Shivani Shinde &Amp; P B Jayakumar In Mumbai

Stories by Shivani Shinde &Amp; P B Jayakumar In Mumbai

IITs in talks with investment cos to sell patents

IITs in talks with investment cos to sell patents

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2009

IIT Bombay, for instance, recently joined hands with Intellectual Ventures to seek support in marketing and licensing patents the institute holds.

Rs 70,000 crore infra projects get finance closure

Rs 70,000 crore infra projects get finance closure

Rediff.com   28 May 2009

The latest to join the list of projects that have achieved financial closure are two power projects -- 1,050 Mw GMR Kamalanga Energy of GMR Energy coming up at Dhenkanal in Orissa and the second phase 300 Mw Rosa power project in Uttar Pradesh promoted by Reliance Power. Experts said financial closure for another Rs 100,000 crore worth of projects are likely to be achieved in this calendar year, mainly from the power and infrastructure sector.

Console gaming takes an Indian twist

Console gaming takes an Indian twist

Rediff.com   25 May 2009

Sony is hopeful of growing the fledgling Rs 410 crore console gaming industry in India with games that will be developed in India and will be essentially based on Indian storylines. The journey has begun with the launch of the first India developed game for the PS2 platform, Hanuman: Boy Warrior, which is based on the hit Indian animation film Hanuman.

TCS' Asia-Pacific biz to grow fastest

TCS' Asia-Pacific biz to grow fastest

Rediff.com   21 May 2009

In an earlier interview, chief operating officer N Chandrasekaran had voiced this concern and said TCS was taking some measures. The impact was also evident on the overall revenue contribution, which fell to 4.7 per cent in FY09 from 5.2 per cent in FY08. TCS' head for Apac, Girija Pandey, feels the region will continue to be volatile till they reach a certain level.

HCL Tech plans to cancel Rs 3,000 cr worth hedges

HCL Tech plans to cancel Rs 3,000 cr worth hedges

Rediff.com   16 May 2009

New Delhi-headquartered IT services provider HCL Technologies plans to cancel hedging contracts worth $600 million (around Rs 2,970 crore), as the rupee continues to remain at Rs 49-50 levels. These hedges, analysts opine, would be taken at a rate of around Rs 41.

'If biz focuses on core, outsourcing will stay'

'If biz focuses on core, outsourcing will stay'

Rediff.com   12 May 2009

Having spent the first 90 days meeting employees and key clients, Jeya Kumar, new CEO of Patni Computer Systems, is clearly in control. While he acknowledges concerns due to the current slowdown, he has started restructuring the company. He details the growth plans in a chat with Business Standard's Shivani Shinde.

Mobile TV: A good show

Mobile TV: A good show

Rediff.com   7 May 2009

While the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India has approved the access of TV on mobiles, service providers still cannot stream live TV channels on to the handset due to spectrum allocation from the Ministry of Information and Broadcast. However, since the regulations do not allow a direct transmission of TV channels, service providers as well as content providers have started using a technology called Unicast which provides content to end-user on a one-on-one basis.

Swine flu: Firm offers patented machine

Swine flu: Firm offers patented machine

Rediff.com   1 May 2009

Termed AiroCide, the technology is supposed to eliminate 99.9 per cent of all air-borne micro-organisms, bacteria and pollutants.

Netbooks help boost PC sales

Netbooks help boost PC sales

Rediff.com   30 Apr 2009

Over the next three to five years, according to a Credit Suisse report, these cheap laptops and netbooks could add 170-250 million units globally to the current figure of around 300 million units. Netbooks sales, alone, could be 25 million units in 2009.

Top 4 IT firms continue to face the slowdown heat

Top 4 IT firms continue to face the slowdown heat

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2009

Wipro sees a silver lining in Q1; others say recovery by 2009-end.

TCS raises standards for staff performance

TCS raises standards for staff performance

Rediff.com   23 Apr 2009

"We have reduced the time period for improving skills. Earlier, if an employee would show even a small improvement, we would give an extension of a few more months. Henceforth, that will not be done," said Ajoy Mukherjee, vice-president and head, global human resources. The company will consider an employee's performance for the past three years so as to maintain consistency.

Reliance Power achieves closure for Sasan, finally

Reliance Power achieves closure for Sasan, finally

Rediff.com   20 Apr 2009

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group-promoted Sasan Power was Rs 2,500 crore short of the roughly Rs 15,000 crore it needed to borrow for the project. Now, India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd has agreed to lend around Rs 2,500 crore. A consortium of 12 domestic banks have already committed around Rs 12,500 crore, with State Bank of India and Power Finance Corporation leading the pack, with Rs 3,500 crore and Rs 1,800 crore respectively.

Lupin rejigs R&D plan, to foray into biotech

Lupin rejigs R&D plan, to foray into biotech

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2009

Lupin Ltd, one of the top five domestic pharmaceutical companies, plans to revamp its drug research programme and foray into novel biotech and reverse engineering of biotech drugs (or biosimilars).

Now, customised election news on your TV

Now, customised election news on your TV

Rediff.com   13 Apr 2009

Now, watch customised election news on your TV. Big TV, a Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group venture, is launching election-based interactive services that will be provided by its content partner CNN-IBN.

Pharma firms struggle with debt overload

Pharma firms struggle with debt overload

Rediff.com   10 Apr 2009

Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Jubilant Organosys, Orchid Chemicals, Aurobindo Pharma and Shasun Chemicals and Drugs are among those who have borrowed either to expand locally or to acquire companies abroad, but are now struggling to repay the dues, analysts say. Some of the companies' debt now exceeds their market capitalisation, as local and global investors sold stocks on concerns over slowdown and falling revenues. A few drug makers may be forced to sell assets to repay debt.

Gaming 2.0 picks up steam

Gaming 2.0 picks up steam

Rediff.com   6 Apr 2009

Data from web analytic firm Comscore shows that last year, social networking traffic saw a surge of a whopping 51 per cent in India. Social games are simple games such as word puzzles, antakshari or quizzes. Also referred to as Gaming 2.0, this form of gaming does not require high-end PCs or 3D graphics. ComScore reports that networking sites like Orkut, Facebook, MySpace, iBibo and Hi5 draw maximum number of social gamers.

Tata Motors plans truck unit in Myanmar

Tata Motors plans truck unit in Myanmar

Rediff.com   30 Mar 2009

After launching the Nano early this week, the country's leading truck and bus maker, Tata Motors, is now looking to set up a truck manufacturing plant in Myanmar with support from the Indian government in the form of financial participation.

Patni cracks Japanese outsourcing market

Patni cracks Japanese outsourcing market

Rediff.com   26 Mar 2009

"Japan currently accounts for 5 per cent of our revenues but we see this touching 9 per cent in the next three years. Business from Japan grew almost 35 per cent last year and we expect healthy growth from this region," said Deepak Khosla, senior vice-president and head, Asia-Pacific. Patni company has been in Japan for over 10 years but, in the past two years, the momentum of deals has increased considerably.

Reliance shrinks its big pharma plan

Reliance shrinks its big pharma plan

Rediff.com   25 Mar 2009

RIL is grappling with other priorities -- sliding oil prices, shrinking refining margins and a battle with the Anil Ambani group over the supply of gas. The plan was to build an integrated pharma company in two to three years, on the lines of large domestic majors such as Ranbaxy's or Dr Reddy's Laboratories. Instead, the plan has been modified to being a start-up bulk drug manufacturing company that will launch six bulk drugs or active pharmaceutical ingredients by 2010.

Hospital chains eye robust growth

Hospital chains eye robust growth

Rediff.com   18 Mar 2009

The sector has expansion plans worth more than Rs 2,000 crore to increase their bed strength in response to robust demand. Fortis, which now manages 3,000 beds with a network of 26 hospitals, is planning to double capacity by 2012 with 40 hospitals. Apollo Hospitals, which has 7,500 beds in 43 hospitals in India and overseas, plans to add 2,000 beds in two years. Meanwhile, the 17-hospital Wockhardt chain will soon add hospitals at Kolkata, Mumbai and at Nasik in Maharashtra.