NOBEL LAUREATES' SCIENCE CONCLAVE AT IIIT, ALLAHABAD

For the first time in Asia, the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A) will host the biggest Asian gathering of international Nobel Laureates at the Nobel Laureates Conclave, IIIT, Allahabad from December 15 to 21st, 2008. With the Nobel Laureates' Conclave, the IIIT-A will lay-down an important milestone in the history of Science and Technology in India.

The Nobel Laureates Conclave is part of the Science Conclave 2008 – a mega symposium, exhibition and lecture series on science and technology at the IIIT-A during the same period.

A salient feature of this event will be the Media Open House with the Nobel Laureates for Indian and international media persons – a program that will give the Indian media an opportunity to interact with the best brains from the international scientific community.

With help, support and inspiration from the Ministry of Human Resource Development and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, IIIT-A is organizing a Science Conclave 2008 at the campus of IIIT-Allahabad, which will also include the Nobel Laureates' Conclave – an event which will see about 12 international Nobel Laureates from different countries converge at one location and interact with hundreds of Indian scientists, researchers and technology students. Senior members from the Government secretariat, concerned ministries and from the Atomic, Nuclear and Space Research Departments will feature on the guest list. India Inc is expected to also turn up in full force to support the efforts of the scientific community in India.

Many Indian senior politicians, bureaucrats and ministerial heads are also expected to attend this event. The Governor of Harayana and others like Shri Arjun Singh, HRD Minister, Govt. of India, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertilizers, Shri Charanjit Singh Atwal, Dy Speaker of the Lok Sabha have already confirmed their participation and attendance.


The Hon'ble Prime Minister has also been invited to inaugurate the event as well as other senior politicians from the IT and I&B Ministry are likely to attend. Bollywood will also be represented by actor Hema Malini, Shradha Sharma, Anup Jalota, Mital Singh, Bhupinder Singh and Penaz Masani

According to Dr M D Tiwari, Founding Director, IIIT-A, "For the first time in Indian and Asian history, 12 Nobel Laureates, leaders, policymakers, research scholars and students including the first batch of the "INSPIRE" program by the DST will participate in the conclave to discuss the emerging trends in the scientific research and technological innovations in world of science. This is a great opportunity for the Indian scientific community particularly young minds to interact with global veterans and stalwarts in the respective scientific disciplines."

The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-A) was established in 1999, as a centre of excellence in Information Technology and allied areas. The Institute was conferred the "University" status by the Government of India in the year 2000. The Institute hence is empowered to have a perpetual seal and award degrees subsequent to the conduct of its own examinations. IIIT-A is conceived with the ambitious objectives of developing professional expertise and skilled manpower in Information Technology (IT) and related areas.

Indian and International media are invited to cover the event and also interact with the luminaries and Nobel Laureates. A special Media Open house with the Nobel Laureates will be held during the event. All media persons desirous of attending this event are requested to contact FLYNN REMEDIOS on 09821889888 or on futuristicmedianetwork@gmail.com to register for this event.



Daily/Regular updates on this event are available at: http://futuristicmedianetwork.blogspot.com, http://scienceconclave.blogspot.com http://nobellaureatesconclave.blogspot.com



Media Contact details:

Flynn Remedios – National Media Co-ordinator, Science Conclave, IIIT-A

Email: futuristicmedianetwork@gmail.com

Phone: +919821889888

BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS SHRADHA SHARMA REGISTERS FIR AGAINST JETLITE AIRLINE

Actress Shradha Sharma accuses airline Jetlite officials of humiliation and torture

FIR registered against Jetlite loaders for theft of valuables worth Rs 2.6 lakh


By Frank Franklyn – Futuristic Media Network

Bollywood and TV actress, the glamorous Shradha Sharma has accused economy airline Jetlite (formerly Sahara Airways and now owned by the Jet Airways Group) of humiliation, torture and theft. In a police complaint registered by Shradha Sharma and her manager and publicist Flynn Remedios, Shradha has accused Jetlite staff and loaders of stealing her camera, cash, jewellery and other items like wallet containing credit cards, car keys and house keys.

The FIR No. 62/08 u/s 379 (theft) registered at the Airport Police Station near the domestic air terminal in Mumbai on 22nd November 2008, states that Shradha was returning to Mumbai on Saturday morning via a Jetlite flight S2 0107 from Delhi to Mumbai after a stage performance in Ghaziabad.

Shradha was running a fever due to the climate change and over exertion – she had been rehearsing for two days continuously and had taken ill due to stress. On her flight back from Delhi she was carrying about Rs 1.5 lakh in cash (given to her as professional fees for the stage show), her digital camera/camcorder, new N96 mobile phone and some other items totally valued at approximately Rs 3 lakh.

At Delhi airport while screening her baggage at the X-Ray machine, she told the attendant that she had valuables and money in her handbag and asked him if it was wiser to take it as hand baggage or put it in her suitcase. The attendant immediately responded that she should put the small handbag inside the main bag and that they would seal it in her presence. She did accordingly locking the suitcase and the loaders strapped it and sealed it after affixing the security sticker. Shradha was relieved as she wanted to go to sleep on the flight and didn’t want to have the tension of carrying the cash with her on flight.

Upon landing in Mumbai, at the conveyor belt she noticed that her bag was in tatters. The lock was missing and the zipper was broken. Even the side pocket zippers were open. It was obvious that the imported Marco Polo soft luggage suitcase had been broken into. She immediately checked her bag and found her expensive Cartier handbag – itself worth about Rs 20,000/- was missing and so were her cash and other items.

Shradha who was alone, immediately contacted the first Jetlite assistant she could spot and told him that her bag had been broken and cash was missing. The assistant looked at her from head to toe and immediately muttered to himself in Hindi under his breath and said, “Why do women with lesser clothes have more money.” He also told her that she was probably paying more attention to her clothes than to her belongings.

Shradha who was offended and broke into tears immediately, phoned her manager and publicist Flynn Remedios and another friend who rushed to the airport and reached in about 20 minutes.

Says Flynn Remedios, “Shradha was in tears and crying bitterly when I finally managed to get inside. As per rules non-passengers are not allowed to enter the departure or arrival lounges and the Airport Manager refused to give me a temporary pass even though I explained the situation to him. The CISF guards told me to get a pass from the Duty Manager and he in turn told me to get permission from the CISF. For about 30 minutes, I kept shuttling between the Duty Manager’s cabin and the CISF post. Shradha who was running a very high fever and was fatigued as the stage show had got over only at 2 am the previous night, was about to suffer a complete break down,” he said.

The drama continued for about two hours. Finally, Jetlite officials verified the tampered bag, weighed it and acknowledged in writing that about two kilograms was less. An FIR was registered for theft under section 379. “The police were very co-operative and immediately registered our complaint unlike the Jetlite officials,” said Shradha.

Adds Remedios, who is also a techno-legal professional, “Shradha didn’t tell me about the remarks passed by the male Jetlite staffer immediately or I would have insisted that the police add sections 354 and 509 of the IPC for insulting and outraging the modesty of a woman.” According to Shradha, she was running a very high fever and was completely fatigued. “I was helpless and crying and had lost my precious belongings worth Rs 3 lakh, but the Jetlite duty manager did not even bother to come and meet me for two minutes.” We asked for the duty manager, but were told he is busy and cannot attend to us. We were attended by very junior officials who had no authority to do anything, except weight the bag and make a report,” adds Flynn Remedios.

Jetlite officials are carrying out an internal investigation. The police have called for CCD camera data from Delhi airport as well as the X-Ray images of Shradha’s baggage which will prove that her baggage did contain the cash and valuables and identify the loaders at the X-Ray machine.

However Jetlite officials are trying to pass the blame on to Shradha claiming that she should not have put the cash into her check-in baggage. A Jetlite official even denied that the weight of Shradha’s luggage was less, in spite of having given a written memo.

OBEROIs PLAN OWN WATER BRAND

Kalpana Pathak / Mumbai September 10, 2008, 5:42 IST

In talks with Pune-based Mulshi Springs.

UPLOADED BY FUTURISTIC MEDIA NETWORK


The Oberoi group-promoted East India Hotels (EIH) will soon serve its own brand of spring water in its hotels and resorts, speciality restaurants, waiting lounges and in-flight services.

When contacted, Naveen Luthra, Managing Director of Mulshi Springs Natural Spring Water, said, “Our Company is in talks with one of India’s biggest hotel chains which has shown interest in distributing our product under their own brand and we hope to finalize the deal soon.” However, a senior official from the company confirmed that the hotel chain is none other than The Oberoi. The packaged spring water will be available in 200 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre and 1.5 litre PET bottles priced between Rs 50 and Rs 200, respectively. “Water will be sourced from a rain forest near the Sahara Amby Valley located near Pune. A new facility has been set up in the vicinity to facilitate packaging of water,” added the official.

However, when contacted, EIH said the news is incorrect. The Oberoi group operates in India, Egypt, Mauritius, Indonesia and Saudi Arabia with 30 properties under the brands – Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Trident. It plans to take the total number of properties to 40 in the next three and half years. It has a room capacity of around 4,400 and the new additions would take the figure to 6,700 during the period.

“There is a huge demand for natural spring water among international and domestic tourists. With EIH planning to expand its network of hotels, this arrangement will be beneficial for the company,” said a source familiar with the development. EIH, however, does not plan to venture into retailing of spring water in the open market. According to sources, necessary approvals from Water Quality Association – a body under the US-based Food and Drug Administration – are in place for this venture. EIH is also said to have got its brand and logo registered.

“Having an in-house water brand adds to the hotel chain’s image and brand value. Increasingly, players in the travel and tourism business are looking at having a similar arrangement. There are other hotels too, which are said to be in talks with players in the packaged drinking water business,” said a Mumbai-based analyst.

The packaged drinking water market in India is worth Rs 1,500 crore and is growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 25 per cent. Of this, natural mineral water market is just Rs 100 crore.

In the retail segment, Coca-Cola’s Kinley and PepsiCo’s Aquafina together dominate about a quarter of the mass bottled water market. Bisleri, owned by Ramesh Chauhan, accounts for 16 per cent of the total sales. More than 50 per cent of the packaged drinking water market is dominated by 200 odd water brands that sell in regional pockets.


BACK TO NATURE

* The brand will be called Oberoi Spring Water and will be available in 200ml, 500ml, 1 litre and 1.5 litre pet bottles priced between Rs 50 and Rs 200
* Water will be sourced from a rain forest near the Sahara Aamby Valley located near Pune
* The packaged drinking water market in India is worth Rs 1,500 crore and is growing at the annual rate of 25 per cent

The hotel giant is looking at having an exclusive arrangement with Pune-based Mulshi Springs – a company that bottles natural spring water. The brand will be called Oberoi Spring Water and a formal announcement is expected soon.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PRODUCTS OR BRANDS MENTIONED ABOVE PLEASE SMS ON +919821777737.

This article was first published in Business Standard and can be found online at: http://www.business-standard.com/india/storypage.php?autono=333944. Futuristic Media Network is not responsible for third-party content and claims no Copyright.

MULSHI SPRINGS NEARS DEAL WITH ITC, UB, OBEROIs

By Pooja Sarkar - Tuesday, September 16, 2008 03:08 IST

UPLOADED BY FUTURISTIC MEDIA NETWORK


Natural spring water firm eyes Rs 125 crore turnover in five years

MUMBAI: Mulshi Springs, the Pune-based natural spring water company, is planning to make a huge splash in the premium bottled water segment. The company is on the verge of signing deals with aviation baron Vijay Mallya’s UB group, hotel majors ITC and the Oberoi group. It is in talks with fast moving consumer goods major Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) too. Naveen Luthra, managing director, Mulshi Springs, said that the company is in discussions with at least one ‘very large’ hotel chain and one airline major. He, however, refused to name the companies.
But a source close to the development said a deal with the Oberoi group for its East India Hotels is already through. The deal size is reported to be Rs 35 crore.

“Production has already begun and this water will be available in the hotels from November this year. It has been branded as Oberoi Spring Water and approvals from US Food and Drug Association and Water Quality Association are in place,” added the source.

The source said that the ITC deal has also been ‘almost signed’ and production for that would begin in December. “The water will be available in ITC hotels from February next year,” the source said.

The UB group is expected to start offering bottled natural spring water in Kingfisher’s international flights in the next six months. The bottles, in 200 ml and 500 ml sizes, will be made available to first-class fliers.

Rival Jet Airways is also likely to offer Oberoi Spring Water as the Oberoi group manages its in-flight catering services. In addition, the bottles will be sold in airport lounges.

Priced between Rs 50 and Rs 200, Oberoi Spring Water will be available in four sizes - 200 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre and 1.5 litre. When contacted, officials from both the Oberoi group and ITC declined comment. Meanwhile, the HUL deal is expected to go through in the next one month. The FMCG giant will source water from Mulshi Springs and do the packaging and bottling itself. HUL will sell this water in plastic bottles and not glass ones and retail them in shopping marts.

Once the deals are in place, Mulshi Springs will produce an estimated 30,000 bottles per day — 10,000 will be for Oberoi group, 5,000 for ITC and 10,000-12,000 for the UB group. The company already retails water under its own brand in high-end hotels in Mumbai. Its water utilization capacity is 4 million litre per day.

Under its overseas expansion plans, Mulshi Springs will sell its product in Dubai and seven other Middle Eastern countries from early next year. Also on the radar is the United States, where the premium water brand will be available from the first quarter of the next fiscal. In the next five years, the company hopes to scale up its turnover to Rs 125 crore from Rs 10 crore now.

The packaged water industry is pegged at Rs 1,800-2,000 crore. Of this, the premium segment accounts for Rs 100 crore.


This article was first published in DNA Money and can be found online at: http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?newsid=1190448. Futuristic Media Network is not responsible for third-party content and claims no Copyright.