BackIndian employees care more for job profiles, respect
Indian employees care more for job profiles, respect
Premium
Employees in India care more for job profiles and being respected at their workplaces than compensation. Base pay and benefits rank third place for Indian executives.
Curiously, employees in India place less importance on work-life balance compared to their counterparts globally, who consider healthy work-life balance to be important. These are among the findings of a global workplace research into employee attitudes and perceptions conducted by human resource consulting firm Mercer Llc. in 22 countries.
Mercer is part of US-based Marsh and McLennan Companies Inc. Overall, respect was identified as having the strongest impact on engagement globally, and was the top factor noted in the UK and the US. It was notable that Japan’s workforce considered this much less significant.
In Japan, employees rate base pay as most important, while in China, benefits topped the list. German workers cited the people they work with as the strongest factor.
Commenting on the findings, Rajan Srikanth, head of Mercer’s human capital in the Asia-Pacific region, said in a release that it was interesting to note that while base pay appeared to be an important driver of engagement, employees across Asia assign high ranks to workplace factors such as “respect" and career-related parameters including “type of work" and “promotion opportunities."
“While Chinese employees appear most driven by how much cash they are paid (base pay) and benefits they are getting, the Indian employee appears to be more interested in opportunities for personal growth influenced by the type of work, promotion opportunities, and long-term career potential," said Srikanth.
The Mercer research reveals that drivers of engagement vary considerably from country to country, across industry sectors and organizations. Therefore, the impact of career and workplace issues such as the nature of job, confidence in leadership and organizational communication are more pronounced in some contexts, while factors such as pay, benefits and work-life balance are considered more important in others.
Common law admission test on 11 May
New Delhi: The first common law admission test (CLAT) in India will be held on 11 May. In a meeting conducted on Thursday, under the aegis of Prof. Mool Chand Sharma, vice-chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC), it was decided that the first CLAT would be held this year in different centres across India.
In November, seven universities signed a memorandum of understanding committing themselves to conducting a CLAT to facilitate admissions.
The seven universities were—National Law School of India University, Bangalore; NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad; National Law Institute University, Bhopal; West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata; National Law University, Jodhpur, Rajasthan; Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur, Chhattisgarh; and Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
A press statement by the UGC stated that this move was an outcome of the initiative taken by the ministry of human resource development and the UGC following a public interest litigation pending before the Supreme Court that suggested that a CLAT would be more convenient for students appearing for law school admissions.
According to the statement, a brochure containing information about law universities, the courses offered, eligibility criteria and other details would be available on the CLAT official website www.clat.ac.in from 25 January.
The two-hour admission test would have objective questions on English, general knowledge, basic maths, and legal and logical reasoning. The vice-chancellor of National Law School, Bangalore, Prof. A. Jayagovind will be the convenor of the test this year. Malathi Nayak
Citibank India eyes Japan cos, to set up desk in Delhi
Mumbai: In an effort to cater to Japanese corporations that have invested more than $300 million (Rs1,179 crore) in India in 2007 alone, Citibank NA (India) on Thursday announced that it would establish a new Japan desk in New Delhi this month.
The new Japan desk at Citibank India will be staffed with expatriate Japanese professionals, allowing a Japanese client interface, the bank said in a media release.
Citibank India said that it would be able to offer Japanese corporate clients “services in India including cash management, trade financing, foreign exchange, lending, etc." Japan currently is the third largest foreign director investor in India. Automotives, engineering and electronics are key sectors in India with significant Japanese presence.
The new focus areas for Japanese companies include infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and capital goods.
India has become a major destination for investment and business development among large and small Japanese corporations. With the setting up of this new desk, Citi said it “will be able to play a key role in supporting new Japanese companies that are entering into India as well as supporting existing Japanese subsidiaries in India in their expansion plans."
Sanjay Nayar, chief executive officer, Citi India, said: “Citi is ideally poised to cater to the growing needs of Japanese companies setting up manufacturing facilities or expanding operations in India."Gargi Banerjee
I-T dept renews sops for firms servicing parks
New Delhi: The income-tax department on 8 January renewed tax benefits for firms that build and operate infrastructure for industrial parks.
The tax benefit, under Section 80-IA of the Income-Tax Act, gives companies a tax holiday for years. The benefit was renewed for firms, which began to develop and operate these parks any time during 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2009. The original tax benefit ended on 31 March 2006. Sanjeev Shankaran
GE Infrastructure India to enter carbon trading
New Delhi:General Electric Infrastructure India plans to enter the carbon trading business and is exploring opportunities for the same. “We have explored the option of entering the carbon trading business. Whether or not it becomes a business for us is to be seen. Whether to do it under GE Money is to be seen. It is not clear how is it going to shape out," said John G. Rice, vice-chairman, General Electric Co. told reporters on Thursday. The company is waiting for the government’s position on carbon trading and its long-term view. Utpal Bhaskar
Pilot to test viability of hydrogen fuel stations
New Delhi: A pilot project to test the viability of hydrogen-fuel dispensing stations has been initiated in Delhi, with the government alloting Rs50 crore to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers, an auto industry lobby, who will co-ordinate the project with the Indian Oil Corp. Ltd, said Vilas Muttemwar, minister for new and renewable energy. Though Bajaj Auto Ltd and Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd have lauched prototypes of hydrogen-fuelled vehicles, practical commercialization is at least a decade away, because of the expense involved in harnessing hydrogen as a fuel.. " Our target is to have 1 million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles in the country by 2020, " he added. Jacob P. Koshy
Delhi Metro fails to attract bids for Dwarka
New Delhi: Plans by the Delhi Metro Rail Corp. (DMRC) to build a hotel on its site in Dwarka faced a setback as the agency failed to get even a single bid for the project, even as the Capital is grappling with a shortage of hotel rooms.
DMRC has invited bids from companies to build and operate a 400-room four- or five-star hotel in Dwarka’s Sector 21, near New Delhi’s international airport, and was expecting some of India’s hospitality firms including the Indian Hotels Co. Ltd, owner of the Taj Group of Hotels, EIH Ltd, which runs the Oberoi chain of hotels, Group of Hotels and ITC Ltd among others to bid to construct and operate thee hotel for at least 30 years.
“None of the tenders came….we had dialogues with those companies and expected them to bid," says R.M. Raina, DMRC’s adviser for property development. “We are very surprised and disappointed." The bids were expected to be tendered on Thursday. Rasul Bailay & Rahul Chandran
Sethu issue: govt defers filing of affadavit
New Delhi: The Union government on Thursday decided to defer filing an affadavit that would have explained the cultural significance of the Adam’s Bridge (Ram Sethu). A Supreme Court order in August asked the government to file such an explanation, or an alternative development plan, in response to protests against the Rs2,600 public project to dredge the coral walkway between India and Sri Lanka.
The cabinet ministers said they would like to file a single affidavit and hence have decided to ask the court for more time to do so, according to an official in the cabinet ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity. Culture minister Ambika Soni, shipping minister T.R. Baalu and minister for external affairs Pranab Mukherjee were present at a high-level meeting with the prime minister on Thursday night.
Analysts close to Congress say this is a wise political decision because it will stop the issue from snowballing ahead of elections in South India. staff writer
Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it's all here, just a click away! Login Now!
