To Fund Startups & Train 2.5 lakh Indian Students, Cisco to Pump in Rs 665 Crore by 2020

US-based tech giant Cisco has said it will pump in US$100 million (around Rs 665 crore) to fund startups and train 2.5 lakh students in India by 2020.

The company, which has over 10,000 employees in India, is looking at funding early-stage and growth-stage companies in the country across areas like Internet of Things, security and smart cities, allocating about US$40 million of the fresh investments announced.

Last year, Cisco had committed US$20 million to train 1.2 lakh students on skills and an additional US$40 million for expansion in India, including setting up manufacturing in India.

"We are collaborating closely with state governments on strategic initiatives like setting up innovation labs. We want to play a key role in digitisation of the country. The impact of digitisation is far-reaching, helping countries maintain global competitiveness, foster innovation and create jobs," Cisco Executive Chairman John Chambers told reporters here.

Cisco, under the global Country Digitisation Acceleration (CDA programme), will set up six new innovation labs, three centres of expertise, funded university collaborations and skills investments as part of its plans.

Under CDA, select countries receive major strategic investment to accelerate existing government goals for driving economic growth through high-tech innovation.

"We want to create a pipeline of 2.5 lakh skilled students in India by 2020 and a marketplace for high value technology-based careers," said Chambers.

He added that Cisco's focus will be on next generation technologies like security, cloud, and the IoT as well as digital plays in smart cities, financial services, healthcare, e-governance.

"Cisco's strategy is to have an active role at all stages of startup development, from identification, creation of incubators and accelerator programs, to directly and indirectly funding the most promising digital startups across India," he concludes.

Cisco has invested in about 25 companies in India.

Agencies

Rajat Mukherjee Promoted as Chief Technology Officer of Quixey

Quixey, the mobile search technology company has announced the promotion of Dr. Rajat Mukherjee to Chief Technology Officer (CTO). In this role, Mukherjee will lead product and engineering, and build and bring mobile search innovations to market that rethink the mobile app experience. For the past year Mukherjee has served as vice president of product at Quixey, leading the product development of the next generation of mobile search platforms that enable deep search within apps. 

“We’re excited to have Rajat take on additional responsibilities as the CTO, with a role focused on our mobile search technical advancement,” said Tomer Kagan, co-founder and CEO, Quixey. “We have an aggressive product roadmap for 2016 in app-based mobile search with several new upcoming releases planned and it is more important than ever to align our product vision with execution. Rajat’s impressive background and extensive knowledge of Quixey’s technology make him the perfect person to help lead this forward.” 

Mukherjee held leadership positions at both startups and large companies within consumer and enterprise. Most notably is Mukherjee’s extensive experience in search. As a group product manager at Google, he was the product lead for search ads automation and worked closely on custom search, enterprise search, alerts, related search and more.Following Google, he led product at Lexity building automated marketing tools for ecommerce. Lexity was acquired by Yahoo in 2013. He also held positions as senior director of software engineering at Verity working on enterprise search, and subsequently was senior director of product management at Yahoo working on web search. He started his career at IBM Research after earning his Ph.D. in computer engineering from Rice University. Mukherjee graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, and holds multiple software patents.

“We are working on technology that no one else is working on,” said Mukherjee. “We are rethinking the user experience on mobile to reduce the time from thought to action -- people can get things done faster. This is a win-win for consumers and developers.”

Quixey develops forward-looking technology that connects people to apps and apps to people. With unique and proprietary technology that sets Quixey apart from other mobile companies, Quixey continues to push the envelope on what consumers should expect from a mobile experience. The latest development, Deep View Cards announced last fall, uses a combination of content acquisition techniques and patent-pending native app mining technology to deliver mobile app content and functionality into ads and search results.

Mukherjee’s appointment comes as Quixey deepens its strategic partnerships with some of the world’s largest technology companies and demand for its solutions continue to grow at a rapid pace. 

The company has nearly 300 employees across its four global offices and attracts the industry’s top engineering and technical talent to build out its patented technology.

WinMagic Partners with Chennai-Based Raksha Technologies

WinMagic, one of the leading data security companies has announced its partnership with a Chennai- company Raksha Technologies. The association between the two brands is envisioned to shape visibility and increase reselling of WinMagic’s star products, SecureDocand SecureDoc CloudSync in India. Raksha Technologies provides complete Information Security (IS) Solutions. They specialize in delivering Information Security solutions to the companies or business units of any size. They also cater to a large base of customers across several verticals like Banking, Health, E-Commerce, Manufacturing, Education and many more.

This strategic partnership for WinMagic has been vital to form a better partner system and provide companies with services that can help them keep their vulnerable data safe and avert information breaches on the cloud. Since the majority of organizations today store delicate and elusive information in the cloud, it becomes all the more important to concentrate on approaches to keep the information safe. WinMagic concentrates on close teamwork and incorporation with partners and firmly implementing clear and continual distributor partnerships across India.

Commenting on the partnership Rahul Kumar, Country Director and Manager, WinMagic India stated, “Raksha Technologies is a focused security partner market and WinMagic, a focused security OEM and the relationship is very strategic for both parties. This relationship is aimed at helping WinMagic increase its reach across the southern Indian market as well as ensuring that customers get the best solution that they need to address their business pain points. Raksha Technologies has a very experienced sales and technical team in Bangalore and Hyderabad – which would help us broad-base our presence quickly and effectively. With the new products in our offering for the cloud market, this is the right time for us to address the market together and we are very confident that this relationship will bring in a lot of synergies in the marketplace.”

On this V.Anand, Chief Executive Officer from Raksha Technologies said “In our constant endeavour to provide the best solutions to our customers we tied up with WinMagic about a year back since it was able to fulfil most of the requirements of the Security Conscious Customers. It helped the customers in reducing their risks from Data thefts, protected their critical Data and is complaint with the regulatory System. WinMagic’s encryption solution called the SecureDoc encrypts data on various devices and prevents it from being misused. SecureDoc protects the data at the endpoint where it is created irrespective of the Device or Platform where it is being accessed from or saved. SecureDoc also helps in encrypting Removable Disks, CD’s/DVD’s and Files and Folders.  Taking a step forward WinMagic will launch its new Solution SecureDoc Cloud VM later this year.  With a strong Technical Team and efficient Sales Team WinMagic has been widely accepted by customers all over the World towards providing effective Security to their Critical Data.”

WinMagic’s solution SecureDoc protects data on the endpoint, where the data is created, regardless of the device or platform where it’s accessed or saved. And SecureDoc CloudSync is an application that enforces transparent file encryption on cloud folders through policy, to ensure data is protected before it leaves the endpoint.

Winners of the TiE SV Smart Cities Hackathon "Tackling the World’s Urban Social Issues"

TiE Silicon Valley SmartCities Hackathon, powered by Atomiton, enables coders, non-profits and social activists to produce solutions to improve cities across the globe. This year's winning teams have produced technology for some of our most pressing waste management issues, especially for developing countries.

TiE Silicon Valley is proud to announce the winners of the 2016 Smart Cities Hackathon initiative featuring the theme "Tackling the World’s Urban Social Issues". The event featured more than 100 teams who used their coding skills to produce innovative solutions for some of the most pressing environmental problems in the world. Three teams pulled ahead of the rest this year, with Team Culminant walking away with first prize.

Cleaning Up Our World Through Code

Through entrepreneurship and stellar leadership, this year’s technological solutions are on track to put a major dent in the waste that threatens our global environment. The hackathon featured highly talented teams from over 10 countries and 50 cities coming together to brainstorm, code and create in the name of a greater social cause.

Six outstanding projects were shortlisted for more detailed judging — and they did not disappoint. Three key problems were available for teams to address, including parking, waste and water management. However, the three top teams chose to specifically address the waste management issue. After all, the challenge for waste management is huge, with the World Bank estimating that global solid waste is set to increase by 70 percent by 2025, which will generate six million tons of waste per day. This problem will require huge sums of money to manage, which are expected to exceed $375 billion annually by 2025, with developing nations baring the brunt of these costs.

In order to find solutions for the future, the first place Team Culminant produced a brilliant worker routing system. This Internet-of-Things (IoT) solution offers real-time tracking of all the top sites where garbage is accumulating and other waste management trends, and then efficiently reroutes workers according to this data. Their intuitive UI dashboard even helps tracks company balances and revenue to help waste managers as they build a smart and efficient marketplace for waste management. Their solution earned them a $5,000 prize and passes to TiEcon 2016, world’s leading annual conference on entrepreneurship.

A $3,000 second prize plus TiEcon passes went to Team Vermigold, which offered a self-learning waste management collection system that not only maximizes garbage collection in the minimum amount of time, but also grows revenue for waste management companies.

Team Vishwakarma snatched the third place prize of $2,000 plus TiEcon passes by devising a cost-effective trash bin system that uses odor sensors to improve metrics such as trash bin usage, dump sites and company revenue.

The event was made a reality through the tireless support and resources of our partners including BayBrazil, the City of Palo Alto, Outsource Brazil, and the academia.

Outstanding Submissions From Finalists

Vipin Jain, Chair of TiE Smart Cities, stated that, “It was very satisfying to see the quality of work produced by the finalists. They approached the problem differently making various observations about the environment, available resources, costs and resident behavior. Team Culminant stood out in terms of their approach to problem-solving, attention to detail, design, implementation and visualization, all leading to an optimized solution that delivered an impressive business and functional outcome. TiE congratulates all of the winning teams for a job well done.”

Submissions were evaluated based on key criteria, including meeting the business goals, functionality, usability, originality and articulation.

Winners of the TiE SV Smart Cities Hackathon - "Tackling the World’s Urban Social Issues"

TiE Silicon Valley SmartCities Hackathon, powered by Atomiton, enables coders, non-profits and social activists to produce solutions to improve cities across the globe. This year's winning teams have produced technology for some of our most pressing waste management issues, especially for developing countries.

TiE Silicon Valley is proud to announce the winners of the 2016 Smart Cities Hackathon initiative featuring the theme "Tackling the World’s Urban Social Issues". The event featured more than 100 teams who used their coding skills to produce innovative solutions for some of the most pressing environmental problems in the world. Three teams pulled ahead of the rest this year, with Team Culminant walking away with first prize.

Cleaning Up Our World Through Code

Through entrepreneurship and stellar leadership, this year’s technological solutions are on track to put a major dent in the waste that threatens our global environment. The hackathon featured highly talented teams from over 10 countries and 50 cities coming together to brainstorm, code and create in the name of a greater social cause.

Six outstanding projects were shortlisted for more detailed judging — and they did not disappoint. Three key problems were available for teams to address, including parking, waste and water management. However, the three top teams chose to specifically address the waste management issue. After all, the challenge for waste management is huge, with the World Bank estimating that global solid waste is set to increase by 70 percent by 2025, which will generate six million tons of waste per day. This problem will require huge sums of money to manage, which are expected to exceed $375 billion annually by 2025, with developing nations baring the brunt of these costs.

In order to find solutions for the future, the first place Team Culminant produced a brilliant worker routing system. This Internet-of-Things (IoT) solution offers real-time tracking of all the top sites where garbage is accumulating and other waste management trends, and then efficiently reroutes workers according to this data. Their intuitive UI dashboard even helps tracks company balances and revenue to help waste managers as they build a smart and efficient marketplace for waste management. Their solution earned them a $5,000 prize and passes to TiEcon 2016, world’s leading annual conference on entrepreneurship.

A $3,000 second prize plus TiEcon passes went to Team Vermigold, which offered a self-learning waste management collection system that not only maximizes garbage collection in the minimum amount of time, but also grows revenue for waste management companies.

Team Vishwakarma snatched the third place prize of $2,000 plus TiEcon passes by devising a cost-effective trash bin system that uses odor sensors to improve metrics such as trash bin usage, dump sites and company revenue.

The event was made a reality through the tireless support and resources of our partners including BayBrazil, the City of Palo Alto, Outsource Brazil, and the academia.

Outstanding Submissions From Finalists

Vipin Jain, Chair of TiE Smart Cities, stated that, “It was very satisfying to see the quality of work produced by the finalists. They approached the problem differently making various observations about the environment, available resources, costs and resident behavior. Team Culminant stood out in terms of their approach to problem-solving, attention to detail, design, implementation and visualization, all leading to an optimized solution that delivered an impressive business and functional outcome. TiE congratulates all of the winning teams for a job well done.”

Submissions were evaluated based on key criteria, including meeting the business goals, functionality, usability, originality and articulation.

Mahindra Globally Unveils Ingenuously Designed Gusto 125 Vx & Dx Variant’s Priced from Rs 50,680

Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd. (MTWL), part of the US$16.9 billion Mahindra Group, launched the all-new Mahindra Gusto125, further expanding its growing presence in the scooter segment. The Gusto 125 is also being launched globally across Asia and Central America.

Developed completely in-house at Mahindra’s RnD Centre in Pune, the technologically advanced Mahindra Gusto 125 comes with: Powerful 125cc M-TEC engine with MCDi technology; Innovations like host of category-first features like the Remote Flip Key, Find-Me lamps, Guide Lamp, Bright Halogen Headlamps with LED pilot lamps, easy front kick. The Gusto 125 will be available in two variants Vx and Dx. Priced of 50,680 and top end Gusto 125 VX, priced at Rs.53,680 (Ex-Showroom Bengaluru).

The Gusto 125 will be available in two variants Vx and Dx. Gusto 125 Dx is being launched at an extremely attractively price of 50,680  (Ex-Showroom Bengaluru). The top end Gusto 125 VX is priced at Rs.53,680 (Ex-Showroom Bengaluru). Gusto 125 will initially be launched in the southern states of India before being rolled out across the rest of the country. It will be supported with a comprehensive multi-media marketing campaign.

Speaking at the launch,  Vinod Sahay, Chief Operating Officer, Mahindra Two Wheelers Ltd. said, “Since its launch last year, Gusto has grown consistently and we are now excited about extending the Gusto brand into include new consumer segments. The all-new Mahindra Gusto 125 is bound to turn heads on Indian roads as it is packed with a powerful 125cc M-TEC engine with load sensing MCDi technology and stylish looks to match! We continue with Gusto’s innovative car-like features, like India’s only Height Adjustable Seat, that makes the new Mahindra Gusto 125 a complete, fully loaded scooter that is sure to delight consumers.”

Along with the new features, the Gusto 125 retains all of Mahindra Gusto’s erstwhile consumer-inspired technology features that have delighted customers.

These include:

* Height Adjustable Seat: India’s only scooter brand to offer a Height Adjustable Seat.

* Innovations: Host of category-first features like the Remote Flip Key, Find-Me lamps, Guide Lamp, Bright Halogen Headlamps with LED pilot lamps, easy front kick, and a quick storage compartment

* Performance: Powered by the high performance, refined M-TEC engine technology with advanced features such as heavy duty dual curve low stall clutch, variable roller CVT, silent chain and high energy HT coil to deliver superior power, fuel efficiency, smoother engine performance, and reliability

* Ride Quality: Large 12 inch wheels with tubeless tyres, front telescopic suspension with air springs, long stroke hydraulic rear suspension, high ground clearance, and wide wheel base ensure best-in-class ride quality, safety, and stability.

15% Jump in Indian Tourists Visiting Switzerland in 2016; Launch Two Grand Tour Packages

By Manu Sharma

Switzerland has witnessed a strong growth in the number of tourists travelling from India in the year 2015.  The total number of 5, 9400 Indian tourists visited Switzerland in 2015 and expect a 15 percent jump in Indian tourists during 2016.

Talking to the media, Ritu Sharma, Deputy Director and Media Manager – India, Switzerland Tourism said, “Indian economy is booming with over 6.5% GDP growth and so have the spending of the Indian tourists. More and more Indian tourists are discovering the joys of travelling independently in Switzerland, especially among the large IT and other professionals living in the four southern states. We have seen a contribution of 30% coming from individuals and 60% from group packages in south India.”

“More ever the spending of an average Indian family has also gone up over the years. Presently it’s about 240 Swiss francs per individual per day,” remarks Sharma and adds that “many Indian tourists consider Switzerland to be the most expensive destination in the world but that’s not exactly true. Yes, we are among the most preferred destinations of the world and cater to the affordable Indian tourists.”

In fact, Switzerland after staying relatively stagnant over the last three years, the number of tourists visiting Switzerland from India jumped 22 percent in 2015. Growth was particularly strong in June with 40 percent more Indians travelling to Switzerland compared to the same period last year. Bengaluru has always been an important city for individual travellers but there are also increasing numbers of group travellers from the interiors of Karnataka.

Claudio Zemp, Director – India, Switzerland Tourism, said, “Tourism from India has grown at a sharp clip this year. The increase is particularly strong in tier 2 and tier 3 cities in South India. The two tours will allow tourists to experience the best of Switzerland, from mountain excursions to scenic train journeys, at their own pace and as per their own preferences. English is widely spoken in Switzerland, the Swiss are very friendly people and Indian food is found easily. Hopefully, this will urge even more Indians to visit our wonderful country.”

Since most Indian tourists visit Switzerland during the months of May to July each year and the focus is now to bring them throughout the year. Switzerland Tourism launched the ‘In Love with Switzerland’ campaign to promote winter tourism in the Indian market. “We are promoting winter tourism for the Indian tourists selling destinations such as St Moritz, Davos Klosters, Rhaetian Railways and Ticino for winter tourism,” said Zemp. 

Launch Two Packages – Grand Tour and Grand Train Tour

Switzerland Tourism has launched two promotional campaigns aimed at wooing visitors from Bengaluru to travel to Switzerland in the summer season, amid a general surge of tourists from South India to the picturesque alpine country.

The Grand Tour of Switzerland is a 1,600 km road-trip linking the country’s most popular, touristic and natural destinations in one scenic journey. Travellers can embark on this tour from different places like Lucerne, Zurich, Geneva, Basel, Lugano, etc. and can split it into any number of journeys. The Grand Tour of Switzerland allows you to discover different facets of Switzerland as per your own preference. This has been an extremely successful promotion over the summer, with many tourists exploring Switzerland by car and is also perfect for the upcoming summer holidays.

The second campaign is titled the ‘Grand Train Tour of Switzerland.’ Indians are particularly fond of train travel and are among the largest users of the Swiss Travel Pass. As the name suggests, the tour takes travellers across the country along Switzerland’s most popular and picturesque train routes like the Glacier Express, the Bernina Express and the GoldenPass.

Lucerne and Lake Lucerne Region are on both the itineraries and the representatives of Lucerne, Lake Lucerne Navigation Company and Mt. Pilatus were also present during the presentation.

Lucerne is an ideal starting point for the exploration of the Lake Lucerne Region and offers a wide range of attractions to discover. Centuries-old sights such as the Chapel Bridge, the Musegg Wall, the Lion Monument and the historic Old City form the exciting contrast to contemporary Lucerne: the KKL Luzern, the abundance of restaurants and an attractive range of shopping. Lucerne is also called the festival city with it’s many delights throughout the year, with blues, jazz, rock, comics or the splendidly colorful Carnival.

Mt Pilatus, the home mountain of Lucerne offers the perfect three way golden roundtrip in summer. You can take a series of cable cars up to the mountain and take the world’s steepest cogwheel on the way down and connect on a boat which brings you back to Lucerne. PILATUS-BAHNEN AG has invested 18 million Swiss francs in a new aerial cableway ‘Dragon Ride’ (Fräkmüntegg – Pilatus Kulm) which has been in operation since April’15. The centerpiece consists of two modern cabins which give passengers the impression of flying thanks to their spacious interior, cockpit-like design and large windows – a mountain experience that gets the adrenalin pumping.

A boat ride on Lake Lucerne, which has the most extensive inland navigation system in Europe, is simply a must. The panorama boat, the five paddle steamers or the elegant catamaran are certain to render your stay extraordinary. There is also an extremely popular dinner cruise which offers Indian cuisine – this cruise is going to be available daily in the summer peak season from May 2, 2016 onwards.