Reena Zachariah &Amp; Shivani Shinde In Mumbai

Stories by Reena Zachariah &Amp; Shivani Shinde In Mumbai

BPOs beat Re blues

BPOs beat Re blues

Rediff.com   10 Nov 2007

The concerns were legitimate as unlike the IT industry, more than 90 per cent of the cost of BPOs is in rupees while earnings are in dollars. However, the firms have managed well by focusing on increasing productivity, enhancing employee utilisation, increasing billing rates and effecting better management strategies.

WNS bosses' unique plan to fight attrition

WNS bosses' unique plan to fight attrition

Rediff.com   8 Nov 2007

Neeraj Bhargava, CEO of Mumbai-based business process outsourcing (BPO firm) WNS Global Services, and his team have voluntarily decided to forfeit their bonuses if they are not successful in getting the attrition rates below 30 per cent. This is probably the first such move of its kind in the industry in which attrition has become a critical issue. WNS has over 15,000 employees, and its current attrition rate stands at 43 per cent.

Illegal music downloads set to end

Illegal music downloads set to end

Rediff.com   26 Oct 2007

While this is a global phenomenon, it is for the first time that the Indian Music Industry (IMI) is making an effort to stop this before it erodes the revenue stream of music companies like it is already happening in the software, gaming and the movie segments.

Sony out to entice Indian gamers

Sony out to entice Indian gamers

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2007

Sony Computer Entertainment, an arm of Sony Pictures, is planning to increase its console-based business in India.The company - responsible for the distribution, marketing and sales of PlayStation - opened its India office four months back and is now getting its strategy in place to offer variety and a better experience to gamers.

IT cos focus on healthcare, pharma

IT cos focus on healthcare, pharma

Rediff.com   25 Oct 2007

Indian IT service providers are increasing their exposure in the healthcare and pharma segments. Multi-million dollar deals in this space by IT firms over the past three-four months only buttress this trend. Healthcare outsourcing has moved away from just undertaking medical transcription and business process outsourcing (BPO) work to core functions such as drug discovery, testing, research and development.

Rising Rupee claims first BPO victim

Rising Rupee claims first BPO victim

Rediff.com   23 Oct 2007

US-based Spectrum Global Fund Administration, providing back-office operations to hedge funds in the US and the UK, is closing its facilities in India. The company had started its operations in India two years ago.

Mixed fortune for IT small, mid-caps in Q2

Mixed fortune for IT small, mid-caps in Q2

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2007

Unlike the first quarter of FY08 when Indian IT small- and mid-caps were hit hard due to a nearly 7 per cent appreciation in the rupee against the dollar, the July-September period was relatively kind to these firms. It spared them to some extent, since the rupee appreciated around 1.5 per cent over the period. However, the rupee rose around 12 per cent against the dollar over the last 12 months.

270 FIIs await Sebi nod

270 FIIs await Sebi nod

Rediff.com   19 Oct 2007

Over 270 applications from foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are awaiting the Securities and Exchange Board of India's (Sebi) clearance as the debate on the speedy clearance of registrations by the capital market regulator rages on. In fact, during the last one year, the Sebi has cleared a total of 141 applications, an average of about 12 registrations a month.

How channels manage millions of SMSes

How channels manage millions of SMSes

Rediff.com   12 Oct 2007

Contrary to popular understanding, operators do not manage these incoming votes. It is the channel operators who manage and collate the results of these SMSes. Yet, in terms of revenue sharing, close to 70 per cent of the share goes to the telecom provider while the channels get only 30 per cent.

Laptop sales dent IT peripherals market

Laptop sales dent IT peripherals market

Rediff.com   11 Oct 2007

Indian notebook sales are moving at a scorching pace -- 73 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2007 -- and this is affecting the volume growth in the IT peripherals market.

Sebi for repo in corporate bonds

Sebi for repo in corporate bonds

Rediff.com   5 Oct 2007

The capital market regulator would soon write to the Reserve Bank of India to allow repos in corporate bonds, which were expected to boost the liquidity in the corporate debt market, said sources. In a repo trade, a market participant pledges a corporate paper in exchange for funds for a specific period and at a rate determined by the market.

Small firms may get their own bourse

Small firms may get their own bourse

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2007

The NSE, along with financial institutions like IL&FS and IDBI, has proposed to set up a special exchange.

Clients prefer to stick to dollars

Clients prefer to stick to dollars

Rediff.com   4 Oct 2007

Close to 60 per cent of revenues of Indian IT service providers comes from the US market. With the rupee having appreciated more than 12 per cent over the past year, IT firms have increased billing rates, in most cases for new as well as existing clients.

Sebi may cut MF fee structure

Sebi may cut MF fee structure

Rediff.com   3 Oct 2007

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is looking at reducing the fees of all mutual fund schemes - equity funds (open- and close-ended), debt funds, index funds and even funds of funds (or FoFs, mutual funds that invest in mutual funds).

Can Indian IT cos retain cost advantage?

Can Indian IT cos retain cost advantage?

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2007

Indian IT firms have been announcing incremental increase in billing rates for quite some time now to counter wage hikes and rising visa costs, to name a few.

Patni stake sale stalled

Patni stake sale stalled

Rediff.com   18 Sep 2007

Mumbai-based Patni Computer System's stake sale has been stalled, perhaps indefinitely, according to sources close to the development.

Interview with Sebi chief M Damodaran

Interview with Sebi chief M Damodaran

Rediff.com   14 Sep 2007

An interview with Sebi chief M Damodaran.

HCL bullish on retail growth

HCL bullish on retail growth

Rediff.com   10 Sep 2007

The company will be taking its total outsourcing offering to the retailers in the small and medium enterprise category, whereas for the large retailers, it will pitch the best-of-the-breed target solutions to cater to specific problems.

Vedanta's open offer for Sesa Goa gets nod

Vedanta's open offer for Sesa Goa gets nod

Rediff.com   29 Aug 2007

The Securities and Exchange Board of India on Tuesday approved the open offer of Vedanta Resources for Sesa Goa.

TCS, Wipro, Infosys increase branding investments

TCS, Wipro, Infosys increase branding investments

Rediff.com   28 Aug 2007

Infosys spent Rs 70 crore last year on its brand building exercise. The company underlines that it focuses on earning the respect of all its stakeholders.