Brandfaqs

JSW Steel partners with Japanese firm

2009-11-19T19:34:00.003+05:30

Indian steel major JSW Steel Thursday announced an agreement with Japan's second largest steelmaker JFE Holdings to set up a greenfield project in West Bengal and an automotive steel manufacturing unit in the country.

"JFE and JSW will collaborate on a planned plant in West Bengal," said JSW Steel managing director Sajjan Jindal.

"We are discussing ways and means through which JSW and JFE can collaborate in our upcoming project in West Bengal. We are interested in partnering each other to take forward the proposed steel project at Salboni," Jindal said at a media briefing in Mumbai Thursday.

JSW Bengal Steel, a joint venture between JSW Steel and the state government, is setting up the West Bengal project.

The company is constructing a 10-million-tonne steel plant in the state at an investment of Rs.35,000 crore (about $7 billion) in Salboni.

"According to the pact with JFE, we will collaborate with the company in 10 fields, one of which is our Bengal project," Biswadip Gupta, joint managing director and chief executive officer of JSW Bengal, told IANS in Kolkata.

JSW Steel has formed two core committees, which will make agreements for each of these 10 fields where the two companies will collaborate, he said.

"They will make agreement for Salboni project also," Gupta said, adding that no time frame had been fixed for the agreements.

The two companies will also cooperate in manufacturing automotive steel.

Added Hajime Bada, JFE steel president and chief executive: "JFE, with this agreement, is determined to intensify its relationship with JSW to serve the request of its automotive customers."

"This agreement shall also provide JFE an avenue to look into the future possibilities of development in India," Bada said in a statement.

According to a source close to the company, JFE has agreed to acquire 10 percent stake in JSW Steel for 50 billion yen ($561 million) which the Indian Steel major will spend on greenfield projects.

JSW has plans to expand its annual capacity to 32 million tonnes by 2020 by setting up greenfield projects in Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Information officers in India most focused globally: IBM study

2009-11-19T19:34:00.000+05:30

Seventy percent of chief information officers (CIOs) in India integrate business and technology to promote innovation for their organisation against 47 percent overseas, a study conducted by global IT major IBM has revealed.

Additionally, 64 percent of Indian CIOs proactively push IT as an innovation element and push low-cost business processes for their organisations against 55 percent abroad.

The study is based on a global survey of more than 2,500 CIOs including 100 from India.

"Indian CIOs are more focused than their counterparts anywhere in the world," said IBM India-South Asia's chief technologist Guruduth Banavar.

According to the study, 56 percent of Indian CIOs decide on business strategy as a member of a senior management team, while globally this was 33 percent.

"Over 70 percent Indian CIOs expect to explore newer channls for end-customer interactions and greater transparency with customers in the next five years," Banavar told reporters here.

Global responses rank between 56 and 64 percent, he added.

The study also said over 40 percent of CIOs in India have direct access to their chief executives.

"In India, it appears to be that CIOs are more progressive as compared to their global counterparts. Indian CIOs are looking to make innovation real and expand business impact," said Nipun Mehrotra, vice president of general business, IBM Asia Pacific.

According to him, Indian CIOs want to lead their organisations into the league of the most successful companies worldwide.

"Due to intense competition across every industry, CIOs are compelled to do things very differently and they think out of box more often than many of their average global counterparts," Mehrotra added.

Katrina Barbie arrives in India

2009-11-19T19:33:00.000+05:30

Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif's look-alike Barbie doll has arrived in the country. It was designed to mark Barbie's 50 years.

Katrina also walked the ramp as the showstopper for the "All Doll'd Up" special show dedicated to Barbie at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai earlier this year. She sported a small pink dress designed by well-known designer Neeta Lulla's daughter Nishka. The 'Katrina Barbie' will be wearing the same design.

"I've been a part of the entire process of doll making and it's been quite fascinating. Since, I've been travelling out of Mumbai for the promotions of my movies; unfortunately I've not been able to see it yet. I'm really looking forward to see the doll as soon as I get back," Katrina said in a statement.

A product of Mattel Toys, the Katrina Barbie -- a commemorative product -- is not for sale.

Rs 1000 discount on domestic hotel booking on Yatra.com

2009-11-18T18:11:00.001+05:30

Yatra.com, India's leading online travel company, today announced yet another unique scheme for the customers making their travel bookings on Yatra.com. Under this offer, a customer can avail a discount of Rs. 1000 on any domestic hotel of his choice by booking his air or rail travel on Yatra.com. This promotional offer will be rolled out on November 10, 2009 in 21 key cities of the country including Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Hyderabad.

Speaking on this promotional offer, Dhruv Shringi, CEO and Co founder, Yatra,com said, "At Yatra.com, we are constantly looking at ways to add more value to our customers and this offer will help them in getting maximum mileage from their travel booking on Yatra by giving them a special value benefit on their hotel stays. With this new promotional offer, we plan to reach out to the customers who are currently engaged in business travel be it SME's, Corporates or individuals."

Yatra.com is known to be a frontrunner of changing clime of the dynamic travel industry, striving to introduce better and convenient deals and services for its customers, keeping in mind their budget and needs. Presently it is offering the Fair Deal Promise scheme on international flights where one who books an international ticket with Yatra.com and gets a lower price elsewhere, can ask Yatra.com to match the fare, and avail a lower airfare. It also renders its customers free visa assistance facility wherein a team of experts help the customer with the procedures of applying for his Visa without charging any additional service fees. Payment convenience is another value added service by Yatra wherein customers are given the flexibility of paying only 25% of the international air ticket fare and balance can be paid at a later date. With such value added deals and offers, Yatra.com aims to continue being a pioneer in bringing innovative applications and services in the travel business.

Twitter & Facebook now on Xbox 360

2009-11-18T18:10:00.000+05:30

* Xbox 360 Continues to deliver the Leading Games and Entertainment Experiences
* Connect to Facebook and Twitter with your Xbox 360
* Great value addition for 20 million users on Xbox Live
* Tweet and Update your status while playing your favourite game
* Compare your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends' lists to see which of your friends are on LIVE

For people who are addicted to Social networking and can't seem to get enough of it, here is breaking news! Microsoft now gives its ardent Xbox 360 fans an opportunity to go Live and enjoy social networking along with games right on the gaming console! This next wave of Social Networking will be available on Xbox LIVE
from the 17th November, 2009, and transform the Xbox LIVE into the most entertaining connected experience ever!

Jaspreet Bindra, Regional Director, Entertainment and Devices Division, Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt. Ltd. shared the excitement around the launch by saying "Since the time of the launch of Xbox 360 and XBOX Live, we have always heard our customers and continuously worked to enhance their interactive entertainment experience. The addition of Facebook and Twitter brings an altogether different level of excitement and action for 20 million Xbox LIVE users across the globe. Only on Xbox 360 can you find the best in movies, music, games and now social networking tailor-made to suit your needs and demands."

Keeping up with its promise of providing the best in entertainment, Xbox 360 will now become your complete source of social entertainment experience by enabling you to enjoy a lot more! So, here's what you can do:

Facebook - Update your status to share what movie, game or entertainment you're enjoying, connect with friends and view their Facebook stream, status updates and photos on the big screen - all seamlessly integrated and custom-built for Xbox 360. You can even compare your Xbox LIVE and Facebook friends' lists to see which of your friends are on LIVE.

Twitter - Stay in the know by discovering, posting and replying to Tweets right on you're Xbox 360. You can even view friend profiles, trends and conversations, or search to see who's tweeting about your favorite game.

With these updates, Xbox 360 is bound to become the one-stop shop for everything. You can now connect with your friend's online, show them your cool new victory in that favourite game that you play and proudly upload those pictures on your Facebook profile. All this and much more while you are still busy fighting the devils in the game. Sounds exciting? It sure is the best.

So, what are you waiting for? Make sure that you are right in front of your Xbox 360 on the 17th of November. Go LIVE and experience Social Networking like never before. Upload the picture of the cool new car you buy while playing Forza Motorsport 3 on your Facebook profile and make sure that your most recent tweet does talk about your victory on Halo 3: ODST.

There's tons more to experience with Gold subscription as well. Play the latest game titles like "Halo 3: ODST" and "Forza Motorsport 3″ online multiplayer, participate in "1 vs. 100," host an Xbox LIVE Party or even video chat with friends. All of these Gold-only features will be available all weekend long for anyone to try.

Block your schedule accordingly, as November 17th is here!

IndiaMART.com Partners with NDTV to Launch NDTVSME.com

2009-11-18T18:08:00.000+05:30

Powered by IndiaMART.com, www.NDTVSME.com will provide information, transaction and services to the large SME segment

-- Brand and reach of NDTV with the strong B2B recall and content strength of IndiaMART.com shall make the portal first choice for SMEs

IndiaMART.com, India's largest online B2B marketplace, today announced its partnership with NDTV to launch an SME portal - www.NDTVSME.com. Powered by IndiaMART.com, this new portal will address the need for a destination portal providing information, transaction and services to the large SME segment. The portal currently provides trade news, leads, tenders and other relevant information along with an HP Smartbiz section.

The portal caters to the needs and requirements of smaller businesses and a partnership with NDTV offers perfect opportunity to provide users with business news supplemented by B2B marketplace services. The website offers a rich user experience and the ability to offer global exposure and focused business enquiries for members. "NDTVSME.com is a perfect marriage of the brand and reach of NDTV with the strong B2B recall and content strength of IndiaMART.com, which makes it a formidable property. Given the way the SMEs taking center stage in India's post-recession economy, we are bullish that www.NDTVSME.com will become a destination of first choice very soon for India's upwardly mobile SMEs," says Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO, IndiaMART.com.

Vikram Chandra, CEO, NDTV Networks, said, "We are very excited about reaching out to the SME community, which forms the backbone of the Indian industry, through this portal. NDTV has always focused on this space with its business channel and now we plan to address the various needs of this huge segment through www.NDVSME.com, as we keep adding more products and services. Partnering with market leaders like IndiaMART.com and HP also shows our commitment to always provide the best information and solutions to our users."

Speaking on the occasion, Deepti Dang, Head, Marketing Commercial & SMB, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard India, said, "The SMBs contribute largely to the overall PC shipments in the commercial segment. Hence, we at HP are geared to help this major vertical manage, protect and grow their businesses." She further added, "Association with NDTVSME.com further reiterates our commitment to India as the SMEs form the backbone of the country. HP India is best equipped in empowering them by providing technology that is relevant, reliable, secure, affordable and easily available."

This portal will be a ready reckoner of information that will help business leaders, CEOs/owners, CIOs/CTOs and CMOs at every stage of their business marketing process. Right from explanatory and contextual information on how to plan for, implement, and manage new technologies for business enhancement, this portal will be a one stop shop for solutions that customers can rely on for better business outcomes.

Airbus sells first A380 aircraft configured to carry 840 passengers

2009-11-17T20:03:00.002+05:30

European aircraft maker Airbus said Tuesday it had sold its first A380 airliners configured to carry a maximum of 840 passengers in a single class.

French carrier Air Austral, based in the overseas territory of La Reunion, ordered two of the aircraft to serve its high-density route from La Reunion to Paris.

The standard three-class configuration for the A380, the largest commercial airliner ever built, has room for 525 passengers.

"With the Air Austral configuration, fuel consumption levels below two litres per passenger per 100 kilometres can be expected," Airbus said.

Currently, 20 A380s are in service with four carriers, serving 13 international routes. A total of 202 of the so-called superjumbos were ordered by 17 airlines.

However, production problems have caused significant delays in the delivery of the plane to its customers.

Vodafone offers ALL local and STD calls at 1paise/sec for prepaid customers

2009-11-16T16:40:00.000+05:30

Vodafone Essar, one of India's leading cellular service providers, today enhanced its 1p per sec tariff offering in Karnataka. Customers can now make calls to any phone, any network in India at just 1p/sec.

Priced at Rs 66/-, this recharge is bundled with a free SIM card with lifelong validity and comes with a tariff validity of one year from the date of recharge.

Existing customers on Vodafone network can also enjoy the 1paise/sec tariff for any local and STD calls by recharging with Rs. 64 respectively.

Roaming and ISD rates remain unchanged and will be applicable as per the customers' base tariff plan.

Cyberoam launches Endpoint Data Protection

2009-11-16T16:38:00.000+05:30

Cyberoam, the vendor of Identity-based Unified Threat Management Solutions, announced the launch of its End Point Data Protection suite to secure corporate data and manage IT assets. This suite extends Cyberoam's security protection from the gateway to the endpoint, reinforcing its presence as a complete security provider.

The extensive use of removable storage devices and file sharing applications makes end points the most vulnerable areas with research statistics showing more than 50% data loss incidents originating at end points. The average total cost of a corporate data breach stands at $6.3 million and lost business accounts for 65% of breach costs, according to a study by the Ponemon Institute. End point data protection is thus increasingly being recognized as the critical immediate step in cutting data losses and delivering immediate ROI.

Cyberoam's End Point Data Protection suite fills the gap for a dedicated end point security solution with available solutions being highly priced and targeted at the enterprise segment. Supporting up to 3000 users, Cyberoam meets the data protection requirements of SMB and enterprise segments.

Says Harish Chib, Vice-President - New Business Development, Cyberoam, "Blended threats do not distinguish between the gateway and the end point to gain entry. With the launch of the end point data protection suite, Cyberoam will secure organizations at the gateway and the desktop, offering a single, complete security cover for organizations."

Cyberoam's End Point Data Protection suite consists of four modules - Data Protection and Encryption, Device Management, Application Control and Asset Management. With its policy-driven data protection and asset management, the suite delivers Identity and group-based policy control as well as activity logging to provide comprehensive control and visibility of data transfer over removable devices; applications; chat applications such as Skype, MSN and more; network sharing and printers.

Yatra.com to Increase Focus on the Affiliate Marketing Programme

2009-11-12T17:02:00.000+05:30

Yatra.com, India's leading online travel company, has decided to focus more on the Affiliate Marketing programme in future. The Yatra Affiliate Program, which gives business opportunity to companies and individual website owners to generate revenue by promoting Yatra products and services on their website, projects to contribute 20% to the revenues of the company in less than a year through the programme. Currently the affiliate program is run through Shoogloo Network (OMG UK) and dgm India, which are pay for performance marketing companies.

Commenting on the program, Bharat Malik, Head Online Marketing for Yatra.com said, "Yatra Affiliate program started as an open business invitation to all the websites owners, giving an opportunity to monetize their website traffic with Yatra.com. The lucrative commission structure, which is Rs 270 to Rs 400 for domestic flight bookings, Rs 500/- for domestic hotels and Rs 600 to Rs 1000 for international flights and Rs 1000/- for holidays, has resulted in better overall conversions and return on investment in just less than two years."

He further added, "Having the first mover's advantage, Yatra.com understood that competition led to the increase in CPA (Cost Per Acquisition), which Yatra gets from Search Engine Marketing. For companies like us, where 90% of the transactions happen online, it was important to keep the CPA to the lower side, which we have implemented successfully. Our target would be to make affiliate marketing an integral part of our overall marketing strategy."

Dhruv Shringi, Co-Founder and CEO of Yatra.com said, "Today we realise that affiliate marketing, if well managed, is the most cost effective online marketing tool because there are millions of travel related domains / potential websites who can give highly qualified traffic to us based on pre-defined CPA. We are going to focus on this in the next six months and would like this channel to become one of the largest contributors to our topline."

LD Sharma, Founder & MD of Shoogloo Network said, "Merchants in India are still taking time to understand the concept and importance of affiliate marketing but Yatra.com is one of those few companies, who have tried, tested and benefitted from this. There are hundreds and thousands of website owners who have travel related websites and through affiliate marketing, they get a chance to earn unlimited commissions from players like Yatra.com."

Websites owners can become an affiliate simply by clicking http://www.yatra.com/affiliate/scripts/signup.php.
Yatra.com provides many tools to affiliates including dynamic booking engine, latest creatives, and lots more. Soon, Yatra.com will also be providing web services to the affiliates, which will allow them to create dynamic websites within minutes.

Siemens Gigaset enters into Indian market with the launch of new cordless phones

2009-11-12T17:01:00.002+05:30

Gigaset Communications, one of the world's largest manufacturers of cordless telephones under the brand Siemens Gigaset, has entered the Indian market with the launch of new premium cordless phones. The European market leader with its headquarters in Munich and its primary production site in Bocholt (Germany) brings stylish cordless phones with broad functionality to Indian households. The new office is based at Mumbai and it will cater to the growing needs of Indian consumers.

Gigaset Communications brings stylish cordless phones with great functionality to Indian households. The new Siemens Gigaset phones are of superior quality and easy-to-use. These multi-talents also prove their value for everyday use in households and small offices with their convenient features. Equipped with cutting-edge technology, the new models from Gigaset Communications are elegant and energy-efficient.

At the launch in Mumbai José Costa e Silva, CEO, Gigaset Communications GmbH said, "We are delighted to launch our presence in India. As the European market leader in cordless phones and a premium manufacturer we look forward to providing innovative and high quality products to a discerning and growing Indian consumer base. Within a very short time period we will gain significant market share and shape the market to the benefit of the Indian customers."

Siemens Gigaset as a brand is synonymous with exceptional functionality for home communication. And with the launch of Gigaset products, the consumers in India will have a wider choice of cordless home communication products. It is a strategic move based on the fact that the Indian telecommunications market is the fifth largest in the world and second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. With India's large population base, there is great opportunity to drive huge volume of business.

Made in Germany-High quality and performance

The new cordless phones by Siemens Gigaset offer high quality performance and cutting-edge design. The models are built for easy use and durability. An average of half of all households in Germany and one in five in Europe now make their phone calls with a Siemens Gigaset made in Germany.

"Siemens Gigaset has proven that technology is a viable choice for consumers desiring the best sound quality possible from cordless phones. Gigaset's new phones redefine the standards for sound quality, energy-efficiency and home entertainment décor. Gigaset Communications stays committed to developing technology and products that go beyond current expectations of value, quality and innovation. Hence, we feel that this is a good time to launch our operations in India" added CEO José Costa e Silva.

Top-Notch Sound Quality

Brilliant sound, a convenient hands-free function and a headset connection make phone calls easy with the new Gigaset home phones.

ECO WDTC technology saves power bills

Thanks to Gigasets ECO WDTC technology customers can expect to use up to 60 % less energy savings. Feature phones, such as the Siemens Gigaset A680/685, C580 and S880 offer the ECO WDCT mode.

The launch of the operations in India and the opening of the new office in Mumbai mark Gigaset Communications' commitment to expanding its presence in South Asia and the next stage in the successful implementation of its international growth strategy. The company's commitment to a truly global strategy has been demonstrated by its impressive growth in Europe and Middle East. This dynamic expansion has added new locations to the existing network and has also brought the people closer worldwide.

Gigaset cordless phones are now in India and available in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Kolkata at electronics stores and leading Hypermarkets.

Mint.com for India?

2009-11-12T17:00:00.000+05:30

Perfios, a Bangalore based technology start-up has introduced a Personal finance management portal targeting the Indian audience. It is similar to mint.com in that it allows for automatic updates from financial institutions. However, unlike US where there are standards for information extraction from Financial Institutions, the India financial sector is vastly unorganized and presents a monumental challenge.

Perfios is a pioneer in this space by providing a method to aggregate information from hundreds of financial institutions and provides tools for analysis for spend patterns, computation of capital gains, taxation etc.

The portal is entirely developed using Adobe Flex framework.

Google unveils first ever 'Made in India' Doodle

2009-11-12T16:59:00.000+05:30

It took 90 days, over 4,000 entries and 60,000 votes for India to get its first 'made in India' Doodle. Dennis Hwang - the Master Doodler chose the first-ever young doodler for India on the basis of 'innovation and creativity'.

So what is a Google Doodle? "Doodles" are creative Google logos that appear on some special days, to commemorate scientific and artistic achievements, historic or seasonal events, and other local occasions. Their eye-catching designs also often teach you something new about a day, event or occasion whenever you happen to stumble upon them. For over a decade, Google has been designing innovative logos called 'Doodles' for its homepage and Dennis Hwang - the master doodler - has been driving this innovation. In August 2009, Google India decided to unleash the creativity of thousands of children in India as we announced India's first ever doodling competition called Doodle4Google™.

The contest was open to all students from 1st-10th standard where they were given the freedom to imagine their own version of the Google logo, inspired by the theme "My India". The contest was judged by an esteemed panel of judges that comprised renowned cartoonist, N. Ponnappa, internationally acclaimed artist Raghava KK and the faculty of the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad - India's premier design institute. The doodles were evaluated on the basis of artistic merit, creativity and how well the doodle vision has been explained.

Puru Pratap Singh's doodle was chosen from over 4000 doodles submitted by students across the country, and was selected based on artistic merit, creativity, and expression of the theme.

Puru Pratap Singh, a 4th standard student from Gurgaon (NCR), has been announced as the winner of the Doodle 4 Google competition. This announcement was made by Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India and Dennis Hwang at a celebration today in New Delhi for the 46 semi-finalists and their families. Each Doodle submitted represented the immense creative talent and richness of ideas of students across the country.

The winning doodle is titled "My India - Full of Life". In addition to having his doodle on the Google homepage appear all day on 14th November, Puru will receive a laptop computer, a t-shirt with his doodle and a INR I,00,000 technology grant for his school. The champion doodler has been drawing since he could hold a crayon. In addition, all finalists will be given a Doodle4Google™ certificate along with a Google goody bag.

"At Google we like to play! "Doodle4Google™ symbolizes that playful spirit of Google and is a celebration of creativity and in this case, of India. We are excited to present the results of India's first edition of this contest and laud the young Indian doodlers who have showcased their wonderful creativity in the form of inspiring doodles that represent the various facets of India," remarks Shailesh Rao, Managing Director, Google India

Adds Dennis Hwang, the Master Doodler "India is a land of creative minds. For centuries, Indian art has continued to fascinate people from across the globe. It was amazing to see how young kids could come out with highly creative Doodles that truly define the culture and tradition of this incredible country. Choosing the successful entry was not easy as every Doodle depicts India in a unique manner."

The three national finalists are listed below. To see all the finalists' doodles, go to- http://www.google.co.in/intl/en/doodle4google/index.html

Private labels - Increased threat to FMCG companies

2009-11-11T17:03:00.003+05:30

According to a new consumer insight report published by Datamonitor titled "The Impact of Private Labels on FMCG Companies in India", private labels are increasingly posing threat for FMCG companies in India.

This report, based on a consumer survey, reveals that while the adoption of private labels began with its value proposition, consumers perceive these store brands are offering quality at par with other national brands.

"The increased scale of operations of retailers is shifting the bargaining power from FMCG companies to retailers. The growing adoption of private labels can compel FMCG companies to reassess their trade margins or relationship with retailers." explains Vaibhav Khera, Director, India Consumer Markets Research at Datamonitor.

Indian retailers are laying a strong emphasis on the growth of their private label brands which is bringing in greater margins and is helping them gain greater bargaining power with FMCG companies. Retailers, which started launching their private labels as a value alternative to national brands are now mirroring these national brands with respect to product packaging and claims and are offering these products at a lower price. Retailers are also launching products with tiered pricing to cater to a wider set of audience while holding on to their store positioning.

The adoption of private label brands has been rapid in the household care segment, and the increased satisfaction level of consumers buying products in this segment has helped in building retailers' credibility. Datamonitor expects that a customer satisfied with a private label brand in a low involvement category such as household care will have a greater propensity of trial in other categories such as food and beverages and personal care.

To highlight this threat, Datamonitor has analysed several product categories on the basis of their private label penetration and attractiveness where attractiveness is defined with respect to category involvement, brand loyalty, and price sensitivity, and through this Datamonitor has highlighted the product categories which are current and potential threat to FMCG companies in the near future.

The report analyses survey results and insights on consumer shopping behaviour and preferences while making purchase decisions. It also reveals the strategies which FMCG companies can adopt to avoid competition from private labels and highlights the consumer dynamics which will be relevant for FMCG companies in framing their product strategy.

Though private labels are increasingly gaining a strong foothold in the organized retail segment, FMCG companies can avoid this competition by investing in innovation and product differentiation. Vaibhav believes that "FMCG companies should play on their strengths and monetize opportunities emerging due changing consumer behaviour."

Colston Concepts Launches The 'Colston European Star Spa'

2009-11-11T17:03:00.000+05:30

A brand known since 2000 for providing exceptional bathing products and services, Colston Concepts launched the 'COLSTON EUROPEAN STAR SPA' for the first time in the World, in Mumbai. This is the Largest Free Standing Bath Tub: Verified By Guinness World Record UK. From giving your body a soothing and sensual massage to giving your eyes a visual treat, the Colston De Banos - European Star leaves one spoiled for choices.

"Innovation is a youthful state of mind and spiritual courage to accept challenge. At Colston we constantly strive for excellence and optimization of designs through strong commitment to R&D and deliver reliable and premium products. It is the result of our innovative and creative enterprise culture that we are able to launch the COLSTON EUROPEAN STAR SPA, the biggest Spa in the wellness history", said Mr. Ahuja Anil, MD, Colston Concepts, on the occasion of the launch.

The largest free standing bath tub: verified by Guinness World Record UK, COLSTON EUROPEAN STAR SPA provides an ultimate bathing experience which combines comfort with fun. Its Jacuzzi digitally controlled systems; feature transforms you in to another world; watch 32 inch LED television or listen to music, just program it and let yourself loose!

Latest collection of interior for Spa with fully loaded features, shower enclosures & latest range of shower panels with elite range of bright vanities, COLSTON EUROPEAN STAR SPA is a perfect blend of contemporary luxury and sheer richness. The multifunction steam rooms provide you the most comfortable sauna effect. Steam Box produces steam quickly and provides the best sauna effect with your favourite herbs and perfumes like pine, lime or eucalyptus.The Computer Control System with back light can show operating status of the steam room, monitor its functions and reflect its operation procedures on LCD. You can fully control & set up the steam, water massage, ozone sterilization for cleanliness, time, temperature, saving your favourite music channels, turner/CD, telephone, alarm regulation of nozzle for massage. The diversified preventive and curative functions in European Star give you a feeling of relaxation and rejuvenation.

Indulge in sublime experience of enjoyment and relaxation of whole body and mind with the best hydraulic massage in the bathtubs specially designed to allow your body turn and adjust freely in it.

All functions and procedures are shown on LCD screen and can be controlled. The inbuilt music system makes bathing rhythmic and soothes your senses and nerves. The Swimming pool, VIP Room with air condition - European Star is a world of luxury and lavishness.

The Colston De Banos range also includes individual multi functions sauna & steam room, swimming pool, VIP rooms, massage bath tubs, bathroom furniture & high quality toilets. COLSTON EUROPEAN STAR SPA can be custom designed as per the preference of the customer. The prices are as per the sizes & specifications of Pool / SPA; it starts from Rs. 55 Lakhs onwards.

"The expected turnover of our company this year should be targeted Rs. 50 crores. During last few years there is a consistent increase in our import graph. This has influenced our growth factors & made us a new entity as a trend setter in this industry. We plan to further expand the number of distributors and set bigger marketing operations in India and invest in this market. We are targeting SPA Centres, hotels, resorts, farm houses (Hospitality Division) & big bungalows as our clients", said Mr. Ahuja Anil, MD, Colston concepts talking of the expansion plans. "Currently we manufacture and import from Spain & China. Our USP is Quality with widest range of products to suit all, from low to high end users. We are prepared to serve you with assurance of quality, durability, dependability & quantity", he added.

Walmart and CARE Launch New Initiative to Empower Marginalized Women in India

2009-11-11T17:00:00.002+05:30

As a part of their commitment to women's empowerment, Walmart and CARE announced the launch of a Cashew Value Chain Initiative. As part of the Walmart Foundation's $1 million grant to CARE, a leading humanitarian organization, this project marks the first of a series of initiatives to elevate women from poverty worldwide. Over the next year, Walmart and CARE will create a women owned-and-operated community-based institution to provide more equitable and consistent incomes for approximately 750 women in the cashew farming and processing sector in the coastal districts of Tamil Nadu State in Southern India, Cuddalore and Nagapattinam.

"This project will improve economic opportunities for socially and economically marginalized women and girls in southern India through the promotion of women-owned and -managed cashew enterprises," said Raj Jain, managing director and CEO, Bharti Walmart. "We are excited about the difference we will make in the lives of these women as we are confident the project will improve their entrepreneurial skills and capacity to directly link to the retail market."

Through the partnership, Walmart and CARE aim to improve overall livelihoods for women involved in the cashew processing sector: enhancing income earning opportunities by 20 percent, improving participants' literacy and business skills, and ensuring greater awareness about health and nutrition. The benefits of this initiative will reach beyond the women themselves, impacting the lives of nearly 4,000 people.

"CARE is eager to work with Walmart on an issue that is of critical importance in Tamil Nadu, and throughout so many communities in India - the elevation of women from poverty," said Helene Gayle, president and CEO of CARE. "Our work together is particularly important in this area as families in Tamil Nadu continue to rebuild their lives after the 2004 tsunami. Walmart's investment will ensure increased income security, which we know leads to greater health and education opportunities for these women and their families."

Over the next year, the program will help to set up three women-owned and managed cashew processing units and 15 literacy centers. Training programs will be conducted for participating women and their daughters on basic social services, rights and entitlement issues. The program will also establish direct links between cashew producers, the women-owned processing units, and the global marketplace.

"This initiative falls in line with Walmart's overarching strategy to support girls, women and the organizations and issues of importance to them," said Margaret McKenna, president, Walmart Foundation. "We are listening to our female customers around the world and want to further demonstrate our commitment to them and their economic empowerment." Cashew is one of the important cash crops of India. There are more than 700 small- scale cashew processing units in southern India, and the sector provides employment to 500,000 people, mostly women.

Data Robotics Corporation Launches HOTSwap Offsite Data Backup Suit

2009-11-11T16:59:00.002+05:30

Backup Solutions provider Data Robotics Corporation has announced the launch of its new HOTSwap offsite data backup suit. The solution has been developed to offer SMBs the level of business data protection traditionally only enjoyed by large enterprises, without enterprise size costs. HOTSwap provides SMBs with a zero touch tapeless data backup and recovery solution that uses continuous data protection to securely replicate both server and workstation data on and offsite to the HOTSwap backup server. In the event of a system failure or data loss, customers can either recover individual files themselves.

HOTSwap Backup Software simplifies data protection across networks, including remote offices. You manage and monitor your backups through a secure centralized interface, accessible from anywhere with a web browser. Wizards ease setup and administration, and a dashboard confirms that backups occur as expected. Customizable views make it easy to manage agents, and role-based user access lets you delegate backup tasks. For customers that require a greater level of protection, the Data Robotics Corporation offers a range of services from hosted business servers, allowing access to business systems online within minutes, to a full disaster recovery replacement workplace, which in the event of a disaster provides customers with an alternate place of work with all business services in place, ready to go.

First pictures of the all-new Volvo S60

2009-11-11T16:58:00.000+05:30

"The all-new Volvo S60 is sculpted to move you. It looks and drives like no other Volvo before and the car's technology will help you to be safer and more confident behind the wheel," says Stephen Odell, President and CEO of Volvo Cars.

The Volvo S60 can be equipped with Pedestrian Detection - a groundbreaking safety feature that can detect pedestrians in front of the car and brake automatically if the driver does not react in time.

The all-new Volvo S60 is being unveiled to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show in early March next year. Production of the sporty sedan model will start in early summer 2010 at the Volvo Cars plant in Ghent, Belgium.

"Customers in this segment want emotional appeal, sporty design and dynamic driving properties. The S60 has it all. We are convinced that it will be one of the strongest contenders around," says Stephen Odell.

FXLabs' Ghajini-The Game bags 24FPS Animation Award

2009-11-11T16:55:00.000+05:30

FXLabs Studios today announced that Ghajini- The Game, based on the Bollywood blockbuster movie Ghajini, has been conferred the prestigious 24 FPS Animation Award for the Best Game Design by Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics (MAAC).

Reflecting on the award, Sashi Reddi, Founder and Chairman, FXLabs said, "We are delighted to get this award which is a noteworthy recognition of our efforts to develop a game which is now the best selling game in India, better than any international titles"

'Ghajini' is a Third Person Action game, which provides a fantastic opportunity to all 'Ghajini' fans to experience the movie through this exciting game. The game features recreated movie locations and scenes in the 3D world so as to provide the gamers with the actual movie sets to make the game playing experience as authentic and adventures as the movie. The players get a firsthand experience of the main protagonist and character Sanjay (played by Aamir Khan) and experience the challenges and trails faced by him.

The 24FPS Animation Award, instituted and Organized by Maya Academy of Advanced Cinematics in 2003, the 24FPS Animation Awards has grown to become a premier event celebrating animation talent and high quality computer generated content from India and abroad. The 24FPS Animation Awards is a celebration of animation and gaming talent across India and beyond. Initiated by MAAC in 2003, this event has grown over the years by leaps and bounds and is in its sixth year.

Sahara felicitates Indian sportspersons at 'Sahara Indian Sports Award'

2009-11-11T16:53:00.000+05:30

Sahara India hosted its newest sports initiative 'SAHARA INDIAN SPORTS AWARDS'. The comprehensive glittering awards ceremony was held with a view to felicitate the achievement and efforts of Indian sportspersons in their respective fields. The awards ceremony was initiated to also provide recognition to the upcoming young talents as well as to recognize the contribution of coaches, sports officials and administrators. The gala awards ceremony was held on November 9, 2009 at Taj Lands End amidst sporting legends and icons from various sports disciplines.

Sahara Indian Sports Awards 2008-09

Winners

Best Young Achiever - Female - Saina Nehwal

Best Young Achiever - Male - Yuki Bhambri

Coach of the Year - Pullela Gopichand

Outstanding Performance - Vijender Singh - Boxing

                                          Gaganjeet Bhullar - Golf

                                          Jayanta Talukdar - Archery

                                          Sushil Kumar - Wrestling

Best Cricketer - Female - Mitali Raj

Best Cricketer - Male - Gautam Gambhir

Most Memorable Moment - Abhinav Bindra
Legend Honor - Prakash Padukone

Sportswoman of the Year - Mary Kom

Sportsman of the Year - Abhinav Bindra

Team of the Year - Indian Cricket Team

Citi employees celebrate global community day

2009-11-08T17:27:00.002+05:30

Over 1,000 Citi India employees from across 27 towns and cities joined thousands of their colleagues worldwide to observe the company’s fourth annual 'Global Community Day' today by dedicating their time, talent, skill and effort to a wide spectrum of community development initiatives ranging from climate change, literacy, housing and sports.

In the metropolis, a team of over 150 Citi employee-volunteers carried out variety of activities at the community development project of Anand Niketan. Activities ranged from planting a vegetable garden, puppet show for cancer patients, musical session for the elderly.

Across 27 cities in India such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Citi partnered with several leading non government oganisations to jointly conceptualise this day-long volunteering programme. Some among these are Akanksha Foundation (Mumbai), Friends of Women’s World Banking (Ahmedabad), Pratham (6 cities), SOS Children Village (Bhubaneshwar) and Annamma School in Vijayawada.

The over-arching theme for Citi India’s 'Global Community Day' 2009 was Climate Change. In numerous locations employees conducted educational sessions on the basics of climate change and its adverse effects on the environment.

Canara Bank to open 104 branches

2009-11-08T17:26:00.003+05:30

The Canara Bank will open 104 new branches in the country on November 19, commemorating the birth anniversaries of its founder Ammembal Subba Rao and late Prime Minister Ms Indira Gandhi, according to bank Chairman and Managing Director A C Mahajan.

Talking to newspersons after the bank's board meeting here last night, he said the bank had already opened 128 new branches, including three overseas branches in London, Hong Kong, Shanghai (China) and an offshore banking unit at Noida in Uttar Pradesh, reaching its total number of braches to 2806 as on September this year.

It was also planning to recruit 1000 Junior Assistants and 610 Officers before the end of the current fiscal, he said.

At the end of the quarter-two ended on Septemer 30, the bank has achieved a net profit of Rs 911 crore, registering a 72 per cent growth, compared to Rs 529 crore recorded in the corresponding quarter in the last fiscal.

The bank has also extended a loan assistance of Rs 13,304 crore to the women Self Helf Groups as on June 31, this year, he said.

Stating that there was no idea to increase the number of ATMs from the existing 2000 ATMs, he said the ban's main concern was to improve the services of the existing ATMs.

Apollo Tyres to soon raise product prices

2009-11-08T17:26:00.000+05:30

With the prices of raw materials moving up, especially rubber, tyre manufacturer Apollo Tyres Ltd today said it will soon increase the prices of its products.

''In October, we had raised prices by about 2.5 per cent and we will be going for another price correction soon,'' company Vice Chairman and Managing Director Neeraj Kanwar told reporters here on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, being organised by CII.

Rubber prices are moving up beyond Rs 120 per kg, ''which is unreasonable'', he said, adding that the company will pass on the rise in commodity prices to customers.

BlueLabs opens development centre at Infopark

2009-11-08T17:25:00.002+05:30

BlueLabs Technology Sloutions, an IT service provider based in Australia, has opened its second development centre at Thrissur Infopark.

The new facility, which could accomodate 150 people, has the state-of-the-art facilities like high bandwidth internet connectivity, multiple backbone links, client-specific secure VPN connections and the latest tele/video conferencing equipment.

The facility was inaugurated by Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks P H Kurian yesterday, according to an official release issued here today.

'' The company aims to double its growth and recruit at least 100 more employees through its 150-seater facility,'' Company Chief Executive Officer Mathews Jose said.

In the function, Infopark CEO Siddarth Bhattacharya launched the BlueLabs IT finishing school named 'BlueLabs MaxIT'.

BlueLabs MaxIT offers four month courses in PHP, NET, 'Ruby on Rials' and Search Engine Optimization.

Company COO Mobin Koshy Varghese said '' We aim to bridge the gap in the employability skills of IT graduates and develop their skills to make them compatible to meet the demands of the IT idnustry.''