Ford sells one millionth car in India
American carmaker Ford which was one of the first international entrants into a post-liberalised Indian economy in 1998 today announced that it had sold its one millionth car in India, a Ford Freestyle in a Delhi showroom. Ford which has invested over $2 billion dollars in India and has manufacturing facilities in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat has recently seen a upswing of demand for its products and has expanded its sales and service network as well. Ford has 465 sales and service centres in 267 cities across India.
Mercedes-Benz contributes to ‘Skill India’
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz today announced that it has signed Memorandum of Understanding with Noida Institute of Engineering & Technology and Krishna Institute of Engineering & Technology in Delhi. The Advanced Diploma in Automotive Mechatronics (ADAM) program is a Corporate Social Responsibility initiative by Mercedes-Benz India, which was propagated among students with the help of educational institutions. The Mechatronics training school at Mercedes-Benz India was started in the year 2006 with the aim of providing trained service personnel and engineers. To address this requirement, the parent company Daimler AG, Germany along with Mercedes-Benz India and the Mercedes-Benz India dealership network joined hands to start the program and train students to address the requirements of Mercedes-Benz technology and innovation. Only 20 students qualify to take the course per batch. Since its inception, over 500 students have successfully completed the program and have been placed within the Mercedes-Benz India dealership network. The Mechatronics program also provides support to Mercedes-Benz India’s state-of-the-art facility at Chakan, Pune.
SBI to organise farmer outreach programme
Country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) will organise a nation-wide Kisan Mela on Wednesday as an outreach programme for farmers and to impart financial literacy. SBI said it expects to cover 10 lakh farmers through nearly 14,000 rural and semi-urban branches across the country in this Kisan Mela, to be held on July 18.
Kisan Mela is a one-of-its-kind initiative by SBI to connect with farmer customers, resolve their grievances and educate them about their rights and various banks initiatives, SBI said in a statement. SBI, which has close to 1.50 crore farmer customers, said the lender had recently organised Kisan Mela which attracted nearly 6 lakh farmers across various locations in the country. As part of Kisan Mela, bank also offers farmers with Kisan Credit Card (KCC) an enhancement of 10 per cent to their credit limit on renewing the account, SBI said.