In a new milestone, there has been a significant decline in the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) in the country. Congratulating the country on this achievement, Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare praised the remarkable progress in effectively lowering the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) and stated in a tweet:
Significant Decline in the Maternal Mortality Ratio from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20. The various healthcare initiatives of PM @NarendraModi Ji’s Govt to ensure quality maternal and reproductive care helped tremendously in bringing down MMR.
Significant Decline in the Maternal Mortality Ratio from 130 in 2014-16 to 97 per lakh live births in 2018-20.
The various healthcare initiatives of PM @NarendraModi Ji’s Govt to ensure quality maternal & reproductive care have helped tremendously in bringing down MMR. pic.twitter.com/dTFeny1zDs
— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) November 29, 2022
As per the Special Bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India (RGI), the Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has improved further by a spectacular 6 points and now stands at 97/ lakh live births. The Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) is defined as the number of maternal deaths during a given time period per 100,000 live births.
As per the statistics derived from Sample Registration System (SRS), the country has witnessed a progressive reduction in MMR from 130 in 2014-2016, 122 in 2015-17, 113 in 2016-18, 103 in 2017-19 and to 97 in 2018-20 as depicted below:
Figure 1: Progressive decline in the MMR ratio from 2013 -2020
Upon achieving this, India has accomplished the National Health Policy (NHP) target for MMR of less than 100/lakh live births and is on the right track to achieve the SDG target of MMR less than 70/ lakh live births by 2030.
The outstanding progress made in terms of the number of states which have achieved Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target, the number has now risen from six to eight leading with Kerala (19), followed by Maharashtra (33), then Telangana (43) and Andhra Pradesh (45), subsequently Tamil Nadu (54), Jharkhand (56), Gujarat (57) and lastly Karnataka (69).
Since 2014, under the National Health Mission (NHM), India has made a concerted effort to provide accessible quality maternal and newborn health services and minimize preventable maternal deaths. The National Health Mission has made significant investments to ensure provision of healthcare services, particularly for effective implementation of the maternal health programs to accomplish the specified MMR targets. Government schemes such as “Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram” and “Janani Suraksha Yojana” have been modified and upgraded to more assured and respectful service delivery initiatives like Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan’ (SUMAN). Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan (PMSMA) is particularly lauded for its focus on identifying high-risk pregnancies and facilitating their appropriate management. This had a significant impact on mitigating preventable mortality. LaQshya and Midwifery initiatives concentrate on promoting quality care in a respectful and dignified manner ensuring choice of birthing to all pregnant women.
India’s outstanding efforts in successfully lowering the MMR ratio provides an optimistic outlook on attaining SDG target of MMR less than 70 much before the stipulated time of 2030 and becoming known as a nation that provides respectful maternal care.
The Manthan platform won NSEIT the Best Tech Initiative of the Year at the Dun & Bradstreet Business Excellence Awards 2022 on 29th November 2022 during an event in Mumbai. The award was presented for building the technology infrastructure to support Manthan, a platform that promotes collaboration at scale between industry and the scientific research and development ecosystem. The development of the platform was conceptualized and implemented by the Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India. The award was received by Dr. Sapna Poti, Director of Strategic Alliances Division, Office of Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India and Shri. Anantharaman Sreenivasan, MD & CEO, NSEIT.
Manthan is aimed at promoting collaboration between industry and the scientific research and development ecosystem. Launched on India’s 76th Independence Day, Manthan empowers multiple stakeholders to collaborate for co-creating solutions aligned with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and our national scientific missions.
The Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, Prof. Ajay K. Sood launched the platform and noted that the creation of Manthan will be crucial for “building, nurturing, and celebrating the outcome of partnerships between various stakeholders of science, technology, and innovation ecosystem in India.” Emphasising the mandate of Manthan, he added, “This will give an impetus to the government’s efforts to improve participation of industry in terms of GDP. In the last few years, the partnerships between academia and industry have been encouraging and it has worked well when two sides have come together to solve the problems or the challenges faced.”
Congratulating the teams behind Manthan, Dr. Parvinder Maini, Scientific Secretary, Office of PSA, said, “Manthan is a unique platform enabling public-private-academia collaboration to achieve sustainability goals, and the goal is to play a transformative role in doing that. It is giving a thrust for innovative ideas and inventive minds to seamlessly collaborate and work towards making India a global innovation hub. This recognition commemorates the larger vision of Digital India and highlights the contributions of the teams behind Manthan’s success.”
Dr. Sapna Poti, Director of the Strategic Alliances Division, Office of PSA, said, “As the nation takes rapid strides towards becoming a global innovation hub, a platform to cater to the science, technology, and innovation ecosystem specifically is essential. Manthan – India’s Platform for Research and Innovation will allow industries to source their project and innovation partners for both CSR and Industry R&D, facilitating the exchange of ideas, enhancement of communities’ support, and co-development of solutions that will fuel scientific research and development in the country. Congratulations to the entire NSEIT team who designed and implemented Manthan.”
“The Manthan platform is visionary and is a true enabler for the Government of India’s Digital India vision. I congratulate the teams from the Office of the PSA and NSEIT for their meticulous contributions toward making this ingenious and innovative platform a reality. This award is an outcome of teamwork and rigorous pursuit of excellence”, said Shri. Ashishkumar Chauhan, MD & CEO of National Stock Exchange of India Limited.
On receiving the award, Shri. Anantharaman Sreenivasan, MD & CEO of NSEIT, said, “This award is a validation of NSEIT’s commitment to delivering high-impact and complex projects for customers. I thank the jury members and the organizing team at Dun & Bradstreet for recognizing NSEIT’s efforts in providing innovation excellence and driving robust business outcomes. I also express gratitude to the Office of PSA to the Government of India for entrusting us with the honor of being a strategic technology partner. The teams behind the successful launch of Manthan deserve all the credit for fructifying this global innovation platform.”
Dun & Bradstreet Business Excellence Awards 2022:
Dun & Bradstreet is a global provider of B2B data, insights, and AI-driven platforms for organizations around the world. Since 1841, companies of every size have relied on Dun & Bradstreet to help them manage risk and reveal opportunity. The Dun & Bradstreet SME and Mid-Corporate ‘Business Excellence Awards 2022’ is an endeavor to acknowledge and recognize the achievements and performance of SMEs and Mid-Corporates. The award covers 23 categories largely based on business performance parameters. The award nominations were reviewed by a distinguished jury panel featuring experts from the banking and energy development sectors.
About NSEIT:
NSEIT Limited is a global technology enterprise focused on delivering excellence in a complex digital environment, primarily in the banking, insurance, and capital market ecosystem, and a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India. Their key service pillars are Application Modernization, Business Transformation, Data Analytics, Infrastructure & Cloud Services, Cybersecurity, EdTech, and online examinations solutions.
AEON Credit Service (Asia) Company Limited (“AEON Credit” or the “Group”; Stock Code: 00900) today announced that it has secured its sustainability-linked loan framework and entered agreements for three sustainability-linked loans (the “Loans”), with Mizuho Bank, Ltd., Hong Kong Branch, MUFG Bank, Ltd., Japanese Corporate Banking Division (Hong Kong) and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Hong Kong Branch, (the “Lenders”), with a total carrying amount of HK$320 million and a term of three years. The Loans are the Group’s first sustainable financing initiative and strengthens its commitment to endorsing and developing in the sustainability arena.
Sustainability performance metrics have been set in accordance with AEON Credit’s existing Sustainability Development Policy, and will be assessed on an annual basis by the external reviewer, the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency. As mutually agreed with the Lenders, the Group will be entitled to receive interest rate savings for the Loans as an incentive for the achievement of the predetermined sustainability-linked targets.
Mr. Tomoharu Fukayama, Managing Director of AEON Credit, said, “We are delighted to have arranged the Group’s sustainability-linked loan framework for bank financing, which emphasizes our long-term commitment to the advancement of sustainable development. As the basis for AEON Credit’s vision, mission and core values, we are well aware that responsible corporate practices are integral to assuring the betterment of the environment and society, as well as to creating additional long-term value for our shareholders and business partners.
“Through integrating sustainability-linked targets into the assessment of the Group’s business and financial performance, we aim to reinforce the incorporation of sustainability practices into our operations so as to positively impact and contribute to the transformation of a greener and more sustainable capital market. Looking ahead, we will continue to proactively seek further opportunities to expand our sustainable financing portfolio and look forward to taking our stakeholders along on our sustainability journey.”
About AEON Credit Service (Asia) Company Limited (Stock Code: 00900) AEON Credit Service (Asia) Company Limited, a subsidiary of AEON Financial Service Co., Ltd. (TSE: 8570) and a member of the AEON Group, was set up in 1987 and listed on the Main Board of The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 1995. The Group is principally engaged in the consumer finance business, which includes the issuance of credit cards and the provision of personal loan financing, card payment processing services, insurance agency and brokerage business in Hong Kong and microfinance business in Mainland China.
For more information, please visit the company’s website at www.aeon.com.hk.
As the first and only basketball specialty concept store in the Philippines, Titan started as a brick-and-mortar retail business in 2010. The retailer established stores in posh locations and around the metropolis, such as Bonifacio Global City, Megamall, Conrad, Vertis, Alabang, and Solenad.
Titan 22 – For Love of the Game
While a great part of its success can be attributed to its physical stores, the brand recognized the obvious opportunities of opening online stores. This prospect compelled Titan to become an e-commerce pioneer to open an online channel ahead of other industry players. The brand, however, needed internal expertise to operate a digital store. As a result, it chose to hand over its online business operations to a specialist e-commerce enabler, which provided guidance and expertise in the operations and logistics departments of running an e-commerce channel.
But like any other business, the company wanted to grow more, leading it to explore potential partners that could help it achieve more success.
aCommerce was initially referred to Titan in 2016 by the regional team of one of its biggest brand partners. To succeed in this area, the company believed that simply employing a service provider was not enough. It needed a committed and capable partner.
“TITAN saw aCommerce as not just a third-party service provider as an enabler, but as an overall key partner to grow within the long run,” said Raymond Canteras, Titan’s Digital Director.
Strategies for Success
One of TITAN’s key priorities has always been to continuously innovate to provide consumers with the best experiences, whether online or offline. With the help of aCommerce, the brand launched its first mobile application in 2018, bringing it closer to consumers with just a flick and click on their mobile phones.
“By being deeply connected to the consumers, we get to understand them better and know how to serve them in the best and most seamless ways possible,” Raymond Added.
The partnership also allowed aCommerce to rebuild and manage Titan’s website Titan22.com and develop a fully customized mobile app until 2021. Today, aCommerce’s role has evolved where it currently manages Titan’s warehousing, logistics, last-mile fulfillment, and customer service line following established service level agreements.
The companies also embarked on several successful campaigns such as 11.11 and new activation or program rollouts, some of which have resulted in “single-day – or even just minutes – sell-outs of certain products with thousands of quantities”.
Titan is particularly proud of the partnership’s biggest success thus far when aCommerce provided expert support in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic exploded. The two entities working together enabled them to quickly serve the sudden burst in online demand and respond to the shift in consumer behavior.
“Every campaign we have collaborated in always had a lot of key takeaways that have helped and will continue to help us grow,” adding that “despite all the challenges faced throughout that period, aCommerce was able to provide the best service levels the brand could ask for.”
Filling the Gaps
Since partnering with aCommerce, Titan has consistently achieved significant growth in its e-commerce business year after year. On its first full year with aCommerce in 2017, the brand’s digital business grew by 50% from the previous year. And now, six years later, the company projects to grow more than 10x bigger from the collaboration’s launch in 2016.
This only demonstrates how Titan’s customers consistently enjoy high excellence in services rendered by aCommerce 99% of the time each month. The Titan22.com website has also established itself as a highly reliable channel in the country, from user experience to last-mile order fulfillment.
“Titan’s vision is to empower the hoop dreams of athletes around the world. With the help of aCommerce, the brand can reach every part of the country”.
Future of the Partnership
Even while the retail business landscape and consumer behavior continue to shift, Titan attributes the partnership’s success to the masterful way both companies worked together, adapted, and responded quickly to provide the best service levels possible to customers.
“Effective and efficient collaboration is very critical to the success of the partnership. Both sides have made the necessary investments to grow. There’s still a lot more games to win together in the future,” said Henrika Fellizar, aCommerce Philippines Chief Executive Officer. “With the expertise, both parties have in the retail industry and e-commerce, we expect the partnership to keep growing.”
About aCommerce
aCommerce is the leading end-to-end ecommerce enabler in Southeast Asia. We drive brands to achieve their ecommerce goals with high-performance digital marketing, online store development & management, data & analytics, customer care, fulfillment, and delivery services. The aTeam, our 700+ staff across the region is dedicated to providing seamless integration between offline & online, with 5 fulfillment centers driving global leading clients to e-commerce success. Visit https://acommerce.asia.
Released for aCommerce Group by MT Multimedia Co Ltd Wasana Wongsiri (Jiab), T: +66 84 359 0659, E: wasana.w@mtmultimedia.com
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. (MHIENG) have agreed to integrate the business operations of MHIENG with those of MHI effective April 1, 2023. Under an absorption-type split arrangement, operations currently conducted by MHIENG will be taken over by MHI and placed under the direct management of MHI’s president and CEO. The integration of MHIENG into MHI will further accelerate the “Energy Transition” that serves as one of MHI Group’s central growth engines.
In its 2021 Medium-Term Business Plan released in October 2020, MHI Group announced plans to substantially increase its corporate value by 2030 with “Energy Transition” and “Smart Infrastructure (New Mobility & Logistics)” serving as the Company’s two growth engines. In striving to strengthen its Energy Transition business, development of a CO2 solutions ecosystem is a component of major importance. Today, carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) is garnering attention as an effective means for realizing a carbon neutral society. Also, ammonia is recognized to be effective both as a fuel for ships and thermal power plants, where its usage results in reduced carbon emissions, and as a means for transporting hydrogen, and the market for ammonia is expected to grow sharply in the coming years. In response, MHI is now pursuing a broad array of initiatives for establishing markets for carbon-free hydrogen and ammonia, including development of a hydrogen ecosystem and partnering with external incubation investments. The Company is also fortifying its capabilities in integrating multiple product areas.
MHIENG was launched in January 2018 as an MHI Group company. Today it provides world-class technologies in the engineering, manufacture, procurement, construction, marketing and after-sale servicing of chemical plants, transportation systems, carbon capture systems, etc. Furthermore, besides its prowess in carbon capture technologies, MHIENG has abundant experience in applications involving ammonia and hydrogen. Following its integration into MHI, MHIENG’s project management capabilities in chemical plants and transportation systems, together with its core technologies in value chain development, will be organically combined with MHI’s technologies. The resulting comprehensive capabilities will further accelerate MHI Group’s solutions businesses in both Energy Transition and New Mobility & Logistics.
Through the forthcoming integration, MHI Group will further contribute to making effective use of resources and reducing environmental impacts, continuing the challenge to achieve a carbon neutral society.
About MHI Group
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world’s leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit www.mhi.com or follow our insights and stories on spectra.mhi.com.
