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Sweet Success
IT is winter, festivities are in the air and our towns and cities are in bloom. Gardens and parks are filling up with flowers and at every street corner there is a florist ready with a bouquet for practically every occasion. As it seems, it is easier to say it with flowers than words!
Red roses for love and romance, orchids for weddings and anniversaries, white lilies for parents and elders -- flower power has spread across the country. Orchids, carnations, gerberas, anthuriums, tulips, poppies and many other varieties are available extensively as floriculture is becoming a blooming business. Flower retail shops have mushroomed all over the place from major metros to market shops and flower boutiques in smaller cities and towns. The growth is reflected in rising domestic demand for flowers and floral products as well as exponential growth of exports. The Indian market for flowers is today valued at nearly Rs 1,000 crore and set to expand at a pace of 20 per cent a year. Although India's share in the $11 billion global market for flowers and flower products is a measly 0.65 per cent, the growth potential is large and for those interested in flower power, this is the time to fully exploit the potential.
What is floriculture?
FLORICULTURE is the cultivation of flowers and flowering plants for commercial purposes. It is now a popular horticultural activity that generates a higher income and employment potential per unit area than most field crops. It is estimated that currently the total area under flower crops is 34,000 hectares, including 24,000 hectares under traditional flowers like marigold, jasmine, aster, rose, chrysanthemum, tuberose and 10,000 hectares under modern flowers like carnation, rose, gerbera, gladiolus, anthurium and others.
Advantage India
OUR country, with its vast land mass and varying climatic conditions, has a geographic advantage in this field with its varying soil and variety of agro climatic zones that permit three harvests a year, providing ample opportunities for the growth of a range of floral species, including temperate flowers in high altitude states. Realising the immense potential several state governments have initiated programmes providing technical and financial assistance to millions of small and large producers. Several industrial houses including multi-nationals are increasingly handling large-scale and scientific cultivation of flowers, particularly for exports. Supermarket chains overseas like Tesco, Sainsbury, Wal-Mart, Sears, Carrefour, Metro, K-Mart and many others are looking for large quantities of flowers, latest varieties and a well-defined supply chain. Therefore, floriculture in India is becoming an attractive commercially viable option. Several companies like Reliance, ITC, Tata Tea, Bharti Group/Field Fresh and Thapar Group involved in the agri-business sector are planning investments in the flower sector, too. Technical collaborations with foreign companies have also been approved for India, in order to increase total share in the floriculture world trade.
Getting started
THE Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the nodal agency responsible for export promotion and development of floriculture in India, has helped set up six Agri Export Zones for floriculture - export-dedicated enclaves. Here, units have come up in clusters of large flower farms, with common infrastructure facilities thrown in - all offering much needed benefits of economy of scale. APEDA also grants subsidies for establishing cold storage, pre-cooling units, refrigerated vans and green houses, and air freight subsidy for export of flowers. Among other things, flower auction centres are also coming up in Bangalore, Mumbai, Noida, and Kolkata. These are ready made market facilities for trading and price discovery for a variety of flowers, both for export and domestic markets States like Punjab and J&K offer tremendous prospects for floriculture and are encouraging entrepreneurs to take up this activity. Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC has taken the initiative by setting up a floriculture project and supplying around 30 lakh gladiolus bulbs to farmers. A centre at village Majra near Chandigarh has also been set up to propagate new gladiolus varieties. In J&K, incentives are being offered to farmers for growing poppies as well as other varieties on a mass scale, given the suitable climatic conditions. Today the emphasis in floriculture is not just on creating exotic species for decorative and commercial purposes, but also improving regular varieties, and developing mass-cultivation techniques for increased productivity. Interestingly, there has been development in genetically designed flowers too — ones with unique shape, petal size, pleasing colours with longer shelf life and of course pleasant fragrance — a rose, for instance, that will be equally attractive to humans and bees!
Ground reality
THOSE who go in for a career in floriculture should make sure they enjoy the outdoor life, are interested in plants and farming, and like making and maintaining gardens. Floriculture involves four major areas of activity -- cultivation of flowers, selling flowers as raw commodities, flowers for processing purposes, and maintaining gardens and plants. Floriculture may smell sweet, but there is hard work involved. Farming involves the scientific management of soil preparation, sowing, harvesting, administration of nutrients and controlling climate. When flowers are ready to bloom, procurement, collection and distribution (natural or packaged form) follows in natural or packaged form for the domestic and export market. Plantation assistants and quality inspectors do the above, ensuring the flowers are suitably handled to extend their shelf life. Gardening requires green fingers and mostly deals with cultivating flowers, flowering plants, shrubs and ornamental trees for decorative purposes. Grafting, collecting seeds and re-budding are the other tasks. This involves working in or running a nursery, maintaining town and country parks, picnic areas, golf courses, landscaping of gardens, lawns and hothouses. Floriculturists can specialise in producing exotic varieties, such as orchids and houseplants, or in bulb production. Another important area is research and teaching. Research floriculturists look after improving and breeding new varieties of flowers and ornamental shrubs and plants. Scientific techniques like tissue culture, micro-propagation are applied, mostly in government funded research laboratories or those set up by private companies, producing flowers and plants for commercial purposes.
Training matters
ALTHOUGH it is not necessary, formal training is advisable. A degree in agriculture with a specialisation in floriculture or horticulture is the best route. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and all other agriculture universities offer B.Sc and M.Sc programmes in agriculture. Some select universities also offer B.Sc in horticulture (cultivation of fruits and vegetables) with some inputs on floriculture. These include Dr Y.S. Parmar University of Agriculture and Forestry, Solan, (HP), University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, and Gujarat Agricultural University, Sardar
Krushinagar. An M.Sc in horticulture offers specialisations in floriculture, pomology (cultivation of fruits), and olericulture (cultivation of vegetables). Those keen in gardening and handling cut flowers can take up short courses conducted by departments of horticulture or by some large nurseries and enthusiasts. Some entrepreneurial skills can enable you to build up a good business, too.
Job hunt
WITH a formal qualification you can find jobs with companies as supervisors, farm or estate managers handling large-scale production of flowers. Combined knowledge of floriculture and management can bag you managerial or marketing positions in firms processing and marketing flowers. The
department of horticulture and municipal corporations also take on specialists
for handling plantations, nurseries and other landscaping projects. You can
also set up your own venture — growing flowers and ornamental plants for the
domestic or export market, running a nursery or providing gardening and
landscaping advisory services. Another growing area is that of marketing cut
flowers or flower arrangements for general sale or special occasions. Wedding
venues are among the largest purchasers of cut flowers. There are over 300 export-oriented units in India. Although more than half are in south India, many are coming up in West Bengal, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, too, other than Punjab and J&K So, if you enjoy preparing bouquets and receiving them, floriculture is a career where success will surely smell sweet. (The writer is a career expert)
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Career Hotline Q. What are the prospects of pursuing a postgraduate degree in international relations combined with a diploma in a foreign language? Is political science a worthwhile subject to opt for the Civil Services Exam? — Navya Bhar
You could also opt for research, PR or liaison-related work in embassies, Ministry of External Affairs, international trade organisations, or international organisations such as the UN and its specialised agencies like UNDP, UNICEF, ILO etc that require experts in international studies to man their special desks or work on projects related to issues of global concern. These posts are, however, few and rarely advertised and, therefore, accessed mainly on the basis of “contacts” and networking. Senior faculty of reputed universities like JNU who co-ordinate such projects on behalf of these agencies, take on two-three promising students as researchers, so make sure you are in their “good books” if you wish to land an assignment. Since a great deal of statistical modelling is required, number crunching skills are an asset. Journalism — both print and electronic — is another popular avenue for those who have specialised in this subject. IR will hold you in good stead if you want to be a foreign correspondent or international policy analyst. International studies also forms a significant part of the UPSC curriculum. You could take political science as an optional paper for the Civil Services Exam provided you combine it with a scoring optional subject like anthropology, psychology or sociology (though Sociology is not as scoring as compared to the other two). After your Masters, you can take the UGC NET/SLET which will make you eligible to teach at a college. It will also qualify you for the Junior Research Fellowship if you enroll for the M.Phil or senior research fellowship for pursuing your Ph.D in a host of areas such as international trade, international organisations, South East Asian/European/West Asian Studies, etc. This will provide a decent cushion to pursue higher studies. Of course, you could be teaching and doing your research alongside. You will find a wealth of information from websites of institutions or organisations such as United Nations, ASEAN, Stimson Center, etc.
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Biomed engineering all about R&D
Q. Could you please tell me something about a career in biomedical engineering?
— Gaurav Prasad As a Biomedical Engineer you will apply mathematical and scientific principles to the design, develop and evaluation of biological and health systems and products e.g. instrumentation, diagnostic aids, life-support systems, implants, artificial organs, prosthetic and orthotic devices, health management and healthcare delivery systems and medical information systems. For instance, lakhs of knee and hip joints are replaced in India each year. Bio-medical engineers are needed to develop longer-lasting and better functioning artificial joints. To take another example, Heisenberg used the metal used as a technological device at ISRO to develop the stent, which has proved to be a boon for heart patients, apart from reducing the cost of surgery from Rs 80,000 to as little as Rs 10,000. Presently, opportunities for bio-medical engineers or bioengineers, as they are sometimes called, lie essentially in the field of research and development. You can also opt for pure research in institutes like the department of biotechnology, Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Development of Education, Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, besides medical equipment manufacturers and agricultural and horticultural institutions. The R&D departments of pharmaceutical industries keen to upgrade the quality of their products would be another option. You could also work in hospitals, colleges and government regulatory agencies. In the hospital, biomed engineers guide the selection and use of medical equipment besides supervising their performance, testing and maintenance. Subsequently, you can go on to become a technical advisor in the marketing department of companies and even assume a managerial position.
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Bio must for physiotherapy
— Vijayeeta Gupta A. The eligibility for admission to BPT courses is 10+2 or equivalent with PCB and English. Selection to these courses is on the basis of an entrance exam. Unfortunately, with commerce background you are not eligible. If the institute claims affiliation with a university, I suggest you check with the university directly. Also make sure the institute is recognised by the Indian Association of Physiotherapists (IAP), the representative body for this field. Check out their website for more details: www.physiotherapyindia.org. Indian physiotherapists are recognised by the World Council of Physiotherapy. But don’t be disappointed. Reassess your interests and abilities to find a more appropriate career option. You could even consider an alternative career in related fields such as fitness, nutrition, yoga, aerobics, massage therapy or nature cure as a therapist or instructor.
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M.Phil trains for higher research
Q. Please tell me something about the procedure for admission to M.Phil and what are the prospects?
— Arvind Vardhan A. M.Phil is normally pursued by students who wish to take up research or academics as a career option. Most universities across the country offer this course, although the criteria and admission procedure varies from institution to institution. The main purpose of M.Phil courses is to familiarise or train students for higher research. In fact, it is increasingly becoming a mandatory requirement for admission to PhD courses. A master’s degree in the relevant subject is a must for all universities. In some cases at least 50 per cent marks are required, while some others ask for 55 per cent. The duration of the course is usually one year, but in some universities it may extend up to two years.
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Go ahead, sign up
Q. I am working as a social worker in a small school for the hearing-challenged. Could you please suggest where I could formally learn how to interpret sign language?
— Jaspreet Khemka Completing all three levels will make you eligible for a diploma in the subject that is recognised by the Rehabilitation Council of India (a statutory body under the ministry of social justice and empowerment). To enroll for the courses, contact the institutions directly. RCI also offers a brief, two-week orientation course for existing users/interpreters of sign language after which they can take the relevant A/B/C level exams to pursue higher level courses. For details, contact RCI, 23-A Shivaji Marg, New Delhi 110015 or log on to their website: www.rehabcouncil.org.
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Choices aplenty, budding littérateur!
— Divyajyoti Sharma A. Sure thing! Amongst several others, here are some universities in the North that offer a two year M.A. in English course through distance learning. None of them require B.A. in English as a necessary qualification. The eligibility for all these courses is bachelor’s degree with 45 per cent marks.
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Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi-110068 n
Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Institute of Correspondence Courses & Continuing Education, Meerut-250002 n
Himachal Pradesh University, International Centre for Distance Education and Open Learning, Summer Hill, Shimla-171005 n
Kurukshetra University, Directorate of Correspondence Courses, Kurukshetra-136119 n
Maharshi Dayanand University, Directorate of Distance Education, Rohtak-124001 n
Panjab University, Department of Correspondence Studies, Chandigarh-160014 n
Punjabi University, Department of Correspondence Courses, Patiala-147002
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Crisis brings opportunity for BPOs
The Business Process Industries Association of India (BPIAI) has a positive outlook for the industry and its newly elected president, Deepak Ohlyan, has said this industry has been growing and maturing and has established itself as a major outsourcing hub. Says Ohlyan, “There is no need to panic. Things will soon settle down. India offers a huge talent pool and productive human resources. True, we are in a midst of a crisis but at the same time we need to brainstorm the opportunities this crisis brings along.” The industry will continue to be a net hirer in 2009 as a direct corollary of industry growth and fears of large-scale job losses at an industry level are unfounded, he reiterates. Experts also agree that Indian BPO companies are much stronger than before, primarily due to pressures on companies in developed countries to cut costs and improve efficiency. Wipro Technologies, the third largest software exporter, has given an option for engineering recruits to join its business process outsourcing division to offer technical support services, following the intervention of the state government. The IT major assured that those who join the BPO now would be shifted to software development jobs after 18 months. Domestic BPOs catering to large rural clientele are scripting a new success story. Knowledge-based local language BPOs servicing rural populace serve the twin purposes of finding IT based employment to rural youth at a lower cost. Rural India promises an impressive return of 30 to 35 per cent. Hindi belt BPOs’ Operation Data Entry and documentation in Haryana and Rajasthan, manned by high school computer literate youths, are good examples of IT penetration in local language and reaching out to unreached segments. The US financial meltdown had also finally managed to do what the BPO sector has been trying to do for years – reducing attrition rate by 5-10 percentage points. Hirers say they have not seen any contraction in the demand for services and will keep hiring. Going ahead, salary increases will be on the basis of productivity. While the fixed salary should remain the same, the variable pay will see changes. BPOs have now started focusing on providing process efficiency to domestic clients and in the last six months, all BPO companies have focused on domestic clients. It was found that domestic companies, in some cases, are bigger than global clients and need services in the area of process management and technology, the expertise of BPOs. Like this insurance company associated with Genpact BPO. Despite the slowdown, the company is still posting a 27 per cent quarter on quarter growth and needs a process to manage policies efficiently! It seems to be a win-win situation. Employees, too, are upbeat. Local clients mean day jobs and this could attract quality staff, currently put off by night shifts. Also, language dependency is not as big an issue as it would be for overseas clients. With global players setting up industries in India, the need to outsource is further gaining momentum in sectors like manufacturing, telecommunications, insurance, financial services etc.
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Job on a platter? Beware
UNSTABLE global economic environment is forcing corporates to abandon their hiring sprees. The economic meltdown has hit most sectors worldwide, especially information technology and services sector. There is a freeze on recruitments, the indicator of growth of a sector and many firms are also handing out pink slips by the dozen to newly-recruited and under-training staff. Some are even are retrenching older employees. Consequently, there is panic among professional and technical educational institutions, which face the heat of placement commitments.
So, when a regional engineering college B.E. final year student Rahul Singh saw a mail in his inbox informing him that he had been provisionally selected for a known company at a nice package, he jumped with joy. Placements had been pathetic in his college. Few companies came and the ones that did had slashed pay packets. Never a very good student, Rahul had for once felt in control of his career when he got admission to an engineering college, but his dreams were melting away. The placement agency asked for his institute’s profile and CV and asked him to look up more details on their website. He was also asked to make a telephone call to a company representative and verify his particulars. The representative asked him to deposit a certain amount into a bank account to be eligible for the final interview and said they would inform him. Excited to be offered a job on the platter, Rahul agreed. Six months later, he is still not placed. The phone number on which he called now belongs to a shop and the website does not exist. Of course, there is no trace of the Rs 1,000 he deposited. Rahul’s is not an isolated case. Taking advantage of the fluid fiscal situation, several agencies offering placement services have sprung up, many of which are fraudulent. Their modus operandi is elementary but appeals to students pushed against the wall. They directly mail students and even placement officers, introducing themselves as reputed placement agencies working for leading industry houses. They first ask for the institute profile, which is usually sent by the placement cell without any hesitation. The agencies target smaller institutions and their only verification can be made from snazzy websites. A placement cell officer of a engineering college in Punjab said that he received a mail that the institute he represented had been selected for a preliminary visit by their inspection team comprising two to four persons and asked to submit an acceptance letter. For the final placement, he was assured that the institute would be selected, but they would have to bear to and fro fare (usually air and first class rail fare) and hospitality of the team. The officer was upbeat and informed the dean and principal, who promptly gave a go-ahead. Notices were put up, students turned out in large numbers and deposited Rs 300 each as registration charges. All went off well. The team thanked the college for the hospitality and returned, saying the final results would be sent in a fortnight, which extended into a month and two months later, the wait continues. As in Rahul’s case, the agency has wound up without a trace! Given the slowdown, recruitments are bound to dwindle. Be prepared for it instead of falling prey to such unscrupulous elements. Probably, the “agencies” are looking for a new scapegoat. So, beware! (The writer heads the training and
placement cell of Malout Institute of Management and Information Technology)
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A coffee a day halves cancer risk
A CUP of coffee a day can halve the risk of cancers affecting the mouth and gullet, according to Japanese scientists. To reach the conclusion, the researchers tracked patients for 13 years and found that those drinking at least one cup a day were much less likely to get tumours than those who hardly ever drank coffee. The study claims daily caffeine hit could help minimise some of the risk from alcohol and tobacco, the main causes of the cancers. According to researchers at the Tohoku University School of Medicine in Japan, chemicals found in caffeine protect the body’s DNA against damage that can lead to cancer. Researchers into the effects of coffee studied 40,000 people aged 40 to 64 over a 13-year period with 157 of the volunteers developing mouth or gullet cancer. Analysis of diet and lifestyle found those drinking at least a coffee a day were 49% less likely to be affected. The scientists said in their report: “One of the most significant findings was the inverse association between coffee and those at high risk of these cancers, namely current drinkers and smokers. Although quitting alcohol and smoking is the best known way to help reduce the risk, coffee could be a preventive factor.” Monthly shot keeps you off booze ALCOHOLICS, who want to abstain from alcohol during the festival season, have been given a fresh hope by a group of scientists. They have recommended a monthly shot-an injection that keeps boozers off the alcohol for one month. Over Christmas and New Year, social pressure and opportunities to drink often make alcoholics succumb to taking a few shots of the hard stuff, and that too despite efforts to keep off from liquor. “When you interview patients about triggers for drinking, they often say holidays and family events. For some it’s the stress of being lonely, for others it’s the stress of being with people,” said David Rosenbloom, a specialist in substance abuse at Boston University School of Public Health. Many people take pills containing naltrexone, a substance that reduces the desire to drink by blocking the receptors in the brain responsible for the high that drinking brings. However, during the holiday season, pressures often drive alcoholics to stop taking the tablets. — ANI
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Rock at work!
When it comes to colleagues, be abundant with praise but remember, you are not the participant of a popularity contest. Be judicious, sincere and don’t overstep I.M. Soni YOUR relationship with your colleagues determines your popularity at the work place. If you are tactful, get along well with others and remain relaxed, your efficiency goes up notches. As they say, “You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family?” The same could be said of your colleagues – generally, you have little say in with whom you work. It is in your best interests to have a good working relationship with even your most difficult colleagues. The first thing is to cultivate a general appreciative attitude towards your colleagues. Be a wee bit generous with compliments and see the difference. Praise where it is due; for, refusal to praise is to censure. This, however, does not mean flattery. Flattery is simply undeserved praise. Compliment only where due. Be careful and learn to draw a line between praise and flattery. It does not mean that disapproval or criticism is ruled out. It has its place but it should be in proportion to the misdemeanor. In simple words, look for the best in others, instead of the worst. Your popularity and success will soar. Observe “nice” people. You will find that they have some sterling qualities. Absorb and learn from them, no matter however junior or senior the person. As R.W. Emerson says, “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.” You will benefit tremendously if you follow the funds of Emerson’s principle. This aids you to quietly adjust yourself to suspicious and antipathies that lie behind human conflict, especially at the workplace. Speaking of the benefits: It’s a win-win situation, others are positively impacted and so are you! There is nothing more harmful to the finer aspects of your personality than to be constantly carping, complaining and criticising. You will soon discover how much more satisfying it is to make someone else feel good than in making him feel small. Your colleagues may or may not mouth it, but it is human nature to hunger for a pat on the back. When they have done something noteworthy, they want it noticed and some may even go fishing for compliments. The moment you accept their success and compliment it, you are marked as a friend. Nothing sinks self-esteem more than the feeling that you do not count. People who are most successful at dealing with others are those who have the ability to make others believe in themselves. The secret is treat people as persons. Use his or her first name, where it is in order. Notice the difference: “Hey you there, hello.” And: “Seth. Listen.” The latter approach marks him at once, and lifts him out of the mass of “you”. Others will respond to you more
favourably if instead of passing orders you invite cooperation. Arrogance
invites defiance. Wherever cooperation is called for, it is likely to result in
a far more willing and zestful response. Your colleagues want to be taken into
confidence and consulted. It feeds their egos and gives them sense of
significance. They are no longer cogs and are now part of the powerhouse!
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COURSE Chat
MANY Indian students want to study abroad, paying through their nose in the process. At the same time, students from across the world are filling university seats here for ‘cheap, professional and internationally ranked’ Indian education. On an average, about 3,500 students visit India on educational programmes from over 70 countries every year, courtesy the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which awards 2,000 scholarships to these students every year.
“People from my country come to India because the cost of education here is very low. Besides, India offers really high quality and good education in a very short duration - the courses here do not take that much time to complete and we can go back home and easily get a job,” said Jessica Dayal, a special education volunteer from Tanzania. Dayal is in Delhi for a year to learn how to help out children with disabilities. Sam Kast, another Tanzanian, is studying pharmacy at the Jamia Hamdard University: “India is constantly developing in terms of technology and that is also one reason we want to come here,” he said. “Pursuing pharmacy back home for me would have taken around eight years and if I’d failed, it might have got stretched to even 12 years. However, in India, it’s only for four years and I can do a specialization in the time I’d have taken just to graduate in Tanzania.” Dody Siregar from Indonesia is majoring in economics from Khalsa College, Delhi University (DU). “India is much cheaper in education costs compared to studies in the Education University (EU) of Indonesia,” he said. “It is even more advanced here and easily accessible to outsiders. If we study over here, we get better job opportunities back home or anywhere in the world.” Hasan Mir Ali, a musician from Uzbekistan studying Indian classical music at the Shriram Bharatiya Kala Kendra’s college of music and dance, had the same reasons for shifting base. Nick Mohammad Sultani from Afghanistan, a Bachelor of International Business and Finance (BIBF) student at Jamia Milia Islamia, came here to avoid ending up working in his country. “Every student in Afghanistan prepares to come to India. In fact, most of the students don’t want to work in their own countries; they want to study abroad and serve as a UN member and studying here makes it easier for them,” he said. But 33-year-old Andre Deamidenko from Moscow, another student at the college of music, had a different reason for coming here. “Most of our local culture was wiped off during the 70 years of Soviet rule and it is the thirst for culture that brings us here. There is no place to learn it but India. The well-preserved deep roots and the Vedic culture here call us,” he said.
— IANS
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A. With this subject combo, you could either take the Civil Services Exam conducted by the UPSC and succeed in becoming a career diplomat or teach political science, which is taught widely, or international relations, which is taught at only a handful of universities.
A. Biomedical science and technology is an interdisciplinary field that bridges life sciences and engineering. The course includes study of biology, chemistry, physics, calculus, biotech, principles of design, materials science, biomechanics and life sciences.
Q. I am very keen to do bachelors in physiotherapy (BPT) and immigrate to USA. An institute in Punjab, which claims to be affiliated to a recognised university, is offering BPT courses but does not have a hospital affiliated to it. Are such degrees valid for taking the US licensing exams for physiotherapists? Is there a regulatory body for physiotherapy in India? Also, please tell me about BPT institutes in India where 10+2 (PCM) is NOT an admission criterion? I am a commerce student.
A. The Ali Yavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped (www.ayjnihh.org), Mumbai, and Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, offer courses for sign language interpreters at three levels (each is of three months duration). On completion of each level, you will be awarded a certificate. 
Q. I have just joined a technical writing firm after doing 
THE business process outsourcing segment requires more people to scale up their operations from multiple locations and to meet delivery requirements of new business. There is no need to panic, as BPO sector has no plans for job cuts. Currently, there are over seven lakh professionals attached to this industry