India Space Research Organization (ISRO) has established itself as a reliable worldwide service provider for the launch of light satellites up to 2 tons. However, they have not been able to replicate this success with heavier satellites. The team of scientists from ISRO will have their hands full perfecting the launch vehicles for the heavier satellites. The timetable calls for the launch of atleast three or four satellites this calendar year. The future of India's moon mission could depend on this success.
ISRO had earlier this year announced that it plans to launch a number of satellites within this calendar year. These include the launch of Resourcesat-2, Meghtropiques, Youthsat and X-sat satellites all scheduled for this year’s launch.
While the Resourcesat-2, is an advanced remote sensing satellite, Youthsat, is a participatory scientific mission with payloads from both Russia and India, and X-sat, Singapore's first indigenous satellite put off since last year are expected to be launched on board of PSLV C-16 during the next few months,
Despite the failures of two GSLV satellite launches last year, “The morale of our scientists remains high,” K. Radhakrishnan, chairman of ISRO told reporters a press conference after the crash. But the team at ISRO has been tight lipped and not willing to reveal anything more to the media.
Experts say the year 2010 was bad for ISRO. It had the recent failure for a heavy satellite launch -- GSLV-F06, rocket carrying a 2,130 kg communication satellite, which exploded 63 seconds after taking off from Sriharikota in December 2010. Earlier on April 15, 2010 GSLV-D3 developmental flight carrying GSAT4 onboard failed on take-off and plunged into the sea.
Experts say if these satellites had been successfully launched it would have guaranteed India as a super space power. Success or failures are part and parcel of space program and ISRO is no exception. NASA, Russians and the European Space Agency have also had many failures mixed with success.
In fact, according to a Wikipedia report, since 1991 when India launched the GSLV program it has been a mixed bag of successes and failures. It kicked off with GSLV Mk.I, GSAT-1, a satellite with a payload of 1,540 kg was termed as partial success. A number of subsequent launches followed with success and failures. So out of the seven GSLV launches so far four were categorized as success or partial success while three of them failed.
Interestingly, Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) is built on top of the earlier successful Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV). There was the addition of liquid strap-on boosters and a cryogenic upper stage to put a 5000 kg into an easterly low Earth orbit. Indian GSLV engine makes use of liquid hydrogen and oxygen that did not ignite properly leading to earlier failures.
The government has also constituted a review committee to look into the failures, the committee will now only look into the failure of the GSLV program and also future launches like the INSAT-3D and Chandrayaan-II. This is more grueling work for the ISRO team since the operation would require an indigenous cryogenic stage.
The country’s ambitious moon project, Chandrayaan II project is expected to be launched in 2013 or 2014 and the scientists are need to act fast to meet the aggressive time-line.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Billionaire Buffett in India during March 2011
Multi-billionaire Warren Buffet will speak at a fund raising campaign in New Delhi next week. He will launch his firm's insurance selling portal and will meet policy holders at an event at the Taj Mahal Hotel in New Delhi, as per a report on the company's website.
Berkshire India, which will now sell its general insurance policies or products through its berkshireinsurance.com portal. It has invited all policy holders to register for the March 25 event at the Taj.
Buffet is ranked No 3 world's richest by Forbes in 2011 and is expected to attend a ground breaking ceremony in South Korea on March 21 before flying into India.
Berkshire India, which will now sell its general insurance policies or products through its berkshireinsurance.com portal. It has invited all policy holders to register for the March 25 event at the Taj.
Buffet is ranked No 3 world's richest by Forbes in 2011 and is expected to attend a ground breaking ceremony in South Korea on March 21 before flying into India.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Mahindra, Cisco Systems enter into a strategic alliance
MUMBAI: Mahindra Group on Tuesday signed a strategic alliance with Cisco Systems . The joint venture will collaborate on global platform and provide cloud computing services.
Cisco said that the partnership with Mahindra will work on areas including connecting communities. The JV has an ambitious target market at $5 billion in 5 years.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Vice Chairman, Anand Mahindra said: "The JV will provide cloud computing services and will involve M&M group across geographies."
The partnership will also involve many contracts.
Mahindra said, "This is about a partnership and it is a partnership not just of one contract but involving many contracts between Mahindra and Cisco, not just in India but across the world. This is about an Indian company moving from simply looking at itself as a service provider to partnering Cisco in joint go-to-market initiatives."
At 12:19 Tech Mahindra was up 7.7% at Rs 729.40. It touched a high of Rs 727.20 and low of Rs 676.40 in trade so far. Around 1.50 lakh shares were traded in the counter. Mahindra Satyam was up 4.48% at Rs Rs 65.35.
With this joint venture M&M and Cisco will focus on the Internet. The two companies believe that the web will dramatically change the way in which businesses function and in the way that services are provided to customers.
"The second belief that we share with Cisco is that companies that are able to harness innovation in providing services to their customers are the ones that are going to be left standing and in fact standing on the victory podium. I believe that Cisco does truly understand that India can be a game changer in leveraging innovation," added Mahindra.
When asked about what has the JV got for Cisco, Mahindra said, "I have already mentioned one very important thing that they are going to be able to get even more traction in India, more reach in penetration through us. Cisco can also leverage us as a game changer for innovation through the internet as a way of reaching customers throughout the globe and therefore in essence they are going to leapfrog."
"For Mahindra the joint venture would help in becoming a brand that epitomise customer centricity and innovation that is very critical for us and we want to be known for this around the world. We believe that we can bring value to them and we believe that by tying up with them we will strengthen and enhance our capabilities to be more customer centric and innovative." said Mahindra.
Cisco said that the partnership with Mahindra will work on areas including connecting communities. The JV has an ambitious target market at $5 billion in 5 years.
Mahindra & Mahindra, Vice Chairman, Anand Mahindra said: "The JV will provide cloud computing services and will involve M&M group across geographies."
The partnership will also involve many contracts.
Mahindra said, "This is about a partnership and it is a partnership not just of one contract but involving many contracts between Mahindra and Cisco, not just in India but across the world. This is about an Indian company moving from simply looking at itself as a service provider to partnering Cisco in joint go-to-market initiatives."
At 12:19 Tech Mahindra was up 7.7% at Rs 729.40. It touched a high of Rs 727.20 and low of Rs 676.40 in trade so far. Around 1.50 lakh shares were traded in the counter. Mahindra Satyam was up 4.48% at Rs Rs 65.35.
With this joint venture M&M and Cisco will focus on the Internet. The two companies believe that the web will dramatically change the way in which businesses function and in the way that services are provided to customers.
"The second belief that we share with Cisco is that companies that are able to harness innovation in providing services to their customers are the ones that are going to be left standing and in fact standing on the victory podium. I believe that Cisco does truly understand that India can be a game changer in leveraging innovation," added Mahindra.
When asked about what has the JV got for Cisco, Mahindra said, "I have already mentioned one very important thing that they are going to be able to get even more traction in India, more reach in penetration through us. Cisco can also leverage us as a game changer for innovation through the internet as a way of reaching customers throughout the globe and therefore in essence they are going to leapfrog."
"For Mahindra the joint venture would help in becoming a brand that epitomise customer centricity and innovation that is very critical for us and we want to be known for this around the world. We believe that we can bring value to them and we believe that by tying up with them we will strengthen and enhance our capabilities to be more customer centric and innovative." said Mahindra.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Bonjour India says France; To kick off cultural fest in December
France says Namaste to India — French style. In an effort to bring French culture to more than 18 cities in India, the Embassy of France in India and Culturefrance, have announced the launch of ‘Bonjour India — Festival of France in India’.
The Bangalore chapter of the celebrations was launched in Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar by Jerome Bonnafont, the French ambassador to India on Thursday. “The French President and the Prime Minister of India have agreed on a unique partnership between India and France on the issue of global warming and sustainable development. We support it with ‘Bonjour India’ by giving the people an experience of the young, multi-coloured, creative and dynamic France,” said the Ambassador.
The mega festival is an initiative to celebrate Indo-French relationship through a series of exhibitions, music concerts, book launches, film festivals, literary meetings and debates, food festivals, scientific exchanges and other cultural events over a period of three months from December 2009 to February 2010.
The festival is planned in a grand manner in Bangalore, which is identified as a melting pot of world cultures. The Bangalore chapter will be inaugurated officially on December 5 across the city.
The ambassador emphasized the French government’s efforts to encourage Indian students in France by reforming the visa and work system in favour of students. He also said that Bonjour India will help further the process by giving students in India a taste of France.
TRADE IN FRANCE
Throwing light on Indo-French trade possibilities, the French ambassador emphasized that France is keen on building trade relations in India. “We are one of the largest European nations to invest in the IT sector in India. The French company Capgemini that specialises in IT, management consulting, outsourcing and professional services, currently employs around 20,000 people in India,” said Bonnafont.
“France is also looking at investing in other consumer products such as tyre manufacturing by setting up Michelin’s Rs 4,000 crore production facility in Chennai that would provide employment to about 1,500 people. The other key areas that we are looking at are furniture, clothes and apparel that cater to the growing middle-class milieu, who look to have a better lifestyle at competitive pricing. However, heavy duty taxes add to the challenges of growth in these sections,” he added.
Times of India
The Bangalore chapter of the celebrations was launched in Alliance Francaise, Vasanthnagar by Jerome Bonnafont, the French ambassador to India on Thursday. “The French President and the Prime Minister of India have agreed on a unique partnership between India and France on the issue of global warming and sustainable development. We support it with ‘Bonjour India’ by giving the people an experience of the young, multi-coloured, creative and dynamic France,” said the Ambassador.
The mega festival is an initiative to celebrate Indo-French relationship through a series of exhibitions, music concerts, book launches, film festivals, literary meetings and debates, food festivals, scientific exchanges and other cultural events over a period of three months from December 2009 to February 2010.
The festival is planned in a grand manner in Bangalore, which is identified as a melting pot of world cultures. The Bangalore chapter will be inaugurated officially on December 5 across the city.
The ambassador emphasized the French government’s efforts to encourage Indian students in France by reforming the visa and work system in favour of students. He also said that Bonjour India will help further the process by giving students in India a taste of France.
TRADE IN FRANCE
Throwing light on Indo-French trade possibilities, the French ambassador emphasized that France is keen on building trade relations in India. “We are one of the largest European nations to invest in the IT sector in India. The French company Capgemini that specialises in IT, management consulting, outsourcing and professional services, currently employs around 20,000 people in India,” said Bonnafont.
“France is also looking at investing in other consumer products such as tyre manufacturing by setting up Michelin’s Rs 4,000 crore production facility in Chennai that would provide employment to about 1,500 people. The other key areas that we are looking at are furniture, clothes and apparel that cater to the growing middle-class milieu, who look to have a better lifestyle at competitive pricing. However, heavy duty taxes add to the challenges of growth in these sections,” he added.
Times of India
Over the next 5 years 1,000 German firms may invest in India
Upbeat on the second fastest growing economy in the world, about 1,000 German firms may invest in India in the next five years, the head of Baden-Wurttemberg, regarded as the most successful German state, said today.
"I am sure, in next five years 1,000 more companies from Germany and may be 200 from our state would be interested in investing in India," Guenther H Oettinger, the Minister- President of State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) said here.
About 1,800 German firms, including Porsche, Siemens, BMW, Voith and Audi have already invested in India which is being seen as the potential German manufacturing hub for the Asian market.
Indian industry and workers match the quality of Europe's and North America's, Oettinger said at the CII meeting.
With over six per cent expansion, the Indian economy is the second fastest growing after China despite global recession.
German Ambassador to India Thomas Matussek also addressed the meeting stating the India-German bilateral trade is expected to touch $27 billion by 2014 from over $18 billion in 2008.
India's major exports to Germany include garments, machinery and instruments, electronic goods and transport equipment, while imports comprises machinery, iron and steel, machine tools and organic chemicals.
Agencies
"I am sure, in next five years 1,000 more companies from Germany and may be 200 from our state would be interested in investing in India," Guenther H Oettinger, the Minister- President of State of Baden-Wuerttemberg (Germany) said here.
About 1,800 German firms, including Porsche, Siemens, BMW, Voith and Audi have already invested in India which is being seen as the potential German manufacturing hub for the Asian market.
Indian industry and workers match the quality of Europe's and North America's, Oettinger said at the CII meeting.
With over six per cent expansion, the Indian economy is the second fastest growing after China despite global recession.
German Ambassador to India Thomas Matussek also addressed the meeting stating the India-German bilateral trade is expected to touch $27 billion by 2014 from over $18 billion in 2008.
India's major exports to Germany include garments, machinery and instruments, electronic goods and transport equipment, while imports comprises machinery, iron and steel, machine tools and organic chemicals.
Agencies
Thursday, November 19, 2009
No easy going for IT companies in Europe
For India’s top tech firms seeking to grow revenues from Europe in order to offset lower spend by American clients, it’s going to be Key facts on India's IT industry
a long, arduous journey, said research firm Forrester on Wednesday.
The US, which accounts for over half of India’s $60-billion software outsourcing industry, has traditionally been the top market for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro, among many others. However, over the past few years, Indian tech firms have been trying to mitigate their high American exposure by focusing on Europe’s $14-billion market for software and back-office services.
“You cannot replicate the US model in other markets. Unlike the US, European customers are not thinking primarily about costs. If Indian companies follow the same model for another 2-3 years, they will struggle,” said Sudin Apte, principal analyst of Forrester Research. Mr Apte, who surveyed around 400 European customers in order to understand their outsourcing priorities, said India’s tech firms will need to go beyond just hiring local workforce for sales and delivery efforts, if they really want to become successful in Europe.
“Offshoring in North America is a standard business decision, however in continental Europe, it’s a religious decision,” said Mr Apte, quoting one of the customers surveyed for his study.
Indeed, for almost a decade, the UK has been the top market for Indian companies with customers such as British Petroleum (BP) and British Telecom (BT) outsourcing projects to TCS, Infosys and Wipro. However, the UK, which outsources around $9 billion worth of projects to India every year, does not reflect the entire Europe.
“The United Kingdom is very similar to the US, unlike continental Europe where language and cultural barriers exist,” added Mr Apte.
Many European customers are more comfortable working with delivery teams in neighbouring countries, instead of signing large offshore contracts. “For example, Romania’s historical ties with Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, and Germany makes it easy to connect with clients in these locations,” Mr Apte added.
However, mature outsourcers such as BT, BP and ABN Amro have had no such bottlenecks, while deciding to work with large Indian offshore services providers such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro.
“For globalised European customers, outsourcing is not a new phenomenon, but for many companies, especially those who are pan-European only, outsourcing and offshoring is not such as hot thing,” he added.
Compared with Forrester’s survey in 2008, the current research shows a drop of more than 20% in the number of companies that were thinking about starting an offshore initiative for the first time. “This means that in the next 12 months, we will see few first-time offshore users sending their work to locations like India,” said Mr Apte.
The Forrester research also found that multinational firms such as IBM and Accenture are better positioned that the Indian IT vendors when it comes to serving customers in continental Europe.
“Accenture has more staff serving continental Europe customers than anybody else - it’s not about pure offshoring anymore,” he said. For instance, Accenture serves more than 300 customers from Germany with a few hundred staffs making use of the managed services model, which allows the company to serve more with less.
Agencies
a long, arduous journey, said research firm Forrester on Wednesday.
The US, which accounts for over half of India’s $60-billion software outsourcing industry, has traditionally been the top market for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro, among many others. However, over the past few years, Indian tech firms have been trying to mitigate their high American exposure by focusing on Europe’s $14-billion market for software and back-office services.
“You cannot replicate the US model in other markets. Unlike the US, European customers are not thinking primarily about costs. If Indian companies follow the same model for another 2-3 years, they will struggle,” said Sudin Apte, principal analyst of Forrester Research. Mr Apte, who surveyed around 400 European customers in order to understand their outsourcing priorities, said India’s tech firms will need to go beyond just hiring local workforce for sales and delivery efforts, if they really want to become successful in Europe.
“Offshoring in North America is a standard business decision, however in continental Europe, it’s a religious decision,” said Mr Apte, quoting one of the customers surveyed for his study.
Indeed, for almost a decade, the UK has been the top market for Indian companies with customers such as British Petroleum (BP) and British Telecom (BT) outsourcing projects to TCS, Infosys and Wipro. However, the UK, which outsources around $9 billion worth of projects to India every year, does not reflect the entire Europe.
“The United Kingdom is very similar to the US, unlike continental Europe where language and cultural barriers exist,” added Mr Apte.
Many European customers are more comfortable working with delivery teams in neighbouring countries, instead of signing large offshore contracts. “For example, Romania’s historical ties with Bulgaria, Italy, Greece, and Germany makes it easy to connect with clients in these locations,” Mr Apte added.
However, mature outsourcers such as BT, BP and ABN Amro have had no such bottlenecks, while deciding to work with large Indian offshore services providers such as TCS, Infosys and Wipro.
“For globalised European customers, outsourcing is not a new phenomenon, but for many companies, especially those who are pan-European only, outsourcing and offshoring is not such as hot thing,” he added.
Compared with Forrester’s survey in 2008, the current research shows a drop of more than 20% in the number of companies that were thinking about starting an offshore initiative for the first time. “This means that in the next 12 months, we will see few first-time offshore users sending their work to locations like India,” said Mr Apte.
The Forrester research also found that multinational firms such as IBM and Accenture are better positioned that the Indian IT vendors when it comes to serving customers in continental Europe.
“Accenture has more staff serving continental Europe customers than anybody else - it’s not about pure offshoring anymore,” he said. For instance, Accenture serves more than 300 customers from Germany with a few hundred staffs making use of the managed services model, which allows the company to serve more with less.
Agencies
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
One billion mobile users in India by 2015
India could have more than one billion mobile phone users by 2015, with the bulk of that growth in rural areas, one of the country's top telecom executives said on Wednesday.
Manoj Kohli, chief executive of India's biggest mobile phone group Bharti Airtel, told an industry conference in Hong Kong that his firm is aiming to almost double its customer base to 200 million people in the next few years.
"Achieving a billion plus (Indian mobile users) by 2015 is possible," he told the Mobile Asia Congress, the region's largest telecom industry gathering.
"The largest growth will happen in the rural market," he said, adding that pricing wars between providers were knocking down rates in the Indian market and making phones affordable to more people.
Competition in India has become even more aggressive as new players unleash deeper price cuts with innovative per-second billing plans that have pushed call costs down to less than a cent a minute.
"There is hyper-competition like no other place in the world," he said.
India is the world's second-biggest cellular market with more than 400 million users, lagging behind only China, which has over 600 million users.
Rural customers are also seen as key to growth in China, said Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China Unicom, one of the nation's three major telecoms operators.
The company aims to tap "vast rural areas" for growth as demand for basic mobile voice services slows in saturated urban markets, he said, with customers now looking for multi-function devices that can send emails or play movies.
"Voice is a mature market in some areas, but we still see some growth potential," Chang told the conference. "Voice will be in continuous demand (in China)."
But Chinese operators must boost their data business to offset falling prices on voice calls, he said.
Chang has said he expects Apple's iconic iPhone, which Unicom distributes, will be China's highest-selling smartphone despite disappointing results after its official launch this month.
Mobile connections in Asia Pacific are expected to cross the two billion mark this year, more than triple the level in 2003, according to statistics released by conference organiser GSMA, a mobile industry trade group.
Agencies
Manoj Kohli, chief executive of India's biggest mobile phone group Bharti Airtel, told an industry conference in Hong Kong that his firm is aiming to almost double its customer base to 200 million people in the next few years.
"Achieving a billion plus (Indian mobile users) by 2015 is possible," he told the Mobile Asia Congress, the region's largest telecom industry gathering.
"The largest growth will happen in the rural market," he said, adding that pricing wars between providers were knocking down rates in the Indian market and making phones affordable to more people.
Competition in India has become even more aggressive as new players unleash deeper price cuts with innovative per-second billing plans that have pushed call costs down to less than a cent a minute.
"There is hyper-competition like no other place in the world," he said.
India is the world's second-biggest cellular market with more than 400 million users, lagging behind only China, which has over 600 million users.
Rural customers are also seen as key to growth in China, said Chang Xiaobing, chairman of China Unicom, one of the nation's three major telecoms operators.
The company aims to tap "vast rural areas" for growth as demand for basic mobile voice services slows in saturated urban markets, he said, with customers now looking for multi-function devices that can send emails or play movies.
"Voice is a mature market in some areas, but we still see some growth potential," Chang told the conference. "Voice will be in continuous demand (in China)."
But Chinese operators must boost their data business to offset falling prices on voice calls, he said.
Chang has said he expects Apple's iconic iPhone, which Unicom distributes, will be China's highest-selling smartphone despite disappointing results after its official launch this month.
Mobile connections in Asia Pacific are expected to cross the two billion mark this year, more than triple the level in 2003, according to statistics released by conference organiser GSMA, a mobile industry trade group.
Agencies
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