Category Archives: World Opinion

Bengaluru, India Hotel Recognized at Hotel Investment Conference South Asia

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Bengaluru , INDIA :

Though it’s the first Fairfield Inn to open in Asia Pacific, this Bangalore business hotel  has already made quite an impression. At the 10th Annual Hotel Investment Conference South Asia (HICSA), the Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar was named Best Mid-Market/Budget Hotel Opening, beating out three other well-known hotel brands for the title.

The annual conference, held April 2nd and 3rd, brings together influential decision-makers from the industry for meetings, networking and collaboration, and also honors new hotels that opened in the region within the last year.

To win the prestigious Best Mid-Market/Budget Hotel Opening award, this premium Bengaluru hotel  was evaluated on development cost, construction tenure, TripAdvisor ratings, location (access, visibility and proximity to demand), façade and public areas, guest rooms (interiors, design and amenities), food and beverage, facilities (spa, retail and entertainment), corporate social responsibility and judges’ discretion. This year’s judges included Cyril Jacob, Managing Director of Archetype Group; Manav Thadani, MRICS, Chairman – South Asia HVS; Ravish Swarup, Chief Executive Officer of Praxis Services; Ritu Bhatia Kler, Managing Director Total Integrated Design; Uttam Dave, industry expert; and Vinapy Gupta, VP Asset Management at SAMHI Smart Hotel Investments.

This extended-stay Bangalore hotel took the top spot in all categories with its contemporary, stylish interior, business-friendly in-room amenities, all-day dining restaurant Kava and modern fitness center.

In addition to the awards, the event included a full agenda of panels and seminars, with breaks for networking. Popular sessions included the Role of Social Media and Technology-Based Innovations; Big Data: The Next Frontier for Innovation, Competition and Productivity; How to Solve Development Woes; Business of Leisure, Wellness and Luxury; and More Than a One Night Stand (Extended Stay).

About the Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar
When the Fairfield by Marriott Bengaluru Rajajinagar first opened, it broke ground in more ways than one. The hotel is the first from the brand to open in Asia Pacific, and offers a unique blend of contemporary style and warmth.

source: http://www.digitaljournal.com / Digital Journal / Home> Press Release> Marketwired / Bengaluru – April 10th, 2014

Ed Hardy opens first store in Bangalore

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinion

Apparel brand Ed Hardy brought to India by Arvind Lifestyle Brands has opened its first store at Forum Mall, Koramangala, Bangalore. The new store is spread over 940 square foot, offering men’s wear across various categories including T-shirts, jeans, trousers and shorts, with a new women’s wear range to be launched in the near future.

Typically grunge yet highly fashion forward, the collection at the Ed Hardy store reflects its creator’s journey from an artist to a tattoo pioneer and to popular brands. The collection boasts of bold designs accompanied by the bright solid colours.

After acquiring India operations of three major international apparel brands Debenhams, Next and Nautica, Arvind had signaled its strategy to grow big in the organised apparel market. Arvind Lifestyle Brands, subsidiary of Arvind, which already has an impressive brand line-up comprising Tommy Hilfiger, US Polo Assn, Elle, Geoffrey Beene, Arrow among others, acquiring the business operations of Debenhams has also paved a way for it into the department store segment.

The company has a presence in 950 stores. Around 200 of these are Megamart, 130 are Arvind Store and the rest are spread across other brands. Plans are in place to open 200-250 stores every year in metros and smaller cities.

source: http://www.fashionunited.in / Fashion United / Home / Friday – April 11th, 2014

World’s first startup hotline debuts in Bangalore

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bangalore :

In a first, Microsoft Ventures in India has launched a hotline for entrepreneurs to get real-time professional advice on their business and technical queries.

A team of 4 professionals trained by Microsoft will staff JumpStart who will address queries related to accounting and taxation, legal, understanding term sheets and technology. Startup queries will be routed to a team of experts who will offer necessary interventions within 48 hours. The toll free number –1(800) 200-2114 -is open to entrepreneurs during business hours from Monday through Friday and supports Hindi and English languages to begin with. Microsoft Ventures is expecting 15-20 calls in the first few days that the number could gradually go up to 500-1,000 calls a month.

Kattayil Rajinish Menon, director, Microsoft Ventures in India, said, “Sometimes answering even simple questions about how to get started or which service provider to contact can really help startups avoid delays and cost overruns. While JumpStart cannot promise the success of a startup’s business, it can definitely help by educating entrepreneurs how to get started quickly by providing information on the vast resources available today.”

Microsoft Ventures has mapped all the states in India to provide local assistance by partnering with pointspersons at the district level to process queries coming from tier 2 and 3 regions. These could be lawyers, accountants and company secretaries identified in each district. “Our experience has shown that a major pain point for startups across the ecosystem in India, irrespective of their stage of maturity, is the lack of real-time support for various critical queries they face. JumpStart fills a major gap and ensures that startups get professional advice that enables them to make smart business decisions,” said Joseph Landes, general manager, Developer & Platform Evangelism in Microsoft India.

Srivatsa Krishna, secretary in the IT, biotechnology, science & technology in the Karnataka government, said this service will also be available shortly through the Karnataka new mobile governance system MobileOne Platform.

Ravi Gururaj, chairman of Nasscom Product Council, said, “Microsoft Ventures has identified this challenge that startups face, and taken concrete steps to address it, through JumpStart. It is an excellent initiative to get some support and start off quickly and efficiently. I urge everyone to take advantage of this facility.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore / Shilpa Phadnis, TNN / April 11th, 2014

Infosys Leads 5 Indian Projects Shortlisted For Green Oscars

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

London :

IT giant Infosys leads five Indian clean energy projects that have been shortlisted for the annual Ashden Awards, referred to as the Green Oscars, here Wednesday.

The awards recognize worldwide contributions towards green energy initiatives and a move away from fossil fuels.

Infosys has been nominated in the ‘Ashden Award for Sustainable Buildings’ category for the Bangalore-based company’s cutting edge design of new buildings which helps keep offices cooler and maximizes natural light.
“Since 2008, global IT giant Infosys has cut more than $ 80 million from its energy bills and reduced electricity consumption per staff member by 44 percent. Its success lies in seizing every opportunity to reduce energy consumption in its existing buildings — from reducing the size of chiller plants for air conditioning, to painting roofs white so they reflect the heat,” reads the award nomination statement.

The other finalists include two projects from Maharashtra — Sakhi Unique Rural Enterprise (SURE) and Greenway Grameen — which have been nominated in the ‘Ashden Clean Energy for Women and Girls Award’ category.

SURE is a not-for-profit social enterprise in central Maharashtra that has selected, trained and supported more than 600 women micro-entrepreneurs to sell clean energy products like solar lanterns and cleaner cookstoves to other women.

Mumbai-based Greenway Grameen’s mission is to provide an affordable, desirable cookstove to improve quality of life for Indian women.

The Rajasthan Horticulture Development Society has been shortlisted for the ‘USAID Ashden Energy for Agriculture Award’ for its solar-powered water pump project and Mera Gao Power from Uttar Pradesh has been nominated in the ‘Citi Ashden Award for Innovation in Finance’ category for pioneering the use of unsubsidised commercial micro grids, which have so far connected more than 20,000 families to clean, affordable power.

“India is a hotbed of innovation in sustainable energy: from social enterprises that are meeting the energy needs of some of the poorest people in the country, to an IT giant that’s achieving staggering energy savings across all its business campuses.

“Together all five organizations are leading examples of what can be achieved. The rest of the world should take note,” said Ashden Awards founder Sarah Butler-Sloss.

A total of 14 Ashden Award winners will be announced at a gala ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London on May 22.

Winners will receive up to 40,000 pounds and global recognition as one of 2014’s green energy leaders.

source: http://www.siliconindia.com / Silicon India News / Home> News> Enterprise / Wednesday – April 09th, 2014

City industry ‘MYPOL’ supplies key component to space Rocket

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

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Mysore :

City based Mysore Polymers and Rubber Products Limited (Mypol) for first time manufactured and supplied a key rubber component known as the ‘Linear Bellow’ to the Indian Space Department which was used in the rocket PSLV C24 launched on April 4, 2014 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

Linear Bellow, the critical component, was developed over a period of three years in close co-ordination and direction between Design and Development (D&D) Departments of Mypol and Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum. The product performed in copy-book style enabling a flawless launch.

Headed by C. D. Nagarajan since its inception in 1981 to manufacture Butyl Automotive Inner tubes, Mypol is also India’s leading manufacturer of Technical Rubber products with supplies to major companies in India, USA and Europe. Mypol D&D Department has developed more than 500 different products for use in industrial, automotive, medical, space and defence requirements, according to a release from Mypol.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / April 12th, 2014

Zain Self-Care Application, Co-Created by Infosys and Zain Bahrain, Witnesses Strong Adoption across Bahrain

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

MANAMA, Bahrain and BANGALORE, India : 

– Innovative Mobile Application Enhances User Experience for Zain Bahrain Subscribers –

Zain Bahrain, the most innovative telecommunications operator in Bahrain and Infosys, a global leader in consulting, technology and outsourcing have co-created Zain Self-Care, an application that is radically transforming user experience for Zain’s subscribers, through self-service. Zain Self-Care is an innovative mobile application for smart phones and tablets that is built using Infosys AssistEdge, a product that transforms customer experience across channels. The application functions on all operating systems including iOS, Android, Windows and Blackberry.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130122/589162 )

Launched in February 2013,Zain Self-Care is a first-of-its-kind mobile telecom application from an operator in Bahrain. It currently enjoys wide-spread adoption across the company’s customer base and offers Zain’s subscribers unparalleled convenience in managing their telecom service needs.

Upendra Kohli, Vice President, Regional Head-South East Asia, Middle East & Africa, Infosys said, “The increased adoption of smartphones across the Middle East is driving demand for new digital experiences and services. The Zain Self-Care application, built using Infosys AssistEdge, is helping Zain expand its range of offerings and improve user experience. We will continue to bring our deep understanding of the global telecommunications industry and technology to enable Zain to meet the changing needs of its subscribers.”

The intuitive interface of Zain Self-Care allows customers to access their account information, subscribe to new services and make use of a range of value-added and self-help services.

Mohammed Zainalabedin, General Manager, Zain Bahrain commented, “We are committed to leveraging technology to deliver the best experience to our customers and provide superior service. We chose Infosys as our partner since they have demonstrated a thorough understanding of the evolving needs of our customers. We value their ability to provide a solution which addresses our needs around scalability and speed, with an eye on the future.”

Application Highlights:

-- The application uses the mobile self-care capabilities of Infosys 
      AssistEdge to provide superior service on smart devices to retail and 
      enterprise customers 

   -- Zain Self-Care allows users to view, control and manage their voice and 
      data packages. Users can also receive personalized news updates, purchase 
      value-added services, and make bill payments in a secure environment 

   -- The interactive features of Zain Self-Care  allow  customers to better 
      understand their usage patterns and manage their accounts and spends 

   -- It is available on all popular mobile platforms and can be downloaded 
      from app stores 

   -- Android 
      - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.infosys.zain.selfcare 

   -- Apple - https://itunes.apple.com/bh/app/self-care/id594243362?mt=8 

   -- Blackberry 
      -http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/21748371/?countrycode=IN
//
source: http://www.onlinewsj.com / The Wall Street Journal / Home> India Edition / Press Release / PRNewswire / March 27th, 2014

Nexus, Intel invest Rs 53 crore in ElasticBox founded by University of Mysore Engineer

Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Bangalore : 

Nexus Venture Partners  and Intel  Capital have together closed a Rs 53-crore investment in US-based cloud technology startup ElasticBox.

ElasticBox helps firms like Netflix, a TV and movie streaming service, to create, deploy and manages applications quickly and will use the funds to scale up its research and development and hire talent across Asia and Europe.

(ElasticBox helps firms…)
(ElasticBox helps firms…)

Even though cloud technology has improved how people access and use infrastructure, developing cloud-based applications is a lengthy, expensive and broken process.

“It is stuck in the dark ages, like way back in the days of bare metal,” said Ravi Srivatsav, co founder and chief executive of ElasticBox which had raised seed funding from A16Z Seed and Sierra Ventures .

The startup actually empowers the developers with preconfigured boxes that they can mix and match to create applications.

“It is similar to the way a DJ blends beats and samples to create new music. It brings Dr Dre-like creativity to enterprise application development,” said Srivatsav, a computer science engineer from University of Mysore, who co-founded the company in 2011 along with his Microsoft colleague Alberto Arias Maestro.

Experts say there have been two pivotal moments in enterprise infrastructure development: the creation and implementation of the virtual machine, and the rise of cloud services.

ElasticBox is now overhauling enterprise application development deployment and management within this cloud.

“We think this is the biggest step in cloud innovation since VMware and Amazon web services,” said Jishnu Bhattacharjee, managing director at Nexus.

Most industries like finance and pharma develop hundreds or thousands of applications internally to support business processes.

ElasticBox said it empowers these enterprises to build better applications faster.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> News> Startups / by Peerazada Abrar, ET Bureau / April 03rd, 2014

Medical Clinic Chain Funded

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, Uncategorized, World Opinion

United States

Bangalore-based Modern Family Doctor Pvt. Ltd., which runs a 25 primary healthcare clinics and pharmacies in Bangalore and Pune, has secured a second round of investment of Rs. 24 crore ($4 million) from Bamboo Finance, with participation by existing investor Saama Capital.

“The lack of good primary healthcare is very apparent in India because hospital outpatient departments are flooded with patients, 70% of whose needs are primary in nature but they have no other option,” said Naresh Malhotra, CEO and founder of MFD. “Going to a hospital means travel, time, inconvenience, exposure to infections and higher expense.”

The former CEO of the Café Coffee Day chain, Malhotra was an operating partner at Sequoia Capital India. MFD, which received $2 million in a first round from Saama Capital, plans to use the funds to expand to more than 100 clinics. “Bamboo Finance was created to support commercially viable businesses that provide access to essential products and services to underserved communities and MFD fits perfectly with our fund’s mission,” said Bamboo chief investment officer Eric Berkowitz. Nishith Desai Associates was MFD’s legal counsel for the deal.

source: http: //www.indiawest.com / IndiaWest / Home> News> Business / by Richard Springer, Staff Reporter / April 05th, 2014

Healthcare industry leaders outline vision for future of healthcare

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Mumbai :

Healthcare industry leaders gathered in the city to discuss key issues plaguing the sector and to look for solutions to deal with them.

“Healthcare is basically disease management. We should build our system from the ground up to create a new blue-print of India’s healthcare. We have over 800,000 ASHAs (Accredited Social Healthcare Activists) in India but they lack medical skills. All we have to do is to upscale their skills so that they can be the eyes and ears of the healthcare system on the ground.” He added that ASHA volunteers will be a big help in ensuring quick diagnosis of diseases and reducing the incidence of non-communicable diseases.

Dr Devi Shetty, founder & chairman of Narayana Health spoke about the acute shortage of medical specialists in the country. “While the US has 19,000 undergraduate medical seats and 32,000 PG seats, in India it is the opposite – the country has close to 50,000 undergraduate medical seats but only 14,000 PG seats,” he said.

He added, “The low number of PG seats results in a shortage of specialists. This can have terrible consequences on the ground. For example, India has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world and this is unrelated to the amount of money we spend on healthcare. The reason is that we have created a regulatory structure where only a specialist can perform certain tasks, and the country simply doesn’t produce enough of these specialists,” he said.

Shetty suggested that to tide over the problem, the country needs medical educational institutions on the line of the College of Physicians and Surgeons (CPS) in Maharashtra which would offer diploma courses in fields like anesthesia, gynecology, and pediatrics to medical graduates. “This can convert the entire 50,000 medical graduates produced in India every year into specialists who can then help reduce maternal mortality in India,” he added. “If we want to deliver better healthcare outcomes, India doesn’t require money. We only require policy changes. This will not happen till the Government looks at medical education as integral part of the country’s development.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mumbai / by Sumitra Deb Roy, TNN / March 29th, 2014

Puttur students book their tickets for International Science Fair

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

MANGALORE: Students of Sudana High School – Deepika CN and Ayesha Fahima – studying in the IX standard have been selected to represent India in the International Science Fair INESPO – Environment Sustainability Olympiad 2014 to be held in the Netherlands in June. Trying to find an economic use for a weed was the main aim of this project that these students undertook.

Deepika and Ayesha had participated and won at the regional level competition conducted by Science Society of India held here. At the national level competition held in Chennai in January conducted by INSEF (National level Science and Engineering fair) in collaboration with SSI this project won the gold medal and a chance to participate in the international fair.

They used a very common weed eupatorium popularly known as Communist plant to extract fibres. After process of retting in water, the fibres are extracted and processed to give additional strength. These fibres can be made into ropes, woven into mats or gunny cloth. These fibres can have practical application in the form of mats, doormats and so on.

These are comparable and better in durability and strength than items derived from other natural fibres. Sadhana Hebbar, Prathima and Gayathri, staff members with encouragement of the correspondent Rev Vijay Harvin, and headmistress Shobha Nagaraj and Jayashree have guided the students who had brought laurels to the district and the state with their achievement.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Mangalore / by Jaideep Shenoy, TNN / March 19th, 2014