City welcomes new Rail Over Bridges announced by CM

The announcement of four new rail over bridges (ROBs) in Irugur, Karamadai, Pollachi and Podanur by chief minister J Jayalalithaa has received wide-spread appreciation among commuters in the district.

The chief minister has allocated Rs 26.70 crore for the construction of a new ROB in Coimbatore-Irigur Road, while setting aside Rs 30.70 crore for a ROB on Coimbatore-Mettupalayam Road in Karamadai, Rs 20.42 crore for ROB in Pollachi-Annamali Road and Rs 22.60 for ROB on Podanur-Chettipalayam railway crossing. Construction of ROBs is fast progressing at eight locations in the district and the four newly-sanctioned projects are expected to decongest roads to a great extend.

"Coimbatore city is fast expanding its limits and adjoining towns are also developing. Vehicular traffic has increased many-fold and more ROBs are inevitable,'' said K Kathirmathiyon, secretary, Coimbatore Consumer Cause. "Most rail crossings within the city and adjacent areas are facing severe congestion during peak hours. Number of vehicles has increased and only ROBs can ensure free flow of traffic,'' he said.

"Construction of ROBs is a welcome step but its implementation depends on acquisition of land. The district administration has to work in tandem with highway authorities to evacuate settlements near railway crossings,'' said R Raveendran, honorary secretary, Residents Awareness Association of Coimbatore.

"Most of the on going ROB works inside the city and the outskirts are stopped due to problem related to land acquisition.The district administration should take active measures involving the corporation and other official bodies to execute the projects. Only if it is done, such projects would be completed on time,'' he said.

"It is necessary to build bridges at all level crossings as roads are getting congested everyday," said V Balachandran, a resident of Nanjundapuram. Motorists have to wait long hours when gates are closed for passing trains, he said.

But the government has to ensure the works are completed at the earliest. Citing the example of rail overbridge at Nanjundapuram, he said the work is moving at a snail's pace for the past two years.

"People are suffering the most due to this. The delay is always followed by excuses. The officials should ensure that the project is well planned and executed," he said adding that the past experience has been bad for the people and the administration should ensure that it is not repeated again.

Codissia to explore biz opportunities with Austria, Switzerland

The possibility of importing raw material from Austria and Switzerland, for manufacture of components meeting the design and quality requirements of those countries for exporting back to them, would be explored during the visit of the Indian business delegation accompanying the President of India to those countries from October 3, according to the President of the Coimbatore District Small Industries Association, Mr M.Kandhaswami.

He would also look at the opportunity of using the two European countries as the launch pad for reaching out to the Euro Zone market as some of the industries in Coimbatore region have clients there .

The Codissia President, who is a member of the CII business delegation accompanying the President, Ms Pratibha Patil, during her visit to Austria and Switzerland from October 3-6, told Business Line the main aim of the visit was to promote business relationship between India and the two European nations. The delegation was going with an open mind as `we have to find market’ for our products.

Mr Kandhaswami said the European countries, because of environmental concerns, were phasing out foundries, spinning units and paper mills and he sensed business opportunities in these sectors for the region.

He said during his discussions with the industrialists in the Coimbatore region, he found that many companies here were being supplied with raw materials like steel alloys by European nations for manufacturing finished products on a job work basis since they were able to source the raw materials cheaper elsewhere whereas the labour and processing were cost competitive in India. Mainly auto and textile components and general engineering goods were produced on a job work basis in the region for export meeting the design and quality parameters of their raw material suppliers. He said he would like to take this process forward.

The Codissia President said the two nations have also expressed interest in investing in Indian companies and to become partners. He felt that while the MSMEs in the region may not be keen to allow foreign equity in their companies, they would be ready to have technological tie-ups and buy back arrangements with Austrian and Swiss companies.

Conceding that the potential of Austria and Switzerland was limited because of their size, he said that he would like to enquire whether these countries could be utilised as storage hubs for supplying products to the European countries just as Dubai or Bangladesh are used for reaching out to markets in the neighbouring regions. Already many Coimbatore engineering companies were exporting to countries like Germany and this possibility merited consideration.

He said he would also invite the Swiss companies, some of which supply precision machines to Coimbatore companies, to participate in the forthcoming INTEC exhibition organised by Codissia. Apart from him, the five-member CII business delegation has members from Kolkata, Delhi and Bangalore.

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.

More news about "TIDEL Park Coimbatore Ltd (TPCL)"

TIDEL Park Coimbatore Ltd (TPCL), spread over 9.5 acre in Coimbatore SEZ and is now ready in terms of infrastructure. Anand Purusothaman, CEO of Payoda which is the first company to move in, said, it was one of the best decisions to move to TPCL and that it has payed off really well in the 3-4 months they have stayed there.

"Coimbatore is a Tier II city with Tier I capabilities," he said. His company has taken up 17,000 square feet in the park and plans to buy more space as they are happy with the facilities and the advantages of the location. "It's right next to major educational institutions and we just walk to these campuses for recruitment," he added.

Susan Mathew, chairperson and MD, (Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO) and chairperson, TIDEL Park Coimbatore said that Coimbatore has been doing really well and now accounts for 30% share (in revenue terms) of the engineering sector from the state.

"In the park, the space for IT companies is 9.14 lakh square feet. It was built at a cost of Rs 407 crore. All approvals have been received and it is ready. Located at just 2 KM from the with Airport and 7 KM from the railway station," she said.

The promoters of TPCL are TIDEL (52.5%), Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu Limited - ELCOT (25%), TIDCO (20%) and Software Technology Parks of India-STPI(2.5%). "Coimbatore was declared the fourth best city in India in terms of investment by a study conducted by CII," said N Sundaradevan, principal secretary (industries) highlighting the advantages of Coimbatore.

"It's cost advantage is 34% compared to Chennai, 21% compared to Madurai, 35% compared to Trichy and 36% compared to Salem." Coimbatore is fast emerging as an IT hub mainly for the talent pool it pos-sesses. According to Nasscom, 40% of the fresher hiring in the Indian IT in-dustry happens in the 9 districts in and around Coimbatore.

Bhamathi Prakash, MD of Merrill technology services which will be moving into the park in November and has taken up 18,000 square feet, said that Coimbatore was a great location because of weather and talent pool. "We plan to recruit 300 people by the end of this year," she said. "Overall, the exports from Indian IT industry currently stand at Rs 48,000 crore and will reach Rs 70,000 crore by the end of this year," said K Purushothaman, regional director of Nasscom.

Coimbatore firm builds 'longest' periscope for Kalpakkam plant

A 10-metre long periscope manufactured by a city-based firm for a nuclear reactor at the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in Kalpakkam was dedicated to the nation on Monday. The manufacturers claimed that the periscope was the longest in the world.

Manufactured at a cost of Rs 3.9 crore by Coimbatore-based Visual Education Aids (P) Ltd (VEA) in collaboration with IGCAR and others, the periscope was handed over to Bharatiya Nabhikiya Vidyut Nigam (Bhavini), Kalpakkam, by IGCAR director S C Chetal here.

Built with specification from Bhavini and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre over a period of two-and-half years, the periscope can function under high temperature and radiation. This periscope has facilities for scanning the area of interest, image zooming, image relay, image focusing and image rotation, which are motorised and can be remotely operated by an operator with a remote control panel.

Chetal claimed that developing the periscope was a major step's in the country's goal to become self-sufficient in technology and is a good example of public-private partnership to produce world class quality equipment.

He said except two reactors in Tarapur and another two in Tamil Nadu all the other eight nuclear reactors have been indigenously built. India plans to generate 20,000 MW of power through nuclear reactor in the next two decades. More reactors would come up in next decade, he added.

Inventor of Wet grinder.

Have you ever wondered who invented wet grinder, that helps makes out South Indian famous idlis and dosas? Without it my breakfast is unthinkable. Here goes the story.

It was indeed a unique wedding gift. Indrani was told by her fiancée days ahead of their marriage that she would not get tired at his house by preparing rice batter for idlis and dosas using the traditional south Indian style manual wet grinding stone.

On reaching her husband P Sabhapathy's home near Town Hall in Coimbatore, Indrani found a unique device that can revolutionise the whole concept of batter making. The device was called 'Wet Grinder' and it was invented by none other than her husband Sabhapathy.

On her part, Indrani not only accepted the devise as the wedding gift but also strengthened the family's relationship with the whole neighbourhood by allowing others to use it. As a result, the entire street was liberated from the strenuous task of using manual grinding stones.
Sabhapathy's unique invention which made life easy in a small street in Coimbatore in the fifties is now having worldwide appeal.

But it is another story that multi-faceted Sabhapathy left the thriving wet grinder business halfway to engage in several other industrial ventures before succumbing to severe breath ailments around 13 years ago.
"My husband invented the wet grinder in 1955, exactly five years before the marriage. But he made it a commercial product after its introduction as the wedding gift turned a huge success in the locality,'' remembers Indrani, who has turned 68 years of age now.

Though the widow of a highly skilled technocrat who rewrote Coimbatore's industrial scene, Indrani is now leading a Spartan life in the Town Hall area. She has no ill feeling about the way the city conveniently forgotten this great innovator or the lack of mentioning of his name even in the election manifestos.

She is living with her son Sreeram Ganesh, who too in the entrepreneurial arena but focusing exclusively on manufacturing of equipment meant for making bakery food items.