Sierra Atlantic has announced the expansion of its universal application network (UAN) centre of excellence in Hyderabad. The Company provides custom software development and other information technology (IT) services from its Global Development Center in Hyderabad, India, and from offices in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the UK, and the US.

The Hyderabad Centre currently has 200 professionals and is taking on another 140, including remote configuration and technical support teams. This centre specialises in building, porting, testing and deploying UAN-compliant business integration applications, leveraging the company’s close research and development relationship with Siebel Systems.

Terex Corporation, the world's third largest construction equipment manufacturing company, and the UK-based Vectra Investments have joined hands to commence production of construction equipment in India. The two entities have set up a 50:50 joint venture by the name of Terex Vectra Equipment and are in the process of setting up a manufacturing facility at Greater Noida, near Delhi.

The facility will be used to produce heavy equipment such as backhoe loaders, excavators and skid steering compaction equipment. The plant will have a capacity of 1,000 units per annum. Though initially, it would serve to meet the domestic demand, this facility may become a global hub for certain products for China, Russia and West Asia.

In the first of its kind public-private initiative in the life sciences arena in India, the Purnendu Chatterjee group is joining hands with the Council for Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to start a Centre for Genomic Applications in the Capital, with state-of-the-art equipment to cater to the custom-based laboratory services and products market.

The Centre for Genomic Applications (TCGA), a $ 5.7 mln project being pursued on a 50:50 basis, will commence on land provided by the CSIR, while the DST will provide financial support for activities under the Drugs & Pharmaceutical Research Programme.

TCGA will not only launch its own R&D activities, but will offer shared research facilities to other R&D institutes, take up contract work in sequencing, genotyping, protein sequencing and finger-printing, primer design and synthesis and expression profiling using micro arrays as well as provide incubation facilities for biotechnology start-ups.

With the advent of genomics and proteomics, custom-based laboratory services and products is estimated to be worth approximately $ 22.2 mln with a 30% growth year-on-year predicted over the next five years- meaning the market would be worth $ 66.67 mln in ’06-07. With a high throughput, TCGA is to be built as a shared resource- both Indian and private, initially in India but to be extended to international agencies too.

Action is heating up in the country’s ports sector. After the announcement of several ports and SEZ projects in the past few years, foreign majors are now docking at Indian shores, sensing a sea of opportunities.

Petroleum major Royal Dutch/Shell group last week said it is talking to half a dozen foreign firms, which may include Port of Singapore Authority and P&O Ports, for its proposed container terminal at Hazira, Gujarat. And now, Dubai Ports International has sought government approval to set up two wholly owned subsidiaries in India.

While one of the two subsidiaries will sign a licence agreement with Cochin Port Trust (CoPT) to develop the $ 444 mln international container trans-shipment terminal at Cochin Port, after it emerged as the highest bidder, the other will seek new investment opportunities in other ports and SEZ projects in the country.

The free zone establishment formed under the laws of the Emirate in Dubai, UAE, has an existing joint venture with United Liner Agencies of India, with a 26% stake in Visakha Container Terminal. The JV has been awarded a 30-year contract to build, operate, maintain and manage the Visakhapatnam container terminal on build, operate and transfer basis. This project has started commercial operations as per schedule. The Indian partner, United Liner Agencies, has passed a board resolution to permit Dubai Ports set up independent arms in India and seek new opportunities on its own.

As far as the CoPT project is concerned, Dubai Ports will operate and manage necessary developments, modifications and augmentation of facilities of the existing Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal for eight years. It will also develop, construct, operate and manage an international container trans-shipment terminal at Vallarpadam, Puthuvypeen for 30 years.