Tightening H1B visa norms a blessing in disguise for IT firms: Mohandas Pai

The present business model of Indian IT companies -- offshore-onsite work ratio of 70:30 would now go up to 90:10, the former Chief Financial Officer of Infosys said.The tightening of H1-B work visa rules in the US would be advantageous to Indian IT firms as they would shift more work offshore and also be in a position to improve their billing rate, says industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai.The present business model of Indian IT companies offshore-onsite work ratio of 70:30 would now go up to 90:10, the former Chief Financial Office."So, what will happen is they (Indian IT firms) will offshore more work and increase their competitiveness. They will do only ten percent work onsite, and 90 percent offshore," Pai told PTI."It can be done very easily for 70-80 percent of the business. It will improve their competitiveness and make them better," he said."The new H1-B regulations are very good for Indian IT, and bad for companies which try to use it for cheap labour. First of all, Indian IT is not cheap because what they bill to clients is USD 125,000 to USD 150,000 per year (for an onsite employee)," he said."The average pay is around USD 80,000-85,000 per year. They are unnecessarily getting a bad name, because some fly-by-night operators are trying to do body-shopping and spoil the name of the entire (Indian IT) industry," he said.The new regulations would play to the strength Indian IT companies because they have been reducing the number of H1-B visas they collected since 2014,

Demonetisation has given an extra boost towards digital finance: NITI Aayog
 
"If you look at the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) data on use of digital payments, there is a sharp rise in immediate aftermath of demonetisation. Now the figure has moderated a little" Nayyar said at MoneyTech, 2017.The government's massive currency culling exercise in November has given "extra boost" towards the movement of digital finance, Dhiraj Nayyar Officer on Special Duty and Head of Economics, Finance and Commerce at NITI Aayog said today."If you look at the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) data on use of digital payments, there is a sharp rise in the immediate aftermath of demonetisation. 

Alleged EVM tampering: Opposition parties to meet EC

The opposition leaders are demanding that VVPAT (paper trail of voting) be introduced in all future elections. The Congress has also been pushing for use of ballot papers instead of EVMs in upcoming elections in view of the alleged tampering.Opposition parties today decided to take up unitedly with the EC the issue of alleged EVM tampering in elections held in various states recently. Leaders of various opposition parties today met in Parliament and decided to jointly meet the Election Commission, demanding that their concerns on the issue be addressed.The opposition leaders are demanding that VVPAT (paper trail of voting) be introduced in all future elections. 

AIADMK factions using 'two leaves' symbol: EC not impressed

The Commission conveyed its "displeasure" to the V K Sasikala and O Panneerselvam factions and advised them not to repeat "such acts" in future.The warring factions of the AIADMK today faced the ire of the Election Commission for using the "two leaves" symbol of the party frozen by it.The Commission conveyed its "displeasure" to the V K Sasikala and O Panneerselvam factions and advised them not to repeat "such acts" in future.Recently, the Commission had frozen the AIADMK and its party symbol "two leaves" through an interim order following dispute between the two factions.As per the interim order, the two sides cannot use the name AIADMK or its poll symbol for the April 12 R K Nagar assembly bypoll which was necessitated due to the demise of J Jayalalithaa.It had allocated the party symbol "Hat" to All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Khazagam -- AIADMK (Amma). The other faction named All India Anna Dravid Munnetra Khazagam -- AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma), was allotted the symbol "Electric Pole".

BJP confident of winning Meghalaya Assembly polls in 2018

BJP national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna today expressed optimism that his party will form a government in Meghalaya in 2018.BJP national vice president Avinash Rai Khanna on Friday expressed optimism that his party will form a government in Meghalaya in 2018.

"We will definitely form a new government in the state and for this, the policies of the Centre has to reach the grass root level," Khanna said while addressing BJP state leaders and party workers and urged party workers to start spreading the word about the good governance the Centre was doing under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.On the recent violent incidents in the name of cow vigilantism, the BJP leader later on told reporters that nobody has the right to take law in their own hands.