Wednesday, November 30, 2011

BWI: Chhattisgarh Tourism Board all Set to Lure Students and Senior Citizens with Attractive Offers

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Chhattisgarh Tourism Board
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 10:01 AM IST (04:31 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Arts & culture, Consumer interest, Entertainment, Lifestyle, People, Travel & tourism; Business: Business services, Hospitality, Travel & tourism
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Chhattisgarh Tourism Board all Set to Lure Students and Senior Citizens with Attractive Offers


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Wednesday, November 30, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, the governing body of one on the fastest growing tourism destinations in India, has recently announced attractive offers to attract domestic tourists to experience the exotic beauty of this unexplored place. For the first time, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board is offering special discounts on room rents across all of its properties in the state as well as introducing special family package tours spanning various tourist circuits in the State. These new initiatives are being aggressively promoted at various platforms and events nationally for example, during the recent Rajyotsav 2011 in Raipur as well as during the ongoing India International Trade Fair 2011 in New Delhi. These are aimed at increasing tourist footfalls to the state during the upcoming year-end tourist season.

For Senior Citizens

CTB is offering a flat 50% discount on all of its properties across the state for Senior Citizens. This offer has been introduced for the first time by the Board.

For Students

To encourage school children to visit the state, experience pristine nature, dense forests and learn from the ethno-diversity of this region, CTB is also offering special discounts for school children. For a group of 25 school children & above, CTB is offering a room rent of Rs. 75 per student daily including food. The tariff is applicable on producing a letter from the school authorities.

The above fabulous offers can be availed by students & senior citizens at all the state tourism hotels and resorts including Hotel Chhattisgarh in Raipur, Tourist Guest House in Gangrel, Luxury Resort in Chitrakote, The Eco Resort in Modha and Tourist Motel in Amadb (Bilaspur).

Tourism in Chhattisgarh has many dimensions. The state that boasts of nearly 50% forest cover, has numerous tourist sites that offer unique experiences to the discerning traveller. Come winters and the 13 national parks and 3 wild life sanctuaries beckon tourists to explore the dense lush green forests that conceal the exotic wildlife. From Prehistoric caves, archeological sites spanning different dynasties and rulers, to thundering waterfalls and the unique cultural heritage,Chhattisgarh offers an amazing blend of historical and natural beauty.

The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board has been actively involved in adopting measures to provide the best in class infrastructural facilities to the tourists and to promote the hospitality industry of the State in order to advocate it as the next holiday destination. These include development of infrastructure, tourist circuits, and rural tourism in Chhattisgarh tribal villages and the development of Rajmergarh (Amarkantak) and Mainpat as hill stations and Sirpur as a major Buddhist center. This is the best time of the year for tourists to visit the state due to the pleasant weather conditions.

Apart from the special offers for students and senior citizens, CTB has also introduced special family package tours at discounted rates. These include:

'CALL OF THE MYSTIC' covering Raipur-Jagdalpur-Chitrakote-Teerathgarh-Barsur-Dantewada-Gangrel-Sirpur-Barnavapara-Raipur.

'ROYAL ACHANAKMAR' covering Raipur- Bilaspur- Achanakmar- Amarkantak- Achanakmar- Bhoramdeo- Raipur

'NATURE'S TRAIL' for the nature lovers covering Raipur- Bilaspur- Amadob- Amarkantak- Achanakmar Sanctuary- Shivrinarayan- Tala- Raipur- Mohda (Barnawapara)- Raipur

'RETREAT BY THE WATERFALLS' covering Vishakhapatnam- Chitrakote- Tirathgarh- Kutumsar Caves- Chitrakote- Vishakhapatnam

This winter, Chhattisgarh Tourism Board invites all to discover & experience the land that is full of surprises!

About Chhattisgarh Tourism Board:

The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board (CTB) was established in 2002 to promote the tourism industry in the fledgling state of Chhattisgarh. Its core responsibility is to develop a favorable framework for private, public and community participation in sustainable tourism development. CTB is the only Tourism Board in India.

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ECO RESORT_Mohda_Barnawapara

Chhattisgarh Caves
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Chhattisgarh Caves


CONTACT DETAILS
Madhavi Kochar, 20:20 Media, +91 9810788188
Saurabh Gupta, +91 9818075578

KEYWORDS
ARTS, CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, TOURISM, BUSINESS SERVICES, HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL

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BWI: Spanco Receives Letter of Intent (LOI) to Set up, Manage and Operate 376 CSCs in Punjab

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Spanco
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 10:00 AM IST (04:30 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy, Social issues; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Construction, Healthcare, biotechnology & pharmaceutical, Information technology, Telecommunications, Transport engineering; Technology; Healthcare
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Spanco Receives Letter of Intent (LOI) to Set up, Manage and Operate 376 CSCs in Punjab


Chandigarh, Punjab, India, Wednesday, November 30, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Spanco Limited has emerged victorious in the bid for implementing, managing and operating Common Service Centres (CSC) for 3 zones in the state of Punjab. The project is a part of core Infrastructure and a key milestone in achieving citizen centric governance under National eGovernance Plan. Spanco has been appointed as Service Centre Agency (SCA) for a period of 5 years and will manage 376 CSCs in Mansa, Bhatinda, Moga, Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur.

Under the contract Spanco will be responsible for Site preparation, Maintenance of Civil Infrastructure, Maintenance of Digital Infrastructure, Selection and Training of Village Level Entrepreneur (VLE), Security, Branding and awareness, and Operations management for the duration of the project.

As a SCA, Spanco's objective will include, provision of speedy and efficient services in conformity with the Service Level to the users without any discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex; Making it convenient for citizens and other stakeholders to interact with the Government; Educating the users about the relevant procedures.

Spanco is one of the large technology infrastructure company delivering eGovernance services in India which involves modernization of key sectors to drive governance efficiency. Its eGovernance business unit has emerged as one of the leading providers of Citizen Services in India complementing Government's inclusive growth objective under Bharat Nirman. Spanco is already present in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh delivering G2C and B2C services to more than 5 crore citizens and managing close to two million transactions every month.

Benefits from the project that can be achieved are :

-- Common man would be able to procure information at a faster speed and leverage that to reap benefits. IT education and various other trainings offered would also increase the employability for rural citizens in the fields of financial services, micro enterprises, telemedicine and health
-- This would act as a low cost vehicle for government institutions and enable easy, direct and cost-effective delivery of e-governance services to the rural citizens
-- Promote rural entrepreneurship, build rural livelihoods, and enable collective community participation for social change
-- Provide a platform to Civil Society Organizations and NGOs to communicate with remote and isolated communities and help them in their upliftment
--It would have a significant and lasting impact on rural livelihood in the areas of empowerment, equal opportunity, gender equity, social inclusion, better governance, employment generation and human development

On the eve of this win, Mr. Rajiv Aggarwal, CEO - eGovernance mentioned "This is an important initiative by Government of Punjab that will facilitate delivery of government services to citizens in an effective and efficient manner. Spanco is committed to working with Government to build a strong network for delivery of all types of services to the Indian citizen."


About Spanco

Spanco is in the business of creating a financially viable and scalable citizen services distribution network, backed by State of Art IT Infrastructure, to support the Government in its initiative to create a robust e Governance structure for the Indian Citizen. Spanco's business is spread over four continents catering to India, US, Europe, Middle East and Africa. Spanco is certified as ISO 9001:2008, CMMi 3 and is a public listed company.

Major business verticals at Spanco are e Governance, System Integration/Power and BPO. The e Governance Vertical is focused on Citizen Services and Government Modernization Programs.

For more information visit www.spancotele.com





CONTACT DETAILS
Chandana Saha, Spanco, +91 (22) 6797 5566, chandanas@spancotele.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, SOCIAL, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION, HEALTHCARE, IT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TRANSPORT, TECHNOLOGY, HEALTHCARE

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BWI: Estatelister.com - India’s first ‘Personalised’ Real Estate Platform

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Estatelister.com
Wednesday, November 30, 2011 10:00 AM IST (04:30 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, People; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Construction, Heavy industries, Major diversified industrial groups, Real estate
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Estatelister.com - India's first 'Personalised' Real Estate Platform


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Wednesday, November 30, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Estatelister.com ( http://estatelister.com ) , a Real Estate startup launched by Real Estate and Internet Professionals aims to create India's first 'REAL' Real Estate platform. Estatelister.com lends a personal touch to Real Estate by understanding specific customer requirements and proposing a solution to best suit the customer. Estatelister.com has been launched as a dedicated Real Estate platform for all property needs such as -

(a)Buying or Renting a property - Property search
(b)comprehensive information on new projects - Project Sites
(c)latest real estate news, India Real Estate News
(d)property based question-answer forum and Real Estate Questions forum
(e)most importantly, a discussion forum on every page to clarify all your queries.

Speaking on the occasion, Siddhesh Joglekar, Founder of Estatelister.com and a recent alumnus of IIM Calcutta, explained that there is an opportunity to find properties for 100 million Indians using an Internet enabled solutions-delivery platform. Siddhesh further explained, "India has seen exponential growth in Real Estate in the past decade. Internet can be used in a very deep way in all aspects of Real Estate from a consumer's perspective - right from the prospective research stage to the post buying stage. Estatelister.com aims to be a platform that can help Real Estate buyers - both online and offline across all these stages."

On the Technical front, Estatelister.com boasts of technical achievements that very few Real Estate focused platforms in India can talk about. The team has executed a robust adaptation of 'feeds infrastructure' (popularized by Facebook) tailored to the Real Estate sector. "For seamless user experience, our team felt the need to 'socialize' the Property buying / renting experience on the internet. Our platform is completely social and posting reviews, questions or request for help can be done in less than 10 seconds." says Avinash Lakhan, Head of Technology, Estatelister.com .

On the Customer service front, the expectations are usually sky-high with the customers demanding 'only the best property' in their budgets. "While other platforms focus on delivering advertisements, we plan to actually help the customer make intelligent choices with their house hunt. You choose the house, we would do the due diligence, manage paper work, registration etc and hence deliver an all round solution for our customers along with our network partners. This experience will be all the more seamless with the fact that everything on Estatelister.com can be accessed on both PCs and mobile phones"., says Sagar Doke, Head of Marketing at Estatelister.com.

You can follow Estatelister's Youtube channel as well - India Real Estate today for getting weekly updates on Real Estate delivered right to your mailbox.

For any property related requirements, Estatelister.com can be reached on their office number (022) 24156067 or their contact number 9930073699. The can be reached on email at admin@estatelister.com for any further queries.



CONTACT DETAILS
Siddhesh Joglekar, Estatelister.com, +91 (22) 24156067/9930073699, admin@estatelister.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, PEOPLE, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION, HEAVY INDUSTRIES, GROUPS, REAL ESTATE

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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

BWI: Award for Best Pedagogy in Management Studies

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: JRE Group of Institutions
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 05:00 PM IST (11:30 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Information technology; Technology
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Award for Best Pedagogy in Management Studies


Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- JRE School Of Management was awarded the prestigious "Dewang Mehta Business School Award" for "Best Pedagogy in Management Studies" on occasion of 19th year of Business School Affaire. The award was selected by eminent Jury members with a slew of big names vying for the award.

JRE Group of Institutions has been formed according to the highest international standards with state-of-the-art infrastructure to facilitate quality management and technical education. The Institute provides a truly global experience through academic partnership with Raffles Education Corporation Ltd. ("Raffles Education Corp."), Singapore and Educomp Solutions Ltd., India, both world class education service providers.

Business School Affaire (BSA) has been organizing this award for the past 19th years. The award function, held on November 26th, 2011 at Taj Lands End Hotel, Mumbai is seen as a major effort from the Industry to recognize talent in education that is helping shape a future for the industry. Corporate Giants like Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Canon, Hexaware Technologies, Onward Technologies Ltd, IL&FS Financial Services Ltd, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, RPG Life Sciences Ltd, Wadhwan Group, Sony Entertainment Network, Steria etc were the official sponsors of this event that saw a large part of the industry.

Courses offered at JRE are headed by a team of highly qualified national and international faculty members that help drive and mentor students to experience a wide range of global practices. JRE School of Management was also recently awarded Asia's most promising B-School by CMO Asia's Advisory Board and the Advisory Council of the World Brand Congress, held at Singapore. Adding to the list of its accomplishments this award only validates the fact that JRE is a cut above the rest. JRE Group of Institutions constantly strives to provide a learning environment in which all students are challenged to develop their intellectual, practical and social skills in a holistic way focusing on leadership, socially responsible behaviour and lifelong learning attitude. All of this is ensured that a school of such repute bagged the award effortlessly and gracefully.

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CONTACT DETAILS
Mr. Ashwani Khosa - Head-Products & Digital Marketing, JRE Group of Institutions - Educomp Raffles, +91 9999880603, ashwani.khosa@educompraffles.com

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

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BWI: Maps Ropes in Most Innovative B-School Award

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: JRE Group Of Institutions
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 04:52 PM IST (11:22 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, People; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Information technology; Technology
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Maps Ropes in Most Innovative B-School Award


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Millenium Academy of Professional Studies (MAPS) was awarded the prestigious "Dewang Mehta Business School Award" for "Most Innovative B-School" on occasion of 19th year of Business School Affaire. Business School Affaire (BSA) has been organizing this award for the past 19 years. The award was selected by eminent Jury members. The award function was held on November 26th, 2011 at Taj Lands End Hotel, Mumbai. This award for "Most Innovative B-School" was received by the Executive Director of Educomp Raffles Higher Education Ltd. Mr. Harpreet Singh (IIM-A Alumunus).

Millennium Academy of Professional Studies (MAPS) is promoted by Educomp Raffles Higher Education Ltd which is a joint venture between Educomp Solutions Limited and Raffles Education Corporation Limited (REC). MAPS is dedicated to providing high quality Management and Professional education with the fundamental objective of developing and nurturing a portfolio of personal skills integral to tomorrow's successful business professionals. MAPS has innovative supplements to MBA curriculum like Outbound Training, Life Skills Program, Industry Certification Program & Live Projects with Industry. Also there is very close interaction with Industry eg; Guest Lectures, Workshops, Seminars, Summer Internship & finally Placements. Another Innovation is the Double Mentorship Program i.e; Faculty/ Staff mentorship and Industry Mentorship.

MAPS really does showcase why they were awarded the most innovative B-School. MAPS has formed an Incubation Cell with seed amount of Rs. 1 Crore for budding entrepreneurs. This encourages students to push their entrepreneurial skills and come up with innovative ideas.



CONTACT DETAILS
Mr. Ashwani Khosa - Head-Products & Digital Marketing, JRE Group of Institutions - Educomp Raffles, +91 9999880603, ashwani.khosa@educompraffles.com

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

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BWI: Ruckus Wireless Introduces ChannelFly™, the Industry’s First Predictive Capacity Management Technology

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Ruckus Wireless
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 04:41 PM IST (11:11 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Business services, Information technology, Telecommunications; Technology
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Ruckus Wireless Introduces ChannelFlyT, the Industry's First Predictive Capacity Management Technology
New Technology Breakthrough Transforms RF Channel Selection to Maximize Network Capacity, Delivering Superior Performance in Crowded, Noisy Wi-Fi Environments

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Ruckus WirelessT today introduced ChannelFly, a new technology innovation specifically developed to address the growing need to deliver more reliable Wi-Fi performance within noisy and crowded RF environments caused by the invasion of smart, Wi-Fi-only devices onto enterprise and service provider networks.

ChannelFly leverages the same Ruckus-patented adaptive antenna approach, BeamFlexT, that constantly learns and selects the best signal path for any given Wi-Fi transmission. A statistical adaptive channel selection technique, ChannelFly applies similar principles to automatically determine the best radio operating frequency (RF channel) to be used that will yield the highest client throughput.

As more users and devices are connecting to Wi-Fi networks, channel capacity is becoming a scarce and valuable resource. Because the level of interference and activity in the Wi-Fi spectrum varies as function of location, frequency and time, it is critical that client devices use the Wi-Fi channel with the lowest activity level and interference level to assure the best possible performance.

A contention-based medium, Wi-Fi uses the unlicensed 2.4 and 5GHz bands, making it highly susceptible to congestion and interference. A proven key to delivering superior performance within a Wi-Fi environment is the extent to which a wireless system can learn and adapt to constant environmental changes that degrade client performance.

"Historical approaches to Wi-Fi channel selection use spectrum analysis or packet sniffing techniques to basically guess the impact of interference on Wi-Fi capacity," said Bill Kish, co-founder and chief technology officer at Ruckus Wireless. "But with Wi-Fi, what an AP hears doesn't necessarily determine capacity. We skip those needless and disruptive steps and just measure the wireless capacity directly."

Kish noted that traditional approaches to automate channel selection don't provide a complete view of what is really happening on a given channel. "ChannelFly was conceived to turn the traditional model on its head by using statistical analysis of real-time channel performance to discover the true capacity of any channel at any time," said Kish, the inventor of ChannelFly.

A Predictive Model to Wi-Fi Channel Selection

Unlike alternative channel optimization approaches that passively listen for packet retries, transmission errors and RF interference on other channels when the Wi-Fi access point (AP) is not sending or receiving data, ChannelFly is based on a predictive model that uses actual channel activity to learn what channels will yield the most capacity to provide the highest client speeds. Armed with this knowledge, ChannelFly quickly avoids interference within congested and noisy environments while maintaining maximum network throughput. ChannelFly assesses all available channels within the 2.4 and 5GHz bands.

Now integrated within every Ruckus ZoneFlex Smart Wi-Fi AP, ChannelFly operates automatically without any human intervention. And because ChannelFly is based on actual channel throughput measurements, no background scanning is required for ongoing channel optimization. This eliminates the need for APs to be out of service when performing off-channel scanning.

ChannelFly operates with or without client activity. During the first several hours of operation, each Ruckus AP determines the channel with the highest capacity even before users begin to associate. This enables Ruckus-APs to offer a high quality user experience without the service disruptions caused by interference or background scanning. With ChannelFly, Ruckus APs can automatically self-tune before any client devices are connected thereby avoiding service disruptions that can often be associated with RF channel changes. Once clients are active, to ensure seamless operation with end devices, ChannelFly uses the IEEE 802.11h protocol to automatically advertise when a change to a better Wi-Fi channel is necessary.

"We see ChannelFly as a truly important step in the evolution of more reliable Wi-Fi networks," said Arthur Giftakis, VP of Engineering at Towerstream. "Operating a pervasive Wi-Fi network in one of the most exciting locations on the planet, New York City, we've found ChannelFly to be instrumental in yielding higher levels of network capacity within this constantly changing environment. Innovations like ChannelFly are essential to making Wi-Fi carrier class."

Available immediately at no cost within a new release of Ruckus ZoneFlex software (v. 9.3), ChannelFly is a selectable feature that operates automatically on every Ruckus ZoneFlex access point.

About Ruckus Wireless, Inc.

Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Ruckus Wireless is supplier of advanced wireless systems for the mobile networking market. The company markets and manufactures a wide range of indoor and outdoor "Smart Wi-Fi" products for mobile operators, broadband service providers and corporate enterprises. Ranked as the top telecom company in the 2009 Inc. Magazine 500 list and named a World Economic Forum Technology Pioneer, Ruckus Wireless has realized dramatic growth. With nearly 50 patents granted to date, Ruckus invented state-of-the-art wireless technology that focuses and directs signals over the best performing paths, automatically adapting them to changing environmental conditions. This unique capability extends signal range and ensures consistent reliable distribution of delay-sensitive multimedia content and services over standard 802.11 Wi-Fi. The company has raised $51 million in funding from premier investors such as Sequoia Capital, Focus Ventures, Sutter Hill, Motorola, T-Ventures, Telus Ventures and Firelake Capital. The company is led by Ms. Selina Lo, president and chief executive officer. For more information, visit Ruckus Wireless at http://www.ruckuswireless.com.


CONTACT DETAILS
Shilpa Kapoor, 20:20 MSL, +91 9958359595
Minal Kakkar, 20:20 MSL, +91 9871748722

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: 4G Identity Solutions Wins the Prestigious ET Now ‘Leaders of Tomorrow’ Award 2011

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: 4G Identity Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 03:30 PM IST (10:00 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, People; Business: Business services, Electronic appliances & components, Information technology, Media & entertainment; Technology
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4G Identity Solutions Wins the Prestigious ET Now 'Leaders of Tomorrow' Award 2011


Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- An able thought leader and a successful architect of Identity innovation, Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni, Chairman & CEO of 4G Identity Solutions has received the prestigious Indiamart ET Now 'Leaders of Tomorrow' Award 2011, at an award function held at Mumbai, India on 28th November 2011. The award was presented by the chief guest Legendary N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Technologies.

'Leaders of Tomorrow' salutes the spirit of entrepreneurship and celebrates the success of India's best Small and Medium Enterprises. This award will inspire future leaders to tread a path of success and triumph. The award will celebrate the success stories and honor entrepreneurs who have transformed stumbling blocks into stepping stones driven by their passion,Determination and undying spirit of entrepreneurship.

More than 50,000 nominations have been received across 13 different categories for the Leaders of Tomorrow Award 2011 and after thorough review of the nominations by the process experts Ernst & Young around 70 companies per category have been shortlisted, which were invited for the preliminary jury round. After the preliminary jury round, 5 companies per each category have been invited for the final jury round. The award is decided by a diverse panel of independent, impartial jury from various backgrounds to execute the judging process headed by Mr. Sam Pitroda, Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations. 4G Identity Solutions has emerged a winner in IT/ITES-BPO/VAS category for its pioneering vision, strong financials and the state of the art solutions and its impeccable project delivery.

On winning the award, Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni, Chairman & CEO, 4G Identity Solutions said "This award recognizes our high standards of quality and the significant investment we have made in identity innovation. Our unrelenting efforts have resulted in implementation of national scale Unique ID solutions and improved Government services delivery. This honor acknowledges the pioneering efforts we have made over the years and I extend my thanks to all the people who have contributed in transforming the dreams to reality."

4G Identity Solutions has also won "Aadhaar Excellence Award" from Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in Enrolment Agency category for its excellent efforts in Aadhaar Enrolment services. Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni received the Aadhaar Excellence Award from Mr. Nandan Nilekani - Chairman, UIDAI on 29th September 2011 on the occasion of 1st year anniversary of Aadhaar project launch.

About 4G Identity Solutions

4G Identity Solutions (4G) is a leader in providing end-to-end National Scale Citizen ID Solutions, Large Commercial ID Management Solutions, Law Enforcement Solutions, Enterprise Identity and Access Management Solutions, Biometric Enrollment, Authentication and Verification Services and Public Service Delivery Infrastructure. 4G Multi Modal Identity Platform integrates best-of-breed Iris, Fingerprint & Facial technologies and offers low cost, interoperable, secure, and scalable Identity solutions. 4G has to its credit deployed the world's largest ID management solutions including India's 1.2 billion Unique ID Project.

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

Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni receiving the Leaders of Tomorrow Award from Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, InfosysTechnologies on 28th November 2011

Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni receiving the Aadhaar Excellence Award from Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman - UIDAI on 29th September 2011
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/pic_1(516).JPG
Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni receiving the Leaders of Tomorrow Award from Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, InfosysTechnologies on 28th November 2011
http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/pic_2(210).JPG
Dr. Sreeni Tripuraneni receiving the Aadhaar Excellence Award from Mr. Nandan Nilekani, Chairman - UIDAI on 29th September 2011


CONTACT DETAILS
Mr. Shravan Medempudi,Marketing Manager, 4G Identity Solutions Pvt. Ltd., +91 9959442923, shravan.medempudi@4gid.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, PEOPLE, BUSINESS SERVICES, ELECTRONICS, IT, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: Intelligroup Achieves SAP Gold Channel Partner Status

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Intelligroup, Inc.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 04:15 PM IST (10:45 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Business services, Information technology, Media & entertainment; Technology
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Intelligroup Achieves SAP Gold Channel Partner Status


Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Intelligroup, an NTT DATA company, focused on providing enterprise application and IT outsourcing services, today announced that it has achieved SAP Gold Partner Status in India as a Value Added Reseller. Being a part of the award winning SAP PartnerEdge program, a partner must exhibit in-depth SAP knowledge and commitment to delivering SAP solutions to customers in the small and midsize enterprise(SME) marketplace.

This status will allow Intelligroup customers the benefit of gaining direct access to the latest developments, product strategies, release updates and new technologies offered by SAP. It also allows Intelligroup access to business performance and transactional activities include selling licenses for SAP Business All-in-One and SAP BusinessObjects and creating new qualified solutions built on SAP solutions. Capability-building activities include training certification of partner resources, customer success stories and references, and executing successful marketing campaigns.

"We are pleased to have Intelligroup as an SAP Gold Partner in the PartnerEdge program. Their reputation in the industry and track record of success speaks for itself," said Vivek Singh Rawat, Head of Channel and PartnerEdge program, SAP India. "Intelligroup has effectively partnered with customers in their business transformation journey to help them manage critical business challenges. SAP Gold status will further enhance this partnership by providing higher levels of support and solutions to SAP® Business All-in-One customers."

"The PartnerEdge Gold status acknowledges Intelligroup's extensive industry expertise and capabilities in deploying fast, efficient and stable SAP solutions for enterprises in India and globally," said Sanjeev Welling, Head - Intelligroup India & ASEAN Business. "This achievement further establishes Intelligroup as an implementation partner in the SME sector with skills and experience to assist customers in India over the application lifecycle."

About Intelligroup: Intelligroup (www.intelligroup.com), an NTT DATA company is an enterprise applications systems integrator providing consulting, implementation, testing, application management, infrastructure management, and other IT services for global corporations. It possesses deep expertise and proprietary tools in industry-specific enterprise solutions and has been recognized by clients, partners and IT industry analysts for consistently exceeding expectations. Intelligroup's global service delivery model combines onsite teams and offshore development capabilities to deliver solutions that accelerate results, reduce costs and generate meaningful ROI for clients. In July 2010, Intelligroup became an NTT DATA company.


CONTACT DETAILS
Lucy Dass, 20:20 MSL, +91 9000034653, Lucy.dass@2020msl.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: It’s not Original, If it’s not Vaseline Petroleum Jelly

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Vaseline
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 04:02 PM IST (10:32 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Lifestyle; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Commodities & materials, Household & personal care products & services, Retailers; Healthcare
--------------------------------------------------
It's not Original, If it's not Vaseline Petroleum Jelly


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Is your skin feeling dry even after applying Vaseline Petroleum jelly? Does it leave your skin looking rough and bruised? So are you using the original Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly? Nowadays the market is flooded with cheap products that look like the original Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly and are available at cheaper prices. But these moisturizers only last for a short time, making the skin drier which can cause more harm than good to your skin.

The Original Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly is a combination of mineral oils, paraffin and microcrystalline waxes, which makes it translucent and gives it a smooth texture. It goes through a three step purification process, which involves hydrogenation to remove chemical purities in the jelly. Further, it undergoes double filtration to remove the finest unwanted particles, thus making it the purest and smoothest form of jelly.

Dry skin is caused by the loss of moisture in the layers of the skin, which happens every second of the day due to exposure to harsh chemicals and rough weather conditions. Fake products use either Glycerine or Menthol, which moisturizes only the top layers of the skin for a short term and eventually leaves your skin dry and dehydrated.

The Original Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly is absorbed rapidly into the skin and provides even moisturization through all three layers of the skin, locking in the skins natural moisture and helping it to repair itself from within naturally. It also forms a protective barrier on the surface of the skin to avoid the damage that is caused by harsh weather and polluted environments, thus resulting in soft and supple skin all day long. Original Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly is your ultimate skin expert, boasting of multiple skin uses. It's not just a body moisturizer but can also be used as a night cream, make-up remover, to protect against nappy rash, minor bruises, post shaving etc. to name a few.

Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly

Always, buy the Original Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly after testing its four unique identification marks, i.e. the Original Vaseline logo in Blue and Silver, the triple purification seal, the pure skin jelly trademark and the correct spelling "VASELINE".

The Original Vaseline® Petroleum Jelly is available in three variants across all retail outlets pan India. So rush to your closest outlet to buy the Original Vaseline Petroleum Jelly to get healthy and glowing skin!

For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Vaseline Petroleum Jelly.pdf
Vaseline Petroleum Jelly.pdf


CONTACT DETAILS
Shweta Pawar, IPAN Hill & Knowlton, +91 9930258678, spawar@ipanhillandknowlton.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, LIFESTYLE, MARKETING, COMMODITIES, HOUSEHOLD, RETAIL, HEALTHCARE

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BWI: HomeShop18 Wins the Coveted Brand Leadership Award in Internet Business

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: HomeShop18
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 01:12 PM IST (07:42 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Entertainment, Fashion, Lifestyle, People; Business: Business services, Commodities & materials, Electronic appliances & components, Household & personal care products & services, Media & entertainment; Technology
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HomeShop18 Wins the Coveted Brand Leadership Award in Internet Business


New Delhi, Delhi, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- HomeShop18, India's largest e-commerce venture, was awarded the 'Brand Excellence Award in Internet Business' category at the World Brand Congress, 2011 in Mumbai recently.

The award is recognition to HomeShop18's contribution to the e-commerce industry in India. The award cited and recognized HomeShop18's efforts in building consumer confidence in the e-commerce industry and HomeShop18's 10X growth in the e-commerce business YOY.

Held every year since 1999, the World Brand Congress is considered as one of the single largest rendezvous of best brains behind some of the world's most successful and sought after brands. Alongside the Congress, the Global Award for Brand Excellence is presented to organizations that have played a significant role in building their company brands on the international scene.

Delighted with the recognition, Sundeep Malhotra, Founder and CEO, HomeShop18 said, "We are pleased to receive such a prestigious award. It is a testament to our efforts to provide our customers a wholesome shopping experience. We are delighted that we are seen as a leader in the internet shopping space in India. We would like to dedicate this award to our customers for having preferred us over others. We will continue to provide our customers with the best that internet shopping has to offer."

HomeShop18 currently sells more than 450 brands and more than 10 million SKUs. The e-commerce portal, HomeShop18.com adds a new customer every 6 seconds to its database and has a rising rate of 30% repeat purchase customers.

Link: http://www.worldbrandcongress.com/awards_winners_2011.html

About HomeShop18:

HomeShop18 is Network18 group's online and television retail marketing and distribution venture.

HomeShop18.com is India's fastest growing e-commerce website (traffic growing at the rate of 400% YoY) with a monthly reach of over 2.5 million unique visitors ( Comscore : October 2011), each spending over 8 minutes (avg.) on the website. Adding a new customer every 6 seconds, HomeShop18's robust distribution set-up helps it reach out to over 3000 cities across the country.HomeShop18 offers a complete product range across all major categories; including digital, fashion & lifestyle, beauty products, jewellery, kitchen essentials, home & furnishings, kids' gear, books and many more. HomeShop18 has partnered with more than 500 established brands and marquee labels such as Reebok, Lee, Peter England, Nokia, Canon, Samsung, Whirlpool, Videocon, Spice and Sia among many others, giving its millions of customers over 70 lakh products to choose from.

HomeShop18's 6.1 million CRM base is supported by a trained and customer focused 24X7 call centre manned by 750 executives catering to over 35,000 calls a day.


CONTACT DETAILS
Siddharth Bijpuria, PR Pundit, +91 8800922828, siddharth.b@prpundit.com
Ritika Kashyap, PR Pundit, +91 9654283809, ritika.k@prpundit.com
Soumya Chandran, HomeShop18, +91 9811376648, soumya.chandran@network18online.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, FASHION, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, BUSINESS SERVICES, COMMODITIES, ELECTRONICS, HOUSEHOLD, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: SCMHRD Stood runners-up in National Level Investment Banking Competition hosted by JP MORGAN CHASE

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Symbiosis Centre for Management & Human Resource Development
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 12:18 PM IST (06:48 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, People; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Banking & financial services, Education & training, Healthcare, biotechnology & pharmaceutical, Media & entertainment; Technology
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SCMHRD Stood runners-up in National Level Investment Banking Competition hosted by JP MORGAN CHASE


Pune, Maharashtra, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- The Team "Rain Makers" - Anshul Sood, Sumit Dawra, Hardhik Sheth and Neha Baid, from SCMHRD were the First Runners Up in the National Finals round of The Deal, an Investment Banking Competition, JP Morgan Chase.

The competition required the students to simulate an acquisition by analyzing the industry, evaluating the competitors and the target, determining the fair value and suggesting steps to execute the transaction. They won the campus round on 12th Sep 2011, which was preceded by 3 rounds of grueling elimination over a period of 2 months. After another screening, 5 country finalists from Top B schools across India qualified for the Country Championship event held on 9th Nov 2011.

From amongst more than 550 students (150 teams) who registered across India, the top 5 teams, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, MDI, NMIMS and SCMHRD presented to the esteemed panel comprising of senior bankers in the Firm including Rohit Chatterji (MD, Head-Investment Banking, India), Madhav Kalyan (MD and CEO, India), Mahesh Aras (CAO, India) and Hariharan Raman (ED, Investment Banking).



CONTACT DETAILS
Arpit Jain, Symbiosis Centre for Management & Human Resource Development, +91 9766312640/9766321640, arpit_jain@scmhrd.edu

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, PEOPLE, MARKETING, BANKING, EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: Visa Introduces New Mobile Prepaid Product for Developing Countries

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Visa
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 12:20 PM IST (06:50 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Economy, Lifestyle, People; Business: Banking & financial services, Business services, Financial Analyst, Information technology, Telecommunications; Technology
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Visa Introduces New Mobile Prepaid Product for Developing Countries
First Visa Product Enabled by Fundamo, a Leading Mobile Money Platform Recently Acquired by Visa. Enables Financial Institutions, Mobile Network Operators to Offer Visa Prepaid Accounts on Mobile Phones to Unbanked and Under-Banked Consumers

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Visa Inc. today announced a significant step to bringing access to secure financial services and electronic payments to consumers in developing countries by introducing a new product serving the needs of unbanked and under-banked consumers. The new product, a Visa prepaid account that can be accessed through a mobile phone, offers consumers in developing countries a secure, reliable, globally interoperable electronic payment account.

MTN Group, a leading telecommunications provider in Africa and the Middle East, plans to offer the new Visa product to MTN Mobile Money customers across its markets. As part of the launch, the new product will be available to customers in Nigeria and Uganda.

Today, more than one hundred mobile money programs provide consumers in developing countries with basic financial services, with several more being planned by financial institutions and mobile network operators. Visa's new product will enhance the security, scale and interoperability of these mobile money programs, while extending their payment functionality by enabling account holders to send funds to each other, send and receive international remittances, make purchases at merchants or online where Visa is accepted or withdraw funds at a Visa ATM.

"Reaching consumers who have previously lacked access to formal financial services with secure and reliable electronic payments is finally a reality," said Jim McCarthy, head of product for Visa Inc. "Mobile technology has become the single most important driver of financial inclusion that is enabling financial institutions, mobile network operators and Visa to connect unbanked consumers to each other and the global economy."

MTN Mobile Money has been implemented in 12 countries. At 30 September 2011, there were 5.7 million registered mobile money customers.

"The launch of this product with Visa doesn't only enhance our current mobile money offering, but also represents yet another crucial milestone in our journey to bring value-adding services to the growing population of mobile phone users in our markets. And as the appetite for mobile technology grows, MTN is excited to be at the forefront of providing millions of our customers with such important product innovations," said Christian de Faria, MTN Group Chief Commercial Officer.

How It Works

The mobile phone is changing how consumers around the world pay and get paid, and offers financial service providers in developing countries a new, efficient channel to serve the unbanked and under-banked. In the last ten years, 100 million people have been newly 'banked' through mobile services that offer consumers basic financial services that are limited in geographic reach.

Visa's recent acquisition of Fundamo, a leading mobile money platform in developing countries, and its integration into Visa, has created the first globally interoperable mobile payment platform that can connect existing mobile money services with Visa's global payment network, VisaNet.

The result is a new Visa product that allows financial service providers together with mobile network operators to offer consumers a payment account that provides Visa's high standards of security, reliability and global interoperability, including:

-- Visa-quality Payment Security - The new product combines Visa's advanced risk processing technology with the security and authentication features of mobile devices, offering consumers in developing countries peace of mind when making purchases. Regardless of transaction size or where consumers make purchases, Visa and the account issuer will be able to authenticate the account holder at the point of transaction by requesting a PIN or password. In addition, Visa's fraud monitoring capabilities can help mitigate and prevent fraud.

-- Visa Payment Functionality - From international remittances to ecommerce transactions Visa's new product will offer consumers a new payment account that enhances the payment functionality of their existing mobile money service. In markets with Visa acceptance locations, consumers may also have the option to receive a Visa prepaid companion card that can be used at ATMs and merchants where Visa is accepted.

-- Transaction Authorization, Clearing and Settlement Services - For financial institutions and mobile network operators offering Visa's new mobile prepaid product, Visa will offer a full suite of payment processing and account management services supported by the world's largest payments network, VisaNet.

Developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are among the first target markets for Visa's new mobile-based prepaid product.

Visa is working closely with financial institutions, mobile network operators, governments and non-governmental organisations in developing countries to extend access to financial services and electronic payments, helping drive economic growth and financial inclusion by migrating cash spend to electronic payments.

About Visa Inc.:

Visa is a global payments technology company that connects consumers, businesses, financial institutions and governments in more than 200 countries and territories to fast, secure and reliable digital currency. Underpinning digital currency is one of the world's most advanced processing networks-VisaNet-that is capable of handling more than 20,000 transaction messages a second, with fraud protection for consumers and guaranteed payment for merchants. Visa is not a bank, and does not issue cards, extend credit or set rates and fees for consumers. Visa's innovations, however, enable its financial institution customers to offer consumers more choices: Pay now with debit, ahead of time with prepaid or later with credit products. For more information, visit www.corporate.visa.com.

About the MTN Group:

Launched in 1994, the MTN Group is a multinational telecommunications group operating in 21 countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The MTN Group is listed on the JSE Securities Exchange in South Africa under the share code: "MTN." As of 30 September 2011, MTN recorded over 158 million subscribers across its operations in Afghanistan, Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, Cyprus, Ghana, Guinea Bissau, Guinea Republic, Iran, Liberia, Nigeria, Republic of Congo (Congo Brazzaville), Rwanda, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. Visit us at www.mtn.comand www.mtnfootball.com


CONTACT DETAILS
Anuja Sharma, Visa India, +91 9004604426, ansharma@visa.com
Preeti Hoon , Edelman India , + 91 9987037821, Preeti.hoon@edelman.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ECONOMY, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, Financial Analyst, IT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: Toshiba Elevator Middle East (L.L.C.) established Shinichiro Akiba announces

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Toshiba Elevator India Private Limited
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 09:00 AM IST (03:30 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, People; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Construction, Electronic appliances & components, Major diversified industrial groups, Media & entertainment; Technology
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Toshiba Elevator Middle East (L.L.C.) established Shinichiro Akiba announces


Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, November 29, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Mr. Shinichiro Akiba, President & CEO of Japan-based Toshiba Elevator and Building Systems Corporation (TELC) has announced at the company's Tokyo headquarters that TELC has boldly ramped up its Middle Eastern market operations by establishing a new company, Toshiba Elevator Middle East (L.L.C.) in UAE.

While TELC's UAE business is handled by Dubai-based company Dhaher Al Muhairi Co. (L.L.C.) (DMCO), TELC agreed with other shareholders on Nov. 28 about establishment of a new company through increase of DMCO's capital and the company name also changed officially as 'Toshiba Elevator Middle East (L.L.C.)'. The other valued Partner is Hydra Commercial Investments L.L.C., one of the Royal Group Companies and its Group Chairman is His Highness Sheikh Thanoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

DMCO has been TELC's distributor since 1999 for sales, installation and maintenance of elevators in the UAE. The Dubai-based company has carried out very prestigious projects for clients such as Nakheel completing 420 sets of elevators in Dubai. DMCO has also completed mega projects involving 14 towers with 60 high-speed gearless elevators at a contract price of approximately AED 110 million at Marina Square, Abu Dhabi.

Further, the company is currently involved in executing prestigious towers in the City of Lights, Reem Island and other parts of Abu Dhabi totaling approximately AED 101 million. In the UAE market, TELC enjoys a very respectable market share and is one of the market front-runners.

TELC has ambitious plans to expand its wings to GCC & Middle Eastern countries keeping Dubai as its headquarters. As a prelude to the expansion plan, DMCO has already started securing projects in Oman and Saudi Arabia and is in an advanced stage of finalizing projects in Qatar and other neighboring countries.

To view the photographs kindly click on the links below:
Shinichiro Akiba at Toshiba Elevators Head Quarters, Tokyo, Japan announcing establishment of Toshiba Elevator Middle East LLC
Cluster of Towers, at Reem Island, Abu Dhabi where Toshiba Elevators are installed
For picture(s)/data to illustrate this release click below:

http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/DSC_9893.JPG
DSC_9893.JPG
http://www.BusinessWireIndia.com/attachments/Pic(146).JPG
Pic(146).JPG


CONTACT DETAILS
Mohamed Iqbal, Toshiba Elevator Middle East (L.L.C.), +971 4 2666630, dmco@dmco.ae

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, PEOPLE, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION, ELECTRONICS, GROUPS, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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Monday, November 28, 2011

BWI: Religare Finvest Gets Rs150cr from Avigo Capital

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Religare Finvest Limited (RFL)
Monday, November 28, 2011 05:14 PM IST (11:44 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Banking & financial services, Business services, Construction, Financial Analyst, Real estate
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Religare Finvest Gets Rs150cr from Avigo Capital
Transaction complete for Compulsory Convertible Preference Shares (CCPS)

New Delhi, Delhi, India, Monday, November 28, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- Religare Finvest Limited (RFL), one of India's largest capitalized NBFCs and a wholly owned subsidiary of Religare Enterprises Limited, today announced that Avigo Capital (Avigo) has completed an investment of Rs150cr in the form of compulsory convertible preference shares (CCPS).

Religare Finvest Limited is on a fast growth trajectory, focusing on small and medium enterprises (SME) financing. It has recently successfully raised Rs754crore from a retail issue of non-convertible debentures earlier this year and its loan book size stands at Rs11,380 cr (as on September 30, 2011).

Avigo Capital, as an Indian private equity fund manager focuses on private equity investments in the country's SME sector.

Confirming this development, Mr. Kavi Arora, CEO, Religare Finvest Ltd said: "We are pleased to announce the completion of capital infusion by Avigo Capital in Religare Finvest Limited. This transaction is a great milestone for us as it reaffirms our commitment towards our SME-focused business model."

"With this investment, we are well-positioned to capitalize on the existing business opportunities while delivering superlative value for all our stakeholders. We welcome Avigo to the Religare family." He added.

Mr. Achal Ghai, Avigo Capital said: "Avigo Capital, an Indian private equity fund manager was formed in Sep 2003 with a focus on Private Equity Investments in the SME sector in India. As we strategically look for SME focused growth stage companies, we found an excellent opportunity in Religare Finvest Limited which is a SME focused non-banking financing company. We are happy to be part of the Religare family. This transaction is in sync with our investment philosophy and investee companies."

About Religare Finvest Ltd - www.religarefinvest.com

Religare Finvest Ltd. ("RFL") is a Systemically Important Non-Deposit Accepting NBFC, focusing on small and medium enterprises ("SME") financing and capital market financing. Through its reach and focus on the SME segment and the broad product offering, RFL provides the debt capital to power the growth of the small and medium enterprise. RFL's lending products aimed at providing financing to the SME segment include:

-- Loans against property
-- Working capital loans
-- Loans against plant & machinery
-- Loans for Commercial vehicles & construction equipment
-- Loan against Marketable Securities

About Avigo Capital - www.avigocorp.com/

Avigo Capital, an Indian private equity fund manager was formed in Sep 2003 with a focus on Private Equity Investments in the SME sector in India. Avigo Capital manages Growth Capital & Buyout SME fund in India and seeks equity investments in pre-dominantly growth stage companies, across different sectors. Avigo has over USD 365 million under management and has successfully raised and invested two funds (Avigo SME Fund I and Avigo SME Fund II). Currently Avigo is in the process of investing its third Fund (Avigo SME Fund III), which had its final closing in June 2010 at USD 240 million. Till date Avigo have made more than 25 investments in 15 companies with successful exits from 6 of their portfolio companies.


CONTACT DETAILS
Subhrangshu Neogi,Director- Brand & Corporate Communications, Religare Enterprises Limited, +91 (11) 39126165/ +91 9910993925, mediarelations@religare.in
Sandeepa Santiago, Brand & Corporate Communications, Religare Enterprises Limited, + 91 (11) 39126191/+91 9899247442, mediarelations@religare.in
Shagun Sabharwal, Brand & Corporate Communications, Religare Enterprises Limited, + 91 (11) 39126189/ +91 9958620707, mediarelations@religare.in
Vivek Suchanti, Concept PR, +91 9820006943, vivek@conceptindia.com
B N Kumar, Concept PR, +91 9820128332, bnk@conceptpr.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, BANKING, BUSINESS SERVICES, CONSTRUCTION, Financial Analyst, REAL ESTATE

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BWI: DNCIndia -a Drishti-Soft initiative wins eNorth East Award 2011

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Drishti-Soft Solution Pvt. Ltd.
Monday, November 28, 2011 04:53 PM IST (11:23 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest; Business: Business services, Information technology, Media & entertainment; Technology
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DNCIndia -a Drishti-Soft initiative wins eNorth East Award 2011
DNCIndia.com has been conferred with the prestigious eNorth East Award presented by Department of Information Technology (DIT), Nagaland

Gurgaon, Haryana, India, Monday, November 28, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- DNCIndia.com, India's first free online DNC scrubbing service has been awarded the eNorth East Award 2011 at the 2nd eNorth East Award Summit & North East India Digital Festival. Held on 25th November 2011, in Nagaland, the event was organized by YouthNeT, North East Development Foundation and Department of Information Technology, Nagaland. Other leading names associated with the awards included HUGHES, IBM, WIPRO and Digital Empowerment Foundation.

As per the event organizers, "In the category-'Governance & Public Services delivery', we are pleased to announce 'DNCIndia.com', project as a 'Special Mention' for its innovation deployment of ICT tools especially Internet platform to deliver citizen customer services. This project is owned and implemented by Drishti-Soft Solutions Pvt. Ltd."

Expressing his views, Sachin Bhatia, Co Founder, Drishti-Soft Solutions Pvt. Ltd, says "With years of experience in delivering world class solutions to a gamut of telemarketers and enterprises, we understand the challenges faced by the telemarketers due to the implementation of new TRAI regulations. DNCIndia.com is an initiative aimed at easing out the compliance needs and ensures adherence to the TRAI regulations."

The award was given away by Nagaland's chief secretary Lalthara, Nagaland's IT secretary KT Sukhalu, Arunachal Pradesh's planning secretary Ankur Garg, Board of director-ORG, the Public Interest Registry & former CEO, NIXI Amitabh Singhal and Rajen Varada, founder director, TFTP Karnataka.

About 2nd eNorth East Award Summit 2011:

The focus of e-North East 2011 is to dialogue, consult and share ideas and experience in ICT and technology for development to improve development and governance in North East. The focus is to bring forth ideas, programmes, and practices towards learning and experience sharing in relevancy for the State of Nagaland and other NE states. The aim is to enable policy consolidations and partnership understandings and agreements on areas of convergence among stakeholders - government, industry, civil society and academia.

About DNCIndia.com:

DNCIndia.com, a cloud-based initiative by Drishti-Soft Solutions Pvt. Ltd, is a leading provider of robust and easy to use DNC scrubbing solution which enables ease of managing DNC lists in real time. DNCIndia.com offers solution to filter all DND or DNC registered numbers from calling lists (either manually uploading or integrating through API) in an updated, reliable and secure environment. Their customers enjoy significant benefits in terms no hassle of management, saving time and money, with immediate ROI. DNCIndia.com is a unique solution which solves scrubbing challenges for many telemarketers on a daily basis and helps them to adhere to compliance requirements.

About Drishti-Soft(www.drishti-soft.com)

Drishti is a leading provider of Contact Center Software and Enterprise Communications Applications. Drishti offers communications solutions that empower enterprises to dynamically manage Business Processes, Interactions, Workforce and Service Levels on emerging Unified Communications (IP Telephony, Unified Messaging, Conferencing, Presence Management, and Application Collaboration), SOA (Service Oriented Architecture), and SaaS (Software as a service). Cutting-edge technologies from Drishti have been designed to add value to the businesses and pave way for a structured growth. Their customers enjoy significant benefits in terms of increase in efficiency levels, reduction in operational costs, flexibility to grow, consistent user experience and a demonstrable ROI.


CONTACT DETAILS
Kshiti Garg, Drishti-Soft Solution Pvt. Ltd., +91 (124) 4771000, pr@drishti-soft.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, BUSINESS SERVICES, IT, MEDIA, TECHNOLOGY

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BWI: The UK Celebrates London 2012 with a 12-week Nationwide Festival of the World’s Best Music, Theatre, Dance, Visual art, Literature, Film and Fashion

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: Visit Britain and London 2012
Monday, November 28, 2011 01:54 PM IST (08:24 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Arts & culture, Consumer interest, Entertainment, Fashion, Lifestyle, People, Sports, Travel & tourism; Business: Hospitality, Sports, Travel & tourism
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The UK Celebrates London 2012 with a 12-week Nationwide Festival of the World's Best Music, Theatre, Dance, Visual art, Literature, Film and Fashion
Damon Albarn, Alan Ayckbourn, Daniel Barenboim, Cate Blanchett, Martin Creed, Gustavo Dudamel, Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Jude Law, Mike Leigh, Leona Lewis, Baaba Maal, Wynton Marsalis, Wayne McGregor, Stella McCartney, Toni Morrison, Yoko Ono, Simon Rattle, Mark Rylance, Paul Smith, Meera Syal, Ridley Scott, Rufus Wainwright, Vivienne Westwood

London, United Kingdom, Monday, November 28, 2011 -- (Business Wire India) -- London 2012 launched the programme for the London 2012 Festival, a spectacular 12-week nationwide celebration bringing together leading artists from across the world with the very best from the UK, opening on Midsummer's Day 21 June and running until 9 September 2012.

From the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland, to the remotest corner of the Shetland Islands, from the Raploch Estate in Scotland to Hadrian's Wall on England's most Northern border, from Stonehenge to the shores of Lake Windermere, from the forests of North Wales and right into the heart of the capital, the London 2012 Festival will celebrate the huge range, quality and accessibility of the UK's world-class culture, and give the opportunity for people across the UK to celebrate the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

For information on how to access tickets, including free tickets, people are encouraged to sign up to the London 2012 Festival website www.london2012.com/festival.

London 2012 Festival opens with a burst of events all over the country on Midsummer's Day highlighted by a series of spectacular concerts; In Northern Ireland, Peace One Day founder Jeremy Gilley and ambassador Jude Law will mark the three-month countdown to Peace Day 2012 with an all-star concert in Derry/Londonderry; In Scotland, The Big Concert with Venezuelan superstar, Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra will present a spectacular open-air concert set against the backdrop of Scotland's Stirling Castle with its sweeping Ochil Hills and Wallace Monument, joined by young people from the Raploch Estate; in Birmingham's Symphony Hall, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will present the UK premiere of Weltethos, an epic choral work by Jonathan Harvey, performed by the joint forces of the CBSO and the CBSO Chorus, Youth Chorus and Children's Chorus; and the pyrotechnicians and musicians of the French street arts company, Les Commandos Percu will bring the magic of music and fire to the shores of Lake Windermere, in Cumbria in a spectacular outdoor show, On the Night Shift, created especially for the Festival. In London, an unparalleled programme of free events is being planned by the Mayor's Office working in partnership with artists and performers, which will take place in all 33 boroughs aimed at creating unforgettable experiences and memories for anyone in the city during the festival.

Highlights of the programme for London 2012 Festival include:

Theatre

The World Shakespeare Festival is a celebration of Shakespeare as the world's playwright, produced by the Royal Shakespeare Company in an unprecedented collaboration with leading UK and international arts organisations, and with Globe to Globe, a major international programme produced by Shakespeare's Globe.

Supported by Founding Presenting Partner BP, the World Shakespeare Festival is bringing together thousands of artists and over 50 arts organisations to present major new productions, groundbreaking collaborations and radical interpretations of Shakespeare's work.

Productions will be presented by companies including the Wooster Group (USA), Ninagawa Company (Japan), National Theatre of China (China), Iraqi Theatre Company (Iraq), Companhia BufoMecânica (Brazil), Vakhtangov Theatre (Moscow), Artistes, Producteurs, Associés (Tunisia), and Teatr Warszawa (Poland). The BBC will present a new series of television productions.

Thousands of amateurs from all over the UK have been invited to work with the RSC and nine partner theatres to perform their own interpretations of Shakespeare in castles, parks, village halls, pubs and churches and in a summer season at Stratford-on-Avon.

Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru will present The Tempest at the National Eisteddfod in a new Welsh translation by Gwyneth Lewis.

Alongside the live programme, The British Museum will present Shakespeare: Staging The World - The BP exhibition, a major exhibition investigating the importance of Shakespeare in shaping a new sense of national identity by examining artefacts including maps, prints, manuscripts, and medals, through the lens of Shakespeare's plays.

To celebrate Shakespeare's birthday, award-winning actor Mark Rylance will present,

To Be or Not To Be: Shakespeare Encountered, pop-up performances of Shakespeare's sonnets and speeches around Central London being presented in partnership between London 2012 and the Mayor of London.

The London 2012 Festival will celebrate the work of Alan Ayckbourn, with two plays presented in an exciting new collaboration between two award-winning theatres of international importance, the Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough and Chichester Festival Theatre. Alongside a revival of one of Ayckbourn's best-loved works, he will direct the world premiere of his 76th play. In a major initiative for children and young people, theatres across the country will stage Ayckbourn's innovative plays for children.

In response to Peter Sellars' 2009 Othello, Nobel Prize-winning novelist Toni Morrison and Malian singer/songwriter Rokia Traoré collaborate to create an intimate and profound conversation between Shakespeare's Desdemona and her African nurse Barbary from beyond the grave.

Handspring Puppet Company, the geniuses behind the National Theatre's production of War Horse, will present the world premiere of a show based on Ted Hughes' powerfully visceral CROW poems for Greenwich Council and Greenwich + Docklands International Festival.

Award-winning theatre company Punchdrunk with the Doctor Who team create The Crash of The Elysium, a live Doctor Who adventure in which the audience are the stars - no two shows are ever be the same, no individual adventure is ever repeated.

Royal & Derngate, Northampton will present Festival Of Chaos, exploring the contemporary relevance of Dionysius, the god of dance, ecstasy and chaos, with three new interpretations of classic plays, The Bacchae by Euripides, Blood Wedding by Federico Garcia Lorca, and Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, directed by Artistic Director Laurie Sansom

Happy Days - Enniskillen International Beckett Festival is the first annual festival in the world dedicated to Samuel Beckett. London 2012 Festival is co-commissioning a new production of Krapp's Last Tape, directed and performed by Robert Wilson.

Academy Award and BAFTA winner, Cate Blanchett, makes a rare appearance on the London stage in Botho Strauss's Gross Und Klein in a translation by Martin Crimp directed by Benedict Andrews for Sydney Theatre Company at the Barbican Centre.

National Theatre Wales will present a new play, In Water I'm Weightless, by Kaite O'Reilly, inspired by the lives of deaf and disabled people, directed by John McGrath with choreography by Nigel Charnock.

Award-winning Druid from Ireland will present the UK premiere of DruidMurphy, an epic tale of Irish emigration told through three of the greatest plays of Tom Murphy, one of Ireland's most respected living dramatists, directed by Garry Hynes, probably the foremost interpreter of Irish drama in the world.

West End Live, including for the first time casts from every single one of London's world-famous musicals, will present its biggest ever free event in Trafalgar Square for the Festival.

Performance & Dance

Tickets go on sale for ENO's London stage premiere of the highly acclaimed Dr Dee, written and performed by Blur and Gorillaz front man Damon Albarn and directed by Rufus Norris. Co-commissioned by the London 2012 Festival, Manchester International Festival and English National Opera.

The Barbican presents the first ever UK performances of Robert Wilson and Philip Glass's Einstein on the Beach. Widely credited as one of the groundbreaking operas of the 20th century, the work, with choreography by Lucinda Childs, will be reconstructed by its original creators for a major international tour nearly four decades after it was first performed and twenty years since its last production.

World Cities 2012 from Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, a series of works by the great German choreographer Pina Bausch, who died in 2009, will be presented at Sadler's Wells and the Barbican with 10 back-to-back works created in response to commissions from cities and countries she visited throughout her long career.

Once called the Evel Knievel of dance, award-winning American choreographer Elizabeth Streb and her Extreme Action Company create daredevil feats of extreme athleticism which push the human body to the limits. Newly commissioned by London 2012 in partnership with the Mayor of London as one of a series of 'surprise' events, One Extraordinary Day: Streb Action, will begin at daybreak and continue until late into the night, in iconic sites across London.

The Argentinian choreographer and director, Constanza Macras has been setting the world of dance theatre with her violent, witty and sensual work. In a special commission for National Theatre Wales and London 2012 Festival, she will create a new site-specific show in the Rheidol Forest of North Wales, drawing inspiration from the ancient stories of Mabinogion.

At the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, the massed ranks of singers, musicians and performers from the South Wales Valleys will join forces with stellar artists from the townships of South Africa including Zip Zap Circus, Dance for All, Amampondo and the Fezeka Choir to tell a classic story of love and separation set against the backdrop of South Africa's struggle for freedom and democracy.

The pyrotechnicians and musicians of the French street arts company, Les Commandos Perçu, will bring the magic of music and fire to the shores of Lake Windermere in Cumbria in a spectacular outdoor show, On the Night Shift, created especially for the Festival.

Birmingham and Nottingham will host Mandala, an interactive, multilayered performance of South Asian dance and music, led by Sampad and Seeper which uses 3D architectural projection mapping techniques to graft images onto the exteriors of two landmark locations.

How Like an Angel is an highly innovative performance which combines the visually stunning aerial talent of Australian company Circa with the poetic vocals of the British based I Fagiolini set in some of the country's greatest cathedrals.

Big Dance is the world's largest and most influential dance initiative. The celebrations will expand in 2012 to reach across the whole of the UK involving over 5 million people in the experience of dance. Highlights of the programme include a spectacular performance featuring a cast of over a thousand of dancers in Trafalgar Square directed by Wayne McGregor on Saturday 14 July 2012 as part of the Big Street Dance Day, and with the British Council an invitation to young people all over the world to join in a global record breaking attempt to be part of the largest multi-location dance routine ever performed.

Inspired by the history of Northern Ireland, Land of Giants will be the largest outdoor arts event ever seen in Northern Ireland. Combining acrobatics, aerial dance, carnival, circus, music, multi-media and pyrotechnics, this will be a spectacle for an audience of more than 20,000 people in Belfast, written and directed by Mark Murphy.

Music

Simon Rattle will conduct Wynton Marsalis' Swing Symphony, a tribute to the history of jazz, which will be performed by LSO and Jazz at the Lincoln Center Orchestra at the Barbican. The work was commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic.

Daniel Barenboim will bring the West Eastern Divan Orchestra for a complete Beethoven Symphony cycle at the BBC Proms in 2012. This will culminate with a performance of Beethoven 9 on the opening day of the Olympics on 27 July. The concerts in the cycle will also feature significant works by living French composer Pierre Boulez, one of the most influential figures in contemporary music for the past sixty years. The full BBC Proms programme will be announced in April 2012.

Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolivar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela will visit Raploch, Stirling, for a four-day residency with 100 aspiring young local musicians. The project, part of Sistema Scotland, will culminate in a spectacular outdoor concert set against the backdrop of Stirling Castle on Midsummer's Night, 21 June 2012, the first evening of the Festival.

Opening the celebrations in Derry/Londonderry on Midsummer's Day is a Peace One Day concert produced by Founder Jeremy Gilley and Ambassador Jude Law marking the three-month countdown to a Global Truce on Peace Day 2012 with an all-star concert.

On the same night, Edward Gardner conducts the UK premiere of Weltethos, an epic choral work by composer Jonathan Harvey that will involve the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra with the CBSO Chorus, Youth Chorus and Children's Chorus.

Africa Utopia, led by renowned Senegalese singer and human rights champion Baaba Maal, will shed light on areas where the continent leads the world, through performances, talks, debates and film.

Later in the festival, the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra will be joined by local children at Coventry Cathedral to perform the premier of James MacMillan's Gloria, a work written to celebrate Coventry Cathedral's Golden Jubilee in 2012.

In Glasgow, The Kronos Quartet will perform in the Zaha Hadid's new Museum of Transport in a one-off, interactive sound installation that will allow visitors to make music using the building itself.

NI Opera will present a new co-production by the KT Wong Foundation and NI Opera of Benjamin Britten's much-loved children's opera Noye's Fludde in Belfast Zoo.

Visual Arts

London 2012 is continuing the tradition of inviting leading artists to design the official Olympic and Paralympic posters. The designs by Fiona Banner, Michael Craig-Martin, Martin Creed, Tracey Emin, Anthea Hamilton, Howard Hodgkin, Gary Hume, Sarah Morris, Chris Ofili, Bridget Riley, Bob and Roberta Smith and Rachel Whiteread will be revealed at Tate Britain today, where visitors can view them free of charge for the duration of London 2012 Festival.

Everyone can take part in Turner Prize-winning artist Martin Creed's Work No. 1197: All the bells in a country rung as quickly and loudly as possible for three minutes, to mark the opening day of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on 27 July. By ringing any kind of bell - hand bell, church bell, school bell, bicycle bell or doorbell, everyone in the UK can celebrate the arrival of the world's greatest sporting event.

At Tate Modern, the former Bankside Power Station's spectacular Oil Tanks - enormous circular spaces over thirty metres across and seven metres high - will open as the anchor for Tate Modern's live programme of performance and event-based art. The opening programme will bring together performances, debates, films and interventions, including major newly commissioned installations by artists working across these disciplines.

Tracey Emin will present the major exhibition, She Lay Down Deep Beneath the Sea at the award-winning Turner Contemporary in her hometown, Margate. The show will contain a mixture of new and existing works and explore the themes of love, sex and romanticism.

Yoko Ono will be the subject of a major exhibition at the Serpentine Gallery, extending out of the Gallery and into Kensington Gardens. Working as an artist, filmmaker, poet, musician, writer, performance artist and peace activist for over five decades, she has influenced generations of artists and received numerous prestigious awards.

Tino Sehgal's brings his exciting new commission to life for Tate Modern's Turbine Hall Seghal had risen to prominence for his groundbreaking works which consist of live encounters with people.

As part of a season of events celebrating British design, the V&A will present Heatherwick Studio: Designing the Extraordinary, the first major solo exhibition from one of the most inventive and experimental British design studios practising today, also designers of the 2012 Olympic Cauldron.

Outside London, the festival will transform landscapes with installations such as Column by Anthony McCall, a vertical, spinning column of cloud rising into the sky from the surface of Wirral Waters. Several kilometres tall, it will be visible across the North West and beyond.

The Whitechapel Gallery will unveil a major new commission by Rachel Whiteread for the historic façade of the gallery, inspired by the decorative 'tree of life' motif that is part of the terracotta building.

Large-scale landscape paintings, drawings, films, and iPad art are amongst new works by David Hockney that will feature in his major exhibition of landscapes at the Royal Academy of Arts, as one of the Festival's countdown events in January.

Tate Modern will stage the first substantial survey of Damien Hirst's work ever held in the UK, bringing together over 70 of the artist's works including many seminal pieces. Lucian Freud Portraits at the National Portrait Gallery is the most ambitious exhibition of the artist's work for 10 years. The show spans 70 years and includes more than 100 paintings.

The first major London show of Tony Cragg's outdoor sculptures will be staged along the newly pedestrianised Exhibition Road in Kensington, alongside indoor works at Imperial College London, the Science Museum, the V&A and also at the CASS Sculpture Foundation.

BP and the Royal Opera House have joined forces with The Olympic Museum to create this free and unique exhibition of medals, torches and inspiring stories behind the Olympic Games.

At the National Portrait Gallery the three-year will reach its conclusion with a free exhibition of portraits taken by leading photographers.

Manchester will stage a free exhibition of contemporary West African art entitled We Face Forward: Art from West Africa Today across three locations: Manchester Art Gallery, the Whitworth Art Gallery and Park, and the Gallery of Costume, Platt Hall.

Lasting for 30 days, and featuring 30 artists from Rio and 30 artists from London, Rio Occupation London focuses on an artistic exchange that brings new creative and inspiring artists from Rio's contemporary cultural scene.

Britain Creates 2012, a joint project by the Mayor of London and the British Fashion Council/Bazaar Arts Foundation, features some of the UK's most high-profile fashion designers, including Sarah Burton, Christopher Bailey for Burberry, Hussein Chalayan, Giles Deacon, Stephen Jones, Christopher Kane, Mary Katrantzou, Jonathan Saunders and Paul Smith who will collaborate with leading visual artists including Dinos Chapman, Jeremy Deller, Jess Flood-Paddock, Gavin Turk, Marc Quinn and Cerith Wyn Evans to create original commissions inspired by Olympic and Paralympic values.

Film

BBC Films and Film 4 have come together for the first time to co-commission a selection of short films that showcase great UK filmmaking talent including A Running Jump by Mike Leigh, featuring Eddie Marsan, Sam Kelly and Samantha Spiro, which will premiere as part of London 2012 Festival; and a new short film by Lynne Ramsey, director of the critically acclaimed adaptation of We Need to Talk About Kevin.

Alfred Hitchcock's early British masterpieces will be restored to their former glory by the BFI National Archive and presented in a series of one-off screenings across London with live music accompaniment and new commissioned orchestral scores from homegrown music talent. In July, the BFI is also hosting the grand finale of Film Nation Shorts presented by Panasonic. Young nominees from the three-year competition will gather at the BFI for the final awards ceremony.

Shetland Arts' Screenplay, the UK's most northerly film festival, curated by Linda Ruth Williams and Mark Kermode, will present A Hansel of Film, a unique cinematic relay project for 2012. The arrival of the Olympic Torch in the isles will kick off a relay of film screenings around the UK, from Shetland to Southampton and back again.

Ridley Scott's Britain in A Day is an ambitious nationwide project to capture a day in the life of Britain made entirely by the people of Britain. Jointly developed with BBC Learning, the self-made videos will become an extraordinary archive to become a time capsule of Britain as well as a full-length documentary which will be screened on BBC2 in 2012.

What's Going On?, a new documentary by Penny Woolcock, tells the story of two rival gangs in Birmingham involved in a postcode war for fifteen years who are looking to succeed in reaching a truce.

The Itch of the Golden Nit, dreamt up by thousands of children across the UK, brought together by Tate and the creative magic of Aardman Animation, with voiceovers by David Walliams, Vic Reeves, Catherine Tate and Miranda Hart among others, will be screened during the London 2012 Festival.

Literature

Southbank Centre will present Poetry Parnassus, the largest poetry festival ever to be staged in the UK, directed by Jude Kelly, Artistic Director of Southbank and Simon Armitage, artist in residence. The programme brings together 205 poets - one from each of the competing Olympic nations - in readings, workshops and discussions.

A series of slam poetry events, Shake the Dust runs alongside as a national celebration of the power of spoken word and slam final teams of young people from around the country will compete in the biggest national youth slam final this country at London's Royal Festival Hall. Each team will perform two original pieces that they will have spent months writing and developing, based around the Olympic and Paralympic values and the theme of 'truce'.

Pioneering climate and culture organisation Cape Farewell presents new stories from Scotland's islands about people, place and resources, working with artists from India and the UK, including Jo Shapcott, Julie Fowlis and Atul Bhalla, to 'translate' contemporary and traditional stories into new forms, and pass them in digital relay from island to island and across the mainland.

The Summer 2012 Reading Challenge is the UK's biggest ever-reading event for children. The aim of the challenge is to get children to read six books from their library during the summer holiday.

Heritage Sites

A number of special events have been programmed to showcase the UK's sites of outstanding natural beauty, and encourage audiences to look at and experience these iconic locations in a different way. These will include:

A major new art installation engaging with the 86 miles length of the remains of Hadrian's Wall by the Manhattan artists' collective YesYesNo.

La Compagnie Carabosse, one of France's most important street arts groups, will transform Stonehenge into a glowing fairytale environment with an elemental Fire Garden.

Edinburgh's dramatic landmark Arthur's Seat will be brought to life by NVA's Speed of Light, a light installation combining sport and art that will see thousands of runners activating specially designed light suits to animate the hillside with trails of patterned light as part of Edinburgh International Festival.

The pyrotechnicians and musicians of the French street arts company, Les Commandos Percu will bring the magic of music and fire to the shores of Lake Windermere in Cumbria in a spectacular outdoor show, On the Night Shift, created especially for the Festival.

In Northern Ireland, internationally renowned German artist Hans Peter Kuhn will transform the The Giant's Causeway Coast with his project FLAGS.

Digital projections, sound and an historical building meet in Austrian artist Kurt Hentschläger's new work, Core at the Engine Shop at Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage Site.

Peace Camp is a coastal installation created by the renowned opera and theatre director Deborah Warner in collaboration with the actor Fiona Shaw and creative producer Artichoke. Appearing from dusk to dawn on beaches and cliff tops around the UK and Ireland and inspired by the Olympic Truce, Peace Camp is a poignant exploration of love poetry and a celebration of the extraordinary variety and beauty of our coastline.

Free Events

There will be over 10 million chances to see free London 2012 Festival events throughout the UK. Among these are:

Elizabeth Streb has been commissioned to create a series of events against London's iconic skyline through a partnership between the Mayor of London and the London 2012 Festival. Beginning at daybreak and continuing until late at night, her extraordinary dancers will literally take your breath away.

BT River of Music welcomes the world to London with a spectacular weekend of free music representing all 205 participating Olympic & Paralympic nations at landmarks along the River Thames. The continents will be represented across six stages located at Battersea Park (Asia stage), Jubilee Gardens (Africa stage), Trafalgar Square and Somerset House (Europe stages), Tower of London (Americas stage), and Old Royal Naval College, Greenwich (Oceania stage).

BBC Radio 1 Hackney Weekend 2012, a celebration of live music and BBC Radio 1's biggest-ever, free live music event. With six stages and more than 80 international and UK artists, bands and DJs, confirmed acts include Hackney's own superstar, Leona Lewis, and Brit Award-winning Plan B.

Lake Windermere will host a free light and fire spectacular by Les Commandos Percus for Lakes Alive, and internationally acclaimed outdoor performance specialists Walk the Plank will present a free outdoor show in Chelmsford.

Streetwise Opera are joining with the Royal Opera House to welcome arts groups who work with homeless people - including Cardboard Citizens, the Choir with No Name, and Open Cinema - to perform throughout the weekend to sing, present drama work, poetry and films in a rolling programme of free events open to the public under the title With One Voice.

Peace Camp is an outdoor installation created by the renowned opera and theatre director Deborah Warner in collaboration with the actor Fiona Shaw and creative producer Artichoke and commissioned in partnership with Derry City of Culture. The project celebrates the power of words, evoked by the sound of poems whispered by lovers on the brink of sleep.

Mandala, an interactive, multilayered performance of South Asian dance and music, in Birmingham and Nottingham, led by Sampad and Seeper, uses 3D architectural projection mapping techniques to graft images onto the exteriors of two landmark locations

Principal Funders of the Cultural Olympiad and London 2012 Festival are Arts Council England, Legacy Trust UK and the Olympic Lottery Distributor. BP and BT are Premier Partners of the Cultural Olympiad and the London 2012 Festival.

The London 2012 Festival is the finale of the Cultural Olympiad. Since the Cultural Olympiad started in 2008, over 16 million people all over the UK have participated in or attended performances as part of Cultural Olympiad programmes inspired by London 2012 and funded by our principal funders and sponsors. Over 169,000 people have attended more than 8,300 workshops as part of the Cultural Olympiad programmes.

Over 1 million people have visited the National Portrait Gallery to see the annual National Portrait Gallery/BT Road to 2012 Project and BP Portrait Award exhibitions including participants in the new BP Portrait Award: Next Generation summer schools and taster sessions.

34,000 children worked with the BBC, Tate, and Aardman though 'The Tate Movie Project', supported by BP and the Legacy Trust UK, to develop their skills in film animation and create a film, 'The Itch of the Golden Nit'. Already scooping awards and booking into festivals round the world in 2012, including of course London 2012 Festival, the movie has been enjoyed by audiences live on big screens across the UK and through broadcasts on the BBC.

More than 2,500 14-25 year olds have attended Film Nation: Shorts workshops presented by Panasonic, and there are now 2,000 young curators working in museums across the UK as part of the Stories of the World project.

The Mayor of London will announce more details about the programme of free events being planned to take place in every borough during the London 2012 Festival early next year. The Mayor sees the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games as providing an unparalleled opportunity for London to showcase itself to the world. He is responsible for ensuring there is a lasting legacy for London from the Games, and is focused on ensuring that Londoners benefit from opportunities and investment that the Games bring - both now and in the future - particularly in East London. The Mayor coordinates the City Operations programme, which is designed to spread the look, feel and excitement of the Games throughout the capital (e.g. London Ambassadors, Live Sites, London Look programme) and to bring together London agencies to keep the capital moving and functioning successfully during a busy period. In 2012 the capital will demonstrate its creative prowess, creating new opportunities for cultural connections for Games time and beyond. www.london.gov.uk/games

Big Dance is London's Legacy Trust UK programme led by the Mayor of London and Arts Council England. The Foundation for Community Dance co-ordinate a National Programme in partnership with the Big Dance Hubs. The next Big Dance takes place from 7-15 July 2012 as part of London Festival 2012, the culmination of the Cultural Olympiad. It will be the world's largest festival of dance, and offers a spectacular programme of dance events that will bring buildings, public spaces and unusual places to life across London and the UK. www.bigdance2012.com

LOCOG

As it heads towards its £2bn budget for staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games, LOCOG has seven domestic Tier One Partners - adidas, BMW, BP, British Airways, BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB. There are seven domestic Tier Two Supporters - Adecco, ArcelorMittal, Cadbury, Cisco, Deloitte, Thomas Cook and UPS. There are now twenty-eight domestic Tier Three Suppliers and Providers - Aggreko, Airwave, Atkins, Boston Consulting Group, CBS Outdoor, Crystal CG, Eurostar, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP, G4S, GSK, Gymnova, Heathrow Airport, Heineken UK, Holiday Inn, John Lewis, McCann Worldgroup, Mondo, NATURE VALLEY, Next, Nielsen, Populous, Rapiscan Systems, Rio Tinto, Technogym, Thames Water, Ticketmaster, Trebor and Westfield.

There is one domestic Tier One Paralympic Games-only Partner, Sainsbury's and one domestic Tier Three Paralympic Games-only Supplier, Otto Bock.

The Worldwide Olympic Partners signed up for London 2012 are Coca-Cola, Acer, Atos, Dow, GE, McDonald's, Omega, Panasonic, Procter and Gamble, Samsung and Visa.

For allthebells.com -

SGA Productions Ltd. Tel: 01737 767222 , media@allthebells.com
(for 5/6 November only Tel: 07970 405570)

To enquire about interviews with Martin Creed -
Jenny Wegg at jenny.wegg@musicsales.co.ukTel: 020 7612 7475
(for 5/6 November only Tel: 0791703116)


CONTACT DETAILS
Paul Woodmansey,LOCOG Press Officer - Culture, Ceremonies & Education, Visit Britain and London 2012, 0203 2012 461/07825 980 398, paul.woodmansey@london2012.com
Ritushri Dhankher, Press & PR Manager - India, VisitBritain, Visit Britain, +91 (124) 2624255, ritushri.dhanker@visitbritain.org

KEYWORDS
ARTS, CONSUMER, ENTERTAINMENT, FASHION, LIFESTYLE, PEOPLE, SPORTS, TOURISM, HOSPITALITY, TRAVEL

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