Category Archives: Business & Economy

Tee-shirts, denims the style quotient this Deepavali

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy
Though traditional clothes are being rejected in favour of casual wear, Kanjivarams cotton saris seem be going strong | Express
Though traditional clothes are being rejected in favour of casual wear, Kanjivarams cotton saris seem be going strong | Express

Casual is the buzz-word, at least as far as the purchases made by people ahead of the Deepavali festival is concerned. Sales of clothing items such as tee-shirts and denim trousers for both men and women seem to be spiralling in the many textile showrooms of T Nagar, the shopping hub of the city. The trend, employees of these showrooms say, is normal and is visible ahead of many a festive occasion.

Speaking to City Express, the salespersons at a leading store in T Nagar, located near the Duraiswamy Road-Usman Road traffic junction, concur that casual wear has been witnessing maximum sales this season. “A large section of our customers from all over the State are looking for casual wear. These people, who belong to the younger generation, are keen on tee-shirts and jeans. It is registering maximum traction,” they added.

Balaji, a salesperson at an adjoining clothing store, which also has a jewellery store, concurs. “Casual clothing is the order of the day.” This doesn’t mean that other styles of clothing have been consigned to oblivion. Although selling in lesser numbers, he states slim and narrow-fit and the style statement of the yesteryear, the good old boot-cut trousers, are back this season. According to him, sales of formal clothing are expected to pick up in the post-Diwali season – which is a year-on-year trend.

Unsurprisingly, women are spoilt for choice when it comes to selecting their attire. Churidhars and salwar suits in a mélange of choices – be it the Anarkali or Patiala styles – are also a big draw, adds Balaji. This is in addition to the silk saris and skirts that register comparative amount of sales.

When it comes to silks, despite having an encycloapaedia of options to select from, Kanchipuram silks are the most-sought after. As the sales manager of an 85 year-old silk showroom located near Panagal Park, Vinayagam, explains, “We have a wide range of silk saris, in an equally wide range of budgets to suit practically every customer. However, most end up asking only for Kanchipuram silks. People are unmoved even when show them varieties like Belgaum, Benaras, Arani and Dharamavaram silks.”

DeepavaliCF05nov2013

This season, the showroom has launched a new range of upper-end silks, with a base price of nearly `14,000, which the customers seem to be lapping up eagerly.

Pricing dictates the sales volumes, as he explains. “Silk saris in the price-band of `2,000-5,000 are witnessing the maximum sales. Saris in this category include single-side silk variant and those made out of silk-cotton and silk-polyester blends.” From `2,000 to nearly `2 lakh, looks like there are saris priced to suit every budget.

Cotton saris are not lagging behind either. The ‘Karishma’ variant of cotton saris and cotton-polyester blends – traditional favourite of people for gifts – are equally popular.

He anticipates that the sales of veshtis, steady so far, might pick up once the muhurtham season sets in – a period considered auspicious to solemnise marriages.

However, sales of the half-sari seems to be on the decline. Once a traditional favourite of young girls, not many customers are keen on purchasing it. As a the salesperson at another showroom says, “We can stock only those items that our customers demand. We cannot have such items wasting our floor space.”

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Chennai / by Express News Service – Chennai / October 31st, 2013

Exporters’ rush to secure space in Spices Park

Business & Economy, Nature, Science & Technologies
A view of Spices Park at Muthupatti, near Sivaganga. / Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu
A view of Spices Park at Muthupatti, near Sivaganga. / Photo: L. Balachandar / The Hindu

The park has come up on a sprawling 75.73 acres near Sivaganga

Exporters of spices in southern districts vie with one another to get a coveted space in the maiden Spices Park at Muthupatti near here.

When Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram laid the foundation stone for the park in the nondescript Muthupatti on the outskirts of Sivaganga in August 2008, not many exporters were aware of the facility on the anvil. And when he inaugurated the park on October 6 exporters started making a beeline to set up their units.

“Soon after the inauguration there was overwhelming response from the exporters and 25 units were booked in no time. There were more than 25 applications for the remaining 12 slots and they will be allotted on the first-come first served basis,” Mr S. Nallakannu, Deputy Director, Spices Board, Sivaganga, told The Hindu. The allotment process would be completed in the next two weeks, he added.

Each unit, measuring one acre and above was being allotted at the rate of Rs. 5 lakh per acre to the exporters, who were registered with Spices Board India. The exporters should set up the facilities within the stipulated two year period and those who failed to do so would forfeit the allotment, he said.

The Madurai based M/s Devi Industries has been allotted four units and it expected to commence the work shortly, he said. In the next two years, the park would be buzzing with activity, providing direct and indirect employment to as many as 2,000 people in this area, Mr Nallakannu said.

The park had been created mainly to empower the farmers who grow spices in and around the district and ensure better price realisation besides helping exporters to process the products and export after adding value, he said. Farmers from Ilayankudi, Kalayarkoil, RS Mangalam, Kamudhi could benefit from the park.

Established at a cost of Rs. 20 crore, the park has come up on a sprawling 75.73 acres. It was divided into two zones – facilitating zone and exporters’ zone. In the facilitating zone, two semi-automatic plants had been set up to process and add value to chilli and coriander (in one plant) and turmeric.

The plant for processing chilli and coriander had the capacity to grind the two products at 500 kg an hour and automatically pack the powder in 50 gm to 5 kg in retail packing and 5 kg to 50 kg in bulk packing. The plant also had the capacity to process two tonnes of whole chilli in an hour and pack them in 25 and 50 kg bags, he added.

The two plants were in operation and farmers could make use of the facilities to process their spices products and sell them after value addition and for better price realisation, he said.

The facilitating zone also had two godowns for keeping raw material and finished goods, a sterilisation plant, administrative office building, building for bank, fire fighting system and a power house, he said. The export zone had facilities like a 1.6 lakh litre capacity water tank, roads, underground water lines, stormwater drainage and weigh bridge, besides external lightings, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> TamilNadu / by Walter Scott / Sivaganga – October 27th, 2013

Learn winning strategies at MMA convention on Oct 25, 26

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education

Chennai :

Want to make ‘winning’ a habit? Block your calendar on October 25 and 26 to attend the 12th All-India Management Students’ Convention organised by Madras Management Association, in association with the University of Madras. This year’s theme for the convention is ‘Winning Strategies – how to make winning a habit’.

The convention will provide an insight into the strategies of winners and draw lessons for young, aspiring managers to understand the determinants of success. The convention will also focus on inspired learning from competitive professions such as sports, politics, media, cinema and the battlefield. The finale of various on-going events such as Chanakya – The Mastermind (best management student of the year), paper presentation, business plan, the big debate and management quiz will also take place during the convention. Around 300 management students from various institutions are expected to attend the event. The convention will take place at the Centenary Auditorium of University of Madras.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home /  The Hindu Bureau / Chennai – October 23rd, 2013

The enduring promise of India’s daughters

Business & Economy, Leaders, Nri's / Pio's, Records, All, World Opinion

The IIFA Awards are a wonderful opportunity to celebrate Bollywood , including the actors and actresses who have seemingly attained a ‘god-like’ status among millions of fans. Some of the most popular actresses are: The peerless Aishwarya Rai , the much-decorated Sonakshi Sinha and rising star Sonam Kapoor. It might also be a good time, however, to celebrate a couple of other Indian women who are arguably doing even more for the greater good of the society.

Born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu in 1955, Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi is today the CEO of PepsiCo, and was rated by Fortune Magazine, each year between 2006 and 2010, as the most powerful business woman in the World. Serving as Pepsi’s CFO since 2001, Nooyi has garnered extensive accolades for her part in Pepsi’s dramatic rise in revenue and profit during the same period. She has been praised for her dynamic leadership, decisiveness and ability to rally her organization to a cause.

That a little girl born and raised in Chennai has grown up to become the most powerful business woman in the world is a stirring testament to the power of her dreams, the foundation provided by her family, and the nation that shaped her. I like the story of Indra Nooyi, for it is a reminder – powerful, tangible and inspiring – of the enduring promise of the daughters of India.

Just as little girls in India today may be inspired to play tennis because of Sania Mirza, or to become an astronaut because of Kalpana Chawla, they may also dream of reaching the top of the business world, because of Indra Nooyi.

Growing up in Chennai, Nooyi developed in an environment that would lay the groundwork for her future success, though she probably busted through a few more glass ceilings than anyone thought she would. A Hindu, she attended a Catholic school. She played cricket, and even started her own rock band in high school. She was allowed to express herself, with numerous interests outside the classroom.

The story of Indra Nooyi seems all the more poignant to me after reading recent articles detailing with the growing number of female fetuses being aborted in India. Easy access to ultrasound has become a tool for evil, and combined with the pressure to have a son, has resulted in a form of “gendercide”. The long term consequences to the country could be dire, as such a dramatic shortage of girls will inevitably lead to increasing social problems among a restless young male population. The tragedy is not that most little girls in India may not reach the same heights as Indra Nooyi, but rather, that so many will never even have the chance, their lives cruelly snuffed out simply because of their gender.

The need for collective honesty and effort when it comes to women’s issues is one reason why I support an initiative that might be distasteful to many traditional Indians.

Recently, a young Delhi based woman named Umang Sabarwal launched on Facebook a plan for ‘SlutWalk New Delhi’. The idea originated in my home city, Toronto. A local police officer said that women should avoid dressing like ‘sluts’ to prevent being raped, and in so doing paid homage to the great lie – perverse, self serving and chauvinistic – that how a woman dresses somehow excuses verbal and physical sexual harassment. The successful ‘SlutWalk’ in Toronto ended up spawning similar events in a number of other North American cities.

Sabarwal, 19, says she is concerned about women’s safety in her home city, and about the shameless ‘eve teasing’ carried out with seeming impunity by men in public. Predictably, much of the feedback directed at Sabarwal and her initiative has been decidedly negative. But Sabarwal says she will press ahead. ‘SlutWalk New Delhi’ is scheduled for some time near the end of July. The great problems of a society – and all societies have them – are not solved, or lessened, or made less bearable, by a quiet resignation, or by the pretense that they don’t exist. Societies and countries become better, more just and more fulfilled when the problems are first acknowledged, and then tackled with diligence and forethought. Umang Sabarwal understands this, and has demonstrated a courage that belies her years.

To reach the pinnacle of the business world. To insist on the right to walk the streets of Delhi dressed as one desires, without enduring verbal or physical harassment. Indra Nooyi and Umang Sabarwal, despite their significant differences, are both contributing to a brighter future for India’s daughters. Both, through example and action, are championing the complete emancipation of Indian women.

Check out ‘SlutWalk New Delhi’ on Facebook, and offer your support. And the next time you have a glass of wine with friends or family, raise a toast to these remarkable Indian women, whose extraordinary examples make their country proud, and indeed, make our world a better place.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Contributors> Indra Nooyi / by Jair Irwin / June 28th, 2013

Co-operative bank donates books to District Central library in Tiruchi

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education
Collector Jayashree Muralidharan going through the books at Central Library in Tiruchi on Thursday. — PHOTO: M. MOORTHY / The Hindu
Collector Jayashree Muralidharan going through the books at Central Library in Tiruchi on Thursday. — PHOTO: M. MOORTHY / The Hindu

The books were handed over to Collector Jayashree Muralidharan by Managing Director of the Tiruchi District Central Cooperative Bank.

Civil service and other competitive examination books estimated at Rs. 72,000 and Rs. 67,000 were donated by the District Welfare Committee and the District Central Cooperative Bank respectively to the District Central Library here on Thursday.

The books were handed over to Collector Jayashree Muralidharan by Managing Director of the Tiruchi District Central Cooperative Bank. The event was organised for the benefit of book readers and members of the library.

The library currently has an enviable number of 1,52,665 books and 33,360 members.

An average of 750 people visit the library on a daily basis and 350 books are issued per day. Rs. 28,79,299 was spent for infrastructure and Rs. 6,84,375 for purchasing computers.

The library has received donations of Rs. 1,000 each from 273 patrons and Rs. 3,000 each from nine major patrons.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Tiruchirapalli / by Deepika Muralidharan / Tiruchi – October 18th, 2013

It is more than just a museum

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Science & Technologies
INVIGORATING EXERCISE: Yoga session under way at Gandhi Memorial Museum./ Photos: G. Moorthy / The Hindu
INVIGORATING EXERCISE: Yoga session under way at Gandhi Memorial Museum./ Photos: G. Moorthy / The Hindu

True to the Gandhian ideology of empowering women, Gandhi Memorial Museum offers vocational training programmes

Thamilmozhi Jeyaseelan, a former software engineer, is a busy entrepreneur today. The success story of Mrs. Jeyaseelan, the mother of a four-year-old-girl, is awe-inspiring.

She had enrolled her child in a personality development course conducted by the education wing of the Gandhi Memorial Museum in April. To while away her time, she joined the self-employment course organised by the museum and underwent training in the manufacture of 15 household items such as floor cleaners, ink, ‘oma’ water, phenyl, washing and dish-wash powders. “The seven-hour training was a turning point in my life. It gave me the confidence to leave my job as a software engineer in a private hospital and start a business venture. Today, I am able to spend more time with my family and provide employment to six poor women,” Mrs. Jeyaseelan says. She is manufacturing and marketing phenyl, dish-wash powders and ‘oma’ water. “The ‘oma’ water has become an instant hit in the market. The profits are good and I am glad to provide employment and empower womenfolk,” she adds.

True to the Gandhian ideology of empowering women, the Gandhi Memorial Museum offers a slew of vocational training programmes, besides offering summer classes for school students, yoga and spoken Hindi classes throughout the year.

The museum, housed on the premises of the historic summer palace of Rani Mangammal, is one of the major tourist attractions in Madurai. As per its 2011-2012 annual report, the museum attracted more number of visitors than the National Gandhi Museum in Delhi. From the 2013 fiscal, the museum had drawn 1,94,846 visitors, of which 14,135 were foreign tourists. The museum has not restricted itself to just enthral the visitors, but has been indulging in activities that are fruitful to many. With an extensive library, a research and publication section, an Institute of Gandhian Studies and Research (IGSR) and an education section, there is no dearth of activities in the museum.

The library draws an average of 85 readers every day and has nearly 300 registered members, according to records available in the museum.

The IGSR is probably one of the few places in the country which offers courses on Gandhian Thought. “We offer free courses such as Certificate in Gandhian Thought, Diploma in Gandhian Thought, Diploma in Inter-Religious Dialogue and PG Diploma in Peace and Value Education. The courses are affiliated to Madurai Kamaraj University. Students from Gandhigram Rural Institute and Madurai Kamaraj University undertake research works here,” says S. Jayaraj, research officer at the museum.

Several volumes of books on Gandhian Thought have been translated in the research and publication section, which also documents newspaper reports that resonate Gandhian ideologies such as non-violence and peace, he adds.

According to Mr. Jayaraj, while handing over Rani Mangammal Palace for the establishment of the museum, the State had envisioned a centre where research would flourish. The research centre was established in 1997 and became an approved institute of Madurai Kamaraj University in 2003 and has been disseminating Gandhian Thought and related subjects to the public, he adds.

NO AGE LIMIT

But for the summer courses, the others offered by the museum such as spoken Hindi class do not specify any age limit. “We have been conducting various certificate courses, especially for women, for the past five years. Mostly women attend the tailoring, jewellery-making and household item manufacturing courses and quite a few of them are successful in their business ventures,” says R. Natarajan, education officer of the museum. The education wing also conducts value education courses in schools and colleges to spread the Gandhian values of life.

D. Sridharan, a retired pharmaceutical executive, who is taking the two-month Spoken Hindi lessons in the museum, says spending time learning in the serene atmosphere of the museum is a bliss. “Unlike other centres, the Gandhi Museum charges a nominal fee and teaches us even the fundamentals of the origin of the word. The museum is one of the best places in Madurai and could be spruced up,” Mr. Sridharan says.

ORGANIC FOOD CANTEEN

With the assistance from the State and the Centre, renovation work is under way at the museum. According to M.P. Gurusamy, museum secretary, an organic food canteen will be inaugurated in January. “We are planning to convert the open-air auditorium into an indoor facility. A museum and a park for the children will be constructed,” he says.

The open-air auditorium is given on nominal rent for purposes other than political, communal and religious-oriented events, he says. “The resource persons, who provide training in skill development programmes, are those who are interested in Gandhian ideology. The museum does not pay them and they are volunteers. They only demand a nominal fee of less than Rs. 200 from the participants to meet the expenses of the core materials,” Mr. Gurusamy adds.

According to K.R. Nanda Rao, curator of the museum, the main gallery will soon be refurbished with good lighting.

The yoga training centre, approved by the Tamil Nadu Physical Education and Sports University Centre, has been functioning since 1998. “As of now, those who take part in training come on the advice of the doctors. Yoga should become a lifestyle habit,” says K. P. Gangadharan, yoga coordinator in the museum. People between the age group of 35 and 70 undergo yoga training and at least 100 students enrol for the certificate programmes in yoga every year, he says.

For people such as M. Soundararajan, a retired BSNL employee, who grew up in Madurai, the museum needs better care. “The museum needs more staff to clean the premises. When I was in school, I remember the area behind the palace having beautiful plants. Now, we have trees and more saplings could be planted. A new toilet should be constructed,” concludes Mr. Soundararajan who is now a student of Spoken Hindi.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Madurai / by M. Vandhana / Madurai – October 21st, 2013

A basket of 12,000 surprises

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Nature, World Opinion
Sathya Narayanan sells exotic vegetables and fruits at Anna Nagar. /. Photo: K. Pichumani / The Hindu
Sathya Narayanan sells exotic vegetables and fruits at Anna Nagar. /. Photo: K. Pichumani / The Hindu

Sathya Narayanan imports a bewildering array of exotic fruits and vegetables. Vipasha Sinha does a quick count

It always happens to cooking enthusiasts. They keenly watch the master class of Master Chef Australia and drop the pen the moment they hear about the ingredients. The problem: half the ingredients they use are not available here and often, they have no substitutes. Here is where Sathya Narayanan chips in.

His basket of surprises are 12,000 exotic fruits and vegetables from across the world that include artichokes, all kinds of avocados, baby leeks, baby patty pan, berries of all kinds, kiwis, kohlrabi, kumquats, laos, leeks, shimiji mushroom, eryngi/king oyster mushroom, enoki mushroom, portebello, chive flowers and the list continues.

Sathya has been importing international fruits and vegetables for a year now. “I realised that there is a niche market for exquisite fruits and vegetables. I supply appropriate ingredients for international menu to several five-star hotels,” says Sathya.

He says, “For those who live abroad, the very name of an Indian vegetable or ingredient makes them excited. Likewise, the expats here long for ingredients from their country. There is a considerable amount of Korean people living here and I supply them necessary ingredients.”

As these fruits and vegetables are imported, quality is an important concern. “Fresh stock arrives every week and are kept in cold storage under hygienic condition and they are supplied immediately, therefore preventing wastage,” he says.

Sathya has plans to supply items to two hypermarkets in Chennai.

He also says these ingredients can change the taste of the regular food.

“Many of these produce can be used instead of the regular vegetables and the taste changes completely,” he says.

You can get in touch with Sathya at fruitmarx@gmail.com or call 24798385.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai> DownTown / by Vipasha Sinha / Chennai – October 26th, 2013

Minister inaugurates cane grinding works

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Nature

With three months to go for the Pongal festival, known for sweet Pongal,  the sugarcane grinding season has commenced in the district.

Rural Industries Minister Mohan initiated  the sugarcane grinding process here on Friday in Periyasevalai Sengalvarayan Sugar  Mill. The function was presided over by Villupuram Collector Sampath and joint chairman Gnanamurthi.

During the function, the Rural Inustries Minister said, starting on Friday, the sugarcane grinding process would continue till March 15, in Periyasevalai Corporation Sugar Mill. The sugarcane cultivated in the regions of Thiruvannainellur,  Sithalingamadam, Ulundurpet, Arasur, Enadhimangalam and Pillayarkuppam, which has been partitioned as  mill site-I and mill site-II, is ground in Periyasevalai Corporation Sugar Mill .

As many as 4,14,995 metric tonne of sugarcane which has been cultivated on 15,030 hectares is to be ground in the Sengalvarayan Sugar Mill. The minister affirmed that the 9,000 villagers in these regions would be benefited by this process of grinding sugarcane.

Executive director of the Corporation Sugar Anbarasu presided over the function and he was accompanied by other officials.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Tamil Nadu / Express News Service – Villipuram / October 19th, 2013

From paddy fields to colonial houses

Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

The city police commissioner’s office in Egmore that is being vacated was, for long, a bungalow in a paddy field.

At one point, the police department functioned from the above building on Police Commissioner Office Road in Egmore. It is not known why and when the office moved from Pantheon Road to here and then back — Photo: M. Vedhan / The Hindu
At one point, the police department functioned from the above building on Police Commissioner Office Road in Egmore. It is not known why and when the office moved from Pantheon Road to here and then back — Photo: M. Vedhan / The Hindu

According to historians, the property was bought by Arunagiri Mudaliar for Rs. 36,000. On May 1, 1842, the police moved into the bungalow from their headquarters in Vepery for a monthly rent of Rs. 165.

“In 1856, when Lt. Col. J.C. Boulderson, 35 regiment of Native infantry, took charge as the first police commissioner of Chennai, the land and bungalow were purchased by the police for Rs. 21,000 and till date, the office is situated on the same land,” said historian V. Sriram. “The building is a classic colonial bungalow with two storeys. It has Doric columns with Madras terrace.”

After 170 years, the police are all set to move lock, stock and barrel to the same locality — Vepery — where they were headquartered earlier.

A close study of the building’s history raises certain questions. “There is another building on Police Commissioner Office Road which houses the police photographer’s department currently. It has a circular plaque with the inscription — Colonel W.S. Drever CSI Commissioner of Police, R.F. Chisholm, architect. The year inscribed on the plaque is 1882,” said Mr. Sriram. Why and when did the office move from Pantheon Road to Police Commissioner Office Road and then back, he wondered.

The current move to Vepery seems to have left senior police officers with a heavy heart.

“Ours is a very old police force that has been functioning from this building for over a century. This is like second home for many of us,” said a senior police officer.

The commissioner’s office on Pantheon Road may gradually be converted into a police museum — Photo: M. Vedhan / The Hindu
The commissioner’s office on Pantheon Road may gradually be converted into a police museum — Photo: M. Vedhan / The Hindu

The commissioner’s office on Pantheon Road will be temporarily used as the offices of the joint commissioner of police (east), deputy commissioner (security), armed reserve administration office and a few other wings of the police.

After these sections are shifted to the new building, the commissioner office in Egmore may be converted into a police museum.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / byu Vivek Narayanan / Chennai – October 11th, 2013

TVS launches Jupiter in Madurai

Business & Economy

 Madurai :

Strengthening its presence in the rapidly growing scooter segment, TVS Motor Company, one of India’s largest two wheeler manufacturers, launched its new scooter TVS Jupiter in Madurai.

P.G. Sathiskumar, General Manager (Sales), TVS, said that the new scooter offered greater comfort, convenience and first time features, powered by a next generation noise-free, all-aluminium, low-friction engine that delivers an amazing mix of power, superior acceleration and best in class fuel efficiency and a metal body, styled to enthuse the male consumer.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Industry / by The Hindu Correspondent /Madurai – October 11th, 2013