SPICE DIGITAL LIMITED INTRODUCES DIGITAL TOYS FOR KIDS

Spice Digital Limited, one of India’s leading MVAS (Mobile Value Added Services) companies, introduced their Educational and Entertaining BlackBerry Apps for kids aged between 1 to 10 years. For both, Educational and Entertaining Apps, Spice Digital has partnered with BlackBerry, the fourth most popular device manufacturer after Google, Sony Ericsson, and Apple.


These BlackBerry Apps by Spice Labs are designed to keep children engaged for hours as they can learn alphabets, numbers, and spellings and lots more anytime, anywhere from their mobile handsets. These Apps are already used by 2 million tech savvy parents worldwide and are available free of cost to the BlackBerry users.

With close to 25 mobile networks across the globe and an unbeatable presence in SAARC, APAC and MEA markets, Spice Digital’s foray into its current offering on kids applications, shows Spice Digital’s unmatchable comparison in innovation and technology for every age group.

Commenting on this occasion, Mr. Saket Agarwal (Global CEO - Services) said, “With the mobile internet ramping up faster than the desktop internet we at Spice believe that there is something to offer to every age group and hence Spice Labs introduced the BlackBerry Apps for kids, which enables every child to have fun while they learn. These applications were designed with complete dedication to assist youngsters in their educational and entertainment requirements.”


Spice Labs’ BlackBerry Apps



v Magic Canvas



v Rhymes



v Memory



v Jigsaw



v Kiddo



v Hangman Kids



Download URL http://kids.spicelabs.in; SMS ‘KIDS’ to 56300


About Spice Digital Limited

Spice Digital Ltd. is one of India’s leading VAS (Value Added Services) companies. It is part of the Spice Global Group, offering innovative solutions for Telecom Operators, Enterprises and Government agencies using different mobile connectivity medium of Voice, IVR, SMS, USSD, WAP, 3G & Mobile Applications. Spice Digital has its operations offices across India in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Mohali and Dehradun. Spice Digital is today empowering VAS solutions in close to 25 mobile networks across globe and has got strong presence in SAARC, APAC and MEA markets.

Metropolis Healthcare unveils a pan India survey ahead of the World Diabetes Day

A pan-India survey, conducted by Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. ahead of the ‘World Diabetes Day’ indicates that there is a high incidence of diabetes in males and females within the age group from 40 - 50 yrs. With a total of 28, 79, 175 people screened, the survey spans 5 major cities namely Mumbai, Pune, Chandigarh, Chennai & Bangalore. The survey has been conducted across 3 tests namely HbA1CGlycatedHaemoglobin- Blood by HPLC Method, Fasting Blood Glucose and Postprandial Blood Glucose which help determine abnormal glucose levels in both men & women. It has been observed that binging on high calorie sweets and snacks coupled with a sedentary lifestyle have made Indians more vulnerable to diabetes.


Additionally, as per a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research spanning 4 Indian states namely Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Chandigarh, 62.4 million people in India are afflicted with diabetes and another 77.2 million with pre-diabetes, reiterating the fact that India is the 'World's Diabetes Capital'.
It has been inferred that 30% of the total number patients screened have been labeled with abnormal glucose levels. Additionally it has been observed that 40% of the diabetic patients have been able to maintain satisfactory sugar levels as compared to the remaining 60 % with peculiarly high glucose levels.




In addition, the data highlights the fact that women in Mumbai are equally prone to diabetes as compared to men in Mumbai. In Chandigarh, Pune, Bangalore & Chennai it has been observed that diabetes is predominant in males over females in the same age group i.e., ratio is 60 : 40 where the former is for males and latter for females. The inferences indicate that a similar pattern of abnormality in sugar levels has been noticed in west, south and north India.

Commenting on the survey, Dr. Mrs. Jatinder Bhatia, Chief of Lab Services, Projects – North India, Metropolis Healthcare Ltd said, “The incidence of diabetes is increasing in India affecting both males and females equally. Younger age groups too are falling easy prey to diabetes. This unhealthy trend is a direct result of a combination of over-eating, junk food and sedentary lifestyle. She further added that it is imperative for diabetic patients to get basic testing such as HbA1C Glycated Haemoglobin, Fasting Blood Glucose and Postprandial Blood Glucose & Micro Albumin Uria at regular intervals i.e. every 3 months.”

Individuals have become more aware of the fact that diabetes is not just a disease of the elderly and are now a lot more determined to go a long-way in combating this chronic ailment. Calling for regular screening of unhealthy glucose levels, researchers at Metropolis said surveys such as the one conducted would help identify people who are at a greater risk of diabetes.



About Metropolis Healthcare

Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. was founded by Dr. Sushil Shah in 1981. The Board of Directors include Dr. Sushil Shah, Metropolis Healthcare is one of the India’s leading multinational chain of diagnostic centers across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, South Africa and Middle East. It provides around 4500 specialized tests under a single roof ranging from oncology to genetics, molecular biology and immunoassays using best-of-breed and latest diagnostic equipment. Metropolis Healthcare Ltd has also been recently voted as the sole recipient for the Frost & Sullivan - 2010 India Excellence in Healthcare Awards - Diagnostic Services Company of the Year. Ms. Ameera Shah has won prestigious award in 2nd CMO Asia Award as Young Achiever of the year'2011 & Franchisee India - Young Entrepreneur of the year 2011.eHealth World Expo 2011 – has also awarded Metropolis Healthcare Ltd as “Best Jury Award” for ICT enabled diagnostic service provider for the project IT integration of customer service management.

Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm, has recently invested up to $85 million in Metropolis Healthcare Ltd. With 65 State of Art laboratories, Metropolis is a preferred referral center for more than 10000 laboratories, clinicians, hospitals and research institutions across 125 cities India. The CAP, US FDA for the SMO services, NABL accredited and ISO 15189 certified Metropolis chain of laboratories has over 550 collection centers and is a preferred laboratory for providing quality testing to over 50, 000 Doctors across the country. Services include Clinical Referral Laboratory Hospital Laboratory Management, Preventive Health Checkups, Home Health Services, Site Management Services and Clinical Trials.

BLUE LOTUS BAGS THE PR MANDATE FOR ACCESS DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

ACCESS, a not-for-profit organization whose overall aim is to incubate new institutions to enable their self-sufficiency and self-sustainability has decided to appoint Blue Lotus Communications, a Comniscient Group company, as its public relations (PR) consultancy for their upcoming Microfinance Summit- 2011.


The Microfinance India Summit is a flagship initiative of ACCESS that draws together stakeholders across the industry to create a platform for constructive dialogue and shared learning to build consensus and strengthen the sector. The release of knowledge products, such as the Microfinance India State of the Sector Report: The 4-P Report, report on current trends, document industry progress and raise questions for further research.


Vipin Sharma, CEO, ACCESS Development Services said, “The Microfinance India Summit has become the most significant platform to bring the sector together for envisioning the future. Over the last six years, the Microfinance India Summit has established itself as an international conference dedicated over the subject of Indian microfinance. It has become the single most important platform for sharing the unique Indian experience with the global audience. Policy makers, practitioners, promoters, academics, researchers and thought leaders share their experiences on various panels, and about 1,000 delegates from both the country and outside participate in the Summit. It strives to bridge the unnecessary hiatus between models and methodologies and helps to build consensus on the critical challenges and issues. ACCESS is set to play a larger and more relevant role in the lives of Indians across states. We are pleased to have partnered Blue Lotus Communications, which has a significant track record of successfully partnering with leading corporate houses across the country, we are sure they will play a key role in helping ACCESS achieve its strategic objectives.”

Speaking on the partnership N. Chandramouli, Founder & CEO, Blue Lotus Communications said, “The microfinance sector in India is dynamic and has witnessed phenomenal growth in terms of outreach to the clients, the number of loans and amount of loan outstanding, product and service diversification and geographical spread. ACCESS has institutionalized ACCESS-ASSIST to spearhead its microfinance technical service provider and has build the capacity of community-based institutions and delivers relevant financial and livelihood development services to poor and unreached households. ACCESS is well-positioned in the Microfinance sector in India. Blue Lotus consciously chooses to partner with clients that are regarded as trendsetters in their respective fields, and that is what essentially differentiates us from other PR agencies in the country. We are proud to have been chosen by ACCESS as their communication consultants as they chart their next phase of reaching out to people who really matter.”


In the past five years ACCESS has gained a reputation as a premier resource hub for national and international microfinance initiatives and grassroots and national livelihoods projects in India.



About Blue Lotus Communications


Blue Lotus Communications, is a part of the Comniscient Group. Established in 2002, is India’s leading PR agency, with over 150 employees across 10 offices in India. In 2010, the Holmes Report, one of most reputed research publications in the field of global public relations declared Blue Lotus Communications as winner for ‘Indian Consultancy of the Year’ as part of its Asia-Pacific consultancies report card. Also, in the month of March 2011, the organization was announced as the ‘PR Agency of the Year’ in the first ever Indian PR and Corporate Communication Awards (IPRCCA) 2011, by the Exchange4media group. The agency specializes in Public Relations for Corporate, Brands, Healthcare, Technology, Infrastructure and Finance. Its impressive array of clients includes Dun & Bradstreet, Yash Birla Group, DHL, Omkar Builders, Project Management Institute, Bharatmatrimony.com, KEIP, DesignTech Systems and Phadnis Group, among others.



For further information log on to: http://www.bluelotuspr.com/



Follow us on twitter: http://twitter.com/bluelotuspr


About ACCESS Development Services:



ACCESS is a not-for-profit organization whose overall aim is to incubate new institutions to enable their self-sufficiency and self-sustainability. To this end, it offers specialized technical assistance under two verticals: microfinance and livelihoods. ACCESS assists the growing microfinance sector through streamlined and structured services to emerging MFIs and supports the enabling environment through the Microfinance India platform. Under the Livelihoods Program Unit, ACCESS impacts the lives of the poor by developing sustainable solutions for up scaling their income generation activities. To optimize its resources and maximize the results of its interventions, ACCESS believes in partnering with key stakeholders in the sector in order to develop mutually reinforcing strategies, bring convergence of competencies and build consensus on key issues.



For further information log on to:

http://www.accessdev.org/

http://www.microfinanceindia.org/

LPU RECORDS GROWTH IN INTERNATIO​NAL STUDENTS

Lovely Professional University (LPU) welcomes more than 400 students from abroad who have enrolled themselves in different courses this year. The present rate of admission of students is 200% more than the previous year.  The students have come from 20 different countries which also mark an entry to five new countries vis-a-vis last year- Italy, Rwanda, Burundi, Iran, and Iraq. Other countries include USA, Philippines, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Congo, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Nepal, etc.

An interesting point to note is that many international students have opted for BCA (Bachelors in Computer Applications) this year. Other popular courses amongst the foreign students include B.Tech, BBA, MBA, MCA, BSc, etc.

Commenting on this significant development, Mrs. Rashmi Mittal, Pro Chancellor, LPU, said “The interest amongst the foreign students wanting to explore educational opportunities in India has increased as compared to the past few years. The internet has played a major role here and students are now just a click away from applying to the favorable university of their own choice.”

“Like last year, this year the number almost doubled in foreign students taking admission in LPU.  This achievement marks a major step towards fulfilling our objectives in providing education of international standards and impart professional as well as world level acceptable knowledge and training to students globally,” she further added.

The number of foreign students taking admission in Indian educational institutions has been showing a steady increase in the past few years.  Sharing his experience at LPU, Azzi, a Nigerian student who is pursuing a degree course in B.Tech, second year, said, “LPU follows a uniform curriculum without any disparity among the States or countries and provides higher education at a reasonable cost. We are given equal attention and treatment like the Indian students which work wonders for us as we mix-up well with them and learn about a new and exciting culture almost every day.”
LPU has a special international division for the foreign students which take care of their requirements related with food, understanding towards the new culture, local language, communication with parents etc. To overcome these barriers, LPU also encourages the foreign students by organizing events in which they showcase their cultures and way of living with the Indian students. These events help to learn the cultural heritage of various countries and celebrate the unity in diversity.
About LPU
LPU is the largest University in India in terms of students studying in one campus. LPU is a technology driven University with campus spread over 600 acres of land at a well connected location near Jalandhar. With more than 25000 students enrolled in more than 150 programs, LPU provides a whole range of integrated, under graduate and post graduate courses in various disciplines. LPU is a progressive education provider focused on providing professional education to its students to fit well in the industry. The curriculum is revised continually by taking feedback from industry leaders and a host of trainings are conducted by professional training firms to evolve students into confident personalities.

The university displays a vast cultural diversity with students from 26 different states and more than 20 countries. Innovative curriculum, unmatched Pedagogy and vast infrastructure has made LPU featured among top schools in various categories. Including, Management institutes has been ranked among the top B-Schools in India in the A++ category by the prestigious magazine, Business India (19 October, 2008 issue). LPU has been ranked 16 among private engineering universities in India by Times of India. LPU has also been ranked 3rd best university to be enrolled for further studies by business baron (March 2008) etc. Recently it has also been ranked as 1st in Infrastructure in India and 2nd Best University in North India by Financial Express. Star News too has awarded LPU for being the Outstanding B School North and gave the B School Leadership award. With the growth LPU has achieved in very short span and many more progressive ideas in mind, it plans to make India a global educational hub for all the students.