SILICONEER | INFOTECH INDIA: Tech News Briefs | NOVEMBER 2010

!-- Start Alexa Certify Javascript --> !-- Start Alexa Certify Javascript --> !-- Start Alexa Certify Javascript --> SILICONEER | INFOTECH INDIA: Tech News Briefs | NOVEMBER 2010 | Celebrating 11 Years!

A General Interest Monthly Magazine for South Asians in the U.S.

Current Issue

Mobile

Past eMags

eMagazine

Videos

Advertisers

Media Kit

Archives

ADVERTISEMENTS

PREMIUM

CLASSIFIEDS

MULTIMEDIA VIDEO

INFOTECH INDIA | Tech Briefs: NOVEMBER 2010

WIPRO: Premji to Launch $1 Billion Endowment Trust
Micromax Launches Worlds Lightest Touch Phone
Rising Rupee May Cause Woes for Small IT Firms
INFOSYS: Campus in China
BLACKBERRY: New Smartphone
ADOBE SYSTEMS: Acrobat X
KERALA: $1B IT Turnover
Suzlon Selects IBM
UIDAI Shortlist
SATYAM: Raju Denies Charge
MOSER BAER INDIA: OLED Facility

WIPRO: Premji to Launch $1 Billion Endowment Trust

Wipro’s billionaire founder, Azim Premji , will launch an endowment trust, modeled on the lines of the world-famous Harvard Management Company , to fund all his philanthropic activities. The trust, which will eventually have a billion-dollar corpus, will be operational in January next year and could be funded by the sale of a small chunk of promoter equity in Wipro, India’s third-biggest software services exporter.

The trust will largely focus on leading the education initiatives strongly favored by Premji, according to people close to the development.

“(Mr) Premji could use proceeds from his sale of around 4.52 percent stake in Wipro to fund this corpus,” said a person familiar with the development, but who requested anonymity. This will also help Premji bring down his holding in the company and comply with the new finance ministry rule that mandates companies listed in India must increase their public shareholding to 25 percent.

The trust will be led by K.R. Lakshminarayana, the current chief of Wipro’s strategy and mergers and acquisitions.

Premji’s office also did not respond to an email query. A spokesman for the company said more details will be shared only after January 2011.

“The endowment needs to be large, and selling his Wipro stake to comply with SEBI rules is among top options to fund the trust,” said a second person familiar with the process.

In many ways, the fund would be similar to the $27.6-billion endowment corpus managed by Harvard Management Company, which supports the educational and research objectives of Harvard University.

|TOP|

Micromax Launches World's Lightest Touch Phone

Indian mobile phone company Micromax has launched a touch screen smartphone , modu T, in partnership with Israel-based modu Limited to tap the "aspirational" segment of the consumers.

The 3.5G modu T was awarded the Guinness World Record for being the lightest touch phone in the world.

Priced at Rs.12,000, the 2.2-inch touch screen phone will be available in the market with pre-bundled 2GB memory card from Oct. 22.

The phone comes with two "fy" devices, jackets, which when connected, add new features to the phone. The "camerafy" jacket converts the phone into a camera with a 5 megapixel resolution and LED flash. Alternatively, a user can also "sportfy" the modu T phone and turn it into an exercise companion.

modu is a modular phone, which operates on Qualcomm's Brew operating system, and offers a variety of applications such as YouTube, Google Search, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, TuneWiki, eBuddy and Snaptu.

"Innovation has been a driver for Micromax success in India and we believe that by bringing the modu T phone to India, we are targeting the 'aspirational' segment of Indian consumers, who are the early adopters of technology and passionate about electronic gadgets," said Vikas Jain, business director, Micromax.

The company also said it will launch five models in the Brazilian market and is waiting for the approval from Anatel, the telecom regulator of Brazil.

Jain said the company is also looking forward to launch tablets in the market.

|TOP|

Rising Rupee May Cause Woes for Small IT Firms

The rising rupee could spell big trouble for India’s export-focused software industry, especially for many of the small and mid-sized software companies that are yet to recover from the slowdown.

In the last one month, the rupee has appreciated nearly 4.6 percent to Rs 44.15 from Rs 46.32, and analysts fear that with the mega Coal India IPO, the rupee could go for a roller coaster.

“It is a big threat especially for the smaller software companies,” said an IT analyst with a domestic brokerage. “Many small and medium-sized companies are yet to see a recovery after the recession in the markets of the U.S. and Europe hit their revenues.”

“Every a 1 percent rise in the rupee could have 30-40 basis points impact on operating margins,” he said. The BSE-IT index lost 3.25 percent compared to a 1.82 percent fall in the Sensex. Infosys shares lost 3.4 percent closing at Rs 3076 on the BSE, despite posting its best performance in years.

The tech bellwether’s dollar guidance for FY11 was upbeat but its rupee guidance was muted, disappointing analysts.

“While an increase in Infosys’ dollar revenue growth guidance for the year to 25 percent was a positive, almost no change in the rupee EPS guidance was disappointing. We see limited near-time upside in the stock with rupee appreciation being the key overhang on further valuation re-rating,” said Rajiv Mehta, an analyst with IIFL.

Warning of the flood of FII inflows, Infosys CFO V. Balakrishnan said India had to intervene to make sure speculative inflows don’t appreciate the currency big time and hurt all the exporters. “Each 1 percent (rise in the rupee) knocks off some 1.7 percent from EPS,” said brokerage firm CLSA in a note.

|TOP|

INFOSYS: Campus in China

Infosys Technologies is looking at setting up a campus in China to tap emerging business opportunities in one of the world's fastest growing economies.

The software exporter is scouting for land to set up the campus in Chinese commercial hub Shanghai.

Infosys employs around 2,700 people in China. "We are looking for land in Shanghai to develop a campus. The campus in China will be for tapping business in the Chinese market as well as that of global companies," an Infosys spokesperson told PTI.

However, details about the proposed investment and size of the campus were not immediately available.

Going by a media report, the campus would have a seating capacity of 20,000.

The report added that the company is tapping China for its domestic market and for global companies who want an alternative to India.

In its 2009-10 annual report, Infosys had said that it has started "selective recruitment at campuses in the U.S., the U.K., Australia and China."

|TOP|

BLACKBERRY: New Smartphone

Research In Motion has launched BlackBerry Torch 9800, the first BlackBerry smartphone with the new BlackBerry 6 operating system.

The 3G-ready device priced at Rs.35,000 will be available across all Indian telecom operators offering BlackBerry services.

Equipped with a broad range of advanced communications and multi-media features, BlackBerry Torch is ideal for socially connected consumers and those who do business on the move.

"With its new high-performance browser, powerful touch screen interface and easy-to-use BlackBerry keyboard, the highly anticipated BlackBerry Torch offers an exceptional mobile experience for both consumers and business users in India ," said Frenny Bawa, managing director (India), RIM.

It offers support for high-speed 3G networks around the world, includes the latest generation in Wi-Fi connectivity and features built-in GPS for location-based applications and geo-tagging.

BlackBerry 6 integrates a new and rich WebKit-based browser on BlackBerry Torch that renders HTML web pages (as well as HTML email) quickly and beautifully for a great browsing experience.

RIM, a global leader in wireless innovation, revolutionized the mobile industry with the introduction of the BlackBerry in 1999.

|TOP|

ADOBE SYSTEMS: Acrobat X

Adobe Systems India has launched a new range of its Acrobat software aimed at helping enterprises create higher-quality content and drive collaboration and productivity.

Adobe offers various software solutions like Acrobat Reader, Photoshop, Illustrator , Portable Document Format, Shockwave Flash and Flash Video.

"There is a greater need today for solutions that allow seamless collaboration in an open environment as companies work with their customers and partners in multiple time zones and languages," Adobe Systems India country head Sandeep Mehrotra told reporters in New Delhi.

Acrobat X will allow companies and governments to create, share, make PDF files interactive, while leveraging security and authentication features, he added.

Mehrotra said the launch will help Adobe reinforce its position government, education, financial services, manufacturing and IT/ITeS, among others.

The company will launch three products -- Acrobat X Standard, Acrobat X Pro and Acrobat X Suite.

While Acrobat X Standard is expected to be priced at about Rs 14,000, Acrobat X Pro and Acrobat X Suite are expected to be available for about Rs 22,000 and Rs 58,000, respectively.

|TOP|

KERALA: $1B IT Turnover

The IT turnover in Kerala is expected to touch $1 billion in 2010-11 fiscal, according to Dr Ajay Kumar, the state IT principal secretary.

Kerala IT infrastructure is in the process of witnessing a multifold increase, he said while speaking at a conference in Kochi on urban infrastructure titled 'INFRACON' and organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry and CREDAI, Kochi.

Within a year, the number of IT parks in the state will increase from 2 to 10 for which the government would make an investment of Rs. 25 billion and another Rs. 75 billion is expected from the private sector. This would provide direct employment to approximately 250,000 people. The biggest constraint in the growth of IT industry in the state is lack of basic infrastructure, he said.

Kuldip Singh, a well known designer and town planner, said the government has to ensure town planning in all the cities.

P. Ganesh, chairman, CII Kerala, said the conference has provided a thorough analysis of the infrastructure scenario in Kerala.

|TOP|

Suzlon Selects IBM

Technology giant IBM has said it has bagged a five-year contract from wind turbines giant Suzlon to provide business consulting services to manage its application development and maintenance requirements.

The partnership is expected to help Suzlon expand its presence globally by bringing more efficiency to its worldwide operations and enhancing productivity of IT applications, IBM said in a statement.

However the company did not disclose the deal size of the contract.

"We have extended our relationship with IBM into a full-fledged strategic partnership, for its ability to provide differentiated services and deliver tangible results," Suzlon Energy president of Information technology Shirish Godbole said.

IBM will help Suzlon optimize its costs and resources and enable the company's IT team to focus more on the transformational capabilities of IT and move beyond everyday transaction management.

"We are excited with the Suzlon engagement and consider this as a great opportunity to work with a client who is in the business of generating green energy," IBM India/South Asia global business services managing partner Vanitha Narayanan said.

IBM will also help Suzlon streamline its IT operations and improve the levels of serviceability to business. During this engagement, IBM will provide Suzlon with full-scope application management service, along with seamless IT support for its operations globally.

|TOP|

UIDAI Shortlist

The Unique Identity Authority of India has selected nine large IT firms – IBM, Accenture, Wipro, TCS, HP, among others, as shortlisted bidders, for selecting a managed service provider for the Unique ID project. The contract which will go in for bidding shortly is estimated to cost the government about Rs. 20 billion.

The selected provider will be critical in the rollout of 600 million unique ID numbers by 2014. The firm will be responsible for managing the entire IT of the UIDAI project. Most selected large players like IBM, HP, HCL, TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and Accenture have had related experience for managing large IT infrastructure.

For instance Wipro has built the IT infrastructure for telecom service providers Aircel and Uninor. IBM has over a $1.5 billion IT infrastructure management relationship with Bharti Airtel. HCL Technologies manages the IT of overseas clients from Noida.

The government had kept steep eligibility criteria for interested parties to have revenues of over Rs. 60 billion annually and (net worth of Rs. 40 billion). This led to protests from many Indian vendors, as they felt Indian companies would not have been able to participate as most don’t have revenues of over $1 billion.

|TOP|

SATYAM: Raju Denies Charge

Satyam founder B. Ramalinga Raju has said he never admitted to fraudulently appropriating money from the IT company.

Defending the bail granted to him in the Supreme Court, Raju, interestingly, thanked the government for its efforts of putting the scam-hit firm back on the track.

During the proceedings, Raju's counsel former attorney general and senior advocate Ashok V. Desai submitted that the confessional statement Jan. 7 of inflating the account books of Satyam Computers (now Mahindra Satyam) has no linkage with siphoning off money.

"There is no admission of any siphoning off money, there is no admission of any guilt, but only of inflating the charts and accounts of the company," he submitted.

Opposing the plea of investigative agency CBI to cancel the bail granted to Raju, Desai contended that any court would take three to five years to complete the trial, considering the large volumes and over 450 witness produced by the agency. Till such a long time Raju cannot be put behind the bars, he added.

"Still we are at stage of pre-charging. Only charge sheet has been filed and charges are not even framed. Even after one year and nine months, nothing has started and he has already spent more than 19 months in prison," said Desai.

|TOP|

MOSER BAER INDIA: OLED Facility

Optical storage manufacturer Moser Baer India said its U.S.-based subsidiary, in partnership with two American research institutions, will set up the world's first pilot production facility for developing organic light emitting diodes.

U.S.-based Moser Baer Technologies Inc will invest $11.5 million (about Rs 500 million) to acquire equipment for the pilot manufacturing line, Moser Baer said in a filing with the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Universal Display Corporation and the College of Nanoscale Sciences and the Engineering Smart System Technology & Commercialization Centre will also be involved in the project.

The initiative is supported by a $4 million grant under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act conferred by the U.S. Department of Energy to the company's partner, Universal Display Corporation, for innovation of OLED technology for use in flat panel displays, lighting and organic electronics.

"OLED lighting products will require new manufacturing technologies which will be developed and deployed in this very first OLED pilot production line in the world," Moser Baer Technologies CEO G. Rajeswaran said.

|TOP|

EMAIL US: info (at) siliconeer.com | SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS ONLINE BELOW