Venture capitals in India, which traditionally invested in urban segments or technology sector, have begun investing in rural-centric technology firms. Avishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund, Acumen Fund, and Rural Innovations Network are showing increased focus on rural markets.
On the back of a global meltdown, big-ticket firms may not be flocking at the premier Indian Institute of Technology campuses. IITians, however, have not lost all hope. Many are looking at start-ups for their first jobs.
The latest generation of Altec Lansing speakers, the FX3022 ex-pressionist Bass, make an interesting set of speakers. ex-pressionist Bass are meant to be an audio treat for music lovers and are priced at roughly Rs 7,000.
Sophisticated security-related electronics are expected to flood the domestic market after the Mumbai terror attacks.
Considered, till recently, the "blue-chips" of the estimated $15 billion Indian matrimonial market, the marriage value of non-resident Indian (NRI) and India-based investment bankers is rapidly being eroded.
Ben Verwaayen, CEO, Alcatel-Lucent, does not consider India as a low-cost destination. Rather he does not like to use the word offshore in the context of India. "If it is just about cost then I would not have been in India but to some other low-cost country. For me, India is a high talent country," he adds. As the person who was heading British Telecom's operations before taking over Alcatel-Lucent, he has pushed over a billion dollar of outsourcing work to India.
The IT industry, which has already taken a hit of more than Rs 500 crore in the second quarter because of the appreciating dollar against the rupee, will now be hit by adverse cross-currency movements even as they attempt to boost the share of revenue from the UK and the Eurozone. Unfortunately, the hit will be despite attempts by software makers to step up hedging in the pound and the euro. The IT industry earns about 60 per cent of its revenue from the US.
Industry insiders as well as sector experts said that companies are unlikely to miss this opportunity to rationalise bloated boom-time salaries.
In fact, firms like NIIT Technologies and EXL Services are already reaping the benefit of the first- mover advantage with over 20 per cent of their revenues coming from non-linear business in the quarter ended September 30. A non-linear business' focus moves away from the tendency to measure growth on the basis of headcount or the concept that the more the number of people working, the more the revenue.
India's mid-cap software companies may shed as much as 10 per cent of their workforce as revenues and margins have shrunk owing to a global slowdown, analysts say.
Sample this. Five cyber-thieves, allegedly part of a network that hacked into the account of a Noida businessman, were nabbed today for a Rs 1.66 crore (Rs 16.6-million) cyber hack. They used Internet banking to transfer the money from the businessman's account with the Punjab National Bank's Noida branch to their own account.
Reliance Life's virtual office has become the focal point of real-time interactions for its customers, agents and employees. It offers consumers the ability to review insurance claims and manage their plans; perform online transactions, such as ordering policies; access a consolidated, interactive snapshot of their retirement plans; and receive personalised health and investment news.
Indian clean technology businesses are finally catching the attention of investor community. New Ventures India - founded by World Resources Institute and CII-Godrej Green Business Centre - aims to fund 50 entrepreneurs in this segment by 2010 with a target investment of $250 million
Google is testing its SMS channel in India and intends to launch it to global audiences later. It supports English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages. It was fully conceptualised by Google India Labs. Prasad Ram, head (R&D), Google India, says, "The SMS channel is in line with our endeavour to connect the 250 million mobile subscribers who have no access to information."
With India's two leading IT outsourcing companies, Infosys and HCL Technologies, vying to acquire the UK-based consulting firm Axon, SAP implementation is back in focus.
The price, however, will be higher than the US debut tag of around Rs 8,200 ($179). Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC (India), told Business Standard: "We would prefer a mobile operator tie-up to introduce the Google phone in India in December."
Internet search giant Google hopes to hook the millions of cellular phone subscribers in India who do not use data or SMS-based services with its voice-based search. It is conducting pilot projects in Hyderabad and Delhi, and is expected to roll out more in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata shortly. The company is expected to add audio playback for search queries on local news and entertainment.
The venture, on the lines of Kishore Biyani's Future Ventures India, will focus its investments in the information technology sector, said a source familiar with the development.
The company is in talks with a few private banks and has signed on Citibank as one of the bankers to raise these funds, said sources. HCL Technologies and Citibank declined to comment saying that 'they do not comment on market speculation'.
Plans another $1-billion fund, wants to expand core team in India.
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