Latest news with #Vasu
Time of India
2 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
IT companies tighten belt as AI, macro headwinds squeeze biz margins
Academy Empower your mind, elevate your skills ETtech India's leading IT companies are facing the double whammy of persistent macro headwinds and AI-led productivity impact, squeezing fiscal first quarter showed companies are stretching all internal levers aggressively to protect profits amid slowing large-deal momentum. This includes lowering sales and admin costs, delaying pay hikes, and rejigging bench expect the trend to continue through the fiscal second half as the IT sector is turning into a 'negotiator's market'. While revenues may see an uptick due to pent-up demand created in the last few quarters, margins will remain stretched and firms will focus on operational excellence, analysts to Nitin Bhatt, technology sector leader at EY India, margin pressures will worsen with investments in 'new sales and go-to-market motions, solution-build and reskilling, large deal conversions, and in some cases, providing discounts to protect the current estate.''IT firms are shifting from time & material to outcome-based pricing for AI projects, linking fees to business impact like cost savings or efficiency gains. This may pressure short-term margins but promotes high-value, long-term engagements,' he instance, HCLTech 's management highlighted that generative AI delivers substantial efficiency gains in software development (25–30%) and business processes (up to 50%), with contact centres seeing up to 75% headcount reduction by implementing conversational AI, brokerage firm Emkay Research noted in a for the first time in several quarters, lowered its margin guidance to 17%-18% from 18%-19%. 'Margin guidance came in as a negative surprise to the Street since HCLT has been keeping margin guidance intact despite changes in revenue target for the past few quarters,' Elara Capital said in a the case of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), increase in employee costs because of hiring, excess capacity, and mid-quarter benefits led to an 80 basis points impact during Q1FY26. The company's employee cost reached an all-time high, now constituting 59.45% of revenue, even as attrition remains high at 13.8%, data showed.'FY26 is margin protection and margin expansion year,' said Gaurav Vasu, founder and CEO of data and research platform UnearthInsight. 'Growth, especially in the US and core verticals, is weak across the board. Large deal wins are not yet translating to revenue acceleration, so lead indicators (pipeline, bookings) matter—but execution and conversion will be critical in H2 FY26.'Vasu added that top-tier IT firms are adopting tight controls—reducing variable compensation, deferring salary hikes, and tightly managing bench policies.'H2 FY26 for top Indian IT firms will likely see gradual but not dramatic growth improvement, driven by geopolitical risks, US tariff stance and slowing global economy which delays deal conversions and recovery in client spend,' said UnearthInsight's Vasu, stating a 3-5% revenue growth guidance for research firm Incred Equities said clients' procrastination over long-term decisions has increased.'…deal conversations are underway but advisory-led proposals (RFPs) with long-term road-maps have complex constructs and are elongating the decision timeframe,' InCred said in a report. It added that although the pipeline opportunity could be at its peak currently given the delays, it is a highly negotiator's market where companies need to be agile, flexible and accommodative.'Clients continue to seek 'doing more for less' i.e. to optimise legacy projects to fund small-ticket AI-led ones. This, in turn, is driving vendor consolidation, driving the competitive intensity higher, creating staffing challenges, and pressurising the margin profile of deals. Hence, building margin expansion for FY26F could be aggressive,' said InCred Equities.
New Indian Express
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
Young Malayali Filmmaker Sidharth Harikumar's Short Film 'Vasu' Makes It to Student Oscars Semi-Finals
For Sidharth Harikumar, a 32-year-old film‑maker from Thiruvananthapuram, it was nothing short of surreal when an email arrived from the official Oscars address a few days ago. Done as part of his final‑year project at MetFilm School, Berlin, where he pursued an MA in cinematography, his short film Vasu has been named a semi‑finalist in the Narrative category at the 2025 Student Academy Awards, dubbed the 'Student Oscars'. 'My project was completed on October 2 last year. After that, I carefully researched festivals that aligned with my film's theme and shortlisted only a few. The Student Academy Awards stood out as an open competition that supports and recognises student artworks across genres,' Sidharth says. 'I submitted Vasu with ambition, but without expectations. And then, four or five days ago, I received their message. The email mentioned a specific time when the results would go live on the Oscars website. When I checked, my name was there. It took a while to sink in.' The festival features four main categories — Experimental, Documentary, Animation and Narrative. Vasu is one of 15 short films selected worldwide in the Narrative category. More than 3,000 films were in contention, with selections made after four to five rigorous rounds of evaluation. Thus, it is a notable milestone not just for Sidharth, but also for indie filmmaking in India.
The Hindu
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Remembering The man who could never say no
Arun Vasu, whom I have known from the time I was a cherubin kindergarten, his older brother Arvind and I being classmates, called the other day to say that a two-day event is being planned at the Music Academy, to mark 20 years of his father T.T. Vasu's passing. That brought to my face a smile and to my mind vivid memories of Vasu himself. He was one of the most colourful personalities I have known. Not perhaps the most practical person, and certainly difficult to bear if you annoyed him, his vocabulary being of the chaste Madras Bhashai variety, but certainly a most lovable human. My earliest memories are of attending birthday parties of his sons at his Cathedral Road residence. To a child, he was an enormously tall man, with a booming voice and a ready grin. It was only later that I got to know of his T.T.K. lineage. S. Muthiah, who knew him intimately, filled me in on many aspects of Vasu. And I consider the biography of his that Muthiah wrote and titled, The Man Who Could Never Say No, to be among the finest in its genre. Vasu was brought to life, warts and all, by Muthiah, as only he could. The youngest son of T.T. Krishnamachari and Rajalakshmi, Vasu lost his mother when he was very young. His upbringing was largely left to an indifferent grandmother. To Vasu, his father was his idol but T.T.K., busy with his public career, could not care less. All of this in Muthiah's opinion, left a mark on Vasu. Having graduated, Vasu joined the family enterprise of T.T.K. & Co, and was hugely instrumental in setting up many of its businesses, including Prestige and the London Rubber Company. The ease with which he made friends, and established contacts in all rungs of society, made it easy for him to get enterprises going, in an era when the licence-quota raj was at its height. Today, all of this would be called networking but Vasu bonded with genuine affection. And he expected the same from those with whom he bonded. And he was hurt many a time for this naïve faith. Not that he changed. But once a business started functioning, he never focused on it and would move on. And that created its own set of problems. But certainly, the number of businesses he was involved in, for his family and also for friends, is legion. Not many may be aware that the Adyar Gate Hotel, later Welcomgroup Park Sheraton and later Crowne Plaza of late lamented memory, was his brainchild. Its Dakshin, which he conceptualised with his cook, still functions. The Iyer's trolley there commemorates his cook. A patron of many charities A huge fan of Errol Flynn, Vasu established a club for the former's fans in Madras. His efforts to learn Carnatic music may not have come to much, but his years as the Music Academy's President will always be remembered and bring a smile. He was enormously encouraging of the Youth Association for Carnatic Music (YACM), which did much to popularise the art in the 1980s and 1990s. Generous to a fault, Vasu was a patron of many charities, and the proceeds from this two-day event will go to the Balamandir Kamaraj Trust, of which he was president for long. It champions the cause of disadvantaged children all over the State. The two-day event, on July 5 and 6, at the Music Academy, features L. Subramaniam and Ambi Subramaniam on July 5, and T.M. Krishna on the next day. (V. Sriram is a writer and historian)
Gulf News
04-05-2025
- Gulf News
Why UAE schools deployed metal detectors, CCTV for over 2,000 Indian expat students' NEET exam
Dubai: More than 2,000 aspiring medical students sat for India's National Eligibility cum Entrance Test –Undergraduate (NEET-UG) in the UAE on Sunday under tight security measures designed to ensure the integrity of the high-stakes examination. Centres in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah implemented rigorous protocols, including the use of highly sensitive metal detectors, full CCTV coverage and videography of candidates, aligning with directives from India's National Testing Agency (NTA). The intensified scrutiny follows the 2024 NEET scandal in India, which prompted national outrage over alleged malpractices. In response, the NTA rolled out robust reforms this year. In India, more than 2.27 million students appeared for the exam under similar surveillance, aiming to restore trust in one of the world's largest professional entrance tests. However, biometric attendance verification, which became mandatory in India, was not enforced in the centres abroad, including in the UAE. 3 UAE centres One of the largest NEET venues outside India, The Indian High School in Oud Metha, Dubai, accommodated around 900 candidates. 'This year, approximately 900 aspiring medical students took the exam in our halls, and we had meticulously prepared around 40 examination halls to meet the stringent specifications set by the National Testing Agency, India,' said Punit MK Vasu, CEO of The Indian High Group of Schools. 'To ensure integrity, we deployed close to 110 trained staff members, including coordinators, supervisors, invigilators, and support personnel. Comprehensive security measures were in place, including extensive frisking with highly sensitive metal detectors, temperature checks, and continuous CCTV surveillance.' Students were videographed throughout the exam for verification purposes. Additionally, a dedicated photo studio was set up at the centre to assist students with missing photos, ensuring a smooth registration process. Exam papers were unsealed under CCTV surveillance in the presence of multiple examiners to prevent tampering. 'We aim to provide a safe, secure, and stress-free environment,' Vasu said. Counsellors and medical staff were also on site, while students of determination were given extended time in compliance with NTA guidelines. At Sharjah Indian School, around 730 students appeared for the exam. 'Each and every child had to pass through metal detectors. We ensured CCTV coverage, videography, and photography,' said Principal Pramod Mahajan. In Abu Dhabi, 517 students appeared at Abu Dhabi Indian School (ADIS). Principal Neeraj Bharagava confirmed that all materials, including recordings and answer sheets, were 'packed in diplomatic bags under the supervision of Indian missions,' to be sent to India.
