Tag: IT

Salaries in India to touch nearly 10% in 2022, highest in five years: Survey

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Amid a blooming positive business sentiment in India after the devastating second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, average salary hikes are expected to reach their highest levels since 2016, according to a survey.

As per Aon India’s 26th Annual Salary Increase Survey 2022, annual salary increments in India could reach a five-year high of 9.9 percent this year. The survey analysed data from over 1,500 organisations spread across 40 sectors; it also studied the Indian business outlook with salary increase numbers and attrition trends.

According to the survey, India is expecting a 9.9 percent bump, which is the highest increase in salaries amongst BRIC nations –Russia is at 6.1 percent, China is at 6 percent, and the US is at 3.6 percent.

About 88 percent of the organisations in India foresee an improvement in business in 2022. This is 11 percent higher than in 2021.

In 2022, about 45.8 percent of companies are set to offer 8-10 percent increment, followed by 32.3 percent offering a 10+ percent hike. This number has come up from 38.6 percent and 27.5 percent, respectively, in 2020.

Sectors with the highest projected salary increase in 2022 are e-commerce with 12.4 percent, high-tech/information technology at 11.6 percent, and professional services at 10.9 percent, while sectors with the lowest expected salary increase are metals/mining, QSR/restaurants, and cement.

“Salary increases should come as a welcome break for employees amidst a volatile period. For employers, it could emerge as a double-edged sword when you combine the rising cost of talent with record-high attrition numbers. This trend is fuelled by economic recovery and the need for organisations to invest in new-age capabilities to build a resilient workforce” said Nitin Sethi, partner, and CEO of Aon’s Human Capital Solutions, India.

The growth of salary increment can also be attributed to the correction of freezing of salaries in 2020 and 2021. The findings of the survey indicate that organisations turned to a socialistic approach by balancing rewards for top performers and average performers in 2021. A 1.7x rise in performance rating was given to the employees that ‘far exceeded expectations’, and a 1.5x increase for employees who ‘often exceeded expectations’.

The survey also suggests that the war for talent has been about acquiring digital skillsets across sectors.  The current supply is struggling to meet the demand for talent. This will increase costs for companies and attrition rates may go higher. To combat this, organizations can look into providing permanent remote working solutions to employees, gig workers and campus hirings along with a greater focus on inclusivity and diversity.

Also read; What is the Great Resignation and how it is playing out in India

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Tech companies shift focus to untapped talent in non-metros, rural India: Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Demand for tech-based talent is usually associated with booming cyber hubs and shiny metros, but the COVID-19 pandemic is driving demand for tech talent in non-metro cities as well. The rise of work from home (WFH) and hybrid working environments has created an ecosystem where companies are looking to set up smaller offices across India, away from their main headquarters and centres of activity, reported the Mint.

“Hiring in tier-II and -III cities and rural areas is much more than just tapping into a talent base in these regions. It is about nurturing talent that is industry-ready,” M.I. Sohail, Head of Talent Acquisition, Zoho, told Mint.

Also read: Talent acquisition to get a major boost in the New Year: Report

The SaaS company is expecting to hire 1,000 people across rural locations, in addition to the 3,000 it had hired last year.

Companies like Tech Mahindra, IBM and others are also planning to bolster their tech base from tier II and tier III cities when India’s IT industry is ramping up hiring across all channels and a great talent war is being fought over more experienced employees.

Also read: Bridging skill gap, hands-on experience and more: How edtechs are improving employability of graduates

The rapid digitisation brought forth by the necessities of the COVID-19 pandemic has created a huge growth potential for IT companies, that are now looking to capitalise on this growth period by beefing up their workforce.

Emerging technologies like 5G, XDS, artificial intelligence, cloud, robotic process automation, blockchain, IoT, and cyber security are also creating the space needed for new graduates to specialise and command higher salaries with better job prospects.

Also read: IITs see best-ever placement season as war for talent rages on; pay packages too rise

“We believe the salaries of job seekers with niche skills will increase by 1.5 to 2 times in comparison with their peers. Big data engineers, cloud architects, DevOps engineers, blockchain engineers, IoT architects and cybersecurity specialists will be in great demand across levels of expertise,” said Yeshab Giri, Chief Commercial Officer, Staffing & Randstad Technologies, Randstad India.

The emergence of modern platforms that allow young professionals to upskill themselves remotely has also increased the scope of expanding the talent pool away from just metros for large IT companies.

Also read: WazirX launches new free blockchain course to unlock fresh crypto talent

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

HCL Tech announces plan for 12,000 new jobs in US

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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IT services company HCL Technologies on Monday outlined plans to create 12,000 new jobs in the United States, in the next five years. The company said it expects to recruit over 2,000 graduates over the next 36 months as part of its US early career and training programme, Rise at HCL. “HCL Technologies announces plan to create 12,000 new jobs in the United States,” a statement said.

The company also recently launched its HCL Apprenticeship Program, which offers full-time tech jobs and fully-funded higher education for high school graduates in the US. HCL’s US recruitment efforts will focus on North Carolina, Texas, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Minnesota and its recently launched global delivery centre in Hartford. “Qualified candidates will work across roles in IT consulting and technology, including agile application development, cloud, IT infrastructure services, IoT (Internet of Things), data analytics and digital engineering,” HCL added.

Also Read: HCL Tech confident of achieving FY22 margin guidance and maintaining double-digit growth

HCL Technologies, which employs over 1,87,000 people globally, has continued to expand its footprint outside India to bolster its 22,000-person strong US presence across 15 offices and multiple global delivery centres.

Also Read: Top 4 IT companies raise their fresher hiring target

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Expect volatility to pick up in Indian market; positive on large banks, real estate, IT: Emkay Global

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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“There will be a lot of volatility in the market,” said Krishna Kumar Karwa, Managing Director at Emkay Global, in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

There are many macro headwinds both globally and locally with inflation being the key macro factor to be worried about and interest rates hardening, these two factors will determine the overall valuations as far as the market is concerned, he stated.

Some sectors have outperformed in the markets. Karwa expects these sectors to consolidate going forward.

Also Read: Prefer auto ancillary, CV space; bullish on private, select PSU banks: Kotak Securities

“So, it is going to be a very bottom-up kind of investors market where the phase where only astute investors will be able to find stocks, which will deliver returns. However, to expect across the board returns would not be the right way to look at it,” he explained.

Return expectations have to be muted and it could possibly be back-ended, he mentioned.

Sharing his prognosis on the banking space, he said, based on all fundamental factors, if one has to put incremental money to play, it has to be in the banking financial services sector.

“Banking is the sector to be in – that is the takeaway we believe. The top banks and some of the top non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) where valuations are reasonable should be able to show stellar growth,” he stated.

Also Read: Building scale with profitability is big challenge for fintechs: Macquarie Capital

Karwa expects to see a lot of credit growth pick-up in the next two-three quarters as capex cycle picks up.

“Financials, which is also a Nifty heavyweight at around 35-40 percent, is the sector to possibly invest in where possibly the returns would be far superior than the benchmark indices,” he shared.

He believes the other sector which should do well will be the real estate sector. It has done well in the last six-nine months and should give good returns over the next 12-24 months.

According to him, there is still a lot of under-ownership in that sector and a lot of polarization as far as stock ownership is concerned. As investors become more and more comfortable, the tier-II, tier-III companies also in the real estate sector amongst the listed companies should do very well. Housing finance companies (HFCs) should also do well.

Also Read: Market witnessing spring action now, may be followed by consolidation: Atul Suri

“My sense is this, it is one sector which should give you very good returns over the next twelve to twenty-four months,” Karwa said.

Services sector should do very well, be it travel, restaurants or entertainment. “That is the whole segment where we have seen some rally but going forward, every quarter, we should see a very good performance,” he stated.

“We have been very bullish on the whole IT space as well,” he added.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video.

Catch all market updates here.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Taking Stock: Ashmore’s Ashwini Agarwal cautious on markets, advises playing real estate through proxies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The BSE Sensex made history on Friday by reaching the 60,000-mark for the first time ever as investors continued to accumulate banking, finance and auto stocks despite lacklustre global cues and concerns over frothy valuations. 

The 30-share benchmark rose 163.11 points or 0.27 percent to its lifetime closing high of 60,048.47. Intra-day, it touched an all-time peak of 60,333. Similarly, the NSE Nifty advanced 30.25 points or 0.17 percent to close at a record 17,853.20. It soared to a lifetime high of 17,947.65 during the day.

To decode this stellar rally CNBC-TV18 spoke to Ashwini Agarwal, co-founder and partner, Ashmore Investment Management India.  On the other hand, Jai Bala of Cashthechaos also talked about the technicals for next week.

On markets, Agarwal said, “Obviously not a time to be taking a lot of risks is at least our view, trying to play a little bit more cautiously than completely be in a bullish frame of mind at this point in time.” He added that the market has been climbing a wall of worry for one and a half years now and at every point participants have felt a little cautious that things are getting overstretched, markets are being expensive, the domestic economy is doing extremely well, the government’s policy support and those are the kinds of mitigating factors.  

“So, it is kind of glass half full or half empty depends on who you are. My sense is that there are sections in the market which are getting a little lower price and that is where we are,” he said.

Read Here: Sensex mounts 60,000: Words of wisdom from market pandits

On real estate stocks, Agarwal said looking at any bull market rally in the last few decades has led to an upside in demand for real estate. People make money in the stock market and they want to upgrade their lifestyle, he said, adding that the IT sector is doing extremely well, wages are increasing so the young IT professionals have to spend their money somewhere so it is going to be homes, it is going to be cars, and so on and so forth. He, therefore, thinks the demand conditions for real estate are extremely benign.

“Buying stocks of real estate companies is a slightly different matter in our view. I think a lot of stocks are already reflecting significant gains into their business in the next few years. So we would rather play it through proxy companies such as building materials, tiles, laminate, and so on and so forth. Not sure that we want to play directly through real estate companies. But yes, the sector will do well from a demand perspective there is no doubt,” he said. 

Also Read: As Sensex roars to 60,000, market veteran Ramdeo Agarwal’s word of caution

Meanwhile, talking about IT stocks Jai Bala said, “The frontline stocks are showing signs of exhaustion and we have identified three stocks in late May-early June—HCL Tech and two L&T, They have been on a tear, but HCL Tech has still got some strength. However, L&T names are now showing some signs of exhaustion.” 

He, however, added that there is rotation going in the IT sector, particularly in the technology-based education stocks and NIIT Limited, Aptech, and Career Point. “Career Point might be at a low-risk reward potential as long as Rs 150 is maintaining for the stock I think it is heading for a good breakout there,” he said.

For the full interview, watch the accompanying video…

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Expect profit to increase YoY; have doubled our hiring plans: Capgemini CEO

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Even as the COVID-19 pandemic pushed many businesses to a halt, it gave a push to break boundaries for some others like the IT sector.

Adoption of digital technologies accelerated the move on artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing and that has given new leeway for the IT industry which is looking to hire more people.

In an interview to Archana Shukla, Aiman Ezzat, CEO of Capgemini Group said he expects the company to have 14 percent profitability by 2025.

“We continue to expect our profit to increase year on year. We have been doing it for the last 10-years and I expect it to continue, sometimes it is small but every year we have been improving profitability except last year where we had a bit of erosion but now we are back on to profitability drive and we have targeted 14 percent by 2025.”

He said, “Our company’s growth is linked to the evolution of the use of IT. IT has been always focused around enterprise management – help companies run more efficiently. Now we have what we call the intelligent industry, all new product developments, all the operations are now digitalised. So the growth is coming because the use of IT has significantly expanded across the value chain in the companies. So we have to ensure that IT is not just a spend but it helps our clients transform and create value.”

Also Read: Capgemini raises 2021 targets on booming tech demand

He said the company has doubled its hiring plans.

“Compared to the beginning of the year we have doubled our hiring plans. The demand is tremendous but the challenge is going to be the shortage of talent in the market. There is definitely a talent war going on because there is more demand.

Watch video for more.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Positive on IT; expect financial, domestic themes to aid Nifty50: Max Life Insurance

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Mihir Vora, director and chief investment officer (CIO) of Max Life Insurance, on Tuesday, said that financial and domestic themes will aid Nifty upmove hereon.

“Some of the pockets are expensive; valuations are not a source of comfort, but if the market has to go to the next level, it has to be led by the domestics that include the financials, domestic consumption including discretionary, non-discretionary durables, autos, etc.,” Vora said, in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

According to him, the IT sector will be the biggest beneficiary of recovery in the US. “We are positive. The first leg of the big rally has been driven by the exporting sectors, by the outward-looking sectors and IT, of course, is the biggest one amongst them. The US recovery is really on a sound footing, followed by the other developed markets and IT is the biggest beneficiary of that. So yes, this should continue for a while,” Vora said.

Also Read: Positive on autos; prefer Ashok Leyland, Bharat Forge, Ramkrishna Forgings: Reliance Securities

On banks, he said, “Compared to some of the NBFCs, the private sector banks are looking more attractive in the broader financial theme, not necessarily bank index, but the overall financial theme. So there are financials like private sector banks, which continue to do well. One or two names, very selectively on the public sector undertaking (PSU) side, but the large private sector banks continue to offer good support and good value.”

He further said that the firm will stick to government themes in the industrials space.

Also Read: Maruti Suzuki announces rate hike from September; shares jump

He mentioned that the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) segment looks good hereon.

For the entire interview, watch the video

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Outlook on economy remains robust; prefer IT over FMCG: Envision Capital

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Nilesh Shah, MD & CEO of Envision Capital, on Tuesday, said that outlook on the economy remains robust.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, he said, “The outlook on the economy, the demand environment still continues to be robust. Of course, there is some kind of speed breakers coming in because of supply-related challenges and especially for those companies, which are part of a global supply chain, obviously are getting challenged, but overall, I still believe that the demand environment is very strong and as we come out or get used to COVID-19 and all of that, I still think that consumer sentiment will come back even stronger than what we have seen over the last three to four quarters.”

On investments, Shah said, “In the context of how the market dynamics are playing out currently, clearly, technology services as a sector could be the safe hiding spot and the concerns, which are there, globally, they are all around liquidity, inflation, rate hikes and all of that. In that context, IT services still continue to have a very stable demand environment, margins are intact, or probably they could soften a bit, but by and large, intact, strong cash flows, and valuation, which of course have kind of moved up and rerated but they are not as expensive as I would look at the other pocket of safety, which is the consumer names, the valuations do tend to be north of 50 times in that context, probably, technology services will continue to hover around this kind of valuations, and end up being a strong outperformer.”

Also Read: Indian economy rapidly normalising towards pre-pandemic levels: Kumar Mangalam Birla

“Auto components, auto ancillaries, is a much better place to be in. There are some really capital-efficient companies there, which have a very strong anchoring with some of their original equipment manufacturer (OEMs). In addition to that, they have the replacement market, the exports market, and obviously, will be still relevant for the new set of new-generation electric vehicle (EV) players. So relative to OEMs, we still believe that auto accessories, auto components are essentially a significantly better way to participate,” he said.

Also Read: Zero emission but electric vehicles aren’t so green as projected; here’s why

Shah further said that for investors that are looking for inflation plus returns, commodities is not a place to be in.

For the entire interview, watch the video

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Metal sector will see medium-term correction, says market expert Jai Bala

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Sensex and Nifty ended over half a percent lower on Friday and marginally lower for the week. The market snapped its two-week gaining streak amid concerns, which were largely global in nature.

In an interview with CNBC-TV18, Nilesh Shah, managing director of Kotak Mahindra Asset Management, said that he expects industrials and home improvement segments to outperform in the coming quarters.

“As of today, we have been generally bullish on industrials in expectation of investment spending. While infrastructure and government spending are visible, we believe led by cement, steel and sugar sector, even private sector capex should be revived over the next couple of quarters. We have also been bullish on home improvement segment.

“We believe in the residential market and in the home improvement market there will be good volume demand for tiles, paints, electrical appliances, cables, wires, so on and so forth. These are the two sectors where we can see clear outperformance over the coming quarters.”

He said metal being a commodity is bound to see some correction and a downward trend. He remains underweight on the sector.

“We believe metal being a commodity, prices cannot continue to rise forever. There will be a correction and a downward trend. Within metals space, we still believe copper, aluminium, steel, that is the pecking order in terms of attractiveness. So subject to companies, which are pairing down their debt or companies where spare capacity, additional capacity is coming on stream in near future, we have been generally underweight metals sector.”

Also Read: Metal stocks plunge as investors seek safe haven

Jai Bala, CMT at Cashthechaos.com, said if Nifty manages to stay above 16,160, another record high for the markets cannot be ruled out.

“If you look at the Nifty, the markets have one more leg for it to go up and complete the sequence. The form looks incomplete to me at the moment but as long as the index is managing to stay above 16,160, I think there is one more record high pending for the broader index. However broader markets are already looking toppish.”

Also Read: What not to do during a market correction

He expects metal sector to undergo medium-term correction.

“I am looking at metals undergoing a medium-term correction. I think the top is in and 5,300-5,350 was an important level for Nifty metals, it has come to that level and is showing charts of medium-term correction.”

Bala advised retail investors to move to 100 percent cash. However, he expects FMCG, IT, HDFC and Reliance to lead the final leg of the rally in markets.

“The strategy to adopt right now is, you should be raising cash beyond 50 percent of your maximum capacity. Retail investors can go to 100 percent cash. You can be positioned only on IT index or the FMCG index if you still want to play the last leg of the market. So, the last leg which I am anticipating for the market is going to be coming from FMCG names, IT index and if the weight is not enough probably from HDFC Limited or Reliance.”

Watch video for more.

Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on CNBCTV18.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. CNBCTV18.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow