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US MNC consortium to aid smart city operations in India
New Delhi: Ahead of US President Barack Obama’s India visit, American business giants have come together and formed a consortium to address the infrastructure, energy and smart city projects coming up in India.
Multi-national companies (MNCs) including Cisco, IBM, 3M, EMC, GE, Honeywell, KPMG, Otis, Timken and Louis Berger have formed the consortium to provide wings to the joint vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Obama for strengthening bilateral commercial relationship, a trade body said Sunday.
This development follows the formation of the US-India Infrastructure Collaboration Platform, which was set up during Modi’s visit to the US recently. The platform is supported by the US department of commerce, ministry of finance, and the American Chamber of Commerce in India (Amcham), an association of American companies in India that is driving this initiative said in a statement.
A capability deck offering US technologies and spelling out project solutions has been prepared by the consortium, it said.
Anil Menon, president, Smart+Connected Communities and deputy chief globalization officer, Cisco Inc, has taken over as chairman of the consortium.
“The consortium has been set up to collectively look at business opportunities in these sectors and aims at identifying and bidding for projects across the country. Large projects require strong Indian partners along with financing solutions to realistically move forward,” said Amcham executive director Ajay Singha.
“The consortium will jointly interface with governments at the state and central levels and operate as a cohesive group offering multiple solutions to suit a diverse bunch of requirements,” he added.
India is expected to spend a trillion dollars through 2017 for infrastructure development in the country.
Under a recent MOU, both India and the US intend to facilitate and improve the bilateral commercial relationship to benefit their economies.
This initiative is especially likely to benefit Vishakhapatnam, Allahabad and Ajmer, which have been identified by the Indian government for smart city operations.
Officials of the US government have interacted with the state governments in these three cities and set the tone for private sector participation by American companies.
The capability deck bridges the information gap and Indian partners will find it much easier to work out high technology solutions across the board.
“The consortium will offer competitive and cutting edge technologies of US expertise, products, services, know-how and solutions in fields of infrastructure, energy and smart city domains,” Singha said.
“Transformation solutions across urban development, transportation, energy, IT and telecom are on offer,” he added.
The group will endeavour to synergise their efforts with the inter-ministerial committee for US investments set up by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Ministry of Commerce, the trade body said.
The inter-ministerial committee has already met twice and has taken upon itself the onerous task of addressing individual challenges faced by US companies while implementing and expanding their business plans in India, it said.
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma
World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.
Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.
During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.
On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”
Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.
It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.
Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.
Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”
On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”
The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.