BC Contributes $4.5 million to Heavy-Duty Transportation Training Centre

BC Contributes $4.5 million to Heavy-Duty Transportation Training Centre

Source: BCIT News Release | February 3, 2014

The British Columbia government is providing $4.5 million to allow the BC Institute of Technology (BCIT) and Vancouver Community College (VCC) to create a new Motive Power Centre, which will house heavy-duty transportation programs from both institutions. BCIT says the new centre will create partnership opportunities for BCIT, VCC and prospective employers, while also providing the physical space to allow industry to participate in the centre. “Around 43% of the one million jobs expected to open by 2020 will require trades or technical training,” says BC Advanced Education Minister Amrik Virk. “Co-locating two existing heavy-duty transportation programs into one centre will benefit students, industry and employers.” The 142,000-square-foot facility is set to open to students in September 2014.

TCS Insights: Through the creation of the Motive Power Centre, the province of BC is preparing both domestic and international students for the heavy-duty jobs in the transportation industry that are expected to arise in the near future.

Canada Launches New Mining Institute at UBC

Source: Vancouver Sun | January 30, 2014

The Canadian government has formally launched the Canadian International Institute for Resource Extraction and Development, and its first order of business is to pilot a project to train small-scale miners in improved techniques. The institute’s Executive Director, Bern Klein, says the project capitalizes on research done in the mining school at the University of British Columbia, one of 3 academic partners in the institute along with Simon Fraser University [CIEC Academic Member] and École Polytechnique de Montréal. “The resource sector is a necessity,” said UBC VP Research John Hepburn. “So, unless you’re willing to give up your toys like [the iPhone], we do need the ores and minerals that we extract and that are in demand for all of our products.” In fall 2012, the 3 academic partners were given $25 million to create the institute.

TCS Insights: Growth in the mining industry has made the establishment of this institution much needed.  Academic partners from across Canada are uniting to educate those interested in the resource sector so that improved methodology can be taught to students and spread throughout this expanding industry over time.

Canada Seeks Input for New Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy

Source: Government of Canada News Release, Courtesy of Academica | January 8, 2014

The Canadian government is seeking public input on a new federal Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy, with the launch of a discussion paper to guide the dialogue. The paper asks how Canada can “continue to develop, attract and retain the world’s top research talent at our businesses, research institutions, colleges and polytechnics, and universities” as well as “Is the Government of Canada’s suite of programs appropriately designed to best support research excellence?” Submissions will be accepted until February 7, and then the government will release an updated strategy “in the months following the consultation phase.”

TCS Insights: The Government of Canada indicated in 2013 that it would update their Science, Technology and Innovation Strategy while continuing to invest in research. This revision will be finalized after reviewing public input and is expected to continue the trend of recent achievements that have lead to greater funding of research.

Canada Announces $43 Million in NSERC Grants

Source: Canada News Release, Courtesy of Academica | January 9, 2014

Canadian Minister of State (Science and Technology) Greg Rickford today announced that the most recent round of Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) funding will provide $43 million to 77 research teams at universities across the country. The funding will go towards 2 grants: the Strategic Network Grants and the Strategic Project Grants. The funds will help researchers work with companies and other organizations on long-term projects to address industrial and societal challenges.

TCS InsightsThe Canadian government aims to use these grants to increase research and training in areas that influence the Canadian economy and environment over the next decade. Additionally, this funding will go towards research that involves interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers and institutions such as solar power and cloud-based computing projects.

Canadians help to improve the lives of abandoned children in India

Source: Connect – Canada in India

Since 2008, the East Meets West Orphans Foundation (EMW) of Canada has been helping to provide medical treatment and education for orphans and abandoned and destitute children in Kolkata through an agency agreement with the Indian Society for Sponsorship and Adoption (ISSA). Spearheaded by its president, Order of British Columbia-recipient, Mohini Singh, and ten other board members, EMW is supported by Canadians from all walks of life.

A registered charity through the Government of Canada, EMW has provided over 90 children with education, essential medical care and surgical procedures; many of whom have been adopted by families in India, Canada and other countries. In 2012, EMW sponsored the “Bara Anduliya Crèche” daycare centre for underprivileged children from three to six years of age, which helped provide more than 30 young children with food, early education and medical care.

Examples of EMW’s support are ISSA’s homes Nava Jeevan (for children upto two years of age) and Nava Diganta (for children between the ages of two and 14) which provide specialized medical care and cater to development and education needs of children abandoned at an early age. Such support has recently helped provide surgery and medical care for two infants Subarna (born with a cleft palate and dislocation of both hips) and Ram (suffering from high respiratory distress, malnourishment and developed sepsis).

Through efforts such as a fundraiser organized together with the Deepak Binning Foundation, contributions by the Calgary Foundation and support from individuals such as Kelowna philanthropist Thomas Budd, EMW raised over $30,000 in 2012 and increased awareness among hundreds of Canadians to the plight of millions of impoverished children across the globe.

At the Deepak Binning Dinner fundraiser to be held on 26 October 2013, together with the Deepak Binning Foundation, EMW will also raise money for cancer research and support institutions such as the Cancer Centre and the University of British Columbia in the Okanagan. With an India theme, featuring Indian music, food and attire, the event is held each year to honour the memory of Deepak, a young Indo-Canadian victim of cancer. The organization says, “It is important to help people in our new home, Canada and our native country, India.”

Meet Mohini Singh: With a long and distinguished career as a radio and television journalist, Mohini Singh is a staunch advocate of women and children’s rights both in Canada and around the globe. She has supported issues as diverse as helping victims of spousal abuse, literacy, and the plight of orphans in India. She continues to struggle to overcome challenges such as multiple sclerosis, but that hasn’t hindered her efforts. Ms. Singh was awarded the Order of British Columbia in 2008, the highest civilian award by the Province of British Columbia. She went on to be awarded the Sarah Donalda-Treadgold Memorial Award Woman of the Year for Kelowna in 2009 and the Queen Elizabeth II diamond jubilee medal in 2012. She also became the first Indo-Canadian woman to be elected to the Kelowna City Council in 2011. Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s quote “You must be the change you want to see in the world,” Ms. Singh’s efforts and initiatives led to the creation of the East Meets West Orphans Foundation in 2008.

Sharing her thoughts in a conversation with us, Ms. Singh said, “Everyone has the power to make a difference, no matter how big or small it is. When you take the first step others will follow and that will lead to change. My hope is to help people get back on their feet and lead fulfilling lives whether it is in Canada or in India. Together we can make a difference. I know what we are doing through EMW may be very small when you compare it to other organizations, but my hope is that in the long run we will make a huge difference. ISSA is an amazing organization and we are honoured to partner with them. For the future we are looking at another education project in Punjab for orphaned girls.”

About the East Meets West Orphans Foundation: With a mission statement of, “improving the lives of abandoned children by providing healthcare, education and necessary medical treatment for children living in orphanages in developing nations,” the foundation is administered by its board of directors – Vern Nielsen, Caryl McCabe, Kam Boparai,Scott Matthies,Mohini Singh, Andy Virk, Medha Prabhu,Laurence East, Harjeet Sangha, Gwen Zilm and Sharon Shepherd.

About the Indian Society for Sponsorship and Adoption (ISSA): Headed by its Founder Secretary Mrs. Saroj Sood, ISSA is a non-profit child welfare organisation established on 16th December 1975 with a committment “to help abandoned and destitute children in whichever manner conducive to their welfare; either through permanent rehabilitation or sponsorship in the form of education, medical treatment etc.”

Indian innovators receive global attention

Source: Connect – Canada in India

Three Indian innovators were among the 20 finalists who got a chance to participate in the C2-MTL conference in Montreal, Canada. This conference, which explored the relation between commerce and creativity, provided the participants with a platform to explain their innovations to top industry leaders from around the world and a chance to meet leaders like Richard Branson and Steve Brown. Read more about these enterprising young innovators.

India develops cheap vaccine against major cause of diarrhea deaths in children

Source: Toronto Star via Indian Economic Business News

The Indian government announced recently the development of a new low-cost vaccine proven effective against a diarrhea-causing virus that is one of the leading causes of childhood deaths across the developing world. The Indian manufacturer of the new rotavirus vaccine pledged to sell it for $1 a dose, a significant discount from the cost of the current vaccines on the market. That reduced price would make it far easier for poor countries to vaccinate their children against the deadly virus, health experts said.

India, long the home of outsourcing, now wants to make its own Chips

Source: New York Times via Indian Economic Business News

The Government of India, home to many of the world’s leading software outsourcing companies, wants to replicate that success by creating a home grown industry for computer hardware. But unlike software, which requires little infrastructure, building electronics is a far more demanding business. Chip makers need vast quantities of clean water and reliable electricity. Computer and tablet assemblers depend on economies of scale and easy access to cheap parts, which China has spent many years building up. So the Indian government is trying a new approach. In October, it quietly began mandating that at least half of all laptops, computers, tablets and dot-matrix printers procured by government agencies come from domestic sources, according to Dr. Ajay Kumar, Joint Secretary of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology, which devised the policy. At the same time, it is potentially providing as much as $2.75 billion in incentives in front of chip makers to entice them to build India’s first semiconductor manufacturing plant, an important step in building a domestic hardware industry. According to Indian media reports, two consortiums have been in talks with the government to build microprocessor foundries. The first is led by the Jaypee Group, one of India’s largest construction companies, which built the country’s Formula One track in Uttar Pradesh. It has partnered with I.B.M., which will provide the technology. The second bid is from the Hindustan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation, an American company that, despite its name, does not manufacture any chips. It has partnered with the Geneva-based chip maker STMicroelectronics. Source: New York Times

India ranks 8 among 27 most powerful nations in world

Source: The Times of India via Indian Economic Business News

India is among the top 10 most powerful countries in the world. In a first-of-its-kind study of “national power” a group of eminent strategic experts and scholars have placed India at the eighth position among a group of 27 most powerful countries in the world. The study, conducted by the New Delhi-based Foundation for National Security Research (FSNR), judged “national power” by various indices, including energy security, population, technological capability etc. An interesting index of national power was judged by “foreign affairs capability”, which includes self-reliance in defence, membership of multilateral groupings, role in global rule-making and soft power. Interestingly, though China comes out as the second most powerful nation in the world after the US, Chinese foreign affairs’ capability is comparable to India’s, even though in terms of total power New Delhi comes way below Beijing. Professor Satish Kumar, introducing the study, said, “The Group of Experts evolved a criterion consisting of the following elements for the selection of countries which could be regarded as actually or potentially the most powerful: (i) Population above 50 million; (ii) GDP above US$ 500 billion; and (iii) defence expenditure above US$ 5 billion.” The effort, he said, was to have an Indian assessment of indices of power. The US is by far the world’s most powerful nation, several notches ahead of its nearest competitor, China.

India says it plans to double renewable energy sources by 2017

Source: Thomson Reuters via Indian Economic Business News

The Indian government recently said it planned to double its renewable energy capacity by 2017. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that India would ramp up its use of wind, solar and biomass energies in the coming years. “It is proposed to double the renewable energy capacity in our country from 25,000 MW in 2012 to 55,000 megawatts by the year 2017,” he said at the Fourth Clean Energy Ministerial conference in New Delhi.”We have set ourselves a national target of increasing the efficiency of energy use to bring about a 20 to 25 per cent reduction in the energy intensity of our GDP by 2020.” Mr. Singh said that a low carbon strategy was necessary for sustainable growth. Mr. Singh, however, said these non- conventional sources of energy had reduced in price but were still higher than dirtier, more conventional sources of power, like coal. It will soon be the second-largest contributor to increasing global energy demands, accounting for 18 percent of the growth. Despite intense sunshine throughout the year, India has little solar capacity and much of its solar hardware is manufactured abroad. Mr. Singh said that that needs to change. “India is potentially a large market for production of such (solar) equipment and it is also a potentially competitive, attractive production base for supplying other countries,” he said at the conference.

Anand Sharma launches 21 new textiles parks

Source: Press Information Bureau via Indian Economic Business News

Union Minister for Commerce, Industry and Textiles Anand Sharma launched 21 New Textile Parks approved under Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP). These new parks take the total number to 61 parks as 40 Parks were sanctioned earlier. The Scheme for Integrated Textiles Parks (SITP) has been instrumental in development of wide range of models for green field clusters from a 1000 acre FDI driven integrated cluster, to a 100 acre power loom cluster and a 20 acre handloom cluster. Under the scheme, 61 parks have been sanctioned-40 projects were started in the 11th Five Year Plan and another 21 projects are to be implemented in the 12th Five Year Plan. Out of the 40 parks sanctioned earlier, a total of 25 Parks are already operational. Most of the balance Parks are expected to be completed during this financial year. The estimated employment generation is over 10 lac persons with total estimated investment of Rs. 27, 562 crore. Out of the 21 new parks, six are in Maharashtra, four in Rajasthan, two each in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu and one each in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tripura, Karnataka, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

Steel imports to remain a hot issue for India

Source: Business Standard

The speed at which China built steel capacity has left the rest of the world bewildered

Overcapacity and production more than the market can absorb at rates remunerative for suppliers have remained principal concerns for the world steel industry since the 2008-09 global financial meltdown, the members of which still keep flying. In the first quarter of this year, the world steel production at 388.696 million tonnes (mt) clocked a growth of 2.3 per cent over the corresponding period of 2012. In contrast to growing production restraints in most parts of the world, Asian steel output in the first three months of 2013 advanced on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis by 6.4 per cent to 259.8 mt. The speed at which China built steel capacity has left the rest of the world bewildered. Once again the progress in Asia’s production so far this year is largely on account of the world’s second largest economy.

China’s production growth when steel prices remain under pressure and capacity lay off in particularly high-cost centres continues, is not endearing the steel goliath to others. The first quarter steel production in the European Union was down 5.4 per cent to 41.5 mt, while North American output slid 5.7 per cent to 29.7 mt. This led an official of consulting firm Wood Mackenzie to tell Reuters that “most of the world is in decline, but the steel industry in China isn’t disciplined in the way Europe might be”. He thinks with Chinese production remaining “persistently high,” steel prices cannot but remain under pressure leading to margin erosion for producers everywhere. The issue is why should China be courting criticism of other producing nations and still stick to growing steel production. Moreover, near-term industry outlook is not at all encouraging. An official of ArcelorMittal credits China for building a “fearsome low-cost steel industry”. At the same time, some spirited house cleaning operation notwithstanding, the Chinese industry is still left with a good amount of high cost and polluting capacity.

That China supports its steel industry and steel products exports by way of subsidies is widely known and resented. The subsidy issue comes to the fore at regular intervals as China will have scrap with countries alleging dumping of steel products by it to the detriment of local producers. What, however, should not be lost sight of is that an industry with China’s capacity is a massive provider of employment in steel mills, upstream mines, downstream value-adding enterprises and tertiary sectors. More than half the steelmakers in China are government owned. Neither Beijing nor the provincial authorities are ready to risk economic disorder and social unrest by withdrawing life-sustaining government support to steel mills. The ArcelorMittal official says, “We are mesmerised by China, but if you look at its steel industry, despite its rise, 92 per cent of steel companies are trading at a loss.” Rising cost of energy and finance is steadily robbing Chinese industry of the status of a low-cost producer. Steel mill wage bill too, is spiralling. And this is happening when world steel demand grows slowly.

In case China sustains steel production at the first quarter rate, then it will end the year with an output of 768 mt against 716.5 mt in 2012. In its short range outlook, World Steel Association says steel use in China in 2013 should rise by 3.5 per cent to 668.8 mt. This is to leave China with an exportable surplus of nearly 100 mt. A point of concern for India, which already is a net steel importer: We should also keep an eye on Japan where softening of yen has significantly improved export competitiveness of its steel. At the same time, “conditions in Europe will remain under pressure in spite of acceleration in production discipline. We, therefore, expect southern European steelmakers to increase their presence in export markets,” says an analyst with Metal Bulletin. In this context is to be seen SAIL Chairman Chandra Shekhar Verma’s observation that “Steel imports will remain a hot button issue for India as long as the world will have much surplus capacity and producers in many places will be in some desperation to export extra metal with them.”

India’s March steel production at 6.86 mt shows a y-o-y rise of 6.5 per cent. However, production rise in this year’s first quarter at 19.826 mt was 2.8 per cent more than in the corresponding period of 2012. Production rises here are due to more and more capacity coming on stream from new projects and existing mill expansion. In fact, this will remain the trend as the country targets a steel industry of the size of 180 mt to 200 mt by 2020. As we go forward, large capacities on account of SAIL, Tata Steel, Vizag Steel and others will get commissioned in close proximity. But will local demand be growing at a rate to ensure that the steel industry will not at any stage be left with much surplus capacity. To go by the observations of Tata Steel Managing Director Hemant Nerurkar and SAIL’s Verma, steel demand in an emerging economy with its focus on infrastructure development should be more than tracking the gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate. A six per cent GDP growth in 2013-14 should, therefore, translate into Indian steel use growing at double last year’s 3.3 per cent.

 

India’s IT exports resilient despite difficult times

Source: The Economic Times

DUBAI: India’s IT exporters have demonstrated resilience by surviving the difficult market conditions of recent times, a senior industry official has said.

Kamal Vachani, Hon. Regional Director of Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council (ESC) for the Middle East, said India’s export of computer software and services during 2012-13 is estimated to have registered a growth of 10.26 per cent over 2011-12.

“In value terms, export of computer software and services during 2012-13 is estimated to be USD 75 billion, up from USD 68 billion estimated in 2011-12”, said Vachani.

With an objective to give a visible momentum to enhancing IT & ITES exports from the country, ESC has created a unique brand for Indian software and services companies in 2001 – INDIASOFT International IT Exhibition & Conferences, Vachani said in a statement.

According to him, the main focus of INDIASOFT events has been to enhance the opportunities for Indian software companies in emerging and established IT markets across the world. ESC has organised 12 editions so far.

Dikshit accepts protest letters over inflated bills

Source: Hindustan Times

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Sunday accepted the 10,50,000 letters written to her by the Delhi residents over inflated water and power bills following the protest of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at Jantar Mantar  in the national Capital.

AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said Dikshit’s agreeing to accept the letters is “people’s victory.”

Kejriwal vowed that the movement against the inflated bills would continue until the tariffs are brought down, and alleged that both the Congress and the BJP have together cartelised the water and electricity sector in the state.

“At 9 am one of my associates, Dilip Pandey, got a call from the chief minister’s Office saying Sheila Dikshit wanted to talk. Dikshit said she will receive the protest letters. She was compelled to do so because of the people’s pressure. She had to bow down to the people,” said Kejriwal, while addressing a gathering.

Since the chief minister agreed to accept 10,50,000 letters of protest to her written by the people of Delhi highlighting the inflated bills, the AAP activists called off their scheduled march to her residence, AAP spokesperson Aswathi Muralidharan said.

In the afternoon, AAP activists Manish Sisodia and Kumar Vishwas along with 10 other party members boarded a bus, carrying the  protest letters from Jantar Mantar and handed these over to Dikshit’s staff around 3 pm at her residence at Motilal Nehru Marg in New Delhi’s VIP area.

Kejriwal said the movement against inflated water and power bills would continue till the bills are either waived off or the charges are reduced.

“Our aim is not just to submit these (over) 10 lakh letters, but we are seeking action on them. Our protest is unlike that of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Vijay Goel who simply protests for limelight. We have said we won’t pay our bills and this movement will continue till these bills are reduced,” he asserted.

Kejriwal said the Congress governments both at the Centre and in the state had failed to address the issue of water crisis in the national Capital.

“Every year, the Prime Minister says that we will provide water to every household in this country. They have not been able to provide water to Delhi in the past 65 years. How will they provide water to the entire country,” he asked.

“Sheila Dikshit has been in power for the past 15 years. Why has not the issue been addressed,” he asked. Most of the water tanker companies are owned by leaders of these two parties, and the government was hand in glove with the power discoms, he alleged.

Earlier, Delhi Traffic Police eased the traffic restrictions they had imposed in Janpath-Sansad Marg area due to protests and demonstrations.

Kejriwal fasted for 15 days earlier this month to press his demand for reduction in water and electricity tariffs in the capital.

Samsung to start manufacturing Galaxy S4 in India soon

Source: The Hindu Business Line

New Delhi, April 28: Samsung India today said it will soon start manufacturing its flagship high-end smartphone Galaxy S4 in India.

“We are planning to start manufacturing of S4 soon at our Noida facility,” Samsung Mobile and Digital Imaging Country Head Vineet Taneja told PTI.

He, however, refused to share any timeframe by when the production will start. The Noida facility is manufacturing about 35-40 million phones annually, including 12 smartphones such as Galaxy S3.

The company currently imports the recently launched Galaxy S4 from South Korea.

Sensing huge demand for Galaxy S4, the company is also looking to double the high-end smartphone (above Rs 20,000) market size in India, which is currently contributing around 10-12 per cent of the overall smartphone market.

The Galaxy S4, which is packed with newer imaging features as well as ‘gesture-control’ technology, has a five-inch full HD super AMOLED touchscreen, 13 mega pixel rear and 2 mega pixel front camera and supports 3G networks.

Although Samsung is the market leader in smartphone market in India, competition from Apple, BlackBerry and Nokia has put pressure on it to add new software features to maintain its lead.

According to research firm IDC, the overall mobile phone market in India reached about 218 million units in 2012, growing 16 per cent year-on-year.

Of this, 16.3 million units were smartphones, but the category saw a growth of about 48 per cent. Samsung was the leader in the quadcore and 5-inch plus screen size models, IDC added.

The demand for smartphones is expected to be around 34-36 million units this year.

Globally, Samsung had 30.3 per cent share of the smartphone market (with sales of 215.8 million units) in 2012, while Apple had a 19.1 per cent share with sales of 135.9 million units, according to IDC.

Fix education so we don’t have people without jobs, conference told

Source: MetroNews

Canada must fix its educational system to ensure that a looming demographics shift doesn’t leave result in a “people without jobs and jobs without people” scenario, experts warn.

“The demographic time bomb that’s ticking is getting louder and louder,” said John Manley, president and CEO of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, which hosted a conference on the issue in Toronto on Monday.

“There’s a mismatch between the training and education that’s being offered, and the jobs that are being created.”

The influence of the postwar baby boom generation has long been known, but the potential impact is staggering. According to Rick Miner, former Seneca College president, by 2036 those under the age of 15 and over the age of 65 will represent 65 per cent of the Canadian population, compared with 44 per cent in 2010.

“That means nearly two-thirds of the population will be over 65 or under 15, compared to the population working full-time. That’s frightening,” Miner said.

These demographic changes can be mitigated by getting more people into the workforce who have been traditionally under-represented including immigrants, aboriginals, women, those with disabilities, those in their early 20s and older workers.

Miner also believes there also needs to be a revamp of post-secondary education, where institutions must work together.

He noted high school students sometimes do an extra year to get into a particular university program. And even after university, some graduates can’t find work so they return to do a community college program — meaning it can be as many as six or seven years of schooling, post-high school.

Others at the conference also cautioned that preparing students for the jobs of tomorrow is difficult, especially given that 25 per cent of today’s jobs didn’t exist 30 years ago.

Linda Hasenfratz, chief executive officer of auto parts company Linamar Corp., added that young people are often encouraged to study something they love, with promises they’ll find a job in the end.

“It doesn’t always work out that way,” Hasenfratz said, adding sometimes they discover they studied what they love, but they can’t get a job that gives them the level of income they want.

She believes more training needs to be done in secondary school, where students can be exposed to skills used by carpenters and machinists as a building block for learning.

They might then choose a skilled-trades apprenticeship or community college to become an engineering technologist, or university to become an architect, based on initial exposure to carpentry, she said.

Others also warned that job demands can fluctuate dramatically so governments and educational institutions must react carefully to deal with shortages. For example, teachers were desperately needed, so more teacher training spots were added. But now universities continue to graduate new teachers even though there are few job openings.

CAW economist Jim Stanford added that the top three jobs of the future are truck driver, retail clerk and health care assistant.

“We should be realistic about where the jobs are,” he said, adding if society needs truck drivers, those jobs need to be valued with appropriate wages and working conditions.

“There is a cultural bias against blue-collar occupations against the idealized white-collar occupations,” he added.

Looking for India’s Zuckerberg

Source: The Economist

A pioneer in outsourcing but a laggard in the internet era, can India become a leader in mobile technology?

Information technology has been a mighty force for good in India. Its first tech revolution began 30 years ago, when a few engineers came up with the unlikely idea of doing back-office IT work for far-off Western firms. Today that outsourcing industry is a capitalist marvel. It has annual sales of $100 billion, mostly from abroad, and these export earnings have been vital in a country with a weak balance of payments. Millions of good jobs in India have been created. Young Indians have seen that globalization creates winners. India’s reputation in the world has changed, too: Bangalore’s shining IT campuses have become as famous as the Ganges and the Gandhis.

Yet India has been a comparative failure in terms of innovation over the past decade. You might have expected India’s many advantages (the English language, abundant engineers and a thriving diaspora in Silicon Valley) to pay off spectacularly on the internet. But only a few start-ups have made clever technical innovations that have been sold abroad. And at home e-commerce is in its infancy, with sales only 6% of China’s. Thanks to lousy infrastructure, useless regulation and a famously corrupt telecoms sector, the web is available to only 10% of Indians, many of them squinting at screens in cafés.

India boasts no big internet firms to compare with Chinese giants such as Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent, nor start-up stars like Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg. Instead, it has seen a succession of false dawns, from its version of the dotcom bubble in 1998-2002 to more recent hype over deal-of-the-day websites and text-based cricket updates. In 2010-11 lots of start-ups raised cash, but they have struggled since. Venture capitalists grumble that their returns have been poor. The original emerging-market tech pioneer has fallen behind in the internet era.

Feeling luckier

Catching up should be a priority for India—not least because its outsourcing champions are now reaching middle age. As the wages of India’s engineers rise, its IT industry cannot rely for ever on doing straightforward work cheaply for foreigners. The good news is that India now has a chance to lead again; the bad news is that this opportunity relies in part on Delhi’s bureaucrats not messing it up.

Optimism springs, first, from a healthy stock of young entrepreneurs (see article). Many have gained valuable experience working in America or for multinational firms. Many are battle-hardened through previous ventures that flopped, from dairy farms to bowling alleys. As in California, failure is no longer frowned upon in India. New firms such as Flipkart and Redbus are adapting Western e-commerce models to deal with India’s rickety logistics and cash-based economy. They are transforming mundane areas such as bus tickets, and opening up scores of smaller cities to modern retailing. Tens of millions of people are benefiting as a result.

The second change is the mobile internet. India’s fixed-line system may be abysmal, but cheap smartphones and fast wireless networks are rapidly spreading. India is poised to leapfrog the era of the personal computer and go straight to the mobile-internet age. Already a quarter of internet traffic is from phones, compared with a seventh worldwide. E-commerce sites are getting a surge in activity from phone-users.

But this budding revolution needs clever regulation. Outsourcing boomed in part because it avoided government: the product was exported through global networks. The mobile internet needs capital, payment systems, and wireless capacity. In all three areas the government is in the way.

The e-commerce industry appears stymied by the same restrictive rules on foreign investment that have bedevilled bricks-and-mortar retailing. Only a fifth of Indians have credit or debit cards—and using them online is a nightmare, again thanks to regulations (India could learn a lot from Africa’s use of mobile money). And India needs more and better wireless networks; some big players such as Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, have been tempted in, but the telecoms regime is a tangle of overcomplicated rules and graft.

India has the talent to lead in the mobile internet, as it did in outsourcing. But so long as Indians struggle to get a signal or to make payments, the revolution will be held back.

Anaroop Kerketta Wins Indo-Canada Student Innovation Award 2013

By Sparsh Sharma

Mr. Anaroop Kerketta from the Industrial Design Centre (IDC) IIT Bombay won the third Indo-Canada Student Innovation Award for 2013.  The short animation Inside My Mind was selected by the jury and the public from 15 finalists.  The Consul General for Canada in Mumbai, Mr. Richard Bale presented award to Mr. Anaroop Kerketta during the Best Animation Film (BAF) Awards Ceremony at the FICCI Frames Conference 2013 in Mumbai.  The winning short film can be viewed online.

The Government of Canada and Seneca College of Applied Arts & Technology (Seneca) in Toronto, Canada in association with Mumbai’s Frameboxx Animation & Visual Effects are excited to have sponsored this award for the third edition of the Indo-Canada Student Innovation Award 2013 (ICSIA 2013). Seneca and Frameboxx will provide Mr. Kerketta with a one-week training session in animation and visual effects at Seneca, a return economy class ticket from Mumbai to Toronto, as well as accommodation and living expenses for the week. Each year this competition provides an opportunity to Indian students to showcase their artistic creativity, animation technique and innovation.

On presenting the award, Richard Bale said “Canada is home to leading animation firms and technology and has a lot to offer through its innovative training institutions. Anaroop Kerketta will now have the exciting opportunity to work with leading technology and an exceptional talent pool in Canada.”

The jury consisted of Mark Jones from Toronto’s Seneca College, Steve Kahwati from Toronto’s 728 Digital Pictures, Munjal Shroff from Mumbai’s Graphiti Multimedia, Kireet Khurana from Mumbai’s Climb Media, and Richard Bale Consul General for Canada in Mumbai. The winner was selected based on a combination of technical marks from the jury and votes from the general public at the online poll portal.

Vote for your favourite student animation

Source: Connect – Canada In India

Choose the winner of the third annual “Indo-Canada Student Innovation Award 2013” by voting for your favourite student animation clip. Results will be announced at the Best Animation Film Award Ceremony at FICCI Frames on March 15. The winner will receive one week of training at Seneca College in Toronto, Canada, sponsored by Seneca College and Frameboxx.

Canadian highlights at this year’s FICCI Frames, March 12-15, include participation by the Province of Ontario and Michael Longford, from York University, as a key delegate.

India launches Canadian satellites

Source: Connect – Canada In India

Two Canadian satellites were launched on board Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) PSLV-C20 rocket from the spaceport at Sriharikota, India, on February 24. The Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) NEOSSat is the world’s first experimental microsatellite designed to detect and track space objects, debris and satellites, and, Canada’s Department of National Defence satellite Sapphire is Canada’s first dedicated operational military satellite. Team Connect spoke with CSA on their latest satellite and the cooperation with India, check it out!

Canada at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit

Source: Consulate General of Canada, Chandigarh via Indian Economic Business News

Canada’s participation at the 2013 Delhi Sustainable Development Summit (DSDS), January 31 – February 2, included delegations from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Québec. The Premier of Manitoba, Greg Selinger, delivered the keynote address at a panel discussion on “Adapting to the Impacts of Climate Change and Mitigating Emissions of Greenhouse Gases and Associated Co-benefits” on February 2. The Québec delegation included Minister of International Relations Jean-François Lisée and Minister for Industrial Policy and the Banque de développement économique du Québec Élaine Zakaïb. Former Premier Jean Charest also attended the event. DSDS, an annual event organized by India’ The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), is an international platform for exchange of knowledge on sustainable development.

MT Educare acquires majority stake in Lakhsya Forum

Source: Business Standard via PwC – EdLive

Indian coaching services provider MT Educare has agreed to acquire a 51% stake in its local peer Lakshya Forum for Competitions, the buyer reported. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. According to the source, the total deal amount would be paid by MT Educare over three years and is dependent on certain milestones to be achieved by Lakshya. The deal agreement also provides an opportunity to MTEL to acquire complete 100% stake in Lakshya up to 30th November 2018. The acquisition is in-line with MT Educare’s offerings in the science section. It will now offer the entire end to end training to all its students aspiring for boards, JEE mains & JEE Advanced and NEET examinations for a successful career in the engineering and medical stream. Lakshya is a test preparation institute founded in 2006. It currently serves to more than 2500 students with faculty strength of 40 teachers of which 20 are IITians and doctors. MT Educare is the holding company of Mumbai-based Mahesh Tutorials, which runs the country’s largest school and college tutorial chain and is gaining ground in multiple new training segments. The institution has more than 188 centres in 110 locations across India.

Canada at 2012 Agro Tech in India

Source: Connect – Canada in India

Three Canadian provinces, Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, formed the Canada pavilion at India’s 10th agro technology fair, Agro Tech 2012, organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in Chandigarh from December 1 to 4. Canadian companies in areas including swine genetics, forage products, flax oil, animal feed mixers, canola oil, agri-consulting companies, grain storage and handling systems, and food development centres showcased their expertise.