Category Archives: Business & Economy

JSS felicitates Padma Bhushan awardee Dr.M. Mahadevappa

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Leaders, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology
Dr. M. Mahadevappa and his wife Sudha being feted by JSS Mahavidyapeetha Director T.D. Subbanna as Prof. Maleyur Guruswamy, Principal M.B. Mallikarjuna Pandit and others look on.
Dr. M. Mahadevappa and his wife Sudha being feted by JSS Mahavidyapeetha Director T.D. Subbanna as Prof. Maleyur Guruswamy, Principal M.B. Mallikarjuna Pandit and others look on.

Mysore :

“Though the country is capable enough to produce food for the entire world, we are lagging behind in full utilisation of technology in agriculture,” opined Dr. M. Mahadevappa, Padma Bhushan awardee and Chairman, Task Force, SC/ST and Rural Development, Department of Bio-technology, New Delhi and Director, JSS Rural Development Division, JSS Mahavidyapeetha, Mysore.

He was speaking after receiving a felicitation at the valedictory programme of the PG Cultural Forum of JSS College of Arts, Science and Commerce at its premises on Ooty Road here on May 10.

Dr. Mahadevappa pointed out that in China, the quantity of agricultural produce per unit area was more than twice the quantity in India indicating the advancement of technology there. He said that most of the students look for cushy jobs with hand some salaries thus indirectly triggering an imbalance in society.

Dr. Mahadevappa and his wife Sudha were feted on the occasion.

Retd. Professor Maleyur Guruswamy was the chief guest. JSS Mahavidyapeetha Director (College Education) T.D. Subbanna presided.

Principal M.B. Mallikarjuna Pandit welcomed.

 http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / May 13th, 2014

Mangalore: Land Trades becomes city’s first builder to get national CRISIL ‘DA3’ rating

Business & Economy, Records, All
Mangalore :
CRISIL has assigned its real estate developer rating of ‘DA3’ to Land Trades Builders and Developers (Land Trades). The ‘DA3 ‘ rating indicates that the developer’s ability to execute real estate projects as per the specified quality level within the stipulated time schedule, and to transfer a clean title, is ‘Good’.
Land Trades is the first to get this award in Mangalore and Dakshina Kannada region.
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LandTradesBF16may2014
The rating exercise is done with a national-level benchmarking of developers, that is across the country and not specific to a region. This rating reflects Land Trades’ sound marketing and development strategies, locations, profile, track record in development, systems, and financials.
CRISIL rating is done on different parameters. These ratings are opinions based on a developer’s past track record in executing real estate projects and are indicative of his ability to do so in future. Factors such as legal and construction track record of the developer; organizational systems; structure and processes; financial profile; are assessed in the rating process.
On getting the rating, Srinath Hebbar of Land Trades said, “This rating is one more milestone in the professional approach of the company, and we will strive hard to give the best.”
About Land Trades 
Land Trades, set up in 1992, operates in the real estate development (mainly residential segment) market in Mangalore. With over 25 projects, it has more than a thousand happy customer families. For more details contact www.landtrades.in.
source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> Top Stories> Media Release / Monday – May 05th, 2014

Cyber law and forensics training centre set up at NLSIU

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology

SUMMARY

The centre has already launched its Post Graduation Diploma course in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics from June 2013.

A cyber lab to train government officials including police in tackling cyber crime has been set up in the National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore. The lab, located on its campus in Jnanabharati, will be unveiled on Tuesday.

Dr Nagarathna A, senior assistant professor of NLSIU, said the cyber lab is the first of its kind in any legal academic institution in the country. The lab is co-funded by the Department of Electronics and Information Technology (DEITY) and the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, Government of India.

The Advanced Centre for Cyber Law and Forensics will have 30 computer systems equipped with basic cyber forensic tools procured from C-DAC. Here, judges, police officers, prosecutors, lawyers and IT security experts involved in investigating cyber crimes will undergo training in cyber forensics. The centre will also offer training programmes to banking and other professionals who are looking for knowledge of cyber technology and forensics crucial to detection and investigation of cyber crimes.

Nagarathna, who is the chief investigator of the centre, said the lab will be be inaugurated by Shyamal Ghosh, former secretary to the Govt of India and Dr Gulshan Rai, DG of the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team. R Venkata Rao, Vice-Chancellor of NLSIU, will be present at the event.

“This is the first such lab in an legal academic institution. The centre will be upgraded with more technical and forensics tools in the near future so as to offer a more sophisticated platform for teaching cyber laws and forensics to various stakeholders,” Nagarathna said.  The centre has already launched its Post Graduation Diploma course in Cyber Law and Cyber Forensics from June 2013. Senior police officers from across the country have reportedly sought admission to the diploma course.

source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Cities> Bangalore / by Santosh Kumar R B / Bangalore – May 04th, 2014

Growers happy as arecanut prices more than double in a year

Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's
The price of rashi, idi, api and chali varieties of arecanut, which was around Rs. 130 a kg during the same period last year, is now Rs. 320 a kg. The price of saraku variety that was around Rs. 180 a kg last year is being traded at Rs. 370 now. / File photo / The Hindu
The price of rashi, idi, api and chali varieties of arecanut, which was around Rs. 130 a kg during the same period last year, is now Rs. 320 a kg. The price of saraku variety that was around Rs. 180 a kg last year is being traded at Rs. 370 now. / File photo / The Hindu

Prices of local varieties have gone up from Rs. 130 a kg to Rs. 320

Arecanut prices have more than doubled in a year bringing cheer to growers. Factors such as gutka ban and the rumours on a possible ban on arecanut itself have not affected the optimistic mood prevailing in the market.

D.B. Shankarappa, director, Shimoga Arecanut Merchants’ Association, told The Hindu that the decision taken by the Centre to hike the minimum import price of arecanut and the decline in production owing to climatic changes were the reasons for the sharp increase in the prices.

The price of rashi, idi, api and chali varieties of arecanut, which was around Rs. 130 a kg during the same period last year, is now Rs. 320 a kg. The price of saraku variety that was around Rs. 180 a kg last year is being traded at Rs. 370 now.

The Central government decided on May 13 last year to hike the minimum import price of arecanut from Rs. 75 to Rs. 110 a kg. This decision triggered an upward movement in the prices of locally grown arecanut. The prices of rashi, idi, api and chali varieties that was at Rs. 130 a kg in the first week of May last year reached Rs. 180 a kg by the end of the month.

The growers were under the apprehension that the prices might crash following the decision taken by the State government on May 31, 2013, to ban gutka. However, after the ban, gutka entered the market in a new avatar.

As mixing of arecanut with tobacco was banned, firms engaged in the production of gutka began selling arecanut and tobacco in separate pouches. Even after the ban, the prices continued to rise. The prices of rashi, idi, api and chali varieties reached Rs. 210 a kg by the first week of August and remained stable for six months after.

In September 2013, Union Ministry for Health and Family Welfare wrote to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India to examine the scientific evidences on the harmful effects of arecanut on human health, with a view to classify it as an injurious substance and prohibit its use as an ingredient in food products.

A section of growers saw this as a first step to ban arecanut. The protests and debates that happened in January this year over the issue again led to the concern that the prices may fall. Interestingly, the prices remained insulated from these developments. The prices of arecanut began to move northwards again from the first week of February this year.

Owing to heavy rain that lashed the Malnad region and coastal Karnataka in the 2013 monsoon, more than 50 per cent of arecanut plantations were infected with kole roga, also known as fruit rot disease. The yield declined by more than 30 per cent resulting in a mismatch between the demand and supply for arecanut, owing to which the prices increased since February. Arecanut merchants here anticipate a further increase of 10 per cent in the prices by the end of this month.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Mangalore / by Veerendra P.M. / Shimoga – May 02nd, 2014

Brigade Group to come up with 8 hotels in south India

Business & Economy, Travel

Brigade Group that currently has two operating hotels – The Grand Mercure, Bengaluru and the Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway in the country has confirmed to come up with eight new hotels in south India soon.

Nirupa Shankar, Director, Brigade Group said, “We currently have eight hotels in the pipeline – one in Chennai, two in Mysore, two in Kochi and three in Bengaluru. The hotel in Chennai and one of the hotels in Mysore will be launched in 2015. None of them are opening in 2014, as they are still under construction or under design development.”

Brigade Group has a signed management contract for the two hotels opening up in 2015. They are Holiday Inn-Chennai, Old Madras Road (managed by IHG) and Grand Mercure in Mysore (managed by Accor). The management of the remaining hotels is still under discussion with major international operators mentioned Shankar.

source: http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com / HospitalityBizIndia.com / Home> News Travk / by Shweta Ramsay, Mumbai / Friday – May 02nd, 2014

Wipro awards USD 1.19 mln to promote science in US

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Wipro, India’s major IT company, has awarded a grant of USD 1.19 million to promote science and teacher education leadership in the US.

According to a statement, Amanda Gunning and Meghan Marrero, of Mercy College School of Education, have been awarded the USD 1.19 million grant to lead the Greater New York Wipro Science Education Fellowship (SEF).

Dr. Arthur Eisenkraft of the University of Massachusetts originally earned the funding to run the SEF in a one-year programme with Boston teachers.

It has now grown to a two-year programme in three states.

The SEF supports three cohorts of 20 science teacher fellows from five local districts during a two-year fellowship that focuses on leadership in science education.

In a statement, Mercy College said the goal is to keep good teachers in the classroom and develop their leadership skills as opposed to putting them in administrative roles.

Major tenets of the professional development include vertical and horizontal articulation across districts and lesson observation and study.

In year two, each fellow will lead professional development in their own district and work on a district-wide initiative of his or her choosing.

This programme has met success in its implementation thus far in Massachusetts and New Jersey, it said.

“The Wipro SEF is an amazing opportunity for Mercy College to support our local districts and improve science teaching and learning from within,” Marrero said.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / Washington – April 30th, 2014

Tindipotha gastronomic delight from a food truck

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Nri's / Pio's, Travel

TindiPothaBF10may2014

by Phalgunn Maharishi

The residents of Mysore, especially in the neighbourhoods of Bannimantap and Rajeev Nagar are now familiar with a big truck parked on the roadside near JSS Dental College with shining lights and people surrounding it eating costly food. But wait a minute! Costly food in a big truck? Well, it seems to be costly as the big truck sells fresh American-Mexican food but that’s not really costly. “A Mysorean can now fill his stomach with some classy food for just Rs. 80 on an average,” said Syed Manju while speaking about his big boy “Tindipotha.”

Syed Manju previously held the position of an Area Manager handling Public Relations and Marketing for 28 years in Costco, USA, the Number 3 retailer in the world which directly competes with Walmart, before heading towards Mysore to come up with his dream boy. “I had a passion towards cooking due to which I quit the job and came to Mysore with an interest in doing something unique, something which never existed here. That’s when Tindipotha was born,” commented Syed Manju while speaking about how it all started. The ecstatic and energetic Syed Manju keeps travelling back and forth between Mysore and Bellingham (90 miles north of Seattle in the United States) where his wife (Diane Houston), little girl Zara (16) and a little boy Iyan (14) lives.

Originally born in Channapatna and brought up in Mandya, Syed Manju is a self made man. He studied B.Sc and Diploma in Film Acting. He soon landed into Kannada Film Industry during his late 20s by directing films like Neenakkaga and Kanoonige Sawaal after which he travelled to USA for a trip to stay with his brothers and sisters for a while. Manju said, “Don’t ask me how, but I got my green card over there” with a wink and also added, “I never wanted to be there forever. Infact I had plans of directing more films in Kannada, but my fate made me stay there,” with a sweet smile. The last film produced by Manju was Appaji starring late Dr. Vishnuvardhan in the lead role released in 1996.

Coming back to Tindipotha, it all started roughly an year ago when Syed Manju and his brother Rafi Manju bought an old truck and got it rebuilt in Mandya to bring the new fancy boy to the streets of Mysore. “I was scared in the beginning. It was something new, something which the Mysoreans never experienced before. A new food to a new market. We had to prepare American-Mexican style foods with the ingredients available in Mysore and it didn’t seem easy for us in the beginning. But we did it and still doing it. It’s been an year and we are doing good,” said Syed Manju while speaking about Tindipotha.

Tindipotha has recently transformed itself from being just a food truck into a youth junction where we can find college going kids spending their cool evenings eating the sizzling new dishes like Nachos, Chicken Melt, Roti Lapat, Gilli Chicken, Turpi Chicken, Rollito, Apple Dream, Lava Pie, and many more summing up to over twenty different types of food.

“My brother Rafi Manju manages the front end and cash while my nephew Syed Umair Manju is our grill master. He even looks after the crew. Farhan, the cousin of Umair, assists the crew inside out and Tausif does all the deep fry and plating. Siddique and Atiq have been newly added to the crew and are learning ropes. Tausif, Siddique and Atiq are all family friends. We are all family and its a family business. The whole crew, except me and my brother, are college going kids,” said Syed Manju while introducing the team of Tindipotha.

People love the food. We had an interactive session with some regular customers of Tindipotha who expressed their hearts out. Bashar and Abdur Razzak, who stay in Bannimantap said, “This is really nice. It’s different than what we find elsewhere. We don’t find such tasty food at any other place, especially the Nachos! We come here for Nachos,” when asked to express how they feel about Tindipotha. Areb and his friends Mohammed Fahad and Rakshad, who come all the way from Bangalore just to eat at Tindipotha, said that they still haven’t yet got over the taste of Chicken Melt. The trio commented, “Its been a year and we still come here to eat the same thing,” with a laugh. Dental students Alley and Ahmad, who are from Iran visit Tindipotha atleast twice a week and mentioned that they love the tasty food and also the hospitality given to them by Syed Manju and his crew.

While speaking about the unpredictability of such food business in a city like Mysore, Syed Manju said, “Usually weekends are the busiest days for us, yet we can never predict. Sometimes customers ask me, which is the best dish prepared here! Well, I tell them to close their eyes and put their finger on the menu and we will serve it. If they don’t like the food, let them not pay us but if they like it, they need to pay us double.” He also added, “We are different from other eating places in the city saying that we smile at our customers which we can never find in any other hotels in Mysore. We also appreciate each and every customer, thank them and enquire in person whether they liked the dish. The food is also custom made for every single customer according to his likes and dislikes and we keep changing the taste one plate at a time.”

Tindipotha is for sure a place to be cherished and one of its kind in Mysore. It’s both vegetarian and non-vegetarian food truck with some tasty healthy and classy American-Mexican food at low prices. Do you want to try some different custom made food? Just head towards Tindipotha in Bannimantap near JSS Dental College between 7 pm and 11 pm any day! For more details, type in TINDIPOTHA in facebook and you will get the fan page.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / May 04th, 2014

JSW Steel commissions Cold Rolling Mill in Karnataka

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

Company has invested Rs 4,500 cr to set up the 2.3 mn tonne per annum plant to manufacture high-end auto-grade steel, first time in India

JSW Steel  has taken one more step forward in its journey of diversification by commissioning the first phase of 2.3 million tonne per annum (MTPA) Cold Rolling Mill -2 at Toranagallu in Karnataka’s  Bellary district. The company has invested Rs 4,500 crore to set up the plant in technical collaboration with Japan’s JFE Steel.

The CRM-1 is already operational since 8 years and manufactures special steel for under body parts in passenger cars.

With this, the company aims to capture a sizeable portion of auto-grade steel market in India. Currently, Indian automobile  industry imports about 1 million tonnes of high-end steel with a strength level of 980 MPA (Megapascal) annually to manufacture premium passenger cars and sports utility vehicles (SUVs). The company plans to capture a sizeable portion of this market, which is estimated to grow at 0-15% in the coming years.

“We have invested a huge amount of money to set up this plant, which will help the automobile industry save precious foreign exchange and also reduce dependency on the imported steel. We will be able to supply the high-quality steel at shorter duration (4 weeks) compared to the present time period of 3 months to import. We can also offer the steel at 15% lesser cost compared to the imported material,” said Vinod Nowal, deputy managing director, JSW Steel Limited.

He said the company has entered into a dialogue with several automobile companies to test its new steel. They include Honda, Hyundai, Maruti, Toyota, Ford, Nissan and Volkswagen among others.

“The entire process of test and try our new steel will take at least 8 months for the automakers and once they place the order, we will start the supplies. Until then, we will manufacture the product for general engineering industries,” he told reporters, here today.

Nowal said the new CRM-2 complex, with a production capacity of 2.3 million tonnes per annum has capability to produce high strength and advanced high strength steel, both in uncoated and coated (galvanized and galvannealed GI and GA) categories and wider width up to 1,870 mm. It also includes a Continuous Annealing Line, which is the first to start operations in India, he said.

JFE Steel of Japan has a 15% stake in JSW Steel and has provided technical assistance to develop various grades of auto steel, including steel for external panels for automobiles, to meet the high demand from both domestic and international arena, he said. The phase-2 of the CRM-2 plant consisting of 0.95 MTPA Continuous Annealing Line (CAL-2) is targetted to be commissioned during the first half of FY16.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by Mahesh Kulkarni / Toranagallu (Bellary District) / April 23rd, 2014

Shine Spa for Sheraton named Best Luxury Hotel Spa at World Luxury Spa Awards

Business & Economy, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

Shine Spa for Sheraton at the Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway has been awarded with the Best Luxury Hotel Spa award in India at the recently concluded World Luxury Spa Awards. The World Luxury Spa Awards is an annual search for the best spas across the globe based on votes by their guests. This annual voting process pans over thousands of spa guests from 144 countries, who are given the opportunity to vote online. Apart from Shine Spa for Sheraton, other competing spas in 2014 included small sized privately owned spas to globally renowned spa groups.

“We are incredibly excited to receive this recognition,” said Saurabh Bakshi, General Manager, Sheraton Bangalore Hotel at Brigade Gateway. “This award is truly the icing on the cake to an incredible year. The very heart of the hotel and all its success to date is our staff; an extraordinary team in every way, consistently placing the guest experience above everything else,” he added.

source: http://www.travelbizmonitor.com / TravelBizMonitor.com / Home / by TBM Staff – Mumbai / Thursday, April 24th, 2014

Alsbridge opens global-in-house captive centre in Bangalore

Business & Economy, World Opinion

 

Alsbridge Inc, a leading outsourcing consultancy organisation, has announced the setting up of its first global in-house ‘captive’ centre in Bangalore India.
The key value-add of the centre includes knowledge process outsourcing (KPO) for its various business services as well as software development & support.Alsbridge was ranked no.1 outsourcing consulting firm in the world by the IAOP in 2012 based on the value delivered to their clients. Alsbridge’s outsourcing consulting practice advised on over $5bn in outsourcing contract value. Alsbridge has consistently ranked in the top five over the last six years.

“Setting up our entity in Bangalore, India, is a strategic decision for Alsbridge. We are confident that we can leverage the immense talent that India offers to make our global service more competitive in the years to come,” said Chip Wagner, CEO, Alsbridge Inc.

The US-headquartered firm has already received approvals for its Indian subsidiary and is in the process of setting up the organisation with the help of its local partner – CaptiveAide – a firm that specialises in helping multinational corporations set up and build their India entities.

“We are delighted at this news and we welcome Alsbridge to India. We commend their decision to set up a global in-house centre (GIC) and we are confident that they will benefit immensely from this decision,” said K S Vishvanathan, head GIC Initiatives of NASSCOM.

Alsbridge’s GIC (captive) entry adds to a long list of multinational companies that have set up their own entities in India. These entities benefit in many ways including de-risking of outsourcing, low cost innovation, direct control over results, developing global leadership talent and access to local markets.

source: http://www.consultant-news.com / Consultant-News.com / Home> Latest Consulting News / April 23rd, 2014