Archive for 2012

Rupee posts eighth weekly drop, RBI intervenes

MUMBAI: The rupee reinforced for a second meeting on Friday, extending its recovery from record lows hit this week, after the book Bank of India (RBI) paced in to defend the currency and exporters and custodian banks were heavy sellers of dollars.

The unit still dispatched its eighth consecutive every week fall, having hit seven consecutive record lows since May 16. Its latest was on Thursday when it dropped to as much as 56.40.


The strong risk aversion from the euro zone has harshly pressured the currency, but falls have been magnified by concerns about India's fiscal and financial outlooks.

A minor alleviating of that risk-off sentiment -- with the euro inching up from two-year lows against the dollar on Friday -- has also assisted the rupee retrieve over the past two sessions.

"The central bank was perceived to have been there to some extent in early trade, but most of the profits today were on the back of hefty selling by exporters," said NSS Mani, chief foreign exchange trader with State Bank of Travancore.

The rupee shut at 55.37/38 per dollar after ending at 55.65/66 on Thursday.

The RBI is accepted to be looking to hold the rupee above the psychologically key grade of 56 to the dollar, and has been glimpsed intervening in the rupee ahead markets, beside its defence of the location rupee.

Some of the dollar trading from exporters throughout the session was believed to arrive from businesses that had missed the central bank's deadline on Thursday to convert half of their foreign currency holdings into rupees.

The outlook for the rupee remains feeble, however, granted anxieties about India's outlook.

The rupee has dropped for eight weeks now, its longest mislaying streak since the 11 weeks of falls that completed in October 2008.

Analysts at Goldman Sachs and Bank of America-Merrill Lynch slash their growth outlooks for India, citing causes such as weak buying into outlook, domestic policy uncertainties and the government's expansionary principle.

signals of fiscal consolidation from the government could help the rupee recover, analysts said.

India appeared to make a greeting sign when it permitted state oil companies to raise gasoline charges, but that unraveled after the government came under critical political pressure, lifting concerns about whether it would be adept to undertake the far more important hikes in fuels such as diesel.

"Any hike in diesel prices would be further affirmative for the rupee and could take it towards 54.60 grades while the topside should be capped at 56.50," Mani added.

Traders said there was good obtaining by exporters in ahead as well, with the six-month ahead premium dropping to 169.75 points from 173.75 points at the open.

The one-month non-deliverable ahead rate was cited at 55.88 while the three month was at 56.62.

In the currency futures market, the most-traded near-month dollar-rupee agreements on the nationwide supply Exchange, the MCX-SX and the United supply Exchange all completed round 55.40 on a total capacity of $7 billion.

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Protests against petrol price hike continue


KANPUR: disputes against petrol cost hike proceeded on Friday. The persons paced out on streets and protested against the Central government's decision of expanding the charges of the gasoline by Rs 7.50.

The activists of BJP and SP protested in the town. The members of the two parties held a series of protests for the whole day on Friday. From burning the effigies of major Minister Manmohan Singh to pleading for money for getting the vehicle fuelled, the protestors did everything to raise dispute. The protestors claimed to revolving back the increased prices of gasoline, asserting that this hike has left widespread masses shattered.

The venues of the protest became the Parade traversing, Bada Chauraha, Ghantaghar traversing. The employees of the BJP torched the effigy of the PM and petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy. They increased anti-Congress slogans and termed it as anti-people. The protestors said that throughout the past three years, the prices of gasoline have bigger 25 times, which they said is a record. The BJP employees termed assembly government to be the one, which regardless of having an economist as a major Minister, has failed to control charges of all essential commodities. The ruling party at the Centre had snatched the joyfulness of the persons through its defective financial policies, they added.

The constituents of Akhil Bhartiya Udyog Vyapar Mandal joined a vehicle behind a bull at Ghantaghar crossing. This was done to demonstrate that the prices of petrol have gone so high that its tough to maintain allowance. The protestors said that time has come when persons would be compelled to get their four wheelers dragged by equines or bulls.

The BJP employees said that if the hike in gasoline charges is not taken back, the party would be compelled to hold larger agitations against the government. They said that a total of Rs 31 has bigger so far by the government in the past three years.

Effigy of petroleum minister Jaipal Reddy was scorched by the activists of the Communist Party of India at Bada Chauraha. The constituents of the SP constituents furthermore scorched the effigy of the petroleum minister and raised anti-Congress slogans and termed it to be a government of inflation. The party constituents levelled diverse charges against the Congress directed government in the Centre and said that the common persons are reeling under inflation. They said it has become tough for the persons to run the house within the limited earnings.

The SP employees accused the assembly Party's design of hiking the charges of diesel in the coming days. They said that the expanding the charges of gas cylinder would disturb the kitchen costs of the persons.

Activists of Janrajya Party disputed beside Chetna crossing. They said that the decision to hike the charges of gasoline was not a balanced one and that the assembly party will have to pay for its proceed. The party constituents also started a signature campaign which would go on till June. Several persons marked on the posters and registered dispute against the gasoline cost hike.

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How Nasdaq's tech glitch affected Facebook IPO


Dead silence. For nearly 20 minutes on the morning of Facebook's trading debut last Friday, the line Nasdaq had opened up to keep traders informed about the social media company's $16 billion IPO had been mute. Well after the stock was supposed to have opened at 11 a.m. New York time, no one from Nasdaq was talking - and there was still no sign of trading.

Finally, at 11:28 a.m., an unidentified person announced that the shares would open in about 2 minutes. Nasdaq also said orders and cancellations were still being processed, according to several sources listening to the call.

Those crucial 20 minutes created confusion that turned into chaos over the next few hours as market makers - the brokers who quote bid and offer prices - struggled to figure out what was happening. They were rebuffed in their attempts to get Nasdaq to halt trading and sort out a growing number of problems.

A lack of communication and, some say, misinformation from Nasdaq may have been central to the failed debut of Facebook's shares. Market makers - crucial to the smooth operation of stock trading - were unsure about their exposure for hours. Investors were in the dark as to whether their trades had gone through, in some cases for days afterwards.

The turmoil caused the four big market-makers for Facebook's stock, Knight Capital Group, Citigroup's Automated Trading Desk, Citadel Securities, and UBS AG to lose around $115 million between them.

"There was very little if any communication from Nasdaq throughout the entire process," said Mark Turner, head of trading at Instinet, another market-maker based in New York. "As a matter of fact, we feel there was miscommunication."

Instinet said it also suffered a loss, though it wasn't specific other than to say it was significantly less than the $30-35 million reported by Knight.

The precise actions taken by Nasdaq officials last Friday are still unclear. Spokespeople for Nasdaq declined numerous requests for comment, referring Reuters to a status alert issued on Monday that outlined some of the problems encountered and some of the steps it took in an attempt to resolve them.

Fist-pumping
The Nasdaq call, led by Nasdaq Vice President Todd Golub, according to sources, was scheduled to last 2 hours from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. to make sure that the exchange was keeping in close touch with the market. It is a normal event for a big IPO.

However, this call stretched into the late afternoon, as the most anticipated new US stock offering in years turned into one of the ugliest.

The fallout from the events last Friday has become a continuing nightmare for Nasdaq OMX Group, which wooed the social media network for months and openly prides itself on its technology.

The result is another black eye for an exchange industry already suffering because investors not only lost confidence in the financial crisis but through the "flash crash" in May 2010 when $1 trillion in shareholder equity was temporarily wiped out in a matter of minutes.

Nasdaq CEO Bob Greifeld pumped his fist at the symbolic opening bell ceremony at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park, California next to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg an hour-and-a-half before the company's stock was due to start trading. There were no outward signs then of the problems that were about to unfold back on Wall Street.

At 10:58 a.m., Nasdaq issued a notice that the Facebook opening would be delayed until 11:05 a.m. IPO delays of that nature are not unusual, especially with a massive launch like Facebook.

But then the revised start time passed without an opening trade on the stock. Minutes passed as traders waited. Nasdaq's next communication came at 11:13 a.m., when it noted in a terse emailed message to people who subscribe to the exchange's alerts that Nasdaq is "experiencing a delay in delivering the opening print in Facebook," with no other details.

Meanwhile, market-makers were receiving messages about their orders that later proved to be inaccurate. They say they were told during the period between 11:05 and 11:30 a.m., when the stock finally opened, that orders were still being taken for the opening price.

"Nasdaq representatives were stating right up until 11:29 that they were still accepting orders in Facebook for the open," said Turner of Instinet.

But that wasn't the case. Later, Turner said he was told that orders submitted up to 25 minutes before the opening were either canceled or not submitted into the marketplace until about 1:50 p.m - more than two hours later. Other market makers received similar messages.

Behind the scenes, the massive order volume was overwhelming Nasdaq's systems.

Orders that were supposed to be processed in 3 milliseconds were taking 5 milliseconds, said one person familiar with exchange operations. This proved to be a major problem: In the extra two milliseconds new orders flooded in, thwarting the system's ability to establish an opening price for the stock and leading to a backup in unprocessed orders.

"This is starting to get bizarre," Wayne Kaufman, an equity market strategist at brokerage John Thomas Financial, said from the firm's trading floor on Wall Street, around 11:15 a.m.

Finally, the decision was made to put through a fix to the systems problem and get the stock trading. That move to a secondary matching engine used the order book as it appeared at 11:11 a.m. - but this meant new orders and changes in orders that came in later did not show up in the opening price. A matching engine is a computer that pairs bids and offers to complete trades.

Eric Noll, Nasdaq's head of transaction services, said in a statement earlier this week that the fix instead led to 2-1/2 hours of uncertainty during which brokers were unable to see the results of their trades.

Trading halt?
The stock opened at 11:30:09 a.m. at $42.05 a share. An investor looking at a quote screen might have thought the trouble had ended there. In reality, the problems were about to worsen.

After initially heading to a high of $45, the stock soon began to plunge towards its issue price at $38. Lead underwriter Morgan Stanley stepped in to defend the stock while some others - unsure whether their orders had been processed or not - backed away from trading or decided to sell.

If confidence is undermined at the open, people "pull back because their orders are essentially going into a black hole," said former Nasdaq Vice Chairman David Weild.

Clients were telling their brokers they had not received confirmation of orders - which normally come through in seconds.

"Multiple market makers called Nasdaq and asked them to halt the stock and said, 'You have a problem and it's getting worse,' and their response was, 'The stock is trading normally,'" said an executive at one market-maker.

It is unclear who would have the authority to halt the stock. Nasdaq would not comment on whether it considered such a move.

For market-makers, the chaos was particularly problematic because they didn't know what they and their clients owned, and at what price.

"Should I be selling stock, should I be buying? And what's my price point?" said another official at a market-making firm. "You just don't know, so you were in effect flying blind until 2 o'clock."

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CWG corruption: Organising Committee faces 45 lawsuits

NEW DELHI: The scam-hit Commonwealth Games Organising Committee is currently facing 45 lawful cases filed by personal businesses searching outstanding fee for their CWG-related work.

Officials said that the number of situations against OC, which is under the scanner of investigating bureaus for alleged economic irregularities, have risen to 45 from 30 in the last six months.

"There are 45 court cases being challenged by us. They are in distinct stages," Chief boss Officer of the Games coordinating body, Jarnail Singh told PTI.

The situations, filed in various enclosures here and in Pune, are related to dispute in investment, workforce, catering, merchandising, cleaning and waste administration, technology and other purposeful localities.

Singh said OC solicitors are assisting to the legal situations. According to the agents, most of the firms have moved enclosures after their payments were rejected as they did not work as per the scope of work mentioned in the tender allocated to them.

The coordinating managing group, which conducted the Commonwealth sport between October 3-14, 2010, has digitised its notes. It will now to hand-over its ascribe to Ministry of Sports and Youth activities.

The government has furthermore begun to acquire portions in the swanky nine-storey OC head office at 1, Jai Singh street for some of its agencies.

Certain agencies of the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of Home activities and Ministry of External activities among others have been allotted levels in the construction and they will start functioning shortly, causes said.

regulation and enforcement bureaus, including CBI, CVC and ED, are searching diverse economic irregularities in the execution of several CWG contracts allegedly done by OC's former head person Suresh Kalmadi and receptionist General Lalit Bhanot amidst others.

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Chinese local governments to use legal software

Beijing, April 11 (IANS) In a crackdown on violation of thoughtful house privileges and use of forgery computer products, all provincial authorities across China have been organised to use authorised and copyrighted programs by June.

Computers of prefecture and county-level governments will all be established with copyrighted programs by the end of 2013, said Wang Zhicheng, deputy controller of the copyright department of the General management of Press and Publication.

Copyrighted software have currently been installed in centered government agencies and agencies in May 2011, Xinhua described.

The country's new laws need all government bodies to buy computers only with pre-installed authentic operating system and to assign funds to buy authorised programs.

So far, authorities at all grades have expended a total of 1.06 billion yuan (around $168 million) on authentic software, the official said.

Authorities have furthermore paced up efforts to encourage the use of copyrighted programs in companies. Statistics display authentic programs was installed in the computers of at least 15,256 businesses by December.

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The changing role of Legal Process Outsourcing

LPO has been around for some time, primarily making headlines about 10 years before and it was pretty contentious.

Whatever your attitude of LPO, it has piqued the interest of numerous UK regulation companies. Perhaps at first it was all about offshoring but that has now turned into driving efficiency, the obligation for asset at an befitting price and perhaps a means of expanding ‘service reach’.

The drivers for change can be glimpsed through the continued force on fees, alternate business organisations, consumerisation of expertise and the effects of the Legal Services proceed. Looking to decrease the cost groundwork could be on the list to help counter these current stresses, and how to best leverage technology.

You might think that’s all very well, but the inquiry is, ‘what does this mean for me?’. Today’s expert countryside is dynamic, ever altering and unsure.

Isn’t the key for regulation firms their information? As regulation companies are under expanding force from purchasers to deliver more for less, those employed in KM are well placed to help to deliver discovery in these changing and challenging times, rotating information in to value for the client’s advantage.

For me this hurls up many of inquiries, including

Does this present you with a new opportunity to use KM inside the firm to consign new or advanced services to clients?

How can you improve the proposing to key clients?

Is there a way to appeal increased regular usage of the firm’s website?

Could more productive use be made of services through communal newspapers?

Food for considered? But how best to undertake them?

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LPO Swing in the Pines, Covington, April 14

There will be melodies in the air when the City of Covington and the Louisiana Philharmonic ensemble present a free “Swing in the Pines” live performance at the Bogue Falaya Park on April 14 at 6 p.m. The larger New Orleans Youth ensemble will present at 5 p.m.

PINES.jpgSANFORD MYERS/THE TIMES-PICAYUNE FILE photograph The annual LPO Swing in the Pines takes place April 14 in Bogue Falaya reserve.

“There’s a large feeling of ‘all’s right with the world,’ when every person is distributing a attractive Louisiana outdoor scene with the ensemble playing just for you and passing round certain thing good to consume and drink,” said Babs Mollere, LPO organising controller. “Enjoying this together makes recollections for the juvenile and not-so-juvenile every year.”

David Torns will serve as visitor conductor. Torns is the assistant conductor of the Baton Rouge Symphony and music director of the Louisiana Youth ensembles. He has had guest carrying out engagements with the Vanderbilt University Symphony, the West Virginia University Symphony, and the North Carolina School for the creative pursuits Musica Piccola ensemble, as well as LPO.

Guests are invited to convey seating, bed covers and picnics to enjoy the open-air live performance. Selections for the evening will encompass Overture to

the “Light Cavalry” by Franz Von Suppe, “Carmen, Suites Nos. 1 and 2” by George Biset, selections from “Phantom of the Opera” by Andrew Lloyd Weber, “Strike Up the Band” by George Gershwin, a Muppet Medley, a traditional New Orleans medley, a Big Band Fantasy and “Irving Berlin-A Symphonic Portrait.”

Members of the Covington Food Bank will be at the gate to accept donations of non-perishable nourishment pieces.

For data, call 504.523.6530, or visit the website at www.LPOmusic.com. The Bogue Falaya reserve is located at 100 reserve propel in Covington. The rainfall date is April 15. LPO furthermore will present in Slidell Heritage Park on April 21.

The orchestra’s schedule furthermore encompasses the Rachmaninov Piano Concerto No. 3, to be held on May 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the First Baptist place of worship in Covington. melodies Director Carlos Miguel Prieto will conduct, with pianist Yakov Kasman as exceptional guest.

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MCX fixes $ 135 mn IPO price at Rs 1032/sh

India's Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) has priced its initial public offering at the top of an indicative range, after investors bid for more than 54 times the shares on offer in a sign of revival of the country's dormant primary market.

MCX, which will become the first Indian bourse to list its shares on an exchange, has fixed the IPO price at Rs 1,032, raising Rs 6.6 billion, the company said in a newspaper advertisement on Monday.

The exchange's majority shareholder Financial Technologies India Ltd and investors including state-controlled State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda sold part of their holdings in the IPO.

About 6.4 million shares were offered in the IPO, in a price band of Rs 860 to Rs 1,032 a piece, including by other shareholders.

The first major IPO by an Indian company in seven months is seen as a test of demand for new share offerings after weak local markets and the euro zone debt crisis forced many companies to shelve equity sale plans last year.

Morgan Stanley , Citigroup Inc and India's Edelweiss Capital were the bookrunners for the IPO

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Cos Not Realising Full Business Value Of BPO: Study

The full business value available from business process outsourcing (BPO) today is being realised on a relatively limited scale due to deficient management behaviours and practices, a new report from Accenture shows.

The BPO Research study is based on a survey of 263 buyers of a range of BPO services such as finance & accounting, procurement, human resources and supply chain.  The report shows a relatively small number of BPO buyers – 20 percent of those participating in the study – have succeeded in extracting greater business value from their BPO relationships than the majority and can be classified as “high performers.”  The report also validates eight best-in-class practices that are strongly correlated with high performing engagements. By adopting these practices, buyers can realise greater business value than “typical” BPO engagements deliver.

The study shows that high performers in BPO exhibit eight core management behaviours and practices including: 

Taking a holistic approach to managing the scope of the BPO relationship.  High performers consider the entire, end-to-end business process to be in scope, including elements managed within the client’s enterprise, those run by third parties as well as related processes that may impact overall performance.

Adopting a collaborative approach to governance. Collaborative BPO governance is much more than a set of committees or a schedule of meetings; it also comprises the attitudes toward the relationship and the behaviours that strengthen it.

Making change management a priority.  High performers execute carefully planned change programs to manage the effects of change during transition and beyond.

Focusing on benefits beyond cost reduction.  Both client and provider look for value beyond cost – cost reduction is important but is not the prime motivation.

Targeting strategic business outcomes.  High performers aim for specific strategic outcomes -- not just more efficient transactions – that can be measured, such as helping clients increase revenues.

Leveraging domain expertise and analytics. Clients look to their providers’ deep industry knowledge and ability to analyse data to more predictably drive business outcomes.

Aligning the retained organisation with the outsourced processes.  High performers place as much importance on the client’s internal transformation as they place on transforming the outsourced processes.

Using technology as an enabler.  In high-performance BPO relationships, technology is a source of innovation and advantage, not just the infrastructure of delivery.

“This study clearly shows that the industry mindset needs to change for organisations to capture the full business value of BPO, where engagements are measured by business outcomes and improving clients’ business performance rather than just cost reduction,” said Mike Salvino, group chief executive, BPO, at Accenture. “The results indicate that BPO arrangements deliver greater business value when the client and provider engage in deeper relationships and leverage practices that drive high-performance BPO.  Those who are able to bring these elements to their relationships will be well-placed to succeed – and those that continue to view BPO purely in terms of transactional processing and cost will be competitively challenged.”

The research also found there are statistically significant differences in the performance and behaviour of high performing and typical BPO relationships. Some of the widest statistical differences were in areas focusing on mindsets and attitudes, or on the execution of “soft” programs such as organisational alignment and collaboration or change management.

Survey results indicate that a collaborative, approach toward governance is important to create high performing BPO relationships.  In collaborative arrangements, clients consider their BPO provider to be a strategic partner, and senior leaders from both sides commit their time to the relationship.  A broader stakeholder alignment and involvement of senior leaders mean that high performing engagements are better able to productively resolve their conflicts than normal engagements.  Findings showed:

  • Nearly 85 percent of high performing BPO engagements consider the service provider to be a strategic partner compared to 41 percent of typical engagements

  • In 75 percent of high performance BPO engagements, senior leaders from both parties spend time to understand each other’s objectives and strategies compared to 33 percent of typical engagements

  • 90 percent of the high performers reported that the client and provider were able to productively resolve conflicts. This was true only with 44 percent of typical performers

Other key behaviours that showed significant differences in results include:

Making change management a priority.
  • 77 percent of high performing BPO engagements have successfully executed change management plans compared to just 34 percent of typical engagements

  • Nearly 85 percent of high performing engagements proactively refine their objectives as the relationship matures compared to just 40 percent of typical engagements

Focusing on benefits beyond cost reduction

  • 67 percent of high performing engagements include business benefits beyond cost in the business case compared to 26 percent of typical engagements

  • 58 percent of high performers will consider service options with greater value, even at higher costs, compared with 31 percent of typical performers  
 
Targeting strategic business outcomes


  • 56 percent of high performers seek competitive advantage through BPO, while only 28 percent of typical performers aim for that goal

  • 64 percent of high performing engagements place more focus on capturing other benefits as they achieve cost reduction compared to 40 percent of typical engagements

  • More than half of high performers (54 percent) have contract performance incentives in place, compared with only about a fourth (24 percent) of typical performers

Salvino said, “By adopting the behaviours and practices associated with high performance BPO, organisations can capture significantly greater business value and build new competitive strengths, ranging from accelerated speed to market, enhanced innovativeness and stronger customer loyalty to savvier talent management, and top-line growth.”

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IT, BPO player Vertex launches operations in Hyderabad

IT services and BPO player Vertex launched its operations in Hyderabad to serve customers of its clients in regional languages, mainly Telugu, even as it targets to add 13,000 to 15,000 people across the country by September 2013.

The company now has about 5,000 people working. The newly launched centre will have 820 people working in three shifts. The total head count in Hyderabad will be around 1,200, according to its managing director and chief executive officer Keshav C Gaur.

The company has about 25 clients mainly in the telecom, BFSI, retail, media and other sectors and now has operations in 12 cities. It is hopeful of notching $ 100 million revenues by end of 2013 from the present 30 million. This growth will come due to addition of clients and also starting its operations in more cities.

Last year, its parent company UK-based Vertex had acquired Mumbai-based BPO firm Shell Transource.

The Gurgaon headquartered BPO is looking to divert some the Hindi and English speaking traffic from other cities to Hyderabad as the workforce here is conversant with these languages. The company has thrives on serving customers in regional languages.

According to Gaur, the BPO segment is likely to see a large number of mergers and acquisitions and this consolidation will result in BPOs providing more value added services. “The segment is unorganised and there are no standard procedures yet,” he said.

The domestic industry is estimated to be $ 12 to 15 billion, he said. The industry average attrition is 25 per cent in the segment, he said.

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Infosys BPO leads the way in non-linear track; set to double revenue from 5 years ago

BANGALORE: This financial year, the business process outsourcing arm of Infosys will take a big lead on the non-linear growth track, an aspirational growth model for most information technology and BPO firms. By March 31, Infosys BPO would have doubled its revenue from five years ago to almost $500 million ( 2,500 crore) while its employee base has grown only by around 20%.

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L-P-O graduates pledge $100,000 for tech center campaign

An alumni couple from Winnetka has pledged $100,000 toward Illinois Valley Community College’s capital campaign for enhancement within the Peter Miller Community Technology Center.
As a result of their multi-year pledge, IVCC will name its new counseling and admissions area within the CTC “The William and Dian Taylor Student Development Commons.”

Bill and Dian Taylor, graduates of IVCC predecessor La Salle-Peru-Oglesby Junior College, have been among the IVCC Foundation’s most generous contributors.
“This is another example of Bill and Dian demonstrating remarkable leadership,” said IVCC President Jerry Corcoran. “Once again, they’ve invested their hard earned financial resources to provide opportunity for others.”
Bill Taylor said the gift, “is important to us that today’s Illinois Valley students receive individualized career counseling that is integrated with their chosen transfer institution in an effective 21st century environment.”

The Student Development Commons, located on two stories on the west end of the 80,000-square-foot technology center, will be home to counseling, career services and Project Success, as well as admissions, records and registration, financial aid and the cashier.
New to the Commons will be a dedicated resource center providing high-tech resources for students and counselors such as E-Advising, College Scheduler, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, recruitment management software and a portal to allow mobile communication between the college and students.

“The generosity of the Taylors is amazing and will allow us to make significant enhancements to the student experience in the Counseling Center, Career Services and Project Success programs,” said Tracy Morris, associate vice president for student services.
“We will be able to provide students with the latest technology to assist with career planning, course planning, and communication with transfer institutions to create a smoother transition to the four-year colleges.”

Director of Community Relations and Development Fran Brolley said the Taylors have provided significant support to IVCC and its students since Bill retired as a senior partner with Big 4 accounting firm Deloitte in 2005.
Each year, the Taylors provide a full-tuition scholarship to an IVCC accounting student transferring to Northern Illinois University to study accounting. The award is worth up to $25,000 to each student.
They also provide $10,000 annually to IVCC for 10 scholarships. This year alone, the Taylors are supporting 15 current and former IVCC students at IVCC and NIU. In addition, they provided seed money to create the alumni coordinator position at IVCC and are charter members of the Foundation’s 21st Century Scholars Society.

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Khaitan, Travers Smith, DLA Piper and Freshfields sell LPO CPA Global to Cinven

Khaitan & Co, alongside Travers Smith, advised legal process outsourcing (LPO) company CPA Global in its acquisition by European buyout firm Cinven which was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Khaitan & Co partner Kalpana Unadkat acted for the Indian subsidiaries of CPA Global on the LPO’s sale by DLA Piper advised minority shareholder Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), and other founder shareholders, for an undisclosed sum.

Travers Smith again acted for CPA through partners Chris Hale and Helen Croke, having previously advised the LPO, alongside DLA Piper partner David Raff, in the acquisition of its management by ICG two years ago. DC Advisory partners was the other law firm acting for CPA. Raff alongside DLA Piper partner Charles Cook acted for ICG in the sale.

Freshfields partners David Higgins, Adrian Maguire and Sean Pierce acted for Cinven in this buyout which, according to The Lawyer, includes ICG’s $440 m (Rs22 bn) minority stake.

Cinven acquires European-based companies that require an equity investment of €100m (Rs8 bn) or more, according to a statement from Khaitan.

The CPA global group employs 1,500 people, serving clients' broader Intellectual Property (IP) management and legal support services needs in over 100 countries. It is the world’s top intellectual property management and IP software specialist. According to ICG, the deal has valued CPA at £950 m with the sale generating total proceeds of £387 m as well as an additional £43m capital gain.

The deal is expected to close by the end of this quarter, according to a 20 January report by Legally India.

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Writing in U.S. Style Remains Language Issue for India's LPO Industry..... AND OTHER DISADVANTAGES..... HOW FAR IT IS TRUE

The Disadvantages highlighted in the ARTICLE by LPO Savvy are as follows
1. Cultural Differences
2. Confidentiality
3. Communication Barriers
4. Hidden Costs
5. Geographical Hurdles

It is hard to understand the commercial nature of the disadvantages. Any commercial transaction looks at positives and negatives in terms of finance and work-output. Let us address the point made above...

1. Cultural Differences - Cultural Difference is true but has no commercial value. There are several benefits in this cultural difference from the commercial angle which should also be considered... eg. 6 days working, ability and availability to work for more than 8 hrs a day... (Which is called ---PRODUCTIVITY)

2. Confidentiality - This is true till a large extent but the US based Law Firms have protection to a large extent. If they are working with an India based LPO directly, confidentiality is a major issue which neither can be controlled nor governed. Thus most good LPO have a US based company to give the US Law Firms a sense assurance that I will get the full protection and if I don’t get it I can catch hold of the US based entity.

3. Communication Barriers – Any LPO can in no way replace the lawyers and the attorneys from USA. LPO basically is an institution to provide you with a basic support which will reduce the cost till a large extent. Secondly starting work with an LPO in no way means that ‘I have given it work and it is done’. Consider the LPO institution as your employee where it needs to be trained and then the productivity will increase. Eg. If I draft a deposition summary, I will do it in a set format. Then the lawyer for whom I have made it should see it and then advise me on his way of drafting. That is how the LPO will know what and how the attorney wants the deposition to be. LPO is just your EMPLOYEE whose only aim is to learn from you and provide you with the best result

4. Hidden Cost – This issue is something I have not heard off before. Even this issue exist the US based law firms can follow the footsteps of an IT outsourcing industry wherein a PoC is done, requirements captured, times and rate fixed beforehand. Only problem here is that turnaround time for LPO projects is quite short. Still if the firm develops an understanding with the LPO this problem can be solved. LPO wants to work and develop a everlasting relationship, thus if the US based firm has a problem with the rate, time, process etc. it should bring the same forward in the same or the next project.

5. Geographical Hurdles- The issue of data lost is mentioned in the confidentiality point above. As regarding travelling is not a major issue. If a law firm is saving around $500,000 per year per person spending $8,000 per person per visit is not much. Secondly this Geographical difference gives the US based firms option of 24 hrs working productivity.

It is true there are some differences but if the US based firms are ready solutions to anything is possible.

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Native indian lawyers to help from LPO boom

India might be considered to be a rising field right up until now also but legalised approach outsourcing tools or LPOs is expected to retrieve approximately Usd20 zillion by 2015. The most significant operating allows for the achievements legislation institutions is that often, it takes up most of the 15,000 legislation graduate students which The indian subcontinent makes each and every year.

About 700 Native indian solicitors are predicted by Nasscom that are at present receiving the LPO boom advantage, debating and revealing the shining fallouts of globalization relatives arguments, patents leisure, and local pharmacy. At Native indian law offices, Gurgaon, Noida, Bangalore and Mumbai, the legal requirements free skype download of numerous MNCs in the states and The eu are contracted out.

It is somebody in charge of that office meeting brought up law and legal structure, outlined by US-structured Center for U . s . and Global and Culture of Native indian Legal Firms (SILF) office meeting.

Legal outsourcing tools to The indian subcontinent initiated a policy of to be a very low-stop get the job done which normally incorporated transcription. But inspire heritage. Now, like other BPO (Organization Method Outsourced workers) pursuits, Indias legalised companies are cost-effective and useful far too. So, everything from clair request creating, legalised research, jdownloader before-lawsuit certification, advising purchasers, inspecting selected records, creating computer software accreditation contracts to creating supply settlement will be contracted out to The indian subcontinent.

Currently, there are all over 100 small and big law offices in The indian subcontinent which concentrate on function their potential customers in the states, Britain along with European countries.

Indian solicitors make pleadings prepared and supply returning-up assistance for lawsuit-connected research. Moreover, they check out clair purposes.

As far as competence is regarded as, opony Native indian solicitors work out less costly for the unfamiliar corporation to get it done with a corporation in The indian subcontinent can compare to a US lawyer. The Help Foreign trade Marketing Authority, put in place by way of the Nation Secretary of state for Business, is likewise evaluating various the process of LPOs.

During a few-day time office meeting that was mutually organized, protection subject was outlined underneath the aegis on the Indo-U . s . Step of Business the concern was addressed about defending the discretion terms

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LPO/Jurowski, Royal Festival Hall in London

Can it really be only 75 years since the death of Karol Szymanowski? So infused with exotic mysticism is the Polish composer’s music that it seems to speak of a world far further removed in time and place – a Dionysiac realm where the intellect gives way to the senses or the far-away Orient of the Arabian Nights.

There will be a fair amount of Szymanowski played in London this year, the various events being promoted under the general umbrella of the Polska Music programme of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. Pierre Boulez, a late (and unlikely) convert to Szymanowski’s music, will be conducting a pair of concerts at the Barbican, and a blazing start was made on Wednesday when Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, with every player called in for the occasion, performed the Symphony No 3.

Opulent, heady, excessive, the symphony is Szymanowski at the peak of his powers. The work bears the title “The Song of the Night” and is a choral setting, with tenor solo, of a poem by the 13th-century Persian mystic Jalal ad-Din Rumi. “Venus swims in golden rain through this night!” proclaims the text and Szymanowski responds with music of sensual ecstasy – no obvious melodies as such, but an atmosphere soaked in luxuriant beauty, overlaid by tinkling percussion and celesta.

Many later composers have sought to go down this route where orchestral texture takes precedence over musical content, but few have had Szymanowski’s ear or his discipline. It is surprising how much of the time the orchestra is sparingly used, and when he does pile on the full forces, with extra brass and organ, the effect here under Jurowski’s precise direction was suitably rapturous. Jeremy Ovenden was the lyrical soloist and the London Philharmonic Choir wrestled, not always successfully, with Szymanowski’s sensual harmonies.

Zemlinsky’s Psalm 23, composed a few years earlier, sounded very plain by comparison. Perhaps Brahms’s Violin Concerto would have done too, had it not been for the quick-witted, spontaneous playing of Joshua Bell. Brahms ideally requires a violin sound of more richness than Bell offers – Jurowski and the LPO did well to complement his lighter, precise style – but phrase after phrase was stamped with individuality, and much was memorable.

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LPO reimagines Stravinsky's 'Firebird' in family-friendly pair of concerts

Hip, Hispanic performance artists rarely appear onstage at classical music events, especially those directed toward children. But somehow, it’s no surprise that the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra has tapped Jose Torres Tama as a narrator for a pair of Family Concerts on Sunday.

Louisiana Philharmonic OrchestraMollie Pate blows her French horn and lets little ones feel the vibration that the music makes before a recent Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra family concert. The LPO sets up musician stations before each family concert so that children can get a close-up view of the instruments and meet the musicians.
After all, this is the vibrant young orchestra that costumed for a Halloween Harry Potter concert in 2011, often invites children to sit onstage at youth concerts, and usually begins those shows with a pre-concert musical “petting zoo” during which children can meet orchestral players and get a close look at the instruments.

Tama fits right in with this bunch. A patriarch of the New Orleans avant-garde, Tama has honed his theatrical skills in front of some tough audiences, whether touring internationally with his one-man multimedia shows, or keeping his two sons, ages 5 and 2, entertained on the drive from Marigny to an Uptown nursery school.

With the LPO, he will narrate Stravinsky’s “Firebird” — in a version that recasts the old Russian storyline and moves it to a swamp setting. He’ll be taking his cues from LPO music director Carlos Miguel Prieto who will lead the orchestra in an English version at 2:30 p.m. and a Spanish account at 4 p.m.

“I’m thrilled to be appearing alongside Prieto. I’ve never seen a conductor so passionate, so physically involved in the music,” Tama said. “With him, I won’t be afraid to be animated, to give all the characters different voices and use what I know from the theater.”

In keeping with the theme, “Firebird and other creatures,” the LPO will round out it’s program with such popular works as Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Flight of the Bumblebee.” Lagniappe comes from Audubon Insectarium’s Bug mobile which will display live specimens outside the concert hall at Jesuit High School.

“Family concerts are about doing fun things together, and we try to keep them as interactive as possible,” said LPO managing director Babs Mollere. “For one thing, there is always a lot of back-and-forth conversation between Carlos and the audience. And the pre-concert opportunities to meet the musicians are pretty special, too.

"This past Fall, at the Potter show, one of our trombonists let kids play a duet with him on one instrument: He blew and the children got to move the slide and could feel the instrument vibrate.”

Mollere compares the mood of the family concerts to the LPO’s popular outdoor shows in area parks.

“The atmosphere is relaxed, the music is familiar, and the orchestra plays with the same energy and commitment they bring to every show,” she said. “This kind of programming also reflects the outlook of the orchestra members, who don’t see themselves as a stuffy alternative to New Orleans culture.

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CPA Global restructures LPO biz as India headcounts plummet ahead of $1.45bn sale

India-based headcount in the general LPO business—or legal service outsourcing (LSO) as CPA describes it—had dropped from around 130 to less than 80 in 2011, according to several ex-CPA employees.

Anand Sharma, the firm’s chief financial officer and head of LSO and management services, said there was no “planned reduction”, but only a “bench reduction” of no more than 20%.

In March, Sharma had told industry website Legally India that CPA was looking to increase its general LSO business of around 400 staff by around 100% year-on-year.

Around 250 employees in the unit, primarily focusing on onshore litigation support, were based in the US, while around 150 were in India doing mostly contracts and legal research work, he said.

General legal outsourcing made up roughly 20% of CPA’s total work in March, while another outsourcing unit focused on IP-related work. Those two units were merged in December, Sharma added. The two largest business segments at CPA are IP portfolio management and the supply of IP industry-specific software.

“When everybody saw the market to be emerging very fast and very, very speedily in the LSO space, we all started investing in capacity, management and people in advance of the growth coming our way,” said Sharma. “(But) the recession had taken away the demand and supply that started a reduction in the LSO business.”

India-based legal work, especially in research and contract drafting, has decreased, Sharma said, and added that demand for onshore US-based litigation support outsourcing has increased.

“It created a situation where you were expecting a high growth (in offshore LSO) and not really seeing it,” he said.

Leah Cooper (pictured), who was responsible for a major legal outsourcing contract with CPA when she was a managing attorney at Australian miner Rio Tinto Group, had joined the company full time amid much press attention in February 2010, as head of LSO. In November 2011, she left more quietly.

“She did a great job bringing us to the limelight from a nascent stage (in the LPO business) to where it’s become a great opportunity,” said Sharma, adding that Cooper had left for family reasons. Cooper did not respond to email seeking comment.

UK-based Carol Unwin, chief operating officer of the LSO business, left in January to join as director of global outsourcing services at Logica. She was unreachable for comment, but Sharma said her departure was unrelated to the new business structure or the reduction in LSO work.

“We see a solid business in this, it is just a matter of time and it will be a very significant part of CPA’s growth,” said Sharma. “It’s an idea whose time has come now—maybe we were slightly ahead of the market.”

Cinven announced on 18 January that it would buy all of CPA.

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Urgent Openings In Leading International Bpo

Role: Technical Support Executive ( Voice)
Experience: 0 To 1 Years

Job location: Kolkata
Basic/UG qualification: Any Graduate
PG Qualification: Post Graduation Not Required
Key skills: BPO
Walkin date: Mon 13 Feb, 2012 To Tue 28 Feb, 2012
Venue: KOLKATA
No. of vacancies: 10+
Posted by: Placement Consultant
Company name: SUNSHINE CONSULTANCY SERVICES
Contact person: CHITRALEKHA BASAK

View Phone NumberLandline:  +91-33-801393 8631 Please inform me that you have seen my number on Click.in View similar adsTechnical Support Executive ( voice) jobs for freshers in Kolkata
Technical Support Executive ( voice) jobs in Kolkata
Call center & BPO jobs in Kolkata
 Description
Dear Cadidate,
ARJUN GROUP HIRING NOW !!! ( FOR full Time & part time)Basis
CUSTOMER SUPPORT ASSOCIATED AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT ASSOCIATES FOR OUR IT SALES AND SUPPORT DIVISION Situated in Salt Lake Sec V.
Eligibility:Class 12 to MBA
Fresher’s / graduates / diploma holders / polytechnic or equivalent with basic computer operating knowledge
.
Basic computer knowledge
Exp-0- 2 years
(DAY SHIFT)-12P.M till 9 P.M
(Night Shift)-9.30P.M till 6.30A.M
Weekly Off-2 days in a week (Saturday, Sunday)
Salary- For Day Shift( Full Time) (salary 5250/- for Part Time) Candidte
Rs 10,500/- per month(Fresher)
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For Night shift- Add 1000/-rs for experience & Fresher both.
Job Profile:-
Candidate will be responsible for handling outbound calls.
Candidate should have good presentation skills.
Candidate should have a positive attitude & should be Goal oriented.
Determined & Passionate
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Interested candidates kindly send your cv's at responsehr.scs@gmail.com Respond urgently or call
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Regards,
Chiralekha Basak Company website:-arjuninc.com arjungroupofindustries.com

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HCL BPO to close down Ireland arm, cull 425 jobs

HCL BPO Services plans to shutter its centre in Armagh in Northern Ireland and trim the workforce at its operations in Belfast which could impact up to 425 jobs.

The restructuring plan comes at a time when many entities are cutting down on costs amid tough economic conditions. HCL BPO Services (Northern Ireland) has announced a 90- day consultation period on the proposals to close contact centre in Armagh and to reduce employment at the Belfast centre.

The proposals could result in up to 425 people being put at risk of redundancy, including 170 in Armagh, it said. “In the current economic conditions, some clients were optimising resources and consolidating in-house,” it said.

Even though 425 people are likely to be impacted by these plans, the company expects to find alternative employment for around 40 per cent of them during the course of the consultation period.

Northern Ireland is HCL BPO’s Centre of Excellence in Customer Experience Management, especially for near-shore customers in the region for clients in sectors like financial services and utilities.

HCL BPO said it would continue to work for clients in the region as “normal”, adding that it will keep all customers informed of the proposed moves.

The entity had a workforce of 11,021 employees as on December 31, 2011

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IT-BPO sector will explore new geographies, verticals

 Mr Rajendra S. Pawar, head person of Nasscom (National Association of Software and Services Companies) and NIIT assembly, is an optimist to the centre. Despite headwinds globally, he strongly feels that the Indian IT-BPO industry has the bandwidth and depth to reach the goal of $225 billion by 2020. Excerpts from an interaction with him at the Nasscom authority Forum.

From very high development rates of over 20 per cent, the IT-BPO commerce is forecasting a CAGR of 13 per cent for the decade. Is it because of slowdown?

The industry had seen a CAGR of 17 per cent throughout the five-year time span of 2007-12 regardless of turmoil in the US and in European amalgamation. For the next eight years, we are forecasting a CAGR of 13 per cent to get to the aimed at $225 billion by 2020 from $101-billion we achieved this year.

The high development rates we accomplished in the early stages were mostly due to the lower groundwork. As we matured and attain a critical number of $100 billion, it may not be likely to sustain that kind of development rates. lesser businesses that have begun their procedures still could do that. But general, we are looking at 13 per cent.

Where is this added $125 billion going to arrive from? Which are the new markets the Indian IT-BPO commerce is looking at?

We anticipate that about 80 per cent of all incremental enterprise from now and 2020 would be approaching from new localities – from new geographies, new verticals and from new enterprise forms such as cloud-based offerings.

Indian businesses are serving some 70 nations now. Though most of incomes are coming from 10-15 nations, there are a alallotmentment of possibilities unfastening up in the residual nations.

We have good hedging on that as more and more countries are adopting technological answers. The slice and dice of global markets are changing.

If you glimpse, development of enterprise in appearing markets is 1.4 times that of mature geographies. This went up to $7 billion this year from $6 billion last year as functioning hubs globally went up to 560 from 520.

Who are going to drive this development?

As of now, 95 per cent of industry's incomes are coming from 1,300 businesses in the association. This, although, is going to change. What you are glimpsing from out-of-doors is a homogeneous, monolithic industry. But those seeing from inside are witnessing a qualitative, large-scale change.

lesser businesses and fledgling start-ups are taking origins. As of now, they contribute just $2 billion in the general kitty of $100 billion. It is just a part. These are going to make a huge impact as we move ahead to 2020. Their assistance would be much higher. This segment will need to contribute at least a quarter of the industry's incomes by 2020.

What is the outlook for this financial year?

We have cautiously pegged development rate at 11-14 per cent for 2012-13. But we are assured of doing better in the direction of the end of the year. We will revisit and reconsider this number in October as we glimpse the US finances getting better and domestic market improving sharply. There is a lot of headroom for development as our general dimensions in the global IT market is much larger.

To cite some figures, household market has increase two-fold to Rs 1,53,300 crore in 2011-12 from Rs 81,300 crore in 2008. The good report is that domestic demand for IT services comprised 38 per cent of this and hardware chipping in with 40 per cent.

On outlook of less supplements to workforce…

The commerce supplemented 2.30 lakh people last year. But we are forecasting only 2 lakh inductions this year. possibly because of the smaller growth rate we forecast for the industry. But what we should gaze at is a qualitative underlying change that is occurrence. little and large-scale businesses from India are buying firms abroad. We are buying because we are aspiring to offer newer worth propositions by obtaining high value workforce there.

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Sri Lanka, ideal venue for LPO: ICTA CEO

According to Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka (ICTA) Chief Executive Officer  Reshan Dewapura Sri Lanka is ideally suited as a venue for legal process outsourcing  (LPO). 
Dewapura said so while participating at the inauguration of ‘Sri Lanka’s First Outsourcing Conference, with a focus on LPO’ held at Cinnamon Grand, Colombo recently.
The Bar Association of Sri Lanka, (BASL) in collaboration with the International Association of Young Lawyers (Association Internationale des Jeunes Avocats) (AIJA) held the international conference in partnership with ICTA.

“Events like this greatly help Sri Lanka  become  the ideal  IT/BPO destination and   ICTA is greatly honoured to be the Strategic Partner, at this significant event”, Dewapura added.
BASL President Shibly Aziz, PC who participated in the conference said: “This Conference on the theme ‘Outsourcing versus Restructuring – Challenges in international Business Structures,’ will go a long way in   creating awareness about Sri Lanka as a preferred destination of choice for LPO. “The AIJA with the active support of ICTA approached us wanting to have an international conference to popularise Sri Lanka as an outsourcing hub for legal services and we grabbed the opportunity. Thanks to this initiative, not only the lawyers but also the business people and the Government  will benefit from the inflow of foreign exchange”.
Addressing the conference  AIJA President Tanja Jussila, pointed out  the value of joining  the AIJA -1.Access to cutting edge Continued Legal Education-credited seminars at attractive price; (2) meeting professionals from all over the world and valuable to one’s own practice; (3) meeting leading and would-be leading lawyers, in-house counsels, bar leaders etc. face-to-face, based on personal knowledge.  
The Finnish Waselius and Wist partner said that AIJA founded 50 years ago (1962)  with a current active membership of more than 3000, was the only global association devoted to lawyers and in-house counsels aged 45 and younger. “We are recognized as the voice of the next generation of lawyers and work closely with sister organizations, bars and public institutions.” Jussila added. 
AIJA provides a forum for young lawyers, readily to adapt to trends including technological advances while maintaining the traditional hallmarks of the legal profession. It is the largest international association of young lawyers in the world aimed to promote professional cooperation and friendship among young career-building legal professionals. AIJA is a bilingual non-profit association, (www.aija.org)

Sri Lanka’s triple strength – skilled legal resources, English, competitive rates
During his address ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura explaining Sri Lanka’s suitability for LPO mainly on three plus points said: “ Sri Lanka is ideally suited as a venue for legal process outsourcing for several reasons. The main being the availability of highly skilled legal resources in this country, educated in the traditions of common law and benefitting from the hybrid system such as Roman Dutch Law inherent in our country. This, combined with the overall advantages of competitive rates and low attrition contributes greatly to Sri Lanka’s attractiveness for LPO.   

“There is a significant number of young English educated legal professionals, passing out from many institutions in Sri Lanka, who can be well engaged in this activity. These professionals will have the opportunity to further familiarize themselves and be engaged with, legal practices and processes of international jurisdictions such as the US and the EU. This in turn will provide a platform for international legal activity to take off on a much bigger scale, and create an echo system, for the improvement of commercial law in general, in this country. All this will no doubt contribute to our target of a Knowledge Hub”, ICTA CEO said succinctly exposing Sri Lanka’s suitability as an ideal venue for LPO. 

Sri Lanka reputed as a BPO destination
“Although we need to be cautious in fixing these targets, as much of this is dependent on the economic circumstances in other countries, looking at our past growth, and other enabling activities that we are implementing in the ICT sector, we feel these are certainly achievable. Sri Lanka has already earned a great reputation as a BPO destination. AT Kearney, Gartner, Tholons Global Services have all given due recognition to Sri Lanaka in their most recent surveys. More and more countries are looking to Sri Lanka for BPO opportunities, and hence the targets mentioned earlier are very realistic.
Vision to make optimum benefits reach people
Stressing the national vision to make the optimum benefits of  ICT  accrue to the people and transform the country as a Dynamic Global Hub including Knowledge Hub, ICTA CEO said: “Our vision is to take the benefits of ICT to everyone, and use ICT as a tool to drive development. We aim to drive ICT to every growth sector in this country, and truly enable them, to maximise their opportunities, with the use of these new technologies. 

“As a country, in this era where Sri Lanka is moving steadily towards Economic Development, the Government is looking to transform the country into a Dynamic Global Hub in multiple sectors. One of the key areas among these, is the creation of a Knowledge Hub. It is no secret, that the growth of the ICT/BPO sector, will be a huge contributing factor to this effort.
“Both in the development of the Business Process Outsourcing industry, and in the creation or in the transformation of Sri Lanka to a Knowledge Hub, the KPO (or the Knowledge Process Outsourcing) activity will take centre stage, and is an area that great emphasis and focus has been placed on. Looking at the high-end nature of the work, the proficiency of the workforce, and the well developed and robust infrastructure, this is an area, which ideally fits into the “Niche” categorisation of Sri Lanka in this sector. 
Strides towards Knowledge Hub 

Pointing out to the great strides made by Sri Lanka towards the  Knowledge Hub state ICTA CEO said: “There are a number of growth pillars in the KPO industry that have been identified, especially as areas of “niche” focus for Sri Lanka. FAO (Financial and Accounting Out-Sourcing), where Sri Lanka has already earned a name as a center of Excellence, Engineering Process Outsourcing, Excellence in Software products, especially in the Telecommunications and Finance sectors, are some among many in this area. Last but not least, and coming to the fore, more and more in the recent past, is LPO (Legal Process Outsourcing).

Five-year achievements
Giving a view of Sri Lanka’s achievements during the past five years in the IT/BPO  sector in financial terms the ICTA CEO said: “The Sri Lankan IT/BPO Industry has grown tremendously in the last five years. In terms of export revenue, it has moved from a mere USD 60m to a staggering USD 450m industry, and is now the 5th largest foreign exchange earner in the country. The future target for this industry is to reach USD 1 billion by 2015 and USD 2 billion by 2020, and at some point become the largest foreign exchange earner for the country. 

Combined effort
“Looking at ICT development in general, I need to state that, driving the ICT/BPO industry growth, is something that is not done in isolation. It is part of a much wider initiative, where, the success of all components, are intrinsically linked together. This initiative, as most of you are aware is known as the e-Sri Lanka Development programme, the Government’s National e-development agenda, implemented by the ICTA. The vision of taking the dividends of ICT, to every citizen in every village, every business and transforming the way Government works, is driven by a number of programmes. 
“Developing the ICT Infrastructure, Developing the ICT HR skills, increasing the ICT literacy, automating and transforming governments processes, creating the enabling environment and leadership for ICT growth are some of them. Success and accomplishments in all these areas have no doubt contributed and will contribute to the progress of the ICT/BPO industry in the future as well. That is the synergistic nature of the forces of ICT.      

“What we need is a similar synergistic effort from all stake-holders engaged in this BPO industry, in this case specifically in the area of LPO, to grow this sector, and ensure we reach our targets and goals. The ICT Agency is fully committed, as it did in the past, to ensure that the next five year ICT Development plan is successfully implemented, and through that further contribute to the growth of the ICT/BPO industry in Sri Lanka”.   

First of many events
“In conclusion, I wish to congratulate, the Legal Solutions Forum, the Bar Association of Sri Lanka, and the International Association of Young Lawyers, for organising this conference, and thank them for inviting ICTA to partner with them, which as I mentioned, we are delighted to do. I hope that this will be a productive and enriching conference for all, and that it will be the first of many events in this sector, throughout our journey to be a knowledge hub in the region”.
The two-day conference was tailor-made with keynote  presentations and panel discussions and question and answer sessions on timely topics.    Keynote addresses themed “Outsourcing vs. Restructuring”, “Outsourcing to Asia: Goals, Choices and Experiences” and  “Data Protection and ICT related Issues when outsourcing to London, Larnaka and Sri Lanka – Are all the same?”, were presented respectively by  India Bangalore Accuenture Chairman Avinash Vashista, and Asia, Texas Instruments Senior Counsel Gaurav Jabulee and ICTA  Programme Director / Legal Advisor Jayantha Fernando. 

Caption 1
AIJA President Tanja Jussila,  President’s Counsel BASL President and Legal Solutions Forum Co-Chair Shibly Aziz, ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura and SLASSCOM Chairman Sujiva Dewaraja  
Caption 2
ICTA CEO Reshan Dewapura addressing the conference

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Sri Lankan ideal ground for LPO

The Sri Lanka’s Legal fraternity is to turn a new section in the sector, by hosting the first-ever worldwide conference, concentrated on lawful method Outsourcing (LPO) themed “Outsourcing vs Restructuring”.

Outsourcing good option

“I think outsourcing is a very good option in alignment to accelerate the paid work rate but this wouldn’t be very simple as we talk. We should have the necessary backdrop with the ample people taught to take up this dispute. If the mindset of the people can take up this change, especially the juvenile upcoming lawyers will make this process a success,” Precedent Partner of Nithya Partners, Arittha Wickramanayake added.

Sri Lanka should address a alallotmentment of components before they step into the LPO sector as some key components like employed hours and vacations which might convey an influence up to a certain span. But Sri Lanka is an island that is blessed with a good literacy rate and is opposite a drastically improving economy and a very effective technology scheme and communication scheme but desires fast investments due to the dynamic market.

As we understand the western nations don’t have a sustainable form; therefore they outsource their work due to the current attenuating factors. Outsourcing is finished not solely as a cost chopping assess; but finished occasionally to hold with the tendency. More than chopping charges outsourcing has more benefits. Since there is a foremost demand for outsourcing businesses would do their best to sustain the believe acquired by them over the years and conceive a good trademark inside the outsourcing arena which is flexible and reduces the risk up to an span.

Now we are dwelling in a world apprehended up in globalization, with the dynamic law firms and even lawyers facing a gigantic urgent situation and are compelled to do cost chopping due to litigants no longer compelled to seek the aid of solicitors or firm since most information were broadly available in the internet.

Sri Lanka is well known for its excellence in the learning part with quite a lot of Sri Lankans possessing globalised qualifications from recognized institutions and enterprises are not reluctant to outsource their business activities—Sri Lanka having rather a number of CIMA trained persons is a case in point.

But before entering the LPO commerce Sri Lanka should address if they can maintain a good value and the benchmark as it will make a gigantic influence on Sri Lanka’s status over the outsourcing industry, thus should meet some persons who are in this field with know-how and have a good general reconsider.

Wickramanayake further asserted there were a lot of feminine solicitors who perform regulation but regrettably they did this part time which is a difficulty faced globally.

“Sri Lanka is forced to meet the trials specially the need of employment. We can’t state that our country is under confrontation anymore.”

Off-shoring

The concept of off-shoring or outsourcing in Sri Lanka might have been well known with sectors like accounting and finance. although LPO means searching lawful answers or trained staff to do research by legal companies or other businesses.

The notion presented by John Wilson who is the issue of communicate in Sri Lanka for AIJA, was explored at the seminar. professionals who have been in business attached to or centralised on LPO shared their concepts. One of the professionals, Avinash Vashistha, asserted that Sri Lanka has the trained staff for LPO.

The chairman and organising controller of Accenture India, Vashistha emphasized the need for taught workforce in Sri Lanka for larger businesses to come and outsource.

Mean while the head person and the Managing controller of Accenture-India, Avinash Vashistha elaborated that the company earlier had designs to “venture into Sri Lanka during the war period because the homeland was accomplishing well; but didn’t want to take a risk as it could have affected our purchasers due to the anxious state of activities. For a large-scale company like Accenture requires at smallest a taught workforce of 2,000 in order to start operations.”

Accenture has an paid work groundwork of 240,000. We actually have 70,000 personnel while in the USA there are 30,000 workers. Accenture looks for talent and since Sri Lanka is now experiencing peace we are looking ahead to come into Sri Lanka and start procedures. Sri Lanka has the best amenities and should train its people to take up the trials.

Highlighting the importance of the LPO industry he said that the part was worth about a trillion dollars. He noted that 15% of this amount were channeled to destinations like India and Latin America.

India as an demonstration
Raja Sujith an Indian lawyer and a colleague of Majmudar and business said that the LPO commerce in India contributed about 88 billion dollars to the country’s annual income and supplied direct employment to about 2.5 million employees.

Saurabh Malhotra an attorney-at-law from India emphasised that some States in India support the personal businesses to develop the LPO commerce. He documented that the commerce can be run only with accomplished and trained workforce and that several provincial administration expanded their support to train and educate young scholars to cater to the demand from the LPO industry.

He also documented that LPO has endowed even females to contribute dynamically to the workforce due to the flexible working hours. although he noted that the work regulations in India too were on a method of seeing reforms to provide more security and space for women to enlist in business like legal outsourcing.

The international solicitor

The need for Sri Lankan solicitors to believe and proceed globally was a issue that was certainly emphasised at the seminar. Arittha Wickramanayake, attorney-at-law and a colleague in a premier law firm taking part in the section discussions noted that one of the foremost drawbacks for a Sri Lanka advocate was the detail that the knowledge he received was outdated.

He called for foremost restructures in the learning system and advised that rather than of trashing money in for tendering for commonwealth sport Sri Lanka should be buying into on building revised and value oriented informative institutions.

“Fortunately there are a alallotmentment of youngsters who overtake out from private organisations with globally recognized regulation qualifications and their competency levels are high. But this is not the case always because the syllabus at the Law school has not been updated in over a 100 years. When the personally educated students are discovering the most updated versions of regulation, the Law school students are revising material that is really outdated. Any law scholar passing out is unable to create his own study report due to the need of knowledge. This has to be addressed through informative reforms,” he ascribed.

He documented that if the Sri Lanka solicitor is not competent sufficient and well versed with ICT he will be left behind in the rush. “We can be big fish in a little pond but if we tap the international market we need to have the skills to contend in those markets and data expertise is one crucial device. Otherwise we are no one in the international picture.” he said.

LPO for Sri Lanka

Wickramanayake claimed that if Sri Lanka was to gain a footing in the LPO market several regulation restructures had to arrive — and that too immediately. He noted that improvements in the data defence regulations, privacy regulations, taxations laws required to be on par with worldwide regulations to attract foreign enterprise.

He furthermore sharp out that since the younger lifetime owned globally acknowledged qualifications, there would definitely be positive impact for LPO to bloom in Sri Lanka. “Earlier with the political instability in our homeland we couldn’t do much. every person looked at us with a stigma. But this is the time to get relieve of the stigma of ‘being a Sri Lankan’,” he said.

e added that due to the expanding feminization of the lawful occupation more and more females in Sri Lanka can dynamically assist to the economy. He noted that cultural obstacles in Sri Lanka should not be made a barricade as it is rather a problem with the mindset.

The Indian attorneys too emphasized the need to conceive outcome oriented and presentation propelled environment to be more comparable in the LPO industry.

The foreign delegates who addressed the seminar commended Sri Lanka for protecting the 19th notch in outsourcing. All of them conveyed positive notions about LPO being here in Sri Lanka but emphasized that Sri Lanka should have the right mind-set and the aptitude for the development of LPO.

LPO and ICT

Sri Lanka’s legal infrastructure in data connection expertise (ICT) is globally matching though the speed of enforceability has to be advanced said Jayantha Fernando, Director and lawful Advisor of ICTA.

The second day of the seminar “Outsourcing vs Restructuring” commenced with the insights provided by Fernando on the expansion of the ICT industry and development in the legal arena.

throughout the panel discussion which was followed by his presentation Fernando documented that the Criminal enquiries Department was ‘overwhelmed’ by the situations that have arrive up regarding violations of diverse ICT regulations. He noted that there were about 196 complaints actually which were in attachment with offences extending from credit card deception to cyber space regulations violations. He went on to say that so far two cases have been mentioned for indictments.

although Fernando documented that Sri Lanka had graduated from e-governance to m-governance where most transactions were presented through wireless phones. While emphasizing the significance of ICT to legal method outsourcing, he noted that the Sri Lanka was in the forefront of the telecom part when compared to other south Asian countries and have even organised to get into international catalogues.

Sri Lanka is one of the first nations in south Asia to liberalize the telecom sector, according to Fernando. He said mobile penetration was round 87-89% and that Sri Lanka experienced a yearly growth in the workforce in the ICT part by 30%.

Fernando arrogantly accepted that Sri Lankan businesses were responsible for achievements like coming up with the World’s First virtual agency submission, the World’s first Bluetooth endowed PDA platform. Fernando supplemented that last year the London Stock Exchange got an automated selling programs which was conceived by a Sri Lankan business.

Explaining in length about the legislation carrying the ICT commerce in the pattern of guidelines to command misuse and violations. He brought out demonstrations like the Arbitration Act, the thoughtful house Act etc.

interpreting the development that has taken location in the ICT part, Fernando said that the commerce had grown by about 40% and in 2010 the income exceeded Rs. 346 million. He disclosed that that number of people who belongs to wireless teletelephones in Sri Lanka exceeded the number of persons who belongs to a toothbrush.

wireless transactions in Sri Lanka has superseded the borrowing business business card part in Sri Lanka as in most other south Asian countries.

Fernando documented the land assess case which came to the High Court where High Court judge K.T. Chitrasiri had directed that short message service routinely known as SMS was admissible in court as clues, as one of the numerous positive development in the ICT sector in terms of recognitions and awareness.

He stressed that Sri Lanka was world’s biggest capita “apache” contributor and that Sri Lanka had made a fast transition from an data finances to a knowledge finances. The ICT part is the fifth income earner for Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has protected the 66th position in the Network Readiness catalogue and retains the 43rd place in its sub index which recorded peak nations that have evolved laws in the ICT sector.

meantime Ranel Wijesinghe, an unaligned advisor who spoke at the section discussions emphasized that Sri Lanka had to expedite the method of enforcing the law-relating to ICT and documented that businesses should exercise vigilance and diligence surpassing the customary method to apprehend fraudulent enterprises that try to enter outsourcing.

Way-forward for Sri Lanka’s budding solicitors

Even though the concept is relatively new to Sri Lanka, it is a major foreign exchange earner in countries like India, Latin America and Philippines. constituents from numerous legal groups, solicitors, non- solicitors and involved stakeholders were present at the seminar.

Speaking to Ceylon FT Aziz documented that he believed the concept of legal method outsourcing (LPO) would be a way ahead for Sri Lanka’s budding solicitors. When asked about why legal process is important to Sri Lanka, he noted that LPO will assist the solicitors to broaden their horizons in the occupations. Aziz further documented that LPO will be a foreign exchange earner for the homeland if the LPO commerce is evolved in Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lankan regulation professionals have the advantage of employed in a jurisdiction which is leveraged by both Common Law and Roman Dutch Law and numerous of our lawyers have foreign qualifications. thus this is an perfect opportunity to encourage Sri Lanka as an perfect destination for LPO” he said.

meantime Tanja Jussila leader of AIJA sharing her ideas with Ceylon FT noted that since Sri Lanka solicitors had the benefit of a good command of English and possess globally identified qualifications, LPO will be a fine ground for them to make international associates. From a lawyer’s issue of outlook she documented that Sri Lankan lawyers will be able to share concepts with worldwide lawful professionals and to have a international experience to location Sri Lanka in a recognized place amidst lawful experts. (Ceylon Today Online)

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Paralegals at risk as LPO spreads

Paralegals are staring down the barrel of evolving less relevant as another foremost regulation firm goes into into an arrangement with legal method outsourcing (LPO) providers.

Corrs sleeping rooms Westgarth broadcast last week that it has appointed Integreon and Exigent to its newly-formed LPO section.

The move comes after Mallesons Stephen Jaques marked an LPO agreement with India-based Integreon in October last year, while Blake Dawson has an affirmation with Exigent, based in South Africa.

Corrs colleague James Whittaker notified Lawyers every week that the agreement will strengthen the firm’s ability to offer “flexible, client-focused solutions” without influencing the firm’s graduate intake in the short to medium period.

He did state, although, that paralegals may be affected, as jobs such as breakthrough, article review and due diligence are dispatched offshore.

“The number of graduate boasts … won’t be swayed, but it may sway paralegal numbers,” he said. “That is where you would probably see the immediate [impact].”

Whittaker said the firm bought into six months in a rigorous assortment process in which many LPO providers were analyzed.

“It was a competitive method. We begun by looking at all of the LPO providers that we knew were operative in the market, both here and overseas. We went through a method of doing a paper-based prequalification, which produced in a number of them being knocked out,” he said. “Ultimately, we determined to interview a twosome, and Integreon and Exigent emerged as favoured suppliers.”

Whittaker said the conclusion to go in into an arrangement with more than one LPO provider serves two prime purposes, one of which is to avoid promise confrontation of interest issues.

“The truth is that there is a move towards consolidation in the LPO world,” he said. “If you’ve only got one LPO provider on your publications, what do you do if they are acting for or aiding a purchaser or firm whose concerns are harmful to your client’s concerns? That is what appeared during our due diligence method. It was quite likely that that would occur.”

regardless of the option of establishing so-called Chinese walls inside LPO firms as a means of avoiding conflicts of interest, Whittaker said this was simply unsatisfactory.

“We weren’t at all comfortable with the idea of having Chinese walls inside LPOs, easily because they are not inside our immediate control,” he said. “We can have contracts and we can have all sorts of principles and procedures in place, and they can be nearly monitored, but, finally, it is not certain thing we considered clients would find attractive.”

Whittaker said the second cause for taking up a section is that having at least two companies vying for work conceives comparable tensions, which will finally advantage the client.

“We are going to put each of them in front of purchasers as necessary, so when purchasers are looking for LPO we can present two distinct models,” he states. “We’ll also be collaborating with them, so we are anticipating that, as part of the placement, the LPOs themselves will arrive to us with possibilities which are client driven.”

regardless of Corrs’ decision to formally take up LPO, Whittaker said the move was only partially propelled by purchaser demand.

“We are not getting an enormous allowance of demand,” he said. “Certainly, some purchasers are saying they’d like to have an LPO option – that is unquestionably the case – but, basically, it is driven by a outlook that the firm has formed, which is that it is in our client’s concerns to be presented with as much flexibility [as possible].”

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Cebu needs training course to attract KPO investments

CEBU, Philippines - As Cebu positions itself as a preferred Knowledge-Process Outsourcing (KPO) market, it needs to develop more training programs to develop highly skilled outsourcing manpower, apart from honing the English proficiency capabilities.

Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) chairman for BPO-IT committee Jerry Rapes said that, now more than ever, Cebu has to double its efforts to provide more trainings for the KPO skilled workers to sustain the huge projected growth.

Although the KPO sector is not that mature yet to overtake the volume demand of voice-related services like call centers, as early as now Cebu has to brace itself and prepare for the anticipated growth of KPO and other high value related investments.

Currently, of the total 500 thousand to 600 thousand BPO-IT sector employment, about 75 percent is into the voice-related services.

In the next few years though, specifically in Cebu, KPO demand skills is expected to rise. In fact, Cebu now is the preferred choice of big KPO multinational companies, such as Wipro, Lexmark, NEC, among others.

Despite the active stance of Cebu BPO-IT stakeholders in further promoting the industry, Rapes said there are more things to be done, and providing more KPO related training is very vital to the growth of the industry in the next few years.

Business Process Association of the Philippines (BPAP) chairman Bong Borja said earlier that Cebu could leverage on attracting this high-level outsourcing service.

Borja said although the voice-service will still continue to grow in the next few years, despite the threat of the current US Bill against outsourcing, he said the capability of Cebu for huge KPO market will further boost the employment generation, and investment revenue for the province.

KPO is an emerging segment in the outsourcing sector that the Philippines has yet to penetrate. Currently, this market is dominated by India.

This middle and higher level outsourcing services will need professionals such as financial analysts, people who have degree and masters in human resource management, accountants, among others.

“These are the very expensive or high-paying type of outsourcing. I believe we have the talents and raw ingredients to attract the KPO market,” Borja said.

In October last year, BPO company Aegis PeopleSupport announced its interest to put up Aegis Global Academy in Cebu.

This plan is seen to boost the supply of KPO skilled workers in Cebu.

Aegis PeopleSupport is currently negotiating with the Cebu City government for the realization of this plan, as it is eyeing to put the facility at the South Road Properties.

In 2010, the Cebu City government turned over a five-hectare property which is equivalent to P500 million worth of property within SRP to the University of the Philippines-Cebu to establish the MBA school.

Based on the initial plan, UP is allowed to get industry partners to invest for the facility in the next three years. (FREEMAN) More

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