Mitron probably would have continued with the free run for quite some time, had it not come to light that the source code of the app was actually developed by a Pakistani developer, reports Neha Alawadhi.
'If the business doesn't recover in next 6-10 months, there might be situation where there would be some lay-offs...That may be required for survival and to ensure livelihood to millions of people.'
Backed by China's Tencent and Prosus NV, Swiggy has around 8,000 employees.
The hospitality and tourism sector is among the worst hit because of the pandemic, and is unlikely to recover any time soon as people continue to be cautious of going out in a crowded places.
According to several industry sources in the know, expenses towards deploying contractual staffer, which used to account 10 per cent of the overall billable employee cost at IT firms, has fallen to around 3 per cent. IT firms typically use the contractual workers from staffing solutions providers or subcontractors.
Top Indian IT firms, such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro, have signalled taking aggressive cost take-out measures, including reduction in sub-contracting costs, travel expenses, freeze in salary hikes, and holding back variable payments, among others.
Top Indian IT services companies - TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech - have said that they would continue to hire freshers through campus interviews, though lateral hiring will be mostly on exception basis.
The ministry of home affairs has made the use of Aarogya Setu app mandatory for all employees, both private and public, and pinned the responsibility for compliance on the head of respective organisations.
WhatsApp limited the number of times a frequently forwarded message can be sent further to only one chat at a time. This resulted in 70% plunge in viral forwarded messages globally, WhatsApp told GoI.
The exponential number of downloads can be attributed to a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking people to have the app on their mobiles, combined with the government's push for downloading of the app through other channels, reports Neha Alawadhi.
However, the company says it will suspended promotions and salary increments this year.
Given that people have been reluctant to order cooked food - which worsened due to a couple of cases of delivery personnel testing positive for COVID-19 - food delivery platforms have included grocery delivery as part of their services.
While industry leaders Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro have announced deferring wage-hike plans, other players such as Infosys and HCL Technologies are expected to follow suit, according to industry insiders.
In the mid-tier space, clients with weak balance sheets are likely to ask for price revision apart from delay in payment.
Sources said a merger could benefit both as Grofers' private labels business would be a draw for Zomato, as well as its experience in the online grocery delivery space.
While Wipro will announce its fourth quarter (Q4) results along with annual financial statements on April 15, market leader TCS will hold its board meet the next day (April 16) for approval of its financial statements. Infosys is yet to inform investors the date it will announce its Q4 earnings.
'We have to plan for whatever the new normal is.'
'If many start-ups lose in this environment, there will be less number of people willing to start new businesses.'
Over the past week, several unusual partnerships among start-ups, traditional businesses and hospitals have been announced, and several more are likely to materialise soon. The trend could see increased importance of gig workers, who are taking considerable risk to deliver goods to people in the time of a pandemic.
Though there have been no cancellations of contracts by invoking the force majeure clause, a number of clients - especially in the worst-affected sectors like travel and hospitality, oil and gas, as well as manufacturing - have started asking for reducing level of IT support.
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