Monday, May 30, 2011

Mahindra Satyam steps up talent search

Mahindra Satyam, a leading global consulting and IT services provider, today announced that it is stepping up efforts to attract talent across Asia-Pacific and India, two of its fastest growing markets.



The outreach initiatives, launched as an essential part of its regional business strategy, are targeted towards potential employees both within and outside the industry.

Notable among these, is ‘Starting Over’, a lateral recruiting initiative that taps into a highly talented pool of mid-career women seeking to restart their careers at Mahindra Satyam after having taken a break for personal reasons.



The selection procedure for ‘Starting Over’ is as per the corporate norms, although candidates are evaluated based on their potential rather than just their previous experience. Various training programmes are also provided for them to re-orient them to corporate processes.



“Women make a significant part of the tech workforce today and ‘Starting Over’ is novel way of honing that talent base effectively. ‘Starting Over’ nurtures talent right from the initial application stage and ensures opportunities to all candidates by offering three employment avenues: internship, part or full time. In this way we ensure that all candidates are optimally employed.” said Suresh Samudrala, Head HR, Asia Pacific, Mahindra Satyam.


“My experience from the beginning with the ‘Starting Over’ team has been good. They have been helpful in boosting our confidence by holding seminars and conducting workshops. I am happy to be part of this organisation. Mahindra Satyam is the first company that I have come across to have started something like Starting Over for women like us - who want to restart their careers,” said Madhavi Lakkaraju, who has been successfully re-employed by the company as a part of the starting over initiative.


Another innovative talent development goal that the Indian IT major has achieved is more than 55% localisation of its employee base in every country outside India that the company operates in.


Towards this very objective, in a first for the company’s Singapore-based regional headquarters, Mahindra Satyam has tied up with the island country’s premier university, NUS , and other prominent universities to recruit soon-to-be engineering graduates. All recruits, almost all of whom are Singaporean citizens and PRs, will be trained for 3 months at the company’s Hyderabad (India) and Cyberjaya (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ) global delivery campuses, post which, they are expected to be deployed as full-time project staff on “live” implementations across Asia Pacific.


“The response from NUS has been overwhelming and we are very impressed with the caliber of applicants. We have successfully implemented this in many other countries including neighboring Malaysia and it has worked very well”, said Suresh Samudrala, Head HR, Asia Pacific, Mahindra Satyam. “Talent retention is almost as challenging as talent acquisition in our industry and if we don’t think out-of the box, our growth will be seriously impeded,” added Suresh.



In order to grow existing talent, Mahindra Satyam regularly conducts extensive people development programmes, both at leadership and delivery staff levels. Among these, a pioneering initiative has been the ‘Shadow Board’, which is a quasi board of mid-manager level employees, all of whom under 35 years of age. They advise the senior leadership on new industry trends, new technologies and evolving corporate practices.


“Technological trends today are evolving too fast for traditional boards and senior leadership that is usually over 60 years of age to keep track of. The ‘Shadow Board’ has worked very well for us and has been behind many of the new practices we have evolved such as social media,” said Suresh Samudrala, Head HR, Asia Pacific, Mahindra Satyam.


Constantly raising the bar for its internal talent development practices has enabled Mahindra Satyam to attract prominent senior leadership as well. Over the past X months, more than five senior management appointments have been made across different countries.


“Mahindra Satyam is fast developing a reputation for being one of the most coveted employers in the industry and we are pleased with that mantle,” concluded Suresh.



Mahindra Satyam is the brand name of Satyam Computer Services Ltd. a leading global consulting and IT services provider.


About Mahindra Satyam

Mahindra Satyam is a leading global business and information technology services company that leverages deep industry and functional expertise, leading technology practices, and an advanced, global delivery model to help clients transform their highest-value business processes and improve their business performance.

The company's professionals excel in enterprise solutions, supply chain management, client relationship management, business intelligence, business process quality, engineering and product lifecycle management, and infrastructure services, among other key capabilities.



Mahindra Satyam is part of the $11.1 billion Mahindra Group, a global industrial federation of companies and one of the top 10 business houses based in India. The Group’s interests span automotive products, aviation, components, farm equipment, financial services, hospitality, information technology, logistics, real estate and retail.


Mahindra Satyam IMS is a leader in offering innovative and transformational infrastructure services to enterprises helping them build and manage their IT infrastructure more efficiently and effectively.



Nephrolife organises a Free Kidney screening camp

Nephrolife Care India’s one-of-its-kind renal disease management centre, a prominent Multi-speciality Hospital are organising a Free Kidney Screening Camp on 3rd- 4th June 2011 for above 35 years of age in their premises from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. The centres have just over 25 dialysis stations with an individual suite for VIP dialysis. Additionally, a fully computerised laboratory, digital radiology and ICU backup are provided catering to the full range of kidney ailments for both chronic and acute renal failure.


The Kidney screening camp are subject to the following tests namely Serum Creatinine, RBS, Urine Routine, BP and Consultation with the Nephrologist. It’s estimated the actual package costs around 600Rs which is provided FREE. The screening would prove invaluable for those Diabetic or Hypertensive on taking the right course of action for detection of any kidney ailment.

Our Nephrologists Dr.Sushma Rani was to highlight “Kidney disease being a silent killer that is prominent amongst the people of 30-35 age groups”. “Spreading awareness amongst family members about taking such relevant health screening tests

Dr. Topoti Mukherji were stress upon “The rampant spread of Kidney disease has been going undetected leading to Dialysis i.e. stage 5 CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease). Such awareness campaign would remove any economic burden if one were to start Dialysis or await a donor if not detected earlier.”

The patients stand to benefit on preventative care, education, haemodialysis, psychological and social support, palliative care and transplant supportive care through this partnership. Highest Quality along with an internationally acclaimed medical team ably assisted by competent support staff making us the most sought after multi-specialised healthcare service provider.



About Nephrolife

NephroLife Care, headquartered in Bangalore, is India's first-of-its-kind renal disease management centre, offering affordable and holistic care for Kidney Disease and Kidney Failure. A dedicated super-specialty unit built to exacting international standards, NephroLife strives to redefine renal care in India with: Focus on improving quality of life; augmenting health and well-being. Research-driven Nephrology consulting supported by a full suite of allied patient care services (such as diet management, psychological services, diagnostics and more) - putting the ‘whole’ in holistic care.

FORD INDIA: Amateur Photo Contest a Big Hit Among Fiesta Fans

Ford India announced the winner of its `All-new Ford Fiesta Photography Contest' at the Fiesta Café in Select Citywalk mall of New Delhi last week. The contest, which attracted huge participation, was open to all amateur photographers residing in India who shot the all-new Fiesta sedan at the Fiesta Café and tried to bring alive the experience.


The Fiesta Café is high-tech zone to connect to the new generation of young, urban achievers in India whom Ford targets as customers of the all-new global Fiesta – the latest B-segment premium sedan unveiled by Ford at the Café on April 14. The Digital Café plans to do so in many interesting ways. The display area in itself is unique – with technology aiding the effort through iPads, interactive touch-screens and a human-gesture-controlled ‘fanwall’. The Café has and will continue to host other lifestyle and fashion events and video-conferencing with Ford technology experts.

The photography contest, which accepted entries from May 7 to 15, screened and selected twelve contestants. Photographs shot by them were uploaded on photo-sharing website Flickr.com on May 19th, 2011. The entries attracted huge interest with over 360,000 views in just 7 days. Visitors viewed and voted for their favourite photos.

Mr. Madhavan Pillai, editor, Better Photography magazine judged the entries along with senior Ford executives to select the final winner. -. The winner took home a cash award of Rs. 2,00,000. All contestants also received 32GB SDHC memory card as a token of appreciation for their participation The top 10 photos determined by online voting on Flickr are showcased at Fiesta Café.

"I am thrilled that my entry was adjudged the best! The Fiesta's amazing Kinetic Design, especially its aggressive front grill and its flowing lines were the inspiration behind my photograph. The stylish flowing lines give a new dimension to the car which looks like its ready to spring into action, like a sprinter." said Gaurav Chauhan, a Mass Communications graduate from Punjab Technical University who emerged the winner.

Ford's Digital Café has been the hub of activities since the day of its launch. Apart from Fiesta fans and media, several bloggers and auto enthusiasts have visited the venue to have a glimpse of Ford's new set of wheels. Ford also organised `Toys for Big Boys,' – an interactive session with a Ford technology expert, for better connect with its fans here.

"Like in the new Fiesta premium sedan, we want the entire Digital Café to engage and elevate our customers through technology and the popularity of the photography contest shows that. We hope the Fiesta's new best in segment features like Voice-controlled interface, Cruise Control and class-leading fuel-efficiency will endear it to our customers in India." concluded vice president of consumer Marketing, Ford India, Anurag Mehrotra, who handed over the awards to the winners.



# # #


About Ford in India

Established in 1995, Ford India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader. Ford India manufactures and distributes automobiles and engines made at its modern integrated manufacturing facilities at Maraimalai Nagar, near Chennai. The company's models include the Endeavour, Fiesta Classic and the Figo.

Ford's operations in the country also include Global Business Services, comprising of Ford Business Services Center and Ford Technology Services India. Located in Chennai and Coimbatore, these units support Ford globally in the areas of IT, accounting and finance, financial services and automotive operations support, global analytics and engineering services. Ford’s businesses in India employ 10,000 hard-working, dedicated men and women.

Mercedes-Benz flags-off “Star Drive” in Bangalore

Driven by the overwhelming response received for “The Star Drive” during the first phase conducted last year, Mercedes-Benz India flagged of the second phase of its signature driving experience program here at the E-Zone Club on Ring Road in Bangalore. This special extravaganza is specially conceptualized by Mercedes-Benz to highlight its unparallel safety features, and engineering technology and offers prospects and customers an opportunity to understand handling of critical road situations in a safe and controlled environment.


This unique drive experience put to test the power and performance of the participants and the Mercedes-Benz cars encompassing the ML-Class, GL-Class, C-Class and E-Class. New additions to this line up were some of the power packed AMGs: SL 63 AMG, C 63 AMG & the latest introduction: the iconic G 55 AMG. Through the simulations, the dynamics of the vehicle namely safety, agility and performance in off-road and on-road conditions are brought to the fore. The participants could experience the tangible benefits of key safety technologies like Pro-Engineering Package, AIRMATIC, etc. during the driving experience program.


Also on display was the global heartthrob that was introduced in India recently: the SLS AMG. The shining red SLS with its signature gullwing doors won hearts of the participants & media alike.



Mercedes-Benz has always been a pioneer in introducing new technologies globally as well as in India. One of the overriding principles driving the brand’s innovation and technology has been Customer safety. Over the years Mercedes-Benz has introduced various revolutionary technologies ranging from Integral occupant protection system (PRE-SAFE), Neck-Pro, PARKTRONIC to the latest addition – Attention Assist System that have created a benchmark in terms of passenger safety in the automobile industry.


Mr. Debashis Mitra, Director Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India: “Mercedes-Benz Star Drive Experience is aimed to give our customer and participants an one of its kind opportunity to personally experience the unmatched safety technology of our cars besides offering them an opportunity to further hone their driving skills. The Star Drive combines essential elements of driving experience with simulation of critical road situations; combines the Mercedes-Benz spirit of innovation with a genuine spirit of fun”.


Mr. Raymond Wong, CEO, ExxonMobil Lubricants Private Limited, India, the presenting partner, said: “Mobil 1 is the oil of choice of more than 55 car manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz. Mobil 1 is formulated for high performance engines, and is chosen by AMG specifically to enhance engine life, provide superior protection against harmful deposits, contribute to cleaner running engines and dramatically reduce friction as compared to conventional engine oils.”

Internet Explorer 9 now available in your local language!

Microsoft Corporation India Pvt. Ltd. today announced the availability of Internet Explorer 9 in 53 additional languages, including 11 Indian regional languages, specifically, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Marathi, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu. With this launch, a wider audience base will have access to Internet Explorer 9 in their native language. Consumers can download Internet Explorer 9 in a language of their choice by visiting www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/internet-explorer/downloads/ie-9/worldwide-languages.


The availability of Internet Explorer 9 in Indian regional languages is part of Microsoft’s ongoing efforts to promote local language computing in India, thereby taking IT to the masses. Over the years, the company has announced a spate of technologies in Indian languages, including the Indic Language Input tool, a phonetic based keyboard which facilitates users to input localized text easily and quickly; Language Interface Pack (LIP) support for flagship products; availability of Windows Live applications including e-mail, Instant Messenger, personal home page and more in Indian languages and the Captions Language Interface Pack (or CLIP), a tool that uses a tooltip caption to display local language translations, specifically in Hindi, Malayalam, Oriya, Tamil, for user interface items in Visual Studio 2008 and 2010.



Microsoft has been working on language computing in India since 1998, since the first India visit of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. The idea was to usher in the IT revolution in the country in a phased manner – and localization was identified as the key catalyst for effecting this development. In 2003, Microsoft India launched Project Bhasha, a cohesive effort to bring together Governments, the academia and research institutions, the local ISVs and developers and the industry associations on a common ground for promoting local language usage in IT. The www.bhashaindia.com portal is India’s leading community for Indian language computing.



For more information on the availability of Internet Explorer 9 in additional languages, visit IE blog.

For more information on Microsoft Internet Explorer 9, visit www.microsoft.com/ie or http://www.beautyoftheweb.in/


About Microsoft India

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software - any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation (India) Private Ltd is a subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation, USA. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and currently has offices in 13 cities - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.

Korean Air renews sponsorship with CNNGo

CNN International announces that Korean Air is continuing its sponsorship around the network’s travel, entertainment and lifestyle brand ‘CNNGo’. This renewal marks the success of a year-long partnership since May 2010 between the world’s leading news network and South Korea’s largest airline, one which launched with on-air advertising around CNN’s monthly travel and lifestyle show ‘CNNGo’.


With the sponsorship now entering into a second year, Korean Air is committed to advertising around the ‘CNNGo’ TV program which is extending from a 15-minute to a 30-minute show starting in May with Hanoi and June with Beijing. The airline’s brand will also be visible when highlights from the show airs within CNN’s other TV programs.

Korean Air’s sponsorship also extends beyond TV to CNN’s online properties. Banner ads will appear on CNNGo’s TV show page at www.cnngo.com/tv in addition to a new city section of CNNGo.com at www.CNNGo.com/Seoul for Seoul.

The sponsorship comprises a TV and online campaign designed to raise awareness of the global carrier’s brand credentials for “Excellence in Flight”. Starting May 11th, the advertisements will play out in front of CNN’s over 275-million-household audience worldwide across Asia Pacific, South Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and North America. There will also be Korean Air banner rotations and CNNGo co-branded banners running across CNN digital properties.

In June, the sponsorship rolls out further to CNNGo’s mobile properties (m.cnngo.com), including banner placements across the CNN App for iPad.

“This renewal reaffirms CNN’s success and leading position to bring strong brand visibility for Korean Air,” said William Hsu, Vice President of News Advertising Sales, CNN Asia-Pacific. “We are thrilled that the tie-up around CNNGo has extended across CNN’s diverse multi-media platforms ensuring the two brands reach an ever-growing group of consumers and travellers around the world.”

Korean Air’s Managing Vice President of Corporate Communications, Emily Cho, said: “'Korean Air is delighted to renew our sponsorship of CNNGo. The high-quality content that this program provides to viewers worldwide fits in perfectly with our brand and our dedication to incomparable service for our customers.”

About CNNGo TV

CNNGo is a monthly 30-minute show featuring a unique take on global destinations, bringing views from genuine insiders on what gives dynamic cities around the world their distinctive buzz. Taking its lead from the digital CNNGo.com, whether you’re a local, a business or leisure visitor, or even just a cultural voyeur, CNNGo delivers the best of each city by those who know it best. More information on the show, extended interviews and additional interactive content is available at www.cnngo.com/tv.



About CNNGo.com

CNNGo.com is the ultimate insider guide to the top travel, entertainment and lifestyle experiences in Asia Pacific. Focusing on Bangkok, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, Sydney - CNNGo compiles the best each city has to offer through its vast network of local professional writers and photographers across the region. Visit CNNGo.com or follow us on Twitter @CNNGo or via facebook.com/cnngo.asia to experience a new world outside your door



About CNN

CNN is the world's leading global 24-hour news network and one of the world’s most respected and trusted sources for news and information. The CNN brand is available to two billion people via 18 CNN branded TV, internet and mobile services produced by CNN Worldwide, a division of Turner Broadcasting System Inc and a Time Warner company. CNN International is the international directorate of CNN Worldwide and distributes news via 14 services in seven different languages. CNN International can be seen in more than 275 million households and hotel rooms in over 200 countries and territories worldwide, including over 37 million across the Asia Pacific region and online at www.cnn.com/international.



About Korean Air

Korean Air, with a fleet of 134 aircraft, is one of the world's top 20 airlines, and operates almost 400 flights per day to 112 cities in 39 countries. It is a founding member of the Sky Team alliance, together with its 13 members, which offers its 395 million annual passengers a worldwide system of more than 13,000 daily flights covering 898 destinations in 169 countries.



In 2010, Business Traveler named Korean Air the best Asian airline for the fourth consecutive year and best transpacific business class for the fifth straight year, while Global Traveler awarded the airline with best business class seat design and best airport staff/gate agent. The carrier won the 2010 global travel catering distinction award by Pax International magazine while World Traveler magazine rated it as having the world’s best inflight service. Travel & Leisure magazine readers say it is one of the world’s top 10 international airlines and readers of Conde Nast Traveler magazine voted Korean Air one of the world’s top ten global airlines.

More on Korean Air's programs, routes, frequency and partners is available at http://www.koreanair.com/


Sunday, May 29, 2011

NetAmbit to hire 300 in Bangalore in next two months

NetAmbit, India’s leading Financial Services Distribution Company, today announced recruitment plans of hiring 300 new employees at its Bangalore centre. With this ambitious recruitment plan, the centre, already providing jobs to 350 people, aims to almost double its size over the next two months.

While growing from strength to strength in last four years, this centre is now looking at a rapid ramping up of operations thanks to the growing awareness of diverse financial services available. To support the recruitment exercise, the company is starting a recruitment drive from May 21st where job seekers could get job offers on the spot. NetAmbit will be looking at recruiting not only the post-graduated but also under-graduates and freshers who suit the job requirements. Along with English and Hindi, a fluency in local languages like Kannada and Telugu could give the prospective employees an added edge over others.

With three strong distribution channels retailing a range of different products like Life insurance, Pension Plans, Child Plans, Mutual Funds & SIPs, Education Plans, Auto Insurance & Health Insurance. The company has presence across Tier 2/3/4 cities and towns. The scalability of the model is demonstrated by the fact the NetAmbit has grown from just 13 to 154 locations between FY06 & FY10.

Commenting on the aggressive recruitment plan Mr.Girish Batra, Chairman and Managing Director, NetAmbit said, “NetAmbit has always welcomed new talent and with the growing business we intend to take this forward even more aggressively. We believe that in a business like ours, new talent, with their unadulterated innovative approach not only takes customer services to customer delight but also add value to the business as a whole. We hope to find many such talented employees in this and similar recruitment drives that we aim to start in the coming days.”

NetAmbit has Direct Marketing Centres in Delhi, Noida, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata & Chennai.

About NetAmbit

NetAmbit is India's leading Financial Services distribution company and employees over 4000 people across 154 locations across the country.  It has strong distribution channels retailing a range of different products like Life insurance, Pension Plans, Child Plans, Mutual Funds & SIP’s, Education Plans, Auto Insurance & Health Insurance. The company has pioneered the Direct Marketing Model which is now generically referred to as the ‘NetAmbit Model’ in the industry. The company caters to the largest section of population in India as compared to any other financial services distribution company. NetAmbit has strong distribution presence across Tier 2/3/4 cities and towns. The scalability of the model is demonstrated by the fact the NetAmbit has grown from just 13 to 154 locations between FY06 & FY10 and has direct marketing offices in Delhi, Noida, Bangalore, Kolkata, Chennai and Mumbai.

NetAmbit distributes financial products to its customers through several different channels i.e. Direct Marketing Model, Branch Model, Digital – Internet & Mobile.  NetAmbit has backing and support of experienced and renowned investors like Bessemer Venture Partners (BVP) & Helion Venture Partners, lends a strong backbone to NetAmbit’s business operations

HP Technology Helps DreamWorks Animation High-kick "Kung Fu Panda 2" onto the Big Screen

HP and DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. (Nasdaq: DWA) have united once again to create the studio’s action-packed 3-D film “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which hits theaters on Friday, 27th May, 2011.
For ultimate performance, production artists at DreamWorks Animation relied on powerful HP Z800 Workstations to achieve industry firsts while designing everything from whirling water and lush green lands to battle scenes filled with thousands of kung fu characters.
For more than a decade, HP and DreamWorks Animation have worked side by side to create revolutionary technology that has helped craft eye-popping, heart-racing and awe-inspiring animation features like the “Shrek“ series, “How to Train Your Dragon,” “Megamind,” “Kung Fu Panda” and now “Kung Fu Panda 2.”
In “Kung Fu Panda 2,” Po is now living his dream as The Dragon Warrior, protecting the Valley of Peace alongside his friends and fellow kung fu masters, The Furious Five. Po’s new life of awesomeness is threatened by the emergence of a formidable villain, who plans to use a secret, unstoppable weapon to conquer China and destroy kung fu. Po must look to his past and uncover the secrets of his mysterious origins; only then will he be able to unlock the strength he needs to succeed.
HP’s high-performance workstations have been fine-tuned to meet the detailed and demanding creative needs of DreamWorks Animation. The HP Z800 Workstations are radically faster – as much as 50 percent for some applications – than their predecessors and are the workstation of choice for several studios around the world. The additional high-speed Intel processing cores, memory and option drives enabled artists to effectively work on multiple shots concurrently and far more interactively than before.
“The creative ambition for ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ again pushed DreamWorks Animation to the cutting edge of technology. The film’s lead characters are some of the most intricate ever created and the environments are among the richest and most vibrant in CG filmmaking,” said Ed Leonard, chief technology officer, DreamWorks Animation. “HP technology continues to help us cross these new boundaries, develop new standards for the filmmaking industry and ultimately create enjoyable films for audiences around the world.”
The original “Kung Fu Panda” film, released in 2008, used more than 50 terabytes of data and required nearly 25 million render hours. With the switch to stereoscopic 3-D and the ever-escalating creative aspirations of the filmmakers, “Kung Fu Panda 2” used 100 terabytes of data and required more than 55 million render hours.
“HP is committed to bringing innovations to market that help customers like DreamWorks Animation unleash their creative genius,” said Jeff Wood, director, Worldwide Marketing, Workstations Global Business Unit, HP. “Working closely with industry leaders in film and animation inspires us to deliver top-performing technology that take their creations to the next level.”
“Kung Fu Panda 2” fun facts
—  Creative and technical advancements were required to produce the state-of-the-art character effects, like fur, feathers, cloth and armor, that fill the entire world of “Kung Fu Panda 2,” not just limiting visual richness to the main characters.
—  When a cannonball hits water in a key battle scene, a big splash is generated to emphasize the power of the impact. For the close-up shot, an FX artist used specialized, proprietary software to render the 10 million particles. —  In the film, one of the wolves gets hit with 1,220 peaches, weighing a total of 457 pounds and travelling at 105 miles per hour. This is about the same energy force as getting hit by an automobile travelling at 45 miles per hour.
—  During the scene when the tower is destroyed, there are more than 50,000 splinters and small pieces of debris produced.
—  “Kung Fu Panda 2” is the first DreamWorks Animation film to use dynamic, physics-based crowd characters, such as the wolves. The wolves engage in a kung fu battle with Po and The Furious Five, and are able to dynamically react using a proprietary DreamWorks Animation kung fu physics simulation tool.
—  The final battle sequence of the film, which takes place in the harbor and canals of Gongmen City, is calculated to contain more than 60 million gallons of water. The scene required the most intensive computational graphics work of the film and more than 7 million render hours were consumed to produce 14,000 frames.
About DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series, live entertainment properties and online virtual worlds, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE® Magazine for three consecutive years. In 2011, DreamWorks Animation ranks #10 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animation’s feature films are now being produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 21 animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.
About HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.

HP Networking Achieves First Security Certificat​ion From Indian Government

HP India today announced that HP Networking has received the Evaluation Assurance Level 2 (EAL 2) Common Criteria (CC) certification for HP Routers. This is the first time the Department of Information Technology, Government of India has issued this certification and provides the appropriate level of security assurance.

Each day, organisations are faced with numerous security threats, from both internal and external environments. To protect themselves and stay ahead of these threats, organisations need to put in place the latest and most sophisticated security solutions to protect data in critical infrastructure.

“As organisations and government departments increasingly opt to computerize and automate their operations, there is a dependency on IT to foster collaboration and deliver efficiency. Data protection and integrity is of paramount importance in this environment’, said Neelam Dhawan, Managing Director, HP India. “The EAL 2 certification is added recognition of the security, robustness and reliability of HP’s offerings and a reflection of HP’s ability to evolve our offerings to meet next generation threats.”  

The CC security framework is an international standard (ISO/IEC 15408) for ensuring that IT/networking products conform to stringent security requirements. It is considered a prerequisite in many government procurement requirements in India and abroad. HP Networking received the certification under the Indian common criteria certification scheme, which is the national scheme and covers the HP MSR-SR series of routers. This is the first certificate that has been issued by Standardization Testing and Quality Certification (STQC- http://www.stqc.nic.in/), which is a part of Department of Information Technology, Government of India.

“Over the past decade, there has been large proliferation of IT in every sector of society, including business and Government. With information explosion, the industry is facing a challenging task to manage, store and prevent vulnerable information from cyber attacks from across the organization”, said Hon. Shri. Kapil Sibal, Union Cabinet Minister, Communications & Information Technology, Government of India. “HP is the first company in India to have leveraged the CC certification process, having met the rigorous security standards established by the CC framework, to ensure IT security.  We encourage other companies to use this framework, which has been brought by DIT, Govt. of India, to get their products certified and build more secured and robust IT systems in our country.”

HP Networking, a component of the HP Converged Infrastructure, provides enterprises with a complete networking portfolio that includes consulting and management services, operations software and hardware. The portfolio spans from data centre networking, enterprise routing, security, LAN switching, branch office and mobility. Through its TippingPoint acquisition, HP Networking provides a complete set of security solutions that address today's sophisticated security threats.

HP Converged Infrastructure is key to an Instant-On Enterprise. In a world of continuous connectivity, the Instant-On Enterprise embeds technology in everything it does to serve customers, employees, partners and citizens with whatever they need, instantly.


HP DISCOVERHP’s premier client event, HP DISCOVER, takes place on June 6 – 10, 2011 in Las Vegas and November 29 – December 1 in Vienna.  The event showcases how organizations can get started on their Instant-On Enterprise journeys. 
ABOUT  HP
HP creates new possibilities for technology to have a meaningful impact on people, businesses, governments and society. The world’s largest technology company, HP brings together a portfolio that spans printing, personal computing, software, services and IT infrastructure at the convergence of the cloud and connectivity, creating seamless, secure, context-aware experiences for a connected world. More information about HP (NYSE: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com..
This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. If such risks or uncertainties materialize or such assumptions prove incorrect, the results of HP and its consolidated subsidiaries could differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements and assumptions. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements, including but not limited to statements of the plans, strategies and objectives of management for future operations; any statements concerning expected development, performance or market share relating to products and services; any statements regarding anticipated operational and financial results; any statements of expectation or belief; and any statements of assumptions underlying any of the foregoing. Risks, uncertainties and assumptions include macroeconomic and geopolitical trends and events; the competitive pressures faced by HP’s businesses; the development and transition of new products and services (and the enhancement of existing products and services) to meet customer needs and respond to emerging technological trends; the execution and performance of contracts by HP and its customers, suppliers and partners; the achievement of expected operational and financial results; and other risks that are described in HP’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended January 31, 2011 and HP’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to HP’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2010. HP assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements.

Comviva Extends Support to World Wide Web Foundation to Generate Awareness of the Mobile Phone as a Tool for Social Growth

Comviva, the global leader in providing mobile solutions beyond VAS, today announced its sponsorship of the Workshop on Mobile and Web Technologies in Social and Economic Development to be held on June 4-5, 2011 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Comviva has been closely associated with this workshop series to help facilitate the efforts of W3C and Web Foundation at generating greater awareness about mobile devices, with the objective of reducing the existing digital divide.
Expressing his delight at this association, Arun Tanksali, VP, Comviva said, “We are proud to have been associated with World Wide Web Foundation and the World Wide Web Consortium over the past few years and support them in their vision to reduce the digital divide in developing regions. Using the Web on a mobile phone can enable human communication, support more financial transactions and build opportunities to share knowledge in underserved growth markets. Sponsoring this event is a demonstration of our commitment to go beyond boundaries and support development in regions where mobile technology can truly make a difference. We have always made efforts to offer products and solutions that help users make the most of their mobile phones by improving their livelihood and enhancing their lifestyles.”

Speaking about the sponsorship, Stephane Boyera, Web Foundation Lead Program Manager and W3C Team Contact said, “We would like to thank Comviva for their association over the years. The strong growth in mobile phone usage offers new opportunities for growth in economic and social well-being in emerging markets. Our objective is to gather all stakeholders in a global forum where we can identify the key challenges of using mobile phones as an ICT-platform in developing regions. We are committed to reducing the digital divide and providing services to under-privileged populations. The aim of this workshop is to explore how to lower the existing barriers and to identify key directions for future exploration.”

The upcoming workshop on June 4th and 5th 2011 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania will investigate in more detail three specific themes that have recently attracted the attention of the community:
Provision of sustainable services through entrepreneurship
Availability of multi-purpose/multi-channel data collection tools
Delivery of services through voice applications

About the World Wide Web Foundation Seminar
This workshop is jointly organized by the World Wide Web Foundation, as part of its Web in Society program and the World Wide Web Consortium, as part of its Mobile Web for Social Development Interest Group. This workshop is an event of the Internet Summit Africa jointly organized by AfNOG, AfriNIC, AfREN, and AAF. For more information, visit http://www.webfoundation.org

About Comviva
Comviva is the global leader in providing mobile solutions beyond VAS. With an extensive portfolio of solutions spanning VAS infrastructure, applications delivery platforms and customer-facing applications, Comviva enables mobile service providers to enrich mobile users’ lives, whilst rationalizing costs, accelerating revenue growth and enhancing customer lifetime value. Comviva’s solutions are deployed by service providers in over 85 countries and power services to more than 650 million mobile subscribers globally. For more information, visit www.comviva.com
   

Innovation, Emerging Markets to drive Embedded Systems R&D sourcing: NASSCOM - Zinnov Study

National Association of Software and Services Companies in collaboration with Zinnov Management Consulting, a leading globalization advisory firm, today released the NASSCOM – Zinnov study on “Embedded Systems Opportunity: Powering Indian IT up the Value Chain”. The report gives a detailed analysis of the current embedded systems market landscape, emerging technology trends & opportunities, and new markets-verticals that are likely to shape the future of the industry. It is a first of its kind report that analyses embedded systems across verticals – Automation, Energy & Power, Healthcare, Transportation, Aerospace & Defense, automotive, Telecom and Consumer electronics.

Commenting on the launch of the study, Mr. Som Mittal, President NASSCOM said- “Embedded Systems Development centers in India have evolved from cost-leveraged testing facilities to value-adding design hubs. India now has an established base for R&D and can leapfrog both for international and domestic consumption. Showcasing opportunities in untapped and existing verticals will help the industry create alliances, partnerships and new product offerings. The launch of this report is recognition of India’s enhanced focus in the global embedded systems technology services market.”

Talking about the study, Mr. Pari Natarajan, CEO, Zinnov Management Consulting said “With the launch of the Embedded Systems Opportunity report in collaboration with NASSCOM, we hope to bring out a holistic perspective on the changing industry dynamics and emerging trends in this segment. The study is a result of our global thought leadership, real world survey of leading industry practitioners as well as research and interviews with various facilitators of the industry. The Embedded Systems market in India has the potential to triple in size to about USD 14.4 Billion in 2015 from USD 4.95 Billion in 2009.  And needless to say, there is a paradigm shift required in the mindsets and business models to tap this opportunity”.

As per the study, the total addressable embedded system R&D global opportunity is expected to reach USD 89 billion by 2015. This is characterized by mega trends like

·         Embedded systems component is increasing across a wide range of devices – key to even industries such as Automotive and Aviation. On an average, electronics constitute 35% of an average car’s cost
·         Standards-based connectivity, open source platforms, inter-operability and hardware standardization, adoption of green technologies are creating yet untapped opportunities
·         Emerging markets are likely to grow at double the pace, as OEMs are also shifting from traditional product sale centric business models to service oriented business models.
·         The focus on end-to-end product development by OEMs is also driving the growth and opportunity

Highlighting the India potential, the study states that over the past few years embedded systems development centers in India have focused on value addition, apart from the cost and talent leverage that India provides. Currently, India’s revenue from embedded systems development is almost USD 5 billion, employing about 110,000 professionals. US and Europe have been the key markets. The industry continues to look at new areas of interest where there is high propensity to innovate and achieve non linear growth

While India is well positioned to capitalize on the addressable opportunity in the embedded space; there are some areas of concern like the absence of a mature electronic prototyping and electronic manufacturing ecosystem, restrictive hardware import laws, inadequate infrastructure for testing and certifications, and lack of industry specific talent which need to be addressed for India to successfully tap into this growing market.

About NASSCOM

NASSCOM® is the premier trade body and the chamber of commerce of the IT-BPO industries in India. NASSCOM is a global trade body with more than 1200 members, which include both Indian and multinational companies that have a presence in India. NASSCOM's member and associate member companies are broadly in the business of software development, software services, software products, consulting services, BPO services, e-commerce & web services, engineering services off-shoring and animation and gaming. NASSCOM’s membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs over 2.24 million professionals.

About Zinnov Management Consulting
Founded in 2002, Zinnov – meaning Zeal in Innovation – is a leading management consulting company providing advisory services in the area of Global Sourcing, Emerging Markets Expansion and Human Capital Optimization to Fortune 1000 and reputed SMB companies. Zinnov works collectively with clients to tackle prevailing organizational challenges by analyzing the changing dynamics, improving performance, and building institutional capability. The services delivered to its clients through advanced reasoning and analytical techniques, provides solutions that help in integrating organizational vision, business definition and processes.
 

GRB introduces a wide range of food products


GRB DAIRY FOODS PRIVATE LIMITED takes great pride in announcing the launch of its new range of Instant Mixes, Ready to Cook Mixes, Spices, Spice Blends, Sweets Mix, Pickles and Pastes in the consumer market of South India under its flagship brand name “GRB”.

These new products launch is a result of Mr. G.R. Balasubramaniam’s, vision to bring best-in-class food products to the consumers.

After three decades in the business of ghee manufacturing and marketing and enjoying immense consumer faith and patronage, the company is now diversifying into other food products business with this launch.

The company is well known in the industry and trade for its very high quality standards and clean business practices. As a result the brand GRB holds very good equity among the business fraternity and consumers alike. In keeping with this track record, the company is all set to launch a wide range of food products that carry the legacy of GRB hallmark quality of fresh homemade taste.

GRB new range of food products will be manufactured in its own facilities and the company’s existing network will be used to sell the products in the retail.

Mr. G.R. Balasubramaniam, Managing Director, GRB Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd.  said “Our vision is to bring good quality food products with traditional home made taste using modern technology”

Mr. B. Dhanraj, Executive Director, GRB Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd. said “With the addition of this new range of products in our portfolio, we are looking forward to reach a turnover of Rs. 300 crores by 2015”

Mr. B. Balakarthik, Director, GRB Dairy Foods Pvt. Ltd. said “In Phase II, by 2012, we are planning to launch a range of innovative Ready to Cook food products”

Availability:

GRB new range of products is currently being launched in Karnataka and soon it will be available in Tamil Nadu followed by other Southern States.

GRB new range of products will be available in high quality packages like stand-up pouches, pillow pouches, carton boxes and attractive PET bottles in several SKUs.

The company has plans to make GRB new product range available in the retail store shelves immediately and will be competitively priced.

About GRB Dairy Foods Private Limited:

GRB Dairy Foods Private Limited, an ISO 9001:2000 company was founded by the visionary leader Shri G.R. Balasubramaniam. It is a story of unbelievable hardwork, extraordinary determination, unwavering focus and enormous sacrifices, started as a humble homegrown business in 1984 in Bangalore, the company crossed Rs. 100 crores mark in the FY 2010 – 11: a giant leap considering one small step taken by Mr. G.R. Balasubramaniam some three decades back as a one man operation. Today, the company’s flagship products “GRB Ghee” & “Udhayam Ghee” in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are celebrated household brand names, well known for its high quality standards with its unique granulated property, irresistible aroma and fresh homemade taste. Like the company’s tagline suggests, GRB brand name has indeed become synonymous with pure and high quality ghee and is now recognized as a sign of purity!

The company launched “GRB ice cream” in the year 2005 and in the year 2009; the company test launched its Instant Mix products GRB Gulab Jamun Mix and GRB Rava Idily Mix in the markets of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

GRB Ghee, Udhayam Ghee, GRB Ice Creams and GRB new range of products are all manufactured from the company’s own facilities

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

BEL registers Rs.5,550 crore turnover


BEL-CMD-addressing-Press-Conference
  Highlights During 2010-11

 Sales turnover has increased to Rs.5,550 crores (provisional) from Rs.5,220 crores in 2009-10, a growth of 6.3%.

 The estimated Profit Before Tax is Rs.1,120 crores as against Rs.1,045 crores in 2009-10.

 Exports turnover has registered a growth of 77% from US $ 23.65 million in 2009-10 to US $41.89 million during 2010-11.

 BEL’s order book grew from Rs.11,350 crores to Rs.23,600 crores during the year.

 Supplies to the defence contributed to 80% of turnover.

 The turnover from indigenously developed products is 78%.

 All nine Units of BEL continued to achieve profits.

 BEL paid a total dividend of 192% for 2009-10. BEL has paid 60% interim dividend to its shareholders for 2010-11. This is the 7th consecutive year of interim dividend payment.

 Union Defence Minister, Mr A K Antony, inaugurated BEL’s Product Support Centre at Kalamassery in Kochi, Kerala, on February 8, 2011. The Centre has been set up to provide waterfront support for the Southern Naval Command and to support outsourcing of Naval system projects to BEL’s outsourcing partner, KELTRON. It is also envisaged to co-ordinate equipment supply and support to the Air Defence Ship Project at Cochin Shipyard Limited and to support Sonar development projects at the National Physical & Oceanographic Laboratory (NPOL), Kochi, a DRDO lab.


 Dr V K Saraswat, Scientific Advisor to Defence Minister, inaugurated a modern D&E facility at BEL’s Hyderabad Unit on December 24, 2010. The facility is equipped with Embedded Systems Lab, Software Development Lab, Communication systems and integration labs, Video Conferencing, etc.

 Four numbers of India’s first wholly indigenous Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) Recce Vehicles, designed and developed by DRDO and integrated with NBC instruments at BEL’s Pune Unit, were handed over to the Indian Army on December 21, 2010. The NBC Recce Vehicle surveys, detects, identifies and marks areas of radiological and chemical contamination.


Major Orders Executed

Some of the significant orders executed during the year include supply of 3-D Central Acquisition Radar (Rohini), Surveillance Radar Element, Artillery

Combat Command Control System, Battle Field Surveillance Radar, L-Band Surveillance Radar, Fire Control Systems, Shipborne Electronic Warfare System, Integrated Communication Network System for ships, Mobile Radar band Electronic Intelligence System, Handheld UHF Radios, Secure

Communication Network, Passive Night Vision Weapon Sight and Doppler Weather Radar. Among the many projects executed during the year,

the following merit special attention:

Artillery Combat Command Control System: The system automates artillery functions with the use of latest technologies such as Tactical Computers integrated with communication capabilities, Geographical Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) to achieve quick and accurate fire. The system has been developed by BEL with indigenous technology and security solution from DRDO.



Surveillance Radar Element: It is an S band Air Traffic Control Radar suited for Terminal Control applications with a range of 130 km. It is a fully solid state modular transmitter with integrated IFF. It detects and automatically tracks a large number of aircraft within Local Flying Area under all weather conditions and is configured for high availability.



3-D Central Acquisition Radar (Rohini): It is a 3-D surveillance radar in S band. It has an integrated IFF (Identify Friend or Foe) with co-mounted antenna and has been developed jointly with LRDE for the Indian Air Force.

Combat Net Radio: It is a VHF Frequency Hopping communication radio, fitted in Armoured vehicle. It has been developed with indigenous technology by DRDO and engineered by BEL.

VPS Mk III: It is a UHF Handheld Radio, compact and light-weight, with built-in High Grade Digital Secrecy. Interface is provided for handset/ headgear and Crypto key loading. The operator interface is user-friendly

with minimum number of controls. The radio set is provided with various types of antennae for use in different types of terrains, ranges and roles.

Battle Field Surveillance Radar – Medium Range (BFSR-MR) with Mast: It is a ground surveillance and acquisition radar capable of automatically detecting and displaying diverse moving targets such as

pedestrians, vehicles, tanks, low-flying helicopters, etc. It supports artillery units by locating shell bursts and providing fire correction data.

RAWL 02 Mk III: It is a long range surveillance radar operating in D band. It is designed for use onboard large and medium Naval ships and for

shore establishments and provides long-range air warning and target detection. It has stabilised hydraulic-driven antenna platforms.



Ground Based Mobile ELINT: An Electronic Intelligence Gathering System (Radar band) used during peace time. The system has location-fixing and Radar Finger Printing capability.

Composite Communication System - CCS Mk III: It is the newly developed system providing internal and external communications for Naval ships. It is based on ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) technology with an interface to the ship’s ATM backbone (AISDN). It has been developed by BEL with indigenous technology.



Naval Heliborne ESM system: It is a lightweight ESM system for helicopters of the Navy. It has higher threat-handling capability and improved DF accuracy. It has been developed by BEL with indigenous technology.

Air Defence Control & Reporting System: ADC&RS is a Command & Control system for integration of various radars and other Army systems for Air Defence. It has been developed by DRDO and engineered by BEL with indigenous technology.



Advanced Naval Gun Fire Control System (LYNX U-1): This state-of-the-art system has been developed by BEL to be installed onboard the P-28 class of ships for short/medium range Gun Fire Control using 3-axis stabilised, high accuracy X-band tracking radar and electro optic tracking system.

Doppler Weather Radar: It is an S-band radar, meant for long-range weather surveillance (up to 500 km). It can forecast storms, cyclones and other severe weather conditions. It uses Pulse Doppler techniques for accuracy and has been developed as a national initiative involving IMD, ISRO and BEL.


New Products

Prominent among the new products introduced and supplied during 2010-11 is the Akash Missile System - it is the first time that BEL is executing such a system. The other new products supplied include Advanced New Generation Hull Mounted Sonar, Mobile Communication Terminal, Hand Held Thermal Imager, Semi-Ruggedised Automatic Exchange, Instant Fire Detection & Suppression System, Surveillance Jammer Vehicle, Low Power

Jammer, ATM-based Integrated Ship Data Network, Combat Management System, Laser Seeker, HF Transreceiver, Panoramic Surveillance System and Gap Measuring Device Mk III. Among the many new products introduced during the year, the following merit special attention:



Akash Weapon System: It is a medium-range, surface-to-air missile system, which provides air defence against multifarious air threats like aircraft, helicopters, UAV, Remotely Piloted Vehicle (RPV) and cruise missiles to mobile, semi-mobile and static vulnerable forces and areas. It employs command guidance, real-time multi sensor data processing and threat evaluation and relies on phased array radar to guide the missile, till intercept.


HUMSA-NG: It is an advanced new generation, hull mounted, medium-range, medium-frequency sonar using single transducer array, which meets the present day Anti Submarine Warfare needs. The system is equipped with state-of-the-art technology, including high performance hardware, and employs well-proven signal-processing algorithms.

Semi-Ruggedised Automatic Exchange (SRAX Mk II): It is a Semi Ruggedised Automatic Digital Telephone Exchange with voice/data/video conferencing features. It supports legacy, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Combat Net Radio and other latest interfaces. It has been developed by BEL with indigenous technology.

Instant Fire Detection and Suppression System (IFDSS) for BMP 2/2K: IFDSS is a micro controller based system for BMP 2/2K, which detects and suppresses fire in the crew and engine compartments.



Mobile Communication Terminal: It is an IP-based Network Centric

Solution for secure voice & data communication. It has been developed and manufactured by BEL with indigenous technology.

Low Power Jammer: It is a Communication Electronic Warfare system. It is capable of simultaneously doing functions like search, monitoring, data decoding, recording and replaying of demodulated signal in V/UHF bands. It has been developed by BEL with indigenous technology.

Major Orders Received

During the year 2010-11, the company received many orders. Significant among the high value orders are:

 Akash Weapon System (IAF): Rs.3,619 crores

 Battlefield Surveillance System: Rs.2,539 crores

 Advanced Gun Fire Control System (LYNX U-2): Rs.1,676 crores

 3D Tactical Control Radar: Rs.1,439 crores

 Passive Night Vision Devices: Rs.950 crores

 National Population Register (Smartcard): Rs.930 crores

 Command Information & Decision Support System: Rs.905 crores

 Schilka Upgrade: Rs.747 crores

 LYNX Upgrade: Rs.415 crores

 D-29 Modkit: Rs.403 crores

 Digital Radio Trunking System (DRTS): Rs.275 crores

 Revathi: Rs.194 crores

Export Performance

 BEL achieved exports of US $ 41.89 million, which is an increase of 77 per cent over last year’s figure of US $ 23.65 million. The range of products exported are Electronic Components - Vacuum Interrupters, ICs, Power Devices, Small Signal Devices, Solar Cells, etc; Communication equipment – Composite Communication System; Electronic Warfare systems - Radar Finger Printing System accessories, Electronic Support Measure System; Radar systems and accessories – IFF Interrogator system; Fire Control Systems - Electro Optical Gun Fire Control System; Target Designator Sight, etc; Electro Optical devices and precision parts.



 The countries to which BEL’s products have been exported include Malaysia, USA, Canada, Israel, Russia, Nepal, Indonesia, Switzerland, Suriname, Philippines, UK, Germany, Sri Lanka, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, France, Italy and Namibia.



 BEL has an export order book of US $66.36 million including the Offset order of US $42.28 million. The export target for 2011-12 is US $47 million.



New Initiatives



Business Initiatives



BEL’s new business initiatives include:



 MoU signed with Sagem, France, in the field of Land Navigation and Artillery pointing applications, based on Sagem’s Sigma 30 Inertial Navigation Systems. The MoU shall pave the way for the ToT of Sigma 30 to BEL.



 Technology Collaboration Agreement (TCA) signed with Optelian International Corporation, establishing a long-term partnership between the two companies for the manufacture and design of optical networking systems in India, and deployment throughout the SAARC region.



 MoUs signed with Diehl Defence Holding GmbH, Germany, and Northrop Grumman, USA, for MMRCA programme.



 BEL is in discussions with a reputed foreign OEM on forming an Indian Joint Venture in the area of civilian radars & select defence radars.



 The business plan for setting up a JVC with BHEL for manufacture of Solar PV wafers, cells and modules has been finalised. Both the companies are in the process of obtaining their respective Board approvals.



 BEL is working on establishing a company for the design, development and manufacture of RF and Microwave components and subsystems.



R&D Initiatives & Achievements



 BEL interacts with other development agencies like DRDO, ISRO, CSIR, C-DOT, C-DAC and leading academic institutions like IITs, IISc and NITs for joint development of indigenous technology useful for the country.



 The gross R&D expenditure for 2010-11 was Rs.350 crores (provisional), an increase of 11 per cent over the previous year.



 The turnover from indigenously developed products is 78%.



 A new D&E facility has been opened at Hyderabad Unit for design & development activities in the area of Electronic Warfare systems.



 R&D committees constituted for formulating technology roadmaps in BEL’s core areas.



 Core design group formed for Microwave Supercomponents and computing elements.



 Knowledge Management portal created as part of SAP system.



 Around 50 technical papers were published by scientists and R&D engineers of BEL in various national and international journals/seminars/conferences.



 BEL won the SODET Award for Technology Innovation (Gold) for the year 2009-10 for the development of STM-1 Bulk Encryption for IAF network.

 ELCINA-EFY Certificate of Merit Award in R&D(2009-10) was awarded for developing four types of components - Detectors, HMCs, MWTs and Passive Components.



 BEL-Bangalore has won the Technovation Award 2011 under the category of ‘Best Electronic Product – Aerospace’ for the development of High Voltage Relay Driver ASIC for space applications. The award was presented by India Semiconductor Association.



Manufacturing Initiatives



 Supercomponents facility at Bangalore Complex upgraded for manufacture of Microwave Modules.



 Facility at BEL-Bangalore for the manufacture of 10 million Smartcards.



 Network Centric Systems Division at Bangalore is under modernisation.



 Two Walk-in-Chambers installed and commissioned for environmental

 stress screening of products.



 Order placed for Humiseal Spray equipment by Military Radar SBU at BEL-Bangalore.



 Chemical polishing facility for Aluminum set up at Machilipatnam Unit.



 EMI/EMC test facility for MIL-STD-461E established at Chennai Unit to help in qualifying BEL’s products for EMI/EMC specification.



 X-Ray Machine (DAGE, UK make) installed at Panchkula Unit for inspection of PCBs. Conformal coating booth set up for applying conformal coat in PCBs.



 EMI/EMC Lab, new buildings for Electronic Assembly/Testing of 3-D Central Acquisition Radar and for the Antennae of Weapon Locating Radar, Battery Level Radar and Low Level Transportable Radar projects are being envisaged at Ghaziabad Unit.



Quality Initiatives



 All the Units/SBUs of BEL are aligning their business operations with the CII-EXIM Bank Business Excellence Model and are striving to achieve the award. During the year 2010-11, Milcom SBU and Kotdwara Unit of BEL achieved the second level of recognition: ‘Commendation Certificate for Significant Achievement’. Components SBU, Export Manufacturing SBU and Panchkula Unit received the first level of recognition: ‘Commendation Certificate for Strong Commitment to Excel’, under this award scheme.



 BEL won the ELCINA-EFY Award for Excellence in Quality (first prize) for the year 2010-11.



 The Bharat Electronics Quality Institute has been imparting training on Six Sigma since July 1999 and has trained 1,264 officers so far. During the year 2010-11, 299 Six Sigma projects were completed, resulting in cost reduction, process improvement and customer satisfaction.



 BEL has won the QCI-DL Shah National Award All the Units/SBUs of BEL are aligning their on Economics of Quality under the category ‘Projects Submitted by Public Sector & Government Enterprises’. The company also won laurels for Six Sigma projects from Indian Statistical Institute, Quality Circle Forum of India and Symbiosis Institute of Management.



 The company is getting its design engineers certified as Reliability Professionals from the Centre for Reliability, STQC Directorate, Chennai. During the year 2010-11, a total of 28 engineers were certified as Reliability Professionals.



 As part of its endeavour to enhance the customer satisfaction level, the company has been conducting customer satisfaction surveys every year. This survey is being conducted through a third party to bring in objectivity. During the year 2010-11, customer satisfaction survey was conducted for five products and the overall customer satisfaction index was found to be 80.5 per cent.



HR Initiatives



 In order to address the learning and organisation development needs, various management development programmes as well as technology programmes were organised during 2010-11 through premier training institutions for all grades of executives.



 The company-wide per capita training man days for the year 2010-11 was 3.37 as against 3 in 2009-10.



 In order to strengthen the Leadership capability, six programmes (residential) on 360 Degree Feedback and Leadership were conducted and 117 AGMs/Sr DGMs/DGMs attended.



 Three Leadership Review Workshops were conducted in various Units. 37 DGMs/Sr DGMs/AGMs attended the programme. The action plans were reviewed.



 To enable our senior executives to be change agents, 4 programmes on ‘Leading the Change’ were conducted at MDI, Gurgaon. 88 executives in DGM/Sr DGM/AGM grade attended.



 To enhance marketing skills to compete in a fast changing market, 19 executives were nominated for a 6-months residential Marketing programme at IMI, New Delhi.



 129 executives attended an Outbound Learning Programme aimed at experimenting and exploring hidden potential in an informal environment.



 A two-day Communication and Presentation Skills Workshop was organised and 154 executives attended the programme.



Environmental Initiatives



 BEL has been maintaining a clean and green environment at all its nine Units, which are all ISO 14001 certified. Clean surroundings, green environment, clean technology, stringent pollution control measures, waste water treatment, zero effluent discharge, rainwater harvesting, energy conservation, water conservation, systematic management and disposal of hazardous and other forms of wastes and several other endeavours have become a part of the well-established Environmental Management System.



 BEL-Bangalore bagged the “Excellent Water Efficient Unit Award 2010” and “Water Efficient Unit (Beyond the Fence) Award 2010” at the 7th National Award for Excellence in Water Management competition held by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) at CII–Sohrabji Godrej Green Business Centre, Hyderabad.



 With two Wind Energy Power Plants at Davanagere (2.5 MW) and Hassan (3 MW), BEL has generated so far about 35 Million KWh of energy, thus avoiding tons of greenhouse gases being released into the atmosphere.



 The large-scale rainwater-harvesting reservoir at Bangalore unit has a capacity of over 170 million litres with an annual yield of around 234 million litres. Rainwater harvesting and recharging of bore wells has resulted in increased ground water yield.



 Wastewater generated in the Bangalore factory is treated to meet reusable standards and recycled for production purpose. BEL’s Bangalore Complex has an in-built capacity to treat about 900 Kilo Litres of waste water per day (KLPD). Domestic waste water generated in the factory and colony is treated and recycled for horticulture purpose. BEL has an in-built capacity to treat about 1,800 Kilo Litres of domestic waste water per day (KLPD) at its Bangalore Complex.


Awards

 SCOPE Award for R&D & Innovation for the year 2007-08.



 BEL received Raksha Mantri Awards in the categories of Best Performing Division, Import Substitution, Design Effort and Innovation for the year 2008-09.



 BEL employees received the prestigious Prime Minister’s Shram Awards for the year 2005, 2006 and 2007 in the categories of Shram Bhushan, Shram Devi, Shram Vir/Veerangana and Shram Shree, respectively. A Senior Technical Assistant of Bangalore Complex was awarded the Prime Minister’s Shram Ratna for the year 2008.



 BEL won the Gold trophy for SCOPE Meritorious Award for Corporate Governance for the year 2009-10.



 BEL was selected as the top Indian company under the Electrical & Electronic Equipment , Technology Development sector for the Dun & Bradstreet-Rolta Corporate Awards 2010.



 BEL won the International Aerospace Awards 2011 under the categories of ‘Most Influential Company of the Year’ and ‘Excellence in Innovation’.



 BEL won the Gold prize in the Heavy Industries category of DNA-Dainik Bhaskar India Pride Award (2010) for ‘Excellence in PSUs’.





Corporate Social Responsibility

BEL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Policy has laid down the following broad areas for providing benefit to its stakeholders:

• Health Care • Education • Rural Development • Environment Protection

• Conservation of Resources



BEL Management has implemented several CSR initiatives in the year 2010-11. A few of the initiatives are:



 BEL helped Nightingale’s Medical Trust, a Bangalore-based NGO, set up a comprehensive Dementia Care Centre in Bangalore.



 BEL’s Ghaziabad Unit donated Rs.6 lakhs to the People for Animals (PFA) for procuring a Mobile Animal Rescue & Rehabilitation Unit. As part of its CSR initiatives, Ghaziabad Unit also gifted a Medicare van to Helpage India and sponsored a physiotherapy centre in Loni village of Ghaziabad district, at a total cost of Rs.9.6 lakhs.



 A new bus shelter has been dedicated to Hyderabad city by BEL’s Hyderabad Unit. The bus shelter is located in front of the Unit.



 BEL’s Ghaziabad, Kotdwara and Panchkula Units contributed towards the improvement of infrastructure in local government schools. Ghaziabad Unit also provided ambulance and other healthcare equipment to the Palna Home for destitute children, run by the Delhi Council for Child Welfare.



 BEL-Bangalore undertook the ‘Shikshana Namma School Library Project’ in five government schools in and around Bangalore.



 The Bangalore Unit also provided vehicles to the Indian Red Cross Hospital and Holy Cross Hospital in Bangalore.



 BEL’s Hyderabad Unit provided hearing aids to the hearing impaired students of the Helen Keller Institute in Hyderabad.



Outlook for the Future



The year 2011-12 is full of promise and challenges. The opening up of defence sector to private participation has intensified competition. The

Defence Procurement Policy 2011 and Defence Production Policy 2011 encourage indigenous design and manufacture of defence products.



In this scenario, BEL is giving renewed thrust to in-house development, bridging gaps in critical technologies and enhancing HR competencies. The

company has strengthened its in-house R&D and is working closely with DRDO labs to introduce new products and systems and consolidate its

leadership position. BEL is also looking at diversifying into new areas of defence and civil segments for future growth.

This year, the company will work on strategically important projects such as Battlefield Surveillance System, Command Information & Decision Support System, Akash Weapon System for the Indian Army, Lightweight Portable Radar and EW systems. BEL is aiming to achieve increased growth in Offset business and exports.

With these initiatives, the company is aiming to reach a turnover of Rs. 6,200 crores during 2011-12.