India's Information Technology sector

Anytime anywhere access of internet may soon become a possibility, as envisaged in the draft of the first National Policy on Information Technology, 2011. According to the plan, internet access will be extended to kiosks in government offices, post offices and bus stops. It also plans wireless access in public transport. India has about 1OO million internet users, the third largest in the world after China and the US. The policy aims to expand the user base using optic fibre, wireless and Wi-fi. "India's Information Technology sector engages about 2.5 million people and is worth about $88 billion now, 80% of which come from exports. We want to make Information Technology tools and accessories accessible to all segments of society including all categories of differently-abled people," an official at the Ministry of Communication &Information Technology said, on condition of anonymity since the policy is still in drafting stage. To upgrade to the new internet protocol, IPv6, the government is making a national plan under the policy. The IPv6 road map will aim to connect all electronic devices with each other via the new protocol. Low-power consuming devices such as tablets and smartphones will be given preference for computing in villages . As a policy, the government will now make use of social media such as Facebook and Twitter to reach out to the masses.

The Department of Information Technology has already released guidelines on use of social media by government officials, which guide babus on how to use Twitter and Facebook to communicate with citizens. The government has also realised that there is duplicity between data collection methods of National Population Register and the Unique ID Authority which is leading to wasteful expenditure. The policy aims at integrating the NPR and UID databases. This will simplify flow of funds to citizens under the public distribution system and national rural employment guarantee scheme. Alongside the Information Technology policy, the government is also preparing the first National Policy on Electronics, which aims at setting up semiconductor wafer fab facilities in the country. Three invitations by the government to set up a fab in the country have been ignored by chip makers, who are reeling under excess capacity in fabs around the world. The demand for electronics in India is expected to shoot up from $50 billion currently to $4OO billion by 2020. But domestic production of electronics is only $20 billion, which the government plans to increase to $75 billion by 2015 and $3OO billion by 2020. "India's electronic import bill is expected to overtake its oil import bill by 2020. This means, we have to encourage companies to manufacture locally than import," Sam Pitroda, advisor to Prime Minister on innovation and infrastructure told ET. The preamble to NPE (National Policy on Electronics, 2011) notes that while India's electronics production accounts for only 1.3% of world's produce, China's accounts for one in three electronic items made in the world. The new policy aims to change that.

Developed Framework

At a time when the social media is said to have spawned revolutions across the world, including our very own Mr.AnnaHazare movement in this last year, the indian government looks set to use the medium as a governance tool. Indian information technology department has framed guidelines for social media interaction with government organizations to optimize use of the popular communication tool to connect with citizens. The guidelines - stressing on issues like professionalism, openness and privacy for government functionaries - have been uploaded on the ministry's website and stake holders feed - back is invited within this month. "From Non Resident Indian to civil society activists, social media has become the preferred choice for communication for all kinds of people, including those who misuse it. Yet in the indian government , especially due to some past experiences like the Mr.ShahshiTharoor episode, there are misgivings about its use. Without guidelines people are not very sure about how much to reveal and what to reveal. Hence, we have developed this framework and put it up for public consultation," says Mr.ShankarAggarwal, additional secretary in the ministry of communications and information technology. The framework revolves around seven core values. It says that an official while commenting on issues should clearly identify her/himself in professional capacity, refrain from making personal comments or comments about draft legislations /sub-judice matters, not to reveal personal details of self or others and be open to both positive and negative comments though it may not be essential to respond to all of them.

China Wireless Technologies - global operations and help us enter European and American markets

The tablet market is set to heat up, come November. Coolpad Communications Pvt Ltd, an arm of China Wireless Technologies, is planning to launch in India a tablet which would be cheaper than anything available in the Indian market now. "Tablets would be coming by November, and we plan to price it aggressively, even below Rs 13,000 at which Reliance is selling now. We have just launched it in Indonesia last month in collaboration with a local service operator," Sami Al Lawati, managing director of Coolpad Communications told DNA. Coolpad Communications was created in 2009 as an exclusive distribution agreement for with Reliance Webstore Ltd. China Wireless, which is one of the world's first and largest manufacturers of dual-mode handset (CDMA and GSM) brands, retails handsets under Coolpad brand. China Wireless would firm up its plans to set up a research and development facility in India by March-April, which would come up at an investment of `100 crore and employ 300 professionals. It now has one R&D unit, in Shenzhen, employing about 2,000 professionals and the Indian facility would be a base to venture into the European and US market beyond China and Southeast Asia that it currently caters to.

"For us India represents the factory for brains and that has made us decide on creating our own research and development facility here, which we will use for all of our global operations and help us enter European and American markets. And then many be a manufacturing facility in 3-4 years," Al Lawati said on the sidelines of the launch of its fully-loaded android CDMA phone. The investment would be made by China Wireless and not by the Indian arm Coolpad Communications as the research would be carried out for global markets. The research facility would be working mainly on the Android platform for the future smart phones, he said. China Wireless sees itself has a developer of break-through smart phones and not seller of mass-market phones. "We specialise in high-end phones. In China we sell around 360,000 units at an average selling price of around `12,000 while our competitors like Samsung and Nokia sell for `3,000-4,000 a unit," Lawati said. Its stress on research has been paying off well as seen in the growth of its 3G smartphones. China Wireless's turnover in the first half of 2011 (January-June) has risen 44% with sale of 3G smart phones reaching 44,33,000 units up from 14,20,000 units in the corresponding period of 2010 as it moved away from developing 2G smartphones.

business sentiment - Western Europe is not only struggling through excess PC

Research firm Gartner slashed its growth forecast for the global PC market this year to 3.8 percent from its earlier forecast of 9.3 percent, citing slower economies in Western Europe and the United States. "Western Europe is not only struggling through excess PC inventory, but economic upheaval as well," Mr.RanjitAtwal, research director at Gartner, said in a statement on Thursday. "U.S. consumer PC shipments were much weaker than expected in the second quarter, and indications are that back-to-school Personal Computer sales are disappointing. An increasing pessimistic economic outlook is causing both consumer and business sentiment to deteriorate in both regions. We're expecting consumer spending to tighten in response. Business spending will also tighten, but less than the consumer space."

Internet social networking services

Only about half of Twitter's 200 million-plus registered members log on daily but the micro logging website is chalking up growth of 40% every quarter in mobile device usage, Chief Executive Dick Costolo said on Thursday. Twitter, one of a coterie of Internet social networking services like Facebook and Google Inc's embryonic "Google+", is gearing up for a hotly anticipated initial public offering. But Costolo told reporters they would do so only on their own terms. "We want to be able to remain independent, grow the business the way w e want to, and not be beholden to public markets until we feel like we want to be," Costolo said at Twitter's offices. Twitter, which allows people to send 140-character text messages, or Tweets, to groups of so-called followers, is one of the Web's most popular social networking services, along with Facebook and Zynga. The website has grown into a social phenomenon employed by celebrities and politicians alike, hailed at times for promoting the free flow of global information. Analysts have sought details however on how many of Twitter's registered users are "active", a key metric in determining its business potential. Twitter.com now sees about about 400 million unique visitors every month, a 60% leap from 200 million at the start of the year.

Business Software Alliance -largest culprit behind the US, installing

Almost half of personal computer users around the world get their software illegally, with China's massive market the worst culprit, a report claimed Wednesday. A Business Software Alliance (BSA) survey showed 47 percent of PC users globally believe there is nothing wrong with using unauthorised copies of software programs. This includes buying a single licence for multiple installations or downloading programs from peer-to-peer networks, BSA said. The survey of 15,000 PC users in 32 countries showed Chinese users have the most relaxed attitude to piracy. As many as 86 percent of computer users in the country acquire their software illegally most or all of the time, the survey showed. "The survey makes it clear that the global software piracy epidemic is spreading fastest in China, which is now the worldís biggest market for new PCs," said BSA president and chief executive Robert Holleyman. The Washington-based BSA is an industry group that works for copyright protection and counts among its members some of the world's biggest technology companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Symantec and Adobe. Pirated software installations cost the industry nearly $59 billion globally last year, a BSA report said in May. It said in terms of value, China was the world's second-largest culprit behind the US, installing $7.78 billion of stolen programs last year. The commercial value of pirate computer software used in the US was estimated at $9.5 billion, the BSA said in the May report.

Control Area Network

New vehicles are increasingly reliant on so-called “embedded systems”, small but sophisticated computers that control an array of functions including door locking, engine ignition, navigation, brakes and communications. These systems are in turn increasingly reliant on connectivity via cables, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G networks to work together, meaning they are ripe for exploitation by hackers, according a report by the security firm McAfee. Researchers have already proved that it is possible to breach the security of on-board computers. Last year, a team from the University of Washington demonstrated Car Shark, a software programme that allowed them to take control of the Control Area Network, a standard system in modern cars that allows moving parts to communicate electronically. The researchers were able to disable the brakes in a moving car, lock the doors and shut down the engine. However, the Car Shark team emphasised that their attacks were not easy to carry out.

“Many examples of research-based hacks show the potential threats and depth of compromise that expose the consumer,” said Stuart McClure from McAfee. “It’s one thing to have your email or laptop compromised but having your car hacked could translate to dire risks to your personal safety.” Wind River, an embedded systems provider to car manufacturers, urged the industry to improve its security. “The auto industry is experiencing a convergence of consumer and automotive electronics,” said spokesman MR.GeorgDoll. “Consumers are increasingly expecting the same experiences in-vehicle as they do with the latest connected consumer and mobile devices. However, as the trend for ubiquitous connectivity grows, so does the potential for security vulnerabilities.” The trend towards computerised cars is expected to continue. Google has pioneered robotic vehicles which drive themselves, and in June Nevada passed laws to allow them on public roads.

Canadian Internet users

Hackers hit the wallets of Canadians rather hard last year, according to a study released by Symantec Corp. on Wednesday. The 2011 Norton Cyber crime Report found more than 7.3 million Canadian Internet users fell victim to a cyber attack of some kind in 2010, costing them $840-million in direct financial losses plus another $4.7-billion in lost productivity. That breaks down to about 14 Canadians being targeted every minute, or about two dozen by the time you finish reading this post. Worldwide, more than 430 million adults were victimized at a cost of US$388-billion in direct and indirect losses, or US$100-billion more than the combined value of the global marijuana, cocaine and heroin black markets combined, said the report, which was based on responses from about 12,000 people spread across 24 country es. As well, more than one in three Canadian respondents (35%) said they lack up-to-date security software. “Cyber crime is much more prevalent than people realize,” Mr.AdamPalmer, Norton’s lead cyber security advisor, said in a release. “Over the past 12 months, three times as many adults surveyed have suffered from online crime versus offline crime, yet less than a third of respond dents think they are more likely to become a victim of cyber crime than physical world crime in the next year.” Men aged between 18 and 31 who access the Internet from their mobile device were found to be the most likely victims, with fully 80% of all respondents saying they have been targeted by computer hackers in their lifetime. Wednesday’s release represents the first time the annual study has attempted to calculate the financial cost of cyber crime.