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Connect-World India 2005     Magazine introduction Connect-World series of magazines is the leading magazine in the telecom and ICT industry that brings together the leading industry players, regulators, associations and governments, to discuss how technological integration and digital inclusion helps reduce the gap the leading industry players, regulators, associations and governments, to discuss how technological integration and digital inclusion helps reduce the gap between the developed and developing world.     Theme: Emerging Technology Emerging Hope (India) Articles Contributors Feature articles     Article no.: 1 Topic: Emerging technologies and India’s participation in the global economy Author: Dayanidhi Maran Title: Minister for Communications and Information Technology Organisation: Government of India PDF size: 76KB   About author: Mr Dayanidhi Maran is India’s Honourable Minister for Communications and Information Technology. Mr Maran was elected to the 14th Lok Sabha, the Indian Parliament’s House of the People. As the representative from Central Madras, Mr Maran is continuing the legacy of his late father, Murasoli Maran, who served in the Union Cabinet in various capacities, including as Minister for Commerce and Industry. Mr Maran has been deeply involved and associated with the Print Media for well over a decade. Mr Maran is a voracious reader and takes keen interest in areas of current affairs, political science, social science, commerce, finance, global trade and information technology. Mr Maran received his initial education in Tamil Nadu and graduated in Economics from Loyola College in Chennai. Mr Maran has attended many educational programmes and courses including the Owner/President Management Programme (OPM), at Harvard Business School, in the US.   Article abstract: India is now one of the world’s preferred providers of IT services. Its telecom sector is a hallmark of India’s economic liberalisation programme. Since ICT is vital to success in the global economy and a tool for raising living standards, the government created a wide range of initiatives to make India a global player in the ICT arena. Partly in response to this governmental support, a significant percentage of Fortune 500 companies have located their R&D facilities in India.   Read the article     Article no.: 2 Topic: e-Governance–empowering the people of Maharashtra Author: Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey Title: Secretary of Information Technology Organisation: Government of Maharashtra, India PDF size: 68KB   About author: Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey is Secretary of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra. Before joining this post, Dr Pandey worked as Secretary to Chief Minister of Maharashtra. As an IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer, Dr Pandey has held various positions in the Government of India and Government of Maharashtra, including Director, Ministry of Labour, Government of India, Private Secretary to the Minister of Food, Government of India Collector, Jalgaon and Deputy Commissioner, Sales Tax. Dr Pandey, a graduate of Electrical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India, has leveraged his knowledge of technology to bring innovation, process reforms and efficiency in the departments he has worked. Dr Pandey earned his MS and PhD degrees in Computer Science from the University of Minnesota, Twin-cities, US. While at the University of Minnesota, Dr Pandey taught computer science to undergraduate and graduate students. Dr Pandey has published and presented several research papers in reputed international conferences and workshops such as ACM, IEEE and SIAM.   Article abstract: e-Government lets citizens access government information and services and gives them the opportunity to participate in democratic institutions and processes. e-Government provides higher quality, cost-effective, government services and a better relationship between people and their government. The Government of Maharashtra Information Technology policy calls for ‘Empowerment through Connectivity’. It is computerising all its departments and administrative units and working to provide universal access to information–in even the remotest areas and to the poorest people–to improve the standard of living statewide.   Read the article     Article no.: 3 Topic: Connecting India Author: Dr Pradeep Sindhu Title: Vice Chairman, Chief Technical Officer and Founder Organisation: Juniper Networks, India PDF size: 56KB   About author: Dr Pradeep Sindhu is the Vice Chairman, Chief Technical Officer and Founder of Juniper Networks. Dr Sindhu left the Computer Science Lab at Xerox PARC to find Juniper Networks. At Juniper Networks, Dr Sindhu played a central role in the architecture, design and development of its first routers and ran the company during its start-up phase. Dr Sindhu is currently responsible for the company's technical road map and plays an active role in day-to-day design and development of future products. At PARC, Dr Sindhu worked on design tools for VLSI and high-speed interconnects for shared-memory multiprocessors. This work led to the commercial development of Sun Microsystem's first high-performance multiprocessor system family. Dr Sindhu played key roles in the architecture, design and development of these machines. Dr Sindhu holds a PhD in Computer Science from Carnegie-Mellon University.   Article abstract: India has more mobile than fixed-line subscribers. A factory worker without a permanent home often has a mobile connection. Internet-based initiatives such as e-Choupal offers farmers the information and services needed to enhance productivity, improve prices and cut costs–all in Hindi. India’s many engineering graduates and first-rate telecommunications facilities have induced global ICT firms, among many others, to establish R&D centres based in India. Many Indians working abroad have returned to India to set-up their companies’ R&D facilities.   Read the article     Article no.: 4 Topic: Emerging broadband technology and the developing countries Author: G.D. Gaiha and V.Partha Sarathy Title: Chairman and Managing Director, and Director (Projects) Organisation: TCIL India, TCIL Board PDF size: 68KB   About author: G. D. Gaiha is the Chairman and Managing Director of Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL), a fully owned Government of India Public Sector Undertaking. As officer of Indian Telecom Service, Mr Gaiha has worked in different capacities in the Department of Telecommunications. Before joining TCIL, Mr Gaiha was Director (Technical) of the MTNL Board in New Delhi. Mr Gaiha has held many important posts in the Department of Telecommunication and has worked as an ITU expert in Pyongyang, North Korea, and Libya, training local professionals in digital transmission. V. Partha Sarathy is Director (Projects) on the Board of TCIL. Mr Sarathy is an officer of Indian Telecommunication Service. Mr Sarathy served previously in the Telecommunication Research Centre, Telecom Commission, Bombay/Faridabad Telecom District. Mr Sarathy was responsible for introducing electronic switching technology for Telex and data networks and for an optical fibre cable-manufacturing factory, near Chennai, that supplies cables for India’s Telecom Infrastructure and exports to many foreign countries. Mr Sarathy is responsible for TCIL’s projects worldwide, with about 20 active operations in countries including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Ghana, Algeria, Afghanistan and Nepal.   Article abstract: The Government of India has given top priority to the expansion of broadband, considered to be essential to India’s economic growth and the elevation of its population’s standard of living. Broadband, over legacy networks, has had little success due both to technical problems and to its limited ability to reach much of the population. FTTH (Fibber-to-the-Home) is today’s best alternative. A single fibber to the end user provides up to four telephone lines, four data ports and video.   Read the article     Article no.: 5 Topic: Business process outsourcing and call centres Author: Shri S. N. Zindal Title: Director General Organisation: Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) PDF size: 76KB   About author: Shri S. N. Zindal is Director General of The Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), an autonomous body under India’s Department of Information Technology, Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Mr Zindal has more than 30 years of experience and has headed major projects in government, private and public sectors. Mr Zindal is a senior member/fellow of many professional bodies such as the IEEE, USA, CSI, IETE, New Delhi, Broadcast Engineering Society, New Delhi, etc. Earlier, Mr Zindal was Chairman and Managing Director of ETandT Corporation Ltd., Government of India Enterprise. Before this, Mr Zindal was Head of the Consumer Electronics Division at the Department of Electronics, now Department of Information Technology. Mr Zindal played a key role in the successful operations of the Electronics Score Board and Public Address Systems for the IX Asian Games in 1982. Mr Zindal is a graduate from Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani and a postgraduate of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur.   Article abstract: Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), call centres and other Information Technology Enabled Services (ITES), delivered remotely through telecommunications, principally the Internet, are driving India’s emergence as a significant factor in the global information society. BPO requires a world-class infrastructure, but industry growth is stretching existing facilities. Government sponsored technology parks provide infrastructure, including in 35 secondary cities. Hundreds of medium and small-scale businesses can serve customers worldwide because of the bandwidth and value-added services they receive from the parks.   Read the article     Article no.: 6 Topic: India: the future knowledge economy Author: Shirish B. Purohit and Deepak Pareek Title: CEO and Founding Director, and Executive Advisor to the CEO Organisation: Midas Communication Technologies PDF size: 76KB   About author: Shirish B. Purohit is the CEO and a founding director of Midas Communication Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Mr Purohit oversees all organisational and operational aspects of the company including business development, project management, technology, applications development, finance and administration. Mr Purohit has over 15 years of experience managing design and development activities in industrial automation, monitoring and control systems, telecom and networking products. Before Midas, Shirish B. Purohit founded Texel Systems, which specialised in automating test and measurement systems. In 1994, Shirish co-founded Midas. Mr Purohit holds a Bachelor's Degree in Electrical Power & Electronics from REC, Nagpur, and an M.Tech in Electrical Engineering from IIT, Madras. Mr Purohit specialised in integrated circuits and systems design. Deepak Pareek, Executive Advisor to the CEO of Midas Communication Technologies is a strategist, speaker and author. Mr Pareek has spoken regularly on topics related to management, banking, leadership and technology at the IMF, CBI, Nasscom, UNIDO, WBG, WTO, AfDB and ADB. Mr Pareek has delivered keynote addresses and workshops at ITFinance Africa 2003, the International Conference on e-business and Telecommunication Networks (ICETE), Portugal, Internet World, Hong Kong, and Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), to mention a few. Mr Pareek has authored articles and reports for Consulting Base, CIO, WSJ, Banker Analyst, The Manager, Strategist, The Bankers and various other magazines and reputed websites. Mr Pareek has earned degrees in electronics engineering and in business, specialising in strategic management. Mr Pareek has served as a visiting faculty member at institutions such as IIM, ICFAI, NIBM (India), KITA (South Korea) and IBBM (Malaysia).   Article abstract: Although much is said of India’s transformation into an ICT economy, vanquishing socio-economic challenges, illiteracy, poverty and the digital divide, 79 per cent of India’s population lives in villages without the infrastructure to sustain a knowledge economy. Even if the most optimistic projections of IT-related job creation come true, this industry will employ at the most a couple of million people. Moreover, business process outsourcing is a commodity; competition is driving prices down and many call centres are already struggling.   Read the article     Article no.: 7 Topic: Satellite technology–an emerging hope for India Author: Conny L. Kullman Title: Chief Executive Officer Organisation: Intelsat, Ltd PDF size: 80KB   About author: Mr Conny L. Kullman is the Chief Executive Officer of Intelsat, Ltd. Mr Kullman spearheaded Intelsat’s successful change from a treaty-based intergovernmental cooperative to a fully commercial private company. Mr Kullman has had a long career at Intelsat, where he has served in a series of increasingly important positions, including as VP and Chief Information Officer and as VP of Operations and Engineering. Before joining Intelsat, Mr Kullman was a Senior System Design Engineer at SAAB Space AB in Sweden. Mr Kullman received a Master of Science degree in Electronic Engineering from Chalmers University of Technology, in Gothenburg, Sweden. Mr Kullman is a member of the Washington Space Business Roundtable, the Society of Satellite Professionals International and the International Academy of Astronautics.   Article abstract: India’s continuing economic growth, its educational system, social services and access to medical care, will all depend in good part upon its ability to roll out its communications infrastructure, especially in rural areas. Satellite-based backhaul networks, which can rapidly re-allocate bandwidth, provide lower operational and deployment costs, especially in difficult or remote regions. Satellite systems will also help India meet its ambitious Internet and broadband connectivity goals in the coming years and compete effectively in the world’s markets.   Read the article     Article no.: 8 Topic: Emerging technology, emerging hope Author: Michael Butler Title: Chief Operating Officer Organisation: Inmarsat Ltd PDF size: 112KB   About author: Michael Butler is chief operating officer of Inmarsat Ltd., where his primary role is to manage all aspects of Inmarsat’s global core business in the land, aeronautical and maritime markets, and to grow the company’s revenues and profitability. Mr Butler has over 17 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, commencing his career at BT International, where he served as an account director for one of BT’s top 50 accounts. Mr Butler joined MFS, later acquired by WorldCom, where he was responsible for sales management and business development. Mr Butler then spent two years as director of customer champions before assuming the role of managing director, MCI WorldCom UK.   Article abstract: Large parts of India’s population are still beyond the reach of telecommunications. Even where mobile networks are available, they are unlikely to be able to deliver the high-speed data capability needed. This lack of infrastructure often means that local populations have little or no access to information, medical services and educational facilities. Satellite communications can reach rural communities and provide such services as distance learning disaster relief support, telemedicine and weather, market and agricultural information to support community needs.   Read the article     Article no.: 9 Topic: WiMAX in India: affordable broadband connectivity for Author: Pierre St-Arnaud Title: President and Chief Executive Officer Organisation: SR Telecom Inc PDF size: 84KB   About author: Pierre St-Arnaud is the President and Chief Executive Officer of SR Telecom. Mr St-Arnaud joined SR as President and Chief Operating Officer. Mr St-Arnaud possesses a wide range of international experience in high technology, value-added manufacturing and engineering companies. Prior to joining SR Telecom, Mr St-Arnaud held executive positions at Hydro Quebec and ABB. Mr St-Arnaud holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from Université du Québec à Montréal and a Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal.   Article abstract: Teledensity in India is quite low and access to broadband is lower still. The capital needed to deploy traditional ‘last mile’ connectivity solutions throughout the country is prohibitive. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) believes broadband access can help businesses, education, healthcare and government, create jobs and increase the GDP. WiMax technology supports both high-quality voice and broadband data services at a fraction of the infrastructure cost of equivalent wireline solutions. Additionally, deployment of WiMAX is fast and relatively easy.   Read the article     Article no.: 10 Topic: Unwiring the Internet for regional development Author: Sriram Bala Title: Vice President, Products and Strategy Organisation: Jataayu Software PDF size: 60KB   About author: Sriram Bala is Vice President, Products and Strategy at Jataayu Software, Bangalore. Mr Bala has been in the software industry for 12 years, and was until recently the Chief Architect for Enterprise and Pervasive Computing at eJiva Inc. Before that, Mr Bala served as Managing Director and Chief Technology Officer at iGate Corporation. Apart from his experience in wireless, pervasive computing, personalisation and distributed computing technologies, Mr Bala worked with venture capital as an active member of iGate Capital's Venture Fund. At Jataayu Software, Mr Bala focuses on emerging trends in the wireless industry and works actively in helping define the technology and product roadmap along with the engineering and marketing team.   Article abstract: To spur regional development in India’s rural regions, the challenge is to build the infrastructure, provide access and develop relevant and local language applications. There, a robust cost-effective broadband wireless infrastructure can play a pivotal role in bridging social and economic divides. Simplified Internet appliances and wireless video and audio communications can help communities work together for their mutual benefit. A new class of entrepreneurs is targeting regional communities as the customer base for technologies especially suited to India’s demographics.   Read the article     Article no.: 11 Topic: Wiring India end-to-end Author: Shri K. K. Bajpeyee Title: Managing Director Organisation: RailTel Corporation of India Ltd PDF size: 80KB   About author: Shri K. K. Bajpeyee is the Managing Director of RailTel Corporation of India Ltd. Previously, Mr Bajpeyee worked as Additional Member, in Charge of Signalling, at the Ministry of Railways’ Railway Board. Mr Bajpeyee has vast experience in general management and in the signalling and telecommunication field on Indian Railways. Mr Bajpeyee has worked as Divisional Railway Manager at Bangalore and Chief Signal and Telecommunication Engineer/Southern Railway, Chennai, in addition to other Senior Technical and Management positions. Mr Bajpeyee has also worked as a Telecommunication Consultant for the Mozambique National Railways. Mr Bajpeyee, BSc, BA (Hons), received specialised Management Training on British Rail and at the Manchester Business School (UK). Mr Bajpeyee has also travelled widely, studying railway signalling and telecommunication systems in the UK, France, Germany, the US and Australia.   Article abstract: Telecommunication is a key to economic and social development. Seventy per cent of the Indian population is rural, but the rural economy only generates 25 per cent of India’s GDP. RailTel’s network, connecting much of rural India, reduces costs for service providers, so they can profitably offer rural connectivity. Rural India also needs useful applications and content, particularly to support its rural micro-enterprises. Urban India, indeed the government itself, might outsource some of its IT based services to rural India to boost the local economy.   Read the article     Article no.: 12 Topic: Mobilising economic potential through technology Author: P. R. Venketrama Raja Title: Vice Chairman, Managing Director and CEO Organisation: Ramco Systems PDF size: 64KB   About author: P. R. Venketrama Raja is the Vice Chairman, Managing Director and CEO of Ramco Systems. The company was established in 1989, with a mission to create a world-class information technology company focused on enterprise management applications and emerging technologies. PRV, as he is known, is driven by the philosophy that ‘technology keeps you ahead’. PRV is a director on the Board of Ramco Group companies and brings with him a wealth of business experience and strategic management skills. PRV holds a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Madras, India, and a Master’s degree in Business Management from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, US. PRV is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organisation.   Article abstract: Companies rely on information technology and enterprise solutions to operate and improve their businesses. Although software packages exist, one solution does not serve all and change is inevitable. Model-based architectures, model the business processes, business rules and business data as meta-data that business people can view and understand, and then automates the majority of the development of the software for the application. This allows quick, low-cost deployment of seamless business applications that are easy to change as needed.   Read the article     Article no.: 13 Topic: Bridging the gap: SMS-based mobile data services for rural India Author: Vijay Shukla Title: Country Head, India Organisation: ValueFirst Messaging Private Ltd PDF size: 60KB   About author: Vijay Shukla is the Country Head in India for ValueFirst Messaging Private Limited. ValueFirst provides mobile messaging to a large number of corporations and enterprises. Mr Shukla is an engineer and MBA and has been a management consultant with a big four consulting firm. Mr Shukla has nine years of experience, primarily in mobile messaging based innovative applications and services. Mr Shukla is based in Gurgaon, India.   Article abstract: Short Message Service (SMS) lets users send messages from their mobile phones to other mobiles and to email, paging or voice-mail systems. It needs little bandwidth, works well in poor signal areas, is easy and inexpensive to implement. Users need only a mobile phone; a used phone costs only US$20 in India. SMS also deals easily with local languages–indispensable for reaching out to India’s masses. Planned SMS mobile applications include m-governance, m-medicine, m-weather, m-marketplace, m-education and m-disaster management.   Read the article Confirmed authors (Order by article no.)   Dayanidhi Maran Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Government of India   Dr Ajay Bhushan Pandey Secretary of Information Technology, Government of Maharashtra, India   Dr Pradeep Sindhu Vice Chairman, Chief Technical Officer and Founder, Juniper Networks, India   G.D. Gaiha and V.Partha Sarathy Chairman and Managing Director, and Director (Projects), TCIL India, TCIL Board   Shri S. N. Zindal Director General, Software Technology Parks of India (STPI)   Shirish B. Purohit and Deepak Pareek CEO and Founding Director, and Executive Advisor to the CEO, Midas Communication Technologies   Conny L. Kullman Chief Executive Officer, Intelsat, Ltd   Michael Butler Chief Operating Officer, Inmarsat Ltd   Pierre St-Arnaud President and Chief Executive Officer, SR Telecom Inc   Sriram Bala Vice President, Products and Strategy, Jataayu Software   Shri K. K. Bajpeyee Managing Director, RailTel Corporation of India Ltd   P. R. Venketrama Raja Vice Chairman, Managing Director and CEO, Ramco Systems   Vijay Shukla Country Head, India, ValueFirst Messaging Private Ltd