MEF Launches Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certification

MEF Launches Carrier Ethernet 2.0 Certification

The MEF’s new Carrier Ethernet 2.0 certification program for services and equipment complements the MEF’s recent launch of Carrier Ethernet 2.0 with certification for 8 new services. CE 2.0 brings significant value added benefits, matching the Enterprise users’ application performance needs to MEF services with specific SLA’s, accelerating global deployment and optimizing bandwidth use and costs.
CE 2.0 certification has been developed to bring these new benefits to service providers, equipment vendors and users more quickly, with higher quality and at lower cost. The 680 test cases in the new certification program replace months or even years of costly and highly specialized test development required for assuring compliance with the new CE 2.0 services. CE 2.0 certification accelerates the ability for service providers to deploy new services and to bring deserved industry recognition for innovation and quality.
Widely recognized MEF 9 and MEF 14 certifications remain valid and available under the umbrella of the new “CE 1.0 Certification” brand.
“CE 1.0 Certification has been an extraordinary success,” stated Nan Chen, President of MEF. “With nearly 150 vendors and service providers already offering over 1,000 certified products and services globally, there is no lack of choice for demanding customers. With CE 2.0 experiencing immediate adoption, we expect CE 2.0 certification program to exceed the uptake of our first certification program.”
CE 2.0 supports multiple classes of service plus manageability across interconnected provider networks – unlike the standardized CE 1.0 services delivered over a single provider’s network. E-Line, E-LAN, E-Tree and a new E-Access service type are available for certification both as port based and virtual services.
There will be a four month initial phase for the new certifications culminating in announcements of the first certified equipment vendors in 4Q2012 and the first certified service providers in 1Q2013. An introductory webinar is being held on May 2nd – see the website http://www.MetroEthernetForum.org/ for details and registration. As with CE 1.0 certification, successfully certified members will be permitted to use the appropriate CE 2.0 certification logo and will be listed on the MEF’s Certification Registry on the MEF website.

Posted by Nksagar at 8:58 AM 0 comments

$30-million automobile filter manufacturing plant in Gujarat

Hollingsworth and Vose Group to set up $30-million automobile filter manufacturing plant in Gujarat

Gandhinagar, Tuesday: A delegation of Global auto sector major Hollingsworth and Vose Group led by their chief executive officer Wall Hollingsworth during his meeting with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi  here today expressed willingness to set up an automobile filter manufacturing plant in the state.

The USD 30-million project is proposed to be the company's biggest automobile filter manufacturing unit in India. It is expected to be commissioned by 2013.

The delegation was reportedly impressed by Gujarat Government's proactive governance and progressive policies.

Gujarat's Principal Industries Secretary M. Sahu and Chief Minister's Secretary A. K. Sharma were also present during the meeting.

CM Modi praises Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Unity Trust

CM Modi praises the members of Sardar Patel National Unity Trust

for their contribution

*********

A delegation of Jain leaders and the office bearers of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Unity Trust led by Kutch district BJP president and MLA Jyantibhai Bhanushali met Chief Minister Narendra Modi today. The delegation donated cheques of Rs.51 lakh towards the construction of the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel – Statue of Unity – near Sardar Sarovar dam at Kevadiya.

The delegation, comprised of the Jain community leaders who hail from Rapar of Kutch district and at present settled in Mumbai, feted the Chief Minster by presenting a shawl and memento to him.

Launch of "Dunkin’ Donuts" in Delhi

Launch of "Dunkin’ Donuts" in Delhi

Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. Officially Launches Dunkin’ Donuts in Delhi

 

Restaurant Opens with a Wide Variety Western, all Day Part Menu Including Donuts, Coffee, Sandwiches, Milkshakes, Smoothies, Snacks, and More

 

New Delhi, May 8, 2012:  Dunkin’ Donuts, the world’s leading baked goods and coffee chain, today officially launched in Delhi with the opening of its flagship store at Connaught Place, New Delhi, at the heart of the city’s commercial centre. 

 

Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. (JFL), India’s largest Food Service Company, entered into an alliance with Dunkin’ Donuts early last year to bring the brand’s restaurants to India. With the beginning of this agreement with Dunkin’ Donuts, JFL, which already has rights for Domino’s Pizza, has now significantly strengthened its portfolio. JFL is well poised to address two distinct non-competing segments of the Food Service Industry in India, namely the pizza home delivery market and the all day part food café and beverage market.

 

The Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant branded as “Dunkin’ Donuts & More” will offer the best of its international menu as well as products developed specially for India. The menu will feature a wide range of Donuts, Dunkin’ original blend drip coffee, espresso based beverages. The menu for India also features a wide assortment of sandwiches served on artisan breads such as focaccia, croissants, ciabatta, bagels. The beverages menu has also been expanded with fruit milkshakes, smoothies and tea.

 

Speaking about the grand opening occasion, Mr. Shyam S. Bhartia, Chairman and Mr. Hari S. Bhartia, Co-Chairman, Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. said, “India is a key strategic market with immense potential for growth in the food service business. We are delighted with the launch of Dunkin’ Donuts in India. Our team has been working very hard over the last year to come up with a differentiated value proposition and the result has been very gratifying. We are strongly convinced that the Dunkin’ Donuts brand is extremely relevant for India, not only due to its iconic status in donuts and coffee, but also due to its differentiated food and beverage menu, which Indians are now ready for. This restaurant marks the beginning of another exciting journey for Jubilant FoodWorks and we hope to exceed customer expectations.”

 

Present at the launch, Mr. Ajay Kaul, CEO Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd. said, “We are happy to launch our first Dunkin Donuts location in the heart of the city today. Given our deep understanding of Indian consumers, we have gone the extra mile to innovate and offer a Dunkin’ Donuts menu that brings the best of what the brand has to offer internationally, while keeping the needs of Indian consumers in mind.

 

The menu created for India was a result of more than a year of development by the Dunkin’ Donuts India – Jubilant FoodWorks culinary team collaborating and working very closely with chefs from the Dunkin’ Donuts culinary team based in the United States. One of the first investments that we made was the setting up of a world class R&D kitchen and the appointment of best in class culinary resources to come up with a winning menu suitable for the Indian market.

 

In keeping with the expansion plan, we will open around 10 stores in the FY13. Further, over next five years, we plan to open 80-100 stores.”

 

Adding on, Mr. Dev Amritesh, COO and President Dunkin’ Donuts India – Jubilant FoodWorks Limited said, “Dunkin’ Donuts is known for its donuts for sure, but is also about coffee, sandwiches, all day snacks and other beverages. The brand name in India has the sign of “Dunkin’ Donuts & More” to signify our wide product range and the unique experiences that our restaurants offer. We believe Dunkin’ Donuts will occupy the sweet spot in between cafés and quick service restaurants, as we offer elements of both. A great all day menu of food and a fantastic range of beverages, along with a chilled out, modern and relaxed environment. We are confident that Indian consumers will love our format and our product offering.”

About Dunkin' Donuts

Founded in 1950, Dunkin' Donuts is America's favorite all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods. Dunkin' Donuts is a market leader in the regular/decaf coffee, iced coffee, hot flavored coffee, donut, bagel and muffin categories. Dunkin' Donuts has earned the No. 1 ranking for customer loyalty in the coffee category by Brand Keys for six years running. The company has more than 10,000 restaurants in 32 countries worldwide. For the full-year 2011, Dunkin' Donuts' restaurants had global franchisee-reported sales of approximately $6.4 billion. Based in Canton, Mass., Dunkin' Donuts is part of the Dunkin' Brands Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: DNKN) family of companies. For more information, visit www.DunkinDonuts.com   

About Jubilant FoodWorks Limited

Jubilant FoodWorks Limited (JFL) was incorporated in 1995 and initiated operations in 1996. JFL is India’s largest food service company, with a network of 439 Domino’s Pizza stores (as of 31 December, 2011) across 100 cities. JFL & its subsidiary operate Domino’s Pizza brand with the exclusive rights for India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal. The Company is the market leader in the organized pizza market with a 54% market share and 70% share in the Pizza home delivery segment in India. The Company has now also strengthened its portfolio by entering into an alliance with Dunkin’ Donuts, for developing the Dunkin’Donuts brand and operating restaurants in India.

For more updates and information on the Company, please log on to www.jubilantfoodworks.com

Why premature closing of Veer Shivaji?
Is it TRP or external pressure, asks VHP

New Delhi, May 8, 2012. The very popular patriotic serial “Veer
Shivaji” is going to be closed by the end of month i.e. very much
before its schedule. Citing resentment among the viewers following the
premature closing of the serial, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has asked
the Colors, the channel showing the serial, to clarify whether
the-premature closing is on the behest of TRP or due to any external
pressure. The Secretary General of VHP Delhi Shri Satyendra Mohan
urged the channel to continue the popular serial as it is spreading
the message of patriotism, culture and dharma. Shivaji’s commitment to
swaraj is now need of the hour and the countrymen are getting
inspiration from it.
“We have sent a letter to the Channel Head to continue the serial in
the national interest”, said Shri Vinod Bansal, the media chief of
VHP, Delhi. “In our letter signed by the secretary general VHP Delhi
we have written that if the Channel is going to sacrifice such a
patriotic serial in the name of TRP, it will never be justified”, he
added.
It is to be noted that once a chart burner for the channel, the
historical serial Veer Shivaji is going to be closed prior to its
schedule. It is the decision of the Channel. The serial, it is heared,
will breathe its last by the end of May. While the production house
and its viewers want a logical end, the decision of the Channel is
said to have been taken keeping in mind the dipping ratings of the
show.

Dayal Singh leads after round one in Jaipur:PGTI Feeder Tour

Dayal Singh leads after round one in Jaipur:PGTI Feeder Tour

 Jaipur, May 8, 2012: Dayal Singh of Chandigarh shot a four under 66 to take the first round lead in the PGTI Feeder Tour event being played at the Rambagh Golf Club in Jaipur. Vishwa Vijoyendra Narayan of Bangalore, Lucknow’s Sanjay Kumar and Ramesh Kumar of Faridabad are in tied second with matching scores of two under 68.

Dayal Singh’s four under 66 included an eagle on the eighth, birdies on the third, sixth, 14^th and a bogey on the 11^th.

Dayal Singh, who hails from the Chandigarh Golf Club, said, “I hit some good drives today and also grabbed all my opportunities on the greens. It’s important to hit maximum fairways on this course and that’s what I’ll be focusing on for the rest of the tournament.”

Vishwa Vijoyendra Narayan, Sanjay Kumar and Ramesh Kumar are two strokes behind the leader in joint second.The Jaipur trio of Vishal Singh, Yogendra Kumawat and Mahesh Yadav are in tied fifth place along with five other golfers at one under 69.

Growth of Carbon Capture and Storage Stalled in 2011

by sagarmedia on May 8, 2012

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Contact: Supriya Kumar, skumar@worldwatch.org, (+1) 202-452-1992, ext. 510   Growth of Carbon Capture and Storage Stalled in 2011  New Worldwatch Institute report discusses the future of CCS technology Washington, D.C.—-Global funding for carbon capture and storage technology, a tool for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, remained unchanged at US$23.5 billion in 2011 in comparison to the previous year, according to a new report from the Worldwatch Institute. Although there are currently 75 large-scale, fully integrated carbon capture and storage projects in 17 countries at various stages of development, only eight are operational—-a figure that has not changed since 2009. Carbon capture and storage, more commonly known as CCS, refers to the technology that attempts to capture carbon dioxide from a human-created source—-often industry and power generation systems—-and then store it in permanent geologic reservoirs so that it never enters the atmosphere. The United States is the leading funder of large-scale CCS projects, followed by the European Union and Canada. The new Worldwatch report, part of the Institute’s Vital Signs Online series analyzing key global trends, discusses a variety of new CCS projects and facilities throughout the world. Among these is the Century Plant in the United States, which began operating in 2010.  ”Although CCS technology has the potential to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions—-particularly when used in greenhouse gas-intensive coal plants—-developing the CCS sector to the point that it can make a serious contribution to emissions reduction will require large-scale investment,” said report author and Worldwatch Sustainable Energy Fellow, Matthew Lucky. ”Capacity will have to be increased several times over before CCS can begin to make a dent in global emissions.” Currently, the storage capacity of all active and planned large-scale CCS projects is equivalent to only about 0.5 percent of the emissions from energy production in 2010.  The prospects for future development and application of CCS technology will be influenced by a variety of factors, according to the report. This March, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed regulations on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. As a result, U.S. power producers would soon be unable to build traditional coal plants without carbon-control capabilities (including CCS). The technology will likely become increasingly important as power producers adjust to the new regulations.  Globally, an international regulatory framework for CCS is developing slowly, and the technology has been factored into international climate negotiations. Its classification as a Clean Development Mechanism—-a measure created through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that allows industrialized countries to gain credit for emissions reductions they achieve through funding development projects in developing countries—-has raised objections, however, from those who argue that it risks prolonging the use of carbon-intensive industries.  ”CCS technology is worth exploring as one of a large array of potential strategies for slowing the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,” said Worldwatch President Robert Engelman. “But as this report demonstrates, right now there’s little progress in realizing this potential. A technology capable of permanently sequestering large amounts of carbon will be expensive, and so far the world’s markets and governments haven’t assigned much value to carbon or to the prevention of human-caused climate change. Ultimately, that will be needed for real progress in CCS development and implementation.”  Further highlights: There are now seven large-scale CCS plants under construction worldwide, bringing the total annual storage capacity of plants either operating or under construction to nearly 35 million tons of carbon dioxide a year. According to the International Energy Agency, an additional $2.5-3 trillion will need to be invested in CCS between 2010 and 2050 in order to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century. On average, $5-6.5 billion a year will need to be invested in CCS globally until 2020 for the development of this technology. About 76 percent of global government funding for large-scale CCS has been allocated to power generation projects.

Greek poltical Crisis continues

By sagarmedia on May 7, 2012 | Leave a Comment | Edit

Greek conservatives bid failed to form a government, pushing political opportunity for anti-austerity leftists to try to work together a coalition despite Germany and EU warnings the country must stick to its bailout deal. Leader of Greece’s New Democracy Party says he has given up hope of forming a coalition government led by his party.Antonis Samaras made the announcement on Monday.Samaras was rebuffed by Syriza and the small Democratic Left group, while the nationalist Independent Greeks and the Communist party refused to even meet with him.Third-place socialist PASOK, formerly in a coalition with New Democracy, agreed to cooperate but only if the leftists also joined.
Probability to build a ruling coalition will now pass to Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Radical Left Coalition. But he has already vowed only to work with some of the left-wing parties, making a parliamentary majority unlikely. On Tsipras fails, the PASOK party will be handed the chance to build a coalition.
New Democracy
Official results showed conservative New Democracy came first with 18.8 per cent and 108 of Parliament’s 300 seats. “I understand the rage of the people, but our party will not leave Greece ungoverned,” said Samaras, who backs Greece’s bailout commitments for austerity but has called for some changes to the bailout plan.
Syriza party
In second place came the leftist, anti-austerity Syriza party, with 16.6 per cent of the vote and 51 seats, more than tripling its 2009 showing.
 PASOK
Once strong PASOK was reduced to third place, its vote more than halved to 13.3 per cent, or 41 seats,the voters’ deserting it for having pushed through punishing public spending cuts. Election  fragmented the political landscape, with voters sending at least seven parties to parliament, two more than previously.
 neo-Nazi Hryssi Avgi

Newcomers is the neo-Nazi Hryssi Avgi (Golden Dawn), breaking into parliament for the first time in nearly 40 years. Its 6.9 per cent of the vote should give it 21 deputies, according to the latest ministry figures.

With almost all the votes counted, speaker of the parliament Philippos Petsalnikos on Monday announced the final results. He said the New Democracy party and its partner PASOK won 149 seats, 2 short of a majority in the 300-member parliament.
Opposition parties made big gains with their objections to deficit-cutting policies. The Radical Left Coalition increased the number of seats it has by about 5 times and came in second.
Some voters in the capital Athens have expressed concerns about a power vacuum forming, while others have welcomed the gains by the opposition bloc.
New Democracy has won the most votes and will start negotiations to form a coalition.
Even if the party can form a coalition, the new government may have to review the austerity measures. If negotiations become bogged down, the country may have to hold a fresh election.
  When none of the parties can form a governing alliance,  a snap election , which could reignite concerns over Europe’s credit crisis:
 European Union has called for Greece to form a stable government as soon as possible to ease mounting concerns about the implementation of austerity measures.Greece’s ruling coalition introduced tough austerity measures to secure EU bailout funds. But it failed to secure a majority in Sunday’s general election, leading to fears over whether the country will be able to hit its reform targets.A European Commission spokesperson for economic affairs told reporters on Monday that it hopes and expects to see a stable government in Greece soon.
Media agencies

Hollande to spur economic growth

  Paris, people are lurking hopes that president-elect Francois Hollande will help spur economic growth rather than continue to focusing on austerity.Sunday's election, Hollande took 51.6 percent of the vote in a narrow win over incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, who garnered 48.4 percent. The win is the first for the Socialists in 17 years since Francois Mitterrand.On Monday, newspapers and magazines were selling special editions featuring Hollande's victory.

A voter in Paris said Hollande, who values rationality and consensus, could help bring changes that are urgently needed.Public attention is focused on economic issues, amid lingering credit concerns in Europe. Some people say that fiscal reconstruction is needed. Political experts  want France, together with the European community as a whole, to end harsh austerity measures and aim for growth.

Hollnade has never served a ministerial post and his diplomatic ability is unknown. Some said Hollande must learn to become a charismatic leader to properly represent France in the international community.