As everyone has seen the sky rocketing pricing of the tickets of all airlines as well as no clear pricing on tickets. Have you ever heard of pricing in airlines where the ticket cost increases when you book on the same day of travel. This is nothing but looting the passenger and taking advantage of situation.
The travellers should stop travel by domestic airlines and teach them a lesson. They will have to come up with uniform ticket pricing weather you book one month before or book one day before travel.
Travel by Indian Railways if you are travelling domestic as they are very transperent and truthful when displaying ticket pricing on their official website weather you book three months before or on the last day of travel. It does not change at all.
You dont have much fuss also in terms of security concerns and get treated like criminals at airport by frisking and by the pain u have to go through waiting in check n queue and pay for extra luggage thats looting again.
The latest news about some US airlines charging $50 for second checked in Bags. This US people thing that they are some country from outer space.
In fact, the way people have lost jobs in US, they are nothing but beggars in white collors and would still have the attitude that they are better off that any country.
So at the end of the day, dont Travel by any Domestic Airlines and get looted. Travel by Indian Railways and feel honoured by the way you are treated and not looted.
Jun 29, 2009
Animal gets stuck in a soda machine
JOHNSON CITY, NEW YORK: A baby opossum's instinct to play dead evidently didn't help matters after it got wedged inside a soda machine at an upstate New York fitness club.
The animal ran into the Court Jester Athletic Club in Johnson City, New York, near Binghamton, and scurried behind a soda machine in the front vestibule Wednesday evening, The Press and Sun-Bulletin of Binghamton reported.
The club's assistant manager called police realizing the critter was stuck inside, hanging upside down in a compartment below the soda dispenser.
A police officer tried to pull the animal from the bottom of the machine, but it was lodged in place and making no apparent move to escape. About a half hour later, an employee arrived with a key for the machine, the front panel was opened and the animal rescued. The officer released it in a nearby cemetery.
The animal ran into the Court Jester Athletic Club in Johnson City, New York, near Binghamton, and scurried behind a soda machine in the front vestibule Wednesday evening, The Press and Sun-Bulletin of Binghamton reported.
The club's assistant manager called police realizing the critter was stuck inside, hanging upside down in a compartment below the soda dispenser.
A police officer tried to pull the animal from the bottom of the machine, but it was lodged in place and making no apparent move to escape. About a half hour later, an employee arrived with a key for the machine, the front panel was opened and the animal rescued. The officer released it in a nearby cemetery.
UN General Assembly president slams Honduras coup
UNITED NATIONS: The president of the UN General Assembly, Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann, has strongly condemned the army coup that deposed President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras.
D'Escoto "firmly and categorically condemns the criminal action by the army in the Republic of Honduras that has broken the constitutional order by carrying out a coup d'etat against President Manuel Zelaya," his office said in a statement yesterday.
The Nicaraguan former foreign minister demanded that "the Honduran army immediately end its illegal action" and called on US President Barack Obama to condemn the coup.
Pointing to the new policy toward Latin America, which Obama announced at a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad last month, D'Escoto said: "Many are now asking if this coup is part of this new policy as it is well known that the army in Honduras has a history of total collaboration with the United States."
"In order to eliminate any doubt, it is absolutely necessary that President Obama immediately condemns the coup against President Zelaya," he added.
"In any case, it should be clear that neither the United States nor any other country should recognize the legitimacy of another head of state in Honduras."
Both Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued statements on Honduras earlier in the day, with the US president saying he was "deeply concerned" by the news.
D'Escoto "firmly and categorically condemns the criminal action by the army in the Republic of Honduras that has broken the constitutional order by carrying out a coup d'etat against President Manuel Zelaya," his office said in a statement yesterday.
The Nicaraguan former foreign minister demanded that "the Honduran army immediately end its illegal action" and called on US President Barack Obama to condemn the coup.
Pointing to the new policy toward Latin America, which Obama announced at a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad last month, D'Escoto said: "Many are now asking if this coup is part of this new policy as it is well known that the army in Honduras has a history of total collaboration with the United States."
"In order to eliminate any doubt, it is absolutely necessary that President Obama immediately condemns the coup against President Zelaya," he added.
"In any case, it should be clear that neither the United States nor any other country should recognize the legitimacy of another head of state in Honduras."
Both Obama and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued statements on Honduras earlier in the day, with the US president saying he was "deeply concerned" by the news.
Australia intercepts boat with 194 refugees
SYDNEY: A boat carrying 194 refugees into Australian waters is part of a surge of asylum seekers fleeing violence in their home countries, the immigration minister said on Monday.
The boat, intercepted on Sunday in the Indian Ocean, was the largest of the 15 boats of asylum seekers detained in Australian waters so far this year. Its arrival renewed accusations by the political opposition that the government is too soft on immigration.
"We're absolutely determined to try and combat people smuggling but there's no end in sight in terms of the numbers of people moving through southeast Asia," Immigration Minister Chris Evans told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "We're going to have to keep up trying to meet the challenge certainly over the next year or so."
He said Australia's new budget designated $524 million for border protection and combatting people smuggling. The vessel was spotted on Friday by a surveillance aircraft and intercepted by a Navy ship operating under the control of the Border Protection Command, about 23 nautical miles northwest of Christmas Island.
The nationalities of those on board was not immediately known.
The boat was being escorted to Christmas Island, an Australian territory where an 800-bed detention center houses refugee applicants while their applications are processed.
The boat, intercepted on Sunday in the Indian Ocean, was the largest of the 15 boats of asylum seekers detained in Australian waters so far this year. Its arrival renewed accusations by the political opposition that the government is too soft on immigration.
"We're absolutely determined to try and combat people smuggling but there's no end in sight in terms of the numbers of people moving through southeast Asia," Immigration Minister Chris Evans told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. "We're going to have to keep up trying to meet the challenge certainly over the next year or so."
He said Australia's new budget designated $524 million for border protection and combatting people smuggling. The vessel was spotted on Friday by a surveillance aircraft and intercepted by a Navy ship operating under the control of the Border Protection Command, about 23 nautical miles northwest of Christmas Island.
The nationalities of those on board was not immediately known.
The boat was being escorted to Christmas Island, an Australian territory where an 800-bed detention center houses refugee applicants while their applications are processed.
Somali pirates release Belgian ship's crew
BRUSSELS: Somali pirates have released the entire crew of a Belgian ship kidnapped two months ago after a ransom was paid, the government said Sunday.
The 10-member crew of the Pompei dredger were in good health, it said. Defense Minister Pieter De Crem told a news conference a ransom was paid for the release of the hostages.
He declined to say how much, but said pirates had demanded $8 million.
The money was dropped onto the deck of the Belgian vessel on Saturday from a helicopter, De Crem said.
The ship and its crew of two Belgians, a Dutch, three Filipinos and four Croatians were seized April 18 a few hundred miles north of the Seychelles islands as they were sailing to South Africa.
Despite international navy patrols, piracy has exploded in the Gulf of Aden and around Somalia's 1,900-mile (3,060-kilometer) coastline. Pirates are able to operate freely because Somalia has had no effective central government in nearly 20 years.
Seasonal monsoons have hampered pirate activity recently and the relative lull is expected to continue until at least the end of August, when the rough weather subsides, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau.
The 10-member crew of the Pompei dredger were in good health, it said. Defense Minister Pieter De Crem told a news conference a ransom was paid for the release of the hostages.
He declined to say how much, but said pirates had demanded $8 million.
The money was dropped onto the deck of the Belgian vessel on Saturday from a helicopter, De Crem said.
The ship and its crew of two Belgians, a Dutch, three Filipinos and four Croatians were seized April 18 a few hundred miles north of the Seychelles islands as they were sailing to South Africa.
Despite international navy patrols, piracy has exploded in the Gulf of Aden and around Somalia's 1,900-mile (3,060-kilometer) coastline. Pirates are able to operate freely because Somalia has had no effective central government in nearly 20 years.
Seasonal monsoons have hampered pirate activity recently and the relative lull is expected to continue until at least the end of August, when the rough weather subsides, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau.
Iraq on alert ahead of US troop pullback
BAGHDAD: Iraq cancelled leave for all its police and put them on high alert on Sunday ahead of the withdrawal of US combat forces from Iraqi towns and cities at the end of the month, an official said.
The US pullback from urban centres has been seen as a milestone on the country’s road to sovereignty six years after the US military invaded to topple Saddam Hussein. But a string of bombings in Baghdad and northern Iraq this week, including two of the bloodiest attacks for more than a year, have shaken the confidence of Iraqis in their own forces.
“The alert has gone to all of our forces. There will be no days off. They are at their full strength across the whole country, at 100%,” said Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesman for the interior ministry, which controls the police.
The US pullback from urban centres has been seen as a milestone on the country’s road to sovereignty six years after the US military invaded to topple Saddam Hussein. But a string of bombings in Baghdad and northern Iraq this week, including two of the bloodiest attacks for more than a year, have shaken the confidence of Iraqis in their own forces.
“The alert has gone to all of our forces. There will be no days off. They are at their full strength across the whole country, at 100%,” said Major General Abdul-Karim Khalaf, spokesman for the interior ministry, which controls the police.
Mousavi says no to partial recount
Defeated Iranian presidential candidate Mirhossein Mousavi rejected authorities’ proposals for a partial recount of votes from this month’s poll and repeated his demand the entire ballot be annulled.
Iran’s top legislative body, the Guardian Council, offered to recount 10% of ballot boxes from in the presence of officials from the government and opposition. “This kind of recount will not remove ambiguities...There is no other way but annulment of the vote...Some members of this committee are not impartial,” Mousavi said.
Iran’s top legislative body, the Guardian Council, offered to recount 10% of ballot boxes from in the presence of officials from the government and opposition. “This kind of recount will not remove ambiguities...There is no other way but annulment of the vote...Some members of this committee are not impartial,” Mousavi said.
'Transformers' beats targets with $201 mln debut
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The "Transformers" sequel quickly became the third-biggest movie of the year at the North American box office after just five days of release, as the costly robot extravaganza surpassed industry expectations.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," a follow-up to the smash hit of 2007, earned an estimated $201.2 million since it blasted into theaters on Wednesday, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, the Viacom Inc-owned studio had conservatively forecast a five-day haul in the $130 million to $150 million range. But industry pundits said a tally of at least $175 million was more likely.
"For me the high water mark was, could you get to $200 million in seven days?" said Don Harris, executive vice-president of distribution at Paramount, adding that his target was met with skepticism by movie-theater owners.
The biggest movies of the year so far are "Up" with $250 million and "Star Trek" with $246 million. The new "Transformers" movie is on track to hit the low $300 million area by the end of next weekend, Paramount said.
"We should have three really strong weeks before 'Harry Potter (and the Half-Blood Prince)' comes in (on July 15)," Harris said.
PIPPED BY "DARK KNIGHT"
The film narrowly missed the five-day opening record of $203.8 million set last year by "The Dark Knight," the second-biggest film of all time before adjusting for inflation. Its $60.6 million haul on its first day also fell just short of the all-time single-day record of $67 million, set on a Friday by the Batman sequel.
Harris said women accounted for 46 percent of moviegoers, up from 40 percent for the first movie, an indication of the franchise's expanding appeal.
Exit surveys indicated that 91 percent of moviegoers considered the film as good as or better than the first one, Harris said. Critics, on the other hand, were mildly favorable towards the first film, but mostly appalled by the sequel, according to Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com), a Web site that analyzes reviews.
The first "Transformers" was the third-biggest film of 2007 in North America, ending up with $319 million. It opened on the Monday before the July 4 holiday, so comparisons are difficult. They have plenty in common though: director Michael Bay reunites with young stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Robots rampage across the landscape, and things explode. The sequel reportedly cost about $200 million to make.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" also opened internationally on Wednesday, but got an early start last weekend with a No. 1 bow in Britain and No. 2 in Japan behind a local release. Data for the current weekend were not immediately available.
The film's domestic haul includes $14.4 million from Imax Corp giant screens. "That used to be a good month for us," said Greg Foster, Imax's president of filmed entertainment.
The movie's $112 million tally for the traditional three-day period beginning Friday easily eclipsed the combined tallies of the rest of the movies in the top 10. Last weekend's champion, "The Proposal," slipped to No. 2 with $18.5 million. Walt Disney Co's Sandra Bullock romance has earned $69 million after 10 days.
The bachelor party comedy "The Hangover" was No. 3 with $17.2 million in its fourth weekend. It has earned $183 million to date. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.
Disney's Pixar-produced cartoon "Up" was No. 4 with $13 million. With $250 million banked so far, it needs only to surpass "The Incredibles" ($261 million) to become the second-biggest Pixar production behind "Finding Nemo" ($340 million).
New in theaters at No. 5 was Warner Bros.' weepie "My Sister's Keeper," which earned just $12 million. Cameron Diaz stars as a mother who gives birth to a genetically engineered second daughter to help save the life of her leukemia-stricken elder daughter.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," a follow-up to the smash hit of 2007, earned an estimated $201.2 million since it blasted into theaters on Wednesday, distributor Paramount Pictures said on Sunday.
Earlier in the week, the Viacom Inc-owned studio had conservatively forecast a five-day haul in the $130 million to $150 million range. But industry pundits said a tally of at least $175 million was more likely.
"For me the high water mark was, could you get to $200 million in seven days?" said Don Harris, executive vice-president of distribution at Paramount, adding that his target was met with skepticism by movie-theater owners.
The biggest movies of the year so far are "Up" with $250 million and "Star Trek" with $246 million. The new "Transformers" movie is on track to hit the low $300 million area by the end of next weekend, Paramount said.
"We should have three really strong weeks before 'Harry Potter (and the Half-Blood Prince)' comes in (on July 15)," Harris said.
PIPPED BY "DARK KNIGHT"
The film narrowly missed the five-day opening record of $203.8 million set last year by "The Dark Knight," the second-biggest film of all time before adjusting for inflation. Its $60.6 million haul on its first day also fell just short of the all-time single-day record of $67 million, set on a Friday by the Batman sequel.
Harris said women accounted for 46 percent of moviegoers, up from 40 percent for the first movie, an indication of the franchise's expanding appeal.
Exit surveys indicated that 91 percent of moviegoers considered the film as good as or better than the first one, Harris said. Critics, on the other hand, were mildly favorable towards the first film, but mostly appalled by the sequel, according to Rotten Tomatoes (www.rottentomatoes.com), a Web site that analyzes reviews.
The first "Transformers" was the third-biggest film of 2007 in North America, ending up with $319 million. It opened on the Monday before the July 4 holiday, so comparisons are difficult. They have plenty in common though: director Michael Bay reunites with young stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox. Robots rampage across the landscape, and things explode. The sequel reportedly cost about $200 million to make.
"Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" also opened internationally on Wednesday, but got an early start last weekend with a No. 1 bow in Britain and No. 2 in Japan behind a local release. Data for the current weekend were not immediately available.
The film's domestic haul includes $14.4 million from Imax Corp giant screens. "That used to be a good month for us," said Greg Foster, Imax's president of filmed entertainment.
The movie's $112 million tally for the traditional three-day period beginning Friday easily eclipsed the combined tallies of the rest of the movies in the top 10. Last weekend's champion, "The Proposal," slipped to No. 2 with $18.5 million. Walt Disney Co's Sandra Bullock romance has earned $69 million after 10 days.
The bachelor party comedy "The Hangover" was No. 3 with $17.2 million in its fourth weekend. It has earned $183 million to date. The film was released by Warner Bros. Pictures, a unit of Time Warner Inc.
Disney's Pixar-produced cartoon "Up" was No. 4 with $13 million. With $250 million banked so far, it needs only to surpass "The Incredibles" ($261 million) to become the second-biggest Pixar production behind "Finding Nemo" ($340 million).
New in theaters at No. 5 was Warner Bros.' weepie "My Sister's Keeper," which earned just $12 million. Cameron Diaz stars as a mother who gives birth to a genetically engineered second daughter to help save the life of her leukemia-stricken elder daughter.
Pak puts Rs 50 million reward on Baitullah Mehsud
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan today announced a Rs 50 million reward on the head of the country's Taliban chief Baitullah Mehsud, as security forces step
up attacks on his stronghold South Waziristan.
Besides Mehsud, a bounty has also been placed on the heads of 11 eleven "most-wanted persons," according to advertisements published in newspapers.
After over six weeks of military operations in the North West Frontier Province and Swat, the Pakistani Army has turned to South Waziristan, the stonghold of Mehsud, who is also suspected to be behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
While a reward of Rs 50 million has been announced for the arrest of Mehsud, dead or alive, Rs 15 million has been set for information on Molvi Faqir from Bajaur and Rs 10 million each on five others from Mohmand Agency, Darra Adamkhel and South Waziristan.
A head money of five million has also been offered on another five wanted militants from Bajaur, Kurram Agency and Darra Adamkhel.
The government has also released exclusive telephone numbers for passing on information that might lead to the arrest of the wanted persons 'dead or alive', Geo TV said.
Mehsud already has a $5 million bounty on his head offered by the US.
up attacks on his stronghold South Waziristan.
Besides Mehsud, a bounty has also been placed on the heads of 11 eleven "most-wanted persons," according to advertisements published in newspapers.
After over six weeks of military operations in the North West Frontier Province and Swat, the Pakistani Army has turned to South Waziristan, the stonghold of Mehsud, who is also suspected to be behind the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.
While a reward of Rs 50 million has been announced for the arrest of Mehsud, dead or alive, Rs 15 million has been set for information on Molvi Faqir from Bajaur and Rs 10 million each on five others from Mohmand Agency, Darra Adamkhel and South Waziristan.
A head money of five million has also been offered on another five wanted militants from Bajaur, Kurram Agency and Darra Adamkhel.
The government has also released exclusive telephone numbers for passing on information that might lead to the arrest of the wanted persons 'dead or alive', Geo TV said.
Mehsud already has a $5 million bounty on his head offered by the US.
Seven people catch swine flu in West Bank village
RAMALLAH: The Palestinian health minister said seven people from one extended family have been diagnosed with swine flu.
Health Minister Fathi Abu Mughli said two siblings returning from the US infected five of their relatives in the northern West Bank village of Barka.
In total, 11 Palestinians in the West Bank have contracted swine flu. About 300 Israelis have been diagnosed with swine flu.
Abu Mughli said on Sunday the seven new cases don't appear serious, but doctors asked the patients to stay home for a week. He did not know where in the US the two relatives caught the illness.
The World Health Organization considers the swine flu a "moderate" pandemic. Around 60,000 people have contracted the virus worldwide.
Health Minister Fathi Abu Mughli said two siblings returning from the US infected five of their relatives in the northern West Bank village of Barka.
In total, 11 Palestinians in the West Bank have contracted swine flu. About 300 Israelis have been diagnosed with swine flu.
Abu Mughli said on Sunday the seven new cases don't appear serious, but doctors asked the patients to stay home for a week. He did not know where in the US the two relatives caught the illness.
The World Health Organization considers the swine flu a "moderate" pandemic. Around 60,000 people have contracted the virus worldwide.
I had to pump MJ's stomach to wash out drugs: Ex-nanny
The former nanny of Michael Jackson's three children said she regularly had to pump his stomach to remove cocktails of painkillers,
British newspapers reported on Sunday.
Grace Rwaramba, who was abruptly sacked by Jackson in December, also spoke of her fears for the future of the children following his death and has flown to Los Angeles from Europe hoping to be reunited with them.
The Jackson family are angry at the unanswered questions surrounding the star's final hours, amid reports that the singer's doctor Conrad Murray injected him with the painkiller Demerol shortly before his death.
Rwaramba, 42, said in comments reported by The Sunday Times that the star was addicted to narcotic painkillers. "I had to pump his stomach many times. He always mixed so much of it."
"There was one period that it was so bad that I didn't let the children see him... He always ate too little and mixed too much."
She said she once appealed to Jackson's mother, Katherine, and sister, Janet, to intervene and persuade him to seek treatment for his addiction, but Michael turned on her and accused her of betrayal.
"He didn't want to listen; that was one of the times he let me go," she said.
Rwandan-born Rwaramba worked for Jackson for more than a decade, first as an office assistant before becoming nanny to his children, 12-year-old Michael Jr., known as Prince, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, nicknamed Blanket.
She was finally dismissed in December last year, but claims she returned several times to see the children, making her most recent trip in April.
Tabloid newspaper News of the World - which is owned by the same company as The Sunday Times - said she had screamed with shock when she heard of the star's death, while she was at the Swiss home of TV interviewer Daphne Barak.
Rwaramba told Barak in an interview quoted by the tabloid that her first thought was for the children. "I'm really distraught for them. Michael hadn't been eating and the kids have been so scared for him."
"Now the youngest has been saying,'Why Daddy? God should have taken me not him."
"I took these babies in my arms on the first day of each of their lives. They are my babies."
She claimed the children had an uneasy relationship with their father, recalling a recent incident when Blanket performed a mini-concert for her of his father's songs. "I was laughing so hard. Prince and Paris were playing around," she said. "It was such a happy moment. Then suddenly Michael walked in and the kids just looked frightened. Michael was so angry."
The fate of Jackson's children is unclear with reports raising the possibility of a custody battle involving Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of his two eldest offspring.
British newspapers reported on Sunday.
Grace Rwaramba, who was abruptly sacked by Jackson in December, also spoke of her fears for the future of the children following his death and has flown to Los Angeles from Europe hoping to be reunited with them.
The Jackson family are angry at the unanswered questions surrounding the star's final hours, amid reports that the singer's doctor Conrad Murray injected him with the painkiller Demerol shortly before his death.
Rwaramba, 42, said in comments reported by The Sunday Times that the star was addicted to narcotic painkillers. "I had to pump his stomach many times. He always mixed so much of it."
"There was one period that it was so bad that I didn't let the children see him... He always ate too little and mixed too much."
She said she once appealed to Jackson's mother, Katherine, and sister, Janet, to intervene and persuade him to seek treatment for his addiction, but Michael turned on her and accused her of betrayal.
"He didn't want to listen; that was one of the times he let me go," she said.
Rwandan-born Rwaramba worked for Jackson for more than a decade, first as an office assistant before becoming nanny to his children, 12-year-old Michael Jr., known as Prince, Paris, 11, and Prince Michael II, 7, nicknamed Blanket.
She was finally dismissed in December last year, but claims she returned several times to see the children, making her most recent trip in April.
Tabloid newspaper News of the World - which is owned by the same company as The Sunday Times - said she had screamed with shock when she heard of the star's death, while she was at the Swiss home of TV interviewer Daphne Barak.
Rwaramba told Barak in an interview quoted by the tabloid that her first thought was for the children. "I'm really distraught for them. Michael hadn't been eating and the kids have been so scared for him."
"Now the youngest has been saying,'Why Daddy? God should have taken me not him."
"I took these babies in my arms on the first day of each of their lives. They are my babies."
She claimed the children had an uneasy relationship with their father, recalling a recent incident when Blanket performed a mini-concert for her of his father's songs. "I was laughing so hard. Prince and Paris were playing around," she said. "It was such a happy moment. Then suddenly Michael walked in and the kids just looked frightened. Michael was so angry."
The fate of Jackson's children is unclear with reports raising the possibility of a custody battle involving Debbie Rowe, the biological mother of his two eldest offspring.
Tata Motors launches Jaguar, Land Rover in India
By Janaki Krishnan
MUMBAI (Reuters) - Tata Motors Ltd, India's largest vehicles maker, on Sunday announced the launch in India of Jaguar and Land Rover vehicles, the marquee brands it bought from Ford Motors last year.
Saying it was a momentous occasion for the company, chairman Ratan Tata said, "This is in keeping with our desire to extend the penetration of the brands in India."
The automobile firm, which controls about 60 percent of the world's fifth-biggest truck and bus market, will soon also be rolling out the Nano, billed as the world's cheapest car.
Jaguar is launching the XF amd XK range of luxury coupes and convertibles in India starting at a price tag of 6.3 million rupees ($130,977) and going up to 9 million rupees.
Land Rover will initially be launching three vehicles including the Range Rover Sport and Land Rover Discovery 3, with prices also starting at 6.3 million rupees but going beyond 9 million.
"The luxury car market in India is very small, but there is a huge opportunity there. It is growing fast and we expect it to grow fast over the next 5 to 10 years," said David Smith, chief executive of Jaguar Land Rover.
"India is an important part of our plans for the future," said Mike Driscoll, managing director of Jaguar.
The luxury car segment in India is less than 1 percent of the total car market there.
On Friday Tata Motors posted its first loss in eight years at $520 million for the year to March 2009, with its Jaguar Land Rover unit reporting a loss of 306 million pounds ($504 million) in the 10 months of the fiscal year to March 2009, as a brutal global recession crippled car sales.
On the issue of loan guarantees for JLR, Tata said, "we are in discussions with the U.K. government on the loan guarantees and hopefully we will find a solution for it ... and our funding plan for JLR will progress."
The company is seeking guarantees for the 340 million pounds loan sanctioned by the European Investment Bank and other loans from U.K.-based commercial banks. It is seeking these funds to develop new and more fuel efficient cars for improving its competitive position.
"Sustaining the downturn is important for us ... and finding a solution (for the loan guarantees) is extremely important to us," Tata said.
He also said that if there was a large financial package from the U.K. government for Jaguar and Land Rover then, "there should be commensurate level of representation from them," which had to be negotiated and worked out.
Jackson's final hours puzzle doctor, family
By Mary Milliken and Alex Dobuzinskis
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Both Michael Jackson's family and his personal physician were at pains to explain on Sunday what caused the troubled pop star's sudden death weeks before his long-awaited comeback.
Dr. Conrad Murray, who was at Jackson's side when he died, told police he did not inject the singer with painkillers before his fatal cardiac arrest on Thursday, his lawyer said on Sunday after reports he received a shot of narcotic Demerol.
When asked at Sunday's BET Awards about the care his son received from doctors in his last moments, Jackson's father, Joe, said, "I have a lot of concerns. ... I can't get into that, but I don't like what happened."
He said funeral arrangements for the King of Pop were still being discussed. A family friend said services could take place on Wednesday and the body could be buried at Jackson's famous Neverland Ranch.
Tension over the mysterious death came to the surface at the BET Awards, modified at the last minute as a tribute to Jackson's musical genius. Some stars bristled over coverage of Jackson's downward spiral during the last decade, filled with accusations of child molestation and bizarre behavior.
"He is one of our heroes," said rap artist and music impresario Sean "Diddy" Combs. "As African Americans, we are not going to let everybody beat him up."
Jackson, 50, was weeks away from an anticipated comeback with a series of 50 concerts in London. He rehearsed regularly up to the night before his death.
Concerns about his health had been rampant during his 2005 trial in California on charges of child sex abuse, of which he was acquitted. Last year, he was photographed in Las Vegas in a wheelchair.
'BARELY ATE, DRANK'
Promoter AEG Live said Jackson had passed a four-hour medical exam earlier this year.
Murray -- a cardiologist hired ahead of the concerts and paid by AEG, according to his lawyer -- was surprised to find Jackson unconscious and not breathing in his rented chateau in an upscale Los Angeles neighborhood.
"He barely ate, he barely drank. But (there was) nothing which would lead the doctor to believe that he had any possible problems that would cause sudden death," said Edward Chernoff, the attorney who accompanied Murray during three hours of police questioning on Saturday.
Los Angeles police said after questioning Murray that they do not consider him a suspect. Law enforcement sources told the Los Angeles Times the meeting revealed "no red flag" of criminal activity.
The Jackson family holed up in their L.A. compound making plans for a funeral that could take place on Wednesday, possibly at the Neverland estate in central California, family friend Stacy Brown said.
Brown told Reuters that a family source said Jackson had received an injection of the narcotic painkiller Demerol shortly before paramedics were called to the mansion.
"They have been concerned about his addiction to medicines for years," said Brown, who co-wrote the book "Michael Jackson: The Man Behind the Mask."
"It's been no family secret that they've been trying to get him help for his addiction," Brown said.
The family arranged for a second, private autopsy on Saturday after the Los Angeles coroner said it would need four to six more weeks to determine the exact cause of death.
Jesse Jackson, the civil rights leader who was with the Jackson family last week, echoed Joe Jackson's doubts about what transpired in his son's final hours.
"There is a concern about what happened the last 12 hours of Michael's life," Jackson told People magazine. "The doctor has shown some bizarre behavior."
Jackson is survived by three children aged 12, 11 and 7, the first two from his ex-wife Debbie Rowe and and the last from an unidentified surrogate mother.
Addressing speculation of a custody battle over the children, Joe Jackson said in a statement from the BET red carpet that only he and wife Katherine "have authority for our son and his children."
Jun 16, 2009
Dracula docs? Kids lured with food to ‘donate’ blood
WHATS HAPPENING IN INDIA...WE HAVE STEEPED TOO LOW FOR PROFITS...LITERALLY BLOOD SUCKERS OF KIDS........THAT TOO IN JAIPUR.....IT WILL DO A WORLD A DIFFERENCE TO VISIT THE TOURISM FAMOUS PLACE JAIPUR....CALLED PINK CITY.......to SEE SKILLS OF INDIA.
JAIPUR: A day after it came to light that doctors in Karauli's Hindaun town were forcing children from nearby villages to donate blood, police said over 30 minors had been exploited. The children, all aged 14 or below, were lured with kachouri and fruit juice and brought to two hospitals, Rajgirish Nursing Home and Tirupati Hospital, where blood was taken from them.
The cleaners of these two hospitals used to drop the children back home and kept tabs on them for a few days lest the children complained about it to their family members. The police suspect that each unit of blood taken from these children was sold for at least Rs 5,000 to some private hospitals in UP and MP.
Police are also not ruling out the involvement of an inter-state gang — however the cops could not confiscate records as they had been destroyed.
Five people have been arrested in this connection so far. They include the owner of Rajgirish Nursing Home, Dr Girish Agarwal, and its surgeon Dr H N Singh. Also in the net are Sultan, a compounder, Suraj, a cleaner, and a tout, Rakesh Koli, who used to kidnap children and bring them to the hospital .
Five others, including three doctors and two lab technicians, are absconding. The local people — who called the accused "blood-suckers" — tried to get at the five when they were produced in court on Monday and police had to throw a tight ring of security around them. The court sent the five to two days in police remand.
The tout, Rakesh Koli (20), has allegedly confessed that he himself had given blood at least 10 times and took many children to these two hospitals. The doctors used to kidnap children by luring them with kachouri and fruit juice.
"They had deputed some touts in the nearby villages who used to kidnap the children. They were paid Rs 400 for each unit of blood. The blood units were then sold to patients during emergency in these two hospitals and others in UP and MP for at least Rs 5,000 per unit," said a police officer.
"The two hospitals have blood storage facility, but they can't take blood directly from people. Records in the state’s blood banks show that the two hospitals did not take any blood from them this year," said Ghulam Nabi, in charge of Hindaun police station. He said 30 victims had come forward so far to record their statements.
JAIPUR: A day after it came to light that doctors in Karauli's Hindaun town were forcing children from nearby villages to donate blood, police said over 30 minors had been exploited. The children, all aged 14 or below, were lured with kachouri and fruit juice and brought to two hospitals, Rajgirish Nursing Home and Tirupati Hospital, where blood was taken from them.
The cleaners of these two hospitals used to drop the children back home and kept tabs on them for a few days lest the children complained about it to their family members. The police suspect that each unit of blood taken from these children was sold for at least Rs 5,000 to some private hospitals in UP and MP.
Police are also not ruling out the involvement of an inter-state gang — however the cops could not confiscate records as they had been destroyed.
Five people have been arrested in this connection so far. They include the owner of Rajgirish Nursing Home, Dr Girish Agarwal, and its surgeon Dr H N Singh. Also in the net are Sultan, a compounder, Suraj, a cleaner, and a tout, Rakesh Koli, who used to kidnap children and bring them to the hospital .
Five others, including three doctors and two lab technicians, are absconding. The local people — who called the accused "blood-suckers" — tried to get at the five when they were produced in court on Monday and police had to throw a tight ring of security around them. The court sent the five to two days in police remand.
The tout, Rakesh Koli (20), has allegedly confessed that he himself had given blood at least 10 times and took many children to these two hospitals. The doctors used to kidnap children by luring them with kachouri and fruit juice.
"They had deputed some touts in the nearby villages who used to kidnap the children. They were paid Rs 400 for each unit of blood. The blood units were then sold to patients during emergency in these two hospitals and others in UP and MP for at least Rs 5,000 per unit," said a police officer.
"The two hospitals have blood storage facility, but they can't take blood directly from people. Records in the state’s blood banks show that the two hospitals did not take any blood from them this year," said Ghulam Nabi, in charge of Hindaun police station. He said 30 victims had come forward so far to record their statements.
Jun 15, 2009
Bollywood in Rape Case! - Shiney is a rapist!
Bollywood Actor has been arrested for raping his maid...oh god...he did not get any one that he had to rape his maid to get over his sexual hunger.
What he thought that Bollywood actor will be let of lightly after such a heinous crime...he should be hung upside down and given thrashing where it hurts a lot.
I hope the maid is not a minor or he is gone for ever.
I want to see how many Bollywood personalities come to his rescue and tell that he is a victim than an accused.
Then all such Bollywood personalties are nothing but supporters of this rape of a maid when his wife is away. Maybe his urge got better of him.
BOYCOTT SHINEY AHUJA THE RAPIST!
What he thought that Bollywood actor will be let of lightly after such a heinous crime...he should be hung upside down and given thrashing where it hurts a lot.
I hope the maid is not a minor or he is gone for ever.
I want to see how many Bollywood personalities come to his rescue and tell that he is a victim than an accused.
Then all such Bollywood personalties are nothing but supporters of this rape of a maid when his wife is away. Maybe his urge got better of him.
BOYCOTT SHINEY AHUJA THE RAPIST!
Jun 2, 2009
Toyota back with 'Rain Gain' Monsoon Campaign for its valued customers
Following its legacy of ‘Customer First’, Toyota Kirloskar Motor is organizing ‘Rain Gain’ – a Monsoon Campaign for 30 days at all dealerships across the country starting from June 01, 2009.
Though monsoons help the mercury drop by a few degrees and bring relief from the hot and humid summers, it also brings along with it waterlogged streets, low visibility, moisture and humidity to name a few concerns. Demanding special attention and care for our cars.
With the ‘Rain Gain’ campaign, Toyota is inviting its customers to benefit from the free exclusive 30-Points Monsoon Safety Checkup for their Toyota vehicles during the stipulated period. The monsoon checkup will look after periodic and general maintenance including wiper blades, wiper motor, brake, electrical and other related parts.
To ensure a safe and enjoyable driving experience during the monsoon, TKM advices its customers to avail this offer. The campaign also offers numerous packages along with lucky draw prizes and assured gifts, making it all the more exciting. Participants stand a chance to win an unbelievable ‘2 Years Toyota Quality Service for Just Re. 1’.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign Mr. Sandeep Singh, DMD – Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Events of this kind will provide us an opportunity to serve our privileged customers ensuring their safety, comfort and trouble-free journey. Further, activities of this kind help us to be in constant touch with our customers and would be instrumental in strengthening our relationship with them”
For all other details, please refer to http://www.toyotabharat.com/
Though monsoons help the mercury drop by a few degrees and bring relief from the hot and humid summers, it also brings along with it waterlogged streets, low visibility, moisture and humidity to name a few concerns. Demanding special attention and care for our cars.
With the ‘Rain Gain’ campaign, Toyota is inviting its customers to benefit from the free exclusive 30-Points Monsoon Safety Checkup for their Toyota vehicles during the stipulated period. The monsoon checkup will look after periodic and general maintenance including wiper blades, wiper motor, brake, electrical and other related parts.
To ensure a safe and enjoyable driving experience during the monsoon, TKM advices its customers to avail this offer. The campaign also offers numerous packages along with lucky draw prizes and assured gifts, making it all the more exciting. Participants stand a chance to win an unbelievable ‘2 Years Toyota Quality Service for Just Re. 1’.
Speaking at the launch of the campaign Mr. Sandeep Singh, DMD – Toyota Kirloskar Motor said, “Events of this kind will provide us an opportunity to serve our privileged customers ensuring their safety, comfort and trouble-free journey. Further, activities of this kind help us to be in constant touch with our customers and would be instrumental in strengthening our relationship with them”
For all other details, please refer to http://www.toyotabharat.com/
Ad Magnet reaches 7.5 million Indians in April 09
Ad Magnet’s office is located in a suburb of Mumbai, just a few minutes from the Bandra-Kurla Complex, in the heart of the city’s financial hub. The hectic activity inside Ad Magnet mirrors the frenetic construction activity surrounding the office. There seems to be no signs of the “economic recession” at least as far as online advertising are concerned. Starting with just 5 individuals during their stealth launch in April last year, Ad Magnet has grown to more than 20 full time employees, servicing more than 350 publishers and 60 advertisers every month.
According to the April 2009 comScore report, the one year old internet start-up achieved an aggregated reach of 7.6 million unique visitors in India. This represents a whopping 113% jump in unique visitors from last year. Ad Magnet’s online ad inventory is in effect directly reaching out to 22.5% of India’s Internet population basis the comScore All India internet universe of 33.75 million (excluding cybercafés).
This makes Ad Magnet the largest Indian ad network by far amongst those networks which are getting reported in comScore. Ad Magnet’s reach is bigger than even some of the mainstream Indian horizontals making it a very attractive option for agency planners in their media mix.
Building an Ad Network is not easy of course, as one has to deal with myriad different types of publishers and advertisers on a daily basis. The core glue that keeps the ad network together is Ad Magnet’s in-house ad-server. An online ad-server is a piece of software which delivers ads to online publishers or websites it is connected to making it the core technological engine of any ad network. The better the algorithm and logic built into the ad server, the better the revenue yield for publishers and better campaign results for advertisers.
This obviously begs the question, is Ad Magnet an advertising network or is it actually more of a technology startup? Ratish Nair, (Co-founder of Ad Magnet) says “sometimes the boundaries blur as to where advertising ends and where technology starts. We’d like to think of ourselves as more of a technology company than simply an ad network.” The Ad Magnet ad server is built on a proprietary longitudinal algorithm which ensures the publisher’s ad inventory is properly matched to meet advertiser objectives, on an hourly basis. Every layer of targeting, whether its gender, age, geography adds to the complexity as publisher yields change dynamically and the ad server has to make a hundred calculations before serving a single ad impression.
Pushing the technology boundary further, Ad Magnet has also developed a video ad-server which will enable advertisers to push video ads even in publishers which don’t have a streaming video content, ensuring mass reach for video advertising online. Currently in beta, Ad Magnet is going to make it available for all advertisers next month.
Unlike other media, the internet advertising industry has always been driven more by mathematics and technology instead of “art”. A creative is measured by hard numbers unlike what is usually done in the offline world. This could be one of the reasons why internet advertising is resisting the recession in the market and showing growth. To help brand advertisers reach their target audience better, Ad Magnet is also offering more than 12 Content Verticals ranging from Travel, Technology, Lifestyle, News, Shopping and Business to Health, Gaming, Cricket, Entertainment and Women. “Advertisers in India are looking for measurable results for their campaigns whether it is driving traffic to their web destinations or reaching an audience for their brand and this medium offers them that solution” says Sunil Miranda, (Co-founder of Ad Magnet).
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Ad Magnet(www.admagnet.com), the ad network launched by DGTL Media uses proprietary 4th generation ad serving technology to aggregate billions of ad impressions across categories, create audience segments and help advertisers reach highly fragmented Internet users. Ad Magnet provides a completely transparent platform for advertisers to tap into audiences across sites by various categories, surfing habits, context and other similar features.
According to the April 2009 comScore report, the one year old internet start-up achieved an aggregated reach of 7.6 million unique visitors in India. This represents a whopping 113% jump in unique visitors from last year. Ad Magnet’s online ad inventory is in effect directly reaching out to 22.5% of India’s Internet population basis the comScore All India internet universe of 33.75 million (excluding cybercafés).
This makes Ad Magnet the largest Indian ad network by far amongst those networks which are getting reported in comScore. Ad Magnet’s reach is bigger than even some of the mainstream Indian horizontals making it a very attractive option for agency planners in their media mix.
Building an Ad Network is not easy of course, as one has to deal with myriad different types of publishers and advertisers on a daily basis. The core glue that keeps the ad network together is Ad Magnet’s in-house ad-server. An online ad-server is a piece of software which delivers ads to online publishers or websites it is connected to making it the core technological engine of any ad network. The better the algorithm and logic built into the ad server, the better the revenue yield for publishers and better campaign results for advertisers.
This obviously begs the question, is Ad Magnet an advertising network or is it actually more of a technology startup? Ratish Nair, (Co-founder of Ad Magnet) says “sometimes the boundaries blur as to where advertising ends and where technology starts. We’d like to think of ourselves as more of a technology company than simply an ad network.” The Ad Magnet ad server is built on a proprietary longitudinal algorithm which ensures the publisher’s ad inventory is properly matched to meet advertiser objectives, on an hourly basis. Every layer of targeting, whether its gender, age, geography adds to the complexity as publisher yields change dynamically and the ad server has to make a hundred calculations before serving a single ad impression.
Pushing the technology boundary further, Ad Magnet has also developed a video ad-server which will enable advertisers to push video ads even in publishers which don’t have a streaming video content, ensuring mass reach for video advertising online. Currently in beta, Ad Magnet is going to make it available for all advertisers next month.
Unlike other media, the internet advertising industry has always been driven more by mathematics and technology instead of “art”. A creative is measured by hard numbers unlike what is usually done in the offline world. This could be one of the reasons why internet advertising is resisting the recession in the market and showing growth. To help brand advertisers reach their target audience better, Ad Magnet is also offering more than 12 Content Verticals ranging from Travel, Technology, Lifestyle, News, Shopping and Business to Health, Gaming, Cricket, Entertainment and Women. “Advertisers in India are looking for measurable results for their campaigns whether it is driving traffic to their web destinations or reaching an audience for their brand and this medium offers them that solution” says Sunil Miranda, (Co-founder of Ad Magnet).
- End -
Ad Magnet(www.admagnet.com), the ad network launched by DGTL Media uses proprietary 4th generation ad serving technology to aggregate billions of ad impressions across categories, create audience segments and help advertisers reach highly fragmented Internet users. Ad Magnet provides a completely transparent platform for advertisers to tap into audiences across sites by various categories, surfing habits, context and other similar features.
Mr. Ajay S. Shriram becomes President, International Fertilizer Industry Association
In a befitting recognition of India’s emerging importance as one of the world’s largest producers and consumer of fertilizers, Mr Ajay S. Shriram took over as President of International Fertilizer Association (IFA) in IFA’s Annual Conference in Shanghai, China.
Mr Ajay Shriram is the Chairman and Sr. Managing Director of DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited (DSCL).
IFA is a not-for-profit organisation representing global fertilizer industries. It has some 525 members in about 82 countries, of which half of memberships is based in developing countries. IFA member companies represent any and every activity related to fertilizer production, trade and transport across the world.
Mr Ajay Shriram became the second Indian and, in fact, the second in South Asia to reach this position. He has earlier been the Chairman of Fertilizer Association of India (FAI).
The IFA member fertilizer industry world over produces some 170 million fertilizer nutrients which are used in every corner of the world to support the agriculture production. It plays a major role in contributing to increased agriculture productivity in a more sustainable and efficient way.
IFA members serve farmers everywhere to meet the world’s growing, feed, food, fibre and bioenergy needs.
In his current role it would be possible for Mr Ajay Shriram to facilitate closer interaction between IFA and FAI to promote improved fertilizer application methodologies in order to increase the productivity and profitability of the farmers in India particularly the small and marginal farmers. This would include promotion of fertilizer best management practises, safety, health and environmental standards and promotion of micronutrients to address the deficiencies in the Indian soils.
His elevation to the office of President was widely hailed and welcomed by the large Indian delegation present at the Shanghai conference on May 27th, 2009 which included Chief Executives of co-operative, public and private sector companies besides presence of senior officials of Department of Fertilizer, Government of India.
His tenure for the next 2 years as President, IFA would provide plenty of opportunities for Indian fertilizer companies to share the knowledge and experience from across the world for a concerted effort to improve the agriculture productivity at the ground level in our country.
As Chairman of DSCL, Mr Ajay Shriram has been a strong proponent of the need to improve the last mile delivery of knowledge and products to small and marginal Indian farmer to enable him improve his productivity and thereby profitability. DSCL is a major contributor through its agri-input business and Hariyali rural retail venture through which it reaches out to a very large number of farmers across the country.
Mr Ajay Shriram is the Chairman and Sr. Managing Director of DCM Shriram Consolidated Limited (DSCL).
IFA is a not-for-profit organisation representing global fertilizer industries. It has some 525 members in about 82 countries, of which half of memberships is based in developing countries. IFA member companies represent any and every activity related to fertilizer production, trade and transport across the world.
Mr Ajay Shriram became the second Indian and, in fact, the second in South Asia to reach this position. He has earlier been the Chairman of Fertilizer Association of India (FAI).
The IFA member fertilizer industry world over produces some 170 million fertilizer nutrients which are used in every corner of the world to support the agriculture production. It plays a major role in contributing to increased agriculture productivity in a more sustainable and efficient way.
IFA members serve farmers everywhere to meet the world’s growing, feed, food, fibre and bioenergy needs.
In his current role it would be possible for Mr Ajay Shriram to facilitate closer interaction between IFA and FAI to promote improved fertilizer application methodologies in order to increase the productivity and profitability of the farmers in India particularly the small and marginal farmers. This would include promotion of fertilizer best management practises, safety, health and environmental standards and promotion of micronutrients to address the deficiencies in the Indian soils.
His elevation to the office of President was widely hailed and welcomed by the large Indian delegation present at the Shanghai conference on May 27th, 2009 which included Chief Executives of co-operative, public and private sector companies besides presence of senior officials of Department of Fertilizer, Government of India.
His tenure for the next 2 years as President, IFA would provide plenty of opportunities for Indian fertilizer companies to share the knowledge and experience from across the world for a concerted effort to improve the agriculture productivity at the ground level in our country.
As Chairman of DSCL, Mr Ajay Shriram has been a strong proponent of the need to improve the last mile delivery of knowledge and products to small and marginal Indian farmer to enable him improve his productivity and thereby profitability. DSCL is a major contributor through its agri-input business and Hariyali rural retail venture through which it reaches out to a very large number of farmers across the country.
Lexi Pens signs-up M&C Saatchi for their new brand of World Pens
Lexi Pens has signed up M&C Saatchi Communications for the launch of their new brand of World Pens. The agency has already started work on the brand name and brand identity development and will subsequently create the brand communication for the retail and consumer audiences.
Speaking about the appointment of M&C Saatchi, Mr. Vinod Sachdev, Chairman and Managing Director of Lexi Pens India Pvt. Ltd., commented: “M&C Saatchi is very professional, committed and clear-thinking in their approach to the task on hand. We needed an agency that had the right mix of graphic design ability, mass market understanding and the agility to provide simplicity of thought. Those were the key reasons we chose to align the new brand with M&C Saatchi.”
Rajiv Sabnis, Executive Director, M&C Saatchi, expressed his happiness at the new association. “Clients who are open to change get the best out of M&C Saatchi. Because of our agency’s entrepreneurial spirit, we work extremely well with a like-minded first-generation entrepreneur such as Mr. Vinod Sachdev, who has created a remarkable business in a very short span of time. With the surge in competition in the pens category, it will be our endeavour to provide the most effective creative solutions based on our core philosophy of brutal simplicity to Lexi pens.”
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Lexi Pens is an internationally acclaimed manufacturer and exporter of high-quality precision-tip plastic ball-pens, plastic gel pens, metal pens and refills. Lexi manufactures about one million pens a day and have sales worldwide. The company is best known for its originality of design, quality and affordability and the most preferred from among 4,000 pen brands in India.
M&C Saatchi Communications is one of the world’s youngest and fastest growing global advertising agency networks, with offices in 18 cities across 13 countries. It is founded on the principle of Brutal Simplicity of Thought, with all offices grounded in an entrepreneurial spirit. With offices in Mumbai and Delhi, M&C Saatchi India is now an agency of choice for leading clients.
Speaking about the appointment of M&C Saatchi, Mr. Vinod Sachdev, Chairman and Managing Director of Lexi Pens India Pvt. Ltd., commented: “M&C Saatchi is very professional, committed and clear-thinking in their approach to the task on hand. We needed an agency that had the right mix of graphic design ability, mass market understanding and the agility to provide simplicity of thought. Those were the key reasons we chose to align the new brand with M&C Saatchi.”
Rajiv Sabnis, Executive Director, M&C Saatchi, expressed his happiness at the new association. “Clients who are open to change get the best out of M&C Saatchi. Because of our agency’s entrepreneurial spirit, we work extremely well with a like-minded first-generation entrepreneur such as Mr. Vinod Sachdev, who has created a remarkable business in a very short span of time. With the surge in competition in the pens category, it will be our endeavour to provide the most effective creative solutions based on our core philosophy of brutal simplicity to Lexi pens.”
- End -
Lexi Pens is an internationally acclaimed manufacturer and exporter of high-quality precision-tip plastic ball-pens, plastic gel pens, metal pens and refills. Lexi manufactures about one million pens a day and have sales worldwide. The company is best known for its originality of design, quality and affordability and the most preferred from among 4,000 pen brands in India.
M&C Saatchi Communications is one of the world’s youngest and fastest growing global advertising agency networks, with offices in 18 cities across 13 countries. It is founded on the principle of Brutal Simplicity of Thought, with all offices grounded in an entrepreneurial spirit. With offices in Mumbai and Delhi, M&C Saatchi India is now an agency of choice for leading clients.
Aircel Pan-India Network Expansion Powered by Telcordia
Aircel, one of the fastest growing GSM mobile operators in India, is well positioned to capture additional market share with the successful implementation of the Telcordia(R) Real-Time Charging solution. Telcordia, the global leader in the development of mobile, broadband, fixed and cable communications software and services, successfully deployed the solution in just five months, effectively powering Aircel's Pan-India network rollout and supporting the introduction of interactive, real-time services and tariff plans.
Aircel, part of Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, awarded Telcordia a five-year, multi-million dollar contract for Telcordia Real-Time Charging, a flexible charging and policy control solution for their mobile prepaid subscribers. Telcordia also drew on its 25 years of telecom consulting expertise to manage the integration of the solution into the Aircel network, and worked with in-country partners on implementation.
"We selected Telcordia's leading edge solution because it provides us with the reliability and scalability we need to support our business strategy of delivering service innovation to millions of subscribers," said Mr. Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel Cellular Ltd.
Singh further added, "Telcordia implemented the entire solution in record time. The prepaid solution is flexible and vendor agnostic, which means that we are able to easily and quickly implement new service offers, which will attract more customers and build our market share. This solution is core to our strategic vision of being a communications pioneer in the delivery of mobile voice and data services in the Indian market."
India is experiencing an unprecedented rate of subscriber growth and the challenge for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) is to attract new subscribers, keep existing ones and increase service use to boost revenue. As such, there is a greater need for CSPs to differentiate their service offerings by providing relevant, interactive and personalized services. Telcordia Real-Time Charging makes it easy to create and deploy customer-specific rules for rating, discounting, promotions, and settlements, enabling Aircel to differentiate their service offerings and personalize the experience for customers.
"In the hyper growth and hyper competitive market in India, time-to-market for new services is critical," said Anuj Kapur, Country Head, Service Delivery Solutions, Telcordia. "Aircel is now well positioned to secure high-value subscribers, grow their business and drive revenue through the delivery of new content and services."
Telcordia Real-Time Charging is part of the Telcordia Service Delivery Suite, which offers the key enabling elements of personal, interactive services -- real-time charging, policy control and rapid service creation. This service delivery based solution is emerging as a market leader for next generation prepaid services in high growth and highly competitive markets.
The Telcordia next generation prepay solution combines the strengths of advanced service creation with real-time charging, running on a multi-service telecom application server with an in-built, large scale, in-memory subscriber database. The solution is built on IBM BladeCenter and Telesoft Technologies OKEFORD media platform technology.
For more information about Telcordia please visit www.telcordia.com.
Subscribe to Telcordia RSS Feed for future press releases: http://feeds.telcordia.com/TelcordiaPressReleases
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About Aircel
Aircel, a part of Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, is India's fifth largest GSM mobile service provider with a subscriber base of over 20 million and is the fastest growing mobile operator in the country. It is the market leader in Tamil Nadu, Assam, North-East and Chennai. Aircel is now present in 17 Telecom Circles (Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Assam, Bihar, Chennai, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, North-East , Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal) and with spectrum secured for all the remaining circles (a total of 23 circles in India), the company is on track to become a leading Pan-India Operator. For more information, please log on to www.aircel.com
About Telcordia
Telcordia Technologies, Inc. is a leading global provider of telecommunications network software and services for IP, wireline, wireless, and cable. As the industry continuously evolves, Telcordia has the experience and reach to deliver the critical elements of success to help communication providers worldwide deploy innovative and profitable new services via any network or device while helping carriers aggressively reduce costs and grow revenues. Telcordia is headquartered in Piscataway, N.J., with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Central and Latin America. (www.telcordia.com)
For more information on Telcordia's products and solutions listen to the latest podcasts at http://www.telcordia.com/podcasts/index.html.
Contact:
Sharon Oddy
Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
+1 732-699-4203
oddys@telcordia.com
Aircel, part of Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, awarded Telcordia a five-year, multi-million dollar contract for Telcordia Real-Time Charging, a flexible charging and policy control solution for their mobile prepaid subscribers. Telcordia also drew on its 25 years of telecom consulting expertise to manage the integration of the solution into the Aircel network, and worked with in-country partners on implementation.
"We selected Telcordia's leading edge solution because it provides us with the reliability and scalability we need to support our business strategy of delivering service innovation to millions of subscribers," said Mr. Gurdeep Singh, COO, Aircel Cellular Ltd.
Singh further added, "Telcordia implemented the entire solution in record time. The prepaid solution is flexible and vendor agnostic, which means that we are able to easily and quickly implement new service offers, which will attract more customers and build our market share. This solution is core to our strategic vision of being a communications pioneer in the delivery of mobile voice and data services in the Indian market."
India is experiencing an unprecedented rate of subscriber growth and the challenge for Communications Service Providers (CSPs) is to attract new subscribers, keep existing ones and increase service use to boost revenue. As such, there is a greater need for CSPs to differentiate their service offerings by providing relevant, interactive and personalized services. Telcordia Real-Time Charging makes it easy to create and deploy customer-specific rules for rating, discounting, promotions, and settlements, enabling Aircel to differentiate their service offerings and personalize the experience for customers.
"In the hyper growth and hyper competitive market in India, time-to-market for new services is critical," said Anuj Kapur, Country Head, Service Delivery Solutions, Telcordia. "Aircel is now well positioned to secure high-value subscribers, grow their business and drive revenue through the delivery of new content and services."
Telcordia Real-Time Charging is part of the Telcordia Service Delivery Suite, which offers the key enabling elements of personal, interactive services -- real-time charging, policy control and rapid service creation. This service delivery based solution is emerging as a market leader for next generation prepaid services in high growth and highly competitive markets.
The Telcordia next generation prepay solution combines the strengths of advanced service creation with real-time charging, running on a multi-service telecom application server with an in-built, large scale, in-memory subscriber database. The solution is built on IBM BladeCenter and Telesoft Technologies OKEFORD media platform technology.
For more information about Telcordia please visit www.telcordia.com.
Subscribe to Telcordia RSS Feed for future press releases: http://feeds.telcordia.com/TelcordiaPressReleases
- End -
About Aircel
Aircel, a part of Maxis Communications Berhad, Malaysia, is India's fifth largest GSM mobile service provider with a subscriber base of over 20 million and is the fastest growing mobile operator in the country. It is the market leader in Tamil Nadu, Assam, North-East and Chennai. Aircel is now present in 17 Telecom Circles (Mumbai, Uttar Pradesh East, Uttar Pradesh West, Delhi, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Kolkata, Assam, Bihar, Chennai, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, North-East , Orissa, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal) and with spectrum secured for all the remaining circles (a total of 23 circles in India), the company is on track to become a leading Pan-India Operator. For more information, please log on to www.aircel.com
About Telcordia
Telcordia Technologies, Inc. is a leading global provider of telecommunications network software and services for IP, wireline, wireless, and cable. As the industry continuously evolves, Telcordia has the experience and reach to deliver the critical elements of success to help communication providers worldwide deploy innovative and profitable new services via any network or device while helping carriers aggressively reduce costs and grow revenues. Telcordia is headquartered in Piscataway, N.J., with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Central and Latin America. (www.telcordia.com)
For more information on Telcordia's products and solutions listen to the latest podcasts at http://www.telcordia.com/podcasts/index.html.
Contact:
Sharon Oddy
Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
+1 732-699-4203
oddys@telcordia.com
Corsair Sales Revenue Jumps 97% in 2008
Corsair Memory today announced a 97% increase in India operations revenue in 2008. Corsair’s growth reflects the rapidly developing marketplace in India for high quality, performance PC components. The highest growth areas wherein product areas catering to India’s PC Enthusiasts and Gamers. Corsair’s XMS Gaming Series of high speed memory experienced volume growth of 152% and Corsair Gaming Power Supply (PSU) growth exceeded 140%. USB drives and Value Select memory achieved growth 130% and 47% respectively. Corsair also forecasts exciting growth in 2009 with further expansion of the Gaming market as well as an imminent India launch of Corsair SSD’s and Gaming Casings.
“This outstanding growth in the face of very challenging economic times shows that consumers have really embraced the Corsair brand since it diverted focus on India over one year ago” commented Scott Thirlwell, Corsair Sales Director APAC. “We are particularly happy to see the explosive growth in Corsair XMS Series Gaming Memory and PSUs”
“The Impressive Corsair India growth is the result of providing great products backed up with India’s top warranty service policy” commented Shane Dennison, Corsair Asia Sales Manager. “Our 23 third party service centres (Kaizen Infoserve) are providing instant replacement in Bangalore, Cochin and under 5 days in other nationwide centres.”
“2009 growth looks to be exceeding even 2008 marvelous result with Corsair distributors and their customers reporting very healthy profit margins on Corsair products” commented M.A Mannan, Corsair India country Manager. “By focusing on the premium end of the PC component market Corsair partners are able to avoid the cut-throat pricing at the low end.”
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About Corsair
Founded in 1994, Corsair Memory Inc., is a worldwide leader in high-performance components for personal computers. Specializing in very high performance memory and ultra-efficient power supplies, our flagship products, including Dominator™ memory modules, are the choice of overclockers, enthusiasts, and gamers everywhere. Our expertise in design and manufacturing is also evident in our complete line of ruggedized Flash Voyager™ and Flash Survivor™ USB storage devices. Corsair Memory offers 24/7 customer support via forums and the Tech Support Express helpdesk . For more information, please visit www.corsair.com
“This outstanding growth in the face of very challenging economic times shows that consumers have really embraced the Corsair brand since it diverted focus on India over one year ago” commented Scott Thirlwell, Corsair Sales Director APAC. “We are particularly happy to see the explosive growth in Corsair XMS Series Gaming Memory and PSUs”
“The Impressive Corsair India growth is the result of providing great products backed up with India’s top warranty service policy” commented Shane Dennison, Corsair Asia Sales Manager. “Our 23 third party service centres (Kaizen Infoserve) are providing instant replacement in Bangalore, Cochin and under 5 days in other nationwide centres.”
“2009 growth looks to be exceeding even 2008 marvelous result with Corsair distributors and their customers reporting very healthy profit margins on Corsair products” commented M.A Mannan, Corsair India country Manager. “By focusing on the premium end of the PC component market Corsair partners are able to avoid the cut-throat pricing at the low end.”
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About Corsair
Founded in 1994, Corsair Memory Inc., is a worldwide leader in high-performance components for personal computers. Specializing in very high performance memory and ultra-efficient power supplies, our flagship products, including Dominator™ memory modules, are the choice of overclockers, enthusiasts, and gamers everywhere. Our expertise in design and manufacturing is also evident in our complete line of ruggedized Flash Voyager™ and Flash Survivor™ USB storage devices. Corsair Memory offers 24/7 customer support via forums and the Tech Support Express helpdesk . For more information, please visit www.corsair.com
Parsvnath gets approval for Parsvnath La Tropicana
Parsvnath Landmark Developers Pvt. Ltd. a 100% subsidiary of Parsvnath Developers Limited (PDL), one of the leading real estate and infrastructure providers is in receipt of all requisite approvals including sanction of the building plans by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to enable the company to commence construction of one of its premium luxury projects – Parsvnath La-Tropicana in the heart of Delhi. The company is expected to have a realization of approx Rs. 1300 Crore in 3 financial years from the said project.
The approvals comprise of clearances from Delhi Urban Arts Commission, The Delhi Fire Service, The Airport Authority of India, Environmental Clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests, NOC from L&Do and the sanctions pertaining to layout and building plans by Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Commenting on the approvals received, Mr. Pradeep Jain, Chairman, Parsvnath Group said, “The project will be one of the most awaited luxurious projects from Parsvnath in the heart of Delhi. The project named, Parsvnath La Tropicana is to be constructed in Civil Lines area in Delhi. The excavation work at the site has already been completed and now we shall be deploying equipment and manpower to take up construction in full swing and complete the project within the time frame.”
“We are extremely happy to have received an overwhelming response from our customers” Mr. Jain expressed.
The project spread over 16.84 acres (68, 149 sq. mtr.) is having a total built up area of approximately 20 lac sq ft. With over 78% area reserved for lawns, parks, open and landscaped greens, get set to experience a plethora of flora, ferns, foliage, palm groves and numerous water bodies. The project will consist of carefully designed set of condominiums enclosing apartments of 3/4/5 bedrooms and the penthouses & villas.
The luxurious project offers multi-level security, under ground parking, piped gas supply, health spa, meditation cabana, golf putting greens along with a host of indoor and outdoor activities.
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About Parsvnath Developers Limited:-
Parsvnath Developers Limited (PDL) is one of India’s leading real estate developers with Pan-India presence across 50 cities and 17 states with presence across key verticals of real estate industry. The company has developable area of over 200 million sq. ft. The company presently is having 81 mn. sq. ft. of area under construction out of which 43.62 mn. sq. ft. is already sold. With a track record of timely delivery of projects, the company carries on construction of the projects in-house, which adds to its capability of timely delivery and quality. PDL has a diversified portfolio of real estate development projects including Integrated Townships, Residential Projects and Commercial Complexes such as shopping malls, multiplexes, hotels, IT parks, B.O.T. Projects and SEZs. It has successfully completed 14 Residential, 12 Commercial and 7 DMRC Projects and is having a customer base of 25,000.
The approvals comprise of clearances from Delhi Urban Arts Commission, The Delhi Fire Service, The Airport Authority of India, Environmental Clearance from Ministry of Environment and Forests, NOC from L&Do and the sanctions pertaining to layout and building plans by Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
Commenting on the approvals received, Mr. Pradeep Jain, Chairman, Parsvnath Group said, “The project will be one of the most awaited luxurious projects from Parsvnath in the heart of Delhi. The project named, Parsvnath La Tropicana is to be constructed in Civil Lines area in Delhi. The excavation work at the site has already been completed and now we shall be deploying equipment and manpower to take up construction in full swing and complete the project within the time frame.”
“We are extremely happy to have received an overwhelming response from our customers” Mr. Jain expressed.
The project spread over 16.84 acres (68, 149 sq. mtr.) is having a total built up area of approximately 20 lac sq ft. With over 78% area reserved for lawns, parks, open and landscaped greens, get set to experience a plethora of flora, ferns, foliage, palm groves and numerous water bodies. The project will consist of carefully designed set of condominiums enclosing apartments of 3/4/5 bedrooms and the penthouses & villas.
The luxurious project offers multi-level security, under ground parking, piped gas supply, health spa, meditation cabana, golf putting greens along with a host of indoor and outdoor activities.
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About Parsvnath Developers Limited:-
Parsvnath Developers Limited (PDL) is one of India’s leading real estate developers with Pan-India presence across 50 cities and 17 states with presence across key verticals of real estate industry. The company has developable area of over 200 million sq. ft. The company presently is having 81 mn. sq. ft. of area under construction out of which 43.62 mn. sq. ft. is already sold. With a track record of timely delivery of projects, the company carries on construction of the projects in-house, which adds to its capability of timely delivery and quality. PDL has a diversified portfolio of real estate development projects including Integrated Townships, Residential Projects and Commercial Complexes such as shopping malls, multiplexes, hotels, IT parks, B.O.T. Projects and SEZs. It has successfully completed 14 Residential, 12 Commercial and 7 DMRC Projects and is having a customer base of 25,000.
Teamlease selects Sage Accpac ERP by Sage India to automate its Accounting and Financial Processes
Sage Software India today announced the successful completion of the implementation of Sage Accpac ERP at TeamLease Services. Sage Accpac ERP is expected to automate TeamLease’s accounting and financial processes. The solution has been implemented by Sage’s Bangalore-based partner New-Age Business Consultants.
Business Challenge:
TeamLease ran its accounting on Tally. Tally was unable to scale to meet TeamLease’s transaction volume growth - 2000 Customer Invoices and Salary Journal entries, 60,000 payments per month. This meant entering only summary transactions into Tally and required multiple Excel files to be managed and reconciled. Further all MIS had to be prepared outside the system, again in Excel.
Solution:
In October 2006, TeamLease decided that they need a more robust and scaleable solution for their accounting and financial processes. Sage Accpac ERP was selected for the following reasons:
· Ability to bring in all transactions at line item level and to scale further as TeamLease continues its rapid growth
· Quick implementation, configuration, training, testing and hand-holding during go live
· Ease of use and maintenance
· Ability to import large amounts of data from Excel files
· Ability to generate flexible MIS based on SBU, Branch, Department, etc.
· Ability to configure and provide reports to meet Indian statutory requirements - Service Tax, TDS, etc.
· Ability to add other integrated modules for Finance and Operations
TeamLease made the decision to invest in Sage Accpac ERP Financial modules of General Ledger, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable and Sage Accpac Insight in December 2006. Implementation commenced in January 2007. TeamLease went live on April 1, 2007, i.e. within 3 months of start date. MIS for May 2007 was generated fully through Sage Accpac Insight and Sage Accpac ERP customized reports.
After successfully using the application for seven months TeamLease is now considering additional modules of Sage Accpac to cover requirements of Bank Reconciliations, TDS, and Fixed Assets and operations modules of Purchase Orders and Purchase Order Approval.
Sage Software India – Managing Director, Mr. Thomas Abraham stated- “Sage software specializes in business management solutions for the SMB segment. Sage Accpac ERP is a perfect fit for companies like Team lease as it offers quick return on investment is configurable and offers an ideal platform for companies who are looking to migrate to a robust and a cost effective accounting solution. Selection of Sage Accpac ERP by Teamlease is of strategic importance to us as we get an opportunity to make our presence felt in a new industry vertical of staffing and Human Resource”
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About Sage
Sage has over 1000 customers in India for its CRM, ERP, Payroll and HRMS products across industries like, Trading & Distribution, Manufacturing, Services, IT/ITES, Financial Services, Media, Travel and Hospitality.
To know more about Sage ERP visit http://www.sagesoftware.co.in
About Teamlease
TeamLease is India’s largest Staffing Company with 70,000 Associates on its rolls. It operates from 19 geographical locations in India and provides a range of Temporary and Permanent manpower solutions to 750+ clients.
Business Challenge:
TeamLease ran its accounting on Tally. Tally was unable to scale to meet TeamLease’s transaction volume growth - 2000 Customer Invoices and Salary Journal entries, 60,000 payments per month. This meant entering only summary transactions into Tally and required multiple Excel files to be managed and reconciled. Further all MIS had to be prepared outside the system, again in Excel.
Solution:
In October 2006, TeamLease decided that they need a more robust and scaleable solution for their accounting and financial processes. Sage Accpac ERP was selected for the following reasons:
· Ability to bring in all transactions at line item level and to scale further as TeamLease continues its rapid growth
· Quick implementation, configuration, training, testing and hand-holding during go live
· Ease of use and maintenance
· Ability to import large amounts of data from Excel files
· Ability to generate flexible MIS based on SBU, Branch, Department, etc.
· Ability to configure and provide reports to meet Indian statutory requirements - Service Tax, TDS, etc.
· Ability to add other integrated modules for Finance and Operations
TeamLease made the decision to invest in Sage Accpac ERP Financial modules of General Ledger, Accounts Receivable and Accounts Payable and Sage Accpac Insight in December 2006. Implementation commenced in January 2007. TeamLease went live on April 1, 2007, i.e. within 3 months of start date. MIS for May 2007 was generated fully through Sage Accpac Insight and Sage Accpac ERP customized reports.
After successfully using the application for seven months TeamLease is now considering additional modules of Sage Accpac to cover requirements of Bank Reconciliations, TDS, and Fixed Assets and operations modules of Purchase Orders and Purchase Order Approval.
Sage Software India – Managing Director, Mr. Thomas Abraham stated- “Sage software specializes in business management solutions for the SMB segment. Sage Accpac ERP is a perfect fit for companies like Team lease as it offers quick return on investment is configurable and offers an ideal platform for companies who are looking to migrate to a robust and a cost effective accounting solution. Selection of Sage Accpac ERP by Teamlease is of strategic importance to us as we get an opportunity to make our presence felt in a new industry vertical of staffing and Human Resource”
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About Sage
Sage has over 1000 customers in India for its CRM, ERP, Payroll and HRMS products across industries like, Trading & Distribution, Manufacturing, Services, IT/ITES, Financial Services, Media, Travel and Hospitality.
To know more about Sage ERP visit http://www.sagesoftware.co.in
About Teamlease
TeamLease is India’s largest Staffing Company with 70,000 Associates on its rolls. It operates from 19 geographical locations in India and provides a range of Temporary and Permanent manpower solutions to 750+ clients.
Bodhtree�s �MIDAS� to Boost Customer Benefits via Integration with SAP® Solutions
Bodhtree Consulting (www.bodhtree.com), a leading provider of innovative consulting and technology, today announced its “MIDAS” solution version 5.0 has achieved SAP certification as powered by the SAP NetWeaver® technology platform. The solution has been proven to integrate with SAP solutions, providing data management, data quality, business analytics and improved IT cost optimization advantage. Through the certified integration, Bodhtree expects to boost benefits for customers deploying the MIDAS solution, potentially adding a number of new customers.
“We are extremely happy to have achieved SAP certification of MIDAS,” said Sanjiv Gupta, chairman, Bodhtree Consulting. “This will add significant value to customers using the MIDAS solution. The ability of MIDAS to leverage the business potential of assets provided by solutions from SAP and other vendors will prove highly beneficial to current and future customer engagements.”
“MIDAS is the result of extensive experience and innovation in managing data-quality issues,” elaborates Dr. Akila Jaikumar, senior vice president, Bodhtree Consulting. “Our product road map for MIDAS envisioned and identified high-value areas of collaboration, and the SAP certified integration will provide us with the required technical capability to deploy the solution in SAP solution-based environments.”
“As a result of the certified integration, MIDAS now can provide a robust, high-quality data management solution in the market, especially for customers who are looking to minimize their platform risk by selecting certified solutions,” commented Raghavan VSR Madabhushi, head of SOA and DW at Bodhtree Consulting. “By allowing customers to focus more on their innovation, MIDAS provides the ability to manage data quality management issues.”
The SAP Integration and Certification Center has certified that MIDAS 5.0, a J2EE 1.4/EE 5 specification- compliant application, can now be deployed and run on the SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment (SAP NetWeaver CE) 7.1 offering. Further, SAP NetWeaver CE will enable applications to be built and run on service- oriented architecture (SOA) principles.
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About Bodhtree Consulting
Bodhtree is a technology company offering IT services and solutions since 1999 in the niche areas of business intelligence, data management, spend analytics, data warehousing, SOA consulting, CRM Consulting, document management, patent asset management and trademark asset management, testing and product development outsourcing. Bodhtree’s customer base covers healthcare, pharmaceutical, hi-tech, manufacturing, government and media organizations across the world.
Headquartered in India with sales offices in the U.S.A. and the U.K., Bodhtree is a publicly listed company. It has been the incubator for several companies with interests in other niche business areas. With credible partners such as Owens & Minor (Spend Analytics for US Healthcare), HP and Confluent (High Tech and SOA), e2e Analytics (Business Intelligence and Analytics on Demand) and Microsoft E-Publishing, E-learning and Mobile Classified Search), Bodhtree has created many customer success stories.
“We are extremely happy to have achieved SAP certification of MIDAS,” said Sanjiv Gupta, chairman, Bodhtree Consulting. “This will add significant value to customers using the MIDAS solution. The ability of MIDAS to leverage the business potential of assets provided by solutions from SAP and other vendors will prove highly beneficial to current and future customer engagements.”
“MIDAS is the result of extensive experience and innovation in managing data-quality issues,” elaborates Dr. Akila Jaikumar, senior vice president, Bodhtree Consulting. “Our product road map for MIDAS envisioned and identified high-value areas of collaboration, and the SAP certified integration will provide us with the required technical capability to deploy the solution in SAP solution-based environments.”
“As a result of the certified integration, MIDAS now can provide a robust, high-quality data management solution in the market, especially for customers who are looking to minimize their platform risk by selecting certified solutions,” commented Raghavan VSR Madabhushi, head of SOA and DW at Bodhtree Consulting. “By allowing customers to focus more on their innovation, MIDAS provides the ability to manage data quality management issues.”
The SAP Integration and Certification Center has certified that MIDAS 5.0, a J2EE 1.4/EE 5 specification- compliant application, can now be deployed and run on the SAP NetWeaver Composition Environment (SAP NetWeaver CE) 7.1 offering. Further, SAP NetWeaver CE will enable applications to be built and run on service- oriented architecture (SOA) principles.
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About Bodhtree Consulting
Bodhtree is a technology company offering IT services and solutions since 1999 in the niche areas of business intelligence, data management, spend analytics, data warehousing, SOA consulting, CRM Consulting, document management, patent asset management and trademark asset management, testing and product development outsourcing. Bodhtree’s customer base covers healthcare, pharmaceutical, hi-tech, manufacturing, government and media organizations across the world.
Headquartered in India with sales offices in the U.S.A. and the U.K., Bodhtree is a publicly listed company. It has been the incubator for several companies with interests in other niche business areas. With credible partners such as Owens & Minor (Spend Analytics for US Healthcare), HP and Confluent (High Tech and SOA), e2e Analytics (Business Intelligence and Analytics on Demand) and Microsoft E-Publishing, E-learning and Mobile Classified Search), Bodhtree has created many customer success stories.
Sweets that grow on trees
Sweet Bengal is the place to visit for indulging in the pleasures of heavenly desserts. Like melt-in-the-mouth Sondesh and Rossogolla, all time favourites Mishti Doi and Kheer Kodom. Made by Karigars who have brought their secret arts of making the perfect Chomchom or Rabri, all the way from Bengal.
Sweet Bengal now brings you a new array of desserts with the seasons’ freshness and flavour. The tender Sondesh is redolent with the exotic flavours of Kiwi, Strawberry and Litchi. These delightful preparations melt on your taste-buds with the fragrance of fresh fruits and pure cow’s milk.
Sweet Bengal is also the ultimate destination for food connoisseurs for its Bengali snacks like the Koraishutir Kochuri and the Shingara (Samosa). Enjoy the great tastes at all the Sweet Bengal outlets mentioned below.
Sweet Bengal outlets at Cuffe Parade: Maker Arcade Shopping Center, Maker Tower (Ph: 32482235); Napean Sea Road: 10, Matru Ashish (Ph: 23671263); Chembur: Sunder Apt., Opp. Diamond Garden (Ph: 32469538); Mahim: 29, Om Gita Niwas, L.J.Rd. (Ph: 24220787); Bandra: Kenwood Bldg., Ambedkar Rd. (Ph: 26460621), Andheri: Saooli Apt., Opp. Andheri Sports Complex, J.P. Road (26204758); Malad: Spencers, Inorbit (Ph: 32467901); Matunga: 471, Radha Bhawan, Next to Newyorker, Adenwala Road, (Ph: 32467904), Vile Parle :2, Shaswat, M.G.Road, Opp: Jain Mandir (26108337); Powai: Shop No.126, Galleria Shopping Complex, Hiranandani Gardens (40262400).
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About Speciality Group of Restaurants:
The Speciality Group of Restaurants is behind many famous many fine dining and quick dining brands. With already 52 existing properties across India, Speciality Group aims to further expand and provide an unforgettable experience across its restaurants to its customers.
The Group has some of the most successful food brands located all over India such as Oh! Calcutta in Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune & Bangalore, Mainland China in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Kolkata, Pune, Nashik & Mumbai. Sigree and Machaan in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai. Restaurants like Haka, Mostly Kababs, Just Biryani based on casual dining format are present in select locations in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar & Pune.
Sweet Bengal now brings you a new array of desserts with the seasons’ freshness and flavour. The tender Sondesh is redolent with the exotic flavours of Kiwi, Strawberry and Litchi. These delightful preparations melt on your taste-buds with the fragrance of fresh fruits and pure cow’s milk.
Sweet Bengal is also the ultimate destination for food connoisseurs for its Bengali snacks like the Koraishutir Kochuri and the Shingara (Samosa). Enjoy the great tastes at all the Sweet Bengal outlets mentioned below.
Sweet Bengal outlets at Cuffe Parade: Maker Arcade Shopping Center, Maker Tower (Ph: 32482235); Napean Sea Road: 10, Matru Ashish (Ph: 23671263); Chembur: Sunder Apt., Opp. Diamond Garden (Ph: 32469538); Mahim: 29, Om Gita Niwas, L.J.Rd. (Ph: 24220787); Bandra: Kenwood Bldg., Ambedkar Rd. (Ph: 26460621), Andheri: Saooli Apt., Opp. Andheri Sports Complex, J.P. Road (26204758); Malad: Spencers, Inorbit (Ph: 32467901); Matunga: 471, Radha Bhawan, Next to Newyorker, Adenwala Road, (Ph: 32467904), Vile Parle :2, Shaswat, M.G.Road, Opp: Jain Mandir (26108337); Powai: Shop No.126, Galleria Shopping Complex, Hiranandani Gardens (40262400).
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About Speciality Group of Restaurants:
The Speciality Group of Restaurants is behind many famous many fine dining and quick dining brands. With already 52 existing properties across India, Speciality Group aims to further expand and provide an unforgettable experience across its restaurants to its customers.
The Group has some of the most successful food brands located all over India such as Oh! Calcutta in Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune & Bangalore, Mainland China in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Gurgaon, Guwahati, Kolkata, Pune, Nashik & Mumbai. Sigree and Machaan in Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai. Restaurants like Haka, Mostly Kababs, Just Biryani based on casual dining format are present in select locations in Mumbai, New Delhi, Kolkata, Bhubaneshwar & Pune.
BIGFlix Movie Rental service has come up with Rs 299 monthly rental plan for unlimited movies
BIGFlix.com- DVD Rentals, India’s largest online and offline rentals service introduces a special offer of Rs 299/- monthly rental plan (1 disc plan) for unlimited movies which is valid till 15th June 2009. The special offer is introduced in lieu of the current multiplex / distributors strike, where we have no movies in multiplexes. Watch unlimited movies from a vast collection from more than 20000 titles available in 12 languages across genres including World Cinema. Other genres include a wide range of collection from Bollywood movies, Hollywood movies, international television series, regional cinema to documentaries, kids’ educational and animation content and mythology To avail this special offer you can either walk into a store or check out the movie titles @ http://rental.bigflix.com/bigflix/Movie/Hindi
BIGFlix Movie Rentals is the only player working on an integrated business model offering vast access to unlimited content across genres with convenient subscription plans.
BIGFlix currently has a presence of around 100 stores in 10 cities in India, namely, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Indore.
Highlights of BIGFlix Movie Rental Service
· One membership works all over India, so one can use the membership online and across all BIGFlix stores in India
· Watch unlimited movies
· Access to vast Indian and international content
· Order movies from our BIGFlix store, at our website and via phone
· Free delivery and pick up of movies at your doorstep
· No due dates
· No late fees
· Get unlimited movies throughout the month of your subscription plan
· Upgrade or downgrade the plan as per your needs
· Pause and resume membership anytime
· User Interactivity features
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About BIGFlix
The very concept of home entertainment is at the cusp of a revolution. And the Reliance – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group seeks to energize this momentum with its well-footed presence in the realm of new media entertainment. BIGFlix is the outcome of the Group’s vision to source and deliver premium home entertainment content to the consumer within the convenience and comfort of his home.
BIGFlix Movie Rentals is the only player working on an integrated business model offering vast access to unlimited content across genres with convenient subscription plans.
BIGFlix currently has a presence of around 100 stores in 10 cities in India, namely, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Indore.
Highlights of BIGFlix Movie Rental Service
· One membership works all over India, so one can use the membership online and across all BIGFlix stores in India
· Watch unlimited movies
· Access to vast Indian and international content
· Order movies from our BIGFlix store, at our website and via phone
· Free delivery and pick up of movies at your doorstep
· No due dates
· No late fees
· Get unlimited movies throughout the month of your subscription plan
· Upgrade or downgrade the plan as per your needs
· Pause and resume membership anytime
· User Interactivity features
- End -
About BIGFlix
The very concept of home entertainment is at the cusp of a revolution. And the Reliance – Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group seeks to energize this momentum with its well-footed presence in the realm of new media entertainment. BIGFlix is the outcome of the Group’s vision to source and deliver premium home entertainment content to the consumer within the convenience and comfort of his home.
MM University students invented Tri fuel car- TRIO
There are numerous reasons why the world market wants a mass produced non-fossil fuel car, which include environmental reasons, ethical reasons and probably just as important financial reasons. The brilliant students of MM University have come to the address the issues of cost-effectiveness and for the rescue of the nature with their TRI FUEL CAR- TRIO. Four students of MM University’s B.Tech Ankit Kakkar, Mohit Goyal, Varun Dhir and Piyush Saini have proved their mettle by inventing TRIO. The car can run on conventional fossil fuel ie. Gasoline and LPG as well as on electricity. The basic aim of the TRIO is to reduce the cost of transportation and to reduce pollutant emission of the vehicle.
The TRIO will use Petrol, Liquefied Petroleum Gas & battery packs for the electricity source. It can run solely on any of these fuel sources. The usage of these different sources will depend upon the engine RPM, torque required and speed of the vehicle. TRIO has an in-build generator to generate electricity. The cost of running TRIO on various fuels is on electricity @ Rs. 0.83/km, at petrol @Rs. 3.2/km and on gas @1.8/ km.
Applauding the efforts of the students, Mr. Tarsem Kumar Garg, Chancellor, MM University said, “Long thought to be inexhaustible, fossil fuels have already reached its peak for oil extraction and production, and that it is only a matter of time before natural gas and coal follow suit. These near-term concerns about oil supply have led to increasing focus on, and exploration of, alternative sources of petroleum. We are proud of our students for providing an option to combat the problems of rising fuel cost and environmental threats.”
The students, thrilled at the success expressed their gratitude to the University for providing them an opportunity to showcase their caliber and for the pedagogic system of MM that instilled the spirit of entrepreneurship in them.
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About Maharishi Markendeshwar Engineering College, Mullana
The Maharishi Markendeshwar Education Trust which was established in the Yr 1993 by its founder President Sh Tarsem K. Garg presently chancellor of the University with the objective of social, educational and economic upliftment of society is a symbol of quality education in technical, professional and medical streams in northern India. The trust has made a rapid progress and established a number of Institutions of high profile professional courses in a short span of 15 yrs in recognition of which the MM Institutions were conferred with the status of deemed university by the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource development on the recommendation of expert committee of the University Grants Commission. The constituent institutions of the University are MM Engineering College; MM Institute of Computer Technology & Business Management (MCA); MM College of Dental Sciences & Research; MM Institute of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation; MM Institute of Computer Technology & Business Management (Hotel Management); MM Institute of Medical Sciences & Research; MM Institute of Management; MM College of Nursing; MM College of Pharmacy; and MM Institute of Nursing, Department of law and MM Institute of Distant Education, Mullana-Ambala apart from other institutes of Hotel Management, Pharmacy and Nursing for diploma courses, MM College of Education for B.Ed and M.Ed courses and an international school with affiliation from CBSE and Cambridge. These institutes are also recognized by the regulating councils like Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, Indian Nursing Council, Indian Association of Physiotherapists, All India Council for Technical Education, Bar Council of India, Distance Education Council etc.
The MM University is an epitome of quality education, imparting value-based, career-oriented, professional and technical education. It has evolved as a symbol of holistic value-based quality education of global dimensions shaping the talents and aspirations of bright young generations at undergraduate and post-graduate level. MM University has developed Academic Bodies, to set up high standards, design innovations and interdisciplinary courses in emerging areas and improve the curriculum of the existing courses keeping in view the latest trends and market needs. The MM University has, thus, taken up a big challenge to bring about a change in the educational, cultural and social environment of the society and strives hard towards furtherance of its goal.
The TRIO will use Petrol, Liquefied Petroleum Gas & battery packs for the electricity source. It can run solely on any of these fuel sources. The usage of these different sources will depend upon the engine RPM, torque required and speed of the vehicle. TRIO has an in-build generator to generate electricity. The cost of running TRIO on various fuels is on electricity @ Rs. 0.83/km, at petrol @Rs. 3.2/km and on gas @1.8/ km.
Applauding the efforts of the students, Mr. Tarsem Kumar Garg, Chancellor, MM University said, “Long thought to be inexhaustible, fossil fuels have already reached its peak for oil extraction and production, and that it is only a matter of time before natural gas and coal follow suit. These near-term concerns about oil supply have led to increasing focus on, and exploration of, alternative sources of petroleum. We are proud of our students for providing an option to combat the problems of rising fuel cost and environmental threats.”
The students, thrilled at the success expressed their gratitude to the University for providing them an opportunity to showcase their caliber and for the pedagogic system of MM that instilled the spirit of entrepreneurship in them.
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About Maharishi Markendeshwar Engineering College, Mullana
The Maharishi Markendeshwar Education Trust which was established in the Yr 1993 by its founder President Sh Tarsem K. Garg presently chancellor of the University with the objective of social, educational and economic upliftment of society is a symbol of quality education in technical, professional and medical streams in northern India. The trust has made a rapid progress and established a number of Institutions of high profile professional courses in a short span of 15 yrs in recognition of which the MM Institutions were conferred with the status of deemed university by the Government of India, Ministry of Human Resource development on the recommendation of expert committee of the University Grants Commission. The constituent institutions of the University are MM Engineering College; MM Institute of Computer Technology & Business Management (MCA); MM College of Dental Sciences & Research; MM Institute of Physiotherapy & Rehabilitation; MM Institute of Computer Technology & Business Management (Hotel Management); MM Institute of Medical Sciences & Research; MM Institute of Management; MM College of Nursing; MM College of Pharmacy; and MM Institute of Nursing, Department of law and MM Institute of Distant Education, Mullana-Ambala apart from other institutes of Hotel Management, Pharmacy and Nursing for diploma courses, MM College of Education for B.Ed and M.Ed courses and an international school with affiliation from CBSE and Cambridge. These institutes are also recognized by the regulating councils like Medical Council of India, Dental Council of India, Indian Nursing Council, Indian Association of Physiotherapists, All India Council for Technical Education, Bar Council of India, Distance Education Council etc.
The MM University is an epitome of quality education, imparting value-based, career-oriented, professional and technical education. It has evolved as a symbol of holistic value-based quality education of global dimensions shaping the talents and aspirations of bright young generations at undergraduate and post-graduate level. MM University has developed Academic Bodies, to set up high standards, design innovations and interdisciplinary courses in emerging areas and improve the curriculum of the existing courses keeping in view the latest trends and market needs. The MM University has, thus, taken up a big challenge to bring about a change in the educational, cultural and social environment of the society and strives hard towards furtherance of its goal.
Newgen Software to broaden focus on telecom sector
Newgen Software, a leading provider of Business Process Management and Document Management System solutions, today announced that they shall be expanding their focus on the fast-growing telecom sector to accelerate growth.
In the ever evolving and competitive environment, telecom sector is facing tremendous pressure from the customers regarding the quality of service offered in terms of time taken to resolve a customer query and a strong & flexible infrastructure platform that allows management of end-to-end business processes.
Newgen with its powerful web-based document management, business process management, Bill Management and Output Management Solutions helps Telecom Service Providers gain new agility in responding to changes in telecommunication practices. Newgen solutions help operators enhance customer service by reducing cycle times of query handling, increasing coordination with subscribers, reducing errors in billing processes, presenting bills/ statements online and improving responsiveness to customers.
Mr. Diwakar Nigam, Managing Director, Newgen Software Technologies said, “The sector has maintained growth momentum with operators nowexpanding networks to smaller towns and villages. We believe that with our domain expertise and technology thought leadership we will be able to provide services to all segments of the worldwide telecom market and enable growth with stability.”
The telecom companies can achieve operational excellence with the help of the BPM and DMS solutions from Newgen Software. The solutions help in cost efficiency, better storage, improving customer care, compliance to regulatory needs and faster verification.
Besides this focus on the telecom segment, Newgen has also expanded its attention on Industry verticals such as retail, hospitality, Insurance and government sectors.
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About Newgen Software
Newgen Software Technologies Limited (www.newgensoft.com) is the market leader in Business Process Management (BPM) and Enterprise Document Management (EDM), with a global footprint of about 750 installations in over 35 countries. More than 100 of these implementations are large, mission-critical solutions deployed at world's leading BFSI, BPO and Fortune Global 500 companies.
Newgen is recognized by distinguished analyst firm IDC in its exclusive report “Newgen Software: Global Leader in Business Process Management and Document Management Solutions.”
Winner of prestigious awards, such as CNBC-TV18 “Emerging India Award 2008”, Frost and Sullivan's “Market Leadership Award for Document Management System and Workflow Software & Services” and “Distinguished Application Product Company” by NASSCOM, Newgen Software is an ISO 9001:2000, ISO 27001 certified and CMM Level 4 company.
In the ever evolving and competitive environment, telecom sector is facing tremendous pressure from the customers regarding the quality of service offered in terms of time taken to resolve a customer query and a strong & flexible infrastructure platform that allows management of end-to-end business processes.
Newgen with its powerful web-based document management, business process management, Bill Management and Output Management Solutions helps Telecom Service Providers gain new agility in responding to changes in telecommunication practices. Newgen solutions help operators enhance customer service by reducing cycle times of query handling, increasing coordination with subscribers, reducing errors in billing processes, presenting bills/ statements online and improving responsiveness to customers.
Mr. Diwakar Nigam, Managing Director, Newgen Software Technologies said, “The sector has maintained growth momentum with operators nowexpanding networks to smaller towns and villages. We believe that with our domain expertise and technology thought leadership we will be able to provide services to all segments of the worldwide telecom market and enable growth with stability.”
The telecom companies can achieve operational excellence with the help of the BPM and DMS solutions from Newgen Software. The solutions help in cost efficiency, better storage, improving customer care, compliance to regulatory needs and faster verification.
Besides this focus on the telecom segment, Newgen has also expanded its attention on Industry verticals such as retail, hospitality, Insurance and government sectors.
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About Newgen Software
Newgen Software Technologies Limited (www.newgensoft.com) is the market leader in Business Process Management (BPM) and Enterprise Document Management (EDM), with a global footprint of about 750 installations in over 35 countries. More than 100 of these implementations are large, mission-critical solutions deployed at world's leading BFSI, BPO and Fortune Global 500 companies.
Newgen is recognized by distinguished analyst firm IDC in its exclusive report “Newgen Software: Global Leader in Business Process Management and Document Management Solutions.”
Winner of prestigious awards, such as CNBC-TV18 “Emerging India Award 2008”, Frost and Sullivan's “Market Leadership Award for Document Management System and Workflow Software & Services” and “Distinguished Application Product Company” by NASSCOM, Newgen Software is an ISO 9001:2000, ISO 27001 certified and CMM Level 4 company.
Anuj Kapur Named Country Head India for Telcordia Service Delivery Solutions
Demonstrating continued market successes and leadership, Telcordia (www.telcordia.com) today announced the appointment of Anuj Kapur as Country Head for Telcordia Service Delivery Solutions in India. This recent appointment reaffirms Telcordia's commitment to the India market as it helps communications service providers (CSPs) manage accelerated subscriber growth by offering flexible solutions that maximize network efficiencies that enable fast deployments of new services that drive revenue and retain subscribers.
Kapur earned his MBA from Delhi University (FMS) and has more than 20 years of sales, distribution, marketing, business development and corporate strategy experience. Previously, he served as Country Head (Telecom) Marketing and Infrastructure at Samsung, Vice President and Head Sales -- India at Alcatel and Director of Services Sales, South Asia at Alcatel Lucent.
"Anuj has exceptional credentials, extensive experience and a wealth of knowledge of the communications industry in India," said Mike Wojcik, President, Service Delivery Solutions Telcordia. "As he heads the service delivery solutions business for our India entity, we are confident that Telcordia will continue to be the company of choice for CSPs looking for highly scaleable next generation communication solutions that support their rapid growth, drive revenue and enable them to secure a competitive edge with innovation services, technologies and applications."
Telcordia serves the growing India communications market through Telcordia Technologies India Private Limited, which was established in 2006 to provide dedicated local resources for mobile, fixed line, and cable operators throughout the country. The company is headquartered in Gurgaon, with program delivery offices in Hyderabad. It also includes Telcordia India Labs, a state-of-the-art facility based in Chennai, which provides dedicated development and software resources for mobile, fixed line and cable operators throughout India.
Telcordia has a long history in the India market and works with leading CSPs including Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications, the Department of Telecommunications and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India, among others. Recently, MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions India Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of Telcordia, was selected by the India Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as the provider of number portability clearinghouse and centralized database services for the country's southern and eastern regions for the next 10 years.
More information about Telcordia India can be found at www.telcordia.com/news_events/presskit/india-snapshot.html. General information about Telcordia can be found at http://www.telcordia.com.
For more information about Telcordia, visit www.telcordia.com.
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About Telcordia
Telcordia, a global leader in the development of fixed, mobile and broadband communications software and services, enables Communications Service Providers (CSPs), enterprises, suppliers and government entities to successfully deploy innovative and advanced services in the new era of services-dominated communications. With its innovation, experience, and reach, Telcordia has the elements to deliver the communications software and services that help our clients realize operational efficiencies, drive revenue, and maintain a competitive edge. Telcordia is headquartered in Piscataway, N.J, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Central and Latin America. (www.telcordia.com)
For more information on Telcordia's products and solutions, listen to the latest podcasts at http://www.telcordia.com/podcasts/index.html.
Contacts:
Sharon Oddy
Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
+1 732-699-4203
oddys@telcordia.com
Kapur earned his MBA from Delhi University (FMS) and has more than 20 years of sales, distribution, marketing, business development and corporate strategy experience. Previously, he served as Country Head (Telecom) Marketing and Infrastructure at Samsung, Vice President and Head Sales -- India at Alcatel and Director of Services Sales, South Asia at Alcatel Lucent.
"Anuj has exceptional credentials, extensive experience and a wealth of knowledge of the communications industry in India," said Mike Wojcik, President, Service Delivery Solutions Telcordia. "As he heads the service delivery solutions business for our India entity, we are confident that Telcordia will continue to be the company of choice for CSPs looking for highly scaleable next generation communication solutions that support their rapid growth, drive revenue and enable them to secure a competitive edge with innovation services, technologies and applications."
Telcordia serves the growing India communications market through Telcordia Technologies India Private Limited, which was established in 2006 to provide dedicated local resources for mobile, fixed line, and cable operators throughout the country. The company is headquartered in Gurgaon, with program delivery offices in Hyderabad. It also includes Telcordia India Labs, a state-of-the-art facility based in Chennai, which provides dedicated development and software resources for mobile, fixed line and cable operators throughout India.
Telcordia has a long history in the India market and works with leading CSPs including Tata Teleservices, Idea Cellular, Reliance Communications, the Department of Telecommunications and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of India, among others. Recently, MNP Interconnection Telecom Solutions India Pvt Ltd, a joint venture of Telcordia, was selected by the India Department of Telecommunications (DoT) as the provider of number portability clearinghouse and centralized database services for the country's southern and eastern regions for the next 10 years.
More information about Telcordia India can be found at www.telcordia.com/news_events/presskit/india-snapshot.html. General information about Telcordia can be found at http://www.telcordia.com.
For more information about Telcordia, visit www.telcordia.com.
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About Telcordia
Telcordia, a global leader in the development of fixed, mobile and broadband communications software and services, enables Communications Service Providers (CSPs), enterprises, suppliers and government entities to successfully deploy innovative and advanced services in the new era of services-dominated communications. With its innovation, experience, and reach, Telcordia has the elements to deliver the communications software and services that help our clients realize operational efficiencies, drive revenue, and maintain a competitive edge. Telcordia is headquartered in Piscataway, N.J, with offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia, Central and Latin America. (www.telcordia.com)
For more information on Telcordia's products and solutions, listen to the latest podcasts at http://www.telcordia.com/podcasts/index.html.
Contacts:
Sharon Oddy
Telcordia Technologies, Inc.
+1 732-699-4203
oddys@telcordia.com
TAKE Solutions makes inroad in the APAC region
A renewed focus on exploring newer markets has resulted in TAKE Solutions Ltd. (BSE: 532890), leaders in Supply Chain Management (SCM) and Life Sciences products, signing a major deal with the leading South Korean Pharma major, IL – Yang Pharm Co Ltd. TAKE Solutions will be providing IND (Investigational New Drug) submission services to the Pharma giant.
The purpose of the IND Submission is to gain FDA (Food and Drug Administration) non-objection to studying the investigational agent in humans. The IND submission must include, sufficient preclinical data, including toxicity data; details of the chemistry, manufacturing and controls to provide adequate quality control information for the production of the agent and to describe the mechanism of action of the agent; background and rationale for intended clinical use and proposed protocol for Phase I human use.
The time taken to prepare and submit a well-designed, well-executed IND submission cannot be underestimated. From the time a company has a genuine clinical candidate, itcan typically take at least a two-year time frame to gather sufficient information to file an IND and submit it to the FDA. Companies that devote methodical, systematic attention from day one move far more efficiently toward clinical trials than companies that delay.
Talking about the development, Mr. L Ramesh, Vice President - Sales, Life Sciences APAC, TAKE Solutions said, “Our reworked strategy towards focusing on the Asia Pacific region has received a major boost with IL - Yang Pharma, a 50 year old company, who have been exporting Pharma Products to over 30 countries including US and Europe.” He further added, “As a part of the deal, we will also represent them in the US FDA as their local agent, which further underlines our global credentials and expertise in the Life Sciences space. It is also a tangible proof of the commercial viability and success of our technology solutions, which are designed, keeping in mind the needs of our clients.”
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About TAKE Solutions
TAKE Solutions is a leading international business technology company with products backed by a strong domain expertise in Life Sciences and Supply Chain Management - to provide cost-effective, comprehensive solutions for businesses. The vision of the company is to drive industry best practices through our proprietary, in-depth product know-how and solutions that enable business efficiencies for our clients. Since its inception in 2000, TAKE has been serving marquee clients in the Life Sciences and SCM arena. TAKE Solutions conducts business today in 16 countries with more than 300 customers.
Headquartered in Chennai, TAKE primarily drives its SCM Domain Excellence Centre and Global Delivery Centre from India. Company has strong presence in the USA with Life Sciences Domain Excellence centres located in Princeton, New Jersey.
TAKE Solutions is assessed at Level 5 of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) & Level 3 of the People Capability Maturity Model, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, USA. TAKE Solutions is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a Charter Member of the Microsoft BioIT Alliance, and is a Registered CDISC Solution Provider.
www.TAKESolutions.com
About Il-Yang Pharmaceutical Co.
Since it took the first step to supply medicines in Korea, in 1946, Il-Yang has been advancing into a top-ranking pharmaceutical company in the world through the establishment of the most advanced factories in Yongin City and Kunsan City.
Having furnished all production lines with KGMP and having led the development and supply of perfect and excellent medicines, which are the highest level of the world, Il-Yang acts as a leader to make Korea an advanced country in medicine through continuous research and development for new medicines.
On the basis of the most advanced medical practice and pharmaceutical dispending and a solid business footing in the Korean market, Il-Yang has exported a variety of pharmaceuticals to approximately 30 countries in the world including the USA and Europe, and has opened an era of local production, by establishing Yangjoo Il-Yang Pharmaceutical Limited Company in China and manufacturing end-pharmaceuticals.
http://www.ilyang.co.kr/english/e_main.htm
The purpose of the IND Submission is to gain FDA (Food and Drug Administration) non-objection to studying the investigational agent in humans. The IND submission must include, sufficient preclinical data, including toxicity data; details of the chemistry, manufacturing and controls to provide adequate quality control information for the production of the agent and to describe the mechanism of action of the agent; background and rationale for intended clinical use and proposed protocol for Phase I human use.
The time taken to prepare and submit a well-designed, well-executed IND submission cannot be underestimated. From the time a company has a genuine clinical candidate, itcan typically take at least a two-year time frame to gather sufficient information to file an IND and submit it to the FDA. Companies that devote methodical, systematic attention from day one move far more efficiently toward clinical trials than companies that delay.
Talking about the development, Mr. L Ramesh, Vice President - Sales, Life Sciences APAC, TAKE Solutions said, “Our reworked strategy towards focusing on the Asia Pacific region has received a major boost with IL - Yang Pharma, a 50 year old company, who have been exporting Pharma Products to over 30 countries including US and Europe.” He further added, “As a part of the deal, we will also represent them in the US FDA as their local agent, which further underlines our global credentials and expertise in the Life Sciences space. It is also a tangible proof of the commercial viability and success of our technology solutions, which are designed, keeping in mind the needs of our clients.”
- End -
About TAKE Solutions
TAKE Solutions is a leading international business technology company with products backed by a strong domain expertise in Life Sciences and Supply Chain Management - to provide cost-effective, comprehensive solutions for businesses. The vision of the company is to drive industry best practices through our proprietary, in-depth product know-how and solutions that enable business efficiencies for our clients. Since its inception in 2000, TAKE has been serving marquee clients in the Life Sciences and SCM arena. TAKE Solutions conducts business today in 16 countries with more than 300 customers.
Headquartered in Chennai, TAKE primarily drives its SCM Domain Excellence Centre and Global Delivery Centre from India. Company has strong presence in the USA with Life Sciences Domain Excellence centres located in Princeton, New Jersey.
TAKE Solutions is assessed at Level 5 of the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI) & Level 3 of the People Capability Maturity Model, Software Engineering Institute, Carnegie Mellon University, USA. TAKE Solutions is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, a Charter Member of the Microsoft BioIT Alliance, and is a Registered CDISC Solution Provider.
www.TAKESolutions.com
About Il-Yang Pharmaceutical Co.
Since it took the first step to supply medicines in Korea, in 1946, Il-Yang has been advancing into a top-ranking pharmaceutical company in the world through the establishment of the most advanced factories in Yongin City and Kunsan City.
Having furnished all production lines with KGMP and having led the development and supply of perfect and excellent medicines, which are the highest level of the world, Il-Yang acts as a leader to make Korea an advanced country in medicine through continuous research and development for new medicines.
On the basis of the most advanced medical practice and pharmaceutical dispending and a solid business footing in the Korean market, Il-Yang has exported a variety of pharmaceuticals to approximately 30 countries in the world including the USA and Europe, and has opened an era of local production, by establishing Yangjoo Il-Yang Pharmaceutical Limited Company in China and manufacturing end-pharmaceuticals.
http://www.ilyang.co.kr/english/e_main.htm
DHL Supports Sunfeast World 10K Race - All the Way!
DHL is the official logistics partner for the second edition of the Sunfeast World 10K run to be held in Bangalore on the 31st of May. This event since in the last year has seen number of celebrities, great athletes, enthusiastic runners, corporate houses and NGOs all come together to set in motion this great sporting phenomenon. This momentous community event will see the spirit of Bangaloreans come alive with a series of races varying in distance and age categories throughout the day.
With an expected turnout of 25,000 people, this race is now looked upon as one of the most anticipated sporting events to be held in Karnataka. This event is supported by the Government of Karnataka, Department of Youth Services & Sports (DYSS), Karnataka Athletics Association, several leading corporate houses and the media.
Commenting on DHL’s partnership with the Sunfeast 10K, Craig Grossgart, Country Manager - DHL Express India said, “DHL stands for speed, reliability and precision and the Sunfeast 10K is a good platform to us to associate. The Bangalore 10K exemplifies DHL’s ‘Can Do’ spirit with over 1000 employees training to participate in the race.”
As the logistics sponsor of the race, DHL will also be handling all on-ground logistics prior to the race. From carrying sensitive RFID running chips for the runners to transporting over 5 tones of broadcast equipment, DHL is with you all the way even on the day of event with 30 DHL vans plying to supply water, medical supplies and provision for runners.
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About DHL
DHL India offers customers comprehensive logistics solutions through their four business units: DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Exel Supply Chain and Blue Dart. With a majority stake in Blue Dart, DHLhas an unmatched domestic network across over 21,000 locations pan India. Through the four business units, customers have access to tailor-made end to end solutions in express, air and ocean freight, supply chain solutions and customs clearance. Withworld class service centres, biggest retail presence, investment in gateways and warehouses, DHL services more than50,000 customers across India.
For further information, please visitour website at www.dhl.co.in
With an expected turnout of 25,000 people, this race is now looked upon as one of the most anticipated sporting events to be held in Karnataka. This event is supported by the Government of Karnataka, Department of Youth Services & Sports (DYSS), Karnataka Athletics Association, several leading corporate houses and the media.
Commenting on DHL’s partnership with the Sunfeast 10K, Craig Grossgart, Country Manager - DHL Express India said, “DHL stands for speed, reliability and precision and the Sunfeast 10K is a good platform to us to associate. The Bangalore 10K exemplifies DHL’s ‘Can Do’ spirit with over 1000 employees training to participate in the race.”
As the logistics sponsor of the race, DHL will also be handling all on-ground logistics prior to the race. From carrying sensitive RFID running chips for the runners to transporting over 5 tones of broadcast equipment, DHL is with you all the way even on the day of event with 30 DHL vans plying to supply water, medical supplies and provision for runners.
- End -
About DHL
DHL India offers customers comprehensive logistics solutions through their four business units: DHL Express, DHL Global Forwarding, DHL Exel Supply Chain and Blue Dart. With a majority stake in Blue Dart, DHLhas an unmatched domestic network across over 21,000 locations pan India. Through the four business units, customers have access to tailor-made end to end solutions in express, air and ocean freight, supply chain solutions and customs clearance. Withworld class service centres, biggest retail presence, investment in gateways and warehouses, DHL services more than50,000 customers across India.
For further information, please visitour website at www.dhl.co.in
MyTradeBook.com Generates Excellent Traction With Indian Businesses
MyTradeBook.com is generating tremendous response from businesses across India, UK, USA and the rest of the world. In less than two months of its launch MyTradeBook.com has over 40% of its registered users from India, comprising of businesses across all sectors and industries, including non-profit organizations. MyTradeBook.com has been witnessing visitors from all corners of the world with a registered user base from more than 24 countries and is growing exponentially.
MyTradeBook.com has also announced the introduction of a free Trade Pages advertising upload service for its registered users. To use this free service, users need to register (free of charge), and send their online catalogue, brochures, product and service profiles and photographs to MyTradeBook.com Support. The Support Team will then work with the user on the adverts and upload them to Trade Pages. These advertising pages can subsequently be shared by all visitor to MyTradeBook.com with other social networking sites – thus creating a viral effect.
Elaborating on the registration trend, Mr. Anton Koulakovskii, Director Sales, Marketing & International Development, MyTradeBook.com said, “We are really excited about the tremendous response we are getting from around the world. This provides an excellent platform for our strategy of developing MyTradeBook.com into a state-of-the-art B2B networking tool. We are bullish about the growth of this tool into a marketing powerhouse for businesses across the world. This provides an excellent opportunity for Indian businesses to leverage a free online platform that helps create new markets and reach out to potential global customers.”
Like other social media, MyTradeBook.com can be used as part of an overall internet marketing strategy by companies of all sizes. Having a MyTradeBook.com account can help organizations increase and sustain their brand awareness with businesses from their target market that have presence on MyTradeBook.com. Organizations in the near future may chose to purchase banner advertising space on MytradeBook.com, thus providing their marketing activity with a renewed vigor.
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About MyTradeBook.com:
MyTradeBook.com is a free B2B advertising tool that also allows businesses to build and participate in bespoke communities in order to buy, sell, network, recruit and partner. The web based online tool is a fusion of a B2B marketplace and a business network.MyTradeBook.com aims to help small and medium size (SME’s) businesses market their products and services in a simple and effective manner at no cost. Members / users can place their advertisement in theTrade Pages section and also create interest groups and communities related to trade thereby participate in discussions to enhance sales. MyTradeBook.com offers a unique platform for users to leverage the online space during this troubled economic time for marketing their products and services for free.
MyTradeBook.com has also announced the introduction of a free Trade Pages advertising upload service for its registered users. To use this free service, users need to register (free of charge), and send their online catalogue, brochures, product and service profiles and photographs to MyTradeBook.com Support. The Support Team will then work with the user on the adverts and upload them to Trade Pages. These advertising pages can subsequently be shared by all visitor to MyTradeBook.com with other social networking sites – thus creating a viral effect.
Elaborating on the registration trend, Mr. Anton Koulakovskii, Director Sales, Marketing & International Development, MyTradeBook.com said, “We are really excited about the tremendous response we are getting from around the world. This provides an excellent platform for our strategy of developing MyTradeBook.com into a state-of-the-art B2B networking tool. We are bullish about the growth of this tool into a marketing powerhouse for businesses across the world. This provides an excellent opportunity for Indian businesses to leverage a free online platform that helps create new markets and reach out to potential global customers.”
Like other social media, MyTradeBook.com can be used as part of an overall internet marketing strategy by companies of all sizes. Having a MyTradeBook.com account can help organizations increase and sustain their brand awareness with businesses from their target market that have presence on MyTradeBook.com. Organizations in the near future may chose to purchase banner advertising space on MytradeBook.com, thus providing their marketing activity with a renewed vigor.
- End -
About MyTradeBook.com:
MyTradeBook.com is a free B2B advertising tool that also allows businesses to build and participate in bespoke communities in order to buy, sell, network, recruit and partner. The web based online tool is a fusion of a B2B marketplace and a business network.MyTradeBook.com aims to help small and medium size (SME’s) businesses market their products and services in a simple and effective manner at no cost. Members / users can place their advertisement in theTrade Pages section and also create interest groups and communities related to trade thereby participate in discussions to enhance sales. MyTradeBook.com offers a unique platform for users to leverage the online space during this troubled economic time for marketing their products and services for free.
TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) condemns racist attacks on Indian students in Melbourne
Reacting to the recent attacks on Indian students in Melbourne, Australia, TAAI (Travel Agents Association of India) has widely condemned the incident.
The Association is making a representation to the Australian Commission on this issue condemning the incident and urging them to take all possible actions to restore the situation to normalcy.
Mr. Rajinder Rai, President, TAAI, said “Such incidents create a very insecure environment for all concerned and need to be strongly condemned. Whether it is students studying abroad or professionals moving to another country for work or people who want to settle abroad, one gets totally discouraged to pursue their wanting. It is not a very happy situation for the respective country as well as they in turn lose out on several counts be it being seen as an inhospitable country , foreign exchange loses , tourists , talent etc.”
TAAI strongly urges the Indian High commission in Australia to take this issue very strongly.
Ready to Support
TAAI is ready to extend all support to ensure that the Mr. Chidambar Rao can reach his son Mr. Shravan Kumar – who is currently battling for his life in Australia. TAAI is ready to sponsor his to and fro ticket and provide any assistance for speedy VISA Processing and other assistance that TAAI can provide in its capacity. TAAI Secretariat can be reached at the following number 022-40836786.
“TAAI is committed to ensure that its consumers are extended all possible help. By providing for and trying to ease Mr. Chidambara Rao’s attempts to reach his son – we are in our way living up to our commitments” said Mr. Rajinder Rai.
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About TAAI
Travel Agents Association of India was formed in1951 by a group of 12 leading travel agents who felt that the time had come to create an association to regulate the travel industry in India. The primary purpose was to protect the interests of those engaged in the industry, to promote its orderly growth and development, and to safeguard the rights of the traveling public.
TAAI represents all that is professional, ethical and dynamic in our nation’s travel-related activity, and has been recognized as the voice of the travel and tourism industry in India. With a membership database of over 2,300 active, allied and associate members comprising IATA-accredited travel agencies, airlines & general sales agencies, and hotels and tour operators, TAAI is the largest travel and tourism association in India.
For more information, please contact, Salome Taka, Perfect Relations, 9849681738
The Association is making a representation to the Australian Commission on this issue condemning the incident and urging them to take all possible actions to restore the situation to normalcy.
Mr. Rajinder Rai, President, TAAI, said “Such incidents create a very insecure environment for all concerned and need to be strongly condemned. Whether it is students studying abroad or professionals moving to another country for work or people who want to settle abroad, one gets totally discouraged to pursue their wanting. It is not a very happy situation for the respective country as well as they in turn lose out on several counts be it being seen as an inhospitable country , foreign exchange loses , tourists , talent etc.”
TAAI strongly urges the Indian High commission in Australia to take this issue very strongly.
Ready to Support
TAAI is ready to extend all support to ensure that the Mr. Chidambar Rao can reach his son Mr. Shravan Kumar – who is currently battling for his life in Australia. TAAI is ready to sponsor his to and fro ticket and provide any assistance for speedy VISA Processing and other assistance that TAAI can provide in its capacity. TAAI Secretariat can be reached at the following number 022-40836786.
“TAAI is committed to ensure that its consumers are extended all possible help. By providing for and trying to ease Mr. Chidambara Rao’s attempts to reach his son – we are in our way living up to our commitments” said Mr. Rajinder Rai.
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About TAAI
Travel Agents Association of India was formed in1951 by a group of 12 leading travel agents who felt that the time had come to create an association to regulate the travel industry in India. The primary purpose was to protect the interests of those engaged in the industry, to promote its orderly growth and development, and to safeguard the rights of the traveling public.
TAAI represents all that is professional, ethical and dynamic in our nation’s travel-related activity, and has been recognized as the voice of the travel and tourism industry in India. With a membership database of over 2,300 active, allied and associate members comprising IATA-accredited travel agencies, airlines & general sales agencies, and hotels and tour operators, TAAI is the largest travel and tourism association in India.
For more information, please contact, Salome Taka, Perfect Relations, 9849681738
Expectations increasing from Indian Corporates on CSR: Nielsen India Corporate Image Monitor 2008
A greater need for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in India has brought companies who initiate and participate in CSR activities into the limelight and increased public expectations of them, according to the latest Nielsen India Corporate Image Monitor 2008, a study designed to measure people’s perceptions of the image and reputation of India’s leading companies.
Reliance Industries, Tata Motors and Tata Steel are the companies most admired by stakeholders for their CSR initiatives. CSR activities they are mostly associated with are: the Promotion of education – providing primary and higher education among adult and economically disadvantaged sections of society; Improving healthcare infrastructure in India - providing healthcare facilities in remote/rural areas (for example: free ambulance services etc.) along with the promotion of healthcare education: and the Promotion of environmental consciousness.
It is interesting to note that apart from the regular expectations in the fields of education, health, infrastructure, etc., from Corporates; 86 percent of stakeholders feel that countering terrorism should also be taken up by companies under their CSR activities.
“Public expectations of Corporations are on the increase as stakeholders see the significant impact they are having in various spheres, be it education, health infrastructure, environment conservation, etc. The public’s confidence in organizations undertaking socially beneficial projects is greater than their confidence in other channels that try to bring about positive social change,” said Vatsala Pant, Associate Director, Consumer Research, The Nielsen Company.
Building blocks of a company’s character
CSR is an effective way of building goodwill for a company. More than 50 percent of respondents felt that Corporates are honest towards their CSR activities. But the motive behind these activities is seen to be many, ranging from economic and tax benefits (47%), to enhanced corporate reputation (45%), or to build a competitive advantage (30%), etc.
28 percent of respondents thought that Charity, either directly or via NGOs is the best way to demonstrate social responsibility. Other ways of engaging in socially uplifting activities considered beneficial by stakeholders is a written CSR policy (24%), actively involving employees in CSR activities (20%), and community work and providing employment to needy groups (both 12%).
There is however a sceptical one-third of stakeholders who believes that CSR is publicity stunt for most Corporates.
Priorities and indulgence
According to the Nielsen India Corporate Image Monitor 2008, the top three social issues that stakeholders expect Corporates to tackle are Better health infrastructure (50%), Fighting diseases like HIV AIDS, Malaria, TB, Cancer and immunization programs (38%), and Primary, Higher education & adult literacy (30%). The Corporates are meeting the expectations of stakeholders on the top two social issues that are important to stakeholders but give more priority to Promotion of healthcare education (72%) than higher education & adult literacy.
Education & Adult literacy and Clean Drinking Water & Sanitation are some of the areas where Corporates need to step up activities versus expectations.
“Any education or other initiative to build health infrastructure will impact the CSR reputation of an organization significantly,” said Pant.
Environmental protection is now a hygiene expectation from organizations. It is deemed mandatory for any organization that aims to gain the confidence of its stakeholders and be recognized as a socially responsible company to be sensitive to environmental issues and take steps not to endanger it through its activities. Only 13 percent of respondents expect Corporates to undertake environmental protection as a CSR activity, it is a given that they will do so.
“It is interesting to note that seven out of ten members of the general public are willing to pay a premium for products and services to enable a company to fulfil its CSR commitments. Considering the impact of CSR activities on a company’s reputation, organizations will have to plot a developmental path for CSR integrating it with the rest of the business,” continued Pant.
Some initiatives that are not spoken of openly but have potential to yield big returns on reputation are rehabilitation (especially in times of natural disasters) and building of infrastructure (building roads/ maintaining properties etc.).
- End -
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
About Corporate Image Monitor
The Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor is an annual syndicated study conducted by The Nielsen Company. It is designed to track the reputation of the leading Indian companies and provides actionable insights that help companies build their corporate brand. In its ninth year, the Corporate Image Monitor covers the top private sector companies of India across industries. The selection of companies for the survey is based on - Market Capitalization, Sales & Assets. Taking a simple average, a single score is calculated for each company and top 27 companies were selected. Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor 2008 represents the views of 1800 people from different walks of life across the top seven metros. These stakeholders range from general public to media and policy makers.
Reliance Industries, Tata Motors and Tata Steel are the companies most admired by stakeholders for their CSR initiatives. CSR activities they are mostly associated with are: the Promotion of education – providing primary and higher education among adult and economically disadvantaged sections of society; Improving healthcare infrastructure in India - providing healthcare facilities in remote/rural areas (for example: free ambulance services etc.) along with the promotion of healthcare education: and the Promotion of environmental consciousness.
It is interesting to note that apart from the regular expectations in the fields of education, health, infrastructure, etc., from Corporates; 86 percent of stakeholders feel that countering terrorism should also be taken up by companies under their CSR activities.
“Public expectations of Corporations are on the increase as stakeholders see the significant impact they are having in various spheres, be it education, health infrastructure, environment conservation, etc. The public’s confidence in organizations undertaking socially beneficial projects is greater than their confidence in other channels that try to bring about positive social change,” said Vatsala Pant, Associate Director, Consumer Research, The Nielsen Company.
Building blocks of a company’s character
CSR is an effective way of building goodwill for a company. More than 50 percent of respondents felt that Corporates are honest towards their CSR activities. But the motive behind these activities is seen to be many, ranging from economic and tax benefits (47%), to enhanced corporate reputation (45%), or to build a competitive advantage (30%), etc.
28 percent of respondents thought that Charity, either directly or via NGOs is the best way to demonstrate social responsibility. Other ways of engaging in socially uplifting activities considered beneficial by stakeholders is a written CSR policy (24%), actively involving employees in CSR activities (20%), and community work and providing employment to needy groups (both 12%).
There is however a sceptical one-third of stakeholders who believes that CSR is publicity stunt for most Corporates.
Priorities and indulgence
According to the Nielsen India Corporate Image Monitor 2008, the top three social issues that stakeholders expect Corporates to tackle are Better health infrastructure (50%), Fighting diseases like HIV AIDS, Malaria, TB, Cancer and immunization programs (38%), and Primary, Higher education & adult literacy (30%). The Corporates are meeting the expectations of stakeholders on the top two social issues that are important to stakeholders but give more priority to Promotion of healthcare education (72%) than higher education & adult literacy.
Education & Adult literacy and Clean Drinking Water & Sanitation are some of the areas where Corporates need to step up activities versus expectations.
“Any education or other initiative to build health infrastructure will impact the CSR reputation of an organization significantly,” said Pant.
Environmental protection is now a hygiene expectation from organizations. It is deemed mandatory for any organization that aims to gain the confidence of its stakeholders and be recognized as a socially responsible company to be sensitive to environmental issues and take steps not to endanger it through its activities. Only 13 percent of respondents expect Corporates to undertake environmental protection as a CSR activity, it is a given that they will do so.
“It is interesting to note that seven out of ten members of the general public are willing to pay a premium for products and services to enable a company to fulfil its CSR commitments. Considering the impact of CSR activities on a company’s reputation, organizations will have to plot a developmental path for CSR integrating it with the rest of the business,” continued Pant.
Some initiatives that are not spoken of openly but have potential to yield big returns on reputation are rehabilitation (especially in times of natural disasters) and building of infrastructure (building roads/ maintaining properties etc.).
- End -
About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com.
About Corporate Image Monitor
The Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor is an annual syndicated study conducted by The Nielsen Company. It is designed to track the reputation of the leading Indian companies and provides actionable insights that help companies build their corporate brand. In its ninth year, the Corporate Image Monitor covers the top private sector companies of India across industries. The selection of companies for the survey is based on - Market Capitalization, Sales & Assets. Taking a simple average, a single score is calculated for each company and top 27 companies were selected. Nielsen Corporate Image Monitor 2008 represents the views of 1800 people from different walks of life across the top seven metros. These stakeholders range from general public to media and policy makers.
Spice Finance and Singapore-based 3 Degrees Asset Management to unveil Special Situations Private Equity Fund
Spice Finance, the financial services arm of the US$ 1.5 billion B. K. Modi Group, has entered into a first-of-its-kind strategic joint venture with Singapore-based 3 Degrees Asset Management to unveil the Spice 3 Degrees Special Opportunities Fund. This fund will be chaired by Dr Modi, who has an impeccable track record of entrepreneurship and turnaround management expertise. The fund will hold a first closing of US$ 21 million comprised of commitments from Spice and 3 Degrees. A final closing will be held once third party commitments reach US$ 100 million.
This first-of-its-kind fund will invest in distressed assets and special situations spanning India and Southeast Asia. The fund will leverage the specialized skills of Asia’s leading distressed debt manager along with the management turnaround expertise of one of Asia’s best-known entrepreneurs. This unprecedented opportunity will allow institutional and high net worth investors the chance to invest alongside one of Asia’s leading tycoons.
The Spice 3 Degrees Special Opportunities Fund will target distressed assets, turnaround stories, recapitalizations as well as a myriad of other attractive opportunities that have become available as a result of the turmoil in global financial markets. The investment objective is to generate long-term capital growth from a diversified portfolio of debt and private equity investments. The fund will focus on control-oriented investments, where board as well as management control can be achieved at the time of the investment.
“Spice Finance will invest Rs. 500 crore in distressed assets and special situations, as well as other niche businesses such as remittances and over-the-counter exchanges. Our strategic alliance with 3 Degrees is the first significant step in our goal to achieve a US$ 1 billion valuation for Spice Finance within the next few years,” said Divya Modi, Executive Director of Spice Finance.
“Asia’s distressed asset market is highly inefficient, very large and growing rapidly,” said Moe Ibrahim, Founder of distressed specialist 3 Degrees. “With over US$2 trillion in opportunities and only a handful of sophisticated players, the Asian distressed asset market epitomizes the inefficiencies we seek to exploit as a firm. Although the market is enormous, competition is negligible due to the relationship intensive nature of the opportunity set.”
The Spice 3 Degrees Special Opportunities Fund will target companies whose shareholders are struggling or where the debt holders are foreclosing. “We will focus on companies with excellent long-term growth prospects, but where short-term liquidity and management issues have caused the company to fail. Spice has a 30 years rich history of using technology and training in turning around troubled companies. We have the business acumen and resources to make companies successful,” said Divya Modi.
“The Spice 3 Degrees joint venture will leverage the vast relationships and turnaround management resources of Spice, along with the deal sourcing and execution capabilities of 3 Degrees,” said Moe Ibrahim. “The synergies this joint venture will unlock are likely to result in exceptional returns for our investors. The ability to invest alongside one of Asia’s serial entrepreneurs is an unprecedented and limited opportunity for institutional and high net worth investors.”
Spice has an impressive 30-year history of being technology pioneers, bringing several first-time products and services in IT, automation and telecommunications to the Indian market. Spice’s diversified business interests are categorized under four verticals: Spice Televentures, Spice Enfotainment, Spice Finance and Spice Innovative Technologies.
3 Degrees is a leading Singapore-based investment management firm. The firm’s core disciplines in distressed debt and turnaround management have led it to be widely recognized as Asia’s preeminent distressed assets manager. 3 Degrees offers an array of specialized financial services to high net worth and institutional clients, including asset management, wealth management and advisory services.
This first-of-its-kind fund will invest in distressed assets and special situations spanning India and Southeast Asia. The fund will leverage the specialized skills of Asia’s leading distressed debt manager along with the management turnaround expertise of one of Asia’s best-known entrepreneurs. This unprecedented opportunity will allow institutional and high net worth investors the chance to invest alongside one of Asia’s leading tycoons.
The Spice 3 Degrees Special Opportunities Fund will target distressed assets, turnaround stories, recapitalizations as well as a myriad of other attractive opportunities that have become available as a result of the turmoil in global financial markets. The investment objective is to generate long-term capital growth from a diversified portfolio of debt and private equity investments. The fund will focus on control-oriented investments, where board as well as management control can be achieved at the time of the investment.
“Spice Finance will invest Rs. 500 crore in distressed assets and special situations, as well as other niche businesses such as remittances and over-the-counter exchanges. Our strategic alliance with 3 Degrees is the first significant step in our goal to achieve a US$ 1 billion valuation for Spice Finance within the next few years,” said Divya Modi, Executive Director of Spice Finance.
“Asia’s distressed asset market is highly inefficient, very large and growing rapidly,” said Moe Ibrahim, Founder of distressed specialist 3 Degrees. “With over US$2 trillion in opportunities and only a handful of sophisticated players, the Asian distressed asset market epitomizes the inefficiencies we seek to exploit as a firm. Although the market is enormous, competition is negligible due to the relationship intensive nature of the opportunity set.”
The Spice 3 Degrees Special Opportunities Fund will target companies whose shareholders are struggling or where the debt holders are foreclosing. “We will focus on companies with excellent long-term growth prospects, but where short-term liquidity and management issues have caused the company to fail. Spice has a 30 years rich history of using technology and training in turning around troubled companies. We have the business acumen and resources to make companies successful,” said Divya Modi.
“The Spice 3 Degrees joint venture will leverage the vast relationships and turnaround management resources of Spice, along with the deal sourcing and execution capabilities of 3 Degrees,” said Moe Ibrahim. “The synergies this joint venture will unlock are likely to result in exceptional returns for our investors. The ability to invest alongside one of Asia’s serial entrepreneurs is an unprecedented and limited opportunity for institutional and high net worth investors.”
Spice has an impressive 30-year history of being technology pioneers, bringing several first-time products and services in IT, automation and telecommunications to the Indian market. Spice’s diversified business interests are categorized under four verticals: Spice Televentures, Spice Enfotainment, Spice Finance and Spice Innovative Technologies.
3 Degrees is a leading Singapore-based investment management firm. The firm’s core disciplines in distressed debt and turnaround management have led it to be widely recognized as Asia’s preeminent distressed assets manager. 3 Degrees offers an array of specialized financial services to high net worth and institutional clients, including asset management, wealth management and advisory services.
FINO introduces Remittance services through Smart Card in India
Financial InformationNetwork and Operations Ltd. (FINO) has launched the revolutionary Remittanceservices enabled on its smart card technology which can potentially change theway remittances are done in the country. The solution aptly named Fino-Tatkaal is acts as a bridge between the remitter andbeneficiary, providing the geographical coverage, scalable technology platformand processing capabilities for remittance transactions. In simple terms FINOTatkaal enables domestic (city to village) and International (overseas workersto Villages) remittances through a formal remittance delivery channel usingFINO Smart Card technology to the last unbanked mile. These services arecurrently made available to the existing customer base of FINO in the areas ofShivaji Nagar and Dharavi in Mumbai with the help of Union Bank Of India. .FINO Tatkal provides various advantages over non-formal channels with a combinationof convenience, safety, speed and cost effectiveness. So it comes as nosurprise that the service has proved to be a major hit among the migrant worksliving in these areas that have the unique remittance needs with lower ticketsize and variable frequency. The service has been live for more than just amonth and has already seen sizable volumes. The service has been developedusing FINO’s proven solution of biometric authentication based Transactionprocessing system and provides a100% safe, fast, electronic and convenient way to deliver remittances to thedoorstep of beneficiaries in the remotest areas. Currently FINOrolled out 1200 locations in 16 states with strength of 4000 Business Correspondent( Bandhu) in India.
Remittances are one of the most visible - and beneficial -outcomes of global migration which has risen markedly in recent years due topersistent income inequalities between states and nations. India receives the world’s largest remittance flows. Money sent home by immigrant workers abroad –are hugely beneficial to the country as they contribute to a significant percentage of the income of manyIndian states. They are now the largest source of external finance fordeveloping nations after foreign direct investment (FDI), even exceeding FDI insome. In others, they are greater than official development aid. Realizing thispotential, FINO’s TATKAAL is a fundamental step towards facilitating basicbanking services for the underprivileged masses and adding value to the overalleconomy.
Commentingon the launch of Fino Tatkaal, ManishKhera, CEO, FINO said, “FINO Tatkaal is the most cost effective and fastest way of remitting money for thebank customers. TATKAAL will provide a very convenient, cost effective andquick remittance delivery option to customers, with the features that are evenbetter that those available even to the banked segment. This product hascurrently been rolled out in all areas of Mumbai with the help of Union Bank ofIndia and families of Migrant workers in UP and Bihar are already benefittingfrom these services’’. He further added that due to Manual agent basedcollection and disbursal system, the timing can be adjusted to suit the convenienceof both remitters and beneficiaries Remitter can keep depositing money intoBeneficiary account as and when he has surplus, so this avoids need to carrycash around and wait to save a lump sum. Wide network of FINO enables thecustomer to access the services in seamless manner even if he moves todifferent parts of the city or country.
FINO, a Mumbai-basedbiometric-enabled smartcard solutions provider, engaged in providing financial,non-financial products and services to the unbanked rural & urban masseshas enrolled 5 ½ million customers to avail them basic banking and insuranceservices. Since its inception, FINO has meticulously reached out to the nonbanked sectors of the country and has played a pivotal role in strengtheningthe banking radar of India. FINO is on rapid growth journey and is working withAndhra Bank, Corporation Bank, ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard, Oriental Bank ofCommerce, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, SewaBank, and other financial institutions.
- End -
About FINO:
FINO,a multi bank promoted company is a pioneering company providing cutting edge smart card based multi application solutions to “unbanked” in Banking, Microfinance, Insurance and Government sectors primarily located in rural & semi urban areas of India. FINO ethos is becoming a sectoral venture for serving the rural masses and helps other institutions contribute as per 'Financial Inclusion' guidelines of RBI. FINO executes end-to-end turnkey solutions for LFI’s including hardware/software, system integration, transaction network, operations, maintenance & training. FINO helps organizations improve efficiencies considerably reducing overall project cost. In fact, FINO’s concept is to take banking and the banking technology to un-banked masses in the country.www.fino.co.in
Remittances are one of the most visible - and beneficial -outcomes of global migration which has risen markedly in recent years due topersistent income inequalities between states and nations. India receives the world’s largest remittance flows. Money sent home by immigrant workers abroad –are hugely beneficial to the country as they contribute to a significant percentage of the income of manyIndian states. They are now the largest source of external finance fordeveloping nations after foreign direct investment (FDI), even exceeding FDI insome. In others, they are greater than official development aid. Realizing thispotential, FINO’s TATKAAL is a fundamental step towards facilitating basicbanking services for the underprivileged masses and adding value to the overalleconomy.
Commentingon the launch of Fino Tatkaal, ManishKhera, CEO, FINO said, “FINO Tatkaal is the most cost effective and fastest way of remitting money for thebank customers. TATKAAL will provide a very convenient, cost effective andquick remittance delivery option to customers, with the features that are evenbetter that those available even to the banked segment. This product hascurrently been rolled out in all areas of Mumbai with the help of Union Bank ofIndia and families of Migrant workers in UP and Bihar are already benefittingfrom these services’’. He further added that due to Manual agent basedcollection and disbursal system, the timing can be adjusted to suit the convenienceof both remitters and beneficiaries Remitter can keep depositing money intoBeneficiary account as and when he has surplus, so this avoids need to carrycash around and wait to save a lump sum. Wide network of FINO enables thecustomer to access the services in seamless manner even if he moves todifferent parts of the city or country.
FINO, a Mumbai-basedbiometric-enabled smartcard solutions provider, engaged in providing financial,non-financial products and services to the unbanked rural & urban masseshas enrolled 5 ½ million customers to avail them basic banking and insuranceservices. Since its inception, FINO has meticulously reached out to the nonbanked sectors of the country and has played a pivotal role in strengtheningthe banking radar of India. FINO is on rapid growth journey and is working withAndhra Bank, Corporation Bank, ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard, Oriental Bank ofCommerce, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, SewaBank, and other financial institutions.
- End -
About FINO:
FINO,a multi bank promoted company is a pioneering company providing cutting edge smart card based multi application solutions to “unbanked” in Banking, Microfinance, Insurance and Government sectors primarily located in rural & semi urban areas of India. FINO ethos is becoming a sectoral venture for serving the rural masses and helps other institutions contribute as per 'Financial Inclusion' guidelines of RBI. FINO executes end-to-end turnkey solutions for LFI’s including hardware/software, system integration, transaction network, operations, maintenance & training. FINO helps organizations improve efficiencies considerably reducing overall project cost. In fact, FINO’s concept is to take banking and the banking technology to un-banked masses in the country.www.fino.co.in
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