Fujitsu Consulting India Prioritizes Frontline Staff And Dependents During Multi-City Vaccination Drive

* 1700 employees, third-party workers along with dependents inoculated in Pune

Fujitsu Consulting India Pvt. Ltd., the IT services consulting arm of Fujitsu Group, today announced its on-premise vaccination drive for employees and third-party workers along with their dependents across Pune, Noida, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad. Frontline staff and contractual employees including utility staff, cab drivers and multi-skilled workers (housekeeping, electrician, plumbers, gardeners, etc.), will be inoculated on priority through the multi-phase drive which aims to vaccinate all employees by July 2021.

Commenting on the development, Sumit Sabharwal, Head of HR for the Global Delivery Centers, Fujitsu said, “At Fujitsu, our topmost priority will continue to be the health and well-being of our employees and partners. We are especially indebted to those crucial enablers who have continued to support us on ground since the onset of the pandemic last year. It is thus our endeavor to prioritize their safety and that of their family members and extend our gratitude through these drives.”

Fujitsu has partnered with local hospitals to provide vaccinations to its frontline staff and their family members, followed by employees and their dependents. In Pune, front line staff and their family members received their doses on June 23rd, while employees and dependents were inoculated on June 24th. The company’s multi-city vaccination campaign began with its first phase in Noida where nearly 300 employees and third-party workers were inoculated, followed by Bangalore, where another 300 employees and frontline staff received their shots. Fujitsu Consulting India will also be expanding the vaccination drive to its locations in Hyderabad and Chennai during the next few weeks.

In May 2021, the company had sponsored the vaccination costs for eligible employees and their dependents, providing a vaccine cover of INR 1000 per person. Fujitsu in India has over 4500 employees working across 5 locations in the country.

About Fujitsu

Fujitsu uses its experience and the power of ICT to shape the future of society with its customers, backed by its full range of technology products, solutions, and services. Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) reported consolidated revenues of 4.0 trillion yen (US $36 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019. Approximately 132,000 Fujitsu people support customers in more than 100 countries.

About Fujitsu Consulting India

Fujitsu Consulting India integrates the core expertise of the Fujitsu companies and its partners to deliver complete business solutions in the areas of IT Consulting, Managed Infrastructure Services, Application Services and ERP. Fujitsu Consulting India is a Global Delivery Centre (GDC) and is ably supported by its skilled workforce across development centers in Pune, Bangalore, NOIDA, Hyderabad and Chennai to enable delivery of services to more than 36 countries.

Accenture Q3 Results Read-Through: Strong Growth Momentum Continues; Raises FY21 Guidance

 ■    Q3FY21 revenues beat estimates on strong traction in both consulting and outsourcing businesses: Accenture's (ACN) revenues rose 20.7% YoY to USD13.3bn (16% in local currency), well ahead of its guided range of USD12.55bn to USD12.95bn. ACN continues to gain market share and is seeing strong, broad-based demand across industries, services and geographic markets, resulting in an all-round beat in overall operating performance and strong order booking. The company saw strong double-digit growth in local currency in all four strategy priorities - Cloud, Interactive, Industry X and Security - during the quarter. Consulting revenue grew 21% YoY to USD7.3bn in Q3 (16% in local currency) and saw a sharp QoQ/YoY uptick after moderate growth in Q2. Revenue growth in the outsourcing business further accelerated to 20.2% YoY at USD6bn (16% in local currency). New bookings were solid at USD15.4bn (39.3% YoY, book-to-bill 1.2x), a tad lower than record booking of Q2, with consulting bookings of USD8bn (29.6% YoY, book-to-bill 1.1x) and outsourcing bookings of USD7.4bn (51.9% YoY, book-to-bill 1.2x). Operating margin expanded by 40bps to 16%. Utilization stood at 93% in Q3 vs. 94% in Q2 and 88% in Q3FY20. Attrition rose to 17% in Q3 from 12% in Q2. The company added 32,074 net employees during the quarter.

■    Broad-based growth across verticals: Growth in Q3 was driven by Health & Public Services (21% in local currency), Communication, Media & Technology (19% in local currency), Products (17% in local currency) and Financial Services (16% in local currency). Resources returned to growth and grew 3% YoY in local currency. The company expects to sustain broad-based growth momentum in the coming quarters.

■    FY21 guidance further raised to 10-11%: ACN raised its revenue growth guidance for FY21 to 10-11% in local currency from 6.5-8.5% previously. The guidance continues to assume about 1% negative impact from a decline in revenues from reimbursable travel costs. The operating margin is expected to expand by 40bps to 15.1% (earlier 15-15.1%). ACN expects Q4FY21 revenues to be in the range of USD13.1-13.5bn, up 17-21% YoY in local currency. The company expects OCF and FCF to be in the range of USD8.65-9.15bn and USD8-8.5bn, respectively.

■    Earnings call takeaways: Revenue growth for Q3FY21 was broad based, with 11 out of 13 industries seeing double-digit growth. FY21 revenue growth is driven by traction in organic revenue growth as the company continues to expect M&A to contribute ~2.5% to revenue growth in FY21. The company announced 39 acquisitions in FY21YTD split across North America - 10, Europe - 17 and growth markets - 12. It plans to invest at least USD4bn in strategic acquisitions in FY21 (earlier ~USD2bn) and intends to spend another USD4bn in FY22. Accenture announced two >USD1bn acquisitions (Novetta and Umlaut) during the quarter. It expects acquisitions to contribute ~4% to revenue growth in FY22. ACN signed deals worth over USD100mn with record 20 clients in Q3 (54 FYTD'21). Despite solid large-deal intake during last two quarters, the deal pipeline remains strong. ACN promoted a record 117,000 employees, including 1,200 managing directors, so far in FY21. It expects modest expansion in operating margins to continue in FY22 despite the war for talent and higher amortization charges.

■    Read-through for Indian IT peers: ACN's strong Q3 performance and further upward revision in FY21 revenue growth guidance (from 2-5% in early FY21; 4-6% at Q1-end and 6.5-8.5% at Q2-end) reflect strong demand. A broad-based demand uptick and sustained growth momentum in revenue/order booking of the outsourcing business augur well for Indian IT peers. Though attrition has inched up across the sector, it is still lower than the peak seen in the past. The Nifty IT index rose ~13%/~21%/~99% in last 3M/6M/12M vs. ~9%/15%/53% of the Nifty index. We believe that strong demand environment, sustained acceleration in revenue growth and robust order booking will support higher valuations. We prefer INFO, HCLT and TECHM among Tier-1 names.

Citrix Research Reveals Employee Experience is About to Break

 

* Latest study shows technology implemented to keep employees engaged and productive is frustrating and slowing them down

In response to the global pandemic, companies have given their workforce the tools they need to work remote. And research shows it has increased their engagement and productivity. But these gains are on the brink of being wiped out. According to a new study from Citrix Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CTXS), employees feel they’ve been given too many tools and not enough efficient ways to execute. And it’s hindering their ability to get things done.

“People are working the same or more hours, but they’re accomplishing less because technology is getting in their way,” said Tim Minahan, Executive Vice President of Business Strategy, Citrix. “As companies organize around new, hybrid work models, they need to rethink the role of technology and how they apply it across their organizations so that employees, rather than being frustrated, are empowered to succeed.”

To help them do this, Citrix undertook Work Your Way, a survey of  1,000 IT decision makers and 2,000 workers across the United States conducted by OnePoll, that revealed a few significant trends:

App Sprawl is Out of Control

The number of tools employees are required to use to do their jobs has significantly increased, as has the complexity they are creating in the workplace. As uncovered by Work Your Way:

64 percent of workers are using more communication and collaboration tools than they were prior to the pandemic, and

71 percent say they have made work more complex

“Employees are frustrated, and to keep them engaged and performing at their best, companies need to eliminate the friction and noise from work and deliver technology that adapts to their workstyles rather than forcing them to learn new ways of doing things,” Minahan said.

A New Digital Divide is Emerging

But workstyles have fundamentally changed. “People are not going back to working the way they did,” Minahan said.

Work Your Way confirms this. Nearly 90 percent of respondents to the survey say they want the flexibility to continue to work at home and in the office post pandemic.

“Regardless of their physical location, employees need to be empowered with tools that provide a consistent, secure and reliable experience and allow them to work the way they work best,” Minahan said.

Digital Workspaces are the Future of Work

Savvy organizations recognize this and see digital workspaces as a way to deliver it. With digital workspaces, companies can:

Unify work – Whether at home, on plane or in an office, employees have consistent and reliable access to all the resources they need to be productive across any work channel, device or location

Secure work – Contextual access and app security ensure applications and information remain secure—no matter where work happens.

Simplify work – Intelligence capabilities like machine learning, virtual assistants and simplified workflows personalize, guide, and automate the work experience so employees can work free from noise and perform at their best.

Almost 90 percent of participants in Work Your Way say their companies use digital workspace software platforms to facilitate hybrid/distributed working. And they are delivering results.

72 percent of employees say they have improved productivity, and

77 percent indicate they have aided collaboration

“In creating a layer between employees and the technology that frustrates them, companies can empower them to efficiently engage with the apps they need to execute work and achieve their goals,” Minahan said.

About Citrix

Citrix (NASDAQ: CTXS) builds the secure, unified digital workspace technology that helps organizations unlock human potential and deliver a consistent workspace experience wherever work needs to get done. With Citrix, users get a seamless work experience and IT has a unified platform to secure, manage, and monitor diverse technologies in complex cloud environments.

22% Of Students Took Online Classes While Seated On A Bed, 14% Sat On Floor: Godrej Interio Study

 

* Hosts webinar with educationists and healthcare experts to discuss how wrong posture is a cause of concern for the long-term physical and mental health of children Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej Group, announced today that its business Godrej Interio, India’s leading furniture solutions brand, in its recent survey, that children studying from home are facing long-term mental and physical health concerns due to bad posture.

The study ‘Taking care of children as they learn from home’ by Godrej Interio’s Workplace and Ergonomics Research Cell attempted to study the home-schooling behaviour of 350 school-going children of the age group of 3-15 years from across India. Parents who were a part of this research revealed that their children used gadgets for a minimum of 4–6 hours a day which is 2-3 hours more than what they did before schools closed on account of the lockdown. This upped screen time can increase the risk of physical health issues in children. The study also revealed that 52% of the children had daily online classes while 36% had classes four times a week and as a result, 41% children complained of eye strain issues.

In response, Godrej Interio hosted a webinar titled ‘Helping Children Adapt to Learning from Home’. The webinar educated parents and care givers on the best ways to create an environment crucial for the overall wellbeing of children as they learn from home, as the state governments continue to impose micro-lockdowns to arrest the pandemic. The webinar also highlighted the importance of ergonomic learning spaces, the need for sensory diets and physical activity to create an environment of healthy learning for children.

The session was held today in the presence of over 1700+ registered attendees. Participants witnessed leading educationists and healthcare experts explore the challenges and the plausible solutions to support parents in the endeavour.

The webinar which was moderated by Lt. Col. A. Sekhar, CDO, Jagran Education Foundation had an eminent panel consisting of Siddharth Rajgarhia – Director, DPS Nashik, Varanasi and LAVA Nagpur, Lina Ashar – Co-Founder, Korroboree, Chandni Bhagat – Child Psychologist, Fatema Agarkar – Founder, Agarkar Center of Excellence and Dr. Reena Valecha – Principal Ergonomist - Workplace & Ergonomics Research Cell, Godrej Interio. During the one-hour insightful webinar the panellists explored and deliberated upon the subject from multiple vantage points including home-schooling behaviour, healthy sitting posture for children, precautions while studying in free spaces. They also spoke about the importance of sensory breaks and using good-old pencil and paper as well as the physical-virtual hybrid model of learning as online learning is likely to stay for longer than we predicted. Dr Reena Valecha, also shared simple ways that parents and caregivers can ensure a healthy learning environment for children and the long term effects of having incorrect posture leading to musculoskeletal disorders.

Godrej Interio’s focus has always been towards making space for life, learning and pursuing passions. Through their intuitively designed products and solutions they hope to enrich the quality of their customers’ lives, every day and everywhere. Its Workplace and Ergonomics Research Cell regularly undertakes studies that are of critical importance to consumers so Godrej Interio may share the knowledge they gain with them and promote healthy ergonomic behaviours. This webinar is a step towards providing multiple perspectives from leading experts which would serve as a real-life guide for parents and caregivers when designing ergonomic learning spaces for their children.

Godrej Interio, through its myriad range of products and solutions has been supporting the education industry for over 30 years and has serviced over 15,000 educational institutions.

Quotes Annexure

Fatema Agarkar, Founder of Agarkar Centre of Excellence (ACE), said “Virtual School enabled ‘learning’ to continue despite all odds, building on important skill development, not to mention academic targets, and for most progressive families and schools, it became a year of adaptation as homes transformed into ‘schools’ and schools embraced tech platform to empower students. Adjustments, and building capacities and capabilities became the order of life, and this new normal enabled plenty of re-thinking, and re-design and for most parts was about balance. Looking at it as opportunities to grow rather than be bogged down with challenges and ditching some ‘traditional’ beliefs meant learning was continuous. For me, striking the right note, and being flexible and open-minded has defined the journey for families that have coped and schools that enjoy parental support. In addition, having resources such as Godrej Interio’s whitepaper 'Taking Care of Children as they Learn from Home' can provide you with innovative ways to address the opportunities that virtual learning has brought us.”

Lina Ashar, Co-Founder Korroboree said “If this time has taught us anything, it is that an anti-fragile mindset, agility, adaptability, empathy, self-awareness, self-regulation, focus and creativity are more important than Math, English, History and Geography. We always have a choice in how we view situations and circumstances, and our children are most likely to adopt the same stories and ways of seeing things as their parents do. We have a choice to think about technology as increasing or decreasing the quality of our emotional health and wellbeing, learning and motivation. The way we perceive it will make all the difference in how we use it and the outcome this has for our children. Resources such as Godrej Interio's whitepaper titled 'Taking Care of Children as they Learn from Home' are essential tools in arming us with information to make the right choice for our children.”

Chandni Bhagat, Prominent Child Psychologist, said “The ongoing pandemic has been extremely challenging for kids. As they are home-schooling for the second consecutive year, they are grappling with several issues which they maybe unable to freely express. Godrej Interio’s whitepaper 'Taking Care of Children as they Learn from Home’ spotlights the need to promote a healthy home-schooling experience.”

Commenting on the webinar, Sameer Joshi, Head – Associate Vice President, Marketing (B2B), Godrej Interio, said, “Owing to the precarious pandemic situation, today, parents and children have been forced into home-schooling and this is likely to carry on for a while. However, as safe as this new model of education is, it is equally challenging in certain ways. Parents often find their children hunched over a laptop computer screen to attend lectures and complete their assignments. This lack of infrastructure, coupled with awkward postures adopted while studying and limited physical activities impose health risks on children at a very young age. 53% of the children we surveyed in our whitepaper 'Taking Care of Children as they Learn from Home' ‘felt tired at the end of the day due to online classes. We hope these well researched resources are widely used by parents and teachers alike and serve as guides to creating a better learning environment for children. These small and doable changes to the study environment that are detailed in the whitepaper will go a long way in keeping children healthy and happy in the long term.”

About Godrej Interio:

Godrej Interio (GI) is India’s premium furniture brand in both home and institutional segments with a strong commitment to sustainability and centers of excellence in design, manufacturing and retail.

Led by the largest in-house design team in the country in the furniture category and awarded with 34 India Design Mark Awards till date, GI aims to transform spaces with its thoughtfully designed furniture to create brighter homes and offices with products that have the highest design quotient in aesthetics, functionality and technology. With consistent pursuit of excellence and a special focus on health and ergonomics, GI’s product portfolio comprises a massive range.

Today, we design and manufacture furniture for office spaces, homes, educational institutes, healthcare facilities, laboratories and more. Along with furniture we offer Audio Visual and 360 Degree Turnkey solutions. Each of our product range revolves around comfort and aesthetics while delivering well-designed, fun and functional furniture solutions. Briefly, Godrej Interio transforms dream spaces to life!

Godrej Interio has 7 manufacturing facilities situated at Mumbai, Khalapur, Haridwar, Shirwal, and Bhagwanpur. GI’s Shirwal Plant is Green Co Platinum Certified, and Mumbai Plants are Green Co Gold Certified. GI is widely known for its comprehensive sustainability certifications for its products in furniture category.

GI commitment to the environment has resulted in manufacturing products with lesser environment footprint. Our pioneering efforts include designing less environment burdening products, usage of eco-friendly materials and setting up less polluting and consuming processes, ensuring eco-friendly packaging and transportation and finally the extended responsibility of recycling/reuse of used furniture and scrap, thus ensuring a lifecycle approach to green. GI has the widest range of green choices for our customers which not only includes products but also services such as green interiors and recycling.

Currently present in over 650 cities with 250 exclusive showrooms and 800 dealers, GI is one of the largest divisions of Godrej & Boyce Mfg. Co. Ltd., part of the Godrej Group, one of India's largest engineering and customer product groups.

The brand boasts of noteworthy awards received so far- CII Exim Bank Award for Business Excellence 2016, Superbrands 2017-18, Reader’s Digest Most Trusted Brand 2018 Gold (Home Furniture and Modular Kitchen), TRA’s India’s Most Consumer focused brand 2019, GreenCo Star Performer Award 2019, National Energy Leader Award at CII National Award for Excellence in Energy Management 2018.

Zupee Skilling Academy Launched To Improve Employability Skills, Promote Equal Opportunities

* NIIT Foundation will be the first partner association; to provide 100% placement assistance to the students as they learn 

Online gaming pioneer and industry leader, Zupee announced the launch of their skilling academy, which will impart employable skills and promote equal opportunities in the youth of the country. Zupee Skilling Academy (ZSA) will be a first-of-its-kind mission by a corporation, aimed at skilling, upskilling and educating young, disadvantaged Indians. The idea is to prepare them for the future by getting them ready through skill training and ensuring that everyone in the program has equal opportunities for employment. 

To kick off the mission, Zupee has joined hands with a leading NGO, NIIT Foundation, to launch a unique CSR vocational skill program for the underserved youth of Mumbai, enabling them to get entry-level jobs. The Zupee-NIIT Foundation program will include certification training in digital marketing. The participants will be trained in important concepts like search engine optimization, running search ads, social media marketing and analytics, all highly desirable skill sets that prepare them for jobs of the future. 

“We are truly delighted to launch the Zupee Skills Academy (ZSA), which is part of our broader CSR vision based on three key pillars focusing on Sustainability & ESG, equal opportunities through skilling and upskilling, and technology & gaming for good.  We are happy to have NIIT Foundation as our first partner in the Zupee Skilling Academy. This CSR initiative is aimed to raise the target population’s quality of life, status and living standards, leading to overall community development in the long run. Being a leader in the online gaming space, Zupee’s mission is to use gamification of education and skilling for better learning outcomes. With our association with NIIT Foundation, we will be providing certification courses that will prepare the marginalised sections of the Mumbai youth with the much-needed employment opportunities. We are excited about this partnership as this is a tremendous opportunity to do good and bring about a transformation that has been long awaited”, said Dr. Subi Chaturvedi, Chief Corporate and Public Affairs Officer, Zupee. 

Commenting on the partnership, Sapna Moudgil, Director, NIIT Foundation, said, “We are thrilled to have Zupee on board as our CSR partner. This initiative will include a hybrid model, which will leverage our Learning Management System and in a co-curated program, which will be implemented by NIIT Foundation, students will have access to training modules, audio-visual media, ebooks, and other curriculum based study and testing material. Post-certification, we will provide 100% placement assistance to every youth that successfully completes their training and we will do our best to ensure that every single participant is placed in their relevant field.” 

Skilling the youth for the new jobs is becoming a global concern. According to the United Nations, by 2030, 4.9 billion people will be living in urban areas and depend on skilled jobs. With emerging technologies promising to usher the next industrial revolution, it is imperative to prepare the workforce for it. From digital marketing to machine learning and automation, skilled manpower will be the biggest challenge going forward as traditional learning methods fail to prepare the students for such jobs. Zupee intends, through its skilling academy, to create game-based learning programs that can teach these skills to users in an engaging and entertaining way. It has been proven that game-based learning improves learning, motivation and retention in students and this partnership intends to leverage this for maximum efficacy. To ensure maximum coverage, Zupee will be looking to tie up with several charities, trusts and skilling organizations to bring about this transformation in learning and education. 

The Zupee Skilling Academy (ZSA) is a continuous, sustained long-term project that intends to lead the biggest transformation in traditional education, learning and skilling. This program aims be the impetus the country needs to become the talent hub of the world for emerging technologies, as it has been for the IT and ITES companies in early 2000s preparing a workforce of the future and unlocking the potential of gaming for all, to claim India’s rightful place in the global value chain. 

We remain committed towards realisation of the Hon. Prime Minister’s vision of a fully connected and empowered Digital India. 

Avishkaar To Offer Curated Online Courses With Every Computing Devices Purchase On Flipkart

* A recent survey by Avishkaar revealed that 53% of the parent respondents use the hands-on learning approach in the form of toys and kits to keep up their children’s interest levels in next-gen tech & STEM subjects 

Avishkaar, a leading next-generation technology education provider, has joined hands with Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, to offer curated online courses along with the purchase of laptops and tablets to enhance students’ learning potential. As part of this, Avishkaar will be providing an Innovators Launchpad Course to enable children as young as 8 years to learn the basics of robotics, electronics, coding, and application development with expert trainers all for free. In addition, Flipkart customers will be able to avail Avishkaar Robotics and IoT Kits and  Microdegrees for children in an affordable manner. 

This collaboration is a part of Flipkart’s 3 month long Back to School campaign announced earlier in April and is aimed at enhancing the learning potential of students as digital learning takes precedence. A survey conducted by Avishkaar among 5,000 parents and 5,000 children  gauged the perception of parents of young children, as well as the children themselves on their career aspirations in STEM and next-generation technology fields. The survey revealed that 53% of the parent respondents use the hands-on learning approach to keep up their children’s interest levels in next-gen tech & STEM subjects. This includes toys and kits that help their children with application-based learning. 

This, along with the rise in digital learning due to the pandemic-induced lockdowns make it imperative for students to choose the right set of computing devices namely laptops and tablets to have an immersive learning experience.

Speaking on the association, Pooja Goyal, COO and Co-founder, Avishkaar said, “Flipkart's campaign is a great initiative to inspire children to master technology skills when lockdowns are forcing children to stay home. Avishkaar sets the gold standard for learning next-generation technology skills like Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT, and coding and we are thrilled to partner with Flipkart to make it accessible for children across India. Also, with the right computing devices offered by Flipkart coupled with Avishkaar kits and courses, children will be able to better learn by building, breaking, and re-building chapters”. Speaking on the partnership, Rakesh Krishnan, Senior Director, Electronics at Flipkart said, “Flipkart has a nuanced understanding of customers’ evolving needs and is at the forefront of fulfilling their requirements with the best-in-class technological solutions. WIth digital learning taking precedence since last year, our partnership with Avishkaar will help students find their favourite online learning materials along with the right set of computing devices. Currently,  almost 40-45% of the demand for electronics for Flipkart comes from the student community and hence it becomes even more imperative to offer curated offerings to this customer cohort”. 

Flipkart has especially curated a page to help students in selecting the right computing and electronic items such as laptops, tablets, printers, audio devices and IT peripherals along with online learning materials depending on one’s primary use case. Avishkaar’s products can be found here: https://www.avishkaar.cc/shop/

Leading Tech Enterprise - HFCL To Set Up 2nd Model PM-WANI Village In Karnataka

* Project undertaken in collaboration with the Telecom Infra Project and i2e1 to power the Wi-Fi network in Baidebettu

Leading Indian Wi-Fi brand and one of the first TIP OpenWiFi compliant solutions provider, IO by HFCL, in collaboration with Telecom Infra Project (TIP), today announced setting up their 2nd PM-WANI powered connectivity for Baidebettu village in Karnataka. This PM-WANI network will provide high speed Wi-Fi Internet to over 9,000 residents of the otherwise poorly connected village located in Brahmavara Taluk, Udupi district.

The project entails setting up a robust outdoor Wi-Fi network for providing broadband Internet connectivity to the entire village population. The outdoor network will use HFCL IO’s TIP OpenWiFi-based Access Points, Point-to-Point radios, Solar Power over Ethernet (PoE) devices and other network equipment. The Wi-Fi network authentication and regulatory monitoring will be powered by i2e1 core solutions who will also act as the Public Data Office Aggregator (PDOA) under the PM-WANI model. The network is expected to go live by July 31, 2021.

The integrated package being deployed is indigenously developed and built in India for high performance, is fully secure and designed to withstand and perform under harsh weather conditions including heavy rainfall that the village receives throughout the year.

The network will offer Wi-Fi Internet with bandwidth of up to 500 Mbps in all common areas of the village that is spread across a radius of 6 kilometers. Due to its remote location under high rainfall zone, and absence of IT and Internet infrastructure, Baidebettu presently does not have any reliable connectivity. As a result, villagers earlier would travel many kilometers to nearby towns to get digitally connected. Recent Covid-19 restrictions further impacted this travel and have severely affected their lives.

With this deployment, the entire village of 9,000 population will come under the broadband fold, which is expected to significantly improve their quality of life by providing them access to digital services such as healthcare, education, banking, retail, entertainment, government digital services and many more. 

After the huge success of HFCL’s first PM-WANI model village deployment, which was set up three months ago in the small remote village of Baslambi in Haryana, HFCL intends to replicate the model and once again demonstrate the strength of the PM-WANI concept powered by TIP’s multi-vendor compatible OpenWiFi capabilities. HFCL believes that this will not only connect the residents of this remote village and offer them access to all digital services but also inspire other ISPs and solution providers to collaborate & innovate to address the two biggest challenges to rural connectivity - affordability and accessibility.

HFCL’s Promoter & Managing Director, Mr. Mahendra Nahata said, “We at HFCL are committed to transforming #InternetForAll into a ubiquitous reality and have successfully collaborated with leading core solution providers to strengthen the connectivity ecosystem. After great success of our first model PM-WANI village in North India, where we deployed our robust, scalable, interoperable, and TIP OpenWiFi based Access Points to provide broadband access, we are now replicating the model in a remote village in Southern India. With this initiative, we believe students in the village will no longer need to travel to get connected and this would pave the way for every villager to stay connected and explore infinite possibilities to grow in all areas of life. This further demonstrates our faith in PM-WANI scheme as a significant enabler in connecting the remotest parts of the country.”

TIP’s Chief Engineer David Hutton said: “We are glad to have HFCL as an active participant of the TIP OpenWiFi community. It is heartening to see HFCL’s enthusiasm and commitment to making multi-vendor Wi-Fi architecture a reality. HFCL’s “Built in India” disaggregated OpenWiFi solutions in conjunction with PM-WANI demonstrates early success in employing TIP OpenWiFi to address the digital divide.”

“We are pleased to associate with HFCL for yet another PM-WANI opportunity. It feels proud to be part of another HFCL’s “Connect the Unconnected” initiative using their TIP OpenWiFi compliant solutions. This further emphasizes HFCL’s commitment to make in India world class network equipment to connect the unconnected. This also demonstrates their faith in PM-WANI scheme as the key driver to provide broadband Internet access to all citizens of the country,” said Satyam Darmora, Founder & CEO, i2e1.

About HFCL Limited:

HFCL Limited (formerly Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited) is a leading technology enterprise engaged in manufacturing of high-end Transmission and Access Equipment, Optical Fiber, Optical Fiber Cables (OFC) and is specialized in setting up modern communication network for Telecom Service Providers, Railways, Defense, Smart City and Surveillance projects.

The Company has state-of-the-art Optical Fiber and Optical Fiber Cable manufacturing facilities at Hyderabad, Optical Fiber Cable manufacturing plant in Goa and in its subsidiary i.e. HTL Limited at Chennai along with FRP Rod manufacturing facility in its subsidiary at Hosur. It also has a telecom equipment manufacturing facility at Solan.

The Company’s in-house Centre for Excellence in Research located at Gurgaon & Bengaluru along with invested R&D Houses and other collaborators at different locations in India and abroad, innovate futuristic range of technology products and solutions. Some of the newly developed products through in-house R&D are Wi-Fi Systems, Unlicensed Band Radios, Switches, Electronic Fuses, Cloud Management Systems and Video Management Systems. There is a suite of products under development, which include Electro optic devices, Software Defined Radios, Routers, PON, Small cell for 5G, Intelligent Antenna Systems and Ground Surveillance Radars among others.

About i2e1:

i2e1 is India's first PM-WANI compliant Wi-Fi company. They harness the power of cloud to create a data platform over software defined networks using Wi-Fi.  Incubated at IIT Delhi, the company has been set up by a team of IIT /IIM graduates with extensive experience in data analytics and marketing. Visit www.i2e1.com for more information.

About the Telecom Infra Project

The Telecom Infra Project (TIP) is a global community of companies and organizations that are driving infrastructure solutions to advance global connectivity. Half of the world’s population is still not connected to the internet, and for those who are, connectivity is often insufficient. This limits access to the multitude of consumer and commercial benefits provided by the internet, thereby impacting GDP growth globally. However, a lack of flexibility in the current solutions - exacerbated by a limited choice in technology providers - makes it challenging for operators to efficiently build and upgrade networks. Founded in 2016, TIP is a community of diverse members that includes hundreds of companies - from service providers and technology partners, to systems integrators and other connectivity stakeholders. We are working together to develop, test and deploy open, disaggregated, and standards-based solutions that deliver the high quality connectivity that the world needs - now and in the decades to come.