Peter England Mr. India 2017 Opens with an Overwhelming Response in Chandigarh

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- The excitement and enthusiasm factor just elevated this year with the commencement of the all new edition of Peter England Mr. India 2017with its first city audition held in Chandigarh. The audition witnessed over 100 participants who came from all over the city. The audition was held at Golden Tulip Chandigarh Panchkula, which came on board as the Hospitality and Venue partner for the auditions.

The auditions were judged by none other than Peter England Mr. India 2016 finalist Varun Verma.

Varun said that he is thrilled that Mr. India 2017started off in Chandigarh. The boys selected are youngsters aspiring to climb that ladder of success on the platform that Mr. India affords.

The selected guys will be fast-tracked to the final round of auditions happening in Mumbai on 26th November, 2017. Once the finalists are selected, they will be undergoing rigorous training and grooming sessions by renowned experts from the fashion and entertainment industry. Catch the telecast of the 4 web is odes of Peter England Mr. India 2017 on the zoom app and the finale on Zoom 

Recently Rohit Khandelwal, the first Asian from Hyderabad, who started his journey by winning Mr. India 2015 went on to win the Mr. World 2016 pageant last year as well as Jitesh Thakur who went on to win Mister Supranational 2016- 2^nd runner up have grabbed lead roles in mainstream Bollywood movies which are soon to go on floors. We are aiming to have more winners like him in the future who will make our country proud.

The next audition of Peter England Mr. India 2017 is happening in Delhi on 9 th November, 2017 and you can also click yourself at any Peter England Store using #RoadToMrIndia & Jump the Queue at the Auditions (Subject to T&C on the website).

6th Chandigarh Literature Festival to be organized by Adab Foundation in Association with Department of English & Cultural studies, PU

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Adab Foundation, committed to propagation of art & literature,  will be organising the 6th Edition of the region's biggest & one of India's most innovative Literary Festival's - Chandigarh Literature Festival 2017, in association with Department of English & Cultural Studies, Punjab University at the PU from November 10-12. This & other details of CLF 17 were announced by  Mitul Dikshit, Chairman, Adab Foundation & Festival Director Ms Annie Zaidi, who is a noted writer & poetess. 

Mitul Dikshit said that this year’s fest will introduce a first for the region -- performances based on Literature. Under this Qissebaazi will be performed by Danish Husain and Manu Sikander Dhingra from  The Hoshruba Repertory. Qissebaazi expands and builds upon traditional storytelling & is multilingual platform with multiple performers, in which they showcase a 'theatrical presentation' which is still, distinctively, 'storytelling'. 'Poetrification' will be presented by  Danish Husain, Denzil Smith and Beven Fonseca. While Denzil will perform his favourite English poets from the sub-continent- Dom Moraes, A.K. Ramanujan, Jeet Thayil, Arundhathi Subramaniam et al-   Danish will regale with his favourite Urdu Poets- Ghalib, Noon Meem Rashed, Faiz, Akhtarul Iman, Afzal Ahmed Syed et al. and all through this Beven helps clothe these words by placing some musical notes under their feet.

Adab Foundation will organise the performances in collboration with Department of Indian theatre, PU.  Poetrification session will be held on the inaugural day after a very topical Panel Discussion ' Writing Scared: Freedom of expression & Punjabi Literature'. Acclaimed writers Ms. Nayantara Sehgal & Kiran Nagarkar will be present during the inaugural session which will start at 4 PM onNovember 10 at PU's Balwant Gargi Open Air Theatre.

Day 2 will see engaging sessions between some of the best Authors of India & well established Critics & Literary Experts. Author of novel 'Jasoda' Kiran Nagarkar will be seen in conversation with critic  Sreenivasan Jain. Another session to look out for will be Hindi Poet & Sahitya Akademi Award winner Mangalesh Dabral, in conversation with critic Asad Zaidi on his book 'Naye Yug Mein Shatru'. A unique session on poetry 'New Words: Young poets present their work in English, Hindi and Punjabi' - is a Multi-lingual event & a platform for young poets. The session which will be Curated by Akhil Katyal and Amy Singh. This session is the concluding session of CLF 2017 scheduled on Day 3 - November 12.

 Day 3 has in store interesting sessions. Acclaimed author Nayantara Sehgal will be seen in conversation with critic Kiran Nagarkar on her book 'When the Moon shines by Day'.

Author  Hansda Sowendra Shekhar will be in conversation with critic Vivek Menzes a widely published writer & photographer from Goa about his book 'The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey', which has won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Purashkar. It is noteworthy that Hansda was in news when, the Jharkhand government banned his book ‘The Adivasi will not Dance’ saying it had shown Santhal women “in a bad light.”

On Day 3 movie screening of 'Anaarkali of Aarah' wil take place followed by a discussion between Director Avinash Das & critic Mihir Pandya.

Annie Zaidi summed up that this time we have curated a festival which will have all elements to attract literary enthusiasts, film  & art lovers. Some celebrated films are being shown.As far as art is concerned we will be having a panel discussion on 'Contemporary Art of North India' with some noted experts on Day 2.

स्प्रिंग फेस्ट: आईआईटी खड़गपुर का वार्षिक 59वा एडिशन 26 से 28 जनवरी 2018 को

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- स्प्रिंग फेस्ट, आईआईटी खड़गपुर का वार्षिक सामाजिक और सांस्कृतिक उत्सव है। स्प्रिंग फेस्ट एशिया  में सबसे बड़े उत्सव में से एक है और पूरी तरह से छात्रों द्वारा आयोजित किया जाता है । स्प्रिंग फेस्ट में देशभर से 50000 से अधिक जनता अपने हुनर का प्रदर्शन करने आती है। भारत के सभी प्रमुख कालेजों सेउत्साही प्रतिभागियों के लिए स्प्रिंग फेस्ट आनंद और उल्लास का 3 दिवसीय उत्सव है। स्प्रिंग फेस्ट 2018 उसका 59 वाँ एडिशन है और 26 से 28 जनवरी, 2018 को आयोजित किया जा रहा है।

इस साल स्प्रिंग फे स्ट का राष्ट्रस्तरीय प्रीलिम्स के प्रमुख चार राष्ट्रस्तरीय इवेंट्स -नुक्कड़, एस एफ आइडल, शेक अ लेग , टू फॉर टेंगो और शफल का आयोजन सफलतापूर्वक  पूरे भारत  में 7  शहरो में अक्टूबर में कराया गया | इस साल सभी स्थानों में रिकार्ड भागीदारी देखी गई और इसी के साथ प्रतिभागियों में दिसंबर में आने वाले वाइल्डफायर(रॉक बैंड कम्पटीशन) की प्रीलिम्स के लिए काफी उत्साह है।

स्प्रिंग फेस्ट में11 अलग अलग श्रेणियों में130+ से अधिक  इवेंट्स शामिल है, जिनकी कुल इनाम राशि 30 लाख रूपए है और पुरे भारतवर्ष से सर्वश्रेष्ठ यहाँ भाग लेते हैं। ये इवेंट्स प्रतिभागियों के अंदर की कला उभारने में कामयाब साबित हुई हैंऔर सर्वश्रेष्ठ के लिए सांस्कृतिक जंग का मैदान है। हमारी सामाजिक पहल – उमांग : Stand up to Stigma मानसिक स्वास्थ्य के मुद्दों को आगे बढाने और सभी के लिए मानसिक  स्वास्थ्य को बढावा देने का लक्ष्य है।

स्टार- नाईट स्प्रिंग फेस्ट का मुख्य आकर्षण हैं। फरहान अख़्तर, अमित त्रिवेदी, शंकर एहसान-लॉय,  सलीम-सुलेमान, केके, रघु दीक्षित,  प्रोजेक्ट, यूफ़ोरिआ , पेंटाग्राम जैसे  कलाकार इस उत्सव का शान बढ़ा चुके हैं|

स्प्रिंग फेस्ट, आईआईटी खड़गपुर फेसबुक पर जाएँ  या हमारी वेबसाइट www.springfest.in पर लॉग ऑन करें।

3-Day 17th All-India Poetess Conference Begins at Punjab Arts Council

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Under the guidance of Padmashree,  Surjit Patrar the 3-day 17^th All-India Poetess Conference will begin at Punjab Arts Council here tomorrow.  The Conference is being organized in collaboration with the Punjab Art Council.

Talking to media person here today, Lari Azad, founder-All India Poetess Conference said that apart from Punjabi, around 300 poetess of languages ​​such as Kannada, Bangla, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Urdu, Hindi, Kashmari will take part in it.

Dr. Lari Azad further said that 60 poets will be awarded with a sum of 1.50 lakh rupees. He said that 45 scholarly books have been released by this organization. He said that 3 books will be released during this convention and an international magazine will also be released.

He said that on the first day, a multilingual text and cultural night program will be held in this night the country's popular celebrities will showcase their art for the first time. The conference is a great platform for the people of India to share literature, culture and culture of Punjab.

Dr. Lari Azad said that this institution takes the thoughts of the poets to the sky and gives them life to their part. It does not include only the poets, but it is the contribution of women from all walks of life, including writers, artists, TV artists, political personalities and administrators.

Apart from this there are many other great personalities who can be seen from the organization's website at www.aipc.weebly.com.

Meanwhile Simrat Sumera, Secretary -AIPC and Dr. Sarbjeet Kaur Sohal, President, Punjab Sahit Akademi were also presented during occasion.

Prof. Baljinder Singh- Elected as President of Society of Nuclear Medicine-India

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Dr. Baljinder Singh, Professor, Department of Nuclear Medicine , PGIMER, Chandigarh had been elected as President (ELECT) of the Society of Nuclear Medicine-India through online election. Prof. Baljinder Singh won the election by a huge margin of 128 votes. The total number of votes polled was 604. The society of Nuclear Medicine is highly interdisciplinary and its members are spread throughout the country both in government and private sectors. More than 50 members of the society are located internationally mainly in USA, Canada, Germany, Singapore and UK.  

Prof. Baljinder Singh is currently serving (since last 4-years) as the Dean of the Indian College of Nuclear Medicine (ICNM) which is a highest position of the academic wing of the Society of Nuclear medicine –India. Prof. Singh is extremely active in research and has organized many national and international meetings in the past and enjoys great popularity in India and abroad amongst the colleagues from his discipline and other allied specialties as well.

India Wakes Up with Honda GRAZIA: To See World in a New Light

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India Pvt. Ltd., the No. 1 scooter manufacturer in India today unveiled its new Advanced Urban Scooter “GRAZIA”. This is the Next Big Step of Honda to lead the Scooter Segment from the front with Innovation & advancement of its product portfolio.

As a market leader of scooterization, with biggest portfolio of 6 existing scooter models, GRAZIA is the Next Big Innovative Addition in its scooter range. More than 2 crore families have placed their trust on Honda’s automatic scooters with Activa leading as the highest selling two wheeler in the country. Today 1/3^rd of the India is riding on scooters and it’s the fastest growing category in the Indian 2Wheeler industry.

Further fuelling the momentum & growth of scooterisation, Honda’s all new GRAZIA, has been styled to meet the aspirations of upwardly mobile Young and Urban India. The GRAZIA is not just the best looking but is also the most technically advanced product in its category.

GRAZIA is set to create new excitement with its advanced technology, innovative industry first features and sharp design lines.

Speaking on Honda’s Next Big Innovation in scooters, Minoru Kato- President and CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said that in the last 16 years, Honda 2Wheelers India has grown exponentially from a humble 54,000 units in the first year, to 3 lakh+ scooter sales in a single month now. Today every 2nd scooter customer in India is celebrating the freedom of mobility on a Honda scooter. Adding more excitement to the premium scooter segment, the Honda GRAZIA is the most advanced scooter in its category. With many Industry first feature like LED Head lamp, fully digital meter with 3 step speed Eco speed indicator, Customers can now step into the future and see the world in new light with pride, backed by Honda’s high quality and superior reliability.

Yadvinder Singh Guleria, Senior Vice President - Sales and Marketing, said that as the market leader in automatic scooters, Honda raised the bar further with GRAZIA - Honda’s Next Big Step of Innovation in Scooters. Get ready to see the world in a New Light with bright LED head lamp. Many other Segment leading features makes GRAZIA the most advanced urban scooter with great styling and unparalleled convenience.

        

Airtel Introduces New Postpaid and Prepaid Innovations

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Bharti Airtel (“Airtel”), India’s largest telecommunications services provider, today announced enhanced benefits on select Postpaid plans for its customers.

Airtel customers can now enjoy Unlimited Free Outgoing Calls on National Roaming to go with Unlimited Local + STD calls and 20 GB 4G/3G data at just Rs 499 per month with Infinity Postpaid. (https://www.airtel.in/myplan-infinity)

What’s more, the refreshed Rs 499 Infinity Postpaid plan comes with free Airtel Secure device protection plan for smartphones against physical damage and malware. Customers also get free subscription to Wynk Music that offers close to 3 million songs and Airtel TV that offers LIVE TV and thousands of popular shows and movies.

Airtel Postpaid customers also get the ‘Data Rollover’ feature, which allows them to carry forward their unused data to the next billing cycle, ensuring their data quota never goes waste. Customers can accumulate up to 200 GB check their data usage and balance through MyAirtel app.     

For Prepaid customers, Airtel has launched a new bundled pack with amazing voice and data benefits, including free roaming. Priced at Rs 448, the Prepaid pack offers Unlimited Local + STD calls, Unlimited outgoing calls on national roaming and 70 GB data. The pack is available to all customers across India on any 4G/3G/2 G devices. Customers can activate the pack by visiting any Airtel retail outlet or through MyAirtel App.   

Ajai Puri, COO (India & South Asia), Bharti Airtel said that these new innovations are in line with our endeavour to bring great value to customers backed by best-in-class network experience. It will allow customers to do more with their devices on India’s leading smartphone network and always stay connected.

PGI Pediatric Hematologist Wins Prestigious Award

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Dr. Prateek Bhatia, Assistant Professor  Pediatric Hematology Lab, PGIMER has been awarded the prestigious Dr. KC Das Memorial Award for best Published Research in Basic Haematology at the recently concluded 58^th Annual Meeting of Indian Society of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine at Guwahati . The award had been instituted in the memory of Late Prof. KC Das who was pioneer in establishing basic haematology research in India and Dr. Prateek Bhatia is the first recipient of this award. The research work published by Dr. Bhatia was on “Systematic evaluation of paediatric cohort with iron refractory iron deficiency anaemia (IRIDA) phenotype reveals multiple TMPRSS6 gene variations” and was published in April 2017 in British Journal of Haematology with an editorial. The award included a certificate and a cash prize of Rs. 12000/-. 

Global Retail Banks Expect Digital Investments to Yield Measurable Returns by 2020: Infosys Finacle-Efma Research

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a product subsidiary of Infosys (NYSE: INFY), and Efma, a global not-for-profit organisation, today launched the ninth annual study of Innovation in Retail Banking. The research revealed that technology investments in 2018 will revolve around ‘topical’ areas such as information security, advanced analytics and open banking APIs, as opposed to ‘future-looking’ areas such as conversational AI, robotic process automation, the Internet of Things, augmented reality or virtual reality. However, 70% of organizations planned to support a conversational AI solution, with close to 25% having made investments in AI.

According to the report, retail banks continue their thrust on innovation in all functional areas, with customer experience and channels (both at 78%) being at the forefront. Other segments that have witnessed higher spends in innovation include products (67%), process improvement (64%) and marketing (57%).

The research, in which over 300 bankers globally participated, found that retail banks consider large technology companies, challenger banks, and smaller fintech start-ups as threats to their growth. Similar to 2016, the greatest impact of transformation is expected to be in the areas of payments and mobile wallets.

Vincent Bastid, CEO, Efma that nowadays so many new technologies are reaching maturity and a growing number of new entrants are offering alternative customer experiences and transaction interfaces. The 9th edition of the Innovation in Retail Banking study provides a roadmap to help organizations of all sizes prioritize their strategic choices and investments. We also believe the insights from this report will help incumbents strengthen their innovation initiatives and be more successful in their deployment.

Sanat Rao, Chief Business Officer and Global Head of Finacle that the 9th edition of the Innovation in Retail Banking report clearly reflects the sentiment we are witnessing globally. The case for investing in digital transformation and innovation has never been stronger, with changing customer preferences, technology upsurge and competition from the non-banking sector. Finacle has proactively invested and developed capabilities across the focus areas identified in the report, to help customers stay ahead with their innovation programs. We believe that this report will help banks with their planning and technology investments.

Jim Marous, Owner and Publisher of the Digital Banking Report and author of Study that as we expanded the scope of organizations included in this year’s study, we find a significant difference in the innovation maturity and commitment to technology investment between the largest and smaller organizations, with smaller firms appearing to fall further behind market leaders. We also see a continued focus on iterative innovation as opposed to disruptive innovation, limiting the potential benefits of big data, advanced analytics and digital technologies. The winners in the future will be defined by those organizations that can leverage these three pillars in the delivery of a better customer experience.

फिल्म सर्टिफिकेशन एपिलेट ट्रिब्यूनल ने सेंसर बोर्ड को फिल्म "गेम ऑफ़ आयोध्या" को U/A प्रमाणपत्र देने का आर्डर दिया

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- गेम ऑफ़ अयोध्या ‘ फिल्म भारतीय सेंसर बोर्ड ने  27 जनवरी को बेन किया था। सर्टिफिकेशन एपिलेट ट्रिब्यूनल  ने रिटायर्ड चीफ जस्टिस मनमोहन सरीन के अध्यक्षता में बिना किसी कट के इस फिल्म को  U/A प्रमाणपत्र देने का सेंसर को आर्डर दिया ।

भारतीय सेंसर बोर्ड ने फिल्म ‘गेम ऑफ़ अयोध्या ‘ को 27 जनवरी को बेन किया था ये कहकर की इस फिल्म से सांप्रदायिक दंगे हो सकते है। डायरेक्टर सुनील  सिंह  ने बताया  की फिल्म सर्टिफिकेशन एपिलेट ट्रिब्यूनल  ने रिटायर्ड चीफ जस्टिस मनमोहन सरीन के अध्यक्षता में बिना किसी कट के इस फिल्म को  U/A प्रमाणपत्र देने का सेंसर को आर्डर दिया है। ये फिल्म जहा  08  महीने तक FCAT और सेंसर के विवादों में घिरी रही , 24   नवंबर को रिलीज़ होने  जा रही है। चूँकि यह फिल्म बाबरी मस्जिद और आयोध्या पर बनी कमेटी लिब्राहन कमेटी पर आधरित है। किस तरह  से आयोध्या के नाम पर किया, क्या हुआ किस तरह की राजनीती हुई।

यह फिल्म एक हिंदू पत्रकार की कहानी है जो मुस्लिम लड़की से प्यार  करता  है परन्तु उस समय उनके साथ क्या हालत पैदा हुए यह उस पर लिखी गई है। फिम से किसी की भावनाओ को ठेस नहीं पहुंचाई गई है।

FCAT के आर्डर के हिसाब से बताया गया है की ये फिल्म एक हिन्दू – मुसलमान की प्रेम कहानी है जहा देश में रथ यात्रा निकालकर कुछ राजनेता धर्म के नाम पर लोगों को बाटने का काम कर रहे है वही देश में दूसरी तरफ हिन्दू – मुसलमान भाईचारे में रहते है और आपस में प्रेम विवाह भी करते है।चूँकि  फिल्म मे  आयोध्या  और बाबरी मस्जिद के समय के हालातो को उजागर करते हुए प्रेम  कहानी को फोकस किया है।

Ashok Leyland Registers Record Revenue of Rs. 60 bn in Q2

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Ashok Leyland, flagship of the Hinduja Group, reported revenues of Rs. 6,046.89 Cr, against Rs. 4622.41 Cr (excluding excise duty), same period last year, an increase of 31%. The export volumes grew by 39 % in the quarter.

The company achieved 10.1% EBITDA margin in Q2 and has registered a double-digit EBITDA margin in 10 out of the past 11 quarters.

Ashok Leyland was recognized amongst the top 40 Indian brands in the Best Indian Brand ranking published by Inter Brand. Ashok Leyland, Hosur has been conferred the 2017 Deming Prize for successful implementation of Total Quality Management.

Vinod K. Dasari, Managing Director, Ashok Leyland Limited said that it has been a satisfying performance.  Despite all the challenges, our robust market share growth exemplifies the technological leadership of Ashok Leyland. Our iEGR technology for BS-IV has been well accepted by customers. To support the rapidly growing network of customers, we have invested in the digital market place to enhance our customer’s efficiency, performance, and profitability through various means of “anytime, anywhere” support for their vehicles. Winning the Deming Prize second time is a testimony of our quality systems. We are very proud to have achieved this.

Gopal Mahadevan, CFO, Ashok Leyland added that our Financial performance continues to be robust. The best part about Ashok Leyland’s initiatives is the strong customer focus even as we drive financial performance. Our working capital continues to be in control and Debt / Equity for the quarter was at 0.35:1. We will continue to pursue profitable growth.

The results of the current year include the financial performance of Foundry Division.

Enactus Team of PU Awarded with Prize Money

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Enactus team of SSBUICET, Panjab University, Chandigarh bagged 2nd position nationally in the prestigious Enactus Mahindra Competition 2017-18 grant. The teams have been awarded prize money of Rs. 1.5 lakhs and grant money of Rs. 50000/- for its ongoing project “Unnati”, conveyed Prof. Seema Kapoor, Faculty Advisor of the team.

The team is presently working on two projects UNNATI and SAMBHAV targeting the unemployed youth and those at the bottom of the pyramid. Under project UNNATI, a total of 97 students coming from five different villages adopted by Panjab University under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan have successfully completed mobile handset repairing and computer hardware training. They have also cleared the government led test for the same and have been awarded the certificate approved by NSDC. Till now around 20 of them have already been employed in various sectors with a monthly income ranging from ₹8000 to ₹12000. The team is proud to announce that out of those placed, the majority is women.

In the near future, the team plans to create several entrepreneurs and increase the
reach of the project as told by team president, Taranpreet Singh. The team feels honored and privileged to receive a platform by Enactus India and its President Farhan Pettiwala to serve the people and develop business skills side by side said Sheryl Sarna, Vice- President of Enactus SSBUICET.

Delhi smog: ASSOCHAM Sends SOS to Govt. Seeking Innovative Solutions

By Tricitynews Reporter

Chandigarh 08^th November:- Expressing anxiety over the dangerously unhealthy air quality levels in the National Capital Region (NCR), apex industry body ASSOCHAM today urged the Centre and governments of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh (UP) to establish a clear strategy for aggressively tackling air pollution.

Different ministries, departments as well as universities, research institutions and organizations alike must come together and also engage top-tier professionals to chart out a systematic, clear timetable and roadmap for tackling air pollution and curbing its causes thereby improving Delhi’s air quality,” said ASSOCHAM in a SOS message sent to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) along with government of Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and UP.

ASSOCHAM secretary general, D.S. Rawat, said that Delhi is facing an emergency situation but there is hardly any intention or commitment seen to address the problem as such innovative solutions like using mist cannons, creating a special force to check construction activities, vehicular pollution, rubbish burning and other factors is the need of the hour.

 He shared further that increasing air pollution can take a toll on the urban economy by cutting short life span of people thereby increasing healthcare costs to the government, drive away top executives and talented people to other cities with better air quality thereby negatively affecting Delhi’s ability to attract highly-skilled expatriates, severely impact inflow of investments and hit sectors like tourism, hospitality, outdoor recreation and other.

D.S. Rawat added that promoting use of more efficient and less polluting energy sources, restricting growing number of vehicles and stringent enforcement of pollution laws will help in smooth transition to a more environment-friendly economy in the long-term.

The ASSOCHAM’s secretary general further said that cooperation across various fields is a must to achieve more targeted measures in reducing air pollution.