Bangalore - IT Parks & IT SEZs thread

[vinodkumaryadav]

hmm

[dino_srk]

At a time when shaky global economic cues have pushed most companies to postpone real estate investments, India’s third-largest software exporter Wipro is finalising plans to build its largest campus that can house at least 30,000 employees in Bangalore.

The new campus, whose first phase is expected to have a builtup space of 2.5 million square feet, will come up on a 50-acre plot that is 4 km away from its existing 1.9 million sq ft campus in Sarjapur. This will be in addition to Wipro’s existing campuses across the country and is not aimed at consolidating operations. Currently, the software major’s headcount stands at about 138,000 employees. “We are currently in the process of finalising the master plan for the new campus,” said Hariprasad Hegde, a vice-president and global head of operations at Wipro. He did not provide details on the developer of the project or how much it would cost.

The Sarjapur facility — the largest for the company so far — accommodates nearly 31,000 employees.
The proposal to develop an additional campus was pending for sometime due to issues with land approvals. However, these have now been sorted out and the company has received the go-ahead for the project.

Software biggies have been investing in new development centres to cater to future growth even though the current industry situation is not encouraging. In October, India’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services also announced plans to build a 1.5 million sq ft facility in Indore.

Wipro added 13,000 employees last fiscal. The hiring pace has slowed down this year as the employee churn has stabilised.

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...rue&Skin=ETNEW

[JhonJ]

Originally Posted by dino_srk

At a time when shaky global economic cues have pushed most companies to postpone real estate investments, India’s third-largest software exporter Wipro is finalising plans to build its largest campus that can house at least 30,000 employees in Bangalore.

The new campus, whose first phase is expected to have a builtup space of 2.5 million square feet, will come up on a 50-acre plot that is 4 km away from its existing 1.9 million sq ft campus in Sarjapur. This will be in addition to Wipro’s existing campuses across the country and is not aimed at consolidating operations. Currently, the software major’s headcount stands at about 138,000 employees. “We are currently in the process of finalising the master plan for the new campus,” said Hariprasad Hegde, a vice-president and global head of operations at Wipro. He did not provide details on the developer of the project or how much it would cost.

The Sarjapur facility — the largest for the company so far — accommodates nearly 31,000 employees.
The proposal to develop an additional campus was pending for sometime due to issues with land approvals. However, these have now been sorted out and the company has received the go-ahead for the project.

Software biggies have been investing in new development centres to cater to future growth even though the current industry situation is not encouraging. In October, India’s largest software exporter Tata Consultancy Services also announced plans to build a 1.5 million sq ft facility in Indore.

Wipro added 13,000 employees last fiscal. The hiring pace has slowed down this year as the employee churn has stabilised.

Source: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Defau...rue&Skin=ETNEW

Atleast with upcoming IT companies on sarjapura and companies like Wipro , Infosys Largest campuses on their way in sarjapura , BMRCL should take up Electronic City to Whitefield via sarjapura Namma Metro Line in Phase II itself.

[strike2]

There are couple of renders of Infosys, Bangalore in projects ->IT parks
http://www.hafeezcontractor.com/

Are they really going to build it??

[satinderbal]

Great builing . I love to live here.
Whom should i contact for the price.

[gentem]

Indian IT companies will continue to get tax benefits: Finance Ministry
ET Bureau | Jan 18, 2013, 11.22 AM IST
Finance ministry said, Indian IT firms such as Infosys, Wipro, and TCS will continue to get tax exemptions.

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry has said software development at client locations and deployment of personnel abroad by Indian IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro, and TCS will continue to get tax exemptions, drawing cheer from the $100 billion sector.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes said 'onsite' work at client locations by software firms would be treated as deemed exports, making them eligible for tax benefits. It also said deployment of manpower abroad and transfer of a software unit from one special economic zone to another would not impact these concessions.

"We hope that these clarifications will set the disputes to rest," CBDT chairperson Poonam Kishore Saxena told reporters.

The clarifications are based on the recommendations of a panel headed by former CBDT Chairman N Rangachary, set up by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh following representations from industry.

The clarifications address key concerns of the software sector over the stability of tax exemptions enjoyed by them under various schemes, after tax authorities started issuing notices and raising tax demands.

The industry was quick to cheer the announcement, but said past assessments and denials of benefits should be resolved in line with the latest clarifications.

"While this is a positive step, it is important that the implementation is carried on efficiently. We urge that benefits denied in the past be reviewed in light of this move, and there be swift closure of cases for the Industry to benefit from this," Nasscom President Som Mittal said in a statement.

Nasscom represents the $100 billion Indian IT-ITeS industry, which earns almost $79 billion from exports. India accounts for less than 5% of global technology spending.

"These clarifications largely address most of industry's concerns," said Pranav Satya, partner, Ernst & Young.

The clarifications issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes come days before Finance Minister P Chidambaram embarks on a visit to Hong Kong and Singapore to woo investors.

Software companies enjoy tax exemptions under special economic zone scheme and software technology park scheme, but disputes arose between the industry and the tax department after exemptions available on export of software services were denied on various grounds.

Different interpretations of existing laws gave rise to disputes and litigation.

"It is clarified that the software developed abroad at a client's place would be eligible for benefits under the respective provisions, because these would amount to 'deemed export' and tax benefits would not be denied merely on this ground," the Central Board of Direct Taxes said in a statement.

But the CBDT said a "direct and intimate" connection would be necessary between development of software abroad and the units to be eligible for tax benefit. Also, the development of software would have to follow a contract between clients and the eligible unit.

However, it also clarified that the tax benefits would not be denied merely on the grounds that a separate and specific master service agreement, which firms enter into with their clients for specific works, does not exist.
"The statement of work would normally prevail over the master service agreement in determining the eligibility for tax benefits," it said.

The CBDT said exemptions will not be denied to a unit in case it changes hands from one owner to another. It has also done away with the requirement to maintain separate books of accounts for units enjoying tax exemptions under different schemes.

The CBDT said that research and development activities embedded in engineering and design will be covered under computer software and enjoy tax benefits.

all hail chidambaram

[gentem]

Filipino cities gain in outsourcing ranking
Mini Joseph Tejaswi, TNN | Jan 22, 2013, 06.21AM IST

BANGALORE: The Philippines, led by its capital Manila and followed by secondary cities such as Cebu, Mandaluyong and Taguig, has emerged as a key IT/ITeS destination, posing a challenge to India's outsourcing story.

The latest annual ranking of the top 100 global outsourcing destinations by Tholons, an advisory firm for global outsourcing and research, places Manila at No. 3, up from No. 4 in last year's survey. It has pushed Delhi down to No. 4. Cebu City too went up one rank in the top 10, pushing Dublin (Ireland) down. Indian dominance continues though, with six Indian cities in the top 10 and Bangalore still the No. 1.

The critical factors that are adding momentum to Philippines are its cultural and accent similarities with the US, cost competitiveness, and a strong positive perception of BPO careers (they are not stop-gap careers like in India). The Philippines government is also keeping its focus firm on the development of the industry through grants and infrastructure developments.

Salil Dani, practice director at outsourcing advisory and research firm Everest Group, said the Philippines is cheaper by up to 70% for US companies. "The country is the leader in voice (call centres). But its non-voice story is still untold. A lot of Indian and global BPOs in the financial, analytical, HR and people-based services are expanding in the country. The Philippines' current IT/ITeS market is $14 billion, of which IT is only $2 billion. But remember, a few years ago the total market was barely $7 billion. Look at the way it's catching up," said Dani. Ankita Vashistha, managing director, Tholons, said costs are rising in India. "Infrastructure and quality of life are also under pressure in Indian cities and these could impact growth in the future," she said.

Convergys, a US-based customer management solutions company, has 18 call centres in the Philippines. UnitedHealth, a US-based healthcare provider, has back-office operations in Taguig City. EXL is opening its third centre in Cebu City. IBM is planning to grow its BPO services in the country, focusing on higher value analytics and high-value customer support services. Wells Fargo & Co is setting up a business support centre in Taguig City to provide customer service and back office services. JP Morgan Chase has recently expanded in Manila by establishing a 1,000-employee facility.



Sanjay Dhawan, executive director at PricewaterhouseCoopers, said local government had created a lot of momentum. "More and more corporations are keen to expand to the country as no one wants to put all their eggs in the same (India) basket."

Pradeep Udhas, executive director at KPMG, said the Philippines had learned lessons from India in terms of best practices, talent management and handling taxation challenges. Som Mittal, president of Indian IT/ITeS industry body Nasscom, dismissed concerns that India had reasons to worry: "Our own companies are expanding to the region. Outsourcing is a global play. So it's less about competition and more about partnership."

Malaysian cities have also moved up in Tholons listing, as have Latin American cities. Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, has moved up six places to No. 37, Bogota, capital of Colombia, has moved up six places to No. 49, and Medellin, Colombia's second largest city, has moved up seven places to No. 53. This indicates a sense of urgency in Latin American countries to explore new industries like outsourcing, said the Tholons report.

seems delhi is sliding... hope pune overtakes hyderabad and chennai This outsourcing is mostly finance and customer support, not mainly IT

[dino_srk]

Bangalore on top for the 6th Year in a row

[pkrm]

hyd will always be above smaller cities like pune overtake?? Not even in a century

[mangalore mania]

FireEye to set up R&D facility in Bangalore

California-based cyber security firm FireEye plans to invest $50 million over the next 4-5 years

California-based cyber security firm FireEye plans to invest $50 million over the next 4-5 years in setting up an R&D facility at Bangalore for developing internet security products.

The India center would hire around 250 people, said Ashar Aziz, founder and CTO, FireEye.

The company also announced appointment of Sridhar Jayanthi as the Vice President (R&D) and Managing Director, India operations.

Prior to joining FireEye, Jayanthi was McAfee’s managing director and senior vice president (engineering). The FireEye platform has 1000-odd customer, spread over 40 countries, Aziz said.

Founded in 2004, key investors in FireEye include Norwest Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, and Juniper Networks.

[gentem]

Indian IT firms double market share in 6 years
Shilpa Phadnis TNN

Bangalore: Indian IT outsourcers have more than doubled their share in total worldwide spends over the past six years. The bigger Indian infotech companies have outpaced their multinational counterparts over this period.
Indian IT companies accounted for $31 billion, or 4.8%, of the worldwide IT spending of $641 billion in 2006-07. This year, it is estimated at $77 billion, or 9.8%, of the global spending of $785 billion, according to research by brokerage firm Angel Broking.
The research also looks at 13 of the top global IT outsourcers — 8 MNCs and 5 Indian — and finds that the Indian outsourcers’ share in the total revenues of the 13 companies has risen from 7.7% in fiscal 2007 to 14.3% in fiscal 2012. That of the multinationals has dipped from 92.3% to 85.7%.
IBM’s share in the revenues of the 13 companies dropped from 29.8% to 26%, Japanese IT company Fujitsu’s share fell from 19.5% to 15%. On the Indian side, TCS increased its share from 2.6% to 4.4%, Infosys from 1.9% to 3%, and Cognizant from 0.9% to 2.6%.
Angel Broking’s report explains Indian companies’ gains saying that although the labour cost advantage for Indian IT has been in decline, there is still a comfortable, 20%-25% cost saving for clients along with availability of a young workforce.
Pradeep Udhas, partner and head of IT/ITeS in consultancy firm KPMG India, says Indian companies have developed people capabilities and moved up the value chain to pitch for bigger contracts. “Many companies have opted for fixed-price contracts and transformational engagements. Previously, Indian players were grouped together based on low-cost offerings sans any differentiation. Companies like Accenture and IBM made a positive impact on business issues especially around strategy. But in the past few years, Indian IT companies are able to sell a differentiated proposition, deepening the client relationship,” he adds.
Siddharth Pai, partner and MD of outsourcing advisory firm ISG, notes that not just Indian, even other regional IT players are steadily winning market share. “Companies like Xchanging and Atos are chipping away market share from MNCs with their specialized offerings.” Need to develop analytics and big data solutions
Angel Broking expects Indian IT companies to continue gaining share “going forward”, but Pai strikes a note of caution. He said offshore services driven by labour arbitrage had a limited play. “Indian IT companies have over 40% share in the traditional application development and maintenance business. But we need to develop capabilities in analytics, big data and software solutions. The play is about those services that are not offshored yet. Indian companies also have low onshore presence in areas like consulting,” he said.
This partly explains why the growth rate of Indian IT companies has moderated -- from a CAGR of 40% between 2003-07 to 15.9% between 2007-13. Angel Broking too agrees that this slowdown was partly because of increasing commoditization of application development and maintenance. “The growing offshore employee base of MNCs like IBM, Accenture and CapGemini have also contributed to the decline,” it said.

great news.. still 9.8% is small and there is a big opportunity

[naveen_blr]

Originally Posted by gentem

Indian IT firms double market share in 6 years
Shilpa Phadnis TNN


great news.. still 9.8% is small and there is a big opportunity

CTS is an MNC.

[mangalore mania]

Persistent Systems to open facility in Bangalore

PUNE, APRIL 4:
Software product and technology services major Persistent Systems has announced that it will open a new facility in Bangalore at Sarjapur Road. This is in-line with on-going expansion strategy.

read more: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle4580191.ece

[gentem]

Govt tries to breathe life into SEZs
Cuts Area Requirement, Allows Exits But Minimum Alternate Tax Stays
TIMES NEWS NETWORK

NewDelhi:The government on Thursday announced measures to revive interest in special economic zones (SEZs) and boost investment, but the much-vaunted Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) fell short of concrete steps to revive the export sector reeling under the burden of the global economic slowdown and rising input costs.
There was a promise of more to come with the Reserve Bank of India reviewing the dollar-credit window for exporters. Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma also indicated that steps to boost gems and jewellery sector may be announced next month. A new task force on reducing transaction costs was also set up, a move that will bring much needed cheer to the industry which loses cost advantage due to procedural hurdles. But the key element of the “package” announced by Sharma was the move to halve the minimum area requirement for the enclaves. Those setting up information technology zones will not even have to worry about the minimum land requirement of 10 hectares as Sharma did away with the stipulation. Flexibility has been offered to other developers as well with the government also providing an exit policy for SEZ units. But as reported by TOI on March 30, finance minister P Chidambaram refused to provide tax concessions, including doing away with minimum alternate tax, a major demand of the commerce department and SEZ developers, while agreeing to measures that will not have a bearing on revenue collections. Sharma was candid enough to admit that the tight fiscal situation played a part in policy formulation, although in the Budget, Chidambaram had promised measures to revive exports and bridge the current account deficit.
For Sharma’s department, which had been pushing for changes for 14 months, even in its present form, the new regime will provide major comfort. But the announcements turned the FTP into SEZ policy session with Sharma limiting himself to announcing a series of extensions in schemes — from interest subsidy to Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG). Under EPCG, the government promised simplified norms for companies importing capital goods, provided exports by them were six times the duty saved in the import of machinery. Of course, with the current fiscal being the last year of the current five-year policy, the minister was not in a position to announce major changes.
BOOSTER DOSE
Minimum area for multi-product SEZs reduced from 1,000 hectares to 500 hectares
For sector-specific zones, area requirement halved to 50 hectares
10 hectare requirement for IT enclaves removed but minimum built-up area required to be met
Zones with each contiguous 50 acre parcel can set up additional sector specific SEZs

Anybody knows what is the minimum built up area requirement? with this IT sezs can come up at heart of the city with easy access to all, instead of outskirts where 25 acre land is available this may help tier 2 cities too. however lure of sez's reduced since introduction of MAT.

[avinash2060]

[avinash2060]

[avinash2060]

[naveen_blr]

NEW DELHI/BANGALORE: Global technology firm Honeywell Technology Solutions (HTS) is taking up a million sq ft of office space in Bangalore, making it the second-biggest office leasing deal in the country in the last two years. At 48 per sq ft, Honeywell Technology Solutions will pay an annual rental of close to Rs 58 crore for the office space in RMZ's special economic zone, RMZ Ecoworld, people familiar with the transaction said.

A spokesperson for Honeywell confirmed the transaction but did not give any details. "As we continue to be locally invested, we were looking at efficiencies and co-location synergies to enable better optimisation and productivity opportunities," the spokesperson said in an emailed response.

Bangalore-headquartered HTS is the captive technology and engineering facility of the $37-billion US firm Honeywell International.

In terms of space, its deal with RMZ, which was handled by property consultant CBRE, is the second largest in the country's office space segment in the last two years after Goldman Sachs took up 1.6 million sq ft in the city a year ago.

According to people familiar with the matter, HTS will use close to 5 lakh sq ft of the space for consolidating its existing offices in the city while the rest will be used for business expansion.

"Our plans are in line with long-term direction and strategy and will be taken up in a phased approach," the HTS spokesperson said.

The 50-acre RMZ Ecoworld, earlier known as Adarsh Tech Park, was picked up recently by RMZ and Baring Private Equity Partners for Rs 1,000 crore. In it, RMZ got 1.4 million sq ft of built and leased space and rights to build another 6 million sq ft of office space on the land parcel on the outer ring road in Bangalore.

People close to the development said HTS had been in talks with RMZ and Mantri Developers for office space as it wanted to move out of its office at Kalyani Tech Park in south Bangalore in view of the upcoming metro rail work there. HTS decided to go with RMZ because it already has space in the SEZ, which was earlier run by Adarsh Developers.

The deal is good news for the domestic commercial office business, which is showing sign of revival after remaining depressed for a year. Businesses hired more office space in the first quarter of 2013 compared with a year ago, according to CBRE.

Data provided by two property advisors last month showed office space absorption had dropped from about 35 million sq ft in 2011 to 26 million sq ft in 2012. Leasing of office space is widely seen as an indicator of business sentiment in a country.

[strike2]

Bharatiya Center for information Technology

http://bhartiyacity.com/factsheet/BCIT%20Brochure.pdf

[udhaya]

Originally Posted by naveen_blr

CTS is an MNC.

you may be technically correct(as registered office in usa),but the it industry considers it as an indian entity for the simple fact both the vice chairman(lakshi narayanan),and vice president(r.chandrasekaran) of the group are chennai based,also 35% of total employees are chennai based.

it was started in 1994 as a d&b jv moved to teaneck ,usa in 1998 after nasdaq listing and to be close to the market .the man instrumental(convinced d&b to invest $2million in the jv)starting,and guiding the it giant to what it is a person called kumar mahadeva(a srilankan tamil,who are a talented lot),rajan anandan(ex md microsoft,now head of google india),sanjay kumar(ex chairman,ceo computer associates)were all same background.
not to forget raj rajaratnam of galleon ventures.