After supplying Micro Electrical Mechanical System-based (MEMS-based) Inertial Navigation System to the Navy and the Airforce, Whirlybird Electronics, the co-incubated company of Indian Institute Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A), is looking for markets in the automation and automobile industry.
Yet another generational shift is taking place at Arvind, one of India's largest textile players, as the fourth-generation Lalbhai has joined the group. In what could be an indicator of things to come, Punit Lalbhai, son of chairman and managing director Sanjay Lalbhai, is being appointed as the chief manager of the project division.
Aditya Aromedic and Bio Energy Pvt Ltd has recently started commercial production of bio-diesel from Jatropha. The good news is that bio-diesel marketed by the company is cheaper than the fossil diesel sold by oil marketing companies in the country.
Institutes are encouraging students to work hands-on with the underprivileged of society.
Nothing seems to dampen the spirit of Gujarat's textile industry when it comes to investments. Inspite of the issues arising due to rising input costs, the state government is expecting to witness MoUs worth Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) in textile sector at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investor's Summit 2009. During the summit, the state government will be luring several textile machinery manufacturers from overseas to set up base in the state.
The Gujarat government's health department has announced an e-medicine scheme for rural areas. The programme entails offering online and telemedicine facilities to villagers. The department will install web cameras and other infrastructure for distant diagnosis. Of the total plan outlay in the state budget for 2008-09, 4 per cent is for the health sector. The state is also encouraging medical practitioners to set up clinics in certain identified blocks in rural areas.
While states across the country grapple with the problem of getting power to the rural areas, Gujarat stands tall as an exception. The state government's Jyoti Gram Yojana (JGY) has not only ensured 100 per cent village electrification but also 24 X 7 power supply. The result is a resurrection of rural industries in the state and reverse migration to rural areas.
The jewellery industry innovates to compete with lifestyle products like mobiles and laptops. Students at the National Institute of Design (NID), Ahmedabad, are working on innovative designs concepts which will add some utility value to luxury jewellery products and help jewellers stay afloat.
RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, a telecom and IT wing under the ministry, has selected the four railway stations for providing wi-fi connectivity. Within the next couple of weeks, passengers will be able to use their laptops at these stations, said senior officials of RailTel. The move is aimed at providing high-speed internet connectivity at railways stations. RailTel also plans to install wi-max facility to provide connectivity to remote railway stations at a later stage.
South Gujarat-based firm, Desai Fruits and Vegetables, is developing all-season mangoes. After successfully exporting mangoes to the US last summer, the firm in now keen on producing mangoes all the year round. Although Gujarat is known for its Kesar variety of mangoes, Desai Fruits and Vegetables is experimenting with Alphonso mangoes. The company hopes to come out with the variety for commercialisation in about two years' time. 3 foreign experts are working on this project.
The Delhi Daredevils, IPL's Delhi team which is owned by the GMR Group, has recruited a student of the Postgraduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGP-PMP) from the institute to manage its operations. Colonel Vinod Bisht, the student, has been hired as assistant vice-president (operations) for the company for a Rs 30-40 lakh package.
Imagine a tiny automated teller machine (ATM) that could be carried anywhere in your bag. Unusual it may sound, but Gujarat will soon have such small ATMs. In a novel initiative to make rural banking hassle-free, public-sector bank Dena Bank is gearing up to roll out these little ATMs in a couple of rural areas on experimental basis.
But not before the concept clears regulatory roadblocks.
Every year Gujarat is seeing a growth of 230 per cent in terms of people opting for golf as a leisure activity, or even professionally at times.
With the consolidation process in the ISP industry happening all around, it is giving an impetus to players to move into the latest operations in Internet technology business.
The US-based Fuel Cell Energy, which is into developing and marketing of fuel cell power plants that generate electricity with higher efficiency, will be investing $100 million in India for setting up infrastructure for fuel cell power plants.