CEAMA facilitates Mr. Kwon of LG Electronics India for winning the “Man of Electronics” award

CEAMA facilitates Mr. Kwon of LG Electronics India for winning the “Man of Electronics” award

(L-R) Mr. Soon Kwon, MD, LG India, Mr. R S Sharma, IAS, Secretary DeitY, Mr. Mohammad Azharuddin, former Indian cricketer and ex Member of Parliament,  Mr. Anirudh Dhoot, Director, Videocon at CEAMA’s Felicitation Dinner organised in New Delhi

Delhi, February 18^th, 2015: Mr. Anirudh Dhoot, Immediate Past President, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association (CEAMA) felicitated Mr. Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd for winning the “Man of Electronics” award, 2014 in addition to his outstanding contribution towards the Consumer Electronics & Home Appliances sector. CEAMA welcomed Mr. Manish Sharma for taking over as the new President, and the newly elected executive committee of 2014-15.

Present on the occasion were Shri Mohan Kundariya, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri R. S Sharma, Secretary, DeitY, Mr. Prasun Joshi, Mohammad Azharuddin, Mr. K.S Raman, Past President, CEAMA, Mr. Manish Sharma, President CEAMA and Managing Director, Panasonic India, Mr. Anirudh Dhoot, Immediate Past President, CEAMA and other prominent industry leaders.

Shri Mohan Kundariya, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Agriculture and the Chief Guest for the occasion congratulated Mr. Soon Kwon for winning the Man of Electronics Award – 2014 and said that India has the potential to develop and manufacture electronics hardware for the global markets and gain higher global share besides meeting country’s future requirement. Advancements in the electronics sector also contribute in strengthening country’s Agricultural sector. The way forward for electronics industry is a healthy relationship between the Govt. & the industry to put India in a strong and dominant position in the global electronics map.

Mr. Soon Kwon, Managing Director, LG Electronics India Pvt. Ltd said that he was honored to receive the “Man of Electronics Award” – 2014, he further quoted that with the manufacturing pitch coming directly from the PM, reflects the direction in which he wants to take the country. This will strengthen India’s global footprint, manufacturing and investments in the country.

Mr. Anirudh Dhoot, Immediate Past President, CEAMA and Director of Videocon industries on the occasion highlighted the achievements of CEAMA during the last year, he said that consumer Electronic segment is one of the sectors which plays a major role in raising the GDP of the country and providing ample opportunities to the people in terms of job creation and improving quality of life.

He highlighted the efforts made by CEAMA to convince the Government on several issues like

1. Reduction in Custom Duty on LCD/LED TV Panels of less than 19’’ from 10% to 0%

2. Reduction in Custom Duty of all sizes of CPT from 10% to Nil

3. Exempting basic Custom Duty from the inputs required for manufacturing of LCD/LED TV Panels.

4. Classification of Set Top Boxes as Telecom Equipment Network

5. Reductions in the Excise Duty, from 12% to 10% on products, inputs and parts.

6. Imposition of 36% duty on bringing LCD/LED TVs as accompanied baggage.

He added that CEAMA has been helping members in resolving their issues with Central and State Governments, to facilitate manufacturing in the country.

He congratulated Mr. Manish Sharma, for taking over as the new President of CEAMA and welcomed the newly elected committee for 2014 -15.

Mr. Manish Sharma, President, CEAMA and Managing Director, Panasonic India congratulated Mr. Soon Kwon for winning the ‘Man of Electronics Award- 2014’ and thanked the Executive Committee of CEAMA for providing him the opportunity to lead the growth trajectory of CEAMA and assured that he will work towards sustainable growth of the industry. He further applauded the efforts made during the tenure of Mr. Anirudh Dhoot.

INDIAN FELICITATED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HONOUR OF PRINCE’S PRIZE 2015

INDIAN FELICITATED WITH THE INTERNATIONAL HONOUR OF

PRINCE’S PRIZE 2015

NEW DELHI, 19^thFebruary, 2015: YUVA Unstoppable, a non-profit organization founded by Mr. Amitabh Shah, was accredited with the honour of 2015 Prince's Prize for Innovative Philanthropy at the Yacht Club de Monaco on the republic day 26^th Jan’ 2015. YUVA Unstoppable, based in Ahmedabad, aims to inspire kindness amongst the youth by encouraging them to volunteer for two hours a week towards a cause of their choice at their convenient best.

YUVA volunteers and its partner corporations improve school infrastructure, spread digital literacy, and create traffic awareness and cleanliness campaigns across the country. Started as a small group of enthusiastic individuals, in the last nine years they have mobilized over 120,000 young people across 30 cities to give 2 hours a week, benefitting more than 240,000 children. With a vision of spreading smiles and kindness for the welfare of the less privileged, Yuva Unstoppable inspires every youth to spare sometime of their life towards serving others, spreading happiness and extending love to all.

Receiving this honor was a moment of pride for the country. The team had to compete with the two remarkable organizations also working towards the betterment of the world – Seacology that protects islands and has been accredited to have worked with more than 200 villages on 151 islands in 53 countries, helping to protect more than one million acres of some of the world’s most vulnerable ecosystems; and Mr. Jack Ma from Alibaba (The wealthiest man of China) who has contributed much of his per­sonal wealth into the creation of one of Asia’s largest philanthropic trusts.

Delighted to accept the award, Mr. Amitabh Shah, Founder, YUVA Unstoppable said “When I first thought of incepting YUVA, I just had a noble thought in mind to help the less privileged. With the immense support of a fabulous and like-minded team and numerous volunteers and their commendable efforts, it is a proud moment for us that YUVA is today being acknowledged with an international honour.  I dedicate this award to people of India, to 120000 volunteers who have empowered less privileged children, to 240000 children who gave us an opportunity to spread kindness, to Yale University from where a colleague nominated me, all the top corporates and celebrities who pushed us forward.  We believe in the power of youth and I urge every Indian to contribute 2 hours in a week towards any act of kindness and I am sure together, we will bring revolution of Kindness across the country.”

HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco highlighted that “YUVA Unstoppable’s commitment to mobilize young people to stand up and play an active role in poverty reduction is inspiring. Their innovative approach to social change through digital education programmes and cross-sector partnerships demonstrates the importance of collaboration between civil society, industry and governments to achieve sustainable models of development”.

Jean-Guillaume de Tocqueville Founder, Tocqueville Foundation said, “We were particularly impressed with the work of YUVA Unstoppable and the leadership of Amitabh Shah for their innovative approach to addressing the needs of the most vulnerable of the Indian population and their leadership-training program for underprivileged children to try and reach a sustainable improvement of their conditions. Their approach through cross-sector partnerships demonstrates the importance of collaboration between civil society, industry and governments to achieve sustainable models of development.

In addition to the work Amitabh is doing, we recognized immediately his strong ability to inspire others and hope that this recognition will allow YUVA to continue to grow and inspire others across India. We very much appreciated that he defines himself as Chief Inspiration Officer because he inspires kindness. He embodies what Gandhi is known for saying, ‘Be the change that you wish to see in the world.’ Having had the opportunity to meet and get to know Amitabh at the Prince’s Roundtable in January, I am even more impressed with him as an individual, and we are incredibly proud for him to act as an ambassador for the Prince’s Prize.”

YUVA has gained immense support from communities across the globe.  Apart from corporates like Adani, Microsoft, Torrent, Intel, Riddhi Siddhi, Kotak, Binani, HDFC Gruh, Ratnamani, The Grand Bhagwati, Coca-Cola, KPMG, Amul and many others; dignitaries such as Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Actor Amitabh Bachchan, Director R Balki, Actor Varun Dhawan, Athlete PT Usha, Former President of India Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Chief Minister of Gujarat Anandiben Patel, Author Chetan Bhagat, Actor Varun Dhawan, Cricketers Irfan Pathan, VVS Laxman, Anil Kumble, Spiritual leader Deepak Chopra have participated either by inspiring volunteers, providing resources, coming to grassroots or to help evolve strategies to spread kindness.  With there support we shall continue to take the 2 hours a week concept nationally.

TOURISM MINISTRY LAUNCHES HolidayIQ’s OFFLINE MOBILE GUIDE FOR 1300 INDIAN DESTINATIONS

TOURISM MINISTRY LAUNCHES HolidayIQ’s

OFFLINE MOBILE GUIDE FOR 1300 INDIAN DESTINATIONS

·         Next-Gen app to make travel navigation possible without internet

·         Largest database of travel information available offline

New Delhi, Feb 18, 2015: HolidayIQ, India’s largest holiday information portal powered by a thriving Indian traveller community, today announced the launch of the ‘Offline mobile guide’ for over 1300 Indian destinations. Each destination guide will contain details on hotels, sightseeing options, etc, allowing the user to download and access traveller reviews and maps for on-the-go access, even while offline.  The offline guide was launched by Dr. Lalit K Panwar, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, as part of the initiative to promote tourism in the country.

Launching HolidayIQ’s offline mobile guide, Dr. Lalit K Panwar, Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, said, “This is a well thought-through innovation by HolidayIQ, aiming to offer travel and tourism information in the offline mode for over 1300+ destinations in the country. It is a commendable effort by the HolidayIQ team to provide access to a large database of travel information, in the offline mode. We are glad that this is in line with the government’s high priority to promote tourism and travel in the country. As the tourism infrastructure gets stronger, we see more and more people wanting to travel within the country.”

HolidayIQ’s offline mobile guide answers the five key questions before each holiday - where to go, how to reach, where to stay, what to do and where to book. The offline feature offers the largest repository of travel information – 37,000+ hotels, 50,000+ sightseeing options across 1300+ destinations, which includes resorts, homestays, serviced apartments, tented camps etc for each destination.

Commenting on the innovation, Hari Nair, Founder & CEO, HolidayIQ, said, “HolidayIQ.com provides highly customized rich information and insights on places, hotels, sightseeing and transport made uniquely relevant, what we call the ‘science of holidays’. We take pride in enabling travellers to discover, plan holidays and share holiday experiences. HolidayIQ’s online travel app received tremendous response within a couple of days after it was launched in October 2014, and it was also trending at the Play store. However, our constant battle within our team was to provide access to this large database of information on-the-go, where internet accessibility is the biggest challenge. Thus, the launch of the offline feature, with a native-mobile experience.”

“With issues of internet connectivity during travel, especially when travelling in rural pockets of the country, jungles, desserts, hilly areas etc, the offline guides will certainly prove to be every traveller’s boon. We have touched 98,306 mobile downloads of the HolidayIQ app so far, and are undoubtedly certain that this offline feature will be an added impetus to every traveller search”, added Nair.

Reviews, photographs, maps to find accommodation, etc have all been mapped and included in the guide, which also allows users to compare prices across 15+ travel agencies along with contact details, so at the click of a button one can reach-out to the preferred choice of accommodation.  It’s not rocket science but close enough!

About HolidayIQ.com:

HolidayIQ is India's largest travel community with over 30 lakh members from 80+ Indian cities and is India's first holiday planning website powered entirely by reviews, photos, videos and other advice generated from these Indian travellers. Currently, around 50 lakh Indian travellers plan their vacations on HolidayIQ.com every month of which 50% activity is through mobile.

HolidayIQ.com is a VC-backed company (invested in by Tiger Global & Accel Partners) operationally headquartered in Bangalore, India.

HolidayIQ.com lists over 2000 tourism destinations & 50,000+ accommodation options (hotels, resorts, home-stays, jungle camps & serviced apartments) in India. All of which are bookable through over 1600 partnerships with leading online travel agencies like Makemytrip, Yatra and Expedia & offline players such as Thomas Cook, SOTC, etc.

HolidayIQ.com is not a travel agency, nor is it partially or fully owned by any travel agency, hotel chain or any other travel industry player. Therefore HolidayIQ.com is fully independent and can provide travellers with truthful information not affected by any requirements to sell specific travel products.