Trai recommendations on blocking lost, stolen mobiles by Dec

 

 elecom regulator Trai is likely to come out with its final recommendations on blocking lost and stolen mobiles by December to provide relief to people who fear the misuse of stored data and personal information in such events. The initiative is a part of the regulator's efforts to crack

down on the illegal handset market and discourage the rampant theft of handsets, a senior Trai official said.

"... It (recommendations) was likely to come by the end of this month, but we have come across some problems with regard to duplicate International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers in mobile handsets available in the market, which is difficult to track. We are discussing it internally... it will take time, maybe by the end of this year," a source in Trai said.

An IMEI is a unique serial number that identifies the handset. It is stored in the equipment identity register (EIR) database of the service provider.

Last year, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) had sought comments from stakeholders, including operators, to find ways to block lost or stolen mobile phones.

At present, there is no mechanism in place to block a mobile phone in case it is lost. The telecom service providers can only block the SIM card. They, however, do not block the mobile phone.

Trai is revisiting the issue after an earlier attempt in 2004 made no headway because a number of telecom networks did not have the capability to track mobile handsets.

The regulator is already working to come out with the final guidelines on consumer complaints redressal, which are likely to be out in the next 3-4 weeks.

In July, Trai had came out with draft regulations under a consumer protection and redressal framework to protect the interest of users, which had stressed on timely redressal of problems.

Recently, Trai put an end on the irritating calls from telemarketers by coming out with strict regulations to stop pesky communications.

India win men, women World Cup Kabaddi titles

Ludhiana: Hosts India lifted the winners title in the men's and women's section of the second World Cup Kabaddi tournament.

The India men team easily beat the Canada side 59-25 in the final match played at the Guru Nanak Dev stadium late on Sunday. India was the winner of the inaugural edition of the World Cup Kabaddi in 2010 also.

The winners were given a prize money of Rs. 2 crore while runners-up Canada received Rs. 1 crore. The total prize money in the tournament was Rs. 4.11 crore for the 14 men's and four women's participating teams.

Neighbouring Pakistan, who were the runners-up in the first edition of the Kabaddi tournament last year and were expected to reach the finals this time also, finished third in the tournament. They beat Italy 60-22 in the match to decide the third position played on Sunday.

In the women's section, India won comfortably against the British women Kabaddi team. They beat their rivals 44-17.

The prizes were given away by Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. He announced that all players of the winning teams would be given government jobs.

Former Pakistan Prime Minister Chaudhary Shujaat Hussain specially came on Sunday through the Wagah-Attari land route for the closing ceremony of the event held before a packed stadium.

The closing ceremony of the 20-day event was a glittering affair with several performances and fireworks display.

Actors Akshay Kumar and Deepika Padukone took to the stage to enthrall the audience.

Akshay Kumar drove into the stadium and the stage on a superbike. He later took a round of the stadium on a convertible Mercedes with Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal

PMRDF is an excellent opportunity for committed young people to contribute to enhancing development and welfare of the people in rural and tribal areas of the country.

Fellowship: Prime Minister's Rural Development Fellows Scheme (PMRDF)
Conducted by: Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India 
The fellowship offers: The selected candidates will go through a three-month intensive training course including a 4-week internship in the preferred district. The fellows will be offered an attractive compensation that would include HRA, health insurance and other support. It is envisaged that the selection and training process and intensive development facilitation work at the village, block and district level as PMRDF will provide an exceptional growth potential.
The place of posting: http://rural.nic.in/pmrdfs/
Duration: Two years on a fixed contract, extendable for one more year based on performance.
No. of positions: 180 (selected in two phases)
Eligibility: Candidate should be a postgraduate in either of Social Science/ Science/ Management fields or a graduate in Law/ Engineering/ Medicine. He/she should have knowledge of hindi and a local language used in an IAP district. Work experience is preferrable.
Age: Must be 25-30 years old
Selection criteria:

• Selection will be through an open advertisement process.
• Candidates will be shortlisted on the basis of their qualifications and experience.
• Selection will be on the basis of the written synopsis; group discussions and interviews will be used to test the candidateʼs motivation, leadership, social and negotiating skills.
• Assessment of the applicant's intention to apply for the position will be based on the write up they submit with the application.
• The applicant can select a basic problem prevalent in the IAP district and offer solutions. The synoptic responses will also be used to ascertain the applicantʼs ability to write crisply and precisely.

How to apply: Apply online here: http://pmrdfs.tiss.edu/apply-now.php (Applicant will receive an acknowledgement of its receipt.) 
Send copy of the application form with supporting documents on academic and extra-curricular activities, particularly in social work and relevant fields along with three recommendations, one of which should be from an academic institution.
Important dates:
Application deadline: December 4, 2011
Shortlisted candidates will be announced: December 23, 2011
For more details go to: http://rural.nic.in/pmrdfs/
Address:
Ministry of Rural Development
Government of India
Krishi Bhavan,
Dr. Rajendra Prasad Road,
New Delhi  - 110001
INDIA
Phone: 022 40110457
Email: pmrdfs@nic.in
Website: www.pmrdfs.tiss.edu


 http://www.rediff.com/getahead/report/iycu-prime-ministers-rural-development-fellowship/20111118.htm

India a fast growing renewable energy country

India is among the fastest growing renewable energy countries in the world after China, Brazil and United States, said a UN report on green economy released on Wednesday.

“The investments in renewable energy in emerging economies have grown rapidly since 2005,” said United Nations 

Environment Programme flagship report before the meeting of global environment leaders on new green economy norms at Rio de Janeiro in June next year.

Investment from countries such as India, China and Brazil has increased by five times between 2005 and 2010 and it surpassed that of the developed countries in 2010.

“The total installed capacity of renewable of developing countries can be higher than that of the developed world,” the report said, adding that India, China and Brazil account for 90 percent of the new investments in the developing countries.

Overall, the investment for harnessing green energy through renewable increased from US $55 billion in 2005 to US $211 billion in 2010.

The report, which says governments are taking steps for inclusive low carbon economy, pointed out that India’s share of renewable in its total energy generation would rise from present 4.9 % to 6.2 percent by 2035. India can generate 10,000 MW of power from wind turbines and another 20,000 MW from solar power plants.

But, the UN report claims that India had not done well in adopting green norms in agriculture and said most of the farmer suicide cases are in areas under inorganic farming and where Genetically Modified crops are in use. “Organic farming in India has caused less stress,” the report said.

India’s bid to increase agriculture productivity through subsidies has done more harm than good to the environment.

“Experience is now showing that these (electricity) subsidies encourage farmers to pump much more water than otherwise would be the case and, as a result, water levels in 18 of Punjab’s 20 districts are falling rapidly,” the report said, adding that scrapping environmentally bad subsidies has not found political approval.

The report based on three year research also says adopting green norms could mean loss of jobs in sectors such as fisheries but new jobs will be created in low carbon growth sectors such as renewable and green agriculture.

But, the overall transition to a green economy would realize per capita incomes higher than under current economic models, while reducing the ecological footprint by nearly 50 per cent in 2050, as compared to business-as-usual, the report said.

Facebook-to-Facebook video calling now available within Skype

The bond between Facebook and Skype seems to have grown stronger. It was Skype that brought video calling to Facebook, back in July and now the two have now fortified their partnership with an another addition. Skype recently launched Skype 5.4 Beta for Mac and Skype 5.7 Beta for Windows. With this update, the VoIP giant allows one to have a Facebook-to-Facebook call within Skype, itself. Skype claims that this new development in the Skype-Facebook partnership is the latest example of how Skype is removing communication barriers and making it easier to connect with friends, family and colleagues.

Bringing social networking closer together

http://tech2.in.com/news/social-networking/facebooktofacebook-video-calling-now-available-within-skype/258572

Domestic airlines including SpiceJet, IndiGo, Jet Airways, Air India and GoAir ramp up fleet on regional routes

NEW DELHI: Domestic airlines are ramping up their fleet to service smaller towns, where demand is rising on back of growing disposable incomes and expanding businesses.

Homegrown carriers are expected to add 50 aircraft in the next five years on regional routes, which are witnessing traffic growth of 20% a year, nearly double the growth in metros. "We expect around 8-10 small aircraft to be added annually to the domestic fleet in the next five years," says global consultancy firm KPMG Director (Aviation) Amber Dubey.

In the past, private airlines bypassed smaller towns because of poor seat loads but looming saturation in demand from big cities and growing pressure on bottom lines is forcing them to tap Tier-II and -III cities. The aviation industry classifies non-metros as tier-II destinations and even smaller cities as tier-III.

There are 13 major airports where traffic is more that 1.5 million passengers a year. Of these, top six are graded tier-I and the rest seven as non-metros. This month, low-cost carrier SpiceJet commenced regional operations, including short-haul Vizag-Tirupati, Hyderabad-Vizag, Hyderabad-Mysore flights. It has taken delivery of its first of the fourteen 80-seater Bombardier turboprops it ordered this year.

Though budget carrier IndiGo has begun international flights recently, it has decided to retain its focus on regional operations, according to president Aditya Ghosh. The Gurgaon-based regional links include Indore-Nagpur and Bangalore-Nagpur-Indore.

Not to be left behind, full service carriers too are ready with their regional blueprint.

Jet Airways, the country's largest airline by market share, is raising its capacity over the next two years. It will induct more ATR planes in order to service smaller airports. "Tier-II and -III towns are our main focus now," said Gilbert George, senior general manager (India, sales). Jet will also add three Boeing 737-800 NG and four 737-900 in six months.

National carrier Air India is preparing to fly to seven new Tier-II and -III towns next week, when its winter schedule kicks off. It is planning to re-deploy about 12 ATR and CRJ aircraft, which can seat 50-70 passengers, on new upcoming regional routes, which include Kozhikode-Agatti and Pune-Goa.

Studies have forecast addition of about 300 aircraft to the fleet of Indian airlines over the next five to 10 years. Industry experts say about a sixth of these will be small aircraft dedicated to regional markets. Going forward, the metro-to-metro routes would tend to saturate while tier-II and -III cities would grow at a faster pace, they say.

"While the present share of small towns in the domestic traffic is less than 15%, it is expected to be in the range of 20-25% over the next 5-10 years," consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (India) senior director Vishwas Udgirkar said.

Indian carriers have only now resumed their expansion, delayed for about three years on account of continued losses. Of the three listed airlines, Jet Airways and Kingfisher have announced losses for 2010-11 while SpiceJet Ltd has made a small profit. IndiGo and GoAir are privately held while Air India's losses are still being audited.

Now, Tier-II cities qualify for Metro for intra-city travel

NEW DELHI: Commuters in cities that have population of more than 20 lakhs can look forward to more comfortable and safer rides, if state governments are willing to opt for modern Metro network for intra-city travel.

The Union urban development ministry has decided to consider the proposal for Metro in Tier II cities like Lucknow, Kanpur, Patna, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Indore, Nagpur, Kochi, Coimbatore, Kozhikode. The Metro fever is catching up in smaller cities, thanks largely to the success of Delhi Metro. Cities like Chandigarh, Ludhiana and Bhopal are making a case for Metro, even though they don't qualify because of the population cut-off.

Jaipur is likely to be the first Tier-II city to get the swanky mode of transportation as the state government has agreed to bear Rs 1,250 crore for the 9.25-km stretch under Stage I. However, the Rajasthan government has sought Centre's approval for viability gap funding for stage II - a 25.91-km stretch between Ambabari to Sitapura via SMS hospital - that is estimated to cost Rs 7,700 crore.

Kochi has also jumped on the bandwagon. The UD ministry will soon seek the Cabinet's nod for the project: a 25.3-km stretch, extending between Alwaye to Petta, to be built at a cost of Rs 4,722 crore.

Ludhiana, Pune, Lucknow and Ahmedabad have got detailed project report (DPR) for metro projects prepared from Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC), while DPRs for Indore, Bhopal and Chandigarh is being prepared.

The ministry seems keen to run Metro in Nagpur as UD minister Kamal Nath has written to Maharastra chief minister Ashok Chavan, asking him to get a DPR for the Orange City prepared.

Though Kanpur, Patna, Surat, Coimbatore and Kozhikode make the grade for Tier-II cities, they are lagging behind in availing of the Centre's offer. "If state governments come with the proposal for Metro Rail in cities with 20 lakh plus population, the ministry is ready to consider," Nath said.

The ministry has decided to bear 50% of the cost of the preparation of DPR for cities that come under the population cut-off bracket. Among the 19 cities, which have more than 20 lakh population as per Census 2011, Metro projects are under different stages of implementation in four -Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Metro is running in the National Capital since 2006 on different routes, while Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is implementing Phase III of the project.

Mumbai has taken up metro projects-Line 1 (11.07 km), Line 2 (31.87 km) - on PPP model at an estimated cost of Rs 10,016 crore. For Line-3 (20.4 km Colaba-Mahim/Bandra corridor), which will cost about Rs 12,015 crore, it has opted for the DMRC model, to be funded by both the Centre and the state.

Kolkata Metro, which is the first one in the country, has taken up a new 14.67-km east-west corridor that will be implemented by railways. Chennai is implementing a 45.05-km project on the DMRC model.

Bangalore has become first city in south to have Metro after a 7-km stretch was commissioned in October. The city has already got the DPR ready for Phase II - a 72-km stretch that will cost about Rs 25,000 crore. Metro rail project in Hyderabad, covering 71 km, is being implemented on PPP mode.

IIMK embraces the changing face of the education system in the 21st century, IIM News - By Indiaedunews.net

IIMK embraces the changing face of the education system in the 21st century, IIM News - By Indiaedunews.net

Placement report: Summer of 2012 good for B-School graduates

NEW DELHI: Companies are not shying away from B-school campuses in the current round of summer placements even in a difficult economic environment. Recruiters, particularly from the finance, banking and consulting sectors, are picking up talent in large numbers and offering an increase of up to 100% in stipends over the previous year.

While some B-schools, including the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) have commenced their summer placements, others wrapped up the process early this year. Typically, summer placements begin in November, but some IIMs initiated the process in October itself, to get good results.

"This year, summer placement is better not only in terms of the rate at which the participants have been placed, but also in terms of the quality of offers. We have seen participation from many recruiters across some new sectors like digital marketing, online education, modern retail, ecommerce, offering excellent profiles," says Ashish Sadh, chairman, placements.

IIM Indore has already placed more than 320 candidates, in its total batch of 450. The institute told ET that this year, finance and e-commerce companies have recruited in large numbers. "There have been some new summer recruiters like Bank of America and Amazon, among others," says Sadh. Most companies in the banking and financial sectors have increased their stipends from their previous visit to the campus.

"The percentage increase in some of the firms is as high as 66.7% to 100%. This includes all the major banks, domestic as well as international," says Sadh. He did not, however, reveal details of the stipends, citing confidentiality. IIM Bangalore received 71 preplacement offers and saw 37 interviews for the batch of 2012.

"This year, the conversion rate for consulting firms was in excess of 90%, with a large number of interns being offered permanent positions. Simultaneously, we are also witnessing a strong demand for summer internship placement, and pre-placement talks are in full swing," says PD Jose, chairperson, Career Development Services.

Blackstone (London), Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank (Global Markets, London), Both quality of offers and placement rate substantially better than last year Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, Nomura, RBS, Standard Chartered (Global Markets) and UAE Exchange were some of the firms who picked up students. Locations include Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore. "We expect an increase in the number of PPOs this year as compared with the previous year," says Sreekanth CS, a student from the placement committee. Aditya Birla Group, HUL and P&G were also part of the placement process.

Hiring: No sign of job slowdown at IIMs this year

NEW DELHI: Telecom companies are downsizing, so are some stock brokerages, and IT firms are watchful. There are more than a few jitters in the job market, but none of that is taking away the lure of B-Schools. Early data flowing in from at least five IIMs suggests that companies, especially MNCs, will hire more from campuses this year than the last. IIM-Calcutta has already received 45 pre-placement offers, or PPOs, and 17 preplacement interviews, or PPIs, for students in the 2012 batch. International banks such as RBS, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered have made many of the early PPOs. Consulting firms like McKinsey & Co, BCG, Bain & Co, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and software giant Microsoft are also in the fray. The institute had received 92 PPOs last year. "Our estimates indicate the numbers this time are slightly higher," says the institute's chairman-placements, Amit Dhiman. He added that IIM-C has already received multiple offers from major international financial hubs such as New York (Wall Street), London, Singapore and Hong Kong, despite concerns of a financial slowdown. IIM-Indore (IIM-I) and IIMKozhikode (IIM-K) have already raced past their respective PPO figures for the previous year. ( see chart ) "The numbers are rising sharply over the last two weeks. Most of the companies start delivering their PPO/PPI status in September," Ashish Sadh, chairman-placements at IIM-Indore, said. This is just the beginning Companies such as Citibank, American Express, Deutsche Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HUL, Cognizant, Tata Motors, TCS, Set MAX, Madura Garments and Cummins have made offers at the institute. Prof PD Jose, chairman-placements at IIM-Bangalore, said, "Such (hiring) decisions reflect the expectations of companies with regards to the future economic outlook." IIM-B said 'the trend looks healthy', but IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) did not share any numbers.

IIM-Calcutta may reduce tuition fees for the next academic year

KOLKATA: The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) will evaluate the possibility of reducing its tuition fees for the next academic year, following a similar move by IIM Kozhikode, IIM-C director Shekhar Chaudhuri has said. "Even though our tuition fee is not one of the highest, it can still be a burden for a large section of students," Chaudhuri said. The tuition fees for IIM-C are at 13.5 lakh for the two-year flagship MBA programme, post graduate diploma in management. Tuition fees for the current academic year were not raised, he said. IIM Kozhikode earlier this month said it will roll back tuition fees by 30,000 from the next academic year for its post-graduate programme and introduce scholarships for high achievers. "At IIM-C, we have a scholarship scheme, under which we offer to 160-170 students annually, covering both first and second-year students. In some cases, we also offer full tuition-fee waiver. Such schemes may also be increased to provide a relief to students," Chaudhuri said. He was talking to the media on the sidelines of the inaugural session of IIM-C's golden jubilee celebrations here on Monday. Incidentally, IIM-C had said, a few days ago, that it will refund course fees of students if they join a public sector undertaking or a voluntary organisation. The initiative is primarily aimed to make such jobs attractive to students, who prefer corporate jobs for higher compensation and paying off their education loan. IIM-C is also tapping newer sources of revenue. For instance, income from online education now accounts for 20% of its total income, says IIM-C's chairman of the board of governors Ajit Balakrishnan. "This is much higher than global institutions like Harvard and Stanford. We have already trained over 4,000 students online," he said. Former president of India APJ Abdul Kalam said in the inaugural session that students in India need not worry about the slowdown in Europe and the US. "The growing purchasing power of India's 400 million middle-class will provide enough career opportunities. Economic development is powered by creative leaders and who can take risks. However, students should work with integrity," he said.

Kingfisher Airlines doubles loss on fuel costs

(Reuters) - Cash-strapped Kingfisher Airlines doubled its loss in the September quarter on higher fuel prices and operating costs amid investor worries about its ability to remain aloft in a fast-growing but loss-making industry.
The carrier, controlled by flamboyant liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya, has been late paying salaries and said on Tuesday it had suffered "substantial losses" and its net worth had been eroded.
Shares in Kingfisher, which fell to a record low last Friday after the carrier cancelled scores of flights during the week, were up roughly 1 percent on Tuesday. The stock has lost about 67 percent since the start of the year, shrivelling its market value to $213 million.
"This industry needs some structural reforms. The impractical competition among players has driven down ticket prices and the high fuel cost is also hitting very badly," said Sharan Lillaney, an airline analyst with Angel Broking.
Kingfisher, which has said it is not worried about its long-term viability, has been asked by its creditors to raise $160 million in equity and is considering a proposal to sell real estate to help pave the way for a debt restructuring, a banker said on Monday.
The carrier, which has never turned a profit, recently announced plans to exit the low-cost segment, a move that puzzled some observers given India's price-sensitive market.
It said that while passenger revenue rose 9 percent, its revenue per average seat kilometre fell by 16 percent from a year earlier even as its cost per average seat kilometre rose 8 percent. Kingfisher's aircraft fuel bill jumped 70 percent.
DEBT RESTRUCTURING
Earlier this year, Kingfisher, the country's No.2 carrier by market share, cut its debt through a restructuring by issuing shares to 14 banks, including State Bank of India and ICICI Bank, the country's two biggest lenders.
The carrier had $1.5 billion in loans at the end of the quarter, down 7.5 percent from a year earlier.
Kingfisher's net loss in the quarter ended Sept. 30 deepened to 4.69 billion rupees ($93 million) from 2.31 billion rupees in the year-ago period, the company said in a statement. Its loss was its biggest since the March 2010 quarter.
"While all airlines have taken a deep hit this quarter because of high fuel prices, Kingfisher is in such a bad shape that they need to look for funds to stay afloat," said Neeraj Dewan, director at New Delhi-based Quantum Securities.
Despite passenger traffic on track to grow at roughly 17-18 percent, the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation (CAPA) expects Indian airlines to lose at least $2.5 billion in the fiscal year that ends in March, with state-owned Air India likely to account for more than half of that.
Air India has long been on government life support, and some in the industry blame it for pushing prices below cost.
"They continue to initiate below-the-belt pricing, but then everybody else follows it," said Kapil Kaul, CAPA's chief executive for the Indian subcontinent and Middle East.
Private carriers Jet Airways, the country's largest airline, and budget operator SpiceJet, also reported losses in the September quarter.
Kingfisher has become one of the main casualties of high fuel costs and a fierce price war between a handful of airlines which, between them, have ordered hundreds of aircraft for delivery over the next decade in an ambitious bet on the future.
Kaul said Indian airlines' fuel costs are 60-70 percent higher than the global average because of taxes. Airport charges are also rising, said Jasdeep Walia, an analyst at Kotak Securities.
"The cost environment is ... becoming severe from all sides and you cannot pass it on to the market because of the state-run carrier's pricing policy," Walia said.
New Delhi is considering lifting its ban on direct investment in the sector by foreign airlines, according to media reports, which could provide a lifeline to Kingfisher if it finds an investor.
"In a market that is growing at 18 to 20 percent, there is no reason why anybody should be making losses," Sudheer Raghavan, chief commercial officer at rival Jet Airways told an analysts' conference call on Monday.
"At the end of the day, it is a highly competitive market and, this being a perishable product, there is always pressure to drop fares," he said.
(US$1 = 50.3 rupees)
(Additional reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee, Kaustubh Kulkarni; and Nandita Bose; Editing by John Chalmers)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2011/11/15/idINIndia-60532420111115?feedType=RSS&feedName=globalCoverage2

Indians are most optimistic on job prospects

Indians are still the most optimistic in the world about their job prospects over the next twelve months although their confidence levels over their country's economy and spending have not risen further in the third quarter of 2010, according to a Nielsen survey released on Monday.

According to the Nielsen global consumer confidence survey, more than nine out of ten Indians (91 per cent) are optimistic about their job prospects in the next twelve months. This is a percentage point lower than the last leg of the survey but India still tops the list of nations that think their job prospects are excellent or good in the next twelve months.

Singapore (78 per cent) and Thailand (77 per cent) are the next most optimistic nations.

"Indian consumers are confident about their economy and have shown similar confidence levels as the second quarter of 2010. However, these levels have not increased like they did in the first two quarters of 2010," The Nielsen Company managing director (consumer) Justin Sargent said.

"This is better than the other countries, which have shown a dip in confidence. The global consumer confidence fell three points in September as consumers' hopes for a full economic recovery this year fades in most parts of the world," it adds.

It points out that the confidence that Indians have in their job prospects also translates into optimism on the financial front for them. More than eight in ten Indians (83 per cent) are optimistic about their state of personal finances in the next twelve months, the highest percentage globally. Indonesia (80 per cent) and Denmark (77 per cent) are the second and third most optimistic nations, respectively, in terms of their personal finances in the next 12 months, the survey adds.

An optimistic outlook in terms of job prospects and personal finances gives Indians the confidence to spend. In Q3, nearly six out of 10 Indians feel that it is a good time to buy things.

The survey polled 26,000 consumers in 53 countries. India's index stood at 129 compared to the global index of 90.


http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/indians-are-most-optimistic-on-job-prospects/1/10061.html

IT sector set to give big boost to Indian job market

The eight per cent-plus growth clocked up by the economy is beginning to show up where it matters most for the common man-in jobs.
India's infotech (IT) and infotechenabled services (ITES) sector is shrugging off its post-meltdown caution and going on a hiring spree. The result: a deluge of well over two lakh jobs over the coming months. Fresh hires in the IT-BPO sector alone will reach 2.40 lakh, the apex IT and BPO trade body Nasscom revealed on Thursday.

Click here to Enlarge

This will come on top of the estimated one lakh hires done in January alone, a peak hiring time for the IT and BPO sectors in India as it coincides with the start of a new financial year in the countries from which the sector secures its outsourcing jobs. What's more, the pace of fresh hiring is expected to sustain well into 2012-13 as well. "The sector will continue with the hiring spree in the coming years. The fresh hiring in IT-BPO alone will reach 2.40 lakh in this fiscal. In the next fiscal the sector will be hiring two lakh more people," said Som Mittal, president of Nasscom.
According to Mittal the improving demand from the US market and selected European markets will drive the high recruitment.
"The markets in the US and Europe are improving. The Indian software and service export sector is expected to grow by 15-17 per cent, which is our conservative estimate keeping in view the Euro crisis and Rupee appreciation. So there will be more hiring," Mittal said.
That is because Indian IT continues to derive a bulk of its revenues from outsourcing. Global outsourcing spends grew by 10 per cent in 2010, compared to a mere four per cent growth in overall technology spends worldwide, according to data from Everest Research and IDC. And India continues to get a lion's share of this particular pie.
"India's share in the global sourcing has gone up from 51 per cent in 2009 to 55 per cent in 2010, which is a good sign," said Mittal. India's IT-BPO sector currently accounts for 26 per cent of the country's total exports and 11 per cent of all services revenues. Services account for more than half of India's GDP.
IT services continue to comfortably outpace the rest of India Inc in the pace of growth, growing by 22.7 per cent. The BPO sector has been slower, growing at just 14 per cent, as new competition from cheaper geographies eats away India's share.
Nevertheless, improving domestic and overseas business is responsible for the high hiring numbers, said Mittal. Another big factor has been attrition. After a two-year slowdown in pay hikes and bonuses, employees are ringing up job changes at a rapid clip as they switch jobs to improve their pay. The industry has seen a high attrition rate varying from 10-20 per cent.
This has led to rising demand for those with more experience as well, although the big numbers are coming from campus hires. Companies like Infosys, Wipro and TCS have been on a hiring spree in campuses since December. Due to the growing order books, most firms have increased their hiring expectations from their earlier targets.
However, experts feel that as the industry grows, the sector will face a talent crunch. "The sector is already facing a talent crunch in more specialised areas, which will become severe in future. There will always be demand for specialised IT professionals," said Kamal Karanth, chief executive officer (CEO) of Kelly Services.
That is the reason why companies have increased hiring of non-IT candidates. According to Nasscom, in 2005, the number of hires from non-technical backgrounds was around two to three per cent, which went up to 12 per cent in 2010.
Talking about the hiring trend for the IT sector, Mittal said, "A good number of BPO staff change their fields after two to three years, so there is always high hiring in this segment."
According to him, as Indian IT moves up the IT value chain, companies are targeting more specialised services and typical low-end BPO jobs are going to countries like the Philippines.
"For IT and IT-enabled services, the industry is going through a paradigm shift. Clients are now looking for application-based solutions. So, there will be a fair demand for specialised applicationbased software developers," Mittal added.
The industry already directly employs over 2.54 million professionals, making Indian IT one of the world's largest technical labour forces. This upward trend is likely to stay. While revenues are expected to grow by an estimated 18.7 per cent this financial year, employee strength is expected to grow by 10 per cent.



http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/it-sector-set-to-give-big-boost-to-indian-job-market/1/12977.html

MOST POWERFUL WOMAN IN BUSINESS WORLD 2011

http://businesstoday.intoday.in/photoplay/most-powerful-women-in-business-2011/4/219.html

Debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines Q2 loss doubles

Debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines on Tuesday reported that its net loss doubled to Rs 468.66 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2011, as higher fuel prices depressed operating margins.


The debt-ridden carrier had reported a net loss of Rs 230.81 crore in the same period last year, Kingfisher Airlines said in a regulatory filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.


The company's income from operations, however, rose by 10.5 per cent to Rs 1,528.16 crore in the July-September quarter from Rs 1,382.72 crore in the year earlier period.


Kingfisher board to meet today on rescue plan


Meanwhile, shares of the company were trading at Rs 21.50 apiece, up 0.70 per cent from their previous close on the BSE at 0930 hours.


Bankers have made it clear that Kingfisher's promoters will have to infuse Rs 800 crore worth of fresh equity into the company if they are to consider a second restructuring of existing debt, even as opposition mounted to any bailout of the private carrier.


PERSEPCTIVE: Kingfisher hits an air pocket


The bankers have asked the troubled airline to come out with a "credible" plan.


The lenders - a 13-bank consortium led by SBI, who were yet to decide on ways to soften the troubled airline's Rs 7,057.08 crore debt burden - are due to meet Kingfisher management on Tuesday.


Kingfisher had suffered a loss of Rs 1,027 crore in 2010-11 and is estimated to have debt of over Rs 7,000 crore.


The airline has cancelled several flights over the past few weeks.






http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/kingfisher-q2-loss-widens-to-rs-468.66-cr/1/20087.html

Mahindra and Mahindra: Focus on rural markets help it stay ahead

Shares of India's top utility vehicle maker Mahindra and Mahindra touched a 52-week high of 874.75 late last month, given the company's robust model of a strong focus on rural and semi-urban markets with its tractors and utility vehicles portfolio.


To M&M's credit, its strategy helped boost its total vehicle sales nearly 30% YoY in the second quarter of FY12. This was faster than the growth reported by the broader domestic passenger and commercial vehicles market in the quarter under review, at a time when interest rates on financing vehicle sales are high.


Standalone operating profit margin weakened by 460 basis points YoY to 11.9% in the second quarter of FY12 with a rise in the purchase of traded goods, although the total operational income grew 35.4% during this period. Investor concern relating to the company's purchase of traded goods is high now.


Pressure on its operating margins was due to purchase of traded goods of 887.3 crore in the second quarter of FY12, a jump of 154.3% on a YoY basis. Some analysts reckon that costs were higher owing to increased purchase of models such as Maxximo and Gio in the four-wheeler small cargo segment by M&M from its 100% subsidiary Mahindra Vehicle Manufacturers, or MVML.


The stock fell 5.7% to 790.4 on Monday. The company's average realisation improved an estimated 4.2% YoY in the September quarter, but that was not sufficient to deal with higher input costs. Apart from that, the standalone M&M entity was hit like several other Indian firms because of a forex-related loss of 21.6 crore with the weakening of the rupee due to rupee depreciation. As a result, net profit declined 2.8% YoY in Q2.


The company, in a press statement, has said that a more objective analysis would involve the combined results of both M&M and MVML for the quarter.


Going forward, the company's focus on rural markets is expected to help it to grow faster than the industry growth, in various segments. Also, non-ferrous and other metal prices have shown signs of easing over the past few weeks, but the rupee has weakened. M&M trades at a standalone P/E of nearly 17.7 times on a trailing four-quarter basis, given an array of its investments in various sectors.  

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/stocks/stocksinnews/Mahindra-and-Mahindra-Focus-on-rural-markets-help-it-stay-ahead/articleshow/10734218.cms

HCL Technologies has best revenue per employee in IT sector

UMBAI | BANGALORE For once, HCL Technologies, analysts' favourite whipping boy for its low profit margin, has something to thumb its nose at the IT big boys - revenue per employee - a metric where HCL has beaten them all. More importantly, at 51% growth in its revenue per employee from five years ago, HCL far outstrips its larger peers, including TCS, Cognizant, Infosys and Wipro.


The latest data could well be sign of changing fortunes at country's fifth-largest information technology (IT) services exporter that traces its roots to a IT garage startup from 1976. From having the lowest revenue per employee in 2006 to the highest in 2011, HCL's growth may be a leading indicator of where the firm is headed.


The real test for HCL would be its ability to convert its high revenue per employee into profits in a reasonable timeframe, so that the firm can cement its position not only as one of the fastest growing Indian IT firms, but also achieve better profitability, thus addressing analysts' concerns.


With about $12,444 per employee for the September quarter, HCL emerges on top of the heap while TCS stacks at fourth position with $11,734, only marginally better than Wipro, which generated $11,174 per head, lowest among the lot. Cognizant and Infosys ranked right below HCL with $12,315 and $12,311, respectively. HCL is expected to end the financial year in June with revenues of .`19,593 crore or about $4 billion. The revenue-per-employee index gains significance at a time when Indian IT firms are hiring tens of thousands of engineers every three months, causing the employee population to bulge like never before.


TCS hired over 20,000 engineers in the three months to September 30, taking its employee base to 2,14,770, fast approaching the quarter of a million mark. TCS is the nation's largest private sector employer behind state-owned Indian Railways with 13.6 lakh employees. Technology behemoth IBM employs 4,27,000, double that of TCS, but at about $100 billion, Big Blue has nearly 12 times TCS' revenue.


"In business, one focuses on creating a momentum and that is now clearly with HCL," chief executive Vineet Nayar said in an emailed response from the US, where he is visiting clients. "HCL growing faster than all its peers is a fact proven by our industry leading three year compounded average growth rate of 24%."


During the same period, HCL's employee base grew only 14%. HCL now has about 80,520 employees.


Nayar explained that since 2005, HCL has been focusing on what he calls total IT outsourcing services (TOS) leveraging the firm's expertise in managing IT infrastructure. "Over the years this focus on TOS has enabled us to win large, multi-service deals," said Nayar. "We have been able to double the number of customers in $50 million, $20 million and $10 million categories in the last two years."


Recently, outsourcing advisory TPI ranked HCL amongst the top six global service providers across America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as well as Asia-Pacific. The company cites it as a validation of its business model.


http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-company/corporate-trends/hcl-technologies-has-best-revenue-per-employee-in-it-sector/articleshow/10733631.cms

IITs, IIM devise ways to deal with stress among students

Life took an unpleasant turn the moment Abhinav D (name changed) joined IIT Kanpur. A topper throughout school, the 18-year-old suddenly found himself struggling to cope in a class full of students equally bright or even sharper.


Before long, he found himself spiralling into depression. A long stint of counselling later, Abhinav is faring better in his studies and is an enthusiastic participant in campus activities. Many others aren't as fortunate as Abhinav.


This year, seven students have taken their lives across the country's premier technological institutes, an unsettling new high. While 5,857 student suicides were reported across India in 2006, the figure jumped to 7,379 in 2010, according to data released by the National Crime Records Bureau recently.


Only the best and the brightest make it through the country's leading educational institutes. But this is just the beginning of the battle.


Fierce competition and the burden of expectation - a great job and salary are seen as natural corollaries - have been taking their toll on young students.


The issues range from family pressure, adjustment and relationship problems, placements and fear of failure. The good news, however, is, institutes are stepping in to provide support.

From counselling cells to student and faculty mentorship programmes, extracurricular activities, changes in curriculum, rescheduling of classes or even giving students the option of switching to slow-track programmes, every effort is being made to ease their burden. IITs, IIM devise ways to deal with stress among students

Education sector needs more flexible regulation: Montek

http://business-standard.com/india/news/education-sector-needs-more-flexible-regulation-montek/455292/