HR Headlines: Apr-10 (Part-4)

For more article, Visit at : www.amreshanjan.co.cc       Females Are Yet To Find Their Place In Silicon Valley Ms Candace Fleming's résumé shows off a double major in industrial engineering and English from Stanford, an MBA from Harvard, a management position at Hewlett-Packard and experience as president of a software company. But when she was raising money for Crimson Hexagon, a start-up company she co-founded in 2007, she recollects one venture capitalist telling her that it didn't matter that she didn't have business cards, because all they would say was "Mom." In the end, none of the 30 venture firms she pitched to financed her company. Ultimately, she raised $1.8 million in March 2008 from angel investors including Golden Seeds, a fund that emphasises investing in female start-ups. Many people say that outright sexism is rare in the tech world these days but the barriers that Ms Fleming encountered aren't unusual. Tech communities in Silicon Valley and in other hubs— like New York, Austin, Tex., and Boston— pride themselves on operating as raw meritocracies set to accept anyone with a good idea, regardless of education, age or station in life. However, for women that narrative unfolds differently. According to the Center for Women's Business Research, women own 40 per cent of the private businesses in the US. But they create just 8 percent of the venture-backed tech start-ups, as per Astia, a nonprofit group that advises female entrepreneurs. Source : 19-04-10   The Indian Express   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Govt Can Retire Staff In Public Interest, Says Central Administrative Tribunal The Central Administrative Tribunal said that compulsory retirement of a government employee could not be treated as a punishment and it could be done in public interest. "The order of compulsory retirement is passed on the subjective satisfaction of the government and it does not amount to punishment," the Tribunal bench, comprising vice chairman Mr L K Joshi and member Mr D P Sharma, said. The Tribunal passed the order on a petition of an Assistant (posted in CISF HQ) Mr Surender Pal Singh, challenging the order of the ministry of home affairs retiring him from the service compulsorily in the wake of report of the Internal Review Committee of the Central Industrial Security Force. The report suggested to the government to retire Mr Singh from government service in public interest on the ground of his incompetence in performing duty. Source : 20-04-10   rediff.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Chinese Companies On A Drive To Indianise Their Management Leading Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers, Huawei Technologies Co Ltd and ZTE Corporation, are on an aggressive 'Indianisation' drive. The companies are replacing Chinese nationals with Indians on their board of directors. The move is apparently an attempt by the companies to change the public perception in India, where Chinese firms are usually viewed with suspicion. Huawei has decided to name an Indian as the chairman of its wholly-owned subsidiary in India and replace its eight-member board of directors with mostly Indian faces. The company is also coming up with an advisory board of renowned Indians. The job of the advisory board would be to advise the board of directors. A team has been set up to look for Indians who could be taken on board the advisory panel. On the other hand, ZTE also plans to revamp its five-member board in India. The company is eager to have at least three Indians on the board, against one at present. The restructuring is likely to be complete within a year. Besides that, ZTE has decided to convert India into a "management hub" and use the talent pool for its global operations across the world to leverage Indian management talent. Source : 22-04-10   rediff.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   HCL Technologies Buoyant On Hiring And Salary Hike HCL Technologies said it will appoint 5,000 in the calendar 2010. The company announced that it will go for a wage hike in July this year, the beginning of its fiscal year. IT major Infosys has already announced a 14 per cent wage hike. Source : 21-04-10   rediff.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Bengal Govt's 'Temporary' Employees To Be Retained Till The Age Of 60 The West Bengal Government approved a slew of sops for its almost two lakh casual employees in various departments, municipalities and Madhyamik and Sishu Siksha Kendras who have worked for 10 years or more. Finance minister, Mr Asim Dasgupta said that they will be retained at least till the age of 60, offered increments every three years after a basic salary is fixed and given a gratuity of Rs 1.5 lakh on retirement. Nearly 10,000 temporary employees in various government departments, over 1.5 lakh para-teachers and academic supervisors and over 6,400 municipal staff stand to gain from the move. Source : 21-04-10   The Telegraph   Compiled by Amresh Anjan J&K Staff May End Up Losing Salary If the Jammu and Kashmir government takes up the 'no work, no pay' policy against the 45,000 employees who went on a strike from April 3, it can add a Rs 225 crore to the coffers of the state. The employees, who asked for payment of arrears following a hike in salaries on the recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, called off their strike last week. Unless the government issues a new notification in this matter, the salaries, which amount to a daily bill of Rs 25 crore, maybe withheld. Source : 19-04-10   Hindustan Times   Compiled by Amresh Anjan TCS Staff Smiles Again The management of India's largest IT company, TCS has spent USD 193 million on increments this year. Last year was a gloomy year for TCS employees with no wage hikes or promotions. But this time, the company has more than made up for it in 2010. It has spent a huge USD 193 million on giving out increments of 8% to 17% across the board. This, in spite of the fact that wage inflation could hit margins by 20-30 basis points. Source : 22-04-10   moneycontrol.com   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   New US Jobless Claims Fall New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits declined last week after a fortnight of increases, the Labor Department revealed. Initial jobless claims totaled a seasonally adjusted 456,000, five percent less than last year. Source : 23-04-10   Hindustan Times   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Aricent To Increase Its Headcount In India Telecom software company, Aricent plans to appoint 3, 000 people worldwide during the current fiscal. Out of this, the company will hire 1, 000 people over next four months in India to develop new products to cater to the increasing demands from customers. Source : 23-04-10   Hindustan Times   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Ms Vedika Bhandarkar Quits JPMorgan JPMorgan, which is beefing up its Indian operations, has lost two senior executives to rival Credit Suisse. Ms Vedika Bhandarkar, managing director and head of investment banking at JPMorgan India, has quit from the bank and is joining Credit Suisse as vice-chairman and head of investment banking in India. Also going along with her at the Swiss company is colleague Mr Sandeep Pangal, who will join as managing director and senior banker in investment banking coverage. Source : 17-04-10   Business Standard   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Mr Harsh Manglik Named As The Chairman Of NASSCOM The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) said that Mr Mr Harsh Manglik would be the new chairman of its Executive Council for the year 2010-2011. He will take on his new role with effect from April 20, NASSCOM said in a press release issued in Mumbai. He has been a member of NASSCOM's Executive Council and, at present, is the chairman and geography managing director for Accenture in India. As chairman of the Executive Council, Mr Manglik will lead and assist NASSCOM in catalysing the growth of the Indian software industry and enabling the fulfilment of its future goals and aspirations, the release said. Source : 20-04-10   DNA   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Lady IPS Officer Appointed As Sebi Executive Director The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has appointed two new executive directors, sources close to the development said. While Ms Pradnya Saravade, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer has been serving as a vigilance officer on special duty in Sebi's investigations department, the other executive director appointed is Mr S Ravindran, who was the chief general manager with the regulator's mutual fund department. Source : 20-04-10   DNA   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Mr Elkann Named As Head Of Fiat Fiat got on board Mr John Elkann, the grandson of historic boss Mr Gianni Agnelli, as the chairman, the company said in a statement. Mr. Elkann, 34, is the group's youngest chairman ever and replaces Mr Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, 62, whom the board thanked for "work accomplished during an especially delicate period in the life of the company." Source : 22-04-10   The Hindu   Compiled by Amresh Anjan   Barclays Appoints India Head For Corporate Unit Mr Karan Bhagat has been appointed by Barclays Plc as India head for the bank's corporate business that chiefly focuses on the banking needs of companies. He joined the bank in 1990, and has worked in different roles within corporate and investment banking. Source : 22-04-10   DNA   Compiled by Amresh Anjan