Tatas' Land Rover only Indian-owned brand in world's top 100

October 12, 2014

London, Oct 12: Tata group's Land Rover has forayed into an elite club of world's 100 most valuable brands as the only Indian-owned entity, while iconic Apple has retained its top slot with nearly USD 119 billion valuation.

Land RoverLand Rover, an iconic British car brand owned by Indian conglomerate Tatas, has been ranked 91st with a brand value of USD 4.47 billion and is one of the five new entrants on this annual list compiled by leading brand consultancy Interbrand.

Apple -- maker of iPhone mobiles, Mac computers, iPad tablets and iPod music players among others -- is followed by Google on the second position (USD 107 billion). These are the only two with brand values in excess of USD 100 billion.

While Land Rover is the only Indian-owned entity on the list, there are at least six other brands ranked among top 100 that are part of the entities run by Indian-origin CEOs.

These include Satya Nadella-led Microsoft (5th with brand value of USD 61 billion), Indra Nooyi-led Pepsi (24th; USD 19 billion), Shantanu Narayen-led Adobe (77th; USD 5.3 billion) and Ajay Banga-led MasterCard (88th; USD 4.7 billion).

Ivan Menezes-led British drinks giant Diageo, which also owns majority stake in India's largest alcoholic beverage manufacturer United Spirits, also has two portfolio brands -- Smirnoff (34th; USD 13 billion) and Johnnie Walker (86th; USD 4.8 billion) -- on the top 100 list.

Land Rover has been ranked higher than many big global brands like FedEx, Huawei, Heineken, Pizza Hut, BOSS, Nokia, Gap and Nintendo.

"Exemplifying British engineering and expertise in the SUV category, the iconic British brand (owned by TATA of India) has invested heavily in product creation, facility, and infrastructure," Interbrand said.

The leading brand consultancy further noted that "with 115 awards across its car range (led by Range Rover with 55 awards), Land Rover is finally getting the recognition it deserves and has improved its J D Power scores significantly."

"With the customer at the heart of the company, a clear focus and significant investment in improving design and quality, and demonstrating world-class technology and innovation, Land Rover is fully equipped to experience accelerating success in the forthcoming Age of You," Interbrand added.

Among top-ten, Apple and Google are followed by Coca-Cola, IBM, Microsoft, GE, Samsung, Toyota, McDonald's and Mercedes Benz.

Apple's brand value increased 21 per cent year-on-year, while for Google it was 15 per cent and for Coca Cola it was 3 per cent.

To be included in Best Global Brands, a brand must be truly global, having successfully transcended geographic and cultural boundaries, Interbrand said.

It must have a significant presence in Asia, Europe, and North America, as well as broad geographic coverage in emerging markets.

Moreover, the brand must have a public profile and awareness across the world's major economies.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 9,2020

U.S. electric vehicle maker Tesla Inc is "very close" to achieving level 5 autonomous driving technology, Chief Executive Elon Musk said on Thursday, referring to the capability to navigate roads without any driver input.

"I'm extremely confident that level 5 or essentially complete autonomy will happen and I think will happen very quickly," Musk said in remarks made via a video message at the opening of Shanghai's annual World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC).

"I remain confident that we will have the basic functionality for level 5 autonomy complete this year."

Automakers and tech companies including Alphabet Inc Waymo and Uber Technologies are investing billions in the autonomous driving industry.

However industry insiders have said it would take time for the technology to get ready and public to trust autonomous vehicles fully.

The California-based automaker currently builds cars with an Autopilot driver-assistance system.

Tesla is also developing new heat-projection or cooling systems to enable more advanced computers in cars, Musk said.

Industry data showed Tesla sold nearly 15,000 China-made Model 3 sedans last month.

Tesla has become the highest-valued automaker as its shares surged to record highs and its market capitalisation overtook that of former front-runner Toyota Motors Corp.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
Agencies
March 21,2020

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Saturday launched a Health Alert on WhatsApp where over 1.5 billion users can ask questions and they will be provided with reliable information about new coronavirus 24/7.

This will also serve government decision-makers by providing the latest numbers and situation reports, WhatsApp said in a statement.

To contact the WHO Health Alert, save the number +41 79 893 1892 in phone contacts, and then simply text the word 'Hi' in a WhatsApp message to get started.

The service responds to a series of prompts and will be updated daily with the latest information.

"You can also visit the WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub at whatsapp.com/coronavirus," and click on the WHO link on the homepage to open up a chat with the WHO Health Alert if you have WhatsApp installed," said the micro-blogging platform.

The WHO Health Alert will provide official information on topics such as how to protect yourself from infection, travel advice, and debunking new coronavirus myths.

The service is initially launching in English but will be available in all six languages within the coming weeks (English, Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian and Spanish.)

"Digital technology gives us an unprecedented opportunity for vital health information to go viral and spread faster than the pandemic. We are proud to have partners like Facebook and WhatsApp, that are supporting us in reaching billions of people with important health information," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the WHO.

The WHO Health Alert is the latest official NGO or government helpline to become available on WhatsApp, joining the Singapore Government, The Israel Ministry of Health, the South Africa Department of Health, and KOMINFO Indonesia.

Earlier this week, WhatsApp, in partnership with the World Health Organization, UNICEF, and UNDP, launched the WhatsApp Coronavirus Information Hub. The hub offers general tips and resources for users around the world to reduce the spread of rumours and connect with accurate health information.

WhatsApp also announced a $1 million grant to the International Fact Checking Network to support fact-checking for the #CoronaVirusFacts Alliance.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
July 24,2020

Melbourne, Jul 24: Home-made cloth face masks may need a minimum of two layers, and preferably three, to prevent the dispersal of viral droplets associated with Covid-19, according to a study.

Researchers, including those from the University of New South Wales in Australia, noted that viral droplets are generated by those infected with the novel coronavirus when they cough, sneeze, or speak.

As face masks have been proven to protect healthy people from inhaling infectious droplets as well as reducing the spread from those who are already infected, several types of material have been suggested for these, but based on little or no evidence of how well they work, the scientists said.

In the current study, published in the journal Thorax, the researchers compared the effectiveness of single and double-layer cloth face coverings with a surgical face mask (Bao Thach) at reducing droplet spread.

They said the single layer covering was made from a folded piece of cotton T shirt and hair ties, and the double layer covering was made using the sew method described by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The scientists used a tailored LED lighting system and a high-speed camera to film the dispersal of airborne droplets produced by a healthy person with no respiratory infection, during speaking, coughing, and sneezing while wearing each type of mask.

Their analysis showed that the surgical face mask was the most effective at reducing airborne droplet dispersal, although even a single layer cloth face covering reduced the droplet spread from speaking.

But the study noted that a double layer covering was better than a single layer in reducing the droplet spread from coughing and sneezing.

According to the researchers, the effectiveness of cloth face masks is dependent on the number of layers of the covering, the type of material used, design, fit as well as the frequency of washing.

Based on their observations, they said a home made cloth mask with at least two layers is preferable to a single layer mask.

"Guidelines on home-made cloth masks should stipulate multiple layers," the scientists said, adding that there is a need for more research to inform safer cloth mask design.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.