Editor, Reporter and Publisher , at the age of 12 !!!

       Allahabad: He is all of 12 years but Utkarsh Tripathi painstakingly brings out a handwritten newspaper every week to spread awareness among his peers on issues like the environment and female foeticide. And all this to satisfy his urge to "serve the country".

        A Class 8 student of the Brij Bihari Sahai (BBS) Inter College in Allahabad, Utkarsh has been bringing out the newspaper Jagriti for the last one year. And for the four-page, black-and-white newspaper, Utkarsh not only dons the role of a reporter, editor and publisher, but also turns hawker for circulating the weekly.
Unlike other papers, readers of Jagriti don't have to spend a single penny -- Utkarsh distributes it free of cost.
"Yes, I manage it all alone. Right from gathering the content, its editing, publishing and ultimately distributing the copies to readers," Utkarsh, a resident of Khatju colony in Allahabad, told IANS. "I know, you would like to know how I publish the newspaper. First I prepare a handwritten copy of Jagriti and later take out copies at a photocopy shop in my locality... It's simple," he explained. Jagriti has about 150 readers belonging to varied age groups in Allahabad, some 200 km from the state capital Lucknow. "Children comprise the major chunk of Jagriti readers...my school friends, my seniors in school, teachers and also my neighbours," he said. According to Utkarsh's father Hari Prasad, who runs a coaching institute, his son has a flair for writing and wanted to serve the country in some way. "More than a year ago, he read an article on Indo-China relations in a Hindi daily. I don't know what came into his mind... After reading the article, he came to me and asked me to suggest a way he could serve the country," Prasad said. "At that time I wasn't sure how serious he was about the question... I said that joining the defence services was one of the best options to serve the country... To this, he said that he wanted to start serving the society from his school life itself. I then suggested why not work like a journalist and make people aware of their rights," he added. Utkarsh took the suggestion seriously and came up with Jagriti.

Indian Made 3G Data Card For Rs. 1300

The 3G device market seems to be hotting up with the latest and cheapest offer from iWEBLEAF, a city based company launched by two young Oriyas, who just completed B.Tech from the Techno School under Biju Patnaik University of Technology (BPUT) this year.

They are all set to offer 3G data card (USB modem) at an unbelievable price tag of Rs. 1300 at least for the time being.

Chandrasekhar Panda and Saswat Swain have designed the first ever 3G technology-based data card that provides high speed internet at a very low cost. The Wi-Fi and 3G enabled data card is designed to work on the spectrum of any telecom operator providing high speed internet service all the time.

This invention is expected to be a major breakthrough in providing mobile broadband connectivity as the biggest challenge in the country to-day is to provide broadband in rural villages and remote areas of the country.

"Our goal is to drive a 'highway' of high-speed internet uniting 410 rural regions, where private telecom companies do not develop broadband internet infrastructure due to low demand.

By using only 3 to 4 data cards, an entire village with around 150 families can be provided internet connectivity with a net spending of just Rs 900 per month. Similarly, an urban user will get high speed internet at just Rs 99 per month," Saswat on Thursday told "The ET" while giving a demo of the new data card.

Interestingly, by using this data card, a person can get to view more than 150 television channels, free of cost without using any television tuner or additional gadgets. "The user can also switch to different networks within two days," he added.

The twin inventor's problem is that their innovation is yet to be recognized by the state government. "We are unable to go for commercial production of the device as it requires at least Rs two crores, which we just can't dream of. Currently we are talking with Future Group.

Several network operators have shown interest in buying the technology. But we want to bring this service for the common public for which we need the intervention of the state government. This project will create direct as well as indirect employment opportunity in the state. If the volume of this product is increased we can drastically reduce the product price to Rs. 900."

These young entrepreneurs have already written letters to the President, Prime Minister, Chief Minister but they are yet to get any positive response from the state apparatus.

Compared to market's average price of 3G data card Rs. 2500, iWEBLEAF's 3G data card which comes at half of that certainly will draw attention and lure more users to try high-speed wireless internet services on 3G network.

"Our iWEBLEAF 3G HSDPA Data Card can offer up to 7.2Mbps download speed (HSDPA) and 384kbps upload speed. It also supports 2G network – GPRS/EDGE. It comes with genuine IMEI number and a SIM card slot, to use with any GSM operator", Saswat added saying that it also has a microSD card slot to double the device as 4GB pen drive.

Currently it is supporting data/sms/call function with USB 2.0 interface and can be used on any Windows (200/XP/Vista/7), Mac and Linux system.

The device will autoinstall all required drivers and softwares, which includes a mobile TV application which offers 150+ channels, including three Odia channels, including the OTV, ETV and Naxatra TV free of cost without using any TV Tuner or any additional gadgets.

J Siddarth (A Man With Cerebral Palsy) - TEDxChennai 2010 Speaker

This guy is looking too smart standing in front of a beach with a cooling glass and wearing Adidas T-Shirt.

      But the story of this guy will make you cry. This guy can move mountains if he wish and this guy can make some remarkable unbelievable things. When i say that this guy can move mountains, there is a little fact to be noted that this guy is not physically fit. He is a person with cerebral palsy.


      Few people might have by now clicked on the link "cerebral palsy" and might have gained some awareness about it. Few would not have done that and sure you will do it after reading the line which you are reading now... 


      Now you may ask yourself a question, how this guy can move mountains and do some remarkable things. Yes, he can do that. Why can't he when he can claim himself as one of the eminent speakers of TEDxChennai 2010 edition. And off course he is the man who got standing applause first. With this post i have blogged some of the pictures that might make you feel surprised. And now here is the story of this guy.


And to start, he is a proud recipient of National award in 2008 by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment as “Best Employee With Cerebral Palsy” given by the honorable Vice President of India on 3 Dec 2008. The beloe are some of his proud moments...

 
This guy, when born was normal like us. But due to the jaundice, he got this effect. And Siddarth was emphasizing on one issue that this Cerebral Palsy is not a disease. 
       Siddarth spent 9 years of his life at home because schools were not ready to accept him. But one school in bangalore was kind enough to accept him and educate him. They taught him type writing. He wrote his exams with a type writer till his 8th standard.(With this one hand that too with one finger). He has done Masters in Economics from Loyola Madras. He wanted himself to be treated alike others. His parents gave him support but Siddarth was brave enough to design his life with his own efforts. That is the kind of attitude with which he  came upto this level in the society. Since he was not accepted by few schools during his childhood, there is a obvious age difference. And that was bridged by the way he was

- Double promoted from UKG to 2nd std

- He completed his 6,7,8 in one half year.

Thanks to teachers who bridge his age gap.
And here are some of the pictures that was snapped at TEDxChennai during his speech...

       Actually we the official bloggers of TEDxChennai occupied the last seats of the IC & SR Auditorium, IIT Madras, where the TEDxChennai was organized. Just before our seats, his father and mother was sitting and they were voluntarily informing us and their neighbors that they are the Siddarth's parents. I found they were really proud hearing his speech. We asked Siddarth's father's name, and he was good enough to give his business card. Off course there was standing applause for his father too.   

Mr.Kiruba Shankar - Entrepreneur Who Kindled My Entrepreneurship Interest !!!

Well, !!! Now i have decided to write about a person from whom i wish to learn a lot !!!

-----------------------------------------------------------

                     He is 

  Mr.Kiruba Shankar
I learnt, am learning and wish to learn Entrepreneurship        from                Mr.Kiruba Shankar

         I think you people would not have seen me blogging about him here before. This is my first time about Kiruba. When you enter my blog, you can see in many places about the word, Entrepreneurship. Actually i got a clear idea about Entrepreneurship from him. I wonder on his activities. I can say he loves to be an entrepreneur, and he loves to organize some big things and he often makes other people to turn around him. He is such a guy.
      
        He is the CEO of Business Blogging Pvt Ltd, a social media consultancy. He is the Founder Director of F5ive Technologies. Apart from these he is the Co-Founder of Knowledge Foundation, a non-profit organization. And he is the man behind Proto.in (Entrepreneruship event), BlogCamp, PodWorks, WikiCamp, BarCampChennai, MobileMonday Chennai, OpenCoffeeClub Chennai and the CC Salon. 


I follow him everywhere on the web, where ever i can... In Twitter, Facebook, his Website and other blogs related to him. And off course he is Man Behind TEDxChennai. 


When Did I know About Him/ How Did I Know About Him:
          I met him first in Kurukshetra 2010, An International Level Technical Symposium @ Anna University, Madras. He lectured in the Entrepreneurship workshop. The thing which i loved in his way of lecture is his UNCONFERENCING. He made the session live and lovely. He gave some sort of play there. He said NETWORKING is more and more important for any Entrepreneur. Off course I realized the same when i had chances to meet some entrepreneurs. He insisted us on developing our own website and blog with a personal domain. He asked for people who had email ids from their domain, like kiruba@kiruba.com or vivekanandan@vivekanandan.in. Unfortunately no one had like that. But I have started developing my website but that is Google Site. 


       Recently he went to South Africa for the CLT20 that is going on. He returned to India, last weekend and immediately, the next day he was busy in organizing the FACEBOOK DEVELOPER GARAGE. And an interesting fact is that, i came to know through his tweets, that he has decided for the next Facebook Developer Garage in the month of December before the end of FDG which was on last sunday. I wonder he is making each and everything more and more planned. I can write more and more about him... He has networked with people in all fields like Software, Business, Cricket, and even Actors and Actress. He is a good friend of Percussionist Sivamani (Drums Mani), Ganguly, Harsha Bogle, and Chinmaye (Singer/Actress/and so on). 


Podcast With Achievers:
      And forget to say about one of his beautiful works, that is PODCAST with Achievers. The concept behind this is interviewing some famous personalities of all fields and make it a podcast. You can trace them here, Kiruba.TV

And i have a video below for you from YouTube. Here, Kiruba Shankar emphasizes on the power of teamwork to make a TEDx conference a success. 



His Profiles:
www.kiruba.com
www.twitter.com/kiruba
www.facebook.com/kiruba
www.linkedin.com/in/kiruba
www.flickr.com/kiruba
www.youtube.com/kiruba
Google Kiruba

   I am the greatest fan of him. To Kiruba: Sir, I really wonder at you.... I learnt how to be a sincere, punctual and a better human from my dad, P.Manokaran. I learnt and had crush on Software Technologies, through Bill Gates and I learnt, am learning and wish to learn Entrepreneurship from you, Mr.Kiruba Shankar.

Sivamani in TED - Rhythm is Everything, Everywhere !!!

            We have heard a lot everybody saying "Rhythm Is Everything And Everywhere" !!!! But we would not have experienced that....

Rhythm is Everything, Everywhere !!!

Here is a proof for you !!! He makes us stunned. It is a 16 minute grand amazing beautiful show by the Percussionist Master Sivamani... I love it ......

Explore this video in TED

Blogger Meet @ Coimbatore - The Meet Has Come !!!

Hello Bloggers,

                  Finally the thing is going to happen in Coimbatore also. The Bloggers Meet @ Coimbatore is on 18th of September, that is tomorrow. The Bloggers has been invited and they have accepted our invitation and we are all going to gang tomorrow. Share and enjoy... The sensations of the tomorrow's meet will be uploaded and shared in http://bloggersmeet-cbe.blogspot.com


Venue: Hotel Alankar, Coimbatore.

Kal Raman, The Entrepreneur's Thorned Early Life !!!

           Rag-2-Riches !!!

A Real Slum Dog Millionaire !!!

A man from MANNARKOIL of Thirunelveli Dt, is now a renouned Entrepreneur in UNITED STATES!!!

Here is the rags to riches
story of an extremely talented boy from a small village in Tamil Nadu who has risen to be the chief executive officer of a company in Seattle, USA.

It is also the story of how Kalyana Raman Srinivasan, who was so indigent that he had to study under a streetlight, but then managed to score excellent marks, rose in life and became today's Kal Raman.

At every turn in his life, he took the difficult path and it turned out to be the right one and in the right direction. His rise to the top is more dramatic than a thriller. Today, he is a very successful entrepreneur and the founder-CEO of GlobalScholar.

Kalyana Raman Srinivasan To Kal Raman...

Difficult childhood:


       Kal Raman was born and brought up in a small village called Mannarakoil in Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu. It was a comfortable normal middle class life for him and his siblings as his father was a Tahasildar there.

But the sudden death of his father at the age of 45 changed everything overnight.

Kal was 15 then. "My mother got a pension of Rs 420 a month and you can imagine how tough it is to educate four children and feed five mouths with Rs 420?"

Hi life changed dramatically after his father's death. The family moved from the rented house to a hut that had no proper water supply or electricity. Kal Raman remembers, "All of us used to study under the streetlight and, thank god, the streetlights used to work those days! MGR (M G Ramachandran) was the chief minister then. We had to sell the plates to buy rice to eat and my mother used to give us rice in our hands. That bad was our situation."

But his mother, who had studied till the 8th standard, was very particular that her children studied. "All our relatives wanted my elder brother to stop studying and take up the small job offered by the government but my mother wanted him to continue studying."

"Then they wanted me to learn typewriting and shorthand so that I could get some job after the 10th  standard. But mother said, 'My children are going to get the best education I can offer. Education is our salvation.' She was my hero for her vision and she still is my hero."

What kept the family going? "We were sad but because we accepted our fate, we were at peace with whatever that happened to us. We knew our father would not come back to lift us up from poverty. We also knew our salvation was a long way away."

He didn't know why he used to tell his mother, "One day I will give you so much money that you will not know what to do with it!" Years later, he did exactly that!

First turning point in life:

Kal Raman believes that God played a hand in all the major turning points in his life. The first turning point in life was after his 12th standard. He got good marks in both the engineering and medicine entrance exams, and for engineering, he got admission at the Anna University in Chennai while for medicine, it was in the Tirunelveli Medical College.

"While going in the bus with my mother to join the medical college, I told her, "If I join for medicine here, the high probability is that my life may begin and end in Tirunelveli. I really want to see the world.' She agreed with my decision to go to Chennai and join Anna University and study Electrical Engineering and Electronics."

So, he stepped into a new world outside Tirunelveli, and that was Chennai. Though he had got merit scholarship and a lot of good people helped him pay the initial fee, the scholarship amount never used to reach him regularly or on time.

"The mess fee was Rs 250 a month and I used to be a defaulter in the mess at least six months in a year. Till you pay the mess fee, you cannot eat in the mess. So, I used to live on day scholars' lunch boxes and also use to fast. That is when I learnt to fast ! I must say a lot of friends helped me with money and food."

Scarcity of money was so bad that he had no money to buy food just before the final semester exams. When he gave his final semester exams, he had not eaten for a day-and-a-half. "After finishing the exam, I almost fainted."

The day after the exams came all the scholarship money that was due and it was around Rs 5,000. "So, I went home a rich man and that helped us repay some loans."

First job:

Like opting for Chennai and joining Anna University instead of a college in Tirunelveli, Kal Raman took another risk with his first job also. His first job was with Tata Consulting Engineers (TCE), and he had a choice of joining either Chennai or Mumbai.

Although he knew nobody in Mumbai, he chose the capital of Maharashtra.

He remembered the first day. "It was interesting. With bag and baggage, I went to the TCE office after taking a shower at the railway station as I had no money to go to any hotel. After the first introduction at the office, the manager noticed that I was wearing slippers to the office. He called me and said, "I don't care which college you are coming from but this is not acceptable. You should come in shoes tomorrow."

I said I couldn't come in shoes the next day and this the manager construed as arrogance. "How could you talk like this?" he asked me. I said, "Sir, it is not that I don't want to, but I can't afford to buy shoes. Only after I get my first pay cheque, can I buy shoes. Sir, I request you not to terminate my job because of this. I and my family need this job."

Shocked to hear the explanation, the manager asked, "Where are you staying?" and the reply was, "Dadar Railway Station."

So distressed was the manager to hear Kal speak that he immediately released a month's salary in advance and also arranged for him to be at his friend's place till he could find a place to stay.

"He bought me a pair of shoes and those were my first shoes. The next day, I sent Rs 1,500 from the advance to my mother."

From electrical engineering to programming:

Kal's rise in career was meteoric in a short span of time. Within a month, he got a chance to move to Bengaluru (then Bangalore) and also to programming.

Soon, he was in Chennai with Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Within a few months, he was sent to Edinburgh, UK.

From Edinburgh, his next stop was the United States. In 1992, he went to the US as an entry level contractor with Wal-Mart. In two years, he was a director running a division.

When he left Wal-Mart after six years, he was a man running the information systems for the International Division of the retail giant.

In 1998, he joined drugstore.com Online Pharmacy as the chief information officer and in 2001 at the age of 30, he was the CEO of the company.

He was at the right place at the right time. "God was there at every step guiding me to take the right decisions. I was also willing to take risks and tread new paths," Kal says.

Starting GlobalScholar:

Philanthropist Mike Milken who had donated more than a billion dollars to education, wanted to use technology so that high quality education was accessible to ordinary people.

Milken convinced Kal to join him. That was the time Kal was building schools in his village for poor students.

In October 2007, GlobalScholar was launched targetting both teachers and students by acquiring four companies -- National Scholar (USA), Classof1 (India), Excelsior (USA), and Ex-Logica (USA) -- that were into education.

"Three months after the launch, I travelled all over the US, India, Singapore and China talking to teachers and companies and the public. I found that the only way to impact education was by impressing teachers. The biggest scarcity in the world is good teachers. We decided to help teachers with teaching practices and kids, learning practices."

Kal Raman decided to concentrate on the US market as the US is more advanced in using technology. "They are also willing to pay money for technology. At present, schools buy the material which can be used by teachers, students and parents."

Today, they have 200 people working for GlobalScholar in Chennai and 150 in the US. The study material is prepared in the Chennai office.

The company that was started with $50 million will have in excess of $32 million and will generate $5 million of profits. In 2008, the turnover of the company was Rs 40 crore (Rs 400 million) and in 2009, it was Rs 80 crore (Rs 800 million). In the current year it will be 150-160 crore (Rs 1.5-1.6 billion).

"GlobalScholar is growing at 200 per cent every year. We have 1,000 schools and 10 million students, which is one out of 10 kids in the US, using our study material. This is almost 18 per cent of the US population. We are the fastest growing education company in the US."

GlobalScholar will soon introduce a pilot project in India and China. In the course of all this, Kalyana Raman became Kal Raman. "The country gave me everything and took half my name."

Giving back to society:

Kal Raman is in India now for the Kumbhabhishekam of the temple at his village Mannarkoil. "It is taking place after 500 years. It is the culmination of two-and-a-half years of work. I have spent more than one and a half crore rupees (Rs 15 million) to renovate the temple and do the Kumbhabhishekam. More than anything else, I have given jobs to all my friends in the village who are masons and carpenters."

Other than this, he has also adopted all the orphanages around his village and he takes care of around 2,000 kids, some of whom are physically handicapped.

"I feel if I can educate these children, eventually we can make a difference in the society. We also help 100 children in their higher education. Around my village, everyone knows that if a kid who studies well cannot afford to pay fees, he has to only come to my house; his education will be taken care of."

"I do not do this as charity; its my responsibility. I am giving something back to the society that fed me, taught me, and took care of me and gave me hopes. "

Courtesy: Rediff.Com

Two Indian Personalities in MIT's Technology Review List !!!

Indrani Medhi & Rikin B Gandhiare the two Indians figure in Massachusetts Institute of Technology's prestigious Technology Review's 2010 TR35 list for their outstanding contribution in the fields of energy, biomedicine, communications, information technology, transportation and the web.


Cool !!!! Two Indians @ MIT's prestigious Technology Review's 2010 TR35 list

Indrani Medhi, based at Microsoft Research India's Bangalore lab, was named for her field research to design text-free interfaces that could help illiterate people find jobs, get medical information and use cell-phone based banking services.

Rikin B Gandhi, founder of the non-profit organisation Digital Green, was recognised for her extraordinary contribution in the field of farmer education.

Are IT Sector Jobs Going Down ???!!!

             After trimming payroll and tightening perks to cope with the economic slowdown last year, software companies are finding that a rising number of engineering and management graduates are transferring their affections to vocations such as manufacturing and banking -- a shift that could force tech firms to scramble harder than ever before for talented employees.

For years, college graduates and professionals working in India's $50 billion (2.3 lakh crore) outsourcing sector moved from one tech firm to another, often getting 20-30 % higher salaries in the bargain. Now, recruitment experts and industry officials say the churn of experienced staff from IT to other sectors has increased by 15-20 % over the past year.

The main reasons, they say, are the perceived job security in the core sector and rising salary levels in manufacturing and telecom companies. Among those who made the switch is Amit Bhargava, 29, who quit his job as business analyst at one of India's top tech firms last month to join a multinational bank's technology centre in Pune.
The technology sector has not really lost its sheen, he says, but he wants to build specialist banking skills. "And it is not as prone to export risks," he adds, referring to his new vocation. Another reason for the shift away from IT companies is that they are now visiting college campuses for recruitment only during the eighth semester of the course, giving an opportunity to firms from other sectors to attract the best talent before them.

Software industry grouping Nasscom asked its members last year to recruit graduating students during their final, eighth semester and not disrupt academic sessions. Until two years ago, top Indian software firms competed aggressively with each other to hire engineering graduates. With the halo around working for a tech company beginning to fade, the competition is getting fiercer.

Infosys Technologies alone plans to hire 36,000 employees in the fiscal to March and its chief executive S Gopalakrishnan has listed the competition for talent as the industry's top challenge. 

TEDxChennai on 10th, October, IIT Madras.

      Here is another cool thing for the TED Talk fans. TEDxChennai is organizing a TED talk in IIT,Madras on 10.10.10, (i.e) 10th of October,2010. TEDxChennai was created in the spirit of TED's mission, "ideas worth spreading." The program is designed to give communities, organizations and individuals the opportunity to stimulate dialogue through TED-like experiences. The talks are meant to spark deep conversation and connections. TEDxChennai is fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community volunteer basis. The tickets for TEDxChennai are now available at various sources.

Speaker's Profiles:
If you are interested to know the profiles of the speakers who are all going make the TEDxChennai event a informative one, go here.

TEDxChennai Team:
The team which is hardly working for the TEDx event is  http://tedxchennai.com/team.php.

TEDxChennai Ticket:
Tickets just costs Rs. 3000 /- Don't get panic, since the event is worthy for lakhs and crores.


Get your tickets in any of the following ways,
1) Pay 3000 through Credit Card
2) Pay 3000 via PayPal
3) Online Money Transfer
4) Pay via Cheque

5) Buy in Person    Buy Tickets Here

 


You can buy your tickets from the following personalities also,

Kiruba Shankar, C Block, 1 Floor, Raj Paris Apartments 74, Kamaraj Salai,Virugambakkam Chennai-92. Mobile: +91 0 98412 82266 Email: kiruba@kiruba.com	Sandeep Varma, 3c Neelkanth Apartments, 17/1, Lock Street, 3c Kotturpuram, Chennai-85 Mobile: +91 0 9884046847, Email: sandeepvarma78@gmail.com
Samuel Eddy, Room No: 109, YMCA, Royapettah, Chennai. Mobile: +91 9790725130 Email: samueleddy05@yahoo.com	Pravin Shekar, 11C, Parameswari Nagar, 2nd Street, Adyar, Chennai-20. Mobile: +91 9 9840035590. Email: pravin.shekar@gmail.com

TEDxChennai Venue:
IC&SR Auditorium
IIT Madras,Chennai

It is sure that this Rs.3000 is going to be a great investment, and so let us join and experience the TEDx event @ Chennai.

UNO Announced 15th Oct, APJ Abdul Kalam's Birthday As The 'World Students Day'

         The proud and happiest moment for any Indian, would be the moment when UNO announced 15th October, Dr.A.P.J. Abdul Kalam's birthdate as the WORLD STUDENTS DAY !!! Just can't express the proud feeling that i have now when i am writing this post. Wonderful leader, a mentor, a scientist , a teacher and great philosopher........  The list counts.....

The Proud Best Indian Citizen, Addressing In His Style ....

We are really in a need to thank him for his service to our nation. He is a encyclopedia to the students. He is the all time favorite person for 99 percent of the Indian students. He feels young and so his voice still encourages the powerful Indian population... We salute Dr.Kalam... Jai Hind !!!

Home Ministry's PCs Attacked By Virus

Unknown hackers hacked the internet account of the Indian ambassador to Uzbekistan and sent virus-attached emails to some officials of the home ministry, sending the security establishment in a tizzy.

The "malicious" email contains a dangerous malware, Trojan, which allows the hacker remote access to the user's computer system, according to sources.

Investigators suspect that hackers in a "foreign" country have cracked the email ID of the ambassador and used his account to send the virus.

The Intelligence Bureau (IB), according to officials, has warned home ministry officials against opening such email that asks a user to run or install an unknown programme making the computer accessible to hackers.

"The Intelligence Bureau has intimated that a number of senior officers in the ministry have received a malicious mail from the email ID containing a Trojan concealed inside a sham list of some Indian terrorists," said a source, quoting an IB circular.

The virus -- used for data theft, downloading or uploading of files on the user's computer and even keystroke logging -- has attacked the computers even as the government's IT arm National Informatics Centre (NIC) had installed one of the latest antivirus softwares in the official computers.

The officials maintained that there was no sensitive information stored in the computers attacked but still the IB has ordered certain procedures to minimize the damage.

They have advised that all computers in the North Block should be regularly updated with latest antivirus software applications. Besides, no sensitive document should be stored in computers connected to the internet.

"There is proper control over the use of computer storage media (CSM)," the circular says, adding if a pen drive is used in standalone and internet computers, "all precautions should be taken to ensure that the drive is treated (scanned) with antivirus software and there is no hidden folder.”

Cloud Computing Can Be A Catalyst For India - Ravi Venkatesan, Chairman, Microsoft India.

This is an article by Ravi Venkatesan , Chairman, Microsoft India on "Cloud Computing Can Be A Catalyst For India"

Everybody is talking about cloud computing. The term and the excitement both remind me of the last decade when the Internet was assuming the shape we see it in today. Just as we cannot imagine a world sans the World Wide Web now, the cloud could rapidly change the way we view and use information technology.

Forrester Research defines the cloud as ‘a standardised IT capability, such as software, app platform or infrastructure, delivered via Internet technologies in a pay-per-use and self-service way’ . The idea is not totally new. People have been using the cloud for years. Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail and, of course, Xbox Live — a Microsoft online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service — have been in the cloud for a while now. The difference between then and now lies is just who is using it, and the volume and the type of data that is involved.

Today’s notion of cloud computing is about taking online services to enterprise networks, not just to solitary consumers. This also means that the volume of data that is being processed and stored online is of a colossal magnitude.

In fact, if we were to break down the services that the cloud today provides, they can be classified into: one, software-as-a-service (SaaS), which comprises end-user applications delivered as a service rather than traditional on-premise software. Two, platform-as-a-service (PaaS), which provides an independent platform as a service on which developers can build and deploy customer applications. Three, infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS), which primarily comprises the hardware and technology for computing power, storage, operating systems or other infrastructure delivered as an on-demand service rather than a dedicated onsite resource.

As is evident, the cloud is certainly multifaceted . And this fact makes gives it a dynamic combination of linked strengths. Agility is one of the biggest features of cloud computing, though the level of agility is controlled by the user’s pace and ability to re-provision technological resources without stretching costs.

Plus, with capital expenditure converted to operational expenditure, costs slip down automatically . At the same time, multi-tenancy in cloud computing enables centralisation of infrastructure — along with device and location independence — increase in peak-load capacity and efficiency improvements for systems. Apart from this, since one can measure usage, direct cost ramifications, reliability and scalability remain flexible and within control.

However, as cloud computing moves out of the buzzword zone and turns into a powerful tool for expanding IT capabilities, one cannot ignore the challenges it throws up. According to the analyst firm Gartner, the biggest challenge is that of security. Cloud architecture makes and delivers big promises — but it doesn’t automatically grant security compliance at any level. The major part of the responsibility for security lies with the application designer, and, to some extent , with the vendor.

That is why, Gartner believes there are specific issues customers should discuss with vendors before homing in on one. “Ask providers to supply specific information on the hiring and oversight of privileged administrators, and the controls over their access,” they recommend. Transparency regarding regulatory compliance details, data location and segregation and recovery assume great importance. “Any offering that does not replicate the data and application infrastructure across multiple sites is vulnerable to a total failure,” Gartner adds. Further, it would be self-defeating if a cloud computing-based solution turns out to be a limited-capacity passive utility system. You would just be paying increasing toll for experiencing less and less.

Nevertheless, cloud computing is here to stay. Its potential is immense and it can — especially in a country like ours — fundamentally transform government services, scientific exploration and discovery, and economic and social development. For example, the local government in Dongying, China, is poised to set up the Yellow River Delta Cloud Computing Centre to transform this petroleum-based region from an industry-based economy into a servicesbased one. The cloud is also expected to expand and support an e-government services platform and a research and development platform for eco-friendly oil cultivation.

All of this is a plausible reality today. And while companies like Microsoft are completely committed to the cloud, their services and solutions come with the reliability, security and global reach that customers deserve and demand.
Longer term, cloud computing is turning out to bring a transformative change in the business landscape. It is aiding the making of a new generation of products and services, creating a new awareness of the greater Internet, and Web 2.0 in particular, and supporting a more self-service IT architecture. For example, Microsoft recently co-founded the Simple Cloud API project with IBM, Zend, Rackspace and others. This project focuses on open-source cloud interoperability, allowing developers to write basic cloud applications that work in all of the major cloud platforms . What’s more, this can even call information back and forth across cloud platforms!


This is just the beginning. New and additional standards will emerge as new and inventive scenarios develop from evolving platforms, standards and technologies. But this will work well and in our favour only if we make technology both personal and democratic, along with the assurance that privacy rights and data security will be preserved at all times. This should also include an international understanding about the governance of data when it crosses national borders.

In the Indian context, cloud computing holds greater potential because of an obvious reason: we have no legacy systems that need to evolve or move into the cloud. For instance, both our state and central governments are in the process going digital, and the time is just right to implement the cloud right off. While keeping costs low, the cloud will not just put an efficient document management system in place, but will also ensure efficiency in service delivery.

And in time, “this infrastructure can be used to shift the government from a capex (capital expenditure) model to an opex (operating expenditure ) model” , as Som Mittal, president of Nasscom, says. Global management consultants Zinnov, in a recent study reiterated that India has the potential to emerge as the global competency centre for cloud services. The study estimated the global cloud computing market to be over $70 billion by 2015 and that India, with its powerful ecosystem of independent software vendors , developers and system integrators, is ideally poised to address this growing opportunity. An additional 3,00,000 jobs related to cloud services are estimated to be created in the country over the next five years.

So, yes, cloud computing is a big idea, but it will never endorse a blanket one-size-fits-all approach to computing. In the foreseeable future, we will not be able to live with 100% cloud or 100% on-premise computing. Instead, we will have to rely on a clever and optimal mix-andmatch combination of on-premise and cloud computing, based on specific needs. In the broader context, IT needs to look at the cloud not just as an alternative means of doing what it does, but as a whole new form of computing that opens up ways of doing what could not have been done before. Think about it: when electricity became a utility, it didn’t just bring down the cost of running existing factory machines. As Nicholas Carr describes in The big switch, it allowed Henry Ford to innovate on the electrified assembly line and change manufacturing forever.

Courtesy: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Independence Day, India - 15th August - Firefox Persona

Cool and Great !!!!

I feel really proud and happy when i think that I am an Indian.. What out India doesn't have? I love you my darling Bharatha Matha.... Here is a small work from me for our India.. As a token of respect and cherish, i have created Mozilla Persona... Go to this link and wear it for your Firefox...

Click Here to Wear It

If finding problems in wearing this persona, then see the following check list...



It is necessary that you have already installed the Personas Add-On -- Click Here to download that...

Top 20 Indian IT Employers

        Well ... India is getting back in its IT field in a good way. There are lot of IT companies who are going to increase intake of engineers in the forth coming years...

The recruitment front is once again buzzing in Indian IT. After months of budget cutting and so-called rightsizing, hiring seems to be back with vengeance at IT companies. Almost all IT companies have revised their hiring targets.

As the companies announce their first quarterly results, we take stock of their hiring in the fiscal year 2009-10. IT industry body Nasscom has released its annual list of Top 20 IT-BPO Employers in India during the year.

Here's over to the biggest Indian IT/BPO employers during fiscal 2009-10.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TCS:

Little surprising that topping the list of biggest IT employers in India is the country’s numero uno IT services company Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Backed by a robust financial performance in the first quarter (April-May-June), TCS has raised its hiring target. The company now plans to hire 40,000 this year, higher than the around 30,000 it had projected earlier this year.
       The company in the Q1 added a net 3,271 employees, raising its total strength to 163,700.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 INFOSYS Technologies:

Next on the list is the country’s second biggest software exporter Infosys Technologies. At the end of June 2010, the company and its subsidiaries had 114,822 employees as against 103,905 a year ago and 113,796 at the end of fourth quarter (Jan-March).

During the first quarter 7,833 employees quit Infosys for various reasons, including involuntary attrition. The gross addition during the first quarter was 8,859 people, while the net addition was 1,026 only. The attrition rate in Infosys shot up to a whopping 16 per cent during the quarter (April-June).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wipro:
 At no. 3 is the India's third-largest software services exporter Wipro Technologies. During the June quarter, the company added 4,854 employees taking the total headcount to 1.12 lakhs.

The company also announced that it plans to add as many as 20,000 employees in the next three years. In the month of Feb, the company gave a pay hike in the 8%-12% range with some even getting a 15% increase.

However, like its peers, Wipro too suffered high attrition rate during the quarter. The attrition rate at Wipro jumped to 15.8 per cent during the first quarter (April-June) of this fiscal (2010-11) from 9.8 per cent in like period year ago (2009-10) and 12.1 per cent quarter ago. 


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

CTS:
Nasdaq-listed Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a leading provider of information technology, consulting, and BPO services, ranks at no. 4 on the list of India’s biggest IT employers. With over 50 global delivery centers, the company has approximately 80,300 employees as on May 4, 2010.

At the recent annual Nasscom HR Summit 2010, R Chandrasekaran, President and Managing Director, Cognizant, said that during 2009, nearly $1.4 million was spent on training activities. The average training period for an existing employee was two weeks.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 HCL:
Next on the list of biggest IT employers is India's fifth largest software services exporter HCL Technologies Ltd.

The Noida-based company, which follows a July-June financial year, said that it added 6,428 employees in the June quarter taking its total headcount to 64,557.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Genpact:

Sixth biggest IT employer on Nasscom's list is Genpact. As of June 30, 2010, total headcount at Genpact stood at approximately 42,500 employees worldwide, an increase from 37,400 as of June 30, 2009.

The attrition rate for the six months ended June 30, 2010, was 26%, up from 22% for the same period in 2009.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Mphasis - An HP Company:
 MphasiS Ltd is at the seventh spot on the country’s biggest IT employers’ list. For the quarter ended 30 April, 2010, the company added net headcount of 1,429 during. The total headcount stood at 37,119 as of 30 April, 2010.

In December 2009, MphasiS gave a recompense bonus of 10% to all its employees. The company replaced its annual salary increment for its staff with a one-time bonus in order to ensure more variability in its employee wage bill.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Intelenet Global Services:

      Eight biggest IT employer in the country according to the list is Mumbai-based Intelenet Global Services Ltd, a third-party BPO company. One of the largest BPO employers in India, the company has approximately 32,000 employees as of June 2010.

The company recently figured in 'The Economic Times - Great Place to Work Survey 2010' at the 20th spot. The survey revealed that the company has made efforts to ensure that along with adequate facilities, work-life balance is also maintained via fun at work concept.

From having a two-week Employee Appreciation Programme where the employees' families are invited to take part in the activities to having facilities like a gym, diet and nutrition sessions and counsellor onsite, the company places employee happiness on its high list.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Tech Mahindra:

The 9th biggest IT employer in India is Tech Mahindra. Tech Mahindra is a joint venture between Indian auto major Mahindra & Mahindra and the BT group.

During the first quarter (April-June) of the current fiscal, the company hired 1,743 employees taking its total headcount to 35,267. The company plans to offer salary hikes in the current quarter. However, it said that hikes will hurt its margins.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aegis:

At No. 10 is Essar Group's back office Aegis BPO. With presence in over 42 global locations, the company boasts of strong employee strength of over 39,000. The company is headquartered in Mumbai.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capgemini Consulting India PVT Limited:

Next on the Nasscom's list is Capgemini Consulting India Pvt Ltd. In India, Capgemini has over 20,000 employees working across seven locations in Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Delhi.   It has over 90,000 people in North America, Europe, and the Asia Pacific region.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 WNS Global Services:

At No. 12 is the Nasdaq-listed second biggest BPO firm in India, WNS Global Services.

For the first quarter, the company reported revenues of $150.0 million, up 12.7% from the corresponding quarter last year and down 4.8% sequentially. The company's global headcount stood at 21,406 as of June 30, 2010.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Firstsource Solutions:

The 13th largest IT employer in India is Firstsource Solutions Ltd, country's leading pure-play BPO company.
       As of June 30, 2010, the company had an employee strength of 24,697. For the first quarter, the annualised attrition for offshore (India/ Philippines) was 55.4% compared to 43.5% in Q4 FY2010.
        
          The company has reported a consolidated net profit at Rs 32.1 crore as against Rs 35.6 crore (QoQ). Consolidated net sales declined to Rs 475.9 crore

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 CSC India PVT Limited:

      NYSE-listed Computer Sciences Corp is the 14th largest IT employer in India. India is CSC's largest world sourcing location outside the US.

      The company reportedly has more than 16,000 employees in India. The US technology services provider has about 92,000 employees globally. For the fourth quarter ended April 2, the company's net profit declined 32% to $259 million, or $1.66 a share, while revenue rose modestly to $4.24 billion.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 3i Infotech:

At No. 15 on the Nasscom's employers list is IT major 3i Infotech. The company has two main lines of businesses -- IT solutions (services and products) and transactions services.

The company clocked a 6.8% growth in its Q1 FY11 revenue at Rs 643.37 crore. Currently the company has more than 15,000 employees on its rolls.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hinduja Global Solutions:

BPO services provider Hinduja Global Solutions is the 16th largest IT employer in India.

For the quarter and year ended March 31, 2010, the company's headcount was 15,615 as against 13,913 associates at the start of the quarter and 13,787 as of March 31, 2009. During the fourth quarter, the company started operating through its new centres in Manila in the Philippines and Nagercoil in India. As on March 31, 2010 the company had Rs 6,481.2 million cash & cash equivalents.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 L&T Infotech:

At No. 17 is the wholly-owned IT subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro, Larsen & Toubro Infotech.

The company offers software solutions and services to companies in banking & financial services, insurance, energy & petrochemicals, manufacturing and telecom sectors.

The company reportedly has employee strength of over 11,500.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Patni Computer System:

Mumbai-based Patni Computer Systems is the 18th largest IT employer in India. Patni derives major revenues from the US, followed by Europe, West Asia & Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Patni Computer Systems which has posted a 7.9% rise in net profit added 934 employees in the second quarter, taking its staff count to 14,893 at the end of June.

The company's attrition rate, excluding business process outsourcing workers, surged to 21.5% in the second quarter from 17.7% in January-March and 13.2% a year earlier.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 Exl Service.com India PVT Limited:

Exl Service, leading provider of outsourcing and transformation services, is 19th biggest IT employer in India. As on March 31, 2010 the company's India employee strength was over 11,500.

For the year 2010, the company has given a revenue guidance of between $225 million to $230 million.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aditya Birla Minacs:

The BPO venture of Aditya Birla group, Aditya Birla Minacs, is at the 20th spot on the biggest employers list.

Last year the company announced its plans to add 3,000 employees in the coming six months. Currently, its employee strength stands at approximately 13,000 based out of various locations in North America, Europe and Asia.


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


 Source : Times of India... 
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------