Arindam Majumder, Twesh Mishra, Shreya Jai &Amp; Shivani Shinde

Stories by Arindam Majumder, Twesh Mishra, Shreya Jai &Amp; Shivani Shinde

From double-digit hikes to promotions, IT talent takes the cake

From double-digit hikes to promotions, IT talent takes the cake

Rediff.com   25 May 2022

Employee costs for Indian IT services players have touched an all-time high as salaries soar in their effort to retain talent. Engineer salaries are going through the roof. According to a news report, Infosys, which reported a 27.7 per cent attrition rate for the fourth quarter of FY22, plans to have an average salary hike of 12-13 per cent. High potential employees will get increases of 22-23 per cent.

Govt pushes states, gencos to import coal before monsoon

Govt pushes states, gencos to import coal before monsoon

Rediff.com   20 May 2022

The Union ministry of coal, while acknowledging that domestic coal stock is not enough to meet the power demand, asked state governments and the power generating companies (gencos) to import coal before monsoon season sets in. The ministry has warned the gencos if they do not import coal for 10 per cent blending in their fuel demand by the end of this month, blending benchmark would be increased to 15 per cent. The order pertains to all - central, state and independent power producers (IPPs)/privately owned units.

Is the pace of unicorns in India slowing down?

Is the pace of unicorns in India slowing down?

Rediff.com   13 May 2022

The Indian startup ecosystem recently celebrated the 100th unicorn milestone. It came after a month of no big fund announcements. Compare this to 2021, when three to four unicorns were being added every month. Nevertheless, the 100th unicorn needs to be celebrated since the first unicorn was announced in 2011 - 11 years ago.

Ford drops plan to manufacture EVs in India; opts out of PLI scheme

Ford drops plan to manufacture EVs in India; opts out of PLI scheme

Rediff.com   13 May 2022

American automaker Ford on Thursday said that it had withdrawn plans to manufacture electric vehicles (EVs) in India and it won't invest in the country under the performance-linked incentive (PLI) scheme. "After careful review, we have decided to no longer pursue EV manufacturing for exports from any of the Indian plants. "We remain grateful to the government for approving our proposal under the PLI and for being supportive while we continued our exploration. "Ford India's previously announced business restructuring continues as planned, including exploring other alternatives for our manufacturing facilities.

2nd innovation hub in US to strengthen TCS position

2nd innovation hub in US to strengthen TCS position

Rediff.com   12 May 2022

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in its Q4FY22 results, said the company's banking, finance services and insurance (BFSI) crossed the $10 billion milestone. This includes revenue from financial products, services and platforms. For Suresh Muthuswami, who recently took over as Chairman of North America, one of the focus will be to grow this percentage going ahead. The first step to grow the US market is hiring. Muthuswami said that the company will be hiring more in the US, especially from the campuses. In FY22 TCS hired over 7,000 people in the US and going ahead too the numbers will be similar.

Maruti Suzuki has a blueprint to regain market share in SUVs

Maruti Suzuki has a blueprint to regain market share in SUVs

Rediff.com   12 May 2022

Maruti's strategy for the SUV segment is to arrest the decline in customers for entry level hatchbacks.

Cognitive disabilities and the dilemma facing India's airlines

Cognitive disabilities and the dilemma facing India's airlines

Rediff.com   10 May 2022

Disability rights came under the spotlight again as the country's largest airline IndiGo refused to let a teenager with special needs board its aircraft. While the twitterati as well as fellow passengers have called for strict action, IndiGo has stood by its action saying the airport manager took the decision to ensure safety of other passengers. "Throughout the check-in and boarding process, our intent of course was to carry the family. "However, at the boarding area, the teenager was visibly in panic.

Why cybercrime is running rampant in India and how to stay secure

Why cybercrime is running rampant in India and how to stay secure

Rediff.com   9 May 2022

Do you suspect that your partner is cheating on you and want to find out the truth by installing spyware on their phone? Or, perhaps you are a student who wants to get out of an online classroom so you can play an online game with friends? How about some Zoom raiding for a mere Rs 50-100? Or, are you a person who wishes to hack into someone's phone or laptop, and steal their financial details? Crimeware-as-a-Service (CaaS) allows you to do all this and more.

Airlines have to compensate if fliers are denied boarding, says DGCA

Airlines have to compensate if fliers are denied boarding, says DGCA

Rediff.com   7 May 2022

The regulator has warned airlines and in an email on May 2 asked all Indian carriers to give compensation and facilities to passengers affected by such denial of boarding, failing which it would will impose financial penalties on them.

Airspace coordination in India helps airlines save big

Airspace coordination in India helps airlines save big

Rediff.com   6 May 2022

Coordination between defence and civilian authorities has freed up airspace for commercial airlines in India, resulting in routes becoming shorter and costs coming down, apart from mitigating pollution. "Due to various restrictions of the military, only about 58 per cent of the Indian airspace was being utilised. It is close to 70 per cent now," said an official of the Airports Authority of India (AAI). Officials of the AAI said to date 119 routes had been shortened. Sources said since December 2020 the cumulative savings of airlines had been close to Rs 200 crore while there was a reduction in emission of around 45,000 tonnes of carbon.

Apple stops accepting payments using credit cards issued by Indian banks

Apple stops accepting payments using credit cards issued by Indian banks

Rediff.com   6 May 2022

Tech giant Apple has stopped accepting payments via debit and credit cards in India. Apple has stopped accepting cards for subscriptions, and purchases using credit cards issued by banks in India. Apple will also not accept payments for ad campaigns on Apple Search using credit cards issued by Indian banks. All campaigns will be put on hold from June 1.

TCS, Infosys come to terms with reality of real-time recruiting

TCS, Infosys come to terms with reality of real-time recruiting

Rediff.com   3 May 2022

Tata Consultancy Services, India's largest software exporter, hired 100,000 freshers in the financial year 2021-22, more than in any other year. That means an average of 8,300 trainees joining the company every month. This is not merely a mathematical calculation: hiring of freshers at the top IT companies is no longer a compressed affair confined to the campus season.

IT companies may not follow HCL Tech on freshers' salary

IT companies may not follow HCL Tech on freshers' salary

Rediff.com   2 May 2022

It has taken a pandemic to move the needle on the salary packages for greenhorn engineers hired by the Indian IT services sector. The country's third-largest IT services player, HCL Technologies, has decided to boost the entry-level packages from Rs 3-3.6 lakh to Rs 4.25 lakh for FY23, in a bid to attract fresh talent and keep them for longer to counter the impact of rising attrition. This new package would also be applicable to those freshers who joined the firm in FY22.

US aviation watchdog likely to maintain highest safety rating for India

US aviation watchdog likely to maintain highest safety rating for India

Rediff.com   28 Apr 2022

A continuation of the highest standard by the FAA will be a relief for Indian airlines especially the Tata group which intends to increase Air India flights on India-US routes. US aviation watchdog Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has completed the audit of India's aviation regulator DGCA. Sources said that the FAA team was satisfied with the work and changes in regulations by India and is likely to maintain a Category 1 status rating under its International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme.

Will Jet Manage To Fly This Year?

Will Jet Manage To Fly This Year?

Rediff.com   22 Apr 2022

If that happens, Jet Airways will be the first bankrupt airline which will be revived under the Insolvency process.

Airlines start restoring pilots' pay cut as flights go full

Airlines start restoring pilots' pay cut as flights go full

Rediff.com   16 Apr 2022

Despite partial restoration of salaries, pilots across airlines remain dissatisfied, throwing challenges for managers.

Tatas bring in talent from group companies to revive Air India

Tatas bring in talent from group companies to revive Air India

Rediff.com   16 Apr 2022

Due to the group's presence across multiple businesses, it is in a unique position in the aviation industry to bring the best of talents.

Attrition at TCS touches record high; it may get worse, warns management

Attrition at TCS touches record high; it may get worse, warns management

Rediff.com   13 Apr 2022

For Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) - India's largest and the world's second-largest IT services provider - the attrition rate touched an all-time high of 17.4 per cent in Q4FY22. The management, following the announcement of the Q4 results, has warned that the attrition situation could become even worse before any improvement. According to analysts, the short term, the attrition rate at TCS could even touch 20 per cent.

Nashik: 20 electric scooters of Jitendra EV loaded in container catch fire

Nashik: 20 electric scooters of Jitendra EV loaded in container catch fire

Rediff.com   12 Apr 2022

In light of the recent incidents involving scooters from prominent electric mobility brands bursting into flames, the subject of electric vehicle (EV) safety has come under the spotlight. As many as 20 electric scooters of Nashik-based Jitendra EV Tech caught fire after being loaded on a transport container. While no one has been reported injured, the company said it is conducting an investigation to find the 'root cause' of the fire.

Q4 preview: IT companies may beat Ukraine crisis, inflation worries

Q4 preview: IT companies may beat Ukraine crisis, inflation worries

Rediff.com   11 Apr 2022

The results of Indian IT services players in the just-concluded fourth quarter of 2021-22 are expected to reveal continuing growth momentum as demand surges on the back of digital transformations and the cloud shift, but analysts anticipate margins to be under pressure due to supply challenges. Analysts covering the sector expect revenue commentary should be strong despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict and inflation. Top-line growth will be driven by broad-based demand with a strong uptick for cloud, digital, cybersecurity, data analytics, and artificial intelligence, among other services.