Postal dept to give away mini fridges

COIMBATORE: The postal department has signed an MOU with Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Company Ltd to supply the 'Chotukool', a mini refrigerator, to customers at their doorstep, in Coimbatore. According to A N Nandha, Post Master General, the department will launch the facility in the city from Friday and deliver the products through Express Parcel Post facility.

In western region, he said the product has already been launched in Salem and the response has been good. In Maharashtra the product has become a great hit. In a short period of time over 7,000 pieces have been sold. It is part of the retail post and it will definitely pick up in the state, he added. The refrigerator which weighs over 8 kg is a low cost cooling solution for preserving vegetables, water, milk, leftover food and other perishables. It caters to household & small commercial outlets.

He said that 'Chotukool' is a thermoelectric cooler which provides the utilities of a refrigerator at half the cost, in addition to other benefits which are specially designed for rural areas. It produces a temperature difference of 18-20 degree centigrade from the ambient and can operate on 12 Volts DC as well as on main 230 V AC power supply.

The product which costs Rs 3,790 will be retailed in all important post offices in the Western region including Coimbatore, Pollachi, Nilgiris, Tirupur, Erode, Namakkal, Salem, Dharmapuri & Krishnagiri Districts and Tirupattur.

He said refrigerators will be stocked in all important post offices. Interested persons can place their orders at the post office.

Entrepreneur organisation announces GSEA National Champion

Winner Sapan Kadakia will represent India in Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) World Finals in New York City, USA

Ahmedabad student Sapan Kadakia, MCO Marketing and a student of MICA won the Global Student Entrepreneur of the Year Award (GSEA 2011) India Finals held at PSG College of Technologies – Science & Technology Entrepreneurial Park, Coimbatore, overcoming challenge from 23 contestants from 9 different states in a tough competition organised by Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO) Coimbatore Chapter on September 1, 2011.

The national winner will advance to the 2011 GSEA World Finals in NYSE, New York for the opportunity to engage with world class entrepreneurs, receive media exposure, win cash prize and share over $150,000 in donated business services.

30 National winners from around the world will compete for the title of Top Student Entrepreneur in the World at the New York Stock Exchange on November 17th 2011. To get there, the finalists have surpassed more than 1,800 nominees who participated in National finals in over 40 countries around the world.

“The EO - GSEA India finals is the first big scale event organised to recognise undergraduate student entrepreneurial spirit and help propel its growth”, Vikram Mohan, President of EO Coimbatore Chapter, which organised the premier event said. “The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards offers our student generation a tremendous opportunity to showcase not only their academic excellence but also their business insight. It represents the greatest hope for our economy and society. These students are leveraging their own creativity and innovation to bring new ideas into the marketplace and create new jobs.”

“We were overwhelmed to find hundreds of inspiring student entrepreneurship stories cutting across various sunrise sectors such as in Science, Technology /IT, Engineering, Media/Advertising, Sports Manufacturing, Finance and in Education/Consulting businesses vying for the top slot before we shortlisted and choose the winner from 30 finalists.” Vikram Mohan added.

Sapan Kadakia, MCO marketing, from Ahmedabad, Suraj Krishnan Mark & Make from Pune, Mohammad Asif, Jazaa Financial Advisory from Delhi, Durgesh Nandan, Automotion Ads, Lucknow, Animesh Sarangi, Amazing Youth from Orissa, emerged as top five student entrepreneurs by afternoon.

The top five had a tough round to show case their business potential. Along the winner Sapan, first runner up Durgesh Nandan of Automotion Ads, Lucknow and Second Runner up Animesh Sarangi of Amazing Youth, Orissa were also declared..

The judges were Anil Sivadas, Chairman Enventure Technology Services, Anupam Thareja, Founder and Managing Director of PHI Advisors, Ashok Bakthavathsalam Managing Director K G Informations Systems, Jayadev Galla, Co-Founder Amara Raja Group,Kavitha Varadaraj, Managing Director Primero Intimates & Sr VP FICCI Ladies Organisation, Manav Goyal, Executive Director, Adyar Gate Hotels, Padmaja Nair, GM FIBU (SBI), Vikram Ramakrishnan Managing Director, Thinking Palm, & Founder Linkstreet Learning.

In 2010, nearly 2000 students from 44 countries were nominated to the GSEA. Over the course of 5 months, the students participated in rigorous regional competitions that brought the field down to the top 30 “dorm room entrepreneurs.” These students converged at the GSEA Global Finals at the Kauffman Foundation during Global Entrepreneurship Week in Kansas City, MO last week. Spanning all industry sectors, these student-run companies earned annual revenues ranging from $20,000 to $3 million.

Collector M. Karunakaran, on Wednesday, launched the initiative of enrolment for issue of Unique Identification numbers (UID) Aadhaar. Central Bank of India will facilitate the enrolment for UID while Srei Sahaj e-Village (SAHAJ) Limited will be the service provider. http://amplify.com/u/a1cvk4

Aadhaar takes off in city

Collector M. Karunakaran, on Wednesday, launched the initiative of enrolment for issue of Unique Identification numbers (UID) Aadhaar. Central Bank of India will facilitate the enrolment for UID while Srei Sahaj e-Village (SAHAJ) Limited will be the service provider.

In Coimbatore, Karvy Consultants will offer the UID service to residents of Coimbatore at its centres on NSR Road in Sai Baba Colony (opposite to IOB), Jaya Enclave on Avanashi Road and at SNV Chambers on Cross Cut Road in Gandhipuram. Residents could walk in between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on all days and avail the facility free of cost. The allotted UID number will be sent to the residential address of the applicant after processing the application and capturing the image and bio-metric data. Bank of Baroda will also offer the service at its main branch opposite to Railway Station.

S. Palanisamy, Assistant General Manager of Central Bank of India (Regional office – Coimbatore) said that as many as 150 machines have been provided by SAHAJ and the bank is yet to finalise the list of places where the service will be extended to residents. Now, the bank is locating a UID centre at Collectorate for the benefit of its staff as well as those visiting the Collectorate.

Mr. Palanisamy said that ideal option will be to visit offices and major areas and conduct camps where residents can fill in the application forms and provide the required proof. Then, the UID authority will generate a unique 12-digit UID number for the applicant and it can be used for identifying all financial transactions. The idea of offering the facility at the bank's branches will be considered provided if there was adequate space to carry out the drive simultaneously without affecting bank work.

Mr. Palanisamy said that forms can be collected, filled-in and submitted along with supporting proof and then if the applicant turns up, the entire process of taking a photograph, bio-metric scan of all the 10 fingers and iris can be taken. All this can be completed in just two minutes. Otherwise, if an applicant turns up for the entire process at one go, then the entire process will consume nearly 10 to 15 minutes.

Possession of an UID number is likely become mandatory in future, as many financial service organisations will start insisting on the same. Similarly, with the UID capturing the iris and biometric details, it will eliminate the ordeal of having to carry too many identity cards and proofs. It will also eliminate the risk of the identity cards being forged, the officials said.

Alpa Bagga, Associate Vice-President (Business Development) of SAHAJ and V.R. Naresh, Senior Manager of UID participated in the function.

Coimbatore boy returns after five day training programme at NASA

COIMBATORE: Its not every day one gets to spend time in a real space flight simulator chamber in NASA, rub shoulders with outer space experts, sleep in a cylindrical space habitat or get a taste of actual astronaut food to be eaten during a space mission. City ninth grader B Vajresh was among the 16 member team that was selected for a five day training programme at NASA's Marshall Space Centre, Huntsville Alabama. He was also the team leader of the student group ATLAS at the space facility and they designed a lunar base which a team of experts adjudged as the best design at the space centre.

"It was a dream come true for me. We were given a detailed tour of the facility. It was an unforgettable experience for all of us," said B Vajresh. During the five day stay at the NASA facility, Vajresh got an opportunity to be in simulated environments where he did the moon walk, experienced under-water pressure and space ship travel simulations. He was also lodged in one of the space habitat facilities on the NASA campus.

"Five of us shared the space habitat. It was cylindrical in shape and it was a whole new experience for me to live with children from various parts of the globe. We have become good friends and maintain contact over internet," Vajresh added.

Vajresh was selected as part of the Annual Training Programme at the Huntsville held from May 15 to 20 earlier this year. Retired NASA Astronaut Story Musgrave honoured Vajresh and his team after they completed the training sessions. "We used to wake up every morning and were taken for seminars and sessions on space missions and life in space. We were also shown a number of documentaries about the various achievements of NASA in space research," said Vajresh.

However, he also added that the only sour part of the expedition was the food which he just did not like. However, he got an opportunity to taste an ice cream flavoured astronaut food item.

"My son was very much excited about the trip and still recounts his experience there," said S Balaji, Vajresh's father. Vajresh's teachers at Shri Nehru Vidyalaya claimed that he is one of their brightest students and was already interested in advance technologies including robotics. "He is very much interested in robotics and has also participated in a two day robotics workshop at NIT Trichy," said Punita Chandrasehar, Principal, Shri Nehru Vidyalaya.

Check out the simple innovative products

Coimbatore will host "Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA)"

Coimbatore will host a national level competition Thursday, in which 30 undergradutates from nine Indian states will showcase their businesses for a place in the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), US.

The 30 finalists include entrepreneurs from Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Punjab, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Andhra Pradesh, according to statement Wednesday from the hosts of the India finals, Entrepreneurs Organisation (EO), Coimbatore Chapter.

EO is global network of around 8,000 entrepreneurs, founded in 1987, with 120 chapters in 40 countries.

‘The GSEA programme offers student entrepreneurs a great opportunity to meet with fellow entrepreneurs and reach out to mentors and investors to share their successes, failures, listen and learn to go to the next level,’ said Annush Ramasamy, EO-GSEA programme director for South Asia.

Three will be awarded at the competition, of whom the first place winner will represent India at the GSEA in New York, Nov 17, and vie with 29 others for the $150,000 prize money.

The prime eligibility criterion is that their business must be in operation for more than six months and generating revenues. It also must be a new business idea with a good game plan that incorporates strategies, future growth and market understanding.

Also known as textile city, Coimbatore is around 500 km from here. It is a city with a large number of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) and positions itself as the cradle of entrepreneurship sustainability over the last 50 years.