The Cyberabad Times

Accenture, a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, has moved its operations in Hyderabad to a larger facility at Mindspace IT Park, a press release said. Accenture set up its operations in the city in 2003. It currently employs over 600 people providing technology services to global clients.

“Hyderabad is an integral part of Accenture’s global delivery network. This new and larger facility is further proof of Accenture’s commitment to India,” Chet Kamat, head, India Delivery Centre Network, Accenture, said. “Our employees in Hyderabad deliver industry-leading technology services that help address some of the greatest business challenges of customers around the world,” he added.

Accenture’s global delivery network consists of more than 40 delivery centres around the world including facilities in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific. In India, its facilities are located in Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

Source : Business Standard

Waste handling all set to go colourful

From Tuesday, residences in the twin cities will have college students knocking on their door to brief housewives on handling garbage generated at home. Waste handling is also set to become a `colourful affair' with bright red and green bins to be used for segregation of dry and wet waste respectively.

The visits are part of a massive state-wide campaign by the National Green Corps (NGC), aimed at making urban residential areas across the State cleaner and reducing the load on municipal garbage dumps.

The campaign, according to NGC Andhra Pradesh director, W.G. Prasanna Kumar, will see NGC's Eco Club students from over 1,300 degree colleges being involved in introduction of the phased launching of house-level segregated collection of waste in areas covered by the 125 urban local bodies or municipalities in Andhra Pradesh.

The campaign will have students going door-to-door, educating the public on collecting waste in the colour bins. Talk shows, street plays and awareness programmes in public spots, residential areas and on campuses will be part of the campaign.

ISB ups its batch strength

The Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) has increased the intake of students for its 2006 batch by 28 per cent. ISB claims that it will continue to ramp up its student strength every year till it reaches its full capacity of 550.

This year the student strength stands at 349. Last the figure was 273 and in 2001, at the time of ISB’s inception, it was 126.

ISB Dean M Rammohan Rao said that the reason for a gradual increase in the class strength is ISB’s emphasis on admitting “students of high calibre”.

The institute claims it has made extra effort to attract students from non-metro cities in the country. Students from relatively smaller cities and towns such as Goa, Jaipur, Jammu, Kanpur, Mathura, Mangalore, Solan, Panipat and Thiruvananthapuram have made it to ISB this year.

Cash in on golden period

The present generation of students are in the `golden period' when the nation's economy is poised to take off in a big way, thanks to India emerging as a leader in the IT field, the Director, IBM India, Ganesh Margabandhu said. He was the chief guest at the inaugural of second batch of MCA class of 2007 at ICFAI School of Information Technology (ISIT), here on Monday.

Listing out the favourable factors, he said the present generation has a great opportunity called India which was growing not only in IT but in bio-engineering, bio-medicine, etc., and universities like ICFAI were specially designing innovative courses to suit the requirements of industry including IT.

He advised the students of tightly packed two-year MCA course as against the three-year conventional MCA course to develop strong functional skills and an ability to apply, adapt and integrate information technology in any business environment.

The fast developing technology of Internet has redefined the concept of working and computing was undergoing phenomenal changes, he said. The IT services were available for customers to utilise and pay with offshore development ensuring 24x7 service to the client.

Lot of thought had gone into designing the curriculum and the programme has six terms spread over two years. Apart from Hyderabad, it was offered in six other cities. ISIT signed up with Microsoft and Oracle Corporation for their certification programmes, he said.

ISIT launches second batch of MCA course
Students told to develop strong functional skills
ISIT in pact with Microsoft, Oracle for the programme
Apart from Hyderabad, the course is offered in six cities

Source: The Hindu

City's voice at child labour meeting

A city lad will speak up against child labour and present their woes in the form of folk songs at an international conference on child labour and children's rights to be held at Geneva from June 6 to 10.

G. Anjaneyulu, a rescued child labourer under the tutelage of Arya Samaj Bonded Labour Child Labour Front has been selected for the conference. A native of Khanapur village in Atmakur mandal of Mahabubnagar district, he spent his childhood working in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. While working in a cycle shop, he was rescued by M. Sudarshan of Arya Samaj and enrolled in the primary school of Atmakur.

IT hubs to be high security zones

The Cyberabad police have initiated plans to convert Madhapur and Gachibowli areas, hubs of software development companies of the State, into high security zones to check any kind of subversive activities. As a first step in that direction, the Cyberabad Police Commissioner, M. Mahendar Reddy, held a series of meetings with the managements of software firms. About 1,000 software firms, including several global players, have their offices at Madhapur and Gachibowli.

According to sources, a check-post or a help desk is being planned at every 300 metres in the areas, each of which would be manned round the clock jointly by the police and private security agencies. Besides having modern communication facilities, the check-posts will have drop gates. There is also a plan to introduce electronic barricading to ensure that all roads are closed at the press of a button.

Sources say that the software firms have been asked to bear the expenses of employing private security and the necessary gadgets. The Cyberabad Commissioner said officials of various departments like Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation, Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, APTransco and Transport department were part of the meetings. So far, six such meetings have been convened, wherein issues like road widening, parking lots/junctions and having private security figured. However, the Cyberabad Police Commissioner clarified that there was no immediate threat to the software installations.

Icrisat project wins Award

The project developed by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (Icrisat) for managing the pigeonpea pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera, through the production and use of the biopesticide Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV) has won World Bank’s Development Marketplace Award for 2005.

Icrisat’s project, titled ‘traditional technology with a modern twist’, is among the 31 projects selected through global competition by World Bank for this year’s award. Icrisat and partner, the Centre for World Solidarity (a Hyderabad-based non-governmental organisation working on integrated pest management), will receive a grant of US $150,000, for establishing 100 community-based rural NPV production facilities. The project’s sustainability is based on the programme to train villagers on NPV production and utilisation, and thus spread awareness on the use of biopesticides.

RTC introduces free pick-up

Book a ticket for an APSRTC bus and get a free ride to the bus station. Yes, commuters in the twin cities travelling by RTC buses can now reach their place of boarding without shelling out a pie. Before the scheduled time of departure, a pick-up van will come to their doorstep and take them to the bus station free of cost.

The scheme recently introduced by the authorised ticket-booking agents of RTC at Ameerpet and Kukatpally Housing Board has become a big hit with a large number of people availing the facility. Encouraged by its success, the APSRTC Ranga Reddy region has decided to extend the service to another 10 centres in the State capital from June 6.

The new centres are BHEL, Alwal, NGO Colony, Vanasthalipuram, Shivam, Mehdipatnam, Ramanthapur, Tarnaka, Kukatpally, Chaitanyapuri and Kothapet. The RTC has 62 ticket-booking agents in the city and together they sell about 4,500 tickets per day. The passenger pick-up facility is introduced primarily to meet the challenge posed by private bus operators and to wean away passengers from them. Though 520 private buses are operated from the city, so far no operator thought of running a pick-up service to transport passengers to the boarding point, it is said.

Meanwhile, the passenger rush at Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station (MGBS) has picked up. Normally, 2,650 buses are operated from here everyday with an average of 50,000 passengers boarding and an equal number alighting.

Window to world from India

Seven years since its inception at Hyderabad, Microsoft India Development Centre has evolved into becoming a product development centre for the global software giant, writes Rajesh Parishwad.

Scores of brilliant engineers from India migrated to the land of opportunities during 1990s for not only greener pastures but also to be a part of the technological revolution sweeping through the US. Indians managed to find a place in the budding as well as established technology companies, making a sizeable contribution to their growth. Besides, they were also ambassadors of Indian talent. The scene was no different at Microsoft.

In fact, a huge number of Indian engineers were working at Microsoft’s product development centre at Redmond. In the mid-1990s, as the movement for offshore or remote development had caught on, a team of Indian engineers based at Redmond was talking of “doing something” in India with the Microsoft’s top management. Starting “something” here hastened with Microsoft Chief Bill Gates’ maiden visit to the country. Bill Gates, who was impressed with the quality of people and standards of education, gave the green signal to start a development centre in India.

In 1998, the company’s second technology facility — Microsoft India Development Centre (MIDC) was opened in India. The choice of the location surprised many, as they opted for Hyderabad instead of Bangalore, which was being considered the country’s Silicon Valley. The story goes that former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu personally invited Bill Gates to start their operations in Hyderabad.

From 20 people in 1998, the MIDC has now grown to over 500 professionals. It has released several key products in recent years, demonstrating its ability to conceptualise and develop products for millions of diverse set of customers all over the world. MIDC has been making critical contributions to key Microsoft products like Windows, TabletPC, MSN, Pocket PC and Longhorn, the next generation of Windows operating system.

MIDC has already filed for 40 patents in 2004 for various innovations besides identifying additional 70 projects that can be patented in 2005. Says MIDC Managing Director Srini Koppolu, who moved to India from the US to set up the development centre here, "As we grow in the organisation, the number of patents filed from Hyderabad will continue to grow."

The company has filed for patents across all its product categories, Mr Koppolu, who has six patents to his credit on COM technology, notes. "Microsoft has filed over 5,000 patents so far. It is more of a defensive move rather than offensive," he told Deccan Herald at his sprawling campus in Hyderabad. MIDC, the largest development centre for Microsoft outside the US and is becoming the most strategic development centre for the company.

MICROSOFT INDIA DEVELOPMENT CENTRE

Established: 1998

Location: Hyderabad

Number of employees: 500

Investment earmarked: $ 100 million

Number of patents filed: 40 in 2004

Products Released: Services for Unix, Visual J# .NET, Outlook to Notes Connector and Windows System Resource Manager.

New Initiatives: Networking Technology Centre,

Developer Division, Enterprise Storage Group, Business Solution Group, Tablet PC.

Compassion is his thing

When it comes to compassion nothing beats Clinton. Bill Clinton, Special Envoy of the U.N. Secretary-General for Tsunami Recovery, empathises with seven-month-old Mohammed Imran Nazeer of Silladi Nagar in Nagapattinam.

Clinton

His mother managed to hold him tight when the tsunami struck on December 26. His two brothers, seven-year-old Mohammed Basith and five-year-old Abdul Halim, were snatched away from their mother by the giant wave; only the older survived.

CIEFL courses in July

The Central Institute of English and Foreign Langauges (CIEFL) will offer certificate and diploma part-time courses in various foreign languages from July this year.

According to a press release, the following courses are offered: Both the certificate of proficiency and advanced diploma in Arabic, German, Spanish, Russian and French; a diploma in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, Japanese and French; diploma in translation in Arabic and German; diploma in technical and scientific translation in Russian; and a beginners course in Arabic are available.

For SC and ST candidates, reservation and fee concession will be given as per the rules. Fee concession will be provided for physically handicapped candidates.

The registration into the courses will begin from June 1.

Source: Newindpress

HMWS to step up revenue collection

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB), Managing Director, KS Jawahar Reddy on Friday asked the Water board officials to take measures to increase the monthly revenue collections for achieving the target.

Reviewing the revenue collections for this month, he said that the Board could only collect around Rs 12 crore as against the target of Rs 20 crore for the month.

He further asked the officials to verify the functioning of the meters in all the divisions, and directed to rectify immediately those, which are in defunct condition. At the time of issuing of spot bills, steps should be taken to collect the bills also, he said.

Source: Newindpress

Learn while you earn : OU

Earn while you learn is a passe. Now, it is the other way. The Department of Commerce, Osmania University, will soon sign a memorandum of understanding with GE to offer B.Com course to the latter’s employees at the work place. The university, apart from formulating the curriculum, will send its faculty members to teach the GE employees. The examinations will be conducted annually.

Disclosing this to the media, Prof H Venkateshwarlu, Dean, Commerce Department, said the new module was being worked out to suit the industry requirements. "The course will aid those who have missed academics due to a job," he says.

Source: Newindpress

JM Financial MF ties up with Karvy

Karvy Computershare Private Ltd on Friday announced its association with JM Financial Mutual Fund. Under this arrangement, Karvy would act as JM Financial's exclusive registrar and share transfer (R&T) agent in India.

In a press release here, Karvy said the inclusion of an esteemed fund house such as JM Financial to its portfolio has further broadened its penetration in the mutual fund registry business. This, Karvy said, is an outcome of global capabilities and local expertise in carrying forward the legacy of comprehensive registry management services in India.

New HUDA VC

Jayesh Ranjan on Thursday took over as Vice-Chairman of the Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (HUDA). Mr. Ranjan took charge from the Commissioner and Director, Municipal Administration, and in-charge Vice-Chairman, Vijay Kumar. Later, he held a series of meetings with officers to know about the on-going projects. Mr. Ranjan worked as Sub-Collector, Nandyal, Project Officer, ITDA, Rampachodavaram, Project Director, DPAP, and Project Director, Velugu, Chittoor.

Wider city roads

The twin cities will witness a number of road widenings and junction improvements in the next three months. A task force will be constituted soon to oversee the road widening works. This was stated by MCH Commissioner Sanjay Jaju at the 10th meeting of the council on Thursday.

He said priority would be given to road widening and junction improvement works. About 30 junctions have been identified for improvement and the works will be taken up soon, he said. Corporators of different political parties complained that the road widening works taken up by the MCH at various places in the city were going on at a snail’s pace. The MCH Commissioner said steps would be taken to speed up the work progress. He said equal importance would be given to the development of the Old City and the new city.

Yakutpura MLA Mumtaz Ahmed Khan alleged that the MCH was neglecting the development of the Old City. He urged the new commissioner to take steps to develop infrastructural facilities in the old city. Mayor Teegala Krishna Reddy urged the commissioner to involve local corporators in execution of road widening works.

BJP floor leader Shyam Sunder Burugula suggested that the house owners whose properties were acquired for road widening be given the option of selling the additional FSI benefit they got in lieu of it. A policy on FSI rights should be evolved to protect the interests of the affected house owners, he said. The Mayor promised to look into the matter.

Source : Newindpress

Fish medicine contains steroids

The fish medicine given to asthma patients by a family contains steroids, has been confirmed by the National Accredited Board for Laboratories (NABL) recently, according to Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), former director, P M Bhargava.

"We don't know from where the steroids came in the medicine. It should be either from the herbs or from the fish itself. But, the fact is that the steroids will bring temporarily relief and would have adverse effect over a period of time," Bhargava, who has been spearheading a campaign against the se of such medicines said.

The medicine was analysed as per the high court order. Bhargava said such medicines, which have no data or scientific studies to prove its efficacy, will have no effect on patients. Every year on June 7, Bathina family administers fish medicine to asthma patients, who come from various places including abroad for the cure.

PTI

Infy to be richer by Rs 1,500 cr

Another chapter is being added to the fairytale of wealth creation as the senior management of Infy is set to grow richer by over Rs 1,500 crore (estimated). Infy's much-talked about second sponsored ADS is yielding an unprecedented wealth to its own founders, directors, employees and a clutch of institutional investors.

While the actual valuation is slated to be known in a late evening announcement by the company top brass currently in New York, the valuations arrived from the ADS pricing on the Nasdaq stock exchange is heady. For instance, Infy chief mentor and chairman N R Narayana Murthy offered 1.55 million shares with an estimated valuation of around Rs 462 crore, its managing director and CEO Nandan Nilekani's cash bag would be slightly smaller at around Rs 320 crore. They didn't have to offload much for this money as Murthy sold only 0.57% of his stake while it was even lower for Nilekani at 0.4%. The company's chief operating officer, S Gopalakrishnan, sold 0.4% stake for a valuation of Rs 310 crore. Murthy now holds slightly over 6% in Infy. Indian promoters accounted for 32% of the Rs 16 million ADS issue.

Australian student visa changes

To make application procedure for student visas more streamlined, the Australian High Commission (AHC) has introduced a new system for Indian and Nepalese students applying for visas through education agents and those applying directly. From May 16, under the new procedure, for the applications lodged through agents, the procedure to follow is for agents to submit completed papers with the AHCs business partner TT Services (TTS) across the country. Applicants choosing to self lodge will continue to do so through TTS.

Before approaching TTS, agents will have to ensure that the applications are valid by verifying all documents of students. TTS will then issue medical forms. It will then send documents to AHC which will re-verify documents before issuing visas. Agents would have to submit a declaration pledging responsibility to AHC about the veracity of the documents.

Volkswagen team to visit

German car major Volkswagen’s officials will hold a vendors meet for the proposed Visakhapatnam manufacturing plant here at Hyderabad on Thursday. This is the first vendors meet planned by the company, which is also expected to conduct similar exercises in the country’s vendor bases such as Gurgaon and other places to tie-up with ancillaries required for the project.

A ten-member delegation, including Volkswagen’s India project head Helmuth Schuster, will land at Vizag on Wednesday to visit the project location and arrive at Hyderabad the next day for the scheduled vendors meet. According to the official tour programme, the three-day trip will being with the German team directly flying into Visakhapatnam on a chartered flight from Chennai on Wednesday morning.

Apart from visiting the site earmarked by the state government for the proposed car manufacturing plant near Vizag Steel, the team will also visit other places of interest before arriving at Hyderabad on Thursday afternoon. The team will hold a meeting with local vendors for enlisting ancillaries required for the manufacturing plant on the same day. On May 27, the team will visit the Indian School of Business (ISB) and a couple of IT companies at Madhapur before winding up the tour the same evening.

According to official sources, the Volkswagen management is also mulling to shift its Skoda assembly plant at Aurangabad to the Vizag facility. The Euro1 billion project at Visakhapatnam has been planned both for domestic market as well as for exports.

M&M plans Logan facility

Close on the heels of Volkswagen announcing its decision to set up a manufacturing facility in Vizag, Mahindra & Mahindra is learnt to have indicated that it is likely to locate its joint venture facility for manufacturing Renault’s Logan cars at Zahirabad in Andhra Pradesh.

Zahirabad, a small town in the Medak district, is nearly 100 km from Hyderabad. The company has an LCV (light commercial vehicle) manufacturing plant at Zahirabad. The LCVs are sold under the Allwyn Nissan brand.

The company has formed a JV with French automobile manufacturer Renault to produce its popular C-segment passenger car in the country from 2007. M&M will have 51 per cent stake in the project, which is expected to cost about Rs 700 crore.

Indo-German MOU on air services

India and Germany today signed a Memorandum Of Understanding updating the existing Air Services Agreement (ASA) between the two countries. The delegations representing the two Governments met in New Delhi on 24-25 May, 2005 to work out the arrangements governing the air services between the two countries.

As per the revised Air Services Agreement the existing Route Schedule would be amended to provide for:

Grant of access to Hyderabad, Goa and Kochi as additional points of call in India, without intermediate 5th freedom traffic rights, for the designated airlines of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Grant of access to three additional points of call (to be specified by India) in the Federal Republic of Germany, without intermediate 5th freedom traffic rights, for the designated airlines of India.

Grant of access to any point beyond for the designated airlines of both sides including the exercise of 5th freedom traffic rights to/from these beyond points by the designated airlines of both sides on all their services.

The designated airlines of each side would be permitted to operate a total of 50 frequencies per week in each direction, with an aircraft with capacity not exceeding that of a B747, in a phased manner, as follows:

Winter 2005/06 42 per week

Summer 2006 50 per week

Within the above capacity entitlements, the designated airlines of the Federal Republic of Germany will be permitted to operate a maximum of 7 frequencies to/through any point of call in India, excluding Delhi. The designated airlines of the Federal Republic of Germany will be permitted to operate a maximum of 20 frequencies to/through Delhi, in a phased manner, as follows :

Winter 2005/06 14 per week

Summer 2006 17 per week

Winter 2006/07 20 per week

The permission granted to Lufthansa, one of the designated airlines of the Federal Republic of Germany, to operate 5 additional frequencies (2 to Bangalore and 3 to Hyderabad) on a provisional basis up to 31 May 2005 would be extended further till the end of the Summer 2005 time table period. The designated airlines of both sides would be permitted to operate as many frequencies as they wish, with any aircraft type, from any point(s) in their home country, via any point(s), to any point(s) in the territory of the other country and beyond to any point(s) and vice versa, including with traffic rights. The delegations agreed to meet again in mid 2006 to further discuss air services’ matters, including the use of Airbus A380 aircraft.

Sunil Dutt 1929 - 2005

Giraffes, zebras to adorn Zoo

The Nehru Zoo Park, one of the biggest zoo parks in Asia, is planning to acquire more animals this year. It will acquire the animals under an exchange programme with other zoos situated at different places in the world. The zoo park will get a pair of giraffes, four zebras and four squirrel monkeys.

Having learnt about the zoo park’s plans, the Philippine Zoo has already agreed to provide zebras and the South American squirrel monkeys to it. In exchange, it has sought an elephant from the Nehru Zoo. The proposal to acquire the new animals has been sent to the Central Zoo Authority, New Delhi.

Once, the proposal is cleared, the Zoo Park will get the zebras and squirrel monkeys.
The Nehru Zoo spread over an area of 360 acres has about 3,000 animals. There are 15 varieties of primates, 20 varieties of carnivores, 24 varieties of herbivores, 13 varieties of reptiles and 192 bird species. The zoo has 18 lions and 24 tigers (8 white tigers).

To promote its animal adoption scheme, the zoo authorities are planning to appoint 10 agents (five each for the Old City and New City). A proposal in this regard has been submitted to the State Government. The agents will be paid 10 per cent commission if they get any of the animals adopted by any firm or individual.

Utility mapping in nine months

The ‘Computer Aided Utility Mapping’ project for Hyderabad city will be completed in nine months, Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH), Commissioner, Sanjay Jaju said. The project was supposed to be completed in 18 months.

Participating in a one-day workshop on Computer Aided Utility Mapping organised by the National Informatics Centre (NIC) at ASCI here, he said that the project will help in collecting information about resources in the city like water, and about facilities for sewerage, electricity, roads and communication by creating digital maps, with a view to augment urban planning.

The Central Government selected Hyderabad as one among the six cities in the country to take up the computer aided utility mapping under National Urban Renewal Mission.

The other five cities that were selected for the project are Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkatta and Mumbai. The National Urban Renewal Mission keeping in view the fact that there was a rapid urbanisation all over the nation sanctioned the project.

An outlay of Rs 5,500 crore has been earmarked in the Union Budget 2005-06 for the implementation of the project in all the six cities. The NIC, Director General, N Vijayaditya said that the project is bound to bring a change disaster management, utility mapping, generating GIS for villages to see that disparities existing the villages are corrected and proper steps ate taken.

Through this project, the six cities can get maximum benefits. He urged the civic departments and other agencies that are involved in the project to help them in preparing the GIS. Various departments should work hand-in-hand for the success of the project, Vijayaditya said. Advisor, Murali said that once the utility network records are available on the computer they could be shared among other utilities for better management of their functioning. Also it will prove to be a boon to the planning departments, as they have most accurate data available for perspective planning.

Jobs in the sky go up

The sudden spurt in the number of airlines -- both domestic and international has thrown open a plethora of fresh opportunities for jobs such as pilots and cabin-crew.
the required educational qualification for pursuing a career in this sector is minimum 10+2 or intermediate with Mathematics and Physics as must subjects.

Speaking about the salary, he said that the remuneration offered is lucrative. It might range between Rs 60,000-Rs 80,000 per month as the pilot’s job is challenging and full of adventures. The cabin-crew including air hostesses, stewards, are also well paid and draw minimum salary of Rs 30,000 per month.

There are presently three aviation academies in Andhra Pradesh which offer long term courses of two to three years. Very critical to a job seeker in the aviation field is medical fitness. The pilot has to be Class I fit which means that one must be 100 per cent healthy physically and mentally.

Planet Hollywood in Hyderabad?

Britney Spears might come to India when the Planet Hollywood chain of restaurants opens here early next year, if the pop princess' baby delivery schedule does not clash with the launch. Like elsewhere, Planet Hollywood restaurants in India would also be filled with memorabilia from legendary Hollywood blockbusters like Spiderman's costume from the films, a fighter jet used in a film and stuff from Stallone, Willis and the California governor's film.

The restaurants would be opened in five cities around the country. One each at Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore are finalised and the other two could be either in Chennai and Hyderabad or Goa and Kolkata. Planet Hollywood founders call their restaurants "eatertainment". The restaurants in India would have high tech audio systems, which would play clips of movies, videos, and guests would also be able to see what is happening in Planet Hollywood restaurants in New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, London and Paris.

Planet Hollywood has been described as a 'shrine' dedicated to Hollywood movies, with theme dining and chock-a-block with Hollywood memorabilia. The Arch Millennium portfolio includes chains like the Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, Doubletree and Holiday Inn Hotels.

Satyam joins insurance initiative

Satyam Computer Services Limited today announced that it has partnered with Microsoft 'Experience Insurance' initiative, offering a comprehensive approach for addressing market pressures facing the insurance enterprise.

The initiative is focused on significantly improving three key areas-- the insurance customer, employee and operations experience. Satyam has been working with Microsoft technologies and reusable solution frameworks in developing large integrated insurance value chain solutions for various carriers and insurance value chain partners, a company release said today.

Superspeciality hospital coming up

The ball has been set rolling for the construction of a superspeciality hospital at Sanathnagar here by the State Government in collaboration with the Union Ministry of Labour for employees working in various industries.

The superspeciality hospital, which would come up on a 13.5 acre land at Sanathnagar, will be constructed at a cost of about Rs 60 crore. It would cater to the needs of 40-lakh workforce in the States of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

To a question, he said that the pattern of funding was being worked out between the Central and State governments.

He said that superspeciality treat referrals have been provided to 9,417 ESI beneficiaries to the tune of Rs 1.16 crore. Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy has already agreed to permit the employees directly refer to superspeciality tie-up hospitals without referring to government hospitals except for treatment for angiogram, angioplasty with stent, angioplasty and CT scan, the Minister said.

Showcase of Buddhist sites

Hundreds of devotees had a glimpse of a relic of Lord Buddha at Necklace Road on Monday. The bone, which was excavated from Bavikonda in Visakhapatnam about 12 years ago, is on display to mark the Buddha Jayanthi Festival, which started off here on Monday.

The relic was brought on a chariot from the AP State Museum amid chanting of Vedic hymns. A large number of Buddhist monks from various monasteries in the country took part in the procession.

Geeta Reddy said a large number of officials of Dalai Lama would come to the State to oversee the arrangements Kala Chakra festival which will be held at Amaravati in January next year. More than two lakh Buddhist monks from all over the world will participate in the event.

A theme park on the ‘Life and Legend of Gautam Buddha’ is coming up at Nagarjunasagar. The project has taken up at a cost of Rs 2.5 crore. The Tourism Department has funded the development of Ghantasala village in Krishna district, which will also be part of the Buddhist circuit. Several cultural programmes were presented on the occasion. MP Anjan Kumar Yadav, corporator G Krishna Yadav and others were also present on the occasion.

Satyam scale China headcount to 3000

In yet another attempt to expand the definition of offshore-onsite model, Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services, an IT services and solutions company is charting out plans to further expand its operations in China.

Being the first to set up a facility in Shanghai Pudong Software Park, in early 2002, Satyam has around 150 associates (as of December 2004) with 98 percent local talent. The company has plans to increase the workforce to 3000 by 2007 and set up two more operations, one in Dalian and another in Beijing.

Call center training for the underprivileged

According to the press release, Aptech is inviting applications from candidates belonging to schedule castes (SCs), other backward classes (OBCs) and minorities for admission in modules for voice and accent and personality development for appointment in the BPO industry and call centers. Selected candidates, upon admission, would not only be entitled for free coaching but a monthly stipend of Rs 700 and Rs 225 for outstation and local candidates respectively.

A total of 60 seats will be available at each location i.e. Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Heavy rain lashes city

Trees were uprooted and hoardings razed due to the downpour on Sunday at several places in the city. The power supply was disrupted in Jubilee Hills, Banjara Hills, Khairtabad, Begumpet, Madhapur and other places for more than four to six hours on Sunday night.

Sheets of water were seen on roads in the city on Monday morning. As a result, traffic moved at a snail’s pace on arterial roads like the Khairtabad flyover in the morning. However, the heavy rains brought down the sweltering heat by a few degrees.

Supersonic jet trainer facility

Leveraging the light combat aircraft (LCA) technology, India is now considering the possibility of developing its own supersonic jet trainer facility along with a multi-role medium range combat plane indigenously. Mr M. Natarajan, Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister, said that this move on supersonic jet trainer and multi-mode combat aircraft was a logical extension of the LCA technology that India has developed. However, the matter has not yet been taken up with the three services arms and the Integrated Defence Committee.

Mr Natarajan was delivering a keynote address on a meet on `Emerging Technologies for Unmanned Air Vehicles' at Research Centre Imarat of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Representatives from various Defence establishments and scientists participated in the event, which was organised by the Aeronautical Society of India's Hyderabad chapter. The event assumes importance with projections showing increasing potential for unmanned airborne vehicles for civilian, policing and Defence applications.

Indian experts have worked on a major part of the Rs 10,000-crore LCA project budget on development of the light combat aircraft, airborne early warning systems and the Kaveri Engine.

It is now under consideration to leverage the knowhow from such a large project and extend its applicability to design and development of advanced systems. Given the vendor network and technology capabilities, it can facilitate designers to work on a supersonic jetliner along with a multi-role medium range combat aircraft.

India has taken a decision to acquire the advanced trainer jet, Hawk, from Britain, in an effort to upgrade the skills of Air Force pilots. DRDO has also embarked on a major developmental programme to make India self-reliant in unmanned airborne vehicles.

Software to cut pharma R&D spend

It’s a fact that IT is revolutionising and kickstarting every molecule under development and what more, it is integrating from lab to market at a faster pace. Business intelligence software and services can create true enterprise intelligence, especially when the R&D costs in the pharma sector is scaling upwards despite competition.

Here comes the need for a technology, which can reduce ‘time to intelligence’ and ‘time to market’. Being provided by the North Carolina-based SAS Inc, the software helps in ‘time to discovery’ thus making all the difference. The $1.5-billion SAS Inc, claimed to be the world’s largest privately-held company, caters to more than 90% of the Fortune 500 companies.

SAS India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of SAS Inc, is being used over 40,000 sites in the country. Right from the discovery stage to sales and marketing, SAS has evolved a solution, which can optimise the flow of valuable scientific and operational data within pharma and biotech firms.

Says Sudipta K Sen, CEO of SAS India Pvt Ltd, “We are the only company that offers an end-to-end solution to drive efficiencies throughout every stage of a drug’s lifecycle.”

Above all, it is interesting to note that for e-submission for US FDA approval, the whole application has to be in SAS format, adds George Verghese, head of marketing. Adding to this credit, the company hopes to add three to six customers per month.

According to the Frost & Sullivan Report on Business Intelligence in India, SAS India led the business intelligence market in the country with a share of 22.5%. “We are bullish about the growth as the R&D trends in the industry seems to be expanding. We are planning to post a growth higher than the industry average of 25%,” he said. The company has launched SAS Drug Development 3.0, in a bid to tap the $100 million-Indian clinical research market through data integration and analysis. It allows lifescience firms to analyse the clinical research for regulatory submission and explore new market opportunities, product line extensions and safety issues - all through a centralised repository.

For instance, the discovery stage is taken care by a drug discovery solution, which contains an Extract Transform Load wherein unified information is extracted from different databases in a single organisation.

MMTS-bus combo tickets

Here is some good news for MMTS commuters. The proposal for a combined train and bus ticket for MMTS passengers is likely to materialise soon. The MMTS project authorities forwarded the proposal to the Railway Board three days ago, seeking its approval for introduction of the combo ticket. The combo ticket is likely to increase the occupancy rate both in the MMTS trains and MMTS link buses. The officials of the MMTS project, railways and RTC held a meeting a fortnight ago and finalised the proposal for the combo ticket. It has been proposed to introduce three types of combo tickets.

They are a monthly pass, which enables people to travel by APSRTC ordinary buses and MMTS trains from anywhere to anywhere and a monthly pass, which permits people to travel in MMTS trains and link buses from anywhere to anywhere. The third one is a Travel as You Like one-day ticket which allows people to travel in any MMTS train or ordinary bus. The number of passengers travelling in MMTS trains per day has gone up from 11,297 in August 2003 to 29,885 in April 2005. The revenue per day has also increased from Rs 66,442 to Rs 1,35,493.

DC takes 67 pc in Asian Age

Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd (DCHL) has acquired an additional 67 per cent stake in Asian Age Holdings Ltd (AAHL) for a consideration of Rs 17.10 crore, taking its total holding in the media company to 90 per cent. Hyderabad-based DCHL already holds 23 per cent stake in AAHL, Deccan Chronicle said in a release here today.

Leela's groups to setup new hotels

The Leela Palaces and Resorts plans to set up three new hotels at Udaipur, Chennai and Hyderabad, at an investment of Rs695bn, Vivek Nair, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director of the group said on Friday. A new palace hotel at Lake Pichchola in Udaipur is under construction, Nair told reporters in New Delhi. The hotel is expected to be completed for the 2007 winter season with about 68 guest rooms and royal suites. The palace hotel is likely to cost Rs650mn.

In Chennai, the group has acquired a property at Adyar beach and proposes to build a 15-storey hotel with 360 guest rooms and suites, according to Nair. Work on the Rs3.2bn project is scheduled to begin in August and the hotel is expected to be commissioned in early 2008. In Hyderabad, the Leela group has identified a prime location in Banjara hills to build a hotel with 300 rooms at a projected cost of Rs3.1bn, Nair said. The hotel is likely to be commissioned by 2008.

The Group is also embarking on renovation and upgradation of its existing hotels in Mumbai and Bangalore at an investment of Rs1.3bn, Nair said, adding that the Group would raise the funds through internal accruals and Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds worth $80mn. It is also eyeing two properties in Kerala. One of the hotels would have 200 rooms built with an investment of Rs1.1bn. The group is also looking at the possibility of acquiring an existing beach resort or a plot being offered by Government of Kerala at Bekal Tourism Zone in North Kerala.

The Group might look at the six properties being offered by Delhi government in view of the Commonwealth Games, said Nair. The Leela Palace Bangalore has one of the highest average room rates (ARR) in Asia at Rs14,000, Peter J Leitgeb, president, Leela Palaces and Resorts said. The hotel also has an 85% occupancy during weekdays, he added. Due to high turn-away factor, an additional wing of 120 guest rooms is being added with an investment of Rs400mn. This wing is expected to be operational by May 2006. The Leela Kempinski Mumbai is also undergoing a refurbishment programme at a cost of Rs900mn. 119 guest rooms are being renovated to suit the needs of business travelers.

IDFC offers Rs 300cr

IDFC is in the process of funding about Rs 300 crore for the proposed greenfield Hyderabad International Airport project. The Managing Director of IDFC, Rajiv B. Lall, said that IDFC as a lead institution, facility, and security agent is actively engaged in the project finance for the Rs 1,763-crore airport project.

The project has debt component of Rs 519 crore and Rs 300 crore from IDFC would be a major chunk in the funding arrangement made through a consortium of banks and financial institutions. The project is at an advanced stage of achieving financial closure, which is expected to be completed on schedule. Speaking to newspersons after IDFC filed its draft red herring prospectus on May 18, Lall said that the book-building process is aimed at investors, including Government and financial institutions offloading their shares.

Lall said that the infrastructure development in the country has gathered momentum, offering scope for funding agencies such as IDFC. "As a specialised infrastructure funding agency, IDFC is positioned strategically and exploring funding options in infrastructure projects such as roads, airports, and the energy sector."

In the fiscal gone by, IDFC recorded its highest-ever gross approvals, which were pegged at Rs 6,414 crore for 59 projects against Rs 5,720 crore for 83 projects in the previous year. The cumulative approvals grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 36 per cent at Rs 24,594 crore for 198 projects and approvals net of cancellations were Rs 14,980 crore.

IDFC's assets are estimated at Rs 9,000 crore, Lall said. About 50 per cent of the Rs 850-crore private equity infrastructure fund has been committed and IDFC's share as a percentage of total private infrastructure financing is about 20-25 per cent. This is set to grow to about 30 per cent in the current year, Lall added.

Referring to IDFC's proposed IPO, he said: "IDFC had started the process of redefining its business plan following approval by the company board and the Government, with the latter being the major shareholder with 35 per cent equity. We have filed for the IPO with the SEBI and expect to get approval within two weeks; the public offering is likely by June-end."

New Map Policy to encourage GIS

The New Map Policy announced by the Centre is expected to boost the Geographical Information Systems (GIS)-based industry, as well as help create a range of databases, which could be used in better planning and implementation of development projects.

The policy, announced by the Union Minister for Science and Technology, Kapil Sibal, will allow for two sets of maps - one for civilian utility, the Open Series Maps (OSMs), and the Defence Series Maps (DSMs). The Survey of India, under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), will be the nodal agency to make available these maps.

India, with an area of about 32,87,263 sq. km., has been covered through topographical and geographical maps. The topographical maps are large format in the scale of 1:25,000 and 1:50,000 sheets and useful to professionals such as geographers, engineers, planners, tourists and foresters. The geographical maps are small scale 1:2,50,000. These are used by various government agencies and research organisations.

However, most of these maps have been made several decades ago. With the changed demands and the availability of satellite imagery, the need is to generate maps of the scale 1:10,000 and lower, which could be used in development projects. Here, the private sector can see an opportunity both in preparing such maps and creating databases.

Though the policy says the civilian maps would provide coordinates, heights, etc., a lot would depend on the contents of the map. Similarly, the industry apprehension remains whether the maps would be freely available or another body would screen them.

The Survey of India has been asked to create a National Digital Topographical Database (NDTB). The use of OSMs would be through registration. A map information registry database is being created. And maps of scale 1:1 million and smaller are being de-classified.

With the growing role for the private sector in providing services to the government and local bodies, there is a need for the creation of a whole scale of new set of maps. The policy's flexibility allowing private agencies to carry out surveys in all parts of the country using public domain data would be a positive step.

There has been persistent demand from the growing private industry using the maps, especially the GIS, Global Positioning Systems, travel and tourism and the infrastructure developers for the removal of restrictions on access to maps. At present, for example, GIS-based companies in India do 90 per cent of their business through foreign projects and only 10 per cent domestic due to the restrictions on the access to digital maps. This situation would significantly reverse, if the policy is implemented in toto, said G.S. Kumar, Chairman of the Map World Technologies and former Director of Survey of India.

The liberalisation in access to maps would help both the private sector and the government organisations. In addition to telecom, planning in infrastructure projects, marketing activities, land records, water and natural resources management and municipalities would gain from the databases that could be created.

During the last 5-6 years, the access to maps became more difficult, especially with the availability of technology to put the maps in digital format. The Ministry of Defence put up a rigid front with issues of security and sensitive nature of the map data being cited in defence, industry experts said.

The industry has been stating that restrictions were slowing down development work and the growth of the sector. For a long time, publication of maps in any form, including in geography textbooks, needed the permission of the Surveyor General of India. There are other restrictions related to defence installations or vital civil areas and features such as reservoirs and dams.

However, with satellite imagery of high resolution coming in and becoming available, especially the one-metre resolution Ikonos images, restrictions were questioned by a section of scientists and private companies needing maps. Though the Indian Space Research Organisation put a committee to screen the request and provide these images of India to private companies, the process took three months. While a foreign company could get the maps immediately, hence neither a level playing field nor the security issues could be taken care off.

The Survey of India has generated invaluable data in the form of maps, toposheets of various scales, which provide the basis for the emergence of strong players in the sector. Similarly, the satellite imagery through the Remote Sensing Satellites, and even the recent Cartosat-I, with a resolution of 2.5 metres, and the Cartosat-II (about one metre resolution), scheduled for launch towards the end of 2005 would generate a wealth of data, which could be utilised for planning and creating appropriate databases.

Hyderabad airport expansion contract

Malaysian Airports Authority (MAA) has been awarded the contract for the expansion of Hyderabad airport, Indian High Commissioner to the country, R L Narayan said today.

Narayan told reporters at a joint press meet that MAA has also been shortlisted for modernisation of Delhi and Mumbai airports. With business and trade relations between India and Malaysia increasing and presence of a number of it companies in the malaysian multimedia super corridor, "the inbound and outbound tourist travel is set to enhance further," he said.

Narayan said Malaysian Airlines, which was already operating to seven destinations in India, proposed to add three more destinations. Malaysian tourism deputy minister Y B Dato Zahid Hamidi said a delegation, led by his country's tourism minister Leo Michael Toyad, would arrive in India this September. The delegation, with a view to fostering better relations between the two countries, would visit Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

Sonata opens second centre

Sonata Software Ltd, an IT consulting and software services provider, has announced the inauguration of its Hyderabad development centre, its fourth in India.

The IT Director of TUI UK, Keith Norman, inaugurated the Sonata facility, which will locate TUI's offshore development centre (ODC) and support its IT requirements. TUI is UK's largest holiday company and employs over 9,000 people serving 40 holiday destinations around the world.

The Hyderabad centre spread over 90,000 sq. ft. in five floors has the capacity to host 800 IT professionals.

Big plans for big cats

Even as the dwindling tiger population continues to concern authorities, the Science and Technology Ministry is setting up a facility for conservation of endangered species and has worked out a plan to map the genetic diversity of the big cats as part of the programme. The Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), a Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) lab in Hyderabad, is setting up the facility for conservation of endangered species, Science and Technology Minister Kapil Sibal told reporters here today.

The facility, to be called LACONES, would be inaugurated in July, he said, adding it would chart out programmes for conservation of endangered species such as vultures and tigers. A programme has been made to map genetic diversity of tigers, he said. It is important because loss of genetic diversity could lead to extinction of the species concerned, he said. If there is enough genetic diversity, the species could be preserved. However, if there is less genetic diversity, tigers need to be brought from outside to create genetic diversity, he said. (Agencies)

Kirloskar Bros bags water project

Kirloskar Brothers has received a letter of award from Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board for a value of Rs 78.62 crore.

According to a release issued by Kirloskar Brothers to the BSE, the project envisates design, manufacture, supply, creation and commissioning of clear water pumping plants under Krishna Drinking Water Supply Project Phase-II.

Andhra Bank ties up with LIC

Andhra Bank and Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) of India have entered into a strategic tie-up for developing bancassurance.

The memorandum of understanding which was signed on Thursday will enable Andhra Bank to become the corporate agent of LIC to provide insurance cover through the wide range of products of LIC to the large customer base of the bank.

According to him Andhra Bank already has an association with LIC for the last two years for some of the products like AB Jeevan Abhaya, AB Jeevan Abhaya Special, AB Jeevan Prakash, AB Jeevan Prakash Plus and liability insurance on its retail loan products.

British Library, OU agreement

Ambience, lighting and colour patterns have a bearing on reading. You will be convinced about this after seeing the renovated British Library. This is the second library, after the one in Chennai, to have cushy interiors in mint green shades, wooden flooring imported from Switzerland and aluminum panels on the walls.

"This is an effort to make reading in the library a pleasure," says Edmund Marsden, Minister (Cultural Affairs), British High Commission. The British Council spent more than Rs 1 crore for the refurbishing the library, putting up a fire safety mechanism, increasing the number of computers and more. Osmania University Vice-Chancellor Prof Suleman Siddiqi formally inaugurated the renovated library. The Council will work to promote academic links with various institutions in the State.It will identify key research and development institutions and produce a document base for the UK centres seeking partnerships, he says adding that Visakhapatnam in the State will soon see an increased activity of the Council.

It will also network with Women’s Studies units at Sri Venkateshwara University and Andhra University. About 25 schools in Hyderabad will be identified for the Young Learners English programme offered by the British Library, says the Minister.
Buzz-events organised for young people—which has been launched in Chennai will be extended to Hyderabad in October this year, he adds. British Library and Osmania University will meet soon to discuss the feasibility of sharing knowledge tools like books and reference journals. The university has a rich collection of books and some rare manuscripts. British Council South India director Eunice Crook, AP State Council of Higher Education former chairman Prof C Subba Rao and British Library manager Sudhakar Goud shared their thoughts about the library.

Gold souk malls

The Rs 300-crore Aerens Group plans to launch specialty malls across India. G.S. Pillai, Director, Aerens Goldsouk International Ltd, said that the first phase would cover Gurgaon, Ludhiana, Jaipur, Kochi, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Kolkata.

He said that each of these malls would need an investment of about Rs 80 crore to Rs 110 crore and the construction would take two years. The first specialty mall, the Gold Souk, came up in Gurgaon near New Delhi in October 2004 and houses some of the big names in the jewellery business in India and aboard. The second mall in Ludhiana is a Gold Souk and Wedding Souk. The mall is spread over four acres and is expected to open in 2007.

In Chennai, the company plans to come out with a mall, which caters to the gold and wedding markets as well as the construction and home improvement market. This would be called the Home Souk. The work on this mall will start by October or November, Pillai said. The company also plans to set up a Gold and Wedding Souk in Kochi. Pillai said the company has plans to enter the service apartment segment in all the cities that the Gold Souks are planned.

First awake heart surgery

Kamineni Hospitals cardiac surgeon Dr Sunil Agarwal and cardiac anaesthesiologists Dr Sai Satyanarayana and Dr Phaneshwar have performed its first 'awake heart surgery' last week using cervical epidural anaesthesia. This is a special anaesthesia technique used to perform open heart surgery in an awake patient. This does not paralyse or comatose the patients. The patients can interact with the doctors. The recovery is faster in this method, said Dr CR Patnaik, chief of the anaesthesiology department.

The patient was admitted with aortic stenosis and needed a valve replacement. "The patient was awake and responded to the commands during the surgery," he said. Dr Sai and Dr Agarwal said the new method with 'beating heart surgery' would reduce the complications. The new method will reduce the costs of surgery, said Kamineni managing director Dr. K Shashidhar in a press release.

6 new galleries at State Museum

A confluence of ancientness and modernity dotted with relics from the bygone centuries greeted the visitors. Right from the sacred relics of Buddha to the Egyptian mummy of a 16-year-old girl to myriad forms of cannons, the six new galleries at the AP State Museum present a picture of novelty. The platinum jubilee celebrations of the museum saw the galleries being thrown open for the public here on Wednesday.

Decorative Art Gallery showcases more than 400 items made of terracota, ivory, agate, crystal and many more. Move on to Egyptian Mummy Gallery housing the only mummy in South India apart from the Four Pillared Mandapa, Buddhist Sculptural, Inscription and Cannon galleries for a feel of historical artefacts.

A new lease of life has been injected to the museum founded by the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, Nawab Mir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur wayback in 1930. The artefacts are on display along with descriptions in many languages including Arabic, Persian, Telugu and English. Speaking after the inauguration, Andhra Pradesh Governor Sushil Kumar Shinde said that the general public, NGOs and different people’s organisations should come forward to preserve their culture and traditions.

Asian Rowing Championship

The picturesque Hussain Sagar lake is gearing up to host the 11th Asian Rowing Championship to be held here from October 18 to 23. Sailors from over 22 countries are expected to participate in as many as 18 events will be held in eight boat classes for both men and women.

President of Indian Rowing Federation today told reporters here that world class rowers from China, Japan, Korea, Taipei, Hong Kong, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and other Asian countries will take part in the blue riband event. All races will be rowed on a six-lane marked course.

A grandstand at People's Plaza is coming up and the recing will be conducted alongside the necklace road. Hyderabad had faced tough bids from Pune and Chandigarh. The national team having many international medallists and national champions is expected to perform well during the championship. It is already training in Hyderabad. India ranks second among Asian countries in rowing.

AppLabs Tech's new facility

AppLabs Technologies, a global software testing and development services company, announced the opening of its new facility, AppLabs Global Engineering Centre, here on Wednesday. The new facility at Hyderabad can house around 1000 software professionals.

The six-floored facility is equipped with the state-of-the-art modular work spaces, secure high-speed connectivity, a learning centre, gaming room, spacious cafeteria and a gymnasium. AppLabs at present has a headcount of 600 at its offshore technology centre here.

Backed by WestBridge Capital Partners of Philadelphia, AppLabs maintains testing centers in London, Utah and Hyderabad.

New ITsecretary

"I would like to see Andhra Pradesh make rapid strides in information technology (IT) and occupy No 1 position in the country" said K Ratna Prabha, who has taken charge as the secretary of the Information Technology department on Wednesday.

Ratna Prabha, who happens to be the first woman officer heading the IT department in the State, said: "I am very happy and excited. Information technology is the subject of my heart. I will do my best."

A 1981-batch IAS officer, Ratna Prabha said that her focus would be on promoting investments in information technology sector in the State and also taking IT to rural areas. Ratna Prabha said that she would concentrate on promoting IT in cities like Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntur, Tirupati, Warangal and Nellore.

She pointed out that several Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and multinational companies were evincing interest in investing in IT in the State. "They could be motivated to set up their IT offices in the these cities and utilise the services of the young IT professionals coming out of engineering colleges. This would help in generating employment locally," she observed. Stating that she has put in 23 years of government service so far, Ratna Prabha said: "Whichever department I worked, I put my heart and soul into it."

She has last served as the officer on special duty, Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd (APIIC), Visakhapatnam. Thanking the Government for having faith in her and picking her to head the IT department, Ratna Prabha said that she would work to do justice to the challenging assignment.

Samsung targets Rs 250 cr business

The Samsung India Electronics Limited (SMIEL) has fixed itself a business target of Rs 250 crore in Andhra Pradesh during the current financial year 2005-2006. Company's Deputy Managing Director Ravindra Zutshi said this includes Rs 125 crore from the coastal region. The coastal Andhra region was developing fast and the people preferred to buy modern gadgets.

He said the company had registered 70 per cent growth rate in business in the coastal region, in the last four years. He said the company would soon open a big digital showroom each in Hyderabad, Vijayawada and Vishakapatnam. Samsung has come up with 31 models of refrigerators and 14 models of air-conditioners, he said.

BMI may fly to Hyderabad

Open skies has led to clenched fists among airlines. Adding to about 60 non stop flights a week between India and London. British Midland Airways or BMI has announced four more flights between Mumbai and London. BMI is offering economy tickets between Rs 30,000 and Rs 40,000 and business class fares at around Rs 96,000. The airline says it would also like to fly to cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore and is hoping that it would get government permission soon. The company also hopes to break even very soon.

Urban governance to get a boost

Sanjay Jaju on Tuesday assumed charge as the Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH). He succeeds Chitra Ramachandran who has been appointed Secretary for Youth Services and Sports.

He said he would strive for the all-round development of Hyderabad and sought the support of people, elected representatives and officials to his endeavour. Top priority would be given to citizen-friendly initiatives, IT and urban governance, he said. Jaju said he would take the people, elected representatives and officials into confidence before taking any major decisions on administrative matters.

The MCH Commissioner said he would work in co-ordination with the HMWS&SB, HUDA, CPDCL, APSRTC, police and other departments in implementing development schemes.

Jaju who worked as the Municipal Commissioner of Visakhapatnam earlier, has got good experience in urban governance. After giving a farewell to outgoing Commissioner Chitra Ramachandran, the commissioner met Mayor Teegala Krishna Reddy in the latter’s chamber and discussed various development schemes.

Heat increases snow park popularity

With the mercury touching 43 degrees centigrade in Hyderabad, everyone is flocking to a snow park in the middle of the city. For Rs 250, one can spend an hour at Snow World, which is Asia's biggest snow park. The park has been built over 17000 square feet at a cost of Rs 13 crore. With artificial snow to play with and temperature at -4 degrees, it is like being trans-located to Switzerland. "We came to do sightseeing in Hyderabad and after coming here, I have forgotten about the heat outside. It is so cold here," said a visitor.

Hit among tourists

Upto 300 people can play volleyball, take joy rides or simply feel the snow on the back at any given time. The country's only snow park is already a hit among the tourists. "Due to this hot summer, people are not venturing out. That is the problem. Weekends are very good. Even after 3:30 pm, sessions are very good," said M Krishna Gupta, Executive Director, Snow World. Going to an air-conditioned cinema hall in Hyderabad to beat the heat is passé. In the Snow World, you have a polar bear and penguins for company and summer blues are the last thing on your mind.

Radio City looks at Hyderabad

Radio City will bid for the licence of 20-25 stations in the second phase of privatisation. In an exclusive interview with agencyfaqs!, Amber Basu, vice-president, finance and marketing, Music Broadcast Pvt Ltd., which runs Radio City, says, "We are waiting for the second phase of privatisation, which will open up around 300 more markets for radio channels."

The second phase of licensing will probably happen by end-September 2005, Basu says. For Radio City, the metros will be the priority. As Basu says, "We plan to expand to other cities such as Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad." At present, Radio City has stations in four cities – Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Lucknow.

In the second phase of privatisation, the industry is looking forward to a revenue sharing model and not a fixed license fees. He says, "Depending on the government's decision on license fees, we will have to look at the viability of the business model. One also needs to look at the investment required for the infrastructure. After considering all these aspects, we will decide on the markets and the number of cities."

Satyam bags $1-million deal

Hyderabad-based Satyam Computer Services Limited, a global consulting and IT services provider, has announced that it has bagged a $ 1-million Oracle e-business suite deal from Jordan's third largest GSM operator, Umniah Mobile Company (UMC).

Satyam will implement a customer relationship management (CRM) solution with a point-of-sale (POS) system for UMC’s customer contact centre, a press release said.

This will be integrated with Oracle financials, procurement and inventory modules in the back office. These systems will further be integrated with UMC's mediation, provisioning, billing systems and intelligent network (IN).

Ajith Menon, head of Satyam’s Middle East operations, said, “With this development, we will be contributing to Umniah Mobile Company's growth strategy by offering a CRM solution, application design and development on a global scale.”

“We were looking for a technology partner with expertise in the telecom domain and a strong track record in implementing Oracle applications for new GSM operators. Satyam met our requirements beyond expectations,” Michael Douglas, partner and chief executive officer of UMC, said.

BSNL, Oxigen partnership

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) has joined hands with Oxigen, a private pre-paid services company, to offer e-Pin, an electronically deliverable recharge facility.

The facility, launched in Hyderabad, India, recently would let CellOne prepaid customers get their accounts recharged using Andhra Bank ATMs, AP Online and thousands of retail outlets hooked onto the Oxigen server.

Cartosat II launch by year-end

India's second satellite for detailed town mapping, Cartosat II, will be launched by the end of this year, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair said today. Addressing a press conference here this evening, Nair described as "highly satisfying" the twin launch of Cartosat I and Hamsat from the new launch pad at Sriharikota, witnessed by President A P J Abdul Kalam, on May five.

Both the satellites had started functioning, with Cartosat I sending detailed images of the entire Amritsar town in Punjab and parts of Gujarat and Rajasthan within 24 hours of the launch. Hamsat, meant for amateur radio communication, had also been well received by users worldwide as it was the only fully functional satellite of its kind now.

About Cartosat II, the ISRO chief said it was being integrated and would be ready for launch within six months. The launch would also see India testing its dual launch capability with two payloads of equal weight being sent into space. Besides Cartosat II, a recoverable module would also be launched. Each would weigh 250 kg.

The country would also see its first commercial launch of a foreign satellite early next year, when an Italian satellite "Agile" would be launched aboard a PSLV, he said. Stating that Antrix, the commercial corporation under ISRO, had netted Rs 300 crore in revenue last year through sale of data, launch services and sale of sub-systems, Nair said it was expecting a 25 per cent increase in revenues this year.

The Chandrayan-1 Moon Mission, Oceansat and Astrosat were some of the other major missions, which the ISRO was presently working on, and which would be ready for launch during 2007-07, Nair said. In the near future, the premier space agency would be launching INSAT 4A in August and INSAT 4C next year, he added.

ISRO had reached an understanding with the Hyderabad-based Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL) to manufacture a 34 meter dish antenna, to be located near Bangalore, as part of the deep space tracking network to be set up by ISRO for the Chandrayan mission.

Describing the Chandrayan mission as an ambitious project of ISRO, Nair said the organisation would have to fabricate a number of new scientific instruments for it. Besides ISRO's own payload, three Euorpean payloads had been cleared to ride "piggyback" aboard the mission. Clearance was still awaited for two US payloads, he added.

Referring to Cartosat II, Nair said it would be equipped with added features, which would enable it to map different regions during its daily "pass" over the country. "There are 160 towns in the country, which need to be mapped in detail. These two satellites, providing 3-D images, would come in very handy for the purpose" An international space law conference would be held at Bangalore from June 27 to 29, he said.

In reply to a query on the tsunami early warning system, Nair said ISRO would help the Department of Ocean Development (DOD) in the development of ocean bed sensors and the transmission of signals from the sea to the ground.

Intelligroup plans two more facilities

US-based Intelligroup Inc, a strategic IT consulting service provider that operates through its wholly-owned subsidiary Intelligroup Asia Private Limited in India, is planning to add two new facilities in India within the next three months.

While one of them is slated to be in Hyderabad, the second is likely to come up in Bangalore. Ranjit Prithviraj, chief operations officer, Intelligroup Asia Private Limited, said, "Within the next three months, we will be setting up two new facilities, one each in Hyderabad and Bangalore. This will take our total number of facilities in India to four." Intelligroup currently has two facilities in India and both of them are in Hyderabad.

The company's total global headcount is 2,000 with around 1,400 being in India. It is expecting a year-on-year growth of 40 per cent in its workforce.

Besides, although the company''s major revenues at present come from abroad, it is planning to increase its presence in the Indian market as well.

Lucent to recruit 400 more

New Jersey-based Lucent Technologies, a global leader in system, service and software development for next-generation communications network, is expanding its software development processes in India. Lucent has plans to recruit 400 more techies at its Indian software development centres in Bangalore and Hyderabad.

Lucent currently has a total headcount of 1,400 people in these two R&D units. “We will add another 400 people by end of the year. It is part of the regular process of expansion in India. In fact, we have added 300 people over the last one year in these two units,” C S Rao, president & CEO, Lucent Technologies Hindustan, told newspersons on the sidelines of a corporate social responsibility project.

The two Indian development centres of the company are currently engaged in development of software packages for use by telecom companies. Lucent is eyeing India for conducting basic research in the software area as well. “We are hopeful that we will get some breakthroughs and patents out of India,” he said.

Hyderabad Utsav Mela

Variety of products ranging from textiles, dress materials, suits, Bengal cotton sarees, Lucknow chicken dresses and many more are for the taking at the Hyderabad Utsav Mela - 2005 which is on at Necklace Road.

Moreover, there are heavy discounts for different products. There are also 20 varieties of amusement rides apart from food items, a magic show and dog show. The exhibition will conclude on May 18, according to a press release.

Matrix's plans for $200m global offering

Matrix Laboratories Ltd is currently on the verge of finalising a global offering to the tune of $200-million for meeting its growth objectives.

A senior Matrix Lab official told Business Line that the company has decided to go in for the global offering also to fund the capital expenditure needs for the increased business opportunities and to tap opportunities emerging in the global markets.

The company proposes to raise funds from the international capital markets by offering American Depository Receipts (ADRs), Global Depository Receipts (GDRs), foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) or international bonds, the official said.

Five-day week?

The State government is considering the idea of a five-day week for its employees. To begin with, the proposal is being limited to the staff working in the city. According to government sources, chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy sounded positively when some senior bureaucrats, who were tasked with suggesting administrative reforms, suggested the idea with him recently. "However, the chief minister wanted a larger debate on the idea, before implementing it," a senior officer involved in the process said. The government is also proposing to have a discussion with the representatives of the gazetted and non-gazetted officers associations on the five-day week job. "In the new system, office hours can be from 9 am to 5.30 pm," the officer said.

The Hyderabad Dream

First off thanks guys... Its really interesting to know what we Hyderabadis want, we want Hyderabad to be the place on earth where you can have everything. Search queries which lead you guys here tell me what you are looking for and it feels good, and tells me what Hyderabadis online look for about their city...

Top queries
1) International Airport Hyderabad
2) Hyderabad Map
3) Flight Schedules
4) Jobs in satyam or cognizant
5) Real estate in Shamshabad
6) Outer Ring Road

So all we want is our city to be developed and be as those cities in the first world. But that package comes with lot of bonuses like, crime, fraud, greed and a more unnawabi lifestyle which we already feel happening, do we really want it? I and most of us want a sustained growth, real growth and result oriented growth. Where everyone benefits out of it, not only those who are educated and living the true Hyderabadi dream living in Hyderabad or abroad, but also those who are on the streets dreaming to be one of them.

The news is that this site has a new mirror. A mirror with a proper domain name www.cyberabadtimes.net , if the traffic peaks in here you will be redirected to the exact location on its mirror. So improved performance! And a most detailed Map coming soon! Please enjoy your stay, Happy browsing.

New cosmos at planetarium

B.M. Birla Planetarium has introduced a new astronomical sky show, The new cosmos, that takes viewers through an exciting journey of galaxies and dramatic and revolutionary changes in the universe.

B.G. Siddharth, Director of the planetarium, on Sunday said the show would highlight the recent scientific findings that dark energy permeates all space leading to expansion of the universe unlike the earlier belief that it consisted of dark matter, and that it would collapse.

Easy visa process for US-bound students

Indian students heading to USA for higher studies are likely to face less hurdles in obtaining visas if the US Government takes a serious view of the report published by its National Research Council (NRC) recently.

The report released a few days ago, says foreign students played a vital role in American graduate education in the sciences, but numerous U.S. policies were failing to help colleges enrol them in a big way. It recommended various steps including easy visa procedures, change of visa status and fellowships to attract the best talent that was heading to other countries in view of the strict visa regulations.

Largest group

Indian students form the largest group of foreign students in the US universities with more than 70,000 taking fresh admissions this year.

Till last year, China was sending more number of students than any other country.

The NRC, which is a part of the National Academies comprising the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine indicated in its report that since the September 11 attacks and the subsequent tightening of U.S. visa regulations it was becoming more difficult for foreign students to get enrolment into American institutions.

The report also notes that this change has taken place at a time when many other countries were expanding their technological and educational capacities and creating more opportunities for participation by international students.

The report reminds that international students have advanced the US Sciences and engineering arenas and the number of patents, publications and Nobel prizes only indicate that. A substantial number of people in the Science and Engineering research were from other countries and their role has been increasing over the years.

For example, one third of US Nobel laureates are foreign-born and 59 per cent of post-doctorals in the US now are also foreign-born.

"If the human resource flow is reduced it would have a cumulative effect on hiring in the universities, industry and Government," the report said.

"If the US is to maintain overall leadership in Science and Engineering, visa and immigration policies should provide clear procedures. For this better coordination between the Departments of State (DOS) and Homeland Security (DHS) and research institutions was must," the report argued.

Funds for old city

Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi on Sunday urged Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy to allocate more funds for development of the Old City.

Congratulating Rajasekhara Reddy on completing one year in office, Owaisi appealed to him to take measures to see that Godavari river waters were brought to the city on a permanent basis to cater to the drinking water requirements of the people.

In a statement here, Owaisi asked the Congress Government to seriously explore ways to restart talks with the Naxalites. The government should prevent fake encounters, he said.

Stating that enhancing the budget for minority welfare to Rs 49 crore was encouraging, he pointed out that there was a need to further increase the allocation taking into consideration the socio-economic backwardness of the minorities in particular the Muslim minorities.

Tsunami warning centre at Hyderabad

The Tsunami Warning Centre, planned for India, will be almost equal in technology deployment when compared with the Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre set up by 26 member countries.

This centre will be called Deep Ocean Assessment and Reporting Centre, says Tsunami, a book recently published by the National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (NISCAIR). The book was released on the World Technology Day (May 11).

The Tsunami Warning Centre is likely to be set up by September 2007 at an estimated investment of Rs 125 crore. The main station will be located in Hyderabad.

The system will have 12 seafloor sensors as compared to six in the Pacific network. The seafloor pressure sensors, tidal gauges and a three-dimensional digital model of the Indian Ocean will be heart of such a system, said the book published by NISCAIR.

Explaining the working of the system, the book said geophysicists would use the computer model to stimulate fluid flow in ocean basin to assess tsunami risk for coastal communities once details of the undersea earthquakewere fed into the model.

However, currently a model for the Indian Ocean does not exist. It has to be developed using detailed topography of the seafloor, the book said.

The Pacific network consists of hundreds of seismic-monitoring stations worldwide as well as coastal tide guages, besides sophisticated deep-ocean assessment and reporting of tsunamis (DART) buoys in the Pacific basin.

Prajay's Rs 500-crore plan

Hyderabad-based realtor Prajay Engineers Syndicate Limited is planning to get into the hospitality business in a big way. By the end of 2008-09, the company plans to operate at least 500 three-star and five-star hotel rooms under its banner in Hyderabad and Bangalore. For this, it has outlined an investment of up to Rs 500 crore.

PESL got approvals to set up a 60-room three-star hotel on its club premises at Shamirpet. The three-star hotel would later be developed into a five-star one with 120 rooms. The work on the hotel is slated to start in the second week of July and is likely to be completed within 15 months after that. The company would be investing between Rs 10 crore and Rs 18 crore for the said purpose.

PESL has Celebrity Club (recreation centre) besides a number of commercial complexes, independent houses and housing colonies to its credit. They are also in the process of finalising land at Shamshabad and Hitech City to set up either three-star or five-star hotels. This apart, they are also scouting for lands in Banjara Hills and Bangalore for the same purpose. PESL is also bidding for a four-acre property of the Andhra Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC) at Shilparamam to set up a five-star hotel. The company, may even tie-up with an existing hotel chain to manage its hotels. For all this, PESL would require a minimum amount of Rs 350 crore. As the costs escalate in future, the company expects its investment to go up to even Rs 500 crore.

The company is also setting up a 180-hole PGA class golf course in an extent of 130 acres on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The land has been taken on a BOT basis from APTDC for a period of 33 years. The ground-breaking ceremony is expected to be done in August this year and the golf course is expected to be operational in 18 months from then.

Virtusa receives BS 7799 Certification

The Hyderabad Advance Technology Center of Virtusa Corp, has received the BS 7799 Certification, a global standard for an Information Security Management System, from the British Standards Institution (BSI).

The certification covers the management of Information Security in the design, testing and maintenance of software and organization-specific software platform.

BS 7799 certification provides independent verification of an organization's compliance with specific standards and procedures concerning the protection and management of sensitive customer information. BS 7799 contains a number of control objectives including Security policy, Organizational security, Asset classification and control, Personnel security, Physical and environmental security, Communications and operations management, Access control, System development and maintenance, Business continuity management and Compliance.

Too much for rededication

The Government's 'rededication' function shows how dedicated are politicians to make our life misarable.

courtesy : The Hindu

PCB acquires two new facilities

Mobile air quality monitoring station also suggests necessary action
Hazardous waste laboratory helps generate data for policy measures

The Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has acquired two new facilities, a mobile online ambient air quality monitoring station and hazardous waste laboratory, which were inaugurated by the Chief Secretary, Mohan Kanda here on Saturday.

The mobile laboratory monitors the air quality at a site and assesses air pollution caused by sources including industries and exhaust gas from automobiles. It will help determine whether the air quality at a particular site meets the environmental standardsand also in establishing grounds for necessary measures.

The laboratory has gas analysers and meteorological sensors to assess air quality and will help generate data needed for policy measures for corrective action on environment front, PCB officials observed.

The hazardous waste laboratory has been equipped with an apparatus to measure the flash point of volatile liquids based on which the ignitability could be assessed and bomb calorimeter to measure the calorific value of the organic substances. It also has TCLP extractor, TOC analyser and a pH meter.

International Women's Film Festival

Here's something directed exclusively by women. Hyderabad is known for it's woman power. Now its going to be given food for expression in a Women's International Film Festival to be held at Hyderabad Film Club, between May 20 and 25.

Its called Made by Women. The movies will be screened in the evening, between 6 and 9 pm. The film fest is being organised in collaboration with Point of View, Mumbai. The first day is scheduled to screen an animation film called Harlequin. It's a snippet from Lotte Reiniger's body of work, the first director to make an animated feature film. She has a unique silhouette animation style. There are two other award-winning documentary movies slated for the very first day.

Margreth Olin's My Body, from Norway, is about a woman's self-conscious reflections on her body's imperfections. Her search for identity resonates with the women across all walks of life. It's not all about only women; Underground Orchestra by Heddy Honigman is a documentary film about the refugees in exile in Paris, who perform in subways for survival. The Day I Became a Woman, Marziyeh Meshkini's debut film from Iran, which won Best Film award at the Venice Film Festival, is a surreal feature film about three different women in three episodes.

Mona Lisa Descending A Staircase, by Joan Gratz, from USA, is an animation film, which won the Oscar Award for best short film in 1993. It traces the development of modern art from Van Gogh to Warhol, through clay painting. The only Indian entry is Ligy Pullapally's Sancharam (Journey), a feature film of 107 minutes. It has a lesbian theme. Set in Kerela, it explores the relationship between a christian and a Nair girl. The film won the Best film award at Chicago International Film Festival, 2004.

Other movies to be screened are a feature film called, How I killed my father, by Anne Fontaine from France, a documentary film called Purity from Israel.

Construction cost up in Hyderabad

Construction cost index recorded a 1.17 percent rise during the fourth quarter of last fiscal, mainly due to increase in basic prices inputs for cement and steel, said Construction Industry Development Council (CIDC). The index, on an average, rose 0.39 percent every month during the fourth quarter, a CIDC official said quoting its category-wise updates on Construction Cost Indices (CCI).

The highest construction cost increase was registered in Mumbai at 1.9 percent, followed by Hyderabad (1.53 percent), Delhi (1.48 percent) during the fourth quarter review period. Kolkata recorded an increase of 1.47 percent and Chennai clocked a 1.43 percent while the construction cost increased the lowest at 1.35 percent in Bangalore.

However, the cost index with respect to its base period January, 1998 till the same month this year rose the highest for building construction in Hyderabad by 5.64 percent while the lowest rise was recorded in Chennai at 2.82 percent. Hyderabad was followed by Kolkata at 4.83 percent, Mumbai (4.6 percent), Delhi (3.4 percent), Bangalore (3.03 percent).

In the important road construction category, the cost rose the maximum in Kolkata at 4.97 percent while the minimum rise was recorded in Chennai at 3.08 percent. Road construction increased 4.86 percent in Hyderabad, 4.41 percent in Mumbai, 4.4 percent in Bangalore and 4.26 percent in Delhi.

Geeta Reddy visits UAE

Reddy, who was in Dubai to attend the recently-concluded Arabian Travel Market (ATM), met with Dr Mohammed Al Banna, Regional Manager - Asia, Jafza, where they discussed the possibility of companies involved in the IT and health care sectors in Andhra Pradesh setting up operations in the South Zone.

"The fact that Jafza offers 100 per cent ownership and a tax-free environment, not to mention the convenience of a port within the zone, is a major incentive for investment. Also, the infrastructure of Jafza, as well as the facilities it offers, is excellent," Dr Geeta Reddy said.

Reddy's visit is aimed mainly at preparing the ground for a trip to Dubai by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy which could lead to greater cooperation between the State and the Government of Dubai.

Dr Mohammed Al Banna said, "The visit by Dr Reddy is in keeping with the close business relations Dubai has traditionally shared with Andhra Pradesh. Besides being strategically located between Asia and Europe, Dubai is the commercial and industrial hub of the region, and the investment opportunities it offers is nowhere more exemplified than in Jafza."

The South Zone is being built to meet the unremitting demand for space in Jafza. The zone is divided into 8 clusters, each dedicated to a particular sector.

CARTOSAT-1 Initial Image , Amritsar

Unisys plans second unit

Unisys Corp is firming up plans to set up its second centre in India by the year-end. The choices for locating the facility have been narrowed down to Hyderabad, Chennai and Kolkata. The Managing Director of Unisys Global Services-India, Mukul Agrawal, told Business Line that the focus of this second unit would be IT and the BPO (business processes outsourcing).

It plans to invest about $50 million. By June-July, the decision on where to locate the facility would be taken. About 1,000 people are to be employed in the Centre. The company's expansion would also take care of the bulk of activity that is proposed to be moved out of the US into India. Banking, insurance and airlines have been the strong sectors for Unisys traditionally. Offshore work for US companies through call centres, BPO and remote operations are the major thrust. In India, it is banking on the growing airlines, telecom, banking (payment processing) areas to source significant contracts. It wants to offer end-to-end solutions in the proposed BPO centre. In software, the stress would be on technical skills, he said.

MCH launches cleanliness drive

The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) launched an intensive 20-day ‘debris cleaning drive’ from today. In this connection, Deputy Mayor Subash Chanderji and Standing Committee chairman D Mohan flagged off 30 vehicles at Dhobighat in Saidabad.

This website’s newspaper had carried a four-part series focussing garbage problem in the city. The MCH is now involving officers in the seven municipal circles in the city for monitoring the drive.

About 30 vehicles will be pressed into service for the purpose of clearing garbage. Each vehicle would have to make three trips a day to shift the garbage to the dumps.

Assistant Medical Officer Health (AMOH) will supervise the removal of garbage. Chief Transport Officer (CTO) will make surprise inspections and monitor day-to-day work.

Krishna water pipeline finalised

With the water levels in Singoor Reservoir receding, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWS&SB) has decided to lay a 42-45 km-long pipeline from Saheb Nagar to Lingampally in two weeks to bring Krishna waters to the new city. In this connection, the Water Board has already finalised the tenders and work orders will be issued in a day or two. Speaking to this website’s newspaper, HMWS&SB director (Projects) D Ramakrishna said that just 2.6 tmcft was present in the Singoor reservoir as against the storage capacity of 30 tmcft.

The HMWS&SB, to meet the water demands in the peak summer, had begun pumping water from the dead-storage of Singoor reservoir, main source of drinking water for the twin cities and surrounding municipalities, from Thursday. Presently, about 90 to 100 million gallons per day (MGD) water is supplied. The companies will start the work after receiving the letter of intents from the Water Board. City-based Koya Company will lay a 16 km pipeline from Saheb Nagar to Mailardevpally.

While another city-based Vishwa company will lay 4 km pipeline from Mialardevpally to Shaikpet. About 16 km pipeline from Shaikpet to Prashashan Nagar was divided into four components of 4 km each, which would be laid by Vishwa Company, L&T, IVRCL and Mega Engineering. Another 12 km pipeline from Prashashan Nagar to Lingampally would again be done by Vishwa.

Foreign newspapers are here

Foreign newspaper companies wanting to print their international editions in India will be allowed to set up fully owned subsidiaries in the country. According to senior government functionaries, this has been proposed by the group of ministers (GoM) on print media to the Union Cabinet. However, the foreign papers wanting to print in the country will have to take a prior permission from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).

Moreover, the newspaper titles will have to be registered with the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI) before these can be brought out in the country. Foreign newspapers wanting to print their international editions will also have to set up a registered office in India. "This will be a regulatory requirement as such an office will be the point of contact for the government," said the official.

The GoM is also expected to recommend that the Indian editions of the international newspapers should not have content and advertisements generated in the country. The move by the government to set up the GoM in September 2004 was prompted by the printing of the International Herald Tribune in India by the Hyderabad-based Midram Publications by registering the newspaper as an Indian publication. If the GoM proposal is accepted by the Cabinet, it would legitimises the printing of International Herald Tribune in India.

Sources also said that the GoM also considered amendments to certain sections of the Press and Registration of Books (PRB) Act, 1867, and also took note of the resolution adopted by the cabinet in 1955 which did not permit publication of foreign magazines and newspapers in India. The decision to allow FDI in print media was taken by the Vajpayee government in 2002. Subsequent to which, two investments in Indian newspapers, 17 Indian editions of foreign non-news and no–current affairs magazines and 13 foreign investments by international publications in various Indian non-news and non-current affairs publications were cleared by the government.

Citicorp divests in IVRCL

Citicorp International Finance Corporation has sold 31,20,416 equity shares aggregating to 15.47 per cent of the share capital of IVRCL Infrastructures & Projects Ltd during this week. The company has sold 23 lakh shares on May 9 and 8,20,416 shares on May 10. Following this sale, the shareholding of Citicorp International in IVRCL Infrastructures now stands nil, the company informed stock exchanges on Friday.

Oman air to fly high

Oman Air has obtained approval from aviation authorities to operate direct flights to Delhi and Hyderabad and obtain addition seats on its current flights to other destinations in India. The company will start its flights to the new destinations at the start of June.

Following negotiations held with the Indian side, Oman Air seats to India were increased from 3,700 to 5,275 per week. Oman Air will operate seven flights to Cairo per week during the coming period after the Gulf Air conceded its flights on the Muscat-Cairo route to it.

The company transported 317,747 passengers during the first four months of this year, compared to 302,970 during the same period last year.

Existing airport to be closed

The government will close the existing Hyderabad airport for civil operations once the new international airport is constructed, parliament was informed Thursday.

Citing the government's commitment to the Hyderabad International Airport Limited (HIAL) to close the existing airport, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said going back on its word would amount to "default" and "may invite payment of compensation to HIAL".

Further, there was no scope for expanding the existing airport, as there were "severe limitations" because of natural and manmade obstructions like hills and a railway over-bridge, a factory chimney and a building.

But the sole comforting factor was that HIAL had assured the government of considering taking on deputation/absorption basis, the employees of the Airports Authority of India at the existing airport.

"The government is also considering the options available under Concession Agreement to take up the issues relating to the employees at the existing Bangalore airport with Bangalore International Airport Ltd.," Patel said.

The minister's statement came as he made a statement on the action taken on the recommendations of the parliamentary committee on transport, which had urged the government against closing the existing airports.

Multiplexes to multiply

Hyderabad is set to witness a boom in multiplexes.Next time when you go to a cinema, you can return after finishing your shopping. When you are at the theatre, you can relax at the eatery.

Residents of Hyderabad are already enjoying the pleasure of ‘all at one place’ malls. Now, provision for recreational facilities in malls is an added attraction.

With Prasads multiplex becoming a hit with Hyderabadis, several firms are showing interest in setting up multiplex-cum-shopping malls in the city. A few reputed companies in the multiplex business in the country, including Adlabs, Essel, Shringar and PVR groups, have reportedly evinced interest in setting up entertainment plazas in the city.

The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) hopes that five new multiplex projects may materialise soon. The multiplexes are likely to come up at Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Park, Road No: 1, Banjara Hills, Ameerpet and near Yatrinivas. Hyderabad Central at Punjagutta is likely to have facilities for film shows soon.

Industry experts say that the changing lifestyles and busy daily schedules are the main reasons for the growth in multiplexes where one can eat, shop and enjoy with family and friends.

Prajay to set up 5-Star hotel

Prajay Engineers Syndicate Ltd on Thursday said that, it has received the necessary approvals from the authorities to set up a 5 Star hotel near Hyderabad. The company has further said that, it had already acquired the required land for the project. It plans to set up a 60 room 3-Star hotel which shall be subsequently upgraded to a 120 room 5-Star hotel. The project size would be to the tune of Rs100mn Rs180mn.

Air France plans for Hyderabad

Detailing the expansion plans of the airlines, Gass said that Air France would start service to Bangalore from October 31. There would be five flights a week to and from Bangalore, he said, adding that it would be upgraded to daily flights by April next year. "Air France will add 26 more flights in the sector. Plans are on to operate a service to Hyderabad by next year."

Gass further said that the airline would be introducing in November, "step by step", a new product called ‘nouvel espace du voyage’, which is actually a change of seating to make winter travel more comfortable.

Eco-tourism at Vanasthali Park

The Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park at Vanasthalipuram offers cool environs to beat the scorching summer heat. The eco-tourism centre at the park will be open to the public from May 18.

Addressing a press conference here on Thursday, Andhra Pradesh Forest Development Corporation (APFDC) Eco-Tourism Director P Madhusudhan Rao said the execution of the Rs 50 lakh project took about 18 months.

The project promoted by the Mahavir Nischal Van Eco-Tourism Centre will be inaugurated by Environment Minister S Vijayarama Raju. The park spreads over an area of 3,605 acres. The Palm House, Bamboo House, Log House and Balakrishna Smruthi Sadan built as part of the project have an ethnic look.

State in grip of heat wave

The highest day temperature in the recorded history of the State was 48.8 degree C in Gannavaram on May 11, 2002. Hyderabad recorded 41 degree C on Tuesday, a far cry from 45.5 degrees C registered on June 2, 1966. Mercury has shot up at a number of places in the State, bringing in sweltering weather.

This is due to heat wave conditions that enveloped the State following north-westerly winds sweeping across the peninsula. Day temperatures in Andhra Pradesh would have been much higher but for the relatively cool weather prevailing in the North-West region of the country, the source of these surface winds.

Reports reaching here from the districts suggest that many places in the State were suffering from furnace-like weather forcing people to stay indoors. Coastal areas were the worst affected having a higher humidity due to the proximity to the sea which caused people to sweat profusely.

On Tuesday, Hanamkonda became the hottest place by recording 45 degree Celsius.The average day temperature at other places was around 40 degrees C -- two degrees higher than normal. Details received by the Met Office showed that Nandyal emerged as another hotspot with 44 degree C while Kavali, Ongole, Bhadrachalam, Nalgonda and Nizamabad recorded temperatures above 43 degree C.

JNTU for drastic curriculum change

In an effort to mould students in tune with the existing industry demands, the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU) is all set to effect drastic changes in its curriculum soon. To usher in the best academic practices, the university will rope in professors from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) apart from experienced hands to revise the curriculum.

"The process will be initiated in the third week of June. Depending on the possibilities, we may introduce new programmes or make additions to the existing ones," asserted JNTU Vice-Chancellor Prof K Rajagopal.

Following up the curriculum changes, special training programmes will be conducted for faculties and certificates will be presented at the end of the programmes. In another major step, the university has decided to decentralise the process of the online examination system and electronic distribution of question papers.

TCS - Teachers interface

TCS concluded its five day Academic Interface Programme (AIP) with the engineering institutes accredited to it, with a valedictory function at its sprawling corporate office, Deccan Park, madhapur, on Wednesday. It was organised for the first time in the Hyderabad region and was the seventh AIP in the country this year, designed to bring the industry and academecia closer to each other.

The programme was attended by lecturers from engineering colleges accredited to TCS. Rajesh Nambiar, TCS regional head, said, "This is to reduce the two to three months time we have to devote in training every new recruit to make him industry worthy. It helps the industry as a whole and is a part of our corporate social responsibility."

Elizabeth Mathew, the Head of HR, said, "This programme is not a teaching programme. Our aim is to reach the students with our software engineering programmes, through the teachers. We want to correct them before they become defective".

There are numerous other programmes, apart from AIP. TCS shares its case studies with the academicians to make them aware of the practical aspects. They have reached out to academicians and students in China, USA and Europe, "You can expect to see employees from abroad next year."

The special feature that TCS tries to highlight in its programmes is "software engineering principle; for instance, we tell them about software development life cycle, which is about inculcating the right mind-set," says Rajesh Nambiar.

The students do not learn the right team spirit in colleges, which is very important in the field. He says, "We want system developers rather than programme developers."

In his address to the gathering, Professor Noori, one of the lecturers said, "Quality is non-negotiable, but we do not have any quantitative understanding of the use of software tools, which is an important area for research. These are the only ways to bring education, research and industry together."

Speaking on behalf of the participants, Venkat Rao, an Assistant Professor in IT, and Bhavani, a computer science faculty, mentioned the Delhi Engineering College’s Professor Grover’s saying that "defect prevention is better than defect correction", as the highlight of the sessions.

Hyderabad mayor invited to WED

Mayors from six Indian cities will be part of this year's World Environment Day celebrations at San Francisco in the first week of June. The mayors of Ahmedabad, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Mumbai would be joining their counterparts from 60 countries to debate the theme of 'Green Cities' at the 2005 United Nations World Environment Day conference during June 1-5. They are expected to share ideas and experiences to develop a set of Urban Environmental Accords, which will provide a roadmap for improvements in cities.

The seven environmental categories covered by the accords are: urban design, transportation, energy, open space, recycling, health, and water. The accords would be signed at the end of the conference on World Environment Day - June 5. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Klaus Toepfer, Executive Director of United Nations Environment Programme and California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger are also expected to attend the conference.

Activities ranging from special organic menu selections at Bay Area restaurants to a display of artwork made from recycled material will form part of more than 150 community activities scheduled on the occasion. In addition, a 'Green Cities' Expo will also be held during June 3-5. This would be the first time the World Environment Day conference is held in the United States.

Z-Security in city soon

Picture yourself in a house where you can arm or disarm a security system via a mobile phone. Where any intrusion, fire and even gas leakage can be intimated to you and the nearest police station or even your neighbour via an SMS. Such a kind of security system called Z-Security is being tested in Mumbai and will soon be available in Hyderabad as well.

Mumbai-based Zicom Electronic Security Systems that offers security solutions like access control systems using keypad, proximity card and biometrics, fire alarm systems and smart cards is planning to introduce the Z-Security system in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune, Jaipur and Delhi within the next four months at an investment of around Rs 20 crore.

The service is likely to be available at a monthly charge of Rs 775 and will run through a wireless security system. Manohar Bidaye, chairman, Zicom Electronic Security Systems, said that the company has recently tied-up with former cricketer Kapil Dev who will now be endorsing their services. Kapil Dev has also taken less than five per cent stake in the company and is now on their advisory board of directors.

Kingfisher plans to fly

Vijay Mallya’s Kingfisher Airlines will pay Indian Airlines Rs 120 crore annually for the out-sourcing deal it has signed with the state-run carrier. Both the carriers have an agreement which requires Indian Airlines to undertake the ground handling, part of maintenance and flying of non-metro routes for Kingfisher Airlines. Kingfisher Airlines’ agreement with Indian Airlines also allows the private carrier to use the terminals and infrastructure of the state-owned carriers in all the airports.
Mallya also said that the carrier hopes to break-even in the first year of operation itself. Kingfisher will start flying smaller routes in December once its fleet of Airbus A 319s come on board. The airline’s A 319 fleet based out of Bangalore will serve operations to cities like Pune, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi amongst others.

New flyovers

Road-users plying on the worst-congestion corridor in the city — Kukatpally to Dilsukhnagar — can breathe easy. Two flyovers are likely to come up on this most traffic-dense corridor next year. Apart from the four new flyovers to be built this year, Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda) plans to add two more: Dilsukhnagar-LB Nagar flyover and Uppal village-Ramanthapur flyover. According to a study done by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy, the Kukatpally-Dilsukhnagar corridor carries a staggering 40,000-50,000 passengers per hour in each direction during peak hours. The average demand on this corridor is about 3,07,000 passengers per day. Huda officials said Uppal also needs a flyover as the city has extended up to the Singapore township. If the township is completed and house allottees move in, traffic on that stretch will increase manifold. Huda is likely to appoint an agency to conduct a demand survey for the two flyovers.

Integrated, hypersonic missiles

Hyderabad will be the breeding ground for DRDL's next generation aircraft. It will develop highly-integrated, hypersonic, third-generation missiles with world class technology by 2007. DRDL has already developed a prototype system of the hypersonic vehicle even as some foreign countries and non-resident Indians showed interest to work with India in the research. He said the DRDL requires about 2,000 acres more to expand and has approached the State Government. The Defence Research Development Organisation is closely interacting with universities and institutes for research and development and review systems.

He said that the defence organisation is ready for large-scale production of Akash, Nag and Trishul to equip the Armed Forces. They are expecting letters of indent from the Ministry of Defence by December, 2005. The day may not be far off when India becomes the hub for world class research and development work, he said. The DRDL will organise Technology Day on Wednesday on the premises. All the technologies the DRDL developed will be exhibited here. DRDO is ready to make Trishul, Akash and Nag in greater numbers.

Infotech facility in Maryland

Hyderabad based geospatial and engineering services company Infotech Enterprises has opened a facility at Frostburg in Maryland. To be managed by Infotech’s U.S. subsidiary, VARGIS, the new facility grew out of collaboration with Frostburg State University, Allegany County and the State of Maryland, a company statement said. B.V.R. Mohan Reddy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Infotech said the new facility strengthened both onshore and offshore mapping production capabilities.

DRDL to celebrate Technology Day

On Wednesday is Technology Day - the day when India was recognised as a global power after it tested its nuclear power. As part of the Technology Day, the Defence Research Development Laboratories is conducting a exhibition at its premises at Kanchanbagh.
The technologies that will be showcased at the exhibition will include aerospace sciences, composites, super alloys and high energy materials, electronics, microwaves, radars and instruments used in navigation. The exhibition will lay stress on computer-based techniques, system engineering and project, technology and knowledge management.DRDL director Prahalada said DRDL is working closely with institutions like the Hyderabad Central University, Osmania University, Andhra University, IIIT, ISB and NIT, Warangal for research activities.

LV Prasad Film & TV Academy

The Rs 200-crore Prasad group, a major post-production services provider, is set to launch ‘L V Prasad Film & TV Academy’ on August 15, 2004, in Chennai. Addressing mediapersons, K Hariharan, director, L V Prasad Film & TV Academy, said that the Prasad group had been working on launching its own institute for the last four years.
International universities like Brooklyn University and Arcadia University have come forward with offers of collaboration with the academy, he said. As a part of this initiative, these universities will be sending their students to L V Prasad Film & Academy from 2007 for a student exchange programme. Prasad group has production facilities and offices in Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Thiruvananthapuram, Bhuvaneshwar, New Delhi, Kolkata, Singapore, Dubai and the US.

More direct flights to Middle East

Tourism Minister J Geeta Reddy on Tuesday said airlines of several Middle Eastern countries, including Iran were keen on starting direct flights to Hyderabad.

Speaking at a press conference here, she described her visit to Dubai, Iran and Germany was fruitful. The Middle East based Ethihad Airways has agreed to operate flights from Abu Dahbi to Hyderabad. UK Travel and Tour Operators will also start its charter flight from the UK-Goa to Hyderabad. Sanaiya Group of Clinics and Pharmacies is willing to invest in the tourism and hospitality industry in the State, the Tourism Minister said. Geeta Reddy said a project on the lines of Dubai’s Desert Safari concept would be developed in Visakhapatnam.

Hyderabad would play host to the first-ever Iranian Cultural Festival to be held in October-November. During her visit to Iran, Geeta Reddy held talks with the Iranian Government, which promised to boost tourism ties with Andhra Pradesh.

ORR Update

The ORR becomes a reality by 2008, the land cost is likely to increase manifold. For example, an acre of land abutting the ORR at Medchal now fetches anywhere between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 15 lakh. But once the road is ready, the same land might go under the hammer for Rs 1 crore. Huda has already issued a notification for acquiring land for the ORR project and served notices on owners of 9,875 acres of land in 22 villages. As the Huda has started gearing up for land acquisition, it has been flooded with requests to change alignments of the roads, and delete certain villages from the acquisition list. According to sources, a number of relators are reportedly putting pressure on Huda higher-ups to amend the road design. The sources said the alignment of the ORR was shifted near a farm house near Medchal, where the chief minister had been taking rest during the weekends. Huda chairman D Sudheer Reddy said it had come to his notice that some people were collecting money on the pretext of changing the ORR. He said that Huda has already notified about lands that are to be acquired. Copies of these lands are available with sub-registrar, MRO and panchayat offices.

Source: Times of India

Quality imageries from satellite

The two cameras onboard the CARTOSAT-1 have started sending imageries and they show Punjab and Gujarat. The imageries taken on May 8 are of good quality, according to the Indian Space Research Organisation. The Data Reception Centre of the National Remote-Sensing Agency, Hyderabad, received the imageries. The two cameras were tested by switching them on through a series of programmed commands sent from the Spacecraft Control Centre of ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network at Bangalore. The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6, which lifted off from Sriharikota on May 5, put two satellites called CARTOSAT-1 and HAMSAT into polar sun synchronous orbit.

Natco ties up with US university

Natco Pharma Ltd. said on Tuesday that it has entered into a tie-up with Temple University (of the Commonwealth System of Higher Education), Philadelphia, USA.

The tie up facilitates undertaking of specified biological studies by Temple University, for establishing the in vivo efficacy of some promising anti cancer compounds useful in the treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML). The Company had identified, designed and synthesized certain potentially active anti cancer compounds useful in the treatment of CML, the Hyderabad-based pharmaceutical company said in a statement.

The Company has already completed the in vitro studies of these compounds and they have been highly satisfactory, added Natco Pharma. The Company, with the active assistance of Temple University, seeks to complete the in vivo studies to establish the positive efficacy of the compounds by the end of 2005, said Natco Pharma. Also, the Company expects to complete further studies and is planning to file an application for Investigational New Drug during the calendar year 2006, it added.

Satyam joins XBRL

India’s fourth largest software exporter by sales Satyam Computer Services Ltd. has announced that it has become India’s first direct participant member at the XBRL International, a non-profit consortium whose members include about 300 leading global organizations.

As a direct participant member of the consortium, the company will work together with other consortium members to promote the adoption of XBRL (eXentible Business Reporting Language). XBRL is a standard designed to eliminate the constraints of incompatible formats and vocabularies and to use recent trends in technology to enhance business reporting.

It is based on extensible mark-up language and takes advantage of its ability to create self-describing data. Satyam will provide leadership in the area of financial reporting, which is a part of all major compliance and regulatory requirement.

Cyberabad Blues

In the process of upgrading Cyberabad Times I almost crashed it none the less it is now revived and is running superfine. The last 24hrs, CT was in Intensive care. The site search and archives got better. The load time reduced. Search and site sense are more intelligent than ever. Soon I will be starting a campaign called My City My Love which will bring together people with same thinking and love for this Historic city of ours Hyderabad. Dont forget to check out the banner on the homepage! This is your site and soon will be more personalised when site sense gets more intelligent!

P.S. Please dont treat this site as a mimic to the Times of India. I'm not using the "Times" brand name, I just keep this site with the Times. But I truly admire thier work and quality of news. And cant deny gaining inspiration from them. Great work Times.

Cartosat-1 hails Earth

An Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) remote sensing satellite, Cartosat-1, which was launched on May 5, was behaving “normally”, an ISRO spokesman told Business Standard on Sunday. “Regular operational fine tuning,” was on, he said, which will take between a month and six weeks.

The spacecraft, being tracked by ISRO Telemetry, Tracking and Command Network, a facility here that monitors ISRO’s remote sensing spacecraft, will be operational in six weeks. It will then start sending data to another ISRO facility, the National Remote Sensing Agency in Hyderabad, he said.

Two panchromatic cameras on board the spacecraft, which can pick up objects only 2.5 metre across, have started sending encoded signals.

As the satellite’s name suggests, the data will be used to build accurate maps of the swaths of land the cameras can photograph.

The Rs 250 crore, 1.56 tonne spacecraft has been placed in a sun-synchronous polar orbit of 618 km by an indigenous Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, the PSLV-C6, and goes round the Earth every 97 minutes, revisiting a given spot every five days.

Antrix, the department of space’s commercial arm, sells data from the remote sensing satellites in Europe, Russia, the Americas and China, ISRO officials said.

Know your airlines

Air Deccan: Beginning a new phase of fare wars with tickets for Re 1. Has set the model for most low-cost carriers, but competitors say it is suffering on account of frequently cancelled services.

Alliance Air: Don't look now, but IA's small town sibling hopes to metamorphose into a low-cost carrier by year-end. But being a legacy carrier, it could be difficult to do so.

Go Airlines: To take off in September, it's promising the lowest fares in the industry. Time will tell.

Indian Airlines: The state-owned carrier remains a market leader and has ordered a new fleet. But can it manage its costs and service standards?

Jet Airways: Definitely the business executive's preferred choice -- don't look for discounts though. Is now aggressively going international.

Kingfisher Airlines: A mid-priced carrier that bears its promoter's personality, it could appeal to younger age groups and frequent travellers.

Magic Air: A low-cost entrant (consisting of ex-Malaysian Airlines employees), it believes there's room for more.

Sahara Airlines: It hasn't faulted on deliveries yet -- but is gearing up for competition by reducing its costs. On its part, Sahara is concentrating on improving turnaround time, increasing the utilisation of the aircraft by at least 30 minutes, and creating a hub in Hyderabad to address the southern market.

It has earmarked 25-30 per cent of its tickets at discounted fares, to be on par with the average fares of low-cost airlines. That apart, it will cater to the needs of business travellers by offering more frequencies on key routes.

That will be possible with the induction of four new aircraft for the skies, even as it moves to international routes.

SpiceJet: Originally Modiluft, it's aiming for Air Deccan's jugular by unleashing a fierce price war in the cheap ticket, no-frills segment. Will start operations in end-May, and is hoping to build a reputation for punctuality and reliability.

Fare wars

A PRICE WAR is inevitable, especially given that most new airlines are trying to woo new business and not poach on existing markets.

This has fuelled speculation that Air Deccan, already with the lowest fares, could slash average prices by another 20 per cent, to bring the average ticket price on par with second class AC train travel.

And that's where the bloodbath will occur, as Spice Jet, Magic Air and Go Airlines will be joined by Alliance Air to take on Air Deccan on its own turf.

Sahara too will offer a chunk of its tickets at the same, low price on "discounted" tariffs. Kingfisher's strategy is aimed at pricing 20 per cent below normal scheduled airline economy fares.

A Delhi-Mumbai ticket, therefore, would cost in the region of Rs 6,000, twice the rate of what the low-cost carriers would offer, but with mod cons they don't have, and the flamboyance of an airline that aims at the surprise factor as a great pull.

While Jet Air's plans in this market are not known, Indian Airlines's Bumper Saver Scheme is a big draw among frequent/business travelers -- for Rs 65,000 a passenger gets 16 coupons (tickets) so that the average fare works out to Rs 4,000 -- not bad going for what's still considered a premium product in the domestic market.

Highest growth rate in IT

Surpassing all growth projections, IT exports from Andhra Pradesh recorded an impressive 64.5 percent growth in 2004-05 to touch Rs.82.70 billion ($1.8 billion). Exports from member units of the Software Technology Park of India (STPI), Hyderabad, during the fiscal year ended March 31 were up more than Rs.32 billion from the Rs.50.25 billion during 2003-04.

The growth rate was 34 percent in the previous year and STPI had set the target of 45 percent for 2004-05. Though the average national growth rate is not yet known, STPI officials claimed that it was the highest among all cities in the country.

In terms of exports, Hyderabad is at fifth position and its share in the total exports from the country last year was nine percent. STPI Hyderabad, which aims to capture 30 percent of total IT exports from India by 2009, has set a target of 45 percent growth in the current year.

As in previous years, the bulk of the exports were to the US and Canada (64 percent). Exports to Europe increased from 22.97 percent to 25 percent. Exports to Australia, Britain, Japan and the Netherlands, as also countries in Asia and the Middle East, were 11 percent. Technology software accounted for 43 percent of total exports while the share of ITES/BPO (IT enabled services/business process outsourcing) was 36 percent and applications software 18 percent.

Satyam, Wipro, Infosys, GE Capital and Microsoft were the top five exporters. Director of STPI Bangalore B.V. Naidu, who holds the additional post of director of the Hyderabad branch, told reporters that the growth rate was encouraging and higher than other cities, including Bangalore.

He said 152 new software companies were registered with STPI Hyderabad during 2004-05 against 119 in the previous year. "Every week, three new companies are being registered. This is the highest anywhere in the country," said Naidu. The total projected investment from approved companies is Rs.7.44 billion. These companies will provide 50,000 jobs in the current year.

Principal secretary, IT, J.C. Mohanty said foreign companies had more confidence in Hyderabad. Out of 152 companies registered during the year, 63 were foreign equity companies, including Google Online, IBM Global, Mindtree Consulting, Ascential Software, iSoft and Adea International. With 48 percent growth in employment, he was hopeful that the state would next year achieve the target of 60,000 jobs in IT.

As Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada also registered 100 percent growth rate in IT exports, STPI and the state government have decided to aggressively develop the tier-two cities, which also include Warangal and Tirupathi. STPI, which has branches in these four cities besides Hyderabad, also plans to open one more branch in Kakinada.

AP Invest CEO and IT advisor to the state government, C.S. Rao, said the government was committed to developing infrastructure for the IT sector. The plans include a world-class knowledge corridor in Hyderabad and IT parks in Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. Six private new IT parks are also coming up in Hyderabad with an investment of Rs.5 billion.

200 Crore upgrade plan!

The Sanjeevaiah Park may soon become an attractive tourist spot what with plans of getting it equipped with the latest amusement facilities like an underwater world and a view tower, apart from a 6 km mono rail service from Sanjeevaiah to Lumbini Park on Necklace Road. These amusement facilities will cost about Rs 150 crore.

A Singapore-based leisure group has shown interest in setting up the project at the 90-acre Sanjeevaiah Park. A team from Singapore arrived in the city on Monday on an invitation from Hyderabad Urban Development Authority (Huda) to discuss it. The team — which spent nearly three hours in the park on Monday — studied the viability of the project.

If a decision is finally taken to set it up, the first of its kind ‘underwater world’ in the country would cost nearly Rs 100 crore. This world will have marine species in thousands, including sharks and octopus. Apart from that, a 3-D and 4-D movie screening facility — ‘Cinmania’ is also being planned. A simulated real life experience like the one felt in an aircraft will be provided for visitors. A 100-metre high view tower is also on the anvil. Visitors can have a grand view of the city from the top.

An official of Huda said if the government or tourism department came forward to give financial assistance for the rail transport from Sanjeevaiah to Lumbini Park, Huda would go for it.

also see Hyderabad may get underwater world

Organic mantra to stay healthy

Hyderabadis can now look forward to some chemical-free and organic food. No, it's not yet another restaurant that has come up in the city. It is the first of its kind organic superstore called the `24 Lettered Mantra' brought to you by Sresta Natural Bio-products. The superstore, as they call it, opened at Road No. 12, Banjara Hills, on Friday. Justice B. Subhashan Reddy (retired) formally inaugurated the store.

The store has a wide range of products, including fresh fruits, vegetables, grocery, bakery products and cold pressed edible oils besides a snack counter. The products at the store confirm to European and American organic production norms and were certified by leading international agencies. It would soon open branches in cities like Chennai, Bangalore and Pune. Sresta had also plans to have `express outlets' in the city to cater to the needs of a particular area. The store would also have nutrition counsellors.

Lumbini Laserium

The HUDA-BPPA has added new attractions in the form of cultural programmes at Lumbini Laserium. They will be held before the start of laser show.The cultural programmes, classical and traditional, will be held at 6.30 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays and the laser show will follow them at 7.30 p.m, according to a release.

Vensoft gets 15 mil investment

SQA Labs Inc, a US-based software solutions provider for mortgage lending and financial services industry, has decided to invest $10 million-15 million in the Hyderabad-based Vensoft India Private Ltd in the next three years.

An understanding to release $3 million in the first phase has been signed this week. The company had an option to pick equity in Vensoft as the pact progressed.

Dr Reddy's Q4 net loss at Rs 52 cr

Indian drug maker Dr. Reddy's Laboratories reported on Friday a surprising fourth quarter loss on a lack of new big generic launches and price competition overseas, together with poor domestic sales.

The Hyderabad-based company, India's only New York Stock Exchange-listed drug maker, said its January-March net loss was Rs 51.9 crore, compared with a profit of Rs 16.2 crore reported a year earlier. Revenue fell to Rs 425 crore from Rs 476 crore a year earlier. According to a Reuters poll of 10 analysts, the consensus forecast for net profit was Rs 8.3 crore on sales of Rs 449 crore.

Dr Reddy's has not had any big drug launches in the lucrative generics market in the US for over three years, and its existing drugs are facing pricing pressure in the hugely competitive market there. Local market sales were also affected during the quarter because chemists ran down pharmaceutical stocks as a new lower tax program was due to replace a web of higher sales taxes from April. Dr Reddy's shares have lost about 23 per cent since the start of 2005, compared with a drop of about 4 per cent in the Bombay Stock Exchange benchmark index.

PSLV-C6 Successfully Launched

In its ninth flight conducted from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) SHAR, Sriharikota, today (May 05, 2005), ISRO's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, PSLV-C6, successfully launched the 1560 kg Indian Remote Sensing satellite, CARTOSAT-1, and the 42.5 kg HAMSAT into a 632 x 621 km high polar orbit. This is the highest payload weight that PSLV has launched so far.

At the end final count down, PSLV-C6 lifted off from SDSC SHAR, Sriharikota at 10:15 am IST with the ignition of the core first stage and four of the six strap-on motors. The remaining two strap-on motors were ignited at 25 sec after lift-off. The important flight events included the separation of the ground-lit strap-on motors, separation of air-lit strap-on motors and the first stage, ignition of the second stage, separation of the payload fairing after the vehicle had cleared the dense atmosphere, second stage separation, third stage ignition, third stage separation, fourth stage ignition and fourth stage cut-off. After these events, CARTOSAT-1 was successfully separated from the fourth stage 1078 seconds after lift off. 40 seconds later HAMSAT was also separated from the fourth-stage equipment bay.

Both the satellites have been placed in polar Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 632 x 621 km with an inclination of 97.8 deg with respect to the equator. The solar panels of CARTOSAT-1 were deployed soon after its injection into orbit.

PSLV was designed and developed by ISRO to place 1,000 kg class Indian Remote Sensing satellites into polar Sun-synchronous Orbit (SSO). Since its first successful flight in October 1994, the capability of PSLV has been enhanced from 850 kg to the present 1,600 kg into 618 km Sun Synchronous Orbit. PSLV has also demonstrated multiple satellite launch capability.

CARTOSAT-1 is the eleventh satellite in the Indian remote sensing satellite series. It is intended for cartographic applications. It carries two panchromatic cameras that take black-and-white stereoscopic pictures in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The imageries will have a spatial resolution of 2.5 metre and cover a swath of 30 km. The imageries will be useful for generating digital elevation maps for urban and rural development, land and water resources management, disaster assessment, relief planning and management and environmental impact assessment. CARTOSAT-1 also carries a Solid State Recorder with a capacity of 120 Giga Bits to store the images taken by its cameras.

Soon after its injection into orbit, the two solar panels of CARTOSAT-1 were deployed. The satellite health is being continuously monitored from the Spacecraft Control Centre of ISTRAC at Bangalore with the help of its network of stations at Bangalore, Lucknow, Mauritius, Bearslake in Russia and Biak in Indonesia. Further operations on the satellite like, checking out the various subsystems,, switching on the cameras, and, finally, orbit trimming will be carried out in the coming days.

With ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC), Bangalore, as the lead Centre, CARTOSAT-1 was realised with major contributions from Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, LPSC at Bangalore, and IISU, Thiruvananthapuram. ISTRAC is responsible for initial and in-orbit operation of CARTOSAT-1. The National Remote Sensing Agency (NRSA), Hyderabad receives and processes the data from CARTOSAT-1.

Sierra to invest $12 million

Sierra Atlantic, a leading offshore enterprise application provider, is planning to ramp up its operations in India by setting up a new development campus with an investment of $12 million in Hyderabad.

In an interaction with this website’s newspaper, Sanjay Khendry, vice president, Sierra Atlantic said that the new global development campus will be built on seven acre land and will have a total built up area of 2,50,000 sq ft. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding for the purpose with the AP government, he added.

The first phase of the project is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2006. When completed it can house 2,400 people, added Khendry.

Graduate Employability Test

Providing an opportunity for the graduates to hone their communication skills for better employment avenues, the Graduate Employability Test (GET) will be conducted across the State on May 14 and 15.

The test is jointly conducted by the AP State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) and Institute of Information Technology Enabled Services and Training (IITEST). Once qualified, the candidate will be trained for 11 weeks and the course fee is Rs 5,500 including Rs 2,600 for the kit.

GIS is here beware tax evaders!

Evaders of property tax beware! The Geographical Information System (GIS) being acquired by the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) helps to map the entire city with particular reference to individual houses, leaving no scope to hoodwink the authorities and get away without paying the tax.

Some households pay less tax by bribing the civic official, but with the GIS it is not possible. The new technology helps the MCH authorities know the exact area of the structure for imposition of the tax.

Hyderabad is one among the six cities in the country selected for implementation of the Computer Aided Utility Mapping (CAUP) project under the National Urban Renewal Mission.

Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai are the other cities selected for implementing the project. Under the project, the civic body would create digital maps for the city that would help fine-tune the urban planning.

MCH Commissioner Chitra Ramachandran said the project would be linked to the GIS mapping of residential and commercial complexes, government buildings and other establishments, so that the corporation could get comprehensive data about the properties in the twin cities.

With GIS, all the taxable properties could be identified geographically. The GIS database of property tax helps the officials in better management of tax collection. With a convenient decision-support system, analysis would be easy. Vacant lots can be identified and tax defaulters can be easily tracked, she said.

The MCH has already digitised Aerial Photogrammetry data and proposes to purchase data of Ikonos or ‘Quick Bird’ high-resolution satellite images pertaining to buildings, water bodies and parks.

The invisible CEO

Dr Anji Reddy, Chairman of Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, released ‘The Invisible CEO’, a book written by AG Krishnamurthy, the founding chairman and former managing director of Mudra Communications, at Crossword Bookstore here on Thursday.

The writer, known as ‘the invisible CEO’, insisted that the book is neither an autobiography nor a memoir. “It is a ‘feel good book’ meant to inspire the young people to dream big and follow it till it gets realised,” he said. “Marketing is about creating brand names, and it takes life time marketing to establish it, just as a kid needs 18 years to grow up,” he said.

Nuelight opens design center

U.S. based developer of technology got organic light emitting diode (OLED) product manufacturers; Nuelight Corporation has set up a design center in Hyderabad.

The center will develop OLED panel controllers from concept to mass production, Chairman and CEO, Damodar Reddy said adding the company will invest $3 million in the facility in the next two years. He also said the company will employ 100 engineers by 2007 to handle full chip design.

Soft skills for poor

MD Imran is not anxious for his class VII results. He is busy learning about computers and dabbling in art with the Paint Brush on the monitor at the Satyam Foundation (SF), Pattigada. He is one among many children of police personnel who died while in service. The students have been enrolled for a two-month intensive course in soft skills. Satyam associates spend their spare time teaching the students.

The course will expose the students to basic computer awareness, typing skills, MS Office, spoken English and personality development among others. The course is doing a world of good to the students. AP Policemen Family Welfare Society president Anita Sen, ACP (Traffic) Tejdeep Kaur Menon, SF president Nandini Raju and others interacted with the children taking various courses at the Foundation.SF has forayed into courses that focus on education, livelihood, healthcare, AIDS awareness, and environment and slum development.

WorldSpace lounge in Hyderabad

WorldSpace Satellite Radio has launched 'WorldSpace Lounge' in Hyderabad. The lounge offers customers facilities such as tuning into any of the 35 radio stations that the WorldSpace network currently offers.

The lounge also houses the Black Room, which will allow people to relax and tune in to music. The interiors of this Black Room are done up with a sofa and allows the music lover to listen to WorldSpace in a perfect and soothing ambience. At the WorldSpace Lounge, customers can also purchase WorldSpace Satellite Radio receivers off the shelf and subscribe to the service to enjoy it anywhere, states a company release.

As reported by indiantelevision.com, WorldSpace had kicked off its operations in Hyderabad in April this year. The next phases will cover Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Kolkata.

At WorldSpace Lounge, not only can customers enjoy their choice of music in a leisurely manner, but they can also subscribe to WorldSpace's service right there and enjoy it anywhere.

Meningitis alert

The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) has swung into action to prevent an outbreak of the highly-infectious bacterial meningitis—meningococcemia.

On an average, seven cases are being reported at government hospitals, at least two at Niloufer hospital and five each at Gandhi and Osmania hospitals, the two biggest government hospitals. However, city hospitals have reported no deaths due to the disease so far.

Meningitis is an infection in the fluid of a person's spinal cord or in the brain membrane, which is caused by bacteria or virus. If caused by bacteria in the brain membrane, it is called meningococcemia. The bacteria spreads through respiratory and throat secretions, like cough.

The disease can kill within hours, especially children, if not treated on time.

Osmania to get Rs 100 cr grant

After having decided not to accord IIT status to Osmania University's College of Engineering and College of Technology, the Union ministry of human resource development (HRD) is likely to give Rs 100 crore to the college to upgrade facilities. Representatives of the university met with ministry officials in Delhi on Tuesday and sought a grant of Rs 100 crore to make the colleges fit for IIT status in five years.The ministry had in March decided that standards at the two institutions were short of the IIT benchmark and suggested upgradation.

Intelligroup appoints new COO

Intelligroup has appointed Ranjit Prithviraj as the Chief Operating Officer of Intelligroup Asia, a wholly owned subsidiary of Intelligroup, Inc.,

Based out of Intelligroup’s India headquarters in Hyderabad, his key priorities will be to provide leadership to the different business groups in the company, and ensure their growth and expansion, as they serve both, national and international markets. In addition, he will also oversee general administration, operational as well as support functions viz. internal systems, HR and Training, operations & recruitment and marketing communications.

Cyber police: A dumb unit?

The Information Technology Act, 2000, defines only three types of cyber offences as crimes—tampering with source documents, hacking a computer and sending obscene e-mails. By its definition, most cyber frauds coming to light these days are not crimes, including the online railway ticket racket unearthed here last week.

Although an Internet-related crime, no case was registered against the men who purchased railway tickets online by punching stolen credit card numbers and sold them at higher prices. Simply because cheating as a crime remains out of the purview of the Act. This recalls a similar case last year, when the city police arrested some people for gambling online. For the same reason, the cyber police did not register a case against them. In such cases, where crimes are committed by using information technology, the cyber police now only assists the local police instead of investigating them themselves.

Because of limited purview, the cyber police have registered only 19 cases since it started functioning in 2002. Of them, 10 were related to obscene e-mails and pornographic material, three related to source code theft by employees of IT companies and six to computer hacking.

This year, the cyber crime police station has registered only one case, related to obscene mail, triggering off a clamour to widen the scope of the act.

Courtesy : The Times of India

A device intoduced for asthmatics

On the occasion of ‘World Asthma Day’ on Tuesday, the Cipla Respiratory in Hyderabad has brought out a patient friendly ‘Multi-haler’.

Talking about the advantage of the newly introduced inhaler, Dr S Shyam Sunder Raj, Chief Pulmonologist of Image Hospital Madhapur said that in the new device which replace the ‘Rota-haler’ of the pharma firm, contain the required dose of medicine upto a period of one month pre-packed in order to avoid the trouble of stuffing the medicine for inhaling daily.

The new inhaler, including the medicine is priced at Rs 300. He also said most of the patients and even the doctors are not aware of the latest medicines that are available in the country which will help the patients lead a normal life without any suffering.

He said the latest medicines available in Europe and the United States for the curing of asthma are very much available in India also.

He said that the ever-growing pollution, passive smoking and unhygienic conditions were causing the disease and urged the government to take steps to curtail pollution.

On the efficacy of the ‘fish medicine’ for the cure of asthma, he said that there is no scientific rationale behind the medicine and added that if at all patients are gaining any relief through this means, the effect is only psychological.

Naveen Nalluri of Cipla Respiratory was also present.

City chokes on garbage

The city of Charminar and chicken biryani is also known for record generation of garbage. The fifth largest metropolis in the country with a population of five million, Hyderabad throws up 2,400 tonnes of garbage a day. The civic authorities have been waging an unsuccessful battle with the gargantuan problem. There are six lakh houses, residential colonies, apartments, commercial complexes, hotels, restaurants, fast food centres and eateries. At the end of the day, all the junk is on the roads.

The Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH), except dumping the garbage at dump yards, much emphasis has not been laid to ensure segregation of biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste at the source itself. As much as 80 per cent of biodegradable waste can be recycled and used for better purpose.

Presently, solid waste which includes both biodegradable and non-biodegradable waste is collected, transported and disposed of in open dumpyards located on the outskirts of the city.

Apart from becoming huge depositories of junk, the dumpyards are polluting groundwater. Pollutants from dumpyards at Gandhamguda and Autonagar have percolated into the bowels of the earth and got mixed with groundwater which resulted in health problems to the local people who use it for drinking purpose.

Another practicable problem the MCH is facing is that each time it tries to earmark a place for dumpyard far away from the city, the people within the vicinity of the proposed site are raising serious objection as they do not want to live with the garbage of urbanites. The solid waste generated are of biodegradable waste, recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste. About 65 per cent of urban municipal solid waste is biodegradable and can be converted into vermi compost and used as a manure. About 25 per cent is recyclable and 10 per cent is not recyclable and need to be sent for dumping or incineration.

Rs 100 Million to tackle water scarcity

The State Government has released Rs 100 Million grant to the Hyderabad Metro Water Supply and Sewerage Board (HMWSSB) from the Calamity Relief Fund for tackling water scarcity in the twin cities.

The grant would be utilised to ensure water supply in the "unserved areas" through spot sources, static tanks and transportation of water. In anticipation of release of funds, the water board had already taken up drilling of borewells through the Andhra Pradesh Rural Irrigation Corporation. As many as 136 power borewells were sunk in different parts of the twin cities of the 193 feasible points identified for the purpose, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Wockhardt's Heart Centres

Wockhardt Hospital has opened two dedicated heart hospitals in Hyderabad, in association with Kamineni Group, a medical education and healthcare provider. These hospitals will be linked with all the other heart hospitals under the Wockhardt flagship facilitating knowledge exchange between hospitals.

Aurobindo pharma gets USFDA nod

The Unit VIII facility of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd (APL) has received approvals from the United States Federal Drug Authority (USFDA) as a site to manufacture Active Pharmaceutical Intermediates (APIs) for the US market.

The Unit VIII of the Hyderabad-based APL consists of four production blocks, of which three are geared for APIs for regulated markets in the anti-retro virals CNS /anti-allergics / CVS segments.

This is the third approval for the company given by USFDA. The others being unit I for APIs and unit III for formulations. Unit VIII facility is situated at Gaddapotharam Village, Kazipally - IDA, Jinnaram (Mandal), Medak District, Andhra Pradesh.

Govt to unveil metro rail policy

An ambitious metro project envisaging a mass rapid transport system in major urban centres of the country is expected to be unveiled soon, based on a paper drafted by Delhi Metro Rail managing director E Sreedharan. The policy will not only look at making the wannabe metro projects in six-seven major cities financially viable but also examine issues like legal cover and better coordination among various departments, officials said.

According to officials coordinating the policy, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is taking a personal interest in metro projects as part of his grand urban renewal plan covering some 60 large cities, including the metropolitan centres. Sreedharan’s policy paper says the metro projects currently being planned in various cities add up to a mere 250-odd km of mass rapid transport system network, compared to China’s 1,500km over the same period.

His policy paper says metro projects need at least 20 per cent funding from the central government, estimated at Rs70bn ($1.6bn), while the rest can be raised by the concerned states and from the market. The paper also finds the absence of a dedicated ministry for metro projects a major hurdle since coordination between the ministries of urban development and the railways is a “nightmare”.

Officials said detailed project reports for metros have been completed for 33km in Bangalore, 38km in Hyderabad, 7km in Noida and 16km in Gurgaon. In the case of Mumbai, while the master plan for 60.8km of metro, has been finalised, the detailed project report is in progress. For Chennai, only a feasibility study for a total of 66.76km has been done. The sources said detailed project report is also being currently prepared for 18.65km of the east-west corridor in Kolkata, 23km in Kochi and 12.5km in Ghaziabad.

MCH site has outdated information

The IT department of the Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad (MCH) appears to be in need of a wake-up call. The supposed surfer-friendly MCH website is full of stale information.

A surfer is bound to get the shock of his life browsing www.ourmch.com as names of dead corporators and retired officials figure in the web pages. For instance, D Laxman, Jangamet division corporator who died about a year ago, is still listed as the corporator, while T Padma Rao, Secunderabad MLA, is shown as corporator of Hissamgunj division though he resigned from the post before the 2004 Assembly elections.

Some officials working in different sections of the Corporation who retired from service a few months ago continue to be mentioned as current officials.

If you are still not convinced, here are some more instances. Abdul Rahman Khan is still a ward committee chairperson according to the website. Interestingly, Khan’s term was over about two years ago (2003-04) and Yasmeen Sultana was appointed in his place last year (2004-05). Even she has been replaced by D Mohan (2005-06).

Cartosat-1 set for launch

India’s eleventh remote sensing satellite, ‘Cartosat-1,’ which is expected to give further impetus to cadastral level applications with its high resolution imageries, is set for launch on May 5 from Indian Space Research Organisation’s Satish Dhawan Space Centre. The 1560-kg Cartosat-1 along with a piggy back satellite ‘Hamsat’ would be launched by the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLVC6) from the newly set up state-of-the-art second launching pad at the centre at 10.19 am and the countdown will begin at 5.49 am on May 3. “The Cartosat-1 is the heaviest remote sensing satellite, which is mainly intended for cartographic applications. It will carry two state-of-the-art panchromatic cameras that will take black and white stereoscopic pictures of the earth in the visible region of electromagnetic spectrum,” project director, Cartosat-1, D V A Raghava Murthy said. The encrypted images will be reconstructed from the data received at the ground stations.

On a high road with robots

Size doesn’t matter (sometimes). At least that’s what the 50-odd kids gathered here proved on Saturday. On a summer evening, there was another kind of heat generated in the cool confines of Prasads. A group of young ones having a special date with robots confirmed if given little training, they are as competent as their elders!

Robot mania swept the first floor of Prasads as the little ones who got a lesson or two about robots at Waves - The School (Jubilee Hills) were all set to showcase their skills. The event Robotics Competition was held after a five-day workshop where kids learnt the basic skills of making a robot, assembling its parts and how to operate it.

Surrounded by anxious parents and teachers Kevin and Alfred (who came all the way from Singapore to teach kids), the teams Cyber Rangers, Lightning Explorers, Cyber Robots, Terminators, Running Waves, Robot Inventors, Robot Waves smiled and gave themselves a high-five. There were two groups - the Intermediate (6-10 year olds) and Advanced (10-15 year olds).

The first competition was Moonwalk and Jacko (the robot) was off the wall and landed on a small table and doing what? The moon dance, of course.

Next, the action shifted to soccer. A green outfield played host as robots operated by their little masters raced to strike a goal. As the thrilled parents acted as cheerleaders, the wannabe Beckhams, Del Pieros and Michael Owens twisted and turned their small machines to surpass the rival team.

Oohs, Aahs, Oh Nooo, Speed it Up dude, Take that Robot off the ground... made a chorus. Now, it was the turn of teenagers who tried hard to concentrate amidst high decibel music and boisterous crowds. The heartbeats raced as their robots moved on throwing coke cans, paper balls, bowling alley bottles, toys which came in its way.

Yup, this was altogether a different challenge and the youngsters basked with their robots.Not all were successful. Gunal (who later won a second prize) couldn’t control his tears when his robot lost track mid-way. “The kids not only discovered the robot world, but also learnt to be patient and work in a group,” smiled a affable Alfred.

And finally, when the results were out, girl power proved too much for the boys. It was Pavithra and Shruti of Robot Waves team who emerged the winners followed by Gunal and Kaushal who bagged the second and third prize. As the thrilled participants gushed after getting a certificate, their smiles were doubled when it was announced that the Waves would soon open its branches at Mehidipatnam and Himayathnagar.

Military World Games in 2007

The Andhra Pradesh Government will host the fifteen discipline fourth Military World Games here, from October 14 to 21, 2007 in Hyderabad.

This is the first time that an Indian city will be hosting the games and this will be the biggest international event with 4,000 athletes and 1,000 officials from the International Military Sports Council (IMSC) participating in the event.

The Games were allotted to Hyderabad based on the bid made by the Services Sports Control Board on behalf of the Central Government after the successful conduct of the Afro-Asian Games in 2003.

The Air Marshal informed the Chief Minister that the GOI had, in principle approved to spend Rs 20 crore towards the accommodation and transportation of the teams and officials. Dr Reddy had also agreed that his government would set up the games village, centralised information centre, media facilities, entertainment, communication, medical centre, catering facilities, volunteers for the games and the opening and closing ceremonies.

Mr Reddy had also agreed to provide security at the games village, sports venues and hotels and uninterrupted power supply during the games. The state would facilitate custom clearances for the visitors at the Hyderabad International Airport with assistance from the Central government. To regulate traffic on the routes likely to be used by the athletes and officials, the Indian Air Force would assist the Hyderabad police by lending helicopter service.

The core committee and various sub committees that are being formed will have representatives of the state government for the conduct of the games.

Gopichand Academy gets grants

In tune with its policy to promote sports and take it to the reach of common man, Andhra Pradesh government today granted Rs 10 lakh to former All England Badminton Champion, Pullela Gopichand, and his A B C Badminton Academy.

Chief Minister Y S Rajsekhar Reddy gave the cheque towards the fee of the foreign coach Thomas John, who will be training young shuttlers at Gopichand's upcoming academy. Gopichand met the Chief Minister alongwith Sumit Dwara, Sania Mirza and Air Marshal A K Singh and explained to him the features of the academy which will come up in two years.

Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) has allowed Gopichand to operate from its indoor stadium at Gachibowli until his Academy comes into being.

Renovated Clock Tower open to public

The renovated ‘Heritage Square,’ popularly known as ‘Clock Tower’ in Secunderabad, which has been waiting for inauguration at the hands of Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy for the last two months, was opened by the officials themselves on Sunday.

Though UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi launched the ‘Rajiv Gruhakalpa’ scheme last month from the Heritage Square, inauguration of the park per se did not take place.

Senior MCH officials told that no entry fee would be charged for the visitors coming to the Heritage Square for one week. Nominal entry fee of either Rs 2 or Rs 3 would be charged from next week onwards.

The main reason to price the entry ticket was not to make riches but only to keep the anti-social elements and beggars from entering the park and creating a nuisance.

British rulers built the Clock Tower in 1893. The surrounding park had been beautified to preserve the historic heritage value of the monument and make it a place for those coming to Secunderabad to stop and spend some time to enjoy the ambience.

The Corporation spent nearly Rs 1 crore to beautify the Clock Tower, which was earlier in shabby condition. They hired an expert consultant for renovating the place. The entire place is now covered with fencing. A number of pathways have been developed across the rich growth of grass. The defunct water fountain has been repaired and is working now. The place has been divided into two parts - Heritage Square and the Telangana Martyrs Square. Between the two squares a road has been developed to provide space for the traffic moving towards Sangeet Theatre from Prashant Theatre.

ETV to launch channels in US

ETV network is today scheduled to launch international transmission of ETV Telugu, Bangla and Gujarati digital entertainment channels in the US.

The channels being launched by its Managing Director, Ch Suman, will be offered through Direct TV, which is USA's leading digital multi-channel television service provider, a channel release said here on Sunday.

Lotto Sport in Hyderabad

Lotto Sport Italia, an Italian sports footwear, apparel and accessories manufacturer, launched its products in Hyderabad on Saturday. Delhi-based Sierra Industrial Enterprises Private Limited is the licensee for the brand in India, Nepal and Bangladesh till 2010.

The company is looking at distributing its range of products through shoe store chains and departmental stores besides its flagship stores. It is looking at increasing its presence from 650 stores to 1,075 stores by the end of 2007. Of these, the company is planning to set up 25 exclusive stores by 2007 from the present 10 in 2005.

Editors Key Strokes

Yet another month passed in the life of Cyberabad Times, total hits till date 12670. That was quite unexpected but the amount of content on this website indexed on the search engines is the reason for the result. People poured in requests to enhance the services on the site. Some services which went live just today are a user friendly interface and archives. The flight schedules on the site are updated and is the largest collection of flights out of hyderabad. This feature was originally launched in the first week ok april and got indexed around second week of april and since then had about 1200 hits. I'm delighted to serve fellow hyderabadis and this site is more like my hobby. This site will remain stictly non commercial i.e, no ads what so ever. I support the free content project by wikimedia and believe in a world in which every single person is given free access to the sum of all human knowledge. That's what i'm trying to do with my pet projects like Cyberabad Times. Thanks for spreading the word and making this site a success. Hope you enjoy the new revamped Cyberabad Times.

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