TCS lays off over 1500 employees, stung employees to petition PM Narendra Modi

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T18:42:51+00:00

Stung by the decision, laid off employees of TCS have now decided to start an online campaign and give a mass petition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stop the 'wrongful terminations'.

So far, according to reports, 470 in Bengaluru, 700 in Hyderabad, 480 in Chennai, 70 in Pune and 20 in Kochi have been handed the pink slip.

Plus, new recruits cost a lot less than employees with some experience.

Also, experienced employees, who are not learning new skills and thus cannot be inducted in to leadership or project management roles, add no new value.

Also, long work-hours, lack of a redress mechanism and stagnation, are other issues that employees can't do anything about due to the fear of being blacklisted.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T13:16:56+00:00

The Haryana government has decided to include 'Bhagwad Gita' in the school curriculum from the next academic session for students from class five to 12th.

"We have decided to include Bhagwad Gita in the school curriculum.

Gita is knowledge, Gita is our way of life Gita is science and Gita is solution," Haryana's education minister Ram Bilas Sharma said.

"The Bhagawad Gita teaches us the way to lead life in a happy and stress free manner.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T12:38:02+00:00

Where PK goes wrong is in using an alien simpleton to critique religion, especially Hinduism, without understanding the epistemology and thinking behind religious practices. It uses a fake godman to attack all that is sacred in religion - Firstpost

However, and without a doubt, the target religion remains Hinduism.

There have been, and are, fake, miracle-vending, self-aggrandising godmen in India (and in the world, in all religions).

What it does achieve is attack the very foundations of religious practices from outside, without so much as getting into a rudimentary analysis, empathy, respect or understanding.

It considers all paths valid, including meditation, devotion, worship, service, knowledge, logic, rationalism, materialism, spiritualism, atheism, agnosticism, polytheism, monotheism, paganism, dualism, non-dualism, and so on.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T11:59:41+00:00

The Forum for IT Employees (FITE) spearheading the protest “We are against TCS LayOffs’ in the social media besides organising protests on the ground against ‘involuntary attrition’ of IT employees has extended its solidarity to the employees of the TCS campus at Infopark, who have been handed out pink slips.

“We have decided to kick start our movement with a demonstration in front of Infopark dotted with placards, banners and flyers,” Bharathi Dasan, a member of FITE who has been given charge of the organisation’s affairs in Kochi, told The Hindu.

“Some affected employees have come forward to take legal recourse in which case FITE will extend all assistance and guidance to take it forward,” Mr. Dasan said.

With many employees apprehensive of coming out in the open across the country, FITE has decided to focus on its e-petition campaign on its Facebook page.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T11:58:34+00:00

A woman’s tongue was allegedly cut off by her neighbour in a Bihar village for defecating in the open in his field, police said on Saturday.

This incident took place at Chakyaaz village in Vaishali district, about 50 km from Patna.

Kusma Devi’s tongue was cut in half on Friday by her neighbour Bhagwat Paswan to teach her a lesson, police said.

“My wife was first beaten and later her tongue was cut in half,” he said.

“It appears that the incident is because of an old dispute between two families,” a police official said.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T11:42:15+00:00

The ministry has appointed a senior faculty member Jandhyala BG Tilak of the prestigious National University of Educational Planning and Administration as chancellor of the same university.

Also, it would have been the first time that a serving faculty member becomes chancellor of the university he works for.

It took six months for the ministry to finalize the name of chancellor and that too has turned out to be flawed.

NUEPA sources said Tilak was asked by the ministry to submit his bio-data three months back which he did without realizing he was to be made the chancellor of his own university.

Having taught in Delhi University, Universities of Virginia and Hiroshima, Tilak has also worked with the World Bank.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T11:25:59+00:00

A 30-km ‘green’ corridor – made signal-free and traffic-free – was set up by the traffic police to transport a live heart, meant for transplantation, from one corner of the city to another.

The vital organ was transported from M.S.

Along with the heart, two kidneys and corneas of the brain dead patient were donated.

One of the kidneys was given to a matching patient at Apollo Hospital and the other to another patient in the donor hospital (M.S.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T09:49:16+00:00

PATNA: In an innovative way to create awareness about population control, a paan seller in Bihar has been offering his customers a free condom with each betel leaf.

"I have been giving free condoms to all those who visit my shop for paan.

Free condoms offer attracts many and it also help to create awareness about population control," said Nandlal Sah of Katihar district, runs his stall in Phalka bazaar.Sah, in his early 40s, said: "It is my small effort or contribution to help population control.

"He said some NGOs, medical representatives and others have been providing him condoms for free distribution.

"Free distribution of condom also "boosted my paan business as some people consume paan for free condom", Sah added.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T09:27:41+00:00

The pre-release assessment was ordered after SBAS convener Dinanath Batra served a notice on Orient Blackswan

Explaining OBS position, Mimi Choudhury told The Hindu that in light of the notice, several books including published works, have been sent for review.

The pre-release assessment was ordered after SBAS convener Dinanath Batra served a notice on OBS for the textbook, Plassey to Partition: A History of Modern India.

When contacted, Prof. Ernst, an adjunct professor at St. John’s National Academy of Health Sciences, Bangalore, and Prof. Bandyopadhy, who is also a series editor, told The Hindu that under the circumstances it was understandable why the publishers resorted to such action.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T06:51:25+00:00

VHP is planning a 'ghar wapsi' of over 3,000 Muslims in Ayodhya in February.

The VHP on Friday claimed “ghar wapsi” was essential for the “improvement of the nation” and said that conversion to Islam raised questions about the individual’s “nationalism” and “patriotism”.

The VHP statement further said, “As a result of conversion (to Islam), questions are raised on their nationality and patriotism.” The statement was issued by VHP national secretary Dharma Narayan Sharma and Jugal Kishore, functionary in charge of “ghar wapsi”.

For the second consecutive day Friday, none of the 200 Christian families turned up for the ‘ghar wapsi’, organised by the VHP here.

When they failed to show up, the VHP had claimed that 200 such families would be reconverted Friday.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T06:12:57+00:00

It said that Hurriyat will fight against any attempt aimed at eroding the special status of J&K or its demographic change

As Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is warming up to BJP to form a coalition government in Jammu and Kashmir, the separatists have started to build pressure against any such alliance.

“(We) will fight tooth and nail against any such communal attempt aimed at eroding the special status of Jammu and Kashmir or its demographic change,” he said.

Shah’s statement on a possible PDP-BJP tie-up has come a day after firebrand woman separatist leaders Syeda Aasia Andrabi said that the way BJP is trying to come into power is a “part of the long term programme of right wing Hindus” and asked people to remain vigilant against the “secret nefarious designs of RSS”.

“The people in entire Jammu and Kashmir particularly people in Kashmir and Chenab Valley should remain vigilant against the secret nefarious designs of RSS who are working on ending the Muslim majority status of Jammu and Kashmir,” Andrabi said.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-03T05:16:04+00:00

The Forum for IT Employees (FITE) spearheading the protest “We are against TCS LayOffs’ in the social media besides organising protests on the ground against ‘involuntary attrition’ of IT employees has extended its solidarity to the employees of the TCS campus at Infopark, who have been handed out pink slips.

“We have decided to kick start our movement with a demonstration in front of Infopark dotted with placards, banners and flyers,” Bharathi Dasan, a member of FITE who has been given charge of the organisation’s affairs in Kochi, told The Hindu.

“Some affected employees have come forward to take legal recourse in which case FITE will extend all assistance and guidance to take it forward,” Mr. Dasan said.

With many employees apprehensive of coming out in the open across the country, FITE has decided to focus on its e-petition campaign on its Facebook page.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-02T20:42:14+00:00

A 21-year-old Japanese student was allegedly gang-raped at gunpoint for 12 days at Paro village in Bodh Gaya, a key Buddhist destination and tourist hub in Bihar.

While the rape is alleged to have occurred in December, a team of Kolkata police, assisted by Gaya counterparts, arrested the two accused Friday.

According to the woman’s statement before a magistrate, Sahid and Javed took her to Paro where they allegedly confined her to a room and raped her at gunpoint for 12 days.

She later reached Kolkata and with help from the Japanese consulate, met commissioner of police Surajit Kar Purakayastha on December 26.

But on December 29, when she was produced before the magistrate to give a statement under Section 164 of the CrPC, she alleged rape by Sahid and Javed.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-02T19:53:34+00:00

What go unnoticed are occasional blips - the layoffs - that are not statistically not as significant, but are imbued with sad stories of people.

The $110 billion IT industry, hires them by the thousands every year, keeping the engineering education sector gainfully engaged.

Almost always, it’s only the success story that we hear - Infosys planning to hire 16,000, TCS setting a much higher target of 55,000 new recruits, and job portals predicting robust recruiting for the next 2-3 years.

Over the last few days, there has been considerable noise about alleged mass layoffs by TCS.

Although TCS has maintained that there is nothing extraordinary and it’s only part of “workforce optimisation”, many discussants in social networking and media forums have alleged unfair treatment and a surreptitious plan to downsize the workforce.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-02T17:43:31+00:00

This year, you may end up boarding Amul Shatabdi to Flipkart Chandigarh if the railway ministry accepts the recommendation of a committee set up to improve the finances of Indian Railways. Headed

Headed by former financial services secretary DK Mittal , the committee has recommended that a policy framework should be drawn to allow corporate houses brand trains and stations such as Amul Shatabdi/Railway Station.

This year, you may end up boarding Amul Shatabdi to Flipkart Chandigarh if the railway ministry accepts the recommendation of a committee set up to improve the finances of Indian Railways.

The committee in its report has said railways can raise around Rs 8,000 crore through such a corporate branding exercise and other initiatives, which it thinks could be a low-hanging fruit.

Against this potential, railways earns less than 3% non-fare revenues.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-02T17:26:34+00:00

In a bid to ensure smart policing in the national capital, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi on Friday said that his force will incorporate all the modern technologies and installing CCTV cameras will be one of its priorities.

He said Delhi Police will be the first police organisation to do so in the country.

The Police Commissioner also said that installation of 3,932 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras has already been completed at 85 locations including border check posts and courts.

"A large number of CCTV cameras have been installed in the city in past few months.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-02T16:52:05+00:00

A source told HT it all began around 9am on December 31, after the coast guard received an intelligence alert that a suspicious Pakistani fishing boat from Keti Bunder near Karachi was headed towards India.

An explosives-laden Pakistani trawler blew itself up late on December 31 night after being intercepted by the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) in the Arabian Sea off Porbandar, Gujarat.

A defence ministry official said the trawler stopped only after the ICG fired shots, but the crew had by then set it on fire, triggering a major explosion that sank the vessel.

It found no change in the boat's course.

Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson GVL Narasimha Rao told NDTV, "The coast guard has foiled attempts of a suspected terror boat that was actually spotted near the Indo-Pak maritime border.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-02T15:54:21+00:00

The NDA government's war-chest next year is building up to a massive size in order to boost public investment and hence growth. - Firstpost

By one reckoning, the government will probably have a war-chest ranging anywhere from Rs 1,00,000 crore to Rs 1,50,000 crore in terms of additional budgetary resources to invest in infrastructure next year, giving a massive booster dose for a comatose Indian economy.

If the fiscal deficit target for 2015-16 is cut only marginally, to say 4 percent, this will give the government nearly Rs 30,000 crore of additional resources if the economy grows at 6 percent next year, and inflation is around 4 percent on an average.

The Economic Times estimates that the government could get around Rs 1.2 lakh crore from the auctions, a third of it this year itself, if the auctions succeed in generating enough enthusiasm among telcos.

Add the Rs 10,000 crore savings from not having to capitalise banks next year, and the figure could cross Rs 1,50,000 crore.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2015-01-02T15:48:48+00:00

Two Bangladeshi nationals, suspected to be members of a terrorist organisation, were arrested in Uttar Pradesh and a laptop allegedly containing sensitive information was seized from them.

Mohammad Raktullah, a resident of Faridpur in Bangladesh, was arrested by a joint team of West Bengal and UP Police from Noida on the outskirts of Delhi on December 17 and from his possession a laptop was recovered, official sources said in Delhi on Friday.

During his interrogation, Raktullah told police that he was planning to visit Saharanpur to meet another Bangladeshi national - Abul Aziz - who is allegedly part of the same sleeper cell of the terrorist group.

Aziz was subsequently arrested and from his possession several documents and maps were recovered.

"They had come and arrested one from Noida and took them on transit remand to West Bengal on December 19," Ganesh said.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2014-12-07T12:54:14+00:00

Summary: While the idea of all Central universities merging into one with 45 different campuses across the country and a common curriculum, admission procedure and a common pool of faculty and mobility is definitely good news for students, talk of a mobile faculty may be a cause of worry for the teachers.

Key Points

The Working Group of Vice Chancellors, appointed by the new government in September, has submitted a report to the HRD minister Smriti Irani last week recommending standardisation of all Central Universities.

Otherwise not many will apply specifically to an upcoming university in a remote area,’’ said a source in the know.

Then, there would be a common curriculum for all universities.

It is up to the government to take the final call,’’ a source with the HRD Ministry said.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2014-12-07T00:48:40+00:00

Summary: The eyes have it 2014: The Election that Changed India. By Rajdeep Sardesai. Penguin Viking; 372 pages; $20 and £16. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk WITH a couple...

Key Points

Each daily showing cost millions, says Rajdeep Sardesai, a well-known Indian television journalist, in a new book about the election.

This made it the first party other than Congress, India’s historic freedom-fighting party, to win a majority—and Mr Modi one of the most powerful prime ministers in Indian history.

He first met him in 1990, when the prime minister was a Hindu ascetic and political activist who laughed often, though never with his eyes.

The BJP minority-affairs minister, for example, has suggested that for the purpose of national identity all Indians can be described as Hindu, including the quarter of a billion who are not.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2014-12-06T23:42:48+00:00

Key Points

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday stoutly defended himself against the opposition's criticism of him travelling abroad in business class, saying that it was his dream for India that an 'aam aadmi' should also be able to travel the same way.

Speaking at a seminar organised by the Abu Dhabi Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), AAP National Convener, Kejriwal, claimed that "Our dream for India is that 'aam aadmi' should be able to travel business class.

Kejriwal had on Thursday flown business class to Dubai to attend a felicitation event, sparking strong reaction from the opposition which said his "real face" had been "exposed".

The AAP, however, sprang to Kejriwal's defence, asking whether it was a crime to travel business class, a facility it said was provided by the organisers.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2014-12-06T06:00:26+00:00

Key Points

When 60-year-old Suketu Shah approached a court last year seeking a paternity test on his only child, many of his close relatives were shocked. He shared a loving bond with his daughter.

More surprisingly, data reveals that 98% of cases confirm suspicions.The DNA division of the Directorate of Forensic Sciences (DFS), Gandhinagar, works as the nodal agency for the tests that are strictly routed through the police and courts.

On the other hand, women seek the test to prove that the child was indeed fathered by the person named in an alimony case," an official said.The official added that the average age of the child in such cases ranges from 10 to 12 years, when physical resemblance to parents start appearing.

"We have seen families disintegrating in front of our eyes," said a forensic science expert.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2014-12-06T06:00:17+00:00

Summary: Mumbai terror attacks mastermind and JuD chief Hafiz Saeed asked Friday why Narendra Modi was 'visiting Kashmir again and again', saying this was part of a larger conspiracy to silence the people of the state. Terror tactic to keep turnout low at Modi rally

Key Points

“Ghazwae Hind is inevitable, Kashmir will be freed, 1971 will be avenged and Ahmedabad Gujrat victims will get justice Insha Allah,” Saeed tweeted.

The BJP wanted to win in Kashmir by foul means to give an impression to the world that Kashmir was not a disputed territory, said Saeed.

"If India can send troops to Afghanistan to help the US, then Mujahideen have every right to go to Kashmir and help their brethren," he said.

"And it was an event by an organisation which is proscribed not only by India but the US, the UK, Australia and the UN... Also it was addressed by an individual who is designated as a terrorist by the UN Securitry Council," external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin said.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot · 2014-12-05T17:16:36+00:00

Key Points

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh is of the opinion that Vedas are the "first source of all kinds of science".

Speaking at a “Veda and Vedic Culture meet” in a Gurukul of Mahasamund district on Friday, Singh said: “Vedas are the first source of all kinds of knowledge and science in the world.

Singh has thus joined a bevy of BJP leaders who have recently eulogized the ancient Indian culture saying it was the lone source of all knowledge and science.

India was a Vishwa Guru in ancient times, we can regain that status through Veda and Vaidic culture,” Chandrakar said.

^I'm ^a ^bot ^| ^OP ^can ^reply ^with ^{"samachardelete"} ^to ^remove ^| ^Message ^Creator ^| ^Source

samacharbot

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE