National Thermal Power Corporation and Indian Oil Corporation are the two public sector companies that figure in the Top 10 in global HR consultants Hewitt Associates' survey of the 25 best employers in India, 2003.

A surprise elimination in the list was infotech major Infosys Technologies which was judged the Best Employer for 2001 and 2002. It does not even figure in the Top 25. As expected, multinationals made six of the Top 10 slots in the survey.

"Public sector companies have begun to realise the relevance of HR trends in the private sector and have made conscious efforts to change their practices," said Smita Anand, head, Hewitt Consulting.

While IOC jumped to the ninth position from 17th in 2002, it was NTPC's surge to the third spot, behind Procter & Gamble and American Express, that made the HR trend in the public sector noticable. It is for the first time that a public sector company is ranked among the top three best employers.

"These companies are spending a lot more on training and employee benefits than before," Anand added.

As per the study, Infosys did not feature amongst the top 25 as it had a lower `employee engagement' score, based on three criteria: opportunities, rewards and leadership.

However, Infosys bagged a special award for providing a world class working environment to its employees.

Tata Steel along with group companies Tata Consultancy Services and Tata Motors featured in the survey, while the Aditya Birla group and Bharati Tele-Ventures were new entrants in the Top 25 list.

According to the study, while information technology and FMCG still offer the most lucrative opportunities for employees, it is the manufacturing sector which is set to take off in its employee management outlook.