Spring Air Launches India’s First Premium Orthopaedic Bed Range – Europedic

Spring Air, USA’s leading manufacturer, marketer and distributor of premium mattresses and pillows worldwide, today unveiled its new Premium Orthopaedic Mattress “Europedic Mattress” in India. In view of the rising luxury demand and the average Indian being open to modern and health conscious life style, Spring Air India recently launched their second factory in India and their first factory in South India near Bangalore, to provide support and comfort to consumers searching for an answer to their sleepless nights.


“The Europedic Mattress Collection was developed through extensive research and a deep understanding of what many consumers want most in a mattress - luxury and support without the problems they experience with traditional Indian coir or cotton mattress," said Ashok Sharma, Chief Executive Officer of Spring Air India and Middle East. "We have already seen strong retail sales of over 1 million units of Spring Air including the Europedic range internationally in over 40 countries, and are confident Indian consumers will be just as excited about the newest additions to the Spring Air Collection. The Europedic range has been a breakthrough in sleep technology with its pressure-relieving comfort and conformability features."

There are several variants in the mattress range like “Perfect Comfort”, “Ultimate Comfort” and “Majestic Comfort”. These mattresses use high density open cell structured foam along with 2” 5lb visco-elastic memory foam with listed ILD rating of 14 on the top in their assembly to provide the sleeper with the ultimate comfort throughout the life of the mattress, a quality sleep surface like none other, and for that perfect night’s sleep. Europedic also offers essential accessories like memory foam Comfort pads in all sizes, memory foam Contour pillow, Classic comfort pillows, Neck and All purpose pillows.


Europedic mattress has several unique features and is made from high density visco-elastic memory foam which softens in reaction to body heat, allowing it to mould quickly to the shape of the body because of its unique characteristics of being pressure and temperature sensitive helping to relieve pressure points, preventing pressure sores and allows a healthy and comfortable sleep. Memory foam eliminates uncomfortable pressure points and adjusts itself based on your body temperature and weight. It is known that we sleep on our mattress and pillows for about one-third of our lives or over 100,000 hours. Due to Europedic’s unique properties, tossing and turning are dramatically diminished and disrupted sleep patterns greatly eliminated coupled with memory foam contour pillow (which further aligns the spine and supports the head). Sleeping on Europedic mattress will ensure a luxuriant and restful sleep experience.


Available at:

The Europedic Mattress Collection is currently available with all leading retailers across India. Available this Diwali, the Europedic Mattress Collection, the most comfortable mattress in the collection, will retail from INR 25,999 for single size mattress of 75”x36”x6” and will come with a 10-year limited warranty. For more information on the Europedic Mattress products, visit http://www.springair.in/.


About Spring Air

Spring Air Bedding Co. is the first USA bedding company with a focus in premium and specialty sleep to establish operations in India with facilities in North and South India and a presence in over 250 retailers across India. The Company, founded in 1926 in USA, is one of the oldest and most prestigious companies in the bedding industry. The Company's products are currently sold in over 40 countries under the Spring Air brand name and are now available across India. For more information on Spring Air India, visit www.springair.in

Ford India Introduces Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition this Festive Season

Gearing up to the festive mood, Ford India introduced its new 4x4 Hurricane – the latest Limited Edition variant of its popular all-terrain sports utility vehicle (SUV) Endeavour. The new Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition offers buyers greater value for money, enhanced tough and attractive look, greater safety and convenience on the vehicle.


The Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition will be available at an attractive price of INR 20,13,244 (Ex-showroom Delhi) and will be equipped with a new muscular Front Nudge bar that adds to the muscular and tough look, specially designed Chrome exhaust trims, 5th-Door convex mirror and the contemporary Hurricane body decals.

“The introduction of the Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition offers value for money coupled with distinct class and safety features for our customers during this festive season. This special variant offers aggressiveness, adventure and agility with features that improves safety, adds style and class’’, said Michael Boneham, president and managing director of Ford India said.”

Masculine looks, improved safety

Distinctly characterized by its more masculine styling, the new Endeavour Hurricane Limited Edition’s exterior is enhanced with new muscular Front Nudge bar that enhances the tough look and provides greater safety. The bright, rectangular headlamps and a chrome grill add a lot of character to the vehicle. The 5th-Door convex mirror improves drivability and safety.

Also adding a dash of class leading style and aspirational value to this popular and successful SUV are the specially designed Chrome exhaust trims, the contemporary Hurricane body decals. These new additions on the exterior align to the tough, rugged and sporty DNA of an Endeavour.

Inside, the Hurricane Limited Edition is spacious – with three rows of seats and ample legroom. The Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition has enough space for 7 people and their entire luggage.


High-end entertainment


For those looking for entertainment on the go, Ford Endeavour 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition’s high-end touch screen based entertainment system will add to the fun of zipping away the SUV on highways and open roads. The state-of-the-art in-car entertainment has a built-in DVD player which supports all popular file formats and a rear camera.


This unit also has a USB Input and Aux-in port that allows the users to connect popular MP3 players, such as the Apple iPod, with the audio system.

On rough terrains, Ford Endeavour is with tremendous off-roading capabilities. With a fuel efficient engine and good brakes promising safety the beautiful vehicle gives an excellent feel of power, great pickup and a commanding road presence.

Unmatched power and efficiency

The Ford Endeavour offers unmatched torque, performance and fuel efficiency with class-leading driving qualities and comfort, making it one of the most preferred SUV in India. Endeavour offers a highly responsive and refined 16-valve TDCi powertrain which feature outstanding torque output.

The 3.0-liter Duratorq TDCi common-rail powertrain offered with on the 4x4 variant peaks at 380 Nm of torque at 2500 rpm, and is rated at 115 kW (156PS) of power output delivering one of the most thrilling performances among Indian SUVs.

Ford India has targeted the 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition of the Endeavour at a customer who is hard working, and parties harder, is progressive, seeks recognition, power and control and is a risk taker. "We are encouraging the outgoing, adventurous customer to take the new Hurricane where no one has gone before and come back impressed with its off-roading, safety features and overall performance. This is an extremely capable machine winning acclaim for its wonderful dependability," Boneham added.

The launch of the 4x4 Hurricane Limited Edition will be accompanied by a 360-degree marketing campaign. The marketing activities will be a combination of traditional print media as well as the nontraditional digital media. It will also be backed up with events and promotional materials like danglers, fliers and standees at all Ford dealerships.

Ford Endeavour's stylish looks, luxurious feel, an advanced safety feature with powerful, high-performance engine makes it one of the most superior and sturdy handling, dependable and safe luxurious and safest power machine in its segment. Ford Endeavour has been ranked highest three times in a row for the vehicle dependability in the SUV segment by JD Power Asia Pacific since 2008.

# # #

About Ford in India

Established in 1995, Ford India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader. Ford India manufactures and distributes automobiles and engines made at its modern integrated manufacturing facilities at Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai. The company’s models include the Figo, Fiesta Classic, Endeavour and the recently launched All-New global Fiesta.


Ford’s operations in the country also include Global Business Services, comprised of Ford Business Services Center and Ford Technology Services India. Located in Chennai and Coimbatore, these units support Ford globally in the areas of IT, accounting and finance, financial services and automotive operations support, global analytics and engineering services. Ford’s businesses in India employ 10,000 hard-working, dedicated men and women.

For more information, visit http://www.india.ford.com/

Nivea 100 Years Celebration - My Skin Lounge

As NIVEA India continues its 100th year celebrations, the pace of consumer engagement goes one notch above. With a company built on Skin, NIVEA believes skin is vital and is the mirror to our soul. And the NIVEA My Skin Lounge Activation across Major Metros showcases the journey and it’s expertise on skincare.


NIVEA has signed up international star Rihanna as the voice of its 100 year celebration. The song ‘California King Bed’ accompanies the NIVEA anniversary campaign internationally. With the NIVEA MY Skin Moment Contest which forms a part of the NIVEA My Skin Lounge Activation, consumers will get an opportunity to meet Rihanna perform live at Hamburg, Germany. Social networks such as Facebook and Twitter also communicate the My Skin Moment Contest to mobilize superstar Rihanna’s vast fan community.



NIVEA believes that every skin has its own story, the first time you held a loved one’s hand or the first time you felt your baby’s cheeks. Share your cherished skin moment and particiapte in the NIVEA My Skin Moments Contest and you could win:



· Tickets to see RIHANNA live in concert in Germany*



· Opportunity to feature in a special NIVEA My Skin Moments series in COSMOPOLITAN magazine – India



*Terms & Conditions apply



Bangalore will witnesses 100 year journey celebration at the NIVEA My Skin Lounge in Garuda Mall starting 14th October and 16th October. Kannada Actress Priyanka Upendra will also be present at the Nivea Skin Lounge. Other interesting aspects to the NIVEA My Skin Lounge is the unique psychological survey done internationally among 8,000 people from across the globe to understand the psychological interrelationships between biography, character and skin condition.



You too can discover the Language of Skin today, come indulge in a:



· Free NIVEA Skin Analysis



· Free NIVEA Skin Personality Test



· Free NIVEA Skin Lounge Services

For millions around the world, the trusted NIVEA brand has been a staple part of their household and their fondest memories. Since 1911, Skin continues to inspire NIVEA; fuelling skincare feats like pioneering the first ever stable cream, body lotion, deodorant with caring properties, Sun Protection Factor standard (SPF)& HYDRA IQ an intelligent 24H+ moisturizer –amongst others. NIVEA 100 YEARS OF SKINCARE – FOR LIFE.

Urban financial Inclusion in Karnataka by Punjab National Bank

Shri K.R. Kamath, Chairman & Managing Director of Punjab National Bank, during his visit to Karnataka on 17th October, 2011, highlighted the performance of the Bank and informed that the bank with more than 117 years of sound and prudent banking has emerged as a trend setter in the banking industry. The Bank continues to hold its leadership position in business, network and technology adoption. In terms of key financial & operational business parameters, the Bank steadily witnessed outstanding performance for Q1 FY’12.


Performance Highlights for the Q1FY’12

• Total Business of the Bank reached Rs.5,67,005 crore in June 2011 as against Rs. 4,52,205 crore in June 2010, showing a y-o-y growth of 25.4%.

• Deposits of the Bank rose to Rs.3,24,097 crore as on 30.06.2011 from Rs 2,55,335 crore as on 30.06.2010, exhibiting a y-o-y growth of 26.9%.

• CASA deposits increased to Rs.1,21,260 crore in June’11 from Rs. 1,04,385 crore in June’10, recording a growth of 16.2%.

o CASA share stood at 38.1% at Quarter ended June’11.

o Saving deposits increased by 15.9% to Rs. 94,875 crore while Current deposits rose by 17.1% to Rs. 26,384 crore.

• Advances of the Bank at Rs.2,42,908 crore at the end of June’11 grew by 23.4% as against Rs.1, 96,870 crore at the end of June’10.

• Credit Deposit Ratio stood at 74.95% as at June’11.

• Net Profit of the Bank for the quarter ended June 2011 amounted to Rs.1105 crore as against Rs.1068 crore last year; a growth of 3.4%.

o Core Net Profit (excluding treasury operations) in Q1 FY’12 amounted to Rs. 1191 crore grew by 23.9%.

• Operating Profit for Q1 FY’12 increased to Rs. 2474 crore from Rs.2098 crore in Q1 FY’11, registering a YoY growth of 17.9%.

o Core Operating Profit (excluding treasury profit) in Q1 FY’12 grew by 22.7% to reach Rs.2426 crore.



• PS Advances grew by 18.17% to Rs.76,164 crore.

• Credit to agriculture grew by 12.94% to Rs.34,153 crore.

• Bank’s credit to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises rose to Rs.46,714 crore as at end of June’11 from Rs.37,018 crore last year, recording a growth of 26.19%.

• Retail credit of the Bank marked a y-o-y increase of 24.3% to cross Rs.24,154 crore at the end of June’11. Good y-o-y growth was recorded in Reverse Mortgage scheme (38.59%), Pensioners loan portfolio (33.41%), Car/Vehicle loan (34.42%) and Education loan (23.34%).

• Bank has installed 5375 ATMs and has 141 lakh card holders. Bank has around 14 lac internet banking users and 32 lac customers are availing SMS facility.

• Under the aegis of PNB Prerna, computers, Books, Clothes and other utility stuff were given as assistance to NGO and other havenots.

• Bank has accepted the offer of MetLife India Ltd to acquire a 30% stake in the Life Insurance Co. subject to regulatory approval.

• Bank has successfully kicked off a saving fund campaign from 1st August, 2011 to 30th September, 2011 where pan India participation of all the members of PNB parivar was seen. The cash backed incentives were announced for the employees who actively participated in the campaign. Bank has opened 20.60 lac SF accounts with an amount of Rs 2499 crore as on 30th September, 2011. Out of this 8.26 lac accounts with Rs 2439 crore are the qualified accounts.

• Bank has also been awarded Best Bank Award by Business India for the Year 2011 after the rigorous selection procedure by the eminent panelist chaired by Mr MD Mallya, CMD, BOB while the award was received from the hands of Dr C Rangarajan, Chairman, Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council at Mumbai. Business India, the coveted corporate world magazine has dedicated October issue featuring the PNB as the winner of the “Best Bank of the Year 2011” award and addressed Mr K R Kamath as a “Change Agent”. Prior to this the Bank has also bagged the “Overall Most Productive Bank” Award 2011 in public sector Bank category, instituted by FICCI and IBA.



Financial Inclusion

• Bank has opened 75.22 lakh “No Frill”/PNB Mitra accounts out of which 41.57 lac are ICT based accounts.

• Under FI plan, Bank has covered 2186 villages through ICT Based BC model.

• In 58 Financial Literacy and Credit Counseling Centers (FLCCs), around 1.50 lakh people made enquires and 1.03 lakh attended seminar.

• 30 PNBRSETI’s and 9 Farmers’ Training Centres imparted free of cost training to 30,373 and 3.41 lakh persons respectively.

PNB’s Forays in Karnataka

PNB’s Network

• Karnataka state has 29 Districts and PNB has spread all over Karnataka having a Circle office at Bangalore with 62 Branches.

• Out of 62 branches in Karnataka State, 9 branches are in rural, 5 branches are in semi-urban and 20 branches are in urban areas. To expand this foot print, it is proposed to open 14 number of branches in the next 1-2 years.

• To provide “Any Where Any Time” Banking service, the bank has 67 ATMs in Karnataka state, besides providing free Internet Banking.



PNB’s Business

• Total Business of the PNB in the State crossed Rs 14,000 crore registering a y-o-y growth of around 21% as at 7th October 2011.

o Deposits of PNB crossed Rs.5900 crore, registering a y-o-y growth of around 54.60%.

o Saving Fund Campaign: Karnataka has opened 29157 SF a/cs with an amount of Rs.21 crore as on 30th September, 2011. Out of this 10794 a/cs with Rs.20 crore are the qualified accounts.

o Advances of PNB reached around Rs. 8100 crore, registering a y-o-y growth of more than 7 %.

 The retail portfolio of the Circle has focused on “Education loans which rose by 26% during the period under review.

• To further boost customer base and retail deposits, the bank has started a special Saving Deposit accounts campaign from 01.08.2011 to 30.09.2011.

• Bank has launched a Special Car loan campaign under Monsoon Dhamaka from 01.08.2011 till 31st Dec 2011 to give a fillip to Car loan business.

• Bank has also launched a Special campaign for Credit Card & Mutual Fund Business to leverage its presence in metro areas.



Financial Inclusion:

• Karnataka state, our Bank has more than 20000 Saving Fund credit linkage under Financial Inclusion as at 30.09.11.

• Plan 20 Villages have been allotted to our Bank in Karnataka

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EVENT

In order to encash the brand image of PNB and to create good visibility of PNB in Karnataka, we propose to introduce Urban Financial Inclusion, which will facilitate us to have a Technology Service Provider and a Business Correspondent, facilitating us to mobilize atleast 5,000 additional accounts among the Urban population. This will create visibility and provide an opportunity for us to explore core business from other segment of the Urban Society.



We are now launching Urban Financial Inclusion at Mangalore, a port city, which has a large number of migrant labourers from the northern belt of the country. Although Mangalore has a large number of bank branches with Corporate Offices of a few banks, most of them are brick and mortar branches, which dissuades financially excluded persons to open an account with them.



In the above backdrop, we are launching urban financial inclusion in the State of Karnataka at Mangalore on 17th October, 2011 with the following plan of action for implementation:



• Mysore live operation will be commenced by end of October, 2011.

• Mangalore operations will be commenced within one month thereafter.

• Other Urban centres of Karnataka like Hassan, Belgaum and Bijapur will be considered for implementation by the end of this quarter, i.e. December, 2011.

Jaquar Reveals its World Class Bathing Range

Jaquar revealed its Complete Bathing range and hosted a swish evening comprising of art and entertainment to introduce their concept of “J” class, leaving Bangalore spellbound. The evening saw grace and glamour come together in a classy, stylish celebration during the revelation of the brand’s new identity.

Held at the swanky hotel - The Lalit Ashok, the evening commenced with an International Ariel Act by Isha Sharvani, followed by a fashion show with the sensuous and classy Neha Dhupia as the show stopper.

Everything that the aesthetic evening showcased was a mere reflection of how customers can now experience bath-ware like never before with the all new brand positioning & offerings by Jaquar. Jaquar now boasts of a variety of products, ranging from aesthetically designed high performing faucets, sanitary ware, wellness products, shower enclosures, water heaters and flushing systems.

Jaquar products are unique and provide world class bathroom ensembles solutions to their customers. Today, Jaquar has established itself as a complete bathroom ensemble solutions provider, with a vast portfolio to its credit. Jaquar is the only brand that provides all functional products for a complete bathroom under one roof.

Mr. Rajesh Mehra, Director & Promoter, Jaquar said at the event, “To keep Jaquar timeless and in line with our vision, the repositioned Jaquar stands for the new age customer who aspires for complete and coordinated bathing requirement. Thus, we are moving away from Jaquar as a faucet brand to Jaquar as a complete bathing brand. Since the inception of the company, it has been our passion to deliver world class bathing solutions, suiting every requirement of our customers, through constant development and continuous innovation.”

About Jaquar

Jaquar group was built on the platform of highest quality standards, aesthetics and with the intent of providing world class products. Conceived way back in 1960 by Mr. N.L. Mehra, Jaquar group is an undisputed market leader in the bath fittings category that has transformed the industry from merely utilitarian to inspirational. With the Group’s vision to evolve into a ‘Complete Bathing Solutions’ enterprise, Jaquar has also successfully diversified into various bath verticals like sanitaryware, shower enclosure, water heaters, concealed cisterns, wellness range of products like whirlpool, shower panels, showers, steam cabin and spa.

Jaquar group has recently forayed in concept lighting solutions for all residential, commercial and outdoor applications. As a one window solution, Jaquar concept lighting offers wide range of high quality products, design consultancy, installation and post care.

Over the year’s innovation, commitment and performance has been the group’s core philosophy. A globally renowned super brand, Jaquar has created worldwide presence through continuous R&D in design and today Jaquar group has:

· World class brands, products and ranges for residential and commercial purpose

· Over 60% market share in bath fittings industry

· Presence over 5 continents making it a true global player

· 3 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities spread over 1 lac sq. mts.

· Trained technicians producing 45,000 faucets a day

· 1 million happy new customers every year

· Large company operated orientation centers showcasing world class display

· Unmatched customer service and product warranty

Crossing 1000 crore mark in FY-10-11, Jaquar is truly a global bath solutions company creating benchmarks in the industry and the most preferred one stop solutions brand across the globe.

HP reaches out to customers with the new HP World Store in Bangalore

Hewlett-Packard India, inaugurated its exclusive HP World store in the tech city – Bangalore. This state-of-the-art store will showcase the entire portfolio of HP consumer products including laptops, desktops, All-in-Ones, printers and accessories, with special product demonstrations.


This HP World is located on 100 Feet Road, a prime retail destination in Bangalore. The HP World is an exclusive branded store which sells HP consumer Personal Systems Group’s and Imaging and Printing Group’s products. The store delivers a top-class experience to the PC buyers offering product displays with specialist demonstrations and exciting seasonal offers.



The store will display HP’s strong product portfolio including the entire range of desktop PCs including Touchsmart, HP Omni, Compaq 1000 Domino, Compaq 3600 Series and HP Pavilion series. It is being launched in association with Keerthi Infosystems, a valued HP World Partner since 2009.



Speaking at the launch, Mr. Rajiv Srivastava, Vice President and General Manager, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd, said, “We are delighted to announce the opening of this exclusive HP showroom in Bangalore. We are the market leader in Karnataka and this store reiterates our commitment to offer the best products and services to our customers and we aim to launch more such state-of-the-art stores in the coming year.”



With this store, HP will have 19 exclusive HP retail stores in the city, which the company aims to expand to 50 by 2012.



Speaking on the inauguration, Mr. K. S Reddy, owner of Keerthi Infosystems said, “It is indeed a proud moment for us to launch the HP World store in Bangalore. With this store we hope to offer the HP brand experience to customers. HP is the first choice of customers looking for a great product. The location of the store will also play a key part in bringing the best HP technology to the tech-savvy customers of the city”.



The HP World store is modern and unique in design with special experience zones. The store will display the entire range of products and will have special demo sessions for the latest HP technology like Beats Audio™ and True Vision HD Webcam.



About HP

HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com/.

VIJAYABANK WINS DASARA STATE LEVEL KABADDI TOURNAMENT

Vijaya Bank, a Leading Public Sector Bank, won the Dasara State Level Kabaddi Tournament by beating HAL team in the finals. Vijaya Bank scored 22 points as against HAL’s 6 points. The Dasara State Level Kabaddi Tournament was held from 02.10.2011 to 04.10.2011 at Malleswaram grounds, Bangalore.


Vijaya Bank Chairman and Managing Director Shri H. S. Upendra Kamath complemented the team for winning the Kabaddi tournament. Shri H. S. Upendra Kamath, Chairmana and Managing Director, Smt. Shubhalakshmi Panse, Executive Director and Shri K. Jayakar Shetty, General Manager (Personnel) are seen sitting in the centre with the team. Vijaya Bank Kabaddi Team members: (standing L-R) Selvin T., Dileep P., Praveen Raj, Muniraj, Keerthi H. S. Honnappa Gowda and Prashant Rai. (Sitting L-R) Captain K. Manoj, Sports Officer Shyam Ponnappa and Team Manager Rajeev Shetty.

The TCS Story . . . and Beyond by S. Ramadorai

In 2003, Tata Consultancy Services set itself a mission: ‘Top Ten by 2010’. In 2009, a year ahead of schedule, TCS made good on that promise: in fourteen years, the company had transformed itself from the $400 million operation that S. Ramadorai inherited as CEO in 1996, to one of the world’s largest IT software and services companies with more than 160,000 people working in forty-two countries, and with annual revenues of over $6 billion.


The TCS story is one of modern India’s great success stories. In this fascinating book, S. Ramadorai, one of the country’s most respected business leaders, recounts the steps to that extraordinary success: how TCS played a pioneering role in establishing offshore development centres in India to provide high-end solutions to global corporations; how it spearheaded Indian industry through the IT boom, using the Y2K challenge to its advantage; and how it successfully expanded and scaled its operations worldwide, while simultaneously going public with India’s biggest-ever IPO in 2004. The inside story of one of India’s premier corporate institutions, this is also in part a history of the rapidly developing IT software and services industry in India, told from the perspective of an industry leader.

Behind the phenomenon called TCS lies a quest for excellence and an attention to detail—captured in the company’s motto ‘Experience Certainty’—that can benefit any organization. There is a great deal to be learnt from the TCS example, and Ramadorai outlines a vision for the future where the quality initiatives he undertook can be applied to a larger national framework.

This is a book that every Indian who is committed to building a better and more productive future must read.

Portfolio / Rs.699


'Royalties earned from this book will go to TCS Maitree's skill initiatives for the physically challenged'


About the author


Born in 1944 into a Brahmin family at Nagpur, Subramaniam Ramadorai is a man steeped in simplicity and discipline. Ramadorai retired as CEO& MD of Tata Consultancy Services in 2009, after serving the company for thirty-nine years; he continues to work with TCS in the capacity of Vice-Chairman, and is actively involved as Chairman/Director of various Tata and non-Tata companies and educational institutions. Recently he took on a public service responsibility when the Indian government appointed him as the Advisor to the Prime Minister in the National Skill Development Council with the rank of a Cabinet minister.

Ramadorai was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian honours, in 2006 and the CBE in 2009. Among his many interests, Ramadorai is passionate about photography and Indian classical music.

VIJAYA BANK FURTHER EXPANDS ITS FOOTPRINTS ON 81st FOUNDATION DAY

Vijaya Bank, a leading public sector bank, commemorated its 81st foundation day by opening 40 branches and 80 ATMs throughout the country, taking the total number of branches to 1240 and ATMs to 643. At a glittering function at New Delhi to mark this milestone achievement of completing 80 years of service to the nation, Hon’ble Union Finance Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee inaugurated 40 branches and 80 ATMs of the Bank in the presence of several dignitaries and the Bank’s valued customers. On this special occasion, the Bank also opened 4 specialised Urban Micro Finance Branches, adopted 8 villages for providing basic amenities for the benefit of the villagers, eight Rural Health Care Centres, 8 rural bus shelters, adoption of eight girl children and Computer Training Centres for the rural underprivileged. The function was graced, among others, by Shri Namo Narain Meena, Hon’ble Union Minster of State for Finance, Shri. Rakesh Singh, Additional Secretary (Financial Services), Shri H S Upendra Kamath, C&MD and Smt Shubhalakshmi A Panse, Executive Director of the Bank.


Vijaya Bank was founded by progressive and enterprising farmers of the erstwhile Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka on Vijaya Dashami Day (23rd October 1931) at Mangalore. Shri. Attavara Balakrishna Shetty and Shri. Mulki Sunder Ram Shetty, were great visionaries who scripted the success of today’s Vijaya Bank. As part of its ongoing strategy to cater to the financial needs of the customers on a pan-India basis, Vijaya Bank has been in an expansion mode, especially in the un-banked and rural areas to facilitate financial inclusion. Spearheading on its commitment towards an inclusive growth paradigm, Vijaya Bank today commissioned 40 branches and 80 ATMs, out of which 19 branches are in un-banked districts and 04 branches are in rural areas. With the additional delivery channels, the Bank’s branch strength and ATM network, all seamlessly connected through centralized CBS, have risen to 1240 and 643 respectively.


Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Union Finance Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee said, “Vijaya Bank is one of the most progressive, technologically advanced and customer responsive banks that has set new standards in virtually every facet of banking. I am sure; the Bank will achieve many milestone in the times to come. ”


Addressing the gathering, Shri. H S Upendra Kamath, Chairman & Managing Director of the Bank said, “Vijaya Bank’s prime focus is on taking active part in the inclusive growth regime and accordingly, our endeavour continues to be to enhance our outreach to new and upcoming centres. We are planning to further invigorate this expansionary phase, with the aid of the traditional brick & mortar model as also the IT-enabled alternative delivery channels.

ITC Financial Results for the Quarter ended 30th September, 2011 Post-Tax Profits up 21.5%

Highlights




Net Turnover : +17.5%



Pre-tax Profits : +21.1%



Post-tax Profits : +21.5%



• Non-Cigarette profits grow 31% (Rs. 486 crs in Sept ’11 from Rs. 372 crs in Sept ’10).



• Non-Cigarette FMCG segment registers robust revenue growth of 27% and continues to sustain its improving profitability.



• Agri Business profits grow by 15% primarily driven by better realisations and higher volumes in Soya, Coffee and Wheat.



• Paperboards, Paper and Packaging profits improve significantly aided by improved realisation, richer mix and higher volumes.





ITC posted yet another impressive performance with healthy topline growth and high quality earnings during the quarter. Net Turnover at Rs. 5974 crores grew by 17.5% primarily driven by Branded Packaged Foods, Education & Stationery Products, Lifestyle Retailing, Agri and Cigarettes businesses. Pre-tax profits grew by 21.1% to Rs. 2215 crores while post-tax profits at Rs. 1514 crores registered a growth of 21.5%. Earnings Per Share for the quarter stood at Rs. 1.95.



FMCG



Branded Packaged Foods



The Branded Packaged Foods business continued to expand rapidly with sales and profitability improving across categories during the quarter. The business achieved significant growth in revenues aided by new launches and product extensions to target markets. Sales of value-added and premium products grew at a faster pace leading to portfolio premiumisation and an enriched sales mix. Improvement in profitability was further aided by smart commodity sourcing, better market servicing and strategic cost management initiatives.



During the quarter, the ‘Sunfeast’ Biscuits category continued to grow significantly, especially in the value-added and premium end. The ‘Sunfeast’ range was further strengthened with the launch of ‘Dream Cream’ split cream variants of ‘Choco-Vanilla’ and ‘Strawberry-Vanilla’ flavours. Coupled with the extension of its premium ‘Dark Fantasy’ range of cream and ‘Dark Fantasy Choco Fills’ biscuits to more markets and new variant launches, the ‘Sunfeast’ range witnessed enrichment of its portfolio.



In the Staples category, ‘Aashirvaad’ atta consolidated its leadership position with revenues being driven by improved realisations and higher volumes. In the premium end, Aashirvaad ‘Multi-grain’ and ‘Select’ brands continued to grow rapidly aided by increasing consumer franchise.





In the Savoury Snacks segment, the ‘Bingo!’ range of potato chips and finger snacks achieved robust sales growth during the quarter. This growth was driven by further strengthening consumer connect, aided by clutter-breaking advertising, 360 degree brand inputs and impactful consumer offers. During the quarter, the business launched ‘Bingo! Tangles’ in an innovative product format under the finger snacks range. The initial response for ‘Bingo! Tangles’ has been encouraging.



In the Noodles segment, ‘Sunfeast Yippee!’ continued to gain consumer franchise and is being further extended to target markets.



In the Confectionery segment, 'Candyman' sustained its market leadership position in its operating segment. During the quarter, the segment portfolio was further fortified with the launch of ‘Lychee’ variant of ‘Toffichoo’ and ‘mint-O Strong’.



The business continues to invest in manufacturing and distribution infrastructure to support larger scale in view of the growing demand for its products and maximise the benefits of distributed manufacture for servicing proximal markets.



Personal Care Products



The Personal Care Products business’ product offerings under the ‘Essenza Di Wills’, ‘Fiama Di Wills’, ‘Vivel’ and ‘Superia’ brands continued to gain consumer franchise with revenues growing significantly during the quarter. The business continues to launch products that deliver various consumer benefits in the soaps, shampoos and skin care categories.



The business extended the availability of ‘Vivel Active Fair’ fairness cream to target markets. In a relatively short period of time, the brand has garnered a healthy market share in launch markets. ‘Fiama Di Wills’ with its new ‘Aqua Pulse Bath Care’ line of shower gel and bathing bar and ‘Vivel’ with its new product variants - ‘Vivel Luxury Crème’, ‘Vivel Healthy Glow’, ‘Vivel Sandal Glow’ - continued to be well received by the consumer. These new products are being rolled out to target markets.



The business’ foray into the domestic Talc market with the launch of ‘Fiama Di Wills Face and Body Talc’ in select markets has been well received.



The business continues to make investments in product innovation, quality and R&D aimed at delivering specific consumer benefits. It is also continuously enhancing the quality of engagement with consumers through efficient deployment of media, direct contact and promotional activities across conventional and new age consumer connect avenues.



Education & Stationery Products



The Education & Stationery Products business maintained its impressive revenue growth trajectory during the quarter. The business continues to consolidate its market leadership position in the notebooks segment under the brand ‘Classmate’ and is leveraging the ‘Classmate’ and ‘Paperkraft’ brands to enhance its portfolio of scholastic products comprising pens, pencils and geometry boxes.



The paper used in Classmate notebooks leverages the Company’s world-class fibre line at Bhadrachalam which is India’s first ozone treated elemental chlorine free facility. Classmate notebooks continue to feature different aspects of sustainability as core themes, such as ‘Global Warming’, ‘Save the Environment’ and ‘Save the Tiger’, to name a few which have distinctly enhanced Classmate’s brand equity.



Working in tandem with the Company’s Paperboards & Specialty Papers Division (PSPD), the business has positioned ‘Paperkraft’ as the finest green paper for business applications viz. copy-scan-print-fax. Paperkraft’s green credentials are supported, among other factors, by the Company’s membership of the prestigious Global Forest & Trade Network, an international initiative of the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature).





Lifestyle Retailing



The Lifestyle Retailing business posted a strong growth in revenues during the quarter through an enhanced product range, retail expansion and robust performance in the large format and multi-brand outlet channel. The retail footprint of ‘Wills Lifestyle’ stood expanded at 77 exclusive stores in 40 cities and more than 200 ‘shop-in-shops’ in leading departmental stores. Continued association with the country’s most prestigious lifestyle event ‘Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week’, helped reinforce the premium imagery of the ‘Wills Lifestyle’ brand.



‘John Players’ continues to strengthen its position as a leading brand in the popular ‘Youth’ segment. The continued celebrity association with the popular film star, Ranbir Kapoor, reinforced the core value proposition of the brand and further enhanced brand desirability.



Cigarettes



The Company continues to maintain its leadership position in the industry by delivering superior value to consumers through world-class products. The Company’s value addition led strategy along with innovation and consumer focus has enabled the business to deliver superior value through its brand portfolio of well crafted blends, contemporary packaging styles and state-of-the-art manufacturing technology. Several initiatives across the brand portfolio in terms of pack modernisation, improvement in smoke profile and introduction of new brands and variants have enabled the business to further strengthen its market standing. On the manufacturing front, investments continue to be made towards enhancement of quality, productivity and variety.



Despite cigarettes constituting only 15% of overall tobacco consumption, the discriminatory and asymmetric taxation and regulatory milieu for cigarettes in India is a major cause of concern. Inelasticity of tobacco consumption coupled with lower incidence of taxation on other forms of tobacco products has adversely impacted cigarette consumption while that of other forms of tobacco continues to grow unabated. The resultant disproportionate taxation coupled with a growing incidence of smuggling and illegal manufacture, continue to be the biggest challenge for the Indian cigarette industry.



The problem of discriminatory taxation on cigarettes was further exacerbated during the quarter with certain State Governments increasing the rate of Value-Added Tax (VAT). These rate increases by the States are completely against the basic tenets of VAT as enshrined in the White Paper on VAT issued by the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers, wherein it is unequivocally stated – “…the multiplicity of rates in the existing structure will be done away with under the VAT system… Under 4% VAT rate category, there will be the largest number of goods (about 270), common for all States. The remaining commodities, common for all States, will fall under the general VAT rate of 12.5 %.”



The Company has, repeatedly drawn the attention of policy-makers to the fact that sub-optimal taxation practices of States – like differential VAT rates – may well derail the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST). In addition, cigarettes being highly taxed products are vulnerable to large scale smuggling. The differential rate of VAT on cigarettes across the States only encourages unscrupulous tax arbitrage.



The high rates of Central Excise and VAT has helped fuel the menace of illegal trade in cigarettes. It is estimated that the burgeoning illegal trade in cigarettes costs the Exchequer more than Rs. 3,000 crores per annum in lost revenues apart from offering products of dubious and inferior quality to consumers. As per recent independent international market studies, illegal trade constitutes more than 16% of the total industry size making India 6th largest globally in illicit cigarette trade and one of the highest growing in the world - 58% over the period 2004 – 2009. In line with international trends, contraband trade in cigarettes results in funds flowing into the coffers of criminal syndicates with consequential detrimental impact on civil society by way of heightened law and order problems.



The Company continues to engage with the authorities on this issue, highlighting the fact that punitive rates of tax and lack of tax harmonisation across States fuels the menace of illicit cigarette trade with consequential adverse impact on







the legitimate industry. While there have been some reports of seizure of such illegal stocks by Enforcement Agencies, illicit cigarette units continue to mushroom and grow. Illegal cigarette trade has serious concerns for the country and needs to be reined in quickly through appropriate policy and enforcement attention. The effective and sustainable solution lies in eliminating the tax arbitrage that encourages these activities by ensuring harmonious and moderate tax rates on cigarettes.



Despite the challenging market conditions, the Company remains confident of leveraging its internationally benchmarked product quality, the resilience of its brands and the superiority of its competitive strategies to consolidate its leadership position in the industry.



Hotels



During the quarter, the hospitality industry was impacted by the economic turmoil in Europe & US – the two key source markets – and the slowdown of the Indian economy. With a lower level of demand on one hand and significant additions to supply in key markets on the other, the hospitality industry in India is witnessing a challenging period. Despite this, the hotels business posted a marginal growth in topline at Rs. 234 crores while profits grew at 9% during the quarter.



The Company’s commitment to ‘Responsible Luxury’ stands reinforced with all its premium luxury hotels being certified at the highest LEED platinum rating. This milestone has uniquely positioned the Company’s Hotels business as the first hotel chain in the world to achieve such a distinction.



The business continues to sustain its investment-led growth strategy in line with the positive long-term outlook for the Indian hotel industry. Construction activity of the new super luxury properties at Chennai, Kolkata and at Classic Golf Resort near Gurgaon are progressing satisfactorily. In addition, several new projects including joint ventures and management contracts are on the anvil to rapidly scale up the business.



Paperboards, Specialty Papers & Packaging



The business witnessed healthy growth in Segment Revenues during the quarter with Segment Results growing at a faster pace at 18% driven by a combination of product mix enrichment, higher realisations and enhanced value capture through fully integrated operations.



The Company, continued to leverage its integrated business model viz., access to high-quality fibre, in-house pulp mill and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and a robust forward linkage with the Education & Stationery Products business to further consolidate its leadership position in the Indian Paper and Paperboards industry. The new paperboard line at Bhadrachalam with a capacity of one lakh ton per annum is progressing as per schedule.



The Packaging and Printing business continues to provide strategic sourcing support to the Cigarette, Foods and Personal Care businesses. Sales to external customers also registered robust growth. The business also leveraged its state-of-the-art investments in flexibles and carton lines to deliver value-added packaging to key customers in the consumer electronics and FMCG industries. Significant Investments in new technologies and processes are underway to cater to the growing demand in this segment.

The Secret of Organizational Success is to Give Employees What They Want, Claims New Book

Organizations can achieve greater success by meeting the seven fundamental needs of employees, according to a new book by Jack Wiley, Ph.D., and Brenda Kowske, Ph.D, titled “RESPECT: Delivering Results by Giving Employees what They Really Want.”



A world authority on the factors that motivate employees and how they perceive their work, Jack Wiley is executive director of the Kenexa High Performance Institute, a division of Kenexa (NASDAQ: KNXA). Over the past 30 years, he has surveyed over 200,000 employees around the world. His conclusion is that there are seven things that employees really want from their managers and their organizations.

Dr. Wiley has summarized the seven wants of employees in the acronym R.E.S.P.E.C.T., which stands for: Recognition, Exciting work, Security of employment, Pay, Education and career growth, Conditions and Truth.

“These seven fundamental needs are the same across different countries, different industries and different job roles,” said Wiley. “The real story from our research, however, is the impact on engagement, productivity, customer service and the bottom line when organizations meet these needs. Their employee engagement level is 117 percent higher; their operational performance is 64 percent higher; their customer satisfaction level is significantly greater and their 'return on assets' is up to ten times higher.”


Featuring real-world examples, the book provides practical actions to help managers, executives and HR practitioners to meet the seven needs. It also provides diagnostics to help assess an organization's areas of vulnerability.


More information about the book and the authors is available at http://www.respectthebook.com/.


More About Kenexa



Kenexa (NASDAQ:KNXA) helps drive HR and business outcomes through its unique combination of technology, content and services. Enabling organizations to optimize their workforces since 1987, Kenexa’s integrated talent acquisition and talent management solutions have touched the lives of more than 110 million people. Additional information about Kenexa and its global products and services can be accessed at www.kenexa.com. Follow Kenexa on Twitter: @kenexa.

Motorola Mobility Employees from India Join Colleagues Around the World to Volunteer During Global Week of Service

In honor of the company’s deep commitment to supporting and strengthening communities, more than 200 employees of Motorola Mobility, Inc., volunteered in India during the company’s first global community service program. The Global Week of Service will engage nearly 2,700 Motorola employees in 23 countries the week of 18 to 22 October and will include volunteer projects focused on building stronger communities.



During the Global Week of Service, local communities will benefit from an energetic burst of Motorola Mobility employee volunteers and a wide-range of uplifting activities. The projects will provide a cross-section of opportunities for communities to benefit from critical technology programs, health and wellness education, environmental stewardship and timely natural-disaster support among others.



Volunteer projects in India covered a range of community-engaging activities including:


· Bangalore’s Doddenkundi Lake green cover improvement: In an effort to keep our environment green, Motorola volunteers worked at the Doddenkundi Lake to help clean weeds, level the area and plant saplings



· Engagement with Children: Employees from Motorola Mobility’s Bangalore, Chennai, Gurgaon, Hyderabad and Pune offices spread ‘green’ knowledge and cheer among children



· Greening a home for the aged: Another team of Motorola volunteers helped ‘green’ a home for the aged --- gardening, weeding, re-planting, lawn-mowing, watering plants and more


Additionally, throughout October, Motorola Mobility employees will also take a direct stance against hunger and aid children affected by the East Africa Food Crisis by contributing to Save the Children.

“Motorola Mobility is proud to give back to the communities where we live and work through the Global Week of Service,” said Eileen Sweeney, director of the Motorola Mobility Foundation. “I am delighted to see the passion our employees display and the talent they bring to the work they do in communities.”

“We enjoy taking a day to give back to the Indian community,” said Kiran Gadi, country head, Motorola Mobility India. “Global Week of Service allows employees across India to come together and help organizations like the Concern India Foundation, Literacy India, Little Sisters of the Poor, and Restless Development build awareness about our environment, improve general health and hygiene among children and spark an interest about science and engineering among students.”

To learn more about Motorola Mobility’s commitment to community service, please visit.

To read about Motorola’s Global Week of Service events as they happen, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/empowered zone.

About Motorola Mobility Foundation

The Motorola Mobility Foundation is the charitable and philanthropic arm of Motorola Mobility. With employees located around the globe, Motorola Mobility seeks to benefit the communities where it operates. The company achieves this by making strategic grants, forging strong community partnerships, fostering innovation and engaging stakeholders. The Motorola Mobility Foundation focuses its funding on education, community, health and wellness and disaster relief. For more information, on Motorola Mobility Corporate and Foundation giving, visit responsibility.motorola.com.


About Motorola Mobility

Motorola Mobility, Inc. (NYSE: MMI) fuses innovative technology with human insights to create experiences that simplify, connect and enrich people's lives. Our portfolio includes converged mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets; wireless accessories; end-to-end video and data delivery; and management solutions, including set-tops and data-access devices. For more information, visit motorola.com/mobility

PGTI AND LOUIS PHILIPPE JOIN HANDS TO LAUNCH LOUIS PHILIPPE CUP WITH INDIA'S TOP PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS




(L-R) Mr.K Chandra Prakash, President - KGA; Mr.Padamjit Sandhu, Director - PGTI; Mr.Jacob John, Brand Head - Louis Philippe; Mr.Anirban Lahiri, Pro Golfer; Mr.Rishi Narain, Founder - Rishi Narain Golf Management 

  Inspired by the successful fan appeal of city based sports teams, the Professional Golf Tour of India (PGTI), Louis Philippe and RNGM today joined hands to introduce a unique format of Golf to be played involving the top 16 national professional golfers. The US$250,000 Louis Philippe Cup is slated to be India's richest domestic tournament. To be played between 8 city based teams of India's top professional golfers, the tournament will be held in Bangalore at the KGA Golf Course between March 5th & 10th, 2012.


Star Indian players confirmed to participate include Bangalore's recent Asian Tour winner Anirban Lahiri, Gurgaon's 3 time Indian Open champion and former Asian Tour No. 1 Jyoti Randhawa accompanied by Singapore Classic winner Himmat Rai, also of Gurgaon. Two time European Tour winner SSP Chowrasia representing Kolkota, former Asian Games gold medallist and Asian Tour Newcomer of the Year Shiv Kapur representing Delhi, two time Asian Tour winner Gaganjeet Bhullar who will represent Chandigarh and all the top ranked players on the PGTI Tour will also compete.

Each city team will consist of three players. Two of whom will be selected on the basis of their PGTI 2011 rankings as of end December and the third player will be a team choice. Teams will have a chance to pick talented players that play primarily overseas and are unable to maintain their domestic rankings like Shiv Kapur, Jyoti Randhawa, SSP Chowrasia. The cities selected to field teams are Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkota, Lucknow, Delhi, Gurgaon and Chandigarh. Cities have been selected on the basis of the rankings of their top players (Lucknow has two players consistently ranked in the top 10 of PGTI - Vijay and Sanjay Kumar) and the number of golf clubs in those cities.

Said Padamjit Sandhu, Director, PGTI "This is an important new innovation in format in professional golf and could potentially be a game changer in the way fans relate to India's top golf stars. We would like to thank Louis Philippe and Rishi Narain Golf Management for creating this new event on the PGTI Tour and we know that India's top players and members of the PGTI are excited to participate in the tournament, rooting for their team to end on top."

Speaking about their association with Golf, Jacob John, Brand Head, Louis Philippe, commented, "Louis Philippe is pleased to be associated with this stand out event in Indian golf. Golf is a game that symbolises style, sophistication and success, characteristics that are reflected in our brand." He further added that, "We encourage sports fans across the nation to support their city teams and recognise the outstanding quality of pro golfers India continues to produce. Young players like Anirban Lahiri, who has made his mark on the international scene along with other youngsters, all in their early twenties, such as Himmat Rai, Gaganjeet Bhullar, and most recently Delhi's Chiragh Kumar, who finished 2nd in the US$1.25 million Indian Open. All perfect examples that Indian golf is in safe hands for the future, making it a sport that Louis Philippe foresee a long term association with."

Star golfer Anirban Lahiri, present at the announcement said, "As professional tour players we don't get many opportunities to play team formats and it does add an entirely new exciting dimension to the game. I played on an Asian Games team for India, in Doha, where we won the silver medal and the pressure is entirely different. In fact on the global golf platform, the most appealing events for fans and players alike are the few team events like the Ryder Cup (USA v Europe); the President's Cup (USA v Rest of World outside Europe), Royal Trophy (Asia v Europe) and Dynasty Cup (Asia v Japan). We enjoying playing in team events and fans are extremely excited to watch and cheer for their teams. I will be a proud member of team Bangalore, if I do make the cut! And I also know my fellow pros are gearing up to do their best for their city teams also."

Rishi Narain, former Asiad gold medalist and founder of Rishi Narain Golf Management, who have conceived and promoted the event, said, "We would like to thank the team of Louis Philippe for embracing the Pro Team Golf concept and are looking forward to producing an event with unparalleled fan appeal on the domestic golf scene. Our aim is to establish India's immensely talented golf pros as genuine superstars in the eyes of sports fans across India. They deserve the recognition and fan following considering their consistent international victories over the past fifteen years. Among Indian sportsmen, golfers outperform almost every other Indian sportsman consistently. Indian pro golfers face intense competition against players from over 100 countries every time they compete overseas and with winner's prizes regularly crossing Rs 1 crore on the international circuit, the quality of players and intensity of competition our golfers face every week is far greater than in most other sports. We hope the "Louis Philippe Cup" will create true superstars out of our pro golfers and connect fans with their home team players like never before. We thank the PGTI and the players for their whole hearted support of this concept and the KGA for agreeing for giving us such a high quality venue to launch the first edition of the tournament."

President of KGA, K. Chandra Prakash averred "KGA is happy to be hosting this inaugural event which will be the richest men's pro event ever held in Bangalore, and have a great roster of India's top pros participating. We are happy that Louis Philippe and PGTI have selected KGA as the venue and hope that Anirban and his fellow team members will bring home the inaugural Louis Philippe Cup trophy home to Bangalore. On our part, we will ensure world class playing conditions for India's elite professionals and will work hard at maintaining our repurtation as "No 1 ranked golf course in India" for 2010 at the Asian Golf Awards in Bangkok."

The unique format of the five day event to be held in Bangalore next March features one day of celebrity pro-am followed by two days (36 holes) strokeplay in which all 8 teams will compete.The four teams with the best total team scores over 36 holes will advance to the semi-finals. In the semi - finals the format of the game changes to knock out and individual matchplay.The one on one matches between the three players on each team will earn each team one point for a win and zero for a loss. No match will be halved as tied matches after 18 holes will advance to sudden-death playoff.The two winning semi-final teams will play the finals on the final day on three individual matches."

As India's richest golf tournament, the winning team takes home Rs 36 lacs to be shared among the three players, the second team gets Rs 24 lacs,while the bronze medalists get a purse of Rs 18 lacs, the team placed fourth will recieve Rs 12 lacs in prize money,while teams placed 5th to 8th placed teams each receive Rs 6 lacs.

Providing fans avenues for involvement, each participating city will also field a team of three amateur club golfers who will be selected by local clubs on the basis of club qualifying tournaments. The three club amateurs will play alongside the professionals during the first two official rounds of strokeplay in the Louis Philippe Cup. The three amateur scores will be added to the pros scores to determine a "Louis Philippe Pro-Am Trophy" which will be presented after the first 36 holes of the tournament. However the amateur scores will not be counted in determining the four top teams advancing to the semi-finals. PGTI Director, Padamjit Sandhu opined, "Amateurs playing along with pros in big golf tournaments is a highly recognized practice the world over. On the European Tour, this is a feature of the annual GBP 5 million Alfred Dunhill Cup and on the USPGA Tour this is the format of the US$7 million Pebble Beach Pro-Am. In India this format of play was also popular through the DLF Masters."

Jacob John, Brand Head, Louis Philippe stated, "Fan involvement is a key element of the Louis Philippe Cup, and through this event we wanted to build a platform where true golf fans had a chance to play alongside the pros, a possibility and format that can only be adapted in sport such as golf, where the club golfer's performance does not affect the score and performance of the pro."

"As professionals we welcome the chance to play along with amateurs, our biggest fans. It is a great experience to guide them, mentor and coach them during the game. And their appreciation is very apparent when they see instant results in their shot selection, strategy and their ability in reading the greens. Also our rhythm rubs off on their swings and they often perform better. It is a great idea for the Louis Philippe Cup to provide club golfers a chance to be on the city team along with us. It's an experience, I hope, they will always remember and cherish", averred Bangalore's star professional Anirban Lahiri. Chandra Prakash, president of KGA added, "The chance for a club golfer to represent his city on the national stage and playing on the same platform as star pros from his city is a unique experience and I am sure KGA members will be excited about this opportunity."

The probable participants from the 8 cities, are as follows (PGTI rankings till date indicated beside the names) -



Delhi


Rashid Khan (3)



Chirag Kumar (7)



Ashok Kumar (10)



Shiv Kapur







Bengaluru



Anirban Lahiri (5)



Abhishek Jha (22)



R.Murthy (24)







Kolkata



Feroz Ali Mollah (12)



Shankar Das (15)



Arjun Atwal



SSP Chowrasia







Mumbai



Mukesh Kumar (1)



Kunal Bhasin (44)



Chennai



Mandeo Pathanai (25)



Gaurav Ghei (31)



Sandeep Syal (52)



Chandigarh



Gaganjeet Bhullar (4)



Harendra P Gupta (17)



Sujjan Singh (27)


Lucknow



Sanjay Kumar (8)



Vijay Kumar (14)



Manoj Kumar (87)


Gurgaon



Himmat Singh Rai (2)



Digvijay Singh (23)



Jyoti Randhwa



To follow this event, visit golfcommune.com/louisphilippecup

Corporate rejuvenation events: Work hard and party harder

With the emerging corporate sector in India becoming highly competitive, the levels of stress among the workforce is taking toll on their physical & mental abilities and output.


Corporate rejuvenation events (such as leisure sports, music, recreation, yogic camps, etc.) are becoming popular among the corporate honchos.

Leisure events play a very vital role in rejuvenating and increasing the energy levels and outputs of the corporate sector employees.

Indoor as well as outdoor business events are developed in a way which is entertaining and also rewarding for the corporate sector employees.



Magicians, clowns, jugglers, balloon artists, stilt walkers, dance instructors, caricaturists all might be component of a corporate rejuvenation events. Interactive comedy shows are now a rage in business event entertainment circles. The selection of interactive games is developed to boost communication abilities as well as other management abilities in a enjoyable way.



Music has constantly been the life of any event. Business events are no exception. A manager who’s identified for his tough exterior can lead his executives to have a glimpse of his humane side by the selection of songs to be played by the DJ in a business party. Live music entertainment is also the key theme of a lot of business events. Music can genuinely loosen up men and women to relate greater along with one another.



Work hard and party harder has been the mantra of the new age people and the young corporate world employees all over the world. Hard work they put at work ensure that they stay ahead in the carrier graph at the same time partying and enjoying life to the fullest also ensures that all of them get enough de-stressed to give in their cent per cent in the work field as now a days work is not about just mechanical presence it is more about mental innovation than anything else.



About Neo Events: Neo Events is a full service Event Management company. We can help you intelligently shape and respond to your customers’ demands. We are constantly creating better platform to reach out to customers, and as one of India’s leading event Management Company, we plan and execute events that goes beyond your expectations. Our vast experience and professional expertise and sound financial backing give us the competitive edge in the event industry. With us you can be assured of high performance, complete customer satisfaction and value for your money. We are ready to make a difference in your business performance and turn your visions into highly marketable solutions.

Neo Events is part of Neo e-Watch Media and provides event management and event promotion related services. Neo Events is known for its innovative concepts, stylish execution and customer satisfaction.

Neo Events Corporate Event services also include the following:

•Road Shows

•Gala Dinner

•Annual Day

•Outdoor Promotional Activities

•Trade Shows

•Dealer Meets

•Concerts

•Seminars and Workshop

•Exhibitions

•Press conferences

•Point of Sale Promotions

•Round Table Meetings

•Office/Factory Inauguration

•Venue Decoration

•Fashion Shows

•Team Building Events

•Corporate Outings

•Exhibition Stall Designing

•Hospitality Events

•Celebrity Management

•Event Catering Services

•Corporate Parties

•Corporate Award Functions

•Event Audio Visuals

New Cloud Security and Compliance Solutions Added to The Akamai Intelligent Platform

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: AKAM), the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere, today introduced two new solutions to the Akamai Intelligent Platform™ – Akamai® DDoS Defender and Akamai Compliance Management Modules. Businesses extending their sites and applications onto Akamai's Intelligent Platform expect exceptional availability of their mission-critical Web sites and applications along with assistance in meeting the stringent data compliance requirements associated with data privacy. These two new offerings are designed to help customers avoid the potential of millions of dollars in fines and other related costs, including downtime and irreparable damage to brand reputation.


In addition, through a new relationship with Evidon, also announced today, Akamai will be able to offer its customers easy access to advanced privacy and compliance services for the management of the Industry Self-Regulatory Program in the US, the European ePrivacy Directive, and its corollary self-regulatory effort for Online Behavioral Advertising.



As enterprises push more of their business transactions to the Internet, they expose critical data and operations to the threat of a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack. These attacks are becoming more sophisticated -- exploiting different layers of security vulnerabilities and rendering traditional security controls ineffective. Moreover, the unique nature of each DDoS attack makes planning, monitoring, mitigation and post-incident analysis complex and can cause a significant resource drain on any organization. To address these challenges, Akamai introduced Akamai DDoS Defender which builds on the Company's massively distributed platform and proven ability to protect key online assets and prevent DDoS attacks from making Web sites unavailable.



Akamai DDoS Defender bundles multi-layered security capabilities with Akamai's team of world-class DDoS service professionals to provide a unified approach to counteracting the growing number of DDoS attacks. The solution offers an evolving set of Akamai's industry-leading cloud security capabilities designed to protect against a variety of DDoS attacks. It also includes services to support customers in all phases – before, during and after DDoS attacks to ensure rapid execution and efficient response.



"Distributed denial-of-service attacks attempt to make a Web site unavailable to their intended users. In recent months we've seen a significant increase in the number, size, and sophistication of these types of attacks -- the impact of which can extend long past the immediate loss of revenue, resources and productivity to cause damage to brand equity and customer trust," explained Andy Ellis, chief security officer, Akamai. "Our ability to protect our customers from DDoS attacks is a major differentiator for Akamai, and it is a result of the capabilities built into our highly distributed Akamai Intelligent Platform, which is designed to allow us to meet assaults closer to where they are originating and absorb malicious traffic before site performance is impacted."



Also newly available to customers are the Akamai Compliance Management solutions. These offerings are intended to help customers reduce the complexity and associated costs of ensuring their companies are in compliance with information security standards and regulations. Consisting of five distinct modules, the service provides supporting tools and documentation to streamline compliance initiatives within the following industry frameworks:



* HIPAA – Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

* PCI DSS – Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard

* FISMA – Federal Information Security Management Act

* ISO – International Organization for Standardization Code of Practice for Information Security Management (ISO 27001/27002)

* BITS – The Financial Services Roundtable Technology Policy Division



"With the increasingly sophisticated and malicious attempts to breach IT security, industry standards and regulatory statutes to protect data have become more complex, making the compliance process much more demanding," continued Ellis. "Akamai's Compliance Management solutions are designed to help our customers simplify the process of meeting these often arduous information security reporting and auditing requirements."



At the foundation of both new offerings is the Akamai Intelligent Platform, which delivers as much as 30 percent of global Web traffic on any given day. By transforming the chaos of the Internet into a predictable, scalable, and secure platform for business, Akamai provides the security, scalability, and visibility customers require to more easily and cost-effectively secure web properties and assist in complying with industry standards as they move more mission-critical applications to the cloud.



For more information about Akamai's security and compliance management capabilities, please visit the Akamai® DDoS Defender Product Page, the Akamai® DDoS Defender Security Microsite or www.akamai.com/compliance.



About Akamai

Akamai® is the leading cloud-based platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences to any device, anywhere. At the core of the Company's solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform™ providing extensive reach, coupled with unmatched reliability, security, visibility and expertise. With solutions for connecting an increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand for commerce and entertainment, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud, Akamai empowers its customers to transform and reinvent their online businesses. To learn more about how Akamai is accelerating the pace of innovation in a hyperconnected world, please visit www.akamai.com and follow @Akamai on Twitter.

Mahaboob Basha wins Castrol Golden Spanner Award for Best Car Mechanic

Castrol Golden Spanner Awards – a search for India’s best car mechanic, held its next round here in Bangalore with over 14 mechanics participating. The earlier rounds at Jaipur, Kolkata, Amritsar, Surat, Guwahati, Lucknow, Chandigarh, Nagpur and Mumbai witnessed over 100 enthusiastic mechanics vying for the title of ‘Castrol Ustaad Car Mechanic”.

The Castrol Golden Spanner Awards were instituted in 2008 with the objective of recognizing and rewarding the most skilled and knowledgeable ‘Ustaad’ car mechanics across India.

Mahaboob Basha, a mechanic from Sri Lakshmi Venkateshwara Car Garage in Bangalore, took home this year’s Castrol Golden Spanner award in Bangalore. Mahaboob Basha will get an opportunity to compete with winners from 16 other cities, at the all India finals, for the Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards and the ultimate Castrol Golden Spanner Award.

The competition held in Bangalore, had three rounds of contests including – “Kaunsa pana kaunsa nutbolt”, “Jo jeeta wohi sikandar” and “Bujho to jaane”. Competing against 13 mechanics from Bangalore, Mahaboob Basha excelled in all games winning all 3 rounds, displaying extra-ordinary knowledge and skills related to cars and car repair.

On winning the Bangalore city finals, mechanic Mahaboob Basha commented, “I’m thrilled to have won the Castrol Golden Spanner Ustaad Mechanic award amongst mechanics in Bangalore. With this award, I feel my effort for the last 15 years has been appreciated. Castrol Golden Spanner Ustaad Mechanic award gave me the opportunity to showcase my skills and talents and compete against the best in our community. I’m looking forward to participate in the National finals at Mumbai and be one amongst the lucky ones to meet Castrol’s Brand Ambassador Sachin Tendulkar at the event. This is an opportunity I will not miss for the world and thank Castrol for it.”

According to Manoj Sahay, General Manager- Marketing, Passenger Car Oils, Castrol India Limited, “Castrol Golden Spanner Awards allow us to recognize mechanics who are our key customers. The competition enables the mechanics to get a platform to showcase their talent and skills and provides public recognition which is normally missing for this section of society. Those who win get a chance to upgrade their knowledge further, through Castrol training programs. The idea is to provide the mechanic community a platform to showcase their skills and get recognized for their skills and knowledge, along with fun and socializing”.

This year, the Castrol Golden Spanner contest will travel to 17 cities and will reach out to over 10,000 mechanics. The winners from each of these 17 cities will compete in the National finals where they will be evaluated on theoretical as well as practical knowledge. The national winner will be competing for a grand prize of Rs 5 Lakhs to upgrade his garage and a chance to be featured on the Castrol GTX engine oil packs. The National Silver and Bronze winners will win a TATA Nano Car, Cash, Training at the Castrol Academy and commendation certificates. All city final winners win pure gold and silver spanners along with training and commendation certification from the Castrol academy.

ZipDial CEO Valerie Rozycki Wagoner Wins Leading Women In Technology 2011 Award

ZipDial Mobile Solutions announced that Valerie Rozycki Wagoner, CEO & Founder of ZipDial won the prestigious Leading Woman in Technology award at the Women in Leadership Forum awards function last week. WIL Forum India Achievement Awards recognises the achievement and success of prominent business women who have broken new ground in their respective area of expertise and respectively rewards their outstanding achievements. The WIL award 2011 was held at Hotel JW Marriot in Mumbai and attended by the prominent personalities from several business sectors.

In the ‘Leading Woman in Technology’ category, WIL rewards an individual for her exceptional performance in the IT or telecom sector. Nominees were evaluated on their professional capabilities, successful achievements and globally-recognised innovative projects – and were welcome from the public and private sectors.

ZipDial is a Bangalore-based company with mobile-marketing solutions for large and small business clientele ranging from marquee companies such as Cadbury, Kingfisher, Proctor & Gamble to small local businesses like real estate agents, beauty salons and event managers. One of the noticeable ZipDial campaigns in recent days was the pledge campaign to support Anna Hazare’s Jan Lokpal Bill conduct by the Times of India group.


Speaking at the occasion, Valerie said,“It’s a great honour to win the WIL award. This is an appreciation for the quality of services provided by ZipDial and it will motivate us to grow and achieve our goals better. It’s a privilege for me to be a part of the forum which has businesswomen from different backgrounds, industry sectors and countries around the world”



With a platform based on missed calls, ZipDial services are extremely friendly for both consumers and businesses, especially post-TRAI regulations. As a completely opt-in based service, ZipDial gives more flexibility to marketers to connect with their consumers on mobile while staying within the regulatory guidelines. Additionally, this has a greater impact for E-commerce businesses and the Banking and Insurance Sector as well as other businesses capturing customer leads on the web and via phone. Verification of customer’s mobile number has become an integral part in most web transactions, and the ‘ZipDial To Verify’ service solves this need while being compliant with the new regulations.


Amongst the delegates in attendance were top Indian and global businesswomen, industry visionaries, leading politicians, knowledge thought leaders and entrepreneurs.

Some of them including Naina Lal Kidwai, Group General Manager and Country Head, HSBC India; Sangita Singh, Senior Vice President, Wipro Technologies; Vibha Pinglé, President and Founder, Ubuntu at Work; Shahnaz Husain, Chairperson, Shahnaz Husain Group of Companies, and Marsha Gabriel, CSI Advisor and CEO, The Helping Hand Network /CSI Congress among others graced the occasion with their presence.



About ZipDial


The company was established out of Bangalore in early 2010 and now has a growing team of 20. ZipDial’s indigenous technology is patent pending. The ZipDial platform is 100% accessible to the mass market. The experience is a simple as dialing numbers – or missed calls. ZipDial has been tested and proven through past campaigns with large customers such as Proctor & Gamble, IndiaInfoline, LG, Videocon, Times Internet. Services for small and medium businesses, including ecommerce businesses, law firms, individual celebrities, NGOs and event managers are also live. With successful customer campaigns in India and the Caribbean, ZipDial is ready to further expand globally.

For more on ZipDial, visit http://www.zipdial.com/

About WIL series

Naseba's Women in Leadership (WIL) is a business networking and experiential knowledge-sharing platform for successful businesswomen. WIL supports women development and enhancement of their role in society and workplace. Featuring exclusive and high profile forums, WIL engages women leaders representing diverse industries through key-note speeches, interactive discussions, networking sessions, educational workshops and recognise their achievements through award ceremonies.

Small Business Congress and Awards 2011

To garner the hidden potentials of entrepreneurs and their businesses which are in the initial stages, Franchise India organized ‘Small Business Conference & Awards 2011’ at Hotel Novotel, Mumbai on 18th October, 2011 in association with Entrepreneurs India advisors and NASSCOM as the knowledge partner. The show is supported by Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), National Small Industries Corporation Ltd (NSIC) & Indian Franchise Association (IFA). Focusing especially on SMEs, this annual national convention for small and medium enterprises will act as a melting pot for various entrepreneurs and senior advisors to discuss their business ideas and ways of taking to the next level.



Small Business Congress 2011 unlocked greatest opportunities in today’s exciting small business environment as it opens new business avenues in products or services. The congress explored the environment for creating new business ideas, securing funding for growth, building teams, and concrete ideas to compete against giant businesses. It also provided a platform to the new generation employer to showcase his brand to the world of small businesses and get increased exposure for his business. Giving insights about the event, Franchise India’s President Mr. Gaurav Marya said, “Small Business 2011 mantra is small business is big business. The show is a great platform to bring out greatest business opportunities in today’s exciting small business world. SME can be rightly called as the backbone of the GDP of India, growing at an exceptionally fast rate due to which it is proving to be beneficial to the Indian Economy. These SME units contribute 35 per cent to the Indian Industrial Export. The contribution of the SME sector to the entire output of the country is 40 %.”



Mr. Namit Pandey, Director & Head – Yahoo! Small Business stated “Internet will play an important part to enhance SME’s ability to reach to its direct consumers in a big way, starting with Web presence growing to online advertising”.


Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Lakshman Gugulothu CEO, BSE SME Exchange opined “BSE SME Platform provides a great opportunity to the entrepreneurs to raise the equity capital for the growth and expansion of SMEs. It also provides the immense opportunity to the investors to identify and invest in the good SME companies at early stage. It will help unleash the valuation of the company and in the process create wealth for all the stakeholders including investors, besides considerable long term capital gains tax benefits and facility to exit at any point of time”.


The success in small businesses ownership is being defined through innovation, creativity, engaging top – notch talent, and raising capital. Medium and Small scale sector is a significant contributor to the Indian economy. This sector contributes eight percent of national GDP, comprises 50 per cent of India’s total manufactured exports, 45 per cent of India’s total industrial employment and 95 per cent of all industrial units. The SME sector in India however has been changing over time, mostly through changes in government policy.



The Small Business Awards 2011 aim to recognize and facilitate achievers, innovators and suppliers who have contributed significantly towards the development of Small and Medium enterprises in India. Adding on the occasion, Franchise India’s President Mr. Gaurav Marya said, “Small Business Awards 2011 is a great platform to network and share our knowledge with industry colleague. It is country’s one of the most prestigious and statistically analyzed awards that recognizes excellence in micro, small and medium businesses”

The awards also witnessed scintillating performance by Manasi Scott and had the famous film producer, Pritish Nandy as the Chief Guest.



The prestigious awards included: Small Business of the year; Life time achievement; Women entrepreneur of the year; Food and Beverage Business of the Year; Educational Business of the Year; Lifetime Achievement Award; Start Up of the Year; Manufacturing Business of the Year – Micro and many more. The awards were presented across 19 major categories spanning across different industry verticals. Using a fair and rigorous award process, people were selected for various awards.