Commemorating World Earth Day, Sula Vineyards takes another step towards becoming one of the World’s Most Sustainable Wine Producers!

19^th April, 2016: Not even a single stone is left unturned when it comes to Sula’s journey towards conserving planet earth.

“At Sula, we’re focused not only on making great wine but also on making great wine well. And since great wine starts with the environment, it’s in our best interests to take good care of it” saysCecilia Oldne – Sula Vineyards’ Global Brand Ambassador.

Sula’s sustainable agricultural practices and efficient winery operations are environmentally friendly, economically sound, socially responsible, and mindful of the earth’s limited resources. We are continuously working to improve our own sustainability and that of our growers, through experimentation and experience sharing. Sula’s key initiatives are as under:

-          Sustainable Winery

-          Sustainable Agriculture

-          Community Engagement

Sula as a company understands its responsibility and is extra sensitive when it comes to environmental causes in no small amount due to the strong eco-conscience of its founder Rajeev Samant. Being a market leader this is crucial in order to lead the messaging of responsible practices in the wine industry.
The company has ensured a series of initiatives like rainwater harvesting, use of LED lighting, cleanliness drives and a focus on community engagement amongst other impactful initiatives.

As the world gets mindful of World Earth Day, Sula will be planting another 500 trees around Nashik.

Sula’s employees will also propagate this awareness to friends and families so that more people are included in the movement. Sula believes that this will be a small step to give something back to the environment.

A list of the environmental friendly agricultural practices and winery operations:

Cool Chilling: Minimizes the amount of energy consumed to cool grapes

Heating water sustainably: Using solar water heaters to heat large amount of water at 60°C  

Cogenra Technology: Cogenra offers the most energy-effective solar solution technology, which  reduces greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions nearly 3 times as compared with photovoltaic (PV) alone and 1.5 times as compared with solar heated water alone, making Cogenra’s offering the most environmentally-friendly solar solution

Energy Efficient Lighting: Replaced all of the luminous bulbs and CFL in our winery & restaurants with LED lights. This helps in saving 15,500 power units annually

Optimized Drip Irrigation: This method saves approximately 40% of water usage

Integrated Pest and Nutrition Management: Minimizing and ultimately working towards completely eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers by incorporating green manure, compost and use of microorganisms like PSB (phosphorous solubilizing bacteria) and KSB (potassium solubilizing bacteria)

Employee Contribution: Each month, employees are given energy and water usage target, both at winery and at the vineyards

Skylight Project: The Skylight project aims to cut consumption of electricity helping us be more eco-friendly as well as save on rising power costs. Skylights are located in cellars, disgorging hall, storage, labeling hall, bottling hall and areas of The Tasting Room. So far they have installed 155 sky pipe sets and the power units compensated due to these are approximately 40,000 units/annum 

These initiatives make Sula Vineyards one of the most sustainable and socially aware winery in the world. Every year Sula saves 691,642 Power units of energy by using Solar Energy as an alternative and saves 8.1 Crore litres of water with their efficient rain water harvesting system

Sula Vineyards has made children's parks, sanitation projects, schools and other developmental institutions in and around Nashik. They have provided employment, education and training to the majority of the population in the region. Earlier this year, Sula Vineyards gave Rs 40 crores worth in farmer payments during the grape harvest thus contributing to the economic development of the region and the country as a whole.

Recently, Sula Vineyards announced the completion of 16 toilets in the Savargaon village, Nashik of Maharashtra. This exercise was in line with the Government’s emphasis of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan to promote and foster cleanliness and hygiene in India. Sula is also working towards improving the hygiene standards in the school through its recent Shishu Sikshan project.

Commenting on this, Neeraj Aggarwal, Sr. Vice President – Operations, Sula Vineyards says, “At Sula, we believe that the thoughtful initiatives like ours will seek to remind other organisations at both macro and micro levels of the necessity of keeping the ecology in mind. This is just the beginning and we at Sula work tirelessly to come up with more hard-hitting ideas that will contribute to the environment.”

RED (THE ANGRY BIRD) GOES GREEN ON EARTH DAY IN SUPPORT OF HISTORIC SIGNING OF PARIS AGREEMENT

(India – April 22, 2016) – In honor of Earth Day and the historic signing of the Paris agreement on climate change today, Red continues to support the United Nations as part of their “Angry Birds for a Happy Planet” campaign.

To commemorate the day the United Nations Postal Administration has issued special edition stamps featuring Red, and a new Public Service Announcement video, featuring the U.S. voice talent from “The Angry Birds Movie,” Jason Sudeikis, Josh Gad, and Maya Rudolph, was also released today to support the Paris agreement.

      The Paris agreement sends a clear signal that the transformation of the global economy to low-emission, climate-resilient growth is inevitable, beneficial and already under way. To keep the global spotlight focused on climate change and build on the strong political momentum from Paris, the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has invited all Heads of State and Government to participate in the signing ceremony. A record number of well over 165 countries are expected to sign the landmark agreement to tackle climate change at a ceremony at UN headquarters today.

      Red, who was appointed Honorary Ambassador for Green on the International Day of Happiness by the United Nations on March 20, 2016, “toured” in over 20 countries to promote the #AngryBirdsHappyPlanet campaign aimed at promoting the International Day of Happiness and encouraging people to take action against climate change and its impacts. The campaign, a partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, the United Nations, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and UN Foundation, asks the general public across the world to make the Angry Birds happy by taking actions on climate change and its impacts and sharing their photos and commitments on social media using the hashtag, which has made close to 600 million impressions so far.

The honorary ambassadorship was announced by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at UN Headquarters in New York with Sudeikis, Gad, Rudolph and “The Angry Birds Movie” filmmakers John Cohen, Catherine Winder and Mikael Hed in attendance last month.

The commemorative stamps feature Red taking action to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal #13 on climate action which includes suggestions to:

• Walk, cycle, or take public transport
• Conserve water
• Reduce, reuse, recycle
• Bring your own reusable bag to the store
• Turn off the lights and unplug
• Plant a garden or tree

Stamps are available for purchase online (https://unstamps.org/) or at the United Nations stamp counters in New York, Geneva and Vienna.

“Further to the tremendous honor bestowed upon Red from ‘The Angry Birds Movie’ by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, we are excited to continue our support for the United Nations in its efforts against climate change and to help share the message that we need to make every day Earth Day,” said John Cohen, producer of “The Angry Birds Movie.”

”The creative community makes an indelible impact on the hearts and minds of people of all ages,” added Maher Nasser, Director of the Outreach Division of the UN’s Department of Public Information. “We are grateful to Red and our friends at Sony Pictures for putting their talents and resources behind a fun and meaningful drive encouraging all of us to take responsibility for our planet’s health. As long as these issues exist, I hope we can count on the entertainment industry to use its megaphone in this way.“

For more information: www.angrybirdshappyplanet.com

About the Paris Agreement

To tackle climate change, countries adopted the Paris Agreement at the climate conference (COP21) in December 2015. Under the agreement, all countries agreed to work to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius, and, given the grave risks, to strive for a rise of less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. The signing ceremony marks the first step toward ensuring that the Paris Agreement enters into force as early as possible.

The Paris Agreement is closely related to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 13 on climate change, and provides a roadmap for climate actions that will reduce emissions and build climate resilience. For more information, please go to:

http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/climatechange/

About the United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights. Today, 193 countries are Member States of the world body.

About the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA)

The UNPA is the postal agency of the United Nations whose first stamps were issued in U.S. dollar denominations on United Nations Day, 24 October, in 1951, at UN Headquarters in New York. The stamps were an immediate success and sold out within days. UN stamps are now issued simultaneously at UN offices in New York , Geneva and Vienna . Each issue carries a related design theme, with different denominations for each office. The stamps are available from UNPA offices in person or by mail, and from stamp dealers, as well as at the UNPA website( https://unstamps.org/). They are valid for postage when used on mail from the UN offices in New York , Geneva and Vienna .

About “The Angry Birds Movie”

“The Angry Birds Movie” will be released in theaters by Columbia Pictures globally in May 2016.

In the 3D animated comedy, The Angry Birds Movie, we'll finally find out why the birds are so angry.

The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds – or almost entirely.  In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis, We're the Millers, Horrible Bosses), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad in his first animated role since Frozen), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride, This is the End, Eastbound and Down) have always been outsiders.  But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to. 

Featuring a hilarious, all-star voice cast that includes Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Sisters), Bill Hader (Trainwreck, Inside Out), and Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), as well as Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River), Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Hannibal Buress (Daddy’s Home, Broad City), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors, Sisters), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Billy Eichner (“Billy on the Street”), Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black), YouTube stars Smosh (Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla), Latin music sensation Romeo Santos, and country music superstar Blake Shelton, who co-writes and performs the original song “Friends."  The film also features brand new music from Demi Lovato, Charli XCX, Matoma, and Steve Aoki. The Columbia Pictures/Rovio Animation film is directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis and produced by John Cohen and Catherine Winder.  The screenplay is by Jon Vitti, and executive produced by Mikael Hed and David Maisel. 

 About the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in nearly 170 countries and territories, UNDP offers global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

About Rovio

Rovio Entertainment Ltd. is a global entertainment media company. Headquartered in Finland and with studios across the world, Rovio is the creator of Angry Birds, the casual mobile game that changed an industry and became an international phenomenon. Today Angry Birds is not only the most downloaded game of all time, it is a renowned entertainment brand that has branched out into animation, books, licensing and more. The Angry Birds Movie is slated for release globally in May 2016. www.rovio.com

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

CRIMINAL THE MISSION IS IN THE MEMORIES In Cinemas May 13

Sunny Leone, the Bollywood sex bomb takes social media by storm with her...

Young Musicians experimenting in Marathi Music is admirable – Avdhoot Gupte Avdhoot Gupte released Music of PAISA PAISA

“The music of movie ‘Paisa Paisa’ will bring tremendous revolution in the World of Marathi Films.

The music given by only twenty four years old musician Roackstar Soham Ajay Pathak, is delightful. Youngsters are experimenting new methods in music and I am proud that this is by one of Marathi Musician like Soham. At the time of the movie Paisa Paisa will achieve great success on screen and there will be big contribution of music of the film in this success.” Director Avdhoot Gupte was speaking at the time of Music Launch of film Paisa paisa.

Paisa Paisa has three melodies and out of that Ratra Majhi Maitrin is sung by Singer-Music director Vishal Dadlani. The song is describing Mumbai’s Night life. Other songs of the film sung by today’sstar singers Niti Mohan, Adarsh Shinde and all time favourite Avdhoot Gupte. Young rockstar Soham made great singers sing on his rhythm in this program, and received big applauds from media representatives and others.

Actor Sachit Patil, Spruha Joshi, Milind Shinde, Ashish Nevalkar,Pushkar Shrotri, Deepali Sayyed, Rajendra Chawla, Pankaj Vishnu, Madhav Abhyankar, Vineeta Joshi, Vikas Patil and other actors are starring in film. Adfilm Maker Joji Raechal Job directed the film.

The movie reveals the story of a young man who is trapped in dealing with Love, friendship, values, responsibilities and money. Paisa Paisa is a realistic thriller showing how money can affect the lives of people. The film is produced by Mr. Shivvilash Chaurasiya under his The Nine films banner, which is going to release in theatres on 13^th may.

Society for Human Resource Management(SHRM) India is organizing its 2nd HR Tech Conference & Exposition 2016 in Mumbai.

Some of the Keynote Speakers:

·         Jason Averbook, Thought Leader & Author

·         Anuranjita Kumar, Managing Director, Chief Human Resources Officer, Citi South Asia

·         Viresh Oberaoi, Founder CEO and MD, Mjunction Services ltd.

·         Dr. Sumit D Chowdhury, Founder CEO 'Gaia Smart Cities'

·         Kevin Freitas, Director, Global Recruiting & Rewards – InMobi

·         Nishchae Suri, Partner & Head-People & Change Advisory- KPMG India

·         Pradeep Mukerjee, Former CEO & Country Head - Mercer Consulting Pvt. Ltd

·         Unmesh Pawar, Global MD, Talent Acquisition – Accenture 

·         Jaspreet Bakshi, Sr. VP, HR & Regional Head – HR, People Services India

·         George Oommen, Director - HR, Technology & Process Consulting

 And Many More…

For further information please refer: http://www.shrmtech.org/

Maharaja Whiteline Launches an All-New range of Desert and Personal Air Coolers

~ Now Cooling and comfort without compromising on Stylish Looks~

~ The series includes –3 Desert Air Coolers and 6 Personal Air Coolers~

New Delhi, April 2016..Maharaja Whiteline became Groupe SEB India (P) Ltd.in 2014 and is the country’s leading consumer durable brand in the air coolers, mixer grinders, juicer mixer grinders and room heaters category enjoying immense brand equity within the space. With summers just round the corner, the brand has unveiled its new range of Desert and Personal Air coolers. The range comprises of 3 desert and 6 personal coolers. All the models are aesthetically superior, performance driven and energy efficient models which are certain to be a great addition for your home this summer season. These new variants are amongst the best offerings within the category. All of them have been developed after gaining years of experience in the category and are a resultant of thrust on R&D with European quality consciousness. These air coolers boasts of high in-class air delivery and air throw distance in addition to energy efficiency,thus a perfect companion for the sweltering heat.

The series comprises of three hi-comfort Desert coolers and seven well-designed Personal coolers, namely,Blizzard 60, Atlanto+ andAtlanto in Desert Air Cooler category and Frostair10 and 22, Torrent 30 and 18,Blizzard 50 and 20 in Personal Air Coolercategory.All the models comprise of castor wheels for easy movement around the house. A 3 speed blower control is accompanied by 4-way air deflection which ensures even coolingin through the room.

Commenting on the launch, Mr. Shirish Khedkar, Senior Vice President – Sales, Groupe SEB India (P) Ltd. said “Groupe SEB India saw a great season in 2014 as well as 2015 despite a muted industry performance and now we are determined to replicate this performance and consolidate our position as a leading player in the Air Cooler category. We did tremendously well last year on the back of a refreshed product line-up, which will remain to be our focus area along with an aesthetically superior range in season 2016”

He added, “Being a leading home appliances brand, our objective has always been to create thought through solutions for the existing and new segment of buyers. Both our desert and personal air cooler range launch is in line with the same vision. With all the new features, this range is an ideal fit for the tropical Indian summers which are known to be extremely hot and humid, especially in the northern region of the country.”

Key features of the new introductions within the Personal Range of Air Cooler:

Blizzard 50 and Blizzard 20: 

·         With double blowers for heavy air throw and high air delivery capacity, the blizzard series comes with water tank capacity of 50 and 20 litres and is a must-have for any home which desires cooling with style. These sleek and stylish air coolers come with Honey Comb Pads which retain water for longer and hence give a long lasting cooling.Blizzard 50 and Blizzard 20 are priced at Rs.11349 and Rs. 9999 respectively.

Torrent 30and Torrent 18:

·         With a water tank capacity of 30 L and 18 L, Torrent range with Honey comb pads is certain to provide long lasting cooling.These air coolers come with heavy air throw and high air delivery capacity, which makes it more proficient.Its rust proof ABS body is an add-on to its attractive exteriors. Torrent 30 and Torrent 18 are priced at Rs. 11,899 and Rs.10,399 respectively.

Frostair22 and Frostair 10: 

·         High on aesthetic quotient, Frostair series comes in water tank capacities of 22L and 10 L. With heavy air throw capability, high air delivery and specialpadding(Honey comb in 22 and 20 L model while wood wool pads in 10 L model), each one is a value add for any home for the scorching summers. Honey comb pads ensure long lasting cooling. Both the models have a compact design with best in class performance. Frostair 10 and Frostair 22 are priced at Rs. 7699 and Rs. 9999 respectively.

Some distinct features of these newly unveiled models in the Desert air coolers range: 

Blizzard 60, Atlanto+ and Atlanto :

With a tank capacity of 60 L (Blizzard 60) and 45 L (Atlanto+ and Atlanto), all three models come with castor wheels for ease of movement around the house.

Blizzard 60

Ø  Double blower for heavy air throw and 4 way air deflection

Ø  High Cooling capacity with a power consumption of 200watt

Ø  Heavy air throw and high air delivery

Ø  60 L water tank capacity with water level indicator

Ø  Sturdy body with well-designed exteriors

Ø  Built with a tough material, the blizzard 60 desert cooler will look as good as new for years to come

Ø  It is now available in the market at a price of Rs. 17,699

      Atlanto+

Ø  With high-air delivery, honeycomb pads for lasting cooling effect and 4 way air deflections, it makes the cool air reach every corner of the room

Ø  Its large tank capacity of 45 litres removes the need of frequent refilling

Ø  Its unique design complements every kind of home décor

Ø  Built with a tough and anti-rust material, the Atlanto+ desert cooler will look as good as new for years to come

Ø  It is available in the market for Rs. 12,799.

Atlanto:

Ø  Heavy air flow and high air delivery

Ø  4 way air deflection

Ø  45 liters of water tank capacity

Ø  Stylish and modern exteriors makes it a beautiful addition to any home

Ø  It is available in the market for Rs. 12,099

 The new range boasts of an unmatched quality, beautiful exteriors and best-in- class performance. It has been developed with the help of brand’s in-house R&D and the design team’s expertise. Following the ‘Make in India’ philosophy, manufacturing of all the products of this range has taken place in Groupe SEB India’s own factory in Baddi, Himachal Pradesh.  All the products are manufactured with international quality standards of Groupe SEB and hence, come with an assurance of remarkable performance and durability. With summers already knocking the doors, it is high time you bring home one of these power packed and attractive range of Air Coolers. So wait no more and bring home these summer saviors and enjoy a cool season.

Availability: 1860 – 180 – 4111 or visit http://www.maharajawhiteline.com/air-cooler

About Groupe SEB India: A market leader in mixer grinder, juicer mixer grinder, air cooler and room heater categories.  Groupe SEB India is present across India with over 22 Branch offices, 500 Distributors and 40,000 Dealers.  The company has its Headquarter in Delhi and in-house manufacturing facility in Baddi (Himachal Pradesh) which is spread over a sprawling area of more than 10 acres. Maharaja Whiteline offers products under three categories including-Kitchen Appliances, Home Comfort and Garment care.

The 12th edition of Fair & Lovely Foundation awarded scholarships to 200 deserving women

 

 Mumbai, 19^th April, 2016: The felicitation ceremony for the 12^th edition of the Fair & Lovely Foundation scholarship program was held in Mumbai today at the St. Regis hotel. The event was held to award scholarships to selected women from across India showcasing outstanding academic records, and awe-inspiring desire to become self-reliant. Noted dignitaries from distinguished backgrounds including actress Lara Dutta, humanitarian Lila Poonawala amongst others were seen talking about their association with the program and supporting women’s aim to break economic barriers and become self-sufficient. The event saw a flurry of activities including enchanting performances by Terence Lewis’ group and versatile singer, Vasudha Sharma which left the audience spell bound. The event ended on a high note with a cake cutting ceremony with the winners and actress Lara Dutta.

Fair & Lovely Foundation has been constantly working towards making women self-reliant and supporting their dreams of establishing an independent identity. The program assists women who exhibit a strong drive to succeed and break social economic barriers to achieve independence and economic empowerment. The program is specially designed to tackle the hardships women face while taking on the challenges that come their way on the path to becoming self-sufficient including providing mentorship and emotional support throughout their journey. Fair & Lovely Foundation has helped transform the lives of over 1200 women over the last decade through scholarships. The scholarships not only help women in studying further or starting their own venture it also inspires an attitude of self-reliance and independence amongst them.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Srinandan Sundaram Vice President, Skincare, Hindustan Unilever Ltd. said, “Fair & lovely Foundation was launched by the organisation with an aim to economically empower women and support their drive to become self-reliant. Over the last decade, the program has tried to reach out to deserving candidates and provide them support in their quest to create an individual identity. The program has received an overwhelming response each year and has acted as a catalyst in the transformation of many lives. It gives me immense pleasure to be associated with this cause, and see it growing big with each passing year.”

Chief Guest Lara Dutta, who gave away the scholarships to the selected candidates said, “Being a woman, I know and understand the importance of creating an individual identity. I completely believe in Fair & Lovely Foundation’s philosophy of supporting and empowering women in becoming self reliant. I am elated to be part of this remarkable initiative that not only focuses on providing monetary support to deserving girls, but also believes in inspiring thousands of girls to make them take that one step towards achieving their dreams.” 

Fair & Lovely Foundation over the years has awarded scholarships of up to rupees one lakh to thousands of deserving women who come from difficult socio economic backgrounds. Women from across India were selected through a screening and interview process. Noted professionals from various fields formed the selection panel and interviewed the girls across five centres: Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Lucknow, and ultimately helped the Foundation choose the finalists for scholarship.

About Fair & Lovely Foundation:

Fair & Lovely Foundation is an HUL initiative that aims to empower the women of India through education and career development. The foundation identifies academically exceptional girls from financially challenged backgrounds and offers scholarships up to Rs. 1, 00,000 per candidate. To maintain integrity and fairness the selection is done by a panel of eminent personalities from diverse fields. As the foundation enters its 12th year of inception Fair & Lovely intends to take forward the spirit of this endeavour.

About Hindustan Unilever Limited:

Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is India's largest Fast Moving Consumer Goods Company touching the lives of two out of three Indians. HUL works to create a better future every day. We help people feel good, look good and get more out of life with brands and services that are good for them and good for others.