The Hindu Business Line : Satyam, IIT-Madras ink pact for R&D

Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, Chairman, Satyam Computer Services (centre), and Prof M.S. Ananth, Director, IIT-Madras (right) at an MoU signing ceremony to facilitate R&D projects, in Chennai on Friday. Mr Vivek Harinarain, Tamil Nadu IT Secretary, is also seen. - Bijoy Ghosh

Chennai , Nov. 19

SATYAM Computer Services has signed an agreement with IIT-Madras to extend support towards research and development projects.

Mr B. Ramalinga Raju, Chairman, Satyam, and Prof M.S. Ananth, Director, IIT-Madras, signed a MoU to this effect today.

According to a Satyam release, the company will offer its practical domain expertise and knowledge in manufacturing, automotive and other areas of interest to IIT-Madras students.

The institute, on the other hand, will help by providing academic expertise guidance and facilities to carry out R&D studies.

Additionally, Satyam will also generate funds to support the project cost.

Mr Raju refused to provide any numbers on the funds or information on the tie-up.

"It is too early to talk about," he told newspersons after signing the agreement.

According to Prof Ananth, around 30 per cent of the institute's revenue comes from industrial research.

The Government funds are mostly used for salary and maintenance, and two-thirds of the research budget for the institute comes from industrial consultancy and research, he added.

IIT-Madras is planning to start two companies called Technovator and Technopark.

The former would deal with intellectual property of products that come out of the institute.

For the Technopark, the Tamil Nadu Government has allotted around 10 acres of land, he said.

Later, speaking at a panel discussion on `Institute-industry collaboration: Moving up the value chain', Mr Raju said that two-thirds of the world's gross domestic product (GDP) is from services, and the value of this is likely to be around $50 trillion in a few years.

If India is able to get a minimum of five per cent of global software services in the next 15-20 years, the revenue generation from it would be over $1 trillion, he added.

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