November 13th, 2009
BAGEPALLI - Seventy percent of Indians live in rural areas like
Bagepalli in Karnataka's Chikballapur district, and everyone
knows that India has been struggling unsuccessfully with the
question of how to lift this vast underclass out of poverty.
While some economists argue that India still needs rapid
urbanization if it is ever to become a major economic power,
the founders of Rural Shores, have taken the bull by the horns
and set up outsourcing offices in rural areas, believing it makes
more sense to take jobs to where the people are.
The New York Times quotes said G. Srinivasan, the company's
director, as saying: "We thought, 'Why not take the jobs to the
village? There is a lot of talent there, and we can train them to do the job."
Rural India has been often seen as a dead weight on the Indian
economy, a bastion of backwardness embodied by the frequent
suicides of farmers eking out livings from arid fields, dependent
upon fickle monsoons, but now according to the NYT, Indian and
foreign companies have come to see India's backwaters as an
untapped market for relatively inexpensive goods like low-tech
cell phones, kitchen gadgets and cheap motorcycles.
Some businesses have begun looking to rural India for an
untapped pool of eager and motivated office workers.
For instance, Rural Shores has hired about 100 young people,
most of them high school graduates who have completed some
college, all of them from rural areas around this small town.
The company has three centres now, but it aims to open
500 centres across India in the next five years.
Most of the center's employees are the first members of their
families to have office jobs. They speak halting English at best,
but have enough skill with the language to do basic data entry,
read forms and even write simple e-mail messages, says the NYT.
With much lower rent and wages than other similar centers in
cities, the company says it can do the same jobs as many outsourcing
companies at half the price.
A Bangalore office worker with skills similar to those
of workers here commands about 7,000 rupees a month
(150 dollars), Srinivasan says.
In small towns and villages, a minimum-wage salary of
about 60 dollars a month is considered excellent.
Twenty-four-year-old R. Saicharan, a business school
graduate from Chennai, described the work that he
does as frenetic at best.
He says that he and other employees at Rural Shores
process 13,000 time sheets by 7 p.m. every day.
The time sheets belong to American truck drivers,
and Rural Shores has been hired as a subcontractor
for a larger outsourcing company in Bangalore to do
the data entry portion of the work.
The race is almost always on to earn bonuses for
being the fastest typist.
A majority of the workers are the children of farmers
and often the first generation to finish high school.
For many, a job at an outsourcing center is an
unimaginable opportunity, says NYT.
Saturday, 14 November 2009
Jersey returns to India to promote finance industry
Mumbai, Nov 13 : A Jersey Finance delegation, is heading to India
later this month to build on the contacts established during previous
visits and to promote the benefits of doing business with Jersey.
Jersey Finance is organising the visit and will host a range of formal
meetings in both Mumbai and New Delhi, seeking to develop
growing governmental, regulatory and commercial ties with India.
Senator Philip Ozouf, Treasury Minister, and John Harris, Director
General of the JFSC, will be among the delegation as well as many
leading Jersey practitioners.
During the five day visit, Jersey Finance will highlight the many
benefits Jersey has to offer and, in particular, attention will be
drawn to the recent series of international endorsements that
Jersey has received from bodies such as the OECD and IMF
regarding its high standards of regulation and assessment as
a leading cooperative and transparent international finance centre.
A number of leading finance professionals from Jersey will present
a series of subjects including: how the new Foundations Law
is attractive to high net worth families and non-resident Indians;
how the use of Jersey investment vehicles can assist both with inward
investment and with Indian businesses seeking to expand internationally;
and how Jersey’s expertise, regulatory and legal framework can support
international investors seeking to buy overseas property,
particularly in London.
Geoff Cook, Chief Executive, Jersey Finance commented:
“I am delighted that we have representatives from Jersey’s
Government and the financial services regulator, alongside
many finance professionals from Jersey keen to develop their
business links with colleagues in India. The formal presentations
provide us with an opportunity to meet and network with a diverse
range of industry leaders and senior practitioners.
We intend to advise on the recent independent endorsement
Jersey has obtained regarding the high standards of our
regulatory regime and offer a technical summary of the
jurisdiction’s breadth of expertise and how this is relevant
to the Indian market.”
In addition to the presentations and receptions, there will be
meetings between Government officials, regulators and
important trade organisations. Members of the delegation
will also explore trading opportunities and regulatory co-operation
and alignment with the Indian Government and regulatory officials.
There will be an opportunity to progress business opportunities
in one-to-one meetings between Jersey representatives and
Indian business leaders and private clients.
later this month to build on the contacts established during previous
visits and to promote the benefits of doing business with Jersey.
Jersey Finance is organising the visit and will host a range of formal
meetings in both Mumbai and New Delhi, seeking to develop
growing governmental, regulatory and commercial ties with India.
Senator Philip Ozouf, Treasury Minister, and John Harris, Director
General of the JFSC, will be among the delegation as well as many
leading Jersey practitioners.
During the five day visit, Jersey Finance will highlight the many
benefits Jersey has to offer and, in particular, attention will be
drawn to the recent series of international endorsements that
Jersey has received from bodies such as the OECD and IMF
regarding its high standards of regulation and assessment as
a leading cooperative and transparent international finance centre.
A number of leading finance professionals from Jersey will present
a series of subjects including: how the new Foundations Law
is attractive to high net worth families and non-resident Indians;
how the use of Jersey investment vehicles can assist both with inward
investment and with Indian businesses seeking to expand internationally;
and how Jersey’s expertise, regulatory and legal framework can support
international investors seeking to buy overseas property,
particularly in London.
Geoff Cook, Chief Executive, Jersey Finance commented:
“I am delighted that we have representatives from Jersey’s
Government and the financial services regulator, alongside
many finance professionals from Jersey keen to develop their
business links with colleagues in India. The formal presentations
provide us with an opportunity to meet and network with a diverse
range of industry leaders and senior practitioners.
We intend to advise on the recent independent endorsement
Jersey has obtained regarding the high standards of our
regulatory regime and offer a technical summary of the
jurisdiction’s breadth of expertise and how this is relevant
to the Indian market.”
In addition to the presentations and receptions, there will be
meetings between Government officials, regulators and
important trade organisations. Members of the delegation
will also explore trading opportunities and regulatory co-operation
and alignment with the Indian Government and regulatory officials.
There will be an opportunity to progress business opportunities
in one-to-one meetings between Jersey representatives and
Indian business leaders and private clients.
YES BANK Empanelled by as the Clearing and Settlement Bank by Bombay Stock Exchange
YES BANK has been a clearing and settlement banker to various leading
Commodity Exchanges in India, and has managed Settlement Banking
activities for several exchange members. YES BANK has established a
‘Truly Integrated’ model leveraging the ‘state-of-art’ technology platforms
to cater to the time-sensitive requirements of Equity and Commodity Markets’ clients.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Rana Kapoor,
Founder/Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK, said:
“YES BANK is recognized for implementing innovative and
customized solutions for its corporate and retail clients.
It is our privilege to have been empanelled by BSE.
This alliance is a significant milestone for YES BANK
which will enable us to further strengthen its Capital
Markets business proposition to the members of BSE,
through our fully Integrated and proven technology platform.”
Mr. Madhu Kannan, Managing Director & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange, said:
“We welcome YES BANK as clearing bank to the BSE fold. BSE is
continuously working towards enhancing the technology and
provide more innovative products and services to its members.
With this new arrangement, we hope to leverage YES BANK’s
expertise in technology and attract more customers of the Bank
to trade through BSE.”
Commodity Exchanges in India, and has managed Settlement Banking
activities for several exchange members. YES BANK has established a
‘Truly Integrated’ model leveraging the ‘state-of-art’ technology platforms
to cater to the time-sensitive requirements of Equity and Commodity Markets’ clients.
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Rana Kapoor,
Founder/Managing Director & CEO, YES BANK, said:
“YES BANK is recognized for implementing innovative and
customized solutions for its corporate and retail clients.
It is our privilege to have been empanelled by BSE.
This alliance is a significant milestone for YES BANK
which will enable us to further strengthen its Capital
Markets business proposition to the members of BSE,
through our fully Integrated and proven technology platform.”
Mr. Madhu Kannan, Managing Director & CEO, Bombay Stock Exchange, said:
“We welcome YES BANK as clearing bank to the BSE fold. BSE is
continuously working towards enhancing the technology and
provide more innovative products and services to its members.
With this new arrangement, we hope to leverage YES BANK’s
expertise in technology and attract more customers of the Bank
to trade through BSE.”
Sunbeam's Chief Tells How He Kept Afloat Amid Crisis
By JOANN S. LUBLIN
Jerry W. Levin never expected to run Sunbeam for long. Instead,
his temporary CEO gig has turned into a four-year pressure cooker
full of seven-day weeks and sleepless nights.
The 58-year-old executive took command of the Boca Raton, Fla.,
consumer-products maker in June 1998 after it fired his predecessor,
Albert J. Dunlap. Mr. Levin is a veteran lieutenant of billionaire
financier Ronald O. Perelman, who became a major shareholder after
Sunbeam bought his controlling stake in Coleman, a camping-goods company.
Lessons in Leadership
Under Mr. Levin's command, Sunbeam uncovered massive accounting fraud,
restated 18 months of earnings and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The company survived -- and may soon emerge from bankruptcy proceedings.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in New York is set to hold a confirmation
hearing Nov. 20 on Sunbeam's amended reorganization plan.
If approved, Mr. Levin would remain chairman and CEO.
How can you minimize stress and potential career damage
when you manage a major corporate crisis? It's an increasingly
common problem for top executives nowadays.
Mr. Levin shared his insights during a recent interview
at Sunbeam's New York office. Excerpts follow:
WALL STREET JOURNAL: It's taking longer to emerge from bankruptcy
than the six to nine months you predicted when Sunbeam filed early
last year. Why?
Mr. Levin: We really did not anticipate the magnitude or the duration
of the downturn. In 2001, as in 2000, we missed our income forecasts.
In 2002, the economy stopped hurting us.
WSJ: How hard has it been to negotiate with Sunbeam's
creditors during the bankruptcy?
Mr. Levin: It is a very different environment than I have ever faced before.
When you get in a room of people involved in this Chapter 11 process,
nobody trusts each other. The aggravating part is when it starts getting
personal. I am constantly questioned about things. I am learning to
live with it. I can't say I like it.
That lack of trust makes it painfully slow and difficult to work through
problems. Things I can do in a day outside of Chapter 11 will take me
a month inside Chapter 11. It requires an incredible amount of patience
and understanding.
When I get really aggravated with the creditors, I sit back and say:
"OK, you know they are a bank. All they want is their money back."
From that perspective, what they are asking makes sense.
It is not what I want. I want to grow the company.
Our lenders have learned I will tell them exactly how it is.
I expect my employees to do the same thing. Tell me everything
that is on their minds. We have a policy here:
Sucking up to the CEO is a really dumb thing to do. If somebody
sees somebody trying to appease me or make me happy,
they start laughing. They pick on the individual. It could go on for months.
There is not a soul here in senior management who isn't
afraid to call me an idiot on any particular issue.
WSJ: How do you handle the personal pressures of leading a troubled company?
Mr. Levin: I just don't get stressed out. In the beginning,
we were hit from every conceivable direction.
Every government agency decided they might as well investigate us.
Staying healthy is a challenge. I need to be fit for this
because the hours are long and you are juggling so
many balls at once. Don't skip your exercise because
you have a meeting.
Every morning, I get up and do a series of sit-ups,
stretching. I work out with dumbbells, a lightweight workout.
I try to mix that with running two or three times a week for
two to three miles a day. Not very fast miles.
When I get away, I hike. We have a place in Tucson where
mountain hiking is pretty rigorous.
WSJ: Many executives with the toughest jobs feel they must
work hard constantly.
Mr. Levin: You won't be able to. The last thing you need to do
is develop a heart condition and high blood pressure.
I watch my blood pressure all the time. It doesn't go up.
WSJ: Even after a creditors' meeting?
Mr. Levin: Then, a little bit. But it will go right back down.
WSJ: Did you have trouble sleeping during your initial months
at Sunbeam when you worked virtually nonstop?
Mr. Levin: I had so many things going on, it was really difficult
to turn them off and go to sleep. I found myself glazing over
during long meetings. It was embarrassing. I would look up
and everybody was staring at me [and] laughing at me for
falling asleep in the meetings.
I went back to drinking coffee in the afternoon.
It solved the problem.
WSJ: Why have you stuck with this CEO job for so long?
Mr. Levin: There are days where I ask myself that same question.
But by and large, everyone has really done a lot to help
Sunbeam through all this. It doesn't seem fair just to walk away.
We are so close to victory that I am absolutely going to see it through.
Jerry W. Levin never expected to run Sunbeam for long. Instead,
his temporary CEO gig has turned into a four-year pressure cooker
full of seven-day weeks and sleepless nights.
The 58-year-old executive took command of the Boca Raton, Fla.,
consumer-products maker in June 1998 after it fired his predecessor,
Albert J. Dunlap. Mr. Levin is a veteran lieutenant of billionaire
financier Ronald O. Perelman, who became a major shareholder after
Sunbeam bought his controlling stake in Coleman, a camping-goods company.
Lessons in Leadership
Under Mr. Levin's command, Sunbeam uncovered massive accounting fraud,
restated 18 months of earnings and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The company survived -- and may soon emerge from bankruptcy proceedings.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in New York is set to hold a confirmation
hearing Nov. 20 on Sunbeam's amended reorganization plan.
If approved, Mr. Levin would remain chairman and CEO.
How can you minimize stress and potential career damage
when you manage a major corporate crisis? It's an increasingly
common problem for top executives nowadays.
Mr. Levin shared his insights during a recent interview
at Sunbeam's New York office. Excerpts follow:
WALL STREET JOURNAL: It's taking longer to emerge from bankruptcy
than the six to nine months you predicted when Sunbeam filed early
last year. Why?
Mr. Levin: We really did not anticipate the magnitude or the duration
of the downturn. In 2001, as in 2000, we missed our income forecasts.
In 2002, the economy stopped hurting us.
WSJ: How hard has it been to negotiate with Sunbeam's
creditors during the bankruptcy?
Mr. Levin: It is a very different environment than I have ever faced before.
When you get in a room of people involved in this Chapter 11 process,
nobody trusts each other. The aggravating part is when it starts getting
personal. I am constantly questioned about things. I am learning to
live with it. I can't say I like it.
That lack of trust makes it painfully slow and difficult to work through
problems. Things I can do in a day outside of Chapter 11 will take me
a month inside Chapter 11. It requires an incredible amount of patience
and understanding.
When I get really aggravated with the creditors, I sit back and say:
"OK, you know they are a bank. All they want is their money back."
From that perspective, what they are asking makes sense.
It is not what I want. I want to grow the company.
Our lenders have learned I will tell them exactly how it is.
I expect my employees to do the same thing. Tell me everything
that is on their minds. We have a policy here:
Sucking up to the CEO is a really dumb thing to do. If somebody
sees somebody trying to appease me or make me happy,
they start laughing. They pick on the individual. It could go on for months.
There is not a soul here in senior management who isn't
afraid to call me an idiot on any particular issue.
WSJ: How do you handle the personal pressures of leading a troubled company?
Mr. Levin: I just don't get stressed out. In the beginning,
we were hit from every conceivable direction.
Every government agency decided they might as well investigate us.
Staying healthy is a challenge. I need to be fit for this
because the hours are long and you are juggling so
many balls at once. Don't skip your exercise because
you have a meeting.
Every morning, I get up and do a series of sit-ups,
stretching. I work out with dumbbells, a lightweight workout.
I try to mix that with running two or three times a week for
two to three miles a day. Not very fast miles.
When I get away, I hike. We have a place in Tucson where
mountain hiking is pretty rigorous.
WSJ: Many executives with the toughest jobs feel they must
work hard constantly.
Mr. Levin: You won't be able to. The last thing you need to do
is develop a heart condition and high blood pressure.
I watch my blood pressure all the time. It doesn't go up.
WSJ: Even after a creditors' meeting?
Mr. Levin: Then, a little bit. But it will go right back down.
WSJ: Did you have trouble sleeping during your initial months
at Sunbeam when you worked virtually nonstop?
Mr. Levin: I had so many things going on, it was really difficult
to turn them off and go to sleep. I found myself glazing over
during long meetings. It was embarrassing. I would look up
and everybody was staring at me [and] laughing at me for
falling asleep in the meetings.
I went back to drinking coffee in the afternoon.
It solved the problem.
WSJ: Why have you stuck with this CEO job for so long?
Mr. Levin: There are days where I ask myself that same question.
But by and large, everyone has really done a lot to help
Sunbeam through all this. It doesn't seem fair just to walk away.
We are so close to victory that I am absolutely going to see it through.
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