L&T plans 3 malls-cum-multiplexes along metro rail corridors in Hyderabad

Business & Economy

Hyderabad : 

Even before the metro rail tracks are put in place, project developer Larsen and Toubro (L&T) has started moves to commercially exploit parcels of land allotted to it along the three metro corridors.

The project developer has proposed to construct malls with multiplexes at Punjagutta, Erramanzil and Madhapur. The L&T has applied for provisional no objection certificate (NOC) from the state disaster response and fire services department recently. Once the NOCs are obtained , the construction giant might seek building permission from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).

Official sources said a mall, including a multiplex and office space, is being planned on 70,127 square metres land, where government quarters were demolished near Srinagar junction on the arterial Punjagutta-Ameerpet road. The land was handed over to the Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) last year.

At Punjagutta, the mall and multiplex would come up in one block, which would have three basements, ground and five upper floors.

L&T plans to build hotels, malls

Eight screens will come up on fourth and fifth floors. An office block is being planned in an area of 5,621 sq metres with three basements, ground and six upper floors. Another multiplex has been proposed at Erramanzil, near NIMS, where government quarters were razed for the metro rail project. L&T proposes to put up a mall, including a six-screen multiplex, and another multiplex and commercial building would come up opposite My Home Hub at Madhapur.

“We have inspected the sites on the request of L&T metro rail and recommended provisional NOCs for malls,” regional fire officer P Venkata Ramana told TOI.

As per the concessionaire agreement, the metro project developer could exploit space up to 18.5 million square feet (sft). Nearly, 12.5 million sft would be required for metro rail depots and terminal locations , while six million sft would be available for metro rail stations. HMR has agreed to transfer 269 acres land to the metro rail developer for executing the project. Of the total land, nearly 70% of the space was allocated to the three depots and 57 acres of land at 66 metro stations (air space) would be utilized for commercial exploitation.

L&T, which is eyeing transit oriented development along the metro corridors, is likely to come up similar proposals for office spaces, malls and multiplexes apart from hotels, service apartments, healthcare facilities like hospitals, poly clinics, convention centres, theme parks, entertainment zones and convenience retail at suitable places.

Meanwhile, both the fire services department and L&T have not yet finalized fire safety plan at metro stations. The fire department has offered to depute its senior officials for overseeing fire safety measures at stations, but L&T wants to have its own trained personnel. “In Delhi Metro, fire officials were deputed to train staff and ensure safety at all metro stations, but L&T wants to have its own set up,” a senior official of the fire services department said.

Times view

The Khairatabad to Ameerpet Road is already chock-a-block with multiplexes and shopping malls and adding more new ones will only add to the chaotic scenes prevailing in the streets. Plans to construct malls and multiplexes in the areas mentioned are also illogical, as there are several screens within a few kilometres, especially in Punjagutta. Instead of spending crores of rupees on multiplexes, authorities should invest more on traffic management by building flyovers and sidewalks for pedestrians.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Hyderabad> Delhi Metro / by Koride Mahesh, TNN / August 28th, 2013

Pest attack? Mobile Apps to help rice farmers with cure

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology
Photo: The Hindu
Photo: The Hindu

Hyderabad :

Rice, one of the oldest harvested crops, still relies on very old farming traditions. But soon, rice farmers are set to get Internet savvy as they can download a few Apps on their mobile phones that can help them diagnose pest attacks and get the right prescription of fertilisers.

Rice Knowledge Management Portal (RKMP), run by the Directorate of Rice Research (DRR), is running a pilot on a diagnostic App that works on Android phones. The second App is on fertiliser recommendation and the third one is a slew of knowledge capsules. It provides vast data on eight categories of information on selection of varieties, land prescription, nutrition, water and pests.

“We expect the first App to be ready on January 1, 2014,” Shaik N. Meera, a senior DRR scientist who heads the portal, told Business Line.

RKMP runs a portal on rice, the single largest portal for any crop in the country, with a huge repository of knowledge on rice. Launched two years ago, the initiative under the National Agricultural Innovation Project built the portal with information gathered from 106 rice research centres across the country.

The content is available in Bengali, English, Marathi, Kannada, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. The portal contains 6,000 minutes of audio content in all these languages. “Farmers can get information on what varieties should be grown on their lands. Policy makers can look for historic data on productivity and yield. Researchers can find past data on multi-location trials,” he said. The portal contains images of the crop at different stages. The images include the disease-hit plants.

“Farmers can simply take an image on their phones and compare it with a relevant image on the portal. A suitable prescription too is provided accordingly,” he said.

Based on the frequently asked questions at the Kisan Call Centre (1551), the portal narrowed down the common problems that bother the paddy farmers to 489 and provided detailed answers.

“We have analysed some 11,000 questions that they received at the call centre,” he said.

Keeping in view the bandwidth issues and other constraints, RKMP also developed all the content in CDs in order to make it available offline that are being distributed for free to non-governmental organisations and the other agencies in need.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry> Agri-Biz /  by K. V.Kurmanath    kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in / Hyderabad – August 27th, 2013

Kaloji’s birth centenary celebrations from Sept 9

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders
Kaloji Centenary Celebrations Committee chairman B Narsing Rao speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad on Friday. He is flanked by committee patron K Prathap Reddy and convener S Jeevan Kumar. (Photo: A Radhakrishna)
Kaloji Centenary Celebrations Committee chairman B Narsing Rao speaking at a press conference in Hyderabad on Friday. He is flanked by committee patron K Prathap Reddy and convener S Jeevan Kumar. (Photo: A Radhakrishna)

Noted poet Kaloji Narayana Rao’s birth centenary celebrations would be organised from September 9 across the state and continue till 2014.

Speaking to reporters here on Friday Kaloji Centenary Celebrations Committee chairperson B Narsinga Rao, convenor S Jeevan Kumar and patron K Pratap Reddy said that the centenary celebrations will begin on September 9 in Warangal, his birth place and conclude in Hyderabad next year on the same day. Former Supreme Court judge and Lokayukta of Goa justice B Sudarshan Reddy will inaugurate the celebrations.

To pay tributes to the great poet and social worker a group of his admirers, writers, artists, students and associates have decided to hold year-long series of events to spread his message and the undying vibrancy of his literary works, they said.

About 16 socio-cultural organisations of Telangana and Kaloji Foundation would actively coordinate with the celebrations committee in conducting the year-long programme, Narsinga Rao said. As part of the celebrations activities will be organised in Hyderabad every month.

CDs of Kaloji’s poetry recital, calendars, badges, cartoon books and Kaloji’s complete literary works will be released during the year-long celebrations.

Release of a documentary film on Kaloji and organising photo exhibition form part of the centenary celebrations. Ballets or docu-dramas would be held on the theme of Kaloji life and his literary works, he said.

Meetings and seminars on Kaloji’s writings will be held across the state throughout the year. The main objective of the celebrations is to showcase the works of Kaloji and to introduce his achievements to the younger generation.

Kaloji stood for values and use to raise voice against injustice, Narsinga Rao said and added that he was people’s poet and use to fight for the rights of the oppressed. He raised voice against the Nizam’s rule  through his writings and speeches.

His notable literary works are Kaloji Kathalu, Thudi Vijayam Manadi Jayam and Telangana Udyama Kavithalu, and translations entitled Na Bharata Desha Yatra and Jeevana Geetha.

He translated many literary works into Telugu.

Kaloji was a member of the state Legislative Council during 1958-60. He was an ardent follower of Mahatma Gandhi and Jayaprakash Narayan and was associated with  many social and cultural movements in the state. He was conferred with Padma Vibhushan.

Kaloji passed away on November 13, 2002.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Hyderabad / by Express News Service – Hyderabad / September 07th, 2013

Indian-American in race for Microsoft CEO job

Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technology

Bangalore : 

Indian American Satya Nadella features prominently on several shortlists of internal candidates to succeed Steve Ballmer as CEO of Microsoft. Ballmer on Friday announced that he will part his ways with the world’s largest software company in the next 12 months.

(Nadella, 44, joined the…)
(Nadella, 44, joined the…)

Nadella, 44, joined the company in 1992 after a brief stint with Sun Microsystems. He has served in multiple roles, and is currently head of the cloud and enterprise group, responsible for building and running the company’s computing platforms, developer tools and cloud services. Nadella’s team delivers the Cloud OS, Microsoft’s next generation backend platform.

Nadella grew up in Hyderabad, studied in Hyderabad Public School, Begumpet, the alma mater of business notables like Shantanu Narayen, CEO of Adobe Systems, and Prem Watsa, chairman and CEO of Fairfax Financial Holdings, which was recently in the news as a likely bidder for Blackberry.

Nadella went on to do a Bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Mangalore University, between 1984 and 1988, and then went to the US, where he did a Masters in computer science and an MBA.

In Microsoft, he started in the server group, and moved on to the business solutions group — developing and managing the ERP and CRM products — and then became senior VP of R&D for the online services division that includes Bing, MSN and the advertising platform.

In 2011, Nadella was back where he started, in the server and tools business, as its president.

In July this year, he was handed the responsibility of the Cloud OS platform, which, as Microsoft’s website says, “Not only powers all of Microsoft’s internet scale cloud services (including Office 365, Bing, SkyDrive, Xbox Live, Skype and Dynamics) but also fuels global enterprises around the world to meet their most challenging and mission-critical computing needs.”

The website goes on to say, “Today, businesses everywhere depend on the products that make up the Cloud OS, including Windows Azure, Windows Server, SQL Server, Visual Studio and System Center.”

Nadella’s diverse experience within Microsoft  is seen as giving him a strong chance to succeed Ballmer. His experience with cloud makes his claim stronger, given that cloud is now seen as the future of computing.

Though Microsoft was a late entrant into cloud, it has made rapid progress in the space. In an interview to TOI in late 2011, when asked about Google and Amazon having a long headstart in cloud, Nadella said, “They don’t have the footprint in the enterprise today in terms of the applications required. There is Google, Amazon, Salesforce.com on the public cloud side, and Oracle, VMware on the private cloud side. We are the only one that straddles both sides effectively. Every customer looks for someone who solves the public and private sides with commonality — common identity, common virtualization, common management.”

He said Google’s strength is in search. “But search is one application, not truly representative of enterprise. With Office 365, we are heads and shoulders above any Google Apps adoption. They are competing with us, but if you look at the customers that we are gaining, it’s significant,” he had said.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Tech> Tech News> Movements> Steve Ballmer / by Sujit John, TNN / August 25th, 2013

Schulich School of Business to launch MBA programme in Hyderabad

Education, World Opinion

New Delhi :

Canada’s  Schulich School of Business will launch a new MBA programme in Hyderabad in collaboration with the GME Group , the business school  said in a statement.

Schulich will lauch its programme for 40 MBA students in Hyderabad as a part of a new arrangement between the School and  GMR School of Business , an educational initiative of GMR Varalakshmi Foundation of the GMR Group.

(Schulich will lauch its…)
(Schulich will lauch its…)

Students will spend the first year at the Hyderabad campus and the second year at Schulich’s Toronto campus, and Schulich faculty will teach all of the courses in Hyderabad, as well as in Toronto. Schulich also plans to offer an executive MBA  programme at the Hyderabad campus by 2015.

Dezso J Horvath dean of the Schulich School of Business said in a statement: “”We intend to offer that same level of excellence in the Schulich MBA in India programme that will commence this September at the newly constructed GMR School of Business,” he added.

In the past, the school has had exchange partner agreements with a number of Indian business schools including the Indian Institute of Management  (IIM) Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and the Indian School of Business  (ISB) in Hyderabad.

In 2005, Schulich opened an international satellite  centre in Mumbai which provides career placement services to Schulich students and alumni seeking career opportunities in India; offers executive and leadership development programmes for Indian executives; supports Schulich’s alumni chapter in India; and manages local media relations.

Schulich previously offered the Schulich MBA in India programme in partnership with the SP  Jain Institute of Management and Research  (SPJIMR) in Mumbai. The Schulich MBA in India, which launched in January 2010, was the first MBA programme to be delivered in India by a leading international business school. Three cohorts have so far graduated through the programme.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> Education> Programme / by Anumeha Chaturvedi, ET Bureau / August 23rd, 2013

Hyderabad to host cleanest marathon

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Records, All

WasteWarriorsHF06sept2013

Hyderabad:

After earning the enviable tag of being among the top three cities in India with high green cover, Hyderabad is now gearing up to be the only city to host the cleanest and greenest marathon in India — the Hyderabad Marathon, scheduled for August 25.

Waste Warriors, a voluntary organisation for waste management, will be manning  20 checkpoints along the way. Assisting them will be 150 volunteers from various schools in the city.

Jodie Underhill, founder of Waste Warriors, said, “Our activities at the marathon will include waste segregation at source, maximising recycling to reduce the amount going to landfill and composting of food waste. We will also be educating people and raising awareness prior to the event, with emphasis on keeping the route clean rather than just cleaning up afterwards.”

Underhill said that during the race, “We are encouraging runners to use the garbage bags that are provided wherever possible, alternatively garbage can be thrown on the ground in the 200-metre stretch on either side of any of the 18 check points.

We also have four garbage trucks standing by, to collect from roadsides and checkpoints.” Anticipating a crowd of 6,000 runners, the marathon is being organised by Hyderabad Runners.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs /  by Krithi Gonwar, DC / August 23rd, 2013

Pedana Kalamkari art form gets GI tag

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence
A Kalamkari artist immersed in designing a piece of cloth. / File Photo / The Hindu
A Kalamkari artist immersed in designing a piece of cloth. / File Photo / The Hindu

 Now, the production of Machilipatnam Kalamkari will be geographically limited to Pedana town and its neighbouring villages

Kalamkari, renowned for natural dye art or designs on fabrics, has been registered in the Geographical Indications Registry (GIR) of the Government of India under the Geographical Identification of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

Members of Vegetable Dye Hand Block Kalamkari Printers’ Welfare Association, Pedana received the registration certificate from the GIR, Chennai. In the GI Registration, this art form has, however, been recognised as ‘Machilipatnam Kalamkari’. Pedana is 15 k.m. from Machilipatnam.

“The registration will enable us to initiate legal action against those who copy the art or design in any form. It also restricts the production of fabrics with Kalamkari art in the areas falling out of the registered geographical area,” said the Welfare Association executive member Bandaru Anand Prasad.

According to GIR’s authorised user no – AU/396/GI/19/12, production of Machilipatnam Kalamkari is geographically only limited to Pedana town and its neighbouring villages of Machilipatnam, Polavaram and Kappaladoddi in Guduru mandal of Krishna district.

The ingredients used in the preparation of colours, stages of applying the dye and designs on fabrics were also submitted to the GIR authorities for the conservation of the art as well as easy identification of violators anywhere. Nevertheless, the geographical identification was limited for a few areas of production – such as textiles and textile goods, bed and table covers, clothing, carpets, rugs, linoleum and other materials for covering existing floors and embroidery.

“Since the new status deals with promising the registered standards of the Kalamkari, even local artisans and production houses have no exemption from the guidelines, framed for conservation of the art, if they fail to maintain the respective standard,” added Mr. Anand Prasad.

“Now we have every right to seek legal action against the violators – who copy the art form on the registered products,” he added. On the other hand, the scientists of National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad were engaged in producing new colours meant for Machilipatnam Kalamkari and a special training programme on applying new colours was also completed this week.

As a witness of the existence of the art form, a wall hanger dating back to 15th Century AD, is still being displayed in Victoria Museum, London.

The article has been edited to correct an editing error.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by T Appala Naidu / Pedana (Krishna District) – August 18th, 2013

Social media, western culture replacing traditional arts

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
Folk artistes performing a feat at the mass 'Satyagraham' organised by integrationists in Vijayawada./ Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu
Folk artistes performing a feat at the mass ‘Satyagraham’ organised by integrationists in Vijayawada./ Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu

 Public used to get enlightened through ‘burra kathas’, street plays and puppet shows earlier

The traditional arts, which were liked by all in the families once, are getting replaced by social media, internet and flash mobs. The tradition has changed from one generation to the other and children are going through textbooks to know about our culture now.

The village and community heads used to organise ‘burra kathas’, street plays, puppet shows (Tholubommalata) and ‘janapada nrutyams’ (folk dances) to enlighten the people against superstitions, social evils, gender discrimination, literacy, health hazards and ill effects of alcohol consumption, but, the ancient art forms appear to be getting shadowed by western culture.

Now flash mobs (a group of people gathers suddenly in a public place, perform a show for a few minutes and dissolves into the crowd) replaced ‘burra kathas’ and ‘puppet shows’ and students are seen dancing on the roads for one or other reason.

A small group of youth confused the passers-by suddenly dancing for a song on M.G. Road, which disappeared into the public within a few minutes on Independence Day here.

The public later realised that the youth tried to highlight the ‘Samaikyandhra’ demand by performing a feat called ‘flash mob’. For the first time, flash mob, a western show was presented in Vijayawada, said the onlookers.

“We used to enjoy ‘burraka kathas’, mythological plays and ‘puppet shows’ and during festivals and celebrations in towns and villages. Now, the culture has vanished and the younger generation is ignorant about it, which is very sad”, said a teacher P. Durga Prasad.

“There is nothing wrong in inviting western culture, but we should not forget our own traditions. We have to protect our culture too. Many youngsters are attracted to western food habits, garments and the lifestyles,” opined a student V. Siddhartha.

“Puppet shows have completely vanished. The ‘burra katha’ and folk artistes migrated to urban areas in search of livelihood, while some artistes are moving around Government offices for pensions. Government should take some more measures to protect the arts, which are big assets for our great culture”, said a mythological artiste Narasimham.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Rajulapudi Srinivas / Vijayawada – August 18th, 2013

Hotel in Hyderabad Receives Top Honors From Seasoned Travellers

Business & Economy, World Opinion

TripAdvisor Awards Its Prestigious Certificate of Excellence to the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre

Hyderabad , India — (Marketwired)

When it comes to positive feedback, some sources are more important than others. In school, teachers assign the grades. In work, managers call the shots. And in the hospitality industry, the final word rests with travellers. That’s why TripAdvisor’s Certificate of Excellence is such an achievement for any business that receives it. The award is based entirely on travellers’ reviews, and when it comes to the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre, those reviews are nothing short of stellar.

“We are absolutely delighted that Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre has been awarded the Certificate of Excellence from TripAdvisor,” says General Manager Sharad Datta. “This achievement shows that continuous commitment to providing superior service reaps rewards, and it motivates us to strive for an even better performance.”

The coveted Certificate of Excellence is awarded only to the top 10 percent of businesses that maintain an overall rating of four or higher (out of a possible five) and are listed on TripAdvisor’s website for at least 12 months. Businesses can be located anywhere in the world and can operate in any part of the hospitality industry. The number of reviews a business receives is also taken into account.

Considering the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel’s extensive amenities, it’s not surprising that guests have been impressed. Travellers would be hard-pressed to find the same five-star hotel rooms, fine-dining options and comprehensive meeting services (including a language-interpretation system) under any other roof in Hyderabad. In fact, with almost 56,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting space — including a 10,656-square-foot conference hall — the hotel serves as the area’s premier convention center.

But the advantages of this Hyderabad hotel aren’t exclusive to what’s on property. The hotel’s prime location across from the picturesque Hussain Sagar Lake puts it within close proximity to a number of attractions, including HITECH City, the Hyderabad Golf Club, mosques and the stunning marble Birla Mandir Hindu temple. And that, in conjunction with its top-notch service and luxurious offerings, means visitors will continue to appreciate their experiences at the Hyderabad Marriott Hotel & Convention Centre for many years to come.

source: http://www.newsmaker.com.au / News Maker / Monday – August 19th, 2013

Vizagites enter Guinness Book

Records, All

GWR-LogoHF04sept2013

Visakhapatnam: 

The city of destiny has indeed another feather in its cap as it has been confirmed that the 5-km Olympic Day Run organised by Visakhapatnam District Olympic Association (VDOA) in Vizag on June 23 is a Guinness record with the participation of 86,549 people.

Vizag beat Washington District, Colombia of United States in its bid to enter the Guinness World Records with the largest Olympic Day Run ever.

VDOA president T. Harsha Vardhan Prasad, on Sunday, announced that the authorities of the Guinness World Records confirmed that the 5-km run organised by them has set a record in the maximum number of participants category.

He said that they have received the certificate from the authorities and that it was handed over to minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao, the chairman of the 5-km run, here on Sunday.

Prasad said that they beat the previous record of 85,976 people, who took part in 5-km Olympic Day Run at Washington in 1988.

Speaking on the occasion, minister Ganta Srinivasa Rao said Vizag will be hosting many such events in the future as well and that the city will emerge as a sports hub in the region.

He said participants of the 5K-run can get a certificate in their name from the Guinness World Records if more than 10,000 people are ready to pay Rs 300 each to VDOA.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / August 19th, 2013