
BUSINESS
Can government now access your messages on Signal and WhatsApp?
Moneycontrol decodes the new IT rules for the regulation of social media and digital content.

BUSINESS
Snap Inc will not have 'more feet on the street' in India, yet
Though its second largest market globally in terms of user base, monetisation in this country is a challenge, says the firm; is keen that users inculcate its 'value proposition'

BUSINESS
Ambedkar International Center files amicus brief in the Cisco caste bias lawsuit
The hearing for Cisco’s demurrer and motion to strike is scheduled on March 9, 2021.

BUSINESS
As tech firms gear up to build on COVID-19 gains, talent-building a tough challenge
Digital, cloud segments will hold the key, Indian IT sector biggest gainer from pandemic, McKinsey report says. If you look at all the projections, you are looking at an incremental spend of $1 trillion in the next 4-5 years, and we should get a 20% share, says an IT executive.

BUSINESS
What does Biden administration's immigration bill mean for Indian IT workers in US?
Indians are one of the largest beneficiaries of the employment-based visa categories like H-1B and L-1. The bill addresses a few key issues that had made living in the US tough and uncertain for Indians over the last few years.

BUSINESS
Can Biden revive the American Dream for Indian students?
With many developed countries offering equal opportunities, the US and the H1-B visa are no longer the big option they once were, particularly after four years of Trump battering.

BUSINESS
How Snapchat is getting photobombed in India by its rivals
So large, and yet, so small — that's India for Snapchat. Over the last year, it has grown by leaps and bounds to over 60 million active users. This should ideally have been an inflection point in India — with the surge in users, and brands warming up, it should have been raining deals for the company. And yet, Snapchat is still a long way from becoming the top choice for advertisers. Unless it innovates quickly, it will fall further behind its rivals

BUSINESS
Nasscom CEO Survey 2021: Indian tech industry to add 1.38 lakh jobs in FY20-21
CEOs surveyed by industry body expect growth to take place in the digital space. Companies upskill 2.5 lakh employees in the digital space every year. Deal value for cloud grew 80 percent between April and September 2020, compared to October-March 2020 at the back of COVID-19.

BUSINESS
Snap to double down on India as user base crosses 60 million
Snap’s Nana Murugesan, Managing Director, International Markets, says to expand Snapchat’s reach in India they will step up investment in partnerships, experiences and product development.

BUSINESS
Hexaware to hire more than 1,000 freshers this year, sees double-digit growth
With demand outstripping supply, the company is now in aggressive hiring mode.

BUSINESS
Biden in the White House: Good news or bad for Indian techies?
Commenting on the H-1B wage-based selection, V Ramakrishnan, CFO, TCS, recently said, “We don’t know even if these changes will survive. Some of the changes that happened, they were successfully legally challenged.”

BUSINESS
Happiest Minds scouting for $10-30 million acquisitions with focus on digital capabilities
Happiest Minds is seeing demand across its digital service offerings including cloud, security solutions and analytics.

BUSINESS
H-4 work authorisation renewal woes continue for H-1B dependents
Much will depend on a joint report on work authorization for spouses of H-1B visa holders, which must be filed by March 5. It comes on the orders of a US court and is part of an ongoing lawsuit.

BUSINESS
Engineering Service firms script a turnaround after COVID-19 setback
With investments returning, and companies clinching lucrative deals in India and abroad, there is strong growth momentum in the months ahead

BUSINESS
1.2 lakh HCL Tech employees to get one-time bonus
The bonus is to celebrate HCL Tech $10 billion revenue milestone for the year ending December 2020. The employee bonus payout is worth over Rs 700 crore.

BUSINESS
H-1B Visa: What happened in US immigration this week?
USCIS opens the H-1B electronic registration process on March 9 till March 25 based on lottery. The Department of Homeland Security has delayed the implementation of the wage-based H-1B selection process till December 31.

BUSINESS
Post COVID-19, IT firms pilot gig working models, plan dedicated WFH policies
The pandemic has revealed that freelancers and remote workers are here to stay, and that earlier data security concerns were a trifle misplaced

BUSINESS
Union Budget 2021: Can the National Language Translation Mission make signing up in Indian vernaculars a norm?
Union Budget 2021: The Indic language system is set to get a big boost when official documents in English or Hindi can be translated into Tamil, Kannada, Gujarati, Malayalam, and other regional vernaculars

BUSINESS
Union Budget 2021: Research budget should reach beyond the IITs: Kris Gopalakrishnan
Union Budget 2021: `This Rs 50,000 crore is a very good allocation for the research ecosystem, ensuring that the NRF is funded very well. It is also good signal to the entire business community that the government is optimistic about funding research’

BUSINESS
Budget 2021 | No clarity on SEZ rules for WFH, but IT firms could gain from digital projects
The Union Budget 2021 earmarked Rs 3,768 crore for first ever digital census. Revamp of Ministry of Corporate Affairs website leveraging new-age technologies is planned in 2021-22.

BUSINESS
H-1B visa: What happened in US immigration this week?
Two decisions that made getting H-1B visas difficult have been put on hold for 60 days, awaiting review.

BUSINESS
Fresh H-1B approval rates for Indian IT firms rise between July and September 2020: American think tank
The increase is attributed mainly to US court rulings that rescinded two unfavourable memos of 2010 and 2018, which had resulted in increased rejection rates between October 2019 and March 2020.

BUSINESS
How did mid-tier IT firms perform in Q3 FY21?
Just like top IT firms, tier II IT firms too have been among the biggest gainers during the pandemic as their stock prices more than doubled since April 2020.

BUSINESS
Large deals to drive growth for Mphasis: CEO Nitin Rakesh
Company takes Blackstone exit reports in its stride, even as it tries to pull up declining DXC business