How many countries major cities does infosys have presence?

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Infosys Technologies, India’s second-biggest software developer, said it plans to raise the share of its revenues from Europe to counter a slowdown in the US, the world’s biggest economy, which fetches it about 60 per cent of its sales.

Infosys, which earned 28 per cent of its revenues from the European Union in the year ended March 31, 2008, plans to expand its sales and marketing offices and hire more people in Europe. The Bangalore-based company will also post more employees at customer sites in Europe seeking to win more orders and eventually shift a part of the work to India.

“Europe had been slow in terms of adopting offshoring, where as the US is a much advanced market. Now slowly Europe is opening up. It is a great market; especially the UK is a big market for us. But we have some additional concerns like language, and others which we have to handle. We need to have front-end there,” V Balakrishnan, chief financial officer of the company told shareholders.

Infosys has a workforce of over 91,000 employees from 70 nationalities working in over 90 countries. During 2007-08, the company recruited a record 33,177 people against its projected hiring plans for 25,000. The software developer is seriously looking at the new kind of Visa which is in the process of getting approved. Under this, people from countries outside of Europe can go on a short-term work to European countries.

Unlike the US, Infosys does not have good front-end capabilities in most of the European countries except in the UK and certain parts of Eastern Europe.

European market which is dominated by diverse language speaking countries is a concern for most of the offshore IT services companies. Besides, the offshoring norms in most European nations differ from country to country due to tight regulatory norms on data security. “Markets are rapidly globalising with the reduction of barriers to trade. We are encouraged by the European Union’s move to open up their market to the movement of natural persons by creating new visa types that will enable the freer flow of top talent,” said N R Narayana Murthy, chairman and chief mentor of Infosys Technologies.

It is understood that the draft for the new visa types has already been proposed, and it may take one to two years till it is approved. As a part of its initiatives to create a diverse workforce of multi-cultural, multi-ethinic origin, Infosys has started hiring students from universities all across the world.

The first batch of graduates from the UK have already been trained and inducted by the company during the last fiscal year. The company is now examining the possibilities of expanding this programme to many more countries, according to Murthy.

Murthy said, “As corporations grow and globalise, I am convinced that the greatest challenge they will face will be the creation of a diverse workforce.”

For fiscal 2008, Infosys has rewarded its shareholders with a special dividend of Rs 20 per share (400 per cent on Rs 5 per share) for crossing $1 billion in net income under the US accounting practice.

Asia Pacific

India: Bengaluru, Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bhubaneswar, Mangalore, Mysore, Mohali, Thiruvananthapuram, Chandigarh, Kolkata (proposed and now confirmed), Vishakapatnam (proposed)

Australia: Melbourne, Sydney

China: Beijing, Shanghai

Further information: Infosys China

Hong Kong: Hong Kong

Japan: Tokyo

Mauritius: Mauritius

UAE: Sharjah

Philippines: Taguig City

Thailand : Bangkok

North America

Canada: Toronto

USA: Atlanta (GA), Bellevue (WA), Bridgewater (NJ), Charlotte (NC), Southfield (MI), Fremont (CA), Houston (TX), Glastonbury (CT), Lake Forest (CA), Lisle (IL), New York, Phoenix (AZ), Plano (TX), Quincy (MA), Reston (VA)

Mexico: Monterrey

Europe

Belgium: Brussels

Denmark: Copenhagen

Finland: Helsinki

France: Paris

Germany: Frankfurt, Stuttgart

Italy: Milano

Norway: Oslo

Poland: Łódź

The Netherlands: Utrecht

Spain: Madrid, Burgos

Sweden: Stockholm

Switzerland: Zürich

UK: Canary Wharf, London

BPSC

Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) has announced PT result for the year 2008. Local version of Hindustan Times is carrying the result. However, the result could also be accessed at the official website of BPSC.

September 19 2008

The official website of BPSC  CLICK HERE

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Nifty futures of Singapore Exchange

Indian market is lately taking cues from global markets and most probably Singapore NIFTY 

Here is the direct link to the Nifty Futures Singapore - CLICK HERE

9/11 - A moment of silence

Once again, President Bush will lead a moment of silence on the South Lawn of the White House to remember the nearly 3,000 people who died on Sept. 11, 2001 when terrorists crashed hijacked airplanes into the World Trade Center in New York, the Pentagon and a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

Afterward he was to head to the Pentagon to dedicate a memorial that has 184 benches over small reflecting pools representing each life lost when American Airlines Flight 77 flew into the symbol of U.S. military might on that clear and sunny September morning.

The moment of silence at the White House on Thursday will occur at 8:46 a.m. — the exact time in 2001 that terrorists slammed the first of two jetliners into the World Trade Center. The Pentagon was struck about an hour later. Joining the president will be first lady Laura Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and his wife, Lynne, members of Congress, Cabinet members, military officials and about 3,000 White House employees and guests.

The Pentagon ceremony will include a wreath laying, music and a reading of the names of the 184 who died on the plane and inside the building.

"The president thinks about 9/11 every single day when he wakes up and before he goes to bed," White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday. "This is what he's concerned about. He's always been concerned about another attack on our country. Thankfully, we haven't had one."

Shortly before 9 a.m., families of 9/11 victims will descend into Ground Zero using the construction ramp on the south side of the 16-acre site before returning to street level.

Barack Obama and John McCain, the Democratic and Republican presidential nominees, respectively, will appear together at ground zero in New York on Thursday to honor the memory of those who died. The campaigns agreed to halt television advertising critical of each other for the day.

Bush announced this week that he was sending a Marine battalion to Afghanistan in November to replace two that are scheduled to leave and an Army brigade there by January. U.S. commanders in Afghanistan say they need another 10,000 troops — about three times as many as they will receive this winter under the troop deployment plan Bush announced. The commanders also urge more nonmilitary aid and say the Afghan government must perform better.

The Pentagon Memorial was built at a cost of $22 million on a 1.9 acre parcel of land adjacent to the Pentagon and within view of the crash site.

Keywords - 9/11, 911 moment of silence, 9/11 silence, 9/11 anniversary, september 11 moment of silence     

Ten days of Onam

Days of ONAM

Carnival of Onam continues for ten days in the state of Kerala. In some regions of the state festivities are restricted to four to six days only. However, scholars say, the festivities have toned down a lot in the present time. In earlier days, Onam was celebrated for a month and much more lavishly.

Nevertheless, Onam is still celebrated with gaiety and joy on all the ten days of the festivities. There are set rituals for each day and the traditional people of Kerala dutifully follow them. The mood of the people is upbeat all through the carnival and the high spirited people of Kerala are ever ready to indulge in merriment.

Of all these days the first day Atham and the tenth day Thiruvonam are the most significant ones. Ninth day Uthradam is also considered to be extremely important from the point of view of celebrations in several parts of Kerala.

Day One ONAM - Atham

Day Two ONAM - Chithira

Day Three ONAM - Chodhi

Day Four ONAM - Viskam

Day Five Onam -Anizham

Day Six Onam - Thriketa

Day Seven Onam - Moolam

Day Eight Onam - Pooradam

Day Nine Onam - Uthradam

Day Ten Onam - Thiruvonam

For onam greetings, onam pictures, onam cards, onam wishes, onam photos    CLICK HERE