The MBA Who Quit His Job to Earn $100,000 Doing Excel Blogging

Purnachandra Rao Duggirala, more popularly known in the cyber world as Chandoo has several illustrious achievements to his credit. Not only did the simple Vizag boy get into IIM Indore’s class of 2006, he wrote his story in a manner that it gained cult status over time.

Four years after getting a campus placement at TCS, Chandoo quit his job in April 2010 to run a Microsoft Excel-training startup he had built on the side doing what many of us do non-seriously -- blogging. Last month, Chandoo's lean two-member blog 'Chandoo.org' recorded revenues of $100,000, justifying his decision to quit and be completely on his own. In this interview, he speaks about this rather unique manner of earning a living, how he built it and what he plans to do with it in the future.

What have you been up to since you graduated from IIM Indore?

I graduated in 2006 then I joined Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) via a campus offer. Just like any other fresh MBA graduate, I was doing a lot of analysis and research based work in the first few months at TCS. That's when I ended up using Microsoft Excel a lot. This was my first serious interaction with Excel as such. I was doing a lot of interesting work that included analysing competitors, etc. It was a lot of theoretical work and nothing more than that. At the same time I was writing a personal blog about what I was doing and what was happening in my life, but nothing special or significant. Then while in TCS I had the opportunity to travel and work abroad. I moved to USA for a year in 2007 and that's when I had some good free time. As you know, the work culture in western countries is a bit relaxed, and I don't mean that in a bad way. It gives you time that you can spend with your hobbies and passions. It's unlike in India where you have to devote a lot of traveling time before and after work. So I had a lot of free time and started wondering how I could utilise it better. So I started writing about all that I was learning in office on my blog, and that included a lot of learnings about the advanced featured of Microsoft Excel. In 2008 February, I wrote an article about an Excel trick that was picked up by a lot of popular blogs on the Internet. That became a good traffic source and I started getting a lot of visitors. It was an exciting time for me and I started thinking what it would be like if I did something more substantial on the Internet in my free time. I then started writing about Excel more often and also started a couple of other websites with the hope that they could maybe help me make some money and eventually have me live on my own. None of those other websites succeeded but the Excel posts on my blog kept on receiving good response. I had built up a good following of people from across the world and I realised that I had a genuine passion for understanding data, analysing it and presenting it. The realisation led to a series of good articles which were received well within the community of my blog.

Since then, I kept blogging regularly and launched many products related to Excel that people had to pay to buy. The product sales continued to do well in the next two years and the money was good enough for me to consider quitting my job at TCS. I eventually did that in April 2010 and moved to my hometown Vizag with my wife, where we both now run Chandoo.org fulltime.

What sort of products did you launch and how did the money you were earning grow over time?

For the first two years, most of the revenue came through Google Adsense advertisements. When the blog became a bit more popular in 2009, I started recommending third-party affiliate products. These were essentially products such as Microsoft Excel related books or software that its creators wanted to promote to my audience. I used to test these products myself and if I felt they had genuine value, I advertised them on the blog in return for a generous commission for each sale that originated from Chandoo.org. Since there was no middleman and I was in direct touch with both the customers and the sellers, they shared 30% of the revenue per sale with me. That itself used to be something like USD 200-300 per month, almost as much as I was making through Google Adwords.

In 2009, my traffic also went up. I used to have 100,000-150,000 visits every month. That was a good number created due to word-of-mouth, content sharing with other websites, or my article being featured on other blogs. That increased the revenue to USD 400-500 per month.

Then I released my first ebook on Excel priced at USD 5. This was a mistake I made. I call this a mistake because the content I produced was high quality, not just elementary Excel tips. But the perception of my site among people was that of one that produces high quality and high value content. But when I started selling the ebook at as low a price as USD 5, it did not align well with the perception of my site. So in the first month although some people did buy the ebook, the revenues were not a lot. That was February 2009. Then after some thought I increased the price to USD 10, added a few more pages and announced it on my blog. I thought people would not buy it. But to my surprise the sales increased and I started getting USD 200 per month from the book alone.

While this happened, I started getting offers to do consulting work related to Excel. This was in conflict with my day job at TCS so I didn't accept most requests. But if something very interesting came along, I did it for compensation in kind. It was challenging work, and I was making powerful Excel-based dashboards and reports.

Simultaneously, I was learning new things about Excel by doing them and then producing new articles based on those learnings.

During 2009-end I released my first Project Management Template for Excel. It was my first big product. I had gotten a huge response for my articles based on the template and it gave me some confidence that maybe I could sell Excel templates. So I started charging USD 30 for the template I had created. If people wanted the template for both Excel 2003 and 2007, they had to pay USD 45. It did appear costly and I did get emails from my audience complaining that the adprice was too high. But I sold around 50 templates in the first month itself. But then the sales started going down, and I realised that I had to keep reminding my readers of the existence of these templates in my articles continuously. I started linking the templates in my articles regularly and that brought the template sales back on track -- so much so that in September 2010 I sold about 100 templates and made about USD 3,000 from templates alone. But I think the sales will plateau here because there is only so much reach that my blog can have and the Excel template market has a lot of competition worldwide. Apart from that there are newer project management softwares coming up including those that are on the cloud.

The interesting thing here is that once people saw value in my templates, they wrote testimonials for me. Others made variations of my templates and became heroes in front of their bosses and colleagues by using these templates. I was also giving a 10% discount to people who were writing to me specifically asking for one.

At the same time as my customer base was growing, I was getting a lot of support requests for my products. I found that the time I was devoting to support was growing. I was planning to upgrade the templates and include some of the new features in Excel 2010. All this meant that I had to increase the price also include support in the package. I had to make these products be 'value for money' rather than speak about them as 'cheap' or 'costly'.

By 2010 both affiliate and Google Adsense revenues also went up. But the 'killer product' was my training program - Excel School. This is priced at USD 100 and includes 20 hours of Excel training and make people much more productive. This received a response beyond my wildest dreams. The first batch had 150 students and except for two who dropped out, everybody loved the program. They had glowing reviews throughout the program. In the second batch, I had 200 students and in the third one which I closed in September, I had 350 students. I'm still getting requests to open this batch again. Some corporates included their entire team of 20 people into the program. I gave group discounts to them and to repeat clients.

And that's how in the last 12 months, I crossed USD 100,000 in revenue.

Was it a concern that your making money on the side would conflict with your day job's policies? What would you advise others who might want to make some this way along with their corporate jobs?

Many companies have a 'moonlighting clause' in their employment contracts. I am not sure if my company had one, but the money I was making was too little while I was employed. Also, I knew a handful of people in my company who were also making money online, so I knew this it was not that wrong. Plus I had let my managers know that I had a website where I wrote and shared my knowledge. My Microsoft 'Most Valuable Professional' award status, blogger status and product details were kind of known to key colleagues and bosses through my Linkedin updates.

That said, if anyone is starting today, it would be better to check with your HR policies to avoid conflicts. In most cases you can get an exception easily just by talking to the right people.

What made you make the choice of quitting TCS and doing this fulltime?

I used to spend about two hours after work on Chandoo.org and was writing almost regularly. For me it was never really about 'work versus job'. My job at TCS was pretty exciting all along. I was working and interacting with new people everyday, traveling internationally and was quite satisfied.

The reason why I made a choice was more because of family. I was traveling a lot, living alone in far-off places and missing my family during the job.

Of course, I had the confidence that Chandoo.org would make enough for us to live a comfortable life. Since I run the operation from my home in Vizag with just me and my wife working on it, almost all the money less server costs and income tax is mine.

Starting in 2008 when your blog became a serious occupation for you, it has been 3 years. Do you think somebody else can avoid some of your mistakes and reach your revenue stage faster?

My advice to others wishing to do something similar would be that first you should start a blog. Whether or not you make money off it, you will learn how to express yourself to others. Many of us feel that we are great orators or writers and I felt the same when I graduated from MBA. But writing in a convincing language or explaining something in simple language is a tremendously difficult skill to learn. By having a blog you are reaching out to the world more each day. You may feel vulnerable, but you learn how to communicate better. You should start a blog no matter whether you have plans to make money off it or not.

Even though you may want to write for yourself, at some point you should ask yourself this question -- now that I have 25-30 people reading the blog, what do they want to read and how can I make my stories important or relevant for them to read? A mistake to avoid is to not write about too many things. If somebody wants to read general stuff about movies and sports, they will go to Rediff. So focus on one or two ideas that are close to your heart and stick to them. That way you will enjoy writing more and won't feel burdened to write about everything that comes your way. This was a mistake I did. I started writing about Excel initially but then I started assuming that people will want to learn from me about technology, marketing or business as well. So I wrote about those things even though I was not as good at them, though I was passionate about them. I didn't get a lot of following for such articles and I found it hard to produce quality content in those areas. So I decided to stick to Excel.

While writing I used to get distracted by wanting to write about latest events. While I was in the US, I started posting Excel data visualizations about the US presidential elections. Although it taught me a lot, it wasn't of value to my readers. So it would be nice to focus on what you are doing rather than getting diverted by what is going around.

Let's say you are writing about Microsoft Powerpoint. First scan the universe and see who else is writing about this. Of them, you will find that about 10-15 people are writing regularly. One's initial feeling would be that we should do something different from what they are doing and not encourage them by talking too much about them. This is our natural business instinct towards competitors. But I do not feel that is the right approach. You should rather think that "these are my competition and they are going to be around with me for the rest of my life or the rest of the life of my startup. So let us embrace them."

I do this every few week by sharing the articles they are writing on my blog via links, or commenting on their blog, or picking up a topic they have posted about and continuing the discussion. This way you develop a collaborative relationship with them. Together you can move along with them and prosper together. I feel this is a good way to look at competition in what I am doing, rather than thinking that I want to dominate this.

I can't really say if somebody can make enough money from a blog overnight. This is not a movie that you make and it either goes hit or flop. I would just suggest that people start off writing a blog and develop some skills on the way. Maybe some day you will derive some mileage. Once you have a following and you have a product that can make for value to people, don't shy from charging them for it, thinking that people will stop visiting your site.

What part of your IIM Indore experience has helped you with building up the business?

You do learn a lot of interesting stuff at b-school such as HRM and strategy, marketing, accounting, etc. Accounting did help as I learned how money is accounted and how cash flows work. But what you don't learn at b-school is what to do at ground level on day 1 or day 0 when you start a business. I am learning these things now. We were taught a course called Business Law at IIM Indore, but either it was not presented properly or I did not get it, but it taught nothing about what procedure to follow on the ground if you wanted to start a business. We used to write business plans for entrepreneurship competitions, but all of it did not teach me what is the first step I should be doing to start a business. All these things I learned outside. MBA helped me more in terms of communication. You might see a lot of MBAs communicating badly or disguising what they are saying with big jargon words. But MBA taught me how to keep my thoughts simple and clear, a little but of accounting and some marketing concepts.

Some b-schools abroad do focus on entrepreneurship, but most don't. Even I took up the entrepreneurship elective in the second year. But it was more about venture capital funding and how you can structure a merger and acquisition deal or how you can sell you company to somebody bigger. But those are big things. They will probably happen ten years later for someone like me or in my position and when they do, I will hire somebody else to do it for me. That knowledge might then be helpful at that time. But the ground level knowledge such as how to start up, how to register a proprietorship, how to prepare a non-disclosure agreement, were not taught. I learned them myself. I'm not saying that the error is on IIM Indore's part exactly, but the fact is that a lot of things taught to us in business law and entrepreneurship are too big to be of any use to someone who wants to start off something from scratch.

Where do you see your startup going?

I want to do this for the next 3-4 years for sure. I see that there is a lot of scope. I have developed ideas based on customer feedback. At least until 2015 I'll grow it and make sure it does not shrink. At the same time I will learn a lot of new things such as spreadsheets and visualizations on the cloud, how touchscreens will affect spreadsheets, etc. Obviously, the money is good and I am living in a low cost city where my expenses are minimum.

I and my wife are thinking that at least for 5 years we will make enough money from this and not do a day job. But that may get too boring. Maybe I will take a job to keep me intellectually challenged or maybe I will take up teaching in b-schools or in engineering college.

But this space I'm working in, I see constantly new ideas to share and I don't see the inflow of ideas reducing at least.

Source: www.pagalguy.com

10 best IT companies to work for in 2011

Like last many years, Fortune magazine's '100 Best Companies to Work For' list is dominated by IT companies this year too. In fact, for the second year in a row, the list has an IT company on top.

And if you think it's only a handsome pay packet and numerous perks that earns them a seat in the sought-after employer list, you got it wrong. Apart from good money, these companies offer a lot more that makes them an 'ideal' workplace. Also, if you think it is the global IT majors who top the list, you again got it wrong.

Here's over to the IT companies in Fortunes' 100 Best Companies to Work for list.

SAS

Software provider SAS has for the second time in a row bagged tops the overall list. As to what makes the software provider the Best company to work for, Fortune gives a number of reasons: high-quality child care at, on-site healthcare, free 66,000-square-foot fitness center, car cleaning facility and beauty salon.
Some other global HR practices implemented by SAS include flexible working hours, day-care benefits, concierge services and adoption assistance policy.

Google

At No. 4 on Forune's Best Companies to Work for list is Web search giant Google. The company, which retains its last year's ranking, is rated high for the perks it offers to its employees.
One of the most highly appreciated perk is that the company allows its employees to devote 20% of their time working on ideas and projects that interest them.
This year the search titan is giving a 10% salary hike to all of its 23,000 employees across the world.
Little surprising then that the Web giant has received over 75,000 job applications in a week for its 6,000 job openings.

NetApp

Climbing two positions from last year is network storage maker NetApp at No. 5. Employees at the US-headquartered company enjoy perks like free fruit on Tuesdays, free bagels and cream cheese on Fridays, and free espresso all the time.
The company which slashed 6% of its workforce as part a restructuring plan in 2009, saw a little rebound last year. In 2010, the NetApp's revenue jumped 33% and the company ramped up its headcount.

Cisco Systems

Networking major Cisco ranks at No. 20 on the Fortune's Best companies to work for list, slipping from the 16th position last year. Flexi working hours, telecommuting, parenting and work opportunities are some of the things that make the company employee-friendly.
Infact, according to the report, 85% of Cisco employees regularly work from home or on the road.

Qualcomm

The telecommunication major ranks at no. 33 on the list. However, the company has seen a massive fall from its last year's ranking at no. 9.
Founded in 1985, Qualcomm is a wireless technology and data solutions company based in San Diego, California.
According to Fortune, "the company imported a New York City chef to oversee its cafes, which feature fresh foods sourced from local farmers and no canned foods." The company also has a Vacation Donation Programme which allows employees to donate vacation time in order to assist other employees facing catastrophic circumstances.
The company has wide range of benefits package for employees providing security and life-enhancing programmes.

Shared Technologies

Another company which saw a drop in its ranking vi-a-vis 2010 is Shared Technologies. The company fell to no. 43 from its 33rd position last year.
Last year, Arrow Electronics Inc bought Shared Technologies Inc. However, the Shared Technologies' CEO promised that the company's "culture will remain intact, as will its perks like a subsidised 12-week personal financial-planning course for employees and their spouses."
Founded in 1977, Texas-based Shared Technologies is solutions provider specialising in voice, data and converged technologies.

Intel

Jumping from almost forty ranks is world's No. 1 chipmaker Intel. The company ranked at no. 98 last year, is ranked at no. 51 in this year's Fortune survey.
According to Fortune, Intel will create thousands of jobs in the next three years from more than $6 billion in new projects, including a fabrication plant in Oregon.
What makes Intel an employer of choice is its personalised health programme, 8% of Intel employees telecommute on regular or temporary basis, childcare programmes and employee training and development programmes.

Salesforce.com

At No. 52 is San Francisco-headquartered CRM & cloud computing company Salesforce.com, slipping from from 43rd position last year. In the last two years, Salesforce.com has ramped up its workforce by almost 50%.
The company's top performers are rewarded with a four-day trip to a swanky Hawaiian resort.

Adobe Systems

Continuing its downward slide on the Best Companies to Work for list is Adobe Systems at no. 65. The company stood at no. 42 in 2010 and no. 11 in 2009.
Adobe offers employees up to six weeks of paid sabbatical based on their tenure. Company also offers same-sex domestic partner benefits.
According to Fortune, it is one of the biggest donors in Silicon Valley: Employee donations are matched dollar-for-dollar up to $5,000.

Microsoft

Next Best technology company to work for is software giant Microsoft at No. 72. Microsoft ranking too slipped by 21 positions in 2011 from its 2010 position.
Microsoft managers get 'morale budgets' to stage fun events (team dinners, outings to sports events or plays) for the team.
The company also offers Wi-Fi-enabled shuttle service and valet parking at some of its offices.

The 18-year-old Who is on Her THIRD Business

Most teenagers spend their free time at the mall. Diane Keng is busy running her third business venture and signing $100,000 investment deals.

By Geoff Williams

Chances are, when you were 18, you were probably stressing over finals, trying to enjoy your "senior week," and maybe getting ready to embark on a new adventure in college. Diane Keng is on her third business and signing $100,000 investment deals.

Keng, 18, is the co-founder of MyWEBoo, a service that helps teenagers manage their online personas -- a normally frustrating task, as anyone with Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, MySpace, Flickr and other social media accounts knows. If you want to make a status update or share photos or video on one site and offer the same information on another site, you have to jump through the same hoops to get it up there, twice. MyWEBoo aims to make Internet use a little easier and more efficient.

The high school Keng just graduated from, located in Silicon Valley, encourages entrepreneurship. In fact, at least 10 of her classmates also started businesses before graduation -- and we're not talking kids with lemonade stands or selling baseball cards on eBay.

We caught up with Keng during her last "free" summer, before things get really busy. This fall, she begins classes at Santa Clara University with a full-tuition scholarship -- while still running what she hopes will be Web 2.0's next big success story.

You're working on your third business. Your parents must be doing something right.

My parents have both been very supportive and encouraging. While my father has given me a lot advice, in a way, my mom got me started on this. When I was a freshman in high school, my mom gave me $15 a week for an allowance, and [chuckling] I said, "I don't think that's fair." So my mom said, "Well, if you don't think it's fair, you should either get a job or find a way to make some money." And that got me thinking.

So what were these businesses that you started?
The first was a business where I designed and printed T-shirts. I knew all of the clubs at my school might need T-shirts. So I started going to all of the classes and clubs and told them about the business. I pointed out that I'm a local, that they know me, that they could trust me with their money and with this job. And I got a lot of business. But unfortunately, I only focused on the cost of the T-shirt. I didn't take in the cost of the manual labor. I spent hours designing and printing the shirts. I only made about a dollar extra on the shirts -- not a very good profit -- and after a couple months, I said, "This isn't going to work."

My second business specialized in helping companies figure out how to market to teenagers. We were studying the principles of marketing at school, and I had read how marketers were looking for trendsetters, and I thought, 'We're teenagers, we're in contact with teenagers, and we know what's cool and what's coming up. Why can't we do a better job in market research than the adults?'" And we came up with some great market research questions, and I think it was a cool idea that could have gone places, but then I started getting busy with the SAT, the ACT, finals, and it just kind of fell apart after that.

MyWEBoo has turned into a much more serious venture. You initially targeted other teenagers. Is that still true?
We were originally focused on teens and young adults. However, now we are aiming toward Internet users between 18 and 30, but it is not limited to just this target market. Anyone who uses more than three social platforms, or likes music, games or shopping, can all find MyWEBoo useful. We're creating drives that will be able to include shopping catalogs, full games, music and many others. This all started because my brother is a big fan of video games, and he wanted to have a place on the Web where all his video games could be in one place, and I chimed in, saying that nobody considers this a huge problem, but it is -- we all have four or five social media sites, and it would be nice to have one place to go where you could sign into them in one place, and then he came up with the idea of adding other Web services.

So is that when your dad became involved? He's a venture capitalist who invested $100,000 in your business?
Well, we presented our idea to him, to see what he thought, and he said, "Nice try, guys. But go back and rethink this and come back to me in a couple days." He liked the idea, but he saw a ton of holes in what we were doing, and so he wanted us to really think about our business model. But one day, he finally said, "This could make money. I will actually fund you now." And I know it's a lot of money, but when you think about it, $100,000 is college tuition right there. If I hadn't gotten a full ride at Santa Clara, that money would have been for college. And he had a lot of tough questions. He would ask things that only a businessperson would ask, like, "When will I get to see my money?" But he also wanted to know if we could handle the stress of running a business.

What do your friends say about you running a business? And I imagine your teachers were floored.
My friends? I've known most of them for years. We've been close since sixth, seventh grade. They still invite me to different events, and a lot of times, I can't make it, but I go out when I can. I think they're basically used to my business interests, and I don't think they're too irked by it, either. I just go out when I have time, and they're typically a lot more free than I am, so whenever I'm free, I give them a call. And my school was very supportive. My business teacher would send a mass e-mailing to all of the teachers, every time something big happened, so they'd know. And I'm a hard worker, 110 percent focused. I turned in my homework on time, and I was very good at scheduling times to make up tests. If I knew I'd miss a test, I'd make sure I was able to make it up, and I think my teachers were willing to let me because of the stuff I was doing.

You mean like going to the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco, to network with venture capitalists?
Yeah.

And how did people treat you there? Were they amazed? I mean, here you are, a high schooler...
I don't think anyone knew I was in high school until a TV crew came in and started filming. I was blown away when The Wall Street Journal said they wanted to do a story on me, and thought, "Whoa, cool!" But apparently they're media partners with ABC7, because they called, and said, "We're going to be there in two hours. Get your team ready." And I thought, "Oh, my goodness -- OK." And then the camera came, and people got really excited. There was a huge traffic jam at our booth, and I think the event coordinator was a little upset about that. But that's when people started asking about us and when people heard I was in high school. I try not to give off that high-school vibe, because you never know what people are going to think. They might think, "great," but they might also wonder if I have the capabilities to handle this position.

And what advice would you give parents who want their kids to grow up to be entrepreneurs?
Well, my parents were very big on time management. They let me learn how to manage my time when I was little. My mom would try reverse psychology, and say things like, "If you don't have time to practice piano, I'm going to have to cut it off." I loved playing piano, so I'd say, "No, don't cut it off," and I'd manage to get everything done, and go have fun. I think a lot of it is not to pressure your kids. My parents never pressured me to go into business, and they didn't pressure me when I haven't done well. They've just been very supportive. Even with my badminton games in school -- I was on the varsity team. My mother went to every game. And she never says anything like, "You missed that shot." She just keeps clapping.

Name: Diane Keng
Company: MyWEBoo
Age: 18
Location: Cupertino, Calif.
Founded: 2010
Employees: 5
2010 Projected Revenue: Undisclosed, but projections show the company reaching profitability in 2011

Website: www.myweboo.com

**Geoff Williams is a regular contributor to AOL Small Business. He is also the co-author of the book

Top IT Employers at Engineering Institutes

IT companies are back to engineering campuses. After a lull caused by the adverse economic conditions, the year 2009-2010 saw IT companies return to campuses. Though the numbers have still not touched the pre-recession levels, they surely look promising.

Business Today magazine recently came out with a list of top recruiters at India's premier engineering institutes, companies which have driven hiring at these institutes since the beginning of 2010 (till May) as well as also in last fiscal.

Here are IT companies who formed the part of the list. IT companies who have been among the biggest employers at engineering institutes.

Microsoft

The software giant Microsoft too is back to campus. Microsoft India Development Center reportedly went to the top 25 engineering institutes in India (IITs, NITs and a few state-level good engineering colleges) and hired close to 100 graduates who are expected to come on board in the next few months.

Last year, it hired 75 engineers.

Wipro

Wipro reportedly hired 2,500 from engineering colleges and added 1,300 under its Wipro Academy of Software Excellence (WASE) programme.
A company official recently said that Wipro's campus hires for the present financial year are likely to be between 11,000 and 12,000.
The third-largest IT company is also said to be hiring off-campus graduates from science streams, from the 2009 and 2010 batches, for meeting its existing demand.

Cognizant

IT services provider Cognizant reportedly visited 75 engineering schools to pick up talent for its technology solutions business.
Though the company did not share the exact number of hires, in 2009-10 it added 21,800 to its total global headcount, of which 60 per cent are fresh engineering and science graduates.
The US-based software company scaled up its revenue forecast for fiscal ending December 31, 2010 to $4.1 billion from the earlier projection of $3.935 billion.
In the first quarter ended March 31, 2010, the company reported that it's net employee addition exceeded 7,100, taking the company's global headcount to over 85,500.

Tata Consultancy Services

Country's largest IT company TCS visited 371 campuses for hiring and made 20,050 campus offers in the recently-concluded fiscal, with 72% of these made in the January-March quarter alone.
India's largest software services provider Tata Consultancy Services reportedly hired approximately 438 students till May 2010 from top the 10 engineering colleges.
The company, which added 16,668 employees in 2009-10, total manpower strength stands at approximately 1,60,429.
The Indian numero uno is upbeat on global recovery and plans to hire 30,000 employees in the current fiscal.
The company's HR head said that the hiring ratio will be around 60 percent-plus for fresher's and 30 percent plus for experienced professionals.

Infosys Technologies

The campus intake of Infosys Technologies in 2009-10 was 19,000.
Nasdaq-listed Infosys total employee strength stood at 1.13 lakh on March 31, 2010 which includes 1.06 lakh software professionals, 8,880 trainees and 6,932 sales & support staff.
In the last quarter, Infosys hired as many as 9,313 employees, but the net addition after taking into account attrition was 3,914.
Recently, its CEO Kris Gopalakrishnan said that Infosys will hire 30,000 professionals this year as growth has returned to the sector.

Aricent

Telecom technology and services company Aricent, ranked #6 on BT survey made 1,000 offers to the class of 2010.
In April, the company announced that it will add close to 3,000 professionals to its global workforce. Out of these, almost 1,000 will be recruited in India over the next 3-4 months.
According to the company, some 300 of these new recruits will be joining its Chennai development center. He added that the recruitment drive will look for both fresher's as well as experienced resources.
As on April 2010, the global headcount at Aricent was 8,500. The company has three development centers in India, located at Bangalore, Chennai and Gurgaon.

Oracle

Enterprise software maker Oracle too made campus visits for hiring across India. The company added around 72 fresher's since the beginning of 2010.
The company which recently acquired Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion, had announced at the start of 2010 that it plan to hire 2,000 sales and engineering employees.

iGate

IT services company iGate hired 35 fresher's from top tech campuses across India. The company in April announced that it will hire 500 professionals in the next two quarters to support its expanding operations.
iGate CEO Phaneesh Murthy said that most of the 500 people will be in India and some in Mexico and the US. They will be employed in both services in BPO areas.
The Nasdaq-listed company also plans to close acquisitions in the range of $30-70 million this year.
The company at the end of January-March quarter had 7,357 employees, a net addition of 447 employees during the quarter.

Hewlett-Packard

Computer manufacturer Hewlett-Packard, which recently announced 24,600 job cuts or 7.5% of its workforce, picked up a handful of 35 people from India's top engineering institutes.
HP said it would carry out the cutbacks over the next three years, while replacing about half the jobs in new areas of its services business.

IBM

US-based IBM hired close to 179 students from the country's top top engineering colleges.
Spurred by jump in technology spending by corporate, IBM reported a 13% growth in net income at $2.6 bn in Jan-Mar quarter of 2010. Total revenues stood at $22.9 bn, an increase of 5% over the same period last fiscal.
This year in March the company cut almost 500 jobs across US, according to Alliance@IBM, a group that represents some employees. The cuts were less than 1% of IBM’s workforce of 399,409 as of Dec 31, 2009.

Northeast Frontier Railway Medical Practitioner Recruitment 2010

Government of India
Ministry of Railways
Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR)

Walk-In-Interview for the post of Medical Practitioner on full time contract basis on Northeast Frontier Railways

Name of the Post - Medical Practitioner
Vacancies - 22 posts(UR-11,SC-3,ST-2,OBC-6)

Pay-Scale - Rs. 46000/- pm for specialist and Rs.39400/- pm for General Duty.

Walk-In-Interview on 10/06/2010 at 10.00 hrs. at Office of the Chief Medical Director, N.F. Railway, Maligaon, Guwahati – 781011

How to Apply:
The willing candidates should report for the ‘Walk-in-interview to the office of the Chief Medical Director, N.F Railway, Maligaon, Guwahati - 11 on 10.06.2010 at 10.00 hours, with copies of all certificates/testimonials in originals and true copies and also two pass-port size photographs in the event of any wrong information/fake academic certificates/ testimonials etc. the candidates will liable to be take up under Govt. of India law, in force.

How a Hotel in Copenhagen is Taking Green to the Next Level

The pedal-powered hotel

A green hotel in Copenhagen is claiming a world first by using guests on exercise bikes to generate electricity

By Tom Robbins

Bright idea ... an iPhone attached to the handlebars shows how much power is being fed into the hotel's system

Forget solar panels and wind turbines, a hotel that bills itself as one of the "greenest" in the world has found a new source of renewable energy – its guests.

From next Monday, those staying at the 366-room Crown Plaza Copenhagen Towers will be encouraged to head down to the gym to spend time on its new fleet of electricity-generating exercise bikes. The bikes have iPhones mounted on the handlebars which monitor how much power is being produced and fed into the mains supply of the hotel. Any guest producing 10 watt hours or more will be rewarded with a free meal.

The scheme is a pilot project that will run for a year, and if successful, could be rolled out to all 21 Crowne Plaza hotels in the UK.

"The electric bikes offer our guests the chance to get fit and help power the hotel at the same time," said Allan Agerholm, the hotel's general manager. "It will be interesting to see how many guests take part and how much electricity we generate."

Getting the free meal is surprisingly easy. The hotel's calculations suggest one guest cycling at 30kmph for an hour will produce around 100 watt hours of electricity, meaning that reaching the threshold for the meal should take only six minutes.

Critics might argue that even those who cycle for a full hour will be making a rather token contribution to the energy use of a huge city hotel – 100 watt hours of energy is only enough to light a single 100 watt bulb for one hour. However the hotel counters that it wanted the target to be "achievable" so as many people as possible take part.

The hotel, which opened in November last year, is attempting to become carbon neutral. It has EU Green Building and Green Key certification and uses a groundwater-based cooling and heating system, low energy lighting and hand dryers, and is covered in solar panels on its south-facing aspects. So will its latest scheme catch on at other hotels around the world?

"Realistically, this isn't a practical way of generating a useful amount of energy, but I certainly wouldn't criticise it," said Alex Randall, a spokesman for the Centre for Alternative Technology. "As a lesson, and a means of public engagement, it's excellent – if you sit someone on a bike, pedalling hard, and show them they are only generating enough to power one lightbulb or TV, is makes them appreciate how difficult energy is to produce, and therefore why we should be careful not to waste it."

[ via Guardian ]

Honeymoon Tester is Latest Dream Job

By A. Pawlowski

The winning couple will be sent to resorts in Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Travel agency will pay couple to go to romantic destinations for six months and blog about trip
• Applications have been pouring in from all over the world for "The Ultimate Job"
• It was partly inspired by Australia's "Best Job in the World," which launched others
• Man recalls spending six months as "wine country lifestyle correspondent" for $60,000

Wanted: Luxury-loving couples available to globetrot for six months and get paid to test out the most romantic wedding and honeymoon destinations around the world.

It's a hard offer to resist, but what's being described as "The Ultimate Job" is just the latest in a series of recent dream positions to capture the public's imagination and serve as a brilliant marketing tool for people and places.

"It's been sort of crazy," said Rosemarie Meleady, managing director of RunawayBrideAndGroom.com, describing the response to the new promotion.

The Irish travel agency came up with the idea in part after seeing last year's blockbuster "Best Job in the World" campaign in Australia.

More than 1,000 couples have already applied for the chance to be sent to resorts in Africa, Europe, Asia and the United States.

The winners will be asked to blog about their experiences a few times a week "when they can get out of the hammock after sipping a glass of champagne," Meleady said, and write for The Irish Times once a month.

They will also be paid 20,000 euros (about $27,000). Hopefuls have until April 7 to apply for the "horrendous assignment" -- as the company teasingly calls it -- which starts mid-May.

You don't have to be Irish to apply, but you do have to tout Ireland as part of the process.

"We've had applications from Korea, China, Macedonia, Croatia, India and Saudi Arabia," Meleady said. "They're coming in about five every hour -- I'm working around the clock."

There's also been high interest from the United States, with one couple who is to be married in a California vineyard this summer vowing to cancel their plans if they win so they can get hitched in Ireland instead.

How it started

The travel dream job craze exploded onto the scene in January 2009 when Australia's Tourism Queensland announced it was seeking someone to spend six months on Hamilton Island in the Great Barrier Reef.

The person was to be paid almost $140,000 to blog about the experience and promote tourism in the area -- or the "Best Job in the World."

Ben Southall, a 34-year-old British man, beat out 34,000 other applicants for the gig, which ended earlier this year.

"I think I've done more in these six months than I've done in the previous 34 years of my life. To be able to do this sort of thing, in this location, and report on it can't really be classed as work," Southall told CNN as he prepared to return home.

The success of the Tourism Queensland idea inspired several similar dream jobs.

Last fall's "67 Days of Smiles" campaign by the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau in Florida paid a couple $25,000 to spend 67 days visiting every theme park and attraction in Orlando and -- you guessed it -- write about it.

I had a lot of spectacular times, but it was never a vacation
--Hardy Wallace, former wine country lifestyle correspondent

Then there was the "Really Goode Job" created by the Murphy-Goode winery in Healdsburg, California. About 2,400 people applied last spring to become the company's "wine country lifestyle correspondent" -- a person tasked with promoting the winery through social media sites. The six-month gig paid $60,000.

"It was the most fun job I've ever had in my life," said wine aficionado and blogger Hardy Wallace, 36, who was selected for the position just a few months after he was laid off from a sales and marketing job in Atlanta, Georgia.

He knows what you're thinking: The gig probably amounted to nothing more than sipping wine and visiting a few Web sites, right? Wrong, Wallace said; it was actually a ton of work. In six months, he wrote 200 blog posts, shot 45 videos, sent 7,000 tweets and attended numerous events to promote the winery, he recalled.

"I had a lot of spectacular times, but it was never a vacation," Wallace said.

The job opened up many doors when it ended last month, and Wallace now permanently lives in Sonoma County, California, splitting his time working for two small wineries he's always admired, he said.

"A year ago, I was unemployed, and I was trying to figure out how to make this work. And when I think of everything that's happened in the past year, I'm extremely grateful," Wallace said.

Allure of travel fuels viral marketing

Some of the companies behind the campaigns are probably very grateful too.

The "Best Job in the World" generated tens of millions of dollars in free publicity for Tourism Queensland thanks to bloggers and media outlets fascinated by the story, said David Meerman Scott, a marketing strategist and author of "The New Rules of Marketing & PR."

He travels all over the world as a speaker and has been asking audiences in countries like Japan, India, Estonia and Latvia whether they have heard of the Australian campaign. On average, 20 percent of people raise their hands.

"That's remarkable -- that you can do something which doesn't cost a lot of money, compared to television commercials, and 20 percent of the world ... has heard of it," Scott said.

The chance to go to exotic places was a big selling point in the "Best Job in the World," and copycats have followed because travel is associated with luxury and it's something lots of different people can write about, Scott said.

RunawayBrideAndGroom.com can attest to the allure of globetrotting and the power of viral marketing. The company's Web site has had 100,000 hits since announcing "The Ultimate Job," Meleady said.

"It snowballed, it's so exciting," she added.

Vacancies in Manipur Youth Affairs and Sports Department

Introduction
The main objective of the Youth Affairs programme is to encourage and support active participation of youth in the March of socially valuable & nation building activities and development of personality of the youth. The Senior Youth Officer from the Department is assisted through 75 Youth Officers in implementing multifarious youth welfare courses of study. The following are the details of the activities. Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) and also to allow for the higher budgetary support to sport in their respective country budgets

Vocational Training
At present, the complying training is being conducted through the Department. Application forms are available in every district offices. The selection of the trainee is treated a District Selection Committee with the Territory Youth Affairs & Sports Officer concerned as the Chairman.

Computer Training
The main objective of the training is to create computer awareness among young people especially to those young people from rural and remote country.

Important Dates
The Youth Affairs and Sports Department, Manipur publishes all the application dates and other important data in local media or newspapers.

Application form
The candidates can download application form from official website. The candidate submitted their filled in application forms for Youth Affairs and Sports Department, Manipur in available on online.

Contact Details
Department of Youth Affairs and Sports, Manipur
Manipur State Unit
Room No. 79, New Secretariat Building
Imphal, Manipur
Email: – sio-man@hub.nic.in

Vacancies in Allahabad Bank

ALLAHABAD BANK

(A Government of India undertaking)

HEAD OFFICE : 2, N. S. ROAD, KOLKATA 700001

Advt No. : RECT/ 02/2010-11 CLERICAL RECRUITMENT PROJECT – 2010-11

Allahabad Bank invites ON LINE applications only from Indian Citizens for 990 vacancies in Clerical Cadre (Clerk cum Cashier) for different States. Candidates are required to apply ON-LINE through Bank’s website www.allahabadbank.in (where full advertisement & fee payment challan are available). No other means/mode of application will be accepted.

Opening date for ON-LINE Registration of Application
21.12.2009

Closing date for ON-LINE Registration of Application

(for all applicants including those from far flung areas)

21.01.2010

Tentative Date of written Test – (Sunday)
14.03.2010

1.Details of State / UT wise Break-up of Vacancies and Reservation in Posts : (Including Backlog)

Total Number of Vacancies– 990

State / UT wise Breakup of Vacancies

 

Note :

1. The number of vacancies as also the number of reserved vacancies is provisional and may vary according to the actual requirement of the Bank.
2. It is clarified that it may not be possible to employ Physically Challenged candidates in all Offices/Branches of the Bank and they will have to work in the post identified by the Bank as suitable for them.
3. Candidates belonging to reserved categories for which no vacancy has been announced are free to apply against vacancies announced for Unreserved/ General category.
4. Applications received for posts which are not advertised at all or post not advertised in a particular state/ UT will not be entertained.
5. The recruitment would be on State-wise/ UT wise basis. Candidates can apply for vacancies in one State/ UT only and have to appear for the written examination from a Test Center allotted for that particular State/ UT. They should be willing to be posted at any place in the respective State/ UT for which vacancies are notified and application is submitted by the candidate concerned.
6. As the reservation for OC/HI/VI and Ex-Servicemen is on horizontal basis, the selected candidates will be placed in the appropriate category (viz. SC/ST/OBC/Gen) to which the candidate belongs.

2. Scale of Pay: (likely to be revised shortly) Rs. 4,410/- – Rs. 13,210/-

(DA, HRA, CCA etc. will be paid as per Bank’s rules in force from time to time depending upon place of posting. Medical, LFC, Pension, PF, Gratuity etc will be admissible as per Bank’s rules.)

3. Eligibility Criteria :

Nationality / Citizenship : A candidate must be either (i) a citizen of India, OR (ii) a subject of Nepal, OR (iii) subject of Bhutan, OR (iv) a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before 1^st January, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, OR (v) a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Pakistan, Burma, Sri Lanka, East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (formerly Tanganyika and Zanzibar), Zambia, Malawi, Zaire, Ethopia and Vietnam with the intention of permanently settling in India. Provided that a candidate belonging to categories (ii), (iii), (iv).& (v) above shall be a person in whose favour a certificate of eligibility has been issued by the Government of India. A candidate in whose case a certificate of eligibility is necessary may be admitted to the examination/ interview conducted by the Bank but on final selection the offer of appointment may be given only after the necessary eligibility certificates have been issued to him by the Government of India.

Minimum

18 years

Maximum
28 years

II.Age Limit (As on 01.01.2010) :

Relaxation in Upper Age Limit :

Sl
Category
Age Relaxation

1
Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe Candidates
5 years

2
Other Backward Classes Candidates
3 years

3
Physically Challenged Candidates
10 years

4
Persons domiciled in Kashmir Division of Jammu & Kashmir State during the period from 01.01.1980 to 31.12.1989
5 years

5
Ex- Servicemen(in addition to the actual period of service rendered in Defence services subject to max. age of 50 years)
3 years

6
Widows, Divorced women & women judicially separated from their husbands & who are not remarried (subject to max. age limit of 35 years for General ,38 years for OBC & 40 years for SC/ST candidates)
9 years

7.
The children/family members of those who died in 1984 riots
5 years

Note :

1. The relaxation in upper age limit is cumulative as per Govt of India guidelines.

1. All persons eligible for age relaxation under 4 above must produce the domicile certificate at the time of interview, from the District Magistrate in the Kashmir Division within whose jurisdiction he/ she had ordinarily resided or any other authority designated in this regard by the Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir, to the effect that the candidate had ordinarily been domiciled in the Kashmir Division of the state of Jammu & Kashmir during 1^st January 1980 to 31^st December 1989.

1. The children/Family members of those who died in the 1984 riots by 5 years.

Persons eligible for age relaxation under this criterion must produce a certificate from the District Magistrate to the effect that they are eligible for relief in terms of the Rehabilitation Package for 1984 Riot Affected Persons sanctioned by the Government and communicated vide Ministry of Finance, Dept. of Financial Services communication No.F.No.9/21/2006-IR dated 27.07.2007

1. Above relaxations are available only if the candidates fulfill the various conditions prescribed in the Govt. of India orders and instructions in this regard. To claim relaxation in age, fees etc. reserved category candidates should submit a copy of the relevant certificate in support of his/her claim at the time Pre-examination training and/or interview.

Definitions :

1. Ex-Servicemen : Only those candidates shall be treated as Ex-servicemen who fulfill the revised definition as laid down in Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms Notification No. 36034/5/85/Estt(SCT) dated 27^th October 1986 as amended from time to time.
2. Disabled Ex-Servicemen (DISXS) : Ex-Servicemen who while serving in Armed Forces of the Union were disabled in operation against the enemy or in disturbed areas shall be treated as DISXS.
3. Dependents of Servicemen killed in Action (DXS) : Servicemen killed in the following operations would be deemed to have been killed in action attributable to Military Service– (i) war, (ii) war like operations or border skirmishes either with Pakistan on cease fire line or any other country, (iii)Fighting against armed hostilities in a counter insurgency environment viz. Nagaland, Mizoram,etc. (iv) Serving with peace keeping mission abroad (v) Laying or clearance of mines including enemy mines as also mine sweeping operation between one month before and three months after conclusion of an operation, (vi) Frost bite during actual operations or during the period specified by the Government (vii) Dealing with agitating Para military forces personnel, (viii) IPKF personnel killed during the operations in Sri Lanka.

Note :

1.Candidates still serving in Defence Services and desirous of applying under Ex-Servicemen category should submit a certificate from the competent authority that they would be released/ retired on or before 31.12.2010.

2. Ex-Servicemen candidates who have already secured employment under the Central Government in Group C & D will be permitted the benefit of age relaxation as prescribed for Ex-Servicemen for securing another employment in a higher grade or cadre in Group C/D under the Central Government. However such candidates will not be eligible for the benefit of reservation for Ex-Servicemen in Central Govt. Jobs.

3. The Territorial Army Personnel will however be treated as Ex-servicemen w.e.f. 15.11.1986.

4. An ex-Servicemen who has once joined a Government job on civil side after availing of the benefits given to him/her as an Ex-Servicemen for his/her re-employment, his/her Ex-Servicemen status for the purpose of the re-employment in Government ceases.

(d)Physically Challenged Persons (PC) – Definition of Categories of Disabilities

1. Orthopaedically Challenged (OC) person is one suffering from Locomotor Disability or Cerebral Palsy. Persons who suffer from not less than 40% of relevant disability (as certified by a Medical Board appointed by the Center/ State Govt). Locomotor Disability means disability of the bones, joints or muscles leading to substantial restriction of the movement of the limbs or any form of cerebral palsy. Cerebral Palsy means a group of non progressive conditions of a person characterized by abnormal motor control posture resulting from brain insult or injuries occurring in the pre-natal, peri-natal, or infant period of development.
2. Deaf & Hearing Impaired (HI) : the deaf are those persons in whom the sense of hearing is non- functional for ordinary purposes of life i.e. total loss of hearing in both ears. They do not hear, understand sounds at all even with amplified speech. Hearing impairment means loss of sixty decibels or more in the better ear in the conversational range of frequencies.
3. Visually Impaired (VI): The visually impaired persons are those suffering from blindness or low vision. Blindness – refers to a condition where a person suffers from any of the following conditions – (i) total absence of sight, (ii) Visual acuity not exceeding 6/60 or 20/200 (Snellen) in the better eye with correcting lenses, (iii) Limitation of the field of vision subtending an angle of 20 degree or worse. Person with low vision – means a person with impairment of visual functioning even after treatment or standard refractive correction, but who uses or is potentially capable of using vision for the planning or execution of a task with appropriate assistive device.

The visually impaired (VI) candidates and candidates whose writing speed is affected by cerebral palsy (OC) can use their own scribe at their cost during the written examination. In all such cases where a scribe is used, the following rules will apply: 1.The candidate will have to arrange his/ her own scribe a his/ her own cost.2.The academic qualification of the scribe should be one grade lower than the stipulated eligibility criteria. 3. The scribe can be from any academic discipline. The scribe should possess lesser marks than the candidate and not more than 60% marks in his own academic stream. 4. Both the candidate as well as the scribe will have to give a suitable undertaking, confirming that the scribe fulfills all the stipulated eligibility criteria for a scribe as mentioned above. Further, in case, it later transpires that he/ she did not fulfill any of the laid down eligibility criteria or suppressed material facts; the candidature of the applicant will stand cancelled, irrespective of the result of the written examination. 5. Such candidates who use a scribe shall be eligible for extra time of 20 minutes for every hour of the examination.

III.Minimum Educational Qualification (As on 01.01.2010):

For SC/ST/PC/ Ex-Servicemen Candidates
For OBC/ General Candidates

Pass with minimum 55% marks in aggregate in Higher Secondary examination / 10+2 of 10+2+3 pattern OR its equivalent from a recognized Board

OR

Degree in any discipline or its equivalent from a recognized University.

Pass with minimum 60% marks in aggregate in Higher Secondary examination/ 10+2 of 10+2+3 pattern OR its equivalent from a recognized Board

OR

Degree in any discipline or its equivalent from a recognized University.

(a)Knowledge of Computers: Essential for all category of candidates (i) Proficiency in Wndows/MS Office, (ii) Certificate/Diploma in Computer Operations from NIIT, SSI, Aptech, MICE, STQC, CMC etc. OR O/A/B/C level certificate of DOEACC OR BCA OR Computer Science as one of the subjects covering MS word, Excel, Access etc. in Degree level.

(b)Candidates should be knowing to read, write and speak the language of the State/ UT for which vacancies are advertised and for which he/ she desires to apply.

1. 1. 1. All Educational Qualifications should be from a recognized Board/University/Institute. The Educational Qualifications prescribed for the posts are the minimum requirements for eligibility.

1. 1. 1. Candidates should ensure that he/she fulfills the eligibility criteria & other norms including being in possession of documents specified in this notification applying for any posts.

4. Selection Procedure :

Selection will be made on the basis of performance in the written test and interview taken together. Merely satisfying the eligibility norm does not entitle a candidate to be called for written test or interview.

1. The Written Test (Objective Tests + Descriptive Paper) will be as under:

I Objective Tests consisting of (1) Test of Reasoning Ability, (2) Test of Numerical Ability, (3) Test of English Language, (4) Test of Clerical Aptitude, (5) Test of Computer knowledge.

Note : The questions in Objective tests except for the Test of English will be printed in bilingual i.e. English & Hindi. There will be negative marks for the wrong answers in the Objective Tests.

And

II Descriptive Paper on English Comprehension (Qualifying Test)

Note :The questions in Descriptive Paper will be printed in English & is for the purpose to evaluate the understanding power of candidates in English comprehension only The candidates will have to answer the Descriptive Paper in English only.

III.Detailed information regarding the written test will be given in the information booklet which will be sent to the eligible candidates’ alongwith the Call Letter for the test.

IV.The candidates must pass in each of the objective tests and the Descriptive paper. The marks obtained in the Descriptive paper do not reckon in the aggregate for merit ranking. The passing marks in each of the test including the descriptive paper will be decided by the Bank on the basis of the performance of all the competing candidates taken together in each test to a minimum required level. Candidates are also required to score a minimum in aggregate to be considered for being called for interview.

1. Interview

(i)Depending upon the number of vacancies, candidates who pass in each objective test and rank sufficiently high on the basis of the aggregate marks in the written examination would only be called for Interview.

(ii)The candidates have to secure minimum passing marks in the Interview.

(iii)Final selection will be made on the basis of the aggregate marks obtained by the candidates in the written test & interview and will be strictly according to merit depending upon the number of vacancies.

(c) Probation :

For Clerk cum Cashier – 6 months

The candidate will remain initially on probation for a period of six months from the date of joining in the Bank’s service which may be extended at the Bank’s discretion. The confirmation to the permanent establishment of the bank will be considered as applicable in the terms of Bipartite Settlement provided the work,conduct,general ability are found to be of the standard required by the Bank.

5. Date of Written Test : 14.03.2010 (Sunday)

Note : The date of examination is tentative. Exact date will be communicated to the candidates through call letter. The Bank reserves the right to cancel or make any change in the date of examination, if need arises.

6. Written Test Centres :

The Written test will be scheduled at the following Centers and the address of the Venue will be advised in the Call Letter –

State/UT Code No
State/ UT Name
Number of Vacancies
Centre Code
Name of Center

7.Request for change of centre of Examination shall not be entertained. The Bank, however, reserves the right to cancel any of the Centers and/ or add other Centers, depending on the response, administrative feasibility etc. The Bank also reserves the right to allot the Candidate at any Center other than the one he/ she has opted for and the right to waive any of the criteria for selection looking at the requirement and exigencies.

8. Pre-Examination Training :

It is proposed to impart free Pre- Examination Training to a limited number of Candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes/ Scheduled Tribes/ Minority Communities/ Ex Servicemen on “First come first served basis” at Lucknow / Bhubaneswar / Bhopal / Patna / Chandigarh /Hyderabad / Guwahati/Kolkata . Training centers may also be changed or even be cancelled at the discretion of the Bank. An eligible candidate who wishes to avail Pre-Examination Training should fill in the relevant column in the On-Line Application format. All expenses regarding travelling, boarding, lodging etc will be borne by the candidate for attending the Pre- Examination Training programme at the concerned Training Centre.

9. HOW TO APPLY :

(i) Candidates are required to apply On-Line through website www.allahabadbank.in No other means/ mode of application will be accepted

1. 1. Candidates are required to have a valid personal e-mail ID. It should be kept active during the currency of this recruitment project. Bank may send call letters for written test, interview etc. through the registered e-mail ID. Under no circumstances, he/she should share/mention e-mail ID to / of any other person.

1. 1. In case a candidate does not have a valid personal e-mail ID, he/she should create his/her new e-mail ID before applying on-line.

1. 1. Applicants are first required to go to the Bank’s website www.allahabadbank.in and click on the Home Page open the link “Recruitment”

1. 1. Thereafter, open the Recruitment Notification entitled “CLERICAL RECRUITMENT PROJECT-2010-11”.

1. 1. Take a Print of the ‘FEES PAYMENT CHALLAN’.

1. 1. Fill in the Fee Payment Challan in a clear and legible handwriting in BLOCK LETTERS.

1. 1. Go to the nearest Allahabad Bank Branch with the Fee payment Challan and pay, in Cash, the appropriate Application Fee in CBS Account No.50022414573 with Kolkata Main Branch in the name & style of “ALLAHABAD BANK CLERICAL RECRUITMENT PROJECT-2010-11”. The details of fee to be paid is indicated below :

Category of Applicant
Amount of Fees/Postage

(Non-refundable)

SC/ST/Persons With Disability (PC)/Ex-Servicemen/ DISXS/ DXS
Rs. 50/-

GEN/OBC
Rs.300/-

1. 1. Obtain the Applicant’s Copy of Counterfoil of the Application Fee Payment Challan duly receipted by the Bank with (a) Branch Name & Code Number, (b) Journal/Scroll number, (c) Date of Deposit & amount filled by the Branch Official.

1. 1. Candidates are now ready to Apply On-Line by re-visiting the Recruitment Link on the Bank’s website and choosing the option “CLICK HERE TO APPLY ON-LINE” to open up the On-Line Application Form.

1. 1. Carefully fill in the details from the Fee Payment Challan in the On-Line Application Form at the appropriate places. Fill in all other required details therein and click on the “SUBMIT” button at the end of the On-Line Application Form.

1. 1. Original counterfoil of the fee payment challan will have to be submitted with the Call Letter at the time of written test. Without counterfoil of the fee payment challan the candidate will not be allowed to appear in the written test. Candidates are advised to keep a photocopy of the fee payment challan for future use.

1. 1. After applying on-line, take a print out of system generated on-line application form and retain it for future reference. Do not send this print out to the Bank

1. 1. The name of the candidate or his/her father/husband etc. should be spelt correctly in the application as it appears in the certificates/mark sheets. Any change / alteration found may disqualify the candidature.

10.Important Instructions :

(i) Payment of application fee and/ or postal charges by Demand Draft /Cheques/ Money Orders/ Postal Order etc will not be accepted.

(ii) Application once made will not be allowed to be withdrawn and fees once paid will not be refunded on any account nor can it be held in reserve for any other selection process.

(iii) Candidates are advised in their own interest to apply on-line much before the closing date and not to wait till the last date for depositing the fees to avoid the possibility of dis-connection/inability/failure to log on the Bank’s website on account of heavy load on internet/website jam.

(iv) The Bank does not assume any responsibility for the candidates not being able to submit their applications within the last date on account of the aforesaid reasons mentioned in the para – iv or for any other reason beyond the control of the Bank.

(v) Care has to be taken by the applicant while putting information in the On-Line application relating to relaxation sought based on caste/category etc. as no further changes will be allowed in the application.

(vi) MULTIPLE APPLICATIONS/REGISTRATIONS WILL BE SUMMARILY REJECTED AND THE APPLICATION FEE FORFEITED.

(vii) The advertisement notifying the vacancies is also available on Bank’s website address www. allahabadbank.in Candidates are advised to remain in touch with Bank’s website for any information which may be put for further guidance.

(viii) The candidates must affix their recent coloured passport size photograph at the place indicated in the call letter for written test and must sign across the photograph so that a part of the signature spreads over the call letter beyond the photograph. They should also keep (10) ten copies of the same photograph for future, if required. It should be noted that Black & White photograph will not be accepted and call letters containing such photograph will be rejected

11 General Instructions :

1. Candidates are advised to keep a copy of the application print-out and fee payment challan/receipt for their record.

2. Candidates serving in Government/Public Sector Undertakings (including Banks and Financial Institutions) are advised to submit “No Objection Certificate” from the employer at the time of interview, failing which their candidature may not be considered and traveling expenses, if any admissible, will not be reimbursed.

3. Candidates should ensure that he/she has met with the eligibility criteria and complied with the requirements and adhered to the instructions and terms and conditions contained in this notification. Candidates are therefore advised to carefully read the Notification and complete ON-LINE Application Form and submit the same as per the instructions given in this regard.

4 Only candidates willing to serve anywhere should apply.

5. Any dispute arising out of this advertisement shall be subject to the sole jurisdiction of the Courts situated at Kolkata.

6. No candidate is permitted to use calculators, mobile phones, pagers or any other instruments in the Examination Hall.

7. Canvassing in any form will be a disqualification.

8. Before applying, the candidate should ensure that he/she fulfils the eligibility criteria and other norms mentioned in this advertisement.

9. The Bank would be free to reject any application, at any stage of the recruitment process, if the candidate is found ineligible for the post for which he/ she has applied. Decision of the Bank in all matters regarding eligibility of the candidate, the stages at which such scrutiny of eligibility is to be undertaken, the documents to be produced for the purpose or the conduct of examination, interview, selection and any other matter relating to recruitment will be final and binding on the candidate. No correspondence or personal enquiries shall be entertained by the bank in this behalf.

10. All candidates will have to produce, if called for interview, originals as well as attested photocopies of their educational and experience certificates as well as caste certificate, certificate of handicap or any other certificate in support of their eligibility, failing which their candidature will be cancelled.

In case of candidates belonging to OBC category, the certificate inter-alia must specify that the candidate does not belong to “Creamy Layer” section excluded from the benefits of the reservations for Other Backward Classes in Civil Post & Services under Government of India. OBC certificate should not be more than one year old as on the date of application (i.e. issued on or after 22.12.2008).

11. Candidates will have to appear for written test and/ or interview at their own expenses and risks and the Bank will not be responsible for any injury/ losses etc. of any nature. However, SC/ST candidates attending the interview will be reimbursed 2^nd class to & fro rail/ bus fare by the shortest route on production of evidence of travel.

12. Any request for change of address will not be entertained.

13. In case any dispute arises on account of interpretation in version other than English, English version will prevail.

14. The Bank may at its discretion hold re-examination wherever necessary in respect of a center/ venue of a candidate(s).

15. Appointment of selected candidates is subject to his/ her being found medically fit, satisfactory character & antecedents reports alongwith police verification as per the requirement of the Bank. Such appointments will also be subject to the Service & Conduct Rules of the Bank.

16. Candidate’s admission to the examination is strictly provisional. The mere fact that the call letter has been issued to the candidate does not imply that his candidature has been finally cleared by the Bank.

17. Candidates should ensure that the signatures appended by them in all the places viz. in their call letter, attendance sheet etc. and in all correspondences with the Bank in future should be identical and there should be no variation of any kind.

18. The candidates must affix their recent coloured passport size photograph from the same negative at the places indicated in the call letter and must sign across the photograph after it is affixed so that a part of the signature spreads over the call letter beyond the photograph. They should also keep ten (10) copies of the same photograph for future, if required. Please note that Black & White photograph will not be accepted and call letters containing such photograph will be rejected

19. Selected candidates may be assigned any designation as may be prevailing in the Bank and not necessarily the name of the post given in the advertisement.

20. The Bank shall not be responsible for an application being rejected which is based on wrong information provided in any advertisement not published by the Bank.

12. Competent Authority for Issue of Certificate to SC/ST/OBC/PC is as under :

1. For SC/ST/OBC – District Magistrate/ Addl. Distt. Magistrate/ Collector/ Deputy Commissioner/ Addl. Dy. Commissioner/ Dy. Collector/ First Class Stipendary Magistrate/ Sub- Division Magistrate / Taluka Magistrate/ Executive Magistrate/ Extra Assistant Commissioner/ Chief Presidency Magistrate/ Additional Chief Presidency Magistrate/ Presidency Magistrate/ Revenue Officer not below the rank of Tahsildar/ Sub Divisional Officer of the area where the candidate and/ or his/ her family normally resides.

1. For Physically Challenged (PC)– the Competent Authority to issue Disability Certificate shall be a Medical Board duly constituted by the Central or State Govt. The Central/ State Govt. may constitute Medical Boards consisting of at least 3 members out of which one shall be a specialist in the particular field for assessing loco motor/ cerebral/ visual/ hearing disability as the case may be.

13. Action Against Candidates Found Guilty of Misconduct:

Candidates are advised in their own interest that they should not furnish any particulars that are false, tampered, fabricated and should not surpass any material information while filling up the application form. At the time of written examination/ interview, if a candidate is (or has been ) found guilty of – (i) using unfair means during the examination or subsequent selection procedure or (ii) impersonating or procuring impersonation by any person or (iii) misbehaving in the examination hall or taking away the question booklet (or any part thereof ) / answer sheet from the examination hall or (iv) resorting to any irregular or improper means in connection with his/ her candidature for selection or (v) obtaining support for his/ her candidature by unfair means, such a candidate may, in addition to rendering himself/ herself liable to criminal prosecution, be liable :

1. 1. To be disqualified from the examination for which he/ she is a candidate.
   2. To be debarred either permanently or for a specified period from any examination or recruitment conducted by Allahabad Bank.
   3. For termination of service, if he/ she has already joined the Bank.

The Bank would be analyzing the responses of a candidate with other candidates to detect patterns of similarity, if as per the laid down procedure, it is suspected that the responses have been shared and scores obtained are not genuine/ valid, the bank reserves right to cancel his/ her candidature.

14. Call Letters for Written Examination:

All eligible candidates will be issued call letters at the correspondence address given by the candidates in their application forms, which will be sent by ordinary post.

An eligible candidate who does not receive the call letter by 06.03.2010 should contact at the following addresses with the original matriculate level certificate, coloured photograph, ID card, details of his/ her name, address along with the Xerox copy of the on-line application form for the post applied for & details of fee deposited for obtaining duplicate call letters. Duplicate call letters will be issued between 08.03.2010 and 13.03.2010 at the following Bank’s offices:

Center Code
Center
Address / Tel.No. / Fax No.

31
Hyderabad
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, D.R. No. 3-6-435, Main Road, 1^st & 2^nd Floor, Himayat Nagar, Hyderabad 500029

Tele – 040- 27671925/27637738/27600056 Fax – 040-27632391

32
Guwahati
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Opp. Bora Service Station, G.S. Road, Ulubari, Guwahati 781007.

Tele – 0361- 2464676/ 2460716 Fax – 0361- 2460724

33
Patna
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Budh Marg, Patna – Gaya Road,, Patna 800001

Tele – 0612-2234502/ 2224313 Fax – 0612-2232636

34
Raipur
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 17/22, Opp.Mandi Gate, Vidhan Sabha Road, Pandri, Raipur 492 004

Tele – 0771-4042125 Fax – 0771-2428270

35
Chandigarh
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Bank Square, 2^nd Floor, Sector-17B Chandigarh 160017.

Tele – 0172-5073594/ 2709458/2701590. Fax – 0172-2704752

36
Ahmedabad
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Navin House, 2^nd Floor, Opp Sardar Patel Seva Samaj Bhawan, Near Navrangpura Telephone Exchange, C.G. Road, Navarangpura, Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad 380006

Tele – 079-26463062/26420435/26442114 Fax – 079-26400946

37
Mumbai
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Manish Commercial Centre, 216 A, Dr. Annie Besant Road, Worli(W), Mumbai 400025

Tele – 022- 24973974/24985450 Fax – 022-24964644

38
Ranchi
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 2^nd Floor,

Paras Complex, Lalpur Chowk, Circular Road, RANCHI – 834 001.

Tele – 0651-2562472/ 2563205 Fax – 0651-2562560

39
Bengaluru
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office : Bengaluru, N-603, Manipal Centre, North Block (Front Wing) 47 Dickenson Road, Bengaluru . 560042

Tele – 080- 25590985/25590987 Fax – 080- 25590986

40
Bhopal
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, M.P Housing Board Office Complex, Block – C, 1^st Floor, Gautam Nagar, Bhopal 462023

Tele – 0755-2583634/2600714/2784821 Fax – 0755-2583633

41
Jabalpur
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Civil Lines, Residency Road, Civil Lines, Jabalpur, M.P. 482 001

Tel : 0761 4013346/ 2629376 Fax : 0761- 2626676

42
Nagpur
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Palm Road, Civil Lines, Nagpur. 400001

Tele – 0712-6535246/ 2520553 Fax – 0712-2520552

43
New Delhi
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 17, Parliament Street, New Delhi. 110001

Tele : 011-23367691 Fax – 011- 23367770

44
Bhubaneswar
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 3/1B, IRC Village, Civic Center, Nayapally, Bhubaneswar. 751015

Tele – 0674- 2551433/ 2557563 Fax – 0674 2557564

45
Jaipur
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, west Wing, Gr. Floor LIC Building, Jeevan Nidhi, Ambedkar Circle, Bhawani Singh Road, Jaipur. 302005

Tele – 0141- 2740493/ 2741344 Fax- 0141-2740480

46
Chennai
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office,, Vairam Complex, 2^nd Floor, 112, Sir Thyagaraya Road, T. Nagar, Chennai. 600017

Tele – 044- 28154900/ 28154718 Fax – 044- 28154914

47
Lucknow
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 2^nd Floor, New Administrative Building, Hazratganj, Lucknow. 226001

Tele – 0522-2288612/2288665 Fax – 0522-2288033

48
Meerut
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 55, The Mall, Meerut Cant., 250 001, U.P.

Tele – 0121-2643534/2668543 Fax – 0121-2644431

49
Varanasi
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, Taksal Theatre Building, Nadesar, Varanasi 221 002

Tele – 0542-2507573/2507572, Fax – 0542 2502775

50
Dehradun
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 1 Gandhi Road, First Floor, Clock Tower, Dehradun 248 001

Tele – 0135 2713957/2713976 Fax- 0135 2713961

51
Kolkata
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office –Metro, Gillander House (Gr Floor) 8, N.S. Road, Kolkata 700001

Tele – 033-22316634/22316701 Fax – 033-22316633

52
Siliguri
The Zonal Manager, Allahabad Bank, Zonal Office, 2, Church Road, Siliguri 734 401

Tele – 0353- 2431148/2525538 Fax – 0353-2431176

The above advertisement is also displayed in the Bank’s website www.allahabadbank.in

Vacancy in North Eastern Police Academy

North Eastern Police Academy

 The NORTH EASTERN POLICE ACADEMY (erstwhile the Regional Police Training College) is an establishment of the Govt of India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is situated in Ri-Bhoi District of Meghalaya and has been in existence since July,1978. It is engaged in shaping Police Officers of North Eastern States for equitable, effective and sensitive policing. It is dedicated to teaching its police trainees that they exist to safeguard the value of freedom - freedom from disorder, criminal acts and criminals.

Location: Umlam

Last Date: 6 May 2010

The NORTH EASTERN POLICE ACADEMY (erstwhile the Regional Police Training College) is an establishment of the Govt of India, under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It is situated in Ri-Bhoi District of Meghalaya and has been in existence since July,1978. It is engaged in shaping Police Officers of North Eastern States for equitable, effective and sensitive policing. It is dedicated to teaching its police trainees that they exist to safeguard the value of freedom - freedom from disorder, criminal acts and criminals

Post :Assistant Director law
Pay scale :Rs.9300-34800 Grade Pay Rs 5400

All willing and eligible Indian Citizens may report in the Parade Ground of North Eastern Police Academy, Umsaw, Umiam, Meghalaya along with their original testimonials/certificates for interview/written test, physical efficiency & measurement test Candidates should bring an application on a plain sheet with one photograph pasted on it

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