Cognizant buys Hyderabad office space

Nasdaq-listed IT software firm Cognizant has bought a 11.04-acre land parcel that includes a 250,000 sqft operational office space facility in Hyderabad, from Bangalore-based technology park developer DivyaSree.  The Rs 112-crore transaction, struck in Hyderabad's IT hub of Gachibowli, gives the $7.35-billion IT services company room to further develop around 1 million sqft of office space. Last year Cognizant had bought 18-acres of land in Kochi; work here has begun.

Despite political uncertainties over the status of Hyderabad, the city's IT corridor of Madhapur, Kondapur, Hitec City and Gachibowli continue to remain the most active commercial micro-market, owing to the expansion and relocation requirements of IT/ITeS firms. Industry analysts estimate that around 3-million sqft of commercial office space is likely to be released into Hyderabad's IT corridors over the next six months.

Major IT companies are all expanding facilities as demand remains robust . Last week TOI reported that Infosys Technologies had bought a 300,000 sqft facility for Rs 115 crore in Bangalore.

In Hyderabad, Cognizant has been working out of a leased office it got when it acquired the business interests of UBS in India in 2010. This facility nowhasover 3,000 employees working out of it.

Confirming the deal, a Cognizant spokesperson said, "The facility will support our expansion in Hyderabad. It is at a conveniently accessible location in the city's financial district." International property consultants CBRE South Asia had structured the deal.

Google Campus Set to Change IT Face of Hyderabad

NEW DELHI/HYDERABAD:Adding another feather to its cap, the pearl city can soon boast of housing the only own campus of  IT giant Google in entire Asia. This will also be the biggest facility of Google, outside the United States of America (USA). With the Google CEO, Sundar Pichai’s official announcement of setting up Google’s new campus in Hyderabad on Wednesday, the Telangana government’s aggressive industrial policy has made one of its biggest achievements so far.

Following Pichai’s announcement in New Delhi, K T Rama Rao, IT Minister of Telangana, thanked him for choosing Hyderabad for the company’s expansion plans in India. “Thanks Sunder Pichai for reiterating commitment to Hyderabad,” the Minister tweeted. 

During the visit of the IT minister to Silicon Valley in USA, a few months ago, the State government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Google, according to which 7.2 acres of land in Gachibowli has been allotted for its new campus.

Google agreed to invest Rs 1,000 crore in the project in four years. As per the agreement, the new facility of Google will be developed in a sprawling 2 million square feet campus in the middle of the IT Corridor of Hyderabad. Google is expecting the facility to be operational by 2019.

The new campus in Hyderabad, is also going to double its employee count. Sunder Pichai, who was in New Delhi on Wednesday, announced that Hyderabad is one of the cities where Google is planning to recruit more employees. Bengaluru is another Indian city that will see recruitment by the company. Google had already announced that it would launch India’s first ‘Street View’ project in Hyderabad.  Reacting to the announcement, IT Secretary of Telangana, Jayesh Ranjan, said, “The ground work has already been done. Once the necessary clearances are obtained, it can be launched.”

more ........ 

HYDERABAD today - TELANGANA - The Hindu

HYDERABAD today - TELANGANA - The Hindu

Hyderabad | Hitex - South India Gears up for the First Edition of RenewX

#hydeabad |  UBM India will host the first edition of RenewX 2015, a two-day (17th - 18th December 2015) Renewable Energy trade show at Hitex, Hyderabad. Augmented further by the legacy of its flagship Renewable Energy India Expo (REI India), UBM India through RenewX 2015, will provide an industry platform for organizations to capitalize and penetrate into the lucrative south Indian renewable energy market. The expo will witness a congregation of South India's green economy community to discuss industry trends, challenges and market insights including the Indian regulatory framework.

RenewX 2015 is supported by the Government of Telangana, Department of Energy and associations including Solar Power Producers Association, Indian Biomass Association (IBA), Indo German Energy Forum (IGEF), New & Renewable Energy Development Corporation (NREDCAP), Electronic Industries Association A.P. (ELIAP), Federation of Telangana and  Andhra Pradesh Chambers of Conference and Industry (FTAPCCI)

Bringing together manufacturers, EPCs and service providers, RenewX 2015 has key participating exhibitors including Government of Telangana - State Pavilion, Mytrah Energy (India) Limited, Sova Power Limited, Waaree Energies Ltd, Surana Solar Limited, Chemtrols Solar Private Limited, Nuevosol Energy Pvt. Ltd, Premier Solar Systems Pvt Ltd, Goldi Green Technologies Pvt Ltd, Cirus Solar Private Limited, Galileisolar India Pvt Ltd, Fronius India. and Topsun Energy Limited.

Highlights of the expo include a power packed two-day conference themed "A Sunrise Region that tamed the Wind" that will highlight the challenges being faced and solutions being sought by the industry.

Speaking on the announcement, Yogesh Mudras, Managing Director, UBM India said, "With the state of Telangana, since its establishment, aggressively supporting solar energy and other states in South India aggressively promoting renewable energy, the region holds promise for the sector with its lucrative and favourable government and industrial policies. Consequently, the sector in the region has seen an influx of international interest and in-turn, investments leading to launch of major projects. Against this landscape, RenewX 2015 intends to accelerate the growth of Renewable Energy Industry in South India and contribute to the country's sustainable economic development."

Hyderabad most affordable metro for homes

Hyderabad remains the most affordable metro for home buyers, followed by Ahmedabad and Kolkata. 

The 2016 edition of the 'Buy Vs Rent Report' of financial advisory firm ArthaYantra shows that buying a house will be better option than renting in the Telangana capital. 

The study factors in rentals and real estate prices across eight major cities and then examines how affordable a 1,000 sq ft house is for different income levels. 

It also assumes that the buyer will borrow 80% of the price of the property Hyderabad tops the chart with the highest score for prospective buyers earning Rs 8 lakh a year. Property prices have fallen 10.5% in the past four years, while rents are up marginally by 1%. 

In Ahmedabad, ranking second, property prices have dropped 20% in the past four years and rents by 4%. This makes buying a compelling option in the city. 

Source : The Economic Times 

Hyderabad Cyclothon 2015 Event to be Held on 13th December 2015​

Hyderabad Cyclothon 2015 

A Cycling event which is popular in worldwide is now ready to organize our contry as #Hyderabad Cyclothon 2015 on 13th December. Huge numbers of persons are willing to join this race. Actually this is conducting for giving money to charities. This type of event is organizing first time in the country previously races like Marathon has been conducted.

The complete goal of this type of events such as Marathon as well as Cyclothon is to give money Charities. Radhika Talwar and Sarala Talwar which are the organizer of Hyderabad Cyclothon 2015 Event said that when they were in Lundon, previously they saw this type of event. At that time thousands of people have been attended. At that day they got huge amount i.e. 20.4 cross and gave to that money to the charities.

Many competitive and fun races people are giving support to this cycling to keep the road safety and green environment. Hyderabad Cyclothon 2015 Event is including various categories such as 50 KM Race for Men and Women, 25 KM open challenge ride to all cyclists.

The 10KM Ride for family fun for beginners, 2KM race for Kids. As this way all category persons will be participated in this Cycling Race. Large numbers of persons even small kids also eagerly waiting for attending to this event in Hyderabad.

Vista Entertainments which is organizing by Radhika Talwar and Sarala Talwar said that this is fist starts from Gachibowli Stadium by flagged off. If any quires the people will be go through below specified contact details.

Hyderabad | Relaxed rules can spur growth

Apart from bringing in more transparency and checking corruption, will the proposed legislation on the lines of TS-iPASS act as catalyst in giving momentum to the dormant real estate sector in Hyderabad?

Typically in Hyderabad and elsewhere in Telangana State, a developer spends anywhere between eight months and a year to get building permission for a non-multi-storeyed (under five floors) structure. For permission to take up construction of multi-storeyed structures (more than five floors), which includes getting no objection certificates from a host of departments and building permission from GHMC, it takes more than a year.

Can the legislation mooted by the State government exclusively for real estate sector provide building permissions for builders within a span of two weeks? Apart from the promise of introducing more transparency and checking corruption in the sector, will the proposed legislation act as a tool that will be a catalyst to give momentum to the dormant sector in Hyderabad?

The recent decision of the Chief Minister to have legislation on the lines of Telangana State Industrial Project Approval and Self Certification System (TS-iPASS), has managed to raise hopes for the sector. The sector experts point out that such a legislation for real estate would encourage investment, transparency and moreover, the benefits of lower time in acquiring permissions for real estate projects would ultimately be passed on to the consumer. “In our talks, we have urged the municipal authorities and even the Chief Minister that there was a need to come out with solutions by thinking out of the box. Drastically reducing time to get permissions by introducing innovative measures like making the whole process online is important. It’s possible to reduce time for permission to only two weeks,” feels former president of Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association (CREDAI) C. Sekhar Reddy.

More ....  The Hindu 

Hyderabad City to Host 5-Day Sky Fest From December 23

HYDERABAD: The City of Pearls is all set to host its largest-ever five-day festivity, Sky Fest, in December. It will be held at the Gachibowli Stadium from December 23 to 27.

To be hosted by Sparsh Hospice, a charitable initiative of Rotary Club, it will be a one-stop destination for adventure, entertainment, food and will have some major attractions like hot-air balloon rides, concerts, midnight open-air movies and acrobatic shows.

Speaking at the curtain raiser of ‘ACT Fibernet Sky Fest 2015’, IT and panchayat raj minister KT Rama Rao here on Wednesday said, “For any city to become a global city, social capital plays a major role. If the investors, migrants and natives do not have a social life, then that city cannot be called a true metropolitan city. That is the reason why we started promoting Hyderabad as a social capital through the ‘Happening Hyderabad’ programme and hosted many concerts and international conventions in the past one year. The upcoming Sky Fest will be a way forward and will definitely be a highlight among all our programmes.”

Rao added, “The festival is being organised with an aim to connect all sections of  people under one roof to create vibrant communities leading to a better life.

Also, the motive is appreciable as the organisers are trying to raise funds to expand their hospitality scope by adding new facilities,” Rao added.

He advised the organisers to target school students to make the programme successful. “As the programme will be hosted during the Christmas holidays, it will be better if  educational institutions are also involved in the event. As all the programmes will be held at one venue, there are high chances of children turning out in large numbers,” the minister said.

“Besides hot-air balloon rides, the other attractions of the festival will include concerts, midnight open-air movies, acrobatic shows, five days of carnival, shopping, food and much more fun and frolic  to bond people,” Dr M Subrahmanyam, trustee, Sparsh Hospice, said.

The movies to be screened are Dilwale, Baji Rao Mastani, Bahubali (Hindi), Sreemanthudu and Maya Bazar (Colour). Noted singers  Shanker Mahadevan, Sonu Nigam and Devi Sri Prasad will perform at the event.

Sparsh Hospice is a 15-bedded hospital in  a rented building at Banjara Hills in the city. The fundraising event is being organised to generate funds required to build its own premises and expand the capacity from 15 to 50 beds.

Source : Indian Express 

Innofest on Nov 21 : Hyderabad Startups

#Hyderabad to host Innofest on Nov 21

Start-up incubator T-Hub will host the first edition of Innofest, a festival of Innovation on Saturday. Angel investor Mohandas Pai, IT products association iSpirit co-founder, Sharad Sharma and Pramati founder Jay Pullur are among the speakers who would address different sessions in the daylong event.

It will be inaugurated by K T Rama Rao, the Minister of IT and Panchayat Raj, Government of Telangana. He will also deliver plenary key note address.

“Innofest is unique event organised to celebrate Innovation. It is a platform that brings together many unsung heroes among innovators and uncovered innovations and gives them their due recognition,” Hyderabad Software Exporters’ Association (HYSEA) President Ramesh Loganathan has said.

Source : The Hindu

Hyderabad leads in office space absorption among top eight cities

Hyderabad leads in office space absorption among top eight cities 

BENGALURU: Hyderabad recorded the highest office space absorption among the top-eight cities in the country in the third quarter of 2015, according to property consultant Cushman & Wakefield, as political stability in the region saw more corporates sign property deals. Net absorption of office space in the city was recorded at 24 lakh sq ft, while commitments were at 3.85 lakh sq ft, the highest office space net absorption witnessed after the formation of Telangana and the highest since 2008 .. 

Read more at:   http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/49841400.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Bio-Medical Research to come up in Hyderabad

Hyderabad / New Delhi

The central government on Wednesday gave its go-ahead to set up a National Resource Facility for Bio-medical Research at Genome Valley in Hyderabad.

The institution, whose estimated cost is Rs.338.58 crore, will be the first of its kind for quality laboratory animals for basic and applied biomedical research in the country, an official statement said.

The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The resource centre, to be set up by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR), is expected to be functional by 2018-19, it said.

"It will be developed as a world-class facility for breeding and housing of animals such as primates, canines and other specialised models such as transgenic and knockout rodents required for testing of various R&D products," the statement added.

The facility will create, develop and provide access to a range of laboratory animals and related technological resources for advancement of biomedical research in the country, mainly to facilitate research in medical colleges, research and academic institutions, universities and Biotech/Bio-pharma companies, it said.

It will also provide training facilities for personnel in the specialised areas in the field of biomedical research.

The state government has allotted 102.69 acres of land at Genome Valley, Hyderabad, free of cost, to the ICMR for Establishment of National Animal Resource Facility (NARF) for Biomedical Research.

Source : NDTV

Hyderabad will soon be ringed by nature parks

The city could be surrounded by a garland of green spaces in the coming days, offering ample space, abundant fresh air, and opportunity to shed those extra kilos, for hobbyists, walkers and residents in the proximity.

In the coming six months, the Forest Department is planning to launch about 10 nature parks at various locations on the city fringes, for visitors, children, trekkers and bicyclers. This is in line with Telangana Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao’s instructions for development of lung spaces for urban dwellers, officials from the department said.

 30 fores blocks

While the parks will function much in the same way as the Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park, with restricted entry and nominal fee, national park status will not be obtained for the new ones, as it could delay the future development projects, they said. There are about 30 forest blocks in city’s proximity.

Already, two such parks, namely, ‘Bhagyanagar Nandanavanam’ in Narepally on the Warangal highway, and ‘Sanjeevini Vanam’ in Gurramguda have been thrown open to the public.

Locations where the rest of the parks could be coming up include Domnair, Gundiguda, Kandlakoya, Dulapally, Vanasthalipuram, Bowrampet, Gajularamaram, Nagaram, Turkayamjal, Medchal, and Suraram. Area of each park could range between 100 acres and 700 acres.

Part of the ‘Mahaveer Harina Vanasthali National Park’ at the Vanasthalipuram and the forest land at Dulapally will be used to develop nature parks there.

Something for everyone

Natural vegetation already existing in the blocks will be encouraged, and fenced off with a compound wall. An earthen walking track and another track for cycling will be laid along the wall inside, besides landscaping at the entrance. Rest-shelters, bench-seating, drinking water, and wash-room facilities will be provided, apart from sign-boards and labelling of trees. Each park will have an education centre with library, auditorium and interpretation hall, and a nature camp shed for children and Yoga enthusiasts, the official said.

“Allowing people into these spaces will increase the sense of responsibility and control encroachments, as witnessed in the case of KBR Park,” the official said.

Tentative launch of the park at Domnair is scheduled in December, while the same for the one at Dulapally is in January next year. Nagaram and Kandlakoya parks could be launched in February next. One park in Gurramguda could be launched in a month, while the second is scheduled for March 2016.

The park at Vanasthalipuram too may be launched in three months.

Other than these parks, five forest blocks within three km from the Outer Ring Road, respectively at Eliminedu, Guttala Kancha, Kongarakhurd, Kongara Kalan and Saaloni Dibba, will be developed as adventure sports locations for youth.

Source : The Hindu 

Hyderabad - e-rickshaws to criss-cross soon

Hyderabad Battery run e-rickshaws have arrived to cut the city loose from smothering vehicular pollution. Like in New Delhi, the Road Transport Authority in Hyderabad has decided to introduce these rickshaws which run inducing minimal emissions. 

Note : The images use for the post are free source from Internet actual images may vary.

These vehicles that are already put to use around the Nehru Zoological Park could bring back the much required breathing space that the city needs. But like every good deed, there were hurdles that the authorities had to overcome before taking this e-leap. As permissions from Central Institute of Road Transport is required to run new vehicle models, the authorities had to wait for the required permits to get the green wheels hit the road.

Now, three agencies have come forward to supply the rickshaws imported from China and deployed in New Delhi. Perhaps, the city’s green dream is not that farfetched or away.

Source : The Hindu 

IIT Hyderabad emerges joint winner in hacking contest - The Hindu

IIT Hyderabad emerges joint winner in hacking contest - The Hindu