International Convention Centre to place Bangalore in hall of fame

The State cabinet on Thursday approved development of an International Convention Centre (ICC) near the Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) at a cost of Rs 250 crore, 50 per cent of which is to be funded through budgetary support and the remaining amount will be raised from KIADB.
The proposal for such a centre was made as early as 2007 by the Department of Tourism. Going by that, the ICC, with a capacity to hold 6,000 people, will be built on 35 acres and is aimed at promoting Bangalore as an attractive destination for huge international meets and exhibitions. The government is targeting completion of core components of the project (the convention hall, meeting rooms, exhibition hall and food court) before June next year to host the next edition of the Global Investors’ Meet (GIM) there. There will be 20 meeting rooms with seating capacities varying from 50 to 250 and an exhibition hall with a minimum area of 20,000 sq mt. “Given the infrastructure woes during the previous edition of GIM, we want to have all facilities like food courts and hotels at one place,” an official told Deccan Herald. The ICC is expected to beat competition from Hyderabad and Ahmedabad in hosting international conferences and cashing in on high-profile investors. The Cabinet, in its note, a copy of which is in possession of Deccan Herald, said “Bangalore lacks facilities to attract international and national conferences. Hyderabad, after the opening of the International Convention Centre there, has become the preferred centre”. The note says: “It is necessary to provide other supporting infrastructure such as star hotels, service apartments and theme parks. It is proposed that this be developed through a PPP model.” There is also clearance for any additional land that would be required, besides the 35 acres to be acquired. EC set up Further, the cabinet has proposed to set up an Empowered Committee to oversee the project. The committee will comprise the Chief Secretary (Chairman), Principal Secretary to the Department of Infrastructure Development (Convener), Principal Secretary, Finance, Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries, Principal Secretary, Tourism, Metropolitan Commissioner, BMRDA, Secretary, Law Department and executive member, KIADB.

Honda to set up third two-wheeler plant in India

Japanese auto giant Honda today said it will set up a third two-wheeler manufacturing facility in India at Narsapuram, in Karnataka, with an installed annual capacity of 12 lakh units by 2013.

The company, which recently exited from the country’s largest two-wheeler maker, Hero Honda, will also double the output of the upcoming second plant at Tapukara in Rajasthan to 12 lakh units by the end of this fiscal.

Honda Motor Co, however, did not mention any investment figure for expanding its business in the growing Indian two-wheeler market.

“In order to realise Honda’s vision to provide good products with speed and affordability, the third plant will be built in the Bangalore area.”

“The third plant is scheduled to become operational in the first half of 2013, with annual production capacity of 12 lakh units,” the company said in a statement.

The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary — Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India (HMSI) — is currently investing about Rs 500 crore for setting up its second facility at Tapukara and it will be inaugurated on June 1 with an initial installed capacity of 6 lakh units a year.

“HMSI decided to double the annual production capacity of this plant to 12 lakh units in March, 2012,” the company said.

“India represents the world’s second largest motorcycle market behind only China and industry-wide motorcycle sales in India for 2010 reached 1.13 crore units (up 30 per cent compared with 2009).

“HMSI’s sales have grown steadily, with 2010 sales of approximately 15.26 lakh units (up 40 per cent compared to 2009), achieving a record high for 10 consecutive years,” the company said.

Global hospitality majors check into Bangalore

With the city emerging as a hub for international business travel, global hospitality brands are checking into Bangalore rather rapidly. Starwood Hotels and Resorts opened Sheraton Hotel at Brigade Gateway in Malleswaram last week. Switzerland-based Movenpick Hotels & Resorts is opening its first 5-star property in the country in Bangalore on June 1.

Many more are in line, and over the next two years, the city will witness an addition of 2,500 rooms across categories (3-star budget to 5-star luxury). Bangalore currently has about 5,550 rooms in these categories.

Several of the new launches will be in the five-star deluxe category. Prestige Estates Projects has partnered with JW Marriott to build a 300-room luxury resort hotel —Prestige Golfshire — on Nandi Hills Road. Shangri-La on Palace Road and Ritz Carlton on Residency Road are expected to be ready within the next two years.

"A fair amount of supply has come into Bangalore which has allowed for some rate rationalization. However,there are many micro markets in Bangalore that continue to do well," said Manav Thadani, chairman of hospitality consultancy firm HVS.

Micro markets of Whitefield, Electronics City and Outer Ring Road are seeing new supplies with many IT/ITeS companies expanding on the periphery. MDB Zephyr, part of New Delhi-based MBD Group, is setting up a 200-room luxury hotel in Whitefield. Hospitality brand Alila is doing a 120-room luxury hotel in Whitefield.

Business travellers account for 80% of the demand for rooms in Bangalore. The meetings and conferences segment and the leisure segment account for 5% and 3% , according to real estate consultancy Cushman & Wakefield. "A large chunk of business is driven by corporates. Except for Aero India, there aren't big events coming to Bangalore," said Akshay Kulkarni, executive director for hospitality services South Asia, in Cushman & Wakefield. The average room rate peaked at Rs 8,500 in 2007 as per Cushman & Wakefield hospitality report 2010 . It dropped to Rs 6,600 in 2009, and has since hardened by 10-15% because of rising demand.

The incremental room supply will result in softening of room rates in the short to medium term. "Occupancy rates in Bangalore are improving with average rates more or less flat compared to last year. With the new supply, the growth in business will be absorbed leaving occupancy and average daily rates flat," said Chris Moloney, COO, South West Asia, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG), which will soon launch Holiday Inn Hotels and Resorts in Bangalore.

Dilip Puri, MD-India, Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts, said the luxury room rates have corrected after the steep rise in 2007. "The average room rate for luxury hotels shot up to $400 some three years back. The recession brought about a reality check. Rentals are exactly where they should be today. Anything between $200-$250 per room night are realistic." 

Google's Street View Comes To Silicon Valley Of India “Bangalore”

If you spot a car with a camera on top in front of your house, do not be suspicious, because Google's infamous 'Street View' cars are now intruding the streets of Bangalore, the Silicon Valley of India. Search engine behemoth Google Inc. on Thursday sent a fleet of cars to capture street images it will use to create its online mapping in India, even as the Internet giant is being criticized from several overseas governments for invading privacy.

Searching the name of your favorite coffee house in Delhi's Connaught Place or Mumbai's Colaba or Bangalore's Brigade Road? Well, there will soon be an easy way out. With the click of a mouse, you can virtually roam the locality and locate the shop that slipped out of your memory.

The country of more than one billion people will soon be able to tap in to a local address and see a panoramic view of the area. Google Street View is a useful application for getting to know your neighborhood without actually being there, and yesterday, Google announced that they are bringing their camera cars to Bangalore, India.

The Street View feature started in the U.S. back in 2007 and has since expanded to 27 countries, including UK, Singapore and Australia, with South Africa and Japan among them, is basically an 360 degree imagery collection of various locations and takes Google Maps to a new level. The feature is already available in 27 countries. India is uncharted territory for Google's eye, and the project is underway.

The search engine giant in its latest expansion for a service that already exists in more than 25 countries around the world took the first step of putting its camera-mounted cars on Bangalore roads to capture images of landmarks. To access narrow and uneven roads, Google employs a trike, a camera-mounted modified bicycle.

In India, Street View will initially be launched in Bangalore and then moved on to other cities and states. “Bangalore being the IT capital of India was the obvious choice to start with. The aim is to map India in totality which is a tough job considering two-third streets in India do not have names,” said Vinay Goel, country head, products, Google.

Google explained that Street View is not only handy for residents of India but also for anyone who wants to see what the streets are like there. “It will be as good as walking down the street from the comfort of your desktop or mobile device,” the company said in a statement.

Moreover, the captured images will be processed and stitched for a 360-degree view before they are attached to Google Maps. To use Street View, log into Google Map, click and place “the pegman” on the street you want to visit. And what you get is a high-resolution, near-life panoramic view of the location.

Areas where driving a car is not possible, this new venture will see the ongoing adventures of the Google Trike (see video below). This three-wheeled pedi-cab with a camera system mounted on top or a rickshaw to put it simply -- will be used to collect images.

In Bangalore, Google's Street View will be accumulating images from various locations beginning with Nrityagram Dance Village. These images once upload on the net will be useful for urban development planners, house-hunters and travelers. Users can check parking slots before arriving at a place, arrange meeting points. Businesses can also benefit from the Street View technology by embedding Google Maps directly into their site.

Previous country where the trike have been used is the Colosseum in Rome and Stonehenge in the United Kingdom.

In a bid to dispel privacy concerns, Goel said only photographs of public places will be taken. “These images are no different from what a person can readily see or capture walking down the street.”

“Street View is designed to comply with all local laws including those related to security and privacy in India,” Google India chief Goel told reporters in Bangalore.

“As an additional privacy protection measure, the faces and number plates of vehicles seen in the photographs will be blurred,” he said. “If there are concerns still, the user can report the same by clicking on 'report a problem' button located on the bottom-right corner of Street View image. Once the claim is verified, the image is removed.”

Nevertheless, Google Street View has a history of strange and amusing sights. And, learning from its experience in US, where the concept came under controversy because of privacy issue, Google blurs human faces and license plates of vehicles to render them unidentifiable. In case there is a request from a user for additional blurring of images, the matter will be looked into by the company, said Goel.

Goel declined to give details about Google's plans to expand the project across India, where cities and villages are often a chaotic jumble of traffic jams, buffalo carts and shanty towns. Either way, this is a good step forward. Google Street View is probably more reliable than most travel sites for getting honest images.

Gandhi City - India's first R&D based SEZ to raise US $25 million through PEs

Gandhi City for Advanced Research & Development Ltd, which has received approvals to set up the country's first R&D based Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will shortly raise US $25 million, as the first phase of investment for the project. Two top Private Equity (PE) firms have already evinced interest in investing in Gandhi City, which is in the process of creating an ecosystem to foster collaboration between the industry, institutes and research organizations near Ramanagara, 30 kilometers from the technology hub of Bangalore.

Gandhi City for Advanced Research & Development Ltd, which has received approvals to set up the country's first R&D based Special Economic Zone (SEZ), will shortly raise US $25 million, as the first phase of investment for the project.

Two top Private Equity (PE) firms have already evinced interest in investing in Gandhi City, which is in the process of creating an ecosystem to foster collaboration between the industry, institutes and research organizations near Ramanagara, 30 kilometers from the technology hub of Bangalore.

The SEZ project will have four phases of investment, spread across 10 years, to raise US $600 million through various routes. "The total project outlay is Rs 2,620 crore. Our plan is to replace minor investors by bringing in PE funds. It will be equivalent to 9 per cent of the total share-holding of Gandhi City," says Giri Devanur, Promoter, Gandhi City SEZ.

The process of acquiring 350 acres of land for the project is on. The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB), the nodal agency for land acquisition in Karnataka, will complete the process shortly. The SEZ will be spread over 1,000 acres, housing research labs, incubation centers, and high-end technology testing facilities.

Gandhi City will focus on multiple disciplines, such as, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences; Automotive and Aviation; Technology and Communications, and Agricultural sciences, in association with educational institutions. It is the first of its kind SEZ modeled on the lines of Stanford Research Park, US. Gandhi City SEZ has entered into a technological understanding with Research Triangle Park, US.

Notes to Editor

Gandhi City, a premier R&D SEZ, the only such project in India. Spread across 1,000 acres near the technology hub Bangalore, India, Gandhi City SEZ aims to create an ecosystem to foster the right collaboration between the industry, institutions, and research organizations. The total investment set to flow into the project is Rs 2,620 crore in association with major technology partners.

Gandhi City is promoted by Mr. Giri Devanur, a serial technology entrepreneur and innovator. He is a computer engineering graduate from the University of Mysore, India. He also studied at the premier Massachusetts Institute Technology (MIT), Cambridge.

He has over 21 years of experience as an Entrepreneur CEO in the technology industry. He floated several companies; successfully contributed to mergers and acquisitions; and infused capital from VCs and PE firms.

Giri Devanur is the founder of Ivega, a specialist IT services provider. He successful expanded the company, in terms of growth and revenue, and sold it to TCG.

Bosch to invest 22.8 million euro in education sector in India

German auto component maker Bosch today said it will invest 22.8 million Euro (about Rs 150 crore) over the next 10 years to set up a research centre at Bangalore in association with the Indian Institute of Science.

The amount is under a programme to celebrate the firm's 125th anniversary and is a part of a total global investment of 50 million euro in the field of higher education in Germany, China, India and the US over the next 10 years. "Some 22.8 million Euro, and therefore the lion's share of the total budget, is going to India. The 10-year development project aims to set up the independent 'Robert Bosch Center for Research in Cyber Physical Systems' at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore," Robert Bosch said in a statement. In collaboration with IISc, Bosch is creating a campus for IT design, cyber-physical systems that will help to save energy in buildings, mobility solutions and renewable energy. Commenting on the development, Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions (India) Managing Director Vijay Ratnaparkhe said: "With our funding for higher education in India, we are creating a perfect research and working environment for future IT specialists". The Center is expected to create an ecosystem of research and working environment for future engineers. It is planned to support the entire industry and all universities through contract research projects. The German automotive group is expanding its higher education funding and launching a new global initiative -- Bosch InterCampus Program -- in which undergraduates and scientists will research into electro-mobility, energy generation, energy efficiency, and reducing emissions from 2011 onward. "The company is investing a total of 50 million euro to provide support for universities and research projects in Germany, China, India, and the US over the next 10 years or so," the statement said. Globally in 2011, Bosch will invest about four billion euro on research and development that will employ 34,500 researchers and developers. It will register 3,800 patents. "To continue to be innovative and successful in the future, we need associates with excellent training who are committed and content. That's why we offer our workforce a professional and innovative working environment and attractive development opportunities," Bosch Director (Industrial Relations) Wolfgang Malchow said.

Semi-conductor lab for IT City

Bangalore will get a semi-conductor lab and finishing school at a cost of Rs 27 crore. The school will be run by the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT). The project, an initiative by the central and state governments, will also be funded by industries.

Wipro to make aerospace components in the new SEZ for aerospace being set up at Devanahalli near Bangalore

Imec today announced the establishment of imec India in Bangalore, Karnataka, making a first step towards the Indian market with the signing of an R&D partnership agreement with Wipro Technologies, the Global Information Technology, Consulting and Outsourcing business of Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT). Imec is a leading independent applied research organization that carries out research activities in semiconductor, nanotechnology and nanoelectronics, delivering industry relevant technology solutions.

Imec and Wipro have created a joint initiative to co-innovate and build next generation intelligent systems, called Applied Research in Intelligent Systems Engineering (ARISE). By bringing together an experienced team of system designers, user designers, process, software and system architects, this initiative aims to develop nanoelectronics and NEMS-(Nano Electro Mechanical Systems) based solutions for emerging markets like India.

The joint initiative will initially focus on developing intelligent systems based on next generation sensors, wireless and energy harvesting technologies for key industry verticals. The core team for the joint center being set up in Bangalore will draw specialist teams from Wipro and imec, with additional hiring from global talent pools across industry and academia, to create a team of highly qualified engineers/scientists.

The solutions will leverage imec's heterogeneous semiconductor process integration platform - CMORE - that offers design, prototyping and low-volume production of systems-on-chip that can combine logic with mechanical, chemical or optical functions.

Emerging markets consisting of 80% of global population offers great opportunities for intelligent products to be designed ground up to address its unique needs. Nanoelectronics is the cornerstone to provide such products, addressing societal challenges like efficient and sustainable healthcare system, sustainable urbanization, and sustainable use of energy. Imec has an excellent track record of pioneering nanoelectronics technologies and providing solutions in global partnerships with leading companies. Wipro is a leader in bringing IT solutions and product design services to market. The partnership will leverage the technology capability of imec and Product Engineering and IT integration expertise of Wipro to build right solutions for emerging market.

"Our partnership with Wipro underlines our commitment towards providing solutions for emerging markets;" said Luc Van den hove, President and CEO imec. "I'm confident that Wipro's product engineering expertise, industry vertical presence and understanding of the emerging markets will augment our research capability to develop cost-efficient products for many new markets including India."

The Wipro-imec partnership is unique in bringing together a leading Research organization in nanotechnology and a system & software engineering leader. The R&D alliance is open to other players to participate and build system prototypes based on concurrent innovations in nanotechnology and system engineering, enabling novel applications for emerging markets. Rajesh Ram Mishra, Vice President, Wipro Technologies will head this joint initiative.

"This Wipro-imec initiative ‘ARISE' will act as a bridge between industry, academia and research labs to bring in a combination of applied research, system & business design and product engineering capabilities under one roof to deliver highly affordable and sustainable solutions for emerging markets", said T K Kurien, CEO, IT Business & Executive Director, Wipro Limited. "This further underlines our commitment towards solving emerging market challenges through future ready technologies. ARISE will also be a key enabler in reverse innovation of successful emerging market solutions to address the global need."

Wipro’s infrastructure engineering division is getting into aerospace and defence components manufacturing. The first order has come from Spanish firm Compania Espanola De Sistemas Aeronauticos (CESA) for the manufacture of precision-engineered components. CESA is a subsidiary of the global aerospace and defence corporation EADS.

Pratik Kumar, president of the Wipro division, said the company would be investing about $15 million in the initial phase in establishing a greenfield venture for the manufacture of these components in the new SEZ for aerospace being set up at Devanahalli near Bangalore. “Aerospace and defence is a huge opportunity to leverage on Wipro’s core competences,” he said.

The Wipro division now provides precision-engineered hydraulic cylinders and components. The agreement with the Spanish firm involves transfer of technology as well as manufacturing workload for aerospace actuators and related precision engineered components.

The plan is to start serial production towards the end of 2012, Kumar said.

INFRASTRUCTURE,CONNECTIVITY PUSHING DEMAND FOR OFFICE SPACE IN BANGALORE NORTH

New infrastructure projects to improve connectivity,residential catchment areas in the vicinity,and the governments initiatives are leading to demand for office space from the IT sector,says Sai Prasanna


The IT industry,employing around two million professionals across India,has witnessed the fastest growth at 22.7 percent,according to a NASSCOM report.An additional 1.6 to 1.8 lakh employees are expected to be inducted just by the top five IT companies during the course of this year.
Also,with the STPI scheme being systematically phased out,the IT sector will be looking at SEZs and IT Parks,increasing the demand for them.Karun Varma,Managing Director - Bangalore and Kochi,Jones Lang LaSalle (India),explains,"As of now,the demand for SEZs continues since they offer indirect tax benefits and MAT not being viewed as a major deterrent by certain clients."

Demand for office space

Office space absorption for Bangalore has been strong for the quarter with nearly two million sqft of space leased.The IT/ITeS sector has been the major market driver for office space in this quarter.According to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle,India,the IT/ITES and the financial services sector would continue to account for 60-70 percent of office space demand.
Shrinivas Rao,CEO,Asia Pacific,Vestian Global Workplace Services,says,"Demand for SEZ space continues to remain strong with preferred destinations being Outer Ring Road (ORR),Whitefield,and Mysore Road.In the first quarter of this year,ORR witnessed absorption of nearly 0.6 million sqft with high pre-commitments in projects which are under construction."

Demand for SEZs and IT parks

The Global Investors' Meet held last year saw investments pouring into the Bangalore north region."The Devanahalli Business Park (approximately 300 acres) and IT Investment Region (ITIR) which is nearly 10,000 acres have attracted IT majors who have signed MOUs with the government to set up their development centres.Further to this,private developers have land parcels in this micro-location for IT space development",Shrinivas explains.
Many corporate have started considering the north-west quadrant as a possible destination."A key driver of this demand is the availability of residential developments to create employee catchments.However,to increase the supply of IT Parks and SEZs in this quadrant,there needs to be a significant increase in demand,"says Karun.
According to Shrinivas,in the short to medium terms,the ORR stretch (Hebbal to Sarjapur Road Junction) and Whitefield would continue to witness demand primarily due to availability of operational SEZ space.In the long term,demand for office space is expected to increase along north Bangalore and ORR.

Connectivity and benefit for localities

Two important projects are all set to enhance connectivity in the northern quadrant - the improvement of a 22-km stretch of the NH-7 from Hebbal flyover to the international airport,and the High Speed Rail Link project (HSRL) from the Central Business District to the airport.Improvements include widening the 6-lane road to a 10-lane highway along with flyovers and underpasses,by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).Both the projects are expected to be completed in a timeframe of two to three years.According to Karun,"the locations likely to benefit are Bangalore west,south-west,northwest,and north-east quadrants,since they are well connected to the airport and the travel time to the city centre is less when compared to other IT corridors of Bangalore.Moreover,after the infrastructure improvements in this quadrant,capital values have started rising."
Shrinivas points out that apart from infrastructure,connectivity to the city centre,proximity to the airport,supporting residential catchments,availability of large land parcels,zoning regulations (mutation corridor - NH7),and government initiatives are the key factors which have worked in favour of north Bangalore.

Demand for residential spaces

According to Karun,due to the anticipated development in north Bangalore and the ample availability of land parcels,many apartment and villa projects were launched,especially on Yelahanka-Doddaballapur Road,IVC Road,Nandi Hills Road and Devanahalli Road."Until now,developers were targeting mid-segment clients,but of late,based on the increased demand,many high-end apartment and villa projects have also been launched,"he adds.
Demand for residential space in this corridor is mainly from IT/ITeS sector driven by employees working in IT Parks operating along the ORR.North Bangalore has witnessed high residential activity over the last one year mainly in the high-rise apartment and villa developments category.Shrinivas explains,"Infrastructure projects in the north have propelled residential activity in localities such as Hennur Main Road,Yelahanka New Town,Sahakaranagar,Doddaballapur Road,Nandi Hills Road,Bagalur Main Road,and along Bellary Road (NH-7 )."