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Pay hikes in India have been among the best in the Asia-Pacific region in the last three years as these have risen by an average 9.3 per cent a year since 2001-02, according to figures compiled by Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
As per the data compiled, while India Inc gave salary hikes of 10 per cent in 2001-02 and 2002-03, the rise is estimated to be 8 per cent for 2003-04.
This is substantially higher than the average annual hikes of 4.13 per cent in Australia, 2.53 per cent in Hong Kong, 2.6 per cent in Japan, 3.43 per cent in Singapore, 8.23 per cent in China and 6.06 per cent in Thailand. Only two countries - Indonesia and the Philippines - among the 14 Asia-Pacific nations saw increments higher than India at 16.03 per cent and 10.96 per cent, respectively. One of the factors behind the higher pay hikes in India is the relatively low base of compensation packages that Indians have vis-à-vis their counterparts.After rationalising for differences in the cost of living, net income in the country was found to be the lowest for top management, second lowest for middle management and third lowest in the executive level. The total annual cash compensation for a functional head in India, adjusted for purchasing power parity, is $31,688, according to Mercer.This is the lowest among the 14 countries studied by Mercer. Within the sample group, the highest compensation at this level — $138,293 — is paid in Hong Kong. The compensation of a functional head in Hong Kong is thus well over four times that of his Indian counterpart.
As per the data, in middle management, the compensation of $15,620 paid in India is higher only than that in Vietnam, where the figure is $11,318. At the executive level, the Indian compensation at $6,220 is higher than that in Vietnam and Indonesia.

Fiat India Pvt Ltd reports that it has successfully implemented eSIRA (electronic Systemi Informati Ricambi Afflizoni) across its dealers in India. eSIRA is an Internet-based spare parts management software that will allow the company to check dealers’ credit limits and orders in real-time, while dealers can instantly know the availability, lead-times and delivery status. The software has been developed by Global Value Solutions, a tie-up between IBM and Fiat.
The Italian auto major reported sales of 1,204 cars last month, an increase of some 63 per cent over April 2003, when it sold 739 cars. The Palio remains its best seller, accounting for 1,099 units. In fact, according to the company, there are some 40,000 Palios on the road currently.

Country’s First Landline SMS Inaugurated in Pune.

Prithipal Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) was in the city to inaugurate the country’s first operator-assisted SMS service via landline in Pune. As per this system, the subscriber has to dial 1501 from a landline or a mobile phone to send an SMS message. In a press conference Singh said that the telecom company has signed a contract with Governments of Punjab and Haryana to lease them spare bandwidth capacity on its fibre optic cable network.
BSNL has laid down 4.5 km of fibre optic cable network across the country and begun negotiation with the Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka governments for leasing its spare bandwidth to them for various administrative purposes to link different districts and talukas over a WAN (Wide Area Network).

News Corp the parent company of the Fox Network and the Twentieth Century Fox movie studio, reported a profit of $ 370 million last quarter. Executives attributed the gains during the quarter ending June 30 to higher profits in its TV, cable and film divisions.
The profit followed a loss of $1.74 billion in the period a year ago for Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate. That loss was mainly due to a write-off in the company’s investment in Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc., which has a founder accused of securities fraud.
The latest reported earnings were equivalent to 28 cents per share, versus a loss of $ 1.40 per share a year ago. Revenues for the quarter rose 20 per cent to $ 4.59 billion from $ 3.83 billion. Murdoch, the company’s chairman and chief executive, told investors during a conference call that he expected the company to receive regulatory approval by January for its $ 6.6 billion deal to acquire 34 per cent of Hughes Electronics, owner of satellite broadcaster DirecTV.
Peter Chernin, the company’s chief operating officer, said the Fox Network was building on the successes of several key TV shows, including "Joe Millionaire" and "American Idol."
Operating income rose 26 per cent to $ 570 million from $ 452 million a year ago. At the company’s all-news cable network, Fox News Channel, operating income grew 93 per cent due to higher advertising sales. News Corp. also reported growth in other cable TV operations, including sports broadcasting and FX.
Operating income from the company’s newspapers, which include properties in Britain, Australia and the New York Post, rose 8 per cent, compared to last year. But the British newspaper group, where The Sun was involved in a long and recently ended price war, reported a 10 per cent decline in operating income in local currency terms.
The company’s book publishing division, HarperCollins, reported lower operating income of $ 4 million, compared with $ 13 million in the period a year ago, which the company attributed to high sales in the year-ago period from books connected to films and a bankruptcy in the most recent quarter of a major wholesaler.
For the company’s full fiscal year, which ended in June, News Corp. reported net earnings of $ 1.05 billion, or 79 cents a share versus a loss of $ 6.27 billion or $ 5.09 a share in the prior year. Revenues for the full fiscal year were $ 17.47 billion versus $ 15.2 billion.

Japanese auto giant Toyota Motor Corp. is urging the 28,000 employees at its headquarters in central Japan to make a mental gear switch and stop driving to work because they are causing daily traffic jams.
"It may seem like a contradiction, but if you think about the problems we are causing to the community around us, it can’t be helped," said Toyota spokeswoman Monika Fujita. "It’s also quite meaningless to drive in a traffic jam," she said. Every weekday morning, a 2-3km traffic jam-which takes about an hour to clear-builds up in front of the Toyota headquarters in Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture, some 250km east of Tokyo, she said.
Since February, Toyota has provided a free bus shuttle service from two nearby train stations. By July, the number of workers taking public transport to work had risen to 5,000 from 3,000, she said.
One 43-year-old company employee told the Asahi newspaper that he had sold the car he once used to drive to office. "It might be a minus for the company. But now I can use the time spent commuting for myself."

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