Shopping While Working Is The Latest Fad Among Professionals Because of long working hours, Ms Sampreet Dhingra, a 31-year-old graphics visualiser with a leading games development company, shops on the net for gifts for her family. She says, "Since I spend 10 hours on my work computer every day, I might as well buy my festival gifts online. More so because I don't find time once I am at home." Ms Dhingra, who recently joined 99labels.com and frequents sites like Rediff Shopping and eBay, claims to have spent over Rs 6,000 last month on online purchases. ISACA, a global association of 95,000 information technology (IT) professionals, surveyed many like her. According to a report, nearly half the information technology leaders in India expected employees to spend more time shopping on their office computers and mobile devices this year.
Source : 23-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Maruti To Hire 3,000 Employees To support its massive service network expansion, Maruti Suzuki plans to hire 3,000 employees directly in the next four months. This could be one of the largest recruitment drives in the auto sector. Maruti Suzuki India will come up with 200 new company-owned service centres across the country by the end of the fiscal, after which it will have over 3,040 such centres. The new recruits will be employed in these centres.
Source : 26-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Jobless Claims At 2-Year Low In US New US claims for unemployment benefits last week plunged to their lowest levels in more than two years while consumer spending rose in October, which means that there had been a moderate strengthening in economic activity. The improving economic picture was also brightened by news that consumer sentiment perked up this month to its highest level since June 2010.
Source : 25-11-10 sify.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Auto Sector Witnesses An Upswing In Hiring Activity A study by Naukri.com, on the job scenario of the Auto sector shows that the sector has clearly revived from the pangs of the slowdown. Tracking the Naukri job speak index which indicates jobs created in the Auto sector from July-08 onwards, we saw a sudden monthly dip of 29% in the index in the month of Dec-08. This has been the highest monthly dip for the sector till date. In Jan-09, the index dipped to an all time low of 512 as compared to 523 in Dec-08 and 740 in Nov-08. Thus, a low hiring sentiment and a jittery job scenario prevailed for the sector all through the first half of 2009. Although the job index from Jul-09 onwards indicates some recovery in the job scenario, strong hiring trends were only seen starting Feb-10. The index for Feb-10 clocked impressive growth figures of 24% over the previous month. The hiring momentum has been steady since then with the Aug-10 index surpassing the 900 mark for the first time since Jan-09. Therefore, Q2 of FY10-11(Jul-Aug-Sep) has seen a buoyant hiring environment for the sector. This may be corollary to the fact that Aug-10 saw monthly car sales in India zoom to an all time high as reported by SIAM (Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers).
Source : 27-11-10 naukri.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
IIM Students Look At New Options For Summer Jobs Several students from the Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs) have opted for unconventional areas for their summer jobs. This year, the IIMs have experienced a huge shift in the placement scenario in the profiles of companies coming for the recruitment process and also in the choices made by students in job offers. While sales, marketing, banking and finance are highest on the offered and accepted job offers in the reports published by three of the IIMs, students are also looking at internships under government projects. There are four students of IIM-Ahmedabad who have chosen to work under Dr APJ Kalam on the PURA (Providing Urban Amenities in Rural Areas) project. Another student has opted to learn governance and policy-making under a Member of Parliament from Sikkim. Meanwhile, IIM-Kozhikode saw companies from hospital management and sports management coming on campus. "Students this year have shown increasing interest in non-conventional sectors such as media and entertainment, sports managements, start-ups and health and wellness etc," its official report said.
Source : 23-11-10 DNA Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Citigroup To Shift Asia-Pacific Co-CEO To Singapore Citigroup Inc is relocating Asia-Pacific co-Chief Executive Mr Shirish Apte to Singapore from Hong Kong, as per a memo seen by Reuters. Mr Apte would have direct responsibility for South Asia, including Australia, India and Association of Southeast Asian Nations members, while Hong Kong-based Mr Stephen Bird would continue to spearhead North Asia, the memo said. "With this move, we will have our two Asia-Pacific leaders in the two important focal points for our business - Hong Kong and Singapore," Citigroup Chief Executive Mr Vikram Pandit said in the memo.
Source : 22-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Gujarat PSU Top Shots Earned 100% More In 2009-2010 It is not only the earnings of the promoters of private sector companies in Gujarat that increased significantly in 2009-10 financial year, but the remuneration of the top shots of Gujarat-owned PSUs also shot up on an average by 100%. The annual package of the managing directors (MDs) of five of the state's six listed PSUs taken together increased from Rs34 lakh in 2008-09 to Rs68 lakh in the financial year of 2009-10. The remuneration includes the salaries paid to the MDs as IAS officers. Information about the annual remuneration of the MD of Gujarat State Petronet Ltd (GSPL) is not available in the public domain. The biggest beneficiary of the steep hike in remuneration, however, was the MD of Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd (GACL), Mr Guruprasad Mohapatra. His total earnings increased by 170%. Among the MDs of the five state PSUs, Mr Mohapatra was the highest paid in the financial year of 2009-10.
Source : 22-11-10 DNA Compiled by Amresh Anjan
FMS Students Await Summer Time The winter season has brought good times for students of Delhi University's Faculty of Management Studies (FMS). The students have received attractive summer placements with the highest stipend witnessing a staggering 150 per cent rise compared to last year, to Rs 2.5 lakh offered by an investment bank. The average stipend for the internship period has increased by almost 42 per cent to an all time high of Rs 85,000. A record 145 companies were present and 91 companies made offers. The highest number of offers on the campus was made by Citibank, closely followed by Accenture Business Consulting, Tata Administrative Services, Hindustan Unilever, Procter & Gamble and Mahindra & Mahindra. International roles were offered by Hindustan Unilever and Coca Cola, while P&G and Kraft-Cadbury offered the supply chain role on campus for the first time.
Source : 22-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Staff, Mgmt Issues Haunt AI Express Air India Express, which was in the limelight last week after it sacked its chief operating officer (COO) Mr Pawan Arora, needs to immediately take action on critical issues related to staff, management and operations to get back to health, according to industry sources. The airline which usually flies to West Asia and South East Asia, along with its 10% capacity deployed even on domestic routes needs to recruit cabin and cockpit crew to improve its utilisation hours from around 9 hours to 11 hours and above. Sources revealed that there has been a drastic curtailing of AI Express flights in recent months due to an exodus of its cabin and cockpit crew after an AI Express flight crashed in Mangalore in May this year killing over 150 people. The airline needs 440 cabin crew, but has around 361, hence, flights per week were reduced to 155 from 205. Presently, the airline runs short of around 20% cabin crew staff.
Source : 22-11-10 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Labour Laws Hurting Employment Growth Need To Be Looked Again, Asserts PM Acknowledging that some labour laws have not given any results Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said there is a need to revisit some of them which have hurt the growth of employment. "We have enacted several progressive labour laws since independence and some even before that. But it appears that not all these laws have had the intended good effects that we would like to see on the ground," he said inaugurating the 43rd session of Indian Labour Conference. He said there is a need to consider the possible role of some of the labour laws in "contributing to rigidities in the labour market which hurt the growth of employment."
Source : 23-11-10 Indian Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
PE Pays Well, Literally Salaries of executives in Indian private equity companies have increased by 20-40 per cent in 2010, riding on a stable market. The pay package of a partner or managing director of a fund of above $1 billion touched $1 million (Rs 4.5 crore) this year, up from $800,000 two years earlier, as new PE firms successfully raised funds under management or corpuses. Salaries of top executives shot up as firms tried hard to retain top-level talent with full life cycle investing experience. A survey by Hunt Partners, a global executive search firm, revealed salaries for associates, senior associates and vice presidents have risen across the board, reflecting strong hiring at the campuses as well as of lateral entrants into the sector. According to Mr Sunit Mehra, founding managing partner, Hunt Partners, "Increase in salaries has primarily been driven by the shortage of talent with deep experience in the sector. The biggest change this year has been the wide variance between each band, based on a proliferation of firms over the last three years."
Source : 24-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
AIR, DD Employees Boycott Work For Two Days Employees of Prasar Bharati affiliated to National Federation of Akashvani and Doordarshan Employees (NFADE) went on a 48-hour "duty boycott" to press for various demands, including repeal of the Prasar Bharati Act. More than 200 employees particularly from programming, technical and engineering sections alleged that the "12 years of Prasar Bharati experiment" had "dented" the reputation of All India Radio and Doordarshan, NFADE sources said. Regional channels of DD in Tamil Nadu including 'Podhigai' and all AIR channels including Chennai A, Chennai B, FM and commercial channels went off air.
Source : 23-11-10 The Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Irish Fly Abroad Again, For Bread And Butter These days, a lot of Irish mothers here are learning a lot about computers. They're keeping themselves abreast with the times, and preparing to keep in touch with their sons via Facebook et al, as the Irish youth spread out across the globe to escape desperate times. Just three years back, when Ireland's economy boomed, immigrants poured in so fast that experts said the country was on its way to population levels not seen since the mid-19th century. That has unexpectedly turned around. As the country fights with its newest financial crisis, and the European Union and the International Monetary Fund prepares a bailout package expected to run into tens of billions of dollars, a generation of Irish people are moving to diverse destinations from Australia, where a mining boom has produced construction jobs, to Canada, New Zealand, the United States, Britain and even the Middle East or Asia. Experts revealed that about 65,000 people left Ireland last year, and some estimate that the number may be more like 120,000 this year.
Source : 21-11-10 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan
India Emerges As A Skill Hub For Global Functional Jobs According to an international recruitment firm, India emerged as a 'skill hub' not only for back-office jobs but also global functional roles, thanks to wide availability of talent and cost advantage. GlobalHunt, an executive search firm, said in last two-three years, there was a 25- 35 per cent rise in global functional roles that came to India. "India's advantage is that a large number of skilled professionals are available at very competitive cost. Their skills are global in nature and they are best at technology and analytics," Mr Sunil Goel, GlobalHunt Director, said About 20 per cent of companies have given India as 'region status' and the country is no longer a part of Asia Pacific for them. "Besides, 15–20 per cent of global workforces are reporting to Indian counterparts at various functions and hierarchy levels", it said.
Source : 21-11-10 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Indian Women Less Likely To Reach Top Jobs, Says A Study Indian women are six times less likely than women elsewhere to make it to the very top of companies or even get bigger pay packets than men, according to a survey. The survey by the Chartered Institute of Management Accounts (CIMA), the world's largest professional body of accountants, reveals Indian women, as indeed women elsewhere in Asia, lag behind men in advancement and compensation from the very start of their career. The region or industry they work in does not matter. "This is primarily because of a certain institutional bias and the women's own tendency to stick to one job for long. Both act as a hindrance to their success," said Ms Louise Ross, a programme specialist at CIMA. There's more than this. She also said that men have a better chance of drumbeating their achievements within their organisation, volunteer for special projects, seek international experience and change jobs when they think it helps advance in their career. Most women avoid doing so.
Source : 24-11-10 digitalfc.com Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Jaguar To Appoint 1, 500 For Production Jobs British car manufacturing giant Jaguar Land Rover, which is partly owned by India's TATA Group, is on a hiring spree. The company has already announced 1500 new UK positions. During the crisis, JLR was set to close one of its three UK manufacturing plants. That has now been shelved. A major part of this recovery involves the new Range Rover Evoque, recently launched at the Paris Motor Show, with a five door model unveiled this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Source : 22-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Suzlon Energy Names New CEO For China Operations Suzlon Energy, the world's third-largest wind turbine manufacturer, has announced the appointment of Mr He Yaozu as chief executive officer (CEO) and country manager of its China operations, Suzlon Energy Tianjin Ltd. Mr Yaozu has been a senior adviser to China Machinery New Energy Co, and serves as a non-executive director of China Green Power Ltd. Previously, he was on the board of Hoi Sing Industrial Holding Company. He was also the managing director of Global Infrastructure Company (Asia) Ltd and managing director of Ogden Energy in China.
Source : 20-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Mr OP Bhatt Moves Out Of The Race For Sebi Chief State Bank of India (SBI) chairman Mr OP Bhatt is learnt to have opted out of the race for the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) chairman post. With Mr Bhatt opting out, among the remaining contenders for the post are Mr R Bandyopadhyay, secretary in the corporate affairs ministry, and Mr UK Sinha, CMD, UTI AMC and the current Amfi chairman. "Mr OP Bhatt, who was a strong contender for the post of Sebi chairman, has conveyed to the government that he is not interested. Bhatt will probably explore opportunities elsewhere,'' according to a source. Mr Bhatt is going to retire in March 2011 and will be succeeded by SBI's next managing director, whose appointment is due shortly.
Source : 22-11-10 The Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Repco Bank Gets A New Managing Director The Union Ministry of Home Affairs has named Mr R. Varadarajan as Managing Director of Repco Bank with effect from October 28. He was earlier holding the post of Executive Director in the bank for more than four years and General Manager for six years, according to a release by the company.
Source : 23-11-10 The Hindu Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Shriram Automall Names Mr Sameer Malhotra As CEO Shriram Automall India, a subsidiary of Shriram Transport Finance, has appointed Mr Sameer Malhotra as the Chief Executive Officer. He has about 20 years of experience in the infrastructure and construction equipment industry.
Source : 23-11-10 The Hindu Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Axis Bank's I-Banking Head Steps Down Ms Samita Shah, head of the investment banking and senior vice-president at Axis Bank, is stepping down after working there for less than a year. Ms Shah, who joined Axis Bank from Credit Suisse, clarified she is taking a break for personal reasons and her leaving has nothing to do with the proposed merger of Enam Securities with Axis Bank.
Source : 23-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
ESPN STAR Sports Gets A New India MD ESPN STAR Sports (ESS) has named Mr Aloke Malik as the managing director of its India operations, ESPN Software India (ESI). Prior to this, he was the chief operating officer of Idea Cellular's east operations.
Source : 23-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
Nissan Appoints Mr Dinesh Jain As CEO Mr Dinesh Jain has been named as the chief executive officer of Hover Automotive India (HAL). HAL is the strategic alliance partner for Nissan Motors in the country, responsible for sales, marketing, after sales service, dealer development and customer relationship management. His appointment is intended to strengthen HAL's management bandwidth, the firm said.
Source : 23-11-10 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan
