India scored 1.9 points, which makes it an "extensive surveillance society". The US scored 1.5 points while the UK managed 1.3. Both countries are labelled 'Endemic surveillance societies'.
From wider adoption of software-as-a-service to a greater focus on biometric security measures, the year promises a lot.
The year 2007 surely belonged to the Indian gaming industry. Though investments made were larger than the returns, the number of people playing games certainly grew.
If you search for Benazir Bhutto on the Net, chances are that you would reach a malicious website that will steal your money and personal details stored on the computer and may even crash the system. All this if you do not have a genuine anti-virus installed on the PC.
Matrix's new SIM offering promises less paperwork.
Rolta India is planning to set up a sensor manufacturing plant even as it aims to touch the Rs 1,000 crore (Rs 10 billion) turnover mark by the end of financial year 2007-08.
Today, however, the major six IT MNCs alone -- IBM, Accenture, Capgemini, EDS, HP and ACS -- account for over 9 per cent of the Indian IT-BPO workforce. Overall, MNCs in India account for an estimated 14-15 per cent of the Indian IT workforce.
Farmers are now using video conferencing to procure good-quality seeds, fertiliser and other inputs. They are also using the technology to access market-related information, and market their products in some cases.
The declining prices of mobile handsets and low connectivity costs have helped in doubling Internet access through cellphones this year.
The Essar group firm is in talks with 7-10 companies for a "strategic fit", as it races to become a $500 million company by 2010. In some of these cases the due diligence process is in progress. Aegis is looking at firms in the US, South America and the Philippines.
Consider these numbers. The latest figures from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India reveal that the number of Indians using their mobiles to logon to the internet has increased from 16 million in 2006 to 38 million in 2007 (both GSM and CDMA).
Industry estimates peg the turnovers of MNCs like Dell, Intel, Microsoft and IBM at well over the half-billion dollar mark. Firms, like Cisco, are said to have crossed the billion-dollar mark in domestic sales in 2006-07, and for a player like HP India, it is estimated in excess of $2.5 billion.
IBM plans to increase its investments in its two software laboratories in Pune and Bangalore as part of its $1.5 billion security initiative in 2008, announced on November 1.
Players such as Net4, Sify and Worldphone Internet Services are offering International long distance (ILD) calls that work out to less than a rupee a minute by using a technology called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). Around 80 million minutes worth of calls are made via VoIP every month (legally), according to Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI).
In a bid to focus on testing, software and documentation, Dell India is integrating its hardware research and development (R&D) activities with its R&D units in Austin and Taiwan.
The highest-ranking female executive in Motorola's nearly 80-year history, Indian-born IITian Padmasree Warrior, has now joined Cisco as its chief technology officer (CTO) after spending over two decades at Motorola.
They reason that hiring locals abroad -- where they have 'near-shore' (with proximity to the client) development centres -- would help them tap local markets and serve global clients better, win more deals and goodwill in those countries, besides scoring brownie points with the US in an election year (over H1-B visas).
Wipro has already screened hundreds of applicants through video kiosks it has set up at three of its campuses - two in Bangalore and one in Chennai. The company shortly plans to extend this concept, and install over 1,000 video phones at all its 20-odd campuses across the country. Each campus accommodates over 2,000 people.
In an attempt to shed its image of being just a networking company, Cisco India will be launching a major brand repositioning campaign in India during the first quarter of 2008. It will include an outdoor, print and electronic media and web advertising campaign by OgilvyOne.
The asssumption is based on the fact that an investment of nearly Rs 34,021 crore (slightly over Rs 90 crore a day) has contributed to an increase of Rs 5,71,874 crore (over Rs 1,500 crore a day) to the GDP in fiscal 2006-07, according to a new report by Frost & Sullivan.