Category Archives: Uncategorized

Infosys BPO buys Australia-based Portland Group for AUD 37 mn

Business & Economy, Science & Technology, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Bangalore:

Infosys BPO, the back office subsidiary of Infosys, has acquired Australia-based sourcing and category management services firm Portland Group. The A$37-million all-cash deal is expected to be completed by early January 2012.

According to Infosys, which has often been criticised by analysts and industry watchers for not being aggressive on acquisitions despite sitting on almost $4 billion of cash, the deal will help it establish presence in the Australian market with more offerings in the value-added segment

“The deal will essentially enable us to have a reach into the Australian market. It will enhance our sourcing and procurement capabilities. Infosys’ focus has always been on value-added services and this will add to it,” Swamithan D, CEO and MD of Infosys BPO, told ET.

Portland Group has over 100 employees with a reported revenue of approximately A$31.3 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2011. “Portland Group has over 100 procurement specialists with domain expertise and some 40-odd clients. None of them is our clients as of now. The deal will certainly help us intensify our service offerings and take sourcing and procurement functions to a higher level,” he added.

The acquisition is expected to start contributing to Infosys revenue by next quarter. The country’s second-largest IT services firm is seeing a greater role for its BPO business as it transforms itself from an IT services firm to a business solutions firm. According to the company’s executive co-chairman, S Gopalakrishnan, BPO is now leading the sales in many of its new wins where earlier it would have been bundled along with IT services.

Infosys’ BPO business is set to hit the $500-million-mark in revenue this year. “For Infosys, only 7% of business comes from BPO services. But I see that as an opportunity. Traditionally you would have thought that BPO comes later.

But now BPO is leading the sale and everything else gets pooled to BPO,” Gopalakrishnan told ET in an interview last month. According to him, BPO is also gaining prominence as IT services firms move to platforms which have some amount of business processes embedded in them.

Since October, the company has added incentives to its technology sales team if they are able to sell the BPO business as well. So far Infosys’ technology sales team was only responsible for selling IT services.

The last acquisition that Infosys made was also in the BPO business. In 2009, it acquired the US-based McGamish Systems to expand its presence in the insurance and financial services sector. The company signed a $250-million deal with Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands and acquired three shared service centres located in India, Poland and Thailand from Philips in 2007.

Portland Group CEO Galvin Solsky said Infosys will provide Portland’s clients with a highly compelling proposition that does not currently exist in the Australian market. “It (the deal) will allow us to offer our clients a truly integrated and globally competitive solution to deliver procurement benefits in the most effective and efficient way possible,” he said in a press statement. Infosys closed down 0.25% at Rs 2,667.35 on the BSE on Tuesday.

source: http://www.articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/ The Economic Times / Home> Tech> ITeS / ET Bureau / December 21st, 2011

Driving home the need for lakes that will help you drive safely on a rainy day

Green Initiatives / Environment, Nature, Uncategorized

 

Marianne de Nazareth

 

His energy revitalises all of us wilting in the noon day sun. And his passion for birds and the environment is palpable in the way he speaks with such drive and enthusiasm, giving up his Sundays to take ordinary citizens around Bangalore’s dying lakes. This is part of the Whispering Wilderness Programme conducted by the Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (WRRC) Bannerghatta, on the Urban Lakes and Birdlife of Bangalore. Dr Subbu Subramanya is a scientist working in the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, and one of the top ornithologists in the country. His basic funda is, we need to band together to save what is left of our city’s open spaces. Being a scientist he sees how wrong some decisions taken by our citys administrators are and he takes it upon himself to educate them.                 Dr Subbu Subramanya creates awareness among fellow citizens on the importance of preserving the remaining water bodies in Bangalore “Bangalore had no natural lakes. In the past our ancestors dammed the streams that flowed in the monsoons so that they could grow two crops instead of just one. They were not stupid like us and respected the lakes, understanding the need to keep them clean and the water fresh. “It was a dynamic relationship, where the water was used carefully. When the lakes dried out, fresh water flowed in during the next rains through specially created inlets from the catchment areas which were grassy meadows around the lakes.

“Today the meadows are built up and to top it all, untreated sewage is let out by all the posh buildings around the lakes directly into the lake. Therefore what we have now in Bangalore are cesspools of sewage, not fresh water lakes,” says Dr. Subbu with feeling. Every time it rains, certain areas in Bangalore flood. Dr Subbu says that is because there is no path for the water to pour into the lake or in some places even the lake has been built up. So taking its natural path the water somehow makes its way and floods the lower floors and basements of these buildings. “Dramatic pictures of floating cars are printed in the next day’s papers and one sees people being ‘rescued’ in life boats by the army,” says Dr Subbu. Lakes replenish the ground water table and are mandatory requirements in any urban city, explains Dr.Subbu. If we build them up, or abuse them we are sounding our own death knells. The heavy metals and lead which percolate into the soil of the lake from all the dumped chemical waste or untreated pollutants, and sewage let out into the lake will come back to hit us. These pollutants percolate into the acquifers that we tap now with our numerous bore wells, he says. “Isn’t it better to treat our effluents rather than pollute these lakes which are our life line?” asks Dr Subbu, whose only hope is that Bangalore’s citizens will rise up to save the few remaining water bodies from extinction.

source: http://www.theweekendleader.com / Home> Causes> Open Whispers / by Marianne de Nazareth / Bangalore / Vol.2, Issue 51 / December 23rd, 2011

Dr Malathi Manipal Hospital launches Elder’s Clinic

Science & Technology, Uncategorized

(Special privilege for the cause and care of the Senior citizens)

Senior citizens of Bangalore will now get special privileges during their next visit to Dr Malathi Manipal Hospital


Dr Malathi Manipal Hospital, a unit of Manipal Health Enterprises today launched a unique service, “Elder’s Clinic”, dedicated to the cause and care of the senior citizens. Every senior citizen of Bangalore would be enjoying these benefits through their association with Dr Malathi Manipal Hospital’s Elder’s Clinic. The “Elder’s Clinic” will be open onAll the days* (except Saturday and Monday), where the priority will be given to the elders for appointments and consultation. Apart from many other privileges, there will be special discounts on consultation & pharmacy along with a free Manipal Registration Card given to the senior citizens.

The benefits under “Elder’s Clinic” would be as follows –

  • Package of 5 Consultations at discounted price

( For Men -Gen. Medicine, Ortho, Dental, Urology , Opthal ) (For Women –Gen. Medicine, Ortho, Dental, OBG, Opthal )

  • Special discounts on Consultation & Pharmacy
  • Option to select the days and time of consultation (all days except Saturday and Monday)
  • Consultation benefit is valid for max. 30 days from the date of registration
  • Focused diagnostic packages as discounted tariff
  • The Senior citizens card will be issued for all who are consulting the Doc. for Elder’s Clinic

These consultations can be availed on any Day (except Saturday and Monday) with prior appointments only. All the benefits of Elder’s clinic are valid till 31st March 2012.
for any assistance please call: +91 9632775666/+91 80 40091000

source: http://www.manipalhospitals.in

Exotic varieties of tea in Bangalore

Business & Economy, Uncategorized

BANGALORE:

In the series of Tea boutiques in India, Golden Tips of Darjeeling has entered the Bangalore market, launching more than 250 varieties of exotic tea.

It was officially launched at the hands of noted Kannada Actress Roopa Shree at Phoenix market city mall.

Speaking at the launch of Tea Boutique, Tea Taster and Managing Director of Golden Tips Tea Company Limited, Madhav Sarda said, ‘In order to create awareness & popularize tea as a health & wellness beverage we have conceived the idea of opening tea boutiques across India.”

The Boutique will not only allow Bangaloreans to taste the finest, purest and freshest teas but also to see, taste and purchase a large variety of Darjeeling Teas which are perceived as the World’s best.

He added,“We wish to invite the residents and corporates of Bengaluru to come, see, feel, smell, sip and enjoy this wonderful beverage.” The store had exotic teas from Darjeeling, Assam Nilgiris and also the speciality Jubilee Tea, Pride of Darjeeling, Second Pick, Queen of Hills and Jasmine Tea to name a few.

source: http://www.ibnlive.in.com / Bangalore / posted December 17th, 2011 / Express News Service / The new Indian Express

 

Ugandan children recieve heart surgery in India

Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Science & Technology, Uncategorized, World Opinion

Kampala, Uganda:

Six Ugandan children will receive life-saving heart surgeries at the Narayana hospital in Bangalore India last week.


Chairman of the Indian Association of Uganda (IAU) Shalendra Kundra said the operations will be conducted by Dr. Devi Shetty a cardiologist.
“The operation has been made possible by IAU through donations from the Indian community that totaled to Ushs 200 million as charity,” said Shalendra.
Before the first decision to take the children to India, there was a possibility for the surgery to be conducted in Uganda at a lower cost but experts discovered that the facilities were insufficient to carry out such a complicated operation.
The Indian High Commissioner to Uganda S.N Ray said that the move by the Indian society in Uganda is part of the commitment to help Uganda’s vulnerable children.
“Many parents cannot afford the high costs of medication and facilitation to India for the operation and so the association resolved to give a helping hand,” Ray said.
Ray referred to the 19 year old Arinaitwe Emily who had been struggling with the heart problem for such a long time since birth because the patients could not afford the high charges.
Arinaitwe had to forego UACE exams for the surgery because it was scheduled during the same time. Shalendra added that they have embarked on consultation with the heart consultants in India to extend the screening services to Uganda.
“Screening will ease selection of worst conditioned patients because there were over 400 applications which made selection costly,” Shalendra added.
Veronica Busingye a parent of Lukuba Jeremiah aged three is optimistic that the surgery will improve the health of her child that has been complicated over the years.
The association has helped over 20 heart patients undergo heart surgery since the initiation of the project in 2008.
The surgeries that are expected to run for a month will see the patients accompanied by their guardians.

source: http://www.busiweek.com / East African Business Week / Home> Science & Technology> Health / by Eriosi Nantaba / Sunday, December 04th, 2011

Bird-Lovers Throng LINGAMBUDI Lake

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Green Initiatives / Environment, Uncategorized

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mysore, Nov. 28 :

Braving the incessant drizzle and chilly weather, over a 100 bird- lovers including many children had assembled at 7 am yesterday at Lingambudi Lake in Ramakrishnanagar here for the bird-watching programme organised by Arivu Balaga.

Suprisingly, a few people had arrived from Bangalore and other places to have a glimpse of the exotic migratory birds.

All the bird-lovers lined up on the banks of the lake and stood in hushed silence to listen to the twitter of the birds.

Environmentalists K.B. Sadanand, Mohan Kumar, P. Guruprasad, Ravi Kumar, Rajkumar, Dr. Abhijit and Sahana were present as Resource Persons providing needed information on the birds, their habitats and food habits to the bird-watchers. An interaction was also held on the vagaries of weather at the birds’ habitats and their migratory routes.

Among the migratory birds were also seen local species of birds like cranes, owls, hornbills and bee-eaters.

ACF D

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / General News / November 28th, 2011

 

Cisco’s New Healthpresence Focuses on Rural India

Business & Economy, Nri's / Pio's, Science & Technology, Uncategorized


A village woman in K’taka is shown using Cisco’s HealthPresence. (photo courtesy of Cisco)

U.S. technology giant Cisco Nov. 14 unveiled the second generation of its platform for telemedicine, known as Healthpresence, focusing its efforts on India where at least 175 million rural dwellers lack access to any health care services.

Healthpresence allows physicians in several countries to remotely conduct consultations with patients who may be hundreds of miles away. In India, private hospitals, the defense sector and state governments in Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh have signed on to use Healthpresence; the service is already available in 11 districts and can be accessed by up to one million people.

“In India, there’s a huge mismatch between the availability of doctors and where they’re needed,” Vishal Gupta, vice president and general manager of Cisco Global Healthcare Solutions, told India-West by teleconference from Bangalore, where he is based. Patients must often travel hundreds of miles to see a physician, he said, noting that the need for doctors and specialists is most acute in rural India.

“We want to be the ATM of healthcare services,” said Gupta, envisioning Healthpresence kiosks in a variety of rural and semi-urban settings, such as malls.

An earlier version of the product, which was released two years ago, required Cisco’s Telepresence, a high bandwidth platform. But the version of Healthpresence rolled out by Cisco last week can be used on low bandwidth platforms, including desktop computers.

Healthpresence 2.0 features the flexibility to be used across several platforms, from a high-end Telepresence-based system, to a low bandwidth version which is portable and can be used in a mobile medicine van, said Gupta, noting that bandwidth is still an issue in many remote parts of India.

The new version of Healthpresence can be maintained on a server by a service provider who provides repairs and updates to the system, eliminating the need for an in-house IT specialist and lowering the overall cost, said Gupta.

Healthpresence patients sit in a special consulting room – known as a primary health care center – which has a screen allowing them to see their doctor, and specialized diagnostic equipment including a digitized stethoscope which allows a doctor to listen to his patient’s heart and lungs remotely.

A digitized torch and otoscope allow the physician to remotely examine a patient’s ears, nose and throat.

Healthpresence can also be used by specialists.

Sunita Maheshwari, a Bangalore-based pediatric cardiologist and founder of RxDx, which uses Healthpresence to connect to patients in the low-income district of Raichur in northen Karnataka, said Cisco’s product works very well in telemedicine.

“We were skeptical at first, wondering will rural India’s villages accept such technology. But they’re really thrilled because they have a doctor out there for the first time,” the Indian American Maheshwari, who was trained at Yale, told India-West.

RxDx remote clinics provide primary care doctors from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on a walk-in basis, and appointments can be made for consultations with specialists. The clinic has a staff of 70 physicians, with a mix of specialties, including pediatrics, and serves about 600 patients a month in Raichur, which is an overnight train journey from Bangalore.

Maheshwari – dubbed the “Queen of Hearts” by India Today magazine – said she hopes to next hook up with practices in remote states such as Bihar to provide Healthpresence services there. She estimated that one-quarter of India’s 700 million village dwellers – 175 million people – currently lack access to any healthcare services.

The Osmania University alumnus said the desktop version of Healthpresence was very scalable and could be used anywhere. “I could be sitting anywhere and treating patients not just in Raichur, but also in Tanzania,” she asserted.

The need for access to healthcare in India has gone up phenomenally with the advent of chronic diseases in the population. The country accounts for 60 percent of the world’s heart disease patients, according to data released last year by the World Health Organization, and is home to 35 million diabetics, the largest number on the globe.

Cancer is also on the rise with almost 400,000 people in India dying each year from various types of the disease. The overall oncology market is growing at about 20 percent per annum, Pradeep Jaisingh, founder and CEO of New Delhi-based International Oncology, told India-West in June.

Gupta stated that the Indian government has shown its commitment to telemedicine, promising to increase funding to public health care.

And in September, Sachin Pilot, India’s young Minister of Communications and Information Technology, unveiled a plan that would lay out 500,000 miles of optical fibre throughout the country, bringing high-speed connectivity to every remote area of India within the next two years.

source: http://www.indiawest.com / News> US Indian / by Sunita Sohrabji, Staff Reporter / December 01st, 2011

In regal splendour

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Uncategorized

Twilight wonder: The illuminated Mysore Palace. Photo: M.A.Sriram

Magnificent and historical, the Mysore Palace is protected by the Karnataka Archaeology Department. The royal residence would mark a century next year.

Reckoned to be the most popular monument in the country after the Taj Mahal (in terms of the number of visitors), the Mysore Palace draws close to three million tourists every year and the numbers are increasing.

Constructed to house the royal family of Mysore as the earlier wooden palace was ravaged and destroyed in a fire in 1897, the existing palace will complete 100 years in 2012 to mark which the State Archaeology Department plans to have a series of events and have it declared as a protected monument.

There are references to the maharajas of Mysore living in a palace in some of the texts belonging to the Mysore royal family such as Srimanmaharajaravara vamsavalli (annals of the Mysore Royal Family) while a description of the wooden palace has been provided in the Mysore Gazetteer, which notes that it was a constructed in the Hindu style with little or no trace of European influence, according to Dr. M.S. Nagaraja Rao, the former Director General of Archaeological Survey of India, and who has authored a book on the Mysore Palace for the benefit of tourists.

But it is the new palace whose construction started in October 1897 and was completed in 1912 that beckons the tourists and beggars description. It was designed by Henry Irwin who was the consulting architect of the Government of Madras and also went on to design the Viceregal Lodge at Simla.

The palace is an example of the Indo-Saracenic style of architecture and is a three-storeyed structure whose façade comprises nine impressive arches — three on each side flanking the giant central arch that is supported by two smaller arches.

The central portion has a dome that towers to a height of 145 feet and the entire palace facing east, is surrounded by a fort. The main gate of the Fort leading to the palace is Jayamartanda Gate which is massive in proportion and is sublime despite its size.

As one walks into the interiors, the visitors are ushered into the Kalyana Mantapa which is embellished with 26 murals capturing the glory of Mysore Dasara, and further on the visitors enter the durbar hall called the diwan-e-aam which is about 155 feet in length and 42 feet wide.

The Diwan-e-khas is also called Amba Vilas and is lavishly embellished with inlay work, intricately carved designs filled with ivory. The then Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV who reigned from 1902 to 1940 entrusted the responsibility of beautifying the Amba Vilas section to the renowned artist K. Venkatappa, according to Nagaraja Rao.

The palace has an impressive collection of objects of art including the model of the original wooden palace but the most famous of the exhibits is the golden throne and the golden howdah. The golden throne is, however, not open to the public throughout the year and is exhibited only during the Dasara. In addition, there is the armoury containing an exhaustive collection of weapons of the ancient and the medieval times but this is not open to the public at present.

In view of its magnificence the palace is a must-see in the tourists’ itinerary and for those who wish to savour its grandeur, the official website www.mysorepalace.tv provides a 360 degree panoramic images to whet the appetite.

The Mysore Palace is illuminated on Saturdays, Sundays and during public holidays and presents a majestic sight like no other. The palace is embedded with 96,000 to 100,000 bulbs for the illumination purpose and was installed in the early 1920s, according to the palace authorities. The cost of illuminating the palace for one hour is about Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 30,000 at the current power tariff.

The throne

The golden throne which is exhibited only during the Dasara, is among the prized possessions of the Palace. Its origins are steeped in mystery and there are beliefs that the golden throne belonged to the Pandavas and it was Vidyaranya — the preceptor of Harihara I, one of the founders of the Vijayanagar empire in the 14th century A.D. — who retrieved it from Penugonda in Andhra Pradesh. It passed on from the rulers of Vijayanagar to the Wadiyars who were the feudatories of the Vijayanagar rulers. There is another theory that it was gifted by the Mughal Emperor Aurangazeb to Chikkadevaraja in 1700 A.D.

Fort gates

Of all the gates to the fort surrounding the palace, the Jayamartanda Gate is architecturally sublime. The central arch is about 60 feet in height and has a width of 45 feet. Made of concrete and granite, it provides a panoramic view of the front portion of the palace. The other gates are named as Balarama, Jayarama, Brahmapuri, Karikal Thoti and Varaha.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / Life & Style> Kids / by R KrishnaKumar / November 28th, 2011

 

 

Guv presents ‘Prathibha Puraskar’ to Mysore city skater

Sports, Uncategorized

City skater Reethu Dinesh seen with Governor H.R. Bhardwaj and Women and Child Welfare Minister C.C. Patil in Bangalore yesterday.


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mysore:

City skater Reethu Dinesh received the State-level Prathibha Puraskar in sports category (multi-talended) by Governor H.R. Bhardwaj at a function organised by the Women and Child Welfare Department as part of Children’s Day at Bal Bhavan in Bangalore yesterday.

A 10th std. student of JSS Public School in Siddartha Layout, Reethu is the first artiste to have performed Bhara-tanatya Rangapravesha on skates.

She secured 7th position in the 14th Asian Roller Skating Championship held at Kaohsiung Chinese Taipei in July 2010. She also won two silver medals in Asian ice skating championship at Taipei, Taiwan during Oct. 2007.

She is the daughter of R.N. Dinesh, a resident of Siddhartha Layout in city.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / General News / November 15th, 2011

 

Rangayana to open ‘SCRIPT BANK’: Dr. Rajaram

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Education, Records, All, Resources of Free Materials, Uncategorized

This year’s Bahuroopi theatre fest to stage plays by Jnanpith awardees


 

 

 

 

 

Mysore:

City’s theatre repertoire Rangayana will create a ‘Script Bank’ in which manuscripts relating to nearly 3,000 dramas would be posted on its website for the convenience of those interested, said Dr. B.V. Rajaram, Director of Rangayana, here this morning.

Participating in an interaction programme organised at Pathrakarthara Bhavan in city by Mysore District Journalists Association (MDJA), Dr. Rajaram said this year’s Bahuroopi National Theatre Festival would be held on the concept ‘Jnanpeetha Rangotsava’ in which dramas scripted by Jnanpith awardees would be staged.

The Rangayana Director also said that a huge collection of scripts and books by B.V. Karanth and his wife Prema Karanth would be preserved at Rangayana and added that the Karanth family had agreed to hand-over the literature treasure in the form of CDs and cassettes.

Dr. Rajaram, who said that this year’s Bahuroopi would be held in a grand manner even if it came to accepting private participation, added that the National School of Drama (NSD) and Rangayana should be incorporated for staging dramas in the State.

Seminar: Stating that Rangayana had plans to conduct a seminar on ‘Media-Rangabhoomi’ during Bahuroopi festival, Dr. Rajaram added that Rangayana’s activities were not limited to the city. He also said that dramas would be organised at taluk and district levels to identify and nurture talent among rural people.

MDJA President C.K. Mahendra, General Secretary K. Deepak, City Unit Secretary M. Subramanya and Rural Secretary Kukke Mahadevaswamy were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / General News / November 03rd, 2011