Vishakhapatnam: Sweden and India will sign a memorandum of understanding for sustainable urban development sometime in March or April, according to Counsellor, Environment, Climate Change and Energy, Embassy of Sweden, Karl Edberg.
He said here on Friday the agreement would be signed with the Union Ministry of Urban Development. “Once it is signed, it will be open for the entire country. Each city can utilise it to generate energy from waste in a sustainable manner and use the biogas generated for urban transport,” he said.
The Swedish Counsellor was here leading a 15-member delegation that included representatives of Swedish Energy Agency and businessmen to participate in deliberations with officials of Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation on solid waste management.
He said currently a waste-to-energy project was going on in collaboration with Indraprastha Gas Ltd and it would close this year.
The biogas produced can be upgraded to CNG, he said. “Sweden has a proven technology for it,” he said. Delhi has 34 sewage treatment plants and 16 sites.
The technology can be adopted for solid waste management by any city, he said. The gains of switching over from fossil fuels to CNG could be immense in terms of reducing pollution and bringing down fuel import.
Success in my Habit
Monday, February 18, 2013
India and France sign MoU to strengthen cooperation in railway sector
New Delhi: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on here on 14.2.2013 between the Ministry of Railways, Government of India and the Société Nationale des Chemins de Fer Français (SNCF), the French National Railways, for Technical cooperation in the field of Railways. The MoU was signed by Shri Vinay Mittal, Chairman, Railway Board, from Indian side and Mr G.Pepy, Chairman and CEO SNCF from the French side. The MoU was signed in the presence of H.E. Francois Hollande, the President of France.
Four areas of cooperation have been identified in the MoU. These are:
1. High speed and semi-high speed rail;
2. Station renovation and operations;
3. Modernisation of current operations and infrastructure;
4. Suburban trains.
Under the High Speed Cooperation Programme, the Parties have decided to carry out jointly an ‘operations and development’ feasibility project on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail. This project will be funded by SNCF with a support from the French Ministry of Finance.
The MoU is valid for a period of 5 years and is extendable by 1 year with mutual consent. Specific cooperation projects would be undertaken under the MoU as agreed by both the parties.
The French delegation led by SNCF Chairman Mr G. Pepy is visiting Central Railway and Western Railway installations in Mumbai today i.e. 15.2.2013 and holding meetings with the Railway officials.
Four areas of cooperation have been identified in the MoU. These are:
1. High speed and semi-high speed rail;
2. Station renovation and operations;
3. Modernisation of current operations and infrastructure;
4. Suburban trains.
Under the High Speed Cooperation Programme, the Parties have decided to carry out jointly an ‘operations and development’ feasibility project on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail. This project will be funded by SNCF with a support from the French Ministry of Finance.
The MoU is valid for a period of 5 years and is extendable by 1 year with mutual consent. Specific cooperation projects would be undertaken under the MoU as agreed by both the parties.
The French delegation led by SNCF Chairman Mr G. Pepy is visiting Central Railway and Western Railway installations in Mumbai today i.e. 15.2.2013 and holding meetings with the Railway officials.
Friday, February 15, 2013
Alten to set up automotive testing facility in Chennai
Chennai: Alten, the $1.3-billion French engineering and technology consulting company, will set up an automotive testing facility, at its labs in Chennai.
This will help automobile manufacturers in and around Chennai outsource testing of components such as diesel engines and suspension systems.
The component should be brought to the Alten facility and various parts associated with the component will be attached to a testing hardware.
Through virtual simulation of driving conditions, the component will be tested for its durability and emission standards, said Gerald Attia, Deputy CEO, Alten.
The software and hardware used in engine control systems will also be validated.
With several global auto majors bringing in R&D to India, such a testing facility will come in handy, said Attia.
“We are talking to some of the leading car manufacturers to use our facility,” he told Business Line.
Alten is already working with manufacturers such as Renault and Daimler in Europe, and would like to extend the testing facility to them in Chennai, he said.
Apart from global manufacturers, Alten will also target Indian OEMs and part makers.
Most of the auto companies have their in-house testing facility.
However, it caters only to the existing portfolio of products while the testing facility will cater to future requirements.
For instance, the facility can test hybrid electric vehicles. Most manufacturers may not have the skill-set and equipment for this, said Attia.
Also, in France, Attia says OEMs have seen 30 per cent cost savings by outsourcing testing and validation.
Initially, a couple of officials from Alten’s headquarters will come to Chennai to set up the facility.
At a later stage, ten people will be here to train the customers.
This will help automobile manufacturers in and around Chennai outsource testing of components such as diesel engines and suspension systems.
The component should be brought to the Alten facility and various parts associated with the component will be attached to a testing hardware.
Through virtual simulation of driving conditions, the component will be tested for its durability and emission standards, said Gerald Attia, Deputy CEO, Alten.
The software and hardware used in engine control systems will also be validated.
With several global auto majors bringing in R&D to India, such a testing facility will come in handy, said Attia.
“We are talking to some of the leading car manufacturers to use our facility,” he told Business Line.
Alten is already working with manufacturers such as Renault and Daimler in Europe, and would like to extend the testing facility to them in Chennai, he said.
Apart from global manufacturers, Alten will also target Indian OEMs and part makers.
Most of the auto companies have their in-house testing facility.
However, it caters only to the existing portfolio of products while the testing facility will cater to future requirements.
For instance, the facility can test hybrid electric vehicles. Most manufacturers may not have the skill-set and equipment for this, said Attia.
Also, in France, Attia says OEMs have seen 30 per cent cost savings by outsourcing testing and validation.
Initially, a couple of officials from Alten’s headquarters will come to Chennai to set up the facility.
At a later stage, ten people will be here to train the customers.
Mu Sigma plans to open development centre in the US
Mumbai: Mu Sigma, a decision sciences and analytics solutions company, is to set up a development centre in the US and recruit another 1,000 personnel by December this year.
The company, which is backed by private equity (PE) firms Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, would set up the centre either in Seattle, Austin or Chicago.
“This would be an extension of our innovation centre in Bangalore, and is being launched as we have been growing,” said Dhiraj C. Rajaram, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mu Sigma, said on the sidelines of the Nasscom summit.
Mu Sigma had posted a 6-9 per cent monthly growth in 2012, and expects a similar growth this year also.
“Data is beginning to explode, and it needs to be collated and analysed,” said Rajaram, who had started the company in 2004 as a start-up. The firm crossed $100 million in revenues last year.
The company is also looking at recruiting about 1,000 personnel this year, adding to its total headcount of 2,300 employees.
The company, which had raised about $150 million in multiple tranches over the past three-year-period from the PE firms, is not immediately looking at raising additional funds.
The company, which is backed by private equity (PE) firms Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic, would set up the centre either in Seattle, Austin or Chicago.
“This would be an extension of our innovation centre in Bangalore, and is being launched as we have been growing,” said Dhiraj C. Rajaram, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Mu Sigma, said on the sidelines of the Nasscom summit.
Mu Sigma had posted a 6-9 per cent monthly growth in 2012, and expects a similar growth this year also.
“Data is beginning to explode, and it needs to be collated and analysed,” said Rajaram, who had started the company in 2004 as a start-up. The firm crossed $100 million in revenues last year.
The company is also looking at recruiting about 1,000 personnel this year, adding to its total headcount of 2,300 employees.
The company, which had raised about $150 million in multiple tranches over the past three-year-period from the PE firms, is not immediately looking at raising additional funds.
Biocon ties up with Mylan for insulin marketing
Bengaluru: Global pharmaceutical major Mylan has entered into an agreement with Bangalore-based Biocon for the global development and commercialization of the latter's generic insulin analog products (long lasting insulins), which has a global addressable market of $11.5 billion.
The Rs 1,600-crore Indian biotech player has developed a generic insulin analog Glargine, which retails in India as Basalog with a 85% market share in the vial category, and has two more generic insulin analogs, Lispro and Aspart, that are expected to enter the clinical trial phase soon.
These three generic insulin analogs will be co-developed and exclusively marketed by Mylan in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and the European Free Trade Association countries through a profit share arrangement with Biocon. For the rest of the world markets and emerging markets, both companies can pursue their own marketing arrangements.
"There is an upfront licensing fee payable to us by Mylan, a large part of which will be reflected in this quarter," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon. Shaw expects the Mylan partnership to yield profits from 2016. Biocon will share the development costs of their analog products in the global markets with Mylan.
Three months ago, in November, Biocon had entered into an agreement with New York headquartered Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) for the development of its potentially game-changing novel molecule for the treatment of diabetes, oral insulin IN-105.
These global partnerships had become necessary for Biocon following Pfizer early last year scrapping their $350-million pact entered into in 2010 to market Biocon's insulin portfolio.
Heather Bresch, CEO of the $6.13-billion Mylan, said of the Biocon partnership: "This collaboration further expands and diversifies our pipeline of complex, difficult-to-manufacture products with strong future growth potential."
Shaw said the generic insulin analog market was the most valuable part of the insulin space and the combined addressable market value of their insulin analogs was approximately $11.5 billion. The innovator product companies in this space include Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk.
"Diabetes is a growing global pandemic and insulin therapy is pivotal to the treatment of diabetes," said Shaw.
Biocon already has a working partnership with Mylan, which it entered in to three years ago, under which both the companies are co-developing five monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
The Rs 1,600-crore Indian biotech player has developed a generic insulin analog Glargine, which retails in India as Basalog with a 85% market share in the vial category, and has two more generic insulin analogs, Lispro and Aspart, that are expected to enter the clinical trial phase soon.
These three generic insulin analogs will be co-developed and exclusively marketed by Mylan in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and the European Free Trade Association countries through a profit share arrangement with Biocon. For the rest of the world markets and emerging markets, both companies can pursue their own marketing arrangements.
"There is an upfront licensing fee payable to us by Mylan, a large part of which will be reflected in this quarter," said Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD, Biocon. Shaw expects the Mylan partnership to yield profits from 2016. Biocon will share the development costs of their analog products in the global markets with Mylan.
Three months ago, in November, Biocon had entered into an agreement with New York headquartered Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMS) for the development of its potentially game-changing novel molecule for the treatment of diabetes, oral insulin IN-105.
These global partnerships had become necessary for Biocon following Pfizer early last year scrapping their $350-million pact entered into in 2010 to market Biocon's insulin portfolio.
Heather Bresch, CEO of the $6.13-billion Mylan, said of the Biocon partnership: "This collaboration further expands and diversifies our pipeline of complex, difficult-to-manufacture products with strong future growth potential."
Shaw said the generic insulin analog market was the most valuable part of the insulin space and the combined addressable market value of their insulin analogs was approximately $11.5 billion. The innovator product companies in this space include Sanofi, Eli Lilly, and Novo Nordisk.
"Diabetes is a growing global pandemic and insulin therapy is pivotal to the treatment of diabetes," said Shaw.
Biocon already has a working partnership with Mylan, which it entered in to three years ago, under which both the companies are co-developing five monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Incube Ventures gets SEBI nod for Rs 200-cr fund
Ahmedabad: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has approved India’s first social venture fund, Incube Connect Fund, which seeks to collect Rs 200 crore for investment in four sectors impacting the life of people.
Registered with the regulator under the SEBI (AIF) Regulations, 2012, the Ahmedabad-based social venture fund has been sponsored by Incube Ventures Pvt Ltd, promoted by Mani Iyer, for primarily incubating, mentoring, providing seed capital and angel investments to nascent business ideas of social ventures, promoting differentiated high social impact technology among others, according to a press release here on Thursday.
Incube Connect, a nine-year, Rs 200-crore sector-agnostic fund will primarily be focused on four sectors: healthcare delivery-product and services, vocational education and skill enhancement, clean energy and eco business and sustainable rural business innovations.
Projects
“Some of the projects that Incube is looking closely at include a geothermal energy project, a project for evolving healthcare delivery ecosystem in one of the most backward districts of the country, a project for fractionation of blood plasma and an innovative financial model for affordable housing for the vulnerable sections of the society,” he said. Incube Ventures was incorporated in 2010 under the Companies Act, 1956.
The current authorised share capital is Rs 1 crore and subscribed and paid-up capital is Rs 97.50 lakh.
Social Cause
S. Sridhar, former Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India, is the chairman of Incube Trustees Co Pvt Ltd.
He will be overseeing statutory compliance of Incube and guide the Fund in statutory and governance aspects. The targeted corpus of Incube will primarily be invested in opportunities presented in the space which contributes to social cause significantly apart from generating reasonable returns for the investors.
“The objective of Incube is to back entrepreneurs typically at the bottom of the pyramid in terms of their ability to raise capital, partner them, and take them into ecosystem to nurture and grow them to be investor-ready,” Iyer added.
Registered with the regulator under the SEBI (AIF) Regulations, 2012, the Ahmedabad-based social venture fund has been sponsored by Incube Ventures Pvt Ltd, promoted by Mani Iyer, for primarily incubating, mentoring, providing seed capital and angel investments to nascent business ideas of social ventures, promoting differentiated high social impact technology among others, according to a press release here on Thursday.
Incube Connect, a nine-year, Rs 200-crore sector-agnostic fund will primarily be focused on four sectors: healthcare delivery-product and services, vocational education and skill enhancement, clean energy and eco business and sustainable rural business innovations.
Projects
“Some of the projects that Incube is looking closely at include a geothermal energy project, a project for evolving healthcare delivery ecosystem in one of the most backward districts of the country, a project for fractionation of blood plasma and an innovative financial model for affordable housing for the vulnerable sections of the society,” he said. Incube Ventures was incorporated in 2010 under the Companies Act, 1956.
The current authorised share capital is Rs 1 crore and subscribed and paid-up capital is Rs 97.50 lakh.
Social Cause
S. Sridhar, former Chairman and Managing Director of Central Bank of India, is the chairman of Incube Trustees Co Pvt Ltd.
He will be overseeing statutory compliance of Incube and guide the Fund in statutory and governance aspects. The targeted corpus of Incube will primarily be invested in opportunities presented in the space which contributes to social cause significantly apart from generating reasonable returns for the investors.
“The objective of Incube is to back entrepreneurs typically at the bottom of the pyramid in terms of their ability to raise capital, partner them, and take them into ecosystem to nurture and grow them to be investor-ready,” Iyer added.
France invites Indian investment
New Delhi: France wants to take “full part” in the economic development here and will also like the Indian business community to look at investment opportunities in that country, visiting French President Francois Hollande said on Thursday.
“We would like both countries to cooperate. India is already the 13th largest investor in France and it can create more investment and employment there. India can also look to access the European Union market,” Hollande said at a press conference.
Asked whether the visiting dignitary could assure India that no middlemen will be involved in the sale of French fighter jets to India, the President said there will be nothing contrary to principles of doing business in concluding the deal.
“The common focus is that trade must be based on the rule of law,” Hollande said.
Meanwhile, India and France have agreed to promote an ambitious and balanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union based on reciprocity and mutual benefit to boost bilateral ties.
This has been stated in a joint statement issued at the end of talks between Hollande, and Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.
The two countries also agreed to encourage closer people-to-people contact through easing mobility and human exchanges, promoting education, science and cultural co-operation as well as expanding trade and investment.
To foster mobility of people, both sides noted the progress in negotiations of a bilateral agreement on people mobility and migration with a view to concluding it as soon as possible.
In the area of space, both leaders agreed to move forward, after the success of Megha-Tropiques satellite launch in October 2011 and the upcoming SARAL satellite launch. Both satellites contribute significantly to environmental and maritime survey purposes, the joint statement added.
Addressing the media after meeting Hollande, Singh said India and France had concluded negotiations on the short range surface-to-air missile, which was approved by the Government, and will be co-developed and co-produced here.
“There is a welcome shift from defence trade to co-development and co-production of advanced defence items here, which will help expand our domestic production base and strengthen the India-France strategic partnership,” the Prime Minister said.
Singh said India and France reviewed progress on the Jaitapur nuclear power project and reiterated “our commitment to its early implementation as soon as the commercial and technical negotiations, which have made good progress, are completed.”
The Prime Minister said he and the visiting President agreed to the need to “reinvigorate” economic engagement by “harnessing the enormous synergies”.
“We would like both countries to cooperate. India is already the 13th largest investor in France and it can create more investment and employment there. India can also look to access the European Union market,” Hollande said at a press conference.
Asked whether the visiting dignitary could assure India that no middlemen will be involved in the sale of French fighter jets to India, the President said there will be nothing contrary to principles of doing business in concluding the deal.
“The common focus is that trade must be based on the rule of law,” Hollande said.
Meanwhile, India and France have agreed to promote an ambitious and balanced Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union based on reciprocity and mutual benefit to boost bilateral ties.
This has been stated in a joint statement issued at the end of talks between Hollande, and Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh.
The two countries also agreed to encourage closer people-to-people contact through easing mobility and human exchanges, promoting education, science and cultural co-operation as well as expanding trade and investment.
To foster mobility of people, both sides noted the progress in negotiations of a bilateral agreement on people mobility and migration with a view to concluding it as soon as possible.
In the area of space, both leaders agreed to move forward, after the success of Megha-Tropiques satellite launch in October 2011 and the upcoming SARAL satellite launch. Both satellites contribute significantly to environmental and maritime survey purposes, the joint statement added.
Addressing the media after meeting Hollande, Singh said India and France had concluded negotiations on the short range surface-to-air missile, which was approved by the Government, and will be co-developed and co-produced here.
“There is a welcome shift from defence trade to co-development and co-production of advanced defence items here, which will help expand our domestic production base and strengthen the India-France strategic partnership,” the Prime Minister said.
Singh said India and France reviewed progress on the Jaitapur nuclear power project and reiterated “our commitment to its early implementation as soon as the commercial and technical negotiations, which have made good progress, are completed.”
The Prime Minister said he and the visiting President agreed to the need to “reinvigorate” economic engagement by “harnessing the enormous synergies”.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Wipro ties up with Pingar
Bengaluru: Wipro has partnered New Zealand-based Pingar, a company that provides data management technologies.
With this partnership, India’s third largest software provider gets access to areas such as artificial intelligence and data mining that is used in various verticals, the company said in a statement.
According to this partnership, Wipro will be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for Pingar, thereby providing the latter access to a network of clients in a number of regions worldwide, in industries including aerospace, banking, consumer goods, government, manufacturing, medical devices, natural resources, professional services, retail, telecoms and utilities, according to the statement.
Anurag Srivastava, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro Technologies, said: “The ability to integrate Pingar’s API with existing enterprise systems, and extend their capabilities to gain efficiencies and strategic knowledge from unstructured data, represents a rich area of value to Wipro customers.”
Further, this agreement provides Wipro and its clients an increased ability to manage unstructured data to gain efficiency and improve the quality of business processes, collaboration and content management programmes.
With this partnership, India’s third largest software provider gets access to areas such as artificial intelligence and data mining that is used in various verticals, the company said in a statement.
According to this partnership, Wipro will be an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) for Pingar, thereby providing the latter access to a network of clients in a number of regions worldwide, in industries including aerospace, banking, consumer goods, government, manufacturing, medical devices, natural resources, professional services, retail, telecoms and utilities, according to the statement.
Anurag Srivastava, Chief Technology Officer, Wipro Technologies, said: “The ability to integrate Pingar’s API with existing enterprise systems, and extend their capabilities to gain efficiencies and strategic knowledge from unstructured data, represents a rich area of value to Wipro customers.”
Further, this agreement provides Wipro and its clients an increased ability to manage unstructured data to gain efficiency and improve the quality of business processes, collaboration and content management programmes.
PowerGrid to sign contract with Ethiopian firm; net up 40%
New Delhi: PowerGrid Corporation of India Ltd on Tuesday said it will sign a $16.7-million management contract with Ethiopia Power Company for two years.
“Ethiopia Power Company is an integrated firm with generation and distribution. PowerGrid will take up the key positions and manage the company for two years to make it more efficient and expand. The company is actively looking for business opportunities overseas as well as within the country,’’ PGCIL Chairman and Managing Director R. K. Nayak told mediapersons.
In addition, PowerGrid is targeting to implement a project in Bangladesh on build own operate transfer basis, he added.
At present, the transmission utility has a presence in 11 countries — Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, UAE, Nigeria and Kenya.
Q3 Performance
The public sector company reported a 40 per cent rise in its net profit during third quarter of 2012-13 at Rs 1,129 crore (Rs 809 crore). The increase in profit after tax is primarily because of the increase in transmission charges to Rs 3,238 crore in the third quarter current year against Rs 2,340 crore in the same months the previous year.
During the three months ending December 31, PowerGrid’s total income moved up to Rs 3,490 crore from Rs 2,577 crore in corresponding period last year.
The Chairman said to strengthen the monitoring of transmission lines in the country, PowerGrid would introduce helicopter patrolling of the lines next year.
PowerGrid has also applied for wire business licence for few districts in Odisha, Nayak said.
PGCIL targets to connect the Southern Grid to the National Grid by March 2014.
At present, there is a synchronous connection of 4,000 MW connecting the Southern States to the rest of the nation.
“Ethiopia Power Company is an integrated firm with generation and distribution. PowerGrid will take up the key positions and manage the company for two years to make it more efficient and expand. The company is actively looking for business opportunities overseas as well as within the country,’’ PGCIL Chairman and Managing Director R. K. Nayak told mediapersons.
In addition, PowerGrid is targeting to implement a project in Bangladesh on build own operate transfer basis, he added.
At present, the transmission utility has a presence in 11 countries — Nepal, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, UAE, Nigeria and Kenya.
Q3 Performance
The public sector company reported a 40 per cent rise in its net profit during third quarter of 2012-13 at Rs 1,129 crore (Rs 809 crore). The increase in profit after tax is primarily because of the increase in transmission charges to Rs 3,238 crore in the third quarter current year against Rs 2,340 crore in the same months the previous year.
During the three months ending December 31, PowerGrid’s total income moved up to Rs 3,490 crore from Rs 2,577 crore in corresponding period last year.
The Chairman said to strengthen the monitoring of transmission lines in the country, PowerGrid would introduce helicopter patrolling of the lines next year.
PowerGrid has also applied for wire business licence for few districts in Odisha, Nayak said.
PGCIL targets to connect the Southern Grid to the National Grid by March 2014.
At present, there is a synchronous connection of 4,000 MW connecting the Southern States to the rest of the nation.
India's IT sector exports to grow 12-14 per cent in FY14: Nasscom
Mumbai: India's information technology and business process outsourcing sector will expand 12-14% in fiscal 2014 to touch $84 billion-$87 billion (Rs 4.5 lakh crore-4.7 lakh crore) in exports, according to industry grouping National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom).
The sector is expected to end the year to March 31 with a growth of 10.2% to touch $75.8 billion, against an original forecast of 11-14%, which Nasscom had later revised to "at least 11%." Analysts, who are expecting slightly better growth in the next financial year, said the latest Nasscom forecast is along expected lines.
"Technology has today become an integral enabler for growth across all sectors and the industry is continuously evolving and innovating to emerge as a strategic partner to its customers," said N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Nasscom.
The India's IT/BPO sector contributes 8% to India's gross domestic product. At about three million professionals being directly employed, this industry is the largest organised private sector employer in the country.
"We should not look it at only in terms of percentage growth but incremental growth because now the base is huge," said Chandrasekaran.
As large corporations grapple with newer technologies such as data analytics, mobility, and cloud, the nature of demand in global technology outsourcing market is changing, forcing Indian information technology services companies to a difficult situation where they need to solve clients' business challenges rather than merely sell technology solutions to them.
Also, India's top software services firms reported wide deviations in growth during the current financial year. While Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services, where Chandrasekaran is the chief executive officer, is expected to close the financial year with about 14% growth, others such as Bangalore-based Infosys and Wipro are estimated to grow at about 5% during the same period.
New-Jersey based Cognizant, one of the fastest growing outsourcers, have said it expects to grow by at least 17% in 2013, compared with the 20% it clocked in the just completed year.
Market demand slowed down perceptibly for the sector in fiscal 2013, when growth expectations came down from around 17% growth that the industry clocked in 2012 fiscal.
Analysts were predicting a revival for the sector after the better-than-expected growth reported by top software service firms for the three months to December, which is a traditionally slow quarter for the sector on account of holiday season in their largest markets US and Europe.
The sector is expected to end the year to March 31 with a growth of 10.2% to touch $75.8 billion, against an original forecast of 11-14%, which Nasscom had later revised to "at least 11%." Analysts, who are expecting slightly better growth in the next financial year, said the latest Nasscom forecast is along expected lines.
"Technology has today become an integral enabler for growth across all sectors and the industry is continuously evolving and innovating to emerge as a strategic partner to its customers," said N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Nasscom.
The India's IT/BPO sector contributes 8% to India's gross domestic product. At about three million professionals being directly employed, this industry is the largest organised private sector employer in the country.
"We should not look it at only in terms of percentage growth but incremental growth because now the base is huge," said Chandrasekaran.
As large corporations grapple with newer technologies such as data analytics, mobility, and cloud, the nature of demand in global technology outsourcing market is changing, forcing Indian information technology services companies to a difficult situation where they need to solve clients' business challenges rather than merely sell technology solutions to them.
Also, India's top software services firms reported wide deviations in growth during the current financial year. While Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services, where Chandrasekaran is the chief executive officer, is expected to close the financial year with about 14% growth, others such as Bangalore-based Infosys and Wipro are estimated to grow at about 5% during the same period.
New-Jersey based Cognizant, one of the fastest growing outsourcers, have said it expects to grow by at least 17% in 2013, compared with the 20% it clocked in the just completed year.
Market demand slowed down perceptibly for the sector in fiscal 2013, when growth expectations came down from around 17% growth that the industry clocked in 2012 fiscal.
Analysts were predicting a revival for the sector after the better-than-expected growth reported by top software service firms for the three months to December, which is a traditionally slow quarter for the sector on account of holiday season in their largest markets US and Europe.
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