Apollo Hospitals’ “My Hands Are Ready” Sets World Record Title with 61,221 CPR Pledges in 30 Days

The campaign reaches students, teachers and staff across 120 institutions, advancing CPR awareness and emergency preparedness ahead of World Heart Day 2026, themed “United for Every Heartbeat.” 

Mumbai, 28 September 2026: ‘Is Navi Mumbai ready to save a life.’ This was the question that set the CPR Pledge Movement in motion by Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai.

Conducted from 8 July to 7 August 2026, the movement set out to mobilise 50,000 people to pledge that they would learn CPR and be better prepared to respond in the critical moments before professional medical help arrives. Navi Mumbai not only crossed the target but brought together people from across the city in a collective commitment to being prepared. 

More than 120 institutions, including schools, colleges, workplaces and community organisations, participated in the initiative, bringing together students, teachers, healthcare professionals, employees, families and community members. This initiative sought to encourage people to become more prepared and proactive in responding to medical emergencies. Over the course of the campaign, 61,221 people pledged to learn CPR, turning a simple call to action into a widespread community movement.

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The month-long movement culminated with GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ officially recognising Apollo Hospitals Navi Mumbai as the record-holder for ‘Most pledges received to learn CPR in one month’, at a special event held in the presence of Dr. Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited and actor Karisma Kapoor. 

Dr Preetha Reddy, Executive Vice Chairperson, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Limited, said,

“For ten years, Navi Mumbai has honoured us with its trust. Today, more than 61,000 people have pledged to learn CPR, reminding us of the extraordinary power of a community united by a shared purpose. This is the inspiration behind ‘My Hands Are Ready’, a movement that seeks to place life-saving knowledge into the hands of ordinary citizens across India. There can be no greater way to honour the trust Navi Mumbai has placed in our hands than to empower millions more hands to be ready to help save a life.”

The scale of the campaign responds to a significant CPR knowledge-and-action gap in India. More than 700,000 people are estimated to die from sudden cardiac arrest in the country each year, while studies suggest that only 1.3%-9.8% of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests receive bystander CPR. In urban populations, only around 2%-6.5% of laypeople have been reported to be able to perform CPR, and out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival to hospital discharge remains below 2%-3%. These figures underline the importance of equipping ordinary citizens to act before professional help arrives. Through “My Hands Are Ready”, Apollo Hospitals is helping turn willingness to help into the confidence and preparedness to take the right action when it matters most.

Mr Arunesh Punetha, Regional CEO- Western Region, Apollo Hospitals, said,

“We want to take the message beyond Navi Mumbai and encourage people across India to learn CPR and feel prepared to respond when a life may depend on those standing closest. This movement is about giving ordinary people the courage to step forward for another life. That is what makes it more than a campaign. It is a commitment to society, to every life, every family and every one of us. Through ‘My Hands Are Ready’, it is a promise we make to each other. And it is a promise we make to India.”

Dr Nitin Jagasia, Regional Director – Emergency, Western Region, Apollo Hospitals, said,

“When someone suffers a cardiac emergency (their heart stops), the first person at the scene is often not a healthcare professional but a family member, colleague, friend or passer-by. The ability to recognise this and initiate CPR can make all the difference while professional help is on its way. This movement by Apollo is to encourage thousands of people to take the first step towards acquiring this essential basic skill. Every person who learns CPR becomes better equipped to respond during those crucial early moments.”

At its heart is a simple idea: our hands are already capable of caring, helping and protecting. With the right knowledge and training, they can also be ready to respond when a life is at risk.

Salaam Bombay Students Document Mumbai Landmarks on Independence Day Tour

A special Independence Day tour took BMC and government school students across Mumbai’s historical landmarks. Participants from the Salaam Bombay Foundation’s photography programme documented the city's living history through their own lenses.

  

Mumbai, August 16, 2026: This Independence Day, Cityflo, India’s leading urban transit bus commute service, in collaboration with Salaam Bombay Foundation (SBF), took a group of 15 students from the Salaam Bombay Foundation on a curated educational tour across Mumbai, bringing the city’s history, heritage, culture and contemporary identity together into one journey.

 

The tour was designed for students to experience Mumbai beyond the classroom and connect with the places and stories that have shaped the city and the nation. Travelling in the comfort of a Cityflo bus, the students explored the Gateway of India, Mani Bhavan and August Kranti Maidan, and Sir J J School of Art Gallery while also driving past the site of Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s memorial. The journey also included a visit to the Paradox Museum, adding a contemporary and experiential perspective to the tour.

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For the students of Salaam Bombay Foundation’s, the journey became an opportunity to capture Mumbai through their own lens. The students photographed the landmarks, architecture and moments from the tour, bringing their individual perspectives to the city. A selection of their photographs will travel across the city on Cityflo platforms, carrying the students’ view of Mumbai to a wider audience.

 

The initiative brought together Cityflo’s focus on shared, sustainable urban mobility with Salaam Bombay Foundation’s work, empowering adolescents to break the cycle of poverty through education in media, arts, sports and vocational skill development. While Cityflo works towards making the daily urban travel more comfortable and to encourage the adoption of shared mobility, Salaam Bombay Foundation gives the students with platforms to develop skills, confidence and creative expression.

 

Sankalp Kelshikar, Co-founder, CMO & Head of Cityflo Corporate, Cityflo, said, “At Cityflo, we believe that how a city moves is closely connected to how it grows. Our commitment to building more accessible, sustainable and liveable cities goes beyond mobility; it is also about creating experiences that add value to the communities we serve. Partnering with Salaam Bombay Foundation allowed us to give the students an opportunity to experience their city, connect with its history and imagine its future. Seeing them document the journey through photography made the experience even more meaningful, and we hope perspectives continue to travel across Mumbai.”

 

Savio Pashana, Head of Communications, Salaam Bombay Foundation, said, “Learning can happen anywhere when young people are allowed to explore, observe and express themselves. This excursion provided our students with the invaluable opportunity to engage with Mumbai’s historical and cultural heritage, while concurrently examining the city through a contemporary lens. For our students, the opportunity is to have their work showcased across Cityflo buses provides a meaningful platform to share their creativity with a broader audience. We are pleased to partner with Cityflo in curating an Independence Day experience that integrates education, creativity, and professional opportunity.”

 

The collaboration showcases the shared belief that a city is best understood by moving through it, and that the everyday commute can carry young people’s stories back to it.

 

About Cityflo:

Founded in 2015, Cityflo is India's leading urban transit bus commute service, built for the urban corporate professional. It runs an extensive network of premium buses on fixed routes that serves high-density residential and office corridors. The company operates over 1,200 buses and serves 18 million rides annually across Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Kolkata. With a focus on comfort and convenience Cityflo offers a reliable alternative to personal vehicles and unpredictable public transport. Through partnerships with corporates, fleet operators and OEMs, Cityflo is building the infrastructure for a better daily commute at scale across India's largest cities.

 

About Salaam Bombay Foundation:

Salaam Bombay Foundation, established in 2002, works with adolescents from low-income communities in Mumbai to help them stay in school and build skills for a better future. The organisation focuses on life skills, health awareness, vocational training and creative development through its in-school programs and after-school academies in arts, media and sports. Its approach is simple: strengthen confidence, improve decision-making and create exposure to real career pathways so adolescents are less likely to drop out. The Foundation’s vocational and skill-building initiatives also prepare students for part-time income opportunities and long-term employability.

 

Over the years, Salaam Bombay has reached thousands of young people, giving them tools to grow, stay engaged with education and work toward stable, meaningful futures.