FINO ties up with ACCESS

B D Narayankar

THE ASSOCIATION will help tier two and tier three MFIs in building capacity and adopting management information systems (MIS) to improve efficiency in their day-to-day operations. FINO, a sectoral entity, has been created to meet the needs of banking and MFI sectors that target the rural masses in India. FINO has been a pioneer in serving low-income households in urban and rural India. It provides biometric smart cards to microfinance institutions, banks, government and insurance companies; it also serves as business correspondent of three of the biggest banks in India.

The smart card facilitates conduct of financial services like savings, loans, insurance and remittances. The card issued, after capturing the KYC (Know Your Customer) details of the customer, acts as an e-passbook, storing all account details of the customer as well as the fingerprints of the customer, which are used to validate each transaction in a secure manner.

The solution deployed by FINO will aid ACCESS Development Services in its endeavours in the MFI sector. FINO will implement its MIS systems along with its various delivery channels, including mobiles, smart cards, micro-deposit machines (MDM’s) and credit bureau services to aid Access’s AmFA partners scale up their operations to the next level.

With this technology, ACCESS Development Services’ rural customers can now access doorstep banking with an array of financial and non-financial services. According to Mr. Manish Khera, CEO, FINO Ltd, “It is a very prestigious association for us. ACCESS Development Services is known for its commitment and dedication to the microfinance sector in India. With this association we see ACCESS Development Services touching the lives of many un-banked customers. We both share a common goal - that is to serve the ‘base of the pyramid customers’. This association will provide FINO the opportunity to deliver scalable low-cost solutions and also help us in our continued long-term growth”

Says Vipin Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, ACCESS Development Services, "We are extremely delighted to be associated with FINO. The tie-up will help us strengthen our relationship with the ACCESS Microfinance Alliance (AmFA) network MFIs by providing them state-of-the-art technology in partnership with FINO and making us reach the un-banked rural masses and help bridge the demand - supply gap in financial and non-financial services. This initiative will enable us to take financial inclusion to the next level."

Financial Information Network & Operations Ltd (FINO) is a multi-bank-promoted pioneer providing smart card-based multi-application solutions to the “un-banked” in the banking, micro-finance, insurance and government sectors, primarily located in rural and semi-urban India. FINO’s ethos is to become a sectoral venture for serving the rural masses. FINO executes end-to-end turnkey solutions for LFI’s, including hardware/software, system integration, transaction network, operations, maintenance and training. FINO helps organizations improve efficiencies, considerably reducing the overall project cost thereby. In fact, FINO’s concept is to take banking and banking technology to the un-banked masses of the country.

ACCESS Development Services is a national, technical services company with focus on livelihoods and micro finance. Set up with the support of CARE and DFID in March 2006, it is designed to provide technical assistance to a rapidly-growing livelihoods and microfinance sector, working with civil society organizations, government departments, corporate sector and multilateral / bilateral agencies.

ACCESS focuses its efforts on the more under-served regions, helping to build local capacities and enhancing abilities to work to scale. ACCESS helps develop robust community-based models and demonstrate their efficacy as viable and sustainable institutional forms with a focus on building capacities of local partners in a region. Based on its knowledge and practice, ACCESS has developed a strategy on Livelihoods and Business Development Services, focusing on an inclusive value chain approach and works within a few sub-sectors - those in which the poor are engaged and those that have a potential.

Source: Meri News

D&B expects RBI to cut policy rates in near future

B D Narayankar

In an endeavor to maintain domestic macroeconomic and financial stability amidst turmoil in the global financial markets, RBI has announced a slew of measures which include cut in CRR, repo rate and SLR.

“The recent cut in the policy rates have reduced the cost of borrowing for banks which they are likely to pass on to their customers in terms of lower PLR. This might provide some required impetus to the investment activity and stimulate demand in the long run,” stated Kaushal Sampat, COO, Dun & Bradstreet India.

“However, the current slump in the exports demand and subdued domestic demand conditions coupled with credit crunch faced by the corporates will adversely impact the industrial production in the near future. We therefore expect IIP growth to moderate and remain close to 5.1% during FY09,” he added.

Sampat further said, “Given the increasing downside risks to the growth momentum coupled with the tight liquidity conditions we expect RBI to cut CRR and repo rate by 50 basis points each in near future."

Reduction in CRR and SLR, coupled with the first installment of agriculture debt waiver scheme, led to augmentation of liquidity to the extent of Rs 2,050 billion. This apart, net injection of Rs 9,279 billion through repo window during Oct-2008 and repurchase of MSS bonds worth Rs 200 billion by the Central Bank helped to ease liquidity pressures in the system, thereby leading call rates to ease.

While a severe liquidity crunch was witnessed in the banking system, bank credit continued to remain robust – registering a growth of 29.03% as on 24-Oct-08 as against 24.78% as on 26-Sep-08.

The substantial increase in bank credit can in part be attributed to drying up of external financing route for corporate sector due to global liquidity crunch and the rise in risk aversion amongst international investors. External commercial borrowing by Indian companies amounted to US$ 8.47 bn during H1 FY09 as against US$ 11.13 bn during H1 FY08.

Further, the domestic stock markets have been in a bearish mode during the last few months, making it difficult for the corporates to raise funds from this route and thereby increasing their recourse to the banking system for raising funds.

Further, high input costs coupled with the rising interest rates have adversely impacted the growth momentum during the first half of the current fiscal as is evident from the slowdown in IIP growth to 4.94% during H1 FY09 as compared to 9.49% during H1
FY08.

Even growth in capital goods production has almost halved to 10.76% during H1 FY09 as compared to 20.05% during HI FY08 which is indicative of moderation in investment activity across industries.

However, going forward, easing interest rates backed by the RBI's easy monetary policy stance are likely to help the corporates to raise cheaper funds domestically and would provide some impetus to investment activity in the long run.

Nonetheless, subdued demand conditions in the domestic economy and a slump in exports growth owning to slowdown in global economy are likely to hamper the industrial production in near future. D&B therefore expects IIP growth to moderate and remain close to 5.1% during FY09.

Article Source: http://www.saching.com

Metropolis plans pathology labs across globe

B D Narayankar

Diagnostic chain Metropolis plans to make its presence felt in international market by setting up its pathological labs in Thailand, South Asia, South-East Asia, West Asia, Africa, Latin America, Bangladesh, Nepal and China.

The company is already in talks with authorities of an existing lab in Thailand to acquire the same and open its new upgraded state-of-the-art pathology lab next month.

It also plans to take the same acquisition route to establish centres in Nepal and Bangladesh. "The centres will work in a hub-and-spoke model with collection centres at different parts of the countries," Metropolis managing director G S K Velu said.

Metropolis seeks to network South Asia, South-East Asia, West Asia and Africa by 2009 end. It already has labs in Sri Lanka, South Africa, Seychelles and UAE.

Metropolis is planning to upgrade some of the existing centres to tertiary labs and add more collection centres. Over the next two years, Metropolis will add 80 more collection centres in Sri Lanka and a few more in Dubai and South Africa.

In the second expansion phase beyond 2010, Metropolis will explore opportunities in Latin America and China.

In the domestic market, the company is looking at acquiring a few labs in the north and eastern parts of the country. Until the end of this fiscal year, Metropolis will spend Rs 50 crore on its expansion plans — both domestic and international.

Meanwhile, Metropolis is planning to set up a radiology referral chain with a pan-India presence.

For setting up high-end referral radiology chain, Metropolis will look for options, including opening own centres, public-private partnerships and collaboration with multinational as well as domestic entities.

Metropolis will go for a separate capital expenditure (capex) funding for the new venture, mainly through private equity, Velu informed. The company requires a capex of at least Rs 250 crore for having pan-India presence. "Radiology services are highly capital-intensive due to high equipment cost involved. Each centre costs at least Rs 20 crore," he said.

There is a huge opportunity for radiology services, especially outsourced work from hos­pitals, including the state-run ones. "We are already managing labs of 30 hospitals," Velu said.

The company-owned centres may come up along with the existing pathological centres. In three years, Metropolis hopes to have a chain of 20 centres with high-end equipment, including CT scanners, positron emission tomography (PET) machines and mammography instruments.

In order to expand its pathological testing chain, Metropolis will spend Rs 200 crore until the end of financial year 2010. The company will explore both debt and equity routes to execute its plans.

Article Source: http://www.saching.com

First NobleGuide surgery performed in Pune

B D Narayankar

Sporting a beautiful and wonderful set of working teeth is everybody's dream, including elderly people. They would certainly love to get the smile back on their faces. This wouldn't have been possible a few years back as there were hardly any hi-tech dental solutions. But with Nobel Biocare's dental solutions there is now a good chance for even septuagenarians to get back their smiles on their faces.

Seventy-year-old Dattatray Barve was the first Punekar to get back his self-confidence after he underwent the dental implant surgery using Nobel Biocare's NobelGuide for full-mouth rehabilitation.

Thirty years back, Dattatray had lost all his teeth due to periodontal disease. Since there was no other alternative, he opted for removable dentures and changed them six times. During this period, these dentures gave him multiple problems - he could not eat comfortably and made him feel older. The constant slipping of dentures caused a great deal of embarrassment.

However, after undergoing the dental implant surgery for all his missing teeth with Prosthesis placed on eleven Nobel Biocare implants, Dattatray is delighted to get back his smile and eating comfort. "I am delighted to have performed NobelGuide surgery on my father. It has brought the smile back and gave heaps of self-confidence to him. People who have had traditional dentures before getting a fixed bridge often describe NobelGuide surgery as an overwhelming and positive experience," Dr Nitin Barve, Dattatray's son-dentist, who performed the first NobelGuide surgery in Pune, said.

"Modern medical science has made it possible to have permanent dental solutions that don’t embarrass you. When all teeth are missing, or in such condition that they need to be replaced, a fixed bridge anchored to dental implants provides the best permanent solution. Today, it is possible to replace a full jaw with Nobel implants and kiss goodbye to dentures," Dr Nitin added.

So, what are you waiting for? Chuck those old and uncomfortable dentures and go for a permanent dental solution provided by Nobel Biocare. The help is not too far away. You can log on to www.nobelsmile.in to find out the right kind of dentist closest to you.

How do dentists perform surgery?

Step 1 - He determines what needs to be done and prepares both himself and patient for the treatment.

Step 2 – Plans surgery for placing dental implants, using NobelGuide.

Step 3 - Installs dental implants to replace the missing teeth.

Step 4 - Installs the fixed dentures on top of the implants.

Step 5 – Patients are now set to eat anything.

Article Source: http://www.saching.com

Now hire a professional matchmaker

B D Narayankar

IN THIS era of competition, we get hardly any time to attend to our needs. One of the basic and most important decisions of our life is to select the right life partner. When you begin your efforts, you pity your amateurism in finding a partner. Under the circumstances, it’s advisable that you hire a trained matchmaker.

Services of such matchmakers can be availed of by prospective brides through BM Privilege, a unique personalised service that addresses the needs of the singles who do not have time or the opportunity to search and meet potential partners through usual channels. The service was recently launched in Chennai.

Members who opt for BM Privilege service will be assigned a personal matchmaker, who will either search and identify compatible profiles or complete the initial rounds of contacting profiles. Members are given the freedom to choose either of the services.

Murugavel Janakiraman, chief executive officer and founder, BharatMatrimony.com and the Consim Group said, "BM Privilege has been developed after taking into account the customer needs and it is expected to take matchmaking to a completely new level.”
“We have been in the business of matchmaking for over a decade now and we take pride in delivering the level of service that we promise our members. People want privacy and personalised service. BM Privilege is an answer to the ’personalised service generation’, who are looking for a quick and hassle-free way of finding a life partner," he said.

Source:

EMRI set to redefine emergency services in Karnataka

B D Narayankar

A KID while crossing the road at Whitefield is knocked off by a whizzing car. Next moment he is lying at the roadside fighting for his life. After a while, a hospital ambulance arrives at the scene from Shivajinagar only to find him dead. Like this kid, there are approximately 50,000 people dying without even getting a pre-medical treatment in Bengaluru. This happens because there are inadequate numbers of ambulances owned by city hospitals and deployed at vantage points.

Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI) is here to redefine the concept of providing emergency medical services in Bengaluru, in particular and Karnataka at large. The ’Arogya Kavacha-108’ medical, police and fire services, was launched by former President A P J Abdul Kalam in Bengaluru last week. The service is a public-private initiative.

Accident victims will get the most necessary pre-medical services at a quick pace. The caller need not wait too long for getting connected to an EMRI centre. All the calls will be answered by phone jockeys within two rings.

The 108 Emergency Response Service is a toll free number and callers can access it from their landline and mobile phones. "Once the caller dials 108 to report an emergency, the call lands at the Emergency Response Centre in Magadi Road, where at least 35 phone jockeys are working. The jockeys will collect the information regarding the kind of emergency and the location and ask for ambulance, a fire tender or police vehicle to be sent as appropriate," said EMRI chief executive officer (CEO) M Venkat Chengavalli.

EMRI chief operation officer (COO, Karnataka) Bharat Radhakrishnan said that the deployment of 32 ambulances at various vantage points of the city enables EMRI response team to reach the disaster spot in few minutes. "Likewise, we have deployed 34 more ambulances in 17 districts of Karnataka like Tumkur, Chitradurga, Davangere and Bellary, in the first phase," he said.

Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa said on an average the government will deploy one ambulance for a lakh people. By next March, Karnataka hopes to increase the fleet to 110 and by 210, the service will cover the entire state with 517 ambulances in place in various districts," he announced.

Elucidating on the state-of-the-art ambulances, Radhakrishnan added that the state-of-the-art ambulances can nearly handle any emergency situation. The vans are equipped with medical equipment ranging from defibrillators and ventilators, to extrication tools.

There will be a pilot (the driver) and one emergency medical technician. The EMT will give pre-hospital care under the guidance of emergency response centre physicians, as in pregnancy cases.

Further adding, Radhakrishnan said ’Dial 108’ service has received tremendous response. In just 24-hour span since its inauguration, the service has received a whopping 20,000 calls, of which 100 were effective. Around 35 calls were related to road traffic accidents (RTA), pregnancy cases and cardiac attacks, while ten were police cases like robbery.

Source: Meri News

Now catching a train is as easy as a flight

B D Narayankar

WORRIED OVER airfare hikes? There is an option. Book a train reservation. Taking a train, now a days, is as easy as catching a flight. The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC)’s magic number "139 - Rail Sampark" has made life easier for travellers.

The inquisitive traveller will get all railway-related information within three rings without any interruptions or disconnections as before. They just need to dial 139 from any fixed line or mobile phone.

Travellers can get answers for their queries quickly because the call centre executives stick to the set questionnaire drafted by IRCTC. They don’t ask questions to callers other than what is listed. "This prevents reducing their Average Handling Time (AHT). Our aim is to give callers information within two minutes," says Rajini Hasija, IRCTC Information Technology General Manager.

The recent hike in air fares forced many to shift allegiance to trains. Sales of First AC and Second AC tickets shot up from 27 per cent to 43 per cent, between August 2007 and 2008. It was a time to rejoice, but IRCTC did not sit on its laurels. It instead focused on challenges thrown up by good revenue performance. First, they started working towards providing accurate and fast information to travellers.


The 24x7 line, operational since July 2007, enables PNR enquiries, all-India current train positions, fare information and ticketing. "It is as easy as taking a flight. I was surprised when I had to make a business trip to Bangalore by train," says T P Shaktivel, chief corporate officer at Unique Infoway, a Delhi-based IT company.

The 139 service, whose call centres are in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, is a revolutionary concept. It can be a good benchmark for public sector units’ serving customers, not only in terms of services provisioning, but also in terms of the business model," says Nilaya Varma, associate director at PricewaterhouseCoopers,

Already 139 employs about 2,000 people and draws over six lakh calls a day, which is expected to rise to 2 million calls by the year end. The system has the capacity to handle an astonishing 20 million calls a day, and more. "It’s a service that is a revolution in the making. It will change the way a customer interacts with the Railways," says Nalin Shinghal, managing director of IRCTC.

Another atribute which other PSU’s can get inspiration from is IRCTC’s indebatable emergency services, despite the 300 pre cent redundancy. This was evident during a series of agitations led by Gujjar leader Kirori Singh Bainsla.

Soon IRCTC is planning to route calls to the next closest destination if the network called is dead or busy.

Indian Railways is not incurring any capital or operational ex­penditure for the process, which is borne by the franchisee — a consortium of the Modi Group-promoted Bharat BPO, BSNL, Spanco Telesystems, Stracon Back Office Solutions and the Omnia Group — with a 10-year contract.

"The revenue potential is humungous," says Manish Sharma, associate director at KPMG. "If infrastructure and SLAs (service level agree­ments) are good, the railways could be attracting short-distance travellers on road routes such as Delhi-Chandigarh or Chennai-Pondicherry."

By the end of the year, premium services such as SMS alerts, call backs and fax, and value-added services such as tourism products, hotels and car rentals will be offered on another three-digit number.

There’s more. "We are awaiting government clearance so that customers can show their tickets on mobile phones and not carry a print-out," says Praveen Kumar, CEO of the Omnia Group. But both Hasija and Kumar acknowledge that improved basic services are not intended as revenue generators. "If we can establish a credible connect in basic services, customers will be happy to pay for value-added services," says Kumar. They sure will.

Certainly Indian Railways piloted by Union Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav is in full steam to revamp its dark image into a twinkling one.

Source: Meri News

Learn the art of living with Vedic diaries

B D Narayankar

IT’S BECOME a fad nowadays. Most of the diaries are trendy and give lot of information about the matter outside. Fine. It is important. But to know thyself is even more good. Knowing yourself makes you a perfect human being. What best available means could be than to own a personal diary which has spiritual contents?

Nightingale of Srinivas fine arts, India’s leading premium paper products company has launched its exquisite designer spiritual diaries for 2009 - namely Vedic and God and Goddess diaries.

Vedic Diary

This diary on Vedic philosophy and spiritual knowledge offers guidance to the modern generation to help them lead balanced lives. Specially designed with embossed natural shade paper with gilded edges the Vedic diary has special information about Vedic Tree of Knowledge and general brief on the various systems of philosophy which includes the Vedas, Prasthanatraya, Upanishads, Saddarshana, Vedangas, Vedantasutra, Puranas, Itihasas, Kavyas.

Each dated page includes day-to-day Panchanga information along with Rahu Kalam and Yama Gandam timings.

It contains specially researched content relating to Hindu festivals along with their history and how they are observed and Ashottara Shata Naamavalis of various Indian Gods and Goddesses.

It also contains various drawings of Gods and Goddesses as per ancient Shipa Shastra for daily meditation. The diary priced at Rs 565 is available at all leading stores across the country.

God and Goddesses diary

The Gods and Goddesses diary features Lord Siddhi Vinayaka and Radha Krishna on the cover page. The diary contains specially researched content relating to Hindu festivals with details of their importance and celebrations. Each page contains quotes from the Bhagavad-Gita, which explains the best aspects of both Eastern and Western thought processes along with Hindu lunar months and dates with Tithi and Nakshatra.

It also contains the Amirtadi Yogas, the moons positions in Rasis. The diary also provides details on the Muhurtham days for the year 2009. The back cover of the diary is embossed with the auspicious Sri Gayatri Yantra.

Buyback: Boosting sentiments of Ipca investors

B D Narayankar

THERE IS some good news for people who have already invested in Ipca. They can now heave a sigh of relief, as generic drugmaker Ipca Laboratories is considering a share buyback. This will prevent the price of the stock from falling down further in the weak Indian market. And for the new investors, it will be an opportunity to make big money after investing in it now.

With the economic slowdown and global bourses bathed in red, Mumbai-based Ipca had a tough time as the stock lost 43.42 per cent of its value this year. The buyback news will certainly boost investors’ sentiments.
The company will be deciding the buyback and its investment size at a board meeting scheduled on November 1. Ipca decided on the buyback after considering its strong cash reserve position. The firm plans to use a portion of Rs 600 crore in this regard, Ipca executive director AK Jain stated.

“A share buy-back makes sense now as the valuation is low and it may also help (in) boosting shareholder value,” he said.

Ipca shares closed at Rs 383.55 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Friday (October 31), nearly half the Rs 760 per share on January 10, when the stock was at a 52-week high.

Buying back shares from the open market at a premium could help support the stock in a bear run. Promoters in Ipca currently hold 46.7 per cent of the company.

The company’s consolidated net sales have witnessed a CAGR of 17.6 per cent since ’03 to reach Rs 1,091.4 crore in financial year (FY) 08, while net profit posted a CAGR of over 16.8 per cent to Rs 136 crore. This growth has mainly been organic.

The past two quarters have seen a drop in profits (and hence margins) due to (extraordinary) translational losses on foreign currency loans. Ipca is in the process of commercialising its new facilities.

The expanded facilities are likely to result in tax benefits and increase Ipca’s capacity to meet new demand. The company has commenced its formulations business in the US and expects an additional business worth $5 million (Rs 22.5 crore) this year.

Ipca incurred a capex of Rs 140 crore in FY08 to increase existing capacities in India. It has a planned capex of Rs 80 crore and Rs 100 crore for FY09 and FY10, respectively. Ipca is a dividend-paying company with an average dividend payout of 20 per cent of profits. It is likely to maintain this payout ratio in the near future.

The company’s consolidated EPS is Rs 51. It commands a fair valuation compared to similar sized peers. It is likely to log a growth of 18-20 per cent to achieve a turnover of Rs 1,287.8 crore in FY09. Considering its estimated earnings for FY09 and excluding the effect of extraordinary translational losses on forex loans, Ipca is currently trading at an attractive forward P/E of eight, against the current consolidated P/E of 10.5.

Lodha - building flats for socialites in Hyderabad

B D Narayankar

YOU GO abroad and stay in a villa or an apartment. You would get bored as there would be no one to share your feelings with. The life there is so clustered. This situation is also prevalent in most of the high-end villas and the residential towers in India. Lodha Group, a Mumbai-based realty company is set to address this problem in Hyderabad. Soon the company will begin constructing its multiple towers with 45 floors, each floor having one luxury apartment at Madhapur for those who value both high-end accommodation as well as socialising.

This is the second such project in Hyderabad after Lanco announced its plans to build 100 plus residential flats recently. Lodha Group is venturing outside Maharashtra to build residential towers for the first time in association with HDFC. It has already acquired 12.9 acres of land for the project in a government auction in Cyberabad six months back.

“About four towers with the very best facilities and green space would be created in the next few years,” said Lodha Group’s senior vice president (marketing) R Karthik.

He said that though villas offered comfort but they denied social life to the residents. "Now these posh apartments will address the problem but without sacrificing the privacy of the denizens living therein," he added.

Karthik, however, did not disclose the apartment costs, saying that his company would divulge related details soon. He said there was a very good response from the Hyderabadis to the group’s new venture.

He felt that the global recession might not impact the real estate sector in India too much. Though the kind of growth witnessed earlier might come down, but there would still be good growth because people want to live in comfort and they do have money. "They might be cautious about how they spend the money, but they would surely spend," he said.

Established more than 25 years ago, Lodha Group has many innovative firsts to their credit and are currently developing in excess of 25 million sq ft over 27 projects in and around Mumbai.

The Group also focuses on office spaces, IT campuses, weekend retreats, townships and SEZs. The company has attracted investments from the leading global financial institutions like JP Morgan, Deutsche Bank and ICICI ventures. Its world-class structures are characterised by home automated systems, earthquake-resistant buildings, biometric fingerprint access, 24x7 multi-level security systems and eco-friendly environs among others.

Travel industry: New business model clicks

B D Narayankar

FOR EXAMPLE, online travel portal Cleartrip.com, in partnership with the Indian Railways and Catering and Tourism Corporation, has launched online train bookings. The tie-up with IRCTC has brought cheers to Cleartrip which had experienced a 10 per cent decrease in travel bookings in August-September compared to the first quarter of this year. The 10-per cent decrease in travel bookings was mainly because of withdrawal of certain flights. Also, a few customers, who were regular business class travellers had shifted to economy class travelling.

Cleartrip.com is now recording more than 22,000 railway ticket bookings per day and has also been receiving new traffic. "We have recorded a 15 per cent increase in air and hotel bookings also in the last one month," said Noel Swain, vice-president (Marketing), Cleartrip.com.

Giving the break-up of rail bookings, Cleartrip Rail Product Head Ashish Dhruva said the company had witnessed 17 per cent bookings from East India, while 55 per cent came from Kolkata. “As much as 77 per cent of the bookings from the East are for premium class with an approximate ticket value of Rs 1,650,” he divulged.
“The government-owned Indian Railways boasts one of the largest and most-trafficked railroad networks in the world, with over 18,000 trains operating daily across over 60,000 kilometres of railroad tracks and over 6,800 railway stations. The sheer size and scale of Indian Railways made offering online railway bookings a high priority for Cleartrip,” he added.

By 2009-10, Cleartrip expects domestic travel bookings to account for almost 60 per cent of its overall revenues, railway booking for about 20 per cent; the remaining will be accounted for by hotel bookings. Apart from travel bookings, Cleartrip is contemplating introduction of new services like insurance protection for international travellers, Dhruva said. At present, it offers Tata AIG and General Insurance cover to domestic travellers.

On the other hand, Travelport, a Mumbai-based travel house, has decided to make holidaying an over-the-counter (OTC) experience. At these counters, a customer can browse through information on touch-screen kiosks and plan his travel. He can make air and railway ticket bookings, choose his hotel and the date of travel either for business or pleasure both in India and abroad, informed Adil Bajirao, senior vice-president, leisure outbound division, Travelport.

Travelport will launch about 150-200 such travel solution shops across the country and has decided to tie up with several malls, multiplexes and retail chains for the purpose. The first OTC counter has been launched at the InOrbit mall in the western suburb of Malad in Mumbai.

The company also plans to open unmanned kiosks like travel ATMs, which will function 24x7 and cater to the emergency needs of travellers who may need to change their plans even in the middle of the night.

FINO reaches 2 million mark in just 4 months

B D Narayankar

FINANCIAL INFORMATION Network and Operations (FINO), a Mumbai-based biometric-enabled smartcard solutions provider, engaged in providing financial, non-financial products and services to the unbanked rural masses has completed two million enrollments of unbanked customers in India.

Since its inception, FINO has meticulously reached out to the non-banked sectors of the country and played a pivotal role in strengthening the banking radar of India.

FINO is rapidly growing; over two million households from the rural, semi urban and urban belt are currently getting benefits from the services offered with Axis Bank, Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, DGB, ICICI Bank, ING Vysya, Oriental Bank of Commerce, Punjab National Bank, Union Bank of India and other financial and government institutions.

On achieving the target of two million enrollments, Manish Khera, chief executive officer (CEO) FINO said, “We have issued more than 18 lakh cards so far. Enrolling customers at the rate of 20,000 per day, FINO crossed the two million mark in a period of just four months, after announcing its first million. One of the biggest challenges hampering growth in micro-banking industry is the huge amount of paperwork and human effort traditionally involved in supporting micro transactions and credit-scoring potential customers.”

“But FINO’s biometric card resolves these barriers to growth as this is one card that provides all solution. It not only helps end-users with an easy-to-use and highly secure mode of financial transactions, but also assists us to supervise transactions electronically. FINO continues to be hugely popular with customers. The introduction of new value-based services such as FINO-Saral has also contributed to the overall growth of the company. We are extremely honoured by the trust of our partners, the leading Indian banks and its International investors,” he added.

Founded in July 13, 2006, FINO today has an excellent network of nearly 1,500 agents all across, serving customers on the FINO architecture. Rishi Gupta, chief financial officer (CFO) and president (sales and marketing), FINO, said, “FINO is all about offering our customers innovative products and services. We are pleased with the progress we have made over the last two years. We are planning to issue more than four million cards by the end of March 2009.”

Technology upgradation is a priority to attract business opportunities. Hence, FINO has striven to successfully achieve ISO 9001-2000 certification by British Standards Institute (BSI).

Certified for the scope, ’design, development and supply of smart cards and systems’ by an authority like BSI will help attract investments nationally and internationally removing barriers for trade and establishing FINO as a company committed to high standards and continual improvement.

FINO, a multi-bank promoted company is a pioneering company providing cutting edge smart card based multi application solutions to ’unbanked’ in banking, microfinance, insurance and government sectors primarily located in rural and semi urban areas of India.

FINO ethos is becoming a sectoral venture for serving rural masses and helps other institutions contribute as per ’Financial Inclusion’ (FI) guidelines of Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

FINO executes end-to-end turnkey solutions for LFI’s including hardware/software, system integration, transaction network, operations, maintenance and training. FINO helps organisations improve efficiencies considerably by reducing overall project cost. In fact, FINO’s concept is to take banking and the banking technology to un-banked masses in the country.

Source: Meri News

Railways goes in for skills upgradation training

B D Narayankar

OFTEN YOU get frustrated over the rude conduct of railway staff at various customer care counters. The staff is ill-trained in providing first-class customer service. However, a few years from now, when you revisit them, you will find them giving service with a broad smile on their faces.

This will be made possible through Hero Mindmine’s (HMM), a leading training and consulting organisation’s, customer care training programme, which was recently launched at the Railways Customer Care Institute at Kishanganj, New Delhi. The purpose of Railways for taking this initiative is to train their front end staff to provide the customers a world class customer service experience.

Railways have awarded this training contract to HMM initially for the period of three years, which may subsequently be extended to two more years. Under the three-year customer care training project, HMM will train more than 1.25 lakh railway staff from station master level, right up to the help desk staff.

A W George, business head, HMM said, “It is of immense pride that Indian Railways have chosen us as their partner in training their employees. As our aim is to contribute to India’s competitive workforce and enhancing employability at large, the assignment brings yet another laurel to the organisation. We are pleased to participate in the skill transformation initiative of Indian Railways.”

Quoting union railways minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, he said, “Rail passengers are our revered guests; (atithi devo bhav) has been a tradition in our country for centuries. We have brought about several important changes to make the travel experience of our guests pleasant, comfortable and secure. With conscious investment in human resource, it underlines yet another initiative of Indian Railways to focus on developing skills of our staff members that may help increase their productivity and further contribute to Indian economy.”

Of late the Indian Railways has been striving to offer best of customer experience to its passengers. Last year with outsourcing its call centre facility to Bharat BPO and launching 139, a customer enquiry service, Indian Railways is showcasing their commitment of enhancing service experience and upgrading value prepositions for its customers.

HMM, is a subsidiary of Hero corporate service limited which is an academic and scholastic body which has emerged as one of India’s leading training and consulting organisation by partnering with spectrum of multinationals, Indian corporations and public sector organisations. It has built proven content delivery methods in the areas of communication skills, sales, customer service, leadership, people management, strategic planning, team building, cultural sensitisation etc.

Backed by the US $ 4.2 billion Hero group, it provides learning solutions in the area of training delivery, consulting, content development and assessments for sectors like airlines, automative, BPO, FMCG, IT, pharma etc. Till date, more than 225,000 people across the country and internationally, have benefited from HMM programmes. It has worked with blue chip clients like American Express, CSC, GE, Godrej, HP, IBM, Infosys, the Tata Group, LG, EDS, Samsung, NTPC, NHPC, Standard Chartered Bank, Wipro, Alcatel and a host of other companies. An independent industry think tank, HMM has renowned names like NR Narayana Murthy, Deepak Parekh, Raman Roy and RA Mashelkar on its advisory board.

Source: Meri News

Dynamic packaging is latest tourism friendly tool

B D Narayankar

IF YOU are looking for an online destination module to create customised Scandinavian tours then simply log on to ScandiVision portal. You will get everything you wanted for a Scandinavian tours. The portal besides recommending good tourist spots will provide route maps, and make reservations easier and hassle-free.

But, people in India will have to wait for few more months, before the software is sold to the travel agents. The first-ever dynamic packaging offer comes from the Norway-based Robinson Scandinavia, the inbound tour operator. The project, which is in the final stages of discussions, is expected to be launched in India by the end of next year.

Once the portal is launched in India, selling Scandinavia will be a different experience for the travel trade. This dynamic packaging will be initiated on a commission basis, which could range from 15 to 25 per cent depending on the bulk of business.

On a similar note, online travel companies in India have also evinced keen interest in launching dynamic packaging by next year. Ezeego, Yatra, Makemytrip, Akbartravelsonline have plans to introduce dynamic packaging options. This will set the trend for new-age travel, wherein technology rules the working scenario.

ScandiVision will serve as a one-stop platform for all packages related to Scandinavia in India, wherein customers can get online and book the package of their choice at their own ease. On completion of the package selection, the customer receives a confirmation, which is sent across via e-mail.

The company also plans to offer travel agents the ScandiVision software through white labeling solution. Through this offering, Robinson Scandinavia will provide a link on the travel agent’s web portal for Scandinavian products.

Once a customer clicks on the link, it will directly take the client to the ScandiVision portal, wherein one can book and build their own tour package. “The white labelling solution will be customised according to the travel agents’ preferences and the bookings will be linked to the ScandiVision website,” confirmed Jordi Somers, director - sales, Robinson Scandinavia.

The portal will provide an online destination module, wherein the end-consumer or travel agents can easily create tours according to their preferences and ideas. After finalising the selected tour, the system will send the confirmation of the selected tour to the travel agent or client. By introducing dynamic packaging, companies will work out cost effective solutions by trimming manpower costs as well as provide the ease of bookings for customers.

Source: Meri News

Metropolis gets SANAS recognition

B D Narayankar

METROPOLIS HEALTH Services, a multinational chain of diagnostics centres, has become the first and only Indian diagnostic laboratory to be accredited by SANAS (South African National Accreditation System). As a result, the Metropolis boasts of the largest number of key and globally-recognised accreditations in the country.

SANAS is recognised by the South African government as the single national accreditation body, that accords formal recognition to laboratories, certification bodies, inspection bodies, proficiency testing scheme providers and good laboratory practice (GLP) test facilities, certifying their competencies to carry out qualified tests.

On the occasion, Dr G S K Velu, managing director, Metropolis Health Services said, “We consider it a great privilege to have been given the SANAS accreditation. It is also a matter of great pride that with this, Metropolis has the highest number of primary global accreditations in the country.”

“Metropolis has the highest number of primary global accreditations in the country. This follows our recent global accreditations from Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA), College of American Pathologists (CAP) and domestic accreditation from National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) and reflects our endeavour to constantly offer quality and premium services to our customers.”

These accreditations have raised the bar of expectations internally while also ensuring and reaffirming Metropolis’ quality assurance system and technical competence, he said.

Source: Meri News

Dalal Street may pink-slip 20,000

B D Narayankar

AFTER AVIATION industry, it’s the turn of the broking firms to resort to job cuts. It is reported that as many as 20,000 staffers will be shown the door soon after Diwali. Top brokerage houses are unable to fend off the challenges posed by global depression as most of the Indian bourses’ charts are bathed in red.

Angel Broking, it is reported, has already shortlisted 500 employees and is on the verge of asking them to pack off. The company is planning to serve a month’s notice on the to-be-retrenched employees. The retrenchment will begin at the branch level, mainly at the mid and lower management levels. "Performance of the staffers is the main criterion to be considered," said an officer of Angel Broking, which has the most number of retail outlets in India.

Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited is also planning to cut jobs. Highly reliable sources at the company accepted the scenario by saying, “Yes, we have ’non-performers’ on their way out, but they are very few in number".

After January, things have been getting tough for brokerage firms. Their income levels have been on the downslide with share orders and transactions remaining dismal at many branches. Sources revealed that almost all the brokerage houses have seen their business plummeting to 30-40 per cent. Salaries grew by 4-6 times in the last two years alone.

But with sales volume at a third of what was witnessed during the peak, revenue flow has now thinned. In this scenario, many broking firms have decided to cut employee salaries, Sharekhan being the first one to do so.

Most employees working in the sector have been preparing themselves for this scenario right from the day they realised that there would be no Diwali bonus. “Forget the bonus, we don’t even know what will happen to our jobs," said one, pointing out that layoffs had started a couple of months ago, with HSBC removing virtually the entire analysis team at IL&FS after taking over the firm.

When contacted, a spokesperson at Angel Broking denied any retrenchment plans but accepted that they had halted all recruitment. “Lower level people got the bonus as it is not a big amount. Bonus at middle and higher levels is performance-linked and our half-yearly appraisals will come only in January. Considering the pres­ent scenario, we can hardly expect anything," the spokesperson said.

Source: Meri News

Zydus drags Teva to court

B D Narayankar

ZYDUS CADILA, an Ahmedabad-based pharmaceutical company, has dragged Teva pharmaceuticals, the world’s largest generic drug maker, to court in the US, seeking damages for Teva’s anti-trust violations and unfair trade practices relating to risperidone drug. The Rs 25,000 crore drug is widely used for treating schizophrenia.

In a recent filing with the Virginia district court, Zydus, through its US subsidiary Zydus pharmaceuticals, presented a lawsuit against Teva on the grounds that Teva’s patent was in violation of unfair trade practices and that Zydus was under no legal obligation to provide its classified documents to Teva for approval before manufacturing the risperidone API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) and the finished dosage forms.

The US Sherman Act of 1890 forbids any contract or combination that restraints trade or any monopoly or attempts to monopolise.

Zydus has denied any infringement of Teva’s patent claims and alleged that Teva obtained the US patents 6750341 and 7256195 wrongfully with the intent to deceive the US patent and trademark office. The company has thus filed for declaratory judgement against Teva’s patent claims. Zydus also claims that it has not infringed on any valid claim of Teva’s patents.

In its filing, Zydus also said that Teva’s representatives have been allegedly advising Zydus’ customers that a legal action by Teva against Zydus would result in unsellable stock, should they purchase API or any formulation using API from Zydus.

“Teva is also allegedly threatening both Zydus and its customers with legal action to curtail any distribution of Zydus risperidone API and API formulation.”

According to the patent petition filed on October 14, by Zydus Cadila, Teva, through a letter dated September 15, 2008, demanded that Zydus should refrain from marketing any risperidone products until Teva could complete an analysis of Zydus’ abbreviated new drug application (ANDA) and review the processes by which such products would be made.

The Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) attached to the demand letter requires that Zydus stipulate and agree that Teva’s counsel not be disqualified from representing Teva with respect to the prosecution of the pending patent.

Source: Meri News

Double magic

B D Narayankar

If you step incorrectly, you may toss yourself off the back of the machine. It may take a while before getting used to it. Once accustomed, you will not give a miss to this wonderful machine, especially if you suffer from knee or back ailments.

The tread climber is a hybrid version of the treadmill and stair climber. "The machine is one of the newer pieces of gym equipments to hit the global market. It is yet to be officially launched in India, though it can be ordered from its US manufacturers," says Neesha Maria Bukht, fitness trainer at Talwalkars, Mumbai.

Tread climber offers an effective cardiovascular workout as the machine has two separate revolving belts that move up and down in a stepping motion. In other word, you are combining the two machines into one, which offers a low-impact workout, while burning those extra calories faster than most other exercises, says Neesha. "Another interesting feature is that you can't really run or jog on the tread climber, you can just walk," she adds.

More and more elderly people are getting hooked to the tread climber as the machine provides opportunity for them to workout without putting much strain on their backs and knees. "There are some like Chetna Desai, a Mumbai homemaker, who have lost over five kilos in two months, with just 20 minutes on the machine for five days a week," Nisha says.

As is the case with most machines, you can control the speed and resistance of the tread climber during the workout. It's advisable to start at the lower resistance levels and then progress to the maximum setting, cautions Neesha.

Initially, you ought to be careful while using the tread climber. The combo machine is difficult. If you get it wrong you will be thrown back off the machine, injuring yourself. However, there's an emergency stop button. "But once you get hold of it, it is easy to do your workouts," she says.

If somebody wants to buy this machine, the only deterrent is its cost. It is priced at anything between Rs 3 lakh to 3.5 lakh. And a superior model even costs much more. But it certainly a good investment for staying fit, Neesha argues.

It's just a matter of time before gyms in India make a beeline for this magic machine.

Source: Meri News

123Greetings: Send e-cards in a jiffy

B D Narayankar

FRUSTRATED AFTER browsing through several sites to send an e-card? Relax; this is what you should do. Visit the improved 123Greetings.com to send the choicest e-cards in a jiffy. The popular website has easier navigation mechanism that gives users a comprehensive view of their e-card choices on screen. Users no longer have to click through several pages to send a card.

123Greetings, the world’s leading provider of e-cards, recently unveiled a new and improved website. The site is refurbished in alignment with the passion of giving its 120 million users with an enhanced user experience to make it easy for them to navigate for sending e-card greetings.

The new, cleaner look and feel of 123Greetings also incorporates all the features of state-of-the-art Web 2.0 technology such as social proofing, which rates the most popular e-cards sent by users. It has also eliminated all obtrusive pop-up and pop-under advertising.

The features now available at 123Greetings.com include: A new five-star rating system tells consumers which e-card designs are most popular with users, based on the number of e-card views and cards sent. An expanded offering of e-card designs, graphics, photographs, messages and music for the more than 3,000 categories of special events and everyday occasions.

A "thumbs-up" rating system enables consumers to comment on a card’s relevancy -- elimination of all obtrusive pop-up or pop-under advertising makes a visit to 123Greetings more enjoyable. The new features are also user-friendly for advertisers of 123Greetings.

“Advertising is above the fold and at premium positions,” said 123Greetings founder Arvind Kajaria.

“It supports rich media ad units which provide marketers an opportunity to communicate their messages innovatively to our loyal and dedicated users,” he added.

123Greetings.com is the world’s leading provider of e-cards, helping more than 120 million people uses the Internet to send personal expressions to friends and family through the world’s largest offering of e-cards.

The teams of artists, designers, musicians and visualisers at 123Greetings create more than 20,000 e-cards for more than 3,000 special events and everyday celebrations. This customised content has made 123Greetings a valued destination for some of the Internet’s most popular social media networks.

123Greetings’ applications and widgets are available to users of Facebook, MySpace, Friendster, Orkut, Hi5 and Bebo and other social networks and blogs, which allow users ubiquitous access across multiple devices and platforms.

Source: Meri News

Kolkatans can now enjoy a drive along dirty canals

B D Narayankar

IMAGINE RIDING on a two-wheeler and ambling along a contaminated storm water canal. You will first curse yourself for having taken this route. You will be greeted with an offensive smell and wayside filth strewn all over. By the time you reach home, you will be basking for oxygen. The scenario will be opposite, if you had manicured fruit trees and medicinal herbs planted all along the canal. At the end of the journey, you would have breathed in tons of oxygen making you feel refurbished. That’s exactly what Kolkata municipal corporation (KMC) plans to do for its citizens.

The municipality, under its ADB-funded Kolkata environment improvement project (KEIP), will build green belts that will run along three key storm water canals, covering a distance of 41 km.

The three channels are - the Tollygunge-Panchannai canal that sends sewer water from Jadavpur, Santoshpur, Dhakuria and Mukundapur to the Chowbagha pumping station and finally flushes it out into the Bidyadhari; the Churial canal, which is the only canal in Kolkata that flows from east to west from Joka to the Hooghly, and Monikhali or Begor canal beyond Behala.

KEIP officials are in touch with the state forest department to select the right kind of fruit trees, medicinal plants and other eco-friendly shady trees that will be suitable for such a drive. Forest officials are excited over this unique project. Unlike other projects where lot of focus is on landscaping and ornamental planting, KEIP contemplates on raising fruit trees and other medicinal plants.

“We are very happy to help KEIP because it is only through such greening projects that we will be able to counter pollution,” said Nilanjan, Mullick, deputy conservator of forests, urban recreational forestry.

As the success of the ambitious project will depend on a number of environmental factors, KMC has roped in horticulture experts to handle the nitty-gritty. The execution will be in the hands of a private operator and tenders have been floated for this already. The work will start next month.

The green stretches have been divided into type-one and type-two forestry zones. While the former will have fruit trees and medicinal herbs, the latter stretch will be home to bigger, shady trees. A wide range of fruits that thrive in Kolkata weather — coconut, amla, jack-fruit, mangoes like Himsagar, Amrapali and Millica, guava, lemons such as batabi, kagzi and pati — will be planted.

Popular medicinal plants like aloe vera, kalmegh, sarpagandha and aswagandha have been short listed.

“What sets this project apart from other green drives is the fact that fruits will be planted. This will make the project self-sustaining, at least to an extent. We have chosen fringe areas because it is difficult to get land in the city proper. While in most places the width of the green verge will be five metres, in some places it will be three meters, as we have to ensure smooth traffic flow as well,” said Debashish Guha, administrative officer of KEIP.

As there is fear of destroying the green verge, the KEIP has imposed a condition that the executor will have to maintain the entire belt till 2010. Watering and manuring the plants, administering medicines, pruning and cleaning of weeds and, above all, protecting the trees from encroachers will be the responsibility of the executor.

Other municipalities, especially Bangalore civic body, should take a cue out of it and do something on similar lines.

Source: Meri News

Get better salaries with Gurukulonline

B D Narayankar

WORKING PROFESSIONALS, who are eager to climb the ladder of their career graph in financial sector are well aware of the certified financial planner (CFP) certification that will fetch them a starting salary of rupees three lakh per annum. But they are unable to break their schedule to attend classes for obtaining these certificates.

“There is a growing demand for financial planners (FPs) with a CFP certification. As against 350 CFPs available, there is a need of at least another 50,000. There are now about 450 CFPs in India.

Keeping this in mind, Gurukulonline Learning Solutions, listed with FPSB, has announced its first online course in CFP to enable working professionals to learn and qualify for the exam. The aspirants can access the portal 24 x 7 and from any corner of the world. Students can register at fpvarsity.com anytime of the year. The cost of the course is Rs 20,000,” said portal founder and chief executive officer (CEO) Shailesh Mehta.

Students can access online video lectures by Gurukulonline faculty. Once the lesson is loaded, the video starts streaming along with a PPT presentation. At intervals, the video pauses and related questions pop up on the screen. The student can go ahead only if he gives the right answer, this ensures attention.

This is tracked into a database and the performance of students is monitored. This data is used by faculty to help each student with his weaknesses. “The videos work perfectly with a dial up connection of 30 to 40 kbps,” said Manish Jain, head of Mandatory Training for fpvarsity.com.

The portal also offers web-based multimedia training via a ’Learning Management System.’ “Students can chat with faculty and others taking the course, post queries etc. The questions asked and answered are available to every student to refer,” Jain said.

The most interactive part of the fpvarsity is its virtual classroom. Jain explained, “Twice every month, students attend a classroom online to learn difficult concepts, solve their doubts and study case studies.” The teacher controls the mike and engages student to a structured, real time discussion. Beyond audio, one can also enable video and chat with the professors. All the virtual classes are stored in archives online that are accessible to all students.

After every module, students can go through a timed mock test—ASSESS, which replicates the real exam. Students can reach the faculty via phone, email or chat. They are also sent a study chart and reminders of virtual classes, ten days in advance, ensuring constant support.

Source: Meri News

Dental solutions for Hollywood in India

B D Narayankar

WITH VETERAN Hollywood actor Michael O’Hagan having undergone a successful dental treatment in Mumbai, it is expected that more and more Hollywood stars would come down to India for getting aesthetic dental solutions.

The 60-year-old actor is so impressed by the treatment that he has started recommending several Hollywood personalities to take advantage of the world-class dental implants and expertise available in India.

Last year, Michael had come to India for his dental implants after suffering from gum infection. Back home at Beverly Hills, he experienced an unsuccessful dental implant by his dentist and subsequently couldn’t work for 10 days. It was said that Gulshan Grover, the famous Bollywood actor, had recommended Michael to use the expertise and dental implants available in India during a shooting schedule for ’Shadow of the Cobra’ in Hyderabad. Thereafter, Michael came to India twice for the treatment. On his first trip to Mumbai, cosmetic dental surgeon, Dr Suchetan Pradhan, fitted 11 Nobel implants on both his upper and lower jaws and was given temporary denture for gums to heal. On his recent visit, Dr. Pradhan fixed Procera™ teeth with dental facelift and shaped his teeth in perfect alignment.

Nobel Biocare implants are guided by innovative solutions like NobelGuide™ that help doctors to plan and predict every aspect of implant placement in advance. The teeth implants are completely stable and strong like natural teeth roots offering a long lasting solution – often for life. The uniqueness of NobelGuide™ is that it enables a minimal invasive dentistry procedures with no cuts, no sutures, less pain and minimum time of healing. More importantly, the technology enables treatment even in the most complicated conditions such as jaw line fracture or lesser bone density, something which wasn’t possible before.

Dental treatment in India is all about world-class treatment facilities, caring staff in dental treatment centers and top-notch post-operative facilities. Expert doctors estimate that nearly 5 to 10 per cent of their patients are foreign tourists - the statistics nearly doubling with each passing year. Dental tourism in India offers better-priced dental treatment to foreign citizens with best clinical care. The cost of dental treatment provided in India is less compared to the cost of treatment abroad. But this does not affect the quality of treatment offered as several clinics like Dr. Pradhan’s use same internationally available gold standard materials in their clinics like Nobel Biocare implants and Procera.

Nobel Biocare is a world leader in innovative aesthetic dental solutions with its brands NobelActive™, Brånemark System®, NobelReplace™, NobelSpeedy™, NobelPerfect®, NobelDirect®, Replace Select (dental implants), Procera® (individualized dental prosthetics), NobelGuide™ (complete patient rehabilitation program) and NobelSmile™ (patient education and awareness programme).

Nobel Biocare is a full solution provider for restorative esthetic dentistry, offering a wide range of innovative Crown & Bridge & Implant products, as well as training and education, patient information and clinically documented treatment concepts.

Nobel Biocare has over 2,500 employees and recorded revenue of EUR 665.9 million in 2007. The company is domiciled and headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. The Indian operation for Nobel Biocare India Pvt. Ltd. is headquartered in Mumbai.

Source: Meri News

BlackBerry makes things easy for its users

B D Narayankar

UNTIL NOW, smartphone users all over the globe were sweating their way out to manage, install, upgrade and purchase applications along with a wide array of choices and enhanced application discovery. But with the Research In Motion’s (RIM) plan to introduce online distribution drives for BlackBerry smartphone applications - BlackBerry Storefront and BlackBerry Application Centre, things will be easier and convenient for BlackBerry users to search for, purchase or download programmes for their handsets.

The BlackBerry Application Storefront, which is slated to be launched around March 2009, will allow developers to keep nearly 80 per cent of the revenue generated from their applications and hold the authority to decide on the price of these applications. RIM has already asked all interested developers to throw in the towel of their applications and content for inclusion in the storefront in December 2008.

“Introduction of more consumer-friendly features in BlackBerry smartphones has helped generate a groundswell of interest with new developers that has already resulted in the introduction of thousands of consumer and lifestyle oriented applications for BlackBerry smartphones. The new BlackBerry application storefront and BlackBerry application centres will further support the growing BlackBerry ecosystem and help bridge consumers with developers and carriers as more and more innovative and interesting applications arrive,” said Mike Lazaridis, president and Co-CEO at RIM.

RIM is aggressively pursuing the ’prosumer’ and casual market with the launch of the application store and by introducing new consumer-friendly devices such as the BlackBerry Curve, Flip and the touch-screen Storm. Lazaridis said that RIM’s roots and success in the enterprise market is bound to give it an edge over its competitors in the consumer market. “This platform has been developed, evolved, and perfected in the most demanding markets around the world. The consumer wireless data market is taking off, and that’s a great opportunity for all of you,” continued Lazardis as he talked to developers.

In order to give consumers a secure and convenient way to pay for applications, RIM is in works with a leading global online payment service, PayPal. The two companies plan to let you pay for applications via the new application storefront, right from your BlackBerry smartphone.

In addition to this, RIM is toiling to bring in carrier-customised on-device application centres in tandem with its carrier partners. These, RIM hopes, will allow after-market application downloads by letting each carrier offer a convenient catalog straight on the device. So customers can now discover and download new applications.

Having already worked successfully with carriers to provide this type of on-device distribution system for BlackBerry, smartphone application for individual software applications like Facebook, the new application centre will permit the carrier to build on a broader catalog. This is sure to give provide customers a very handy and hassle-free method to purchase and download applications.

Source: Meri News

India enchants small-time firangi entrepreneurs

B D Narayankar

FOR DECADES, India's best and brightest migrated to the West in search of opportunities. That changed a while ago and India has become a hot destination for foreigners who are working in the IT and BPO sector.

Now, Americans and Europeans are hooked not by the mystical India, but the heady professional opportunities available here. Of late, there are foreigners exploring India not for jobs, but for entrepreneurial ventures.

Take for instance, Sandra Samai. The 30-year-old Corsica-born entrepreneur opened a spa, Lsa Homecare, in Delhi. There are some famous names visiting her spa - Karishma Kapoor, Manish Arora and Rohit Bal. Lsa Home Care is a high-profile spa, targeting high networth individuals in Delhi. Sandra, in initial stages, wouldn't have imagined she would really open a high-profile spa.

As she faced financial problems, she hired and trained four women masseurs and started www.lsahomecare.com where people could book a spa treatment for Rs 2,000 per hour. "My service is the Disney way. The customer is a VIP and there can be absolutely no compromise on quality," said Sandra, who has developed her own training handbook for her staff.

The slightly built 30-year-old Sandra is the product of Disney Institute. She learnt the tricks of aromatherapy massages and managing spas. She hardly knew anything about India, except a few Indians aboard the ship. Her next visit to India was when a classmate from Corsica, who was doing a semester at IIM Lucknow, invited her to visit.

This visit changed everything for Sandra. She started Lsa Home Care after her friend suggested to start a spa. The rest is history. Now Sandra is running a very successful business in India, having more than 300 clients under her company's belt.

ZaaBiz.com

In August this year, a German businessman, Michael Brecht launched a business social networking site for Australians, ZaaBiz.com. Since then, ZaaBiz.com has expanded to India. "Within a few weeks of launching in Australia I figured there were 30,000 users from the Indian diaspora," explains Brecht, "I thought, why not launch it formally in India?" According to Brecht's figures, Indians could con­stitute 70 per cent of ZaaBiz.com's projection of one million members, the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.

His team back in Australia has 10 employees of which four are Indians. "I plan to set up a full-fledged office and have a separate marketing team over here," says Brecht. His members are mostly small and medium scale entrepreneurs from industrial sectors, finance, retail and real estate.

ZaaBiz.com has a popular online group called Gateway to India, for entrepreneurs abroad to discuss business op­portunities here. Brecht's clients in Mumbai include PR and travel companies like Adfactors and Blue Lotus Communications.

Auto industry will bounce back: CK Birla

B D Narayankar

THOUGH THE liquidity crisis is taking a toll on the automobile industry in India, Hindustan Motors (HM) chairman CK Birla is optimistic of the sector bouncing back by next year. "The fundamentals of the economy are strong and inflation is under control so there’s no reason why we shouldn’t bounce back. Earlier we were spending Rs 100 on the capex front, now we are spending Rs 75 due to the tight money market," he said.

The problem is that this time round the slowdown in India has coincided with a global recession. In Avtec, for instance, both Indian and overseas orders are down. So if one was trying to hedge home orders with exports, that strategy too will come unstuck in a situation like this, Birla said.

Responding to a query whether HM was looking at taking its relationship with Mitsubishi to the next level with a much deeper strategic alliance, Birla said: "When we both are happy in the current scenario, there is absolutely no need for changing things. In fact, this is the only instance where a globo-local alliance has worked, where the rest have fallen asunder. Right now we have five products from Mitsubishi stable - Lancer, Cedia, Pajero, Montero and Outlander. We are unveiling ’Montero 2009’ among many more products next year. The current set up is working for us and I don’t need to disturb it."

In the situation like liquidity crisis, a number of Asian auto companies are clamouring for partnership opportunities. Even HM is not far behind. In fact, the company had signed a memorandum of understanding with Proton seven or eight years ago, but things did not materialise thereafter. "I am told Proton has signed up with someone else," he said.

Talking about HM’s Uttarpara plant, Birla said that the company is going ahead with its plan to turn it into a component hub using excess capacity to make forging and casting components for HM’s internal use and outside business. "We are picking up more business steadily and the strategy seems to be working out," he added.

Dispelling speculations that a part of the land in Uttarpara plant was being contemplated to convert it into an IT park to unlock land value, Birla said there was no intention of the company to harm the plant. "We are 100 per cent committed to making our business strategy for the plant work. The IT Park is part of our wider strategy," he said.

Denying reports that plans were afoot to turn the Lancer plant in Chennai into a contract manufacturing facility to use its excess capacity, Birla said: "HM does not have any capacity left for licensed manufacturing of vehicles, as it was having as many as three sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in its portfolio. Currently Chennai’s capacity is 12,000 cars per annum."

Ask him about West Bengal and its business environment, unlike Tatas having to face the spectre of Singur agitation that ultimately resulted in the flight of Nano from the state, Birla is immensely is impressed with Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee government. "The West Bengal chief minister and his ministers are eager to make things happen," he said.

Source: Meri News

Emergency medical services for Maharashtrians

B D Narayankar

MANY PEOPLE were stranded for 21 days at Supaul, a village in Bihar that shares its border with Nepal, after Kosi embankment gave way inside Nepal a couple of months ago. In another flood-affected Manganj village, as many as 11 people died of diarrhea on a school’s roof. Many others took private boats to ferry ill people for giving medical treatment out of flood-affected areas.

These were some of the flood-related hardships faced by Biharis living in rural areas. Hopefully, Maharashtrians wouldn’t have to face such difficulties in flood-related situations from January next. On October 15, Maharashtra government gave green signal for the first phase of the emergency medical services (EMS) project in association with Emergency Management and Research Institute (EMRI).

Pegged at Rs 103.74 crore over the next three years, the project will provide emergency medical services comprising 690 ambulances on dialing 108, a toll-free number, during emergencies and avail of free ambulance services.

According to a statement released by the chief minister’s office, a MoU between the state government and EMRI will be signed in October and services would begin in January 2009. The MoU elaborates that EMRI would operate from URO Hospital at Aundh in Pune and later operate from the land given by the state government.

The decision was taken after considering the poor medical infrastructure prevailing in rural areas as well the distances between hospitals and settlements. "This will ensure that the rural areas are not deprived of EMS especially during a natural disaster,’’ said a state official.

However, the service that aims to obtain a quick medical response in the state will not cover Mumbai (island and suburbs), Thane, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Nagpur, Aurangabad and Nashik areas, which have municipal corporations.

EMRI started this service in Andhra Pradesh in 2005, and now has 652 ambulances for a population of eight crore. Ramalinga Raju, chairman of the infotech giant and his brothers, have signed a MoU with eight other states. While the 108 service is already available in states like Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Goa, it is scheduled to start soon in Madhya Pradesh, Assam and Karnataka.

The modus operandi

1) Dial 108 and you will be connected to a call centre.
2) The communication officer will collect facts and route the nearest ambulance to the site
3) The ambulance is well equipped to provide the pre-hospital care while transporting the patient to the desired hospital.

This same logic holds good for police and fire services.

Source: Meri News

Democracy through radio

B D Narayankar

Tune in to any radio station and you will be treated with loads of filmy music. A little later you realize you are not getting what you want and subsequently turn off your radio.

GEORGE M George, executive director, Muthoot Group, conducted a study and found out that radio was not redefining itself in a market like Chennai where about 10 radio stations are operating. So, in order to be different and relevant to listeners, Muthoot Group zeroed in on the format of talk radio. Thus was the birth of ’Chennai Live’, the first FM talk radio station in Chennai, which was launched recently.

Focused on knowledge-centric and local content, Chennai Live specifically targets the information and entertainment needs of Chennai’s intelligent people. It is a locally-involved radio station that will feature intelligent talk by way of discussions and debates with studio guests and listeners calling in. And in between, the station will play the best of Tamil and international music.

The show picks up a hot issue concerning Chennai citizens. The show has a team of presenters who are professional, challenging and provocative as well as fun and entertaining. They have the ability to engage and empathise with the city’s audience. The team is highly active and visible in the community with outside broadcasts (OBs). The idea of OBs is to reach out to people at different places in the city. "These kinds of shows showcase the advantages and disadvantages of what is happening in the city to the people as everybody has the right to know," George said.

The Muthoot Group, one of South India’s largest business conglomerates with interests in finance, healthcare, education, hospitality and real estate among others, has a strong grassroots level understanding of local environment and customers’ needs. Making full use of this knowledge, the group for the past 120 years has been making innovative products and offering services to carve a niche in the competitive business world.

"Chennai Live is another such endeavour from our group to help meet the information and entertainment needs of Chennai’s knowledge seekers and success aspirants. The show is for people having a viewpoint," said Prem Kumar, Station Head, Chennai Live 104.8 FM.

The station continuously seeks to interact with senior professionals from diverse fields such as entertainment, media, industry, government and non-governmental organisations and other leaders for their advice on the sta­tion’s programming policies.

Source: Meri News