Daily Archives: June 12, 2015

Celebrating Women’s Empowerment in Hyderabad: Devi Awards

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The swish of chiffon, zari and designer wear and clink of champagne flutes was the mood at the Devi Awards of The New Indian Express at the ITC Kakatiya on Wednesday evening. The audience and the awardees were treated to a Carnatic classic rendition by Pantula Rama | RVk rao, a suresh kumar
The swish of chiffon, zari and designer wear and clink of champagne flutes was the mood at the Devi Awards of The New Indian Express at the ITC Kakatiya on Wednesday evening. The audience and the awardees were treated to a Carnatic classic rendition by Pantula Rama | RVk rao, a suresh kumar

It was a celebration of women power as 20 women from Telangana and Andhra were honoured with the prestigious Devi awards instituted by The New Indian Express at a gala evening on Wednesday at ITC Kakatiya. As women and men cheered, clapped and whistled, the awardees walked up to the stage to receive the awards from Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali. The awards were to be given away by Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao but he could not make it as the cabinet meeting stretched into the night.

Speaking on the occasion, The New Indian Express Editorial Director, Prabhu Chawla laid out the raison de etre for the awards: “India is changing. It is no longer political power that is pushing the nation ahead but brain power and entrepreneurship. In this context we decided to honour women as they are the prime moving force in this changing country.”

“India is moving very rapidly. We are now a society where 900 million people have cellphones out of a population of 1.25 billion! And Hyderabad is part of this growth engine which contributes 10 per cent of the business made by IT industry. These awards are a toast to the role women are playing in the new economy,” said Prabhu Chawla.

While congratulating the The New Indian Express’ efforts to encourage women from different walks of life, Deputy Chief Minister Mahmood Ali said that TRS government in Telangana State too was also committed to women’s empowerment.

Ali said that TRS government was encouraging women in a big way in agriculture and in industrial sectors. He explained the recently launched Shaadi Mubarak programme, in which girls get Rs 51,000 at the time of their marriage.

“In distribution of social security pensions – Aasara – women were accorded top priority,” the Deputy Chief Minister said. He said that women would get 50 per cent reservation in the elections of local bodies. He said that the TS government was giving Rs 1 lakh to 10 lakh to those girl students pursuing higher education abroad.

He also explained the steps taken for the safety and security of women in Hyderabad. He said that the government recently launched patrolling vehicles for the security of the women. He thanked The New Indian Express Editorial Director Prabhu Chawla for taking the initiative to honour women achievers from 20 different fields

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Telangana / by Express News Service / June 11th, 2015

Foodie awards

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hym-food award
hym-food award

There were so many enthusiastic participants at the Telangana Food Fest, that the judges confessed it was a tough job to pick the best. Nevertheless a few have scored better than others and walked away with the awards.

The awards were presented to participating hotels in different categories.

In the five-star hotel category, Marriott won the first prize followed by ITC Kakatiya (second prize) and The Park (third prize). The best in four-star category included Hotel Aalankrita (first), Hotel Daspalla (second) and Hotel Golkonda (third) while three-star category winners were Best Western Ashoka (first), Central Court (second) and Hotel Katriya (third).

The winners in the Food Courts category were Aahar bistro (first), Hotel Vivera (second) and Sridevi Swagruha (third) and those adjudged for Best Ambience were Hotel Marriott (first), Aalankrita (second) and Aahar bistro (third).

The Best Food Service category selections went to ITC Kakatiya (first), Aalankrita (second) and Aahar bistro (third) while the best chefs chosen were M.V. Naidu (Marriott), Lakshit (ITC Kakatiya) and Thimma Reddy (The Park).

In the Restaurant category, Dakshina Mantapa (Taj Tristar) was selected as first, Pickles (Basera) as second, and Haritha, Pragnapur, as third.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / June 11th, 2015