News In Detail

South Africa to host IPL 2: Modi

NEW DELHI: South Africa was on Tuesday named as the host for the second edition of the Indian Premier League which has been shifted out of India
because of security apprehensions.

IPL commissioner Lalit Modi and Cricket South Africa CEO Gerald Majola announced the news formally in a press conference in Johannesburg. The decision to hold the lucrative Twenty20 tournament was taken after a meeting between Modi and Majola at an undisclosed venue.

The tournament will be held between April 18 and May 24, a delay of about one week from the original schedule of April 10, 2009.

Six venues have been identified for staging the eight-team tournament and the matches will start at 4 pm IST and 8 pm IST to make it convenient for Indian television viewers back home.

South Africa pipped England as the venue after the BCCI decided to shift the tournament outside India because of security issues in view of the general elections.

England was initially tipped to be the front-runner but the wet weather there during April and May swayed the IPL officials to consider South Africa as the preferred venue.

Another reason for England's chances receding is the assurance from South Africa government and CSA officials that the tournament will receive full support.

South Africa was considered to be a better option because the cost of running the tournament would be substantially less than in England and their domestic event would have concluded by the time IPL began, sources said.

Source from:http://ipl.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/4310555.cms


Satyam defers joining dates of 9K freshers

Citing global economic slowdown as one of the reasons, Satyam Computer has deferred the joining dates of 9,000 freshers to whom the company had issued offer letters.
"The joining dates of around 9,000 students of the 2007-2008 batch, who were given the offer letters during December 2007 to June 2008, have been deferred," a company spokesperson told PTI.

Satyam HR head S V Krishnan said in an email to all the freshers has said this decision was made after careful and extensive deliberations and only after all other practical options were exhausted.

"The scenario (slowdown), combined with the continuing volatility in the business environment, necessitates that we optimise available resources internally and critically reexamine additional requirements (for new-hires) on an ongoing, quarterly basis."

"While unfortunate, it has also been unavoidable. Added to this was an unprecedented set of events in the organisation, over the past few weeks, which has been most unfortunate," Krishnan said in the mail.

"The IT services industry in India and around the world has been observing the impact of the unfolding global economic crisis. The rate of growth, while mostly in line with the guidance provided for this year, is half of what it used to be in the past few years (around 20 per cent growth this year against 40 per cent or so in the past of few years)," he said.

A Satyam official said the move is clear the air of uncertainty among the freshers and the situation the company is in. A new owner of the company is in the offing. "So, the decision is based on both the current compulsions that the company has coupled with the global economic slowdown," he added.

Source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/24184741/Satyam-defers-joining-dates-of.html

Infosys offers employees option to work with NGO for 1 yr


Left without as much work for all its employees, Infosys is offering some of them an option to work with a non-profit organisation for a year and get paid half their salary by the IT major, its co-founder Nandan Nilekani has said.

"We've also launched a program where an employee can go work with a non-profit organisation for a year and we'll pay him half the salary for the duration," Nilekani told US publication Forbes in an interview published online.

Asked if Infosys was still hiring in the gloomy economic scenario, Nilekani who is also Infosys' Co-Chairman said, "Very selectively."

"In our industry, campus recruitment happens very early. Students who will be graduating and joining us this summer, we offered them jobs
last March. So we have 18,000 offers out and we will be honouring those.
"We won't have as much work for all our employees right now, so we're encouraging them to contribute to projects on open source and do more innovative work," he said.
Responding to a query on whether there are new opportunities for Infosys in the current crisis, Nilekani said that the firm is doing more business-driven projects, such as "redesigning the supply chain of a company".

"We're also entering new sectors like pharmaceuticals, natural resources and media, and new geographies like emerging markets," he noted.

Pointing out that 88 per cent of Infosys' revenues come from the US and Europe, Nilekani said that the economic crisis has impacted everyone.

"You can see it reflected in our guidance for this year. We expect an 11 to 12 per cent increase in revenues, and while it's still in double digits, it's a lot lesser than what we've had in the past few years," he added.

source From: http://profit.ndtv.com/2009/03/24191435/Infosys-offers-employees-optio.html

It's an advisory, take it or leave it: EC on Varun

Bangalore: With BJP deciding to field Varun Gandhi from Pilibhit Lok Sabha seat ignoring the Election Commission's advice, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami on Tuesday said it has done its duty and it was for the saffron party to 'take it or leave it.'

"It is an advisory. It is for those to take it or leave it. We have done our duty. Our duty ends there", Gopalaswami told reporters in Bangalore winding up his day-long exercise to review preparations for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections to be held in Karnataka on April 23.

He said the Commission has not given any directive but only an ‘advisory’.

Asked whether the EC had powers to issue such directives, Gopalaswami shot back "it is not an order, it is an advisory. Is there any ban on giving advice to people?"

Defending the Commission's action in asking BJP to withdraw Varun's candidature, Gopalaswami said "we have seen the tape, and are satisfied. Hence, we passed the order (advisory)."

The EC had on Sunday, while condemning Varun Gandhi's allegedly inflammatory speech with communal overtones, asked BJP not to field him from Pilibhit. The BJP rejected the EC's advice, maintaining the EC had no jurisdiction to make any suggestions on party candidates.

The Commission has been trying to educate the people about candidates with criminal records since 10 years, Gopalaswami said.

"You (press) have also been writing about it but what happens. Sometimes they get tickets, and win too. If we had powers, it is obvious, we would have gone beyond it", he said when asked whether the EC should be further empowered.

Gopalaswami declined to comment on Samajawdi Party chief Mulayamm Singh Yadav reportedly threatening Mainpuri District Magistrate.

"I don't want to offer my reaction without knowing the facts. The issue reached Delhi today and our people are dealing with it", he said.

Source From: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/its-an-advisory-take-it-or-leave-it-ec-on-varun/438472/