Shivani Shinde &Amp; Vinay Umarji

Stories by Shivani Shinde &Amp; Vinay Umarji

US okays RECORD 55,000 student visas

US okays RECORD 55,000 student visas

Rediff.com   25 Aug 2021

The US mission to India has invited students to visit https://educationusaindia.usief.org.in/ and also participate in the EducationUSA University Virtual Fairs, to be held on Friday, August 27, for prospective graduate students and Friday, September 3, for prospective undergraduate students.

IT services major Capgemini is focused on driving more value from India

IT services major Capgemini is focused on driving more value from India

Rediff.com   23 Aug 2021

For Paris-headquartered IT services major Capgemini, India has always been the backbone of its services delivery for its global clients, but the company is focused on driving more value from India as it gears up its engineering research and development (R&D) presence worldwide with its acquisition of Altran Technologies. The company, which has about 149,000 employees in India, is looking to hire 60,000 associates this year. Of them, 30,000 will be recruits from campuses and the rest lateral entrants. For Ashwin Yardi, chief executive officer India, Capgemini, the focus is to make sure that the India unit is aligned with the global plans of repositioning the company as a hub of engineering R&D, operational technology, and IT.

Indian students hung out to dry

Indian students hung out to dry

Rediff.com   21 Aug 2021

With Canada, Australia extending restrictions, admission seekers are deferring their studies or looking elsewhere.

BigBasket co-founder Abhinay Choudhari plans to build new business

BigBasket co-founder Abhinay Choudhari plans to build new business

Rediff.com   12 Aug 2021

BigBasket co-founder Abhinay Choudhari has exited the company, and in his next entrepreneurial journey, he is looking to "solve another equally painful chore for many Indian households" after grocery shopping. The Tata group acquired a majority stake in the online grocery store in May. And when the deal happened, Choudhari decided he won't continue to be part of the management team.

A deeper look at Q1 performance of top 4 IT players

A deeper look at Q1 performance of top 4 IT players

Rediff.com   2 Aug 2021

While Wipro leads the pack on absolute numbers, analysts for Infosys for reporting consistent growth, revising FY22 guidance and beating TCS on revenue growth.

'The potential in India is enormous'

'The potential in India is enormous'

Rediff.com   30 Jul 2021

'India is still a small market but whatever we do, we do it with full focus.'

Microsoft plans to set up Rs 15,000-crore data centre in Telangana

Microsoft plans to set up Rs 15,000-crore data centre in Telangana

Rediff.com   28 Jul 2021

US tech giant Microsoft is in the final stages of talks with the Telangana government to set up a data centre with a total investment of Rs 15,000 crore. According to sources in the state government, the company has zeroed in on a land parcel near Hyderabad for the facility. "In the information technology (IT) space, Telangana is already seeing some major investments. "Microsoft is establishing its data centre here, and it may come out with a public announcement soon," said a source.

Pandemic push: Demand soars for digital, technical skills across industries

Pandemic push: Demand soars for digital, technical skills across industries

Rediff.com   20 Jul 2021

The Indian IT services sector is scrambling to retain talent since digitisation-led transformation has increased the demand for a digitally skilled workforce. As a result, the pull for jobs for tech professionals is also coming from non-IT sectors, leading to higher attrition among IT companies. The average number of tech jobs from non-IT sectors has seen a 41 per cent uptick in March-May'21 versus March-May'19, according to data from Naukri.com.

How India can avoid being crippled by chip shortages

How India can avoid being crippled by chip shortages

Rediff.com   19 Jul 2021

Tata Motors recently cut the sales forecast of its luxury car brand, JLR, due to chip shortages, scaling down its production numbers from the earlier 120,000 units to 60,000-65,000 units by September, and leading to an almost 10 per cent fall in the company's stock. In May this year, Bosch India, too, had stated that chip shortfalls would impact its production, as supply chains were getting disrupted.

Over 200 Indians stuck in Serbia due to surprise quarantine rule

Over 200 Indians stuck in Serbia due to surprise quarantine rule

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2021

Serbia has become one of the transit points for Indians heading to Canada and the US. Canada requires passengers from India to take an RT-PCR test from a third country, while the US wants them to spend 14 days outside of India. As a result, many students are taking the Serbia route to Canada, and the US.

Covid leaves Surat's textile mills in tatters

Covid leaves Surat's textile mills in tatters

Rediff.com   12 Jul 2021

Since he lives locally, Harish Patel is one of the luckier migrant workers in Surat - in that his employer was able to squeeze in a single shift for him at the weaving unit in Kamrej in Gujarat - unlike others who went home for Holi and other festivals just as the second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic was waxing and ended up stranded in local lockdowns.

Strong deal pipeline may boost Q1 show of IT firms: Analysts

Strong deal pipeline may boost Q1 show of IT firms: Analysts

Rediff.com   12 Jul 2021

A seasonally-strong quarter, with no immediate impact of the second wave and continued acceleration of digital transformation will allow the IT services sector to report a robust Q1 this financial year. However, key metrics to look out for will be attrition rate and margin lever as they will be impacted by salary hikes. Analysts expect growth for the quarter to be broad-based, with sectors like banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI), retail, manufacturing, hi-tech and life sciences driving revenue growth. Analysts across brokerage houses are pegging revenue growth in the range of 1.5 per cent to 4.5 per cent.

Nasper-backed PayU in talks to acquire BillDesk for up to $4 billion

Nasper-backed PayU in talks to acquire BillDesk for up to $4 billion

Rediff.com   7 Jul 2021

Nasper-backed fintech firm PayU has started talks to acquire domestic payment gateway major BillDesk, and the deal size could be in the range of $3-4 billion, sources in the know said. "BillDesk has been open to being acquired for some time now, but in the past the valuations that the company was seeking proved to be a hurdle," said a source. "Three years ago too, PayU had approached BillDesk for an acquisition, but things didn't go ahead due to high valuations. "BillDesk had asked for $2-billion value then," said the source.

Gourmet meals on wheels, 5-stars' latest success mantra

Gourmet meals on wheels, 5-stars' latest success mantra

Rediff.com   4 Jul 2021

Since home-delivered meals from five-stars are cheaper by 15 to 20 per cent as compared to eating at the destination outside, food delivery has emerged as an important part of every restaurant's service portfolio.

Cyber Fraud Helpline: How it Works

Cyber Fraud Helpline: How it Works

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2021

Since its launch in April, helpline 155260 has been able to prevent more than Rs 18.5 million of defrauded money from reaching the hands of fraudsters.

As data hacks rise, firms turn to bug bounty hunters

As data hacks rise, firms turn to bug bounty hunters

Rediff.com   22 Jun 2021

Bug bounty hunters or independent ethical hackers are certified cybersecurity professionals or security researchers who crawl the web, scanning the systems for gaps through which hackers can sneak in and alert the companies, says Shivani Shinde.

Study Abroad: Uncertainty over Vaccination

Study Abroad: Uncertainty over Vaccination

Rediff.com   14 Jun 2021

With the US education system operating independently from the government, universities are adopting varying strategies when it comes to Covid vaccination.

TCS stock has given 3,000% return since IPO, says N Chandrasekaran

TCS stock has given 3,000% return since IPO, says N Chandrasekaran

Rediff.com   11 Jun 2021

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has weathered the pandemic very well, and has earned tremendous goodwill from customers, which enhanced the firm's standing in the market, N Chandrasekaran, chairman, said in his virtual address of the 26th Annual General Meeting on Thursday. He said TCS shareholders received over 3,000 per cent return on their investments since the company was listed in 2004.

How tech helps Mumbai fight Covid second wave

How tech helps Mumbai fight Covid second wave

Rediff.com   9 Jun 2021

One of the biggest lessons for cities fighting the Covid-19 pandemic has been the criticality of access to data. Mumbai, which has shown significant success in managing the second wave of the pandemic, is a case in point, reports Shivani Shinde.

Tata Group is once again India's most valuable brand

Tata Group is once again India's most valuable brand

Rediff.com   7 Jun 2021

The total value of India's top 100 brands has increased by 2 per cent, from $162.1 billion in 2020 to $164.9 billion in 2021, according to the latest Brand Finance India 100 2021 report. This uplift in brand value over the course of the first year of the pandemic is an impressive feat given the global economic crisis following the implementation of national lockdowns in March 2020, when business activity was brought to a halt, affecting both production and consumption. Among the brands that came on the top of the list include Tata Group, Reliance Industries, and Mahindra Group.