The Capital Post

VPS Hosting Solutions by IBEE Hosting Expecting 55% Growth by 2017

2016-09-19T16:36:00.001+05:30

The company has registered phenomenal growth within 2 months of its inception

Mumbai

VPS Hosting Solutions that was recently launched by IBEE Hosting is ready to take up the IT industry market by storm with its unmatched features and growing popularity. According to the company, the VPS Plansare poised to register a growth of 55-60% by 2017. At present the company is experiencing a tremendous response and has already registered a growth of approx 20% in the total sale within 2 months of its inceptions.

With the projections drawn with the growth rate to be 25-30% during 2016, Company is predicting that increased in the market drivers for the need of high-end computational servers is driving the SSD VPS Market in India among the SMBs and Startups.

According to Venkata Krishna, a Web Developer who recently brought VPS plans, “Excellent Services and state of features makes VPS Plans by IBEE hosting best among the existing solutions. I can rely on IBEE Hosting any day. We've used their services and are extremely happy with them and they have excellent Support Services”.

Another happy client Rajarashi Bhattacharya a Startup enthusiastic in e- commerce sector shared “IBEE Hosting has known for their innovative products and VPS is not an exception. Excellent hosting support by them and we got awesome speed and support from service team. Whole experience is really satisfactory”.

The key factors that have contributed in the growth of VPS Hosting Solutions include massive demand for the complete hosting solution at a one stop and unique features in affordable prices. Furthermore with the High penetration of internet for business and personal use in the last few years, heavy use of social media and e-commerce is paving the way to needy to have a platform to showcase their offering to the world. The company asserts that it is these factors that have affected the demand for advanced and efficient computational servers along with security solutions.

What sets them separate from their competitors is that the company is providing the domain registration facility with the committed, dedicated resource availability to help startup and Developers with the facility to provide full IT support that could help them focus on their core competencies. The package clubs some Add-ons like Security, Backup Solutions and Root access to operate machine.

Another critical research by the team is that the market in Asia-Pacific (APAC) is expected to witness the highest amount of growth. According to reports, it could probably be the fastest-growing region in the global IT industry.

PEPE JEANS LONDON Fall/Winter 2016 campaign

2016-09-19T16:34:00.001+05:30

MIX IT UP

Mumbai

Mix It Up: that’s what the Pepe Jeans London campaign is all about this autumn/winter 2016; taking control of your wardrobe and wearing it just the way you like.

Pepe Jeans Adults

Full of contrasting pieces, Pepe Jeans adults autumn/winter 2016 is all about an eclectic Gypsy sensibility: mixing the preppy with rock, the raw with the refined, uptown with downtown, day with night.

Capture the joy, fun and creativity associated with mixing and matching. Be inspired by the Pepe Jeans London’s own collection campaign. Photographer Scott Trindle helps bring the collection to life with Georgia May Jagger and Jordan Barrett. They wear the contrasting looks and show just how versatile this collection is. Of course denim, the linchpin of Pepe Jeans London, is celebrated and takes a starring role too.

Shivshakti Sachdev plays the lead in Khidki’s upcoming story ‘Har Ek Friend Namuna Hota Hai’

2016-09-19T16:30:00.001+05:30

Mumbai

Popular television actress Shivshakti Sachdev has been roped in to essay a pivotal role in SAB TV’s Khidki’s latest story titled, Har ek friend namuna hota hai. Shivshakti has appeared in over 15 television shows in the past 6 years and this is the second story for Khidki where she will be playing the lead. The story is a romantic love comedy and Shivshakti will be playing the character of Disha who is a bubbly and sweet girl.

The plot revolves around two childhood friends, Raju (Anshumal Trivedi) and Prem (Aakash Singh) who fall in love with Disha and try to woo her for marriage. Both the friends are of marriageable age and consider Disha as their prospective bride. Har ek friend namuna hota hai, unravels the various twists and turns that the characters encounter in this love triangle. Who wins over Disha’s affections and what happens to the friendship of Raju and Prem makes for the basic premise of the story.

Commenting on her role in Khidki, actress Shivshakti said, “I have earlier played the lead role in Khidki’s stories and I really like working with the production team. All stories in Khidki are based on real life characters and I thoroughly enjoy bringing alive these stories on the small screen. Here I play the character of Disha who is a bubbly girl and is caught up in a situation where two boys are vying for her affections.”

Vice Chairman Jay Y. Lee meets Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, visit underscores importance of India as a Strategic Partner for Samsung

2016-09-19T16:27:00.001+05:30

New Delhi

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Vice Chairman Mr Jay Y. Lee today met India’s Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in New Delhi and reiterated Samsung’s long-term commitment to the people of India as a strategic partner.

Vice Chairman Lee apprised the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Samsung’s business operations and citizenship activities in the country. He explained how Samsung is actively partnering Prime Minister Modi’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Digital India’ initiatives, with a commitment to growing India as an important production base and central R&D hub, as Samsung continues to view India as an important strategic partner.

He said Samsung’s ultimate goal is to be not just a foreign investor but a true local business in India, where Samsung will work with local communities to build a better future. Besides Make in India, Samsung is also committed to ‘Make for India’, an initiative to create meaningful local innovations for the Indian consumers.

In India, 'Samsung Smart Class’ program is helping over 200,000 students from low income families to experience e-learning at 376 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools. In addition, 18 Samsung Technical Schools are imparting skills to youth to enable their employability.

RJIL WELCOMES AIRTEL GESTURE; BUT 2 CRORE CALLS FAIL DAILY AS AIRTEL DILLY DALLIES ON ADEQUATE POIs TO JIO

2016-09-19T16:24:00.000+05:30

Mumbai

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (“RJIL”) welcomes the decision of Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”) of providing more points of interconnection (“POI”) to it, as was communicated in the bilateral discussions between the two companies. However, the quantum of POIs proposed to be released by Airtel is substantially less than the requirement estimated based on transparent workings shared with Airtel. Based on the current traffic flow between the two networks, the proposed augmentation by Airtel would still only suffice for less than one-fourth of the required interconnection capacity.

RJIL has been consistently highlighting the urgency of the requirement and impact on Quality of Service (“QoS”). More than two crore calls are failing everyday between the two networks, which is far in excess of QoS parameters and of alarming proportions. Urgent steps are required to be taken in the interest of customers of both operators. It is unfortunate that TRAI’s intervention was required for Airtel to resume augmentation of POIs, which it ought to have done by itself in compliance with its license terms. TRAI regulation does not provide for 90 days to adhere to QOS parameters. TRAI in fact instructed the incumbent operators to urgently provide requisite interconnection capacities to maintain QoS parameters and not to make this subject to any contingencies or restrictions.

Airtel has also insisted on certain unilateral deviations from the Interconnection Agreement between the parties with respect to installation of one-way E1s as against both-way E1s. One-way E1s are typically installed between similar sized networks. It is apparent that Airtel continues to abuse its market dominance by imposing onerous conditions which will imminently hinder RJIL’s ability to efficiently utilize the additional E1s. It appears that the QoS will continue to suffer and Indian customers will be denied the benefits of superior and free voice services as a result of such anti-competitive behaviour.

Inspite of above, RJIL shall continue to work with Airtel and all the other incumbent operators to resolve this issue at the earliest and ensure that Indian customers get best-in-class services.

Furthermore, Airtel has also been blocking the mobile number portability (“MNP”) facility for its subscribers who wish to subscribe to Jio services on baseless and unsubstantiated grounds. This is another example of disregard of license terms and its obligations under the Telecommunication Mobile Number Portability Regulations, 2009 (“MNP Regulations”) and TRAI directions. This is again an anti-competitive move aimed at stifling a new operator, denying the Indian customers the benefit of choice of service provider. This is against public interest and fair play.

RJIL hopes that Airtel will enhance the PoI's sufficiently to meet its license obligation of QoS with immediate effect and maintain these parameters on an ongoing basis. Airtel must also immediately make available MNP to all its subscribers opting to port to RJIL in accordance with the license terms and MNP regulations.

NO CALL FAILURE FOR JIO TO JIO HD CALLS ON JIO NETWORK

2016-09-19T16:22:00.002+05:30

Mumbai

The statements from Airtel are misleading and unfortunate in the context of the severe Quality of Service issues being faced by the Indian customers. While there are over two crore call failures every day between the two networks, there are no incidents of call failures within the Jio network. We encourage all customers to make Jio to Jio calls to experience HD quality voice services without any disruptions whatsoever. We also invite independent third parties such as TERM (DOT) to inspect and confirm that there are zero call failures on Jio network. Infact Jio customers should encourage the receiving party to switch to the Jio network at the earliest so that they do not suffer due to such anti-competitive practices being followed by the incumbent operators.

Jio, being the aggrieved party as everyone is well aware, is doing its best to work with all the other operators to resolve this issue at the earliest. There is no question of any delay, not even of a few hours, in taking any steps at Jio’s end.

On MNP, there is no right that any operator has to block MNP requests. Many of the customers have already been denied this facility without cause. We speak on behalf of customers when requesting that such porting requests should be honoured. It cannot be coincidental that all requests made for MNP to port to Jio network have been rejected by Airtel on unsubstantiated grounds and not even one MNP request has been approved, when Airtel claims that it ports-out thousands of customers every day across operators. It clearly establishes that this is being done deliberately when requests come to port to Jio network.

“Getting back on Indian Idol is like getting back to roots” – Sonu Nigam

2016-09-19T16:21:00.001+05:30

Mumbai

Back with yet another season, Sony Entertainment Television’s popular singing reality show Indian Idol will see the most loved singer of our country Sonu Nigam as one of the judge. Accompanying him in the judges’ panel will be the talented and versatile music composer Anu Malik.

Started in 2004, Sonu Nigam was the first judge on Indian Idol and was highly appreciated for his judging skills. To know more on his comeback and how excited he is to host this season of Indian Idol, we got in touch with Sonu Nigam, and he expressed his feeling, “We literally started the show in India in 2004. I actually was the only person who read the philosophy behind the format according to the creator Simon Cowell in his book "I don't mean to be rude.”

Further he elaborated saying, “As for myself, I have abstained from TV for half a decade and thus getting back on Idol is like getting back to my roots."

Well this news is surely going be a treat for Sonu Nigam’s fans as they will get to see him back on television!

27th Annual General Body Meeting of PowerGrid held at New Delhi

2016-09-19T16:19:00.003+05:30

New Delhi

The 27^th AGM of POWERGRID was held on 16^th September, 2016 at Delhi. During his address to the Shareholders, CMD informed that the Gross Fixed Assets has surpassed Rs.1,50,000 crore. Total Revenue of Rs.21,281 crore has risen about 20% YoY and Profit after Tax has grown 21 % to Rs.6027 crore. During the year POWERGRID has achieved the highest ever capitalization of Rs. 31,788 crores. Inter-Regional power transfer capacity has seen the highest ever addition of 13,200 MW.

Further, CMD informed the stakeholders that the first ever 800 kV HVDC line of the country, 1750 km long Biswanath Chariali – Agra transmission line was commissioned this year. 400kV line International links with Bangladesh and Nepal were made operational this year. World’s highest voltage level 1200 kV UHVAC test station at Bina has been charged successfully.

CMD in the presence of full Board of Directors, proudly announced that POWERGRID has been voted as India’s Best Companies to Work in 2016. The Company is the only Indian PSU placed in the list of ‘Top 50 Fastest Growing Energy Companies’ of the World.

Students from Top Schools of India discuss sustainable business models

2016-09-19T16:17:00.003+05:30

Raipur

“Intent matters. Integrity matters. Courage matters. If you have the three, nothing else matters”

Social entrepreneurship is all about incorporating all three to create business plans that are both feasible and beneficial to the society. To foster this spirit in the minds of young and budding entrepreneurs, the Consulting and Entrepreneurship Club, IIM Raipur organised Samaadhan, a social B-Plan competition which saw people solving real world problems using inquisitive and innovative tools.

In the first round of the event, executive summaries for social B-Plans were invited from all over the country. Out of the numerous entries that were received, including ones from premier institutes like IIM Ahmedabad, ISB Hydrabad, ISB Mohali, IIT Kharagpur, 11 were shortlisted. The second round was held on 10th September in which these teams had to present their b-plan to a panel of esteemed judges which included Mr Rupesh Gupta, an alumnus of IIM Kozhikode and founder of Pro C Education and Mr Sanjay Agarwal, alumnus of IIM Raipur and founder of Raipur Ramayan Udyog.

The business plans that were discussed ranged from providing affordable sanitary napkins to the rural poor to using bio-gas for commercial purposes and reduce pollution in the process. All the teams were very well prepared that made the competition all the more exciting. The judges minutely analysed every aspect of the business plans and asked questions, helping the teams refine their business model along the way. After a gruelling competition and a close fight, it was "Team Gals" from XIMB and "Team Raipur Rangers" from IIM Raipur who emerged victorious.

Icchapyaari busts Icchadhaari myths

2016-09-19T16:15:00.004+05:30

Mumbai

Sony SAB’s upcoming show, Icchapyaari Naagin is something to watch out for! Priyal Gor who plays the lead as Iccha, is, as the name suggests, as pyaari as one can be. She descends on earth to debunk the myths and negative perceptions about Naags/Naagins that people on earth manifested. While in Naagisthan, Iccha and her fellow tribe happen to watch a glimpse of what is shown as entertainment on earth, pop culture representing snakes as pure evil and vengeful creatures. Whereas the truth is far from what is shown and believed by many. Here are some top myths about Naags/Naagins that are actually fabricated.

It’s a popular belief that offering milk to snakes will fulfil all your wishes but very few people know that snakes do not drink milk in fact they are quite lactose intolerant since milk is not part of their natural diet. Snake charmers usually starve snakes during festive season and hence they drink milk since they have no other choice.

There is nothing called a ‘Naagin Dance’, snakes do not dance. In fact, snakes cannot hear clearly and thus cannot appreciate music or decipher beats. They have a great sense of smell and touch but not of the acoustics. When you see a snake’s swirly movements, it is nothing but its response to the movements made by the snake charmer.

It is also believed that snakes are very vengeful and if by accident or otherwise one ends up killing a snake’s partner, it comes after the killer for revenge which in itself is quite farfetched.

These are only some of the common misconceptions that people have about snakes, many more such beliefs will be given a reality check by Iccha in Icchapyaari Naagin.

Priyal Gor, who plays Iccha, says, “Iccha has come to Earth to bust all the myths about naagins that humans have. Iccha is a very innocent and loveable naagin totally opposite to how naagins are perceived and believes in living in peace and harmony. Her interactions with the humans will be an eye opener and she will set the facts straight. If you have a look at the promos that are currently on air they bust a lot of myths about naagin dance and snakes biting people without being provoked. ”

PROPOSED AUGMENTATION OF INTERCONNECTION CAPACITY BY BHARTI AIRTEL

2016-09-19T16:14:00.002+05:30

Mumbai

Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (“RJIL”) welcomes the decision of Bharti Airtel Limited (“Airtel”) of providing more points of interconnection to it, as indicated in Airtel’s press statement issued today.

RJIL has been writing regularly to Airtel and other incumbent operators regarding its requirement for interconnection capacity over the last few months. Necessary details have been provided to Airtel from time to time, highlighting the urgency of the requirement and the impact on Quality of Service parameters. However, no action was taken for the last several weeks, resulting in non-compliance of TRAI regulation on quality of service which mandates that POI congestion should not affect more than 1 call in every 200 calls made.

The situation has deteriorated significantly in the last few weeks, with over 75 calls failing out of every 100 call attempts. In last 10 days alone, over 22 crore calls have failed on the Airtel network, while 52 crore calls have failed cumulatively on the networks of the three incumbent operators viz. Airtel, Vodafone India Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd. While RJIL has rolled out a state-of-the-art network, the benefits of superior voice technology have been denied to Indian customers due to the POI congestion. Indian customers have not been able to enjoy RJIL's free voice offer as a result of such anti-competitive behaviour of incumbent operators.

RJIL has been raising the issue of insufficient POIs as anti-competitive aimed at hindering the entry of a new operator. Such hurdles result in poor experience for RJIL customers who are trying to make calls to incumbent operators' networks. We have repeatedly appealed to the incumbent operators to create a fair and reciprocal framework of coopetition that is good for India and good for Indian customers.

On the unsubstantiated apprehension regarding asymmetric voice traffic raised by Airtel, RJIL wishes to clarify that the voice traffic on its network is in line with industry trends and as expected for any new operator. When a new operator begins its operations, its customer base is understandably low and a large proportion of these are new numbers that are not yet in the address book with whom they communicate. Therefore in the early days of operations of any new operator, there are more outgoing calls than incoming calls. Overtime, as the customer base grows, this asymmetry reduces and the traffic becomes symmetric.

RJIL’s outgoing traffic is less than 2 calls per customer per hour even during peak traffic period, which requires only a reasonable number of POIs. These calls are not to one operator but distributed over all the operators. Incumbent operators are describing such a modest call rate as a Tsunami of traffic from RJIL.

Moreover, asymmetry of traffic has absolutely nothing to do with the number of POIs required, which is based on the total traffic in both directions and not just in one direction. The equipment required for POI are two-way trunks, which means that the same equipment is used for both directions. No additional equipment is needed for handling the calls coming from RJIL to the other operator. It is therefore in customer interest to have adequate interconnection capacity irrespective of direction of traffic.

RJIL hopes that Airtel as well as other incumbent operators will enhance the PoI's sufficient to meet their license obligation of QoS with immediate effect and maintain these parameters on an ongoing basis.

Tata Steel flags off of the first Hot Rolled steel export rake from Kalinganagar Plant

2016-09-19T16:13:00.001+05:30

Mumbai

Tata Steel Kalinganagar plant achieved yet another milestone with the flagging off of the first Hot Rolled steel export rake from the plant. Mr T V Narendran, Managing Director, Tata Steel, India & South East Asia, flagged off the export rake to Nepal on 14^th September 2016.

The Hot Rolled coils are being exported through Raxaul Border to customers in Nepal. In the first export consignment, around 3000 Metric Tonnes of Hot Rolled coils are being exported to key customers in that country. Mr Rajiv Kumar, Vice President (Operations), Tata Steel Kalinganagar and senior officials of Tata Steel were present on the occasion. Tata Steel has set itself an ambitious export target from its Kalinganagar plant to cater to various segments in geographies. The products from Kalinganagar have been very well received in the market and the ramp up is on schedule both in terms of quantity and quality.

Tata Steel is setting up of a 6 million tonne per annum (MnTPA) integrated steel plant at Kalinganagar in Jajpur district in two phases of 3 MnTPA each. The state-of-the-art steel plant which was dedicated to the State of Odisha in November 2015, started commercial production in May 2016.

Bank of Bhutan goes operational with TCS BaNCS for Core Banking in 10 months

2016-09-19T16:10:00.003+05:30

Transactions doubled and failure rates reduced

Mumbai

Tata Consultancy Services (BSE: 532540, NSE: TCS), the leading IT services, consulting and business solutions organization, announced that its customer, Bank of Bhutan, deployed TCS BaNCS for Core Banking in 10 months, resulting in ability to handle increased transaction volumes and improved success rate of delivery channel transactions. All existing customers, accounts, lending and internet banking subscribers were migrated from the erstwhile Oracle FLEXCUBE system to TCS BaNCS as part of this transformation initiative. The Bank selected TCS BaNCS for Core Banking, a market ready, fully componentized and scalable solution for core and internet banking in June 2015 and went operational in March 2016.”

Said, Mr Pema Nadik, CEO and MD, Bank of Bhutan, “We selected the TCS BaNCS solution for its superior design and advanced breadth and depth of functionality, and in keeping with our vision of enhancing— and enriching-- customer experience levels at our Bank. Designed around a component model, this solution has transformed our banking technology ecosystem, empowering us to service the evolving business needs and objectives of our customers. The solution went successfully operational in a short span of 10 months.

N Ganapathy Subramaniam, President, TCS Financial Solutions, said,” We congratulate Bank of Bhutan on this successful banking transformation exercise. The deployment of TCS BaNCS at Bank of Bhutan signifies a critical milestone for TCS, as the Bank is our first customer in the country. We look forward to a long and rich partnership with Bank of Bhutan and in deepening our relationship with the financial services industry in Bhutan in the future.”

Bank of Bhutan is the largest and most profitable commercial bank in the Kingdom Of Bhutan. Prior to the TCS BaNCS deployment, the Bank faced challenges with slow responses in some delivery channels, and staff had to spend considerable amount of time in reconciling transactions and settling customer complaints. Employees had to be trained for long hours on common operations due to a not-so user friendly interface that slowed customer service at the Bank. The inability to parameterize mandated changes to the Bank’s legacy core system caused delays in the roll out of new products.

With this deployment, the Bank now has an enhanced and responsive user interface and new digital banking functionality that supports up load features. TCS BaNCS is designed around a business component model thereby empowering the Bank with a faster time to market for new products alongside automating key business processes, supporting multiple currencies and improving reporting, auditing and compliance. With TCS BaNCS, Bank of Bhutan was able to simplify end-of-day and end-of-period runs and reduce manual intervention and related errors. The availability of industry-standard SOA compliant APIs facilitated seamless integration with various customer delivery channels. The Bank is now able to respond faster across all its delivery channels, resulting in higher transactions volumes and greater accuracy.

TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd. inaugurates an all new state-of-the-art Generic Assembly Shop in Nagpur

2016-09-19T16:08:00.001+05:30

Nagpur

September 14, 2016: TAL Manufacturing Solutions Ltd. (TAL), A TATA Enterprise, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Motors, recently inaugurated an all new state-of-the-art Generic Assembly Shop at their manufacturing facility located in MIHAN SEZ, Nagpur.

The facility was inaugurated by the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shri. Devendra Fadnavis and the Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways & Shipping, Shri. Nitin Gadkari, in the presence of the Hon’ble Energy, New and Renewable Energy, GoM & Guardian Minister of Nagpur – Mr. Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mayor of Nagpur – Mr. Pravin Datke and other political, government & industry dignitaries, along with the Managing Director & CEO of Tata Motors, Mr. Guenter Butschek and the TAL Board of Directors.

RUAG Aero-structures, a global tier-1 to Airbus, awarded a multi-year $150 M contract to TAL in 2014 for supply of precision machined and sheet metal parts for the Airbus A320 family of aircrafts. The new work scope allows RUAG to strengthen and optimize its long-term objectives of sustainable profitability with a low-cost and high-complexity combi-strategy, which will give its customers not only a global supply chain but also best cost.

With a manufacturing area of 96,000 sq.ft. and an investment of over Rs. 100 cr., the Generic facility is a state-of-the-art aerospace manufacturing shop, with equipment to support technologies such as fluid cell forming, extrusion stretch wrapping, solution annealing and long-bed high speed machining of intricate parts along with facilities for assembly. The facility has been built to primarily execute the supply emanating from the RUAG – TAL contract elucidated above and is equipped to manufacture, assemble & supply over 50,000 precision parts and assemblies every month.

Mr. Alfons Kaspar, Vice President Supply Chain and Logistics – RUAG Aero-structures, said, “We treat the inauguration of this new facility as the first step in our realization of making TAL a part of our strategic supply base. Our challenge is to help TAL ramp-up quickly and stabilize production, so that we can look beyond parts and sub-assemblies into larger and complex assemblies. We are also looking at exploiting the potential and capabilities that TAL has built up in composites, which will complement our offerings and give us an unbeatable value proposition across metallic and composite aero structures”.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Rajesh Khatri, ED & CEO, TAL, said, “Thanks to our customers, especially RUAG, we have set up this new state-of-the-art Generic facility to build some of the most demanding structures of an aircraft with the help of globally benchmarked manufacturing technology. This facility will help us in delivering global quality and cost effective aerospace components & assemblies. We aspire to maintain our first mover advantage and lead the growth in the Indian civil aerospace industry”.

TAL has plans to invest in order to achieve desired growth. In fact, in the true Swadeshi spirit, it is planning to set up a lab-scale facility to further develop competencies in new technologies of composite manufacturing and aerospace assembly. Additional investments are being made at the facility to strengthen and grow machining, forming, welding and other capabilities, to make the facility a one stop solution for aero-structure and aero-engine precision components and assemblies.

TAL’s Aerospace facility is unique in the Indian private sector offering one stop solution for composites, hard and soft aerospace grade metallic materials, special processes and assemblies under one roof. The company’s aerospace unit has a diversified workforce of 550 employees, and is still growing at an accelerated pace

TAL, at its Pune location, has identified Robotics and Automation as one of its key growth drivers. It has recently launched its indigenously developed articulated 2, 5 & 10kg pay load Robots. The BRABO is “robolutionising” automation in the MSME in India.

Meet the inhabitants of Naagistaan.

2016-09-19T16:07:00.000+05:30

Mumbai

The inhabitants of Naagistaan are a bunch of interesting characters. Sony SAB’s Icchapyaari Naagin will give the viewers a peek into the lives of the Naags and Naagins. The show is set against the backdrop of Naagistaan and Earth where an icchadhaari naagin named Iccha descends on earth to change the negative perception of her clan that has been portrayed across the world which is referred to as ‘Insani Basti’on the show. Icchapyaari Naagin is all set to bust myths about Icchadhaari naags and naagins, as it will be revealed that the inhabitants of Naagistaan are peace loving and harmless creatures. They don’t believe in harming anyone unless provoked or threatened. Icchapyaari Naagin will premiere on the 27^th September 2016, airing every Monday to Friday 8 pm only on Sony SAB.

The look and feel of Naagistaan is very positive with lots of trees and stone structures as a part of the set-up. There are several milk waterfalls and rivers making their way through Naagistaan. Outfits influenced by the characteristics of snakes dominate the look of the people from Naagistaan. The history of the naags dates back several years ago and it is established that the community are descendants of Nagori Dev (a fictional god who is half man and snake) and Lord Shiva. Introducing to you the pivotal characters who are the inhabitants of Naagistaan.

Mukhya (Agast Anand)

He is the head of the clan. He is authoritative yet supports Iccha in her endeavor to change the perception of humans. A democratic leader, he has earned the respect and love of his fellow snakes.

Guruji (Hempushpak Arora)

The right hand of the Mukhya, the Guruji is the wisest man in Naagistan. His wisdom is so sound that even the Mukhya often pauses to check facts and solutions with him. A calm, dignified man he is quick with solutions and is a well-respected member of the clan.

Sheshu (Bharat Bhatia)

Iccha's father Sheshu is a fun loving and doting father. He is known in Naagistan for constantly trying to experiment with his powers and coming up with new mantras to expand them. His experiments usually end up going wrong. His favourite guinea pig is his wife who Iccha's mother.

Sipli (Anjali Gupta)

Sipli is Iccha's mother, a loving mother who is always concerned for Iccha's well-being. Like every mother she keeps worrying about Iccha's trip to earth and prays for her safety.

Germany Pledges €800 Million to Global Fund

2016-09-19T16:02:00.000+05:30

MUNICH

The government of Germany announced today it will contribute €800 million to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria for the three-year period beginning in 2017, a 33 percent increase over its previous pledge in 2013 and a demonstration of tremendous leadership in global health.

The announcement, made by Dr. Gerd Müller, Germany’s Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, came on the eve of the Global Fund’s Fifth Replenishment Conference on 16-17 September in Montreal, Canada, where world leaders and decision-makers will gather to set funding to end the epidemics and build resilient and sustainable systems for health.

Norbert Hauser, Chair of the Global Fund’s Board, praised Germany’s strong commitment to global health and its confidence in the Global Fund as an effective partnership for delivering results and excellent value for money.

“Germany is demonstrating outstanding leadership in global health,” Mr. Hauser said. “Germany’s contribution supports programs that save the lives of millions of people and positively affect millions more.”

Germany has been a strong supporter of the Global Fund partnership since its inception in 2002, contributing over US$2.5 billion, making it the fourth-largest donor. The Global Fund Replenishment Conference is aimed at further mobilizing efforts to end the epidemics of three of the world's most devastating diseases by 2030.

As a leading voice in global health and development, Germany has strongly endorsed the need to improve the health of adolescent girls and young women and address gender inequalities.

Germany has also been a leading advocate of financial and risk management reforms, which are critical to maximize the impact and efficiency of health interventions. It has also played a leading role in innovative financial mechanisms such as Debt2Health, under which creditors forgo repayment of a portion of their sovereign debts on the condition that the beneficiary countries invest an agreed upon counterpart amount in health through the Global Fund.

Based on partner estimates, a US$13 billion investment for the 2017-2019 funding cycle would save up to 8 million lives through programs supported by the Global Fund, avert up to 300 million new infections across the three diseases and lead to broad economic gains of up to US$290 billion over the coming years and decades.

45,000 more home buyers to get their dream homes by March 2017 in Noida, Greater Noida

2016-09-19T15:59:00.001+05:30

25,070 units already delivered in the region

Noida

With real estate companies gearing up to deliver around 45000 units in Noida and Greater Noida by the end of March 2017, it seems that the region is all set to become more habitable and lively with a new wave of growth. As reported by the real estate association CREDAI Western UP Chapter, developers of these regions will be giving possession by the end of this financial year bringing sigh of relief to the home buyers who were anxiously waiting to get the keys of their dream homes.

According to Mr. Deepak Kapoor, President CREDAI Western UP a whopping amount of close to 45000 flats will be delivered in Noida and Greater Noida by the end of March 2017. He said, “We have compiled database on the basis of inputs from the developers operating in Noida and Greater Noida. While many of them are giving possessions, the remaining will hand over the units by March 2017. Already 25070 units have been delivered by now and approximately 45000 more will be ready for handover by the end of this financial year to meet buyer’s demands. We are hopeful that once things settle down in place and delivery of flats would start, there would be increase in population migrating to these regions.”

Regions of Noida and Greater Noida are home to number of housing projects under various construction stages. But construction works were halted under various circumstances and possessions of flats were also overdue. Lakhs of home buyers were affected because of construction and possession delays due to one or the other reason. But the above data has given new hopes to the real estate market of the region. The move could lead to about 1 lakh people moving to Noida and Greater Noida region by next year. This favorable verdict for all would bring back the housing demand in the region which otherwise observed a dip in demand due to such issues.

Although the work on basic infrastructure in Noida is great & its going on in Greater Noida (West) as the possession of around 45k flats is slated for this financial year end, it is important that amenities like roads, power, water supply etc. fall in place so that the home buyers do not have to wait further for moving to these regions as already they have been affected with delays beyond our controls.

Building recognition At the WARP Summit 2016

2016-09-19T13:37:00.001+05:30

Advocacy of International Law for Global Peace

Seoul (Republic of Korea)

People from all levels of society were gathered together at the 2nd Annual Commemoration of the September 18th World Alliance of Religions' Peace (WARP) Summit in Seoul, Republic of Korea for the advocacy and development of peace into an enforceable, international legal foundation based on the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War (DPCW) proclaimed on March 14th of this year.

1,000 renowned leaders in every corner of the globe, as participants from 130 countries, take part in the summit, organized by Heavenly Culture, World Peace, Restoration of Light (HWPL), an international NGO registered in the UN DPI that conducts peace-related projects and campaigns globally. The summit begins with the Advocacy Forum for the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War on September 17th.

1) Advocacy Forum for the Declaration of Peace and Cessation of War - Plan of action for advocacy to intergovernmental organizations, governments, and the public

200 people, including members of the HWPL International Law Peace Committee, ministers, representatives of organizations and civil society, attended this forum. In his opening speech, Chairman Man Hee Lee of HWPL underlined global cooperation by stating, “For the 2nd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit, we’ve come together. All family members of peace who have a strong will for peace must gather our hearts and communicate with each other for peace to be settled one day sooner, for it is what all humanity has been longing for. Religious leaders have put forth their efforts for the improvement of the unity of religions at the WARP Office meetings and advocate for the DPCW as well. Just as a leader must lead his or her followers, they are striving to make a better world at the forefront.”

Chairwoman Nam Hee Kim of the International Women’s Peace Group also appealed to the participants by saying, “War only gives birth to another war, leaving fear and sacrifices to our future generations. We must achieve our purpose, the advocacy for this Declaration, to not repeat the atrocities of war for the next generation. When the public’s awareness of this issue increases, the powerful strength of peace in the world will arise, transcending national interests. All heads of state, justices, and UN representatives must work at the forefront to advocate for the implementation of international law compatible with the DPCW.”

Part I commenced with "the Potentiality of the DPCW and the Possibility of its Implementation", presented by Dr. Kamal Hossain, a member of the HWPL International Law Peace Committee and Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. Panel discussions ensued with concentration on the roles of different levels of society and plans of action for the advocacy of the DPCW to be developed into an international legal foundation for peace-building.

Part II opened with the speech regarding "Strategies for Advocacy to Governments at City Level" given by Mr. Mihail Guzun, Councilor of Codru City Council, Republic of Moldova.

Ms. Paula Boland, Executive Director of United Nations Association said, “NGOs are well equipped to educate and advocate for the principles of the DPCW and its adoption by member states through creating alternative venues for states themselves to engage in collective action and for individuals to join with other like-minded individuals in pursuit of their goals.”

9 panels of the forum, consisting of leaders from civil society, further discussed plans for legislation and policy making for peace-building based on the DPCW while reflecting on the environment of each nation.

2) The 4th HWPL International Law Peace Committee Meeting - High Level Meeting for the Development and Adoption of the DPCW (Group I, II, III)

Beginning with an introduction of the DPCW by Dr. MD Nazrul Islam, a member of the HWPL International Law Peace Committee and professor of international law, the meeting sought the capability of advocacy from civil society organizations through the "Role of States in the Adoption of the CSO Declaration by the UN" presented by Mr. Carlos Villan Duran, President of the Spanish Society for International Human Rights Law (SSIHRL).

Panels, as well as the audience, paid special attention to the speeches, and meetings with foreign ministers and education specialists in Groups II and III also discussed development plans for the establishment of peace in society with the help of governmental, intergovernmental and civil society organizations.

3) International Religious Leaders Conference

200 religious leaders from different religions, such as Buddhism, Islam, Sikhism and Christianity, were gathered in one place. Also, the Most Rev. Martin de Jesús de Barahona, Archbishop Emeritus of the El Salvador Anglican Church, said, “We don't just merely continue the dialogue but amplify the Office of Alliance of Religions for peace to other communities in order to continue promoting, carrying out experiences of dialogue and inviting other sectors of the national community for the day of promise of fulfilling the peace agreement."

After the press conference, reporters, editors, correspondents and presidents of media agencies from 20 different countries participated in the "Media Forum for Advocacy of the DPCW". With this, Day 1 of the summit was completed and the "Peace Festival for the 2nd Annual Commemoration of the WARP Summit" will be held on Day 2.

A special Screening of Oscar winning and nominated short films in Mumbai

2016-09-13T11:07:00.000+05:30

Mumbai

Shaping the future of toys and children’s products industry at Kids India

2016-09-13T11:03:00.000+05:30

Mumbai

The industry for toys and children’s products is geared up for the fourth edition of Kids India - India’s largest B2B fair where all the key players from the industry will participate along with many young and innovative companies.

Within a span of four years the event has established itself as the annual meeting place and the most important networking platform for the industry. Wishing all participants the very best of fortune, Mr. Ernst Kick, CEO, Spielwarenmesse eG, Germany, says "This year for the first time the fair will be spread over two halls at the Bombay Convention & Exhibition Centre covering an area of 8,500 sqm accommodating 150 Indian and international exhibitors representing about 350 brands.

This year has also seen Spielwarenmesse eG establish a subsidiary, Spielwarenmesse India Pvt. Ltd., which is organising the event for the first time. There is so much to discover in this industry and at Kids India as we all come together in the Spirit of Play!”

While the growing middle class in urban India is getting more brand and quality minded, the market in general is still quite price sensitive and there is a need to raise awareness about the benefits of play and toys. “Toys play a vital role to help foster the mental, physical, emotional and social development of children. Our initiative ‘Value of Play’ - an awareness campaign to promote the importance and benefits of play, is one of the steps to encourage play and the use of toys in an emerging market like India”, explains Katharina Janotta, Managing Director, " India Pvt. Ltd.

While the children of today are playing more with their screens than toys, the increased usage of smart phones is not going to replace traditional toys completely. “Traditional toys such as board games, building bricks, dolls and so on will always have a value”, feels Katharina Janotta. “And nowadays they can even be played in combination”, she adds. This is also reflected in the broad spectrum of products on display at Kids India that range from Soft Toys, Games and Puzzles to Sports and Playground Equipment on the one hand and from Technical & Action Toys to Electronic Toys and Games and Multimedia on the other.

Since its inception the fair is being supported by the The All India Toy Manufacturers Association (TAITMA) - the oldest and main representatives of the toy industry in India. Mr. Vivek Jhangiani, President, TAITMA states, “The Indian toy market is continuously growing and we can witness more and more spending on toys. We believe this is a sustainable trend which will persist even during times of economic difficulty. Indian consumers are beginning to understand the importance of play, and Kids India is one of the platforms to promote this awareness and educate consumers about the various benefits of toys and play as well as to provide an impetus to the industry”.

Many of the participating companies including the key players from the industry have been a part of the fair right from the first edition. “From its start, Kids India has proven to be the leading trade fair for the toy industry in India and we are glad to be a part of it. This year too, we are delighted with the wonderful platform we have to showcase our core franchises, new innovations, and comprehensive portfolio of toys. India continues to be a key market for Mattel. The opportunity to reach our Indian consumer in new and meaningful ways is tremendous. We want to ensure we continue to delight our consumers in new and innovative ways. So our toys and consumer products teams are constantly exploring new ideas for toys, new opportunities to collaborate with partners, and new areas to invest." informs Ishmeet Singh, Country Head, Mattel Toys India Pvt. Ltd.

75 % of the world’s toys are still made in China where the bulk of toy exports are produced to OEM orders for foreign brands. However, in light of factors like declining external demands, escalating local production costs and changes in the Renminbi exchange rate, the challenges for the Chinese toy exporters are intensifying. This could translate into opportunities for the Indian manufacturers. Kids India provides an ideal platform for joint ventures, technology transfer and for partnering with international companies.

"Kids India is the perfect forum for the Indian toy and sports industry to showcase its expanse to the world and serves as an excellent platform for presenting Indian made toys and children’s products to the world. The fair serves to encourage more international buyers to come to India especially from the neighbouring countries and is thus helping to boost exports." says Tarun Dewan, Executive Director, Sports Goods Export Promotion Council (SGEPC).

Tomorrow’s India Global Summit in Seoul offers start-ups

2016-09-12T16:34:00.000+05:30

Global Social India Foundation to host an event for startups in association with Accelerate Korea, Indian Angel Network and IIT Delhi’s Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer

Start-ups will get a chance to pitch to investors from India, Korea, Mauritius and Singapore

New Delhi

The Global Social India Foundation (GISF) has announced that it will host a special event for start-ups during theTomorrow’s India Global Summit to be held on September 25-29 in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The start-up event will be held on September 27 at Seoul Global Start-up Centre and is being organized in association with Accelerate Korea, Indian Angel Network (IAN) and IIT Delhi’s Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT). Start-ups from India, Korea and Singapore will take participate in the event and will stand a chance to secure on-the-spot funding from international investors.

Mr HP Singh, Founder and MD, Tomorrow’s India, says, “Besides promoting India’s strengths in business, knowledge and culture, we want to make Tomorrow’s India a platform for budding entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas on a global stage and contribute to the success of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Start-up India, Stand-up India’ campaign. At our Seoul edition later this month, we are offering start-ups a chance to meet international investors from India, Korea, Mauritius and Singapore and secure on-the-spot funding.”

Accelerate Korea acts as a catalyst within the entrepreneurship ecosystem across international borders by developing opportunities between Asia, Europe, and North America. Besides developing custom programs for public and private sectors, it also runs its own programs and supports late stage seed, early Series A and SME funding and provides consulting and education for fundraising and global market expansion.

Ms. Alina Gratschner, Managing Partner, Accelerate Korea, says, "We believe the Tomorrow’s India event coming to Seoul, Korea this year is a testament to how entrepreneurship is growing and becoming mainstream in the two countries. Both countries have for many years now, shown their strength within the ICT sector as their products and services are increasingly supplied to the world. From our exposure to the two markets as Accelerate Korea, we believe that both countries are fast becoming global leaders in terms of their ability to produce new out-of-the-box ideas now giving rise to much original innovation as their skilled talent learn to tap into their creative sides. We look forward to the Tomorrow’s India in Seoul to see what opportunities will come from this conference as these two developing countries build bridges for collaboration between their ecosystems."

Indian Angel Network (IAN) is India's first & Asia's largest angel investor network with more than 350 investors across 10 countries, and a portfolio of over 100 companies across fifteen sectors.

Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) is an industrial interface organization established at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT Delhi). FITT will be showcasing four member start-ups including Omnia Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Gurgaon, Faros Simulation System, Gurgaon; Cardea Biomedical Technologies Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, and NanoSniff Technologies, a biomedical company incubated at IIT Mumbai.

Some of the other start-ups participating at the Summit include uber Diagnostics, The Beacon Services, OnSpon Services,GoStartApp and We Travel Solo. Singapore-based Media Plus Services Pte Ltd will also be showcasing at the event.

Tomorrow’s India Global Summit is being supported by the Embassy of India in the Republic of Korea, and will have participants from India, Korea, Ethiopia, Finland, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan and Zimbabwe. Some of the speakers at the Summit include Sangeeta Reddy, Executive Director, Apollo Hospitals Group; Arun George, Founder & CEO, Avant Garde Innovations and the Focal Point Kerala Chapter for the UN Global Compact Network India; Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angels Network; Shailesh K. Pathak, Executive Director, Bhartiya Group; Prakash PK Menon, Global Partner, Thought Leaders Global; Devita Saraf, CEO & Design Head, Vu Technologies; and, Sachin Bhatia, Founder, TrulyMadly. The Summit will also showcase keynotes, presentations and talks by the Indian Embassy, Seoul Metropolitan Government, Incheon Metropolitian City, Incheon Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Korea Plus (Invest India) and Gyeonggi-Do Provincial Government. The Summit will also include Oorja Cultural Performance & Dinner at Floating Island (Sevit), golfing event, and visits to N Tower, Itaewon Market, Samsung Electronics, Suwon, and Myeong-Dong Market. The registration for Tomorrow’s India Global Summit includes airfare, expedited visas, stay and meals, Summit access, intra-city travel and site visits.

Oxigen Wallet’s Play The Host –Season 2 returns with The Oxigen Black Caps

2016-09-12T16:29:00.002+05:30

Season-2 winners to host the New Zealand Black Caps cricket players

New Delhi

Oxigen Wallet, India’s first Non-Bank Mobile Wallet is launching Season 2 of their successful annual marketing property ‘Play The Host’, which will run from 09^th September – 09^th October 2016.

This year, Oxigen has planned the campaign with the New Zealand Cricket Team Black Caps who will now be called as Oxigen Black Caps for their India tour, playing test & one day series. The campaign will give the Indian cricket fans a chance to host the Oxigen Black Caps and relish a cricket match with the players.

Through this marketing campaign, Oxigen will enhance their consumer engagement for its existing 25 million users and to expand its user base. Keeping in mind the encouraging numbers the Play The Host season 1 clocked, with the sponsorship of the South African cricket team, Oxigen aims to increase its market share by 10%. A tune of minimum 25 lakh new users would be onboard with Play the Host Season 2.

Keeping at core, the great Indian hospitality tradition of Athiti Devo Bhava as the central theme, Play The Host season 2 commercials will see ‘Wikki’, a colorful animated bird with Punjabi accent, giving lessons to the New Zealand cricket players, in 4 parts – food, emotions, respect, gifts – the desi way. The players including Ross Taylor, Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner and Mitchell McClenaghan, will be taught by Wikki Paaji, how to play the perfect guest while visiting India. Oxigen will be rolling out this unique campaign across digital media & Cinema, including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, as well as prominent partner ecommerce, entertainment, travel and coupon sites like flipkart (audience network), msn, Cricinfo, Hotstar, Gaana, Hungama, saavn, ixigo, happytrips, bookmyshow, coupondunia.in, cashkaro.com, groupon.com, coupons.com etc. The users can also avail exciting offers from Oxigen Wallet partners like Zomato, Yatra, Goibibo, Hungama, Jabong, Swiggy etc.

Commenting on the launch of season 2, Mr. Ankur Saxena, CEO, Oxigen Wallet, said, “Buoyed by the success of the Play The Host Season 1 with South Africa Proteas T20 team squad, we are happy to announce continuation of the campaign in the second successive year with the New Zealand Cricket team, Oxigen Black Caps. Through this campaign we want to give one more reason to the youth of this country to rejoice the festive period by hosting some of the best cricket players from New Zealand. As we focus on enriching the consumer experience and engagement, we expect Play The Host Season 2 to deliver good results for Oxigen Wallet.”

Expressing his excitement on the announcement of the campaign, James Wear, General Manager of Commercial at New Zealand Cricket said, “Cricket in India is followed like a religion. India has always shown tremendous hospitality towards us and we look forward to have an amazing experience on this tour. We’re proud to have an association with Oxigen and their ‘Play the Host’ campaign over the coming weeks, which will see the Indian public to get to know our players better while here. It’s an exciting tour for all those involved."

To participate in the campaign, new users can logon to www.playthehost.com and enter their mobile number. The users will get an SMS with a link to download Oxigen Wallet app which is available on Android Play store, iOS App Store and Windows Store and register. For existing Oxigen users, users have to click on the Play The Host banner in the app and register. Participate and opt how you want to host the visitingOxigen Black Caps during the India tour for the Test and one day series. Final 20 winners selected through lucky draw will cherish a meet and greet session with the New Zealand team players and also play a friendly cricket match with them.

During the entire month of campaign, participants will also get a chance to avail premium and exclusive autographed merchandized from New Zealand Black Caps through Oxigen Wallet app.

Small farmers to largely benefit as SBI signs MoU with KOEL for financing Mega T-Power Tillers

2016-09-12T13:52:00.001+05:30

New Delhi

India's largest bank, State Bank of India (SBI), with a branch network of around 17,000 and agri customer base of around 1.2 crore has played a vital role in shaping agriculture credit base of India. To keep pace with the modern advancements and growing multifarious credit need of agri customers it has set a milestone in developing various innovative products and strategies. In recent times, the Bank has been working with corporates to develop risk mitigated, value chain financing solutions that can cater to all stakeholders –starting from the farmer to the distribution channel partners. Today, the Bank has taken yet another step in this space with the launch of a new product for financing small and marginal farmers for purchase of Power Tillers manufactured by Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited.

An MOU was signed between SBI and Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited for financing loans to farmers for purchase of Mega T-Power Tillers at attractive interest rate for 3 to 5 years. Shri K.M.Trivedi, Chief General Manager (Rural Business) of SBI and Shri T Vinodkumar, Chief Financial Officer, Kirloskar Oil Engines Limited signed the MOU.

Kirloskar as a brand has been associated with the Indian farming community for many decades. In agricultural sector, Kirloskar fulfills the motive power needs of customers globally; essentially farmers, who require products in the range of 3 hp to 30 hp. Kirloskar after studying the needs & purposes of farmers across India, has developed & launched its Product “Mega T” in the Farm Mechanisation segment.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri K.M.Trivedi, Chief General Manager (Rural Business), State Bank of India (SBI), said "Though India has the largest volume market for tractors; the availability of average land holding is 1 to 2 acres in most of the areas in the country. With the advent of modern technology and various finance options now farm mechanization is more affordable to farmers of India. To achieve the projected target of 280MT of food grains by 2020-21, Farm mechanization is an inevitable way. Digital innovation, farm mechanization and flexible financial services will together enhance agri scenario in India”.

Mr. T Vinodkumar, Chief Financial Officer, Kirloskar Oil Engines Ltd. (KOEL) highlighted that the “tie-up is aimed at boosting economic activity in rural areas by creating demand through efficient and quicker credit availability for the farmer. This arrangement will enable us to fulfill our social commitments towards the upliftment of farmers. He also mentioned that SBI with its pan India presence and large network provided an ideal opportunity for deep penetration into the rural market.”

Mr. Antony Cherukara-VP Corporate Strategy & Business Head Agriculture, KOEL stated that “In order to keep up with the pace of modernization of agriculture, use of appropriate technology has become inevitable. In the prevalent conditions of Indian Agriculture, considering the fact that the majority of Indian farmers are small with land holding below 2 hectare they can hardly afford costlier tractors and manual labor. This tie-up with SBI would be a boon for the farming community. Mega T Power tiller is undoubtedly an intermediate technology as it bridges a very important gap between inefficiencies of manual techniques and unviable cost of using bigger tractors.”

General Manager SBI Shri J.K Thakar added “With this, the Bank is looking to strengthen the 'Farm-to-Fork' program and increase agricultural lending through corporate partnerships. Thorough this finance, both the bank and the stake holders be benefitted as well”.

Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Launches New Endowment Plan SUD Life AADARSH

2016-09-12T13:48:00.000+05:30

Offers twin benefits of savings and security
Provides guaranteed maturity benefit with limited premium paying term
Enhances life cover with additional Death Benefit in case of death due to accident
Encourages short-term savings with fixed term of 10 years
Income Tax benefits u/s section 80C & 10(10D)* of the Income Tax, 1961 subject to conditions stipulated therein

New Delhi

SUD Life (Star Union Dai-ichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd.), a joint venture between Bank of India, Union Bank of India and the Japan-based Dai-ichi Life, today launched its new endowment plan - SUD Life AADARSH – that offers twin benefits of savings and security.

SUD Life AADARSH is a non-linked, non-participating endowment life insurance plan and it provides a guaranteed maturity benefit with a limited premium paying term of 5 years.

The unique selling proposition of the new endowment plan is that it enhances cover of the life insured with an inbuilt additional accidental death benefit.

Announcing the launch of the new insurance scheme, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of SUD Life Girish Kulkarni said, “SUD Life AADARSH is an ideal plan for those who value savings and security in this uncertain world. It is designed to preserve your wealth and help you secure the dreams of your loved ones with guaranteed maturity benefit and protection cover.’’

SUD Life AADARSH encourages short-term savings with a fixed policy term of 10 years and a fixed premium payment term of 5 years, while the minimum entry age for this plan is 8 years and the maximum age at maturity is 65 years.

A person has the option to choose from three basic sum assured options available – Rs 50,000,Rs 3,00,000 and Rs 5,00,000 – under this plan.

The policyholder can pay his/her regular premium on monthly, quarterly, half-yearly and yearly mode based on his/her need and income flow.

On survival till the end of the policy term, guaranteed maturity benefit which is equal to the basic sum assured will be paid.

In case of death due to causes other than accident, the death sum assured will be paid.In case of death due to accident, the benefit equal to twice the death sum assured will be paid .

Apart from providing short-term savings and protection, the new endowment plan also provides tax benefits under Section 80C and Section 10(10D) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 subject to conditions stipulated therein.

SUD Life AADARSH is available across 11,000 Bank of India and Union Bank of India branches. It will also be promoted through SUD Life Plan Designers and advisors across the country.

NaanDanJain Irrigation Ltd., inked a pact worth 18.7 million Euros with Ministry of Agriculture and National Development

2016-09-12T13:45:00.000+05:30

Jalgaon

NaanDanJain Irrigation Ltd, a Group Company of Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd, today signed a contract with Ministry of Agriculture and National Development, Eritrea for supply and installation of Solar Powered Drip Irrigation Systems of value 18.7 million Euros.

This is the largest agricultural development for small holders in Eritrea. This project was fully funded by European Union. The project will bring much needed relief for about 2000 farmers in 14 different locations spread over Eritrea, in 7 different clusters of Lots. In each of the 14 project locations, water from reservoirs will be supplied to groups of farmers through the Drip Irrigation systems.

The water from the reservoirs will be conveyed through underground pipeline into the Drip systems using Solar Photovoltaic Systems, which makes the project sustainable for a long term energy requirements to run the irrigation pumps/Drip systems. The project will be executed in next 18 months whereby the farmers in the project area will be benefited with higher farm incomes.

The project is the first of its kind integrated Drip Irrigation project with Solar pumping in Africa and will be relevant for many other countries where the farms are not connected with Grid electricity.

These community based projects, being undertaken extensively In India and now in Africa, are opening up new vistas for the developing world. They are creating a seamless connect between Macro and Micro, Infrastructure and Agriculture, Availability and Productivity, Cost and Value:

In a signing ceremony presided by the officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of National Development, EU Delegation in Eritrea, and various other dignitaries, the Contract was signed on 8th September 2016.