New York : eBay agreed to buy the nation's largest online auction company, Baazee.com, for $50 million. eBay is now in 29 countries and the overseas operations of the Silicon Valley-based online marketplace are becoming increasingly important to the bottom line. The deal enables eBay to establish a presence in the second most populous country in the world at a time when Internet use there is still relatively low. An estimated 17 million of India's more than one billion population is online, a figure expected to rise to 30 million within two years. In April, the company reported a 59% improvement in revenues during the first quarter to $756 million and credited its international operations for much of the increase. Overseas sales now account for 40% of group revenues, up from 33% a year ago. Germany and the UK are the biggest eBay sites outside the US but a year ago the company paid $150 million to take full control of EachNet, an online auction business in China in which it had first invested during 2001. Mumbai-based Baazee.com is the brainchild of Indian-born Harvard MBAs Avnish Bajaj and Suvir Sujan.

TCS ambitious expansion plans for its operations in Chennai
Tuesday,  June 29, 2004.

Mumbai : The TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), Asia's largest IT services and consultancy company, has drawn up ambitious expansion plans for its operations in Chennai. The expansion plans in Tamil Nadu would create 8,000 new jobs as the new greenfield Siriseri complex will absorb over 3,000 new professionals and the existing Chennai complex will double its strength to 10,000. The company has already acquired over 70 acres of land in Siriseri and is expected to become operational by 2005 with the new complex expected to house over 3,000 personnel. For the Chennai operations, the current employee strength of 5,000 will be ramped up to 7,500 in the next three years and to 10,000 in the next four years.

TCS expanding relationship with IBM to cross-sell each other's products and services
Monday,  June 28, 2004.

New York : The TCS (Tata Consultancy Services), a leading Indian information technology company, is expanding its relationship with IBM to cross-sell each other's products and services. The TCS will train its employees and create focussed solutions using IBM hardware and middleware platforms. TCS and IBM will market each other's products and services in key vertical markets such as banking, financial services, insurance, telecommunications, retail and manufacturing. TCS said this relationship will enhance its delivery capabilities in several areas, including portals, security and on-demand computing. IBM will gain opportunities to reach new markets and grow market share for its hardware and middleware technologies.

TRAI proposes 63% reduction in tariffs for 2 mbps bandwidth capacity for domestic leased lines
Saturday,  June 26, 2004.

New Delhi : With a view to promoting usage of Internet and broadband, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India proposed a 63 per cent reduction in the tariffs for a 2 mbps bandwidth capacity for domestic leased lines at Rs. 8.20 lakhs annually. The proposed rates are for a distance beyond 500 km. Using a bottom-up approach, the revised ceiling tariff for capacities of two mbps and 64 kbps for beyond 500 km distance comes to Rs. 8.20 lakhs and Rs 24,000 respectively, reflecting a reduction of about 63 per cent and 75 per cent from the existing ceiling tariff in these categories, the TRAI said in its consultation paper on revision of tariff of domestic leased circuits.

India-based IT service vendors' revenue increase 29%
Friday,  June 25, 2004.

Mumbai : While India-based IT service vendors represented a small segment of the worldwide market, with 1.4 per cent of total revenues, collectively their revenues increased 29 per cent in 2003 compared with only 4 per cent growth among US-based vendors. According to preliminary results released by Gartner Inc, India-based vendors depended almost entirely on exports with 92 per cent of their revenues coming from customers outside India and only 8 per cent within India. The market for worldwide IT services grew 6.2 per cent to $ 569 billion in 2003; up from $ 536 billion in 2002. Accelerating activity in offshore outsourcing in which companies shift jobs across national borders, contributed modestly to the overall growth. The US-based vendors continued to lead the worldwide IT services market, attracting 59 per cent of total spending. IBM remained the largest competitor, with revenue rising 6.2 per cent to $42.6 billion.

Intel unveils new chips and processors to make PCs more entertaining
Thursday,  June 24, 2004.

New Delhi : Promising to make PCs (personal computers) more entertaining and productive for home-users and professionals, the multinational chipmaker, Intel, unveiled new chips and processors that form part of the company's $200 million digital home initiative. The chips -- Intel 915 G/P and Intel 925X Express -- are available from today and along with the new Intel Pentium 4 processors support the `Hyper-Threading' technology. The chipsets are built on Intel's 90 nm manufacturing process technology and run at speeds up to 3.6 GHz. President, Intel India, Ketan Sampat, said : "The new launch forms the part of the company's digital home initiative. The designing of the chips at our India centre is just the beginning and we will soon come up with complete chipsets for this ambitious project". Under the $200 million programme, Intel will fund companies worldwide in the networked personal computers and consumer electronics market as it did at the time of the introduction of the Wi-Fi technology. Ketan Sampat said : "The new products will be used in a range of audio, video and other capabilities that are found only on speciality PCs. These technologies will also pave the way for emerging capabilities such as high definition video, hi-fidelity surround sound, wireless connectivity and robust file protection for office and home users."

Oracle Partner Network will host its first ISV Forum in San Francisco
Wednesday,  June 23, 2004.

Chennai : According to the report, Oracle Partner Network will host its first ISV Forum in San Francisco on June 29-30. Oracle Partner Network will introduce a range of new benefits to help application providers speed up their business. The ISV Forum will offer opportunities for ISV currently working on Oracle technology. The forum will provide up-to-date strategies and solution roadmaps for the full Oracle product line as well as industry-specific roadmaps that bring together vertical ISV solution.

Infosys and Wipro ranked among top 100 infotech companies in world
Tuesday,  June 22, 2004.

New Delhi : Indian software giants Infosys Technologies and Wipro, which recently turned billion-dollar companies in terms of revenues, have been ranked among the top 100 infotech companies in the world. Infosys is placed 27th globally and Wipro 62nd on the list of top 100, which has LG Electronics at the No. 1 slot. Infosys posted revenues of $1.062 billion (90th best returns), a growth rate of 41 per cent (24th), a return on equity of 28.3 per cent (14th) and a shareholder return of 90.6 per cent (25th). Its profits were placed at $270.3 million. Wipro had recorded its revenues at $1.191 billion (86th), revenue growth at 20.4 per cent (56th), return on equity at 22.9 per cent (26th) and shareholder return at 130.9 per cent (9th). It had a profit of $210.8 million.

IBM unveiles Linux Centre of Competency in Bangalore
Monday,  June 21, 2004.

Bangalore : IBM unveiled its Linux Centre of Competency here, claiming that this centre would help its clients from industry, academia and government move to computing environment based on open standards. The Centre will showcase integrated solutions using Linux and provide deep, specialised skills to IBM clients and business partners to help them leverage Linux-enabled solutions to solve real business challenges. The Centre will also be used for in-depth technology briefings and workshops, as well as product and solution demonstrations and Linux education and training. IBM said in a statement : "The Centre provides facilities and support and consulting services to test, develop and drive Linux application and solution development. It will also provide Linux product and solution certification. It will help clients take full advantage of the reliability, flexibility and total cost of ownership value that Linux provides." The Vice-President and Country Executive, IBM Software Group, R Dhamodaran, said : "IBM has been committed to Linux for years and supports the 'opening up' of software and services."

VSNL ties up with Tata Teleservices Ltd to launch STD/ISD prepaid calling cards
Saturday,  June 19, 2004.

Mumbai : To reach out to the retail voice customers directly, the VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd) has tied up with Tata Teleservices Ltd to launch STD/ISD prepaid calling cards under the brand name "Hello Duniya." These cards will enable customers to make STD and ISD calls from any Tata Indicom fixed wireline, wireless or payphones across all TTSL's circles without having to activate the facility on the telephone. The "Hello Duniya" cards, which would be available in denominations of Rs 540 and Rs 1,080, will allow calls to US, Canada, UK and select countries in Asia, with tariffs to US at 7.20 per minute, Gulf and South East Asia at Rs 15 and Rs 9.60 per minute respectively.

BSNL soughts exemption from USO contribution
Friday,  June 18, 2004.

New Delhi : Being the only universal service provider in uneconomic areas, BSNL has sought exemption from contributing to the dedicated fund saying it should be reimbursed directly on the basis of cost incurred. BSNL has many times written to Department of Telecom that the current USO policy which seeks to reimburse BSNL after inviting tenders on competitive bidding basis for its rural network roll-out, needs to be amended so that BSNL could avail the reimbursement directly on the basis of the costs quoted in its open tenders. The sources said BSNL has written to the Telecom regulator TRAI also on the issue.

Pinnacle Info becomes Accurum
Thursday,  June 17, 2004.

New Delhi : The US-based capital market technology provider Pinnacle Info Solutions announced its new corporate identity with a name change to "Accurum". The Pinnacle Info Solutions said it would expand its India operations by increasing the headcount to 1600 over the next three years. Accurum Chief Executive Officer, Venkat Vallabhaneni, said : "We will start operations in Chennai this month and also open branches in Mumbai and Bangalore soon. We plan to recruit 1600 IT professionals in India and 600 outside the country over the next three years."

AirTel launches innovative "Pardes" pack
Wednesday,  June 16, 2004.

Ahmedabad : Mobile telephony service provider AirTel launched its "Pardes" pack, which offers a slew of benefits to international callers. According to the company report, using the "Pardes" pack, AirTel pre-paid consumer will now be able to make calls to US, Canada and Europe (Land Line) at just Rs 7.99 per minute. The Bharti Cellular Limited, Gujarat Circle, Chief Operating Officer, Atul Joshi, said the calls made to Middle East and Africa have been priced at just Rs 12.99 per minute translating into saving of 35 per cent, he said. For AirTel Gujarat, countries like US, Canada and Europe represent key calling destinations, he added.

Microsoft Corporation India launches technical support programme
Tuesday,  June 15, 2004.

New Delhi : Microsoft Corporation India announced a technical support programme "FirstSupport" with an investment of one million dollar, aimed at small and medium businesses. A company release said the programme would be spread over two years. The release said under the project, customers can avail onsite support from the company in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Chennai. Customers can also get this service via e-mail and telephone across the country. The General Manager, Product Support Services, Microsoft, Asia Pacific, Manish Sinha, said : "FirstSupport is targeted to cater to the needs of small and medium businesses. It will allow the SMBs to be able to get support when they need our help the most."

Maran for cheaper and faster Internet services
Monday,  June 14, 2004.

New Delhi : The Union Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Dayanidhi Maran, has underlined the need for providing fast and cheap broadband and Internet connectivity to give a fillip to interactive services. Maran directed senior DoT (Department of Telecommunications) officials to thoroughly examine the recently submitted recommendations of the TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India) on Internet and frame a "viable policy" on broadband and Internet connectivity. TRAI had observed that Internet growth in India was flat and at times had even declined. On the other hand, other countries like Korea, China and Malaysia have doubled or trebled the size of Internet and the broadband subscriber base. India now has 0.4 Internet connections and 0.02 broadband connections per 100 persons, while Korea has 25. China has 1.4 broadband connections per 100 persons and the current level is 50 per cent higher than what it was just six months ago.

Indian software and services industry projects to cross $20 bn mark in 2004-05
Saturday,  June 12, 2004.

New Delhi : According to the Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Company), a chamber of commerce of IT software and services industry in India, the Indian software and services industry is projected to cross the $20 billion mark in 2004-05, with exports from this sector growing at 30-32 per cent to reach revenues of over $16.3 billion. The Nasscom Chairman, Jerry Rao, said : "Despite the challenges of slow growth of IT spending globally, jobless recovery in major markets, and appreciation of the rupee, the Indian software and services industry has been able to maintain its growth momentum and consolidate its partnership with overseas customers, adding to their competitiveness." The Nasscom President, Kiran Karnik, pointed out that the Indian IT industry is among the top ten industries in India.

Oracle will increase number of developers working on Linux operating system
Friday,  June 11, 2004.

New Delhi : Oracle Corporation said it would increase the number of developers working on Linux operating system to 9,000. The company migrated its 5,000 developers to Linux last year and anticipates that by the end of 2004 its core development team worldwide will be leveraging the operating system. Soon Oracle will boast of the largest Linux based development organisation in the world. At present it has over 6,000 strong global support team that provides complete technical support to Oracle customers running on Linux. "By building all our products on Linux, we have decreased our own development cost and increased productivity," Wim Coekaerts, director of Linux Engineering said.

TCG Software to merge with Ivega Corporation
Thursday,  June 10, 2004.

Kolkata : The IT arm of the Chatterjee group, TCG Software, and the Bangalore based Ivega Corporation announced a merger creating TCG-Ivega. The TCG group has acquired the controlling stake of over 75 per cent in the merged entity with a combined turnover of over Rs. 100 crores. In a "stock and cash" deal, which is scheduled to be closed in July, the Chatterjee group of Purnendu Chatterjee has bought out the entire investment in Ivega by venture capital firms such as Global Tech Ventures (GTV) and ChrysCapital.

VLL announces formal launch of its telecom voice and data services in Sri Lanka
Monday,  June 7, 2004.

Mumbai : The VLL (VSNL Lanka Ltd.) announced the formal launch of its telecom voice and data services in Sri Lanka. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata-managed VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd.). VLL has tied up with carriers, both domestic and international, so as to be able to cater to the international long distance market of Sri Lanka. The VLL also unveiled its brand, "Tata Indicom" in the Sri Lankan market. The company has forayed into the Sri Lankan data market with the launch of its Tata Indicom IPLCs (International Private Leased Circuits). On the international side, VLL will leverage upon VSNL's existing relationship with 85 carriers across the globe to offer international direct dialling facility from Sri Lanka to 236 countries. VLL will use submarine cable (SEA ME WE 3) and satellite capacity in the provision of its voice and data services to the country. On the domestic side, VLL signed interconnect agreements with Sri Lanka Telecom (SLT), Suntel, MTN (Dialog), Lanka Bell and Celltell Lanka.

Y S Rajasekhar Reddy allays fears on IT sector in Andhra Pradesh
Saturday,  June 5, 2004.

Hyderabad : Allaying fears that Information and Technology (IT) sector will be neglected with the change of guard in Andhra Pradesh. However, the Chief Minister, Y S Rajasekhar Reddy, asserted that the pro-farmer image of Congress would have no adverse impact on IT and it will get its due share in the development process. He said : "Though concentration of state government will be on rural development, IT sector will not be neglected but we will give a more meaningful and qualitative direction to it."

OSS Technologies forms partnership with Texas Digital System
Friday,  June 4, 2004.

Chennai : OSS Technologies has formed a partnership with Texas Digital System of the US to launch their products in the Indian market. OSS launched QuickCOM Enterprise system, the latest in real-time, network attached LED display technology which has been developed by Texas Digital Systems in India. QuickCOM Enterprise offers faster response to critical events. The sleep display system fits into any call centre environment, offering improved productivity.

Wipro bags Risk Management Award for its work for J P Morgan Chase & Co
Thursday,  June 3, 2004.

Bangalore : According to the report, Wipro has bagged prestigious "Risk Management Award" for its work for J P Morgan Chase & Co. According to the released, the project was to develop an enterprise-wide operational risk management system. Designed to be available enterprise-wide and on a global basis to any employee with intranet access, the operational risk management system includes modules for capturing and analysing operational loss data, self-assessment, a capital allocation calculator, and a sophisticated reporting and analytics engine.

Sonata Software opens its third development centre in Bangalore
Wednesday,  June 2, 2004.

Chennai : According to a BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) release, Sonata Software has opened its third development centre at Richmond Road in Bangalore. The centre is the third one in Sonata's portfolio. With a total area of 35,000 sq. ft., the centre will house about 300 IT professionals. The building will house an offshore development centre to support Symantec's IT organisation.

L&T Infotech and Fidelity Information enter into partnership
Tuesday,  June 1, 2004.

Mumbai : A division of Fidelity National Financial Inc., Fidelity Information Services, and Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited have entered into a partnership to provide infotech solutions to the Indian banking industry. Larsen & Toubro Infotech Limited is in a unique position to offer the complete range of Fidelity products and services to financial organizations in India.

Sasken signs agreement with e-SIM
Monday,  May 31, 2004.

Bangalore : The Bangalore-based telecommunication software company, Sasken, has signed an agreement with e-SIM, a provider of MMI (Man Machine Interface) solutions for wireless platforms. As part of this tie-up, Sasken will offer pre-integrated and market tested MMI along with Sasken's mobile software solutions. Among the company's mobile software solutions are : 2G, 2.5G, 3G wireless protocol stacks and a portfolio of wireless applications.

TCS joins Symbian Program to support growing market for smart phones
Saturday,  May 29, 2004.

New Delhi : According to the report, the TCS (Tata Consultancy Services) joined Symbian Platinum Program. The Tata Consultancy Services announced it has joined Symbian Platinum Program to support the growing market for smart phones based on Symbian operating system.

Tata Teleservices and China Unicom sign MoU
Saturday,  May 29, 2004.

Mumbai : According to the report, Tata Teleservices and China Unicom signed a MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) for co-operation in the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) space. The Memorandum of Understanding is for jointly developing applications on the CDMA platform and aims at offering more value added services to subscribers of both telecom operators and to come out with innovative offerings.

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