Spice Announces India’s First Firefox Smartphone

Spice Retail Limited has taken the lead in democratizing the handset category through an ultra low cost phone, the country’s first Firefox OS powered smartphone, Spice Fire One Mi – FX 1. Priced at an unbelievable price of Rs,2,299, Spice Fire One is purely targeted to the nearly 90 per cent of the feature phone users wanting to switch to smartphones. The device is aimed at the masses that are looking for a larger than life phone statement but are deterred due to price sensitivity.

Commenting on the launch, Prashant Bindal, Chief Executive Officer, Spice Mobility Ltd, said, “This is a step towards enabling the dreams of the small town masses of connecting with their aspirations through affordable smartphones. With the ultra-low cost Spice Fire One, we at Spice, aim to convert the feature phone users into smartphone users."

Dr. Li Gong, President of Mozilla Corporation, said, “Just one year after the first Firefox OS device launched, Firefox OS smartphone is now available in 17 countries across Europe, Asia and Latin America. Our partnership with SPICE will be an exciting Firefox OS launch in India. Having one more strong partner as SPICE, we are confident that Firefox OS devices will realize a whole new category of smartphones with affordable price. Furthermore, we can ensure every user to enjoy the power of Web”.

Increase in FAR Ratio
What can be seen as a move to woo voters, Haryana Cabinet clears a proposal to increase FAR ratio for residential colonies. In NCR areas of Haryana, floor area ratio for residential colonies may be increased from 175 to 300.The Haryana government claims this will be an encouraging step for generating revenue needed for extension of metro corridors in upcoming areas.

The move for better financing for the mass rapid transit system (MRTS) will gradually reduce the dependence on private vehicles and induce public transport use through easy public transport access.

"Now a day's buyer's preference largely depends upon the enhanced connectivity, walking distance from the residing area. This scheme will result in densification of the particular area thus resulting in push for demand for the local housing projects". Ajay Singal, Director Avalon Group.
 
Next Education Embarks On New Journey
Next Education, India’s leading source of technology-backed K-12 solutions forays into trainings for teachers, Students, Parents and Principals of schools of all boards. It is also the empanelled agency of CBSE for providing mandatory the trainings for the schools under its affiliation.

The training is divided into two categories; one for the CBSE board schools and the other is the customized programme for all boards. The first category has subject specific training program/competence building for teachers, CCE & CBSE's Initiatives for Teachers, Classroom Management for Teachers and Communication Strategies for Students. The second category has "Nurturing Creativity"- The Creative Classrooms, "Showcase your portfolio"- Academic Quality Management & Documentation, Emotionally Intelligent Classrooms, and Leadership Infinite- for Students, Collaborative Classrooms, Train the teacher- The Parent, Character Building & Value systems and SQAA Awareness.

All the training programmes by Next Education are designed, crafted, mentored and conducted by the leading academicians in the country. These training programs are very effective and unique with features like demonstration method, interaction approach and experimential learning methodology.

Shaadi.com Hosts 30 Mn Users With Rackspace
Rackspace, the Managed Cloud company, on Friday (22 August) announced Shaadi.com, the world’s largest matrimonial website is using Rackspace dedicated hosting. Based in India, Shaadi.com manages over 200 million page views per month and over 10,000 registrations daily.

Beginning with one Rackspace server in 1998, Shaadi.com has grown exponentially since its initial deployment. Sixteen years ago, Shaadi.com saw an opportunity to build the world’s largest online matrimonial site and create an online experience that would match and heighten the traditional dating experience in India.

“When starting out as an online startup, it was critical that we found a technology partner that allowed us to keep IT costs to a minimum, while also providing the right IT infrastructure to meet our growing needs,” said Anand Mittal, COO & director, Shaadi.com. “We needed to find a partner that could help us build a premium online experience for our customers – one that could accommodate millions of customers and scale as demand grew.”

Boosting Business With Adobe Creative Cloud
Adobe on Friday announced that MPS Limited, a global leader in high-quality publishing solutions, has subscribed to Adobe Creative Cloud and Adobe Acrobat to enhance  their capabilities in digital publishing, interactive learning and multimedia, and creative design. This Enterprise Term Licensing Agreement will provide all MPS offices and departments in India with expanded access to the software.

As a leading publishing company that covers every stage of the author-to-reader publishing process, MPS has implemented Adobe’s latest Acrobat solutions and products like Adobe InDesign CC to enrich existing workflows, increase productivity and leverage multi-screen platforms.

Commenting on the strategic deal, Umang Bedi, Managing Director South Asia, Adobe said, “Publishing is a dynamic industry and increasingly relies on newer technologies and better processes to deliver high-quality content faster. MPS has been using Adobe Creative Cloud to drive critical initiatives like workflow transformation and multi-screen presence for increased productivity and better consumer experience which is helping to fuel their business growth.”

More Than 100 Mn Production SoCs Shipped
Synopsys, a global leader providing software, IP and services used to accelerate innovation in chips and electronic systems, today announced that its DesignWare®USB 3.0 Controller and PHYIP has shipped in more than 100 million production system-on-chips (SoCs) used in mobile computing, digital home and cloud computing applications such as smartphones, tablets, set-top boxes, digital TVs, gaming systems and servers.More than sixty companies have successfully integrated silicon-proven DesignWare USB 3.0 IP into their products’SoCs, including SoCs in the MicrosoftXBOX One. This broad usage demonstrates the quality of the IP and howSynopsys enables rapid adoption of the standard. To help ensure interoperability and lower designers’ integration risk,the DesignWare USB 3.0 solution has been certified by the USB-IF through USB compliance testing inplugfests andby third-party labs.

International Realty Brand Debuts in India
Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC announced it has signed an exclusive agreement to develop the Sotheby's International Realty® brand in India with the opening of North India Sotheby's International Realty.

Amit Burman, Vice Chairman, Dabur, has been appointed as the Honorary Chairman of the firm, which is led by Amit Goyal, co-owner and Chief Executive Officer, together with co-owners Ashwin Chadha and Ankit Tyagi, who will serve as President and Chief Operating Officer respectively. The team will look into the luxury residential real estate market throughout Northern India. The team boasts of several decades of collective experience in the Indian market ranging from real estate advisory to wealth management.

The first office will begin operations in September 2014 in New Delhi followed by Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh and Jaipur. "India is one of the most exciting, beautiful and fastest growing markets in the world, with a developing luxury real estate market," said Philip White, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sotheby's International Realty Affiliates LLC.  "Expansion into India was one of our core objectives for this year, and I am proud to welcome Goyal and his team to our global network." Dr Paul Boldy, Managing Director of the Asia Pacific region for the Brand, shall be working closely with the India team to set up the business successfully in the region.

IPE Global Acquires Triple Line Consulting Limited
IPE Global, an Indian origin group with focus on international development sector, has acquired a UK based international development-consulting firm, Triple Line Consulting Limited. The acquisition will expand the group’s footprint in the development sector to over 100 countries globally with offices across Africa, Asia and Europe.

Triple Line, established in 1999, provides valuable technical expertise to improve life in poor and developing countries. Triple Line’s diverse, international staff and strong network of consultants are experts in monitoring and evaluation, grant management, private sector development, governance, social development, gender and inclusion. Triple Line works with clients such as DFID, the European Commission, the World Bank, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, EURASIA Foundation, Comic Relief, SIDA, AusAID (DFAT), Korean Development Agency, NGOs such as VSO and FERN as well as some private clients. Triple Line is headquartered in London and has implemented over 350 projects in over 70.

Rajesh Padmanabhan Appointed As President
Rajesh Padmanabhan, a senior HR executive is recently appointed as the Vedanta Group’s President and Group Chief Human Resource Officer. Rajesh has over 29 years of experience in corporate banking, leasing, structured finance and global human resources. He joins from Capgemini where he was Corporate Vice President & CHRO. His experience spans over IT, Manufacturing, Hospitality & Financial Services and represents several industry bodies and international forums. He is a member of the National board of NHRDN. Padmanabhan is academically a Double Masters degree in Human Resources and Finance from the University of Mumbai.