Category Archives: Business & Economy

Another National Investment Manufacturing Zone to come up near Ongole

Business & Economy

Hyderabad :

The state has been granted another National Investment Manufacturing Zone (NIMZ) near Ongole in Prakasam district. This was announced by Union commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma at a press conference jointly addressed by him and chief minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy on Saturday.

This will be in addition to the two NIMZs already cleared in principle by the central government in Medak and Chittoor districts. The zones will be developed as integrated industrial townships with state-of-the-art infrastructure, clean and energy-efficient technology and skill development facilities.  Andhra Pradesh  would be the second state after Maharashtra to have more than two NIMZs. The Centre has already given in principal approval for 12 NIMZs, which will get several incentives like exemption from capital gains tax and liberalised labour and environmental norms.

These zones are being set up under the National  Manufacturing Policy of 2011, with an aim to increase the share of the manufacturing sector  in the GDP from the present 16 per cent to 25 per cent. “Japan, Germany, the UK, Russia and China have shown keen interest in investing in these NIMZs and things are moving,” the Union minister said. Earlier in the day, the minister laid the foundation stone for the National Institute of Design (NID) at Gachibowli.

Stressing on more employment opportunities, the minister said the manufacturing sector would provide jobs to 150 million youth who would join the work force by 2025. Complimenting the state for making good progress in the designing sector, he said the Centre is ready to extend financial help to 46 more handloom clusters in the state. At present, it is providing aid to 52 clusters, he said. Sharma also agreed to provide health insurance  to workers in the power loom industry by designing a special package. At the request of the chief minister, Sharma agreed to sanction ‘mega clusters’ at Dharmavaram, where 47,000 silk  looms are present.

The minister said also yes to establishing the ‘World Pharma Trade Centre’ in Hyderabad for which the state government has already earmarked 5 acres of land. Sharma directed the officials to make all efforts to lay the foundation for Footwear Designing and Development Institute (FDDI) at Hyderabad within 30 to 45 days time. He added that around 1,000 students would be trained annually in this international standard institute in Leatherware Fashion Technology and the required funds would be given by the Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI). The minister also asked the government officials to revalidate the previously sanctioned Mega Tanning Cluster Complex at Kothapatnam of Nellore district.

Stating that Visakhapatnam has become a key centre of activities for cargo and trade with foreign countries, the minister agreed to sanction ‘Indian Institute of Foreign Trade’ (IIFT) at Visakhapatnam. He also agreed to start one branch of ‘Central Cottage Emporium’ in the state.

The Union Minister congratulated Kiran Kumar for the efforts to launch “E-Biz Project” by September-October this year, as Andhra Pradesh is the first state to start single window permissions through online in the Industrial sector.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / by TNN / May 26th, 2013

TAG Heuer watch collection launched

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Visakhapatnam : 

TAG Heuer – the Swiss company – wants to carry its prestigious, branded watches to tier-two cities such as Visakhapatnam to promote awareness among the public, even though the sales may be small in the beginning, according to Franck Dardenne, the General Manager of TAG Heuer India.\

 

He was speaking here on Friday after inaugurating a collection of TAG Heuer’s Aquaracer watches at the Helios watch store. He said the brand was celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of Aquaracer collection – priced in the range of Rs 70,000 to Rs 3,50,000 lakhs and above. Watch-lovers in the city can have access to the best watches, he added.

He said the company had been making constant efforts throughout the past 30 years to improve upon the features and refashion the brand according to the needs of our customers. He said Shah Rukh Khan was the brand ambasador for the watches.

Waseem Karim, the category manager of Helios, said his company was one of the best watch retailers in the country and it was offering 20 or more international brands under one roof. “We keep these expensive watch collections on display to promote awareness about them. As the city grows and purchasing power of the public increases, there will be more takers,” he said.

Uppalapati Rani, the local franchisee, also spoke.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> News> National / by The Hindu Bureau / Visakhapatnam – May 24th, 2013

Health is wealth–Nellore association takes the right initiative

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Science & Technology
A picture of Nellore association members after completing a sport activity
A picture of Nellore association members after completing a sport activity

To promote the awareness about being healthy among the members, the computer dealers association of Nellore, has attempted a different method of uniting the members every morning and conduct activities.

Speaking to The DQ Week, Deepak Naidu, vice president of the association said, “This is a part of the CDAN Health Activity and is a first-of-its-kind activity in 2013. According to this activity every morning all our members meet at a stadium here in Nellore. For the first half an hour, we make our members walk or jog or run for 3 kms followed by one hour play of badminton or volley ball.” He also said that now it is difficult to make people appreciate the attributes of team work through long screen presentations within the four walls of a training room. “The real personalities, attitude and behaviour become much more conspicuous when people interact in a causal setting. To make it  compulsory, all meetings of our associations are planned to be conducted only in the stadium. We also advise members stay away from mobile phones during the meetings”  he further added.

“Too often our health takes a backseat between our families, careers and daily obligations. To live a viable life, to love and take care of our families, and manage our daily responsibilities, our health must occupy a center stage in our list of priorities. So, this year, 2013, we have given health a top priority and started this activity. ” He also said that to build friendly relationship among members the association wanted to start cricket, a sport with health benefits including building endurance and stamina, balance, improved hand-eye co-ordination and team skills.

source: http://www.dqweek.com / The DQ Week / Home> South / by Swaminathan B. / May 20th, 2013

Aditi Technologies acquires Hyderabad-based Get Cloud Ready

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

This is company’s second acquisition in cloud consulting space after acquisition of Cumulux in 2011

Bangalore-based Aditi Technologies  on Thursday said it has acquired Hyderabad-based cloud operations consulting firm ‘ Get Cloud Ready ‘  for an undisclosed amount.

This is the company’s second acquisition in the cloud consulting space after the acquisition of  Cumulux  in 2011.

The acquisition, would enable Aditi to expand its Amazon Web Services (AWS ) and Cloud Managed Services (CMS), the company said. Get Cloud Ready Consulting was founded by Janakiram MSV, a former Microsoft and Amazon employee in 2011.

The company also said, with the acquisition Get Cloud Ready employees will join Aditi Technologies.

Pradeep Rathinam, CEO Aditi Technologies said: “We are excited to welcome ‘Get Cloud Ready’ team into Aditi. Janakiram and his team bring exceptional cloud infrastructure migration and management expertise. With Get Cloud Ready, we seek to provide our customers with granular visibility into rapidly migrating and managing applications across multiple cloud platforms with minimal effort.”

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by Pradeesh Chandra / Bangalore – May 16th, 2013

Guntur wins silver for e-governance

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

The State Government has announced Silver award for Guntur district in e-Governance category for 2012-13 for successfully implementing ‘Sampoorna Vidya Darsini’ programme.

The district has bagged another silver award for striving for achieving development through the e-governance platform. Mr. Suresh Kumar stated in a press release that the district got a total cash incentive of Rs. 4 lakh. The e-governance awards were instituted by the Department of Information Technology & Communications. Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy will be presenting the awards to top officials representing the award-winning districts soon. In the e-governance category, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply & Sewerage Board won the platinum award and ‘Marpu’ programme of Karimnagar district got gold.

The awards are instituted by the Department of Information Technology & Communications.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Guntur, May 15th, 2013

Women floriculturists turn entrepreneurs

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment
Women farmers collecting ‘Kanakambaralu’ from the fields in their village in Machilipatnam./ Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu
Women farmers collecting ‘Kanakambaralu’ from the fields in their village in Machilipatnam./ Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu

Defying illiteracy, 420 women floriculturists from Kotha Reddypalem and Patha Reddypalem villages in Machilipatnam have proved that they can be successful entrepreneurs

Flower sellers from two villages have turned successful women entrepreneurs-cum-farmers by engaging in floriculture – right from growing flower-bearing plants to marketing the flowers.

About 420 women from Kotha Reddypalem and Patha Reddypalem villages in Machilipatnam mandal to grow different kinds of flowers in their backyards. Finding a way to tap the market, they started growing flower-bearing plants in every available piece of land in their villages. “Middlemen in the market try to cheat us. So, we sell the flowers on the streets and roadsides in Machilipatnam,” says B. Padmavathi, an illiterate woman who grows half-a-dozen varieties of flowering plants in her seven cents of the land. “The lowest profit on a field of five cents is Rs. 6,000 to 7,000 per month, irrespective of the season,” Ms. Padmavathi tells The Hindu. Flowers such as firecrackers, Arabian Nights and plump varieties of jasmine and other winter varieties, are grown in the fields less than 15 cents.”

The entrepreneurs’ day starts with plucking of flowers, making garlands, and receiving new orders. “We often have to wait till 10 p.m. in the market till all the flowers are sold out,” says B. Venkateswaramma, who earns Rs. 1,200 on any given day, whether summer or winter. There are several tenant farmers and most of them experiment with growing new varieties of plants on their sandy soil. Men are only asked to dig puddles for water accumulation in the field. These puddles are the only source of water to irrigate the plants, even in mid-summer.

The first generation flower seller-turned-entrepreneur M. Nagamalleswaramma has her single-day transaction touching Rs. 60,000 even when the marketing is dull. She says: “I import decorative flowers and rose varieties from Banglore to meet the demand.”

“The successful rural folks are now adopting new marketing strategies as they have learnt a few technical aspects in floriculture and yield management” says V. Suresh, director of Nestham, an NGO.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Machilipatnam – May 14th, 2013

Affordable luxury

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
A young bride wears a paisley haram in terracotta designed by Harini Rao / The Hindu
A young bride wears a paisley haram in terracotta designed by Harini Rao / The Hindu

Wedding jewellery can be fun, lightweight, colourful and not necessarily in gold. Here’s how

“It took me a long time to develop this line,” says Harini Rao of Hearth Treasures, referring to terracotta jewellery pieces she designed for weddings, inspired by temple jewellery. You read it right. We are taking about terracotta and not gold, diamond or platinum. Hyderabad’s burgeoning appetite for luxury is unquestionable. The number of jewellery stores stands testimony to that. But there’s also a sizeable, growing segment of people experimenting with statement jewellery pieces in terracotta, silver and silver plated with gold.

Invitees and family members of brides in particular, are picking up these jewellery options for smaller functions associated with weddings. Occasionally, there are orders for gold-plated silver jewellery for weddings as well. These pieces come in handy for destination weddings, when one doesn’t want to risk travelling with precious jewellery. “I’ve designed for a few weddings, where orders were placed for gold plated silver jewellery — vankis, vadiyanam, neck pieces, earrings, bangles and pendants. Any jewellery piece that exists in gold can be done in silver too and it would work out much cheaper,” says Sumisha of Treasure Chest. Sumisha has also designed children’s jewellery and says, “With children, the sizes keep changing as they grow. I’ve had many parents who don’t want to buy gold and prefer silver for children.”

Elders don’t really frown upon terracotta or silver jewellery making it to the ‘it list’ of the bridal trousseau any more, say these jewellery designers. Bhargavi Sameeran of Sangama, who gets her line of silver and brass alloy jewellery pieces designed by karigars in Kolkata and Mumbai, agrees: “People are experimenting with neck pieces and earrings. Most of these designs are inspired by traditional kundan and temple jewellery. The paisley motif is an all-time favourite. Kundan and meenakari work are popular,” she says.

Harini Rao wears one of her creations / The Hindu
Harini Rao wears one of her creations / The Hindu

Harini recently designed a haram with a string of gold-coloured paisleys in terracotta.

“I encourage people to pick up colours like dull gold, red and green that will go with many South Indian outfits,” she says. Mangoes, elephants, peacocks, Durga and Ganesha often find representation in her jewellery.

Often, jewellery designers double up as stylists, helping their customers match their jewellery with their outfits. “When women come to me with heavy saris, I suggest they wear lighter neckpieces. Long chains in Bengali style, like what Madhuri Dixit and Aishwarya Rai wore in Devdas, are ideal for heavy outfits,” says Bhargavi.

As Harini sums up, “There’s no point in keeping your jewellery in lockers forever. You need to have a few easy-to-use pieces. Alternative jewellery also allows you to have customised pieces to match different outfits.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Fashion / by Sangeetha Devi Dundoo / Hyderabad – May 14th, 2013

Giving the jewellery tradition a facelift

Business & Economy

Trends come and go, but tradition is something India is deeply associated with. And talking about tradition, jewellery definitely tops the list in every Indian family. The love for all kinds of jewellery and the fact that India is counted among one of the fastest growing economies in the world, acts as a perfect combination. This inturn creates an interesting market for jewellers like Kapil Hetamsaria, who wish to cater to the jewellery needs of modern India, by perhaps adapting the road less taken – a combination of jewellery and technology called the ‘Velvetcase’.

Co-founded by Runit Shah, Velvetcase aims to provide a customised and transparent jewellery buying experience to its customers through its online and offline platforms. Built with a hassle-free and user friendly portal, it provides a high-resolution 360 degree view of all its products that will help understanding the designs better. The products are exclusively designed while considering the customers’ requirements in terms of material, cost and design.

An added feature to the portal is the Velvetcase app with an in-built electronic mirror. The app enables a person to  style and suit themselves with the jewellery on the website, before they plan on buying it.

“Our brand focuses on keeping in track with the changing trends. With a growing awareness of international trends and fashions in India, more and more people want designs and varieties of the global fashion and that is what we offer,” Kapil Hetamsaria mentioned. “Velvetcase is all about what the customers see and buy. The brand wishes to surpass all others with best possible customer experience, which has always remained our main focus,” he further added.

With over 1000 designs that are hand-picked by global experts in the trade, Velvetcase boasts of  their uniqueness attained through a combination of metals and jewels. It also provides a jewellery personalisation process like no other. Any buyer can send their designs to Velvetcase and get it designed by their personnel at their manufacturing facilities. “For example, if a customer wants a particular design that costs more than what he/she is ready to pay, we customise it accordingly,” Kapil explains.

With prices ranging from `1,000 to `3 lakh, the website also has jewellery categorised for different occasions, be it a wedding, a party or as a gifting options. From diamonds to pearls and uncut diamonds, Velvetcase also has collections designed in antique and other precious stones. The portal also has tie-ups with leading jewellery brands in India and the world, inlcuding Tiffany, Harry Winston, Tanishq, Kays and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Their target market being the trendy and fashion conscious India, the brand hopes to establish itself in the “revolving market of India,” as the jeweller puts it. The founder adds that the brand’s exclusivity in designs and transparency that separate it from others in the market.

Kapil adds that the company stands on three pillars – information, intelligence and integrity. “Buying jewellery is unlike a normal shopping experience. It’s costly and therefore requires more attention and knowledge. Hence, we believe in providing the customer with all the details and transacting through a transparent procedure.”

Not limiting it to just an e-commerce website, the makers of Velvetcase have also a section called the Learning Guides, where one can learn about diamonds, the manufacture of different kinds of jewellery, tips on how to chose the right kind of jewellery and also about how to keep your collection glittering forever.

For further details, log onto www.velvetcase.com/home

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Rohitha Edara – Hyderabad / May 14th, 2013

Arvind opens four stores in Hyderabad

Business & Economy

Arvind, one of the largest integrated textiles and branded apparel players has opened four new stores in Hyderabad. These are located in Jubilee Hills, Chikkadpally, Kothapet and Vanasthalipuram. The Jubilee Hills store would be the company’s second flagship apart from the one existing one in Himayatnagar. Arvind’s total store count in Hyderabad now goes up to 13 and across India the number is 94.

‘The Arvind Store’ offers premium shirting & suiting fabrics for the discerning customer and display brands like US Polo Association, Flying Machine and Arrow. In addition to this, the store will have customised tailoring solutions with two unique concepts namely; Studio Arvind and Arvind Denim Lab (ADL).

Studio Arvind, the Custom Tailoring unit of the Arvind store, brings to the fore all of Arvind’s knowledge in creating world-class garments which will help you create your own look. Not only does it provide customized garments, but it also offers different styles and fits for each category. ADL is a concept exclusive to The Arvind Store which offers customised washed jeans made to order.

P S Rajiv, Head-Retail (EBOs), Arvind says: “We will be soon opening our 100th store across the country, which is an important milestone for any company. Out of these stores, 40 percent are located in Andhra Pradesh. We will be opening our 50th store across the state by the end of this fiscal.”

Arvind has licensing relationships with many international brands like Arrow, Izod, GANT, US Polo, Energie & Billabong in its brand portfolio.

source: http://www.fashionunited.com / Fashion  United / Monday – May 13th, 2013

The journey has just begun

Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

75yearsDeccanHF18may2013

The Deccan Chronicle is as integral a part of Hyderabad as the Charminar.

Deccan Chronicle was conceived by three friends — a journalist Theodre La Touche, an advocate, B. R Chari and Sarojini Naidu’s son, a homeopath, M N Jaisoorya. They sold the idea of an “everybody’s paper” to Mr Rajagopal who supplied papers to the Nizam’s government Press.

Thus was born the Deccan Chronicle in 1938.

From those patriotism-filled pre-independence days, Deccan Chronicle has retained its position as the leading newspaper and has only grown stronger as the ‘people’s paper’.
The expansion and modernization of Deccan Chronicle began when my father, the late T Chandrashekhar Reddy, acquired DC in 1977. As the city changed and evolved, so did its people. And along with them changed and grew the Chronicle.

All newspapers report contemporary history. It is the credibility of our coverage and reports that has helped us build a broad and loyal readership. Our journalists report without fear or favour. We weigh facts and try our best to provide readers with accurate and reliable information in a context that empowers them.

We are entertaining but we are also watchdogs and give voice to the voiceless. In many ways we are driven by the reader. Most importantly our readers are assured that we have no editorial arrangements that compromise editorial integrity under commercial pressures. DC’s fascinating  journey through 75 years has made it a household companion across southern India. Yet this is only the beginning. We look forward to the journey ahead with the continued affection and support of our readers.

Last but most important, the untiring effort put in by the DC team, to ensure the paper reaches your doorstep every morning without fail. Thank you all. We treasure the relationship; we couldn’t have done without each and everyone of you.

T Venkatram Reddy

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Deccan Chronicle Holdings Limited

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / May 15th, 2013