Andhra's Visakhapatnam Gets Microsoft India’s Centre of Excellence

The Andhra Pradesh government today said Microsoft India will be setting up a Centre of Excellence in Visakhapatnam as part of its digital inclusion drive in the state, besides sharpening focus on raising productivity.

The technology giant signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh government in deployment and use of information and communications technologies to offer better citizen services in the state, an official release said.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu hosted a breakfast meeting for Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella -- who is currently on a visit to Hyderabad -- at his residence today.

The meeting lasted for 80 minutes, during which Nadella assured the state government of total cooperation in utilisation of cloud data for improving citizen services.

"He (Nadella) has also agreed to set up a Centre for Excellence in Visakhapatnam. He promised to visit Anantapur district during his next visit," the statement said.

According to the MoU, the state government will use technical knowledge from Microsoft India, which will support building of up to three proof-of-concept (POC) solutions to apply Microsoft Azure Machine Learning and Advanced Visualisation in education, agriculture and e-citizen services, an official release said.

"These POC solutions will be built and deployed to address specific problems within each of the fields to achieve better outcome for the state. It would use the lab method for data gathering, analysis, predictive analysis and policy planning."

Reaffirming its commitment to supporting the government's initiatives for cloud adoption and improving citizen services, Microsoft India said it will continue to engage and train the government's key IT executives on Microsoft technologies such as Cloud, Mobility and appropriate Microsoft Technology stack.

The company will also deliver an exclusive workshop to the government's key administrative officers on improving productivity by using Microsoft technologies, it added. 

Agencies

Pharmaceuticals Industry in India Likely to Touch $55 Bn by 2020

India's pharma sector is likely to grow over three-fold to hit US$55 billion in the next five years, even as the exports from the sector may slow  down to grow at a CAGR of 7.98 per cent owing to stricter regulations in markets such as the US, Russia and Africa, says a report.

"Indian pharmaceutical industry is expected to touch US$55 billion by 2020 as against the current size of US$18 billion but the exports may slow down to grow at a CAGR of 7.98 per cent in value terms due to tightening of regulatory mechanism in top exports markets of US, Russia and Africa," a joint report by Assocham and TechSci Research reveals.

Consolidation of pharmacy players in North America has resulted in the presence of leading firms that hold better bargaining power, it added.

The study report cited instances like the acquisition of the US distributor Celesio by US pharmacy Mckesson's in 2014, and formation of a joint venture between the US wholesale distributor Cardinal Health and CVS Caremark in 2013.

"Consolidation of pharmacy players is leading to an increase in pricing pressures for generic companies existing in the US market, which is expected to result in a decline in the year-on-year growth of pharmaceutical exports from India over the next five years," it added.

"A steep decline in currency in emerging markets such Africa, Russia, Ukraine and Venezuela may add to woes of drug manufacturers that supply pharmaceutical drugs to that region and are unable to generate high revenues on account of selling their drugs at a low priced currency," the report said.

India is the largest supplier of medicine to the US and pharmaceutical exports from India rose from US $3.44 billion in 2013 to US$3.76 billion in 2014.

"Pharmaceutical exports to the US are rising due to the increasing demand for high quality generic drugs in the market. However, the growth rate for exports of pharmaceutical products from India to the US is declining, due to increasing US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scrutiny on the quality of pharma products coming from drug manufacturing plants located in India.

"In order to boost the growth rate of exports to the US, Indian companies will need to leverage their compliance to US FDA regulations," it added.

The report further said the exchange rate issue in the country is affecting the pharmaceuticals market in Russia.

"For example, Dr. Reddy's pharma revenues in Russia dropped 9 per cent in dollar terms despite a rise of 30 per cent in Rubles. Hence, stabilisation of the currency is of utmost importance in generating revenues through exports," according to the report.

In addition, many Indian companies are operating through the Pharmaceutical Benefits Program (PBP) and hospital tenders, for supplying vital and essential drugs, for which prices are then regulated by the Russian government, it said.

Besides, exports of pharmaceutical products to Africa are being affected due to port delays and prolonged custom valuation, testing and certification requirements and the cost of returning consignments to India is huge and registration process for any generic pharmaceutical drug is time consuming, says the report.

Agencies

Pocharam Infosys New Campus Due for February 2016 Inauguration

India's second-largest IT company Infosys would formally inaugurate its campus at Pocharam here in February, Telangana Information Technology Minister K T Rama Rao said to media.

"The seating capacity of the campus is 25,000. Currently, 12,000 employees are working there. They are planning to inaugurate the campus formally in February, after the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) elections," Rao told reporters on the sidelines of a programme at T-Hub.

Vishal Sikka, CEO of Infosys, today visited the T-Hub, a technological incubator set up here by Telangana government.

"(Vishal) Sikka has invited us to inaugurate their largest campus at Pocharam in Hyderabad. We would request Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to unveil the IT policy of the state also at that time," said Rao.

The upcoming Pocharam campus of the IT giant would be spread over 447 acre, and built with a total investment of Rs 1,250 crore. The construction would be completed in three phases over a period of ten years, a press release of the company had stated earlier. 

Agencies

Singapore Firm Infinity Partners Biomatiques for Iris Recognition Tech

Leading Iris recognition technology company, Biomatiques Identification Solutions, has partnered with Singapore based Infinity Optics Solutions to bring upgraded technology products by March 2016. 

The tie-up will help to integrate Biometric Extended Depth-of-Field image capture (BEDoF) in the Iris recognition technology for the Indian market, the company said in a statement. 

"We are partnering with Infinity Optics who are the leaders in the market. It is definitely a benefit for us as it has helped us to upgrade the quality of our lenses which will eventually improve the end-user experience," said Biomatiques CEO Tamaal Roy. 

The probability of duplication for voice recognition is 1 in 500, facial recognition - 1 in 1,000, fingerprint - 1 in 10,000, Apple touch ID - 1 in 50,000 while, in iris recognition, it is 1 in 15,00,000. 

Iris recognition uses random textures that are visible in the eye, using the eye to confirm someone's identity. 

Biomatiques claimed it is the only Indian company to launch its latest range of products which are "ultimate in terms of access and security." 

Compuage Partnership to Enhance ADATA India Power Bank Market

ADATA Technology, a leading manufacturer of high performance DRAM modules and NAND Flash storage application products and accessories, today announced a new partnership  with leading IT distributor Compuage Infocom Ltd., pertaining to the complete ADATA power bank portfolio. The move extends ADATA distribution range by adding Compuage as a product provider, offering Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certified mobile power banks to customers across India. ADATA and Compuage have been successfully cooperating in the DRAM segment for several years.

With the growing demand for power banks and users requiring solutions for smartphones, ADATA has been growing its presence in India with fully-certified power banks and the partnership with Compuage is the latest development in this campaign. Compuage brings to the relationship a wide network of contacts and local partners, as well as a highly motivated and proactive sales team. These will help ADATA products reach new customers in more locations, benefitting ADATA, Compuage and consumers. ADATA and Compuage anticipate rapid sales growth in 2016 as the partnership takes hold and product distribution expands to cover more of the massive Indian mobile accessory market.

Chris Chang, MD at ADATA Technology India Pvt Ltd said "As part of our growth strategy and expansion drive for 2016, we have partnered with Compuage Infocom, leveraging excellent reach across India and best business practice implementation to help ADATA gain larger market share in the power bank segment. Our partnership with Compuage in DRAM modules has been very successful for the last couple of years and the addition of power banks will further strengthen our relationship. We believe our BIS certified high capacity power banks can reach every part of India to provide more users total quality, ease of use, and convenience".

Bhavesh Mehta, Business Director at Compuage Infocom Ltd said "ADATA's expertise in peripheral memory products for both high end and mainstream PCs, combined with the strong IT-enabled distribution backbone of Compuage, will not only strengthen our brands but will also help expand ADATA reach in additional cities as well as propel growth momentum in India. Compuage is proud to work with ADATA, who have been innovating and demonstrating business and technology foresight".

The power bank segment is one of the fastest growing in India, and BIS certification is vital for any product in this dynamic market environment. Customers are assured quality products thanks to strict ADATA production standards and BIS certification. Since BIS certification is mandatory in India for smartphones, batteries, power banks, and adapters, brands are required to pass the certification process and buyers are advised to only purchase certified products to ensure their personal safety and the proper operation of mobile devices. Approved products bear the prestigious and well-known ISI mark, which is synonymous with quality.

ADATA and Compuage look forward to further strengthening their relationship in more product ranges. To create better ADATA product awareness among channel partners, ADATA and Compuage have planned several marketing initiatives, including roadshows, partner-site promotions, channel advertisements, and participation in exhibitions and expos scheduled across Indian localities in coming months.

Super Fans of LeTv Flock at Le Meetup House in Bangalore

LeTv held its first Le Meetup with its super fans in Bangalore recently.  The meet witnessed a full house gathering of LeTV’s #Superfans, bloggers, keen tech enthusiasts and influencers from the city who had an exclusive hands-on experience of LeTV’s products even before sales kicked off in India.

Le Meetup has been conceived and deftly implemented as an apt platform to bring its Superfans and blogger community together and listen to them speak and experience Le Future up-close. The enthusiastic participation from #Superfans and bloggers made the event a lively, interactive exchange rather than just a one-way communication.  It turned out to be a great opportunity to meet and chat with fellow #SuperFans, bloggers, LeTV staff and take away LeTV super products.

The meetup had an exclusive Q&A session and allowed an open dialogue between fans, bloggers, Youtubers, and Le staff. As the closing note, Ivan Wang, Head, Digital Marketing said “ It has been a truly rewarding experience interacting with our fans and followers. We recognize that they are vital and hence we have ensured that our comment response rate is 98% and response time is 3 three minutes.  This is a new benchmark in the industry and has been acknowledged by our fans in this very forum.  Thank you all for the overwhelming response, your feedback matters and we will very closely consider them. Bangalore rocks ! he concluded.

LeTV shared its focus for India as a key market, which along with the US is part of its expansion plan. It also said the company intends to match the product launches in India with that of global launches. It revealed that there is a preview event on Jan 5 where the company will make more confirmed announcements on its big launch date. Le Meetups will be held in multiple cities the next one will be held in Delhi on Dec 30  and January 9 followed by one in Hyderabad.

India to Emerge 3Rd Largest Economy from 2030, Reports Study

India could become the world’s third largest economy after 2030 and its ascension could see France and Italy kicked out of the exclusive G8 group or its membership increased to 10 to accommodate India and Brazil, according to a new study.

According to a report by the UK think tank Centre for Economics Business and Research (CEBR), China will overtake the US as the largest economy in the world in 2029 with the US slipping to second place and India close behind at third.

India’s projected GDP in 2030 was US$10,133 billion, behind America’s US$32,996 billion and China at the top with a projected GDP of $34,338 billion.

However, India will become the largest economy in the Commonwealth in 2019 when its economy overtakes the British economy.

The study also says that India is finally starting to catch up with China and will eventually overtake the Communist-giant in the second half of the century.

Britain will move up to take fourth spot and Brazil will complete the top five.

Europe’s third and fourth largest economies will be replaced by India and Brazil in the G8 over the next 15 years, the report says.

As Brazil and India meet the political criteria for membership of the exclusive G8 club of developed democracies, their ascension could see France and Italy kicked out of the group, or the club expanded to a G10 as more economies join, the report says.

The UK meanwhile is set to become the best performing economy in the western world over the next 15 years, boosted by its leading position in global software and IT sectors.

The CEBR said France’s “dire” economic prospects will see it fall from the world’s 5th to 9th largest economy by 2030.

Italy — currently 8th in the global league table — is also going through tough times.

Since joining the euro in 2000, GDP growth has remained flat, making it the slowest growing economy of any major developed nation.

Europe’s largest economy, Germany, will maintain its position in the world’s leading economies as its declining population receives a welcome boost of a 1.5 million refugees and migrants, according to the analysis.

Agencies