Fintech firm Slice plans to hire 800 people in 2022

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Fintech firm Slice plans to hire 800 people in 2022

Fintech company Slice on Tuesday announced that it is planning to hire close to 800 people across various posts in the operations, design, product, and engineering verticals in the coming year.

With the company being a market leader, it said it aims to further expand and ramp up hiring by at least 2x in 2022.

“At Slice, we are constantly looking for young talent, whether that are freshers just out of graduate school or experienced professionals who relate to our product and are equally enthusiastic about creating the future of payments,” Rajan Bajaj, Founder and CEO of Slice, said in a statement.

“We plan to hire close to 800 people by the end of next year with a special focus on building and growing our product, operations, design and engineering teams,” he added.

The company said that the new hires will focus on scaling the card product and upcoming UPI product integration.

At least 40 per cent of the new hires in 2022 will be onboarded into the firm’s engineering, product and operations teams.

“Millennials and Genz are strong problem-solvers with a steep learning curve,” Bajaj said.

“They are not afraid to challenge the status quo, making them the ideal fit for Slice, where we are on the cusp of revolutionising India’s credit and payments space,” he added.

War of Words in Tamil Nadu over scrapping of NEET

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War of Words in Tamil Nadu over scrapping of NEET

A war of words has erupted in Tamil Nadu over scrapping of the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) with the ruling DMK and its allies expecting Governor R.N. Ravi to give assent to the bill passed by the state Assembly for scrapping the exam.

The Tamil Nadu government is expecting a favourable response from the Governor as it feels that the new bill is based on proper data that could be quantified as well as provision for reservation to Government school students for admission to Medical colleges.

DMK leader and state health minister Ma Subramanian, while speaking to IANS, said: “We had constituted a commission headed by Justice (rtd) A.K.Rajan of the Madras High Court, and the report by the commission is based on proper data as to why NEET is to be scrapped.”

However, the AIADMK is not impressed and former chief minister and Leader of Opposition in the Tamil Nadu Assembly Edappady K. Palaniswami has questioned the wisdom of the state government in cancelling NEET which is a national level competitive examination.

In a statement on Monday, the former chief minister called upon the state government to conduct more coaching classes for NEET so that government school students of the state are also able to crack the examination by attending proper training classes.

In a related development, Puthiya Thamilagam founder leader and former MLA Dr K. Krishnaswamy has written a letter to the Governor requesting him not to give assent to the NEET exemption bill. He said that the general public, including students and parents, have welcomed the bill and only certain vested interests were against it.

PMK founder leader Dr S. Ramadoss has called upon the state government to immediately convene a meeting of all political parties to discuss the steps to be taken to get approval for the NEET exemption bill before the commencement of the next academic year.

NEET issue is turning into a major controversy in Tamil Nadu with the DMK getting flak from the opposition for not being able to implement one of its major electoral promises. AIADMK leader and former Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam, in a statement, said that the DMK knew fully well that NEET could not be scrapped and that it had used the subject as a political tactic to garner votes by misleading the public.

He also said that the people of the state have seen through the game plan of the DMK and the present government and the hollowness of the promises made by the ruling party.

Mohandas Pai invests in Monster.com as it raises Rs 137.5 cr

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Mohandas Pai invests in Monster.com as it raises Rs 137.5 cr

Online job platform Monster.com on Wednesday said that it has raised Rs 137.5 crore in a funding round led by Mohandas Pai of Meridian Investments and Akash Bhanshali of Volrado Venture Partners, with participation from Quess, its parent company.

The online talent platform said that the funds will be utilised towards enhanced investments on product development and marketing in India, SEA and Middle-East markets.

Post the funding, Monster.com is now valued at $100 million.

“The last year has been incredible for the company, achieving very healthy growth across all metrics. We have an exciting product and business road map in line with our view on how hiring will evolve in the next few years,” said Sekhar Garisa, CEO, Monster.com, APAC & ME.

In 2018, Quess Corp acquired Monster.com’s businesses in India, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the UAE and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

According to Pai, the next two years will see a huge increase in available jobs, thanks to high economic growth, and job seekers will find a high-quality platform to plan their careers.

“As employers also prepare for a new decade and an employee-first mindset, the platform will help them create a differentiated experience and build deeper relationships with their teams from day one,” Pai said.

Monster.com has over 60 million active users in India.

“Quess acquired Monster for an investment of Rs 145 crore and embarked on a ‘Digital First’ journey with the objective of creating long-term value for our shareholders and clients,” said Ajit Isaac, Executive Chairman, Quess.

Less IT professionals losing jobs post hacking amid talent crunch

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Less IT professionals losing jobs post hacking amid talent crunch

Less senior IT professionals are losing their jobs after their organisations were hit by hackers in 2021 as compared to previous years, as the demand for cybersecurity specialists remains high and more firms now believe in nurturing and retaining talent rather than handing over pink slips, a new report showed on Tuesday.

There is a positive trend in how organisations respond to cybersecurity breaches globally, according to a Kaspersky study.

In 2021, almost half as many organisations laid off senior IT staff (7 per cent in 2021 compared to 16 per cent in 2018) and senior IT security roles (13 per cent compared to 18 per cent in 2018) if a data breach occurs.

The split of employees that could lose their job as a result of a cybersecurity breach has also changed.

In addition to senior IT and IT security roles, C-level executives are now half as likely to be exposed to dismissals – 10 per cent in 2021 compared to 11 per cent in 2018.

The decreasing trend is also relevant for non-IT senior staff. As a result, the overall split across IT and non-IT, senior and non-senior roles, became flatter than a few years ago, the findings showed.

“The transfer to remote work and processes has put increased pressure on the information security sector. With cybersecurity jobs in such high demand and skilled professionals in low supply, companies are realising the value of senior security executives and the need to plug the talent gap,” said Evgeniya Naumova, Executive VP, Corporate Business at Kaspersky.

According to Gartner, 40 per cent of boards will have a dedicated cybersecurity committee overseen by a qualified director by 2025.

With a continuing skills gap in the market, it should be important for organisations to save experts in their positions.

The demand for retaining and nurturing expertise is seen, for example, in budget planning.

Nearly 45 per cent of enterprises report the need to improve the level of specialist security expertise as the top reason to increase their IT security budget.

In fact, this is the second most common reason, followed only by increased complexity of IT infrastructure (49 per cent).

Furthermore, by investing in internal specialists, employers are interested in retaining their knowledge within the company so that employees could leverage their skills in future, the report noted.

“The highest possible level of cybersecurity depends on an adequate strategy, represented by IT security experts,” said Sebastian Artz, Head of Cyber and Information Security at Bitkom e.V., Germany’s digital association.

Question paper leak: Pune Police nab Maha Commissioner of Exams

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Question paper leak: Pune Police nab Maha Commissioner of Exams

In a big swoop, the state Cyber Police have arrested the Commissioner of Maharashtra State Council of Examination (MSCE) for alleged malpractices in the Teachers Eligibility Test (TET), officials said here on Friday.

“The MSCE Commissioner Tukaram Supe has been arrested by the Cyber Cell of Pune Police following his questioning in the alleged malpractices in the TET exams,” Police Commissioner Amitabh Gupta told mediapersons.

The TET exam malpractices came to the fore during the probe into the leak of an exam paper of the Maharashtra Housing & Area Development Authority (MHADA) that was scheduled for December 12.

After the leak came to light Housing Minister Dr. Jitendra Awhad announced the postponement of the exams even as the Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party slammed the government for the lapses.

At least six persons have been arrested in connection with the MHADA paper leak and the investigations also threw up the TET matter while Supe was picked up on Thursday.

Police said that hall tickets of some TET candidates were recovered from an accused in the MHADA exams scam case, Dr. Pritesh Deshmukh, Director, GA Softwares, which was entrusted with the work of preparing the question papers and related works.

In the past few months, the state has witnessed exam paper leaks of at least three government exams of the health department, the MHADA and the TET, with some comparing it to the infamous Vyapam Scam in neighbouring Madhya Pradesh.

Further investigations are underway into the TET and MHADA exam paper leaks with further arrests not ruled out as the government has decided certain changes to prevent more such leaks in future.

Don’t impose Kannada language on degree students until further orders: HC

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Don’t impose Kannada language on degree students until further orders: HC

The Karnataka High Court has directed the state government not to make Kannada language compulsory for degree students until further orders.

“The state government at this stage cannot insist on making the Kannada language compulsory. Students who have already chosen to study the language can do so,” a division bench headed by Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi ordered on Thursday.

However, the bench also observed that, with respect to making Kannada language subject compulsory for higher studies in the backdrop of implementing National Education Policy (NEP), required consideration.

The High Court was hearing a PIL filed by Samskara Bharathi (Karnataka) Trust, three institutions promoting Sanskrit and five students on the matter.

Advocate General Prabhuling Navadgi brought to the notice of the court that the five students who have filed PIL in the case have studied Kannada language till class 12 and they can’t have any objections while studying at higher levels.

The counsel for the students, Sridhar Prabhu, argued that the court had already asked the government not to hasten the matter of making Kannada language mandatory for graduation courses.

He also sought directions from the court as students have taken admissions this academic year.

Additional Solicitor General M.B. Nargund informed the court that he is not in a position to explain the stand of the Central government on making Kannada language mandatory for higher studies as part of implementation of the NEP.

He sought four weeks time to file a detailed counter affidavit by the Centre in this regard.

Employment outlook at a record high of 8 years

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Employment outlook at a record high of 8 years

Employers continue to show optimism for the second consecutive quarter according to the latest ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey of 3020 employers.

64 per cent expect to increase their staffing levels, 15 per cent anticipate a decrease and 20 per cent do not anticipate any change, resulting in a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +49 per cent which is a record high in 8 years. When compared to the same period last year, hiring sentiments have improved by a whopping +43 while there is a 5 percentage points growth when compared to the last quarter.

Employers in large organisations report the most optimistic outlook with 51 per cent intending to hire in the first quarter compared to 25 per cent in small companies. Employers in the North report the strongest hiring intentions for Q1 followed by South and West.

To provide a wider coverage of the market segments, ManpowerGroup has included four new sectors in this report like IT and Technology, Primary Production, Restaurants and Hotels and Not for Profit increasing the overall number of industry sectors’ analysis from seven to eleven.

All eleven industry sectors surveyed report positive intentions to add to their payrolls. ManpowerGroup also surveyed employers on their vaccination implementation and work arrangement plans.

Companies in the IT, Technology, Telecom, Communications and Media sector report hiring outlook of +60 per cent followed by 56 per cent in Restaurants and Hotels sector.

Hiring forecast is least optimistic in the Construction and Primary Production sectors, with a Net Employment Outlook of +29 per cent and +28 per cent respectively.

91 per cent of employers surveyed will mandate double vaccination and require proof from staff. Corporates expect to adopt hybrid working for 51 per cent of Finance & Accounting and 49 per cent of Human Resource staff while 45 per cent of Production and Manufacturing staff is expected to be at the workplace all the time.

Commenting on the findings, Sandeep Gulati, Managing Director, ManpowerGroup India said, “India registered a V-shaped recovery owing to increased consumer spending, educational sector opening up and the government’s sustained efforts to accelerate vaccination coverage thereby breaking the virus chain. The boost in hiring outlook reflects employers’ sustained confidence in achieving a post-pandemic recovery. The “Great Resignation” is additionally impacting the hiring sentiments in companies especially in the IT and Technology sectors.

37% employees feel more connected while working remotely

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37% employees feel more connected while working remotely

At least 61 per cent employees do not feel isolated while working remotely, while 37 per cent of remote workers manage to communicate even better with their colleagues this way, a report said on Wednesday.

According to the global cybersecurity company Kaspersky, the extensive use of non-corporate communication services enables better connections but increases the level of risk from unmonitored IT resources.

“Shadow IT solutions do not let security or IT specialists gain the complete picture of the company’s digital infrastructure,” Andrey Evdokimov, Head of Information Security at Kaspersky, said in a statement.

“That situation results in increased risk because defenders do not consider unsanctioned tools when developing threat models, data flow diagrams, and planning,” Evdokimov added.

During 2020, people and organisations have been through many changes. The epidemiological situation and subsequent lockdown restrictions around the globe seriously affected the communication aspect of people’s private and working life.

The new conditions created different challenges and social isolation along with a lack of communication with colleagues — these were among the most discussed concerns for remote employees.

While the majority of employees have successfully transitioned to the digital communications era, a substantial number of respondents could not adopt the remote way of life and still feel isolated (39 per cent) while working at home, said the survey that included 4,303 IT workers from 31 countries.

Given the fact that loneliness contributes to employee burnout, not less than other demotivating factors like exhaustion and anxiety, this statistic should be a matter of concern for business executives.

Afghan women protest for rights to employment, education

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Afghan women protest for rights to employment, education

The delay in providing right to education and employment to women by the Afghan Taliban led interim government in Afghanistan has triggered protests and uproar in the country.

On Sunday, dozens of Afghan women took to the streets of Kabul again, demanding their right to learn and seek employment under the new Islamic Emirates rule.

Chanting slogans for their rights, protesters also lashed out at the international community for what they called ignoring the dire need for provision of basic rights to women in the country.

“We can tolerate hunger, can live without food, but we cannot tolerate injustice. We ask for freedom and justice in our country”, said one of the protesters.

The latest protest is part of a series of protests that the Afghan women have been staging since the time Taliban took control of Afghanistan.

In the recent past, the Taliban security officials manhandled female protesters while media persons covering the protest were also assaulted and kept under custody.

The Afghan Taliban interim government later announced through its Ministry of Interior (MoI) that demonstrations without the permission of the relevant ministry would not be allowed.

Later, a pro-Taliban female rally was held in Kabul, where women chanted pro-Taliban slogans and expressed their support to the newly imposed Islamic law in the country.

The Taliban claims of ensuring provision of all basic rights to women as per the teachings under the Islamic rule of law, will be provided to its female citizens, including right to work and education, they said.

Recently, a girls’ school in Herat was opened while Taliban claimed that female nurses and doctors have been coming to work without any problems.

“The Islamic Emirate does not cause discriminatory treatment for any part of the society, the problems and issues existed, we promise to resolve the problems,” said Inamullah Samangani, deputy spokesperson of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (IEA).

But many believe that majority of women are still prohibited and restricted from employment or education.

“Women are half of the society, they have rights, there should be opportunities for learning and working based on the customs and culture of Afghanistan”, said Abdul Qadir, a local resident of Kabul.

Kerala schools reopen after 20 months

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Kerala schools reopen after 20 months

Schools in Kerala reopened on Monday after remaining closed for 20 months due to the Covid pandemic.

Since attending offline classes is not compulsory, only a million of the 4.2 million students returned to the classrooms.

Schools have been directed to strictly follow the bio-bubble model besides other Covid protocols.

The state level inauguration of a ‘back to school’ programme was inaugurated by Kerala Education Minister V.Sivankutty at the Cotton School Girl’s School in the capital city.

Similar inaugurations were seen in the other 13 districts of the state a well, while some schools held their own functions to welcome students.

Sivankutty said since the Covid threat is not fully over, all mandatory protocols have to be strictly complied with.

“For around two weeks, it will be a readjustment to the school and classrooms. We will be observing how things are and have regular meetings to discuss and debate on how situation can be improved, even while caution is maintained. For the time being everything will be under a close watch.”

Across the state one common thing was school students were definitely happy to be back.

“We had started to get bored of the online mode of study so are happy to be back- though our smiles hidden behind the masks. Now we wait for the classrooms to be full, as at the moment, it’s only half or less than that,” said a group of students in the capital city.

In a rare sight, state Agriculture Minister P. Prasad came to drop her daughter at a state-run school in the state capital.

“I’m here as a parent of my daughter Aruna of grade 5. We all are happy that children are back as children. The government has ensured that things are in place as the schools reopen after the long break,” said Prasad.

A teacher in Pathanamthitta district said she could not wait to get back to the classroom and be with her students.

“It’s probably the first time we are having a celebration like this, as Monday also marks Kerala’s 65th birthday. All of us are really excited and happy to be back,” she said.

Popular comedian and character actor Jagdeesh said that his grand-daughter is attending her class in the state capital.

“We have come to know that of the 25 students in her class, only nine parents have given their consent for physical classes.”

For the time being, in many schools students of each class have been divided into different bio-bubble groups and each group will have to come to school either twice or thrice in a week.

Even though its mandatory for all teachers and non-teaching staff to be vaccinated, according to the latest figures, as many as 2,282 teachers in the state are yet to get vaccinated.

In a Kozhikode district school, a robot welcomed every student with sanitiser and a balloon.

However, while most of the schools have reopened, 25 schools in Kuttanad area in Alappuzha district could not, owing to heavy rain.

“We were all ready to return, but then our teacher called up asking us to wait as all the classes are submerged. We are sad,” said a student who is impatient to return to school.

Meanwhile, the tailoring shops witnessed a heavy rush with students continously walking in either to get new uniforms stitched or get the old ones altered.

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