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| Friday,
August 4, 2000, Chandigarh, India   
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In Silicon with high income & high debt
Re fall technical correction:
SBI |
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Harassment & a hole in pocket OBC to reduce cost of deposits
Zap to set up soft park in
Mohali Technology site Psycho play by RBI
SANTA CLARE, California, Aug 3 (DPA) — The wicker basket surrounded by clients at the consumer credit counselling office in Silicon Valley is a conman’s
dream. It is filled with discarded credit cards. Despite six-figure salaries, the owners are spending way more than they earn. But these cards will never make it back into anyone’s pockets. The clients seeking credit help are cutting them up, a symbolic and practical first step to climbing out of the debt pit ruining their lives. More and more, high-tech workers earning high incomes are plunging themselves deep into debt in the world’s largest and richest high-tech region. With the greatest average debt in the world — almost 100,000 dollars per household — Silicon Valley would suffer a catastrophe with the merest downturn in the booming economy, economists warn. The debtors are not just using loans to finance lavish lifestyles beyond their means. They are often regular working folk who find the price of living in Silicon Valley just too expensive. Silicon Valley is the costliest place to live in the USA, rivalled only by a few upscale sections of Manhattan, research shows. Housing prices have risen by about 50 per cent over the past two years, labour costs are stratospheric and putting a toddler in child care can cost $ 1,000 month. In Santa Clara county, high-tech’s epicentre, the median single-family home price soars beyond $ 500,000. In San Francisco, apartments start at $ 2,000 a month. In downscale Oakland, a web photographer recently thought he had bagged a modest home for $ 450,000, 50,000 more than the asking price. How wrong he was. Another bidder offered $ 525,000. “It’s Crazy,” said the frustrated buyer, Gideon Boaz. “People say that with the stock market cooling off, housing prices will also come down. But the fact is, if you want to buy something now, you are saddled with a huge debt for the rest of your life.” The spending epidemic has reached such proportions that a psychiatrist at Stanford University, Dr Lorrin Koran, was overwhelmed with responses when he announced a pilot program to treat compulsive shoppers with a prozac-like drug that he believes will reduce the urge to spend. One woman in the programme, a well-paid graphic designer, said she was unable to resist the swanky lure of the upscale Stanford Mall — just opposite Koran’s office. “Everything about our society at this time is telling you to go out and buy,” the client says. “I’m deep in debt, but credit card companies just keep sending me new cards. It’s just like a fantasy.” But economists warn that for millions of high spending techies, an end to the 10-year-long U.S. economic expansion could spell real trouble. The structure of many people’s finances could in fact promote a full-fledged disaster
in he Silicon Valley economic system. Many high-tech workers have funded their lifestyles in a belief that their stock options would provide them with a hefty windfall. But they are already feeling the pinch since the stock market started declining in April, vastly reducing the value of their stock options. The trend is all the more devastating because many young tech workers have only known times of plenty. Since leaving college, they have earned and spent fortunes. Racking up debt is a natural economic activity for them, fiscal responsibility an alien concept. Like many others, game programmer Jason Shankel is suffering a sense of uncertainty as he watches his stock option dreams dive “underwater” — local slang for when the market price of shares is less than the option price. He fears it is only a short matter of time until the “bubble economy” bursts. “People are in denial”, says the burly 32-year-old. “They can’t see where this is leading.” But in the gung-ho mentality of Silicon Valley, Shankel has a surprising piece of advice: “Party like it’s 1929.” |
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Re fall technical correction: SBI MUMBAI, Aug 3 (UNI) — SBI Chairman G.G. Vaidya has termed the sharp fall in rupee’s value as a technical correction and linked it to the ongoing fall of global currencies against the dollar. “The fall in rupee value is a temporary phenomena and there is no cause of great panic about it,’’ Vaidya said. Addressing newsmen at a press conference ahead of the bank’s 45th annual general meeting he said the other currencies like pound, euro and yen too depreciated considerably in the recent past whereas in this contrast the Indian rupee has been seen appreciated against the US greenback, therefore the current fall in the rupee is the reflection of global trend and there is no cause of very much concern. Decision on PLR next week:
The SBI is closely watching the developments in the money market, gilts and share market and likely to announce hike in the prime lending rate by the next week,
SBI Chairman said today. Vaidya said that the bank is considering the issue seriously and hoped that the trade unions in the associate banks will understand the need of the hour. “I hope that the trade unions will not oppose any move for the betterment of the country’s largest bank,” he said. About the technology upgradation of the bank, Mr Vaidya said that the bank has appointed KPMG as a consultant for drawing up its IT plan, which is expected to be ready by the end of September 2000. According to him, capital expenditure on the technology upgradation is likely to be in the range of Rs 500 to 700 crore and he expected the completion of computerisation in about 2500 banks by March 2001. |
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Harassment & a hole in pocket SAS Nagar, Aug 3 — The recently introduced rule of six-month industrial training by Punjab Technical University (PTU) is irking engineering college students, especially those from the electronic and computer streams who are heading for SAS Nagar, the so-called Silicon valley of Punjab. The students, who have come from far-flung areas of Punjab, are making their own arrangements to stay. Private sector companies are exploiting them and the trainees are being used as unpaid data entry operators. They are being promised a training certificate in lieu of free services rendered. “The very idea of introducing a six-month training course by PTU is preposterous. Earlier, the students were given a one-month exposure to industrial training as per rules. The companies happily obliged the would-be engineers. With the new rule coming in force, companies are reluctant to step in and the absorption of trainees is becoming a nightmare,” says a faculty member from a Fatehgarh Sahib-based engineering college. Those who have managed to pull the strings in right quarters at the right time have landed themselves a slot in some good institutes, while for the not-so-lucky-ones Semi Conductor Complex Limited (SCCL) has devised a “novel” way out. “Shell out Currency and Crowd the Lobby” — that’s how the student trainees from engineering colleges of Punjab are interpreting the acronym SCCL. These trainees are paying Rs 2,000 to get adjusted in SCCL and more than 450 trainees are marking their attendance daily. Interestingly, SCCL has 750 employees on its rolls, out of whom nearly 400 interact directly with the trainees, in the mathematical ratio of 1:1. With no adequate seating capacity, the students are forced to leave early and some have complained about not being able to see the instruments, leave aside working on them. Though the loss-making SCCL has benefited in the bargain and has added more than Rs 8 lakh to its kitty, the very concept of paying money to get a training certificate from a PSU is unprecedented in the region. “A Bangalore-based firm is charging more than us. Further, I believe that anything given free loses value”. This is how Mr M.J. Zarabi, CMD of SCCL, defends the company’s decision. On being asked about the lack of infrastructure, he says that being a PSU has some limitations. “We did not refuse anyone and that is why we have such a large number of trainees on hand. In future we will take care of this,” he adds. Harassment and a hole in the pocket. The wannabe engineers and their parents are facing it all. Probably they are gearing up for further challenges ahead. |
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OBC to reduce cost of deposits CHANDIGARH, Aug 3 — Oriental Bank of Commerce has identified the route of customer satisfaction through higher efficiency and new value-added services as its thrust
area for achieving its targets of higher profitability and operational efficiency. This was announced today by OBC’s new Chairman & Managing Director, Mr B.D. Narang, who is here for a review of the Punjab Zone. OBC, which was adjudged as the only nationalised sector bank qualifying all the seven efficiency criteria laid down by the Verma Committee, has been improving its performance year after year, including reduction of its NPAs which were reduced to 3.5 per cent as on March 31, 2000, as against 4.5 per cent last year. The new CMD identified four new areas of focus — reducing the cost of deposits,
augmenting the ancillary business to improve the non-interest income, identification of potential areas of business and consistent monitoring of advances to improve the efficiency and profitability of the bank. About the functioning of the Punjab Zone comprising Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and J&K, the CMD said that the deposits had risen by 30 per cent from Rs. 3038 crore to Rs. 3,943 crore and advances by 31 per cent from Rs. 1331 crore to Rs. 1744 crore this year. The Punjab Zone has over 250 branches out of the total 1,000 all over the country. A specialised branch to deal exclusively with the cases under the Debt Recovery Tribunal will also be inaugurated by the CMD during his visit. The branch will help expedite settlement of cases under DRT which has recently started functioning from Chandigarh. It is also expected to help improve the NPAs of the bank. Commenting on the priority sector advances, the CMD said that the bank has far exceeded the targets. Agriculture, he said, has a significant position in the Punjab region and the bank is envisaging to boost schemes that would benefit farmers. The CMD’s maiden visit to the region was marked by the donation of 10 stretcher trollies and over five wheel-chairs for use of patients at the PGI. The bank is also considering to involve itself in various community schemes.
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Zap to set up soft park in
Mohali CHANDIGARH, Aug 3 — Mumbai-based Zap Infotech, which is being acquired by Sun Infoways in a Rs 475 crore all stock deal, will set up a Software Technology Park at Mohali shortly. Announcing this here, Mr Ravi Kumar, Director Operations, Zap told The Tribune yesterday that the company will invest Rs 10 crore in the proposed software park, which will be located on a rented premises in Phase 7. If all goes as scheduled, Zap’s software park will become operational in three months, Ravi Kumar said. Zap has already established software technology parks in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. Besides, Zap proposes to open training centres in the region to offer e-commerce, E-Prodigy (equivalent to an MBA on the Internet), E-Connect along with WAP (Wireless Application Protocol). The proposed training centres will be located at Chandigarh (four), Mohali, Panchkula, Ludhiana (two), Jalandhar, Patiala, Amritsar, Yamunanagar, Rewari, Panipat, Sonepat, Jammu and Srinagar. Zap has a turnover of Rs 46 crore, mostly contributed by exports to the USA, the UK, Australia and West Asia. Ravi Kumar said IT courses like-Cobalt being offered now are in the process of getting outdated. “Change or you will be changed,” he said. “The future belongs to WAP and e-commerce”. Mr Arun
K.Goyal, who runs a Zap centre in Sector 17, said at least 100 queries were received on the very first day for Zap courses. A six month course costs about Rs
15,000.
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Technology site NEW DELHI, Aug 3 — The Indian subsidiary of the leading technology portal, cnet.com, was launched today. The site, india.cnet.com, is a joint venture between Asiacontent.com and CNET Networks. The site provides insight into the country’s growing technology sector, local and global technology news, tutorials on hardware and software and computer gaming section. |
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Psycho play by RBI MUMBAI, Aug 3 (UNI) — The RBI today asserted that it would take further measures as may be necessary from time to time to stabilise expectations and help reduce the effects of “leads” and “lags” in the foreign exchange market. Perturbed by the gradual sinking of the rupee towards the bottom of Rs 45.50 per US dollar, the RBI swung into a psychological play by tendering a detailed statement on recent developments in the foreign exchange markets without committing itself to a “specific target” for the rupee’s exchange rate. |
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‘No airlift of Indian IT experts to Israel’ JERUSALEM: Hi-tech and software industry officials in Israel have reacted angrily to a newspaper report that the national airline EI AI is “ready and prepared to airlift hundreds of Indian electronic and software engineers” to meet the country’s growing manpower shortage in this field. “The idea is ridiculous and absurd,” and Amnon Leibowitz, Secretary General of the Israel Software Industries Association, dismissing the report in the mass circulation daily Yediot Aharonot as “summer blues atmosphere.” “Things are just not done in such a haphazard way,” Said Uri Har, Director-General of the Association of Electronics and Information Industries. “The government rejects any mass import of professional foreign labour. We don’t accept the government’s position since the continued acute shortage will harm the industry’s long-term growth. Nor do we support demonstrations and other forms of protest. But we will continue to persuade the government to change its attitude.”
— IANS Jet Airways
offers prizes CHANDIGARH: Passengers flying by Jet Airways in August can carry home attractive prizes ranging from an IBM powered laptop, smart PC, plamtop, Wireless Access Protocol (WAP) enabled mobile phone to a Canon inkjet printer by entering the “flight to Success Contest.” Passengers flying Jet Airways on the Mumbai-Delhi, Mumbai-Bangalore, Mumbai-Chennai, Mumbai-Calcutta, Mumbai-Pune and Mumbai-Ahmedbad sectors will get complimentary netKracker mouse pads. The contest, from August 1-31, is being organised in association
with Wipro Net Ltd. All that passengers are required to do is to answer three simple questions pertaining to Wipro netKracker product. The contest form is available in the August issue to Jet Airways inflight magazine Jetwings.
— TNS No reason to
interfere MUMBAI: The Bombay High Court on Thursday rejected a public interest litigation urging the court to initiate action to furnish the reasons from MTNL, BPL, Mobile and Orange Services as to why on July 25 all the telephone connections were jammed when Sena supremo Bal Thackeray was arrested and produced in a local court. While rejecting the petition, a Division Bench of the court comprising Justice B P Singh and Justice N J Pandya observed that “the court finds no reasons to interfere in his issue.” The petition was filed by B S Nanavati, a resident of
Mumbai. In his petition he said that on the day of arrest and release of Mr Thackeray between 10.30 a.m. and 2 p.m. all telephone lines were jammed which caused much hardship to the people. The Advocate General stated that due to technical problems all the lines were overloaded. It was not a deliberate action on the part of state government or MINL or Union of India.
— UNI
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Aptech launches ISP services Videocon to double
CTV production Gujarat Power nets Rs 17.85 crore TVS-Suzuki posts higher sales Escorts to take 12 pc stake in Escorts Fin |
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Godrej soaps Online MF Cisco Systems Tata Consult Virinchi Cons Tsnshop.com |
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