Make your floor alive, with living expression collection Pergo Living Expression Collection

                        

                                                                                   

Pergo is recognized around the world as a leading innovator of high quality laminated flooring brand.  The Pergo Living Expression Collection will make your floor come alive. Pergo has always aimed at being simply the best when it comes to flooring.

Pergo Living Expression highlights the natural character of wood, even down into the bevels. The matt finish brings out the best of wood. Living Expression collections are equipped with Pergo’s trademark technology TitanXTM and PerfectFold™ 3.O that not only keep its elegant finish year in and year out but also fast and easy to install. Pergo Living Expression is the perfect combination of beautiful design and performance to revamp a place with the finest flooring with easy maintenance and care.

The Living Expression collection features with Pergo Genuine™ wood texture, a lightly polished structure that follows the wood grain in every detail, complemented by a silk matt finish. The Living Expression quality level is suitable for all-round domestic use, because of its extreme durability making it stand against wear, stains and fading.

The Price for Pergo Living Expression Collection is Rs 250 per sq ft.

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Wrangler announces the Winners of True Wanderer 2017

Wrangler’s True Wanderer,started in 2012, hasevolved into a community of like-minded enthusiasts who share a common love for adventure and exploration. It continues to be an increasingly popular annual event for travelers across the country to celebrate their love for the open road.

True Wanderer Season 6.0, organized by Wrangler in 2017, was presented in a brand-new avatar- bigger, better and bolder than ever before.Thousands applied to be a part of the journey and 25 True Wanderer finalists were selected to go on the trip of a lifetime who were flagged off from Wrangler stores across 13 cities. The finalist could choose to travel by car, bike, foot or any mode of transportation of their choice, completing travel-related challenges set by Wrangler. The 25 finalists were styled in Wrangler’s range of apparel.

The 25 finalists took wandering to a whole new level as they showcased the passions that drive their wanderlust. They captured the highlights of their epic road trips and shared it with the True Wanderer community with interesting and inspiring stories, photographs and videos. Their experiences can be found at https://wrangler-ap.com/in/

Based on votes and the scores of an elite judging panel, Wrangler announces the winners of True Wanderer 2017:

The first prize is a trip to Australia and the winner is Rahul Gupta from Jammu.

The winner of the second prize – a trip to Bali - is Dheeraj Solanki from Agra

The third prize – a trip to Sikkim – has been won by Rajat Patranabish from Delhi

Rohini Haldea, Marketing Head, Wrangler India, says “We are delighted to announce that Rahul Gupta,Dhreeraj Solanki & Rajat Patranabish as the winners of True Wanderer 2017 and to present them with the trips to Australia, Bali & Sikkim respectively. The True Wanderer contest epitomizes the spirit of freedom and adventure that Wrangler stands for. It has been an exciting journey for the brand to ride along with those who share its passion for the open road.”

Shivaji Park’s Bengal Club gets set for 82nd Durga Puja

Shivaji Park’s Bengal Club is all set to celebrate its 82^nd Durga Puja with elaborate rituals and cultural activities. The 95 year old club has been organising Durga Puja since 1935 and the red carpet is rolled out to welcome close to 10 lakh devotees every year. Though the club’s puja is highly revered by local bengalis for being one of the oldest and most traditional, the cosmopolitan neighbourhood also participates with spirited fervor in large numbers.

This year, the festivities will commence from September 24^th to 30^th, marking the victory of goddess Durga over demon Mahishasura. The program schedule of rituals and evening entertainment is as follows :

1)      24^th September (Chaturthi) - Anando Mela. Which will have the Club’s members showcasing their culinary skills. Home cooked Bengali food is a big draw for not only local Bengalis but the entire neighbourhood.

2)      25^th September (Panchami) – Conch blowing competition 

3)      26^th September (Shashti) - the first arti of this year’s puja will be performed in the evening at 9.30pm. Prior to that the mood for Puja festivities will be set by performances by the Club’s members singing traditional Bengali devotional songs and dancing to specially choreographed steps, set to the beat of the dhak     

4)      27^th September (Saptami) – the performing of religious ritual will commence from this day. The rituals will start from 8am, pushpanjali will conducted at 10am, followed by bhog distribution.

5)      28^th September (Ashtami) – considered to be the most auspicious day, rituals commence from 8am, pushpanjali at 10.30am, followed by bhog distribution, Sandhi Puja will be conducted between 7.06pm to 7.54pm. Sandhi puja is conducted during the conjunction of Ashtami and Navami, it is said that Lord Ram invoked the Goddess during this period by offering 108 lotuses and diyas, to enable him slay Ravana. The ritual will have devotees offer a similar number of lotuses and diyas.

6)      29^th September (Navami) – rituals will commence at 8.00am, pushpanjali at 10.30am, Kumari Puja at 12pm, bhog distribution and havan at 1.30pm. Kumari Puja is a unique ritual where a girl child between the age group of 6-8 years is worshipped in the form of a live goddess and the devotees and priests then lineup to seek her blessings. Bengal Club is amongst very few Durga mandals who perform this puja. This year 8 year old Saina Chakraborty from Mumbai will be worshipped as the Kumari. 

     The havan signifies the completion of all the regilious rituals of Durga Puja in its entiriety.

7)      30^th September (Dusshera) – rituals will commence from 9.30am, pushpanjali at 10.30am, darpan visarjan at 11 am, followed by sindur utsav from noon onwards. The idol will then be taken for immersion at Dadar chowpatty in a festive procession. Sindur utsav is a special ritual where women first offer sindur (vermillon) and sweets to the goddess and then apply sindur on each as a sign of good omen.

Every evening the arti will be performed at 8pm and will be accompanied by traditional dhunuchi dance paying obeisance to the goddess.

The bhog served will be the traditional Bengali khichdi, labda (mix vegetables), beguni (brinjal pakoda) and payesh (kheer). 

Bengal Club was constituted in the 1922 by a few local bengalis who aimed at forming a community club that will conduct itself as a non-profit organisation to promote charitable, cultural and sports activities.

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