Source: www.thehindubusinessline.com

Terming apprehensions about job losses due to IT outsourcing to India as unfounded, the Finance Minister, Mr P Chidambaram has asked Norwegian IT companies to take advantage of offshoring.

“IT outsourcing to India could improve Norwegian industries’ competitiveness and their capacity to adapt to ongoing global trends,” Mr Chidambaram said at a seminar on IT in Oslo yesterday.

India has been Norway’s first source of skilled professionals for the past one year, he said. He said contrary to apprehensions, more jobs have been created as a result of IT outsourcing.

During the seminar, acquisition of Bangalore-based IT company SPAN by Norway’s largest IT company EDB Business Partners ASA, was announced. This is the largest ever IT acquisition by Norwegian IT company in Asia involving over 500 IT professionals worki ng with SPAN, according to an official release here today.

Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India’s leading fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company, Hindustan Unilever (HUL) is likely to outsource to a third party its stock delivery system - the final lap in the distribution chain where stocks are delivered from the dealer to the retailer.

Presenting consumers with fresh products at the retail end is a challenge for any FMCG company. As a company that leads the pack, HUL has over the past few years brought about changes in its distributions network to weed out inefficiencies and bring about economies of scale.

Over the years, it has not only reduced its dealer strength by one-third, but also rationalised its distribution network by merging the sales forces of two different categories - foods and home and personal care. Now, it is conducting a pilot project in a Mumbai suburb wherein the stock delivery system will be handled by Mahindra Logistics. This will obviate the need for the stockist to deliver products to the retailer - a task which most dealers admit is challenging and quite stressful.

While the dealer margin may not be affected if the maker of Surf Excel and Lux decides to roll this out nationally, depending on the result of the pilot, what this will mean for the consumer is a fresher product basket to choose from.

The logic is simple: a leaner structure will bring down inventories at the dealer end, and enable products to move faster at the retail end. It will also enable the company to track product movement and bring about quick replenishment of the stock.

Source: pib.nic.in

Finance Minister Shri P. Chidambaram delivered a keynote address on “IT Outsourcing to India” at a Seminar jointly organised by the Norwegian IKT Association and Embassy of India Oslo, Norway last evening. The meeting was attended by prominent IT stakeholders in Norway as well as India. Shri Chidambaram emphasised the unique fundamentals that had gone into making Indian IT industry among the world’s best. He pointed out that Indian IT industry exports crossed US$ 37 billion last year and were likely to reach US$ 80 billion by 2011. The Minister said that the apprehensions about the jobs losses from IT outsourcing were unfounded. To the contrary, more jobs have been created as a result of IT outsourcing. He pointed out that IT outsourcing to India could improve Norwegian industries’ competitivity and their capacity to adopt to the ongoing global trends. India has been Norway’s first source of skilled professionals for past one year.

During the seminar, acquisition of M/s SPAN, a Bangalore-based IT company by M/s EDB Business Partners ASA, Norway’s largest IT company, was announced. Shri Chidambaram personally congratulated the two Managing Directors and wished them further success. This is the largest ever IT acquisition by Norwegian IT company in Asia involving over 500 IT professionals working with SPAN.

In his welcome address IKT Director General Per Morten Hoff welcomed India-Norwegian synergy in IT sector and assured of his Association’s patronage to this trend. Other companies outsourcing to India from Norway such as TCS and Accenture also made their presentations at the seminar.

Source: pharma.clickjobs.com

India and Singapore are set to strengthen the bilateral trade in the areas of hospital services, diagnostics/pathology services, telemedicine/ tele-radiology, medical research/training and education, IT-related services in healthcare, medical equipment/devices, clinical trials and movement of health professionals.

A recent delegation of industry leaders from India to Singapore has paved way for a number of possible tie-ups in the sector and the follow-up discussions are going on, it is learnt. Clinical trials and medical equipment sector are the two key focused areas of possible collaborations.

Apart from attending an Indo-Singapore healthcare summit, the 16-member delegation also held talks with the Singapore Health Minister Khaw Boon Wan. The delegates also held one-to-one meetings with the industry leaders there representing companies like Parkway Healthcare group, singhealth and Cordlife.

Indian captains representing Fortis Healthcare, K G Hospital and Research Institute, Woodlands Hospitals, Jaslok Hospital and Research Centre, Max Hospital Group, Institute of Clinical Research India (ICRI) were among those who went to explore the possibilities of partnership.

The Indo-Singapore CECA (Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement) singed in 2005 has given a fillip to bilateral trade between the two countries, which has increased by 70 per cent to over US $13 billion in 2006. Healthcare Services is one of the key areas recognised by the CECA. The FDI flow from Singapore in the hospital/diagnostic sector totalled US $16.76 million during the period from January, 2000 to March, 2007. There is a huge market waiting to be tapped in India, either through direct investment, joint venture with Indian hospital groups or providing value-added hospital services, according to CII which organized the delegation.

Singapore’s Vision 2020 for healthcare offers opportunities for Indian hospital groups to participate in the initiative in that country. Indian hospitals could form consortiums with Singapore healthcare groups to tap third country markets such as ASEAN, Europe and Middle-East, the CII sources stated.

India ’s globally-renowned IT expertise in healthcare can offer product engineering, technology & consulting solutions and outsourcing to Singapore healthcare providers. Singapore could also outsource pathology/ diagnostic and radiology services to India and benefit from significant cost differentials of around 30-40 per cent.

Besides, India with its talent pool of qualified doctors and health service personnel like nurses and paramedics could help bridge the gap in resources. There is also potential for collaboration in the field of medical education, research and training between the two countries.

Source: www.informationweek.com

Touring the exhibit hall at OutsourceWorld New York this morning, I was struck by the number of booths touting services from vendors in countries beyond the usual suspects. Outsourcing, and IT jobs, are truly going global.

Offshore outsourcing and India have been virtually synonymous for some time now. And, of late, China has become a more prominent player in the conversation. But it’s not just the big two vying for IT work originating in the U.S., and the jobs that go with it.

At OutsourceWorld, a conference that’s operating in conjunction with Interop this week at New York’s Javits Center, the vendor booths added up to a virtual United Nations of offshoring.

Beyond India and China, there were vendors from Brazil, Australia, Costa Rica, Canada, and Hungary. And even tiny Mauritius was represented.

It’s a nice travelogue, but here’s what this really adds up to: The outsourcing of U.S. tech jobs is going to continue for the foreseeable future.

With the rising rupee and 15% annual wage inflation, there are signs that India is becoming expensive and oversold. But the fact is, there’s plenty of other countries lining up to pick up the slack.

Nations in Eastern Europe, South America, and other parts of Asia are all investing the necessary resources in education and infrastructure required to become major players in the flat world.

A question worth asking the 2008 presidential candidates is this: What will you do to ensure that America keeps up?