Volume 56
:::: IN THIS ISSUE ::::

OUR INITIATIVES
  • Seminar on "Lean and Six Sigma Manufacturing Principles"

KNOW YOUR CLUSTER

  • CHANDERI - The Handloom Weaving Cluster
INFORMATION SHARING CORNER
  • Brand and Brand Management
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT-ISSUES AND POLICIES
  • Cluster development boosts food processing sector
  • ADB Maps Out a New Development Approach for Inclusive Economic Growth in Asia; Cluster Economic Development Framework
  • Rural programs help Albertans connect and diversify
  • Match clusters to the rescue of TN cottage units
  • Federal Funding to Support Innovative Clusters
  • Need of more PPPs in Indian agriculture sector
  • Orissa must focus on new age industries - ASSOCHAM

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT ISSUES

  • Fox Energy Specialists Is Recognized With a 2010 ENERGY STAR(R) Leadership in Housing Award
  • Emission-Cutting Plans Approved for U.S., Canadian Coasts
  • Budget's Green Investment Bank widely welcomed, but with reservations
  • Coal India plants itself out of mining
  • RP breaks Earth Hour world record

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES (ICTs)

  • Software Colloquim debates ICT skills crisis
  • India will have world's most educated people by 2030: Sibal
  • ICT a must for SMEs
  • ICT key ingredient to economic development, says Lumbama

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPR)

  • Training cum awareness Programme on "Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers Right"
  • Cochin University of Science and Technology CUSAT to join OSDD programme
  • GI status must be awarded to products that are unique
  • 'IPR is tool for wealth creation'
  • NID & Office of IPR host awareness programme

MICRO, SMALL & MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMEs)

  • No separate ore pricing policy for sponge iron
  • ADB to provide $300 million to help develop Indian MSMEs
  • DBP eyes better lending program for MSMEs
  • FTA regime to open up opportunities for MSMEs
  • 'Namkeen Park' coming up in Indore
  • Govt should give tax sops to MSMEs for investment in ICT: CII
  • Govt. promoting traditional business in MSME sector
  • Orissa Government to form MSME Ministry soon

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

  • Gears Motors And Controls Expo 2010
  • India International Mega Trade Fair Bhubaneshwar
  • IGMATEX Exhibition
  • fMM&T India 2010
- EDITORIAL SUPPORT -

• Minakshi Mehra

• B P Singh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
 
CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT - ISSUES & POLICIES

::: IN FOCUS :::
Cluster development boosts food processing sector                                                 (Covered by Finanacial Express)

Leena Gokhale, having worked with the IT sector in the India and abroad for more than a decade, is busy supervising these days the packing of Amla Herbal Tea at the small manufacturing plant located at Kanjale village, about 40 km from Pune city. It all began in 2007, when Leena who had a history of acidity problem decided to venture into the manufacture of the caffeine-free Amla tea which helps in dealing with the ailment.

"We had no idea about agriculture," Leena admitted candidly. She got the idea of Amla tea from her mother-in-law, who uses herbal medicines for treating common ailments. However, with plenty of Amla available in and around Kanjale village, Leena and her ex-colleague Sandeep Pathak decided to buy about three acres of land in the village about three years back.

With the investment of around Rs 30 lakh, mostly from the personal savings of both Leena and Sandeep, their company Healthy Habits has recently started to supply Amla teabags to a mall in Pune. The duo has employed five people for manufacturing herbal tea and sourcing raw material. Their plan is to introduce more natural products in the market in the coming years. more

ADB Maps Out a New Development Approach for Inclusive Economic Growth in Asia; Cluster Economic Development Framework :-
...............................................................................
Making Asia's sprawling urban areas more sustainable, competitive and environmentally friendly is the focus of an Asian Development Bank (ADB)-organized conference that began in Manila on 26th Feb 2010.. more

Rural programs help Albertans connect and diversify:-
...............................................................................
Two Government of Alberta programs continue to help rural communities create business opportunities and access high-speed broadband services. more...

Match clusters to the rescue of TN cottage units :-
...............................................................................
An holistic cluster development initiative taken up for the first time by the Centre and Tamil Nadu Government with the support of Indian Overseas Bank and industry association has kindled hopes of survival for thousands of cottage match units in southern part of Tamil Nadu. more...

Federal Funding to Support Innovative Clusters :-
...............................................................................
The Cabinet is planning to stimulate the development of innovative clusters, which are groups of linked enterprises concentrated in a single territory. more...

Need of more PPPs in Indian agriculture sector :-
...............................................................................
At the 'Public Private Partnerships in Food Industry' workshop conducted at Food Forum India, '10, earlier in the day A K Krishna Kumar, COO & Head Agro & Rural Business, IL&FS Cluster Development Initiative Limited, said that, while India's drive to develop infrastructure had attracted 60 percent of the nation's PPP investment, the agricultural sector only drew 2 per cent of total PPP investment. more...

Orissa must focus on new age industries - ASSOCHAM :-
...............................................................................
Citing lack of new age industries in Orissa, the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India called upon the Orissa government to focus on the development of IT, real estate and service sectors. more...

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT ISSUES

Fox Energy Specialists Is Recognized With a 2010 ENERGY STAR(R) Leadership in Housing Award :-
...............................................................................
Fox Energy Specialists earns award for verifying energy efficiency in new homes, helping to save both the environment and utility bills. more

Emission-Cutting Plans Approved for U.S., Canadian Coasts :-
...............................................................................
The International Maritime Organization today finalized plans that would subject ships within a 230-mile buffer zone around the U.S. and Canadian coastlines to stricter air pollution regulations. more...

Budget's Green Investment Bank widely welcomed, but with reservations :-
...............................................................................
The Budget announcement of a £2 billion Green Investment Bank has been welcomed by a wide range of organisations with an interest in the development of a low carbon economy. more...

Coal India plants itself out of mining :-
...............................................................................
In a twist in Coal India Ltd's tale, the state-run firm's afforestation drive has turned into a roadblock for its plans to open up new mines in several states. The areas afforested by the company have developed such good green cover that the environment ministry has declared them out of bounds for mining operations. more...

RP breaks Earth Hour world record :-
...............................................................................
As part of the 'Earth Hour', a voluntary lightsout gesture to promote environmental awareness, in Our Lady of Remedies Church in Malate, Manila.
For the second consecutive year, the Philippines broke the Earth Hour world record in terms of participation, with 1,076 towns and cities joining the 60-minute light off to save Mother Earth Saturday night. more...

INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Software Colloquim debates ICT skills crisis :-
...............................................................................
South Africans need to gain more exposure, communication and coordination between industry players to overcome the ICT skills crisis, agreed delegates who attended the CITi Software
Engineering Colloquium.The Third Software Engineering Colloquim, convened by the Cape IT Initiative (CITi) and the IEEE South Africa Chapter on 16 March 2010 in Cape Town, focused on in-depth research on the ICT skills crisis in the country. more

India will have world's most educated people by 2030: Sibal :-
...............................................................................
Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal has said that India will have the most educated people by 2030, thereby stressing on the use of technology to spread education to dispossessed areas of the country. more...

ICT a must for SMEs :-
...............................................................................
Although information and communication technology (ICT) has been a buzzword for many businesses for quite a while, this does not exactly hold true for most small and medium enterprises (SMEs). more

ICT key ingredient to economic development, says Lumbama :-
...............................................................................
The Kerala government in collaboration with Intel Saturday launched a regional version of the Skoool Learning and Teaching Technologies educational website -- an online platform to help teachers and students learn key concepts in mathematics and science. more

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS (IPRs)

Training cum awareness Programme on "Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers Right" :-
...............................................................................
The Intellectual Property Right (IPR) Cell, AAU in collaboration with Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Nagaon and Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Shillongani, organized a day long training cum awareness programme on "Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers Right Act 2001" on 18th March, 2010. The Programme was sponsored by Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers Rights Authority, Govt. of India, New Delhi. In the Inaugural function, Dr. Khargeswar Bhuyan, noted educationist and Principal, Nowgong College attended as Chief Guest. more

Cochin University of Science and Technology CUSAT to join OSDD programme :-
...............................................................................
The Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) will soon become a part of the Team India consortium for the Open Source Drug Discovery(OSDD) programme of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The OSDD programme aims at developing modern medicines at cheaper rates and developing newer solutions for diagnosing diseases like TB which are responsible for more than 1,000 deaths a day in India. more

GI status must be awarded to products that are unique :-
...............................................................................
The Agriculture Education and Research minister Rajpal Tyagi said that scientists and experts of Intellectual Property Rights should assist.   more...

'IPR is tool for wealth creation' :-
...............................................................................
The Uttar Pradesh government has advocated preparing a blueprint of not only creating awareness towards Intellectual Property Rights (IPR), but also wealth creation by the stakeholders. "There is an urgent need to facilitate dialogue process towards exchanging of valuable information and developments to not protect IPR, but reaping economic benefits of the enormous biodiversity and agriculture resources in UP," said state Agriculture Education and Research Minister Raj Pal Tyagi. more..

NID & Office of IPR host awareness programme :-
...............................................................................
In an effort to bring the intellectual property rights (IPR) and design a step closer, the National Institute of Design (NID) hosted a one-day awareness programme on 'Industrial Design Registration and Protection'.
The programme was jointly organised by NID and office of the Controller General Patents, Designs and Trademarks, Government of India. The event took place on March 13th 2010, at the India Habitat Center, Lodhi Road, New Delhi. more..

MICRO, SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES (MSMEs)

No separate ore pricing policy for sponge iron :-
...............................................................................
The State Government today made it clear to the sponge iron manufacturers that grant of mining lease to their units is not permissible under present policy but it will consider their demand if they come through the cluster development programme of the Ministry of Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). more

ADB to provide $300 million to help develop Indian MSMEs :-
...............................................................................
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will lend $ 300-million to help India develop its micro, small and medium enterprises, the bank said in a release here. more...

DBP eyes better lending program for MSMEs :-
...............................................................................
The Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) will soon be introducing an enhanced lending program for micro and small enterprises.   more...

FTA regime to open up opportunities for MSMEs :-
...............................................................................
With the Indian economy back on high growth track and industrial output and exports picking up, the country will try to hasten the process.   more...

'Namkeen Park' coming up in Indore :-
...............................................................................
A Central government institute is setting up country's first ever 'Namkeen Park' in Indore, known for its traditional salty products the world over.   more...

Govt should give tax sops to MSMEs for investment in ICT: CII :-
...............................................................................
Industry chamber CII on Sunday sought tax concessions for the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector to encourage them for investing in information and communication technology to enhance competitiveness.   more...

Govt. promoting traditional business in MSME sector :-
...............................................................................
The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is promoting traditional business under Prime Minister's Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).   more...

Orissa Government to form MSME Ministry soon :-
...............................................................................
The proposed separate MSME Ministry, which would exclusively focus on the problems of the MSME sector and work for the growth of it, will come into reality soon. After the direction from the Chief Minister a committee headed by the Chief Secretary has already been formed which will submit its report within next 3 months.   more...

FORTHCOMING EVENTS

  • Gears Motors And Controls Expo 2010 | more |
  • India International Mega Trade Fair Bhubaneshwar | more |
  • IGMATEX Exhibition | more |
  • fMM&T India 2010 | more |


    		•
     
    :::: OUR INITIATIVES ::::

    Seminar on "Lean and Six Sigma Manufacturing Principles"

    Seminar on Lean and Six Sigma Manufacturing Principles

    A seminar was organized to provide information to Tirupur Knitwear Cluster regarding Lean and Six Sigma Principles at TEA ERC Hall on March 2, 2010. These are modern production techniques adopted by various multinational companies all over the world to improve quality and to reduce cost, to stay competitive in today's highly competitive market environment. The seminar highlighted the following areas:

    • Doing right things at the first time without rework and rejection
    • Exactly delivering the goods to customers' specification with least stock without too much of logistics and handling.
    • Reducing the variation within the specification
    • Analysing the past performance and fixing the target for further improvement.

    Prof. A Rajagopal, Executive In-charge for SQC & OR Unit of Indian Statistical Institute, Coimbatore, introduced various tools in Lean and Six Sigma Principles as "Keys" towards achieving better control over production to ensure quality and profitability by reducing - Reworks, Repair, Rejection etc.

     
    :::: KNOW YOUR CLUSTER ::::
    CHANDERI - The Handloom Weaving Cluster
    Chanderi a small town of approximately 30,000 people, situated between the low and humble hills of Vindhyachal range has a rich tradition called Chanderi saris - a product intricately woven by hand interspersed with the delicacy of the extra weft motifs that has for times immemorial satisfied the refined tastes of the royalty. An art unrivalled in its skills today faces the threat of extinction due to machine made substitutes and cheap imitations, which are wedging their way into the modern consuming society.

    Over the last centuries Chanderi has evolved as a centre for excellence for weaving gold embellished fabrics mainly, saris, for the erstwhile royalty and elite. Chanderi has been originally producing three kinds of fabric:

    1. Pure silk - where the warp as well as the weft is woven in 13/15 denier silk.

    2. Chanderi cotton - where the warp and weft are 100s or 120s cotton.

    3. Silk cotton - the weavers deftly combine 13/15-denier warp with 100s/120s cotton in the weft.

    The figured effects are produced with the help of an extra weft design, which is a special feature of Chanderi. Initially zari was used for the figured motifs.

    Approximately 3659 looms are established at Chanderi and among these 1145 looms are working in the Cooperative sector. Approximate annual production is around Rs. 15 crores while number of persons directly employed are10977. Women are engaged in the weaving industry in a major way even though their contribution is either unpaid or poorly paid for the ancillary activities if performed by her outside the family weaving. It is estimated that about 25% of the weavers are women.

    The Core Cluster Actors consists of Traders, Master Weavers, Weavers, Warpers, Designers, Dyers and Yarn Suppliers. The raw material is purchased by the Master Weaver from the yarn dealers who in turn get the silk from Karnataka. The silk yarn used is largely imported Chinese or Korean silk. The cotton yarn is procured from places like Coimbatore in southern India and Jaipur, and is usually pre-dyed. The yarn dealers of cotton often get customized colors dyed as per the requirements. More than 90% of the production is marketed to different parts of India and less then 10 % to foreign countries. A negligible proportion is sold to Chanderi tourists.

    Some of the strengths of Chanderi cluster are its historical lineage & its nomination as a heritage town, rich resource of weaving, dyeing and design skills, brand name and marketing and readiness of the new generation to enter this trade. While some of weaknesses are lack of water and road infrastructure, absence of social security, dearth of capital investment in the industry and unsystematic dyeing process being adopted by many creates a bad Product-Image. Also weaver is socially, financially and marketwise backward and vulnerable and hence prevents innovation. In addition to this the industry is not well linked to the global markets and fashion dynamics.

    The keenness of women and new generation to learn and progress and innovation and development of an export market of apparel fabric & furnishings are some of the opportunities for Chanderi cluster. Amenability of the product for diversification according to fashion dynamics will lead to market expansion. Major threat experienced by cluster is Competition from power loom and Varanasi products.
     
    :::: INFO CORNER ::::
    Brand and Brand Management

    Brand is a name, sign, symbol, slogan or anything that is used to identify and distinguish a specific product, service, or business. Brand management is the application of marketing techniques to a specific product, product line, or brand. It seeks to increase the product's perceived value to the customer and thereby increase brand franchise and brand equity. Marketers see a brand as an implied promise that the level of quality people have come to expect from a brand will continue with future purchases of the same product. This may increase sales by making a comparison with competing products more favorable. It may also enable the manufacturer to charge more for the product. The value of the brand is determined by the amount of profit it generates for the manufacturer.

    		 

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