The Union Cabinet has appointed the Infosys Chief Nandan Nilekani as the Chairman of National Authority for Unique Identity.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ambika Soni said the new authority will function under the planning commission, and Nilekani will be enjoying cabinet tatus.
Ms Soni said the authority will have the responsibility to lay down plans and policies to implement the Unique Identification Scheme and will operate the unique identification number database for the citizen's of the country.
In January the Government of India has notified the creation of the National Authority of Unique Identity.
The ambitious plan of unique identification has been allocated Rs 100 crore in the interim budget of 2009-10.
The unique identification number aims at eliminating the need for multiple identification mechanism prevalent across various government departments, and it will ensure that each Indian citizen will carry a permanent identifier from birth to death.
The permanent identifier which will also cover children, will help in at establishing citizenship, reducing identity related frauds, addresses security issues and prevent leakages in different government schemes.
In the beginning the Unique Identity number will be given to all voters who are on current electoral rolls, and gradually, the other persons including those below 18 years of age will be added to the database. Photographs and biometric data will be added to make the identification perfect.
Outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services Ltd said on Sunday it would rebrand itself as "Mahindra Satyam," its latest step in efforts to recover from India's worst corporate fraud scandal.
Satyam, once ranked as India's No. 4 outsourcer, shocked investors in January with the revelation that it had overstated profits for years.
Tech Mahindra, a unit of tractor and utility vehicle maker Mahindra & Mahindra and 31 percent-owned by Britain's BT Group, won an auction in April for a controlling stake in Satyam.
"We are optimistic that this new brand will re-energize the organization and will be well received by all our stakeholders," Vineet Nayyar, executive vice chairman of Satyam's board, said in a statement.
According to a global study jointly released by IBM and InfoTech Research Group, even in a very difficult economic environment, Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are eager to actively invest in initiatives that reduce the environmental impact of their information technology.
The study is based on a survey of more than 1,000 information technology executives at companies with between 100 and 1,000 employees across industries and in a dozen countries including the India, United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
The findings show that more than 55 per cent of Indian companies are going to, or have already commissioned third-party environmental audits, purchased emission credits, or have made improvements in their supply chain efficiency to reduce energy consumption. 63 per cent of Indian IT enterprises have completed a retrofit of existing server rooms to increase energy efficiency, or have a pilot project underway.
Almost two-thirds of all companies globally are currently, or are planning within the next 12 months, to add virtualization technology to their servers, consolidate storage systems, or retrofit their server rooms.
�Businesses around the world have discovered that going green isn�t just good for the planet; it�s good for their bottom line,� said Ramesh Narasimhan, Director, General Business, IBM India/South Asia. �Green IT strategies are leading to savings in operational expenditure; lower space and power and higher ROI. The findings in this report highlight how mid-size companies are realizing significant cost savings when they adopt Green IT initiatives.�
Significantly, there are compelling business benefits associated with �going green� and reducing the negative impact on the environment is a welcome addition. The driving factor pushing companies to adopt Green IT to reduce their costs while reducing the negative impact on the environment is an obvious additional benefit.
The study found companies typically fall into one of four IT personalities; green advocates, smart spenders, green observers and green seekers. Green advocates, companies that integrate environmental considerations into all areas of their business, makes up about 25 per cent of the companies surveyed. Smart spenders make up 38 per cent of the survey group and are defined as SMBs willing to make upfront investments to achieve a long-term cost reduction. Green observers, who make up 30 per cent of the survey group, do not have specific environmental goals and need management support for initiatives to improve energy efficiency. Green seekers, at 7 per cent, are interested in adopting energy efficient technology but are unsure of where to start and how to quantify results.
Saving electricity requires the measurement of IT electrical consumption, something many companies cannot do. However, the survey finds that more than 50 per cent of companies have implemented some form of energy measurement for their information technology infrastructure, and about one-quarter plan to do so in the year ahead.
About 60% of the total respondents weigh the importance placed on business benefits against environmental benefits, suggesting that IT initiatives to help improve energy efficiency must yield financial returns in order to get the green light.
Countries with some of the highest fuel prices in the world have not, up to this point, turned to remote conferencing and telecommuting initiatives to reduce both cost and energy consumption. The survey found while 50 to 60 per cent of Indian, Brazilian, North American and British businesses are up and running with telecommuting and virtual conferencing capabilities, Germany, France, and, to a lesser extent, the Nordic countries have been slower to adopt these technologies. Initiatives intended to reduce travel are clearly receiving the most attention from geographically �big� countries over the next 12 months. From Brazil to Canada, more than 30 per cent of businesses will aggressively pursue remote conferencing and telecommuting strategies.
Virtualization is also being perceived as a major step in help achieving energy efficient business operation. The rate of server virtualization across most regions (with an average implementation rate of 48 per cent) is evidence that initiatives with a business case comprised of clear cost savings and environmental benefits will win first. For new initiatives to gain acceptance from stakeholders who may be sceptical, a clear case for cost containment, savings or other business benefits must be made first.
Data indicates that IT equipment recycling has shown good progress. Overall, 56 per cent of the companies surveyed have either completed or are implementing outdated hardware recycling programs.
Approximately 23 per cent of IT departments report plans to adopt IT equipment recycling and energy measurement practices within the next 12 months. 65 per cent of all implementations, the study found organizations� initial goals for these projects are met or exceeded.
The Indian marketplace boasts of more than 35 million small and medium businesses and is now competing globally. They will need to gain a competitive edge to win amidst global competition and technology provides them this edge. IBM offers services, research, hardware and software specifically tailored for the SME market in India that can help mid-size companies to be both greener and leaner.
Despite the recessionary phase hitting the bottom-line of the country's IT sector, the northern region appeared to have remained insulated as total IT exports from this region grew by a whopping 30 per cent, with Infosys becoming the top exporter.
Performing against all odds, export of software and IT enabled services from Mohali, Chandigarh and Panchkula have jumped to Rs 1,051.23 crore in 2008-09 against Rs 806.01 crore in 2007-08, as per data provided by Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
"With the global slowdown casting its shadow on majority of industrial sectors including IT, we were unsure of even touching Rs 1,000-crore mark from this region under current circumstances...but the industry has managed to clock handsome growth in spite of meltdown impact," STPI Joint Director Ajay Shrivastava said in Chandigarh.
Of the total export of Rs 1,051.23 crore, the exports from SEZs of Chandigarh zoomed to Rs 318 crore in 2008-09, posting a growth of 127 per cent in one year of its operation.
Infosys Technologies continued to retain the position of top IT exporter from here as its total exports, including SEZ, was Rs 565.14 crore against Rs 342.88 crore in the year-ago period.
Interestingly, the exports of Infosys account for almost half of the total IT exports from the tricity of Mohali, Panchkula and Chandigarh.
Infosys Technologies Ltd chairman and chief mentor N.R. Narayana Murthy Saturday hoped the union budget for 2009-10 would focus on inclusive growth, which he termed as 'the need of the country'.
'I don't have any specific expectation for the IT sector from the budget. But I hope the government will try to bring in an inclusive growth, as it is the need of the country to make sure the poorer people will also benefit from the economic progress,' Murthy told reporters here.
Elaborating on his budget wishes, Murthy said the government should have better focus on healthcare, education, shelter and nutrition for the betterment of the needy.
'We are very happy there is a stable government and that is good thing to the country. I am sure this stable government will do quite a lot for the country because it is free to implement its policies,' he said on the margins of the IT bellwether's 28th annual general meeting (AGM).
Expressing relief over the outcome of the recent general elections, Murthy said a two-party system was a stable model, as evident from such a system in the US, Britain and many other countries.
'By and large, two-party system is a stable model. It is an evolved system,' he pointed out.
Commenting on the severe financial crisis that had led to a global recession of a magnitude never anticipated by critics of the free market system, Murthy said compassionate capitalism had proved to be the only viable system because communism had failed and socialism had not worked as well as everyone wanted.
'Though I don't believe the free market system has failed, as critics have pointed out in light of the global meltdown and financial crisis, I do admit there are negatives in all systems. But I think, by and large, compassionate capitalism has proved to be the only viable system,' Murthy noted.