Kerala surging ahead in e-Governance Initiatives

Group of Technopark Companies (GTech) commended the IT Administration of Kerala for obtaining the highest number of awards in the CSI-Nihilent National e-Governance awards. The prizes were distributed to the respective winners in a function held at Pune on 9 October 2009.

Kerala has bagged four prestigious awards for unleashing the power of Information Technology to improve the Citizens quality of the life and also for creating an enabling environment of Economic Growth and Equity in the state. Kannur District has bagged the award of appreciation for outstanding efforts in demonstrating excellence in implementing e- Governance Project.

In the project category section, Higher Secondary Centralized Processing, e-Krishi Project and Sulekha Plan Monitoring System for De-centralized Planning have won awards for better implantation and providing value and quality of Service to the Stakeholders.

GTech in a press release said that the e-Governance initiatives being implemented in the state would provide an opportunity to take the benefits of the Information and Communication Technology to the Grassroots level in the state and also would create a strong technology infrastructure in the state to deliver a comprehensive set of services to citizens in the area of Education, Healthcare and Agriculture.

GTech complemented the efforts the State Government and the IT Department for spearheading the e-Governance initiative in the state and added that GTech and the IT Industry in the state would be keen to share the experience and know-how to further strengthen the e-Governance initiatives in the state.

Snake bites Apple

Snake and Ladder is an exciting traditional Indian game much played among the young and old alike. Now we have brought you this popular board game on your iPhone and iTouch.

The Snake and Ladder game was developed by Travancore Analytics, a Technopark, based company involved in the development of Software in the areas of Imaging Technology and Image Processing.

The Snake and ladder game developed by Travancore analytics has been the most favorite free-download in Apple store. This game has had 250,000 downloads in the last week, which is the highest for an iPhone application developed by any Indian Software company. More than 70% of the downloads are from Canada, UK and US.

Apple Corporation, the sought-after computer and software maker, allows users to access different software through its virtual market place called ‘App Store’. This free version of the game allows the user to be one of the players, while the iPhone itself takes the role of the second player. At present this Snake and Ladder application occupies the No-1 position in 12 App Stores worldwide.

Mr. T Harikumar, who is working as the CEO and Mr. Baas Mannarsala who is presently the CTO founded Travancore Analytics. . Products aimed at assisting radio diagnosis like detection of Breast Cancer, Analysis of Tumor, Wound Healing, etc. are on the development stage at the Travancore Analytics center in Technopark.

Group of Technopark Companies (GTech) in a press release said that Kerala based IT companies are evolving as strategic players providing cutting edge Solutions to Global Companies for sustaining their competitiveness.

Interview in the Hindu on Carpooling

KOCHI: The response to the carpooling initiative that was launched for the State’s IT professionals about two months ago in Thiruvananthapuram has been described as “pretty good” by its promoters.
“We have around 850 registered users for the site. In fact the Technopark authorities said that there was a drastic reduction in the number of cars being parked within the Technopark campus. Out of the registered users, 80 per cent belong to Technopark and the remaining 20 per cent to Infopark (Kochi),” said Binu Sankar, Chief Executive Officer, Group of Technopark Companies (GTech).
With fuel costs rising and motoring along crowded city roads becoming a nightmare, the idea of carpooling did not come a day too late. The initiative was started in May 2009 by GTech in partnership with Palnar Transmedia, a software development firm in Technopark under a Green Computing Initiative. The web site www.parkcarpool.in is targeted at the IT Professionals of Technopark and Infopark.
Carpooling is a process by which a group of people share vehicles and take turns to drive so as to minimise fuel costs. With the launch of the website, described as the first of its kind in Kerala, IT professionals could register themselves and try to share vehicles with others to travel to mutually convenient destinations.
But carpooling also takes on a different dimension because of larger issue it seeks to address: cutting down on fuel usage and thereby helping in the world wide initiative to counter global warming.
May of those who use carpooling are often quite aware of this ‘green’ dimension to their activity.
The web site displays a list of daily trips and also other scheduled trips on its home page.
“About 85 per cent of the trips are confined to Thiruvananthapuram. Seventeen to twenty carpools have already been formed in Technopark. Close to 90 people are using this facility. It is to be noted that 80 per cent of the companies provide bus transport to their employees in Technopark,” said Mr. Sankar.
The scope of the carpooling initiative covers not only places within the State but also those outside like Madurai and Coimbatore, going by the list of places available in the options form on the web site. But the most commonly used long distance routes are Thiruvananthapuram - Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram - Kottayam. The maximum number of trips is in the offing generally on Fridays around 7 to 8.
Though a large number of Kochi-based IT companies figure on the website, the use of the service seemed to be largely confined to Thiruvananthapuram and Technopark.
“We are in the process of setting up a unit in Infopark and we plan to induct 20 members into this forum. I am meeting the CEOs of Infopark in the second week of August to solicit their support for the carpooling initiative and also to promote it within the Infopark campus,” said Mr. Sankar.
Carpooling initiatives in other parts of the country have been gathering momentum, with a number of carpooling websites being launched in recent years. Awareness about carpooling was an issue in Kerala compared to other metros and GTech was planning to undertake more programmes in this regard.
Security is an issue for some when it comes to carpooling: a good number of women professionals do not seem to regard it as a safe mode of travel, given the way they have responded to it in the big metros. And those who opt for it generally prefer women co-passengers.
“We have taken some precautionary measures like registration using the official company e-mail id and employee number while using the website for carpooling. For women carpoolers we have requested them to look at carpooling within the same company and also to meet up with the other carpoolers on the campus to avoid untoward incidents,” said Mr. Sankar.

Kerala positioned to leap into the Biotech Era

Kerala is all set to emerge as the next destination for the Biotechnology Industry. This was reverberated at a session on Kerala as the new Biotechnology Hub: Opportunities and challenges organised by GTech in partnership with Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology, Kreara solutions and Technopark. Setting the tone, Dr. M Radhakrishna Pillai, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology spoke on the importance of using Information Technology in doing research and Development work in the Biotechnology Industry. There is a distinct connect between Information Technology and Biotechnology and new areas have recently emerged in the sector where Information Technology is used for developing computational and statistical solutions for the Industry. Dr. Pillai added that the biggest risk being faced by the biotechnology Industry is lack of information regarding the analysis of genome.


Delivering the Inaugural address Sri Oomen Chandy leader of the opposition, Kerala Legislative assembly spoke on the innumerable benefits offered by Biotechnology and added that the state is better positioned to reap the benefits of Biotechnology and said that the sector offered a lot of scope for Biotech Entrepreneurs. Mr. Chandy observed that in recent years, the researcher-entrepreneur has become a role model in research institutions and business circles and added that most of these researcher-entrepreneurs who set up their own companies were scientists who had achieved recognition. Mr. Chandy further added that today, most are younger researchers who have specialist knowledge and are attracted by the capitalist adventure and therefore, to support the acquisition of such specialist knowledge in developing countries, courses with emphasis in molecular biology, Genomics, proteomics, bio imaging, and bio-informatics must be included in the curriculum. Mr. Chandy also noted that during a recent Kerala Ministerial delegation to US met up with US-based Biotech Company Solazyme that produces oil out of algae through the biotechnology process, and the oil in turn could be used for various purposes including fuel. Efficient sewage treatment and degradation of petroleum and management of oil spills by genetically modified microorganisms can be applied to improve the environment added Mr. Chandy.

During the panel discussion that followed, panellist spoke on the strategies that Kerala could adopt to create an enabling environment for the growth of Biotech Industry. Dr. Krishna Menon, Chief Scientific Officer, Cellceutix Biopharmaceuticals spoke on the importance of academia Industry Interface to nurture the growth of the Biotech Industry. Dr. Sanjay Hegde, Head clinical operation Piramal Life Sciences spoke on the importance of clinical Research and how can Kerala can be a hub for Clinical Research taking into account the availabilibilty of Human Resource in Kerala and also due to the presence of a large number of medical institutions.

Mr. Satish Babu, Secretary of GTech, said that GTech would be playing a proactive role in supporting the development of the Biotech Industry in the state especially in the areas of Bioinformatcis. Mr. Rakesh Kumar Gupta, COO Allianz Cornhill Information service while moderating the discussion said that GTech would bring out a document in consultation with the concerned Government Agencies as a follow up to the discussion which would facilitate the creation of a structural framework for the emergence of the Biotech Industry in the State. Mr. Mervin Alexander, CEO of Technopark spoke about the need for Entreprenuers to take up Biotech Industry related projects in the state.

Technopark based Kreara Solutions and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology has entered into an MOU for doing research on developing Predictive Software for Leukaemia and also for undertaking research projects of International Research Organisations on Clinical Bio informatics.

Kerala is all set to emerge as the next destination for the Biotechnology Industry. This was reverberated at a session on Kerala as the new Biotechnology Hub: Opportunities and challenges organised by GTech in partnership with Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology, Kreara solutions and Technopark. Setting the tone, Dr. M Radhakrishna Pillai, Director, Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology spoke on the importance of using Information Technology in doing research and Development work in the Biotechnology Industry. There is a distinct connect between Information Technology and Biotechnology and new areas have recently emerged in the sector where Information Technology is used for developing computational and statistical solutions for the Industry. Dr. Pillai added that the biggest risk being faced by the biotechnology Industry is lack of information regarding the analysis of genome.


Delivering the Inaugural address Sri Oomen Chandy leader of the opposition, Kerala Legislative assembly spoke on the innumerable benefits offered by Biotechnology and added that the state is better positioned to reap the benefits of Biotechnology and said that the sector offered a lot of scope for Biotech Entrepreneurs. Mr. Chandy observed that in recent years, the researcher-entrepreneur has become a role model in research institutions and business circles and added that most of these researcher-entrepreneurs who set up their own companies were scientists who had achieved recognition. Mr. Chandy further added that today, most are younger researchers who have specialist knowledge and are attracted by the capitalist adventure and therefore, to support the acquisition of such specialist knowledge in developing countries, courses with emphasis in molecular biology, Genomics, proteomics, bio imaging, and bio-informatics must be included in the curriculum. Mr. Chandy also noted that during a recent Kerala Ministerial delegation to US met up with US-based Biotech Company Solazyme that produces oil out of algae through the biotechnology process, and the oil in turn could be used for various purposes including fuel. Efficient sewage treatment and degradation of petroleum and management of oil spills by genetically modified microorganisms can be applied to improve the environment added Mr. Chandy.

During the panel discussion that followed, panellist spoke on the strategies that Kerala could adopt to create an enabling environment for the growth of Biotech Industry. Dr. Krishna Menon, Chief Scientific Officer, Cellceutix Biopharmaceuticals spoke on the importance of academia Industry Interface to nurture the growth of the Biotech Industry. Dr. Sanjay Hegde, Head clinical operation Piramal Life Sciences spoke on the importance of clinical Research and how can Kerala can be a hub for Clinical Research taking into account the availabilibilty of Human Resource in Kerala and also due to the presence of a large number of medical institutions.

Mr. Satish Babu, Secretary of GTech, said that GTech would be playing a proactive role in supporting the development of the Biotech Industry in the state especially in the areas of Bioinformatcis. Mr. Rakesh Kumar Gupta, COO Allianz Cornhill Information service while moderating the discussion said that GTech would bring out a document in consultation with the concerned Government Agencies as a follow up to the discussion which would facilitate the creation of a structural framework for the emergence of the Biotech Industry in the State. Mr. Mervin Alexander, CEO of Technopark spoke about the need for Entreprenuers to take up Biotech Industry related projects in the state.

Technopark based Kreara Solutions and Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Biotechnology has entered into an MOU for doing research on developing Predictive Software for Leukaemia and also for undertaking research projects of International Research Organisations on Clinical Bio informatics.

Committee on International Relations

Group of Technopark Companies (GTech) in the last meeting decided to set up a forum to facilitate International Relations for the IT community in the state. The objective of the Forum is to develop a strategic and long-term structural framework to build partnerships with Institutions and Business organisations in various countries to further fuel the growth of IT Sector in the state and help the member companies to scout for business opportunities.

The forum would be mandated with the following tasks
a. To work with stakeholders from a wide spectrum of business and academia in select countries to develop market and business opportunities for the members
b. Disseminate information to the members on the business opportunities available in Foreign countries
c. To identify champions in the administration in key countries of our business interests to support Kerala
d. To undertake trade missions to help members scout for Business opportunities
e. To network with the Foreign Trade missions and Embassy offices in India
f. To organise specific marketing campaigns, road shows and websites to promote KeralaTo ensure positioning of Kerala brand in line with the India Inc brand.

UK@Thiruvananthapuram

British Deputy High Commission and GTech in association with Nasscon, TiE Kerala Chapter and Kerala chamber of commerce and Industry is organising a one day session on UK@Thiruvananthapuram on 6th of August 2009 at Hotel Taj Residency. The programme is aimed at providing first hand information to companies in the IT Industry on oppourtunities and investments available in UK

An Inclusive and Pro-Poor Budget: GTech

Group of Technopark Companies (GTech) have expressed their appreciation to the Union Government for supporting the Technology Industry in the state by abolishing the Fringe Benefit Tax and also extending the STPI scheme for one year. GTech also welcomed the announcement on the exemption of excise duty and CVD on packaged software.

Terming the budget as an Inclusive one with a Social Focus, GTech in a press statement expressed their concern on the high fiscal deficit of 6.2 %. The strong emphasis in the Union Budget on Sectors like Agriculture, Infrastructure Development, Education and Rural development is on the right track for inclusive growth.

However, considering the current global slump in IT business as a result of the Economic Crises, GTech felt that the Government should have announced more schemes to help small and medium-sized Indian IT companies to bid for IT projects from the domestic market. GTech also felt that Government should consider extending the STPI scheme till 2015 to support the IT Industry operating in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

GTech also felt that launching of the schemes like Mission in Education through ICT will help in the deployment of Information Technology to enhance the quality of education at the grass root level in the country.

Singapore and Kerala to enhance cooperation in the Information Technology Sector

Kerala is all set to intensify and strengthen the cooperation in the IT Sector with the city-state of Singapore. This emerged during the extensive interaction that Group of Technopark Companies (GTech) officials had with the Senior Government officials and the various industry chambers in Singapore. GTech, the strategic grouping of IT companies in Kerala has taken up this initiative to establish Global linkages for the IT Industry in Kerala to scout for business opportunities and also to provide first hand information on the advantages of Kerala to potential investors willing to set up Technology development centres in the state. The initiative of GTech has led to renewed interest among the business community in Singapore at a time when Singapore has emerged as India's top four investors, after the two countries signed a Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in mid-2005 with bilateral trade between India and Singapore surging to $16.6 billion in 2008.
As part of the efforts, GTech held deliberations with the Government agencies like International Enterprise Singapore, Economic Development Board, Singapore, Singapore Management University and Infocomm Development Authority. GTech also had discussions with organisations like Singapore Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (SICCI), Singapore Business Federation (SBF), Singapore Infocomm Technology Federation, IIT Alumni Association of Singapore, Global People of Indian Origin and Singapore Malayalee Association.
SICCI have extended an invitation to GTech to participate at the Business meet of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit to be organised in Singapore in November 2009. Singapore Business Federation has also agreed to host a Business meet in Singapore for the IT companies from Kerala to network and to explore market opportunities.
GTech team was able to showcase to the Singaporean Business community the larger picture of Kerala Growth Story outlined by the emergence of a vibrant IT Industry which is seeking a bigger role on the global stage and strategically building relationships with important players.
GTech team also held discussions with the Institute of South Asian Studies led by Dr. S Narayan, Head Research and Former Economic Advisor of the Prime Minister of India and Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhary, Visiting Senior Research Fellow and Former Foreign Minister of Bangladesh. Institute of South Asian Studies expressed their keenness to partner with GTech on exploring opportunities for organising Singapore Kerala interactions.
GTech team also called on Mr. Gopinath Pillai, Hon. Ambassador at Large, Singapore and Dr. K N Raghavan, First Secretary, Commerce, High Commission of India in Singapore.
Singapore Business community have expressed their keenness to partner with GTech in Students internship programme whereby Engineering and the management students from Singapore are given the opportunity to undergo training in new cutting edge technologies in Technopark.
In a press statement GTech Secretary, Mr. Satish Babu said that the organisation is developing a structural framework to build partnerships with Institutions and Business organisations in various countries to further fuel the growth of IT Sector in the state and added that GTech would consider positively the suggestions put forward by the business community in Singapore and these would be discussed and finalised at the GTech meeting scheduled later this month.

http://parkcarpool.in

Group of Technopark companies (GTech), the strategic grouping of IT Companies in Technopark under the Green computing initiative launched a Carpooling website (www.parkcarpool.in) for the IT Community in Kerala. The website was launched by GTech in partnership with Palnar Transmedia, a Software firm operating out of Technopark. The carpooling was conceptualised by GTech to reduce the carbon Footprint of the IT Industry in Kerala. The underlying objective of the website is to help the IT Community in Kerala to travel together, in order to save money, fuel, reduce global warming and traffic on the roads.

The website is aimed at the 30,000 IT Professionals working at Technopark in Trivandrum and Infopark in Cochin.

A carpool is an arrangement wherein commuters share a vehicle to travel together to their offices, thereby saving fuel, money, reducing global warming and traffic. The users can register for free in the website by giving the relevant information and can search for travel mates who commute to Technopark or Infopark. Once a request for registration is submitted at the website, it is verified as a safety measure by the GTech administrator and finally the registration is approved.

In a Statement, GTech President Mr. S Rama Rao said that there is an urgent need to create awareness amongst IT Professionals about the benefits of carpooling primarily to reduce the harmful effects of Carbon di-oxide emissions from vehicles which is aiding rapid global warming and also an avenue for the IT Community to reduce their dependency on fuel consumption.

Mr. Satish Babu, Secretary of GTech said the primary objective of the carpooling website is to enhance the environmental consciousness of the IT professionals and contribute towards creating an enabling environment whereby this unique model of GTech acts as a catalyst in promoting the cause of environmental sustainability in Kerala. It is also in tune with the National Policy on Conservation of Fuel.
GTech plans to take up similar activities under the Green Computing initiative to play a proactive role in Environmental conservation and to work with the key stakeholders in perpetuating such initiatives to all sections of the society.