'A major IT services firm that previously had a demand of 1,000 to 2,000 employees now requires 7,000 to 8,000 -- a sizeable jump from the previous quarter.'
Rajiv Kumar, the 25th chief election commissioner of India, has demitted office after a nearly three-year tenure marked by both electoral successes and allegations of bias from opposition parties. Kumar oversaw the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and the Jammu and Kashmir assembly polls, among other major elections. During his tenure, he implemented reforms across various aspects of the Election Commission's functioning, including structural, technological, capacity development, communication, international cooperation, and administration. However, he faced criticism from opposition parties and activists on several issues, including the efficacy of Electronic Voting Machines, alleged fudging of voter data, and being "lenient" on the ruling BJP. While the Commission responded to the allegations, Kumar often defended himself and the poll authority through poetry. In his farewell address, Kumar expressed concerns about the timing of petitions raising doubts over poll processes and the impact of freebie promises on the fiscal health of the state. He also criticized the practice of showing early trends on counting day by news channels, calling it "nonsense". Kumar's tenure was marked by numerous controversies, with opposition parties and activists alleging bias and irregularities. While the Election Commission defended its actions, the allegations cast a shadow over his time in office.
India's services sector activity expanded at the slowest pace in over two years in January amid softer increases in sales and output, a monthly survey said on Wednesday. The seasonally adjusted HSBC India Services PMI Business Activity Index fell from 59.3 in December to 56.5 in January -- its lowest level since November. In the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) parlance, a print above 50 means expansion, while a score below 50 denotes contraction.
Workplaces of 2025 will be defined by a deep focus on people-first values, inclusivity, and sustainable growth, foresees Sonica Aron, founder of Marching Sheep.
The meltdown in Dalal Street that wiped out investor wealth to the tune of 44 trillion in 2025 also seems to be having a ripple effect on the country's vibrant automobile retail sales.
Quick commerce (qcom) industry is poised to lead gig workforce hiring in 2025, propelled by a surge in demand for faster deliveries, expansion by existing players, entry of new competitors, and evolving consumer preferences in the post-pandemic era, according to industry experts. The qcom industry currently employs nearly 260,000 people - around 200,000 delivery personnel and 60,000 dark store workers, according to TeamLease Staffing.
India needs another shot of difficult reform, of the kind only possible at gunpoint. Mr Trump holds that gun to our heads now. A drastic reduction in tariff protection, other elements of sarkari wet-nursing will force entrepreneurial India to become competitive again, argues Shekhar Gupta.
The first step to keeping your job safe, experts tell Rediff.com's Divya Nair, is understanding why layoffs happen.
The growing decline of MTech applicants in Indian colleges is due to multiple factors, including outdated curricula, poor return on investment and lucrative non-engineering alternatives, say experts.
'We face the risk of remaining a low-income country for a very long time unless something changes in the next few years.' 'Instead of constantly talking about becoming a developed economy, we need to start fixing the problems of the economy one by one.' 'There is so much potential, and we are squandering away the opportunity.'
Investors' wealth plummeted by Rs 4.12 lakh crore during the morning trade on Friday as markets faced a massive correction tracking a weak trend in global peers and fresh foreign fund outflows. Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tanked 896.7 points or 1.09 per cent to 81,304.46 during the morning trade.
'The new Waqf bill sows the seed for conflict in every town and village of India.'
'These beach shacks were meant to protect the employment of local Goans who in turn would showcase Goan cuisine and culture on the beaches of Goa.'
'It is not that employee work is not happening if you don't see it.'
'Each state is unique, but when it comes to finance, the fundamentals cannot be different.'
The only real solution to the jobs crisis, whether in India or abroad, is to direct tech innovation towards job enhancing sectors, and disincentivising job-replacing ones, observes R Jagannathan.
Retirement fund body EPFO has registered 13.41 lakh net new members addition in October 2024, according to showed latest payroll data. This signifies increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO's effective outreach initiatives, a labour ministry statement said on Wednesday.
'Many were caught in a burnout race, chasing unsustainable growth without innovating.'
'Adventure travel, cultural tours, and wellness retreats are in high demand.'
Around 72 per cent of employers in India intend to hire freshers in the second half of 2024, according to a report released by TeamLease EdTeach on Wednesday. The report titled 'Career Outlook Report HY2 (July-December 2024), based on a survey of over 603 companies across India conducted between April and June 2024, indicated a positive trend in the job market for new graduates.
'We want to hide it (by saying) we are too busy in our lives, we have other things to attend to, we have families.' 'But they all had families, including Jyotiba or Mahatma Gandhi, or anybody who challenged the system.'
Major recruiters, with double-digit offers at IIT campuses this year so far, include American Express, Barclays, BCG, Cars24, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Google, Intel India, Meesho, Micron Technology, Microsoft, OLA, Oracle, Reliance, and Qualcomm.
Equity investors will track the trading activity of foreign investors, global trends and ongoing earnings results for further cues, and benchmark indices may continue to witness consolidation in a holiday-shortened week amid the monthly derivatives expiry, analysts said. Markets fell sharply last week amid massive foreign capital outflows and dismal Q2 earnings so far. Weakness in the markets might continue in the near term amid cautiousness among investors ahead of the US presidential election early next month, an expert said.
'Suddenly we had a new comprehension of affairs, which reminded that the luxury of politics floated atop a foundation by economics.' 'Along with this, finance ministers became crucial in molding the perception and reputation of Union Cabinets.' 'Governments couldn't afford a wrong person in that portfolio,' asserts Shyam G Menon.
India remains the largest growing economy in the world, a senior official from the International Monetary Fund said, observing that the country's macroeconomic fundamentals are good. "India is said to remain the largest growing economy in the world. We project growth at seven per cent in FY24-25, supported by recovery in rural consumption, as there have been favourable harvests.
Many unauthorised migrants originate from Punjab and Gujarat, states known for high migration aspirations rather than political instability.
Don't let your black and white style go flat. Add that pop of colour.
As more companies ask their employees to return to office after the pandemic, the share of women employed in regular salaried jobs in urban India decreased from 54 per cent in the first quarter to 52.8 per cent in the second quarter of the current financial year, according to the quarterly Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data. The slump in the share is the lowest in wage employment in any quarter in the last six years when the National Statistical Office started releasing the quarterly PLFS surveys in Q3 of FY19. The share of women in wage work was highest in Q1 of FY21 at 61.2 per cent.
In December 2020, as economists debated the shape the global economic recovery might take - Z, V, U, W or L - JP Morgan came up with the concept of the K-shaped curve. The investment bank used the shape of the letter K to illustrate the growing difference between large and small businesses in the United States. Since then, as the Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the gap between the rich and poor, the term has gained a larger connotation to embody the characteristics of development across economies.
Trump's sweeping tariffs and penalties on China-built ships have turned global shipping into the front line of economic war, observes Shyam G Menon.
Since 1993, when the BJP came to power after a stint of President's rule, the state has alternated between the Congress and the BJP.
Investors' wealth plummeted by Rs 5.49 lakh crore on Friday as markets faced a massive correction tracking a weak trend in global peers and fresh foreign fund outflows. Falling for the third day running, the 30-share BSE Sensex tumbled 1,017.23 points or 1.24 per cent to settle at 81,183.93. During the day, it plunged 1,219.23 points or 1.48 per cent to 80,981.93.
The balance was so perfect in that moment, the irony so rich. Those who cheered on Elia Kazan were cheering on the one quality that made him such a singular artist: He was his own man and not susceptible to groupthink. Those who protested Kazan's presence were protesting that very quality: They were saying that he was too much of an outlier, a wolf in a radical's clothing. Sreehari Nair captures his Kodak moment at the Oscars.
Some of India's largest companies have seen a slowdown in the growth of temporary, contract and casual jobs, as compared to the increase in their total workforce. The absolute number of such jobs is up 30 per cent between financial year 2017-18 and 2021-22 (FY18-22), shows an analysis of data collated from the annual reports of S&P BSE 100 companies. Forty-eight firms were considered for the final analysis based on the availability of uniform data across the last five years. In comparison, the total workforce numbers are up 36 per cent in the same period.
Want to know more about Maybelline's new desi face who is also a cop?
'I don't believe there is an international conspiracy to swamp tribals in India or in Jharkhand.'
'I tell young entrepreneurs if you don't have a great idea, if you don't have a good business model, don't think of a start-up.'
EPS has had its way on most things, alliance-wise. A week earlier, he reiterated that he would not re-admit OPS and Sasikala Natarajan back in the party. It was a message not just to detractors in the AIADMK. It was even more so for the BJP leadership in Delhi. Even more important for the AIADMK was their demand for accepting EPS as the chief ministerial candidate of any alliance that the party would form, observes N Sathiya Moorthy.
rediffGURU Nayagam PP counsels students and aspiring professionals on how to pick the right courses and scale up in your career.
55% Indians fear that their skills could become partially or fully obsolete within the next five years.
