On the back of a global meltdown, big-ticket firms may not be flocking at the premier Indian Institute of Technology campuses. IITians, however, have not lost all hope. Many are looking at start-ups for their first jobs.
Hotel tariffs have dropped by as much as 20 per cent after last week's terrorist attacks on Mumbai that forced international tourists to cancel travel plans.
The trickle has begun and could turn into a flood. At least 15 per cent of overseas visitors have cancelled their tour plans to India following terrorist attacks on key locations in Mumbai, tour operators said. The attacks claimed nearly 200 lives and injured more than 300.
Revenues from management development programmes expected to slow during the next quarters. On an average, MDPs contribute around 35 per cent to the revenue stream for B-schools. With companies tightening their purse strings, B-schools could see a direct impact on their revenue stream. Companies have confirmed that they are cutting down spending on training programmes.
Consolidating on its 500-year-old legacy of providing quality education, The Society of Jesus (SJ) (popularly known as Jesuits) has applied for a Central University status with the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).
UK, Australia numbers could pick up instead.
Travelport has decided to make holidaying an over-the-counter experience, where the customer can plan his travel. It will launch about 150-200 travel solution shops by tying up with malls, multiplexes and retail chains. Online travel company Cleartrip.com tied up with the Indian Railway and Catering and Tourism Corporation in September. SOTC plans to hold a six-day long Great Holiday Bazaar across all its outlets from November 3-8, with discounts between 4 and 20 per cent.
A refiner embarking on an alternative fuel strategy may end up selling bottled water to quench the thirst of millions.
Wary of the times ahead in the job market, business schools are working on a risk-minimisation strategy and looking at doubling the pool of companies on the campus for the summer placements scheduled in November this year.
State power boards incur fixed cost of Rs 3,500 crore (Rs 35 billion). About 5,000 Mw of gas-based electricity generation capacity, built at a cost of about Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion), is lying idle due to the shortage of gas in the country.
It's time for the famous B-school fests. But the zing is somewhat missing this time.
"The MoU between the (Ambani) brothers is in the private domain and has never been produced in the court. Agreements between the brothers were entered into on the basis of negotiation and decision on the case cannot be taken on this basis," Milind Sathe, senior counsel for Mukesh Ambani's RIL had told a division bench in July this year.
Apart from the increase in the number of players entering the sector -- there were just 25 entities two years ago -- the scale of operations has also increased substantially, with 30 companies planning large-scale operations, experts said. The capacity of biodiesel plants set up by these companies will range between 30 tonnes per day and 300 tonnes per day. Based on the capacity, it will cost between Rs 300 million and Rs 3 billion to set up these plants.
With America's fourth largest investment bank Lehman Brothers filing for bankruptcy protection and Merrill Lynch being bought over by the Bank of America, placements at the Indian Institutes of Management will be affected.
The hotel giant is looking at having an exclusive arrangement with Pune-based Mulshi Springs -- a company that bottles natural spring water. The brand will be called Oberoi Spring Water and a formal announcement is expected soon. The packaged spring water will be available in 200 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre and 1.5 litre pet bottles priced between Rs 50 and Rs 200 respectively. "Water will be sourced from a rain forest near the Sahara Amby Valley," added the official.
Fertiliser, power plants plan expansion in anticipation
Property developers are setting up their own mini-power plants to meet captive requirements of the malls or residential complexes they are building. Electricity generated from these power plants, which will use compressed natural gas (CNG) as fuel, will be 40 per cent cheaper than state electricity board supplies, making it an attractive investment option rather than a perceived additional cost.
HCL's founder and chairman Shiv Nadar is making a second foray into university education having sought 300 acres of land in Noida, near New Delhi, to set up a Rs 300-crore (Rs 3 billion) multi-disciplinary university.
Only one out of every 175 students who take the Common Admission Test will make it to the Indian Institutes of Management this year. The logic, note experts, is simple. Around 300,000 students are slated to appear for CAT this November. Despite such slim chances, industry players believe more students will try to crack CAT as the job situation is not at its best. The increase in the number of students taking the CAT exam this year will be around 20 per cent.
The premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) do not appear to be perturbed, but other prominent B-schools anticipate a 25-30 per cent drop in placements this academic year. They are concerned that several regular companies may drop out of the placements and others may recruit fewer numbers than usual.
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