No Indian university in top 100 global list, Harvard voted best

Kounteya Sinha TNN

London: India has emerged as the only BRIC nation which does not have a single university in the list of world’s top 100.
    Harvard University in the US has topped the annual Times Higher Education (THE) magazine’s 2014 ‘World Reputation Rankings’ released here on Thursday. Harvard is followed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Stanford University is placed third, the University of Cambridge at fourth, the University of Oxford comes fifth and the University of California, Berkeley sixth.
    Among the BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China), mainland China has two, both in the top 50, Russia and Brazil have one each.
    Phil Baty, editor of Times Higher Education Rankings said, “India is the only one of the so-called BRIC nations which does not have a university in the world top 100: So this should be a cause for concern for India. While we only officially rank the world’s top 100 institutions, I can reveal that India is some way off the pace. It’s most prestigious institution, based on the results of our expert global opinion poll, is the Indian Institute of Science — but it sits roughly around the 200th ranking position and has fallen further since last year.”
    Punjab University, alma mater of Indian PM Manmohan Singh, found a place in the unranked section of 226-300. It is followed by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Delhi, Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee, which languish in the lowest grade of 351-400.
(With input from agencies)

Punjab University featured in the unranked section of 226-300. It was followed by IITs in Delhi (above), Kanpur, Kharagpur and Roorkee, which figured in the lowest grade of 351-400 

Source: Times of India dated 7th March 2014 Pg. 20

Link: http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW&AW=1394175339307

Mumbai world’s least expensive city: Survey

Kounteya Sinha TNN 

London: For an average Indian, living costs in Mumbai may be a nightmare. But the new Worldwide Cost of Living 2014 index has thrown up an interesting finding. India’s city of dreams has emerged as the world’s cheapest city to live in. 
    The analysis takes into account the concept of value of money — how much bread would you get for one dollar or for that matter a litre of petrol. While Mumbai has emerged as the city with the best value for money spent, Delhi has emerged the third cheapest, placing it right at the bottom of the world’s most expensive cities. For example, buying 1kg bread in Mumbai would cost $0.91 while in Delhi it would be $1.05 as against $3.36 in Singapore which has toppled Tokyo to be the world’s most expensive city to live in this year. The average cost of one litre unleaded petrol in Mumbai is $1.21 and in Delhi $1.14 as against $2.50 in Paris — the world’s second most expensive city. 
    Singapore topped 131 cities globally to become the world’s most expensive city to live in 2014, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). 
    The Index says, “Within Asia the best value for money is in the Indian subcontinent (defined as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka). Mumbai is the cheapest location in the survey. Mumbai’s title as the world’s cheapest city is a reflection of the structural factors that define price within the Indian subcontinent.” 
    Besides Singapore, cities making up the top five most expensive cities to live in are Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney, with Tokyo falling to sixth place.

75% INDIAN ASPIRANTS GOT TEMP JOBS IN 2012: STUDY

Sovon Manna TNN 

Kolkata: Only 12% job seekers in India got a permanent recruitment in 2012 while as many as 75% of aspirants were placed in temporary agency jobs and the rest found other services as their livelihood, says a study carried out by Staffing Industry Analysts, the global adviser on contingent work. The exclusive study pegs the Indian staffing market at around Rs 26,650 crore. 
    According to the study, the Indian labour market is unique as approximately 90% of Indians work in the unorganixed or ‘informal’ sector and only 10% work in the organized or ‘formal’ sector. Of those working in the organized sector, a large proportion (68%) are employed in the public sector. The unorganized or ‘informal’ sector jobs include home-based work, selfemployment, employment in household enterprises, small units, on land as agricultural workers, labour on construction sites and a myriad of other forms of casual or temporary employment. The recruitment and revenue figures have been calculated in the study for the calendar year 2012 because Indian companies will release financial figures after the fiscal ends in March 2014. 
    Replying to an e-mailed query, Adam Pode, director (international research) at California-based Staffing Industry Analysts, told TOI, “There is nothing ominous in the temporary job market having the lion’s share of the staffing industry. This is similar to all the largest staffing markets in the world and shows the sophistication of the Indian market. Employers understand the importance of temporary workers to aid them through the peaks and trough of the economy.” 
    According to the study, Bangalore-based Adecco topped the list of HR solutions firms in India with Rs 1,460 crore in revenue and a 5.5% market share pipping India-headquartered Team-Lease, which is also based in Bangalore. According to the study, the top-three firms account for approximately 15% of the total market and the top-ten firms 26% with the remaining 75% or 20,000 staffing companies — mostly niche or boutique firms employ the rest.

Source :::: The Times of India, 04-03-2014, p.19,  http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Scripting/ArticleWin.asp?From=Archive&Source=Page&Skin=TOINEW&BaseHref=TOIM/2014/03/04&PageLabel=19&EntityId=Ar01905&ViewMode=HTML