Kammas World

Padma awardee Kammas

2012-01-27T08:17:00.002+05:30

Padma Awardee Kammas (Updated)
Padma Vibhushan:
1. Gottipati Brahmayya
2. Dr.Gogineni Ranganayakulu (N.G.Ranga)
3. Dr.Kotha Sachidananda Murthy
4. Dr.Tummala Madhava Rao
5. Dr.Myneni Hari Prasada Rao
6. Akkineni Nageswara Rao

Padma Bhushan:
1. Dr.Moturi Satyanarayana
2. Dr.Akkineni Nageswara Rao
3. Kongara Jaggayya
4. Adusumalli Radhakrishna
5. Dr.Ramanujam Varadaraja Perumal (Tamilnadu)
6. Kantipudi Padmanabhayya (IAS)
7. Ghattamaneni Sivarama Krishna
8. Dr.Patibandla Chandra Sekhara Rao:

Padma Shri:
1. Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao
2. Dr.Moturi Satyanarayana
3. Akkineni Nageswara Rao
4. Challagulla Narasimham (IAS)
5. Dr.Gadde Rama Koteswara Rao
6. Kalluri Subba Rao
7. Dr.Vadlamudi Venkata Rao
8. Katta Venkataswamy Naidu (Tamilnadu)
9. Dr.Valluri Sita Rama Rao
10. Dr.Nuthakki Bhanu Prasad
11. Dr.Yalavarthy Nayudamma
12. Dr.Govindappa Venkataswamy (Tamilnadu)
13. Dr.Kadiyala Ramachandra Rao
14. Dr.Narla Tata Rao
15. Dr.Sruyadevara Ramachandra Rao (IAS)
16. Dr.Gopalaswamy Govindarajan (Tamilnadu)
17. Dr.Immaneni Sathyamurthy (Tamilnadu)
18. Dr.Kakarla Subba Rao
19. Dr.Idpuganti Venkata Subba Rao
20. Dr.Kota Hari Narayana
21. Dr.Gullapalli Nageswara Rao
22. Dr.Atluri Srimannarayana
23. Dr.Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad
24. Pullela Gopichand
25. Dr.G.Bhaktavatsalam (Tamilnadu)
26. Dr.Namperumal Perumalswamy (Tamilnadu)
27. Koneru Humpy
28. Manchu Mohan Babu
29. Kakarla Narayan Karthikeyan (Tamilnadu)
30. T.N.Manoharan (Tamilnadu)
31. Dr.Koneru Ramakrishna Rao
32. Dr.Gutta Muniratnam

Dr.PCS Rao and Dr.G.Muniratnam gets Padma award

2012-01-26T19:16:00.002+05:30

Dr.Patibandla Chandra Sekhara Rao:
The Central government honoured three prominent Telugu people with Padma awards 2012 on the eve of Republic Day. While Dr Patibandla Chandrasekhara Rao, a judge at International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in Germany, was awarded Padma Bhushan.

Dr P Chandrasekhar Rao, popularly known as PC Rao, is an internationally recognized legal personality. At present, he is serving as a judge of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea headquartered at Hamburg inGermany.

Born in Krishna district in a farmer’s family, Rao did ML and PhD in International Law and specialization in Law of the Sea from Madras University. After completing studies, he joined the External Affairs Ministry and worked in Legal and Treaties Division.

He later joined the Law Ministry and served as Law Secretary for a long time. He also played a key role in preparing draft for the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 by the union government.He represented the country at several international conferences on law held in other countries .

Dr.Gutta Muniratnam:
Dr G Muniratnam, founder Member and General Secretary of Rashtriya Seva Samiti (RASS), an NGO located at Tirupati in Chittoor district, selected for Padmasree Award by the Central government. Dr Muniratnam, who is also a member in the state government NGO s Co-ordination Committee, symbolises a strong and resonant Gandhian method, addressing problems of rural and semi-urban poor.

He had been instrumental in proportionately mixing Gandhian spirit and tools of modern day development. RASS, a premier voluntary developmental and service organisation working for the welfare of the weaker sections in general and women, children, physically handicapped and the aged in particular in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Delhi since 1981.

Raju Narisetti named Managing Editor of Wall Street Journal

2012-01-22T07:39:00.000+05:30

NEW YORK: The Wall Street Journal has named Indian-American journalist Raju Narisetti as Managing Editor of the publication's digital network.

Narisetti is currently the Managing Editor for The Washington Post, where he oversees the company's digital content products, staff and strategy.

Narisetti's appointment marks his return to the Journal, where he had first worked in 1994 as a reporter in Pittsburgh and most recently served as Editor of The Wall Street Journal Europe in 2006.

At the Journal he will be in charge of the online platforms like the WSJ.com, SmartMoney.com and the Chinese, Japanese and German-language editions of WSJ.com.

Narisetti will also become a Deputy Managing Editor of the Journal, and he will report to Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor and Executive Editor, Online.

Narisetti holds a Bachelor's degree from Osmania University in Hyderabad and a Master's in Management from the Institute of Rural Management in Gujarat.

Prior to joining the Post in 2009, Narisetti had served as founding editor of Mint newspaper In India.

Robert Thomson, Managing Editor of the Journal said Narisetti's experience in creating Mint brings "important relationships and unique expertise that will assist us as we expand our global digital network".

Formation of AP Kamma Federation

2012-01-21T11:34:00.000+05:30

Unity is Strength

ఈ రాష్ట్రంలో ప్రతి కులం వారికి రాష్ట్ర స్థాయిలో ఒక సమాఖ్య ఉంది, కాని మన కులం వారికి మాత్రం రాష్ట్ర స్థాయిలో ఒక సమాఖ్య అంటూ లేకపోవటం వలన రాజకీయంగా మనం చాలా వెనుకబడి పోతున్నాం. ఇప్పటికే మనవారు అధికంగా ఉన్న చాలా నియోజకవర్గాలు రిజర్వేషన్ కేటగిరీలోకి వెళ్ళాయి. రాష్ట్ర రాజకీయాల్లో మనం కీలక పాత్ర వహిస్తున్నాం కానీ, రాష్ట్ర మంత్రివర్గంలో మన సంఖ్య నామ మాత్రమే. ఇక్కడ అతి కష్టం మీద గల్లా అరుణ కుమారికి ఒక అప్రధాన శాఖ కేటాయించి చేతులు దులుపుకున్నారు. (తమిళనాడు ప్రభుత్వంలో ఇద్దరు కమ్మవారు మంత్రులుగా వున్నారు.) కేంద్రంలో రాయపాటి, కావూరి వంటి సీనియర్ యం.పి లను విస్మరించి ఇతర కులాల్లో జూనియర్లకు కూడా మంత్రి పదవులు కట్టబెట్టారు. దీనికి ముఖ్య కారణం మనకు సంఖ్యా బలం ఉన్నా కాని, ఐకమత్యం, ఉమ్మడి వాదం లేకపోవటమే.

ఏపార్టీలో ఉన్నామనం కమ్మవారమే, మనకు అన్ని రాజకీయ పార్టీలు ఒక్కటే. అన్ని రాజకీయ పార్టీలలో మనకు సరైన న్యాయం జరగాలి, సరైన ప్రాతినిధ్యం లభించాలి.

ఎం.ఎల్.సి కోటాలో ఇతర కులాల వారికి మాత్రం మంత్రి పదవులు కట్టబెడ్తున్నారు, కాని మన కులంలో   పాలడుగు వెంకటరావు లాంటి సీనియర్ నాయకులను మాత్రం విస్మరిస్తున్నారు. ప్రకాశం జిల్లాలో గొట్టిపాటి రవి లాంటి యువ ఎం.ఎల్.ఏని కూడా విస్మరించారు.  కమ్మవారి జనాభా అధికంగా ఉన్న కృష్ణ, ప్రకాశం జిల్లాల నుండి ఏ ఒక్కరికి మంత్రి పదవి దక్కక పోవటం విచారకరం. కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీకి ఆర్ధిక వనరులు  చేకుర్చటానికి  మాత్రం కమ్మవారు కావాలి కాని, పదవుల విషయంలో మాత్రం వీరితో పనిలేదు. కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీలో కమ్మ వారికి ఈ రాష్ట్రంలో రాజ్యసభకు నామినేట్ చేయబడి రెండు  దశాబ్దాలు అయ్యింది. కాంగ్రెస్ పార్టీలో మరే ఇతర కులం వారికి ఇంత అన్యాయం జరగలేదు.

ఈ రాష్ట్రంలో గతంలో ముఖ్యమంత్రులుగా పని చేసిన ప్రతివారు తమ కుల సంఘాల సమావేశాలకు అతిధులుగా హాజరయ్యారు, ఒక్క చంద్రబాబు నాయుడు తప్ప. ఈయన మాత్రం ఇతర కుల సంఘాల సమావేశాలకు అతిదిగా వెళ్ళాడు, తన కులం వారికి మాత్రం దూరంగా ఉన్నాడు. ఈ విషయంలో మాత్రం మనం శ్రీమతి పురందేశ్వరిని ఎంతో అభినందించవచ్చు. ఈవిడ కేంద్రంలో మంత్రిగా బిజీగా ఉన్నాకూడా కమ్మ సంఘాల సమావేశాలకు హాజరై తన సంఘిభావాన్ని తెలియచేస్తారు.

కుల సంఘాలు తప్పని విమర్శించేవారు చాలామంది ఇక్కడో విషయం గమనించాలి. మనకు కులం పేరు ప్రస్తావించనిదే  ఎక్కడా పనికాదు. స్కూల్ అడ్మిషన్ దగ్గరనుండి ప్రతి ప్రభుత్వ ధరకాస్తులో  కూడా కులం ప్రమేయం లేనిదే చెల్లుబాటు కాదు. అంతెందుకు, ఈ ప్రభుత్వమే కులాల వారి జన గణన కార్యక్రమానికి శ్రీకారం చుట్టింది. రిజర్వేషన్ విధానంతో ఈ ప్రభుత్వాలే సమాజాన్ని కులాల పరంగా విడగొట్టింది. చదువు, ఉద్యోగాలు, ఉపాధి, రాజకీయాలు, ఇలా ప్రతి విషయంలో కుల ప్రమేయాన్ని ప్రభుత్వమే ప్రోత్సహిస్తుంది. ఎప్పుడైతే ఈవిధానం తొలగిపోతుందో, కులాల పరంగా ఈ అసమానతలు తొలగిపోతాయో, ప్రతిభ కలవారికి, ఆర్ధికంగా వెనుకబడినవారికి కుల ప్రమేయం లేకుండా ప్రభుత్వ ప్రోస్థాహం లభిస్తుందో బహుశా అప్పుడీ కుల సంఘాల ప్రభావం తగ్గవచ్చు. మనం, మన జాతీయ గురించి, మతం గురించి చెప్పుకుంటే తప్పుకాదు కానీ కులం గురించి చెప్పుకుంటే మాత్రం తప్పా?

మనం కుల సంఘాలు పెట్టుకుంటుంది వేరే కులాలవారికి వ్యతిరేకంగా కాదని మనకులంవారి ప్రయోజనాలు కాపాడుకుంటూ, మనకులంలో ఆర్ధికంగా వెనుకబడిన వారికి విద్య, ఉపాధి మొదలైన విషయాలలో తోడ్పాటునందిస్తూ, ఇతరకులాలవారితో సామరస్య పూర్వకంగా ఉంటూ, తద్వారా సమాజసేవ చేస్తున్నామనే భావనతోనే గమనించాలి.

మన ఇకమత్యాన్ని, ఉమ్మడి వాదాన్ని ఇతరులకు తెలియ చేయాలన్నా, మన హక్కులను మనం కాపాడుకుంటూ, ఇతర హక్కులను సాధించాలన్నా మనకంటూ ఒక వేదిక ఉండాలి. రాష్ట్ర వ్యాప్తంగా ఉన్న కమ్మ సంఘాలన్నీ కలిసి ఉమ్మడిగా ఒక వేదిక ఏర్పాటు కావాల్సిన ఆవశ్యకత ఎంతో వుంది.

సుసంపన్నమైన నాగరికత, చరిత్ర కలిగిన కమ్మ వారిగా పుట్టినందుకు గర్విద్దాం. ఇతరకులాలవారితో స్నేహ, సోదర భావంతో కలసి మెలసి ఉంటూ సమాజ సేవ చేద్దాం.

ఆంధ్ర ప్రదేశ్ కమ్మ సమాఖ్య ఏర్పాటు దిశగా ప్రయత్నం మొదలైంది, త్వరలోనే కార్యరూపం దాల్చనుంది.

ఈ విషయంలో మీ అభిప్రాయాలను తెలియ చేయండి.

email: kammavelugu@gmail.com

Mobile: 08125682058

Musunuri Lalith Babu becomes GM

2012-01-07T23:12:00.000+05:30

International Master Musunuri Lalith Babu (Elo 2484) (Vijayawada) clinched the final GM norm at the ongoing Hastings Grandmasters chess championship at London on Thursday thus becoming a Grandmaster, the 26 player from India.

Nineteen-year-old Lalith defeated fellow- Indian GM Deep Sengupta in the eighth round to become the fourth GM from Andhra Pradesh — the other three being Pendyala Hari Krishna (Guntur), Koneru Humpy (Vijayawada) and Dronavalli Harika (Guntur).

“The wait is over. It took some time for Lalith to win the elusive final norm. Getting it in an alien land is special,” said Lalith's mother M. Padma.

Wish You A Very Happy New Year

2012-01-01T07:38:00.002+05:30

Humpy won gold and Harika won Silver in the World Women's Team Chess Championship.

2011-12-28T18:42:00.001+05:30

MARDIN: The Indian team met another nemesis in China and went down 1.5-2.5 to miss out on a medal and sign off fourth in the World Women's Team Chess Championship.

For the Indians, Koneru Humpy played out a draw on the top board against world champion Yifan Hou while Donavalli Harika also did not disappoint on the second in splitting the points with Ju Wenjun.

Humpy was the pick among the Indians and the world number two also won the gold medal on the first board with her fine 6/8 performance. Harika was the other medal winner from India to win a silver for her performance on the second board.

In the last round, Humpy did not let Yifan do much and got an easy draw as black with exchanges at regular intervals while Harika was her solid self yet again.

Madhucon to set up Indonesia power plant

2011-12-27T21:57:00.003+05:30

A consortium led by Madhucon Projects (Nama Nageswara Rao, Chairman) has received a letter of intent to set up 300 mw (2 x 150 mw) coal-fired power plant at south Sumatra in Indonesia. The mine-mouth project would be set up on a build-operate-transfer basis.

The project would come up close to a coal mine owned by PT Madhucon Indonesia at Dawas. This mine is expected to assure the supply of coal to the project and also offer significant cost benefits.

According to sources, the power project would cost about Rs1,800-2,000 crore. The company would achieve financial closure for the project in about a year’s time and would have another 36 months from there to complete the project. The company officials were not available for providing the details.

A special purpose vehicle would be incorporated to handle the power project and Madhucon Projects would hold about 65% stake in the SPV, while its other group companies would hold the remaining 35%.

However, Madhucon will have to sell the power produced to the Indonesia government-owned energy company PT PLN.

According to a communiqué from the company to the exchanges, the SPV would enter into a 25-year power purchase agreement with PLN.

The state-owned company has a monopoly over electricity distribution in Indonesia. Under the Indonesian laws, though the private companies are allowed to sell power to the consumers directly, they have to use PLN’s electricity network to reach the consumers.

Interestingly, the company’s Dawas coal mine spread in about 8,600 acre is expected to have significant coal reserves to the tune of about 900 million tonne.

The mine would commence production sometime in February 2012.

The company, which has a mining licence for Dawas site, would use the mined coal for its new power project and explore the possibility of exporting it to India.

Meanwhile, Madhucon Infra, a subsidiary of Madhucon Projects Ltd, is also setting up a 1,920 mw coal based power project near Nellore in AP. The construction of Phase I of 300 mw is said to be complete and is heading towards synchronisation.

The project, being set up by an SPV Simhapuri Energy, would enter into Phase II of another 300 mw sometime in August 2012. The company has applied for clearances for Phase III of 1,320 mw, which would commence activities in the second half of 2012.

Karuturi to Construct Sugar Factory in Ethiopia

2011-12-27T21:36:00.000+05:30

Addis Ababa, Dec 26: Karuturi Agro Products, a subsidiary of Indian giant Karaturi International, (Sai rama Krishna Karuturi, Chairman) is set to establish a sugarcane factory in Ethiopia.

The factory, with an estimated capacity of crushing 7,000 tonnes of cane a day, is to be built in Ethiopia's Gambella Regional state.

Some 15,000 hectares of Karuturi land in Gambella will start producing sugarcane in three years, said Assefa Arega, manager of Karuturi's sugarcane plantation. The company expects the crushing plant to be ready in time for the harvest.

Karuturi is currently undertaking a feasibility study and work on the sugarcane crushing factory, including site identification, supplying and installation, will commence early in 2012.

The sugarcane plantation and the factory will be adjacent to each other, said Assefa.

Karaturi Group is one of the biggest flower exporters in the world and has its farms in Ethiopia and Kenya. Establishing a sugar factory in Ethiopia is expected to return significant economic benefits in terms of domestic demand and also for import, he said.

The Ethiopian Sugar Corporation is to import 300,000 quintals of sugar by February 2012 to fill the supply gap in the country. It is estimated that the sugar, mainly from Brazil and India, will cost Ethiopia $33 million.

Neighbouring countries like Djibouti, Kenya, South Sudan and Somalia rely on imported sugar, according to a local newspaper, and this dependence could reduce once the new factory comes up.

LaPlace movie theater completes face lift

2011-12-27T21:04:00.003+05:30

New Year's brings a season of turning over new leaves and starting fresh. But this year, few can claim to be starting fresher than Vishu Mandava, owner of the Hollywood Cinemas 7 movie theater in LaPlace.

A pair of new high-backed movie seats await installation at LaPlace's newly renovated Hollywood 7 movie theater.

This past week, crews have completed the installation of hundreds of new high-back, rocker-style seats in the theater's seven auditoriums. And with that, Mandava -- who bought the then-neglected facility a year and a half ago -- will put the finishing touches on months' worth of renovations.

"Everything is new," Mandava said during a recent tour of the theater in which he showed off the upgrades. "We've replaced almost everything" over the past 16 months.

That starts with a renovated lobby, which Mandava connected to the Baskin-Robbins ice-cream parlor next door -- which he also owns -- to allow patrons to bring ice cream into the theater. It also includes the two new digital projectors recently installed so the theater could offer 3-D films, as well as a number of smaller touches, such as fresh paint and the like.

With the installation of the new seats -- which include leather headrests and cup holders -- the overhaul is complete.

"People used to have to go to (the AMC) Clearview (Palace) or to Baton Rouge to see 3-D movies," said Mandava. "Now they can come here."

Mandava, who also runs the Hollywood Cinemas 9 theater in Kenner, said renovation plans there have been shelved until he learns whether the locally owned Southern Theatres chain intends to go through with its plans to build a competing multiplex in the Jefferson Parish city.

Former Tennis Player Wins First Professional Tournament

2011-12-06T19:15:00.001+05:30

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. - Saketh Myneni, a 2010 graduate of the University of Alabama, won his first professional tennis tournament at the International Tennis Federation's Futures Tour in India this past November.

Myneni won both the men's singles and doubles tournament, a feat not shared by many of even the best professional tennis players.

"I am really happy to have won my first professional event and I feel pleased with my efforts the entire week," says Myneni.

As a result of his win, Myneni gained 18 points to go towards his ATP ranking. Based on more recent tournament play, Myneni now has 21 points in singles play and is ranked around 700th in the world, says Billy Pate, UA's men's tennis coach. Myneni now plans to focus his efforts on increasing his ATP ranking so that he may compete in higher-level tournaments.

"My main goal is to play on India's team in the 2012 Davis Cup tournament," says Myneni. "My short term goals are to try and compete with the best athletes in the world, increase my ranking and also to stay healthy."

Coach Pate says he believes that Myneni has a good chance at making the Davis Cup team despite his current ATP ranking.

"Saketh's major goal is to play in the Davis Cup for India," says Pate. "He has a good chance on his current path and has certainly captured the attention of the Indian federation--the people who will make decisions on which wildcards to allow into higher level events."

In light of winning the India F9 tournament, Myneni credits his time spent at UA to be a large contributing factor to his success.

"Playing for the Crimson Tide has been one of the best things I have ever done in my life," says Myneni. "I got to travel and play in one of the toughest leagues in the country, if not the best. By doing so, it helped me mature my game immensely and gave me a lot of exposure. I also got to learn a lot about myself from the outstanding staff who worked with me during my playing time."

4G Identity Solutions Wins the Prestigious ET Now ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ Award 2011

2011-12-06T19:01:00.001+05:30

An able thought leader and a successful architect of Identity innovation, Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni, Chairman & CEO of 4G Identity Solutions has received the prestigious Indiamart ET Now ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ Award 2011, at an award function held at Mumbai, India on 28th November 2011. The award was presented by the chief guest Legendary N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Technologies.

'Leaders of Tomorrow' salutes the spirit of entrepreneurship and celebrates the success of India's best Small and Medium Enterprises. This award will inspire future leaders to tread a path of success and triumph. The award will celebrate the success stories and honor entrepreneurs who have transformed stumbling blocks into stepping stones driven by their passion,Determination and undying spirit of entrepreneurship.

More than 50,000 nominations have been received across 13 different categories for the Leaders of Tomorrow Award 2011 and after thorough review of the nominations by the process experts Ernst & Young around 70 companies per category have been shortlisted, which were invited for the preliminary jury round. After the preliminary jury round, 5 companies per each category have been invited for the final jury round. The award is decided by a diverse panel of independent, impartial jury from various backgrounds to execute the judging process headed by Mr. Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations. 4G Identity Solutions has emerged a winner in IT/ITES-BPO/VAS category for its pioneering vision, strong financials and the state of the art solutions and its impeccable project delivery.

On winning the award, Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni, Chairman & CEO, 4G Identity Solutions said “This award recognizes our high standards of quality and the significant investment we have made in identity innovation. Our unrelenting efforts have resulted in implementation of national scale Unique ID solutions and improved Government services delivery. This honor acknowledges the pioneering efforts we have made over the years and I extend my thanks to all the people who have contributed in transforming the dreams to reality.”

4G Identity Solutions has also won “Aadhaar Excellence Award” from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in Enrolment Agency category for its excellent efforts in Aadhaar Enrolment services. Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni received the Aadhaar Excellence Award from Mr. Nandan Nilekani – Chairman, UIDAI on 29th September 2011 on the occasion of 1st year anniversary of Aadhaar project launch.

Holding The Aces

2011-12-06T18:01:00.001+05:30

Live online rummy proves a moneyspinner for this company.

Deepak Gullapalli had a feeling that the cards before him held his future. He liked playing rummy and many a time as a Master’s student in Middlesex University, London, Gullapalli and his friends unwound with a game in the evenings. They were also online gaming junkies. It didn’t take him long to put two and two together and end up with an idea for an online portal for rummy. So in 2005, Gullapalli quit his internship at a consultancy, and came to India to set up Ace2three.com, making it the first portal for rummy in India.

Today, with 600,000 registered users, the portal owned by Head Infotech expects to clock Rs 25 crore in revenues this year. “We have tried to create the same user experience online as one would find offline,” says Gullapalli. About 8,000-10,000 tournaments per day are played on the website with an average 15,000 players logging in. The stakes: cash prizes of up to Rs 15,000 per day.

Though the Hyderabad-based company has a posh address today, it started in a small 100 sq ft room on the terrace of Gullapalli’s Hyderabad residence, where he and his two software developer friends started their “small project.”

Starting Trouble

The initial plan was to sell the game on CDs, pitting players against the computer. But a game where one played against the computer was difficult because it involved use of sophisticated software. Also, Gullapalli realised that rummy is more fun when playing against live players. So the partners worked on an online version where players could play each other over a network.

The Ace2three team built a basic prototype for two players in 2006 that they later upgraded to a multiplayer game. But there were still no plans to go commercial. “We didn’t have a revenue model then as it was only a play-for-fun portal,” he says.

The three friends had invested Rs 30 lakh but the money was starting to dry up. So in 2007, they started a subscription model where for Rs 200 per month players could log in for a game. But it met with little success. The slow internet connections, frequent disconnections and the game itself crashing added to their woes, says Gullapalli.

A loan of Rs 30 lakh from investors at mol.com, solved their money problems in 2007. And two years later, they received a fresh injection of close to Rs 1 crore from an angel investor. This funding brought stability to the business.

Yet another fillip to the growth plans came from an investment of Rs 7 crore by Matrix Partners in 2010.

With this they moved their server to Chennai from the UK to reduce the lag time (the time taken by the server to respond to commands given on the computer), although costs increased by 50%. “From 50,000 users in 2009, we’ve been growing 20-30% month on month,” says Gullapalli.

To handle the growing user base, the company plans to add more servers to the six it has currently. The company can now handle up to 10,000 users simultaneously. In the next two years, the addition of more servers will allow up to 50,000 players to access games simultaneously.

About 70-80% of the users of Ace2three.com, play for fun, while a small percentage of them play for cash (between Rs 2,000 and Rs 5,000). Only 20% of the players take part in cash tournaments where the players have a prize pool, Ace2three charges a 10% fee—the site’s sole source of revenue. The tournaments can have a minimum of two and a maximum of 1,000 players. The lowest prize pool for a tournament is Rs 100.

All users are given an Ace2three virtual wallet and chips. They settle dues via credit cards or bank accounts. Unlike other online portals, the gaming site does not have any advertising revenues. “We don’t want the customer’s focus to be away from the website,” says Gullapalli.

On The Cards

Avnish Bajaj, CEO, Matrix Partners, believes the market for online gaming is huge. “Our research shows that almost 100 million have played rummy [offline],” he says. “Currently Ace2three has penetrated less than 5% of the market, so they have a huge market ahead of them. And for any nascent industry, 5-10% is good penetration,” he adds.

Though there are plenty of competitors like Games 24X7, rummy.com, zapak.com and ibibo, Ace2three is confident of growth.

To attract more users, the portal is planning to introduce more regional variants of rummy along with other games of skill like Bridge. With these new offerings, they hope to hit the 1.5 million registration mark by March 2012. Then, revenue will be Rs 50-60 crore by FY12-13.

In 2012, Ace2three intends to design games for Facebook and launch apps for the iPhone and Android. As they scale up, more challenges are bound to show, but the founders are confident that they are holding the right cards.

Senior IPS officer Kode Durga Prasad likely to head SPG

2011-10-31T21:28:00.001+05:30

NEW DELHI: Andhra Pradesh cadre senior IPS officer Kode Durga Prasad, who had a long stint in the state's anti-naxal force Grey Hounds, is frontrunner in the race to head the elite Special Protection Group (SPG).

The elite force is headed by BV Wanchoo, who retires on Monday after having the longest tenure of seven years.

Durga Prasad, a 1981 batch IPS officer, is presently the additional director general of police (Sports) in AP.

He, however, had no previous experience in the SPG, a force which was primarily created to guard the Prime Minister and their immediate family members.

Besides the Prime Minister, SPG also guards Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and her two children— Rahul and Priyanka.

Durga Prasad is among the few officers who were considered for the post.

Though Durga Prasad said he did not have any `news' of his posting, he confirmed that he was considered for the same.

"Yes. I was among quite a few people (officers) who were interviewed for the post," he told Express but said he did not receive any official confirmation from government sources about his posting.

Durga Prasad headed Grey Hounds for a long period and had a brief stint as the chief of state's intelligence wing.

Durga Prasad was also handpicked for heading the Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (COBRA) in 2008 but had to return to his parent cadre in less than a year on personal grounds.

If Durga Prasad is selected to head the SPG, he would be the first IPS officer from the state cadre to be posted in the elite force.

Prasad was among the two officers interviewed for the post and it is understood that the Government has cleared his name to head the 23-year-old force.

Wanchoo, a 1976 batch IPS officer from West Bengal cadre, considered a close confidante of Gandhi family, retires on Monday.

Meghana Kamineni Wins 33rd Orland Park Open Spelling Bee

2011-10-28T22:03:00.001+05:30

Meghana Kamineni, a 6th Grade student at St. George School, felt wonderful when she took home this year’s trophy for first place in the “10 and under” division. Last year she came in second in the competition. Meghana said "I did not get a chance to really practice this year because I entered at the last minute.”

Divi Murali and L Madhusudhana Rao in the Forbes India's Richest list

2011-10-28T19:55:00.000+05:30

Divi Murali: #53 with $1.05 billion
Pharmacist and youngest of 13 siblings, owns 52% of Divi's Laboratories, pharma firm he founded in 1990 after stint partnering with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories. Company makes off-patent generics and does custom manufacturing of patented drugs for big pharma companies. Gets over 90% of its $266 million revenues from international markets. Investing $90 million to expand its manufacturing capacity; its new 350-acre special economic zone in eastern India opened in June.

Lagadapati Madhusudhana Rao: #91 with $495 million
Fortune down 78% as shares of his power producer Lanco Infratech plummeted amid sector slowdown. Inked $716 million deal to buy Australia's Griffin Coal but got slapped with $3.5 billion lawsuit by fertilizer maker Perdeman Chemicals alleging breach of a coal-supply agreement. Tripling power capacity to 9,300 megawatts by 2014 and bidding for power projects in Bangladesh, Indonesia. Brother L. Rajagopal has been member of parliament since 2004.

G Varadaraj

2011-10-27T23:50:00.000+05:30

Shri.G.Varadaraj was a pioneer of education, business and industry as well as a Parliamentarian.

Born to Shri.Ganga Naidu on 1st November 1936, at Coimbatore. Shri.G.Varadaraj proved an astute businessman while promoting industry, education, science, sports, culture and social welfare. He supported the growth and development of the PSG( Periaveedu Sama Naidu Govindaswamy Naidu) college of Arts and Science. the PSG industrial Institute, the PSG college of Technology and the PSG Medical College.

As the Managing Trustee of the PSG Group of Institutions from 1978 to 1990, he founded the institute of Medical Science and Research in 1985. He was the founder of Rajshree Sugars and Chemicals Limited in 1987 in a most backward area of the Theni District of Tamilnadu which paved the way for the economic and social development of the area by providing employment opportunities to the local people.

Shri.G.Varadaraj was a distinguished Parliamentarian. As a Mamber of the Rajya Sabha for six years from 1983, he served on several commitees. He passed away on 23rd October, 1990 but his legacy lives on.

Padma Shri T. N. Manoharan

2011-10-27T10:32:00.003+05:30

Padma Shri (CA.) T. N. Manoharan is an Indian Chartered Accountant and a former president of Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

Manoharan was born in April 1956 in a freedom fighter's family in a small village near Vellore, with agricultural background. He obtained a post graduate degree in Commerce from Sri Venkateshwara University and a law degree from Madras Law College. He became a Chartered Accountant in 1983 and set up his public practice in the same year. He is the founding partner of the accounting firm Manohar Chowdhry & Associates, Chennai. He was elected to the central council of ICAI in 2001 and its Vice President in 2005. He remained as a Central Council Member till 2007. He has also chaired various committees of the Institute. In 2006, he was elected as the President of the ICAI (for a one year term). He is also a notable freemason.

In 2009, Manoharan was one of the four members (as representatives of Government of India) appointed to the board of the scandal hit information technology company Satyam Computer Services for restructuring the company. As of 2010, he continues to be a member of the company's board. He has been a visiting faculty for Taxation at the Southern India Regional Council (SIRC) of ICAI and the Reserve Bank of India's staff college and has authored text books on Taxation. He is very popular amongst CA Students and he is very much involved with students. In 2009, he won the CNN-IBN "Indian of the Year" award (along with his fellow board members of Mahindra Satyam) in the business category. He was awarded the Padma Shri (India's fourth highest civilian honour) in 2010. He is also a board member of a number of organisations including Nani Palkhiwala Foundation, Alpha Capital Management and Sahara India Finance Corporation.

The business of jokes

2011-10-26T20:35:00.001+05:30

Comedy group Cheese Monkey Mafia scouts for talent while making the city laugh.

I have two skills that are talking points at parties… making drinks and telling jokes,” claims Raghav Mandava, founder of Cheese Monkey Mafia (CMM), a Delhi-based events company set up in 2010. While his bar-tending days are behind him, Mandava uses CMM to organise comedy events and Open Mic Nights across the capital.

Working as a bartender in Delhi’s News Cafe, Mandava met internationally-acclaimed comedian Papa CJ who took him under his wing in 2009. Admitting that he still lacked a “funny bone”, Mandava had to perform at nine shows amidst awkward silences before receiving his first laugh from the audience. “It took me a while to find that one joke that clicked with the audience,” he says. Funny or not, Mandava manages to pull in a crowd — his show ran to a packed house this week at the India Habitat Centre.

At present, artists performing in the capital are seasoned ones such as Abish Mathew and Rajneesh Kapoor — however a real Open Mic Night, according to Mandava, is “when you can literally smell the desperation to be funny”. Mandava uses these nights to scout for young talent. “I plan on taking them along for corporate events,” he says. And of course, he’ll take a cut.

It was comedian Louis C K that “turned his life around”. Talking about the rules of humour, or the lack thereof, Mandava believes that one can joke about anything. Quoting his other comedy idol, American actor Chris Rock, Mandava adds, “Talk about what people do, not what they are.” Though he enjoys Canadian funnyman Russell Peters too, Mandava finds Peters’ humour to be repetitive and focused on racial stereotypes.

What about funny women? “I’m going to dig my own grave here… but women generally aren’t funny.” But the numbers don’t lie — one woman among 10 artists at an Open Mic Night seems to suggest the same. “There are funny women but not many take the stage as a profession, be it in India or abroad,” he adds.

Mandava’s own humour spares no one — it may be city-specific (though he avoids clichéd jibes at Punjabis), at times sexist (“jokes on women drivers never get old”) and even anti-establishment. While C K perfected the art of being a rebel speaker, Mandava tries to question the simpler things in life. Preferring an anecdotal conversation to a structured script, Mandava wants his joke to “take the audience by surprise”.

He demonstrates. “At a fancy dinner, you never pick up the first plate because you don’t want to look like a greedy pig,” he says a matter-of-factly. “The one who does pick up the first plate becomes a hero of sorts... and the lesser mortals just follow suit,” he laughs off.

So is Indian humour a consequence of British wit or American slapstick? “No… we have our own niche now,” he says emphatically. Though self-deprecation is the easiest form of humour to pick up when starting out, some have mastered this form such as Indian stand-up artist Sanjay Rajoura, believes Mandava. Cussing, swearing and sexual innuendo (or even literal jokes looked upon as ‘filthy’) seem to be indispensable to comedy. While some enjoy them, Mandava confesses to several “squeamish ones” walking out on him.

Comedy is not just an art but a booming profession too. Having performed at various corporate retreats , the job pays him more than being a VJ, claims Mandava. With only 30 stand-up artists doing the rounds in the country, this may be true. With only two videos of himself up on YouTube and a Facebook page, Mandava has not been marketing himself extensively. Why?

“I don’t want to give away everything just yet. A joke is like a fruit — first you grow it, ripen it and then enjoy it... after a while it begins to rot and you must toss it!”

Though he doesn’t have a Wikipedia page yet, like some of his idols, Mandava’s humour seems to be tickling the capital’s bones successfully.

Happy Diwali to all

2011-10-26T08:18:00.000+05:30

Justice Jasti Chelameswar sworn in, SC strength now 28

2011-10-10T13:33:00.000+05:30

Justice Jasti Chelameswar today sworn in as Supreme Court judge, raising the strength of the apex court to 28.

Chief Justice of India S H Kapadia administered the oath of office to Chelameswar, former chief justice of Kerala high court.

Justice Chelameswar had assumed the charge of Kerala High Court as its chief justice on March 17, last year. He was first elevated as an additional judge in the Andhra Pradesh High Court on June 23, 1997 and was made a judge there on May 17, 1999. On May 3, 2007, he was appointed as chief justice of the Gauhati High Court.

Born on June 23, 1953 in Andhra Pradesh, Justice Chelameswar enrolled as an advocate in the Andhra Pradesh High Court in 1976.

The Leader

2011-10-08T08:02:00.000+05:30

Novatel Varun Beach Hotel to be ready by next month

2011-10-07T21:04:00.000+05:30

Novatel Visakhapatnam Varun Beach — a five-star hotel built by the Varun group on the beach road — is getting ready and will be operational by next month, according to Mr Vallurupalli Prabhu Kishore, Chairman and Managing Director.

He said at a press meet here on Tuesday that almost 90-95 per cent of the work on the project had been completed and it would be ready by November. “We started the work on the project in 2008. Sea Valley Private Ltd, our company, started the work and later on we entered into an agreement with Accor Hotels group and Novatel is their brand. There are three Novatel properties in the country, two in Hyderabad and one in Mumbai, and Varun Beach will be the fourth,” he said.

Mr Kishore said that Varun group, the dealer of Maruti here, had hitherto been only in the automobile business and for the first time had ventured into the hospitality and entertainment sector. “We have constructed six Inox cinema halls adjacent to the hotel and started operations in March 2010,” he said.

Best hotel project award

Recently, he said, Novatel Varun Beach had been presented the “Best Hotel Project - Pan India 2011” by the Zee Business channel and the Union Minister for Urban Development, Mr Kamal Nath, had given the award in New Delhi. “It is an honour and it is a great tribute to our team working tirelessly for the past three-and-a-half years on this prestigious project,” he said.

Convention centre

He said Novatel Varun Beach would boast of the biggest convention centre, its unique selling point. It would have 225 rooms, nine executive suites, one presidential suite and one accessible room. “Previously, big conferences could not be held here for want of a really big convention hall. Now we have one here on the beach and it will be big attraction,” he said.

In response to a question on the project cost, Mr Prabhu Kishore said that exclusive of the land cost Rs 100 crore had been spent on the hotel so far and Rs 16 crore or so on the cinema halls. The project would generate 350-400 jobs, he added.

Happy 'Vijaya Dasami'

2011-10-06T08:49:00.000+05:30

Yeswanth Nadella and Raymond Wins Doubles Regional Title

2011-10-05T23:09:00.000+05:30

Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney doubles team of Josh Raymond and Yeswanth Nadella won the ITA Central Regional for a second straight season Sunday afternoon at Harmon Park in Kearney.

Raymond, a senior from Elkhorn, and Yeswanth Nadella, a sophomore from India, had to both bounce back from losses in the single semifinals Sunday morning.

The second-seeded Raymond fell to 3rd-seed Shane Giannetti of William Jewell (5-7, 6-3, 8-10) while the 7th-seeded Nadella pushed top-seed Lucio Cangiano of Metro State before also losing in three sets (4-6, 6-4, 10-7).

In his third set tiebreaker, Nadella fought back from a 3-0 hole to tie things at seven before Cangiano, the defending champ, scored three straight to advance. Giannetti managed to score six straight points to win the first set against Raymond. He then came back from a 7-5 deficit to win the third set.

Raymond and Nadella wasted little time, getting out to a 3-0 lead. Eventually up 6-1 and then 7-2, Cangiano and Vlahos battled back to score four straight points. Up 40-30, Raymond sent a strong serve over the net that Vlahos returned but Nadella promptly tapped the ball back over for an easy point and an 8-6 win.

Durban man Euvin Naidoo makes Forbes list

2011-10-05T22:47:00.000+05:30

A former Durban man has been placed on the Forbes list of “the 10 youngest ‘power men’ in Africa” for his work in promoting investments in the continent in the West. Also on the list are Mark Shuttleworth and Julius Malema.

At 40, Euvin Naidoo is the CEO of the SA Chamber of Commerce in America and facilitates the expansion of business, trade, and investment opportunities between SA and North America with the view of promoting sustainable economic growth across the two continents. The former Stanger High School pupil graduated with a BA Law from UKZN in 1998, and went on to graduate from the Harvard Business School in 2007.

Naidoo, a father of two, said:

“Africa is going to need an investment of human capital, particularly African-born leaders who are being educated or have now emigrated to the US or elsewhere in the Western world.”

The Forbes list of “power men” in Africa is described by the publication as a “line-up of 10 youthful movers and shakers who wield influence in Africa’s political and business circles”.

Ottawa Centre's Anil Naidoo gets Nobel-sized endorsement

2011-10-05T22:41:00.001+05:30

Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar might be more focused on gaining grassroots support than big-name endorsements, but even he likely wouldn't have turned down the one his would-be provincial counterpart got today.

Anil Naidoo, the NDP's provincial candidate for Ottawa Centre, has announced on his website that he's been endorsed by noted anti-apartheid humanitarian Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Naidoo and his family escaped South African apartheid to come to Canada.

Writing from his home in South Africa, Archbishop Tutu said, “Anil Naidoo has been an advocate for the human right to water, the rights of nature and progressive environmental causes. I share these values and support Mr. Naidoo so that he can continue this important work as an elected representative.”

Archbishop Tutu, who turns 80 this week, has worked with Anil Naidoo on international issues. Naidoo, who was born in South Africa and whose family escaped apartheid to come to Canada, is a well-known organizer behind many international environmental causes, including the UN vote to recognize water as a human right.

Anil Naidoo has taken time off from his day job as a human rights expert with the Council of Canadians, Canada's largest citizens' organization, to run for the NDP in Ottawa Centre.

The "unprecedented" endorsement by a Nobel laureate, as the press release calls it, comes on the same day the Ottawa Citizen chose incumbent Liberal MPP Yasir Naqvi "by a hair" over Naidoo as their choice to represent Ottawa Centre.

Red Lion Hotels Signs Franchise Agreements with Owner, Positive Investments, for Two Hotels in New Mexico

2011-09-22T22:24:00.000+05:30

SPOKANE, Wash., Sept. 21, 2011-- Red Lion Hotels Corporation (NYSE: RLH) announced the company has signed franchise license agreements with the owner of two New Mexico hotels. The two properties are among a group of hotels owned by Positive Investments, Inc., (Rao R Yalamanchili, Owner) which is also the owner of the Red Lion Hotel Oakland International Airport in Oakland, California.

"These hotels operate under strong management already known to Red Lion," said Rich Carlson, Senior Vice President of Lodging Development for Red Lion Hotels Corporation. "We are committed to growing the Red Lion brand in the West and we are very excited to enter the New Mexico market with an experienced owner like Positive Investments."

The future Red Lion Hotel Farmington is located in the Four Corners region of New Mexico. The 192 room full service hotel, located at 700 Scott Avenue, was formerly the Best Western Inn & Suites of Farmington.

The other property will be the Red Lion Hotel Gallup, located on the historic Route 66, about 130 miles west of Albuquerque. Gallup is a regional trade and transportation center, close to the Navajo Reservation. The 126 room full service hotel, located at 3009 West Highway 66, was formerly the Best Western Inn & Suites of Gallup.

Both hotels have begun the conversion process and are expected to open as Red Lion Hotels this fall.

"These two full service hotels have historically had a strong reputation and customer base in the region," says Rao R. Yalamanchili, who owns Positive Investments, Inc., along with Srinivas Yalamanchili. "Now, together with the strength and support of the Red Lion brand, we are excited to take the hotels to the next level in quality and guest satisfaction."

NSL group launches villas on Mediterranean theme

2011-09-22T21:53:00.000+05:30

NSL group (Mandava Prabhakara Rao, Chairman), with interests in sugar, IT SEZs and power, has embarked on a premium villa project, NSL Divyasree Orion, at Raidurg near Gachibowli, the emerging IT hub in Hyderabad.

The location is the advantage for the project, which is coming up in 10.5 acre near NSL Divyasree IT SEZ. The project, having 66 villas, uses Mediterranean themes for designing and landscaping and offers sizes ranging from 350-500 sq yd (3,150-4,500 sq ft).

“The location of the project is in the city but away from the clamour normally associated with it,” said Shrawan Kumar Gone, chief executive officer of NSL Infratech.

According to him, about 60 per cent of the properties are booked. “The bigger properties within these villas are already sold,” he said adding that the cost of the villas available now is around Rs 3.5 crore, with the construction due for completion in December 2012.

The features of the project includes lift in the villas to address the needs of the elderly, a club house with a pool, a party area, gym, a tension court, jogging track, discussion rooms and power back-up. The project will also have an efficient water management system.

The location is neighbouring Jubilee Hills and Hitec City on one side and Gachibowli and the financial district on the other.

“The township is located on a plateau overlooking a lake,” he said adding that the natural slopes of the site have been taken to advantage for vaastu compliance. Also, efforts have been made to incorporate elements of nature inside the villas.

NSL is also doing another project Sushaanta at Kukatpally, where it has procured several land parcels. It will have mid-sized flats from 1,180-2,000 sq ft. It is doing 135 apartments and is quoting between Rs 35-55 lakh depending on the size. The project is in the vicinity of malls, schools and hospitals.

“These will be ready in 16 months,” he said adding that one new project that will have flats in the Rs 10-20 lakh will be launched in about six months at Ibrahimbagh, which is closer to the Outer Ring Road.

NSL Infratech has drawn up plans for five million sq ft residential space in five years. At present, it has about 5,00,000 sq ft of residential projects across cities. It also has residential projects happening in Bangalore, where 900 units are in the making.

The company, which has a land bank of about 1,400 acre across cities, will shortly start a major township project in Chennai with 5,000 apartments in 100 acre near old Mahabalipuram.

Vasuki Sunkavalli Loses Miss Universe Title Due To Delay

2011-09-13T20:30:00.000+05:30

India's respresentative contestant at the Miss Universe pageant in Sao Paulo, Vasuki Sunkavalli was unable to to get the crown home as Miss Universe 2011. The 24 - year old damsel was not able to display herself in her national costume as it got delayed and did not reach her on time for the show.

However, the 60th edition of the beauty pageant was won by Miss Angola Leila Lopes. Lopes defeated the rest of the contestants and won the title. Last year, Mexico's Ximena Navarrete handed the crown to Lops in a glamorous moment.

the year 2000, Lara Dutta won the Miss Universe title for India, while Miss World was won by Priyanka Chopra in the same year.

Karuturi Global to Plant 20,000 Hectares in Oromia

2011-09-12T12:28:00.000+05:30

September 11, 2011 - Ramakrishna Karuturi of Karuturi Global has made expansion intentions of his limited company clear. According to Ramakrishna Karuturi, his company is planning to use 20,000 hectares to plant food crops, including rice, Sorghum, maize, soybeans, and sunflower, in the Oromia region by November 2011. The company has leased a total of 100,000 hectares in Ethiopia, besides two flower farms in Oromia.
Karuturi Global employs about 3,000 people in its two flower farms in Holeta, which produce roses to be exported to Europe, particularly Germany. Besides, the Indian limited company has two farms in Gambella and Bako areas, which process sugar, rice, palm oil, maize. More than 2,000 people work on these two farms. Karuturi Global plans to expand employment to at least 25,000 people with an eye on increasing production.

The company’s managing director said they expect to harvest rice and maize on about 10,000 hectares by September and palm oil on 5,000 hectares. The company plans to increase the production of palm oil by up to 20,000 hectares in about five years, hoping to take the production to about 100,000 tons so as to meet the demand of this Horn of Africa country, which exports about 90,000 tons of palm oil annually.

Karuturi Global began planting sugarcane on about 15,000 hectares in Gambella region in December 2010. The company has plans to increase the production to about 20,000 hectares. Sugar and palm oil remain the principal crops for Karuturi Global, which has a rich market in Ethiopia and member states of COMESA.

The company started investing in Ethiopia seven years back. At that time, Karuturi Global Limited, primarily known for venturing into Food processing, Agriculture, and Floriculture sectors, started with an initial investment in 100 hectares. Today, its total investment in the country has reached $150 million from $5 million seven years back.

Karuturi managing director believes that agriculture ventures will help further the growth of the company and consolidate its presence in African markets, including Ethiopia and Kenya. The company, the biggest exporter of cut roses, has a rose farm in Kenya as well.

India is only the second largest investor in Ethiopia, preceded only by the European Union. Recently, many Indian companies have shown interest in Ethiopia and plan to invest in the country in the coming years, particularly in agriculture and floriculture. In fact, according to the Ministry of External Affairs, more than $2 billion of India’s total investment of $4.78 billion in Ethiopia comes from these two sectors.

Justice Jasti Chelameswar appointed as Supreme Court Judge.

2011-09-11T21:36:00.003+05:30

President Pratibha Patil has appointed Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court Jasti Chalameswar as Supreme Court Judge.

Justice Chalameswar, 58, will represent Andhra Pradesh following the retirement of Justice B. Sudershan Reddy in July. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court in May 2007 and then shifted to the Kerala High Court in March 2010. He will have a tenure of seven years as Supreme Court judge.

Born on June 23, 1953 at Pedda Muttevi, Movva Mandal in Krishna District of Andhra Pradesh, India. His father was late Jasti Lakshminarayana, a lawyer at Machilipatnam, Krishna District. Had his earlier education up to Class XII at Hindu High School at Machilipatnam in Krishna District and Graduated in Science (Physics) at Madras Loyola College. Graduated in Law from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, in 1976. Enrolled as an Advocate in High Court of Andhra Pradesh at Hyderabad in the year 1976 and practised under a senior Advocate Dr.B.Bhimaraju, former Public Prosecutor, High Court of A.P., Sri.P.Rajarao, Ex. Government Pleader, High Court of A.P. and Sri.K.Srinivasa Murthy, a leading Advocate in High Court of A.P. Specialized in Constitutional Law, Election Laws, Central Excise, Customs, Income Tax and Criminal Law. Appointed as Standing Counsel of A.P.Lokayukta in 1985 and 1986. Worked as Government Pleader for Home Affairs in High Court in the years 1988 and 1989. Designated as Senior Counsel in the year 1995. Appointed as Additional Advocate General on 13.10.1995. Elevated as Additional Judge of High Court of Andhra Pradesh on 23.6.1997 and as Judge w.e.f. 17.5.1999.

J.P. Morgan Invests $110M In Soma Group

2011-09-08T15:08:00.000+05:30

J.P. Morgan Asset Management is investing $110 million or around Rs 500 crore in Hyderabad-based Soma Group (Rajendra Prasad Maganti, Managing Director), which is involved in construction and development of infrastructure projects in the transportation, hydel power and water resource sectors.
J.P. Morgan, which raised an $860 million Asian infrastructure fund last year, will invest in the company in two tranches, as per this report. SRGR Law Offices advised Soma while Amarchand & Mangaldas advised JP Morgan, the report has stated, quoting one of the legal partners involved in the deal.

-mail queries and phone calls to reach out to Soma Group and J.P. Morgan spokesperson did not elicit any response till the time of posting this story.

Although the specifics of the investment cannot be determined, it may have been done for the funding of Soma’s highway projects unit, which holds its portfolio of BOT (build, operate, transfer) projects in the highways and road sector. Earlier reports had stated that the firm was looking to raise fund for Soma Highway (Toll) Projects Pvt Ltd.

Soma is currently executing nine national highway projects under different Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).

Soma Enterprises Ltd, the group’s flagship, is promoted by Rajendra Prasad Maganti and it raised Rs 191 crore from 3i Infrastructure Fund in November 2007. The company started out with irrigation projects and further expanded into areas like tunnelling, roads and hydropower. The company is currently executing projects in various states including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Kerala and Assam

Centre to release postage stamp on Tripuraneni Gopichand

2011-09-06T09:29:00.000+05:30

The Union government has decided to release a postage stamp in memory of eminent Telugu poet and novelist late Tripuraneni Gopichand on the occasion of his 100th birth anniversary on 8th September 2011. Late Gopichand had written many great stories and novels, including"Asamarthuni Jeevitha Yatra" and won accolades.

Mullapudi Harischandra Prasad passes away

2011-09-03T21:46:00.000+05:30

The first generation entrepreneur and popularly known as Andhra Birla, Chairman and Managing director of Andhra Sugars, Mullapudi Harichandra Prasad (91) has passed away this afternoon in Banjara hills Care hospital. His health condition is critical since a few days as he suffering with Kidney related problem.

Mullapudi Harichandra Prasad has started his entrepreneur career with Andhra sugars in 1947 and regarded as one of pioneers of Andhra Pradesh industry with Andhra Sugars one among the first industries set up in Independent India. Perhaps, it is one of very few companies in India which have operations and corporate office in the single location and in the rural regions. The Andhra sugar group of companies has served their best to rejuvenate rural economy from agro based to agro industry based economy. Under his dynamic leadership and guidance the Company grew in strength and size and diversified into an Industrial Complex manufacturing besides Sugar, wide range of Organic and Inorganic Chemicals. Prasad has won many accolades for his achievements during his career as entrepreneur; his factories have never shut down due to strikes.

Having started with Sarpanch, he served as Municipal chairman and MLA (1955-67) and known as highest and prompt tax payer in the state. Known to be a close friend of late NTR and helped TDP financially when NTR floated the TDP.

Vote for Vasuki Sunkavalli Miss Universe

2011-08-28T17:36:00.003+05:30

http://www.missuniverse.com/members/profile/599534/year:2011

You can vote ten times per email address per day until the 11th of september. she wil need all your support.

Karuturi Global Plans $500 Million Investment in Tanzania Food Production

2011-08-27T20:33:00.000+05:30

Karuturi Global Ltd. (KARG), the world’s largest rose grower, may invest as much as $500 million in food production and processing in Tanzania as it expands operations in East Africa.

The company plans to lease land to grow palm oil, sugar cane and cereals in Tanzania, to add to land it has acquired in Ethiopia where it already grows the same crops, Managing Director Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi said in an interview. Karuturi is currently visiting Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia as part of a delegation of 35 Indian investors who are considering investing $2.5 billion in the three countries, he said.

“There is huge potential for the agriculture sector in East Africa,” Karuturi said. “The region has 120 million hectares (297 million acres) of arable land, the same size of arable land in India.”

Companies from India are boosting economic ties with Africa amid competition from China, its regional rival, whose trade with the continent totaled $106.8 billion in 2008, according to Consultancy Africa Intelligence’s website. Trade between India and Africa currently stands at $50 billion, according to the African Union.

Karuturi Global’s investment in Tanzania will “mainly come from our internal resources,” Karuturi said, without providing further details. The company is seeking 200,000 hectares of land for palm oil, 150,000 hectares for cereals and 20,000 hectares for sugarcane, he said.

Quiznos opens first store in India

2011-08-27T20:25:00.000+05:30

USA based Quiznos, one of the Sub Quick Service Restaurants (QSR) chains with over 4000 stores in over 35 countries, has entered the Indian market in a franchise model with Apollo Elixirs. The quick service restaurant chain plans to open 10 stores in India by the end of the year, in the cities of Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad, and 30 by the end of 2012.

Lee Vala, international chief development officer, Quiznos, USA said that after its success in Central and South America, Quiznos plans to grow the brand’s international footprint to more than 40 countries and territories, with target markets in Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia in the next few years. He confirmed that the restaurant chain has already appointed a franchisee for North and West India.

Speaking on the occasion, Mohit Mathur, CEO, Quiznos India, said: “We will offer 30 products to our customers through these chain of restaurants. Our range of products start from Rs. 50 for a Sammi and will go upto Rs. 325/- for Premium Sandwich. We have two kinds of restaurants viz Special Venue Restaurants(SVR) and Full restaurant. SVR kind of restaurants are set up Malls. We even plan to set up outlets in educational institutions where students strength is above 10,000.”

Arjun Valluri, chairman of Apollo Elixirs, said that Quiznos has signed a master franchise agreement with Apollo Elixirs for Southern India, Goa and Sri Lanka. The first flagship store of Quiznos in India is all set to open in Film Nagar, Hyderabad followed by the next two opening in September at Inorbit Mall, Gachibowli and Infosys, Pocharam campus. He also informed that upto ten outlets will open in Hyderabad in next one year.

In its 30th year, USA-based Quiznos is an international chain with over 4000 stores in over 35 countries. Its restaurants offer recipes for sandwiches, soups and salads. CNN Money ranked toasty sub pioneer Quiznos as the No. 2 most popular franchise of the past decade in 2010.

Munirathna Naidu wins by a big margin

2011-08-13T20:46:00.000+05:30

Well known film producer Munirathna Naidu who is also a corporator for the Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike is the new President of the Kannada Film Producer Association. He has won the recently held elections for the KFPA held on Sunday afternoon with a big margin of 78 votes beating his nearest rival Ba.Ma.Harish.

It is also his team of supporters like A.Ganesh and Soorappa Babu who have won the elections for the posts of Vice President and Secretary beating their rivals. There was a unanimous choice for the post of Joint Secretary, Treasurer and eight executive committee, after the other contestants withdrew their candidature in time.

The elections were held under the supervision of K.V.Chandrashekhar, Former President of the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, Mars Suresh, Former Vice President of the KFCC, Narayana Reddy, former Treasurer and veteran producer-director K.V. Gupta who was also the former President of KFCC. More than 210 producers casted their votes in this election and there was an all around interest generated in the film industry, media about the contest.

Ba.Ma. Harish who is famous for making news in channels because of his closeness to the media projected himself as a strong candidate and was trounced by a big margin. He got only 53 votes, but the low key contestant like B.R.Keshava who had contested for the post of Secretary managed to get nearly 86 votes against Soorappa Babu.

Munirathna thanked the producers for electing his team and said that he will ensure smooth functioning of the association with the help of many elders who have run this organisation. "My first priority is to protect the interests of the producers. I will not hesitate to step down if even one person in the orgnisation genuinely feels that I have not worked for their benefit. The producers can spell out a problems to me by just writing a personal letter to the association or even by just telephoning me. I am sure to address their grievances," said Munirathna.

The victory of Munirathna in the Kannada film producers association elections which was held after a gap of 27 years clearly has enthused big time producers like Ravichandran, Dwarakish and many others. "The real work of Producers association will start now. There was no concrete work done in past' noted Actor and Producer Ravichandran. Veteran Dwarkish said that he has high hopes on the leadership of Munirathna who has the necessary skills to execute things in favour of Kannada film producers.

Gutta Jwala-Ashwini make history at Wembley

2011-08-13T20:25:00.000+05:30

Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa etched their names in history books on Friday when they became the first Indian pair to ensure a medal at the World Badminton Championships.

The Commonwealth Games gold medallists defeated 12th seeds Vita Marrisa and Nadya Melati of Indonesia 17-21, 21-10, 21-17 to storm into the women's doubles semifinal in London on Friday, thereby ensuring at least a bronze.

Jwala and Ashwini's performance also ended India's 28-year medal drought in the flagship event.

India's only other medal in the championship came in 1983 when Prakash Padukone bagged the men's singles bronze in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The unseeded pair removed the gloom in the India camp after the loss of Saina Nehwal earlier in the day.

The world number 21 pair began on a slow note and played catch up through the first set. But the late charge in the opener gave them the confidence to go on the attack.

"Jwala was fantastic with her service and net play, while the opposition had no answer to Ashwini's smashes," chief national coach, Pullela Gopi Chand, told.

Jwala and Ashwini had created a buzz with a straight sets hammering of second seeds Wen Hsing Cheng and Yu Chin Chien of the Chinese Taipei in the second round.

"That victory gave us the confidence that we could match the best in the world," said Jwala.

On Thursday, they rallied from a set down to beat 11th seeds Lok Yan Poon and Ying Suet Tse of Hong Kong to come within whispering distance of a medal.

They will now face fifth seeds Qing Tian and Yunlei Zhao of China for a berth in the final.

USA Cricket: Anand Tummala find place in 14-man squad named for Canada tour

2011-08-09T21:10:00.002+05:30

The USA Cricket Association has announced the 14 players who will be leaving on Wednesday for Toronto to play in three Twenty20 matches beginning on August 11 against Afghanistan, Canada and Trinidad & Tobago as well as a two-day match against Canada.

Anand Tummala, Amir Nanjee, Charan Singh, George Adams, Stuart Mills and Hussain Haidar will all be making their debuts for USA. Jignesh Desai, who last played for USA at the 2006 ICC Americas Division One in Canada, has been recalled at the age of 37 and named captain of the squad while Andy Mohammed gets his second opportunity at the senior level after debuting against Jamaica last year.

Anand Tummala-USA's Next ALL-ROUNDER?

Currently representing the North Atlanta Cricket Club in the Atlanta Georgia Cricket Conference 2011 with an unbelievable batting average of 197.00 (388 runs including two unbeaten centuries) and superb bowling average of 8.2 (13 wickets with an economy rate of 2.5), Anand Tummala must consider himself a serious contender for the all-rounder spot in the USA national cricket team.

Anand moved to the USA in 2007 and has been part of the South East Regional team since performing exceedingly well in the USACA National Championship. In recognition of his superb and consistent all-round performances, Anand was selected in 2010 to represent the USA national team in the T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Dubai. Unfortunately, for the USA and Anand, he could not participate due to the fact that he narrowly missed the minimum residency requirements of four years before an individual can represent any country in an ICC tournament. Brushing aside this disappointment, Anand focused and worked hard on improving all aspects of his game. In April 2011, he met the residency requirements and is now eligible to represent USA in any ICC tournament.

Anand is an excellent middle order batsman who is technically sound with a good temperament and has shown that he is capable of building innings. He has an uncanny ability to keep the scoreboard ticking at the start of his innings and then accelerate towards the middle and end of the innings playing good quality cricketing shots to hit boundaries and sixes. Anand is a high quality medium pace bowler who swings the ball and relies on line and length which makes him an asset to any side in all forms of the game. Anand is also a very good fielder and has one of the safest pair of hands. A feature of any performance by Anand is his ability to quickly assess the current situation of a match and adjust his game accordingly to suit the needs of his team.

Growing up in India, Anand played most of his cricket in Delhi including school, college, age-group, university and ultimately realizing the dream of representing Delhi in the Ranji Trophy (India's premier first class cricket tournament) in 2001. The experience gave Anand the opportunity to play alongside and against world class cricketers like Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra and Sourav Ganguly to name a few.

Anand also traveled with teams representing the Delhi District Cricket Association in tournaments as Vice Captain during the England tour in 1995 and as Captain during the South Africa tour in 1996. Between 1996 and 1998, he was part of the world renowned MRF Pace Foundation in India which is a training academy for pace bowlers from all over the world under the leadership of the great Australian fast bowler Dennis Lillee. In addition, Anand represented the Bishen Bedi (former India skipper) Cricket Coaching Trust teams on tours to England in 2001 and Australia in 2007.

Anand's desire to pursue his education resulted in him enrolling in the Master of Business Administration program from the University of Wales and moving to the United Kingdom in 2005. It was during his stay in Wales that Anand excelled both on and off the field. He had the honor of being the captain and coach of the University of Wales cricket team in 2005 and 2006. He was also contracted as a player and senior coach by the Croesyceiliog Cricket Club in the South Wales Premier League. During his stay in the United Kingdom Anand had the privilege of playing alongside former West Indian greats like Richie Richardson, Jimmy Adams and former New Zealand allrounder Chris Harris in exhibition matches. The University of Wales sponsored Anand for the prestigious level I and level II ECB coaching certifications. Off the field, Anand was the recipient of the Best Full-Time International Student Award (MBA) and also held the post of "Overseas Officer" in the University of Wales Newport Students Union.

After moving to the USA in 2007, Anand has not only managed to play with a high level of consistency, but also put in a lot of effort and time into coaching the South East Region and various age group levels at the Cricket Academy of USA on a regular basis. Anand has also been instrumental in taking cricket to schools in the Atlanta, Georgia area inclusive of introducing and implementing a development program involving more than 200 physical education teachers in the Fulton County school system which has earned him high praise from children, parents and authorities. He is also a Certified England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) level II Cricket Coach and a current member of the England & Wales Cricket Board Coaches Association since 2006.Anand owes a lot of his success to his parents who have supported him in all aspects of life. An excellent work ethic has ensured that he has remained focused and determined in achieving his goals.It is just a matter of time before Anand dons the USA colors and represents the country at the highest level. Good luck, Anand!

3 crowns for Pranjala Yadlapalli

2011-07-27T16:08:00.000+05:30

Guwahati, July 23: Yadapalli Pranjala of Andhra Pradesh annexed triple crowns in the Oil India Ltd-AITA Super Series (under-12 and under-16) tennis tournament that concluded at the Chachal Tennis Complex here this afternoon.

The 11-year-old won the under-12 and under-16 girls’ singles and the under-16 doubles, partnering Sruta Kirti Gunaganti of the same state.

The top seed beat Mihika Yadav of Maharastra 6-3, 6-2 for the under-12 crown. She, however, had a cakewalk 6-1, 6-1 victory against Renu Sharma of Haryana for the under-16 title.

In the under-16 doubles final, Pranjala and Gunaganti conceded a couple of games in the first set before coming back strongly to defeat Renu Sharma of Haryana and Bhavya Wadhwan of Chandigarh 7-5, 6-1.

Tyneside director Bharat Nalluri's baby news

2011-07-24T22:15:00.000+05:30

MOVIE maker Bharat Nalluri has revealed details of his latest production . . . a baby daughter with his TV presenter wife!

The top director, who grew up on Tyneside, met and fell in love with his wife Kylie Morris when he least expected it . . . while he was making a moving drama about the 2004 Asian Tsunami.

The former Newcastle Royal Grammar School pupil went to Thailand in 2006 to direct the two-part BBC drama Tsunami: The Aftermath, recounting the disaster through the eyes of several families affected, and Kylie was a key researcher for the drama, having been one of the first news reporters on the scene of the Boxing Day disaster.

Now, three years on, Bharat and his Channel 4 news presenter wife live happily in London where – in between working on Spooks, Torchwood and a whole raft of other projects - he is busily preparing for the arrival of a baby girl to join their two-year-old son.

The Emmy Award winner beamed: “There are always things in the pipeline – I’m finishing editing Spooks series 10 at the moment and talking about stuff here and in the US . . . but the next big production is the birth of our baby girl at the end of August.

“Our first was a boy and he’s two-and-a-half now, so I’m taking a little bit of time out to help out at home.

“I’m lucky in that I’m freelance so I get to choose when to work or not. The choice to leave home and shoot is never easy, but one of the perks is that the family can come with me.”

While the 45-year-old may be taking a break from work to spend time with family, his TV work is getting lots of air time . . . and he’s the man behind some of the biggest shows on TV in the last decade, including Life on Mars, Hustle, Spooks and the current series of Torchwood.

He’s currently completing the latest series of Spooks, a decade after the espionage drama first began, and says it’s “shaping up very well”.

But it’s Torchwood: Miracle Day that’s keeping fans gripped at the moment. And Bharat had a blast shooting scenes at the Warner Bros studios LA as well as on location in Cardiff, with US newcomers Bill Pullman and Mekhi Phifer, who have appeared in many Hollywood blockbusters between them.

He said: “Torchwood has got bigger every year, it started in BBC3, went to BBC2, then to BBC1 and now in America. I suspect it will go on forever and if they want me I’ll be the first to say yes.

“When it started three seasons ago Russell T Davies, the writer, and Julie Gardener, the producer, asked me to do the very first one but sadly I was busy on an another project.

“This fourth season is when Russell asked me and I could finally say yes.

“Bill is an incredibly intelligent, gently spoken man who put everyone at ease. He’s a real pro and we got on very well.

Rally ace Naren Kumar retires

2011-07-24T21:59:00.000+05:30

CHENNAI: Just a week shy of his 37th birthday, one of India iconic rally drivers, Velappan Rajendran Naren Kumar, has announced his retirement from motorsports after an 18-year career.

The Coimbatore-based Naren Kumar said that he wanted to retire when on top rather than delay the inevitable.

"I won my seventh national title last year, driving for Red Rooster Racing. They have since pulled out of motorsports and I was left without a drive this season. So, I thought it was best that I quit when I am on top."

Harika Dronavalli earns Grandmaster title in chess

2011-07-24T21:50:00.001+05:30

Chess player Harika Dronavalli has achieved a rare feat to earn the Grandmaster title. She is the second Indian woman after GM Koneru Humpy to attain this top-most honour.

The Andhra Pradesh player grabbed the final norm following her fine performance at the 1st Hangzhou Women Grandmaster Chess Tournament in China on Saturday. Harika pocketed a total of 5.5 points, following seven draws and two wins, to finish at a commendable third position. Top 10 women players competed in this round robin event.

Harika had held double norms for GM title and already had bagged the titles of Woman Grandmaster and International Master previously. So, in a way, this feat is a natural progression.

Harika said, “It’s been a dream come true for me. I have been working hard to achieve this for the past few years and was confident getting into this tournament.

“I am naturally very happy. I am looking forward to the future tournaments and will continue working hard to be the world No 1. Also, I would like to thank Lakshya and Flame for lending me support when needed the most. I am happy that I have reposed their faith in me.”

Harika is one of the four chess players currently supported by Lakshya. Before setting out for the tournament, she had been at the Flame Campus in Pune to undergo special training at the chess camp by legendary GM Vladimirov.

GM Vladimirov commented, “I congratulate Harika on this special achievement. There was never a doubt in my mind about her capability. I am sure she will continue this form and bring more laurels.”

GM Abhijit Kunte, the mentor for the chess vertical at Lakshya, said, “Harika has been in great form, following her fine performances at the Asian Individual Chess Championships and the South African Open. We were expecting a good result at this tournament too and are very pleased with her performance.”

A resident of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, Harika had received the Arjuna Award for her excellence in the year 2007, following which she proved her calibre by winning the girls title at the World Junior Chess Championship held in Turkey in 2008.

She had recently won a gold medal at the Asian Individual Woman Chess Championship and silver in the women’s category at the Commonwealth Championship held in South Africa this year.

Green’s the way to go

2011-07-24T21:37:00.002+05:30

Nagarjun Vallurupalli, Director, Surya Ray Elixir Pvt Ltd, is the owner of not just a beautiful house, but India’s first platinum-rated green home, certified by the Indian Green Business Council.

Away from the chaotic lanes of Jubilee Hills, Arjun and his wife, Sarada’s mansion overlooks the blue sky and a green-hued lake. It’s not just the surroundings, the interiors of his house, Avani (named after their daughter), are equally natural and eco-friendly. “I always wanted to have a green home. My research in 2007 led me to the LEED Certification initiative in the US. And I subsequently decided to seek help from IGBC to build a green home,” states Arjun.

The entrance on the second floor opens into a huge open area encompassing the living area, dining area and the lounge. There are no dividing walls and the double-glaze glass used on the tall wall-to-wall windows keep the heat at bay. “What you see is old teak wood or 80-90-year-old wooden blocks-reused from old, damaged houses,” confesses Arjun. Bamboo tiles — the most recyclable form of wood, has been used for the flooring.

The breakfast area overlooking natural rocks conserved during construction is fascinating. The house also boasts a rooftop garden with a seating area and a lotus pond. Measures have been taken to ensure that the house is energy and water efficient. The entire house runs on solar energy. To minimise the use of electricity, the house has open-to-sky toilets, heat recovery wheels and sun-pipes, directing sunlight to the lower-most parts of the house, providing natural light to the garage and storage areas. The low-VOC paints ensure less pollution. LED lights and motion sensors preserve energy. Grey water in the house is reused for flushing the toilets and gardening.

Nava Bharat's Zambia's largest coal mine reopens

2011-07-24T21:19:00.003+05:30

LUSAKA — Zambian President Rupiah Banda opened the country's largest coal mine Friday, after Singapore's Nava Bharat (Ashok Devineni Chairman and Managing director) took over majority shares and invested $750 million (525 million euros) at the once defunct state entity.

Nava Bharat, a Singapore subsidiary of India's Nava Bharat Ventures, has a 65 percent stake in Maamba Collieries, with Zambia's government owning 25 percent through its Zambia Copper Mines Investment Holdings.

The deal was signed last year to revive the mine situated in Maamba, about 410 kilometres (255 miles) southwest of the capital Lusaka.

Banda said the mine would create nearly 2,000 jobs when it is fully operational.

A power plant is to be built nearby as part of the scheme.

"With the reopening of the mine and the setting up of a power plant, the people of Sinazongwe and the surrounding areas and the Zambians in general will see an improvement in their lives," Banda said.

The mine will start full operations in August, Nava Bharat chief executive officer Ashwin Devineni said.

"Our target is to produce 50,000 tones of coal per month and we are on course to achieving our set targets," Devineni said.

He also said the mine would set up a 300-Megawatt coal-fire power plant, which could double its capacity later.

Devineni said that $650 million of the investment would go towards the power plant, with the remainder invested in the mine which has been dormant since 1997.

Nava Bharat Ventures operates in power, iron alloys, infrastructure and sugar.

NSL Group bags 400-MW wind project in Chile for $ 650 mn

2011-07-23T21:02:00.001+05:30

HYDERABAD: The NSL Group, a Rs 3,500 crore diversified business conglomerate based in the city, has acquired developmental rights to set-up a 400-MW wind power project in Chile, according to NSL Group (NSL) Chairman Mandava Prabhakar Rao.

Prabhakar Rao said the investment outlay for the entire project is expected to be around $ 650 million.

"We have acquired this 400-MW project in Chile during the search for global opportunities in wind power generation. Chile's excellent investment climate and economic stability and favorable policies toward renewable power made it a favourable investment destination for the group to and it would act as a springboard to capitalise on the opportunities in Latin America," Rao told.

The NSL Group's overseas subsidiary, which acquired development rights to set up the project, is expected to complete the project in three years, Rao said.

Jwala Gutta recommended for Arjuna award 2011

2011-07-23T09:33:00.001+05:30

Jwala Gutta recommended for Arjuna award 2011 in Badminton. Arjuna Awards were instituted in 1961 by the government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. The award carries a cash prize of Indian Rupee symbol.svg 500,000, a bronze statuette of Arjuna and a scroll.

Miss India Universe 2011 - Vasuki Sunkavalli

2011-07-17T15:06:00.000+05:30

Kamma girl Vasuki Sunkavalli is Miss Universe India 2011

2011-07-17T08:04:00.002+05:30

Mumbai, July 16: Vasuki Sunkavalli, popularly known as Vasuki in the Indian modelling industry, has been chosen to represent India at the Miss Universe contest this year. She says she is confident of making her country proud.

"In this competition, I met a lot of people from different parts of the country and from different professions. That was very interesting. I am very confident, hopeful and determined that I will bring the crown back. I will give it my best," Vasuki told reporters here.

The 26-year-old Hyderabad (Unguturu, West Godavari native) girl was crowned Miss Universe India 2011 through former Miss Universe-turned-actress Sushmita Sen's Wadhawan Lifestyle I Am She contest at a private ceremony here Friday night.

But the results of the contest were unveiled in the media Saturday.

Two more crowns were given out. The I Am She Globe International 2011 title was bagged by 23-year-old Parul Duggal, a fashion designer by profession, while 19-year-old Tanvi Singla from Mysore has won the I Am She Asia Pacific 2011 title.

Sushmita, whose production company Tantra Entertainment, was awarded the India franchise by the Miss Universe Organisation last year, is glad that her endeavour is now "three times larger".

"We have added two new franchises - the Miss Globe International and Miss Asia Pacific. I feel immensely proud to say that with these girls, the chances of the international crowns coming back to India are closer than we think," she said.

With the title, Vasuki has won a cash prize of Rs.200,000, while the other two title holders have been awarded Rs.100,000 each.

Dr.Sairam Atluri includes in the list of 25 Great Physicians in Ohio

2011-06-27T21:40:00.002+05:30

Dr.Sairam Atluri, MD (Tri-State Spine Care, Cincinnati). Dr. Atluri is the director of the Tri-State Spine Care Institute in Cincinnati and has served as vice president of the Ohio Chapter of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. He was the primary author of the ASIPP guidelines for opioid use in chronic pain and a secondary author of the guidelines for interventional therapy for low back pain. He is also a Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice from the World Institute of Pain and author of a pain management textbook. In addition to his practice, Dr. Atluri has published on the screening for opioid abuse in chronic pain and presented his research at the annual meeting for the American Pain Society. Dr. Atluri has been named one of Cincinnati Magazine's top physicians. Dr. Atluri earned his medical degree from Osmania Medical College in India and completed his residency at Cincinnati's University Hospital in anesthesia and pain management.

Phoenix Group to invest Rs 2,000 cr in six realty projects

2011-06-19T20:08:00.002+05:30

Infrastructure company Phoenix Group announced plans to invest Rs 2,000 crore in six real estate ventures in Hyderabad, including Rs 350 crore in Golf Edge, a mixed use project, which will have a five-star hotel and high-end residential apartments.

Every real estate venture underway will have commercial retail space and a hotel as well.

The Managing Director of Phoenix Group, Mr Gopikrishna Patibanda, said “the company has frozen the funding for various projects including Golf Edge, located in the Financial District an IT hub of Gachibowli. The property has a large commercial facility occupied by Deloitte and we have commenced work on the hotel project and housing towers.”

Addressing a press conference, Mr Patibanda said the company has tied up with Duet Hotels for the first five-star hotel project with 210 rooms. Negotiations are underway to partner the Intercontinental Group.

Golf Edge will have 497 apartments of two-bed room, 3-bedroom, duplex ranging from 1,055 sq.ft to 3,595 sq.ft in high-rise twin towers priced at Rs 60 lakh-Rs 2 crore, working out to Rs 6,000 a sq.ft of built-up space. All the apartments come fully furnished and the customers would be provided services support at Rs 4 per sq.ft. The hospitality partner will take care of maintenance aspect too, he said.

Referring to other ventures, Mr Patibanda said “We have thus far developed 5 million sq.ft and have 30 million sq.ft under various stages of development in Hyderabad and Chennai”.

The company has raised first round of funding from Catalyst Samsara and Monsoon Capital. The equity and debt component for the projects has already been tied up, he said.

On the real estate scenario, Mr Suresh Chukkapalli, Chairman, Phoenix Group, said “the sector is looking up in the last few months. The catchment area is huge and the supply is less. By offering a trouble-free ownership experience, we will be able to attract employees from the IT hub. ”

Shashi Naidoo: The Sexiest Woman in the World

2011-06-18T07:32:00.002+05:30

Shashi Naidoo has beaten global beauties to the FHM sexiest woman in the world title.

Port Elizabeth-born Shashi Naidoo, topped the Hot 100 list ahead of the likes of Angelina Jolie, pop singers Christina Aguilera and Cheryl Cole, South African models Roxy Louw and Lee-Ann Liebenberg.

Naidoo has been a cover girl for FHM magazine twice before.

Shashi Naidoo received an SMS from the magazine’s editor, Hagen Engler. It was such a surprise, she had to read the message four times before it sank in.

“I was told earlier that I was doing well, but I definitely didn’t expect it,” she said. But it appears the readers of FHM have a soft spot for the 30-year-old, who famously posed nude save for a well-placed leaf in an issue of Marie Claire magazine.

Last year, Naidoo was voted fourth, a position she held the year before. Two years before that, she came in 16th. “I have been climbing up slowly like a choo choo train,” she laughed.

This time around, Naidoo didn’t expect to do well. “I have no idea why they voted for me. I haven’t been that active as a model and I am now married.”

However, Naidoo has kept herself in the public eye. She is an ambassador for Audi A1, has had some appearances on local TV and is running her own modelling agency, Alushi Model Management.

The agency is her future, says Naidoo, so it could be that the readers of FHM and other glossy magazines might be seeing less of her clad in skimpy bikinis or another shoot, where she was wearing nothing at all.

There will be the FHM shoot in the coming weeks to honour her becoming the Sexiest Woman in the World, she says.

Greenko eyes boost from India's clean power push

2011-06-14T07:49:00.000+05:30

London-listed clean energy producer Greenko is looking for opportunities in India's huge power deficit and the country's plans to beef up its renewable capacity.

India-based Greenko, founded by President Mahesh Kolli in 2006, is targeting an operational capacity of 1 gigawatt (GW) by 2014, nearly five times its current base of 183 megawatts (MW).

"Total power demand in India is about 350 GW, while supply is just about 165 (GW)," Kolli said on Wednesday. "There is a big race to add capacity to reduce the gap."

Earlier on Wednesday, Greenko announced agreements to add a cumulative 650 MW to its windpower portfolio, taking its total wind assets in development past the 1 GW mark. Its total portfolio of operational assets and assets under development, including wind and hydro projects, now stands at 1.63 GW.

Meanwhile, India -- the world's third-biggest greenhouse gas polluter after the United States and China -- aims to add 17 GW of renewable energy over five years starting 2012, and a total of 100 GW of power generation capacity by early 2017.

Kolli said it is easier to add renewable assets in India, as opposed to conventional assets.

"In the last five-year plan, 90 GW (of capacity) was planned, but less than half of that has been built, partly due to fuel supply issues on the coal and gas front and permitting problems," he said.

India currently depends on coal for more than half the electricity consumed by its 1 billion plus population.

That hydro and wind power in India are already at grid parity -- the point when power from a renewable source costs the same as conventional power -- makes the market more attractive.

"In no other country can you have wind and hydro supply at grid parity level," Kolli said. "We are not supplying above the cost of energy in the grid, but below the average cost of energy. By that measure, India is very attractive."

That makes India an excellent market for other players, too, but Kolli is not worried about competition just yet.

"The challenge global utilities will face is that the development process in India is very localized," he said. "For instance, in the wind sector, we spent three years collecting data, and then getting all the permits."

Funding, too, could be a concern for the newer entrants, Kolli said and added that Greenko's entire planned 1 GW platform was fully funded.

7Seas launches social gaming platform

2011-06-14T07:39:00.001+05:30

7Seas Entertainment Limited, a Hyderabad-based independent IP-based games development company, today said it had added a social gaming platform to its online casual gaming portals www.neodelight.com and www.onlinerealgames.com, which already have in their kitty over 500 high-scored games across all genres.

“The new social gaming platform works differently. Here, a user can simply play a game, make a comment, challenge his friend's moves and take an active part without really bothering about whether they had something awesome to say or post pictures. A user can also add friends and invite friends.The platform also enables the ‘registered players’ to play games with each other by forming ‘custom-friendly’ leagues and play games as a team or create his own avatar,” Lingamaneni Maruti Sanker, Managing Director of 7Seas, .

Social games have enjoyed a worldwide surge in popularity in recent years. According to a recent report from Business Insights, the social gaming market encapsulates nearly 600 million users and was worth nearly $1.5 billion worldwide in 2010, he added.

The company has also integrated its two portals with Facebook, which allows players to log into the portals with their Facebook account and enables sharing relevant gaming content, including social plug-ins. Facebook users will also have the added advantage of having an access to all the features of these two sites, besides their regular Facebook features.

“With this integration, we look forward to doubling our user base by the year-end. There has been an explosion of social gaming out there in the online world. The best part of social games is ‘awareness of others’ ‘actions in games’,” Sanker said.

Padma Bhushan Kantipudi Padmanabhaiah: Former Union Home Secretary

2011-06-10T13:03:00.003+05:30

Kantipudi Padmanabhaiah:
Born on 6th Oct 1938 in a village in Krishna District, Andhra Pradesh, after initial education, He obtained a Masters degree in Science from Andhra University, and a Masters degree in Financial Management, from the prestigious Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management, Mumbai. He joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1961 and was allotted to the Maharashtra cadre.

He served Government of Maharashtra in a variety of important positions like Director of Sugar Co-operatives; District Collector, Nashik: Principal Secretary, Planning; Principal Secretary, Finance; and Municipal Commissioner of Greater Bombay (now Mumbai). His tenure as Director of Sugar Co-Operatives(1970-74) saw the most spectacular growth of Sugar Industry in the State due to his rapport and close working with the leadership in the Co-operative movement, and received national and international recognition. He was invited by various State Governments, including Government of Andhra Pradesh to advise them on development of co-operative sugar factories.

During his tenure, Nashik district(1975-77) was adjudged as one of the best districts in the country in performance of the 20-point program of Prime Minister, Late. Smt. Indira Gandhi and his work was extensively covered by the National press. His performance as Municipal Commissioner, Greater Bombay (1990-91) received wide acclaim in the press and public, and he was awarded the prestigious Gaints International’s Award for excellence in Civic Administration (1991). He served Government of India as Joint Secretary, Petroleum(1982-84); Joint Secretary, Power(1984-86); Minister Economic in Indian High Commission in London(1986-1989); and Secretary of Urban Development and Housing(1993).

In 1993 parts of Maharashtra and Karnataka States were struck by a devastating earthquake. Government asked him to chair an Advisory Committee of International Experts on Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of the Earthquake affected. The committee’s report served as a blue-print for the entire rehabilitation and reconstruction work with World Bank aid.

Subsequently he worked as Secretary Civil Aviation; Chairman of both Air India and Indian Airlines(1994), and as Union Home Secretary and Secretary Jammu & Kashmir Affairs(1994-1997).By 1994 the entire civil administration and political process in the Kashmir valley was in disarray, and insurgency was at its peak. As Union Home Secretary he played an extremely crucial role in reviving the political process in Jammu & Kashmir State during 1994-1997, and in holding the very first elections in the insurgency ridden State after a gap of nine years.

His work received nation-wide recognition, and he was awarded the Shiromani Award for National Development and Integration (1996) and the Priyadarshini Award for outstanding Public Service (1996).

After retirement in 1997 he was appointed as the Government of India Representative for Naga Peace talks. He persuaded the Naga rebel leadership who were based abroad for decades, to come back to India, persuaded them to move away from their rigid stand of sovereignty, continued the dialogue with patience & perseverance, and persuaded them to continue the ceasefire which led to peace in Nagaland and Naga-inhabited areas of the North East during the last ten years. He relinquished this post on 31st August 2009 on completion of tenure.

He also chaired the Committee on Police Reforms (2000), Committee on Re-organization of S.S.B, and Committee to Review the working of National Institute of Urban Management. Most of his recommendations on police reforms have been accepted by Government for implementation.. He was awarded Padma Bhushan by the President of India in 2008 for outstanding contributions to the Nation in the field of Civil service.

Mandalapu Himaja: EAMCET topper

2011-06-09T20:34:00.003+05:30

The top scorer in the EAMCET medicine, 158 was secured by Mandalapu Himaja from Vijayawada. Nalluri Snehita got 157 marks in medicine, also the second topper.

CarZ raised $5 Million in Series A Funding

2011-06-09T19:40:00.002+05:30

Hyderabad: CarZ, an auto repair services provider for all models of four-wheelers, has raised $5 million in Series A funding from IndoUS Venture Partners. With experienced entrepreneurs and executives, IndoUS Venture Partners provides early and mid-stage funding to new or growing businesses in India. M. M. Dillon & Co. (formerly CRT Investing Banking), Stamford, Connecticut, U.S. was the sole advisor to this transaction.

Founded by auto experts and enthusiasts Venu Donepudi and Vijay Gummadi in 2008, CarZ has a vision to establish an independent, multi-brand car service network where cars produced by most manufacturers can be serviced under one roof. Headquartered in Hyderabad, the company plans to invest the fund raised for the expansion of its network service locations to 300 centers nationwide by 2015.

The CarZ team has automotive expertise in India, North America, Europe and Mid-East in running some of the world's largest independent auto repair franchises, spare parts retail and distribution networks. The company provides full range of repair services including electrical and mechanical repair, accident repair and parts and accessories repair.

Talking about the funding, Venu Donepudi, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Carz said, "As the automotive industry is in a growing and evolving phase, service offerings need to be improved accordingly, which requires a business model inclusive of such transformation." He adds that this funding and partnership with IndoUS Venture Partners will facilitate a phased roll out of their unique and differentiated car service network in new maintenance services accessible to Indian car owners.

Plans for the financial year, 2011-12, is to open professional centers in major cities of Andra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. "In the next five years, we look forward to grow to a size of 300 centers and expand our man power from 30 as of now, to 9000. We are fully equipped to provide services to our customers," quotes Donepudi. He feels that the growing number of centers in the country is because of the high demand resulted in due to customer satisfaction and positive word of mouth.

Creating an eye-capturing business

2011-06-09T19:32:00.003+05:30

4G Identity Solutions a pioneer in iris biometric tech

By deploying the first proof of concept for the UID project, 4G Identity Solutions became the first company to introduce the iris biometric technology in India.

It took 39-year-old Sreeni Tripuraneni, a well-trained vascular surgeon in the UK, just over two years to completely study the efficacy of the iris technology (the iris is the coloured part of the eye surrounding the pupil), the algorithms for which were patented by John Daugman, professor at the University of Cambridge, back in 1994.

Tripuraneni embraced the iris biometric technology for patient recognition in the UK a decade ago (in 2001), he now takes pride in the fact that his company – 4G Identity Solutions – is the first to have introduced it closer home by deploying the first proof of concept for the unique identification (UID) project in March 2010.

“Post the completion of my medical informatics course at the University of Bath, I started working on electronic patient records and how to use biometrics to identify a patient brought to an emergency room in a state of shock. My task was Herculean – getting to know the patient, his past medical history and blood group, and start quick treatment in the Golden Hour (the first hour of treatment, in medical terminology). In 2001 I found that iris was one of the most unique biometrics technologies, and since then I have been working on it,” recalls Tripuraneni.

Full of ideas and a fire in his belly, Tripuraneni came back to India in 2003 and started interacting with politicians and bureaucrats on home turf to understand government systems here. He found that governments were having problems in extending distribution of welfare schemes and those below the poverty line (BPL) had no access to state welfare programmes.
Keen to grab a piece of this niche demand, Tripuraneni made his boldest gamble: He set up 4G Identity Solutions (whose tagline says it all – ‘Authentic People, Unique IDs’), and became an exclusive licensee to US-based Iridian Technologies (to whom John Daugman sold his patent) for the Indian market.

“When I decided to come back to India, I thought of bringing the best technology to a country like this, where we have a huge population of BPL people, and where governments spend billions of rupees to eradicate poverty but none of this reaches the target audience. So, I thought the iris technology would help governments streamline their systems,” the chairman and chief executive of 4G says matter-of-factly.

Walking down memory lane, the doctor-turned-entrepreneur says his company made its first deployment to the Andhra Pradesh civil supplies department in 2005, cleaning up 5.6 crore people's irises and a demographic data base of 8.2 crore people, eliminating duplication from the data base.

“The technology helped the AP civil supplies department save more than Rs 1,000 crore per annum through this Rs 30 crore contract awarded to us. This is clearly evident in their budget reduction from 2009 until now. While the budget of the department was Rs 3,500 crore in 2009, it was reduced to Rs 3,000 crore in 2010 and Rs 2,400 crore this year,” Tripuraneni adds.
Flush with the success of the maiden deployment, 4G Identity integrated the iris technology with other programmes of the Andhra Pradesh government, including one to identify the real beneficiaries of Rajiv Gruhakalpa, a housing scheme for the low-income urban population. Then followed a similar project using multiple-biometrics (both iris and fingerprinting) for a UN-funded World Food Programme scheme in Odisha’s Rayagada district.

“Having tasted success with these projects, we had implemented the technology for several states, including the AP Police and the Delhi Home Guards for recruitment. Corporates too have a big problem in identifying prospective employees while recruiting, as some use fake identities for getting employment. Reliance Industries Limited and ADP (in Hyderabad and Pune) are two such stories,” Tripuraneni says, adding that the company has begun a dialogue with other state governments for replicating the implementation of iris technology in their public distribution systems (PDS).

“PDS is important to any state government and officials from Gujarat and Chhattisgarh have already visited our Hyderabad office and looked at our solutions. We are shortly going to close an order in Sikkim for their PDS which covers 600,000 people, the execution period of which is six months. We are also working with the ministry of home affairs for border management.”

For 4G Identity Solutions, the icing on the cake, however, came in the form of the UID in March 2010. The project had begun shaping up and they wanted to see how the biometrics (iris and fingerprints) worked on the ground. 4G was the first company to give a proof-of-concept to UID officials for enrollment and later ran it in the Medak and Krishna districts of Andhra Pradesh.

But why did the UID Authority choose the iris technology? The answer: “The iris is the only internal organ which we can see from outside, but we cannot touch it as it is behind the transparent cornea. Its growth in the mother's womb stabilises by the age of 12 weeks and it will not change after that throughout a human's life time. It is also very rich in features, having 256 different reference points (unique points to take samples), compared with finger prints that have 35 reference points. It is a fool-proof technology, much faster to deploy and can be used for real time identification.”

For enrollments to the UID or for other state government-run initiatives, 4G uses an iris recognition system complete with video camera to capture the sample and store it in a data base, which can be scanned through millions of samples to get an accurate identity.

As an empanelled agency for the UID project, 4G Identity is now working in six states for the Department of Posts, three states for State Bank of India, six circles for the Union Bank of India and for the government of Sikkim. Tripuraneni says the Central government has a target of enrolling 60 crore people by 2014 and the remainder in three years from then. “Internally, we, as an empanelled agency, have set a target of completing four crore enrollments this year,” he adds.

4G Identity Solutions is a big beneficiary of various state government initiatives and the Centre's UID project. The company clocked Rs 55 crore in revenues in the last financial year, 95 per cent of which came from the government sector. "We currently have an order book of Rs 200 crore, to be executed by the end of March 2012. So, we will be a Rs 250-crore company by the end of this fiscal," says a beaming Tripuraneni.

However, things will change when the UID project is completed and wound up, he says. Once the unique IDs are issued to all citizens, corporates too will get a piece of the action. The country will see more corporate applications of iris technology, especially in the banking, insurance and healthcare sectors for checking address proofs, identifying policy holders and the right nominees. “We will be tapping that sector. This business (iris technology) will grow to some thousands of crores of rupees in the next 10 years or so,” he predicts.

Tripuraneni thinks that state governments are more proactive in terms of embracing the iris technology, for the simple reason that it is they who are in touch with citizens, and not the Central government.

“States are answerable to citizens and so they have more responsibility to deliver welfare schemes in time. So, wherever there is a strong political leadership, they are thinking beyond. Many chief ministers in the country are proactive in adopting such technologies to deliver and monitor schemes,” he adds.

4G Identity is also planning to take wing and expand its business to the US and the UK this year, to start with. "Now that we have created success stories here, we will be opening offices in the US and UK and explore opportunities there. We have already got an order from one of the African countries -- Republic of Chad -- for military identification, which will take six months from now to complete. Also, inquiries are coming in from south Asian countries like Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal, and from African countries. We are currently in discussions with them," he says.

“Iridian Technologies was acquired by US-based L1 Identity Solutions Inc, which was later bought by French conglomerate Safran Group's Sagem. Professor Daugman's patent will expire in July 2011, post which it will be an open-market technology. Hence, it will not be a hindrance for us to enter the US or the UK market,” he adds.

Betfair lands Yahoo veteran to lead mobile

2011-06-08T10:14:00.001+05:30

Betfair has appointed Raj Vemulapalli from Yahoo as vice president of mobile engineering just weeks after Charlie Palmer, its previous head of mobile stepped down.

Vemulapalli, who spent 11 years at Yahoo developing the internet business’s Messenger product and mobile messaging, voice and video and chat platforms, will be based jointly in London and San Francisco where he will also set up a new mobile centre of excellence in Silicon Valley.

The new role has been created in an attempt to grow the exchange’s mobile customer base and improve existing and develop new products and technology, the company said.

“Betfair is a technology company that invented the betting exchange a decade ago and is now reinventing mobile betting and gaming,” Vemulapalli said. “I am excited to be driving Betfair’s mobile strategy, products and platforms at a time when consumers are increasingly turning to mobile”.

Betfair was one of the first operators to have a betting application listed in the Apple App Store for both the iPhone and iPad, while the company recently announced a new revenue sharing initiative for third party developers who design mobile products through Betfair’s open API program.

Tony McAlister, Betfair’s chief technology officer, added: “Raj has a track record of delivering global products, building teams and has experience managing open API’s, a development route which is significant to our mobile strategy going forward”.

52-WEEK BLOCKBUSTER: NATCO PHARMA

2011-06-08T10:02:00.000+05:30

The Natco Pharma (Dr.V.C.Nannapaneni, Chairman) stock has outperformed the BSE Health Care Index by a huge margin last year. The company, which manufactures formulations, APIs and offers contract research and manufacturing services, is also a leading player in the oncology therapeutic segment, and derives a considerable portion of its revenues from it. Natco is also among the largest contract manufacturers in India, and has well-known pharma companies such as Ranbaxy and Dr Reddy's as its clients.

The US market (including US retail business) also makes a key segment for Natco. So far, Natco has filed 18 ANDAs, has received approvals for five drug applications and launched three products; three filings enjoy a Para IV certification. It has mitigated the risks of operating in this segment by opting for a partnership model. It has tied with US-based Mylan Inc for Glatiramer Acetate, a generic version of Teva's CopaxoneR, used to treat multiple sclerosis. It has also tied-up with Lupin (Lanthanum Carbonate tablets), Watson Pharma (Revlimid) and Dr Reddy's (for value-added generic oncology drugs). These add a lot of weight to its growth potential. In a first such move, Natco has also sought a voluntary license from Pfizer to make and sell copies of the latter's HIV medicine in India.

Roses for the world: An Indian success story in Ethiopia

2011-06-08T09:51:00.000+05:30

Holeta (Ethiopia): The world’s largest exporter of roses is an Indian who grows and ships hundreds of varieties of the prized flowers — not just out of India but mostly out of farms in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Just 45 km out of Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, a drive across rolling grasslands at the foothills of the Entoto range brings you to a large encampment, spread over 100 hectares, of greenhouses, cottages and huts from where Karuturi Global (Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Chairman & MD) has spawned its phenomenal growth.

‘Favourable government policies and environmental conditions, flood-safe geographic location and abundant low-cost labour, coupled with its proximity to the global markets, made Ethiopia an ideal location for our business,’ says chief executive Nagesh Karuturi, who overseas the two east African farms.

The Bangalore-based company, which has a 10-hectare farm near the new international airport, forayed into Ethiopia in 2004 through its 100 percent subsidiary, Ethiopian Meadows Plc.

It leased two farms near Addis Ababa — the other larger 385 hectare farm is in Wolisso, about 90 km from Addis Ababa — employed over 3,000 local workers and laid the foundation for its successful business that has become the showpiece foreign investment for the Ethiopian government.

With the global floriculture industry witnessing significant growth in the past few decades, driven by the demand from Europe, the US and Japan, Karuturi Global smelt its opportunities at the right time.

‘The decision has paid off. For the past four years, we are deriving significant cost benefits from our Ethiopian operations. And a series of such strategic decisions enabled us to become the world’s largest and the cheapest producer of cut roses,’ Karuturi said.

It acquired Kenya-based Sher Agencies in September 2007 for $46 million to emerge as the world’s largest producer and exporter of all varieties of cut roses with 13 percent of the global marketshare.

The bulk of its exports comes from its farms in Kenya and Ethiopia. Its clients are some of the leading names among auction houses, boutique manufacturers across Europe, South and East Asia and the Gulf.

‘It’s a 365-day, recession-proof industry,’ says Karuturi, explaining how the temperate climate of east Africa was highly conducive to the business.

Besides being used for decoration and adornment, cut roses finds uses across various sectors of the economy. Its extracts are used in perfumes and natural dyes, food and beverages, hotels and healthcare and also skincare products, Karuturi said.

Karuturi Global produces a total of about 550 million stems annually from its African farms — 200 million in Ethiopia and about 350 milllion in Kenya.

‘When nobody dared to go to Ethiopia, Karuturi Global ventured into unchartered waters,’ said Karuturi.

‘Our business operations in Kenya and Ethiopia have created employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled labour. Through our business and social welfare activities, we are well accepted in the Sub-African countries as a change agent for growth and prosperity.

Sravana K Paladugu wins USA National Merit Scholarships for 2011

2011-06-08T09:27:00.002+05:30

Sravana K. Paladugu of Seminole, St. Petersburg High. Probable career: medicine, have won National Merit Scholarships for 2011.

Seniors at high schools will receive awards of $500 to $2,000 a year for up to four years of undergraduate study.

The students were chosen from about 16,000 semifinalists who scored the highest on their preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.

To advance in the competition, each candidate had to submit an application that showed an outstanding academic record and included an endorsement from a school official, SAT scores, an essay and proof of extracurricular activities, awards and leadership positions.

LVPEI opens 100th eye center in Vijaywada

2011-06-05T18:09:00.000+05:30

L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI) opened its 100th centre at Vijaywada marking the silver jubilee. Over the years, LVPEI has been steadily expanding on its facilities in keeping with is capacity-building strategy.The last month of May saw LVPEI launching ten primary eyecare centres, and one city centre bringing the total tally of its network to 100 locations, a LVPEI release said here today."I am delighted that LVPEI has touched a century of eye care facilities in the service of people," said Dr Gullapalli N Rao, chairman, L V Prasad eye Institute adding that "It is a great beginning in our silver jubilee year on June one, and it brings us closer to our mission of preventing avoidable blindness among our people." The launch of LVEPI's silver jubilee on June 1, 2011 saw a flurry of activities including the traditional lighting of the lamp by State Governor E S L Narasimhan and Vimala Narasimhan on 2nd June

Nadendla Manohar elected speaker of Andhra Pradesh Assembly

2011-06-05T13:51:00.002+05:30

HYDERABAD — Nadendla Manohar, who got elevated from the post of Deputy Speakear, polled 158 votes while K E Krishnamurthy, the candidate put up by the main opposition Telugu Desam Party (TDP) secured 90 votes in the 294-member House. Vijayalakshmi, Jagan’s mother and the lone legislator representing YSR Congress Party, abstained from the House. Legislators belonging to the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS), BJP, CPI and Lok Satta abstained from voting as they did not want to be seen as favouring either the ruling party or the main opposition.

Rao R. Tummala to Receive 2011 IEEE Field Award

2011-05-25T09:22:00.001+05:30

His Integrated Approach to Research, Education and Industry Innovations and collaborations Revolutionized Electronics Packaging Field

Rao R. Tummala, a researcher and educator who has made seminal contributions to microelectronics packaging and whose educational efforts have defined the field, is being honored by IEEE with the 2011 IEEE Field Award in Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technologies. IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional association.

The award, sponsored by the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society, recognizes Tummala for pioneering and innovative contributions to package integration research, cross-disciplinary education and globalization of electronic packaging. The award will be presented on 2 June 2011 at the IEEE Electronic Components and Technology Conference in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Electronics packaging deals with enclosing large numbers of integrated circuits in a single module using materials such as metals, plastics and ceramics. Modern packaging technologies allow for denser circuits and multichip packages that enable ultraminiaturized consumer electronics and ultra-high-performance computing systems. The goal of “Systems on a Package” (SOP) is to provide a module that can sense, communicate, provide power and process information all in a small package. Two paths have emerged over the last three decades for high performance computing and consumer systems—on- chip integration by system- on- chip, and package integration by 2D and 3D multichip modules.

Tummala’s contributions began during his 25-year career at IBM with pioneering inventions such as the industry’s first plasma display and the first (and next three generations of) multichip packaging based on ceramics and polymer-copper thin-film interconnections. His Low-Temperature, Co-fired Ceramic (LTCC) technology resulted in the first 100-chip multichip module. After moving to the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Ga., Tummala introduced the SOP concept. SOP provides high functionality in a small size yet at low cost compared to the traditional systems on bulky boards.

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, Tummala provided leadership in making packaging an “academic subject “by means of courses, curricula, textbooks and degrees. His proposal to the National Science Foundation (NSF) in 1993 resulted in the establishment of the first NSF Engineering Research Center in the United States Georgia Institute of Technology, demonstrating for the first time an integrated and comprehensive approach to leading-edge research, cross-disciplinary education and global industry collaborations, and technology transfer programs. Considered the “Bible of Packaging,” his Microelectronics Packaging Handbook (Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1989) defined packaging for the first time and introduced its cross-disciplinary nature of science and technology to the academic community. As president of the IEEE Components, Packaging and Manufacturing Technology Society from 2001 to 2004, Tummala was instrumental in broadening the Society’s global reach.

An IEEE Fellow and IBM Fellow, Tummala is also a member of National Academy of Engineering. He received 16 Technical Innovation Awards and nine Invention Awards from IBM. Other awards include the IEEE David Sarnoff Award, IEEE Third Millennium Medal and IEEE Major Education Medal. He obtained a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and a doctorate in materials science and engineering from the University of Illinois, Urbana. Tummala is currently an endowed chair professor and director of the 3D Systems Packaging Research Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Kamma ministers in Tamilnadu

2011-05-25T09:12:00.002+05:30

1) T.K.M Chinnayya
Minister for Backward Classes and Environment

2) B.V Ramanaa
Minister for Handlooms and Textiles

KONY NAMED FINALIST FOR THE AMERICAN BUSINESS AWARDS MOST INNOVATIVE COMPANY OF THE YEAR

2011-05-15T20:18:00.001+05:30

Kony, the leading mobile application platform provider, today announced it has been named a finalist for Most Innovative Company of the Year by the American Business Awards. The American Business Awards are the nation's premier business awards program. All organizations operating in the U.S. are eligible to submit nominations -- public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small.

The Kony Platform leverages Kony's Write Once, Run Everywhere single application definition for designing, developing, deploying and managing mobile applications. A single application code gives companies the ability to change once, change everywhere, ensuring faster adoption of new operating systems and standards as they are introduced and eliminating maintenance, upgrade and future development costs.

"We're honored that such a prestigious organization as the American Business Awards considers us one of the nation's most innovative companies this year," said Raj Koneru, CEO of Kony. "We pride ourselves on our novel approach to a burgeoning industry; we are constantly innovating and adapting to the ever evolving mobile market."

More than 2,800 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in more than 40 categories, including Most Innovative Company of the Year, Management Team of the Year, Best New Product or Service of the Year, Corporate Social Responsibility Program of the Year, and Executive of the Year.

List of Kamma MLAs elected to Tamilnadu Assembly

2011-05-14T12:48:00.006+05:30

1. K.GOPALSAMY, Rajapalayam - AIADMK
2. T. K. M. CHINNEYAH, Tambaram - AIADMK
3. MANOHARAN.R, Tiruchirappalli (East) - AIADMK
4. RAMANA B.V, Thiruvallur - AIADMK
5. KADAMBUR RAJU.C, Kovilpatti - AIADMK
6. CHINNASAMY.R, Singanallur - AIADMK
7. SEKAR C.H, Gummidipoondi - DMDK
8. P.SIVAKOLUNTHU, Panruti - DMDK
9. P.R.MANOKAR, Sholingur - DMDK
10. SUNDARRAJAN.R, Madurai (Central) - DMDK
11. VENKATESAN.L, Tirukkoyilur - DMDK
12. PARTHA SARATHY.B, Virugampakkam - DMDK
13. K.GOPINATH, Hosur - CONG

Two Kammas selected for IAS 2010.

2011-05-12T17:28:00.002+05:30

Two Kamma candidates of Guntur district figured in the list of top 30 rank–holders in the Civil Services examinations whose results were declared on Wednesday.

Chandra Sekhar Sakhamuri, a native of Veerapuram village in Piduguralla mandal, secured 24th rank. He hails from an agricultural family. He is an MCA degree holder.

Kolasani Venkata Subbaiah Chowdary,a native of Chilumuru village near Tenali, made the district proud by securing 26th rank.

He is currently undergoing training in Indian Revenue Service as Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax at Nagpur.

He is an alumnus of Sri Rama Rural Educational Institutions, Chilumuru. Mr. Chowdary is the grandson of K.V.S. Chowdary, who was the founder of Sri Rama Educational Institutions (established in 1949).

Pentala Harikrishna and Dronavalli Harika clinch Asian Chess Championship titles

2011-05-12T17:24:00.001+05:30

PUNE: Indian Grand Master Pentala Harikrishna, who has never won the National 'A' title, gave himself a present on his 25th birthday by winning the Asian individual open chess championship. Dronavalli Harika, 20, won the women's championship which was played concurrently.

Both Harikrishna (Elo 2666) and Harika (2520) tallied 6.5 points in nine Swiss League rounds in the championship being played in Iran. No. 4 seed Harikrishna clinched the issue in a three-way tie-break with China's Ya Yangyi and Vietnam's Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son. International Master (IM) and top seed Harika was a clear winner - she finished half a point ahead of Pham Le Thao Nguyen ( Vietnam).

International Coal Ventures plans to acquire stake in MEC Coal

2011-05-07T17:34:00.001+05:30

International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) is planning to acquire stake in Singapore-based MEC Coal,(Madhu Koneru Executive Vice Chairman) according to a report.

The report stated that ICVL was looking at 24% stake in the MEC Coal for about US$200 mn.

Through its subsidiary PT Tekno Orbit Persada, MEC Coal is developing two coal mines in Indonesia's East Kalimantan, with an estimated reserves of 1.5-2 billion tonnes, says report.

Ethiopia Says It May Grant Additional Land to Karuturi Global

2011-05-07T17:27:00.002+05:30

May 5 (Bloomberg) -- Karuturi Global Ltd. (Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi, Chairman & MD) may receive an additional 200,000 hectares (494,211 acres) of land from the Ethiopian government if its current 100,000-hectare concession is developed within two years, the Agriculture Ministry said.

“We have an agreement to give additional land if they accomplish the 100,000 hectares within two years,” Esayas Kebede, head of the ministry’s land investment support directorate, said in a phone interview today from Addis Ababa, the capital.

On April 29, Esayas said the government in November reduced Karuturi’s concession by two-thirds from 300,000 hectares because the area was too large for a single company to manage and to allow for an annual migration of antelope in southwestern Ethiopia. Karuturi yesterday denied the concession had been reduced.

“The information seemed to be baseless because Karuturi has not received any legal letter about the reduction from the Ethiopian government,” Niladri Mondal, a spokesman for Karuturi, said by phone from Mumbai today. “If a letter had been given, we would have taken it into consideration.”

Karuturi’s lease agreement, published on the ministry’s website, says the company will receive an additional 200,000 hectares if it develops the plot adequately within the specified period.

Karuturi, which has invested $100 million in Ethiopia so far, plans to have 65,000 hectares in production this year and sell its first harvest in October mainly within Ethiopia and to other East African nations, Chief Executive Officer Sai Ramakrishna Karuturi said in an e-mailed statement in February. The company is growing crops including rice, palm oil, sugar cane and cereals.

Dr.Rao Gullapalli receives 2011 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) award

2011-05-03T18:52:00.003+05:30

ARVO is honoring Gullapalli N. Rao, MD, of LV Prasad Eye Institute with the 2011 Kupfer Award for his outstanding accomplishments as a researcher, ophthalmologist and humanitarian. He is the former president of the International Agency for Prevention of Blindness, an organization founded by Carl Kupfer, MD, for whom the award is named, and is committed to moving forward with the agenda to eliminate avoidable blindness by the year 2020.

Kupfer Award:
The Kupfer Award was first presented in 1993 to Carl Kupfer, MD, who served as Director of the National Eye Institute, U.S. National Institutes of Health, for 30 years. This award is honors those who have demonstrated distinguished public service on behalf of eye and vision research.

The Association for Research and Vision in Ophthalmology (ARVO) is the largest eye and vision research organization in the world. Members include more than 12,500 eye and vision researchers from over 80 countries. ARVO encourages and assists research, training, publication and knowledge-sharing in vision and ophthalmology.

Asheesh Boyapati Eliminated in 2nd place of The World Series of Poker Circuit St. Louis Main Event

2011-04-25T16:17:00.004+05:30

Asheesh Boyapati, a software engineer who took up poker last year and who plays only recreationally, gained a second place finish. Boyapati’s exploits saw him pocket $87,927 in prize money.

Cartwright has begun the final duel between Asheesh Boyapati with a huge advantage, 6.8 million chips face to the 2.1 million of Boyapati. His ascension to the throne was more than evident. By finishing in the runner-up place, Boyapati won $ 87,927 while Kyle Cartwright was awarded the first prize of $ 142,290 and access to the big championship in May.

Madhucon Projects to develop 1320 MW thermal power plant

2011-04-23T20:06:00.001+05:30

Andhra Pradesh based, roads to power player, Madhucon Projects (Nama Nageswara Rao, Chairman & MD) is all set to launch a 1320 MW thermal power plant in Ranchi, Jharkhand. The company has signed an MoU with the Jharkhand government for the Rs 6000 cr project.

The company will need about 1000 acres for the plant and expects clearance for the land in about 6 months. The plant will most likely be executed in 2 phases of 660 MW each and would also receive coal linkage from the Jharkhand government.

Senior IPS officer Myneni Punna Rao passes away

2011-04-20T06:56:00.004+05:30

HYDERABAD: Senior IPS officer and IG, CID, Myneni Punna Rao died while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Secunderabad on Tuesday.

Rao had undergone bypass surgery on Saturday and was recuperating in the intensive care unit (ICU). He developed post-surgery complications. On Monday at around 6 am, he died.

Mr.Punna Rao belongs to 1988 batch of IPS and hails from Repalle in Guntur district. He is survived by wife, one son and one daughter.

He worked as Superintendent of Police of West Godavari district and as Additional Commissioner in the city branches of Crime, Traffic and Headquarters.

The IPS officers' association of Andhra Pradesh expressed deep shock at the sudden demise of Punna Rao.

Narain proves reliability at Chinese Grand Prix

2011-04-18T07:25:00.005+05:30

CHENNAI: Kakarla Narain Karthikeyan is now looking to shift gears to "attack mode" after he and his Hispania Racing (HRT) teammate Vitantonio Liuzzi achieved the target they had set, at the Chinese Grand Prix in Shanghai on Sunday.

The duo's main objective for the day was to last the race distance and banish all doubts about the car's reliability. Narain finished 23rd while his Italian teammate crossed the chequered flag 22nd. The HRT cars were lapped twice by Lewis Hamilton and a few front runners but the Spanish team's Shanghai mission was not to push for pace but to run the full distance and so it was a satisfying result. Now the drivers are looking towards catching up with their immediate rivals - the Virgin cars, which, just like HRT, are powered by Cosworth engines.

"We met our main objective today which was none other than to finish the race," said Narain after the race. "I don't think the Virgins are that far ahead of us which is good for future races.

Babu Rao Mandava receives Ellis Island Medal of Honor

2011-04-15T09:02:00.004+05:30

New York: Highly successful Businessman and Philanthropist Babu Rao Mandava received the prestigious Ellis Island Medal of Honor for 2011. He is the founder and CEO of Indotronix International Corporation (IIC) with more than 800 employees, and resides in Poughkeepsie, NY.

The Ellis Island Medals of Honor celebrate the diversity of American life, honoring not only individuals, but the pluralism and democracy that have enabled ancestry groups to maintain their identities while becoming integral parts of the American Way of life. A ceremony will be held on May 7, 2011 on Ellis Island.

Babu Rao Mandava was born May 15th 1935 in the Village of Movva, Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, in a middle class farming family that had a strong interest in helping their fellow human beings. His father founded The Mandava Kanakayya Zilla Parishad High School in 1947. Currently, Sri.Babu Rao is the founder and CEO of Indotronix International Corporation (IIC), and resides in Poughkeepsie, NY.

After working nineteen years with IBM in management, he took an early retirement and cofounded an IT company, Indotronix International Corporation (IIC). As president and CEO, Babu Mandava, in the past 24 years, has provided employment to thousands of people, among these, many Indian immigrants. IIC, with over 800 employees, works closely with several Fortune 500 companies in the USA, and has a major presence in both USA and India.

Quiznos signs master franchise agreement for India with Arjun Valluri

2011-04-14T10:05:00.003+05:30

As part of its international development initiative, US-based premier restaurant chain for subs, salads and soups Quiznos plans to enter India. The company has recently signed a master franchise agreement with Arjun Valluri – who has brought a variety of restaurant concepts, including Xtreme Sports Bar, Excess Night Club to southern India – to open its first outlet in May this year.

With 15 Xtreme Sports Bar locations and three Caffe Latte concepts, Valluri, awarded the master franchising rights for southern India, including Bangalore, Kochi, Chennai and Hyderabad, will help Quiznos with understanding of the local market.

Hyderabad couple Uma, Krishna Prasad Chigurupati wins marathon at North Pole

2011-04-13T15:50:00.003+05:30

HYDERABAD: Krishna Prasad Chigurupati and his wife Uma Krishna Prasad from Hyderabad are no ordinary couple from the city. They have the distinction of being the first married couple in the world to participate in a marathon at the northern most point of the globe, the North Pole. The couple, who set out from the city on April 4, scaled the chilly snow covered terrain on April 9 running by each other's side to reach the exact point which the US navy engineer, Robert Peary had managed to reach in 1909.

The couple is also the first ones to complete a marathon `Grand Slam' which includes running in all the seven continents and even the North Pole. The two had covered all the continents by December 15 and had set out to get the grand slam title.

According to the Krishna Prasads, the North Pole was the toughest terrain they ran on. "Reaching the place itself was quite difficult. We had to take a private aircraft from Svalbard and reached a point closest to the North Pole point and ran 14 loops of three kilometres each, completing our run in 9 hours and 11 minutes," said the Prasads. Interestingly, the Prasads, who were in a group of 26 runners, ran from 10 pm and throughout the night. "It was special because the Sun does not set in the North Pole and hence running in the night was like running on a sunny day," said an excited Uma Krishna Prasad. The couple said that by the time they finished their run, they were too tired to even stand up. "But we held our flag high and felt proud to be the only Indians to be there," they said.

According to Krishna Prasad, their interest in marathons started rather accidentally when he went for a half kilometre marathon in Iceland with one of his relatives. "While it started as a fitness thing, it soon became a passion. Each marathon we participated was an exhilarating experience," said Uma Krishna Prasad. Krishna Prasad, who is the managing director of a pharmaceutical company, Granules India, and Uma Krishna Prasad, who runs a startup business venture, Krsma Vineyards, say that the tour across the world and marathons in exotic locales have now become a lifestyle for them. The couple were back from the North Pole trip on Tuesday and are now wondering when their next trip should be.

Jayarama Prasad Chalasani - CEO: Reliance Power Limited

2011-04-13T15:29:00.003+05:30

Mr. J.P. Chalasani is the Chief Executive Officer of Reliance Power Limited and is responsible for generation and infrastructure business of Reliance ADA Group. He was Director (Business Development) in Reliance Energy Limited since 2003. Prior to it, he was working as the Chief Executive of BSES Rajdhani Power Limited & BSES Yamuna Power Limited and BSES Infrastructure Finance Limited.

Mr. Chalasani started his career in 1979 in National Thermal Power Corporation (now NTPC Ltd) and worked there till 1995 before joining Reliance Power Limited (RPL) as the Vice President from 1995-2001. During his 27 years of experience in power sector in both public and private sector, he has held responsibility for various infrastructure projects such as Mumbai Metro, roads, SEZs etc. He was also instrumental in the privatisation of Delhi's power distribution segment. Mr J P Chalasani is an Engineering graduate from Regional Engineering College, Nagpur.

Panda MS Prasad - Executive Director: Reliance Petroleum

2011-04-13T15:24:00.007+05:30

Mr. PMS Prasad, Executive Director has been appointed as a Wholetime Director of the Reliance Petroleum with effect from August 21, 2009. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Engineering and has been with the Company for 28 years. He has been recognized as one of the finest professionals in the energy industry. Presently, he heads the Petroleum upstream and refining business, which comprises exploration and production and refinery supply and trading. Over the years, he has held various positions in the fibres, petrochemicals and petroleum business of the Company. He was also the project head of the Jamnagar refinery and petrochemicals complex. He was recently awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree by the University of Petroleum Engineering Studies, Dehradun.

Mr. PMS Prasad is a director of Reliance Jamnagar Infrastructure Limited, Reliance Petroinvestments Limited, Reliance Commercial Dealers Limited, Reliance Gas Corporation Limited, Reliance Gas Transportation and Infrastructure Limited and several Private Limited Companies. He is member of Audit Committee of Reliance Jamnagar Infrastructure Limited and Reliance Gas Transportation and Infrastructure Limited.

Vinod Dasari - Managing Director: Ashok Leyland

2011-04-13T15:11:00.005+05:30

Mr. Vinod Kumar Dasari is Managing Director, Whole Time Director of Ashok Leyland Ltd. Mr. Vinod Kumar Dasari served as the Chief Operating Officer of Ashok Leyland Ltd. since April 6, 2005 and served as the Head of its manufacturing, strategic sourcing and corporate quality engineering divisions.

Mr. Dasari served as a Joint Managing Director of Cummins India Ltd. He joined Cummins in 2002. He commenced his career with the General Electric Company in 1986. He served as the President of the Global Railroad business of Timken U.S.A. for two years. He joined Timken U.S.A. as Senior Business Analyst of Manufacturing and Strategy. He served as the Managing Director of Timken India Ltd. since 1998 and also served as its Director of Manufacturing and Technology. Mr. Dasari has been an Additional Director of GULF Oil Corporation Limited since September 27, 2006. He served as a Director of Lanka Ashok Leyland since December 17, 2009. He served as a Wholetime Director of Ashok Leyland Limited since May 2008. He served as a Non Executive Non Independent Director of Timken India Ltd. until April 23, 2005.

Mr. Dasari holds a Bachelors degree in Engineering from University of Louisville, USA, a Masters Degree in Business Administration from J.L. Kellogg School of Management, USA in 1992 and a Masters Degree in Engineering Management from McCormick School of Engineering, USA.

Zambia Regulator OKs Maamba Collieries Take over by Nava Bharat

2011-04-08T16:22:00.005+05:30

Zambia's Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, or CCPC, has cleared the takeover of a 65% stake in the country's largest coal miner, Maamba Collieries Ltd. by India's Nava Bharat Ventures Ltd (Devineni Ashok, Executive Chairman). The transaction doesn't raise any competition and public concern issues, and has therefore been authorized by the CCPC, it said in a statement. T

he takeover will provide Maamba with fresh capital to boost coal production and will not compromise its customers because they have alternative sources of coal supply both in the domestic and import markets, according to the CCPC. Last year, Nava Bharat announced that it would invest around $600 million in Maamba in the next 18 months to construct a coal processing plant and a 300- megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant.

Until 2008, Maamba was the leading supplier of coal to Zambia's copper and cobalt mines on the Copperbelt and North Western provinces, but inadequate investment and labor strikes hampered the company's operations, compelling mines to resort to more expensive imported coal.

Race for TTD Board Top post-Guntur MP Rayapati Samba Siva Rao

2011-04-07T11:03:00.000+05:30

Natco medicine gets 'Orphan Drug' status

2011-03-30T13:30:00.001+05:30

Hyderabad March 29, 2011,
Natco Pharma’s (V C Nannapaneni, Chairman & MD) anti-cancer drug, NRC-AN-019, has received ‘Orphan Drug’ designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) for three indications — glioma (brain tumour), pancreatic cancer and chronic myelogenous leukemia.
“It is for the first time that an Indian company’s drug is designated as orphan drug by the USFDA for three indications,” Natco said in a statement today.
Orphan drug designation is given by the USFDA for rare diseases that affect less than 200,000 patients in the USA. Since the market for drugs intended to treat rare diseases is small, the USFDA extends special incentives to companies involved in the discovery and development of such drugs.
The incentives, according to the Hyderabad-based company, include a seven-year marketing exclusivity, specific tax credits and waiver of prescription drug user fee, which is about $1.5 million per indication. Special grants and benefits to defray the costs of clinical research on orphan drugs may also be extended. Besides, these drugs may be eligible for a fast-track approval process, facilitating early market launch.
Natco said it was close to completing the Phase-I clinical trials of the new chemical entity in India. It has plans for further clinical trials in the US and other countries.
The drug had been granted patents in nine countries, including the US, and the patents in Canada, Europe and Japan were expected shortly, Natco said.

Dr. Srikanth Cherukuri develops high-quality and low-cost hearing aid

2011-03-28T11:43:00.003+05:30

Chicago: Hearing impairment is a very common ailment. In milder cases, the impairment goes unnoticed. But continuous neglect of hearing impairment leads to serious hearing loss. Hearing loss, if remains untreated, progressively increases. Surgery is one option, but not for most cases of age-related hearing loss. Also in some cases of hearing loss, a surgery cannot be performed. That is why doctors recommend the use of hearing aid if a person is diagnosed with hearing loss. Because of the high cost of hearing aids prevailing in the market, most patients with hearing impairment do not buy them and suffer silently.

But now there is a hope for such patients. Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri, a Chicago-based otolaryngologist, who is an expert in treating hearing loss, has created a very high- quality and sensitive hearing aid with an affordable cost that has raised hope for all middle and low-income patients with hearing loss.

In an interview Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri, who is an expert in treating ear, nose and throat ailments, says that he has come across many patients, who are hard of hearing, also hard of buying a hearing aid. “I feel, as a physician, I want all my patients to be able to get the best treatment. While rich patients could buy their hearing aids, after being diagnosed for hearing loss, some poor and middle class patients still remained without being fitted with hearing aids because of their high price tags. I used to feel sorry for them. Such a situation is painful for me. Some inexpensive ones that are available in the market are not efficient and not worth the cost.” Therefore, he says, he has researched for several years and created a very high quality hearing aid that could be affordable by all low and middle income groups. At less than $200 per piece, he says that his MDHearing Aid is of high quality and affordable.

To help every patient — whether one is rich or poor — with hearing impairment, he created a high-quality hearing aid — Acoustitone PRO — and floated a company called. MDHearing Aid.

The MDHearing Aid devices are designed to provide the millions of people with hearing difficulty, a low-cost alternative to expensive hearing aids. They are among the very few FDA-registered and cleared medical-grade hearing aids below $200. They have been extensively evaluated by several board-certified Otologists and audiologists, including faculty at the Michigan Ear Institute and Henry Ford Health System, who feel that the sound quality is remarkable given the low cost.

Dr. Sreekant Cherukuri says Acoustitone PRO hearing aid sits comfortably and is hidden behind the ear. It comes with various sized ear tips so it can fit most ears. And if a more personal fit is required or desired, the Acoustitone PRO hearing aid can be fit with a custom ear mold. While the battery life of expensive hearing aids is limited to a couple of days, the battery life of Acoustitone PRO hearing aid is very long covering more than three weeks. “A pack of 10 batteries at an approximate cost about $10 can cover almost a year.

For customer service and for customer satisfaction, he says, Acoustitone PRO hearing aid will be replaced or a refund will be provided if a patient does not think it is the best hearing aid under $200. The Acoustitone PRO hearing aid comes with a detailed manual.

For more information, please visit Web site: www.MDHearingAid.com

7Seas Entertainment Bags FICCI-BAF 2011 Award

2011-03-26T07:58:00.001+05:30

7Seas Entertainment Limited (Lingamaneni Maruti Sankar, Managing Director) has bagged the prestigious FICCI-BAF (Best of Animation Frames) award for its 'The Dark Man' game under the 'Best Online Game' category.

The Dark Man, an online game developed by 7Seas enhances concentration and logical thinking of the gamers. The game is available at online gaming portal www.onlinerealgames.com.
7Seas' online game 'Mouse Maze' had bagged the FICCI-BAF award under the 'Best Online Game' category for 2008.

The award was received by Mr.Lingamaneni Maruti Sanker - MD of 7Seas Entertainment at the 2 day FICCI FRAMES-2011 event that concluded on March 24, 2011. FICCI (BAF)-2011 awards had received 400 entries in 15 categories from 10 countries.

Pranjala Yadlapalli & Nidhi Surapaneni bags CLTA-AITA Super Series Tennis Tournament Under -12 singles and doubles title

2011-03-26T07:52:00.005+05:30

Chandigarh, March 25: Girls Under-12 (Singles) Pranjala Yadlapalli (AP) bt Snehal Umesh Mane (MAH) 6-0, 6-1 won the CLTA-AITA Super Series Tennis Tournament title.

Girls Under -12 (Doubles): Nidhi Surapani (AP) and Pranjala Yadlapalli (AP) bt Prabhuti Singhania (MAH) and Victoria Chahal (HAR) 6-4, 6-4 to clinch the title.

Lanco turns biggest private power firm

2011-03-24T18:24:00.001+05:30

Lanco Infratech, (Lagadapati Madhusudhana Rao, Chairman) with interests in power generation, construction, infrastructure and property development, said that it has emerged the largest independent power producer in India with an installed capacity of 3,292 mw.

The company has achieved this through synchronising the 600 mw unit of Lanco Anpara Power, a special purpose vehicle implementing the power project of 1,200 mw in two tranches in Uttar Pradesh.

Lanco Infratech now has 5,953 mw of power projects under various stages of construction and 4,470 mw of power projects under development. Anpara is a pithead project with coal-mines 25 km away with an existing system of transportation of coal in railway wagons.

Lanco group executive chairman L Madhusudhan Rao said the synchronisation of Anpara’s 600 mw unit proves the company’s capabilities to execute projects “no matter how hard the challenges are.”

Rao said the company has grown its installed capacity to 3,292 mw from 500 mw in three years. “Going forward this gives us more confidence to achieve an operating capacity of 15,000 mw by 2015, which is in line with our vision,” he said.

Lanco has commercially added some 1,045 mw in 2010-11 alone, thereby increasing the operating capacity by 101 per cent year on year. It has recently synchronised 600 mw of Udupi-2 though commercial operation is expected to start in second quarter of next financial year on account of delay in transmission line set up.

While Kondapalli continues to face gas supply issues from KG D6 and Gail, the commercial operations date for Budhil Hydro (70 mw) has been delayed by six months and now expected to start in second quarter of next financial year.

Sairam Atluri placed in the list: 70 of the Best Pain Management Physicians in America

2011-03-24T17:50:00.005+05:30

Sairam Atluri, MD (Tri-State Spine Care, Cincinnati). Dr. Atluri is the director of the Tri-State Spine Care Institute in Cincinnati and has served as vice president of the Ohio Chapter of the American Society of Interventional Pain Physicians. He was the primary author of the ASIPP guidelines for opioid use in chronic pain and a secondary author of the guidelines for interventional therapy for low back pain. He is also a Fellow of Interventional Pain Practice from the World Institute of Pain and author of a pain management textbook. In addition to his practice, Dr. Atluri has published on the screening for opioid abuse in chronic pain and presented his research at the annual meeting for the American Pain Society. Dr. Atluri has been named one of Cincinnati Magazine's top physicians. Dr. Atluri earned his medical degree from Osmania Medical College in India and completed his residency at Cincinnati's University Hospital in anesthesia and pain management.

Chaithra Katamneni: winner of 2010 NTPGA Tour Championship

2011-03-23T10:10:00.001+05:30

Dallas, TEXAS: CMSN 8th grade student Chaithra Katamneni won the North Texas PGA (NTPGA) Tour Championship for 2010. This 2-day golf tournament was held at Stonebridge Country Club in McKinney, Texas. Chaithra scored 76 and 73 to win by 6 strokes under her nearest competitor. After 7 months of competition in various tournaments during 2010, the top players from East, West and North Texas had to qualify and then be invited to play in this prestigious tournament. Chaithra is 13 years old and is the youngest winner to have won the 15-18 year old girls division in this championship’s history.

Bharatstudent Announces Integration with Facebook

2011-03-18T12:53:00.004+05:30

Bharatstudent.com, (Venkat Meenavalli, Chairman and MD) India’s largest student and youth community platform joined forces with the number one social network in the world- Facebook.

It recently announced a platform integration with Facebook as an effort to double their user base by the end of this year. Users will be able to access a lot more features on Bharatstudent.com with their Facebook account linked to the site.

Here is a list of things users can do on bharatstudent.com after signing in via their Facebook account:

* Get recommendations for videos, photos and articles @ ‘BS Like Box’
* Check daily horoscope
* Make free online international calls
* Get access to Indian and study abroad information
* Find mock tests for various competitive examinations
* Check examination results
* Access to live cricket score boards
* Read film news and reviews of 6 regional languages
* Listen to live radio

Bharastudent.com also uses Artificial Intelligence to add relevant updates in the Bharat Student “Like Box” based on specific user interest. The integration with Facebook Social Plugins allows users to “Like” and “Comment” on a variety of content on bharatstudent.com. It also automatically updates on the users’ profile, creating a network effect as friends and friends of friends would come to know about the service too.

Mr. Venkat Meenavalli, promoter of Bharatstudent.com said “Facebook is a global giant and has become the definitive way for people across the world to connect. With over 15 million users in India, Facebook has gained a cult status in the Indian market. We are extremely proud to be associated with Facebook and believe that this integration will further enhance the user experience for our subscribers. It is an evident course of action to provide the users a larger platform of knowledge and exchange of ideas. With this integration we look forward to assist and reach out to double our user base by the year end.”

We have seen how businesses use Facebook to their advantage by building their brand presence on the social network. Bharastudent’s Facebook integration has shown new ways of using Facebook to one’s advantage. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Facebook would be agreeable to work with any brands for such integration partnerships.

Padma Priya Kasukurthi: Mysore Medical College Topper

2011-03-17T15:50:00.001+05:30

Dr Padma Priya Kasukurti emerged topper of the Mysore Medical College in biochemistry, pharmacology, community medicine, otorhinolaryngology, general surgery and paediatrics. She was adjudged the best outgoing student of the batch and also given the Ashok memorial award.

Jayadev Galla has been elected CII-AP Chairman

2011-03-12T09:30:00.001+05:30

Amara Raja Batteries Ltd and Galla Foods Ltd managing director Jayadev Galla has been elected the new chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII)'s Andhra Pradesh council for the year 2011 - 2012. Galla, who was CII-AP vice-chairman for 2010-11, takes over takes over from ADP Pvt Ltd managing director Shakti Sagar. Bharat Biotech co-founder and joint managing director Suchitra K Ella has been elected vice-chairperson.

Sahitya Akademi Award winners (Kammas)

2011-03-09T16:12:00.003+05:30

1. Tripuraneni. Gopichand
Panditha Paramshwara Sastry Veelunama (Novel) - 1963
2. Thummala Seetharamamurthy
Mahatma Katha (Poetry) - 1969
3. Narla Venkateswara Rao
Seeta Josyam (Play) - 1981
4) Ravuri Bharadwaja
Jeevana Samaram (Sketches) - 1983
5. Aluri Bairagi Chowdary
Aagama Geeti (Poetry) -1984
6. Ki. Rajanarayanan
Gopallapurathu Makkal (Tamil -Novel) - 1991
7. Chekuri Ramarao
Smriti Kinankam (Essays) - 2002
8. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad
Draupadi (Novel) - 2010

Kalaprapurna Awardees (Kammas)

2011-03-09T15:53:00.004+05:30

1.Sri Tummala Seetharam Murthy - 1969
2.Sri Konadveeti Vemkatakavi - 1971
3.Sri Vadlamudi Gopalakrishnayya - 1971
4.Sri Narla Venkateswara Rao - 1972
5.Sri Kongara Jaggayya
6.Sri Kotha Satyanarayana Chowdary - 1974
7.Dr. Arekapudi. Ramesh Chowadary - 1977
8.Dr. Moturi Satyanarayana - 1977
9.Dr. Akkineni Nageswara Rao - 1977
10.Sri Gottepati Brahmayya - 1977
11.Sri Paidi Lakshmayya - 1977
12.Sri Mullapudi Thimmaraju - 1977
13.Sri Ravuri Venkata Satyanarayana - 1978
14.N. T. Rama Rao - 1978
15.Sri Ravuri Bharadwaja - 1980
16.Sri Mikkilinenei Radhakrishna Murthy - 1982
17.Pandit Gopadev - 1984
18.Sri L.V. Prasad - 1985
19.Sri Kosaraju Raghavaiah Chowdary - 1985
20.Prof. Kotha. Satchidananda Murthy - 1986.
21.Dr. Tripuraneni Venkateswara Rao - 1990
22.Ghattamaneni Krishna - 2008

Koneru Humpy wins FIDE Grand Prix

2011-03-06T07:53:00.002+05:30

Doha: Top seed Koneru Humpy earned the right to challenge world women's champion Hou Yifan of China after winning the FIDE Women Grand Prix at Doha on Saturday.

Humpy tied with Elina Danielian of Armenia in the 11-round event on points but her better tiebreak (SB) score helped her clinch the first place.

The Indian scored two crucial wins, against Lilit Mkrtchian of Armenia in the penultimate round and then beat Zhu Chen of Qatar to edge out the Armenian, who had lost to the Indian in their meeting. Humpy and Danielian logged eight points each.