Recognition for Hyderabad Cycling Project at UN meet

Source: The Hindu   Dt: 10.11.2016

The United Nations Habitat III conference has recognised Hyderabad Cycling Project amongst the 20 best social projects in the world, a cycling club official said on Tuesday. Hyderabad Bicycling Club and All India Bicycling Federation Chairman D.V Manohar and Hyderabad Metro Rail Director NVS Reddy told reporters here that the Hyderabad Cycling Project got this recognition at the conference at Quito, Ecuador. The conference finalised world's urban agenda for the next 20 years — 2016 to 2036.

Manohar, also a board member of World Cycling Alliance, Brussels said it was a matter of great pride for Hyderabad and Telangana. He said HBC stations as first and last mile connectivity for Metro rail will help Hyderabad in reducing pollution. All 63 Metro stations will have two bicycle stations each and there will be 300 bicycle stations in the city. Hyderabad Cycling Project is expected to clock 20 mn cycling trips per annum. "We want to accelerate the project in Hyderabad and replicate it in other cities, to avoid the grave situation being faced by cities like Delhi," Manohar said.IANS

Two stretches of Hyderabad Metro may open next year

Source: ET Realty   Dt:9.11.2016

HYDERABAD: Two stretches of Hyderabad Metro Rail are expected to be thrown open to people in March or June next year.

Hyderabad Metro Rail Limited (HMRL) Managing Director N.V.S. Reddy told reporters on Tuesday that eight km long stretch between Nagole and Mettuguda and 12 km between Miyapur and SR Nagar may commence commercial operations either on 'Ugadi' or June 2, Telangana state formation day.

He said the two stretches in two different corridors were ready for operations.

Asked about the delay in launching the commercial operations, he said opening two small stretches in two different corridors was not considered advisable.

Reddy said some people were deliberately spreading rumours about the project.

The official said 70 percent of the 72 km elevated project had completed. He said they were trying to sort out certain issues related to land with the railways.

Construction major Larsen & Toubro, which is developing the metro project, had last month stated that it remained committed to the project and was making all efforts to complete it expeditiously.

The developer clarified that it is sticking to its deadline of making the project fully operational by December 2018.

As per the concession agreement signed with the then government of united Andhra Pradesh in 2010, the project should have been completed by July 2017.

The concession agreement for Rs 14,132 crore project, said to be the largest metro project in the world in public-private partnership, was signed in September 2010 but the work commenced in July 2012.

LTMRHL in 2011 had achieved financial closure for Rs 16,375 crore - Rs 14,132 crore for the metro rail system and Rs 2,243 crore for the first phase of real estate development.

Admitting in May this year that there has been cost escalation, the company did not share the figures, saying they are "dynamic".

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HMDA Approved Plots

www.hmdaplots.blogspot.in

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Hyderabad has huge potential for modern retail: Knight Frank

Source: The Hans India  9.9.2016

~ 4th largest market in the country after MMR, NCR & Bengaluru ~

Hyderabad: Knight Frank India  launched the first edition of its report on Hyderabad retail sector titled – Hyderabad Retail: Unlocking the Potential. The report looks into the emerging trends in multi-channel retailing, shopping centers and new formats. As part of the city-level analysis, the report estimates the size of the retail market and the growth opportunity for modern retail in apparel, F&B, Entertainment and Daily Needs (supermarket/hypermarkets).

Key Highlights:
•    The city's annual consumption expenditure stands at INR 1,251 bn, making it the fourth largest market in the country after the MMR, NCR and Bengaluru.

•    Hyderabadis far ahead of Pune and Chennai in terms of retail expenditure, which includes spending on apparel and footwear, F&B, home and lifestyle, electronics, watches and jewellery, entertainment and daily needs. In 2015, the annual consumer spending on these retail categories stood at INR 384 bn.

•    Despite having a sizeable customer base with high consumption and retail expenditure, modern retail penetration in Hyderabad stands at a meager 9%- the lowest among top seven cities in the country. This reflects a big opportunity for the growth of modern retail in the city. Hyderabad lags behind in modern retail expenditure, which stands at INR 36 bn.

•    Modern retail in Hyderabad expected to grow at a CAGR of 23% between 2015 and 2019 from Rs.36 bn to Rs. 86 bn.

•    It is estimated that by the year 2040, modern retail penetration in Hyderabad will increase to 50% from the current 9%, with both brick-and-mortar and e-tail formats contributing significantly to the growth.

•    Locations like Abids, Punjagutta, and Begumpet in Central zone offer the highest opportunity for modern retail across all product categories. Uppal in the East is a location that is likely to experience modern retail growth.

Dr. Samantak Das, Chief Economist &National Director of Research, Knight Frank India said, "Hyderabad at 9% has the least penetration of modern retail compared to the top seven cities in India. This in itself is a big opportunity for retailers and real estate developers and we estimate that modern retail in the city is expected to grow at a CAGR of 23% between 2015 and 2019 from Rs.36 bn to Rs. 86 bn. The manifestation of modern retail can be accelerated by new mall development, transformation of existing traditional high street shops into modern outlets and increasing e-tailing activities."

Aditya Sachdeva, Director, Retail, Knight Frank India said, "The modern retail growth in Hyderabad will be propelled by both brick-and-mortar and e-tail formats and we have estimated the modern retail penetration to 50% from the current 9% by 2040."

As per Vasudevan Iyer, Director, Knight Frank, Hyderabad, "Hyderabad has been witnessing a sizeable customer base and that drives the success of retail developments in Hyderabad. It has emerged as a sought-after retail market in the last couple of years, with a number of national and international giants like IKEA desiring to set up stores in the city.While there is great potential for the overall growth in the brick and mortar retailing methods, proper implementation of state level policies is a must to make retail business conducive."

ZF to open India's first tech development center in Hyderabad

Source: Economic Times 9.9.2016

The facility will be operational by January 2017 and will house 2,500 engineers by 2020. It will develop electronics embedded software and mechanical engineering.

HYDERABAD: ZF Group, an automotive software technology provider, will open India's first technology center in Hyderabad, a senior official said on Thursday.

Talking to journalists in Hyderabad on Thursday, Mamatha Chamarthi, ZF senior vice-president and head for India Technology Center, said, "We will be setting up this center at a one-lakh square feet facility in Gachibowli and will be spending close to 20-30 million Euros (approximately US$23-34 million)."

The facility will be operational by January 2017 and will house 2,500 engineers by 2020. It will develop electronics embedded software and mechanical engineering. TCS and Tech Mahindra are the knowledge partners for this center.

Telangana IT and Industries minister K. Taraka Rama Rao said, "Till now Hyderabad was the destination of only pure-tech companies. But with the entry of ZF, an automobile services company, we are bound to see traction in this segment."

The company already has manufacturing facilities in Pune and Coimbatore to serve the local requirements of of automotive and non-automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs).

"India offers a huge technologically competent talent pool which aligns with the growing demand from our customers for advanced software, electronics and mechanical engineering. Access to this diverse talent base coupled with a progressive local government and robust infrastructure has made Hyderabad favorable for setting up the first technology center for ZF in India," said Mamatha Chamarthi of ZF.

CGS Expands Its Operations in Hyderabad, India

NEW YORK, NY and HYDERABAD, INDIA--(Marketwired - Aug 12, 2016) -  CGS, a global provider of business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services, today announced the expansion of its activities in India with a new office opening in Hyderabad. This expansion will support CGS's growing list of global clients.

Known as one of the premier technology destinations in India, Hyderabad offers CGS a direct link to the country's IT ecosystem. The new world-class office, which nearly doubles the company's capacity in the region, supports CGS's worldwide growth by adding new product lines for software development and support.

"We are delighted that CGS India has shown remarkable growth over the last many years, and is moving into its new facility. Hyderabad's prowess in information technology is now renowned the world over, and we see more and more marquee names choosing this city over others to set up their units here," said Jayesh Ranjan, Secretary to the Government of Telangana for Information Technology, Electronics and Communications. "CGS too is a marquee company serving the fashion/apparel vertical, and its significant presence in Hyderabad is a matter of pride for us. The Government of Telangana reiterates its commitment to fully support the growth of CGS India and have a long-lasting partnership with it."

"We have been operating in Hyderabad for more than a decade and, with our continued employee growth, this new facility offers us more than added space -- it brings us in close proximity to the heart of the high-tech city area," said Jithendra "Jithu" Rao Battu, country manager, CGS India. "We are expecting to leverage the domestic talent pool and grow our team multi-fold in the next 12 to 18 months to support our global growth."

The CGS Hyderabad team offers Application Development & Maintenance (ADM) and Software Quality Assurance (SQA) services for the BlueCherry suite of software solutions. The CGS India office also provides around-the-clock Remote Infrastructure Management Services to clients that host CGS solutions via the CGS private cloud or delivered through our Remote Monitoring and Management offering.

"With over 30 years of experience in delivering best-in-class applications, CGS prides itself on building strong client relationships by providing world-class services," said Phil Friedman, president and CEO, CGS. "We hire the best and the brightest software engineers who perform challenging and interesting software development using state-of-the-art tools and methodologies."

About CGS
For over 30 years, CGS has enabled global enterprises, regional companies and government agencies to drive breakthrough performance through business applications, enterprise learning and outsourcing services. CGS is wholly focused on creating comprehensive solutions that meet clients' complex, multi-dimensional needs and support clients' most fundamental business activities. Headquartered in New York City, CGS has offices across North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. For more information, please visit www.cgsinc.com 

Germanys ZF Group to set up technology centre in Hyderabad

Source: PTI  7.8.16

Hyderabad, Aug 7 (PTI) German car parts maker ZF Friedrichshafen AG is setting up its first India Technology Centre in Hyderabad, which will be dedicated to software and mechanical engineering.

The centre will support ZFs global development teams while enabling the company to accelerate local product development, a company statement said.

It will be fully operational by January 1 next year 2017 and is expected to have a workforce of 2,500 engineers by 2020.

"This new facility is a significant investment for ZF in India. We are harnessing the skilled talent pool that India has to offer in order to develop superior technology solutions for our global as well as local customers," Dr Stefan Sommer, CEO of ZF Friedrichshafen AG, was quoted as saying.

Over the years, ZF has been successful in localising high technology products in India, the statement said.

"As demand for software engineering grows, we will exponentially increase our capacity to help meet our customers growth aspirations. With this technology centre, we are reinforcing our global R&D footprint as well as our commitment and investment in the rapidly emerging Indian market," he said.

As many as 13,800 engineers are working in R&D with ZF globally. The research and development network consists of more than 100 development locations, including 17 main development locations.

ZF has been in operation for more than three decades in the Indian market and ZF TRW for more than 50 years through its joint venture with TVS and Rane Groups. Currently, with nearly 12,000 employees, including JVs, ZF has 19 production facilities excluding warehouses and office buildings.

Mamatha Chamarthi, Senior Vice-President and Executive Lead for the new India Technology Centre, said: "ZF has an impressive history of being the leader and innovator in the auto component sector. We have 1,000 external engineers in the field of electronics, software and mechanical engineering with key Indian Engineering Services providers in Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad."

"Our ZF India technology centre will build on this engineering foundation and focus not only on bringing advanced technology to India, but localising more strategic business activities, including research, design and development." PTI RS GK ARD SDM

 

Re: Travel start-ups create a buzz in Hyderabad

Hello

On Saturday, July 23, 2016 10:48 AM, omprakash k <kudikalaomprakash@gmail.com> wrote:

At least 10 such start-ups have come up in last one year alone

HYDERABAD: Travel start-upshave turned out to be a hit across the country, and Hyderabad, for its part, has churned out a handful of such niche firms. The city is home to at least 10 travel-based start-ups that have come up in the last one year alone.

Rahul Verma, cofounder of Tripmatic, decided to create an app to preserve travel memories while he was holidaying in south east Asia last year. The app uses information such as geo-location, dates, time and photos to help other travellers get a better picture of places they want to head to. "I feel travel agents often do not present correct data. Pictures shown are many a times artificially beautified. So, I thought of a simple way of showing a travel destination through the eyes of a traveller," said Verma. The app currently has 700 users, four months into its launch. Other apps such as Travelkhushi provide travel accessories including slippers, travel bags and customised travel kits (such as shaving kits) to people. "In India, travel accessories are largely undiscovered and have a lot of potential. Our model is to deliver easily-packed travel requirements in limited quantities at touch points during the journey," said founder Vishal Chakravarthy, a 27-year-old MBA graduate.

Experts say travel-based start-ups have caught on fast in the city. "There are an increasing number of start-ups and the good thing is they do not follow the herd mentality. A few of them are doing very well, aimed at addressing some identified problems," said Ramesh Loganathan, start-up mentor at T Hub and member, incubator board, IIT-Hyderabad.

Omitra, an app-based city start-up, has been connecting people with similar interests during long train journeys. The app has around 45,000 users and will add a food aggregating service to allow users to choose food delivery options from various hotels across 300 cities during their journey. "With the food aggregating service and train updates on the app, we have started getting advertising revenue," said Vikas Jagetiya, 35, the app's founder.

Groupila, another startup, allows users to choose between five verticals of interests. Started two months ago, users can choose how to spend their time from a range of events, activities, getaways, choices of food and drink, as well as interesting places to be explored in the city. The founders, Satish Sharma and Praneeth Chinta, discovered that the market for the app was big. "We realised that the market starts from 15-year-olds to 50-yearolds and with increasing incomes, people want to have more and more experiences," said Sharma.

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