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Shares of state-owned behemoth Life Insurance Corporation (<keyword id="19903588" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LIC" source="keywords">LIC</keyword>) have outperformed rivals like <keyword id="20079495" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="HDFC-Life" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="HDFC Life" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="HDFC Life">HDFC Life</keyword> and <keyword id="21278696" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ICICI-Prudential-Life" source="keywords">ICICI Prudential Life</keyword>, as it placed bets on India's growth sectors, including infrastructure, while the private sector concentrated its bets on tech, consumer and consumer-related <keyword id="19910880" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="BFSI" source="keywords">BFSI</keyword> companies. LIC's stock has gained nearly 79% from Rs 620 on June 18, 2023, to Rs 1,109.15 at the closing on Tuesday, according to stock exchange data. In contrast, HDFC Life gave a negative return with Tuesday's closing price of Rs 646.55 on the BSE as compared to Rs 666.55 a year back. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Co delivered a return of 12%, considering its stock price rise from Rs 582 on June 18, 2023, to Rs 654.10 on June 16, 2024. Over the past one year, <keyword id="19898108" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="SBI" source="keywords">SBI</keyword> Life Insurance shares have risen from Rs 1,314 to Rs 1,621.20, delivering a return of 23%. Capital market analysts said <keyword id="19935977" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="insurance-companies" source="keywords">insurance companies</keyword> make money in two ways - charging premiums for policies and then investing the premiums into assets. It is the latter that generates the bigger delta in profits, thus impacting value creation and managing risks. Global majors, including Warren Buffet-owned Berkshire Hathaway, have been successful due to their ability to make superior investments. Most Indian insurance companies are yet to capitalise on the emergence of the country's <keyword id="19997284" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="infrastructure-sector" source="keywords">infrastructure sector</keyword>, analysts said. Indian insurance companies have concentrated investments in the BFSI, IT, and consumer sectors - all of which have been underperformers in the recent past. Only 8-10% of their investments are in the infrastructure sector. This is far less when compared to global standards. Large global insurance companies -- such as Allianz, Nippon Life Insurance, and Metlife, and other insurers like Berkshire Hathaway -- have much larger exposure ranging from 15 to 30% to the infrastructure sector, analysts noted. Over the past few years, global insurers have been increasingly considering infrastructure investments as 'core' investments as the stable and long-term cash flows of infrastructure assets naturally align with the liabilities of insurers. Additionally, infrastructure assets have defensive characteristics of high barriers to entry, strong pricing power, structural growth, and predictive cash flows, and listed infrastructure can provide investors with inflation-protected income and solid capital growth. <h2>Infra sector outperforming all</h2>For India, a strong government focus on the sector with large spending, supporting initiatives and encouraging policies, and improving governance has helped the infrastructure industry has come of age. This has helped the infra sector to outperform all other sectors, according to analysts. They said the high focus on retail loans, and the strategic reluctance to look at infrastructure for growth opportunities is proving detrimental for the shareholders of such companies. SBI, with its higher exposure to the infrastructure sector, has seen its stock gain 48% in the year (from Rs 592 to Rs 880.95 on Tuesday), while those of its private counterparts HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank have gained only in the range of (-)3%to 24%. Kotak and HDFC Banks with negligible exposure to the infrastructure sector are the worst performing, with their shares giving a negative return, stock exchange data showed. Kotak Mahindra Bank shares were at Rs 1,895 on June 18, 2023, and closed at Rs 1,805.20 on Tuesday. HDFC Bank closed at Rs 1,619.20 on BSE on Tuesday, down from Rs 1,679 a year back.

Exposure to India's infra sector helps LIC, SBI outshine peers

Emissions from residential cooking and heating, power generation, and industries together contribute up to 60 per cent of India's PM2.5 pollution, with about 80 per cent of this coming from <keyword id="23824528" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="fossil-fuel-combustion" source="keywords">fossil fuel combustion</keyword>, a new study has found. The peer-reviewed study, published in MDPI's "Air" journal, suggests dividing India into 15 airsheds based on regional climate and pollution sources. An airshed is a geographic area where <keyword id="53848" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="air-quality" source="Orion">air quality</keyword> is influenced by common factors such as wind patterns and pollution sources. Since pollution can spread across regions, the <keyword id="22077484" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="airshed-approach" source="keywords">airshed approach</keyword> promotes coordinated action among states. "Residential cooking and heating, power generation, and all other industries together are responsible for 40-60 per cent of the PM2.5 pollution in all the airsheds, and approximately 80 per cent of the pollution comes from fossil fuel burning sources," said Sarath Guttikunda, lead author of the study and founder of UrbanEmissions.info. The study said biomass burning, including post-harvest crop residue burning, contributed less than 3 per cent to annual PM2.5 levels while transport accounted for 5-10 per cent in all airsheds. PM2.5 are fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 micrometres or less, about the width of a human hair. These are so small that these can penetrate deep into the lungs and even enter the bloodstream, posing significant health risks. An analysis of PM2.5 trends from 1998 to 2020, along with state-level data on fuel consumption, energy demand and emissions, revealed that 11 of the 15 airsheds were critical for India's air quality management and required coordinated interventions. The Indo-Gangetic Plains remain the most polluted region, with significant emissions from residential cooking and heating (especially in winter), power plants, brick kilns (driven by construction demand), waste burning, dust and vehicular movement for passengers and freight. The plateau region between the Eastern and Western Ghats, India's second most populated area, has seen the highest rise in annual PM2.5 pollution during this period, the study said. "This is an indication of the growing urbanisation and demand for transport, industrial, and commercial amenities," it said. Coastal areas, vital to India's industrial economy, have also experienced rising pollution despite the moderating effects of land-sea breezes. This increase is attributed to growing shipping emissions and overall industrial growth in cities such as Mundra, Surat, Mumbai, Goa, Mangalore, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Visakhapatnam, Paradip and Haldia.

Study traces 60% PM2.5 pollution in India to residential cooking, power generation, industries

Global <keyword id="6451058" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="semiconductor" source="Orion">semiconductor</keyword> body <keyword id="21260120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="semi" source="keywords">SEMI</keyword> and its peer <keyword id="20317526" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="iesa" source="keywords">IESA</keyword> have announced a strategic agreement to boost the industry ecosystem in <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword>, a joint statement said. As part of the agreement, the <keyword id="20764178" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-electronics-and-semiconductor-association" source="keywords">Indian Electronics and Semiconductor Association</keyword> (<keyword id="20317526" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="iesa" source="keywords">IESA</keyword>) will become part of the SEMI-- the organiser of Semicon events including <keyword id="22843110" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="semicon-india" source="keywords">Semicon India</keyword>. "This partnership will help <keyword id="21260120" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="semi" source="keywords">SEMI</keyword> grow a strong presence in this critical emerging market and enable both organisations to identify tangible strategies that leverage our combined strengths to enhance supply chain resilience," Ajit Manocha, President and CEO, SEMI said. The agreement was signed on the sidelines of <keyword id="22843110" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="semicon-india" source="keywords">Semicon India</keyword> 2024, the statement said on Wednesday. This agreement will also pave the way for joint policy advocacy efforts, with IESA and SEMI working closely with both Central and State governments to drive incentives for product development and manufacturing, leveraging key programmes such as the <keyword id="19952889" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="production-linked-incentive" source="keywords">Production Linked Incentive</keyword> (PLI) and Design Linked Incentive (DLI) models, it said. "This milestone is a major win for <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="india" source="keywords">India</keyword>, SEMI, and IESA. It positions India to become a global <keyword id="6451058" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="semiconductor" source="Orion">semiconductor</keyword> powerhouse, accelerates economic growth, and fosters innovation," IESA President Ashok Chandak said.

SEMI, IESA join hands to boost semiconductor ecosystem in India

In a boost to Elon Musk's <keyword id="20034452" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="starlink" source="keywords">Starlink</keyword>, Communications Minister Scindia has said the spectrum for satellite broadband will be allocated and not auctioned as sought by Indian billionaires Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Mittal. The satellite broadband spectrum will however be not given free and sector regulator Trai will fix a price for the resource, he told PTI in a text and video interview. "Every country has to follow the <keyword id="20848482" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="international-telecommunications-union" source="keywords">International Telecommunications Union</keyword> (ITU), which is the organisation that lays out the policy for spectrum in space or satellites, and the ITU has been very clear in terms of the spectrum being given out on an assignment basis. In addition, if you look across the world today, I cannot think of a single country that auctions spectrum for satellite," Scindia said. India is a member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a UN agency for digital technology. Musk's Starlink and global peers like Amazon's Project Kuiper back an administrative allocation. While Ambani's Reliance Jio has been vocal about the need to allocate such spectrum through an auction to provide a level playing field to legacy operators who buy airwaves and set up infrastructure like telecom towers, Mittal last month at an industry event where Prime Minister Narendra Modi was also present articulated the need to use bidding for such allocation. Jio and Mittal's Bharti Airtel - India's largest and second-largest operators, respectively - feel that giving away the satellite broadband airwaves at a pre-decided price by the government will create an uneven playing field since they had to compete in an auction to get spectrum for their terrestrial wireless phone networks. The two are vying for a piece of the satellite broadband segment as well. Musk-led Starlink is demanding administrative allotment of licences in line with the global trend as it looks to tap into the world's fastest-growing mobile telephony and internet market. Scindia said the Telecom Act of 2023 passed in December has put the matter in 'Schedule 1', which means that the Satcom spectrum will be allocated administratively. Such an allocation will be at a government-decided price, and allow foreign firms like Starlink to offer voice and data services. If the spectrum were to be auctioned, it would have made it costlier for Starlink to roll out services. Starlink has applied for a licence to start operations in the country. Scindia, however, offered no clues on the fate of his application. The minister said that the regulatory process is very clear and transparent. The new Telecom Act has been passed, and the Satellite spectrum is very clearly a part of that in schedule one, he pointed out. "...and therefore, we are open to looking at the application of any entity that wants to invest in India at this point in time. I think only one or two licenses have been given out. And whoever else wants to participate, India is surely going to welcome that," the minister said. Last month, Musk, in a post on X, termed the demand made by Jio for shunning sector regulator Trai's consultation paper on satellite broadband being allocated and not auctioned as "unprecedented", and when Mittal made the pitch in the presence of the Prime Minister, he asked if it was "too much trouble" to allow Starlink to provide internet services in India. This was perhaps the first time that Musk, whose networth of USD 241 billion is more than the combined wealth of Ambani, Mittal and Gautam Adani, had spoken directly against demands for a level playing field made by the Indian firms. Musk, the mind behind PayPal, founder of Tesla and SpaceX and owner of X (formerly Twitter), uses his social media platform on a daily basis to make his views known on a vast array of topics.

In a win for Elon Musk, Scindia says no to spectrum auction pitch from Ambani, Mittal

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Some expat Indians are moving back home to launch companies of their own.</li><li>India's booming market size, internet growth, and post-pandemic spending is driving their decision.</li></ul>Nithin Hassan, 41, has always been fascinated with building something of his own.As a child in India, he would get in trouble for dismantling electronics around the house just so he could peek inside.In college, in true <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startups-to-bet-your-career-on-in-2024-2024-2">startup</a> fashion, he started working on a small business out of his parent's garage in Bengaluru, assembling computers for friends and family.It was the early 2000s and the internet was not the trove of knowledge it is today — Hassan was relying on books to learn. Finding mentorship and the right guidance was a challenge, too.Everyone around Hassan told him that going to the <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/resume-tips-google-software-engineer-skills-experience-careers-software-tech-2024-3">US for a master's degree</a> was the next big opportunity. So he did.Over the next 16 years, he put his startup plans on hold and worked at some of the world's biggest companies, including Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta.<div type="image" title="Nithin Hassan" height="2450" width="3266" msid="113831978" hostid="261" sizebytes="215682"></div>But the pandemic felt like a turning point. And its aftermath made India look like a lab-designed business environment: It had just become the world's most populous country, the pandemic had created <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/indicators/private-consumption-continues-to-be-supported-by-pent-up-demand-finance-ministry/articleshow/99069973.cms?from=mdr">pent-up demand</a> for consumer products, and growing internet adoption made commerce more scalable, he said.So Hassan left behind about $500,000 in annual pay at Meta to move back to Bengaluru in December 2023 with his wife and two children. He has since launched two startups.Hassan is part of a group of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/i-moved-back-to-india-after-living-abroad-for-decade-2024-9">expat Indians moving back</a> home to venture out on their own. As such, he's also part of a decades-long trend of reverse migration back to India.The trend began in the 1990s and picked up at the turn of the century, driven by the economic collapse in 2008, said Binod Khadria, the president of Global Research Forum on Diaspora and Transnationalism. Many of those who returned to India for work were largely working for multinational companies.Today, the impetus for the move often looks a bit different: It's driven by factors like unstable visa policies and economic recessions, which lead to uncertainty when it comes to jobs and duration of stay in these destinations.Many returnees find work in tech, but the finance, retail, and climate sectors also absorb a large number of expat Indians, Khadia said. And some of the returnees are heading back to India to start companies of their own.India is undergoing a startup explosion. The country reported over<a target="_blank" href="https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2043805"> 140,800 recognized startups</a> at the end of June — nearly 50,000 more than last year — and credited them with creating 1.6 million direct jobs.To be sure, not all of these companies will make it big — and some do still stumble, like <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://inc42.com/features/what-are-the-current-problems-being-faced-by-oyo/">Oyo </a>and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blackrock-hsbc-funds-byjus-startup-valuation-zero-edtech-india-raveendran-2024-6">Byju's</a>. But the chaos, where even established startups are trying and failing, makes India a fair playing field for new entrants, Hassan said.Business Insider spoke to six <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-vc-wants-see-5-traits-new-founders-fundraising-antler-2024-8">first-time founders </a>about why they have recently returned to India after spending several years, or even an adult life, abroad.<h2 id="0e4a3c47-ba19-4690-8b52-c6bfece1c81d">Fastest-growing economy</h2>The health of the economy and interest from investors are fueling the entrepreneurship boom.<a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-billionaire-karan-adani-plans-challenge-china-dominance-seaports-2024-8">India's economic growth</a> in 2023 — 8.2% — was the fastest of all large economies worldwide. That's led to greater purchasing power, which lets companies, including startups, sell more.India's inflation rate of about 3.5% is well below its annual wage growth of 9.6%. This makes inflation less of a challenge than it is for slower-growing peers, where consumer-focused businesses have been <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/economy-jobs-report-sentiment-consumers-elections-recession-inflation-mortgage-rates-2024-9">hurt by high prices</a>.Investors are getting in on the action.From 2015 to 2021, the number of <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sequoia-capital-vc-firm-split-china-india-2023-6">unique investors in India</a> nearly quadrupled, though the number is tracking much lower this year, per PitchBook."Other than a slight downturn in 2022 and 2023 due to global macroeconomic factors, VC funding has been consistently growing in India," said Ben Mathias, a managing partner at Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia &amp; India.Besides funding, domestic developments have encouraged founders and VCs too, Mathias said.The Indian government's Universal Payment Interface system has spurred consumers and businesses to pay online, and <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.bcg.com/press/2june2022-digital-payments-in-india-projected-to-reach-10-trillion-by-2026">40% of all digital payments</a> globally happen in India today, the partner said.Programs like Startup India, which provides founders benefits like tax exemption, easier compliance, and funding support, have made creating a company smoother.Devyani Parameshwar worked in the microfinance and fintech space in India in the 2010s before heading to the UK and Africa. She returned to India in 2022 to launch a financial management venture."It's changed dramatically. I remember standing in line at various ministries in Delhi trying to get meetings and then trying to get answers and it wasn't easy in the past," she said of her memories of India.Now, she can use an online platform to ask the country's central bank and banking regulator questions.It's easier than ever for foreign companies to invest in India, which means startups have a clearer exit path through acquisition — something VCs think hard about before entering new markets or writing checks.<h2 id="e5dd7b6f-a09f-4ff2-84c1-5907de96dc5e">Market ripe for the taking</h2>For Rohan Bhide, who spent most of his college and professional life <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/worked-in-big-tech-before-launching-my-own-startup-engineer-2024-9">preparing to launch something of his own</a>, a trip home in 2017 while he was studying in the US was a turning point.Indian telecom giant Reliance had recently launched a cheap unlimited data plan, which spiked Indian internet adoption. India was charting among the countries with the highest online transactions."That really, really drew my attention," said Bhide, who worked at Meta after graduation. "It was my dream come true — a huge market, a huge user base, and at the same time, the ability to adopt technology was incredible."Bhide returned to India in January, leaving behind about $580,000 in total compensation at ticketing platform StubHub. He and a cofounder are working on launching a consumer tech product later this year.<div type="image" title="Rohan Bhide" height="2304" width="3072" msid="113831979" hostid="261" sizebytes="218468"></div>Most Indians grew up wanting to work at a multinational company — but that's changing, Bhide said.Freelancing, running your own business, or working for a startup is much more socially acceptable now, because people see the success of other Indian startups. The country has the third-largest number of "unicorns" — companies worth $1 billion or more — with 64, per PitchBook.<h2 id="7f423804-745b-4e04-a250-839e01663f09">Boom in entrepreneurship culture</h2>A lot has changed since Hassan first wanted to launch his hardware startup in the early 2000s.Tech hot spots like Bengaluru and Gurugram have seen a boom in entrepreneurship culture in the last few years, with meet-ups, networking mixers, and even morning walks with like-minded builders.<div type="image" title="man standing in front of mountains in USA" height="2268" width="3024" msid="113831980" hostid="261" sizebytes="141132"></div>Dhruv Anand, who left Google in the US to move back to India in 2021 to launch an <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-startups-most-promising-2024-9">AI startup</a>, said that there were lots of other founders and mentors to help guide him."If you want to figure out who's the right chartered accountant to talk to, who's the right lawyer to help you draft agreements, all of that stuff is very easy," Anand said."It's been a really, really supportive community," Bhide said. There are people "telling you about their entire lives just because they want to help you and they're hoping that you pass the favor onto the next person who moves to India and wants to start their own company."<h2 id="3c8bff36-e855-4530-9b44-bcc7f36b0825">Not everything is perfect</h2>Although these founders made the decision to return to India, that doesn't mean they no longer see the benefits of operating in the US.Ruchit Garg founded an agriculture startup in Silicon Valley in 2016, with a focus on supporting farmers around the globe. In 2019, he returned to India, where his late grandfather worked as a farmer.Garg has been building in India ever since, but he says its startup ecosystem cannot yet compete with the Valley's decades of experience."The overall ecosystem was more mature back in Silicon Valley. It's still one of the best places for entrepreneurs. India isn't there yet, although it's growing pretty drastically," he said.Despite efforts to digitalize key processes, many bureaucratic challenges persist.For most founders, after living in US cities where populations are a fraction of those in Mumbai and Bangalore, congested roads and poorer air quality are also everyday annoyances.But India provides some big perks, including affordable domestic help and the appeal of building solutions for problems they witness firsthand."It's a different joy to be able to build for problems that you feel for very personally," Parameshwar, the fintech founder, said. When she worked in Africa, she needed translators. Now, she can speak with her users herself.Bhide said the general sentiment among local founders is shifting from "Build from India" to "Build for India."For some founders, being surrounded by family and the culture they grew up in was another selling point.Niranjan Vemulkar moved back to India in 2015 and later founded a digital legacy planning platform.He said that he never fully felt at home in the US, where he lived for over a decade."For us, it was the fact that we wanted to raise a family in an environment where the children would have access to the grandparents and Indian culture," Vemulkar said. "The fact that you could come back to India, start something of your own and figure things out in an ecosystem which was potentially booming for startups, was just a cherry on the cake."Are you in India and have a story to share about the tech and entrepreneurship landscape? Please reach out at shubhangigoel@insider.com

Some techies are leaving cushy Silicon Valley jobs to launch startups at home in India

<ul><li>A former <keyword id="19908290" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="microsoft-india" source="keywords">Microsoft India</keyword> employee talked about his experience at the company</li><li>He revealed the lessons he learnt in a <keyword id="19951562" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="LinkedIn" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="LinkedIn" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="LinkedIn">LinkedIn</keyword> post</li><li>The <keyword id="23185487" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ex-microsoft-india" source="keywords">ex-Microsoft India</keyword> employee is an entrepreneur today</li></ul> No matter how much time you spend at a company, you always learn something new. Every workplace has its own work culture, environment and ways of operating. And later in life, when you do something of your own, these lessons come handy. A former <keyword id="19895622" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Microsoft" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Microsoft" meta.hostid="261" meta.entityid="Microsoft">Microsoft</keyword> India employee, who is now running a company of his own, took to LinkedIn and shared some lessons that he learnt while at the company. The ex-Microsoft India employee spent over three years at the tech giant and shared two “profound lessons” that shaped his career perspective. <h2>'Background won’t define success' </h2> The ex-Microsoft India employee wrote that when he first joined Microsoft, he was struck by the diversity of his colleagues. The team included alumni from prestigious institutions like IITs and NITs, as well as graduates from private colleges. Despite the varied educational backgrounds, he noticed that two traits stood out among his peers: exceptional skills and unwavering dedication. He said that at Microsoft India , the standout professionals were those with strong abilities in data structures and algorithms, as well as software development. What truly mattered was not the name of their college but their skills and commitment to constantly improving them. Passion and proficiency, he argued, are the real drivers of success in the tech world. <h2> 'You don’t have to know it all'</h2> Another revelation from his time at Microsoft was the immense scope of the <keyword id="19955787" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="tech-industry" source="keywords">tech industry</keyword>. He was amazed by the variety of fields being explored within the company, ranging from web and app development to emerging areas like AI, VR, AR, blockchain, and robotics. But do you need to know everything to make it big in tech? Not really. “The tech industry is huge. There’s space for everyone, but the trick is to find the area that excites you the most and double down on it. You don’t have to know everything—you just need to find your niche and go all in,” he said in his post. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="113317179" title="College student insults woman on LinkedIn, she turns out to be his job interviewer later on" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> LinkedIn, a job-search platform, is one of the most popular websites today. Apart from looking for opportunities, people actively use the platform to share their insights on trending topics, connect with like-minded people, or even just share their personal experiences. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/article/70-hour-work-week-to-sleeping-in-offices-golden-words-on-hustle-from-nr-narayana-murthy-elon-musk-and-other-billionaires/articleshow/113021204.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">70-hour work week to sleeping in offices: Golden words on hustle culture from NR Narayana Murthy, Elon Musk, and other billionaires</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/ai-is-entering-classrooms-in-italy-new-learning-tools-to-be-tested-in-15-classrooms-across-four-regions/articleshow/113364057.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">AI is entering classrooms in Italy, new learning tools to be tested in 15 classrooms across four regions</a>

You don't have to know everything: Ex-Microsoft India employee shares biggest lessons he learnt at Satya Nadella's company

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The death of a 26-year-old EY employee has triggered a conversation about India's work culture.</li><li>The employee's family says that she was overworked — and that it reflects a wider problem.</li></ul>Fourteen-hour work days, meetings during vacations, and no overtime.To some, this may sound like a job from hell. But for many employees in India, it's just another working day.India has one of the toughest work cultures in the world. In 2022, according to the most recently available data from the <a target="_blank" href="https://ilostat.ilo.org/topics/working-time/#">International Labour Organization</a>, the average employee in India worked 46.7 hours a week, compared to about 38 in the US.Not only are employees in India working long hours, but many are also doing it under intense pressure."The pressure is very, very high," Jennifer Hephzibah, a senior HR professional in India, told Business Insider. "If you don't deliver it at a particular time, you either lose your bonus, or you lose your job. It doesn't matter what you're going through otherwise."A Boston Consulting Group <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.bcg.com/publications/2024/india-hr-revolution-building-workplaces-for-the-future&amp;sa=D&amp;source=docs&amp;ust=1727195342438866&amp;usg=AOvVaw366N6_QMHZIy6fbfnMv__Y">survey</a> of 11,000 workers in eight countries in October 2023 found that 58% of Indian respondents reported feeling burned out — the highest share of any of the countries, including the US (50%), the UK (47%), and Japan (37%).<h2 id="56dd16d5-8f41-4ab5-aad1-efb517f1a780">'Glorifying overwork'</h2>This always-on culture has come under the spotlight recently following the death of an EY employee, Anna Sebastian Perayil, in July.Peryail's father, Sebastian Perayil, told<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thenewsminute.com/news/what-action-will-ey-take-anna-sebastians-father-speaks-to-tnm"> The News Minute</a> that he believed his daughter died of a combination of health issues, including work stress and acid reflux which triggered a lack of sleep. The official cause of Perayil's death, however, remains unclear."Anna was unable to sleep on most days and couldn't eat on time," he told the publication. "After a whole night of work, she would have to wake up at 7:30 the next morning and repeat the same cycle."According to<a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/maharashtra/mother-pens-letter-following-death-of-26-year-old-daughter-due-to-work-stress-urges-ey-chairman-to-reflect-on-toxic-work-culture/article68656957.ece"> The Hindu</a>, Perayil's mother emailed Rajiv Memani, the chairman at EY India, in the wake of Perayil's death, saying her daughter had collapsed four months into the job after struggling with "the workload, new environment, and long hours."She also accused EY of "glorifying overwork."EY told BI it was "taking the family's correspondence with utmost seriousness and humility" and called Perayil's death an "irreparable loss."<h2 id="0e580f7b-a1b5-40de-bcd5-4c5e1cd9f1da">A 70-hour workweek</h2>Concerns about India's workplace culture are not new.Last year, the software billionaire and Infosys founder Narayana Murthy sparked controversy after saying that young people in India should be willing to work 70 hours a week to help the country progress."India's work productivity is one of the lowest in the world," he told<a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES8ZNSTswrs"> The Record</a>, going on to say that unless India improved several factors including its work productivity, "we will not be able to compete with those countries that have made tremendous progress.""So, therefore," he continued, "my request is that our youngsters must say: "'This is my country. I'd like to work 70 hours a week.'"The comments appear to reflect wider expectations in India, even among employers with head offices elsewhere.Kavach Khanna, a former EY analyst in India, told BI that he believed he was expected to do more work than his US colleagues."We used to talk to colleagues in the US in the same roles, and their experience was completely different from ours," Khanna said. "They would get to go for client meetings, leave the office on time, no stretched workdays, and they weren't overburdened like we were."EY did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<h2 id="c34411b0-4cf7-4ac6-b8b5-d828d78369df">Cost centers and cheap labor</h2>Huge multinational companies, such as EY, Google, Microsoft, Salesforce, and Accenture, have set up cost centers in India.These centers, also called Global Capability Centers (GCCs), manage everything from cyber security to product development. They can also manage human resources and accounting.They are cheaper to run in India due to lower labor costs, and they help companies tap into a wide and hungry pool of tech-savvy, English-speaking talent.An <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://assets.ey.com/content/dam/ey-sites/ey-com/en_in/topics/consulting/gcc/2023/06/ey-future-of-gccs-in-india-a-vision-2030.pdf">EY report in 2023 </a>projected that India is set to host at least 2,400 such centers by 2030, with a market value of more than $100 billion.An associate at the Indian office of a multinational banking and advisory firm told BI that even at his Western company, he believed Indian employees were expected to work longer and harder.He said 16- to 18-hour workdays — including some weekends — were normal in his job."A lot of multinational corporations use India as a cost center because of the cheap labor," said the associate, who wanted to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation. "Offices in other countries have boundaries and then dump their extra work on us."Jeanie Chang, an executive coach who specializes in workplace mental health, said she had noticed such a trend, too. "It definitely exists that multinational companies tend to think, 'We love that the Indians work hard, so let's keep doing that.'"Chang also noted that some Asian communities place a cultural importance on work ethic that can lend itself to exploitation."There's a word in Japanese and Korean," Chang said, "that literally means 'overworking yourself to death.' That should say something."<h2 id="799c5726-4028-4993-85d3-1175f4f96f4d">Fear of replacement</h2>So what is stopping employees from demanding change?Part of it might come down to competition. In 2022, <a target="_blank" class="" href="http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/India%20Employment%20Report%202024.pdf">according to the India Employment Report 2024</a>, India's youth made up nearly 83% of the country's total unemployed population. With <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thehindu.com/business/budget/68432023-Economic-Survey-2023-24-Complete-document">India's workforce</a> thought to number well over 500 million, each job counts.Hephzibah, the senior HR professional, said that the sheer number of available workers has contributed to a feeling that employees are expendable, and has held them back from saying no to unreasonable demands for fear of losing their jobs.Perayil's mother's email, for instance, said her daughter "did not know how to say no.""She was trying to prove herself in a new environment, and in doing so, she pushed herself beyond her limits," the email said,Hephzibah said this was especially true for younger workers, who may not have enough experience to become critical within the company yet."In the bigger companies," she said, "if you don't deliver, that's it: You're replaced."<h2 id="76d9e66d-7e50-4929-bb3f-86da08d669dd">Cultural differences</h2>Chang told BI that she's had Indian employees point out their lack of resources compared to international peers in the same company."They tell me, 'Jeanie, we don't have effective mental-health resources, but we hear the US does,'" she said.In a<a target="_blank" href="https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx"> Gallup State of the Global Workplace report</a> published in 2024, only 14% of the roughly 2,262 Indian employees surveyed said they were thriving at their workplace, compared with 34% of the 128,278 employees surveyed globally.Hephzibah, who has worked in both Indian-owned and multinational companies, told BI that multiple colleagues had left or requested transfers outside India in recent years — mainly because of the work culture.She also found cultural differences when conducting training sessions for employees in India and the US.When implementing the Indian training schedule for one company's American employees, Hephzibah faced pushback on issues like late session timings."They said, 'We're not going to work after 6 and they could clearly call it out without feeling bad," Hephzibah said. "The problem in India is that people get scared to speak up because their jobs might be impacted."<h2 id="c1e23a63-b3a5-4dfe-9fda-a228d77f5f16">The way forward</h2>In Hephzibah's opinion, overtime and vacation policies need to be strictly enforceable in India."Outside, we're very careful to communicate that we care because they have legal backing to sue," she said. "Over here, that entire system is missing."She agreed with Chang that effecting systemic change would also be up to the leaders and middle management, and not just down to a country's laws."What is the leadership believing in? Is leadership overworking?" Chang said. "Because if they are, they're going to overwork their employees."

The death of a young EY employee is raising questions over India's 'always-on' work culture

The <keyword id="22902068" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="health-insurance-sector" source="keywords">health insurance sector</keyword> may face challenges in the coming months, due to <keyword id="20617555" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="rising-claims" source="keywords">rising claims</keyword> and increased competition, particularly in the retail sector, highlighted a report by <keyword id="19905137" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jefferies" source="keywords" meta.keywordsubtype="org" meta.entityname="Jefferies" meta.hostid="153" meta.entityid="Jefferies">Jefferies</keyword>. "Health (approx. 35% of mix) can see pressure in its retail segment from rising claims frequency and elevated competition" the report stated. The report indicated that <keyword id="19895063" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="India" source="keywords">India</keyword>'s <keyword id="22461357" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="non-life-insurance" source="keywords">non-life insurance</keyword> sector is experiencing significant shifts, the health insurance segment may face challenges as healthcare costs continue to rise and more consumers claim their insurance, and insurers are grappling with increased payouts. This trend could squeeze margins and put pressure on insurers to find ways to manage costs while remaining competitive in the market. However, for the <keyword id="20224622" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="motor-insurance" source="keywords">motor insurance</keyword> segment, the report draws a promising picture and added that it is entering a promising multi-year upcycle. This positive momentum is expected to benefit large private insurers of the motor segment, who are well-positioned to capitalize on these trends. "Initiate on Non-Life Insurers Large private insurers are set to gain from multi-year upcycle in motor (approx. 35% of premium mix) led by <keyword id="21232881" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="premiumization" source="keywords">premiumization</keyword> of underlying auto mix and moderating competitive intensity" the report mentioned. The report also added that the motor insurance segment in India is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% over the financial years 2024 to 2027. The key driver behind this growth is the ongoing shift in the automobile market towards higher-value vehicles. Over the past three years, the average selling price (ASP) of passenger vehicles (PVs) has increased by 41%, reflecting a move towards premium segments. This trend is expected to continue, benefiting motor insurance renewals, which account for 60-70% of the motor insurance premium mix. "Motor segment amidst a multi-year upcycle (est. 14% CAGR over FY24-27E) as renewals (60-70% of premium mix) will continue to benefit from the underlying change in auto mix towards premium high-value segments" the report added. Despite these challenges, the report mentioned that the broader non-life insurance market in India remains significantly underpenetrated, with insurance premiums representing only about 1% of the country's <keyword id="19904293" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="GDP" source="keywords">GDP</keyword>. This is relatively low compared to global peers, where non-life insurance to GDP ratios range between 2% and 4%. However, the Indian non-life insurance market has shown steady growth, with gross premiums expanding at a CAGR of 12% over the past five years, reaching Rs 2.8 trillion (approximately $35 billion). Notably, the private sector has outpaced the overall market. "India remains an under-penetrated market with non-life insurance to GDP at approx. 1% (vs 2-4% for global peers). Gross premiums have expanded at 12% CAGR over the last 5 years to Rs 2.8tn (approx. $35bn) with the private sector growing faster at 15% CAGR and improving its market share to 68%(from 57%)" said Jefferies in the report. Despite these challenges, the overall insurance market in India remains underpenetrated, offering significant long-term growth potential for insurers who can navigate these dynamics effectively.

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