Two in every five Indian companies plan to hire in the first quarter of 2010, a survey revealed, giving yet another indication of the high confidence levels among the country’s corporate after the economy staged a faster-than-expected recovery from the slowdown.

According to a global survey conducted by consulting firm Manpower, India topped the list of countries in intention to recruit for the January-March period next year. The survey showed that Indian companies are more bullish about the future, with the number for January-March period reporting increased intention to hire than the quarter ending December 2009.

The service sector witnessed the biggest jump in hiring intent, with 20 points over the last survey. Bullish hiring intention was also spotted in sectors such as public administration, education, mining and construction. Companies in finance, insurance and wholesale & retail trade also reported strong hiring intent.

The survey, which covered more than 5,100 employers across 30 cities in India, revealed that India’s net employment outlook stood at 39 per cent, the highest in the world. This is an increase of 11 points over the last quarter of 2009. The net employment outlook is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating total employment to increase, minus the percentage expecting to see a decrease in employment at their location in the next quarter. It also takes into consideration the seasonal adjustments in employment.

Among the various sectors in the country, services has emerged strongest in hiring intentions, with nearly half of the companies surveyed expecting to hire in the January-March period. At ZaaBiz the increase in employability is evident as more and more companies are using business oriented social networking platform to hire and it seems this trend is here to stay.

The Indian economy is growing much faster than even the most optimistic had dared hope with official data a growth of  7.9% in the second quarter. Not only is this much higher than the 6.5% estimated officially earlier, it bodes well for the future since it comes over the quarter last year that immediately preceded the slowdown.  It was a result of the centre’s stimulus packages and hoped that this would provide the ground to post at least 7% growth for the full year 2009-10.

The bad news may be that the better-than-expected growth figures will mount more pressure on the RBI to tighten its purse-strings and the government to roll back some of the sops such as duty concessions. For consumers, that could mean higher interest rates and more expensive housing, cars, consumer durables etc. Probably even fuel.

As you are aware that we have a phenomenal growth in Indian member base from Singapore and many business groups like Business Networking in Mumbai, Business People in Chennai, Business People in Delhi and Bangalore demanding a group based out of Singapore establish and connect with business people in Singapore we have recently launched this group. Our members in from Indian, Australia and other Asia Pacific regions who have business interest in Singapore need to gear up and grab this unique opportunity of networking

The focus of the group would largely be on business people living in Singapore or people who have business interest in Singapore and are willing to connect with the business community through networking to gain new business opportunities. There are forums like “Introduction”: which includes education, occupation, interest and hobbies of the members, “Business” where members can share learn and share business experiences in Singapore. Members who want to actively get involved and are willing to take a leap ahead to manage the group are also welcomed. Additionally, do let us know is your wish to add other forums of your interest and relevance. Join the group “Business People in Singapore” today to encash on this opportunity to network and get business contacts in Singapore.

Guess what’s going to be taught at the Harvard Business School soon — business models adopted by mid-tier companies like MindTree and Zensar Technologies which emerged unscathed after the downturn. And, among the list of personality profiles, the students of this high-profile B-school will delve into, will be names like Kris Gopalakrishnan, CEO Infosys, Anand G Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director of Mahindra & Mahindra.

David Garvin professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, is currently on an India mission, building up case studies along with his research associates, on these two mid-size companies. They are also conducting extensive interviews with top 25 senior executives of Indian firms to understand the distinctive qualities of the Indian business environment, organisations and leadership. Mr Garvin says the economic meltdown and the aggressive growth of emerging markets were one of the reasons to study more about Indian companies which have surfed past the difficult times successfully. He notes that Indian companies like Infosys take the perspective of multiple stakeholders, while in US where shareholders’ views dominate.

The distinctive aspect of these companies is their management practices.  MindTree has a distinctive culture, because they have a very strong value system, like sharing, and they believe in collaborations. Zensar has a got vision community, where a cross section of the organisation is empowered to develop proposals on major policies and issues of the company. You don’t see this form of empowerment very often.

It is not just Harvard which is interested in developing case studies on Indian companies. Indian School of Business dean Ajit Rangnekar said they are collaborating with Richard Ivey School of Business to develop 40 case studies on local and modern Indian companies. The institute, in collaboration with Richard Ivey and the University of Western Ontario, recently set up a centre for case development at its campus in Hyderabad.

Imagine accessing Internet in your mother tongue. It is possible now with the international body, which manages domain names allowing use of seven Indian languages in Web addresses. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), a global non-profit organization, has taken the decision to allow Web addresses in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi and Telegu. The decision was taken in Seoul, where a conference of ICANN was going on.

Till now, on the Web all domain names were available only in Latin characters from “A to Z”. Domain names -.com, .net, .org, .in - are used as identification labels. Now, users can type Web addresses in Hindi, Tamil, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi and Telegu. This is set to be a revolutionary move on the World Wide Web (www) that would dignify the presence of Indian vernacular languages on Internet.

Department of information technology (DIT) has confirmed that more languages would be added in the near future. DIT has also started giving free fonts in 22 official Indian languages.

The revolutionary move on the world wide web would lead to effective penetration in the rural areas of India, wherein internet adoption rate is extremely low due to the lesser known english language.

Seeking professional help can be daunting for small business owners who need it, but don’t know where to turn or who to trust. ZaaBiz business groups aim to fulfilling ‘Need to Know’ and connecting professionals to attract potential new clients by advising members who ‘Need to Know’. Additionally it also fosters business-to-business commerce among members.

“I’ve gotten a lot of referrals; most are business owners and professionals,” said Rahul Thanki, a real estate entrepreneur based out of Mumbai. Rahul is one of the leading member so the group “Business Networking Group Mumbai”.  The group has member’s base of more than 200 active members. There are no specific criteria to be a part of the business group. Any member on ZaaBiz business networking platform who has business interest in Mumbai can be a member of the group.

These network groups offer opportunities like reference i.e. refer someone or being referred, knowledge of a specific market or specific business interest, quality contacts, new clients and more business. Being referred to a network member can provide “a good transition” for people who need resources beyond counseling. There are members in the group who seek to offer services for free to get member confidence and thus newer clients, with whom they develop and share a strong business and personal relationship.

Business networks have become staples of local enterprise, small businesses and professionals. If you’re looking to expand your business, knowledge-base and connects do join in to one of our business networking groups on ZaaBiz

According to the Hindu calendar, ‘No Moon Day’ is considered best day for celebrating Diwali. Diwali falls either in the month of October or November according to the English calendar. The festival holds an imperative meaning since the festival is reckoned with Lord Ram’s return to Ayodha after spending 14 years exile. Diwas, or small oil lights or candles are lit as a symbol of the victory of light over darkness, and fireworks are also set off in celebration. The Diwali starts this Thursday by celebrating Dhanteras – a day on which the business community perform rituals to get blessings from the goddess of wealth Lakshmi, followed by Kalichaudas and then by Diwali. The next day of Diwali marks the commencement of New Year.

Regional groups celebrate Diwali in different ways, but generally speaking, people eat vegetarian food for the holiday, abstain from alcohol, and indulge in lots of sweets. Diwali is a time of the year when families, friends and communities come together in a spirit of celebration and joy. Along with fun and frolic, Diwali also offers a lot of networking opportunities i.e. both personally and professionally.

On behalf of ZaaBiz family, I would like to wish you A Very Happy Diwali. As you celebrate this holy occasion, the most loving thoughts and wishes are for you. May the beauty of Diwali fill your world and your heart with lots of happiness .Have a prosperous Diwali. Hope this festival of lights, brings you every joy and happiness. May the lamps of joy, illuminate your life and fill your days with the bright sparkles of peace, mirth and goodwill, because you are someone who deserves life’s best and so much more.

A recent survey of the internet usage among Indians by ‘Google Trends’ – a search trend service by Google, depicts that Indians search for topics that enable them make money through internet. The research explores Indians searching for terms like ‘Stock Market’, ‘Bear Market’, ‘Bull Market’, ‘Finance Jobs’ and ‘IT Jobs’.

‘Share Market’ a term popular in India is most searched on internet by Indians either living in India or NRI’s living in countries like Singapore and HongKong. Interestingly, surfers from Oman are also interested in Indian Stock Market. The term ‘Indian Shares’, is most searched by Omani internet users followed by those who reside in UAE, Singapore and Australia. Likewise, even the term ‘Indian Equities’ is searched from these countries apart from Indian internet users. The keyword ‘Stock Tips’ is searched most from India depicting how investors value stock market tips in India. In India, the diamond city Surat googles the term ‘Stock Tips’ the most. From the research it seems that Indians are also interested in the NewYork stock exchange, as the term ‘NYSE’ is most by Indians after Singapore.

Reliance Industries is the most searched corporation when it comes to the stock market. The keyword ‘Reliance Industries’ is extremely popular among citizens of UK and USA.

In addition to the interest in stock market, Indians search for job online. Two most popular sectors seems to be Finance and IT. ‘Finance Jobs’ seems to be surfed most by netizens from Indian, UAE, South Africa and UK.

The word ‘finance jobs’ has been the googled the most number of times by net-surfers from Pakistan. India, the UAE, South Africa and the UK also figures in top search location list. ‘Bear market’ has been googled the most from Singapore, Hong Kong, the US and India, while the ‘bull market’ has been searched the maximum number of times by Indians. The term ‘IT Jobs’ is the second most popular term googled by Indians when it boils down to job search.

The search trends showcase that Indians are more interested to make money on Internet rather than spending time on listening music or streaming videos. Further, this research could be interesting for Business Networking companies like ZaaBiz which offer potential job opportunities via networking, tips on financial instruments and stock market via its business groups and an opportunity to network with members who have similar business interest.

Cheers!!! Keep Networking!!!

Leading companies in India are riding the current economic recovery re set to celebrate the festival season in a grand style with their employees by paying higher bonuses than last year. The chances are high that the employees might not spend, instead opt for few savings to counter uncertainty.

The country’s leading consumer durables firm LG Electronics, largest carmaker Maruti Suzuki India, two-wheeler market leader Hero Honda, top retailer Future Group, Hyundai Motors, Tata Motors, Toyota India, Samsung India and Haier India are all expected to give away bonuses anywhere between 8% and 20% of employees’ annual gross salaries.

Employees of these firms are expecting a better deal this year mainly because of the vastly improved market condition and consumer sentiment. The global recession hit India around middle of last year. The markets cratered, economy slowed down, companies cut costs and salaries, and people stopped spending. But after the stimulus package announcement by the government the market has improved and is still expected to grow due to attractive discounts, low interest rate and overall positive sentiment among consumers in the market. Consumer goods makers are targetting an even better 45% jump this season.

Samsung is likely to pay slightly higher percentage this time than last year’s average bonus of 200% of basic monthly salary. Haier India plans to give an average annual bonus of up to 12% of annual salary this year, 2% more over previous year. Maruti Suzuki will give out an ad hoc payment of up to 50% of an employee’s variable pay as festive bonus this year.

Although the concept of paying a festive bonus has diminished over the years, many companies, especially in the manufacturing sector, prefer giving such incentives close to the festival season. It is the time when they demand the most from employees, as they increase production and marketing efforts to maximize sales.

With all the huge bonus payment announcements, it seems India Inc employees are set to have a gala festive season.

Sanjay Jha of Motorola and Vikram Pandit of Citigroup are among the three who have made it to the league of top 25 highest paid men in the world. According to the list published by Fortune and compiled by executive compensation research firm Equilar Inc, Motorola CEO, Mobile Devices Sanjay K Jha with a total annual compensation of $104.5 million for the year 2008 was ranked second in the list.

While, Citigroup Chief Executive Officer Vikram S Pandit with a total compensation of $38.2 million for 2008 was ranked 14th and Dinesh C Paliwal, Harman International Industries Vice-Chairman, President, and CEO with an aggregate compensation of $30.4 million secured the 25th position.

The list was topped by Aubrey K McClendon Chairman and CEO of Chesapeake Energy, whose total compensation amounted to a whopping $112.5 million. Top 5 in the list other than Aubrey were Sanjay Jha of Motorola, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Richard Adkerson of Freeport McMoRan Copper & Gold and Bob Simpson of XTO Energy.

The chart was prepared by looking at companies with more than $1 billion in revenues. The total compensation in this case includes annual base salary, discretionary and performance-based bonus payouts, the grant-date fair value of new stock and option awards and other compensation. Besides, other compensation also includes severance payments.