Category Archives: Business & Economy

7 startups visit IIT-BHU campus

Business & Economy, Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Varanasi :

Startup companies dominated the 6th day of placement season at the Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT-BHU) on Saturday.

According to in charge, Training and Placement Cell, IIT-BHU Anil Kumar Agarwal, seven startup companies, including Clavileno Capital, Sygmoid Analytics, Lexinnova, Spytech and Pentium, visited the campus for placement. Mainly software companies visited the campus in first four days but the fifth day was dominated by core engineering companies for hiring technocrats in the field of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering.

In first five days, 400 students of IIT-BHU were offered jobs with the highest compensation of Rs 2.02 crore to a student by Oracle US.

On the 5th day, Reliance, Vodafone, Orbees Medical, Freescale Semiconductor and Career UTS visited the campus on Friday, while 10 companies including Fire Eye, Oyo rooms, and Tata Motors had turned up on the fourth day on Thursday.

Meanwhile, after a strong 650 hirings in just five days, the placement drive at IIT-Kanpur slowed down on the weekend with some 25 students receiving job offer letters on Saturday.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / TNN / December 07th, 2014

Wool’s worth

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Records, All, World Opinion
Rahul Mishra at Evoluzione in Chennai. Photo: M. Moorthy / The Hindu
Rahul Mishra at Evoluzione in Chennai. Photo: M. Moorthy / The Hindu

Designer Rahul Mishra, the first non-European to win the International Woolmark Prize, talks on how his rural roots have inspired his work.

From a thatched-roof, mat-lined school in Malhausi (a village in Uttar Pradesh) that charged Rs. 7 a month as fees to the Istituto Marangoni, a fashion and design institute in Milan that charged around Rs. two lakhs, Rahul Mishra has charted quite a path.

“I didn’t have to pay the two lakhs because I got a scholarship,” laughs the designer who is now based out of Noida. The first non-European to win The International Woolmark Prize earlier this year, the designer was at Evoluzione to showcase The Lotus Effect, his award-winning collection created out of Merino wool.

For this line, Mishra’s turned wool into a summer fabric. “It’s 90 per cent wool and 10 per cent silk. I got extremely fine Merino wool fibre spun. The embroidery is done using wool yarn. I wanted to change the notion that wool is a winter fabric,” he says holding up a pristine white outfit. It’s hard to believe that the sheer, diaphanous fabric is wool. “Even Woolmark Australia could not believe it. My garments passed through all the tests and it was proved this is wool,” he grins, delighted.

Spurred by the honour, the line has travelled across the globe and has been a hit. With its exhaustive intricate embroidery and detailing these delicate garments are like works of art. No wonder then that The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, the keeper of all things fine and valuable has acquired The Lotus Effect in its international category section and intends to archive it.

In white, black, yellow and grey, each of these garments tell a subtle story. The most popular in his collection is a white dress with the tree of life in yellow in front and city life in grey behind. “It got sold off a Munich-based website mytheresa.com in two days,” says Mishra, who made his international presence first through this website. After that it was Harvey Nichols in London. As soon as one enters this high-end store, a large wall with lotus motifs and Rahul Mishra’s name in big bold letters catches the eye. “Finding a space next to Chloe, Balenciaga, Dior and McQueen was dream. This is the first time an Indian designer has been showcased there,” he says.

Colette, Paris too has Mishra, or rather Mischra (that’s how they spell it) in their store. The designer whips out his iPad and eagerly shows pictures of the boutiques where his work is stocked. It’s like sitting with a child who excitedly runs you through his new set of toys. “This, and look at this…and this is what the Australian press wrote,” he smiles, rapidly swiping through the tablet.

Mishra’s philosophy integrates his designs with the craftsmanship of local artisans from villages across India. All the embroidery work for this collection was done by artisans from West Bengal and the rest of the work was done in Chanderi. “We chose the hottest month to develop this fabric. It was in June and the temperature was 50 degrees in Chanderi,” he says. “If we can create this kind of award-winning product with the help of rural artisans then imagine the strength India’s villages have. India shouldn’t be an outsourcing market alone. We need to make “Made in India” happen or rather “Made in the villages of India” happen. “Fashion is not just a glossy, vanity entity. It can help create a better India,” he adds.

Talking about his association with the villages he works with, Mishra is glad to see how their lives have changed for the better. He speaks of a bunch of skilled artisans who were making handicrafts for international luxury brands but living in inhuman conditions in Mumbai. They are now back in their villages, with their families and work from there. “Now they live comfortably and eat a wholesome meal.”

He shows me a picture as proof and a video of an artisan speaking about how happy he is to be working with Rahul bhai. “I learnt from Mahatma Gandhi that you have to become one of them. So when I visit villages I stay in their houses, eat with them, sleep on a charpoy or under the trees. This is where my village upbringing helps me.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> Fashion / Priyadarshini Paitandy / December 11th, 2014

Chikan and Zardoji artisans put up stall in Lucknow mahotsava

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy

Lucknow :

The artisans of Chikan and Zardoji have beenprovided space by NABARD and HCBL Co-operative Bank Limited in the Lucknow Mahotsava to display and market their products. Inside the NABARD pavilion, two stalls have been given to the Chikan and Zardoji artisans whom HCBL Bank had provided financial assistance.

The CEO of HCBL Bank Limited, Pawan Kapoor, said that bank has provided these artisans loans at low interest rates and specialincentives. He said that under the financial inclusion program theHCBL Bank has not only disbursed loans but provided space at bank branches to market their products.

The Chikan and Zardoji stalls at NABARD camp in Mahotsava have been getting great respone from public. Kapoor said that artisans have beenselling their produce at the Mahotsava stall with bare minimum profitand one can get authentic Chikankaari and Zardoji works here.

Chikankari and Zardoji are the traditional crafts of Lucknow city, which are widely appreciated all over the world. The HCBL Bank said it is committed to promote the age old art of Chikankari, for which the State of Uttar Pradesh is famous.

Earlier in July, KK Gupta, chief general manager of National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD), Lucknow had distributed cheques of financial assistance to artisans and craftsmen at the Alambagh branch of the bank. At that time has assured artisans that in the coming Lucknow Festival, five stalls would be provided by NABARD to display and sell their products.

NABARD provides training to the artisans about latest trend and designs in Chikankari. This is the third phase of financial assistance extended to the artisans by the HCBL Bank. Earlier in August and December 2013 too, the Bank had organized similar events in which a large number of artisans had benefited.

HCBL Bank said it also aims at providing point of sale options to the artisans to sell their products at branch offices. “This will not only help the artisans to show case their products and art but also earn a reasonable income through such sales, said the bank.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Priyanka Singh, TNN / December 05th, 2014

Web portal bridge for Indo-US study group

Business & Economy, Education, World Opinion

Lucknow:

Consolidating US-India ties, Lucknow University in a first-of-its-kind initiative will offer add-on courses in ‘American Studies in India’ from January. Students, both under and post graduate, opting for these courses can also connect with their American counterpart via a web portal which was launched by the department of English and Modern European Languages, Lucknow University in collaboration with Public Affairs Section, American Embassy on Tuesday.

The web portal would strengthen and promote American studies in Indian universities and colleges. Project coordinator Nishi Pandey said the forum would be interface with American students offering more content and database.

Launching the portal, director American Center and assistant cultural affairs officer, American Embassy Emily White stressed students and teachers use the American Centre Facebook page as medium for exchanging cultural and educational interests.

White said India studies is already a part of curriculum in many American universities and relevance of American studies in Indian colleges is important. Students opting for the certificate and diploma courses may study America’s history, geography, political developments, economy, foreign policy and international relations. “There will also be courses in American literature, feminism and gender issues and culture,” said Pandey. The courses were designed by experts from India and US over a period of five years.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / December 02nd, 2014

Allahabad artists go online to sell their painting

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Allahabad :

Confident brush strokes, bright colors, a creative theme and days of hard work, that’s what it takes to make a good painting. But it becomes quite disappointing to see if that piece of brilliant artwork doesn’t get the deserving appreciation. That’s precisely what most young painters have been facing for years in the city now. Exhibitions are held, paintings are put on display, but these brilliant piece of work fail to find buyers. But thanks to the advent of technology and boom in the online market, their plights seemed to have got ended. Unable to sell paintings in the local markets, these artists are resorting to social networking and online platforms to sell their stuff.

Happy with the change

Talk to the painters in the city and ask them how their lives have got changed since they started using online platforms and they answer enthusiastically. Dheeraj Yadav, a graduate from the department of Visual Arts who started marketing his paintings on facebook some times ago, adds, “The problem with this city is, people hardly buy paintings. You invite them over to your exhibition, they will come over, appreciate your work and go back. It’s not that the quality of paintings put on display is bad or the price is too high, the buying culture is just not there. Even if you price a painting as low as 1000 rupees, people rarely buy,” shares the budding painter who manages to sell a few paintings monthly using facebook these days, adding, “But now I have changed my approach. I have joined various forums on the facebook and I market my paintings there. I get to sell 3-4 paintings monthly.”

Drill these youngsters further to know more about this issue and the picture gets clearer. Dharmendra Kumar, another budding painter of the city who also resorted to online platforms recently, shares his story. “To a great extent the tag matters. More than how good a painting is, people focus on who has made it. They feel that unless a painting has been made by renowned painter, it is not worth buying, so even if they like our paintings, they would not buy it for the tag factor,” claims the youngster who recently started approaching online galleries and is getting good response from them now. “Because these online galleries are managed by professionals who have good network, they are able to arrange buyers. How they manage to sell them is something I don’t know, but in the past 3 months, I have been able to sell 7-8 paintings. Although the galleries take a 30-40% cut, given the fact they manage buyers for us, I feel it’s ok. Nothing comes for free,” adds the painter without divulging the details of the money he managed to earn from these sales.

At what price a painting gets sold is a very important factor and it seems these budding painters are quite satisfied with the returns they are getting by selling these paintings online. Adding to Dharmendra’s point, another painter Amreesh Kumar avers, “Best part of selling paintings online despite the presence of middle men is that nobody is there to haggle. You can price it as per your whims and fancies and it will be sold on your listed price. Locally that is the worst problem we face,” claims Amreesh, who managed to sell 3 of his paintings in the last couple of weeks,” adding, “Online platforms actually give us options of buyers. If somebody is unwilling to pay what we want, we can always look for other. Aaj nahi to kal bik hi jaegi and wo bhi achche rate par.”

This trend has been able to motivate these youngsters so much that a few of them are even thinking of starting their own pages and blogs. Painter Ankit Pandey, who graduated from University of Allahabad a few years ago, is one of them. “So far I was a member of a number of forums in facebook, but given the kind of response my paintings are getting, I have decided to make own page and blog. I will put some of my best paintings on display. Some of my painter friends have advised me that this will help in increasing my brand value,” claims the painter who managed to sell 4 of his paintings in the past one and half months using these platforms.

Prof Ajay Jaitley, Head of the Visual Arts department at the University of Allahabad and person in-charge of Nirala Art Gallery, one of the two most important art galleries of the city, avers, “For the past over 30 years, I have seen almost all the painters of the city. There is no dearth of talent, but painting buying culture is just not there in this city. Moreover, absence of professional galleries, which can market and give platforms to budding artists, is another reason. Visitors take these budding artists’ work lightly, so we need better marketing to improve the local market,” he says before highlighting the impact of online galleries, e-commerce sites and social networking platforms further. “On an average an artist gets to sell his painting for minimum 5000 rupees online, at least that’s something I have been told by the people selling them, so youngsters are definitely getting good returns. Although, this trend is still at a nascent stage, it has given the more exposure and bigger market. Websites like fizdi.com, Indiaart.com and indiaarthub.com, besides others, are some of the websites which youngsters are sending their works to.”

But not everyone seems to be satisfied with the response of these online platforms. There are people who have been using them for quite some time, but have not been able to get good response despite all the efforts. Shobit Yadav, post graduate student at the Visual Arts department who has neither had a very good experience uploading his paintings’ pictures on facebook, nor sending these pictures to various websites, is one of them. “I have been uploading my paintings pictures on Instagram and facebook for the past 4 months, but so far have not been able to attract even a single buyer. People send queries but so far no query has got translated into business,” he says, adding, “I even sent a few pictures to Indiaart.com but so far have not got any response. So I personally do not feel that online/social networking platforms can help too much.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Shashank Tripathi, TNN / December 01st, 2014

3-day Manfest-Varchasva fest begins

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Education

Lucknow:

The three-day Manfest-Varchasva 2014, the annual business, sports and cultural fest was inaugurated at Indian Institute of Management Lucknow on Thursday.

IIM-L director Prof Rajiv K Srivastava inaugurated the fest. The event also witnessed a captivating performance by professional Kathak dancers from Rashtriya Kala Akademi.

Earlier, Manfest, the Business Conclave, and Varchasva, the Sports and Cultural fest, were held separately. This year the two events have been merged, creating a vast canvas of events and offerings catering to all.

The management events such as the Next CEO, Strategica, Stratstruck, Travel Trails and Finesse among others will be held. The cultural events include Hallabol, Antarnaad, Imperio, Inferno, Vivakshita, Vibes, Stairway to Hell and Uttarang.

Miss India International 2013 and Bollywood Actress Zoya Afroz will judge Miss India Campus Princess on Friday. The event will give a direct entry to the winner to the final round of Miss India 2015 auditions in Mumbai.

Former President APJ Abdul Kalam, professor of Marketing at Emory University at USA Jagdish Sheth and former deputy governor of RBI Subir Gokarn are expected to attend the three day event.

Lucknow City Run in which over 2000 individuals will “Run for a Greener Tomorrow” will be held on Sunday.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / November 21st, 2014

City’s ‘Zuckerbergs’ build shoe networking website

Business & Economy, World Opinion

Agra :

A group of youngsters from disparate fields like Economic Honours, graphic designing and creative writing, have come together and built perhaps the first social network website for shoe makers.

The website, called ‘Shoekonnect’, has put these six 20-somethings into the limelight as just 28 days after being set up, it has amassed more than 150 subscribers from around the world, including Patrick De Muynck from Polimoda Fashion School in Italy.

Visibly excited about their new project, one of the youngsters, Siddharth Vig said, “India ranks second in the world in terms of footwear volume produced and the footwear sector is one of the highest foreign exchange earners. Lack of innovation and communication in the industry actually served as the inspiration for our venture. ShoeKonnect will enhance the connections between the business houses of this industry and make communication among them barrier free.”

ShoeKonnect is actually a part of the parent organization, called BizCrum, which provides a platform for businesses of all kinds to create a social network of their own.

Chaitanya Rathi, another member of the group, said, “We gave our idea a concrete form through ShoeKonnect – the footwear industry’s own social network that promotes communication among footwear businesses. To emulate this idea in other industries, BizCrum was conceived.”

The journey began when the two friends, Siddharth and Chaitanya, pursuing Economics Honours from Delhi University during their last semester in January, hit upon the idea to start something of their own with a view to bring value to businesses around them.

Siddharth (21), hails from Agra, and had always imagined doing something for the city’s shoe manufacturing industry, while Chaitanya, comes from a business family. The youngsters brainstormed and came to the conclusion that technology could help revive local businesses and make them flourish, maybe even on a global scale.

After the idea was conceived, the duo met Siddharth Rastogi, a 22-year-old graphic designer and technology enthusiast. The team started forming. Next, they met fashion-forward Charuka Arora from Agra and researcher and creative writer Aditya Madhusudhan from Kota. The five of them began the process of setting up Bizcrum – Agra’s first B2B tech startup.

But they still needed an entrepreneur, someone who could give direction to the process. That is how they met Sumat Nanda in Agra after interviewing countless number of technological entrepreneurs. Work on Bizcrum then started.

Siddharth said Sumat was the one who came up with the concept of ‘ShoeKonnect’. It gave a face to Bizcrum, telling the world what this network was all about, he added.

ShoeKonnect aims to bring together component suppliers, footwear manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers on a single platform. This will not only help exchange ideas and innovations in shoe-making but also make trade smoother as it allows a manufacturer from India to get in touch with his counterpart in other countries.

The team spoke to over 200 footwear business owners as a part of their research, understanding their needs, designing rough mockups of their platform and building strategies around the business model. They worked through their final exams and were able to concentrate on this venture when their college ended in June. “For the next two months, all of us slogged hard, conducting field studies, meetings and even taking up odd jobs to meet costs,” Siddharth added.

Once the groundwork was laid, the team found that spreading awareness about the venture was even tougher than setting it up. But they managed to come out with flying colours. They divided the work among themselves and made sure that every aspect was taken care of.

Acknowledging the role of those who helped them, Siddharth said, “The whole endeavor couldn’t have been possible without the help of seniors such as Rakshit Tandon (cyber security expert), GP Sharma, Ravi Saini and Rittwick Visen, the creative team of – Rishav Kumar, Varun Gupta and several bright student interns. It is thanks to them that we have 150+ members associated with shoekonnect in the past 28 days. Among the 150 members, 20 are from other countries.”

Appreciating the initiative, Pooran Dawar, chairman of Dawar Group (leading Indian footwear manufacturer) and AFMEC (Agra footwear manufacturers and exporters chamber), said, “These kids are doing extremely well. As a shoe manufacturer, I felt the need for something like Shoekonnect. It will surely take India’s shoe industry to the next level.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Ishita Mishra, TNN / November 10th, 2014

30,000 farmers attend Kisan Mela

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature

The three-day Akhil Bhartiya Kisan Mela conducted by Chandra Shekhar Azad Agriculture University concluded on Friday. More than 30,000 farmers from different villages participated in the fair and gained knowledge about latest agricultural techniques.

During the closing ceremony, textile minister Shiv Kumar Beria said that organic fertilizers, seeds and other technologically advanced farming equipment should be provided at low cost to farmers for better yield. “India is an agricultural country. It is must that farmers are provided necessary equipment at a low cost. Farmers should also look towards animal husbandry,” Beria said. Kalyanpur MLA Satish Nigam was also present.

The highlight of the event was ‘Krishak Conference’ that gave a platform to farmers to discuss their farm and crop related problems with agricultural scientists and got useful tips. During the conference, the farmers also shared their beneficial experiences with others. A quiz session for farmers was also organised and the winners got prizes. As many as 92 stalls were set up that included 20 stalls by different departments of the university.

CSA vice-chancellor Munna Singh highlighted the achievements of the university in terms of education and research work. He asked farmers to adopt crop diversification and integrated farming system.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kanpur / TNN / November 01st, 2014

14 countries to attend carpet expo this year

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, World Opinion

Varanasi :

The 28th Indian Carpet Expo, organised by Carpet Expert Promotion Council, will start from October 10 to 13 at Sampurnanand Sanskrit University (SSU) in Varanasi under the aegis of Union ministry of commerce.

Manufacturers from Varanasi, Bhadohi, Panipat, Mirzapur, Jaipur, Srinagar and Agra will exhibit wide range of hand-knitted, tufted carpets and floor coverings at the expo. The event provides an opportunity for traders to directly deal with buyers. The organisers would offer reimbursement of $500 for return air-ticket as well as free accommodation for two nights for potential buyers.

The guest of honour would be SSU vice-chancellor Prithvish Nag and textiles secretary Sanjay Kumar Panda will inaugurate the event. Around 400 carpet importers from 57 countries, including Australia, Brazil, China, Russia, Germany, Britain and US are expected to participate. Buyers from countries like Bulgaria, Malaysia, Israel, Mauritius, Thailand and other 14 countries would also attend the expo.

Ex-Chairman Siddhant Singh said, “The rate of exports have increased and currently we have reached Rs 7,010 crores witnessing around 21% growth. Priorities have also been given to women in handicrafts and in the coming two years the growth rate is expected to cross 50%.”

He further alleged, “The present government might be better in other aspects but in terms of banking they are relatively slow. I also wish to inform that the UP government is not co-operative in terms of providing us space to organize the expo.”

CEPC Chairman, Kuldeep R Wattal complained about space for organising the expo, he said, “It would have been better if the vent was held in Sanskrit Shankul which is far-stretched as compared to the Sanskrit University.” He highlighted the problems associated in conducting the expo and said, “The interest rates are around 12% but since April, the interest submension is not fixed which used to be around 3%. On the other hand, the service tax is around 12.50% but even this is being overlooked by the government. As far as the appeal for Krishi Udyog is concerned, the government is still in doldrums about it.”

He further added that, “Prime motive behind holding Carpet Expo in Varanasi is to provide business opportunities to all the carpet buyers. We wish to make sure that the carpet importers and manufacturer-exporters are equipped with proper business environment.”

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Varanasi / TNN / October 09th, 2014

Electronics manufacturers’ association chooses its new president

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Lucknow :

Members of the Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers’ Association (IEEMA) have recently chosen Vishnu Agarwal as the new president of the association. IEEMA is the first ISO certified industry association in India with 800 member organisations encompassing the complete value chain in power generation, transmission and distribution equipment.

IEEMA members have contributed to more than 90 percent of the power equipment installed in India. The Indian electrical equipment industry size in 2012-13 was in excess of USD 24 billion, with exports of USD 5 billion. Vishnu Agarwal, B. Tech, FIE, is the founder and CMD of Technical Associates Ltd. An electrical engineer by training, Agarwal graduated from IIT Kanpur’s second batch of B.Tech. Engineers in 1966 and started Technical Associates Ltd. in Lucknow in 1969.

Technical Associates, under the stewardship of Agarwal has grown over the years from relatively humble beginnings and today encompasses a product range starting from transformers for 11 kV/ LV applications to EHV transformers up to 400 kV class.

Agarwal will be assisted by Ajit Singh Chouhan as vice president, IEEMA who is also the managing director and CEO of Weir India. With an experience of nearly three decades in marketing and sales, he has also worked with RPG Enterprises as its president and CEO for the specialty sector and has been the management board member.

Further, the new president of IEEMA will have Babu Babel as vice president in his new team of IEEMA. Babel is the CEO of Energy SBU and Joint Managing Director for Secure Meters Ltd. Babu was part of the founding team which helped Secure Meters to pioneer electronic metering and improve Indian utility revenue completeness.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / by Priyanka Singh, TNN / October 22nd, 2014