Friday, March 11, 2011

Tsunami Earthquake In Tokyo Japan News Mar-11-2011




Earthquake Strikes Japan; Tsunami Destroys Buildings. An 8.9-magnitude earthquake, the world’s strongest in more than six years, struck the coast of Japan, causing a tsunami as high as 10 meters that inundated towns north of Tokyo.

One person was killed and many people are missing or injured across northern Japan, national broadcaster NHK Television said. Airports were closed and bullet train services suspended. More than 4 million homes are without power, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said.

The quake struck at 2:46 p.m. local time 130 kilometers (81 miles) off the coast of Sendai, north of Tokyo, at a depth of 24 kilometers, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was followed by a 7.1-magnitude aftershock at 4:25 p.m., the agency said.

NHK showed images of people getting medical treatment in northern Japan and footage of a tsunami sweeping buildings across farmland as far as 1.5 kilometers inland. Ships were smashed into harbor walls and cars were washed away.

“I call on citizens to act calmly. Especially those who are near a beach, please evacuate to higher ground to avoid the tsunami,” Prime Minister Naoto Kan said after convening an emergency response team. “The Self-Defense Forces are already mobilized in various places.”

The Japanese yen was little changed at 82.76 at 4:54 p.m. The Nikkei 225 Average fell after the quake and closed 1.7 percent down. Japanese government bonds rose sending the yield on the 10-year security down 2.5 basis points to 1.27 percent.






Army to Help

Kan ordered the army to aid rescue efforts after the quake, which struck 373 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

Today’s temblor was the biggest since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a tsunami off northern Sumatra, Indonesia in December 2004 that left about 220,000 people dead or missing in 12 countries around the Indian Ocean.

A 6.9-magnitude earthquake in Kobe, western Japan, killed more than 6,000 people in 1995, while the 7.9-magnitude Great Kanto Quake of 1923 destroyed 576,262 structures and killed an estimated 140,000.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts for more than 20 countries including the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The Japan Meteorological Agency is warning of further aftershocks and told people to avoid coastal areas and evacuate to higher ground, according to an official at a press conference in Tokyo shown on NHK. Aftershocks continued through to 5 p.m. Japan time.

Airports Shut

The airport in Sendai, a city of 1 million people 310 kilometers north of Tokyo, was flooded by the tsunami, according to NHK footage. Tokyo’s Narita airport shut down, Kyodo News reported. Haneda, the capital’s other main airport, also closed, NHK said.

East Japan Railway Co., the nation’s largest train operator, suspended operations of trains in the Tokyo area along with its bullet train operations, according to its website. Tokyo Metro Co., the capital’s largest subway operator, said on its website it stopped trains, forcing commuters to line up for taxis.

Latest Earthquake - Information Of Earthquake




An earthquake is a trembling or shaking movement of the Earth's surface. Earthquakes typically result from the movement of faults, quasi-planar zones of deformation within its uppermost layers. The word earthquake is also widely used to indicate the source region itself. The solid earth is in slow but constant motion (see plate tectonics) and earthquakes occur where the resulting stress exceeds the capacity of Earth materials to support it. This condition is most often found at (and the resulting frequent occurrence of earthquakes is used to define) the boundaries of the tectonic plates into which the Earth's lithosphere can be divided. Events that occur at plate boundaries are called interplate earthquakes; the less frequent events that occur in the interior of the lithospheric plates are called intraplate earthquakes.
Earthquakes occur every day on Earth, but the vast majority of them are minor and cause no damage. Large earthquakes can cause serious destruction and massive loss of life via a variety of agents of damage including fault rupture, vibratory ground motion (i.e., shaking), inundation (e.g., tsunami, seiche, dam failure), various kinds of permanent ground failure (e.g. liquefaction, landslide), and fire or hazardous materials release. In a particular earthquake, any of these agents of damage can dominate, and historically each has caused major damage and great loss of life, but for most earthquakes shaking is the dominant and most widespread cause of damage.

Most large earthquakes are accompanied by other, smaller ones, known as foreshocks when they occur before the principal or mainshock and aftershocks when they occur following it. The source of an earthquake is distributed over a significant area -- in the case of the very largest earthquakes, in excess of a thousand kilometres -- but it is usually possible to identify a point from which the earthquake waves appear to emanate. That point is called its "focus" and usually proves to be the point at which fault rupture was initiated. The position of the focus is known as the "hypocentre" and the location on the surface directly above it is the "epicenter." Earthquakes, especially those that occur beneath sea- or ocean-covered areas, can give rise to tsunamis, either as a direct result of the deformation of the sea bed due to the earthquake, or as a result of submarine landslips or "slides" indirectly triggered by it.

In the 1930s, a California seismologist named Charles F. Richter devised a simple numerical scale (which he called the magnitude) to describe the relative sizes of earthquakes, which has come to be called the Richter scale. Since Richter, seismologists have developed a number of magnitude scales. Most of the scales in use in the Western world are mutually consistent to a sufficient extent that the term "Richter scale" is routinely used in reporting these numbers to the public. Other scales (and other ways of describing the size of earthquakes) are used in some non-Western countries, and by earthquake specialists. The press sometimes mistakenly reports such values as "Richter magnitude", and this has given rise to public confusion.

Earthquake effects are described in terms of Intensity, a scale which attempts to quantify the severity of shaking at a given location. A number of intensity scales are in use, and there is a significant degree of consistency amongst them. The best known is the Mercalli (or Modified Mercalli, MM) scale, but the more consistent and analytical European Macroseismic Scale (EMS) is now increasingly widely used.


A double decker freeway, the top deck has collapsed onto the lower deck

Interstate 880 in Oakland, California following the Loma Prieta earthquake, ca. 1989
Some earthquakes are caused by the movement of magma in volcanoes, and such quakes can be an early warning of volcanic eruptions. A rare few earthquakes have been associated with the build-up of large masses of water behind dams, such as the Kariba Dam in Zambia, Africa, and with the injection or extraction of fluids from the Earth's crust (Rocky Mountain Arsenal). Such earthquakes occur because the strength of the Earth's crust can be modified by fluid pressure. Finally, earthquakes (in a broad sense) can also result from the detonation of explosives. Thus Western scientists have been able to monitor, using the tools of seismology, nuclear weapons tests performed by governments that were not disclosing information on these tests along normal channels.

Earthquake Rocks China



Beijing: The death toll in an earthquake that toppled houses and damaged a hotel and supermarket in China's extreme southwest has risen to 24. More than 200 others were injured.
State media is reporting that witnesses reported seeing people buried under debris from buildings damaged by the quake near the border with Myanmar.
State broadcaster China Central Television said the quake hit while many people, including students, were home for a customary midday rest.

The website of the Chinese government earthquake monitoring station said the magnitude-5.8 quake struck just before 1 p.m. (0500 GMT) Thursday at a depth of six miles (10 kilometers). The US Geological Survey measured the quake at a magnitude of 5.4 and at a deeper 21 miles (35 kilometers).
CCTV reported that about 100 armed police, firefighters and soldiers were using three excavators to try to rescue a man and a girl trapped inside a four-story building that had partially collapsed.
He Shuhui, head of an armed police squad, was quoted as saying they were trapped in a stairway on the ground floor of the building.
Another official on duty at the center, Gao Shaotang, said many houses had been toppled. Xinhua said the army was sending 400 soldiers to the site for rescue efforts.
The epicenter was in Shiming Village, just over a mile (kilometer) from the county seat, but triggered a power outage across Yingjiang, which has a population of about 300,000 people, Xinhua said.
The mountainous area lies 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) southwest of Beijing, close to the border with Myanmar, and is home to many ethnic groups on both sides of the border, which sees heavy traffic in people and goods.
Xinhua said the quake-prone region has been hit by more than 1,000 minor tremors over the past two months.
The Myanmar Meteorological Department released a statement saying a quake had hit some 230 miles (370 kilometers) northeast of Mandalay, the country's second-largest city.
The statement did not mention injuries, damage or the specific area of Myanmar most affected by the quake. Authorities in the tightly ruled country tend not to immediately discuss the effects of natural disasters.
Much of the area on the Myanmar side been under the control of various armed ethnic groups, who have battled the Myanmar military to remain free from central government control.

Earthquake News - Earthquake Today




Earthquakes cause tremors inside the earth that can be felt by humans most of the times. However, not always an earthquake may be noticeable to us, except the sensitive seismological devices that monitor the range and intensity of these quakes. Approximately 500,000 earthquakes happen round the year and of these, only 100,000 are felt by humans and yet just 100 cause any sort of damage. One of the most active earthquake zones is South California that witnesses around 10,000 earthquakes annually and majority of them are not felt.

Earthquakes have a potential to cause wide range destruction. For example, the greatest ever earthquake was in Chile with the magnitude of 9.5. However, the deadliest earthquake to be in records was in China on 23rd Jan 1556 that took lives of approximately 830,000. Another thing about these quakes is movements inside the earth crust. Since the tectonic plates are moving, it is causing various unimaginable things. Like, San Francisco is getting closer to LA by 2 inches annually. So, it can be seen that the two cities would meet eventually, even if the time period is about in million years.

Another such incident is reported to have happened in Feb 2010 in Chile. A city moved 10 feet towards the West because of an earthquake of magnitude 8.8. The level of disaster can be very high. One of the best recent examples is Indian Ocean earthquake that happened in 2004 and caused enormous Tsunamis and killed more than 230,000 people in over 14 countries. The impact was one of the worst in present times and the also, the duration of this quake was the longest of earthquakes every observed.

How Earthquakes Work




An earthquake is one of the most terrifying phenomena that nature can whip up. We generally think of the ground we stand on as "rock-solid" and completely stable. An earthquake can shatter that perception instantly, and often with extreme violence.

Up until relatively recently, scientists only had unsubstantiated guesses as to what actually caused earthquakes. Even today there is still a certain amount of mystery surrounding them, but scientists have a much clearer understanding.

There has been enormous progress in the past century: Scientists have identified the forces that cause earthquakes, and developed technology that can tell us an earthquake's magnitude and origin. The next hurdle is to find a way of predicting earthquakes, so they don't catch people by surprise.

In this article, we'll find out what causes earthquakes, and we'll also find out why they can have such a devastating effect on us.

volcanic eruptions
meteor impacts
underground explosions (an underground nuclear test, for example)
collapsing structures (such as a collapsing mine)
But the majority of naturally-occurring earthquakes are caused by movements of the earth's plates, as we'll see in the next section.

China Recent Earthquakes Threatens Nearby Dams, Environment




The extensive damage done to dams by the earthquake, some have speculated, may lead the government to strengthen its review process for dam building. Meanwhile, concerns that dams may be responsible for seismic activity, persist. See this LA Times story.

A "quake lake," formed by a dam caused by a landslide, has led to the relocation of thousands, who fear that a burst would destroy their crops and their homes. Soldiers with heavy machinery are trying to divert the water.

The human impact of China's most devastating natural disaster in three decades, which is estimated to have claimed at least 12,000 lives, may not be fully known for weeks. Thankfully, no damage has been reported at the Three Gorges Dam, the world's largest, situated some 700 km east of the epicenter (map here). If the quake had affected the dam, the human toll would be even harder to imagine.

The dam sits above some 15 million people (some of whom are already suffering from soil erosion that can lead to landslides). Last September, government officials joined the dam's critics in raising the alarm about potential dangers, among them that the dam itself could trigger quakes as it sits near a number of fault lines. A burst at the Three Gorges, says engineer Philip Bosshard, former president of the San Francisco-based International Rivers Network, would “rank as one of history’s worst man-made disasters.”

The Three Gorges may be fine, but near Dujiangyan, where some of the greatest loss of life occurred, a number of dams and the surrounding areas are at risk.
While there is no official word yet on the status of those dams, a friend, who met today with researcher-activist Yu Xiaogang, said that at least one of the dams near Dujiangyan has likely cracked. Update: 2000 soldiers have been sent to repair "extremely dangerous" cracks in a dam upstream of Dujiangyan, which "would be swamped" if the dam were breached. The NYT reports that 400 dams have been damaged.

According to Xinhua, Sichuan officials said on Tuesday that "cracks had appeared on the surface of the dam at the Zipingpu [reservoir] and workshops collapsed, while all hydropower generators came to a halt." A command center has been set up at Zipingpu to safely discharge the reservoir's rising waters and ensure that the damage posed no threat to Dujiangyan and the neighboring Chengdu Plain.

Also, from Reuters: "Upstream on the Min river is an important reservoir called Tulong which is already imperilled. If the danger intensifies, this could affect some power stations downstream," He Biao, deputy party chief of Aba prefecture, told reporters. "This is an extremely dangerous situation."

Peter Hessler reminds us at the New Yorker that the damage could have been much worse had an enormous dam project nearby not been canceled in 2003, amidst concerns by the local seismological bureau and complaints of local citizens.End update

Also slightly damaged is a different kind of earth-changing project: the stunning, 2000 year old Dujiangyan Irrigation System, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is the world's oldest and only surviving no-dam irrigation system. This could put a very large area of agricultural land at risk. (Also damaged in the city of Shifang were two chemical plants, burying 100 workers and causing a leak of liquid ammonia. The epicenter of the quake was near the world famous Wolong Panda Reserve, but the pandas are reportedly safe.)
Though modern dams, like nuclear reactors, are built to higher earthquake standards than most buildings, standards are not met or cannot always be met in rural China. The town of Dujiangyan has learned this tragically: 900 children were trapped beneath a collapsed school building built just 10 years ago, while older buildings nearby remained standing.

Even if the building had been built to earthquake standards, that may not have been enough: ranking a 10 or 11 on the Mercalli intensity scale, the quake exceeded expectations for local seismic activity by a third.

Though Monday's disastrous earthquake was a result of tectonic collision, there are fears that the Three Gorges Dam could trigger earthquakes on its own. Its reservoir sits on two major faults, which can be aggravated by changes in water level, and recently relocated residents have reported landslides, mudslides and ominous cracks in the ground. According to a March 2008 article in Scientific American by Mara Hvistendahl,
Engineers in China blame dams for at least 19 earthquakes over the past five decades, ranging from small tremors to one near Guangdong province's Xinfengjiang Dam in 1962 that registered magnitude 6.1 on the Richter scale—severe enough to topple houses.

Surveys show that the Three Gorges region may be next. Chinese Academy of Engineering scholar Li Wangping reports on the CTGPC's Web site that the area registered 822 tremors in the seven months after the September 2006 reservoir-level increase.

Meanwhile, upstream from the Three Gorges along the Jinsha river, a section of the Yangtze, at least a dozen new dams are being built in order to alleviate sedimentation caused by the Three Gorges reservoir. They too lie in the same seismic region as Monday's earthquake. As a geologist told the Guardian in 2003 of the area, "The Jinsha has bad geological conditions, and there is a more severe seismic area upriver from Xiangjiaba [the site of the furthest downstream of the four dams]." Near this site dam projects "should not be encouraged," he said.
A side note: the response to this earthquake reminds us again that tides are shifting in China, as they must, towards more transparency and government responsiveness. The response by citizens illustrates just how powerful and important the internet can be in a country where information is often scarce. And the reaction by government officials like premier Wen Jiabao, who is also a trained geologist, points to growing concerns about how the government responds to natural and man-made environmental disasters.

To donate to the Chinese Red Cross, go here or check out The Beijinger for more options.

Get warned Of An Earthquakes Right In The Nick Of Time




A new device developed in Japan, called the EQGuard Home Earthquake Alarm System, gives you a warning 20 seconds before an earthquake hits. That should give you plenty of time to hide under your desk, say some prayers, and poop your pants.

The EQGuard works by connecting to Japan's government Meteorological Agency, JAMA, which monitors seismic activity. The agency is also planning to work on sending alerts out over the internet, via email, and even via text message, getting as many people warned as possible when an earthquake is about to strike. Kind of makes you glad you don't live in Japan, no? — Adam Frucci

Earthquake Information In Japan




The earthquake struck the mountainous plateau that separates Qinghai province from Tibet, one of China’s poorest regions.

A series of aftershocks collapsed houses, schools and offices in the ethnic Tibetan county of Yushu, leaving survivors without shelter in freezing conditions. The Qinghai plateau sits around 9,800 feet above sea level, on average.

The situation of several villages higher up in the mountains is still unknown, and roads and communications have been cut.

The foothills to the south and east of the affected area are home to mostly nomadic herdsmen, while the area to the north and west is desolate and sparsely populated.

In Jyeku, the county capital, around 300 people had been killed, according to Huang Limin, the deputy secretary-general of the local government. The People’s Liberation Army has been dispatched to help the rescue efforts.

Zhuohuaxia, a local government spokesman, told the Xinhua state news agency, “I see injured people everywhere. The biggest problem now is that we lack tents, we lack medical equipment, medicine and medical workers,”.

He said more than 85 per cent of houses had collapsed.The official said, “There is a big crack in the Yushu Hotel, the four-storey meeting hall of the prefecture government has collapsed,” .

He added, At least part of a vocational school had also collapsed and “a lot of students are buried underneath,” .

The quake was centred 150 miles north of Qamdo in Tibet and 235 miles south of the mining town of Golmud in Qinghai, and had a depth of 6.2 miles according to the United States Geological Service.

A 6.2 magnitude quake rattled Golmud in August last year, triggering landslides and the collapse of about 30 homes, but there were no reports of casualties.

A magnitude 8 quake in May 2008 in neighbouring Sichuan province devastated a huge area of South Western China, leaving at least 87,000 people dead or missing.

Huge Tsunami Hits Japan After Massive Earthquake In Japan




TOKYO: The biggest earthquake to hit Japan in 140 years struck the northeast coast on Friday, triggering a 10-metre tsunami that swept away everything in its path, including houses, cars and farm buildings on fire, media and witnesses said.

The death toll from the earthquake has reached 19, press reports said. The dead included a 67-year-old man crushed by a wall and an elderly woman killed by a fallen roof, both in the wider Tokyo area, press reports said.

Three were crushed to death when their houses collapsed in Ibaraki prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.

The National Police Agency, charged with compiling nationwide data on natural disasters, could not immediately confirm the figures.

"The damage is so enormous that it will take us much time to gather data," an official at the agency said.

In Fukushima prefecture, four million homes were without power. The 8.9 magnitude quake caused many injuries, public broadcaster NHK said, sparked fires and the wall of water, prompting warnings to people to move to higher ground in coastal areas. ( Japan nuclear plants shut after quake )

The Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia all issued tsunami alerts, reviving memories of the giant tsunami which struck Asia in 2004. The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued alerts for countries as far away as Colombia and Peru. ( US widens tsunami warning to most of Pacific )

There were several strong aftershocks. In the capital Tokyo, buildings shook violently. An oil refinery near Tokyo was on fire, with dozens of storage tanks under threat.

"I was terrified and I'm still frightened," said Hidekatsu Hata, 36, manager of a Chinese noodle restaurant in Tokyo's Akasaka area. "I've never experienced such a big quake before."

TV pictures showed the tsunami carrying the debris and fires across a large swathe of coastal farmland near the city of Sendai, which has a population of one million. The pictures suggested the death toll was going to rise.

NHK showed flames and black smoke billowing from a building in Odaiba, a Tokyo suburb, and bullet trains to the north of the country were halted.

Black smoke was also pouring out of an industrial area in Yokohama's Isogo area. TV footage showed boats, cars and trucks floating in water after a small tsunami hit the town of Kamaichi in northern Japan. An overpass, location unknown, appeared to have collapsed into the water.

Kyodo news agency said there were reports of fires in Sendai where waves carried cars across the runway at the airport.

The western prefecture of Wakayama ordered 20,000 people to evacuate after further tsunami warnings.

The building shook for what seemed a long time and many people in the newsroom grabbed their helmets and some got under their desks," Reuters correspondent Linda Sieg said in Tokyo. "It was probably the worst I have felt since I came to Japan more than 20 years ago."

GREAT KANTO QUAKE The quake was the biggest in 140 years. It surpasses the Great Kanto quake of Sept. 1, 1923, which killed more than 140,000 people in the Tokyo area. Seismologists had said another such quake could strike the city any time.

The 1995 Kobe quake caused $100 billion in damage and was the most expensive natural disaster in history. Economic damage from the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was estimated at about $10 billion.

The Tokyo stock market extended losses after the quake. The central bank said it would do everything to ensure financial stability.

Passengers on a subway line in Tokyo screamed and grabbed other passengers' hands during the quake. The shaking was so bad it was hard to stand, said Reuters reporter Mariko Katsumura.

Hundreds of office workers and shoppers spilled into Hitotsugi street, a shopping street in Akasaka in downtown Tokyo.

Household goods ranging from toilet paper to clingfilm were flung into the street from outdoor shelves in front of a drugstore.

Crowds gathered in front of televisions in a shop next to the drugstore for details. After the shaking from the first quake subsided, crowds were watching and pointing to construction cranes on an office building up the street with voices saying, "They're still shaking!", "Are they going to fall?"

Asagi Machida, 27, a web designer in Tokyo, sprinted from a coffee shop when the quake hit.

"The images from the New Zealand earthquake are still fresh in my mind so I was really scared. I couldn't believe such a big earthquake was happening in Tokyo."

The U.S. Geological Survey earlier verified a magnitude of 7.9 at a depth of 15.1 miles and located the quake 81 miles east of Sendai, on the main island of Honshu. It later upgraded it to 8.9.

A police car drove down Hitotsugi Street, lights flashing, announcing through a bullhorn that there was still a danger of shaking.

Japan's northeast Pacific coast, called Sanriku, has suffered from quakes and tsunamis in the past and a 7.2 quake struck on Wednesday. In 1933, a magnitude 8.1 quake in the area killed more than 3,000 people. Last year fishing facilities were damaged after by a tsunami caused by a strong tremor in Chile. ( Major tsunamis in the world )

Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.

Friday, February 25, 2011

Kitara Capital Invests Rs 78 Cr In Tvs Asl

CHENNAI: TVS Automobile Solutions (TVS ASL), a group company of industrial conglomerate, TVS Group, has announced the investment of Kitara Capital, a Muscat-based firm in the company. Kitara Capital has invested about Rs 78 crore for a minority stake in TVS ASL.
As per as reports, TVS ASL will take over the business of multi-brand car services that was earlier provided by group entity, My TVS. My TVS was operated through two verticals — MyTVS 24X7 Emergency Road Assistance and MyTVS All Car Service.
Mr R Dinesh, TVS & Sons Joint MD and TVS ASL director, said, “This is the second group company to have attracted PE investment.”
Earlier in 2008, the first group company to attract $25 million (Rs 100 crore) private equity was TVS-Logistics from Goldman Sachs. TVS ASL will seek to establish a strong partnerships with vehicle and parts manufacturers.

Pvr To Foray Overseas Market Soon

MUMBAI: PVR Cinemas is on a lookout for potential options in order to extend its existing portfolio in overseas operations. The company has planned to roll out special theatres based on management contracts in order to accomplish the same.
Post this expansion, PVR Cinemas would become the second Indian media and entertainment player to make its international presence felt in overseas markets. The first one to do the same is Big Cinemas by Anil Ambani that already has its theatres working in United States as well as Malaysia.
"We will be present in at least 27 cities by the end of this fiscal. By then, we will have around 242-screens. The new additions this year would be cities like Kolkata, Howrah Ranchi and Patna," said, Pramod Arora, President, PVR Group. At present, the company already has access to as many as 142 screens across 18 cities all over India, which is soon to be followed by 80-100 more screens as a part of their expansion.

Crisil Upgrades Credit Ratings Of Vip Industries

MUMBAI: The rating agency Crisil has reviewed and upgraded the Bank loan ratings of the VIP Industries Ltd.
The agency has upgraded the rating to A+/Stable from A-/Stable (a two notch improvement) for cash credit facilities & term loan and to P1 from P2+ for short term loan.
VIP Industries Limited engages in the manufacture and sale of luggage products and accessories in India and internationally. It provides travel products, hard and soft-sided luggage, bags, backpacks, duffels, shoulder bags, waist pouches, sling bags, duffel trolleys, vanity cases, office bags and satchels, suitcases, and briefcases.
The company offers its products primarily under the VIP, Carlton, Delsey, Footloose, Alfa, Aristocrat, Skybags, and Buddy brands. It also manufactures molded furniture under the Moderna brand.

Crisil Keeps 'Aa+/Stable' Rating On Birla Corporation

KOLKATA: Rating agency Crisil, has reaffirmed the "AA+/Stable" (pronounced "double A plus with stable outlook") rating Birla Corporation Ltd, the flagship of the MP Birla empire.
The rating indicates high degree of safety with regard to timely payment of interest and principal on the instrument.
The rating has been assigned to the proposed issue of long term non-convertible debenture programme of up to Rs. 500 crore of the company.
Birla Corporation Limited, together with its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the manufacture and sale of cement. The company’s Cement division offers various cements, such as ordinary portland cement, 43 and 53 grades, portland pozzolana cement, fly ash – based PPC, low alkali portland cement, portland slag cement, low heat cement, and sulphate resistant cement under the Birla Cement SAMRAT, Birla Cement KHAJURAHO, Birla Cement CHETAK, Birla Cement, and Birla Premium Cement names.

Inventum Bags Best Stall Award In Kolkata Cable Tv Show

KOLKATA: Inventum has won the best stall award in the single category at the three day Cable TV Show 2011 held here. The major cable operators,traders, manufacturers,channel partners,distributors and multi-system operators participated in the show from across India,Bangladesh,Bhutan and Nepal.
Inventum, a provider of Bandwidth Management and Billing solutions, has displayed its UNIFY SMP, MSG Gateways and MSC Controller range of solutions.
More than 10,000 cable operators, traders, manufacturers, channel partners, distributors, broadcasters and multi-system operators (MSOs) had participated in the show. A special demo room at the Cable TV Show 2011 showcased the evolution of cable TV in India from the black and white era to the current 3D technology.

India Can Become Milk Importer: Economic Survey

NEW DELHI: The city-based Ansal Properties & Infrastructure, has entered into a joint venture with Real estate private equity firm Red Fort Capital for the expansion of a residential township in Gurgaon.
According to the statement issued by Red Fort, the company will pump in Rs 200 crore in the project.
Beside expansion, the JV will develop an additional 108-acre township project adjacent to Ansal’s existing 112-acre Esencia township project in Gurgaon.
In June, 2010, Ansal Properties has raised Rs 58 crore ($12 million) through a preferential allotment to a string of high net worth individuals besides financial services firm Enam Investment Services.
Ansal Properties & Infrastructure Limited operates as a realty business. It develops integrated townships, and mixed-use and stand alone developments in residential, commercial, retail, and hospitality segments, as well as engineering SEZs, IT/ITES, and industrial parks.

Shortage Would Be Resolved Soon: Chandrasekaran

CHENNAI: M Chandrasekaran, Director, ISM, Tamil Nadu, has issued a statement in context with the chaos in state hospitals on account of supply shortage of medicines, stating that certain effective measures are taken in effect, and the problem would soon be resolved in the next few months..
The Director further revealed that he paid a visit himself to a number of hospitals across the state in order to make sure that the requirements for medicines are met properly. In addition, he is even in talks about few plans which would transform the current ISM into a modern centre of Indian medicines.
However, he said the process would take some time and a solution would be eventually provided for the concern issue well in time. “We will not delay anything from our end. But we have to comply with the rules and regulations of Ayush department,” said, Chandrasekaran. On the other hand, the health department of the state is suffering from acute shortage off late, leading the need for Secretary to look into the concern matter and issue a statement.