Highest paid IT jobs in demand for 2011

As the information technology boom gets stronger and expands its operations to new untapped markets, the enterprise IT becomes the most sought after job for the new-age techies, with 15 to 20 percent salary hike during 2010. Siliconindia surveyed human resource managers and hiring managers. More than 50 percent of recruiters expect to see more hiring in the first half of the year in the areas below, which are well in demand for the year to come.

Data Architect

A data architect understands the behavior of systems in a multitude environment and how they chart out strategies on how a number of systems can interact with each other to obtain a desired result. A data architect needs to be able to have an end-to-end vision, and to see how a logical design will translate into one or more physical databases, and how the data will flow through the successive Stages involved. The salary of a data architect with an experience of 3 to 10 years ranges somewhere between 8,80,000 to 17,30,000 per annum.

Data Modeler
A data modeler designs methods for handling, processing and evaluating material. He or she needs to formalize and document of existing processes and events that occur during application software design and development. The salary of a data modeler with an experience of 3 to 6 years ranges somewhere between  3,50,000 to  8,50,000 per annum.

Data Warehouse Analyst
Jobs managing the ever-increasing storage demand with the rise of video, enhanced Web graphics and larger archiving demands. A data warehouse maintains its functions in three layers: staging, integration, and access. 'Staging' is used to store raw data for use by developers. The 'integration' layer is used to integrate data and to have a level of abstraction from users. The 'access' layer is for getting data out for users. The salary of a data warehouse analyst with an experience of 3 to 7 years ranges somewhere between 3,45,000 to  8,00,000 per annum.

Operation Mangers
The dealings of an operation manager range from strategic to tactical and operational levels. An operation manager needs to have a combination of team management, vendor management and technology know-how. Tactical issues include plant layout and structure, project management methods, and equipment selection and replacement. Operational issues include production scheduling and control, inventory management, quality control and inspection, traffic and materials handling, and equipment maintenance policies. The salary of an operation manger with an experience of 3 to 6 years ranges somewhere between  3,75,000 to  7,70,000 per annum.

Business Intelligence Analyst
Companies need analysts who can guide decision-making processes in a constantly changing business environment, and help reduce costs and better evaluate internal and external clients. A Business Intelligence Analyst plays a key role in better business decision-making. The salary of a business intelligence analyst with an experience of 3 to 6 years ranges somewhere between  3,25,000 to  7,40,000 per annum.

Lead Application Developer
A lead application developer needs to have higher-level application design skills that focus on clean, easy and useful experiences. He or she needs to Identify, define, and model the application requirements. The lead application developer has to define data structures and distribution to satisfy the application solution. The salary of a lead application developer with an experience of 3 to 6 years ranges somewhere between  3,30,000 to  7,20,000 per annum.

ERP Technical Developer
ERP is a great help for organizations of all sizes to improve efficiency and cut coasts. Developers need to customize software according to specific organizational needs. The salary of an ERP technical developer with an experience of 3 to 5 years ranges somewhere between  2,90,000 to  6,40,000 per annum. 


ERP Business Analyst
There has been so much investment in ERP in the enterprise, but every company environment needs a business analyst to define the business processes, and configure and deploy them, as well as set up the reporting structures. The salary of an ERP business analyst with an experience of 3 to 4 years ranges somewhere between  1,22,000 to  5,12,000 per annum.

Web Developer
From social media to mobile applications for smartphones such as the iPhone, the Droid and HTC devices, Web development continues to be in high demand, especially in customer-centric front and back-end frameworks and systems. A web developer is responsible for programming the functionality of a web site. A web developer figures out how it is going to do it and then writes the necessary programming code. The salary of a web developer with an experience of 3 to 10 years ranges somewhere between 3,15,000 to 13,75,000 per annum.

Networking Engineer
A networking engineer is a high-level LAN/WAN technician who plans, implements and supports network solutions between multiple platforms. A network engineer installs and maintains local area network hardware and software, and troubleshoots network usage and computer peripherals. The salary of a networking engineer with an experience of 3 to 10 years ranges somewhere between  4,27,000 to  13,50,000 per annum. 

You are not as adult as you think!

You may still have something of a teenager in you even in your adulthood as the human brain keeps developing till we are in our 40s, says a new research. The findings from the University College London could perhaps help explain why seemingly respectable adults sometimes just can't resist throwing a tantrum or sulking until they get their own way.

The discovery that the part of the brain key to getting on with others takes decades to fully form could perhaps also explain why some people are socially awkward well past their teenage years, reports the Daily Mail. Neuroscientist Sarah-Jayne Blakemore of University College, said: "Until about 10 years ago, it was pretty much assumed that the human brain stops developing in early childhood. "But we now know that is far from the truth. In fact, most regions of the human brain continue to develop for many decades," Blakemore said.

"The region that goes through the most protracted development is the pre-frontal cortex at the front of the brain. "It is involved in decision-making, planning and inhibiting inappropriate social behaviour and also things like social awareness and understanding other people and empathy," said Blakemore. 

No. 31 for Dravid: There’s nothing to prove

Rahul Dravid is a man of different character. A man with a mission, but nothing more to prove. A cricketer with a willow, but when it strikes the leather, it transforms to a magical reality.


The Kiwis witnessed the magic of this man for the second time in the series. An innings full of character and timely - when India needed the most. His innings took India to a position from where they can have a real go to clinch the Test match and the series. When it matters, Dravid showed again, he is the man for India. Scoring at a percentage of nearly 50, Dravid mixed stability with aggression in his innings. The 193-run partnership with skipper MS Doni (98) was a story of absolute domination and strategy. Both complimented each other not only with stroke-making but also patience and intent to be calm when the other showed aggression.


That's the hallmark of a great batsmen and a greater team mate. Do we say more of The Wall? Dhoni missed the three-figure mark by a whisker. His innings also came at a time when doubts were beginning to rise about his own performance in the team. But after today, things will be calmer now, for sure.


Riding on Dravid's brilliance, India declared on 566/9, a huge lead of 375 and with two full days remaining, the lead gives a great impetus to win this Test. Harbhajan Singh quickly got into the act reducing New Zealand to 24/1 at the end of day 3. Tough call to save this Test match for New Zealand. Can Ross Taylor do something here?

Private Clouds: hot favorites for enterprises

With enterprise IT organizations trying to leverage maximum efficiency with cost savings, adoption of cloud computing - both private and public turns out to be the latest fad in its deployment of resources. Private clouds are adopted at widespread and accelerating rates than it was suggested by the previous researches, says a survey by Novell. 

Companies are particular about simplifying management across their integrated physical, virtual and cloud environments but with cloud computing in focus, whether they can attain it with minimal risk is a point to ponder. 77 percent of the large enterprises organizations use some form of cloud computing today, much higher than previously suggested. 89 percent of respondents in these organizations believe private clouds are the next step to the already implementing virtualization while 43 percent are planning to use a combined approach of private and public cloud computing. 31 percent find that a key benefit to private cloud computing is the ability to manage a heterogeneous infrastructure. 87 percent believe that public cloud computing will naturally take its course over company owned data centers and 92 percent think of it as an alternative to the current IT platforms.

Private cloud computing earns the advantage over public cloud computing when it comes to the matter of security concern. 91 percent are concerned about security issues in the public cloud, with 50 percent indicating security as the primary barrier to implementation whereas 86 percent believe data is more secure in a private cloud. Private cloud computing provides freedom from maintaining hardware, lower cost upkeep, resource scalability, lower initial costs. 76 percent showed more confidence in internal IT departments for providing data security than outside vendors.

"The survey results are telling," said Jim Ebzery, senior vice president and general manager of Security, Management and Operating Platforms at Novell. "The path to public cloud computing needs to begin with the private cloud, learning to leverage the public cloud within the safety of the enterprise network. Despite these concerns, enterprises are moving forward with cloud computing -- whether in a private cloud, public cloud or in a hybrid cloud environment". 

Top 10 excuses why techies don't give projects on time

When engineering projects are not delivered on time, whom do we blame for that? Clients are known to be the most stubborn people on earth to get their job done. All they understand is that they pay for the service and find no reason for not being demanding. Some engineers do face genuine issues but some try to take advantage of the genuine situations and it would be hard to believe that such a situation might not have been faced by the engineers. 

No matter, whatever changes are incorporated in the IT sector to make it more lean and adaptive, the delivery of projects would be delayed at some point of time and the techies know how to get away with it. With India being one of the fastest growing markets in IT and ITeS space, SiliconIndia conducted a small survey to see what are the excuses which techies in India normally bet upon. And here are the top 10 reasons that make them hunt for more time to get their projects done. 

1) Requirement Slippage: "What can I do, if the client does not stick to his requirements?" Any techie you come across must have either made this excuse or must have come across it. Many times, when the team members in a particular project are about to complete the project keeping the client requirements in mind, they are insisted to either make certain changes in the project or bring in some addition to it. Requirement slippage is a genuine problem faced by team members in a project but many times it becomes the easiest excuse for any techie if the project is delayed. This excuse is often validated by the organization and the team members can easily prove themselves impeccable.

2) Wrong Project estimation: Project estimation is usually given by a module leader who is not deeply associated with the project. He or she is the one who builds relationship between the client and the project team and integrates the module's findings into the broader project work. Usually when the project demands some more time to be delivered, the team members crib about the project not being estimated in an appropriate manner. At times, the requirement is underestimated, the time frame is not fixed in sync with the project and the entire project is not compatible with the engineers working on the project. This excuse has a broader dimension as any one part of the project estimation could become a reason for extending the time for project delivery.

3) Work Overload: Attrition is no big news in the IT industry. The software professionals deal with immense pressure in coding their programmes correctly. In such a case, when one team member resigns, the existing team members are overloaded with the pending work of the ex-employee. And in such a case, the priorities of the project team members change and this becomes another excuse for team members. 

4) Infrastructural issues: Well if nothing works out, then this is the excuse which everyone resorts to. Blame it on the company's infrastructure. Indian IT infrastructure usually lacks with effective resources like availability of power and high bandwidth. So probably one could understand the frustration caused due to a technical snag. Each time there is an infrastructural slowdown, the efficiency of employees comes down.

5) Information does not get passed on, lack of understanding of processes:Communication of the project details seems to be another area for making an excuse. If the project is not delivered on time, the problem could be directed to the organizational processes. The discrepancy in understanding of a project requirement is one point which the techies pick on to make an excuse.

6) Health issues: This is the most common excuse which prevails in every sector. This is one area, where the employees can't be questioned further. It has been widely seen that many IT professionals take sick leaves on Mondays because they are reluctant to work on Mondays after a relaxed weekend. 

Accenture to invest $100 Million to make 2.5 lakh job ready

Beginning a new initiative called 'Skills to Succeed', Accenture will make 250,000 unskilled and semi-skilled people around the world job- or business-ready by 2015. Accenture and Accenture Foundation will invest over $100 million into this initiative, reports Mini Joseph Tejaswi from The Economic Times.

This program will seek to educate people, and build skills that enable them to participate in and contribute to areas like IT, BPO, hospitality and retail. India, with over 450 million unskilled and semi-skilled workforce under 35, is likely to be a significant beneficiary of this campaign.

Accenture has roped in Dr. Reddy's Foundation and Nasscom Foundation to provide BPO skills training to underprivileged youth from rural India. It has entered into a partnership with IGNOU to offer a diploma course on BPO services. "With Nasscom Foundation, we will train adolescent girls and young women from economically backward areas in animation skills," said Rekha Menon, Executive Director in Accenture India.

Endhiran beyond all limits

This one can break all records. While one agrees that the forthcoming film Endhiran from Shankar's stable starring Rajnikanth and Aishwarya Rai could be one of the biggest blockbusters ever, a certain multiplex in Chennai called City Limits has already set the tone for what can happen. The particular multiplex has 30 cinemas and if it works out well there will be 450 screenings daily of the Rajnikanth starrer in that cinema hall alone. No film ever has had this kind of a planning or response from the theatre owners till date.

When Karan Johar had pumped in his film Kaal into the Fame Adlabs multiplex years ago doing 13 shows daily, one felt that it was a record. And that was also being done becuse Karan knew that the film wasn't looking too good enough to be a winner. But what this Rajnikanth film can do is beyond all limits...


Source: Sanskrti Media and Entertainment


Enthiran Tailor:

Pakistan scandal throws focus on India

 Young Indian cricketers were on Tuesday warned of the perils of corruption following the illicit gambling allegations levelled against the Pakistani team in England.

Former India captain Anil Kumble, asked if he feared players from his own country could in future be hauled up, said: "Of course I am worried. "These days youngsters who have not even played for India have agents," Kumble, one of the game's elder statesmen in India, said.

A British tabloid claimed over the weekend that a middleman gave undercover reporters exact details of no-balls to be bowled by Pakistani seamers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif during the Lord's Test against England.

The News of the World said it had paid the middleman, Mazhar Majeed, 150,000 pounds (230,000 dollars) for information on the practice of spot-fixing, which is widespread in illegal South Asian betting circles.

Majeed, who claimed to be an agent for several Pakistani cricketers, told the newspaper he worked for an "Indian party". "They pay me for information," Majeed was recorded as saying.

The identity of the "Indian party" is being probed by Scotland Yard investigators. Many observers point to India's huge influence over the International Cricket Council (ICC), which has been attacked by critics for failing to clean up the game.

India, cricket's financial powerhouse, accounts for nearly 70 percent of the game's global revenues and is regarded as the hotbed for betting syndicates and match-fixers.

Matthew Engel, a former Wisden editor, on Tuesday described the ICC as "a notoriously dysfunctional organisation, controlled by Indian interests and obsessed with political and financial manoeuvring".

The shady world of Indian bookmakers came to light in a match-fixing scandal in 2000 that led to life bans for Test captains Hansie Cronje (South Africa), Mohammad Azharuddin (India) and Salim Malik (Pakistan).

The scandal broke when New Delhi police, working on an unrelated extortion case, tapped a conversation between Cronje and an alleged bookie. India's federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which probed the 2000 scandal, alluded to the underworld's links with cricket in its report.

"During the inquiry," the CBI report said, "it was learnt that the lure of easy money has gradually attracted the underworld into this racket". Cronje, who accepted having links with bookmakers but denied he was involved in match-fixing, was killed in a mysterious plane crash near Cape Town in 2002.

Betting on sports is illegal in India except at horse races, but major betting syndicates have been in operation for many years taking advantage of the country's lax gambling laws.

The Hindustan Times on Tuesday quoted police as saying that bookies, when caught, get away with a paltry fine of 200 rupees (less than five dollars).

"First it is a bailable offence, second, electronic evidence is not admissible in court," the newspaper quoted a police officer involved in anti-gambling investigations as saying.

"We have to keep a check on the activities of these bookies but they take advantage of the law. Since international markets are also involved, we cannot do much."

The lucrative Indian Premier League, where players from around the world earn millions of dollars in the game's crowd-friendly Twenty20 format, was a key target for the sport's anti-corruption watchdog.

But the ICC's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit gave a clean slate to the event's third edition this year after being kept away by organisers for the first two years.

Sehwag Did Get His Century!

So it is now open season on Suraj Randiv, who bowled the no-ball that ‘denied’ Virender Sehwag a century he truly deserved (In contrast to those knocks where he blazes away from ball one, on this particular occasion Sehwag absorbed the loss of his colleagues at the other end, battled with the demons of the pitch and atmosphere, revealed an unsuspected ability to do the grind, and fulfilled the fantasies of millions of Indian fans who, ever since the swashbuckler made his debut, have lusted after the possibility that one day, he will bat through an innings). It is also open season on Kumar Sangakkara, the Sri Lankan captain, who if the transcription of words picked up from the stump mike is to believed, reminded Randiv, just as he prepared to bowl the decisive ball, that “If he hits it, he gets the run”.


Digression: Consider Randiv’s brains, or lack thereof. If Kumar was in fact instructing his bowler, was that instruction to bowl a no-ball? Ridiculous – a batsman can and, in this instance did, hit a no-ball. A more canny bowler would have bowled a wide – because it is the wide that, by definition, you cannot hit.


But back to cases: So everyone, from the Sri Lankan cricket board to sundry Indian stars of yesteryear, have been banging on about the Lankans’ lack of sportsmanship (If there is any irony in Mohammad Azharuddin, who was banned from international cricket for match-fixing and related activities, talking of the spirit of the sportsman, ignore it, please – it is also the silly season).


What strikes us is how the public discourse, and wall to wall ‘exclusive’ coverage on television channels, misses the point: Sehwag was denied his century not by the Kumar-Suraj combine, but by scorers and umpires who were clearly asleep and/or ignorant of rules that, incidentally, have been framed so ambiguously as to convert a fairly simple proposition into a complicated situation.


Here is what happened, pure and simple: Randiv bowled. The umpire called ‘no-ball’. There is a reason the umpire calls it as soon as a bowler bowls one – it is to let the batsman know that there are no real penalties attached to having a go. A batsman, on hearing that call, knows he can have a swing without running the risk of being bowled, caught, declared LBW.


So Randiv bowled. The umpire called. Sehwag had a swing, and despatched the ball over the ropes.


That logically is seven runs added to the total – one to the team total as an extra, the other six to Sehwag, the batsman who was quick to seize on the opportunity. Simple.


This is where the idiocy of umpires and the ambiguity of the rule book come in: How could the game be over as soon as Randiv over-stepped? A ball, to be deemed bowled, has to be delivered; the batsman has to play/miss it; in the case of the former the ball has to be retrieved while the batsman runs, or not…there is no provision in cricket for declaring a result, and ending a match, at some intermediate stage of this process.


Thus, for umpires to declare that the game was over as soon as Randiv overstepped is plain folly. To understand this, consider a hypothetical situation: Randiv bowls. It is a no-ball. Sehwag decides the game is over, lets the ball go and walks off. Sangakkara collects and whips off the bails.


Is the batsman out? Of course he is. The extra run cannot be counted until the ball in question is officially dead; in our example Sehwag left his crease while the ball was in play, therefore he is out.


So, if his dismissal off a no ball counts, why were the runs he scored off that no ball not counted to his name?


The question, simplified: How could the umpires, or the scorers, or both, consider the match over before the ball had completed its necessary course?


Read Law 24 (No ball)


Runs resulting from a No ball


The one run penalty for a No ball shall be scored as a No ball extra. If other penalty runs have been awarded to either side, these shall be scored as in Law 42.17 (Penalty runs). Any runs completed by the batsmen or a boundary allowance shall be credited to the striker if the ball has been struck by the bat; otherwise they also shall be scored as No ball extras.


Where is the ambiguity? The law clearly says that any runs completed by the batsman, or a boundary allowance, off a no ball shall be credited to the striker.


Sehwag ‘completed’ a sixer. His score – unless the scorer is a congenital idiot – should have been 105. End of story.


The key is to understand that a game is not declared over midway through a cricketing action – which is the space between a ball being ‘live’ and being ‘dead’. Consider this example: India needs one run to win. Sehwag whacks the ball high in the air. While the ball is in the air, the batsman cross over and complete a run. The ball comes down, and is caught.


Is the game over, simply because the batsmen had crossed while the ball was in the air, and had not yet been caught? No, the verdict in this case would be, the batsman is out, the run doesn’t count. So clearly, runs and results are not declared at some arbitrary point while the ball is live – such a determination happens only after the ball is ‘dead’.


The fallacy appears to be in the thinking that any runs accruing to the batsman and/or side after a result is achieved do not count. That is equally a fallacy. Here is an illustrative example:


India needs to get one run to win. Sehwag drives, and the batsman race across for a single. The ball then goes on to cross the boundary. Do you award Sehwag one run, or four? Clearly, the answer is ‘four’ – despite the fact that the first of those runs won the game.


It is not the intention of this post to ‘excuse’ what Randiv did, or what Sangakkara asked him to do. That action was clearly unsporting, childish, petty. Here was one of the great batsman of the modern era, in challenging conditions, digging deep within himself to play a match-winning innings that was contrary to type. A gracious opposition would have admired, applauded; instead, the Lankans appear to have conspired to score a childish ‘victory’.


Fair enough. What beats us, though, is this: Why is there, amidst all this noise, no attempt to question the outcome declared by the scorers? Why is there no debate on the central question? Where were the umpires, the match referee? And where, incidentally, was the Indian team management that it did not think to question the scorers’ declared result?

For the Love of Dravid

There are a few men we hate to see fall -  one such man is Rahul Sharad Dravid, ‘The Wall’ of Indian cricket for decades. Many dream to do what Dravid has done with the willow – with which he fought many a battle to bring glory to Indian cricket.

Dravid with his warrior spirit oozed confidence from the very beginning of his career and made an entire generation fall for his sturdy and no-nonsense approach to the game. Dravid may not be a Tendulkar or a Ganguly or may not be as swashbuckling as Sehwag, but he is and will go down as one of the batting greats to have ever graced the game of cricket.

Somewhere in all these years of grind, Dravid never got his due as a player but none can question his loyalty to the team, nor can one ever say that he flinched while facing hostile bowling that has been dished out to him all over the world.

Such is the prize on his wicket that legendary spinner Shane Warne wrote in his memoir:

“The fortress could also describe Rahul. Because once, Dravid was set, you needed the bowling equivalent of a dozen cannon firing all at once to blast him down.”

Statistics say that Dravid after Allan Border faced the maximum numbers of deliveries in Test cricket – this tells us how much Indian cricket is dependent on him.

Year after year, Dravid has been consistently scoring runs and winning matches for India at home and abroad. No other Indian batsman has saved or won more Test matches than Dravid, but he has never received the accolades that he so rightfully deserved. Lack of laurels has never been a deterrent to his motivation; such is his love for cricket that Dravid like a humble servant of the game continues to labour every single day to bring honour to Indian cricket.

After Sachin Tendulkar, he is the only Indian batsman to score more than 10,000 runs in both forms of the game. But Dravid has always been the man behind the curtains and our board too hasn’t been kind to him. From being forced to keep wickets when India missed an all-rounder to being given the captaincy when it had no takers, Dravid has done all that he could do for the country.

It’s bewildering that there was no media hype and fanfare when Dravid went past 11,000 Test runs to become the fourth highest run-getter in Test cricket. Maybe we have failed to see the perfectionist in Dravid or maybe we just have a penchant for imperfection.

Is Dravid destined to play the quintessential role of the supporting hero eternally? He does not seem to have a problem with donning this role as long as the team wins. But I do have a problem with this as a true player like Dravid deserves to be up there with the greats of the game.

Hopefully his lack of runs in the Sri Lankan series doesn’t force the selectors to overlook him for the Australia and New Zealand series.

It’s a pity that from now on we will get to see less and less of a legend called Rahul Dravid.

Keep yourself busy to stay happy

People who have something to do, even if pointless, are happier than those who sit idle, say researchers.

The study was conducted by Christopher K. Hsee and Adelle X. Yang of the University of Chicago and Liangyan Wang of the Shanghai Jiaotong University.

"The general phenomenon I'm interested in is why people are so busy doing what they are doing in modern society," says Hsee. 

Sure, there are reasons, like making a living, earning money, accruing fame, helping others, and so on, reported the Psychological Science journal.

But, Hsee says, "I think there's something deeper: We have excessive energy and we want to avoid idleness."

For the study, volunteers completed a survey, then had to wait 15 minutes before the next survey would be ready.

They could drop off the completed survey at a nearby location and wait out the remaining time or drop it off at a location, where walking back and forth would keep them busy for the 15 minutes.

Either way, they would receive a candy when they handed in their survey. Volunteers who chose to stay busy by going to the faraway locations were found to be happier than those who chose to be idle. 

Sitting too long 'ups death risk'

A new study has found that the more time people spent sitting down, the greater their risk of death.

American Cancer Society researcher Alpa Patel says that irrespective of the physical activity you get, the amount of time spent sitting can up death risk.

The study found that more leisure time spent sitting was associated with higher risk of mortality, particularly in women.

Women who reported more than six hours per day of sitting were 37 percent more likely to die during the time period studied than those who sat fewer than 3 hours a day.

Men who sat more than 6 hours a day were 18 percent more likely to die than those who sat fewer than 3 hours per day.

Associations were stronger for cardiovascular disease mortality than for cancer mortality.

"Prolonged time spent sitting, independent of physical activity, has been shown to have important metabolic consequences, and may influence things like triglycerides, high density lipoprotein, cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, resting blood pressure, and leptin, which are biomarkers of obesity and cardiovascular and other chronic diseases," said Patel.

The authors conclude that "public health messages and guidelines should be refined to include reducing time spent sitting in addition to promoting physical activity.

The study appears early online in the American Journal of Epidemiology. (ANI)

India Inc on hiring spree in July-Sept

Post-slump, hiring plans of corporate India is at its best for the current July-September quarter, driven by infrastructure, manufacturing and telecom sectors, said the latest employment outlook report by recruitment firm TeamLease.

According to the study, hiring sentiment is at an 18- month high for the July-September quarter. The net employment outlook index saw a six per cent jump to 64 index points for the reviewed three- month period compared to the previous quarter.

According to the report, barring healthcare and pharma sectors, all other segments are upbeat about their hiring plans.

Hiring sentiment is highest in the infrastructure sector with a 21 per cent increase, followed by manufacturing and engineering & telecom sectors with 13 per cent and 11 per cent increases, respectively.

Among cities, Delhi has the highest hiring sentiment with a 19 per cent increase in the index, followed by Mumbai and Ahmedabad with 14 per cent increases each. However, hiring sentiments is seen in the negative zone in Chennai and Kolkata.

Interestingly, Tier-II cities have experienced a significant increase (three per cent) in hiring intent to 19 per cent, indicative of the talent supply potential of these geographies.

After being the most neglected zones by potential employers, the junior and entry-level zones are now finding favouring with employers.

Hiring at the junior and entrylevels of organisational hierarchy are set to make a strong comeback with 17 per cent and 11 per cent increases in hiring intent (respectively), which was worst hit and remained stagnant for the past 24 years, the report said.

This, however, has cut significantly into mid-and senior-level hiring and demand in this segment is seen to be decreasing.

According to the report the number of companies in the 'Not Hiring' category has dipped to a 12- month low of 12 per cent.

This is a drop of eight per cent. Sales, marketing and customer care have registered the highest increase of eight per cent among functional areas.

"We are seeing positive hiring intentions over the past few months, and are expecting this to continue. There is also a gradual increase in the intent to hire from Tier-II cities, which shows that companies are looking well beyond urban markets for tapping talent," Sangeeta Lala, vice president, TeamLease Services, said.

"This is also an indicator of consistent and steady growth across business size, sectors and geographies. The opportunities in Tier-II cities are encouraging and might be an answer to the geographic mismatch present in the country," she added.

TeamLease's Business Outlook Index also rose by five per cent to 61 index points. However, it has doubled itself over the course of four quarters.

The study, which covered 568 companies, focused on employment growth potential, business outlook and hiring forecasts in relation to location and company profile.

Mahatma Gandhi's long-forgotten diary recovered

Image via Wikipedia

Mahatma Gandhi's diary written during the year of Indian Independence and held till recently under private possession will soon be open for public viewing at the National Archives here.

The small diary handwritten by the Bapu in Gujarati is among a collection of other letters and documents handed over to the Archives by Varsha Das, former director of the Gandhi National Museum.

"We received Gandhi's diary 10 days back along with a collection of other documents from Varsha Das, the former director of the Gandhi National Museum," Rajesh Verma, Assistant Director, National Archives of India told PTI.

Meena Jain, a childhood friend of Das had handed over to her, Gandhi's diary and other documents containing letters and several diaries written by Manu Behn, the niece of Mahatma Gandhi.

"I handed over the collection to the Archives in the first week of July as we do not display the original diary and documents at the Museum. Also, the Archives has the facility of temperature control that is suitable for the preservation of the diary whose pages are in a fragile condition," Das told PTI.

The worn and yellow pages of the diary dated between April 13 to December 29, 1947 has detailed jottings by the late leader mostly in blue ink with also several entries in pencil all in Gujarati.

"The diary is a national as well as a world's treasure. By keeping it in the Archives one will get to know a little more about Mahatma Gandhi's life and work than what we know at present," says Das.

Apart from Gandhi's diary the collection received by the National Archives contains 19 diaries written by Gandhi's niece Manu Behn along with several assorted pages with bangla alphabets, pencil notes written in Hindi, Urdu and Gujarati as well as some illegible writings, a source at the National Archives said.

"The 19 diaries by Gandhi's niece contain her writings as well as several letters as old as 1944 that are addressed to her by Zakir Hussain, Indira Gandhi and other leaders and freedom fighters," adds the source.

The entire collection would be kept in ten folders in a chronological order at the Archives.

Varsha Das, who was also formerly Director, The National Book Trust says, "A lot will be revealed through these diaries." The Archives would laminate and produce a digitised version of the Gandhi's diary which is expected to benefit researchers and scholars, she adds.

Rajesh Verma says,"A specific division would be assigned to preserve these documents." The Mahatma's diary would be kept separately from those of Manu Behn, he adds.

The diary is yet to be translated from Gujarati to various languages for the benefits of researchers and scholars who are interested in reading about Gandhi.

"We are looking for a person who can translate these Gujarati documents. We will get it done as soon as possible before it is open for public use," says Verma.

"People who know Gujarati can access the diary even now. In order to facilitate greater dissemination we plan to translate it into Hindi and English too," says the Assistant director.

Besides, the personal diary, an album of Mahatma Gandhi capturing his 1925 Madras tour, highlights of his visits, addresses, arrivals, speeches and public functions along with other items including undated press clippings, a 1942 calender, telegrams and a photocopy of a few Gujarati couplets would also be showcased at the National Archives.

Zero To 1050 mph In 42 Seconds!

Believe it or not, a jet-propelled vehicle is almost set to break the land speed record, that too at an incredible 1,050 mph. A life-size replica of the Bloodhound supersonic car (Bloodhound SSC) was on display at the Farnborough International Airshow, Hampshire on Monday, July 19.

The car will be powered by both a Eurofighter Typhoon jet engine and a rocket engine, generating a combined thrust of 47,500 lb. (or 212 kN of force), the equivalent of 180 Formula One racing cars.

The Bloodhound is about 42 feet long, nine feet high and two feet wide, with a wheelbase of about 29 feet and a mass of more than 14,100 pounds.

The current land speed record is held by ThrustSSC, a twin turbofan-powered car which broke the sound barrier, reaching 763 mph at Black Rock Desert, Nevada on October 15, 1997.