Shivani Shinde, Dev Chatterjee

Stories by Shivani Shinde, Dev Chatterjee

Shareholders expect RIL to unlock value in telecom, retail

Shareholders expect RIL to unlock value in telecom, retail

Rediff.com   11 Jul 2022

Institutional shareholders of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) are expecting big-ticket announcements from the company, including timeline for listing of its telecom and retail subsidiaries. They expect this to unlock value in the company, which has seen a sharp fall in market valuation on Friday. This is due to windfall tax imposed by the Centre on refiners and oil producers.

Boots UK sale abandoned; RIL to look for other opportunities

Boots UK sale abandoned; RIL to look for other opportunities

Rediff.com   29 Jun 2022

American retail major Walgreens Boots Alliance on Tuesday said it would retain its pharma retail business - Boots UK - thus abandoning the entire sale process. The company did not make any comment specifically on the offer made by Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries (RIL), which had made a bid for the company last month. "As a result of market instability severely impacting financing availability, no third party has been able to make an offer that adequately reflects the high potential value of Boots and No7 Beauty Company.

'The opportunity for tech is massive'

'The opportunity for tech is massive'

Rediff.com   27 Jun 2022

'A lot of the emphasis when we hire graduates is the learning for these new technologies -- whether it's cloud and digital data analytics, cybersecurity, or IoT, but also some of the new ones, such as Metaverse or other newer areas.'

To mark Adani's 60th birthday, family pledges Rs 60K cr to charities

To mark Adani's 60th birthday, family pledges Rs 60K cr to charities

Rediff.com   24 Jun 2022

In one of the biggest donations by a business family in India, the family of Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani on Thursday committed to donating Rs 60,000 crore (around $7.7 billion) to various charities related to health care, education, and skill development. The commitment has been made to mark Gautam Adani's 60th birthday on Friday as well as the birth centenary year of his father Shantilal Adani. The corpus will be administered by the Adani Foundation. "At a very fundamental level, [programmes] related to all these three areas should be seen holistically and they collectively form the drivers to build an equitable and future-ready India.

'The concept of 'One Infosys' will be crucial'

'The concept of 'One Infosys' will be crucial'

Rediff.com   24 Jun 2022

'We spent considerable time re-skilling all the employees, and then we created a new focus called the 'One Infosys'.'

Google executive warns against sharing of citizen data

Google executive warns against sharing of citizen data

Rediff.com   23 Jun 2022

Google's chief privacy officer, Keith Enright, has warned policymakers that frequent and large-scale sharing of citizen data, even if anonymized, can damage users' privacy. Pointing to research that shows data sets lose their anonymity if shared consistently over time, he said: "I would encourage policymakers and companies to be extremely circumspect while proceeding in that direction." Anonymization is a technique that removes or modifies personally identifiable information, resulting in data that cannot be associated with any one individual.

Game Streaming the Next Hot Career?

Game Streaming the Next Hot Career?

Rediff.com   23 Jun 2022

Game streaming is becoming a serious professional choice for youth, as it allows them to make good money.

Restaurant to jewellery, brands make a beeline for metaverse

Restaurant to jewellery, brands make a beeline for metaverse

Rediff.com   21 Jun 2022

'We're seeing major Bollywood celebrities, fashion icons, and even movie studios all wanting to build Metaverse experiences'

How to stay secure as cybercrime runs rampant in India

How to stay secure as cybercrime runs rampant in India

Rediff.com   14 Jun 2022

Like software-as-a-service (SaaS), CaaS has emerged as a well-orchestrated ecosystem for cybercriminals.

Dropout Who Built $100 Mn PhysicsWallah

Dropout Who Built $100 Mn PhysicsWallah

Rediff.com   13 Jun 2022

'With our focus and strategy we can solve at least 20 per cent per cent of India's education problems.'

A lot has changed since decades-old IT Act: Tata's Chandra

A lot has changed since decades-old IT Act: Tata's Chandra

Rediff.com   10 Jun 2022

N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and Tata Sons, believes that the Digital India Act is a necessity. "The Digital India Act is a necessity because so much has changed over the decades since the original Information Technology (IT) Act was put in place. I am glad the government is developing a participative approach to developing the Digital Act," he said, while answering shareholders at TCS' 27th annual general meeting. Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar a few months ago had said that the government would shortly roll out the Digital India Act - a renewed policy for the digital ecosystem and cyberspace in the country.

Will TCS Enter The Metaverse?

Will TCS Enter The Metaverse?

Rediff.com   7 Jun 2022

'At present Metaverse is a hype cycle.' 'If it succeeds, then I would like to see TCS there, too.'

How Infosys regained its mojo, improved employee morale under Salil Parekh

How Infosys regained its mojo, improved employee morale under Salil Parekh

Rediff.com   26 May 2022

In 2017, when Infosys announced that Salil Parekh would be its next chief executive officer (CEO) and managing director (MD), very few in the industry or the analyst community doubted his ability to bring the company back to a healthy growth trajectory, improve morale within the company and, more importantly, win the promoters' trust and investor confidence. There were reasons for this confidence. He was not only the deputy CEO of the Paris-headquartered IT services major Capgemini, but also one of the only non-European faces on the executive board of the company.

From double-digit hikes to promotions, IT talent takes the cake

From double-digit hikes to promotions, IT talent takes the cake

Rediff.com   25 May 2022

Employee costs for Indian IT services players have touched an all-time high as salaries soar in their effort to retain talent. Engineer salaries are going through the roof. According to a news report, Infosys, which reported a 27.7 per cent attrition rate for the fourth quarter of FY22, plans to have an average salary hike of 12-13 per cent. High potential employees will get increases of 22-23 per cent.

Adani group to be India's 2nd-largest cement manufacturer

Adani group to be India's 2nd-largest cement manufacturer

Rediff.com   16 May 2022

Billionaire Gautam Adani on Sunday won the race to acquire Swiss cement major Holcim's stake in Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary ACC for $10.5 bn (around Rs 81,361 crore), including the open offers. The Adani family, through an offshore special-purpose vehicle, announced that it had entered into definitive agreements for the acquisition of Holcim Ltd's entire stake in two of India's leading cement companies -- Ambuja Cements and ACC -- the Adani group said in a statement. The group outbid Ultratech and JSW group to enter the cement industry and also emerge as the country's second-largest cement manufacturer, with 70 million tonnes of capacity annually.

Is the pace of unicorns in India slowing down?

Is the pace of unicorns in India slowing down?

Rediff.com   13 May 2022

The Indian startup ecosystem recently celebrated the 100th unicorn milestone. It came after a month of no big fund announcements. Compare this to 2021, when three to four unicorns were being added every month. Nevertheless, the 100th unicorn needs to be celebrated since the first unicorn was announced in 2011 - 11 years ago.

2nd innovation hub in US to strengthen TCS position

2nd innovation hub in US to strengthen TCS position

Rediff.com   12 May 2022

IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), in its Q4FY22 results, said the company's banking, finance services and insurance (BFSI) crossed the $10 billion milestone. This includes revenue from financial products, services and platforms. For Suresh Muthuswami, who recently took over as Chairman of North America, one of the focus will be to grow this percentage going ahead. The first step to grow the US market is hiring. Muthuswami said that the company will be hiring more in the US, especially from the campuses. In FY22 TCS hired over 7,000 people in the US and going ahead too the numbers will be similar.

Ultratech joins race for Ambuja Cements and ACC, submits non-binding bid

Ultratech joins race for Ambuja Cements and ACC, submits non-binding bid

Rediff.com   12 May 2022

India's largest cement firm, Ultratech Cement, has joined the race to acquire the Holcim stake in Ambuja Cements and its subsidiary, ACC. UltraTech - part of the Aditya Birla Group - submitted a non-binding bid on Wednesday. Swiss multinational Holcim, which manufactures building material, is exiting India by selling its 63.19% stake in Ambuja Cements. According to banking sources, UltraTech has submitted a plan to Holcim, outlining divestiture details that would meet the norms set by anti-trust body Competition Commission of India.

JSW Group's Sajjan Jindal bets $4.5 bn of his wealth on Ambuja Cements

JSW Group's Sajjan Jindal bets $4.5 bn of his wealth on Ambuja Cements

Rediff.com   11 May 2022

The chairman of the JSW Group of companies, Sajjan Jindal, whose stake in the group is valued at $14.5 billion (Rs 1.1 trillion), is betting $4.5 billion of his personal fortune in the firm's bid for Ambuja Cements. According to bankers, Jindal's contribution will be a combination of share sale and debts raised by pledging the stake of the target entities with private equities. The JSW Group chairman has offered $7 billion for Ambuja Cements, including $2.5 billion of investments from private equities, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Why cybercrime is running rampant in India and how to stay secure

Why cybercrime is running rampant in India and how to stay secure

Rediff.com   9 May 2022

Do you suspect that your partner is cheating on you and want to find out the truth by installing spyware on their phone? Or, perhaps you are a student who wants to get out of an online classroom so you can play an online game with friends? How about some Zoom raiding for a mere Rs 50-100? Or, are you a person who wishes to hack into someone's phone or laptop, and steal their financial details? Crimeware-as-a-Service (CaaS) allows you to do all this and more.