"INCREDIBLE INDIA"

Dr. Arun Pande is A genius team leader in TCS. He alongwith his team has developed software working with CDMA technology to help poor farmers in INDIA. Here is short information about his work.


Press Release Qualcomm Incorporated
www.qualcomm.com
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San Diego, CA 92121-1714
(858) 587-1121
Qualcomm Announces Wireless Reach BREW Application Funding Winners
Five BREW Developers Selected to Receive Grants Totaling USD 500,000
SAN DIEGO — 02-26-2007 — Qualcomm Incorporated (Nasdaq: QCOM), a leading developer and innovator of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) and other advanced wireless technologies, today announced the selection of winners for the Company's Wireless Reach™ BREW® Application Funding Program. As part of Qualcomm's Wireless Reach initiative, the USD 1 million fund is designed to increase the availability of useful wireless applications in countries around the world.

Qualcomm's Wireless Reach BREW Application Funding Program challenged developers to create the most innovative BREW public service application in one of five areas: healthcare, education, public safety, governance and the environment. Qualcomm is awarding grants to the most innovative proposals for BREW applications.

The grand prize winner, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) of India, is a leading IT services, business solutions and outsourcing organization. TCS will receive a grant for USD 100,000 for development of its proposed application. The application development team, led by TCS' head of advanced technology and applications, Dr. Arun Pande, will demonstrate how CDMA networks can help provide specific and useful advice to farmers and spread the benefits of technology deep into rural India at an affordable cost. For the grand prize, Qualcomm will also apply additional funds to put TCS' proposal into action through a new or existing Wireless Reach project.

The other grant recipients, each receiving USD 100,000, plan to develop a variety of advanced BREW applications with the support of Qualcomm's funding program. They are (in alphabetical order):
Bandung Institute of Technology - Ria L. Moedomo, Ph.D. student (Bandung, Indonesia). The application provides a system to assist in processing and analyzing the poultry sales and distribution process to track and combat against Avian Influenza (Bird Flu).


Beijing InfoQuick SinoVoice Speech Technology Corp. - Lenny Zhang, chief executive officer (Beijing). The application, called Sbikit, uses text-to-speech and automatic speech recognition technologies to assist visually impaired persons in communication.


BeWell Mobile Technology Inc. - Shahin Bakhshandeh and Chris Ungson, co-founders; Sarah De Young, director (Walnut Creek, Calif., U.S.A.). The applications, entitled Asthma Assistant and Diabetes Assistant, are part of a flexible platform solution for patient engagement software that can be adapted to a broad range of uses in the areas of health and wellness, education, research, preventive care and chronic disease management.


University of California, Berkeley - Dr. John Canny, professor, computer science division (Berkeley, Calif., U.S.A.). The application, called MILLEE for Mobile and Immersive Learning for Literacy in Emerging Economies, uses game-like learning on cell phones to improve literacy.
“Qualcomm is very proud to recognize these organizations and their creative efforts to develop BREW applications that will serve the public interest,” said Dr. Paul E. Jacobs, CEO of Qualcomm. “The innovative applications they'll design hold great potential to enhance the quality of life for all who use them. As mobile broadband services expand into underserved communities, we're pleased to support these developers in our shared commitment to improve the way people communicate and access information around the world.”

Winners were selected based on a careful review of their proposals by an external panel of judges chosen for their expertise in global telecommunications and economic development. They are (in alphabetical order):
Dr. Gerry Chan, who has been vice president of terrestrial wireless systems for the Communications Research Centre (CRC), Canada since April 1998. This research branch is responsible for the research and development of a wide range of state-of-the-art wireless technologies. Prior to joining CRC, Dr. Chan was director of terrestrial engineering, spectrum engineering branch, for Industry Canada, taught at Nanyang Technological University of Singapore and worked in industry.


Dr. Peter Cowhey is associate vice chancellor for international affairs and dean of the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Cowhey is an expert on U.S. international economic and technology policy, with special expertise in the international communications and information industries. He has served as a leader in development and communications technology in both the government and non-profit sectors.


Tim Wood is technical project manager for the Grameen Foundation. He specializes in applying information technology to address the problems of poverty and health in developing countries. With the Grameen Technology Center, he pioneered replication of the Grameen Village Phone program and co-authored the Village Phone Replication Manual. Wood has also worked in software development and as a consultant focusing on the intersection of information technology and global health.
Qualcomm is driven by the belief that access to advanced wireless voice and data services improves people's lives. The Company's Wireless Reach initiative is designed to support programs and solutions that bring the benefits of connectivity to developing communities around the world. By working with BREW application developers, Qualcomm's Wireless Reach projects create new ways for people to communicate, learn, access healthcare and reach global markets.

“The grant winners in Qualcomm's Wireless Reach BREW Application Funding Program have shown an exceptional understanding of the challenges faced by developing regions and have offered solutions that clearly impressed the judges,” said Shawn A. Covell, senior director of international affairs for Qualcomm and head of the Wireless Reach initiative. “We're excited to work with these forward-thinking organizations in providing communities with new technologies and capabilities that reinforce their long-term economic and social development.”

“BREW is designed to accelerate wireless data worldwide, making it particularly well suited for developers targeting new markets as part of Qualcomm's Wireless Reach initiative,” said Peggy Johnson, president of Qualcomm Internet Services and executive vice president of Qualcomm. “We'll certainly be tracking the progress of grant recipients as they bring their proposed applications to fruition and make them available in 2007.”

BREW solutions change the way people relate to wireless data services. By enabling discovery and delivery of high-value content, BREW creates opportunities for the wireless industry to enhance consumers' mobile data experience. Qualcomm's comprehensive and targeted BREW Signature Solutions offer reduced time to market and lower capital investment for companies providing mobile products and services. Customers can also benefit from several modular BREW offerings, including uiOne™, deliveryOne™ and QPoint™, which provide the foundation for customer-differentiated wireless data capabilities.

Qualcomm Incorporated (www.qualcomm.com) is a leader in developing and delivering innovative digital wireless communications products and services based on CDMA and other advanced technologies. Headquartered in San Diego, Calif., Qualcomm is included in the S&P 500 Index and is a 2006 FORTUNE 500® company traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market®

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Rural India Captures Attention of AT&T, TCS
Paula Bernier
07/17/2008

With the U.S. economy sagging and those in communications increasingly looking for opportunities abroad, India continues to be a key area of focus. Given it is the second largest country in terms of people and is the world’s most populous democracy, India has long been both a hot spot of investment and an important source of human resources for our industry. But, interestingly, we’re hearing a lot more lately about rural applications in India, among other developing countries.

For example, as reported previously, AT&T Chairman, President and CEO Randall L. Stephenson during his NXTcomm keynote speech this summer in Las Vegas mentioned how some fisherman in India recently began using mobile phones to call different ports to get the best price for their catch and, as result, increased their revenue by 8 percent. That, in turn, is allowing those fisherman to improve their quality of life and stimulate the economy by buying more goods and services both for the person and professional use, he said, adding that for every 10 percent penetration increase in cell phone service there’s a 0.6 percent increase in GDP.

“The telecom industry is sitting on a world of potential,” he said, noting that 80 percent of the world’s population lives within the coverage area of a cell site.

According to a study commissioned by the Center for Knowledge Societies, a research company specializing in emerging technologies for emerging economies, by the end of this year, three quarters of India's population will be covered by a mobile network. Many of these citizens live in poorer and more rural areas with scarce infrastructure and facilities, high illiteracy levels, and low PC and Internet penetration. That’s why the cell phone is a good option for reaching many of these people, and offering specialized applications can appeal to their needs.

Another application that not only relies on a communications network, but was actually designed in a targeted way to address a specific need of rural citizens in India, is called mKRISHI. Developed by Tata Consultancy Services TCS and running on Tata Indicom’s CDMA 2000 network (which covers about 60 percent of India’s population), mKRISHI provides personalized information and expert advice to rural farmers.

mKRISHI answers unique queries that farmers face and also provides up to date weather and pricing information through text-messaging on cell phones. The application can be prompted by text in farmers’ local languages or via voice functions, which is particularly helpful for those who are not literate in the agricultural community that is the most important sector of India’s economy.

Through mKRISHI, TCS is using various applications including sensors, camera phones, India’s cellular network, and GPS technologies serves up environmental information to agriculture experts, who in turn provide tailored advice to farmers.

Dr. Arun Pande of TCS told xchange via e-mail that mKRISHI has been deployed in several Indian villages including Borgaon, Waifad, Ganori and Bichaula for grape, cotton, soybean and potato farmers, respectively. In Borgaon village, service is operational. The grape farmers in Borgaon and nearby villages can seek advice and information on fertilizer, pesticide and growth hormone application. They also can get local weather forecast on their cell phones. Other services such as spot price, future price, crop insurance, loan services, rural yellow pages, government policy information will be introduced in a phased manner.

Currently the pilot, including weather and soil sensors at four villages mentioned above, would support about 20,000 farmers, each holding an average of three to four hectors of land. However, the total number of farmers who would be reached in a short time through M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF), Grape Grower Association, Agro Business Model of Tata Chemicals (Tata Kisan Kendra) would be about 200,000. This number can be scaled up to millions through a local franchisee model when it is in place, Pande said.

For now, the service is offered on a pilot basis, and it is free, but Pande told xchange Tata plans to evolve a business model involving operator, local franchisees and subject matter experts. The services would be categorized into free, vanilla and premium and charges would be assessed accordingly. “We believe there is a scope of subsidizing the service to poor farmers to a great extent through targeted ads on a cell phone,” he said.

“It is too early to comment on the margins for the service provider,” added Pande, “but it is clear that service providers will play an important role in scaling up the operation and touching millions of farmers by distributing the application through cell phones. We found during our discussion with farmers that they may not have a need for casual voice communication in the village. However, the demand for voice and data goes up significantly if they are related to farming operation and related services.

Hence, [the] service provider would make margins not only on services but also on a cell phone if it can be branded for farmers by bundling mKRISHI-like applications into a cell phone.”

And that’s a significant opportunity, he said, given there are about 110 million farmers in India. “If one expects on an average $1 fee per month, the potential would be $110 million per month of revenue from this market segment,” he said. “Handset sale potential is about $11 billion for GPS-enabled 2 megapixel handsets with a price tag of $100 per handset. If upfront subsidy is provided for sale of handset, an appropriate EMI component would be charged from customers of recovered through enhanced monthly payment. Additionally, payment charge back would have to be dovetailed with seasonal income patterns of farmers so that there is no hardship of payments on monthly basis.”
copied from <xchangemag.com/rural-india-captures-attention-of-att-tcs.html>


WIRELESS

Another Tata Group company, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., won in the wireless category for a service that delivers crop advice to farmers in rural India by cellphone. Using remote sensors, a voice-enabled text-messaging service and a camera phone, TCS's mKrishi service can provide weather information and advice about dealing with plant pests, fertilizer and watering problems and other issues directly to a farmer in the field. The service is still being tested and hasn't been launched commercially, but TCS plans to eventually make it available in 22 of India's official languages.

Though the technology itself isn't new, "it does bring together a number of things that are quite useful," says William Webb, head of research and development at the U.K. Office of Communications and a member of the judging panel. "And it certainly does fit into that category of being a very worthy application." copied from <www.wsj.com>