Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka last Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and disclosed that his company will spend $250 million (over Rs 1,500 crore) to fund innovations in software and services in India. (A crore is a unit equal to ten million (10,000,000) which is written in these regions as 1,00,00,000, equal to a hundred lakh (a lakh is equal to one hundred thousand and is written as 1,00,000). It is widely used in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Nepal. The South Asian numbering system is used in Hindi, Bengali, Urdu, and Nepali.)

About Infosys
Infosys is a global leader in consulting, technology, and outsourcing solutions. As a proven partner focused on building tomorrow’s enterprise, Infosys enables clients in more than 50 countries to outperform the competition and stay ahead of the innovation curve. With US$8.25bn in revenues and 165,000+ employees, the firm provides enterprises with strategic insights on what lies ahead. It helps enterprises transform and thrive in a changing world through strategic consulting, operational leadership, and the co-creation of breakthrough solutions, including those in mobility, sustainability, big data, and cloud computing.

About Narindra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi, born 17 September 1950) is the 15th and current Prime Minister of India, in office since May 2014. Modi, a leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), previously served as the Chief Minister of Gujarat state from 2001 to 2014. He is also a Hindu Nationalist and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Modi has been praised for his economic policies, which are credited with creating an environment for a high rate of economic growth in Gujarat.

The meeting
The chief of India’s second largest IT services firm discussed with Modi ways in which the company can participate in the Prime Minister’s vision of smart and digitally-empowered India.
Infosys will develop software for managing the Kumbh Mela scheduled in Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh) in 2016. Kumbh Mela is a mass Hindu pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus gather to bathe in a sacred river. It is considered to be the largest peaceful gathering in the world where around 100 million people are expected to visit during the Maha Kumbh Mela in in different locations. It is held every third year at one of the four places by rotation:
Sikka, the first non-founder CEO of Infosys, said Modi has agreed to dedicate the company’s Mysore campus as the first model smart city in the country in April this year.
The big area is innovation. PM has a vision for innovation and Infosys have a $500 million Innovation Fund. Of this, they have decided that half of this will be dedicated to just innovation in India. They will will call it “Innovate in India,” Sikka said.
On smart cities, he said Infosys campuses are one of the most amazing places in the world. They are green and energy efficient and work as smart units.
The Mysore campus is a small smart city. It has 30,000 people living and working there at any given day. We are going to make our Mysore campus the first model smart city and the PM has very graciously accepted our invitation to the Mysore campus and dedicate it to the nation in April,” he added.
Spread over 350 acres, Infosys’ Mysore campus, which also houses its university, has more than 200,000 trees and is energy-efficient.

China’s Xiaomi unveils thinner, lighter phablets
Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi (pronounced “show-me”) has unveiled two flagship phablets in Beijing last Thursday, comparing them directly with Apple’s largest iPhones. Chief executive Lei Jun introduced the Mi Note, saying it was shorter, thinner and lighter than the iPhone 6 Plus. The 16 gigabyte model is less than half the price of Apple’s handset and Samsung’s phablet, the Galaxy Note 4. Analysts say Xiaomi became the world’s third bestselling phone firm in 2014.
The firm – which was only founded in 2010 – announced that the Mi Note was 6.95mm (0.27in) thick and weighed 161g (5.7oz). That makes it 1.05mm thinner than the iPhone 6 Plus and 11g lighter.
The flagship Mi Note Pro has a higher resolution display and a faster processor than the basic model. It also features a 13 megapixel rear camera, made by Sony, and a 4MP front one. In addition, Xiaomi announced the higher-end MiNote Pro, which will be released at a later date. It has:

• a higher resolution 2K display (515 pixels per inch)
• a faster 64 bit Snapdragon processor and 4G chip, which is capable of 450 megabits per second (Mbps) downloads

The new models are definitely an upgrade compared to their predecessors – Xiaomi desperately needed to refresh its line-up to keep up with its competitors. Xiaomi is definitely triumphs its competitors on its pricing.
The Being-based firm overtook global market leader Samsung last year to become the top-selling handset brand in the world’s largest smartphone market, China.
Despite its strong numbers, Xiaomi’s phones are only available in select Asian countries including Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, India and Indonesia. There has been speculation it might soon announce a move into the US, but there was no mention of this at the latest launch.