New Delhi (PTI): Skipping a decision on polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission on Tuesday announced one-day poll in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi and Mizoram while Naxalite-infested Chattisgarh will have two-phased elections between November 14 and December 4.
The two-phased polls in Chattisgarh will be held on November 14 and 20 while elections will be held in Madhya Pradesh on November 25, Mizoram and Delhi on November 29 and Rajasthan on December 4.
Counting of votes in all the states will be taken up on December 8. The commission is understood to have deferred a decision on polls in Jammu and Kashmir reportedly because of difference of opinion among the three members of the commission.
No decision has been taken "at the moment" on holding elections in Jammu and Kashmir which is now under Governor's rule, Chief Election Commissioner N Gopalaswami said at a press conference flanked by the other two commissioners Naveen Chawla and S Y Quraishi.
He said the commission is still assessing the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.
"We will get back to you as soon as we take a decision in Jammu and Kashmir. Forces are one part of the issues. There are so many other issues. I do not want to say anything more," he said.
Asked whether it meant that elections will not be held before March because of winter, the CEC said "that you leave it to us".
Sivaganga (TN), Sep 22 (PTI) Finance Minister P Chidambaram has termed the proposed nation-wide strike by bank employees on September 24 as 'unnecessary' and said the Centre was ready to hold talks with bank unions.
"The strike is not necessary. The government is ready to hold talks with bank unions," he said after inaugurating a Bank of India branch here last night.
Referring to the collapse of some financial institutions in the US, he said banks in India were insulated from the crisis and their financial position was quite strong.
On education loans, Chidambaram said a total of 12.51 lakh students had received Rs 20,000 crore loans as of March 31 this year. PTI
Onam is one of the most significant harvest festivals of Kerala and is an attraction for thousands of people outside and within the state. All the activities during this season are centered on worshipping, music, dance, sports, boat races and good food. This festival is celebrated in the Malayalam month Chingam (ending of August and beginning of September). Onam is a harvest festival and celebrates the reward of nature after a year of hard work. The merry making of the festival includes an elaborate procession of Trichur and amusing boat races on River Pampa. Women dress up in heavy jewelry and new saris and make complx and detailed designs of “rangolis” and “pookkalam”(with flowers) in front of their homes.
Onam is celebrated in the memory of King Mahabali. It was said that King Mahabali ruled Kerala a long time ago and looked after the welfare of the people. Thus Onam shows the blissful rule of the King and the freedom, which the people enjoyed under his rule. The people also believe that during Onam, the King returns to Kerala to pay a visit to his people.
The people in Kerala arrange for this festival by cleaning up their houses and decorating them. On the occasion of Onam, everybody in the family wears new clothes. Delicious sweets and dishes are prepared and served on the banana leaves. “Pookalam” a flower mat is visible outside every house. This mat is a symbol of welcoming King Mahabali. On the eve of Onam, traditional rituals are performed and the people celebrate the occasion with a grand feast. “Payasam” a sweet and tempting porridge is one of the favorite dessert served on the eve of Onam.
“Vallamkali” or a great boat race is an attractive feature of this festival. In this game hundreds of men row the boats to the beat of drums and cymbals. An interesting thing to note is that above each boat there is a scarlet silk umbrella and gold coins are hung from the umbrella. This event is extremely popular with various boats competing with each other in order to win the race.
Onam is celebrated not only by Hindus but also by Christians and Muslims. It is one such festival that unites all the people regardless of race and religion.
Wipro, the top Indian IT Giant, has decided to go for a massive Wipro lay off. As per the news that has come out, it seems that Wipro has fired around one thousand people citing non-performance. That constitutes around 4 to 5 % of the entire Wipro Workforce which have been put under the scanner for performance reviews. Is this the time for the Indian IT industry for consolidation?
While some would be given counselling to improve their performance, others would be asked to leave.
As per the news sources, Wipro’s corporate vice-president (human resources) Pratik Kumar confirmed the move. Asked how many employees had been asked to move on, he said the company did not disclose that number, but it was "significantly lower than 2,000". "I can’t comment on a particular number," Kumar said, when asked to comment.
Seems like every company has got a reason in the name of "Regular Exercise" or "Based on Annual Performance Review". The fact remains the same that all these things are being done primarily for cost cutting. With severe dependency on US markets, which are seeing a big problem, the Indian IT secotr has been worst hit. "It’s a regular annual exercise. As the appraisal cycle gets over, a multi-layer review happens. Following that, people who have fallen in the lower quadrants of performance are put on watch. Some are asked to pull up and others are asked to move on," he said.
The review includes all the 60,000 global IT services employees from the senior leadership team down to the person with one-year experience.
Recently, TCS created a big uproar by deducting the salary of employees or going for a salary cut. In India, it was TCS which went for a TCS layoff following TCS salary cuts. Then it was IBM which axed 700 jobs across all over India.
In February, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country’s largest IT services firm, had given pink slips to 500 non-performers. IBM, too, had asked about 700 employees in India to leave, citing non-performance. In July, Patni Computer Systems had shown the door to 400 employees. While IT companies said the move was not linked to the slowdown in the US, a key market for IT services, there was a consensus that it was time for belt-tightening.
