Category Archives: Business & Economy

Central Warehousing Corporation to celebrate Foundation Day on March 2

Business & Economy

Retired employees of various corporations in Guntur district to be felicitated

The Foundation Day of Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) would be celebrated from 10 a.m. on March 2 at Central Warehouse, near Old Mirchi Yard in the city.

Warehousing Corporations of Pedakakani, Vadlamudi, Duggirala, Sattenapalli, Chilakaluripet, and Guntur would jointly celebrate the Foundation Day at Old Mirchi Yard on G.T. Road.

Joint Collector Vivek Yadav, District Revenue Officer K. Naga Babu, and Deputy Collector (District Vigilance Cell) E. Murali will attend the function, said CWC, Guntur Manager, G. Mohan Rao.

Retired CWC employees of various corporations in Guntur district would be felicitated during the celebrations, said Mr. Rao.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff Reporter / Guntur – March 01st, 2014

Art for Charity

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

The present show at Taj Krishna by Hari Srinivas titled, ‘Off the walls’ is the artist’s 50th solo exhibition. The artist has decided to donate the amount from the show to the BIBI Cancer Institute and Research centre.

Trained academically as an artist, he has been working in art related streams like designing and teaching for a long time. After working within the communication stream and applied designing for almost 27 years, artist Hari Srinivas decided to concentrate completely on his paintings and is presently working as full-time freelance artist.

Srinivas refuses to adapt a single style or genre of expression for his work. He says that he enjoys the freedom to delve into multiple subjects and different styles of rendering. While some works reflect the accuracy of photorealism other works are rendered in abstract style.

The artist’s works are inspired by nature. He rejoices in creating reflections of nature through landscapes and other compositions which include natural elements in abundance. He paints portraits of men and women and also fondly recreates a few glimpses of happenings from day today life.

Through his work the artist says that he intends to bring forth to his viewers the innumerable pleasant experiences which they forget to rejoice and celebrate.

source: http://ww.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Palak Dubey – Hyderabad / February 28th, 2014

170 acres handed over for new port

Business & Economy, Records, All

Nellore :

In an attempt to launch the Dugarajapatnam port works even before election notification is issued, the district administration on Tuesday handed over about 170 acres of land to the Visakhapatnam port authorities.

District collector N Srikanth said that VSP would act as nodal agency to carry out the works at Dugarajapatnam port, which is the state’s second major public sector port on which the Centre is investing nearly Rs.8,000 crore. Although, 5,028 acres have been earmarked for the construction of port near Tupilipalem village near Dugarajapatnam, the district administration handed over only around 170 acres following government instructions.

“This is only the first phase of land transfer. The remaining land would be transferred in a phased manner as we have readied the blueprint for land acquisition,” said Srikanth.

According to sources, local MP Chinta Mohan is working overtime to bring either UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi or Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to lay the foundation stone for the prestigious project before the first week of March. However, none of them have reportedly confirmed their visit to the state yet. While Sonia Gandhi wanted to visit one of the Telangana districts first, Manmohan Singh will be on a foreign tour in the first week of March.

Chinta Mohan is allegedly working hard to launch the port works before the election notification is issued and is expected to invite Union ministers and other top leaders to lay the foundation in case he fails to get the appointment of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / February 27th, 2014

Political party orders keep flag making workers busy

Business & Economy
Workers at a flag-making centre in the city are busy processing the orders of various political parties on Friday | DC
Workers at a flag-making centre in the city are busy processing the orders of various political parties on Friday | DC

Hyderabad: 

With the municipal, Assembly and Parliament elections scheduled to be held in the state soon, the demand for local bands, posters, banners, pamphlets and hoardings have drastically shot up.

Twelve famous band groups have already been booked for the entire election season, hoarding manufacturers have got their hands full till March end and the prices of posters and banners have been increased by 40 per cent, especially after the creation of the Telangana state.

Famous bands like Jai Bheem Band in Khairatabad, Raj Kamal Band in Gowliguda, Pentaiah Band in Nimboliadda, Venkateshwara Band in Chintal Basti and the famous Marfa Band have all been booked in advance.

Mr Babji of Jai Bheem Band said, “A new 22 member team has been formed especially for the ensuing election season. For door-to-door canvassing, the band is charging Rs 50,000 a day while the charges for nominations and other election activities range between Rs 25,000 and Rs 30,000. Famous Hyderabadi sounds like Teen Maar, Lambadi and Marathi will be played.”

Mr Ram Singh, owner of Ram Poster & Banner Manufacture, Chapal Nagar, Mehdipatnam, said, “We are working on orders from the TRS, Congress, Telugu Desam Party, BJP, YSR Congress and even the newly introduced All India Christian Secular Party. So far the outlet has manufactured 1,200 banners for the TRS and 750 for Congress. The prices range from Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000 depending on the size, design and quality.

Additional manpower has been brought in to complete the work on time.” Meanwhile, the demand for spray painters, car decorators and florists has shot up as well.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Politics / by DC Correspondent / March 08th, 2014

Hyderabad International Airport Bags ASSOCHAM CSR Excellence Award

Business & Economy, Records, All

The ASSOCHAM CSR Excellence Award was bagged by the infrastructure major GMR Hyderabad International Airports while Ambuja Cement was the first runner-up. The award for the SME segment for the CSR excellence was given away to Indus Health Plus. Other awardees included Chambal Fertilizer and Chemicals, JK Paper, NTPC, ONGC, Punjab National Bank and Tata Motors.

Communication Minister Mr Kapil Sibal gave away ASSOCHAM awards for the 6th Global Corporate Social Responsibilities Summit.

While addressing the summit, Mr. M J Joseph, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Corporate affairs said his ministry would soon notify section 135 of the new company act that will with CSR. These activities will qualify for CSR spend and these are likely to undergo changes in the light of suggestion received from stakeholders.

Quoting a study, ASSOCHAM President Mr Rana Kapoor said, “a minimum of 16,000 Indian companies fall under the ambit of the law and that entails approximately Rs 28,000 Crores of funds that would be pumped into the system. There emerges a huge opportunity for a tripartite partnership amongst the Government, Businesses and NGOs.

Looking at the efficacy in delivery of the last mile by the ‘third sector’ (NGOs), and their inherent capability to connect with communities and execute large projects on ground, a positive push in this sector makes for an excellent combination for accelerated social impact, said Mr. Kapoor.

source: http://www.microfinancemonitor.com / MF Monitor / Home> Stay Connected / Saturday – March 08th, 2014

Hyderabad to hold first three-day travel meet

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Hyderabad :

The city will host the first Hyderabad Travel Meet (HTM), which is expected to bring a host of national and international brands on one platform.

The three-day event organized by the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation beginning February 21 will be a ‘buyer-seller-consumer’ event to showcase the best of Andhra Pradesh tourism. Over 40 exhibitors, including Cox and Kings, Taj and Novotel groups of hotels, Thomas Cook , Park Hyatt, Kerala Tourism and Karnataka Tourism, are expected to participate in the event.

The brands will look to create new business contacts, launch products and boost visibility of their businesses. “The travel meet is essentially a platform for sellers and consumers to promote Andhra Pradesh as a tourist destination. Consumers could include individuals, institutions and corporate groups who want to forge relationships with professionals,” said Chandana Khan, chairperson, Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation.

Over 25 international brands are expected to have a deeper insight into the tourism potential of Andhra Pradesh. Also, local tour operators, travel agents and other tourism stakeholders are expected to make their presence felt at the event.

Special panel sessions on heritage tourism, international and inbound tourism, technology in tourism, luxury and lifestyle tourism, cuisine experiences and film tourism will be held during the event. Members of other state tourism boards, historians, bureaucrats and other eminent personalities will also participate at the event.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / February 20th, 2014

Satya Nadella’s story to inspire youngsters with humble backgrounds

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Hyderabad-born Satya Nadella’s elevation as the CEO of Microsoft has not only made Indians, especially Telugus, proud but it will definitely inspire many youngsters with humble backgrounds, industry leaders feel.

An average student of Hyderabad Public School (HPS) here Nadella did not study at IITs or any top management school, which is often perceived as a must to make it to the top bracket.

The Microsoft board Tuesday named the 46-year-old Nadella as its CEO, the global software giant’s third after Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.

While the families of both Nadella and his wife Anupama have refused to share their thoughts citing privacy, Nadella’s friends, the alumni of HPS and others said they were thrilled at an Indian making it to the top.

“He is very down-to-earth and humble person who never shows off his position or his knowledge of technology,” J.A. Chowdary, founder director of Software Technology Park of India-Hyderabad told IANS.

Chowdary recalled his meetings with Nadella when the latter was at Sun Microsystem Inc. and also after he joined Microsoft in 1992. “He is always a learner of new things from every individual he meets. As he never shows off, people who meet him also freely share their thoughts with him,” said Chowdary.

“I admire his technology vision. With a man like him at the helm, Microsoft will reach greater heights,” he added. Chowdary is also thrilled that like him, Nadella also hails from Anantapur, a drought-prone district in the backward Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh.

He did his BE in electrical and electronics from Manipal Institute of Technology, masters in computer science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and MBA from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

“This will encourage to young boys and girls with humble beginnings both educationally and financially. They can come up in life with sheer hard work and dedication,” Harish Chandra Prasad, a leading industrialist told IANS.

Prasad pointed out that Nadella studied at second-rung colleges. “He did not study at Stanford or Harvard. There is general thinking that the elite club comes from these top schools,” said Prasad, past chairman of the Andhra Pradesh chapter of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

He believed Nadella is one more example of Telugus doing well. Padmasree Warrior, the Chief Technology & Strategy Officer (CTO) of Cisco Systems and the former CTO of Motorola, Inc. and Kirthiga Reddy, who heads India operations of Facebook, are from Andhra Pradesh.

Son of Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer B.N. Yugandar, Nadella studied at HPS, Begumpet between 1978 and 1984. According to school authorities, he was not an out-standing student.

“Nadella has made every Indian, every IT professional, every Hyderabadi and every alumnus of HPS proud,” K. Vishweshwar Reddy, MD, Citadel Research, told IANS.

Vishweshwar Reddy, Nadella’s senior at HPS, said Nadella’s elevation was another example of average students doing well. He said Wipro CEO T.K. Kurien, also an HPS alumnus, was also not a top student.

Other famous HPS alumni include Karan Bilimoria, chairman of Cobra Beer; Prem Watsa, chairman, Fairfax Financial Holdings, Canada; Shailesh Jejurikar, vice president of Procter & Gamble’s North American homecare portfolio and Shantanu Narayen, CEO, Adobe Systems.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and Union HRD Minister Pallam Raju also studied at the HPS.

“HPS had some magic ingredient. It was the culture and the interaction with students coming from different backgrounds. There were students from rich, middle-class and poor families and there were students from north India and south India,” said Vishhweshwar Reddy, who earlier headed Wipro HCIT and GE MSIT.

He recalled that HPS had very few toppers. “We had the opportunity to play sports and this helped a lot. This shows that it is not just technical skills and academic skills that take you to top,” he said.

Cricket was a passion for Nadella at HPS. “He was a member of the team. He was more of a batsman,” K. Hariprasad, CEO, Central, Apollo Hospitals told IANS.

A senior to Nadella by two years, Hariprasad was captain of the team. “It was a well-knit school. Somebody who has passed from the HPS and is from Hyderabad becoming CEO of one of the largest corporates of the world is a proud thing,” added Hariprasad.

(Mohammed Shafeeq can be contacted at m.shafeeq@ians.in)

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News-IANS> Diaspora / IANS / Hyderabad – February 05th, 2014

Vizag, Vizianagaram to be growth engines: Assocham

Business & Economy

Industry body Assocham feels that coastal cities of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagram will be growth engines in Seemandhra while Hyderabad will continue to retain its appeal as the global hub of business activities.

Commenting on formation of separate Telangana state, it hoped that the two new states would flourish.

“We only hope that the political turmoil over the Telangana issue is over and the two new states will flourish even more after creation of Telangana,” said Assocham president Rana Kapoor in a statement here.

He said the special status to Seemandhra would make it an attractive centre of industrial investment.

“The locational advantages of Visakhapatnam being an important port city along with a well laid-out railway network will make the area a very attractive business proposition since the new investment will be eligible for a tax holiday,” Kapoor added.

He called for special efforts to pump in development funds in Rayalseema region, which remains a backward area whereas the coastal Andhra is blessed with agricultural prosperity and natural advantage of rivers.

Kapoor further said the new government should place special emphasis on development of the backward areas throughout the country, be it Maoist-affected eastern India or some areas in southern and northern India which have not been able to keep pace with the rest of the country.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> News-IANS> Business-Economy / by IANS / Hyderabad – February 21st, 2014

New Govt, industry to trigger IT biz in residual AP

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

IT products and services will be in great demand once the new govt takes shape

Hyderabad :

The information technology industry in the residual Andhra Pradesh, which has been contributing only a fraction of the State’s revenues, can expect a windfall. The creation of a new capital, a variety of government departments and agencies would require a huge IT backbone.

Likely rollout of government-to-citizen and government-to-business services in the next few months too would create a demand for IT products and services. Of the IT revenues of ₹64,354 crore the State recorded in 2012-13, the Seemandhra cities contributed just ₹1,628 crore. While the IT companies in Visakhapatnam generated ₹1,445 crore, Vijayawada followed with ₹115 crore, Kakinada ₹61 crore and Tirupati ₹7 crore.

Promising future

But the industry leaders see a traction and they believe that the formation of a new government would definitely trigger growth in the region. They, however, caution that one cannot expect a Hyderabad-like growth for the industry overnight. “Perhaps, it will take the same time as Hyderabad did. But it definitely will,” BVR Mohan Reddy, Chairman and Managing Director of Infotech Enterprises, toldBusiness Line.

His company has significant operations in Kakinada and Visakhapatnam, both launched a few years ago. “We have just achieved a milestone in Kakinada where the number of employees has crossed the 1,000-mark. In Visakhapatnam too, we see promise in hiring,” he said.

Strong foundations

He, however, said that availability of infrastructure would play a major role in making it an IT hub in the future. “Customers would like to personally come and visit facilities (before placing the orders). You need good infrastructure,” he said.

Ramesh Loganathan, Vice-President of IT industry Association of Andhra Pradesh, said that though the Government’s IT needs would mostly be served by the top league IT firms, there would be trickle down effect. “But primary growth will only come when the industry drives it. Almost all the top notch multi-national companies have presence in all major IT hubs. There’s little scope for their expansion elsewhere. You will see growth only when it is driven by local entrepreneurs,” he felt.

Fresh start

The State Government has readied proposals to get IT Investment Region status to Visakhpatnam and Tirupati. The ITIRs, a Central Government initiative, is aimed at improving IT and physical infrastructure in a limited geography. Hyderabad has become the first City to get such an ITIR, encompassing the old and new IT areas around the city.

“Visakhapatnam ITIR will cover about 11,000 acres (or 45 sq km) and will house IT hardware and services companies. We estimated an investment of ₹25,000 crore to develop infrastructure internal and external infrastructure,” IT and Communication Minister of the undivided State Ponnala Lakshmaiah said.

The 25-year-old project is expected to create 4.28 lakh jobs and generate revenues of ₹37,350 crore when it is fully operational by 2038.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by K V Kurmanath / Hyderabad – February 20th, 2014

L and T Metro Rail MD Gadgil Receives PRCI Award

Business & Economy, Records, All
Aditya Birla group director Rajeshree Birla presenting PRCI’s Corporate Strategist of the Year award to L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited managing director and chief executive VB Gadgil in Mumbai recently.
Aditya Birla group director Rajeshree Birla presenting PRCI’s Corporate Strategist of the Year award to L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited managing director and chief executive VB Gadgil in Mumbai recently.

VB Gadgil, chief executive and managing director of L&T Metro Rail (Hyderabad) Limited, has been  honoured with Corporate Strategist of the Year Award by the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI).

The award was presented by Rajeshree Birla, director of the Aditya Birla group of industries, and Vithal Kamath, chairman and managing director of Orchid group of hotels, in Mumbai recently.

PRCI gives away this award to those who excel in their own field  and contributed to social justice and made a difference to the nation in the last four years.

The award is also known as Chanakya Award.

On receiving the award, Gadgil said: “It is an honour to receive this award and I appreciate the PRCI for instituting Chanakya Awards to recognise the outstanding contributions made by corporates and individuals and their efforts to promote public relations at various levels.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / February 21st, 2014