Win US$100,000 For Best Ideas At Mytrah’s Competition

Saluting the entrepreneurial spirit, Mytrah, one of the largest Independent Power Producers will host Inspiring Solution Business Plan Competition. The competition calls for the best minds across the globe to present their entrepreneurial idea. The best idea will be provided with a seed fund of US$100,000 to set up their dream enterprise.

Participants can enter one of three categories - individual, start up and team. The competition is open to people above the age of 18 from any vocation or nationality. All one needs to do is harness their lateral thinking, creativity and channelize energies into drafting a business plan around their idea. In line with Mytrah’s philosophy, entries to Inspiring Solution should exude the following qualities visionary, change catalysts, perceptive to the needs of others, open, innovative and giving.

“We’re looking for thinkers, people who have courage, drive, passion, creativity and belief in themselves,” said Vikram Kailas, Managing Director, Mytrah. He further added, “Inspiring Solution competition provides an opportunity to make an elusive dream a concrete reality, which will create a ripple effect of positive change.”

The criteria for judging a business plan are threefold - The practicality of the solution being offered, the potential for running a business based on the solution, detailing and attention to financial projections, key metrics, marketing & sales strategies and understanding of market environment.

The finals of Inspiring Solution will be held on May 17, 2014 in Hyderabad. The top three nominees will be provided with mentorship and guidance to set up their enterprise.

India Inc Poised For Change: Hiring Up 3%: RecruiteX Report

With political uncertainty coming to a conclusion, Hiring went up by 3 per cent during the month of March ‘14, according to the latest TimesJobs.com RecruiteX, indicating that India Inc is optimistic about the future.

With the Parliamentary Elections promising to quell the economic and political instability in India. Corporates showed signs of recovery and confidence as hiring recovered across key sectors, job hubs and functions. The Indian jobs market which was largely inactive during Jan-Feb ‘14 is getting back on track as RecruiteX demand index climbed up to 93 points in March from 90 points recorded in February ‘14.

Petrochemicals & Project/Infrastructure lead: The Project/Infrastructure sector emerged as the top employment generator in March ’14 with a 12 per cent rise in demand, the Petrochemicals industry reported a 9 per cent rise.

As anticipated by industry experts in the bi-annual RecruiteX report, Petrochemicals and Project/Infrastructure were the first two major industries to show signs of revival in a struggling economy. While both these industries started the year on a somber note, witnessing negative hiring sentiments during January ‘14, things started looking up from February. 

Other significant changes were:

·       IT/Telecom sector reported 6 per cent increase in hiring

·       Hiring up by 5 per cent in the Healthcare/ Biotechnology/Pharmaceutical and Manufacturing & Engineering industry

·       Construction/Cement/Metal/Steel/Iron industry registered a 9 per cent increase in hiring

Engineer(ing) its way to growth: There has been a huge demand for engineers in India Inc and experts predict that this will increase manifold in times ahead. This profile reported a 12 per cent rise in demand during March ‘14. It was the only top profession to witness a double-digit rise in demand during the month. The rise in demand for engineers is a result of revival of hiring in core sectors including Project/Infrastructure, Petrochemicals, Manufacturing and Real Estate. IT/telecom and logistics professionals also reported 8-9 per cent increase in demand.

·       Logistics/supply chain management/procurement professionals witnessed 9 per cent increase

·       Biotechnology/pharmaceutical/R&D/scientist (22%) and quality/process control professionals (13%) also reported increase in demand

·       Oil and gas professionals witnessed an increase of 11 per cent

India Inc rely on experience: Corporate India is pining huge hopes on its experienced workforce to sail through the tough times ahead. RecruiteX data shows that in March ‘14 demand for over 20 years of experience professionals increased by more than 30 per cent. The 10-20 years and over 20 years of experience category together accounted for 65 per cent of the total demand for candidates across experience categories.

·       Candidates with 5-10 years of experience witnessed 2 per cent rise in demand

·       Demand for candidates with 2-5 years of experience reported stable (0%) hiring

·       Freshers (less than 2 years experience) reported 6 per cent drop in demand

Hyderabad rules as metros battle political unrest

Hyderabad emerged as the top job hub during March ‘14. The city reported a 30 per cent rise in demand for talent during the month. Since Jan-Mar ‘14 the region has witnessed an average rise of 2 per cent in hiring. Among metros, Chennai witnessed 20 per cent increase in demand during the month.

·       Delhi NCR witnessed 6 per cent rise in demand for talent

·       Pune registered 3 per cent increase in hiring

·       Among states, Andhra Pradesh (except Hyderabad) witnessed maximum increase (20%) in demand.

Verizon’s SCI Connects Multiple Devices In Cloud Environments

Verizon is addressing the growing need for organizations to connect more than one cloud seamlessly and securely, with the launch of its Secure Cloud Interconnect service (SCI). Enterprise organizations will be able to use Verizon’s Private IP service to connect to multiple cloud services including the Verizon cloud and Microsoft Azure, with an additional half-dozen other major cloud services expected to come online later this year. 

In addition, enterprises that have located their private cloud infrastructure in Equinix data centers can directly access Verizon’s Private IP service in 15 Equinix data centers in the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific; (Northern Virginia., Newark, N.J., Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Silicon Valley; London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Paris; Sydney, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Singapore). 

“With Secure Cloud Interconnect, Verizon is removing the barriers for enterprise cloud adoption,” said Michael Palmer, vice president of product development for Verizon. “The reality is that many organizations today use multiple clouds to meet their business and technical objectives, but there was no easy way to manage this environment until now.

“Our new offering uniquely gives enterprises everything they require in a multi-cloud environment– security, private connectivity, performance, simplicity and efficiency. SCI will enable a wide range of applications and use cases for organizations,” stated Palmer.

Verizon’s Secure Cloud Interconnect service will offer a combination of features to enterprises, including dynamic bandwidth allocation with fully redundant connections, application performance throughput and quality of service, usage-based billing, and simple provisioning and management via a centralized portal.

“As enterprises look to cloud computing for speed, flexibility and efficiency, they also require a platform that offers enterprise-proven performance and reliability,” said Yousef Khalidi, distinguished engineer, Microsoft Azure for Microsoft. “With many Fortune 500 companies already using Microsoft Azure, we look forward to extending our cloud services to Verizon’s extensive network of clients through its security-enabled enterprise platform.”

With SCI, enterprises gain full visibility into which applications are being consumed, by whom, and where and how they are performing. In addition, for added protection, clients can also add managed security services on top of their solutions.

Experts estimate that the enterprise cloud storage and computing market is growing at 50 percent annually, with enterprise cloud spending expected to increase by 45 percent annually.

Five Indian Clean Energy Projects For Green Oscars

Infosys leads five Indian clean energy projects that have been shortlisted for the annual Ashden Awards, referred to as the Green Oscars, here Wednesday. The awards recognise worldwide contributions towards green energy initiatives and a move away from fossil fuels.

Infosys has been nominated in the ‘Ashden Award for Sustainable Buildings’ category for the Bangalore-based company’s cutting edge design of new buildings which helps keep offices cooler and maximises natural light.

“Since 2008, global IT giant Infosys has cut more than US$80 million from its energy bills and reduced electricity consumption per staff member by 44 per cent. Its success lies in seizing every opportunity to reduce energy consumption in its existing buildings — from reducing the size of chiller plants for air conditioning, to painting roofs white so they reflect the heat,” reads the award nomination statement.

The other finalists include two projects from Maharashtra — Sakhi Unique Rural Enterprise (SURE) and Greenway Grameen — which have been nominated in the ‘Ashden Clean Energy for Women and Girls Award’ category.

SURE is a not-for-profit social enterprise in central Maharashtra that has selected, trained and supported more than 600 women micro-entrepreneurs to sell clean energy products like solar lanterns and cleaner cookstoves to other women.

Mumbai-based Greenway Grameen’s mission is to provide an affordable, desirable cookstove to improve quality of life for Indian women.

The Rajasthan Horticulture Development Society has been shortlisted for the ‘USAID Ashden Energy for Agriculture Award’ for its solar-powered water pump project and Mera Gao Power from Uttar Pradesh has been nominated in the ‘Citi Ashden Award for Innovation in Finance’ category for pioneering the use of unsubsidised commercial micro grids, which have so far connected more than 20,000 families to clean, affordable power.

“India is a hotbed of innovation in sustainable energy: from social enterprises that are meeting the energy needs of some of the poorest people in the country, to an IT giant that’s achieving staggering energy savings across all its business campuses.

“Together all five organisations are leading examples of what can be achieved. The rest of the world should take note,” said Ashden Awards founder Sarah Butler-Sloss.

A total of 14 Ashden Award winners will be announced at a gala ceremony at the Royal Geographical Society in London on May 22.

Winners will receive up to 40,000 pounds and global recognition as one of 2014’s green energy leaders.

Chandrasekaran & Reddy Occupy Hot Seats In Nasscom

National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) today announced that the Executive Council has appointed R Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice Chairman of Cognizant India, as the Chairman of NASSCOM for the year 2014-15. R Chandrasekaran has been a member of NASSCOM’s Executive Council and will take on the new role from April 09th, 2014. He succeeds Krishnakumar Natarajan, CEO and MD of Mindtree Ltd., who served as Chairman of NASSCOM for the year 2013-14. The Executive Council also announced the appointment of BVR Mohan Reddy, Founder, Chairman and Managing Director, Infotech Enterprises as the Vice Chairman of NASSCOM for 2013-14.

Speaking on the occasion, R Chandrasekaran, Chairman, NASSCOM, and Executive Vice Chairman of Cognizant India, said, “In 2013, the Indian IT-BPM industry witnessed structural changes across industries and technology architectures, coupled with robust entrepreneurial activity. The coming together of these trends will unleash significant business opportunities for the industry, boosting innovation, driving higher levels of collaboration, and making a significant impact on the competitiveness and growth of global corporations and economies. It is a moment of great pride for me to assume charge as the Chairman of NASSCOM in a year when NASSCOM is celebrating its 25th anniversary. I look forward to working with our members and senior leaders in the Executive Council to help shape the industry for the next level of growth and sustain our leadership position globally.”

For the last 25 years, NASSCOM has played an instrumental role in propelling the Indian IT-BPM industry to a leadership position in the global sourcing arena as well as the domestic market. I am honored to be given the opportunity to take up this role and look forward to leading NASSCOM in its next phase of growth. Our industry has had a phenomenal journey in the past two decades growing from less than US$100 million to a US$100 billion plus sector and NASSCOM will continue to garner opportunities to further catalyze the 2020 vision for the industry.” said BVR Mohan Reddy, Vice-Chairman, NASSCOM.

Krishnakumar Natarajan, Former Chairman, NASSCOM said, “It has been a great opportunity to lead the industry as Chairman of NASSCOM. NASSCOM has and will continue to lead the Indian IT-BPM consistently in the current dynamic environment. The sector has impacted India through job creation, foreign exchange, exports and positioned India as an ideal global IT-BPM destination. I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work on many issues faced by the industry and be of help in facilitating sustained growth. The year 2014 has brought with it optimism for the industry with drastic improvement in the economic climate and expected rise in technology spending, despite global uncertainty. The way forward looks exciting and NASSCOM will continue to play a critical role in evangelizing and leveraging newer opportunities for the sector.”

Chairman R. Chandrasekaran along with Vice-Chairman BVR Mohan Reddy and President, R Chandrashekhar will lead NASSCOM to carry out its diverse array of priorities to enable NASSCOM in achieving the 2020 vision for the industry:

·         Enable radical transformation of key sectors in India through use of ICT to reduce costs, increase access, enhance efficiency and enable innovation in the sector

·         Going forward the industry will Collaborate, Connect, Co-Create – specifically tailored model for each specialized domain in the IT-BPM sector

·         Changing models will bring compelling business innovations with greater breadth and specialisation across key verticals- BFSI, telecom, healthcare, social entrepreneurship etc.

·         The need of the hour is to prioritize domains based on potential size possible impact readiness of leadership and role of government

·         Industry is coming together to work towards nurturing the start-up ecosystem with NASSCOM spearheading the cause by providing them various platforms to help Indian start-ups break new ground.

New Windows Phone shopping App From Flipkart

After launching the highly successful native Android and iOS apps, Flipkart.com, the leading e-commerce marketplace in India, launched its Windows Phone shopping app today.

The Flipkart.com Windows Phone app aims to make the shopping experience on Flipkart.com faster, smoother and easier for all Nokia Lumia and other Windows Phone users – allowing them to shop from a massive selection of 100% original products including mobile phones, laptops, books, shoes, watches and apparel. The app's design and user interactions have been optimized for a Windows Phone user.

“With smartphones becoming more affordable and a steady rise in internet enabled devices, the number of people who are using their mobile phones to shop is increasing dramatically. Windows Phone smart devices have a large, engaged user base in India and the app lets us reach out to this substantial audience. Today’s launch will make shopping on Flipkart.com available to all Windows mobile users and let them experience the convenience of shopping on the go.” said Saran Chatterjee, VP – Products and Mobile Strategy at Flipkart.

Some of the  features of the Flipkart.com Windows Phone app are:

·         Easy navigation through different departments to find products

·         Search for products, categories or brands

·         Quickly narrow down search results using Sort and Filter functions

·         View product images up close with the zoom feature

·         Read reviews that other users have written about different products

·         Pay by Cash on Delivery, Credit/Debit Cards, EMI, NetBanking, Flipkart Wallet and Flipkart eGVs

·         Track status of your order

·         View recently browsed products and their details

·         Access your saved cart and user details by logging in through Flipkart, Facebook or Google login

Google Portal Helps Know Your LS Candidate Better

Google has set up a dedicated portal to help Indian voters know about their Lok Sabha election candidates, the global search engine said in a statement.

“Our new portal – www.google.co.in/elections – will help netizen voters to access information about their candidates and the Lok Sabha constituency from where they are contesting and the outgoing lawmaker,” Google India said.

Designed and developed with rich content from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PRS Legislative Research and Liberty Institute India, the portal provides data on contestants such as their education, financial details and social media presence.

“Netizens can click on Google maps and zoom on their locality to access latest information on candidates, constituency profile and the voting day, as the portal will be updated regularly from authentic sources,” the statement said.

The portal has been developed to assist over 800 million voters to stay informed with features like news videos, search trends, G+ Hangout series and an interactive “Pledge to Vote” campaign.

“The portal will help the electorate to make an informed choice during voting. As citizens, it is our duty to choose candidates who are clean, honest and committed to progress, security and development of the country,” ADR founding member Trilochan Sastry said on the occasion.

Google pioneered the election tool seven years ago when its software code writers noticed a surge in search traffic during the 2008 US presidential poll when Democratic candidate Barack Obama contested against John McCain of the Republican Party.

“The Google election portal is a one-stop destination to access information on the 2014 parliamentary elections and contestants in the fray for public office. The tool will enable voters to make an informed decision on the choice of their candidate, his/her party and its symbol,” Google India managing director Rajan Anandan said.

About 20 countries the world over, including Malaysia and Thailand in southeast Asia, have election pages, which encourage people to engage with their contestants.

* Source: Agencies