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A blue visa could soon be offered to professionals
from developing countries like India. This visa is on
the lines of the US green card or permanent resident
visa, but with a continental touch. The proposal is not
yet policy and, according to sources, not likely to be
for several years to come; primarily because immigration
policies remain the prerogative of individual member
states. The UK, for instance, has refused to join this
system, even as London launched its own points-based
immigration scheme. While many member countries are a
bit hesitant about this visa, European industries like
construction and IT have welcomed the proposal, because
the cost of labour in the EU is prohibitive. For these
sectors to be competitive internationally, 20 million
skilled workers will be needed over the next 20 years.
The EU would open itself to professionally qualified
people from developing countries with at least two years
of experience, a two- year work contract in an EU
country, and a salary at least three times that of the
minimum salary in the destination country.
[05 April, 08]
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Italian University, Luiss Guido Carli Rome, offers 10
scholarships for Indian students for its master of
science in general management, a two year course
starting from September 2008. Graduates or those
graduating by July 2008 are eligible. The 10
scholarships are divided in three different categories
and are intended for the complete duration of the
programme. In category A [4 scholarships] there is total
exemption of the annual tuition fee of 9,000 lire and
the student will get 9,0000 lire per year for living
expenses. In category B [3 scholarships] 50% reduction
in the annual tuition fee and the student will get 8,000
lire per year for living expenses. In Category C (3
scholarships) the student will get 50% reduction in the
annual tuition fee of 9,000 lire. The application form
is available on www.luiss.it/internationalization. The
selection will be based on the results of a test and
personal interview.
[05 April, 08]
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The University of Oxford has launched an M.Sc in
Modern Chinese studies, just days after launching a
master's degree in Contemporary India. The nine-month
long course, designed to provide high-quality graduate
research training, aims to broaden and deepen
understanding of modern China and raise appreciation for
the value of various research methods now used in the
field of China studies. The programme run by the School
of Interdisciplinary Area Studies within the Division of
Social Sciences, is built around two core courses. One
will strengthen the students' research skills and the
other will deepen the students' understanding of key
readings and theoretical debates in today's study of
China. It also offers opportunities for extended study
in an area of the student's choice including
more-in-depth study of the Chinese language. The
programmes are part of the university's response to the
recent demand for knowledge in the west on the
burgeoning economies of India and China.
[05 April, 08]
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The impression that the British government thinks of
immigrants from non-EU countries like India as cash cows
has been strengthened by new plans to make immigrants
pay higher visa charges to help 'fund public services'.
The levy likely to raise an extra 15 million pounds is
being dubbed as a trust fund. Last year, the UK Visas
Agency raised 190 million pounds from 2.7 million
applications. Reports suggest that the additional fee
could constitute 10% of the cost of a visa which would
be an extra 20 pounds on top of the typical 200 pounds
charge for those wishing to stay in the UK beyond six
months. The Visitor visa was to be set at 65 pounds.
[The British High Commission in India set an exchange
rate of Rs 80 for a Pound in February]. If the present
plan is implemented all these visas will now cost 20%
extra.
[05 April, 08]
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Thousands of would-be spouses of British nationals
from the Indian sub continent may be forced to take, and
pass English language tests before they are allowed into
the UK in a bid to prevent exploitation of foreign
brides. Official statistics show that this would
potentially affect 20,000 spouses and fiancées from the
Indian subcontinent. Nearly 50,000 foreign spouses and
fiancées were admitted to the UK in 2006. Till now,
non-European migrants were eligible for a passport five
years after arrival but the new measures will force them
to serve a further probationary period of 1-3 years.
They will also have to face more tests to prove their
worth.
[05 April, 08]
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Despite evidence of an impending recession in the
US, there is expected to be a severe shortage once again
of US visas for Indian IT professionals in the coming
year. April is the date to begin filing H-IB cases[for
entry into the US from October 1], and IT companies are
already scurrying to put together all documents in the
expectation that the entire H-IB quota will be exhausted
on the very first day, as it did last year. For the
58,200 H-IB quota, the US received 1.20 lakh petitions
on April 02, 2007 the first day the quota opened last
year. Meanwhile, the demand for IT services has not
faced a significant cut yet. So a visa shortage is
inevitable. To overcome this problem, domestic companies
are currently busy checking out alternative options like
L visa (meant for intra-company transfer], J visa (for
specialists/ domain experts) and B (Business) category
visas.
[05 April, 08]
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The periodic flap over the H1-B visas issue is set to
blow up again in an election season after latest figures
show Indian companies accounted for nearly 80% of the
visa petitions approved in 2007 for the top 10
participants in the programme. Infosys and Wipro top the
list of visa beneficiaries in 2007 with 4,559 and 2,567
approved visa petitions respectively according to data
from the US Citizenship & Immigration Services.
Indian industry counters this on the grounds that this
just an outcome of globalization in a 24/7 flat world
where distances are shrinking and boundaries breaking
down. If the US does not allow skilled foreign workers
into the country, American business will suffer and
American jobs will migrate abroad in any case because of
local skills shortage and cost factors. US will begin
accepting H1-B visas on April 01 for the next fiscal
year, which begins October 01. Last year, US received
123,480 visa petitions in two days, more than double the
65,000 cap. Companies receiving visas were randomly
picked by USCIS via a computerized lottery.
[05 April, 08]
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The United States Citizenship and Immigration
Services will start accepting applications for temporary
skilled worker [H-1B] visas from April 1 for the FY 2009
beginning October 01. As in the past couple of years, it
is expected that the annual quota of H-1B visas will be
exhausted on the first day itself. At present, the quota
is 65,000 visas a year. Of this, 6,800 visas are set
aside for Chile and Singapore as per their trade
agreements with the US. This leaves 58,200 H-1B visas
for applicants from the rest of the world.
[5 March, 08 ET].
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In an order that would benefit a large number of
Armed Forces personnel, the Supreme Court has ruled that
disabled soldiers who opt for pre-mature retirement at
their own request are entitled to disability pension.
Defence personnel with disabilities attributable to or
aggravated by military service are eligible for a
disability pension. The government however, had been
refusing payment of disability pension to personnel who
had left the forces voluntarily. The reason cited being
that such personnel were technically not deemed to have
been labelled invalid when out of service.
[05 April, 08]
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The union budget has given a hike of 17% to higher
studies and 20% to elementary and secondary schooling.
But the biggest gainer is the University Grants
Commission with a 36% hike for creating 16 new Central
Universities. The Sarva Shiksa Abhiyan has received Rs
13,000 crore. The mid-day meal scheme has got a Rs 8,000
crore boost. And the promise of 6,000 model schools
comes with a Rs 650 crore allocation.
There is a move to introduce pre-primary education in
government schools, scholarships for higher education as
well as science education. A slew of scholarships have
been announced to check dropout rates. There would be a
central scheme to extend scholarships to at least 2% of
students passing out of schools for pursuing higher
education in colleges and universities. Students from
Classes IX - XII will also get scholarships from the
next financial year for which Rs 750 crore has been
earmarked.
[05 April, 08]
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The National Council of Education Research &
Training [NCERT] has made some efforts in the direction
of revamping primary education. The exercise carried out
under National Curriculum Framework [NCF] has made a
significant shift towards creating a constructive
paradigm in school education for teaching and learning.
Suitable modifications have been made to developing
textbooks, classroom transaction and student assessment.
New syllabi have been developed on the recommendations
of NCF-2005 and Focus Group papers on different
subjects. The new textbooks are more child-friendly and
the content more child-centered to provide space to the
child to explore knowledge. It would encourage children
to move from rote to creative learning.
[05 April, 08]
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Industry body FICCI has proposed an overhaul of
regulatory framework for technical education in India in
order to ensure delivery of quality higher education. In
a paper on regulatory framework for technical education,
the chamber has sought the dissolution of All India
Council for Technical Education [AICTE] and setting up
an autonomous regulatory authority as recommended by the
National Knowledge Commission. The role of such a
regular authority should be limited to regulate public,
private-aided and unaided institutions at the initial
stages with 'minimum prescriptions' 'and flexible norms'
to begin with. Further, institutions with credible
reputation over a period of 5 years should be given the
autonomous status. AICTE has not been able to manage the
multiple functions to the satisfaction of its
constituents, and has become virtually synonymous with
granting approvals or licenses to a new applicant. The
government should facilitate self-financing higher
education institutions to set up campuses without any
entry-barriers, on the lines of Indian School of
Business, Hyderabad, and the Great Lake Institute of
Management, Chennai.
[3 March, 08, ET].
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Education provided by schools to children of teachers
and staff members which is normally free, may now come
at a price with the ITAT ruling that management should
include all direct and indirect costs while assigning a
notional value to such a benefit. The issue assumes
significance because if the cost or perquisite value
exceeds Rs 1,000 per month per child, then the entire
amount must be added and taxed as a perquisite in the
hands of the employee. It further clarified that school
management can assign the cost [perquisite value] of
providing free education on the basis of actual
expenditure incurred by the management.
[05 April, 08]
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As the oil sector has opened up to private players in
a big way, public sector giants like the ONGC are facing
a severe shortage of skilled manpower. In fact, the
crunch in the availability of efficient technical hands
in the oil industry is a global phenomenon and many
countries look up to India for a steady supply of
skilled young professionals. The public sector giants in
the country have emerged as a favorite training academy
of sorts. A young entry-level hand is trained for not
less than five years. Besides private Indian companies,
multinationals based in Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait,
Britain and Malaysia have regularly poached on the oil
PSUs in India. The private companies offer packages in
the range of Rs 25 - 50 lakh annually. Besides the
monetary factor, a professional and healthy work
environment in the MNCs has resulted in the large scale
migration of skilled workers from the PSUs.
[05 April, 08]
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Logging on to a programme of recruitment, a computer
giant, Satyam, has opened a new document in the Northern
region's academic and professional history. It has
chosen 550 engineering students from 33 professional
colleges in a single go, providing testimony of the
region's emergence as hub of engineering and technical
studies. This is, perhaps the first time so many budding
IT professionals have been picked up from this part of
this region in a single recruitment drive. The selected
Bachelor of Technology [B. Tech] and Masters of Computer
Application [MCA] students of the 2009 batch belong to
Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and
Chandigarh. They were selected in a placement drive
undertaken at Chandigarh Engineering College [CEC] by
Satyam Computers one of the top-ranking software
companies in the country. The experts were impressed by
the technical and other capabilities of the students
belonging to this part of the region.
[05 April, 08]
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The Supreme Court has ruled that an employer has the
absolute discretion in compulsorily retiring its staff.
The courts had no role to play in deciding which among
the employees were to be compulsorily retired and who
should be allowed to continue in service. The verdict
came in a case where a large number of class IV
employees who were recruited as peons in the Bihar Rajya
Sahakari Bhumi Vikas Bank in 1971, had challenged the
bank's decision to terminate their service through
compulsory retirement. The bank argued that it was
grossly overstaffed as a result of which it was
suffering huge losses. It said as against a requirement
of 166 peons, 507 had been recruited. It was decided to
retire the excessive class IV employees.
[05 April, 08]
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Placement season kicked off for graduates of the
Indian School of Business [ISB] Hyderabad. Top companies
from various sectors participated in the process to
recruit 425 students of 2008 batch at the premier
institute. An interesting trend this year is that real
estate and health care companies, both from India and
abroad are recruiting students for senior roles. ISB
placements attract a healthy mix of large business
groups as well as niche players across industries.
Companies from retail, realty, finance, health care,
investment banking, hospitality, pharma, insurance,
reinsurance, airline and media participated in the
placements.
[05 April, 08]
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Salaries of corporate employees in India rose 15.1%
last year, and the realty business handed out the
biggest raises leaving behind the outsourcing sector
that has been known for the most generous pay hikes in
recent years. This is the fifth straight year in which
salaries have registered double-digit growth -- also one
of the highest in the world. And the trend is likely to
continue through this year, driven by a booming economy
and a shortage of talent. The estimates and projections
are based on a survey of 600 companies-both Indian and
foreign -- across 19 sectors and 22 sub sectors. The
study measures actual and projected salary increases,
and compensation practices for six specific job
categories ranging from manual workforce to top
executive. In 2007, salaries in the real-estate sector
increased by 25.2%. IT and BPO sectors offered average
pay hikes of 15.4 and 14.1% respectively. Middle
management salaries have also started creeping up. This
is largely a result of managerial and technical talent
in India. The country faces a 26% shortage of leadership
talent.
[05 April, 08]
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The overall job market in India looks positive and is
expected to generate at least one million jobs this
year. The Ma Foi Employment Trends Survey which covered
22 sectors as of December 2007, predicts a 3% increase
in employment this year. Hospitality and healthcare are
the top segments this year. The survey was conducted in
2006 units spanning industry segments across the
country. In terms of employment generation, the
hospitality sector leads the pack. It is expected to
create 426,668 jobs. This sector is followed by health
care at 295,829 and education training & consultancy
at 166,005. Health care shows the highest growth in
recruitment at 8.9% followed by IT at 7.3% , ITES at
7.2% and hospitality sector sees maximum recruitment on
the back of tourism and increases investments in the
sector. An estimated $11.41 billion is expected in the
hospitality sector in the next two years. The boom in
the tourism industry has had a cascading effect on the
hospitality sector, which resulted in an increase in the
occupancy ratios and average room rates.
[05 April, 08]
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Employees in India are expected to get the highest
salary hike in 2008 globally for the second year in a
row as firms lure scarce talent to expand in the world's
second fastest growing economy. The latest survey of HR
consultancy firm Hewitt Associates show that average pay
hike in India moved up from 14.4% in 2006 to 15.1% in
2007. And despite global concerns of an economic
slowdown in the US, 2008 is expected to be better with a
15.2% average pay hike in India. The study also hints
the country is perhaps at the peak of such fast pay
hikes. The average rate of salary increase in India is
expected to slow down to 9-10% by 2012. However, some
sectors may continue to report double digit pay
hikes.
[05 April, 08]
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Tier 2 cities like Hyderabad, Pune and Bhubaneswar
are creating more white-collared jobs than the old
employment hubs of Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore In
percentage terms in fact, for every job Delhi has
created this year, Hyderabad has created nearly two. The
cyber city has witnessed the fastest growth among all
cities; from 46,605 new jobs in 2006-07. It is projected
to jump to 60,427 new jobs in 2007-08, a rise of 30%.
Pune comes second, projected to create 28% more new jobs
in 2007-08 as compared to 2006-07. Bhubaneswar sees a
growth of 22.1% though its base is smaller than both
Hyderabad and Pune. By contrast, in Delhi, new jobs are
projected to grow by 17.4%. It does better than Mumbai,
however, which is projected to reach only 11.4% growth.
Chennai, at 9.5% fares even worse. Health emerged as the
sector with the highest growth in recruitment (8.9%),
followed by IT (7.3%) and hospitality (6.9%). A million
jobs will be created in 2008-09.
[05 April, 08]
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Authorised emigration and manpower recruitment
consultants have threatened to wind up their operations
in Punjab in case the state enacts the Punjab Prevention
of Human Trafficking Act, 2008. Regulation of emigration
and working of manpower recruiting agencies is in the
domain of the Central government and the states lack
legal sanction to enact a law on a subject which is not
in their purview. Punjab earns a minimum of Rs 300 crore
a year through skilled and unskilled workers legally
sent abroad by emigration and recruitment agents. The
state should not close this channel on the pretext of
controlling unauthorized travel agents in the name of
regulating emigration from the state. The police was not
aware of the provisions of the Emigration Act, 1983 and
always equated with unauthorized travel agents.
[05 April, 08]
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Indian companies are upbeat about their hiring plans.
According to the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey for
the second quarter [April-June] of 2008, India maintains
a steady high rank in the list of countries with the
highest employment opportunities globally. Of the 5,279
employers surveyed (in India), 37% expect an increase in
staffing levels in the second quarter of 2008, 1%
anticipate a decrease and 54% are expecting no change.
Of the 32 countries surveyed, Singapore reported the
most favourable hiring plans for the second quarter
followed by three countries which tied for the second
spot namely India, Peru, and Romania. Among the seven
industries surveyed in India, the mining and
construction sector has shown the most positive hiring
intentions. Companies in the IT, ITeS hospitality and
healthcare sectors are also optimistic about their
hiring plans over the next quarter followed by finance,
insurance and real estate. The wholesale and retail
trade sector reported the sharpest decline in hiring
intentions. Even the manufacturing sector has scored
poorly. South India is the most optimistic on hiring on
the back of knowledge-driven industries and the
emergence of a strong financial sector. Indian employees
are largely flexible in picking locations of work, even
as the job market at home continues to grow at a robust
pace. The findings underscore as much the changes in
workplace preferences of Indian employees in a fast
globalizing environment as the positive outlook among
employers. About 37% Indian employers surveyed are
expected to increase their staff through the April-June
quarter while only 1% expect a downsizing and the rest
expect no change.
[05 April, 08]
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India's steel industry has initiated a big headhunt
for skilled workers and professionals to increase
production and meet the growing demand for steel to fuel
the country's growth. It would require a large number of
skilled workers and professionals and an investment of
over $100 billion to build a steel hub spanning the four
states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West
Bengal. They have taken a big challenge to attract young
professionals to join the steel industry. The metallurgy
and mechanical engineering courses were not properly
managed in many technical institutes. Now efforts are
being made to make these courses more attractive which
would help retain talent for the steel sector in the
days to come.
[6 March, 08, HT Business].
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It is a study in contrast. At a time when top
software firms are sacking people and cutting variable
payouts, infrastructure companies are doling out huge
mid-term increments and poaching people with 40-50%
hikes in annual compensation. Huge demand for
engineering, procurement and construction professionals
has led to 18-20% mid term hikes in infrastructure
across-the board. Employee and labour costs have gone up
significantly over time, and constitute about 30% of the
project cost. With the 25-30% salary hikes being
implemented, construction costs will go up further on
top of rising input costs.
Many civil engineers and experienced construction
managers are constantly changing jobs or moving
overseas, particularly to the Middle East which has
traditionally attracted construction engineers from
India.
[05 April, 08]
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Physical handicap is no disqualification for a job
in the hospitality industry. Moreover, the industry does
not insist that physically handicapped should be
graduates or have diploma or degrees in hotel management
or tourism and hospitality. Even if they are
matriculates or have passed class XII and are cut out
for hospitality and hotel industry they are given jobs.
The major problem facing the rapidly expanding hotel and
hospitality industry is an acute shortage of trained
staff. The number of good and recognized institutes
running various hotel and hospitality courses is very
small. Realising that good families do not want their
girls to join the hotel industry as receptionists, they
were re-designated as guest relation officers.
[10 March 08, Tribune].
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The United Nations has predicted that the real India
will continue to live in its rural outbacks for nearly
50 more years. The UN also said that though most
countries would see rapid urbanization, India would
continue to have the largest rural population in the
world until 2050. Though half of the world's 6.7 billion
people will start living in cities by the end of this
year itself, 55% of India's population (900 million
people) will be living in urban areas by 2050. It
suggested that rural development must increasingly focus
on creating more employment opportunities in the
non-farm sector.
[05 April, 08]
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Global BPO giant, Cognizant plans to expand its
headcount in India by about 14,700 this year and is
broadbasing its talent pool by hiring doctors, lawyers
and CAs. The move comes at a time when global giants
such as Yahoo and IBM as also some Indian companies are
cutting their workforce in the backdrop of wage
inflation, rupee rise and economic uncertainties in the
US, which have dented their profitability. The Nasdaq-listed
outsourcing firm has announced that it plans to add
16,600-19,600 professionals globally in the calendar
year 2008 to take its global headcount to 72,000 -
75,000. Cognizant's global headcount at the end of
December 2007 was 55,400 which included more than
three-fourths [over 41,000] employees in India. The
company is also planning to widen its recruiting pool
beyond the traditional streams such as engineering,
management and science. However, the company is yet to
decide on their annual wage hike.
[05 April, 08]
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India's top software firms are carrying their hiring
processes to college students who comprise a majority of
their talent pool in a language and model that the
students readily identify with. Software majors are
increasingly tapping the e-route to capture mind share
among students. While Cognizant has exclusive blogs and
networking forums for potential hires, while Wipro hosts
training material on its website. Almost everybody
agrees that the key driver behind such e-initiatives is
to facilitate industry readiness among students. Some of
the typical features one could expect on these campus
connect portals are training materials, blogs, alumni
forums and career opportunities. These initiatives seem
to be more common among service-oriented software
companies that hire hundreds of students every year from
colleges.
[05 April, 08]
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In the last few years, the IT industry has grown at
a pace of around 30% a year. To meet this growth,
companies had to cast a very wide net for new employees
-- visiting over 300 campuses for hiring. And now,
pressure on margins is breaking the linear growth
relationship between employee numbers and revenue and a
drive towards high-end work is resulting in sacking of
non-performers. For instance, in Infosys, where over
30,000 people are hired a year, there will be
non-performers who get axed.The larger problem is
quality manpower. In tier III colleges the quality is
bad and if they don't come up to the mark even after
training, they have to be asked to leave. Apart from
weeding out the non performers, companies are also
looking to reduce bench strength to cut manpower
costs.
[05 April, 08]
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Sports sure means mega bucks these days. And not
just for star cricketers, footballers and golfers, now
even IT companies are betting big on mega sports as a
lucrative way fill their kitty. And with the number of
events increasing everyday, it sure makes good business.
Indian IT giants are aiming for US basketball courts as
well as the baseball league. TCS solutions also provided
the IT solutions for the car's popular cousin, the
Ferrari sports car. Satyam for example is targeting
revenues of $100 million by 2010 from the sports
vertical alone. At Wipro, sport is a part of the media
and entertainment division More specifically, its part
of the leisure segment which includes theme parks, and
event management etc.
[05 April, 08]
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They are networking sites with a difference. Unlike
popular social networking sites where people meet to
foster new friendships or search for old ones, these are
sites where businesses meet in search of work. Customers
log in to outsource jobs, while individuals and
businesses [read providers] bid for the work.
Outsourcing 2.0 as it is popularly called is being
touted as the new wave of outsourcing. Outsourcing 2.0
has small and medium businesses [SMBs] or individuals in
India, Indonesia or other low cost destinations. The
jobs being outsourced too are basic, non core tasks,
like website designing, software programming, payroll,
HR, copywriting, PR material, and marketing. The next
breed of entrepreneurs in India, US and Europe are using
such sites to grow business.
[05 April, 08]
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In Infosys, over 1,200 hand-picked girl students (of
semester 4 & 6) from around 400 engineering colleges
around the country would be receiving all-for-free gift
hampers that contain an enjoyable stay, delicious
learning and confidence boosting sessions, workshops on
self development, soft-skills, leadership capabilities,
analytical and problem solving abilities, inspirational
interactions with senior executives, entertainment and
campus tours. Their focus is to help more number of
women enter the work force, so that they feel included
and their socio-economic value is enhanced. The idea is
to give them a perspective on the implications and
importance of being employed. This gentle gender gesture
of Infosys clearly has an underlying objective, to
enhance its girl-power. Women currently account for 32%
of the company's total employee base of 80,000. On an
average, around 30% of techies are women while the
percentage is likely to go up to 45% by 2010 as per a
recent NASSCOM estimate.
[05 April, 08]
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The importance of English in today's world cannot be
denied. But English should not be imparted at the cost
of other regional languages. If English has to develop
in India, it has to be developed in partnership with
other regional languages. India became a preferred
destination for business process outsourcing because
Indians speak better English than the Chinese or
South-Asian counterparts. The importance of English as
the language of a growing Indian economy cannot be
denied. But since English is not the only language in
multi cultural multi lingual India, which has 16
official languages there is a need to respect vernacular
languages. It is useful to have English as a second
language in schools because it is a passport to the
world.
[05 April, 08]
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