Thursday, April 30, 2009

BWI: KIA X Games Asia Kicks Off to Winning Start

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: ESPN STAR Sports
Thursday, April 30, 2009 06:34 PM IST (01:04 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, People, Sports; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Media & entertainment, Sports
Release no: 19842
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KIA X Games Asia Kicks Off to Winning Start
Yasutoko Brothers, Andy Macdonald and Kevin Robinson to Thrill Shanghai Fans at Asia's Biggest Action Sports Competition

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- KIA X Games Asia, the number one action sports competition in Asia, looks certain to start off on a winning note with another impressive line up of world class athletes for the third consecutive year, as the KIC Jiangwan Sports Center opened its gates to enthusiastic crowds today.

This year's event will see the return of renown athletes Andy Macdonald, the current KIA X Games Skateboard Vert defending champion, who shares the honor of having the most number of X Games skateboard medals; Kevin Robinson, X Games 14's Athlete of the Games, and the Yasutoko brothers

"We are excited to be back in China, and thrilled by the enthusiasm of Shanghai and the high level of competition we will be treated to from this world-class field of athletes," said Harvey Davis, ESPN STAR Sports Vice-President, Events Management Group. "The standard is set higher every year, and we look forward to giving fans another exhilarating event, as we continue our commitment to serve action sports fans across the region."

The first day of the KIA X Games Asia kicked off with the exciting finals of the BMX Freestyle Vert and Women's Speed Climbing, along with the Skateboard Street Preliminary round on a spanking new street course.

Australian Tim Wood stood head above shoulders over a diverse list of international riders from the United States, United Kingdom and the Asia-Pacific region, taking top spot at the BMX Freestyle Vert podium. It was sweet victory for last year's bronze medallist, as he overcame a tough fall on his first run with a brilliant performance in the second run to clinch the gold, while earning the respect from his fellow competitors. Simon Tabron of the United Kingdom won the silver medal while Australian Steve McCann rounded out the podium with the bronze.

In the Women's Speed Climbing event, representatives from Eastern Europe dominated the field and swept the competition. The nail-biting final was won by a split second lunge by Russian climber Valentina Yurina, edging out Ukrane's Olena Ryepko to take home her first KIA X Games Asia gold medal. Yurina's fellow Russian teammate, Anna Stenkovaya took home the bronze.

The KIA X Games Asia 2009 will showcase more than 200 of Asia's and the world's best action sport athletes from more than 20 countries and five continents as they compete in BMX freestyle, Aggressive In-line Skating, Skateboarding and Sport Climbing. In addition to the competitive events, Shanghai, China will also enjoy Freestyle Moto X demonstrations by some of the world's best riders.

The KIA X Games Asia will be televised live from Shanghai's KIC Jiangwan Stadium on April 30 - May 3, 2009 on ESPN networks across Asia.

Broadcast Details

KIA X Games Asia

The X Games Asia was first held in 1998 in Phuket, Thailand and continued to draw enthusiastic crowds until 2001. From 2002-2004, the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur was home to the Asian X Games. In 2005, the event was hosted in Seoul, Korea before returning to Kuala Lumpur again in 2006. The KIA X Games Asia has held in Shanghai in 2007 and 2008.

ESPN first developed its X Games franchise in 1995. As part of ESPN Content Development, the X Games, Winter X Games and All Access are just some of the original action sports programming currently shown on ESPN. In addition to the two U.S.-based events, ESPN has held X Games competitions and demonstration events around the world, including Dubai, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Korea, Malaysia, China and Spain. The global franchise has also expanded its reach to EXPN.com, the definitive site for action sports fans, and to consumer products such as X Games bikes, protective gear, skateboards and DVDs.

Considered the pinnacle of global action sports competition, the KIA X Games Asia 2009 will be televised live from April 30 to May 3, 2009 from the KIC Jiangwan Sports Center, Yang Pu District. Visit the official websites www.Kiaxgamesasia.com, www.espnstar.com.cn, and www.sports.sina.com.cn/z/09xgamesasia for more information.

Sponsors and Partners

The KIA X Games Asia 2009 enjoys sponsorship support from Title Sponsor Kia Motors Corporation, Pony (Silver Sponsor), Mountain Dew (Silver Sponsor), Doritos (Official Snack Sponsor), Cold Stone (Official Supplier). It is also supported by Crowne Plaza Fudan Shanghai (Official Hotel), and East Ticket (Ticketing Agent) and LV Mama (Special Online Ticketing).

The event is also supported by various media partners such as Bingtuan TV and International Channel Shanghai (TV Media Partner), Shanghai Daily (English Newspaper Partner), SCHON (Print Media Partner), City Weekend (Print Media Partner), Oriental Sky (Print Media Partner), Elite Traveller (Print Media Partner), 1626 (Print Media Partner), Oriental Sports Daily (Print Media Partner), Metro Express (Print Media Partner), TouchMedia (Outdoor Media Partner), I-Mocha (Mobile Media Partner).

The event is proudly sanctioned by the Chinese Extreme Sports Association and is organized by ESPN STAR Sports, the Shanghai Media Group and the Shanghai Sports Federation. The Shanghai Yang Pu District Government is the event's Special Organizer and the Shanghai Sports Competition Management Centre is the Co-Organizer while the Shanghai Extreme Sports Association is the Supporting Organiser. The KIC Jiangwan Sports Center is the Official Venue, and the World Games 2009 Kaohsiung is a special supporting organisation to this year's event. Other partners include Star Light (Music Partner), Linktune (Music Partner), Bar Hulu (Official Bar), and Sina.com.cn (Special Streaming Partner).

ESPN STAR Sports

ESPN STAR Sports is a 50:50 joint venture between two of the world's leading cable and satellite broadcasters. As Asia's definitive and complete sports broadcaster and content provider, ESPN STAR Sports combines the strengths and resources of its ultimate parent companies - Walt Disney (ESPN, Inc.) and News Corporation Limited (STAR) - to deliver a diverse array of international and regional sports to viewers via its encrypted pay and free-to-air services.

ESPN STAR Sports showcases an unparalleled variety of premier live sports from around the globe 24 hours a day to a cumulative reach of more than 310 million viewers in Asia. ESPN STAR Sports has 17 networks covering 24 countries, each localised to deliver differentiated world-class premier sports programming to Asian viewers. This includes ESPN SEA, ESPN China, ESPN Hong Kong, ESPN India, ESPN Malaysia, ESPN Philippines, ESPN SEA 2, ESPN Taiwan, MBC-ESPN (Korea), STAR Sports Asia, STAR Sports Hong Kong, STAR Sports India, STAR Sports Malaysia, STAR Sports SEA, STAR Sports SEA 2, STAR Sports Taiwan, and STAR Cricket.

On the ground, the ESPN STAR Sports Event Management Group manages and promotes premier sporting events around Asia. ESPN STAR Sports aims to reach consumers at any time, any place and through all new media platforms, both internet and mobile. The multi-lingual, online platforms, espnstar.com, espnstar.com.cn and espnstar.com.tw and footballcrazy.tv interact with millions of users providing them with in-depth sports news, results and competitions. Developed for the sports fan that is constantly on the move, mobileESPN and STAR Sports Mobile delivers differentiated mobile content targeted at its various audiences. mobileESPN enables the serious sports fan to follow their favourite sports more closely than ever before with a combination of specially produced video news clips, in-depth news coverage and analysis. STAR Sports Mobile aims to provide interactive and entertaining opportunities to engage with sports, delivering exclusive video excerpts from leading football clubs Arsenal and Liverpool as well as highlights from STAR Sports original programmes covering opinions, instructional tips and the latest online game reviews.

To view the photograph, please click on the link given below:

Tim Wood (BMX Vert Champion 2009)
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Broadcast details.doc
Broadcast details.doc
http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Tim Wood (BMX Vert Champion 2009).JPG
Tim Wood (BMX Vert Champion 2009).JPG


CONTACT DETAILS
Sameer Bajaj, Sr. Manager - Corporate Communications, ESPN Software India Pvt. Ltd, +91 9811222700, sameerb@espnstar.co.in
Aparna Srivastava, IPAN, +91 9811234594, aparna.srivastava@ipan.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, PEOPLE, SPORTS, MARKETING, MEDIA

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BWI: Bharti Airtel and Alcatel-Lucent form Managed Services Joint Venture for Broadband and Telephone Services

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Bharti Airtel Limited
Thursday, April 30, 2009 05:45 PM IST (12:15 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Information technology, Retailers, Telecommunications; Technology
Release no: 19841
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Bharti Airtel and Alcatel-Lucent form Managed Services Joint Venture for Broadband and Telephone Services


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- JV will manage Airtel's migration to Next Generation Networks (NGN) to offer advanced services like High-speed internet, Triple Play, Media-rich VAS, MPLS, VPN for both Retail and Business customers

-- First Managed Services Partnership for Broadband and Telephone services in India

Bharti Airtel, Asia's leading integrated telecom service provider, and Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) today announced that they have formed a Joint Venture to manage Bharti Airtel's pan-India Broadband and Telephone services and help Airtel's transition to Next Generation Networks. Under the Joint Venture, Alcatel-Lucent will design, plan, deploy, optimize and manage Bharti Airtel's Broadband and Telephone network across India. A new legal entity is being formed which will be operated by Alcatel-Lucent.

Commenting on the partnership, Manoj Kohli, CEO & Joint Managing Director, Bharti Airtel said, "This Joint Venture is another step towards Bharti Airtel's vision to continuously redefine and deliver the benchmarks of customer experience. We will leverage Alcatel-Lucent's global expertise in IP transformation and network management while allowing us to focus on customer delivery and market growth".

"It will also help us accelerate performances as we migrate to Next Generation Networks for our broadband and telephone customers, opening the door to advanced services and applications." He added.

"We appreciate the opportunity that Bharti Airtel has given us to demonstrate our worldwide expertise in network transformation, managed network services and IP transformation", said Ben Verwaayen, CEO of Alcatel-Lucent. "The expansion of our relationship is drawn on our strengths as a global services player, ready to partner with innovative customers in their business transformation plans," he added.

This Managed Services Partnership will include all end-to-end activities - service rollout, installation and fault repair, service continuity and transformation. It will support Bharti Airtel's transformation to Next Generation Networks, offering advanced services like High-speed internet, Triple Play, Media-rich VAS, MPLS, VPN for both Retail and Business customers. The partnership will also drive optimal capital investment and increase operational efficiency by moving voice and data traffic onto a single, 'packetized' infrastructure.

About Bharti Airtel Limited

Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is one of Asia's leading integrated telecom services provider with operations in India and Sri Lanka and an aggregate of over 96.6 million customers as of end of March 2009, consisting of 93.92 million mobile customers. Bharti Airtel Limited has been voted as India's most innovative company, in a survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal.

Bharti Airtel is structured into three strategic business units - Mobile services, Telemedia services and Enterprise services. The mobile business offers services in India and Sri Lanka. The Telemedia business provides broadband and telephone services in 95 cities, DTH services and has recently forayed into the IPTV services. The Enterprise business provides end-to-end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long distance services to carriers. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Airtel's high-speed optic fibre network currently spans over 101,337 kms covering all the major cities in the country. The company has two international landing stations in Chennai that connects two submarine cable systems - i2i to Singapore and SEA-ME-WE-4 to Europe. For more information, visit www.bhartiairtel.in.

About Alcatel-Lucent

Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions that to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry. With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com.


CONTACT DETAILS
Arun Shaw, Comma Consulting, +91 9811152309, ashaw@comma.in
Shilpa Gupta, Comma Consulting, +91 9818180180, sgupta@comma.in
Bishalakhi Ghosh, Alcatel-Lucent, +91 9958418547, bishalakhi.ghosh@alcatel-lucent.in
Latika Taneja, Alcatel-Lucent, +91 9899010054, latika.taneja@alcatel-lucent.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, RETAIL, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: Info Edge (India) Limited Announced Annual and Q4 Results

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Info Edge (India) Limited
Thursday, April 30, 2009 05:31 PM IST (12:01 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy; Business: Accounting & management consultancy services, Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Information technology, Stock exchanges; Technology
Release no: 19840
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Info Edge (India) Limited Announced Annual and Q4 Results
The Company Reported 7.57 % Rise in Net Profit to Rs.596.86 Million for the Year Ended March 31, 2009

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Highlights : Year Ended March 31, 2009

-- Total Income of FY 08-09 at Rs. 2737.96 million showed an increase of 14.24 % over previous year. Operating income is Rs.2451.66 million, which is 11.98 % higher as compared to FY07-08

-- EBITDA at Rs.938.64 million grew 11.47% compared to Rs.842.04 million as compared to FY 07-08. Operating EBITDA is at Rs. 652.34 million which is up by 2.76% as compared to FY 07-08

-- The company achieved a Net Profit of Rs.596.86 million compared to Rs. 554.88 million in FY 07-08, representing a growth of 7.57%. At the operating level, profit after tax at Rs.366.9 million has increased by 0.75% as compared to FY 07-08.

Highlights : Quarter ended March 31, 2009

-- Total Income of Q4 of FY 08-09 at Rs. 641.58 million showed a decline of 7.29% over corresponding quarter in the previous year. Operating income is Rs.577.02 million, which is 11.2% lower compared to corresponding quarter of FY07-08, as a result of a slowdown in recruitment and real estate side

-- EBITDA at Rs.245.16 million grew 2.19% compared to Rs.239.91 million as compared to FY 07-08. Operating EBITDA is at Rs. 180.6 million which is down by 8.7% as compared to FY 07-08 largely through an increase in investment in new businesses

-- The company achieved a Net Profit of Rs.138.3 million in Q4 of FY 08-09 compared to Rs. 156.1 million in the corresponding quarter of FY 07-08, representing a decline of 11.4%. At the operating level, profit after tax is Rs.107.27 million has decreased by 9.2% as compared to the corresponding quarter in FY 07-08

Info Edge (India) Limited today announced results for the year ended March 31, 2009. The company reported a Net Profit of Rs.596.86 million compared to Rs.554.88 million in FY 07-08. Info Edge recorded a Total income of Rs. 2451.66 million compared to Rs.2189.39 million in FY 07-08..

Commenting on the results, Ambarish Raghuvanshi, CFO and Director, Info Edge (India) Limited said, "The results reflect the difficult business environment in hiring and real estate to some extent, cushioned by superior execution. The focus is on cost management and on organic growth in the near term. We are well placed in terms of competition and our cash position. We hope to take advantage of this."

EBITDA increased by 11.47% at Rs.938.64 million as compared to FY 07-08. Both Jeevansathi.com and 99acres.com businesses continued to be in an investment mode. Other verticals apart from Naukri.com (including 99acres.com, Jeevansathi.com) incurred a loss of Rs.58.02 million in Q4 of FY 2008-09 as compared to Rs.78.72 million for corresponding quarter in FY 2007-08, at the EBITDA level. 99acres.com and Jeevansathi.com have achieved a growth in Revenues at 53.98% and 31.49% respectively. Info Edge launched Shiksha.com and FirstNaukri.com during FY08-09.

For the quarter ended Mar 31, 2009 the EBITDA is Rs 245.16 million compared to Rs.239.91 in the same quarter last year. Total Expense including Interest & Depreciation decreased by Rs.52.25 million as compared to the corresponding quarter in FY 07-08 primarily due to a cut in advertisement expenses and Bonus for the period apart from other cost savings in administration expenses. Other income at Rs.64.56 million is comparatively high by 53.5% in this quarter as a result of profit on sale of investment in mutual funds booked in the quarter. The proceeds have since been parked in bank FD's.

The company has initiated cost optimization measures and during the quarter ended March 31, 2009 managed to reduced administration cost by Rs 4 mn.

About Info Edge (India) Ltd

Info Edge (India) Ltd (NSE: NAUKRI) is one of the largest internet company in India. Info Edge owns and manages Naukri.com - India's no. 1 job site, Jeevansathi.com - India's fastest growing matrimonial portal, 99acres.com - India's No.1 real estate portal, Shiksha.com - an education portal, Quadrangle - an offline executive search firm, and Naukri Gulf - its foray into the Middle East market. Info Edge also owns Asknaukri.com, a career guidance site and Brijj.com, a professional networking site and Allcheckdeals.com, an online brokerage firm.

Info Edge has ventured into newer businesses and territories and attracted investments from leading venture capitalists. Formerly an ICICI Ventures investee company, Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures have also invested in the Company. Info Edge raised Rs. 1,703 million through an IPO in the month of November 2006. The company has attracted a very high quality list of institutional shareholders and had a total of 11,010 shareholders on March 31, 2009.

With its headquarters in Noida (NCR), the company employs over 1600 people and operates through 61 offices in 40 cities in India and overseas offices in Dubai Riyadh and Bahrain catering to the Middle East market.

To view the Unaudited Financial Results, please click on the Link given below:

Unaudited Financial Results for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2009
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Results_Mar-09_1.pdf
Results_Mar-09_1.pdf


CONTACT DETAILS
Harsh Sinha, Sampark PR, +91 9971855115, harsh@sampark.com
Anjali, Sampark PR, +91 (11) 41731526/27, anjali@samparkpr.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, CONSULTANCY SERVICES, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, IT, STOCK EXCHANGES, TECHNOLOGY, NAUKRI.NS

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BWI: Mahindra & Mahindra India’s Leading Utility Vehicle Manufacturer Customizes a Scorpio Getaway Lifestyle Especially for Bhaichung

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.
Thursday, April 30, 2009 04:58 PM IST (11:28 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Lifestyle, People, Sports; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Automotives, Business services, Media & entertainment, Sports; Automotive
Release no: 19839
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Mahindra & Mahindra India's Leading Utility Vehicle Manufacturer Customizes a Scorpio Getaway Lifestyle Especially for Bhaichung
Bhaichung Bhutia's Love for a Mahindra Off-Roader Fulfilled

Kolkota, West Bengal, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Bhaichung Bhutia, India's football captain, received the Scorpio Getaway Lifestyle - a customized concept of the Scorpio Getaway, from senior Mahindra officials in a special ceremony held in the city today.

"We are thrilled to customize the Scorpio Getaway Lifestyle concept for Bhaichung which, for him, represents the fulfilment of a long cherished childhood dream. With its sporty, stylish looks and go anywhere capability, the Scorpio Getaway Lifestyle is the perfect offroad vehicle for those who seek thrill and adventure. A high degree of customisation also makes it the ideal choice for Bhaichung to make a personalised style statement," said Mr. Vivek Nayer, Senior Vice President - Marketing, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

"My love affair with offroad vehicles began with Mahindra. I grew up in the hills of Sikkim and one of my fondest childhood memories is of my father and me going for long drives through tea plantations and rugged terrain in a Mahindra.. Ever since then I have always dreamt of owning an offroad vehicle that would be suitable for both the city as well as the hills. Life has now come full circle and I am absolutely delighted to receive my very own, personalised Scorpio Getaway Lifestyle concept from Mahindra which will help me relive the days of my youth," said Indian skipper, Bhaichung Bhutia.

A recipient of the prestigious Padma Shri and Arjuna Awards, Bhaichung Bhutia is already a legendary figure in Indian football and captain of the national team. In 1999, he was voted Asian (AFC) Player of the Month and also received the Sikkim State Award for his contribution to the sport.

The Scorpio Getaway Lifestyle concept is built on the Scorpio Getaway platform which is available in both 2WD and 4WD variants and is powered by the technologically advanced 115 hp CRDe engine. It is also BS-III compliant. Customised body paint, along with styled wheel arches and auxiliary lamps give the Scorpio Lifestyle a sporty stance. This is further enhanced by a motorised sunroof and stainless steel guards for the front, rear and sides of the vehicle. The cargo bay with a motorised cover comes in handy on long camping trips as it provides ample storage space and also protects cargo in case of rain.

The vehicle's imposing exterior is aptly complemented by plush, custom painted interiors with custom stitched leather upholstery. Additional features include an MP3 music system with speakers, an iPod docking station and a reverse camera with sensors.

About The Mahindra Group

The US $6.7 billion Mahindra Group is among the top 10 industrial houses in India. Mahindra is the market leader in multi-utility vehicles in India. It made a milestone entry into the passenger car segment with the Logan. Mahindra & Mahindra is the only Indian company among the top tractor brands in the world.

The Group has a leading presence in key sectors of the Indian economy, including the financial services, trade, retail and logistics, automotive components, after-market, information technology and infrastructure development. Mahindra has made an entry in the two-wheeler segment which will see the company emerge as a full-range player with a presence in almost every segment of the automobile industry.

Mahindra's Farm Equipment Sector is the proud recipient of the Japan Quality Medal, the only tractor company worldwide to be bestowed this honour. It also holds the distinction of being the only tractor company worldwide to win the Deming Prize. The US based Reputation.

Institute recently ranked Mahindra among the top 10 Indian companies in its Global 200: The World's Best Corporate Reputations list.

Mahindra is also one of the few Indian companies to receive an A+ GRI checked rating for its first Sustainability Report for the year 2007-08.

To view the photographs, please click on the links given below:

L to R: Mr. Maruti Mathur, Zonal Manager, East, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., Mr. JS Nanda, DGM - Marketing & Customisation, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Mr. Vivek Nayer, Senior VP - Marketing, Automotive Sector, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. and Bhaichung Bhutia at a Press Conference in Kolkata


Scorpio Gateway Lifestyle Picture 1

Scorpio Gateway Lifestyle Picture 2
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Picture1(3).JPG
Picture1(3).JPG
http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Picture2(2).JPG
Picture2(2).JPG
http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Picture3(1).JPG
Picture3(1).JPG


CONTACT DETAILS
Ms. Roma Balwani, VP & Head - Corporate Communication, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., +91 (22) 24975176, balwani.roma@mahindra.com
Percy Dubash, Adfactors PR, +91 (22) 22049804, percy.dubash@adfactorspr.com
Manali Pilankar, Adfactors PR, +91 (22) 22049804, manali.pilankar@adfactorspr.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, SPORTS, MARKETING, AUTOMOTIVE, BUSINESS SERVICES, MEDIA, AUTOMOTIVE

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BWI: Canon Showcases Commitment to Hyderabad with Launch of the ‘Mana Hyderabad’ Outreach Program

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Canon
Thursday, April 30, 2009 04:44 PM IST (11:14 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Publishing & printing; Technology
Release no: 19838
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Canon Showcases Commitment to Hyderabad with Launch of the 'Mana Hyderabad' Outreach Program
The New Campaign to Focus on Canon's Consumer Printer Products

Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- Launch of City specific project "Mana Hyderabad"

-- Investment of Rs. 2.25 cr for the project to capture 30% market share in the laser printer segment

-- Roll out of channel and consumer promos

Canon India Pvt. Ltd, India's No 1. Complete Digital Imaging Company has re-enforced its focus on Hyderabad with the launch of a new city specific project - 'Mana Hyderabad'. This is yet another strategic, innovative initiative to reach out to the regional markets which have been Canon's focus to garner greater market share. In AP, Canon aims to capture 30% market share in the laser printer segment in 2009, which was 15% in 2008 according to IDC report. Under this project Canon will be investing Rs. 2.25 cr in the first phase through advertising, promotions, below the line activities and working towards more engagement with partners with the aim to increase Canon's presence and mind share in the city. This project commences on 1st May 2009 and will be sustained through various ATL and BTL activities throughout the year, till 31st December 2009.

The 'Mana Hyderabad' campaign is the fifth in a series of such campaigns that Canon is launching in India. The earlier three campaigns 'Aamchi Mumbai', 'Hamaari Delhi', 'Namma Bengaluru' and 'Nama Chennai' focused on Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai markets respectively and were highly successful in increasing penetration of Canon Printer products in these markets as well as in strengthening Canon's presence in the digital imaging market segment.

Hyderabad, the 5th largest metropolitan city of India, with an estimated population of approximately 7 million is known for its IT, ITeS, pharmaceuticals and entertainment industry was an obvious favourite for introducing region-specific campaign for Canon's consumer systems products that includes inkjet printers, laser printers, inkjet All-in-ones, scanners and projectors. It becomes essential to launch the campaign considering the fact that the penetration of IT products is very high in this city. The city has large number of youth population working for BPO's & IT sector. This segment of population is the right kind of audience for our home users segment.

The company has identified south as a strategic market, where it sees an opportunity for higher and faster growth. After successful projects in Bangalore and Chennai, Hyderabad being an important city in the southern region has been chosen for a project called 'Mana Hyderabad'.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kensaku Konishi, President & CEO, Canon India said, "Hyderabad is a very important market for Canon as we aim to have stronger foothold in the southern market. The Consumer Systems Product Division is backed by its strong product portfolio, built on state-of-the-art technology. Hyderabad was an obvious choice for this campaign considering the strong IT infrastructure that it has which substantiates the need for printers, scanners and IT peripheral equipments. We see immense growth opportunity in this market and 'Mana Hyderabad' campaign is another important step in taking Canon to greater heights."

Commenting on the launch of the Hyderabad project Mr. Alok Bharadwaj, Senior Vice President, Canon India said, "Consumer System Products division has registered a 38% growth in 2008 and continues high growth progress with 44% revenues growth in Q1 2009. Rather than attempting to take on the whole country, Canon embarked upon the step by step approach by focussing all marketing efforts city by city. We are investing in our target cities to position this product category strongly. The campaign has been executed successfully in Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and this time we have organised the campaign in Hyderabad. Canon revenues for printer products in Andhra has grown over 126% in 2008 and despite slowdown, the growth in Q1 2009 has been highest in the country. We want to sustain high growth in AP as it is driving growth for the division. With higher incidence of home & business printing, 'Mana Hyderabad' project is best customised project for city of Hyderabad. We are looking at making Canon as the second most preferred choice of brand in all major cities. " He further added "In the initial phase of the project we have planned a 2.25 cr investment in this project and depending on the need we will look at increasing the same."

He further added " Canon is beginning to see results of focus in AP with Q1' 2009 market share rising to 24% for laser printers".

Consumer Schemes

Along with this Canon also announced its successful its consumer initiative 'Dine with Sachin' and Canon 'Great Diamond loot offer' for the Hyderabad customers.

Under the 'Dine with Sachin' scheme valid only in Hyderabad the lucky draw program will be open to consumers buying any Canon Inkjet All-in-Ones Inkjet) printers and laser printers respectively and is valid from May 1st 2009 to May 15th 2009 on all end customer purchases. Only original purchases will be eligible to win an opportunity to Dine with Sachin. All retail outlets will have a drop box for contest registration.

Canon Great Diamond Loot" offer is in alliance with Surat Diamond Jewellery and will be valid till 31st December 2009. This offer is valid on all Canon Inkjet All-In-One's and Inkjet single function printers. Under the "Canon Great Diamond Loot" offer customers who buy the above mentioned Canon printers will get Rs. 5000 off on any diamond Jewellery purchased from Surat Diamond Jewellery.

Channel Schemes

Canon also announced a scheme for its secondary channel partners applicable on all select PIXMA inkjet models of Canon's Consumer System Products division. The scheme is valid from 1st April 2009 till 30th June 2009 wherein all secondary channel partners accumulate points on purchase for a mystery incentive at the end of the quarter.

Retail thrust

As part of Canon's increased focus on retail branding and enhanced customer experience at the last mile, Canon will introduce a new concept of 'Cluster branding' with Hyderabad. Under this concept, the branding will be done in a cluster of 15-20 shops in the same area to maximize the impact to the consumer. Hyderabad will be the first in this series and 20 shops in one cluster will be branded in May itself.

As part of continued thrust on Canon Original Ink Centres, the company will be inaugurating 12 OIC's today. The plan is to have 50 OIC's in Hyderabad till 31st December, 2009.

The "Mana Hyderabad" program has been poised on six key pillars of Canon in Hyderabad:

-- Repositioning the product for home through increased consistent brand visibility through various advertising and marketing initiatives

-- Enhancing Channel engagement at all levels

-- Thrust on corporate business

-- Specific market penetration to SOHO and SME

-- Improved and increased level of Service support

-- Customer engagement through experiential marketing

For the first pillar of this project targeted at repositioning the laser printer as a product for the home consumer is being led by the new all black laser printer - LBP 2900B with its smallest footprint, 2 years on site warranty and zero warm up time, the machine is priced at Rs. 6595 only thus making it an ideal choice for the home consumer. The Mana Hyderabad campaign is poised on this model through campaign in outdoor, print, digital, radio and online alongwith various below the line promotions as well. For the second pillar of Enhancing Channel Engagement at all levels, Canon will provide more schemes and training programs for our channel partners by introducing special loyalty and incentive programs and unleashing a series of road shows, retail branding, enhanced demo support and merchandising deployment. Canon will also be conducting training programs for its new products for the partners. The third pillar is the corporate business of Canon. The company is looking at increasing and streamlining communication for the corporate partners. The newly formed SI sub division of the printer group of Canon India will be working towards deeper penetration into the System Integrator segment for the laser printers. The fourth pillar is an Specific Market penetration to SOHO and SME for which Canon launched 3 new all black laser printers priced at less than Rs. 7000. The three new models LBP 2900B, LBP 3018B, LBP 3108B are high speed monochrome printers featuring black body with the smallest footprint. The fifth pillar is the Service provided to the consumers for which Canon will launch free service camps as part of the Namma Chennai program and and look at increasing customer delight through its Service Edge by making DOA within 24 hours. The company has also launched the MOSS (Mobile On Site Service) for Canon printer products in Hyderabad which ensures that there is a doorstep pick and delivery of your Canon printer products requiring service in Chennai and targets at increasing both customer and channel delight. The sixth pillar if this program is direct Customer Engagements to ensure hands on experience for the consumer. To enable this Canon will conduct 210 road shows, participate in major exhibitions, mall activation programs, conduct demos in malls and housing complexes where they will demonstrate the print at home concept.

About Canon Inc

Canon Inc. is a global leader with total revenue of about US$ 45 billion in 2008, in photographic and digital imaging solutions. Its global network now includes 239 companies, employing some more than 131,352 people. Five Technology 'imaging' engines of Optical, Electrophotography, Bubble Jet, Semiconductor and Display drive Canon's cutting-edge technology products. Canon is the world leader in office automation and digital imaging technologies. The company is dedicated to the advancement in technology and innovation and commits 10% of its total revenue each year to R&D. Canon is ranked 36th on the Best Global Brands for the second consecutive year in Business Week's 100 Best Global Brands 2008 and 189th on the Fortune Global 500 in year 2008. Canon has consistently remained as one of the top 3 global companies to have earned the most number of patents over the last decade. Guided by its kyosei philosophy, which focuses on "living and working together for the common good", Canon delivers high performance and user-friendly products and solutions to improve efficiency both in the office and home environment. More information is available on www.canon.co.in.


Canon in India

Canon's product portfolio extends over a vast variety of photocopiers, multi-functional peripherals, fax-machines, inkjet and laser printers, scanners, All-in-ones, digital cameras, camcorders , dye sub photo printers and multi media projectors, cable ID printers, semi conductors and card printers.

Canon India Pvt. Ltd. is a 100% subsidiary of Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd., a world leader in imaging technologies. Set up in 1997, Canon India markets over 140 comprehensive range of sophisticated contemporary digital imaging. The company today has offices in 7 cities, warehouses in 11 cities across India and employs over 700 people. Canon has over 300 primary channel partners 14 National Retail Chain partners, over 3000 secondary retail points including 270 National Retail Chain store partners & 33 Canon Care Centers. The sales staff saw a 30% % increase over 2008. Canon products are available in over 300 towns in India. Overall Canon's presence is expected to increase to 4000 outlets by December 2009.

Canon India closed 2008 with revenues of Rs. 665 crores, which marked 31% growth over 2007. Overall, Canon expects to touch revenue of 840 crores in 2009. Canon India has a Software Development Centre located in Noida as well as a design center at Bangalore. Canon India received the CII-EXIM Business Excellence Award for Strong commitment to excel.


CONTACT DETAILS
Nidhi Mehra, 20:20 MEDIA Pvt Ltd, + 91 9818336154, nidhimehra@2020india.com
Ankita Upadhyay, 20:20 MEDIA Pvt Ltd, + 91 9711101860, ankita@2020india.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, PUBLISHING, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: Hypercity Announces the Launch of Mango Festival

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: HyperCITY
Thursday, April 30, 2009 04:03 PM IST (10:33 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Food & drink; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Retailers
Release no: 19836
--------------------------------------------------
Hypercity Announces the Launch of Mango Festival
Discover Over 25 Mouthwatering Varieties of Mangoes

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Come summer and there is a reason to smile. HyperCity is offering a luscious variety of mangoes at the launch its Mango Festival. The mango varieties displayed at the Hypercity Mango Festival comprise of the traditional favourites as well as several international varieties of mangoes. Some of the major varieties that you can get include the Alphonso, Kesar, Payari, Langada, Dussheri, Badami among others which are available at Hypercity. For those keen on the international varieties there are the Tom Atkins and Austin mangoes imported from USA.

Ashutosh Chakradeo, Business Head - Food and Grocery, Hypercity Retail (I) Ltd commented, "Summer is synonymous with mangoes. If you love fruits, especially mangoes then you should attend the Hypercity Mango Festival. As a part of our commitment to discovery we have mangoes which are grown and ripened naturally and specially certified as organic. We at Hypercity want to give our customers the variety and choice which would suit their taste buds at great value."

Shoppers' can now browse through Hypercity's aromatic, gold-lined aisles, selecting the luscious fruit as per their taste and budget. Mangoes are available at affordable prices starting from Rs 49 onwards (Badami) to Rs 275 onwards (Alphonso) onwards per dozen onwards. The offers and discounts are all part of the desire to make each customer find the best all under a single roof at Hypercity. You can also have fun with mangoes at Hypercity with recipes available to improvise preparations like Mango Lassi, Mango with cream etc

The Mango Festival is being celebrated in Hypercity's Malad, Vashi and Jaipur stores. The festival is on till the end of June.

Welcome to the world of discovery!

For more information, log on to www.hypercityindia.com

-- Popular Varieties of Mangoes Showcased at the Festival

Alphonso, Kesar, Payari, Ratna, Sindhu, Swarnarekha, Mangala, Langada, Chausa, Dussheri, Badami, Batliaapus

-- International Varieties

Tom Atkins, Austin

About Hypercity

Hypercity Retail (India) Pvt. Ltd. is part of the K. Raheja Corp. Group, a leader in the Indian retail sector. Hypercity, a hypermarket in the true sense, is situated over 1,20,000 sq feet and stocks an astonishing array of product categories-groceries, food, home needs, fresh food, garments and consumer durables-and offers time-pressed consumers more convenience, variety and value for their money, all under roof.


CONTACT DETAILS
Archana Iyer, IPAN PR, +91 9820398489, archana.iyer@ipan.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, FOOD, MARKETING, RETAIL

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BWI: BMW India Opens New Sales and Service Outlet in Coimbatore

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: BMW India
Thursday, April 30, 2009 02:00 PM IST (08:30 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Lifestyle; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Automotives, Business services, Media & entertainment, Retailers; Automotive
Release no: 19834
--------------------------------------------------
BMW India Opens New Sales and Service Outlet in Coimbatore


Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- BMW India announced the opening of Kun Exclusive, Coimbatore a satellite facility of Kun Exclusive, Chennai, Dealership Partner for BMW India in Tamil Nadu.

The new sales and service outlet brings to Coimbatore world-renowned BMW standards of sales and service and the same international experience as any BMW sales and service centre worldwide.

The facility is located on Aerodrome Road near NK Palayam, Ondipudur and is comprised of a fully equipped workshop and a sales outlet at the same location. The facility covers approximately 5000 sq ft of space that includes almost 500 sq ft of new car display area.

Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Owen Riley, Director After Sales, BMW India said, "We are proud to announce that our sales and service facility in Coimbatore is now operational. This facility, in partnership with Kun Exclusive, also initiates phase II of our expansion in India and is reflective of BMW's efforts to connect with customers and prospects across the state to provide high quality services that are at par with international standards."

Ms. Vasanthi Bhupathi, Managing Director, Kun Exclusive said, "It is a matter of great pride to enhance our relationship with BMW India. We believe that our presence in Coimbatore will provide customers and prospects enhanced reach and service facilities. We view this as an exciting growth of our partnership with BMW".

As with every other BMW dealership, the staff from this facility of Kun Exclusive will be provided intense training in management of sales, service, spare parts and business systems to ensure customers receive best-in-class pre and post sales ownership experience.

BMW India has now stepped into Phase 2 of its Dealer Network activities. BMW India will further expand operations in 10 additional cities by end of 2010 which will include dealerships in Jaipur, Lucknow, Ludhiana and satellite facility in Coimbatore.

BMW India

Headquartered in Gurgaon (National Capital Region) BMW India is a 100% subsidiary of the BMW Group. The initial investment in India is 1.1 billion Indian Rupees.

The wide range of BMW activities in India include the establishment of a production plant in Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and development of a dealer organisation across major metropolitan centres of the country.

In medium term, BMW India will employ around 200 people; up to 600 additional jobs will be created in the dealer and service network.

On 29 March 2007, BMW India officially opened its production plant in Chennai. The BMW Plant Chennai produces the BMW 3 Series and BMW 5 Series Sedans in petrol and diesel variants and has a capacity to produce 3000 units per year on a single shift basis.

Presently, 12 dealers represent BMW in the Indian market; Bird Automotive (Gurgaon, NCR), Deutschen Motoren (New Delhi); Navnit Motors (Mumbai), Infinity Cars (South Mumbai); Krishna Automobiles (Chandigarh); Navnit Motors (Bangalore), Delta Motors (Hyderabad), Kun Exclusive (Chennai), Bavaria Motors (Pune), OSL Prestige (Kolkata), Parsoli Motors (Ahmedabad) and Platino Classic (Kochi) . Owing to an exuberant growth potential, BMW is hopeful of multiplying its annual sales volume and has already chalked out an extensive dealer strategy to support its plans.

BMW dealerships presently display the BMW 3 Series (325i, 320i and 320d, 320d Highline) and BMW 5 Series (525i, 530i, 520d, 530d and 530d Highline) that are produced at the BMW Plant Chennai. BMW dealerships also display the BMW 6 Series (650i Coupé and 650i Convertible), BMW 7 Series (750Li), BMW X3 (X3 xDrive25i, X3 xDrive20d), the BMW X5 (X5 xDrive48i and X5 xDrive30d) and the BMW X6 (X6 xDrive50i and X6 xDrive30d) which are available in the country as CBU's (completely built-up units). The BMW M3 Coupé, BMW M3 Convertible, BMW M5, BMW M6 Coupé, BMW M6 Convertible, BMW 6 Series Individual and BMW 7 Series Individual can also be ordered at BMW India dealerships.

BMW India has also established an International Purchasing Office (IPO) at its Headquarters in Gurgaon. The IPO will focus on the development of exports from India to the BMW Group International Production Network and there work towards increasing the sourcing share from India over the next years. The activities include the identification and assessment of potential suppliers taking into account BMW's requirements for quality, technology and logistics. The IPO will explore procurement of production material (components) as well as IT and Engineering Services.

BMW Financial Services

BMW Financial Services is currently active in more than 50 countries worldwide offering competitive financial solutions for BMW and MINI customers. In 20 countries, BMW Financial Services offers its services through leading local banking and insurance partners.

BMW India has partnered with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance for offering motor insurance and with ICICI Bank to offer customised financial solutions and ORIX Auto Infrastructure Services Limited for leasing services for its customers. These products and services are offered through the BMW Financial Services.

To view the photograph, please click on the link given below:

Mr. Owen Riley, Director After Sales, BMW India and Ms. Vasanthi Bhupathi, Managing Director, Kun Exclusive
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Pic 1(34).JPG
Mr. Owen Riley, Director After Sales, BMW India and Ms. Vasanthi Bhupathi, Managing Director, Kun Exclusive


CONTACT DETAILS
Abhay Dange, General Manager Press and Corporate Affairs, BMW India, +91 9910481013, + 91 (124) 4566600, Abhay.Dange@bmw.in
Preeti Gupta, Vox Public Relations, +91 9871401722, +91 (11) 40613003, Preetig@voxpr.co.in

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, LIFESTYLE, MARKETING, AUTOMOTIVE, BUSINESS SERVICES, MEDIA, RETAIL, AUTOMOTIVE

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BWI: TANDBERG Technology Breakthrough Shatters the Barrier of Proprietary Telepresence

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: TANDBERG
Thursday, April 30, 2009 12:30 PM IST (07:00 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Information technology, Retailers, Telecommunications; Technology
Release no: 19833
--------------------------------------------------
TANDBERG Technology Breakthrough Shatters the Barrier of Proprietary Telepresence
In Response to Customer Demand TANDBERG is the First and Only Vendor to Deliver Uncompromised Telepresence Interoperability

Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Today TANDBERG (OSLO: TAA.OL) announced its Telepresence T3 is the first and only immersive telepresence solution that maintains the multi-screen, high-definition telepresence experience when calling out to a third-party telepresence system. This new functionality is meeting the growing demands of organizations that require all video systems to fully interoperate, putting an end to siloed communication.

"Organizations are turning to telepresence solutions now more than ever for the fast return on investment from reduced travel and increased productivity. However, as unified communications become more and more important, enterprises can¹t afford to invest in solutions that cannot work together," said Dominic Dodd, Global Program Director, Unified Communications & Collaboration, Frost & Sullivan. "By enabling telepresence systems to interoperate TANDBERG has upped the ante by creating a standard that all telepresence providers will have to live up to if they want to be included in future purchasing decisions."

Recognized for outstanding design, the Telepresence T3 provides the best telepresence experience in the industry. It is interoperable with the TANDBERG product portfolio, Microsoft Office Communications Server, and other standards-based video endpoints and telepresence systems. Today's announcement extends that interoperability to provide the full telepresence experience when connecting with users of Polycom telepresence. This advanced telepresence interoperability, enabled through a TANDBERG Telepresence Server software upgrade, allows organizations to get the most out of their existing and future telepresence investments by enabling them to connect to a wider audience.

"Interoperability is now a critical business need and this announcement today shows our commitment in enabling open communities where people can collaborate naturally no matter how or where they are connecting," said TANDBERG's President for Asia Pacific (excluding China and Japan), Lars Rønning, said. "TANDBERG Telepresence systems are already interoperable with a broad range of third-party solutions. With high-definition multi-screen interoperability, TANDBERG delivers the best possible experience for customers connecting to their existing, or their partners' telepresence systems."

The unique TANDBERG Telepresence Server interoperability feature enables:

-- Existing TANDBERG Telepresence T3 customers to call a third party vendor's telepresence endpoint while preserving the full TANDBERG immersive telepresence functionality, providing the best call experience to every participant

-- TANDBERG customers, in a world first, to be able to connect to customers and partners who are using a different manufacturer's telepresence system

-- Service providers to offer uniquely differentiated services to their telepresence customers, opening up previously closed systems to telepresence calls

"TANDBERG's breakthrough in providing telepresence interoperability, coupled with BT's industry leading One Source Managed Services, defines our shared focus of providing customers with high-impact communication, a simplified user experience, and maximum return on investment," said Jeff Prestel, General Manager, BT Conferencing. "With this interoperability first and our position as a global Certified Managed Services Provider for TANDBERG Total Service, BT and TANDBERG are poised to provide customers with a cost-effective, high quality immersive experience even when they may have different telepresence platforms. We're allowing customers, suppliers and partners to communicate in ways never before possible, and creating business collaboration opportunities at a whole new level."

"Everybody wants telepresence interoperability and now TANDBERG is providing it," said Scott Allen, CEO, Iformata Communications, a global service provider. "Instead of primarily providing a vertical support model for our customers, we will be able to seamlessly connect customers across previously insurmountable communication barriers. This will help us ensure that our customers receive the best possible return on their hardware investments."

TANDBERG's industry leadership is paving the way for access to lifelike visual communications for everyone, illustrated by recent successful industry firsts, such as the demonstration of FluidHDTM (1080p60 video technology demonstration) and now telepresence interoperability. TANDBERG will continue to build on its successes by working to develop immersive interoperability with additional telepresence systems - both proprietary and standards-based.

The interoperability feature software upgrade for the Telepresence Server is now available. For more information, please visit www.TANDBERG.com or contact moreinfo@TANDBERG.com.

About TANDBERG

TANDBERG is the leading global provider of telepresence, high-definition video conferencing and mobile video products and services with dual headquarters in New York and Norway. TANDBERG designs, develops and markets systems and software for video, voice and data. The company provides sales, support and value-added services in more than 90 countries worldwide. TANDBERG is publicly traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker TAA.OL. Please visit www.tandberg.com for more information.

TANDBERG is a trademark or registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries. All other product and company names here in may be trademarks of their respective owners.


CONTACT DETAILS
Nilesh Pritam, TANDBERG, +65 62369231, +65 93695477, Nilesh.Pritam@tandberg.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, RETAIL, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: Prometric to Expand India Infrastructure in Support of New Multimillion Dollar Contract with Indian Institutes of Management

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Business Wire
Thursday, April 30, 2009 10:02 AM IST (04:32 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Information technology; Technology
Release no: 19829
--------------------------------------------------
(BW)(MD-PROMETRIC)Prometric to Expand India Infrastructure in Support of New Multimillion Dollar Contract with Indian Institutes of Management


New Delhi, Delhi, India and Baltimore, United States, Thursday, April 30, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) --

Prometric, the world's leading provider of technology-enabled testing and assessment services, announced that it has been awarded an exclusive, $40 million dollar contract by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) to computerize the prestigious Common Admissions Test (CAT). To efficiently deliver the first ever computerized version of the exam to over 250,000 Indian students this fall, Prometric will accelerate plans to further build out its people, services and technology infrastructure in India.

In assuming responsibility for all aspects of the CAT program, including item authoring, test development, test administration and scoring and reporting services, Prometric will add resources, including dedicated test development and support staff, in India. Complementing the 185 employees, test center network and other assets Prometric already operates in India, these additional new resources will provide a more powerful and rigorous means for the CAT, and any other test publishers looking at expansion in India, to leverage for growth.

The CAT is the premiere admissions test used in the selection process for admission to the Indian Institutes of Management, a network of India's most prestigious business schools based in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong. Of the 250,000 students that take the exam each year, ultimately just over 1,500 are admitted to one of the IIMs. It is therefore one of the most competitive and high profile admission exam administrations in the world, requiring tight execution and secure exam delivery.

For the first time in history, instead of testing only one day a year, candidates will be able to test during a 10-day testing window across 23 Indian cities where secure computer-based testing centers specially prepared for the CAT exam are strategically positioned throughout the country. The longer window and wider availability will provide candidates greater flexibility when choosing a testing date, time or location as well as near-ubiquitous access to testing locations. In addition, computerization of the CAT will result in faster score processing, enabling the IIMs and more than a hundred other Indian business schools that rely on the results to more quickly make their admissions decisions.

"The breadth of Prometric's business is truly global, which means that our most valuable assets - our skilled employees, test center network, data centers and call centers - are distributed across many countries around the world; this is a huge advantage to all our clients and one they will never find with any other provider," said Michael Brannick, President and CEO of Prometric. "Our commitment to making global infrastructure investments that support our growth strategy has not waned at all, and creates a win-win situation for us and our clients."

About Prometric

Prometric, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ETS, is the recognized global leader in technology-enabled testing and assessment services. Its comprehensive suite of services, including test development, test delivery and data management capabilities, allows clients to develop and launch global testing programs as well as accurately measure program results and data. Prometric reliably delivers and administers more than seven million tests a year on behalf of 450 clients in the academic, professional, healthcare, government, corporate and information technology markets. It delivers tests flexibly via the Web or by utilizing a robust network of more than 10,000 test centers in 163 countries. For more information, please visit www.prometric.com.



CONTACT DETAILS
CONTACTS :

Prometric
Jodi Katz, Public Relations Manager
+1-443-455-6811
Jodi.Katz@prometric.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, EDUCATION, IT, TECHNOLOGY

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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

BWI: Hyundai Becomes the Travelling Partner for Shah Rukh Khan

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Hyundai Motor India Limited
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 06:14 PM IST (12:44 PM GMT)
Editors: General: Entertainment, People, Sports; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Automotives, Media & entertainment, Sports; Automotive
Release no: 19827
--------------------------------------------------
Hyundai Becomes the Travelling Partner for Shah Rukh Khan


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Shah Rukh Khan, the brand ambassador for Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the country's second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter, will now be seen travelling in Hyundai vehicles for the whole of IPL season.

At a ceremony in Cape Town, Alan Ross, MD, Hyundai Motor, South Africa, handed over the car keys to the Bollywood superstar and owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan. He will be using the Hyundai Tucson for himself and his entourage in South Africa throughout the IPL season.

Commenting on the occasion Arvind Saxena, Sr. Vice President, Marketing & Sales, HMIL said, "Shah Rukh Khan has been the face of Hyundai ever since the Korean Auto Major made its entry into India with the launch of its flagship brand Santro. SRK association with Hyundai has been one of the longest associations not only for an automobile company but for any brand in India and has helped Hyundai become a popular and easily recognisable brand. And as a goodwill gesture we are happy to facilitate all his travels in South Africa during the IPL season in comfortable Hyundai cars."

In CY 2008, Hyundai Motor India exported around 10,000 units of Santro and the i10 to South Africa. The i10 and the Santro are also the best selling models in the small car segment in South African market. SRK and his guest will have exclusive use of the Hyundai cars throughout their stay in South Africa.

About HMIL

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea and is the second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter from India. HMIL presently markets 33 variants of passenger cars across segments. The Santro in the B segment, the Getz Prime, i10 and the Premium hatchback i20 in the B+ segment, the Accent and the Verna in the C segment, the Sonata in the E segment and the Tucson in the SUV segment.

Hyundai Motor India, continuing its tradition of being the fastest growing passenger car manufacturer, registering total sales of 489,328 vehicles in the calendar year (CY) 2008, an increase of 49.6 percent over CY 2007. In the domestic market it clocked a growth of 22.4 percent as compared to 2007 with 245,397 units, while overseas sales grew by 92.5 percent, with exports of 243,931 units.

HMIL's fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of its commitment to provide the Indian customer with global technology, HMIL commissioned its second plant in February 2008 which produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL's total production capacity to 600,000 units per annum.

HMIL has invested to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC's global export hub for compact cars. Apart from the expansion of production capacity, HMIL currently has 253 strong dealer network across India, which will be further bolstered in 2009.

In 2008, HMIL also successfully completed 10 glorious years of operations in India and to commemorate its achievements, initiated a unique trans-continental drive from Delhi to Paris in two of its hugely popular i10 Kappa cars. The drive created automobile history by completing a distance of 10,000km in just 17 days after which the i10s were showcased at the Paris Motor Show in October. In fact it was at the Paris Motor Show that HMIL first unveiled the Hyundai i20 and the car received a phenomenal response from the auto enthusiasts across the world. Hyundai Motor India also accomplished the landmark of producing the fastest 20th lakh cars in India in 2008.

Like 2008, the year 2007 had also been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest 400,000th export car. Hyundai exported to over 100 countries globally; even as it plans to continue its thrust in existing export markets, it is gearing up to step up its foray into new markets. 2007 also saw the launch of the i10 and yet another path-breaking record in its young journey by rolling out the fastest 1,500,000th car.

Hyundai's new model i10 made a clean sweep of all the 'Car of the Year 2008' awards from the leading automotive magazines and TV channels like BS Motoring, CNBC-TV18 AutoCar, NDTV Profit Car & Bike India and Overdrive magazine. The i10 was also the choice of the discerning automotive media of the country as they conferred the prestigious 'Indian Car of the Year' (ICOTY) award to the i10 as well.

The Santro and the Accent also received the 'TNS Voice of the Customer - 2008' award for the Premium Compact Car (Santro) and the Entry Mid size Car (Accent). In March 2008 it achieved yet another milestone by rolling out the fastest 500,000th export car.

In 2007, the Hyundai Verna had also bagged some of the most prestigious awards starting with the Overdrive magazine's 'Car of the Year 2007', the 'Best Mid-size Car of the Year' award from NDTV Profit Car & Bike India, the 'Best Value for Money Car' from CNBC Autocar and 'Performance Car of the Year' from Business Standard Motoring.

Hyundai cars have been a favorite at all awards ceremonies and has won many awards. The Sonata Embera won the 'Executive Car of The Year 2006' award from Business Standard Motoring magazine and NDTV Profit Car & Bike India had declared the Tucson as the 'SUV of The Year 2006'.

Not only this, HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices.
Corporate website: www.hyundai.co.in

To view the photograph, please click on the link given below:

Hyundai i10 Brand Ambassador & Owner of Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan with a Hyundai Official at a Car Key Handover Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. SRK will be using the Hyundai Tucson for Himself and his Entourage in South Africa throughout the IPL Season
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/SRK in SA.jpg
Hyundai i10 Brand Ambassador & Owner of Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan with a Hyundai Official at a Car Key Handover Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. SRK will be using the Hyundai Tucson for Himself and his Entourage in South Africa Throughout the IPL Season


CONTACT DETAILS
V Anand, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., +91 9810758141, anandv@hmil.net
Shekhar Das Chowdhury, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., +91 9873837369, shekhar.dc@hmil.net
Aparna Srivastava, IPAN, +91 9811234594, aparna.srivastava@ipan.com

KEYWORDS
ENTERTAINMENT, PEOPLE, SPORTS, MARKETING, AUTOMOTIVE, MEDIA, AUTOMOTIVE

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BWI: Hyundai Becomes the Travelling Partner for Shah Rukh Khan

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Hyundai Motor India Limited
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 06:14 PM IST (12:44 PM GMT)
Editors: General: People, Sports; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Automotives, Media & entertainment, Sports; Automotive
Release no: 19827
--------------------------------------------------
Hyundai Becomes the Travelling Partner for Shah Rukh Khan


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Shah Rukh Khan, the brand ambassador for Hyundai Motor India Ltd (HMIL), the country's second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter, will now be seen travelling in Hyundai vehicles for the whole of IPL season.

At a ceremony in Cape Town, Alan Ross, MD, Hyundai Motor, South Africa, handed over the car keys to the Bollywood superstar and owner of the IPL team Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan. He will be using the Hyundai Tucson for himself and his entourage in South Africa throughout the IPL season.

Commenting on the occasion Arvind Saxena, Sr. Vice President, Marketing & Sales, HMIL said, "Shah Rukh Khan has been the face of Hyundai ever since the Korean Auto Major made its entry into India with the launch of its flagship brand Santro. SRK association with Hyundai has been one of the longest associations not only for an automobile company but for any brand in India and has helped Hyundai become a popular and easily recognisable brand. And as a goodwill gesture we are happy to facilitate all his travels in South Africa during the IPL season in comfortable Hyundai cars."

In CY 2008, Hyundai Motor India exported around 10,000 units of Santro and the i10 to South Africa. The i10 and the Santro are also the best selling models in the small car segment in South African market. SRK and his guest will have exclusive use of the Hyundai cars throughout their stay in South Africa.

About HMIL

Hyundai Motor India Limited (HMIL) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, South Korea and is the second largest car manufacturer and the largest passenger car exporter from India. HMIL presently markets 33 variants of passenger cars across segments. The Santro in the B segment, the Getz Prime, i10 and the Premium hatchback i20 in the B+ segment, the Accent and the Verna in the C segment, the Sonata in the E segment and the Tucson in the SUV segment.

Hyundai Motor India, continuing its tradition of being the fastest growing passenger car manufacturer, registering total sales of 489,328 vehicles in the calendar year (CY) 2008, an increase of 49.6 percent over CY 2007. In the domestic market it clocked a growth of 22.4 percent as compared to 2007 with 245,397 units, while overseas sales grew by 92.5 percent, with exports of 243,931 units.

HMIL's fully integrated state-of-the-art manufacturing plant near Chennai boasts of the most advanced production, quality and testing capabilities in the country. In continuation of its commitment to provide the Indian customer with global technology, HMIL commissioned its second plant in February 2008 which produces an additional 300,000 units per annum, raising HMIL's total production capacity to 600,000 units per annum.

HMIL has invested to expand capacity in line with its positioning as HMC's global export hub for compact cars. Apart from the expansion of production capacity, HMIL currently has 253 strong dealer network across India, which will be further bolstered in 2009.

In 2008, HMIL also successfully completed 10 glorious years of operations in India and to commemorate its achievements, initiated a unique trans-continental drive from Delhi to Paris in two of its hugely popular i10 Kappa cars. The drive created automobile history by completing a distance of 10,000km in just 17 days after which the i10s were showcased at the Paris Motor Show in October. In fact it was at the Paris Motor Show that HMIL first unveiled the Hyundai i20 and the car received a phenomenal response from the auto enthusiasts across the world. Hyundai Motor India also accomplished the landmark of producing the fastest 20th lakh cars in India in 2008.

Like 2008, the year 2007 had also been a significant year for Hyundai Motor India. It achieved a significant milestone by rolling out the fastest 400,000th export car. Hyundai exported to over 100 countries globally; even as it plans to continue its thrust in existing export markets, it is gearing up to step up its foray into new markets. 2007 also saw the launch of the i10 and yet another path-breaking record in its young journey by rolling out the fastest 1,500,000th car.

Hyundai's new model i10 made a clean sweep of all the 'Car of the Year 2008' awards from the leading automotive magazines and TV channels like BS Motoring, CNBC-TV18 AutoCar, NDTV Profit Car & Bike India and Overdrive magazine. The i10 was also the choice of the discerning automotive media of the country as they conferred the prestigious 'Indian Car of the Year' (ICOTY) award to the i10 as well.

The Santro and the Accent also received the 'TNS Voice of the Customer - 2008' award for the Premium Compact Car (Santro) and the Entry Mid size Car (Accent). In March 2008 it achieved yet another milestone by rolling out the fastest 500,000th export car.

In 2007, the Hyundai Verna had also bagged some of the most prestigious awards starting with the Overdrive magazine's 'Car of the Year 2007', the 'Best Mid-size Car of the Year' award from NDTV Profit Car & Bike India, the 'Best Value for Money Car' from CNBC Autocar and 'Performance Car of the Year' from Business Standard Motoring.

Hyundai cars have been a favorite at all awards ceremonies and has won many awards. The Sonata Embera won the 'Executive Car of The Year 2006' award from Business Standard Motoring magazine and NDTV Profit Car & Bike India had declared the Tucson as the 'SUV of The Year 2006'.

Not only this, HMIL has also been awarded the benchmark ISO 14001 certification for its sustainable environment management practices.
Corporate website: www.hyundai.co.in
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/SRK in SA.jpg
Hyundai i10 Brand Ambassador & Owner of Kolkata Knight Riders Shah Rukh Khan with a Hyundai Official at a Car Key Handover Ceremony in Cape Town, South Africa. SRK will be using the Hyundai Tucson for Himself and his Entourage in South Africa Throughout the IPL Season


CONTACT DETAILS
V Anand, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., +91 9810758141, anandv@hmil.net
Shekhar Das Chowdhury, Hyundai Motor India Ltd., +91 9873837369, shekhar.dc@hmil.net
Aparna Srivastava, IPAN, +91 9811234594, aparna.srivastava@ipan.com

KEYWORDS
PEOPLE, SPORTS, MARKETING, AUTOMOTIVE, MEDIA, AUTOMOTIVE

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BWI: Astra Microwave Board Recommends 25% Dividend for FY09

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Astra Microwave Products Limited
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 03:56 PM IST (10:26 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy; Business: Banking & financial services, Business services, Defence & security, Electronic appliances & components, Financial Analyst, Stock exchanges, Telecommunications; Technology
Release no: 19826
--------------------------------------------------
Astra Microwave Board Recommends 25% Dividend for FY09


Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- Audited Consolidated FY09 Sales INR 1.18 bln; Net Profit INR 156.74 mln

-- Orders on Hand INR 1.93 bln; Executable Over Next 18 Months

BSE: 532493
NSE: ASTRAMICRO
Reuters: ASTM.BO
Bloomberg: ASTM.IN

Astra Microwave Products Ltd, India's leading provider of microwave technologies used in defense, space, and telecom applications, today announced that the company's board of directors has recommended a dividend of 25%, or INR 0.50 per share of INR 2.00 par value, for the fiscal year ended 31 March 2009. With this payment, Astra Microwave has maintained its track record of dividend payments every year since 1993-94.

Audited consolidated FY09 net sales from operations was INR 1.18 billion against INR 1.27 billion a year ago, while consolidated FY09 net profit was INR 156.74 million against INR 202.95 million a year ago.

As of today, Astra Microwave has on hand orders worth INR 1.93 billion, which are scheduled for execution over the next 18 months.

Comment by B Malla Reddy, Managing Director, Astra Microwave Products

Astra Microwave's 16th consecutive dividend payout emphasizes the company's unfailing commitment to creating economic value and distributing it to shareholders, said B Malla Reddy, Managing Director, Astra Microwave.

"Right from its inception, Astra Microwave has been a company with a unique mission of creating cutting-edge microwave technologies for critical applications. With a healthy order book, and active customers and partnerships with the most active players in defense, space, and telecom across India and globally, we believe we are on the road to larger successes ahead," Mr Malla Reddy said.

The operational results for FY09 were in line with internal estimates, Mr Malla Reddy said. "I have said on many occasions that Astra Microwave's business order flows are project-driven, our customers being primarily government departments and government-run undertakings. Our revenue and cost flows, thus, do not follow a smooth pattern. We had an excellent first two quarters thanks to many orders getting lumped together."

The company exercised tight control over costs, improved its inventory management, and significant success was achieved, even as the reduction of production floor inventory compared with FY08 effected profitability on comparative terms, Mr Malla Reddy said.

About Astra Microwave Products Ltd

Headquartered in Hyderabad, India, Astra Microwave Products Ltd (www.astramwp.com) designs, develops, and manufactures components and sub-systems for radio frequency and microwave wireless systems used in defense, space, and telecom applications. Prominent customers include, among others, the Defense Research Development Organization, Bharat Electronics, Hindustan Aeronautics, Bharat Dynamics, Electronics Corporation of India, the Indian Space Research Organization, the Indian Meteorological Department, Reliance Communications, Ericsson, and Tata Teleservices.

To view the Audited Results, please click on the link given below:

Astra FY09 Audited Table
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Astra_FY09_audited_table_090429.pdf
Astra_FY09_audited_table_090429.pdf


CONTACT DETAILS
S Gurunatha Reddy, Astra Microwave Products Limited, +91 40 30618000/+91 9849027681, sgr@astramwp.com
Dev Chandrasekhar, Ubiquus, +91 9821070043, d.chandrasekhar@ubiquus.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, DEFENCE, ELECTRONICS, Financial Analyst, STOCK EXCHANGES, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY, ASTRAMICRO.NS, 532493.BO

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BWI: TERI and DELL Launch “The Climate EduXchange Initiative” in India

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 03:26 PM IST (09:56 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Environment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Energy companies, Information technology; Technology
Release no: 19825
--------------------------------------------------
TERI and DELL Launch "The Climate EduXchange Initiative" in India
The First of Its Kind Environment Initiative will have Dell - TERI Knowledge Centres in Schools Across Six Indian Cities - Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mohali & Pune

Mohali, Punjab, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Dell in partnership with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) today announced the launch of "The Climate EduXchange Initiative" -- an IT-enabled Climate initiative to improve environment education in schools across India. The primary objective of this partnership is to create a motivated force of students, who through technological advancements are aware of and concerned about the environment and its associated problems.

The campaign aims to raise awareness and understanding about climate change issues amongst students and teachers of all disciplines. It will focus on findings of IPCC to disseminate knowledge to students and teachers and promote engagement on these issues with students in other parts of the country. It also aspires to familiarise all to the importance of the internet and the computer as powerful tools for knowledge and motivate them to take action and bring about desired change in the environment.

Talking about the youth's role, Dr. RK Pachauri, Director-General TERI, said, "Youth of today carry out extensive search for knowledge through the internet. The spread of Information Technology in India has dramatically altered the scenario for education on a vast range of subjects. Given the importance of climate change for the entire human race and the stake that citizens of the 21st century have in dealing with this major challenge, TERI and Dell have jointly launched The Climate EduXchange Initiative. This would be a unique programme for creating awareness and understanding on climate change by which schoolchildren and students can take the future into their own hands and find solutions to the rapidly increasing threat of climate instability."

Elaborating on DELL's vision, Mr. Ganesh Lakshminarayanan, VP and MD Dell International Services, said "Considering the large youth population in India, it is imperative to educate them about issues that govern the future of this planet. This initiative is aimed at empowering the youth with tools and platforms for knowledge sharing that will help them build a better future. The power of youth is certain to bring about a change - and that change needs to start now."

The Climate EduXchange program is in harmony with Dell's YouthConnect initiative, which has an underlying vision of developing a generation of young people who can leverage technology resources to unleash their highest potential. The initiative is designed to ensure that youth all over the world have access to relevant education and information technology.

As a part of the Youth Connect campaign Dell plans to increase overall corporate giving to a level of one percent of company pre-tax profits by the beginning of the company's fiscal year 2011, which begins in February 2010.

The programme will reach out to six cities-Bangalore, Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai, Mohali and Pune. It will include children from classes 5 to 11 from 50 schools in each city. They will be divided in five clusters and one school from each cluster will be identified as the nodal school (Knowledge Centres). The Climate EduXchange Initiative will harness the power of ICT (Information Communication Technology) providing a platform for students from identified parts of the country to share information and ideas across disciplines, about how climate change is affecting them and how they can do their bit in bringing about change.

Lauding the initiative, Mr. Ibrahim H Rehman, Director Social Transformations, said "The youth are not only the decision makers & leaders of tomorrow but, more importantly the custodians of environment and the natural resources in this planet. We hope that the EduXchange initiative will encourage the students and youth to take a pro-active role in reversing climate change."

Mr Sandeep Gulati, Site Director, Dell Mohali said, "Climate change is a sensitive issue today that has gripped the attention of many. Building awareness and educating students about the same needs to be supplemented with a robust platform that facilitates dialogue and discussion. The 'Climate EduXchange Initiative' with TERI is an effort to engage with students through a powerful medium like the Internet and promote an environment that is conducive to learning and knowledge sharing."

The main highlights of the Project are as follows:

-- The Internet will be one of the main tools. Project schools from different cities in India will be linked:

- An interactive web repository will be setup that will connect all schools and provide a platform of knowledge and sharing of experiences

- Individual schools will develop webpage, which will connect to the main home page. All materials developed, will be promoted through the webpage, newsletters

- The content displayed will be generated by students and teachers

-- Dell - TERI Knowledge Centres will be set up in the nodal schools which will be equipped with computers and other hardware and software. These Knowledge Centres will be accessible to all the cluster schools. Nodal schools will be encouraged to reach out to cluster schools acting as an information channel ensuring that voices of all are integrated into the programme

-- Resource material such as multimedia aids, posters, worksheets, leaflets, brochures, etc will be developed and uploaded

-- Regular online and on the spot competitions will be organized - debate, quiz, painting, story writing etc

-- Initiation, Sensitization and Capacity Building workshops, interactive sessions and discussion forums, and field trips will be conducted for teachers and students on a regular basis - stress will be put on approaches that facilitate the sharing of information, knowledge and ideas keeping their focus and connection to the key issues

Young people offer a powerful and unique perspective on climate change. Their engagement with the issue is, however, long overdue. The Climate EduXchange programme intends to reach out to students, teachers, and the community in general to spread awareness about this key issue.

About TERI - EEA (Environment Education Awareness)

Environment Education and Awareness area at TERI has dedicated itself to the task of creating an informed group of young citizens who will become the leaders of tomorrow and for whom environmental issues will become a part of their daily lives. It has conducted several projects on issues related to water, air, climate change, energy, etc. It develops and disseminates resource material (both print and electronic) for effective communication, besides networking with like-minded institutes, for wider outreach at the national and global platform.

The area targets mainly students and teachers and through them the community. To bring about a spirit of participatory competition for addressing environmental concerns innovative projects and activities are undertaken such as conferences, interactive sessions and discussions. An annual international environmental examination - GREEN Olympiad for middle and senior school students is conducted in association with the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Govt. of India that culminates in the TERRAQUIZ, the first environmental quiz programme for school students on Indian television. School Health and Hygiene programme is being carried out in the government schools of Haryana (Gurgaon, Sonepat and Panipat) and Delhi under the Yamuna Action Plan - II. Workshops, seminars, training programmes and educational field trips on environmental issues are organised for teachers and students at regular intervals.

To know further details about the programme, contact eea@teri.res.in

About DELL

Dell Inc. (NASDAQ: DELL) listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services they trust and value. Uniquely enabled by its direct business model, Dell is a leading global systems and services company and No. 34 on the Fortune 500. For more information, visit www.dell.com, or to communicate directly with Dell via a variety of online channels, go to www.dell.com/conversations.


CONTACT DETAILS
Rajiv Chhibber, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), +91 11 24682100, Extn - 2324, +91 9810426698, rajivc@teri.res.in
Dalvinder Kaur, The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), +91 11 24682100, Extn - 2269, +91 9891377700, djkaur@teri.res.in
Mahesh Jayaram, Dell, +91 9845120820, mahesh_jayaram@dell.com
Devika Bajaj, 20:20 Media for Dell, +91 9810928468, devika@2020india.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENVIRONMENT, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, EDUCATION, ENERGY, IT, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: Citibank Reduces PLR to 14.75% from 15%

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Citi
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 01:19 PM IST (07:49 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst
Release no: 19823
--------------------------------------------------
Citibank Reduces PLR to 14.75% from 15%


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- Citibank today announced it has reduced its Prime Lending Rate (PLR) by 25 basis points to 14.75 percent from the present 15 percent. The new PLR will be effective May 1, 2009. This reduction is in line with the prevailing monetary policy of the RBI, lower deposit rates and overall cost of funds.

Citibank last revised its PLR in November, when the rate was lowered from 15.50 percent to 15 percent.

About Citi

Citi, the leading global financial services company, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 140 countries. Through its two operating units, Citicorp and Citi Holdings, Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com or www.citi.com.


CONTACT DETAILS
Indu Anand, Citi, + 91 (0124) 418 6766, indu.anand@citi.com
Shreela Roy, IPAN, +91 9820149119, shreela.roy@ipan.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst

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BWI: MKU to Showcase the Much Acclaimed Instavest Ballistic Over Vest in Turkey at IDEF 2009

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: MKU Private Limited
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 11:00 AM IST (05:30 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Defence & security, Heavy industries, Media & entertainment; Technology
Release no: 19820
--------------------------------------------------
MKU to Showcase the Much Acclaimed Instavest Ballistic Over Vest in Turkey at IDEF 2009


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, April 29, 2009 -- (Business Wire India) -- MKU, a global defense solutions company and a pioneer in personal and vehicle protection solutions is launching the acclaimed Instavest Ballistic over vest in Turkish market during IDEF 2009 - The IDEF show is in Istanbul starting from April 27th-29th. The over vest met an equally good reception at LAAD 2009, Latin American Aerospace and Defence Show, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Latin American countries have shown great deal of interest in the world's quickest Release mechanism. The Instavest ballistic over vest features advanced features and an innovative design to offer enhanced protection and comfort to the user. MKU claims that Instavest is the most revolutionary and advanced ballistic vest available in the world today. It was regionally launched officially amongst much fanfare by MKU at IDEX '09 at Abu Dhabi earlier this year in February.

In life threatening situations. a split second is all that a soldier has. He needs to react swiftly to avoid drastic consequences. Instavest features a new quick release jettison system which divests the vest immediately from the user's body within a split second in a single action. MKU claims that this new vest, for which it has filed a patent, will change the way soldiers perceive and use a Quick Release Vest. It claims that Instavest is the fastest quick release vest in the world, both, in terms of taking it off and then reassembling it and putting it on.

'Although there are some other quick release ballistic vests available in the market - all have cumbersome systems to jettison the vest of the users body, once taken off, it is a very cumbersome process to reassemble the jacket back again due to the various wire systems used in the vests, it takes a lot of training and time for a soldier to put it back again and then also chances are that a normal soldier would not be able to put reassemble it a manner which will ensure a safe jettison in the eventuality of an emergency' says Manish Khandelwal, the Business Manager - Personal Protection, MKU. Manish is also the inventor of Instavest, he claims that 'Instavest from MKU is a jacket that is advanced by design, it is a product which is a result of a lot of research and field trials - it uses no wires or metal parts ' Manish claims that putting the Instavest on and off is so simple that a person can jettison the vest in less than a second in a single action and then reassemble and put it back on in less than 45 seconds.

The quick release function is the latest specification which some of the best armies in the world demand as mandatory for their regular issues vests, this system is provided for emergency scenarios which would need the soldier to jettison off the vest along with all the equipment and load on it, in emergency situations which require split second reflexes and decisions. Some of the common scenario where Instavest would prove to be the split second difference between life and death for the soldiers could be described as 'in an overturned vehicle with soldiers in full battle dress', in combat zones 'when the soldier needs to evade enemy onslaught and have to run through treacherous terrain like jungles etc in an evasive action' or 'when he needs to jump into waterbeds to avoid being caught'. Wading through shallow waters is another scenario where soldiers might need to jettison of their load to avoid drowning. Instavest would be a boon for wounded soldiers who can get can be immediately treated by Doctors by just releasing the vest with a single and split second action (ballistic vests normally cannot be torn of or cut through and in all cases need to be divested completely before a soldier can be treated).

The difference between Instavest and some other quick release vests would be the use of this system not only in emergency situation but in normal situations because of the ease of reassembling and putting it back on. It is believed that soldiers normally avoid using the quick release function in vests except in emergency situations because of the cumbersome and difficult process of reassembly.

The quick release feature is not the only claim to fame of the Instavest from MKU - It features and is compatible with the most advanced new age combat requirements. This is the first vest which uses no metal parts in the system to avoid injuries due to secondary fragments & offers absolutely the latest and best solutions in ballistic protection. The vest has been anthropometrically designed to provide unobtrusive movement in different positions common for a soldier to take a stance in, during and in combat situations, it is compatibility with NBC gear and host of other equipment and devices. It features a new advance load distribution and a rifle butt rest system for added comfort.

About MKU

Setup in 1985 MKU Pvt Limited is the largest manufacturer and exporter of armored solutions in Asia and one of the biggest supplier to the Indian Armed Forces, Police and other Special Forces. It has gained a formidable reputation globally for manufacturing accurate and demanding protection and armoring solutions.

Over the past 24 years it has pioneered the field of manufacturing protection and armoring solutions and has ventured into diversified avenues including aviation, aerodynamics & technology with a single minded focus of providing products and solutions that enable the armed forces worldwide to achieve their objectives more safely and efficiently. MKU offers these products & solutions to its customers spread in over 50 countries worldwide. It is a registered NATO supplier and also works on various modernisation programs with armies across the world and caters to their needs through a range of more than 30 products in over 10 categories.


CONTACT DETAILS
Mukesh Mathur, Intl. Sales Manager, MKU Private Limited, (+971) 4-8810012, mukesh.mathur@mku.com
Anurag Tripathi, Deputy Manager-Corporate Communications, MKU Private Limited, +91 (512) 2363491, anurag.tripathi@mku.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, DEFENCE, HEAVY INDUSTRIES, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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