Incubation centre for VLSI companies in city

Bangalore is likely to have a Rs. 100-crore incubation centre for very-large-scale integration (VLSI) design companies.

Omkar Rai, Director-General, Software Technology Parks of India, on Monday said STPI in conjunction with India Electronics and Semiconductor Association have proposed a common, cloud-based infrastructure to support VLSIs .

Semiconductor association IESA and Germany’s Messe Muenchen International on Monday signed an MoU for jointly hosting a two-yearly conference and exhibition focussing on electronics for the defence and aerospace industry. The first one is to be held in Bangalore on September 23 and 24, said IESA president P.V.G. Menon.

IESA awards

Six of the 13 annual IESA Technovation awards this year have gone to State-based organisations or individuals. Winners include: the CSIR’s National Aerospace Labs; Terminus Circuits Pvt. Ltd.; Silab Tech Pvt Ltd.; Bosch Automotive Electronics India P Ltd.; Synopsys India Pvt. Ltd., all Bangalore and Mysore-based Skanray Technologies.

P.N. Dhoot, Director, Videocon group, has been named for the industry award.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Special Correspondent / Bangalore – February 04th, 2014

Professor D P Biradar is new vice chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences

Hubli:

Professor D P Biradar took over as the new vice chancellor of University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad on Monday .

Acting vice chancellor H S Vijakumar handed over the charge to the new VC. Professor Birdar is the eighth vice-chancellor of UAS, Dharwad. Professor Birdar was serving as registrar, UAS, Raichur before being appointed as VC of UAS, Dharwad.

According to sources, the state government issued the order appointing Biradar as the vice chancellor on Sunday. The post was vacant after vice chancellor R R Hanchinal moved to New Delhi a year ago.

Digambarappa Pandappa Biradar hails fromBhaganagar (Bijapur District). He did his Bsc (Agri) and Msc (Agronomy) from UAS, Dharwad and obtained a Ph D from Illinois (Urbana-Champane) University in the area of Plant Genetics.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Hubli / by Basavaraj F Kattimani, TNN / February 03rd, 2014

Rahul Dravid, Qamarul to receive honorary doctorate

Rahul Dravid is among the 12 personalities who will receive an honorary doctorate from Gulbarga University. / File photo: S. Subramanium / The Hindu
Rahul Dravid is among the 12 personalities who will receive an honorary doctorate from Gulbarga University. / File photo: S. Subramanium / The Hindu

Gulbarga University’s 32nd convocation will be held today

The former Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid is among the 12 personalities who will receive honorary doctorate from Gulbarga University during the 32nd annual convocation to be held on the university campus here on Thursday.

Vice-Chancellor E.T. Puttaiah told presspersons here on Wednesday that the list included people ranging from educationists and politicians to social activists. They would be conferred Doctor of Laws and Doctor of Sciences.

The other persons who will receive the honorary doctorate are Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises K.H. Muniyappa; Municipal Administration and Waqf Minister Qamarul Islam; Rajyogini Brahmakumari Dadi Ratan Mohini; Sri Chennaveera Shivacharyaru of Samsthan Hiremath; Sri Shivanand Swamigalu of Siddalingeshwar Viraktamath; Dalit leader Shivaram Mogha; Editor of Agni Rajasekhar Hatagundi; secretary of the Hyderabad Karnataka Education Society Sharad Rampure, chairman of the New Horizon Educational Institution Mohan S. Manghnani; entrepreneur Krishnaji Kulkarni and contractor Dhareppa Uppar.

Defending the decision to confer the doctorate on so many people, Prof. Puttaiah said the university had received a total of 46 applications. The final list was selected by Governor H.R. Bhardwaj, who is also Chancellor of the university.

Prof. Puttaiah said that Ph.D and M. Phil would be awarded to 115 and 90 scholars respectively.

A total of 157 meritorious students who stood first in their respective courses would receive gold medals and cash prizes.

Sumita Pujari, a student of Doddappa Appa MBA Institute, topped the university by bagging eight gold medals and securing the first rank in MBA.

Hussain Basha came second by winning seven gold medals and securing the first rank in M.Sc. Mathematics.

Eminent scientist and Principal Scientific Advisor to the Union government R. Chidambaram will deliver the convocation address.

source: http://www. thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Karnataka / by  Special Correspondent / Gulbarga – February 20th, 2014

Rare Tipu coins to be auctioned this weekend

The silver coin issued by Tipu Sultan, minted at Srirangpatanam. / The Hindu
The silver coin issued by Tipu Sultan, minted at Srirangpatanam. / The Hindu

Extremely rare and unique silver coins issued by Tipu Sultan will come under the hammer in Bangalore this weekend as a Silver Double Coin, also called as “Haidari”, and a half Anna, have been put on the block by a Delhi-based collector.

These two coins are among many other rare coins from the collectors’ kitty that will be auctioned during the three-day National Numismatic Exhibition, organised by the Bangalore-based auction house Marudhar Arts, starting from Friday.

The “Haidari”, which weighs 23 grams, according to Rajendra Maru of the auction house, has come for auction in India for the first time in several decades. “The last time we heard about the coin was some years back when a fake Haidari was in circulation. There are less than 100 such coins known to be with collectors,” he added. It is being auctioned with a base price of Rs. 1.5 lakh.

The Haidari was issued on March 16, 1790 by Tipu Sultan in honour of his father Hyder Ali. The coin minted in Srirangapatna was equivalent to 32 copper coins. The other coin issued by Tipu Sultan is an extremely rare half Anna silver coin issued in 1785 that weighs just half a gram and is 7.33 mm in size.

First time

A nearly 3,000-years-old silver coin belonging to Pauravas (Kura dynasty) of Kausambi region has also come for auction for the first time and has been categorised as extremely rare. The other first timer on the block is a punch marked Gold Pagoda coin issued by King Barma Bhopala (1187 AD -1188 AD) of Toragale dynasty in Dharwad region. According to a release, Bhopala ruled for just four to five months.

A lead coin issued by the Marathas of Tanjore that is categorised as exceedingly rare is also being auctioned along with very rare Re. 1 and Rs. 5 currency note of King George VI that was in use even after independence.

The exhibition will be held at Bell Hotel, next to the Bangalore City railway station between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. and entry is free.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bangalore / by Special Correspondent / Bangalore – February 19th, 2014

CeBIT inks MOU with iSPIRT

New initiatives aimed at catalysing venture capital and private equity funding

News | by CIOL Bureau

Bangalore, INDIA:

Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt Ltd, the Indian subsidiary of the Global JV Company HMG (Hannover Milano Global), have announced its roadmap for the entry of CeBIT, the world’s largest Business IT exhibition and conference, to India for the first time.

Achieving a significant milestone in this roadmap, HMFI has signed an MoU with iSPIRT, Indian Software Product Industry Round Table, to grow the software development industry in the country and encourage the right policy environment towards product entrepreneurship.

As a build up to CeBIT India in November 2014, the MoU between HMFI and iSPIRT outlines the efforts of the two entities towards achieving the following goals:

1. Engage with informed buyers from focused sectors to showcase India’s Software Product Development capabilities to buyers
2. The internationalization of India as a Product Nation utilizing the CeBIT Global series of events as a platform. A focused, curated pavilion of several Indian Software companies will be showcased at CeBIT Germany, 2015, towards this end
3. These initiatives are also aimed at catalysing venture capital and private equity funding

Andreas Luttmann, general manager of Hannover Fairs International GmbH said: “We are looking forward to working with the team at iSPIRT to promote the role that India’s Software Product ecosystem is going to play in the development of the Global and Indian IT economy. We believe that India’s growing economy will propel an increase in local demand, and CeBIT India is an ideal platform to build both local and global opportunities in product development. Deutsche Messe is the benchmark for lead generation worldwide, and we are happy to launch India’s first CeBIT in Bangalore, the country’s IT capital.”

Shekhar Kirani, founder circle member, iSPIRT and partner at Accel Partners: “iSPIRT welcomes CeBIT to India. We have no doubt that the potential that India holds in terms of software products is huge and is growing every day. Facilitating the interaction of buyers and sellers through a well-recognized brand like CeBIT is only going to create further traction and momentum in the market. We look forward to playing an active role in CeBIT and look forward to their events.”

The well recognized international CeBIT show is slated to be a first of its kind Business IT and ICT show in India, dedicated to boost new business in the Indian IT & ITes market and create a platform for generation of new national and international business opportunities, drive new ideas, profitability & growth in India with an exposure to the International markets. The first CeBIT India will take place in 2014 at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre, (BIEC)on Tumkur Road in Bangalore.

With the aim of showcasing New Perspectives in IT Business, India’s first CeBIT will cover the key IT trends of Cloud Computing, Strategic Big Data, Enterprise Mobilily and Social Media.

“Over the next few months the HMFI team will focus on building key partnerships with Government and Industry bodies to build India’s first CeBIT as a platform that serves the entire IT ecosystem from services to products. Historically, CeBIT has always served as a driver for opportunities bringing together the fields of knowledge, research and entrepreneurship to offer brilliant prospects for business development on national and international level.” said Mehul Lanvers-Shah, Managing Director, Hannover Fairs

source: http://www.ciol.com / CIOL / Home> SMB / News by CIOL Bureau / Friday – January 31st, 2014

DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore appoints Raghu Sapra as General Manager

Raghu Sapra has been appointed General Manager for DoubleTree Suites by Hilton Bangalore. Sapra is responsible for the successful launch of the first DoubleTree Suites by Hilton hotel in India.

RaghuSapraBF19feb2014

Sapra has over 17 years of experience in the lodging industry.  He has held several positions with Marriott International, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and The Imperial, New Delhi, in India, before joining Hilton Worldwide in 2011.

Prior to his current assignment, as the Director of Operations, Sapra was part of the core pre-opening team for Hilton Bangalore Residences.  Sapra started his career in the hospitality industry with The Radisson, New Delhi, as a Front Office Supervisor.  Other highlights of his career include overseeing a significant refurbishment at the 524-room Hyatt Regency, New Delhi, and the successful transition of the Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel and Marriott Executive Apartments into a 754-room complex.

source: http://www.hospitalitybizindia.com / HospitalityBizIndia.com / Home> Newstrack / by HBI staff reporter, Mumbai / Friday – January 31st, 2014

Rs 85-cr electronics cluster gets approval

 Karnataka has got in-principle approval from the Department of Electronics and Information Technology for its first Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) brownfield cluster development project in Electronic City near Bangalore, said state Minister for IT, Biotechnology and Science & Technology S R Patil on Friday. 

ElectronicsBF19feb2014

Patil said the brownfield project is to be executed at an estimated cost of Rs 85.15 crore on about 1.6 acres. “This project will accelerate growth of the ESDM-based industry in Karnataka. We are expecting the cluster concept to work wonders in increasing the state’s electronic exports by helping the industry to penetrate rural areas of the state.”

The government has also exempted IT and other knowledge-based industries in Karnataka from state labour laws for five more years, including stamp duty exemption fo 75 per cent, Patil said. “The knowledge-based sector will be considered essential services and barred from strikes and shutdowns from April.

They will also be exempted from complying with working hours regulations as stipulated in the Karnataka Industrial Employment Rules, 1946, for another five years,” Patil said.

Srivatsa Krishna, Secretary, Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology, GoK, hinted at plans to draft a separate semiconductor promotion policy in due course of time.

Certificates of registration were handed over by Patil to startups operating in the ESDM sector to set up incubation centres in Tier II cities.

“We expect the new new i4 (IT, ITES, Innovation, Incentive Policy) announced recently to generate 20 lakh IT sector jobs in the state by 2020, by when Bangalore is set to become the largest employer in the state,” Patil said.

Under Employment Linked Incentivisation of Land Allotment (E-LILA) scheme, the government will encourage companies with no prior presence in the state to set up their own or leased facilities. The companies will be required to give an undertaking under E-LILA to provide minimum employment to 1,000 people.

source: http://www.deccanherald.com / Deccan Herald / Home> Business / DHNS – Bangalore, January 31st, 2014

Learn all about Karnataka’s flora online

Bangalore :

Karnataka’s flora is in full bloom online, thanks to an internet database launched by the Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), on Thursday.

The database enables researchers as well as laypersons to key in the name of any plant species to find out the regions to which it is endemic, the key identification features, habit and distribution locality, among others. At present, the database can be accessed only by IISc faculty. It will be open to all after two weeks.

“This is good news for researchers. They can get details of 5,216 plants with their origin in Karnataka,” K Shankar Rao, distinguished fellow of CES, said. The database is perhaps the first online herbarium to cover the entire flora of any state in the country. He hoped the portal will create awareness about Karnataka’s rich floral heritage.

The online herbarium will help in deciding whether any hydroelectric or other project can be undertaken in certain areas. “People can raise objections if any endangered species is damaged due to the project by checking our database for plants endemic to those areas,” he said.

Shankar, who retired as biochemistry professor from IISc nine years ago, has worked for eight years with 14 other faculty members of the institute to develop the database.

They are endangered

Hopea Ponga: Found in the Western Ghats, it is a lofty tree with simple leaves which are up to 23 cm long and 7.5 cm broad with a swollen petiole. The tree can grow up to 18 metres. It produces gall which is mistaken as fruit.

Prunus Ceylanica: This tree grows up to 20 metres and is found in the Western Ghats. The leaves have a blunt tip and the tree yields white flowers.

Pterocarpus Marsupium: Also known Indian Kino Tree, it is found in the Ghats and can grow up to 30 metres. In Karnataka, it is known as Kempu Honne. It is used in ayurvedic medicines and in producing insulin.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Bangalore> Namma Metro / TNN / January 31st, 2014

Women entrepreneurs meet in city

MCCI President A.S. Satish, WISE President Gayatri and others during the workshop for women entrepreneurs in city this morning. [Pic. by Pragathi Gopalakrishna]
MCCI President A.S. Satish, WISE President Gayatri and others during the workshop for women entrepreneurs in city this morning. [Pic. by Pragathi Gopalakrishna]
Mysore :

A day-long workshop on accelerating women entrepreneurship in Karnataka, organised by Women In Small Enterprises (WISE), the Women’s Wing of Mysore Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI), in association with e-MERG (Engineering Manufacturer Entrepreneurs Resource Group) and Athena Infonomics India Private Limited (AIIPL), commenced this morning at MCCI premises on Devaraj Urs Road here.

About 50 women entrepreneurs from Mysore, Bangalore, Kolar, Chamarajanagar and Kodagu are participating in the programme which is a part of Roadmap-2020.

Addressing the gathering, e-MERG Founder President Uma Reddy said that the workshop would provide an ideal platform to find solutions to problems being encountered by women entrepreneurs. She said further that fine skills like marketing could be honed by such workshops through interactions.

Speaking on the occasion, District Industries Centre Joint Director M. Shivashankar said that the workshop would educate the women entrepreneurs on government schemes and benefits. He suggested the new women entrepreneurs to motivate others.

AIIPL Director Deepa, MCCI President A.S. Satish, WISE President Gayatri, e-MERG President Rajalakshmi and others were present.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / February 13th, 2014

i4 policy announced for Karnataka and Bengaluru

KarnatakaBF18feb2014

The main aim is to make Karnataka the country’s preferred destination for investments in ESDM

Features  | CIOL Bureau

Bangalore ,  INDIA:

Karnataka and Bengaluru have thrived and progressed in the past decade a great deal due to the growth of IT sector. This sector accounts for more than 30 percent of the IT exports in the country and employs over 1/3rd of the software engineers in the country.

From a mere 1.90 lakh direct jobs in 2001 to over 9 lakh jobs today, the sector has turned out to be the largest employer surpassing even employment provided by the State Government.

By 2020, Bengaluru will become the single largest IT and technology cluster on the planet in any single location and also the largest employer in the State.The KIG-2020 report has envisaged a goal Rs 4 lakh crores as the expected revenues by 2020 from IT & BPO and ESDM.

A comprehensive proposal providing for incentives, concessions, benefits etcfor the IT/ ITeS/ Start-ups/ Animation / Gaming / Computer Graphics/Telecom/BPO/ KPO / other knowledge based industries submitted to the State Cabinet was approved in the Cabinet meeting held on 17th October, 2013.

Employment Linked Incentivisation of Land Allotment (E-LILA) outside Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike Limits: Land allotment for IT/ ITeS/ Start-ups/ Animation / Gaming/ Computer Graphics / Telecom / BPO / KPO / other Knowledge based Industries at concessional price shall be linked to employment generation for investments outside Bengaluru. Government will directly subsidise employment created.

Dept. of IT, BT and S&T to be Single Window Agency: Government of Karnataka has authorised Dept. of IT, BT and S&T to act as the Single Window Agency for clearance of IT/ ITeS/ Start-ups/ Animation / Gaming / Computer Graphics/Telecom/BPO/ KPO / other Knowledge based Industries (in place of Karnataka UdyogMitra).

For investments up to Rs. 100 crores, all decisions would be taken by a Committee headed by the Minister for IT, BT and S&T Department with the concerned Principal Secretaries / Secretaries to Government as Members. For investments above Rs. 100 crores, decisions would be taken by a Committee headed by Chief Minister, which will have Minister for IT, BT and S&T, Chief Secretary and all concerned Principal Secretaries / Secretaries as Members.

Creating Brand Bengaluru 3.0 and Bengaluru First Fund: Brand Bengaluru 3.0 Society and a “Bengaluru First” fund to be set up to promote Bengaluru along the lines of India Brand Equity Fund (IBEF) set up by Government of India in association with CII. The “Bengaluru First” fund will be set up in association with NASSCOM / FICCI / CII / MAIT, under the Chairmanship of Secretary – Dept. of IT, BT and S&T, and Members from the Industry.

The “Bengaluru First” fund shall be utilised to establish the credibility of Karnataka as a destination for technology investments in software and IT services, in outsourcing services, as well as Design and Manufacturing of products and services and the rapidly growing animation / Computer-generated imagery (CGI) / media and entertainment industries. A VIP Assistance Cell will be created in the Dept. of IT, BT and S&T, to assist VIP Clients.

Skill Development Policy and Corpus: Skill Development programs will be taken up in association with the Industry for training un-employed youth in basic IT / BPO / Telecom / ESDM etc, skills to be implemented in a PPP mode. The beneficiaries namely, the trainees, shall also bear part of the expenditure towards Skill Development. Government shall facilitate and support to arrange Skill Development financing through Bank loans.

Opportunities for Start-ups: Start-ups companies will be eligible for plug and play space with internet at concessional rates of Rs.5-15 per sq ft, depending on location. The space may be Government owned/leased or privately leased and allotted. Selection of start-ups by an Apex Committee comprising of Government and IT industry’s eminent people.

Exemption of IT/ ITeS/ Knowledge/Start-up companies from the applicability of Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946
In addition to the Fiscal Incentives and Concessions, Cabinet also approved exemption of these companies from the applicability of Karnataka Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Rules, 1946, for a period of 5 years, with appropriate clause for protection of women employees and prevention of sexual harassment in work place.

ESDM brown field cluster
Karnataka has got the in principle approval on 30th January 2014 for the first Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) brown field cluster development project from the Department of Electronics and Information Technology(DeitY), Government of India in Electronic City, Bengaluru.

This project is to be executed at an estimated cost of Rs. 85.15 Crores and in an area of about 1.167 acres in Electronic City, Bengaluru and is expected to accelerate the growth of ESDM based industry in Karnataka.

Karnataka new age incubation network
In the KIG 2020 report, Entrepreneurship Development and Mentoring is one of the Ten Initiatives for creating new opportunities and jobs. One of the proposals under this head is to build ‘Karnataka New Age Incubation Network’ to be located in chosen colleges that are in the emerging ICT centers.

The Department of Information Technology, Biotechnology and Science & Technology in order to implement the Budget announcement of Government of Karnataka, has decided to implement the above proposal through KBITS to encourage Entrepreneurship and Innovation it is proposed to establish Incubation Centers in ICT sector in association with the selected Engineering Colleges at District headquarters.

The Sub Committee under the Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of IT, BT and S&T, after taking inputs from various sources has finalized 9 Engineering Colleges across the State as below.

* National Institute of Engineering, Mysore
* Siddaganga Institute of Technology -Tumkur
* Poojya Doddappa Appa Ccollege of Engineering – Gulbarga
* SDM College of Engineering, Dharwad
* BLDEA’s VP Dr. P G Halakatti College of Engineering and Technology, Bijapur
* Basveshwara College of Engineering, Bagalkot
* NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte
* KLS Gogte Institute of Technology, Belgaum
* Jawaharlal Nehru National College of Engineering, Shimoga.

The programme would encourage entrepreneurs by giving first preference to students, research scholars and alumni of the chosen colleges. The programme will cater to the projects that solve local problems and find solutions to local needs (district and state) rather than global problems and needs.Funding assistance will be provided by the First Party only for the management of the programme and the execution of the projects at Rs. 40 lacs per college per year.

The focus will be more on building an ecosystem fostering entrepreneurship rather than building physical space and purchasing expensive equipment. All incubation centers will be networked to exchange experiences and learn from one another.

They will also be connected with proposed Mobile Applications Center, Center of Excellence (COE) for ESDM located in Bengaluru for accessing certain resources avoiding any duplication.

The most important resource of the Programme will be local and remote mentors and the incubation centers will have tie-ups with local industry leaders and to those who are outside (in Bengaluru/ abroad) who may be hailing from the districts as mentors.

Registration of ESDM companies
Electronic System Design and Manufacturing (ESDM) is the fastest growing segment of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector. As per the National Electronics Policy-2012 (NEP-2012), ESDM is expected to grow to $400 Billion by the year 2020 and will generate a total employment of over 28 million.

Government of India has already announced Modified Special Incentive Package Scheme (M-SIPS) that provides various incentives to ESDM Companies.

In order to attract investments to Karnataka as compared to other States in the ESDM Sector, Karnataka has come up with Karnataka ESDM Policy which has additional incentives to encourage the growth of ESDM sector

The objective of the Karnataka ESDM Policy is to facilitate, promote and develop the “ESDM” sector in the State of Karnataka and make Karnataka a preferred destination for investment in sectors like Telecommunications, Defense, Medical, Industrial, Automotive, Consumer Products, applications and components, parts, and accessories required for these applications.

The major targets set in Karnataka ESDM policy are as follows:

* Emerge as the leading contributor to India’s ESDM sector by accounting for at least 10 percent of the $400 billion by 2020.

* Generate over 20 percent of the country’s total ESDM exports target of $80 billion in 2020.

* Make Karnataka the country’s preferred destination for investments in ESDM.

* Generate atleast 2,40,000 new jobs, 25 percent of India’s Ph.Ds and 5,000 patent filings in ESDM sector in Karnataka by 2020.

In order to achieve these targets, the Department of IT, BT has initiated registration of K-ESDM companies. In the first phase, eight companies as below have been registered as Karnataka ESDM companies. Registration certificates are being issued to these companies.

* SIGNALCHIP Innovations Pvt Ltd, Banaswadi, Bengaluru-560043.
* CERIUM Systems Pvt Ltd, Whitefield, Bengaluru-560066.
* BYDESIGN.
* Aura Semiconductor Pvt Ltd.
* SPARR Electronics Ltd.
* Saankhya Labs Pvt Ltd.
* TEJAS Networks Ltd.
* Aristos Electronics Manufacturing Services Pvt Ltd.

source: http://www.ciol.com / CIOL / Home> ESDM> Features / by CIOL Bureau / Bangalore (India) – Saturday, February 01st, 2014