Category Archives: Business & Economy

Emu farming on the rise in Nellore district

Business & Economy

Cultivation of emu birds for eggs, mutton and oil has increased considerably in Nellore district. / The Hindu

The cultivation of emu birds for their eggs, chicks, mutton and oil has reported a steady increase in different parts of Nellore district, ever since its farming began in 2006.

Now, the Nellore District Emu Farmers’ Association (NDEFA) has got as many as 25 members, who continue farming emu considering the good returns. The population of emu birds in the district has risen to 3,500 with farmers and traders coming here regularly from Maharashtra, Orissa, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka for its products.

The attractive part of emu cultivation is that all parts of the bird fetch a price for farmers, which starts at egg stage. An emu egg costs Rs.1,500. The bird lays 15 to 20 eggs once every 18 months throughout its 40-year lifespan.

NDEFA secretary D. Prabhakar Reddy says that the emu mutton is recommended as healthy food since it has zero cholesterol and high protein and its oil has medicinal values effective even for paralytics. Emu mutton is sold at Rs.350 per kg while a chick above 3 months fetches Rs.5,000.

An adult emu bird weighs about 40 kg with four to five kg oil likely to be extracted from each bird. The oil has high demand as it has medicinal and therapeutic values.

At his farm at Ramapuram village in Kodavalur mandal, Mr. Prabhakar Reddy raises nearly 400 emu birds. “The demand is slowly increasing. We are getting enough returns. There is demand now from other States too for all emu products here,” he says.

A pair of adult emu birds brings the farmers nearly Rs.50,000 in the present market. As cutting facilities are not available, the farmers arrange it themselves to meet the local demand for emu mutton.

At the farm, an adult emu bird is given one kilo feed everyday. The emu feed consists of a mixture of maize corn, cotton seed, soya and so on.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> States> Andhra Pradesh / by G. Ravi Kiran / Nellore,  August 19th, 2012

Butterfly park to add attraction to Vizag

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Nature

Visakhapatnam:

A butterfly park, the first of its kind in the state, will soon be an additional attraction at  Indira Gandhi Zoological gardens in Vizag. The enclosure, which would also function as a base lab and slated to be thrown open to the public in the next couple of months, would house about 20 to 50 species of butterflies and is being constructed at a cost of Rs 20 lakh.

Elaborating on the need for a butterfly enclosure, curator G Ramalingam said apart from being eye catchers, butterflies play a major role in establishing pollination patterns.

Moreover, he pointed out that the main reason for the enclosure was to enable study of the butterfly species native to the Eastern Ghats. The first such butterfly enclosure in India came up in Pune in 2006 and today, there are six other such enclosures in the country.

While the existing butterfly enclosures are on the west coast and the Himalayan region, the one at Vizag would be the only such center in the entire east coast. Three of the seven enclosures are situated on the west coast, in Goa, Thane and Pune while the others are situated in Simla, Bangalore, Chandigarh and Rangrang (Sikkim). Speaking on the concentration of enclosures in these areas, Dr Ramalingam noted, “It is believed that the Himalayan and Western Ghats region have a varied and larger range of butterflies. However, that does not mean that the Eastern Ghats should be neglected. It is precisely for this reason that the enclosure that is coming up would also function as a base research lab. The lab would help us catalogue and decipher the local species and also take note of any Diaspora and cross migration.” While India is home to 1501 species of butterflies, 250 of these are found in the Eastern Ghats alone.

The enclosure on 500 square meters to begin with, would include butterfly species such as the Plain tiger, Blue tiger, Indian crow, striped tiger, Tawny Coster, Common Leopard, Indian Red Admiral, Swallow tails and Metal marks. The curator was of the view that the enclosure would attract one and all, from children to Lepidopterists.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / August 12th, 2012

Krishnapatnam Port sets world record in coal discharge

Business & Economy, Records, All

Continuing to maintain its lead, Krishnapatnam port now gains world’s top position in discharging coal

Whether it is the Olympic Games fever or a unique business model, Krishnapatnam port has succeeded in placing itself on the world map. Resolute on setting records, which may be part of its strategy to stay ahead of competition, Krishnapatnam Port, situated on the South Eastern coast of India has set a new world record in the maritime world by discharging 122,247 MTs of coal within 24 hrs using the conventional unloading system in form of advanced mobile harbor cranes.

M. V. Cohiba carrying 161,980 MTs of US coal on account of JSW Steels Limited berthed at the port at 05:30 hrs on August 6, 2012. The cargo discharge commenced at 7:00 hrs and the record was achieved yesterday, August 7, 2012 by 7:00 hrs. The remaining cargo of 39,733 MTs was discharged by this afternoon.

According to the spokesman of the port, this is by far the only record that has ever been achieved in any part of the world. “It is a remarkable achievement considering the port’s previous record that was set a year ago on July 23, 2011 for discharging 106,171 MTs of steam coal as has been recently mentioned in the Business chapter of the Limca Book of Records 2013, which will be out in January 2013.

Earlier Krishnapatnam port hit the headlines few months back having become India’s port with the highest draft, a position it still holds. Currently the available draft is 18 meters alongside the berth and is likely to increase further as dredging for this purpose is on.  Because of its high draft the port was able to accept a vessel with 17.96 meter draft last month which no other port in the country is in a position to do. The traffic at the port has seen a tremendous surge recently as a result of having raised the draft.

The port’s commitment to offering superior customer satisfaction has been widely acknowledged. In this regard it recently won the ‘Non Major Port Award’ at the South East CEO Conclave & Awards 2012.

Notable awards and achievements reinforce the port’s endeavor of providing best business practices in line with the company’s mission and core values. In continually improving and monitoring such performances, Krishnapatnam Port has now standardized its operations and maintenance of the port though an Integrated Management System comprising of ISO 9001-2008 Quality Management System, ISO 14001-2004 Environment Management System, OHSAS 18001- 2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management System and ISO 28001-2007 Supply Chain Security Management System that are certified by Det Norske Veritas.

Krishnapatnam Port Container Terminal, the container business arm of Krishnapatnam Port is already geared to handle new scheduled calls beginning this month. Last month, the terminal added 4 RTGs of Keppel Fels make enhancing the experience for all its patrons. Apart from these facilities, port has also brought in new mini-bagging machines, installed new hopper and conveyor systems in warehouses and built new sidings to handle the bulk cargo at the port.

To support the pace with which the east coast of India is growing, Krishnapatnam Port is being built to create records and offer world-class facilities and infrastructure that is second to none.

source: http://www.maritimeprofessional.com / Home> Blog / by Jospeh Fonseca / August 08th, 2012

Couturier Shravan Kumar employs SIFT students

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Leaders

Hyderabad-based fashion designer Shravan Kumar monitoring designs created by students of Samana Institute of Fashion Technology after inaugurating Samana Fashion House, in Vijayawada on Sunday. / Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu

Hyderabad-based ace fashion designer Shravan Kumar went around the studio, interacted with students of the institute and assessed their level of performance.

Hyderabad-based ace fashion designer Shravan Kumar on Sunday inaugurated Samana Fashion House, a fashion production house rolled out of the stables of Samana Institute of Fashion Technology (SIFT) in the city.

After formally opening the add-on feature of SIFT, Mr. Shravan Kumar went around the studio, interacted with students of the institute and assessed their level of performance.

Impressed by the kind of work being carried out at SIFT, he said it was heartening to see a lot of sincere efforts being put to hone creative skills of students. “It will ultimately take them to a different level. I am particularly impressed by the cause behind the thought. Students are very enthusiastic that they will be able to create and sell their designs. This is something commendable,” said the designer.

Fashion choreographer Sunil Menon, who also attended the inaugural, said it was not enough to learn mere designing of the clothes. “It is important to create a market for your products and for that you need the right kind of platform. A designer must be able to communicate his creativity to his clients,” he said.

Underscoring the importance of ‘exposure’ and ‘experience’, he said the best part of SIFT students was that they were willing to work hard and put their best foot forward.

Later, amidst claps and cheers, Mr. Shravan Kumar announced induction of two SIFT students —Reena Agarwal and Komal Bansali as designer and assistant production manager in his Hyderabad-based fashion studio.

“Today is a big day, not just for me but for Vijayawada city. Besides Reena and Komal, many other girls of SIFT have been offered placements in units run by designers in Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai. The remaining of them will be absorbed by the Samana Fashion House,” said Samana Moosavi, CEO of SIFT.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / August 06th, 2012

SBI loans for entrepreneurs

Business & Economy

JRD Tata Best Entrepreneur award being presented to Bharat Biotech International Ltd. Chairman and Managing Director Krishna M. Ella in Vijayawada on Monday. /  Photo: Raju V. / The Hindu

State Bank of India will sanction loans for deserving entrepreneurs, promised the Assistant General Manager of the Bank S. Jayarami Reddy on Monday.

State Bank of India will sanction loans for deserving entrepreneurs promised the Assistant General Manager of the Bank S. Jayarami Reddy on Monday.

Speaking at the “J.R.D. Tata Memorial Lecture” organised by the J.R.D. Tata Industrial Estate Association in Vijayawada he said that South Indians were generally service oriented and do not take the risks of investing in a business. He opined that it was time this changed and that people take inspiration from persons like J.R.D. Tata, start a business and in turn provide employment to many others. The programme conducted to celebrate the 108 Birth Anniversary of J.R.D. Tata, started off with an address by the Chairman P. Ravi Kumar. He gave a brief introduction of the Association, started in the year 1999, it has 3,000 members at present. He announced that they had applied for Rs.7.7 crore which they plan to utilize for social welfare activities like drains, roads betterment etc.

Former Andhra Pradesh State Minister for Agriculture Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, Chief Guest for the programme spoke on this occasion.

A special award “J.R.D. Tata Best Entrepreneur Award” was given to the Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Biotech International Limited Krishna M.Ella on this occasion. He gave a special lecture where he emphasized the importance and need for more entrepreneurs in India.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Staff  Reporter> July 31st, 2012

Katrina Kaif unveils new collection at Gitanjali Jewels – Punjagutta showroom

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Katrina Kaif, the queen of Bollywood visited Gitanjali Jewels, Punjagutta showroom to unveil the new wedding collection by Nakshatra. Present at the occasion was the Channel partner (Somajiuda) – Mr. Prem Agarwal along with Mr. Karthikeyan Vishnu (VP – Gitanjali Jewellery Retail Ltd).
Gitanjali Jewels Somajiguda showroom showcases the newly launched Nakshatra wedding jewellery collection keeping in mind the upcoming Wedding and festive season.  This collection would be available in all of its 75 showrooms spread across India.
The Showroom also showcases designs and collections that are modern yet contemporary and very elegant, something that would appeal to women of all age groups.
Commenting on the occassion, Bollywood diva & brand ambassador of Nakshatra, Katrina Kaif said, ‘The journey with Gitanjali as a brand ambassador of Nak shatra has been a wonderful experience and I am glad to be here today to unveil the wedding collection by Nakshatra in the city of royalty.
Product range and designs has been the strength of Gitanjali Jewels which offers over 50,000 designs through its vast network of 75 showrooms across India.
Gitanjali Jewels – Somajiguda showroom has completed almost 2 years of serving Hyderabad Nawab  customers with an extensive range of products that are personifications of elegance and grandeur; designed to celebrate the enigma of a woman.
Gitanjali Jewels focuses on Quality, Purity, Variety and Exceptional Customer Service which enhances the jewellery buying experience for the customers. The authenticity of the products is ensured with third party certifications (IGI certification for diamond jewellery and BIS 916 Hallmark for goldjewellery), a result of which the Hyderabadis have been comin g back for more.
Gitanjali Group is th e world’s largest integrated branded jewellery manufacturer-retailer with an annual turnover of over USD 2.5 billion.
The Group pioneered jewellery retail revolution in India by launching Gili way back in 1994. Gitanjali today owns and distributes eight out of the top ten jewellery brands in the country including Gili, Nakshatra, Asmi, D’damas, Sangini, Diya, Nizam & Parineeta.
At an International level, Gitanjali enjoys direct access to the US retail market through 110 high end stores under Samuels Jewelers Inc. which is a specialty retail chain in the US. acquired by the group in 2006.
Some of the famous Gitanjali Brands are endorsed by renowned celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Sonakshi Sinha and Anushka Sharma to name a few.
Today the Group’s activities are spread across the entire value chai n from rough diamond sourcing, cutting, polishing and distribution, and jewellery manufacture, to jewellery branding and retail, as well as global lifestyle brands, in India and abroad.
source: http://www.DiamondNe.ws / Home> Company News / by Pauline / July 31st, 2012

 

Eptisa has been awarded their first project in India

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

The project consists in performing a safety audit for the Hyderabad Metro

Eptisa (in consortium with Info Trans Engineers Pvt. Ltd.) was awarded with their first contract in India consists in carrying out a “Safety Audit for the Hyderabad Metro”. The project was financed by the “Hyberabad Metro Rail Limited” for a budget of 12.954.684 INR (Indian Rupees), equivalent to 184.479,22 Euros.

Hyderabad, the capital city of the Andhra Pradesh state, has one of the fastest growing metros in India. The strategic geographical location of this multilingual cosmopolitan city as well as the pro-active policies of the state government are making of Hyberabad an attractive destination and a flourishing centre for trade and commerce. However without a comfortable and efficient public transportation system, traffic and transportation in Hyderabad become a matter of concern.

The existing public transport in the city is mainly constituted by buses, which are run by Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC). The rapid growth of the city, rising income levels and lack of a good public transport system have resulted in a huge increase in the number of private vehicles, with subsequent consequences such as frequent traffic jams and high pollution levels in the city.

Based on the figures from the Traffic and Transportation surveys carried out by various agencies, the Government of Andhra Pradesh has approved the development of the Hyderabad Metro Rail (MRTS) in three high density traffic corridors covering over 71 km:

  • Corridor I: Miyapur – LB Nagar : 28.87kms; 27 stations.
  • Corridor II: JBS – Falaknuma : 14.78 kms; 16 stations.
  • Corridor III: Nagole – Shilparamam : 27.51 kms; 23 stations.

As part of this project Eptisa will undertake the safety audit of the designs and drawings, the Design Basis Reports (DBRs) and other documents prepared by the concessionaire, L&T Metro Rail Hyderabad Ltd (L&TMRHL) and various consultants on safety aspects including the elevated viaduct (flyover-like structure accommodating the tracks), the rail alignment, stations and other elevated structures of the metro rail system.

source: http://www.eptisa.com / Home> News / July 26th, 2012

JSW Cement sets up new slag cement plant, India

Business & Economy

JSW Cement has established a 5Mta slag cement plant at Nandyal in Kurnool district, the slag for which is supplied by the company’s steel plant in Karnataka.

RC Sodani, CEO and director of JSW Cement told Business Line India that at the product is being sold at a slightly lower price than OPC, stating: “Our cement unit is in production or the past six months and the market response has been very encouraging so far.”

Currently the company sells slag cement in the southern states and parts of Maharashtra but is planning on exploring other markets in due course, according to Mr Sodani.

On the costing side, he said: “Without compromising on quality, we sell our cement at a slightly lesser cost, INR5 less for a bag than for ordinary cement. We are sure it will make inroads into the market.”

JSW Cement has two smaller cement units in Karnataka with a total capacity of 5.2Mt and has ambitious future expansion plans. Mr Sodani states: “We have plans to take it [capacity] up to 20Mta by 2020 at an additional investment of INR5000 crore.” Units are expected to be set up in Rajasthan, West Bengal and Karnataka.

source: http://www.cement.com / Home> News / ICR Newsroom / July 30th, 2012

HIL to focus on dealer network in smaller towns

Business & Economy

Hyderabad Industries Limited (HIL), a complete roofing and building solutions provider, will continue focus on dealer and distribution network in smaller towns for deeper market penetration, a company official said Tuesday.

HIL managing director Abhaya Shankar said the growth of dealer and distribution network in smaller towns was steadily increasing and this helped the company achieve net sales growth of 34 percent for its products.

The company reported a rise of 35 percent in operating profit during the quarter that ended June 30.

Speaking at an event here to reward HIL’s trade partners, Abhaya Shankar said a comprehensive product portfolio and a series of green building new products continue to propel its growth, aided by increasing geographical presence and mix of manufacturing and outsourcing.

He also talked about the company’s future plans of diversification into various product ranges which in turn will provide sales support to its dealers.

HIL’s brands Charminar, Aerocon and HYSIL have a strong market presence. The C.K.Birla group company is the market leader in manufacturing and marketing of building, industrial and engineering products in India for over 65 years.

source: http://www.smetimes.in / SME Times News Bureau / July 25th, 2012

Local sheep wool blankets chic again

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

Once threatened, the pure Deccani breed sheep are finding their feet again, thanks to the unique conservation effort, done on a scientific basis with local shepherds acting as gene-keepers.

With the revival efforts of the pure breed in Medak district, as also in Maharashtra, the market for traditional “gongadi” (blanket) with the Deccani sheep wool is again shoring up. Those involved in the conservation efforts said gongadis are slowly catching the fancy of Hyderabad residents.

Known for its black wool and its gene pool, the Deccani breed was affected by crossbreeding with various other indigenous species of sheep.

Besides Andhra Pradesh, the Deccani breed is found in Karnataka, Maharash-tra and parts of northern Tamil Nadu along the Deccan plateau. S. Ashalatha from the organisation Anthra, which is actively working on the conservation project in Medak, said: “Shepherds over the years selected this breed for its tolerance to drought, fodder and water shortage, as well as the capacity to migrate long distances and ability to endure large variations in temperature. The wool has traditionally been spun into yarn by women and woven by men into blankets.

“Now, with Hyderabad residents again asking for small gongadis, the market for the special wool blanket is showing a positive sign.”

According veterinary scientist and Anthra director, Sagari R. Ramdas, import of cheap wool from Australia and Europe not only saw the local wool market go bust but also resulted in loss of the Deccani breed.

“We are mobilising local communities to conserve the Deccani breed and Osmanabadi goat breed, native to the Deccan plateau,” Ms Ramdas said. “About 400 pastoral and agro-pastoral families across 24 villages in Hathnura, Jinnaram, Narasapur, Narayankhed and Shivampet mandals of Medak are involved in the project.”

She said these are among the few remaining areas in the state that continue to have a significant number of sheep of “pure Deccani breed”.

source: http://www.AsianAge.com / Home> Hyderabad / by U. Sudhakar Reddy, DC, Hyderabad / July 24th, 2012