Tuesday, January 31, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: India’s per capita availability of water will outs...
writingonblog uncensored: India’s per capita availability of water will outs...: Chennai: Rising demand for water, depleting water resources, climate change, dismal investment in wastewater treatment and sewage infr...
India’s per capita availability of water will outstrip demand by 2025
Chennai:
Rising demand for water, depleting water resources, climate change, dismal investment in wastewater treatment and sewage infrastructure will result in demand outstripping the availability of water, warns an expert.
Arjun Thapan, the special advisor to the Asian Development Bank president for infrastructure and water said, “India’s per capita availability of water, which was 5,177 billion cubic metres in 1951, is expected to decline to less than 1,000 billion cubic metres by 2025 while the demand for water is expected to grow by 1,500 billion cubic metres in 2030.”
According to recent studies, the demand is estimated to double that of China (818 cubic metres) by 2030, he said.
He also highlighted the need for aggressive reform of the urban water supply sector to help the country’s cities weather climate change and remain the principal drivers of economic and social growth.
He said that governments in Asia have typically regarded investments in wastewater management as dead end offering little or no returns. “This is completely misplaced as a study conducted last week by Water and sanitation programme has shown India loses about 6.4 per cent of its GDP annually on account of inadequate environmental sanitation infrastructure,” Thapan added.
He said while 85 per cent of urban water supplies are met from groundwater resources, the groundwater table is slowly depleting. “The Central Groundwater Board has estimated that about 30 per cent of India’s groundwater resources have been irreparably damaged and are not susceptible to either artificial or natural recharge due to over extraction,” Thapan said.
Highlighting the threats of climate change, Thapan said without urgent changes in global policies to curtail carbon emissions more than 40,000 Himalayan glaciers across Tibetan plateau will be gone by 2070. “It would be a catastrophe for one sixth of world population who live in glacier fed river basins and depend on water for livelihood, food and domestic use,” he added.
Monday, January 30, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: RBI keeps open market operations (OMO) open in cas...
writingonblog uncensored: RBI keeps open market operations (OMO) open in cas...: Chennai: Reserve Bank of India is open to more OMO (Open Market Operations) option in case of further liquidity problem and the interes...
RBI keeps open market operations (OMO) open in case of liquidity crunch
Chennai:
Reserve Bank of India is open to more OMO (Open Market Operations) option in case of further liquidity problem and the interest rate cuts will depend on sustained downward movement of inflation, according to Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor Subir Gokarn.
Speaking to reporters after delivering The 5th SAGE-MSE Endowment Lecture on India’s Non-Inflationary Rate of Growth: Analytical Prespectives and Policy Implication at the Madras School of Economics here on Monday, Gokarn said the Central Bank is observing the market response after the recent cash reserve ratio (CRR) cuts and if there is a need to address liquidity, RBI is keeping the OMO option open.
“We will have to observe the response of the market over the period of time. The CRR cut was, in a purely liquidity sense, the equivalent of about three OMOs which roughly put together is some Rs 32,000 crore. If there is a persistent shortage then certainly we are keeping the OMO option open,” he said.
Commenting on the interest rates especially in the present inflation pattern, he said, “There is no short term fix. But if there is spike in inflation in few months down the road, then it has not accomplished anything.”
“We need to look at inflation management not for a month or two, but on a sustained basis, it has to come down and stay down at least below certain thresholds for some period of time for it to start impacting positively on investment behaviour in particular,” he said.
Gokarn also said the recent rupee appreciation will dilute some of the inflation pressure adding that the Central Bank has taken some measures in November and December to stabilize the rupee. “After December 15, the rupee has stabilized significantly,” he said. “In January there has been a general reversal of capital that started to flow in emerging economies. It is partly the result of liquidity that is having a similar effect on the emerging economies currencies. Gokarn added that the exchange rate will broadly depend on global liquidity and developments in Europe.
To a query on criticism of RBI policies on its failure to tame inflation, Gokarn said the criticism are two-ways and the Central Bank has made judgements that are based on assessment of both growth and inflation. “We have found some sort of a middle ground between these two extremes.”
He said although the food inflation has remain low but there is a strong demand driven pressure on protein prices because of people shifting their dietary habits and dietary patterns. There is much more demand for products like milk, meat and eggs and so on,” he said.
He said the programme like National Mission for Protein Supplements announced during the budget has to deliver in productivity to bring down the food inflation.
Commenting on Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NERGA) impact on the cost of agricultural production, he said, the behaviour of rural wages in the last two years, the average increase has been substantially more than might have been projected on the basis of NREGA floor. That may be contributing. But, there are other things that are driving wages up which include skill mismatch besides the increase in the cost of agricultural production.
The solution lies in more supplies, better productivity of food products and more people being trained and equipped to meet market requirements,” he said.
writingonblog uncensored: Indian Bank Q3 net profit crosses Rs 500 crore mar...
writingonblog uncensored: Indian Bank Q3 net profit crosses Rs 500 crore mar...: Chennai: Indian Bank closed its third quarter with a net profit of Rs 526 crore as against Rs 491 crore posted during the correspondi...
Indian Bank Q3 net profit crosses Rs 500 crore mark
Chennai:
Indian Bank closed its third quarter with a net profit of Rs 526 crore as against Rs 491 crore posted during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal and the bank has plans to convert Rs 400 crore of Perpetual Non-Convertible Preference Shares (PNCPS) into equity at market rate soon.
Addressing a press conference, Chairman and Managing director of Indian Bank T M Bhasin said this is the first time in the bank’s history that the quarterly net profit has crossed the Rs 500 crore mark.
He said for the nine year period, the net profit stood at Rs 1,402 crore as against Rs 1275 crore posted during the corresponding period.
Bhasin said the bank’s net interest income for the quarter that went by went up by 33 per cent to Rs 3,505 crore from Rs.2,641 crore earned during the third quarter last year. The bank’s current equity capital is Rs 429.77 crore.
Interestingly, the bank’s plans to convert Rs 400 crore of Perpetual Non-Convertible Preference Shares (PNCPS) into equity at market rate soon comes in the wake of the bank holding the government’s sanction to dilute 10 percent of its equity.
Speaking about the bank’s non performing assets (NPA) Bhasin said the gross NPA to gross advances ratio was at 1.35 per cent while the net NPA to net advances was at 0.80 per cent.
During the first nine months of the current fiscal the bank has added fresh NPA of Rs 839 crore and for the third quarter the loan account slippage is Rs 293 crore.
He said the NPA recovery target for the current fiscal is Rs.500 crore and till date the bank has recovered Rs 366 crore.
He said the period under review Indian Bank’s total global business went up to Rs.207,014 crore (deposits Rs.118,970 crore, advances Rs.88,044 crore) from the previous year’s figure of Rs.174,035 crore (deposits Rs.101,015 crore, advances Rs.73,919 crore). He said the bank plans to open overseas branches in Hong Kong besides Batticoloa, Humbathotta and Trincomallee in Sri Lanka,
Indian Bank’s cost of deposit stood at 6.86 per cent, yield on advances 11.66 per cent and yield on investments 7.63 per cent.
Indian Bank net Q3 net profit crosses Rs 500 crore mark
Chennai:
Indian Bank closed its third quarter with a net profit of Rs 526 crore as against Rs 491 crore posted during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal and the bank has plans to convert Rs 400 crore of Perpetual Non-Convertible Preference Shares (PNCPS) into equity at market rate soon.
Addressing a press conference, Chairman and Managing director of Indian Bank T M Bhasin said this is the first time in the bank’s history that the quarterly net profit has crossed the Rs 500 crore mark.
He said for the nine year period, the net profit stood at Rs 1,402 crore as against Rs 1275 crore posted during the corresponding period.
Bhasin said the bank’s net interest income for the quarter that went by went up by 33 per cent to Rs 3,505 crore from Rs.2,641 crore earned during the third quarter last year. The bank’s current equity capital is Rs 429.77 crore.
Interestingly, the bank’s plans to convert Rs 400 crore of Perpetual Non-Convertible Preference Shares (PNCPS) into equity at market rate soon comes in the wake of the bank holding the government’s sanction to dilute 10 percent of its equity to issue 6.14 crore shares amounting to Rs 61.40 crore.
Speaking about the bank’s non performing assets (NPA) Bhasin said the gross NPA to gross advances ratio was at 1.35 per cent while the net NPA to net advances was at 0.80 per cent.
During the first nine months of the current fiscal the bank has added fresh NPA of Rs 839 crore and for the third quarter the loan account slippage is Rs 293 crore.
He said the NPA recovery target for the current fiscal is Rs.500 crore and till date the bank has recovered Rs 366 crore.
He said the period under review Indian Bank’s total global business went up to Rs.207,014 crore (deposits Rs.118,970 crore, advances Rs.88,044 crore) from the previous year’s figure of Rs.174,035 crore (deposits Rs.101,015 crore, advances Rs.73,919 crore). He said the bank plans to open overseas branches in Hong Kong besides Batticoloa, Humbathotta and Trincomallee in Sri Lanka,
Indian Bank’s cost of deposit stood at 6.86 per cent, yield on advances 11.66 per cent and yield on investments 7.63 per cent.
Indian Bank net Q3 net profit crosses Rs 500 mark
Chennai:
Indian Bank closed its third quarter with a net profit of Rs 526 crore as against Rs 491 crore posted during the corresponding period of the previous fiscal and the bank has plans to convert Rs 400 crore of Perpetual Non-Convertible Preference Shares (PNCPS) into equity at market rate soon.
Addressing a press conference, Chairman and Managing director of Indian Bank T M Bhasin said this is the first time in the bank’s history that the quarterly net profit has crossed the Rs 500 crore figure.
He said for the nine year period, the net profit stood at Rs 1,402 crore as against Rs 1275 crore posted during the corresponding period.
Bhasin said the bank’s net interest income for the quarter that went by went up by 33 per cent to Rs 3,505 crore from Rs.2,641 crore earned during the third quarter last year. The bank’s current equity capital is Rs 429.77 crore.
Interestingly, the bank’s plans to convert Rs 400 crore of Perpetual Non-Convertible Preference Shares (PNCPS) into equity at market rate soon comes in the wake of the bank holding the government’s sanction to dilute 10 percent of its equity.
Speaking about the bank’s non performing assets (NPA) Bhasin said the gross NPA to gross advances ratio was at 1.35 per cent while the net NPA to net advances was at 0.80 per cent.
During the first nine months of the current fiscal the bank has added fresh NPA of Rs 839 crore and for the third quarter the loan account slippage is Rs 293 crore.
He said the NPA recovery target for the current fiscal is Rs.500 crore and till date the bank has recovered Rs 366 crore.
He said the period under review Indian Bank’s total global business went up to Rs.207,014 crore (deposits Rs.118,970 crore, advances Rs.88,044 crore) from the previous year’s figure of Rs.174,035 crore (deposits Rs.101,015 crore, advances Rs.73,919 crore). He said the bank plans to open overseas branches in Hong Kong besides Batticoloa, Humbathotta and Trincomallee in Sri Lanka,
Sunday, January 29, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: Govt plans to procure additional MTC buses to boos...
writingonblog uncensored: Govt plans to procure additional MTC buses to boos...: C Shivakumar Chennai: In a bid to reduce the inadequacy of Metropolitan Transport Corporation to handle the mass transit trips in the metr...
Govt plans to procure additional MTC buses to boost mass transit trips
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
In a bid to reduce the inadequacy of Metropolitan Transport Corporation to handle the mass transit trips in the metropolis, plans are on to procure additional buses to close the gap in the fleet size by accessing external assistance from World Bank or Asian Development Bank or other lending agencies.Sources told Express that since the present bus fleet of MTC, which is 3,421, is grossly inadequate to handle the mass transit trips in the metropolis, there has been a proposal to seek external assistance from World Bank or Asian Development Bank besides other sources like Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission or procuring buses from private sector by wet leasing etc.
Interestingly, Chennai Traffic and Transport Study in 1992-95 recommended a minimum fleet size of 5,000 from 1995-2000 which when compared is far from adequate as the present strength of fleet of buses is 3,400 only.
Surprisingly, the recently completed CTTS recommends 5,500 buses by 2016, 6,600 buses by 2021 and 8,000 buses by 2026. The proposal to increase the fleet was discussed during the sixth meeting of the working committee on Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority on November 2011 and it was felt that Chennai Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority (CUMTA) could make appropriate policy to facilitate the MTC to procure additional buses.
“Even the Environmental Protection Control Authority (EPCA) at one of its periodical review meetings at Chennai suggested that MTC should aim at a bus fleet size of 10,000,” sources said.
writingonblog uncensored: ‘Zerolution’ in Indian leather sector as 12th plan...
writingonblog uncensored: ‘Zerolution’ in Indian leather sector as 12th plan...: Chennai: A major ‘zerolution’ is taking place in six common effluent treatment plants covering all important leather centers with the adopt...
‘Zerolution’ in Indian leather sector as 12th plan sets $14bn export target
Chennai:
A major ‘zerolution’ is taking place in six common effluent treatment plants covering all important leather centers with the adoption of Zero Liquid Discharge by Tamil Nadu leather sector, according to chairman of research council Central Leather Research Institute Dr K V Raghavan.
Speaking after the inauguration of 46th Leather Research Industry Get-Together (LERIG) by Governor K Rosaiah here on Saturday, Raghavan said the major initiative by Centre, state and leather sector a highly sophisticated reverse osmosis technology is employed for water recycle which will reduce more than 80 per cent of water consumption in producing per kg of leather.
“More than Rs 200 crore investment is being made to recover 30-40 million litres of high quality of water per day and this is the first of its kind in India and even in the world,” said Raghavan.
He said new research initiatives during the 12th plan include zero solid discharge, establishing of bioscience and biotech research blocks besides a new world class environmental quality assessment facility with union and state government’s support.
He said Tamil Nadu’s development in leather sector has inspired Andhra Pradesh which is setting up a integrated leather and leather product complex in Krishnapatnam.
Governor K Rosaiah said Indian leather industry has scaled new heights with exports target set $14 billion by the end of the 12th plan periodand hand holding them in this journey is Council for leather exports which has charted the growth path of Indian leather industry.
Saturday, January 28, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: 12 dams to benefit under Rs 470 crore World Bank p...
writingonblog uncensored: 12 dams to benefit under Rs 470 crore World Bank p...: Chennai: Twelve dams of Tamil Nadu will benefit under the Rs 470 crore World Bank funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP),...
12 dams to benefit under Rs 470 crore World Bank project
Chennai:
Twelve dams of Tamil Nadu will benefit under the Rs 470 crore World Bank funded Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP), according to Public Works Department minister Ramalingam
Talking to reporters on the sidelines of a workshop held on Dam safety here on Friday, Ramalingam said that Rs 470 crore has been sanctioned for DRIP project of which, 20 per cent will be provided by the state while 80 per cent by World Bank.
The minister also inaugurated two mobile vans besides symbolic opening of two labs in Villupuram and Irukangudi near Sattur to ensure quality work under the Tamil Nadu Irrigated Agriculture Modernisation and Water-bodies Restoration and Management Project.
“The vans and labs would conduct third party checks on the project,” said D V S Murthy, regional manager of southern region WAPCOS, union government undertaking under the Ministry of Water Resources.
The mobile vans can access difficult places where quality of work could be assessed instead of sending the samples to the labs, said PWD engineering-in-chief of the Water Resources Department S S Rajagopal.
writingonblog uncensored: Chile ranks Indian pharma products higher than Chi...
writingonblog uncensored: Chile ranks Indian pharma products higher than Chi...: Chennai: Chile prefers quality India pharma products to that of China’s and expressed keenness on working with India in areas like renewabl...
Chile ranks Indian pharma products higher than China's
Chennai:
Chile prefers quality India pharma products to that of China’s and expressed keenness on working with India in areas like renewable energy, biotechnology, agricultural sciences, transportation, mining and lithium-based industries.
Addressing a breakfast meeting of businessmen organized by Confederation of Indian Industry on Friday, President of the Senate of Chile Guido Girardi said Indian medicines are far better than those manufactured by Chinese industries and evinced keen interest in tying up with India.
Interestingly, China is one of the biggest trading partners of Chile. Chile sources said India is at an disadvantage due to lack of foreign trade agreement with Chile otherwise it could have an edge over China in pharma products.
Chile ambassador Cristian Barros said that a preferential trade agreement with India was being worked out. The proposed new regime would include about 1000 items, against 120 now, covering almost 90 per cent of Chile’s offerings and 60-70 per cent of India’s offerings.
Girardi said there was tremendous scope for partnership between Chile and India in areas of renewable energy, especially, geo-thermal, tidal wave, wind, biomass and solar.
He said the country has set a target of generating 20 per cent of its energy needs, especially in the copper mining sector, by 2020.
He said Chile considered the lack of crude oil or coal reserves as an opportunity to develop renewable energy sources.
Though there were wind power projects in the country, there were only pilot projects for solar and biomass power generation. He invited Indian companies to set up projects in Chile and explore different areas for association and partnership.
T T Ashok, chairman, CII Southern Region said owing to the great potential for partnership between India and Chile there could be a Comprehensive Economic Co-operation Agreement between the two countries. The agreement should cover investments, bilateral trade, education etc.
Friday, January 27, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: TN slams Chandy; Kerala trying to politicize Mulla...
writingonblog uncensored: TN slams Chandy; Kerala trying to politicize Mulla...: ‘Vaigai Dam is the best maintained dam in TN’ Chennai: Tamil Nadu on Friday said that Kerala is trying to politicize the Mullaiperiyar issu...
TN slams Chandy; Kerala trying to politicize Mullaiperiyar issue
‘Vaigai Dam is the best maintained dam in TN’
Chennai:
Tamil Nadu on Friday said that Kerala is trying to politicize the Mullaiperiyar issue and there is no truth over its statements on dam.
Replying to queries from reporters in the wake of Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy raising the pitch of building a new dam in place of the 116-year-old Mullaiperiyar reservoir, Public Works Department minister K V Ramalingam said, “The Kerala Chief Minister is trying to politicize the issue and there is no truth in his statement.”
“The empowered committee has already stated that the Mullaiperiyar dam is strong and safe,” Ramalingam said while participating a workshop on dam safety held here on Friday.
Chandy, who was here en route to Puducherry to pay homage to Kerala Governor M O H Farook, who died on Thursday night, while sticking to the stand of building a new dam in place of the 116-year-old Mullaperiyar reservoir, said Kerala is aware of the importance of giving water to five parched districts of Tamil Nadu, but is concerned over the safety of its people.
Earlier, the minister honoured the engineers of Vaigai dam, which was awarded the ‘Best maintained dam’ for year 2011. PWD engineering-in-chief of the Water Resources Department S S Rajagopal said the engineers are honoured to inculcate inbuilt competition among engineers for better maintenance and shows the government concern for dam safety.
The dam safety directorate of the state, which came into being in 1991 is paying adequate attention to the safety of dams and at present there are 89 water resource dams which includes four drinking water supply reservoirs and 38 TANGEDCO dams.
writingonblog uncensored: RBI warns banks to comply with guidelines on e-sec...
writingonblog uncensored: RBI warns banks to comply with guidelines on e-sec...: Chennai: Reserve Bank of India will initiate action against banks that do not comply with the guidelines on electronic security of its tran...
RBI warns banks to comply with guidelines on e-security
Chennai:
Reserve Bank of India will initiate action against banks that do not comply with the guidelines on electronic security of its transactions and operations by October 2012, according to RBI executive director G Gopalakrishna.
Speaking to reporters after delivering the keynote address on ‘Banking on e-security’, Gopalakrishna, who is head of the working group of the Central Bank that has recommended strengthening the information technology architecture to tackle cyber fraud, said RBI will take a serious action against banks that do not implement the recommendations of the committee.
He also said some banks lack proper security policy, methods to monitor the service level agreements with third parties and inadequate audit trail. “There is lack of assessment of legal risk arising from IT related legislation and the process of designing and development of awareness programs for customers is not in place in banks,” Gopalakrishna said.
“It is important to see tangible benefits to both customers and banks arising from effective implementation of guidelines by banks. The demand placed from all commercial banks is high and all commercial banks may have gaps, albeit at different levels, between their current state and expectations from RBI guidelines, which require to be bridged at the earliest,” he said.
The working group submitted its report last January and the final guidelines were circulated to all banks last April.
M Narendra, chairman and managing director of Indian Overseas Bank said that after a series of ATM frauds, the police held meeting with bankers to enable mechanisms to plug aberrations. “It is the responsibility of the banks to put in safety mechanisms or its reputation is at stake,” he said.
K Srinivasan, president of Cyber Society of India, also spoke on the occasion.
writingonblog uncensored: Poisoned villages
writingonblog uncensored: Poisoned villages: The villages in and around the six kilometers radius of an industrial plant are dying a slow and painful death due to the poisoned grou...
Poisoned villages
The villages in and around the six kilometers radius of an industrial plant are dying a slow and painful death due to the poisoned ground water
The fields look barren and few crops that dot the rural landscape are dying slowly. Some have withered and few like the ladies-finger crop have taken a strange shape----leafless with the vegetable twisted into a snake-like shape.
“The village is dying a slow and a poisonous death due to callous industrialisation,” says bed-ridden Mayandi of Panakulam village, some 25 km from Madurai.
And before he completes his sentence, he coughs, and with all his bitterness says, “There is no hope for us. We poor people don’t have any voice and it could hardly be heard in the centres of power.”
As he groans in pain unable to move his feet. He blames the disease on the nearby factory whose toxic waste has poisoned the ground water table. “ I lost my wife Kaliammal due to strange illness as he shows the medical report.”
Kaliammal was suffering from intestinal obstruction. And the couple are not the only ones to have been suffering from diseases. There are many more villagers who are suffering from kidney, liver and uterus problems. Many have died of kidney and intestine problems.
The problem is not related to one village but several villages located in the proximity of five to six kilometres from the plant which manufactures hexagonal bolts, hexagonal nuts and socket head screws.
The farmers in the six villages surrounding the plant --- Aviyoor, Kadmumkulam, Arasakulam, Meenakshipuram, Tharaganenthal and Panakulam --- are solely dependent on the monsoons for a hand to mouth existence.
“Our water has been poisoned. It is hardly potable. Even the crops are slowly dying,” says Ramasamy.
He pulls out an onion crop and says, “Usually the yield from this soil was large but now the yield is too small. And if we use the well water, the crop instantly dies. You can imagine the level of toxicity of the water and the soil.”
Pointing towards the thick sheet of oil like substance in the well, he says this is the root cause of the problem. “Just taste the well water and you could get a feel of it,” he adds.
The study conducted jointly by Anna University and The New Indian Express on a sample collected from the village well has found out that the ground water at the site has high conductivity and TDS.
Even an Environmental Quality Assessment study done by NEERI earlier says the results of water environment survey indicate the ground water at the site has high conductivity, TDS, chloride, sodium, lead and boron.
There is also no trace of cattle in the villages. When asked, the villagers say most of them died due to the toxicity of water. And which survived, were hardly of any use to the villagers as the milk was not good enough to drink. As a proof, a villager takes out a letter from a local dairy farm, which says that there have been a lot of complaints over the quality of the milk. So they have stopped procuring milk from the villagers.
As the water is not potable in the five kilometers radius, most of the villagers are solely dependent on water from a nearby village, Barapathy. Even the company is procuring water from Kambikudi, a village nearly 5km from Aviyoor, says a villager.
“Earlier, we used to provide water for them. They even bought a land near Panakulam for drinking water. But after the water got polluted, they are procuring it from far off villagers,” he says.
“If we even bathe in the well water, we develop itching all over the body,” says Sethuraj, another farmer.
There is no disputing the fact that the water is not potable. A Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board has stated that the water sample is not potable and the TDS exceed the maximum permissible limit.
NEERI has advised the industry to recharge the borewell with reverse osmosis (RO) permeate water for effective dilution with proper monitoring of borewells.
One of the key recommendations of NEERI was that the test bore-wells provided near the sludge disposal pit should be monitored once in a month to ensure that no contamination is occurring in the ground water with respect to TDS, chlorides, chromium, zinc and iron, besides other parameters.
NEERI has also advised the company management to provide potable water to the villagers and also to conduct minimum of one medical camp each year. But the villagers claim, the company has hardly carried out any of recommendations.
“More than 200 to 300 wells in the area have been affected. And when we try to approach the government officials to take action against the company, they take action against us,” says Aviyoor panchayat president, who has involved in a bitter legal battle against the company.
“The irony is that the company is using our land and resources but instead of paying us the royalty, they are paying it to Kambikudi panchayat,” he alleges, adding, “the recently announced pro-farmer schemes by the United Progressive Alliance government for the farmers are just a lip service. Nobody is bothered about us.”
Talk about the legal battle, he loses his temper. “Everyone is giving a certificate that the water is polluted but nobody is saying what causes the pollution.”
“The company is successful in divide and rule policy. They just have to bribe a few villagers and they will turn against one another,” he alleges.
The legal tussle against the company ended in 2004 when the court ordered the villagers to deposit an amount of Rs 25,000 so that NEERI could do an independent study. Ironically, the villagers didn’t have that much financial expertise and the case couldn’t progress. Lajapati Rai, the counsel for the villagers, had sought legal aid in the Supreme Court for the villagers but that too was of no avail.
Now the villagers have lost hope. Many have turned woodcutters like 55-year-old Ammasi. “I did have four acres of land. But hardly anything grows. Now I am reduced to penury,” says the farmer with tears in his eyes.
“I have one boy and three girls. It is hand to mouth existence for us,” he says.
Some of the farmers have left their lands and migrated to the urban areas to work as construction labourers while some are banking on monsoons, so that at least they can grow something. “But it is a lost cause. We hardly get anything,” says Ramasamy.
writingonblog uncensored: 157-year-old steam locomotive still the darling of...
writingonblog uncensored: 157-year-old steam locomotive still the darling of...: Chennai: It may be 157-seven-year-old steam locomotive but it is still the darling of Chennai as people jostled with one another to have a...
157-year-old steam locomotive still the darling of Chennai
Chennai:
It may be 157-seven-year-old steam locomotive but it is still the darling of Chennai as people jostled with one another to have a glimpse of the oldest steam locomotive in the world as it embarked on its third heritage journey to mark India’s 63rd Republic day.
It was a festive atmosphere at Platform number four with policemen trying to keep away the crowd as VIPs tried to squeeze in to enjoy the 10 km journey from Madras Egmore to Guindy.
The locomotive EIR 21, created by Kitson Thomson and Hewitson of England in 1855, was attached to a 25-year-old compartment that also completed its shelf life in 2010 and was coverted as heritage special.
It was packed with VIPs, which included Southern Railways general manager Deepak Krishan, director general of police K Ramanujam and other officials as awestruck bystanders tried to catch a glimpse of the train.
The engine, shipped to Indian subcontinent, had been chugging the length and breadth of the country before hibernating at 1909 for more than a century at Jamalpur Museum. Interestingly, it replaced Fairy Queen EIR 22 as ‘the oldest working steam loco.
The locomotive has completed its first heritage run from Chennai Central to Avadi on August 15, 2010 and the second heritage run from Chennai Egmore to Guindy on August 15, 2011, said railway sources. And now on its third run it is piloted by engine driver Devrajan, who was all smiles and expressed his joy on being part of the historic moment.
An excited guard V Gopiram told Express that the 10km journey will be from Egmore to Guindy. After completing the journey, the train will then proceed to Mount before returning to the shed. The maximum speed of the engine, which has a horse power of 130HP, is 30km per hour.
Railway sources said the steam locomotive is provided with GPS based speedometer now and receives signal from satellite for longitude or latitude with respect to time.
“The micro control unit inbuilt in this speedometer decode the signal input collected by change in latitude or longitude from first place to second place and converts into speed in kmph,” a railway source said.
Meanwhile, the coach is a old Guard’s compartment which has been modified at Perambur Carriage works. “We made it as a hall for inspection of railway officials,’ a railway employee who doesn’t want to be quoted said.
The coach also has a watertank to feed water to the steam locomotive besides a generator to supply current to the fans and AC equipment. The generator will also help run the water pump to feed water to the steam locomotive. The compartment also has a braking application.
As the engine blew the whistle, it was 20 minutes late, but then the passengers, who were packed in the compartment with many standing, had no qualms but a rush of excitement to be part of the history.
Factfile of EIR21:
Original manufacturing year: 1855
Place of Manufacturing: England
Creators: Kriston Thompson, Hewitson
Retired: 1909
Age: 157 years
Kept in: Jamalpur Museum
Date of resurrection: 2010
Maximum speed: 30kmph
Horse power: 130HP
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: SMS to the fore as Corporation ramps up monitoring...
writingonblog uncensored: SMS to the fore as Corporation ramps up monitoring...: C Shivakumar & Shyam Balasubramanian Chennai, January 24 Garbage collection has been one of the biggest headaches for honchos at the Chenn...
SMS to the fore as Corporation ramps up monitoring of conservancy ops
C Shivakumar & Shyam Balasubramanian
Chennai, January 24
Garbage collection has been one of the biggest headaches for honchos at the Chennai Corporation ever since the new administration took over at Ripon Building. But an initiative by Corporation Commissioner PWC Davidar, with the weight of his years as the State’s IT boss, seems set to help the civic body keep a close tab on conservancy operations.
Over the past week a system has been developed by the Corporation, where Conservancy Inspectors on the ground would have to send an SMS to a toll free number to intimate Ripon Building that the various vehicles under their command have left for their daily garbage collection duties. The two-level SMS intimation is aimed at increasing accountability of ground staff overseeing conservancy operations, an official has said.
First, the Conservancy Inspectors of the lorry station would have to send an SMS once all the lorries have been dispatched into the field. This would have to be done by 7:30am at the most. Once the vehicles reach their respective wards the Conservancy Inspector there would have to send an SMS confirming their dispatch into the streets for garbage collection. This would have to be done by 8:30am at the most.
A failure to receive these messages at any stage would be conveyed immediately to the concerned officials by the EDP Cell, which would monitor the SMSes. Based on the real time flow of this information, officials could immediately act to ensure garbage collection operations carry on smoothly.
“The whole idea is to increase the accountability of officials on the ground. We already have officials at various levels going around to monitor the work. At any stage, if we receive information that garbage has not been cleared at a certain spot, we can pull up the concerned official,” said a senior Corporation official. He added that the system would make the review of conservancy operations real time, paving the way for a cleaner Chennai.
writingonblog uncensored: Moment of joy for ex-Murugappa boss
writingonblog uncensored: Moment of joy for ex-Murugappa boss: Chennai: It was a great moment of joy for M V Subbiah as he was conferred Padma Bhushan award for distinguished service of high order in ...
Moment of joy for ex-Murugappa boss
Chennai:
It was a great moment of joy for M V Subbiah as he was conferred Padma Bhushan award for distinguished service of high order in the filed of trade and industry.
“I was overwhelmed with joy. I did not expect it,” said the humble businessman, who is the third generation member of Murugappa family and a former chairman of the Murugappa Group. “The news was conveyed to me by the Home Secretary at 1 pm. It was unexpected,” said a smiling Subbiah while addressing reporters.
Retired after working 43 years in the 17,051 crore family business, Subbiah is now the chairman of the newly formed public-private entity National Skill Development Corporation with a mandate to skill 150 million youth in India.
“This award is in recognition for my contribution in trade and industry, which also includes the work being done in NSDC. But I feel I am taking the award on behalf of entire Murugappa Group, employees and officers,” Subbiah, past president of Association of Indian Engineering Industries, the predecessor to Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and a former board member of Family Business Network International said.
Subbiah has the immense talent of bringing to life ailing business. In the 60s, it was Carborundum Universal, in the 70s, it was TI Cycles and in the 80s it was bringing to life the ailing 200-year old E I D Parry. A recipient of JRD Tata Business Leadership award in 2002, he also won the National Human Resource Development Award in 1988.
writingonblog uncensored: Volkswagen has plans to expand India; Targets Chen...
writingonblog uncensored: Volkswagen has plans to expand India; Targets Chen...: C Shivakumar Chennai: German carmaker Volkswagen is planning to expand its operation in India and Chennai is an option, according to Consul...
Volkswagen has plans to expand India; Targets Chennai
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
German carmaker Volkswagen is planning to expand its operation in India and Chennai is an option, according to Consul General of German Consulate in Chennai Stefan Weckback.
Weckback told Express that Volkswagen, which has a factory in Chakan, wants to expand operations in India and Chennai is an option for the car-maker. However, he refused to divulge further details.
Volkswagen’s factory at Chakan produces up to 130,000 cars a year. It makes the Polo hatchback and the Vento, Jetta and Passat sedans at Chakan and imports the Beetle and Phaeton cars and the Touareg sport-utility vehicle.
Interestingly, his statement comes in the wake of Diamler investing Rs 4,400 crore in Orgadam to manufacture trucks for the domestic as well as overseas market.
He also said another German carmaker BMW is also planning to double its capacity in Sriperumbudur by next year.
Weckback said more and more German foreign direct investment will come to Chennai and talks are also on with Indian suppliers in Tamil nadu to outsource componenets for German car-makers.
Interestingly, German car-makers have sold nearly 120,000 passenger cars and has captured five per cent of Indian car market. “The German automotive industry is strengthening its presence on India’s growth market. Exports to India of German passenger cars alone rose in 2011 by just over 70 per cent to 25,000 units,” said Weckbeck while addressing Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) conference ‘Tamil Nadu: World’s leading and Most preferred Manufacturing and Automotive Destination’ here on Wednesday.
Earlier, British deputy high commissioner Mark Nithavrianakis, acting consul general of US Nicholas Manring highlighted the importance of Chennai being an investment destination in the wake of new government coming to power. They also urged the state government to improve the power situation in the country besides a talent pool of skilled workers.
writingonblog uncensored: Solution for decade-old untreated waste
writingonblog uncensored: Solution for decade-old untreated waste: By C Shivakumar/ Shyam Balasubramanian Chennai: In a bid to preserve ground water besides providing a solution to waste dumped more t...
Solution for decade-old untreated waste
By C Shivakumar/ Shyam Balasubramanian
Chennai:
In a bid to preserve ground water besides providing a solution to waste dumped more than a decade, a firm is planning to set up integrated solid waste management in municipal corporations across Tamil Nadu, including Chennai and Tambaram on a public private partnership mode.
Talking to Express on the sidelines of Municipalika Making Cities Work, AAPL Infra Private Limited Environment Engineering Division head of finance S Suyampirakasam told Express that they have plans ready for 150 crore Integrated Solid Waste Management facility in six municipal corporations including Thoothkudi, Salem, Dindigul, Pollachi, Sivaganga and Rajapalayam besides initiating discussions on Chennai and Tambaram.
Interestingly, the firm already has began work on Rs 25 crore project in Ramaianpatti in Tirunelveli. “We are spending Rs 15 crore and Tirunelveli Corporation is spending Rs 10 crore on project divided into four zones, which includes landfilling, Refuse Devised Fuel plant , scientific enclosure and a ecopark. The integrated solid waste management plants would also be able to generate electricity from the processed waste, a source said.
Suyampirakasam said the highlight of the project is the scientific closure where the waste dumped for a decade and which can’t be recycled is being processed and kept under earth. “We preserve it through the layers of gravel and rock besides growing a green patch. Currently, as per the sytem we are processing 3.50 lakh tones accumulated waste in Tirunelveli,” he added
“This ensures that latchet, the liquid generated from the waste, does not percolate to the groundwater to pollute the water table. It is collected in a separate tank and treated. We also ensure that there is no generation of methane which is burnt in the atmosphere,” he added.
“We are also treating 150 metric tonnes of waste which is being generated into biomanure and biofuel, which has 3,600 calorific value and is cheaper than coal,” he said.
writingonblog uncensored: City short of 304mld water; Govt to fill in the ga...
writingonblog uncensored: City short of 304mld water; Govt to fill in the ga...: Chennai: Chennai is short of 304 mld of water as it could supply only 740 mld of water against the demand of 1,044 mld following the additi...
City short of 304mld water; Govt to fill in the gap within two years
Chennai:
Chennai is short of 304 mld of water as it could supply only 740 mld of water against the demand of 1,044 mld following the addition of new areas in the Chennai Metropolitan Area and the government is launching new schemes to fill the gap within two years, according to Metro Water superintending engineer A L Radhakrishnan.
Speaking at a session on Integrated Water and waste-water management at the three-day international conference Municipalika Making Cities Work on Tuesday, he said the gap could be set right within two years.
“The schemes include completion of 100 MLD desalination plant by the year end in Nemelichery, creation of new reservoirs besides establishment of another 200 MLD desalination plant near Nemilichery during 2012-2014,” Radhakrishnan told Express.
He also said work is also going on in laying of parallel pipeline to draw water from Chembarambakkam lake besides setting up a treatment plant at Poonamallee bye-pass. “More than Rs 40 crore has been allocated to lay a pipeline fom Chembarambakam to Saveetha Dental College to fill up the mismatch,” he said.
He said the Metro Water is also planning to set up two water treatment facilities to fill the gaps in supplying water to industries. “Currently, there is a need for 1,190 mld of water for industries and the supply is only 800 mld of water. The gap is 362.70 mld and th government is planning to set up two water treatment plants to fill the demand,” Radhakrishnan said.
“The 1,300 MLD water treatment plant will come up at Chembarambakkam while the 100 MLD water treatment plant will come up at Puzhal,” he added.
Demand Supply Gap
Core 762mld 660mld 102mld
Added areas 282mld 80mld 202mld
Total 1044mld 740mld 304mld
writingonblog uncensored: Recycled water new mantra to solve water woes
writingonblog uncensored: Recycled water new mantra to solve water woes: C Shivakumar Chennai: Recycled water may soon become the new mantra to resolve water woes arising due to rising population and scarcer avai...
Recycled water new mantra to solve water woes
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
Recycled water may soon become the new mantra to resolve water woes arising due to rising population and scarcer availability of the commodity due to shrinking water table.
As water is becoming a scarce governments as well as water firms are working on various technologies and strategies to supply recycle water with a top government official from the state even suggesting a need for structural modification in water treatment facilities in buildings and flats so that waste water can be reused.
Talking to Express on the sidelines of the session on Integrated Water and waste-water management during the three international conference on Municiplika Making Cities Work, Metro Water managing director Dr K Gopal said the dual pumping of water in residences as well as hotels and flats is the need of the hour so that potable waste water can be reused.
Interestingly, the state government which was till now focusing on dual treatment of water is now setting up a tertiary treatment plant in Koyambedu to supply treated water to fulfil the need of industries.
Gopal feels before the recycled water could be brought to use in homes, there needs to be a decentralized approach which should come from the bottom like resident welfare association.
Meanwhile, there are many firms vying to have a share in the pie of recycled water business in the state which the experts claim is worth thousands of crore.
Michael Carter, trade commissioner and consul commercial of Australian Trade Commission while highlighting that Australian water firms are evincing keen interest in supplying recycle technologies to the state and talks are on with the state government.
Interestingly, even GE is offering its ZeeWeed Memrane technology for municipal waste water treatment. “The state is using conventional technology and this technology can be used for expansion and retrofitting of existing plants,” said Girish Kale, marketing manager of GE Power and Water. He also stressed the need for government to regulate industries on treatment of waste water.
Sumit Goel, general manager of klgsystel, told Express his firm is in talks with Metro Water to digitize the entire water distribution network so that there is equitable distribution of water across the city. The firm has already done a pilot project for Metro Water in Ice House, Goel said.
writingonblog uncensored: India-Japan to cement 60-year-old ties with series...
writingonblog uncensored: India-Japan to cement 60-year-old ties with series...: Chennai: Sixty years after India inked the peace treaty with Japan, the ties between two countries has slowly strengthened in every field a...
India-Japan to cement 60-year-old ties with series of events
Chennai:
Sixty years after India inked the peace treaty with Japan, the ties between two countries has slowly strengthened in every field and Indo-Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IJCCI) plans to organize several events to further boost the bilateral relations this year, according to president of IJCCI Prof N Krishnaswami.
Speaking on the event to commemorate 60th anniversary of India-Japan diplomatic relations, which was attended by consul general of Japan Masanori Nakano and his wife Keiko Nakano, Prof Krishnaswami highlighted how the ties between the countries grew and Tamil Nadu becoming an important investment destination for Japanese in recent days.
“IJCCI through its various programmes hopes to bring closer the Japanese and Indians, particularly those residing in Tamil Nadu facilitating greater interaction and cooperation to the mutual benefit of both the people,” he said.
The growing ties between Japan and Chennai could be seen by the fact that there are 240 Japanese companies and 60 representative offices of Japanese companies in the State. And Consul general of Japan Nakano feels there is a need to expand ties in the field of art, social and cultural exchanges.
Interestingly, IJCCI is planning big this year by organizing the All India small and medium enterprises (SME) convention in Chennai in December, which is part of the 24 programmes organized to cement the ties between the two Asian nations.
Krishnaswami said IJCCI is planning to invite Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa to inaugurate the event. “The idea to host the conclave in Chennai came from none other than the Indian consul general in Osaka,” said Krishnaswami.
P Murari, advisor to president of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry walked down the memory lane and stressed the need for Japanese investments in green technology, renewable technology and automobile parts. “There is an immense possibility of investment by Japanese companies in infrastructure projects,” he said.
Earlier Kieko Nakano lighted the traditional lamp to mark the inauguration of the function. Suguna Ramamoorthy, secretary general of IJCCI and Kandaswamy Bharatan, director of IJCCI also spoke on the occasion.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: TN to use Scheduled Caste Sub Plan funds to build ...
writingonblog uncensored: TN to use Scheduled Caste Sub Plan funds to build ...: C Shivakumar Chennai: Tamil Nadu government is planning to provide Rs 18.75 crore under Scheduled Caste Sub Plan for construction of ...
TN to use Scheduled Caste Sub Plan funds to build 568 slum tenements
C Shivakumar
Chennai:
Tamil Nadu government is planning to provide Rs 18.75 crore under Scheduled Caste Sub Plan for construction of 568 tenements for those living in slums.
Sources told Express that the amount will be used for construction of 568 tenements under Scheduled Caste Sub Plan for 2011-12.
This comes in the wake of 12th Union Finance Commission sanctioning State Specific Grants of Rs 300 crore towards the slum improvement to support state government’s effort to progressively cover the slum population in Tamil Nadu.
Sources said the action plan for this programme envisages the construction or reconstruction of 6,435 tenements and other works at a cost of Rs 300 crore of which the state government have provided the budgetary support of Rs 75 crore. Of this amount Rs 18.75 Cr has been provided under SCSP for 2011-12.
Sources said the decision to utilize the SCSP funds comes after it was found that 26 per cent of total achievements under various programmes shall benefit the Scheduled Caste families living in urban slums.
“Soon after the completion of this programme, these tenements will be allotted to the slum families belonging to scheduled castes. The beneficiaries list for this programme will be obtained from the District Revenue Authorities,” sources added.
Intertestingly, Tamil Nadu Slum Clearance Board has implemented various housing schemes for the families belong to scheduled castes. These include Thombankudisai Scheme in Mannargudi, Scavengers Colony in Tirunelve and Thideer Nagar scheme in Madurai.
writingonblog uncensored: writingonblog uncensored: Govt plans 14 new innova...
writingonblog uncensored: writingonblog uncensored: Govt plans 14 new innova...: writingonblog uncensored: Govt plans 14 new innovation varsities : Chennai: The Union government is planning to set up as many as 14 Innovat...
Saturday, January 21, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: Govt plans 14 new innovation varsities
writingonblog uncensored: Govt plans 14 new innovation varsities: Chennai: The Union government is planning to set up as many as 14 Innovation Universities which will focus purely on research, according to...
Govt plans 14 new innovation varsities
Chennai:
The Union government is planning to set up as many as 14 Innovation Universities which will focus purely on research, according to Union Minister of State for External Affairs and Human Resource and Development E Ahamed.
Addressing the graduates of B S Abdur Rahman University during the institute’s 24th Graduation Day, the minister said the universities will be research intensive varsities and will aim at organizing, promoting and conducting research in collaboration or association with any other university or institution of research.
He said the government has undertaken a slew of measures to improve higher education in the country by raising the budget allocations almost seven times in recent years besides setting up new institutions of higher learning both in basic and applied areas.
“We have decided to create National Commission for Higher Education and Research, National Authority for regulation in Accreditation of Higher education institutions besides Education Tribunals,” Ahamed said.
“There will be around 800 universities of all types (up from 500) with nearly 50,000 colleges and 10 of our institions will feature among the top 100 of the world,” the minister said.
He said reforms in the form of mandatory accreditation, prohibiting and punishing unfair practices in technical and medical educations regulation of entry and operation of Foreign Educational Institutes and for establishment of educational tribunals are ready for legislation which will further streamline the process for quality education.
The government has accorded blanket permission to all institutions of higher learning to collaborate with foreign institutions in all areas of mutual interest, he said.
He said the government is also planning to set up number of institutions of higher learning in public private partnership mode.
Vice-chancellor of the university P Kanniappan said the university will soon have a new Rs 18 crore aeronautical block besides tying up with Ryerson University, Canada to establish joint energy research centre at the varsity.
writingonblog uncensored: Beware of Lokpal! Follow RTI in letter and spirit:...
writingonblog uncensored: Beware of Lokpal! Follow RTI in letter and spirit:...: Chennai: Beware of Lokpal! That is what the Chief Information Commissioner of Central Information Comission warned government servants whi...
Beware of Lokpal! Follow RTI in letter and spirit: Chief info commissioner warns govt servants
Chennai:
Beware of Lokpal! That is what the Chief Information Commissioner of Central Information Comission warned government servants while asking them to implement the Right to Information Act in letter and spirit.
Delivering the inaugural address of the two-day workshop on ‘Right to Information Act 2005’ which was organized by Institute of Public Enterprise (IPE) Hyderabad and Neyveli Lignite Corporation here on Friday, CIC Satyananda Mishra said Lokpal is likely to spring back in centre stage during the budget session as people have lost faith in government institutions and government servants.
“People don’t believe government servants are doing the right thing or doing things objectively. There is an insistent demand for ombudsman who should be completely independent and if a complaint comes, should spring on you like a ton of bricks and bring you to book,’ he warned.
“So if you want to save yourselves as so much irregularities are going on in government, then RTI should be implemented in letter and spirit as it is the antidote for corruption,” he observed.
Urging government officials and public sector units to be transparent with the information, he said record keeping, cataloging and indexing and continuous proactive disclosure are essential while providing information.
He also pulled up public information officers for not providing the information sought by the applicant. “When the applicant is asking for information, you are not required to give your opinion. Provide him with the piece of information which he is seeking instead of interpreting it. Give him the photocopy of the record and not anything in writing,” he added.
He also rejected the theory that RTI has been misused. “I feel the instances of misuse of RTI Act is infinitely small and there are large number of cases with genuine reasons,” he said while defending the Act. “What information people want can’t be regulated at all,” he added.
Friday, January 20, 2012
writingonblog uncensored: 23,000 appeals pending before Central Information ...
writingonblog uncensored: 23,000 appeals pending before Central Information ...: Chennai: Lack of adequate staff has hit the Central Information Commission resulting in 23,000 Right to Information pending appeals, accord...
23,000 appeals pending before Central Information Commission
Chennai:
Lack of adequate staff has hit the Central Information Commission resulting in 23,000 Right to Information pending appeals, according to Chief Information Commissioner Satyanand Mishra.
Speaking to reporters after inaugurating a two-day workshop on ‘Right to information Act 2005’, which is jointly organized by Institute of Public Enterprise and Neyveli Lignite Corporation here on Friday, Mishra said the Central Information Commission (CIC) has only six commissioners against the required strength of 11 and it is crippling the functioning of CIC.
“Currently, each commissioner is clearing 300 appeals a month which works out to 1,800 appeals a month as against the input of 2,300 cases a month,” Mishra said.
“If we had adequate staff, we will be clearing about 3,500 appeals a month and this will reduce the pending appeals,’ he added.
“We want the appeals to be decided within three months but due to shortage of staff and pending appeals, cases are taking about eight to 10 months to be decided,” Mishra said.
To a query on the recent directive by Central Information Commission to President's Secretariat to disclose details of correspondence among various ministries and the Delhi Police related to black money, he said the correspondence has been made public but the information seeker has not come back to us in this regard.
Mishra also said none of the public sectors or the bank agencies have made pro-active disclosures which is mandatory under section 4 (1)b of RTI act since the act cme into being in 2005.
Interestingly, CIC also has started uploading the pending complaints. “We have started uploading the position of pendency of the appeals every month in the website. Other Commissioners will be doing so soon,” he added.
He also said the Commission has urged the High Courts in the country to disclose information they possess and Guwahati High Court has been the first to do so.
writingonblog uncensored: Chennaites value personal hygiene more than rest o...
writingonblog uncensored: Chennaites value personal hygiene more than rest o...: Chennai: Chennaites value personal hygiene more and their perception of brands are quite different from that of the country as a whole, acc...
Chennaites value personal hygiene more than rest of India: Survey
Chennai:
Chennaites value personal hygiene more and their perception of brands are quite different from that of the country as a whole, according to a survey.Disclosing the findings from The Brand Trust Report … India Study 2012, Trust Research Advisory chief executive officer N Chandramouli on Friday said that the survey reveals Chennaites are sensitive to personal care as most of the products ranked in top 100 are those products related to personal hygiene.
He said the survey, which was carried out in 15 cities across the nation with a sample size of 2,718 involving 1,000 popular brands from various categories, also reveals that the brands in top 100 include personal hygiene brands like Lux, Ponds, Lifebouy, Medimix, Hamam, Dettol, Garnier. Interestingly none of the other cities rank these such products in top 100.
But then when the sample size of 782 respondents in five southern cities (Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Coimbatore and Hyderabad) is taken as whole it reflects the national flavour.
“All of south is a mimic of India. It reflects the national flavour and the top five in the all India ranking were the almost same with that of the Southern Zone ranking, with a slight change in third and fourth spots,” said Chandramouli.
Interestingly, Nokia, Tata, LG, Samsung and
Sony were ranked between 1 and 5 respectively as per the All India ranking survey while Samsung was third and LG fourth in the Southern rankings.
Sony were ranked between 1 and 5 respectively as per the All India ranking survey while Samsung was third and LG fourth in the Southern rankings.
He said Sony was relegated down but the Korean brands, which entered the market 11 years ago has imbibed India completely.
Surprisingly, Chennai has a unique mind of its own with five new entrants into the city’s trusted brands. Korean brand Samsung leads the pack, followed by two-year all India leader Nokia, Sony ranks third and Tata the fourth. Interestingly, State Bank of India is more trusted in Chennai than elsewhere and ranks fifth followed by LG at sixth. Apple, Philips, Puma and Lux make an entry in positions 7th through 10th .
He said Chennai’s and South’s list of 10 most trusted brand shows stark diffrenece. When brands seek to reach out to stakeholders in India to succeed, they must address the vastly different regional preferences and choices, Chandramouli added.
The study also reveals Chennai’s preference of hardware brands more than the software besides liking for Pest Control of India which is ranked 913 in all India rankings while in Chennai the prefernce ranking is 79. Similarly, Maruti Suzuki is ranked sixth in national ranking but as per Chennaites preference it is ranked 48th. However, the preference for BMW, Hyundai, Toyota, Ford and Honda is way high than Maruti Suzuki, Chandramouli said.
Rankings Trusted brands
National South Chennai
1 Nokia Nokia Samsung
2 Tata Tata Nokia
3 LG Samsung Sony
4 Samsung LG Tata
5 Sony Sony SBI
6 Maruti Suzuki LIC LG
7 Bajaj Airtel Apple
8 LIC SBI Philips
9 Airtel Reliance Puma
10 Reliance Bajaj Lux
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