IT Industry Reacts to PM Modi's Tweet on Union Budget 2020

Reactions

Shibu Paul, VP - International Sales at Array Networks

"With more and more security breaches happening every day, we expect the government to have a greater focus on creating more funds to battle the growing concern of cybersecurity in India. Government needs to focus on creating strong domestic manufacturing policy favoring global companies to invest more in India. We would require the government to create policy frameworks that incentivize investments from big players in manufacturing locally in India.

As far as Data security is concerned, our government needs to work on policies and reforms to increase qualified cybersecurity professionals, waive off taxation for homegrown cybersecurity technologies as well as set up local compliance for Data Security across all sectors. Smart city initiative with a strong push towards rural e-infrastructure with added emphasis on security compliance and data protection would be beneficial for creating a positive impact on organizations. The government should provide a strong thrust for core R&D investments as part of its 'Make in India' initiative, enabling more indigenous innovation and increased investments in future technologies to shape the IT infrastructure and increase adoption of technology to encourage digitization."

Arvind Didwania, Founder at ANT MY ERP

"We believe that allowing SOPS for MSME sector that involves less and easy steps to access credit will surely boost the Indian MSME sector. We expect the budget to highlight startup-friendly policies and tax reformations to boost the economy. We need more policies favoring local businesses. The government should focus more on implementing a refined education policy with added focus on skill development for crucial next-generation technologies such as AI, big data analytics and robotics.

The budget should focus more on kick-starting domestic and foreign investment to make India a more desirable FDI destination for future investments. We need proper policy and framework from a holistic perspective covering tax reforms and skill development to better meet the skill gap. For this to happen we need more policies that make our education system further liberalized as well as globalized to accommodate new imitative towards vocational training, thereby addressing crucial employability issues. Education loans should be made easily available to all at lower interest rates."

Ritesh Keshavrao Deokar, Country Manager at Milestone Systems India

The India Government's "Digital India" initiative has kicked-off well as expected. Adoption of technologies such as Cloud, IoT, Blockchain, Machine Learning etc., has seen significant benefits across both the private and government sectors and especially so in areas of Retail, Transportation and Smart cities. With the government's Smart Cities initiative, we foresee that every individual will be influenced digitally in some way or another and will need to be prepared for a digital transformation. While cybersecurity remains at the epicentre of all digital deployments, we at Milestone Systems, strongly believe that personal security as well as personal data protection is of equal importance and technology companies have to take responsibility for the data that we have. Our expectation from the union budget is that the Government should emphasize more on the personal security of individual citizens and their data. We hope that more budget can be allocated in the form of subsidies and tax exemptions to the companies, and or manufacturers dealing with security products.

Sriram S, Co-Founder at iValue InfoSolutions

We expect new policies and frameworks promoting homegrown IT innovations to be a vital part of budget. There is a need for continued reforms for inclusive growth in areas of home, education, health and employment. As most banks spend most of the time nowadays managing NPA issues, we expect the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to restart bank lending on priority.

IT will continue to drive success for all types of business with innovations and this in-turn will determine overall success of other industries including government's digital drive. Hence IT industry, as the enabler for success of all other government and private business, should be accorded special status. Startup, SME, and SMB need to be efficiently addressed so that they grow and provide employment in a sustained way.

Government and RBI need to cut interest rate and ensure credit at affordable rates for business to build on the growth momentum. Also, we expect the Finance Minister to expedite TDS refunds which are stuck for 3 to 5 years helping business with cash flow in the absence of bank funding. As a system TDS refunds should be closed within 2 years with all data now available online in real-time. Government should consider the extension of Tax sops for companies which are increasing employment, till economy revives.

Rajendra Chitale, CFO at Crayon Software Experts India

"Last year's budget took serious considerations for jurisdiction-free and faceless assessment and scrutiny to simplify compliance, reduce manual work and speed up the tax processing. The budget from an indirect tax perspective was mostly aligned to digital initiatives of the government and promoting ease of business in India.

The recent slash in corporate tax was a major reform for the industry. However, for sustained growth in business, more people must buy products/solutions, so we are expecting reliefs in personal income tax rates this year.

Also, the cash flow strains of businesses can be lowered by pushing the TDS payment date (which is currently on the 7th of next month) to 27th of next month - move 20 days. This will give some breathing space to companies to recover money from their customers and make payment of TDS.

While the overall intention is in the right direction, government through this union budget should take new measures to constructively boost the economy."

Satish Kumar V, CEO at EverestIMS

"Amidst the economy slowdown in 2019, the Union Budget 2020 should revive the specific growth elements which will boost the economy. FM needs to focus on offering special budgetary concessions to manufacturing, IT, transport, and farming industries.

We suggest our government for an extension and relaxation in GST payment cycles for start-ups. Time period of tax rebate approvals for start-ups should be minimized. Government should allocate more funds for programs which help Indian start-ups grow bigger and gain presence in international markets too."

Tarun Bhutani, Managing Director at AMANI

IT Industry leaders are excited about the Union Budget 2020. We are expecting that the upcoming budget will have measures to spur the 'Make in India', 'Digital India' and 'Smart Cities' initiatives. The industries have flourished a lot, but there has been a full stop for grey channel market or grey imports. With initiatives like 'Digital India' 'Make In India', the government is committed to the growth of the manufacturing sector. This evolving aspect of the IT industry brings in immense business opportunities, but requires special attention for its optimal utilization. So the government should roll out new schemes and incentives to encourage the electronics manufacturers to take these initiatives to the next level.

In September 2019, the current government took a bold decision of lowering Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates on items like outdoor catering, hotel accommodation, diamond job work, electric vehicle, and housing, but still the government is continuously facing tough questions over the current economic situation of the country. We expect the budget to address the dip in GDP growth rates and take constructive steps to boost India's economy. We hope that 2020 will be a better year for the markets as compared to 2019.

DB Digital Appoints Paresh Goel as the New Chief Technology Officer

DB Digital, the Digital Products business of the Dainik Bhaskar Group (DBCL), India’s largest print media company and home to flagship newspapers like Dainik Bhaskar, Divya Bhaskar and Divya Marathi, announced the appointment of Mr. Paresh Goel as the Chief Technology Officer.

Paresh Goel_CTO_DB DigitalParesh has a dynamic experience of close to two decades in building and operating technology systems at scale while working with some of the leading digital consumer companies including Adobe. He will be responsible for the Technology Function at DB Digital.

Prior to joining DB Digital, Paresh was VP, Engineering at Meesho, one of the fastest-growing startups in India, and had also started his own company in the Ed Tech space before selling it to Adda247. Prior to that, he was in a technology leadership role at Hike Messenger and Adobe Systems. He is an expert in scaling technology systems across social, content, & commerce and has a proven track record of building products that are used by millions of users now.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Pathik Shah, CEO, DB Digital said, “I’m extremely excited to welcome Paresh on board. We have worked together in the past on growing consumer products to tens of millions of users and built a lot of innovative features together. We’re looking forward to forming a stellar Product and Technology team for building an extremely high quality, engaging and personalized News product which can serve and delight the entire vernacular news market, the likes of which India, unfortunately, lacks right now. We are at a very interesting stage of growth at present, and we’re looking forward to taking DB Digital to the next level”.

Mr. Paresh Goel, Chief Technology Officer, DB Digital said, "I am delighted to be leading Technology at DB Digital. We have a unique opportunity to create a meaningful impact on users’ lives via a personalised digital news platform. As the internet penetration continues to rise in India, people are looking at us as their trusted brand to deliver them the news most relevant to them on mobile. We will be building the most engaging content experience which is miles ahead of anything else in the market right now. We will further couple this with Machine Learning to surface highly personalized news for our users. People in India deserve high quality, insightful and engaging news - and this is precisely what our mission is. I am ready for and very excited about the challenge.”

About DB Digital

DB Digital is a Digital Products startup, focused exclusively on building the best news content products for India. More than 500 million Indians will be online on their mobile devices by 2020, hungry for more - more news, more information, more knowledge, and we want to be their trusted, go-to source for high quality content delivered to them daily in the easiest to consume way, personalized for their specific needs.

We’re backed by India’s biggest newspaper group (The Dainik Bhaskar Group) which reaches tens of millions of consumers across India on a daily basis, in multiple languages including Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi.

Subex Secures 5-Year Deal from Jawwal for ROC Fraud Management and ROC Revenue Assurance

Subex, a leading telecom analytics solutions provider, has announced a five-year expansion of coverage of their partnership with Jawwal, the foremost mobile network operator in Palestine, to provide an upgrade with the latest versions of ROC Revenue Assurance and ROC Fraud Management. As a partner of Subex since 2014, Jawwal extended the engagement to an additional five years, which will enable them to cover their recently launched digital services and will help them reduce revenue leakages.

As Jawwal continues to establish its presence in the digital services market, the CSP aims to build new revenue streams and reduce risks from fraudulent practices, while delivering a consistently high quality of service to their customers. Using Subex’s revenue assurance and fraud management solutions, Jawwal will transform itself into a holistic digital service provider by using insights into their business/ operations support systems (B/OSS) and avail a comprehensive coverage against traditional and new-age frauds. As part of the new deal, the expanded scope will cover Jawwal’s existing offerings, as well as new ones through controls for Digital Service Assurance, Mobile Money, Rating Assurance, Number Portability and Revenue Recognition. This will allow the CSP to offer its customers with the profitable digital offerings, while ensuring a positive experience.

Commenting on the partnership Shankar Roddam, Chief Operating Officer, Subex said, “We are delighted to extend our partnership agreement with Jawwal. Global telecom market has become very competitive with the demand for diverse digital offerings and in order to stay ahead of the curve telecom services providers have already embarked upon the journey to become a Digital Services Provider. This holds especially true for a dynamic ecosystem like Palestine, where the telecom industry has been a major growth enabler. Jawwal is among the torchbearers in bringing digital services to the region and it gives Subex great pleasure to be a long serving trusted partner to Jawwal.  We are confident that our expertise in addressing complex risks and enabling trust will go a long way in helping Jawwal meet their strategic objectives.”

“Given the critical juncture of digitalization that the Palestine market is, it is important that we engage with partners who have proven experience of enabling success in fast-paced environments. Subex’s rich domain expertise and technological prowess, coupled with their global exposure will help us roll out innovative offerings profitably to ensure that we continue to be the top telecom service provider in the region. The upgraded system will help us achieve tangible success by enhancing customer experience and protecting our revenues.,” said Abdul Majeed Melhem, General Manager, Jawwal.

Subex ROC Revenue Assurance offers a comprehensive view of an enterprise by providing better visibility into risks surrounding operations, revenue and margins. Meanwhile, Subex ROC Fraud Management combines a traditional rules engine, advanced machine learning capabilities, and a scalable architecture to proactively detect fraudulent activities on the network. With more than two and half decades of experience and over 250+ domain experts, Subex has been working with customers to help them transform their business in six continents.

Accenture to Acquire Symantec’s Cyber Security Services Business from Broadcom

Accenture has agreed to acquire Symantec’s Cyber Security Services business from Broadcom, Inc. ). Financial terms were not disclosed.

The acquisition will make Accenture Security one of the leading providers of managed security services, further enhancing its ability to help companies rapidly anticipate, detect and respond to cyber threats.

Symantec’s portfolio of Cyber Security Services includes global threat monitoring and analysis through a network of security operation centers, real-time adversary and industry-specific threat intelligence and incident response services. The six security operations centers are located in the U.S., the United Kingdom, India, Australia, Singapore and Japan. Its managed security services business is supported by a proprietary cloud-based platform that delivers a steady stream of technical and cyber adversary threat intelligence through a customizable portal.

“Cybersecurity has become one of the most critical business imperatives for all organizations regardless of industry or geographic location,” said Julie Sweet, Accenture’s Chief Executive Officer. “With the addition of Symantec’s Cyber Security Services business, Accenture Security will offer one of the most comprehensive managed services for global businesses to detect and manage cybersecurity threats aimed at their companies.”

Kelly Bissell, senior managing director of Accenture Security said, “Companies are facing an unprecedented volume of cyber threats that are highly-sophisticated and targeted to their businesses, and they can no longer rely solely on generic solutions. This acquisition is a game-changer and will help Accenture provide flexibility rather than a ‘one size fits all’ approach to managed security services. With Symantec’s Cyber Security Services business, we can now bring clients our combined expertise fine-tuned to their industry with tailored global threat intelligence powered by advanced analytics, automation and machine learning.”

Symantec’s Enterprise Security business, now a division of Broadcom, is headquartered in Mountain View, California and its Cyber Security Services business includes more than 300 employees around the world who serve top-tier organizations across a diverse range of industries, including financial services, utilities, health, government, communications, media, technology and retail.

“Becoming part of Accenture Security is a tremendous opportunity for our clients and our cyber warriors around the globe, enabling us to fuse the unique services, capabilities and solutions of two well-established companies to deliver the next generation of cybersecurity services,” said John Lionato, vice president and general manager of Symantec’s Cyber Security Services business.

Symantec’s Cyber Security Services business will be the latest in a series of acquisitions — including those of Deja vu Security, iDefense, Maglan, Redcore, Arismore and FusionX — that demonstrate Accenture Security’s commitment to investing in and innovating advanced threat intelligence and cybersecurity solutions.

In its 2019 fiscal year, Accenture invested nearly US$1.2 billion globally on 33 acquisitions to acquire critical skills and capabilities in strategic, high-growth areas of the market.

Completion of the acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in March 2020.

QuEST Global Recognized as a Leader in Zinnov Zones for Automotive ER&D services

QuEST Global, a global product engineering and lifecycle services company, announced that it has been positioned as a leader in the Zinnov Zones 2019 Automotive Engineering and R&D (ER&D) Services report. This industry benchmarking report was published by Zinnov after completing the comprehensive assessment of 26 Global Engineering Service Providers to evaluate their overall Automotive ER&D services capabilities. The engineering service providers were evaluated based on 30+ parameters and sub-parameters in different automotive micro-verticals such as Advanced Driver Assistance and Security (ADAS), body engineering, cockpit electronics, electric powertrain and telematics.

In the report, Zinnov recognized the leadership capabilities of QuEST Global in Body Engineering, especially considering its deep expertise in concepts, styling, design, modelling and simulation applied to interiors, exteriors, dashboard, center consoles etc. Zinnov has also recognized growing capabilities of QuEST Global in the cockpit electronics, ADAS and powertrain by positioning the company in the execution zone in these segments. Such recognition is a true reflection of how the company is enabling its customers to Create the Frontier by advancing the ways people travel, live, work and engage with each other.

Sidhant Rastogi, Partner & Practice Head, Zinnov said, “QuEST Global has achieved significant growth in automotive services, resulting in their leadership position in the Zinnov Zones for Automotive ER&D services. QuEST’s continual investments in onshore locations and acquisitions such as Mobiliya and Exilant to bulwark its digital capabilities has helped them increase customer wallet share. With its expansion into newer micro-verticals such as ADAS and Telematics, and increased breadth of offerings, QuEST Global has consolidated its position as a leader in the automotive Services.”

Commenting on this achievement, Berthold Puchta, Global Industry Leader – Transportation, QuEST Global said, “At QuEST Global, our constant endeavour is to understand the emerging needs of our customers and delight them with best-in-class and novel engineering solutions. This recognition from Zinnov, solidifies our belief in carefully crafting solutions for specific needs of our customers ensuring a positive impact on their businesses.”

He further added, “A new car architecture is emerging that can take advantage of consumer electronics, internet connectivity, cloud computing as well as swarm intelligence. This is shaping the future of mobility by enabling Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electric (CASE or ACES) technologies and we are committed to solve the complex problems that our customers are facing in this rapidly evolving technology landscape.”

As a trusted thinking partner, QuEST Global has been working with the world’s most recognized companies in automotive industry for the last two decades. The company is committed to enable its customers to Create The Frontier by advancing the ways people drive, travel and interact with each other. Being at the forefront of the convergence of Mechanical, Electronics, Software and Digital Engineering Innovations, the company is helping OEMs and Tier 1 suppliers to address the growing demand of providing connected engineering experience to the end customers. By developing comprehensive engineering services and solutions, QuEST Global has been partnering with its automotive customers for overcoming the new-age engineering challenges and make products safer and more reliable in today’s digital age.

Amazon Prime Video Launches the Trailer of The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye

Highlights

* Created and Directed by National Award winning filmmaker Kabir Khan, The Forgotten Army-Azaadi Ke Liye, will launch across 200 countries and territories on January 24, 2020 ~
* The series marks the digital debut of Sunny Kaushal and the acting debut of Sharvari in lead roles, alongside Rohit Choudhary, Karanvir Malhotra, M.K Raina, R. Badree, TJ Bhanu, and Shruti Seth ~
* Based on true events, The Amazon Original Series traces the story of the brave soldiers from the Indian National Army (INA) who marched towards the capital, with the war cry 'Challo Dilli', to win back their country from the British  ~
* Prime offers incredible value with unlimited streaming of the latest and exclusive movies, TV shows, stand-up comedy, Amazon Original Series, ad free music through Amazon Prime Music, free fast delivery on India’s largest selection of products, early access to top deals, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, all available only for ₹129 a month ~

Amazon Prime Video has announced the trailer launch of its first Indian Original releasing in 2020 - the highly anticipated Amazon Original Series The Forgotten Army- Azaadi Ke Liye. Created and Directed by the national award winning filmmaker, Kabir Khan, the war epic is based on true events and narrates the journey of the extraordinary young brave men and women who formed a part of the Indian National Army (INA) and fought against the British for India’s Independence. The series marks the digital debut of Sunny Kaushal and the acting debut of Sharvari in lead roles, alongside Rohit Choudhary, Karanvir Malhotra, M.K Raina, TJ Bhanu and Shruti Seth.  The Forgotten Army- Azaadi Ke Liye is set to release across 200 countries and territories on January 24, 2020, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

Vijay Subramaniam, Director and Head, Content, Amazon Prime Video India, said “We have had a great run in 2019 and are delighted to open the new year with one of our biggest shows till date. The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye, is a story close to our hearts and one that Kabir has wanted to make for over 20 years. It is the ultimate example of the engaging content we want to continue to create in India for Prime Video – compelling stories with world class production values. We’re extremely proud to bring this show to our audiences and fittingly, on this Republic Day weekend.  We are sure they will enjoy watching it.”

Creator and Director, Kabir Khan said, “Being the first script I’ve ever written, The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye is a project I am very passionate about. It is a tale that is larger than life and bringing it to screen would not have been possible without the support and trust exhibited by Amazon Prime Video. The journey of these soldiers of the INA is a story that needs to be told and it has taken several years of extensive research to gather fragmented memories of these incredibly brave men and women who fought so selflessly for India’s independence. The reaction to the teaser alone has been overwhelming and I hope the audience gives the same kind of love to the show as well. This project has been a labour of love – from custom creating hundreds of bicycles from the 1940s, to recreating the Singapore of that era, to finding just the right cast to give life to these characters, our only effort has been to truly represent the journey of these fiercely brave men and women to whom we owe our freedom.”

Watch the trailer here: https://youtu.be/NG6PUj-TUfY

Show Synopsis:

The Forgotten Army – Azaadi Ke Liye, is based on the true story of Indian soldiers who marched towards the capital, with the war cry 'Challo Dilli', to free their country from the reign of the British.  The Indian National Army (INA), which was forged out of British defeat in Singapore during WWII,  was led by the charismatic Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose and had the first ever women infantry regiment anywhere in the world. While these soldiers (men and women) fought against all odds and against the British army to free India, their struggle and story somehow got lost and they became 'the forgotten army'. With the love story between two soldiers - Sodhi & Maya at the heart of it, the series raises several questions about identity, independence and the idea of motherland and the cost of freedom. Freedom, that we often take for granted but freedom that costs countless lives and sacrifices.

Amazon Original Series The Forgotten Army- Azaadi Ke Liye stars Sunny Kaushal and Sharvari alongside Rohit Choudhary, Karanvir Malhotra, M.K Raina, R. Badree, TJ Bhanu, and Shruti Seth.

Amazon Prime Video has the largest selection of latest & exclusive movies and TV shows, Stand-Up Comedy, biggest Indian and Hollywood films, US TV series, most popular Indian & international kids’ shows, and award-winning Amazon Originals, all available, ad-free, with a world class customer experience. The service includes titles available in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Punjabi and Bengali.

Two New Ultraslim Notebooks to its Swift Series at the CES 2020

Acer has revealed two new Swift 3 models in its popular ultra-portable notebook series, one a 13.5 inch model (SF313-52/G) powered by the latest 10th Gen Intel Core processors and the other a 14 inch model (SF314-42) powered by the latest AMD Ryzen 4000 series mobile processors.

The Swift 3 series are ultra-portable notebooks designed to suit the needs of people who work on the go, packing excellent performance and eye-popping graphics into a sleek and stylish metal chassis.

Acer Swift 3 (SF313-52/G), a Powerhouse for Productivity on the Go

Measuring in at 0.63 inches (15.95 mm) thin and 2.62 pounds (1.19 kg), cased in an elegant metal chassis, the Swift 3 (SF313-52/G) is easy to slip in a bag and travel with. It features a narrow-bezel display[1] that offers a high 83.65% screen-to-body ratio and the screen’s 3:2 aspect ratio gives 18% more room, in the form of vertical height, to read on. Further enhancing the display which supports 100% of the sRGB color space, Acer Color Intelligence™ and Acer ExaColor technology bring images and videos to life with eye-popping colors on the 13.5-inch screen.

Co-engineered with Intel as part of Intel’s innovation program codenamed “Project Athena,” the Swift 3 (SF313-52/G) passed rigorous testing to achieve the program’s experience targets[2] and hardware specifications, ensuring it consistently delivers the responsiveness[3], instant wake[4], and battery life3,[5],[6] that ambitious people need to focus from anywhere.

The Swift 3 (SF313-52/G) comes with up to 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-1065G7 processors, the latest NVIDIA® graphics[7], and a long-lasting battery that offers users up to 16 hours of productivity[8]. It also supports fast-charging, providing up to 4 hours of use on just a 30-minute charge[9]. An illuminated keyboard2 lets users keep typing in dark environments, and the notebook supports Wake On Voice (WoV), enabling users to interact with Cortana while the device is in Modern Standby mode.

The Swift 3 supports Windows Hello via a fingerprint reader for easy and more secure logins, and once logged in, a full function USB Type-C port gives users incredibly fast data transfer speeds over Thunderbolt™ 3, USB 3.1 Gen 2 or DisplayPort. Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) offers a smoother internet browsing experience that has up to 3 times[10] increased throughput and reduces latency by up to 75%[11] compared to Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac).

Acer Swift 3 (SF314-42), Featuring the Latest AMD Ryzen Mobile Processors

The 14-inch Acer Swift 3 (SF314-42) is a modern device that seeks to strike a balance between style, power, and efficiency. The latest generation is just 2.6 lbs (1.2 kg) light and 0.63 inches (15.95 mm) thin and comes in a lightweight metal chassis. The device features a high screen-to-body ratio with ultra-narrow bezels.

In addition to its stylish design, AMD Ryzen™ 4000 series processors bring disruptive performance powered by innovative 7 nm process technology and “Zen 2” core architecture. Paired with up to 16GB of LPDDR4x RAM, the Swift 3 (SF314-42) a powerful choice for productivity on the go. Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) and up to a 512 GB PCle SSD help everything on the device run lightning-fast.

The Swift 3 (SF314-42) also supports fast and more secure logins via Windows Hello, while Wake on Voice allows users to interact with Cortana when the screen is off.


Pricing and Availability

The Acer Swift 3 (SF313-52/G) will be available in North America in March, starting at USD 699; in EMEA in January starting at EUR 699; and in China in February, starting at RMB 5,499.

The Acer Swift 3 (SF314-42) will be available in North America in May, starting at USD 599; in EMEA in March starting at EUR 599; and in China in March, starting at RMB 4,499.

Exact specifications, prices, and availability will vary by region. To find out about availability, product specifications and prices in specific markets, please contact your nearest Acer office or retailer via www.acer.com.