With just a month left in this financial year, electric two-wheeler sales, so far, are at just 62 per cent of the ambitious target of 1 million units set for 2022-23 by the NITI Aayog. According to VAHAN data, compiled by the Society of Manufacturers of Electric Vehicles (SMEV), 620,006 units of electric two-wheelers were sold across the country in FY23 until February 21. Though the industry may miss the 1-million target, sales in FY23 are already up 146 per cent from 249,621 units sold in FY22.
Following a gap of several months, global brands like Walmart have started lifting orders from Tiruppur's garment makers, leading to growth in knitwear exports in January after five months. Knitwear exports from Tiruppur increased 1.5 per cent in dollar terms and 11.6 per cent in rupee terms in January. According to the Tiruppur Exporters' Association (TEA), global majors have started placing more orders from the region.
Information technology major Wipro has asked candidates who have successfully completed their training and who were offered Rs 6.5 lakh per annum earlier whether they would be willing to take up projects for an annual compensation of Rs 3.5 lakh. Wipro told Business Standard that it had to adjust its onboarding plans "in the light of the changing macro environment and, as a result, our business needs". "Like others in our industry, we continue to assess global economies and customer needs, which factor in our hiring plans.
Industry players said IT hiring was not as strong as it was in 2022. One reason is the high bench IT firms have due to earlier hiring.
AzaadiSAT had around 75 small payloads developed by schoolgirls of 75 rural schools.
78% Indians were unable to tell the difference between a love letter written by ChatGPT and one by a human being.
The Supreme Court on Monday directed Uber to apply for a licence within three weeks to operate in Maharashtra, stressing that cab aggregators cannot function without one. A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D Y Chandrachud said that an earlier interim order by the Supreme Court that had allowed Uber to operate in the state would not provide legal cover, since an aggregator cannot operate without a licence. It ordered Uber to apply for a licence by March 6, said a report by Bar and Bench.
'Winning a deal is one aspect, making sure that we are able to execute it profitably is also important' says Rajesh Nambiar.
Local residents say until about two months ago, this board carried the name of Motorola, which once had a manufacturing unit in Sriperumbudur, 40-odd km from Chennai in Tamil Nadu. In May 2020, Luxshare Precision Industry Co, a China-headquartered AirPods and iPhone assembler, had entered into a deal with the Tamil Nadu government to take over the defunct Motorola unit.
Manisha Sharma (name changed) was always among the high achievers in her company. She was recognised and rewarded for those efforts as well. Mid-December 2022, however, she received a jolt: an email informing her that she had been laid off - along with several of her colleagues. Sharma worked for a big tech firm, which had decided to downsize. And just like that, she was asked to go. "It did come as a shock," she says. "I did not take calls for the first two days, but then realised there is no point in beating oneself up for a situation that's not in your hand. "I thought let this be an opportunity to take a break. I'll now start looking for a job," she adds.
Both are finding it difficult to sell one each of their plants -- Chennai Maraimalai Nagar (Ford) and Talegaon near Pune (GM) -- and are finding the road blocked by employee severance snarl-ups, report Sohini Das and Shine Jacob.
SoftBank-backed Inmobi has fired about 50-70 people on performance metrics. According to a source, the employees impacted are from Inmobi and the firm's lock screen-based content provider Glance. This comes even as the company announced that it will skip increments for CY23 and also undertake recruitment only when required. The Inmobi group has a total headcount of 2,600.
'The semiconductor supply is constantly improving, with visible green-shoots in the situation as compared to earlier part of last year'
Dip in attrition rates and higher bench strength seem to be signalling a normal year for hiring in FY24.
Amazon has reclaimed the top spot as the world's most valuable brand despite its brand value falling 15 per cent this year from $350.3 billion to $299.3 billion, said a new report. According to brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance's report, "Global 500 2023", while Amazon is back at No 1, its brand value has fallen by over $50 billion this year, with its rating slipping from AAA+ to AAA. This is as consumers evaluate it more harshly in the post-pandemic world. Brand Finance's research has found that perception of customer service at Amazon has fallen - at the same time as delivery times have lengthened.
'In terms of semiconductors, challenges do remain in the pan industry, but I think we are much better than where we were a year or so back.'
According to reports, by last year, the company has helped its customers save 15 per cent on costs -- around 5-6 per cent on fuel and 15 per cent on fleet utilisation through digital measures.
'Battery electric, hydrogen fuel cell and hydrogen ICE, could be the three technologies which have the potential of being zero emission and that are what we will have to work on,'
Almost all of these companies either unveiled their new electric vehicle or alternative energy-powered models.
'That the South and West regions are more women-friendly in terms of employment is not a surprise.'