Dr. Sumantran steps down from role as Vice-Chairman of Hinduja Automotive Ltd.

Chennai, March 13, 2014:

Hinduja Automotive Ltd., the holding company of Ashok Leyland Ltd., announced the intent of Dr. V Sumantran, Executive Vice-Chairman to step down from the Board and this would become effective from 31 March 2014. Dr. Sumantran has also stepped down from his position on the Board of Ashok Leyland Ltd. However, he will continue as advisor to the Hinduja Group, while he pursues his interests in academia, research and consulting.

Dr. Sumantran, among many responsibilities, had overseen the LCV business of Ashok Leyland, through their Joint-Venture with Nissan. Over the past few years, Ashok Leyland had launched a new range of products including the successful Dost SCV, the award-winning Stile and most recently, the Partner LCV truck and MiTR LCV Bus launched nationally at the Auto Expo last month.

Dheeraj Hinduja, Co-Chairman, Hinduja Automotive Ltd said: ”Dr. Sumantran has played a key role in expanding Ashok Leyland’s product range and new businesses and in creating a strong partnership with Nissan. I have greatly valued his vast experience, knowledge and his advice over the past several years. I wish him all success in his new pursuits.”

Dr. Sumantran said: ”When I had joined the Board, getting Ashok Leyland into the LCV business was a major objective. Now, with the launch of the Partner and Mitr, we have seen completion of the first phase of our cooperation with Nissan. This was a suitable juncture for me to look to pursuing other interests, including some work with academia, research and consulting. I have the privilege to work with a phenomenally motivated and accomplished team, supportive share-holders and highly experienced Board colleagues and management. I wish them every success in the years ahead.”

For media queries, please contact:

Alok Saraogi

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Director IAMR

To meenakshi22867@yahoo.co.in

 

 

 Today at 4:20 PM

Dear Sir/Madam,

You are requested to cover a joint round table being organised by IAMR in collaboration with the IIC on ISSUES AND CHALLENGES IN SKILL DEVELOPMENT DURING THE 12TH PLAN.  On this occasion we will also be launching our new IAMR research report ‘Únderstanding Skill Development in China : Lessons for India’.  

Please find attached the agenda and media brief.

We will  highly appreciate your presence to cover the programme.

Thanks

Dr. Santosh Mehrotra
Director-General
Institute of Applied Manpower Research 
Ph: 24697082

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Preliminary Analysis of Candidates Announced by INC and BJP for Lok Sabha 2014                     

The major parties, INC and BJP announced their candidates for Lok Sabha, 2014 recently. A total of 203 candidates were announced by INC and BJP for Lok Sabha till 8^th March, 2014. Out of these, Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch have analysed the background details of 188 candidates whose affidavits were available from assembly or Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha elections in the past. The latestinformation regarding assets as well as criminal charges if any, will be available once the candidates file their affidavits for 2014 Lok Sabha Elections. Detailed report in English attached with the mail. 

For English and Hindi reports, go to : http://adrindia.org/content/preliminary-candidate-report-lok-sabha-inc-bjp

​Candidates Announced by INC and BJP

 

Party	No. of Candidates Announced in the First List	No. of Candidates Announced in the Second List	No. of Candidates Announced in the Third List	Total Candidates Announced
BJP	54	1	52	107
INC	194	0	0	194

Analysis of candidates announced by INC and BJP till the 8^th March, 2014

Party	No. of Candidates Announced (Total)	No. of Candidates Analysed (Total)	No of Candidates with Criminal Cases	No. of Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases	% of Candidates with Criminal Cases	% of Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases	No of Crorepati Candidates	% of Crorepati Candidates	Average Assets (in Rs.) of Candidates
BJP	107	62	23	14	37%	23%	30	48%	3,18,76,154
									3 crore+
INC	194	126	33	10	26%	8%	86	68%	6,91,17,037
									6 crore+
Total	203	188	56	24	30%	12%	116	61%	5,68,35,469
									5 crore+

​

Recommendations

The current analysis of the candidates fielded by the major parties shows that political parties continue to give tickets to candidates with serious criminal cases. The Association for Democratic Reforms and National Election Watch recommend that: 

1. Political parties should refrain from giving tickets to candidates with serious criminal cases. 
2.  Political parties should take a stand against misuse of money power, bribing of voters and distribution of freebies.
3.  Political parties should move towards transparency and disclose the criteria for selection of candidates during elections.

To report any electoral violations and malpractices during elections download the Election Watch Reporter (Android App)https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.webrosoft.election_watch_reporter

Analysis of Declared Criminal Cases

Candidates with Criminal Cases: Out of 188 candidates analysed, 56 candidates (30%) had declared criminal cases against themselves in their previous election affidavit. BJP has 23 out of 62 candidates (37%) with criminal cases and INC has 33 out of 126 (25%) candidates with criminal cases.

Candidates with Serious Criminal Cases: 24 candidates (13%) out of 188 analysed had declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their previous election affidavits. 14 out of 62 (23%) candidates of BJP and 10 out of 126 (8%) candidates of INC have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Candidates with Cases of Murder and related: 2 candidates had declared cases of murder in their previous election affidavits. Adhir Ranjan Choudhary (Sitting MP) of INC from Baharampur Constituency and Sarbananda Sonowal of BJP from Lakhimpur constituency had declared a case of murder against themselves. 

Candidates with Cases of Attempt to Murder: 3 candidates announced by INC have declared charges of attempt to murder. Abdul Mannan Hossain (Sitting MP) from Murshidabad constituency, Ratna Singh (Sitting MP) from Pratapgarh constituency and Vinay Kumar Pandey (Sitting MP) from Shrawasti constituency have declared a case of attempt to murder against himself. 

Candidates with cases of Kidnapping and related: Gopinath Munde (Sitting MP) of BJP from Beed Constituency and Abdul Mannan Hossain (Sitting MP) of INC from Murshidabad Constituency have declared cases of kidnapping. 

Candidates with cases related to electoral violations: 4 candidates announced by the major parties have declared cases related to electoral violations. Nana Patole of BJP from Bhandara – Gondiya Constituency and Ch. Bijendra Singh of INC from Aligarh Constituency have declared cases related to Illegal payments in connection with an election (IPC Section-171H). Ramesh V. Katti of BJP from Chikkodi constituency and Furkan Ansari of INC from Godda Constituency have declared cases related to undue influence or personation at an election (IPC Section-171F)

Analysis of Declared Financial Details

Average Assets of Candidates: The average assets of 188 candidates analysed is Rs. 5.68 crores.

Party-wise average assets: The average assets of 126 INC candidates is Rs. 6.91 crores and the average assets of 62 BJP candidates is Rs. 3.18 crores.

No. of crorepati candidates: Out of 188 candidates, 114 candidates (62%) have declared total assets (Self assets +Others Assets) of more than Rs. 1 crore.

Party-wise crorepati candidates: 86 out of 126 candidates (68%) in INC and 30 out of 62 (48%) candidates in BJP have declared total assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore.

High Asset Candidates: Naveen Jindal (Sitting MP) of INC from Kurukshetra Constituency has declared the highest assets among the 186 candidates analysed, worth Rs. 131.07 crores followed by Ratna Singh (Sitting MP) of INC from Pratapgarh Constituency with assets worth Rs. 67.82 crores and Kazim Ali Khan (Naved Miyan) of INC from Rampur constituency with assets worth Rs. 56.89 crores. Among the candidates announced by BJP, Shivkumari C. Udasi from Haveri Constituency has the highest assets worth, Rs. 32.33 crores.

Analysis of Criminal and Financial Details of Re-contesting MPs

Re-contesting MPs: Out of the 188 candidates analysed, 101 candidates are sitting Lok Sabha MPs.

Re-contesting MPs with Criminal Cases: Out of 101 re-contesting Lok Sabha MPs, 30 (30%) had declared criminal cases against themselves in their previous election affidavit.

Re-contesting MPs with Serious Criminal Cases: Out of 101 re-contesting Lok Sabha MPs, 12 (12%) had declared serious criminal cases against themselves like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping etc.

Average Assets of Re-contesting MPs: The average assets of 101 re-contesting MPs is Rs. 7.22 crores.

No. of crorepati Re-contesting MPs: Out of 101 re-contesting MPs, 68 (67%) had declared assets worth more than Rs. 1 crore in their previous election affidavits.

 

Media and Journalist Helpline +91 80103 94248 Email: adr@adrindia.org

Mr Anil Verma Head National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms 011 4165 4200, +91 88264 79910 adr@adrIndia.org, anilverma@adrindia.org

Prof Jagdeep Chhokar IIM Ahmedabad (Retd.) Founder Member, National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms +91 99996 20944 jchhokar@gmail.com

Prof Trilochan Sastry IIM Bangalore Founder Member, National Election Watch, Association for Democratic Reforms +91 94483 53285 trilochans@iimb.ernet.in

 

– 

Association for Democratic Reforms

“Kiwanis Centre”, 4th Floor,

B-35, Qutub Institutional Area

(Near Rockland Hospital)

New Delhi-110 016

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PHD GLOBAL RAIL CONVENTION-2014

“Indian Railways: Towards New Horizons”-March 28, 2014 (Friday); 2.30 p.m; PHD House, New Delhi

Dear Sir/ Maám,

Greetings from PHD!!

You are cordially invited to our PHD GLOBAL RAIL CONVENTION-2014,“Indian Railways: Towards New Horizons” on  March 28, 2014 (Friday) from 2.30 p.m onwards at PHD House, New Delhi .

We have a distinguished panel of expert speakers from the Government, Industry, UNESCAP and Trade Commissioners of other countries at the convention. Needless to say your presence will definitely enrich the deliberations. We look forward to welcoming you and your colleagues at the Convention.

A line of confirmation from your end is kindly solicited.

Thanks & Regards

Yogesh Srivastav

Sr. Secretary Railway Committee

PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry
PHD House, 4/2 , Siri Institutional area
August Kranti Marg
New Delhi-110016( India )
T: 91 11 26863801-04, 49545454 (EXT.117)

F: 91 11 26855450

M:9971998934
E: yogesh@phdcci.in

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Jacqueline Fernandez Turns Beauty Adviser For Female Fan

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Jacqueline Fernandez, who will be next seen in Salman Khan starrer ‘Kick’, recently had a pleasant surprise when a female fan landed on the sets of ‘Kick’ not just to meet her but also to seek advice from her on beauty products.

A source close to the actress said, “One of the assistant directors of the film, who used to regularly praise Jacqueline for her look, once approached her and asked her to share some beauty tips with his female friend and a sport that she is, Jacqueline readily agreed to do so.” The actress, who was quite excited about some ‘girl talk’ with her fan on beauty and other topics, spent around half an hour with her on the sets.

Confirming the news, Jacqueline said, “I have always believed in natural beauty products and that’s what I recommended to her. She called me up a few days later to tell me that my tips worked wonders for her.”

Apart from ‘Kick’, Jacqueline will also be seen in ‘Roy’, in which she will share screen space with Ranbir Kapoor and Arjun Rampal.

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How To Beat Invisible Glaucoma

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How To Beat Invisible Glaucoma

Early detection, diagnosis & regular eye check up can only prevent

New Delhi, March 13, 2014 : Glaucoma is an emerging leading cause of blindness and it is referred as a thief of vision that steals the beam of life leaving it filled with profound darkness. In view of alarming rise in number of cases of Glaucoma, experts say that regular eye check can detect this deadly disease and early detection and diagnosis can only prevent.

Experts say that Glaucoma is an extremely serious eye disorder which can cause blindness if not treated early.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), Glaucoma affects around 12 million people and accounting for 12.8% of the blindness in the country. Late onset of the symptoms results in many people being unaware of the condition. By the time person realizes the loss of vision, most of the damage has already been caused. As it has no symptoms until there is irreversible vision loss it is called Invisible Glaucoma.

Dr. Sanjay Dhawan, Director, Ophthalmology, Fortis Healthcare said, “Glaucoma is a disease that damages the optic nerve, the essential part of eye that carries images to the brain. In healthy eyes, a clear liquid circulates in the front portion of the eye. To maintain a constant healthy eye pressure, the eye keeps producing a small amount of fluid.”

“While in glaucoma condition, the fluid does not flow properly through the drainage system, which increases the pressure. This extra force presses on the optic nerve in the back of the eye, causing damage to the nerve fibres,” he added.

During the last few months Fortis Healthcare screened 1,600 patients in Delhi and out of these 125 was detected with Glaucoma.

“This amounts to 7.8 % prevalence, which is much higher than the national prevalence rate. While a larger study may be needed to definitively extrapolate the findings to the entire population of national capital, this high incidence is a grave cause for concern,” Dr Dhawan said.

There are mainly two types of Glaucoma Condition: -

Chronic glaucoma: The most common is chronic glaucoma in which the aqueous fluid can get to the drainage channels (open angle) but they slowly become blocked over many years. The eye pressure rises very slowly and there is no pain to show there is a problem, but the field of vision gradually becomes impaired.

Acute glaucoma: Acute glaucoma is much less common, this happens when there is a sudden and more complete blockage to the flow of aqueous fluid to the eye. This is because a narrow “angle” closes to prevent fluid ever getting to the drainage channels. This is quite painful and can cause permanent damage to sight if not treated promptly.

However, if adequate & appropriate measures are taken early in the course of disease, blindness from glaucoma can be prevented. So the key message to provide is that Glaucoma should be taken seriously. Early diagnosis & regular eye check up can only prevent you from lifelong blindness.

Causes of Glaucoma

• Diabetes
• High blood pressure
• Cardiac Arrest
• Hypothyroidism
• Myopia
• Hyperopia
• Eye Injury
• Hereditary
• Over the counter steroids or eye drops

As the symptoms of Glaucoma are not visible, the most efficient method for detection is regular eye examination. Therefore, as glaucoma becomes common over the age of 40 one should have regular eye tests at least every two years.

The only way to protect one from vision loss due to glaucoma is by early detection.

Treatment Of Glaucoma

Glaucoma can be managed if detected early, and that with medical and surgical treatment. Eye drops, pills, laser surgery, traditional surgery or a combination of these methods are used for the treatment.

Trabeculectomy- It’s a kind of Filteration surgery, a piece of tissue in the drainage angle of the eye is removed creating an opening. This new opening allows fluid to drain out of the eye, bypassing the clogged drainage. This is not a major surgery; patient doesn’t need to stay in hospital following surgery.

Glaucoma Drainage Implant

Glaucoma drainage implants play an important role in the management of refractory glaucoma. It is not used to improve vision, but to preserve vision by lowering the intraocular pressure.

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IDSA emphasizes on Protection of Consumer Rights

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IDSA emphasizes on Protection of Consumer Rights in Non-Store Retail on upcoming International Consumer Day

Need of the Hour: Exclusive Consumer Policy for Non-Store Retail

New Delhi, 12th March 2014: To safeguard the interests of the consumer in Non-store retail and to stimulate the policy framework for Direct Selling Industry in India, industry demand to define exclusive Consumer Policy for Non-Store Retail at the National Conference organized by Indian Direct Selling Association (IDSA) on “Consumer Rights in Non-Store Retail- Unleashing Inclusive Growth” today at New Delhi on upcoming International Consumer Day. The conference was supported by AMCHAM, PHD Chamber of Commerce, Retail Association of India and Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce.

Mr.Manoj Parida, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Consumer Affairs during the inaugural session emphasized on transparency and accountability for the Protection of Consumer Rights in India.

Parida further said, “We appreciate that the industry bodies have come together to protect the consumer rights. The government is working towards forming the legal framework for protection of consumer rights for all the stakeholders of the industry. We do have some reservations as government needs to take care the interests of all the stakeholders. India has evolved and developed at very fast pace and we as the government were not able to match the pace but govt. is working towards legal framework. We will surely come up with the some regulations to protect all the stakeholders.”

With economic development and growing consumerism, the retail and FMCG sector in India has underwent significant changes.  In last ten years, Non-Store Retail in India has certainly come a long way. Ms. Chavi Hemanth said, “It is a collaborate moment of consumers, government, businesses and society to ensure protection of consumers from the uncertain, unfair dealings by fraudulent activities which operate under the garb of many Non-Store Retail Formats. The need of the hour is a legislation which covers all the aspects of Non-Store Retail. Such legislation will help in curbing the growth of fraudulent activities which shut down after usurping the money from the consumers.”

Mr. Amarnath Sengupta, Chairman of IDSA said, “The Non-Store Retail Industry needs to take steps to ensure that customers are satisfied by their service, since word of mouth acts as the biggest means of attracting new customers. Non-Store Retail is a segment which is scheduled to grow and it is the responsibility of the existing players to ensure that growth is not hindered by their acts by bringing in transparent policies.”

Non-Store Retail format has been gaining popularity in India on account of low entry thresholds and the breadth of customer coverage is wider in Non-Store Retail format than in individual retail location.

With the increasing importance and value of Non-Store Retail in India and all across globe, IDSA identified and evaluate the significance of legal framework serving it. Ms. Hemanth stated that “The involvement of different intermediaries and gateways in the transactions of Non-Store Retail has made the business complicated. Therefore the regulatory needs for it have increased.”

On this occasion on International Consumer Day, IDSA also released a report on Consumer Rights in Non-Store Retail which stated that “In the present scenario there are no specific legislations or guidelines protecting the buyers and sellers of goods and services in the Non-Store Retail. The major consumer protection issues in Non-Store Retail in India, the Consumer Protection Act 1986 (“CPA”) governs the relationship between consumers and service / goods providers. There is no separate consumer protection law that is specific to and regulates transactions taking place in Non-Store Retail. There are several barriers to Non-Store Retail i.e. Distribution Channel Vendor Management, Taxation, collusion and Fraudulent Activities.”

Other key persons present at the event were Mr. Bejon Misra, International Consumer Policy Expert, Arpita Mukherjee, Professor, ICRIER, Mr. Amarnath Sengupta, Chairman, IDSA, Mr. Tony Greig, General Counsel and Director, Amway of Australia and New Zealand and Director Legal, Amway India, Mr. Shivank Sidhu, Head Marketing, Utsav Fashion, Mr. Amarjeet Singh, Project Coordinator, CUTS International, Ms. Dipakshi Khaira, Head, Customer Service, Snapdeal, Ms. Asha Idnani, Chairperson, Consumer Complaint Redressal Council (India) and Code Administrator – IDSA, Mr. Sekhar Seshan, Sr. Journalist and Former Executive Editor and Bureau Chief, South Business India Publications Ltd., Professor Shri Ram Khanna, Senior Vice Chairman, Consumer Voice Advocate Anand Patwardhan, Leading Consumer Rights Activist, Mumbai and Dr. S.P.Sharma, Chief Economist, PHD Chambers of Commerce.

The conference was organized by IDSA with an aim to spread awareness among the audiences and the public at large on the issues relating to Consumer Protection in the Non-Store Retail. Non-Store Retail has emerged as major avenue for employment for youth. Therefore policy makers need to adopt a holistic approach towards initiative which will give boost to the investments in the sector.

IDSA, the organizing association has been championing the cause of Direct Selling Industry in India and has been continuously advocating with the Government to lay procedures for identification of legitimate direct selling companies.

For further information please contact:

Neeraj Shorya, neeraj@impactpr.in, 9310333595

Sujoy Choudhary, sujoy@impactpr.in, 9310333597

Parul Kohli, parul@impactpr.in, 8010133598

Impact Public Relations Pvt. Ltd.