Samsung's trademark filing for 'Galaxy Gear' reveals the name of its upcoming smart watch

While Samsung sent out invites for its next Unpacked event scheduled for September 4, where it's expected to unveil the next generation Galaxy Note device, there's also buzz that it might release a smart watch, named Galaxy Gear, at the same event.

Adding more fuel to the rumour is a new report by Dutch website Galaxy Club (via BGR) which hasspotted a trademark filing on the USPTO's website related to a new range of smart devices christened as Galaxy Gear. Samsung describes the devices as "Wearable digital electronic devices in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band or bangle capable of providing access to the Internet and for sending and receiving phone calls, electronic mails and messages; wearable electronic handheld devices in the form of a wristwatch, wrist band or bangle for the wireless receipt, storage and/or transmission of data and messages and for keeping track of or managing personal information; smart phones; tablet computers; portable computers" in the filing. This, in a way is a confirmation that Samsung intends to name its smart watch "Galaxy Gear."

Just a few days back, Korean publication Asiae.co.kr had reported that Samsung is likely to launch its new smart watch at the September 4 event with the Galaxy Note III, citing unnamed sources.

Previously, Patently Apple had also reported in July, that Samsung was planning to release its new smart watch which would be named "Samsung Gear" and positioned as a smartphone accessory with the Galaxy Note III smartphone/ phablet.

While not much is known about the smart device, there have been rumours about Samsung working on a smart watch as part of its Project J lineup. Samsung had confirmed that it was indeed working on a smart watch but did not reveal any other details. As per past rumours, this smart watch is likely to come with an arm band, will have the ability to bike mount and will come with a pouch as well. Someleaked screenshots of this watch also surfaced online, which indicated that this smart watch was running on a beta version of the Altios OS.

It would be interesting to see how Samsung's offering would compare to the current crop of smart watches from Sony, Pebble and other smaller players. However, Samsung would be looking to gain some mileage before Apple unveils its own smart watch. We had reported in July that Apple had applied for the 'iWatch' trademark in Japan, Mexico, Taiwan, Turkey and Colombia.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg had reported that Apple's so-called iWatch is expected to release this year and that the project is currently being fuelled by the efforts of over 100 engineers being led by Apple design chief Jony Ive himself.

A recent report by Apple Insider, also mentioned that Apple's smart watch is likely to debut in 2014, quoting Ming-Chi Kuo, an analyst with KGI Securities who regularly offers predictions on future Apple products.

It's worth mentioning that companies like Google, Microsoft, and LG, are all said to be working on bringing their own smart watch-like devices to the market.

Read More

Vodafone ordered to pay Rs. 10,000 compensation to customer

The Thane District Consumer Redressal Forum (TDCRF) Thane ruled that Vodafone was deficient in providing services to one of its customers and ordered the company to pay him a cash compensation of Rs. 10,000.

TDCRF president Umesh Jawalikar and member N D Kadam stated in their order that the company and its dealer should jointly pay the compensation in three months from the date of order or else pay interest at the rate of 12 percent per annum from the date of order, until the amount is realised.

The case relates to one Prabhakar Y Joshi of Badlapur from Thane district who had purchased a mobile connection from a Vodafone dealer in 2007.

At the time of purchase of the cellular phone connection, he was assured by Vodafone's agent in Badlapur, Parth Telecom, that he would receive trouble-free signal reception throughout Maharashtra state.

However, the customer told the consumer forum that whenever he went to his native place Srivardhan, he never received Vodafone network connectivity during 2007-2008 and lodged a claim of Rs. 44,000 from Vodafone and the dealer.

The respondent company and the dealer in their submission told the forum that at certain times, due to technical issues and geographical location, the customer might not get network connectivity and this was already mentioned in the contract.

After hearing both parties, the consumer forum arrived concluded that Vodafone's service was deficient and there was interruption in its services not merely once or twice, but repeatedly during 2007-08.

The company and its dealer never paid any heed to his complaints, the complainant told the forum, and hence he had lodged a complaint.

Read More

Intel launches Android-based Education Tablets with Atom processor

Intel has launched two Android tablets, Intel Education tablet 7-inch and 10-inch targeting the education sector. Both tablets are powered by Intel's Atom processor.
The Intel Education tablet 7-inch features a LCD display with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels. It runs on Android 4.1 Jelly Bean and is powered by a 1.2GHz Intel Atom Z2420 processor with 1GB of RAM. It also includes an 8GB of internal storage. Intel claims that the Education tablet 7-inch can give 8 hours of battery life. Other features include USB port, a microSD slot, an audio in/ out combo, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, integrated speakers and microphone. There are dual cameras - 2-megapixel rear and 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera.

The Intel Education tablet 10-inch features a 1280x800 pixels LCD display. It is powered by a 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460 processor with 1GB of RAM. The tablet includes a 16GB of internal storage. However, this one doesn't supports microSD card. The company claims the tablet to deliver 6.5 hours of battery life. Connectivity features include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and USB port. Surprisingly, the Intel Education tablet 10-inch runs on an older Android version, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, which is rather dated considering Android 4.3 Jelly Bean has been rolled out.

Intel claims that both the Intel Education Tablets available in 7-inch and 10-inch sizes are designed specifically for education and built to meet students' needs. The tablets come with Intel Education Software pre-loaded.

There is no word on pricing and availability of the tablets, or indeed if these are reference designs or if Intel plans to market these tablets directly.

Intel Education Tablet 7-inch key specifications

• 7-inch LCD display with a resolution of 1024x600 pixels
• 1.2 GHz Intel Atom Z2420 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 8GB internal storage
• 2-megapixel rear camera
• 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera
• 8 hours of battery life
• Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean)

Intel Education Tablet 10-inch key specifications

• 7-inch LCD display with screen resolution of 1280x 800 pixels
• 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2460 processor
• 1GB RAM
• 16GB internal storage
• 2-megapixel rear camera
• 0.3-megapixel front-facing camera
• 6.5 hours of battery life
• Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)

Read More

India is now the world's third-largest smartphone market: Report

India has now become the third-largest smartphone market after China and the United States in terms of smartphone shipments, according to the latest report by Canalys.

The report states that in Q2 2013, the global smartphone shipments were at 238.1 million, an year-on-year growth of 50 percent, while smartphone shipments in India grew by 129 percent to hit 9 million, making it the world's third-largest smartphone market.

The Canalys report mentions that the top five smartphone vendors in India include Samsung, Micromax, Karbonn, Sony and Nokia.

Jessica Kwee, Canalys Analyst on Indian smartphone market said, "Samsung has invested heavily in its brand and channel relationships over a number of years, which has given it a big advantage over many of its international competitors. Samsung took over a third of the Indian market this quarter, followed by local vendor Micromax at 22 percent. Karbonn, Sony and Nokia made up the top five."

The report also suggests that the dynamics of the market make it challenging for international vendors, besides Samsung, to succeed.

"India is a market in transition, moving from feature phones to smart phones, and is a market that offers huge potential as hundreds of millions of users have yet to upgrade their feature phones. Domestic vendors, such as Micromax and Karbonn, are capitalizing on the popularity of their feature phones and are quicker to respond to local market demands, hence their current success," added Kwee.

The report notes that smartphone shipments in China grew 108 percent year-on-year, which is the second highest growth rate, taking the total shipments to the market to 88.1 million. This represented over a third of all worldwide shipments. Lenovo took second place in China this quarter, where it shipped 10.8 million smart phones.

The report also takes note of platform-wise growth and suggests that Android grew the fastest during the quarter, by 79 percent year-on-year. Android now powers 190 million, or 80 percent, of the smartphones shipped in Q2. While the share of Apple's iOS fell to 13 percent as the Cupertino based company is gearing up to unveil new products in the second half of 2013.

It's worth pointing out that Canalys, an independent analyst firm compiled the shipments data for vendors in around 50 countries that it tracks, so the findings might be different from actual sales data

Read More

HTC teases 'Big Things ahead' on Twitter, hinting at One Max

HTC seems to be all set to spoil Samsung's Galaxy Note III party. A few hours after Samsung sent invitations for the 'Unpacked' 2013 event, HTC teased a new video tagged 'Big Things Ahead'.

The Taiwanese handset maker has posted a video of around 16 seconds on YouTube that ends with the notes, 'Here's To Change' and 'Happy Telephone Company'.

In the video, a person is seen with an HTC device (which we believe is the HTC One Max) that features the same design as that of the HTC One. The person with the device is shown waiting for a helicopter's arrival and then the person who gets down from the helicopter gives a land slap to the first person. The device is visible twice in the video though it is not clear whether the device is the new One Max or the original flagship device. However, one thing is clear, HTC is trying to create some buzz for its upcoming device.

Meanwhile, alleged images of the HTC One Max phablet surfaced online on Monday. The HTC One Max is likely to sport a 5.9-inch HD display and runs Android 4.3 Jelly Bean, out-of-the-box. The device is said will be powered by a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 processor, while the original HTC One is powered by a Snapdragon 600 processor. The One Max also features the same UltraPixel and 2.1-megapixel front-facing cameras as the HTC One. Other specifications include 2GB of RAM, 16GB storage and a 3300mAh battery. The site also claims that the Taiwanese major may equip the latest handset with a stylus.

Samsung has also officially sent invitations for an event scheduled on September 4 in Berlin on Monday, where the company is expected to launch the Galaxy Note III phablet.

Here's the YouTube clip of the video.

Read More

Xolo A500S with Android 4.2 launched for Rs. 6,999

Xolo has launched a new budget smartphone, the Xolo A500S, at a price of Rs. 6,999.

The Xolo A500S features a 4-inch WVGA display that has a resolution of 480x800 pixels and pixel density of 233 Pixels Per Inch (PPI). The device is powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor with 512MB of RAM and a Mali-400 MP GPU for boosting graphics. The device is based on MediaTek's chipset, MT 6572W.

It includes a 5-megapixel rear camera accompanied by an LED flash and a VGA front facing camera. The rear camera can record videos up to 720p resolution. The Xolo A500S runs Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. It also includes 4GB of internal storage that can be expanded up to 32GB through microSD card. It is a dual SIM device with support for GSM+GSM with dual standby. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPRS, EDGE, 3G, and Micro-USB. Other features include an accelerometer, ambient light sensor, proximity sensor and AGPS. The Xolo A500S is backed by a 1400mAh battery.

The device will be available in four colour options - Black, Blue, Red & White.

Xolo seems to be targeting the budget Android segment with the A500S. The latest smartphone is believed to be a successor to the Xolo A500 which is now available for Rs. 6,499 at online retailers.

Last month, Xolo launched the Play T1000 smartphone powered by Tegra 3 quad-core processor for Rs. 15,999.

The Xolo Play T1000 features a 4.7-inch HD display. The highlight of the device is its 1.5 GHz Tegra 3 quad-core processor which comes with a 12-core GeForce GPU and 1GB RAM. The phone comes with internal storage of 4GB which can be further expanded up to 32GB. The device sports an 8.0-megapixel rear camera and a 2.0-megapixel front camera. It comes with full HD 1080p video recording and playback capabilities. Other major features include 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS support. The phone comes with a 2,000mAh battery.

Xolo A500S key specifications

• 4-inch WVGA display with a resolution of 480x800 pixels and pixel density of 233 PPI
• 1.2GHz dual-core processor
• 1GB RAM
• 4GB of internal storage, expandable by up to 32GB via microSD card
• 5.0-megapixel camera with LED Flash
• VGA front facing camera
• WiFi, Bluetooth, GPS, AGPS
• 1400mAh battery
• Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean)

Read More

Google updates Play Store, adds 'Recently Updated' section

Google is now rolling out an update to the Android Play Store content and apps marketplace, with version 4.3.10.

Though the update is not a major one and doesn't bring many design changes to the Play Store, it does add some usability improvements.

Android Police has listed some minor tweaks introduced with the Google Play Store update that includes a Recently Updated section, combined notifications, Book sales will displaying full list prices, much like Amazon, and the Buy and Rent keys being swapped in Movies, and the update notification displaying a "Touch to update" message.

One of the most significant changes seen on the new updated version of the Play Store is the addition of the 'Recently Updated' section that will now appear in the 'My Apps' category of the Store. The new section will include apps that have been recently updated now. Earlier, a recently updated app used to be included in the general list or the 'Up to date' list with other apps.

The next major feature added with the update is combined notifications after apps are updated. In the current version, for every successful update there is a separate notification that pops up in the notification bar.

Google has announced the roll out of the new Play Store version but it might take some time to reach your device. But users can expect the update for the Play Store to land on their devices, soon.

Read More

Nokia parodies Apple's iPhone ad, claims the Lumia 925 takes better photos

After its strategic partner Microsoft took pot shots at Apple's iPad, it's now Nokia's turn to parody Apple's iPhone with a new TV commercial.

Nokia has released an ad for its Lumia 925 smartphone that parodies Apple's "Photos Every Day"commercial for the iPhone and compares the Lumia 925's camera with that of the iPhone by placing photos side by side in the same frame.

The commercial starts with a voice over repeating the same lines that are featured in the iPhone ad, "Every day more photos are taken on the iPhone than any other phone." However, as we go forward, the voice over talks about how "Nokia prefers to build for quality and not just quantity." The ad then goes on to display side by side comparison shots of pictures taken in different modes on the Lumia 925 and the iPhone 5 including various 'no flash' and 'with flash' photos and Best shot and Motion blur photos. It's not surprising that the photos taken with the Lumia 925 look better than the ones taken with the iPhone 5, in the ad. 

 

After a few more seconds into the ad, it even displays the same scenes that appear in the iPhone ad and the voice over gives the message that, "Every day better photos are taken with Nokia Lumias than with any other mobile."

While Nokia clearly intends to show off the imaging prowess of its Lumia devices, as imaging is the major differentiator in its flagship phones, the parody is in bad taste, and clearly reflects Nokia's frustration at not being able to sell as many Lumia devices as it intends to. The iPhone 5 dwarfs the Lumia phones by a huge margin in terms of sales. 

The iPhone has an edge with Apple's app and content ecosystem, and is an all-rounder as its camera is still considered one of the best among all smartphone shooters. It's also the most popular device when it comes to users sharing images on the Internet as more online photos are shot through the iPhone than with any other phone. Nokia's Lumia devices on the other hand are crippled by Windows Phone, Microsoft's mobile operating system which is facing a major app problem, that is evenacknowledged by Nokia execs. 

It's interesting to note that despite Microsoft releasing similar parody ads for its Surface tablet, the offering has not been able to do well and have yet to make any profit.

Read More

IT companies adopt new methods to motivate employees

Companies are adopting new techniques to keep their employees motivated. The idea is to empower employees by creating an environment that contributes to continuous learning and improved performance

Although attrition is at an all time low in the IT industry, companies are adopting new techniques and processes to keep their employees motivated. Increased pressure to deliver more with shrinking timelines is the prime reason attributed to the current state of affairs.

This coupled with moderate increase in salary has resulted in a significant drop in morale.

“The primary strategy of motivating employees through financial perks are giving way to alternate means of morale boosters today,’’ states Manjul Agarwal, an HR professional with a leading IT company in Electronic City. “Buying allegiance has never proved to be an effective motivational strategy.”

The approach being adopted today is aimed more at validation of the contribution on an ongoing basis. And for this the senior management is being provided specific training.

The aim today is more towards empowering employees by creating an environment that contributes to continuous learning, performance improvement and mission accomplishment, while ensuring accountability and fairness for all employees,” Urvashi Dhankar, Chief Knowledge Officer, eVenchurs people management services. “Mid management leaders are being taught the skill of empowerment which means giving up control and letting others make decisions, set goals, accomplish results and receive rewards. It means that other people will probably get credit for success.”

Some of the areas that are being addressed in this program include adequate supply of resources for skill up gradation, training, and redesign of the current evaluation program to motivate employees.

“Motivational processes today include ongoing feedback of an employee’s desire and commitment to perform; and this is evaluated in job-related effort,’’ states Dhankar. “Within 60 days of initiation of such programs, the manager in charge is expected to personally re-visit each team in order to provide feedback opportunities for clarifying expectations, re-modify target plans and gain recognition and trust. On the basis of these activities, the manager himself is evaluated.”

The manager’s job overall is more inclined towards providing support to the work environment, in addition to rewards and validations.

“The more feedback individuals receive about how well their jobs are being performed, the more knowledge of the results they have. This in turn fosters the adage ` involve me, and I’ll make it my own’,’’ observes Agarwal.

Read More

8 questions candidates must ask – Suruchi Maitra, VP-HR, UnitedLex

Suruchi Maitra, VP-HR, UnitedLex advises you on questions to ask at your next job interview! 

Interviews in today’s world are no longer the 3-member panel in a sterile board room environment where a candidate needs to put his best foot forward to secure a coveted position. To my mind, a good interview is a very meaningful conversation and an open assessment for a win-win situation. In today’s world where there is a war for talent, a good interview meeting should leave both parties clear about expectations from the role, what it will take to be successful in the organisation, understanding of the company culture and how it will add value to my skills and hence my career graph.

For any interview to yield positive results which does not necessarily mean “getting the job”, a candidate must prepare well. Some insight into what is known about the organisation is really a quick Google search away. This is not to really tell the interviewer that you did the research but it actually helps in taking a conversation forward for deeper insights.

Before deciding to take up a potential job opportunity, candidates must ask the following questions to the employer:

• What does the organisation stand for? What are its objectives/ goals? – This will help the candidate to understand if he/ she will be able to see his/ her role contributing to the overall company goal and whether he/ she will be able to build alignment. The conversation can also help understand the big milestones already hit and plans for the others.
• What is expected out of me? – It is very important to understand the core expectations from the job. It is always good to check on not only what you would be expected to do but also ask what success in the role would look like so that you know what the end goal is and whether you have the interest or capability to deliver that.
• What is the organisational culture like? – For you to spend a good part of your day in the office, it is very important to be familiar with the “way of life” in the company. Asking for examples around what is great about the company, what is it working on to further improve itself and other such related questions would help you understand if you would enjoy the journey.
• What are the opportunities to learn and grow? – This is further related to the culture and helps you understand about what are the extras you can contribute to or learn from for your own up skilling.
• A few questions on employee related policies would give insight into the orientation of the organisation and its culture. Examples could be around flexibility v/s rigid work timings, telecommuting v/s working in the office, rewards program and many others.
• A candidate can ask questions around Employee Value Proposition of the organisation – this will be helpful in know about the ways in the organisation cares about its employees; more so in a holistic manner that includes compensation and benefits philosophy, wellness for employees, the culture of the organisation, connect with the leaders etc.
• How and by whom will my performance be reviewed? Are there any specific criteria upon which I would be evaluated? – Candidates can also ask about the performance review process during the interview. This will help them align to the process better and in the first place, set expectations right. They can also ask about the frequency of the performance appraisal cycle.
• If I am being hired for a specific vertical and what are the plans around that particular vertical’s business growth? This can also be then linked to the role the candidate is being hired for. Asking about this may give the candidate a clear picture of where he/she would stand in the system and the subsequent role to be played.

Read More

Cognizant Q2 beat estimates

Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys and Wipro also reported strong results and better-than-expected outlooks last month.

IT firm Cognizant announced its second quarter results on Tuesday. Its quarterly revenue rose to $2.161 billion, up 7% sequentially and 20.4% from the year-ago quarter. The addition of $141 million in sequential revenue is the second highest incremental revenue addition in Cognizant's history. GAAP net income was $300.4 million, up 5.7% sequentially and 19.2% from the year-ago quarter.

Company saw broad-based growth across geographies, industries and services. In terms of geographies, North America grew 6% sequentially and 17% YoY; Europe grew 11% sequentially and 37% YoY; Rest of the World grew 7% sequentially and 25% YoY.

In terms of business verticals, financial services grew 6.5% sequentially and 23.6% YoY; healthcare grew 6.2% sequentially and 11.8% YoY; manufacturing and retail grew 8.4% sequentially and 28.7% YoY.

"Our 15 year record of revenue and earnings growth is a testament to our long-term strategy of reinvesting in our business to stay relevant to our clients' changing needs and to provide increasing value as we grow each of those trusted relationships. This reinvestment strategy continues to enable Cognizant to excel in our core services while simultaneously investing in multiple horizons of growth, thereby continuing to position us well for the future," said Francisco D'Souza, CEO of Cognizant.

In the third quarter 2013, company has guided to a revenue of at least $2.25 billion, indicating at least 4.1% sequential revenue growth. Fiscal 2013 revenue expected to be at least $8.74 billion, up at least 19% compared to 2012.

Read More

Slowdown: Engineering graduates facing risk of unemployment

As it is, a fifth to a third of engineering graduates run the risk of being unemployed.

BANGALORE/MUMBAI: It isn't intended to crush young dreams. But for over a million engineering students who are stepping into placement season this month, NasscomPresident Som Mittal's confirmation that IT hiring will indeed decline 22% to 1.8 lakh this year does just that.

"Ten years ago, we could hire half the graduating engineering students, but now, there is global uncertainty, automation, non-linear growth," Mittal told ET even as a new engineering placement season gets underway in a rather bleak economic backdrop. "We cannot provide jobs to all."

As it is, a fifth to a third of engineering graduates run the risk of being unemployed. Many others will take jobs well below their technical qualifications, an ET special feature had reported recently.

That's the environment in which hundreds of non-IIT and second-tier colleges are now getting into a placement overdrive. They are roping in newer industries, inviting more companies, settling for salaries that are much lower than the minimum benchmarks, and encouraging more students to entrepreneurship.

"Last year, we had a placement record of 85%, but this time, we would be happy even if we meet 70% of the target," says Guru Venkatesh, V-P (placement and corporate relations) for Dayananda Sagar Institutions. "Up until 2012, there were companies we would not touch...but this year, we are looking at all."
But top-rung institutes, including the Indian Institutes of Technology, remain relatively insulated. "We have no worries. Only 15% of our students join the IT sector and for our 1,200-odd students (all streams included), salaries are expected to go up as well," said an official from the placement office of IIT-Madras. The average salary has gone up from 8.9 lakh for the batch of 2012 to 11.4 lakh for the class of 2013.

Karnataka-based DayanandaSagar Institutions has around a 1,000 students to place. This year, it has decided that companies will have to share slots from day one. Three companies will be allowed to pick students on the same day; only one was allowed earlier.

"IT companies, which used to be the large recruiters, will hire fewer people, so we are trying to get more firms to make up for the numbers," says Venkatesh.

"In 2012, around 100 companies came. This time, we will try for 200, which includes startups," he adds.

Call them all
Colleges are compromising on salaries too. "Last year, we had few companies offering 3-lakh plus salaries. This year, we are open to more companies with salaries of 3 lakh or so," says an official from the placement team of VIT University, based in Tamil Nadu.

The campus has started its placements with companies like DE Shaw, Flipkart and Ebay.

IT companies, which constitute about 70% of hires, usually come later in the year, around September onwards.

Campus placements for engineering colleges start from mid-July and continue for the next eight months. Initially, those from core engineering industries, R&D and sectors like auto, manufacturing take their pick.

The IT mammoths, which hire in large numbers, come only in September but have said their hiring will be muted. "The overall industry will see muted hiring from campus this year," says Pratik Kumar, executive vice-president for HR at Wipro.

Compared with the 2,30,000 IT jobs created in 2012, only 1,80,000 will be generated this year, according to Nasscom. This year, IT giants will hire in September during campus placements and again in May-June, to bulk up their off-campus placements, Mittal adds.

Alternate avenues
Bangalore-based RV College of Engineering is advocating entrepreneurship for its students. It is looking to garner Rs 25 crore in two years for its entrepreneurship cell. In the past 50 years, 12% of its alumni became entrepreneurs and the college hopes more will follow suit. It wants the 1,000-odd engineers graduating every year to apply for more patents and research projects so that they are picked up by core engineering firms and do not have to bank upon just the IT sector.

Delhi Technological University (DTU) will follow a similar strategy. "We have added 15% new recruiters only for computer science and IT students, keeping in mind that hiring numbers per company may take a hit," says NeerajNimwal, training & placement officer for DTU. "Colleges need to look at other sectors like manufacturing, pharma, biotech as recruiters. In fact, I am more worried about those graduating four years later," says Nasscom'sMittal.
Some have done so without delay.

Bengal Engineering and Science University (BESU) has around 500 students, roughly 180 are from streams like IT, computer science, electronics and electrical engineering. MK Sanyal, professor & head, department of HR Management, says placing all these students is getting more challenging as the scenario gets increasingly competitive. Earlier, if 30 companies used to approach the institute for placements, the first 5-6 would absorb all the students, and the others had to be sent back.

"Last year, we felt the heat when several more companies were required to take on all the students. This year, we will have to accommodate even more companies," he says
.

Read More

Why Infosys, HCL are shying away from government projects

IT comapanies are shying away from government-backed information technology contracts.

BANGALORE: Software companies are shying away from government-backed information technology contracts, frustrated by delays in payments and lack of clarity about project milestones. 

While earlier they would throw their hats in the ring for virtually every government project, even the largest IT companies are becoming choosy about the type of contracts they want to be part of. Infosys, for example, did not bid for a Rs 200-crore project to computerise the Debt Recovery Tribunal, India business head C N Raghupati said, because the company was seeking a clearer investment and execution roadmap. 

Another project by the telecom department to set up a facility to test equipment for security vulnerabilities and spyware did not take off due to lack of clarity in the funding model and milestones. Many such government projects, including the DRTs, lack a clear process roadmap that defines milestones. As payments are typically linked to milestones, this results in delays in payments. "Major IT players have become more circumspect and are participating only in projects that are well-funded and have clear vision and can pay," said, Rohtin Bhattacharya, executive vice president who for corporate strategy at HCL Infosystems. "We have faced delay in payment from government entities and are trying to get our money." 

The company, which gets a lion's share of its business from the government, saw its revenue declining from to Rs 10,856 crore in fiscal 2012-13 from Rs 11,548 crore a year ago. From next to nothing from the private sector two years ago, the company gets about Rs 171 crore now. "As a part of the strategy we are focusing on the non-government customers and expanding our portfolio to private sector but we still have government orders worth roughly a $1 billion." Gartner estimates the government technology market in India to be worth about Rs 37,000 crore (including IT products and services) in 2013, with Tata Consultancy Services, and IBM having a dominant share. With general election due in early 2014, industry experts said that most large projects are stalled or are progressing at snail's pace. 

A senior executive at IBM, who requested not to be identified, said that payment delays have become acute as bureaucrats fear greater scrutiny by auditors and vigilance agencies in the wake of several recent corruption scandals. "With payments getting stuck, chief financial officers are pulling up India-business heads at most of the large IT companies asking them not to bid forgovernment projects as they are seen as being too risky from a cash-flow perspective." 

In the June quarter, TCS reported that its India business shrank by about 5% from three months before. For the $12 billion company, the domestic market contributes about 8% to sales. Similarly, Wipro's revenue from India and the Middle East fell by 7%. TCS and Wipro did not reply to questions for this story. 

The spokesman for the Department of Electronics and IT did not make himself available for comment. However, a senior official in the department said on condition of anonymity that, typically, payment delays are on account of "milestones not being achieved." 

Sanjay Dhawan, who heads the technology practice at PwC, said he does not foresee a quick turnaround in the state of government projects. "Macroeconomic factors, uncertain rupee-dollar fluctuation and the political sentiments with election coming up are making vendors go cautious with government projects.
"

Read More

'A' tour to South Africa gives fringe men chance to impress

The 16-member squad, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, will also take on the hosts in a couple of unofficial Tests later. (TOI Photo)

MUMBAI: The India 'A' team's tour of South Africa begins in Pretoria on Thursday when they play Australia 'A' in the second game of the triangular series. The 16-member squad, led by Cheteshwar Pujara, will also take on the hosts in a couple of unofficial Tests later. 

India's selectors have picked a strong batting order and a relatively inexperienced bowling attack for the tour, with the aim of giving the young batsmen a feel of the conditions that they will come across when MS Dhoni's men take on Graeme Smith & Co in a full series later this year. The quality of cricket is expected to be top-notch in both formats given the class of the players involved and that is what makes this tour so special. 

From a broader perspective, this tour will give fans and selectors a sense of where Indian cricket is heading. How will the likes of Pujara, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane and Murali Vijay perform in testing conditions against the screaming pace of Kyle Abbott and Marchant de Lange? 

Will Rohit Sharma finally stake a claim in the Test squad, seven years after making his T20 and ODI debut? Will Suresh Raina stand up against the barrage of short-pitched deliveries that are waiting to greet him and finally get the monkey off his back? There are questions aplenty and the onus is clearly on the young cricketers to answer them.

In the past, the 'A' tours were hardly given any importance. The BCCI sent teams as a formality, often without thinking of the future or even understanding the significance of such outings. The players focused on their individual performances, hoping that they could somehow graduate to the next level. The selectors rarely counted these runs or wickets, unless someone performed spectacularly well. 

Former India captain Sourav Ganguly, however, feels the time has come to change the mindset and get into the winning habit. "It is a positive move to send a team to South Africa ahead of the Test series. 

Obviously you want them to win as many games as possible. I know it will be tough but that is what you expect from this team," Ganguly told TOI on Tuesday. "The conditions now will be completely different when India go there in November-December. With the winter on, the conditions will be difficult now. 

The wickets will do a lot more and, I am sure, it will be a good learning curve for the players. It will prepare them well for the series ahead," he added. The Board, too, has done its bit by sending a former Railway's wicketkeeper-batsman Abhay Sharma as the fielding coach, along with head coach Lalchand Rajput. 

"It is the first time that the BCCI has sent a fielding coach on an 'A' tour and that is because we are playing a couple of four-day games. It will also continue the process of raising the fielding standards," said Prof Ratnakar Shetty, BCCI's game development officer. The BCCI, however, has chosen not to send a bowling coach and Ganguly is fine with that. 

"There's too much of spoon feeding these days. I think players at this level should to be left to figure out their own way, and that goes for, both, the batsmen and bowlers. In any case, not many bowlers from this attack will make it into the team for the South Africa series," he said. 

Squad : Cheteshwar Pujara (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Ajinkya Rahane, Wriddhiman Saha, Parvez Rasool, Shahbaz Nadeem, Mohammed Shami, Stuart Binny, Ishwar Pandey, Jaidev Unadkat, Siddharth Kaul 

'A' tour that matters... 

The performance of all the 16 players in the 'A' team - which will play two 'tests' and a triangular in South Africa - will be followed closely by selectors. TOI lists five batsmen who will be in the spotlight... 

Murali Vijay 
The Tamil Nadu opener received a surprise call-up for the series against Australia at home and made full use of that opportunity by scoring 430 runs in four Tests@61.42, including two hundreds. It was a performance that was instrumental in India's clean sweep of Australia. Admirably, Vijay toned down his usual aggressive style and was willing to dig in and play a big knock. Questions, however, still remain about the 29-year-old's ability to cope with pace and bounce in overseas conditions. Success on this tour will give him immense confidence ahead of the SA tour. 

Cheteshwar Pujara 
There is no doubt that on the evidence of what we have seen so far, Pujara is currently India's best Test batsman. A statutory warning, though, must be issued to those who label him as the 'next Rahul Dravid': He is yet to be tested against quality attacks outside India. Pujara has also shown a penchant for falling to the hook shot repeatedly. The 25-year-old now gets a wonderful opportunity to get used to the rising ball. If this class act comes out with flying colours on this trip, the Indian Test side will breathe easier. 

Rohit Sharma 
If this gifted batsman wants to break into the Test side, this tour could be his golden chance. The 26-year-old is yet to make his Test debut, despite having played 102 ODIs. Throwing his wicket away when in complete control has been this Mumbai batsman's biggest bane and he has rightly been criticised for it. Many, in fact, think he is just a T20 or 'IPL specialist.' Recently, however, he seems to have turned the corner, having found success as an ODI opener. His experience of playing two new balls should help Rohit prepare better for Test cricket. This tour will tell us if he is cut out for the five-day format. 

Suresh Raina 
This man has proved to be an integral part of the Indian T20 and ODI side, but still has a long way to go before he re-establishes himself in Test cricket. Raina's biggest problem is his inability to deal with the short ball. While lack of technique is an issue, Raina appears to also have a mental block against it. If the southpaw can conquer his demons, he can transform into a quality Test batsman. He can take a cue from former India skipper Sourav Ganguly, who overcame a similar problem successfully. 

Ajinkya Rahane 
He has waited on the sidelines for far too long, but like Rohit, has suffered due to lack of opportunities in the Test side. He is no more a contender for the opening slot in the longer format and that has affected his confidence. The Mumbai youngster endured a miserable debut against Australia on a treacherous pitch in Delhi. Before that, he failed against the English seamers in ODIs at home and was dropped. A good show on this tour will help him stay on the radar.
 

Read More