BizShock: Thousands lost job in a Day!

Microsoft 5000
Caterpillar 20000
Sprint 8000
HomeDepot 7000
TexasInstruments 3800

These figures are not company's revenue, but they are number of job cuts announced by various corporate giants.

Caterpillar said it would cut about 20,000 jobs

Pfizer would be cutting 10 per cent of its 82000, ie around 8200 jobs

Pfizer Wyeth combination may cut some 18000 jobs.

Sprint Nextel announced 8,000 job cuts.

Home Depot said it would cut 7,000 jobs.

Texas Instruments announced it would slash its workforce by 3,400 employees.

Dutch financial group ING also announced about 7,000 job cuts.

Deere & Co, world's leading farm-equipment maker plans to cut nearly 700 jobs.

Microsoft announces 5000 job cuts.

Warner Bros Entertainment announced it would slash its workforce by 800.

Oh God! Stop this jobcut bloodbath!!

BizNews: Launch of Adbolo.com

Hi Adppl,

Me and my friends have launched a new website - www.Adbolo.com

This site is designed to link the adspace seekers and adspace providers.

Adspaces can be :

* Bus Shelters

* Mobile Vans- MobileHoardings

* Hoardings & Neon

* Pole Kiosks

* Bus Panels

* Train Panels

* Railway Station

* Bus Exterior

* Exterior Train

* Glow Signs

* Train Interior

* Metro Train

* Wall Painting

* Mobile Hoardings

* Auto Rickshaw / Taxi Exteriors

* Promotional Inflatables

* Radio Adslots

* TV Channel Adslots

* Newspaper Classifieds

* Magazine Ad Columns

* Theatre/ Auditorium Interiors

and whatever you think it can be advertised...!

Login. List. Monetize your Adspace.

Tell ur friends in Ad Industry!

BizIdea: Caught in Job Market Chaos? Dont Worry!

Hi ppl,

Are you worried about losing your JOB?

Don't worry, These are here for your F1 .!

The following sites are there for your self employment :

1.Guru.com ( This is the most famous elancing website ever, i think.)

http://www.guru.com

2.elance.com

http://www.elance.com

3.freeagent.com

http://www.freeagent.com

4.onlinelance

http://www.onlinelance.com

5.eWork

http://www.ework.com


Why don't you hang on with one of these and start your own Venture?

All the best, if you start one!!

BizNews: CAT presses CTRL+ALT+DEL with Satyam

The World's largest construction equipment major CATERPILLAR is likely to terminate its outsourcing contract with SATYAM.

Satyam's loss may be TCS gain, as some of Caterpillar's projects are executed by TCS - it'll be easier for TCS to takeover CAT's projects in Satyam.

Hmmm.... God save Satyam!!

BizStock: What can you get for 49 Paise?

Ofcourse, you can't even get an ALPENLIEBE!
But you can get these shares for less than 50 paise a unit.

Stock + Price
-------- -------
  Kedia Infotech Ltd. 0.49
  Shimoga Technologies 0.49
  Shree Mahaganga Sugar 0.47
  G-Tech Info-Training 0.43
  IFSL 0.42
  Allied Computers Intl 0.41
  Dynacons Systems 0.41
  Alka India Ltd. 0.40
  Koa Tools India 0.39
  Brels Infotech 0.37
  Indtradeco Ltd 0.35
  Sheetal Bio-Agro Tech 0.35
  Niyati Industries 0.35
  Baffins Engg.Project 0.35
  Interface Finance 0.35
Monalisa Infotech 0.34
  Datapro Informatic 0.33
  Brijlaxmi Leasing 0.32
Sybly Industries Ltd 0.32
  E.Star Infotech Ltd. 0.32
  Kirti Finvest Ltd 0.32
  Asian Films Production 0.31
  Goyal Associates 0.30
  Venus Universal Ltd. 0.30
  Harvic Managemen 0.29
Trans Techno Foods 0.27
  Khyati Multimedia 0.26
  Hinafil India Ltd 0.24
  Wellworth Overseas 0.20

* Source: money.rediff.com as on 21stJan09.


Important Disclosure
----------------------
The views expressed below are unbiased and informative in nature. These do not constitute an offer to buy or sell stocks. Every effort has been made by the author to ensure correctness of the information presented. The author cannot be held responsible for omissions, mistakes etc.

Investing or trading in stock markets is a high risk activity. Those who cannot afford to risk their money should refrain from dealing in stocks.

The author has no vested interest in any of the stocks mentioned. He and/or his close associates may or may not be having positions at the time of preparing this document.

It is to be understood clearly that this article has been written purely for informative purposes only and the author cannot take any responsbility whatsoever for transactions, if any, entered into by the reader.

BizIdea: An !dea can Change your Life !

Hi ppl,

The SENSEX is DOWN !
Industries are facing TURMOIL!
The JOB Market is is CHAOS!
A GREAT Time to START Your ENTERPRISE!!
- ET's First Page Ad

Economic Times has come out with a new initiative - “Power of Ideas“, a program to promote entrepreneurship and help people pursue their entrepreneurial dream.

The program will be conducted across 8 Indian cities - Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkota, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Hyderabad & Chennai as below:

Phase 1: Call for Ideas and Participation ( Jan 21st - Feb 20th). You can submit your business summary via email, online or even snail mail.

Phase 2: A jury comprising of ET editors and Indian Angel Network will shortlist candidates. All shortlisted candidates will be given group mentoring sessions to prepare them for an elevator pitch interview

Phase 3: One on one mentoring will be provided to candidates shorlisted from the elevator pitch.

Phase 4: In the final phase, the selected candidates will present to investors.

More info @ http://ideas.economictimes.com/

Good Work ET!!

BizNews: Italy's No.1 joins with India's No.1

India's largest software exporter - Tata Consultancy Services has signed a mutimillion, multiyear contract with Italy's Number one Motor Company - Ducati to deliver technology based services.

The first step is to provide ERP services for Ducati and its European subsidiaries.

TCS has partnered with KPMG for this assignment.

BizChannel: ET Print to ET Television as ETNow

Economic Times joins the list of Business Channels in India, along with CNBC-TV18, NDTV Profit and UTVi.

ET is the largest business newspaper in India and second largest in the world.

ETNow will be a convergence product, making use of the resources of ETPrint.

ETNow is headed by Andy Mukherjee, a former Bloomberg employee.

ETNow's logo was unveiled by our PM Manmohan Singh in the ET Awards function.

ETNow is expected to go on air by March'09.

Lets watch this space to see whether ETNow takes the Numero Uno position of CNBC-TV18 - in the BizChannel sphere.

BizNews: Mahindra joins the RETAIL Bandwagon!

After Reliance, Aditya Birla Group and Bharti Enterprises, Mahindra Group too dives into RETAIL pool.

Mahindra who are into the biz of tractors, utility vehicles, auto components, software, resorts, and realty have plunged into the Retail sector.

This was revealed when an recruitment Ad appeared for Mahindra Retail.

But Mahindra’s entry into retail will likely not attract the kind of opposition the other companies have because of the kind of products it wishes to sell.

It plans to sell toys, apparel, and other such products of lifestyle stuff.

In an interview with NDTVProfit, Anand Mahindra made it clear the stores would not be of Hyper types but smaller formats.

They have been dealing with brands like Lego, Nickelodeon, Mattel through distribution of kids’ apparel already, so this venture would make a lot of sense.

All the Best Wishes Mahindra!

Bizppl: Hats Off Mr.Ramalinga Raju!!

I dont know how Ramalinga Raju managed to get these many awards and accolades.!
Hats off on that perspective!!

Second-Best Employer in India –awarded by Hewitt India

Vision, Impact, Progress (VIP) Award, 2007- Computer Associates

Golden Peacock Global Award for excellence in corporate governance in 2008

UK Trade & Investment India (UKTI) Business Award for corporate social responsibility.

SAP Pinnacle Award 2008
 
Best Investor Relation Website in the Asia Pacific & Africa region awarded by MZ consult.
 
Partner Innovation Award for Anti-Money Laundering (AML) solution - Awarded by Pegasystems
 
Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2007 for Ramalinga Raju, Satyam's founder and chairman- awarded by Ernst & Young (E&Y)

Competitive Strategy Leadership Award for Offshore Testing Market- awarded by Frost & Sullivan
 
Asian MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Award- awarded by Teleos, in association with KNOW Network
 
Indian MAKE (Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise) Award- awarded by Teleos, in association with KNOW Network
 
Award for "Strengthening Customer Relationships- awarded by ITSMA (IT Services Marketing Association)
 
Winner of the First "Partner Innovation- Award-awarded by Software AG/webMethods
 
Ranked # 1 in the ASTD BEST Award- awarded by American Society for Training and Development (ASTD)
 
First Asian company to rank in Training Magazine's Top 125 companies for learning.
 
Citizenship Partner of the Year Award, 2007- awarded by Microsoft.
 
Satyam's internal audit team was awarded the recognition of commitment (RoC) award from The Institute of Internal Auditors, USA.

Bizppl: Sarathbabu - a Youth Icon

Hi all,

My First BizPost is about Mr.Sarath Babu, CEO, Foodking Catering Services

This is an interview with rediff.com.

Sarathbabu describes his rise from a Chennai slum to his journey to the nation's premier management institute to becoming a successful entrepreneur. This is his story, in his own words.

When 27-year old Sarathbabu graduated from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, he created quite a stir by refusing a job that offered him a huge salary. He preferred to start his own enterprise -- Foodking Catering Service -- in Ahmedabad.

He was inspired by his mother who once sold idlis on the pavements of Chennai, to educate him and his siblings. It was a dream come true, when Infosys co-founder N R Narayana Murthy lit the traditional lamp and inaugurated Sarathbabu's enterprise.

Childhood in a slum
I was born and brought up in a slum in Madipakkam in Chennai. I have two elder sisters and two younger brothers and my mother was the sole breadwinner of the family. It was really tough for her to bring up five kids on her meagre salary.
As she had studied till the tenth standard, she got a job under the mid-day meal scheme of the Tamil Nadu government in a school at a salary of Rs 30 a month. She made just one rupee a day for six people.
So, she sold idlis in the mornings. She would then work for the mid-day meal at the school during daytime. In the evenings, she taught at the adult education programme of the Indian government.
She, thus, did three different jobs to bring us up and educate us. Although she didn't say explicitly that we should study well, we knew she was struggling hard to send us to school. I was determined that her hard work should not go in vain.
I was a topper throughout my school days. In the mornings, we went out to sell idlis because people in slums did not come out of their homes to buy idlis. For kids living in a slum, idlis for breakfast is something very special.
My mother was not aware of institutions like the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, or the Indian Institutes of Technology. She only wanted to educate us so that we got a good job. I didn't know what I wanted to do at that time because in my friend-circle, nobody talked about higher education or preparing for the IIT-JEE.
When you constantly worry about the next square meal, you do not dream of becoming a doctor or an engineer. The only thing that was on my mind was to get a good job because my mother was struggling a lot.
I got very good marks in the 10th standard exam. It was the most critical moment of my life. Till the 10th, there was no special fee but for the 11th and the 12th, the fees were Rs 2,000-3,000.
I did book-binding work during the summer vacation and accumulated money for my school fees. When I got plenty of work, I employed 20 other children and all of us did the work together. That was my first real job as an entrepreneur. Once I saw the opportunity, I continued with the work.

Life at BITS, Pilani
A classmate of mine told me about BITS, Pilani. He was confident that I would get admission, as I was the topper. He also told me that on completion (of studies at Pilani), I will definitely get a job.
When I got the admission, I had mixed feelings. On one hand I was excited that for the first time I was going out of Chennai, but there was also a sense of uncertainty.
The fees alone were around Rs 28,000, and I had to get around Rs 42,000. It was huge, huge money for us. And there was no one to help us. Just my mother and sisters. One of my sisters -- they were all married by then -- pawned her jewellery and that's how I paid for the first semester.
My mother then found out about an Indian government scholarship scheme. She sent me the application forms, I applied for the scholarship, and I was successful. So, after the first semester, it was the scholarship that helped me through.
It also helped me to pay my debt (to the sister who had pawned her jewellery). I then borrowed money from my other sister and repaid her when the next scholarship came.
The scholarship, however, covered only the tuition fees. What about the hostel fees and food? Even small things like a washing soap or a toothbrush or a tube of toothpaste was a burden. So, I borrowed more at high rates of interest. The debt grew to a substantial amount by the time I reached the fourth year.

First year at BITS, Pilani
To put it mildly, I was absolutely shocked. Till then, I had moved only with students from poor families. At Pilani, all the students were from the upper class or upper middle class families. Their lifestyle was totally different from mine. The topics they discussed were alien to me. They would talk about the good times they had in school.
On the other hand, my school years were a big struggle. There was this communication problem also as I was not conversant in English then.
I just kept quiet and observed them. I concentrated only on my studies because back home so many people had sacrificed for me. And, it took a really long time -- till the end of the first year -- to make friends.

The second year
I became a little more confident and started opening up. I had worked really hard for the engineering exhibition during the first year. I did a lot of labour-intensive work like welding and cutting, though my subject was chemical engineering. My seniors appreciated me.
In my second year also, I worked really hard for the engineering exhibition. This time, my juniors appreciated me, and they became my close friends, so close that they would be at my beck and call.
In the third year, when there was an election for the post of the co-ordinator for the exhibition, my juniors wanted me to contest. Thanks to their efforts I was unanimously elected. That was my first experience of being in the limelight. It was also quite an experience to handle around 100 students.
Seeing my work, slowly my batch mates also came to the fold. All of them said I lead the team very well.
They also told me that I could be a good manager and asked me to do MBA. That was the first time I heard about something called MBA. I asked them about the best institution in India. They said, the Indian Institutes of Management. Then, I decided if I was going to study MBA, it should be at one of the IIMs, and nowhere else.
Inspiration to be an entrepreneur
It was while preparing for the Common Admission Test that I read in the papers that 30 per cent of India's population does not get two meals a day. I know how it feels to be hungry. What should be done to help them, I wondered.
I also read about Infosys and Narayana Murthy, Reliance and Ambani. Reliance employed 20,000-25,000 people at that time, and Infosys, around 15,000. When a single entrepreneur like Ambani employed 25,000 people, he was supporting the family, of four or five, of each employee. So he was taking care of 100,000 people indirectly. I felt I, too, should become an entrepreneur.
But, my mother was waiting for her engineer son to get a job, pay all the debts, build a pucca house and take care of her. And here I was dreaming about starting my own enterprise. I decided to go for a campus interview, and got a job with Polaris. I also sat for CAT but I failed to clear it in my first attempt.
I worked for 30 months at Polaris. By then, I could pay off all the debts but I hadn't built a proper house for my mother. But I decided to pursue my dream. When I took CAT for the third time, I cleared it and got calls from all the six IIMs. I got admission at IIM, Ahmedabad.

Life at IIM, Ahmedabad
My college helped me get a scholarship for the two years that I was at IIM. Unlike in BITS, I was more confident and life at IIM was fantastic. I took up a lot of responsibilities in the college. I was in the mess committee in the first year and in the second year; I was elected the mess secretary.

Becoming an entrepreneur
By the end of the second year, there were many lucrative job offers coming our way, but in my mind I was determined to start something on my own. But back home, I didn't have a house. It was a difficult decision to say 'no' to offers that gave you Rs 800,000 a year. But I was clear in my mind even while I knew the hard realities back home.
Yes, my mother had been an entrepreneur, and subconsciously, she must have inspired me. My inspirations were also (Dhirubhai) Ambani and Narayana Murthy. I knew I was not aiming at something unachievable. I got the courage from them to start my own enterprise.
Nobody at my institute discouraged me. In fact, at least 30-40 students at the IIM wanted to be entrepreneurs. And we used to discuss about ideas all the time. My last option was to take up a job.

Foodking Catering Services Pvt Ltd
My mother is my first inspiration to start a food business. Remember I started my life selling idlis in my slum. Then of course, my experience as the mess secretary at IIM-A was the second inspiration. I must have handled at least a thousand complaints and a thousand suggestions at that time. Every time I solved a problem, they thanked me.
I also felt there is a good opportunity in the food business. If you notice, a lot of people who work in the food business come from the weaker sections of the society.
My friends helped me with registering the company with a capital of Rs 100,000. Because of the IIM brand and also because of the media attention, I could take a loan from the bank without any problem.
I set up an office and employed three persons. The first order was from a software company in Ahmedabad. They wanted us to supply tea, coffee and snacks. We transported the items in an auto.
When I got the order from IIM, Ahmedabad, I took a loan of Rs 11 lakhs (Rs 1.1 million) and started a kitchen. So, my initial capital was Rs 11.75 lakhs (Rs 1.17 million).
Three months have passed, and now we have forty employees and four clients -- IIM Ahmedabad, Darpana Academy, Gujarat Energy Research Management Institute and System Plus.
In the first month of our operation, we earned around Rs 35,000. Now, the turnover is around Rs 250,000. The Chennai operations will start in another three months' time.

Ambition
I want to employ as many people as I can, and improve their quality of life. In the first year, I want to employ around 200-500 people. In the next five years, I hope to increase it by 15,000. I am sure it is possible.
I want to cover all the major cities in India, and later, I want to go around the world too.
I have seen people from all walks of life -- from the slums to the elite in the country. That is why luxuries like a car or a bungalow do not matter to me. Even money doesn't matter to me. I feel bad if I have to have food in a five star hotel. I feel guilty.
Personally, I have no ambition but I want to give a house and a car to my mother.

Appreciation
I did not expect this kind of exposure by the media for my venture or appreciation from people like my director at the IIM or Narayana Murthy. I was just doing what I wanted to do. But the exposure really helped me get orders, finance, everything.
The best compliments I received were from Narayana Murthy and my director at IIM, Ahmedabad. When I told him (IIM-A director) about my decision to start a company, he hugged me and wished me luck. They have seen life, they have seen thousands and thousands of students and if they say it is a good decision, I am sure it is a good decision.

Reservation
Reservation should be a mix of all criteria. If you take a caste that comes under reservation, 80 per cent of the people will be poor and 20 per cent rich, the creamy layer. For the general category, it will be the other way around.
I feel equal weightage should be given for the economic background. A study has to be done on what is the purpose of reservation and what it has done to the needy. It should be more effective and efficient. In my case, I would not have demanded for reservation. I accepted it because the society felt I belonged to the deprived class and needed a helping hand.
Today, the opportunities are grabbed by a few. They should be ashamed of their ability if they avail reservation even after becoming an IAS officer or something like that. They are putting a burden on the society and denying a chance to the really needy.
I feel reservation is enough for one generation. For example, if the child's father is educated, he will be able to guide the child properly.
Take my case, I didn't have any system that would make me aware of the IITs and the IIMs. But I will be able to guide my children properly because I am well educated. I got the benefits of reservation but I will never avail of it for my children. I cannot even think of demanding reservation for the next generation.

A great inspiring story!!!

Also watch his Video.

My First Blog

Hi Blogworld,

This is my first weblog.

It would be appropriate to introduce myself in my first Blog entry.

I am Rajan Balu Lakshminarayanan. Ppl call me 'Rajan'.

I was a Programmer Analyst at Cognizant Tech Solutions, a Fortune1000 company.

In 2007, I joined a trading company supplying herbal raw materials to Pharmaceuticals.

My interests are Business, business and ofcourse BUSINESS!!

Happy Reading!!