Monthly Archives: June 2013

IT exports to touch Rs 40cr

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

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Rajahmundry:

The IT activity which started more than a decade ago in Godavari districts picked up momentum in the last few years. The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) unit which functions from East Godavari collectorate since the year 2007 made its presence felt in the spread of both software and hardware in the two districts of East and West under its purview.

This development has made steady progress and by 2012-13 financial year the IT units in both the districts made exports of IT and ITEs to various destinations including Canada, Switzerland and other European Union countries besides US. With tier II status given, Rajahmundry registered considerable growth in the activity with 10 companies to its credit out of the existing 40 units in both the districts.

Of the remaining units Kakinada and surrounding areas share 28 IT units. In West Godavari there are two units at Tanuku and the activity is expected to spread to places like educational centres Bhimavaram, Tadepalligudem and the district headquarters city Eluru. With IT boom back on the rails it is expected to make progress in West Godavari in the coming years.

STPI directed general Omkar Rai during his recent visit to Godavari districts stressed the need for development in West Godavari too. The IT SEZ started in Kakinada suburbs in 15 acres of land and the IT park at  Surampalem in the premises of Aditya Educational Institutions to the tune of 70,000 sft added fillip to the activity. The construction of IT tower which is under progress in IT SEZ premises is expected to give further boost to the IT activity in these parts.

Further, the IT incubation centre at the East Godavari collectorate also provides amenities like dedicated internet services, plug-n-play facility besides uninterrupted power supplies. STPI joint director and incharge of Kakinada unit B. Suresh said that the units registered with them are being provided with sops like excise duty concessions on imports. Further to this we have space to the tune of 7,000 sft at our premises in East Godavari collectorate to cater to the needs of new IT units as companies move out to their own premises after some years of establishment the JD added.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / June 03rd, 2013

Andhra Pradesh’s first all-women post office comes up in Vizag

Business & Economy

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Visakhapatnam:

The first all-women post office (Mahila Dak Ghar) in Andhra Pradesh has come up in this port city.

The post office in MVP Colony area was on Saturday inaugurated by Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Killi Kruparani.

Speaking on the occasion, she said the initiative was part of the UPA Government’s focus on women empowerment, safety and gender equality. “Four all-women post offices will be soon opened at Narayanaguda, Vivekanandanagar, Andhra Mahila Sabha and Vidyanagar in Hyderabad, the Minister said.

Hyderabad’s main post office in Shamsabad will soon have an Automated Mail Processing Centre. Once the centre becomes operational, no documentation will be required with respect to sorting, dispatching and delivering of mails, the Minister said.

The all-women post office will be manned by a team of six staffers. It will offer traditional and modern services like registered and speed post, e-money order, Western Union money transfer, e-payment of utility bills besides savings bank facilities.

Post offices set for major revamp, says Minister

The Centre is focusing on modernisation of post offices in the country to improve service delivery and enable them to compete with courier companies, Union Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology Killi Kruparani said on Saturday.

The Department of Posts has sanctioned Rs 4,700 crore for modernisation of 1.55 lakh post offices, she said here. Under the project, a provision of Rs 1,500 crore has been made to install computers in rural post offices, Kruparani said.

To overcome the delay in providing services, the Union Government has embarked on a massive drive to upgrade postal infrastructure, Kruparani said. She said all the post offices in the country will be soon providing online services.

“In the coming days, their will be more such post offices across the country for the convenience of women. The Centre intends to open Mahila Dak Ghars in every metropolitan city and big towns, especially where there is sizeable population of working women, Kruparani said.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / by PTI / June 01dt, 2013

Hyderabad firm makes reactors for pharma, fertiliser units

Business & Economy, Science & Technology
A technician at Standard checks the glass-lined vessel for gaps / The Hindu
A technician at Standard checks the glass-lined vessel for gaps / The Hindu

Its glass-lined vessels cost a third of those from foreign suppliers

Hyderabad :

A small, Rs 25-crore unit, tucked away in a remote corner of Jeedimetla industrial area in Hyderabad, will now be able to help bulk drug and fertiliser makers save crores of rupees by supplying a key input.

Started by a first-generation entrepreneur, the company, Standard Glass Lining Technology Ltd, is now the third firm in India to make glass-lined reactors, required by every maker of bulk drugs, fertilisers and chemical products.

GROWING DEMAND

The other two players — Indian subsidiaries of US-based GMM Pfaudler and France-based De Deitrich — can together supply hardly 60 per cent of the requirement of about 3,500 such reactors.

While the US firm’s subsidiary produces 800 units annually at its Gujarat unit, the other entity makes 1,200 units in Hyderabad.

The demand for this product is growing in India, as these sectors are switching over from plain stainless steel reactors to glass-lined ones.

The Hyderabad company has come out with glass-lined reactors using the latest patented technology of the Central Glass and Ceramic Research Institute, Kolkata which enhances the life of the reactors as compared with those in the market.

Its cost is just 30 per cent of the imported one, as it is indigenous.

“Pharma and fertiliser companies today have to wait for at least 25-30 weeks to get these reactors from overseas. We are now equipped to supply these in 4-5 weeks,” K. Nageswar Rao, Managing Director, said.

Rao was a senior official of De Deitrich, before he decided to start his own venture using CGCRI technology about a year ago.

Standard Glass has a capacity of 600 units a year, with reactors ranging in size from 63 litres to 1,600 litres, and priced between Rs 3 lakh and Rs 35 lakh.

“In the next two years, we plan to scale up capacity to produce 30,000-lt reactors, currently priced at about Rs 60 lakh each. Only Pfaudler makes such large reactors in India today,” Rao said.

CAPACITY

Even with this new capacity, there will be a shortfall of about 900 to 1000 units a year in the estimated Rs 300-crore market for such reactors.

“The demand is growing at 30 per cent. We have already received orders for Rs 1 crore from pharma majors, including Dr Reddy’s and Natco. We expect to get orders for 250-300 units in our first year of production,” he said.

source: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com / Business Line / Home> Companies / by Amit Mitra , amitmitra@thehindu.co.in / Hyderabad – May 31st, 2013

IIT Hyderabad Receives $174.8 million financial aid from Japan

Education, Science & Technology, World Opinion

Japan is all set to aid financial support to IIT Hyderabad (Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad). It will provide $174.8 million i.e. around 870 crore as a loan for development purpose. The IIT Hyderabad is receiving a biggest-ever amount aided to IIT’s by foreign countries.

 

Experts of higher education and development say that it need a lot more effort on the standards of higher education in the state in order to boost infrastructure. With the strongest support received the Institute is all set to raise nine state-of-art buildings, including special technology centre, new academic blocks and a research centre. According to the sources, Authorities will also use some portion of money to acquire lab equipment, and officials said they would expand its current capacity and student strength from existing 1000 plus to more than 7,500 by 2018. According to the experts, the biggest hurdle in the higher education sector across India is the shortage of well-trained faculties.

 

Senior official of IIT Hyderabad said, they will increase the number of faculties over 100 by 2018 which will be more than 750. A senior academic at the University of Hyderabad told “The talent pool is highly exciting in Hyderabad, and for Japan it is a truly exciting market as they are looking at more and more investments in education,” said professor G Haragopal.” IIT officials said they were overjoyed that the deal has been formally announced.

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The institute has been functioning at a temporary campus in Medak, and further development will happen in the new campus spread across 200 acres. CP Chandrasekhar, professor at the Centre for Economic Studies and Planning, Jawaharlal Nehru University, said “The Japan agreement is boost for higher education in India and will definitely give a big boost to technology and development of institutions.”

source: http://www.education.oneindia.in / Home> News / by Ashwathi / Friday – May 31st, 2013

Integrated Common Entrance Test topper from Vijayawada

Education, Records, All

Warangal :

Bitra Venkata Balaji, a student from Vijayawada, stood first in the Integrated Common Entrance Test (I-CET) for admission into MBA and MCA courses, results of which were announced on Friday.

M Narasimha and Oruganti Phani Pavan of Hyderabad bagged the second and third ranks respectively while S Santosh of Visakhapatnam stood fourth in the state.

Kakatiya University conducted I-CET this year. Prof B Venkatratnam, vice-chancellor of Kakatiya University, released the results. He told reporters here that 95.70% of students had qualified. In all 1,23,296 candidates were declared as qualified out of 1,28,838 students appearing for the test.

Candidates may download their marks now and rank cards from June 2.

Students may apply for recounting of marks and also for photocopy of the OMR sheet on or before June 15, the fee for which is Rs 1000 and Rs 2000 respectively.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / June 01st, 2013

Kids, get ready for a fun-filled week

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Sports

Hyderabad :

After a successful season of fun and learning last year, The Times of India is back with its Hyderabad for Kids campaign, this time with a fresh round of activities for thebaccha party.

The one-week long drive is all set to kick off on June 3 with an adventure-packed kayaking session on the Hussainsagar at Tank Bund. Perfect for kids aged between 8 and 15 years, the activity will be conducted by founder president of the Yacht Club of Hyderabad, Suheim Shaikh.

Later in the day, young drama enthusiasts from across the twin cities will be given an opportunity to showcase and hone their on-stage talent in a theatre workshop conducted by famous theatre personality Mohammed Ali Baig (June 3-June 5). Baig will also hold an ad film making workshop on June 7 and 8, exclusively for kids between 10 and 15 years of age.

Those looking to shake a leg while on their summer break also have reasons to cheer. This year’s campaign brings to you a power-packed four-day session with fitness guru Dinaz (June 3-June 6). Apart from twisting and turning to peppy numbers, the workshop will also be peppered with doses of aerobics for the health conscious.

Considering the roaring success of last year’s badminton session with Pullela Gopichand, which not just gave 100 children a chance to be trained by the ace coach but also enroll in his future camps, the campaign has ensured that the ‘game is on’ this year too. The difference is that this year the coach will be joined by his protege P V Sindhu who recently bagged the Grand Prix gold title in Malaysia. The duo will conduct a workshop on June 7 at the Gopichand Academy for talented and aspiring badminton champs.

The campaign also has something for kids who cannot stop talking in class. Allowing them to put their gift of the gab to good use and perhaps become the next big radio jockey, TOI will organize a trip to the Radio Mirchi station on June 4. The ‘outing’ will give kids an opportunity to interact and pick up a few tips from the city’s top radio jockeys (RJ).

Adding a dash of glamour to the campaign will be actor Rana Daggubati who will conduct a three-day acting workshop from June 7 to June 9 for kids aged between 12 and 16 years. Also on the calendar is a ‘magical’ session (well, literally) with Murali Krishna on June 8.

Children who have been in awe of the men in khaki will get a chance to step into the ‘dream’ role for a day as part of the ‘Be a police officer’ event scheduled for June 6 and 7. Hyderabad police commissioner Anurag Sharma and his team will take the kids along with them to show what it really takes to keep the city safe and secure.

Last year’s visit to TOI’s press at Nacharam turned out to be a great experience not only for the 50 excited kids, but also their parents who accompanied them. The press visit makes a comeback this year on June 7 for a fresh batch of children who want to understand what goes on behind the scenes in bringing out a newspaper.

So kids, gear up for an action-packed week of fun, learning and memories to last you a lifetime.

Week of fun and learning

June 3: Kayaking on Hussainsagar

June 3-June 5: Theatre workshop by Mohammed Ali Baig

June 3-June 6: Dance and fitness session with Dinaz

June 4: Trip to Radio Mirchi station

June 6-June 7: ‘Be A Police Officer’ with police commissioner Anurag Sharma and team

June 7: Badminton workshop by Pullela Gopichand and P V Sindhu

June 7: Visit to TOI’s press at Nacharam

June 7-June 9: Acting workshop by Rana Daggubati

June 7-June 8: Ad film making workshop with Mohammed Ali Baig

June 8: Magic session with Murali Krishna

For registration and other details, read The Times of India

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / June 03rd, 2013

Sporting Times: A worthy trip down memory lane

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, Sports

Willing to read an old print eulogising Dhyan Chand’s exploits during the 1936 Berlin  Olympics or gloss over what was written after the Maharaja of Vizianagaram sent back Lala Amarnath from England , then grab a book that chronicles India’s  sporting history with interesting fables.

In an attempt to catch country’s sporting history in the past 175 years, the ‘Times of India’ has published a coffee table book ‘Sporting Times’, which captures sports reports that dates back to even 1840.

The reports from the newspapers’ rich archive has been compiled by sports historian Boria Majumdar and the reader will for sure enjoy a “journey” through the good, bad and the ugly of Indian sports.

“Essentially, we didn’t want it to be a book on cricket. There is a lot of cricket but there are reports on India’s Asian Games gold medal in kabaddi , from Wilson Jones to Geet Sethi, C K Nayudu to M S Dhoni, Dhyan Chand, Col Balbir Singh to Ajit Pal Singh, every era has been captured through the pages of the newspaper,” Majumdar said about the book.

For the connoisseurs of cricket, this book certainly is a collector’s item with rare photographs and anecdotes.

The doyen of cricket writing in India through the 60’s and 70’s, K N Prabhu’s match reports on India’s twin series victories in the West Indies and England in 1971, Sunil Gavaskar’s magnificent debut series, a report on young Haryana all-rounder Kapil Dev being selected to represent India, you find it all within one cover.

Then there are reports and rare pictures about crowd violence that marred the India versus West Indies Test at the Eden Gardens on a New Year’s Day in 1967 and the tragic death of six spectators during the 1969 Test match between India and Australia at the same venue.

There are reports about Milkha Singh (1960) and P T Usha (1984) missing out on much-deserved Olympic bronze medals by whisker. The heartbreak that Vijay Amritraj faced after losing to Czech Jan Kodes in the Wimbledon quarterfinal after being two sets up.

The reports of India’s famous twin triumph in cricket in 1983 and 1985, the football team’s exploits in the 1962 Asian Games at Jakarta. A significant number of events reported by the PTI during the phase have also been used.

The book will be launched by Sachin Tendulkar and Abhinav Bindra in Mumbai tomorrow.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> PTI Stories> National> News / Press Trust of India / New Delhi – May 27th, 2013

Wisestep winner of Hyd start-up challenge

Business & Economy, Education, Records, All

Selection was done through a process of presentations by reps of the start-up companies before audience and jury.

Wisestep, a social media enabled hiring and job referral platform, was announced the winner of the Microsoft BizSpart India Startup Challenge 2013 city final held at Indian School of Business  in Hyderabad on Saturday.

MilkorWater, an aggregater of stock analysis  with a an objective to provide unbiased insights to small investors, and the Tekwroksinfo Solutions Private Limited , a media solutions provider, were selected as the first and the second runners-up, according to a press release issued by the company.

The winner of this round will participate in the national finals to be held later in Bangalore.

The selection was done through a process of presentations by the representatives of the start-up companies before the audience and the jury. About 10 start-ups were given a chance to compete for the finals.

The idea of behind the BizSpark is to fast-track the success of young start-ups  with software, support and visibility. It had so far helped more than 2,725 Indian start-ups by providing basic support, including technical training among other things, according to the company.

“The BizSpark India start-up challenge has continued to grow over the past three years to support fresh ideas and provide world-class technological support, enabling start-ups to have a better chance of business success,”Rajinish Menon, director-Independent Software Vendor & Cloud Strategy, of Microsoft Corporation India Limited said in a statement.

source:  http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by BS Reporter / Hyderabad – May 25th, 2013