Category Archives: Business & Economy

Hotel in Hyderabad Reaches New Heights in Entertainment

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Hyderabad, India :

Having a routine can be comforting, but it can also get a little boring. To make sure guests of the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre always have something new to look forward to, the Altitude Lounge Bar offers an exciting calendar that brings a different experience to this 5 star Hyderabad Hotel every night of the week.

Named Best Lounge Bar in Hyderabad by the Times Food and Nightlife Awards 2013, Altitude is located on the 8th floor of this Hyderabad conference hall hotel, and offers a breathtaking view of Hussain Sagar Lake. The restaurant-lounge is the perfect place to meet with colleagues for dinner or the daily happy hour, when all beverages are 50% off between 5 and 8pm.

The week kicks off at this Hyderabad luxury hotel  lounge with Monday Mayhem, when shooters are free until the bar turns its traffic light to red. On Tuesday, experience India’s hottest club music with Nocturnal House, when hip-hop and desi beats will keep guests on the dance floor until the early hours. Wednesday hosts an After Dark after-hours party, while Thursday’s Rock Retro & Refuel features live rock and retro and exotic cocktails. The weekend is in full swing with Friday’s Melange Madness, fusing live music with a DJ, and Saturday’s Indulge Like a Queen, when ladies get the VIP treatment and high heels score discounts. Recover from a hectic week with laid-back Siesta Sundays.

The menu at this Hyderabad banquet hall bar offers plenty of options to keep things refreshing and exciting. In addition to an extensive list of wine and whiskey, guests will find an array of classic and special cocktails. Try the Aviation (gin, cherry liqueur and lemon juice), a Melon Ball (vodka, melon and orange juice), a Kentucky Coffee (Maker’s Mark, demerara sugar, black coffee and whipped cream) or, for the teetotaler, the Nawab’s Punch (fruit juices, vanilla ice cream and condensed milk).

source: http://www.broadwayworld.com / BWW travelworld.com / Home> Travel Today / by Travel News Desk / September 30th, 2013

SBH opens all-woman branch in Vizag

Business & Economy
GVMC Additional Commissioner M. Janaki inaugurating an ATM at SBH branch at LIC building in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. SBH DGM K. Ramesh Babu and AGM Madhuri are seen. / Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu
GVMC Additional Commissioner M. Janaki inaugurating an ATM at SBH branch at LIC building in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. SBH DGM K. Ramesh Babu and AGM Madhuri are seen. / Photo: Special Arrangement / The Hindu

It offers a special deposit account for women and girls

Visakhapatnam Zone of State Bank of Hyderabad has achieved a turnover of Rs.8,500 crore with deposits standing at Rs.5,000 crore during the first half of current financial year.

After inauguration of all-women branch of SBH, the first in Andhra Pradesh, at the LIC building here, bank’s Deputy General Manager K. Ramesh Babu said the zone comprising Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Srikakulam, East and West Godavari districts had 260 women employees constituting 23 per cent of workforce.

The new branch, opened by chairperson and managing director of Vaibhav Empire Private Ltd G.B.M. Ratna Kumari, is the 44 branch in the region, 157 in the zone and 1587 in the country. This was among four all-woman branches opened on the occasion of 144 birthday of Mahatma Gandhi at Salem, Bangalore and Pune. GVMC Additional Commissioner M. Janaki inaugurated an ATM. Mr. Ramesh Babu told reporters that the bank had financed over 700 housing and 500 car loans during first half of the year. The financial year is being observed as Year of MSME. The new branch, open to both male and female customers, offers a special deposit account for women and girls namely SBH Ujwala, which provides free personal accident insurance coverage up to Rs.4 lakh and loans with a concession in processing charges and interest rate.

SBH Assistant General Manager Madhuri and all-woman branch manager Ch. Shyamala Devi were present.

BANK’S GESTURE

On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti and inauguration of four all-woman branches in the country, SBH donated Rs.7.87 lakh towards the cost of uniforms, books, shoes and other education needs of the students studying at SBH GVMC School at Neelammavepachettu Road. The school is adopted by the bank for the past four years.

As part of corporate social responsibility, the bank is sponsoring medical expenses of students of Lebenshilfe, an institute taking care of mentally challenged children near Appughar. SBH donated a computer to CHILD, which runs a home for orphan children at New Paradesipalem. The bank also sponsored the stitching charges of uniforms for the students of visually challenged girls at a residential school at Yendada.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> C ities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – October 03rd, 2013

I-T sector growth to continue: Expert

Business & Economy, Science & Technology
Picture for representational purpose only. / The Deccan Chronicle
Picture for representational purpose only. / The Deccan Chronicle

Visakhapatnam: 

IT is the world’s most dynamic industry and will continue to grow worldwide if we properly understand and fulfil  the requirements of customers, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)  vice-president V. Rajanna said here on Monday at the Gitam University.

He said that good communications skills, fast learning skills,  and strong knowledge of fundamentals will provide opportunities in the IT sector.

Rajanna also suggested that software testing, enterprise resource planning and business process management were a few emerging areas where budding engineers can focus for placements. He briefed about the various training programmes and service activities organised by TCS.

While delivering the pre-placement talk at Gitam campus he told engineering graduates that the IT sector is performing well and had logged huge exports. He said the TCS was expanding in 46 countries with 197 offices. He pointed out that 33 per cent of the TCS employees were women, and the company had established a special women BPO centre in the Middle East.

Rajanna said that there was a lot of scope for R&D in the IT sector and that TCS had established the largest software R&D centre in the country which was also a first in IT R&D.

TCS HR head Jana also made some suggestions to students particularly on communication skills, general knowledge, in-depth preparation and B.Tech projects. He said that the management round, technical round and HR round were the main levels in campus placements.

source:  http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / October 01st, 2013

ECIL records its highest ever turnover of Rs 1,729 crore

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

Hyderabad :

Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad, under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has achieved a record turnover of Rs. 1,729 crores during the financial year 2012-13 with earnings before interest, taxes depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of Rs 103 crore.

In 2012-13, ECIL continued its contributions to the strategic sectors of the nation, viz. Atomic Energy, Defence, Space and Homeland Security. Major supplies included Control & Instrumentation Systems for Nuclear Power Plants, Radiation Detection Equipment for Seaports, Command Control Systems for Akash and BrahMos Missile Programs, Communication Radios, Jammers and installation of integrated Video Surveillance Systems to cover a number of major markets in New Delhi City. ECIL has also contributed to the National Population Register (NPR) and the Socio-Economic Caste Census  (SECC) projects during the year.

The significant achievements during the year 2012-13 are the installation of Control and Instrumentation equipment at Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant  (KKNPP) and Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) at Kalpakkam; supply, installation & commissioning of a Ground Station for Earth Observation Satellite at Antarctica, Integrated Security Systems for the Indian Chancery at Kabul and supply of two lakh artillery Fuzes to the Indian Army.

The company won the prestigious Gold Trophy for R&D, Technology Development and Innovation for the year 2011-12 awarded by the Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) in April, 2013.

The company is working on several new technologies in association with major Research and Development laboratories and other national institutions to develop new products which will become the mainstay for the company. The company is also substantially increasing its investment in its infrastructure to renovate and modernize its facilities to make them future-ready.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Business> India Business / by Ch. Sushil Rao, TNN / September 30th, 2013

e-auction of hair fetches Rs. 107 crore for TTD

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All

Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams earned Rs. 107 crore on Thursday through e-auction of human hair. It is estimated that over 64,760 kg of hair was disposed of in the auction.

In the temple’s history, informed sources said, this was the second highest-ever return recorded from auctioning of human hair, the first being Rs.130 crore earned last June. Meanwhile, a devotee from Chennai, who wished to remain anonymous, on Friday donated a golden Salagrama haram (necklace) worth Rs. 3 crore to the Tirumala temple.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by G.P. Shukla / Tirumala – May 25th, 2013

Hyderabad’s first bicycle station to be launched tomorrow

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, Sports

Hyderabad :

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) and Hyderabad Bicycling Club (HBC) will jointly launch a bike station at Gachibowli on Sunday. A cycling event would also be flagged off by governor ESL Narasimhan on the day.

Apart from the bike station labelled Bicyclone 2013, cycling would be flagged off by the governor ESL Narasimhan.

Announcing this at a press conference on Friday, GHMC commissioner MT Krishna Babu, along with AP Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) executive director Rahul Bojja and HBC chairman DV Manohar, said the bike station opposite the biodiversity complex was built by the municipal corporation while the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) contributed 300 bicycles for it. The HBC has come forward to operate the bike station on a non-profit basis, he said.

The commissioner said HMR was planning to set up bike stations at all metro stations. These stations would have state-of-the-art facilities such as card swipe technology for releasing bikes, rest rooms, change facilities, lockers and food court with adequate seating. Office-bound commuters getting down at metro stations can borrow a bicycle from the bike station to go to their workplace and return the bike when returning to catch a train at any metro station. The bike stations will be manned 24/7 by specially trained staff, dedicated support vehicles and mechanics, Krishna Babu said.

“The ‘Cycle to Work’ is aimed at transforming the commuting culture in our city by reducing vehicular pollution as well as traffic congestion. Our target groups are corporate companies, government employees, individuals, specialist cycling organizations and residential communities in the surrounding areas,” the commissioner said.

He said that eight tracks would be developed covering various IT company zones. While APIIC would construct 40 km of the total 60 km proposed cycling track, the rest would be constructed by the GHMC.

including Hitec City MMTS station to InOrbit Mall (MMTS Railway Station, Cyber towers, Mindspace, ILabs ), Shilpakala Vedika to Shilpakala Vedika (Shilpakalavedika, CII green business centre, Kondapur, Botanical Gardens, Gachibowli Junction, Quality Inn , Mindspace circle), Shilpakalavedika to Cybergateway (Shilpakalavedika, CII Green Business centre, Mahindra Satyam, Dell, Cybergateway), Ayyappa Society to Cyber Towers (Neeru’s Emphoria, Right Turn, Left Turn, YSR Statue, Meridian School Jn, Cyber Towers),Madhapur PS to Madhapur PS (Madhapur PS, Durgam Cheruvu, ILabs, Mindspace, Cybergateway, Nandini Cafe, Madhapur Petrol bunk),Madhapur PS to Madhapur PS (Madhapaur PS, Durgam Cheruuvu, ILABS, Mindspace, Cybergateway, Madhapur Petrol Bunk, Madhapur PS), Raidurgam SEZ to Raidurgam SEZ (Raidurgan SEZ, R Ministry College, Cyberabad Police Comm, Gachibowli Junction, IDBI Bank, Infosys, Wipro Junction, Rejenta One, HPS/ OAKRIDGE, Raidurgam SEZ), IDBI Bank to Hitex (IDBI Bank Gachibowli stadium, University of Hyd, DLF, Adithya Sarovar, Kondapur Junction, Kothaguda, Shilpa Park, Novotel, Hitex).

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad> Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation / TNN / September 28th, 2013

India-born Watsa led Fairfax consortium to buy BlackBerry for $4.7 billion

Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technology, World Opinion
BlackBerry Q10 / The Hindu
BlackBerry Q10 / The Hindu

New Delhi :

BlackBerry Limited today announced it has signed a letter of intent agreement under which a consortium to be led by Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited has offered to acquire the company subject to due diligence.

Hyderabad-born Prem Watsa is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, based in Toronto. Often called the “Canadian Warren Buffett” he is an alumnus of the Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet and a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology with a degree in Chemical Engineering.

The letter of intent contemplates a transaction in which BlackBerry shareholders would receive $9 in cash for each share of BlackBerry they hold, in a transaction valued at approximately $4.7 billion. The consortium would acquire for cash all of the outstanding shares of BlackBerry not held by Fairfax. Fairfax, which owns approximately 10 percent of BlackBerry’s common shares, intends to contribute the shares of BlackBerry it currently holds into the transaction.

The BlackBerry Board of Directors, acting on the recommendation of a special committee of the board of directors, approved the terms of the LOI under which the consortium, which is seeking financing from BofA Merrill Lynch and BMO Capital Markets, would acquire BlackBerry and take the company private subject to a number of conditions, including due diligence, negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement and customary regulatory approvals.

The Special Committee, chaired by Director Tim Dattels, was formed in August 2013 to review strategic alternatives for the company. J.P. Morgan and Perella Weinberg are acting as financial advisors and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Torys LLP are acting as legal advisors.

Diligence is expected to be complete by November 4, 2013. The agreement is on a non-exclusive basis. If BlackBerry enters into any agreement providing for an alternative transaction with a person with whom discussions were held before or during the diligence period, then BlackBerry shall pay Fairfax a fee of $0.30 per BlackBerry share, provided, however, that no such fee shall be payable if the consortium shall have reduced the price offered below $9.00 per share without the approval of the board of directors of BlackBerry. In the event that a definitive agreement is signed with Fairfax the termination fee will increase to $0.50 per share.

Barbara Stymiest, Chair of BlackBerry’s Board of Directors, said: “The Special Committee is seeking the best available outcome for the Company’s constituents, including for shareholders. Importantly, the go-shop process provides an opportunity to determine if there are alternatives superior to the present proposal from the Fairfax consortium.”

Prem Watsa, Chairman and CEO of Fairfax, said: “We believe this transaction will open an exciting new private chapter for BlackBerry, its customers, carriers and employees. We can deliver immediate value to shareholders, while we continue the execution of a long-term strategy in a private company with a focus on delivering superior and secure enterprise solutions to BlackBerry customers around the world.”

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Info-Tech / by the Hindu Bureau / New Delhi – September 24th, 2013

Vijayawada airport expansion plan cleared

Business & Economy

Land allotments for various industrial projects, research institutes

The much delayed expansion of Vijayawada airport will gain momentum with the State Cabinet approving the proposal to acquire 492 acres and hand it over to the Airport Authority of India as per the MoU entered with it.

The Council of Ministers who met here on Friday cleared the proposal to sanction Rs.110.91 crore for the land acquisition.

The Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy cleared several proposals for land allotment to various industrial projects, research institutes, educational institutions and development works and approved recruitment to about 5,000 posts, including those on contract basis in several governments departments – Transport, Finance, Anti-Corruption Bureau while a major chunk of posts will be for new power projects to be set up by Genco.

Later giving the details, Information and Public Relations Minister D.K. Aruna told media persons that 498 acres of government land would be handed over to Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation for setting up an industrial park at Jayanthipuram near Jaggaiahpeta in Krishna district and another one in 176 acres in Pellakuru mandal of Nellore district.

Land for three Leather Parks in Balamuru mandal (25 acres) of Krishna district, Kantepalli village (40 acres) in Karimnagar district and Ghanpur (25 acres) in Warangal district was also approved.

Ms. Aruna said that the Cabinet cleared allotment of 132 acres land for 765 kv sub-station at Manubolu in Nellore district; 32 acres of land to National Rural Energy Development Corporation for the wind power project at Racherla village of Kurnool and nine acres of land for the Planning and Architecture institute in Vijayawada.

The Cabinet approved 1,105 posts of engineers and administrative staff in new power projects to be set up by AP Genco, 392 posts in State Transport department and 47 posts in the Anti-Corruption Bureau, including four Joint Directors, 14 DSPs and 20 Inspectors among others.

Clearance was also given for 2,825 additional teacher posts in Residential schools in Scheduled areas under Rajiv Vidya Mission, 38 posts in State Information Commission, 24 posts in Finance department for implementation of 10 PRC recommendations and 28 posts in State Property Tax Board for speedy resolution of tax disputes.

Teaching and non-teaching posts were cleared for Vikrama Simhapuri university in Nellore, Shatavahana University in Karimnagar and 31 posts for PG Centre to be set up Narsapur in Medak.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Hyderabad – September 21st, 2013

Trained freelance guides all set to woo Vizag tourists

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Visakhapatnam :

Did you know that the dargah in the Old Town area was built by Islamic traders in 1287 and that the Queen Mary School was the only school for widows in 1932? The Kurupam market was constructed in honour of Edward VII and the current Visakha Museum was once a Dutch bungalow, used for storing indigo?

The answer from most Vizagites would be a big ‘No’, as the members of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) learnt much to their dismay when these questions were posed to a group of 75 students and 15 teachers from the city.

With awareness about the geological, historical and archaeological importance of natural as well as man-made heritage sites being pretty limited even among citizens along with a total lack of trained guides at Visakhapatnam, which is a major tourist hub attracting over 50 lakh foreign and domestic tourists annually, Intach had joined hands with the district tourism department to bring together, for the first time, a motley bunch of Navymen, tribals, MBAs, tour enthusiasts, scholars and school students and train them as freelance tourist guides.

As part of this unique initiative, 21 freelance tourist guides from different walks of life and culture have been trained by historians, archaeologists and Intach members with funds from district rural development agency (DRDA) and support from Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC). They are now set to take tourists on an interesting historical journey and help them explore tourist spots in and around the city. The trained and educated guides will be formally unveiled on World Tourism Day on September 27.

“These freelance guides volunteered to be trained in a 10-day programme supported by APTDC and Rs 3.16 lakh funding by DRDA. While Intach members trained the guides with maps, archaeology certified notes etc, we provided the contact numbers of the guides to hotels and tour operators and put up their details on website for travel enthusiasts to contact them,” said district tourism officer S D Anita.

Elaborating on the concept, Intach member and trainer Jayshree Hatangadi said, “This bunch of 21 travel and tourism enthusiasts belong to different professions but came forward to volunteer as freelance guides. They were given classes by historians, Vedic lecturers, archaeologists, heritage and environment experts as well as professionals from the hospitality industry, who taught them about tourist psychology and expectations. These guides are not only proficient in English, Hindi and Telugu but are also tech-savvy.”

The freelance guides include student Olivia Joshi, retired Naval officer John Daryl, lawyer G Rajkumar, insurance agent Y Parthasarathy, software professional G Arun Kumar, accountant Syed Majid, medical transcriptionist Sai Ram; MBA, finance and marketing persons such as Md Ishaq, A Ram, Rajesh B, P Muralikanth; those in the transport and tourism industry such as P Venugopal, Pawan Kumar, SS Srinu, Aparna, N Vamsi Krishna, tribal volunteer from Araku S Anand and four villagers Ch Laxman, B Ramesh, U Pawan and I Rambabu for village tourism and tribal tours.

“It’s the love for Vizag and passion for travelling that brought us together to get ourselves trained as guides,” quipped Neville-ul-Islam, a post graduate from the city who hails from a Naval background.

Describing the itinerary, P Venugopal said, “It includes a tour of the beaches, Visakha Museum, Simhachalam, Kailasagiri, Rushikonda, Bheemunipatnam, prominent Buddhist sites, Araku, Ananthgiri, Borra caves, waterfalls, Tyda rail station, coffee plantations and villages on the way to Araku.”

“Those interested can also visit the dingy Old Town area of Vizag and get a glimpse of the places steeped in history even though they are in an extremely dilapidated state. Provisions have also been made to enable tourists to savour local cuisines and shop for traditional crafts and artifacts from government stores,” Venugopal added.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / by  Sulogna Mehta, TNN / September 18th, 2013

BSNL to ring in job training for youth

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam : 

Bharat Sanchar Nigham Limited (BSNL) Visakhapatnam Telcom district will kick off its Employability Enhancement Training Programme-2013 in a week’s time to select engineering students of various colleges in the district.

Inaugurating the programme, BSNL senior general manager RMM Krishna said it is aimed at training engineering students from the electronics and communication branch to enhance their employability through silver, gold and platinum certificate programmes. The telecom company will be locally conducting the programme as per an MoU with the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE).

“BSNL has selected 6,793 students from 693 colleges across the country for training at 23 BSNL training centres, including Visakhapatnam. Nearly 300 students from 26 colleges were selected for the programme in BSNL’s Visakhapatnam limits,” Krishna added.

VSRK Prasad, principal, Anil Neerukonda Institute of Technology and Sciences (ANITS), which sent 10 engineering students for the BSNL training programme, said that the students will be given practical knowledge on electronics and communication four hours in a week.

“Though BSNL did not give any job assurance to the participants, the employability programme plays a vital role in moulding their careers. The programme will surely help them encounter challenges in their career,” Prasad said.

Students of the fifth semester will get a BSNL Silver Certificate on completion of the Transmission Switching System and Telecom Support Infrastructure programme, while the BSNL Gold certificate will be issued to sixth semester engineering candidates completing the certificate programme on Broadband Technology, Digital Switching System and Optical Fibre. The BSNL Platinum certificate will be issued to seventh semester candidates completing the Mobilie Communication and IP Networking and Security Certificate programme as part of the BSNL training programme.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / September 18th, 2013