Nokia takes to Microsoft’s SilverLight media tech
Nokia, on Tuesday, announced it will make Microsoft’s Silverlight streaming media technology available on its S60 Symbian OS-based smartphones this year – and will do the same for its Series 40 phones and Internet tablets as well, reports Reuters.
The two companies plan to demonstrate Silverlight running on a Nokia S60 smartphone this week at Microsoft’s MIX08 Web developers in Las Vegas, Nokia said in statement. Silverlight is Microsoft’s cross-browser, cross-platform media plug-in, which the company debuted last spring. Microsoft hopes to use Silverlight to displace Adobe’s Flash technology on PCs and other devices.
Microsoft’s deal with Nokia is a watershed for the two companies, who have long had a face-off over their competing mobile operating systems – Microsoft with Windows Mobile and Nokia with its S60 and Series 40 systems.
This new Nokia deal bodes well for Silverlight, even if it has to compete directly with Flash on phone handsets.

Subex launches new route optimisation system
Subex Ltd, on Wednesday, launched a new version of its route optimisation system that will help telecom operators better manage network cost information, analyse the impact of current operator tariffs.
The system, Optima 4.5, would also provide forecasts on future operator, a company release said. The key new feature in the latest version of Optima is support of Oracle Database 10g, a widely deployed enterprise database in the telecom industry.

Yes Bank to raise up to    Rs 1,100 crore in FY ‘09
Yes Bank is planning to raise about Rs 1,100 crore through a mix of equity and debt in the next fiscal, said its Managing Director and CEO Rana Kapoor in Mumbai on Wednesday.
“We will raise US$150-170 million (about Rs 640 crore) in the first quarter of next fiscal...we will also raise up to Rs 500 crore as Tier-II capital (debt) between April and September,” Kapoor said.
The funds will be deployed for a rapid branch and business expansion plans of the bank.The bank will raise US$150-170 million through a sale of 2 crore equity shares either through a private placement, Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) or dilution of its stake, Kapoor said.

L&T bags transmission line orders worth Rs 458 crore
Larsen & Toubro (L&T), on Wednesday, announced that it has bagged three orders totalling Rs 458 crore for transmission line projects, reports DHNS from Mumbai. It has received a Rs 238-crore order from Jaypee Powergrid Ltd for the construction of 155 km of transmission line for evacuation of power from the 1,000 mw Kacham-Wangtoo Hydro Electric Project, said a L&T release issued to the Bombay Stock Exchange. The project will be completed in 30 months, the company said.

L&T has also secured two orders from Power Grid Corporation of India (PGCIL) for the construction of 166 km of 400 kV D/C transmission line and 255 km of 400 kV D/C Gorakhpur - Lucknow transmission line.  associated with Northern Region Strengthening Scheme –II. Valued at Rs 220 crore, the PGCIL projects are to be completed in 24 months.

KFC to invest Rs 300 crore to open new stores
Chicken restaurant chain Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) has said it will invest between Rs 200-300 crore by 2010 for opening new outlets in the country. The restaurant brand is targeting 100 KFC outlets across the country by 2010 for which an investment of around Rs 200-300 crore would be made,  KFC Marketing Director Unnat Varma said in Kolkata on Wednesday.

Cognizant partners with Germany-based T-Systems
Cognizant, on Wednesday, said it has entered into a global partnership with Germany’s T-Systems, under which it would also get the latter’s Indian subsidiary and 1,150 employees in the country.

T-Systems, an IT solutions arm of Europe’s telecom giant Deutsche Telekom, and Cognizant said in a joint statement that the “alliance is primarily aimed at catering to European corporations with global delivery requirements for systems integration services.”

As a part of the new business partnership, T-Systems India and its 1,150 employees will be transferred to Cognizant, subject to appropriate regulatory clearance. These employees are based at T Systems’ units in Pune and Bangalore, a Cogizant spokesperson told PTI in New Delhi.