[rajkrish]

New building of CDAC in Technopark

Thiruvananthapuram : January 22, 2009:

The Minister of Communication & IT, Govt of India has approved the award of construction work of C-DAC building at Technopark. RDS Projects Limited will be constructing the building.

Source (http://www.technopark.org/campusnote.htm)
This will C-DAC second facility in the City.

[Sathyalal]

‘BrahMos Aerospace keen to associate with N-programme’

Talking to reporters here in connection with the second phase development of BrahMos’ Thiruvananthapuram unit, Sivathanu Pillai said BrahMos is manufacturing robotic arms for the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai. ``BARC needs remote-operated systems, they are highly sophisticated equipment. The BARC chairman had also visited our Thiruvananthapuram unit. This is going to open up new markets,’’ he said.

Currently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) comprise Brahmos’ main clientele.

BrahMos Thiruvananthapuram is on speedy expansion mode with the second phase expansion to be launched by Defence Minister A.K.Antony on Wednesday, followed by the third phase in six months to one year’s time.

EXPANSION PLANS: BrahMos management is planning the second phase of development on seven acres adjacent to the existing unit at Chackai. This is for augmenting existing infrastructure for large-scale production of the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic missiles. The first missiles will roll out of the Thiruvananthapuram unit by 2011 as planned, he said.

THIRD PHASE: For the third phase development, which includes wholesale integration of launch vehicles for the ISRO, BrahMos has sought 50 acres in Thiruvananthapuram district. The government is reportedly eyeing land at Koliakkode near Thonnackal. The third phase is expected to take three years for completion.
After the KELTEC take-over in 2008, BrahMos has increased output by three times, contributed to some major projects like Chandrayaan I, the `Shaurya’ missile programme and the nuclear programme, Sivathanu Pillai said. ``We can now supply to four PSLVs a year. We also built the main booster of `Shaurya’ missile,’’ he said.

Source (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=%E2%80%98BrahMos+Aerospace+keen+to+associate+with+N-programme%E2%80%99&artid=ftzFFrhSmlc=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=BrahMos+Aerospace+Thiruvananthapuram+Ltd+,++KELTEC&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts)

[chandrurajan]

The 35th National Games will be held across seven centres in Kerala from May 1 to 14, 2010.

The Games to be held for a second time in the State since 1987, will have Trivandrum as the main venue and will have one new discipline in beach handball.

Besides the capital, the Games will be held in Kollam, Alappuzha, Kochi, Thrissur, Kozhikode and Kannur. The format for the Games was decided during the course of a high-level meeting that the State Sports Minister, M. Vijayakumar had with the IOA president, Suresh Kalmadi here on Tuesday.
The demonstration events, kalaripayattu and boat racing, will be conducted in Trivandrum and Alappuzha respectively.

The proposed venues and disciplines:

Trivandrum:
Opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, aquatics, boxing, equestrian, kabaddi, khoo-kho, netball, rugby 7s, taekwondo, table tennis, tennis, triathlon and wushu.
Kochi
archery, badminton, fencing, karate-do, lawn bowls, shooting, squash, wrestling and yachting.
Kollam:
hockey, handball and sepak takraw.
Alappuzha:

canoeing/kayak and rowing. Thrissur: cycling, judo and weightlifting.

Kozhikode

beach handball, beach volleyball, football and volleyball.

Kannur

basketball.


http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/11/stories/2009021155861800.htm

[Sathyalal]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A Life Science Park with worldclass facilities is set to come up in Thiruvananthapuram district on public-private partnership mode.


A Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (KSIDC) project, the Rs 300-crore park will come up on 260 acres at Veiloor village near Thonnackal. A notification has been issued for land acquisition, KSIDC official said.

The park will house a cluster of industries in the fields of biotechnology/ nanotechnology, research institutions and science and technology academia. KSIDC envisages a separate company, Trivandrum Life Sciences Park Company, for developing the project.

The park will assist in exploring new growth avenues for exisiting and proposed R&D institutions and industry players. It will also be capable of addressing IT-related needs of the rapidly-emerging life sciences industry, besides attracting investments in the related areas.

KSIDC will develop the park as a knowledge centre, consisting of incubation and technology development centres, housing biotech companies, drug discovery companies, contract research outsourcing firms with focus on health.

The Park will also feature dry and wet labs, technology transfer cell, computational biology labs, IT centre, digital imaging centre, central instrumentation centre, bio-It software and database library and intellectual property cell.
The project will be developed on PP mode with equity contribution from the Kerala Government as well as qualified private parties.

[Sathyalal]

Kerala State Industrial Enterprises Ltd (KSIEL) has chalked out a detailed project to set up a greenfield air cargo complex at the international airport in Thiruvananthapuram.


KSIEL Managing Director M D Josemon said that the KSIEL would soon appoint a consultant to prepare a project for the setting up of a stateof- the-art air cargo complex at Vallakkadavu at a cost of nearly Rs 90 crore.

“The land surveying is in progress and the government will soon allocate 15 acres of land to the KSIEL.

The state government has given an in-principle approval for establishing the air cargo complex,” he said.

He said that the cargo movement through the airport was expected to go up significantly in the coming years.
The airport is currently no.1 in cargo movement from state.

[Sathyalal]

ISRO gets 27 per cent hike in budgetary allocations
New Delhi (PTI): ISRO today got a 27 per cent hike in budgetary allocation, a major chunk of which is will be spent on missions to moon, development of the semi-cryogenic engine and building a rocket for launching heavier satellites.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) was allocated Rs 4,459 crore, an increase of Rs 960 crore over the previous year's sanction of Rs 3,499 crore, in the interim budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee here.

Development of a semi-cryogenic engine for future advanced satellite launch vehicles has been allocated Rs 75 crore as against Rs 4.09 crore last year. The Cabinet had approved the project for development of the semi-cryogenic engine recently.

Chandrayaan-I and its future missions have been provided Rs 90 crore as against Rs 88 crore last year, while the Geo-synchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III project has received Rs 217 crore as against Rs 240.19 crore last year.
The GSLV Mk III, which will have the capability to put in orbit four-tonne satellites, is expected to be launched later this year.

ISRO's institute for training space science personnel has received Rs 175 crore as against Rs 65.25 crore last year. The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, currently functioning from Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram, is developing its permanent infrastructure at Valiamala in Kerala.
The space agency has received Rs 50 crore for its programme to send a human in space. The objective of the Human Space Flight Programme is to develop a fully autonomous manned space vehicle to carry a two-member crew to a 400-km low earth orbit and ensure their safe return to earth.

The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System, a constellation of seven satellites, has been provided with Rs 270 crore.

The IRNSS is expected to provide position accuracies similar to the Global Positioning System in a region centered around the country with a coverage extending up to 1,500 km from India.

The VSSC, a lead facility for development of satellite launch vehicles, has received Rs 613.42 crore as against Rs 494.69 crore last year.

[Sathyalal]

Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has entered into a tie-up with German cultural centre Goethe Institute Max Mueller Bhavan here to offer basic course in German language as part of its distance learning programme.

The course, meant for students and young professionals, would start next month and its applications would be closed this month-end, IGNOU's regional director Dr B Sukumar and Ruediger Punzet of Max Mueller Bhavan, Chennai, told a press meet here.

[Sathyalal]

Isro set to use indigenously developed cryogenic engine for GSLV launch

Bibhu Ranjan Mishra / Bangalore February 18, 2009, 0:55 IST


"All the previous GSLV flights had cryogenic engines procured from Russia. For the first time, indigenously developed cryogenic engines will be used. This is a development started almost parallelly to procurement from Russia. We have completed all the tests, including qualification and flight acceptance. Now the engine is fully qualified and will be used in the next flight of GSLV," a highly-placed source in Isro told Business Standard.

With an initial project cost of about Rs 235 crore, the work for the development of India's own cryogenic engine was jointly carried out by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Centre in Trivandrum, Material Development and Research Centre at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) and the Liquid Propulsion Test Facility (LPSC) at Mahendragiri in Tamil Nadu. Isro conducted the flight acceptance test of the indigenous cryogenic engine on December 18 last year at the LPSC, which was found to be quite satisfactory.

Isro is planning to use the GSLV for the Chandrayaan-II mission scheduled for 2012 as opposed to PSLV that was used to launch Chandrayaan-I.

read more (http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/isro-set-to-use-indigenously-developed-cryogenic-engine-for-gslv-launch/00/06/349349/)

[Sathyalal]

Things are happening without making much noise in country's research hub. Be it Chandrayan, Cryogenic engine,scramjet,Alzheimer’s, heart valve, robotics etc. We are familiar with VSSC, Sree Chitra, RRL or RGCB.
But Have you ever heard of a research firm working at thiruvallom??

Here is it..


To make a perfect kill


Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Light Logics, a Technopark-based company, has developed professional-grade holographic weapon sight elements, claimed to be a first in the country.

Holographic sights facilitate sharp, quick and easy aiming of weapons.

Light Logics produces and supplies various types of core machines for holography, high-security master security holograms with security features, holographic optical elements, security holograms and diffractive products and materials. The company is supported by the DSIR (Department of Scientific and Industrial Research), Government of India.

Dr Ajith Kumar, CEO of Light Logics, said that the production of professional-grade holographic weapon sight elements was a big step forward and a scientific development of national importance that would help the country in its defence and the onsite operations against terrorists.

Holographic sights carry a set of critical light-diffracting elements that create a virtual spot that is used to target the weapon. It has a wider field of view and hence very easy to align the weapon, even if the target is moving.

An ISO 9001-2000 company, the company is a corporate member of SPIE-USA, Asian Anti-counterfeit Association (AAA), IPAMA and the Optical Society of India and representative of the country in the International Commission for Optics. While the holography laboratory, studio, production and research facilities are located at Thiruvallom, the national-level operations and part of the R&D activities are executed from its centre at Technopark. The Global Operations Centre of the company is in Ras-Al-Khaimah, UAE.

Light Logics Holography and Optics Pvt Ltd at Technopark recently won the Indian Science and Technology Entrepreneurs Parks and Business Incubators Association (ISBA) award for the Most Innovative Engineering and Production Company of 2008.

[PLUS]

One million sq ft hotel cum commercial complex - Spring City Centre

Construction of Hotel cum Commercial Complex ?Spring City Centre? at Sy.No.111, 112 & 116, Village Pangappara, Grama Panchayat ? Sreekaryam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala by M/s. Spring Infradev (P) Ltd. (F.No.21-391/2008-IA.III)


The project involves construction of a Complex on a plot area of 17,240 Sq.m. The total builtup area is 93,200 Sq.m. (FAR area ? 65,876 sq.m. and basement area - 27,324 sq.m.). The total water requirement is 92 KLD (fresh water requirement is 66 KLD). The capacity of STP proposed is 70 KLD. Treated waste water to be used for flushing of toilets - 26 KLD, horticulture - 43 KLD. Total solid waste generation will be 1250 Kg/day. The power requirement is 10,000 KVA. The total parking spaces proposed are for 756 cars + 300 two wheelers. Total cost of the project is Rs. 244.94 Crores.
http://164.100.194.13:8080/allied_envclr/getAgendaMettingMinutesSchedule.do?indCode=NCPJan%2016,%202009

[PLUS]

A happy coincidence, I got the webpage of Spring developers from Scorpiogenius' post at Kochi Now forum (http://www.forum.kochinow.com/) yesterday !

Details and pictures are yet to be updated at the link, but check out
http://www.springindia.in/projects.html

[Sathyalal]

BrahMos Aerospace Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (BATL), born from the takeover of state-run KELTEC a year ago, is eyeing possibilities of participating in the country's nuclear programme, BrahMos Aerospace CEO A Sivathanu Pillai said. "BARC needs remote-operated systems - they are highly sophisticated equipment. The BARC chairman had also visited our Thiruvananthapuram unit. This is going to open up new markets,'' he said.

Currently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) comprise BrahMos' main clientele. BrahMos is on speedy expansion mode with the second phase expansion to be launched by the defence minister, A K Antony, followed by the third phase in six months to one year's time. Its management is planning the second phase of development on seven acres of land adjacent to the existing unit at Chackai. This is for augmenting existing infrastructure for large-scale production of the Indo-Russian BrahMos supersonic missiles.

The first missiles will roll out of the Thiruvananthapuram unit by 2011 as planned. Thiruvananthapuram will be one of the two units in India - the other being the BrahMos unit in Hyderabad - where the missiles are to be integrated. Some of the missiles will be integrated in Russia also, he said. Under the Rs 125-crore expansion planned in the second phase, Rs 75 crore will be for integration of the missiles and Rs 50 crore for adding new machinery to the unit. For the third phase development, which includes wholesale integration of launch vehicles for the ISRO, BrahMos has sought 50 acres of land in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The government is reportedly eyeing land at Koliakkode near Thonnackal. The third phase is expected to take three years for completion.

[chandrurajan]

With the Reliance Communications deal already in its kitty covering the former’s 65 million subscribers, Flytxt, the Netherlands-based technology provider for mobile marketing, is now focusing on capturing more business from the Indian market. The company has a global development centre at Technopark in Trivandrum.



Flytxt currently has 60 professional at its Trivandrum centre, who are engaged in software development, quality assurance, and systems operations and management. “We will be scaling up our Indian workforce to 150 by this year end as we add more operators to our list of clients,” Williams said, adding the company expects to grow over 300 per cent this year, with a majority of the revenues flowing in from its operators business in India.


http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/flytxt-eyes-3-more-dealstelecom-market/352797/

[Sathyalal]

Software exports from Kerala grows 43 percent
By IANS
Sunday,29 March 2009, 20:01 hrs Comment(1)PrintForward
Thiruvananthapuram: While India's overall software exports have slowed down on account of the global slowdown, those from Kerala grew 43.41 percent till February-end, fetching a revenue of Rs.2,300 crore.

"While the STPI (Software Technology Parks India) figures for the country show a growth of 17.62 percent till February-end this fiscal, software exports from Kerala have grown at 43.41 percent," said an IT department official who did not wish to be identified.

According to him, software exports from the state touched Rs.1,750 crore for 2007-08.

STPI, is a society set up by the central government in 1991, with the objective of encouraging, promoting and boosting the software exports.

There are 250 software companies in the state, of which 170 are based in the Technopark information technology campus here and 40 at the Infopark campus at Kochi.

"According to the STPI figures, the Technopark and Infopark together account for 25 percent of the total exports from tier-two and tier-three cities in the country and this is good news for those IT companies looking to shift operations from the metros," the IT official added.

Currently, there are 26,000 employees at Technopark and another 8,500 at Infopark.
http://www.siliconindia.com/shownews/Software_exports_from_Kerala_grows_43_percent_-nid-54377.html

[Sathyalal]

A brilliant spectacle in eastern horizon.

Congratulate the scientists for PSLV-C12.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/04/21/stories/2009042160091300.htm

[Sathyalal]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Technopark and Infopark general bodies, which met here on Wednesday, approved annual expansion budgets of Rs.650 crore and Rs.250 crore respectively for the year 2009-10.

Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan gave these details at a press conference after the general body meetings.

Technopark to start construction activities soon

http://www.hindu.com/2009/05/21/stories/2009052150170100.htm

[Sathyalal]

Technopark contributes around 78% of state's IT exports. Contributes 1800 crores out of 2300 crores of total revenue. Infy alone contributes 400 crores.

read the news (http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753761&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5519598&BV_ID=@@@)

[Sathyalal]

Tata Elxsi gains leeway with global OEMs

BS Reporter / Chennai/ Bangalore June 19, 2009, 0:36 IST

Embedded product design and engineering company Tata Elxsi Limited has said that it will aggressively pursue projects in the automotive and aerospace sectors into fiscal 2010. Tata Elxsi’s development centre in Thiruvananthapuram focuses on supporting automotive and aerospace customers for mission-critical embedded software, hardware and systems.

R Natarajan, VP -Automotive and Aerospace practice, Tata Elxsi, said that India would emerge as a major player in the automotive industry with electronics, electronic design services, software and production activities shifting to low-cost countries.

Tata Elxsi expanded its Thiruvananthapuram development centre last year to meet scale-up requirements of its clients in these industries. The Thiruvananthapuram centre works on advanced automotive technologies including hybrid and electric hybrid vehicles, setting up virtual test environment and executing virtual tests, designing ECUs (Engine Control Units) for various applications, including AUTOSAR (Automotive Open System Architecture) compliance, and deploying model-based design strategies for developing production code.

The increasing complexity of software in the automotive electronics sector has made it mandatory for OEMs to shift to more flexible and reusable software architectures, Natarajan said.

“The oil crisis and recession have increased focus on fuel efficiency and hybrid technologies. Customers in the West as well as in emerging markets such as India and China are turning to smaller, more fuel-efficient cars. We are currently engaged with numerous vendors who are working to realise the dream of viable hybrid cars by the end of 2010. We are offering prototyping and production stage support to our customers globally and are actively engaged with automotive OEMs and Tier 1 companies in their hybrid electric programs. Our understanding of challenges and emerging technologies in this area, and premium membership with consortiums such as AUTOSAR has yielded positive results for us.”


“We have recently bagged a project in the technology-intensive aerospace and defence domain from a European Tier 1 aerospace supplier. We began our engagement with a pilot activity, which has been expanded into a full-fledged development program,” Natarajan said.

[Sathyalal]

Technopreneurs from Technopark have left the rest of the country way behind, accounting for a good 50% of the country and 100% of Kerala.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It was sometime in the making, but now it is official. Kerala’s lowly image of being little more than a banana chips-player in
the country’s industrial sweepstakes is getting turned right on its head.

In the latest report of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, which showcases exciting start-ups from across the country, technopreneurs from Kerala have left the rest of the country way behind, accounting for a good 50% of the projects.

As many as 11 of the 23 latest start-ups showcased by DSIR are from Kerala, including projects that straddle diverse ideation ranging from optimization of a holographic pulsed portrait camera system to a cardiac analyzer, and an automated multi-level modular automobile parking system to a pedestal wet grinder.

Fittingly, the state’s start-ups saga is being scripted at the Technopark, itself a trendsetter in the country’s tech horizon when it was launched as the first technology park in the country before the IT/ITES revolution swept the nation.
The Technopark Technology Business Incubator (T-TBI), which functions under the Department of Science and Technology, is presently incubating two dozen start-ups, all of which are hopeful of emerging as full-fledged companies in the near term.

“The success stories are the result of funding by the DSIR by way of grant and the mentoring we do at T-TBI. DSIR provides Rs 75,000 for viable ideas under the micro-techpreneurial programme (TePP), then a larger funding of Rs 15 lakh at the prototype development level and Rs 45 lakh at the commercialization stage, all as grant. However, many of the technopreneurs have little knowledge outside the tech domain and we provide overall mentoring, including the financial and management aspects”, says K C Chandrasekharan, CFO and Program Co-ordinator for New Initiatives at T-TBI.

He says Kerala has not been entrepreneur-rich but Technopark’s brand strength and the mentoring services offered by T-TBI has been attracting an increasing number of technopreneurs to get their ideas off the ground.

According to Sanjay Vijaya Kumar, CEO of MobME, a mobile media entertainment company and a beneficiary of TePP funding, seed capital is what is often lacking in the entrepreneur eco-system and TePP funding has filled this gap.

Agrees Babeesh C T from Kozhikode, who has developed a wearable ECG monitoring equipment along with his friend Jerry Raj: “Funding was a hurdle and the Rs 2.25 lakh we got from DSIR has helped grow our venture to one that employs 15 persons now”, says he.

T-TBI is presently incubating 24 companies at the Technopark campus, and another 50 companies that were incubated have since moved out to be on their own.

[Sathyalal]

Mohan Lal and Priyadarsan starts new IPL team for the city.

250 crore state of art facility with stadium planned near Kovalam.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Entertainment/Priyadarsan-Mohanlal-to-float-an-IPL-team/articleshow/4671836.cms

[Sathyalal]

TREST Park in city


Express News ServiceFirst Published : 29 Jul 2009 01:42:00 AM ISTLast Updated : 29 Jul 2009 11:04:05 AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Education Minister M.A. Baby has said that the State Government would establish a Thiruvananthapuram Engineering Science and Technology Research Park (TREST Park) at the College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET) here.


He was inaugurating the 70th anniversary of the CET on the college premises on Tuesday.

Baby said that the park would be modelled on the IIT Madras Research Park. The park will act as a link between industry and faculty on the research needs of the former. The establishment of such an institution was one of the major recommendations of the committee headed by IIT Madras Director M.S. Ananth appointed by the State Government to study issues related to the engineering education in the State. The park will be apart from the Centre for Engineering Research and Development announced by the State Government for the CET in the Budget. Baby said that the committee had found that the number of persons joining the faculty of engineering colleges after completing their PhD was very low.


http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=TREST+Park+in+city&artid=5cCvP6Teu80=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts

[Sathyalal]

In all, the company would invest about Rs 600 crore to set up new facilities at Mangalore, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh and Bhubaneswar during the current financial year, according to chief financial officer S Gopalakrishnan.

“The market now is slow. We are readying ourselves to cater to client needs when the economy revives,” he said.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of a CII conference here on Wednesday, Gopalakrishnan said the company would hire about 18,000 employees this financial year. “Offer letters have been issued to some of the campus recruits already and we would take some more freshers gradually.” Infosys currently employs about 10,000 people at its Hyderabad centre.

To equip entry-level employees with more competencies, the company has extended the training from three to six months before putting them to the regular work.

Meanwhile, with an eye on IT products space, Infosys has started piloting a retail product in India and other countries. The product would assist retailers with stock positions and other information, which is done manually now.

On the IT industry, the CFO said most companies impacted by the slowdown would recover in the mid-2010. "This would also increase the employment opportunities and as a result most of the companies would start recruiting around January 2010."

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/infosys-hyd-sez-to-be-operational-in-12-months/365315/

[Sathyalal]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Infotech/UST-Globals-Kerala-strategy-clicks-continues-to-invest-in-clients/articleshow/4894487.cms


UST Global's Kerala strategy clicks; continues to invest in clients
14 Aug 2009, 1

CHENNAI: UST Global, a US-based IT software and services company with majority of its operations in Kerala, is reaping the fruits of the seeds

it sowed a decade ago in the state. The company, being the first mover to Trivandrum in 1999, has the largest facility in the State and is continuing to invest in its global operations. It recently acquired two companies in North America for better hold in that market.

The company has 4800 of its 6000 strong global workforce in India, of which 3500 are in Trivandrum, 1000 in Chennai and 250 in Kochi.

In the long run, the company plans to expand to other tier II and III destinations in Kerala like Kottayam, Kozhikode etc. "We would also be going in for a market issue after the global economic recovery is confirmed," Mr Sudheendra said.

[chandrurajan]

http://i26.tinypic.com/2u7a77q.jpg

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will open the new campus of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology at Valiamala near here on August 25. The Prime Minister will not be present for the inauguration, but will unveil a plaque remotely from Delhi, an official spokesman said.

http://beta.thehindu.com/news/states/kerala/article6554.ece

[chandrurajan]

http://i30.tinypic.com/24bnaqu.jpg

http://i32.tinypic.com/2mq6plj.jpg

http://i31.tinypic.com/2njdkd3.jpg

http://www.biginfra.com/projects.html

http://www.biginfra.com/locationmap.html

[chandrurajan]

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5625/img5398.jpg (http://img269.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img5398.jpg)

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/1756/img5402.jpg (http://img269.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img5402.jpg)

http://img269.imageshack.us/img269/5513/img5401x.jpg (http://img269.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img5401x.jpg)

[nik]

Infosys to open IT SEZ in Thiruvananthapuram shortly

The IT special economic zone (SEZ) being developed by software major Infosys on a 50-acre plot adjacent to the Technopark IT
campus here will open shortly.

The SEZ would have two separate buildings, one is almost ready and work on the other is progressing, said M. Vasudevan, senior business development manager of Technopark.

"Each building has a capacity to seat 1,500 professionals. The first one will open shortly, some last bit of work on common amenities and a food court remains. The other building is also nearing completion," Vasudevan told IANS.

At present, Infosys has a development centre in the Technopark campus that employs more than 1,500 professionals.

According to some officials, Infosys preferred to open both buildings together by 2009-end or early next year after completing all works, but the state government wants the IT major to open the first building at the earliest.

The agreement for transferring land to Infosys for the project was signed in 2006 and the ground-breaking ceremony took place in 2007.

Link: Infosys Trivandrum (http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4936541.cms)

[nik]

'Volkswagen @ Thiruvananthapuram' :previous:

Volkswagen is opening their showroom in Trivandrum shortly...

See the news at EVM (http://www.evmvolkswagen.com/more_news.php?id=53) website

*One of the best car showroom with 3S facility in India
*Spread in about 75,000 sq ft
*Within the heart of city
*Can service about 20 cars at a time

EVM Group MD, Mr. Sabu Johny said ; The opening of the dealership 'Volkswagen Thiruvananthapuram' is the commitment to a great future for the VW brand and the people.

[nik]

Maxartists Technologies to set up shop at Technopark, Trivandrum

Maxartists Technologies, a multi-disciplinary IT company with presence in Germany and Netherlands, is opening a new development-cum-production centre and international marketing hub at Technopark here on Friday. This is the second development facility of the company in the Kerala capital.

The new facility, to be formally inaugurated by Hajo Janse, director, Mobile Innovations, Atos Origin Germany, would help the company to have a stronger presence in the Asian and West Asian telecom market, Maxartists Technologies CEO Roy Thomas said here on Wednesday. The company, he said, already has a strong client network across Europe.

Started in June 2005, Maxartists Technologies provides value added software solutions to the mobile software industry, its expertise extending to niche solutions involving technologies like mobile ticketing, NFC (Near Field Communication) and Bluetooth NFC sticker.

Mr. Thomas said the new office in India is being set up with a capacity to host up to 50 professionals with the aim of developing low cost offshore development capabilities as well as to serve offices of Maxartists worldwide and boost its international sales. The office in Thiruvananthapuram would see further expansion in terms of human resources and thereby augment its development capacity. The company, he said, would continue to enhance its NFC solutions, mobile ticketing systems, mobile applications development (in J2ME, BlackBerry, iPhone, Windows Mobile and Android) and products that follow the business of SMS based communication.

“We have chosen Thiruvananthapuram for this extension office on account of the availability of highly skilled technical resources combined with the facilities provided by Technopark, which hosts the best Indian companies in the industry,” said Mr. Thomas. The group, he said, was also interested in extending its operations to smaller towns in the State as and when facilities were available. With the second development centre in Trivandrum Maxartists will be able to extend its existing cooperation with industry giants like Atos Origin, Sagem Orga and Payter.

Link (http://www.hindu.com/2009/08/27/stories/2009082752441900.htm)

[nik]

PM inaugurates IIST campus in Trivandrum

Hosted on a tele-link from New Delhi, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, inaugurated the new campus of the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST) at Valiamala near Trivandrum on Tuesday evening.

REAL-TIME PROJECTION:

The Prime Minister addressed separate gatherings in New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram in real-time to throw open the new IIST campus that will churn out the next generation of space scientists.

Apart from the Prime Minister himself, three of his Cabinet colleagues and the cream of the country’s scientific community were present at the function held at the Prime Minister’s residence in New Delhi.

Among those present at the function in Valiamala were four ministers of the State Government and top echelons of the IIST and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).

The Prime Minister also inaugurated a new campus of the ISRO at Sadiqnagar in New Delhi during the same function.

This complex would pilot ISRO’s e-initiatives to popularise space technology’s people and development-oriented services, according to the ISRO Chairman, Dr G. Madhavan Nair, who took part in the function in New Delhi.

News Link (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/08/27/stories/2009082752051700.htm)

[nik]

Newly commissioned aerobridge at T2

So glad to see that they opted for the glazed ones unlike the ones in Kerala.
seen with the push back..

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/138/aero2.jpg


http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/6070/aero1h.jpg

[nik]

Skyline Domain update... reaching the top floor

http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/8291/1000708y.jpg

[nik]

Varkey Towers

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8485/img4835y.jpg

[nik]

Cordial Emerald @ Kesavadasapuram

http://img2.imageshack.us/img2/8731/img4840w.jpg

[nik]

Sreedhanya Planet-X @ Sreekaryam

http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/3955/img4841.jpg

[nik]

Legislative complex

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/6164/img4818x.jpg

[nik]

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/775/aircraftj.jpg

Read through
News Source (http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/04/stories/2009090459200300.htm)

Courtesy: The Hindu

[nik]

2-way traffic @ Palayam

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8224/img4836c.jpg

[nik]

Sunny Diamonds @ Pattom

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/3338/img4838t.jpg

[nik]

Premier Building @ Ayurveda college jn

http://img200.imageshack.us/img200/7220/img4834u.jpg

[nik]

Night Life in Trivandrum

Bhima Newly inaugurated Showroom

http://img402.imageshack.us/img402/5807/image0019.jpg (http://img402.imageshack.us/i/image0019.jpg/)

Trivandrum Corporation Building

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/7423/image0021v.jpg (http://img15.imageshack.us/i/image0021v.jpg/)

[nik]

Victoria Diamond Jubilee Library @Palayam

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/8341/img1528n.jpg

[nik]

More night pictures....

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/3547/img1535xbp.jpg

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/5015/img1537h.jpg

http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/3330/img1540g.jpg

[nik]

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/6338/img4819s.jpg

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/5580/img1553b.jpg

http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/1228/img1547p.jpg

[nik]

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3430/img1559m.jpg

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8554/img1563.jpg

[nik]

ASIA TECH IT Park

Please ignore the dates .i forgot to set it correctly

http://img215.imageshack.us/img215/3258/onamcdh005s.jpg (http://img215.imageshack.us/i/onamcdh005s.jpg/)

[Santhosh]

Nik,

Is it an IT park or residential apartments?

santhosh

[nik]

Nik,

Is it an IT park or residential apartments?

santhosh

It is an IT park. Here is the details.

Location: Near Technopark
11 floors, 45 m
Developer:Asiatic Group, Middle East
Contractor: SI Property.

http://img507.imageshack.us/img507/4287/asiatechyl7.jpg

[nik]

Statue

http://img196.imageshack.us/img196/9664/picture366s.jpg (http://img196.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture366s.jpg)

Asan Square
http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/9076/picture345y.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture345y.jpg)

Towards Kerala University
http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/461/picture353o.jpg (http://img156.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture353o.jpg)

[Sathyalal]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said that a delegation from Spain will visit the city in October to hold discussions on the tie-up involving Barcelona and Thiruvananthapuram as capital twin cities.

Inaugurating the bi-annual meeting of the Federation of Residents’ Associations, Thiruvananthapuram, (FRAT) here on Sunday, Mr. Tharoor said the twinning concept was aimed at converting Thiruvananthapuram into a global city with an international mindset.

“The tie-up with Barcelona will help in the exchange of technical expertise and cooperation in the development of our cities. After the visit of the delegation from Spain, I am planning to meet the Mayor of Barcelona next year,” he said.

http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/07/stories/2009090757780300.htm

[nik]

Tharoor wants an International Cricket Stadium in Trivandrum

Tharoor to bat for stadium

Express News Service
First Published : 08 Sep 2009 12:10:00 AM IST
Last Updated : 08 Sep 2009 11:35:10 AM IST

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A world-class cricket stadium in the capital city is a sine qua non for the growth of cricket in the State, Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said. “Land is a major problem here. But I am willing to explore all options that are available to strengthen cricket in the city,’’ Tharoor said during the Kerala launch of the book he co-wrote with Pakistan’s former Foreign Secretary Shaharyar Khan, ‘Shadows Across the Playing Field: 60 Years of Indo-Pak Cricket’ at Mascot Hotel the other day. The event was organised by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA).

One of the options Tharoor mooted was to seek the help of cricket lovers like Mohanlal to raise funds for the purpose. Tharoor also felt that the interest of non-resident Trivandrumites in the Gulf for a city cricket team can also be tapped.

The Union Minister, however, said that a cricket stadium was not among his priorities for the city. Nonetheless, he said he would love to hear a commentary about an international match in progress at the Thiruvananthapuram International Stadium where the commentator describes the bowler beginning his run-up from the “High Court End’’. Tharoor said he would strive for both the High Court Bench and the cricket stadium.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Tharoor+to+bat+for+stadium&artid=LreYK0I6rN0=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts&SEO=)

[nik]

"New development will make Technopark Asia's biggest IT hub"


Technopark CEO Mervin Alexander, who spoke at the event, said that the new power substation now on stream would help the ongoing Phase III development of Technopark gain added momentum.

"Being implemented as an IT-ITeS Special Economic Zone on 92 acres of land, the new development will make Technopark Asia's biggest IT hub with a total 10 million sq ft and a 1, 00,000 strong workforce," Alexander added.

url (http://www.ciol.com/News/News-Reports/Kerala-to-take-IT-deeper-into-rural-areas/9909124750/0/)

[nik]

Aptara Meets Increasing Business Growth With New Delivery Center

Trivandrum Operation to Be Publishing Center of Excellence

FALLS CHURCH, VA--(Marketwire - September 8, 2009) - Aptara, Inc., a market leader in knowledge process outsourcing, today announced a major new delivery facility in Trivandrum, India. This leading-edge facility will be home to a Publishing Center of Excellence and to hundreds of professionals who provide advanced editorial, composition and production management services to Aptara's key customers.

Aptara's new center is located in Trivandrum's Technopark, a 4-million-sq.-ft. campus housing over 150 global enterprises employing 20,000 knowledge workers. Aptara chose the location for its rich base of highly educated talent, state-of-the-art infrastructure, progressive business environment, and advantageous cost base. The Trivandrum operation will be the 4th of Aptara's Indian delivery centers and will bring the company's India headcount to over 4,000.

"Trivandrum represents an important strategic investment for Aptara," said Dev Ganesan, Aptara's president and CEO. "Increasing demand from our publishing clients has created the need for an additional center to provide advanced publishing services on a fully process-outsourced basis," he added. "Building on our deep experience in serving the world's leading publishers, the Trivandrum facility is positioned to become a global center of excellence for the kind of advanced services that publishers worldwide are now seeking from their business partners."

url (http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Aptara-1041002.html)

[nik]

Aircraft maintenance base by December

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Air India’s (AI) aircraft maintenance base, a joint venture of the AI and the U.S.-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing, will be commissioned here by year-end. It is being set up near the upcoming international terminal of the airport on the Chakka side.

The structure for the maintenance base, being constructed at a cost of Rs.70 crore, is coming up in 6.07 hectares of land provided for free by the State government to the national carrier.

“Flooring and other interior works are in full swing. We hope to commission the base by December end,” a top official of the national carrier told The Hindu.

Construction of the parallel taxiway, to bring the aircraft that land on the runway to the aircraft maintenance base, is pending. The work has been entrusted to the Airports Authority of India (AAI). It would be taken up soon, AAI sources said.

The first phase of the aircraft maintenance base was scheduled for completion in March this year. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had laid the foundations for the project along with that for the new terminal complex of the international airport.
Reason for delay

The commencement of work was delayed because demolition of buildings and machinery of the Trivandrum Rubber Works and of the quarters set up by the construction firm entrusted with the city road improvement project took time.

Boeing has agreed to set up the maintenance base here as a unit of the aircraft maintenance-cum-training facility coming up at Nagpur in Maharashtra. The official said the proposed base would take care of the day-to-day line maintenance of Boeing 737-800 aircraft used by Air India Express, the no-frills airline of the national carrier.

The airline hopes that more airlines in the country and abroad, especially the Gulf, would arrive here once the base is commissioned. The maintenance of other Boeing aircraft will be taken care at the aircraft maintenance base in the later stages.

The base is being set up by Air-India Engineering Services, a fully owned subsidiary of AI. The plan is to develop the aircraft maintenance base for Maintenance Require Overhaul facility.

Link (http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/04/stories/2009090459200300.htm)

[nik]

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2512/techtop.jpg

[MINUS]

Trivandrum goes hi-tech! IT Parks in Trivandrum (http://www.trivandrumbuzz.com/trivandrum-goes-hi-tech-it-parks-in-trivandrum/)

[nik]

New four start hotel from MIR group


40 crores investment
construction to start in january 2010
project completion in 2 years


40 കോടി രൂപ നിക്ഷേപത്തില് തിരുവനന്തപുരത്ത് പുതിയ ചതുര്നക്ഷത്ര ഹോട്ടല് നിര്മിക്കാന് പദ്ധതിയുണ്ടെന്ന് കമ്പനിയുടെ ഹോസ്പിറ്റാലിറ്റി വിഭാഗം മേധാവി നിഷാദ് മേനോന് അറിയിച്ചു. 2010 ജനവരിയില് നിര്മാണം ആരംഭിക്കുന്ന ഹോട്ടല് രണ്ടുവര്ഷത്തിനകം പൂര്ത്തിയാകും

Link (http://www.mathrubhumi.com/php/newFrm.php?news_id=1250893&n_type=NE&category_id=7&Farc=)

[MINUS]

When 19-year-old Yanina Wickmayer played the winning shot and ensured a place in the final four at this year’s US Open, Thiruvananthapuram teamed up with Brussels to cheer her. Tennis lovers in the capital city have already begun prayers to ensure that Yanina wins her first Grand Slam.

Two years ago, Yanina had amazed spectators here with her magic serves and mesmerising volleys. She, along with Lauren Albanese, had won the women’s doubles crown in the Kerala Open - 2007, hosted by the Trivandrum Tennis Club (TTC). It was an International Tennis Women’s Federation (ITWF) Tennis Tournament
with USD 25,000 as prize money. Yanina had also put up a strong fight in the women’s singles, reaching the semi-finals.

“She had displayed sparks of talent while playing in the Kerala Open. We have been closely monitoring her progress since then. She is sure to win many more laurels,’’ said Anil Kumar Pandala, who was an organising committee member of the Kerala Open. He said that a number of young players who had excelled in the TTC tournament were now performing very well in the international circuit.

Eighteen women players from across the globe were among the 150 players who had participated in the Kerala Open - 07. The TTC had organised another ITWF tournament in 2008, but is not organising an international tournament this year.

Yanina was ranked 360 when she played in Thiruvananthapuram. At present, she is the world number 53 seed. Yanina is a teammate of Justine Henin to represent Belgium in the Federation Cup.

On Friday, Yanina will take on ninth seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark in the US Open women’s semi-final at Flushing Meadows.

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=City+prays+for+this+Belgian+girl&artid=ZUwiuYK8/cI=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts&SEO=)

[MINUS]

The Technocity project in Thiruvananthapuram and the next phase of development of Technopark will jointly generate at least two lakh job opportunities.

The State Government had helped the cause of the IT companies in the State by helping them tide over the recession by pegging rentals lower by 50 per cent.

“Growth in software exports from the State logged 45 per cent during the recession period against a national rate of 15 per cent. IT exports have grown five-fold over the last three years even as availability of floor space in IT buildings registered a four-fold increase,” the Chief Minister said.

Among those present at the function were Electricity Minister, Mr A.K. Balan; the Law Minister, Mr M. Vijayakumar; the IT Secretary, Mr Ajay Kumar; and the Chief Executive Officer, Technopark, Mr Mervin Alexander.

The total capacity of the newly commissioned sub-station at Technopark is 25 MVA.

Link (http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/09/10/stories/2009091051991700.htm)

Technopark has been the engine of Kerala's IT industry and it will continue to play that role in a dependable fashion, rather than some of 'here today-gone tomorrow' projects which has dogged us in the past.:)

[MINUS]

www.djaqeel.com

Bacardi, Parthas Trivandrum are the sponsors for this event. 6.5 hrs of blasting music and dance starts at 7.00 pm till 3.30 am.

Bacardi and Parthas are coming together for the second time. They conducted a DJ nite at Leela in Feb 09 from 7.00 pm to 3.30 am.

It was a smash hit. Huge crowd!!!!

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/7131/01022009011.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=01022009011.jpg)

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/3083/01022009015.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=01022009015.jpg)

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/1689/31012009008.jpg (http://img34.imageshack.us/my.php?image=31012009008.jpg)

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/1460/01022009010.jpg (http://img36.imageshack.us/my.php?image=01022009010.jpg)

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/7403/01022009014b.jpg (http://img36.imageshack.us/my.php?image=01022009014b.jpg)

[rajkrish]

All the major exporters are TP companies :cheers:

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2512/techtop.jpg

[MINUS]

Source: thehinduonline.com
KSCSTE to set up centre at Kallar
To document data on plants used as food, medicine

Rs.4 crore sanctioned for project

Thiruvananthapuram: The Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) has cleared the decks for the establishment of a Centre for Traditional Knowledge in Food and Medicine. The project will be implemented with the support of the Government of India.

The Department of AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy) under the Ministry of Health has sanctioned an assistance of Rs. 4 crore for the joint venture, executive vice-president of KSCSTE E.P. Yesodharan told The Hindu. The council has identified land at Kallar in the foothills of the Ponmudi to set up the centre that will function as a research institution and centre of excellence.

The project includes systematic documentation of traditional knowledge of plants used as food and medicine, preparation of an electronic database, research and development activities, product development, patenting, technology transfer, commercialisation and benefit sharing.

“It is an attempt to preserve the indigenous knowledge of tribal communities and utilise it for the welfare of future generations,” says Principal Scientific Officer of the Council R. Prakash Kumar. A quality control laboratory and certification centre for herbal products and drugs are also envisaged. The certification centre is expected to help in scientific validation of products developed at the R&D unit, preparing them for the global market.

One of the first activities of the proposed autonomous centre would be a team-building exercise to document traditional practices and knowledge in food and medicine by tapping local healers, tribal folk and farmers. Another critical task would be the scientific documentation of primary and secondary data on the plants used for food and medicine.

This, the council feels, would lead to the generation of a massive database of traditional knowledge — one that would lend itself to continuing academic research, patenting, technology transfer and commercialisation on a benefit-sharing model.

Eventually, the work of such a centre can also lead to the development of a legal framework to protect the traditional knowledge on plants and check biopiracy, the project proposal points out. The institution will network with regional patent offices, international patent authorities and the World Intellectual Property Rights Organisation (WIPO) as well as biodiversity authorities, research organisations and industry.

The proposal highlights the potential of using traditional knowledge to develop appropriate technology. It also stresses the need to integrate traditional knowledge in the planning process for developmental activities at the grassroots level.



Cheers!!!!

[nik]

Heera Four Pillars
21 floors X 4 blocks
Killipalam
Architect: Chandramohan Associates

http://i27.tinypic.com/w6qihf.jpg

[nik]

B]Samrudhi Deepam @ Anayara, Pettah, Trivandrum by Artech[/B]
G+15 floors

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/3830/artech.jpg

[nik]

DJ Aqeel will rock the stage at Hotel Leela Kempinski, Trivandrum on Sept 19


http://i27.tinypic.com/149b8lf.jpg

Link (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Floors++on+fire&artid=fRdW|b6vWKk=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=wIcBMLGbUJI=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts&SEO=)

[MINUS]

http://i26.tinypic.com/2metk6o.jpg

[MINUS]

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/6953/spbcx.jpg

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/346/spbc1.jpg

http://img143.imageshack.us/img143/4087/spbc2.jpg

[MINUS]

http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/2240/sfs1y.jpg

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4240/sfs2.jpg

[MINUS]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Thiruvananthapuram Technopark-based Cell Technologies has unveiled its new interactive tool for students from Class 1 to 10. Christened 'e-tutor', the special tool is based on animation and multi-media technologies and helps students to learn their syllabus in an innovative and effective way.

According to P B Ranjith, managing director of Cell Technologies, "It took five years of intensive research and development by hundreds of academic experts, software professionals, world-class animators and child psychologists to develop such an interactive tool for CBSE, ICSE and State syllabuses".

e-tutor is available in the Kerala market in the form of interactive CD ROMs, online solutions (www.myetutor.in) and also setting up of e-class room concept in educational institutions, he added.

Link (http://www.ciol.com/News/Product-Features/News-Reports/Cell-Tech-unveils-interactive-tool-for-students/9909124809/0/)

[MINUS]

http://i32.tinypic.com/ivlil0.jpg

Courtesy : Srishti web site

[MINUS]

http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/655/royalgreens.jpg

The Project
http://img170.imageshack.us/img170/2485/royali.jpg

[MINUS]

Amsterdam, Netherlands and Trivandrum, Kerala, India : SunTec, the leading provider of convergent transaction pricing and billing solutions for the Communication, Media & Entertainment industry, has partnered with video-on-demand, IPTV and advertising software and systems leader SeaChange International to offer television service providers globally automated provisioning of IPTV consumers and accounts in ‘near real time’, while supporting complex revenue sharing business rules.

Link (http://www.itnewsonline.com/showbwstory.php?storyid=1258)

[MINUS]

http://img36.imageshack.us/img36/4026/aptaraq.jpg

[MINUS]

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/782/carltonprojectstatus.jpg

Courtesy: Website

[MINUS]

West Bengal government has cancelled the IT township project allotted to Infosys. But Infosys is unperturbed. It has set aside Rs 600 crore to invest in expansions across the country and will use the Rs 250 crore allotted for West Bengal for other expansions. CNBC-TV18’s Kritika Saxena reports.

Infosys are planning for future expansion and this could be across their sectors from knowledge process outsourcing (KPO), business process outsourcing (BPO), information technology (IT) etc. From 80-90% of the capacity is being utilized as of now. To give you a brief about the West Bengal expansion plans, approximately a couple of months ago - this could be around July period. The West Bengal government had allotted 90 acres of land to Infosys in order to expand in the Rajarhat area and create an IT township for the project. Infosys had set aside Rs 250 crore. Exactly a week ago, West Bengal cancelled that project. It seems that according to the kind of land availability, Infosys is clear that they will not be getting any other land in West Bengal hence the Rs 250 crore that they had set aside will be now utilized for their other expansion plans. What are the other areas that they are looking to expand in? This is across Pune, Mysore, Chandigarh area where they had acquired land. They would be setting out some space there and also Thiruvananthapuram and even the Hyderabad facility now. The main areas where the investment will be going are spread across from infrastructure, from developing technology to even hiring people. Rs 500-600 crore set aside across the next couple of quarters, hiring will also be on track. The number of people that they will hire will be known in other two-three quarters.

....
We are expanding in Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Chandigarh, Mysore and Thiruvananthapuram. So we have got capacities in all these places.

From Money Control (http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/cnbc-tv18-comments/infosys-plans-expansion-pickshiring2-3-quarters_415453.html)

[MINUS]

Heera Four Pillars
21 floors X 4 blocks
Killipalam
Architect: Chandramohan Associates

http://i27.tinypic.com/w6qihf.jpg
Location map for Heera 4Pillars

http://img34.imageshack.us/img34/7453/4pillarslocationo.gif

Specifications for this Kerala's largest apartment cluster
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/7256/heera4.jpg

Source : Website

[MINUS]

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/3483/parkingk.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/parkingk.jpg/)

Source : Kerala Kaumudi

Thiruvananthapuram: Law Minister M. Vijayakumar has stressed the need for measures to ensure parking space in multi-storey buildings. After inaugurating a parking lot of the Corporation near the Central Railway Station on Tuesday, he said the government was considering a proposal to reconstruct the Central Stadium gallery to provide parking space for 1,000 vehicles. On 46 cents of land adjacent to the Thampanoor flyover, the new parking lot can accommodate 70 cars and 50 two-wheelers. The rates are Rs.5 for cars, Rs.7 for SUVs and Rs.2 for two-wheelers for three hours.

Source : The Hindu

[MINUS]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The South Palace (Thekkekottaram) at Shanghumughom, neglected for more than a decade now, is returning to its past glory.

With the City Corporation taking up restoration and maintenance of the dilapidated Travancore-era structure after several failed attempts, the beachfront palace is poised to turn into a major landmark and tourism attraction of the city. The Corporation plans to turn the century-old palace into a museum showcasing the rich heritage and culture of the city. The project is being implemented in two phases with the structural restoration of the palace in the first phase and setting up of the museum in the second phase.

“The restoration of the palace is a spill-over project of the 2008-09 budget that we have started implementing now at an estimate of Rs.50 lakh. Another proposal to convert the palace into a history museum has been approved under the People’s Plan campaign of the Corporation. We are aiming to complete both these works by the end of the current financial year,” said Deputy Mayor V. Jayaprakash.

Structural strengthening, replacement of damaged tiles and old frames and construction of a compound wall are being taken up. The palace was badly ravaged even before the Corporation took possession of it in 1997 after a prolonged legal battle with the lessee. The natural wear and tear has been accentuated by years of neglect and continuous exposure to the salty sea wind. For the same reason, the palace will require extensive repairs, a Corporation official said.

“At this stage, we are basically focussing on the safety of the building, which means both structural safety and safety from trespassers. We have already completed the roofing of the building. The construction of the compound wall is progressing. The entire maintenance and restoration work is expected to be completed in one or two months,” the official said.

Source : The Hindu

[MINUS]

Trivandrum, September 15, 2009 - Manipal K-12 Education today announced its take over of Tandem, an education and preparatory services provider. Tandem has a network that is the largest in Kerala, spanning 39 centers' in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and 1 overseas centre in Dubai and offers a wide range of learning and preparatory services primarily targeted at segments ranging from high school to the corporate training level. With this move, Manipal K-12 has significantly extended its reach in South India. It currently has a chain of 30 Edurite tutorial centers in Karnataka and 6 in Kerala offering coaching for high school and entrance examinations and is seen as a pioneer in bringing technology to tutoring. Centrum Capital was the sole advisor on this transaction.

Tandem is Kerala's first professional, organized education and training provider with a track record of 15 years and has focused on continuously adding a range of courses to its repertoire of product and service offerings becoming Kerala's most prominent player in education. Annually, Tandem trains over 12,000 students across various courses and their students enjoy a high success rate.

Link (http://www.equitybulls.com/admin/news2006/news_det.asp?id=60466)

[MINUS]

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8479/coastt.jpg (http://img5.imageshack.us/i/coastt.jpg/)

Coming up near Vizhinjam Harbour Road in an area of 5.5 acres.
Construction is being done under the supervision of Military Engineering Services

Source : Kerala Kaumudi

[MINUS]

Renovated Golden Peak Resort inaugurated @ Ponmudi
On September 15, KTDC will introduce Golden Peak, a premium cottage property at Ponmudi, to the public. Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan will inaugurate the property. Golden Peak will consist of 14 rooms in nine cottages. Besides, the property will have a restaurant and a conference hall. Another 15 rooms will soon be added, a top KTDC official told Express.

Of the many Ponmudi-related packages under the consideration of the KTDC, the one-day ‘sea to hill odyssey’ seems to hold tremendous promise.

“A tourist taking a week-long vacation at Kovalam can avail of this one-day package and travel up the Ponmudi hills to the Golden Peak. At the Peak, we will be able to organise eco-tourism programmes like trekking and birdwatching for them,’’ the top official said. The ‘sea-to-hill odyssey’ could, according to the official, add to the tourism potential of Kovalam.

The 100-capacity conference hall, too, has been taken over by the KTDC.

“This means that Ponmudi can be converted into an ideal destination where residential high-level conferences can be organised,’’ the official said.

KTDC has described the latest addition to its stable as, ‘A new high in God’s Own Country’.

Golden Peak will have three types of rooms: Suites, premium rooms and deluxe ones. A suite will cost Rs 4,000 a day; a premium room, Rs 2,500 a day and a deluxe room, Rs 1,900 a day.


Source : Expressbuzz (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=State+adding+a+‘golden’+feather+in+its+cap&artid=GKley8fn4rA=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts)

[MINUS]

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/rajithtvm/veli5.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/rajithtvm/veli1.jpg

Copyright : Rajith

[MINUS]

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/rajithtvm/veli4.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/rajithtvm/veli-9.jpg

Copyright : Rajith

[MINUS]

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/rajithtvm/veli6.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/rajithtvm/veli-2.jpg

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c4/rajithtvm/coctrees-2.jpg

Copyright : Rajith

[MINUS]

Let The Spirits Rise:cheers:
http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/2271/clipimage001sq.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/clipimage001sq.jpg/)

[MINUS]

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/382/photo17z.jpg

Credits : 25Dude25

[MINUS]

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/5995/lake1.jpg

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/4571/lake3.jpg

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/5227/lake4.jpg

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/674/lake2m.jpg

Courtesy : 25Dude25

[nik]

Beautiful place MINUS. :previous:

[MINUS]

Thiruvananthapuram: The Technopark campus here has received certification for environmental and safety standards.

The campus has been awarded ISO 14001:2004 certificate for environmental management and OHSAS 18001:2007 for safety management.

ISO 14001:2004 is a standard certification for meeting Pollution Control Board (PCB) regulations.

Pollution-free
The certification outlines Technopark as a pollution-free campus operating in an environmentally sound manner.

It states that the e-waste management system is a major step towards maintaining the status of the campus as the greenest technopolis.

OHSAS 18001:2007 is a certification secured by Technopark for safety at the workplace through prevention of ill health and injury. The security system, fire safety mechanism and traffic regulation were assessed for employee safety on the campus.

The OHSAS certification will enable Technopark to maintain adequate control on occupational health and safety risks and to improve performances.

‘Achievement’

“Obtaining ISO 14001:2004 and OHSAS 18001:2007 is a creditable achievement in Technopark’s journey to attain still better environs to live and work,” said Mervin Alexander, CEO, Technopark.

Technopark, housing more than 160 companies in the IT/ITES sector, is the only IT park in Kerala to receive this certification and the only IT park in India having ISO 9001:2000, ISO 14001:2004, OHSAS 18001:2007 and CMMI LEVEL 4 certifications.

The leading technical inspectorate, TÜV SÜD South Asia, carried out the certification.

Source : The Hindu

[MINUS]

* UAE Bank Signs up to SunTec`s Relationship-based Pricing and Centralized Billing; Phase-I of Project to Focus on `Customer Benefits Program`
* With a Leading Middle East Port Operator Entering Its Client List, SunTec Forays into Port Operations Billing -- Underlining the Solution`s Multi-Industry
Compatibility

TRIVANDRUM, India & UAE--(Business Wire)--
SunTec, the leading provider of Relationship-based Pricing and Centralized Billing solutions, has announced two strategic wins in the Middle East region,
one of which has helped the company to gain a foothold in Port Operations Billing - its fifth operating domain.

One of the largest banks in UAE has invested in SunTec`s Relationship-based and Centralized Billing solution, while a leading Port Operator of the region has
signed up to SunTec to automate and centralize the pricing and billing operations for their vessels as well as cargo operations, helping them to offer
a convergent bill to customers and effectively manage multiple contracts.

The solution will be implemented in multiple phases at the leading bank, and by the end of phase-I in December 2009 their `Customer Benefits Program` will go live for retail banking.

Source : Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS41729+16-Sep-2009+BW20090916)

[MINUS]

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6142/freetrafficupdates.png (http://img15.imageshack.us/i/freetrafficupdates.png/)

City traffic police to install ‘Free Traffic Updates’ system on major junctions.


LED screens will be used for this purpose.
The system will display vehicle movement/traffic information in major roads/junctions.
Add News India will provide this facility.
The system will display news & other announcements like cricket scores etc. when there is no update on traffic.


This will have a big role once the traffic signal synchronization project gets completed as part of TCRIP…..!!!


Source : Kerala Kaumudi

[MINUS]

NH 47 to be made accident-free

Special Correspondent

2,467 dead, 28,160 injured in 23,745 accidents so far this year

To be implemented in Kaliyikkaavila-Kollam stretch

Stern action taken against drunk or rash driving

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The government proposes to make the National Highway 47 accident-free in stages, Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan told the Assembly on Wednesday.

Responding to a calling attention motion from Joseph M. Puthussery (KC-M), the Minister said to begin with the Kaliyikkaavila-Kollam stretch of the highway would be made accident-free by intense monitoring of motorists using the latest gadgets.

Movement of vehicles would be monitored closely and stern action taken against drunk or rash driving and speeding on the stretch. Highway vigilance committees would also be constituted to minimise accidents at 41 accident-prone junctions, he said.

Mr. Balakrishnan said the government also proposed to start road safety clubs in 200 schools in addition to the 1,000-odd schools which already had them.

There was also a proposal to focus on educational institutions where students used two-wheelers in large numbers.

Helmets would be provided free of cost to the students with the help of voluntary organisations.

The government also proposed to appoint an officer in the rank of Inspector-General of Police to exclusively deal with enforce- ment of traffic laws, he said. The Home Minister said as many 2,467 persons died and 28,160 persons suffered injuries in 23,745 accidents so far this year. The corresponding figures for 2008 were 3,857 dead and 43,273 injured in 36,748 accidents.

The police had intensified the drive against various traffic violations and registered 82,910 cases of speeding and rash driving and 60,371 cases of drunk driving, he added.
Haj pilgrims

Local Self-Government Minister Paloli Mohammed Kutty told A.M. Yusuf that the government would again take up with the Centre the demand that a larger number of seats should be distributed through the State Haj Committee and not through private agencies as was the practice today.

The State Haj Committee had not been able to give seats to as many as 38,000 applicants this year, he said.

Source : Expressbuzz (http://www.hindu.com/2009/09/17/stories/2009091754260500.htm)

[MINUS]

New Kerala airport terminal to open in December

By Ashraf Padanna
Thiruvananthapuram: A new world-class international terminal will be commissioned at the Trivandrum International Airport here by December, ending the woes of thousands of passengers using the existing overcrowded terminal.
“Almost 80% to 85% of the work has been completed and the length of the runway has been extended to 3996 metres enabling the landing and takeoff of big aircraft like Airbus A-380,” Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan informed the Kerala Assembly yesterday, quoting airport authorities.
The new terminal is capable of handling passengers of two AB-300s and one Boeing 747 aircraft at a time, he said. The electric works are expected to be completed by the next month and another month would be needed for the finishing touches.
When completed, this would be the biggest airport in Kerala.
The new terminal has a total built-up space of 28,800sq m and has a capacity to handle 1,600 passengers at a time and 1.9mn passengers a year. There are eight parking bays, four aerobridges and parking space for 600 cars, he said.
“There are 30 check-in counters, 18 emigration counters, three security units, 18 immigration counters, 18 customs counters and four conveyor belts,” he said.
“Besides modern equipment to classify and guide the passengers, the terminal has eco-friendly design, automatic temperature control system, the use of glass provides excellent visual effect at night,” he added.
India’s first non-metro international airport launched the massive expansion project two years back to build the terminal with world-class facilities. The new building also has all modern facilities such as escalators and elevators.
The three-storied building on Chaka side facing the Kovalam-Kazhakkoottam bypass is a tubular structure of elliptical geometry and covered with heat-reflecting toughened glass. The new entrance will also reduce the distance from the city to the airport considerably.

The Rs.2.58bn airport modernisation project is expected to give a big boost to the development of the state capital and its booming IT and tourism industry. The airport receives direct flights from Kuwait, Singapore, Maldives, Colombo, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Source : Gulf Times (http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=315183&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22)

http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/9739/airportp.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/airportp.jpg/)
The Chief Minister Mr.V.S Achuthananthan informed the state assembly that the New Terminal will be commissioned in December.He was replying to Mr.V.Surendran Pillai,MLA.He also informed that 85% of the works has been completed and only the electrical works are yet to complete and may be completed by the end of October.He also told that according to the AAI the electric connection is yet to receive and it may get by November.

Source : Kerala Kaumudi

[MINUS]

Location Map
Near Kinfra Apparel Park and just 4 km from both Technopark and Technocity.

http://i27.tinypic.com/b3jseo.jpg

Layout
http://i29.tinypic.com/ivverm.jpg

Render
http://i27.tinypic.com/1jxc8h.jpg

http://i28.tinypic.com/s32gat.jpg

http://i32.tinypic.com/jv29fd.jpg

20 floors X 4 blocks

Source : Website (http://www.confident-group.com/)

[MINUS]

http://img232.imageshack.us/img232/9991/technoz.jpg
:cheers:

[MINUS]

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As part of its expansion plans, Technopark-based IBS entered into an agreement with Transport Research Laboratory, UK, to
work out travel and transportation safety solutions to be offered to worldwide customers, including governments.

Speaking to reporters after signing the pact, Susan Sharland, CEO, TRL and CEO and chairman of IBS V K Mathews said the tie-up would help work out effective solutions for vital problems faced by surface transportation from road management to pollution control.

A Research and Consultancy firm of over six decades of experience, TRL would join IBS to explore global business opportunities by developing innovative but easy-to-use solutions for effective road management.

"The tie-up has happened at a significant time when increase in fatalities on Indian roads has prompted many state governments to to look for solutions for better transport management," they said.

IBS,which specializes in providing IT solutions to the aviation industry, had in the last few years made strides in surface transportation, Mathews said.

The road management problems were bound to go up worldwide due to a host of reasons like globalization of trade, increase in car ownership, rise in accidents and pressure to reduce carbon emission, Sharland said.

This scenario would make it compelling for all countries to have effective methods of managing the situation with the aid of information and communication technologies, she said.

Source: Times of India (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/news/city/thirupuram/IBS-ties-with-UK-based-TRL-to-work-out-transport-solutions/articleshow/5023133.cms)

[MINUS]

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4099/tialo.jpg (http://img9.imageshack.us/i/tialo.jpg/)

Courtesy : Kerala Kaumudi

[nik]

Low-floor buses ready to ply

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The first batch of low-floor buses will hit the city streets shortly. The routes for the buses, which are likely to come down from
Bangalore to Thiruvananthapuram before the end of next month, are currently being finalised by the City Corporation.

It’s as part of the Urban Transport System under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission that the City Corporation had decided to roll out low-floor buses in the city. The Corporation has teamed up with the LSG Department and KSRTC to make the project work.

A tentative list of bus routes which had been proposed by the KSRTC was handed over to the Corporation by the LSG Department. The LSG Department had given the Corporation a period of three days to come up with suggestions on routes and convey its decision to the KSRTC.

The Corporation Council, on Thursday, approved the tentative list, which was handed over by the LSG Department. The proposed routes start from the city and extend to the outskirts.

url (http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Low-floor+buses+ready+to+ply&artid=HValj3v74RQ=&SectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&MainSectionID=lMx/b5mt1kU=&SEO=Urban+Transport+System+under+the+Jawaharlal+Nehru+&SectionName=tm2kh5uDhixGlQvAG42A/07OVZOOEmts)

[nik]

http://i35.tinypic.com/301hnhz.jpg

http://i35.tinypic.com/10dysr5.jpg

Credits: Sudheesh Nair

[nik]

Tennis Legends in Trivandrum

World's greatest Tennis Players like Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Martina Navaratlova, Pat Cash, John McCenroe, etc. are coming to Trivandrum this November to play at the Trivandrum Tennis Club. This is going to be an Annual Event.



http://i38.tinypic.com/16h5ea9.jpg

Link (http://www.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/malayalamContentView.do?contentType=EDITORIAL&programId=1073753760&articleType=Malayalam%20News&contentId=5990348&BV_ID=@@@)