Yash Papers invests Rs 60 crores to set up India‘s Largest Compostable Tableware Plant

·         The plant, based in Faizabad (UP), will have an installed production capacity of 10 lakh units per day

·         New Product range made from sugarcane waste, offers food service and delivery solutions.

Mumbai, 21^st September 2017: In a bid to promote the use of eco-friendly products in the food industry, paper manufacturing company Yash Papers today announced the launch of its new range of compostable, biodegradable and eco-friendly tableware range called Chuk made from sugarcane waste, Bagasse.

Based out of Faizabad, Uttar Pradesh, Yash Papers is India’s largest modern agro residue-based paper brands which manufactures kraft packaging material to chains like McDonalds, KFC and Pizza Hut.

Yash Papers has invested Rs 60 crores in setting up its new biodegradable plant, which has a state of the art facility that includes a production innovation centre. The plant based out of Faizabad(UP) currently has a production capacity of 10 lakh units per day and the company plans to double the capacity every year for the next 3 years. The company closed the financial year ended 2016-2017 in consolidated revenue of Rs 183 crore and is aiming to receive at least 50 % of their revenue from the new bio-degradable segment in the next three years.

India generates over 15,000 tonnes of plastic on a daily basis. Packaging represents the single-largest sector of plastics use and accounts for 35 per cent of plastic consumption. In a bid to reduce the food industry’s dependency on plastic, Yash Papers developed a modular cost effective design priced between Rs 1 to Rs 7 which is actually cheaper than plastic.

The launch commenced with a Panel Discussion held in the city on ‘Promoting sustainability in Food Industry”. The panelists comprised of food influencers and TV show hosts Rocky Singh and Mayur Sharma, Anna Warrington , Director, Forum for the future, Mr. Kunal Suri, COO, foodpanda, Srishti Jain, Feeding India and Riyaz Amlani, CEO, Impresario . The discussion focused on the relevance of eco-friendly food packaging for healthy eating and progressive steps taken by the Maharashtra government in banning plastics in the city.

Speaking on the launch of the eco-friendly range Mr. Ved Krishna, Head of Strategy at Yash Papers, said, “We end up consuming so many carcinogens without any awareness through the thermocol and plastic products we are served on and then these products are disposed damaging the ecology. It is time to embrace products that will enable us to eat safe and benefit the planet when disposed“

In order to bring in a better process in the growth of sustainable packaging solutions in India , the company last month also announced a strategic tie up with food delivery platform, foodpanda. The initiative enables foodpanda’s partner base of 15000+ restaurants to offer its customers food in environment friendly packaging.

Yash Papers is committed to raising awareness against the use of plastics and the harm it causes to the ecosystem. Their product design philosophy is to do justice to the form and function while keeping it fun and playful to enhance the food experience and protect the food when using Chuk Tableware.

STAAH & IDeaS Revenue Solutions integration set to enhance revenue strategy for hotels of all sizes

Mumbai, 21 September 2017: The integration will streamline and automate processes for connected clients, resulting in faster and more extensive rate distribution, and improved revenue optimisation.

The certified integration between IDeaS Revenue Management System (RMS) and the STAAH Instant Channel Manager is now complete. In addition to exposure to a multitude of online booking sites, this partnership will provide clients a fast, easy-to-use and reliable interface to manage rates and distribution.

IDeaS RMS is designed for properties of all sizes. The analytically derived Daily best available rate (BAR) decisions are made by IDeaS RMS, and once approved by decision makers at the property, these rates are automatically updated across hundreds of distribution channels (including booking sites) through the STAAH Instant Channel Manager. This eliminates tedious, manual data entry and enables properties to more quickly and effectively distribute their rates, giving clients a definitive competitive edge in this dynamic industry.

“This integration is fantastic news for us,” says Rohit Shetty, director of The Oriental Residency in Mumbai, a client using the IDeaS framework for analytics and business insights to improve revenue and profitability, and STAAH’s Instant Channel Manager for distribution. “It enables us to make automated pricing decisions in real-time for 365 days based on bookings picked up and cancelled. Not just time-saving, this makes decision making more informed and leads to higher revenue and profits.”

“Revenue managers and decision makers of connected clients can now focus on strategy decisions, while the IDeaS RMS and STAAH Instant Channel Manager combination automatically manage the routine and administrative tasks associated with the rate optimisation and distribution process,” says Rachel Grier, managing director of Asia Pacific from IDeaS Revenue Solutions.

“We are delighted to work with an industry leader like IDeaS to provide our mutual clients with reliable, seamless connectivity which will save time and energy by automatically uploading their rates,” says Gavin Jeddo, founding director of STAAH Ltd. “It also confirms our commitment to our clients to continually development our technology offering and bring more innovations to them.”

STAAH is a leading provider of cloud-based channel management, booking engine and other distribution and marketing technology solutions to the hospitality industry. It enables more than 4300 properties across more than 70 countries process in excess of 700,000 bookings monthly.

Shopclues Launches Festive Campaign ‘Sabse Badi Smile’ to announce their Maha Bharat Diwali Sale

360^O campaign conceptualised by Enormous Brands announces block-buster Diwali deals

20^th September 2017: ShopClues, India's first and largest managed marketplace, today announced the launch of their new festive campaign ‘Sabse Badi Smile’, that will be rolled out across television, print and digital platforms. Announcing the Maha Bharat Diwali Sale, the TVC captures the essence of ShopClues as the one-stop-destination for affordable festive shopping, and the joy it brings to the lives of its consumers.

The idea of the TVC is to personify people’s smiles. The smile they will not be able to hide once they discover amazing offers on Shopclues Maha Bharat Diwali Sale. Our protagonist, Smile (pronounced Ismail in TVC)– a metaphor for joy - will be omnipresent around our consumers whether it is through TV, Social media posts, GIFs, banners, outdoors, or Digital films, etc.  We see him with everyone who is checking out the Maha Bharat Diwali Sale. The character, Ismail, is a larger-than-life, ever-smiling persona, which connotes that while shopping from ShopClues, the consumer will always have joy around them. The media plan has been designed to create greater penetration into Tier II, III and IV markets, and showcase how ShopClues meets every day fashion requirements for both men and women.

Harneet Singh, Head - Marketing, ShopClues, shared, “ShopClues is the brand of real India, the  Tier 2, 3 and markets beyond. With this new campaign, the idea is to capture the excitement of festive shopping and how ShopClues makes shopping both simple and joyful. Our protagonist, Smile (pronunced Ismail) – a metaphor for joy - will be omnipresent around our consumers whether it is through TV, Social media posts, GIFs, banners, outdoors, or Digital films. We will always see him standing next to our consumer, smiling. Because this Diwali, everyone shopping at ShopClues will have a big smile.”

The Maha Bharat Diwali Sale will offer a wide range of products across categories like Home & Kitchen, Electronics & Accessories and Fashion & Lifestyle categories. The much-awaited sale will run from 20^th September to 28^th September.

“We started with the insight that for middle India there's no such thing as retail therapy, there's only deal therapy. Nothing makes us happier than finding a great price for things we always wanted to buy. This insight we wanted to capture in a simple but uniquely memorable way. With Ismail, we created a memorable visual icon and also created a unifying fulcrum for the campaign across offline and digital.” said Ashish Khazanchi, Founder of Enormous Brands.

Chhand Priticha Teaser. A marathi film directed by N. Relekar & produced by Chandrakant Jadhav.

DURAVIT CELEBRATES 200 YEARS : THE DESIGNER BATHROOM – PAST AND PRESENT

2017 Today, Duravit AG is a leading international manufacturer of designer bathrooms. Duravit has carefully managed its brand, which is synonymous with holistically designed bathrooms. "In fact, we see ourselves as interior designers for bathrooms as living areas," says Frank Richter, CEO. But how did the success story of the Duravit brand develop over the 200 years of the company’s history?

1817. As is well-known, it all began in the Black Forest. Initially, the Steingut-Fabrik [Earthenware Factory] Hornberg, founded by Georg Friedrich Horn, produced tableware. 25 years later, in 1842, the company’s production was broadened to include the first sanitaryware products that have been sold under the Duravit brand name since 1960. Frank Richter went on: “During the first 150 years, the company’s main focus was on quality and precision in the manufacture of ceramics." During one and a half centuries, as part of the industrial revolution, the technical possibilities, basic scientific principles and the commercial environment changed so much that an evolution of the bathroom and its products finally became possible in the second half of the 20th century.

1987. Most people date the increased importance of design in the bathroom to the mid-1980s, when renowned and ambitious designers first began paying greater attention to the “wet cell bathroom”. Duravit has played a key role in establishing the significance of bathrooms over the past 30 years. In the late 1980s, Duravit worked with Dieter Sieger to present its first designer range for the bathroom. Yet Giamo was only the beginning, and the first complete designer bathroom, created with Philippe Starck, revolutionised the sanitary industry when it was launched in 1994. Today, numerous internationally renowned designers work for Duravit.

2007. The company continuously grew during the years and decades that followed, adding international emphasis, and technological aspects also became a part of Duravit's DNA. The Research and Development Departments of the international company are located at the company’s German headquarters in Hornberg and the Duravit Sanitaryware Technology Center in Shanghai. Here, Duravit continually develops innovations in all areas, from materials engineering to flushing technology and electrical engineering for light, sound and whirl systems, and the look, feel, acoustics and usability play an important role here, too.

In this way, the company meets the present and future requirements of its clients in all areas. Frank Richter emphasises: “The brand triad of quality, design and technology is what distinguishes Duravit”. Today there are 5 product areas: Ceramics, furniture, wellness technologies (including shower-toilets, whirlpools, saunas), tap fittings and accessories. The company produces at eleven locations around the world. Duravit has some 6000 employees round the world, and in 2016 the turnover was 450 million Euros.

Since seven years design bathroom manufacturer : Duravit AG runs a production site in Gujarat

Strong bands: The relationship between India and Germany and mutual inspiration means that the two countries are more than business partners. As both are stable liberal democracies, they have similar objectives. Culturally too, Interior design preferences and lifestyle trends also often influence one another. Like for example bathroom and wellness trends. Today, India is emerging as a major sanitary ware market in the Asia-Pacific region. Given this favourable economic situation, it was a logical step for the German-based design bathroom manufacturer Duravit AG to open a ceramic production site in the state of Gujarat in 2010.

The plant in India is the Duravit Group’s tenth production site worldwide and covers an area of around 170,000 m². Before the opening of an own subsidiary, the company has been operating in India since 2001 via wholesalers. Since then, the subsidiary has already earned the status of a recognised export house, with ISO 9002 Certification, ISO 50001 certifications and ISI mark.

When Duravit has chosen the state of Gujarat as the location for its production facility, the company was one of the first investors in this region. “For Duravit, quality is a central success factor in order to ensure the satisfaction of business partners, architects and consumers. When we started, we developed the infrastructure and trained the people to meet Duravit’s high quality requirements“, says Asutosh Shah, Managing Director of Duravit India. These uniform quality management standards of the company are already established at the Duravit India production site and have been certified by the German TÜV Rheinland with the EN ISO 9001 quality standard in December 2013. Nowadays, the Indian plant is one of the most modern state-of-the-art plants and has a workforce of 350 people in aggregate. In July 2014, Duravit India opened a showroom at the production site. The product presentation is based on experiencing and learning about the brand directly.

“Duravit expects the Indian market to continue on its growth path. We therefore plan to maintain our focus and extend our activities in this region”, says Duravit CEO Frank Richter. Amongst others, the bathroom manufacturer is benefitting from the strong demand for design and lifestyle brands in India. The bathroom itself has become a popular lifestyle theme; purely functional bathrooms are increasingly a thing of the past in India. Modern bathrooms feature comfortable, holistic concepts based on individual needs. Ideal conditions for the design bathroom manufacturer: “We see ourselves as interior designers for bathrooms as living areas, and have ourselves played a key role in establishing the new significance of bathrooms in India and all over the world,” says CEO Frank Richter. The demand for Duravit products in India comes from the project business as well as from the private sector. The company has already made an impact in India as a premium designer bathroom brand with presence in more than 75 luxury hotels and over 150 premium residential apartments. Having achieved a wide acceptance , the brand is present across 400 retailer showrooms in India. Moreover, Duravit India has deployed an after-sales service team across most parts of the country. Success lately proves the company right: Duravit has already become one of the most well-known designer brands. In March 2017, Duravit sold approx. 20.000 toilets and washbasins to the project development company “Magarpatta Township Development and Construction Co. Ltd.”, one of the largest and best-known building development firms in India.

Duravit AG

Founded in 1817 in Hornberg in the Black Forest, Duravit AG is today a leading international manufacturer of designer bathrooms. The company operates in more than 130 countries worldwide and stands for innovations in the fields of signature design, the intelligent use of technology and premium quality. In cooperation with high-profile international designers, such as Philippe Starck, EOOS, Phoenix Design, sieger design, Kurt Merki Jr., Christian Werner, Matteo Thun and Cecilie Manz, the company develops comfortable bathrooms that really enhance quality of life for users on a sustained basis. Duravit's product portfolio comprises sanitary ceramics, bathroom furniture, baths and shower trays, wellness systems, shower-toilets, faucets and accessories.

Let us celebrate the triumph of good over evil this Dussehra

The Maitree Cultural Association is back once again this year to organize a Sarbojanin Durgotsav in association with Colours. This is their fourth year since its inception and this puja pandal is one of the must-visits in the suburbs.

This Durgotsav comprises of various cultural events that are showcased by different groups and professionals from across the country. Thousands of people visits the pandal to be a part of the experience and also worship the Goddess Durga. Among these are some of society’s biggest entrepreneurs and Bollywood and TV celebrities. Highlight of the Utsav are the Guests of Honour – Children from Zaveri Thanawala School who will light the ceremonial lamp.

An Anandamela also takes place, where home chefs showcase their culinary skills by serving delicious snacks which make up an extensive menu. A special awareness center for Rahat - Flood Relief Campaign will be set up by Goonj - a NGO who aims to improve accessibility to basic needs for the less fortunate all over the country. Furthermore, the Utsav will also consist of exciting stalls from multiple NGOs.

The MCA puts in a lot of efforts to take us back to our roots, reminding us of the deep values and true meaning of this festival. So come one and all and let us together celebrate the triumph of good over evil this Dussehra!

 

JICA’s Cooperation to Develop State-of-the-Art Training Institute for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project

~Developing Human Resources for the safe, timely and reliable “Shinkansen” in India~

Mumbai, September, 2017:  Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed an agreement with the Government of India to provide Official Development Assistance (ODA) Loan of 10,453 million Japanese yen (approximately INR 600 crore) for the development of a first-of-its-kind Training Institute at Vadodara, Gujarat, for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project. The ODA loan conditions are very concessional, i.e. 0.1% interest rate for both project activities and consulting services, and 50 years of repayment period (including 15 years of grace period). The institute will assist smooth set-up and safe operations of the MAHSR in India. The institute is being developed to generate efficient workforce, equipped with high level knowledge of the technology and operations of high speed railways.

The ODA loan agreement was signed between Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India Office and Mr. S. Selvakumar, Joint Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India Office said, “The Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Railway is being implemented on the lines of Japanese bullet train Shinkansen system. With the introduction of Shinkansen in India, safe, timely, and reliable operation is expected to play a crucial role for socio-economic revolution for India. Further it is expected that economies of western coasts of Gujarat and Maharashtra would be boosted. The institute will play a pivotal role in securing the human resources to operate and maintain the MAHSR, becoming the hub of knowledge, technology as well as skilled engineers and operators who are at the core of excellent service quality.”

The state-of-the-art building and facilities are expected to include the Administration & Training Building, Hostel and Training Facilities and Equipment. The trainees will be imparted knowledge of new Japanese technologies which will be implemented in the MAHSR and these trainers will be the pioneers of high speed railway technology education in India. Facilities and equipment that will enable the trainees to learn the mechanisms related to non-ballast track system (slab track), electric power, signals and communications etc.

The Project will be implemented by National High Speed Rail Corporation Limited (NHSRCL).

Among the several high speed rail corridors planned and announced by the Government of India, the MAHSR is the first sanctioned project connecting the capital cities of Maharashtra and Gujarat. According to the Joint Feasibility Study on MAHSR, also conducted by JICA on the Japanese side, the travel demand is expected to further increase due to availability of a faster transport system. The reduction of the travel times between these cities would improve the mobility, increase interaction between people and  expand the regional exchange of knowledge and professional services, thereby increasing opportunities for both cultural and consumer activities. Also, it would promote development of the areas around stations.

For MAHSR, JICA has been supporting the project through follow-up studies, grant assistance for GC, training courses in Japan for the staff of MHSRCL and so on.

Since 1998-99, JICA has provided an assistance of 31 billion Japanese Yen, approximately INR 1,800 crore, (ODA Loan: 23 billion Japanese Yen, Grant Aid: 7.8 billion Japanese Yen) for the human resource development in India. JICA is also focusing on the development of facilities for higher education and development of human resources to propel the manufacturing sector in India. JICA has been extending ODA loan and Technical Cooperation synergistically for development of Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad (IITH) as a hub of academic and industrial collaboration between India and Japan. JICA’s ‘Visionary Leaders for Manufacturing (VLFM) Project’ implemented from 2007 to 2013 and succeeding ‘Champions for Societal Manufacturing (CSM) Project’ has aimed at creating visionary leaders in the manufacturing sector in India.

 Graphical Representation of MAHSR station



Graphical Representation of Training Institute (Building)

Graphical Representation of Training Institute (equipment)

L-R - Mr. Takema Sakamoto, Chief Representative, JICA India Office, Mr. Kazuhiko Koshikawa, Executive Senior Vice President, JICA Head Office and Mr. S. Selvakumar, Joint Secretary , Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) at the Loan Agreement Signing of Training Institute for Training Institute for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Project

Dignitaries during the signing ceremony

MONDELEZ INDIA CRAFTS A ‘MORE’ CURVIER, SMOOTHER & SILKIER INDULGENCE WITH ITS NEW CADBURY DAIRY MILK SILK

Amplifies the immersive joy with its “Feels Like a Lot More” proposition through an exciting 360 degree campaign

MUMBAI – September, 2017 – Mondelez India Foods Private Limited, a part of Mondelēz International (NASDAQ: MDLZ), a leading global snacking powerhouse, recently launched a new avatar of India’s favorite ‘premium’ chocolate brand – Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk. The all-new ‘more’ curvier, smoother and silkier Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk is an endeavor to deliver a more abundant and immersive eat experience for consumers. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk’s brand renovation will be supported by an extensive Integrated Marketing Campaign, which involves high impact outdoor, digital activation, modern trade sampling, in-store visibility and a new thematic TVC. The premium offering by the brand has experienced strategic successful innovations over the years with India’s first ‘centre-filled’ Chocolate – Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Caramello (2014), India’s first ‘aerated’ Chocolate – Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Bubbly (2015), and the most recent success – Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk Oreo (2017); all directed at augmenting the consumer’s indulgence experience. 

Talking about the new Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk, Prashant Peres, Director – Marketing (Chocolates), Mondelez India said, “We have grown to be the undisputed market leader in the chocolate category in India. Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk has witnessed a great success and has grown to be the biggest brand in the ‘premium’ chocolate segment ever since its launch in 2010; and the new renovation will help us capitalize further on the segment. The brand was launched as a superior offering under the legacy brand Cadbury Dairy Milk to cater to Indian consumers craving for smoother, creamier and finer chocolates available internationally. Over the years,Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk has seen innovations in line with our efforts to enhance the chocolate eating experience. The new product has been enriched in shape and experience to make it more appealing and to deliver smoothness and creaminess, while retaining the signature Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk taste. Premium chocolates are expected to continue seeing a good consumer uptake and will turn out to be the next horizon for the category growth in the years to come.”

Two romantic protagonists on screen indulging in the new Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk while the melodious ballad is sung in the background, is the new TVC conceptualized by Ogilvy & Mather, featuring how Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk “Feels like a lot more”. The characters popping out while eating the chocolate, growing choir chords and visually appealing acts depict how the indulgence grows with every bite through the imaginings of the central characters.

Zenobia Pithawalla, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather said, "The New Cadbury Dairy Milk Silk is a curvier version of the original bar. The curvier shape results in more chocolatey feeling in the mouth. We brought alive the product story 'feels like a lot more' through the imagination of our protagonists. As both bite into the chocolate they feel like they are being serenaded by a whole lot of people. Reiterating that the feeling of 'more' is also more enjoyable."

Agency credentials:

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Mumbai

Creative team: Zenobia Pithawalla, Mihir Chanchani

Account management: Prakash Nair, Smita Padmanabhan, Shruti Paranjpe

Production house: Breathless Films

Director (film): Vinil Mathew

Producer:  Swadha Kulkarni

Director of photography (DOP): Mark Bliss

Unlocking Inspirations in the heart of South Bombay

Häfele, the international leader in Interior Functionality, launches its state-of-the-art Design Showroom in the heart of South Bombay. The spacious, 10,000 square feet showroom unites globally acclaimed interior trends with innovative functionality through interactive and functional display settings; bringing every imaginable design to reality. This showroom is Häfele‘s second internationally designed retail facility in Mumbai and the very first in the southern region of the city. Located at Mahalaxmi-West, the busiest shopping hub of Mumbai, the showroom will cater to the interior sensibilities and design expectations of the ever-updated“SoBo“ lifestyles.

Expected at the launch is the Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany – Dr. Jürgen Morhard, who will inaugurate the showroom together with Mr. Jürgen Wolf - Managing Director, Hafele South Asia.

At the onset of the launch, Mr. Wolf says.  - Stylish Hardware Fittings that give you the best functionality for your individual application in your business or residence are hard to select from a catalogue; neither can they be imagined or assumed. The Häfele Design Showroom at South Bombay has been designed to unlockthe ideal designinspirations through live displays that allow you to experience the functionality of our products and solutions. Moreover, with increasing real estate prices and diminishing living spaces, the trend for innovative and space-saving interior solutions has gained popularity among city-dwellers. Häfele has closely observed this trend and put-together a range of the most space-optimizing solutions with a continuing promise of ‚ More life per meter square‘. You will experience this first-hand when you see our intelligent showroom displays that efficiently manage space and functionality without compromising on comfort or design.

Häfele’s Design Showroom Concept:

Design concepts and ideas can be better understood when they are experienced in LIVE set-ups. This is the ideology that backs the company’s initiative of establishing state-of-the-art design showrooms; where customers can walk in and experience world-class functionality, seamlessly rooted in latest global design trends. Quite inherent to what they do, Häfele is a strong believer of the mantra that ‘Form follows Function’ and the trick is to combine Functionality with Aesthetics and make them work in almost unperceivable unison. This is explicitly displayed in all Häfele Design Showrooms worldwide.

To this experience of functionality, Häfele adds a competent dimension of designing servicesfor kitchens and wardrobes ably extended to customers by an expert team of Designers who exclusively operate from these Design Showrooms.

The typical layout of any of Häfele’s Design Showrooms includes real-time displays of the company’s many product functionalities including a LIVE kitchen which is equipped with storage areas, appliances and other utilities.

The Project Room – Experience the world of 360 degree services!

Following the trend of LIVE displays, Häfele introduces. for the very first time, a dedicated display room for Project Customers at its newest showroom in South Bombay. The Project Room Area simulates Häfele’s 360 degree Project Services proposition that promises a spectrum of project solutions ably backed by technical support and advisory services offered for the entire duration of a project. In this room, you will experience live displays of door hardware catering to different door applications like fire-rated doors, glass doors, residential doors and hotel room doors. These displays are aptly complemented with door hardware products like panic exit devices, patch fittings and one of the widest and technologically superior range of digital door solutions.

शिल्पा तुळसकर एका नवीन आगळ्या-वेगळ्या भूमिकेत

मराठी तसेच हिंदी चित्रपट सृष्टीत आपल्या अभिनयाचे ठसे उमटवत कधी सुजाता तर कधी देवकीची भूमिका साकारून प्रेक्षकांच्या मनावर राज्य करणारं हरहुन्नरी व्यक्तिमत्त्व म्हणजे अभिनेत्री शिल्पा तुळसकर. २२ सप्टेंबर २०१७ रोजी संपूर्ण महाराष्ट्रात प्रदर्शित होणाऱ्या 'अनान' चित्रपटातून त्यांचं एक नवीन रूप आपल्याला पाहायला मिळणार आहे.   

देवकी, डोंबिवली फास्ट, कालचक्र आणि आता बॉईज यांसारखे चित्रपट असो, लेडीज स्पेशल, दिल मिल गए, देवों के देव- महादेव यांसारख्या मालिका असो वा जावई माझा भला, लहानपण देगा देवा यांसारखी नाटके असोत सिनेमा, मालिका आणि नाटक या तीनही क्षेत्रात आपल्या उत्तोमोत्तम अभिनयाने नेहमीच स्वतःला सिद्ध करत, आपल्या भूमिकेला योग्य तो न्याय मिळवून देण्याचं काम शिल्पा तुळसकर यांनी वेळोवेळी केलेले आहे. आता 'अनान' या आगामी मराठी चित्रपटातून ६४ कलांचं महत्त्व जगाला पटवून देणाऱ्या या भारत देशातील संगीताची संस्कृती पिढ्यांपिढ्या पुढे सुरु ठेवणाऱ्या पंडीत वसुंधरा या भूमिकेत त्या आढळून येणार आहेत. 

इस्लामी संस्कृतीकडून भारतीय संगीतास मिळालेल्या सुगम संगीताची देणगी म्हणजेच 'गझल'... आपलं संपूर्ण आयुष्य कलेला वाहून देणाऱ्या  गझल गायिकेची भूमिका शिल्पा तुळसकर या चित्रपटात साकारत आहेत. त्यांच्या अभिनयाच्या आत्तापर्यंतच्या कारकिर्दीत प्रथमच त्या अशा भूमिकेत दिसणार आहेत. अस्खलित उर्दू भाषेचा वापर, घरंदाज गायिकेची शैली आणि तिच्यात लपलेली एक प्रेमळ आई आणि अबोल प्रेमिका यांचं मिश्रण असलेली ही वसुंधरा पाहण्यास एक वेगळीच उत्कंठता निर्माण झालेली आहे. 

 'रोहन थिएटर्स' च्या रौनक भाटीया आणि हेमंत भाटीया यांनी 'अनान' या चित्रपटाची निर्मिती केलेली असून कथा आणि क्रिएटीव्ह डायरेक्शन हेमंत भाटिया यांचं आहे. दिग्दर्शन राजेश कुष्टे यांनी केलेलं आहे तर पटकथा–संवाद राजेश कुष्टे आणि मुकेश जाधव यांनी लिहिले आहेत. चित्रपटाचं संकलन सेजल पेंटर यांनी केलं असून छायाचित्रण राज कडूर यांनी केलं आहे.

येत्या २२ सप्टेंबर ला 'अनान' हा चित्रपट संपूर्ण महाराष्ट्रात प्रदर्शित होणार असून तुमच्या जवळच्या चित्रपट गृहात जाऊन तो बघायला विसरू नका.

Latest AVPN Report highlights major gaps in public education system

Need greater public-private collaboration says Shri. Anil Swarup, Secretary, Secondary Education & Literacy, MHRD, GOI

14 September 2017, Mumbai, India – AVPN organized its inaugural India Summit 2017 today in Mumbai, India, which attracted close to 250 thought leaders, practitioners, and innovators who are driving the education system in India. In partnership with Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd, AVPN drove home the theme of “Investing for Impact in Education”

Sh. Anil Swarup, Secretary, Secondary Education & Literacy, MHRD, GOI, and Sh. Nand Kumar, Principal Secretary, Department of Education and Sports, Govt of Maharashtra, private funders including Unitus Capital and Kaizen Private Equity, and local non-profit organisations like Muktangan and iPRIMED, shared their insights as thought leaders, thus paving the way toward strategic deployment of capital into the education system.   

Sh. Anil Swarup, in his keynote address, shared best practices in education from across India and stressed on the need to adopt them to scale. Speakers from civil society, private funders, and the government expressed alike, “The AVPN platform is helping to facilitate essential integrations amongst various critical stakeholders and overcome constraints that often come with implementation and outcomes.”

Indeed, the Summit, packed with a variety of pertinent education-related topics, provided attendees with ample opportunities to learn and share insights and experiences. Topics ranged from innovative technological approaches to education, impact measurements and evaluations, to innovative hybrid approaches to funding social impact. The event highlighted that there is no one answer to improve the quality of education in India; In fact, it has shown that the whole spectrum of factors and social investment has to be considered to enable more effective strategies.

To deepen engagements amongst stakeholders and incentivize cross-sector collaborations, AVPN released the Funding Education with Impact Report – a guide for investors to ascertain where the critical gaps are in order to deploy funds and resources accurately and maximize impact. The Report, unveiled at the Summit yesterday, examines different education segments and age groups in India, which runs the spectrum from Early Childhood Education (ECE) to vocational education, and inclusive education.

“India has achieved near universalisation with 97% of 3-18 year olds being in some types of education,” says Kevin Teo, Managing Director of AVPN Knowledge Centre. “However, gaps persist in various education segments, signifying the need for more targeted interventions. We hope the Report – with its recommendations and suggested approaches – will be able to better inform existing and prospective funders.”

Insights from the report showed that while education is one of the most funded causes in India, few models have achieved scale, and quality remains a pressing issue. Holistic development is not given due attention and as such, access to education has not been equitable, and teacher shortages have impeded quality education delivery. To remedy these gaps, the Report observes the critical need for relevant curriculum design, leadership development, and ecosystem interventions that will go a long way in driving the quality and sustainability of the education sector.

The Summit, however, was not a one-off event. The event laid the ground work for AVPN to pilot new Collective Initiatives to harness its convening power and catalyse pooled funding for under-represented causes with high-impact potential. The first Collective – kicked off in partnership with FSG – focuses on Early Childhood Education. Informed by the Education Report, AVPN has identified early learning in affordable private schools in urban India as an underserved opportunity. With the Collective that utilizes funding from philanthropic foundations and corporate CSR in an impactful and targeted manner, AVPN plans to improve the quality of education and early learning outcomes for low-income children in urban India.

“This is an opportunity for the full spectrum of social investors from foundations to corporations, impact funds to incubators to connect around common causes,” says AVPN’s CEO, Ms. Naina Subberwal Batra. “These multi-sector collaborations are the key driver to address social gaps and drive deeper impact.”