India News Summary
30 June 2006
TVA Infotech News
HSBC pays for lax background check
It was a lapse that HSBC India made in a hurry and is regretting at leisure. The bank has discovered that Nadeem Kashmiri, the employee who leaked personal data of 20 UK customers and caused them a loss of almost Rs2 crore, had been fired by another company within 20 days of joining. HSBC has found that the certificates on the basis of which Kashmiri was hired were fake. He had been given the marching orders by outsourcing firm Accenture for this very reason, but he got away scot-free with this deception at nearby HSBC.The use of fake certificates and recommendations in job applications is old hat. But with increasing pressure on IT service and BPO firms to rapidly recruit the numbers to feed their growth and stay ahead of the competition, thorough background checks have become a casualty.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1038643
IT Industry News
TCS in Rs 1,300cr capex plan, to add 30,000 jobs
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will spend Rs 1,300 crore on capital expenditure and add 30,000 new employees to its existing 60,000 workforce this year. TCS grew at 38% for the year and has projected a growth of 28-30% in ’06-07 in line with Nasscom estimates. The attrition of the company is at 9%, which is the lowest in the industry but Ratan Tata, the chairman, said that it may go up considering the growing demand of IT professionals.The company plans to add another 30,000 employees to its existing employee base of more than 60,000, said S Ramadorai, CEO and MD, TCS. Of this, 3,900 have already been added in the first quarter and another 2,800 offers have been made, he added.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690822.cms
Wipro BPO to expand int'l footprint to include Vietnam
Wipro BPO is planning to start a new centre in Vietnam. This makes the company the latest to join a long list of companies exploring cheaper destinations to cut costs. After Romania, this is the second global destination that the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider will be setting up operations in. While the company angles for large outsourcing projects, it believes a global footprint will help it achieve this.
Companies which have already taken the Wipro route include ICICI OneSource. ICICI OneSource, recently announced its decision to explore China and Vietnam. Genpact, meanwhile, has set up a base in China. Similarly, two BPOs, WNS, Quatrro and Office Tiger have a centre each in Sri Lanka.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690877.cms
OrangeScape Launches Dimension HR
Software product company OrangeScape Technologies has recently launched Dimension HR, which is an HR application suite targeted mainly to the IT, ITES and BFSI Industries in India. The company partnered with Team Computers last month to market its product in India. Suresh Sambandam, Founder & CEO, OrangeScape Technologies, told that Dimension HR Portal is a 100% customizable web-based portal that automates all the interactions between the recruitment team, hiring managers and interviewers.
http://www.cxotoday.com/cxo/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=74267&cat_id=911
BPO costs likely to go down soon
Software exporters, BPO units and IT enabled industries may soon see their operating costs reduce significantly as bandwidth rates are likely to see a significant reduction soon. This is because, the government is ‘actively considering’ and is likely to accept the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) recommendation to fix and regulate cost-based access charges to submarine landing stations, which carry international bandwidth to India.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690869.cms
BPO can`t be the only engine to drive growth
Even as estimates of business process outsourcing have been projected to increase from $570 billion in 2002 to $1,200 billion in 2006, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report called ‘Trade on Human Terms’ has pointed out that global outsourcing must not be seen as the only engine of growth. According to the report, outsourcing flows between countries are becoming more complex.
For instance, several Indian IT firms and some independent business process outsourcing (BPO) providers are outsourcing to other developing countries like China and the Philippines.
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=10&autono=96687
Baring to stay invested in MphasiS
Having booked good returns after part-selling its stake in MphasiS BFL in the recently concluded EDS open offer, Baring India Investment Ltd plans to hold on to its remaining 11.31 per cent stake in the IT services and BPO firm for few more years. "We will continue to hold on to this stake in MphasiS for another two to three years" said Mr N. Subramaniam, investment partner, Baring India Investment Ltd. "We are hopeful that our investors will back us in this move," he added. Baring realised close to Rs 772 crore (about $170 million) by selling its 23.38 per cent stake (3.775 crore shares) in MphasiS BFL in the recent open offer. In fact, Baring which was looking out for an exit option for some time now, had tendered its entire 34.73 per cent holding in MphasiS during the open offer.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/30/stories/2006063003080400.htm
Scandent to be now known as Cambridge Solutions
IT technology solutions firm Scandent Solutions Corporation Limited on Thursday announced that the company will now be known as Cambridge Solutions. This name change is a result of the merger between Scandent Solutions and Cambridge Holdings LLC, a knowledge-based business processing outsourcing firm that was approved on March 12, 2006, a company release said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690538.cms
30 June 2006
TVA Infotech News
HSBC pays for lax background check
It was a lapse that HSBC India made in a hurry and is regretting at leisure. The bank has discovered that Nadeem Kashmiri, the employee who leaked personal data of 20 UK customers and caused them a loss of almost Rs2 crore, had been fired by another company within 20 days of joining. HSBC has found that the certificates on the basis of which Kashmiri was hired were fake. He had been given the marching orders by outsourcing firm Accenture for this very reason, but he got away scot-free with this deception at nearby HSBC.The use of fake certificates and recommendations in job applications is old hat. But with increasing pressure on IT service and BPO firms to rapidly recruit the numbers to feed their growth and stay ahead of the competition, thorough background checks have become a casualty.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1038643
IT Industry News
TCS in Rs 1,300cr capex plan, to add 30,000 jobs
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) will spend Rs 1,300 crore on capital expenditure and add 30,000 new employees to its existing 60,000 workforce this year. TCS grew at 38% for the year and has projected a growth of 28-30% in ’06-07 in line with Nasscom estimates. The attrition of the company is at 9%, which is the lowest in the industry but Ratan Tata, the chairman, said that it may go up considering the growing demand of IT professionals.The company plans to add another 30,000 employees to its existing employee base of more than 60,000, said S Ramadorai, CEO and MD, TCS. Of this, 3,900 have already been added in the first quarter and another 2,800 offers have been made, he added.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690822.cms
Wipro BPO to expand int'l footprint to include Vietnam
Wipro BPO is planning to start a new centre in Vietnam. This makes the company the latest to join a long list of companies exploring cheaper destinations to cut costs. After Romania, this is the second global destination that the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) provider will be setting up operations in. While the company angles for large outsourcing projects, it believes a global footprint will help it achieve this.
Companies which have already taken the Wipro route include ICICI OneSource. ICICI OneSource, recently announced its decision to explore China and Vietnam. Genpact, meanwhile, has set up a base in China. Similarly, two BPOs, WNS, Quatrro and Office Tiger have a centre each in Sri Lanka.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690877.cms
OrangeScape Launches Dimension HR
Software product company OrangeScape Technologies has recently launched Dimension HR, which is an HR application suite targeted mainly to the IT, ITES and BFSI Industries in India. The company partnered with Team Computers last month to market its product in India. Suresh Sambandam, Founder & CEO, OrangeScape Technologies, told that Dimension HR Portal is a 100% customizable web-based portal that automates all the interactions between the recruitment team, hiring managers and interviewers.
http://www.cxotoday.com/cxo/jsp/article.jsp?article_id=74267&cat_id=911
BPO costs likely to go down soon
Software exporters, BPO units and IT enabled industries may soon see their operating costs reduce significantly as bandwidth rates are likely to see a significant reduction soon. This is because, the government is ‘actively considering’ and is likely to accept the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (Trai) recommendation to fix and regulate cost-based access charges to submarine landing stations, which carry international bandwidth to India.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690869.cms
BPO can`t be the only engine to drive growth
Even as estimates of business process outsourcing have been projected to increase from $570 billion in 2002 to $1,200 billion in 2006, a United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report called ‘Trade on Human Terms’ has pointed out that global outsourcing must not be seen as the only engine of growth. According to the report, outsourcing flows between countries are becoming more complex.
For instance, several Indian IT firms and some independent business process outsourcing (BPO) providers are outsourcing to other developing countries like China and the Philippines.
http://www.business-standard.com/common/storypage_c.php?leftnm=10&autono=96687
Baring to stay invested in MphasiS
Having booked good returns after part-selling its stake in MphasiS BFL in the recently concluded EDS open offer, Baring India Investment Ltd plans to hold on to its remaining 11.31 per cent stake in the IT services and BPO firm for few more years. "We will continue to hold on to this stake in MphasiS for another two to three years" said Mr N. Subramaniam, investment partner, Baring India Investment Ltd. "We are hopeful that our investors will back us in this move," he added. Baring realised close to Rs 772 crore (about $170 million) by selling its 23.38 per cent stake (3.775 crore shares) in MphasiS BFL in the recent open offer. In fact, Baring which was looking out for an exit option for some time now, had tendered its entire 34.73 per cent holding in MphasiS during the open offer.
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/06/30/stories/2006063003080400.htm
Scandent to be now known as Cambridge Solutions
IT technology solutions firm Scandent Solutions Corporation Limited on Thursday announced that the company will now be known as Cambridge Solutions. This name change is a result of the merger between Scandent Solutions and Cambridge Holdings LLC, a knowledge-based business processing outsourcing firm that was approved on March 12, 2006, a company release said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690538.cms
