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| IT NEWSLETTERS APRIL & MAY 2009 | ||||
| "New"-s April 2009 | Upcoming Events |
"New"-s May 2009 | ||
| Initiatives on Bengal Vision Document | Kalyani Infotech Park | |||
| French Consulate in Kolkata | HCL expands in Kolkata | |||
| State to supply more engineers to industry | High Speed internet in city | |||
| DSCI launched in Kolkata | Green Power Plant in West Bengal | |||
| Metro connection between Airport and city | West Bengal gets its first Nanotech Unit | |||
| ITC Hotel is bullish about Kolkata | Quote of the Month “….With its cost advantage and high potential, Kolkata is at an excellent position,….” Surabhi Mathur Gandhi G.M, Team Lease Services |
Spanco BPO doubles capacity in Kolkata | ||
| State scheme for Engineering Graduates | Tech Mahindra expands in city | |||
| Germany maintains focus on Kolkata | City beats Bangalore in Job prospects | |||
| Kolkata Police to go high-tech | Housing project by Tatas in Kolkata | |||
| Panel to protect US investment in the state | Kolkata shines at National Science Competition | |||
| Initiatives on Bengal Vision Document | ||||
| West Bengal is gearing up to formulate and implement a strategy in line with a vision document presented by Confederation of Indian Industry. An overall upgradation of infrastructure is envisaged in the vision document. The state is to put into action an integrated development plan for greater Kolkata and Howrah. Ten urban centers will be upgraded to current standards. Present road transport system will be given a re-look to make it more effective taking into account the present city conditions. Special attention will be given to infrastructure, agricultural development, energy requirement, healthcare, business augmentation initiative, education, environment, sports and cultural development activities, government policy frameworks and good governance. | ||||
| French Consulate in Kolkata | ||||
| France expressed its willingness to work with West Bengal for mutual industrial development. The country offers abundant opportunity for employment in France similar to USA and UK. In order to facilitate this, the city received a permanent French Consul General’s Office. French schenghen visas will now be issued from Kolkata. France took this step on a request from Hon’ble Chief Minister of West Bengal. This will open the doors for increased business interaction between the state and France. | ||||
| State to supply more engineers to industry | ||||
| The talent in Kolkata has always had an edge over other places in the country. To cater to the increasing demand of the industry, the Technical University in West Bengal has increased the number of seats in private engineering colleges from 20000 to over 32,000 from this year. The government has approved 25 new institutes which will start functioning from the current year. Existing institutes will also increase their intake. Moreover, the quality of education and adequate numbers of qualified teachers in each institute will also be ensured. The teacher-student ratio as stipulated by All India Council for Technical Education shall be maintained. | ||||
| DSCI launched in Kolkata | ||||
| Data Security Council of India (DSCI) - a self regulatory organization has launched its Kolkata chapter. The chapter will act as a platform to share ideas and experiences on data protection with the help of law enforcing agencies. The chapter will strive to maintain high level of data security standards to develop trustworthiness of Indian companies. DSCI which is also closely associated with National Association of Software Services Companies shall have close interaction with industry, academia and government agencies. | ||||
| Metro connection between Airport and city | ||||
| East-West Metro Extension from Salt Lake to Airport has received the approval of Japan Bank of International Cooperation. The 6.5 K.M project under Kolkata Metro Rail Cooperation will cost Rs. 800 crores. A mass rapid transport system between the Airport and the city has been long awaited. The construction of Airport and City extension will be undertaken simultaneously with Howrah and Salt Lake extension under East-West Metro corridor, thereby linking Airport and Howrah Station with all other parts of Kolkata. EW Metro is expected to handle huge volume of passengers between the Airport and the city. | ||||
| ITC Hotel is bullish about Kolkata | ||||
| Despite economic slowdown, the hotel major ITC Welcome Group is on an expansion spree with the hotel set to increase its capacity by 200% in Kolkata. The luxury property ITC Sonar Kolkata will have a third tower with 500 rooms to offer to its ever increasing business clients. The hotel said that the city had huge intellectual strength which will draw major foreign and domestic companies setting up their business in the city in the next 5 years. The hotel has geared up accordingly to take hospitality to the next level in Kolkata. | ||||
| State scheme for Engineering Graduates | ||||
| Bengal government has been working out ways and means to maintain job opportunity for the engineering graduates. There has been a little slowdown in IT sector due to global recession. In view of that state will introduce Post Graduate Diploma Courses to protect and nurture the best brains. Engineering graduates will be trained in a particular skill-sets to be ready for late entry in the job market. The state IT Department has also proposed to create more IT posts in the blocks, districts and various government departments to facilitate the e-Governance programme throughout the state. The dept. has also taken initiative to create more IT infrastructures in the lean period. | ||||
| Germany maintains focus on Kolkata | ||||
| Home of Volkswagen, the State of Lower Saxony in Germany, sent a very high level business delegation to Kolkata to explore potential business opportunities. The team was led by the Deputy Prime Minister of Lower Saxony Mr. Philip Rosler. Very senior private sector functionaries had accompanied the Deputy Prime Minister. The delegation met local industry and government officials and discussed collaboration opportunities in IT sector as well as various other fields. | ||||
| Kolkata Police to go high-tech | ||||
| As a part of the modernization program, Kolkata Police will be equipped with Global Information System in order to have a better control and faster access to the important installations and buildings in the city. This will also ensure a constant vigil on the city and its citizens. The GIS will help Kolkata Police to reach a particular area immediately in any emergency and their movement would be monitored from the headquarters. This will bring about efficiency and alertness in the force. Kolkata is the safest city with the least number of serious crime, and this modernization program will further reinforce the safety & security of its people. | ||||
| Panel to protect US investment in the state | ||||
| An exclusive panel will be formed to ensure American investments in the city comprising representatives from American companies in the city, Government officials and US Consul General. The panel is the first of its kind which will address various issues concerning US investments in the city. The Hon’ble Chief Minister had expressed his desire regarding the formation of this panel following a visit by a group of US companies led by US Consul General. | ||||
| Kalyani Infotech Park | ||||
| The process of selecting a private partner for the proposed IT SEZ and InfoTech Park at Kalyani will be concluded soon. This is a Project with an estimated cost of Rs. 4000 – 5000 crores and shall be undertaken on a Public Private initiative. A plot of 100 acres of land has been earmarked at Kalyani for this project. Three bidders, namely, Mahindra & Mahindra, Raheja Group and Paharpur Cooling Towers have been short listed on the basis of EOI. Kalyani InfoTech Park shall have housing, commercial complexes, institutional areas and common facilities on 50% of the land, while the other 50% of the land will be used exclusively as the processing zone for the IT companies. This is a prestigious project of the state nodal agency Webel. An education hub is also coming up in Kalyani close to this Park. | ||||
| HCL expands in Kolkata | ||||
| HCL Info system Limited will rollout its mobile internet devices soon. The company is undertaking marketing and technology research for the mobile internet device market. The company feels that Mobile Internet Device has a huge potential as it provides faster internet access. HCL has identified system integration business as the future growth engine. HCL info system has grown considerably in Kolkata and has also acquired 1.5 acres of land on the southern fringe of Kolkata for housing its’ enhanced activities. | ||||
| High Speed internet in city | ||||
| Bharti Airtel will launch 16 Mbps wired broadband in Kolkata. Reliance Communication has also launched its wireless high speed internet connectivity in Kolkata keeping in mind the increasing number of laptop users in the state. It can offer a download speed of 3.1 Mbps. RCom is planning to provide this service across the state of West Bengal soon. | ||||
| Green Power Plant in West Bengal | ||||
| Eight city based Solar and Biomass power companies have signed up with West Bengal Green Energy Development Corporation to set up Solar and Biomass power plants in various parts of West Bengal. Together these companies will invest 400 crores and will generate 50 megawatts a day. Such additionally generated power will be sold to power companies like West Bengal Power Development Corporation Limited to meet the increasing power demand in the state. | ||||
| West Bengal gets its first Nanotech Unit | ||||
| With United Nanotech Products Limited kicking off, the state gets its first cutting-edge Nanotechnology operation. The company has already got a good response from the South-East Asian market. The company is a joint venture between a diversified Kolkata company and a US company having a good exposure in advanced protective coatings, high performance battery electro materials and nano materials in emerging markets. | ||||
| Spanco BPO doubles capacity in Kolkata | ||||
| The domestic BPO arm of Spanco Group will double its staff strength to 1500 in Kolkata within the next month. The Kolkata center of Spanco BPO mainly services Reliance Communications. The company is negotiating with two other large telecom service providers. With the available skilled manpower in Kolkata, the company is confident to grow at a faster pace. | ||||
| Tech Mahindra expands in city | ||||
| Tech Mahindra expands its BPO activities in the city with the company taking 30000 sq. ft. of prime floor space at the new township Rajarhat. They will undertake varied outsourcing work for leading telecom corporate in UK and Asia specific. This is their first BPO centre in Kolkata and fifth in the country. Tech Mahindra has been present in Kolkata for many years and undertaking telecom high end technology work. Its new BPO centre will initially start with 500 seats which will increase to 1000 seats in a couple of months. At present, Tech Mahindra operates from two locations in Kolkata with twelve hundred engineers in the telecom field. The company has also started construction of their own campus on a 12 acre plot in Bantala SEZ. | ||||
| City beats Bangalore in Job prospects | ||||
| TeamLease Services, the renowned HR firm, reported in a recent survey that West Bengal has achieved the highest increase in employment followed by Bangalore, Mumbai and Hyderabad. The city recorded the highest growth despite many companies downsizing. The Health, Manufacturing & Engineering sectors have recorded almost 100% jump on index points while the Financial Service sector has recorded 7 index points from 2 which is 350% increase. The IT sector in Kolkata has remained stable in the present crisis where there has been neither a positive nor a negative trend. Kolkata also recorded the highest increase in terms of business. The city’s attrition rate which was 3% last quarter as compared to 21% in Hyderabad and Bangalore, makes it an increasingly attractive destination for the IT companies. | ||||
| Housing project by Tatas in Kolkata | ||||
| Tata Housing is entering Kolkata with a prestigious project of an integrated township. Close to the Tata Medical Center, which is under construction at the New Township, the 50 acre project will consist of residential, commercial and retail facilities among others. The Group intends to develop this premium property using their rich credentials and expertise. The project will mark Tata Housing’s first foray into West Bengal. | ||||
| Kolkata shines at National Science Competition | ||||
| Two students from Kolkata have been selected for an international competition on ‘Initiative for Research & Innovation in Science’, the largest pre-college Science Fair in the world in USA. They were selected as National Awardees for their research based projects at the Middle and High School level. In all 50 countries from all over the globe with 1,500 projects will compete in this event and the two boys are confident that their invention will find them a place. The boys worked on an innovative tamper proof bottle sealing mechanism which will ensure the purity of the content of the bottle. They got support from the school authority and were guided by the Mechanical Engineering Department of Jadavpur University. | ||||
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