Tourism Plus IT = Kerala

Taking a cue from the success of Bangalore, Gurgaon and Hyderabad as some of the hot IT destinations in India, the green state of Kerala is all set to follow suit. Recently, at the major IT event, IT Kerala 2006, nearly a hundred IT and IteS sector companies converged to display their products and services, and to discuss business and investment plans to bring about this progress. These included TCS, Intel, Infosys, L&T, Tulip IT Services, NeST, IBS, Oracle, Intel, Microsoft, Bharati, Reliance, Sutherland, HP, Dell, 24/7 Customer Care, Rittal India and many more companies.

IT Secretary, P H. Kurien informed that the Kerala government would position Kottayam, Thrissur, Kannur and Kozhikode as satellite IT destinations in the state, since present IT activities were presently concentrated around Thiruvananthapuram - the state capital, and Kochi. Major business plans, expansions and investments were also announced at the four-day event. Infosys announced its intention to invest Rs1.5 billion in three phases and raise the headcount in Kerala by 3750 people. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), will be investing Rs2.5 billion to set up a software development center at the Technopark campus to upgrade its existing training facility there and provide jobs for 5,000 software professionals. The U.S. based BPO firm Sutherland Global Services has plans to invest over Rs120 crore to create service delivery center and training infrastructure on 20 acres of land in Kochi. The company expects to hire 3,000 professionals over the next three years in the first phase for its Kerala operations.

Good to see that Gods own country is finally diverting into other sectors also, than just tourism! Also probably more Gods own people and work in home place, close to thier near and dear ones...

CRY... will you wipe my tears?

Imagine having to pull your son out of school to send him to work in a dim-lit, dusty sweatshop, just because you are unable to find a job that pays enough to support your family. Imagine your daughter having to drop out of school just because it has no toilets. Imagine your new-born baby dying because your village has no doctors to treat her fever. Imagine your children growing up stunted because of lack of adequate nutrition. Imagine entire generations of your family being born into bonded labor, with no hope of breaking free. Well, you are fortunate and thank god that it doesn’t happen to you. But all are not as lucky as we are. So when they cry, CRY tries to wipe their tears, at least of some, if not all...

CRY stands for Child Relief and You, a movement for the rights of every child. It is a leading Indian non-government organisation (NGO) that works towards restoring basic rights to children in India. CRY believes that children – ALL children, everywhere - are individuals… NOT possessions of their parents or the state, NOT objects of charity, however well-intentioned. CRY believes that they are citizens in their own right, the future of their countries and the world, entitled to the full spectrum of human rights. Our focus is on the 4 basic rights of children. These were defined in 1989, by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, an international human rights treaty to which 191 countries, including India, are signatories.

• the right to survival - to life, health, nutrition, name and nationality
• the right to development - to education, care, leisure, recreation
• the right to protection - from exploitation, abuse, neglect
• the right to participation - to expression, information, thought and religion

CRY was started by seven young people in December 1978. CRY has learned over 26 years that ensuring these in a long-term and sustainable manner is only possible when we empower communities to address the root causes of illiteracy, poverty, discrimination and exploitation. CRY has realised that child rights cannot be ensured unless families have their livelihoods assured.

Join CRY in creating a world in which child rights for ALL children are not negotiable. Perhaps you can wipe the tears of an innocent little girl for an year with the money you spent on burgers and movies for a couple of days. You may sponsor a child, or at least his/her education or perhaps buy some merchandise, and light someone's face with a smile, than tears. Someone said "Everything you give out, comes back to you, some day, some way".

Read me: http://www.cry.org/