Hubli IT Park drawing more companies

Source: Hindu

Persistent efforts to attract information technology (IT) and information technology enabled services (ITES) companies to the Information Technology (IT) Park in Hubli, which became functional in 2002, seem to be showing results with more companies evincing interest in starting their operations here.

The IT Park in Hubli was inaugurated by the then Union Minister for Information Technology Pramod Mahajan on September 19, 2002 amid much hype. However, the park was a showpiece for a few years with major companies remaining reluctant to start their operations here.

Initial years

In the first four years, only Tata Teleservices and RMS Technologies set up their units at the park apart from the branch of Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), and 1.6 lakh sq.-ft space remained unutilised. The only silver lining at that time was that the STPI branch had received good returns and was expanding its operations to other cities in north Karnataka.

In its attempt to attract investors, the State Government organised “Destination Hubli” in Bangalore in 2004 to showcase the city as an IT destination. This was followed by IT Investors' Meet in 2006 here, during which the Government announced reduced rent at the park to attract more companies.

Results

“Ever since the IT Investors' Meet was held, we tried to keep in touch with the companies that had evinced in starting their operations here. In the subsequent years our follow up yielded results,” H. Devanand, Manager of Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) at Hubli and in-charge of the park, told The Hindu.

Now, of the total 1.72 lakh-sq.-ft space available in the four-storey park, only 82,000 sq. ft is vacant.

Expansion

An area of 16,000 sq. ft was recently allotted to the STPI for expansion of its existing set up at the park.

Meanwhile, Hubli Electricity Supply Company (Hescom) has proposed to take around 30,000-sq.-ft area on rent for its proposed Data Entry Centre and a private firm has evinced interest in taking 20,000 sq. ft on rent in the park.

“Of the 16,000-sq.-ft space allotted to the STPI, 6,000 sq. ft will be utilised immediately. The rest will be utilised in a phased manner,” Mr. Devanand said.

Another significant issue is that after remaining inactive for four-and-a-half years, the International Institute of Information Technology Hubli-Dharwad (IIIT-HD) became functional in 2008 with the launch of two finishing school programmes by IIIT-Bangalore. Now, IIIT-HD is successfully running the programmes and is also conducting other IT-related activities.

IT Expo in Hubli from tomorrow

Source: http://www.hindu.com/2008/10/16/stories/2008101651030200.htm

HUBLI: Twenty-five companies will participate in “IT Expo,” an exhibition of computer systems and accessories in Hubli from Friday to Sunday. President of the Association of IT Traders Ashok Tolannavar told presspersons that for the first time a multi-brand IT exhibition was being held in north Karnataka.

He said the event would provide an opportunity to the consumers to “touch and feel” various computer products and accessories.

Govt plans park for IT majors

The government is setting up a sprawling IT park on 2,000 acres around the City to create the much-needed space for IT firms to expand their activities.

IT companies jostling for space in Bangalore can hope for better days ahead. The government is setting up a sprawling IT park on 2,000 acres around the City to create the much-needed space for IT firms to expand their activities.Disclosing this to reporters here on Wednesday, IT and BT Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu said besides IT companies, BT, nano, hardware and aerospace firms will be accommodated in the proposed IT park.But the park will not be in one particular location. It will be spread around Bangalore, wherever land is available. The IT park would be developed under public-private partnership and nobody will be forced to part with their land for the purpose, he said.

The minister said IT and BT companies, including Infosys and Wipro, have been requesting the government to allot land for their expansion activities. “The government, therefore, has decided to develop an exclusive park for them,” he explained.

Knowledge ParkBesides, plans are on the cards to develop an IT Knowledge Park for SMEs (Small and Micro Enterprise) in Bangalore. It will come up in around 25 acres of land and an estimated Rs 10,000 crore investment is expected from SMEs in the proposed park, the minister said and added that the government was yet to finalise the location.Already, 300 SMEs have approached the government with a demand to set up this park, which would be based on “plug and play” system. This will help SMEs conduct experiments and innovations at a cheaper cost.

An expression of interest will be called from the private sector to set up the park and the Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation will be appointed the nodal agency to implement the project. The entire project cost will be borne by the promoter, he said.‘No IT migration’Naidu further claimed that of late no IT firm based in Bangalore had moved out of the State. “In fact, Karnataka is a better place than others for investment and do business. For instance, those who tried to set up shop in Tamil Nadu have had a bitter experience. No plan gets clearance easily there. They (companies) realised that there are traffic jams in other cities also,” he stated.He said he held a meeting with representatives of IT firms recently and that they have assured him that they would not move out of the State. The government on its part has committed that it will do all that is necessary, he added.

Tier-II cities
The government has plans to develop IT parks in Tier-II cities like Hubli-Dharwad, Belgaum, Mysore and Mangalore. In Belgaum, the IT park will be developed on 200 acres of land and a similar park in Hubli-Dharwad will come up on lands spread over 500 acres.

India to build 43 new IT cities in 10 yrs

NEW DELHI: The IT industry's footprint looks set to expand beyond its existing homes.

Faced with a challenge from upstarts threatening to erode India's low-cost appeal, the government is planning to build 43 new information technology cities across the country to retain its top dog status in the business and to be in a position to tap the huge surge in demand for IT-enabled services over the next 10 years.

The move comes at a time when the rising infrastructure and employee costs in big cities is threatening to blunt India's crucial cost advantage.

While India has held on to its pre-eminent position, its IT and BPO companies are losing their global cost advantage with the emergence of countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, which offer similar services at cheaper rates and are threatening India's status as the world's back office.

As the allure of BPO jobs goes down and attrition rates go up, companies are increasingly finding it difficult to recruit quality employees in the big cities. Also of concern is infrastructure constraints in Bangalore, Gurgaon and elsewhere.

The plan to build brand new towns is designed to address some of these issues. It is felt that these new towns will provide a steady supply of workers besides being specifically geared towards the needs of the IT and BPO sectors.

The proposal, suggested by a high-level group on service sector, has been cleared by the Planning Commission. "The modalities for the ambitious plan will be finalized very soon," a source said.

According to the plan, each IT city will be set up in an area of more than 500 hectare. The cities will altogether generate employment for around 3.5 million people by 2018.

The proposal is to create self-contained satellite townships with commercial space for renting and a commensurate increase in residential accommodation, education, healthcare, retail and recreational facilities.

"Improvement in infrastructure is very important to ensure the continued competitiveness of IT and BPO industries," an official said while explaining the rationale behind the move. At present, the major volume of IT-enabled services is concentrated in seven cities — Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon and Noida. Government estimates point out that 95% of the IT and BPO service industry is in these cities, with around 36% of services concentrated in Bangalore alone. According to officials, the IT and BPO business in the country is likely to grow by 2.5 times in the next 10 years.

The growth cannot be absorbed in major cities. As infrastructure in major cities is already under tremendous strain, the IT sector has started migrating to smaller cities. However, the volume of business in the IT sector likely to come to India is huge which even tier II & III towns are unlikely to handle, considering poor infrastructure.

Under the ambitious proposal, the government plans to shift 40% of the business to the upcoming 43 cities by 2018. The new towns will be properly planned and laid out and endowed with modern infrastructure and good connectivity to the big cities and airports. These townships will have residential and work areas with all essential services - water supply, power, civic amenities, health, education, transport and entertainment - to meet the civic and commercial needs of the workforce.

The Centre has sought the support of state governments in facilitating creation of these new towns. The proposal suggests that the towns will be developed by private players and state governments will ensure trunk services like electricity, water supply, sewage and drainage.

IT industries prosper despite terror network - HUBLI

HUBLI: With seven IT companies taking possession of land in twin cities to start operations, it appears that IT/BPO industry has dared to make City next destination of the IT industry after Bangalore, Mysore and Mangalore nothwithstanding the terror fear prevailing in north Karnataka for the last couple of months, apart from infrastructure bottlenecks.'Aryabhatta Tech Park' that came up here following the state government's order to Hubli-Dharwad Urban Development Authority to develop 26 acres of land belonging to Hubli-Dharwad Municipal Corporation at Amargol on Hubli- Dharwad main road with an aim to develop a model tech park in the nonmetro city.

It has succeeded in attracting seven companies.As per the plan, the tech park will have 11 companies and seven organisations have already paid 40 per cent of the land price. The land is priced at Rs 10 lakh an acre and companies have been asked to remit betterment levy to the tune of Rs 78,450 an acre.There were speculations that IT companies were reluctant to set up firms in City when the media exposed the planned sabotage activities by the suspected terrorists and activists of banned outfit SIMI in the region.Following the speculations the real estate business has witnessed a significant fall in twin cities .Hubli City, which had witnessed the adversities of communal riots on its routine business and economy during the Idgha Maidan issue in 1990s, has been slowly shedding its ‘sensitive city’ tag to become normal and ‘industry-friendly city’, but failed to become the ‘preferred’ IT destination after Bangalore-Mysore even after setting up a Software Technology Park of India (STPI) here which is lying almost vacant for the past one decade.

When the HDUDA approved the blueprint of Aryabhatta Tech Park with state-of-the-art facilities, the industrialists and people have rejoiced at the development, but in the mean time, it was speculated that no IT firms would come to Hubli following 'deep-rooted' terrorist links in the City.Despite speculations, seven IT companies of the nine companies which were allotted land by HDMC - Able Design Engineering Services, Dharwad, PAC Soft, Bangalore, Trinity Tech and Software Solutions, Hubli, Mahaveer Infotech, Hubli, Penaber Infotech, Hubli, Sankalp Semi- Conductors, Silicon Software Solutions Pvt Ltd, Evision Bangalore, Oruley Tech Pvt Ltd, Bangalore have taken possession of land at Aryabhatta Tech Park.Santosh Huralikoppi, CEO, NS Infotech Ltd and chairman of IT subcommittee, Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Hubli, said that issues like terrorism would not have long-term impact on investors mood in small cities.

Karnataka clears industrial projects worth over Rs 49,000 cr

Sorce: http://mangalorean.com/news.php?newstype=local&newsid=71417

Bangalore March 18, 2008: Karnataka's High Level Clearance Committee today approved 28 proposals to set up new industries involving an investment of Rs 49,054.89 crore.
The areas of investment are in IT, cement, steel, education and electronics, a release by the Governor's Secretariat said.

The industrial units after commissioning would generate employment to 4.19 lakh people, the release said.

The investments are being made in tier II cities, including Hiriyur, Gulbarga, Mysore, Mangalore, Muddebihal, Gamanagatti, Hospet, Hassan, Afzalpur, Yadgir, Kunigal, Koppal, Sandur, Haveri in addition to some in Bangalore rural district.

The projects included an airport-based multi-product special economic zone at an investment of Rs 3,384.65 crore to be established by the Bangalore International Airport Ltd, which has built the new airport in Devanahally here.

Limitless Properties Ltd has got the approval for setting up a multi-product SEZ in Hiriyur in Chitradurga district at an investment of Rs 4,164.40 crore.

R M Steels Ltd will be setting up a Rs 15,700 crore integrated steel plant in Koppal while XINDIA Steels a similar plant in the same district with an investment of Rs 8,735 crore, the release said.

E-certify your future in IT

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Bangalore/E-certify_your_future_in_IT/articleshow/2860045.cms

BANGALORE: In a move to assess, enhance the level of computer proficiency in Karnataka and to empower computer-proficient talent pool outside Bangalore, the IT department has initiated a novel method — e-certification scheme.

The increased thrust by companies to set up centres in tier-II and tier-III towns has focused on human capital in these regions. To certify and empower human capital, the department, under the CSPT programme, will be able to reach out and provide an opportunity for professional to obtain a government-endorsed certification for their IT skills.

"The programme will be imparted in partnership with Merittack," said M N Vidyashankar, principal secretary of IT and BT department, here on Wednesday. The scheme’s twin objectives are to help candidates improve and prove their skill level. CSPT will help students to get certificates from the IT department. Since October 2007, more than 17,000 students have registered on-line for the scheme.

"The first 10,000 will be given a certification test by December-end more than 1 lakh students will be given certificates. Corporates like AMD and Intel have joined hands to support this scheme," he said To ensure candidates from all parts of the state get an equal opportunity, two zones have been created. While Bangalore Rural, Mysore, Mangalore have been categorized under south zone, Gulbarga, Hubli-Dharwad and Belgaum come under north zone.

Enabling persons with disabilities - creating an inclusive workplace

MphasiS' completes first phase of 'Project Communicate'

Source: http://www.ciol.com/EC/News-Reports/MphasiS-completes-first-phase-of-Project-Communicate/4308104153/0/

BANGALORE, INDIA: MphasiS - an EDS Company completed the first phase of its "Project Communicate". The first batch of 19 persons with disabilities successfully completed the two-month training course that has made them employable in the IT/ITes industry. 14 of them have already been offered employment in MphasiS in their ITes operation.

Project Communicate, a training program for persons with disabilities, was launched in October 2007, with an initial aim to train over 40 persons by June 2008. The program is jointly driven by Mphasis -an EDS company, Diversity & Equal Opportunity Centre (DEOC) and The Association of People with Disability (APD).

Project Communicate, aims to train, skill & develop candidates to be "industry ready". Designed by MphasiS and Diversity & Equal Opportunity Centre (DEOC), the curriculum provides participants with both technical and soft skills required for a successful career in ITES. This includes Effective Communication, Analytical Skills, Technical Skills and Personality Development.

Speaking about the initiatives, Elango R, Chief Human Resource Officer, said "Creating an inclusive workplace is key to our corporate mission. Employment of persons with disabilities was not incidental - it is a key business driver and a conscious decision driven by the senior leadership. We have more than 120 persons with disabilities working with us. These employees have distinguished themselves with their commitment to the organisation, and value they bring to our customers. With Project Communicate, we hope to invest in training & developing more such individuals and aim to add them to our diverse workforce.

"Highlighting the rationale behind initiating the Project, Rama Chari, Director, DEOC said, "One of the reasons for low employment rate of persons with disabilities is the lack of accessible educational and training facilities in the country. Even those who have completed their senior secondary or graduation have mostly done so either in local medium schools or through correspondence. As a result, they are unable to clear the test and interview rounds. Therefore, we felt the need to focus on increasing employability through an intensive and structured pre employment training, which would enable them to compete on equal footing with other candidates. Post the two months training, employers who interviewed our trainees for jobs felt they were often more confident and prepared than the others."

Hats off to Mphasis, really every company needs to take this kind of initiatives to help Disable people. Try to spread this news across your family & friends so that our people will get benefited from this project.

Computer skills test planned for mid-March

BANGALORE: The Computer Skills Proficiency Test (CSPT), which was introduced by the Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology, Science and Technology, will be held on March 14 and 15 in six test centres across the State.

Further plans and the name of patrons it has found in IT and software majors in the State will be disclosed next week, Vidyashankar M.N., Secretary, Department of IT, BT and Science and Technology, told The Hindu. More than a dozen IT majors have evinced interest in this programme and have come forward to fund the expenses.

“Almost all Fortune 500 companies in the State have evinced interest which is a huge deal for the programme,” he said. According to sources, out of 29 districts in the State, sponsors have agreed to fund candidates from a set of districts and the certificates issued to candidates will carry a mark of recognition from the IT giants. The programme, which was introduced in October 2007 and was scheduled to take off in January, has been delayed but has already received more than 17,000 online applications.

“The costs, including logistics applications, connections and test centres and so on, work out to around Rs. 600 for a candidate, but we will collect only a nominal amount of Rs. 50 from applicants at this introductory stage,” said Mr. Vidyashankar. The test will be held in collaboration with MeritTrac Services Private Ltd at Bangalore, Mysore, Mangalore, Belgaum, Hubli and Gulbarga.

Benefits
The programme will not only benefit students who will get their certification from the Government of Karnataka but it will also help industries formulate a district-wise assessment of computer literacy and skill levels. “This will help companies decide where they want to set up their units in the State. Such data is usually missing and it will attract investors to Karnataka by providing them with clear district-wise statistics and helping them locate talent pools," said Mr. Vidyashankar.

Basic skills
The department has tried to rope in industry majors and is currently holding talks with several big names in the business. “The test is designed to determine basic skills which are employment-centric. It will create and document a talent pool in tier-II and tier-III cities in the State, which is what investors have their eye on,” said Madan Padaki, CEO, MeritTrac Services. Though they have not publicised the programme, most of the responses are from outside Bangalore. This is a positive sign, as that is largely our target audience, said Mr. Padaki.

Two phases
The CSPT is aimed at promoting computer literacy and providing a certification for those with basic skills. The test will be conducted in two phases – it will test the e-ail writing skills and basic skills with MS Word and MS Excel.

The department also plans to send out notifications to around 200 colleges in the State, informing them about the CSPT. Students need to send emails to apply and the result of the tests will be declared within a month.

KTwo Technology Solutions sets up Belgaum centre

Source: http://www.business-standard.com/common/news_article.php?autono=311915&leftnm=8&subLeft=0&chkFlg=

BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bangalore January 29, 2008

KTwo Technology Solutions, a Bangalore-based software products firm on Monday announced the opening of its Healthcare Centre of Excellence at the K L E Society’s College of Engineering & Technology, Belgaum.

The Centre of Excellence will primarily focus on product development for the healthcare sector. The centre will initially house 20 R&D experts and is expected to grow to 150-200 in the next 18-24 months.

“Opening a Centre of Excellence here would provide a backing to the untapped talent pool in the region,” said Anant Koppar, Chairman & CEO, KTwo Technology Solutions.

Elaborating, he added, “It is important for companies to go where the talent pool is available. Establishing the centre in Belgaum will set new standards and it will become a model centre for others to follow.”

KTwo, a member of the Intel India Design House Program, is designing medical solutions based on Embedded Intel Architecture. KTwo sees sustainable talent in the North Karnataka region, particularly in Belgaum.

“We are very pleased that KTwo has set up their centre in our college. We believe that the centre will definitely prove beneficial to the students as well the company in developing world class products,” says S C Pilli, Principal - K L E Society’s College of Engineering & Technology, Belgaum.

Karnataka to account for 44% of country’s $40 bn IT exports

Source: http://www.livemint.com/2008/01/23234743/Karnataka-to-account-for-44-o.html

Despite political turmoil and poor infrastructure, software and service exports from Karnataka continue to grow and this year will be 44% of the country’s total IT (information technology) and back-office services exports of around $40 billion (Rs1.58 trillion). Software exports from the state, which were growing at a compounded annual growth rate of 38% over the past three years, are expected to grow by 46% in 2007-08.

According to M.N. Vidyashankar, principal secretary to Karnataka government, department of IT, biotechnology, science and technology, the software exports from the state will touch Rs70,000 crore ($17.6 billion) during 2007-08 compared with Rs47,900 crore in 2006-07. Karnataka, which had a gross state domestic product of about Rs1.94 trillion in 2006-2007 dominates software and back-office exports from India. “We could’ve done more than Rs70,000 crore but forthe rupee’s appreciation,” said Vidyashankar.

According to Nasscom, the trade body of the software and services industry in India, the country’s IT exports will grow by 26-29% in 2007-08, with software and services exports of around $28-29 billion, and back-office services exports of $10.5-11 billion.
As of March 2007, there were nearly 2,000 firms operating out of Karnataka. Two of India’s biggest software firms, Infosys Technologies Ltd and Wipro Ltd are also headquartered in the state. Vidyashankar said in the last two months, the state has cleared 82 IT projects worth Rs83,000 crore.

Tier-II or smaller cities such as Mysore, Mangalore, and Hubli have already caught the attention of companies investing in IT. Karnataka is asking IT companies to invest in seven other satellite towns, including Bidadi, Bellary, Belgaum, Kushalnagar, Kolar, Shimoga, and Tumkur.