SHELLEY ACHARYA PASSES AWAY

Shelley Acharya

                   Obituary

Guwahati, December 30: Shelley Acharya, 76, passed away on Wednesday, 22 December at Guwahati after a cardiac arrest. Her battle with cerebral stroke was long and arduous, yet she fought it with spirit and laughter.

Born in Lucknow to Dr. Sushil Chandra Acharya, a noted medical practitioner and industrialist and Lavanya Prabha Devi, she loved Shillong and had great concern for the downtrodden. 

Formerly a resident of Bhagyakul, Shillong, she was a gifted singer, home décor enthusiast and an expert cook in Indian and oriental cuisine. Shelley honed her musical skills at Sudhir Acharya and Roma Bezbarua’s Institute and her hands flowed on the harmonium keys and tanpura strings with passion and feeling. People still recall days of endless musical soirees at her residence.

Shelley was married to eminent professor Salil Krishna Acharya who in the 1950s pioneered a landmark report on the economic viability of inland water transport systems of the world for the Government of Assam. He was also the founder principal of The Shillong Commerce College.

A devoted wife and mother, she is survived by her children, Sobhan, Sangeeta, Sandeep, brother-in-law Sujit Acharya, son-in-law Monujesh Borooah and two grandsons. During her hey-days she was actively involved with voluntary organizations working for the underprivileged.

The Shraddha for eternal peace of her soul will be on Saturday, 01 January 2011, at the Kamakhya Temple. All who seek to revere her are welcome (Contact: 09707059864 / 09035995869).
          
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EXL EXPANDS DELIVERY CAPABILITY IN INDIA

Inaugurates new delivery center in Noida (SEZ)

Bangalore: December 21 -- ExlService Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: EXLS), a leading provider of outsourcing and transformation services, today announced the opening of a new delivery center in Noida.  This center, which has been set up in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ), has further expanded EXL’s global services capacity. The new facility will support new client acquisitions and expansion of existing client requirements. It will also strengthen EXL’s ability to provide a stronger business continuity framework. It will also strengthen EXL’s ability to offer a stronger business continuity framework to client organizations.

The location of the delivery facility in a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) will help optimize cost and tax structures of SEZ facility will help EXL to sustain competitiveness in the global market. With the addition of this new facility, EXL now has 15 delivery centers and offices spread across ten locations in six countries.

This new delivery centre will provide a world class infrastructure to meet multi-shore global delivery requirements of for EXL’s clients. Noida is a strategic location for EXL as it offers rich talent pool, robust infrastructure support and is in close proximity to several other EXL delivery centers. In the first phase new facility has a capacity of over 800 seats spread over 100,000 square feet and will have another 1400 seats spread over 120,000 square feet in the second. 

For media queries please contact Sharmistha Ghosh:

Email: sharmistha@avian-media.com

Mobile: +91 989 185 9626

     

FORD FIGO WINS 2011 INDIAN CAR OF THE YEAR AWARD

Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India

Bangalore, December 19: The phenomenal Ford Figo was selected as Indian Car of the Year (ICOTY) 2011 today, earning the country’s top automotive award in the fiercely competitive and rapidly growing Indian market. Now in its sixth year, the ICOTY is awarded to a new vehicle after comprehensive testing by a jury of leading automobile journalists in India.

Michael Boneham, president and managing director, Ford India, accepted the award from Dr. R.P. Singhania, vice chairman and managing director, JK Tyre & Industries, at a ceremony in Mumbai today.  

“The Indian Car of the Year award caps off a terrific year for the phenomenal Figo,” said Boneham. “Recognition from some of India’s most respected and influential automotive reporters further reinforces Figo’s reputation as a well-designed, fuel-efficient and fun-to-drive vehicle that delivered exceptional value-for-money for thousands of new car buyers across India. On behalf of all the dedicated men and women at Ford India, we are extremely grateful to the jury members and to our customers for choosing the Figo.”

The winner is determined by a multi-point voting system modeled on the selection process used by the European Car of the Year jury.

The 11-person 2011 ICOTY jury included: Yogendra Pratap and Vikrant Singh (Auto Bild); Gautam Sen and Bob Rupani (Auto India); Girish Karkera and Sriram Narayanan (BBC TopGear); Srinivas Krishnan and Pablo Chaterji (Business Standard Motoring); Aspi Bhathena (Car India); and Sirish Chandran and Bertrand D’Souza (Overdrive).

“We knew Ford had a potential winner on its hands even as we lined up the contenders. The Figo’s crisp driving dynamics, two fuel-efficient engine options, cheerful styling and interiors and, of course, its terrific pricing, simply propelled it to the top of the honours list. It’s only appropriate that the Figo has won the Indian Car of the Year 2011 award, because Ford engineered the car specifically to cater to the needs of the Indian market,” said Srinivas Krishnan, editor, Business Standard Motoring and Chairman, ICOTY 2011.

The prestigious ICOTY award is the latest of many accolades the Figo has received since its introduction 10 months ago. More than 60,000 Figos have been sold since March, setting a new sales record for a single nameplate in India. Figo has become one of India’s best selling vehicles consolidating Ford’s position in the Indian automotive sector. From January to November 2010, Ford India sold 79,586 units across its lineup, an increase of 185 percent compared to the same period last year. 

The Figo is being exported to South Africa, and is a finalist for the South African Car of the Year award, which will be announced in early 2011. The Figo is also exported to Nepal and in 2011 an additional 48 international markets will start selling the popular small car. 

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About Ford Motor Company

Established in 1995, Ford India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader. Ford India manufactures and distributes automobiles and engines made at its modern integrated manufacturing facilities, at Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai. With more than 4,000 employees, the company’s models include the Ikon, Endeavour, Fiesta and the Figo.

For more information, visit www.india.ford.com