TCS to set up world’s largest corporate learning centre in Kerala

TCS to set up world’s largest corporate learning centre in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

New Delhi: Country’s largest software services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) today said it will set up the world’s largest corporate learning and development centre in Thiruvananthapuram with a total capacity to train 50,000 professionals every year.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the facility.

The learning facility will be built over an area of 6.1 million square feet and will have the capacity to train 15,000 professionals at one time and 50,000 professionals annually, TCS said in a statement.

Located on a 97-acre property in the Technopark area of the city, the campus will also have residential accommodation for professionals and faculty at the centre, it added.

"TCS has been present in Thiruvananthapuram since 1997 and since then it has been the hub of our global learning and development efforts," TCS Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director N Chandrasekaran said.

The TCS Learning Campus will be the new benchmark for corporate learning worldwide and this iconic facility will produce world class professionals to meet the future needs of the IT industry, he added.

The project will provide direct employment to over 2,000 skilled and unskilled local people for a period of 4 years.

An integral part of the project will be the skill development programmes run by TCS to upgrade the skills of local youth and facilitate opportunities to work in the construction project, through contractors.

TCS employs over 2,85,000 professionals worldwide and plans to hire 50,000 professionals in 2013-14. It spends over 15 million hours on learning and development programmes for its employees every year.

Over the last 5 years till date, the company has trained over 1.43 lakh IT professionals in India and abroad.

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Centre clears Tesco’s retail plan

New Delhi: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board on Monday approved UK-based Tesco Plc’s proposal to enter the Indian multi-brand retail segment in joint venture with Tata Group company with an initial investment of $110 million (about Rs 680 crore).

Tesco proposal entailing investment of $110 million has been cleared, sources said after the FIPB meeting held here.

After the approval, Tesco will pick up a 50 per cent stake in Trent Hypermarket Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trent Ltd, a Tata group company. Tesco is the first global retailer to apply for multi- brand retailing after the government allowed 51 per cent FDI in the segment in September last year.

Trent Hypermarket runs 16 outlets in the southern and western regions with support from Tesco. The UK retailer plans to sell 14 categories of products, official sources said.

The items to be sold at its stores include tea, coffee, vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, dairy products, wine, liquor, textiles, footwear, furniture, electronics and jewellery.

The FIPB, headed by economic affairs secr-etary Arvind Mayaram, considered 12 items including Tesco’s FDI proposal. India allows FDI in most of the sectors through automatic route, government approval is required in certain sectors sensitive for the economy.

Reacting to the FIPB nod to the $110-million proposal in the Indian multi-brand retail segment  that will allow Tesco to work on practicalities of setting up a joint venture with Tata group firm Trent, UK-based Tesco said:“Tesco is pleased that the FIPB has agreed to our proposal. This will now allow us to work on the practicalities of setting up the joint venture with Trent. Any such announcement will be made in the usual way."

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Chief Minister denies misleading centre on Aranmula

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has refuted the charge that his office had misled the centre on the Aranmula airport project. He said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests was aware of the land filling at the project site even as early as in 2011.

The MoEF had sought a clarification on the reclamation of paddy lands and wetlands at the project site on February 16, 2012. The environment principal secretary, in his report, had stated that the KGS Group had filled the wetlands without securing the necessary approvals.

The charge is that the file had a jotting “to be avoided” against a paragraph indicting the company. The industries minister sent the file back to the environment department stating that advance permission was not required for reclamation. After the stand of the industries minister, the environment secretary did a volte face on the issue. 

The Chief Minister said that the clarification given by the state government on June 26, 2012 had stated that  paddy land had been filled illegally.

But it also pointed out the claim of the promoters that the land was filled by their predecessors. Chandy said that the Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEF was aware of the land filling by the original owner even earlier.

The EAC, in its report on December 16, 2011 refers to the company’s letter dated June 20, 2011 that mentioned that the original owner of the site had carried out minor developmental works at the site.

Chandy said that this was proof that the EAC had taken into account the land filling issue two months before seeking a clarification from the state.

In the final report given by the EAC on November 18, 2013, it was stated that land filling was the main issue that came up during the public hearing on May 10, 2011.

“All this makes it clear that the EAC was fully aware that land filling had taken place at the project site,” he added.

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Chief Minister denies misleading centre on Aranmula

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has refuted the charge that his office had misled the centre on the Aranmula airport project. He said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests was aware of the land filling at the project site even as early as in 2011.

The MoEF had sought a clarification on the reclamation of paddy lands and wetlands at the project site on February 16, 2012. The environment principal secretary, in his report, had stated that the KGS Group had filled the wetlands without securing the necessary approvals.

The charge is that the file had a jotting “to be avoided” against a paragraph indicting the company. The industries minister sent the file back to the environment department stating that advance permission was not required for reclamation. After the stand of the industries minister, the environment secretary did a volte face on the issue. 

The Chief Minister said that the clarification given by the state government on June 26, 2012 had stated that  paddy land had been filled illegally.

But it also pointed out the claim of the promoters that the land was filled by their predecessors. Chandy said that the Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEF was aware of the land filling by the original owner even earlier.

The EAC, in its report on December 16, 2011 refers to the company’s letter dated June 20, 2011 that mentioned that the original owner of the site had carried out minor developmental works at the site.

Chandy said that this was proof that the EAC had taken into account the land filling issue two months before seeking a clarification from the state.

In the final report given by the EAC on November 18, 2013, it was stated that land filling was the main issue that came up during the public hearing on May 10, 2011.

“All this makes it clear that the EAC was fully aware that land filling had taken place at the project site,” he added.

View the original article here

Chief Minister denies misleading centre on Aranmula

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has refuted the charge that his office had misled the centre on the Aranmula airport project. He said that the Ministry of Environment and Forests was aware of the land filling at the project site even as early as in 2011.

The MoEF had sought a clarification on the reclamation of paddy lands and wetlands at the project site on February 16, 2012. The environment principal secretary, in his report, had stated that the KGS Group had filled the wetlands without securing the necessary approvals.

The charge is that the file had a jotting “to be avoided” against a paragraph indicting the company. The industries minister sent the file back to the environment department stating that advance permission was not required for reclamation. After the stand of the industries minister, the environment secretary did a volte face on the issue. 

The Chief Minister said that the clarification given by the state government on June 26, 2012 had stated that  paddy land had been filled illegally.

But it also pointed out the claim of the promoters that the land was filled by their predecessors. Chandy said that the Expert Appraisal Committee of the MoEF was aware of the land filling by the original owner even earlier.

The EAC, in its report on December 16, 2011 refers to the company’s letter dated June 20, 2011 that mentioned that the original owner of the site had carried out minor developmental works at the site.

Chandy said that this was proof that the EAC had taken into account the land filling issue two months before seeking a clarification from the state.

In the final report given by the EAC on November 18, 2013, it was stated that land filling was the main issue that came up during the public hearing on May 10, 2011.

“All this makes it clear that the EAC was fully aware that land filling had taken place at the project site,” he added.

View the original article here