'The race is now on for Indian IT firms to develop their AI prowess and focus on a software-first approach to services as the people element becomes more complicated with Trump's expected new regulations.'
Several technology companies are seeking to step up hiring from Tier-II and Tier-III cities of India in 2024 to tap into a vast talent pool of skilled professionals churned out by educational institutions and training centres in these regions. Tier-II and Tier-III cities such as Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Mohali, Vadodara, Chandigarh, and Indore contribute around 12-15 per cent of the country's tech talent, hinting towards the strong talent availability in these regions, according to Randstad India, a talent management firm.
From installing water-saving aerators on taps to using cans for washing hands and dishes, Bengaluru is adopting diverse strategies to tide over the water crisis. While several citizens have taken to social media to urge Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to make work from home mandatory for IT companies, it appears that hybrid mode will continue to be the norm for most - although with new water conservation measures in place. Co-working space provider Urban Vault has, for instance, installed smart water meters to detect leakage.
Raja Shanmugham, chief people officer, Happiest Minds Technologies, discusses the company's HR policies, six qualities that one needs to have to fit the bill at the company, how they measure their company's happiness quotient, his challenges and why the company will not be impacted by another storm brewing in the US economy.
Start-ups Zomato, PB Fintech, One97 Communications, and FSN E-Commerce Ventures have entered the large-cap category after the latest reclassification exercise by the Association of Mutual funds in India (Amfi). This comes despite stocks such as PB Fintech (Policybazaar) and One 97 Communication (Paytm) trading below their issue price. Others such as Mindtree, SRF, IRCTC, Tata Power, JSW Energy have been moved from mid-cap to large-cap category.
Investors seem to have fully savoured the Burger King India IPO, with the share sale getting subscribed a massive 156.65 times on the last day of the offer on Friday.
The Rs 702-crore IPO received bids for 2,93,41,84,140 shares against the total issue size of 2,32,59,550 shares, according to data available till 3.30 pm on Wednesday.
Shares of all the 14 companies are currently trading above their issue price.
Ashok Soota, founder chairman of MindTree, who recently left the company he co-founded in 1999, is preparing the grounds for his new venture.
Happiest Minds, expected to be formally launched for customer delivery in five months, would have six lines of businesses, namely IT services, R&D services, product engineering services, remote infrastructure management, testing and consulting.
Happiest Minds expects revenue to touch $100 mn in 3 years, the fastest in India's tech services sector.
Shares of small-cap companies have been on a roll with the S&P BSE Small-Cap index hitting a new high in intra-day deals on Thursday. The rally has been fueled by an up move in stocks of chemicals, cement, graphite electrode makers, pharmaceuticals and information technology (IT) shares. In the past two weeks, since March 25, the index has outperformed the market by gaining 7.3 per cent. In comparison, the S&P BSE Midcap index was up 6.1 per cent, while the S&P BSE Sensex gained 3.6 per cent during the same period.
Unique benefits, work-life balance, and fair share of profits were the top three areas where MNCs fared better over Indian companies
I would prefer a government that is stable and progressive, a government that takes quick decisions, a government that is much more oriented towards creating jobs, and one that attracts a lot of foreign investments, says N R Narayana Murthy.