CNBC-TV18 News - Top news stories

Here are the top news stories for today. pic.twitter.com/1EM2NDPFg1

— CNBC-TV18 News (@CNBCTV18News) December 17, 2015

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2015 NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards

New Delhi, October 6, 2015–Elsevier, a world-leading provider of scientific, technical and medical information products and services, and the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI)  announced the winners of the 2015 NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards.

The awards ceremony, held at the Hotel Hyatt Regency, New Delhi, was attended by more than 125 guests representing India's top scientific community. The awards were presented by Dr. R. Chidambaram Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India & Chairman Scientific Advisory Committee to Cabinet.

Elsevier first launched the Scopus Young Scientist Awards in 2006.In India, theprogram was officially institutionalized within its scientific community through Elsevier's collaboration with NASI in 2009. The program honors young researchers who are building their careers in academic research and helps them gain recognition of their work.

This year’s NASI-Scopus Young Scientist Awards program attracted nearly 650 applications from multiple premier research institutions acrossIndia. Applications were judged by a panel of 32 subject experts from India's academic community. Elsevier provided quantitative analyses using data from Scopus, the largest abstract and citation database of peer-reviewed literature.Furthermore, the jury looked at criteria such as:

·         Quality and number of publications;
·         Nature and uniqueness of research;
·         Outcomes of research;
·         Impact on society;
·         Vision of the researcher.


Special consideration was also given to novel and innovative ideasthathold potential for commercial application.

Per discipline, the award winners are:

Agriculture
Dr. GnanavelVenkatesan
Scientist
Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Nainital

Dr. Swarup K. Parida
Staff Scientist
National Institute of Plant Genome Research, New Delhi

Biological Sciences
Dr. Suvendra Nath Bhattacharyya
Principal Scientist
CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata

Chemistry
Dr. Subi Jacob George
Associate Professor
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore

Earth, Oceanographic & Environmental Sciences
Dr. Tarun Gupta
Associate Professor
Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur

Engineering
Dr. SubhransuRanjan Samantaray
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar

Mathematics
Dr. UK Anandavardhanan
Associate Professor
Indian Institute of Technology, Mumbai

Medicine
Dr. Rajnish Kumar Chaturvedi
Scientist
CSIR-Indian Institute of Toxicology Research, Lucknow

Physics
Dr. G. V. Pavan Kumar
Assistant Professor
Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Pune

Social Sciences
Dr. Subharati Ghosh
Assistant Professor
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

“NASI Scopus Young Scientists awards are now considered as a premier recognition of hard work, innovations and aspirations of young scientists of India” said Professor AkhileshTyagi, President, NationalAcademy of Sciences, India. “We are proud to associate with Elsevier for the same as they encourage healthy competition, instill confidence and help establish credibility of first steps taken in the pursuit of scientific excellence.

Youngsuk "Y.S." Chi, Chairman of Elsevier, said, “I congratulate this year’s winners who continue to advance research excellence in India and all around the world. At Elsevier we are honored to support these award recipients and other stakeholders across the Indian scientific community with highest quality content and cutting edge digital solutions. We are thrilled to be part of this exciting time for Indian Science, and tonight’s event is a celebration of this country’s commitment to driving forward innovation and growth through research”.

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Odisha ranks 7th among States in Labour Reforms

Odisha has been ranked as 7th in Labour Reforms in India. This has been released in 'Implementation of Business Reforms Report, 2015' prepared by World Bank and CII recently. Minister, Steel; Mines, Labour & ESI Sri Prafulla Kumar Mallik reacting on this success said it will build confidence in investors and attract investment to the state.

During a year period the Labour ESI Department has taken several positive measures for good service delivery and better citizen interface. The Composite Inspection Scheme introduced by the Department will help in timely inspection and preparation of transparent inspection scheduled. The industries and commercial establishments also will have a special scheme like Voluntary
Compliance Scheme where inspection will be made once in three years.

Likewise, one Common Application Form (CAF) which makes it easier for investors to obtain statutory clearance from different Departments through a single window system is introduced. Seven Act like Odisha Shops and Commercial Establishment Act, 1950, the Beedi Cigar Workers Act-1996, Motor Transport Workers Act-1961, Contract Labour(R&A) Act-1970, Inter State Migrant Workmen (RE &CS) Act-1979, Building & other Construction Workers (RE&CS) Act-1996 and Industrial Employment Standing Order Act-1946 have been brought under the Odisha Right to Public Services Act-2012 to ensure time bound registration, renewal and issue of licences.

The Directorate of Factories & Boilers have enlisted 12 nos of services for ease of doing business in the state. Online service for registration through eBiz portal of Government of India will encourage the investors. Now approval of extension plans, renewal of factory licences for factories employing up to 100 workers is entrusted with the Dy. Director of Factories and Boiler.

One dedicated Shramik Sahayata Helpline has been set up for workers. Besides, seasonal hostel for children of migrant workers' families is set up. In the four migrant prone districts Special Police Officers are engaged to check the illegal migration of workers. Further, employment opportunities to migrant workers in their locality is planned with a provision of providing 150 days work a year
under MGNREGA and the cost of additional 50 days will be borne by the State Government.

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Prime Minister’s Function: Distribution of LPG Connection in Dumka

Today Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi visited Dumka, Jharkhand. On the occasion, five thousand households from BPL category were handed over LPG connection. Hon’ble Prime Minister personally handed over LPG connections to four households at the event.

Hon’ble Prime Minister, while appealing to voluntarily Giving Up LPG subsidy on the day of Urja Sangam on March 27, 2015 had promised that the subsidy savings will be utilised to Give Back LPG connections to mothers and sisters from poor families. Today during the event he again reiterated the appeal and appreciated that above 30 lakh people have already given up LPG subsidy in such a short time.

Under this Give Back scheme, Government of India has contributed Rs. 1600 per LPG connection to BPL household while Government of Jharkhand has contributed Rs. 918.50 per household connection.

Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas Shri Dharmendra Pradhan accompanied Hon’ble Prime Minister on the occasion.

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Anuja Kapur spends a day with Acid Attack Survivors

Acid attacks still a burning issue in India. In India,  Acid attack is considered to be very common and most convenient form of castigation for women. These attacks are increasing every year which is also disheartening. Campaign for acid attacks and many more  programmes can be the reason for  increment in these cases, as people are getting aware by these campaigns and thus lodging complaints of the attacks which did not happened previously. The acid attack survivors are the real fighters as they face many problems in their life after these heinous act in which they are not responsible for anything. After the guide lines of the supreme court post Delhi gang rape case police is taking serious actions against the accused like they do in the cases of rape.

 For the acid attack survivors many campaigns are running in the country to help out the victims. One of the initiative was taken by an organisation who runs a cafe named as “SHEROES CAFE” which helps acid attack survivor to live their life properly as they were living before the accident. Sheroes is a hangout cafe in Agra, Uttar Pradesh where some acid attack survivor handling the cafe with the help of some nice human being who believes in humanity more than anything. The life of these survivors is getting back on the track through this initiative.

To know more about these real survivors of the life famous social activist and proprietor of N.G.O named as “NIRBHIYA EK SHAKTI” Mrs. Anuja Kapur visited the Sheroes cafe and she interacted with all the survivors and spent a whole day with them and share their pain and grief and also promised them that she will be always there to help all the acid attack survivor as much as she can.

Mrs. Kapur visited Agra based sheroes hangout cafe to know the life of these survivors after the accident and listen to their stories. Mrs kapur share her visit’s experience and said that these survivors are the real fighters who are fighting daily to survive, she further said that these survivors gives her courage and motivation to do something for these people . Mrs. Kapur visited the sheroes cafe to help these victims more in their life as her N.G.O works for the acid attack survivors and also provide the victim assistance in the cases. She said with tears in her eyes she said that,” it was a motivational day spent with all the survivors and she and her N.G.O will keep on providing victim assistance to them.

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News Stories from Odisha This Week

News paper headlines dominated the state of Odisha this week. There were many major stories happened that made us to have a special post on our business news this week portal.

Sarathi Baba Controversy: Self-styled Godman was arrested that was the biggest breaking news story hit the all the media section. People were in puzzle to see their God in different form on Social Media sites. In the digital age of communication, no actions go unnoticed. Same thing happened in this case. His son was arrested from Mumbai, who has been absconding from the day one. Odisha police tracked mobile and ATM card details to reach him. 

Sorcery Case: In a gruesome incident, two tribal people were lynched in Rayagada suspecting them of practicing sorcery. The incident happened in the district of Rayagada, tribal dominance village areas, in the wee hours. Some people reportedly killed two people and thrown their body into river after packing in bags. 

Odisha Assembly: The ongoing monsoon session of the assembly was the major news that interest everyone in the state. The session was started as usual and as per the speculation. Opposition parties left no stone unturned over the crucial issues like - Praksh Mishra, POSCO, Land Bill etc.,  The first day was adjourned after paying rich tributes to departed leaders including former President Dr. Kalam and former Chief Minister of Odisha JB Patnaik.Since second day, opposition stalled the assembly. Speaker called All-Party meet to end the deadlock and opposition parties reportedly supported the move to allow smooth functioning of Odisha assembly. Odisha Government has tabled important bills including - Odisha Land Grabbing (Prohibition) Bill, this week. 

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Nirmala Sitharaman at Container Freight Station Inaugural Ceremony

The Minister of State for Commerce & Industry (Independent Charge), Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman addressing at the Container Freight Station inaugural ceremony, in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh on August 20, 2015.

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First Lady Smt. Suvra Mukherjee passes away at 74

First Lady, wife of President Pranab Mukherjee, Smt. Suvra Mukherjee passed away today (Aug 18,2015) in New Delhi at 74. She was admitted in hospital following illness. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi paying homage at the mortal remains of Smt. Suvra Mukherjee, First Lady, at Rashtrapati Bhavan, in New Delhi on August 18, 2015.

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Mahindra names its All New Commercial Vehicle as ‘Jeeto’

Mumbai, June 15: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), a part of the US $16.9 billion Mahindra Group, today announced that its soon to be launched all new small commercial vehicle, is named ‘Jeeto’. A versatile new product, Jeeto is designed to cater to the varied needs of the small commercial load segment customers.

The brand name ‘Jeeto’ epitomizes the vehicle’s winning streak and its highly efficient performance for last mile distribution of goods, which shall enable its owners to prosper. Jeeto reflects Mahindra’s core DNA of trust, confidence and ruggedness. The vehicle will be manufactured at Mahindra’s extended automotive manufacturing facility at Zaheerabad in Telengana.

Speaking on Mahindra Jeeto, Pravin Shah, President & Chief Executive (Automotive), M&M
Ltd. said “We are all set to create a new benchmark in the small commercial vehicle segment
with Jeeto, which truly embodies the Mahindra Rise philosophy. It will enable our customers to
enhance their earnings and help them progress in life. Today Mahindra offers the widest range of commercial vehicles to cater to the varied needs of its customers and this has been possible
due to the customer insights which we have worked upon. With the Jeeto we are planning to
create a compelling new value proposition that will not only challenge the conventional but will also delight our customers”.

The company is also set to introduce the new generation m_Dura engine on Jeeto. An all new engine from the Mahindra stable, m_Dura is a direct injection (DI) diesel engine designed for refined performance and fuel efficiency.

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BMW India Bridal Fashion Week 2015 to be hosted in 7 Cities

New Delhi, June 1:BMW Group India launched the new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé at the curtain-raiser of the BMW India Bridal Fashion Week 2015 - India’s most-awaited ‘Bridal Couture’ showcase. The new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé arrived in style at anexclusive fashion show,where the country’s most acclaimed fashion designers presented the ‘Preview’of their couture collection and upcoming trends for BMW India Bridal Fashion Week 2015.BMW takes India Bridal Fashion Week national, for the first time, showcasing breathtaking bridal couture across seven cities.

The new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé is now available at all BMW dealerships across India as a CBU (Completely Built-Up) unit from today onwards.

Mr. Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group India said, “At the heart of BMW is not only brilliant automotive engineering but also the desire to evoke emotions and spread JOY. Our automobiles are not just the end of a creative process but a beginning. Likewise, an Indian wedding is a celebration of emotions, aesthetics, craftsmanship and opulence. BMW also celebrates these values that are cherished by our esteemed clientele. BMW India Bridal Fashion Week has established itself as a unique avenue where the best of Indian fashion designers open doors to the latest trends in ‘Bridal Couture’. It is the perfect platform for the launch of the new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé which combines absolute luxury and immaculate design with adrenalin rushing performance.”

The all India ex-showroom prices of the new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé are as follows -

BMW 640d Eminence : INR 1,14,90,000

BMW 640d Design Pure Experience : INR 1,21,90,000

Price prevailing at the time of delivery will be applicable. Delivery will be made ‘ex-showroom’. Ex-showroom price excludes Road tax, RTO statutory taxes / fees, insurance and Octroi (if applicable). Prices / options subject to change without prior notice.

The new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé is available in Alpine White as non-metallic paintwork and in the following nine metallic paintworks: Black Sapphire, Cashmere Silver, Glacier Silver, Space Grey, Jatoba, Melbourne Red, Mediterranean Blue and Mineral White. The standard Dakota and exclusive Nappa leather upholstery is available in Black and Ivory White colour combinations. Interior trims offered are Fineline Brown and Fine-wood trim Poplar Grain Grey.

BMW Design Pure Experience package comes with extended bicolour Nappa leather upholstery in Cognac/Black, which underlines the sportiness of the new BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé. Other features in the interior include ambient lighting and a sports leather steering wheel. Exclusive 19-inch light alloy wheels, LED fog lights, Shadow Line and dark chrome exhaust pipes round off the exterior appearance. The radiator grille slats, air inlet surrounds and decorative trim on the rear apron are also in dark chrome.

BMW has enjoyed a long-standing history of successful collaborations with artists and designers the world over. BMW is official partner of India Bridal Fashion Week, arguably one of India’s most significant bridal fashion platforms, for the second consecutive year. For 2015, Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla, Ashima Leena, Falguni Shane Peacock, Gauri Nainika, JJ Valaya, Jyotsna Tiwari, Shantanu Nikhil, Suneet Varma and Tarun Tahiliani will showcase their most opulent and premier collections in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh.

“Driving a BMW is, in itself, a mark of character. And, BMW Individual is the most exclusive way to drive a BMW. The collection presented by renowned designers at the BMW India Bridal Fashion Week 2015 matches the philosophy of BMW Individual - a perfect blend of inspiration and creative freedom to design an expression of your individual character. The BMW Individual Collection offers a wide range of high-quality options for discerning customers. The finest leathers, exceptionally sophisticated interior trims and brilliant paint finishes can be chosen to further personalise your BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé,” said Mr. Philipp von Sahr, President, BMW Group India.

The BMW India Bridal Fashion Week is instrumental in connecting India’s leading fashion designers with brands for unique opportunities such as creative collaborations, endorsements, appearances and consumer connects. It also promotes trade and connects designers with fashion consumers and buyers throughBridal Luxury Couture Exposition –a trade exposition to discover and shop from established and emerging designer labels and lifestyle brands featuring women’s wear, men’swear, jewellery and accessories.

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Insecticides India Ltd registers a Profit Growth of 37% this Fiscal

New Delhi, May 28: Insecticides (India) Ltd (IIL), India’s leading agro chemicals manufacturing company, reported robust growth in the fiscal ending March 2015, riding on increasing penetration across the country and variety of new products to meet different requirements of Indian farmers.

IIL clocked an increase in net profit of 37 % as against the last financial year, with the net income of the company rising 12 % against the 2013-14 fiscal. At the same time, the quarterly results at the end of March 31, 2015 showed an increase in net income of almost 20 % as against the quarter ending March 31, 2014.

The company’s net income from sales during the period April, 2014 to March 2015 stood at Rs 964.19 crore as against Rs 864.08 crore during the preceding financial year. As compared to Rs 135.24 crore net income from sales in the quarter ending march 2014, the quarter ending March 31, 2015 produced a net income of Rs 160.84 crore.

IIL recorded impressive growth across all key performance indicators including Turnover, Profit after Tax (PAT) as well as Earning per Share (EPS).

The basic and diluted EPS this fiscal stood at Rs. 43.26 as against Rs. 31.50 in the corresponding period of last year, a growth rate of 37 %.

Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, Managing Director, Insecticides India Ltd. (IIL), said he expects growth to be even better this year.

“Last year the climatic conditions were erratic, and farmers also suffered losses due to less rainfall during the kharif season and excess rainfall during the Rabi season. Still, IIL has registered impressive growth. The annual figures are encouraging and clearly indicate a continued growth of market for our products. Our efforts to achieve greater penetration and raise awareness among farmer about judicious use of agrochemicals have brought rich dividends for us. The products launched over the past 2-3 years including Hakama, Pulsor, Xplode and Logo have led the growth figures. With predictions of a timely monsoon, we expect to continue on the growth trajectory,” he said.

The leading and most popular brands in the kitty of IIL include Nuvan, Pulsor, Hakama, Lethal, Victor, Thimet and Monocil. Last year, IIL launched Mycoraja, its first bio-product equipped to promote healthy growth and greater nutrient absorption in a wide range of crops from rice, wheat and vegetables to oilseeds as well as cotton.

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FM to Inaugurate 31st Annual Conference of Principal Chief Commissioners

The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley will inaugurate the Thirty First Annual Conference of Principal Chief Commissioners of Income Tax, Principal Director Generals of Income Tax, Chief Commissioners of Income Tax and Director Generals of Income Tax on Monday, 25th May, 2015 in the national Capital. Two day Conference is being held on 25th and 26th May 2015.

Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, Shri Shakti Kanta Das, Revenue Secretary, the senior officials of Revenue Department including M Anita Kapur, Chairperson, CBDT and Members of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) along with the senior officers of the Ministry of Finance and Income Tax Department will also attend the aforesaid Conference.

The thrust areas at two day Conference are non-adversarial tax regime, expeditious settlement of tax payers’ grievances and significant expansion of tax base. The participants will deliberate on the strategies to achieve the goals of the Department in these areas. The participants will also deliberate on matters pertaining to income tax investigations and issues relating to human resource development among others. Target for Revenue Collections in case of Direct Taxes has been fixed at Rs.7,97,995 crore during Financial Year(B.E.) 2015-16 which is 14.66 higher than the actual collections of Rs 6,95,988 crore during 2014-15. Besides it, various strategies for revenue augmentation including to augment Advance Tax, TDS Collections, Regular Assessment Tax Collections, Self Assessment Tax, and Dividend Distribution Tax among others will also be discussed during the two day Conference.


The participants will also be addressed by two Guest Speakers, Shri Arvind Panagariya, Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog and Shri Babasaheb Neelkanth Kalyani, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD), Bharat Forge Ltd.

The two day Conference will end with a Valedictory Session presided over by Shri Shakti Kanta Das, Revenue Secretary on 26th May, 2015.

The Conference will provide an opportunity to senior officers of the Income Tax Department to brainstorm and firm-up their approach in regard to priority concerns of the Department. Further, they would share their expertise and domain knowledge and learn from each others’ experiences to better achieve the Department’s objective of providing quality tax payer services in a non adversarial manner. The environment so created is expected to remove barriers to compliance and lead to significant increase in the number of tax payers over the year.

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Axis Bank Hackathon 2015 - Gamification Challenge

New Delhi, May 20, 2015: Axis Bank, India’s third largest private bank, has announced a virtual hackathon challenge on 30th and31st May, 2015 in partnership with NASSCOM. Rapidly changing digital space and improved technology penetration across various customer segments have transformed the digital banking landscape globally. The bank plans to build a strong Digital Banking capability by continually innovating to become an integral part of a customer’s life.

The bank is looking to engage with innovative companies to build customer focussed solutions which will reinvent consumers’ interaction with the bank’s mobile app. The bank is in search of developers and designers who can gamify the financial technology solutions, using the power of Axis Bank's digital platforms/APIs on the mobile channel. Anyone who has a great idea - whether working alone or in a small/large leading tech company can participate. The bank would allow individuals as well as teams to participate.

Gamification can be meaningfully used to motivate customers and nudge their personal financial behaviour such as goal-based savings and debt reduction on the bank’s mobile app. The Bank will take forward the winning ideas to design an engaging product/service mix and make financial transactions enjoyable for customers.

Mr Amit Sethi, CIO, Axis Bank, said “Mobile technology has transformed not only customers’ daily behaviour but their expectations of us as their financial partner. We are inviting creative minds to collaborate with us in this journey of building next generation customer centric mobile solutions. We want to be a part of customers every day digital lives.”

Mr. Rajesh Rao, Chair, NASSCOM Gaming Forum, said “The hackathon in collaboration with Axis Bank is a progressive step towards leveraging technology to revolutionize the digital banking landscape. NASSCOM is pleased to be a part of this initiative and are optimistic that this will be helpful in enhancing and creating a robust digital banking ecosystem in India.”

Axis Bank will reward the top 3 winners with an overall prize money of Rs. 15 Lakhs. Further, Axis Bank may get into service contracts with one or more of them. Intellectual Property would be retained by Axis Bank.

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Justtrack strengthens its business in Small Cities

New Delhi: Media monitoring and tracking has become a necessity for all businesses whether small or big. Media monitoring is playing a crucial role in communication strategy in every field. Companies are diverting their attention towards smaller cities in addition to metros. A major share of the profits to companies comes from small markets. ‘Justtrack’, has been helping its customers in media monitoring and tracking for 5 years. In view of the changes and commercial position in smaller markets, ‘Justtrack’ strengthens its presence in small cities.

‘Justtrack’ provides you the accurate and crucial information of the market and business through its network of 5 metros and 35 cities in 14 states. The network of ‘Justtrack’ includes a number of big and small cities, making it the strongest network on ground. A team of 75+ professionals provides its customers 24X7 services through 16 TV channels, more than 150 online portals and blogs, more than 476 e-papers, more than 60 newspapers and business magazines being published from 35 cities of 14 states.

Mr. Atul Malikram says, “Today only media coverage isn’t sufficient, but the information of your competitors and analysis of your PR activities is also necessary. Efficient implementation of your strategies requires you to know which plans your competitors are working on. Media monitoring helps you analyse your strategies as well as updates you about the challenges and the most appropriate time to implement your plans. I’m happy that we have the strongest network for media monitoring providing services from even small cities. Justtrack provides media updates 24X7.”

With more than 550 publications, 150 India specific websites and 16 news channels, we at present keep an eye on more than 750 companies, 136 industries and government policies and news and provide regular update at 7 AM. We give users a special log in ID and password on our portal so as to enable them download and share media articles for analysis with their stakeholders. Here they get a database of more than 10, 00,000 articles on leading corporate houses, industries and government policies.

Justtrack now serves a number of industries including Public relations, Marketing, Research and development, government, non-profit, fortune 1000 companies and provides customers the analysis of their media coverage and PR activities in a user-friendly interface. Our ever increasing source list and flexible media monitoring package enables ‘Justtrack’ to work for all budgets. Through software and technology, we create subscriptions for every customer specific to his own requirement and goal.

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Workshop on Compensation issues in Clinical Trial Industry

With a young and informed workforce, high density of population and prevalence of all major diseases, India is an attractive destination for conducting clinical trials. However, lack of clarity surrounding recent regulations and guidelines are hampering new research projects, pushing some of them to other countries.

In this light, Deptt of Academics and Research, Fortis Health Care headed by Prof Upendra Kaul, today organized a one of its kind workshop to bring together all key stakeholders on one platform, generate a discourse on the key subject and raise the issues that need to be clarified or ironed out.

Supported by JK Risk Managers and Insurance Brokers Limited, the “Workshop on compensation issues in Clinical Trial Industry - Harmonization and Solutions” aims to create a more open and conducive environment and to let the policy makers realize the progress made in executing new trials and some of the issues which are still of concern so that clarifications are made in this regard.

The day-long discourse had as speakers senior members of regulatory body (DCGI), Dy.Drug Controller General Mr A K Pradhan, Sponsors of Clinical Trials like Astra Zeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, Medtronics, Boston Scientific, Biotronik, St Jude etc., representatives from Clinical Research Organizations (CROs) like Quintiles, Max Neeman etc and representatives from Insurance Companies like ICICI Lombard, New India Insurance, and Oriental Insurance etc.

The clinical aspects will be brought to light by senior doctors from the Fortis chain of hospitals including reputed Medical Oncologist Dr Vinod Raina, leading Neurologist Dr Shamsher Dwivedi, apart from eminent Cardiologist Prof Upendra Kaul. Other prominent personalities who have been associated with the field of Clinical trial in India such as leading clinical pharmacologist Prof Ranjit Roy Chaudhury; Dr. S. K. Gupta - Director & Dean, Institute of Clinical Research (India); and legal luminaries such as Dr B T Kaul Chairman, Delhi Judicial Academy.

“India offers a very lucrative environment for clinical trials. It has a large English educated young population including scientists and researchers. India also offers significant cost advantage as compared to developed and other emerging economies, 40- 60% lower than in developed countries and around 10- 20% lower than emerging economies. Indian companies have already proven its capabilities in discovering and developing drug candidate molecules and they are highly capable in research and development particularly in drug discovery. Given the concerns raised globally about practices in clinical trials, Indian authorities have rightly revised their guidelines to make the process more transparent. We as stakeholders need to make sure that there is absolute clarity about the new guidelines, efficiency in execution and rectification of lingering concerns so that crucial clinical trials go on smoothly,” said Dr Kaul.

India has 3–4 million scientists, 500 investigators, 572,000 doctors, 43,322 hospitals and dispensaries and about 8.7 lakh beds including both private and public. Many of these scientists are English-speaking and have an excellent technical skill. A number of contract research organisations , pharma companies from developed countries forging R&D alliances with Indian companies because they offer quality and cost-effective services in medicinal chemistry, formulation development, and toxicology areas. These alliances are also giving preclinical candidates or clinical candidates proof of concept in humans.

The scope of the workshop was to track & discuss the current regulations in clinical research which have been made by the regulatory authorities during the last few years. These new guidelines were made to make clinical research more transparent, ethical and meaningful. The issues of proper consenting process and regulations for compensations for the subjects participating in clinical trials evaluating drugs or devices have also been incorporated as new rules. Many of these guidelines and rules still are not very clear to various stakeholders involved in clinical research leading to hesitation to start new Research projects.

As they discussed the issues around clinical trials in India, the organizers and participants hoped to instill greater confidence in various stakeholders regarding the progress made in encompassing the amended guidelines so as to get India back on the global map as a safe, logical and efficient clinical trials hub.

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This Week BSE Sensex gain 2.91%; Nifty rises 2.26 %

Equity market in India gained significantly snapping previous week’s loss this week ended April 10.BSE Sensex gained 619 points or 2.19 per cent and NSE Nifty rose 194.1 points or 2.26 per cent this week. On Friday, BSE Sensex opened at 28,889.27 points and ended at 28,879.38 points, down 5.83 points or 0.02 per cent.

The stock markets rallied following positive sentiments – Moody’s view on Indian Economy, RBI’s observation on the growth rate and the growth in the IIP for the month of February. The agencies view on Indian economy lifted the sentiments of the investors those witnessed choppy market trading last week. The industrial output data for the month of February rose by 5 per cent, which could be main tool to gauge the health of economy. Keeping view on the growth in industrial output, the market became more bullying this week. 

Experts believe that the stock markets will be bullying next week.

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This Week BSE Sensex gains 2.96 %; Nifty 2.94 %

The BSE Sensex opened higher at 27,655.79 points and hovered in a wide range of28,298.34 points and 27,624.76 points before concluding at 28,260.14 points . This week, the Sensex recovered 801.50 points, or 2.92 per cent. In last three weeks, it shed 1,990.31 points or 6.76 per cent. 

The NSE Nifty, 50-share, also rose by 244.85 points, or 2.94 per cent this week, to close at 8,586.25 points. In last three weeks, it dropped by 596.35 points, or 6.67 per cent. Meanwhile, Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) bought shares worth Rs.487.73 crore, according to SEBI data .

It was speculated that this week the stock markets in India would be in choppy and more volatile. But, thanks to the positive global cues and fall in the global crude prices, those lifted the market sentiments this week. Fresh buying in the equity market seen throughout the week and major indices were ended in positive note.

The total turnover at Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange dropped further to Rs 8,235.174 crore and Rs 47,640.57 crore, respectively. The stock markets were remained closed on April 2 and 3 for Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday this week.

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Actress Chitrangada Singh inaugurates Senco Gold & Diamonds

Senco Gold & Diamonds, more than 75 year old company in jewelry making and retailing has announced the launch of new showroom at Lajpat Nagar, Delhi for the jewelry lovers. Following the success of existing stores, the new store offers complete range of gold and Diamond Jewelry.

Located in one of the most ideal and centrally located place of Delhi, the store is spread in an area of 9000 sq. ft. distributed over 4 floors. Actor Chitrangada Singh was present at the venue to do the inauguration along with Mr. Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold & Diamonds.The retail chain of Senco Gold & Diamonds is the largest in Eastern India and one of the biggest in Indian jewelry sector. They are one of the finest manufacturers of handcrafted jewelry and around 2000 of the country’s finest artisans create more than 500000 pieces of jewelry every year.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Suvankar Sen, Executive Director, Senco Gold & Diamonds said, “Our traditional handmade jewelry is marking its place all over India. We were receiving a huge demand from Delhi market and decided to launch it here to suffice the demand of our customers. Our light weight handmade jewelry is designed for all kind of customers and could be used at any occasion. Lajpat Nagar is a central place with good connectivity through public commutation too. One could see customers ranging from every class of the society here. I think this is one of the perfect places in Delhi to receive highest footfall as far as customers are concerned.” Senco Gold & Diamonds is known for its light weight jewelry. This collection was launched at the new store. This collection will be targeted for both middle to upper class people and range will start from Rs. 8000 and go up to Rs.10 lakh.

Present to do the inauguration Actor Chitrangada Singh said, “The collection is truly mesmerizing and surely will forge stars in the eyes of women once they will have a look at it. I keep wearing jewellery as per the demand of my roles or for different fashion shows due to which I am fond of buying them. I am happy to see that Senco Gold & Diamonds is providing option of buying jewellery not only for upper class people but also for those who find it difficult to buy jewellery due to high price range.”

The new showroom from Senco Gold & Diamonds will stock 22K hallmarked gold, certified diamond, platinum, costume jewelry, astral gems and most importantly light weight handmade jewelry.

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Hindustan Coca-Cola joins hands with WOTR and SIED

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd. has joined hands with Watershed Organization Trust (WOTR) and its sister concern - The Sanjeevani Institute for Empowerment & Development (SIED) and the local community to implement a Watershed Development Project that aims at re-generation of natural resources through Participatory Watershed Development in three villages of Sinnar block of Nasik District. The villages are - Kharpale, Chandrapur, and Jamgaon. Executed over two years, the project is aimed at benefiting and enhancing livelihoods of over 297 families.

As mark of week-long World Water Day celebration, ground breaking ceremony was organized at Chandrapur village in Sinnar block to commence the work on this project in hands of Mr. Bhanudas Palave (Additional Collector Nashik, Mr. Kalyan Ranjan (Associate Vice President PAC, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd.), Mr. Manojkumar Khairnar, Tehesildar Mr. Crispino Lobo (Managing Trustee (WOTR), Kedar Sapre (Factory Manager-Hindustan Coca Cola, Prasad Shivalkar (Zonal Head, HCCBPL), Mrs. Manisha Avhad (Sarpanch - Jaamgaon). Large number of villagers, elected representatives of Panchayat, officials from District Administration, Watershed Organization Trust and The Sanjeevani Institute for Empowerment & Development (SIED) were present at the ceremony.

Speaking on the collaboration, Mr. Kalyan Ranjan, Associate Vice President – PAC, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Pvt. Ltd., said, “This is the second largest Integrated Watershed Project that we are supporting. We, at Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, are constantly looking for building partnership with various stakeholders in the area of water stewardship and sustainable agricultural livelihood. Water is a social and economic catalyst and we are delighted to initiate work on this project meant to significantly improve the agriculture and livelihood of a large number of families spread across 3 villages of the Sinnar block. We are confident that the expertise of our implementation partners, WOTR and SIED, will help us bring about a change in the social and economic state of the villages resulting into better quality of life. The overall goal of the project is to enhance the agricultural productivity through watershed treatment, irrigation development and weather specific advisories.”

Mr. Crispino Lobo, Managing Trustee, WOTR said, “Through this partnership with Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, WOTR and SIED (Sanjeevani) aim to ignite the spark of hope and confidence in these drought-affected villages by catalyzing their creativity and potential for self-help. We will do this by organizing them to implement soil and water conservation works across the catchments they live in so that every drop of rain water that falls is harvested. We will introduce them to new ways of using this water efficiently so that they get ‘more crop per drop’; improve the quality of their farm lands; help them adopt agricultural practices that improve yields in a nature friendly manner and provide them crop advisories to reduce weather-induced risks. Empowering women is an important component of the project. The expected outcome of this project will be increased water availability for drinking and agriculture, increased farm incomes, improved food and nutrition security and a better quality of life than at present.”

The selected villages are backward and predominantly tribal. This area receives annual rainfall of 600 mm, which is highly erratic and uneven. These villages are hilly and hence there is a high surface run-of leading to severe soil erosion, which further leads to scarcity of water for personal consumption and agriculture. Farming is the major occupation and also the main source of income and livelihood for the majority of the community. The problem is compounded due to lack of knowledge of agriculture techniques and water resource management among the villagers.

The project undertaken by Hindustan Coca-Cola and its partners attempts to address the issues of lack of knowledge about agricultural production technology, water scarcity for agriculture, high soil erosion, land degradation and familial instability (migration) through sustainable improvement in Agricultural production technology and by optimum utilization of natural resources.



The activities underlined are targeted at achieving (1) comprehensive soil and water conservation measures in 546 hectares of land leading to sustainable land & water management, and significantly contributing to secure and strengthen agriculture; (2) strengthened irrigation potential by improving existing water resources and developing new irrigation potential, and (3) fully operational people’s institutions (SHGs and VDCs) to sustainably promote, support and manage land, water and agriculture development in the project area.

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This Week BSE Sensex falls 2.84% and Nifty @2.68%

This week (Mar 23 to 29, 2015) BSE Sensex lost 2.84 per cent, or 802.44 points and Nifty lost 2.68 per cent, or 229.50 points. Experts do believe that next week would be choppy following two holidays and speculation over weak global cues.

The benchmark S&P BSE 30-share barometer – BSE Sensex - initially touched a high of 28,455.32, but nuervous selling by operator and retail investors throughout the week on lack of any major trigger from overseas markets amid Middle-East worries pulled it down to a low of 27,248.45 before ending the week at 27,458.64, showing a steep fall of 802.44 points or 2.84 per cent.

In straight three weeks, BSE Sensex crashed by 1,990.31 points or 6.76 per cent. The broad-based 50-issue CNX Nifty of the NSE also closed a massive 229.50 points, or 2.68 percent , down to ten-week low of 8,341.40. Selling was so strong that all 12 sector indices suffered huge loss, closed in red. The BSE-Midcap also dropped by 2.50 per cent. Next week, the market may see choppy trade due to shortened week. The stock markets would remain closed on April 2 and 3, 2015 on account of Mahavir Jayanti and Good Friday.

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