Education
Health
Purple Pixie Healthcare expands Dr ToothLittle to 10 clinics in Bengaluru; targets 15 centres by FY28
India’s first exclusive paediatric oral healthcare clinic chain plans foray into other South Indian cities to address a gaping need in paediatric oral healthcare
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], October 15: Purple Pixie Healthcare, parent company of Dr ToothLittle, India’s first exclusive paediatric oral healthcare clinic chain, today announced the expansion of its network to 10 clinics across Bengaluru city, strengthening its position as one of the country’s pioneering organised players, focused exclusively on paediatric oral healthcare.
The company plans to take the Dr ToothLittle network to 15 clinics in Bengaluru by FY 2027-28, after which it looks to foray into other key cities in South India. The expansion represents nearly two decades of pioneering work by Dr Premila Naidu, Founder & MD of Purple Pixie Healthcare. Through Dr ToothLittle, Dr Naidu has paved the way in transforming paediatric dentistry from a predominantly treatment-led service to a specialised, experience-driven model of healthcare, integrating clinical excellence with behavioural science, child psychology, sensory design and preventive care.
The expansion comes against the backdrop of a significant and growing opportunity in paediatric oral health in India. Industry estimates project India’s paediatric oral care market to reach approximately US$1.71 billion by 2030, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 8% between 2025 and 2030. Bengaluru-specific clinical studies have found dental caries in 27.5% of preschool children aged 8–48 months, based on a study of 1,500 children. A separate study of 1,452 school children aged 12–15 years found a caries prevalence of 57.9%, with 19.4% experiencing untreated dental caries with clinical consequences. These findings underscore the scale of childhood dental disease and the need for greater emphasis on early intervention, preventive care and specialised treatment.
Speaking on the milestone, Dr. Premila Naidu, Founder & Managing Director, Purple Pixie Healthcare and CEO, Dr ToothLittle, said: “When we started in 2007, the idea of creating a dedicated dental ecosystem exclusively for children was considered unconventional. We believed children deserved more than treatment; they deserved an experience that removed fear, built trust and encouraged lifelong oral health habits. Every decision we have made since then has been guided by that belief.”
“Reaching ten centres is an important milestone, but more importantly, it validates the need for a specialised approach to paediatric oral healthcare. India has a very large child population and a significant burden of dental disease, yet specialised, child-centric oral healthcare remains relatively underdeveloped. We see an opportunity to build a much larger ecosystem around prevention, early intervention and positive oral-health behaviours, not simply treatment.”
For Purple Pixie Healthcare, this gap between high disease prevalence, a large paediatric population and limited access to specialised child-centric dental care, represents both a significant healthcare need and an opportunity to build a differentiated, organised-care category. Purple Pixie’s next phase of growth will focus on creating a larger footprint, while retaining the clinical and experiential standards that define the Dr ToothLittle model.
Dr ToothLittle is at present supported by a team of 26 specialised paediatric dentists and child healthcare-trained staff and has built a 70% patient return rate, reflecting sustained trust among families and the long-term relationships developed with its young patients.
About Purple Pixie Healthcare
Purple Pixie Healthcare is a specialised paediatric healthcare company focused on building innovative, child-centric oral healthcare solutions that combine clinical excellence, behavioural science, design thinking and preventive care. Its flagship brand, Dr ToothLittle, is India’s first multi-sensory dental clinic chain exclusively for children. Founded in 2007 by Dr. Premila Naidu, the network today operates 10 centres across Bengaluru and has earned the trust of thousands of families through its differentiated child-first model of care.
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Business
Deakin forges landmark partnerships with CII and LinkedIn to advance India’s future-ready workforce
New Delhi [India], October 16: As part of its commitment to deepening engagement in India and preparing learners for the future of work, Deakin University has established two landmark strategic partnerships with LinkedIn and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Together, these collaborations strengthen the bridge between academia and industry, equipping learners with future-ready skills, valuable professional networks, and real-world opportunities to thrive in a rapidly evolving workforce.
The partnerships reflect Deakin’s continued commitment to working in India, with India and for India, bringing together education, industry expertise and workforce insights to bridge the gap between academic learning and the changing needs of employers.
Deakin and LinkedIn partner to strengthen career readiness and professional skills
Earlier this week, Deakin signed a partnership agreement with LinkedIn at its GIFT City campus in Gandhinagar, establishing a platform for collaboration around student employability, professional development and workforce readiness.
Ms Saba Karim, India Head-SMB, Public Sector, Education at LinkedIn mentioned, “At LinkedIn, we believe opportunity begins with the right skills and connections. Our partnership with Deakin will help equip students with workforce insights, professional networks, and career-ready capabilities to thrive in the jobs of tomorrow.”
Key areas of engagement include professional branding and profile development, career readiness, networking, job-search strategies, interview preparation and insights into emerging skills and labour-market trends. The collaboration will also explore opportunities for student and faculty engagement, leadership development and knowledge-sharing on artificial intelligence (AI), evolving job roles and the future of work.
Through potential initiatives such as professional development workshops, career-focused sessions, industry interactions and access to workforce insights, the partnership seeks to strengthen the connection between students’ academic experiences and their career aspirations. Opportunities for leadership engagement and thought leadership will further support conversations around the skills and capabilities needed in a rapidly changing world of work.
The agreement reinforces Deakin’s approach to employability as an integral part of the learning experience at the GIFT City Campus, ensuring learning translates into opportunity.
Deakin and CII advance the Global Job Readiness Program for India’s evolving workforce
Building on its focus on industry-aligned education and skills development, Deakin University signed an agreement with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi today to advance the Global Job Readiness Program (GJRP), its flagship skilling and continuous learning program.
A significant milestone in the partnership is the program’s approval by the National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET). This enables the program to be integrated into university curricula and support credit recognition in alignment with India’s National Education Policy (NEP) skills-development framework, subject to applicable requirements.
Mr Sougata Roy Choudhury, Executive Director, CII, welcomed the collaboration, stating, “The Global Job Readiness Program is an important step towards interfacing education and industry expectations. By equipping learners with skills that are relevant to today’s employment landscape and aligning the programme with India’s national skills framework, we aim to strengthen employability and create pathways for universities to integrate job-readiness learning into formal higher education.”
Following the successful completion of the first phase of the partnership, CII is taking the program to market, with a focus on institutional outreach, awareness-building and enrolments across universities and higher-education institutions.
The program will be delivered 100% online with flexibility, much needed for young learners and professionals, and certification arrangements are aligned with applicable National Council for Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) guidelines.
Through this model, Deakin and CII aim to expand access to structured job-readiness learning and strengthen the role of industry in preparing graduates for employment.
At the same event, CII exchanged LoIs with five Indian institutions to strengthen collaboration, including efforts to expand the reach of the Global Job Readiness Program and extend its benefits to students across their campuses. The participating institutions include Rukmani Devi Institute of Advanced Studies, Gateway Institute of Engineering and Technology, University of Engineering and Management (UEM), Jaipur, AAFT University, and Inderprastha Engineering College.
George Thiveos, Minister Counsellor Education and Research, South Asia for the Australian Gov, Dept of Education, welcomed the initiative and said, “Deakin and CII are both institutions that are very well established and at the forefront of their respective fields, and I find them very well matched for this initiative.”
“The government can play a critical role through policy and create pathways for meaningful B2B collaboration. I see India and Australia contributing meaningfully towards India’s goal for Viksit Bharat 2047.”
Mukund Narayanamurti, Minister (Commercial), General Manager and Head of Austrade South Asia, added, “Deakin has rendered significant contribution to bilateral cooperation and there cannot be a more impactful partner to Deakin than CII. The work of CII and Deakin aligns with a lot of our objectives such as advancing workforce capabilities, graduate readiness with a lens on enhancing employability.”
Expressing her thoughts on these key initiatives, Ravneet Pawha, Vice President (Global Engagement) and CEO (South Asia), Deakin University, said, “The future of work will be shaped by collaboration. Through our partnerships with LinkedIn and CII, we are creating meaningful pathways that connect learning with opportunity and prepare learners to thrive in a changing world.”
“I am truly optimistic about the far-reaching impact that can be created through these partnerships and look forward to young students and professionals taking advantage of this.”
Together, the partnerships with LinkedIn and CII demonstrate Deakin’s multi-dimensional approach to future-of-work readiness: connecting students with professional networks and workforce insights while advancing structured, industry-aligned skills development through institutional collaboration.
As AI, digital technologies and changing workforce expectations reshape employment, collaboration between universities, industry bodies and professional platforms is increasingly important to ensure that education remains relevant to emerging opportunities. Hence, Deakin continues to build connections between education and industry, with a shared focus on helping learners develop the skills, confidence and capabilities to succeed in a dynamic global economy.
About Deakin University: Established in 1974, Deakin University successfully combines excellence in teaching, research and effective partnerships with industry and government to deliver high-quality courses and undertake research that makes a difference to the domestic and international communities it serves.
Deakin’s South Asia operations commenced in 1994 in New Delhi, India, making it one of the first overseas education providers to set up operations in this region. Here, Deakin engages with the government, industry, and academia to share its vibrant culture of education and research.
To know more about Deakin University and its various initiatives as part of its ‘in India, with India, for India’ approach towards engagement, please visit https://www.deakin.edu.au/
About LinkedIn – LinkedIn connects the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful and transforms how companies hire, learn, market, and sell. Our vision is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce through the ongoing development of the world’s first Economic Graph. LinkedIn has over 1.3 billion members and has offices around the globe.
About CII – CII has been shaping India’s development journey for more than 130 years. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) is an industry-led and industry-managed organisation that works to create and sustain an environment conducive to India’s development, partnering industry, Government and civil society.
We have around 9,700 direct members and an indirect membership of over 365,000 enterprises through 318 industry bodies, with 70 offices in India, including 12 Centres of Excellence, and 9 overseas offices in Australia, Egypt, Germany, Indonesia, Singapore, UAE, UK and USA. Along with partnerships with 255 counterpart organisations in 102 countries, CII serves as a reference point for Indian industry and the international business community.
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