NetApp, NASSCOM Foundation Join Forces to Bridge AI Talent Gap with New Skilling Program

George Kurian, CEO, NetApp and Rostow Ravanan, Chairperson, Nasscom Foundation

Recognizing India’s pivotal role in the global AI economy, NetApp®, the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, today announced a multi-year partnership with the Nasscom Foundation to launch a skilling program in AI in Data Science. Furthering its commitment to promoting Data Science and AI Education, the initiative was unveiled in Bengaluru in the presence of George Kurian, CEO, NetApp and Rostow Ravanan, Chairperson, Nasscom Foundation.

The program is designed to prepare the next generation of technology talent from underserved communities by equipping them with in-demand skills in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. In its first phase, engineering graduates from resource-constrained communities across the states of Karnataka and Delhi will be trained through a comprehensive curriculum that blends technical expertise with workplace readiness and industry exposure.

Our partnership with Nasscom Foundation reflects our shared vision of building a future-ready workforce. We are meeting the evolving needs of the digital economy by co-creating industry-relevant curricula. This helps not only in nurturing AI talent at scale but also strengthening Nasscom Foundation’s skilling ecosystem, said Vasanthi Ramesh, Vice President of Engineering and Site Leader, NetApp India.

Participants will undertake 120 hours of technical training in Python, data analytics, machine learning, and deep learning, complemented by NetApp-curated sessions on Kubernetes, persistent storage, and AI infrastructure. Beyond technical skills, the initiative will also deliver 60 hours of soft skills development, including communication, teamwork, and career guidance, to enable graduates to be job-ready. Industry-recognized certifications and job placement support will further enhance employability, with a target of placing nearly 70 percent of the cohort in technology roles.

“The growing demand for AI and Data Science professionals is reshaping the future of work,” said Mr. Rostow Ravanan, Chairperson, Nasscom Foundation. “To meet this transformation head-on, it is vital to bridge the opportunity gap by ensuring equitable access to continuous, industry-aligned skilling. Our collaboration with NetApp reflects this vision where we are empowering youth, especially women from underserved communities, with the digital, AI, and data capabilities needed to thrive in an inclusive and future-ready economy.”

The skilling program launched by NetApp and Nasscom Foundation furthers India’s ambition to be a global hub for AI talent by addressing a critical gap: the need for skilled, ethical, and job-ready professionals. Through rigorous technical training combined with real-world exposure, the initiative will create pathways into meaningful technology careers and broaden inclusion in the digital economy.

About Nasscom Foundation:

Established in 2001, Nasscom Foundation has been witness to the transformative power of technology for over two decades. Part of the Nasscom ecosystem, we are a neutral not-for-profit organization representing the Indian tech industry. We remain rooted to our core philosophy of TechForGood, where our efforts are focused on unlocking the power of technology by creating access and opportunity for those who need it the most. We work on helping people and institutions transform the way they tackle social and economic challenges through technology. We have five key areas of intervention – Digital Literacy, Skilling and Employability, Women Entrepreneurship, Scaling Social Innovation and Empowering NGO Ecosystem.

About NetApp

For more than three decades, NetApp has helped the world’s leading organizations navigate change – from the rise of enterprise storage to the intelligent era defined by data and AI. Today, NetApp is the Intelligent Data Infrastructure company, helping customers turn data into a catalyst for innovation, resilience, and growth.

At the heart of that infrastructure is the NetApp data platform – the unified, enterprise-grade, intelligent foundation that connects, protects, and activates data across every cloud, workload, and environment. Built on the proven power of NetApp ONTAP, our leading data management software and OS, and enhanced by automation through the AI Data Engine and AFX, it delivers observability, resilience, and intelligence at scale.

Disaggregated by design, the NetApp data platform separates storage, services, and control so enterprises can modernize faster, scale efficiently, and innovate without lock-in. As the only enterprise storage platform natively embedded in the world’s largest clouds, it gives organizations the freedom to run any workload anywhere with consistent performance, governance, and protection.

With NetApp, data is always ready – ready to defend against threats, ready to power AI, and ready to drive the next breakthrough. That’s why the world’s most forward-thinking enterprises trust NetApp to turn intelligence into advantage.

NETAPP, the NETAPP logo, and the marks listed at www.netapp.com/TM are trademarks of NetApp, Inc. Other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

57% of Indian Enterprises Allocate Less Than 30% of Technology Spending to Digital Spend – Dassault Systèmes–NASSCOM Report

• Virtual Twin Technology Impact Report from Dassault Systèmes and nasscom Highlights 2x Growth in Virtual Twin Adoption in India
• 90% of the enterprises surveyed are aware of digital and virtual twins
• 45% of virtual twin deployments take nearly 12-24 months at each level, indicating the time-intensive technology discovery-to-production cycle with each new virtual twin implementation
• 33% of the virtual twin initiatives in life sciences are driven by top leadership (CXOs), compared to just 22% on average
• 3X more life sciences companies indicate dependence on downstream companies’ virtual twin adoption for their own virtual twin impact

Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: FR0014003TT8, DSY.PA) and nasscom today released a report on the adoption and impact of virtual twin technology. The report reveals a twofold increase in virtual twin implementations post-pandemic. Virtual twin adoption in India could play a crucial role in accelerating the design-to-realization process, helping organizations achieve their sustainability and circularity goals across the value chain.

Here are the key findings for India:

Digital and Process Maturity

• 57% of Indian enterprises allocate less than 30% of technology spending to digital spend
• Over 50% of the enterprises also indicate patchy digitalization, with only the key functions digitalized, but in silos, thereby limiting effective ROI realization
• Less than 1-in-5 companies have put in place advanced process automation; the majority have implemented Retrofitted Process Automation (RPA)

Virtual Twin Budgets and Scale

• 25% of the companies do not have formal budgets for virtual twins
• 80% of the companies have less than 7% of tech spend allocated to virtual twin adoption
• 63% of Indian companies deploy virtual twins at the product or process level. 40% of those companies are at the product level in using virtual twins, 23% at the process level. Precision in product-market fit came as one of the top three objectives for implementing virtual twins.

Deployment Time

• 75% of virtual twin implementations in India take between 12-24 months of deployment time at each level of product, process, or system virtual twin

Primary Business Objectives

• Precision in product market fit
• Manufacturing process efficiencies
• Remote maintenance and worker safety

Supplier Strategy

• 75% of Indian enterprises cite supplier selection as a major challenge
• 50% are evaluating suppliers

Tech Readiness

• 70% of Indian firms indicate that across software, IT-OT hardware, and connectivity tech, they are still in the PoC/pilot stages
• Analytics and AI/ML applications are some of the least productionized, after high-definition 3D software and other specialist applications. 
• 67% of enterprises seek either best-of-breed software packages or partner with large managed service providers for their virtual twin applications. 

This report is based on a survey of 130 companies in India as well as across Europe and APAC, focusing on large and mid-sized enterprises with annual recurring revenue (ARR) of $500 million and above. The survey spans four major industry segments: continuous manufacturing, discrete manufacturing, public infrastructure and smart cities, and life sciences and healthcare.

“Virtual twin technology is poised at the brink of transformative potential, marked by a sharp increase in awareness and early adoptions since the pandemic. Although full-scale implementations and dedicated budgets remain limited, the focus on optimizing assets and processes opens up expansive opportunities. Overcoming hurdles in software procurement, enhancing top-level commitment and ecosystem synergies can unlock groundbreaking innovations, driving industries toward a more efficient and digitally integrated future,” said Sangeeta Gupta, Senior Vice President & Chief Strategy Officer at Nasscom.

“With our latest report on virtual twin technology impact and adoption in collaboration with nasscom, we are encouraged by the significant growth in adoption and the emergence of industry-specific use cases. Our report underscores the imperative for organizations to secure top leadership commitment and navigate software procurement challenges to achieve production-grade capabilities. We remain committed to empowering businesses in their journey towards enhanced performance and operational efficiency through virtual twin technology, driving sustainable growth and innovation across industries,” said Deepak NG, Managing Director, India, Dassault Systèmes.

For more information:

Dassault Systèmes’ 3DEXPERIENCE platform, 3D design software, 3D Digital Mock Up and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions: http://www.3ds.com

Link to the report: https://tinyurl.com/VirtualTwins

6 out of 7 Indian InsureTech Unicorns Focus on B2C, Tackling Penetration Hurdles, Says ICICI Lombard-NASSCOM Research

ICICI Lombard, India's leading private sector general insurance company in collaboration with nasscom has launched a research report titled “Digitalizing Insurance: India End-Consumer Perspective”. Launched at the sidelines of Future Forge 2023, the report highlights the tech integration in the insurance ecosystem – from the creation of tailored insurance products to the ways customers discover, purchase, and manage their policies – and what trends and shifts that are shaping the future of insurance in India.

India as an overall insurance market has grown at nearly 8.4% p.a. since 2018, compared to the global 2.4% during the same time. Non-life insurance have grown a lot faster, clocking between 15% - 20% growth, and surpassing that of life insurance in FY2022. The rise of the sector’s penetration has been in sync with the growing share of its private insurance players significantly. Technology investments in the sector have also increased significantly, driving access and affordable adoption for the consumers.

According to the report, Indian InsurTech startups have successfully secured a collective funding of $2.6 billion since 2018, with approximately 90% of these investments fueling end-to-end InsurTech players. This substantial funding injection has significantly enhanced awareness of various non-life insurance products in India. As per the report, 6 out of 7 Unicorns in India's InsurTech domain are dedicated to the B2C sector, addressing the critical issue of penetration.

 

Digital India mission and standardization of India’s tech stack approach, inspired by UPI’s success, can further aid rapid growth to the insurance market over the next 5-7 years.

India’s digital insurance journey

The report states that the growing digital-usage, data privacy, access to human guidance, and reliable online services are top-of-mind to consumers than the benefits of new-age technology solutions. Going forward, consumer preferences with digital insurance will be centred around simple-to-understand, transparent, trustworthy, and personalized services. Additionally, 24*7 access to the services, user-friendly web interface, mobile accessibility and competitive premium rates will define the future course for the insurers.

Sangeeta Gupta, Sr. Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at NASSCOM, said, “The insurance industry has traditionally relied on face-to-face sales conversations, but with the advent of digitalization, it has transitioned into a hybrid model approach. Cutting-edge technologies such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, automation, and data analytics have played a pivotal role in the digital transformation of insurance operations.”

Girish Nayak, Chief – Technology and Health UW & Claims at ICICI Lombard, said, "In the contemporary insurance landscape, the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as AI, ML, data analytics and digital is profoundly reshaping industry dynamics. Insurers have transcended their traditional roles as mere policy providers and claim payers; they've evolved into architects of data-driven customer journeys and builders of risk management strategies. These transformative technologies empower insurers to offer policies that are finely tailored to individual needs, expedite claims processing with unprecedented efficiency, and gain invaluable insights into customer behaviour. In this digital-driven evolution, ICICI Lombard, as a leading insurance company, not only mitigates risks but also embraces opportunities, where data and customer-centricity are paramount. As the industry marches forward into this era of digitalization, it's about building enduring lifetime relationships with customers, enhancing and protecting their lives, and contributing to a more secure and connected world."

InsurTech Funding Landscape (India) –

• Indian InsurTech Start-Ups raised aggregate $2.6 Bn since 2018 which is relatively more robust with stable share of Insurtech funding as compared to Global InsurTech funding in 2022. 
• ~90% of $2.6 Bn Funding in InsurTech has gone into B2C/Aggregators or End to End InsurTech players positively impacting policy Awareness of various Non-Life Insurance products in India.
• 6 out of 7 Unicorns in India's InsurTech space out are B2C helping solve for Penetration challenge which is 1% Premium as a % of GDP (1/4th of Global Avg)
• 4X to 5X Premium Growth of Funded Aggregators as compared to traditional insurers. As compared to Global (80-90%), in India only 10% of Equity funding in InsurTech goes towards B2B InsurTech Start-Ups that are creating technology solutions for offering custom products (Dynamic products), risk assessments, policy administration to claim processing.

About nasscom

nasscom is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India and comprises over 3000-member companies. Our membership spans across the entire spectrum of the industry from startups to multinationals and from products to services, Global Capability Centers to Engineering firms. Guided by India's vision to become a leading digital economy globally, nasscom focuses on accelerating the pace of transformation of the industry to emerge as the preferred enabler for global digital transformation. Our strategic imperatives are to reskill and upskill India's IT workforce to ensure that talent is future-ready in terms of new-age skills, strengthen the innovation quotient across industry verticals, create new market opportunities - both international and domestic, drive policy advocacy to advance innovation and ease of doing business, and build the industry narrative with focus on Talent, Trust, and Innovation. And, in everything we do, we will continue to champion the need for diversity and equal opportunity.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd.

ICICI Lombard is the leading private general insurance company in the country. The Company offers a comprehensive and well-diversified range of products through multiple distribution channels, including motor, health, crop, fire, personal accident, marine, engineering, and liability insurance. With a legacy of over 21 years, ICICI Lombard is committed to customer centricity with its brand philosophy of ‘Nibhaaye Vaade’. The company has issued over 32.7 million policies, settled 3.6 million claims and has a Gross Written Premium (GWP) of ₹217.72 billion for the year ended March 31, 2023. ICICI Lombard has 305 branches and 12,865 employees, as on March 31, 2023.

ICICI Lombard has been a pioneer in the industry and is the first large scale insurance company in India to migrate its entire core systems to cloud. With a strong focus on being digital led and agile, it has launched a plethora of tech-driven innovations, including the industry first Face Scan on its signature insurance and wellness App - IL TakeCare, with over 6.9 million user downloads. The company has won several laurels including ET Corporate Excellence Awards, Golden Peacock Awards, FICCI Insurance Awards, National CSR awards etc. for its various initiatives. For more details log on to https://www.icicilombard.com

Uber Partners Startup India and Nasscom AI To Launch ‘Uber Sustainovate’ Startup Challenge

Uber’s push for innovation in sustainable mobility, rolls out ‘Uber Sustainovate’ Startup challenge

• Partners with Start-Up India and nasscom AI to enable innovators
• Calls for entries from startups to create innovative solutions
• Winning team to be awarded a grant of $120,000 (~ Rs 1 crore)

Uber today announced 'Uber Sustainovate’, a Startup Challenge looking for innovative solutions to fast track the adoption of sustainable mobility in India. The competition, in partnership with Startup India and nasscom AI, is designed to award startups that produce the best workable ideas that would help accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility in the country. The winning startup would be awarded a grant of $120,000 (approximately Rs 1 crore), and the top 3 entries would be awarded mentorship sessions with the tech leadership of Uber in India in order to help them sharpen their skills and competencies.

As the leading ridesharing company, Uber is committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2040 and has been continuously working to reduce tailpipe emissions. With the aim to promote an ecosystem where startups are incentivised to work on emergence of sustainable solutions, Uber Sustainovate will provide a platform for visionary startups that are eager to turn their ambition to action.

Commenting on the startup challenge, Manikandan Thangarathnam, Senior Director of Engineering, and Site Lead for Bangalore, Uber said, “We have always believed that the energy transition in the mobility sector can only succeed if industry and technology work together. Startups can be the source of new and path-breaking solutions given the tech talent density that exists in India. Uber Sustainovate is our way to ignite these possibilities as we work together towards building sustainable mobility solutions for India and from India.”

Participating startups would have the option to choose from one of the following four tracks to focus their ideas on:

• Smart infrastructure and charging solutions
• Easy discovery of charging infra - better interoperability
• Making the economics more viable for drivers/commercial fleet owners
• Improving asset utilisation

The startup challenge is open for entries up to 18th October 2023. Registration will be followed by multiple rounds of shortlisting, based on overarching ideas, proof of concept, working prototypes, and overall alignment with Uber’s sustainability mission and values. The winner will be announced in January 2024, after a final jury round.

Startups passionate about driving change in the mobility sector are encouraged to register online through this link. Detailed guidelines and submission requirements will be provided to facilitate seamless participation.

CIE at IIIT Hyderabad Organises Generative AI Summit along with T-Hub and Nasscom DTC

CIE at IIIT Hyderabad (IIITH) organised a Generative AI Summit along with T-Hub and Nascomm DTC in the city on Wednesday. Over 50 high-tech startups were showcased at the Hyderabad Gen AI summit. 10 tech leaders deliberated on Gen AI use cases in BFSI and enterprise tech sectors. 20 curated startups presented their Gen AI solutions and VCs shared insights on the opportunities for Gen AI.

The BFSI panel deliberated on the Gen AI use cases in the financial sector. Tech Leaders Wells Fargo (Harish Mohan), Goldman Sachs (Alok Madhukar), Shreenivas P Rao, Mass Mutual (Rajesh V), and HSBC (Mamatha Madireddy), brought their insights and experiences in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance domain.

On the Enterprise Tech front, luminaries such as Abhay Tandon (TVS), Jayaram Valliyur (Uber), Sundar Srinivasan (Microsoft), Ravi Kappagantu (JPMC), and Vasudeva Verma (IIITH) shared insights and perspectives, delving into the latest trends and innovations within the enterprise technology landscape.

The Deeptech panel boasted a lineup including Prof CV Jawahar (IIITH), Prof Anoop Namboodiri (IIITH), Prof Manish Srivastava (IIITH), Vishnu (Subtl.Ai), Parikshit (DreamVu), Pavan Reddy (Neural Sync), and Srinivas Kolipara (Xelpmoc Design & Tech Limited). These accomplished individuals engaged in in-depth discussions surrounding cutting-edge developments in the realm of deep technology.

Lastly, the VCs panel comprised the expertise of Roopan Aulakh (Pi Ventures), Anagh Prasad (Accel), Vamshi (Kalaari), Rajeev Suri (Orios Ventures), and Srikanth Sundarajan (T-Hub), who provided valuable insights into the world of venture capital, startups, and investment strategies.

The topics of discussion were Enterprise Speak- Gen AI value real or fictional? For the BFSI panel where Leaders from Indian/MNC fintech companies deliberating on use-cases in BFSI, Generative AI in Enterprise Tech for Enterprise Tech panel, DeepTech Jugalbandi for the Deeptech Panel where 3 eminent IIITH professors, and the startup founders whose startup came out of their work in a fireside chat and The Winds, Generative AI trends that VCs see for the VC Panel where VCs reflected on how Gen AI companies are performing.

Specifically, a panel on research startups where professors and the startup founders had a conversation on how research startups go from lab to land.

20 curated startups showcased their Gen AI tech across conversational AI, video generation, data ML and analytical generatio: Subtl.AI, GenZ Technologies, OML.AI, Haptik, PureCode, PushpakTech, Smart Bot, Nuacem, Atai, Dave ai, Hirex Ai, Revition, Atomstate Technologies Private Limited, Voxta, Tryd.Ai, Ajna.Ai, Deeplobe, Matchday.Ai, Anantadi and the AI Studio.

A directory of Gen AI startups compiled and released. With 50 startups identified and profiled. Few lines brief on the profiles.

A comprehensive directory of cutting-edge Gen AI startups has been meticulously curated, encompassing 50 standout ventures. Each of these startups has been thoughtfully profiled to provide a concise yet insightful glimpse into their unique offerings and contributions to the Gen AI landscape. This compilation aims to offer attendees an unparalleled opportunity to familiarize themselves with the forefront of Gen AI innovation in Hyderabad. By perusing these profiles, attendees will gain a deep understanding of the diverse array of startups that are shaping the future of artificial intelligence in this dynamic city.

Religare and NASSCOM's CoE for AI & IoT Collaborate to Drive Emerging Tech Innovation

REL will leverage nasscom CoE’s expertise on co-creation and extensive access to innovation solutions from startups and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the tech sector for industry transformation.

The partnership will enable startups to address real business challenges and gain access to strategic investments.

Religare Enterprises Limited (REL), India’s leading diversified financial services group, and nasscom CoE for IoT & AI, have entered a strategic partnership to strengthen REL’s business processes & solution landscape, making it future-ready through the infusion of cutting-edge technology and innovation. The collaboration will harness the collective strengths of both organisations to enhance customer experience and drive operational efficiencies and data security while creating long-term value within the sector.

nasscom CoE’s expertise in co-creation and vast network of startups and SMEs specializing in emerging technologies such as AI,ML, AR/VR, Robotics, Blockchain, Drones, and IoT, will present Religare Group the access to relevant innovators and their technology. The Group will continue to explore potential business collaborations tailored to the company’s specific needs and seize possible opportunities to benefit the enterprise and BFSI sector.

With the announcement, nasscom CoE has also launched the Fifth version of the Healthcare Innovation Challenge (HIC), a one-of-its-kind initiative to tackle the challenges healthcare providers face in their journey to digital transformation. Religare Group’s Care Health Insurance Ltd, a leader in the health insurance space, will work with nasscom CoE in bringing digital technology solutions for the health insurance industry.

Announcing the partnership, Dr Rashmi Saluja, Executive Chairperson, Religare Enterprises Ltd said: “Our collaboration with nasscom CoE signifies a significant milestone in our journey towards becoming a 360-degree financial services provider by nurturing, adopting, and integrating technological innovations in our core and future businesses. By harnessing the power of emerging technologies, we aim to strengthen our business operations, enhance diligence, and deliver unparalleled value to our customers and shareholders. It is our vision that this partnership will not only accelerate our digital transformation but also enable us to support other players in the financial services sector to undertake this journey."

“Furthermore, our vision is to support startups that are born in India and focused on India-specific solutions. In doing so, we are aligning ourselves with the government's vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat - a self-reliant and economically strong nation. Nurturing these startups will enable us to retain talent and ownership of India-centric solutions, thereby strengthening our global leadership in technology and innovations.”

The strategic partnership between Religare and nasscom CoE encompasses several key initiatives that aim to shape the future of financial services. Religare will gain access to a curated pool of innovators through regular pitch sessions, opening doors for potential collaborations in the near future. Additionally, Religare will have an early advantage in identifying strategic investment opportunities in startups, fostering innovation, and driving growth.

Emphasizing the potential of this partnership Mr Sanjeev Malhotra, CEO, nasscom CoE said: “Religare and its entities will jointly work on use-cases and co-create solutions with the startup ecosystem that will promote homegrown tech innovation driving significant impact on enterprises and create business value.”

As part of this partnership, Religare will also have the opportunity to mentor two CoE-incubated startups, leading to the nurturing of entrepreneurial talent. This strategic partnership will propel Religare’s digital transformation journey and position the company at the forefront of the industry, delivering cutting-edge solutions and unprecedented value to its customers.

Only 11% of Tech Investment in DeepTech Startups, More Funding Needed: NASSCOM

More financing is needed for the country's deep technology startup to move fast, while at the moment the sector is receiving only 11 percent of total technology investment

Devjani Ghosh, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies ( NASSCOM), said this on Friday.

Deep Technology startups are enterprises that works in the field of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, quantum, blockchain, Internet of things (IoT), Drones and augmented Realty (AR), among others.

In a workshop titled 'Startups and Entrepreneurship: Vision India @2047', organised by the Department of Industry and Internal Trade Promotion under the Ministry of Commerce, Ghosh said that there are more than 25,000 tech startups in the country। Only 3,000 of it is related to intensive technology

She said that India has some of the best deep technology startups, working in a full range of emerging technologies, But they are getting only 11 percent in technology related funding.

Countries like China and the United States are prioritising their funds to the deep tech startup ecosystem because this sector is driving innovation for their country, according to Ghosh.

She also suggested mandatory 'startup service for students. She suggested creation of a 'startup service' on the lines of mandatory military service in countries like Singapore.

She said, "Can we say in the third or fourth year of engineering ( course) that you ( students ) have to work a year in a tech startups? This will help tech startups reach the best talent and compete with larger companies।"

DXC Technology and NASSCOM Foundation Inaugurate Digital Training Center for Women Engineering Students in Pune

Representational Image

Digital training centers will be launched across seven other women engineering colleges across India; the first center was launched in Hyderabad

Centres will contribute to the government's Digital India mission by building the technical capabilities of students

Encouraging women's participation in digital learning in India is key, hence all the exclusive collaboration with women engineering colleges

DXC Technology, in association with NASSCOM Foundation, jointly inaugurated their second Digital Training Centre at the Cummins College of Engineering for Women, Pune, to enhance technical capabilities and digital learning amongst students. After the successful launch of the first Digital Training center in Hyderabad last month, eight other similar centers in colleges across the country are being planned to aid digital training in emerging technologies.

Cummins College's digital training center was formally inaugurated in the presence of Kartik Iyer, Director of Operations - GDN, DXC Technology, Santosh Rao Manager skilling programs, NASSCOM Foundation, and Dr. Madhuri Khambete, Principal Cummins College. The inaugural session was also attended by other dignitaries from TMIe2E and faculties and students at the college.

Under this initiative, similar digital centers will also be inaugurated subsequently in the following seven institutions:

• Gayatri Vidya Parishad College of Engineering for Women, Vishakhapatnam
• Bhoj Reddy Engineering College for Women, Hyderabad
• Ravindra College of Engineering for Women, Kurnool
• Godutai Engineering College for Women, Kalabutagi
• Mody Universities, Jaipur
• Banasthali Vidyapeeth Engineering College, Jaipur
• Mahendra Engineering College for Women, Salem

As a part of the Technology Skilling Initiatives Program executed by TMIe2E, state-of-the-art tech-enabled centers have been established for engineering students to hone their technical skills and educate, engage, and elevate them to be future-ready in the evolving digital environment. Students can also acquire industry-relevant abilities by combining developing technologies, including Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, etc., with management education. The centers can also be utilized for various events, including IdeaThons and Hackathons.

Lokendra Sethi, Head of HR – DXC Technology, India, said, "While enabling the accessibility of the right knowledge and life skills is at the core of our CSR vision, there is also the larger goal of nation building by empowering the youth; and especially the women of India to become self-reliant. With this collaboration with NASSCOM Foundation, we are reaching out to women engineering students across the country to provide them with the necessary digital skills and competencies to make them future-ready. Digital learning is the right next step in the overall advancement of our youth and therefore the key to a stronger India."

Nidhi Bhasin, CEO of NASSCOM Foundation, said, "While most of India's population comprises the youth, it faces the challenge of future-proofing the potential of its talent and leveraging the demographic dividend. The existing skill gap has challenged the progress of youth as well as the supply of talent for businesses. To bridge this gap, prioritizing digital learning through establishing digital centers will cater to the much-needed skills amongst students, especially women, for the ever-growing futuristic technological industry. We are honored to partner with DXC Technology to collaborate on an initiative that fosters young minds and encourages them to embrace rapid technological advancements to deliver to national and global needs."

Reports suggest that the market for digital transformation solutions will grow globally by 15.6% by 2030. With the increased adoption of digitization through the COVID-19 crisis, the pace of technology adoption has increased manifold across industries. Therefore, digital and technology expertise will form the bulk of employable skills in demand in the future. To empower the youth in educational institutions, especially women, with cutting-edge future skills and modern techno-digital solutions such as AI, ML is bound to go a long way in strengthening and shaping their future.

About DXC Technology:

DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) helps global companies run their mission-critical systems and operations while modernizing IT, optimizing data architectures, and ensuring security and scalability across public, private, and hybrid clouds. The world's largest companies and public sector organizations trust DXC to deploy services to drive new levels of performance, competitiveness, and customer experience across their IT estates. Learn more about how we deliver excellence for our customers and colleagues at DXC .com.

About NASSCOM Foundation:

Established in 2001, NASSCOM Foundation has been witness to the transformative power of technology for the last 20 years. Part of the NASSCOM ecosystem, we are the only neutral, not-for-profit outfit representing the Indian tech Industry. We remain rooted in our core philosophy of TechForGood, where our efforts are focussed on unlocking the power of technology by creating access and opportunity for those who need it the most. We work on helping people and institutions transform the way they tackle social and economic challenges through technology. We have three key areas of intervention, Digital Literacy, Skilling and Employability, and Women Entrepreneurship.

With Total Revenue of ~ $227 Bn, Indian IT Industry Directly Employs Around 51 Lakh Persons in FY 2021-22

Image - Daniele D'Andreti

In Fiscal year 2021-22, Indian Information Technology (IT) Industry directly employs around 51 lakh persons, most of which are IT skilled, and the total estimated revenue is USD 227 billion, as per National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM), said a press release by Ministry of Electronics & IT.

In addition, with increasing digitalization under the Digital India program in the last 7 years, other economic sectors have created large opportunities for digitally enabled jobs, said the relese.

The total revenue of Indian IT sector for the last three years is as under:

Financial Year	Revenue (USD in billion)
FY 2019-20	190
FY 2020-21	196
FY 2021-22 E	227
Estimated | Source: NASSCOM

As per report by Ministry of Electronics & IT on “India’s trillion-dollar digital opportunity”, India is poised to be a trillion dollar digital economy and could support 60 to 65 million digitally enabled jobs by 2025-26. Also, as per NASSCOM, the projected requirement of manpower by Indian IT industry itself by the year 2026 would be around 95 lakh, for India to maintain the growth momentum in IT sector and also of which 55 lakh will be digitally skilled across key digital technologies such as cloud computing, AI, big data analytics and IoT etc.

Some of the steps taken by industry include increased fresher hiring, expanding operations to tier-II/III cities. To develop the future work force in emerging digital skills, Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY) and National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) have jointly initiated a programme titled “Future Skills PRIME (Programme for Re-skilling/Up-skilling of IT Manpower for Employability)” which aims to create a re-skilling/up-skilling ecosystem in futuristic technologies.

Under the Future Skills PRIME program so far, 8.20 Lakh candidates have registered on the Future Skills PRIME Portal, out of which, 1.36 Lakh candidates have completed their courses. Further, as per NASSCOM, some of the measures taken by industry for manpower planning and skill development training include alliances with academia for training the employee base, innovation and research &development across areas of emerging technologies, internal re-skilling programs and platforms, collaborations with other education technology companies.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Rajeev Chandrasekhar in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Earlier in February, NASSCOM reported that the India IT industry revenues had grown by 2.3% to $194 billion in 2020-21. In its yearly strategic review for 2021-22, NASSCOM said the industry added 4.5 lakh new jobs to take the overall direct employees to 50 lakh people.

In June 2020. it was reported that the value of software exports by units registered under STPI crossed the Rs 46,550-crore mark during the coronavirus lockdown, and timely provisioning of business continuity plans and permissions kept operational impact to minimum.

NIRA, that Offers Small Ticket Loans, Wins NASSCOM Emerge 50 Award 2021 in Fintech Category

Award recognizes India’s most promising software product companies

NIRA, a fintech offering small ticket loans to India’s mass market, today announced it has been recognised as one of the winners at the NASSCOM Emerge 50 Awards 2021. NASSCOM Emerge 50 is one of India’s most prestigious awards in the software products industry and recognises India’s finest software products that have the potential to be leaders of tomorrow. 

NIRA was selected among the winners from a pool of 700+ applicants that were evaluated by an eminent jury of 85+ members including product leaders, investors, entrepreneurs and industry leaders.

Over last 12 years, NASSCOM Emerge 50 has been recognizing companies who have shown grit and resilience in the face of adversity and embraced innovation in its truest sense. It has evolved to a platform that represents India’s finest products that are solving real global problems.

NIRA, a company co-founded by ex-Goldman Sachs colleagues Rohit Sen and Nupur Gupta, offers access to credit to low-middle income Indians at their time of need. It offers loans of up to Rs. 1 lakh for up to 1 year, via its app-based credit line.

"We are honoured to be recognized by NASSCOM at the Emerge 50 Awards 2021" said Rohit Sen, CEO and co-founder, NIRA. “Low-income Indians are often unable to get loans from banks and are forced to use expensive informal lenders at their time of need,. NIRA offers them credit in a fast and seamless way, at a much lower cost than their available sources of funds today.”

According to Nupur Gupta, co-founder, NIRA, “For many low-income Indians who find it difficult to save money, any unplanned expenses can significantly disrupt their finances and their lives. Availability of fast and affordable digital personal loans such as ours solves a real problems faced by many Indians and helps them successfully overcome difficult financial situations."

About NIRA

Launched in mid 2018 by finance professionals Rohit Sen and Nupur Gupta, NIRA harnesses the power of data and technology to reimagine the way finance can be provided to consumers.

NIRA focuses on providing small ticket loans to blue and grey collared Indians via its mobile app and website. For more information, www.nirafinance.com

NASSCOM Recognizes QuEST Global’s Sindhu Ramachandran as a Woman Role Model in ER&D

The award recognizes women in positions of technical leadership who serve as a role model for the entire ER&D ecosystem

Bengaluru, July 05, 2021 – QuEST Global, a global product engineering and lifecycle services company, today announced that Sindhu Ramachandran, General Manager with the company, has been recognized as ‘Woman Role Model in ER&D’ in the ESP segment at the NASSCOM Engineering & Innovation Excellence Awards, 2021. The award recognizes women in positions of technical leadership who serve as a role-model for their organization and the entire ER&D ecosystem.

Speaking on the development, Sindhu Ramachandran, said, "I am delighted to be recognized as a Woman Role Model in ER&D by NASSCOM. Apart from recognizing my effort, this award is an endorsement of the best-in-class services we provide to global clients from India as a team. This award reflects NASSCOM’s commitment towards increasing opportunities for women in Engineering and will inspire women to join the sector. I would also like to thank QuEST for giving me opportunities to create impact for customers globally."

Sindhu completed her B.Tech. in Computer Science & Engineering from College of Engineering, Trivandrum, and M.Tech. from University of Kerala and joined QuEST Global in 2008. She was interested to work in medical image processing, which motivated her to join QuEST Global. She has been working on projects involving the implementation of image processing algorithms and their optimization, medical imaging, and other such areas. Her experience in image processing and computer vision made her transition to the execution of AI projects easier and faster. As the relevance of AI increased, Sindhu successfully was able to marry industrial technologies with AI to add pertinent value to the various customers across industries. She conceptualized and positioned AI technologies as a strategic differentiator with the potential to scale across industries.

Currently, she leads the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Center of Excellence at QuEST Global. Sindhu makes QuEST an AI-aware organization internally by conceptualizing the competency framework for AI-related technologies and identifying the skills, competencies, and levels of expertise to be mapped to organizational roles.

"ER&D has become one of the fastest-growing segments in India as the country emerges as an engineering and design hub for automobiles, aerospace, consumer electronics, machinery, and semiconductors. Women generally bring diverse sets of experiences and will play a crucial role in the growth of the sector. Women leaders such as Sindhu are setting new benchmarks in the sector. I want to congratulate her and all the other awardees for their contributions to the Indian ER&D industry," said K S Viswanathan, Vice President, Industry Initiatives, NASSCOM.

"We are very proud of Sindhu’s contributions to the ER&D sector. Her ability to solve complex engineering challenges and drive innovation within the company had led to a positive impact for many of our customers. This recognition acts as an inspiration for more women to join the ER&D sector and take it to new heights. At QuEST, we pride ourselves in being a boundary-less organization and have an innovation-friendly atmosphere that has encouraged many amazing women in engineering to become role models in the last two decades. We will continue to provide a productive workplace to women across engineering streams," added Shrikant Naik, Global Delivery Head, QuEST Global.

The first edition of NASSCOM Engineering & Innovation Excellence Awards in 2021 recognized and felicitated the stellar performances of the Indian ER&D industry. These awards included key themes such as Futuristic Innovation, Inspirational Leadership, and Technical Prowess to showcase breakthrough solutions, honor disruptive leaders and recognize technical capabilities among Indian enterprises, respectively.

NASSCOM-COE Organizes 2nd Edition of UDYAM 4.0 NAYI DISHA Virtual Conference for Tech Innovation in MSMEs

NASSCOM Centre of Excellence Centre of Excellence with support from Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Gujarat Department of Science & Technology (DST) & MSME Department, today successfully organised the 2nd Edition of virtual conference on UDYAM 4.0 NAYI DISHA (Digital Innovative Solutions for Helping Atmanirbharta) to usher in technology-based solutions in MSMEs by bringing together industry leaders from MSMEs, start-ups and leading policy makers. Shri Ranjeeth Kumar J, IAS (Commissioner MSME, Govt. of Gujarat) graced the event with his presence as the chief guest and shared his visionary ideas on shaping up the MSME ecosystem through technology and innovation.

Shri Ranjeeth Kumar J, IAS (Commissioner MSME, Govt. of Gujarat) graced the event as the chief guest

In his address, Shri Ranjeeth Kumar J shared how the government has been playing a key role in enabling all the aspects for shaping up the MSME ecosystem towards Industry 4.0. The Government of Gujarat has implemented interventions at policy, infrastructure and institutional level to help MSMEs become globally competitive by upgrading to latest technologies. This is a great opportunity for Manufacturing MSMEs to join the collaborative ecosystem developed by NASSCOM CoE to get started on digital journey.

The robust discussions and session were aimed to put the spotlight on successful utilization of UDYAM 4.0 platform to address digital adoption challenges for MSMEs. NAYI DISHA brings forward the co-creation of evolving business models for MSMEs to digitize in new normal. Resource optimization through technology up-gradation, and demonstration of low cost and easy to deploy technology solutions from start-ups were the highlight that set the base for starting digital journey for MSMEs.

Six deeptech start-ups associated with CoE on GrowX program, Eugenie Technologies Pvt Ltd., Plutomen Technologies Private Limited, ATAI LABS PVT. LTD, Pixuate, AirV Labs LLP and Gyandata presented their innovative solutions.

"Udyam 4.0 platform will considerably help the MSME sector to adopt AR/VR, Computer Vision, IoT, AI & Analytics based digital solutions like 360 deg view of plants, condition monitoring, predictive maintenance, remote operations tracking, quality inspection, energy optimization, worker safety and inventory management. NASSCOM through its Centre of Excellence aims to create an ecosystem of co-creation where industries and deep-tech start-ups can work together towards common goals, in turn excelling in bringing new and innovative solutions for the manufacturing sector," said Amit Saluja, Sr. Director & Head of Manufacturing Vertical, NASSCOM-CoE. With a diverse pool of deep-tech start-ups and tech SMEs, CoE is also working tirelessly to explore innovative solutions using Industry 4.0 technologies including AI, ML, IoT, and so on.

Senior manufacturing leaders and eminent dignitaries also shared their experience on resource optimization and co-creation as a model for implementation of new technologies during the virtual event. The names include Prakash Bhalekar, President and CEO, Padmini VNA Mechatronics Pvt. Ltd., Hemant Shah, Chairman and Managing Director, Navin Group, Amit Saluja, Sr. Director & Head of Manufacturing Vertical, NASSCOM CoE, Sunil David, Director IoT, AT&T India, Jaimin Shah, CEO, Dev Information Technology Ltd., Radhika Madgulkar, Managing Director. Electronica Mechatronic Systems (I) Pvt. Ltd., and Puesh Ajmani, SVP & Chief Digital Officer Textile Sector, Welspun India Limited. 

India's 1st Artificial Intelligence Community Center “HexArt Institute” Launched By Hexagon in Partnership with NASSCOM Foundation

Hexagon Capability Center India (HCCI), the largest product development unit of the technology major Hexagon AB, has launched HexArt Institute, the India’s first Artificial Intelligence Community Center in Hyderabad today. Shri Jayesh Ranjan, IT & EC, Secretary, Government of Telangana, inaugurated and dedicated the center to the city of Hyderabad and the State of Telangana.

HCCI is proud of its CSR education outreach and considers this institute as a positive and timely societal responsibility initiative. The center will cover more than 350 students every year across multiple batches. Established at a cost of INR 64 Lakhs, the institute incorporates state-of-the-art infrastructure, IT hardware & software and a well-designed curriculum. HCCI will invest further INR 30 Lakhs YoY to manage the AI community center.

The purpose of HexArt is to democratize AI knowledge cum skill to the masses, and to provide free education on AI to the community. The fundamental and advanced level courses are designed for students from Class 8 to Class 12 and senior engineering graduate respectively. NASSCOM Foundation, the CSR partner for this endeavour, brought in their expertise of setting up learning centres. They also onboarded Li2 Technologies as implementation partners to design and execute the courses along with administrative responsibilities.

The courses and certification programs at HexArt Institute have been specifically designed by industry professionals. The courses will encourage students to engage in self-learning, innovations, and inventions. The 2,000 sq ft, air-conditioned and fully equipped facility at Mehdipatnam is now open to residents of Hyderabad and the State of Telangana.

Sharing the government’s goals, Honourable Minister of IT & Industries, Shri KT Rama Rao, in his message, said “Telangana has defined its vision to be a global frontrunner in AI and other emerging technologies. The State is on the path of building a conducive Innovation ecosystem. He reaffirmed by saying that a skilled workforce will be critical to unleash the government's 2020 AI vision’s full potential.”

Shri Jayesh Ranjan, who inaugurated the setup, commented that "2020 is commemorated in Telangana as the year of AI and it will be a key focus for the coming year and beyond as well.” He also spoke about the state's plans of creating talent for emerging technologies - "It is critical that we build a strong talent pool and AI is going to play a key role. I fully appreciate Hexagon’s contribution in fuelling the community level growth for futuristic technology”, Ranjan said.

Debjani, President NASSCOM, who kept herself abreast of the development of the center, commented “Data and Artificial intelligence can add $450-500 billion to India's GDP by 2025. We must start today and prepare a talent pool that can help India propel to be the leader in AI tech. It’s nice to see companies like Hexagon taking a crucial step in this direction. We believe that with close collaboration between the private sector, the public sector and the civil society, and by focussing our collective expertise and energies on the most pressing problems of today, AI can achieve the goal of a socially empowered, inclusive, and digitally transformed India.”

Announcing the opening of the HexArt Institute, Navaneet Mishra, VP and General Manager, HCCI, said “The goal of AI community center is to empower and upskill the next generation of youth with AI skills. We need to make AI pervasive to compete and succeed in today’s world. As the oldest MNC in Hyderabad, we are committed towards building the state’s talent community, and advance their growth.”

Earlier this year, HCCI signed an MoU with the Government of Telangana. The company is more than happy to contribute towards the government's commitment to sustain and grow the AI knowledge base in the city and state. Mishra added.

About hexagon: Hexagon is a global leader in sensor, software and autonomous solutions. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, and quality across industrial, manufacturing, infrastructure, safety, and mobility applications.Our technologies are shaping urban and production ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous — ensuring a scalable, sustainable future.

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 20,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 3.9bn EUR, with an operating margin of 25%.

Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB. 

ABOUT HCCI:

Hexagon Capability Center India (HCCI) is the largest technology R&D hub of Hexagon, a global leader in digital solutions that enable productivity and quality improvements across manufacturing, infrastructure, safety, and mobility applications.

Innovations, consistent deliveries and ever-evolving technologies at HCCI has helped various Hexagon units to grow its business and customer base globally. HCCI has product teams that work on product portfolios for PPM, Safety & Infrastructure, Geospatial, Geosystems, Mining, Manufacturing Intelligence and Positioning Intelligence. In addition, HCCI has dedicated services teams that provide implementation services for PPM and SI customers worldwide.

HCCI, one of the earliest IT companies in the city of Hyderabad has a rich history of 33 years (earlier known as Intergraph Consulting Pvt Ltd) and currently employs a workforce of over 1,400 colleagues.

India Is A Preferred GCC Hub and 80% of top 100 global Retail/CPG companies will set up GCCs in India by 2022: NASSCOM-ANSR Report

This report is based on a survey conducted by NASSCOM and ANSR recently across the Retail/CPG GCCs in India

BENGALURU, India , Dec. 23, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With industries now accelerating their digital transformation initiatives, large Retail/CPG enterprises are increasingly relying on their GCCs to successfully navigate complex nuances of their transformation journey and are one of the fastest-growing GCC segments in India . In this regard, the National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) in association with ANSR , a global market leader in designing, establishing and operating Global Capability Centres (GCCs), released a survey report today titled' 'Evolution of Retail/CPG GCCs in India '. The report forecasts that 80% of the top 100 global Retail/CPG companies will consider establishing a GCC in India over the next two years.

It is estimated in the report that over 25 new GCC in Retail/CPG industry are looking at establishing GCCs in 2021 tapping onto the matured ecosystem of talent and global operating models. The complete report is available here.

The insights published in this report are primarily based on the responses received from the 'State of the Retail/CPG GCCs in India ' survey rolled out to executives across global organizations who have Global Capability Centers (GCCs). The report shares insights on various sections in terms of Retail/CPG GCC's evolution in India . These include their landscape overview, value proposition, operating model and what will be their strategies beyond 2020.

Captured below are the few main highlights of the survey:

• There has been an accelerated growth in the number of GCCs set-up over the last 5 years. 
• India is the home for the big Retail/CPG GCC brands globally and a majority of the investments are in the digital and innovation space Retail/CPG companies are increasingly driving innovation from their GCCs by establishing labs and leveraging the start-up ecosystem. 
• Bengaluru is the preferred GCC location hosting over 70% of Retail/CPG GCCs India is home to GCCs for about 25% of global Retail/CPG companies and employs over 50,000 in headcount in India . 
• With the ability to hire top-talent, GCCs are supporting efforts of global Retail / CPG companies to build a robust pool of enterprise talent Companies are leveraging GCC to build digital and technology capabilities among other functions including core business and corporate support functions 
• Over 25 new GCCs in Retail/CPG industry are looking at establishing GCCs in 2021 tapping onto the matured ecosystem of talent and global operating models  
• Mature GCCs are focusing on disruptive technologies and innovation, while newer GCCs are in the foundational stages and are focused on excelling in the current scope and helping their parent companies successfully navigate through the current pandemic 

Sharing his thoughts on the report launch Lalit Ahuja , Founder & CEO, ANSR said, "India accounts for a vast majority of Retail/CPG companies and their GCCs in India. The global Retail/CPG industry is in the throes of a profound transformation leading to increased adoption of disruptive platforms including digital, data/AI, automation, and cloud. Over the coming years, we expect an upward, multi-dimensional trend of increasing number of Retail/CPG GCCs 'twinning' the enterprise, building a pool of future global leaders, developing capabilities at scale to accelerate business transformation and driving innovation in India . The NASSCOM- ANSR survey report is a ready reckoner that GCCs in India will play a pivotal role in reimagining the future of global Retail/CPG industry."

Debjani Ghosh , President, NASSCOM added, "It is phenomenal to see the Retail/CPG segment as one of the fastest-growing GCC segments in India . Several India -based Retail/CPG GCCs have now evolved to become the second headquarters for the host companies with functional responsibilities to own and drive critical business growth outcomes. In the next couple of years, we will witness a fundamental growth in this sector as top 100 global Retail/CPG companies will consider establishing a GCC in India to drive innovation and business transformation."

The recent onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has taken this disruption to the next level and is forcing companies to re-think their businesses and business operating models. To summarize, the findings of this survey report, an overwhelming majority of CXOs acknowledge that benefits of GCCs are real and sustainable. As business leaders continue to push the frontiers of technology, organizations will be required to address these challenges and building stakeholder trust to rapidly scale their GCCs in the immediate future.

About ANSR

ANSR is a global leader in establishing & operating Global Capability Centers for global enterprises. Enterprises across industries and markets have relied on ANSR's expertise in building world class technology and innovation capabilities in India and Eastern Europe . ANSR's unique industry leading approach enables our clients to integrate digital platforms, capabilities and global teams within the enterprise Global Capability Centers. Since its inception, ANSR has established over 60 GCCs, aggregating to over 65,000 employees, with over $1.5B in investment and 7M sq. Ft of workspace.

To know more visit - www.ansr.com

About NASSCOM

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM®) is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India and comprises over 2800-member companies including both Indian and multinational organisations that have a presence in India . Our membership spans across the entire spectrum of the industry from start-ups to multinationals and from products to services, Global Service Centers to Engineering firms. Guided by India's vision to become a leading digital economy globally, NASSCOM focuses on accelerating the pace of transformation of the industry to emerge as the preferred enablers for global digital transformation. Our strategic imperatives are to reskill and upskill India's IT workforce to ensure that talent is future-ready in terms of new-age skills, strengthen the innovation quotient across industry verticals, create new market opportunities - both international and domestic, drive policy advocacy to advance innovation and ease of doing business, and build the Industry narrative with focus on Talent, Trust and Innovation. And, in everything we do, we will continue to champion the need for diversity and equal opportunity.

NASSCOM has played a key role in not just the growth of the Industry to become a $180+Billion industry today, but we have helped establish the Tech industry in India as one of the most trusted partners, globally. NASSCOM continues to make significant efforts in contributing towards India's GDP, exports, employment, infrastructure development and global visibility. Our membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs over 4 million professionals, and as technology blends into every aspect of the economy, we expect the industry to become key driver of growth, development and inclusion for the country. Our mission is to make India a global hub for Innovation and Talent so when the world thinks Digital, the world will think India.

NASSCOM CoE Launches the 2nd Edition of Manufacturing Innovation Challenge 2020

NASSCOM Centre of Excellence IoT& AI, an initiative of the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), and the Gujarat government launched the second edition of the Manufacturing Innovation Challenge 2020 (MIC2020) from 12th October 2020 to 12th December 2020. The objective of this challenge is to build the first-of-a-kind platform for enterprise and start-up collaboration to solve key challenges the manufacturing industry is facing today.

NASSCOM CoE in conjunction with RPG Group, JK Lakshmi Cement, Thermax Limited, Mother Dairy, Grasim Industries and Minda Industries have nominated six use cases in three broad categories of Resource Optimization, Improved Throughput and Supply Chain for which startups will be encouraged to solve challenges by submitting a proposal. Top 18 startups will then be presented to Jury that will have representation from senior leaders from industry, academia and government. Start-ups will also receive mentoring support throughout their journey in the challenge to better prepare them for the challenge.

First edition of MIC2020 received an overwhelming response as 88 matured startups from across the country registered for the challenges, and they went through a rigorous screening process of four rounds. Speaking at the launch, Amit Saluja, Sr. Director & Vertical Head, Manufacturing, Gandhinagar, NASSCOM CoE, said, “NASSCOM CoE is building an ecosystem for manufacturing companies to work with technology companies and innovative start-ups to drive adoption of Industry 4.0 solutions.MIC2020 was launched to accelerate this mission and received an exceptional response. This challenge created value for everyone as it helped enterprises find the best solution partner and start-ups got an opportunity to work with their dream companies. The success of this program has motivated us to run these challenges every quarter, and we look forward to getting similar support in all our future initiatives.”

“I think events like MIC not only helps start ups to showcase their capabilities and solutions in solving real business problem but also helps industries to solve some of the crucial problems in much shorter time. This in a way helps accelerate the journey of Digital Transformation. Typically vendor identification and finalization may take anywhere between 3-4 months, which can happen in less than a month thru this platform. It’s a great opportunity and a platform for both Solution Providers and Industry to mutually benefit from,” says Samip Mutha, Vice President and Group Head- Digital and Innovation at RPG Group.

Manufacturing Innovation Challenge helps the companies connect with top-class start-ups which can be of immense help in creating future innovations. “The platforms can accelerate to kick-start a Digital Transformation journey in the country’s formidable industries. In current times, self-reliance is of utmost importance and Government of India has also called for AatmaNirbhar Bharat. Our startups have a high calibre to drive incremental change using technology, and NASSCOM CoE is trying to build capabilities that will bolster self-reliance and innovation,” he adds.

About NASSCOM Center of Excellence IoT& AI

The NASSCOM Center of Excellence is the largest collaborative innovation platform in the emerging technologies of IoT, Analytics, AI/ML, AR/VR and Robotics for Digital Transformation. It is part of the Digital India Initiative to jumpstart and drive the emerging technologies ecosystem in India, by leveraging India's IT strengths and assist the country attain a leadership role in the convergent area of hardware and software.

The main objective of the CoE is to help Indian Deep-Tech Startups& Companies leverage cutting edge technologies to build market-ready products. Through the Startups Program, CoE aims to build industry capable talent in an entrepreneurial ecosystem by facilitating Incubation, Funding, Acceleration, Industry Connect and Mentoring.

NASSCOM CoE was setup in July 2016 as part of the Digital India initiative of MeitY, with the objective of aiding innovative start-ups in the emerging technologies. NASSCOM CoE-IoT has centers in Bengaluru, Gurugram, Gandhinagar and Vizag.

Here're 17 Startups Picked by NASSCOM for its 4th Batch of DeepTech Club

Yesterday, Nasscom unveiled the 4th batch of its DeepTech Club under which the startups will be nurtured, mentored and funded. The selected 17 startups are working in the field of new-age technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, Machine Learning (ML) and virtual reality (VR).

The startups have been selected for 4-month programme that would involve guidance, enterprise connect sessions and exposure to investors and the global startup ecosystem, the IT industry’s apex body said in a statement. Out of the 17 startups selected, two are from Hyderabad which include Aptagrim and Onward Assist.

Below is the list of all 17 selected deep technology startups, for 4th-Cohort -

• Alphaa.ai - An AI-Assisted analytics platform for businesses. Simply interact with data by asking natural language questions on any dashboard and data source. Create, Discover and Share insights.
• Aptagrim Consulting - A Data Science company leveraging the advancements in Artificial Intelligence to empower people with visual impairment.
• nTalents (Ehunch Research Labs) - nTalents is an AI enabled talent assessment tool which provides unparalleled accuracy in soft skill and behavioural competency measurements.
• Evue Technologies - AI Powered Robot Interview and Assessments.
• Fluid Robotics Fluid Robotics builds smart solutions for monitoring pipelines and underwater infrastructure.
• Fourtek IT Solutions (Devnagri) - Devnagri is an AI-powered Human translation Platform to help businesses reach 1B + Indian Internet users in their regional languages at scale.
• Medtra - Medtra innovative technologies is dedicated  in delivering health tech  lifesaving global  products using Embedded- fifth generation technologies.
• Onward Assist - Onward Assist is an advanced cancer prognostics platform that assists Cancer pathologists and Oncologists. Onward provides computer vision and ML-based automated diagnostics tools and treatment decision support tools used by Histopathologists, Radiologists, Oncologists. These are built in collaboration with leading cancer institutes in India and USA.
• Pathpartner Technology - Pathpartner offers ready to go hardware and licensable software packages for interior sensing in-cabin solutions to automotive product makers addressing driver drowsiness, driver distraction, occupancy, driver activity, chid/pet left unattended, object left behind and many more safety critical problems.
• SecurelyShare - Patented technology for data security, data privacy and data enrichment enabling multiple fintech use cases including secure delivery of statements and documents to millions while improving customer experience using personalized AI.
• SecurelyShare - Sequretek is a cyber security company offering solutions in the area of endpoint security, identity governance and security monitoring through its managed detection and response stack.
• Simplify360 - Simplify360 is a leading AI powered Digital customer Service organisation.
• Sixth Sensor Technology - 6th Senser is a revolutionary anti-collision ADAS system that warns and automatically brakes the vehicle in case of a possible accident and is available as an aftermarket product that fits any vehicle at a price point that makes it easily accessible to all users, private or commercial.
• Stylumia Intelligence Technology - A B2B SaaS platform building the future of retail prediction, eliminating guesswork from product decisions in the fashion and lifestyle industry globally through ML, Computer vision and proprietary prediction models.
• Exxar - A Cloud platform for Design Communication & Collaboration; Think of it as Zoom for 3D content & Immersive Visualization using VR/AR.
• Wellthy Therapeutics - Multi-lingual smartphone prescription therapeutic patient application, decision support and intervention ready dashboards for virtual health coaches, physician dashboards and reports, caregiver interfaces, and partner dashboards for population level insights.
• Zappy.ai - ZappyAI provides AI software to automatically identify automation opportunities and generate automations for manual business processes.

So far, the Nasscom DeepTech Club has mentored 78 companies which are the best of the Indian DeepTech product ecosystem curated by Nasscom & Industry Experts and selected at single-digit acceptance rate from 1000+ applications across a dozen cities over the last 2.5 years.

Under Nasscom DeepTech Club - Each selected Start-up companies building on deep technologies such as AI (ML, DL, NLP, CV), AR/VR/MR, IoT, Robotics, Security, Blockchain, Quantum, RPA, among others, undergoes an exclusive 4-month mentoring & connects program.

Nasscom DeepTech Club is working with a large number of technology, product, business, investor and academia mentors & experts spanning 1000s of hours of effort. They represent great diversity of the business application of DeepTech across all business verticals/ sectors. These start-ups are India's best of the best and hold key to India becoming an innovation leader.

Given the high level of curation by Nasscom and Industry Experts, the club encourage all segments of Ecosystem - businesses, investors, academia, tech partners, govt and other ecosystem players to reach out and work with these companies.

EdTech Firm GlobalGyan Signs MOU with NASSCOM becomes NASSCOM FutureSkills Platform Partner

GlobalGyan Academy of Management Education, one of India's fastest growing corporate EdTech companies, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NASSCOM FutureSkills, the flagship reskilling initiative by NASSCOM, the trade association of Indian IT-BPM industry to become a Platform Partner for the NASSCOM FutureSkills platform. Under the MoU, GlobalGyan will partner with NASSCOM FutureSkills on a journey to reskill and upskill 2 million current employees and also train another 2 million coming into the workforce from universities.

The research report on Talent Shortage 2020 shows that 63% of Indian companies report major talent shortage and IT remains one of the hardest roles to fill. Various reports also point to significant gaps in job-readiness amongst students graduating from Indian colleges. NASSCOM FutureSkills is a first-of-its-kind industry initiative to get India accelerated on the journey to building skills and becoming the global hub for talent in the emerging technologies, with an intention to create a skilling/up-skilling/re-skilling ecosystem to facilitate continuous learning as well as knowledge enhancement of all applicants in line with their aspirations and aptitude in a self-paced digital skill environment.

The partnership will enable GlobalGyan to empower thousands of IT industry professionals and students, with access to courses on professional skill development, creating dynamic learning experiences. GlobalGyan will support NASSCOM FutureSkills with a focus on content, evangelism and industry connects, to enable the skilling, re-skilling and up-skilling imperative for the IT-BPM industry in India. GlobalGyan courses are designed across key skill domains for future IT leaders which include Problem Solving, Design Thinking, Program Management, etc.

Expressing his delight on the partnership, Amit Aggarwal, CEO, IT-ITES SSC NASSCOM & Co-architect of NASSCOM FutureSkills initiative said, "Globally there is a greater need for the Arts (A) to get embedded in STEM. It is imperative for modern workforce to be better at skills like problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration and communication for seamless integration of technical know-how with real-world applications. These skills have become a critical requirement to succeed in the IT-ITES industry these days, and should be studied and learnt along with traditional STEM subjects. We are happy to welcome GlobalGyan as a NASSCOM FutureSkills Platform Partner and we are confident that their industry-oriented, practical approach to professional development will aid with the STEM to STEAM transition."

Srinivasa Addepalli, CEO and Co-founder, GlobalGyan said, "The real jobs crisis is that there is a mismatch between the skills that the industry desires and those possessed by professionals and students. GlobalGyan has been founded on the belief that industry has to play a significant role in educating and skilling individuals. NASSCOM FutureSkills is a great platform to not only prepare India for future jobs but also create an environment of creativity and innovation. We are excited to partner with this prestigious industry body and look forward to creating wonderful learning experiences on the platform."

About GlobalGyan

GlobalGyan Academy of Management Education is an Edtech startup building a digital platform to help professionals progress their careers with learning and mentoring from industry leaders. Through its mobile and web apps, interactive content and personal coaching, GlobalGyan's network of experienced leaders provide practical knowledge that professionals can use immediately. Over 10,000 managers from India's largest corporates have built their business acumen and leadership capabilities at GlobalGyan since 2015. The company's angel investors include Ratan Tata, Dr. Jagdish Sheth and several other business leaders in India & overseas.

Find more information about GlobalGyan and how it is helping professionals prepare for the future of work at: www.globalgyan.in.

~ Newsvoir

Dell Technologies, NASSCOM to Build Robust Ecosystem to Support SMEs, Startups Across India

• Exclusive offers on Dell's Client and Infrastructure solutions to ensure business resiliency


• The partnership is aimed to benefit more than 2400 SMEs and 9000+ startups pan India

Dell Technologies has collaborated with the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) to help SMEs and Startups ensure smooth operations and maintain business continuity during the present challenging times. Positioned under NASSCOM's SME Advantage program, this partnership intends to build a robust ecosystem to support them, by bringing together important products and services, indispensable for any business, at a competitive price.

Dell's association with NASSCOM is set to impact more than 2400 SMEs, and 9000+ startups that are part of NASSCOM 10,000 Startups network. They will be provided with exclusive offers and rates on Dell's Client and Infrastructure solutions. With these solutions, the organizations can equip their teams with industry leading technology and ensure business resiliency.

“At Dell, we are committed to ensuring smooth operations and business continuity for our customers. Through this unique collaboration with NASSCOM, we are taking a step further towards building an ecosystem that is aimed at making organizations much more competitive and operationally efficient. This partnership will present exclusive offers on Dell's Client and Infrastructure solutions to the NASSCOM members enabling them to keep their organizations agile, secure and growing in today's rapidly changing environment. Our solutions are designed to empower organizations to continue with their business as usual and innovate into a new future,” says, Alok Ohrie, President and Managing Director, Dell Technologies India.

“COVID has not only upended lives but also disrupted businesses globally. At NASSCOM, we are committed towards harbouring a conducive environment for our SME and Startups and help them amid these testing times. We are extremely delighted to partner with Dell Technologies under our SME Advantage program to bring exclusively curated solutions for our SME members, and together play a key role in their business resiliency efforts,” says, Debjani Ghosh, President, NASSCOM.

The partnership is aimed at helping the ecosystem evolve digitally, while reducing their operational costs, by leveraging premium products and services from Dell Technologies at best prices. The client solutions offered are designed to keep the organization secure and their employees productive, no matter where they work from. Along with this, Dell's infrastructure solutions will enable them to have greater control of their IT and, help protect their business and customer data with better security measures.

About NASSCOM

The National Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM®) is the premier trade body and chamber of commerce of the Tech industry in India and comprises over 2800-member companies including both Indian and multinational organizations that have a presence in India. Our membership spans across the entire spectrum of the industry from start-ups to multinationals and from products to services, Global Service Centers to Engineering firms. Guided by India's vision to become a leading digital economy globally, NASSCOM focuses on accelerating the pace of transformation of the industry to emerge as the preferred enablers for global digital transformation. Our strategic imperatives are to reskill and upskill India's IT workforce to ensure that talent is future-ready in terms of new-age skills, strengthen the innovation quotient across industry verticals, create new market opportunities - both international and domestic, drive policy advocacy to advance innovation and ease of doing business, and build the Industry narrative with focus on Talent, Trust and Innovation. And, in everything we do, we will continue to champion the need for diversity and equal opportunity.

NASSCOM has played a key role in not just the growth of the Industry to become a $180+Billion industry today, but we have helped establish the Tech industry in India as one of the most trusted partners, globally. NASSCOM continues to make significant efforts in contributing towards India's GDP, exports, employment, infrastructure development and global visibility. Our membership base constitutes over 95% of the industry revenues in India and employs over 4 million professionals, and as technology blends into every aspect of the economy, we expect the industry to become key driver of growth, development and inclusion for the country. Our mission is to make India a global hub for Innovation and Talent so when the world thinks Digital, the world will think India.

About Dell Technologies

Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) helps organizations and individuals build their digital future and transform how they work, live and play. The company provides customers with the industry's broadest and most innovative technology and services portfolio for the data era.