Hiring activity of Indian corporates was up 17% in February with telecom and auto sectors leading the rebound, a report by leading job portal Naukri.com said, reports PTI.

Job portal Naukri.com's monthly Job Speak survey reflected renewed optimism among recruiters, with the new job index moving up to 947 in February compared to 808 in January.

This time the portal has introduced its new and expanded job index, which takes into account not only the jobs posted online by its clients but also those made by them with the help of the website's tele-calling team.

A year-on-year comparison of the job index shows a 14% growth in February this year compared to the same month last year.

"Recruitment activity accelerated in February, reflecting underlying strength and positive momentum in the job market. The 'cautious optimism' that pervaded throughout the last year and a half has evaporated as most industry sectors are now looking to hire," Info Edge chief operating officer Hitesh Oberoi said.

Hiring activity for the top 10 industry sectors saw positive growth last month with telecom registering a 27% growth in the reviewed month compared to the same month last year.

The recruitment in IT-software and auto sectors moved up by 24% and banking and insurance rose 14% in February, the report said.

The IT sector has been witnessing a rapid growth in hiring and this trend is also reflected in the demand for IT software professionals, where the functional area job index moved up 24% in February.

Professions in sales and accounts also witnessed an increase in hiring by 18%-19% in February over January, the Naukri.com report said.

Overall, the index seems to be moving in a robust manner with hiring moving up across all industry verticals, functional areas and cities.

Among cities, Hyderabad emerged most bullish on hiring, with the city-wise job index moving up 25% in the last month. Chennai witnessed a growth of 21%, Delhi 12% and Bengaluru 11% in February.

Hiring activity for Kolkata picked up 21% last month, after two successive months of dips in the index.
 

StanChart is planning to raise up to $1 billion (over Rs4,500 crore) by June through Indian Depository Receipts

Global banking giant Standard Chartered Bank (StanChart) on Wednesday said that it is planning to raise up to $1 billion (over Rs4,500 crore) by June through Indian Depository Receipts (IDRs), reports PTI.

"We remain keen to pursue our intent to have an IDR offering. We are looking at quarter two (April-June 2010) and we are looking at $500 million to $1 billion," Standard Chartered Bank (South Asia) chief executive Neeraj Swaroop said on the sidelines of an event on microfinance.

The offering is subject to the market conditions and the Bank will have to take the final decision on it, he said. The IDR would be issued by parent entity Standard Chartered PLC.

Like American or Global Depository Receipts (ADRs/GDRs), where Indian companies raise resources overseas, IDRs enable foreign companies to do the same from India.

ADRs or IDRs are derivative instruments that derive their value from the shares deposited with custodians. The foreign companies deposit shares with a custodian, who in turn issues depository receipts based on these shares. The receipts are based on the ratio of shares equivalent to depository receipts.

The government notified the IDR rules in 2004. Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) norms too are in place for a number of years now.

SEBI guidelines permit only those companies listed in their home market for at least three years and have been profitable for three of the preceding five years for IDR issues.

Standard Chartered Bank plans to file the draft red herring prospectus with SEBI towards the end of March, Mr Swaroop had earlier said.

The Bank has appointed a host of investment bankers including Goldman Sachs, UBS, JM, Kotak Mahindra, SBI Capital and DSP Merril Lynch, to advise it on the proposed IDR issue.

In November last year, StanChart Global chief executive Peter Sands said that the proposed IDR issue would enhance the lenders commitment to the local market.

StanChart has over 94 branches in 37 cities in the country and a combined customer base of around 20 lakh retail customers, among others.

The Bank has operations in an array of verticals, including consumer and wholesale banking, private banking and small and medium enterprises (SME) banking.
 

The UID number would give hundreds of millions of Indians, who have no means to prove their identity in the absence of birth certificates and education certificates, an opportunity to access services and benefits that they are entitled to

The Unique Identification Number (UID) will bring in mobility, choice, transparency and accountability at the doorsteps of the common man, Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) chairman Nandan Nilekani has said, reports PTI.

The Infosys co-founder, who now heads the government's ambitious UIDAI, said that the UID is a scheme for the marginalised people of the country.

He said the slogan of 'bijli, sadak, pani' which talks about the need for development would now be taken over by a new catchphrase seeking bank accounts, mobile numbers and UIDs.

The 16-digit unique number, which is likely to be rolled out by next year, would be a fundamental part of the next decade, he said.

Mr Nilekani, who was speaking at a summit in New Delhi organised by the Skoch Foundation, said talks are already on with various government departments and all state governments for bringing them on board on the project which aims to give a unique number to all residents of the country.

Talking about public partnership in the project, he said that it was very crucial and the public can volunteer for the project and can even work with it on a sabbatical.

"We are in talks with everyone including major industries like mobile companies, banks and everyone interested," he said. Mr Nilekani said from the slogan of ‘roti, kapda, makaan’ (food, clothing, shelter) in the 1960s and 1970s, India grew to the slogan of ‘bijli, sadak, pani’ (electricity, roads, water) in the last decade.

"I think, in the next ten years, it would be bank account, mobile number and UID. All these are abstract ideas but they are tools for empowerment, access and opportunity," he said.

Mr Nilekani said that the UID number would give hundreds of millions of Indians, who have no means to prove their identity in the absence of birth certificates and education certificates, an opportunity to access services and benefits that they are entitled to.

Mr Nilekani also said that the UID number would enable the government to target its rural employment, food and education programmes to their beneficiaries by identifying them in a robust way and remove duplication.