IT companies may lay-off 25000 employees

BANGALORE/NEW DELHI: The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) segment is the largest outsourcing vertical for Indian technology players. The space contributes up to 40 per cent of the revenues for some top IT firms. The industry employs around 3,50,000 people in the BFSI space of which the top six players alone account for 180,000 jobs. The domain accounted for $10 billion of the total $32 billion revenues the industry posted during the last fiscal. What’s happening in the global financial markets can result in the loss of as many as 20,000 to 25,000 jobs in India. That means, the likes of Cognizant, TCS, Infosys, HCL, Wipro and Satyam will announce huge lay-offs over the next couple of quarters. According to Dr Naresh Malhan, MD, Manpower India , about 9 per cent of the people employed in the BFSI, insurance, IT and ITeS sectors in India risk losing their jobs as a result of the financial meltdown. However, he says the overall market remains robust, with other sectors like manufacturing and construction still very promising. Not everyone shares this view. “Many firms will also use the present economic environment as an excuse to cut flab,” says Uday Chawla, managing Partner, Transearch, India. “Letting go of people in good times is not acceptable, but is sure to escape media scrutiny in the current climate,” he adds. But what is a threat for some, is an opportunity for others. “Merrill Lynch and Lehman are respected for the quality of talent they attract and train. It’s an opportunity for small firms desperate for quality leadership,” says Sanjiv Sachar, partner, Egon Zehnder. “Candidates are insisting on protection clauses, with employment letters guaranteeing 1 or 2 years salary. This is more the rule than the exception today. There is a greater play on variable pay in this high-risk environment,” adds Sachar. “Economy is growing at 8 per cent. The layoffs in the financial services will make skills available to other sectors which are facing a leadership crunch,” agrees R Sankar, head-HR consulting practice at PwC.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News_by_Industry/Credit_woes_IT_cos_may_cut_25K_jobs/articleshow/3493413.cms

SIMI and the three bomb blasts

On September 13, 2008 five serial bomb blast jolted New Delhi killing more than 30 people and leaving more than 100 seriously wounded. This is the third Indian city that saw the act of terror with in a few days. There were incidents of serial co-ordinated bomb blasts in Bangalore and Ahmadabad last month.

Intelligence sources had earlier warned that after the Indian capital would be the next target after consecutive blasts in Bangalore and Ahmadabad. This was together called Operation BAD (Bangalore- Ahmadabad-Delhi). This act of terrorism has been planned and executed by 'Indian Mujahideen' which is a part of SIMI.

SIMI or the Student Islamic Movement of India is a radical Islamic fundamentalist student organisation that was formed at Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, in 1977 by Mohammad Ahmadullah Siddiqi who is now a professor of journalism and public relations at Western Illinois University, Macomb, USA. According to Siddiqi, he founded SIMI as a part of his mission to educate and enlighten the Muslim community. Siddiqi said SIMI was set up to study Islam like in a study circle and to present Islam through lectures and seminars to students at colleges and schools. Siddiqi now says he has nothing to do with SIMI because the organisation has been taken over by radical elements.

Though the NDA government banned SIMI in 2001 under POTA, the recent serial bomb blasts in Bangalore, Ahmedabad and now Delhi show that the group is still pursuing its nefarious designs.

SIMI is believed to have 400 full time cadres called "Ansars" and some 20,000 ordinary members known as "Ikhwans." The last known leaders of the outfit were Shahid Badar Falah and Safdar Nagori as the national president and secretary-general, respectively. While Falah was arrested and charged with sedition and communal tension in north India in September 2001. Safdar Nagori now heads this organisation and is currently under arrest since March 2008.

Nagori has several times openly eulogised Osama bin Laden. He said "we believe that he has shown great character in standing up to the Americans, the biggest terrorists in the world". It has been alleged that in 2000, SIMI cadre drawn by Nagori’s network had began training with the Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Jammu and Kashmir. They further went on to participate in several major terrorist operations in India.

Intelligence Bureau reports say the Students Islamic Movement of India, which was renamed the Islamic Movement by its detained chief Safdar Nagori, manages to recruit at least 20 people daily into its various wings spread across the country. Nagori decided that it would be best to recruit more educated youth into SIMI. Techies were always preferred, he said. Not only are they excellent planners, but they always maintain a low key profile which was perfect for the organisation. The group called themselves the Muslim Technical Persons Organisation. The first of the attacks after the formation of this group was the Mumbai train bombings in which techies like Peedical Shibly, Yahya Kamakutty and Muzzamil Sheikh (all arrested) played a vital role. The latest name being Subhan Usman Qureshi alias Tauqeer. Qureshi's name was first announced as a suspect by the Gujarat police in connection with an email sent to TV channels using the Wi-Fi network of US national Ken Haywood. Referring to intelligence inputs , home ministry sources said Qureshi was in Delhi last month and recruited men to execute Saturday's blasts.

One of SIMI's deadliest offshoots is the all-women Shaheen Force, Nagori's creation. This outfit, which has elderly women as members, has been given the responsibility of brainwashing youth to join the movement since, according to Nagori, mothers are the best persons to convince youngsters.

Bihar flood politics

The Prime Minister of India declared the Bihar floods as a National calamity. Over 3 million people have been displaced and around 700 killed due to the river Kosi shifting its course.

"फ़ेल कर गया नीतिश हम खाना और भूसा भेजवा रहे हैं सब स्टेशन पर खिचडी और चोखा है, जाओ और भरपेट खाओ" (Nitish has failed. I have arranged food and fodder. At every railway station there is khichdi and mashed potato, go and have)
Laloo addressed a large crowd at Saharasa blaming that the state government has failed to deliver the relief material to the flood victims. He also compared the Kosi floods with Tsunami and added that a unknown number of people have been washed away and government does not have the exact figures.

Using his trademark style he said " हम लालू यादव हैं जिन्दाबाद बोलो ये नीतिश कुमार भी बाढ़ पीड़ित है पाँच बार बाढ़ से जीता और२००४ में बाढ़ से ही हार गया अब जबसे मुख्या मंत्री बना है तबसे हर साल बाढ़ आ रहा है (Nitish Kumar is also a victim of floods. He won from Barh (parliamentary seat) five times, but lost in 2004. Ever since he became chief minister no year passes without floods) and the crowd starts shouting : Laloo Yadav zindabaad, Nitish Kumar murdabaad.

Nobody is even trying to look at the real cuse of this disaster. The massive flooding and the river shifting its course has been caused due to the breach of Kosi barrage in Nepal. This Barrage was made after an agreement between the Indian and Nepali government in 1956. The barrage completed its lifespan of 30 years in 1986 and was due for repairs or construction of a new barrage. Nithish Kumar tried to present this to the Prime minister in 2004. No one ever tried to pay attention towards this for nearly 22 years . Now after the disaster which could have been avoided, politicians have started using it as an issue in the upcoming elections.

Anti hindi but why?

In the early 1960's Tamilnadu was the first state where the Anti-Hindi sentiments started. In an address in 1962, the then Chief Minister of the state C. N. Annadurai made a statement opposing Hindi imposition, "It is claimed that Hindi should be common language because it is spoken by the majority. Why should we then claim the tiger as our national animal instead of the rat which is so much more numerous? Or the peacock as our national bird when the crow is ubiquitous?"
He also said "Since every school in India teaches English, why can't it be our link language? Why do Tamils have to study English for communication with the world and Hindi for communications within India? Do we need a big door for the big dog and a small door for the small dog? I say, let the small dog use the big door too!"
M.G. Ramachandran, the founder of AIDMK and former Chief Minister of Tamilnadu refused to accept Padamshree award of the Indian Government as the wording was in Hindi. It was due to the Anti-Hindi movement that the Congress, was wiped out of Tamilnadu in 1967 and the state saw the rise of a regional party known as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). Remember AIDMK was formed by MGR after leaving DMK. As the anti-hindi sentiments are still high in Tamilnadu, no national party was ever able to comeback in the state.
Now the reason why, I am going back in 1960's and narrating this anti-hindi story is that because I think Raj Thackeray is on the same track. I can surely say this because Shivsena had also lauched anti-migrant agitations lately. However, it was not specifically targeted to hindi-speaking people. Their ideology was based on sons of the soil concept.
Raj Thackeray is using the anti-hindi formula to gain a political ground in Maharashtra. His newly formed political group Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is only targeting people from hindi speaking states. This inludes the biggest name in the Indian film industry that is Amitabh Bacchan. Now what he gains from this is obvious.