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Showing posts from May, 2008

Chennai gets new Collector Kakarla Usha

CHENNAI 30 May: Kakarla Usha is appointed collector of Chennai on Friday, as part of a minor reshuffle of babus by the state government. Usha, additional commissioner in the city corporation, has been transferred and posted as Chennai district collector. She was transferred a year ago to Nilgiris as collector but the government reversed its decision as the Chennai corporation required her services for some more time .

Karuturi To Raise $250 Million For Ethiopia Plans

Karuturi Global Ltd, (Karuturi Ramakrishna Chairman&MD) a floriculture and food processing firm, is planning to raise $ 250 million, of which $150 million will be through debt and $100 million through equity, for an agriculture project in involving 7.5 lakh acre land in Ethiopia. The company plans to grow paddy, sugarcane, palm and vegetables and will complete its land acquisition by end of 2008. The company has already firmed up $100 million from private equity firms, an official has said.. The company will be diluting 10 per cent stake in its wholly owned Dubai-based subsidiary, Karuturi Overseas Ltd. Debt portion is being raised from a consortium of banks in Ethiopia. Karuturi Global said that half the land will be used in growing paddy and produce will target export market in Europe, West Asia and Africa. Karuturi Global is the world’s largest producer of roses.

Sujana Aqcuires 3 Steel Units In Andhra; Looks For More In South

Hyderabad based Sujana Metals Products Ltd (SMPL) (Yalamanchili S Chowdary) has acquired three steel units for Rs 180 crore in three different transactions. The units acquired include Saritha Steels, Glade Steels and Shree Ganga Steels, and they are located at Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad and Chennai, respectively. SMPL plans to invest Rs 180 crore for acquisition, expansion and modernization of their capacities. The company will add around 300,000 tonnes per annum(TPA) through acquisition and expansion of these three units. SMPL is a part of Rs 3,000 crore Sujana Group. The company claims to offer widest range of long steel products in the country. Its clients include Larsen & Turbo, Reliance Industries, DLF, IVR Infrastructure, among others. The company’s capacity after this acquisition and proposed expansion will be 728,000 TPA as compared to 290,000 TPA last year. Sujana plans to expand capacity to one million by 2010 through organic and inorganic routes. Also it plans to increase

'Pandurangadu' mighty hit

After Annamayya and Sri Ramadasu, director K Raghavendra Rao once again comes up with a winner in Pandurangadu. His midas touch is clearly visible in the last 45 minutes of the film. The magical combination of MM Keeravani and Raghavendra Rao works again. Indeed, Keeravani steals the show once again with extremely soulful devotional numbers and extraordinary re-recording. Comparing to NTR’ s classic Panduranga Mahatyam, Balayya’ s Pandurangadu is not an exact remake of teh original. Basic storyline is similar to the old classic, but the script here is completely different. Pundareeka Ranganathudu aka Rangadu (Balakrishna) has all the vices. He is womanizer and mistreats his parents. His parents (K Vishwanath and Shivaparvathi) are pained by his deeds and they force him to get married. Rangadu is attracted to local prostitute Amrutha (Tabu) and they become very close to each other. On other hand, there is Lakshmi (Sneha) who is devotee of Lord Krishna. She dreams that Lord Krishna ord

Sania Mirza with Akkineni Naga Chaitanya

It is long known that Nagarjuna's son, Akkineni Naga Chaitanya , will make his debut in a film directed by Puri Jagannath , the specialist in launching star sons. At present, the young scion of the Akkineni family is taking voice modulation lessons and dancing, martial arts and acting lessons in preparation for his debut. According to sources close to Puri Jagannath, who is flying high on Bujjigadu's success, Sania Mirza will do a five-minute cameo appearance opposite the young debutante. In fact, Nagarjuna had approached the tennis star personally for this role. He had previously approached Sania to act in his next film, but Sania had been focussing on her career and had turned him down. Sania Mirza's cameo is more or less confirmed in Naga Chaitanya's debut film, though the lead heroine hasn't been confirmed yet!

Aravind Eye Care System wins $ 1 mn Gates Foundation award

New York: An innovative eye surgery network in Tamil Nadu that has prevented blindness among millions and provided affordable quality eye care for the poor has won the $1 million Gates Award for Global Health, the world’s highest prize for healthcare. The Aravind Eye Care system , a non-profit network, is the eighth recipient of the award set up by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 to honour extraordinary efforts to improve health in developing countries. Founded in Madurai by eye surgeon Dr.G. Venkataswamy Ravilla in 1976 from a rented house with 11 beds, Aravind has today grown into a network of hospitals and clinics that has saved millions from debilitating blindness in India where cataract accounts for more than half the cases of blindness. Named after Sri Aurobindo, the revolutionary freedom fighter-turned-mystic, Aravind last year provided outpatient care to nearly 2.4 million people and performed more than 280,000 surgeries. Its efforts have contributed to reducing

Naren Kumar charts new course

"There will be a big boost for rallying in India. Finally it will get its due recognition as a spectator sport"- V R Naren Kumar. The feeling of euphoria is at its peak. All people connected with V R Naren Kumar (A Kamma guy from Coimbatore) are waiting with bated breath and thumping heartbeats. For, the man is set to create a piece of history in Indian motorsport. May 29, 2008 will be the historic day when the Coimbatore driver will attempt to make his presence felt among the top guns in the big, bad and glamorous World Rally Championship. Naren has arrived in the Production Class of the WRC and his first event will be the Rally of Greece this weekend. He will compete in a shiny, new Subaru WRX 2008 model car with English navigator Nicky Beech. "It's a great feeling to realise my long-term dream of representing India at the world rally stage," said the 33-year-old. The road to just reach this level has not been easy at all. Naren has won the Indian National R

Suven Life gets drug patents in Russia, Australia

Hyderabad-based biopharmaceutical company Suven Life Sciences Limited has secured product patents in Russia and Australia for two of its New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with neuro-degenerative diseases. These patents are valid until 2023. "We are very pleased by the issuance of these patents in these countries to Suven for our drug candidates that are being developed for Central Nervous system(CNS) disorders which targets a $18 billion potential market opportunity globally," Venkat Jasti , Chief Executive of Suven , stated in a press release. These granted patents are exclusive intellectual property of Suven and are achieved through the exclusive internal discovery research efforts. Products out of these inventories, which are in pre-clinical development may be licensed at the clinical Phase-I or II stage. The granted claims of the patents include the class of selective 5-HT compounds discovered by Suven which are being developed as th

Big Blue's next level emerges in Austin

Next supercomputer is taking shape here, but will reside in Illinois. Ravi Arimilli is the Austin-based head of global team URBANA, Ill. — The world's next huge scientific supercomputer will have strong Austin roots, but it will make its home on the sprawling campus of the University of Illinois in the heart of the Prairie State's farm country. The big machine, called Blue Waters, will be built by IBM Corp. with an extraordinary level of innovation. Much of the work is being done in Austin, where the computer's crucial brain chip, Power7, is being designed. Ravi Arimilli is the Austin-based chief architect for Blue Waters, heading a global technical team of a few thousand engineers and software experts driving the $208 million project. When it goes online in 2011, Blue Waters is expected to be 30 times more powerful than Ranger, the current scientific computing speed champion at the University of Texas. Ranger has roughly the power of 30,000 desktop computers; Blue Waters w

Amara Raja promoters plan holding company

Founders of Amara Raja Batteries (Ramachandra Naidu Galla) plan to form a holding company, representing six companies including Amara Raja Infra, in a bid to sell stake to overseas investors. Amara Raja Batteries, the only listed company in the group, is 26 per cent owned by US-based Johnson Controls. The formation of the holding company would be the first step in taking the group to global investors, though no immediate plans have been made in this regard, Jayadev Galla, managing director, Amara Raja Batteries. "In the past, we have gone to public once (ARBL), raised some debt and brought in some strategic investors (into the group companies), but nothing exciting beyond that," he said. Galla plans to turn his group into a Fortune 500 corporation in the next two decades. The Rs 1,400 crore, Tirupati-headquartered group has diversified interest with listed company ARBL being the largest with an estimated turnover of over Rs 1,000 crore in FY08. The other group companies are A

This Kamma guy is UPSC (IAS) All India topper

Adapa Karthik ( A Kamma doctor ) of Khammam in Andhra Pradesh, who has topped the Civil Services Examination-2007 conducted by the Union Public Service Commission, is playing down his achievement. “I am still thinking whether to opt for the Indian Administrative Service or continue with my training at the National Police Academy in Hyderabad. Honestly, I am a little indifferent to the result. The civil service is such an exam where there is not much difference between the person who has topped and the one who has secured the 200th rank.” “It is an academic achievement. My real accomplishment would be when I am able to sustain my hard work and even 30 years later my work is recognised,” said the 28-year-old achiever, who wants to interact with students and motivate them to work for rural development of the country. An MBBS graduate from the Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Wardha, Karthik is now undergoing training at the National Police Academy. He cleared the Indian Poli

Lanco in revamp mode

Mumbai, May 20: Lanco Infratech is in the process of forming a holding company to bring all its power projects under one roof. “We have appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers for restructuring the power business. They are working on that. A report from them is expected in a month,” Lanco managing director Venkatesh Babu said. Lanco Infratech has a 600MW portfolio now, which, according to Babu, will double this year. The company aims to generate 13,000 MW by 2013. “We have already received financial closure for 6,000MW,” Babu said. Asked whether the holding company would be listed on the domestic bourses, Babu said it could wait since the company had enough funds to carry out projects for another one-and-a-half years. “After that, we may look at listing the firm, but that is not going to happen before the first or second quarter of the next fiscal,” he added. Babu said Lanco was on the lookout for coal mines abroad, but nothing had been finalised so far.

Humpy Koneru finishes 2nd in Mumbai Mayor's International Chess Tournament

Mumbai, 20 May: In a thrilling 11th and last round of the Mumbai Mayor's International Chess Tournament, overnight sole leader, Michael Kransenow who was assured of the title with a round to spare, was not content with a draw and went for a win against his Uzebk opponent, grandmaster Anton Fillipov of Uzbekistan. However; in a winning position he made a mistake and lost the game. This allowed Fillipov and as also players occupying the second spot, grandmaster Koneru Humpy, grandmaster Abhijit Kunte from India, grandmaster Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh and grandmaster Saidali Iuldachev of Uzbekistant catch up with Kransenkow by scoring the win over their respective rivals.

Suven Life gets two product patents in S Africa, China

Hyderabad, 20 May: Suven Life Sciences Ltd (Venkat Jasti, Chairman and MD) announced on Tuesday that two of their new chemical entities (NCEs) were granted product patents in South Africa and China for the treatment of disorders associated with neuro-degenerative diseases. These patents are valid until 2024 and 2025 respectively. Products out of these inventories, which are in pre-clinical development may be licensed out at the stage of clinical phase-I or phase-II stage .

LMW setting up plant in China

Coimbatore, May 19 Textile machinery manufacturing major Lakshmi Machine Works (D.Jayavardhanavelu Chairman and MD) plans to set up a greenfield project in China to manufacture textile spinning machinery. “It would be a wholly owned subsidiary of LMW and only complement our operations,” LMW’s Chief Financial Officer, Mr Rajendran. The company has identified three geographies and would select one, Mr Rajendran said, preferring not to reveal the location and estimated investment. He, however, indicated that the company would opt for an industrial park. “Since the infrastructure in such industrial parks would be in place, though not according to our specifications, the gestation period will not be long. We envisage to kick start the operations in about a year and will start with one product,” he said. He said the company proposed to mop up the investment partly through equity capital, loan assistance from LMW and borrowings in China. Asked why China, Mr Rajendran said “it is the largest

Lanco Infratech to raise USD 200mn for realty business

Lanco Infratech, the flagship company of the Hyderabad-based Lanco Group, today said it is in talks with a couple of overseas private equity palyers to raise USD 200 million for its realty business. "We are in discussion with a couple of private equity players abroad to raise up to USD 200 million for our realty business," Lanco Infratech's Managing Director Venkatesh Babu told PTI. The deal could materialise in the next six months, he said. Lanco Infratech, the holding company for Lanco Group's power, realty and infrastructure projects, is developing a township in Hyderabad over a 20 million sq ft area entailing an investment of Rs 6,500 crore. It would also develop another township in Chennai on five million sq ft area for which it has already acquired land. Work on this Rs 1,500 crore project is expected to start in the next six months, he said. Babu said the company is also looking at opportunities for developing townships in Bangalore and Gurgaon. "These are

Meghana Paritala, Hannes Named First MVC Scholar-Athlete

University of Northern Iowa women's tennis seniors Meghana Paritala and Carolina Hannes were both named to the Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete first team the league . To be eligible for selection to the team, a student-athlete must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0, be at least a sophomore in academic and athletic standing and participate as a starter or important reserve role for her team. A minimum of two votes was required to earn honorable mention and the league's tennis sports information directors voted on this award. Hannes is first in career singles wins in UNI history and has a career record of 85-40 in singles play. She was named honorable mention MVC-Scholar-Athlete in 2007. Hannes has won six of her eight MVC matches this season and is 15-5 in dual meet singles matches this season. She also ranks fourth on the UNI all-time career winning percentage list, and seventh on the UNI all-time career doubles wins list with 66 career wins. Meghana Paritala i

Karthikeyan hopes to ride A1GP back to F1

'DO WELL IN A1 - SOMEBODY WILL NOTICE' Indian driver Kakarla Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan intends to stay with the A1 GP series next year but hasn't given up on a Formula-1 comeback. "I'll continue doing A1 but I want to have another crack at F1," he said. Karthikeyan joined the then Jordan team in 2005 to became India's first F1 driver. He won two A1GP race in the season that has just finished and is hoping India's growing corporate interestin motor racing will grease his return to F1. "If you do well in A1GP, somebody is bound to notice," said the 31-year-old. "I have backing from the right companies in India and, unlike other countries, there are not many drivers here trying to get into F1." Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya bought into the Spyker F1 team in 2007 and renamed it Force India and that country will have its first F1 GP in 2010. A1 organisers want two races there. Karthikeyan, who raced for the Jordan team in 2005 and

Did you know?

Inspector General of police, Jammu range : Kondaveeti Rajendra Kumar, IPS Deputy Inspector General of Police, Thiruvananthapuram: Yendluri Anil Kumar, IPS Superintendent of police, Mandi district (Himachal Pradesh): Movva Chandrasekhar , IPS

Mitral Valve Leak Repaired Through Tiny Puncture Hole Using Live 3D Images

May 15, 2008 Houston: Physicians at the Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center at The Methodist Hospital in Houston now close certain types of leaky heart valves through a tiny puncture in the groin, using live 3D imaging for precise guidance. Methodist offers this combination treatment as an alternative to open heart surgery. Drs. Sashi Guthikonda (Native of Tenali, grown up in Hyderabad) and Neal Kleiman, interventional cardiologists at Methodist, recently used a catheter to close a leak surrounding a 65 year old patient’s mitral valve, rather than exposing her to a potential 4th open heart surgery. The leak was causing such damage to her blood that she was constantly weak and needed multiple blood transfusions. “Many physicians and cardiologists don’t know this procedure is available at all, but closing a leaky valve this way saves our patients from the trauma of open heart surgery,” said Guthikonda , who learned this procedure during his fellowship at Emory University Medic

Clank! Kollipara, Devils celebrate state titles

May 15, 2008 Illinois: The clanking noise that Hinsdale Central students might have heard briefly in the school hallways Monday was the sound of the Red Devils badminton team making history. That's what happened when senior Karishma Kollipara tried to wear her two latest state medals -- one that she earned as expected for her third state singles championship and the other for the Red Devils' unexpected first state team championship in the sport Saturday at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. "We all wore our medals to school, but mine kept clanking so I had to take them off," Kollipara said. "All of (my state singles titles) have been great, but this one is the most exciting because it's the first time we won as a team. It was a huge achievement." Kollipara earned half of Hinsdale Central's 14 points that surpassed runners-up Hinsdale South and Lincoln-Way Central (12 apiece) with Andrew (10.5) fourth and Fremd (10) fifth. Kollipara (47-0

Ghatothkach to release on May 23

Mayabazar’s character Ghatothkach will be released on May 23rd. It is an animation film being made in seven languages -- English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam and Bengali. This film will be the best summer treat for the children this year. There were 35 cameras employed for filming, the first time a technique like this was adopted for animation films shot in India. I am confident that the film will be released by May 23rd. The Telugu version will be released next week by T-Series, the Hindi version will be released by PVR Cinemas and the Tamil version by Ayngaran International, Producer Suryadevara Vinod said. Animation film "Ghatotkach - Master of Magic" will be screened at the 61st Cannes film festival on May 17 .

Lanco Infratech consortium wins 80 bln rupees port project in Kerala

Hyderabad-based Lanco Infratech Limited consortium has won the bid for development of the $2-billion (Rs 8,000 crore) Vizhinjam International Container Port project in Kerala. Lanco has tied up with Pembinan Radzai Sdn. Bhd (PRSB), Malaysia. India's largest container transshipment port project would be developed in four phases with an ultimate capacity of 6.5 million TEUs (twenty foot equivalent units). The first phase would be completed in 60 months and the remaining three phases would be initiated after reaching the stipulated traffic levels, according to Lagadapati Madhusudhana Rao, Managing Director, Lanco Infratech Limited. The company will raise 70 per cent of the required funds through debt and the remaining through equity. The financial closure would be two years down the line. "This is the first major port for Lanco Infratech,'' he said, adding it was currently building a captive coal terminal for its power project at Mangalore. The Vizhinjam port, situated ab

Indian origin researchers software helps beef up airport security

Washington: Computer scientists at University of Southern California, including an Indian origin researcher, Praveen Paruchuri, (A Kamma guy) have written software that may help improve vigilance against terrorist attacks. The software called ARMOR, already being used to beef up security at LAX airport in Los Angeles, has been developed as part of a DHS-sponsored research project. Praveen Paruchuri tested the software along with Professor Milind Tambe, who is associated with the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events (CREATE), a DHS Center of Excellence based at USC. The researchers say that the software records the locations of routine, random vehicle checkpoints and canine searches at the airport, and thereby helps pinpoint any security breaches or suspicious activity. The software, thus, provides the police with a model of where to go, and when. It makes random decisions on the basis of calculated probabilities of a terrorist attack at those locations. The softw

Natco Pharma gets national award

Hyderabad-based Natco Pharma Ltd has been conferred with the national award for its indigenous development of life saving anti-cancer drugs. The Technology Development Board’s annual award 2008, for successful commercialisation of indigenous technology, given on the occasion of the Technology Day (May 11), was received by the company’s Chairman and Managing Director, Mr V.C. Nannapaneni, and Dr A.K.S. Bhujanga Rao, President (R&D), Dr A.K.S. Bhujanga Rao, i n New Delhi on Sunday.

L.G. Ramamurthi passes away

Mr L.G. Ramamurthi, Chairman emeritus of Coimbatore-based Sara Elgi group of companies connected with textile and engineering, passed away this afternoon after a brief illness. Mr Ramamurthi, 76, is survived by his son, Mr Sumanth Ramamurthi, managing director of Super Spinning Mills Ltd, and two daughters. Sara Elgi group under the leadership of Mr Ramamurthi remained well-diversified and took new business initiatives. Among the new ventures it undertook include building products development and contract farming of cotton with thrust on seed R and D. Belonging to the illustrious LRG Naidu family (founder of the Elgi group), Mr Ramamurthi was associated with various public service and sport activities and he has also been on the board of Elgi Equipments Ltd and Magna Electro Castings Ltd.

Karthikeyan's return to Formula One is uncertain

CHENNAI: Kakarla Kumar Ram Narain Karthikeyan would have been pleased as punch to finish the A1 Grand Prix season on a winning note at his favourite race circuit, Brands Hatch, England, last Sunday. But, after becoming the first Indian to drive in a Formula One race in 2005 when he signed up with Jordan, Narain seems to have lost his plot. He spent the last two seasons in racing wilderness as a test driver for Williams, a role that increasingly became decorative, and the decision to move to A1 GP as the Team India driver, has not helped his cause any better. Now, at 31, the road ahead for Narain is unclear. He appears well entrenched in A1 GP driving for Team India. Two victories this season, at Zhuhai and Brands Hatch, came after a string of failures as he grappled with a poorly equipped team in terms of quality race engineers. Although Narain did not admit as much, he did hint that Team India was in need of an overhaul by way of hiring top notch engineers who could turn things aroun

Rakindo plan to set up $250-m arm may get okay

Chennai-based real estate developer Rakindo Developers’ proposal to set up a wholly owned subsidiary with $250-million FDI from Dubai-based Rakeen Development is expected to get Cabinet clearance on Thursday. Rakindo has plans of building a $1.5-billion (Rs 6,000- crore) integrated township at Coimbatore which will be ready for launch after the CCEA clears the FDI proposal. The plan envisages developing over 1,000 acres of property with an 18-hole golf course as the centerpiece. Rakindo is proposed to be a holding company that will promote investments in several SPVs to develop and operate townships. It is a joint venture company formed by Rakeen, a joint stock global business company promoted by the Ral Al Khaimah group, UAE and the Chennai based mineral conglomerate Trimex group owned by Koneru Prasad . The newly formed real estate company has already obtained FIPB approval to invest and hold downstream investments in Companies formed for the Coimbatore project. FIPB had considered
Commercial vehicle manufacturer Ashok Leyland appointed Vinod K Dasari , who was the Chief Operating Officer, as the Wholetime Director on the board.

NATCO scouting for retail chains in US

Hyderabad, May 10:Natco Pharma Ltd is scouting for drug retail chains in the US to further strengthen its retail business segment. “We are in the process of considering some retail chains for a possible buy and interested in buying some big candidates,” Mr Bhaskara Narayana, Vice-President (Finance), Natco Pharma, told. The Hyderabad-based company has acquired three drug stores in the US so far – Newark Drugs, Nicks Drugs and SaveMart Drugs – which contributed about $38 million revenue out of an approximate total revenue of Rs 350 crore in 2007-08. The strengthening of retail business augurs well for the anti-cancer drug manufacturer in view of its profitability. “There is about 8 per cent net profit in retail business in the US. In addition, we can have a channel for our own products and understand the markets in a better way,” Mr Narayana said. Rs 50-cr INVESTMENT The company is investing about Rs 50 crore in augmenting its production capacity. “A plant for manufacturing of formulati

Global Hospitals expanding in Karnataka

The hub and spoke model is increasingly being adopted to deliver high-end healthcare in smaller cities and one of the newest hospital chains to use this expansion route is the Global Hospital. ( Dr. Kancherla Ravindranath, Chairman and Managing Director ). With seemingly deep pockets funded through debt and equity, the chain is there in Mumbai, spreading itself across South India and set to enter Kolkata too. With Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad as the hubs as of now, the Hyderabad-headquartered Global Hospital is using the organic and inorganic routes of expansion. The group commenced operations of the 500-bed BGS Global Hospital, a super-speciality and tertiary care hospital in Bangalore which is a joint venture between the BGS Trust and Global Hospitals, built on a 50-acre campus of BGS Health and Education City. The total investment in the facility is about Rs 170 crore. The group aims to have five spokes for every hub. The spokes of the BGS Global Hospital are the 60-bed Diwakar

Solar Semiconductor ties up with Motech of Taiwan

Hyderabad-based photovoltaic (PV) modules producer Solar Semiconductor has entered into a strategic partnership with Motech Industries Inc of Taiwan for the supply of PV cells valued at about $360 million (Rs 1,440 crore). Through this partnership, Motech will be supplying PV cells to Solar Semiconductor and cooperate with the latter to explore processing wafers for conversion into cells. "We have been growing rapidly in recent months and will continue that growth in the coming years. Our focus on quality and customer care has created significant demand for our PV modules. So, it is essential for Solar Semiconductor to obtain more quality cells at competitive prices," Chief Executive Officer of Solar Semiconductor , Hari Surapaneni , stated in a press release .

Prof.Suryadevara Mahendra Dev appointed Chairman of CACP

Prof.Suryadevara Mahendra Dev appointed as new Chairman of Commision for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). Prof. S. Mahendra Dev is an economist who has written extensively on agricultural development, poverty and public policy, food security, employment guarantee schemes, social security, farm and non-farm employment. He did his Ph.D from the Delhi School of Economics and his Post-doctoral research at the Economic Growth Centre, Yale University and was faculty member at the Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai for 11years. He has been a consultant to many international organizations like the UNDP, World Bank, International Food Policy Research Institute, ESCAP and has also worked as a member in committees set up by the Government of India. He was member 11th Planning Commision. He is presently Director, Centre for Economic and Social Studies, Hyderabad.

Galla Foods forays into Indian beverage mkt

Launches Galla Thick Mango in Hyderabad. Chittoor-based exporter of tropical purees, concentrates and fresh fruits Galla Foods Private Limited (GFPL), owned by the promoter family of the Rs 1,300-crore Amara Raja Group, on Monday launched its mango nectar product – Galla Thick Mango — in Hyderabad. This marks the company's entry into the Indian fruit beverage market. "Around 54 per cent of the consumers in the Indian beverage market are in age group of 16-30. Besides, there is a declining trend in the consumption of carbonated drinks. This has created growth opportunities for fresh juices, and we would be addressing this fast growing youth segment with our product," Ramachandra N Galla, chairman of Galla Foods, told mediapersons here. At present, packaged natural fruit beverage market in India is pegged at Rs 1,500 crore and growing at 15 per cent year-on-year, of which mango and mango-blend beverages account for around Rs 1,200 crore. Stating that the company's prima

Suven secures European patent

Suven Life Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company based here, has secured a product patent from the European Patent Office (EPO) for its clinical candidate SUVN-502, valid until June 2023. The product is being developed for central nervous system (CNS) disorders. It can be used in the treatment of cognitive impairments associated with neuro-degenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder or memory loss associated with aging and schizophrenia. "The potential global market for these symptoms is more than $18 billion people. Getting this patent for our clinical candidate SUVN-502 is more timely and relevant now as it is being used in clinical trials. Securing patent protection for our discoveries enhances the value of our technologies and products substantially," Venkat Jasti, chief executive officer, Suven, stated in a press release. According to Jasti, the product is an exclusive intellectual property of Suven and has been ach

Narain Karthikeyan wins the final A1 Grand Prix of 2007-08 season at Great Britain

BRANDS HATCH (Great Britain): Narain Karthikeyan secured India's first ever pole position in the Feature race of A1GP, World Cup of Motorsport, after pipping host nation's Robbie Kerr in the qualifying session of the season-ending race at the Brands Hatch circuit on Sunday. Watch: Narain grabs pole at Brands Hatch Karthikeyan, India's first Formula One driver, recorded 1 min 14:682 seconds in the second session to earn himself a brilliant chance to end the season on a winning note. Kerr finished 0.227 seconds behind the Indian to be placed second and thus missing the chance to earn second pole position of the event after taking pole position in Sprint. Karthikeyan slipped to overall fifth in the Sprint race after Jonathan Summerton of the USA and Adam Carroll of Ireland raced brilliantly in the second session to pip the Indian. Kerr recorded a timing of 1:14:424 in his second session while Karthikeyan raced the best lap with 1:15:040 in the first session. Earlier, Karthikey