Some of the toys at the wooden dolls exhibition at Poompuhar showroom have been sourced from Ambasamudram, Channapatna, and Kondapalli ./. Photo: M. Moorthy / The Hindu
13-day exhibition at Poompuhar features over 300 varieties
Parents and children alike can take their pick from an assortment of toys at the wooden dolls exhibition at Poompuhar showroom at Singarathope.
The 13-day expo that began on Tuesday features over 300 varieties of wooden toys. They have been sourced from Ambasamudram in Tamil Nadu, Channapatna in Karnataka, and Kondapalli in Andhra Pradesh.
The price of the beautifully-crafted toys available in vivid colours and sizes ranges from Rs. 20 to Rs. 2,000. The attractions of the exhibition are a wooden walker for toddlers priced at Rs. 780 and a wooden horse priced at Rs. 800.
Besides, there are toys replicating birds, animals, merry-go-round, bullock carts, cars, motorcycles, and religious deities. Other wooden items include pencils, spinning tops, storage containers, and key chains.
Educational toys will help children learn the alphabet, tell the time, and identify shapes, sizes and objects.
Traditional toys such as kilukiluppai (baby rattles) are available. Poompuhar has set a sales target of Rs. 3 lakh. The event will conclude on February 15.
source: http://www. thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Staff Reporter / Tiruchi – February 05th, 2014
Vaigai Express on the newly electrified track at Madurai Railway Station on Wednesday / Photo: S. James / The Hindu
When loco pilot J. Basheer Ahmed pressed a button that sounded the horn of an electric locomotive on Wednesday morning, it marked not only the departure of Vaigai Express from Madurai railway junction, but also announced the arrival of electrified tracks in the Madurai-Dindigul section.
After the Commissioner of Railway Safety cleared the Dindigul-Virudhunagar electrified tracks recently, Madurai railway division officials on Wednesday began the operation of AC locos in Vaigai Express, Pandian Express and one pair of Madurai-Dindigul passenger train.
After a simple puja on the tracks of platform number two at the junction, the Chennai-bound Vaigai Express was hauled by an electric locomotive for the first time from Madurai.
The Vaigai Express chugged out of the Madurai railway station on Wednesday, marking the arrival of electrified tracks in the Madurai-Dindigul railway section. / File photo / The Hindu
Hitherto, the trains from Chennai were being pulled with electric locomotives either up to Tiruchi or Dindigul.
“The electric locomotive emanates no smoke and produces lower level of noise,” a railway official said after the inaugural function of the electrified tracks.
A senior railway official said besides being pollution-free, the AC locos helped the crew members negotiate looplines easily.
Better visibility
For the crew members, the design of the AC locos would provide better visibility of the tracks.
The electric engines had higher haulage capacity and can also attain high speed quickly. The running time of Pandian and Vaigai express trains would be reduced by around 20 minutes as changing of diesel and AC locomotives was not required in Tiruchi or Dindigul.
Earlier, the in-coming Pandian Express was also hauled with an electric engine up to Madurai junction. Very soon, a total of eight express and passenger trains would use electric locomotives between Chennai and Madurai, another railway official said.
Senior Divisional Electrical Engineer G. Sugind and Divisional Operations Manager (General) A. Rajakumar, and Madurai Station Manager C. Solomon Sevathiah were among those present.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by S Sundar / Madurai – February 12th, 2014
Turmeric prices increased by over Rs. 500 a quintal for almost all varieties on Friday following export enquiries from countries such as Malaysia and UAE, and orders from North India have
“Due to heavy demand for the root variety in North India and also from other countries, prices increased sharply. The hybrid root increased by ₹650 a quintal to ₹ 7,044 a quintal. Turmeric exporters are getting good orders for the root variety from countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka and UAE. So, they are buying stocks that have arrived,” said a trader.
RKV Ravishankar, President, Erode Turmeric Merchants Association, said some traders have received upcountry orders for the root variety and they are buying both varieties for a high price. Turmeric exporters having orders from Sri Lanka and Malaysiaare expecting more orders. Due to the arrival of quality produce, prices of both varieties of turmeric increased. Prices in the futures market have been ruling stable for the last couple of days. If the prices rise in the futures market, they could rise in the spot markets too.
Traders bought all the 200 bags of the new crop by quoting a higher price on Friday. At the Erode Turmeric Merchants Association Sales yard (new crop), the finger variety was sold at ₹5,695-6,714 a quintal and root variety at ₹5,499-6,714.
The finger variety (old crop) was sold at ₹4,868-6,897 and root variety ₹4,699-6,699.
Salem hybrid : The finger variety fetched ₹6,689-7,599 and the root variety ₹5,866-7,044. Of the 1,217 bags that arrived, 598 were sold.
At the Regulated Market Committee, the finger variety was sold at ₹5,969-6,889, the root variety at ₹5,834-6,789. Of the 1,169 bags on offer, 1,113 were traded.
At the Erode Co-operative Marketing Society, the finger variety was sold at ₹5,731-6,929 and root variety ₹5,347-6,899. Out of the 715 bags put up for sale, 686 were picked up.
source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Markets> Commodities /by The Hindu Correspondent / Erode – January 31st, 2014
The Makkal auto or people’s auto was launched in Chennai by social entrepreneur Manzoor Ali Khan. yesterday. The unique auto, meant for women only, includes an Android tablet enclosed in a steel casing which is water, tamper, and theft resistant.
The device acts as a fare calculator and is also equipped with GPS tracking, 3G data communication with a centralised call centre and a panic button in case of emergency. In addition, passengers can pay with their credit and debit cards
source: http://www.punemirror.in / Pune Mirror / Home> News> Pune> Nation> Story / Thursday – February 13th, 2014
The mid-week rendezvous in Chennai saw a dose of wedding-inspired fashion show, organized by the Silk Board of India, at The Westin Chennai Velachery. The event that was planned by Shane and Dene, witnessed the best of wedding ensembles presented by the industry veterans like Sydney Sladen and choreographed by Sunil Menon. Sydney’s collection was inspired by a mix of traditional and contemporary silhouette for men and women, focusing on the assemblage for different wedding phases and in-sync with the modern trend. The grand finale saw the charming Genelia and dashing Jayam Ravi strut down the runway as Sydney’s showstoppers.
The famed glitterati later headed to unveil the Westin Chennai Velachery’s exclusive wedding showroom. The one-stop shop for all the utilitarian wedding requirement, is a unique feature in Chennai, ideated by the director of food and beverage, Animesh Barat and executed by the Vettri & Sasi. The event was well attended by the city socialites and wedding planners.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Chennai / TNN / January 31st, 2014
The goat-rearing women of Bodi Hills have floated a producer’s company to facilitate themselves in procuring and selling the goats and cater to other auxiliary works required for their trade. Known as the voicemail goat farmers after the women came into limelight for effectively using voicemails through mobile phone to rear the goats, the women for long have been contemplating about floating a proper registered company. The voicemail scheme was implemented by IFFCO Kisan Sanchar Nigam Limited (IKSL).
The producer’s company, Agharam Goat Farmers Producer Company will be involve in selling the goats raised by the women and procure goats whenever they require. It will also involve in distributing loans to the members of the company to raise goats. The auxiliary works of the company will include procuring fodder for the goats, veterinary medicines for the animals and organising camps occasionally for the benefit of the goat rearing women in the region. The company will collect nominal fees for the services which will be included in the capital fund. The collected funds would be circulated among the women as loans.
The illiterate and semi-illiterate women of this region have become the board of directors with a 11-member board monitoring the company. P Vasiammal from Kodiabommanaickenputhur near Rasingapuram, one of the directors, said the company would help wean out the middlemen in the goat trade. “We can save the money spent as brokerage since the company will undertake the transactions,” she said.
This week, the women have given away Rs 30,000 as loans to 11 goat-rearing women of their company. Each of them contributed Rs 250 as share amount and 1,190 women of Bodi – most of them in goat-rearing – have bought the shares. In such manner, they have raised Rs 2.97 lakh as capital for the company. A board of 11 members selected from these women will manage the company affairs with the help of Vidiyal, a Bodi-based NGO working among the women.
“We did not want to hurry because we are planning to run this company in a successful manner,” said A Periajakkamma, another director of the board.
Initially, the women have decided to function under Agharam Traditional Farmers Producer’s Company – one of the producer companies of farmers based in Madurai – to learn the functioning of the company.
“Most of us are uneducated and we don’t want to hurry things. We are working together to improve the company,” said P Papathi, a goat farmer in Bodi and shareholder of the company.
K Kamaraj of Vidiyal NGO said that the organisation would handhold the women for some days till they learn to function on their own. “The women are working hard and training themselves to take up various roles in the company. They will succeed in their venture,” he said.
Having started the producer’s company, the women are now contemplating on starting a cooperative bank. “We are thinking about a bank exclusively for us and we will work together to achieve it too in future,” Vasiammal says with confidence.
source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Madurai> Goats / by J. Arockiaraj, TNN / January 31st, 2014
Q&A with Founder & Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management.
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
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
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
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
