Job woes to remain if manufacturing doesn't pick up: Kotak Securities

The merger of SBI with associates had resulted in restructuring of the workforce.

Business Standard : Growth momentum in India may turn out to be a “jobless growth scenario” in the next 3 years, if the manufacturing sector fails to pick up, said brokerage house Kotak Securities.

According to Kamlesh Rao, MD and CEO of the firm, job op­portunities in the services se­c­tor — a key contributor of em­p­loyment — are expected to re­d­uce in the current economic scenario. “The services sector, which fuels job growth, will definitely go down. And so, the manufacturing sector is needed which can create job opportunities”, he said. He was res­p­o­nding to questions asked over merger of public sector banks, and other such proposals.

The merger of SBI with associates had resulted in restructuring of the workforce, but such fears have been allayed among other public sector firms in banking and insurance sector. In a reply to Lok Sabha last December, Pon Radhakrish­nan, Minister of State for Finance, had said the services sector had contributed 53.9 per cent to the country’s gross value added at current prices, during FY18.

The manufacturing sector, on the other hand, accounted for 16.7 per cent of the GVA.

ALSO READ: Modi govt needs to review manufacturing, private sector investment

The brokerage firm said the government needs to attract foreign direct investment in manufacturing to make India a global hub, and that the move may entail improvement in ease of doing business along with land and labour laws in the country.

“The trade war between the US and China presents India with a huge opportunity to develop its manufacturing vertical. The global situation might bring the markets down, but it’s an opportunity at the same time,” he said.

Rao feels the government needs to act on reforms in the next two fiscal quarters to keep growth momentum in the country, as well as the bourses, going.

He opined that the IBC resolution process needs to be fastened and steps needs to be taken to solve the liquidity situation of non-banking financial companies. Increase in financialisation and conversion of savings into investments have also been suggested by Kotak Securities.

Rural unemployment: When jobs disappear, women are the first to lose out

The 'feminisation of agriculture' is 'not to be celebrated', because farm jobs keep women confined to 'low paid, insecure and oppressive labour relations'.

When Kamal Gangrude looks across at the fields beside her home on the valley floor, she sees swathes of farmland which this year will not be weeded, ploughed or planted. Sold to developers who will build factories and roads or generally put it to non-agricultural use, the loss of this farmland has also meant a loss of vital labouring jobs for the Dalit families of Pimplad, a village in Nashik district of Maharashtra.

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Previously when the monsoon rains arrived, villagers like Gangrude were assured of at least two months of work, earning between Rs 200-250 per day in the nearby rice fields. Now the work available has decreased and is more irregular. “The population is growing but the number of jobs is reducing each year,” Gangrude told IndiaSpend one hot March morning. “Last year some people got just three weeks of work in the whole season. With more machinery around too, the work is done faster.”

Gangrude’s husband is one of the lucky ones. A few years ago, he found a non-farming job as a tailor in the neighbouring town and earned Rs 6,000 last Diwali. But others, especially the village’s women, are often left jobless outside of the monsoon--the two-month period when the only farming work of the year is available. “After the plastic ban, an NGO came to the next village and taught the women how to sew cloth bags, petticoats and such things,” Gangudre said. “I would have liked to learn too but they didn't come here; I don’t know how else you can find this kind of work.”

Kamal Gangrude, 35, with her son in Pimplad village of Maharashtra's northwestern Nashik district. In the backdrop are the fields that used to provide a steady supply of farm jobs, but have now been sold to developers, thus restricting employment options for the village’s poor.

Like the villagers of Pimplad, an increasing number of women in Indian villages are being left with little employment options, except low-paid and erratic farm work. The number of female agricultural labourers in India increased by 24% between 2001 and 2011, even as 7.7 million farmers left farming, indicating how any limited, non-farming opportunities are increasingly being taken up by men, who are perceived as higher-skilled, better educated and more able to migrate for work.

This ‘feminisation of agriculture’ is “not to be celebrated”, said Ishita Mehrotra, assistant professor at Ambedkar University, Delhi, because farm jobs keep women confined to “low paid, insecure and oppressive labour relations”. Agricultural work is indicative of “a patriarchal ideology and a socio-cultural value system” that keeps women bound to the village and consumed with domestic work, while gender roles allow men to migrate for economic and social reasons, she said.

Mumbai expects 20% salary hike, Bengaluru's IT staff expect least increment

Bengaluru observed that 21 per cent people expect appraisals in the range of up to 10 per cent hike.

Business Standard : Professionals in the financial capital are looking at higher pay hikes of 20 percent or more, while those in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru expect only about 10 percent increment this year, says a survey.

Professionals in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai are looking for higher pay hikes of above 20 percent, while their counterparts in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru expect only 0-10 percent hike, says a survey by jobs portal Shine.com conducted across professionals from across industries in Mumbai, Delhi- NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai.

It has found that in Mumbai almost 37 percent of those polled are expecting increment of above 20 percent, while in Pune and Chennai it is 36 and 38 percent, respectively. As many as 62 percent of employees in Mumbai are looking for over 20 percent appraisal in the education or training sector, around 56 percent in the auto sector are eyeing the same.

"It is interesting to note the variance in employee expectations across different metro cities and across sectors. While employee sentiments are high across most sectors, it is a given that not all organisations will be able to meet these expectations," said Zairus Master, CEO, Shine.com.

Further, 48 percent in the auto sector and 38 percent in the education/training sector are also looking for over 20 percent hike in Pune. In Bengaluru, professionals are expecting up to 10 percent hikes, while those in Delhi-NCR are on a lower side.

Over 46 percent of e-commerce sector employees in Bengaluru are only expecting an average growth of 11-15 percent. A sector-wise analysis of appraisal expectations reveals that the highest appraisal sentiment is being carried by professionals in the banking, financial services and insurance and BPO/BPO/ITES sectors with over 35 percent expecting over 20 percent hikes.

Sectors including BFSI, IT and BPOs, that already offer high packages to employees are the ones driving these low expectations.

Although Bengaluru has been India’s IT hub for years, its e-commerce sector is expecting lower appraisals as compared to Delhi.

While over 46 percent of e-commerce sector employees in Bengaluru are only expecting an average growth of 11-15 percent, Delhi NCR (Gurgaon) has over 1/3rd professionals expecting a hike of over 20 percent.

Interim Budget falls short on a key promise made by Modi; creating jobs

With more than 90% of the labor force employed in the informal economy, the government has struggled to produce reliable data to get an accurate read on the level of joblessness in India

Interim Budget 2019 : India’s budget provided plenty of giveaways to farmers and middle-class voters, but was short on detail on one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s key promises: creating jobs.

The issue has become a politically sensitive one ahead of elections due by May, with the government accused of deliberately withholding the most recent labor report because of the possible bad news it presents. A local newspaper published leaked details of the report a day before the budget, showing the unemployment rate reached a four-decade high of 6.1 per cent in the year to June 2018.

Modi swept to power in May 2014 with the biggest electoral mandate in three decades after promising to create 10 million jobs each year. Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said in his budget speech last week that 20 million “employment opportunities” were added in two years. Yet no official labor survey has been published since 2016, when the unemployment rate was reported at 5 per cent.

ALSO READ: Interim Budget brings relief for taxpayers as compliance burden decreases

Much of the budget focused on consumer stimulus -- such as the $10.6 billion-plan to pay cash to farmers -- with few specific measures to help boost businesses to create opportunities for about 12 million young people who enter the job market each year.

“Some jobs will be created,” said Arun Kumar, a professor of economics at the Institute of Social Sciences in New Delhi, referring to the populist programs announced in the budget. “However, you need a much bigger push. It’s nothing compared to what’s needed.”

With more than 90 per cent of the labor force employed in the informal economy, the government has struggled to produce reliable data to get an accurate read on the level of joblessness in India.
For now, the government has rejected the findings of the leaked jobs data, saying they aren’t final. There’s lots of evidence to show jobs have been created in the last four years, Rajiv Kumar, vice chairman of the government think-tank NITI Aayog, said last week.
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Seeking a job? Amazon has 1,300 openings in India, highest in Asia-Pacific

Amazon's job openings in India are way ahead of those in China, Japan and Singapore.

The recently announced changes in regulations for e-commerce firms with foreign investment may have sent Amazon into a tizzy, but it certainly did not stop the e-commerce giant from stepping up its hiring efforts in the country.

With 1,300 job openings in India, Amazon has the highest number of listings for Asia-pacific region on its website, reported The Times of India.

This is way ahead than China (467 job openings), Japan (381) and Singapore (174). Barring the United States, only Germany has as many openings as India.

ALSO READ: In Bezos split, a question about who gets the couple's Amazon.com stock?

Most of the hiring is expected to be in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai.

It is not yet clear whether the openings are only for Amazon.com or also for Amazon Prime video, its voice assistant Alexa and the firm's other horizons as well.

The government's move to tighten norms has hit Amazon and Flipkart the hardest as the new regulations bar online marketplaces with foreign investment to sell products of companies where they hold stakes as well as ban exclusive marketing arrangements.

Industry sources say Amazon could be employing more people in India to push its case in the ongoing policy discussion with the Centre.

Amazon had said it has "always operated in compliance with the laws of the land" and is evaluating the new guidelines "to engage as necessary with the government to gain clarity".

According to the current policy, 100 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) is permitted in marketplace e-commerce activities. It is prohibited in an inventory-based model.

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Jobs bonanza: SBI, BoB, other PSBs to soon hire 100,000, offer fancy pays

Even as the PSBs struggle with the weight of non-performing assets, they are hunting for new-age talent for an image makeover.

Looking for a career in the banking sector? In a bid to accelerate their digital transformation and adoption of new-age banking practices, public sector banks (PSBs) are looking to hire as many as 100,000 people by 2019. PSBs like Bank of Baroda, Canara Bank, State Bank of India (SBI) and Syndicate Banks are in the process of doubling their hiring plans, ET reported.

Even as the PSBs struggle with the weight of non-performing assets, they are hunting for new-age talent for an image makeover. Traditionally, these banks mainly hire personnel at positions like the clerk, management trainees and probationary officers.

However, with the state-owned banks turning competitive, they are now tapping talents across the hierarchy with specialised functions such as wealth management, analytics, strategy, digital and customer services.

Fancy job profile with boasting salary package

The new-age talent will be alotted designations like chief ethics officer, chief marketing officer, chief investment officer, chief learning officer, head of analytics and digital marketing campaigner. Recruits will be offered a fancy salary package, which could go as high as Rs 5 million a year.

Syndicate Bank is recruiting 500 people this financial year, according to ET. "We need a new type of manpower as they will be put in new areas like digital marketing and stressed asset recovery," Mrutyunjay Mahapatra, CEO, Syndicate Bank said.

But, according to TeamLease, the PSB recruitment drive is being spearheaded by the country's largest lender, SBI. Besides fresh hiring, the bank is also looking to appoint 5,000 people through lateral hires in preparation for the potential business expansion on the cards over the coming quarters.

Bank job - a dream for millions

The popularity of bank jobs among job aspirants can be seen by the huge numbers who appear for the recruitment exam. The banking sector is one of the biggest recruiters in the country, and many young aspirants look forward to working in this sector. In May 2018, when SBI invited applications for around 10,000 posts at junior as well as probationary officer's level, it received as many as 2.6 million applications. 97.5 million applied for 2,000 probationary officers' posts and over 1.66 million people applied for 8,300 posts at the clerical level.

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