siliconindia, the premier magazine for business and technology which is published from Fremont, California has announced in its May edition, 'Top 10 most promising technology companies' founded or managed by Indians in the U.S.
The 10 promising technology companies include: Connectiva Systems, Jivox, Niksun, Parascale, Stoke, Truviso, Wavesat, WiChorus, Zyrion and Zmanda.
A distinguished panel comprising accomplished CEO's, VC's and analysts including siliconindia editorial board decided on the top 10 companies. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria including technology product the company was building or the differentiated service offering, management pedigree, innovation, global strategy, customers and customer retention and venture funding.
"In the backdrop of current economic conditions, we're seeing a lot of innovative new companies taking on the established players with disruptive technologies and innovative business plans," said Harvi Sachar, founder and Editor-in-Chief of siliconindia. "The siliconindia Top 10 Most Promising Technology companies are pushing and breaking the boundaries of the technology business and we are excited to report on their success stories. These companies have a lot of momentum and will rise above the rest."
Agencies
Showing posts with label Indians. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indians. Show all posts
Monday, May 11, 2009
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Is US tightening of H-1B visa rules for Indians justified?
Indian professionals aspiring to go to the US to work may now find it more difficult to get H-1B visas with Washington deciding on stricter screening following complaints of misuse of the facility.
Acting on the complaints, the US has adopted “fraud prevention tactics” to prevent such misuse. “We’ve added fraud prevention tactics. We’ve begun looking at other more standard fraud investigatory techniques that weren’t being used in H-1B that we are now going to employ. It includes things like sites visits and worksites visits,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said.
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Napolitano said over the last month, the Department has added some tools to rigorously enforce H-1B visa programme and prevent fraud.
Napolitano comment’s on H-1B visa programme came in response to a question from senator Richard Durbin, who along with senator Chuck Grassley, has introduced a legislation in the US Senate in this regard. Senator Durbin alleged that most of the H-1B visa fraud is being done by companies in India.
“The most outrageous abuses when it comes to H-1B visas include the fact that some major companies overseas, primarily in India, have successfully managed to marshal many of these H-1B visas and make a profit off them,” Durbin said.
“They charged the citizens of India coming to the US on H-1B visas and after three to six years, when they are to return to India, they charge to place them in companies which will then compete with the US,” he alleged.
Agencies
Acting on the complaints, the US has adopted “fraud prevention tactics” to prevent such misuse. “We’ve added fraud prevention tactics. We’ve begun looking at other more standard fraud investigatory techniques that weren’t being used in H-1B that we are now going to employ. It includes things like sites visits and worksites visits,” Janet Napolitano, secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said.
Testifying before the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Napolitano said over the last month, the Department has added some tools to rigorously enforce H-1B visa programme and prevent fraud.
Napolitano comment’s on H-1B visa programme came in response to a question from senator Richard Durbin, who along with senator Chuck Grassley, has introduced a legislation in the US Senate in this regard. Senator Durbin alleged that most of the H-1B visa fraud is being done by companies in India.
“The most outrageous abuses when it comes to H-1B visas include the fact that some major companies overseas, primarily in India, have successfully managed to marshal many of these H-1B visas and make a profit off them,” Durbin said.
“They charged the citizens of India coming to the US on H-1B visas and after three to six years, when they are to return to India, they charge to place them in companies which will then compete with the US,” he alleged.
Agencies
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Internet rip-offs causes $265 million loss
Internet-based rip-offs jumped 33 percent last year over the previous year, causing a loss of $265 million to the victims, with the fifth largest number of complaints coming from India, according to a new report.
Americans filed 275,284 reports (92.4 percent), claiming to be ripped off on the Internet, the highest number reported since the Internet Crime Complaint Centre, a partnership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Centre, began keeping statistics in 2000.
Canada came a distant second with 1.77 percent complaints followed by Britain (0.95 percent), Australia (0.57 percent) and India 0.36 percent.
"This report illustrates that sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet," said Shawn Henry, the FBI's assistant director of the cyber division.
At $265 million the total dollar loss from such crimes was $26 million more than the price tag in 2007, the Centre said. For individual victims, the average amount lost was $931.
The dollar loss has been on a steady increase since 2004, while the number of cases referred to law enforcement has decreased steadily since that same year.
Henry said the figures show the need for computer users, in businesses and in homes, to be wary and use sound security practices while using the Internet.
The centre said the top three most frequent complaints were about merchandise that wasn't delivered or payment that wasn't received, Internet auction fraud and credit/debit card fraud. Other scams include confidence frauds such as Ponzi schemes, cheque fraud, the Nigerian letter fraud and identity fraud.
One popular identity fraud scam used during 2008 involved sending e-mails crafted to appear as if they had been sent by the FBI. Sometimes the scammers went so far as to say the mailings were from FBI Director Robert Mueller himself, according to the centre.
The e-mails would ask the recipient for personal information, such as a bank account numbers, claiming the FBI wanted the information to look into an impending financial transaction.
One variation of the scheme, according to the centre, was to send an e-mail saying the recipient is entitled to lottery money or an inheritance and the funds can be moved as soon as bank account information is supplied.
The FBI has issued warnings about such scams in the past and Monday's report included a new one: "The FBI does not contact US citizens regarding personal financial matters through unsolicited e-mails."
Agencies
Americans filed 275,284 reports (92.4 percent), claiming to be ripped off on the Internet, the highest number reported since the Internet Crime Complaint Centre, a partnership of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Crime Centre, began keeping statistics in 2000.
Canada came a distant second with 1.77 percent complaints followed by Britain (0.95 percent), Australia (0.57 percent) and India 0.36 percent.
"This report illustrates that sophisticated computer fraud schemes continue to flourish as financial data migrates to the Internet," said Shawn Henry, the FBI's assistant director of the cyber division.
At $265 million the total dollar loss from such crimes was $26 million more than the price tag in 2007, the Centre said. For individual victims, the average amount lost was $931.
The dollar loss has been on a steady increase since 2004, while the number of cases referred to law enforcement has decreased steadily since that same year.
Henry said the figures show the need for computer users, in businesses and in homes, to be wary and use sound security practices while using the Internet.
The centre said the top three most frequent complaints were about merchandise that wasn't delivered or payment that wasn't received, Internet auction fraud and credit/debit card fraud. Other scams include confidence frauds such as Ponzi schemes, cheque fraud, the Nigerian letter fraud and identity fraud.
One popular identity fraud scam used during 2008 involved sending e-mails crafted to appear as if they had been sent by the FBI. Sometimes the scammers went so far as to say the mailings were from FBI Director Robert Mueller himself, according to the centre.
The e-mails would ask the recipient for personal information, such as a bank account numbers, claiming the FBI wanted the information to look into an impending financial transaction.
One variation of the scheme, according to the centre, was to send an e-mail saying the recipient is entitled to lottery money or an inheritance and the funds can be moved as soon as bank account information is supplied.
The FBI has issued warnings about such scams in the past and Monday's report included a new one: "The FBI does not contact US citizens regarding personal financial matters through unsolicited e-mails."
Agencies
Friday, March 20, 2009
US axes 651,000 jobs in February; unemployment rate highest in 25 years
US employers axed 651,000 jobs in February, pushing the unemployment rate to its highest in 25 years, as companies buckled under the strain of a recession that is showing no signs of ending, according to a government report.
While that figure was near economists' expectations for a 648,000 drop in non-farm payrolls, January and December job losses were revised sharply higher.
The Labor Department on Friday said the unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent in February, the highest level since December 1983. That was above market forecasts for a rise to 7.9 from January's 7.6 percent.
January's job cuts were revised to show a steep decline of 655,000, while December's payrolls losses were adjusted to 681,000, the deepest since October 1949. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has purged 4.4 million jobs, with more than half occurring in the last 4 months.
Job losses in February were broad based, with only government, education and health services adding jobs.
"Since the recession began, the rise in unemployment has been concentrated among people who lost jobs, as opposed to job leavers or people joining the labor force," said Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall
The manufacturing sector shed 168,000 jobs in February, after eliminating 257,000 positions the prior month. Construction industries bled 104,000 jobs in February after losing 118,000 in January.
The service-providing industry slashed 375,000 positions after shedding 276,000 in January.
Agencies
While that figure was near economists' expectations for a 648,000 drop in non-farm payrolls, January and December job losses were revised sharply higher.
The Labor Department on Friday said the unemployment rate surged to 8.1 percent in February, the highest level since December 1983. That was above market forecasts for a rise to 7.9 from January's 7.6 percent.
January's job cuts were revised to show a steep decline of 655,000, while December's payrolls losses were adjusted to 681,000, the deepest since October 1949. Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has purged 4.4 million jobs, with more than half occurring in the last 4 months.
Job losses in February were broad based, with only government, education and health services adding jobs.
"Since the recession began, the rise in unemployment has been concentrated among people who lost jobs, as opposed to job leavers or people joining the labor force," said Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Keith Hall
The manufacturing sector shed 168,000 jobs in February, after eliminating 257,000 positions the prior month. Construction industries bled 104,000 jobs in February after losing 118,000 in January.
The service-providing industry slashed 375,000 positions after shedding 276,000 in January.
Agencies
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Has the crisis left Dubai migrant workers out in the cold?
Low-paid Asian workers who toil long days to build the skyscrapers of Dubai have become the latest victims of the global financial crisis as companies run short of business and money.
For many years, the Gulf emirate was a magnet for South Asian workers who fed the booming economy with cheap manpower -- from cleaners and gardeners to skilled and unskilled builders.
A report issued earlier this month showed that 582 billion dollars worth of building projects in the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part, had been put on hold due to the slowdown. That was 45 percent of the total.
Arnold, a 26-year-old Filipino machine operator, found a job in a small aluminium factory only two months after arriving in Dubai last summer. But in January, he and six others from the 15-strong workforce were laid off.
"I am staying in Dubai trying to find another job," he said, pointing out that his previous employer lost a great deal of business when many construction projects ground to a halt, cutting demand for aluminium products.
Six years of spectacular growth in the UAE construction sector, mainly in Dubai, absorbed hundreds of thousands of workers, mostly from South Asia. That had a knock-on effect, creating further opportunities for migrants.
But the financial crisis, mainly in construction and related industries, is reversing that trend, forcing foreign workers to go home.
"The crisis is worse in the Philippines. We have no future there. We are looking for part-time jobs here, anything," Arnold told AFP as he hung out with two friends who had also lost their jobs.
Christopher, a compatriot, said he has been in Dubai for around nine months working as a welder during the day and a barista in the evening.
He and his wife, who also works in a Dubai coffee shop, used to send 500 dirhams (136 dollars) a month home, where their two kids were left behind.
Migrant workers send billions of dollars home every year. One money transfer firm, UAE Exchange, said its volume last year was 12 billion dollars, most of it to India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Like Arnold, Christopher was working illegally in the hope that an employer would get him a work permit. Now he is searching desperately for anything.
But even for labourers who were brought to the UAE on a work visa to satisfy the needs of the once-booming economy, many are receiving the pink slip.
"Some 200 gardeners were sacked recently from our company" out of about 10,000 workers, said an Indian as he planted saplings in the garden of an elegant office building in Dubai.
"They told us the company does not have much work and is short of money," said the man in his mid-40s, refusing to give his name.
Two other colleagues, an Indian and a Bangladeshi, carried on trimming the hedge, appearing hesitant to say anything that might jeopardise their jobs.
"We are expecting to lose our jobs," said the man, who earns a meager 500 dirhams (136 dollars) a month in return for 48 hours a week.
He lamented that two years ago he had to pay what was for him a fortune of around 10,000 dirhams (2,725 dollars) to Indian intermediaries to get a job in Dubai.
Murukesan, an Indian cleaner, said his employer, a large cleaning and maintenance company, last week told workers who had completed at least two years of work to go home on four-month unpaid vacations.
"They said do not come back until we call you," he said with a faint smile, appearing content as he has completed only 18 months of his contract.
"In the past, workers were not taking vacations, even after four years of continuous work," he said, highlighting a huge work load in the immediate past.
It appears some of the unpaid "vacations" are simply a way of getting rid of people without having to pay them off. Under UAE law, workers laid off must be paid 21 days' salary for each of the first five years worked and a month's salary for every year after that.
"They are trying to find excuses to bypass the rules of terminating a contract," said Monir al-Zaman, labour attache at the Bangladeshi embassy.
"Compensation should be paid if workers are being fired," he told the media, adding that companies should resort to cutting overtime work and even reduce salaries before laying off workers.
In December, Khalfan al-Kaabi, a member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce board of directors, said up to 45 percent of construction workers could be laid off this year if private sector projects in the UAE were delayed or cancelled.
Zaman said he could not provide a figure on Bangladeshi workers having lost their jobs in the UAE, because the process is not done "formally".
He also pointed out that he noticed, during inspection visits to labour camps, that many workers stayed in the UAE even if they were not being paid, in hope of finding work.
But poor unemployed workers cannot linger for long if jobs remain rare.
"Maybe this month I have to decide to stay or go ... because I don't have any money. Now I'm borrowing from friends," said Arnold.
Agencies
For many years, the Gulf emirate was a magnet for South Asian workers who fed the booming economy with cheap manpower -- from cleaners and gardeners to skilled and unskilled builders.
A report issued earlier this month showed that 582 billion dollars worth of building projects in the United Arab Emirates, of which Dubai is a part, had been put on hold due to the slowdown. That was 45 percent of the total.
Arnold, a 26-year-old Filipino machine operator, found a job in a small aluminium factory only two months after arriving in Dubai last summer. But in January, he and six others from the 15-strong workforce were laid off.
"I am staying in Dubai trying to find another job," he said, pointing out that his previous employer lost a great deal of business when many construction projects ground to a halt, cutting demand for aluminium products.
Six years of spectacular growth in the UAE construction sector, mainly in Dubai, absorbed hundreds of thousands of workers, mostly from South Asia. That had a knock-on effect, creating further opportunities for migrants.
But the financial crisis, mainly in construction and related industries, is reversing that trend, forcing foreign workers to go home.
"The crisis is worse in the Philippines. We have no future there. We are looking for part-time jobs here, anything," Arnold told AFP as he hung out with two friends who had also lost their jobs.
Christopher, a compatriot, said he has been in Dubai for around nine months working as a welder during the day and a barista in the evening.
He and his wife, who also works in a Dubai coffee shop, used to send 500 dirhams (136 dollars) a month home, where their two kids were left behind.
Migrant workers send billions of dollars home every year. One money transfer firm, UAE Exchange, said its volume last year was 12 billion dollars, most of it to India, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Like Arnold, Christopher was working illegally in the hope that an employer would get him a work permit. Now he is searching desperately for anything.
But even for labourers who were brought to the UAE on a work visa to satisfy the needs of the once-booming economy, many are receiving the pink slip.
"Some 200 gardeners were sacked recently from our company" out of about 10,000 workers, said an Indian as he planted saplings in the garden of an elegant office building in Dubai.
"They told us the company does not have much work and is short of money," said the man in his mid-40s, refusing to give his name.
Two other colleagues, an Indian and a Bangladeshi, carried on trimming the hedge, appearing hesitant to say anything that might jeopardise their jobs.
"We are expecting to lose our jobs," said the man, who earns a meager 500 dirhams (136 dollars) a month in return for 48 hours a week.
He lamented that two years ago he had to pay what was for him a fortune of around 10,000 dirhams (2,725 dollars) to Indian intermediaries to get a job in Dubai.
Murukesan, an Indian cleaner, said his employer, a large cleaning and maintenance company, last week told workers who had completed at least two years of work to go home on four-month unpaid vacations.
"They said do not come back until we call you," he said with a faint smile, appearing content as he has completed only 18 months of his contract.
"In the past, workers were not taking vacations, even after four years of continuous work," he said, highlighting a huge work load in the immediate past.
It appears some of the unpaid "vacations" are simply a way of getting rid of people without having to pay them off. Under UAE law, workers laid off must be paid 21 days' salary for each of the first five years worked and a month's salary for every year after that.
"They are trying to find excuses to bypass the rules of terminating a contract," said Monir al-Zaman, labour attache at the Bangladeshi embassy.
"Compensation should be paid if workers are being fired," he told the media, adding that companies should resort to cutting overtime work and even reduce salaries before laying off workers.
In December, Khalfan al-Kaabi, a member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce board of directors, said up to 45 percent of construction workers could be laid off this year if private sector projects in the UAE were delayed or cancelled.
Zaman said he could not provide a figure on Bangladeshi workers having lost their jobs in the UAE, because the process is not done "formally".
He also pointed out that he noticed, during inspection visits to labour camps, that many workers stayed in the UAE even if they were not being paid, in hope of finding work.
But poor unemployed workers cannot linger for long if jobs remain rare.
"Maybe this month I have to decide to stay or go ... because I don't have any money. Now I'm borrowing from friends," said Arnold.
Agencies
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Fourteen Indians commit suicide every hour!
Fourteen people commit suicide every hour in India due to various reasons, ranging from failure in relationships, bankruptcy, illness and social disrepute. One among every three suicide victims is a youth and one among five is a house wife.
These are some of the findings of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which came out with the latest figures on accidents and suicides in the country.
According to the 'Accidental Deaths and Suicide in India – 2007' report, the country witnessed an increase of 3.8 per cent in the incidents of suicide with 1,22,637 people ending their lives last year. The number of women was 43,342.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of suicides with 15,184 cases accounting for 12.4 per cent of such incidents followed by Andhra Pradesh with 14,882 (12.1 per cent). The report said 264 deaths came under common pact of mass or family suicides consisting 118 men and 146 women.
The highest number of such cases were reported from Kerala (39), followed by Andhra Pradesh (34) and Madhya Pradesh (12).
Family problems and illness were other causes for suicide, accounting for 23.8 per cent and 22.3 per cent respectively. Failure in relationships (2.8 per cent), bankruptcy (2.7) and dowry dispute (2.6) were other major factors.
Ending life due to ideological affiliations and hero worship, a disturbing trend witnessed in the late 1970s and early '80s, claimed 261 lives.
Out of a total of 27,332 people who committed suicide due to illness, 952 had AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases while 794 had cancer and 496 were paralysed. Among AIDS or STD patients who committed suicide, 334 were women. The maximum number of people who took their life in this category were in the age group of 30 to 44 years.
Seven boys and three girls below 14 years also "committed suicide" as they had AIDS or STD, the report said.
Consuming poison and hanging were the means mostly adopted by those who committed suicide. While 34.8 per cent of the total victims chose to consume poison, 31.7 per cent preferred hanging.
The report said housewives accounted for 55.7 per cent (24,162) of the total female victims which are nearly 19.7 per cent of total who committed suicide.
While government servants were merely 1.5 per cent, private and public sector personnel have accounted for 8.2 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.
Source: Expressindia.com
These are some of the findings of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) which came out with the latest figures on accidents and suicides in the country.
According to the 'Accidental Deaths and Suicide in India – 2007' report, the country witnessed an increase of 3.8 per cent in the incidents of suicide with 1,22,637 people ending their lives last year. The number of women was 43,342.
Maharashtra has reported the highest number of suicides with 15,184 cases accounting for 12.4 per cent of such incidents followed by Andhra Pradesh with 14,882 (12.1 per cent). The report said 264 deaths came under common pact of mass or family suicides consisting 118 men and 146 women.
The highest number of such cases were reported from Kerala (39), followed by Andhra Pradesh (34) and Madhya Pradesh (12).
Family problems and illness were other causes for suicide, accounting for 23.8 per cent and 22.3 per cent respectively. Failure in relationships (2.8 per cent), bankruptcy (2.7) and dowry dispute (2.6) were other major factors.
Ending life due to ideological affiliations and hero worship, a disturbing trend witnessed in the late 1970s and early '80s, claimed 261 lives.
Out of a total of 27,332 people who committed suicide due to illness, 952 had AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases while 794 had cancer and 496 were paralysed. Among AIDS or STD patients who committed suicide, 334 were women. The maximum number of people who took their life in this category were in the age group of 30 to 44 years.
Seven boys and three girls below 14 years also "committed suicide" as they had AIDS or STD, the report said.
Consuming poison and hanging were the means mostly adopted by those who committed suicide. While 34.8 per cent of the total victims chose to consume poison, 31.7 per cent preferred hanging.
The report said housewives accounted for 55.7 per cent (24,162) of the total female victims which are nearly 19.7 per cent of total who committed suicide.
While government servants were merely 1.5 per cent, private and public sector personnel have accounted for 8.2 per cent and 2.2 per cent respectively.
Source: Expressindia.com
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