Bengaluru:

India’s No.2 IT services exporter Infosys’ CEO Salil Parekh has settled charges of violating provisions of insider trading, the country’s markets regulator said on Thursday.

Mr Parekh agreed to pay 2.5 million rupees (around $30,000) for failing to have adequate controls to prevent insider trading, the Securities and Exchange Board of India said. 

Information technology giant Infosys is giving employees incentives up to Rs 8 lakh to relocate to its new campus in Karnataka’s Hubballi. The move to shift to Hubballi is aimed at increasing its presence in tier-2 cities.

Easier said than done, the perks and lifestyle of a tier-1 city become a challenge for Infosys to relocate to a smaller city, and therefore monetary incentives are being provided.

“It is your turn to Grow Glocal and consider pursuing your career at the Hubli DC,” the company said in an email to its employees. The location has “huge potential for growth and is waiting for talent like you to build the future”, read the email seen by NDTV Profit.

The Hubballi campus is 400 km northwest of Bengaluru, where its headquarters are situated, and was established two years ago. The campus has a seating capacity of 5,000 employees. 

The incentive comes against the backdrop of criticism from BJP MLA and Deputy Leader of Opposition Arvind Bellad, questioning the company over the campus not taking off and the acquisition of land.

Employees in band three and below are being offered Rs 25,000 at the time of transfer and subsequently Rs 25,000 every six months for two years, NDTV Profit reported.

Level-4 employees will get Rs 50,000 at the time of relocation and Rs 2.5 lakh by the end of two years. Level-7 employees will receive an offer of Rs 1.5 lakh upon transfer and Rs 8 lakh after two years.

The policy is applicable for employees in level-2 in delivery (employees handling projects) in any development centre location, the report added. Infosys is yet to comment on it. 

“I applaud Infosys for offering incentives to employees transferring to its Hubballi campus. This move encourages local talent from the Kittur Karnataka region to explore opportunities closer to home, fostering community ties and local development,” Karnataka Commerce and Industries Minister said on X.

“Infosys’ commitment to state-of-the-art campuses and employing thousands of engineers, globally exemplifies its leadership and positive impact on regional economies,” he added.

Mid-tier IT firms tend to focus on short-term deals aimed at helping clients cut costs rather than chase large-scale projects. Representational
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Mid-tier firms in India’s $254 billion IT sector took market share from industry goliaths in recent quarters as clients curtailed discretionary spending amid inflationary pressures and economic uncertainty, analysts said.

Unlike larger rivals such as Tata Consultancy Services and Infosys, mid-tier IT firms tend to focus on short-term deals aimed at helping clients cut costs rather than chase large-scale projects.

The practice has paid off in an environment of slowing demand in prominent markets such as North America and Europe.

LTIMindtree, Coforge, Mphasis and Persistent Systems are “increasingly viewed as challengers in (winning) Fortune 500 accounts, aiding the share gain process,” Kotak Institutional Equities said.

The smaller firms could outperform larger rivals further once discretionary spending improves, Kotak analysts Kawaljeet Saluja, Sathishkumar S. and Vamshi Krishna said.

This should set mid-tier IT firms up well as they try to win more budget-conscious clients in an economic backdrop where U.S. interest rates may stay “higher for longer”.

Industry body Nasscom estimated overall revenue growth more than halved to 3.8% last financial year.

“In the current macro environment, clients are increasingly looking at service providers (that) deliver services at lower and predictable costs with better business outcomes,” said Avinash Baliga, partner at consulting firm Avasant. Persistent Systems CEO Sandeep Kalra and Mphasis CFO Manish Dugar confirmed the market- share gains.

New Delhi:

Infosys has received a tax demand of Rs 341 crore for assessment year 2020-21 from the Income Tax Department, the IT services company said on Monday adding it is evaluating filing an appeal against the said order.

The Bengaluru-headquartered company said it is in the process of evaluating the impact of the order on its financial statements for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024. Infosys also said it is evaluating filing an appeal against this order.

“Infosys Ltd on March 31, 2024, received order…from the Income Tax Department, Government of India for assessment year 20-21 with a tax demand of Rs 341 crore (including interest). The company is in the process of evaluating the implications of this order on the financial statements for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024, and also evaluating filing an appeal against this order,” Infosys said in a BSE filing.

Further, a subsidiary of the company has received refund order from the Income Tax Department for assessment year 2014-15, it said adding the refund amount as per the order is Rs 15 crore.

“The company is in the process of evaluating the implications of this order on the financial statements for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024,” Infosys said.

Infosys, the country’s second largest IT services company, recently informed the stock exchanges that it expects a refund of Rs 6,329 crore from the Income Tax Department. In the same breath, it had also informed about a tax demand to the tune of Rs 2,763 crore, citing various assessment orders.

In the filing on Saturday, Infosys Ltd said it received orders from the Income Tax Department for assessment years 07-08 to 15-16, 17-18, and 18-19 during the quarter.

“As per the orders, the company expects a refund of Rs 6,329 crore (including interest). The company is in the process of evaluating the implications of these orders on the financial statements for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024,” it had said in the BSE filing.

Infosys, which competes with TCS and Wipro and others in the market for IT services contracts, is scheduled to declare its financial results for the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year as well as the full FY24 on April 18.

The Bengaluru-headquartered IT company also said it has received an order for assessment year 22-23 with a tax demand of Rs 2,763 crore, including interest, and for assessment year 11-12 with a tax demand of Rs 4 crore, interest included.

Infosys has received assessment orders for subsidiaries as well, totalling Rs 277 crore.

These include assessment orders for assessment years 21-22 and 18-19, respectively, with a total tax demand of Rs 145 crore; order for assessment year 22-23 with a tax demand of Rs 127 crore; and for assessment year 22-23 entailing tax demand of Rs 5 crore — all of them inclusive of interest.

For the December quarter, Infosys reported a lower-than-expected 7.3 per cent fall in net profit on sluggish demand from clients and cut its annual sales forecast. The company posted a net profit (attributable to shareholders) of Rs 6,106 crore compared to Rs 6,586 crore in the year-ago period.

Infosys’ consolidated revenue from operations increased 1.3 per cent to Rs 38,821 crore during the third quarter of FY24 from Rs 38,318 crore a year ago.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Infosys expects a refund of Rs 6,329 crore from the Income Tax Department, the country’s second largest IT services company said. It also informed the stock exchanges about tax demand to the tune of Rs 2,763 crore, citing various assessment orders.

Infosys Ltd said it has received orders from the Income Tax Department for assessment years 07-08 to 15-16, 17-18, and 18-19 during the quarter.

“As per the orders, the company expects a refund of Rs 6,329 crore (including interest). The company is in the process of evaluating the implications of these orders on the financial statements for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024,” Infosys said in a BSE filing.

Infosys, which competes with TCS and Wipro and others in the market for IT services contracts, is scheduled to declare its financial results for the fourth quarter of the current fiscal year as well as the full FY24 on April 18.

The Bengaluru-headquartered IT company also said it has received an order for assessment year 22-23 with a tax demand of Rs 2,763 crore, including interest, and for assessment year 11-12 with a tax demand of Rs 4 crore, interest included.

Infosys has received assessment orders for subsidiaries as well, totalling Rs 277 crore.

These include assessment orders for assessment years 21-22 and 18-19, respectively, with total tax demand of Rs 145 crore; order for assessment year 22-23 with a tax demand of Rs 127 crore; and for assessment year 22-23 entailing tax demand of Rs 5 crore — all of them inclusive of interest.

“The company is in the process of evaluating the implications of these orders on the financial statements for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024 and also evaluating filing appeals against these orders,” Infosys said.

Further, a subsidiary of the company has received refund orders under Section 254 for assessment years 07-08 and 08-09 and under Section 154 for assessment year 16-17, it said, adding that the refund amount as per these orders is Rs 14 crore.

“The company is in the process of evaluating the implications of these orders on the financial statements for the quarter and year ending March 31, 2024. As on March 29, 2024, the above orders cumulatively exceed the materiality criteria as prescribed under Regulation 30 of the Listing Regulations (as amended), and accordingly this disclosure is submitted,” Infosys said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Salil Parekh, CEO and managing director at Infosys, has joined the US India Strategic and Partnership Forum as its board of directors.

An industry veteran with nearly three decades in the IT services industry, executing business turnarounds and managing successful acquisitions, Mr Parekh in his capacity as Infosys CEO sets the strategic direction of one of India’s most notable IT giants, while nurturing a strong leadership team to drive its execution.

“Salil’s recent addition to the USISPF Board accentuates the success story of Indian IT giants in the US for years. Infosys has been a household name in India, and IT services are one of India’s biggest exports to the United States,” said USISPF president and CEO Mukesh Aghi.

“In an era of digital economy and digital trade, Infosys’ success in the US is a testimony to the growing synergy in tech ties and how India’s robust tech talent plays an integral part in strengthening and growing the tech sector in the United States,” Mr Aghi said.

I am delighted to welcome Mr. Salil Parekh, CEO and MD at @Infosys to @USISPForum‘s Board of Directors.

Salil’s recent addition to the USISPF Board accentuates this success story of Indian IT giants in the U.S.

In an era of digital economy and digital trade, Infosys’ success in… pic.twitter.com/uBu2aEz21p

— Mukesh Aghi (@MukeshAghi) February 22, 2024

USISPF chairman John Chambers said Salil and Infosys’ participation on the USISPF Board will help forge a critical reliance for the two economies by consolidating digital trade, ultimately further establishing India as an innovation partner to the world, which is the organisation’s core mission.

“I’m thrilled to have Salil, a leader with a great track record in the IT industry, join the USISPF Board. Infosys’ impact in the American tech industry has been extremely important, and the company played a vital part in India’s nearly USD 200 billion software exports for 2023,” Mr Chambers said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India’s No.2 software-services exporter Infosys Ltd has asked some of its employees to work from office 10 days a month, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The news comes at a time when companies across the globe are reversing or modifying their “remote work” policies that were put in place at the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, citing reasons ranging from higher efficiency to better collaboration.

Infosys, which declined to comment on the news, has intimated certain entry and mid-level staff via e-mail about the change that will take effect from Nov. 20.

The move will not affect all employees.

“We are very clear that we want to remain flexible with our employees. Having said that, every quarter, every week we are seeing more and more employees back into the campus and we believe this will continue,” Infosys CEO Salil Parekh said at a post-earning conference call on Oct. 12.

Last week, the company’s co-founder N.R. Narayana Murthy courted controversy by urging young Indians to work 70 hours a week for the development of the country.

Larger rival Tata Consultancy Services has already asked workers to return to the office for five days a week.

Tech giants Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have also told workers to work from office for at least a few days every week.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy’s 70-hour work week comment has sparked a huge debate online. Mr Murthy made the remark on a podcast hosted by former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai.  

Now, days after the interview, Mr Pai has shared “interesting data”. He added that NR Narayana Murthy’s “advice was for youngsters.” The data talks about how many hours each week do urban men between the age group 15 and 59 work? The illustration also featured India’s map along with region-wise data. As per the illustration, the Indian average stands at 61.6 hours per week. The source of the data was Time Use Survey (2019). 

Mr Pai said, “Interesting data! This is for all ages. NRN advice was for youngsters, people below 30! Prosperity needs hard work, data shows.”

Interesting data! This is for all ages. NRN advice was for youngsters, people below 30! Prosperity needs hard work, data shows pic.twitter.com/15j6nCd9uA

— Mohandas Pai (@TVMohandasPai) October 28, 2023

NR Narayana Murthy, on the first episode of  3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’, said, “India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government at some level, because we have been reading, I don’t know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress.”

He added, “So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say ‘this is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week”.

Giving an example of how other nations have enhanced their productivity, Mr Murthy said, “This is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War…they made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years.”

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy has said that India’s work culture needs to change and youngsters should be prepared to work for 70 hours a week if the country has to compete effectively on the global stage. The 77-year-old was speaking to former Infosys CEO Mohandas Pai on the first episode of 3one4 Capital’s podcast ‘The Record’. Mr Narayana Murthy drew parallels to Japan and Germany, countries that implemented the extended working hours. He also talked about other topics like nation building, technology, his company Infosys and others.

When asked about his vision for the next 10, 15 years, Mr Narayana Murthy highlighted a need to improve productivity in India and sort out the government delays.

“India’s work productivity is one of the lowest in the world. Unless we improve our work productivity, unless we reduce corruption in the government at some level, because we have been reading, I don’t know the truth of it, unless we reduce the delays in our bureaucracy in taking this decision, we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress,” the Infosys founder said.

“So therefore, my request is that our youngsters must say ‘this is my country. I’d like to work 70 hours a week’,” he added.

Watch the full video:

Mr Narayana Murthy then presented some historical examples – of Germany and Japan after the Second World War – to underline the critical role of discipline and enhanced productivity.

“This is exactly what the Germans and Japanese did after the Second World War… they made sure that every German worked extra hours for a certain number of years,” Mr Narayana Murthy said on the podcast.

He said it is very important for our youngsters to transform since they form a “significant majority of our population” and “are the ones who can build our country”.

“We need to be disciplined and improve our work productivity. I think unless we do that, what can poor government do? And every government is as good as the culture of the people. And our culture has to change to that of highly determined, extremely disciplined and extremely hard-working people,” Mr Narayana Murthy added.

His comments sparked a debate among users on social media.

“Agree with him… work 40 hours for your employer and 30 hours for your own interests,” commented one user.

“Completely disagree about the 70 hours a week! According to the 70 hours work week we will be the best country, but at what cost? What will that individual achieve after working 70 hours a week? Good health? Good family? Good companion? Happiness? Fulfillment? What will the individual achieve? If the individual is aiming for success after working 70 hours a week, I would like that individual to define success?” asked another.

“Then companies also need to pay on hourly basis… Indian companies won’t do that,” a third user said.

Reliance Industries remained the country’s most valued firm. File
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

The combined market valuation of six of the top 10 valued firms jumped ₹70,527.11 crore last week, with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) emerging as the biggest gainer.

While Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Bharti Airtel, ITC, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank were the gainers, Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), State Bank of India and Bajaj Finance emerged as the laggards.

Last week, the BSE benchmark climbed 287.11 points or 0.43%.

The market valuation of Reliance Industries rallied ₹22,191.43 crore to ₹15,90,408.31 crore, the most among the top 10 firms.

Hindustan Unilever added ₹17,222.5 crore taking its valuation to ₹6,04,326.62 crore.

The valuation of Bharti Airtel jumped ₹16,953.01 crore to ₹5,36,035.96 crore and that of ITC climbed ₹7,607.26 crore to ₹5,59,071.10 crore.

The market capitalisation (mcap) of ICICI Bank rose ₹4,581.64 crore to ₹6,66,639.07 crore and that of HDFC Bank went up by ₹1,971.27 crore to ₹11,65,135.58 crore.

However, the valuation of Infosys tumbled ₹19,403.04 crore to ₹5,94,252 crore and that of Tata Consultancy Services plunged by ₹18,258.67 crore to ₹13,06,391.11 crore.

The mcap of State Bank of India (SBI) declined ₹16,019.67 crore to ₹5,14,191.52 crore and that of Bajaj Finance diminished by ₹7,137.72 crore to ₹4,87,746.65 crore.

Reliance Industries remained the country’s most valued firm followed by TCS, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Infosys, ITC, Bharti Airtel, State Bank of India, and Bajaj Finance.