Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal awarded Thomas Roetter, managing director of KREIGER GmbH, which ships Nepali carpets to Germany, with the Export Excellence Award on 23 February. PM Nepal said the government was committed to restoring carpet exports to its previous levels. He added that for this purpose a high level task force has been formed which will study the scenario and make recommendations to be implemented this year.

Mickey power
Dabur Real recently launched 200ml juice packs featuring different pictures of Mickey Mouse. Cool recipes and weekly gift hampers sweeten the deal for kids who cut and paste the different 'avatars' of the Disney character from the juice packs and send it to P.O. Box 14375, completing the sentence, 'I love Real because�.'

3 models
Bama Motors announced three new models of Chery Automobile � QQ3, A1 and TIGGO. These models have features like keyless entry, power window, power steering, inbuilt AC and music system, rear wiper, defogger, day/night rear view mirror and body colour bumper.

Power up
Himstar CFL has come up with a special scheme: purchase a 5 to 11 watt Himstar CFL and get two Himstar Max Power 'AAA' batteries free; buy a 11 to 18 watt Himstar CFL and get 2 Himstar Max Power 'AA' batteries.

Safe water
Himalayas Spring Water organised a press meet to urge the Nepali government to provide a foolproof security plan for foreign investors. Himalayas Spring Water has finalised an agreement with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation to operate a factory to produce PET bottles with water from Langtang National Park.

New Gadget
Human Click Enterprises and Multronics International, along with Pulse Incorporated, launched products from the eminent brand M-Audio, a business unit of Avid Technology.

M-Audio products are said to be designed to form integral creation systems, so that the user can focus on the music rather than worry about the technology.

Amulya Jeevan
LIC (Nepal) launched a new life insurance plan - Amulya Jeevan. The company says the new scheme is probably the cheapest individual life insurance plan available in the country. It is available for people aged between 16-60 and the premium paying terms range from 10-44 years.

EvoStore
EvoStore opened itssecond exclusive store in Kumaripati. Evostore is the only showroom to showcase prominent brands like Apple, Bose, Sharp, JBL, Bowers and Jilkins.

Ncell
Spice Nepal's Mero Mobile has been rebranded as Ncell, with 'N' standing for Nepal, and has a new marketing slogan:

'Here for Nepal'. The rebranding is driven by the firm's majority shareholder, European giant TeliaSonera, which is looking to redefine telecommunications in the country. Ncell Chief Executive Pasi Koistinen says, "People want to improve the quality of their lives with the help of telecommunication services. Being the pioneer in the market, we are trying to introduce innovative technology and thinking." He added that new brand name will help the company target rural areas, a key objective of the group, as it aims to become the country's leading mobile operator by number of subscribers.

Showroom biz
Kalika Auto Link, a Bajaj 3S showroom, opened in Gaighat on 5 March. The showroom targets yearly sales of 500 motorbikes, but also provides servicing and spare parts.