Kochi international airport has got an exclusive open-air lounge bar. The lounge bar, ‘Fire Fly,’ is on the second floor of the international departure terminal providing facility to the outgoing  passengers. 
Airport director ACK Nair inaugurated the lounge bar Thursday. The ‘Fire Fly’ is a dream project of CAFS (Casino Aviation Flight Services), an associate of CGH Earth Experience Hotels.
The lounge bar has 2000 square feet covered area and 3000 square feet garden area. “It will be the first of its kind in Kerala. The CAFS is trying to launch another …

Cruise tourism is back in Kerala with Chennai-based Amet Cruises launching its operations from next month.  
The vessel is set for its first sail on October 7. The ship will conduct services from Kochi for three months starting from October.
Every week, the mv Amet Majesty will sail from Kochi to the Maldives (four nights), to Lakshadweep (two nights) and also operate one high-sea trip during weekends. The high seas service starts at 8 pm every Saturday and come back by Sunday noon.
Amet Majesty has a dance floor, disco casinos, show-lounge …

In a bid to attract investments, Kerala government would host a meet titled ‘Emerging Kerala’ in  April next year.
A high-power committee, headed by Chief Minister Oommen Chandy as chairman, has been set up to make the event a grand success. The meet is planned in Kochi on April 19, 20 and 21 next.
Chief Minister would hold talks with prospective investors in the country and also in abroad. Stating that the industrial climate in the state has improved, Mr. Kunhalikutty, Industries Ministers said the Videocon Industries has decided to invest Rs. …

Emirates airline will operate daily flights to Dublin from January 2012 marking its first route to the Republic of Ireland and 29th destination of the airline in Europe.
The daily service, from January 9, will leave Dubai at 7 a.m. to arrive in the Irish capital at 11.30 a.m.. The return flight will leave Dublin at 12.55 p.m. and reach Dubai at 12.25 a.m. the next day. An Airbus A 330-200 will be deployed between Dubai and Dublin, offering First, Business and Economy class to the travellers.
Emirates’ customers in Ireland who …

The 58th birthday celebrations of Mata Amrithanandamayi will get underway on September 27 at the Amritapuri campus of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham in Kollam. 
 The function will commence with a talk  by Swami Amritaswarupananda, vice-chairman of Mata Amritanandamayi Math. This will be followed by Sreepadapooja. 
 Mata Amritanandamayi will address a  satsang  in the morning. This will be followed by the launch of a series of projects in areas of health, education, environment and charities. 
Of late, Kerala is witnessing a distressing trend of the aged, sick and disabled people being increasingly deserted by their …

Indian banks in the UK must get themselves ready to face the challenges that the Europe’s banking sector would witness in the next five to ten years, banking experts said at the Indo European Business Forum.
A slew of international banking regulations are in the pipeline.  Some of the regulations are quite heavy.  If the Indian banks are ready transform themselves according to the changing times, great opportunities would come in their way, the panellists said at a symposium on the `Changing face of  Indian banking sector in the UK` held …

Kerala’s Coconut Development Board held  a trial-run of a remote-controlled robot designed to pluck coconuts on its own.
The prototype, which works on the principle of pneumatics, was designed by Mr  Zacharias Mathew, a Mumbai-based Keralite, who has a bunch of other innovations in his pocket. 
The prototype can climb the tree on its own by using compressed air formed by the power from a diesel generator. It is fitted with a blade on top, which helps pluck the coconut. Mr Mathew developed the robot following a request from the Coconut Development …

Kollam born Mr.Raveendranath Pillai, locally known as Nathan, passed away following a heart attack yesterday. He was 60 years old. 
 Mr Pillai, who recently moved from Bristol to Kent, was on his way to register with a local GP. 
Mr Pillai’s wife Salila Kumari lives in Kerala with their two daughters. 
Mr. Pillai was a petty officer in the Indian Navy. After his arrival in the UK, about eight years ago, he was employed by the Kerala Group of Restaurants at Croydon and Bristol. Just three days ago he started a new job at the …

Kerala’s Ezhava community has got a paternal lineage of European origin, a recent study has revealed.
The study report published in a Croatian Medical Journal (Croat MedJ) said Ezhavas showed more genotypic resemblance to the Jat Sikh population of Punjab and the Turkish populations than to East Asians.
The study on Deoxyribo Nulceic Acid (DNA) profiling of Kerala population was conducted by a three-member team of experts attached to Department of Biotechnology and Biochemical Engineering at Sree Budha College of Engineering (SBCE) in Pathanamthitta district.
The study has completely analysed the short tandem …

 Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has invited entrepreneurs  from the neighbouring states to invest in Kerala and take part in various public private partnership projects (PPP) assuring them of all necessary support.
Addressing the Suminfra 2011 meet hosted by the CII Southern region in Hyderabad, Mr Chandy said Kerala Government has already initiated a few definitive steps to foster investment promotion, which has been carried out in the 100 days programme of the Government.
The State is planning to conduct an “Emerging Kerala Investor Meet at Kochi in April 2012 and is …

Nottingham Malayalee Cultural Association (NMCA), celebrated Onam Festival “Sravanam” on Saturday September 17 at Rushcliffe Leisure Centre, Westbridgford, Nottingham. 
                The celebration started with delicious Onam feast. It was followed by variety of entertainments including children’s music and dance by NMCA school of dance and Music. Programs by adults including a well- presented Skit cheered up the gathering.
 Mr Vijaykumar, Patron, NMCA inaugurated Shravanam 2011 by lighting a traditional lamp. Joint Secretary Mr.Linu Varghese, Joint Secretary, welcomed the gathering. 
Performance of traditional percussions and art forms were among other the highlights of the event. 
             …

The second edition of India-UK SME (Small and Medium Enterprises) Conference and Business Meet will take place at Henry Ford College, Loughborough University,  Leicestershire on October 13, 2011.
 The focus of this year’s conference will be partnership in engineering and advanced manufacturing technology.  The Indian High Commission in the UK is expecting 60-70 entrepreneurs from India this time.
The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), the National Small Industries Corporation of India (NSICI), the EEPC India, the Small Industries development Bank of India (SIDBI), the PHD chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Indian …

The Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) is set to develop a new international terminal with a higher passenger-handling capacity.
 CIAL has worked out a   proposal that would be presented before the company Director Board when it meet on September 24, 2011.
The estimated Rs.250 crore terminals will have the capacity to handle about 2,000 passengers an hour as against the 1,200-passengers capacity of the existing international terminal.
After the launch of the new terminal, the existing international terminal will be converted into a domestic terminal while the present domestic terminal will be converted …

The central government has given the nod for the much-awaited Railway Coach Factory (RCF) in Palakkad.
The Union Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi yesterday announced that  the railways have cleared the project as the required land for the project had been given free of cost by Kerala government. The foundation stone for the RCF will be laid on October 22, 2011.
The state wanted the proposed RCF to remain as a Public Sector Unit (PSU) and agreed to the  features of the project subject to the condition that land value would be treated …

A delegation of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church has called on the Nair Service Society (NSS) leadership on Sunday.
The four-member delegation led by Bishop Geevarghese Mar Julius, head of the Ahmedabad diocese, and three priests, met the NSS general secretary G Sukumaran Nair and explained their position in the vexed St Pauls’ and St Peter’s Church issue in which they are in direct conflict with the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church.
 Mr Nair later told the media that  the NSS considers the issue as an internal matter of Christian community and it won’t …

Air India’s (AI) under-construction aircraft maintenance base is set to open by the end of this month. The AI-Boeing joint venture project is coming up near the new international terminal building of Thiruvananthapuram airport.
A trial run was successfully carried out last week. The formal commissioning of the base will be done either during the third or fourth week of September by Union Minister for Civil Aviation Vayalar Ravi. Although the facility would be declared open at the function, it would be operational only after some time.
The base, constructed at a …

The Muthoot Securities, with the support of the National Stock Exchange (NSE)  will launch a series of programmes aimed at educating the investing public about the advantages of investing through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
ETFs, generally known as  complex financial products, are popular investment vehicles in the developed world, particularly in the US. Though they have been around for many years in India, it is only recently that investors are waking up to their benefits.
 With the recent launch of a scheme called “Loan against Gold ETFs” by Muthoot Finance, Muthoot Securities …

The Planning Commission has given its nod to the Rs.4000-crore Kochi  Metro Rail Project. The mass-rapid mode of transportation project was mooted over five years ago to ease Kochi’s a heavy traffic congestion.
The Commission is expected to come out soon with its plans stance on how to raise the required funds for the project. The initial idea is to  raise the fund as a joint venture between the State and Central governments, as demanded by the State government and the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), the project consultants. Another option …

The Kerala government will focus on rehabilitation of Gulf returnees as the jobs for immigrants in the Gulf countries are fast shrinking, said the rural development and non-resident affairs (NoRKA)  minister K C Joseph.
Inaugurating the NoRKA-Roots Cell set up at the Collectorate Annexe in Kannur, the Minister said that the cell here was the first to be opened among the six proposed in different parts of the State.
Despite the efforts of the Overseas Affairs Ministry at the Centre and NoRKA to free job aspirants from the clutches of fraudulent recruitment …

The UK-Kerala Business Forum celebrated   Onam festival with an informal networking session at the  Malabar Junction Thursday 15th September.
Mr Virendra Sharma MP was the Chief Guest. Ms Kamala Sekar, Head, Financial Services, UK Trade and Investments also attended the event. 
Addressing the gathering, Mr Sharma appreciated the exceptional entrepreneurial skills and professional competency of Malayalee diaspora in the UK. The labour MP who is just back from his Kerala tour, explained the growing Kerala’s immense investment potential. 
Infrastructure is one of the key sectors that Kerala is looking for investments, he said. 
 Kerala-focused builder Relcon …