News Broadcasting
McDonald’s spreads more smiles in Mumbai opens its 2nd outlet in Bombay Central
MUMBAI: Mumbai Central residents who love McDonald’s have good reason to cheer as the worlds leading chain of fast food restaurants; McDonald’s opened its 2nd restaurant in Mumbai Central.
The restaurant at Bellasis Road, Mumbai Central has added to the chain’s 45 restaurants in the west and south region and is the 20th restaurant in Mumbai. It is spread over an area of 2187sq. ft. with a total seating capacity of 58.
Commenting on the launch, Mr. Amit Jatia, MD & JV Partner, McDonald’s India (West & South) said, “Mumbai has always been an important market for us from the very beginning. The second restaurant at Mumbai central will continue keeping in line with the McDonald’s tradition of convenience and quality at a single stop and we look forward to the continued support from our customers.”
McDonald’s Family Restaurant:
The McDonald’s restaurant at Mumbai Central will continue to deliver the same quality of food, excellent service and a relaxed ambience that it is internationally renowned for. Appreciating and respecting Indian sentiments, McDonald’s has developed a special menu with vegetarian selections to suit Indian tastes and preferences with separate enclosures for vegetarian and non-vegetarian cooking.
In addition, McDonald’s has blended various Indian spices to prepare an extensive vegetarian menu, amongst which are the McVeggie™ Burger, Paneer Salsa Wrap™ and the Shahi Paneer McCurry Pan™. Besides eliminating beef or pork items from its menu, McDonald’s in India has also specially created for the vegetarian consumers; sandwich sauces and soft serves which are eggless and 100% vegetarian.
Brief Background on McDonald’s:
McDonald’s is the world’s leading food service retailer with more than 31,000 restaurants in 118 countries serving 50 million customers each day.
Celebrating 10 years of leadership in food service retailing in India, McDonald’s today has a network of 104 restaurants across the country, with its first restaurant launch way back in 1996. Prior to its launch, the company invested four years to develop its unique cold chain, which has brought about a veritable revolution in food handling, immensely benefiting the farmers at one end and enabling customers to get the highest quality food products, absolutely fresh and at a great value.
In line with its respect for local culture, India is the first country in the world where McDonald’s does not offer any beef or pork items. McDonald’s has also re-engineered its operations to address the special requirements of vegetarians. Vegetable products are kept separate throughout the various stages of procurement, cooking and serving. The mayonnaise and the soft serves are also 100% vegetarian.
McDonald’s has retained the No. 1 position for 3rd consecutive year in the latest ‘Business World Most Respected Companies of India’, survey in the food retailing industry. The company was also awarded the ‘CNBC Awaaz Consumer Award’ in the ‘Most Preferred Fast Food Company’ category. The company has also been honored with the Images Retail Award in the ‘Catering Services Category’ for the current year.
News Broadcasting
Rajesh Sundaram joins NDTV Profit as senior editor, assignment
The 32-year newsroom veteran has launched channels on three continents and covered everything from 9/11 to South African television
MUMBAI: NDTV Profit has bolstered its newsroom with a hire who has done rather more than most. Rajesh Sundaram, a journalist with over three decades of editorial, managerial and consultative experience across India and international markets, joins as senior editor, assignment, tasked with sharpening the network’s newsgathering and real-time response.
Sundaram’s career reads like a tour of Indian media’s most formative moments. He began at Businessworld in 1994, moved to Zee News as bureau chief across Mumbai and Chennai, then joined NDTV in 2002 as part of its political bureau during a particularly febrile period in Indian politics. A stint as India correspondent for Al Jazeera International followed, where he covered key geopolitical developments and got his first serious taste of the global newsroom.
What sets Sundaram apart, however, is his serial channel-launching habit. At NewsX, he helped get the operation off the ground. At Headlines Today, part of the India Today Group, he served as editor. At News Nation, he helped launch the Hindi news channel and its digital ecosystem. He then crossed continents to lead the launch of ANN7 in South Africa as editor-in-chief, overseeing both television and digital. Back in India, he launched Tamil news channels News7 Tamil and Cauvery News, and later served as principal consultant for the launch of Marathi channel Lokshahi. Most recently, he helped build and lead the Press Trust of India’s video service and content studio, before stints consulting for Business Today and The Himalayan Times.
Rahul Kanwal, chief executive and editor-in-chief of NDTV, left little doubt about what Sundaram is expected to deliver. “The assignment desk is where a newsroom’s intent becomes action,” he said. “Rajesh brings a rare combination of field experience and leadership in building news operations at scale.”
Sundaram has reported from across India and the world, covering elections, civil conflicts, the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 US presidential election.
At NDTV Profit, he will lead the assignment desk, driving editorial coordination and real-time response across markets and breaking developments. For a business news network sharpening its focus on speed and multi-platform delivery, it has hired a man who has built newsrooms from scratch on three continents. The assignment desk is in good hands.
