India has complained to the US about an increase in the rate of rejection of US visas for Indian professionals that resulted in a sharp decline in the number of visas issued to Indians last year.
Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma took up the visa issue with US commerce secretary John Bryson in a bilateral meeting on Monday.
Showing posts with label CTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CTS. Show all posts
Friday, March 30, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
CTS, HCL, Infosys, TCS, Wipro
IT cos like Infosys, HCL Tech, Cognizant, Wipro pamper placement officers for best talent
Once reserved for market analysts and key clients, Indian information technology companies are now pampering college placement officers by taking them on domestic and foreign trips as they seek to hire the best talent from Indian campuses ahead of competition.
Over the years Cognizant has been taking placement officers to cities like Bangkok and Dubai while others have been holding their offsites within their campuses. Infosys has also joined the race this year, although with a modest start in domestic locations.
Indian IT firms depend on campus recruits for a bulk of their hiring every year, making job offers to thousands of students every year. In this financial year for instance, Infosys is hiring over 20,000 students from campus while TCS is hiring over 30,000.
Such events, some analysts say are part of efforts to get the best interview slots when hiring from colleges. Infosys, which insiders say lost out in the talent scramble because it failed to get the socalled "slot zero" has now started Samvaad 2012, where the Bangalore-based firm hosts placement officers in Mysore, Pune, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, and Chandigarh.
Some 310 placement heads from a similar number of engineering institutions across the country are being invited, according to a company spokesperson. Through the event, Infosys seeks to impart skills, including "negotiation skills" to help these placement officers in their current roles.
Over the years Cognizant has been taking placement officers to cities like Bangkok and Dubai while others have been holding their offsites within their campuses. Infosys has also joined the race this year, although with a modest start in domestic locations.
Indian IT firms depend on campus recruits for a bulk of their hiring every year, making job offers to thousands of students every year. In this financial year for instance, Infosys is hiring over 20,000 students from campus while TCS is hiring over 30,000.
Such events, some analysts say are part of efforts to get the best interview slots when hiring from colleges. Infosys, which insiders say lost out in the talent scramble because it failed to get the socalled "slot zero" has now started Samvaad 2012, where the Bangalore-based firm hosts placement officers in Mysore, Pune, Hyderabad, Bhubaneswar, and Chandigarh.
Some 310 placement heads from a similar number of engineering institutions across the country are being invited, according to a company spokesperson. Through the event, Infosys seeks to impart skills, including "negotiation skills" to help these placement officers in their current roles.
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
cognizant, CTS, jobs
Cognizant rewards employees with 200% variable payout
CHENNAI: After growing faster than Indian information technology (IT) industry, Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp has now rewarded its employees by giving out as much as 200% of the variable components of their 2011 salaries.
Typically, anywhere from 20 to 30% of an employee salary is labeled as variable pay, linked to a combination of overall company performance and individual performance.
"The company has done the repeat of 2010 in rewarding its top performers. The top performers got around 200% of their target bonus while the average bonus given was 150%. The bonuses were on expected lines as the company has been scoring good quarter on quarter," said a Cognizant employee in Chennai on condition of anonymity.
"Yes, Cognizant has announced performance-linked bonus payout for all its associates, globally," said Shankar Srinivasan, Chief People Officer, Cognizant. "Our industry leading revenue growth in calendar 2011 has enabled us to pay performance bonuses well above target."
Cognizant's bonus comes at a time when industry lobby Nasscom has projected tepid revenue growth for software exporters. Last month, Nasscom forecasted 11-14% growth for India IT-BPO Industry during fiscal 2013, lesser than the 16.7% growth that the sector saw this in the just concluding fiscal.
Click here to read more.
Typically, anywhere from 20 to 30% of an employee salary is labeled as variable pay, linked to a combination of overall company performance and individual performance.
"The company has done the repeat of 2010 in rewarding its top performers. The top performers got around 200% of their target bonus while the average bonus given was 150%. The bonuses were on expected lines as the company has been scoring good quarter on quarter," said a Cognizant employee in Chennai on condition of anonymity.
"Yes, Cognizant has announced performance-linked bonus payout for all its associates, globally," said Shankar Srinivasan, Chief People Officer, Cognizant. "Our industry leading revenue growth in calendar 2011 has enabled us to pay performance bonuses well above target."
Cognizant's bonus comes at a time when industry lobby Nasscom has projected tepid revenue growth for software exporters. Last month, Nasscom forecasted 11-14% growth for India IT-BPO Industry during fiscal 2013, lesser than the 16.7% growth that the sector saw this in the just concluding fiscal.
Click here to read more.
cognizant, CTS, H1-B
Lawmakers question sharp rise in denial of H1B, L1 visas
Voicing concern over increasing rates of denial of H-1B and L1 work visas, that are popular among Indian professionals, top US lawmakers and corporate bigwigs have questioned the Obama administration over the issue, warning this would hurt American business interests.
Officials at a Congressional hearing cited last year's figure of 26 per cent denial to H1B visa applicants, that was the highest in recent years, and also pointed out instances where the visas were denied for flimsy reasons.
Elton Gallegly, chair of the Immigration Policy and Enforcement Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, said figures obtained from US Citizenship and Immigration Services show a rise in denial in certain categories of visas between the years of 2008 and 2010.
Click here to read more.
Officials at a Congressional hearing cited last year's figure of 26 per cent denial to H1B visa applicants, that was the highest in recent years, and also pointed out instances where the visas were denied for flimsy reasons.
Elton Gallegly, chair of the Immigration Policy and Enforcement Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, said figures obtained from US Citizenship and Immigration Services show a rise in denial in certain categories of visas between the years of 2008 and 2010.
Click here to read more.
Friday, June 18, 2010
CTS
Cognizant buys Paris-based Galileo Performance
Cognizant, a Nasdaq-listed information technology (IT), consulting, and business process outsourcing services company, today announced the acquisition of Galileo Performance, a Paris-based provider of IT-testing consulting services. The terms were not disclosed.
Galileo helps leading companies in France optimise and extend business performance through IT system measurement, management and testing. It will complement Cognizant’s fast-growing global testing practice, with its 10,000 testing professionals, while strengthening Cognizant’s existing business presence in France, according to Cognizant’s statement.
Galileo helps leading companies in France optimise and extend business performance through IT system measurement, management and testing. It will complement Cognizant’s fast-growing global testing practice, with its 10,000 testing professionals, while strengthening Cognizant’s existing business presence in France, according to Cognizant’s statement.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
CTS, IT market
Cognizant promotes 15,000 globally
It's raining benefits at Cognizant! First, the company paid out about 200% bonus in March to a cross section of its employees. Now, the company is promoting about 15,000 of its associates globally who are below the 'manager' level.
The company has sent out letters of promotion to 15,000 employees on Friday that will take effect from May 1, 2010, sources said.
ToI has also learnt that this is just the first round of promotions and a second batch of promotions for people above the 'manager' level will happen in May. It is learnt that a sizeable chunk of the employees in that level are also likely to see themselves redesignated to a higher level. These employees would receive a fair chunk of pay hikes as well, sources added.
The company has 78,400 employees. This is the single largest number of promotions announced by any IT company in India this year. Last month, Infosys had announced promotions for 7,500 employees.
"This morning we announced global promotions for associates below the level of Manager. These promotions would be effective May 1, 2010. Cognizant's industry-leading growth over the past year has enabled promotion and career growth opportunities to a record number of employees," said Gordon Coburn, chief financial and operating officer, Cognizant in an e-mail.
Apart from the email, company officials remained tightlipped about any of the announcements including a hike in the salaries.
The company has sent out letters of promotion to 15,000 employees on Friday that will take effect from May 1, 2010, sources said.
ToI has also learnt that this is just the first round of promotions and a second batch of promotions for people above the 'manager' level will happen in May. It is learnt that a sizeable chunk of the employees in that level are also likely to see themselves redesignated to a higher level. These employees would receive a fair chunk of pay hikes as well, sources added.
The company has 78,400 employees. This is the single largest number of promotions announced by any IT company in India this year. Last month, Infosys had announced promotions for 7,500 employees.
"This morning we announced global promotions for associates below the level of Manager. These promotions would be effective May 1, 2010. Cognizant's industry-leading growth over the past year has enabled promotion and career growth opportunities to a record number of employees," said Gordon Coburn, chief financial and operating officer, Cognizant in an e-mail.
Apart from the email, company officials remained tightlipped about any of the announcements including a hike in the salaries.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
CTS, IT market
Cognizant announces bonuses, number touches 200 pc for top performers
Cognizant has announced bonuses for its employees globally for the calendar year 2009, seeking to reward employees after it posted strong growth in a difficult year.
The Nasdaq-listed company,which competes with TCS, Infosys and Wipro, confirmed the bonus payout but did not give out figures. However, people close to the situation told ET Now that the top performers got as much as 200% bonus, a number which is unprecedented in recent years, when IT companies felt the brunt of the recession in their major markets. They also added that a vast majority of employees got bonuses between 150-200%.
Cognizant’s performance-linked incentives are tied to the variable part of the compensation, which is about 10-15 percent at junior levels and goes to as high as 40 percent of the total compensation at senior levels.
The Nasdaq-listed company,which competes with TCS, Infosys and Wipro, confirmed the bonus payout but did not give out figures. However, people close to the situation told ET Now that the top performers got as much as 200% bonus, a number which is unprecedented in recent years, when IT companies felt the brunt of the recession in their major markets. They also added that a vast majority of employees got bonuses between 150-200%.
Cognizant’s performance-linked incentives are tied to the variable part of the compensation, which is about 10-15 percent at junior levels and goes to as high as 40 percent of the total compensation at senior levels.
Monday, January 4, 2010
cognizant, CTS, H1-B, IT market
Information technology: The wonder decade
What started as an industry riding the demand from global customers seeking to make their IT and business systems Y2K compliant is today almost a $60-billion industry, contributing nearly 4% to India’s GDP.
Source: EconomicTimes
-1999 - The biggest inflection point was the role Indian companies played in combating the so-called millennium bug. TCS, Wipro and others become trusted partners for companies worldwide seeking to achieve Y2K compliance
-Infosys achieves $100 million in revenues, lists on Nasdaq. India’s outsourcing industry grows to $4 billion 2000-2001 - Indian IT industry moves from Y2K to complex e-business projects
-Dewang Mehta, who helped Indian IT industry grow in its early years, dies. Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom head
-US increases H1B visa limit to 1,95,000, the highest ever
-Wipro lists on NYSE
-2002-2003 - NR Narayana Murthy steps down from Infosys and Nandan Nilekani takes over
-Post the dotcom bust, companies such as DSQ Software, Pentafour and Silverline perish
-2004-2005 - TCS lists on BSE
-Large customers start offshoring ERP-based projects. Infosys becomes a $1-billion company, Wipro too crosses $1 billion in revenues
-GE sells 60% in GECIS — the back office pioneer — to private equity firms. The Indian BPO industry starts growing rapidly
-IBM, Accenture and HP start developing their Indian offshore presence to make them their largest operations outside the US
-2006-2007 - Indian IT becomes a $31-billion industry
-Protectionism in top export markets forces Indian IT companies to start hiring locals
-2008-2009 - Infosys’ revenues cross $4 billion. Nilekani joins the government as chairman of the Unique Identity Authority of India
-HCL acquires UK’s Axon for £441.1 million, the biggest ever acquisition for Indian IT
-Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju admits to over $1-billion fraud. Tech Mahindra acquires Satyam
-TCS’ annual revenues cross $6 billion. N Chandrasekaran takes over from S Ramadorai as chief executive
Source: EconomicTimes
-1999 - The biggest inflection point was the role Indian companies played in combating the so-called millennium bug. TCS, Wipro and others become trusted partners for companies worldwide seeking to achieve Y2K compliance
-Infosys achieves $100 million in revenues, lists on Nasdaq. India’s outsourcing industry grows to $4 billion 2000-2001 - Indian IT industry moves from Y2K to complex e-business projects
-Dewang Mehta, who helped Indian IT industry grow in its early years, dies. Kiran Karnik takes over as Nasscom head
-US increases H1B visa limit to 1,95,000, the highest ever
-Wipro lists on NYSE
-2002-2003 - NR Narayana Murthy steps down from Infosys and Nandan Nilekani takes over
-Post the dotcom bust, companies such as DSQ Software, Pentafour and Silverline perish
-2004-2005 - TCS lists on BSE
-Large customers start offshoring ERP-based projects. Infosys becomes a $1-billion company, Wipro too crosses $1 billion in revenues
-GE sells 60% in GECIS — the back office pioneer — to private equity firms. The Indian BPO industry starts growing rapidly
-IBM, Accenture and HP start developing their Indian offshore presence to make them their largest operations outside the US
-2006-2007 - Indian IT becomes a $31-billion industry
-Protectionism in top export markets forces Indian IT companies to start hiring locals
-2008-2009 - Infosys’ revenues cross $4 billion. Nilekani joins the government as chairman of the Unique Identity Authority of India
-HCL acquires UK’s Axon for £441.1 million, the biggest ever acquisition for Indian IT
-Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju admits to over $1-billion fraud. Tech Mahindra acquires Satyam
-TCS’ annual revenues cross $6 billion. N Chandrasekaran takes over from S Ramadorai as chief executive
Monday, December 28, 2009
CTS, new openings
Cognizant makes 700 job offers at Anna Univ campus
IT services major, Cognizant on Tuesday announced that it has made 700 job offers to students of Anna University’s constituent colleges in Chennai.
Coming in the top slot among bulk recruiters, Cognizant picked up the students through a two-day long campus recruitment process covering students from almost all branches of the UG and PG programmes.
Welcoming the ‘future Cognizant associates," Cognizant corporate marketing and research VP R Ramkumar said Anna University, along with its constituent colleges, is the largest contributor to Cognizant’s talent pool of fresh graduates in each of the last several years across India.
"It is with justifiable pride that we can say that the alumni of this reputable institution, along with several others globally, have helped sculpt Cognizant with a difference," he said handing over the list of selected students to the University vice-chancellor, Prof R Mannar Jawahar.
"One critical aspect of our recruiting is the fact that we are branch/discipline agnostic. This helps us substantially today in solving the business problems of customers across industries by leveraging technology. With structural changes happening across industries and sub-industries, there is an increasing need for much deeper domain specialisation.," Mr Ramkumar added.
Noting that in addition to students from core circuit branches (computing, electronic, electrical and instrumentation), he said the students from different disciplines of study added immense value to Cognizant.
Coming in the top slot among bulk recruiters, Cognizant picked up the students through a two-day long campus recruitment process covering students from almost all branches of the UG and PG programmes.
Welcoming the ‘future Cognizant associates," Cognizant corporate marketing and research VP R Ramkumar said Anna University, along with its constituent colleges, is the largest contributor to Cognizant’s talent pool of fresh graduates in each of the last several years across India.
"It is with justifiable pride that we can say that the alumni of this reputable institution, along with several others globally, have helped sculpt Cognizant with a difference," he said handing over the list of selected students to the University vice-chancellor, Prof R Mannar Jawahar.
"One critical aspect of our recruiting is the fact that we are branch/discipline agnostic. This helps us substantially today in solving the business problems of customers across industries by leveraging technology. With structural changes happening across industries and sub-industries, there is an increasing need for much deeper domain specialisation.," Mr Ramkumar added.
Noting that in addition to students from core circuit branches (computing, electronic, electrical and instrumentation), he said the students from different disciplines of study added immense value to Cognizant.
Friday, October 16, 2009
CTS
Cognizant snaps up UBS' Indian captive for $75 million
UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank by assets, has sold its Indian back-office captive to multinational services firm Cognizant Technology Solutions for around $75 million along with a five-year outsourcing contract worth up to $442 million. The acquisition will strengthen Cognizant’s BPO practice and also help it expand its relations with UBS, an existing client.
“We are among the top five companies providing technological services for the financial services sector. This acquisition helps us consolidate our position, expand our service offering and take our solutions to a wider geography. We have significant revenues coming from the US whereas the USB ISC (India Service Centre) has more than half its revenues coming from APAC and Europe regions. So, this helps in diversifying our revenue base,” Cognizant vice-chairman Lakshmi Narayanan told ET NOW on Thursday.
A report by Deutsche Bank said the deal was reasonably priced, through which Cognizant would acquire highly skilled employees. The report further said, “It highlights Cognizant’s ability to expand with existing clients and captives tend to have margin leverage potential related to improved span of control opportunities.”
ET had reported last month that UBS was in discussions with Cognizant for a potential sale of its UBS India Service Centre and was exploring to bundle an outsourcing contract with the transaction. The bank had held discussions with Infosys and Wipro who count UBS as their customer.
Divesting non-core captive operations is a strategy adopted by banks such as Citigroup and UBS for focusing better on their core operations and also gain better outsourcing rates by bundling such transactions with a multi-year contract.
An upfront payment also helps them unlock value from non-core assets. Citibank sold its Indian back office business to TCS for around $505 million in October last year and Citi Technology Services for around $127 million to Wipro in December last year. Both these transactions came with assured outsourcing business of around $3 billion together for these vendors.
While around 2,000 staff of UBS’ India captive unit in Hyderabad will move to Cognizant as part of this transaction, the bank’s captive operations in Poland has not been included in this deal, a Cognizant spokesman added.
The $442-million outsourcing contract bundled with this deal includes work beyond back office and knowledge process outsourcing and could involve application development and IT hardware management as well.
“We are among the top five companies providing technological services for the financial services sector. This acquisition helps us consolidate our position, expand our service offering and take our solutions to a wider geography. We have significant revenues coming from the US whereas the USB ISC (India Service Centre) has more than half its revenues coming from APAC and Europe regions. So, this helps in diversifying our revenue base,” Cognizant vice-chairman Lakshmi Narayanan told ET NOW on Thursday.
A report by Deutsche Bank said the deal was reasonably priced, through which Cognizant would acquire highly skilled employees. The report further said, “It highlights Cognizant’s ability to expand with existing clients and captives tend to have margin leverage potential related to improved span of control opportunities.”
ET had reported last month that UBS was in discussions with Cognizant for a potential sale of its UBS India Service Centre and was exploring to bundle an outsourcing contract with the transaction. The bank had held discussions with Infosys and Wipro who count UBS as their customer.
Divesting non-core captive operations is a strategy adopted by banks such as Citigroup and UBS for focusing better on their core operations and also gain better outsourcing rates by bundling such transactions with a multi-year contract.
An upfront payment also helps them unlock value from non-core assets. Citibank sold its Indian back office business to TCS for around $505 million in October last year and Citi Technology Services for around $127 million to Wipro in December last year. Both these transactions came with assured outsourcing business of around $3 billion together for these vendors.
While around 2,000 staff of UBS’ India captive unit in Hyderabad will move to Cognizant as part of this transaction, the bank’s captive operations in Poland has not been included in this deal, a Cognizant spokesman added.
The $442-million outsourcing contract bundled with this deal includes work beyond back office and knowledge process outsourcing and could involve application development and IT hardware management as well.
Friday, September 18, 2009
BPO, CTS
UBS in talks with Cognizant, Genpact to sell its BPO units
Switzerland-based bank UBS, which is looking to exit its captive business and knowledge process outsourcing units, is in advanced negotiations with leading IT firms Cognizant and Genpact, said four people familiar with the development. The deal is expected to be announced soon, they added.
UBS India Service Centre, or ISC, which has two offices in Hyderabad along with its Krakow (Poland) centre, is valued at close to $100 million (about Rs 480 crore at current exchange rates), according to an executive familiar with the transaction. The deal, if it were to eventually transpire, could also include a sweetener for the new owner in the form of a multi-year contract with a committed revenue of around $400 million.
If successful, this would be the second time a global bank would be hiving off its largely India-based BPO arm. In 2008, Citigroup sold two of its captive units — Citigroup Global Services to TCS for $505 million and Citi Technology Services to Wipro for $100 million.
Between Cognizant and Genpact, the former could likely bid more aggressively as “it has been hungry for an acquisition in the captive BPO space,” said an executive from a large advisory firm who is familiar with the businesses. Also, Cognizant could leverage on the process outsourcing business in the banking and financial services (BFS) space, he added.
Genpact and Cognizant declined to comment on the deal. Pramod Bhasin, president & CEO of Genpact, said in a text message: “No comments on any M&A type of rumours please.” In an e-mailed response to ET’s query, a UBS spokesman said: “UBS continually seeks to explore commercial opportunities in all jurisdictions in which it operates that have the potential to be of benefit to the company and its component businesses. However, UBS remains committed to all its activities in India.”
UBS India Service Centre, or ISC, which has two offices in Hyderabad along with its Krakow (Poland) centre, is valued at close to $100 million (about Rs 480 crore at current exchange rates), according to an executive familiar with the transaction. The deal, if it were to eventually transpire, could also include a sweetener for the new owner in the form of a multi-year contract with a committed revenue of around $400 million.
If successful, this would be the second time a global bank would be hiving off its largely India-based BPO arm. In 2008, Citigroup sold two of its captive units — Citigroup Global Services to TCS for $505 million and Citi Technology Services to Wipro for $100 million.
Between Cognizant and Genpact, the former could likely bid more aggressively as “it has been hungry for an acquisition in the captive BPO space,” said an executive from a large advisory firm who is familiar with the businesses. Also, Cognizant could leverage on the process outsourcing business in the banking and financial services (BFS) space, he added.
Genpact and Cognizant declined to comment on the deal. Pramod Bhasin, president & CEO of Genpact, said in a text message: “No comments on any M&A type of rumours please.” In an e-mailed response to ET’s query, a UBS spokesman said: “UBS continually seeks to explore commercial opportunities in all jurisdictions in which it operates that have the potential to be of benefit to the company and its component businesses. However, UBS remains committed to all its activities in India.”
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
CTS
Cognizant acquires US consultancy firm
Cognizant Technology Solutions, a leading provider of consulting, technology and business process outsourcing (BPO) services, said on Tuesday that it had acquired all the assets of Pepperweed Advisors, the information technology consulting services division of Pepperweed Consulting. The company did not disclose the value of the acquisition.
According to the company’s statement, the acquisition will bring Cognizant’s IT infrastructure services (ITIS) practice a strategic consulting capability in two areas — IT service management (ITSM) and IT asset management (ITAM). The statement added that the company would also gain seasoned consulting talent and significant intellectual property, including well-defined ITIL-based processes, tools and frameworks.
Francisco D’Souza, President and CEO of Cognizant said, “Our consulting breadth and depth have been a significant differentiator for our growing ITIS practice. Pepperweed helps to round out our ITIS consulting portfolio while enhancing our ability to serve as trusted advisors to our clients.”
“Process improvement is a top priority for IT infrastructure and operations leaders in 2009. Pepperweed Advisors brings us intellectual property, IT process models, and detailed delivery kits that deepen our domain expertise,” said Robert Boles, Vice President, ITIS, Cognizant.
According to the company’s statement, the acquisition will bring Cognizant’s IT infrastructure services (ITIS) practice a strategic consulting capability in two areas — IT service management (ITSM) and IT asset management (ITAM). The statement added that the company would also gain seasoned consulting talent and significant intellectual property, including well-defined ITIL-based processes, tools and frameworks.
Francisco D’Souza, President and CEO of Cognizant said, “Our consulting breadth and depth have been a significant differentiator for our growing ITIS practice. Pepperweed helps to round out our ITIS consulting portfolio while enhancing our ability to serve as trusted advisors to our clients.”
“Process improvement is a top priority for IT infrastructure and operations leaders in 2009. Pepperweed Advisors brings us intellectual property, IT process models, and detailed delivery kits that deepen our domain expertise,” said Robert Boles, Vice President, ITIS, Cognizant.
cognizant, CTS, H1-B, NRIs
20,000 H1B visas still up for grabs in the US
About 20,000 H-1B visas, one of the most sought after for overseas professionals including Indians, are still up for grabs in the US which is struggling to fill up the allocated number of 65,000, even as less than a month remains before the start of the next financial year.
Primarily meant for computers and information technology professionals, the H-1B visas have been one of the most sought after for foreign professionals in previous years.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has been receiving several times the number of the allocated quota. However, this year, the USCIS is struggling to fill up the 65,000 H-1B visas as mandated by the US Congress.
This is mainly attributed to the strict approval policy adopted by the USCIS this year and the ongoing economic recession, which has resulted in a 26-year high unemployment rate of 9.
Primarily meant for computers and information technology professionals, the H-1B visas have been one of the most sought after for foreign professionals in previous years.
The US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has been receiving several times the number of the allocated quota. However, this year, the USCIS is struggling to fill up the 65,000 H-1B visas as mandated by the US Congress.
This is mainly attributed to the strict approval policy adopted by the USCIS this year and the ongoing economic recession, which has resulted in a 26-year high unemployment rate of 9.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
CTS, new openings
Cognizant opens techno-campus in Coimbatore
In continuing its effort to spread to multiple markets, Cognizant Technology Solutions is looking to tap emerging markets like India, Middle East, Australia, Japan and Latin America.
Speaking to reporters after the inauguration of its new campus here on Sunday, Cognizant president and MD, R Chandrasekaran said, the company is slowly planning to expand its operations.
"It has been our conscious effort to increase our presence globally. Three years ago, we set up a management team in Japan. Last year, we reached Australia and now we have planned a strong team for India. We also service MNC clients in Singapore and China," he added.
In the last fifteen years, the company has been mainly concentrating on US and Europe markets. "We have 78% exposure in US and 20% exposure in Europe markets. Now, it is time to increase revenue from other markets as well," Mr Chandrasekaran said.
He added that it was not because of recession that the company is looking beyond US and Europe markets, but even in good times, it was planning to leverage its presence across the globe. "It will be a natural progression and we will continue to invest in North America market also," he added.
The company is also looking to get more of domestic business. "We have 18 to 20 clients in India and there is huge opportunity," Mr Chandrasekaran said.
Speaking to reporters after the inauguration of its new campus here on Sunday, Cognizant president and MD, R Chandrasekaran said, the company is slowly planning to expand its operations.
"It has been our conscious effort to increase our presence globally. Three years ago, we set up a management team in Japan. Last year, we reached Australia and now we have planned a strong team for India. We also service MNC clients in Singapore and China," he added.
In the last fifteen years, the company has been mainly concentrating on US and Europe markets. "We have 78% exposure in US and 20% exposure in Europe markets. Now, it is time to increase revenue from other markets as well," Mr Chandrasekaran said.
He added that it was not because of recession that the company is looking beyond US and Europe markets, but even in good times, it was planning to leverage its presence across the globe. "It will be a natural progression and we will continue to invest in North America market also," he added.
The company is also looking to get more of domestic business. "We have 18 to 20 clients in India and there is huge opportunity," Mr Chandrasekaran said.
cognizant, CTS, H1-B, NRIs
H1B Cap : August 2009 Update
The USCIS H1B cap count, as of August 14, 2009, is 45,000. This is a slight increase over the past several counts. The advanced degree cap remains at 20,000. The USCIS continues to accept FY2010 H1B cases under the advanced degree and regular caps.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
CTS, Wipro
Cognizant pips Wipro as third in North American revenue
Cognizant has pipped Wipro in terms of revenue from the North America — a major market for Indian IT companies. The New Jersey-based company, whose major operations are in India, now ranks third after TCS and Infy. Cognizant’s revenues from the region touched $621 million during April-June 2009 quarter while Wipro’s revenues fell $16 million to $617 million in the same quarter.
“Cognizant has been reporting better results than the others. The company is growing at 13-14 % and is gaining market share more than the others in the region and are growing faster than the competition ,” Manik Taneja of Emkay Research said.
Interestingly, from July-September 2008 quarter till April-June 2009, Cognizant has been the only one in the top four to have consistently gained in revenues from the region. TCS topped the quarter with $774 million and Infy $726 million.
“Cognizant focuses on a limited number of geographies and industries and has built deep capabilities and insights in those areas. Through a combination of deep consulting and domain expertise, and high-touch relationship management , Cognizant has built leadership positions in each of the areas. We will continue to invest in North America, while expanding in other markets like Europe and Asia Pacific,” a Cognizant spokesperson said.
Manish Dugar, CFO, Wipro Technologies told ToI, “We do not believe that we have fallen behind in North America... we continue to win large deals... see good traction in terms of deal pipeline... Our revenues in the US have broadly been in line with our overall performance. While the macroeconomic environment has been challenging in the US, we are starting to see semblance of stability in the markets.”
“Cognizant has been reporting better results than the others. The company is growing at 13-14 % and is gaining market share more than the others in the region and are growing faster than the competition ,” Manik Taneja of Emkay Research said.
Interestingly, from July-September 2008 quarter till April-June 2009, Cognizant has been the only one in the top four to have consistently gained in revenues from the region. TCS topped the quarter with $774 million and Infy $726 million.
“Cognizant focuses on a limited number of geographies and industries and has built deep capabilities and insights in those areas. Through a combination of deep consulting and domain expertise, and high-touch relationship management , Cognizant has built leadership positions in each of the areas. We will continue to invest in North America, while expanding in other markets like Europe and Asia Pacific,” a Cognizant spokesperson said.
Manish Dugar, CFO, Wipro Technologies told ToI, “We do not believe that we have fallen behind in North America... we continue to win large deals... see good traction in terms of deal pipeline... Our revenues in the US have broadly been in line with our overall performance. While the macroeconomic environment has been challenging in the US, we are starting to see semblance of stability in the markets.”
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
cognizant, CTS, H1-B, NRIs
Visa norms crush Indian job dream for expat spouses
Source: EconomicTimes
In August last year, when Miranda Green’s husband, Drew, got an offer from Shell to relocate to India on an intra-company transfer with full international terms, the Dutch couple was ecstatic. It helped that the energy company promoted dual-career couples like Miranda and Drew, both had worked for over 20 years with Shell, she in the accounts department and Drew as a materials and corrosion engineer.
The company also needed an accounts specialist with deep knowledge of Shell’s processes to lead its new business support organisation in Bangalore, and Miranda’s qualification and experience with Shell were a perfect fit for the job.
Things seemed to be going according to plan for the couple until they applied for work visas (called employment, or ‘E’ category, visas) at the Indian embassy in the Netherlands in February this year. While Drew, 46, got his, Miranda’s was refused on the grounds that as an expatriate’s (expat’s) wife she is not eligible to work in India.
“My job meant a lot to me. Drew and I were shocked and devastated. It became clear in our discussions with the embassy that any further appeals might make matters worse. After a lot of soul-searching, we decided to go ahead with Drew’s assignment and I resigned my job to accompany him (to Bangalore),” says a dejected Miranda.
For 35-year-old American Brandon de Cuir, too, the passage to India as an accompanying spouse has been a difficult one. Brandon’s wife, Christi DeCuir, a business development executive, got an India assignment on an intra-company transfer with Cisco Systems starting January 2008.
Since Brandon’s then employer, Seattle-based renewable energy firm Blue Marble Energy, did not have operations in India, it became difficult for him to obtain a visa. So he thought he would do the next best thing: try and land a job in India’s tech capital, Bangalore.
“I tried with at least four local start-ups, but the fact that as an accompanying spouse I would need to return to my home country to apply for an employment visa and the inherent bureaucracy and uncertainty in the whole process put the companies off making a job offer,” says Brandon, who is now willy-nilly a full-time homemaker and baby-sitter––the couple were blessed with a baby boy, their firstborn, last fortnight.
“This is such a pity as the Indian government says it wants to encourage the type of technologies in which I have expertise,” he added. The Greens and the de Cuirs are among the hundreds of expat couples whose India dreams begin to sour when they come into contact with an outdated visa regime that hinders dependent visa-holders, chiefly spouses, from automatically working in the country even after a valid job offer on an intra-company transfer.
Couples of Indian origin, who often opt for a career move to India, too are impacted by this law. Currently, foreign nationals coming to India on an employment visa may obtain an “X visa” meant for dependents such as spouses. If the spouse decides to take up employment in India, the person will be required to go back to the port of origin and obtain an employment visa, which could take a long time.
Refusal rates, too, are high, as in the case of Miranda Green. There are over 50,000 highly skilled expat employees in India working with Indian and overseas multinational companies, according to an estimate by the Hague-based Permits Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that lobbies governments globally for open work authorisation for expat spouses. The foundation counts 42 leading transnationals such as Shell, Ericsson, British Airways, ING, Unilever, AstraZeneca and KPMG among its corporate sponsors.
“India is a growth story; every company wants to bring its best people to India, and our members put India right on top of our priority list along with Indonesia, Malaysia, the European Union and China,” says Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton, a member of the Board of Permits Foundation.
The foundation has recently begun a lobbying effort with the Indian government to make it easier for highly skilled spouses of expats to work in this country. It is also in talks with member companies on the issue. “They (the companies) all recognise this as a small but important issue. It starts with being a personal issue, but becomes a corporate issue (soon),” adds Ms Wilk-Carlton.
Archana Bhaskar, HR head of Shell India, says that spouses not being able to work has become a issue because of the criticality of expat skills, especially in a sector like oil and gas. “Invariably, the question from these potential expat hires is whether their spouse can work in India, and often they don’t accept India postings because this is not easy,” she said. The Shell Group employs around 100 expats among its 2,000 staff.
Globally, despite protectionism by some governments in the wake of the economic slowdown, the cross-border movement of highly skilled professionals remains critical for multinational corporations. Experts feel that India, too, needs to imbibe a range of skills that are not available locally to cross-pollinate them with the ones that exist in the country.
As far as the Indian government is concerned, it is grappling with a huge backlog of cases pertaining to various visa issues such as extensions and transfers since 2003, “and any big change on employment visas looks unlikely,” feels Mumbai-based immigration lawyer Poorvi Chothani.
A senior official in the ministry of home affairs told ET that there is no policy change in the offing for spouses of foreign nationals coming to India on employment visas. “The Indian rules are merely reflecting old patterns of expat entry when spouses were not working. It is probably an oversight, but for us it’s early days in our engagement with the government here,” observes Ms Wilk-Carlton.
Work permit-related restrictions often depend on reciprocal arrangements between two countries. “Some MNCs have been lobbying with the Indian government to allow spouses of employment visa holders to work in India. However, it often depends on reciprocal protocol in the country of origin. For instance, there are a large number of Indians in the US on H1B visas and their spouses are not allowed to work there. Besides, the mandatory payment of social security is also an issue with the H1B visa holders. Sorting out such reciprocal issues would help in easing work permit issues for spouses of expats working in India,” says Sonu Iyer, tax partner, at Ernst & Young.
Compared to some of the countries where there are a large number of Indians on work permits, India does not really fare too well in offering a level playing field for spouses of work permit holders. “Increasingly, countries view business-related transfers differently from long-term immigration and recognise the benefit of introducing country ‘attractiveness’ measures,” the Permits Foundation wrote while presenting its case to the home ministry.
Miranda says that right now they are only eight weeks into her husband’s assignment, so she is busy with the challenges of settling into a new country. “But there will come a moment when I want to think about what else I can do to keep my brain active and my employment skills up to date. If I do find another job, I understand that the regulations require me to go back to the Netherlands to start the whole employment visa process again. I don’t relish the thought of it,” remarks Miranda, who says that her husband has already halved his four-year assignment because of the country’s unsympathetic work visa regime for expat spouses.
A global survey by the Permits Foundation covering over 3,000 expat spouses in 117 countries in December last year lists lack of job opportunity for the spouse as a major mobility deterrent for senior executives.
Brandon says that he and his wife have now been in India 18 months and his desire to work in the host country has been a major factor in deciding not to stay here longer despite the fact that Cisco would have liked his wife to extend her contract.
“My wife’s next posting is likely to be in Europe where there are several countries in which I, as an accompanying spouse, am permitted to take employment or self employment without needing a separate work permit. This will make it a really attractive posting for both of us,” he said.
In August last year, when Miranda Green’s husband, Drew, got an offer from Shell to relocate to India on an intra-company transfer with full international terms, the Dutch couple was ecstatic. It helped that the energy company promoted dual-career couples like Miranda and Drew, both had worked for over 20 years with Shell, she in the accounts department and Drew as a materials and corrosion engineer.
The company also needed an accounts specialist with deep knowledge of Shell’s processes to lead its new business support organisation in Bangalore, and Miranda’s qualification and experience with Shell were a perfect fit for the job.
Things seemed to be going according to plan for the couple until they applied for work visas (called employment, or ‘E’ category, visas) at the Indian embassy in the Netherlands in February this year. While Drew, 46, got his, Miranda’s was refused on the grounds that as an expatriate’s (expat’s) wife she is not eligible to work in India.
“My job meant a lot to me. Drew and I were shocked and devastated. It became clear in our discussions with the embassy that any further appeals might make matters worse. After a lot of soul-searching, we decided to go ahead with Drew’s assignment and I resigned my job to accompany him (to Bangalore),” says a dejected Miranda.
For 35-year-old American Brandon de Cuir, too, the passage to India as an accompanying spouse has been a difficult one. Brandon’s wife, Christi DeCuir, a business development executive, got an India assignment on an intra-company transfer with Cisco Systems starting January 2008.
Since Brandon’s then employer, Seattle-based renewable energy firm Blue Marble Energy, did not have operations in India, it became difficult for him to obtain a visa. So he thought he would do the next best thing: try and land a job in India’s tech capital, Bangalore.
“I tried with at least four local start-ups, but the fact that as an accompanying spouse I would need to return to my home country to apply for an employment visa and the inherent bureaucracy and uncertainty in the whole process put the companies off making a job offer,” says Brandon, who is now willy-nilly a full-time homemaker and baby-sitter––the couple were blessed with a baby boy, their firstborn, last fortnight.
“This is such a pity as the Indian government says it wants to encourage the type of technologies in which I have expertise,” he added. The Greens and the de Cuirs are among the hundreds of expat couples whose India dreams begin to sour when they come into contact with an outdated visa regime that hinders dependent visa-holders, chiefly spouses, from automatically working in the country even after a valid job offer on an intra-company transfer.
Couples of Indian origin, who often opt for a career move to India, too are impacted by this law. Currently, foreign nationals coming to India on an employment visa may obtain an “X visa” meant for dependents such as spouses. If the spouse decides to take up employment in India, the person will be required to go back to the port of origin and obtain an employment visa, which could take a long time.
Refusal rates, too, are high, as in the case of Miranda Green. There are over 50,000 highly skilled expat employees in India working with Indian and overseas multinational companies, according to an estimate by the Hague-based Permits Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that lobbies governments globally for open work authorisation for expat spouses. The foundation counts 42 leading transnationals such as Shell, Ericsson, British Airways, ING, Unilever, AstraZeneca and KPMG among its corporate sponsors.
“India is a growth story; every company wants to bring its best people to India, and our members put India right on top of our priority list along with Indonesia, Malaysia, the European Union and China,” says Kathleen van der Wilk-Carlton, a member of the Board of Permits Foundation.
The foundation has recently begun a lobbying effort with the Indian government to make it easier for highly skilled spouses of expats to work in this country. It is also in talks with member companies on the issue. “They (the companies) all recognise this as a small but important issue. It starts with being a personal issue, but becomes a corporate issue (soon),” adds Ms Wilk-Carlton.
Archana Bhaskar, HR head of Shell India, says that spouses not being able to work has become a issue because of the criticality of expat skills, especially in a sector like oil and gas. “Invariably, the question from these potential expat hires is whether their spouse can work in India, and often they don’t accept India postings because this is not easy,” she said. The Shell Group employs around 100 expats among its 2,000 staff.
Globally, despite protectionism by some governments in the wake of the economic slowdown, the cross-border movement of highly skilled professionals remains critical for multinational corporations. Experts feel that India, too, needs to imbibe a range of skills that are not available locally to cross-pollinate them with the ones that exist in the country.
As far as the Indian government is concerned, it is grappling with a huge backlog of cases pertaining to various visa issues such as extensions and transfers since 2003, “and any big change on employment visas looks unlikely,” feels Mumbai-based immigration lawyer Poorvi Chothani.
A senior official in the ministry of home affairs told ET that there is no policy change in the offing for spouses of foreign nationals coming to India on employment visas. “The Indian rules are merely reflecting old patterns of expat entry when spouses were not working. It is probably an oversight, but for us it’s early days in our engagement with the government here,” observes Ms Wilk-Carlton.
Work permit-related restrictions often depend on reciprocal arrangements between two countries. “Some MNCs have been lobbying with the Indian government to allow spouses of employment visa holders to work in India. However, it often depends on reciprocal protocol in the country of origin. For instance, there are a large number of Indians in the US on H1B visas and their spouses are not allowed to work there. Besides, the mandatory payment of social security is also an issue with the H1B visa holders. Sorting out such reciprocal issues would help in easing work permit issues for spouses of expats working in India,” says Sonu Iyer, tax partner, at Ernst & Young.
Compared to some of the countries where there are a large number of Indians on work permits, India does not really fare too well in offering a level playing field for spouses of work permit holders. “Increasingly, countries view business-related transfers differently from long-term immigration and recognise the benefit of introducing country ‘attractiveness’ measures,” the Permits Foundation wrote while presenting its case to the home ministry.
Miranda says that right now they are only eight weeks into her husband’s assignment, so she is busy with the challenges of settling into a new country. “But there will come a moment when I want to think about what else I can do to keep my brain active and my employment skills up to date. If I do find another job, I understand that the regulations require me to go back to the Netherlands to start the whole employment visa process again. I don’t relish the thought of it,” remarks Miranda, who says that her husband has already halved his four-year assignment because of the country’s unsympathetic work visa regime for expat spouses.
A global survey by the Permits Foundation covering over 3,000 expat spouses in 117 countries in December last year lists lack of job opportunity for the spouse as a major mobility deterrent for senior executives.
Brandon says that he and his wife have now been in India 18 months and his desire to work in the host country has been a major factor in deciding not to stay here longer despite the fact that Cisco would have liked his wife to extend her contract.
“My wife’s next posting is likely to be in Europe where there are several countries in which I, as an accompanying spouse, am permitted to take employment or self employment without needing a separate work permit. This will make it a really attractive posting for both of us,” he said.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
cognizant, CTS, H1-B, NRIs
H-1B Visa Companies Getting Unannounced Visits by Feds
Source: eWeek
If your company is using H-1B visa workers, you may get a surprise from the government. Piece of advice for your manager: It's voluntary, but the surprise could intimidate.
In an attempt to help root out fraud and other criminal activity, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services agency is making surprise visits to companies with H-1B visa holders on the books.
After reports came out that there has been evidence shown of fraudulent use of temporary workers, bad documentation abusing the system and many visa holders not being paid prevailing wages, the Feds are showing up without notice and looking to see that everything is on the up and up. Click here for complete story from eWeek.
If your company is using H-1B visa workers, you may get a surprise from the government. Piece of advice for your manager: It's voluntary, but the surprise could intimidate.
In an attempt to help root out fraud and other criminal activity, the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services agency is making surprise visits to companies with H-1B visa holders on the books.
After reports came out that there has been evidence shown of fraudulent use of temporary workers, bad documentation abusing the system and many visa holders not being paid prevailing wages, the Feds are showing up without notice and looking to see that everything is on the up and up. Click here for complete story from eWeek.
BPO, CTS, new openings
Cognizant to offer BPO services from Phoenix centre
IT major Cognizant today announced operational expansion of its Phoenix delivery center and that it has added BPO services to an existing portfolio of application development, application maintenance, testing, and related services.
Cognizant's Phoenix BPO center will initially provide claim processing services for one of the largest healthcare plans in the US, it said in a statement.
The company also said it expects to hire over 100 full-time professionals in the next 12 months, drawing talent from the local market and academic community.
As a result, Cognizant's overall presence at Phoenix will grow to about 400 full-time employees, it added.
"With this expansion, we are able to offer clients US- based delivery capability across all our major service offerings," Cognizant President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco D'Souza said.
Phoenix is one of Cognizant's six delivery centers in the US. Besides Phoenix, the company delivers BPO services from local, regional and global centers in the US, Eastern Europe, India, and China.
Cognizant's Phoenix BPO center will initially provide claim processing services for one of the largest healthcare plans in the US, it said in a statement.
The company also said it expects to hire over 100 full-time professionals in the next 12 months, drawing talent from the local market and academic community.
As a result, Cognizant's overall presence at Phoenix will grow to about 400 full-time employees, it added.
"With this expansion, we are able to offer clients US- based delivery capability across all our major service offerings," Cognizant President and Chief Executive Officer Francisco D'Souza said.
Phoenix is one of Cognizant's six delivery centers in the US. Besides Phoenix, the company delivers BPO services from local, regional and global centers in the US, Eastern Europe, India, and China.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
cognizant, CTS, H1-B, NRIs
What is H2B visa?
H-2B Work Visa General Information: The H-2B Work Visa was created to allow people to come to the United States temporarily, mainly for non-agricultural jobs, in which the U.S. workers are in short supply. Up to 66,000 H-2B Visas are issued every year. This year's annual quota has not yet been reached. Prospects are good that H-2B Visas will remain available in future years.
H-2B Work Visa Eligibility Requirements: You qualify for an H-2B Work Visa if you are coming to the United States to accept a temporary or seasonal non-agricultural job from a U.S. employer. You may apply if you have the correct background, skills or natural abilities needed by the employer.
H-2B Visas are targeted towards skilled and unskilled workers. The H-2B Work Visa for Skilled and Unskilled Workers Application Guide is comprehensive, detailed, and easy to understand. It contains everything one needs in order to successfully apply for a H-2B Visa.
H-2B Work Visa Eligibility Requirements: You qualify for an H-2B Work Visa if you are coming to the United States to accept a temporary or seasonal non-agricultural job from a U.S. employer. You may apply if you have the correct background, skills or natural abilities needed by the employer.
H-2B Visas are targeted towards skilled and unskilled workers. The H-2B Work Visa for Skilled and Unskilled Workers Application Guide is comprehensive, detailed, and easy to understand. It contains everything one needs in order to successfully apply for a H-2B Visa.
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