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DuPont
to set up R&D
Centre in Hyderabad
The Rs 1 trillion US-based science
and technology company E.I.
du Pont de Nemours and Co. has
chosen Hyderabad to set up its
first research centre outside
the US.
Being set up with an investment
of Rs200 crore, the centre will
start its first phase of operations
in April, 2008.
“India has a top quality
science and technology talent.
We are looking at leveraging
this talent for our next level
of growth,” said S.T.
Tsay, Regional Director, Asia-Pacific,
Human Resources, DuPont.
While the centre's primary focus
will be on research in the biotechnology
sector, other research work
will be focussed on biofuels,
renewable energy and life sciences.
The company has already signed
up 100 engineers, scientists
and research associates in disciplines
across biotechnology, chemicals
and material sciences.
“India is strategic to
us in terms of human capital.
The Indian education system
only produces high quality engineers
and scientists. And the fact
that these people are fluent
in English is an added advantage,”
said Tsay. He is overseeing
the hiring activity for the
knowledge centre.
DuPont has more than 5,000 scientists
working for it in different
locations across the world.
The Indian team will work closely
with them. A number of new hires
have been sent to the Central
Research and Development Center
in the US for initial training,
said Pallavi Tyagi, General
Manager, Human Resources, E.I.
DuPont India.
The company is hiring both experienced
professionals and fresh graduates
from institutes such as the
Indian Institutes of Technology,
Indian Institute of Science,
regional engineering and government
engineering colleges. It plans
to ramp up the staff strength
to over 600 in the next three
years.
The company registered a compound
annual growth rate of 25 percent
in the past five years and its
revenues stood at Rs 1,620 crore
in 2006.
Intel to Invest over US$ 1 Billion
in India
Global chip maker Intel will
invest more than $1billion in
India over the next three years
as it seeks to prepare light-weight
personal computers in partnership
with Indian and foreign hardware
firms.
"We have committed to spend
over a billion dollars spread
over next three years plus.
We are focusing on a number
of new initiatives for enabling
easy availability of personal
computers (PCs) and broadband
Internet in India," Intel
Technology India Director-Marketing
and operations John A McClure
said.
The company is partnering with
foreign and Indian computer
hardware brands like ASUS Technologies,
HCL, Wipro and Zenith for preparing
light weight easy-to-use Internet
platforms.
"From our India experience,
we have learnt that mobility
is particularly what even a
first time PC buyer is looking
for. They want lightweight products,
that could run on battery for
three to four hours, is easy
to store and doesn't take too
much space," McClure said.
The company is working on different
designs for specific market
segments. It is also preparing
to introduce Wimax technology
in India, the fastest wireless
BB technology available at lower
cost than optical fibres.
"This is the best technology
to bridge the PC-broadband Internet
gap in India. With three million
broadband Internet subscriptions
against a PC deployment of 35
million, India has the worst
broadband-PC ratio in a large
market," he said.
McClure said that low broadband
Internet penetration in India
could lead towards the country
lagging behind in overall development.
"Today India is seventh
or eighth largest PC market,
poised to become third or fourth
largest by 2012. But it is well
behind in Internet penetration.
This has already started to
become a growth limitor not
only for the PC market but for
the economy as a whole,"
McClure said.
According to him, only the BPO
industry had benefited from
"flattening of the world".
The rest did not benefit as
they did not have access to
broadband Internet.
"Once you have the infrastructure
in place, new ideas and business
will take shape and drive India's
success as the country has great
entrepreneurial skills,"
he said.
Intel's biggest role in India
would be to continue to develop
affordable Internet platforms
with latest technology, McClure
said.
"The industry and government
have to work together. Like,
we are developing Wimax technology
for India. But its success depends
on how much spectrum is allocated.
So the government must come
out with its spectrum policy
fast," McClure said. |
