Archives for April 2021

MUMBAI: Hospitality associations across Maharashtra on Thursday organised statewide silent protests, under the aegis of the United Hospitality Forum of Maharashtra (UHF), against the government’s recent lockdown order.

HRAWI President Sherry Bhatia said, “The hospitality industry demands fair play and justice. We request the government to either allow us to continue regular operations with the mandated SOPs (standard operating procedures) or permanently shut us down, rather than keep us half alive and in a state of misery.”

He said the industry operates in the safest of environments and follow all the mandated compliances.

“A majority of the establishments have mounting debts and face threats of insolvency along with millions of job losses.”

With fear of losing jobs like last year, many workers have begun to leave for their homes again, he added.

“Through our silent protests today, we are requesting the government to allow us to resume our work and if not, the government must take care of our incomes.”

“The industry should get a complete waiver on all statutory fees and taxes, and establishments should not be billed for water and electricity for the duration of the curbs,” Bhatia added.

The campaign #MissionRoziRoti has gained momentum on social media with several restaurateurs and hoteliers in the state posting pictures, messages, and videos showing support and solidarity to the campaign.

The hospitality associations rallying against the latest lockdown across the state include Poona Hoteliers Association, United Hotel Association Pune, Nagpur Hotel and Restaurant Association, Aurangabad Hotel and Restaurant Association, Vasai Taluka Hotel Association, Hotel Owners’ association of Thane, Navi Mumbai Hotel Association, and Palghar Hotel Association.

The protest was also supported by various city- and district-level hospitality associations from Beed, Amaravati, Nanded, Hingoli, Jalna, Parbhani, Aurangabad, Satara, Osmanabad, and Vasind, among others.

The All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) has urged Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray to allow the opening of jewellery retail stores in the state during the festive occasion of Gudi Padwa (New Year for Maharashtrians), which is an important day for buying wedding jewellery.

In a letter written to the CM on Wednesday, GJC said Gudi Padwa is one of the most important festivals for Maharashtra, and every year, jewellery business witnesses a 30-40 per cent spike in sales.

“Currently, thousands of customers have placed orders for the festival, which are pending delivery.

Due to the lockdown and closure of retail outlets, the retailers are unable to supply the goods to the customers for Gudi Padwa and their weddings,” the letter stated.

GJC represents over six lakh players pan-India comprising manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, distributors, laboratories, gemologists, designers and allied services to the domestic gems and jewellery industry.

GJC Chairman Ashish Pethe said, “Maharashtra, especially Mumbai, is a major hub for thousands of wholesalers and manufacturers. It is also the biggest market for diamond exports and majority of the jewellery across India and globally is supplied from the Zaveri Bazaar.”

He added that Maharashtra also houses lakhs of jewellers and artisans who have migrated from all parts of India.

“The above imposed lockdown will have repercussions on the entire nation and its supply chain.”

GJC has also urged the chief minister to allow jewellers to open stores during Gudi Padwa and other summer harvest festivals such as Ugadi, Chaitra Navratri and Jhulelal Jayanti.

The apex jewellers’ body also asked the Maharashtra government to allow them to operate during the upcoming wedding season in the April-June quarter.

The Maharashtra government on Sunday announced a weekend lockdown in the state from 8 pm on Friday to 7 am on Monday in a bid to curb the growing numbers of COVID-19 cases in the state.

The new lockdown restrictions, ‘Break the Chain’, imposed from April 5 till April 30.

Apart from the weekend lockdown, strict restrictions will be in force from Monday 8 pm onwards, and night curfew will continue and prohibitory orders issued under Section 144 will be enforced during the day time during the week.

Pethe said the industry is seeing an upward graph but now with new lockdown restrictions in April, the livelihood of many craftsmen and self-employed jewellers will be affected and their families will suffer.

“In Mumbai, the industry does Rs 200-300 crore business only from Zaveri Bazaar daily. If we calculate the entire state, the numbers will be huge and so will be the loss to the industry, resulting in job loss of lakh of artisans,” he told PTI.

World Gold Council India Managing Director Somasundaram P R told PTI that this is a setback as the jewellery business had started crawling back to near normal and retailers were upbeat about the upcoming festive season for Gudi Padwa, Udagi and Chaitra Navratri.

“The gold prices also seemed favourable for the consumers with over 10 per cent drop to Rs 45,000 per 10 grams from historic highs of above Rs 55,000.”

However, in some pockets due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, there is a major clamp down on businesses by the respective state governments,” he added.

Somasundaram also said this has dampened trade sentiment and will definitely impact gold buying.

However, the situation should be better than the same time previous year when the entire country was under strict lockdown, he added.

“We anticipate good business in southern and northern India where jewellery stores are able to function normally and digital sales are expected to benefit in areas where there are curbs on the retail stores. However frequent lockdowns, regional or not, will hit trade confidence,” he added.

Kumar Jain of UT Zaveri told PTI that the situation is bad for the industry as Zaveri Bazaar houses 3,000 shops, 35,000-40,000 small manufacturing units and small offices where around 2-2.5 lakh artisans are employed.

“Zaveri Bazaar has completely come to a standstill, which is going to create unemployment for the artisans if the restrictions are not eased soon,” he said.

PNG Jewellers Chairman and Managing Director Saurabh Gadgil said the gems and jewellery industry is likely to incur up to Rs 1,000 crore loss if the restrictions are not eased in the state.

“The situation for the industry is not good as the expenses are going up including rents, maintenance, salaries of the staff, and bank interests taxes, among others.”

“Meanwhile, the artisans, of which 70 per cent have come back from the previous lockdown, are thinking of going back to their hometowns. Bringing back the artisans is a 2-3 months process and will affect production. This will cost the industry huge loss,” he added.

WHP Jewellers Director Aditya Pethe stated that the organised retail stores are following all the social distancing guidelines like compulsory masks, sanitisation, limited number of customers in the store  as per the square feet of the store.

Therefore, instead of the lockdown, the government can focus on vaccinating people faster while social distancing guidelines are followed more strictly and penalise those who are not following the norms, he said.

“I hope the state government rethinks the lockdown decision otherwise this will severely affect the retail industry and small traders who will not be able to sustain another lockdown and will be forced to go against this decision as it is a question of their survival,” he added.

LUCKNOW: Uttar Pradesh reported 40 coronavirus fatalities, highest in recent weeks, and 6,023 new cases on Wednesday, pushing the toll to 8,964 and the tally to 6,45,930.

District Magistrate Abhishek Prakash said examinations would be allowed in recognised educational institutes with strict adherence to protocols.

Night curfew will be imposed in areas under the Lucknow Municipal Corporation from Thursday till April 16 from 9 pm to 6 am, the official said, as the coronavirus cases continue to surge.

Night curfew has also been imposed in Kanpur from 10 pm to 6 am and will remain in place till April 30, Kanpur District Magistrate Alok Tiwari said in a statement.

There will be exemption on ferrying essential items and there will be no ban on movement of goods vehicles, the Lucknow district magistrate said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a video conference with several district magistrates.

Districts that are reporting more than 100 fresh cases everyday and have more than 500 active cases, the district magistrate may take a decision regarding holidays, barring examinations, depending upon local circumstances.

Stress was laid on COVID-19 testing of people at railway stations, bus stations for effective control over COVID-19 and for effective contract tracing.

Social distancing and masks have been made mandatory.

Fifty per cent of the ambulance should be reserved for COVID-19 patients, while rest for the non-COVID-19 patients, the state government said in a statement.

Six employees, working in the King George’s Medical University vice chancellor’s office, tested positive for coronavirus despite having received both shots of the vaccine, a doctor said.

This comes a day after as many as 39 KGMU doctors, including the vice chancellor, were found infected with the virus.

“The administration of the KGMU is extremely serious to stop the spread of the infection and screening has already started.

The administration is making every effort to stop the infection in the initial stage itself,” KGMU spokesperson Sudhir Singh said.

The 40 new fatalities on Wednesday in the state include six from Lucknow, five from Kanpur, four from Ballia, three each from Allahabad and Varanasi, and two each from Moradabad, Ghazipur, Amroha and Fatehpur, according to a health bulletin.

Of the 6,023 new cases, 1,333 are from Lucknow, followed by 811 in Allahabad, 593 in Varanasi and 300 in Kanpur, among others.

As many as 6.05 lakh patients have recovered and there are 31,987 active cases, it said.

The District and Sessions Court in Lucknow has been closed for 48 hours in the view of rising infections among some court employees.

The court will now reopen on April 12.

The Central Bar Association requested the district judge not to pass adverse orders in any matter if a counsel was unable to turn up to argue the cases in the present scenario.

Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav hit out at Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the “grim” situation.

“The number of infected persons and deaths is rising. But instead of making adequate arrangements, the chief minister is travelling in different states and delivering speeches as the BJP’s star campaigner,” Yadav said in a statement.

“The BJP is making false claims over controlling COVID-19 only to garner praises. The result is that there is a second wave of COVID-19,” the SP leader said.

BSP president Mayawati said the central and the state governments, as well as the people, should take the surge in coronavirus cases very seriously.

“But inaction towards violation of COVID protocol, especially in election rallies and roadshows, is a matter of grave concern. It needs appropriate attention,” she added.

Reviewing the status of reservoirs and dams in the state, the Chief Minister expressed concern over the existing low levels of water, which, he said, was the lowest in the past 40 years.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Wednesday sanctioned Rs 130 crore for the execution of various flood protection works across the state and directed the irrigation and revenue departments to ensure their completion before the onset of the monsoon season.

Chairing a meeting of the State Flood Control Board through video conferencing, the Punjab Chief Minister ordered to place Rs 10 crore at the disposal of the Deputy Commissioners of flood-prone districts to deal with any emergent situation arising due to heavy rains or floods.

The Chief Minister directed the District Commissioners (DC) of the flood-prone districts to prioritize their tasks and submit the list of projects requiring immediate attention to the finance department for sanctioning of the funds.

He also directed the DCs to undertake desilting and cleaning of drains in consultation with the Water Resources Department. He said all such works should be taken up immediately and it should be ensured that they are completed before the onset of the monsoon seasons.

The Chief Minister also asked the officers to ensure timely and proper cleaning of city drains to prevent waterlogging in urban areas.

Reviewing the status of reservoirs and dams in the state, the Chief Minister expressed concern over the existing low levels of water, which, he said, was the lowest in the past 40 years.

Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan underscored the need to carry out the necessary works with a holistic approach and also explore the possibility of executing works under MGNREGA and other Government Schemes.

The meeting was informed by Financial Commissioner (Revenue) Viswajeet Khanna that Rs 130 crore had been earmarked in the Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) to meet any exigency arising out of floods, thereby providing relief to the affected people as compensation in lieu of damage caused to the standing crops, houses, cattle, besides the loss to life and property. 

Nasheman news

Bengaluru:  Bengaluru based Avanti Finance (“Avanti”), a technology led NBFC focused on financial inclusion, has raised US$ 26 million (INR 195 crores) in debt and equity from Oikocredit, Nomura and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Technopreneur cum philanthropist Pratul Shroff & existing investor NRJN Trust also participated in the round. Avanti will use the funds to strengthen its platform and expand its presence to accelerate livelihoods purpose credit and other financial products to the next 100 million unserved and underserved households in India.

Avanti has built a digital platform that facilitates a paperless, presence-less, and cashless approach to lending that will reduce costs and friction for unserved and underserved segments, especially in rural India.  Avanti partners with a diverse set of organizations with strong roots in local communities to offer loan products that are hyperlocal and focused on livelihood sustainability. It has built a strong proof of concept in 15 states covering 110 districts and further expanding its footprint.  Avanti uses its own balance sheet and will also establish partnerships for livelihoods-focused lending with other capital providers who share the mission of enabling financial inclusion for the most needy. Avanti understands that sustained impact in low-income households can be achieved through the economic empowerment of women and currently, more than 75 percent of Avanti borrowers are women. Avanti is building a scalable partner ecosystem that includes social enterprises, financial institutions, business correspondents, and agri-tech innovators across the country.

Talking about the fundraise, Rahul Gupta, CEO of Avanti said, “We are excited and humbled to have this consortium of marquee investors partner with Avanti in our goal of building a population scale platform to usher in the next era of financial inclusion. One that will be digital-first and empower our users towards stronger financial health & economic opportunities. This is a testimony of the passion of the entire Avanti team.”

Anirudh Sarda, Equity Officer at Oikocredit said, “We anticipate technology to play a transformational role in the way financial services are accessed, especially by the low-income segments. Avanti’s vision and mission are deeply aligned with our principle of promoting sustainable development through responsible financial services. We are excited to partner with Avanti and take financial inclusion to the next level with this equity investment.” 

“Fintech incumbents have predominantly targeted the urban population. We believe technology will play a major role in enabling credit access to the rural and unbanked population, and Avanti is at the forefront of driving this. Nomura, in line with our ESG Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations and our mission to help enrich society through our expertise in capital markets, is excited to partner with Avanti in this initiative,” said Samir Bhandari, Head of Global Markets Sales, Asia ex-Japan, Nomura.

About Avanti Finance:

Avanti’s mission is to enable sustainable livelihoods and empower the next 100 million households through accessible and affordable financial services. It is building a co-creation platform that fosters hyperlocal livelihood innovation and mass customisation. Avanti believes community centric systems enable digitization of the social trust of the users, critical to building scale in the unbanked segment. For more information see www.avantifinance.in

About Oikocredit:

Social impact investor and worldwide cooperative Oikocredit has 45 years of experience funding organisations active in financial inclusion, agriculture and renewable energy. Oikocredit’s loans, equity investments and capacity building aim to enable people on low incomes in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their living standards sustainably. Oikocredit finances 563 partners, with total outstanding capital of € 845 million (as at 31 December 2020). For more information see: www.oikocredit.coop.

About Nomura:

Nomura is a global financial services group with an integrated network spanning over 30 countries. By connecting markets East & West, Nomura services the needs of individuals, institutions, corporates and governments through its three business divisions: Retail, Wholesale (Global Markets and Investment Banking), and Investment Management. Founded in 1925, the firm is built on a tradition of disciplined entrepreneurship, serving clients with creative solutions and considered thought leadership. For further information about Nomura, visit www.nomura.com

By Husna Rizwan

On the occasion of World Health Day, the Apollo Hospitals Group, Asia’s largest and most trusted healthcare group, unveiled a report on the Health of the Nation that puts a spotlight on how the last two decades have seen a steady rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs).  The contribution of NCDs as the top causes of death in India has risen to a staggering 64.9% as compared to communicable diseases, maternal and other causes that dropped to 25%. The study provides a unique perspective drawn from Apollo Hospitals’ 37 years of experience and its vast footprint across the country and underlines how Artificial Intelligence and Big data analytics can help to predict risk and prevent NCDs. Given the pandemic, this is also important as individuals with NCDs such as diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and chronic liver disease have a greater mortality risk from COVID-19.

Dr Prathap C Reddy, Chairman, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Even before the pandemic began, we have been facing an unacceptable loss of lives due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The silent epidemic of NCDs was evident with NCDs behind 40% of all hospital stays. However, in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, the data from our Health of the Nation report made it clear that we have let another epidemic slip, the epidemic of NCDs – the impact of which we are already beginning to see around us. We can overcome NCDs together as a country, only if each and every one of us take our health seriously.

“At Apollo, we have been working on preventive health for over 37 years. From the very first Master Health Check in the country, we have been constantly evolving our programs for early detection and better clinical outcomes. Apollo ProHealth is a proactive personalized health management program backed by cutting-edge technology – advanced diagnostics, artificial intelligence and predictive algorithms – to help identify your health risk. It coaches you to stay on the path to wellness until your health goals are achieved. With Apollo ProHealth, we hope to change the health check paradigm from a long checklist of tests to a meaningful conversation with the doctor on the status of your health, with a comprehensive plan to make you healthier tomorrow than you are today. Today, on World Health Day, on behalf of the Apollo Hospitals Group, I dedicate Apollo ProHealth to the health of our nation!”

NCDs affect not just health, but also productivity and economic growth. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by the United Nations recognises NCDs as a major challenge for sustainable development with the target to reduce premature mortality from NCDs by one-third by 2030. The pandemic last year has exacerbated the risks and impact of NCDs manifold, as also shown in the Health of the Nation report.

Dr Sangita Reddy, Joint Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “Apollo Hospitals’ commitment is to the health of the nation, with a vision to make our nation healthier. With the urgent need to respond to the challenge of non-communicable diseases, we cannot afford a pure treatment and curative approach to health. We believe that a focus on prevention will be transformative for the health of the nation. We are harnessing the power of technology to develop new methodologies for screening, detection, and patient risk profiling. We are using our pioneering experience of over 37 years and countrywide network to create and innovate new models of care to improve clinical outcomes. We have been the first to adopt Artificial Intelligence and Big data analytics to predict risk and personalize care.

“Today, we are showcasing our insights into a vast amount of health data that will form the foundation of a healthcare model for our future. Many arms of Apollo Hospitals have worked together, collating their knowledge, data on the incidence of disease, and put that into one holistic report that is a representative study of the Health of the Nation.”

NCDs account for 65% of all deaths in India. There is a need to look at new norms of preventive health management that allow us to detect and tackle risks from NCDs before they manifest, even more so in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Health of the Nation report offers a unique perspective of the healthy and unhealthy – across occupations, economic segments, and demographics, and trends of non-communicable diseases across the country.The study will help put in place approaches to improve disease prevention, increase the accuracy of early diagnoses that will, in turn, lead to a more personalized and patient-centric treatment approach.

Dr Anupam Sibal, Group Medical Director, Apollo Hospitals Group said, “The Health of the Nation study highlights the need to direct our efforts efficiently towards controlling NCDs through optimal use of our healthcare infrastructure. The highest prevalence of pre-diabetes and diabetes is seen in 45-60 year olds and is almost as high as the 60+ age group. Amongst the diabetics, around 50% also have hypertension and are above the recommended weight. Around 60% of these diabetics are also leading a sedentary lifestyle. The data also indicates that while women have lower incidence of NCDs, the difference is marginal. Hence, they must stay vigilant. The economically disadvantaged are also not spared, although with lower prevalence.”

There is a significant diabetes population in the major metros and suburbs of India, especially the Delhi NCR – Punjab & Haryana Belt, Kolkata, entire Mumbai-Ahmedabad belt, Hyderabad and Chennai, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, as well as in the predominantly rural areas of MP, Maharashtra, UP, Bihar, parts of Orissa and Gujarat. There is a significant hypertensive population in major metros such as Delhi, Punjab & Haryana, Kolkata, Mumbai, Goa, Trivandrum and Hyderabad and in the predominantly rural areas in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, UP, Bihar, Orissa and Gujarat.

Prof. Nirmal Kumar Ganguly. Former Director-General, Indian Council of Medical Research and President, Apollo Hospitals Educational and Research Foundation said, “Our pilot community health model, Total Health, to reduce premature NCD-related deaths in rural areas was launched in 2013 in Aragonda, Chittoor district. The program saw 31,350 people classified as low risk, moderate risk and high risk, according to their ten-year risk of developing NCDs, and proactively managed with regular follow up, investigations, medication, clinical interventions, counselling and lifestyle modifications for diabetes, hypertension and cancer. In addition, the program also addresses all other social determinants of health in the country (e.g., drinking water, nutrition, kitchen gardening, livelihood generation) to beyond just health to ‘Total Care’ for ‘Total Health’.”

Under this program 1,980 diabetic and hypertensive patients have been put under regular follow up, who are under now control with proper investigations, medication, counseling and life style modifications. Also 5,391 rural women were screened for cancer and 17 early cancer cases (cervix and breast) were diagnosed and managed with appropriate health intervention services which were free of cost

Around 80% of mortality from NCDs is preventable with early detection and proper management. It is critical to continue to focus on regular health check-ups to detect NCDs along with AI-enabled tools that allow premature health events to be identified early.

Dr Sujoy Kar, Chief Medical Information Officer said, “The study gives us the data that will allow the effective use of technology to predict risks and guide our actions to prevent and rein in the NCD epidemic. One such example is to evaluate and manage the High Sensitive Troponin-I (hsTnI) categorical CVD risk in subjects undergoing preventive health checks (PHC).  

“AI and predictive algorithms can predict risk, prevent premature health events, and overcome chronic lifestyle diseases, when caught early. For example, we have developed a Cardiovascular Risk Score (AICVD) in the Indian population and it is now prospectively used and followed up on 33000 individuals as part of ProHealth to predict the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.”

There are various clinical tools using AI and data analytics ready for deployment as well as under research for various NCDs. These include tools and algorithms to identify medical issues early in CT scans, predict various risks including the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, asthma, liver fibrosis in NAFLD, breast cancer, pre-diabetes and stroke.

Dr Sathya Sriram, CEO, Preventive Health, Apollo Hospitals Chennai said, “The Health of the Nation study has shown us the importance of shifting the paradigm in India from a curative to a preventive mindset. Apollo ProHealth, empowered by AI and predictive algorithms, is a personalized proactive health management program based on 22 million health checks, building on Apollo’s pioneering efforts in preventive care and led by medical experts committed to making individuals healthier. Apollo ProHealth includes personalized health risk assessment to predict health risks and diagnostics tailored to your profile, physician-led evaluation for a personalized treatment plan and wellness goals, and Health Mentors to regularly monitor your health parameters and help individuals stay on the path to wellness. Over the last 12 months, a cohort of ProHealth guests with diabetes have shown 33%-60% target achievement across multiple health parameters, such as blood pressure, cholesterol, physical activity and HbA1c.”

The Health of the Nation report is the basis on which NCDs can be managed proactively, with the data used for early identification and management of NCDs using AI and data analytics to enable India to follow an accelerated path to meet SDG goals by 2030.

Pramesh Jain

The North Division police of Bagalagunte police arrested a habitual offender involved in robbing gold chain from an elderly woman after stealing a scooter in March this year.

The accused has been identified as,Mujeesha Ahmed,26,resident of Rajajinagar.

Senior officer told media persons,that a complaint was registered in Bagalagunte police station by an elderly woman identified as Narasamma,who stated in her complaint that when she was standing near to her house a person aged about 20-22 year old approached her on the pretext of inquiring address and snatched her gold chain worth Rs.90,000.

Based on a complaint a special team was led by PI,Bagalagunte,Sunil HB,PSIs and staff swung into action and visited the crime spot and after analysing CCTV footage in the vicinity the team got some vital clues.

Our PSI,Santhosh and crime staff who were on search for the offender received a tip off from their reliable inputs that one Suspect is roaming suspiciously.

PSI and team rushed to the spot and apprehended the person near Navarang theatre on suspect basis when they questioned him and asked to produce the documents of vehicle he dint produce and when they checked his pocket the team found a gold locket in his possession.

The team took him to station for questioning during investigation the accused confessed the crime that he has stolen the vehicle and used it to commit crime based on his statement the team recovered the gold chain worth Rs.90,000 which he has Pawned and the stolen scooter has been recovered from his possession.

A detailed investigation by the team has revealed that the accused is a habitual offender was arrested by Rajajinagar police in a chain snatching case in 2017 and remanded to judicial custody.

The accused released earlier this year and stole a scooter from Nelamangala on march 19.Using the Stolen scooter the accused approached Narasamma,60,on the pretext of inquiring address and snatched her gold chain worth rs 90,000 in T Dasarahalli has been recovered.A case has been registered in Bagalagunte police station and further investigation is on.

Finally Bengaluru Police Commissioner,Kamal Pant has appreciated Addl CP West,Soumendhu Mukherjee,DCP North,Dharmendra Kumar Meena, ACP,Yeshwanthpura Sub-Division,Srinivas Reddy PI,Sunil HB,PSIs,as,Kumar M,Lokesh,Prabhu KL,Nagesh,Santosh Kumar K,Sreekantegowda,and crime staff as,Hanumegowda,Kumarswamy,Srinivas,Eshwar K Barkhi,Rajath kumar,Purshoutham,and WPC as,Smt.Sudha has been appreciated for the commendable job done by them in nabbing the notorious chain snatcher a suitable reward will be given to the team he added.