NASSCOM, DSCI - Current Affairs Questions and Answers

ANSWER: Toll free Helpline

Explanation:
Following a TV channel and a website to promote digital payments, national toll-free helpline number 14444 will soon be launched to provide support for cashless mode of transactions.

Service will be operational within a week. NASSCOM will be aiding the project.

Single nationwide helpline which has been assigned to DoT will now be set up.

Initiatives for Digital Payments

• MeiTY launched free to air Channel DigiShala on Doordarshan’s DTH platform.
• Cashless India website will educate people about digital transactions.
• Digi Dhan Abhiyan has also been launched.
• This is in line with Digital India initiatives.

About NASSCOM


• Abbreviation: NASSCOM
• Formation: 1 March 1988
• Type: NPO
• Purpose: Trade association
• Headquarters: International Youth Centre, Teen Murti Marg, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi, Delhi, India
• President: R. Chandrashekhar
• Chairman: CP Gurnani
• Vice Chairman: Raman Roy

ANSWER: Vodafone Foundation

Explanation:
Vodafone Foundation announced the launch of the sixth edition of the Mobile for Good Awards 2016 in partnership with NASSCOM Foundation.

• Award will recognise and support emerging and innovative mobile solutions from NGOs and for profit enterprises.
• Government departments that facilitate community empowerment and transform the economy to bring about inclusive growth will also be included.
• Mobile for Good Awards has evolved as a platform to acknowledge social innovations through mobile and wireless technologies that have created an impact on critical areas of health, governance, agriculture and education.
• There will be a total grant of INR 90 lakhs for winning non profits in addition to structured mentoring, monitoring and impact assessment from partner institutions.
• All winning projects will be featured in the Social App Hub a unique platform for social apps.

ANSWER: Arcesium

Explanation:
Nasscom Foundation and post-trade technology firm Arcesium jointly established the first rural digital literacy centre in Telangana, in Peddashapur village, on the outskirts of Hyderabad.

The Centre trains people in use of computers and mobile phones so that they will be able to register for Aadhar, ration, PAN cards, pay bills, send emails and use the internet for multiple utilities.

The initiative is under the ePradhan Mantri Gamin Digital Saksharta Abhiyaan.

Arcesium is supporting the training infrastructure and the trainers at the centre with the help of its implementation partner, Nirmaan Organisation.

The centre is equipped to train as many as 1,000 beneficiaries from under-privileged communities around the Peddashapur area.

The legislator representing Rajendranagar, Prakash Goud said it was necessary for children from villages to develop their competitive skills.

This is the tenth centre in Telangana. Nine centres are in cities. So far, around 7,000 youths have been trained, with each centre accounting for 1,000-1,200.

At the national level so far, 170 centres have been established.

The Centre has devised a curricular of 20 hours with two hours per day to impart training on how to use internet, how to use various apps the Centre has introduced and avail benefit from the schemes.

The collaboration with Nasscom will be further strengthened to reach more rural youth and skill them.

ANSWER: Mauritius

Explanation:
Mauritius has approached Indian information technology industry body NASSCOM for support in building capacity in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) skill needs.

ICT has become an important activity to Mauritius. The country has started a dialogue with NASSCOM for skill development in the sector.

According to him ICT is already contributing by five per cent to the national GDP and holds lot more potential.

The proposed Indo-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement is expected to be signed by end of this year as both countries finalised the areas of exchange.

Implementation of the CECPA between the two countries is likely to be signed by the end of this year which will help greater cooperation between two countries.

Areas of cooperation identified are financial services, ICT, health, education, R&D and construction.

He invited Indian investment in Mauritius to exploit the African market as the country offers preferential access through agreements.

ANSWER: Raman Roy

Explanation:
IT industry body NASSCOM has appointed Quatrro CMD Raman Roy its Chairman for 2017-18.

It has also named Rishad Premji, Wipro Chief Strategy Officer and son of technology czar Azim Premji, as the Vice-Chairman.

Roy, who served as the Vice-Chairman in the previous fiscal, will take on the new role from April 6.

He takes over the mantle from C P Gurnani, Managing Director and CEO of Tech Mahindra.

Nasscom expects 8-10% industry growth in FY18

Building India's innovation edge is another key priority and the industry body plans to scale up start-ups and centre of excellence initiatives to the next level.

The over USD 140 billion Indian IT industry faces a number of headwinds like growing protectionism from various countries and business shifts towards digital.

Nasscom sees 20-25% less IT jobs in the next three years

Roy, along with Rishad and Chandrashekhar, will lead Nasscom to carry out its diverse array of priorities.

The leadership team will also work towards further strengthening various sector councils and focus on enhanced member outreach and involvement.

NASSCOM: Know More

• Founded: 1 March 1988
• Membership: 2300+
• Purpose: Trade association
• Chairman: Raman Roy
• Headquarters: Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
• Founders: Dewang Mehta, Nandan Nilekani

ANSWER: 8-10 percent

Explanation:
Software services industry lobby NASSCOM indicated it expects the sector to grow 8-10 percent in 2017-2018.

NASSCOM revised down its fiscal 2017 revenue growth target to 8-10 percent from 10-12 percent as US headwinds emerged.

The United States is the largest revenue source for the industry.

Many domestic IT companies may change their business strategies and regroup themselves owing to newer trends such as increasing automation artificial intelligence, digital data and digital disruption.

At the same time, there is a feeling within Nasscom that the industry is going to change. It is going to change because of automation, artificial intelligence, digital data and digital disruption. So, many companies will regroup themselves and re-architect their journey forward.

Current trend also suggest that job accretion will be at best half of its growth in recent years.

NASSCOM: Know More

• Chairperson: C. P. Gurnani
• Founded: 1 March 1988
• Motto: Transform Business, Transform India
• Headquarters: Chanakyapuri, New Delhi
• Founders: Dewang Mehta, Nandan Nilekani

ANSWER: All of the above

Explanation:
Government of India has set up an 11 member panel headed by former finance secretary Ratan P Watal to suggest ways to promote electronic transactions

• Incentives such as tax rebates, cash back and lottery would also be given.
• Apart from this, suggesting changes in the existing regulatory mechanism relating to digital transactions, the panel will recommend steps for leveraging unique identification number or other identity proofs for authentication of card and digital transactions.
• It will also examine the setting up of a centralised Know Your Customer registry.
• The panel will also study the feasibility of creating a payments history of all card/digital payments and ensure that merchants/consumers can leverage the data to access instant, low cost micro credit through digital means and create the necessary linkage between payment history and credit information as per order issued by the finance ministry
• Committee will also study the introduction of a single window system of payment gateway to accept all types of cards/digital payments of government receipts and enable settlements via NPCI (National Payments Corporation of India) or other agencies within specified timelines.
• Watal panel will submit its report in one year.
• It will also study international best practices in payments and identify possible market failures along with suitable interventions. Committee members include former RBI deputy governor HR Khan, Chairmans of Indian Banks Association, CBDT and NASSCOM.

ANSWER: 730 million

Explanation:
According to NASSCOM, web users in the country are expected to more than double to 730 million by 2020 as rural India adopts Internet in increasing numbers.

• The NASSCOM report entitled The Future of Internet in India, compiled by NASSCOM and Akamai Technologies posits that the internet base in the country measured around 350 million towards 2015 end.
• India has an internet user base next only to China.
• According to the report, it will remain the fastest growing market.
• The report also said that 75 percent of new internet users will be from rural areas.
• A majority of the new users are going to consume data in local languages, according to the report.
• India’s internet consumption has already exceeded US to become number two globally and internet will create more opportunities for the rural hinterland by 2020.
• The present NASSCOM president is R Chandrashekhar.
• NASSCOM report also says increasing internet usage is fuelling e-commerce, which accounts for two thirds of the total e-commerce market edging out travel.
• As per the report, the overall e-commerce market in India was valued at USD 17 billion in 2015-2016.
• By 2020, it is expected to reach USD 34 billion with 175 million individuals transacting online.
• India will have around 702 million smartphone users by 2030; a majority will prefer mobile phones for shopping accounting for 70 percent of total online shopping.
• Online travel bookings will also gain traction with 50 percent of the travel related transactions to be made online by 2020
• A major beneficiary of internet growth is financial technology in the nation with the fintech market expected to grow 1.7 times between 2015-2020
• NASSCOM also estimates funding in these startups in 2015 at USD 420 million, 10 times that of USD 40 million invested in 2014.

ANSWER: Code for Next Billion

Explanation:
Indian software companies association NASSCOM has announced the second phase of the six month development programme called Code for Next Billion.

• The programme is aimed at encouraging internet innovation along the developer community in the country.
• This recently concluded the first round which comprised 10 startups.
• NASSCOM has partnered with social media giant Facebook for introducing the Leaders Building for the Next Billion programme.
• Program invests in developers who are building mobile apps to launch large scale innovation for new internet users.

ANSWER: 1 billion

Explanation:
Software-as-a-Service market in India is expected to grow by as much as three times to USD 1 billion by 2020, as per NASSCOM research.

• Demand will be driven by businesses aiming to zero in on core operations.
• Market for SaaS was pegged at USD 300 million in 2014-2015 as against USD 407 million in 2015-2016.
• SaaS is a pay-as-you-go software distribution model.
• Research points that there are differences in over 150 firms offering solutions in SaaS segment with start ups powering the segment.
• Close to 40-45 percent of the companies within the segment are startups.
• Investors are showing keen interest in the number of startups.
• India SaaS based products have received close to USD 450 million in the first two quarters of the previous year.
• Close to 170 million was invested in such start-ups in 2014 across 22 deals.
• Number of such deals have grown by 2 times to 22 in 2014 from 11 in 2011.
• With 60 percent of the funding, in post 2012, more startups are being able to access funding in the past 5 years.
• The US and EU account for more than 80 percent of the demand for Indian SaaS Solutions as per the report.
• Internationally, the SaaS market was pegged at USD 31 billion in 2015; it is expected to grow at 18 percent annually to USD 72 billion by 2020.
• Players like SAP, Oracle, IBM and Microsoft have cornered close to 50 percent of the global SaaS market