Duet Technologies Inc., the California-based company specialising in providing IT services in select technology segments - electronic design automation (EDA) and design technology, telecom and networking, has chalked out plans to invest around Rs. 12 crores to 17 crores ( $ 3.5 to 5 million ) for creating additional development facilities at Noida (near New Delhi) and Hyderabad over the next two years. The company has acquired sites at Infocity in Hyderabad and in the Noida export processing zone and started constructions.

Duet Technologies has plans to conduct external training programmes on VLSI design and EDA tools in addition to internal training programmes. Necessary infrastructure facilities are being created for a software development centre engaged entirely in EDA design technology, telecom and space.

Satyam Computer Services Ltd., the Hyderabad-based IT company, plans to expand its activities. The company would setup 3 more software centres in Madras, Pune and Bhubaneshwar. The Madras centre was to be operational by the end of 1996, while the other two will be set up early 1997.

The centres will be in the nature of 'Software Technology Parks (STPs)' and operate as divisions of Satyam. Networks will link the new centres to the existing ones in Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Bangalore. The new centres will also have 64 kbps links to overseas clients.
The Madras centre, which is likely to emerge as one of the company's largest, will have about 500 people working on Year-2000 solutions and mainframe- based solutions.

Satyam has already entered into arrangements with about a dozen international companies such as Northwest Airlines and Westfield Insurance. Nearly half of these companies are US-based insurance companies.

Another potential area of business for Satyam Computers is the European currency conversion project representing a market value of about $ 1 to 1.5 billions. When the European Union countries accept a common currency, systems of every European business would have to be altered to accommodate this change. Even if some countries do not accept the new currency, they would still have to do business with those who have.

The one country that Satyam will be looking forward to keenly is Japan. An office will be set up there shortly, while development work for clients has already begun in the meantime. Most of the current software development work in Japan is hardware-oriented. If the company can overcome the language problem, Japan can become one of the biggest markets. In preparation for penetrating this market, Satyam has already begun training some of its personnel in Japanese language.

Universal Semiconductor Inc. of California, USA, has recently set up a fully-owned subsidiary, VICAP Semiconductors Ltd., in India at Bangalore for designing ASIC's and standard ICs and manufacturing ICs locally.

Universal, which owns 100% equity in VICAP, is one of the oldest speciality ASIC manufacturing companies in the US with a range of proprietary IC-manufacturing technologies.

VICAP also plans to establish a modern packaging/assembling unit at its factory in India to bring down the chip cost further. The company has already designed and developed a number of IC chips in India.

US-based Synopsys Inc., a leading player in the world-wide electronic design automation (EDA) industry, recently inaugurated the operations of its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary and a 100% Export- Oriented- Unit, Synopsys (India) Pvt Ltd.

Set up in April 1995, the Indian subsidiary specialises in the area of developing software for design verification, high-level design methodologies, new product validation in a system environment and intellectual property development. It caters to the business units of the parent company which include Design Tools Group, Design Reuse Group, and Verification Systems Group.

The President and CEO of Synopsys said that the expansion of the company's operations is an indication of its commitment to India, which has a wealth of R&D talent, and the company would like to provide opportunities to work on leading - edge technologies.