It is very likely that the issue of outsourcing could be a key point that comes up during the November elections. The President has stated that the tax concessions should go to companies that create jobs in the US and not overseas.

Pointing out that the existing tax code provides tax breaks to the tune of millions of dollars to companies that create jobs and profits in other countries, Obama stressed on the fact that one of the main points to be focused on is encouraging companies to increase investment in the United States. This cycle is proving to be disadvantageous to the country, and in order to break it the President proposes to have a more generous and permanent extension of tax credit to companies that are involved in research and innovation inside the US. He expressed his opinion that if the country did have any tax breaks they should be going to companies that created jobs within the nation, not outside.

The President was delivering a speech on economy in the state of Ohio, and had the Governor of Ohio, Ted Strickland at his side. Ironically, Strickland was well known for his support to Indian companies till recently, when after realizing that he was behind in opinion polls, he passed an executive order banning outsourcing. His argument is that outsourcing undermines the economic development of the US and has undesirable business consequences.

The IT sector in India has reacted to these US developments saying that the move is discriminatory, and is akin to a trade barrier. Recently the Indian IT sector was hard hit by the US raising entry visa fees for the H-1B and L1 visa, which was what most IT companies took when they sent their professionals to work on US projects.

The apex body of the IT and ITES industry says it will take up the issue with its US counterparts under the leadership of the Nasscom delegation, which will visit the US later this month. They have also sought governmental support to take up the matter with American authorities.

President Obama says that across America, people agree on the fact that rebuilding the infrastructure of the nation is the way for the country to once again be one of the leading economies of the world. And it is to this precise end that his administration has put together the six-year infrastructure plan that he was proposing. President Obama says this proposal will enable small businesses to upgrade their plants and equipment and encourage large corporations to start putting their profits into the economy. By putting Americans to work, the economy could start picking up, he said. He pointed out that due to the steps that his administration had taken, the economy is showing sure signs of recovery. This financial markets have stabilized and approximately three million Americans who were previously unemployed have a job due to the economic plan that was put in place since he assumed office.

Picture: The new Rupee symbol.

Initially over 3,000 designs were shortlisted for the competition, which came down to five that were in the running for being chosen. He wins a cash prize of Rs. 2.5 lakhs from the Finance Ministry for his achievement.

The new sign for the Indian rupee was approved by the Union Cabinet, and the government will be incorporating it into the country’s workings over the next two years. The goal is to adopt it nationally within the next six months and on an international scale in 18-24 months.

The Rupee symbol will not appear in the printed currency or the coins used in India, but will be part of the Unicode Standard and in the major scripts used internationally so that it can be displayed and printed with ease. India’s rapid growth and presence in the world economic market had made it increasingly important for the currency of the country to have a symbol. Especially since other countries like Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan also shared the word ‘rupee’ to denote their currency.

The new symbol was chosen because of its design capability to be part of existing software systems. The symbol will now be used on keyboards manufactured in India. Right now, as far as we know, there is no simple way to use the new Rupee sign while creating a document.

Uday Kumar says that he designed the symbol based on the Indian tri color, with the lines added on the top and bottom representing the Indian flag. The symbol is primarily based on the ‘ra’ of the Devanagari script, with an attempt to incorporate the Roman script also, for international appeal.

Udaya Kumar will be joining the dept. of Design at IIT Guwahati as Assistant Professor.

The report states that the private equity industry in India is very vibrant with over 1,500 private equity deals done since January 2006 bringing in $32.5 billion in investments. Industry estimates point to investments from PE deals being between $ 9 billion to $10 billion by December 31, 2010.

The report also adds that funds for important infrastructure projects needed to support the seven to eight percent growth rate of India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to be obtained in the form of capital gained from PE funding. The report mentions that India requires an investment of $1.3 trillion over the next three years to sustain a seven to nine percent growth in GDP and $60-100 billion of that investment will come from private equities.

An estimation of more than 135 domestic and 137 foreign PE fund managers in India is given in the report. It also states that PE investments over the last three years was calculated to be equivalent to 33-72 percent of the total equity gained from primary markets.

Private equities emerge as major sources for funds in crisis periods, with the main beneficiaries being micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The CII-KPMG report says that around 70 percents of investments from private equities in 2008 have been directed at MSMEs with a turnover of less than Rs 500 crore.

The report was prepared on the basis of a survey of 17 companies that received funding from private equities. Company management as well as PE firms were interviewed as part of the process to obtain inputs on the value addition from PE companies, other than the provision of capital.

The findings of the report also include facts such as private equity having a maximum impact on corporate governance, changes in the business model and professional talent management with a slightly lesser impact on development of the product and finding strategic partners. The least impact of PE funding was seen on financial recapitalization, creating spin-offs and new technologies and the improvement of efficiency.

Evincing keen interest in getting listed on LSE comes as part of Indian companies’ plans toward immediate expansion owing to the opportunities extended in terms of large merger and acquisition possibilities in London as well as in the other major regions of Europe.

A news report quoting LSE officials says that the London Stock Exchange is also foreseeing a hugely visible growth in Indian equity offerings on the bourse. The future looks bright for them with regard to the expectations of the Main Market and Alternate Investment Market (AIM) that they will be able to lure Indian majors from a variety of segments. The prominent sectors predicted to have their players climb on the LSE listings include energy, manufacturing and financial services. The Indian companies, in the meanwhile, are eyeing to garner many an advantage from the liquidity and profile that could come as a result of a listing in London SE.

Believe it or not, the immediate future, could be witness to London fuelling the growth goals of many an Indian company. “On offer is the world’s largest pool of international investment capital, highly liquid and well regulated markets, and a worldwide profile,” an official with the LSE has been quoted by a news report as saying.

The current scenario itself waxes eloquent on the goals attained by the Indian players who have managed to get listed on the LSE.

As many as 66 Indian or India-focused companies are currently part of LSE’s markets, and have together raised $5.6 billion. For instance, companies such as Vedanta, which has garnered the largest Indian premium listing in London with a $1 billion issue in 2003, are success stories in this domain. Besides, Tata Steel’s $500 million issue in 2009 was the largest global depository receipt (GDR) listing. Even when the global financial scene was in a shambles as a result of the slowdown, four Indian companies were at various stages of listing in the summer of 2008. Two among them would get listed this year.

To push the numbers even further, LSE officials and advisors are on an India tour organizing workshops that bring to the fore a variety of capital raising instruments, markets and trading platforms that the London SE has on offer.

The quarterly global survey conducted by the international recruitment company Antal International asked over 6,000 companies in 30 countries whether they are hiring at managerial-level and professional-level and whether they plan to do so in the coming quarter, too.

As much as 71% of the companies in India surveyed said they are currently hiring, compared to about half of that in September 2009.

The survey report by Antal International also said that India-based companies are planning to enhance their hiring activity even more – with 78% of them intending to hire managerial staff over the next 3 months.

Nigeria – at 79% – is the only country that has a hiring rate higher than that of India’s.

Joseph Devasia, managing partner of Antal International, said in a statement that “confidence is back at its peak in India’s job markets” and that “it’s happy days again for job-seekers.”

The manufacturing and automobile sectors – along with the traditional FMCG, IT, pharmaceutical companies – have stepped up hiring, in contrast to what was seen in Antal’s previous survey, Joseph Devasia said. The increased in hiring activity, according to him, indicates that the need for “exceptional talent” is now more than ever.

On the hiring situation in India, the survey report stated that, combined with “a very low rate of letting people go (16%, and set to fall by a further 3%) the results indicate a “strong employment market which is improving all the time.”

The global survey conducted by Antal International revealed that China and Pakistan, too, have high rates of hiring – at 71% and 70%, respectively. While China foresees a rise in recruitment activity, Pakistan has predicted a decline in hiring activity by 25%, according to the survey.

The Antal report said that though globally some countries are still seeing a drop in the job market, the global picture has certainly improved again. As a result of this, according to Tony Goodwin, CEO of Antal International, there are already the first clear signs of companies once again thinking in terms of the “war for talent.”

Meanwhile, the 5th IDC-Dataquest T-School 2009 survey has shown that the worldwide economic recession has caused a decrease in the placement of engineering graduates in India – with only very few technology schools reporting 100% placement.

According to the survey, there has been a drop, on an average, of 11% in the placement of engineering graduates from 111 technology schools in India in 2009, compared to the previous year, except for 16 of them which achieved 100% absorption.

Of the 54 companies which visited the campuses of technical schools, over half were from the information technology sector and the business process outsourcing (BPO) sector.

Photo: Som Mittal, Nasscom chief

According to Som Mittal, president of the National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom), the country is already witnessing changes in trends that had been anticipated.

The economic activity in the country is apparently speeding up, the technology companies are hiring again, and acquisitions and mergers are on the cards.

On the many acquisitions that the business process outsourcing (BPO) firms are considering, Som Mittal said the BPO industry in India has been mainly eying countries like China and in Europe.

There are come factors, he added, based on which Indian companies look for acquisition, like seeking “to eave their footprints” on the English-speaking regions of the world. India has now attained the window to acquire capabilities in the English-speaking countries, since as much as 80% of the firms at present comes from those regions.

Though the first half of the fiscal has been rather flat, the vector has been right, and hence the anticipation of more growth this year as well as of a double-digit growth in the next fiscal, Mittal told reporters on the sidelines of the India Economic Forum of the World Economic Summit held in New Delhi.

The IT industry, however, is unlikely attain the huge growth rate it had recorded till 2007.

The growth rate of around 30% achieved for an entire decade is very hard to maintain, Som Mittal said. The IT sector, in the next 10-12 years, will get bigger at a compounded annual growth rate of 14% – that is, it is estimated to jump from the $50 billion in 2008 to around $225 billion.

The IT industry can achieve this goal only if it enhances its capabilities to meet the rising demand, Mittal warned, adding that, instead of functioning only in 6 major cities, the IT industry should move to 43 other cities that have been identified.

Even as Nasscom is upbeat about growth in the IT sector returning to good growth, Som Mittal said that it was too early to revise the guidance upwards.

The technology company Accenture has announced that it will raise its staff strength by 8,000 in 2010, mainly in the analytics department.

Infosys BPO, the back-office wing of Infosys Technologies, has said it will hire nearly 2,000 people by the end of this fiscal.

These growth figures were lower than the net profit of 24 per cent, posted in April-June 2009, in comparison to the same quarter in 2008.

Reports say that four operators, including Etisalat, are poised to enter the already crowded Indian market, in 2009.

Tata DoCoMo, a joint venture of  India’s Tata Teleservices Ltd. and Japan’s largest wireless operator NTT DoCoMo Inc, that was launched in India in June 2009, has already stolen a march over Bharti Airtel by signing up more subscribers in the third quarter.

Tata DoCoMo’s plan to charge per second for calls, unlike other operators who charge per minute, has enabled it to garner more subscribers.

Meanwhile, Vodafone’s market share has grown to 17.7 per cent at the end of August 2009 from 17.3 percent during the same period, in 2008.

During the same period, Airtel’s market share fell from 24.5 per cent to 23.6 percent. Reliance, which also cut down its prices, increased its market share from 17.8 per cent to 18.4 per cent over the past one year.

Akhil Gupta, deputy chief executive officer of parent Bharti Enterprises Pvt., is reported to have said that Bharti Airtel is looking at emerging markets and plans to expand its non-mobile businesses, such as data and direct-to-home broadcasting.

Apart from cutting jobs, Versace aims to rationalize production facilities, review its store network, reduce capital investment in 2010, and cut overheads as part of its reorganization plan.

Versace will lay off 350 employees, out of its 1,360 employees working globally.

Versace, famous for its Medusa head logo, is working towards boosting its bottom line in the year 2011. To achieve this goal, Versace has taken certain measures that it will execute in the  middle of 2010.

The company plans to rebuild its Japanese operations and is re-evaluating the entire strategy of the company, said Versace earlier in October 2009.

Design head Donatella Versace, her brother Santo and her daughter Allegra own Versace.

Donatella, who is in charge of the fashion collection designs, is more focused in wearable outfits than Versace’s trademark glitz and gold.

“Trading conditions in the wake of the global financial crisis have been severe and the company expects to make a loss in 2009,” said Gian Giacomo Ferraris, chief executive of Versace, since June 2009.

“No organization can allow a situation like this to continue, especially considering the flat outlook for 2010.”

“It is rather unfortunate that due to the continued economic constraints and business outlook, we do not anticipate that we will have the ability to recall many of our valued associates within the VPP period.”

Around 8,000 employees have become a part of the virtual pool that was formed on June 11, 2009. On that day Vineet Nayyar, CEO, Tech Mahindra had said that the VPP employees will be provided with  basic salary, PF and medical insurance.

The six-month period of VPP will come to an end in December, 2009. Since the company does not have enough projects to accommodate all VPP employees, it has sent a two-month notice to over 5000 employees as per the employment contract.

The reason for the axing is believed to be the lack of enough projects to accommodate all the employees.

A Mahindra Satyam spokesperson denied the news regarding layoffs and said that the company has taken 1,500 associates from the virtual pool.

Elinor Ostrom, Research Professor of Arizona State University in the United States, has become the first woman to win the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences since it was established in 1968. She is also the fifth woman to be awarded a Nobel Prize in 2009 – which is a record in the history of the Nobel Prize.

Also, 2009 was also a very strong year for the United States – with 11 American citizens (some of them with dual nationality) among the 13 winners of Nobel Prizes. The American list includes President Barack Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences noted that, over the past 3 decades, the work done by Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson had “advanced research in economic governance from the fringe to the forefront of scientific attention” and that their research showed that “economic analysis can shed light on most forms of social organisation.”

According to the two Nobel laureates, issues of governance have been at the heart of the current global economic crisis. They believe that failure by boards of directors, for example, to “police excessive compensation” or prevent bonuses that reward excessive risk-taking could be considered as an issue of corporate governance.

Elinor Ostrom, working from the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, of Indiana University, has focused her career on studying the interaction of people and natural resources. “Going against the common theory, Ostrom proved how common resources can be successfully managed by the groups using it,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in its citation.

The work by Oliver E Williamson, 77, who is at the Walter A Haas School of Business, of the University of California, Berkeley, is centred on the boundaries of the ‘firm’ and the reasons for economic activity inside of firms. He sought to know the answers to these questions: “Why is there so much vertical integration in the marketplace; why don’t all of us just work for ourselves and sign contracts with each other instead of working together inside of a big company?”

Williamson was cited by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences for his studies on how organisations – including companies – are structured and how that “affects the cost of doing business.”

The Academy went on to say the theory of Oliver E Williamson states that “big private corporations exist primarily because they are efficient; they are established since they make owners, workers, customers and suppliers better off than they would be under alternative institutional arrangements.”

According to Williamson, even though large corporations may abuse their power, “it is better to regulate such behavior directly rather than with policies that limit the size of corporations.”

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences praised Elinor Ostrom for her “innovative work” in challenging the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and should be either regulated by central authorities or privatised. Based on a number of studies of user-managed fish stocks, woods, lakes, pastures and groundwater basins, she concluded that “the outcomes are, more often than not, better than predicted by standard theories.”

In one of her remarkable publications in 1990, Elinor Ostrom studied both successful and unsuccessful ways of governing natural resources, fisheries, forests, grazing lands, irrigation system and oil fields that are used by individuals.

The Economics Prize was the last Nobel award to be announced in 2009. The Economics Prize, however, was not one of the original Nobel Prizes, but was later created by the Swedish central bank in memory of Alfred Nobel.