India Inc has weathered many a storm during Covid-19: from supply chain disruptions to demand dips, steep increase in input costs to shortage of key raw materials. As most companies navigated unprecedented challenges on multiple fronts, realisation dawned also about the criticality of employee welfare in the survival of the business. And it was the human resources (HR) department that faced the greatest test on this front.
'He's at best a holding-CEO. Not one who will re-imagine the bank,' a senior banker and former colleague tells Raghu Mohan about HDFC Bank CEO & MD Sashidhar Jagdishan.
Many are now hoping the markets remain in good stead as they look to finalise the dates for IPOs, such as UTI MF, Computer Age Management Services, Happiest Mind, and Angel Broking. Most of the issues are expected to come to the market in the second half of September.
Sanjeev Goel, business head, Manipal ProLearn, lists 10 courses that are currently most suitable for working professionals to upskill or reskill to ensure they remain of value in the job market and in future-ready organisations.
Combining affordable IT with native Indian ingenuity and entrepreneurship F C Kohli believed would enable Indian small businesses match anyone and thrive.
Sahai, who did his master's in economics from the University of Delhi, is currently head of Citi's Securities and Fund Services business.
Having established its presence in the country, luxury carmaker Lexus is now looking to chart its next phase of growth in India as it looks to consolidate sales network and drive in new models, including fully electric cars in the country, according to a top company official. The company, which is the luxury car arm of Japanese auto major Toyota, initiated operations in India in 2017 and currently sells seven models in the country, including the locally-produced ES 300h sedan. Known for its self charging hybrid cars, the company is now gearing up to drive in battery electric vehicles, besides ramping up its existing product portfolio in the market.
It said while Indian IT services companies were the "disruptors" and had created the modern offshoring industry, they are now incumbents, challenged by a host of specialised and niche start-ups that have emerged in the new digital environment.
'Government shouldn't be in the business of running airlines, instead it should develop the ecosystem of civil aviation.'
The company expects around $40 million annualised revenue from the acquisition but declines to share financial details of the deal.
As Covid-19 cases recede, India Inc is once again tweaking work rules. Big tech companies such as TCS, Wipro and Infosys have either begun or are in the process of calling employees back to office in a staggered manner. A survey by Aon, a global professional services firm, has found that 60 per cent of tech firms now expect every second employee to come to office. More than half of the employees working in engineering and manufacturing firms are also being asked to return to work.
'From the very start, PM Modi was insistent that visiting foreign leaders should be exposed to an India beyond its capital.' 'Through these experiences, he felt that the full Indian narrative would be much better understood across the world,' explains External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. A riveting excerpt from Bluekraft Digital Foundation's Modi@20: Dreams Meet Delivery.
'GIFT City is now on a growth trajectory,' says Tapan Ray, MD and group CEO, GIFT City, 'The time has come for the GIFT City to take the big leap and emerge as the next financial hub of Asia.'
Mr Prabhu has a big challenge ahead in implementing trade reforms to regain the lost export momentum, says Jayanta Roy.
The $12 billion plus rising Indian e-commerce business market is witnessing a rush of hiring and may need one lakh people over the next six months, industry experts have said.
Assocham told Modi policy makers needed to act fast to "bullet proof" India from global jitters.
'Banking is a business of trust.'
At a time when investors are taking a "wait and watch" approach on fresh investment, Tamil Nadu in the past 10 months has signed 63 MoUs, enabling investment worth Rs 19,083 crore. After Palaniswami took over as chief minister in February 2017, cumulative FDI rose by Rs 46,427 crore from Rs 133 trillion (April 2000 to March 2017) to Rs 180 trillion by June this year. Thanks to the Tamil Nadu Business Facilitation Act, 2018, and the single window for applying and getting clearance for doing business, the ease of business issue has been addressed.
The domestic deal-making activities were hit by weak corporate governance and a huge liquidity crunch in 2019, while the global deals were also hard to come by due to various factors including uncertainties caused by the US-China trade war, which left many investors in a wait-and-watch mode.
ignio has more than 75 patents filed in the artificial intelligence, machine-learning and intelligent-automation space
German Car maker Audi plans to offer cars that can do 400 km on a single charge, says Ajay Modi.
The jury is still out on whether this will lead to re-skilling.
With a team of 20-odd people, Snafu tries to unearth the rough diamonds from millions of songs. Can AI help look for a needle in a haystack? Ritwik Sharma finds out.
'Working from home is stressful as there is a blur between personal and professional space.' 'We should not overdo the follow up and checking.'
'The first year of the Modi government's second term has laid the roadmap for the future and we will embark on it with gusto,' promises Gopal Krishna Agrawal, the BJP's national spokesperson on economic affairs.
Nokia is one of the leading telecom equipment manufacturing companies in India
It is rare for Cabinet ministers to tick off state-owned companies publicly, yet that was what then petroleum and natural gas minister Dharmendra Pradhan did for ONGC. Speaking at an event on June 29, Pradhan said he has asked India's premier exploration company to find fresh oil acreages fast. "Do it yourself through some joint venture (or) through a new business model. But the government cannot permit you to hold resources for an indefinite time." The reason for this stricture is India's rising dependence on imported oil and gas. Or, to put it another way, falling domestic production (see chart: "Crude truth"), especially from ONGC, which faces a simple problem.
India serves as the company's R&D hub as it morphs into a health tech major.
'The shadow banks are currently facing a liquidity and solvency crisis.' 'The danger is that it could potentially engulf the entire financial system because shadow banks have borrowed huge amount of money from banks, mutual funds, pension funds, and insurance companies.'
Investors turn their attention to export-driven sectors.
Omkeshwar Singh, head, Rank MF, a mutual fund investment platform, answers your queries.
Lamborghini, which expects 60% growth this year has priced Huracan Evo at Rs 3.73 crore, also said in the next five years India will be one of the top 15 markets for the company.
Invests $1.1 billion in 6 months, against $3.7 billion in 20 years
'We don't need to hinge India-UK relations on shared hostility toward China,' observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
Monsoons have had limited effect on market returns for a given year, report Sachin Mampatta and Sundar Sethuraman.
The UK has responded to PM Modi's call to 'Make in India' by launching great collaborations in January 2015.
Any investment proposal in India has to be cleared by the Cabinet which leads to a vicious cycle of approvals and rejections, says
Microsoft top boss Satya Nadella feels the increase in productivity has come at the price of burning the 'social capital' built up by companies over very many years, observes ad guru Sandeep Goyal.
For Hero MotoCorp, India's largest two-wheeler company, it's a calculated gambit to revive Harley-Davidson whose ride in India has been anything but easy since it got here.When automotive firms embark on alliances, it's a roll of the dice on how such marriages will play out.