Category Archives: Business & Economy

RINL not just makes steel, but also keeps climate cool

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Science & Technology

Visakhapatnam:

As you take a left from the main road in the suburb of Kurmannapalem to enter the 19,704-acre campus of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, you will fell a discernible drop in temperature. One wonders how a sudden dip in temperature in this area is possible given that steel is made by smelting iron ore in blast furnaces at a temperature of over 900 degrees Centigrade.
The answer, according to Pramod Kumar Mahapatra, general manager (law and administration) of RINL, the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, lies in the fact that more than 50% of the integrated steel plant area is covered by a dense forest.

The steel plant is surrounded by the Nadupuru reserve forest and other hills on the south-western side, and the Bay of Bengal on the eastern side, which helps in lowering the temperature of the area, Mahapatra said on Tuesday.

“Production of steel generates heat, but the surrounding greenery controls pollution and creates a unique ecosystem in which normal temperature is lower by 3 to 4 degrees Centigrade than in the municipal areas of Visakhapatnam,” Mahapatra told TOI.

According to him, the RINL invested Rs 468 crore in pollution control measures when the steel plant’s capacity was 3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). The investment rose to Rs 1,283 crore when the plant’s capacity was raised to 6.3 mtpa.

“These investments constituted 5.45% and 10.26% of the total project cost. Further, an amount of Rs 285 crore is being spent on environmental management every year,” he said.

An area of 6,700 acres is under green cover, constituting 34% of the total area of 19,704 acres under the control of RINL-VSP.

A total of 5.3 million trees have been planted in the area, though actual tree wealth is much more in view of the natural propagation of species due to stoppage of biotic and non-biotic interference in the steel plant area.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / TNN / December 28th, 2017

Chirala weavers go online to stay afloat

Business & Economy, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, World Opinion
A weaver displays a colourful sari at a handloom expo in Ongole on Thursday.
A weaver displays a colourful sari at a handloom expo in Ongole on Thursday.

Tie up with Amazon to market their handloom products

Pushed to the brink, weavers of Chirala have reinvented themselves by going for a tie-up with a leading American electronic commerce and cloud computing company to improve the marketability for their eco-friendly handloom products, as the GST regime, which came close on the heels of demonetisation, has crippled the handloom sector.

The going had been tough for the sector, thanks to unequal competition from powerloom players with Handlooms (Reservation of Articles for Production) Act implemented more in the breach than in observance, say a group of weavers from Chirala attending a national handloom expo, jointly organised by the Union and State Governments at the Kapu Kalyana mandapam here, till January 6.

Pouring out their woes, they said the GST regime, which came close on the heels of demonetisation has further aggravated the problem, after demonetisation led to loss of purchasing power and reduced offtake since November last year.

“GST on raw material and finished products had pushed up the cost of our products by 20 to 25%. As a result, we were forced to operate on thin or no profit margin to liquidate the stocks on hand to at least break even, while holding on to our existing customers,” says Indira Abhyudaya Silk Handloom Weavers Society president B. Shyam Sundar.

“In this context, we decided to go for online marketing. Now we are a happier lot thanks to the tie-up with e-commerce retailer Amazon to realise better prices,” he told The Hindu.

“’On receipt of orders online, we send by couriers the selected saris and dress material to online customers. On receipt of the products at the customer end, we get online credit of payments instantly without any hassles,” adds the head of the society with a membership of 128 weavers.

Making a mention of the Geographic Indication tag enjoyed by their counterparts in Uppada, Mangalagiri, Venkatagiri and Dharmavaram, the weavers plead with the government for obtaining a GI tag for their products too to improve their visibility in the global market.

They want the government to subsidise the cost of handloom products made with organic dyes, which cost four times more than the one made with chemical dyes.

Though there are 127 registered exporters from the Chirala region with over 10,000 looms in operation, the department is planning to facilitate tie-up between 10 weavers cooperative societies with online shopping websites to start with to ensure assured market, department officials overseeing the expo add.

Meanwhile, Handloom Assistant Director J. Sivanarayana says the government is mulling providing 20% discount on handloom products to liquidate the stocks with the cooperative societies.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by S. Murali / December 29th, 2017

Vizag’s new-age foodpreneur

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
People hanging out at the newly opened Gluttons Garrage restaurant | Photo Credit: K_R_DEEPAK
People hanging out at the newly opened Gluttons Garrage restaurant | Photo Credit: K_R_DEEPAK

A new generation of young entrepreneurs is bringing about a transformation to the nature of food business by moving away from the beaten track

From building foodie networks and experimenting with food fusion concepts to hosting the city’s first food truck festival and a drive-in restaurant concept, the year 2017 was one that saw a slow, but definite transformation in the food space of the city. Foodpreneurs didn’t shy away from exploring lesser known concepts, injecting a new excitement into a business and introducing concept eating-out places, which catapulted the city’s foodscape to a new level. If the food truck culture swelled, cafes came up with a plethora of activities to engage in innovative ways with the consumer. There were open mic events, events to bring together foodies of the city, live bands and interesting contests surrounding food – all of these kept the city’s food calendar busy.

Networking over food

Says Sumanth Behara of Plot 17, “People have become much more experimental with food. A big part of it comes from travel. As more people step out of the city and experience the food and culture elsewhere, it also opens up their mind. This has helped the city’s food scene to evolve. Cafes and restaurants have mushroomed over the past one year and it is all a great positive sign.” Experimenting with its menu and introducing sub-brands for its bakery unit were some of the initiatives done by Plot 17 over the year. It also hosted a unique event this month called ‘Communeaty’ with an aim to create a foodie network bringing together food aficionados who want to meet new people and share their passion. “The idea behind ‘Communeaty’ is to build a foodie community in Vizag where the group can collectively go and explore new eating-out options in the city. It is a common concept in Hyderabad and Bangalore. In the coming year, we want to host one ‘Communeaty’ event every month and also host similar events in other cafes and restaurants once we perfect our model,” says Sumanth. The first event saw an enthusiastic participation of over 40 people. The concept is a win-win arrangement for food lovers and cafes or restaurants in the city. The foodie networks keep the culinary scene vibrant, exploring new pairings and flavours while meeting like-minded foodies.

Fusion food

The year also saw the city’s restaurant and cafe culture evolve to offer a concept of ‘fusion’ food. One of the refreshing places to come up in the city was Gluttons Garrage, a place that seeks to symbolise the meaning of ‘fusion’ when it comes to food. Here, you can order your regular wheat base pizza with broccoli or opt for other unusual options such as pizzas with lamb curry and gongura chicken. Pastas with oats, flaxseeds and also chocolates form a part of its interesting menu. “Idea is to give a fusion of cuisines. For instance, a mix of Italian and Indian in one plate. We also want to offer two contrasting food concepts – fusion food as well as health food. The city now is willing to experiment when it comes to food and it is great to see many foodpreneurs trying out new things,” says Robert Rejoice Kumar, the mind behind Gluttons Garrage. The place has three different sections – Junktion 77 which offers a mind-boggling range of fusion food, Kaloreez – the healthy food segment and Just Not Shakes with health juices and shakes and will soon introduce cold pressed juices. Varieties in cuisines and dishes remained the highlight in the city’s new cafes and restaurants, décor played a very important role in drawing the young crowd. Several residential areas like Seethammadhara saw interestingly-themed cafes opening up like The Hungry Hippo, which gave a funky look to the décor.

If concept cafes and restaurants took the food scene forward, food festivals brought about new dimension to the eating-out culture. The recently-concluded food truck festival was one of the concepts that struck well with the people of Vizag. The festival brought the food trucks of the city on place and pepped up the festival with live music and a flea market enlivening the atmosphere at the beachside venue of MGM Grounds. Vizag also saw its first drive-in concept restaurant open at Lawsons Bay Colony when Vizag Drive-In brought together different brands under a single platform offering burgers, grills, pizzas, idlis, biryani, ice-creams and shakes. “The response has been overwhelming. We have been getting requests from several other firms to be a part of Vizag Drive-In. But as of now we are restricting to 10 brands,” P. Naga Rajesh of Vizag Drive-In.

As the year 2017 wraps up, it is bringing in many more exciting news from the food and beverage sector. The entry of micro-breweries in the city is expected to give a boost to the food and entertainment scene. In February the city will host the three-day Ground Zero Festival that will be themed around food, travel and lifestyle.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Life & Style> Food / by Nivedita Ganguly / December 23rd, 2017

Skoch award for industrial corporation

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

The Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (APIIC) Limited has won ‘Silver Skoch Technologies for Growth’ award for maintaining end-to-end transformation in allotment of industrial lands.

 

APIIC is exploring the industrial land through online portal and providing building permits through Auto-DCR software, which was linked to single desk portal and the entire process, would be tracked on the government’s dashboard.

APIIC Managing Director Babu A. has said the corporation has processed more than 200 applications through the portal in the last few months, and praised the officers and staff for achieving the award.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – December 25th, 2017

A.P. Telemedicine Society formation announced

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology

Ramesh Hospitals Managing Director P. Ramesh Babu and ISRO senior scientist Murthy Remilla on Saturday announced the formation of Andhra Pradesh(A.P.) chapter of the not-for-profit organization Telemedicine Society of India (TSI).

TSI-AP will work with the State government in rolling out telemedicine facilities with a specific focus on the rural areas.

Addressing mediapersons here, Dr. Ramesh Babu, who will be heading TSI State chapter as the President, said there was an estimated shortage of six lakh doctors in the country and an expansion of the telemedicine network would largely bridge that divide.

The scientist said that after successfully demonstrating the proof-of-concept technology through pilot projects, ISRO was helping the States in catching up with the revolution through multiple agencies like TSI.

Mr. Murthy added that many doctors were willing to render free service through telemedicine. Since it was practically impossible to fill the resource (scarcity of doctors) gap, the government could expand the nascent telemedicine network based on the A.P. Fibrenet as the backbone for achieving better patient outcomes.

Conference

Dr. Ramesh Babu and Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences (NTRUHS) Vice-Chancellor C.V. Rao told the media that the TSI would be organizing its annual medical techno-science conference TeleMedicon – 2018 in Amaravati tentatively from November 1 to November 3.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – December 23rd, 2017

TemplateMonster to launch operations

Business & Economy, World Opinion

It will start with two 100-seaters in city, Vijayawada

TemplateMonster, of the U.S., a $15 million company with specialisation in e-solutions, digital marketing and training, will soon launch its operations in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada.

“We will start with a 100-seater facility each in both the cities and later scale up the manpower to 500,” TemplateMonster’s India partner Satish Babu told The Hindu .

He said initially the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu (APNRT) Society promised to provide rented accommodation. In Visakhapatnam, it is likely to get space at Millennium Tower, which is on the verge of completion at Rushikonda.

On future plans, he said they would explore acquiring a site to develop a big development centre in both the cities depending on the response to their operations.

TemplateMonster CEO David Braun, who reached here to attend a two-day international startup workshop, said they were excited to invest in Andhra Pradesh, which was all set to emerge as the Silicon Valley of India.

$1 million startup support

Tech-Mark Training India in partnership with TemplateMonster is hosting the international startup workshop for which over 100 registrations had been received.

The aim of the programme is to identify startups for mentorship, grooming and funding under a programme named YuvBharat, a project of Tech-Mark India, a sister concern of Tech_Mark Pte. Ltd. (Singapore).

In support of Startup India, TemplateMonster, U.S., has partnered with YuvBharat to give $1 million worth of technology products, training and mentoring to enable startups to market their products and services globally.

“We have an ambitious programme to create young entrepreneurs in India. We will give cash awards and certificates of excellence to three best startups, three best at ideation level and mementos and certificates of excellence to best three women startup entrepreneurs,” Mr. Babu, co-founder of Tech-Mark said.

He said each startup registered with YuvBharat would get $1,000 worth of content management system, web, newsletter and business promotion to strengthen startup ecosystem.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Santosh Patnaik / Visakhapatnam – December 21st, 2017

13 tourism firms to set up shop in Vizag; projects to go live in 2 years

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, World Opinion

Visakhapatnam :

The state government has shortlisted 13 firms in the tourism sector to set up their ventures in Andhra Pradesh.
The tourism projects range in size from Rs 20 crore to Rs 200 crore. Most of the projects are coming up along the city’s coastline.

Firms from the United States and even from neighbouring Nepal find a mention on the list of shortlisted firms.

Some of the projects include theme parks, resorts, go-karting tracks, five-star hotels and amusement parks

The city’s excellent air, rail and road connectivity is one of the main reasons behind the tourism firms’ interest in setting up shop in Vizag.

The AP tourism department in association with the sub-committee of AP Chambers of Commerce and Industry Federation (APCCIF) have received nearly 30 proposals from various places in the country during its recent stakeholders meet at various places including Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Hyderabad in October and November.

After scrutinising those proposals, the authorities have finally zeroed in on these 13 firms.

Tourism minister B Akhila Priya is likely to announce the names of the shortlisted firms at a formal meeting next week in Vijayawada on December 22 (Friday). The ministry would also interact with the representatives of the firms and would clarify the doubts and grievances of the representatives over the establishment of the projects in the specified time announced by the department.

As per the new tourism policy rules, the government would allocate land to the firms, which in turn have to pay 5% of the land value as a lease amount to the government per year. For example, if the land value is Rs 1 crore, the firm will have to pay Rs 5 lakh as lease amount to the government.

The government received proposals from nearly 30 firms. Nearly 80% of the 13 firms are showing interest to set up their projects in Visakhapatnam city. Nearly 80% of the tourism projects are located along the Vizag coast. The AP government will give land to the firms on a long term lease basis spanning about 33 years.

APCCIF chairman G Sambasiva Rao told TOI that some of the firms are asking the government to reduce the lease amount to 3-4% of the land value. “The lease issue would be discussed soon in the next meet, mostly by next week. We want to see that all the projects are grounded by the next two years. Nearly 80% of the projects are coming up in Vizag and the remaining projects in neighbouring places like Vizianagaram,” Rao said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / by V. Kamalakara Rao / TNN / December 18th, 2017

CM lauds SECM for winning national award

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Inspiration /Positive News and Features, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with SECM CEO A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy in Vijayawada on Friday. | Photo Credit: HANDOUT
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu with SECM CEO A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy in Vijayawada on Friday. | Photo Credit: HANDOUT

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu congratulated the State Energy Conservation Mission (SECM) for winning the National Energy Conservation Award – 2017 in the State Designated Agency category.

He told Principal Secretary (Energy) Ajay Jain and SECM CEO A. Chandra Sekhar Reddy to step up their efforts for expanding the energy conservation and energy efficiency activities that play a crucial role in building a Green Amaravati.

Showing the award at the Amaravati Deep Dive Workshop, Mr. Jain said that it was for the third consecutive year that the SECM won the distinction.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Vijayawada – December 16th, 2017

CM dedicates first digital village

Business & Economy, Records, All, Science & Technology
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu pressing a button to inaugurate the ‘digital village’ at Bandarupalli in Guntur district, during the 101st Founder’s Day celebrations of Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. | Photo Credit: arranged
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu pressing a button to inaugurate the ‘digital village’ at Bandarupalli in Guntur district, during the 101st Founder’s Day celebrations of Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) in Visakhapatnam on Saturday. | Photo Credit: arranged

Takes part in KVB’s 101st Founders’ Day in Vizag

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu dedicated the first ‘digital village’, facilitated by the Karur Vysya Bank (KVB), at Bandarupalli in Guntur district, remotely from the city, on Saturday.

The Chief Minister participated as the chief guest at the 101st Founders’ Day of the KVB here.

The KVB has adopted Bandarupalli, a remote village without banking facilities, and set up a digital branch there.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Naidu said the visionary leadership of its founders in identifying the banking needs of the local community in Karur (Tamil Nadu) and thereby earning the trust of the people has put the Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) on a firm footing.

He called upon the authorities of the KVB as also other banks to shift real-time online systems to provide the best services to the public. While appreciating the bank for contributing ₹1 crore from its CSR fund to Visakhapatnam district, the Chief Minister said other corporates should also contribute to the benefit of the community.

KVB Chairman Swaminathan traced the origin and growth of the bank during the last 100 years. Founded by M.A. Venkatarama Chettiar and Athi Krishna Chettiar with a capital of ₹1 lakh in Karur in 1916, the KVB today emerged as a major bank in the private sector with 760 branches in 18 States and three Union Territories, in addition to over 1,700 ATMs and 500 Cash Deposit Machines (CDMs).

The bank has the second largest customer base in Andhra Pradesh after TN.

MD and CEO of KVB P.R. Seshadri said the bank was providing free wi-fi facility in Bandarupalli village, facilitating online payments and digital banking and provision of micro ATM s at commercial establishments in the village.

KVB Director Suryanarayana spoke.

Ministers Ganta Srinivasa Rao and Sidda Raghava Rao and Visakhapatnam MP Kambhampati Haribabu were present.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – December 16th, 2017

WBA South Asian meet in Vizag from Dec 11

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology, World Opinion
Lalita Vaswani, vice-president of World Birdstrike Association (South Asia), and Raman Emani, Director of BirdGard India Pvt Limited, briefing the media in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: C.V.Subrahmanyam
Lalita Vaswani, vice-president of World Birdstrike Association (South Asia), and Raman Emani, Director of BirdGard India Pvt Limited, briefing the media in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. | Photo Credit: C.V.Subrahmanyam

The first regional South Asian conference of the World Birdstrike Association (WBA) will be held in Visakhapatnam from Dec 11 to 13.

The conference, supported by the Government of Andhra Pradesh, will deliberate on the problem of birds and wild animals posing a threat to aircrafts, particularly during landing and take-off of flights, Lalita Vaswani, Vice President of WBA-South Asia and WBA Member Raman Emani told the media here on Wednesday.

They underlined the importance of creating awareness on the issue of bird strike among all stakeholders including farmers, town planners, organisations for the protection of nature and environment, apart from civil aviation authorities, military, aircraft and aerodrome operators at the regional, national and global levels.

The stakeholders or their representatives from various countries would participate in the conference and deliberate on the issue and the measures being taken in their respective countries to tackle the problem. The meeting would provide a platform for exchange of ideas and practices being adopted at various airports across the globe to eliminate or minimise the risks.

Ms. Lalita said that the deliberations made at the conference would be sent to the authorities concerned for implementation. The WBA conference in Mexico in 2014 had decided to strengthen regional cooperation with all stakeholders within a global framework in close cooperation with the national authorities. The Bird Strike Committees of Australia, Central and South America, Europe and North America were already cooperating on a regional level.

Replying to queries, Mr. Raman said that the measures to reduce bird hits include: passive measures like prevention of dumping of wastes in the proximity of airports, not to allow tress close to the airport as they attract birds and keeping the grass low. The active measures include: bird repellents and lasers.

“The water bodies, marshes and trees, close to the airport, provide the perfect setting for birds and other animal species to feed and rest,” he said.

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source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / December 07th, 2017