Wednesday, October 30, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Ramco helps Astra Airlines go live in just 8 weeks...

writingonblog uncensored: Ramco helps Astra Airlines go live in just 8 weeks...: Chennai: Ramco Systems, the global Aviation Software provider on Cloud, Mobile and Tablets, has announced go-live at Astra Airlines, ...

Ramco helps Astra Airlines go live in just 8 weeks


Chennai:
Ramco Systems, the global Aviation Software provider on Cloud, Mobile and Tablets, has announced go-live at Astra Airlines, an emerging passenger airline operating from Greece. The cloud implementation was carried out remotely using Lean model that ensured ‘On time, within budget’ delivery.

From project kick-off to go-live, the implementation was handled predominantly from off-shore through conferencing facility, without compromising on efficiency. With virtual blueprinting, pre-built business process documents, pre-loaded Industry standard codes, the lean model of implementation further ensured reduction in deployment cost by 40pc.

Astra has been able to reap the benefits of a functionally rich maintenance and engineering (M&E) solution with industry best practices and standards, in a short time span and within budgets.

Commenting on the Go-Live, Kostas Drizis – CAMO Manager, Astra Airlines, said “Within a short timeframe and limited resources from our end, we have transitioned to a modern and sophisticated M&E system provided by Ramco. This has been possible because of the strong domain knowledge, professional approach and lean methodology adopted by Ramco. The Ramco team exhibited excellent domain knowledge and systematic approach which ensured every member at Astra understands and appreciates the interdependencies within units and contribute towards an efficient and coherent value-adding system.”

Virender Aggarwal, CEO, Ramco Systems, said “This is a proud moment for all of us as we have reached yet another milestone in Aviation industry by adopting lean method of implementation to go live in a short span of 8 weeks at Astra Airlines. The cost of implementation through lean methodology and reducing CAPEX to zero by use of cloud is now enabling small aviation operators to go in for comprehensive solution. We believe that with recent success in France, UK and Norway – Ramco is becoming a force to reckon within Europe.”

writingonblog uncensored: Coastal cities vulnerable to climate change: repor...

writingonblog uncensored: Coastal cities vulnerable to climate change: repor...: Chennai: The coastal cities in India, including Chennai, will be at risk from the impact of flooding due to rising sea levels and ext...

Coastal cities vulnerable to climate change: report



Chennai:
The coastal cities in India, including Chennai, will be at risk from the impact of flooding due to rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions, according to a report Natural Disasters Saving Lives Today Building Resilience For Tomorrow.

The report, which was released in the city by Tim Fox, head of energy and environment at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, said that India ranks second to Bangladesh facing high risk of disaster due to climate change.

He said that man-made changes have removed the natural barriers protecting against extreme natural events thereby increase the likelihood of disasters. These include human activities such as deforestation, swamp and marsh degradation, island development and sand dune removal.

The report highlights the trend of global urbanization which is projected to result in 75 per cent of world’s population living in towns and cities by 2050. Ninety-five per cent of the expansion in urban living is being anticipated in developing countries.

“This movement of population into areas such as coastal regions, flood plains and earthquake zones that are typically less resilient to extreme natural events, has been identified in the report as one of the factors along with degradation of the natural environment that is moving the world towards more natural disasters,” the report said.

The report states that by 2050, it is anticipated that an extra three billion people will be located in urban settings, with much of the growth taking place in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.

Interestingly, the report recommends more international development funding on building future resilience. “Currently, only four per cent of all international humanitarian aid is channeled to helping build resilience in disaster hotspots well below UN’s recommended 10 per cent,” the report states.

“As it is estimated that every $1 spent on making communities more resilient can save as much as $4 in disaster relief, recovery and reconstruction later,” the report added.

The report also stated that during the post-disaster besides adoption of new engineering techniques, codes of practice and building standards, local capacity must also be built for proper implementation, enforcement and maintenance. “This requires not just the transfer of technical engineering capability to local populations nbut also the political will by those in government for adoption and implementation in the long term,” the report added.

writingonblog uncensored: Koyambedu market heaves a sigh as conservancy work...

writingonblog uncensored: Koyambedu market heaves a sigh as conservancy work...: Chennai: The stir by 170 conservancy workers in Asia’s biggest vegetable, fruit and flower market in Koyambedu that began on Mon...

Koyambedu market heaves a sigh as conservancy workers stir resolved


Chennai:
The stir by 170 conservancy workers in Asia’s biggest vegetable, fruit and flower market in Koyambedu that began on Monday was resolved by market management officials and Hyderabad based Ramky group.
MMC officials said the issue over Diwali bonus was resolved on Tuesday morning after Ramky agreed to pay the conservancy workers an additional bonus of Rs 500.
The stir had began on Monday with conservancy workers mostly women gheraoing the officials and demanding full month bonus.
“The officials had paid initially a bonus of Rs 500. But the workers were not happy. After the negotiations an additional Rs 500 was agreed o be paid to workers following which the workers took up the regular work,” MMC officials told Express.
Interestingly, on Monday the garbage could not be cleaned due to the stir It was only during late night,  Ramky officials had arranged temporary staff to do the cleaning operations.
MMC officials said their job is to ensure the market remains clean and said it is up to Ramky to sort out the issue with labourers. “It is their internal issue,” a senior official said.
Interestingly, it is not only the Diwali bonus for which the workers are protesting, they are also demanding provident fund benefits besides basic amenities like soap and gloves to clean up the garbage.
Hemavathi, who is working as a conservancy worker for the last 15 years, alleged that the workers are paid a daily wage of Rs 170 and at times it is delayed.
She also said that the workers are also not getting provident fund and other facilities.
Ramky officials told Express that they have taken up the contract from M V K Murugan this August only. He said the workers have to give their bank accounts to settle their provident fund.
A total of around 150 to 180 metric tonnes of garbage per day is collected from around 3, 500 shops and dumped in the yards outside the city and some used in the bio-methanation plant.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Air Marshal Arup Raha to be the next air chief

writingonblog uncensored: Air Marshal Arup Raha to be the next air chief: Chennai: Air Marshal Arup Raha will be the next Chief of Air Staff after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne on December 31, 2...

Air Marshal Arup Raha to be the next air chief


Chennai:
Air Marshal Arup Raha will be the next Chief of Air Staff after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal NAK Browne on December 31, 2013. Air Marshal Raha was commissioned into the IAF on December 14, 1974 in the Fighter Stream of the Flying Branch. 
During a career spanning over nearly 39 years, he has held various command, staff and instructional appointments.  He has served as Air Attache at the Embassy of India, Ukraine.  Besides various technical courses, Air Marshal Raha has done National Defence College, Staff College, Strategic Nuclear Orientation Course and Junior Commanders’ Course. 
He has commanded Central Air Command and Western Air Command.  He is one of the Honorary ADCs to the Supreme Commander.

writingonblog uncensored: HTIC of IIT Madras develops affordable, easy to us...

writingonblog uncensored: HTIC of IIT Madras develops affordable, easy to us...: Chennai : Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) of IIT Madras has developed “ARTSENS”, an affordable vascular screening techno...

HTIC of IIT Madras develops affordable, easy to use technology for vascular screening


Chennai: Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) of IIT Madras has developed “ARTSENS”, an affordable vascular screening technology that measures stiffness of blood vessel walls.
The technology was developed with the goal of addressing the unmet need of performing large scale vascular health screening that can prevent premature vascular events at a younger age. HTIC is a joint initiative of IIT Madras and Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, with the objective of developing technologies for unmet healthcare needs in the country.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the number one cause of death globally, causing nearly 17.3 million deaths in 2008, with the number expected to increase to 23.3 million by 2030. Nearly 10pc of Indian population suffer from CVDs. India has seen a significant shift in disease burden from communicable to non-communicable diseases (NCD), over the last couple of decades, with CVD accounting for half of all deaths from NCDs.
Several factors such as age, diabetes, lifestyle etc progressively affect the blood vessels, ultimately resulting in an acute vascular event affecting the heart or brain. Loss of elasticity of blood vessel walls, referred to as arterial stiffening, is a marker of endothelial dysfunction, indicative of vascular health and can be used in early detection and screening. Early detection of abnormalities in arterial stiffness can be used to triage subjects for further investigation and intervention. Interventions at this early stage in people with poor vascular health can prevent premature vascular events with significant decrease in morbidity and mortality.
Conventional equipment available for evaluation of arterial stiffness are expensive, laborious, time consuming, and require skilled expertise to operate, and hence not suited for large scale population level screening.
Dr Jayaraj Joseph, Systems Architect of HTIC who led the project explained, “ARTSENS is an image-free technology that non-invasively measures the stiffness of the carotid artery in an automated manner. The technology uses a single ultrasound sensor that the operator places over the carotid artery, on the neck of the subject, to get a reading of artery stiffness within a minute.”
Intelligent computing algorithms assist the operator in positioning the probe and automatically perform artery detection, motion tracking and stiffness calculations, allowing the device to be operated with minimal expertise. The technology was developed and validated in close collaboration with leading clinicians in the city.
A prototype of ARTSENS was tested at MediScan Systems, Chennai on 106 subjects in comparison with ultrasound imagers and demonstrated measurement accuracy and usability in clinical setting. “With this technology, both the cost of device and time taken for doing a test comes down and thus the cost per test can drop down to nearly 100 fold”, says Dr S. Suresh, Director, MediScan Systems. 
A validation study of ARTSENS was conducted at Thambiran Heart and Vascular Institute, Chennai on 125 subjects. Carotid artery stiffness measurements by ARTSENS demonstrated excellent correlation with state-of-art echo tracking ultrasound system, illustrating ability of the device to accurately measure carotid stiffness.“It can be used as a portable, effective, quick screening tool for assessing vascular health in population at large”, says Dr R Ravikumar, Head of Thambiran institute. He added that population level data of arterial stiffness along with affordable, easy-to-use devices based on ARTSENS would enable wide spread use of vascular screening for early detection.

writingonblog uncensored: Outdated labour laws affect productivity of the na...

writingonblog uncensored: Outdated labour laws affect productivity of the na...: Chennai: Business chambers, trade unions as well as experts on Monday stressed the need to change the labour laws which they felt is...

Outdated labour laws affect productivity of the nation: experts


Chennai:
Business chambers, trade unions as well as experts on Monday stressed the need to change the labour laws which they felt is outdated and does not satisfy any of the stakeholders.
At a discussion after the release of a study on labour laws, experts felt that rigidities in labour laws affect the quantity and also the quality of employment and investment in the state.
Labour and employment secretary of the state Mohan Pyare said that that the labour laws are archaic and needs to be changed. “It is the right time a initiative has come to change it. Neither the employee, nor the employer or the government is satisfied with the existing laws,” he said.
He said labour laws should deal with all wages, health and safety, social security and disputes and settlements.
He also stressed on the need for a uniform social identification so that the worker, wherever he migrates carries the number with him and the contributions are made to the account.
V Murali, deputy chief labour commissioner of the Union government highlighted the rise in employment in informal sector and a decline in formal sector. He said even the state as well as Union government are now outsourcing their jobs.
Subodh Kumar, executive programmes, Friedrich Naumann Stiftung fur die Freiheit, said that 93 per cent of lowly paid jobs in India do not have any security cover. He said India needs to get rid of obscure laws to compete globally. He also said that 92 per cent of India’s labour forces are economically active in the informal sector.
The study, which was done by Prof J Reeves Wesley, also put forth a series of recommendations including devising a mechanism for availability of apprentice for atleast six months only for SMEs employing less than 50.
It also recommended for amendments in the Contract Labour Regulation and Abolition Act 1970 increasing the number of workers in the definition of applicability to 50 and for companies employing contract workers for 365 days. It also stated that Employee State Insurance Act should be applied for SMEs employing more than 50.

writingonblog uncensored: TN media and entertainment industry to grow by Rs ...

writingonblog uncensored: TN media and entertainment industry to grow by Rs ...: Chennai: The Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry in Tamil Nadu is ranked high among the south Indian states and is expected to g...

TN media and entertainment industry to grow by Rs 1500 crore this financial year, says study

Chennai: The Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry in Tamil Nadu is ranked high among the south Indian states and is expected to grow by Rs 1,500 crore this financial year, according to a Deloitte-FICCI report- ‘Media & Entertainment in South India - the Digital March’.
The report which was released on Monday said that Tamil Nadu constitutes over one-third of the South Indian media and entertainment industry and is expected to grow at a slightly higher rate than the other states of the region, with all four media platforms – TV, print, radio and new media -- expected to grow faster in the state.
Currently, Tamil Nadu market accounts for Rs 8,420 crore of the Rs 23,300 crore media and entertainment market in and is estimated to reach 15, 850 crore by 2017. The South India market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 16pc to reach INR 43,600 crore by 2017.
The survey states that this growth will be mainly driven by popularity of vernacular content among the region’s populace and the evolving ecosystem, including endeavors by media vehicles to expand their presence.

South India, driven by a high literacy rate and a sizable vernacular readership base (30% of total readership in India) is one of the strongholds of the Indian print industry. Amongst the four regional states, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh account for 58 per cent of the total revenue. The report also states that advertising revenue from vernacular print in the region is estimated to grow at twice the pace of that of English, largely driven by local advertisers and increasing focus of national advertiser’s beyond Tier 1 cities. Hence, some of the English players are now launching vernacular dailies to not only consolidate their presence in South India but also partake in vernacular growth, the report adds.

The report also states that in 2013, Tamil and Telugu films together accounted for almost 90pc of the revenue, with the rest being equally contributed by Kerala and Karnataka. While enabling regional media players to reach their target audience, the industry continues to attract national players to explore this growing South market. The market is dominated by television (56%), followed by print (28%) and films (11%). Sectors such as New Media and Radio, though smaller than other mediums, are expected to grow at rates higher than the industry average, given their increasing power of engagement.



South India Media and Entertainment market 2013-2017 – State wise split; E: Estimated

Year                    2013        2014 (E)    2015 (E)    2016 (E)     2017 (E)   CAGR (2013-17)
Tamil Nadu       8,420 cr       9,970        11,800        13,810       15,850        17%
A Pradesh        7,140 cr       8,210         9,620        11,180      12,740          16%
Karnataka        4,340 cr      4,980         5,850           6,780       7,710          15%
Kerala              3,350 cr       3,800         4,380           5,050       5,730          14%
Total               23,300 cr     27,000       31,700         36,800    42,000          16%
Source: Industry discussions and Deloitte analysis Note: New Media has not been included in the state level market size calculations

writingonblog uncensored: Smart phones trigger demand for Micro Sims

writingonblog uncensored: Smart phones trigger demand for Micro Sims: Top telecommunication firms struggling to meet the demand C Shivakumar Chennai: The smart phones have triggered a huge demand for mic...

Smart phones trigger demand for Micro Sims

Top telecommunication firms struggling to meet the demand
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
The smart phones have triggered a huge demand for micro sims in the city but many leading telecom players are unable to fulfil the demand leaving the customers high and dry.

Public sector telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited has admitted the shortage of micro sims in the city and said they will be procuring it from their telecom factory in Mumbai.

“There has been some delay in availability of micro sims at our centers. We will be getting the supplies by next week,” a BSNL spokeswoman said.

Interestingly, it is not only the non-availability of micro sims but also the rude behavior of customer care officials which is pushing some of the loyal customers of BSNL to private telecom players.

“How are they going to withstand the competition when they can’t be polite to their customers,” one of the customer retorted who has gone to buy a micro sim for her iphone at BSNL’s Anna Salai office.

However, even the private players have been hit by the demand for micro sims. A Airtel spokesman said that they too were facing a shortage of micro sims earlier. “Initially, we also faced a shortage of micro sims due to huge demand for smart phones like I-phone, and many models of Samsung and Nokia. However, this supply and demand gap is now bridged,” he added.

A BSNL spokeswoman said that they had sold around 2,500 micro sims till now and would be procuring more than they had sold earlier due to huge demand for smart phones. However, many telecom firms are refusing to divulge the figures of demand for micro sims.

Monday, October 28, 2013

EID Parry turnover, profit dwindles

Chennai:
EID Parry (India) Limited, one of the largest manufacturers of Sugar in India, reported financial results for the Half Year ended 30th September 2013.

The standalone turnover of EID Parry for the Quarter was Rs. 453.87 Crore (Corresponding quarter of Previous Year: Rs. 502.66 Crore), with a Net Profit before exceptional item and tax of Rs. 25.25 Crore (Corresponding quarter of Previous Year: Net Profit before exceptional item and tax of Rs. 69.07 Crore). The current year figures include the figures of the merged units of Parrys Sugar Industries Limited, namely Haliyal and Sankili, while the previous year figures do not include the same.

The consolidated turnover for the quarter ended 30th September 2013 was Rs. 2,476.74 Crore (Corresponding quarter of Previous Year: Rs. 3,253.73 Crore) and Profit after Tax before Minority Interest was Rs. 68.21 Crore (Corresponding quarter of Previous Year: Profit of Rs. 182.97 Crore).

Vodafone offers roaming packages for 53 countries



Chennai: Vodafone India, one of India’s leading telecommunications service providers, launched new and attractive international roaming packs for both post-paid and pre-paid customers travelling abroad.

Covering 53 countries including popular business and tourist destinations such as UK, USA, UAE, Thailand and Singapore, these comprehensive packs offer 95% discount on data and up to 78% discount on outgoing local and international calls as compared with prevailing rates.

 

The international roaming packs are available for a rental of INR 599 and INR 1499 and come with a validity of 10 and 30 days respectively.

For the list of applicable countries and networks, a subscriber need to SMS Packcountry to 111. To activate the pack of their choice, Vodafone subscribers only need to SMS ACTIR1 for the INR 599 pack and ACTIR2 for the INR 1499 pack. The entire list of countries where the offer on these packs is valid can be accessed at www.vodafone.co.in

 

Announcing the launch of the international roaming packs, Vivek Mathur, Chief Commercial Officer, Vodafone India, said, “At Vodafone, we are committed to providing our customers  with affordable, seamless and  comprehensive communication solutions. With these new international roaming packs, we are offering unmatched value, convenience and huge savings to our customer segment that travels abroad for both leisure and business. No matter which part of the world they travel to, our customers will continue to enjoy the same enriching Vodafone experience to remain closely connected with their loved ones and work back home in India.”

writingonblog uncensored: Chola MS launches ‘Chola Swasth Parivar’ policy

writingonblog uncensored: Chola MS launches ‘Chola Swasth Parivar’ policy: Chennai: Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between the Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance G...

writingonblog uncensored: Chola MS launches ‘Chola Swasth Parivar’ policy

writingonblog uncensored: Chola MS launches ‘Chola Swasth Parivar’ policy: Chennai: Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between the Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance G...

writingonblog uncensored: Chola MS launches ‘Chola Swasth Parivar’ policy

writingonblog uncensored: Chola MS launches ‘Chola Swasth Parivar’ policy: Chennai: Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between the Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance G...

Chola MS launches ‘Chola Swasth Parivar’ policy

Chennai: Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, a joint venture between the Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Group Japan, has announced the launch of its Chola Swasth Parivar Health Insurance Policy.

The family floater policy offers a combination of Health and Personal Accident covers at an affordable premium. The premium for a family of 4(2 Adults +2 Children) works out to Rs. 5005 for a sum insured of Rs. 3 lacs. The premium does not increase with age (upto 70 years) making it the only policy in the market to offer such a benefit.

A unique feature of Chola Swasth Parivar Policy is that there are no sub-limits for 30 days prior and 60 days post hospitalization expenses. The policy covers 141 day care procedures which require less than 24 hours hospitalization. The entry age for the policy is upto 65 years with medical checkup and upto 55 years without medical checkup. It offers Lifetime renewal and tax exemption under section 80(D) upto Rs.15, 000.

Customers can choose from ‘Pearl’ and ‘Royale’ plan options for sum insured of up to Rs. 5 lacs. The Pearl Plan offers only Hospitalisation cover for a family of 4 and has 3 sum insured options. The Royale plan offers Hospitalisation and PA cover for a family of 4 with similar sum insured options.

writingonblog uncensored: Tasty iron biscuits for Indian women to take on an...

writingonblog uncensored: Tasty iron biscuits for Indian women to take on an...: Chennai: In a bid to reduce maternal and child anaemia in India, doctors in Bangalore are developing an iron-fortified biscuit for use ...

Tasty iron biscuits for Indian women to take on anaemia

Chennai:
In a bid to reduce maternal and child anaemia in India, doctors in Bangalore are developing an iron-fortified biscuit for use by pregnant women that is indistinguishable in taste from popular Indian biscuits. Following successful trials that will continue for two years, the biscuits will be available across the country.
The $270,000 project, funded by Grand Challenges Canada, through the Canadian government with the Development Innovation Fund, is developed by St John’s Research Institute, CBCI Society for Medical Education, Bangalore.
The biscuit is being developed as an alternative to the pill which women refuse to take as it tastes metallic, a Grand Challenges Canada statement said.
Anaemia, a low level of red blood cells causing a body’s reduced capacity to carry oxygen results from micro-nutrient deficiencies, most often iron.
India has one of the highest rates of anaemia globally. Over 79 per cent of children aged 6 to 8 months and 58 per cent of the 26 million pregnant women are anaemic.
Dr Pratibha Dwarkanath of CBCI Society for Medical Education states that their new biscuit is more likely to be used by previously non-adherent pregnant women, and increase iron stores in newborns, which translates to more sustainable and protected early brain development among children.
After extensive consumer research, the nutrition team led by Dr A V Kurpad and the project collaborators, New York-based Violet Health Inc have developed several prototypes specifically designed with the tastes and preferences of pregnant women in India, she says.
“We estimate our solution to be more cost-effective than the iron pill, while reaching more anaemic women and their children. Usually women don’t like iron pills because of its taste,” she says
“After proof of concept, the trial will continue in Karnataka for two years step by step. After the health ministry’s approval, it will be available across the country,” she adds. Project collaborators include Violet Health, Inc., NY, and the Indian Institute of Management, India Bangalore. Iron deficiency dramatically affects the health of a pregnant woman and her unborn baby, increasing risks of death and sickness during childbirth, including haemorrhage and low-birth weight. Long-term, iron deficiency anaemia delays psychomotor development and impairs cognitive development in infants, preschool and school-aged children around the world.
Moreover, researchers say, the effects of anaemia are, “not likely to be corrected by subsequent iron therapy. Anaemic children will have impaired performance in tests of language skills.”

writingonblog uncensored: Luminous to set up new battery facility in Tamil N...

writingonblog uncensored: Luminous to set up new battery facility in Tamil N...: Chennai:   Luminous Power Technologies, one of the leading power backup solutions provider would set up its new Inverter battery facilit...

Luminous to set up new battery facility in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: 
Luminous Power Technologies, one of the leading power backup solutions provider would set up its new Inverter battery facility in Tamil Nadu in its endeavour to strengthen its market standing in South India and reaching out to consumers, especially in Tamil Nadu.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, managing director of Luminous Manish Pant said that the state-of the-art manufacturing plant, located at Hosur would be operational by next month.

Spread across an area of approximately 2.5 hectares, the investment would be two-phased in the plant to increase capacity

“We have initially invested Rs 10 crore on the plant and in the next three years we will be putting in Rs 50 crore,” he said.

This is the eighth plant of Luminous and the first outside of North India for Luminous. The plant initially will have a capacity of producing two lakh batteries per annum. “In the next three years the facility could be expanded to manufacture 10 lakh batteries,” he said.

Pant said that South India, especially Tamil Nadu, has always been a key market for Luminous Power Technologies and the setting up of production facility here is a critical step strengthening our presence in the region.

He estimated that the inverter market in the south  is roughly about 20 pere cent of the national market and is growing at a rate of 20 to 25 per cent.

He said that Luminous aims to increase channel partner network for electrical offerings as well in the region building on the strong presence for Home UPS and battery market.

writingonblog uncensored: 50pc of built up area in India to go green by 2025...

writingonblog uncensored: 50pc of built up area in India to go green by 2025...: Chennai: The Green Building Congress has set a target of having 50 per cent of built up environment in India to be green by 2025 after t...

50pc of built up area in India to go green by 2025


Chennai:
The Green Building Congress has set a target of having 50 per cent of built up environment in India to be green by 2025 after the addition of addendum number one in the National Building Code (NBC).
Chairman of Indian Green Building Council Prem C Jain said that once the green building component is added to the NBC as addendum number one before 2015, all the buildings in the country should be certified green before getting the completion certificate.
He said the revised National Building Code is expected to be ready in the next six months and is likely to take a year to be implemented The Code will be called “Approach to Sustainability’.
He said that IGBC expects that by 2025, 40 billion square feet built up space in the country would be green.
Interestingly, Jain says IGBC has entered into an memorandum with National Housing Bank to finance the green projects at a reduced rate of interest. “Already State Bank of India has this component of reduced rate of interests for the green homes,” he said.
“We are also trying to rope in Housing development Finance Corporation, Life Insurance corporation and ICICI to provide one per cent reduction in rate of interest for housing loans,” he said.
Currently, India has 1.65 billion square feet built up green space of the 30 billion built up square feet from the ancient times till now.
He said another 80 billion built up space will be added by 2030 of which he expects 50 per cent to be green building.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro Water gets additional machineries to...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai Metro Water gets additional machineries to...: Chennai: In a bid to enhance the maintenance of sewage system during the monsoon in the city, Municipal Administration minister K P Mu...

Chennai Metro Water gets additional machineries to prepare for monsoon



Chennai:
In a bid to enhance the maintenance of sewage system during the monsoon in the city, Municipal Administration minister K P Munnusamy flagged off seven jetting cum suction machine worth Rs 2.72 crore and six jet rodding machines worth Rs 2.17 crore on Tuesday.

These machines would come handy in maintenance of the sewer systems during the monsoon in Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Thiru-Vi-Ka-Nagar, Ambattur, Anna nagar, Teynampet, Kodambakkam, Valasaravakkam and Adyar area.

This also comes in the wake of Chief minister issuing order for purchasing 35 jet rodding machines, 50 desilting machines at a cost of rs 9.90 crore besides purchase of 20 jetting cum cuction machines, 66 desilting machinmes, 30 super sucker machines at a cost of Rs 15.20 crore.

Metro water officials said that 15 desilting machines worth 2.54 crore, 27 jet rodding machines worth rs 9.6 crore and eight jetting cum suction machine worth rs 3.02 crore have  that have been purchased recently have been put into use.
Currently, Metro water has 98 jet rodding machines, 19 jetting cum suction machines, three super sucker machines and 161 desilting machines.

Officials feel these machines would help in preparing to maintain the sewage network of the city besides ending manual scavenging.

writingonblog uncensored: Rainstorms bring reservoirs to life

writingonblog uncensored: Rainstorms bring reservoirs to life: C Shivakumar Chennai: The city’s water woes are likely to end soon if the rain gods continue to smile even as the reservoirs supply...

Rainstorms bring reservoirs to life


C Shivakumar
Chennai:
The city’s water woes are likely to end soon if the rain gods continue to smile even as the reservoirs supplying water to the city are bubbling with life receiving 241 million cubic feet of water during the last two days of heavy rains, according to a Metro Water official.
The last two days of rains have brought much cheer to the city’s water distribution system which was struggling to meet the demands, said the official heaving a sigh of relief.
But then it all depends on the how good the monsoon would be, he said. On Sunday, the reservoirs received 126 million cubic feet of water and on Monday, an additional flow of 115 million cubic of water was received,” said a senior Metro Water official.
Interestingly, this is the first time the parched reservoirs have been getting water. “The water situation was well below 2tmcft. Now the reservoirs have water levels more than 2 tmcft,” he said.
Metro Water officials are also working to ensure that the city gets quality drinking water. “We have increased the daily sampling of residual chlorine. Besides the 2,500 daily sampling of the water in different localities, we are also undertaking joint sampling with Chennai Corporation on Tuesdays and Fridays,” he said.
Interestingly, Metro Water will also be holding joint meeting Corporation health officials at zonal levels to ensure quality water supply, he said.
Metro water has removed chronic obstruction and has carried out desilting along 65 km long sewage pipeline besides replacement of 20 km of pipeline which results in contamination the water. “The work is nearly over,” he said.
He also said that provisions are being made to have power supply 24 hours in the sewage pumping station. “We have installed and hired generators for all the sewing stations,” he said.
He said of 218 sewage pumping stations, Metro Water has 161 generators and it has hired additional 57 generators as a precautionary measure as the flow in the sewage would increase during the rains.
The water supply to the city improved recently following the city getting water from Veeranam lake and Krishna water being released from Kandaleru Dam in Andhra Pradesh
Reservoir                      Full capacity                  Storage      
Poondi                         3231 mcft                      225 mcft      
Cholavaram                   881 mcft                        75mcft
Red Hills                      3300 mcft                        1190 mcft
Chembarambakkam     3645 mcft                        749 mcft
Veeranam                     1465mcft                         956.70mcft
Total            12522 mcft            3189 mcft

writingonblog uncensored: Homeless now have a roof during monsoon thanks to ...

writingonblog uncensored: Homeless now have a roof during monsoon thanks to ...: C Shivakumar Chennai: Homeless in Chennai could be rest assured to have a roof above their head during the monsoon under The Shelt...

Homeless now have a roof during monsoon thanks to Chennai Corporation initiative


C Shivakumar
Chennai:
Homeless in Chennai could be rest assured to have a roof above their head during the monsoon under The Shelter for Homeless Initiative by Chennai Corporation and the civil society.

The 21 homeless shelters, which sprang up in and around the city after the intervention of Supreme Court, are much in demand during the monsoon and civil society feels the Chennai Corporation should expand it further to 100 within a time frame to cater to the homeless population.

As the monsoon has set in there are more homeless people who are availing this facility in and around the city. “On Monday we had identified 20 homeless people and provided them with shelter managed by SIGA near Beach railway Station,” said city level coordinator for Chennai Corporation Clement David.

Interestingly, this initiative was started two years ago with only 15 shelters but there were several gaps in implementation, said Clement.

The shelters got a new lease of life in June this year with effective implementation under the Shelter for Homeless Initiative by Chennai Corporation after signing a memorandum of understanding with 21 civil society organisations, says Clement.

Interestingly, these shelters are exclusively for the homeless and volunteers keep track of them. “It should not be a drive to forcefully clear off the homeless from the street. It has dignity component. It should not be forceful and should not have confinement component,” says independent policy researcher Vanessa, who has been active in demanding shelter for homeless during the last nine years.

Currently, the shelters have been classified into seven groups catering to different sections. Care and protection or residential school for children, shelter for persons with psycho social disabilities, single women shelter, single men shelter, family shelters and elderly shelters. “The Chennai Corporation still don’t have a recovery shelter for pallative care and communicable diseases,” rues Vanessa.

The residential school (as per the guidelines of Supreme court children should not be confined in shelters but they rather should be in residential schools) in the city have also been a glimmer of hope for vulnerable children in street who are left unprotected. The Amanmayyam Rainbow Home is a cosy nest for the 37 children whose parents have left them in safe hands. “We have already got 10 children during the monsoon,” says Kruthika of Vanavil Illangalin Kootamaippu. Run by Sarva Siksha Abhiyaan and infrastructure provided by Chennai Corporation, this home for shelterless children have helped nurture their dreams for the future.

“I want to be a doctor,” says Sivaranjini, a class IV student while her sister Venilla, who aspires to be an engineer looks on. “Their mother who lives near the Chennai Central station has handed them over to us as she could not take care of them and is concerned for their safety during the monsoon,” says Anju, the home manager.

“The biggest challenge the civil society faces is that they have to win the confidence of the homeless community so that the children and adults could be rehabilitated,” says Vanessa, adding that it doesn’t happen overnight.
Interestingly, Chennai Corporation is currently renovation seven shelters besides finalizing two more to the list of 21 shelters. “We are providing them with identity cards besides working towards getting them old age pension and widow pension,” says Palaniandi, coordinator for Shelter for Urban Homeless run by Surabhi Trust in Kellys that was opened few months ago. “We have 37 homeless people besides four families and they come from Pattalam, Otteri, Doveton, Kilpauk Garden and various other places,” says Palaniandi.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: HP launches new computing products

writingonblog uncensored: HP launches new computing products: Chennai: Hewlett Packard India on Tuesday launched new computing products including a hybrid device that can   be used as a notebook...

HP launches new computing products



Chennai:
Hewlett Packard India on Tuesday launched new computing products including a hybrid device that can  be used as a notebook as well as a tablet.

The devices that were launched include HP Pavilion x2 hybrid PC in consumer segment and HP Elitebook Revolve 810, Probook 430 and Elite 800 series notebooks in commercial segment.

Addressing a press conference here, Sunish Raghavan, country category head – personal systems (commercial) printing and personal systems, said that the products are priced in the range of Rs 27,000 to Rs 80,000.

HP Pavilion x2 is a hybrid device that can be used as a notebook as well as tablet. It also offers Windows 8.1 operating system and the hybrid device is available with 64GB and 128 GB of storage.

To a query on consumers now migrating to mobile phone devices from laptops and personal computers, Raghavan said that the market for PCs is still attractive as consumers find personal computers more easy to operate.

writingonblog uncensored: CHOLA MS launches CHOLA PROTECT - TRUCK

writingonblog uncensored: CHOLA MS launches CHOLA PROTECT - TRUCK: Chennai:   Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited (Chola MS), a joint venture between the INR 225 billion Murugappa Group a...

CHOLA MS launches CHOLA PROTECT - TRUCK


Chennai:  Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited (Chola MS), a joint venture between the INR 225 billion Murugappa Group and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance of Japan, has announced the launch of Chola Protect for Trucks with 11 add-on covers  that offers total  protection  for the trucks and complete peace of mind for the truck owners. 

This is the first value added insurance product for truck owners in the country. The company also launched India’s first ‘Emergency Road-Side Service’ for trucks.


The new package product with wide range of add-on covers offers complete protection with unique features like 100pc depreciation waiver, reinstatement value in case of total loss, monetary compensation for loss of key, driving license, registration certificate, permit, payment for road tax, registration and insurance cost. All these features ensure maximum benefit to the customers.

 Speaking on the occasion, Gopalarathnam, Managing Director, Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited, said, “The customer wants an all encompassing, transparent policy with an affordable premium that gives him a worry-free driving experience.

He added, “Keeping this in mind, Chola has developed the product with keen focus on customer needs. It is India’s first packaged complete protection policy for trucks that offers maximum coverage and service to the customer. Some of the covers like Reinstatement Value Basis (RVB) cover with inbuilt depreciation benefit, payment for consumables, Franchise discount, No claim bonus discount  protection and penalty coverages are unique to the Indian General Insurance market. This product is a radical attempt to redefine the Motor Insurance industry.”

The company also launched India’s first ‘Emergency Road-Side Services’ for trucks in tie-up with Mapfre Asistencia. CARE 24X7 (Chola Assistance for Roadside Emergencies) offer a bouquet of assistance services like towing of vehicle from the accident site, battery jumpstart, gear lever setting, brake and clutch settings minor electrical work and many more.


Chola MS customers can call the 24X7 call centre using the toll free numbers 1800-1035354/ 1800-2095354 to avail CARE service across all National Highways in the country.

Chola Protect - Trucks will be available at an affordable premium through  6000 agents, new and used vehicle dealers and also through the direct sales force of Chola MS spread through 92 branches across the country.

writingonblog uncensored: British Airways to fly six days a week from Chenna...

writingonblog uncensored: British Airways to fly six days a week from Chenna...: Chennai: British Airways will now be flying six days a week from Chennai starting this Sunday, according to Christopher Fordyc...

British Airways to fly six days a week from Chennai


Chennai:
British Airways will now be flying six days a week from Chennai starting this Sunday, according to Christopher Fordyce, regional commercial manager, British Airways, South Asia.
Addressing a press conference here on Monday, Fordyce said that the sixth direct service is launched in Chennai as the city is critical part of British Airways strategy in South Asia.
Interestingly, this comes in the wake of British Airways marking 25 years of legacy, innovation and flying to Chennai.
Refusing to release the figures, Fordyce said that the city has a lot of growth potential with the expansion of corporate and lort of small and medium enterprise traffic. “Being a commercial and cultural hub of south India, We have nearly double digit growth on London-Chennai sector,” he said.
Interestingly, this also comes in the wake of Britain planning to expand its footprint in Tamil Nadu.
To a query on whether this is due to Britain planning to have additional office in Tamil Nadu, Fordye said that it will does have an indirect impact on the decision to additional flights from Chennai. He also said plans are also on to have a daily flight from London-Chennai sector.
He also said that this winter, British Airways would be operating daily flights from Hyderabad. Currently, British Airways operates six days a week from Hyderabad.
He also announced that British Airways would shifting its operations in Chennai, from Anna International Terminal, Chennai Airport to the New International Terminal, Chennai from Tuesday. “The first departure on Tuesday would be from the new terminal,” he said.
Box:
AirAsia shifts operations to New International Terminal
CHENNAI: AirAsia will shift its operations in Chennai, from Anna International Terminal, Chennai Airport to the New International Terminal, Chennai (NITC) from Tuesday.

From the effective date onwards, flight departure from Chennai will be based and operated at the NITC. Arrivals will be at the old terminal.

Monday, October 21, 2013

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai ranked second among top 21 buiness destina...

writingonblog uncensored: Chennai ranked second among top 21 buiness destina...: Chennai: Chennai is ranked second among the top 21 business destinations in the country, according to a recent ranking unveiled by Glo...

Chennai ranked second among top 21 buiness destinations

Chennai:
Chennai is ranked second among the top 21 business destinations in the country, according to a recent ranking unveiled by Global Initiative for Restructuring Environment and Management (GIREM), and  a not for profit industry body, DTZ, one of the global leaders in property services.
The report, which scored the cities across various economic, environmental and cultural parameters, ranked Chennai among the top five locations considered to be the best options for businesses to invest with two major ports – Chennai Port and Ennore port contributing greatly to its economy and around 30 per cent of India's automobile industry and 40 per cent of auto components industry based in the city.
Interestingly, Bangalore is ranked above Chennai as it displays high potential to attract talent, offers favorable weather conditions, good availability of office space suiting different income groups, efficient water management systems, a high-quality education system and a welcoming, multifarious city culture, the report said.
As per the report, the city has outscored Mumbai, the financial capital of India, as the city is a major industrial, cultural, commercial, economic and educational hub in South India.
It has a diversified economic base anchored by the automobile, software services, textile, medical tourism, hardware manufacturing, petro-chemicals, aerospace and financial services. The city has a fully computerized stock exchange, the Madras Stock Exchange. It is also known as “Detroit of India” due to the huge automobile industry base here. With Chennai having the fourth largest Gross Metropolitan Product in India, it has a very good and diversified talent pool available. All these factors make it a hot-spot destination for business investments, the report said.
The ranking has been developed in association with leading real estate consultancy DTZ. It rates the cities based on factors such as human capital, energy, water, transport, housing, healthcare, climate, office space availability and city culture, amongst others. These constitute the basic eco-socio-economic factors critical in determining the growth of the city.
Box:
Rank
Score
City

1
129.56
Bangalore
2
127.84
Chennai
3
123.64
Mumbai
4
122.64
Pune
5
121.04
Indore
6
119.84
Bhubaneshwar
7
119.84
Coimbatore
8
119.44
Ahmedabad
9
119.36
Nagpur
10
117.92
Kochi
11
117.28
Chandigarh
12
116
Hyderabad
13
115.84
Mangalore
14
115.12
Vadodara
15
114.8
Jaipur
16
114.48
Calicut
17
114.4
Noida
18
114.24
Kolkata
19
114.08
Gurgaon
20
111.68
Navi Mumbai



 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
21      111.68    Visakhapatnam