SAP says hiring actively in China, India

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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Germany's SAP AG, the world's biggest maker of business software, plans to increase its workforce by about 7 percent in China and India, hiring as many as 600 people in coming quarters as it targets expansion in fast-growing Asia.

SAP, which derives 16 percent of its revenue from Asia-Pacific including Japan, aimed to increase employees by 200-300 each in China and India, where its staff strength was about 2,600 and 5,500 respectively, a senior executive said.

"China and India are the two places where we are scaling the most," Stephen Watts, president of SAP Asia-Pacific and Japan, told Reuters in an interview.

India was its biggest subsidiary in Asia-Pacific including Japan, where the company employs about 11,500 people, he said, adding that SAP was looking at bringing in people in consulting, account management and support.

"Given that the company is getting into the innovation cycle, we are bringing very strong high value-added solutions to the market," said Watts, who is based in Singapore and visiting Hong Kong.

SAP, which competes with Oracle Corp globally and companies such as Kingdee International Software Group Co Ltd in China, sees huge potential in public sectors, retail, and in financial services such as banking and insurance in Asia.

The software company's revenue in the second quarter was 513 million euros ($733 million) in Asia-Pacific including Japan, up 20 percent from a year earlier, largely boosted by markets such as Japan, China and India, it said in a statement.

Globally, revenue totalled 3.3 billion euros during the second quarter, when SAP also took market share from arch rival Oracle for the first time in 1-1/2 years.

SAP said it expected to reach the high end of its 10-14 percent growth forecast in 2011 for software and related services, confounding fears of a slowdown in economically fragile Europe.

"This is Asia. We should be growing faster than the world. I think that is sustainable," Watts said.

He added that SAP was also not ruling out acquisitions, but declined to elaborate. Last year, SAP acquired Sybase for $5.8 billion, and in 2007 it bought Business Objects for 4.8 billion euros.

"We are always absolutely always going to consider that as an opportunity. Is there anything planned that I can talk to you about today? No," he said.

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India hiring outlook falls steeply - Manpower

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prospects for job seekers are gloomier in most major economies than they were three months ago, as weak U.S. and European economies begin to affect employers' confidence in other parts of the world, according to a quarterly hiring survey by ManpowerGroup.

Manpower Chief Executive Jeff Joerres describes the global jobs climate as tenuous, comparing it to a ball atop a hill: given a slight nudge, it could roll either forward or back.

"A collection of little things on the margin can move the ball," Joerres said.

The global staffing services company said the fourth-quarter hiring outlook is lower in 21 of 39 countries and territories, including the United States. Prospects are stronger in 13 economies and unchanged in five others versus the third-quarter.

When compared with the fourth quarter of last year, the job outlook is stronger in most countries and territories, the United States among them. The U.S. index, however, declined sequentially for the first time in nine quarters, suggesting the unemployment rate is likely to go higher.

The U.S. net employment outlook -- which measures the difference between employers who say they expect to add jobs and those planning to cut them -- was down one point from three months ago. Of the 13 U.S. industry sectors Manpower tracks, only one -- education and health services -- showed stronger hiring plans.

"Companies remain on the sidelines when it comes to hiring," Joerres said. "Until there's more visibility (about) demand improvement, we're going to see companies completely resistant to adding workers for the fear that they'll have to reduce that same cost."

U.S. President Barack Obama 's plan to stimulate jobs growth can help sentiment but will probably not boost hiring in the near term, Joerres said. Lower payroll costs will not induce a company to hire but could help those employers that were going to add workers anyway: instead of taking on nine workers, a manager might offer jobs to 10.

Obama has proposed a $447 billion jobs plan, involving tax cuts and public works spending, that he hopes will help rescue a faltering U.S. economy.

"Much of what was proposed makes sense," Joerres said. "Other things are to try to look like we're doing things and probably don't have a lot of efficacy."

Manpower's U.S. survey dates back to 1962 and is based on interviews with 18,000 employers. It is considered a leading indicator of labor market trends.

The survey results follow a disappointing U.S. jobs report that showed zero new jobs were created in August and the unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 percent.

INDIA, CHINA FEEL U.S. SLOWDOWN

Manpower's global survey, which polled more than 65,000 employers, found evidence slow U.S. growth was affecting job creation elsewhere. India's hiring outlook fell steeply from the third quarter, partly because its information technology industry relies on U.S. sales.

Employers in China are also expecting less robust hiring in the next three months.

"Even the emerging economies, with their growing middle classes, still can't avoid the effect of the U.S. slowdown," Joerres said. "China has a great middle class demographic but they still rely a lot on export goods to the U.S."

Rising labour costs have also made Chinese companies, especially small businesses, more reluctant to add workers, the survey found. Europe's austerity programs are also hurting demand for goods produced in emerging markets, Manpower said.

The weakest hiring outlooks are in Mediterranean countries hit by an ongoing debt crisis, including Greece, Italy and Spain. These countries' problems are affecting confidence in northern Europe, including the Netherlands. Central European economies such as Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic showed mostly lower readings.

In Asia-Pacific, spending on reconstruction after a destructive March earthquake lifted Japanese employers' optimism to its highest reading in three years. Sentiment in Hong Kong , Taiwan and Singapore was little changed and dipped in Australia.

In the Americas, employers in Canada and Mexico are less optimistic than three months ago, but the outlook brightened in Colombia and Brazil.

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Facebook hires NIT Warangal student for Rs 45 lakh

Facebook hires NIT Warangal student for Rs 45 lakh
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It's raining lucrative jobs at NIT Warangal which has had the best placement season so far. The 51-year-old institute started it's recruitment drive on August 15 and already has a 21-year-old fourth year BTech computer science student securing the highest ever pay package of Rs 45 lakh per annum.

The offer, made by Facebook, has created a record of sorts here. The institute confirmed that the student will be joining the technical wing of the social networking giant, as soon as he completes his course in March next year.

This has set a new benchmark at NIT Warangal in that the highest salary any student from the institute had bagged so far was Rs 20 lakh per annum. From the 2010-11 batch as many as three students had got jobs that paid them Rs 20 lakh per annum, sources at NIT said. It is not just the 21-year-old whizkid who has bagged a hefty package this year.

According to sources, the salaries offered to students so far range anywhere between Rs 5 to Rs 12 lakh per annum. The recruitment process for this year that started on August 15 is expected to last till March 2012. Sources said that most of the recruiters so far are IT companies.

About 30 students from computer science stream of the institute have already been recruited. Eight companies have come in for recruitment in the first round so far. According to NIT officials, this year other than the usual brand of companies several new ones have expressed interest in hiring. "Companies have now shed the recession blues completely and are looking for fresh candidates to recruit.

Many of them like Microsoft, Amazon, Oracle and Google could recruit more number of freshers than they did last year," said a senior professor from the institute. Last year, 92% students from the B Tech batch of the institute and 50 % students from M Tech batch were recruited by companies.

The average pay package offered by companies last year was between Rs 6 and Rs 7 lakh per annum. The institute officials are expecting a considerable increase in the pay packages this year. NIT professors said that this year, several companies have been vying for the first interview slots with students.

"Most of the IT companies are willing to pay really well to bright students who get absorbed in the first or second interview. The companies who come for interviews later could offer bigger packages to students. We'll have to wait and watch what the salary trend this year is," said an official from NIT.

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Jan Lokpal Bill

Jan Lokpal Bill
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The Jan Lokpal Bill (Hindi: जन लोकपाल विधेयक), also referred to as the citizens' ombudsman bill is a proposed independent anti-corruption law in India. Anti-corruption social activists proposed it as a more effective improvement to the original Lokpal bill, which is currently being proposed by the Government of India[1]. The prefix Jan (translation: citizens) was added to signify the fact that these improvements include input provided by "ordinary citizens" through an activist-driven, non-governmental public consultation.[2][3]

The Jan Lokpal Bill aims to effectively deter corruption, redress grievances of citizens, and protect whistle-blowers(a person who tells the public or someone in authority about dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, public or a private organization or a company).

If made into law, the bill would create an independent ombudsman body similar to the Election Commission of India called the Lokpal (Sanskrit: protector of the people). It would be empowered to register and investigate complaints of corruption against politicians and bureaucrats without prior government approval[4]. First passed the Lok Sabha in 1968[5], the bill has failed to pass the Rajya Sabha and become law for over four decades.[6]

In 2011, civil activist Anna Hazare started a Satyagraha movement by commencing an indefinite fast in New Delhi to demand the passing of the bill. The movement attracted attention in the media, and hundreds of thousands of supporters, in part due to the organizational skills of Arvind Kejriwal [7]. Following Hazare's four day hunger strike, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stated that the bill would be re-introduced in the 2011 monsoon session of the Parliament[8].

Accordingly, a committee of five Cabinet Ministers and five social activists attempted to draft a compromise bill merging the two versions but failed. The Indian government went on to propose its own version in the parliament, which the activists reject on the grounds of not being sufficiently effective and called it a "toothless bill"[9].[why?]

The All-India Confederation of SC/ST Organisations, representing the Dalits and backward castes, expressed opposition to the bill proposed by Anna Hazare as well as to the government's version of the bill. The confederation opposed Hazare's proposed bill saying that it will be above the constitution and that proposers of the bill have support from elements who oppose reservation.[10]

Background

The Lokpal bill was first introduced by Shanti Bhushan in 1968[5] and passed the 4th Lok Sabha (Upper house) in 1969. But the Rajya Sabha was dissolved before the bill got through the Rajya Sabha (upper house of the Parliament of India).[11] The Subsequent versions were re-introduced in 1971, 1977, 1985, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005 and in 2008,[12] but none of them passed. The bill is inspired of setting up an independent commission like Independent Commission Against Corruption (Hong Kong) (ICAC).[13][14]

Renewed calls for the bill arose over resentment of the major differences between the draft 2010 Lokpal Bill prepared by the government and that prepared by the members of the associated activists movement — N. Santosh Hegde, a former justice of the Supreme Court of India; Lokayukta of Karnataka; Shanti Bhushan; Arvind Kejriwal; Prashant Bhushan, a senior lawyer in the Supreme Court; and members of the India Against Corruption movement[2].JAN LOKPAL

The bill's supporters consider existing laws too weak, full of contradictions and insufficiently empowered to combat corruption.[15][16] On the other hand, critics of the Jan Lokpal Bill argue that the bill attempts to supersede existing constitutional bodies and attempts to create a super-institution with sweeping powers, which can be dangerous for the future of democracy.[17]

Key features of proposed bill

Some important features of the proposed bill are:[2]

1. To establish a central government anti-corruption institution called Lokpal, supported by Lokayukta at the state level.
2. As in the case of the Supreme Court and Cabinet Secretariat, the Lokpal will be supervised by the Cabinet Secretary and the Election Commission. As a result, it will be completely independent of the government and free from ministerial influence in its investigations.
3. Members will be appointed by judges, Indian Administrative Service officers with a clean record, private citizens and constitutional authorities through a transparent and participatory process.
4. A selection committee will invite short-listed candidates for interviews, videorecordings of which will thereafter be made public.
5. Every month on its website, the Lokayukta will publish a list of cases dealt with, brief details of each, their outcome and any action taken or proposed. It will also publish lists of all cases received by the Lokayukta during the previous month, cases dealt with and those which are pending.
6. Investigations of each case must be completed in one year. Any resulting trials should be concluded in the following year, giving a total maximum process time of two years.
7. Losses caused to the government by a corrupt individual will be recovered at the time of conviction.
8. Government officework required by a citizen that is not completed within a prescribed time period will result in Lokpal imposing financial penalties on those responsible, which will then be given as compensation to the complainant.
9. Complaints against any officer of Lokpal will be investigated and completed within a month and, if found to be substantive, will result in the officer being dismissed within two months.
10. The existing anti-corruption agencies (CVC, departmental vigilance and the anti-corruption branch of the CBI) will be merged into Lokpal which will have complete power and authority to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.
11. Whistleblowers who alert the agency to potential corruption cases will also be provided with protection by it.

Difference between government and activist drafts

Highlights

Difference between Jan Lokpal Bill and Draftll 2010

Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill):

1.Lokpal will have powers to initiate suo motu action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public.
2.Lokpal will have the power to initiate prosecution of anyone found guilty.
3.Lokpal will have police powers as well as the ability to register FIRs.
4.Lokpal and the anti corruption wing of the CBI will be one independent body.
5.Punishments will be a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of up to life imprisonment.

Draft Lokpal Bill (2010):

1.Lokpal will have no power to initiate suo motu action or receive complaints of corruption from the general public. It can only probe complaints forwarded by the Speaker of the Lok Sabha or the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha.
2.Lokpal will only be an Advisory Body with a role limited to forwarding reports to a "Competent Authority".
3.Lokpal will have no police powers and no ability to register an FIR or proceed with criminal investigations.
4.The CBI and Lokpal will be unconnected.
5.Punishment for corruption will be a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of up to 7 years.

Detailed

The following table details differences between the Government and activist backed versions[19][20].[21]

Comparision SlideShow uploaded by India Against Corruption.

Issue

Prime Minister
The Jan Lokpal Bill - Can be investigated with permission of seven member Lokpal bench.
Government's Lokpal Bill - PM can be investigated by Lokpal after she/he vacates office

Judiciary
Jan Lokpal Bill - Can be investigated, though high level members may be investigated only with permission of a seven member Lokpal bench
Government's Lokpal Bill - Judiciary is exempt and will be covered by a separate "judicial accountability bill".

Conduct of MP's
Jan Lokpal Bill - Can be investigated with permission of seven member Lokpal bench.
Government's Lokpal Bill - Can be investigated, but their conduct within Parliament, such as voting, cannot be investigated

Lower bureaucracy
Jan Lokpal Bill - All public servants would be included
Government's Lokpal Bill - Only senior officers (Group A) will be covered

Anti-corruption wing of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
Jan Lokpal Bill - The Anti-corruption wing of the CBI will be merged into the Lokpal
Government's Lokpal Bill - The Anti-corruption wing of the CBI not be merged into the Lokpal.

Removal of Lokpal members and Chair
Jan Lokpal Bill - Any person can bring a complaint to the Supreme Court, who can then recommend removal of any member to the President
Government's Lokpal Bill - Any "aggrieved party" can raise a complaint to the President, who will refer the matter to the CJI.

Removal of Lokpal staff and officers
Jan Lokpal Bill - Complaints against Lokpal staff will be handled by independent boards set-up in each state, composed of retired bureaucrats, judges, and civil society members
Government's Lokpal Bill - Lokpal will conduct inquiries into its own behavior.[19]

Lokayukta
Jan Lokpal Bill - Lokakyukta and other local/state anti-corruption agency would remain in place.
Government's Lokpal Bill - All state anti-corruption agencies would be closed and responsibilities taken over by centralized Lokpal.

WhistleBlower Protection
Jan Lokpal Bill - Whistleblowers are protected by Lokpal.
Government's Lokpal Bill - No protection granted to whistleblowers by Lokpal

Punishment for corruption
Jan Lokpal Bill - Lokpal can either directly impose penalties, or refer the matter to the courts. Penalties can include removal from office, imprisonment, and recovery of assets from those who benefited from the corruption
Government's Lokpal Bill - Lokpal can only refer matters to the courts, not take any direct punitive actions. Penalties remain equivalent to those in current law.

Investigatory powers
Jan Lokpal Bill - Lokpal can obtain wiretaps ( to make a connection to a telegraph or telephone wire in order to obtain information secretly), issue rogatory letters, and recruit investigating officers. Cannot issue contempt orders.
Government's Lokpal Bill - Lokpal can issue contempt orders, and has the ability to punish those in contempt. No authority to obtain wiretaps, issue rogatory letters, or recruit investigating officers.

False, frivolous and vexatious complaints
Jan Lokpal Bill - Lokpal can issue fines for frivolous complaints (including frivolous complaints against Lokpal itself), with a maximum penalty of Rs 1 lakh.
Government's Lokpal Bill - Court system will handle matters of frivolous complaints. Courts can give 2-5 years imprisonment and fines of Rs 25,000 to 2 lakh

NGOs
Jan Lokpal Bill - NGOs not within the scope due to their role in exposing corruption.
Government's Lokpal Bill - NGOs are within the scope and can be investigated.

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Nokia hands Accenture its hot potato

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One of Nokia’s biggest challenges is to maintain its home-grown Symbian operating system, while simultaneously producing attractive Windows-run smartphones under its brand-new partnership with Microsoft. Exactly how that would be done was one of the questions I couldn’t yet answer in my recent two-part analysis of Nokia’s future.

It turns out the challenge will be met, in part, by offloading it onto Accenture. On Wednesday, Nokia announced that 3,000 staff – mainly Symbian software engineers – would transfer to the consultancy (an additional 4,000 jobs will be lost across Nokia).

I don’t know what the Finnish for “hot potato” is, but Accenture has been handed one.

Many of the 3,000 jobs moving to the consulting group are likely to be currently located in Finland. Many Nokians think of software as the soul of the company and many Finns think of Nokia as the soul of Finnish industry.

Symbian engineers were understandably the most nervous about the Microsoft deal when it was announced in February. As Jo Harlow, Nokia’s executive vice president for smart devices, told me last month, before these latest developments:

For people who have spent most of their Nokia career working on Symbian, the strategy is a difficult decision for them, because their pride…. has all been in the Symbian space. There’s intellectual momentum behind our strategy decision and I think the emotional commitment is building – it’s slightly behind the intellectual decision, which I think is human nature.

Accenture says that over time, it “will seek opportunities to retrain and redeploy transitioned employees” so that they aren’t stranded when Symbian comes to the end of its natural life, probably sometime in 2012. But maintaining the “emotional commitment” of Nokia veterans during that period – when some 150m Symbian smartphones still need to be sold – remains a delicate task.

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U.S. downgrade not a cause of alarm - Basu

A rating downgrade of the United States, by Standard & Poor's, is not a cause of alarm, Chief Economic Adviser to Finance Ministry Kaushik Basu said on Monday.

Shares across Asia fell sharply on Monday despite efforts by global policymakers to stem a collapse in investor confidence after S&P downgraded U.S. credit rating from AAA to AA+ last week.

In early trade, the BSE Sensex fell 2.5 percent on Monday, while the rupee weakened past 45 to the dollar for the first time in five weeks following a global equities rout.

In an announcement early on Monday before the markets opened for trading, India's central bank said it would ensure adequate rupee and forex liquidity, a move to calm the jittery markets

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US rating downgrade may hit India IT hiring by 1/4th

Hiring activity in the Indian IT sector, one of the biggest employers in the country, could fall by about one-fourth due to thedowngrade of the USA's credit rating and the deepening economic crisis, experts said.

It might take at least 5-6 months for the recruitment activities of the IT sector to gain momentum, they said.

"We are expecting overall almost 26 per cent dip in recruitment in IT industries from first quarter of FY'12. It'll take at least 5-6 months to get momentum in hiring in IT industries," MyHiringClub.com Founder and CEO Rajesh Kumar said.

"Due to the economic crisis in the US, the Indian IT job market is also going to be affected badly. The major reason behind this is cost-cutting in Indian companies' US division. In the near future, Indian IT companies having offices in the US are going to face a surplus in their existing manpower strength," he added.

Echoing a similar view, Info Edge (India) Group President (Finance) and CFO Ambarish Raghuvanshi said, "Recruitment would be lagging in the IT space..."

The US accounts for almost 60 per cent of the revenues of the $60 billion Indian IT industry.

Experts believe that job activity in other industries would be negatively impacted as well.

"Apart from IT, hiring activity in other industries is also going to impacted," Concord HR Works CEO Sekhar Ghotgalkar said.

The reaction comes after the US lost its 'AAA' credit rating for the first time in history, as ratings agency S&P was not convinced with the efforts being made to tackle the country's debt problems. This resulted in a bloodbath in the Indian markets.

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Richest Indians rendered poorer by debt crisis

The global markets have been spiraling, thanks to the US debt crisis. Not only are we the commoners losing thousands of our hard-earned money, the country's richest aren't any much better off either.

According to this infographic made by our expert, Deepak Shenoy, the Ambani brothers have been the biggest losers with Anil Ambani's kitty getting lighter by a whooping Rs 7.6K crore closely followed by Mukesh Ambani who suffered a Rs 7.3K crore loss. IT big-wig Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro Ltd, lost almost Rs 6.6 K crore.

The BSE Sensex ended 1.7 per cent lower in trade today, led by losses in software exporter Infosys, after Standard & Poor's downgrade of the U.S. sovereign debt rating triggered a flight from risky assets.

ADAG's Anil Ambani was the highest loser in today's market slide with a loss of Rs 7,630 crore.

India's richest man, Mukesh Ambani with a $27 billion networth, and with a promoter stake of 146.39 crore shares of Reliance Industries, lost a total of Rs 7,349 crore during the market mayhem.

Telecom baron Sunil Mital who owns 36% in Bharti Airtel (the promoter shareholding includes Singtel) lost about Rs 4,531 crore.

The IT sector witnessed the maximum downslide with the sector ending 4.3 per cent. IT bellwether Infosys Technology ended 4.73 per cent lower making its founders poorer by Rs 3,173 crore.

Meanwhile, Wipro's promoter Azim Premji who holds 194.6 cr. shares of Wipro saw his market value fall by Rs 6,626 crore. The shares tanked 2.54 per cent on the BSE.

Others in the list include, HCL promoter Shiv Nadar, who with a total of 44 crore shares in the company lost Rs 2,962 crore, DLF promoter KP Singh, whose market value fell by Rs 4,645 core, and the Jindals who saw their shares tank by Rs 2,608 crore.

Here's a look at how much their market value has changed during the week:

Globally, even the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, lost $8 billion this week (Aug 1-8), while steel magnate and Britain's richest Indian Lakshmi Mittal lost £ 2.16 billion.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, however, have been luckier with their portfolios, Gates's Microsoft Corp. dropped 5.3% this week before Friday, while Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. slid 4.3%.

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RBI calms investors; markets slide

MUMBAI (Reuters) - The Reserve Bank of India said Monday it would ensure adequate rupee and forex liquidity, in a move to calm markets after a U.S. rating downgrade rattled investors already reeling under a gloomy world economy.

The announcement just before the markets opened for trading failed to ease jitters and shares fell more than 3 percent, while the rupee weakened to its lowest in five weeks. Bond yields fell to 3-week troughs as investors sought safe-haven government securities.

The RBI, which has raised interest rates 11 times since mid-March 2010 to control high inflation, said the country's economy had high resilience to weather the storm.

"While downside risks to growth may have increased in the wake of global developments, they are likely to have limited impact," the central bank said.

The RBI, supported by India's foreign exchange reserves of more than $300 billion, said it was monitoring the global situation and would "respond quickly and appropriately to the evolving situation".

Shares across Asia fell sharply on Monday despite efforts by global policymakers to stem a collapse in investor confidence after S&P downgraded U.S. credit rating.

The United States lost its top-tier AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday, hours after investors alarmed by the euro zone debt crisis forced Italy to speed up an austerity drive.

Around 60 percent of India's foreign currency assets, which comprise the bulk of the forex reserves, are estimated to be held in U.S. Treasury paper and the global developments will make the RBI's job more tough.

India has been trying to keep a lid on stubbornly high inflation even as the economy shows signs of slowing.

Headline inflation rose to 9.44 percent in June, above the central bank's comfort level of 7 percent for end-March.

By 0552 GMT, the main stock index was down 2.9 percent, while the partially convertible rupee was at 45.01/02 per dollar against 44.735/740 on Friday. The benchmark 10-year bond yield was down 9 basis points at 8.22 percent.

U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs on Monday upgraded India to "market weight" from "underweight," given a likely turn in the macro cycle, lower oil prices, lower valuation, and policy reform.

The RBI said the banking system does not face any immediate liquidity stress and banks can borrow by pledging government bonds and also avail a recently introduced emergency borrowing facility of the central bank.

"This will help stabilize the call rate within the LAF corridor, which is currently 7-9 percent," the RBI said, referring to the liquidity adjustment facility.

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Q+A-S&P's downgrade of the United States

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The United States lost its top-tier AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's on Friday, a move that will affect the country's borrowing costs and investor opinion of U.S. assets. Here is a Q+A on what the downgrade means for investors, consumers and to the country.

WHAT IS A DOWNGRADE?

Standard & Poor's, one of the three major credit rating agencies that assign scores to debt issued by institutions, municipalities, and governments, said there is a heightened degree of risk in holding debt issued by the United States. So it lowered its rating from the AAA, the highest possible level, by one notch to AA+. It also said the outlook is negative.

WHY DID IT LOWER THE RATING?

The credit rating agency believes the outstanding debt of $14.3 trillion and projected deficits for coming years in the United States no longer warrant the top-tier rating that it had assigned to the United States since 1941. It also said that the political environment does not build confidence that the United States can agree on how to lower the deficit in a meaningful way any time soon.

DOES THIS MEAN THAT U.S DEBT IS NO LONGER SAFE?

No. At AA+, the U.S. is still considered to have a "strong" ability to meet its obligations. In fact, only a handful of countries now have the AAA rating -- among them Canada, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. In addition, Treasuries have rallied this week, driving the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 2.34 percent, its lowest level in about 10 months. This suggests people still view the U.S. as a safe place to invest.

BUT WASN'T A DEBT DEAL JUST SIGNED IN CONGRESS?

Yes, but the savings from this are projected at $2.1 trillion. S&P has said that a larger level of savings is needed -- at least $4 trillion either through spending reductions or tax increases - are needed in order to start lowering U.S. deficits in coming years.

WHAT IMPACT DOES THE DOWNGRADE HAVE?

Over time, a lower rating will cause investors who buy U.S. government debt to demand a higher interest rate to hold that debt to reward them for the risk. If that is the case, benchmark long-term interest rates will rise. Most major rates, including the debt of corporations, mortgages purchased by investors, and other types of loans, are priced in relation to the U.S. Treasury benchmark. That means borrowing costs across a number of spectrums over time will rise, making loans and bonds more expensive. The more an individual or company is devoting to interest payments, the less they have for other activities.

SO WHAT WILL IT COST?

The downgrade could add up to 0.7 of a percentage point to U.S. Treasuries' yields, increasing funding costs for public debt by some $100 billion, according to SIFMA, a U.S. securities industry trade group.

WHO OWNS U.S. DEBT?

Other than the U.S. Federal Reserve , the most recent data from the U.S. Treasury shows that China, with $1.16 trillion in U.S. Treasury securities, is the biggest holder of our debt. China has repeatedly warned of the unsustainable trend of U.S. deficits and has talked of diversifying its holdings to other economies. But because China maintains the value of its currency through buying of U.S. dollars, it is likely to continue to be a major holder of Treasury securities for some years ahead.

WILL MY MONEY MARKET FUND HAVE TO SELL ITS TREASURY DEBT?

Not likely. The credit rating change affects long-term debt -- the short-term credit rating of the U.S. is A-1+, the highest short-term rating. Money market funds with short-term debt are unlikely to be affected.

WILL INVESTORS PREFER DEBT FROM HIGHER RATED COUNTRIES?

This is possible. Some large investors, such as William Gross of PIMCO, have said other markets such as Canada offer more value. But the U.S. market retains significant appeal because its bond market was more than $35 trillion at the end of March 2011, according to SIFMA. No other bond market is close to that size.

NOW THIS HAS HAPPENED, IS U.S. SAFE FROM OTHER DOWNGRADES?

No. To begin with Standard & Poor's has assigned a "negative" outlook to the US long-term credit rating. That means another downgrade was possible in the next 12 to 18 months if it does not see an improvement in debt reduction.

The other ratings agencies, Moody's and Fitch, currently still have a AAA rating on U.S. debt, which they just affirmed. But both of those agencies have suggested the U.S. could also be downgraded if projected government deficits are not reined in. Moody's currently has U.S. debt on review for possible downgrade.

HOW LONG HAS THE U.S. HAD AN AAA RATING?

S&P has maintained a AAA rating on the U.S. since 1941. Moody's has had an Aaa rating on the U.S. since 1917; Fitch's top-tier AAA rating dates to 1994.

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Asia would be hit harder by a second global crisis

S&P: Asia would be hit harder by a second global crisis

Arrangement of various world currencies including Chinese Yuan, Japanese Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc and Russian Rouble pictured in Warsaw January 26, 2011. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/Files
On Monday 8 August 2011, 9:23 AM

SYDNEY (Reuters) - A new global financial crisis would hit Asia harder than the last one, especially nations heavily exposed to offshore markets or still repairing budgets from the 2008-2009 crisis, credit ratings agency Standard and Poor's said on Monday.

The agency, which incurred Washington's wrath at the weekend by cutting its AAA rating by a notch to AA+, said it was not predicting a rerun of the credit crisis that crippled markets and tipped the world economy into recession three years ago.

But it warned of more sovereign downgrades in Asia next time around, if its assumptions turned out to be wrong.

"If a renewed slowdown comes, it would likely create a deeper and more prolonged impact than the last one," S&P said in a statement.

"The implications for sovereign creditworthiness in Asia-Pacific would likely be more negative than previously experienced, and a larger number of negative rating actions would follow. We wait to see."

S&P said it assumed Europe's debt crisis and Washington's debt problems were unlikely to lead to "abrupt dislocations" in the financial systems and economies of major developed nations.

On that basis, it added, its historic downgrade of the U.S. credit rating would have no immediate knock-on impact on sovereign borrowers in the Asia-Pacific.

It cited the Asia Pacific region's sound domestic demand, relatively healthy corporate and household sectors, plentiful external liquidity and high savings rates -- though it listed New Zealand, Japan and Vietnam as exceptions to this.

The S&P statement took on a much darker tone when considering the possibility that its assumptions were too rosy, noting that Asia still relied heavily on exports to the West.

"Given the interconnectivity of the global markets, an unexpectedly sharp disruption in developed-world financial markets could change the picture," it said, noting that the U.S. and European economies could again contract or stagnate.

"In this scenario, the experience of the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 shows that export-dependent economies with large exposures to the U.S. and/or Europe would feel the most pronounced economic impacts," S&P said.

"It's not likely things would be very different this time."

The agency listed those countries particularly vulnerable to disruptions in offshore capital markets as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Indonesia.

It also said several nations, again including New Zealand, were also still repairing their government finances and could be more constrained in responding to a fresh global crisis.

"The adverse impact on Asia Pacific in that scenario would likely require governments to use their balance sheets to support their economies and financial sectors once again," S&P said.

"And in our opinion, most governments would promptly oblige. But some of them continue to bear the scars of the recent downturn -- the fiscal capacities of Japan , India, Malaysia, Taiwan and New Zealand have shrunk relative to pre-2008 levels."

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Careers in Engineering

Tech trek to success

Despite the vast number of career options available today, engineering continues to remain a favourite with students

Albert Einstein once, in a tribute to engineering, famously said, "Scientists investigate that which already is; Engineers create that which has never been." Despite the vast number of career options available today, engineering continues to remain a favourite with students. This is because this field offers plenty of opportunities in a varied range of disciplines, and engineers are required in almost every organisation.

Engineering has evolved over the years to offer many more branches to students. Apart from the traditional branches-civil, mechanical and electrical, students can now choose from computer science, information and communication technology, electronics and communication, aeronautical, automobile, ceramics, instrumentation, chemical, biomedical engineering, environmental, textile, marine, production and sound engineering to name a few.

It may be a good idea for an engineering aspirant to pursue a core field, such as electrical, electronics and communications, computer science, civil, mechanical during graduation. This way the student will have more job opportunities after graduation, and can later choose a specialisation.

Engineering streams to choose from
Electronic Engineering
Communication Engineering
Aeronautical Engineering
Electrical Engineering

Considering India's robust growth rate, engineering students can look forward to increasing opportunities. Increased penetration of technology will lead to new employment avenues in outsourcing (KPO, LPO), legal, aviation, automotive, healthcare, supply chain, logistics, among others.

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will increasingly catalyse inclusive growth. Broadband wireless access is undergoing a sea change, creating the infrastructure for the delivery of new, data-intensive services. This is one reason that during the last few years, electronics and communication, computer science and information technology have been popular.

The IT industry is back in reckoning after a brief period of slowdown. According to latest industry reports, Indian IT-BPO (excluding hardware) industry is expected to grow by 19 per cent to reach US$ 76 billion in the fiscal year 2011. This industrywill add2.26 lakh personnel this year, to take the total workforce strength to 22.3 lakh.

Owing to a rapid growth in Information Technology, the field has become a quintessential aspect of our life. As a result, there subsists a huge demand for computer engineering professionals for the development of hardware components, new communication systems, software - both system and application software.

Branches such as environmental engineering, food and healthcare engineering may offer consistent job opportunities as these Industry fields are more immune to global slowdown. While doing a specialisation discipline (such as aeronautical, automotive, petroleum and ceramics among others), students should focus on building solid deep foundation in the subject.

After completing graduation, a student can apply for a job, or opt for post graduation in his or her field of specialisation and then pursue a Ph.D. if the student is interested in a research career. Successful completion of a B. Tech in computer science and engineering equips students for great careers in software engineering.

A variety of focus areas alloweach student to customise their learning to target a wide variety of career options. This includes research in computer science, applying computational techniques to solve problems in other basic and applied science (physics, chemistry, biosciences and electrical engineering to name a few), developing scientific and mathematical software, system software development such as device drivers and operating systems, commercial software development, embedded systems, mobile application development, industrial process control, bioinformatics, IT and mathematics applications in finance and IT-assisted education.

There is a popular but incorrect perception that there are not too many corporate openings for those pursuing research. However, India is increasingly emerging as an research and development hub with a large number of companies setting up their research and development facilities in India, leading to a huge demand for trained research or technical professionals in the corporate sector. The severe shortage of highly-skilled technical professionals is being acutely felt across all industry sectors, making M.Techs and Ph.Ds a favoured lot.

Today, working people in the private or public sector can acquire a bachelor's engineering degree through distance education. Quite a few institutions in India are now offering graduate degrees through distance education. Thanks to the rapid growth of information communication technology, it is now possible for students to get to hear and learn from thought and opinion leaders across the world.

Engineering is a field that requires practical application of theoretical knowledge. Thus, a strong grasp of core subjects such as mathematics, physics, chemistry and bioscience is important in order to innovate and think out of the box.

Learning is not merely about finishing courses and getting grades or gaining disciplinary knowledge but it is 'learning to learn', learning how to solve unstructured, openended problems that have no unique and pre-determined solutions. People with a research bent of mind and curious disposition make good engineering professionals.

In summary, a career in engineering from a good institution helps nurture an analytical and curious mind. It provides excellent job opportunities and opens the doors to a career in research and development. The engineering profession is rich and truly rewarding and ensures long-term stability and a great return on investment.

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Careers in Nuclear Engineering

Fission and fusion

Studying radioactive materials and radiation and learning how to use them in areas such as power and nuclear medicine forms the basis of nuclear engineering.


Equipment failure, nuclear meltdown and release of radioactive material as a result of the Japan earthquake brought worldwide criticism for the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster. This steered the world back to the age-old debate on the benefits of nuclear technology.

Many international bodies advocated closing down nuclear plants. But everything has its advantages and nuclear debates brought to light the many benefits of developing nuclear energy. A world with more energy and less carbon emission, no electricity problems and better medical facilities, the advantages are clearly more.

Studying radioactive materials and radiation and learning how to use them in areas such as power and nuclear medicine forms the basis of nuclear engineering.

"India has no choice but to go in for nuclear energy in a big way. Renewable energy has to be encouraged to the maximum possible and there has to be a focus on the importance of nuclear energy to meet the country's requirement in the future. Students should be encouraged to develop a career in this field," explains Suhas Sukhatme, former Chairman, Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Government of India.

Nuclear engineering encompasses areas of the research, development, and application of nuclear energy and power plants. It also involves the handling of nuclear fuels and the safe disposal of radioactive wastes.

"Students interested in this field should have reasonable mathematical background and some technical programming skills. A B. Tech. or an M.Sc. degree is the basic educational qualification I would recommend to students who want to specialise in this field," explains Prabhat Munshi, Professor, Mechanical Engineering and Nuclear Engineering and Technology, IIT, Kanpur.

At present, nuclear engineering is studied as a specialisation and is offered at the postgraduate level. "A sound foundation in mathematics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer and a keenness for research are necessary," says Kannan Iyer, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT, Bombay.

Job opportunities range from those at nuclear plants and government organisations to those in private firms. Fellowships are offered from the Nuclear Power Corporation of India and Atomic Energy Regulatory Board in India. The salary package ranges from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 7 lakh per annum.

Atomic awakening
- Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, www.iitk.ac.in
- Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, www.xlri.ac.in
- Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai, www.iitb.ac.in
- Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata, www.saha.ac.in

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Google unveils social network to challenge Facebook

New York, June 29 (IANS) Google Tuesday unveiled its new social networking service to take on Facebook.
The Internet search engine introduced Google+ social network for what it called 'real-life sharing.' To be available first by invitation only, Google said its social network will meet the most basic human needs to connect with others.
Aiming to take advantage of flaws in networking on Facebook, Google said, 'Today, the connections between people increasingly happen online. Yet the subtlety and substance of real-world interactions are lost in the rigidness of our online tools. In this basic, human way, online sharing is awkward. Even broken. And we aim to fix it.''

Google said, 'We'd like to bring the nuance and richness of real-life sharing to software. We want to make Google better by including you, your relationships, and your interests. And so begins the Google+ project.''
It would offer options of networking, including 'Circles' interface for adding friends and sharing 'what matters, with the people who matter most' and 'Hangouts' interface for group video chat.

'The debut of Google+ will test whether Google can overcome its past flops in social networking, like Buzz and Orkut, and deal with one of the most pressing challenges facing the company,'' said the New York Times.
'At stake is Google's status as the most popular entry point to the Web. When people post on Facebook, which is mostly off-limits to search engines, Google loses valuable information that could benefit its Web search, advertising and other products.''

But Google+ might be already too late, the paper said.
'In May, 180 million people visited Google sites, including YouTube, versus 157.2 million on Facebook, according to comScore. But Facebook users looked at 103 billion pages and spent an average of 375 minutes on the site, while Google users viewed 46.3 billion pages and spent 231 minutes.
'Advertisers pay close attention to those numbers, and to the fact that people increasingly turn to Facebook and other social sites like Twitter to ask questions they used to ask Google, like a recommendation for a restaurant or doctor, because they want more personalized answers,'' the New York Times said.

Wipro offers up to Rs 10 crore annual package to new CEO

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Fake Wipro job racket busted, four arrested

A job racket where 37 unemployed youth paid Rs 1.8 lakh each to a HR consultancy firm after being tricked into believing that they had got lucrative jobs at an IT firm, Wipro Ltd, has been busted following the arrest of four persons.
The accused were identified as Rajiv Ranjan (30) from Bihar, Mohammed Azar (25) native of Andhra Pradesh, Sathya Priya (25) a resident of Tamil Nadu and M N Naryanana (29) hailing from Kerala, according to Bangalore Police Commissioner B G Jyothiprakash Mirji.
The investigation on the basis of a complaint referral made by the technology firm has revealed that the con artistes used a placement agency called Lotus Consultancy, headed by a woman from Coimbatore, Sathyapriya, to lure youths to fake job interviews at Wipro.
Prospective candidates were convinced into coughing up money for jobs in Wipro through an elaborate plan where they were sent to meet the mastermind of the racket, Rajiv Ranjan, a native of Patna, on Wipro's main campus at Bangalore. Ranjan (30) gained access to Wipro's main campus here with a valid vendor pass and the 'candidates' were reportedly let into the campus with guest passes available to vendors. Posing as the managing director of the company, Ranjan conducted interviews at a guest room on the campus before making fake job offers.
Explaining their modus operandi, he said Priya would lure job seekers and collect documents and original certificates from them with a promise to get them employed in Wipro in Bangalore.
The accused would then accompany them to the Wipro campus, where she would arrange for a meeting with her accomplices, posing as Wipro personnel. The accused would then arrange for an "interview" with a person posing as an employee of the HRD division of the company.
Mirji said the accused managed to gain entry into the Wipro campus by misusing the vendor entry cards issued by the company.
The accused would then hand over the victims appointment letters for the post of software trainee engineers with a annual income of Rs 2.94 lakh. The fake letter also asked them to report to Wipro in the month of September, he said.
The racket came to light when one of the victims suspected something amiss and alerted the police, following which each of the accused were nabbed one after the other over the last 15 days, Mirji said.
The gang, all first-time offenders, had been running this racket for about 40 days and had so far cheated 37 people, he said.
The police found goods worth Rs 58.43 lakh, ATM cards, pan cards, gold ornaments, vehicles and duplicate letter heads from the accused.
Three of the gang members were pursuing their management courses and were well qualified, police said.
The accused were tech-savvy and also managed to replicate the Wipro logo on their letter heads. So far the police had not traced any links to any Wipro employee in the racket, but are investigating this angle as well, Mirji said.

Wipro offers up to Rs 10 crore annual package to new CEO

Mumbai, Mar 21 (PTI) T K Kurien, the new chief of the IT business and CEO of Wipro, will get an annual salary package of up to Rs 10 crore .
As per the terms of appointment of Kurien, salary is in the range of minimum of Rs 3 crore to a maximum of Rs 10 crore a year, Wipro said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
This would include periodic increments, variable pay (based on performance criteria), leave travel allowance, house rent allowance, company provided car and driver, furniture and equipment and provident fund among others.
Kurien''s is one of the highest salary packages in the IT industry.
According to TCS'' Annual Report 2009-10, company CEO and Managing Director S Ramadorai received Rs 3.61 crore in salary, benefits and perks and commission for the period between April 1, 2009 and October 5, 2009.
Infosys CEO and MD S Gopalakrishnan received Rs 1.01 crore during the fiscal 2009-10, says the company''s annual report.
Kurien will get 12 months salary as severance benefits in case his services are terminated. This benefit will be calculated on the basis on the last drawn salary before the termination.
"If the company terminates the agreement, the company will communicate the same in writing to the CEO and the CEO will be eligible for severance benefits as follows: 12 months last drawn salary," the filing said.
Salary for this purpose includes basic pay, benefits and allowances and variable pay, it added.
In January this year, Wipro appointed Kurien to lead Wipro''s IT business after sacking joint CEOs -- Girish Paranjpe and Suresh Vaswani and dismantling the joint CEO system.
While naming Kurien as the new CEO, Wipro Chairman Azim Premji said the company was going back to the single CEO structure as it wanted a leaner and more efficient firm. PTI SR SKB

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Infosys gives its employees ‘a voice’

BREAKING NEWS:

Cabinet reshuffle: Dinesh Trivedi Railways Minister, Verappa Moily Corporate Affairs Minister, Anand Sharma gets additional charge of textiles

Infosys gives its employees ‘a voice’

Infosys Limited may not be your friendliest neighbour or the most employee-friendly IT company around. But they sure are making amends.
'Infy Bubble', their recently launched internal social networking site is supposedly a platform for disgruntled Infoscions to vent on. The site mirrors Facebook and allows employees to connect across borders with colleagues as well as bicker about anything they want, said Nandita Gurjar, Vice President and Group Head, Human Resources, Infosys Limited.

She added that the site doesn't encourage personal attacks but it does welcome negative feedback about their bosses and peers. The site also allows them to share photographs and other stuff just like they do on Facebook, thus giving them a platform to engage themselves with other employees.

This is one of the internal PR exercises Infosys is conscientiously indulging in to salvage their image. The company has been battling severe criticism and high attrition rates lately.
And, despite rising wages hurting the IT bellwhether's profit margins, it isn't stopping its hiring momentum. Infosys that plans to hire 12,000 employees this quarter has already added 9,992 employees this year.

When asked if this would further affect their revenues, the management strongly responded by saying that they are going as per their yearly target of 45,000 new additions. With the improving business sentiment and revival in IT spends , IT firms are stepping up hiring to meet demand for their services.
The company today posted a 15.72 per cent jump in consolidated net profit to Rs 1,722 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2011. During the first quarter, Infosys and its subsidiaries saw over 7,000 employees leaving.
As we know, with increased hiring comes a high rate of attrition. But the company isn't really worried about it. Gurjar says, "This is the quarter when we normally expect employees to go for higher studies. 30% of the employees who have quit cited this reason."

She says, the company can't stop employees from pursuing higher studies. However, they are pondering on how to get them back with acquired skill sets. Gurjar says, "95% of the employees who quit to pursue higher studies actually want to come back. But since we have a structured process they have to undergo the complete interview cycle in the campuses. So may be in the near future we might have a policy where an employee can come back after getting MBA degrees or something else without getting into the complete interview cycle.".
But there is an interesting bit of information that Gurjar revealed. "34% per cent of our total employee workforce is woman. So in this quarter 32% of the woman employees who quit didn't cite any reason for quitting the job. They just wanted to take a break. Now this is something that we want to review."

While they ponder on what's working and what's not, the company is also planning an Infosys radio service through which the management will regularly interact with the employees. Looks like the company is engaging in some serious PR exercises with employees to build a few bridges. But will it curtail attrition? In true Infosys management lingo, "We might have to wait for the next quarter" for an answer.

Google unveils social networking site Google+ to challenge Facebook

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