Business News

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has introduced a revised variable pay policy that integrates employees' office attendance as a key factor. The updated policy, implemented post the company's quarterly results, establishes four attendance slabs dictating the variable pay for employees.Updated Variable Pay StructureAccording to the new policy, employees working from the office for less than 60% of the time will not receive any variable pay for the quarter. Those with an office attendance between 60-75% will receive 50% of the variable pay, while employees attending the office 75-85% of the time will be eligible for 75% of the variable pay. Only those with office compliance levels above 85% will receive the full variable pay for the quarter.Response to Return-to-Office MandateTCS had earlier announced a return-to-work mandate, with Business unit heads indicating that assigning grades, a prerequisite for promotions, will depend on their track record of working from office."Employees' compliance to work from home will be reviewed every quarter. In the event an employee is found to be in violation of the laid down policies, there will be implications on the annual performance review, compensation, and career progression of the employee," the policy stated. An email sent to TCS on the updated policy didn't elicit a response till the time of going to press.109504496Disciplinary Action for Non-ComplianceThe policy also cautions that continuous non-compliance with the 85% work from office requirement will lead to disciplinary action. An email sent to TCS regarding the updated policy did not receive a response at the time of publication.CEO's EncouragementIn their communication following the March quarter results, CEO K Krithivasan and CHRO Milind Lakkad emphasized the importance of returning to the office. Krithivasan highlighted the benefits of shared experiences, learning, collaboration, and camaraderie that result from working in a shared physical space.Krithivasan said, "The last quarter has seen most of you return to the workplace, creating shared experiences, nurturing greater learning, collaboration, and camaraderie."“We are still calibrating the total freshers we want to hire for FY25. Our plan is to get to the 40,000 number, but we will see how it goes,” said Milind Lakkad, chief HR officer, TCS.Krithivasan highlighted that almost 65% of TCS associates are now attending the office 3-5 days a week, just a quarter after the policy's implementation, setting TCS apart from its industry peers.He emphasized that the primary objectives behind the "return to office" approach are to ensure associates receive the best value and to preserve the "organizational culture."Krithivasan expressed optimism that, with the positive incentives provided, a majority of employees will be back in the office within the next couple of quarters.Industry ComparisonUnlike TCS, other major Indian IT firms such as Infosys and Wipro have not tied variable payouts to the return to office mandate. Wipro has distributed an average variable payout of 85% for the March quarter of FY24, consistent with the 85% variable pay given to junior employees in the Dec quarter.The implementation of TCS's updated variable pay policy underscores the company's stance on the return to office work. The move is intended to motivate employees to return to the office, underscoring the importance of in-person collaboration and organizational culture.In summary, TCS's new policy intertwines variable pay with office attendance, encouraging employees to return to the office for a more collaborative work environment. This initiative aligns with TCS's commitment to maintaining its organizational culture and ensuring optimal performance.(With inputs from TOI)

Despite undergoing difficult economic and geopolitical conditions, prominent Indian jewellery brands persist in expanding their presence in the United States, TOI said in a report on Monday.Luxury and premium brands are placing their bets on the rapidly expanding market and significant purchases made by affluent members of the Indian diaspora. Last year, Tanishq, a part of the Tata Group, launched three stores in the US, located in Houston, Frisco, and New Jersey, and followed up with another opening in Chicago in March 2024. Tanishq is going ahead with its aggressive expansion plans in the US even as it sees demand “despite the operational complexities of opening stores in unfamiliar territories.”Kalyan Jewellers in the ongoing financial year aims to establish two stores, one each in New Jersey and Chicago.Chennai-based Vummidi Bangaru Jewellers plans to open three more outlets in the US apart from its operational store in Frisco, near Dallas (Texas), TOI reported.Amarendran Vummidi, managing partner of VBJ, said the appetite for plain and studded gold jewellery is significant. "Both Indians who migrated in recent years and children who are born abroad tend to buy Indian things to be closer to culture and traditions, and sometimes celebrate the festivals grander than us," he told TOI.VBJ has launched 10 new collections, with a focus on international markets. Amarendran noted that unlike the domestic market, U.S. buyers favor studded designs suitable for Western attire, and they expect jewelry pieces to convey a narrative or theme. Despite challenges in the past fiscal year and uncertainties in the current one, he expressed optimism about long-term opportunities. He also highlighted how Indian companies have progressed in the value chain by offering premium products under their own brand names.Malabar Gold and Diamonds has 138 international showrooms, predominantly in the Middle East, just like many others. Last year, it opened stores in Chicago, New Jersey, Dallas, and Naperville (Illinois) and hopes to open another six outlets in the US. Its rapid expansion plan entails an investment of over Rs 4,000 crore through Malabar Investment, a Dubai-based company of the group, TOI said in its report.MP Ahammed, chairman of the Malabar Group, said Indian craftsmanship and competitive prices offer advantage to Indian brands. "The pent-up demand after Covid, ability to compete with high-margin western jewellery businesses are advantages in the US market."

Nifty could test levels of 25,810 in the run-up to the General Election 2024 results due on June 4, Prabhudas Lilladher has said in a note while advocating a buy-on-dips strategy. The brokerage has picked 17 stocks as its top bets spanning sectors including capital goods, infra, real estate, logistics/ports, EMS, hospitals, tourism, auto, new energy, e-commerce and telecom.PL has picked 7 largecap counters viz. HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Larsen & Toubro (L&T), Max Healthcare Institute, Maruti Suzuki, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Siemens. In the mid and smallcap universe, the top buys include the likes of Astral, Can Fin Homes, Eris Lifesciences, Grindwell Norton, Navneet Education, Praj Industries, RR Kabel, Safari Industries (India), Sunteck Realty and TCI Express.The latest target is an upward revision from the previous target of 25,363. The new estimated target is a 3,660 points gain over the Friday closing of 22,147.Prabhudas sees June as a turning point not just from a political uncertainty front but also on the monsoon front as it will be clearer by then as to who assumes power in the Centre along with the monsoon season turnout.Off its lifetime high of 22,776 by 4%, Nifty's decline comes on the back of rising geopolitical uncertainty, rising crude and commodity prices and conflicting views on expected US Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.While India is in the midst of General Elections, which PL termed as "the most important event of this decade", the brokerage's analysis showed that the economy and markets have done well under both the NDA and UPA (INDIA) given strong tailwinds of demographics.The first phase of polling for 102 seats across 21 states was on April 19, Friday.While opinion polls predict an NDA win, a 2004-like election outcome - where the then government led by former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee lost - could be a shocker in PL's view. It maintained that the markets are not prepared for such a scenario. The BSE Sensex declined 15.5% on election result day on May 17, 2004.The brokerage highlighted how NDA scores over the UPA in implementing key reforms and focus on infra development.Also Read: What to do with Tata Communications, Exide Industries, 4 more stocks? Expert Rahul Ghose decodes(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)

Mumbai: Vodafone Idea's Rs 18,000 crore follow-on public offer (FPO), India’s biggest, was fully subscribed on the third day, with global institutional investors like GQG, Capital Group, and Fidelity Investments showing strong interest in the telecom company. The qualified institutional buyers (QIBs) portion was subscribed 1.23 times, while the non-institutional investors (NIIs) portion and the retail segment were subscribed 1.93 times and 42% respectively.Rajiv Jain's GQG Partners, which had invested nearly Rs 1,350 crore in Vi’s anchor book, continued to invest in the FPO. Additionally, several other foreign institutional investors, such as Capital Group and Fidelity Investments, subscribed to the issue, according to banking sources.Vi’s FPO began on a positive note on Thursday, with the issue subscribed 26% on the first day of bidding, largely driven by strong demand from QIBs.The FPO, priced in a range of Rs 10-11 per share, is scheduled to close today. Last week Tuesday, the loss-making telco raised Rs 5,400 crore from 74 anchor investors by allotting 4.91 billion shares at Rs 11 per apiece.Shares of Vodafone rallied 2.17% on Thursday to Rs 13.20 on the BSE. The share price has more than doubled in the past year.Foreign institutional investors such as GQG, UBS, AustralianSuper, Fidelity, Redwheel Funds, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Allspring Global Investments, Morgan Stanley Investment Funds, Government Pension Fund Global, Copthall Mauritius Investment, and Societe Generale were among those that subscribed to the telco's anchor book. Domestic mutual funds like HDFC, Quant, Motilal Oswal, Baroda BNP Paribas, and 360 One were also among the anchor investors.Most analysts recommended subscribing to the FPO, saying that the operator's prospects stand to improve with the fresh infusion of money after the share sale.