Category Archives: Business & Economy

Looking ahead: Infotech in Hyderabad to soar as ever

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

Infotech HITEC CityHF03jan2014

Hyderabad:

While Information Technology has chosen Hyderabad as its favoured destination in the state, attempts to attract IT giants to other destinations had seen minimal response so far.

However, a lot of action is expected in the near future with the bifurcation issue coming to a finalisation, the ‘intent’ to draw IT companies towards the Seemandhra region has grown very strong.
There is a huge need for infrastructure development in the new Seemandhra state as all the tier II destinations, which were earlier identified in the IT policy, are mostly Seemandhra cities.

“There are no five star hotels and no infrastructure for the cities in Seemandhra region to begin with after bifurcation. We have to improve the infrastructure especially transportation. International airports will have to be developed in cities like Vijayawada, Rajahmundry and Tirupati since IT will not come without infrastructure. Hyderabad was developed as  capital city of Andhra Pradesh and the best infrastructure was created here, but now, with the state being divided, Seemandhra will need to start afresh,” said finance minister Anam Ramanarayan Reddy.

Action may be seen in creating whole new eco-system. Infra-structure development may be seen in other prominent cities like Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Waranagal.

IT has not only created Hyderabad as it is but has attracted huge investments in various sectors.

However, it might be difficult to draw global players towards these newer destinations, say industry insiders. Also the fact remains that almost all big IT companies are global players and very few small companies may be owned by people from either state.

While the existing Information and Communication Technology  policy 2010-2015 has identified Tier II locations (Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Vijayawada, Tirupati and Warangal) and Tier III locations (all towns and district headquarters) for years now, there is very little that has moved on the ground so far.

“Although it may be possible to create infrastructure and the eco-system, India currently does not need another tier II destination and hence it will be difficult to attract big players to these newer locations. For an MNC, established tier II destinations like Pune, Bhubaneshwar, Nagpur or Coimbatore makes sense rather than coming to Vijayawada or Warangal,” said vice president (Products and Centre Head for Software), Progress Software, Ramesh Loganathan.

In fact, all these identified tier II destinations already have state-of-the-art IT infrastructure and IT Parks but still more than 70 per cent of the IT park in Vijayawada, for instance, remains unoccupied. Also the fact that global MNCs like to come to established destinations as they want to select employees from an existing vibrant talent pool and preferably from other companies, puts these other destinations at a loss.

However, these destinations have begun seeing some growth in terms of IT exports with Visakhapatnam leading with Rs 1,000 crore, Kakinada with Rs 100 crore, Vijayawada at Rs 70 crore and Tirupati and Warangal at Rs 10 crore worth IT exports. The growth registered was 22 per cent in 2012-2013.

Industry insiders believe that currently Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada are better positioned for growth but it will come at its own pace.

While the IT department had been pushing these destinations for back-offices after no global players showed interest, industry insiders too believe that the growth potential of these destinations would be more from IT incubation.

“There will definitely not be any shifting of business or global companies setting up their businesses in these locations. In fact, it will be very difficult to get people to move to any of these cities. But what can begin now is innovations-led business may start off with the right eco-system. As innovation-led businesses can be started with an incubation centre, an angel network and a proper funding system, it takes 15 to 20 people to begin this kind of a setup. While such businesses can start immediately, for IT businesses and big companies to go to these destinations, it will be a slow process,” added Mr Loganathan.

Amidst all of this, Hyderabad will continue to grow and is expected to pick up pace with the Information Technology Investment Region project and clarity on the bifurcation issue.

source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> News> Current Affairs / DC / by Amrita Didyala / December 19th, 2013

US web host Fozzy expands with India Data Center

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

US web hosting company Fozzy has launched services from a data center in Madhapur, an IT indutry hub of Hyderabad, India.

The host has taken space with CtrlS, an Indian data center provider. The location adds to Fozzy’s existing data centers in Dallas, Amsterdam and Singapore.

Data center aisle stock Getty_35HF31dec2013

Fozzy has placed hundreds of servers in the facility in addition to establishing a dedicated support center for India.

The web host’s pitch revolves around hosting speed as well as VPS (virtual private server) speed. Its VPS services are available on Linux and Windows, but most clients opt for Linux, the company said.

Fozzy also provides a specially tailored Forex VPS solution, which is latency-optimized for Forex traders.

It offers a seven-day free trial to demonstrate the performance and free domain registration. Fozzy has set up a payment system by bank transfer to the State Bank of India and CICI Bank.

source: http://www.datacenterdynamics.com / Datacenter Dynamics / Home> Zones / by Datacenter Dynamics Focus / December 23rd, 2013

Now, add augmented reality to print ads via Rev Media’s mobile application

Business & Economy, Science & Technology

To launch fully AR-enabled monthly tabloid for high-networth individuals soon.

Rev Media, a Hyderabad-based out-of-the-home (OOH) media start-up, has developed Rev Eye, a mobile application that enables transforming traditional forms of print media advertisements or collaterals into digital engagements using augmented reality (AR).

AR is a technology that allows for a digitally-enhanced view of the real world, connecting the user with more meaningful content in his/her everyday life. With the camera and sensors in a smartphone or a tablet, AR adds layers of digital information – videos, photos and sounds – to the rich content.

After downloading Rev Eye, all a user needs to do is aim a phone’s camera to an activated advertisement, and then have various images of a product and all the relevant details of it on the screen. The app was developed using a core image recognition engine licensed from a US-based technology provider and involving an investment of Rs 10 lakh.

“In our case, we are doing AR (print advertisement, posters, billboards and packaging) for brands. Rev Eye is currently live on five brands, including the Indian Luxury Expo scheduled to be held in Hyderabad from tomorrow. We should be hitting at least 100 brands in a year from now,” said. Vishal Reddy, chief executive of Rev Media.

Stating that the adoption of this technology was still in a nascent stage, he said AR as a market was at around $2 million in India in 2010, which was expected to grow exponentially to touch the $2.5-billion mark by 2015.

“The growth will primarily be driven by the ubiquity that the smart phones are achieving,” Reddy said, adding that the company’s immediate target was to generate revenues of Rs 1 crore a month from Rev Eye, starting next quarter.

Reddy said that the company was set to launch ‘The Luxury Box’, a fully augmented reality-enabled tabloid targeting high-networth individuals (HNIs) during this weekend. The 20-page monthly, priced at Rs 100, will have precise and situation-based content on “anything luxury” including hotels, apparel, jewellery and cars, he added.

source: http://www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by K. Rajani Kanth / Hyderabad – December 12th, 2013

Aurobindo receives USFDA nod for anti-depressant drug

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, World Opinion

The capsules are the generic equivalent of Eli Lilly & Company’s Cymbalta delayed-release capsules.

CapsulesHF26dec2013

Hyderabad-based drug maker Aurobindo Pharma Limited stated that it had received the final approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) to manufacture and market Duloxetine Hydrochloride delayed-release capsules 20 mg (base), 30 mg (base) and 60 mg (base), which had been tentatively approved earlier.

The capsules are the generic equivalent of Eli Lilly & Company’s ‘Cymbalta’ delayed-release capsules. They are prescribed for the treatment of major depressive disorder and fall under the neurological therapeutic category.

According to IMS, the market size of the product is $5.4 billion for the twelve months ending September 2013.

Aurobindo said in a press release that it now had a total of 188 abbreviated new drug application approvals from USFDA.

The company’s scrip was trading at Rs 300.20 on the BSE, up 0.76% over the previous day’s close of Rs 297.95.

source: http:d//www.business-standard.com / Business Standard / Home> Companies> News / by Prashanth Chintala / Hyderabad – December 13th, 2013

Two ambitious projects to give boost to medium, small units

Business & Economy
Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company Managing Director V. Rajendra Prasad explaining the use of the machine that will be part of lineup at the CCMC. / Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu
Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company Managing Director V. Rajendra Prasad explaining the use of the machine that will be part of lineup at the CCMC. / Photo: Ch.Vijaya Bhaskar / The Hindu

‘CCMC and CCTC will give MSMEs cutting edge advantage’

By next March, the 1,000-odd Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) located in Jawahar Autonagar and IALA (Industrial Area and Local Authorities) will get a fresh lease of life, as the special purpose vehicle Vijayawada Auto Cluster Development Company (VACDC), promoted to upgrade the industrial cluster, will launch its two ambitious projects – Common Critical Machining Centre (CCMC) and Common Critical Testing Centre (CCTC).

The centres are futuristic in design and will be a boon to all the MSMEs in this region, said the Managing Director of VACDC V. Rajendra Prasad. He added that the MSMEs in the Industrial area and Autonager were once reputed for their products across the nation but they did not stay tuned to the technological advancements and today they were at least two decades behind technology.

“These centres will now give them the cutting edge advantage. The centres should have come up at least a decade ago,” he pointed out.

The CCMC is coming up on a built-up area of 14,000 sq ft with two overhead electrically operated gantry cranes to handle heavy machinery, at a cost of about Rs. 7 crore.

“All the machines in this centre are run by computer programmes and are high-efficiency machines. Many of them such as the rapid prototype machine and the Turret punch machine have been imported,” said VACDC MD.

The CCMC is being set up to assist local entrepreneurs in producing high precision parts and components. This will not only give them a big boost in the highly competitive and quality driven market but would also better their economics, said Mr. Rajendra Prasad.

The CCMC was designed by Central Manufacturing Technology Institute- Bangalore and the running has been outsourced to Central Institute of Tool Design (CITD), Hyderabad.

CITD, which produces high precision components for PSUs such as HAL, ISRO, BHEL and BDL, will use this centre as its extended arm and as well as assist local entrepreneurs.

“One has to just come with a design and it will be produced here. Even if some one comes with a model, the prototype machine will replicate it. A fee will be charged but it will be discounted for those who have been partner to the user contribution charges,” he said.

The cost of CCMC and CCTC is being shared by the Central and the State Governments and users in the ratio of 75, 10 and 15.

The CCTC which is coming up on a built up area of 12,000 sq ft will also be run by CITD and is a state-of-the-art testing facility. “The centre will be equipped to test various parameters such as tensile strength, hardness, roundness and cracks and bubbles and we are negotiating with accreditation agencies for quality certifications,” said Mr. Rajendra Prasad.

He said that both the centres would be open to technology colleges for live interface and training. “We will have two fully-equipped classrooms with faculty. But the colleges have to book the time slot in advance for a nominal fee.It will be an excellent first-hand experience for the students, especially from the mechanical, automobile and aeronautical engineering streams,” said Mr. Rajendra Prasad.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Sumit Bhattacharjee / Vijayawada – December 13th, 2013

City to host ICAI regional meet

Business & Economy, Records, All
D. Prasanna Kumar / The Hindu
D. Prasanna Kumar / The Hindu

The city has got the opportunity to host for the first time the annual regional conference of Southern India Regional Council of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

‘Udyati’ – the 45th Annual Conference of SIRC – is being held on the beach front at VUDA Park in the city on December 13 and 14 in a temporary facility that is being readied for the occasion there, chairman SIRC D. Prasanna Kumar told the media here on Wednesday.

Traditionally the conference is conducted at the home town of the chairman of the SIRC and it is being hosted by the city as the present chair is from here, he said. At least 2,000 chartered accountants from South Indian states – Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Union Territory of Puducherry – are expected to attend as delegates and the Visakhapatnam branch is geared up to cope with the demand, he said. Chairman Indian Overseas Bank M Narendra would inaugurate the conference and be the chief guest and president ICAI Subodh Kumar Agarwal would be delivering the presidential address. The two-day conference would have eight technical sessions apart from sessions by health and nutrition experts, there would also be a session on spirituality, he said. Experts would discuss different aspects of Companies Act 2013, FEMA, Income Tax and auditing.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Visakhapatnam / by Special Correspondent / Visakhapatnam – December 12th, 2013

Hyderabad-based tech incubator-cum-seed fund BitChemy Ventures invests $6M in 3 startups

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, Uncategorized
Sunil Motaparti
Sunil Motaparti

BitChemy Ventures Pvt Ltd , a Hyderabad-based tech incubator-cum-seed fund, has invested a total of $6 million in three incubatee companies so far, according to its founder Sunil Motaparti. The firm, which is looking to incubate three-four ideas from across the globe every year, is close to investing in another company.

Incorporated in 2012, BitChemy’s current batch of incubatees includes 3LOQ Labs, Cafyne Inc and Altiux Innovations.

A B2B venture based out of Hyderabad, 3LOQ enables brands and retailers to understand individual customer’s behaviour, based on past action and context, using its advanced machine-learning algorithms. Cafyne is a US-based startup which helps enterprises protect their brand by ensuring compliance to regulatory and company policies. Based out of Bangalore, Altiux helps large MNCs as well as startups in joint IP development, prototyping, new product introduction, concept development, product re-engineering and emerging market-focused solutions.

“At BitChemy, we combine entrepreneurship, incubation and seed capital with operational management and strategic oversight,” said Motaparti, who holds an MS degree in Computer Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University in the US.

An entrepreneur himself, Motaparti had led product & business development efforts at his previous venture KeyPoint Technologies. Before KeyPoint, he held various roles in product research and development within the semiconductor design software industry. He is also the co-founder of all the three companies BitChemy is incubating currently.

BitChemy identifies opportunities internally by analysing the technology landscape and externally by partnering with motivated entrepreneurs. “We invite ideas from entrepreneurs, and are operationally involved in building the ventures and cover all critical functions with our teams. We invest up to $2 million in each company we incubate and we also join them as a co-founder,” said Motaparti. The firm has eight staff on board.

Motaparti claims that the firm is also getting applications from across the world for incubation as well as investment. BitChemy also invites early-stage companies (which have some validation) for investment of up to $100,000 each in return for a minority stake.

“We are similar to Rocket Internet in a way that we take innovative ideas in technology and combine them with disruptive business models to build unique companies. However, our market is wide and we focus both on B2B and B2C sectors. Also, we believe in investing in unique business model than just creating a replica of a successful business model like Rocket Internet,” Motaparti said.

India is already home to over a dozen startup incubators. Some of the leading names are Microsoft Ventures (erstwhile Microsoft Accelerator), Times Internet’s TLabs, Kyron Accelerator, IIM Ahmedabad’s Centre for Innovation Incubation & Entrepreneurship (CIIE), and Startup Village. Recently, Target Corp and PayPal announced that they would launch startup accelerators in India too. Beverages major Coca Cola is also planning to launch an incubator in India soon. Early this month, Samurai Incubate, a Tokyo-based startup incubator-cum-seed fund, mentioned that it is also looking to foray into India soon.

(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

source: http://www.techcircle.in / TechCircle.in / Home> Money / by Sainul K. Abudheen / December 12th, 2013

Researchers claim development of diabetic-friendly rice varieties

Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Records, All, Science & Technology
Vice-Chancellor of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University A. Padma Raju addressing farmers and rice millers in Tadepalligudem in West Godavari district on Saturday. / Photo A.V.G .Prasad / The Hindu
Vice-Chancellor of Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University A. Padma Raju addressing farmers and rice millers in Tadepalligudem in West Godavari district on Saturday. / Photo A.V.G .Prasad / The Hindu

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University takes up research on developing the new varieties

Acharya N.G. Ranga Agriculture University has taken up research on development of diabetic-friendly rice varieties in collaboration with private industries, University Vice-Chancellor Alluri Padma Raju disclosed here on Saturday.

Mr. Raju was speaking to The Hindu on the sidelines of a meeting of rice millers, peasant representatives and agricultural scientists conducted by the Agricultural Research Station (ARS) at Maruteru for popularising new paddy varieties.

“Scientists are on the job of building glycemic indices (GIs) with the data on how much carbohydrates in each existing rice variety raises a person’s blood glucose levels after consuming the particular variety,” he said. As of now, 40 rice varieties were available with the researchers and 14 of them were found to be having anti-diabetic properties. Of them, BPT-5204, popularly known as Samba Masuri, was found to be more friendlier to diabetics, Mr. Raju explained.

The research strategies involved collection of anti-diabetic genes from different varieties and introduced them in the select varieties by way of selective breeding through the marker identification method.

Diabetes was fast spreading and people even below 30 years were falling prey to the disease, of late. The breakthrough, if achieved in the on-going research, would be a boon for the people prone to diabetics caused by food habits, among others, in a country where rice consumption accounted for more than 80 per cent, he hoped.

The Samba Masuri was identified as an ideal variety for projection as more diabetic friendly given its ‘admirable’ strains such as easy to cook and preservation without becoming stale for a long time after cooking and non-sticky in nature, Mr. Raju said.

The V-C informed that the gale-resistant paddy varieties, need of the hour in the cyclone-prone Godavari delta region, were likely to be released in April next, facilitating sowing for the next kharif. The research had been in progress for the last 4-5 years and it was currently under trial in different stages, he added. If these new breeds hit the markets, the paddy growers would be relieved of the miseries caused by the predominant variety of Swarna in view of its susceptibility to lodging at times of cyclones, he said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by  G Nagarajan / Tadepalligudem (West Godavari Dist.), December 22nd, 2013

RINL to focus on capturing steel demand in western India

Business & Economy

Visakhapatnam :

Considering the genuine demand and differential market dynamics, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) is focusing its marketing activities in western region of the country, said RINL chairman-cum-managing director A P Choudhary.

Addressing the customers of the region in Mumbai, Choudhary said that the twin factors of discipline and commitment on part of the customers of the region had compelled RINL to look westward and enhance its marketing activities in that part of the country.

The customers of western region are exceptionally loyal and aggressively confident in their business with RINL, which is why RINL sees better growth prospects in the future here, Choudhury said in a press release issued by RINL.

According to the RINL CMD, considering the possibility of growth in infrastructure, real estate and manufacturing sectors, steel demand is estimated to rise to 300 million tons in the country by 2025. RINL’s strength will be the volume of steel it produces, which will go up to 7 million tonnes when production from its expansion units stabilizes. By 2020, RINL has an ambitious plan of producing 20 million tonnes per annum and playing a key role in the infrastructural development of the country.

Addressing the western region customers, RINL’s director (commercial) T K Chand said that steel demand is picking up internationally, with the demand firming up in USA and Europe. Pointing out that India sees a better role for itself in the international markets once the steel demand grows globally, he said in India steel demand is showing signs of improvement and will improve further in the last quarter of this year, resulting in a spurt in steel demand soon.

Assuring the best services from RINL through adoption of modern innovative technologies and customer centric attitudes, he said importance is being given to branding the products and opening new outlets in various cities.

Earlier customers from different locations of western India, while interacting with the RINL CMD, stressed on availability of more volume of products and requirements of various new grades of steel items. Choudhary assured them that RINL would soon meet their demand once materials from their expanded units start rolling out.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam> Western Region / TNN / December 08th, 2013

Visakhapatnam Port sets all-time ore pellet loading record

Business & Economy, Records, All

Visakhapatnam Port has established an all-time record in loading iron ore pellets in a day.

According to a press release, a quantity of 27,199 tonnes, with a hook output of 2,267 tonnes, of iron ore pellets, on account of Brahmani River Pellets Ltd, was loaded onto the vessel m.v. MANDARIN CROWN on November 20 at West Quay-4 berth, surpassing the previous best loading of 26,001 tonnes on August 24.

Steel City Shipping Services was the stevedore and Chowgule Brothers Pvt. Ltd the steamer agent of the vessel.

source: http://www.steelguru.com / Steel Guru / Home> News / source – Exim News Service (www.logisticguru.in) / Saturday – December 07th, 2013