Monthly Archives: February 2014

Global trade, M&A will be vital part of courses: Bala V Balachandran

Business & Economy, Education, World Opinion

Q&A with Founder & Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management.

Bala V Balachandran
Bala V Balachandran

Great Lakes Institute of  Management which began from one campus in Chennai and expanded to Gurgaon is now coming up with its third campus in Mumbai. In an interview with M Saraswathy, Bala V Balachandran , Founder & Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management talks about the new campus and the plans for this year. Excerpts:

You have planned a Mumbai campus? When would it be launched? 

By December 2014, we will identify the location for the institute in Mumbai. We are in talks with philanthropists in this city who can provide us land for the campus. By June 2015, the campus should be ready to welcome students.

How different or similar will this campus be to your other centres? Are looking to set up more campuses in India? 

Each of our campuses have their own personalities. Though there would be visiting faculty, a core faculty will be present in Mumbai. Unlike the Chennai or Gurgaon campus, Great Lakes Mumbai will focus on the banking and financial services sector. Further, international trade and Mergers & Acquisition will be vital part of the curriculum and courses, since this is the country’s financial capital.

At present we are not looking to set up additional campuses. Earlier, we had a plan to set up a campus in Bhubaneshwar. We were toying with this idea for sometime. However, we decided against it since there are not internship opportunities there and the job market there is also slow. Hence, the plan was shelved. But in the future, we would be happy to have a campus in East India.

There were talks of big corporate houses like Godrej and Tatas investing in the institute. Is there any update on this? 

We were looking to sell 51% in the institute and were in talks with companies like Tatas and Godrej for this process. But later we understood that these companies were not very comfortable in investing in the higher education space since it was very crowded. After an internal evaluation, we decided against bringing in external investments. But top executives from these companies are on our Business Advisory Council.

Are there any international tie-ups on the anvil? 

IAE Bordeaux University School Of Management – Université Montesquieu Bordeaux IV has announced in association with the Great Lakes, a 6 weeks program in Bordeaux, intended for PGPM students from Great Lakes. We also are associated with Yale University for Yale-Great Lakes Center for Management Research.

Now, we are looking for tie-ups with international finance schools. further, we are planning to have a tie-up with a US institute for promoting entrepreneurship on our campus.

Placement season at business schools has been muted. What has the experience been at Great Lakes? 

Surprisingly, we have had a good placement season till now. About 240 of our 360 students in Post Graduate Programme in Management have already been placed. The average salary was Rs 11.5 lakh and highest has been Rs 42 lakh. We have had 70 new companies coming to the institute this season. By February end, the entire batch will be placed.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Management> Q & A / by M Saraswathy / Mumbai – January 30th, 2014

‘India will dominate the knowledge age’

Education, Science & Technologies
A. Sivathanu Pillai examines an exhibit at Kurukshetra on Wednesday — Photo: V. Ganesan / The Hindu
A. Sivathanu Pillai examines an exhibit at Kurukshetra on Wednesday — Photo: V. Ganesan / The Hindu

Mr. Sivathanu Pillai recollected how a team of students helped develop an indigenous supercomputer

A motivated team of young students from College of Engineering, Guindy and IIT-Madras played a key role in the development of indigenous supercomputer PACE+ for strategic purposes, said A. Sivathanu Pillai, Distinguished Scientist & Chief Controller of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of BrahMos Aerospace.

Speaking at the inauguration of Kurukshetra, the techno management fest of the College of Engineering, Guindy, Mr. Pillai said the indigenous development of intercontinental ballistic missiles such as Agni V was possible because of “innovations made by students.”

The innovation in supercomputing made a few decades ago paved the way for indigenous development of “re-entry technology” for missile development.

“The supercomputer developed by Anna University students was 20 times faster than the Cray supercomputer denied to India by the U.S,” he said.

“Indians have great brains. But the brain needs some triggering,” said Mr. Pillai pointing to the success of the BrahMos supersonic missile. He stressed the need for stimulating more innovative young minds to transform India. “We can be a global leader if scientific minds come together for innovation. We are going to dominate the knowledge age with over 580 million youth below 35 years,” he said.

“Kurukshetra is a stimulating event for students of the current generation,” said M. Rajaram, Vice-Chancellor of Anna University. “Participants at the fest get an opportunity to interact with students from all over the country. It gives us exposure to new technical and management aspects of innovation,” said Nivedita Sairam, student director for projects, Kurukshetra 2014.

A range of events, workshops and lectures on technology and management will be organised from January 29 to February 1. Some of the key attractions include exhibition by National Disaster Response Force, space trek mobile planetarium, 3D floor painting, apache pro performance, 3D printing, robo face and live coding. The Hindu is the media partner for the event.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Staff Reporter / Chennai – January 30th, 2014

Disabled badminton ace runs tea shop in Melur

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Sports

Madurai :

Disabled T Elanchelian, 33, runs a tea shop like others. He is different not just because of disability, but as holder of a commendable sport record. He has won medals in 17 national and two international shuttle badminton events.

Elanchelian’s tea shop is at the village bus stop in A Vellalapatti village in Melur taluk. His request seeking a government job has been pending with the government for many years. He is the sole bread-winner for his small family consisting of himself and his aged mother. His father deserted them 13 years ago. His brother is in fact working in police department, but is settled elsewhere. “Elanchelian was born in 1980. He was afflicted with polio when he was one year old. However, we joined him at the government higher secondary school in our village and he completed his plus two there itself,” said Naachammal, his mother.

After his school education, Elanchelian casually learnt shuttle badminton. He participated in the Madurai district-level badminton game in 1998 and won. This was a turning point, Naachammal said.

Thereafter, he won laurels in several events. He became a state-level winner and then at the national level. In 2002 I attended an international event in Chennai and bagged bronze. I had to settle for silver at an event held in Sri Lanka in 2007, Elanchelian said.

When the third international opportunity had come for him last November he could not go. “The event was held in Germany. I couldn’t attend it as I didn’t have money,” said Elanchelian.

Elanchelian has in his kitty 8 gold medals, 10 silver medals and 13 bronze.

Saying about government job, Elanchelian said he was promised government job when he won gold in the national game held in Chennai in 2013. But, the government is yet to fulfil the promise, he said.

The government extending many welfare measures for the people may consider the poor disabled sports people’ issue, too, he said.

Now, Elanchelian is giving free training to 14 students including two disabled persons at his local place.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai> Badminton / TNN / January 28th, 2014

Dhotis and Saris the Garb of the Day

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Staff members and students celebrated Dhoti Day in their college on Monday | EXPRESS
Staff members and students celebrated Dhoti Day in their college on Monday | EXPRESS

Students and faculty of Aringar Anna Government Arts and Science College at Villupuram celebrated dhoti day on Monday. Everyone in the college wore dhotis and saris on the occasion. Co-optex arranged a small stall on the college campus and sold handloom dhotis and saris to the students and staff.

“Based on a request from Co-optex, we arranged this dhoti day in our college to create awareness about handloom clothes. It portrays our ancient clothing culture,” says P Kannika, Principal of the college.

She said that this would help the weavers, who were suffering due to poverty. She thanked all the students and staff members for their cooperation.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Education> Student / by Express News Service – Villipuram / January 28th, 2014

Stopping by history

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Old buildings and by-lanes unveil their past to PARSHATHY J. NATH as she goes on a heritage walk

Clock Tower
Clock Tower

“I have never looked so carefully at these buildings before,” says Ramya Raghuram, a corporate employee as we wend our way around honking vehicles and bullock carts around Town Hall. She is not alone in this observation. All of us in the heritage tour, organised by the Indian National Trust for Art, Culture and Heritage and The Vanavarayar Foundation, are struck by the old buildings that crowd the lanes of Town Hall.

PHOTO: M. PERIASAMY
PHOTO: M. PERIASAMY

The walk, which begins at the Manikoondu bus stop, has its first halt at Victoria Town Hall, built in 1892. Epigraphist R. Jegadeesan, our guide, tells us a little about the history of the place. “It was built to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 50th year of reign. Similar buildings were commissioned in Tiruchi and Tirupur.”

In 1993, Jegadeesan said, there were talks of demolishing Town Hall because the building was damaged, but Commissioner Niranjan Martin sanctioned a sum of Rs. nine lakh to renovate the building while retaining its original structure.”

We stop before an old house. “This is the house where Kovai Tamil Sangam, a group of Tamil scholars, functioned from. Poets such as Subramaniya Mudaliyar wrote from here and newsletters on Kongunadu’s history were brought out,” says Jegadeesan.

Karuppu Gounder Street was named after a Telugu businessman. It is one of the many veedhis with Telugu and Kannada names. We learn that Coimbatore was home to Telugus and Kannadiga migrants in the 12th Century. Here, we halt in front of a cream-coloured Vishnu temple. “This temple stands on a site where there was a small temple built in the 17th Century temple during the reign of Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar. Here, the members of the Jetty community practised Silambattam,” says Jagadeesan.

Raja Veedhi is also known as the Thermutti Veedhi as the temple chariot halts here during festivals. “The street got its name from the chieftain, Maadhaian Raja. It was called Maadhaian Raja Veedhi; today, it has been shortened to Raja Veedhi,” says Jegadeesan.

A red brick building, built in 1862 used to be the collector’s bungalow. As we walk, a discussion springs up between Senthur Pandian, a history teacher from the Government Arts College, and some history students. “Kovai has been ruled by different South Indian dynasties such as the Cheras, Cholas and Pandiyas in the 11th Century. However, the history of Kongunadu before the 11th Century is largely undocumented,” says Senthur.

We come a full circle and end the walk at Manikoondu, now bathed in the glow of neon lights. Students huddle around Jegadeesan wanting to know more. “How did Oppanakkara street get its name?” “Oppanakkara Veedhi is so named because it was once a centre of Telugu tax collectors calledOppanaharu,” Jegadeesan answers.

The students are pleased. “We have read about these places in our text books but seeing them for real was fascinating,” says Silambarasan K, a Ph. D scholar in history. “I will not look at Town Hall the same way again.”

These heritage tours are important for students, says Senthur. “Since they have seen these places themselves, they will understand their city’s history better.”

STOP AND GO

Karuppu Gounder Street Named after a Telugu businessman

Oppanakkara Veedhi Was once a centre of Telugu tax collectors called Oppanaharu Febr

Victoria Town Hall Built in 1892 to commemorate Queen Victoria’s 50th year of reign

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Parshaty J Nath / Coimbatore – February 05th, 2014

All eyes on art

Arts, Culture & Entertainment
CELEBRATING COLOUR: Pradipta K Mohapatra, Past Chairman and CII, Southern Region and Chairman and Co-founder at Coaching Foundation India (CFI). Karl Pechatscheck, Director, Goethe Institute, actor Gouthami, Sanjay Tulsyan, convenor, Art Chennai, and Vivek Harinarain, President, Rotary Club of Madras, at the press briefing to announce the 3rd Edition of Art Chennai, South India's Premier Contemporary Art Festival, at a function, in Chennai on Wednesday. / Photo: R. Ravindran / The Hindu
CELEBRATING COLOUR: Pradipta K Mohapatra, Past Chairman and CII, Southern Region and Chairman and Co-founder at Coaching Foundation India (CFI). Karl Pechatscheck, Director, Goethe Institute, actor Gouthami, Sanjay Tulsyan, convenor, Art Chennai, and Vivek Harinarain, President, Rotary Club of Madras, at the press briefing to announce the 3rd Edition of Art Chennai, South India’s Premier Contemporary Art Festival, at a function, in Chennai on Wednesday. / Photo: R. Ravindran / The Hindu

Art Chennai returns for its third edition with auctions, installations and photofests on environment and heritage

The third edition of Art Chennai promises to be bigger than before, with over 75 artists and 35 events spread over nine days. The festival will have exhibitions, workshops, installations, conferences and public art. Art Chennai 2014 is in collaboration with Stella Maris College and IIT, Madras and will focus on environment, conservation and heritage this year.

“The growth of a society is reflected by the growth of art. This year, we will have the first ever photo fest, an auction, large installations at multiple public locales in order to target a large and diverse audience. That makes this festival the only exclusive and inclusive art fest,” said Sanjay Tulsyan, convener, Art Chennai, at a press conference about the event.

Girish Shahane, the art director pointed out the highlights of the show and said, “This year it is about history and environment. It’s not just built heritage but everything connected with the history of the city — cultural, economic and so on. And this in a city known for its tradition and culture. Since performance art is also an important form of art we will have many events focussing on that as well.”

Some of the highlights of the festival, which will take place between February 8 to February 16, are:

February 8

The Trees and The Skies, which will be a collaborative project between three artists, students from Stella Maris college and artists from Ability Foundation. This project will go on till February 16 at Stella Maris College.

Auction Preview of Modern and Contemporary Indian Art will take place at Hyatt Regency between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. The proceeds from the sale will go to charities supported by the Rotary Club of Madras.

February 9

Raghu Rai’s India, a photo exhibition will be held at Gallery Veda on OMR. This will be on for three months.

At 12 p.m., Couriouser and Couriouser by The Karuppu Art Collective will take place at the Cholamandal Artist’s Village. The registration for the auction begins at 6.30 p.m. and the auction begins at 7.30 p.m. at Hyatt Regency.

Febuary 10

Reflections on Grace: International Photo Fest, in collaboration with Delhi Photo Festival 2013 will be on till February 23 at IIT, Madras

Parvathi Nayar’s show ‘The Ambiguity of Landscapes’ is on till March 12 at Gallery Veda.

February 11

Signals. Signposts. Voyages 4 from the Madras Movement. Artists Nandagopal, Muralidharan, C. Douglas and Palaniappan will participate in this event. It will be on till February 28 at Sarala’s Art Centre.

February 12

Vintage Vignettes, a retrospective exhibition on Chennai curated by Girish Shaane, will be on at Marina Beach till February 16.

February 13

Installation – Shop Lifting by Mithu Sen at Express Avenue. This will be on till February 26.

Bright Noise is curated by Girish Shahane. Participating artists are Anita Dubem, Asim Waqif, Charmi Gada Shah, Jitish Kallat, Madhuban Mitra, Manas Bhattacharya, Manish Nai, Nandan Ghiya, Navin Thomas, Prajakta Potnis, Rashid Rana, Rohini Devasher, Sahej Rahal, Vibha Galhotra and Vivan Sundaram. This will be on till March 8 at Lalit Kala Akademi.

February 14

Art Assemblage, an exhibition of visiting galleries by Akar Prakar, Ashvita, Exhibit 320, Gallery Art and Soul, Gallery Open Eyed Dreams, The Guild, Project 88 and Galerie 88.

February 15

Deep (skin) Skin Deep: A proposition in Art, Textiles and Fashion curated by Mayank Mansingh Kaul and Bootlegger’s Addendum by Sahej Rahal at Park Hyatt from 5.30 p.m. onwards.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Anusha Parthasarthy / Chennai – January 27th, 2014

Pricol, Xenos Automotive to merge

Business & Economy

 Coimbatore :

Coimbatore-based auto component manufacturer Pricol Ltd has said that its board of directors and the board of directors of Xenos Automotive Ltd (Xenos) today approved the merger of Xenos with Pricol through a scheme of amalgamation to be sanctioned through a court approval process.

The scheme envisages amalgamation of Xenos with Pricol, followed by the dissolution without winding up of Xenos.

Shareholders of Xenos would be issued Pricol shares in the ratio of 1:122 (one equity share of Re 1 each of Pricol for every 122 equity shares of Rs10 each of Xenos).

Approval of the stock exchanges – BSE and NSE – where Pricol shares are listed would be sought and the scheme would be filed with the Madras High Court for its approval.

Besides, the sanctioning of the scheme was subject to the approval of shareholders and secured creditors, the company said in its filings with the stock exchanges.

While Pricol is an auto component manufacturer, Xenos is into the production of a range of automotive accessories like vehicle security systems, entertainment products like head units, amplifiers, sub woofers, convenience products such as car mobile and laptop chargers and car care products.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / by R. Yegya Narayanan / Coimbatore – January 24th, 2014

Suguna Foods forays into masala market

Business & Economy

Coimbatore :

Poultry major Suguna Foods has launched five variants of masalas under ‘Mother’s Delight’ brand. With these products, Suguna Foods has made its foray into the masala industry in the south. The products would be available through both modern trade as well as neighbourhood stores.

Mother’s Delight Masala will be available across a large network of existing ‘Daily Fresh’ franchisee outlets, the company said.

“Mother’s Delight Masala comes with the ingredients that are ground and blended the homemade way which adds an authentic taste to cooking,” it said. It comes in five variants—chicken masala, chicken 65 masala, chicken lollipop masala, chilli chicken masala and egg curry masala.

“Suguna Foods aims at reviving traditional foods with Mother’s Delight Masala,” said Mohan V K, head – consumer products, Suguna Foods.

The move is part of Suguna Foods strategy of focussing on growing its food business. More variants, curry mixes, seasoning, soup mix and other products would be launched under the Mother’s Delight brand, the company said.

source: http://www.timeofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> India Business / by M. Allirajan, TNN / January 24th, 2014

National conference on bio-pesticides

Education, Green Initiatives/ Environment, Science & Technologies
Chennai :
Resistance to chemical insecticides among mosquitoes is considered a setback in vector control. Researchers in colleges across the city and the rest of the country are trying to come up with bio-pesticides to fight back.

Studies on bio-pesticides were the highlights of the two-day national conference on ‘Zoology for Future Education and Research’, organised by the zoology department of Queen Mary’s College for Women on Thursday.

A team of researchers from Presidency College presented a study on the larvicidal efficacy of Lantana camara against the larvae of three mosquito species – the Aedes aegypti, Anopheles stephensi and Culex fasciatus. Hemalatha P, Elumalai D and professor Kaleena P K of Presidency College presented their results on how the extracts of the plant showed potent larvicidal efficacy, and how further studies on developing it into a bio-pesticide showed promise.

S Nagalakshmi, a research scholar of Queen Mary’s College, spoke about the efficiency of vermicompost tea along with synthetic pesticides in controlling mealy bugs that attack fruit trees, including guava and mango. Mixing vermicompost tea reduces the concentration of the synthetic pesticides to sub-lethal levels with good results.

P Balakrishna, chairman, National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai, inaugurated the conference, and spoke about the importance of basic sciences like botany and zoology, which formed the basis for studies on which multi-billion dollar industry depend.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai>  Presidency College / by M. Ramya, TNN / January 03rd, 2014

For the love of theatre

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education
Action and words: Theatre director, G. Channakeshava, directs students of PSG CAS at the 10-day theatre workshop / Photo: M. Periasamy / The Hindu
Action and words: Theatre director, G. Channakeshava, directs students of PSG CAS at the 10-day theatre workshop / Photo: M. Periasamy / The Hindu

A theatre workshop in the city gathers steam as it prepares to stage Bertolt Brecht’s The Three Penny Opera

“I want you to express yourself!” The PSG CAS auditorium rings with the resonating voice of theatre director and teacher, G. Channakeshava. Fifty students on stage, rehearse their lines. And Channakeshava gestures to the choir and music team. The drums pound and the singers belt out a song. And The Three Penny Opera, a play by Bertolt Brecht, begins.

More about energy

“I chose this play because it is a musical. The students will have a whale of a time singing and dancing. It suits their spirit and energy better than a dialogue-centred play,” says the Bangalore-based theatre director and designer.

It is rehearsal time at the 10-day workshop, organised by the Drama Club of PSG College of Arts and Science and Coimbatore Book Club Theatre Group. Channakeshava, who is a guest faculty at Ninasam Theatre Institute, Karnataka conducts the workshop, which will end with a production.

They enact a scene where a man breaks into a colony of prostitutes. The girls are supposed to scream when he jumps onto the stage. Channakeshava instructs the boy to make his gestures loud. He urges the girls to improvise and use the space around them. “It is a play with multiple perspectives. There is a story within a story. The students can be spontaneous and creative.”

Says Channakeshava, “I do not want them to just mouth dialogues from the script. I want them to use their body. I have employed different styles, including melodrama. We have used folk music since Brecht himself was influenced by the Eastern culture. We have also tried to add a contemporary twist by featuring mobile phones.”

A theatre director and an artist by profession, Channakeshava says the artist in him makes him pay a lot of importance to stage design. “What matters to me is how the audience views my stage,” he says.

Besides acting, the workshop also introduced the students to props, costume designing and stage setting.

A sense of drama

“Channakeshava has divided us into smaller teams to manage the production. Now we have a better sense of the play and the characters,” says student Sundaragandhi.

Action and words: Theatre director, G. Channakeshava / The Hindu
Action and words: Theatre director, G. Channakeshava / The Hindu

The event manager of the play, Amritha Suryakumar, says it has been an intensive, hands-on-experience. “I realise my strengths and weaknesses as a team leader. Also, being an English literature student, it is amazing to see the texts I learnt within my classroom come alive on stage.”

The PSG Drama Club, founded in 2009, has brought out a production every month. “This is our first production, open to public. We are keeping our fingers crossed,” says another student Radheswar.

Kalpana Karthi, the founder of the club and a professor in the English department, says how the club has developed from a small team to an enthusiastic bunch of 200 theatre aspirants.

“I sensed there was so much unexpressed energy and talent in the students and they needed a space to vent them .” The students manage to squeeze their the rehearsal sessions in between a busy exam schedule. Even Kalpana stays back after her college. “I enjoy it. It is a pleasure to be with them. Their energy makes you younger, every day.”

(The Three Penny Opera will be staged at PSG CAS Auditorium on February 1 at 7 p.m. The passes are available at On The Go, Race Course, That’s Y Food, R.S. Puram and Poojak, R.S. Puram)

Ninasam Theatre institute, Heggodu

Founded in 1949, Ninasam took birth as an amateur cultural troupe that put up theatre productions and debated on social issues, under the initiative of theatre person, K.V. Subbanna. Soon, it developed into a theatre and cultural centre that offered one-year diploma in theatre arts. Ninasam’s seven-day culture camp, started in 2000, invites eminent scholars from all over the world. Ninasam’s itinerant theatre troupe, Tirugata, comes up with an annual production, which tours the villages and cities around the state.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Events / by Parshathy J. Nath / Coimbatore – January 24th, 2014