Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest pace bowling prodigy, Arun Pragasham has been selected to play in the Ottawa Club Cricket Circuit, representing the Nepean Cricket Club. As the only Sri Lankan transfer player to be tapped for the club this year, Arun credits the fast bowling competition as being pivotal in opening the door for his career as a professional pace bowler – both locally and now overseas.

“It’s extremely exciting for me to have been selected to play for the Nepean Cricket Club. Before I started the Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest competition, cricket was already a big part of my life. But Sri Lanka has so many talented players that I was never certain that I would be able to continue playing at a professional level. That is why I really want to thank Airtel for creating this opportunity for me to make my dreams a reality.”

“During the programme, I got to train with one of my cricketing heroes Chaminda Vaas. He selected me to the emerging category of the competition and coached me to develop my pace by improving my technique, and focusing my mindset. My ultimate dream is to play for Sri Lanka at an international level. So I’m definitely going to give every opportunity I get, my maximum effort,” Arun explained.

Following his debut on Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest, Arun currently plays for the Moors Cricket Club clocking in an average bowling speed of 139 Km/h, and is now eager to gain invaluable experience during his upcoming 4 month stint within the Ottawa Club Cricket Circuit. Cricket was introduced to the Ottawa region in 1840 and was among the earliest places within the continent where the game gained its popularity. With over 25 clubs present within the circuit, cricket remains a popular sport among the Ontarians.

“This is a proud moment for all of us at Airtel. We warmly congratulate Arun on his selection and we want him to know that all of us will be rooting for him as he proves his mettle in Ottawa. With Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest, we aimed to provide an equal platform in which young bowling talent from all corners of the island could be recognised, nurtured and developed. It’s gratifying to see that representing Sri Lanka at an international level is no longer a distant dream for our young talent. We hope that Arun’s stringent progression after Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest inspire more young Sri Lankans to dream bigger and better,” Airtel’s Chief Marketing Officer, Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan said.

The young fast bowler began his journey towards fame with Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest as part of the 145 select out of the 10,000 initial applicants from around the island. After the inaugural selection, the top 45 fastest bowlers were selected for a second round, which included coaching camps and 1:1 sessions with Airtel’s ‘Super Star Coaching Team’ comprising of legendary death bowling sensation, Lasith Malinga together with icons of the game such as Chaminda Vaas, Hashan Tilakaratne and Upul Chandana. A crowd favourite, Arun came in 3rd place from the over 19 category.

The Nepean Cricket Club (NCC) is a prominent full member of Ottawa Valley Cricket Council which plays the three formats of the game: 50 overs, 40 overs and 20 overs game. NCC is known for its structural development and behavior in and off the field, has debuted more than 100 players and has almost 35+ active players representing them every year.

-Image 1-Arun Pragasham recording a scorching speed of 139 Km/h at the finale of “Airtel Sri Lanka’s Fastest” which was held at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium

Image 2- Arun with his mentor, former spinner Upul Chandana.

Image 3- The pacie came in third place from the over 19 category from “Airtel Sri Lanka’s

Fastest” bowling competition

In an effort to raise awareness on Cancer, Airtel Lanka held a Cancer Awareness Week for employees in commemoration of World Cancer Day 2020. According to the World Cancer Day initiative, 9.6 million people die of cancer every year. However, at least 1/3rd of common cancers are preventable.

During the one week programme, employees were provided with insights into how simple lifestyle choices could help lower their risk of cancer, as well as an overview of the detection and treatment of the disease. Employees also engaged in a competition where two staff members were awarded a valuable cancer related health screening each.

The Cancer Awareness Week concluded with the Airtel team joining together to raise funds for essential medical items which were donated to the Apeksha Hospital in Maharagama.

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Pandemics, such as the current COVID-19, can have implications on mental health. To support and manage well-being during these stressful times, Airtel Lanka announced a series of initiatives and a partnership with the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to raise awareness on looking after your mental health.

Drawing on the expertise of experienced mental-health professionals and counsellors at NIMH, Airtel will be utilising its strong link with young Sri Lankans to drive out messages of support and solidarity, while providing practical insights on common mental health issues that could emerge in times of crisis.

“It is paramount to consider mental well-being as part and parcel of the public health response to COVID-19. Recognising this lacuna we, the team at NIMH are reaching out to the general public to encourage everyone to utilize the mitigation methods that we have shared with the support of Airtel. During this pandemic there has been a spike in anxiety and for those of us who are suffering in isolation, know this: you are not alone. Looking out for each other and maintaining a healthy lifestyle while remaining physically distant will remain crucial as we address the pandemic together.” said Dr. Dhammika Wijesinghe, Director, NIMH Sri Lanka.

Staying engaged and entertained

Throughout the lockdown period, the telco will continue to provide all its users with free entertainment via Airtel Movie Box. Accessible through the ‘My Airtel’ App, users will have their choice of over 500 movies – the largest online library of Sri Lankan films in the country – in high definition and in all three languages. The library includes movies going back to the golden era of the silver screen all the way through to the latest releases.

Empowering e-education

While the temptation to avoid educational commitments during the lockdown period may be significant, the telco also urged young Sri Lankans not to neglect their education. In order to support Airtel users to continue their studies during the lockdown, the telco facilitated free access to ‘e-thaksalawa’, the official e-learning platform by the Ministry of Education, for schools with learning material from grade 1 through to grade 13 and University hosted elearning platform, ‘LEARN’.

‘My Airtel’ App bolstered as one-stop shop for all user needs

Airtel customers can additionally top-up and recharge while staying indoors using their ‘My Airtel’ App or through the Airtel website. Airtel App offers many options to customers such as 25% discount on exclusive data bundles, ‘work from home’ higher data packs and additional bonus talk time to name a few. Selected exclusive offers are also available by banks and other payment partners for the ease of customers. Airtel is also offering its customers a chance to earn from home when you recharge another Airtel prepaid number through the ‘My Airtel’ App.

Additionally an emergency loan facility is offered for all Airtel mobile prepaid customers who are unable to purchase top up cards or reload.

“Ever since the lockdown was first implemented a month prior, the Airtel team has been doing everything to help our customers navigate through this challenging time, while strictly abiding with the directives for social distancing. We have all come to rely on technology to help us through the COVID crisis, by keeping us connected and enabling us to work, study, or stay entertained online.” Airtel Lanka Chief Marketing Officer, Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan said.

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• Provides access to over 600 SLMC registered general practitioners and specialists.

Cementing its status as a preferred employer of choice, Airtel Lanka announced a partnership with revolutionary telemedicine platform, oDoc, to provide all employees and their immediate family members with unlimited free telemedicine consultations. The partnership came into place in March 2020 as Sri Lankan’s began engaging in social distancing efforts and working from home.

This telemedicine facility includes remote access – in English, Sinhala and Tamil – to over 600 Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) registered general physicians and specialists as well as remote lab services and doorstep delivery of prescription medication.

“The safety, health, and wellbeing of every member of our team has always been an utmost priority for Airtel Lanka. Especially given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we wanted to ensure that our employees and their loved ones are well looked after and are provided with convenient remote access to top quality healthcare services as and when required through the pioneering oDoc app. oDoc provides a brilliant solution to multiple challenges in accessing healthcare, leveraging the power of telecommunications and mobile technology to connect individuals and solve real world problems. Even as normalcy begins to return in Sri Lanka, we believe that such innovations hold the key to speeding up national recovery efforts.” Head of HR, Airtel Lanka, Kanishka Ranaweera stated.

The timely introduction of this service for Airtel employees will primarily be driven by video consultations via mobile phones saving employees from unnecessary travel and exposure, thereby enabling a healthier and more productive workforce.

Notably, the free consultation service is part of a multipronged strategy from the telco to support employees as more employees return to physical working spaces whilst practising social distancing. Stringent hygiene and safety protocols has been implemented for all Airtel employees working around the clock in order to ensure steady and high quality service to match the surge in demand for connectivity.

Airtel users can also access and pay for oDoc consultations using their debit or credit card. To access the telemedicine facility users may download the oDoc application from the Google Play Store or the Apple App store.

Launched in 2017, oDoc is Sri Lanka’s largest telemedicine company that connects patients with doctors for video/audio consultations, thus enabling you to get medical advice and medicine without leaving home. oDoc serves over 200,000 Sri Lankans and recently launched international operations in India and the Maldives. oDoc has won the Commonwealth Digital Health Award in Telemedicine as well as the e-Swabhimani Digital Social Impact Award.

Photo Caption- With the oDoc telemedicine app , Airtel employees and immediate family members now have free remote access to over 600 Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) registered general physicians and specialists.

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Responding to flooding and landslides caused by tropical cyclone Amphan, Airtel Lanka helped its customers stay connected by providing free talk-time and data. The benefit was extended to customers residing in over 23 affected towns in the Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura districts.

Commenting on the initiative, Airtel’s Chief Marketing Officer, Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan stated: “We are deeply concerned about the well-being of our customers who have been adversely affected by these extreme weather conditions. Especially considering the fact that they have to deal with the twin impacts of the storm as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Airtel felt it was an urgent priority to support our users to stay safe and stay connected during these difficult times.”

Airtel users from other parts of the country may also join the relief effort by recharging, sharing their credit or paying the bills of their friends and family member’s affected by the crisis using the ‘My Airtel’ App. As an added benefit, recharges completed on behalf of another customer, via the ‘My Airtel’ App, are also entitled to the same discounts and promotions which are already available to the users sharing their credit.

‘My Airtel’ is the free customer service app designed for Airtel subscribers in Sri Lanka. Through the app, subscribers may access their user accounts, track data usage, recharge, pay bills and enjoy music and movies – all within one integrated and easy-to-use platform.

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Supporting the efforts of the Government and public health officials, Airtel Lanka donated proceeds raised through the ‘Airtel Lanka Employee Fund’ to the National COVID-19 Healthcare and Social Security Fund.

‘Airtel Lanka Employee Fund’ is a voluntary donation programme, whereby the company match the contribution made by the Airtel employees. Similar initiatives have been utilised by Airtel globally to support efforts against COVID in India and Kenya.

Photo Caption: The cheque was presented to the Presidential Secretariat Director General of Administration, Major General K.B Egodawele.

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Responding to Sri Lanka’s surge in data utilization due to the rising engagement in e-learning platforms, meetings and live streaming, Airtel Lanka announced the launch of its latest Study from Home (SFH) and Work from Home (WFH) data package.

Despite the return of near normalcy in life, there is a shifting dynamic in the workforce with preference to continue WFH. Similarly, most schools, parents and students are resorting to distance learning tools and online platforms, owing to the widespread availability and ease of use of technologies to collaborate and stay in constant contact.

This latest data package is developed to make SFH and WFH even more conceivable as the offering will provide limitless usage for a period of 30 days for distance learning tools and elearning websites, namely, Google Classrooms, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office 365 and other government mandated e-learning platforms.

The package provides access to safe and secure websites for persons of all ages and is ideal for those learning from home as there is no requirement for any data add-ons. All similar platforms will be available for those working from home and any data usage outside these stated platforms will come under the user’s existing data plan.

The new data plan comes in at a price point of Rs.1499 excluding taxes and is available for both pre-paid and post-paid customers. The SFH and WFH data offer comes as an optional add-on pack, is available for usage from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily and can be purchased via the ‘My Airtel’ self-servicing application. To find out more details visit www.airtel.lk or visit the ‘My Airtel’ app.

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Airtel Lanka today announced the appointment of Ashish Chandra as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director. In his new role, Ashish has the mandate to accelerate Airtel’s growth in the Sri Lankan market by leveraging best-in-class network technologies and innovative digital platforms.

Commenting on the appointment, Gopal Vittal, MD & CEO (India and South Asia), Bharti Airtel said: “We are delighted to welcome Ashish to Airtel Lanka, which has built a solid platform for future growth. I am confident that Ashish’s experience will add immense value to Airtel’s vision of delighting customers with world-class services. Over the coming months, customers can look forward to some exciting innovations from Airtel and I wish Ashish and his team the very best for the future.”

Ashish brings with him over two decades of rich experience in the Indian telecommunications industry. In the past, he has worked in various leadership roles with India’s top telecommunications companies. Prior to joining Airtel Lanka, he was the Business Head & CEO (Uttar Pradesh & Uttarakhand) for Vodafone Idea Limited. Ashish has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Malviya National Institute of Technology and did his MBA from the Podar Institute of Management. He has also attended Leadership programs at IMD Business School, Lausanne; IIM, Ahmedabad; and the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

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Celebrating a month dedicated to empowering youth, Airtel Lanka partnered with the USAID funded youth skills development and entrepreneurship project, YouLead to mark World Youth Skills Day (WYSD) and International Youth Day (IYD) 2020 under the theme of ‘21FOR21’. The objective of the campaign was to introduce 21 critical skills for youth employment and entrepreneurship in the 21st century.

This year’s WYSD & IYD took place in a challenging context. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures have led to worldwide slowing down and in most cases closure of educational institutions, threatening the continuity of learning and development. In an effort to support recovery, Airtel collaborated with YouLead to give youth an opportunity for uninterrupted skills development online during the pandemic.

Advocating certain skills important to Airtel such as critical thinking, leadership, innovation, technological literacy and diversity, the campaign featured a resource site, youlead.lk/skills, which hosted content including a series of videos highlighting the role of these skills in successful careers followed by multiple webinars to further hone in on the practical content and the importance of these skills at the work place.

Commenting on the partnership, Airtel’s CEO & Managing Director, Ashish Chandra said: “The digital age has been characterised by a rapid shift from traditional industry to an economy primarily based upon information technology. Hence, it is vital that our youth recognize and adapt to the emerging skills demanded by this broader shift. Doing so will be the key to leveraging new opportunities. As a telco which champions youth empowerment in Sri Lanka, we are happy to partner with YouLead in training the next generation on innovation, problem solving, critical thinking, technology literacy and many other skills essential for them to thrive in the workplace of the future.” Funded by the American people, YouLead works to improve technical and vocational education and training, create a more skilled workforce, and increase employment by undertaking activities that support and strengthen students, teachers, institutions, and entrepreneurs. It is supported by the U.S. Government’s development arm, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The ‘21FOR21’ campaign concluded with a photography competition calling in submissions to capture “skills in action” at workplaces. The winners of the photography competition were awarded a smartphone device provided by Airtel, which could be utilised for work/studyfrom-home purposes.

As a global initiative spearheaded by Sri Lanka and adopted by the UN general assembly in December 2014, WYSD also serves as a reminder to young people and educators alike to cultivate demand-driven, industry-focused, high quality technical and vocational skills to generate youth employability. According to the Sri Lanka Labour Force Survey, only 30% of youth aged 15-24 entered the labour force and among these 21.4% were unemployed which was 53.4% of the total unemployment rate in Sri Lanka (Department of Census and Statistics, 2018).

– Photo
caption:-The 21for21 ‘Skills at Work’ photo competition recently concluded with the winner’s prize giving held at Airtel Lanka Head Office, World Trade Center. (L to R): 3 winners – Mr. Nishanth Rajasegaram, Mr. Tharindu Dileepa, Mr. Kanchana Herath together with Mr, Chandrashekhar Singh Chauhan, Chief Marketing Officer, Airtel Lanka, Mr. Reed Aeschliman, Mission Director, USAID Sri Lanka and Maldives, Ms. Vindya Silva, Partnerships Director, YouLead and Mr. Fawaz Nizamdeen, Head – Contact Experience Airtel.

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