Chandigarh

Stories by Chandigarh

Temping firms cash in on slowdown

Temping firms cash in on slowdown

Rediff.com   11 Jun 2009

According to various manpower outsourcing firms, more and more companies are resorting to temporary staffing. Rakesh Joshi, regional manager -- operations, IKYA Staffing Solutions, said permanent staffing had seen a slow growth in the recessionary phase. He said companies were not only going for temporary staffing in the junior level recruitments, a few of them were also opting for temporary staffing in middle management.

Realtors, travel houses turn to senior citizens

Realtors, travel houses turn to senior citizens

Rediff.com   3 Jun 2009

Jones Lang LaSalle Meghraj regional director Manoj Kashyap feels the cash flow that is readily available with the senior citizens is one of the reasons why real estate companies are looking at this untapped market. According to Gurinder Bawa, business head, International Travel House Limited, availability of time and money with senior citizens is driving the interest of travel houses towards them.

Bank of Maharashtra to hire 600

Bank of Maharashtra to hire 600

Rediff.com   2 Jun 2009

The bank has made a budgetary provision of Rs 50-60 crore for the proposed 100 branches. Of these, 50 per cent would be in the northern region. According to B K Mahajan, general manager-HRM, "The Chandigarh region comprising Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh and Jammu & Kashmir registered a business of Rs 1,904 crore as on March 31, 2009. Of this, deposits stood at Rs 600 crore and advances Rs 1,304 crore."

Realtors go slow in Punjab

Realtors go slow in Punjab

Rediff.com   31 Mar 2009

Real estate majors, who had lined up projects in Punjab to woo non-resident Indians, have put on hold their plans indefinitely with most NRIs no longer keen to invest in these properties.

Bosch to open 230 car service centres by 2010

Bosch to open 230 car service centres by 2010

Rediff.com   24 Mar 2009

Bosch Ltd, the flagship company of Bosch Group, plans to open 230 multibrand Bosch Car Service (BCS) centres by 2010 across the country, taking the total number to 500.

Air India to fly Amritsar-London-Toronto daily

Air India to fly Amritsar-London-Toronto daily

Rediff.com   23 Mar 2009

The airline will be running the fight on a daily basis from the Rajasansi International Airport. The flight currently runs thrice a week. The proposed move is expected to provide a relief to perishable exporters and farmers of Punjab who were affected after Jet Airways and Singapore Airlines withdrew their services last year stating it was not feasible for them to continue anymore.

Buyers put property plans on hold

Buyers put property plans on hold

Rediff.com   16 Mar 2009

In the absence of buyers, projects have either slowed down or have been delayed. Punjab Colonisers and Builders Association finance secretary HS Lamba said people in Ludhiana are bottom fishing and awaiting further correction in prices. "Though prices of construction material like steel and cement have come down, builders are unable to reduce the price owing to the high land costs," Lamba said.

Direct selling companies try to beat recession

Direct selling companies try to beat recession

Rediff.com   25 Feb 2009

The company plans to consolidate its position in the existing markets in the north, west and eastern region, and foray into the southern states by the end of this year. Hina Nagarajan, country manager, Mary Kay, told Business Standard that the brand was launched in India in September 2007 and has a sales force of over 3,000 women.

Textile sector to see more job losses

Textile sector to see more job losses

Rediff.com   18 Feb 2009

Troubles for the textile industry, which has been grappling with financial blood-letting both in international and home markets, are likely to deepen further. While there are fears of half-a-million more job losses, exports from the sector are likely to take a hit of about Rs 15,000 crore (Rs 150 billion), according to industry estimates.

States fear shortage of essential commodities

States fear shortage of essential commodities

Rediff.com   6 Jan 2009

According to industry leaders, the ongoing strike is also going to dampen production and also hit the timely delivery of goods to the customers. The transporters are mainly demanding that diesel prices be reduced by at least Rs 10 per litre, a uniform VAT of 4 per cent on the fuel, withdrawal of service tax on truck operators and rationalisation of tyre prices.

Scientific instrument clusters hit

Scientific instrument clusters hit

Rediff.com   23 Dec 2008

According to Puneet Gupta, general secretary of the Ambala Scientific Instruments Manufacturers' Association, the frequent variations in the value of the rupee against the dollar have hit the already squeezing margins. He added that the value of exports of individual units is not large enough to resort to the modern banking instruments like hedging.

Retail stores face slowdown tremors

Retail stores face slowdown tremors

Rediff.com   24 Sep 2008

With profit margins of companies being hit, the firms are taking a host of measures including closing down the unprofitable stores. The stores promoted by REI Agro recently closed 30-odd discount stores that were running into losses.

Chadha group plans township in Amritsar

Chadha group plans township in Amritsar

Rediff.com   12 Sep 2008

Group Vice-President (Sales and Marketing) Sudhir Gulati said Canton Greens, which is spread over an area of 100 acres near Amritsar, would offer a comprehensive modern city infrastructure. The group is investing Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion) on this project, which is likely to be completed in three years.

Abhinav Bindra becomes a golden biz opportunity

Abhinav Bindra becomes a golden biz opportunity

Rediff.com   12 Aug 2008

The whole country broke into an impromptu celebration and by the evening, four state governments had announced cash rewards that added up to Rs 1.4 crore. Cash-rich BCCI also announced a reward of Rs 50 lakh for Bindra and Railway Minister Lalu Prasad issued him a lifetime AC first-class travel pass. Not to be left behind, budget carrier SpiceJet gave him free unlimited travel for life.

Retail: Bharti to invest Rs 10,000 cr

Retail: Bharti to invest Rs 10,000 cr

Rediff.com   17 Apr 2008

Bharti Retail, owned by Sunil Mittal's Bharti Enterprises, on Wednesday started retail operations in the country with neighbourhood store format, Easy Day, from Ludhiana in Punjab. Bharti has set up three stores in Ludhiana.Bharti has announced plans to invest Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) to set up stores across the country by 2012. The company said that it is looking at a retail space of 10 million square feet and employ 60,000 people.

Rising steel prices hit realty biz

Rising steel prices hit realty biz

Rediff.com   13 Mar 2008

Real estate market in the national capital region is likely to be hit by the steep rise in steel & cement prices. Caught between oversupply of sales of residential properties and rising steel & cement prices, property developers may be forced to review property prices. But realty developers will not pass on the burden to buyers and will try to absorb the shock of the rise in steel & cement prices. Pushing up real estate prices may hinder potent buyer from buying properties.

High realty prices keep big bidders away

High realty prices keep big bidders away

Rediff.com   14 Feb 2008

Haryana Urban Development Authority had to defer the auction of an eight-acre plot earmarked for a five-star hotel in the city centre as only one bidder turned up on the day of auction. The authorities told that a quorum of three bidders was a must for the auction to take place.

Laptops for Rs 15,000 soon

Laptops for Rs 15,000 soon

Rediff.com   20 Dec 2007

According to its promoter, Hirji Kanji Patel, this would be equivalent to the Pentium 4 technology but will be ultra low on voltage. The company also plans to start 20 level 3 multi-brand chip-level laptop service centres across India by April 2008.

IndiaTotal to speak 7 more languages

IndiaTotal to speak 7 more languages

Rediff.com   28 Sep 2007

IndiaTotal Infoline, an online business information dissemination service that offers information in three languages (Hindi, English and Punjabi), will soon add seven more languages (Bengali, Oriya, Tamil, Telgu, Kannada, Gujarati and Marathi).

Microsoft opens service hub in Chandigarh

Microsoft opens service hub in Chandigarh

Rediff.com   17 May 2007

Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd has entered Chandigarh with the opening of its service hub here,its first to the north of Delhi.