-- original message -- Subject: Buzz: the latest IndiaTechOnline Newsletter From: feedback tech <[email protected]> Date: 22/07/2010 12:19 pm
If you are not able to view this newsletter, pleasure click on this link:http://www.indiatechonline.com/viewNewsletter.php?id=18 ANAND PARTHASARATHY'S TECH BLOG #9 Info-tech is our golden goose. Do not kill IT! It was a sorry sight I saw during the Bharat Bandh or national strike called by opposition parties in India earlier this month: The glass-fronted India headquarters of an international Information Technology company in Bangalore, swathed for all its five floors in protective green netting. IT companies had learned the hard way, that they would be the first targets of stone- throwing mobs who would be particularly emboldened, if the state government is a supporter of the strike , as it was in this case. Tech companies in the Indias Silicon City, who together contribute one-third of all IT exports from India, suffered a collective loss in productivity of about 10 billion rupees. Wipro and Infosys estimated their loss on Bandh day at 500 million rupees each. These numbers, are relevant to some recent findings: Last week, technology analysts, Zinnov Marketing released a report on the economics for multinational IT companies, of running India-based R&D centres. The cost is estimated to be Rs 1.82 million ( about US $ 40,000) per person per yearmuch lower than what the same research would cost in Europe or America. R&D centres in India have helped parent organizations save a cumulative $ 40 billion for the last 3 years. Global players will continue to locate their creative teams in India as long as it makes sound business sense. But increasingly, working days lost to strikes; precious productive hours of skilled workforces, sacrificed to poor local transportation; operating costs hiked by the need to create what are almost parallel energy systems in the face of unreliable power supply all eat away the competitive edge that India has to offer. To make matters worse, the political classes in some states seem hell bent on adding to the problem rather than solving it through ill-conceived interventions, where none are needed. It is a known fact that Bangalores rise as Indias IT capital happened, partly because the policy in Karnataka state at the crucial period, twenty years ago, encouraged the growth of privately funded institutions of engineering education. Students from all over India came here and so many stayed back that it created an enviable talent pool in the state which the global IT industry exploited in the best sense of the word. The students studied engineering in the English medium which is the lingua franca of the international technology industry. The Karnataka Chief Minister has just announced that those who are pursue medical and engineering courses in Karnataka will have to study an additional subject, the local language Kannada, from next year and take an exam in this subject. This is the surest way of killing Karnatakas edge. Most students in her engineering colleges come from other states, even from abroad. Imposing the study of a language on a student doing higher studies in professional subjects serves no useful purpose. It may satisfy a few language fanatics , but it will push students to look to other states for their studies. Karnataka will lose in the long runnot the students. The neighbouring state of Kerala which has enviable records in literacy, quality of life and Internet connectivity -- is home to some of Indias finest technology parks. But officially encouraging two hartals or strikes within a week for the same cause, was widely seen as heavy handed and insensitive. Potential IT investors will think twice before committing their money to a state where such strikes are almost a monthly feature. While the Indian IT industry grapples with these issues, the world moves on. We tend to think of China as a hardware leader who is unlikely to challenge our software superiority. That would be a mistake. The Chinese have set themselves a hard-nosed target to overtake India in IT software and services. To do this, they look for the best help and how ironic that the best is often made in India! That is why Indias best known IT trainer NIIT, is also arguably the largest trainer in China. Last year their education ministry honoured NIIT as " the most influential IT Training Brand in China". Today, NIIT has nearly 200 training sites across 25 provinces and cities in China and the NIIT curriculum is an integral part of academic programmes across some 130 universities and colleges in that country. I attended extra class on a Saturday morning in the Nanjing Road branch of one of NIITs centres in Shanghai on my last visit. Chinese instructors taught C++ in Chinese and I was told by Prakash Menon, head of NIIT China, that their students got credits for the course and exemptions from a paper in their regular engineering course. Incidentally many of these centres also teach the English language before students take up the technical content. In India, NIITs identical courses are not recognised --and students who do a B.E or B.Tech must study the same subject in a college or university that has been approved by the University Grants Commission or the All India Council for Technical Education or whatever. We know what these approvals are worth after the whose sale de-recognition of dozens of second rate universities last year. In Hindi they say ghar ki murgi dal barabar ( the hen at home, is worth just a grain of food) which loosely translated means, genius is rarely recognized at home. If the Indian IT industry is not to see hardnosed competitors like China as well as Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan Singapore -- slowly nibble away our so-called advantage, it must open its collective mouth and tell those who govern us, the true story of what made India, an IT leader and how easy it is to slip from leader to laggard, through the destructive interference of policy makers. They should tell their elected leaders: If you cant help us, thats fine. At least dont hinder us! IT HAPPENED IN INDIA Tap into the Web -- without an Internet connection! Researchers at the Bangalore unit of HP Labs have unveiled a solution that allows users to tap into the huge information resources of Web without having to establish a connection to the Internet. http://www.indiatechonline.com/hp-labs-siteonmobile-289.php EPIC achievement! A made-in-India, for India, web browser Bangalore-based software start-up Hidden Reflex has launched the first browser to be sharply aimed at Indian users http://www.indiatechonline.com/epic-browser-for-india-288.php Indian Navy choses Wipro and SAP as partners to implement enterprise-wide online financial information system (FIS). http://www.indiatechonline.com/sap-wipro-solution-for-indiqan-navy-286.php Aditis made for NDTV "News desk" web app., harnesses Microsoft tools, Silverlight, PhotoSynth. http://www.indiatechonline.com/aditi-microsoft-360-287.php Kerala arms 60,000 high school teachers with e-tools. e-Vidhya DVD is all Open Source http://www.indiatechonline.com/e-vidhya-dvd-for-kerala-schools-285.php Virtual desktop solution: NComputing, has launched the L300 thin-client access device in India, an enterprise-class platform that complements its USB virtual desktop kit, the U 170 launched just two months ago. http://www.indiatechonline.com/ncomputing-enterpise--virtual-esktop-283.php IT'S FOR YOU... IT NEWS YOU CAN USE Put the new rupee symbol on your keyboard! We tell you how http://www.indiatechonline.com/viewimage.php?id=157 Ibibo launches online bookshop for India: 50,000 titles; free delivery, country-wide; http://www.indiatechonline.com/ibibo--online-bookshop-for-india-155.php Now a smart Indian solution for Net-based home/office surveillance:An indigenous, light and portable, home/office IP surveillance solution has been launched in the Indian market. http://www.indiatechonline.com/smart-guard-micro-nvr-surveillance-system-156.php As July 31 approaches, income tax woes? e-Lagaan offers free returns tool http://www.indiatechonline.com/e-lagaan-free--tax-return-tool-153.php Back up your PC on your buddys PC ! http://www.indiatechonline.com/viewimage.php?id=156 AVAILABLE IN INDIA: PRODUCT REVIEW >From Logitech, a cool tool for viewing movies on your laptop in comfort, in >bed http://www.indiatechonline.com/viewimage.php?id=154 Electronic white board without the board: The Epson EB-450wi Interactive projector http://www.indiatechonline.com/epson-eb-450wi-review-52.php Paisa vasool! Viewsonicss world-first 27-inch full HD monitor for Rs25K http://www.indiatechonline.com/viewsonic-27-inch-hd-monitor-51.php INDIA IT... THE NUMBERS THIS WEEK Cost of R&D in India for MNCs: Zinnov study pegs it at under $ 40,000 per person, per annum http://www.indiatechonline.com/zinnov-study-mnc-r&d-in-india-58.php Indian telecom dilemma: massive user base; miniscule revenue growth Despite a near 50% subscriber growth, the mobile services revenue grew a meagre 3.6% to Rs. 968.60 billion last year http://www.indiatechonline.com/voice-and-data-india-telecom-study-284.php All the numbers from our exclusive industry snapshot: http://www.indiatechonline.com/snapshot.php EVENT WATCH Workshop on Cloud Computing Chennai, India August 18-20, IIT Madras, Organised by Computer Society of India Div IV (Communication), Chennai Chapter and SIG-Distributed Systems and IEEE Computer Society, Madras Chapter http://www.csi-chennai.org/wcc/ All India seminar on Web Technologies: emerging trends and social impact Kochi, Aug 30-31, International Hotel Ernakulam Institution of Engrs/IEEE/IETE/CSI http://www.ieindia.info/Itempage.aspx?Event_Id=43 Phone contact: 91-484-2390286 LTE Asia 2010 Hong Kong September 7 8, 2010, Kowloon Shangri-La Hotel, 5th annual event for the region focusing specifically on LTE . http://asia.lteconference.com/ World Computer Congress Australia Sep 20-23, Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, ( with) South East Asia Regional Computer Federation Computer Conference ( SEARCC) www.wcc2010.com [email protected] Mobile Value Added Services World Summit Singapore, September 29-30 , Swissotel Merchant Court Developing Strategic Partnership & Best Business Model In Offering Innovative VAS to Optimize Profit and Reduce Churn http://www.symphonyglobal.com/index.php/event/page/mobile_value_added_services CAT-iq developers conference, Eindhoven The Netherlands October 19-20 CAT-iq is the IP Broadband successor of DECT (DECT 6.0). Next to telephony (with HD-Voice) CAT-iq will be used for home automation/connected home, smart grid and in ultra low power use. www.catiqconference.com 4th Annual Connecting Rural Communities Asia 2010 Forum Jaipur, India November 16-18 Le Meridien Organized by Commonwealth Telecommunications Organisation (CTO). The theme for the conference is Broadband Access for Rural Communities. http://www.events.cto.int/CRCAsia2010 Are you organising an upcoming conference or trade show in the Middle East/Asia/Pac region that will interest the Indian infotech community? Send us the details in a mail to [email protected] with Event Watch in the subject line and we will be happy to feature it in this section. TECHIES TIMEPASS Fatigued by FIFA? Worn out by Wimbledon? "International Cricket 2010" for X Box and PS3 is here! http://www.indiatechonline.com/international-cricket-2010-game-review-152.php POSTED 2010-07-22 Buzz comes to you from www.indiatechonline.com Your guide to information technology in India Please do not reply to this e-mail as it is unmonitored. However we do value your feedback. To send us your feedback, email us here [email protected] To stop receiving this newsletter, you may unsubscribe now [email protected].
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