« May 2012 | Main | July 2012 »
June 28, 2012
Coca-Cola identifies India as Long-Term Strategic Growth Market
Photo: New Delhi, India, June 26, 2012 - L to R: Atul Singh, President and CEO, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia and Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company. Image provided by and copyright © The Coca-Cola Company.
The Coca-Cola Company and its bottling partners have robust plans to capture growth in India with investments in innovation, expansion of distribution network, cold drink equipment placement and augmentation of manufacturing capacity. The Company has announced that the Coca-Cola system will invest a total of $5 billion in India from 2012 to 2020.
The Coca-Cola system has already invested more than US$2 billion in India since it re-entered the country in 1993. Today’s announcement brings the total investment number to US$7 billion since reentry into India. The Coca-Cola India system currently directly employs more than 25,000 people and is estimated to have created indirect employment for more than 150,000 people in related industries through its vast procurement, supply chain and distribution system.
Atul Singh, President and CEO, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia, said, “India is a strategic growth market for The Coca-Cola Company, ranking among our top 10 markets in volume globally and as the largest market in the Eurasia and Africa Group. Our India business has been growing at a robust rate over the last five years, and our goal is to continue this momentum. The country’s demographics, economic and social parameters are all huge drivers of growth and we have to ensure that we continue to grow our offerings to be the non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink beverage company of choice for local consumers.”
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 3:40 AM | View the original post
June 20, 2012
VOLVO OCEAN RACE 2011-12: LEG 8 — SHORT, FAST AND BRUTAL
Photo: Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France chasing Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing, skippered by Ian Walker from the UK during the start of leg 6, from Itajai, Brazil, to Miami, USA, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: The fleet of Volvo Open 70’s power away from the start line, in the PORTMIAMI In-Port Race, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: Team Telefonica, skippered by Iker Martinez from Spain and Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing fly their spinnakers as they jostle for first place in the PORTMIAMI In-Port Race, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: Team Sanya, skippered by Mike Sanderson from New Zealand pull their spinnaker down as the fleet bunch up round the mark, during the PORTMIAMI In-Port Race, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: The fleet position themselves for the start of leg 7 from Miami, USA, to Lisbon, Portugal, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: The fleet split as they approach the 25 de Abril Bridge, in the Oeiras In-Port Race in Lisbon, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: PAUL TODD/Volvo Ocean Race)
Photo: Leg 8 Finish - June 15, 2012: Groupama Sailing Team’s Thomas Coville from France, hugs his daughter on the dock after taking first place on leg 8, from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: IAN ROMAN/Volvo Ocean Race via Getty Images)
Photo: Leg 8 Finish - June 15, 2012: Race leaders Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France, finish first on leg 8, from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race via Getty Images)
Photo: Leg 8 Finish - June 15, 2012: PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, skippered by Ken Read from the USA, in tough seas, on the approach to the finish of leg 8, from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race via Getty Images)
Photo: Leg 8 Finish - June 15, 2012: PUMA Ocean Racing powered by BERG, skippered by Ken Read from the USA, in tough seas, on the approach to the finish of leg 8, from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race via Getty Images)
Photo: Leg 8 Finish - June 15, 2012: Race leaders Groupama Sailing Team, skippered by Franck Cammas from France, finish first on leg 8, from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race via Getty Images)
Photo: Leg 8 Finish - June 15, 2012: CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand, skippered by Chris Nicholson from Australia, in rough weather, on the approach to the finish of leg 8, from Lisbon, Portugal, to Lorient, France, during the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12. (Credit: Paul Todd/Volvo Ocean Race via Getty Images)
The Leg 8 race from Lisbon (Portugal) to Lorient (France) was short. From drifting in the Azores to racing into the eye of a storm where searing speeds and heartbreaking boat damage resulted, the shortest leg of the race yet didn’t come up short on drama.
Just shy of 2,000 miles, the penultimate leg first lured the teams in with a false sense of security with drifting conditions in the Azores High at the Sao Miguel Island turning mark.
The calm before the storm soon passed as the teams raced into an unavoidable gale-force low pressure system in the North Atlantic that made even the most experienced skipper an anxiety ridden insomniac.
“It’s hard as skipper sailing into a low pressure system that you know is going to be brutal from a safety standpoint,” PUMA skipper Ken Read said. “I think it was the anticipation of that storm that wears me out. Once you’re in it you can deal with it, but it’s that anticipation that’s not much fun.”
It was Telefonica who first notched a record speed, overtaking the 2011-12 race best of 553 nm set by CAMPER with Emirates Team New Zealand on the Leg 1 race from Alicante, Spain to Cape Town, South Africa. Soon enough, CAMPER were back on top with what would prove an unbeatable result of 565.84 nm.
CAMPER helmsman Rob Salthouse, competing in his third Volvo, said racing at such hair-raising speeds was exhilarating stuff, but crazy too. “I’m told you don’t have to be mad but it helps, and if anyone thought that was fun they’re mad,” he said. “It was dreadful. We were pushing man and boat to the limit for 48 hours. It was a great battle though, and that’s why we do this race. It’s why we keep coming back to this race - for the battle.”
“The last day and a half was really full on,” said Abu Dhabi skipper Ian Walker. “it was mentally hard knowing how hard to push. It’s so hard to back off in these boats. There’s just such a huge difference between backing off a little and going flat out.”
No one paid a higher price in the high-stakes penultimate leg than former overall race leader Team Telefonica. The Spanish team first struck trouble on June 14 when the team broke their starboard rudder in 25 knots of wind, losing 11 nautical miles on the fleet and dropping from first to fourth. The ever defiant crew surged back to the lead within hours before a second round of problems broke their replacement rudder and damaged the port rudder. As the team dropped off the pace while stabilising their damaged boat the reality sank in. “We have just seen any chance of us winning this round the world regatta slip away,” a heartbroken Martínez said just hours after the incident.
It hadn’t been smooth sailing for Groupama either. Just 48 hours from the finish, Groupama faced a potentially dangerous situation as they tried to reduce sail area in preparation for gale-force winds. The team’s mainsail got jammed at the top of the mast leaving bowman Brad Marsh to carry out some mid-sea heroics, climbing to the top of the 31-metre mast three times in winds of well over 20 knots and rough seas. After two hours of repairs, Marsh’s skills kept the French team in the race and they only lost out 20 miles to the fleet.
With Telefonica now in survival mode and no threat to the lead, Groupama had the break they needed, completing a heroic comeback that firmed their grip on the overall standings and realizing a dream homecoming to their base in Lorient. “It’s a very good feeling for sure,” Groupama skipper Franck Cammas said. “It’s a dream we had 10 months ago and now we have made it reality.”
CAMPER were second, followed by PUMA in third and Abu Dhabi fourth — all within the space of thee hours.
With just one short leg to Galway and two in-port races remaining Groupama are in a strong position to claim overall victory in their debut Volvo Ocean Race. PUMA skipper Ken Read even admitted that while his team certainly could come back and win, it would be tough. “I hope I’m wrong but I have a feeling we’ve seen the opportunity to win this race slipping away,” Read said. “That’s a big 10 points that they (Groupama) just amassed over us. Good for them, they keep sailing fast and smart and that’s a deadly combination.”
Overall Position after Leg 8
- Groupama sailing team
- PUMA Ocean Racing by BERG
- CAMPER with Emirates Team NZ
- Team Telefonica
- Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing
- Team Sanya
The Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 started on October 29 in Alicante, Spain and will finish in Galway, Ireland in July. The course of the race includes stopovers in Cape Town (South Africa), Abu Dhabi (UAE), Sanya (China), Auckland (New Zealand), Itajaí (Brazil), Miami (USA), Lisbon (Portugal) and Lorient (France). The 2011-12 race takes the teams over 39,000 nautical miles (45,000 miles or 72,000 kilometres).
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 12:28 AM | View the original post
June 13, 2012
Partnerships between American and Indian Institutions of Higher Education
Photos: U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers remarks at the U.S.-India Higher Education Summit at the George C. Marshall Center in Washington, D.C. on June 12, 2012 (State Department Photos).
In a milestone in the educational partnership between India and the United States, the U.S. Department of State today announced the eight institutional partnership projects below for the first “Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative Awards”. The goal of the initiative is to further strengthen, through faculty exchanges, joint research, and other collaboration, partnerships between American and Indian institutions of higher education in priority fields, including food security, climate change, sustainable energy, and public health. Each project will receive an award that can be utilized over the three-year grant period.
U.S.-led Partnerships:
• Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
Project Title: Capitalizing on the Demographic Dividend: Enhancing Talent Development Capacity for India and the U.S. in the 21st Century
Partner Institution: Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai
• University of Montana
Project Title: Impacts of Climate Change and Changes in Socio-Economic Structure on Traditional Agriculture and the Development of Sustainable Communities among Indigenous Populations
Partner Institution: Bangalore University
• Cornell University
Project Title: Implementing Reformed Curriculum in Emerging areas of Agriculture and Food Security in Two State Agricultural Universities of India
Partner Institutions: University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad; and Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology, Meerut
• University of Michigan
Project Title: The Joint Development of a Master’s Degree in Education for Health Professions Faculty in the United States and India
Partner Institution: Maharashtra University of the Health Sciences
Indian-led Partnerships:
• Mahatma Gandhi University
Project Title: An Interdisciplinary and Community Oriented Approach toward Sustainable Development
Partner Institutions: Brown University, Duke University and Plymouth State University
• Banaras Hindu University
Project Title: Paradigm Shift in Energy Scenario for the 21st Century toward Renewable Energy Sources required for both India and the U.S.
Partner Institution: University of Pittsburgh
• Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Project Title: International Program for Sustainable Infrastructure Development
Partner Institution: Virginia Tech University
• Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi
Project Title: Resource Building for Ecosystem and Human Health Risk Assessment with Special reference to Microbial Contamination
Partner Institution: Drexel University
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Barack Obama announced the Obama-Singh Initiative in November 2009 as an affirmation of their commitment to building an enhanced India-U.S. partnership in education.
To implement this initiative, the Governments of India and the United States established a bi-national Obama-Singh Initiative joint working group (JWG). The JWG provides the final approval for all grants awarded through the Obama-Singh Initiative.
• The “Proposal Submission Instructions” and the “Open Competition” for the next round of the Obama-Singh Initiative grants will be announced in July 2012 by University Grants Commission (UGC), Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002, India.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
• UPDATE - 1
University Grants Commission (UGC), India, has invited applications for Post Doctoral Fellowships for Indian Scholars in United States for 2012 under Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative 2012.
Objective: The objective of the Fellowships is to provide the Indian scholars an opportunity to have international collaborative research opportunities and training in advanced techniques and technologies in emerging fields, thereby furthering their research capacity and ability to contribute to higher education with global perspective and forging long-term relationships with distinguished experts in these fields in USA. These fellowships would be called Post Doctoral Fellowships for the year 2012 to be awarded by University Grants Commission, India.
Number of Fellowships: 300
Important Date: The application must be submitted in the ‘online mode’ latest by July 11, 2012.
• [According to a communication from SECRETARY, UGC, the last date to apply has been extended to 18th August, 2012.]
Eligibility Criteria:
• The applicant should be a permanent teacher in a university/institution recognized by UGC under 2(f) and 12B of UGC Act.
• The applicant should possess at least 60% marks or equivalent in the post-graduate degree.
• The applicant should possess a PhD degree in respective academic discipline (Humanities, Social Sciences, Natural Science, Engineering, Technology, Agricultural Sciences) or MD/MS/PhD in Medical Sciences.
• UPDATE - 2
Aiming to improve the quality of education across all colleges and universities, India will soon come up with a regulation that will inform students about their academic rights and entitlements.
• According to the University Grants Commission, or UGC - the apex regulatory body for universities in India - it is working on a Students’ Entitlement Regulation. The regulation will apply to public and private universities alike.
The regulation will specify the academic rights of students, such as the minimum number of lectures to be held, access to quality laboratories, the presence of adequate books and reference material in university libraries, and sporting and accommodation facilities, among other areas.
The UGC also plans to create a portal where students can post shortcomings of their campuses and provide a real picture of different campuses in terms of academic matters.
According to the UGC chair, Professor Ved Prakash, students must have complete knowledge about their rights relating to learning, the living environment, physical activities, entertainment and sports facilities. “Once the regulation comes into effect, a student can complain if any specific right or entitlement is being violated,” Professor Prakash said.
• UPDATE - 3
US-India Institutional Partnership Grants
The United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) has announced an open competition for the support of projects through the Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative (OSI). OSI aims to strengthen collaboration and build partnerships between American and Indian institutions of higher education.
• Accredited US post-secondary educational institutions meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 U.S.C. 501©(3) may submit proposals to support the program’s goals of encouraging mutual understanding, facilitating educational reform, fostering economic development, and engaging civil society through academic cooperation with Indian post secondary educational institutions.
Submission Deadline: November 1, 2012.
Exchange activities may include but are not limited to curriculum design, research collaboration, team teaching, focused series of exchanges, seminars, among other activities. Activities should be designed to develop expertise, advance scholarship and teaching, and promote reliable, long-term communication between partner institutions.
• Proposals in the following fields are eligible: Energy; Sustainable Development; Climate Change; Environmental Studies; Education and Educational Reform; Public Health; and Community Development and Innovation.
• UPDATE - 4
English language weekly magazine INDIA TODAY has ranked India’s top 50 universities, out of a total 160 surveyed.
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 6:34 AM | View the original post
June 10, 2012
THE DRAGON BRACELET
2012 is the Year of the Dragon.
Spanish jewelry firm Carrera y Carrera invites you to discover the Dragon Bracelet. An example of craftsmanship.
According to Carrera y Carrera, it is a jewel made entirely by hand by the company’s master jewelers and more than 150 hours of work are behind this piece of art. It is a sculptural jewel of immense impact, with a weight in precious yellow gold of over 110 grams; 422 brown diamonds with a weight of 3.78 carats; and four white diamonds, one in each eye, totaling 0.16 carats.
Strength, personality and good luck are some of the words that describe this magnificent piece inspired by the Dragon, a symbol of strength and power, like the woman that will wear this spectacular jewel.
|GlobalGiants.Com|
Edited & Posted by the Editor | 12:47 AM | View the original post
