Chitra Unnithan, Ila Parikh In Mumbai, Ahmedabad

Stories by Chitra Unnithan, Ila Parikh In Mumbai, Ahmedabad

RIL commissions 2nd refinery at Jamnagar

RIL commissions 2nd refinery at Jamnagar

Rediff.com   26 Dec 2008

Reliance Petroleum, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market capitalisation, today commissioned its second refinery in a special economic zone (SEZ) at Jamnagar, adjacent to its existing facility, in Gujarat that will add 20 per cent to India's total crude oil refining capacity.

Nano to be displayed at Vibrant Gujarat

Nano to be displayed at Vibrant Gujarat

Rediff.com   16 Dec 2008

Meanwhile, pre-construction work has begun at the Nano plant site in Sanand near Ahmedabad. Spread across an area of 1,100 acres of land, the plant will bear an investment of Rs 2,000 crore (Rs 20 billion).

Companies make a beeline to sell surplus power

Companies make a beeline to sell surplus power

Rediff.com   11 Dec 2008

Arvind, Electrotherm, Shah Alloys have surplus power to sell. Ahmedabad-based stainless steel manufacturer Shah Alloys, denim maker Arvind Ltd and electric two wheeler producer Electrotherm are currently producing surplus power from their CPPs and they are looking at selling it.

Meltdown effect: Guj BPOs say 'work from home'

Meltdown effect: Guj BPOs say 'work from home'

Rediff.com   4 Dec 2008

Going by the adage 'necessity is the mother of invention', business process outsourcing knowledge process outsourcing units in Gujarat keep finding unique ways to cut cost amidst economic slowdown.

Retail rent dips 40%, realtors work overtime

Retail rent dips 40%, realtors work overtime

Rediff.com   4 Dec 2008

Spencer's Retail, the retail arm of RPG Group, says it has seen a 30-40 per cent decline in the rentals in Tier-II and -III cities. In Tier-I and metropolitan cities, the correction is in the range of 15-20 per cent, and a further correction and its impact is likely to come in the next few months.

More job losses feared in textile sector

More job losses feared in textile sector

Rediff.com   26 Nov 2008

"The textile industry is dying and requires increased help from banks," Ram Krishna Mundra of Mahendra Tora Pvt Ltd said on November 26. Power loom owners and weavers have been hit hard during the recent times. "The textile industry should be given an electricity duty subsidy to overcome the current crisis," he demanded. Vimal Ambani, president-Gujarat chapter, CII, said a unified national tax structure was needed to strengthen the industry.

A great innovation to help the visually challenged

A great innovation to help the visually challenged

Rediff.com   19 Nov 2008

The innovation called 'blind man's stick' aspires to make life easy for the visually challenged by alerting them if they are stepping on water or into a pit through a multi-lingual voice recorded system.

Textile industry may see further job cuts: CITI

Textile industry may see further job cuts: CITI

Rediff.com   19 Nov 2008

Having already witnessed a job cut of around seven lakhs so far in the year, the textile industry may see a further reduction in manpower by five lakhs, given in a decline in business by 1.5 per cent.

IIM-A books Sarovar for hospitality mgmt

IIM-A books Sarovar for hospitality mgmt

Rediff.com   6 Nov 2008

The Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad has awarded Hyderabad-based Sarovar Park Plaza, a subsidiary of Sarovar Hotels, a long-term contract to provide management-backed hospitality services.

Nano project: Farmers cry foul over land price

Nano project: Farmers cry foul over land price

Rediff.com   4 Nov 2008

Farmers say they are paid lesser by Rs 110 per sq meter for road project. A day before the announcement of Nano project at Northcote farm in Chharodi village in Gujarat, the Ahmedabad district collector along with revenue department officials had assured the farmers that they would be duly compensated for the amount of land they given for four lane road project.

IIM-A offers dabbawalas food for thought

IIM-A offers dabbawalas food for thought

Rediff.com   3 Nov 2008

Case study suggests strategy to offer 'maximum bang for the minimum buck'.

Mould entrepreneurs young: IIM-B

Mould entrepreneurs young: IIM-B

Rediff.com   29 Oct 2008

IIM-B study says efforts at varsity level are ineffective unless adequate grounding of the discipline has been laid at the primary level.

More villages seek dues for 'Nano' land

More villages seek dues for 'Nano' land

Rediff.com   15 Oct 2008

The farmers of Khoda and Bol village on Tuesday claimed that a large portion of the proposed 1100 acre for Nano is their ancestral property and the land was given for the cattle farm which falls under Anand Agriculture University. The state government has given half of the 2200 acres of land to the Tatas.

Hollywood studios to use Indian patented tech

Hollywood studios to use Indian patented tech

Rediff.com   10 Oct 2008

Hollywood is all set to use Indian technology for the first time. An erstwhile incubatee at the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship, at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, has been approached by prominent Hollywood production houses for his patented technology, which finds its application in the current film technology and also for Digital Intermediate Technology of the future.

IIMs want ethical business leaders

IIMs want ethical business leaders

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2008

The institutes have now begun sensitising students about business ethics and morality as well. Be it inviting eminent personalities like the Dalai Lama to speak on business ethics or incorporating ethics as a compulsory course, IIMs are making efforts to produce socially-sensitive managers.

IIM-A student, BCG to improve PDS

IIM-A student, BCG to improve PDS

Rediff.com   3 Oct 2008

The BCG project, which is supported by the United Nations' World Food Programme, the government of India and the government of Orissa, involves scanning finger prints and the iris for preparing biometric cards for a population of around 1 million. Srijan Pal Singh, an IIM-A student, who is part of the project, says the biometric cards will be filtered through a super computer to avoid duplications.

Reliance zeroes in on Gujarat for Fab City project

Reliance zeroes in on Gujarat for Fab City project

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2008

While the exact investment for the project, which is likely to come up in Jamnagar is not known, senior government officials say the company is looking to ink an agreement during the upcoming Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors Summit, to be held in January next year.

Guj may get miser with incentives

Guj may get miser with incentives

Rediff.com   24 Sep 2008

The new industrial policy, which may come into effect from October this year, may not offer large incentives. The Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have told officials at the last review meeting that the new industrial policy will not offer large incentives.

IIM-A sets up company

IIM-A sets up company

Rediff.com   23 Sep 2008

This will enable the firm, a wholly-owned subsidiary called CIIE Initiatives, to buy stakes in the companies that it incubates by investing its time and resources.

ValueFirst pushes marketing via bluetooth

ValueFirst pushes marketing via bluetooth

Rediff.com   4 Sep 2008

"A small hardware placed at the location will ensure that 100 metres around the area becomes the bluetooth hotspot, where people get an alert about promotional offers in the surrounding retail environment. The applications could be audio or video images, which can be downloaded and shown at the counter to avail of the discounts claimed by the message," says Gautam Jayaraman, head of sales at Value First.