News

PM Narendra Modi will monitor projects via 'Pragati' sessions, says Nripendra Misra 

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be starting a monthly conference call with state chief secretaries and secretaries of the Union government starting March 25 for the speedy redressal of grievances and monitoring and implementation of projects. 

The new governance programme has been dubbed Pragati — Proactive Governance and Timely Implementation. Nripendra Misra, the prime minister's principal secretary, explained the thrust of the initiative in a March 9 note to Union secretaries and state chief secretaries. 

"The PM has been quite anxious to design a credible mechanism for redressal of public grievances," he wrote. "He is equally keen to see that programmes and projects launched by the government(s) are monitored properly for timely implementation and desired outcome. In the same spirit and for holistic development of the country, it is also necessary to facilitate from government of India level the projects of the states." 

The programme will be tied together by technology, with information on projects being available at a click. The Pragati sessions will take place every fourth Wednesday. Misra's note elaborated on the architecture of the Pragati IT platform. 

"The design is that when the PM reviews the issue he should have on his screen the issue as well as the latest updates regarding the same," Misra wrote. "During the interaction, PM will discuss and understand the problem areas and will give suitable directions. These directions will remain in the system for further follow-up and review till finality of the matter." 

Thought for today

“When you’ve worked hard, and done well,

 and walked through that doorway of opportunity…

 you do not slam it shut behind you…

 you reach back,

 and you give other folks the same chances

 that helped you succeed.”

Marketing Article

In-flight entertainment is increasingly becoming a factor while choosing an airline

It’s not clear if the Wright Brothers took any entertainment devices along on their first flights, but it can be safely said that they wouldn’t have felt the need for them. 

However, with the growth of aviation and the novelty of flying wearing off, airlines’ found that passengers began to get restive just sitting in their seats. And so was born the idea of in-flight entertainment. 

Among the Indian players, only Jet Airways and Air India currently offer in-flight entertainment. But soon Indian fliers will have another option in Vistara, which is going to launch its own in-flight entertainment system. Experts say the longer the flight, the more that in-flight entertainment becomes a factor in choosing an airline. “In-flight entertainment today is not just a necessity on a long-distance flight, but a key differentiator,” said Amber Dubey, Partner and India Head of Aerospace and Defence at global consultancy KPMG. 

Jet Airways first introduced in-flight entertainment on its international flights in 2005, which it has now extended to domestic flights as well. “Our content is updated and refreshed a minimum of six times a year. It takes a week to 10 days for uploading content across the network,” a spokesperson for the airline said. The airline considers feedback from its guests while taking a call on what content to feature.

Air India did not respond to questions on its in-flight entertainment systems. 

Vistara promise

Vistara’s Chief Commercial Officer Giam Ming Toh promised that the entertainment on the airline will be integrated with world-class technology and be “refreshingly different”. 

News

Vistara offers hotel deals, loyalty programme as competition with Jet Air intensifies 

MUMBAI: Vistara, the joint venture carrier between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines, has stepped up marketing campaigns and offers on its loyalty programme, intensifying the competition with Jet AirwaysBSE -0.16 % to woo and retain passengers. 

India's newest airline, which started services on January 9, is also looking at fly-and-stay tie-ups with Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, owned by Tata, and partnerships with international carriers. 

"We have begun a new marketing campaign since the last three weeks. It is mostly in the online, radio, print and outdoor space. There are no plans yet to launch a television campaign," chief commercial officer Giam Ming Toh told ET.

"We have tried to focus on the business traveller and on the high-end leisure traveller. Right now, the campaigns in the print space are limited to the route offerings, while digital and targeted outdoor speak of our differentiated offerings, to build preference," said Kapil Arora, president of Ogilvy & Mather, Delhi. 

The airline's loyalty programme, known as Club Vistara, rewards customers on the basis of how much they pay for tickets and not the distance travelled. "A business-class customer can earn four times the points of an economy-class traveller, whereas in case of traditional programmes, he would earn around 1.25 times an economy-class flyer," Toh said. 

Thought of the day

News

Tata Jaguar Land Rover plans to build first electric car in Austria 

LONDON: Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) is set to build its first all-electric car in Austria. 

The luxury car-maker's Jaguar brand could begin production of the vehicle next year. 

JLR's electric debut would be the latest in a string of launches after its new XE "baby Jag" and F-Pace sports utility vehicle, as well as a new factory in China and one under construction in Brazil. 

The company is believed to be devising plans for a small production line in Austria, making about 10,000 cars a year, by leasing space in an existing factory, according to The Sunday Times. 

Jaguar wants to build an electric vehicle, in part to sidestep looming European Union emission fines. 

Manufacturers are racing to produce electric and hybrid cars, with Germany's BMW enjoying surging sales of its i8 and i3 petrol and electric plug-in hybrids. 

Thought of the day

Marketing Article

From a pushcart to a chain of plush restaurants…

Y. Aasife Ahmed was not much for bookish learning. “I knew what I was passionate about, and I set about pursuing my dream,” he says. And so at 18, he apprenticed with a biryani cook and later started his own wedding catering business.

Even then, he had his eye set on something much bigger, something he hardly dared to dream of, but he set about working towards it anyway.

What started with five kg of biryani on a thallu vandi (pushcart) on Butt Road in St. Thomas Mount 15 years ago has now grown to 500 kg of biryani per day, served out of four Aasife Biryani Centre outlets all around the city, the latest one being on Anna Salai.

“From the pushcart we moved to a hole-in-the-wall. We still serve take away from that shop. We then expanded across the road,” says Aasife, seated in the well-appointed lobby of the Alandur branch one evening.

I tell him I have fond memories of cycling down the road on my pink Ladybird to pick up biryani and kothu barotta for lunch.

His face lights up as he says, “You must have seen me there then; I was always behind the counter! It is good to meet old customers. In fact, there is one person who has been a regular from the beginning, and he still dines at our outlet frequently. It is the most satisfying feeling.”

Thought of the day

Thought of the day

News

Iraq's divide could strain anti-IS coalition: US
MANAMA: The international coalition fighting Islamic State extremists could be jeopardised if the Baghdad government fails to bridge Iraq's sectarian divide, the US military's top officer warned on Monday.

Iraq's political leaders have yet to deliver on promises to reach out to the Sunni population and have raised concerns in the region by forging closer ties to Shiite-led Iran, General Martin Dempsey said after spending several hours in Baghdad.

For the longer term, the solidarity of the anti-IS coalition -- which includes Sunni Arab states -- could be put at risk, Dempsey told reporters in Manama. 

In Cairo, Arab League chief Nabil al-Arabi called on Monday for the creation of a unified Arab force to battle Islamic extremist groups.

"There is an urgent need for the creation of a multi-purpose common Arab military force... able to intervene rapidly to fight terrorism and the activities of terrorist groups," he said. 

Dempsey, for his part, said: "I come away a bit concerned that it's going to be difficult to sustain the coalition for the rest of the challenge -- which is trans-regional -- unless the government of Iraq can actually form that national unity platform to which they committed." 

News

IT stocks under pressure: TCS slips over 3% on weak Jan-March outlook 

NEW DELHI: Tata Consultancy Services Ltd slipped as much as 3.1 per cent in trade on Monday, after the IT major said that its revenue for the ongoing quarter will be in line with that in the previous year.

The IT major expects revenue to shrink in its energy segment as its clients grapple with the low price of oil, TCS said in an investor concall. 

At 09:40 a.m.; TCS was trading 2.3 per cent lower at Rs 2634. It hit a low of Rs 2611.80 and a high of Rs 2642 in trade today. 

Infosys BSE -1.97 % also slipped over 2 per cent, while Wipro was down 1.1 per cent to Rs 660.

Falling oil prices have led drillers and oil services companies to clamp down on their spending, hurting Indian IT providers. Infosys and Wipro have also flagged weakness in the energy sectors, ET reported.

The third and fourth quarters of the fiscal are typically weaker than the quarters in the first half of the year. Earlier this week, Praveen Rao, chief operating officer of Infosys, had raised concerns over revenue growth in energy sector, added the report. 

Wipro has also said it expects slow growth in its energy business in the next two-three quarters. 

Thought of the day

Thought of the day

Thought of the day

News 

Under PM Narendra Modi unique opportunity to strengthen Indo-US ties, says Ed Royce 

WASHINGTON: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm in India there is a unique opportunity to strengthen Indo-US ties especially in the economic and security sphere, an influential American lawmaker has said. 

"With the election of Prime Minister Modi, the US and India have a unique opportunity to strengthen our economic and security relations. Our trade ties have made great strides in recent years, but we have yet to tap into our true potential," said Congressman Ed Royce, Chairman of powerful House Foreign Relations Committee. 

Royce is leading a bipartisan congressional delegation visiting India staring this weekend. 

In India, the delegation will visit New Delhi, where Royce will seek to further strengthen the US-India partnership, including encouraging stronger trade ties and counter-terrorism cooperation, a statement said. 

"Having played a key role in the passage of the US-India Civil Nuclear Agreement, I'd also like to see steps taken towards the implementation of this important agreement. I'll be stressing all of these issues in our meetings with top Government of India officials," Royce said. 

Thought of the day

Happy Holi!!

Enjy evry colour of Holi nd u will  gt every  happiness u desire. God is always wid u. Enjoy evry moment. Keep smiling.   

Happy Holi

News

'Make in India': Government urges states to establish industrial land bank by June for the drive

NEW DELHI: The Centre has asked states to develop a land bank by June end to ensure ready land availability for the industry, as it looks to accelerate the 'Make in India' drive. This is one of the 98 points on which states will be ranked to create a sense of competition among them. States have also been asked to develop a framework to earmark land parcels with industry type that can be set up on such land.

The other parameters relate to registering of property, starting a business, construction permits, environment compliances, etc, with timelines spread to December 31.

What the central government can do to boost domestic manufacturing was announced in the budget, but the real action lies in the states. We are closely working with states and have asked them to immediately begin action on these parameters,based on which they will be ranked," said a top DIPP official.

 

The move is seen in conjunction with the Union Budget announced late last week that had measures to promote local manufacturing in the country, including correction of anomaly in the duty structure and improving credit access for small and medium enterprises.

Finance Article

RBI cuts repo rate by 25 bps to 7.5%; keeps CRR unchanged 

NEW DELHI: In a surprise move, Reserve Bank of India on Wednesday slashed repo rate by 25 bps to 7.5 per cent from 7.75 per cent earlier. Consequently, the reverse repo rate under the LAF stands adjusted to 6.5 per cent.

The central bank kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).

The central bank kept the cash reserve ratio (CRR) of scheduled banks unchanged at 4.0 per cent of net demand and time liabilities (NDTL).

Going forward, the RBI will seek to bring the inflation rate to the mid-point of the band of around 4 per cent provided for in the agreement, i.e., to 4 per cent by the end of a two year period starting fiscal year 2016-17, the central bank said in a statement.

Thought of the day

Thousands of candles can be lit from a single candle

and the life of the candle will not be shortened

Happiness never decreases by being shared.

HR Article

Language Training a Key to Global-Ready Workforces

Employers that offer language training to their employees often outperform their competitors that don’t provide such training, according to a new study from Rosetta Stone Inc., a company that markets software for learning more than 30 languages.

The company’s 2015 Business Language Impact Study found that businesses with language-training programs are more successful in developing productive and high-performing workers who have the tools and confidence to succeed in the global marketplace. The findings were based on surveys of nearly 1,900 employees from more than 300 companies located on six continents.

“It’s clear that businesses are looking for a competitive advantage, and language training can offer an edge,” said Judy Verses, president of global enterprise and education at Rosetta Stone in Arlington, Va. “We know businesses worldwide are facing language proficiency challenges, as they continue to move into markets where English is not spoken.”

Finance Article

5 smart things to know about disinvestment

Disinvestment is when the government sells the equity shares it holds in public sector units (PSUs) to individuals or institutions.

Disinvestment transfers the ownership of shares from government to another entity, at market prices and creates gains for the government depending on the price.

It is done when the PSU is not profitable or the government does not want to continue in any business since the private sector has penetrated that business

When funds raised from disinvestment are used to meet routine revenue expenditure, it is undesirable as an asset is sold without creating another asset.

Disinvestment has become a significant source of revenue for the government; Rs 40,000 crore is the estimated amount to be raised in financial year 2014-15.

Thought of the day

HR Article

The Hidden Benefits of Employer Branding

Recent upticks in the economy and the labor market in particular have changed the balance of power between employers and job applicants, bringing the concept of employer branding to the forefront.

HR professionals with a strong understanding of the connection between effective employer branding and talent acquisition may still be surprised to learn that investing in building and marketing your company’s brand can have positive impacts on internal metrics such as employee engagement and turnover.

If your company has made branding a priority for 2015, you should begin by assessing the current strength of your brand. Neil Costa, founder and CEO of HireClix, a boutique digital recruiting firm, emphasized that your employer brand is not simply a company logo or career page. Instead, it is “the emotional reaction people have to the idea of working for your company.”

Once you’ve identified the central elements of your brand, it’s time to choose a communication medium that resonates with both job candidates and current employees. The use of logos, career pages and social media are all common ways to do this.

Don MacPherson, president of human capital consulting firm Modern Survey, asserts that social media is the perfect place to tout your brand and reach both audiences. He pointed out that “the relationship between level of engagement and social media activity is significant. About 80 percent of disengaged employees do not follow their company on social media, compared to 44 percent of fully engaged employees.”