Infosys is embedding 'specialists' to push sales in digital space

In a bid to push sales in digital space, India’s second largest IT services company, Infosys, is embedding ‘digital specialists’ to select base of clients who are in the advanced stage of adopting newer technologies for transforming their businesses.

The Bengaluru-based firm, which started this practice last quarter, said it was helping it to be precise on its offerings with greater understanding of the client needs.

“For some of our identified clients, we are embedding what we call as ‘digital specialists’ in each of these accounts. They are experts (in various digital technologies) and understand digital transformation.

They can be architects or people with strong domain background who work closely with our sales people and help in shaping the conversation with clients,” U B Pravin Rao, chief operating officer at Infosys, told Business Standard.

RMZ offers Rs 8.15 billion to acquire L&T's 14-acre land in Bengaluru

Bengaluru-based property developer RMZ is in the final round of negotiations to acquire 14-acre land of engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) in Bengaluru. If the deal goes through, it will become the largest land deal in south India this year.

RMZ has quoted around Rs 8.15 billion (Rs 0.58 billion per acre) for the land parcel in Hebbal area of Bengaluru, said sources in the know.

“They are in final leg of the talks. L&T board should now approve it,” said a person who did not want to be quoted. L&T spokesperson did not comment on the development. RMZ executives, too, declined to speak on the deal.

RMZ is expected to develop a commercial property on the plot, which is close to Bengaluru airport and has a development potential of 4 million square feet. Though another Bengaluru developer, Salarpuria Sattva, has shown an interest in the plot, it did not bid for the property, said Bijay Agarwal, firm’s managing director.

End jungle raj', Siddaramaiah slams Yogi after UP CM's 'beef eater' barb

Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday lashed out at his Uttar Pradesh counterpart Yogi Adityanath's earlier address in Bengaluru, and opined that the latter could "learn a lot" from him.

During Adityanath's ongoing visit to the state, Siddaramaiah tweeted, "I welcome UP CM Yogi Adityanath to our state. There is a lot you can learn from us Sir. When you are here, please visit an Indira Canteen and a ration shop. It will help you address the starvation deaths sometimes reported from your state".

Earlier in the day, Adityanath, while addressing a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) rally in the garden city, accused Siddaramaiah of intermixing religion and politics, thus following the footsteps of Congress President Rahul Gandhi ahead of the assembly polls in Gujarat.

He further questioned Siddaramaiah on why he was "endorsing beef eaters" if he was a Hindu.

In an earlier tweet, Siddaramaiah lashed out at the UP Chief Minister, suggesting that he should primarily focus on ending 'Jungle Raj' in his state, and retrospect upon the increasing number of deaths of children in hospitals.

"Yogi Adityanath should first get rid of Jungle Raj in Uttar Pradesh and save children who are dying in the hospital. Let us understand then", he tweeted in Kannada.

On a related note, Adityanath is scheduled to take part in the BJP-led 'Parivartan Yatra' in the run-up to the Karnataka Assembly polls.
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Uber's autorickshaw service back in India 2 years after it was shut down

Cab-hailing major Uber is re-launching its 'AUTO' service in India, almost two years after shutting down the offering in March 2016, starting with Bengaluru and Pune.

The US-based company, which is locked in an intense battle with homegrown player Ola, will allow customers to book autorickshaw rides through 'AUTO' option on its platform later this month in these two cities.

Ola, which also allows booking autorickshaw rides under 'Auto' service, had launched the offering in Bengaluru and Chennai in 2014. Ola Auto is currently operational across 73 cities with over 120,000 lakh autos associated with the company.

An Uber spokesperson said the company had "paused" the service "to see how that side of India's transport ecosystem evolves".

"Auto rickshaws are ubiquitous to mobility options in many Indian cities. To expand transportation choices for our riders, we are excited to launch AUTO in Bengaluru and Pune," the spokesperson told PTI.

In its previous attempt, Uber's AUTO offering was available in New Delhi, Coimbatore, Indore and Bhubaneshwar.

"We are re-launching AUTO starting with two cities. Gradual geographical expansion like this is common to how we operate in cities around the world and it is something that we are looking at very closely," the spokesperson said.
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SIT begins probe into Gauri murder, family against giving political colour

Investigators from the IG-headed SIT on Thursday pored over the CCTV footage of the scene of murder of activist-journalist Gauri Lankesh for clues in the hunt for the killers even as her family spoke against giving "political colour" to the incident.

The brother and sister of 55-year-old Gauri, who was gunned down at her home on Bengaluru on Tuesday night, also appeared divided on the probe with the former saying he would approach the CBI or a court if they don't get justice from investigations by the SIT.

As outrage across the country over the murder grew, Union minister Ramdas Athawale demanded that the killers be immediately arrested and hanged. He also said there was no need for levelling political allegations over the incident.

The Karnataka government on its part said it was hopeful of nabbing the assailants "as soon as possible."

Protest rallies and candlelight vigils were also held for the second day today in several cities. "We need a CBI probe into the murder," said a student protester in Kolkata.
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'IT sector to layoff up to 2 lakh engineers annually for next 3 years'

Executive search firm Head Hunters India said the job cuts in IT sector will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh annually for next three years due to under-preparedness in adapting to newer technologies.

"Contrary to media reports of 56,000 IT professionals to lose jobs this year, the actual job cuts will be between 1.75 lakh and 2 lakh per year in next three years, due to under- preparedness in adapting to newer technologies," Head Hunters India Founder-Chairman and MD K Lakshmikanth told PTI, analysing a report submitted by McKinsey & Company at the Nasscom India Leadership Forum on February 17.

McKinsey & Company report had said nearly half of the workforce in the IT services firms will be "irrelevant" over the next 3-4 years.

McKinsey India Managing Director Noshir Kaka had also said the bigger challenge ahead for the industry will be to retrain 50-60 per cent of the workforce as there will be a significant shift in technologies. The industry employs 3.9 million people and the majority of them have to be retrained.

"So, when we analyse these figures, it is clear that 30 to 40 per cent of the workforce cannot be retrained or re- skilled. So, assume that half of this workforce can continue to work on old skills, then balance will become redundant.

"So, the number of people who will become redundant in the next three years will be about five to six lakhs. This will workout to, on a average, between 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh per year for next three years," Lakshmikanth explained.

However, he said job cuts will not take place in major cities like Mumbai or Bengaluru, but cities like Coimbatore or a few remote places, he said.

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Ola raises Rs 670 cr from Ratan Tata-backed fund, other investors

SoftBank-backed Ola has raised Rs 670 crore ($104.4 million) in fresh funding from investors including UC-RNT Fund, a venture between the University of California and Ratan Tata.

While UC-RNT Fund has pumped in Rs 267.99 crore, another Rs 402 crore has been infused by FO Mauritius I Ltd, according to regulatory filing by ANI Technologies, which runs Ola.

However, the valuation of the company benchmarked against the fresh round of funding could not be ascertained.

The said shares were allotted to the investors on March 31 2017.

An email sent to the company remained unanswered.

The Bengaluru-based firm, which is locked in an intense battle with US-based Uber for market leadership, had raised about $250 million from SoftBank in November, albeit at a lower valuation of $3 billion (compared to $4.5 billion earlier).

ANI Technologies, which is not a publicly-traded company, has raised investments of over $1.5 billion from investors, including SoftBank Group, Tiger Global, Matrix Partners, Steadview Capital, Sequoia India, Accel Partners US and Falcon Edge.

While Ola has been successful in raising a sizable amount of funds, it continues to bleed on account of heavy advertising and promotional expenses and high employee cost.

The company posted a consolidated loss of over Rs 2,311 crore -- about Rs 6 crore a day -- during fiscal 2015-16.

ANI Technologies did see its revenues registering a stellar growth at Rs 758.23 crore during 2015-16 compared to Rs 103.77 crore in the previous fiscal.

Ola, which has a presence in 110 Indian cities compared to Uber's operations in 29, has been aggressively expanding its portfolio of services.
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Apple opens its accelerator for app developers in Bengaluru

Nearly a year after Apple CEO Tim Cook visited India to woo Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bollywood stars and start-ups, the iPhone maker has opened its doors to app developers with the first-of-its-kind accelerator in Bengaluru.

The Centre will support Indian app developers to design, test and optimise their apps to better run on Apple's iPhone and iPad. The move is aimed at replicating the iPhone's success a decade ago in developed markets, where users flocked to it due to the availability of higher quality apps.

"We are impressed by the great entrepreneurial spirit in India, and are excited to provide a platform for these developers to share their innovations with customers around the world," said Philip Schiller, SVP of Worldwide Marketing, in a statement. "In just the first few weeks, we've already seen some incredible developers here at the App Accelerator Bengaluru."

Apple will be able to provide guidance to over 500 developers every week where they will be able to get analysis and feedback for their apps from a set of experts. The company will also look at supporting Indian developers in using its own Swift development language to build apps and services for its iPhone.

The opening of the app accelerator comes weeks ahead of Apple's first iPhone manufacturing plant in Bengaluru going online. The facility is expected to produce the low-cost iPhone SE and will allow the company to circumnavigate high excise duties of importing a fully assembled device into India.

As Apple is working hard to increase sales of its iPhones in India, the company is trying to woo developers who've traditionally built services for Google's Android operating system first. Even today, devices running Android outnumber iPhones by over nine to one, as majority of buyers look for affordable smartphones. (READ MORE)

Ola slashes fares in Bengaluru despite driver protests of falling earnings

Latest News - Ola has slashed fares for customers by as much as 23 per cent in Bengaluru, its largest market in India, even as drivers in the city protest against reduced earnings due to decreasing incentive payouts and low fares.

In an email to customers in the city on Friday, the company said that it had dropped fares for its Mini category from Rs 10 per kilometer previously to Rs 8, and from Rs 13 per kilometer for its Prime service to Rs 10. Prices for Ola's Micro service continue to be Rs 6 per kilometer.

"We have revised our fares in Bengaluru, and we're now even more affordable than before! That means, whether it is a hatchback you need in minutes, or a comfortable sedan with Wi-Fi, when you travel within the city with (Read More)

Tap property tax potential at city level, suggests Economic Survey

Latest News - With rapid urbanisation posing tremendous challenges in delivery of services, the Economic Survey on Tuesday suggested that municipalities should tap the potential of "property tax" to generate additional revenues at the city level.

The survey found through a study that bengaluru and Jaipur are currently collecting no more than 5-20 per cent of their respective potential for property tax. It suggested that "satellite imagery" should be used for improving urban governance by facilitating better property tax compliance.

"Urbanisation will pose considerable challenges for municipalities over the (Read More)