
GCC to deploy 30 vans for faster delivery in Chennai Corporation schools
Vans, fitted with steel racks and meeting pollution and road safety norms, are planned to be hired across three regions of the city to deliver food daily. The project will be tried for 80 working days in the North region, 90 working days in the Central region, and 180 working days in the South.
The Greater Chennai Corporation floated tenders to engage 12 vehicles in the North, 14 vehicles in the Central region and four in the South. Totally, the project is estimated to cost ₹61 lakh.
Under the arrangement, private contractors will supply the vehicles along with drivers who have a minimum of five years' experience operating light motor vehicles and hold valid tourist permits, said a civic official. Each morning, these vehicles will report at designated pickup points, load freshly prepared breakfasts from 35 kitchens — including Amma Canteens — and transport them to corporation schools. Trip sheets maintained by the drivers and certified by GCC officials will form the basis for monthly payments, he said.

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Hans India
7 hours ago
- Hans India
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Time of India
3 days ago
- Time of India
From back office to brain trust: Purpose, patents and profit are becoming the new metrics for GCCs as they mature
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'There was one slide that mattered – Where does this magic come from? – and underneath it read 'MBRDI, Bengaluru',' Saale recalled, still delighted that India, not Stuttgart or Palo Alto, cracked the problem first. 'That is how you earn respect at headquarters – and how you keep it,' he said. SAP Labs India MD and Nasscom chair Sindhu Gangadharan offered another concrete case. Eighty percent of the code for SAP's Joule enterprise copilot, she said, is written in Bengaluru, where developers work shoulder-to-shoulder with global customers to refine queries that track inventory, chase leads, or calculate taxes in natural language. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now 'We're talking about taking innovations like Joule from India to the world,' she said, pointing out that a quarter of SAP's patents now originate locally. The lesson for newer entrants, she argued, is to nurture end-to-end product thinking – engineers who can design, commercialise and localise software, not merely code it. 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Ahuja's 19th-floor metaphor suggests that cultural alignment and shared metrics matter more than physical proximity. When Indian engineers attend the same sprint reviews and read the same customer dashboards as colleagues abroad, they act – and are judged – as peers, not contractors. ● Cultivate leadership. Saale argued that India's decisive edge will be forged by the people who run the GCCs. 'The leadership factor in the whole game matters most. We need to get our leaders to lead differently, inspire differently and start sharing larger dreams with their teams about how they should see the world from Bengaluru or Pune,' he said. The best results will emerge when companies rotate managers across functions and geographies, reward risk-taking and make GCC stewardship a fast track to the C-suite. Ajay Vij, senior country MD for Accenture in India, said leadership was particularly important in today's volatile times.


Time of India
22-07-2025
- Time of India
Over 900 city roads not laid since 2021
Chennai: On paper, the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) has spent 1,692 crore on laying and re-laying about 15,100 roads in the city since 2021. So, the city ought to be looking pretty with road-users whizzing around on good motorable roads, right? But, that is not to be. Despite spending a fortune on the roads, the commuters, particularly those in areas added to the city and North Chennai neighbourhoods, get no respite from potholes and battered roads. More than 900 roads have not been re-laid at all since 2021. Another 400-plus stretches were removed from re-laying plans during the past five years due to underground works by Metrowater. For the record, of the 18,895 roads in the city, work was completed on 15,107. A total of 2,221 crore was allocated for road projects under NSMT, TURIF, and capital fund from GCC since 2021, and road projects worth 1,692 crore have been completed. Yet, grievances galore. Year after year, only the core city areas were given priority, at the cost of the newly added areas as well as large pockets of North Chennai. Several interior roads have been completely neglected and are yet to be sanctioned, despite multiple complaints to GCC. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 15 most beautiful women in the world Undo The extended areas suffer the most, with many roads still unpaved despite being added to the GCC limits. In case of complaints, the GCC blames Metrowater or Metrorail for the poor road conditions. You Can Also Check: Chennai AQI | Weather in Chennai | Bank Holidays in Chennai | Public Holidays in Chennai "The roads were laid soon after the Assembly elections in 2021 but were immediately dug up by Tangedco for underground cable work. After that was finished, we expected the roads to be re-laid. Instead, the Metrowater carried out further road cuts for the drainage system. Although that work was completed last year, the GCC has still not re-laid the interior roads. When we enquired with the authorities, they said the delay of more than a year is due to funds not yet being allocated," said M Karthikeyan of Kottivakkam, where roads were re-laid a decade after being added to the GCC limits. "Only about 30% of the allocated funds are used for road re-laying, while the rest is lost to corruption. There should be a road safety audit for GCC roads, like what exists for the state highways. It would help address recurring issues with poor road quality," said G Uma Devi, retired professor of civil engineering at Anna University. "The govt has allocated 400 crore for re-laying roads under NSMT and TURIF, and 86 crore has been provided from GCC capital fund. The work is expected to be completed across the city by the end of Aug," said GCC commissioner J Kumaragurubaran. "To avoid digging up newly re-laid roads, and since the Metrowater did not hand over some roads after completing their work, we had to drop 425 roads until the 2024-25 financial year," he said. Until Metrowater gives a no objection certificate, these roads will not be re-laid. Chennai mayor R Priya told TOI, "A large number of damaged roads have been identified and re-laid in 2023. At least 6,133 roads were re-laid, especially after Cyclone Michaung. As per the TUFIDCO inspection, many roads do not require re-laying. We have ensured that additional roads have been laid across the city since 2021." Residents and activists, however, complain about the authorities' failure to act during the summer months. The ideal period for re-laying roads in the city is between April and July. However, unlike previous years, Chennai witnessed an early onset of summer this year. The GCC did not re-lay roads during this peak season and instead commenced work only earlier this month, citing administrative delays.