India Inc is faced with difficult economic conditions and pressure of higher cost of operation is leading to lower profits coupled with delayed sale cycle is making it increasingly difficult to provide higher appraisal percentage in the year 2012.
A recent article on economic time suggested that the salary appraisal number in the year 2012 will be in tune with last year and could range between 10%-15%

Below is industry wise suggested appraisal numbers

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Even the telecom and petroleum ministry also consider Aadhaar as a valid KYC norm for issue of SIM cards and cooking gas connections.

I urge everyone to apply for the card if not already applied as the faster we all are on the system the better is it for all of us. You can read the complete process of applying for the unique identification car here

Aadhar UID project touches one crore applications

In just nine months since the launch of the Aadhaar project in Maharashtra, UIDAI has issued one crore Aadhaar numbers. 52 year old, NK Chheda from Maharashtra has the distinction of being the resident whose Aadhaar number was generated on reaching this milestone. Coincidentally, the first resident to get the Aadhaar number, Ranjana Sonawane, is also a resident of Maharashtra. She received her number on 29th September, 2010 in Tembhli village of Nandurbar district.  You can download official report on UID here

For detailed and correct information I recommend you visit the official site

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• It’s going to save me a lot of money as they say money saved is money earned
• I am going to contribute in a small way by not polluting the environment hence helping reduce global warming ;-)

I am writing this article for people to get accurate information and not spend time searching the internet just as i did. As there are not many source of authentic information for CNG or LPG conversion kits in India.

Overview of gas conversion kits in India

There are quite a few gas conversion kits available in the market most of these kits are either imported from Italy and Argentina and rest are made locally here in India.  Install only government approved CNG kits in your car. As when your car will be sent for RTO registration they will verify the status of the CNG kit manufacturer. There are two types of kits one with sequential system and other is lambad system.

The list of government and RTO approved CNG kit can be found here:

• Longas Italia (Installed in my vehicle)
• Tomasetto
• Tartarini
• Landi Renzo
• Lovato
• BRC
• Bedni
• Bugadi
• Navshakti
• Unitax
• SKN

Process of converting petrol car to gas is simple

• Identify the right kit for your car
• Make the most important decision to get it converted by authorized dealers or our trusted mechanics
• RTO registration of CNG kit
• Periodical checks on fine tuning the system

For better performance

• Now a days all CNG kits automatically start the car on petrol and then immediately switches to gas
• For better performance of your engine start on petrol and drive for 2 kms before switching to CNG, as gas is dry and does not provide any lubrication to the engine so when you drive on petrol first it will lubricate the engines

For installation of government approved CNG kits you should only trust government approved vendors. I have got my kit installed in maruti swift dezire from sai service which is an authorized maruti service centre

Pricing for installation of CNG kit in Mumbai is Rs 32000 from road side genuine vendors and Rs 42000 with authorized and reputed vendors.  If your car is under warranty then I suggest

Useful links:

• List of CNG filling stations in Mumbai and thane can be found here
• CNG saving calculator
• CNG FAQ
• List if CNG kit suppliers in Mumbai
• Automotive research association of India ARAI
• Vehicle Research & Development Establishment (VRDE)

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With Gandhi like avatar and ideologies Anna Hazare is bound to get public support and undoubtedly going to win the fight against the government.  It’s amazing to see how the entire nation gets behind one individual and accepts him as their leader. As i write this article million of Indians are gathering to stage a fight against corruption.

I have yet to meet someone who does not support Anna Hazare in his movement to curb corruption as it is the single largest issue obstructing India’s progress. There is corruption in entire world at one level of the other but in India is rampant and its present at all levels.

Citizen of India need to be careful at this stage as there might be a lot of political parties, corporates and individuals with maligned interest and would like to take advantage of this situation and redirect our efforts to benefit their vested interest.

Before we blindly support our leader we should be clear of our objectives and know more about our leader.  Most people I met knew very little about Anna Hazare and his team and also knew very little about lokpal bill.

As a result I am writing this article and would like to share certain links where you can get complete information. These are official sites where you can get information

• About Anna Hazare
• About Lokpal bill

How can you support Anna Hazare?

• Take some time out and go to designated places in your city just be there you don’t have to fast to show your support
• Participate in march past organized at various location in your city
• If you can be there in person you can
  • Wear black band to work
  • Facebook badge for profile picture – click here to get one
  • tweet information with # tag on twitter #annahazare
  • Write about it on your blog
  • Create awareness by sharing my article ;-)

I understand that we all are very busy with our work and hardly find time for ourselves, but this is the time when we need to stand up collectively for a better India. I am doing my bit are you?

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The job market is tough and it’s even tougher for fresh graduates to get suitable jobs in the current market.  Normally this leads to frustration and depression and most of the students blame it on recession and how bad their luck is.

However there are few students like David Rowe of Cambridge.  A law student who got tired of send resumes to companies and searching for jobs via job boards decided to innovate.  David Rowe’s idea was to wear a suit and hang a sandwich board around his neck to market himself hoping that someone will notice his talent and give him a job.

University graduate David Rowe walks in London. Photo: REUTERS

“David Rowe, who has built up £20,000 worth of debts since leaving university, said he had sent out hundreds of CVs and offered to work for free but could not find a job.

The 24-year-old history graduate decided he would pound the streets round the Fleet Street area past law firms and investment-banks in a suit with the sandwich board round his neck”.  Source Telegraph.co.uk

Lessons that one must learn from David’s innovative attempt

• Accept that the job market is though
• Nothing is going to happen overnight
• Stop cribbing and start doing
• Don’t just get frustrated and depressed with the lack of calls from employers; find innovative ways to approach your target market.
• Think of yourself as a product and identify your target market and find multiple ways to reach your audience
• Prepare yourself very well – you will get one shot make the most of it.
• Have patience
• Cheer for the fact that recession is about to end and very soon things will be back to normal

The moral of the story is that when things are not going the right way, it’s time to be proactive and be prepared to march forward with persistence.

Related posts:

1. A must read for job seekers in current economy
2. Recruitment post recession – Hiring upswing round the corner, are you prepared?

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The first thing to hit during recession was hiring and recruitment and the first thing will pick up would be the same. Economy is already showing signs of recovery and that can be seen in the news that companies across the globe have started hiring or are at least positive to recruit anytime soon.  The timing of this post seems to be just perfect and I would like to share this useful piece of information with all job seekers and in as many ways as possible.  This is a must read for people seeking jobs in the current market.

1.      Effective job interviewing from both sides of the desk by Andy Lester

.

2.      10 commandments of job search by applicant blog

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3.      Leveraging LinkedIn for job search Maurene Grey

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4.      Rethink your job search by CareerTiger

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5.      10 job search attitudes that will get you more interviews by Brain Massey

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6.      Job search with social media and mobile by Gabe Zichermann

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7.      Converging trends impacting your job search by Steve Drake

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“government said the nation’s unemployment rate unexpectedly fell in July for the first time in 15 months and that employers cut fewer jobs“

The unemployment rate has dropped in US for the first time.  The reason I am quoting the US market as this is where it all started and the recovery will start from here as well.

The important question is that are you as a person involved in recruitment learnt your lessons from the recession?  Each one of us faced several recruitment related challenges during the recession life cycle and since it hit us without any notice we had no option but to be reactive.  Most of us thought the best was to beat recession was to cut cost and there are few who took proactive actions and identified innovative ways to tackle the recession period.

I am writing this to urge everyone to look back at what has happened in the last 6 to 8 months and formulate a recruitment strategy so that you are well prepared for the hiring upswing.

Recruitment Scenario during recession

Companies

• Slow down in business lead to slow down and in certain cases freeze on recruitments
• Cost cutting led to loss of jobs for millions of people worldwide
• Delay in hiring due to uncertainty in the market.
• Restructuring of various departments to stay competitive
• Forced Mergers and acquisition led to loss of jobs
• Companies recruiting during recession wanted the best resource at the lowest salary package

Recruitment agencies

• Loss of contracts / contracts not extended – leading to fewer clients
• Lack of requirements led to job salary cuts and job cuts
• No possibility of fresh engagement
• Rising bench cost of companies in temp and contract staffing
• Agencies with higher dependence on a particular sector faced were not able to spread the risk

Proactive measures while coming out of recession

Companies

• Initiate relations with their preferred vendor and provide them with transparent hiring plans so that they can be prepared for your requirement and not your competitors
• Start early that there is ample of highly skilled resources available in the market and are vulnerable about their next move
• Communicate your hiring plan with the junior most person in the HR team as soon as possible and ask them to take corrective actions don’t wait for the economy to get back on track
• Come up with innovative pricing model to pay recruitment agency , something like an pay per performance and not a captive commitment to a particular agency
• Try using social media for attracting talent which save tons of commission being paid out to recruitment agencies.
• Re-negotiate the contractual terms with your vendors; this is the right time to negotiate to your advantage.

Recruiting agencies

• Start building relations with the client and spend quality time understanding their future hiring plans.
• Try connecting and profiling your candidate base and keep them engaged in discussion about their future move, this will help you refresh your database and have them ready for the word as per the hiring plans for your client
• It’s the right time to get into newer sectors as virtually there has been very little interaction between client and their so called preferred vendors over last 6 to 8 months so this leaves a room for you to foster a relation. Beware your competitors might be reading this as well
• Explain your recruiters about the near future and how they need to be smart and be prepared for the upswing.
• Try using social media to attract passive talent

The recruiter mindset – Psychological danger

The world has been through the recession for the most part of last year and everyone is in some manner or the other depressed and frustrated with the situation around. If you are not proactive in addressing the mindset of your people then as they dint see the recession coming they will not see the upswing coming as well.  Start talking to your team about how the economy is getting back on track and how you guys need to be prepared this will set the positive mind set and they will be better equipped to tackle the upswing.

Yes the economy is getting back on track and yes the worst is over but it’s going to be a very slow economic recovery. Companies will be cautious and adopt absolute risk free growth strategy.  The recovery from recession is going to be painful but unless we prepare well, we will not be able to capitalize when the time is right.

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I bank with HDFC and I can vouch that they already have certain systems like NetSafe which generates a code which can be used only one time, along with that there is virtual keyboard that enhances the security if you are using a public computer.   I am sure other major Indian private sector banks Like ICICI and Kotak would also have such systems in place.  This new ruling will add an entirely new dimension to online security  and as per the directive issued by the RBI on February 18, also mandates a system of online alerts to the cardholder for all ‘card not present’ transactions that exceed Rs 5,000. The circular adds that banks would be penalised for non-adherence to the directive under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act 2007.

How will VBV /MSC work:

Once your card is activated with the Verified by Visa / Master Secure service, your card number will be recognized whenever you make an electronic payment. After you provide your credit card details online, you will be redirected to your issuer website and then required to specify your Verified by Visa / Master Secure authentication details. Your identity will be verified, and the transaction will be completed. Based on the authentication provided by your issuer, the transaction will be processed & you will get a confirmation. View the demo of how VBV/MSC work

How can you get VBV or MSC password:

• HDFC Bank
• ICICI Bank
• Citibank
• HSBC Bank
• Standard Chartered
• Deutsche Bank
• State Bank of India
• Axis Bank
• ABN Amro

With successful implementation of this enhanced security system  people can breathe easy while swiping their credit cards at various establishments like restaurants, petrol pumps and areas like  grocery stores without any fear as credit number, expiry date and CVV number will not be enough to make fraudulent transactions online.

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Original Post follows below:

2010 On 26^th June 2009 times of India carried the headlines “Infy boss to join the government as a cabinet minister.” I am proud of Nandan Nilekani for taking a though call (quitting Infosys) and Congress government making him cabinet minister.  Such events are very rare in the Indian context as we don’t see many corporate leaders leave their ivory tower and get into a government job to help shape the future of India.  In this case the government has taken the lead and have shown their willingness to embrace the professionalism and expertise brought in by the corporate leader thereby creating an opportunity to co-exist and work towards a better tomorrow.  Successful execution of this project will mean more and more corporate leader will be able to work closely with the government and act as a change agent.

The UIC project

Unique Identification Card project will ensure that every Indian will have a unique smart card which will act as their identification proof. This is a highly ambitious Rs 150000 Cr project which will include details like Name, sex, address, marital status, photo, identification mark and finger biometrics of every Indian.   More details on unique identification project.

The national ID card project (popularly called UID project) is expected to provide an impetus to the domestic demand for IT products and solutions. A billion smart cards for a billion population means a multi-billion dollar business opportunity for domestic IT companies.  Some estimates suggest that the project will create at least 100,000 additional jobs in the country in the next three years. The government had earmarked Rs 100 crore in the interim budget to kick start the UID project. The entire ID card project is estimated to be in the range of around Rs 1.5 lakh crore, with the first phase – which will cover ultra urban, urban, and semi-urban populations – offering an Rs 6,500 crore business opportunity.

According to the plan, govt proposes to issue a unique identification number to all citizens by 2011. The Unique Identification Authority of India shall own and operate the unique identification number database and also look after its updation and maintenance on an ongoing basis. In the beginning, the UID number will be assigned based on the National Population Register or electoral rolls. Photographs and biometric data will be added to make the identification foolproof. (Source Indiatimes.com)

The Scheme was introduced in early part of 2003 but the government has been delaying it all this while and i am glad and confident that this time around the project would be complete on time. Can’t wait to get my smart card.

== Update == 27th August 2009

E-birth certificates likely with Nilekani’s help

A birth certificate at the click of a mouse? It’s quite likely. The health ministry has started brainstorming with Nandan Nilekani -
the man tasked with India’s unique identification project – to produce e-health cards and birth certificates for newborns.  Source Economic Times

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• General Sentiments in the market
• Economic Recession
• Almost freeze on fresh recruitments across sectors
• Companies negotiating placement fees due to cost implications
• Revenues going down and costs are still at same (haven’t fired anyone in my company)

The core team here have been trying hard to find innovative ways to provide recruitment services and try and pass cost advantage to the client at the same time try and provide value added services. I have been talking to a lot of people and also following my clients closely on each and every development and this gives me a feeling that the probably the worst is over for India Inc.  Markets are certainly going to improve and India Inc will start recruiting soon.  My take is that probably in couple of months companies will be back to their recruiting ways.

Today’s Times of India has our Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh saying that if voted in he has an action plan via which he will be able to get the economy back on track in 100 days. Now this is a good election pitch to lure the voters but on the other hand I believe in what he says as markets are showing the early signs of recovery. He is a man of great respect and he having been at the helm of managing finance for India for many years this statement has a lot of value.

Personally I am certain that my clients will be back to recruit in huge numbers as I am already sensing with respect to my clients opening up their recruitments but recruiting in less numbers right now.  Having involved in strategic discussion with my clients I can foresee that they will surely start recruiting heavily (comparatively) in coming months.

In fact don’t take my word for it, get a copy of Manpower employment outlook survey here . Manpower has surveyed 72,000 employers across 33 countries and territories to measure anticipated employment trends between April and June 2009.  Detailed country and city wise report is also available.   According to the report India is going to recruit the most as compared to any country.

Early sign of recovery:

• Indian companies to hire 2,50,000 in next few months
• Indian outsourcing firms to hire more Americans
• Standard Chattered, StanChart to hire 2000 people
• IT biggies are hiring in huge numbers – Forbes
• India tops the list amongst countries that are hiring
• Hiring trends – The worst is over

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