Winners of best the Biodynamic Coffee Growing Villages interacting with Chief Sustainability Officer of the Naandi Foundation David Hogg at Gems of Araku Festival 2014 organised at Thuraiguda in Visakhapatnam district on Wednesday./ Photo: K. R. Deepak / The Hindu
Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, and Japan, among others, keen on a deal on the coffee of the valley
This scenic locale that is a popular tourist destination is on the international map for one more reason – coffee.
The coffee Arabica from Araku is set to sell at Rs. 450-500 per kilo. The premium coffee is grown by the 12,000 small and marginal tribal coffee farmers of the valley and the world’s coffee guzzling nations including Norway, South Korea, Switzerland, and Japan are keen on striking a deal on the produce this year.
Making the world know the existence of Araku Arabica and having it appreciated for its unique taste and flavour is the Araku Originals Limited floated by the Naandi Foundation. AOL is marketing the idea and the coffee by bringing in the discerning international buyers to the Araku Valley to see the cultivation and interact with the farmers.
On the other hand the international recognition has boosted the morale of the farmers who are taking pride in their produce and are willing to walk that extra mile to ensure quality.
What makes the coffee cultivated by the members of Small and Marginal Tribal Coffee Farmers Mutually Aided Cooperative Society in the Valley so unique is the biodynamic cultivation process that avoids use of chemicals, SAMTCFMACS president Killo Kondal Rao of Thuraiguda says.
Competition
The Naandi Foundation, in association with the Mahindra & Mahindra, organised a competition — Gems of Araku 2014 — to recognise and award the best biodynamic farmer and the best biodynamic farming village.
The competition has been designed with an aim to encourage the farmers to adopt the best practices and maintain the quality that is sought after in the international markets, says Chief Sustainability Officer of Naandi Foundation David Hogg.
On Wednesday Rajeev Dubey of the Mahindra & Mahindra along with the CEO of Naandi Foundation in the presence of a number of international coffee buyers gave away the awards to the Best Biodynamic Farmer Janni Budho of Ganjaiguda village, runner-up G. Anantaram of K. Bodapat village; Best Biodynamic Village to K. Bodapat village and runner-up to Ganjaiguda village at a function organised at the Coffee Processing Unit of the SAMTCFMACS at Thuraiguda near here.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by G. S. Subrahmanyam / Araku Valley (Visakhapatnam District) – March 20th, 2014
Chef Naren Thimmaiah on the rise of regional cuisines on menus and his restaurant Karavalli. Karavalli
Naren Thimmaiah, Executive Chef of The Gateway Hotel in Bangalore, is a very happy man. Not only did he pick up the Time Out Food Award for Favourite Coastal Restaurant — in Delhi last week — for his brainchild Karavalli, but the restaurant was also a new entrant in this year’s list of Asia’s 50 Best Restaurants, published by Restaurant Magazine, considered a definitive guide to restaurants globally. The spate of awards has catapulted Karavalli, an institution in Bangalore, into national prominence.
“It’s a great feeling to be recognised on such a large platform. This award is a reiteration of the fulfillment of the pact we made 23 years ago to our guests, wherein we promised authenticity, and heartwarming and soul-endearing food,” he said.
Thimmaiah and his team have spent more than two decades researching the cuisines of all the sub-regions and communities in the south-western coastal belt, coming up with an eclectic offering of south Indian and coastal fare. There is a combination of dishes both fiery hot and genteel, whether it’s Moplah-style ghee rice and chicken curry, steamed and served in a green banana leaf, a piquant Meen Vevichathu (seer fish in a thin chilli-based gravy) or a gentler Camaro Con Cilantro, a Goan dish of prawns with coriander and saffron. Given its proximity to the ocean, seafood has a starring role on Karavalli’s menu, present in all shapes, sizes and types from crustaceans to shellfish to cephalopods, served grilled, curried, skewered, all of them as fresh as Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
The restaurant is designed like a mansion, typical of the region, complete with high wooden ceilings, antique furniture, colonial bric-a-brac and lantern-shaped lights. Several dishes are served in a particular, ritualistic manner, harking to the place of their origin, by liveried servers.
According to the soft-spoken chef, it is partly the trending of regional foods which has spurred Karavalli’s success. “Most of the earlier food menus in Indian restaurants hardly reflected the variety in India’s cuisine. It used to be only food from Punjab or Chettinad that found a place of prominence in restaurants. Now, we have interesting cuisines, such as Mangalorean, Bengali, Gujarati and Malabar weaving their magic. We have also started talking about and serving Coorgi, Bundelkhandi, Malwani, Rampur and similar cuisines, which is very encouraging,” says Thimmaiah. “Earlier, a restaurant mainly catered to the hunger quotient. Now, a meal in a restaurant has become experiential and that calls for variety to begin with,” he adds.
Thimmaiah believes that maintaining the authenticity of food while cooking and serving also helps in preserving the traditional cooking for future generations. “Tradition should not have to be preserved only in museums or archives. As we evolve, we should look at using all avenues to preserve our tradition and culture. That is where the authentic regional restaurants come into picture,” he says, “Like museums, restaurants also preserve traditions.”
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / Indian Express / Home> Cities> Delhi / Shantanu David / March 30th, 2014
A serene Buddhist monastery, lush green forests and the river Cauvery seem to have charmed Chitra Ramaswamy. Join her on this placid journey.
Driving from Bangalore to Madikeri via Mysore, we digress a little at Kushalanagar, 40 km from Madikeri, to visit Bylakuppe, one of India’s oldest and largest Tibetan settlements, also known as Lugsung Samdupling when it was created in 1961.
As we turn off the dusty highway connecting Mysore to the lush hills of Coorg, we travel through narrow winding roads on undulating terrain flanked by paddy fields and come upon a mini Tibet, sans snow and the Himalayas. Burgundy-robed monks are everywhere about, on foot and bikes, laughing and chatting merrily in a little world of their own, far away from the humdrum of urban civilisation to which we city dwellers have become accustomed.
Despite the serene and spiritual atmosphere that prevails here, the residents of Bylakuppe remember the flutter created when tinsel town star Shah Rukh Khan arrived here in August 2001 before the October-release of his film Ashoka, to seek the blessings of the Dalai Lama.
Divine sanctuaryThe foremost attraction of Bylakuppe, a compact world with its own value systems, is the massive Thekchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargye Ling or Namdroling Monastery as it is popularly known. The imposing golden spires of the monastery and the huge rainbow arch-like structure appear well before we actually come upon the edifice.
Namdroling is supposedly the largest teaching centre of the Nyingmapa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism in the world and was established in 1961 by Pema Norbu Rinpoche on land that the Indian Government had granted to Tibetan exiles. The story of the Tibetan settlement at Bylakuppe goes back to 1959 when the Dalai Lama fled to India, seeking political asylum. The monastery, according to the inhabitants of Bylakuppe, was consecrated and given its name by the Dalai Lama. While the village is home to about 50,000 Tibetans, the monastery itself houses nearly 5,000 monks and nuns whose living quarters circumscribe the golden temple. The architecture of Namdroling is a beautiful fusion of traditional Tibetan style built with modern materials.
The path to the monastery is flanked by well manicured lawns. 58 to 60 feet gold-plated idols of Guru Padmasambhava, Buddha Amitayus and Shakyamuni adorn the main sanctum sanctorum which is actually an expansive hall that contains smaller Buddha statues as well. Padmasambhava who was instrumental in spreading Buddhism to Tibet and Bhutan, we learn, is viewed as the Second Buddha while the Amitayus are celestial Buddhas.
Except for the sound from numerous shutterbugs, silence pervades as monks offer prayers and spin the large prayer wheels. The uniquely attractive Tibetan thanka paintings on the inner and outer walls of Namdroling, in bright bold colours narrate the life of the Buddhas.
The paintings, we learn, are based on mathematical calculations, exclusively a Tibetan cultural preserve. Further, the colours used in this art form are intense and the murals themselves represent various elements of Buddhist cosmology. Following several other tourists, we too rotate the several prayer wheels that line one end of the monastery, believing it would usher in good luck and prosperity.
While Namdroling in Camp 4 is the crowd puller, Bylakuppe is dotted with five distinct camps, each of them immaculately clean and housing several monasteries, temples and residential buildings.
The more popular of these include the Sera Mey and the Sera Jey Monastery, the latter having been modelled after the original Sera Monastery in Tibet, now in ruins.
Before we proceed to a couple of tourist spots neighbouring Kushalanagar, we visit Bylakuppe’s other big attraction, the Tibetan shopping complex with its array of colour ridden wares that include souveneirs, garments, handicrafts and artefacts, hand-made by Tibetans.
In addition, there are outlets selling freshly baked thupkas, the Tibetan bread and piping hot momos with a range of homemade Tibetan sauce.
Forest havenHaving deviated from our destination Madikeri, to visit Bylakuppe, we decide to digress a little more and hop over to Kaveri Nisargadhama, 3 km from Kushalanagar and the Harangi Dam, 8 km away.
We walk the rope bridge over the Kaveri River to enter the man-made, ecological island park of Nisargadhama, a picnic spot replete with facilities to entertain weekenders.
Verdant with bamboo, teak and sandalwood forests, and an orchidarium, the 64-acre sprawl is home to tree-top dwellings and guest houses operated by the forest department. We spot several families with children enjoying elephant rides and boating in the waters’ of the Kaveri.The ambience around Harangi is more mellow and calm with few picnickers strolling along designated paths.
The water deluge is refreshing and wonderful to watch as it constantly tumbles from a height of about 45 metres. Incidentally, the 846m long dam is believed to be the first dam built across the Kaveri River.
However, Bylakuppe remains the highlight of our trip and leaves us enchanted – with its pine trees, misty hills and tranquil environs, a distinctively Tibetan ambience and above all, its easy pace of life.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Supplements> Spectrum / by Chitra Ramaswamy / March 25th, 2014
Rotary Club International (RCI) district 3180 – Right to Information Act Committee district president B Pundalika Marate Shirva offered motion for an awareness campaign on transparency in governance that was held at Madikeri Rotary auditorium, organized by RCI Misty Hills, here on Sunday March 23.
Pundalika also released a Kannada book – Governance by the people, for the people, authored by Harish Poovayya Kodagu, advisor of corruption-free governance for social service organizations functioning in India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Zambia and Kirgizstan, on the same occasion.
RCI zone 6 assistant governor Ravindra Rai, RCI – Misty Hills president Dr Prashant, RTI activist Harish Poovayya, RCI secretary G R Ravishankar, office bearers of RCI, Lions Club International and heads of social service organizations were also present.
source: http://www.bellevision.com / Bellevision.com / Home / by Pundalika Marate, Bellevision Media Network / Madikeri – March 24th, 2014
Funds will be utilised for renovation and electrification The State government has released Rs 20 lakh for the renovation of Rajara Gadduge, one of the historical tourist spot near Banni Mantapa in Madikeri.
The State government has earmarked the funds for the renovation work in the last budget and has handed it over to archeological department.
The responsibility of the conservation of the Gadduge has been handed over to the archeological department. The department is getting ready to renovate three mausoleums. The funds have been deposited to the account of the department last month.
Tender was invited for the renovation work. However, no bidder had come forward to take up the work. Now, the department is thinking of taking up the work on its own or call for a re-tender. The decision on the same will be taken up after the Lok Sabha polls, said Archeological department Assistant Officer Sathish.
In the released amount, the work on electrification, painting and renovation of mausoleum of Raja Purohith Rudrappa situated on the left hand side of mausoleums of Chikkarajendra and his wife will be taken up, he said.
The Madikeri Urban Development Authority had laid a park at the Gadduge two years ago. However, owing to lack of maintenance, the park is crying for attention.
Visitors said “the park should be maintained well. Information boards should be installed at strategic locations in and around Madikeri city to furnish details on the Gadduge.”
On Gadduge
Rajara Gadduge is the mausoleum of the former kings of Kodagu namely Doddaveerarajendra, Lingarajendra and Rajaguru Rudrappa. Gadduge has two identical square structures, which are the tombs of the king Doddaveerarajendra and his queen.
They are close to each other, built in Indo-Sarcanic style, flaunting domes and pillars. There is tomb of Lingarajendra which was built by his son Chikkaveerarajendra in 1820. There is a tomb of Purohith Rudrappa which was built in 1834.
There are tombs of commander-in-chief Biddanda Bopu and his son Biddanda Somaiah, who were killed in their fight against Mysore Emeperor Tippu Sulthan.
source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> District / DHNS / Madikeri – March 23rd, 2014
Between defence and aggression./ Photo: Bhagya Prakash K. / The Hindu
Robin Uthappa has found the midpoint between aggression and composure and the rewards in terms of runs, has been phenomenal.
The metamorphosis of Robin Uthappa has perhaps been the most riveting tale in Karnataka cricket in the recent past. Just like the many languages he speaks, Uthappa the cricketer has embraced multiple roles over the last decade and aptly his whatsapp status is: “I’m different, get over it.”
Uthappa has donned many avatars in his evolution as an aggressive opener: a slightly over-weight kid who donned the wicket-keeping gloves and biffed with his bat; a brash teenager who smote the ball hard and drew the appreciation of former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar; the youngster who turned out for India, sparkled briefly and then was resigned to be on the sidelines; the man who asked for the Karnataka captaincy because he believed he could deliver; and now an elder statesman though he is just 28, scoring runs by the ton, lending whole-hearted support to captain Vinay Kumar and also dreaming about wresting back the India cap.
It is an exhaustive list but the varied experiences have shaped Uthappa well. There is a sense of calm and a whole lot of perspective in the way he approaches the game and his life and all that has helped him individually besides lending stability to Karnataka’s batting. It is a point that has caught his State coach J. Arunkumar’s eye. “Robin is very composed now. Even when he talks, he thinks a lot before he says anything. Earlier, he wasn’t like that, he could snap. Now he is in a good space personally and that shows in his batting. To be honest, he is batting the best in the State and he is ready to play for India again, especially in the shorter formats,” Arunkumar says. During Karnataka’s recent Vijay Hazare Trophy triumph, Uthappa’s tons (133 vs Jharkhand and 132 n.o., vs Gujarat) helped Vinay Kumar’s men to extend their good form that has already yielded the Ranji Trophy and the Irani Cup. Uthappa’s merger of aggression with remarkable consistency, has been a work in progress.
Last season, he roped in former India batsman Pravin Amre as his personal coach. And in a lovely tandem that tided past egos and focussed on the larger goal of good cricket, Amre and Arunkumar, worked out an easy understanding between themselves which helped the player improve rapidly. “Pravin has led me when I played for India ‘A’ and I have a lot of respect for him. There are no egos here and it is all about helping a player become better as well as help his team,” Arunkumar says.
To Uthappa’s credit, he found a mid-point between his innate aggression, while also adapting to Amre’s Bombay school of batsmanship that paid its traditional respects to defensive batting. Arunkumar, who was an aggressive opener in his heydays, says: “I believe that if a ball is short and wide, you should cut it, no point in leaving it. I tell that to Robin and the others, the situation might be 30 for three but you should be alert to scoring runs. Yes, he did get a bit too defensive when the last season began and then I had a chat with both Robin and Pravin. Now the good thing is that he is neither too aggressive nor too defensive. He has found his balance.”
Many years ago, when asked about the defining influences in his life, Uthappa spoke about Him. The Him was none other than Jesus Christ and Uthappa’s spiritual leanings, which continues to this day, his strong sense of self-esteem that has not lapsed into arrogance.
The easy camaraderie he shares with his team-mates and his constant instrospection about his game, have helped him find his feet. Having played for India in the past, Uthappa has reiterated his credentials again. May be it is a matter of time before he joins the ‘Men in Blue.’
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by K.C. Vijaya Kumari / Bangalore – March 23rd, 2014
Lt. Col. Kuppanda M. Muthanna (centre), who brought an old copy of a group photograph of 1956-57, is seen sharing it with yours truly and Dr. A.A. Kuttappa, at the venue — kids we were !
Last Sunday, I went to my alma mater Government First Grade College, Mercara, now rechristened as Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa College, Madikeri in Kodagu district, my native place.
That visit was to participate and get myself felicitated by the Alumni Association which was started a few years ago at the initiative of a planter couple Mr. and Mrs. K.S. Devaya of Lakshmijala Estate, who happen to be the alumnae of this College and could take interest and spare time to form the Association. Since then, I am told, the alumnae have been holding the annual get-together without fail. Soon the idea of felicitating those who are considered achievers among them in their given field of activity was introduced. This year, I was their choice for such recognition along with Dr. Kodira A. Kushalappa, IFS, retired Chief Conservator of Forests and Mr. Kolibailu A. Belliappa, retired IAS officer.
Though I had become the member when it was first started, I had not attended any of the annual get-togethers. This time I was cornered by a couple of members from City who said I must accept this honour. It was more in deference to the wishes of these well-meaning members that I condescended and went to Madikeri. And I was very happy and pleased to make that journey — a kind of pilgrimage. The presence of the College Principal Dr. A.A. Parvathy was as it should be and I thought, was in keeping with the protocol for such functions.
Dr. Kanjithanda Sunil Muddaiah, Managing Trustee of the Coorg Institute of Dental Studies, located, for appearance, rather precariously on the slopes of a hill in Virajpet and the only dental college in Kodagu, the land of hills and valleys, was the chief guest. An unassuming gentle person, an youngster, also an achiever in his own right considering the way he has built this college and carried it to the heights of excellence in his own way. He does this not for accumulating more money, which in any case he has inherited, coming from a rich, nay wealthy, family of coffee planters, but for passion, a purpose in life. I guess, at the end, the secret of success of all successful persons in life is their passion for what they do rather than mere hard work, which every money-hungry person does. Let it be.
The office-bearers, specially the President Mr. Nandineravanda A. Appaya, took great care in welcoming the alumni with great warmth and then affording them an opportunity to meet each other, recognise each other and then go nostalgic of the old days… in my case, of the days 58 years ago. Time and labour had taken toll of the health and appearance of many, just as in my case. Yet, once recognised, there was bonhomie and good cheer. It was like suddenly finding a long-lost brother or sister. Many were heard asking, “Mr. So and So I presume?” There were embarrassing moments for me as I failed to remember some who were classmates and also hostel mates.
For sure, with age, memories fade and the physical appearance along with mannerisms too change, compared to what I had seen 58 years ago. Naturally, it is hard to recognise a person immediately. It was gracious on their part that no one mistook each other.
I learn, though the Alumni Association was started in 1998 by Konganda S. Devaya with a small number of members, it was dormant till 2013, last year, when N.A. Appaya took over as President. I hope Appaya’s efforts will continue with a new road map for the Alumni Association with increased membership. [Those interested in becoming members of the Association may contact M.K. Kuttappa (Sachi) on Mob: 98454-73965]
In the mixed group of alumnae I found, among ladies and gentlemen, some in good health and some in poor health; some financially well placed, some not so well placed; some retired as government officers with high positions, some simply as government officers; some big coffee planters, some small coffee planters; some with problems connected to the family and hitha shatrus [beloved enemies as children are sometimes called for the trouble they give to their parents], some with their children settled in the US and feeling proud. I too have such issues and problems but overcame them listening to the wiser counsel of wise people. We need not despair. I would like to share here with my readers three such positive, life-sustaining words of solace:
Life is a game of Bridge. We did not invent the game nor design the cards; we did not frame the rules and we cannot control the dealing. The cards are dealt out to us whether they be good or bad. But, we can play the game well or play it badly. A skilful player may have a poor hand and yet win the game. A bad player may have a good hand and yet make a mess of it.
Our life is a mixture of necessity and freedom, chance and choice. We may not change events, but we can change our approach to events.
— Dr. S. Radhakrishnan
I came and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift; nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, not yet favour to men of skill but time and chance happens to them all.
— Old Testament
Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will and selfishness — all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil.
— ‘Meditations’ by
Marcus Aurelius
Tail-piece: As I strolled around the inner corridors of the college [architecturally a perfect college building which should be a model to those who build colleges] and the galleried classrooms, my thoughts went back to the days I spent there. Boys came with bell-bottom pants while girls came wearing lungis or mundus in coloured checks of Sri Lankan origin. Then there were mini skirts and drain-pipe pants. Lecturers used to come immaculately dressed — suit with tie, closed-collar coats. Nowadays I see them in casuals, wearing bathroom chappals.
No wonder, in many cases, students have no respect for teachers and in turn, teachers have no concern for students.
e-mail kbg@starofmysore.com
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Abracadabra….Abracadabra / by K.B. Ganapathy / March 25th, 2014
There are several laws to protect the interest of women. Women should make use of the available laws to lead a dignified life, said First Additional District and Sessions Judge M V Jadara.
Speaking at women’s day programme organised by the State Women’s Commission, Kodagu district administration, zilla panchayat, Legal Services Authority and woman and child welfare department here Saturday, he said that women are successful in each and every field. Zilla Panchayat CEO P I Srividya said that women should be empowered economically. DySP Prasanna V Raju, Backward Classes and Minority Welfare officer K V Suresh, Women and Child welfare Deputy Director Mumthaz among others were present.
In a separate programme organised by the district legal services authority, Mahilodaya Mahila Okkuta and Bar Association, Additional Civil Judge S Siddaraju said that education helps in the progress of a country. Women should focus on education.
Ashok of ODP said that a society can progress only when they are empowered. There is a need to improve condition of women in rural areas. Child marriage, evils of dowry system should be eradicated from the society. Widows should be honoured and respected.
CMC Commissioner B B Pushpavathi read out an oath.
Mudigere
Women should engage themselves in productive works during their free time, said Ujire Church Priest Vincent.
Speaking at women’s day programme organised by Kapuchin Krishi Seva Kendra and Banakal Vimukthi SHG Federation, he said that mother mould the personality of her children.
Banakal Vimukthi SHG Federation President Prema said that the Federation has been emphasising on cleanliness. About 460 members of the Federation were given loan of Rs 5,000 each without interest to construct toilets in their houses. Women are encouraged to take up pisciculture, vermi compost and dairy farming to empower themselves financially. Women should develop leadership qualities in them and come to the mainstream of the society, said Banakal church priest Vinod.
Shubra Aiyappa, a self-confessed travel junkie, is addicted to belly dancing these days and she’s hoping to take it to a whole new level. “I have travelled a lot over the past few years and I try my best to go on a holiday at least once every five months. During one of my recent trips,when I went to Istanbul, I just fell in love with belly dancing.
Almost every cafe in Istanbul had a belly dancer and it was mesmerising to watch them perform. So, I decided to learn belly dancing as soon as I came back to Mumbai. It’s almost like a crazy workout,which is a big bonus for me and it’s really tough, although the professional belly dancers make it all seem very effortless,” Shubra says.
She reveals that she has just completed a-month-and-a-half course in belly dancing. “I have always loved dancing and I am hoping to show off my belly dancing skills in one of my films in the near future,” she says. The actress will soon be seen in Nara Rohit starrer Prathinidhi and she’s also part of another untitled Telugu film, where she is paired opposite Arvind Krishna. “I am in love with Telugu film industry and I feel at home every time I am in Hyderabad,” she says signing off.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Entertainment> Telugu> Movies / by Hemanth Kumar, TNN / March 20th, 2014
Tata Starbucks currently has presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Bangalore and has its coffee plantations in the Coorg area of Karnataka. | AP
With 40 stores in 17 months of its operations, India is the fastest growing market in the history of the Seattle-based iconic American coffee chain Starbucks, according to a company statement.
The US-based coffee chain, which had sewed up an equal joint venture with Tata Global Beverages, opened its first outlet in Mumbai in October 2012.
“With 40 stores in four cities (in 17 months) and nearly 1,000 partners, India is the fastest growing market in Starbucks history,” Tata-Starbucks chief executive Avani Davda was quoted as telling Starbucks annual shareholders meet.
Tata Starbucks currently has presence in Mumbai, Delhi, Pune and Bangalore and has its coffee plantations in the Coorg area of Karnataka.
Starbucks globally operates over 20,000 stores across 64 countries, serving over 70 million customers per week.
Starbucks chairman, president and chief executive Howard Schultz told shareholders that the company would continue to reinforce the ongoing investments in 200,000 Starbucks partners (employees), including USD 250 million in their healthcare benefits and USD 234 million in bean stock in fiscal 2013.
He said the company recorded record revenue of USD 14.9 billion, up 12 per cent and record earnings per share of USD 2.261, up 26 per cent, taking its net profit to USD 2.5 billion, a rise of 23 per cent in fiscal 2013.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Business> News / by PTI – Mumbai / March 20th, 2014
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