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Tag: Calcutta

  • Greenply redefines ‘Sarbojanin’ this Durga Puja

    Greenply redefines ‘Sarbojanin’ this Durga Puja

    MUMBAI: Greenply Foundation wants the Kolkatans to sit back and take notice of its thought-provoking initiative this Durga Puja season aimed to make the celebrations accessible for all.
    Over the years, with the evolution of lifestyle, we have witnessed the transformation of the way Durga Puja is celebrated in Calcutta. While generations have amalgamated themselves into the revelries in whichever form it has been offered to them, the question which however arises is ‘Has the festival been able to make room for all over the years?’ Greenply wishes to bring forth a different perspective.

    The festival of Durga Puja that set forth in Calcutta sometime between the 16th and 17th centuries has gone on to become an integral part of a Bengali’s ethnic identity. Initially a property confined to the mighty and affluent zamindars of the state, with the conception of the ‘Sarbojanin’ puja it became an affair to be rejoiced by the common people as well. Sarbojanin was coined by blending two words which individually stand for “for all” (Sarbo) and “people” (Jan) respectively. The nomenclature signifies that the festival is an all-inclusive affair that people from all backgrounds should be able to take part in. But has the concept been justified?
    In a video spanning two very insightful minutes, Greenply takes the viewfinder around the city and captures what might be an eye opener for Durga Puja committees in and around Kolkata, irrespective of the grandeur it commands. The video features four citizens who may have been deprived of going out and soaking in the festivities due to physical limitations. While some are seen recollecting their younger days when they were not bound by limitations, some mention that since they are differently-abled, they have only ever been able to take part in Durga Puja through their television sets.

    These statements are followed by a message from Greenply which says that they have come up with the idea of a simple ramp made of plywood that will make the pandals a little more accessible, a little more wheelchair friendly. The structure which will be known as The Green Ramp will start its success journey by making the pandal of Badamtala Ashar Sangha a wheelchair-friendly pandal
    Further, to encourage more Pujo committees to follow in their footsteps, Greenply is inviting them to upload pictures of their pandals on social media (Facebook and Instagram) with the message: ‘Name of the Puja’ needs a ramp accompanied by the hashtag #pujoforall. Greenply will promptly send their plywood to build a ramp for their pandal. Pujo committees which have already planned the construction of ramps can upload a photo of their premises with the message: ‘Name of Puja’ has a ramp, accompanied by #pujoforall. Based on the information, a map with Ramp-enabled pujos will be published as a Social Media post by Greenply.
    This will help people who’ve been unable to visit pandals discover Pujos they can have access to for a hassle-free pandal hopping experience.

    Greenply AVP and head of marketing Kamal K Mishra says, “This flip side of the festival has moved Greenply to turn things around for the people who share a similar fate with the ones we have featured in the video. Greenply aspires to be much ahead of ‘No. 1 plywood manufacturing company’. We have had our ways of giving back to the community over the years. This was the least we could do considering the sentiments of the residents of Kolkata towards the festival. I am certain that pandals across the city will share our empathy and compassion towards the cause. Hopefully, they will welcome this initiative and take it ahead for years to come.”

  • IIM Calcutta Alumni innovate Mobile Marketing and Outdoor Advertising

    IIM Calcutta Alumni innovate Mobile Marketing and Outdoor Advertising

    MUMBAI: Management graduates from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Neeraj Sharda and Sudhanshu Goyal have joined hands to launch two unique initiatives as part of their broad vision of transforming the offline advertising market. Their first solution is Chikoop which is an audio mobile marketing solution for all phones. Their second initiative is 8Hoarding is a revolutionary venture leading the much desired change in the way outdoor advertising industry work in India. It leverages big data intelligence, sophisticated mathematical models and inputs of advertising veterans to help brands select the right outdoor media for their campaigns.

    “Indian businesses are adopting the online way of doing things and rightly so, but in a country like ours one cannot really discard the offline ways so early. They still hold the key to success given we leverage the power of technology and big data analytics to make them smarter”, says Neeraj- Co-founder and CSO at the venture.

    The venture has many awards and recognitions in its name including Hot Pitch Kolkata award from the prestigious startup network TiECON, among top 40 globally in Rice University b-plan competition, among top teams in Tata Social Enterprise Challenge and multiple international competitions conducted by IIMCalcutta.

    “There are two ways to launch a successful venture: delivering MVP with focus on quick initial traction or work out the product in detail before looking to grow. We chose the second path as we see hundreds of startups everyday making debut with a weak offering and fading away in a short span of time. We believe that more than the early mover’s advantage, it is about delivering a masterpiece which users fall in love with”, Sudhanshu, Co-founder and CEO at the venture elaborates.

    Sudhanshu Goyal who is also an IIM Caclutta graduate of 2015 batch has already served as CEO of a prominent manufacturing firm in steel industry. He joined his family business struggling against Global Recession of 2008, after dropping out from a premier Institute to help his father and led its turnaround at an early age of 18. “The contrasting backgrounds of me and Neeraj led to long and aggressive debates nights after nights during product conceptualization but now we realize that it has helped create a sophisticated offering as both of us approach things from two different angles and then converge to an understanding with the virtues of both”, says Sudhanshu.

    “We raised an angel fund previously for product development and building initial traction and our team has strived hard for last 15 months to deliver a perfect product for our customers. Now that we have achieved this first milestone, we are in discussion to raise a seed fund from able investor(s) to take this to the next level,” says Neeraj who handles investor relations,” Pre-seed and seed stage investment ecosystem in India is still not mature and being a venture which is betting against the popular trend, you will surely face difficulty but your conviction about the idea and external validation from initial customers is enough to drive you to succeed.”

    Sudhanshu points out,” This is just the beginning. We have identified a number of opportunities in offline marketing, each having a highly attractive market. We are ambitious and have sketched out a long-run roadmap to address them.”

  • IIM Calcutta Alumni innovate Mobile Marketing and Outdoor Advertising

    IIM Calcutta Alumni innovate Mobile Marketing and Outdoor Advertising

    MUMBAI: Management graduates from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Neeraj Sharda and Sudhanshu Goyal have joined hands to launch two unique initiatives as part of their broad vision of transforming the offline advertising market. Their first solution is Chikoop which is an audio mobile marketing solution for all phones. Their second initiative is 8Hoarding is a revolutionary venture leading the much desired change in the way outdoor advertising industry work in India. It leverages big data intelligence, sophisticated mathematical models and inputs of advertising veterans to help brands select the right outdoor media for their campaigns.

    “Indian businesses are adopting the online way of doing things and rightly so, but in a country like ours one cannot really discard the offline ways so early. They still hold the key to success given we leverage the power of technology and big data analytics to make them smarter”, says Neeraj- Co-founder and CSO at the venture.

    The venture has many awards and recognitions in its name including Hot Pitch Kolkata award from the prestigious startup network TiECON, among top 40 globally in Rice University b-plan competition, among top teams in Tata Social Enterprise Challenge and multiple international competitions conducted by IIMCalcutta.

    “There are two ways to launch a successful venture: delivering MVP with focus on quick initial traction or work out the product in detail before looking to grow. We chose the second path as we see hundreds of startups everyday making debut with a weak offering and fading away in a short span of time. We believe that more than the early mover’s advantage, it is about delivering a masterpiece which users fall in love with”, Sudhanshu, Co-founder and CEO at the venture elaborates.

    Sudhanshu Goyal who is also an IIM Caclutta graduate of 2015 batch has already served as CEO of a prominent manufacturing firm in steel industry. He joined his family business struggling against Global Recession of 2008, after dropping out from a premier Institute to help his father and led its turnaround at an early age of 18. “The contrasting backgrounds of me and Neeraj led to long and aggressive debates nights after nights during product conceptualization but now we realize that it has helped create a sophisticated offering as both of us approach things from two different angles and then converge to an understanding with the virtues of both”, says Sudhanshu.

    “We raised an angel fund previously for product development and building initial traction and our team has strived hard for last 15 months to deliver a perfect product for our customers. Now that we have achieved this first milestone, we are in discussion to raise a seed fund from able investor(s) to take this to the next level,” says Neeraj who handles investor relations,” Pre-seed and seed stage investment ecosystem in India is still not mature and being a venture which is betting against the popular trend, you will surely face difficulty but your conviction about the idea and external validation from initial customers is enough to drive you to succeed.”

    Sudhanshu points out,” This is just the beginning. We have identified a number of opportunities in offline marketing, each having a highly attractive market. We are ambitious and have sketched out a long-run roadmap to address them.”

  • Catvision reappoints SA Abbas as managing director

    Catvision reappoints SA Abbas as managing director

    MUMBAI: Catvision Ltd has re-appointed S A Abbas as the managing director of the company for an additional period of three years with the effect from 1 October, 2015.

     

    Abbas, who is also a director in the company, has been with Catvision since 8 June, 1985.  He has 30 years of experience including more than 25 years in the cable TV industry.

     

    Before joining Catvision, he worked with Network Ltd. in its marketing department, where he was closely associated with the sales and marketing of electronic typewriters and subscriber-use telecom equipment from 1980 -1985.

     

    He is professionally qualified technocrat and holds B.Tech from IIT Kanpur and MBA from IIM, Calcutta.

  • Calcutta HC extends Digicable Comm’s interim stay by eight weeks

    Calcutta HC extends Digicable Comm’s interim stay by eight weeks

    KOLKATA: Granting relief to Digicable Comm, the Calcutta High Court has extended the interim stay by eight weeks.

    “Today, our matter was listed in Court No. 8 of the High Court under Justice Nadira Patheria with regards to Digicable Comm’s DAS licence for Kolkata and Howrah. The Court has allowed further extension of interim stay by eight weeks,” said Digicable Comm Services VP-operations & technology Lokesh Agarwal.

    Earlier also, the Calcutta High Court had put a stay order on the cancellation of the registration of the Kolkata-based multi-system operator (MSO) till 28 November, saying “Digicable Comm which has been in business for quite some time would suffer irreparable loss and injury, unless appropriate ad-interim protection is granted to them.”

    While the extension has been granted, the MSO is yet to get clarity on whether the extension, that is eight weeks, in this case, would be calculated from 28 November 2014 or 17 November 2014.
    If Digicable Comm is given eight weeks starting 17 November, then the interim extension will be till 17 January 2015.

    It should be noted that in July, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) had cancelled the registration of Digicable Comm Services.

    Digicable Comm, a joint venture between Digicable (51 per cent) and Kolkata-headquartered Multicar Group (49 per cent) was formed in the year 2009, to gain foothold in the West Bengal market.
    Digicable Comm is hopeful that after appealing to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and moving to the High Court, the decision would be in its favour. “We are happy to get the stay order extended from the High Court,” added Agarwal.

    It should be noted that MHA cancelled the company’s permanent registration on 18 July due to denial of security clearance.

    Digicable Com which once had more than four lakh connections in the KM Area is left with around 25,000 set top boxes (STBs). “We will follow the mandates. We are hopeful that the authorities would consider the minute details presented by us,” concluded Agarwal.
     

     

  • Star India’s sports push

    Star India’s sports push

    KOLKATA: In a bid to expand its footprint beyond film, Star India’s Bengali movie channel, Jalsha, has acquired exclusive broadcast rights of two football events: the Calcutta Football League (CFL) and IFA Shield Tournament.

    The CFL, which enjoys the distinction of being the oldest football league in Asia, will be broadcast live on Jalsha Movies starting 8 September, 4:00 pm onward. The upcoming season of the prestigious IFA tourney too will be aired with the aim of ushering a new era in Bengal’s much loved sport.

    When contacted, business head Jalsha Movies Kevin Vaz confirmed the news and added, “The acquisition of broadcast rights of CFL and IFA Shield is a step towards ensuring an even more engaging relationship with our viewers. We are excited to partner with IFA in making CFL a bigger extravaganza and we will bring in expertise from our sports channels to create a state-of-the-art product.”

    While on the subject of sports, highly placed industry sources told this correspondent that Star India plans to launch a Bengali sports channel.

    “Star India is looking forward to working with sports authorities and boards, and making local Bengali sports like swimming, hockey and football popular,” a source revealed.

    Apparently, Star India is looking to expand beyond cricket into sports such as hockey and kabaddi, and producing sports programming in regional languages is part of the plan. “The channels’ focus on sporting activities clearly indicates that Star India is betting on this segment for growth,” pointed out the source.

    A sports analyst observed, “Star India aims to make sports the new religion, looking at the fact that there are 650 million cricket-crazed consumers in India. Knowing this, the entertainment channel has earmarked a huge investment in sports.”
    The shows will be marketed through a multi-media campaign with effective use of television, print, out of home and digital. The marketing campaign is focused on innovations as it will help in creating the required noise in the markets and also establish the shows.