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GDP Growth In June Quarter At Three-Year Low |
| The economy grew at 5.5 percent in the first quarter of the current financial year, the lowest in three years. A CRISIL report said that had it not been for double-digit growth in the construction sector, the overall rate would have been closer to 5 percent. The industrial sector, excluding construction, grew at just 0.8 percent during the period. This was because production in manufacturing and mining was almost stagnant. Slower investment demand and lower exports of merchandise have affected manufacturing, CRISIL said. Services fell below the 7 percent mark for the first time since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2009. The sector grew at 6.9 percent, caused by slowing consumption growth and IT services exports. GDP growth may remain tepid over the remaining quarters and maintain the 5.5 percent level this fiscal, CRISIL added. |
| Source : 31-08-12 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Aegis New Call Centre Offers 1000 Jobs |
| Essar group firm Aegis said it has set up a call centre in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh, which will offer employment to close to 1,000 people. Aegis Chhindwara, the second centre in Madhya Pradesh after Bhopal, will operate with an initial capacity of 400 seats, a move that would generate close to 1,000 direct and indirect jobs to the local youth, Aegis said in a statement. This new centre is part of the declared objective of spreading out in tier II and III cities to provide employment to local youth and economic empowerment to the region, it added."Our strategy of moving into Tier II and III cities generates opportunities that are of immense value for the local youth, who otherwise migrate to larger cities in search of employment. Our customers also appreciate this as we can service their end-customers in their own language," Essar Group Promoter Director Anshuman Ruia said. |
| Source : 03-09-12 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Industry Sees Dismal Year Ahead; Job Outlook Bleak |
| India Inc is not too upbeat about growth prospects, going by the mood of industry leaders.A poll conducted by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), among the members of its National Council, covering 75 companies, shows that a majority of CEOs remain pessimistic about the economic outlook for the current year and expect only a moderate recovery in the forthcoming year.Another quarterly survey, the business confidence survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) reveals that the overall Business Confidence Index for the first quarter of 2012-13 stood at 51.8, down from 60.3 in the preceding quarter.The FICCI survey, covering close to 150 companies, was conducted between July and August to bring out corporate expectations for the period July-December.CII poll results indicate that GDP growth during 2012-13 is expected to remain below 6.0 per cent by as many as 44 per cent of the respondents. The FICCI survey further adds to the gloom with 50 per cent of the respondents believing that the GDP growth could be less than 5.5 per cent. |
| Source : 01-09-12 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Campus Recruitments May Take A Hit This Year |
| Campus recruitment may be slow this year, with companies looking to cut down on numbers. Engineering colleges expect a drop of 40 percent to 50 percent in campus hiring over the previous year. This has made institutions nervous, said a placement officer of a leading engineering college. Last year companies told colleges a month in advance about their recruitment plans, but this year they are fighting shy of committing themselves. E Balaji, CEO of Randstad India, says tier 1 management and engineering colleges are less worried and are confident of achieving close to 100 percent placement. The pharma industry is expected to trim recruitment plans in the slowdown. According to a hiring outlook survey conducted by jobsite Naukri.com, only 51 percent recruiters from the Pharma sector are expecting to add new jobs in second half of 2012. |
| Source : 01-09-12 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| CEO Pay Cheques Got Heftier Amid Downturn |
| The CEOs of a majority of India's blue chip companies received hefty pay hikes but some took cuts in salary in 2011-12. An analysis of CEO remuneration of 30 Sensex firms showed that more than half of them received hefty pay hikes last financial year. The highest package of Rs 73.42 crore went to Naveen Jindal of Jindal Steel & Power, making him the highest paid executive for the second year in a row. Pawan Munjal, managing director and CEO of Hero MotoCorp, followed with Rs 34.47 crore in 2011-12. Some chief executives, such as Azim Premji of Wipro, SD Shibulal of Infosys and Sunil Mittal of Bharti Airtel, took cuts in salaries. The respective remuneration of Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, and Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of Hindalco Industries, remained unchanged. |
| Source : 01-09-12 Financial Chronicle Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Workers Look For Entrepreneurial Skills On The Job |
| Around 70 per cent employees wish for more entrepreneurial experience at their jobs, according to a new US survey conducted by financial firm Edward Jones. Employees want their jobs to give them experience that could be applied to their own businesses, should they start one. However, only 15 percent of the respondents thought they had what it takes to go out and start a business. Around 37 percent said they would feel more confident starting their own business with some help. However, 12 percent said they would still want to start a business without the help. A number of factors prevented workers from starting their own venture. The survey found that 61 percent were most afraid of losing personal savings, 58 percent feared lack of support and 50 percent dreaded losing retirement and healthcare benefits. |
| Source : 02-09-12 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Staff In Self-Governing Companies More Loyal |
| Just 6 per cent of companies in India follow the self-governing business model, 26 per cent fall into the blind obedience and 68 per cent into the informed acquiescence category. A survey by U.S. knowledge-based firm LRN found that companies which follow the self-governance model have the highest levels of innovation, employee loyalty as well as customer satisfaction, and the lowest levels of misconduct. LRN CEO Dov Seidman said 90 percent employees of such companies are highly innovative, compared to their peers in rival firms. In addition, 100 percent of the respondents said they saw high satisfaction among customers. Around 93.3 percent of staff in self-governed firms expressed a high degree of loyalty to their firms. LRN Managing Director (India) Devraj Shetty said a young workforce is not content with an environment that operates within the framework of tradition, hierarchy and command and control. |
| Source : 02-09-12 Financial Chronicle Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Employees Prefer Mobile Devices Over Workstations |
| A survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM) said mobile gadgets such as smartphones and iPads are in and working from a desk at the office is losing favour with employees. More than 50 percent of the respondents said they do not need to stay in office to be productive. The survey covered 350 executives across sectors such as automobiles, banking, manufacturing and real estate. Employees prefer using mobile technology to stay connected to their associates, clients, co-workers and partners. The ability to work on the go, be available 24x7 and shorten commutes to the office was among the reasons cited by the employees. Fearing productivity loss, some companies have banned the use of mobile devices. |
| Source : 31-08-12 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| At Infosys, Staff Interest Takes Priority Over Shareholders |
| Infosys is unfazed by foreign funds opposing its employee stock option plan. Some dozen foreign funds, including Wells Fargo Funds Trust, had voted against a planned allotment of restricted stock units (RSUs) for employees of Infosys and its subsidiaries. Infosys executive co-chairman S Gopalakrishnan said employee interest came before shareholder interest. RSUs are allotted or sold to insiders, generally employees, as part of their compensation. They protect long-term interests rather than short-term concerns, Mr. Gopalakrishnan said. Analysts think that the "against'" vote indicates concerns among the shareholders about an increase in the paid-up capital and a drop in earnings per share. |
| Source : 31-08-12 Financial Chronicle Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Tata Power Hires CEO For Solar Unit |
| Tata Power, which recently completed the buyout of British energy giant BP's stake in their solar joint venture, said it has hired industry veteran Ajay Goel as its solar division's new chief executive officer.Tata Power's solar division said in a release that it has also changed its name to Tata Power Solar Systems from Tata BP Solar India. |
| Source : 30-08-12 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Attrition Rate Dips In The IT Sector |
| The top five IT companies saw a significant drop in attrition rates in the quarter ended June. Between January and June, the rate of attrition at all levels of IT and BPO organisations dipped by 45 percent to 50 percent, according to a survey by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry. An uncertain global economic environment together with cross-currency fluctuation has forced employees to adopt a wait-and-watch policy, said DS Rawat, secretary-general. The sector has also been grappling with talent crunch due to shortage of managers at the middle and senior levels. E Balaji, CEO of Randstad India, said attrition tends to increase in the June quarter because it follows the appraisal months of February and March. Promotions and salary hikes are usually given in April and May. |
| Source : 29-08-12 Hindu Business Line Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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| Job Freeze Now Hits Headhunters |
| Recruitment agencies are feeling the impact of the slowdown with their corporate clients curbing expenditure on hiring. The cycle to close the recruitment process has become longer, putting pressure on costs, said Manish Sabharwal, CEO of staffing firm TeamLease Services. The company has seen its billing cycle stretch from 15 days to three months. Firms such as Infosys have delayed taking on board freshers hired from campuses last year. They are joining as late as September this year, up to July next year. The headhunters involved get their money only once the candidates join, said Arun Varma, executive director, Executive Recruiters Association. Companies, too, are making the most of their internal manpower rather than spending on new recruitments. Many have started auditing the group of placement firms they were dealing with, according to V Suresh, executive vice president, Naukri.com. |
| Source : 29-08-12 Hindustan Times Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
| Placement Season At IIMs Off To A Flying Start |
| The Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) expect placements to remain on track this season. IIM Udaipur will be conducting its maiden summer placements this year and is looking to achieve 100 percent results. Twenty-six companies have picked up the entire 57-strong batch for summer internships, said Joel Xavier, chairperson of placements at the institute. IIM Bangalore is equally optimistic. It has already received over 40 pre-placement offers (PPOs) compared to last year's 93. Such offers keep coming in until December. IIM Kozhikode expects around 50 PPOs this year, same as last year. IIM Raipur, with two PPOs in hand, is focusing on international placements on the campus. Boston Consulting Group, among last year's top recruiters at the premier B-schools, has made 27 PPOs to its summer interns this year, including one from Harvard Business School. |
| Source : 28-08-12 Business Standard Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
| VC Funding Can Help Create 40 Mn Jobs By 2022 |
| A panel appointed by the Planning Commission has recommended incentives, including tax benefits, for angel investors for generating more than 40 million jobs by 2022. These would be created by 2,500 new enterprises capable of contributing Rs 10 trillion every year to national income. The committee on angel investment and early-stage venture capital presented its report to the Planning Commission and the Finance Minister. The report pointed out gaps in the entrepreneurial ecosystem that need addressing. To meet these targets, venture capital (VC) funding will have to be increased from about 0.02 percent to 0.06 percent of GDP by 2021, the report said. Pension and insurance funds should be allowed to invest in venture capital funds to promote entrepreneurship. About 140 million more jobs must be generated by 2020 and many of these will be through entrepreneurial ventures, it added. |
| Source : 28-08-12 Mint Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
| 47% Indians Happy With Leadership Style Says A Survey |
| Around 47 per cent of Indian employees are satisfied with their management's leadership style, according to the Kelly Global Workforce Index survey.According to the survey titled 'Leadership Disconnect', India tops Asia Pacific region with 47 per cent followed by Thailand at 42 per cent in leadership style satisfaction."Leadership style is about elements like vision, performance, motivation, and insight, as well as technical ability manifesting itself together," Kelly Services India Managing Director Kamal Karanth said."For an organisation to reduce the gap between priority and results, it is important to ensure that there is a shared vision of organisational goals and direction, from top to bottom," the report said.The study further said amongst the main workplace generations, Gen Y (age 19-30) are more satisfied with their management's leadership style compared with Gen X (age 31-48) and Baby Boomers (age 49-66).The study brings together the findings from almost 1,70,000 respondents from 30 countries and examines the issue of leadership in the contemporary workplace from the employee perspective. |
| Source : 27-08-12 Financial Express Compiled by Amresh Anjan |
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