Category Archives: Business & Economy

Japan’s Netmagic expands data center footprint in India

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Netmagic, an NTT Communications Company and India’s only Data Center Infrastructure Lifecycle Management (DILM) service provider, today announced the launch of its new data center in Bangalore .

This 100,000 sq. ft. data center is the first time Netmagic and NTT Communications have collaborated in building an entire facility from the ground up, and thereby, draws from their combined engineering and operations expertise.

“This is a moment of pride for us, as this new data center will give Indian and multi-national enterprises an opportunity to experience the state-of-the-art data centers that NTT Communications operates across the world. The added advantage of Netmagic’s excellence in IT infrastructure management and service delivery in the Indian enterprise space, gives this data center the capability of becoming the new benchmark for data centers in India, said Akira Arima, President and CEO, NTT Communications at the unveiling of the data center. He added, “This facility is part of our Global Cloud Vision to become a genuine global ICT partner for enterprises, providing seamless ICT solutions such as networks, data centers and applications, thereby capitalizing on the trend of enterprises’ migrating their on-premise systems to the cloud.”

“Bangalore offers a strong growth potential and a supply-constrained market, making this the most opportune moment to launch our new data center. Given the large concentration of data intensive activities in Bangalore, our objective is to accommodate enterprises’ demand to house their critical IT infrastructure closer to them, as well as ensure that our data centers have the scalability to meet their growing needs, while offering highly efficient services at the same time,” said Sharad Sanghi, MD and CEO, Netmagic. “The launch of this data center will enhance the confidence of our customers who have been part of our 16 year old journey and strengthen our position as one of India’s leading IT infrastructure management players”, he added.

This new facility also marks the formal launch of the Nexcenter brand of data center services in India. Under this brand, NTT Communications offers leading-edge data center services across the globe. In India, these services are offered through all 8 Netmagic data centers.

The data center will deliver Netmagic’s entire suite of services including managed co-location, dedicated hosting, cloud computing, IT infrastructure monitoring and management and security. It will provide enterprises customizable hosting space with high power and cooling densities and offer not only individual racks, but also highly secure cages and enclosed server rooms to meet the requirements of large global enterprises.

Consistent with Netmagic’s data center standards, connectivity from multiple telecom providers will be available from physically redundant paths allowing customers to architect on any network of their choice. Extending the ‘carrier neutral’ approach to building data centers, this facility is designed with high levels of redundancies and a stringent focus on security – both physical and logical. Enterprises can expect further attention to detail with amenities, such as a highly secure material handling system, based on bar coding and multiple checkpoints, adequate customer office space, dedicated storage space and heavy equipment handling systems.

One of the other strengths of this facility is that its location is one of the least prone to natural calamities and importantly, allows ready access to key resources. This makes it ideal for large enterprises, across India and other geographies to establish their disaster recovery and business continuity sites.

NTT Communications provides consultancy, architecture, security and cloud services to optimize the information and communications technology (ICT) environments of enterprises. These offerings are backed by the company’s worldwide infrastructure, including leading global tier-1 IP network, Arcstar Universal One(tm) VPN network reaching 196 countries/regions, and over 150 secure data centers. NTT Communications’ solutions leverage the global resources of NTT Group companies including Dimension Data, NTT DOCOMO and NTT DATA.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News-ANI> Business / ANI / Bengaluru – March 27th, 2014

Orkla, owner of major Indian brand MTR Foods, commits to No Deforestation

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Jakarta :

Nordic consumer goods giant, Orkla, which also owns Indian brand MTR Foods, today committed to remove forest destruction from the palm oil it uses in its products.

“This policy covers one of the biggest palm oil buyers in the Nordic countries and is the first to cover a major brand originating in India. People power is driving enormous change in the industry. This means there is now no place to hide for companies like Procter and Gamble, or local Indian brands like Godrej, which are failing to act on forest destruction,” said Erika Bjureby, head of the forest campaign at Greenpeace Nordic.

Orkla’s policy recognises the need to go beyond the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) rule and criteria in order to break the company’s links to forest destruction. It includes full traceability down to plantation level by next year and commits it to not buy any palm oil from forest or peatland destruction by 2017. It also commits its suppliers to protect the rights of workers and local communities.

Orkla acquired MTR (Mavalli Tiffin Room) Foods in 2007. MTR is well known in India for its spices, ready to eat meals, desserts and snacks. Orkla’s policy adds to the growing momentum towards responsible palm oil sourcing among consumer companies such as Unilever, Nestlé, Mars and Ferrero, as well as producers GAR and Wilmar plus the companies in the Palm Oil Innovation Group.

“In order to achieve so-called ‘sustainable sourcing of palm oil’, Procter and Gamble is relying on a certification scheme that has failed to prevent rainforest destruction. It’s time for P&G to follow the lead set by its competition, like L’Oréal, Nestlé, Unilever and now, Orkla, by committing to No Deforestation,” said Areeba Hamid, forest campaigner at Greenpeace International.

“Emerging markets such as India are the new frontier for responsible palm oil and the key to achieving responsible sourcing of the commodity. Consumers here, just as anywhere else, must be guaranteed their products are free from deforestation.”

Over the last eight months, Greenpeace has been confronting P&G on how it is exposing its consumers to forest destruction, during which time the company has failed to take any adequate action. Prominent RSPO members, such as Musim Mas and KLK, both suppliers to P&G, continue to clear forests.

Indonesia’s forests are disappearing at a rate of more than nine Olympic swimming pools per minute, with palm oil being the biggest driver of forest destruction. Through a global campaign launched in February, Greenpeace is demanding Procter & Gamble to end its role in forest destruction.

source: http://www.dominicantoday.com / Dominican Today / Home> World / March 20th, 2014

Impresario launches ‘Social’ in Bengaluru

Business & Economy

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Bengaluru :

Impresario Entertainment & Hospitality (Impresario) has launched the first of the three ‘Social’ cafes for 2014 in Bengaluru. The company has also planned for a 22 April launch in New Delhi and a 17 May launch in Mumbai.

Impresario says that its core strength is in understanding the changing dining out habits of new young India and delivering quality dining-out experiences tailored to delight their guests. The chain has 36 outlets under popular brands such as Mocha – Coffees & Conversations, Smoke House Deli, The Tasting Room, Stone Water Grill and Le Kebabiere.

Depending upon the success of the three ‘Social’ outlets, Impresario plans to open about 20 ‘Social’ cafes over the next three years. Targeting the youth (aged between 18 and 35 years), with brand ‘Social’, the company plans to have a one-on-one connect using technology and the internet with its clients. For some of its other brands such as Mocha, the company uses radio for mass media communications. The company believes that it is strong in the use of technology as the main tool, or as a supplement for other mediums such as radio and social media.

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Impresario CEO and managing director Riyaaz Amlani revealed to indiantelevision.com, “We spend around 2.5 per cent of revenue towards brand building and communications. Our topline is around Rs75 crore (Rs750 million). A lot of our activities are BTL and event associated. We have our own creative teams, and media buying, where required, is in-house.”

“People have been coming in to use our cafes to work from, hold meetings, make presentations. All we did was build a space that caters to that need, a productive space driven by a radical 9-6 creative community, a space for doers and makers to work and network, said Amlani.

“Social is a path-breaking urban hangout that’s designed to take you offline while still keeping you connected; a place where networking can happen.  Social is a collaborative workspace, a hub for artists, designers, and innovators. Social has everything an office has; a boardroom, wall-space and wall-to-wall uber high-speed WiFi. The café has an app that lets you order and review food, check out the restaurant’s playlist (to like and recommend music) and even check in on what the other guests in the space are up to, to allow room for collaboration and interaction between tables,” added Amlani further while speaking about the new chain.

source: http://www.indiantelevision.com / IndianTelevision.com / Home> MAM> Marketing> News Headline / by indiantelevision.com / March 24th, 2014

Infosys Signs Five Year Deal With Sweden’s Lansforsakringar

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Infosys Ltd. announced the signing of a five-year agreement with Lansforsakringar AB (LFAB) to provide application development and management support for its life and non-life insurance business .

The new agreement with Infosys will see LFAB, owned by Lansforsakringar Alliance, a mutual organization of 23 regional insurance companies with a strong local brand, improve the quality of service and time to market for its alliance members at a reduced cost.

Under the agreement terms, Infosys will be responsible for the development and management of more than 200 applications across LFAB’s line of business. To support this engagement, Infosys will provide support from global facilities as well as its local offices in Stockholm, Ostersund and Linkoping.

Besides, Infosys and LFAB will work together to improve the systems and processes so that member companies enjoy a more consistent approach to claims and policy administration.

LFAB Chief Operating Officer Soren Westin said, “Infosys demonstrates strong insurance industry expertise as well as a track record in application development and management. Their commitment to significantly strengthen their local footprint reflects our belief in the importance of local customer service.” 

Infosys President-Member of the Board and Head of Europe B.G. Srinivas commented, “Our partnership with Lansforsakringar AB will allow the company to transform and optimize their systems and processes and benefit from improved operational performance. Our talented team based in Sweden will play a central role in delivering world-class services to LFAB using an optimal combination of near shore and global delivery capabilities.”

At the BSE, Infosys closed Tuesday’s trading at Rs.3,349.25, down 1.19 percent from the previous close.

source: http:://www.rttnews.com / RTT News / Home> Business> Indian News / by  RTT Staff Writer / March 18th, 2014

Primero – Rohan Corp’s 20th project launched in Mangalore

Business & Economy

Mangalore :

The foundation stone laying ceremony of ‘Primero’, the 20th project of Property Infra Tech India Pvt Ltd, Rohan Corporation, on the 20th year since the inception of the firm, was held near Advaith JCB, Padil here on Tuesday, March 18.

J R Lobo, Mangalore South MLA, Mahabala Maarla, mayor, Rajendra Kumar, chairman SCDCC Bank and co-promoter of ‘Primero’, Monappa Bhandary, MLC, Srikhar Prabhu, BJP president, Pushparaj Jain, president CREDAI, Suresh Ballal, ex MUDA chairman, Fr Santosh Kamath, Fr Joachim, Fr Mathew and Rohan Monteiro, chairman of Rohan Corporation were present on the dais.

Blessing the occasion, Fr Santosh Kamath said, “‘Primero’ mean ‘First’ and this project is one of the first of its kind in the surroundings and on the NH 75 stretch in Mangalore city limits.”

Addressing the gathering, J R Lobo said, “Rohan Monteiro always thinks twice when going ahead with the construction of his projects. He has also played a very important role in giving basic necessities to the people of the city. He has won the trust of his clients through time bound service, quality management and cost effectiveness, and thus has become a successful builder in the city.”

Rendering his best wishes to the project, Mahabala Maarla urged builders to join hands with the MCC in the beautification of the city.

Architect Suresh Kumar of SK Associates, contractor Mahabala of MM Constructions and structural engineer Anil Hegde of Anil Vimal Associates were felicitated on the occasion.

Mathew of Rohan Corporation proposed the vote of thanks. Saheel Zaheer of Platform Productions event management compered and organized the event.

This is the 20th year since Rohan Monteiro forayed into the real estate business, and ‘Primero’ is the 20th project of his firm. The ‘Primero’ is packed with all the latest and high class modern amenities with 88 homes of 2 and 3 BHK with ground plus 11 floors with one exclusive commercial zone.

For more info:

Email : info@propertyinfratech.com

Website : http://www.rohancorporation.in

Address and contact details

Property Infratech India Private Limited
Rohan Corporation , Balmatta Road, Bendorewell
Mangalore – 575002, Karnataka, India

Phone: 91 824 2431510 / 91 824 2437744 / Fax: 91 824 2439578

source: http://www.daijiworld.com / DaijiWorld.com / Home> News> Daijiworld / Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (BG) / March 18th, 2014

Kirloskar Ferro – High Pressure Moulding Ling installed at Koppal plant in Karnataka

Business & Economy

With reference to the earlier announcement regarding the Board of Directors had decided to install a New High Pressure Moulding Line at existing plant premises at Koppal, Karnataka to enhance the production capacity of castings.

Kirloskar Ferrous Industries Ltd has now informed BSE that the installation of New High Pressure Moulding Line has completed at Koppal plant in Karnataka and the commercial production has started with effect from March 19, 2014.

With the installation of this new Moulding Line, the production capacity of castings has increased by 48,000 MT per annum.

source: http://www.moneycontrol.com / MoneyControl.com / Home> Markets> Announcements> Steel-Pig Iron> Announcement / Source: BSE / March 19th, 2014

First all-women cooperative credit society formed in Shimoga

Business & Economy, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

The society will provide loans to women entrepreneurs as well as vocational training

Kodachadri Women Souharda Cooperative Credit Society, the first all-women society of its kind in the district, has come into existence in Tirthahalli taluk.

Sushma Sanjay H.S., who was elected society president, told presspersons here on Monday that the society had enrolled 2,593 women as members at present and mobilised an amount of Rs. 44.14 lakh as deposit.

The society was registered under the Karnataka Souharda Sahakari Act on February 6. The election for the society was held on February 24. The main objective of the society is to extend loans to women who are interested in taking up dairy farming, sheep rearing, food processing and packaging. It will also extend loans to women entrepreneurs who are interested in setting up handicraft and handloom units.

It will also provide skill-based and vocational training for rural women, she said. President of the Karnataka Cooperative Apex Bank R.M. Manjunatha Gowda, who spoke on the occasion, regretted that over 60 per cent of Indian women did not have access to banking services. He highlighted the need to motivate women to form cooperative societies and self-help groups.

Executive committee members

Farzana Khanum was elected as vice-president. The executive committee members are: Suma Subrahmanya; Renuka Chandrappa; Nirmala Raju; Vinoda Krishnamurthy; Dakamma R.; Achala Hegde; Chethana Srikanth; Shashikala Srinivas; Shashikala Manjunatha Shetty; Padmaja Jois; Pushpalatha Venkatesh; Maithili Satish; and Maitreyi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by Staff Correspondent / Shimoga – March 11th, 2014

BookAdda acquires K12-focused books e-tailer KoolSkool

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education

BookAdda is backed by former Infosys director Mohandas Pai and Growth Story’s co-founder K Ganesh.

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Bangalore-based Ishita Technologies Pvt Ltd, the company behind BookAdda , an online marketplace for books, has acquired rival KoolSkool  from Delhigate Educomm Retail Solutions Pvt Ltd in a cash-and-stock deal.

“This acquisition is complementary to our strength and existing offerings,” said Hemant Kohli, co-founder and CEO, BookAdda, told VCCircle. “While BookAdda is focused on the complete range of books with a catalogue of close to 15 million titles, our other product ACADzone focuses on the competitive exam segment. Now, with the snapping up of KoolSkool, which offers books and stationery items focusing on the K12 segment, we are positioned to offer the entire range of solutions to the learning population in India.”

KoolSkool was founded in 2010 by Suhas Dutta and Vyom Khandelia. Dutta is a technology veteran with more than 22 years of working experience. An alumnus of Berkeley University, he held various roles at Gerson Lehrman Group, Accenture, netdecisions and NIIT, prior to starting the online venture. Khandelia is an IIM Calcutta alumnus, and is currently the director of Position2. In the past, he had held different positions at Afila, Neutron Systems, Ishoni Networks India, and Celstream.

Bookadda.com sells general books in various categories like fiction, non-fiction, mystery, self help, reference and biographies. It also offers books in management, computer, engineering and medical books catering to many university syllabi in India. The firm has partnered with leading online brands such as MeritNation, Edurite, Average2Excellent, Adormi, PracticeGuru, TCY Online, Infinitestudent, Eduwizards, and Oliveboard for the service. BookAdda is backed by former Infosys director Mohandas Pai and Growth Story’s co-founder K Ganesh.

The company has recently introduced a Google preview feature, which allows users to scan and preview books before buying. This feature is available for around 5,000 titles on its platform.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

source: http://www.vccircle.com / VC Circle / Home> M & A / by Sainul K. Abudheen / Tuesday – March 11th, 2014

A Marketing Manager who is an Arm Wrestler, Power Lifter and Body Lifter

Business & Economy, Records, All, Sports

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by S. Kenneth Shishir

Sports play an important role in everyone’s life especially to keep fit. But as days go by, one finds it difficult to find time to exercise due to their hectic schedules and nature of work.

But here is Shireen Reginald, an Associate Marketing Manager at Rangsons Marketing Services Pvt. Ltd. Mysore, who is a Power-Lifter champion and also a Body-Lifting champion. According to Shireen, “if one can find a place of worship anywhere, one can also find a place to exercise.”

Shireen, speaking to SOM, said that he came to know about Body-Lifting championship through newspapers and invitations from Indian Body Lifting Federation (IBLF) in Punjab which had sent invitations to gyms. After seeing the invitation, he said that he felt the urge in himself to participate in the event and began training himself for the same.

Speaking about Body-Lifting, Shireen said the sport is all about lifting one’s body weight by holding a bar overhead without shaking the legs and body. The most number of times one lifts the body without shaking is considered valid and the person who does the most lift is declared the winner.

Giving credit to his coach Y. Nagesh Rao (YNR) of Appollo Gym, who is a retired Physical Education Teacher of Marimallappa’s High School, Mysore, for his efforts in making what he his now, Shireen said the initial training given by YNR helped him achieve success in many competitions.

Speaking about his work-outs, Shireen said he works out for one-and-a-half-hour everyday and runs a kilometre for warming up before work-out. On Sundays and holidays, he runs one full circle of Kukkarahalli Lake which is about 3.6 kms.

Shireen said, “My job involves a lot of travelling. I have travelled across India and where ever I go, I find a gym and make sure that I never miss my daily work-outs” and added “where ever you go, you will find a place of worship and a place to exercise too,” with a grin.

Elaborating further, Shireen said, “I handle North India and Nepal as Associate Marketing Manager in N. Ranga Rao & Sons that requires a lot of travelling indeed. But in spite of it, I do not miss my exercise even a single day. If my flight is at 6 am, I get up at 2.30 am and exercise for an hour. That is the amount of dedication one should have towards their fitness regime.”

Shireen has participated in the National-Level Body-Lifting Championship organised by All J&K Body Lifting Association affiliated to Indian Body-Lifting Federation and International Body-Lifting Federation held in Amarnath Yatri Nivas Bhavan, Jammu recently.

He has won Gold medal in District-Level Bench Press Competition (Power-Lifting) held at Mysore, Gold in Karnataka State-Level Body-Lifting Championship held in Chamundi Vihar Stadium, Mysore, Bronze in Karnataka State-Level Arm Wrestling Competition held at Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore, Silver in District-Level Arm Wrestling Competition held at Sarada Vilas Centenary Hall, Mysore and secured fourth place in National-Level Body-Lifting Championship held at Jammu and Kashmir.

Shireen did his schooling at St. Thomas School, Vidyaranyapuram, PU from Sarada Vilas College, Krishnamurthypuram and pursued BE in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Engineering (NIE), Mysore. After completing his MBA (Marketing) from Centre for Management Studies, SJCE, Mysore, he took up the job at N.Ranga Rao & Sons in city.

Speaking about his food diet, Shireen said that his mother and wife are the ones who prepare all kind of strength rendering foods for him, that help him in performing better.

A resident of J.P. Nagar in city, Shireen stays with his father G. Reginald, a Retired Professor who served as the Principal of Junior First Grade College in Periyapatna, mother Uma Reginald, a home-maker and wife Mangala Shireen, a Law Graduate and a home-maker.

Shireen says that he is indebted to his family and his organisation for their support and added that his organisation which supports sports persons takes care of his travel and other expenditure to participate in the competitions across the country.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by Kenneth Shishir / March 16th, 2014

Canara Bank fetes women achievers

Business & Economy, Records, All
Dr. S. T. Ramachandra felicitating Shivaranjini, Hemamalini Krupakar, B. S. Indira and Dr. H. R. Manikarnika during International Women’s Day by Canara Bank in city this morning as chief guest Dr. Kavitha Rai looks on.
Dr. S. T. Ramachandra felicitating Shivaranjini, Hemamalini Krupakar, B. S. Indira and Dr. H. R. Manikarnika during International Women’s Day by Canara Bank in city this morning as chief guest Dr. Kavitha Rai looks on.

Mysore :

Canara Bank celebrated International Women’s Day in a befitting manner by providing stalls for exhibiting and selling hand-craft arts and other products prepared / manufactured women entrepreneurs / artisans at Jaganmohan Palace, Mysore, which is kept open for the public from 10 am to 5 pm today.

Besides, the Bank had also invited women entrepreneurs, artisans, self help group members to participate in the event.

Dr. S. T. Ramachandra, Deputy General Manager, Canara Bank, Circle Office Mysore, in his address said that, women clan is a force to reckon with in all walks of life and they deserve better deal for all the contributions and sacrifice made to this society. He highlighted some of the initiatives of the Bank to this sector:

1. Micro insurance, wherein at Rs. 100 per annum risk coverage of Rs. 30000; 2. Swavalamban Pension Scheme for Government of India with special focus on SHGs; 3. 0.5% rebate for women entrepreneurs under MSE segment; 4. 0.5% rebate for Girl Students under Education Loan; 5. Separate Cell called “Centre for Entrepreneurship Development for Women” to impart training and create self employment opportunity for women.

On the occasion, the Bank also honoured prominent personalities, who have contributed to the society in their own way:

Dr. H. R. Manikarnika – a senior eye specialist; Hemamalini Krupakar – A special educator with Ph.D and MS in Counseling and Psychotherapy; B. S. Indira – who suffered a major bone fracture at the age of 26 and started leading her own life getting a job in the industry; Shivaranjani – honest home guard.

Chief guest Dr. Kavitha Rai, Associate Professor, Kannada Study and Research Centre, KSOU, called upon the womenfolk to come forward and involve themselves in all walks of life for the betterment of the society. K. M. Sathiyanathan, Asst. Geneneral Manager and T. Lalitha, Chief Manager of Canara Bank, Mandya Branch were the other guests on the dais.

Gayathri welcomed. Vanitha Gadiyar proposed a vote of thanks. Divakar Shetty, Asst. General Manager, Canara Bank, Circle Office, co-ordinated the programme.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News /March 08th, 2014