• UK to Give Business Excellence Awards to Indian Companies
• Kerala Director to Make Films on NRIs
• India Set to Become Tourist Heaven
• NRI Scientist Wins $20,000 Award
• East or West, Indian Spice is Hot

• NRI Honoured With Top US Tech Award For Motorola
• Animation Sector All Set to Reach US$ 950 Million
• BBC World Release Biggest Syndicated Survey on Global India
• Indian Touch to US Box Office-Hit
• NRI Gifts $4.5 mn to University

Padmasree Warrior, executive vice president and chief technology officer, Motorola, and the driving force behind the company's recent growth and innovative successes, accepted the 2004 National Medal of Technology Award from President George W Bush on behalf of her company at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on February 13. Warrior is also responsible for the success of Motorola Labs, the global software group and emerging early-stage businesses of the company. Her operational responsibilities include leading a global team of 4,600 technologists, prioritising technology programmes, creating value from intellectual property, guiding creative research from innovation through early-stage commercialisation, and influencing standards and roadmaps. She also serves as a technology advisor to the office of the chairman and to the board's technology and design steering committee. The prestigious National Medal of Technology annual award recognised Motorola for its outstanding contributions to America's technological innovation and competitiveness. Established in 1980 by an Act of US Congress, this is the highest honour awarded by the President to America's leading innovators. Ed Zander, Motorola chairman and chief executive officer, said, "All of us at Motorola are honoured to receive the National Medal of Technology from the President." "This award belongs not only to the talented employees of today but to the several generations of Motorolans who built our heritage of innovation. Given this heritage, we strongly support the President's plan to keep America the world's most competitive and innovative nation," he added.

Courtesy: Rediff.com: February 15, 2006

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In a unique initiative aimed at enhancing economic cooperation with India, the United Kingdom on Tuesday said that it would confer awards on Indian and British entrepreneurs and companies who have excelled in diverse business areas in the two countries. "The 'UK Trade and Investment Business Awards 2006' is the first award by any government worldwide recognising India's global business influence and success," the British High Commissioner, Mr Michael Arthur, said here. This event is unique as it is for the first time that a foreign government would give awards to Indian firms, he said, adding this was also the first time that Britain has instituted such awards for any country in the world. The awards would recognise business excellence, two-way investments, entrepreneurial talent, innovation, UK-India partnerships, new business models, first time market entrants and individual achievements. There are about 500 Indian companies in UK, Mr Arthur said, adding there has been an increase of over 25 per cent from a year ago. About 65-70 per cent of the companies belong to IT and biotech sectors, he added. The awards would be presented in seven categories, he said. This includes 'Investor of the Year' award for successful Indian companies in UK; 'Business Partnership' award and 'Innovation Award' for a UK company, which has launched a new product or servic e in India. Other segments include a 'New Market Entrant' award for UK companies, 'Businessperson and Entrepreneur of the Year' and 'UKTI Special Recognition Award'.

Courtesy: The Hindu Business Line: February 15, 2006

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The Nasscom report on animation and gaming industry has revealed a huge growth potential for the industry in India. The Indian animation industry is expected to notch US$ 950 million and the gaming industry to US$ 300 million by 2009. However, this can be achieved only if there is a synergy between talent and technology. Though the country has both, there is a need for professional training for creative talent. The demand from the industry is close to 30,000 people from the present 1,500-odd strength. There is huge potential in both animation and gaming industry in India. India's IT expertise and creative skills makes it well positioned to tap the growing global industry. Moreover, with the growth of mobile telephony (about 3.5 million mobile phones are sold every month), and increase in PC penetration, it has further triggered the usage of animation content, fuelling growth in the domestic market too. India is fast catching up the outsourcing ladder. This is a good trend, but we have to create our own brands in the value chain. Banking on the cost-arbitrage in an IPR regime is not a good model. Local animation design studios are establishing their credentials overseas and building their skill sets, but we have to move up the value chain with creative approaches. The market for animation development in India was estimated at $285 million in 2005. It is expected to witness a compounded annual growth rate of 35 per cent and touch $950 million by 2009. The entertainment segment will account for a significant portion of the market accounting for about 68 per cent in 2005. However, some of the factors working against the industry are seed funds, paucity of talent, operational excellence, investments and marketing. Some of the missing elements are Technology, IP, star cast talent, scrip management. Further, the boom is not only in the animation industry. The growth of the mobile industry has lead to a rise in the gaming industry. Games developed in the country have been proved successful internationally.

Courtesy: Sify.com: February 14, 2006

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Film director T. Rajeevnath is to make a documentary showcasing the success stories of the Indian diaspora in America. The first scene of the 90-minute film titled "Desi US" will be shot in Delhi with Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi by February-end, said Rajeevnath, a Kerala resident who has won national and international awards. The documentary will be released by June. "This is a film produced by the US State Department and US-based First Serve International. The film tells the success story of several Indians in the US and is about the peaceful co-existence of Indians in the US," Rajeevnath told IANS. Ravi Candadai, chief of public affairs at the US consulate in Chennai, and Greg Franklin, chief of public affairs of the US State Department in Washington, are "the livewires" behind the film, besides Munish Gupta, CEO of First Serve International, he said. "The shooting in the US will begin in March and we plan to shoot for three weeks at various locations there," said Rajeevnath. Interviewees will include filmmaker Manoj Night Shyamalan, writer Salman Rushdie, US senator Hillary Clinton and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. "We are also hoping to meet US President George Bush for the film," said Rajeevnath, 54, whose popular films include "Moksham", "Janani" and "Thannal". Post-production work will be done in India. "We expect to release the film by June. It will be dubbed in several languages and will also be shown on Doordarshan," he said.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 13, 2006

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Close on the heels of Indians dominating the World Economic Forum in Davos, BBC World has undertaken a research project in the sub-continent to understand the attitudes and behaviours of the Indians. The "Global Indian Survey", as the study is called, looked at their media consumption, product and brand ownership, cultural uniqueness, international interest and what they believe are the biggest global issues. According to the survey, which was released recently, the Global Indian can be identified in four categories -- Globizen with strong international attitude and behaviour, Globatudes with strong attitude but weak behaviour, Globehave with weak attitude but a strong behaviour and Locazen with both attitude and behaviour weak towards internationalism. The results showed that 35 per cent Globizens live in Mumbai, 20 per cent in Hyderabad, 16 per cent in New Delhi, 9 per cent in Chennai and 8 per cent in both Kolkata and Bangalore. Out of the total Globizens, 57 per cent believe India will overtake China in the next decade to be the next Asian superpower. Further, they rank hardworking people as India's biggest strength. As many as 71 per cent agree than India is the best place to work and 66 per cent are sure that country's BPO sector will grow despite security concerns, the survey stated. Largely, the globizens were found to be cosmopolitan with 67 per cent saying they could live anywhere in world and 55 per cent believing they have more in common with people in the West. Also, 77 per cent have strong environmental concerns about pollution and global warming while 74 per cent prefer environmentally safe products even if they cost more. Terming economic progress as key to India becoming a superpower, they ranked education, population control and information technology as the most contributing factors. Among other findings, 63 per cent access Internet regularly, 95 per cent feel computer as a necessity, 53 per cent watch international news channels, 45 per cent read international newspapers and magazines while 35 per cent access websites of foreign news providers. The survey was conducted in two parts sizing, exercise to estimate number of globally minded individuals and profiling, an exercise to understand the media habits, product and brand consumption of the identified group. Keeping the Universe size at 8 million, total 200 pilot interviews were conducted apart from 5,000 sizing interviews and 2400 profiling interviews. The sample was from top eight metros from cable and satellite home between age group of 18-54 and who could read, write and speak English.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 12, 2006

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From entering the Taj Mahal to boarding flights and staying at hotels, foreigners have to pay substantially higher charges across India. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is seeking an end to the discrimination, his office said Friday. Foreign passport holders and Indian expatriates - called nonresident Indians or NRIs - have to pay up to twice the fares on busy flight routes and up to 20 per cent higher hotel prices. But the difference in fees is most stark at India's fabled historical monuments including the biggest draw, the Taj Mahal - the majestic 17th century marble mausoleum that is one of the world's greatest monuments to love.

Courtesy: The Economic Times, February 11, 2006

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The latest American box office hit, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, is a film made in the US, and based on a novel set in England, written by an Oxford professor. But as Western as its origins may seem, Indian touches did contribute to bringing this phantasmal world to life in the visual form. Rhythm & Hues, the animation and design studio in Los Angeles, was the lead house in creating all the visual effects and animation for the film, and its Mumbai subsidiary worked simultaneously on compositing, among other things, for the film. While working on the movie, R&H India was simultaneously working on The Longest Yard (2005), a Hollywood production starring Adam Sandler. The climax of the film is held in a football stadium, with 50,000 people watching a team of convicts take on prison wardens in a dramatic, bone-crunching sequence of events. Also, the world of Narnia is full of centaurs (creatures with a human head and torso and a horse's lower body) that were shot with riders atop horses. Which left R&H India with the job of removing the riders and the horse heads so that computer generated human upper halves could be integrated.

Courtesy: sify.com, February 11, 2006

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The Indian-American scientist Sabeeha Merchant has won the US National Academy of Sciences' Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal for her research on green algae. Merchant, who is professor of biochemistry at the University of California, Los Angeles, was chosen for the $20,000 award for her pioneering discoveries in the assembly of metalloenzymes and regulated biogenesis of major complexes of the photosynthetic apparatus in green algae, the Academy said. The research on algeaalgea explores how living organisms manage to cope with little or no metals which are necessary for vital biological functions. The award is given every three years for excellence in published research on marine or freshwater algae. Merchant is one of the 15 scientists selected by the Academy for the awards. The awards will be presented on April 23 at a ceremony in Washington DC, during the Academy's 143rd annual meeting. Born in Mumbai, Merchant attended JB Petit High School till she was 15. When her parents immigrated to Wisconsin, Merchant joined the University of Wisconsin Madison and graduated with a BS in Molecular Biology. She later did her Ph.D in Biochemistry from the university.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 09, 2006

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A former constable of the Punjab Police, who went on to become a millionaire in the US, has gifted a technical college, complete with building and full infrastructure, to the Punjab University. Lajpat Rai Munger, who hails from Bajwara village in Hoshiarpur district, gave away Rs.200 million ($4.5 million) campus spread over 11 acres to the university Wednesday. The college in the village, in which the university will start various engineering courses, was built about five years ago as a goodwill gesture towards his home state. The millionaire farmer from California has a turnover of $300 million a year. He migrated to the US in the 1960s after having served the Punjab Police as a constable. For five years, Munger struggled with government bureaucracy. He alleged that technical education department officials demanded bribes to sanction the engineering courses. Pleas that he was opening the college for the benefit of Punjabi youth fell on deaf years. Finally, Munger approached university vice chancellor K.N. Pathak and decided last month to gift the college to Punjab University, under whose academic jurisdiction the area falls. The new engineering courses, including computer sciences, will start from the next academic session in July, university officials said.

Courtesy: Hindustan Times, February 03, 2006

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It was in search of India's famed spices that Columbus landed on America's coast. Six centuries later, say experts, there has been no change in the quality of Indian spices. "It is the quality parameters that draw buyers to India," says YR Sarma, a former director of the Indian Institute of Spice Research and now a consultant to several foreign governments. "Also, Indian spices are more or less pesticide free," Sarma said, speaking on the sidelines of an international gathering. However, despite the quality levels, only about eight per cent of India's spice produce is exported, Sarma said. One buyer at the just ended 8th World Spice Congress in Chennai was Mohamed Rafeek Ismail from South Africa. He wants to import $2 million worth of turmeric, coriander, chillies, cumin seed, fenugreek and garlic a year. Chilli is India's biggest export. There are 45 different varieties of chillies grown in the country. Now the Spices Board of India is emphasising geographical identification for spices. The biggest importer of Indian chillies is the European Union. "But there chilli is not used for making food 'hot' in the conventional Indian sense," spices board deputy director PSS Thampi said. "It is used for non-food applications, colouring, confectionery, in the pharmaceutical industry, in the flavouring industry."

Courtesy: The Times of India, February 01, 2006

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