Latest news with #northIndian
Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
Non-veg breakfast removed from Chennai Vande Bharat trains
CHENNAI: Commuters travelling on Vande Bharat Express trains from Chennai to Nagercoil, Mysuru, Bengaluru and Tirunelveli have expressed outrage after discovering that non-vegetarian breakfast options are no longer available, despite no prior notice from Southern Railway or the catering agency. Passengers booking tickets on the IRCTC app are now greeted with a popup stating, 'Non-veg option is applicable for Lunch and Dinner only' after they enter their personal details and select food preferences. Southern Railway general manager R N Singh did not respond to queries, but other officials said it was a technical glitch in the IRCTC app and that non-veg options should be available during booking. However, commuters say the reality on board is different. David Manohar, who travelled on the Chennai-Nagercoil Vande Bharat Express on Friday, said, 'We saw the pop-up while booking but proceeded anyway. Onboard, we were served only vegetarian food. When I raised the issue with IRCTC on X, they responded saying non-veg option is unavailable only for evening tea. But the post was later deleted.' 'It's my right to choose between veg and non-veg meals. IRCTC cannot restrict that without informing passengers,' he added. IRCTC, the public sector unit responsible for catering on premium trains, has yet to issue an official clarification. The trains include meals in their fare, but passengers are increasingly dissatisfied with the quality. 'During the launch, they gave feedback forms. Now, even if we complain, there's no response,' said N Muralidharan, a frequent traveller between Chennai and Tirunelveli. 'The dal is watery, roti is too hard for elderly passengers and rice portions are too small. We're left with no satisfying meal option.' A L Selvam, another commuter on the Chennai-Tirunelveli route, said the menu leans heavily on north Indian dishes. 'The taste doesn't suit us. Many passengers just leave the food untouched.'
Time of India
3 days ago
- General
- Time of India
Pollachi auto driver's son selected as sub-lieutenant in Indian Navy
Bharatha Priyan G with his parents Coimbatore: Bharatha Priyan G, son of an autorickshaw driver in Pollachi in Coimbatore district, has been selected as a sub-lieutenant in the Indian Navy. Priyan pursued his school education at Palaniammal Higher Secondary School in Anaimalai block of Pollachi. It is a Tamil medium school. 'He could be the only person from the Tamil medium to have been qualified in the current batch of the Indian Navy,' said Priyan's mentor Sub Lt (retd) Sugal Esan. Son of Gnanaselvan and Manonmani, Priyan is the first graduate in the family. He did BE mechatronics engineering at RVS Technical Campus in Coimbatore. Esan said the personality test of the Services Selection Board was the toughest part of the selection process. "Out of every 400 or 500 candidates, only one or two make it through. Bharatha Priyan is one of them.' 'The major criterion is that the candidate should have a strong grasp of English or Hindi. Most north Indian aspirants manage it with Hindi. This was ruled out for Priyan. He managed it with English. In this context, breaking the odds is truly a Herculean task. I appreciate his efforts,' he said. Esan is the commander of Delta Squad, a voluntary disaster rescue squad. Priyan has been associated with Esan since 2023. Priyan was part of two major disaster rescue operations -- during the 2023 floods in Tuticorin and Chennai. Priyan previously had made four failed attempts. He was selected in his fifth attempt. He has to report to the Indian Naval Academy in Kerala's Ezhimala on June 30 for training under the short service commission technical (general service) – engineering branch. Esan said Priyan had received a call letter for an interview in the Indian Army. "If he is selected to the Army, he may resign from the Navy."
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Cocomunzzz: Revolutionizing Coconut as a Lifestyle Product in India, ET HospitalityWorld
Advt Advt By , ETHospitalityWorld Join the community of 2M+ industry professionals Subscribe to our newsletter to get latest insights & analysis. Download ETHospitalityWorld App Get Realtime updates Save your favourite articles Scan to download App For Venkata Vikas Vepuri, a civil engineer turned entrepreneur in agro industries and founder of Vepuri Agro Cocomunzzz , an innovative cafe he opened in Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh , was not a mere extension of his business, but a demonstration of a strong desire to see that the agro processing business he began six years ago didn't encounter the same challenges that many of his predecessors faced before fading into Agro developed a very loyal customer base in the hospitality industry for its conventional products of frozen chutneys, grated coconut, powders, oils, etc. over the last six years. But as an entrepreneur Vepuri felt that it was not enough to make the business sustain and thrive in the long run. The outcome was Cocomunzzz, a unique cafe, which celebrates coconut in all its hues and tries to elevate the stature of coconut as a lifestyle product.'We are a farmer-centric company working directly with coconut growers in the state and creating value-added lifestyle products to consumers so that we can provide better value to our farmers to sustain the farming. We have procured over 90 lac coconuts since we started our company in 2019 and we are today the largest coconut-centric agro processing company in the state,' Vepuri said. His company Vepuri Agro has over 20 coconut based SKUs in the market products on the Cocomunzzz cafe menu have become the talk of the town. Started as a desserts only cafe, within a short time it upgraded itself into a full-fledged restaurant offering interesting and exciting food offerings—pizza to pasta; sandwiches and hot and cold brews to shakes; an entire range of gelatos, ice-creams and the unique aspect is that all these food items have at least 15 to 20 percent coconut in it. Vepuri and his team have replaced many unhealthy inputs that go into these dishes with healthy coconut ingredients at Cocomunzzz.'We have replaced conventional dairy milk with coconut milk, water with coconut water, creams with coconut creams, coconut honey, coconut sugar,etc for sweeteners. We are not using any preservatives or flavouring agents in our food,' he received a good reception in Vijayawada, Vepuri is now looking at expanding the cafe brand to Hyderabad soon, where he plans to open in the next four months, he said. After that, he is considering expansion into northern feels that the novelty factor will be stronger for the Cocomunzzz brand offerings in the non-traditional markets than the traditional markets of coconut in south India.'Our strategy is to go and open a few company-owned and operated stores in key north Indian cities in the next couple of years. Once the SOPs are in place and perfected, we will do the valuation of the brand,' he proper brand valuation, Vepuri indicated that he might look for funding through equity dilution and further growth opportunities through franchise stores and other business models.
India.com
25-05-2025
- Business
- India.com
Zepto Cafe shuts down operations in 44 stores due to..., affected areas include..., will resume working...
New Delhi: In an unexpected move, Zepto, the quick commerce player, has temporarily stopped operations in 40 Zepto cafes. These operations have been halted in selected areas in and around Delhi. Reportedly, the step has been taken for Zepto to adjust its supply chain to meet surging demand. This information was shared by sources familiar with the matter. Zepto Cafe is currently unavailable in the Delhi-NCR, Agra, Meerut, Haridwar, Gorakhpur, Mohali, Amritsar and Ghaziabad, said a source adding, 'A total of 44 stores have been impacted and services should resume by Q2, during the July-September quarter.' It is further reported that the cessation of operations is expected to last only until September while the company addresses its supply chain challenges. 'Zepto was getting unprecedented demand which was not matching the vendor availability. To ensure that quality and service are not compromised, the company is halting operations in 40 stores in and around Delhi. 'Less than 100 people have been impacted by this move. Those impacted have been given choice to shift to nearby stores or kitchens, as the company wants to retain them for when operations start again somewhere around in September,' a source told news agency PTI. Zepto's café division operates over 1,000 locations and was processing nearly 100,000 orders daily. In fact, it was about to achieve US$100 million in annualised gross merchandise value (GMV), according to CEO Aadit Palicha who said that the unit consistently maintained a 50 per cent gross margin. Employees who have been affected by the temporary closure were informed of the decision on April 20 and given a month to decide whether to transfer to nearby locations. Currently, Zepto operates around 750 cafes. Meanwhile, a Moneycontrol report says that Zepto has discontinued its cafe services in over seven north Indian cities as the company faces a supply crunch and some of its employees haven't reported to work. Zepto Cafe sells short eats like coffee, tea, puffs, and pizzas. Zepto was founded in 2021 by Aadit Palicha and Kaivalya Vohra as part of the emerging rapid commerce in India. Aadit Palicha, Zepto Cafe CEO said, 'Had 1 lakh orders per day and was closing in on a $100 million annualised gross merchandise value (GMV) run-rate. The unit has a 50 percent steady-state gross margin.' It remains to be seen how Zepto will recover and bounce back in a market that is dominated by platforms like Zomato and Blinkit.
Time of India
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
The power of being MS Dhoni
MS Dhoni's CSK fell to Rajasthan Royals in their penultimate game of the season (Image via BCCI/IPL) It was just past 3 pm. The temperature was a harsh 40 degrees Celsius. With the sun beating down, and humidity as well, the heat felt far oppressive. Unmindful, two fans dressed in a yellow No. 7 jersey were spotted on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg. Both were walking towards the Kotla ground like moths towards a flame. The CSK-RR game, scheduled to begin at 7.30 pm, was still over four hours away. It's the power of being Mahendra Singh Dhoni . His relationship with CSK fans is one of the most enduring love stories of modern sport. And it is a pan-India phenomenon. Virat Kohli too can convert most stadiums across India into a home ground for his team. He is a serving international though. For someone who retired from international cricket five years ago, MSD's unceasing ability to get jerseys on the back and bums on the seat would make any rock star envious. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! On Tuesday, it became increasingly evident as time rolled by. What started as a trickle slowly turned into a bustle. Yellow emerged as the dominant colour on the street. Seven was the only number on every CSK back. When will CSK legend MS Dhoni retire from IPL? Astrologer Greenstone Lobo predicts Before the game, CSK stood last in the IPL 2025 table. But every defeat this IPL season has made it even more apparent that Dhoni fans do not see this relationship through the prism of his performance with the bat. It is the memory of the 5 titles that CSK won under his leadership that's hardwired into their hearts. It makes him performance-proof. 'My love for him has nothing to do with the number of runs he scores,' says software developer Vikash Purbey in a Dhoni tee. And Kailash Chand Jain, who sells IPL jerseys across north Indian cities hosting IPL, says Dhoni still sells more shirts than any player, barring Kohli. Poll What do you think is the main reason behind Dhoni's popularity? His leadership skills His performance on the field His charisma and personality His past achievements On Tuesday too, the Kotla stands were largely an enthusiastic sea of yellow. A poster said, 'Abhi na jao chhod kar, ke dil abhi bhara nahi.' Who's that IPL player? That probably is the everlasting emotion of many CSK fans. Get IPL 2025 match schedules , squads , points table , and live scores for CSK , MI , RCB , KKR , SRH , LSG , DC , GT , PBKS , and RR . Check the latest IPL Orange Cap and Purple Cap standings.
