AT A GLANCE
Pitroda’s 10 areas for Kerala Mr Sam Pitroda, adviser to Prime Minister on public information infrastructure and innovations, has suggested 10 core areas for the State to focus on to fast track its development.
They are: *Coastal waterways *Knowledge city *High speed rail corridor *Waste management *Ayurveda *Strengthening vocational education through IT *Insurance scheme through mobile bills *Utilising the services of people above 55 *Modernisation of traditional industries *e-Governance for transparency Mr Pitroda said that his team would prepare a white paper on the viable projects and submit it to the government. The projects will have to be implemented using the PPP route, he said. Tourist visa on arrival at CIAL The Central government has decided to allow visa-on-arrival facility for citizens arriving from Japan, Singapore, Finland, Luxemburg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam,
Philippines, Myanmar and Indonesia at the Cochin International Airport. The move is expected to boost the tourism sector in the sector. Besides Kochi, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is extending the facility to Goa, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru airports also. The government aims to double the number of foreign tourists arriving in India during the 12th plan. Capgemini in Technopark After Oracle, it is the turn of another global major to set up camp in Kerala. Capgemini, one of the largest consulting, outsourcing and professional services companies in the world, is coming to Technopark. The Paris-based company has taken up space at the Leela Infotech in Technopark. It plans to open its office soon with a staff strength of 200. Capgemini has offices in 40 countries across the world
and it employs 1,15,000 professionals. With the launch of its office in Trivandrum, Capgemini will be present in eight cities in the country – Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkota, Hyderabad, Gurgaon and Pune being the other cities.
One more CFS at Vallarpadam Gateway Distriparks, one of the largest players in the container logistics industry in the country, is all set to open its CFS at Vallarpadam. Gateway Distriparks (Kerala) Ltd and its joint venture with the Chakiat Group had earlier won the bid to set up the CFS on 6.5 acres of land opposite the ICTT at Vallarpadam. The land has been taken on lease from the Kochi Port for 30 years. The pre-stage facility will be readied in the first phase of the project. The warehousing facilities will be built in the second phase and it is expected to be ready by August. The CFS will have 25,000 sq ft of warehousing facilities and would be able to store around 1,000 TEUs when complete. It will also have a separate area for Customs authorities to inspect cargo on wheels. The ICTT offers huge opportunities for players to set up CFSs. JNPT has 22 CFSs, Chennai Port 24 and Tuticorin Port 12 while the ICTT at Vallarppadam has just a couple of CFS’s in its vicinity. TISS chooses T-TBI as partner The Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI) has been empanelled as a corporate social responsibility partner by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai and Central public sector enterprises. The move will make T-TBI eligible
for projects under the National CSR Hub, being hosted by TISS. National CSR Hub is a centralized system set up by TISS and the Department of Public Enterprises, Government of India, where core functions of CSR including learning and knowledge dissemination are carried out. The hub carries out activities in a partnership mode involving TISS, civil society organisations, and the public enterprises concerned. The incubator can now design and submit CSR activities in the State in areas such as entrepreneurship education, entrepreneurship development and skill development for Central PSEs that have signed up with the CSR hub. Kerala start-ups launch e-Tutor tablet Two Kerala-based IT firms – Cell Technologies and Oztern Technologies – have come up with e-tutor, India’s first cloudbased tablet solution for school children. The tablet, meant for students from Class 1 to 12, will cost `7500 inclusive of content. It will enable teachers easily explain topics using a digital white board that is set up in the tablet PC. The students can discuss topics and also access the topics taught in the classroom later. Regular content updates will be made available through the Internet. The device will restrict access to only the relevant locations on the Internet, making it safe for children. 13