Sony to recall 1.6 m LCD TVs worldwide due to fire risk; only ‘inspections' in India

My View: Yet another instance, which shows that even Big Brands can falter; and the damage that it can cause...any guesses.....priceless...

Sony on Wednesday recalled 1.6 million Bravia liquid crystal display (LCD) TV sets sold worldwide since 2007 to rectify a faulty component that can cause them to melt or catch fire. But the global consumer electronic giant has no plans to recall any Bravia LCD TVs sold in India, a spokesman for the company told Business Line on Wednesday.

Quoting a media report, an industry source said the company has announced a ‘recall' in Japan and is planning to announce one in the US and Europe on Thursday. However, there is no plan to recall its products sold in India, but would organise a free inspection upon request.

According to a Sony India spokesperson, the affected models are KLV-40W300A & KLV-40X350A.

‘inspection on demand'

Responding to a query from this correspondent, the spokesperson sent a brief statement: “It has come to our attention through reports in Japan that in rare cases a particular component incorporated in certain models of 40-inch Bravia LCD TVs, mostly launched between 2007-08, was damaged and as a result may overheat and at times ignite inside the TV set, possibly melting a part of the cabinet ceiling due to the heat.”

It further says Sony India has sold 3,200 units of these models between 2007 and 2008. “Upon request, the company is offering a free inspection of the affected products.

“A Sony service person will promptly visit and check, and repair if a faulty component is found, free of charge.”

An official from Sony India, on condition of anonymity, said around 10 incidents have been reported in Japan since 2008. “But, in India, till now, we have not received any complaint.”

Sony is the second largest player after Samsung in the flat panel display (FPD) TV segment in India. And, with 35 per cent share of its total FPD sales, Bravia is the company's flagship product.
(This article was published on October 13, 2011) Source : Business Line . Thank You.

A hit-and-miss by Air India [ Is'nt this a COPQ ]

Ashwini Phadnis
Air India tried to get into the world's biggest interlining group, Star Alliance. ‘You aren't good enough', it was told.

August has been an unfortunate month for Air India. Early in the month, it lost out on an opportunity of being the first Indian carrier to join a global airline alliance. Mid-month saw a change of guard at the top. Heaven knows what will happen by the end.

On August 12, the Government appointed Mr Rohit Nandan, a Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Air India (AI), thereby bringing down the curtain on the tumultuous innings of Mr Arvind Jadhav.

It is also believed that the airline will get new independent directors on its Board. The persons to be inducted are likely to be from the finance and hospitality sectors.

JADHAV'S NOSEDIVE

During Mr Jadhav's over two-year-long stint as CMD, the airline's domestic market share plunged to the fifth position from the third. Its employees expressed their disgruntlement on more than one occasion by going on strike. This not only inconvenienced flyers but also led to a severe dent in the Maharaja's image.

Worse, the airline's total accumulated losses on March 31, 2010 stood at Rs 13,326.86 crore with the loss before tax during 2010-11 expected to be Rs 6,994 crore (provisional).

The financial health of the airline is precarious with current monthly revenue collections being around Rs 1,100 crore, while the expenditure is about Rs 1,700 crore, thereby leaving a gap of Rs 600 crore a month.

NOT NOW, DARLING

Given this dismal performance, an entry into the largest global airline alliance, the Star Alliance, would have been useful. But this was not to be. Others have standards, even if Air India doesn't.

In Dubai, Ramadan turns month of food waste [ Big Opportunity ]

1850 tonnes of food thrown out on an average per day during Ramadan in 2010 !!!

By Reuters Aug 16 2011
Hundreds of As­ian labourers sit silently on the floor outside Du­bai’s Fatima Hassan Mosque in front of plates laden with fruit, pakoras and biryani as they wait patiently in the energy-sapping humidity to begin their Ramadan iftar.
The mosque, situated downtown just yards from Dubai’s creek – the location of the emirate’s original trading hub when it was just a small trade and fishing centre – provides a free iftar for the poor every day during the holy month, cooking enough rice, mutton or chicken to feed some 1,500-1,800 workers in one sitting.

The Fatima Hassan Mosque’s waste bins may be empty, but Ramadan brings a huge increase in food waste across the city and the Gulf as leftovers from more lavish banquets attended by the well-to-do are thrown out in a region where soaring summer te­mperatures mean that fresh food goes off quickly.
“We hardly have any waste. Whatever is left over we serve to people. We call the people over and give it to them,” said Nour Mohammed, a sales coordinator who volunteers to serve food. But not all iftars in Dubai are simple meals provided for the poor — many of whom are migrant workers, paid less that 1,000 dirhams ($272) a month and often have large debts.
Dubai has transformed itself over the last 50 years into a regional business and tourism hub renowned for extravagant real estate projects, flashy living and the luxurious banquets at hotels and restaurants to accommodate the demands of wealthy consumers who want the best fresh food at their iftar feasts.

At Least 35 Killed and 210 Hurt in Crash of 2 Trains in China

By IAN JOHNSON

Viewpoint : Is this a case of Poor Quality in : Planning, Anticipating failures, Execution or ??

BEIJING — -At least 35 people died and 210 were injured Saturday night in a train accident on a high-speed line in coastal China. It was the most serious blow yet to the country’s beleaguered rail-modernization program.

The accident occurred when a train traveling near Wenzhou lost power after it was struck by lightning, according to the official Xinhua news agency. Signals apparently also malfunctioned, causing another train to rear-end the stationary train. Six cars derailed; photographs and television news reports showed that at least two of the cars were thrown off a bridge 50 feet above the ground.

The disaster prompted President Hu Jintao to declare that the rescue work was a national priority. Xinhua had graphic photos of the injured being treated in hospitals and locals lining up to donate blood.

China’s railway minister, Sheng Guangzu, was reported to have rushed to the scene. Mr. Sheng took control of the powerful ministry earlier this year after his predecessor and several associates were fired and investigated for corruption.

China plans to invest more than $100 billion a year for the next three years in high-speed rail.

But the speed of the expansion has raised eyebrows. Foreign companies contend that state-run Chinese firms have stolen some of their technology.

Revelations of shoddy construction also have surfaced in the state-run news media since the firings at the Railway Ministry, a sign that the government is concerned that its huge investment has been at least partially squandered.

Construction on new lines has slowed since the new team leading the ministry began focusing efforts on improving safety. A high-speed line between Kunming and Shanghai is months behind schedule because officials are now making safety a high priority, according to interviews with subcontractors working on the project.

In addition, the newly opened Beijing-Shanghai line has been plagued by delays and shutdowns. That prompted the Railway Ministry to announce Saturday that it was reducing service on the flagship line as a result of low ridership.

News of the accident near Wenzhou quickly become a hot topic on Sina Weibo, China’s version of Twitter. “Taking a fast train is meant to be safe and fast; who would have thought that now it is only fast?” one posting said. Another added, “It’s more dangerous to run on the ground than fly in the sky.”

Source : International Herald Tribune

Reliance, ICICI Pru, Max on top of complaint chart

By Sagar Sen, Shruti Verma Khare Jul 19 2011 , FC Research Bureau

Reliance Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance and Max New York Life Insurance have received the highest number of complaints from policyholders in 2010-11. Of these, Reliance got 64,282 complaints, ICICI Prudential 48,802 and Max New York Life 25,590.

As per an Irda mandate, insurers have to reveal complaints related to unfair business practices, which come under sales-related complaints.

“Typically, sales-related issues arise when customers complain that they were not aware of certain features of the product they bought or were unaware of the charges or the policy was mis-sold to them,” said Snehil Gambhir, COO of Aviva Life Insurance.

At 89,112, sales-related complaints accounted for 30.81 per cent of the total. ICICI Prudential policyholders alone registered 36,212 or 40.64 per cent of such complaints. Complaints related to policy servicing came next at 70,165, or 24.26 per cent of the total.

Policyholders register these complaints when documents do not reach them within the period promised by the insurer or the agent. Of these, 12,883 were made against LIC till December 2010, or about 18.36 per cent of such complaints.

Complaints related to behaviour of insurance company employees or agents, or issues arising at the time of renewal that fall under others category came next at 67,115, or over 23.20 per cent of the total. Reliance got 62.18 per cent of such complaints or 41,729.

Then came new business related complaints relating to inconvenient medical tests and errors in personal data like name or address at 52,868 or 18.28 per cent of the total. Future Generali India Life Insurance got 14,115 or 26.70 per cent of such complaints.

The year saw 10,014 complaints related to claims or 3.46 per cent of the total. Of these, ICICI Prudential got 2,503 or 25 per cent.

Complaints made against insurers are generally accepted either fully or partially. In all, life insurers received 2,89,274 complaints in FY11. Of these, they fully accepted 2,60,030 and partially accepted 2,525 cases.

“Partially accepted cases are those where the insurer has accepted certain points raised by the policyholder while rejecting some concerns. Also, cases where a policyholder feels the complaint resolution provided to him is not comprehensive or is not as per his satisfaction fall under this category,” said Vikas Gujral, senior vice-president & head of operations and customer service at Max New York Life.

The highest number of rejections was made by Aviva Life at 6,898, while SBI Life rejected 6,701 and Bharti Axa Life 4,637.

Max New York Life has the highest number of pending complaints at 1,868, while ICICI Prudential and Reliance Life have 826 and 812 respectively.

Source : sagarsen@mydigitalfc.com. Thank You.