The newspapers are filled with reports about the ongoing slowdown in the infotech sector. Nonetheless Zee Interactive Learning Systems (ZILS), which is less than two years old, says that it is all set to break even by next year with a turnover of Rs 1 billion.
ZILS is the wholly owned subsidiary of Zee Telefilms. In a Rs 20-billion information technology education market, ZILS claims to have crossed the Rs 300 million mark for the year 2000-2001 and is bullish on hitting Rs 3 billion by 2004.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Government has chosen the company to be its training partner in the `Mahithi Sindhu? scheme. The Karnataka government saw value in ZILS?s credible alliances, domain knowledge, technology expertise and experience in generating multimedia content, a company spokesperson said.

Under the `Mahithi Sindhu? scheme, ZILS will implement computer based education in 1,000 government high schools. The company will develop software for the subject - Science from Standards VIII - X. Side by side teachers will be trained.

All this is part of the initiative of The Department of State Education Research & Training. DSERT is a body of the Karnataka government which is responsible for implementing computer-based education to government high schools in the state.

The software installed will be in English and Kannada. So students will find it easy to follow and they will be able to use it in an effective manner. The software will entertain and educate through interactive features, animation, voiceover, graphics, pop-up questions. There will also be video clips based on imaginative analogies and components locally available and which children notice in day to day existence.

ZILS CEO Dilip Mahapatra had these remarks to make: The Schools Board prepares the syllabus, the course structure and conducts the examinations. We provide the infrastructure for conducting the courses. We make these courses interactive. IT education is becoming an integral part of most of the upper crust schools. We have identified 15,000 schools in the country that are imparting IT education or are planning to introduce it in the near future."

Besides this ZILS has already prepared customised multimedia courses in Mathematics, Science and English for Standard VIII - X. This is aimed at the CBSE, ICSE and SSC boards. Right now the company is working on preparing the course in Geography. ZILS plans to provide software to the schools abroad.

ZILS also offers Information Technology solutions for teachers and school?s management. ZILS has developed an Internet-based software. Therefore the school?s task of track a student?s progress based on their mark sheets, home assignments, attendance and discipline records is made all the more easy.

The company has also made its mark in the corporate world. It claims to have trained Insurance agents from companies like Reliance, ICICI- Lombard, Bajaj Allianz and Royal Sundaram. Zee Interactive Learning Systems is the training partner of Institute of Company Secretary of India (ICSI) for training students pursuing the Company Secretary course.

Agrani Convergence Ltd (ACL), the retailing arm of ASC Enterprises, an Essel Group company that operates telecom, information technology & learning, media & entertainment products and services, expects to commission two more iSWITCH ?technology superstores? before the end of January.

The stores are expected to open in Chennai and Mumbai (in the central suburb of Ghatkopar). There is another outlet expected to open soon after in Chandigarh, a company spokesperson said.

The first iSWITCH store was opened in Bangalore in February 2001. ASC is looking at opening 24 stores across the country by the end of the current financial year. At present there are 11 stores operating - Ahmedabad (one), Bangalore (two), Delhi (three), Noida (one), Jaipur (one), Kanpur (one), Ludhiana (one), and Mumbai (one).

According to the roadmap laid out, the first phase will see retail outlets opening in the top 23 cities across the country. Subsequent to that the aim is to cover 80 per cent of the district headquarters of India by 2006, the spokesperson said.

Per store investment varies according to store location, size, as well as the interiors and inventory but the average costs per outlet is Rs 10 million, she said.

Queried as to the key products that would drive the business, she identified them as IT and telecom products. "Over 90 per cent of our consumers in the SEC-A category (loosely put, with incomes in the upper middle and high bracket) already own a digital notebook and a mobile phone. Clearly, the role of hand-held devices in the contemporary lifestyle is rising and digi cams, personal digital assistants and mobile phones with multimedia facilities are selling like hot cakes," she said.

Elaborating on the main target audience, she said it could be broadly defined as male or female of 15 years and above, belonging to SEC A&B, interested in buying technology products. Broadly speaking, ACL has identified the target audience for Agrani iSWITCH as large sections of society, having technology requirements, she concluded.

The soap brigade has elbowed its way into the top position in the 9 to 10 pm band as well. The waning KBC has helped Sony?s Kkusum and Kutumb climb to the top of the charts, even as Star continues to hold sway with two more Balaji soaps in the 10-11 pm slot.
Kkusum, Sony says, has registered a steady rise in ratings, with the TAM ratings for the week ending 1 December, putting Kkusum at 8.6. Kutumb, the saga of a couple who get married for vengeful purposes, has apparently been a consistent favourite with viewers from the first week. The channel claims an ?incredible high of 6.6 in only the fourth week after its launch?, quoting TAM ratings for the week ended 1 December. The sample covers the north and west (Mumbai, Delhi, Kanpur, Ahmedabad, Ludhiana, Rest of Maharashtra and Rest of Uttar Pradesh).

Kkusum, a daily soap on weekdays, is the only show to have toppled KBC from its perch in the 9 pm slot, claims Sony. Kutumb, which runs Mondays through Thursdays, is the channel?s latest offering, but has already established a lead in its slot at 9:30 pm.

SET needs to ensure that both the soaps hold viewer interest, with Star just having brought in the Neena Gupta hosted Kamzor Kadii Kaun (airing Tuesdays at 9 pm). Star is also introducing another serial Sanjivani, that promises to be quite gripping, based as it is on the US series Chicago Hope. Sanjivani will take the 9 pm slot on Wednesdays from 16 January 2002.