World’s First Green Fire Extinguisher launched in India

By Deepak Arora

MUMBAI, June 7: Darvesh Fire and Safety Industries, a division of Darvesh Group, launched its ultra portable flame inhibitor – ‘FireKiller’. The newly launched ‘FireKiller’ is a revolutionary aerosol dispenser that is of tremendous value while subduing and extinguishing fires.

An internationally patented product of Space Age Technology, the ‘FireKiller’ is a non toxic, non-pressurised, completely green product that comes with a life time guarantee. In comparison to normal fire extinguishers, that weigh from 5 to 18 kg, Firekiller weighs only 250 to 600 gms and are priced at Rs 4,000 onwards.

This is the first green product which is completely non toxic & non pressurized and has a small, compact light weight cylinder. ‘Firekiller’ does not produce any “organic accumulation” and its activation time is almost immediate.

Ahsan Hassan Darvesh, Managing Director, Darvesh Group said, “The environment and its upkeep has always been a topic of immense interest in India. We are constantly looking at new ways to bring international best practices and the latest technology to our customers. In taking this notion further, we are launching the ‘Firekiller’ - a practical and portable flame suppressant which is also extremely environmentally safe. This product reinstates our brand philosophy of always bringing the best products to our customers. ‘FireKiller’ is the first product amongst many new ones under our flagship and there will be many more exciting new products to come in the near future in Indian markets”.

Given the fact that the ‘FireKiller’ has a lifetime guarantee it is neither dangerous nor requires maintenance. FireKiller is suitable for both indoor and outdoor usage such as homes, offices, automobiles, boats, campsites and workshops to name a few. It is capable of extinguishing fires in different classes such as solid material, ordinary combustibles, gaseous category objects, cable galleries and electronic devices.

'FireKiller’ once bought, requires absolutely no maintenance, and hence has no hidden or additional costs. Tested and approved by international laboratories, the ‘FireKiller’ is also very unique product in terms of its size, as it is extremely compact and light weight (250-600gms), making it very a handy product. The ‘FireKiller’ leaves no residue on the surface it is applied to, and can be used in almost any environment for class A B & C type of fire.

We are extremely proud to introduce a product as reliable and revolutionary as the ‘FireKiller’ in the Indian market. We are extremely confident that this product will do extremely well in adding further value to the high safety standards in the country”, said Vinay Sharma, Corporate Communications Director, Darvesh (Credibility 1909).

The ‘FireKiller’ is available in 3 models across the country – 5B Household and Commercial model, 8B Household and Commercial model, and 13B Industrial models. The 5B model has a length of approximately 10 inches, is 1.3 inches in diameter, weighs approximately 250 gms and has a minimum discharge time of approximately 25 seconds. The 8B Model has a length of approximately 10.2 inches, is 1.3 inches in diameter, weighs approximately 300 gms and has a minimum discharge time of approximately 50 seconds. The 13 B model on the other hand has a has a length of approximately 12.9 inches, is 1.3 inches in diameter, weighs approximately 600 gms and has a minimum discharge time of approximately 100 seconds.

All models of the ‘FireKiller’ are certified to extinguish Class A, B, C and E fires. Fires that come under Class A involve solid combustible materials, wood, paper, fabric, and plastics etc. Class B type of fires include fires that involve liquid combustible materials, oil, benzene, resin, organic solvents, alcohol etc. Class C fires include gaseous combustible materials, LPG, CNG, methanol, acetylene etc. And Class E (electrically started) fires include fires caused by electrical equipment, cable galleries, distribution cabinets and electronic devices. The ‘FireKiller’ also has international certifications from Italy, Germany, Spain, USA and South Africa is suitable for use in homes, cars, offices, trucks, boats, campsites, workshops, industries, hotels, and even telecommunication and process control rooms.

Founded in Mumbai, India by the Late Miya Ahmed Sulaiman Sodagar Darvesh in 1909, Darvesh (creditability since 1909) is an independent family business enterprise that has diversified into manufacturing, multiple trading, contracting and distribution over the years. With businesses spread across the GCC, Afro-Asian subcontinent and Europe, the ‘Darvesh is a niche player in the manufacturing of quality products for the packaging industry, turnkey projects, construction industry and trading of top-of-the-line building material products. Having completed more than 30 years in the Middle East region, the Darvesh’s operations have further expanded from trading to industrialisation with a strategic vision to become a leading corporate industrialist house across the globe.

India, S Africa should jointly promote innovations: Anand Sharma

NEW DELHI, June 4: India and South Africa should develop joint initiatives to promote innovations to ride the current global wave of technologies to bring about the socio-economic transformation of their respective economies.

Stating this in his special address at an interactive session with Mr Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa, and the accompanying business delegation, organised by CII in association with FICCI, BUSA and Assocham, Mr Anand Sharma, Minister of Commerce & Industry, said the two countries should also develop strong partnerships in capacity building and skills development to complement the economic resurgence.

Noting that India was the first Asian country that President Zuma chose to visit since assuming the presidentship of his country, Mr Sharma said the two governments should look to step up the joint efforts to obtain their rightful places in the emerging economic and political architecture and promote the reforms of the United Nations and Brettenwoods institutions.

Mr Zuma in his address said that India and South Africa have a shared global understanding on diverse issues covering trade negotiations, climate change, poverty alleviation, and peace and stability. Referring to the bilateral investment ties, he said that Indian investments in South Africa already amount to $6 billion and many Indian companies have become household names in South Africa.

Mr Zuma said the bilateral opportunity rests on identifying the complementarity in trade and investment relations. This will also open up the broader southern Africa and rest of Africa markets for Indian companies, since South Africa is a gateway to the African markets as a whole. Likewise, South African companies would also be able to enhance their footprint in the Indian market.

He said that the extensive physical infrastructure development programmes initiated by the South African government will open up several investment opportunities for Indian companies in South Africa.

Rob Davis, Minister of Trade & Commerce, South Africa, said the strategic importance of the bilateral engagement stems from the seismic shifts in the global economic architecture with India and South Africa leading the change. He also pointed to the similarity in socio-economic challenges that both countries face.
Referring to the bilateral trade ties, he said that the trade flows have come a long way, from $45 million in 1993 to $4.5 billion in 2008.

He said that the target of $10 billion bilateral trade is achievable with due government and industry engagement on both sides, and added that the current negotiation on India-SACU preferential trade agreement (PTA) should conclude soon. Of equal importance would be the conclusion the a bilateral investment protection agreement (BIPA), he observed.

Mr Symal Gupta, Chairman, Emeritus, CII-Africa Committee, set the tone for the session by welcoming President Zuma and by underlining the opportunities for greater India-South Africa business ties.

Mr Sizwe Nxasana, Chairman, Business Unity South Africa (BUSAS), pointed to the opportunity for enhancing cooperation in the SME segment. Reiterating that South Africa is a hub for the southern African markets, he said that the anticipated India-SACU PTA will play a key role in enhancing bilateral trade and investment flows.

Mr Vikramit Singh Sahney, India-South Africa Business Forum of FICCI, said the focus of attention would be on attaining the $10 billion bilateral trade target.

Earlier, Mr Subhash C Aggarwal, Senior Member, Assocham Africa Committee, provided an overview of the India-South Africa economic ties.

Active Music Space from Videocon d2h – a first for the Indian DTH Industry

Videocon d2h airing 20 Audio Channels, 2 video Music Channels 24 hrs

MUMBAI, June 4: Videocon d2h, the Direct-to-Home service provider, the first & only company to offer a range of Satellite products, is now ready to give its customers a unique Music experience by launching Active music Space 24 hrs where it will have exclusive 2 audio-video and 20 audio channels which will mesmerize its viewers with music of all the genres like Gurbani, Devotional, Hindi Latest Hits, Bhojpuri, Dj mix, Meditation, Urdu and other attractive Genres.

Mr.Anil Khera, CEO, Bharat Business Channel Ltd. (Videocon d2h) said, “We take immense pride in launching the first of its kind Active Music Space with 22 exclusive audio / video channels 24 hrs dedicated only to music for our subscribers, which is a revolutionary concept provided to Videocon d2h customers for free. We are currently having 250 channels and services on our platform which is the highest in the DTH industry as we believe in delivering the best for our customers”

Videocon d2h is the foremost service provider to introduce exclusive music channels by launching ACTIVE MUSIC SPACE and these features are not available with any other DTH operator. Videocon d2h is available on Pan India level and India is known for its diversification, so keeping in mind the varied demands of each region, 22 exclusive channels have been designed to target customers’ needs for music no matter where they are in India.

Mr. Khera further added, “DTH has revolutionized the TV viewing experience in India by spearheading the introduction of innovative services. We at Videocon d2h are making sure that the experience is enhanced and more convenient by providing innovative products & services, using the latest technology. All in all we expect our value added services to provide an unparallel viewing experience backed by supreme technological innovation for the consumers.”

Audio offers 20 different genres that include latest Hits, Romantic Hits, DJ mix, Dance Hits, Sentimental Hits, Tanhaee, Zabardast Hits, Love is Hit, Gurbani, Punjabi Devotional, Punjabi Pop, Punjabi Lounge, Bhojpuri, Hamaar Geet, Meditation, Vandana, Spiritual Lounge, Bhakti, Islamic Devotional and Urdu Devotional.

Revolutionary concept: Videocon d2h has introduced the World’s 1st Satellite DVD which plays DVD & is capable of receiving DTH Signals, offers excellent digital entertainment, crystal clear pictures, ultra sharp sound via state of art satellite, using the revolutionary MPEG - 4 and DVB S2 technology. The Direct to Home (DTH) Services is available through Satellite DVD as well as a Satellite Box (STB).

Videocon d2h has set up customer call centre’s in Pune, Dehradhun, Noida and Bangalore with three to cater to customer needs in ten different languages.

Videocon d2h takes direct responsibility for hardware installation at subscribers’ homes, as well as for providing after-sales service. Videocon d2h retails its hardware and prepaid recharge vouchers through consumer electronic, mobile stores, retail chains and cable hardware stores to enhance customer convenience.

In addition to all popular television channels, the Videocon d2h platform will offer many new features and exciting interactive services, thus becoming a one-stop shop for all the television entertainment needs of customers.

DHL focus on technical services sector

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, June 5: The next time you call the IT helpdesk of your laptop company to troubleshoot your computer, the engineer on the other end of the line could well be a DHL employee. Purchased a new mobile phone? The software may have been configured by DHL staff. With counterfeit goods on the rise, a fraudster or unsuspecting consumer trying to claim warranty on an illegal product from the legitimate brand owner may have plans thwarted by a DHL technician counterchecking warranty claims and product specifications. With DHL’s focus on Technical Services, the next time you drop off your laptop at the manufacturer’s service centre, don’t be surprised if you are serviced by DHL staff.

From final configuration to repairs and asset recovery, DHL, the world’s leading logistics company, is focused on growing its share of the €3 billion outsourced Service Logistics market in Asia Pacific. DHL’s Supply Chain division announced plans to invest €50 million over the next five years to grow its Technical Services offering, part of its overall Service Logistics solution, and mapped out expansion plans for China, India, Japan and Singapore.

DHL has also appointed an IT industry veteran to head this sector and officiated its first technical services competency center in Asia. Co-located at its 200,000 sq ft Penang Logistics Hub in Malaysia, DHL’s first Technical Services competency center in Asia provides an advanced level of technical solutions for customers.

“By our estimates, the market is growing at about 25% per annum. Of that, Service Logistics services, especially Technical Services and repairs accounts for up to 60% of the overall spend,” said Paul Graham, CEO, DHL Supply Chain, Asia Pacific.

“Our focus on this sector will be an industry game-changer. Harnessing the size and scale of our extensive footprint spanning 42 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, we have a unique opportunity to bridge the market gap between companies offering technical repairs and logistics providers.”

Spanning the breadth of its Express, Global Forwarding and Supply Chain locations, DHL has the ability to custom build a comprehensive end-to-end Service Logistics solution, including Technical Services. DHL’s Service Logistics solution builds on a network of over 16 distribution centers and over 490 field stocking locations in Asia Pacific. In addition, DHL customers also have access to the company’s existing footprint spanning 1,500 locations across the region.

For geographically expansive markets like China and India, the focus is on growing DHL’s Service Logistics footprint. “DHL operates from 400 sites in China and 470 locations in India. Of these, 15% of our sites in China and 40% of our facilities in India support Service Logistics. We expect to double the number and increase our Service Logistics footprint in China and India within the next 3-5 years. We are currently the market leader with the widest network in Tier 1 and Tier 2 markets, and we intend to further penetrate into Tier 3 to Tier 5 cities,” said Paul Graham.

In Japan, DHL operates from a network of 270 sites of which approximately 20% cater to Service Logistics. The company is looking to raise the bar to deliver extremely high quality technical services. ”High end technology goods still bear the mark “Made in Japan”. To offer Technical Services in the backyard of the world’s biggest high tech brands, pioneering innovations the world is just starting to embrace, we need to up our game and further enhance the quality and expertise of our services,” said Kerry Mok, Senior Vice President: Service Logistics and Technology, DHL Supply Chain, Asia Pacific.

In Singapore, DHL currently operates a 24x7 call center for Europe and the Asia Pacific region for Service Logistics. The company has engaged senior industry professionals and plans to launch an Asia Pacific Center of Excellence for Solutions Development based in Singapore. The Center comprises of a core team of industry experts who will focus on designing solutions and provide consultancy services for customers.

A veteran with over 20 years in the IT industry, Choo Yew Kwong, has been named Vice President, Technical Services, DHL Supply Chain Asia Pacific. Yew Kwong joins DHL from an illustrious career at Hewlett Packard and Compaq Computer Asia where his roles included managing the IT giant’s end-to-end parts supply chain model covering procurement, logistics, inventory management and outsourced repair operations.

Astaro Launches Astaro Red in India

NEW DELHI, June 4: Astaro Corporation, a leading Unified Threat Management provider, has announced that Astaro RED, (Remote Ethernet Device) is now available in India.

Astaro RED combines VPN functionality and complete IT security for branch offices by automatically connecting with a central Astaro Security Gateway. The devices can cut the cost of securing and administering a branch office’s security by up to 80% by eliminating the need for IT staff and additional security products at the remote office.

Astaro RED is designed to secure remote offices of all sizes. Because the devices are managed through the central office using an Astaro Security Gateway, no training, licensing or technical expertise is required at the remote location in order to secure the branch office.

Additionally, security policy and configuration changes made at the central office can be pushed to the remote sites without any technical involvement at the branch office. This means organizations can affordably secure and manage the security for even the smallest branch office.

"Astaro RED eliminates the need for having a technical person in all offices. You just ship a device to the site, and it works", said Paul Smith, Senior Network Engineer at Metafore Technologies Inc., who participated in the BETA testing of Astaro RED.

"It saved me at least two hours per branch office, where I would normally have to pre-configure a device and ship it, and then work with someone onsite to get it online. This is a totally unique approach to branch office connectivity."

Upon viewing Astaro RED during a security conference, security industry expert Richard Stiennon stated: "Astaro’s RED box is the single most innovative product I saw [At RSA 2010]. It leverages the investment in security at one location by extending it to many. It is simple and inexpensive."

Setting up the Astaro RED is completed within minutes. Once the device is connected to the Internet it automatically registers with the central Astaro Security Gateway and receives its IP address via Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. The remote office is then connected with the headquarters via an Astaro VPN tunnel and is immediately protected as the web traffic is filtered through the central gateway. Additional configurations and policy changes are also done centrally, therefore Astaro RED requires no GUI. With Astaro RED, it is possible to connect approximately 100 branch offices in one day.

"We developed Astaro RED as we saw an urgent demand on the market for a solution to secure branch offices that is really easy and reasonably priced", said Gert Hansen, VP Product Management at Astaro. "So far, organizations could use low-cost Firewalls or VPN Gateways or even small UTM appliances, but then had to cope with high acquisition costs, high installation and maintenance effort or lacking security features. Astaro RED ends these dangerous and resource devouring compromises."

Sunil Sapra, Country Manager – India/ SAARC, said, “Given the fact that there is an enormous growth in SMEs, branch offices and remote offices in India, Astaro RED poses to be huge potential to protect them from various external and internal threats. From the partners’ perspective, this is a great opportunity for them to strengthen their top line. As a company, Astaro will enable them in the process of sales and support also.”

Astaro GmbH & Co. KG, founded in 2000 at Karlsruhe (Germany), is a leading provider of network security solutions. Based on the proven quality of the Linux platform, Astaro integrates "Best of Breed" solutions through a combination of open source and leading commercial security products. The Astaro portfolio is rounded off by powerful management and reporting facilities, which also support the managed services model. Through the "all in one" approach, Astaro is one of the most highly regarded suppliers of Unified Threat Management (UTM) solutions. With superior functionality and its intuitive user interface, Astaro solutions have been internationally commended by leading IT security publications. The company is present in approximately 60 countries through 75 distributors and 2,500 certified partners. Over 100,000 IT administrators entrust their network with security appliances from Astaro.

Sammaan and Lifebuoy’s Rickshaw pedals its way to the Presidential Entrepreneurial Summit hosted by President Obama

NEW DELHI, June 2: Irfan Alam, Founder and Chairman, Sammaan Foundation, supported by Lifebuoy, presented his simple and innovative idea of making cycle rickshaw pulling business a pleasurable ride for the commuters by redesigning and transforming the vehicle into a business of success for the marginalised and neglected Rickshaw puller.

From a humble beginning in Bihar in 2007 with 300 rickshaws, today, more than 500,000 rickshaws across India are registered with his Company–Community owned Foundation Irfan’s Samman. It pedalled its way right into the hearts of the select audience at the two-day Presidential Summit on entrepreneurship, at Washinton DC.

The summit saw delegates who were selected for their innovative ideas and ability to promote entrepreneurship, commitment to community service amongst other parameters. Irfan, also known as Rickshaw Man, was one of the 79 others across the globe, who was invited by President Obama to attend the summit in Washington DC.

When Irfan came up with his dream of gifting President Obama with the humble, re-furbished Rickshaw, Lifebuoy, the committed health and hygiene brand of India was quick to back him for this project. The earthy brand committed to betterment of society at large, saw merit in taking this concept to take this idea to a larger platform.

Irfan’s concept is seeped in practicality. He has re-designed the simple rickshaws to shelve newspapers, mineral water bottles and other such small items for sale to the passengers. He also equipped the vehicles with music, magazines, newspaper and even first-aid kits in addition to refreshments. The rickshaws also carry advertisements and the operators get 50% of the ad revenue, the remainder of which goes to Sammaan.

Irfan then worked with banks to help finance the operators to purchase one. Thus with access to easy and low-interest finance from the bank, and access to additional income apart from the fare, which the rickshaw-puller earns from the ads and the sales, enables them to own the rickshaw in no time, after re-paying the bank loan in instalments.

As a part of this tourney Sammaan Foundation also shared his project with academicians at Harvard Business School, Stanford University, Kennedy School of Government and the TiE international chapter.

Having got US ambassador Timothy Roemer to cycle the rickshaw during his visit to Patna in February 2010, Irfan’s now aims at getting President Obama to do the same. With Lifebuoy backing his dream, Irfan hopes to present to Mr Obama a rickshaw as a gift from the rickshaw operators of his country.

To Irfan Alam coming to this summit and sharing the Sammaan Foundation case studies with the best in the domain of business and entrepreneurship has left him more determined to bring a difference to the lives of the families of Rickshaw Operators’ the resolve gets more strengthened as Sammaan has been getting numerous requests from international students at Harvard Business School to intern with him in Patna for a period of 6 months to 1 year. He is more than happy to welcome them as this will help Sammaan with global best practices in bringing the paradigm shift at the bottom of pyramid.

On his experience in the US, Alam said, "It is indeed a great help to be supported by Lifebuoy, which truly believes in being a socially committed brand. Without the brand’s support, it would not have been easy to participate in a summit like this. Before coming here, we had been exposed only to our country, but now when we met all these people -- the other delegates -- we got to know that we are not alone, that we are not the only ones making a difference to the lives of people. There are other people who are doing such a great job to alleviate the lives of their own people."

Commenting on the IIM alumni’s achievement Sh. Piyush Sinha, Professor IIM Ahmedabad said, “wealthy are Nation’s whose people toil hard, Sammaan’s efforts in this direction are extremely commendable, the single minded pursuit of all those who are working in bringing a positive change will embark on a new journey”.

Strontium rolls out Key, Spin and Hulk series of USB Flash Disk Drives

NEW DELHI, May 24: Strontium has unleashed three new series of USB flash drives, the Key, Spin and Hulk. Great synergy is witnessed as they are all highly fashionable and affordable to cater to the needs of the consumers.

All three USB series are compatible with USB 2.0 Technology with the data transfer rate of up to 480MB/sec. These are available in 2GB to 128GB storage capacities. They are truly plug and play devices which can be plugged into any USB port and it will automatically get detected by the computer as a removable drive. All three models support Windows, Mac & Linux operating system.

Mr. Ajay Kogta, Country Manager, Indian Subcontinent, Strontium Technology, said, “All the three USB drives are a combination of capacity, ease-of-use and easy portability. They are versatile as they support storage not only of data but of applications and personal computer settings, plus security features.”

The Key, Spin and Hulk USB Flash drives are available with 5 years warranty at an affordable price through Strontium channel partners across India.

Strontium is Singapore’s No.1 PC memory maker with revenue exceeding US$200 million in 2009. Strontium is amongst the Top 100 Companies as ranked by International Enterprise Singapore, an agency of Government of Singapore. Its operations and businesses are spread in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, India, US and Latin American markets.

Lifebuoy Launches Hand Sanitizer

NEW DELHI, May 24: Lifebuoy has launched the Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer, a convenient, accessible and easy-to-use way to keep ones hands germ-free, even in absence of access to water! Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer is an effective, ethyl-alcohol based hand sanitizer (95% v/v), which kills 99.99%of germs, including the deadly H1N1 virus WITHOUT WATER. Added moisturisers and Vitamin E, make it tough on germs, yet gentle on hands, keeping the skin healthy and supple.

Lifebuoy sanitizer is an effective way to protect one’s health, given that hands transmit millions of germs everyday and often are the agents that carry deadly viruses and bacteria from external environment to inside our body. Many cases of cold flu and water borne illnesses are spread by unclean hands. Needless to say, keeping good hand hygiene is one of the most effective ways to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. At the same time, finding soap and water every time and everywhere can be quiet a challenge, given the water cuts, distances and travel that take over the urban life.

Sanitizing hands with Lifebuoy Sanitizer can protect one against both direct (for example, shaking hands with a person with cold, flu, eye infection or a stomach infection…) and indirect contact (for example, touching a doorknob handled by an infected person) with the disease causing viruses.

What differentiates Lifebuoy sanitizer from ordinary ones is that (1) it is mild, non-sticky and evaporates quickly, leaving ones palms 99.99% sanitized instantly (2) It has a gentle, mild odour, as against strongly perfumed ones, which can be intolerable, especially if one was sanitizing ones hands before eating.

Priced at Rs 50 Lifebuoy Hand Sanitizer is available in 55ml in leading medical and departmental stores. Lifebuoy’s vision is to make a billion Indians feel safe & secure by meeting all their personal care hygiene & health needs.

Having been the Health & Hygiene soap brand of India for over a 100 years, lifebuoy takes another step forward to attain its vision, with the launch of product formats so relevant to the fast paced lives of urban India- Liquid Handwash and now the Sanitizer. Given that urban India is so tuned to problems and challenges faced by it and the youth are looking at innovative solutions to overcome these, Lifebuoy Sanitizer comes as a perfect solution to seeking health in a drop, while on the move or at the desk, even without water!

Route connectivity is the key to development: Anand Sharma

GUWAHATI, May 22: The Centre has focused on the development of the Trans Asia Highway to ensure more dynamic route connectivity of North East with ASEAN countries, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma said here today.

Sharma told reporters, after addressing a meeting of Industry Ministers of the North East, here that the government was keen to ensure better connectivity with the rest of the ASEAN countries to bring about a dynamic change in the economic development of the region.

“Route connectivity is the key to the development of the region and with this view in mind we are keen to develop the Trans Asia Highway and also look at new and better routes connecting the region with South East Asia,” he said.

It is also with this aim that two ‘border hats’ and 14 Integrated Border Customs posts have been set up in the North East, Sharma added.

The government has also successfully negotiated with Bangladesh to use two of their ports for trade purpose.

The Union Ministry of Industry and Commerce has also given special emphasis to remove infrastructural bottlenecks in the region and during the Eleventh Plan, Rs 31,000 crore has been sanctioned for this sector, the minister said.

The Union Industry and Commerce Minister has also laid special emphasis on the plantation sector with focus on tea, coffee, spices, bamboo and rubber, Sharma said.

A Special Purpose Tea Package of Rs. 150 crore for the year 2010-11 has been already announced and this was likely to be raised in the coming years.

Besides, a rubber park is being set up in Tripura and “We have urged the State governments to encourage setting up of agro-based industries,” the Minister said.

“The plantation sector has been affected due to structural issues and the Centre has adopted a focused approach for the restoration and rejuvenation of this industry,” Sharma said.

The Centre was keen to ensure industrialisation and economic expansion in the North East with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh taking the initiative in this regard, he said.

With a view to accelerate economic development for creation of economic and employment opportunities, the Centre would release during the year 2010-11, a transport subsidy of Rs. 200 crore, central interest subsidy of Rs. 40 crore and capital investment subsidy of Rs. 31 crore.

“We have adopted a holistic approach towards providing subsidy to the region to ensure that investors come and opportunities are created,” Sharma added.

Ambani brothers bury hatchet; agree for cordial competition

MUMBAI, May 23: Striking a cordial note, the warring Ambani brothers on Sunday agreed to dump their differences and strike out contentious non-compete agreements saying this would eliminate any room for further "disputes".

Announcing that they would also expeditiously negotiate gas supply agreement in accordance with the Supreme Court order earlier this month, the groups of both Muekesh and Anil vowed to fulfill vision of their father Dhirubhai Ambani, after whose death they separated after an acrimonious fight.

There were speculations that the agreement, approved by the board of Mukesh-led RIL and Anil Ambani Group, came after the two brothers had discussions between them but spokespersons of either did not confirm the same.

The announcement came within days of Anil Ambani meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as also top Cabinet ministers. His visit was followed closely by Mukesh who also met top ministers as also government functionaries.

Before the agreements were ratified, the boards of the respective group companies, top officials of the Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and Anil Ambani Group had long sessions.

"All existing non-compete agreement between the two groups executed in January 2006 cancelled," Anil Ambani group said in a statement.

"A new, simpler non-compete agreement executed limited to only gas-based power generation. RIL (Mukesh) and RNRL (Anil) will expeditiously negotiate gas supply arrangement as per the Supreme Court order and hope to conclude negotiations very soon," it added.

Vaghjibhai Rughnathbhai Patel elected as KRIBHCO’s new Chairman

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, May 21: Vaghjibhai Rughnathbhai Patel, a leading Cooperator and a dynamic farmers leader has been elected as new Chairman of KRIBHCO at a meeting of the reconstituted Board of Directors of the Society held in New Delhi. Vaghjibhai has been on KRIBHCO Board as Director consecutively for three terms since 29.7.1999.

Dr. Chandra Pal Singh, Ex MP-Lok Sabha and a well known Cooperator has been unanimously elected as Vice-Chairman of the Society.

KRIBHCO’s 15 member Board of Directors has also been reconstituted and it is worth mentioning that 8 Directors were elected unopposed which is a sign of cohesiveness among its shareholders and reflects true cooperation which is a hallmark of success of this Multi State Cooperative Society.

A very simple person by nature, Vaghjibhai has endeavoured to irrigate and convert the barren wasteland of Saurashtra region into Greenery, which has injected new life force in the farming community. The farm output marketing has also been a crucial issue for farmers and the vision of Vaghjibhai has played a catalytic role in establishing Marketing Yard at Morbi in Gujarat.

Vaghjibhai comes from a very small village Lakhdhirgadh in Rajkot District of Gujarat and his social work has rewarded his village with “Nirmalgram” status, where he served as Sarpanch for several years. Vaghjibhai has served several Cooperative Organisations at District, State and National Level as Director, Vice Chairman & Chairman.

Presently he is Managing Director of Rajkot District Cooperative Bank, Chairman of Lakhdhirgadh Jal Sinchan Seva Sahakari Mandali Ltd, Director of Gujarat State Cooperative Marketing Federation (GUJCOMASOL) and Vice Chairman of NAFED. Shri Vaghjibhai has been recipient of several awards and honours for his outstanding contribution to Cooperative Sector.

India sees more dollars coming in with a weaker Rupee!

MUMBAI, May 20: The weaker Rupee has become the cause for a surge in inward dollar remittance sent by NRIs from the US. Yesterday the US $ reached an exchange rate of Rs. 46.59 against the rupee and this has enabled a lot of NRIs to send money back home in India.

Remittance inflow from the US has increased by a whopping 37% in the first 20 days of this month when compared to the previous month. This reinstates the fact that the weaker rupee has indeed caught the fancy of NRIs in the US.

“The recent surge of the dollar against the rupee has been extreme. We have seen a spike in our numbers, both on transactions and volume especially in the past few days. Also a noticeable factor that has come forward over the past few days is that the average remittance amount by individuals has been upwards of US$ 10,000, which is substantially more than our monthly average” said Avijit Nanda, President, TimesofMoney.

He also added, “We feel that this trend will only improve over the next few days and we expect more inflows to come into India.”

KRIBHCO Honours Cooperators in its 30th Annual General Meeting

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, May 20: Krishak Bharati Cooperative Limited ( KRIBHCO) , a premier fertiliser producing farmers cooperative society has earned a pre tax profit of Rs. 252.77 crore during the financial year 2009-10.

The annual accounts have been approved by the Society in its 30th Annual General Body Meeting held on thursday presided over by Dr. Chandra Pal Singh, Chairman, KRIBHCO and attended by Directors and more than 508 delegates of member cooperatives from different parts of the country today at the NCUI auditorium, New Delhi. The Society has declared dividend @ 20 per cent for Member Cooperatives and Shareholders, consecutively for the 6th year.

KRIBHCO’s urea production during the year 2009-10 was 17.80 lakh MT which corresponds to capacity utilisation of 102.94% . The total sales of urea by KRIBHCO, including production of its joint venture plants at OMAN and at Shahjahanpur, UP, was to the tune of 38.47 lakh MT, which accounts for 14.53 % of the total urea consumed in the country. The production and sale of seeds during the year was 2.29lakh qtls & 2.22 lakh qtls respectively.

KRIBHCO has also taken a lead by entering into Infrastructure business and established a subsidiary “KRIBHCO Infrastructure Ltd.” This organisation would set up Inland Container Depot(IOD) and Container Freight Stations (CFS) and deal in Logistics.

KRIBHCO is also reviving Jetty at Hazira for faster movement of imported fertilisers. The revamping of Hazira plant had also been undertaken, which would increase the urea production by 4.66LMT by 2011 end.

B.D.Sinha, Managing Director, KRIBHCO, informed the distinguished gathering during the Annual General Meeting that Hazira Plant has maintained its good performance during the year. The Society has positioned itself quite strong strategically throughout the country and is committed to fulfill the aspirations of all stakeholders.

On the occasion, two eminent cooperators were honoured by KRIBHCO for their pioneering works in promoting the cooperative movement as a catalyst for national development. The “Sahakarita Shiromani “ was awarded to Shivaji Rao Patil from Maharashtra and the “Sahakarita Vibhushan” was awarded to Dalsangbhai J Patel (Choudhary), from Gujarat.

Patil is a great freedom fighter, who has held prestigious positions internationally and nationally pertaining to Sugarcane & Beet Growers. He has also been MLA, MP(Rajya Sabha) and Minister in Maharashtra. Patel is a versatile personality who has held various key positions in leading cooperative oganisations.

Fly Boom, India’s first Mobile Phone with 30 x 40 mm speaker and an in-built amplifier

By Deepak Arora

NEW DELHI, May 19: Fly Mobile, of the pioneers of dual SIM phones in Europe and a brand owned by the Meridian Group, headquartered in UK, today announced the launch and availability of their new and exciting mobile phone Fly Booom (MC105). It is India’s first mobile phone with noticeably big 30 x 40 mm speaker and an in-built amplifier for really loud sound blast that builds up to a musical crescendo.

Besides its flamboyantly loud and clear sound, it comes with a host of multimedia features for a truly entertaining experience. Not to forget the fact that it comes at pleasantly surprising price of Rs 3649 only.

It has a 3.5 mm universal audio jack, FM radio with schedule recording, 5 different FM alarms, dedicated volume control keys and comes with an audio player that displays album cover, background and lyrics. Up to 15 FM channels can be saved on it with their specified channel effect. The phone has USB-chargeable 1200 mAH battery for significant music time or 8 hours of talk time, a 2 GB memory card that comes pre-loaded with entertaining Bollywood content, 4 GB expandable memory and Bluetooth capability. What’s more, the modem within the phone can be connected to a PC that’s Bluetooth-enabled for dialing up and surfing the Internet.

According to Mr. Prem Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, “Fly Booom (MC105) is a phone with life. It breathes and the joy it spreads is infectious. We urge you to visit the nearest Fly store and take the loudness challenge – play any music on your existing handset and compare the same with Fly Booom (MC105) to feel the noticeable difference. Its decibel volumes are sure to blow away any doubts that you may have. Generally, devices positioned as ‘music phones’ come at prices that are steep. This is when Fly as an iconoclast stepped in and said why not have phones that share music and let people have fun. That too, at a price that does not burn a hole in their pocket.”

“We are targeting it towards the music aficionados in tier I and tier II cities at an age bracket of 18-35 who really love loud sound and prefer entertainment on the go. It’s like carrying your own music system along and having a boom time wherever and whenever. Owing to our incessant consumer research we read the market pulse well ahead and pressed this into action. Our global design and development facilities came up with Fly Booom (MC105), a phone that has it all but is still very affordable,” elucidates Mr. Kumar.

If in case you are being stalked or in danger, all you have to do is long press the right shift key and an SMS is sent to a pre-selected number. As and when the SMS receiver calls back, the call gets picked up automatically such that your friend or family member can help you instantly. Besides this, Fly Booom (MC105) has features like Mobile Tracker, password protection, call black listing, SMS filter etc., and it can also send a pre-specified SMS as and when you reject a call. In case you forget to wish your near and dear ones on their birthdays and anniversaries, you can pre-set an SMS message for a particular date, time, mobile number or contact in the phonebook on to your Fly Booom (MC105) and your wish gets automatically sent at the appointed day and time.

Some other features that make Fly Booom a hot pick off the shelves include dual SIM (GSM+GSM), one touch access to different features through navigation keys, 1000 contact phonebook, LED torch and GPRS. When it comes to camera capabilities, Fly Booom has a VGA camera , image viewer and different photo effects. It also has a 3GP/AVI video player and can record video in AVI format. The Indian calendar helps you plan your holidays besides tracking festivals and auspicious days.

Fly Mobile, one of the leading mobile phone brands and the pioneer in dual-SIM phones in Europe is a brand owned by Meridian Mobile, headquartered in UK. Meridian Mobile as premier handset manufacturing company has in a short span of time established Fly Mobile’s presence in 25 European and Asian countries including India. It is now one of the fastest growing mobile handset brands in the world. Its phones are highly affordable and yet offer high end design and features to the users. Fly Mobile is now available in select mobile retail stores across 145 cities in India.

India's exports may cross $170 bn in 2009-10

NEW DELHI, May 4: The government on Tuesday said that the value of India's exports for 2009-10 may fall short of the previous year's figures on account of the global economic downturn, but will cross the USD 170 billion mark. The country's exports in 2008-09 had amounted to USD 185 billion.

"Though I sincerely hope that it (exports in 2009-10) turns out to be well in excess of USD 170 billion, we can expect a shortfall," Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told reporters at the sidelines of a FICCI function in New Delhi.

In terms of percentage, the shortfall is likely to be in single digits, he added.

The official trade data for 2009-10 is likely to be released later this week.

Due to the global slowdown, the country's exports kept contracting for 13 months in a row since October 2008. The dip was at its worst at 39 per cent in May 2009. It, however, entered into positive territory in November last year.

"...much of the growth in December (2009), January and February was against a low base of the previous years, when the economy downturn was galloping," Sharma said.

He said the government's stimulus packages, besides policy intervention by his ministry, helped exporters counter the global demand slowdown.

Since December 2008, the Centre had announced a string of measures, such as interest subsidy for exporters, to tackle the financial crisis.

In August 2009, more sops like market-linked incentives were announced in the Foreign Trade Policy. Expanding for the fourth straight month, exports surged by 34.8 per cent to USD 16.09 billion in February, against USD 11.94 billion in the year-ago period.

Euro sinks, stocks fall on Greece bailout worries

PARIS, May 3: The euro sank nearly 1 percent on Monday and stocks fell on fears that a 110 billion euro bailout of Greece will face stiff political challenges, while fresh steps by China to cool its economy added to near-term uncertainty.

The emergency aid for Greece, the most ever for a country, alleviated some fears of a near-term sovereign debt default, but the package still has to obtain parliamentary approvals and left open the question of which fiscally vulnerable country in Europe might be next.

Markets are deeply skeptical that Athens will be able to deliver on its latest promises for additional spending cuts and tax increases to reduce its budget gap to 3 percent of its economy by 2014, from more than 13 percent.

"The longer-term sustainability of this level of austerity has got to be open to question," said Tony Morriss, senior currency strategist with ANZ Bank in Sydney.

"The other issue is would this mean that the market will focus on the longer-term sustainability of countries like Portugal and Spain?" Morriss said.

In addition, investors were uneasy about how government policies would affect the outlook for economic growth and company earnings, particularly in Asia.

Chinese bank shares in Hong Kong dropped after China on Sunday increased the amount that lenders must keep in reserve at the central bank to temper inflationary pressures, its third such move this year.

In Australia, the government said it planned to slap a 40 percent tax on mining profits, sending shares Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) down 3.4 percent and 2.9 percent, respectively.

The MSCI index of world stocks .MIWD00000PUS slipped 0.3 percent in Asian trade, taking its losses to nearly 4 percent since hitting a 19-month high on April 15.

The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 1.3 percent.

Markets in Britain, China, Japan and Thailand were closed on Monday for public holidays.

60 pc of Airtel’s new customers come from Rural India

NEW DELHI, May 29: Bharti Airtel has said that about 60 per cent of our new customers are coming from rural India. “I will not be surprised if up to 75 per cent of our new customers come from rural India in the next 12 to 18 months,” said Sanjay Kapoor, CEO of Bharti Airtel (India and South Asia)

On the company’s revenues, he said “we have posted good results for the fourth quarter. There was a dip in revenues in the second and third quarters. However, in Q4, the company registered a growth in revenue of about 2 per cent. Usage of minutes has also bounced back. This is a signal that consolidation in customers’ minds has begun to happen.”

On the decline of the average revenue per user (ARPU), Mr Kapoor said “we do not believe in ARPU. In India, as we penetrate into deeper terrain, ARPUs are bound to decline. With up to 14 players in the field, ARPU is not the right indicator. We are getting about 450-515 minutes per customer per month and we are close to 138 million customers. We are ahead of the market.”

ORRA offers stunning Belgian Diamonds at a song!

MUMBAI, April 16: Akshaya Trithiya is round the corner, and there is trend to shop for diamond jewellery instead of gold, there has been a volatility and increase in the prices of gold. So perhaps, now is the time to buy the jewellery one has always been eyeing.

ORRA – The Diamond Destination is targeting consumers by providing them a huge opportunity to buy exquisitely designed jewellery, and stunning Belgian diamonds at a song. The company is also offering the facility of advance booking opportunity any time during the sale period from April 15 – May 16, 2010.

Mr. Vijay Jain, CEO, ORRA said, “Leveraging our design leadership and product innovation, we are offering our customer a wide range of jewellery beginning at an affordable Rs.5000 onwards.”

On sale is our entire collection of stunning earrings, pendants, rings, bangles, nose pins and necklaces. Pick and choose from classic to ultra modern and chic styles in gold or the rare and beautiful platinum. Whether it’s a wedding, anniversary, engagement or a birthday we have the jewellery for you.

ORRA is amongst the only jeweler that offers up to 25% discount on the entire value of jewellery, and a flat 50% off on making charges of gold coins and bars.

The ORRA Crown Star Belgium was recently unveiled by HRH Prince Philippe of Belgium. Vis-à-vis the traditional 57 facets, the 100 facet diamond has an unmatched brilliance. Cut in perfect symmetry the ORRA Crown Star is an innovation in the world of Diamonds Festival.

ORRA also had the privilege of hosting the Prince and Princess of Belgium. In honour of their visit ORRA hosted a scintillating fashion show where The Euro 1 Million Diamond Bustier was unveiled.

ORRA – The Diamond Destination is India’s finest and only exclusive diamond jewellery retail chain. Having been at the forefront of design leadership and product innovation, ORRA sells the most exquisitely crafted Belgian diamond jewellery.

India to become the world's workshop: Anand Sharma

NEW DELHI, April 1: Speaking at an interactive session on FDI policy organized by CII, Minister for Commerce and Industry, Mr Anand Sharma outlined his vision for India to emerge as the world’s workshop. The Minister stressed that global investors have shown their confidence in India and the country has emerged as one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world. So much so that FDI flows into India remained robust even during the economic downturn.

Highlighting the importance of transparency and facilitation, Mr. Sharma expressed confidence that the new comprehensive document on FDI policy released by the Ministry that consolidates all FDI related policy information will go a long way in creating investor confidence.

The Minister was emphatic that the next decade is a crucial one for India’s future as this nation of over a half a billion young people seeks to leverage its demographic dividend.

To emerge as the world’s leading manufacturing centre focus will have to attracting new technologies of the future such as green manufacturing and developing the skills of Indian workers.

Mr. Sharma was hopeful that the new Manufacturing Policy being developed in consultation with stakeholders would be a driving force in making India the manufacturing hub of the world.

Earlier, Mr. R.P. Singh, Secretary, DIPP, mentioned that the Ministry was already working on several discussion papers to address various concerns of the industry with reference to industrial and FDI policy. These discussion papers would be made available to industry stakeholders for consultations and this process would lead a more robust reform process.

Speaking at the same forum CII Past President, Mr. Shekhar Datta referred to the importance of transparency of policy for prospective investors and the need for government and Indian industry to work together to make sure that the initiative by the Ministry to simplify FDI regulation by the means of the comprehensive FDI policy document was made known to prospective investors globally.

Mr. Vikram Mehta, Chairman Shell India said that time has come for India to look to the future as the country’s past performance was only of academic interest.

India is now firmly entrenched in the minds of business leaders worldwide because of the recognition of India’s future potential he said, adding that the initiative by the ministry to develop this comprehensive document is a major step in increasing India’s positive perception among the global business community.

Anand Sharma unveils single policy platform for FDI

NEW DELHI, March 31: Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma on Wednesday released the final document of FDI Policy Framework that would now comprise the single document on FDI policy and mark the inception of a whole new chapter on FDI policy.

Addressing a press conference, Mr. Sharma said the current exercise had been initiated with the aim of integration of all prior regulations on FDI, contained in Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA), RBI circulars, and various Press Notes into one consolidated document, so as to reflect the current regulatory framework. Having a single policy platform would also ease the regulatory burden for Government.

“The intention of this exercise is not to make changes in the extant guidelines, but to deal with them comprehensively,” he added.

The government on Wednesday said it was considering allowing FDI in limited liability partnership (LLP) firms and also to clearly define whether shares and bonds issued to overseas investors could be treated as foreign direct investment.

The government may also do away with Schedule IV of the FEMA that deals with sale and purchase of shares and debentures by NRIs and overseas corporate bodies on non-repatriable basis, Mr. Sharma said.

“There are many issues related with FDI policies that are currently under discussion in the government,” he said after releasing a compendium.

LLP, the fast emerging form of business structure, is a hybrid of companies and partnership firms, which allows unlimited number of partners in an entity but their liability is restricted to the extent of the stake held by them.

India gives Rs 650-crore sops to lagging export sectors

NEW DELHI, March 31: In a major boost to the ailing export sector, the Centre on Wednesday announced Rs.625-crore incentives to some industries like electronics, garments, jute and carpet, even as exports registered 34.8 per cent growth at $16.09 billion in February.

“We are extending help to some sectors that are still in the red, which include electronics, jute, carpet and garments. Over Rs.400-crore worth of incentives will go for exports of about 300 garment items to the U.S. and Europe, while the balance will be given for exports of 200 engineering, electronics and agro chemical items to 15 countries, including China and Japan,” Union Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma told newsmen here.

Exports to these nations would be covered under the Market Linked Focus Product (MLFP) under which exporters can claim 2 per cent of their merchandise value for one year. The incentives would be given for six months from April 1, he added.

Meanwhile, revival in some segments like tea, coffee, plastics, chemicals and man-made yarns and fabrics, saw exports picking up fast. In February exports registered 34.8 per cent growth for the fourth straight month, but due to dismal performance up to November 2009, cumulative exports during the April-February period declined by 11 per cent to $153 billion.

Hailing the government's decision to give incentives to the lagging export sector, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A. Sakthivel said: “The new incentives will impart competitiveness to sectors that are still in red. These measures will push diversification both at product and market levels.”

Similarly, Engineering Export promotion Council (EEPC) Chairman Aman Chadha said the incentives would help the sector, which was lagging behind due to slump in demand. Mr. Sharma said exports in the current fiscal were likely to be in the range of $170 billion against $185 billion in 2008-09.

“I expect we would reach $168-169 billion,” he said.

Exports of electronic items, jute and carpet dipped by 28.6 per cent, 22.4 per cent and 96 per cent, respectively, in February. However, Mr. Sharma expressed hope that the exports would expand between 15 and 20 per cent in the financial year beginning on Thursday. In the Foreign Trade Policy announced in August last, the government had set an export target of $200 billion in 2010-11. Meanwhile, imports rose by 66.1 per cent to $25.06 billion in February from $15.08 billion in the corresponding month last fiscal.

ORRA Crown Star Belgium launches 100 facet diamond in India

By Deepak Arora

MUMBAI, March 26: ORRA - the Diamond Destination part of Rosyblue, the world’s renowned jewellery manufacturing company, today unveiled the ORRA Crown Star Belgium at the hands of his Royal Highness, Prince Philippe of Belgium, Baron Dilip Mehta-CEO of Rosyblue and Mr.Vijay Jain, CEO of ORRA. A solitaire inspired by the 700 year old diamond legacy of Belgium, this is the first time it has been launched in India.

After years of research and using the most skilled diamond cutters of the world, ORRA has launched the Crown Star in India which is the fastest growing diamond market in the world.

Mr. Vijay Jain, CEO, ORRA Diamonds, said, “Who better to launch a 100 facet diamond in India than Orra, renowned for its Belgian diamonds. The Orra Crown Star is yet another endeavour by us to deliver value to our customers. We take pride in the craftsmanship, artistry and creative collaboration between India and Belgium in making such a product possible.”

The ORRA Crown Star is a 100 facet solitaire inspired by the 700 year old Belgian legacy of diamond crafting. Conceptualized and crafted in Belgium, these solitaires are sourced from our parent company, RosyBlue in Antwerp. While a traditional diamond has 57 facets, the ORRA Crown Star has almost double the number making it an innovation in the world of diamonds. These facets are aligned in perfect symmetry and proportion to provide maximum brilliance and scintillation. These solitaires are being certified by HRD, Belgium.

While any brilliant diamond is defined by its natural elements of clarity and colour, the human element of cut gives this diamond an edge above the others.

This event also marked the momentous occasion of the lighting of the lamp, to mark the opening of Rosyblues new corporate office in Mumbai by his Royal Highness, members of the board of Rosyblue and the head of ICICI.

ORRA – the Diamond Destination is India’s largest and only exclusive diamond jewellery retail chain. It is a part of the world’s largest diamond manufacturing company with a presence across 15 countries headquartered in Antwerp, Belgium.

Set in an international format, ORRA has spread its glow across the length and breadth of India with 30 exclusive high street boutiques in 20 cities. ORRA has been at the forefront of design leadership and product innovation. It is renowned for its exquisitely crafted Belgian Solitaires.

ORRA has been a recipient of various awards - Retail Transformation Award 2009, Best Jewellery Retail Chain of the Year 2008 and The Most Innovative Jeweller of the Year 2007. ORRA has a vast collection of exquisitely crafted earrings, pendants, bangles, rings, necklaces in gold and the rare and beautiful platinum. Define a diamonds shapes, size and colour and ORRA will make your dream come true.

Diamond Trading Company Sightholders, Rio Tinto Diamonds Select Diamantaire and client of BHP Billiton Diamonds - is a leading global diamond group, with over $1.8 bn in sales in 2008. Established in 1960, Rosy Blue has a presence in 14 countries across the globe.

The group's global activities include trading of rough diamonds, manufacturing and distribution of polished diamonds and jewelry, and providing strategic alliances for its branding partners.

Michael Nobel graces WB & 3rd Rock International initiative on 2010 Green Seminar

MUMBAI, March 29: While a one billion participants from some 6000 cities are expected to stand up, to take responsibility, to get involved in the Earth Hour 2010 and lead the way towards a sustainable future, WB & 3rd Rock International organized a first of its kind International seminar on Infrastructure and Security in India featuring 9 nations at one location and a single reason – “To make this a better world.” The pride of the evening was Mr. Michael Nobel from Nobel Prize Foundation, Sweden as the Chief Guest.

Mr.Chetan Bhende, Managing Director and CEO, WB International and Partners, said, “We are truly making the term think Global Act Local a truism today. Our objective is for India as a key player to benefit from the global intelligentsia and leverage the knowledge in making the globe greener.”

The function was inaugurated by Michael Nobel – Nobel Prize Foundation, Sweden and Sachin Bhau Ahir.

The welcome note was delivered by Chief Guest Michael Nobel. This was followed by Presentation and demonstrations by eminent speakers from 9 countries - Canadra, Israel, UK, USA, France, Korea, Germany and Switzerland, discussing various topics related to the 2010 Green Seminar.

Stephen Liang, CEO – Thor Group, Canada touched upon the Green Infrastructure and Projects, while Tal Rosenbereger, Designation – TOP Secure, Israel covered the topic of Security Training & Risk Management.

Duncan Preen, Designation – Euro LoxiXX, UK spoke on Infrastructure security, and Kyriakos Antzouliz, Designation – Wade Adams, USA shared his thoughts on Building Future Infrastructure.

Philippe Herivan, Designation – Global Networks, France presented on Recycle and Waste Management and Young Chul Pak, Designation – XDS Securities, Korea spoke about Extreme Securities.

Other dignitaries and guests present on the occasion included Kiran Shantaram and Vasant Bhandari.

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