Mango bahaar
Kishan Suman has four of his evergreen mango trees planted in the Mughal Gardens of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Some 17 years ago this Kota farmer had identified a mango tree in his orchard which yielded through all the seasons — January-February, June-July and September-October. He noticed they grew well and began to fruit from the second year of grafting. Appropriately, this mango is called Sadabahaar and is in the process of being patented. Suman’s plants are now being delivered to Chhattisgarh, Delhi and Haryana on a regular basis. He received an award from the National Innovation Foundation and has been appreciated by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Minister of State (Independent Charge) Piyush Goyal being combative in television newsrooms is not new. But, a signature campaign definitely is. A propaganda campaign taking on the West, in support of coal-based power generation is currently on. An online signature campaign reminiscent of Uncle Sam asking young Americans to enlist in the army, has sought support to use coal to generate 24x7 affordable electricity. The campaign urges respondents to send a mail to Goyal, expressing support, “in his stand against the west...so that he knows that he is not alone in this fight and the whole nation is standing by his side”. Call this popularity or perfect media management?
Strategy pays
You must hand it to the Oriental Bank of Commerce top brass for good media management. They avoid calling a press conference every time the bank reports a quarterly loss. A press release with the net loss figure tucked in among other data is mailed to media houses and the PR machinery activated to remind journos via email about the press release. The bottom line is communicate only what needs to be conveyed.
All gas
On May 12, the petroleum & natural gas ministry issued an advisory on fake websites on Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana, alerting citizens to the fact that the official website is www.pmujjwalayojana.com. It also warned against responding to an advertisement in Hindustan newspaper regarding the appointment of LPG distributorship under RGGLV Yojana, and clarified that this entity is not authorised by the ministry to appoint LPG distributorship.
Ujala in the UK
Piyush Goyal presided over the launch of the world’s largest efficient lighting programme, UJALA – UK (UK Joins Affordable LEDs for All) by Energy Efficiency Services Ltd (EESL) in London. Describing the strategy for scaling up LED penetration in the UK, Goyal said that India was able to significantly reduce the purchase price of LED by increasing efficiency and not giving subsidies to consumers. He suggested setting a target of replacing at least 100 million incandescent bulbs with LEDs by March 2019 and reducing individual household consumption of energy by at least half. EESL has started retrofitting the façade and other lights of the High Commission of India in the UK and India House which would lead to considerable energy savings. EESL’s engagement with the UK will cover a broad spectrum including marketing world class energy efficiency products, services, investments and raising capital, scouting for new energy efficiency technologies and partnering with British companies to establish a presence in developing markets.
Some coincidence!
All eyes are on the upcoming board meeting of PNB on Tuesday, not only because erstwhile MD & CEO Usha Ananthasubramanian was abruptly transferred, but also because of the new boardroom dynamics between two Sunil Mehtas. Yes, there are two Sunil Mehtas on PNB’s board — the current non-executive chairman and the newly appointed MD &CEO.