Fire in the hole

You get into a hole in between. This hole where you have the power to view things objectively and yet somehow feel a sense of identity with one of the sides, which you feel the need to express in order for a larger audience to understand you. And by understanding you, you wish to bring about a change in their mindset, a slow measured change, however infinitesimally small. That sense of identity is, of course, being Indian. And that power to view things objectively may suggest on innumerable occasions you should be criticizing the very fabric of our society. Our dated beliefs, dependence on communities, our deep-rooted prejudice against anything that changes us and challenges our beliefs, our disdain for public welfare and a lack of sympathy for a stranger. But you dont. Thats for kings to do. The kings who have, in their quest for self-actualization and truth, embarked on a journey to be perfectly rounded, objective and scathing in their criticism of non-liberal and non-cosmopolitan views. Kings lose touch with their subjects. They fall into this circle where only fellow kings appreciate their wisdom. The connection can and should never be lost. Hence your identity as an Indian prevails over your quest to become a king. As an Indian, you move to defend, within a certain a realm of reason, the way we are. The solution can never be to change 1.2 billion of us. We start by stemming the rot of a few. We need our kings, no doubt. But a king should never come to rule us. It can only be an ordinary Indian, with all our abhorring flaws. As for you, the person in the hole, it will always be a challenging existence.

Paradox

Damn end of another season. Scantily low reasons. If only things didnt go this fast and this blandly. I seem to be getting a new point of view on things every few months. Thankfully the rate of change has slow down courtesy of age. Finally that thing called hope has been killed. Most often people ask, how can someone survive without hope. Well, thats the matrix-type funda. Well not really, but thats how you generate hope. Through illusion. Society calls it disillusioned and Einstein said something like the worst thing a man can do is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. Disregarding those things as it may not always apply to a common man caught in an unusual circumstance, safe to say the miracle of illusion works wonders. Same shit in religion and what the babas preach, except that I have my own illusion to survive without hope. What is it that I lost? When did the humanity of earth stop being dynamic? Judging people is one of the problems. If you continue to put the new people you meet into buckets of stereotype, indiscriminately, then there will only be a finite number of buckets and all of the world will be accommodated in them. It cant be this matrix type situation can it? I cant be Neo. Well that dude ended up dead and the buckets lived happily ever after. And the only people I dont put into buckets are the ones I meet when I am full of hope.

Quit whining or write about it #youprefer

Things always take the wildest turn you can never predict. At first it is new and exciting. I couldn't wait to discover interesting articles to read and fun things to have a laugh about. Then the focus shifted to people and how a lot of them could be creative and funny when it comes to dissecting day to day activities. Then it becomes about connecting and real-world worthy contacts. Then the unthinkable happens. You have misjudged and underestimated your own contribution to the scheme of things and the happenings around you. The followers arrive. Before you know you are under pressure. For once, you remember and mildly appreciate Ravi Shashtri's wise yet beaten words 'Its all about handling the pressure'. Everything has changed, the equations have altered, your own landscape has changed thanks to ever-changing preferences. It seems like chaos and a lot of noise. People come and go. A few drunken moments cost you dear. You finally have a landscape which you don't comprehend, you are not connected to, not reading or gaining a bit from, laughter is a thing of the past and a non-existent, fictitious, commitment to your followers. Your own short-comings are blindingly obvious to you and all along you have been learning lessons - more real world than virtual. Finally its all empty and there is no way out - your problem seems to be a combination of 283 numbers. Solution, from the beginning, never depended on the combination of 283 numbers but in finding your own unique, predictable, responsible and enjoyable balance right. You realize what you are not. You quit.

Things are better explained here: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article521961.ece

Am I an Indian?

I have always felt a stranger in my own country, maybe even held captive by forces beyond my control. But I have always known this is where I belong and never once gave a serious thought to leaving it. A misplaced moral compass has been a big aid to enabling this situation! Nationalism is over-rated. If all our people were educated and could live a life with self-respect and self-esteem would there be any real attachment to our country? People would find a lot of other interests to get attached to and would give no real time or attention to feeling proud of this country. The misplaced moral compass is what makes me feel for the masses who cant help themselves. The have-nots in this country have been handed a raw deal. This feeling of sadness and helplessness towards them is what makes me celebrate everytime India wins a cricket match or is shown in positive light in the global stage or when a Banking official provides loans to the poor in South Indian villages to help them start their own business. If you are educated and earn a comfortable living and can live with self-respect, nothing would turn you off more than the type of politicians we have - selfish and rotten to the core. Yet when I see people like P Chidambaram come on tv and answer his critics after a naxal attack, mildly honestly if I may say, I see some hope. Not that I am a supporter of him by any means. I wonder how such people rise to the top. Accountability is hard to establish in our system, a system run by officials who are too self-serving. No good should happen then but it does. A Koda has been side-lined, Pawar's business links are costing him dear, supreme court is pulling up Obulapuram Mining Company and an Arjun Singh is being questioned. This good makes me happy. Am I an Indian? Yes.

Please Say Yes

If you say Yes, I would be happy. There are a lot of people who disagree with me. They dont approve of the fact that someone can love something that is not human. A country. A club. A technology? Too many social media experts around for my liking! Am I compensating for a lack of something by over-compensating for it elsewhere? The world is full of cynics and believers and I have to say they pretty much cancel each other out. The cynics are happy just criticizing everything that they come across and not really putting hope into anything. The believers appear the happy lot, ignorance as they say, is bliss. If you are surrounded by cynics and believers and have an open mind to absorb would you be more inclined to become a cynic or a believer? What exactly makes an individual? I believe this has more to do with your genes than what you are being fed by your immediate surrounding. An analytical mind is a subject of your genes, a god-given misery. It can make a choice but not of its existence. If you spend all your life reading books and talking to the cynics and believers around you, I believe there are not too many scenarios where you will end up a believer. A cynic is the only outcome. Because a believer is born and not made, a god-given misery too. You will be oblivious to your surroundings as you are blinded by your beliefs, the origins of which are forever lost in your muddled, largely unconnected and unorganized brain. I dont know how accountability is established in this world as I forever think the evil is winning. I want to believe. So please say Yes.

Surrounding Influence

In order to perform at your best and deliver on expectations, you need an ambience...a place where you are liked and the music is per your wishes. I am not sure if people feel the need to perform all the time as it can become exhausting, but the ones with such a spirit and energy - even artificially created using stimulants - do feel the need. Maybe its a form of liberation. A freedom from not performing. Or a life goal, of global dominance. The later having few takers. If one takes this to an extreme, you would be performing all the time and the part of your character which doesnt do anything may be eventually overpowered. I find my ambience in a variety of situations, one of which is listening to music which has no beats. A form of sereneness and calm sets in, you say deep things in short sentences, devoid of any connotations. As you grow older almost everything can appear deep and complicated. Words cannot always capture the essence of one's feeling. Experience and change add their own connotation to your words leaving out the need for anything explicit. Performance varies as per the ambience and the time for which you have been performing. There may be an end to you performing. Maybe you loose the ambience or the audience. Jokes from 70s are not funny anymore though a deep few still go to operas. In time, people resort to set patterns which they know get the reception, it becomes a routine and is not a performance anymore. If you want to perform, pick the right ambience but dont plan, unless you are a mathematician.

The Rolemodel

A break can do you good like no other. Sometimes, you need to take a step back and have a look at your life, and you will realize it is a mess! A good view, nevertheless. A wrecked angle never bothered me, never has - its the the window to something beautiful, a perfectly symmetrical calculated imperfection. Imperfection is an art or the art of being imperfect is a beauty, whatever works. We are often bogged down by societal pressures and give in to our loved ones' demands and in this process move closer to being the most perfect we can ever be. I read once that smart people have a responsibility to be successful. What rubbish. Smart people have a right to exist and do whatever it is that makes them happy, which I believe is what everyone of us is striving to do. It might surprise you when you wonder what all things you have become a role model for? You will be referred throughout your life, behind your back, as a role model for a variety of things - a good sportsman, religious gym enthusiast, passionate photographer, humorist, person of strong values, kindest heart and most commonly a successful person. When you take a step back and look at what you are, through clear looking glass, from a wrecked angle, and you see the mess, you know you are amongst the best role models out there. All that is left to be done is to tell your story, meet the world and you will be immortalized through your stories, the places you have been and things you have done. So take a break from your routine, it might be worth the view.

You did not say that!

When in doubt, never wink. Thats the motto that works best in almost all situations. There is no denying that there is more to this world than we will ever know and we may never get to touch the limits of knowledge. Indian society places a lot of emphasis on knowing a lot of what you are about to do at all times. Ushar, the word in my mother tongue. Yes you can be ushar if you continue to do the same things living in the same place which you know everything about. Attitude matters when it comes to approaching unknown problems and situations. There are people in this country who are closer to you than you would like, they have business to do with you. If you believe everyone has an angle and every person has his character and place in this world, then you will end up having to know the entire population of a small village in your lifetime. India has a billion people and with development, each will be of their own type. Even science does not believe a person can end up knowing so many people. Blink and they will remove the carpet from under your feet. If this is the rut, knowing everything may well be a limitation while instinct is the only solution that fits. Better to say a mouthful of incoherent loopholed arguments without batting an eyelid than to find out what there is to know about the situation. I never get tired of all the negative energy around me. It may well make me magnetic, scientifically speaking.

Most men wont

Whats free will and freedom to live and express yourself in this country worth? We are constrained, domesticated and made to kneel before the one's with power, long corrupted and devoid of any morals. If only everyone knew the implications, there would be a concerted effort to make a change in the system. Otherwise, we would continue to have guys like Shashank Manohar coming out and openly expressing his thuggery with a contempt and an unparalleled and unchallenged disdain for the system and its people. Is it ok if bad things happen to the ones we dont know? How long before it happens to us? This country runs on low probability of bad things happening to each one of us. We are just too many, a positive thought outnumbered and surrounded by negative ones. Best shared with loved ones. We bite the social communication pill for relief everyday, though short-lived it serves its purpose and makes it easier to ignore the negative energy. Battles are for warriors. I met a goon in the lift of my apartment today. He lives a couple of floors above me. He threw open and left the doors open when he left the lift.

Stop, take a moment to reflect

When was the last time you stopped to reflect on your life? Most people go through life on auto-pilot. There are people around them all the time and life becomes this string of conversations and events that these people who surround you trigger in your life. To these lot, reflection does not hold much value. Reflections of your choices, events and conversations help you improve how you face the world. Life without improvements will be like doing the same mistakes again and again. Whenever I meet people who dont seem to have even a single moment of reflection, I just think what is the point of developing a relationship with them? It will just be dominated by a series of conversations and choices which are fundamentally ill-thought out, impatient and lacking any real wisdom and primarily dominated by them. This phenomemon of a lack of reflecting capability is closely linked to a lack of listening skills. People who dont have the capacity to reflect should listen to others and thereby learn something new and/or learn a new way of looking at things. The world is full of people who dont stop, who dont relfect. Not that there is anything wrong with it, like gay people, just a bit worse.

Turn for the worst

This blog, after 984 posts related to IT, and some creative copy-pasting, will turn its attention to me, the person copy-pasting. The man behind the keyboard of plagiarism. No this is not to raise awareness on media issues in India and how TOI have in the past stolen many a pics from innocent geek photographers,equipped with blogs and twitter accounts, and used them on their paper without paying or giving due credit. No this is not a fight for your rights, or mine. This is a beginning of something beautiful. What, you may ask? I've got nothing. You have wasted your time and my time by asking that question. Indians never learn but thankfully have a short memory, thanks to state sponsored costly booze, particularly in hard-working, low-earning southern states like TN and Kerala. My heart goes out to those people, the ones with short memory. I remember watching Memento and thinking wow, what a genius, no not the guy who finds the killer using his notes despite bad memory, but the director of the movie - Nolan. Years later he made a masterpiece named Dark Knight, poetry on screen, too bad the movie was not recognized by critics, as I thought he had got movie making down to a manual. As for guys with short memory, god bless, its fantastic to go through life without remembering anything - the people you met and the conversations you had. Life without memory begins with accepting the present.

TCS To Review Salary Hikes By Month-End

NEW DELHI: The country's largest software vendor Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Tuesday said it will review salary increment plans by this

month-end as signs of revival of demand in the sector get stronger by the day.

"There has been no hike in the current fiscal. The demand-supply situation, however, has improved over last year. We review it (wage hikes) along with the business plan for the year, which will be happening somewhere by end of February or in March," TCS Chief Financial Officer S Mahalingam told reporters on the sidelines of a CSI event here.

Indian IT sector was hit last year by the economic slowdown with companies world wide cutting their technology spends. This in turn, had led to many companies cutting jobs, freezing fresh hiring and no wage hikes.

Earlier this month, TCS announced that it would hire 30,000 people next fiscal, signalling that buoyancy was back.

Talking about expectations from the upcoming budget, Mahalingam said the industry, as a whole, wanted the extension of the tax holidays that are provided to IT firms under Sec 10A/10B of the Software Technology Parks (STP) Act.

He also asked the government to clear the ambiguities in various policies related to direct tax code and SEZs.

Is industry utilizing employees? Or exploiting?

Akanksha Prasad, CIOL

BANGALORE, INDIA: The recent Nasscom and other reports signal that the wave of recession is slowly receding. Companies are reportedly posting positive employeeutilization, but this is done on the cost of the employee. IT companies increased working hours, work pressure putting more stress on the employees, and in return, they were not eligible for over time benefits.

As Business Directory.com defines, employee utilization means "a method that attempts to maximize the efficiency of a company's employees".

Kris Lakshmikanth, founder CEO and chairman of Headhunters India, said that till 2007, the average employee utilization of the IT companies was less than 70 per cent. But 2008 onwards, the utilization went up to 80-82 per cent.

He said, "The factors responsible for this movement is reduction in workforce, utilization of the bench and increase in the work timings."

During the recent quarterly announcement, Wipro reported an increase in the utilization to 73.2 per cent in Q3 FY 09. HCL reported its employee utilization level moving up to 76.4 per cent in Q3 and that of Infosys came around 68.8 per cent in Q3. TCS reported the highest utilization rate of 81.1 per cent (excluding trainees) and 77.2 cent (including trainees).

Speaking to CIOL, requesting anonymity, a Kolkata-based IT professional, working in one of the leading IT companies in India, said, "Starting April 2009, our work timingswere increased by half an hour officially but one hour internally. If we worked for less than nine hours then we were penalized. But when we worked for 12-15 hours, we were not given overtime."

Lakshmikanth elaborated, "As per the reports the companies had increased the working timings by half an hour every day, which would come around an increase of two and a half hours in a week. This increase in the entire workforce can effect the total employee utilization to as much as five per cent."

Some of the IT companies reported to have increased their work timings from fifteen minutes to half an hour are TCS, HCL and Accenture.

When contacted these IT companies refused to respond, while others like Wipro and Infosys refrained from making comments saying that these timings had been around since long time.

According to them, these norms have been around for years, and it was just during the period September to December 2008 that they made compulsory office working of 9 hours 15 minutes and 9 hours 30 minutes respectively. In other words, every employee needs to work for around 8 plus one and half hour and on record, though they end up spending more than that.

Elaborating on the concept of increasing work timings, Praveen Bhadada, engagement manager, Zinnov Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd said, "For IT companies working on time and material basis, working extra hours means more revenues at the fixed salary of the employee, i.e. increased profitability. For fixed bid contracts, the work is executed faster – i.e. higher efficiency. Increased work hours reflect in increased overall productivity.

Another IT professional working in Bangalore reported that in order to show good performance and high efficiency, employees end up working for 12 hours, but still were not eligible to claim for the overtime.

She said, "Our targets were increased by double, in order to meet them under the deadlines, we worked for almost 12-14 hours. We were not only devoid of the overtime claim, but also the performance sheet did not reflect our hard work. This is the high time, when government should make strict labor laws and work timings."

Through an email, the spokesperson from the Union Labor Ministry said IT employees shall have a minimum of 48 working hours in a week but the maximum working hours have not been defined in the law and left to the discretion of the employer company. He said the department is examining the issue of working hours beyond 8 hours a day- without any extra monetary benefits.

Interestingly, none of these companies seem to bring back the gold old working experience of relief and luxury at work. Lakshmikanth opines that companies might continue with these policies for yet another six months, till they comfortably see not only recovery but growth.

Bhadada raised a very valid point that if the employee is stressed it can result in lower productivity and lower utilization as well. And this would soon become a challenge for the companies, perhaps one the reasons behind employee attrition.

TCS to hire 30,000 employees in FY-2011

10 Feb, 2010, 1300 hrs IST, AGENCIES

NEW DELHI: With improving business sentiment and revival in IT spends, hiring seems to be back in full swing at software firm TCS. Tata Consultancy Services, the country's largest software exporter by revenue plans to hire 30,000 employees in the financial year 2010-2011.

TCS CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran said, "China is a tough market for IT firms and the company was seeing business opportunity in Europe." The company is currently seeing an 8-10% growth in revenue from domestic operations and is eyeing a double-digit growth in the next two years.

Chandrasekaran said the company had signed a few large deals as well as a number of smaller ones.
"The financial services sector will drive growth. We expect good growth from retail, pharma and utilities," he said.

The company, however, expects a lesser growth from verticals such as telecom and manufacturing.

Chandrasekaran said the company will hike salaries of its employees in the coming fiscal, but did not give details. TCS, has not hiked wages in the current fiscal, but employees have received 150 per cent VA payouts in two consecutive quarters -- Q2 and Q3 of FY'10.

"We are on a path to hire 1,000 people. We have already hired 300," he said, replying to a query on hiring plans for the current fiscal. In Q3 of FY-10, TCS had made 7,692 net additions, compared with a net addition of 320 in the previous quarter.

Asked about the extent to which India would be affected by the US move to slash tax-breaks to outsourcers, Chandrasekaran said the matter is not an immediate concern.

US president Barack Obama last month had said his administration would "slash the tax-breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas" and instead "give those tax-breaks to companies that create jobs in the country," which sent shivers down the industry's spine.

This is because the US accounts for almost 60 per cent of the IT exports from the country are to that market.

"The regulatory changes with regard to employment and outsourcing in any part of the world is something that we have to watch every day. You need to see how to align to that, but because of this, if you ask me if there is an immediate concern, then the answer is no," Chandrasekaran said.

Satyam Probe Almost Complete, Says Khursheed

Chennai, Feb. 7 (ANI): Union Corporate Affairs Minister Salman Khursheed has said that the probe into the fiasco of Satyam Computer Services Limited is almost complete and the trial would take place in a fast track court.

Interacting with the media on the sidelines of a conference here Khursheed said: “The courts have been designated and I hope that it will move in the fast track as far as courts are concerned. We have given an outstanding team of lawyers headed by the Solicitor General himself.”

“Investigations are now complete, unless the court requires something more. And now it was for the court that what they want to do… I do hope that we will be able to show progress during this year,” he added.

Investigating agencies had filed fresh charges against Satyam Computer Services Limited founder and five others over an accounting fraud that hit the software services company early last year.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had also filed a third charge sheet against the six accused in a court in Hyderabad, where Satyam is headquartered, for filing false tax returns that resulted in loss to Satyam shareholders.

The CBI filed its first charge sheet against Raju and others in April last year, followed by another in November for falsification of accounts, cheating and criminal breach of trust, among other charges. (ANI)

IT sector boom results increase in demand for real estate sector

Most IT hubs like Hyderabad, Chennai, Gurgaon, Bangalore and Mumbai are witnessing higher demand for office space from IT companies.The revival of growth in the information technology (IT) industry is rubbing off on the real estate sector, too.For Santosh Kumar, CEO (operations) at leading property consultant Jones Lang LeSalle Meghraj, it is the revival of the US economy that has encouraged IT companies to start looking at India again for expansion.

Real estate players also report an increase in demand from the IT sector.Increase in the number of enquiries from the IT sector this quarter (ending March) is primarily due to the expansion in terms of hiring more manpower.Network Appliance Incorporated recently acquired a piece of land in Bangalore to expand India operations. Noida-based QA InfoTech is planning to move to a campus that will be almost double the 50,000 sq ft it currently occupies in three separate facilities.

With all large infotech companies back in hiring mode, there has been a spurt of activity in the commercial real estate segment.A demand for office space in the range of 25,000-30,000 sq ft from the IT sector is seen and this is definitely going to increase in the next couple of months.

Happy Times are Here Again – Indian Companies Set to Announce Pay Hikes

by sweta

After more than a year of money crunch, job loss and pay cuts; employees all over India have something to cheer about. As the corporates start recovering after the dreadful economy slowdown, the companies are gearing to reward their employees with bonus and pay hikes.

According to the latest report by Economic Times, employees across corporate India can expect a salary hike anywhere between 9 to 18 percent this year.

As per current trends, employees across sectors may get moderate to fat increments and salary hikes in the 9-18 percent range this year around. Pay-cuts, layoffs and heightened austerity measures are becoming a thing of the past, as it gets replaced with a buzz of promising bonuses.

The salary hike is expected in most companies belonging to telecom, retail, FMCG, automobiles and consumer durables sector. Last year a majority of companies had to bring down their head count. While many had resorted to a pay cut across the organisation, some had fired people in bulk.

Sandeep Chaudhary from Hewitt Associates was quoted as

“If we take a realistic look on expected salary hikes this year, it is surely going to be around 9-9.5 percent across sectors.”

He added, “Companies will focus on a more realistic approach towards salaries, as well as hiring.”

Where auto and mobile sector have been profitable and quite generous with their employees. While Maruti Suzuki is looking at a hike of 10-15 percent and an average bonus of about 100 percent this year, mobile giant Airtel is had offred an average bonus of 140-150 for junior level employees and 125 percent for senior level last year.

IT companies who have always been the highest paying sector have also decided on a good hike for its employees this year. Cognizant,SAP, VMware, Mahindra Satyam, TCS, Wipro, Infosys and Genpact are said to offer an increment of 7-15 percent at the operational level and 12-18 percent to the seniors. Wipro was among the first one to announce a hike of about 8-12 percent. At Stayam, employees can expect a hike anywhere between 8 to 20 percent and Infosys is looking at a salary hike in april even after a hike of 8% last year in October.

The job market which has been very slow for some time now has also started showing good signs lately. How do I know?

Haven’t you noticed the Naukri.com ad back on Television?

Satyam scam has hurt PwC brand: Global Chairman

Audit-firm PriceWaterhouseCooper has had a tough year in India, starting with the hit the brand took when the Satyam scam came to light. But the company is continues to bet on India as a growth market.

CNBC-TV18's Menaka Doshi caught up with PwC Global Chairman Dennis Nally who spoke about the audit-firm’s India plans and the road ahead.

Below is a verbatim transcript of the interview. Also watch the video.

Q: Its been a spectacularly difficult year in India, starting in January with Satyam and last few months there have been people issue in the firm. What is your outlook on India and what you are doing to be able to regain, a perception point of view, the number one spot?

A: Without question the firm has had real challenges in India but that has not changed my outlook and view on the importance of India economy to global economic picture. It’s clearly one of our most strategic markets. I think it offers tremendous opportunity for growth and we are very much committed to this market place for the future. We are investing heavily. We will add significant number of jobs in India this year versus a year ago – not only to service our clients from insurance, tax and advisory standpoint but also adding jobs in our global service delivery centre that exists in India today.

We are very optimistic about what the prospects are for India. I visit India many times and it is very important to me and to PriceWaterhouseCoopers to capitalize on what those opportunities are. It is a very important market for us.

Q: What will it take to put the brand back on track?

A: It is going to take sustained performance and nothing short of that. Everything we do is a matter of focus. It’s a matter of excellence, quality – everything that we are doing. We just need to continue to deliver, service our clients, respond to their needs, help them deal with their issues and challenges. If we do that and we do that consistently over a period of time the PwC brand in India will be as strong and as good as it has been in the past and where we want it to be into the future.

Q: But do you think at all that one-off instance like this can hurt the brand in any fashion?

A: Any one-off instance can do harm to your brand and that is the reality. Our job is to make sure we are doing everything and we have done a number of things in India to ensure that this would not happen again, we are very much focused on it and time will tell as to how successful we are really to make that happen.

Expressway puts hope on fast lane in Bangalore

Devina Sengupta & Shwetha S / DNA

Bangalore: Hours before the longest elevated expressway to the Electronic City was thrown open to commuters on Friday, TV Mohandas Pai, human resource head of Infosys Technologies, was talking about how the unclogging of the traffic on the Hosur Road would improve the employability for companies housed in the city’s tech hub.
He said his company had lost 15,000-16,000 workers over the last 15 years because of bad connectivity. “We lost them (employees) because they did not want to commute to the Electronic City (because of bad infrastructure).”

The country’s second largest information technology (IT) company has a sprawling campus spread over 50,000 acres in the Electronic City, with over 50,000 people working out of it.

The HR head of country’s the second largest IT firm said the new flyover would cut the time taken to travel from the city to the tech hub by 30 minutes, which would translate into higher productivity and revenue for companies located there.

“It will save at least half an hour of travel time and that means for 100,000 employees of Infosys — 50,000 hours will (collectively) get saved. Electronic City will become the best place to work in India (with the opening up of the flyover). It will also reduce the stress levels and improve performance of the employees,” said Pai.

And it’s not just him, who can’t stop raving about the benefits that would accrue to companies because of the world class infrastructure.

Babu Rangaswamy, director, best shore application services — India Centre, Hewlett-Packard Pvt Ltd, felt that the expressway would improve the work-life balance of employees working from their office in the tech city. “Employees can now leverage their time at work and manage a healthy work-life balance. The elevated road will not only help reduce carbon emissions, but also set the tone of improved infrastructure in the city,” he said.

Wipro’s Joseph John said: “The number of Wipro busses ferrying the employees will get reduced, leading to less carbon emissions. Time gets saved and employee productivity will increase.”

Srikanth Paturi, a regular commuter to the Electronic City, said his travel would now be easier and quicker. “Though I won’t be using the expressway regularly, I can still use it when it’s required or during emergencies,” he told DNA.

He was, however, sceptical on whether the new expressway would completely end the traffic nightmare that the Hosur Road has become.

“The traffic jam problem near the Silk Board junction will persist as all the vehicles will arrive there and get clogged. Though we will be able to reach the Silk Board from Electronic City easily, we may get stuck in a jam after that,” said Paturi.

Techie Anish Ratnam, a resident of Frazer Town, however, said that the expressway would cut the travel time by more than half.
Anand Rao, a software professional with a tech firm in the Electronic City, believed the high toll fee could be dampener. “I feel the toll fixed is quite high. Most of us work only for five days in a week. It’s not worth paying Rs900 per month. We would rather take the alternative routes (than pay the toll)."

Wipro says Finland ops rejig to impact 85 staff

BANGALORE, Jan 21 (Reuters) - Wipro Ltd (WIPR.BO), India's No. 3 software exporter, said on Thursday it was planning to restructure some part of its Finland operations and the move could impact a maximum of 85 people.

The company's IT unit, which employs 300 people in Finland, will start a consultation process with the staff representatives as part of the restructuring of its telecom research and development operations there.

"After carefully considering all possible options, the company has decided to enter into a negotiation process with the employees given the challenging industry situation in telecom R&D," it said in a statement. (Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)