Ice cream shortage in Pune prompts Amul to set up plant in the city

Amul, India's leading milk producer, is setting up a state-of-the-art ice cream manufacturing facility at Khed city in Pune. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed by K Rathnam, managing director, Amul Dairy and Khed Economic Infrastructure Pvt Ltd (KEIPL) recently.

Commenting on the development, Rathnam said, "Pune is our largest ice cream market and currently there is a supply shortage. We wanted a quick set up in and around Pune, and Khed city qualifies as our preferred destination. We have got around 11 acres land for the new dairy plant. The facility is planned to commence operations in 12 to 18 months with an estimated investment of over Rs 120 crore."

Amul will manufacture ice cream and other milk products in Khed city and its presence in Pune will give an immense boost to the Make in Maharashtra campaign and strengthen the rural economy further. The direct beneficiaries of this initiative will be farmers associated with animal husbandry for producing milk. The local milk producing farmers will now have access to a nationwide established market. They will get benefit from the veterinary services extended by Amul and also have access to the high-milk yielding fodder made available to the participating farmers through the co-operative.

Khed city is one of India's smart emerging industrial townships in Pune district. It is being developed over 4,200 acre by KEIPL, which is a joint venture company between Kalyani Group and Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC).

According to KEIPL executives, the ready-to-move industrial township is one of Pune's key industrial locations that houses 39 industrial clients.

"Investment from Amul will revolutionise the socio-economic state of Khed Tahsil," said KEIPL.

Head-to-toe apparels

Scott Sports India, manufacturer of high-end cycling products has unveiled its 2017 range of apparels, motorsports and bicycles in the Indian market. The company launched an exclusive range of made-in-India Scott bike wear collection comprising cycling specific jersey and padded shorts. The new range also saw the launch of Scott 2017 edition bicycles along with the new 'head to toe' concept that includes helmets, bikewear apparel line, gloves and eye-wear and cycling specific shoes. "Scott strives to promote a healthy lifestyle across all age groups. We are constantly striving to come up with an innovative range of products every year for all the cycle lovers, and the head-to-toe concept is yet another step in this direction," said Jaymin Shah, country manager, Scott Sports India.

Fashionable with Scotch & Soda

Reliance Brands Ltd, a part of Reliance Industries Group has announced a long-term master franchise agreement with Amsterdam-based fashion brand Scotch & Soda. Under this agreement, Reliance Brands will set up Scotch & Soda stores in all major cities in India by 2017 and offer products across menswear, womenswear and childrenswear categories through all channels of sale. Reliance will grow the brand through other channels of sale in India such as e-commerce, travel commerce, and leading multi-brand department stores. Darshan Mehta, president and chief executive officer, Reliance Brands, said, "It is ironic that in an increasingly crowded premium fashion space, getting a good tee or a nicely washed and well-fitting denim is rare. Scotch & Soda is one of the few companies that is dedicated to crafting quality garments rather than emphasising on the brand logo. The brand's stores echo the theatre of their craft. Refreshingly differentiated."

Sweet dose for Lupin

Mumbai-based Lupin Pharmaceuticals has been ranked as country's most reputed pharma brand. The 'Top Most Reputed Pharmaceutical Brand' study, conducted by BlueBytes in association with TRA Research, has also named Sun Pharma and Cipla in the list. Sun Pharmaceutical, with a 52% Brand Rep Score and Cipla with 28% bagged the second and third spots, followed by Dr Reddy's Laboratories at fourth. Among global brands, GSK led the way, followed by Pfizer and Abbott. In all, 41 domestic and 17 international pharmaceutical brands were listed in the study.

Pooja Kaura, chief spokesperson for India's Most Reputed Brands, said, "India's reputation as the largest producer of generic drugs in the world has become vulnerable in light of the changing patent regime in the country. Reports say that by 2020, India is likely to be among the top three pharmaceutical markets by incremental growth and sixth largest market globally in absolute size."

Dual-lens camera smartphone

Huawei Smartphones has launched its flagship device P9, which is the first smartphone that has a dual-lens camera that works in tandem to enable users to create images of superior detail, depth and colour by capturing more light and stitching together both vivid colours and monochrome images. In addition, Huawei showcased two other international products – the Matebook and the TalkBand B3, which will debut in India soon. The P9, targeted for the users of the growing premium-end smartphone market, will mark Huawei's re-entry in this segment after a period of almost three years. Integrating the design values and engineering excellence of Huawei and Leica in a smartphone photography system co-engineered by the two companies, the Huawei P9 brings together the best-in-class hardware and software, from optical lenses, to sensors, to image processing algorithms, empowering users to capture the highest-quality images. Priced at Rs 39,999 (3GB + 32 GB), the smartphone is slated to be available starting August 18, 2016.

–Compiled by Ashish K Tiwari