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<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

<ul><li>Coaches can spot our strengths and impart the essential skills that allow us to develop a strong foundation of knowledge.</li><li>The notion applies to selling as well, where the evolution of an expert sales professional depends on the managers' capacity to train individuals with the required skill set.</li><li>Coaching strategies can be curated to achieve different goals for sales professionals.</li></ul>A Gartner research reveals that only 40% of sellers work within a well-established coaching culture at their organization, while 58% of sales reps require dedicated coaching from their managers to perform better. The same Gartner study establishes a clear link between coaching and revenue, stating that a good sales coach unlocks revenue potential of 8% and above. Does it make business sense? Continue reading. There are examples galore to drive home the point and importance of coaching – be it on the personal or the professional front. Consider the arena of sports – would players like <keyword id="6354267" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="sachin-tendulkar" source="Orion">Sachin Tendulkar</keyword> and PV Sindhu come this far if it hadn’t been for the constant guidance and dedicated grooming by exceptional coaches like <keyword id="100657" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="ramakant-achrekar" source="Orion">Ramakant Achrekar</keyword> and <keyword id="84905" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="pullela-gopichand" source="Orion">Pullela Gopichand</keyword>? Coaches can identify our talent and impart the critical wisdom that helps us to create an inherent knowledge base. This principle of coaching holds true for various disciplines, and the art and science of selling is one of them. Sellers encounter multiple situations that demand falling back on informed instincts that stem from an acquired knowledge. Consistent coaching helps acquire this deep knowledge and enables sellers to drive <a>better results</a> for themselves and for their organisations. But make no mistake, sales coaching is different from sales training. Sales training is the time you take to build the skills of your team, practice new scripts, measure new methods, or redefine the sales process. Sales coaching, on the other hand, is the time you spend showing each rep how to use those strategies in their day-to-day process and is the key ingredient to creating a forward-thinking sales professional. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Coaching the winning sales strategy" comment="subhead" text="Coaching the winning sales strategy">Coaching the winning sales strategy</cmsannotation> Selling has come a long way from product selling to solution selling, to now, perspective selling. New-age customers are looking to upgrade their automated buying experience by leveraging the human touch of an empathetic sales professional. Such a professional can utilise their knowledge as an advantage to provide a valuable perspective, thereby initiating a consultative dialogue with the customer and adding value for both parties. The creation of such a proficient sales professional depends on the managers' ability to coach the right skills in the right way and establish a culture of coaching in the organisation. An effective coaching culture can also be a great sales enabler, directly contributing to building resource value, maximising productivity, and capitalising revenue generation. This cannot be achieved by a simple training exercise or periodic appraisals, especially in today’s virtual-first world. Modern sales professionals are not just deal-closers, they have now evolved into problem solvers. This translates to a need for superior coaching - far above the generic training on technical proficiency. Each sales team consists of a diverse group of <a>people</a> with unique skill sets. Because of this, customised learning and development strategies, such as one-on-one coaching, can bring about a profound transformation. What is needed is an iterative and personalised approach, starting at the managerial level, that empowers a resource to grow and contribute to the success of the organisation. Incorporating this culture of coaching in the sales strategy can dramatically augment the sales capability and produce growth-minded selling professionals. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Enabling sales capability in the right direction" comment="subhead" text="Enabling sales capability in the right direction">Enabling sales capability in the right direction</cmsannotation> Coaching strategies can be designed to accomplish different goals for sales professionals. <ul><li>Skill building and employee retention </li></ul>In the aftermath of The Great Resignation, most companies are struggling to retain high-performing employees. In fact, as per a survey by <keyword id="155484" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="salesforce" source="Orion">Salesforce</keyword>, 60% of sales resources reporting to managers who do not conduct formal coaching are thinking about switching their companies. One great way to incentivise employees is to empower them with <a>advanced knowledge</a> through a culture of learning. Sales coaching is not just to further organisational goals but can also be instrumental in the individual development of a resource. If resources feel that the company is taking an effort to enhance its capabilities, it will be more invested in the company. <ul><li>Maintaining a competitive upper hand </li></ul>The modern technological landscape is continuously changing, and sellers always need to be on their toes for new advancements. Consistent coaching can be a valuable game plan to ensure a competitive edge. A well-equipped professional will always stay on top of their game, and be prepared to handle any challenge, be it a market disruption, a new product launch, or a technical upgrade. <ul><li>Better resource utilisation </li></ul>As an employee gets a better understanding of the tools at their disposal, they tend to perform better while utilising fewer resources. Consistent coaching and upskilling of employees can aid an organisation by providing better returns on their resources and fueling their productivity at a lower cost. <ul><li>Inter-departmental collaboration </li></ul>What happens when a company switches its core strategy? Say a product-based company decides to switch gears and focus more on creating solutions for the consulting domain. The sales managers may not be prepared to lead this transition and will need to be coached through the process. At this juncture, sales professionals can collaborate internally with different departments such as R&amp;D, marketing, and finance to get a better understanding of different functions. Such a collaborative coaching exercise can cement the functional understanding of sellers and help them create a more holistic solution for customers. Sales coaching is both an art and a science. It’s one of the most important components of sales management. Do it well, and your team’s results will speak for you. So, begin incorporating the various sales coaching techniques, tools, and tips to help your team close more deals, boost revenue, surpass quota, and grow better. After all, creating record-breaking players requires patience and hard work! Disclaimer: This article is authored by <keyword id="16973246" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="Charanjeet-Singh-Bedi" source="Orion">Charanjeet Singh Bedi</keyword>, Senior Regional Centre Head - ANZ, <keyword id="6079860" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="infosys-bpm" source="Orion">Infosys BPM</keyword>. The opinions expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Business Insider India.

Inculcating a culture of coaching to boost sales capability

<ul><li>In a study conducted by Salesforce, 84% of people between the age of 57 and 75 are “very actively learning/training on digital skills.”</li><li>These skills include digital marketing, encryption and cybersecurity, e-commerce and digital trade, and artificial intelligence.</li><li>Check out our latest newsletter <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/bi-newsletter" data-type="tilCustomLink">Simply Put</a>, [which explains the most important news in the simplest possible way, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/newsletters_signup.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">sign up</a> if you like.</li></ul>Baby boomers is a term, first used in America, used to describe those born between 1946 and 1964. Now, it is a widely used term for people of that age anywhere in the world. However, on the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/11/19/20963757/what-is-ok-boomer-meme-about-meaning-gen-z-millennials" data-type="tilCustomLink">internet</a>, being called a boomer could mean a lot of things ⁠— mostly derisive ⁠— but being tech savvy is not one of them. To the surprise of Salesforce, a cloud-based software firm, more boomers in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/india-tops-digital-skills-readiness-index-among-19-countries/articleshow/89339917.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">India</a> are embracing digital skills than those in developed countries. The study titled “Digital Skills Index” surveyed 23,000 employed and prospective employees across 19 countries including India, the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, South Korea, Singapore, and Italy. The study also found that India ranked the highest in terms of digital skills readiness. India scored the highest digital readiness score at 63 out of 100 with the global average coming to 33. “84% of the baby boomers respondents are “very actively learning/training on digital skills,” the report said about the India respondents. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Country </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Digital readiness </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">India</td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">63</td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">United States</td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">36</td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Singapore</td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">35</td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">United Kingdom</td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">21</td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Australia </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">21</td></tr></tbody></table> In fact, even within India, the 42 – 56 year olds are far more eager to pick up new skills than the millennials (born between 1980 and 1996), and Gen-Zers (born between 1997 and 2012). Among the digital skills in demand among the boomers, the top ones are digital marketing, encryption and cybersecurity, e-commerce and digital trade, and artificial intelligence. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; table-layout: fixed; width: 468pt;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Age group </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Actively learning/training on digital skills </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Baby boomers (57-75 year old) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">84% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Millennials (26 – 41 year old) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">72% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Gen-Zers (10 – 25 year old) </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">79% </td></tr></tbody></table> SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/snapchat-becomes-profitable-for-the-first-time-in-over-10-years/articleshow/89341282.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Snap CEO credits AR lenses, short videos for its first profit in over 10 years — says India expansion was 'successful’</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/gautam-adani-and-mukesh-ambani-are-now-richer-than-facebooks-mark-zuckerberg/slidelist/89338118.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Forbes shows Adani and Ambani are now richer than Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg</a>

More “boomers” in India are eager for digital skills than those in US, UK and Singapore

Hope you had a fun weekend, reader. I'm Diamond Naga Siu, and by the time you read this I'll be in Missouri for a data reporting bootcamp. While I learn how to math, my editors <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/matt-weinberger">Matt Weinberger</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/jake-swearingen">Jake Swearingen</a> will update you on tech this week via this newsletter.Before I bounce, let's catch up on the big pains of Big Tech. By dint of being some of the largest corporations in the world, Big Tech companies have the highest costs to cut when a downturn hits — and, thus, have more layoffs to do when the time comes. Salesforce and Amazon each announced last week that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/new-year-big-tech-sector-layoffs-amazon-salesforce-vimeo-recession-2023-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thousands of employees would be laid off</a>. Throughout this messy process, even some Salesforce vice presidents felt <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-managers-blindsided-by-companys-layoff-plans-2023-1">blindsided by the layoffs</a>, and many managers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-us-layoffs-employee-town-hall-2023-1">remain unsure</a> if the bloodbath is over.Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff also seems uncertain. After announcing the layoff, he held a rambling, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marc-benioff-tells-salesforce-staff-to-expect-more-layoffs-2023-1">two-hour all-hands meeting</a> in which he <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-layoffs-leaked-messages-all-hands-2023-1">dodged questions</a> about the pending cuts, as Insider reported.This type of messiness will likely permeate throughout Big Tech this year. But let's move onto more orderly things now by jumping into today's tech news.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-in-tech">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a href="https://link.insider.com/click/27645591.160803/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zaWRlci5jb20vYXBwP25yX2VtYWlsX3JlZmVyZXI9MSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPVNhaWx0aHJ1JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9T3BlbmluZ19iZWxs/62667762063d6b9bef0cffb3Bf9c9aa56">here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-layoffs-employees-describe-a-week-from-hell-2023-1"></a>1. Welcome to Salesforce's week from hell. The day after announcing big layoffs last week, CEO Marc Benioff didn't seem to notice that he was a full 18 minutes late to an all-hands meeting to discuss the cuts. And then it went downhill from there.<ul><li>Benioff joked that the layoffs ruined an exec's birthday. He reminisced about a rabbi on a bicycle who helped him during the company's first-ever layoffs back in the day. He lectured about gratitude, compassion, integrity, and empathy.</li><li>Meanwhile, employees can't sleep. Managers had to call their employees to see whether they still had a job. At least one person learned about the layoffs through social media.</li><li>Salesforce employees told my colleagues <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-stewart">Ashley Stewart</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ethomas">Ellen Thomas</a> all about their horrible week.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-layoffs-employees-describe-a-week-from-hell-2023-1">This is what being a Salesforce employee was like last week.</a>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-jeff-bezos-employees-chatter-joke-about-returning-ceo-2023-1"></a><div type="image" title="Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon and space tourism company Blue Origin on July 20, 2021." height="2490" width="3319" msid="96857870" hostid="261" sizebytes="361404"></div>2. The second coming of Jeff Bezos. Amazon employees are chattering and joking about founder Bezos returning as CEO after almost two years away. In a group chat, one employee shared "Miss me yet?" with a smiling photo of Bezos. Another sent an image that said "Return of the King." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-jeff-bezos-employees-chatter-joke-about-returning-ceo-2023-1">Read their other messages here.</a>3. This is how much the hottest tech jobs pay. California and New York City — both major tech hubs — now require companies to share how much their job openings pay. We grabbed the salary ranges of popular tech jobs, compiled on the new Comprehensive.io. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/these-are-the-most-popular-tech-jobs-what-they-pay-2023-1">Check them out here.</a>4. Laid off Twitter employees just got severance agreements from Elon Musk — now they must decide whether to sign, or pursue legal action. Some affected workers say they will not sign because of how much they are being asked to give up. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-employee-severance-agreements-2023-1">Read the full story. </a>5. Shopify's "Chaos Monkey 2023" mess. Shockingly, the sudden cancellation of all meetings, wiping message histories, and deleting all public Slack channels isn't going so well at Shopify. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-employees-say-slack-shut-down-disrupted-work-chaos-monkey-2023-1">Here's how the week went for its worried employees.</a>6. Kicked off Kickstarter for AI porn. Last month, a campaign to legitimize AI porn was kicked off the fundraising platform. It raised $56,000 within 12 days, but artists who are against AI art pressured Kickstarter into removing the campaign. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kickstarter-ai-generated-porn-group-unstable-diffusion-2023-1">More on the boot here.</a>7. Hiring tips from a company that's actively recruiting. This influencer marketing company has plans to hire more than 100 employees this year. The company's founder and president told Insider that reference checks and team players are important. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-get-job-hired-influencer-affiliate-marketing-ecommerce-ltk-2023-1">More tips here.</a>8. The US should learn from India about banning TikTok. Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube all greatly benefitted from India banning TikTok. The ban also further complicated already messy political tensions. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/why-did-india-ban-tiktok-us-states-fcc-government-2023-1">This is what experts say the US should learn from India.</a>Odds and ends:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/limb-leg-lengthening-surgery-changed-life-height-cost-2023-1"></a><div type="image" title="Ibrahim Alğan, in a wheelchair after surgery, right, and sitting outside after one of his surgeries. He paid nearly $30,000 to make his legs longer with surgery." height="1080" width="1440" msid="96857872" hostid="261" sizebytes="125084"></div>9. Getting taller could jumpstart your career. This 5'2 man got leg-lengthening surgery to add five vertical inches. It boosted his confidence and even helped him switch careers. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/limb-leg-lengthening-surgery-changed-life-height-cost-2023-1">More on the height difference here.</a>10. This family drove 2,500 miles after Southwest canceled their flight. A determined family drove a rental car from Miami to Salt Lake City after Southwest canceled their flights three times. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sotuhwest-holiday-travel-chaos-canceled-flights-family-drove-miami-utah-2023-1">Hop into the passenger seat with us for their unexpected ride.</a>What we're watching today:<ul><li>Prince Harry is <a href="https://abc.com/">dishing about his new memoir</a> on 'Good Morning America'</li><li>A 'Cargo Dragon' from SpaceX is <a href="https://www.spacex.com/">departing the International Space Station</a></li><li><a href="https://genius.com/Sean-paul-and-david-guetta-mad-love-lyrics">Mad Love</a> to Sean Paul on his bday</li></ul>Curated by Diamond Naga Siu in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email dsiu@insider.com or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/diamondnagasiu">@diamondnagasiu</a>) Edited by Matt Weinberger (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/gamoid">@gamoid</a>) in San Francisco and Hallam Bullock (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/hallam_bullock">@hallam_bullock</a>) in London.

Welcome to Salesforce's week from hell.

PwC <keyword id="3658" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="india" source="Orion">India</keyword> on Tuesday announced to acquire <keyword id="14250220" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="venerate" source="Orion">Venerate</keyword> Solutions, a Salesforce consulting firm in the country, for an undisclosed sum. Venerate and its team of consultants and developers will integrate with PwC India's Salesforce practice post the acquisition, as PwC invests in the area of digital transformation and strategic alliances. "Venerate will augment our Salesforce consulting practice with significant end-to-end capabilities in the areas of platform engineering, and cloud and managed services, thereby bolstering our ambitions as a community of problem solvers," said <keyword id="225165" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="sanjeev-krishan" source="Orion">Sanjeev Krishan</keyword>, Chairman, PwC in India. Founded in 2016 in Bengaluru, Venerate builds and deploys cutting-edge customised solutions on the Salesforce platform across multiple clouds including Financial Services Cloud, Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Vlocity Industry Cloud and various integration tools. These solutions help organisations reimagine the customer experience, seamlessly ramp up sales and support their growth journeys. <keyword id="257235" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="partho-bhattacharya" source="Orion">Partho Bhattacharya</keyword>, CEO, Venerate and <keyword id="2591864" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="biswanath-bhattacharya" source="Orion">Biswanath Bhattacharya</keyword>, Founder and Director, believe that "Venerate's strengths combined with PwC India's extensive reach will provide tremendous opportunities, both for clients and talent alike". "This acquisition marks the beginning of the inorganic growth aspirations of the advisory business in India. More such opportunities are being actively evaluated in the cyber, ESG, cloud and analytics domain," informed Arnab Basu, Leader- Advisory, PwC India. The transaction is expected to close in the coming few weeks, subject to approvals. ALSO SEE: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/entertainment/news/youre-too-gay-for-this-ad-and-other-ways-indian-showbiz-ignores-lgbtq-artists/articleshow/92355377.cms">You’re too gay for this ad, and other ways Indian showbiz ignores LGBTQ+ artists</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/enterprise/news/indias-tech-talent-pool-is-from-vizag-indore-and-warangal-thats-where-infosys-tcs-and-others-are-heading/articleshow/92351346.cms">India’s tech talent pool is from Vizag, Indore and Warangal — that’s where Infosys, TCS and others are heading</a>

PwC India acquires salesforce consulting firm, Venerate Solution

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFBQ0PH5rM4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Happy Mondays</a>. I'm Insider's global tech editor <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/alistair-barr">Alistair Barr</a>, and I've been missing people a lot lately.A family emergency earlier in June took me away from the newsroom for many days. When I returned, I realized what I'd missed. The list is long but here's a sample:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/kali-hays">Kali Hays</a> holding <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-twitter-private-texts-jack-dorsey-larry-ellison-rogan-2022-9">Elon Musk's Twitter to account</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-facebook-memo-details-hiring-freeze-negative-business-impacts-2022-5">covering the social media industry</a> with passion and wit. I love calling up Kali for a fun chat about what she's learned and how we can tell readers what she knows with certainty. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/eugene-kim">Eugene Kim</a> uncovering the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/work-at-amazon-jobs-performance-reviews-hiring-firing-interviews-warehouses-delivery-drivers">inner workings of Amazon</a>. Yes, he has amazing e-commerce and cloud contacts, but he goes that extra 1,000 miles to gather internal documents that give his stories an <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-prime-ftc-probe-customer-complaints-sign-ups-internal-documents-2022-3">unshakeable foundation of verified facts</a>. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/ashley-stewart">Ashley Stewart</a> getting <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-toxic-culture-ceo-satya-nadella-sexual-harassment-pay-disparity-2022-5">inside Microsoft</a> and other software giants. It's easy to blog announcements, but what's really happening? I love to hear <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-chief-people-officer-offends-some-staff-during-pride-kickoff-2023-6">what Ashley digs up</a> and how she works tirelessly to check everything is true. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/meghan-morris">Meghan Morris</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/rob-price">Rob Price</a> investigating the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/dave-bateman-entrata-antisematic-email-conspiracy-theory-controversy-2022-6">troubling activities</a> of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/larry-page-sergey-brin-post-google-investments-businesses-wealth-2022-12">industry power players</a>. They instinctively know how to tap sources, documents, and other resources to get the facts nailed down. </li></ul>These independent journalists are paid to find and check facts. They have no ax to grind. No sale to complete. No fund to raise. No votes to win. Without this, we're left with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/top-pr-professionals-public-relations-creators-influencers-businesses-publicist-income-2023-4">PR reps</a> spinning news, tech bloggers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/here-are-the-crazy-things-apple-fanboys-believe-that-arent-actually-true-2011-11">kissing up to Apple</a>, industry newsletters shilling product, and social media influencers regurgitating rumors with no filter. The <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/media-layoffs-rattle-netflix-nbcu-roku-vice-buzzfeed-wbd-disney-2022-12">media industry</a> has <a href="https://www.challengergray.com/blog/may-2023-layoffs-jump-on-tech-retail-auto-ytd-hiring-lowest-since-2016/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cut 17,436 jobs</a> so far in 2023, the highest year-to-date on record. Maybe one day you'll miss journalists, too. OK, let's get into it.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-in-tech">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a href="https://link.insider.com/click/27645591.160803/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zaWRlci5jb20vYXBwP25yX2VtYWlsX3JlZmVyZXI9MSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPVNhaWx0aHJ1JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9T3BlbmluZ19iZWxs/62667762063d6b9bef0cffb3Bf9c9aa56" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-vrbo-short-term-rentals-bozeman-montana-regulations-bans-2023-6"></a>1. Airbnb Montana smackdown: Life in the town of Bozeman is harder thanks to short-term rentals. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moving-to-bozeman-montana-pros-cons-culture-nature-wildfires-2021-12">Bozeman</a> has become a popular <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/blue-city-chefchaouen-morocco-instagram-social-media-2019-1">Instagram-ready</a> gateway to the Mountain West. That sparked a boom in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnbust-airbnb-short-term-vacation-rentals-investors-real-estate-reckoning-2023-3">Airbnb</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/guides/travel/what-is-vrbo">Vrbo</a> properties in the town, causing rents and property prices to surge. <ul><li>Some residents told Insider that they've lost neighbors and that the cost of living has risen to unsustainable levels. Others welcome the economic boost from more tourists and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-strategy-invest-in-airbnb-rentals-and-affordable-housing-2023-6">investment</a> in the area. </li><li>A group called Bozeman Tenants United is trying to ban whole-home rentals, like those on Airbnb and Vrbo, with an exception for renting out individual rooms.</li><li>My colleague <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/dan-latu">Dan Latu</a> talked with four Bozeman-area residents about their experiences with the short-term rental boom, how it's impacted their homes and livelihoods, and what they see as a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cities-fighting-airbnbs-with-regulations-for-short-term-rentals-2022-5?">path forward</a>.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-vrbo-short-term-rentals-bozeman-montana-regulations-bans-2023-6">Check in to the full story here.</a>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-poll-shows-falling-confidence-in-leadership-pay-woes-2023-6"></a><div type="image" title="Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella with the word &quot;Microsoft&quot; and the Microsoft logo displayed behind him" height="1382" width="1842" msid="101279043" hostid="261"></div>2. Microsoft whining. Employees of the world's largest software company are not content with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-engineer-developer-salary-google-amazon-microsoft-ibm-apple-intel-2021-6">juicy tech salaries</a>, living near <a href="https://www.insider.com/things-to-do-in-seattle-washington">beautiful Seattle</a>, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/personal-finance/states-with-no-income-tax-map">not paying state income tax</a> in Washington. Instead, some of them are upset with their compensation and Microsoft's leadership. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-poll-shows-falling-confidence-in-leadership-pay-woes-2023-6">Read about their frustrations here</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-poll-shows-falling-confidence-in-leadership-pay-woes-2023-6"></a>.3. Salesforce staff are a bit worried. The cloud software provider recently polled employees and found they feel generally good about the company's ethics. They are concerned about <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/marc-benioff-shakes-up-salesforce-top-ranks-2023-6">retaining talented colleagues</a>, their future at Salesforce, and how leadership decisions adhere to the company's core values. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/leaked-salesforce-survey-shows-how-57000-employees-feel-2023-6">Get the details here.</a>4. Mixing work and love. Social media influencers in relationships often have to work together. Here's how famous TikTok couples and other creators navigate dating and content creation. One talent agent won't work with certain couples. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-influencer-couples-reach-new-followers-talent-manager-2023-6">Find out who here.</a> 5. More bad news for startups. Many are already <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/startup-mass-extinction-event-has-begun-venture-capital-2023-6">struggling to raise money</a>. Now, Congress is debating who should be allowed to invest in startups. One bill would have investors take a test to become accredited. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/accredited-investor-rules-change-sec-congress-2023-6">The testing times are explained here.</a> 6. Is the AI hype cycle peaking? A lot of money flowed out of AI-related tech stocks this week. That could be a sign the recent ChatGPT-inspired market jump is running out of steam. "Black Swan" author Nassim Taleb <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/black-swan-author-nassim-taleb-warns-ai-bubble-stock-market-2023-6">just warned about this</a>. When <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/softbank-masayoshi-son-ai-investor-presentation-2023-6">SoftBank says it's all-in</a>, that's often a bad sign, too. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ai-stock-market-bubble-artificial-intelligence-investing-tech-bull-market-2023-6">Check out the data here.</a>7. Reddit rage. The popular online forum is returning to normal after a <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-users-plan-blackout-protest-new-pricing-policy-2023-6?r=US&amp;IR=T">sitewide blackout</a> to protest<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-people-are-starting-to-place-bets-on-civil-war-2023-6"> changes to its API pricing policy.</a> But there's still "simmering rage," especially among the site's moderators. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reddit-moderator-simmering-rage-as-users-return-nyt-2023-6">Log on to see the aftermath.</a>8. Bowties not hoodies. Silicon Valley titans attended the White House late last week to dine with Prime Minister of India <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/modi-heads-to-washington-to-talk-oil-arms-and-indias-sovereignty-1032402748">Narendra Modi</a>. That country recently <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/chinese-people-dont-care-india-world-most-populous-2023-4">passed China as the most populous nation</a>. And it has yet to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/major-us-tech-companies-blocked-from-operating-in-china-2019-5">ban big US tech platforms</a>, unlike China. So, tech execs dressed up for the occasion. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ceos-tim-cook-sundar-pichai-sam-altman-white-house-dinner-2023-6">See who was there, and who wasn't.</a>Odds and ends:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ufc-dana-white-musk-and-zuckerberg-dead-serious-about-fight-2023-6"></a><div type="image" title="Elon Musk has been critical of Mark Zuckerberg before, but this time accused the Meta CEO of seeming &quot;extremely partisan.&quot;" height="1440" width="1920" msid="101279045" hostid="261"></div>9. The ultimate fight? UFC President Dana White <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ufc-dana-white-musk-and-zuckerberg-dead-serious-about-fight-2023-6">would love to host</a> a fight between Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/maye-musk-dont-encourage-musk-zuckerberg-cage-fight-2023-6">Elon's mom is trying to stop it.</a>10. Fresh CMOs. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/seeking-nominations-for-cmos-to-watch-in-2023">Submit your nomination</a> for Insider's 5th annual list recognizing first-time and newly named top marketers at consumer brands. <a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1BbGiAiHwhKN1ZMxImqxpQbhDi_QXotQA5_OeI5uoLMc/viewform?edit_requested=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Here's the form to fill out.</a> What we're watching today:<ul><li>The <a href="https://collisionconf.com/schedule?q=eyJtZW51Ijp7ImRhdGUiOiIyMDIzLTA2LTI3In0sInBhZ2UiOjEsImNvbmZpZ3VyZSI6eyJoaXRzUGVyUGFnZSI6MjB9fQ==" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Collision tech conference</a> starts today in Toronto and runs through June 29. Speakers include AWS CEO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aws-ceo-adam-selipsky-pitches-cloud-cost-savor-spending-concerns-2022-12">Adam Selipsky</a>, AI godfather <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/godfather-geoffrey-hinton-ai-more-urgent-threat-than-climate-change-2023-5">Geoff Hinton</a>, and tech review legend <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-marques-brownlees-youtube-business-how-he-makes-money-2021-1">Marques Brownlee</a>. </li><li>If you want to learn more about generative AI, head over to the <a href="https://www.databricks.com/dataaisummit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Databricks Data &amp; AI Summit</a> at San Francisco's Moscone Center. It starts June 26. </li><li>Snowflake kicks off its own conference on Monday, too. <a href="https://www.snowflake.com/summit/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This one is in Las Vegas</a>. </li></ul>Curated by Alistair Barr in Silicon Valley. (Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:abarr@insider.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">abarr@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/alistairmbarr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@alistairmbarr</a>) Edited by <a href="https://www.insider.com/author/lisa-ryan">Lisa Ryan</a> in New York and Jack Sommers (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/jack_sommers?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@jack_sommers</a>) in London.

10 Things in Tech: Airbnb's Montana smackdown, Microsoft whining, Salesforce worrying, and Reddit rage

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Shireen Nagdive worked as a software engineer in India when she applied for a master's in the US.</li><li>She told Business Insider it was a big risk taking out a $59,000 loan for her studies.</li></ul>This as-told-to essay is based on a transcribed conversation with 29-year-old Shireen Nagdive from Kalyan, India, about her experience moving to the US and working for Salesforce. The following has been edited for length and clarity.I grew up in a very small town in India called Kalyan, near Mumbai. I've been interested in computers since I was a child and wanted to pursue a career in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/computer-science-job-market-was-tougher-than-i-expected-2023-12">computer science</a> since the eighth grade.I did my bachelor's degree in computer science at Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology in <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/indians-leaving-big-tech-to-launch-startups-back-home-2024-9">India</a> from 2012 to 2016. In the last year of my course, I got an offer as a software engineer for a multinational company in India.I'm the first woman in my family to graduate from college and work for a big corporation.<h2 id="a8a22fef-ba92-45d4-8510-b66557966d2f">I applied for a master's in the US</h2>I moved in with some roommates from work. They were all sitting the graduate record examination, which can help with admissions to <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/graduate-school-masters-mba-college-regret-2024-7">business schools in the US</a>.I'd never heard of it. No one close to me had pursued a career outside our hometown, let alone in the US.At 23, I knew I wanted to spend my whole career in tech, and it seemed like a good time to study for a couple of years in the US. I wanted to deepen my understanding of computer science and work on more complex projects. I decided to do the exam and see what happened. Every day after my 9-to-5, I'd study for the exam.I sat the exam and got decent marks, so I applied for several master's degrees in computer science in the US in 2017. I had a rough idea of how expensive they were, but I didn't know how I'd pay for them. I got into the computer science master's program at Stony Brook College in New York to start in 2018.<h2 id="e52405e2-72cb-4d22-aabd-529d38764bc3">I took a big risk taking out a loan</h2>I'd funded my examination and college application fees through my job, but I had no idea how I would finance a master's degree in America.The course fees were $59,000. That is a lot of money, which my family didn't have.I'd have to take on a <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/professor-student-loan-debt-suddenly-forgiven-2024-8">lot of debt</a>. One option was to take out a collateral loan on our family home. The bank would be able to take the property as collateral if I didn't make my payments. My dad and I discussed this, but we didn't want our only house to be an asset on the loan.I decided to take out a non-collateral loan to cover the fee cost, which has a higher interest rate.Relatives asked me why I was taking on so much debt for my education instead of buying a house in India, building my own company, or making an investment. My dad, who had paid for my bachelor's degree, was worried, but my mom encouraged him to trust me.I questioned whether it was worth it, but I wanted to invest in myself. I thought: "If I don't take this risk now, I will regret it for the rest of my life."To counteract my doubts, I developed a calculated risk framework. What would be the worst thing that could happen, and how I would resolve it?The worst-case scenario was that I didn't get a job in the US, and it would take me a lot longer to repay my debt, including more interest. My solution was to return to India, where I knew I could get work. It might take me a decade to repay my debt, but at least I'd have no regrets.<h2 id="2e018fd4-9e86-4790-b36d-30a1edca9c44">I focused on what I could control</h2>I'd never been to the US before, but my debts scared me more than moving to a new country. Stony Brook is in New York. I visualized skyscrapers like in movies, but the college was actually in Long Island. My room was cramped. I initially wondered why I had come, but I made friends and adjusted to the city.Two weeks after I started, my friend and I wanted to try out salsa classes. That day, I heard from my roommates that someone on the course had already landed an internship with Microsoft. I hadn't even started preparing to apply to internships. I ditched the salsa and told myself I'd focus solely on my applications to tech jobs and interview preparation.Landing an internship could help my résumé and could be converted into a full-time offer. I worked day and night at college and gave my 100%. Working so hard on application alongside my course and assignments was pretty stressful. All the computer science students worked and lived on the same campus – it felt competitive, but also motivating.I was often homesick and called my parents daily. I liked hearing about what they had for lunch and dinner, just the basic things.<h2 id="af48b5f8-1d58-4940-a393-2a3efa2f747a">I landed a job with Salesforce</h2>I got an internship with <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-ping-pong-work-flexible-2024-7">Salesforce</a> in the summer of 2019 while doing my master's. It was in Washington state. I got to work on a project. I realized it was a great place for engineering and innovation and I really liked the culture. It helped me figure out I wanted to work on the backend side of things, on large scale systems.My manager was a great mentor and when I finished the project, I was offered a full-time role on the technical team that aligned with my interests. It was based in the Bay Area.I felt so relieved, and happy that my hard work had finally paid off. Not only could I repay my debt, but I could contribute to a great tech product at Salesforce.<h2 id="8a98083b-2e92-4cf4-85d8-b5f826c379d4">I moved to Silicon Valley</h2>I moved to the Bay Area in February 2020. I realized how much <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/san-francisco-new-york-london-tech-where-to-live-2024-8">tech innovation is happening in the area</a> and how many opportunities there were to build relationships with people in the industry. But I was <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moved-to-us-from-india-big-tech-changed-me-2024-7">homesick</a> because I couldn't travel home to India during the pandemic.I managed to pay back my loan in 2020.I've been here for four years, with Salesforce sponsoring my visa. I'm enjoying life in the US and haven't got plans to return to India. I'll figure that out in a couple of years.I'm so grateful I get to work with smart engineers on my team on a daily basis. I've seen an improvement in my problem-solving and communication skills in engineering.Last year, I was able to bring my parents to the US for a holiday. It was a dream for me to show them around all the beautiful places in California. I've grown so much over the last few years both as a software engineer and as a person. Starting from scratch in a new country makes you tough. I'm so glad I invested in myself.For other students who don't have a family background where they know how to figure all this out, if I can achieve my <a target="_blank" class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-the-american-dream-gen-zers-flexibility-freedom-individualism-2023-5">American dream</a>, you can too.If you've taken a significant career risk and would like to share your story, email <a target="_blank" href="mailto:ehopkins@businessinsider.com">ehopkins@businessinsider.com</a>.

I moved to the US from India and took out a $59K loan to follow my dream of landing a job in Big Tech. My risk paid off. 

Can you believe it's already December? If anybody needs me, I'll be putting up Christmas decorations, eating cookies, and watching movies… which, aside from the Christmas decorations, is basically just a typical Thursday for me. Today's not a typical day for the staff at Salesforce, some of whom told us <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bret-taylor-leaves-salesforce-shocking-employees-and-marc-benioff-2022-11">they were blindsided by co-CEO Bret Taylor's decision to step down</a>. Below, we've got details on what Salesforce employees — including now-solo CEO Marc Benioff — are saying about Taylor's announcement.Let's get to it.If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-in-tech">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app <a href="https://link.insider.com/click/27645591.160803/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5zaWRlci5jb20vYXBwP25yX2VtYWlsX3JlZmVyZXI9MSZ1dG1fc291cmNlPVNhaWx0aHJ1JnV0bV9tZWRpdW09ZW1haWwmdXRtX2NvbnRlbnQ9T3BlbmluZ19iZWxs/62667762063d6b9bef0cffb3Bf9c9aa56">here.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bret-taylor-leaves-salesforce-shocking-employees-and-marc-benioff-2022-11"></a>1. Salesforce employees were blindsided by Bret Taylor's departure. Marc Benioff says he'll get him back. Workers at the cloud giant — Benioff included — were stunned by the news that heir apparent Taylor is <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-marc-benioff-bret-taylor-departure-internal-memo-2022-11">stepping down</a><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/30/bret-taylor-steps-down-as-co-ceo-of-salesforce-marc-benioff-stays-on-as-ceo.html"></a> as Salesforce's vice chair and co-CEO.<ul><li>In the company's third-quarter earnings call Wednesday, Taylor said he wants to return to his "entrepreneurial roots." The sudden announcement left many at the company feeling blindsided, employees and others close to the company told Insider. Benioff, too, appeared shocked.</li><li>"We have to let him be free, let him go, and I understand, but I don't like it… we're gonna try to get you back somehow," Benioff said. "Don't think you're gonna somehow get out of this alive because you're not." In an internal email, Benioff added that he will "always be Bret's biggest champion." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/salesforce-marc-benioff-bret-taylor-departure-internal-memo-2022-11">Read the full memo here.</a></li><li>Taylor was named co-CEO of Salesforce last November after serving as the company's chief operating officer. His emergence as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-bret-taylor-new-salesforce-co-ceo-marc-benioff-2021-11">one of Salesforce's top leaders</a> came after just five years with the company. </li><li>Starting in January, Benioff will be left to run the company as its sole CEO.</li></ul><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bret-taylor-leaves-salesforce-shocking-employees-and-marc-benioff-2022-11">Here's what workers told us about Taylor's departure.</a>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-alexa-business-failure-10-bn-losses-2022-11"></a><div type="image" title="An Amazon Alexa device" height="1246" width="1661" msid="95914976" hostid="261" sizebytes="38404"></div>2. Amazon's Alexa is just a "glorified clock radio." Voice assistants were supposed to be revolutionary — Amazon thought Alexa would be the next iPhone — but no one's figured out how to make them profitable, and now, the unit that built Alexa is on the chopping block. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-alexa-business-failure-10-bn-losses-2022-11">Where it all went wrong.</a>3. If Elon Musk goes to war with Apple, history says he'll likely lose. On Monday, Musk had some choice words for Apple and its CEO after he decried the iPhone maker's 30% fee for all in-app purchases. However, on Wednesday, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-met-with-tim-cook-at-apple-campus-report-2022-11">Musk posted a video on Twitter</a> thanking Tim Cook for taking him around Apple's "beautiful HQ." While it is unclear whether tensions have settled between the two tech titans, if Musk does take on Apple, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-go-to-war-with-apple-he-might-fail-2022-11">history isn't on his side</a>.4. A former Shopify worker says he's happier now since being fired. The 38-year-old former support advisor told Insider his heavy workload increased after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-layoffs-10-percent-ceo-memo-2022-7">this summer's layoffs</a>, and that he felt disposable and overworked while at Shopify. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/shopify-layoffs-employee-i-worked-overtime-without-compensation-2022-11">Read everything the worker told us. </a>5. Bengaluru, home to 1.5 million IT workers, has dodged the tech winter ripping through Silicon Valley. Dubbed "the world's back-office," the tech hub in Southern India has mostly escaped the downturn that's hit companies like Facebook and Twitter — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tech-winter-silicon-valley-bengaluru-india-so-far-dodged-2022-11">but experts warn it may not last</a>.6. These 13 behind-the-scenes execs are leading Apple's $5 billion advertising division. The company is quietly expanding its advertising empire, but the team keeps a low profile. We asked more than a dozen industry insiders and former Apple staffers to identify the most important leaders building Apple's advertising business. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/13-key-apple-advertising-executives-for-marketers-to-know-2022-11">Meet the execs spearheading the unit.</a>7. Sam Bankman-Fried says he only has $100,000 left in his bank account. The former FTX CEO, once worth $26 billion, told Axios he's down to his last six digits. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/sam-bankman-fried-ftx-crypto-bank-account-axios-2022-11">More on that here.</a>8. Sentry has acquired Codecov, a maker of software development tools. Application monitoring service Sentry, recently valued at over $3 billion, told Insider about the acquisition yesterday. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/unicorn-enterprise-startup-sentry-acquired-codecov-2022-11">Read our exclusive report.</a>Odds and ends:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/how-to-find-spotify-wrapped"></a><div type="image" title="Spotify 2022 Wrapped home page" height="1796" width="2394" msid="95914980" hostid="261" sizebytes="73670"></div>9. It's that time of year: Spotify Wrapped is back. The feature, which shows your favorite songs, artists, and genres of the year, is now available in Spotify's mobile app. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/how-to-find-spotify-wrapped">Here's how to find it.</a>10. Take a full photo tour of the new electric Hummer. Like its gas-guzzling predecessor, the Hummer EV is big, brash, and expensive. Insider reporter Tim Levin got to see the EV first hand, and has a look at some of its coolest features. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hummer-ev-photos-electric-pickup-truck-review-gmc-edition-1-2022-11">Check them out here.</a>What we're watching today:<ul><li>Tesla is delivering its first electric truck to Pepsi.</li><li>A four-part docuseries on Richard Branson is set to air on HBO.</li><li>Asana and others are reporting earnings. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">Keep up with earnings here.</a></li><li>TechEx Global starts <a href="https://www.techexevent.com/techex-global/">today in London</a>. </li></ul>Keep updated with the latest tech news throughout your day by checking out<a href="https://link.chtbl.com/therefresh"> The Refresh from Insider,</a> a dynamic audio news brief from the Insider newsroom. <a href="https://link.chtbl.com/therefresh">Listen here.</a>Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:jerb@insider.com">jerb@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/jordanparkererb?lang=en">@jordanparkererb</a>.) Edited by Hallam Bullock (tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/hallam_bullock">@hallam_bullock</a>) in London.

Salesforce employees say they were blindsided by Bret Taylor's departure

<ul><li>The <keyword id="12010012" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="state-of-marketing" source="Orion">State of Marketing</keyword> report finds that 90% of Indian marketers have changed their digital engagement strategy since the pandemic.</li><li>91% marketers say their digital engagement strategy has completely changed or somewhat changed since the before pandemic.</li></ul> Salesforce (NYSE: CRM), the global leader in CRM, today released the <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/form/conf/state-of-marketing?leadcreated=true&amp;redirect=true&amp;chapter=&amp;DriverCampaignId=70130000000sUVq&amp;player=&amp;FormCampaignId=7013y000002QppUAAS&amp;videoId=&amp;playlistId=" target="_blank">seventh edition of its ‘State of Marketing’ report</a> based on a survey of over 8,200 marketing leaders worldwide. The report is focused on understanding the shifts in marketing strategies, priorities, challenges and the trajectory of marketing's digital transformation future with the recent economic and social changes. <ul><li>Marketers Embrace Change with Optimism: Emerging from a time of great upheaval, marketers are focused on a future of innovation and real-time engagement. Top three priorities for marketers in India are: Engaging with customers in real time; Creating a cohesive customer journey across channels and devices and Improving marketing ROI/attribution and improving collaboration. 68% of Indian marketers expect revenue growth at their organizations over the next 12 to 18 months.</li><li>As Customers Go Digital, Marketing Steps Up: After years’ worth of changes in customer behavior occurring over the course of months, marketers are accelerating their digital transformation. In India 91% marketers say their digital engagement strategy has completely changed or somewhat changed since the before pandemic. </li><li>Collaboration Drives the Market-from-Anywhere Era: No longer tied to offices, a distributed workforce is reevaluating how they engage not only customers, but each other. 79% of marketing organizations in India have adopted new work collaboration technology due to the pandemic. </li><li>Marketing Is Spelled D-A-T-A : Data empowers marketers to deliver the trusted, personalized engagement customers expect, but managing it is only becoming more complex. The average number of data sources used by marketers in India is expected to reach 32 by 2022. </li><li>Budgets allocations continue to evolve: Majority of budgets in India go to advertising across B2C (25%) and B2B (20%) businesses. Events and sponsorships are deprioritized getting the least amount of budgets across B2C (15%) B2B (13%) businesses. </li></ul>Challenges are afoot, though, with 73% of Indian marketers agreeing that customer expectations are more difficult to meet than they were a year ago. To adapt, marketers are leaning into the digital transformations they had initiated prior to the pandemic. In fact, 90% of Indian marketers say the pandemic changed their digital engagement strategy, and 88% say it changed their marketing channel mix. Prioritizing things like technology, content, and skilling people for this digital first era will help marketers stay ahead. In India 61% of marketers rate employee training they receive as excellent, in comparison to the global average of 44%. 51% of these professionals choose to specialise in Data analytics and Content Marketing <keyword id="12010010" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="yashdeep-vaishnav" source="Orion">Yashdeep Vaishnav</keyword>, RVP, Digital Experience, <keyword id="4767524" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="salesforce-india" source="Orion">Salesforce India</keyword>, said, “Over the course of a little more than a year, marketers in India have navigated changes in customer behavior that normally occur over years. The insights in this year’s State of Marketing report provide a good benchmark for what’s changed, what’s consistent, and where the art and science of marketing goes from here.” The trends revealed in the State of Marketing report were collected from a survey of over 8,200 marketing leaders across 37 countries and six continents, including 300 from India.

73% of Indian marketers agreeing that customer expectations are more difficult to meet than they were a year ago: Report

<ul><li><keyword id="11892772" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dentsu-india" source="Orion">Dentsu India</keyword> brings together <keyword id="11893852" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="data-transformation" source="Orion">Data Transformation</keyword>, Digital Transformation, and CX Consulting into one unit. </li><li>Anubhav Sonthalia will lead <keyword id="11893851" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dentsu-cxm" source="Orion">dentsu CXM</keyword> in India as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in addition to serving his current role as CEO, <keyword id="11892768" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="sokrati" source="Orion">Sokrati</keyword>.</li></ul>Following the restructure of its creative and media businesses in India, <keyword id="11893853" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dentsu" source="Orion">dentsu</keyword> has now announced the launch of a unified <keyword id="11892771" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="merkle" source="Orion">Merkle</keyword>-led CXM proposition in the market. The announcement brings together Data Transformation, Digital Transformation, and CX Consulting into one unit to create the most specialised CX practice in India under brand Merkle. Part of the network’s global organisational redesign, the <keyword id="11893850" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="dentsu-india-CXM" source="Orion">dentsu India CXM</keyword> business will now house the agencies - Sokrati, Fractal Ink Design Studio and Merkle B2B, under one umbrella. Anubhav Sonthalia will lead dentsu CXM in India as its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in addition to serving his current role as CEO, Sokrati. He will continue to report into Anand Bhadkamkar, CEO, dentsu India, and Z Shen, CEO, dentsu CXM, APAC. Anubhav will be responsible for the integration, co-ordination, and implementation of dentsu CXM's overall strategy across the country. The CXM business will be aimed at building differentiated customer experiences through data, design &amp; technology transformations, and will work with partners like <keyword id="11892769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="salesforce" source="Orion">Salesforce</keyword>, Adobe, <keyword id="11893854" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="google-cloud-" source="Orion">Google Cloud &amp;</keyword> AWS. Speaking on the launch, Anand Bhadkamkar said, "Keeping up with our #onedentsu strategy, the new CXM business will help us move closer towards our growth journey. CXM is growing rapidly, and it is soon expected to become 35% of our overall business in India. By 2025, we project that this growing field will have a 50% contribution to our business. With this new CXM line of business, our clients will see a host of benefits as it will be a one-stop solution for all their CXM needs. I have complete faith in Anubhav’s leadership and in CXM to create numerous opportunities for clients as well as for the network.” Commenting on his new role, Anubhav Sonthalia added, “I am looking forward to leading dentsu India CXM and to develop newer strategies to up our customer experience game. We aim to provide world-class services to our clients and prioritise data-driven experiences &amp; personalisation of the entire end-to-end customer experience. Our key focus will be to create a holistic view for the clients, and a focused strategy for delivering personalised experiences that they demand.”

Dentsu India CXM to house agencies Sokrati, Fractal Ink Design Studio and Merkle B2B, under one umbrella

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The Indian economy has grown strongly under Narendra Modi, whose party is set to win another term.</li><li>India's success has caught the eye of figures including Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Tim Cook.</li></ul>India's powerful economic growth and blossoming middle class under Narendra Modi have caught the eye of corporate titans like Elon Musk, Jamie Dimon, and Tim Cook.Modi is pretty much a shoo-in for a third term as prime minister after the national election now underway ends on June 1. But the work starts there, as he'll have to navigate thorny issues such as youth unemployment, income inequality, and reliance on sanctioned Russian oil.<h2>Fueling growth and shaking hands</h2>India's economy has more than doubled in size during Modi's decade in charge to more than $3.7 trillion last year.The International Monetary Fund (IMF) <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/en/Blogs/Articles/2024/04/29/asias-growth-and-inflation-outlook-improves-but-risks-remain">recently upgraded</a> its growth forecast for real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a robust 7.8% this year, 6.8% in 2025, and 6.5% in 2026.India has already overtaken Britain to become the world's fifth-largest economy. It's on track to leapfrog Japan and Germany into third spot behind the US and China by 2027.The country's flagship stock index has also tripled in value since Modi took office in May 2014, thanks to wealth gains and growing investment appetites.Moreover, <a target="_blank" href="https://sbi.co.in/documents/13958/36530824/270224-HCES_Feb24.pdf">one estimate</a> puts the percentage of the Indian population living on less than $2.15 a day at below 5%, down from 12% in 2011. However, the <a target="_blank" href="https://pip.worldbank.org/country-profiles/IND">World Bank</a> pegged that figure at nearly 13% in 2021.India's middle class has also ballooned with 60 million people now earning the rupee equivalent of more $10,000 a year — about $37,200 once adjusted for <a target="_blank" href="https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/profile/IND">purchasing power</a>. Goldman Sachs <a target="_blank" href="https://www.goldmansachs.com/intelligence/pages/indias-affluent-population-is-likely-to-hit-100-million-by-2027.html">expects</a> the ranks of the relatively affluent to swell to 100 million by 2027."Modi has done an unbelievable job in India," JPMorgan's Dimon <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jpmorgan-jamie-dimon-economy-inflation-recession-stagflation-geopolitics-crypto-bitcoin-2024-4">told</a> the Economic Club of New York last month. "I know the liberal press here, they beat the hell out of him. He's taken 400 million people out of poverty."Musk has <a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1781541775183610310">posted</a> on X that he's looking forward to visiting India and meeting Modi this year. He delayed his trip last month, blaming "very heavy Tesla obligations." The pair are expected to discuss Tesla building a multibillion-dollar factory in the country.As for Apple's Cook, he hailed India on a November earnings call as an "incredibly exciting market" and a "<a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-tim-cook-obsessed-india-consumers-iphone-2023-7">major focus of ours</a>" given the explosive growth in potential customers as locals get richer.<div type="image" title="Sundar Pichai, Tim Cook, Narendra Modi, Joe Biden" height="3907" width="5861" msid="109838230" hostid="261" sizebytes="846512"></div>Modi has also met with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, and Alphabet's Sundar Pichai. He's likely to be seeking to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) in India — and to capitalize on bosses' <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/us-china-relations-reshoring-manufacturing-jobs-made-in-america-2023-10">desire to hedge their bets on China</a> given its strained relationship with the US, economic woes, and how disruptive its strict pandemic lockdowns were to global supply chains."India's population and economic growth numbers are causing a lot of global executives to revisit their India presence and consider scaling up," Richard Rossow, a senior advisor and chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Center for Strategic &amp; International Studies, told Business Insider."Paired with increased concerns about supply chain resilience and security concerns about China, it's a very good time for a hard push to win investments."The United Nations said that India and China both had a population of 1.426 billion in April last year, meaning India is probably now the most populous given its rising birth rate.<h2>Change for the better — mostly</h2>Modi has instigated a raft of major economic reforms since taking office, intended to make India more business-friendly, and boost government revenues by taxing more of the country's vast informal economy.He rolled out a tax on goods and services, simplified bankruptcy laws, lifted FDI restrictions, cut corporate income tax, and ended retrospective taxation.However, not all of Modi's moves spurred growth."Demonetisation was a key economic policy which had negative effects on the economy," Kunal Sen, a director of the United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics, told BI.Sen is the author of several books about India's economy and a professor of development economics at the University of Manchester.He was referring to Modi's sudden declaration in November 2016 that all 500 and 1,000-rupee bills — 86% of Indian currency in circulation — would <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/india-ending-500-and-1000-rupee-bills-to-fight-corruption-2016-11">no longer be accepted as legal tender</a>.The government's goals were to capture undeclared income, get rid of counterfeit currency, broaden the tax base, and bring more activities into the formal economy."The other key economic policy was JAM — the trinity of bank accounts for the poor, mobile numbers and a biometric card. This last economic policy has been revolutionary," Sen said.He was hailing a broader digitization drive under Modi that has <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/how-indias-digital-payments-ecosystem-has-evolved-in-the-last-one-year/slidelist/90595832.cms">transformed</a> how Indians bank, invest, pay their taxes, and conduct business.<h2>Prosperity for all</h2>Modi's efforts have helped to usher in a more prosperous era for some Indians, but many have been left behind.Young people are India's beating heart, with about half its population under 25 and almost two-thirds under 35. Matching those hundreds of millions of people with jobs has proven a challenge, with youth unemployment almost tripling from below 6% in 2000 to about 18% in 2019. It still stands at a hefty 10% in 2023, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://webapps.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---asia/---ro-bangkok/---sro-new_delhi/documents/publication/wcms_921154.pdf">International Labor Organization</a>.The report found that nearly 30% of India's graduates were unemployed in 2022, and only about 10% of the working-age population was formally employed.<div type="image" title="A farmer uses oxen to plow fields for lentils in Nimaj, Rajasthan, northern India." height="3464" width="5196" msid="109838232" hostid="261" sizebytes="690700"></div>"Unemployment is a big issue," Rossow said, emphasizing this isn't just a problem with recent graduates but a "much, much larger bubble: the underemployed farm laborers."Rising agricultural productivity is likely to help farm workers make a faster transition to city life in the years ahead, but they'll struggle to secure modern jobs in the services industry "without significant reskilling and education," Rossow said.As a result, lower-skilled manufacturing and assembly jobs and lower-end services jobs will be needed, he added.Another major challenge will be tackling a widening wealth divide. The richest 10% of the population hold more than 72% of the nation's wealth, per an Oxfam report <a target="_blank" href="https://d1ns4ht6ytuzzo.cloudfront.net/oxfamdata/oxfamdatapublic/2023-01/India%20Supplement%202023_digital.pdf?">published</a> last year.Business tycoons Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani both rank among the world's 15 richest people, per the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/">Bloomberg Billionaires Index</a>. Luxury-goods sales are booming with <a target="_blank" href="https://www.carwale.com/news/mercedesbenz-lineups-waiting-period-reduced-in-india/">long waitlists</a> for flashy purchases like the Mercedes "G Wagon."<div type="image" title="The Ambani family onstage with Rihanna." height="854" width="1280" msid="109838233" hostid="261" sizebytes="99148"></div>The <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/anant-ambani-pre-wedding-festivities-lack-empathy-india-radhika-merchant-2024-3">lavish pre-wedding party</a> thrown by the Ambani family earlier this year was singled out by some as an affront to the huge number of Indians living in poverty.Almost 1.3 billion people live on less than $3,500 a year by one estimate, and India ranks 111th on the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html">Global Hunger Index</a>, below even North Korea.Rising equality is partly explained by a "capital-intensive mode of economic growth along with increasing power of business conglomerates," Sen told BI, referring to how huge companies like the Adani Group secure huge government contracts to build ports, bridges, highways, and other infrastructure.A third challenge is regional inequality, as some states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh haven't experienced the same growth and modernization of their economies as others, Rossow said.<h2>The Russia riddle</h2>One striking aspect of Modi's economic boom has been its reliance on Russia since it invaded Ukraine in early 2022.India went from getting 2% of its crude oil from Russia before the war, to 35% last year. During that period, the US and Europe slapped sanctions on Russian oil to defund Putin's military machine and punish Moscow for attacking a sovereign nation.Despite that, India purchased an estimated $37 billion of Moscow's oil in 2023 — 13 times the amount it bought annually prior to the conflict. Its buying helped Russia rake in a <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-economy-oil-sales-india-ukraine-war-moscow-western-sanctions-2024-2">record $320 billion</a> of federal revenue last year.Indian demand for Russian oil has <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-oil-trade-crude-india-discount-barrel-sanctions-price-cap-2024-2">cooled</a> in recent months as new sanctions have made it <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/russia-economy-oil-energy-exports-india-imports-revenue-sanctions-discount-2024-3">more expensive</a>, but the buying remains controversial.Officials in India have <a target="_blank" href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/crude-oil-prices-india-russia-trade-geopolitics-opec-supply-puri-2024-2">defended</a> the purchases, saying that if they'd bought Middle Eastern oil instead, global crude prices would have shot up.India is also one of the world's largest oil refiners and has helped Western nations to maintain access to refined petroleum products even as they're refraining from buying Russian crude directly.Yet the country imports 85% of its oil, so its overriding interest is securing the cheapest oil possible to support its development, said Neelima Jain, a senior fellow and chair in US India Policy Studies at CSIS."India will continue to buy Russian oil if the price remains favorable and allows for firm volume guarantees, as the country prioritizes energy affordability and accessibility during its rapid rural-to-urban transition, which has led to a 6% year-on-year growth in energy demand," she told BI."In an inflationary environment, economics [rather] than geopolitics will drive India's energy choices."<div type="image" title="Narendra Modi and Vladimir Putin" height="3196" width="4714" msid="109838234" hostid="261" sizebytes="426292"></div><h2>India the IT hub</h2>Under Modi, India has made big strides in modernizing its economy, combating bureaucracy, and appealing to foreign investors.Big Tech stalwarts like Microsoft have a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-has-so-many-patents-its-outsourced-the-job-to-india-2013-5">long history</a> of outsourcing to India, but recent efforts to cut red tape and slash corporate taxes appear to have fueled fresh interest.Sweeping layoffs at Alphabet, Amazon, Meta, Salesforce and other US tech titans in the past few years could presage a large exodus of jobs to India.Sanjay Shetty of Randstad India <a target="_blank" href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/technology/outsourcing-hubs-like-india-to-bag-40-of-jobs-lost-to-layoffs/articleshow/101088673.cms?">told The Economic Times</a> last summer that he expected 30% to 40% of the tech jobs eliminated globally to move to India by 2025."India is going to be the biggest gainer in the medium to long term, as almost every company that we speak to is looking at expanding its India base," Shetty said.Even if that pans out, it won't be a panacea for a country facing not just unemployment and underemployment, but also stark income inequality, regional disparities, and the risk of alienating Western allies by continuing to buy Russian oil.Yet overall, India appears to be headed in the right direction."The growth is real, if focused on a few key states," Rossow said. "India's dynamic technology services sector is to IT services what China is to manufacturing. So there is much to cheer, even as the reform agenda seems to never end."

Tech titans love Modi's economic powerhouse India — despite mass unemployment and abject poverty 

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Shares of Indian software firm <keyword id="12153608" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="freshworks" source="Orion">Freshworks</keyword> jumped as much as 36% in their trading debut on Wednesday. </li><li>The firm priced its initial public offering at $36 per share Tuesday evening.</li><li>Freshworks aims to compete with <keyword id="11892769" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="salesforce" source="Orion">Salesforce</keyword> as it tries to disrupt the <keyword id="12153610" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="customer-relationship-management" source="Orion">customer relationship management</keyword> market.</li></ul>Shares of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/frsh-stock">Freshworks</a> jumped as much as 36% on Wednesday during its Nasdaq debut.The stock hit an intraday high of $48.75 Wednesday. Freshworks on Nasdaq trades under the ticker "FRSH." The firm priced its initial public offering at $36 per share Tuesday evening. Freshworks sold <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/freshworks-announces-pricing-of-initial-public-offering-301382238.html?tc=eml_cleartime">28.5 million common shares</a>, raising $1 billion in proceeds and garnering a valuation of over $10 billion valuation. Founded in India, Freshworks, now a San Mateo, California-based software company, builds customer management platforms that have <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/former-atlassian-exec-jose-morales-freshworks-2020-10">gained the attention of clients</a> including Honda, Cisco, and American Express.Its business <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-new-cmo-stacey-epstein-growth-2021-3">boomed during the pandemic</a> as companies rushed to digitize most of their customer operations to cater to the growing demand of clients whose employees were mostly stuck at home as large swathes of the world shutdown, founder CEO and Girish Mathrubootham <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-ceo-huge-opportunity-to-disrupt-customer-service-market-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previously told Insider.</a>Freshworks aims to compete with software behemoth Salesforce as it tries to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-new-cmo-stacey-epstein-growth-2021-3">disrupt the customer relationship management </a>market, Mathrubootham <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-ceo-huge-opportunity-to-disrupt-customer-service-market-2019-11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">added.</a> Though Freshworks is based in the US, the majority of its employees are based in Chennai, India. It has other offices in 10 other locations, including London, Berlin, and Sydney.The idea of Freshworks was borne out of Mathrubootham's frustration with the <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/freshworks-ceo-huge-opportunity-to-disrupt-customer-service-market-2019-11">lack of response from a moving company</a>, which damaged his television during the process in 2010. More than a decade later, he has grown his firm from just focusing on customer support to one that provides software for every customer interaction."We started in a 700 square foot warehouse in Chennai in 2010," Mathrubootham said in the <a href="https://sec.report/Document/0001628280-21-018866/0001628280-21-018866.txt">regulatory filing</a>. "We didn't plan nor expect to change the world. Our dreams came in increments, each building on the next and expanding our vision over time."Today, the company, among India's first unicorns - startups worth more than $1 billion - and is one of the country's best-known software-as-a-service firms.Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, and Bank of America Securities acted as lead book-runners for the offering.

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