Friday, November 24, 2006

Suzlon to set up 2nd facility in Coimbatore

Suzlon Energy will set up an energy engineering facility over a 250-acre plot about 20 km west of Coimbatore. This could be the largest corporate facility of its kind so far in the southern city of Tamil Nadu.

The upcoming project was, among other things, expected to house a wind turbine components manufacturing and testing facility for rotor blades, an industry source said, without going into specifics of the investments involved.

So far, the Pune-headquartered wind energy major has had a foundry unit operating from Coimbatore. The upcoming expansion will help it widen its manufacturing footprint in south India.

Suzlon, which had already completed the purchase of the required land, was in “advanced stages” of talks with the Tamil Nadu government, industry sources said. The company had submitted documents pertaining to the land purchase procedures of the facility a few days ago, prior to the physical inspection of the proposed site, they added.

Following the physical inspection and approval by state and local authorities, the commerce ministry was expected to give its final go-ahead by mid-December, the sources said. And then, Suzlon was expected to start construction work on the facility by January next year, they added.

The project, which will come up along the L&T bypass road that links Palladam taluk with Tirupur, was given the initial go-ahead by the commerce ministry on October 6, with full benefits accorded to it under the SEZ Act of 2004.

Suzlon, one of the world’s leading wind energy turbine producers, shares more than half of the domestic wind turbines market.

Source: Business Standard

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Big Bazaar makes its entry into Coimbatore !!!

Big Bazaar makes its entry into Tamil Nadu with Coimbatore as its first stop

First things first. It has car parking — albeit limited — and a space opposite for two wheelers. But Big Bazaar is definitely big. There is no question about that. Several floors, spacious, well-lit and with all kinds of merchandise, there is something for everyone here.

On a rainy day (we have been having quite a few of them lately), it is a relief to stroll around in comfort picking up groceries, vegetables, or anything else your heart desires.

Kids are going to be especially excited at the glass elevator within the shop that affords a bird's eye view of the various wares on sale, and, there is also an escalator for those unable to climb stairs.

For the health conscious and the energetic, wide stairways provide comfortable movement from floor to floor.

Kiddies delight


If you want to shop in peace, then do your kids' shopping first. Toys and books are available for various age groups. The collection of books is a bit sparse at the moment, but no doubt it will increase.

The only reservation one could have is that the staff doesn't seem to know too much about what books there are and what there aren't, and when asked they disappear without a trace!

For the plastic dabba lovers, there is plenty to choose from. They are shaped, sized, coloured and textured to suit your kitchen's décor.

Stainless steel vessels, also in vast numbers and variety, non-stick cookware, melmoware and glassware all make up an entire section. Interesting bathroom accessories like shelves to hold your lotions, shampoos and soaps as well as towel hangers are available at reasonable rates.

Discounts by the dozen


There are a lot of bargains on at the moment. Quite a few products come with a freebie attached — it is either a discount or a `buy two and get one free' kind of an offer. Toiletries, groceries, freshly ground spices and coffee fill the shelves and you are sure to find your favourite brands right here.

Clothes are a plenty, with crinkled skirts, casual denims, shirts and kids wear occupying a large area. Furniture is another attraction here with fuss-free bookshelves, cabinets, cupboards and dining sets offering you quite a choice.

Bedroom furniture and living room ones are also available.

It is all a bit bewildering at first. There are a lot of things for your eyes and ears to take in. But it is a kind of a place that one could get used to. Big Bazaar will soon have a food court and a beauty parlour! How's that for a complete experience?

Source: The Hindu

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

SIPCOT and SIDCO coming soon to Dharmapuri !!!

The identification of land required for establishment of industrial estates by SIPCOT and SIDCO in Dharmapuri is in full swing. The State Government has identified more than 400 acres of Government `Poromboke' land in a radius of 3 km from Dharmapuri town which is very near to the proposed four-lane highway, said Minister for Agriculture Veerapandi S. Arumugam here on Monday.

He told reporters that the Government had received more than 1,300 applications from entrepreneurs and industrialists in Tirupur, Coimbatore and Bangalore seeking permission for establishment of industries in the proposed industrial estates.

Institute


A majority of them had requested 200 acres for setting up textile and garment industries, chemical industries, coir and agro-based industries, PVC pipes and automobile industries. The Department of Sericulture had requested one acre for setting up a Sericulture Research and Training Institute in the district.

Mr. Arumugam said that the soil conditions in Dharmapuri were best suited for cultivation of horticultural crops including mango, guava and sapota.

The Government was providing subsidy to farmers for drip irrigation.

An amount of Rs. 300 crore allotted by the Centre for implementation of various horticultural schemes in the State was not utilised by the previous AIADMK regime.

Allotted


The Dharmapuri MLA had allotted Rs. 4 lakh under the constituency development fund for upgrading and maintenance of the uzhavar sandhai in Dharmapuri.

The district administration had sent a proposal to the Centre to take up works under the food-for-work programme at an outlay of Rs. 90 crore in the district. The long pending Hogenakkal Comprehensive Drinking Water Supply Scheme would soon be implemented, he added.

Source: The Hindu

Indore boy sets longest marathon singing record of 54 hrs 42 mins !!

Deepak Gupta, a native of Indore, sang non-stop for 54 hours and 42 minutes, to beat an old world record of 54 hours and 41 minutes set by a German in solo singing.

Gupta took all the precautions to avoid any controversy and acquainted himself of the rules of the game.

"I sang 1200 songs. This is an attempt to get entry in the Guinness Book of records. I have followed all their guidelines," said Gupta.

A commerce graduate, Gupta has undergone seven years of degree course in singing and has performed over thousand stage shows across the country.

Gupta is also an expert in yoga and feels it immensely helped him bear the physical and mental strain during his performance.

A week ago, a sixteen-year-old Indore girl created a singing record by singing non-stop for 61 hours, but failed to register her name in the record book. According to the rules, the Guinness book officials need to be informed before beginning such an attempt and in this case they were informed 14 hours after setting the record.



Source:Daily India

Special vehicles to restore NH 67

The Union governmnet has decided to set up Special purpose vehicles to restore the National Highway reaches of NJ-34 and NH-66, in West Bengal and Tamil Nadu respectively, affected by heavy rainfall and landslides.

In a meeting between Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, T R Baalu and senior officials of Department of Road Transport & Highways and the National Highways Authority of India today, it was decided that the vehicle would be set up in co-ordination with concerned state governments, a press release said.

This step would take care of suitable timely remedial measures and ensure that work of emergent repairs could be taken up immediately, the release added.

Large scale damages have been reported in both highways due to incessant rains in the past two months.

In Tamil Nadu alone, the stretches along the Coimbatore-Mettupalayam-Ooty-Karnataka border on NH 67 extensions and the Tindivanam-Pondicherry stretch of NH 66, were badly damaged due to rains while heavy landslides in Mettupalayam had resulted in diversion of vehicular traffic, the release said.



Source: Chennai Online