IT industry's footprint looks set to expand beyond its existing homes.

Faced with a challenge from upstarts threatening to erode India's low-cost appeal, the government is planning to build 43 new information technology cities across the country to retain its top dog status in the business and to be in a position to tap the huge surge in demand for IT-enabled services over the next 10 years.

The move comes at a time when the rising infrastructure and employee costs in big cities is threatening to blunt India's crucial cost advantage.

While India has held on to its pre-eminent position, its IT and BPO companies are losing their global cost advantage with the emergence of countries like Vietnam and the Philippines, which offer similar services at cheaper rates and are threatening India's status as the world's back office.

As the allure of BPO jobs goes down and attrition rates go up, companies are increasingly finding it difficult to recruit quality employees in the big cities. Also of concern is infrastructure constraints in Bangalore, Gurgaon and elsewhere.

The plan to build brand new towns is designed to address some of these issues. It is felt that these new towns will provide a steady supply of workers besides being specifically geared towards the needs of the IT and BPO sectors.

The proposal, suggested by a high-level group on service sector, has been cleared by the Planning Commission. "The modalities for the ambitious plan will be finalized very soon," a source said.

According to the plan, each IT city will be set up in an area of more than 500 hectare. The cities will altogether generate employment for around 3.5 million people by 2018.

The proposal is to create self-contained satellite townships with commercial space for renting and a commensurate increase in residential accommodation, education, healthcare, retail and recreational facilities.

"Improvement in infrastructure is very important to ensure the continued competitiveness of IT and BPO industries," an official said while explaining the rationale behind the move.

At present, the major volume of IT-enabled services is concentrated in seven cities — Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Gurgaon and Noida. Government estimates point out that 95% of the IT and BPO service industry is in these cities, with around 36% of services concentrated in Bangalore alone.

According to officials, the IT and BPO business in the country is likely to grow by 2.5 times in the next 10 years. The growth cannot be absorbed in major cities.

As infrastructure in major cities is already under tremendous strain, the IT sector has started migrating to smaller cities. However, the volume of business in the IT sector likely to come to India is huge which even tier II & III towns are unlikely to handle, considering poor infrastructure.

Under the ambitious proposal, the government plans to shift 40% of the business to the upcoming 43 cities by 2018.

The new towns will be properly planned and laid out and endowed with modern infrastructure and good connectivity to the big cities and airports.

These townships will have residential and work areas with all essential services - water supply, power, civic amenities, health, education, transport and entertainment - to meet the civic and commercial needs of the workforce.

The Centre has sought the support of state governments in facilitating creation of these new towns. The proposal suggests that the towns will be developed by private players and state governments will ensure trunk services like electricity, water supply, sewage and drainage

Federer captures 55th title

HALLE (Germany): Roger Federer kept alive his grass-winning streak and captured his 55th title on Sunday with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Philipp Kohlschreiber at the Gerry Weber Open.

Federer, who sailed through the Wimbledon warm-up without a dropped set, ran his record unbeaten run on grass to 59 matches.

The 40th-ranked German netted a backhand after a long rally to end the match.

“I never lost my serve in this tournament, that had never happened to me,” Federer said. “That was very special.”

The top-ranked Swiss restored some confidence after one of his worst defeats — a rout in the French Open final at the hands of rival Rafael Nadal. He took just four games.

Federer, who raised his record to 10-0 in grass finals, won Halle for the fifth time. The previous four were followed by Wimbledon triumphs three weeks later.

Federer didn’t face a top 10 player, but had an easier time than his last appearance at the event in 2006. He was pushed to three sets in four of his five matches that year.

Federer won Halle for the first time in 2003 — before going on to win his first Wimbledon title — and now has won 24 straight at the tournament, a streak dating back to that year.

DASAVATHARAM FIRST DAY REVEIEW

Like a master craftsman who weaves several strands into a well-knit cohesive pattern, Kamal Haasan pulls the seemingly disparate lives of ten people from across the globe to create a coherent and compelling story.
Dasavathaaram, directed by K.S. Ravikumar, rests on a multi-layered narrative technique reminiscent of the Mahabharata — teeming with characters, delving into sub-plots, pausing to make interesting digressions and, eventually and astonishingly, bringing everything together to form a whole in manner of a true epic.
Marked by flashes of intelligence and humour, the dialogue in this Aascar Films production boldly interrogates religion and showcases the skills of Kamal Haasan, the writer. As for the actor, the opportunity of doing a record ten roles allows him to live up to the reputation of a trendsetter.
Simple plot
The film is held together by a simple plot. Scientist Govind Ramasamy is on a mission. A virus that can destroy the world finds its way out of the well-guarded lab and it is pandemonium till — ironically — the tsunami of December 2004 helps mitigate its dreadful impact.
As in award-winning films such as Crash and Babel, lives intersect and seemingly unconnected events are linked in accidental and sometimes predictable ways in a narrative genre that allows Kamal Haasan to don many roles — and naturally.
Consummate villain
Each Kamal character has a distinct voice; much effort has evidently gone into the dubbing. The actor excels as Rangaraja Nambi, a 12th century temple priest, whose insular faith ends on a tragic note. As Balram Naidu, the RAW officer, he keeps you in stitches.
As Christian Fletcher, he plays the villain consummately. As Narahashi the Japanese, the action is stunning. As George W. Bush, he’s a tad contrived but passable. And as a grandmother, he evokes sympathy. It’s only as Kalifulla Khan that he comes out somewhat flat.
Significantly, it is only the last role in which the make up is grossly overdone. Otherwise, the proficiency of Michael Westmore’s make up, which has created 10 distinctly different Kamal Haasans, is impossible to ignore. It’s more than mere make-up, it’s art on an expressive visage.
Camera
Casting light, shade and perspective on this ambitious tale is the camera work of Ravivarman, the cinematographer. Computer graphics don’t work as well in the much hyped tsunami sequence as they do in other scenes.
As Kodhai, Asin plays the role of Rangaraja Nambi’s traumatised wife with a moving intensity. But as Andal, she’s exasperating. She causes a major accident, and not for a moment is she remorseful.
Nostalgic trip
Mallika Sherawat fills the bill as the vamp and killer who gets killed. It’s a nostalgic trip with Jayaprada and Kamal Haasan as a couple; the two make an endearing pair.
The film would have worked even better had the narrative been tauter and more purposive post-interval.
All in all, Dasavathaaram shows that Kamal Haasan has once again taken great pains to make his cinematic projects convincing. The effort has paid off.