31, Jan 2024
Kotak Mahindra Bank Extends Support to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences
Karnataka, January 31, 2024: Under its Corporate Social Responsibility commitment, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (“KMBL”/“Bank”) has extended support to Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences (GIMS), Karnataka, by providing a fully equipped Cardiac Ambulance for critical healthcare emergencies. The Cardiac Ambulance was inaugurated by Dr. Sharanaparakash Rudrappa Patil, Hon Minister of Medical Education and Skill Development, Karnataka; along with Dr. Umesh S R, Director & Dean, GIMS and R Vardharajan, Business Head – Government Business, Kotak Mahindra Bank.
Through this CSR association with GIMS, Kotak aims to strengthen access to healthcare for local communities. The fully equipped Cardiac Ambulance will provide initial emergency treatments such as cardiac and respiratory ailments. On average, it is anticipated to support close to 500 patients each month, contributing significantly to the healthcare needs of the community in Gulbarga.
R Vardharajan, Business Head – Government Business, Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited, said, “We are committed to support the healthcare needs of local communities. Through our CSR association with Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences, we will provide critical support to patients with cardiac and respiratory ailments and contribute to the need for superior healthcare services in the state.”
Dr. Umesh S R, Director & Dean, GIMS said, “We are delighted to witness yet another feat which resembles the commitment of Gulbarga Institute of Medical Sciences and is in line with the service-oriented tradition of the hospital. This latest addition of Cardiac Ambulance to serve the underserved will prove to be a blessing for cardiac patients. We thank Kotak Mahindra Bank to have supported us in fulfilling our mission to serve the poor and enhance the quality of treatment.”
Kotak Karma is the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) identity of the Kotak Mahindra Group of companies
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- By Rabindra
16, Dec 2023
Kotak Mahindra Bank Associates with IIT Kanpur to Establish India’s First Fully Integrated School of Sustainability
Bengaluru,16 December 2023: The Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and the Kotak Mahindra Bank Limited (“KMBL”/ “Kotak”) today announced the launch of Kotak School of Sustainability – India’s first fully integrated school of sustainability at IIT Kanpur. The launch event was graced by Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India as the chief guest; Dr. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, and Shri. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, as guests of honour; Prof. S. Ganesh, Director, IIT Kanpur; Mr. Prakash Apte, Chairman Kotak Mahindra Bank, Shanti Ekambaram, Whole-time Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, C S Rajan, Independent Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Himanshu Nivsarkar, Senior EVP and Head CSR, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Mr. Kapil Kaul, Chief Executive Officer, IIT Kanpur Development Foundation.
Global warming poses a serious threat to our existence, manifesting in untimely natural calamities, pollution, and biodiversity loss. Research indicates irreversible ‘Tipping Points’ with rapid, harmful climatic changes. Realising this is an imminent existential crisis and that anthropogenic activities need to be environmentally sustainable; world leaders have been discussing in COP (Conference of Parties) meetings to come up with policies and actions that can lead to a sustainable future. The United Nations (UN’s) seventeen sustainable development goals address this challenge, crucial in densely populated countries like India. Urgent climate actions are needed to mitigate, adapt, and build resilience.
Despite the challenge, collaboration among policymakers, academia, businesses, and society offers opportunities for the mitigation, adaptation and resilience to climate change. In addressing the climate-driven sustainability challenge, educational institutions play a vital role. The UN emphasizes education’s role in promoting climate action, empowering people to understand and address climate impacts. Sustainability education and research require academic institutions to blend environmental science and clean technology-based approaches with social, economic and ecological aspects of sustainability. Institutions, through Education, Empowerment, and Engagement (3E), can lead climate action, empowering communities and conserving the natural ecosystem.
To address this challenge, IIT Kanpur and KMBL have come together to establish India’s first integrated School of Sustainability. KMBL is funding IITK through its CSR program to establish Kotak School of Sustainability with a vision to promote pedigree education, research, and outreach. Kotak and IITK believe that this School is poised to offer thought leadership solutions towards sustainability actions and prepare future generations to lead the cause of sustainable development. The School will bring together departments and centres of excellence at IITK with an aim to provide an enabling environment for collaborative research across multiple facets of sustainability. Kotak School of Sustainability will have dedicated centres of excellence covering different aspects of sustainability such as clean energy, environment, ecology, circular economy, climate finance, sustainable societies and policy.
The Kotak School of Sustainability will be led by tenured professors and leading industry experts from across the globe. The School is placed to run both undergraduate and postgraduate academic and skill-building programs in different themes of sustainability. The School will be housed in a green building in IITK’s main campus that will be platinum-rated with net zero practices on energy, water, and waste.
Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, said “The National Research Foundation was set up to boost research and innovation through funding from industry and government. I thank Kotak Mahindra Bank for taking the right step and accepting the responsibility by contributing towards setting up the School of Sustainability. The Kotak School of Sustainability will give global leadership in the field in line with the history of IIT Kanpur and its alumni who are leaders in organizations across the world. The school will not only be about technology and economics, but will cover the A to Z of sustainability. This will be instrumental in helping India meet the ambitious target of net zero by 2070, as announced by our Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi ji.”
Prof. Abhay Karandikar, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, Govt. of India, said, “Kotak School of Sustainability highlights IIT Kanpur’s commitment to offer a holistic approach to address sustainability challenges due to climate change. School’s mission are in sync with India’s National Missions related to sustainability. The school will help in developing a strong foundation for sustainable development to achieve a climate resilient economy and society and will support country’s climate action plans and national target to reach net zero by 2070.”
Shri. Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary, Ministry of Steel, said “Opening of a School of sustainability serves an important need of the Indian economy. The goal of Sustainability requires inter-disciplinary approach which this school offers while the solutions must be contextual. The school would be able to draw faculty, researchers, students, policymakers, and diverse stakeholders to attempt solutions to complex and seemingly intractable problems. I am looking forward to this institution significantly contributing towards the progress of the society and economy, benign to Mother Earth.”
Mr. Prakash Apte, Chairman, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “We are delighted to announce the establishment of the Kotak School of Sustainability in association with IIT Kanpur. This association in line with our CSR vision to enhance the quality of life for communities through positive impacts on economic, social, and environmental parameters, aligns with India’s social development objectives and UN’s SDGs. We believe the creation of this School provides both Kotak and IIT Kanpur with a timely opportunity to create a legacy and work towards sustainability, the most important survival challenge we face today.”
Prof. S. Ganesh, Director, IIT Kanpur, said, “Sustainability has emerged as one of the foremost global challenges of our times which requires various stakeholders to work together and the role of educational institutes like ours is extremely crucial in this mission. Adding to many of IIT Kanpur’s path-breaking initiatives and with the generous CSR funding support from Kotak Mahindra Bank, Institute is establishing ‘Kotak School of Sustainability’ with the overall vision of providing thought leadership, developing concrete solutions toward sustainability actions, and preparing future generations to lead the cause of sustainable development.”
Ms. Shanti Ekambaram, Whole time Director, Kotak Mahindra Bank said, “As India continues on its growth path with aspirations to reach high middle-income status, our ability to exist and develop without depleting all of the natural resources will be a challenge that needs to be addressed. The Kotak School of Sustainability marks our commitment to contribute to growing India’s skilled workforce towards achieving the goal of long-term sustainable development including its net-zero target by 2070. The Bank’s CSR Project being implemented in association with IIT Kanpur will focus on enhancing home-grown capabilities to address sustainable development.”
Prof. Ashish Garg, Professor-in-Charge of the School, said, “The Kotak School of Sustainability aims to excel in sustainability education, research and innovation, technology development, entrepreneurship, and outreach. The key to the development of holistic end-to-end technology solutions for sustainable development will be school’s emphasis on synergistic integration of different aspects of sustainability for greater educational, scientific, technological, environmental and social impact.”
11, Dec 2023
Digitization revolutionizing the job industry; 2.1L SMBs and 400 enterprise hired online using apna in 2023; projected to triple by FY25
New Delhi, 11th December 2023: Aiming to empower and create a level playing field for all job seekers across industries, Apna – India’s largest jobs and professional networking platform has recorded a remarkable success in enabling SMBs and Enterprises in 2023. The year, Apna facilitated 56 million job applications across blue, grey, and white collar sectors for 2.1 lakh SMBs and 400 enterprises. This surge has driven remarkable growth, with the total user base on the platform reaching 51 million, and aims to enable 3x more businesses by FY25.
The company also recorded a 42% jump in its total recruiter base in 2023. As a trusted partner for SMBs and enterprises in India, apna.co helps them find skilled employees. Over the last year, Apna has been helping India’s leading Enterprises like Swiggy, Axis Bank, Paytm, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Blinkit, Reliance Jio, Zepto, Aditya Birla Capital, Apollo Pharmacy and many more to solve their hiring needs. The platform’s user-friendly interface and extensive user base simplify the hiring process, offering employers access to a diverse talent of skilled professionals. As a result, businesses have witnessed streamlined recruitment processes, faster candidate placements, and increased workforce satisfaction.
Apna’s users can now apply via Web, Mobile, WhatsApp, and Email. Delving into the 56 million job applications, 18% stemmed from jobs across blue-collar job roles, covering roles such as Delivery, Driver, Warehouse and Logistics Staff, Restaurant Staff, and Technician. 66% of the applications came from the grey collar job roles mainly for Field Sales, Telesales, Telecaller/BPO, Back Office, and Data Entry. Over 16% jobs applications came in White Collar roles such as Accountant, Enterprise Sales and management, Digital Marketing, HR Professionals, Teacher, Doctor, IT Support, and Software.
As a professional network for users, Apna’s network graph crossed 1.2 billion user connections. Reflecting on these new milestones, Nirmit Parikh, Founder & CEO, of Apna, said, “We are glad to see Apna becoming the platform of choice for recruiters across the country. Our mission at Apna has always been to create a one-stop platform that enables job seekers to build successful careers and professional networks.”
33% of the 56 million applications were sent by females, demonstrating a significant increase in female participation in the job market. In 2023, Apna also saw a 25% growth in median salary of female users, surpassing the 17% increase observed among male users. Interestingly, Apna saw a 25% growth in median salary for jobs posted in T3 cities, while T1 cities saw a 14% growth in median salary – indicating a growing demand for talent and rising salaries in T3 cities.
Talking about the breadth of applications He further added, “This reinforces our unwavering commitment to providing equal opportunities across the entire professional spectrum, spanning from blue-collar to white-collar professionals. The lines between blue, grey and white collar need to be even more blurred and Apna wants to play a significant role in making this happen. Today Apna has evolved beyond being just a platform. It’s a movement.”
In the past year, Apna has collaborated with esteemed partners such as Vi, Generation India Foundation, DGR Ministry of Defence team, NSDC, and Swiggy. These strategic alliances underscores Apna’s commitment to fostering diverse and impactful initiatives that not only contribute to the local job market but also actively contribute to the advancement of skill development on a broader scale. The platform is accessible across 600+ Indian cities.
