MAM
Nerolac endeavours to ‘touch a child’s life with Akanksha
MUMBAI: Paint manufacturer Goodlass Nerolac, which has a turnover of Rs 7.91 billion, has launched a social marketing initiative in association with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) for children, Akanksha.
The company has invited consumers to participate in an on-ground event ‘Touch a Child’s Life’, which has already launched in Mumbai. It claims to provide consumers with a chance to make a difference to an underprivileged child’s life.
Goodlass Nerolac manufactures a diversified range of products from architectural coatings for homes, offices, hospitals and hotels to sophisticated industrial coatings for most of the industries.
The company has set up ‘Touch a Child’s Life’ camps at various spots in the city. Consumers taking part in the event can stamp a colour imprint of their palm on a large canvas and sign it with a marker at any of these camps. According to a press release, Goodlass Nerolac will donate Rs 2 to ‘Akanksha’ for every colour imprint they collect.
Special ‘Touch a Child’s Life’ venues in Mumbai are at Churchgate Station, CST Station, Shivaji Park in Dadar, Joggers’ Park in Bandra and Shiv Sagar at Juhu. On the first day of this campaign, celebrities such as models Katrina Kaif and Yana Gupta, singer Shaan and stars from the television serial Sanjivini visited the kiosk at Joggers’ Park to stamp their palm imprint.
Today the banners from diverse locations were collaged at Shivaji Park to showcase the support for the cause of disadvantaged children and create awareness amongst people on their plight in the country.
Nerolac’s ad agency Lodestar Media’s national media director Nandini Dias says,”We finally got so many signatures that now we have created the longest canvas in India or possibly the world. The canvas is more than a kilometer long. We displayed the canvas at Shivaji Park today. It looked awesome. It had these coloured hands with signatures on a white canvas and the canvas went on and on. We needed around 89 boys to hold it up.”
A bystander at the venue states, “I was so excited, I got it shot in a video camera. All kinds of celebrities, filmi and from the corporate world participated.”
Speaking on the occasions, Goodlass Nerolac Paints managing director HM Bharuka says, “We are happy to collaborate with Akanksha for the cause of India’s disadvantaged children. This association offers thousands of people an opportunity to do their share for the cause of neglected and unfortunate children. Even a small gesture from an individual can make a big difference to and empower a child’s life.”
The company plans to use this event to create interest and drive traffic to its dealer network of over 11,000 dealers across the country.
Akanksha Foundation is a 10-year-old, nonprofit organisation, which educates less privileged children from slum areas. The NGO has managed to create opportunities for over 1,500 children. These children study in 27 Akanksha centres, 20 in Mumbai and seven in Pune.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
