@Digital Learning: Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has become the first central university in India to integrate its entire business process in back office automation by adopting Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) successfully at its headquarters.

The ERP – People Soft project was initiated in the year 2007. All modules were deployed by the end of 2008. Majority of the modules are being widely used by every employee of IGNOU head office for every day-to-day transaction such as Payroll, Inventory, Leave, Medical, Workforce etc.

Presently, all transactions are captured centrally in Oracle database, giving rise to authenticated and consistent MIS and data flow. The work has been accomplished using FSCM, PeopleSoft modules and HRMS through TCS as the system integrator.

@Business Standard: Medical equipment maker, Opto Circuits (India) has entered into an agreement with Japan based Omron Healthcare to distribute equipment used for treatment of heart disease in the Japanese market. The company’s arm, Cardiac Science Corporation, has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with Omron Healthcare to distribute Omron Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Powerheart G3 HDF – 3000 in Japan. The products that would be marketed would be approved by Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (JMHLW).

The company is looking to make a strategic re-entry into the Japanese market through this emergency life saving product. Japan is the second largest AED market in the world with 65,000 AEDs sold annually.

@Economic Times: Max Healthcare, a 1,100 bed hospital subsidiary of the Max India Group is expected to enter into a strategic alliance with a PE firm backed major hospital. The investors are likely to pick up a stake of over 26% in Max Healthcare and the equity value of the transaction is expected to be around INR 15 bn. The two potential investors for this transaction are likely to be an Asian PE fund involved in a significant investment in a large hospital chain in South East Asia and an US based fund with similar investments in a leading hospital chain.

Max India has acquired a stake of 16.37% in Max Healthcare from Warburg Pincus for a sum of INR 1400 mn. This transaction will increase the company’s holding in Max Healthcare to 91%.

Max Healthcare network of hospitals reported total revenue of INR 6.85 bn by registering a growth of 28% over the last year.

@Economic Times: GMR Group is in talks with multiple potential partners including Apollo Hospitals Group and US-based healthcare provider Mayo Clinic to invest close to USD 1 bn and set up a large hospital project in Hyderabad. The company owns surplus land around the Hyderabad airport and as such it wants to utilize it by building one of the largest hospitals in Asia for which it wants to rope in partners of international repute. The three parties are in talks to form a joint venture company to execute the project.

GMR will benefit from such a project as it will complement its airports business if the hospital is able to attract a large number of overseas patients.

@DNA: Wipro, India’s third-largest IT company, is looking to provide engineering services to a couple of US based medical device manufacturers to help them make products for the Indian market. The company is eyeing an opportunity in helping such mid-sized US companies to develop products for the growing Indian medical devices market.

Wipro has a strong healthcare and medical devices team and has the capacity and the expertise to help US companies to set up a market in India. The company is also backed with adequate technical know-how which is beneficial to smaller companies that find it difficult to grow in the Indian market.