Kolkata: IIM Kozhikode has announced a year-long empowerment programme for high potential women who would assume leadership roles in different sectors in the future.
As part of this initiative, IIMK in collaboration with the Malabar Gold Group is planning a series of leadership workshops targeting the best secondary/ higher secondary teachers of the country in multiple sectors. Hundred teachers will be offered scholarships to participate in this programme.
"This is IIMK's modest contribution for making the better half of India take their rightful place in the growth and progress of the country," said IIMK director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee in a statement.
The institute, on its part, has been increasingly giving emphasis to diversifying the concept of inclusive growth on a much larger and global scale. In the first PGP batch at IIMK (Class of 1999), the number of women was only 1 in a total batch strength of 42. At present, the Class of 2013 has 36% women, which is a national record for any comparable B-School. The objective behind this has been to achieve enhanced diversity including gender diversity to the student profiles.
"Women make better managers. Women in our country have learnt to be more competent in a diverse set of skills and attitudes - things that are required of managers of this country. We acknowledge skills such as networking, social intelligence, empathy and environmental sensitivity that women bring to the repertoire of management skill sets," said Prof. Chatterjee.
Success in my Habit
Monday, March 12, 2012
Nokia begins creating music with Peninsula Studios
New Delhi: Finnish handset maker Nokia has begun creating music content in partnership with Peninsula Studios as it launched Nokia Music Theatre in India where the duo discover and bring local artists to perform together and record a music album.
Under the concept, Peninsula Studios and Nokia India selected 17 artists from Rajasthan and recorded their original songs in a music album. Universal Music has launched the album Asha on Tuesday.
Peninsula Studios curated music, facilitated content creation and mentored talent and will continue to do so going forward. Nokia Music Theatre provided artistes with the opportunity to interact with other artistes and the unique experience of recording in a studio in front of a live audience.
The music album will be available at music stores across the country and on Nokia handsets for free download from the Nokia Music Store.
Nokia India's marketing director Viral Oza said that the handset maker was extending its credentials of music offering with this initiative. "Nokia has one of the largest repositories of legal and digital Indian music (through Nokia Music Store) and has built a strong music connect with Indians," he said.
Nokia was one of the first cell phone makers in India to offer low-cost handsets with pre-loaded music and later on offering music exclusively on handsets before release of a movie's compact disc. Oza added that the company had now moved to offering DRM free Nokia Music Unlimited service, which was available on the high-end phones on to the Asha series. The legal music service for the masses allows users to download and share free music from millions of songs from Nokia Music Store.
"Nokia Music Unlimited has been launched on limited devices in Asha series and the S 40 series. To songs are getting downloaded every second. To put it in context, it's nearly the same volume as the number of ring-tones downloaded by users from all operators combined, in a month," Oza claimed.
Nokia Music Unlimited will be rolled out in other handset series over the next few months while Nokia Music Theatre will scan talent in Uttar Pradesh beginning autumn 2012, he added.
Under the concept, Peninsula Studios and Nokia India selected 17 artists from Rajasthan and recorded their original songs in a music album. Universal Music has launched the album Asha on Tuesday.
Peninsula Studios curated music, facilitated content creation and mentored talent and will continue to do so going forward. Nokia Music Theatre provided artistes with the opportunity to interact with other artistes and the unique experience of recording in a studio in front of a live audience.
The music album will be available at music stores across the country and on Nokia handsets for free download from the Nokia Music Store.
Nokia India's marketing director Viral Oza said that the handset maker was extending its credentials of music offering with this initiative. "Nokia has one of the largest repositories of legal and digital Indian music (through Nokia Music Store) and has built a strong music connect with Indians," he said.
Nokia was one of the first cell phone makers in India to offer low-cost handsets with pre-loaded music and later on offering music exclusively on handsets before release of a movie's compact disc. Oza added that the company had now moved to offering DRM free Nokia Music Unlimited service, which was available on the high-end phones on to the Asha series. The legal music service for the masses allows users to download and share free music from millions of songs from Nokia Music Store.
"Nokia Music Unlimited has been launched on limited devices in Asha series and the S 40 series. To songs are getting downloaded every second. To put it in context, it's nearly the same volume as the number of ring-tones downloaded by users from all operators combined, in a month," Oza claimed.
Nokia Music Unlimited will be rolled out in other handset series over the next few months while Nokia Music Theatre will scan talent in Uttar Pradesh beginning autumn 2012, he added.
Mahindra Satyam buys global operations of vCustomer
Hyderabad: Mahindra Satyam has acquired the complete international operations of BPO firm vCustomer for $27 million. This acquisition expands Mahindra Satyam’s BPO operations into retail and consumer technology.
“This is the first 100 per cent acquisition by Mahindra Satyam since it became part of the Mahindra group,” Mr C. P. Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer of the Hyderabad-based firm, said.
“The combination of vCustomer’s expertise in the retail and consumer technology verticals with Mahindra Satyam’s domain expertise and customer base, will further strengthen our ability to address evolving market needs,” he said.
“This is a landmark moment in Mahindra Satyam’s resurgence and reflects our investment appetite to enhance domain depth and global scale across diverse verticals,” he said in a statement.
“This is the first 100 per cent acquisition by Mahindra Satyam since it became part of the Mahindra group,” Mr C. P. Gurnani, Chief Executive Officer of the Hyderabad-based firm, said.
“The combination of vCustomer’s expertise in the retail and consumer technology verticals with Mahindra Satyam’s domain expertise and customer base, will further strengthen our ability to address evolving market needs,” he said.
“This is a landmark moment in Mahindra Satyam’s resurgence and reflects our investment appetite to enhance domain depth and global scale across diverse verticals,” he said in a statement.
Ericsson plans to up investment in India, makes it a global hub
New Delhi: Ericsson, the world's largest mobile network equipment maker, has extended its market share in telecom infrastructure globally to about 38% in 2011 and plans to increase investments in India to support its global product supply chain, its CEO Hans Vestberg said in an interaction to Indian media last week on the sidelines of the Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona.
Vestberg said Ericsson had been successful in making China a global hub and wanted to replicate the same with its Indian operations.
"In China, we have established ourselves for supplying to the global chain. We want to do the same thing from India too. We have a big organisation in India and plan to add a lot more manpower. We will be investing more in manufacturing in India, which will become an export hub depending on market opportunities. We have to see how this plan work," Vestberg said without divulging additional details.
Ericsson has a production facility in Jaipur, but Vestberg said this was largely catered to the domestic market. "We can scale this up to a global supplies hub. With the right incentives, we are willing to do that," he added.
At the mobile event in Barcelona, Vestberg also unveiled new products and services, including tie-ups with Western Union for mobile money transfers. He also said that Africa's largest mobile phone company MTN would be the first operator to deploy its converged wallet platform, to provide integrated pre-paid charging and mobile financial services to its customers.
Ericsson's strategy is driven by changing consumer preferences and behaviour, as there will be 5 billion mobile broadband customers globally by 2016, from 1 billion today, while date traffic will see a ten-fold jump during this period, riding on the five-fold increase in smartphone users, Vestberg said.
According to the Ericsson CEO, the availability of a slew of value added services in real time was changing the way consumers used their mobile phones. Vestberg said the company's research showed that people used 76% of their time on smartphones for activities other than voice. Vestberg predicted rapid expansion in 4G networks to cater to increasing data requirement of customers and pointed out that 325 million people globally were already on LTE networks, of which 250 million were supported by Ericsson equipment.
Industry watchers say Ericsson's plans to expand its manufacturing facility in India and make the country a global hub may be aimed at adhering to new rules for network vendors that will be announced in the upcoming telecom policy.
Vestberg said Ericsson had been successful in making China a global hub and wanted to replicate the same with its Indian operations.
"In China, we have established ourselves for supplying to the global chain. We want to do the same thing from India too. We have a big organisation in India and plan to add a lot more manpower. We will be investing more in manufacturing in India, which will become an export hub depending on market opportunities. We have to see how this plan work," Vestberg said without divulging additional details.
Ericsson has a production facility in Jaipur, but Vestberg said this was largely catered to the domestic market. "We can scale this up to a global supplies hub. With the right incentives, we are willing to do that," he added.
At the mobile event in Barcelona, Vestberg also unveiled new products and services, including tie-ups with Western Union for mobile money transfers. He also said that Africa's largest mobile phone company MTN would be the first operator to deploy its converged wallet platform, to provide integrated pre-paid charging and mobile financial services to its customers.
Ericsson's strategy is driven by changing consumer preferences and behaviour, as there will be 5 billion mobile broadband customers globally by 2016, from 1 billion today, while date traffic will see a ten-fold jump during this period, riding on the five-fold increase in smartphone users, Vestberg said.
According to the Ericsson CEO, the availability of a slew of value added services in real time was changing the way consumers used their mobile phones. Vestberg said the company's research showed that people used 76% of their time on smartphones for activities other than voice. Vestberg predicted rapid expansion in 4G networks to cater to increasing data requirement of customers and pointed out that 325 million people globally were already on LTE networks, of which 250 million were supported by Ericsson equipment.
Industry watchers say Ericsson's plans to expand its manufacturing facility in India and make the country a global hub may be aimed at adhering to new rules for network vendors that will be announced in the upcoming telecom policy.
Monday, March 5, 2012
Exports during current fiscal will be around $300 b: Sharma
Mumbai: The country's exports during the current fiscal would be around $300 billion, an increase of 22 per cent from $ 245 billion achieved last year, said the Union Commerce Minister, Mr Anand Sharma, on Thursday.
He was interacting with the media after reviewing the progress of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
Mr Sharma said that growth in exports have been achieved in spite of very challenging circumstances and global contraction of demand. “The conscious strategy which we have adopted of accessing new markets have sustained our exports and would be able to withstand the increasing pressure on current and trade account,” he said.
He said that exports have to be sustained by a robust manufacturing sector. Therefore projects such as DMIC and National Manufacturing Zones needs to be given a boost. Today DMIC is one of the biggest infrastructure projects on the anvil, which will impact 43 per cent of the national population. In the long run, DMIC will attract an investment of about $100 billion.
Riding along with the industrial corridor would be the National Manufacturing Zones (NMZ), which would be full-fledged industrial townships focussed on manufacturing industries. Seven such zones are being planned along the DMIC, of which two would be in Maharashtra, Mr Sharma said.
Also addressing the media, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, said that in the first phase of the project, Dighi port industrial area in Raigad district spread over 2,500 km and Shendra Bidkin mega industrial area of 845 km in Aurangabad have been identified as NMZs. Both the regions would be developed with an investment of about Rs 8,766 crore, he said.
For proper implementation of the DMIC project in the State, a joint venture between the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Corporation and the Maharashtra Government will be set up, which will have an independent team for implementing the project, Mr Chavan said
He was interacting with the media after reviewing the progress of the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) project.
Mr Sharma said that growth in exports have been achieved in spite of very challenging circumstances and global contraction of demand. “The conscious strategy which we have adopted of accessing new markets have sustained our exports and would be able to withstand the increasing pressure on current and trade account,” he said.
He said that exports have to be sustained by a robust manufacturing sector. Therefore projects such as DMIC and National Manufacturing Zones needs to be given a boost. Today DMIC is one of the biggest infrastructure projects on the anvil, which will impact 43 per cent of the national population. In the long run, DMIC will attract an investment of about $100 billion.
Riding along with the industrial corridor would be the National Manufacturing Zones (NMZ), which would be full-fledged industrial townships focussed on manufacturing industries. Seven such zones are being planned along the DMIC, of which two would be in Maharashtra, Mr Sharma said.
Also addressing the media, the Maharashtra Chief Minister, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, said that in the first phase of the project, Dighi port industrial area in Raigad district spread over 2,500 km and Shendra Bidkin mega industrial area of 845 km in Aurangabad have been identified as NMZs. Both the regions would be developed with an investment of about Rs 8,766 crore, he said.
For proper implementation of the DMIC project in the State, a joint venture between the Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Corporation and the Maharashtra Government will be set up, which will have an independent team for implementing the project, Mr Chavan said
Microsoft to expand presence in smaller cities
Bangalore: Microsoft is keen on investing in India to provide cloud-based solutions to Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs). The company sees an addressable market of over 45 million SMBs in India today, majority of them being micro businesses with less than five PCs and employees.
The company is planning to increase the number of its business partners here, expand its geographical presence in Tier2/Tier 3 cities, and also host a range of seminars and road shows to showcase its products to prospective customers.
“There is a different kind of approach that is needed in India,” Mr Vahé Torossian, corporate vice-president, Worldwide Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Group, Microsoft told Business Line. Considering that SMBs typically don't have expertise in IT, Mr Torossian said that they ask for products that are easy to use. “There is also a need to have proximity and it is a key investment we are doing,” he said.
For about a year now, Microsoft has been providing solutions like the Office 365 which helps SMBs integrate work done by different employees or from different locations, thus reducing cost.
Product Localisation
All the solutions are global products that are being localised by the company's partners in India.
Microsoft has 18,000 partners in India today which includes companies like Microland and Futuresoft, of which about 20 per cent are into redesigning the solutions for the local market. Microsoft plans to add another 5,000 partners and take the chunk of solution partners to about 40 per cent. Mr Torossian also said that the company will be fast-tracking the localisation of their products.
To suit Indian customers, the company has changed the method of certification of partners and are moving from US dollar billing to India rupee, Mr Torossian said. “We also now help customers see if they are using the right software for their kind of business,” he added.
According to him, the SMB market is amongst the biggest contributors to the Indian economy, contributing about 60 per cent of the GDP and creating a million jobs a year.
The company is planning to increase the number of its business partners here, expand its geographical presence in Tier2/Tier 3 cities, and also host a range of seminars and road shows to showcase its products to prospective customers.
“There is a different kind of approach that is needed in India,” Mr Vahé Torossian, corporate vice-president, Worldwide Small and Midmarket Solutions & Partners Group, Microsoft told Business Line. Considering that SMBs typically don't have expertise in IT, Mr Torossian said that they ask for products that are easy to use. “There is also a need to have proximity and it is a key investment we are doing,” he said.
For about a year now, Microsoft has been providing solutions like the Office 365 which helps SMBs integrate work done by different employees or from different locations, thus reducing cost.
Product Localisation
All the solutions are global products that are being localised by the company's partners in India.
Microsoft has 18,000 partners in India today which includes companies like Microland and Futuresoft, of which about 20 per cent are into redesigning the solutions for the local market. Microsoft plans to add another 5,000 partners and take the chunk of solution partners to about 40 per cent. Mr Torossian also said that the company will be fast-tracking the localisation of their products.
To suit Indian customers, the company has changed the method of certification of partners and are moving from US dollar billing to India rupee, Mr Torossian said. “We also now help customers see if they are using the right software for their kind of business,” he added.
According to him, the SMB market is amongst the biggest contributors to the Indian economy, contributing about 60 per cent of the GDP and creating a million jobs a year.
Infosys signs pact with Maharashtra to develop Nagpur facility
Nagpur: IT major Infosys has entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Maharashtra Government for developing a 142-acre facility at Nagpur with a total investment of about Rs 450 crore. The facility will be located in a Special Economic Zone, which is a part of the mammoth 4,354 hectare Multimodal International Hub Airport at Nagpur (MIHAN) project.
The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) a subsidiary of the State Government is developing the project. The facility will be developed in three phases and provide employment to 14,000 people on completion. In the first phase, Rs 100 crore will be invested. Big IT companies like TCS and Mahindra Satyam already have their campuses at MIHAN.
A senior official in MADC told Business Line that the Pune facility of Infosys has been almost been saturated and there is no further scope for expansion, therefore they have chosen MIHAN site. Nagpur will also provide trained manpower to the company as the city has many colleges of higher learning.
The Maharashtra Airport Development Company (MADC) a subsidiary of the State Government is developing the project. The facility will be developed in three phases and provide employment to 14,000 people on completion. In the first phase, Rs 100 crore will be invested. Big IT companies like TCS and Mahindra Satyam already have their campuses at MIHAN.
A senior official in MADC told Business Line that the Pune facility of Infosys has been almost been saturated and there is no further scope for expansion, therefore they have chosen MIHAN site. Nagpur will also provide trained manpower to the company as the city has many colleges of higher learning.
Inkel to invest Rs 5,000 cr in 11 projects
Kochi: Infrastructures Kerala Ltd (Inkel), a Kerala Government initiative, has lined up various infrastructure projects in the State at an investment of Rs 5,000 crore in the next four years.
These include 11 projects comprising a tourism complex at Veli in Thiruvananthapuram and an Ayurveda manufacturing unit at Punalur for which the Government has the given in-principle approval, Mr T. Balakrishnan, Managing Director, Inkel, said here.
Inkel is developing a logistics park and commercial space at Angamally in 25 acres, where a 2.2 lakh sq ft commercial space will be ready for occupation by June, he said. A well-known FMCG company would set up 2.4 lakh sq ft of warehousing space. An agreement for this is now under finalisation, he added .
The company has also achieved the distinction of being the first to be awarded the PURA projects at Thalikulam and Tirurangadi, ahead of several other infrastructure companies. These projects involve an investment of Rs 235 crore over three years. He pointed out that 56 per cent of the total funds would be from the Centre; 14 per cent from the State and 30 per cent from Inkel/partners, he said.
The project was launched by the Union Minister for Rural Development, Mr Jairam Ramesh, recently.
At Thalikulam, the SPV is a joint venture of Inkel, Galfar and Kinfra, while at Thirurangadi, Kinfra is the partner. The SPVs will maintain the facility for 10 years and then hand it over to the panchayats, he said.
As mandated by the State Government, Mr Balakrishnan said Inkel has taken the lead to set up an institute to impart training in retail management by setting up the Kerala Institute of Retail Management. Inkel is also taking the initiative to set up a modern 300-bed Cancer Institute at Malappuram.
The company's mega project Edu Health city at Malappuram is in the final stages of master planning. The city, to be developed in 250 acres, will have all clusters of educational technical, general, legal and medical institutions, healthcare and commercial activities, he added.
These include 11 projects comprising a tourism complex at Veli in Thiruvananthapuram and an Ayurveda manufacturing unit at Punalur for which the Government has the given in-principle approval, Mr T. Balakrishnan, Managing Director, Inkel, said here.
Inkel is developing a logistics park and commercial space at Angamally in 25 acres, where a 2.2 lakh sq ft commercial space will be ready for occupation by June, he said. A well-known FMCG company would set up 2.4 lakh sq ft of warehousing space. An agreement for this is now under finalisation, he added .
The company has also achieved the distinction of being the first to be awarded the PURA projects at Thalikulam and Tirurangadi, ahead of several other infrastructure companies. These projects involve an investment of Rs 235 crore over three years. He pointed out that 56 per cent of the total funds would be from the Centre; 14 per cent from the State and 30 per cent from Inkel/partners, he said.
The project was launched by the Union Minister for Rural Development, Mr Jairam Ramesh, recently.
At Thalikulam, the SPV is a joint venture of Inkel, Galfar and Kinfra, while at Thirurangadi, Kinfra is the partner. The SPVs will maintain the facility for 10 years and then hand it over to the panchayats, he said.
As mandated by the State Government, Mr Balakrishnan said Inkel has taken the lead to set up an institute to impart training in retail management by setting up the Kerala Institute of Retail Management. Inkel is also taking the initiative to set up a modern 300-bed Cancer Institute at Malappuram.
The company's mega project Edu Health city at Malappuram is in the final stages of master planning. The city, to be developed in 250 acres, will have all clusters of educational technical, general, legal and medical institutions, healthcare and commercial activities, he added.
Germany's Hummel to expand India operations
Coimbatore: Hummel Connector Systems, a subsidiary of the Germany-based Hummel AG Group, is expanding its operations in India with the establishment of a 12,500 sq ft tool-room facility at Neelambur, near Coimbatore.
The Group is investing €300,000 to establish the facility here, Mr Holger Hummel, Director, Hummel AG told Business Line.
Hummel - a manufacturer of cable glands, circular connectors, industrial enclosures, touch panels and electronics for medical, measurement and control technology - started its operations in India in 2008. In the first three years , the company was basically studying the market and exploring the opportunities here, said Mr Hummel.
“Though a renowned brand in Germany, people here were not aware of it. They are now convinced about our product range and quality. The growth in the initial phase was quite promising; so we decided to establish a manufacturing facility here,” he said.
Hummel AG also has subsidiaries in China, Hungary, Sweden, Russia and Brazil.
The Group is investing €300,000 to establish the facility here, Mr Holger Hummel, Director, Hummel AG told Business Line.
Hummel - a manufacturer of cable glands, circular connectors, industrial enclosures, touch panels and electronics for medical, measurement and control technology - started its operations in India in 2008. In the first three years , the company was basically studying the market and exploring the opportunities here, said Mr Hummel.
“Though a renowned brand in Germany, people here were not aware of it. They are now convinced about our product range and quality. The growth in the initial phase was quite promising; so we decided to establish a manufacturing facility here,” he said.
Hummel AG also has subsidiaries in China, Hungary, Sweden, Russia and Brazil.
Indian, Australian scientists to participate in workshop on climate change
Kochi: The Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) in collaboration with the Institute of Marine and Antarctic Studies (IMAS), University of Tasmania, will conduct an international workshop on 'Preparing for climate change on marine systems in Australia and India' from March 6-10 in the city.
Michael Carter, consul commercial and trade commissioner of Australia at Chennai will inaugurate the workshop at 10 am on Tuesday. Seven scientists from Australia led by Stewart Frusher, associate professor, IMAS, will participate in the workshop. The Indian team of 14 scientists will be led by G Syda Rao, director, CMFRI.
Funded by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, the aim of the workshop is to bring together an inter-disciplinary research team from both countries to improve understanding on the impacts of climate change on marine resources and stakeholders.
Both these regions have been identified as global warming hotspots.
Michael Carter, consul commercial and trade commissioner of Australia at Chennai will inaugurate the workshop at 10 am on Tuesday. Seven scientists from Australia led by Stewart Frusher, associate professor, IMAS, will participate in the workshop. The Indian team of 14 scientists will be led by G Syda Rao, director, CMFRI.
Funded by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, the aim of the workshop is to bring together an inter-disciplinary research team from both countries to improve understanding on the impacts of climate change on marine resources and stakeholders.
Both these regions have been identified as global warming hotspots.
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