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Tata consultancy services is in talks with leading banks and micro-finance institutions (MFIs) for implementing multi-application cards, which will enable secure e-transcations.

The company has also bid for e-passport projects in about five countries. These passports with in-built RF chip and facial biometric identifier will make it almost impossible to tamper with passport data and documents.

M.Vidyasagar, executive vice president, TCS said that they had developed an integrated solution which can be customized and scaled up accordng to the requirements of various banks. He added that those cryptographic cards would offer interoperability and accessibility and help enable rural bankingactivities.

Addressing a press meet, he said that the company was looking at implementing a few pilot projects based on this technology this year in the country. Tata consultancy services is one of the seven authorised certifying authorities in the country for digital signature.

Telecom operator Reliance Communications (RCOM) is in talks with IT services and consulting giant Accenture to float a joint venture to manage and operate the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group’s IT infrastructure services and processes.

Sources said that the talks had been on for nearly two months for the joint venture. They said that the proposed JV would also have an exit clause giving Reliance Communications the opportunity to buy out Accenture in the future.

Reliance Communications is also said to be in talks with Hewlett Packard (HP), Germany’s T-Systems and French IT consulting giant Capgemini. HP declined to comment while Accenture was unreachable for comment. Sources added that the discussions with HP were in very early stages. An Reliance Communications spokesperson said that they did not comment on speculation.

Telecom operators such as Bharti Airtel and Idea Cellular have shed non-core functions such as IT and network management to multinational giants such as IBM and Nokia in order to focus on the main function of selling services.

HP and Accenture, both globally renowned names in outsourcing, have not bagged any contract in the booming Indian telecom space. IBM is servicing Bharti Airtel as well as Idea Cellular in contracts worth over $1.2 billion and $600-800 million, respectively.

While IT outsourcing refers to hiring an outside agency to provide IT services to a company, insourcing is the in-house management of technology. ADAG is well known for not outsourcing its call centres, IT or networks management requirements despite industry trends to the contrary.

Sources said that the concept of JV was mooted where Accenture could give its services and expertise to RCOM’s manpower. They added that would give a steady revenue stream to the company’s JV partner and bring latest technological expertise to the ADA group.

Tata Consultancy services (TCS), India’s top software exporter, plans to tap onto the resources in Tier-II and Tier-III cities to tackle the acute manpower shortage in the services sector. The company’s attrition rate stands at 11.3%.

Mr.S.Ramadorai, CEO and MD, TCS said that the cities like Trichy, Coimbatore and Chandigarh would be the focus areas. He also said that nearly 70% of their hiring happens from the smaller towns. He was in Chennai to inaugurate the campus requirement at Anna University. About 2600 students are expected to sit for placements this year from the college.

Tata Consultancy services has not sent an upper limit for hiring and hopes to cover 350 engineering colleges this year, of which 36 will be in Tamil Nadu. The salary level has been raised from 2.37 lakh per annum to 3.16 lakh in the undergraduate level and from Rs.2.71 lakh per annum to 3.31 lakh per annum at the PG level.

Mr.Ramadorai saud the demand for talent is not just restricted to IT but cuts across every sector. He said that There was no dearth in a availability, but in suitablity. He also said that the employment generation had to complement the economy’s growth rate and should not be a burden on industries.

He added that the gap in resources should be met through increased investment in infrastructure, faculty upgradation and industry-student interface. The company has signed MOUs with 45 colleges for a faculty training and project internships.

Mr.Ramadorai said the IT boom would not see a slowdown because the companies had merely tapped $30 billion when there was scope for over $1 trillion worldwide.