Monthly Archives: February 2013

TVS Logistics acquires UK-based Rico Logistics

Business & Economy

Chennai :

TVS Logistics  Services Ltd has acquired 85% stake in UK-based Rico Logistics- a distribution and inventory management company. Both companies will operate under one brand – TVS Supply Chain Solutions.

The total cost of acquisition, both primary and secondary, is Rs 100 crore, and has been funded through KKR fund  (which invested Rs 265 crore in January 2012) and internal accruals.

The acquisition would help the company add new service capabilities like ‘last mile connectivity’ and enter new service verticals like IT and telecom products service, and peripherals like medical equipment, R Dinesh, managing director of TVS Logistics Services said.

The acquisition, TVS Logistics’ third after CJ Components and Multipart Holdings , will help the company to achieve its target of $1 billion turnover by 2015, half of which will come from inorganic growth, Dinesh said. The company now has a turnover of Rs 2,500 crore, and has three more acquisitions on the cards. The other three too will bring to TVS Logistics Services new capabilities, Dinesh said.

Post acquisition, Sanjive Sharma, the managing director of Rico, retains his stake in the company while TVS Logistics has acquired stake from the other two of Rico’s partners.

TVS Logistics will look at further consolidating its presence in India, USA and Europe and will look for opportunities to set up presence in other potential markets in the next few years, a statement from the company said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Chennai / by Sushma U N, TNN / February 21st, 2013

Repaired seawall to help reclaim more Chennai beaches

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Nature

Height of existing structure along Ennore Expressway to be increased; will benefit fishing hamlets

 Bulwarking / Recently, the WRD had completed a seawall worth Rs. 1.6 crore along 240 metres at Nettukuppam —File Photo / The Hindu

Fishing hamlets that face a constant threat of being washed away every time the sea gets rough, may soon be saved.

The shoreline along the Ennore Expressway, which runs the risk of sea erosion, will be protected by a seawall.

The Water Resources Department (WRD) is awaiting a government order to start the Rs. 26.58-crore project to repair the existing seawall along the 5.5-m stretch of the Ennore Expressway between Tollgate and Ennore and construct groynes between Ennore and Ernavoorkuppam. The height of the seawall would also be raised up to four metres.

Once the government order is obtained, the department would seek the assistance of IIT-Madras and Anna University to construct groynes worth Rs. 31.82 crore. The institutions would have to study the behaviour of waves and provide detailed design for the groynes, which is a collection of boulders laid perpendicular to the shoreline at regular intervals, to control wave action.

Sources in the WRD said that the seawall would protect the shoreline from incursion of sea water into the fishing hamlets and the groynes would further reduce the intensity of wave action. The experts of these institutions would have to specify the location and intervals at which the 10 groynes need to be constructed to reclaim the shoreline.

An environment impact study will also be carried out, through a consultant, to obtain environmental clearance. Of the 19-km long stretch of Ennore Expressway, a large part of the shoreline from Kasimedu has been protected by the seawall. The stretch between Bharathiyar Nagar, Nettukuppam and Ernavoorkuppam would now be protected with groynes.

Recently, the WRD had completed a seawall worth Rs. 1.6 crore along nearly 240 metres at Nettukuppam, which was severely affected by seawater incursion last year. In about six months, about a 70 to 100 metre-long stretch of the shoreline has been reclaimed in the locality.

J. Vanitha, a resident of Nettukuppam, said the seawall had to be raised more to prevent seawater intrusion into the hamlets with a population of about 7,000. The construction of groynes would help residents of hamlets such as Chinna kuppam, Kasikoilkuppam and Burma Nagar to avoid the possibility of them being washed away.

“Many people have started visiting the beach that has been newly formed during weekends,” she said.

Officials of the WRD said that the project would be implemented with funds from National Bank for Agricultural and Rural Development.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> TamilNadu / by K. Lakshmi / Chennai, February 22nd, 2013

One-rupee idly to hit Chennai in Corporation’s canteen scheme

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features

Chennai:

 Setting in motion to provide the popular South Indian dish, idly, and other items at affordable rates, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa today launched a series of budget canteens in the city.

This was in line with an announcement made recently to benefit daily wage labourers and others earning substantially low wages.

Jayalalithaa launched the initiative of Chennai Corporation by lighting a lamp at a function here, simultaneously inaugurating 15 such facilities.

The Corporation had proposed opening 200 such canteens that will function from 7am to 10pm where the prices of food such as idly and various cooked rice items have been fixed between one rupee and Rs 5.

The scheme will be implemented through local women’s Self-Help Groups (SHGs), a government release said.

source: http://www.DeccanChronicle.com / Home> News> Current Affairs / by PTI / February 19th, 2013

Doctors raise funds to treat children with cancer

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Science & Technologies

Chennai :

The job of Dr. Julius Scott , a paediatric haemato-oncologist, is to diagnose and treat cancer in children. But he says that is just not enough. He also raises funds for poor children who can’t afford treatment.

On Monday, at a function organized by Sri Ramachandra University as part of  International Day for Childhood Cancer Awareness , he said his department has been engaged in raising funds for several poor patients with volunteers from within and outside university. “It has become inevitable. The dropout rates are extremely high because parents can’t afford treatment. At our hospital we are encouraging medical students to raise funds. This increases awareness among medicos and also increases cure rate,” said Dr Scott.

Most cancer experts and hospitals across the city are actively raising funds for cancer treatment for poor children. At Ramachandra hospital, students run Med Hope, which funds treatment for children. Other non-governmental organizations such as Jev Daya Foundation provide salaries for nursing staff and Can Kids Kidscan provides free medicines.

Cancer affects about 60,000 children in India every year. Treatment costs between Rs1.5 lakh and Rs 6 lakh, depending on the type of cancer. A study by Kanchi Kamakoti Childs Trust Hospital showed that of 762 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia admitted to a tertiary care hospital, nearly 30% of patients refused treatment and 15% abandoned treatment. Across the country, dropout rates range from 17% to 62%, said senior surgeon Dr Priya Ramachandran, who also raises funds for children with cancer. Her hospital runs two sponsored programmes for children with cancer. In a poster presentations made at an international oncology conference, the hospital showed that the survival rate was 80.8% for children who had completed treatment. As per statistics, the five-year survival rate in Chennai for paediatric malignancy is only 40.

Doctors say the funds are hardly enough. “There are times when I have funds just for one child so I have to pick the one who has a higher chance of survival. But if we continue to raise funds, we are less likely to do this,” said Ramachandran.

There has also been a steep increase in the number of children diagnosed with cancers, particularly leukemia and lymphoma. For instance, the incidence of cancer in the 0-4 age group is 14/100,000 boys and 8-9/100,000 girls, according to the Madras Metropolitan Tumour registry at the Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai. “A part of the increase may be explained by better detection and reporting,” said R Swaminathan, who co-ordinates the registry.

Doctors say they don’t know the reasons for the increase, but agree that their roles have expanded when it comes to childhood cancer treatment. “No doctor allows a child whose cancer has a potential cure to abandon treatment. We knock on several doors for funds. From government health insurance to philanthropists and corporate, everyone is asked to contribute,” said Ramachandran.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Chennai / by Pushpa Narayan, TNN / February 19th, 2013

Tyre brands step up R&D to match global peers

Business & Economy

After several years of neglect, Indian tyre companies are now propping up research & development (R&D) activities in the wake of intensifying competition due to entry of global players, increasing radialisation and changing customer demands. Domestic brands are now vying to match their R&D spend as that of their global counterparts.

While global brands spend about three per cent of their revenues on R&D, Indian companies’ expenditure was always modest at below one per cent. However, the scenario is changing now, perhaps not dramatically, but definitely in a noticeable level.

Currently, though Ceat leads the R&D table with highest spend (as a percentage of turnover), Apollo Tyres and J K Tyres are ramping up their R&D expenditure in a significant manner. Ceat’s R&D spend was 0.95 per cent, highest among Indian brands during 2011-12, while MRF was ranked lowest in the table with R&D spend of just 0.2 per cent of the turnover during the year (ended September 30, 2012). Ceat’s spend significantly increased from 0.16 per cent in 2010-11 to 0.95 per cent in FY12.

Apollo Tyres and J K Tyre have charted out aggressive plans to boost their R&D in the coming years. With the planned corporate restructuring activity and global manufacturing presence, Apollo is gearing up for the emerging competitive landscape. “Apollo management has increased the R&D budget to about three per cent of total sales, benchmarking themselves against the industry leaders. This augurs well for the future as focus on R&D would result in products that would be able to compete with international peers and industry behemoths,” said Nishant Vass of ICICI Securities.

J K Tyre also said it is increasing R&D spend and embarking on new initiatives. “We have three R&D operations across Udaipur, New Delhi and Chennai. These three centres are actively focusing on development works in terms of materials, improvements in life of tyres and higher mileage products, among others. We are very consciously focusing on development of both commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle segments. The R&D spend will be more than one per cent,” Arun K Bajoria, president & director, J K Tyre & Industries told Financial Chronicle.

With increased spend, Ceat’s R&D is focusing on developing truck radials for super heavy load applications, all terrain and highway terrain tyres for growing SUV market and a new range of winter tyres for developed markets like Europe, among others.

For long, Indian tyre industry was dominated by domestic firms (barring the presence of Bridgestone and Goodyear in the passenger car segment), by accounting for over 85 per cent of the volumes. Earlier, the premium charged by international brands for their relatively superior products didn’t receive strong acceptance in the highly price-sensitive Indian markets, mainly due to poor road conditions which curbed the benefits of these tyres in terms of higher durability, lower emissions and safety. Further, the dominance of cross-ply tyres in the Indian markets also discouraged global majors from entering into domestic markets, pointed out industry experts.

However, aggressive entry of global majors like Michelin and Bridgestone, increasing levels of radialisation in truck and bus segment (which is now estimated at over 22 per cent), improvements in road infrastructure and launch of advanced vehicle platforms have spurred the demand for premium tyres where global majors have an edge over domestic counterparts. Thus, to match global brands’ efficiency levels and quality, Indian brands are ramping up their R &D as also to protect their market share.

source: http://www.mydigitalfc.com / Home> MyBrands / by G. Balachandar / Chennai, February 17th, 2013

Karur Vysya Bank Selects Polaris’ Intellect Global Transaction Banking Solution

Business & Economy, Science & Technologies

Polaris Financial Technology Ltd, provider of products, solutions and services that enable unprecedented operational productivity for the global Financial Services industry, has announced that Karur Vysya Bank (KVB), one of the leading private banks in India, has chosen to implement the Polaris Intellect Global Transaction Banking (GTB) solution to enable the launch of its green-field operations in Transaction Banking. Polaris’ next-gen GTB solution covers Cash Management, Supply Chain Finance and a Banking portal making it an ideal solution to meet the growing needs of banks.

The Intellect GTB solution is the most comprehensive enterprise transaction banking architecture developed to deliver unprecedented productivity through every stage of operations. Whether Securities, Cash Management, Liquidity Management, Trade Finance, or Treasury, the Intellect GTB solution is distinctly superior in design and functionality.

Venkataraman, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer, Karur Vysya Bank said, “Transaction Banking is an important new initiative from KVB flowing from our centenary vision. We are glad to have Polaris, a leader in global transaction banking, as our strategic technology partner in our growth plans. Clear demonstration of domain knowledge and thought leadership in the transaction banking space, product readiness for the Indian market and clear difference in design and technology were key factors for choosing Polaris’ Intellect GTB solution.”

Arun Jain, Chairman & CEO, Polaris Financial Technology Ltd said, “Polaris is privileged to partner with Karur Vysya Bank, one of the trend-setters in today’s banking world, to offer them Intellect Global Transaction Banking (GTB) solution. This technology partnership with KVB comes at an opportune time as, in the current global economic scenario, banks worldwide are focusing on transaction banking for more stable annuity revenue with lower risks. However, given the competition in this space and low margins, technology and innovation are driving banks’ revenue. KVB’s choice of the Polaris Intellect GTB solution is recognition of our ability to enable unprecedented operational productivity through complexity reduction. This engagement strengthens our presence in the GTB space.”

source: http://www.biztech2.in.com / Home> News> BFSI / Biztech2.com staff / February 18th, 2013

Leela Palace Chennai – food review

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

  The Leela Chennai – food review / Business Line

 The Leela Chennai – food review / Business Line

The spectacular Leela Palace property in Chennai, the first city sea-facing hotel, weaves a magic spell upon guests with its regal splendour, Chettinad architecture, an awesome flower décor of roses and marigolds.

And from the onset this uber luxury property sets out to entice your senses with delicious macaroons, chocolates and freshly baked cookies kept in your room. At Spectra, the spaciously laid out 141-cover all-day diner, there are seven live counters serving North and South Indian food, an Asian section complete with woks and steamers where Chef Nisa Yimthont from Bangkok, does Thai food, also offering dishes from Singapore and Malaysia. The Japanese counter is managed by a Japanese chef – Pong Narin – who was picked from Four Seasons in Japan. Keeping in mind more people going in for healthy food, there is a special green salad bar where you can fix your own salad. A grill station and patisserie, a special wood-fired duck oven, a pizza corner where authentic thin-crest pizzas are served, all account for the jam-packed weekend lunch buffet.

MEDITERRANEAN DELIGHTS

At Spectra I sample a mix of Mediterranean fare; an excellent platter of mezze with the Hummus and Baba Ghanoush served with a delicious crisp, thin flat bread, and the best Aragulla salad I’ve had in recent times. Sprinkled with walnuts, goat cheese, and chunks of sweet, juicy orange, it came with a maple syrup-balsam vinegar dressing which added the right sour tang to the salad. This, I hastily consumed along with the delectable small helping of a Mushroom cappuccino soup, for two reasons. Both were great, and both gave one the illusion of sensible, healthy eating!

But you have to forget calorie intake while sampling the multifarious, authentic cuisine laidout by the 100-plus chefs in the team of Executive Chef Dharmen Makawana. And who’d want to remember such dull stuff while biting into the scrumptious and crunchy Jumbo lump crab cake with avocado, orange and red pepper? Or a pan friend Bekti, that is deliciously fresh and comes with tabouleh, tahini, eggplant and a Kalamata (black olive) salsa, that comes apart in snowy white flakes at the touch of your fork…

The Japanese fare that Spectra serves is as delicious as authentic, put together by a special Japanese Chef Pong Narin whose last assignment was at one of Japan’s Four Seasons hotels. In the seafood platter Chef Narin serves me, spicy rock shrimp tempura is a clear winner. Soft, crunchy and juicy, it is served with spicy mayonnaise; the salad with cucumber and lettuce leaves has a dressing made with soya sauce, sesame oil, vinegar and sugar ; there is also Crazy sushee made with avocado and salmon served with tartar sauce and tangy wasabi.

From Chef Nisa comes the Tom Kha Gai chicken soup, which has a coconut base made with Thai spices. The lemon grass flavour in this soup is very predominant, and not for those who don’t like lemon grass.

ROASTED DUCK

Next comes roasted duck breast in tamarind sauce. I am not a great fan of duck, but at Leela Palace the duck is sourced from a Frenchman in Delhi who’s been farming ducks in India for 20 years. Chef Makawana says it requires special skill and about 30-45 minutes to get the duck right. The duck on my plate is sliced very thin, garnished with fried onions – a long time favourite – it is neither tough nor rubbery, a little chewy but juicy and delicious.

Steamed cod fish with Thai sauce, with baby corn, broccoli and juliennes of bell peppers follows. It is both spicy and tangy and very, very Thai.

For dessert I try a delicious wasabi cheesecake; there is just a dash of wasabi to give the cheesecake a shot of spice, and the result is perfect for my palate which shuns very sweet desserts. It is accompanied by a delectable strawberry sorbet and a pistachio sauce. The sorbet is so delicious that I spoon out the last speck of it. Corporate Pastry chef Avijit Ghosh notices this, and offers to send in more, which is gratefully accepted and polished off to round up an incredible meal.

INDIAN EXPERIENCE

At Jamavar, the second restaurant at Chennai’s Leela – the Chinese and Italian restaurants will be ready in a couple of months – Corporate Sous Chef in charge of Indian Cuisine, Surender Mohan has another sinful meal planned, which is a completely different experience. For a non-vegetarian to find the palak paneer to be the best part of the meal is certainly a compliment to the chef. But then special paneer is sourced from Mumbai, and melts in the mouth.

For starters there is Tandoori tiger prawn freshly marinated in a citric blend of lemon juice, cardamom, ajwain and roasted golden in a tandoor. The prawn is both crunchy and juicy, but the murgh malai kebab, a Jamavar specialty chicken cube, steeped in royal cumin enriched cream, cheese, garlic and fresh coriander, before being cooked in the tandoor, is exceptionally good too.

For the main course there is the Allepey fish curry, cooked with green mango, green chilly and coconut milk, and Kadai gosht – lamb cooked with spicy tomato, onion and capsicum, and served with jeera rice.

For vegetarians, along with different kinds of paneer, Dal Jamavar – black lentils enriched with cream and butter and cooked overnight – is strongly recommended.

Most Indian desserts are as rich as delicious and at Jamavar my offering is no different. Deliciously soft Malai Kulfi embellished with tantalising silver foil, Elneer (tender coconut) payasam, and Ada pradhaman constitute the meetha part of the meal!

Compared to metros like Delhi or Mumbai, Chennai continues to remain a traditional market as far as food is concerned “so you still have people eating basic stuff like paneer makhni, dal makhni, rotis, aapams and stews. Also we’ve planned our kitchen in such a way that the veg and non veg sections are segregated with separate tandoors for both,” says Chef Makawana.

The breakfast, served at Spectra, is elaborate and has an astonishingly wide choice of Indian, Asian and continental cuisine. The Pongal (rice and lentils cooked with whole peppers, ginger and cashewnuts) here is to die for; the different breads are a treat…and if you want to atone for the sins of the previous night’s dinner, quietly retreat to a corner overlooking the Adyar estuary with a helping of Bircher Muesli, which is made with apple juice, apple shavings, raisins and almond flakes. It is healthy and yet, oh so tasty!

Luckily, the macaroons and scones tantalisingly displayed here, are not edible!

source: http://www.TheHinduBusinessLine.com / Home> Features> Smartbuy / by Rasheeda Bhagat / rasheeda.bhagat@thehindu. co. in

‘IOB ready to fund all viable projects’

Business & Economy

Indian Overseas Bank, the lead bank of Thanjavur district, is ready to fund any project from entrepreneurs provided they are viable, said S.Raghu Vatsa Chari , Chief Regional Manager, Indian Overseas Bank, on Friday .

Inaugurating the one-day motivation campaign for entrepreneurship development at Bon Secours College for Women, Mr.Chari said that women have proved their enterprise and they hold senior positions in banks and multinational companies.

In many cases, successful businesspersons were illiterates or semi-literates.

They had the will to become an entrepreneur and have emerged successful.

One should have the risk-taking mentality and should know his risk bearing capacity to become an entrepreneur. Indian Overseas Bank has various loan schemes to promote business and industries. About 250 final year students from various colleges took part in the programme.

C.A.Mariammal, principal, presided over

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> National> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Thanjavur, February 17th, 2013

The spell of Friday shandy

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

People must know the nuances of bargaining; otherwise, they may be taken for a ride 

The word ‘Sandhai’, conjures up the images of jostling crowds baptised in consumerist values, in one’s mind. Pallavaram Sandhai or Friday shandy (the word in vogue)…. is like any rural weekly market down south. For Chennaiites, the scene resembles what one comes across South Usman Road.

The air is filled with the buzz of the buyers and sellers; just like Ranganathan Street in T. Nagar. People from south Chennai, Chengalpattu and Kancheepuram throng this place every Friday in order to enjoy good bargains.

The sandhai dates back to the days of Freedom Struggle. Even as early as 1800s soldiers bought animals from traders here but things changed over the years. The produce of the market has undergone a sea change to suit needs of the people. As the sandhai assembles on Fridays, the whole venue, it seems, bursts at the seams, what with the traffic chaos, the cops on duty, the people literally rubbing shoulders with one another. So many goods, though most of them second-hand, sold at cheaper prices. The traders from various parts of Chennai converge here, converse with consumers in a familiar tone, and convince them to buy articles, of course, for a song.

As for the goods, name it, you will get it. From cassettes to cattle; pens to pen-drives; dress materials to DVDs; food stuff to electronic items; table fans to air-coolers and air-conditioners; fruits, fresh veggies and flower pots to furniture; fridges to fowls; TV sets to tea packets; lamps to laptops; antiques to array of household appliances…. Everything under the sun comes at throwaway prices. However, people must know the nuances of bargaining; otherwise, they may be taken for a ride.

G. Uma, a housewife, says, “I come to the Friday market with my children, to enjoy a pleasant village atmosphere. I came to know about this last year; from then on, I am a frequent visitor. Buying lime sodas and other eatables for my children is a pass time here. For people like us, this sandhai itself is an amusement park.” V. Mangalam, a senior citizen, says, “I come to this market every week for buying vegetables and fruits, as they are fresh arrivals from farms or from nearby villages. The main attraction is the bargain and low prices.”

Murugesan, a trader from Chengalpattu, says, “Every week I come to Pallavaram to buy tools, chargers, home appliances and any other new arrivals. I buy for Rs. 2,000 to 3,000 and sell those items in my village near Chengalpattu. Thereby, I earn a profit of at least Rs.1,500 every week.”  “Though the Friday market is not a match for Pudupet, buying and selling the spares from here does help earn a reasonable profit,” he added.

After having a taste of just a slice of the shopping thrill at the sandhai, I came out of the suffocating crowd and just was about to bump into an old lady whose face was lit up with the lovely glitter of newly bought jewellery sets just bought there (of course, the imitation variety).

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> DownTown / by Vaishali R. Venkat / Chennai> February 17th, 2013

Dance, plays mark school celebration

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education

At Chettinad Vidyashram: Dignitaries on the occasion of Annual Day celebration.  / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu

Chettinad Vidyashram celebrated its 27th Annual Day recently. The chief guest for the event, Santhosh Babu, Commissioner of Horticulture and Plantation Crops and Managing Director, Tamil Nadu Horticulture Development Agency, presented prizes to the students who excelled in various fields.

Meena Muthiah, Kumararani of Chettinad, and secretary and correspondent of the school presided over the programme. The annual report was presented by S. Amudha Lakshmi, principal.

On the occasion, tributes were paid to renowned Carnatic vocalist late Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi. Cultural shows such as folk dance, dance drama, plays in English and Tamil, and others.

Another major feature of the event was ‘Namma Chennai’ which presented a glimpse of the rich heritage of Chennai.

source: http://www.TheHindu.com / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> DownTown / Chennai, February 17th, 2013