Pratham USA has named Navneet Chugh as president of the Pratham Los Angeles chapter. Chugh takes over from Raj Dhami, who led the chapter valiantly these past six years and, through his tireless efforts, increased revenue by over 250 percent. Dhami will continue to serve on the board and take part in chapter activities and committees. Chugh is the founder and managing partner of Chugh LLP, which provides legal and accounting services at 15 offices around the world. He also founded TiE SoCal and SABA North America. He serves on the board of HAB Bank, Dhandho Holdings and is a member of USIBC and YPO. Chugh has served on the Pratham USA national board since 2015 and has been indispensable in furthering Pratham’s mission. In addition, long-time Pratham supporter Nitin Bajaj joins us as a development director for Southern California. The Indian American executive comes to Pratham with a track record of building and running successful startups and leading multi-million dollar, strategic initiatives for enterprise organizations such as IBM and Thomson Reuters.

1Touch Labs is Expanding Offices to India

1 Touch Labs, a fast-growing marketplace that connects social media influencers with e-commerce vendors, is expanding to India. The company also announced the opening of a free job placement and education platform to schools in India that will help put interns on their desired career paths and increase their success rate. The expansion will open a lot of business opportunities across the country, such as partnering with several development companies, as well as opening a free job placement school around the country, it said. 1Touch Labs is interested in talents from India ranging from marketing, programming, graphic design, website development, and computer engineering. The successful interns will have the opportunity to learn from some of the best brains at 1Touch Labs in various areas. They will also learn how to start a company and the challenges most startups encounter and how to overcome them, helping the company’s brand through social media content creation, social media monetization, and presentation for investors. With 1Touch Labs expansion to India and opening a free job placement and education platform, qualified candidates will be assisted with career development. 1Touch Labs will offer them real work experiences that will provide students with opportunities to explore their interests and develop professional skills and competencies.

South Nassau Receives Grant to Establish New Medical Lecture Series

The Mudra Foundation: Art for a Cause has agreed to underwrite an annual medical education lecture series that will focus on innovations and research in medicine to further medical education at South Nassau Communities Hospital. The lectures will cover a wide range of topics and will be open to medical professionals and to the public. The Mudra Foundation, based in Muttontown, N.Y., was founded by Dr. Arti Datta and Dr. Rajiv Datta, chair of the Department of Surgery and Director of the Gertrude and Louis Feil Cancer Center at South Nassau. The foundation uses the artistic medium of dance and music to raise funds and awareness to aid the mission and vision of other non-profit educational and charitable organizations. “Each lecture will serve as a platform to herald and learn about the plans, projects, and goals that distinguished physicians and medical professionals are pursuing or implementing to meet the world’s need for high-quality, accessible medicine,” said Arti Datta, Artistic Director of Mudra Dance Studio and founding president of the foundation.

Lambda Therapeutic Research Expands Global Footprint in the US

In a move to provide greater global reach for pharmaceutical customers and greater capabilities in the U.S. market, one of the world’s leading Contract Research Organizations, Lambda Therapeutic Research, has reached an agreement to acquire Novum Pharmaceutical Research Services, a leading CRO in the U.S., in a private transaction. Novum has numerous global clients served throughout its U.S. operations in Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Nevada and Texas. It will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lambda. Lambda, based in India, has operations in India, Canada, Poland, and the United Kingdom. Bindi Chudgar, managing director of Lambda, said, “This is our second footprint in North America following our acquisition of the R&D facilities of Biovail CRO in 2010 in Canada. Novum is a strategic fit for Lambda as it provides a natural platform for growth in the United States, the world’s largest pharmaceutical market. Novum brings with it a strong technical and management team. We expect this acquisition to blend with and strengthen our existing capabilities as we extend our global reach in serving clients in this evolving market.” Novum will retain its identity and will operate as a division of global CRO leader Lambda Therapeutic Research giving Lambda entry into the U.S. market. Novum CEO Christopher H. Chamberlain and its leadership team will continue to manage U.S. operations.

Ridesharing company Uber launched pilot program UberBOAT with service in Mumbai, in partnership with Maharashtra Maritime Board. The on-demand service will provide transportation from three of the city’s popular coastal routes namely Gateway of India, Elephanta Islands and Mandwa Jetty, via speed boats, it said. Uber’s vision is to transform into a multi-modal transportation platform in India. In line with this, UberBOAT will enable riders in Mumbai to request a speedboat at the tap of a button through the Uber app, thus making waterway commute in the city efficient and convenient. Prabhjeet Singh, head of cities of Uber India & South Asia, said, “As pioneers in the organized on-demand transport system, Uber’s vision is to create a multi-modal platform to better serve riders and the cities we operate in. With UberBOAT, we will tap the vast potential of the city’s waterways transport system.” Added Sanjay Bhatia, chairman of the Bombay Port Trust: “Our vision is to make Mumbai as the sea transport and tourism hub of the country in collaboration with Maharashtra Maritime Board. We believe UberBOAT will play a pivotal role in improving connectivity and will work closely with Uber to make this pilot a success.” All UberBOAT rides will be equipped with best in class safety features including lifejackets, emergency contact details, printed collaterals along with a manual that highlights safety instructions.