the report added.

In an earlier statement on Sunday, Microsoft said its bid for TikTok operations in the US was rejected.

“ByteDance let us know today they would not be selling TikTok’s US operations to Microsoft. We are confident our proposal would have been good for TikTok’s users while protecting national security interests,” Microsoft said.

“To do this, we would have made significant changes to ensure the service met the highest standards for security, privacy, online safety, and combating disinformation, and we made these principles clear in our August statement,” the tech giant added.

According to the NYT, it was unclear whether TikTok’s choice of Oracle as a technology partner would mean that “Oracle would also take a majority ownership stake of the social media app”.

This is different from an outright sale and appears to suggest Oracle will help run TikTok’s US operations with its Cloud technologies.

The business sales talk of TikTok in the US hit a roadblock after China updated the technology export rules. The update covers Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies used by ByteDance.

China in August updated the list of technologies that are subject to export bans. The new list, released jointly by China’s Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Science and Technology, added 23 items to export restrictions while technical parameters of 21 items were revised.

The new update in the export rules cover restrictions on technologies such as text analysis, content recommendation, and voice-recognition. The technologies on the list cannot be exported without approval from authorities in China.

ByteDance had said “the company will strictly abide” by the new export rules imposed by China.

105-year-old woman fights Covid at home, survives

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105-year-old woman fights Covid at home, survives

The 105-year-old Kamalamma Linganagouda Hiregoudra has become the center of attraction in Karnataka’s Koppal district after her grandson reportedly cured her of Covid-19 with his Ayurvedic formulas.

Koppal is one of the backward districts of the state and has been a hotspot for coronavirus.

Hiregoudra’s grandson Srinivas Hyati is an Ayurvedic doctor practicing in the state.

As the elderly woman had a fever, she had undergone a corona test which came positive but she was reluctant to be hospitalized.

“It was a challenge to treat her at home. However, she had no other health issues and that was a great advantage for us to treat her like any other Covid-19 patient. She was not worried about the virus and cooperated for the treatment in home isolation,” Hyati said.

Her family members said she had stopped taking food saying her life was about to end. “But we forced her to consume at least ‘ganji’ (porridge) and water along with the prescribed medicines that helped her to recover,” a family member claimed.

After taking these home remedies for sometime when she underwent a corona test recently, the result was surprisingly negative, the family member said.

Great Learning ropes in Virat Kohli as brand ambassador

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Great Learning ropes in Virat Kohli as brand ambassador

Ed-tech company Great Learning on Monday announced the appointment of Virat Kohli, as its brand ambassador.

The captain of the Indian cricket team, who also topped a recent ranking of India’s most powerful celebrities, will now be the face of the Great Learning brand, the company said.

He will lead the brand’s latest ‘Power Ahead’ campaign, which underlines the importance of lifelong learning and showcases how high-quality learning at the right time can help professionals and students’ power ahead in their careers.

“Kohli is the obvious choice to be our brand ambassador because he best embodies the great learning ethos of excellence and continuous learning,” Mohan Lakhamraju, Founder and CEO, Great Learning, said in a statement.

“We are looking forward to this association with Kohli through which we wish to spread the message that now, through the high quality online learning offered by Great Learning, anyone can grow and succeed,” Lakhamraju added.

The company is also launching a multi-film campaign with Kohli during the upcoming Dream 11 IPL, where the brand is Associate Sponsor on Disney + Hotstar.

The films showcase Kohli reflecting on the brand’s philosophy of continuous learning being a necessity for sustained career growth, something he embodies only too well in his game.

“Great Learning is a leader in the professional learning space and has built a reputation for delivering high-quality education and career transformations,” said Kohli.

“I also share the same passion for excellence that Great Learning does and am excited about our association,” Kohli added.

Earlier this month, Great Learning had announced a collaboration with Northwestern University School of Professional Studies in the US to launch an online ‘Master of Science in Data Science Programme’ in India.

The fully online, 18-months-long Master’s program offers an opportunity to earn a world-class master’s degree from a global top-30 ranked university for graduates and working professionals in the country.

Covid-19: NRL players could face 100M AUD pay cut over next 2 years

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Covid-19: NRL players could face 100M AUD pay cut over next 2 years

The National Rugby League (NRL) of Australia could cut players’ salaries by more than 100 million Australian dollars (about $72.8 million) over the next two years due to the financial blow caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, The Australian has revealed.

The NRL had informed the players union that Covid-19 would cost them at least 400 million Australian dollars ($291.1 million) in 2021 and 2022, writes Xinhua news agency.

NRL players are entitled to 29.5 percent of the game’s total revenue pool, according to the collective bargaining agreement. However, as the league suffers from Covid-19, players could be forced to share the financial pain.

The NRL had offered the players a 10 percent pay cut for each season. But after enduring a 20 percent pay cut to restart the competition this year, players insisted the reduction should be no more than five percent.

With the grand final only weeks away, Australian Rugby League Commission chair Peter V’landys remained confident that an agreement will be reached in time despite the haggling.

“It is not just the revenues of the NRL (that have dropped), it is the revenues of the clubs. They are doing it a bit tougher than we first thought,” V’landys said.

“There is a collective bargaining agreement there anyway. It says they get a certain percentage of revenue. If we did that, they would be getting a lot less than what the offer is.”

Not only relying on players, but the NRL is also doing its own part to cut costs, with details set to be announced at the end of the month.

India records 92K new cases, Covid tally crosses 48L

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India records 92K new cases, Covid tally crosses 48L

With a massive spike of 92,071 cases, including 1,136 deaths in 24 hours, India’s total tally of Covid-19 cases reached 48,46,427, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare data on Monday.

Out of the total cases, 9,86,598 are the active ones, 37,80,107 have been discharged, while 79,722 lost the battle against the viral disease. In the last 24 hours, 77,512 patients were discharged.

While the recovery rate is 77.88 percent, the fatality rate is 1.65 percent, the data from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said.

On July 17, India had logged 10 lakh cases, which then doubled to 20 lakh in 20 days, on August 7. The country added another 10 lakh on August 23 and went past 40 lakh on September 5.

Maharashtra continues to be the worst-hit state with a total of 10,37,765 cases, including 29,115 deaths; followed by Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.

According to the data from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), India conducted 9,78,500 sample tests in a single day on Sunday, taking the total number of samples tested so far to 5,72,39,428.

On the global front, India remains the second worst-hit nation with the Covid-19 pandemic while the US leads the board with 65,19,121 total cases and 1,94,041 deaths. The maximum number of deaths occurred in the US followed by Brazil and India.

Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare asked Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh to make adequate oxygen availability while ensuring unrestricted intra as well as the interstate movement of the oxygen.

To allay fears regarding the safety aspect of the coronavirus vaccines, the Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan said that he will be happy to take the first dose. He assured the vaccine will be first made available to those who need it the most, irrespective of their paying capacity.

Big B 1st celebrity voice on Amazon Alexa in India

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Big B 1st celebrity voice on Amazon Alexa in India

Amazon Alexa on Monday announced a partnership with Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan to create a unique voice experience for its Indian fans.

The Amazon Alexa team will work closely with Bachchan to capture his voice and deliver a new voice experience to customers.

It will include popular offerings like jokes, weather, shayaris, motivational quotes, advice, and more.

Big B’s voice will be available on Alexa devices next year, the company said.

“Bachchan’s voice is truly memorable for any Indian who has grown-up with Bollywood. This combination delivers a perfect pitch to further delight and simplifies the lives of our customers,” said Puneesh Kumar, Country Leader for Alexa, Amazon India.

Alexa in the US already has the voices of several celebrities like Samuel L. Jackson, but this is the first time that the Indian Alexa will get the voice of a Bollywood celebrity.

One can invoke the conversation between Alexa and Amitabh Bachchan and make the celebrity talk to you by saying “Hey Alexa, Say hello to Amitabh Bachchan”.

“Technology has always given me an opportunity to adapt to new forms. Be it in movies, TV shows, podcasts, and now, I am excited to create this voice experience in partnership with Amazon and Alexa. With voice technology, we are building something to engage more effectively with my audience and well-wishers,” Bachchan said on joining Alexa’s voice experience.

Alexa is also available on the Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Fire TV Edition, the free Alexa app as well as the Amazon shopping app (Android only).

In addition, several third-party devices like mobile phones, Bluetooth speakers, headphones, wearables, and smart TVs also come with Alexa built-in.

Namit Das’ new musical turn: Actor tries recreating Rafi’s ‘Badan pe sitare’

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Namit Das’ new musical turn: Actor tries recreating Rafi’s ‘Badan pe sitare’

Actor Namit Das continues with his tryst as a singer and composer, covering hits melodies with his band

Namit’s latest cover is a rendition of the Bollywood classic “Badan pe sitare lapete huye”, from the Shammi Kapoor-Vyjayanthimala starrer “Prince”. The Mohammad Rafi original was composed by Shankar-Jaikishen and written by Hasrat Jaipuri for the 1969 release.

Namit has performed the remake with bandmate Anurag Shanker.

“This golden hit classic has been celebrated by listeners for over 51 years. The original song was given a very modern arrangement of music and style of rendition. With his divine voice, Rafi saab made it a dance anthem for eternity. One of the edgiest on-screen personas in Bollywood, Shammi Kapoor, has inspired not only actors but creators from across the board with his unique performances and style,” said Namit.

“We take one of his signature songs and bring down an epic old school funk arrangement on it. It is the last of the quarantine jams before we get back to our own material starting with a live release this month,” he added.

On the acting front, Namit is currently shooting for his upcoming film, “Aafat-E-Ishq”.

Odisha reports highest spike of 4,198 corona cases

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Odisha reports highest spike of 4,198 corona cases

Odisha registered 4,198 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, its highest single-day spike so far, taking the state’s total tally to 1,55,005, a health official said on Monday.

With 11 more Covid-19 fatalities in the last 24 hours, Odisha’s death toll reached 637.

While Cuttack district recorded four deaths, Khordha and Balangir districts registered two each, and Kandhamal, Nayagarh, and Mayurbhanj districts one each.

Of the new cases, 2,476 were reported from quarantine centers while 1,722 were local contacts.

Odisha’s active cases now total 35,673 whereas 1,18,642 patients have recovered so far.

Meanwhile, BJP state unit President Samir Mohanty was admitted to a hospital here after testing positive for coronavirus.

Mohanty tweeted to request all those who had come in contact with him in the past few days to isolate themselves and get tested.

“Due to corona symptoms, I went for a test and was found positive. I am doing well, but as per the advice of doctors, I have been hospitalized for treatment. I request all those who came in contact with me in the past few days to kindly isolate themselves and get tested, if necessary,” he tweeted.

OnePlus 8T gets BIS certification, expected to arrive next month

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OnePlus 8T gets BIS certification, expected to arrive next month

Smartphone brand OnePlus is planning to unveil OnePlus 8T in the first week of October with OxygenOS 11 based on Android 11 and now the upcoming flagship has been certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

According to Gizmochina, the BIS page revealed the OnePlus 8T has model number KB2001. The device is codenamed ‘Kebab’ and will feature a 6.55-inch AMOLED display just like the regular OnePlus 8 but with a 120Hz refresh rate.

The smartphone is expected to come with four cameras at the back, with a 48MP primary lens joined by a 16MP wide-angle module, 5MP macro, and 2MP portrait lens, according to the report.

In terms of processor, the smartphone is likely to feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus chip with 8GB RAM, 128GB internal storage.

In addition, OnePlus is also planning to unveil another device with Snapdragon 662 or 665 chip for a price tag between Rs 16,000-Rs 18,000.

While OPPO is expected to launch a phone with Snapdragon 662 chipset this month under Rs 20,000, OnePlus is expected to follow suit at the end of September with its own phone in a similar range and specifications.

The Snapdragon 662 is an octa-core chipset that sits barely below the Snapdragon 665 processor.

Lockdown prevented up to 29 lakh Covid-19 cases: Vardhan

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Lockdown prevented up to 29 lakh Covid-19 cases: Vardhan

Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday told the Lok Sabha that the nationwide lockdown had helped prevent up to 29 lakh coronavirus cases and 78,000 deaths in the country.

“The nationwide lockdown, a bold decision by the government, is testimony to the fact that India collectively stood up to manage Covid-19. It has been estimated that this decision prevented 14-29 lakh cases and 37,000 to 78,000 deaths,” Vardhan said.

The four months of the lockdown were used to create additional health infrastructure, strengthen human resources, and produce critical elements like PPE, masks, and ventilators in India, he said, adding that India is self-sufficient now in these things.

Recording a spike of 92,071 corona cases and 1,136 deaths in the last 24 hours, India’s tally on Monday crossed the 4.8 million mark with a total of 48,46,427 cases. Of the total, 9,86,595 are active cases, 37,80,107 patients cured and discharged, whereas 79,722 persons lost the battle against the viral disease. In the last 24 hours, 77,512 patients were discharged.

Harsh Vardhan added: “The maximum corona cases and deaths have been primarily reported from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Telangana, Odisha, Assam, Kerala, and Gujarat.”

Allying public fears, he said that 92 percent of coronavirus cases in India had reported mild symptoms. Oxygen was required to be given to the patients in only 5.8 percent cases, and critical care in 1.7 percent cases.

I don’t think it’s my last chance: Zverev after US Open loss

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I don’t think it’s my last chance: Zverev after US Open loss

Germany’s Alexander Zverev, who ended up as runners-up at the 2020 US Open, believes he will get many more chances in the days to come to win a Grand Slam.

Austria’s Dominic Thiem registered an incredible comeback win as he defeated Zverev 2-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-6, and won his first Grand Slam on Sunday.

Zverev held an initial two-sets lead against Thiem in the final, followed by a chance to serve out the match at 5-3 in the fifth set. He then came within two points of victory during the fifth-set tie-break before falling after more than four hours of play at the Arthur Ashe Stadium.

“I want to congratulate Dominic on the first of many Grand Slam titles. I wish you could have missed a little more so I could be holding that trophy up, but here I am giving the runner-up speech,” Zverev was quoted as saying after the match by the ATP Tour website.

“I want to thank my team for sticking with me. The past two years haven’t been easy in my tennis career. We’re definitely on the way up and I hope that one day we’re going to lift that trophy up together.”

The German, who came very close to what could have been a memorable achievement of his life, failed to hold back tears during his gracious speech in the trophy ceremony.

“At the speech, I got emotional. I couldn’t put two words together…It was a difficult moment for me,” the 23-year-old said.

“I was super close to being a Grand Slam champion. I was a few games away, maybe a few points away. What upset me the most is not the third set, it’s the fifth set. I had a lot of chances in the fifth set and didn’t use them.

“I’m 23 years old. I don’t think it’s my last chance. I do believe that I will be a Grand Slam champion at some point,” he added.

Facebook India hires ex-Ola COO as head for global biz group

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Facebook India hires ex-Ola COO as head for global biz group

Facing intense political heat in India, Facebook on Monday announced the appointment of former Ola Chief Operating Officer Arun Srinivas as director of its Global Business Group to lead the strategy and delivery of the India marketing solutions charter that is focused on large advertisers and agencies.

Srinivas’ appointment comes after a series of senior and leadership recruitments in recent months across marketing, partnerships, communications, and other key verticals in the country.

“Large businesses and agencies play a crucial role in the country’s digital economy and are critical to driving ecosystem standards for media,” Sandeep Bhushan, Director, and Head of Global Marketing Solutions, Facebook India, said in a statement.

“I am thrilled to welcome Arun as he joins our team as Director GBG, and leads the mandate to shape the role the Facebook family apps can play in enabling businesses, supporting India’s economic recovery, and building the digital advertising ecosystem of the country.”

As a part of his role, Srinivas will spearhead the company’s strategic relationship with the country’s leading brands, agencies, and partners to drive Facebook’s revenue growth in key channels in India, and partner the media and creative ecosystems for accelerating adoption of digital tools by businesses.

He will have the company’s key business vertical teams, agency teams, and business solutions teams reporting to him.

Srinivas comes with 24 years of experience in senior sales and marketing roles at companies such as Ola, Unilever, and Reebok.

He also did a stint at investment firm WestBridge Capital Partners where he led the consumer vertical.

The social networking giant recently courted controversy after a Wall Street Journal report on August 14 said that the top leadership at Facebook’s India office refused to apply the company’s own rules to politicians from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), despite clear violations of Facebook’s policies against incitement to violence, hate speech, and misinformation.

Following this, a coalition of 41 civil rights groups demanded that Facebook India should immediately place its public policy head Ankhi Das on a leave of absence pending a full audit of the company and an investigation into her statements as reported in WSJ.

Redmi Smart Band: Much more to offer for those on a budget

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Redmi Smart Band: Much more to offer for those on a budget

As the demand for wearables grows in India, Xiaomi has launched a budget-friendly Redmi Smart Band with a colour display and a heart-rate monitor for just Rs 1,599.

Available with different colored straps including black, green, blue, and orange, the smart band sports a 2.7cm (1.08-inch) colored LCD touch display and packs several health features like real-time heart rate sensor and sleep monitoring.

The Realme Band which is priced at Rs 1,299 has a 0.96-inch LCD display and Huawei Band 4, which costs Rs 1,999, sports a 0.96-inch TFT LCD display. The Xiaomi Smart Band has an upper hand with its 1.08-inch LCD display.

We used the smart band for a couple of days. Let’s see how it fares.

The overall design and look of the smart band is impressive. From tracking heartbeat and sports activities along with battery life, the smart band performed well.

A refreshing part is USB direct charging, allowing the band to be charged directly from any USB Type-A port, including power banks.

In comparison with GOQii Vital 3.0 wristband — which is priced at Rs 3,999 -, the straps on Redmi Smart Band are easily interchangeable, lighter, and more comfortable on the wrist.

The display is sharp and bright. The Redmi Smart Band has no buttons on the side which gives it a simple yet beautiful look. There’s only a single touch button, at the bottom of the screen.

The smart band comes with five different modes of tracking, outdoor running, treadmill, cycling, walking, and freestyle exercise.

Paired with continuous heart rate monitoring, this smart band also brings weather updates, music control, notification alerts, and call rejection directly to the wrist.

The band also comes with a water-resistant build that is 5-ATM rated, which means the device can resist water in up to 50 meters depth for 10 minutes. It can be worn while showering or swimming in a shallow-water pool.

The device can be paired with the ones that support Android 4.4 or above and iOS 9.0 or above.

One of the highlights is its long-lasting battery. The wearable offers up to 14-day battery standby time and can charge fully to 100 percent in around two hours.

Conclusion: Priced at Rs 1,599, the Redmi Smart Band has much more to offer compared to its rivals when it comes to a value-for-money wearable band.

Keen on pursuing HI Coaches Education Pathway, says Sreejesh

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Keen on pursuing HI Coaches Education Pathway, says Sreejesh

During the nationwide lockdown earlier this year, Hockey India engaged the men and women’s teams with the entrance level for the Hockey India Coaches Education Pathway program – Level Basic.

A simplified education structure, the pathway consists of a combination of web-based modules and face-to-face interactive courses underpinned by a competency-based assessment process that helps the coaches in progressing to higher levels. The pathway is divided into 7 levels: Hockey India Level Basic, Hockey India Level 1, Hockey India Level 2, FIH Level 1, FIH Level 2, FIH Level 3, and FIH High Performance. Once a candidate progresses from the Hockey India Levels, they are then eligible to enroll for the FIH Academy Level 1 Course and upgrade further.

“Personally, I thought this was a good initiative by Hockey India to make players attend this course during the lockdown. It gave us insights into the basics of coaching. I and SV Sunil have expressed our interest in Hockey India that we want to attend the course physically whenever it is held and get certified for the next level. We want to go through the right channel like everyone else to get certified,” stated PR Sreejesh.

The experienced goalkeeper said this course provides current players an opportunity to consider coaching as an option after they retire from competitive hockey.

“As a player with over a decade of experience, I know my stuff about hockey however looking at it from a coach’s place it brings a different perspective altogether. If I wish to pursue coaching in the future I would need to learn, understand how a coach thinks, manages, and imparts the right knowledge to his players.”

“I believe these courses will help make that transition from being a player to a coach. I have given this a lot of thought and I certainly enjoy grooming youngsters. I have done this during the Junior World Cup in 2016 too and it was an experience I enjoyed very much. ”

He further said with Hockey India making this course accessible and hold the certification program round-the-year in different zones, it has become easier than ever to get certified.

“Earlier, I think coaches had to travel abroad to get certified by FIH. It was cost-heavy as they would have to spend from their own pocket for travel and accommodation etc,” stated the Padma Shri Awardee.

“But with Hockey India launching this program and subsequently organizing FIH Level 1, FIH Level 2 and higher levels here in India and FIH Educators coming to impart their knowledge, it has become so much easier to get certified.

“I have also spoken to some of the former players who have attended these courses to understand better and they have all given me positive responses,” he added.

Sreejesh further explained how the pathway could change the standard of hockey in India.

“The methods used to teach hockey at the grassroots level in India need consistency across all regions and some places still use the old school methods of coaching,” expressed Sreejesh who is currently part of the on-going national coaching camp in SAI, Bengaluru.

“Many times when players get selected for the national program, they find it difficult to adapt. Right from warm-up, recovery to certain techniques, our playing structure, and activation prior to a match, the national program is very different from what’s followed at the grassroots.

I believe this course will bridge that gap with coaches at the domestic level is upgraded with the modern and scientific methodology of coaching which is on the same lines as top hockey-playing nations. This will help create a uniform playing structure right from the basic level,” he added.

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