Engineering entrances to be scrapped


The government is expected to scrap all engineering entrance exams from 2013-14. It has also come up with a novel idea of hiking Tuition fees of the students will also be hiked but the students will have to pay up once they get a job.


At present there are around 150 entrance exams a year including various state boards and institutions and the IITs. All these exams would be scrapped including the IIT-JEE and the AIEEE. All this was announced in a meeting of IIT Council (IIT directors) and officials from the ministry of human resource development (HRD). It was chaired by Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal.


He said, “There will be one merit list. Intitutes, including the IITs, will have to pick up students from this list. The list will be based on Std 12 marks and the entrance test results. Also, students will be counselled before they choose a course.” This test will be just like the common entrance exam for medical courses which would begin from next year.


A five-fold fee hike is proposed for IITs (BTech and MTech programmes). Sibal further said that the students would continue paying Rs 50,000 as annual fee, but they would have to “pay back” the difference money — the fee paid by a student and the money spent on him by an IIT after they get a job. They can pay in easy instalments. Due to government subsidy the current fees is nominal. But the actual cost is around Rs 6-8 lakh per student. 


SC/ST and OBC categories and students going for higher education or joining an IIT faculty would be exempted so as to encourage students to take up research work and meet the faculty shortage.


The degrees will be in a DMAT format. They will reflect the difference money as loan and employers will be told to deduct it from a student’s salary and deposit it with the government.


Source: DNA

Diploma in Child Rights, Child Protection and Juvenile Justice by IGNOU

The Indira Gandhi National Open University’s (IGNOU’s) School of Law (SOL) in collaboration with PRAYAS will soon be launching a Diploma course in Child Rights, Child Protection and Juvenile Justice. This was recently announced by Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU.

The course is structured to create career opportunities and to provide specialized training, understanding and working on contemporary issues of the juvenile justice system and child protection in the country. The professionals who are already working on the child related issues would also find it useful to develop the required skills. It would also be useful in identifying the appropriate resources and treatment plans available in the community.

The course is needed because in Special Juvenile Police Units, at least one police officer with aptitude and appropriate training and orientation may be designated as the Juvenile and Child Welfare Officer. It would help in fulfilling the need of legal mandate and keeping India’s promise to save the rights of children. A lot of trained personnel are in demand in dealing with ‘Children in need of care and protection’ and ‘Juveniles in conflict with law.

The course would benefit the lawyers, police officers, NGO personnel, CWC member and social workers.

This Diploma course in Child Rights, Child Protection and Juvenile Justice, is of one year duration and part-time wherein 8 courses (7 theoretical, 1 practical) would be taught. The practical aspect will include the internship in observation homes, child welfare committees and non-governmental organizations.

Educationist and experts from IGNOU, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Home Affairs, UNICEF, PRAYAS, Special Unit for Women and Child, Jamia Millia Islamia’s Department of Social Work and Save the Children (NGO) together are preparing the study material of the course.

The learners would to gain understanding of the basic nature, problems and issues related to child protection and juvenile justice. They would also learn to build capacities and commitment aimed at ensuring prevention, timely intervention and accountability for promoting a healthy childhood. They would get training in developing a synergy between theory and practice on issues of child protection and juvenile justice.

The programme also prepares the personnel to manage various positions for effectively implementing juvenile legislation; improve their skills and comprehension; creates and enhances large scale social awareness and advocacy; enables legal, administrative and social work practitioners to seek the creation of new law in response to the newly emerging societal needs and improves the institutional infrastructure for implementing institutional services for children.

NGO personnels (at least a graduate) working in various child welfare fields, law enforcement agency officers, lawyers, magistrates, counselors, probation officers, social workers, superintendents/ deputy superintendents of observation/ remand homes and other institutions providing services to children can join this course.

Though the eligibility for the course is graduation in any stream but preference would be given to the post graduate in Social work/ psychology/ sociology from a recognized university or PG Diploma in rehabilitation psychology or professionals having minimum two years of working experience with law enforcement agency.

After doing the course, the students would become eligible to work posts in various government and non-government organizations that uphold child rights and protection, curb child trafficking or deal with the cases of missing children.

Source: India Blooms

Finance and consultancy preferred by IIM-A students'

IIM-A students prefer Finance and consultancy as a career choice. This was revealed by the first final placement report (for 2011) released by the institute. The report is as per the Indian Placement Reporting Standards.

The Director of IIM-A said that after consultancy and finance, manufacturing companies have now begun hiring aggressively.

Jobs opportunities are on a rise in India since offices of the multinational companies are being setting up here.

Consulting and Finance has remained the most preferred choice by those who have pursued the IIM-A's flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP). There are 314 eligible students for final placements in 2011.

In consulting and finance 91 and 93 offers have been accepted respectively by the students.

The final placements process started on February 12 at IIM-A. There were 120 firms that participated in the lateral and final placement process.

The reports have also stated that the median per year salary offered to students in banking, finance services and insurance (BFSI) and consulting was Rs 15.30 lakh and Rs 13.60 lakh respectively.

IPRS has been adopted by IIM-A since this year so that transparency could be brought about in reporting of placement data and standardise placement reports across campuses in the country. This is expected to provide authentic data to prospective B-school students that would be comparable.

CRISIL has audited the IIM-A's final placement report for 2011 which is as per IPRS.

Source: Bhaskar

Jewellery designing to become a major career option by 2015

Jewellery designing to become a major career option by 2015 

Recently a survey has been undertaken by apex industry body ASSOCHAM, according to which the gems and jewellery industry in India is likely to reach Rs. 2.13 lakh crore by 2015. The industry is said to be continuously growing at a steady rate of 15 per cent.
At present the domestic gems and jewellery market stands at Rs. 1.22 lakh crore. It is expected that jewellery designing will become as one of the most affluent career options in Indian employment market. The reason for this is attributed to high growth rate in the economy.

There is even increase in the demand for courses related to the subject.  This was reported by the premier institute in Jewellery Designing, Pearl Academy of Fashion. Though jewellery has always been an inseparable part of Indian culture but the sector has witnessed major changes in product styles, aesthetics and retail environments all due to ever changing socio-cultural scenario of the country. There is great scope for the professional growth in this sector because of the India aesthetic heritage coupled with the industry growth.

More and more man trained power is needed in jewellery industry. If there is availability of structured training through a well developed curriculum, the industry could grow leaps and bounds with new innovative designs with different materials. Pearl Academy of Fashion offers such courses that equip students with comprehensive skills and knowledge in jewellery design. They are also taught about latest global design trends. They are also given experience and knowledge of marketing, management of a jewellery business.

After the completion of course graduates can be hired as designers in a range of business and manufacturing sectors including jewellery and lifestyle products. They may even develop their own entrepreneurial setup.

Source: IndiaInfoLine

One year internship mandatory for dental students

One year internship mandatory for dental students

Now all undergraduate dental students would have to undergo a one-year-internship before getting their BDS degree. This has become mandatory for them.

It is for the first time that the internship will also include a three-month compulsory rural posting. The re-introduction of a one-year rotational, compulsory and paid internship in the Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) course has been approved by the Union health minister Gulam Nabi Azad.

The duration of course will be of four years with an additional one-year internship. Though the new norm is going to be implemented from this academic year (2011-12), but it is also applicable for batches admitted in the 2008-09 session.

The Dental Council of India (DCI), in 2007, had made the BDS degree a five-year regular course and had dropped the need for any hands-on training with patients. The reason behind this step was the lack of seriousness among the students.

A ministry official said, "Students on completion of a four-year theoretical BDS course will have to undertake the year-long clinical programme.” This is almost same as that done by the Medical Council of India (MCI) with the revised MBBS curriculum.
It was also considered that most of the dental colleges in India are private. So majority of students wouldn't attend the internship and there were chances of obtaining a fake certificate by them. Moreover in the final year there were nine subjects which led to great pressure on the students. So BDS was made a five-year course without internship. But now it is felt that internship is an important part of the training.

The order by Union health ministry stated, "The revised BDS course — 3rd Amendment Regulations, 2011 — also incorporate three months of compulsory rural attachment. All parts of internship will be done in a dental college duly recognized/approved by Dental Council of India for the purpose of imparting education to dental graduates in the country."

Source: The Times of India

Ban on PhD and MPhil lifted

Ban on PhD and MPhil lifted

The two year ban on distance PhD and Mphil has been lifted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) after widespread protests by various universities. Protests came from many Open Learning Universities like IGNOU on the ground that their respective laws, passed by Parliament or legislatures, allowed them to provide such courses.

A meeting was held by UGC on the issue last month. There it was decided to lift the ban. The minutes of the meeting said, “An open university may be permitted to conduct MPhil/PhD programmes through distant education mode subject to condition that it does so strictly as per the provisions of the UGC Regulations.”

IGNOU vice-chancellor Rajasekharan Pillai has assured that they would follow the rules and their regulations are already stricter than those of the UGC.

UGC has lifted the ban but it has imposed another condition for Phd. It says that the principal guide should be from the Open University. The UGC had clamped the bar by notifying a rule — the Minimum Standards and Procedure for Awards of MPhil/PhD Degree Regulation — in 2009. All this has come up because UGC believes that research courses in the distant mode were of poor quality. 

The regulations would definitely affect the future of nearly 10,000 students pursuing such courses across the country. The academician who has been as to frame a policy on distance education, M. Madhava Menin said, “There should not be any blanket ban on MPhil or PhD in distance mode. If institutions meet the required quality parameters, they should be allowed to offer such courses.” His report would be submitted next month.

The other area of concern is the inadequate infrastructure of many open universities for carrying out research work.Regarding all this a meeting will be held on 15^th September to lay the appropriate guidelines.

Source: India Education Review

Licentiate Test for MBBS graduates

Licentiate Test for MBBS graduates

Those who now wish to practice medicine in future would have to follow up their MBBS course with a licentiate examination.

The MBBS graduates would not have to clear the licentiate India Medical Graduates (IMG) degree test, after a one-year internship if they want to do medical practice in the country. This crucial reform has been mooted by the Medical Council of India (MCI). This will come up for discussion at the national summit to be held at Manekshaw Centre, Parade Road, Delhi, on September 12.

After the acceptance of this proposal, MBBS graduates would have to complete a one-year internship in a hospital before they can appear for the licentiate examination. All the principals from medical colleges in the State have been invited to the meet who woul give suggestions based on the local needs of the state.

In another important move which is put forward by the MCI, there is a proposal of abolition of entrance examination for PG courses. PG entrants will be selected on the basis of the marks obtained at the MBBS level and the marks obtained in the internship to get the IMG. Students for the PG courses will be selected from a national-level merit list, prepared after taking into account the marks obtained in the theory test and in the licentiate test.

These new reforms would be optionally implemented from 2013 and would become mandatory from 2017.

Under-graduate students will have to do a foundation course for two months which would comprise of medical ethics, communication, health economics, biohazards and environmental issues, in tune with the proposed reforms.

There is also a suggestion for the introduction a new two-year M Med scheme at PG level. After obtaining M Med, students will have the option of getting MD, dual degrees, PhD and DM.

The draft paper of the MCI has also suggested that the number of examinations of MBBS will be reduced from four to three.

Source: IBNLive

Indian jobs market remains optimistic

Indian jobs market remains optimistic

There is a spurt of layoffs worldwide which has been triggered by tough business conditions. But Indian employment market, even in such conditions, remains optimistic about the buoyant hiring prospects in the retail sector.  

In India companies are now focussing more on getting the right talent rather than recruiting in large numbers.  

Staffing services firm, Ma Foi Randstad, is of the opinion that till now India remains insulated from the phenomenan of worldwidelayoffs happening at present.  Thus the Indian employment market seems "cautiously optimistic."

It is estimated that about 1.5 million new jobs are being created annually in India, which is way less than the number of people entering the labour market every year.  

Global HR major Hay Group's Mayank Pande said, "Hiring activities are still on the accelerator, with recruitments expected to grow exponentially in the retail sector."

Companies, in India, are now more serious about getting the right talent... many are looking for lesser number but more skilled and efficient people. Companies are also now weighing expenses before recruitment.  

Sectors like defence, hospitality, nuclear power and retail are likely to increase hiring activities in the coming years. Here, small and medium companies increase their workforce by about 10 to 15 per cent every year, while large corporations increase their head count by around five per cent every year, says an estimate.  

Many global corporations  like Cisco, Nokia, Research In Motion (RIM), Credit Suisse, and US-based Merck & Co have decided to have massive job cuts in the wake of tough global economic  conditions. There are also aggressive cost cutting measures that are being taken. 

American pharma major Merck & Co has recently announced their plans to slash around 13,000 jobs. In the same way Blackberry-maker Research In Motion said it would cut 2,000 jobs while Cisco intends to reduce its workforce by about 6,500. 

Source: The Economic Times

Outsourcing demand fuels TCS to hire 60,000 more

Demand for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)'s outsourcing services is increasing tremendously. The company has hired 70,000 workers during the last fiscal year and looking forward to add 60,000 more this year.
Tata Consultancy projects annual sales have quadrupled since 2005 to $8.4 billion. There are further expected to increase 20 percent this year.  Being the rivals, Infosys Technologies and Wipro are also rushing to find large number of qualified candidates beacuse global IT purchases are growing by 7.1%.

TCS specializes in using low-cost IT workers to replace more expensive labour in developed countries. Due to this it succeeded in having contracts with Deutsche Bank, Hilton Worldwide and Air Liquide last fiscal year. TCS which is regarded as Asia's largest computer-services provider by market value reported record annual income of $2 billion.

TCS' vice-president for human resources said, "What we're trying to do is make sure the supply chain is large enough to meet our growth requirements in the future."

Since Microsoft and International Business Machines are going to open facilities in India, and the local banking, finance and manufacturing industries also are hiring their own computer engineers, TCS wants to keep the pipeline of talent filled. One can also see that attrition at TCS, Infosys and Wipro rose to its highest annual levels in the year.

There is rise in attrition over the last four quarters is essentially due to the pent-up demand. There is a race for hiring from each other.

It is expected that TCS will offer raises of 12% to 14%, which the highest in three years.  Following the trend, Infosys is expected to raise salaries for domestic workers by 10 percent to 12 percent this fiscal year.

The International Monetary Fund said that our economy would grow by 8.2% this year after expanding 10.4% in the previous 12 months. India's software industry now employs about 2.5 million people and there is still a hiring spree in the IT companies.

Source: The Economic Times

Fees hiked for many professional courses

Fees hiked for many professional courses

Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ranchi, and Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, have hiked the fees, making professional courses expensive by up to 50 per cent from this academic session.

The PG program in management at IIM-Ranchi now costs Rs 9 lakh (for two years) from the 2011 academic session. It has increased by 50 per cent. In the last session, the fee was Rs 6 lakh.

Tuition fees, room rent, course material and library and computer charges will now be Rs 1.5 lakh per semester. Working executives with five years of experience will have to pay Rs 4.5 lakh for the 18 month post graduate executive programme in management.
BIT-Mesra has also hiked fess by 25 per cent for the undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

The new fee structure would be effective from July 2011. For BE and BPharm studies, the per semester fees would be Rs 65,000. Apart from this there is one-time admission fee of Rs 5,000 and caution money (refundable) of Rs 10,000. This a BE or BPharm student ends up paying Rs 80,000 per semester.

Per semester of bachelor of architecture (BArch) has increased by Rs 5,000. The total semester fee is now Rs 70,000. Bachelor of hotel management and catering technology (BHMCT) students need to pay Rs 60,000 a semester while BSc in food production technology (FPT) will cost Rs 40,000 every six months. 

Fees for postgraduate programmes like masters in engineering and master in pharmaceutical sciences, besides MTech and MSc programmes, has also been raised at BIT-Mesra. 

Jamshedpur-based XLRI has increased the for its two-year postgraduate programmes in business management and human resource management from Rs 8.5 lakh to Rs 9.8 lakh from this academic session. 

XLRI’s course fee for one-year general management programme has also been jacked up to Rs 13.7 lakh from Rs 9.9 lakh i.e. almost a hike of 40 per cent.

This hike has been there due to salary hikes of the teacher according to the Sixth Pay Commission

Source: Telegraph

India will produce more doctors 

India is expected to produce over 4,400 more doctors every year as the Medical Council of India (MCI) has increased the number of seats for undergraduate medical course from this year onwards. Around 4,452 have been increased. 

Approximately 2,650 seats have been increased because of the opening of new colleges. And around 1,802 seats have been created as the strength of the existing colleges has increased.

There are 335 medical colleges in India out of which 185 are in private sector and 150 in public sector. So these colleges are likely to produce over 40,000 MBBS doctors every year.

There is a huge gap between demand and supply of the doctors in India and the increase in seats is taken as a positive step in this direction.

According to MCI 86 applications were received by them this year for the permission to start new medical colleges. Out of these 43 were disapproved on scrutiny, and 43 were inspected. Of those inspected, 22 weren't cleared. 21 new colleges were cleared, and out of these16 are in private sector whereas 5 are in public sector.

MCI also received 104 applications from registered colleges for the increase of seats. 43 applications were disapproved on scrutiny, and 61 were inspected. Of those inspected, only 33 have been able to fulfil the criteria. So the colleges which have been approved were given permission to increase their strength.

This move is expected to remove the serious shortages of doctors in the country, as India is short of six lakh doctors, 10 lakh nurses and 2 lakh dental surgeons. All this has led to an adverse patient-doctor ratio here in the country.

Source: The Times of India

 Indians choose jobs based on salary, job security, office atmosphere

Salary is the foremost consideration for the Indian professionals while choosing a job. It is followed by job security, office atmosphere and the work-life balance in the company, says study.

The study has been conducted by the leading HR firm Ma Foi Randstad. The study further finds out that Indian professionals choose a company in a different way than their global counterparts. In many other countries, older professionals want to work for companies that are known for their good quality of product and service. On the hand, the younger professionals are more inclined towards innovative companies that provide interesting jobs and pleasant working atmosphere.

Male professionals, here in India, prefer to work with strong and financially stable companies with high quality products and services. Whereas female professionals take into the consideration the job location, atmosphere and job content while choosing the job.

The study furthers throws light on another aspect. IT and BPO are the most preferred companies, which are followed by energy, consulting, consumer goods and retail, travel and hospitality, auto, banking and financial services, telecom, engineering and infrastructure.

As far as future prospects are concerned, IT and BPO sector are at the topmost position. Moreover they are rated best because of their amiable atmosphere, job content, training and salary. Whereas, high job security is found in the energy sector along with the attractiveness of consulting jobs lies in high salary and interesting job content.

Financial stability is also one of the major concerns for the Indian professionals. Moreover they also tend to lay stress on strong management practices as they grow old, but the desire for good training and international career opportunities declines with age.

Source: The Economic Times

India's biggest recruiters

Recently the placement season has ended. The placement season shows the hiring trends, salaries, preferences of students etc. ICICI has emerged as the top most recruiter across the B-Schools as it has hired the largest number of students. 

Placements in 2011 reflected the happy sentiment of 2010. Many top notch jobs returned to the campuses in 2011. The students were on a roll due to this positive trend. There has been an overall growth in all the sectors. 

IIM Kozhikode director Debashis Chatterjee says, "The number of offers at campuses was back to 2008 levels." And all the companies agree to this statement made by him. 

According to Priti Rajora, who is VP and head, global talent acquisition at Wipro Technologies: "We have been witnessing very strong economic growth indicators for the past several months. Due to positive changes in the demand side ecosystem and organic and inorganic growth and projections, our outlook for hiring in the current fiscal has been very optimistic." IT companies are being regarded as the biggest recruiters in this placement season of which Infosys stands at the first position. 

Source: The Times of India

AICTE lower eligibility criteria for engineering

The eligibility criteria for admission to the first year engineering courses have been relaxed by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in Maharashtra. It is an advisory body regarding technical education in India. , has relaxed the basic eligibility criteria for admissions to the first year engineering course.

The minimum criteria is now 45 per cent (40 per cent for reserved category) aggregate in physics, chemistry and mathematics (PCM) group in standard XII exam, which was 50 per cent till last year.

In another decision there is lowering of the bar for polytechnic admissions to 35 per cent from 50 per cent in standard X exam from any board. The AICTE’s decision has come recently. So the Director of Technical Education, DTE would be making changes only after getting official intimation in this regard. Thus the last date of submission of forms is also likely to be extended if the new criterion is implemented.

The decision came as it has been realised that the demand for engineers is very high and there has been poor response by the candidates as the fees has been quite high and the eligibility criteria of 50% in PCM was also not being fulfilled by the candidates

At present there are over 1.14 lakh engineering seats in 309 colleges across Maharashtra. But the number of applications was around 90,000 this year. So this the raised fears of many seats going vacant across the state.

Now as AICTE has lowered the bar, any candidate scoring 135/300 marks would become eligible for admissions to BE first year.

Source: The Economic Times

Kerala to become new Sillicon Valley 

Kerala is expected to become an IT hub soon. Bengaluru is now at some disadvantageous place to remain as IT hub.
 
The CEO of Infopark Kochi while talking to Gulf News, said that there is congestion in India's leading IT hubs at present. But Kerala presents an encouraging picture in this respect. It offers a unique opportunity to market itself as an alternative investment destination for IT and IT-enabled services companies. Kerela presents lower operating expenses as compared to other IT hubs. It has the advantage of Tier 2 and Tier 3 locations.
 
A study by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India says that 55% of IT companies located in Bengaluru prefer to shift their operations in Kerala.  Bengaluru has the risk of crumbling infrastructure at present which is putting it a disadvantageous situation. 
 
It is expected that by 2015, Kerala would offer 200,000 direct job opportunities in IT and related industries. Infopark is also expected to create more than 100,000 jobs.

Source: Economic Times

Jobs to be provided by Clinical Research companies

India is growing as a hub for global clinical research. There are over 100 domestic and multinational companies here in India, that are conducting trials, an apex industry body ASSOCHAM said today.

Clinical research industry is an Rs 8,000 crore industry, which is expected to employ 50,000 professionals in the next five years.

Clinical trials have an important part to play in discovery of new product and its development without which products cannot be brought to the market.

There is an availability of large patient population in India along with educated talent and wide range of diseases, There are strong patent laws as well and lower cost of operations.

The pharmaceutical industry is based on innovation and clinical trials are meant to introduce new drugs. They are to be conducted as per International Conference on Harmonisation (ICH) Good Clinical Practice (GCP) norms.

The global outsourcing market of clinical research is estimated at 45 billion dollars. It consists of services provided to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies in clinical development process for innovative molecules as well as generics.

The clinical research companies are likely to conduct more than 15% of all the global trials in India in the current year. Among such companies in India are Pfizer, Glaxo SmithKline, Aventis, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Astra Zenica, Eli Lilly, Dr Reddys, Nicholas Piramal, Cipla and Lupin.

Tax concession is also offered according to the WTO guidelines to these companies. There is installation of electronic medical records by hospitals which has proved as a major attraction for international clinical research organisations and multinational companies for human studies to India.

The trials are being done in areas like oncology, endocrinology, traumatology, sports medicine, pulmonary diseases, pediatric diseases and infectious diseases.

Source: Orissa Dairy

Graduate from any discipline would be able to join CA course

Those who aspire to be a chartered accountant and are not commerce graduate, would now be able to join CA course. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India i.e. ICAI’s central governing council has decided that it would allow graduate from any stream to join CA course.

The proposal for it has been submitted to the Government of India and as soon as it gets Parliament's permission, graduate from any discipline will be able to pursue a course in CA.

This was announced recently by ICAI vice-president Jaydeep Shah. He was attending a two-day National Convention 2011 organised by Baroda branch of Western India Regional Council (WIRC) of ICAI.

There is huge demand for CAs and thus this decision would really help in bridging the demand and supply gap. Students would be able to complete their graduation before choosing a specialized line for themselves. Once the changes are implemented, a graduate from any discipline, with 55% marks, would be able to join the course with appearing for CPT which is an entry level test for the joining the course. Students from diverse branches will enter the field and this will given diversification to the profession itself.

Source: The Times of India

Salaries to increase around 10-13% across industries this year

Many companies are about to increase the salaries of their employees by 10% to 13% this year.  The job market in India now looks promising. The trend will be seen across various industries this year. Many innovative methods are now being explored to retain the workforce. All this came from a survey undertaken by Kelly Services.

Kelly Services' which is a staffing firm, says in its annual Employment Outlook and Salary Guide 2011-12, that the year 2011 has proved a breather for the Indian employees as far as salary hike is concerned.

The Managing Director of Kelly Services recently said, "Companies are now exploring innovative methods to successfully retain their workforce across sectors. They are actively involved in finding out what their top talent wants and are implementing various motivational methods”.

Most of the companies are also offering 'spot bonuses' to employees in order to retain them. The companies now want to maintain parity in terms of basic salaries among their workforce. This is expected to keep bright talent from being taken away.

The industries where salary hike is seen are manufacturing sector, construction, pharma & healthcare, BFSI, education, IT and ITES and real estate & construction.

IT industry has also seen increment of lateral hiring especially positions with niche skills. Even the middle level has also seen a rise in salary. An increase in salary for senior professionals is also witnessed in the finance/sales & marketing segment of BFSI sector. In order to attract the manpower, the Engineering sector - oil & gas mid and senior level has also seen a rise in salary this fiscal year. In the oil and gas sector, the salary hike of around Rs 10 lakh is seen.  


Source: The Economic Times

ICICI Bank and NISM to offer 1 year PGCSM programme

National Institute of Securities Markets (NISM), an educational initiative undertaken by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) together with ICICI Bank which is India's largest bank in private sector, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) regarding the a specialised programme in "Post Graduate Certificate in Securities Markets" (PGCSM) which is being offered by them. 

This partnership is being considered as a unique tie-up between industry and education sector.  

The MoU was signed by the Senior Vice President, NISM and the Senior General Manager, ICICI Bank in the presence of Chairman of SEBI and Chairman, Board of Governors, NISM and Managing Director & CEO, ICICI Bank.

The objective of the programmed is to create integrated professional programmes that would be useful in imparting functional skills to improve the quality of securities market professionals. It would also help individuals in their career and overall growth. 

There are exciting opportunities in the financial sector. Those who are seeking growth, diversity and challenge in their careers can bank upon such opportunities. This programme would enable these professionals to meet their aspirations. This partnership is expected to be a landmark initiative and a great success.

PGCSM is of one year duration. It is a specialized and integrated programme. It would focuses on providing a high degree of conceptual grounding and skill building. It would also give industry exposure. On successful completion of the PGCSM Programme, the candidates would be placed in the treasury and investment functions within the ICICI Group companies. 

Money Control

Gujarat University to start India's first dual degree system

The Gujarat University has given a proposal to the University Grants Commission (UGC) that it should be allowed to give two degrees simultaneously to its students.
All this has come up after getting inspiration by the tenth plan of UGC, which wants to have parallel education system. The tenth plan of the UGC clearly states the parallel education concept should be given encouragement. Students should be able to obtain a degree and diploma or a dual degree. Colleges and university should be encouraged to do so.

There is no university in India at present, as per the UGC norms, which allows a student to study for two degrees simultaneously. But the existing rules allow students to take up a degree course and a diploma course together.

The Vice Chancellor of the varsity, V-C Parimal Trivedi has written to the UGC, said that they want to follow the footsteps of foreign universities and has asked for the permission to confer dual degrees. 

After getting permission from UGC, a student who is pursuing post graduation in arts, commerce or science would also be able to study for the bachelor of law (LLB) degree simultaneously. 

The V-C says, “If a student has the capacity and eligibility, he or she can study for one course in the morning, while attending classes for the other one in the evening or afternoon”.

After the approval of the proposal, the Gujarat University will be the first university in the country to offer dual degrees. The students would be given admission in two different courses on the basis of the subjects studied in previous classes.

Source: Times of India

Bosch to spend Euro 50 mn for higher education

Germany-headquartered Bosch Group is planning to expand its funding of higher education and wants to launch a global initiative. The company has decided to invest a total of euro 50 million, in order to support universities and research projects in Germany, China, India and the US in the coming 10 years. Around euro 22.8 million is expected to be provided to India.

The “Bosch InterCampus Programme” stresses on achieving improvements in research conditions for the undergraduate students and scientists in the university sphere.

In 2010 the Bosch Group spent euro 3.8 billion for research and development. It is a global supplier of technology and services. It has taken the social responsibility. All this offers young graduates excellent prospects for the future. It is expected that in 2011 Bosch will take in 9,000 university graduates worldwide.

It has a 10-year development project which aims to set up the “Robert Bosch Centre for Research in Cyber Physical Systems” at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore. This will help to save energy in buildings, for instance. The house of the future would be able to know current energy prices and even the local weather. They would be able to optimise their energy consumption according to the needs.

Bosch is setting up a campus for IT design, cyber-physical systems, mobility solutions and renewable energy in collaboration with IISc. There would be a perfect research and working environment for the IT specialists.

The chairman of the Bosch board of management said, “By funding science and research, we are investing not only in the future viability of our company but also in the future of a global society,”

In the InterCampus programme, undergraduates and scientists would be able to do research on electromobility, energy generation, energy efficiency, and reducing emissions.

Source: Business Standard

Manav Rachna University is the first Int’l Centre for Outsourcing Studies

MRIU has become India’s first University which would now host & establish the International Centre for Outsourcing Studies (ICOS®). It has got under license from the global BPO standards leader, BPO certification Institute, Inc.(BCI) United States. BCI is present in more than 40 countries across the globe. It has more than 00 Certification Training Centres. Certifications of BCI include 23 professional certifications for BPO professionals which cover 6 operative levels - Entry, Specialist, Team leader, Manager, Functional Leader and business Leader.

MRIU would be launching many International certification and degree programs in BPO & Outsourcing. It even includes the internationally benchmarked Bachelor’s and Master’s programs in different areas of outsourcing. This programme gives complete employment assurance for students who achieve a BCI credential. MRIU has also become the first university in India that will offer PhD programs in outsourcing and research and consulting to the BPO Industry.

It is expected that MRIU would be instrumental in nurturing BPO talents that would be globally competitive.

BPO industry offers many career opportunities for young graduates. An average graduate, in India can earn 1.5 lakh-2.5 lakh with some training and certifications. MRIU also wants to install a process to commence talent-creation for KPO industry from the next academic year starting in July 2011.

Fee structure of the course will be announced shortly. Normally BCI entry level certification programme cost somewhere $100 and the higher level cost around $150-$500. Seven other international universities have also joined BCI. 

Source: Business Standard

Corporates given a nod to start medical colleges


Addressing the 13^th edition of national seminar on hospital, healthcare management and medico-legal systems at Symbiosis Internal University, Lavale, the Union health minister, Gulam Nabi Azad said the government is willing to promote public private partnership (PPP) in areas where an urgent need is felt and at present such need a being felt in for more medical institutions. Skilled manpower in the health sector is required and to bridge the supply gap a green signal is given to corporates for setting up medical colleges across the country.


The move is being regarded as an impressive stride in building infrastructure. Till now the government has not allowed the corporates to start medical colleges in India. More medical colleges mean more seats which will produce more medical professionals. All this can fill the demand and supply gap in the health sector. It is estimated that there are around 730,000 doctors and 930,000 nursing personnel,  but a large number of healthcare professionals are concentrated in urban and semi urban areas. So there is great shortage of health manpower at the grassroots level. 


Source: The Times of India

1 million jobs in water sector

It is expected that around one million job opportunities would be created in water sector in the coming three years in India. The reason behind this is attributed to the rise in demand for wastewater treatment plants and desalination plants. Even there is greater demand of engineering and design for water applications.

It is estimated that the water industry is growing at a rate of 18 per cent per annum. The total sector is pegged at Rs 60,000 crore which is in no way a small amount. 

Since the reliability of the Indian professionals is increasing all over the world, the manpower demand is too growing more than proportionately. There is quite high demand in Gulf countries. Moreover the market in India too has grown in considerable terms in last few years. Two-thirds of the manpower requirement comes from the companies within India, as many MNCs have been set up here.

People are getting more and more aware regarding pollution control measures and conservation of environment. The norms laid by the government have also resulted in growth of demand for such plants and equipments. Due to large size of the market, Dr K. Chandrasekhar, India representative of US-based water quality association, believes that there would be nearly 50 per cent rise in recruitment in the next three to five years.
The whole industry is likely to become consumer centric and people from all categories including plumber and fitter to scientists would be required in great numbers.

Source: Deccan Chronical

HUL, Bharti Airtel, NTPCand Cognizant, some of top most employers in India

In a survey by a leading global human resources management company Aon Hewitt, it was found that FMCG major Hindustan Unilever, telecom player Bharti Airtel and state-owned NTPC are among the best employers in India. This study is the seventh of its kind performed by Aon Hewitt in partnership woth Outlook Business magazine. 25 companies have been found with best working environment in India. 

Hindustan Unilever, Aditya Birla Group, LG Electronics India, Godrej Consumer Products, Bharti Airtel, NTPC, Becton Dickinson India, Aircel, Wipro and Marriott Hotels India are some of the top most employers. 

The characteristics which make them toppers are alignment of people practices to the overall business strategy of the firm and an environment. All this help in creating a positive experience for the employees.
 
These companies are believed to have articulated business strategies. They provide best career proposals. The work environment ensures high performance. 

These companies are able to achieve superior business results. They succeed in better execution of people programs. They believe in investment in high quality staff by them higher average salary and helping them in their rounded skills development.

These companies belong to various sectors such as banking, manufacturing, IT & ITes, telecom, hospitality, FMCG and consumer durable. Their staff ranges from less than 1,000 to over 7,0000 employees.

Some other companies that are included in this list are Kotak Mahindra Bank, Scope International, Dr Reddy's Laboratories, Whirlpool of India, Maruti Suzuki India, Canon India, Ford Group, Tata Teleservices, Mindtree, NIIT, Tata Steel, Jubiliant Foodworks, Cognizant Technology Solutions, FirstSource Solutions and Aegis.

Social media act as a potent tool for both employers and employees

Facebook and LinkedIn are becoming hunting grounds for employees seeking new jobs as more and more people are using these sites globally. 

Social media help people to find new jobs in fast and efficient ways according to an HR services firm Ma Foi Randstad.

The survey by the firm says that 82 per cent of Indian employees feel confident when they use the social media such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, that these sites would help them to find new jobs. The main focus of the survey was on ‘mental mobility’ of the employees which reflected their eagerness to change jobs.

It is estimated that 87 per cent of Indian employees make use of social media to get information about the work culture of an organisation. Track of the most preferred companies is kept by 75% of the people. They do all this in order to prepare themselves for the interviews. 90% employees have their profiles on Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin which are used for professional purposes.

Moreover, the survey found that 90 per cent of Indian employees have an individual accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and out of them, 81 per cent use it for professional purposes. Those who are most confident in finding jobs for themselves through social media are mostly from Mumbai (85%) and Delhi (83%).

It can be seen that Indian workforce is the "most mobile in the world", with an index score of 145. China and Mexico come next in this category. Survey of over 60,000 employees in 26 countries was conducted regarding this.

Social media act as a potent tool for both employers and employees. It is a least cost and high return combination.

Infy to hire more in US, China  

Infosys Technologies, which is India's second-largest software exporter, is now planning to step up hiring in the US, China and other overseas markets. The aim behind this is to check increasing employee turnover and encourage profit. They now want to create global footprint.  

A chief executive of the company said that they needed to get talent in the countries like Philippines, in China, in the Czech Republic and Brazil.
 
Infosys is likely to hire around 1,500 workers in America which is its biggest market at present. It wants more than double the workforce in China in 18 months. For this it will add a new campus in Shanghai. Thus Infy is expanding overseas. Its earnings have missed estimates for a third time in four quarters and employee attrition has worsened.
Infy wants to deliver the work from close to the client s premises irrespective of high costs. It is of the opinion that a local resource is likely to be more valuable than somebody sent from India.
 
The Shanghai campus would cost around $130 million There it would hire as many as 4,000 employees in 18 months. There are 3,000 workers in China at present. The company also plans to add people also in Mexico as it is a near shore centre for US.
In the past 10 years the workforce of the company has increased to 13-fold and the revenues have increased 14-fold.

Source: The Economic Times

Symbiosis International University to bring out liberal U-G course from June

A new course is going to be launched by the Symbiosis International University (SIU) in June this year. It is an under graduate programme in liberal education. It is expected to bring more flexibility in the teaching and learning process. The duration of the course would of four years.

The vice-chancellor of SIU said that the liberal education course would permit students to have a combination of unrelated subjects from science and arts streams while doing graduation.

A student could major in mathematics along with studying languages or theatre, or even music by choosing them as elective subjects. 60 are to be admitted in the first batch after a personal interview and group discussion by Symbiosis.

Symbiosis is known for collaborating with Indian institutes and foreign universities in the interest of students. Now the course is structured in such a way that there will be collaboration between intra- and inter-disciplinary departments.

Commenting on research activities, the Vice Chancellor said, “Research should start from under-graduate level itself and should not be restricted to just an activity, but should be spread as a culture.”

Source: DNA India

IT & ITES sector to bring 183,000 jobs

With the emergence of markets like India and China, global corporate companies are laying more stress on the strategies of growth and workforce.

The Ma Foi Randstad Employment Survey (METS) had predicted in 2010 that there would be creation of around 1 million jobs in the organized sector of the economy. At the end of the year it was found that 1.13 million jobs were created across 13 industries like Healthcare, Hospitality, Real Estate, Construction, IT and ITES etc.

Now for the current year i.e. for 2011, it is expected that the trend would continue and it is estimated that there would be a creation of 1.6 million jobs across various sectors. Industries like healthcare, non-machinery manufacturing, hospitality, IT & ITES and real estate & construction sectors would witness sharp rise in number of jobs.

According to the METS first edition of 2011, one see that there is continuation of momentum growth in the service sector. A positive trend is also seen in transportation and financial sectors according to the indicators. Employment generation has remained stable in most of the sectors.

It is likely that the IT & ITES sector would add 183,000 jobs in 2011. These sectors have remained been the major job providers during the fourth Quarter of 2010. It is predicted that the sector will keep growing in 2011 also.
IT-ITES industry is India's is regarded as one of the largest employment generators in the organized sector which creates jobs for over 10 million people both directly and indirectly according to NASSCOM. Since the rural BPOs have increased, so IT-ITES sectors are contributing more in the employment generation.

These companies are becoming more competitive and entering the area of outsourcing as well. This has brought about greater positive effect in the employment trends in this sector. Salary levels too have increases in this sector.

Total jobs in the sector:
Estimated December 2010:1,918,865
Expected June 2011: 2,019,665
Expected December 2011: 2,101,865

Source: DNA India

Symbiosis International University to bring out liberal U-G course from June

A new course is going to be launched by the Symbiosis International University (SIU) in June this year. It is an under graduate programme in liberal education. It is expected to bring more flexibility in the teaching and learning process. The duration of the course would of four years.

The vice-chancellor of SIU said that the liberal education course would permit students to have a combination of unrelated subjects from science and arts streams while doing graduation.

A student could major in mathematics along with studying languages or theatre, or even music by choosing them as elective subjects. 60 are to be admitted in the first batch after a personal interview and group discussion by Symbiosis.

Symbiosis is known for collaborating with Indian institutes and foreign universities in the interest of students. Now the course is structured in such a way that there will be collaboration between intra- and inter-disciplinary departments.

Commenting on research activities, the Vice Chancellor said, “Research should start from under-graduate level itself and should not be restricted to just an activity, but should be spread as a culture.”

Source: DNA

Beware of fake job offers from Nigeria

A warning has been issued by the Indian high commission in Nigeria regarding the increasing number of cases of Indians being duped by Nigerians.  Many false promises like job offers are given to the Indians. The Indian high commission has cautioned its citizens to ignore such proposals. All this has been published in a notice published on the website of Indian high commission.

The notice further says, "Now few jobs are available in schools, universities, hotels, banks, hospitals for doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians and in the oil industry. Unfortunately, many scam job offers are floating around purportedly for Nigeria or other nearby countries to extract money in the name of visa fees, permit and even deposit or charges for opening a salary account.”

If there are genuine jobs then the selections are made only after a personal interview in India which is taken either by the employer or through reputed consultants/recruiting agents. In such cases, authorization is sent by the employers only.
Visa fees and air ticket is paid by the employer. The high commission again warned prospective applicants not to pay visa fees or tickets even if they are promised refund.  The notice has also warned, "Also visa or residence permit cannot be prepared in Nigeria and sent to you.”

Online job offer received based on data registered with job sites should also not be taken as valid until a proper enquiry is conducted and without routine interviews. 

One should also not give information regarding bank accounts and personal details. No payment should be made for services relating to job offers and visas.
A warning about scams has also been issued which happen in the name of tender, order and enquiry for supply of various goods and services floating around, often for huge quantities and value to lure the inexperienced exporters.

Plenty of career opportunities in LPO firms 

Valuenotes reports that the Indian LPO market will be growing to more than $1bn by 2014. The industry is getting stronger. It is estimated LPO revenues (from India alone) were $370 million for 2009.

There is an increasing pressure on businesses to boost capacity, lower costs and finding of efficient ways to deliver services. All this has lead to its growth.

India is fast developing into a preferred investment destination. So there are great opportunities for young lawyers in India to get work experience in their domain as well as to take up a business manager’s role while moving up the corporate ladder.

LPO companies provide a platform along with giving global exposure and knowledge of multiple jurisdictions to the lawyers. They get the experience to build and manage teams in a short period of time. The development of employee development in LPOs is linked with the growth of the corporation. International business environment is provided to the lawyers, which gives them in-depth knowledge of law and business dynamics. 

Many young and experienced lawyers are joining LPOs. Lawyers with LLM from international universities and in private practice are choosing to work for leading LPOs.

One of them said and I quote - Although legal profession offers a plethora of opportunities, the LPO industry offers a completely new avenue wherein a legal professional not only develops as a lawyer but also is presented with an administrative role.  


LPOs have multi tasks to perform. Being and outsourcing industry, there is greater flexibility as regards the schedules of working. With mergers and acquisitions LPOs are growing in the direction of consolidation and it is likely to reach $1bn by 2014 which is less than one percent of global law industry.  

Source: Deccan Herald

Retentions bonuses to check attrition 

Retention bonuses are being brought to retain talent and number of employees in corporates. These bonuses have shot up the perks almost three times. According to the director of GlobalHunt the employees were given 5% bonus last year which has been increased up to 15% currently.

Employees get retention bonuses for their contributions to generation of revenue and management abilities. The amount to them is according to their job profiles. Bonuses can be given either in lumpsum or in instalments.

The companies are finding new ways to retain talent with them. Neville Lobo, vice-president, corporate HR and personnel, Larsen & Toubro, says, "With foreign companies setting up operations in India, we are slowing beginning to realise that the demand for talented people is fast outstripping supply. So, in days to come, management of human capital will become the key differentiator that will set one organisation apart from the other," He was speaking in a convention on human resource organised by CII.

It is believed that working Indians are always ready to move from one place to another and take new jobs. Retention in such cases pose challenges for the companies. 

The state of mind of the employees was studied in a survey called the 'Work Monitor' survey. It took place in 25 countries of Europe, Asia Pacific and the American continent. 89% of the Indians were open for relocation and change their jobs in short run and thus India topped the list. China and Mexico followed India. The world average came to be 60%. 

Source: Economic Times

Bangalore becoming a job hub for engineering graduates 

Around 72 per cent of engineering graduates, from all over the country, are drawn towards Bangalore for their first job.

A survey that was conducted by Aspiring Minds Research Cell, said that the city even is ahead of the New Delhi which is second most preferred destination in this respect. Aspiring Minds Research Cell is an employability measurement and recruitment firm. Hyderabad and Chennai get third and fifth spots respectively.

A sample of 19,000 engineering students from all over the country was taken for the survey.

Bangalore is regarded as the “Mecca” of engineers. The city offers many opportunities for growth in all respects. IT companies have their largest base here.

Another sector which attracts large number of employees from all over India is Biotechnology. Largest number of job opportunities in this sector exists in Bangalore. Biotechnology firms are increasing there and the city has a good ecosystem. Young and qualified personnel in this field are quite innovative and enterprising. Many organizations have been set up which are attracting the freshers.   

Mohandas Pai, Director, HR, Infosys Technologies said, “Bangalore has a range of jobs and there is a demand for good people”. 

Source: Expressbuzz

Indian students prefer New Zealand for higher studies 

According to official figures, India is, at present, the second largest source of foreign students in New Zealand. The first is China for providing international students to New Zealand.

Students from India prefer New Zealand for higher studies whereas the numbers of students going to China, South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan and Britain have declined in the past few years.

The statistics released by Immigration New Zealand (INZ) shows that number of Indian students who have been approved to study has risen continuously over the last five years i.e. from around 3,700 fee-paying students in 2005-06 to over 12,000 in 2010-11.

In 2007-08, India was the third largest source of students to New Zealand's. South Korea stood at the second place after China, reported INZ statistics.

The foremost reason given by the students for this preference of New Zealand over the other countries is that it is peaceful nation with safe society and beautiful natural environment. Moreover the teaching system encourages the students to work in groups and apply the theories to the real life situations.

Source: Deccan Herald

Laureate Hospitality Education targets over 350 Indian students annually in coming five year 
 

Laureate Hospitality Education (LHE) expects to receive 350 students every year from India in the coming 5 years. LHE has hospitality schools in Switzerland, Spain, China, Australia and the US. 

There are many course offered by the LHE schools. These are undergraduate, postgraduate and master programmes in all sectors of the hospitality industry. Due stress is laid both on learning, theory as well as professional internships throughout the world.

Students are given option for international transfer possibility for example if a student starts his education in Switzerland he can then move to Australia or the US for one or two semesters. Students can be in contact with over 15,000 hiring managers in more than 75 countries during their internship. On an average, each student receives three job offers after completing graduation.  

Since the hospitality industry in India is growing leaps and bounds, the student would be getting wide range of job opportunities hotels, restaurants, transportation, entertainment, spas, corporate offices, hospitals, sports, conferences etc in coming years.
LHE is a global group of institutions is already providing management education in more than 100 countries. The LHE schools are:

• Glion Institute of Higher Education in Switzerland
• Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Switzerland
• Les Roches International School of Hotel Management in Spain
• Les Roches Gruyère University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland
• Les Roches Jin Jiang International Hotel Management College, Shanghai in China
• Kendall College, Chicago in the US
• Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School in Australia
• Australian International Hotel School in Australia. 

Source: hospitalitybizindia.com

Volkswagen plans to train students

A training programme has been introduced by Volkswagen India has introduced for the students of polytechnic in Pune. It is known as Volkswagen Group Technical Education Program (VG-TAP). It is being done in association with city based Marathwada Mitra Mandal’s Polytechnic College.

Volkswagen Group India will be giving training along with technical support to educational institutes. The aim is to create employment for youth in the automobile sector. Pune-based Polytechnic is the first institute in India that Volkswagen Group India has associated in order to implement the VG-TAP program.

Because of this, the students would get a work experience on latest technology in automobile industry after working on a Volkswagen Jetta and a Volkswagen Polo given to the Institute by Volkswagen Group. The teachers would also be provided by the Volkswagen Training Academy. 

It is seen that the automobile industry in India is growing leaps and bounds. Thus the demand for young and talented people in the automobile sector is also growing at a faster pace. This programme is expected to create talent for the industry by training them in all aspects of automotive technology and customer service.
The students would get knowledge of modern automobile technologies through a certificate course.

The gap between the course curriculum offered by the institutes and the requirement of the industry would be filled by this course. Under this VG-TAP program, ITI (mechanic motor vehicle and diesel engine mechanic) and diploma (mechanical and automobile) engineering students will also be given training.

Source: Business Standard

Aptech and Microsoft enter into an alliance 

Aptech Limited and Microsoft Corporation Pvt Ltd have entered into an alliance. Aptech is a known name in a IT education globally.

It is expected that in this partnership, Aptech would be integrating licensed Microsoft educational content into its IT related career and short-term courses. The partnership would train and certify around 1,50,000 students by 2015. The training would be given in Microsoft technologies like Windows Server 2008, Vista, Microsoft Exchange Server 2008, SQL Server 2008, Microsoft Virtualization and Microsoft Certifications.

There is great chasm in terms of vocational skills and qualifications even in the presence of large number of engineering colleges and institutes in our country. It is estimated that only 5% of students in India have vocational expertise as compared to US, which has 60% of vocationally qualified students, Aptech expects that this kind of strategic alliance would provide better employment opportunities for Indian students. This is a kind of collaborative growth model. 

Aptech operates in 35 emerging countries including Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, and Africa. It earns one third of its revenues from outside India. With Microsoft becoming part of the curriculum, would prove quite beneficial for the students as far as more job opportunities and skills are concerned.

Alison Cunard, Microsoft Learning’s general manager said, “Skill development is a key focus for us at Microsoft and we are pleased to collaborate with Aptech to deliver very tangible results,” Aptech’s educational courses would embed Microsoft course in itself. It woud be offered across 360 cities in India. The students would also be getting an added advantage of obtaining Microsoft certifications and training facilities so that they may be able to enhance their skills and employment opportunities.

Microsoft wants to explore more of such opportunities and also wants to tie up with government, social and private educational organizations in future.

There are highest number of Microsoft certified professionals in India which are around 2,00,000 in number, who are certified annually. Microsoft has tie-up with NIIT also.  

Source: http://www.ciol.com/News/News/News-Reports/Aptech-Microsoft-to-train-150000-students/146794/0/