India

In a recent report by the World Economic Forum on gender equality in the workplace, India ranked 113 out of 135 countries. In India, the percentage of companies that has 40% or more female employees is only 14%.

On February 28, 2012, India's trade union leaders plan to hold a joint strike. The Central Trade Unions (CTUs) are calling for better labor laws and protection of employees' interests through effective government implementation of these laws.

In order to recruit and keep top employees, Indian companies have begun increasing worker incentives, primarily raising salaries.

An increasing challenge for foreign companies in India is retaining long-term employees, especially as the number of casual workers drastically rises.

Companies in India have begun offering salary increases of up to 15% this year to retain talent. Higher salaries are currently being used to retain top performers across all sectors in India.

The Pensions Funds Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill was finally reintroduced into the Indian Parliament on March 24, 2011.

Recognizing a lack of interest in the National Pension System, Indias Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is planning to analyze and improve the system.

According to a recent survey released by Mercer, companies in India are expected to give salary increases of close to 12% in 2010 the largest in the Asia-Pacific region.

In December 2009, the Reserve Bank of India announced that expatriates working in India will no longer be required to keep a portion of their earnings locally in India.

On May 1, Indias Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority officially began implementation of its New Pension Scheme for private sector employees. A similar pension system has been available to government workers since 2004.

On March 26th, the Wall Street Journal reported that IBM plans to cut nearly 5,000 jobs in the US and move many of them to India. Many other multinational corporations are also considering this option.

On October 1, 2008, the Indian government announced a new contribution obligation for virtually all foreign employees in India. The monthly contribution is to the Employee Provident Fund (EPF), and consists of 24% of base salary.

Around 2 million Indians currently work in the countrys booming technology and outsourcing sector. New statistics predict that an additional 300,000 positions will be available in the sector this year at both local and foreign companies.

Dell India recently relocated one of its major R&D units from Bangalore, India to Taiwan and Texas. Other companies, such as Bose, Accelrys Software, and Apple Services, also announced plans to close R&D operations or reduce staff in India.

Recent studies show that China and India are failing to equip university students with the necessary skills to qualify for specialized jobs available in their countries.

Analysts predict that Indias job market growth rate will finally begin to slow during the second quarter of 2007. This comes after several quarters of unusually high growth in the number of new jobs created in India.

Many firms in India, both domestic and foreign, are launching internal hiring schemes. Jobs are posted on internal company intranet sites before being made available to the general public.

According to a recent survey of Indian businesses conducted by The Economist, India is suffering from a talent shortage at all job levels that threatens to limit growth opportunities for businesses.

In April 2006, Indias Prime Minister Singh announced a proposal to reserve almost fifty percent of enrollment positions at top universities in India for students from lower castes.

In the last few years, India has attracted enormous attention for its booming outsourcing industry. Multinationals and other foreign companies have outsourced numerous jobs to India, most notably IT positions and call center jobs.

In December 2005, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) conducted a study that found that although women make up about half of the population in India, they only comprise 6% of the workforce.

Over the past few months, more and more outsourcing companies in India have struggled with labor shortages and high employee turnover rates. Experts claim that labor retention has become a problem in all industries in India.

According to a report published in October 2005 by McKinsey & Company, China is not producing enough well-trained graduates who are suitably qualified to work for global companies.

Salaries of Indian workers increased by nearly 15% in the last year, the highest in Asia. Behind India were China and the Philippines, which both saw salary increases of about 8%. Other high growth countries were Korea (7%) and Thailand (6.5%).

More and more US companies are moving to India to take advantage of the countrys highly educated and inexpensive labor force.

The Indian government has announced that it hopes to pass legislation by the end of May, 2005, that will allow for the establishment of Chinese-style special economic zones (SEZ) within India.

As part of the 2005-06 budget, the Indian Government has implemented a new fringe benefit tax (FBT) that will increase the cost of nearly all perks offered by companies to their employees.

As Indias economy continues to experience strong growth, top Indian software companies and outsourcing companies are rapidly gaining global influence.

On January 1, 2005, India established the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Its primary function will be to oversee the creation of Indias new pension system (NPS).

Multinational companies began setting up outsourcing units in India a few years ago, lured by low labor costs and special tax exemptions. However, the Indian government recently decided to begin taxing revenues on core business profits.

Hyderabad, the fifth largest metropolis of India is fast becoming a hub for remote services. Multinational companies around the world are looking to India to provide back office support.

There has been a significant increase in former Indian citizens returning to India to work on a temporary basis. Liabilities for income taxes in India are based upon certain basic conditions as well as additional conditions to determine residency.

Today there are few restrictions on remuneration at the top end of the scale. Companies can pay their managing directors a salary equal to a maximum of 5% or 10% of the firm's net profits.

With layoffs in the U.S. at top tech firms, many Indian programmers are finding themselves unemployed, and thus returning to India

Expatriates find it difficult to secure affordable housing in India.