The Kudumbasree’s ‘Food on Wheels’ wagon in Kozhikode city. / Photo: K. Ragesh / The Hindu
Within a fortnight, office goers in Kozhikode will have food courts coming to them during lunch hours.
‘Food on Wheels’, a prestigious project of the Gender Park, taken up by Kudumbasree CDS of Kozhikode Municipal Corporation as a pilot project, will hit the streets by the end of the month.
“Unlike in Kochi, or even Thiruvananthapuram to some extend, there aren’t any eateries around major offices in Kozhikode. ‘Food on Wheels’ will have home-made food delivered at major points in the city”, said V. Ramsy Ismail, Kudumbasree Project Officer of the Corporation.
The recent micro entrepreneurship expo of Kudumbasree had proven that there were quite a few units that provided food and catering services.
The ‘Food on Wheels’ was designed especially for them. The food is taken around in an autorickshaw specially designed for the project. It has a covered van openable on three sides, with counters and cabins inside for each category of food.
The units will have four members each.
They will serve food items such as rice, biryani, kappa-meenkari, snacks, tea, coffee and other traditional food items. A highlight of the system is that the food is cooked following stringent safety standards.
The project is also part of the ‘Eat street’ project envisaged by Minister for Social Justice and Panchayats M.K. Muneer.
A unit costs from Rs.6 to 7 lakh, half of which will be subsidised and the rest will be built on loans. At present, around 30 units have applied to be part of the project. But only one will be launched in the beginning.
“Let us see how it works and then go for more numbers”, Mr. Ismail said.
In the beginning, the units themselves will prepare the food. But eventually, the plan is to construct a centralised kitchen that supplies food for the units who will then take it around the city and serve wherever needed.
Apart from serving lunch at offices, the ‘Food on Wheels’ will be parked near the beach.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Staff Reporter / Kozhikode – May 19th, 2014
Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) has been chosen for the ‘Special Commendation’ for ‘Golden Peacock National Training Award’ for 2014. The award instituted by Institute of Directors India has chosen T-TBI for the successful conduct of various training activities undertaken by it in the areas of entrepreneurship development, software engineering, software certification, students’ technical skill enhancement etc. T-TBI is the first business Incubator in India to receive the prestigious Golden Peacock Award.
The award will be presented to T-TBI by Governor of Maharashtra K Sankaranarayanan on May 23, at a function organised at Taj Vivanta here. T-TBI was chosen by the Awards Jury under the chairmanship of Justice P N Bhagwati, former CJI and Co-Chairmanship of Justice Arijit Pasayat, chairman, Authority for Advance Ruling (Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax) & former Judge, SC of India & former chairman, Competition Appellate Tribunal of India.
“We started talking about innovation when it was literally a new terminology in the IT domain. Technopark-TBI in the last decade has incubated over 190 companies (virtually as well) with almost 95 per cent success rate. “The Golden Peacock Award is a recognition to our efforts in creating an entrepreneurial culture amongst youth in Kerala. Moreover the fact that we are able to inspire more homegrown companies is certainly satisfying,” Technopark CEO K G Girish Babu said.
“Winning Golden Peacock Award is a great honour in corporate excellence. The award is a recognition for our initiatives to promote entrepreneurship among the youth in Kerala,” K C Chandrasekharan Nair, COO, secretary and Registrar T-TBI said. Earlier T-TBI won the Best Performing Incubator in India Award in 2006 (Govt of India DST), Best Performing Incubator in Asia Pacific in 2011 (AABI, Shanghai), Best Global Science Based Incubator Award 2012 (Technopolicy Networks Netherlands) and Best CSR Practices Award 2013 (National Forum)
The other winners who shall be honoured with Golden Peacock Awards are: KIMS Hospital (Quality), Terumo Penpol (Quality). The Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Leadership will be given to P N C Menon, Chairman Emeritus, Shobha Developers Ltd.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Cities> Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service – Thiruvananthapuram / by Express News Service – Thiruvananthapuram / May 15th, 2014
‘Instant’ kabsah kits are in much demand in Kozhikode. / The Hindu
Shawarma, Shawaya, and Khubuz came to Kerala crossing the Arabian seas several years ago. They were served in wayside eateries and fast-food outlets, initially started by the Gulf-returned cafeteria employees.
These dishes, however, did not make their way to the Malayali kitchen even in the Malabar region, where most of the households have at least one member employed in the Middle East.
Of late, a few Arabian dishes such as Mandi, Kabsah, and Majboos, which figure on the main course menu of Arabian countries have become popular in Malabar. These rice-meat combination dishes are not only cooked in the kitchens of the region, but are also served as “prestige” dishes on occasions such as weddings.
Some places like Koduvally, with a huge expatriate population, also have exclusive Mandi and Kabsah eateries. “I know many who come from the city just to eat these dishes,” says P. Abid, a native of Koduvally.
Author and sociologist Hafiz Mohammed says this is only a continuation of the culinary influence Arabia has cast on Kerala for the past 30 years. “The close socio-cultural association between the two countries has paved the way for these dishes’ smooth entry into our society,” says Dr. Mohammed. Ready-to-cook kits of these dishes, including Majboos, the regional variant of Kabsah, are available in shops and supermarkets here now. Dealers of these kits also provide cooking instructions in regional languages on their cover. “I prepare them at home quite often,” says A.K. Ali, who returned from Saudi Arabia a few years ago and is settled at Kalanthode in Kozhikode.
The dishes are much in demand for weddings and parties in the region. Local chefs, with some experience in eateries in the Gulf, have started advertising their skills here, says Mr. Ali.
Dr. Mohammed sees ‘status symbol’ in play here. “Many affluent families in Malabar serve these Arabian dishes during wedding parties for this reason,” he says.
The trend is here to stay for some time at least. “My father, who was in the Gulf for several years, prepared Kabsah at home a couple of years ago during his vacation. All of us liked it. Now I too can prepare the dish,” says Sayed Junaid, from Ayencheri near Vadakara in Kozhikode.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kozhikode / by Jabir Mushthari / Kozhikode – May 10th, 2014
SHIFTING TREND: In a year a unit (10 rabbits) will be able to produce 2,000 bunnies. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
Rabbit rearing, earlier considered a hobby, was not looked upon as a prospective business venture.
With the trend shifting from rearing rabbits merely as pets to that of an income generation it promises to be a viable option for alleviating rural poverty among small land owners and marginal farmers,” says Dr. C.P. Robert, Programme Coordinator, CARD-Krishi Vigyan Kendra.
Venture promotion
The Institute has been promoting this venture for the past few years through several trainings, demonstrations etc. Mr. Ajay Simon, a farmer from Ranny in Pathanamthitta, started this venture with three rabbits in 2011 which died 20 days after starting, proving to be a great failure due to lack of knowledge on proper rearing methods.
The entrepreneur took this as a challenge and attended training provided by KVK and started a unit with 10 purchased rabbits — 45-day-old New Zealand White and Soviet Chinchilla varieties.
He designed his own cages and housed them in a temporary shed of 600 sq.ft constructed with poles, fishing nets covered with a silpauline sheet for roof.
“I found that rearing the animals was quite easy and decided to expand my venture. I bought 30 different varieties based on the advice of KVK experts and scientists from the rabbit rearing department of the Central Sheep and Wool Research Station in Kodaikanal,” says Mr. Simon.
The entrepreneur was given training on special attention to breeding rabbits to avoid inbreeding.
For this the entrepreneur takes the female to the bucks (male rabbits) cage and once breeding is over he takes back the female to her cage immediately.
Special care for bunnies
“The impregnated rabbit delivers after 28 to 30 days. Number of litters during each delivery varies .Sometimes it may go up to 12 bunnies whereas sometimes it may be just one bunny.
“The bunnies are given special care for 30 days and then are weaned from their mother who is then re-impregnated. In this way I get around 40 bunnies from each mother a year,” explains Mr. Ajay.
Selected bunnies are separated for breeding in future and reared for 90 days till they attain 2kg weight. Later they are sold for Rs. 200 a kg on live weight basis.
Meat is also provided on enquiry at Rs.400 a kg.
“A unit of 10 rabbits (eight female and two male) of 60 days old along with cage fitted with automatic feeding and watering system costs around 13,500. In a year a unit will be able to produce 2,000 bunnies.The potential net income from this unit after taking into account the cost incurred for feeding and management is around 35,000 to 40,000 annually,” says Dr. Robert.
Family work
All the work in the farm is done by him and his family saving on labour cost.
Everyday, early in the morning, he cleans the cages and observes the rabbits for any signs of illness. Cleaning and disinfection regularly reduces the disease incidence in the farm.
All the animals are provided concentrate feed at the rate of 100-150 gms per day based on their conditions. Lactating and pregnant rabbits are provided an additional special feed.
According to Mr. Simon, to set up a small unit of 10 rabbits an investment of Rs. 15,000 is required and in a year one can break even in this business .So, whatever is got from the second year is purely profit.
Ideal for small farmers
“We are encouraging small land owners and women in our region to take up this activity since this does not require vast land space or external labour.
“The units can be set up in the terrace or in some small space around the house. This type of vocation is soliciting a lot of interest recently as the revenue it generates is quite encouraging,” says Dr. Robert.
For more details interested farmers and entrepreneurs can contact Dr. Robert at Programme Coordinator, CARD-Krishi Vigyan Kendra ,Kolabhagoam P.O,Thadiyoor, Thiruvalla, Pathanamthitta, Phone: 04692662094 and 2661821 (Ext:22,12), mobile:09447139300. and Mr. Ajay Simon, Emmanuuel Rabbit Farm ,Poovenmala,Ranny, Phone:9744245009, mobile: 09497577951.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> S&T> Agriculture / by M.J. Prabu / May 15th, 2014
Taxio, the State’s first GPS system-driven radio taxi service. / by Special Arrangement / The Hindu
With the formal launch of Taxio, the State’s first GPS system-driven radio taxi service operated using premium sedans, in the city, residents can now avail of end-to-end tracking of cabs.
The system is simple. Hire a taxi through the call centre that functions round the clock, then log on to the website (www.taxio.in), feed the booking number and track the cab from the feed from its GPS system.
Every time a cab stops or deviates from its chosen path, the call centre is alerted and a call is generated to the client. Same is the case whenever the speed crosses 80 km per hour.
SMS alert at the time of pick-up and drop and drivers with clean police record completes the safety network.
There are cabs driven by women and the number is set to increase in the days to come.
Kriserv, the company that operates the service, has formulated a demand pattern using a predictive analysis and learning algorithm based on its 5,000-odd users from its trial run since January.
“We have deployed our fleet at strategic points based on this assessment and this helps us send a cab from the nearest point to the client within 10-15 minutes from the time of booking,” said Vijay Nair, managing director, Kriserv.
Such a deployment helps avoid empty run and enables the company offer city service at affordable rates without charging return fare.
Interestingly, the city limit is not rigid and keeps expanding with the addition to the fleet based on the economy of scale. The tariff starts from Rs. 90 with an additional Rs. 15 for every kilometre.
Work is progressing on a mobile application, which when activated can be downloaded on smartphones and used for booking.
Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram are set to have the service shortly, which, the company claimed, would enable inter-city passengers to travel at half the existing fares due to its unique model whereby cabs would operate under the local hub until return trip is available.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by Staff Reporter / Kochi – May 12th, 2014
