According to Jagat M Sarkar, head of HR, e-Rev Max, a product company which has its main development centre in Kolkata and presence in 60 countries, "In the given scenario, there will be increased focus on getting quality manpower. Salary hikes too would be hit. Those on the bench and non-performers are jittery too as companies plan on pink slips.
Information technology employees and fresh graduates in Kolkata have started to see salary cuts and employee lay offs.
Xerox India Managing Director Andrew Horne said, 'In the current uncertain economic environment, every company is looking at how it can improve operational efficiency... We are amalgamating some roles. In all, 24 roles are disappearing. The decision on timing has been accelerated by pressures caused by the challenging business environment.'
Wills Lifestyle has lined up new marketing strategies and product launches, targeting the womenswear segment in an attempt to double revenues from this burgeoning category. According to Atul Chand, divisional chief executive of Wills Lifestyle, womenswear currently contributes 35-40 per cent to the turnover, which the company intends to take to 50-60 per cent soon.
According to a CLSA Asia Pacific Markets report, the e-learning market is projected to grow to around Rs 1,100 crore (Rs 11 billion) by 2012 from 145 crore (Rs 1.45 billion) currently. Besides, online modules cost one-tenth that of a regular course. The worldwide market for online tutoring is estimated to be in the region of Rs 46,800 crore (Rs 486 billion). India now earns around Rs 60 crore per year from online tutoring or 10 per cent of the total market share.
It's a blessing in disguise, of sorts. Indian companies, which had to face a huge attrition problem over the last few years, can finally breathe easy. HR analysts said the economic slowdown is expected to reduce the attrition rates across industries, at least for the next two quarters.
Spencer's Retail, the Rs 800-crore retail arm of the RPG Group, will expand its range of fashion merchandise with the launch of private labels as well as foreign apparel brands, in an attempt to revamp its image as a fashion-centric brand instead of just a food retail chain.
Shah Rukh Khan, the owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, is more popular in Kolkata than the KKR captain Sourav Ganguly, revealed the Reebok showrooms in Kolkata as well as the shops selling spurious KKR merchandise in the New Market area in central Kolkata.
With revenue generation on mind, Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata Knight Riders is regularly adding several new features to its official Web site, in an attempt to push advertising revenues as well as offer variety and interactivity to the KKR fans. The move is also expected to make cricket more fun for the fans with the launch of several 'cricketainment'-related activities for all age groups.
Although Red Chillies Entertainment, owners of Kolkata Knight Riders team, has already earned Rs 12 crore from ticket sales of its home matches at Eden Gardens so far, its expenses have shot up drastically due to the new tax structures and security fee it has to shell out.
The Indian Premier League's overwhelming response in terms of ratings has seen a lot of cine-goers in Kolkata stay away from movie theatres and opt for the three-hour Kolkata Knight Riders cricket matches at home or in the stadium.
With the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) hiking their fees, many general category students will have to approach banks for educational loans. Most will also have to furnish collateral to get that all-important loan.IIM-Ahmedabad, for instance, has almost trebled its fees to Rs 4 lakh to Rs 11.5 lakh. IIM-Kolkata has hiked it from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh. Others like IIM Bangalore and IIM Lucknow have hiked it from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 8 lakh and Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh.
About eight million users are estimated to be sending and receiving e-cards per month in India, and companies like 123Greetings and Webdunia are now attempting to increase their user base by making e-greetings available on mobiles too. Currently, only musical tunes can be sent with 123Greetings. It is also planning to introduce video-greetings for MMS-enabled mobile handsets. It is also talking to various community portals for offering newer applications.
Eastern India sends the least number of scholars, North leads.
MarketHero.in is one of the first financial market gaming portals. A free-to-use financial and stock-broking game, built on Web 2.0 standards, it has recorded close to 500 registered users in one month. The participants can manage a virtual gaming portfolio of Rs 1 million and trade equity stocks, mutual funds and commodities, which are backed by real prices from the exchanges. It will be extended to multiple platforms such as mobile and other networks -- Facebook and Orkut.
Global information technology player, IBM, has selected 100 employees across 33 countries, including 20 from India, for specific projects under its Corporate Service Corps initiative, launched as part of its corporate social responsibility drive. These 100 employees are being sent to emerging and developing countries to address core challenges confronting society in fields like education and environment.
Reliance HR Services (RHRS), a human resources company formed by the Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG), will recruit half a million people for the group in the next four years.
While most companies send their employees for executive education programmes at various IIMs and IITs, freshers' recruitment is mostly based on conventional degrees since the belief is that distance learning does not enjoy the same value as regular classroom programmes. Why is it so?
The Mondols were taken in by the 'Kajla Janakalyan Samiti', formed seven years ago in Contai Deshapran block in east Medinipur district, an NGO supported by various other organisations and individuals, which works with displaced and trafficked families and trains them in ways to earn alternate livelihood.
According to Ajit Balakrishnan, chairman of the board of governors of IIM-C, "Most students who study in IIM-C come from families whose annual income is Rs 5 lakh. We are a public higher education institute funded by taxpayers' money. Hiking our fees just because IIM-Ahmedabad or IIM-Bangalore has hiked theirs will make IIM-C an opportunist."
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