Infosys has paused its recruitment tests for around 20,000 job candidates after detecting multiple cases of impersonation during its ongoing hiring process. The IT major was running tests as part of its annual campus and off-campus hiring drive for freshers. During routine checks and monitoring, the company found that some candidates had arranged for other individuals to take the exams in their place. This practice violates the company’s code of conduct and undermines fair competition for all applicants. To maintain the integrity of the recruitment process, Infosys has reportedly decided to postpone the exams until stronger identity verification measures can…
Author: HRK News Bureau
A viral stand-up comedy interaction has triggered a wider conversation about employee conduct outside the workplace, organisational values and the lasting impact of online behaviour. The controversy centres around Himanshu Jangra, a 23-year-old web developer from Gurugram, who reportedly lost his job after comments he made during a crowd work segment at comedian Pranit More’s show drew criticism online. Clips from the performance circulated widely on social media, prompting backlash over remarks Jangra allegedly made about a date. Many users took issue with statements suggesting that spending money on a date created an expectation of something in return. The comments…
As Salesforce initiates another round of workforce reductions, details of the company’s severance policy suggest affected employees could receive more generous exit packages than those offered by several other major technology firms. According to reports citing internal documents, eligible US-based employees may receive up to 30 weeks of severance pay, depending on factors such as job level, tenure and age. The layoffs reportedly began this week, with employees being notified across certain parts of the organisation. Under Salesforce’s severance framework, director-level employees and senior directors are entitled to 13 weeks of base pay, while senior managers and employees at lower…
Mankind Pharma has appointed Nilesh Kulkarni as the group head-human resource and designated him as a Senior Management Personnel (SMP), effective 8 June, 2026. The decision, approved by the company’s Board of Directors through a resolution passed by circulation, forms part of an internal organisational restructuring aimed at strengthening the group’s HR leadership framework. Following the development, Prateek Dubey, former group head-HR will transition into new roles and responsibilities within the organisation. Kulkarni moves into the group-level role after serving for more than six years as chief human resources officer, Bharat Serums and Vaccines Limited (BSV), a wholly owned subsidiary…
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is rapidly expanding its artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, with chairman N Chandrasekaran indicating that the company could eventually deploy as many AI agents as it has human employees. Speaking at the company’s Annual General Meeting, Chandrasekaran said TCS is already building a large number of AI agents and suggested that the gap between the number of AI systems and employees could narrow significantly in the future. The statement offers a glimpse into how one of India’s largest employers is envisioning the next phase of work in the AI era. Despite concerns that AI could disrupt the…
L’Oréal has announced the launch of its sixth employee share-ownership programme, extending the opportunity to employees across 63 countries to invest in the company’s future growth. The initiative forms part of L’Oréal’s broader strategy to strengthen employee participation in value creation by enabling eligible employees to become shareholders. The company will make a maximum of 300,000 shares available under the 2026 plan, maintaining the same scale as the previous year’s offering. The subscription window for employees will remain open from 10 June to 24 June, 2026, while the settlement of shares is scheduled for 30 July , 2026. Under the…
Helios Mutual Fund has appointed Sweta Mishra as head–human resources, reinforcing its focus on building organisational capability and supporting long-term business growth. Based in Mumbai, Mishra will lead the company’s people strategy with a mandate spanning talent management, organisational effectiveness, leadership development and employee experience. She will work towards strengthening a high-performance culture while aligning the HR agenda with the organisation’s business priorities. Mishra brings more than 18 years of experience across the financial-services sector, having worked in asset management, broking, banking-support services and technology businesses. Prior to joining Helios Mutual Fund, she served as deputy vice president–human resources at…
Central government employees could receive arrears of up to Rs14 lakh when the 8th Pay Commission is implemented, based on current estimates tied to union demands for a higher salary hike. The 8th Pay Commission is scheduled to come into effect from 1 January, 2026, as per the usual 10-year cycle after the 7th Pay Commission. However, if the government takes until April 2027 to approve and roll out the new pay structure, employees may get lump-sum arrears for the delay period. The final payout will depend on the fitment factor approved by the government. This factor is used to…
A US federal court has struck down the $100,000 H-1B visa fee laid down by the Trump administration. This brings relief to thousands of skilled workers who rely on the programme to work in the US. The US government introduced the levy through an executive order, arguing it would protect American jobs. The court, however, ruled that the charge amounted to an unlawful tax, which only Congress has the power to impose. The decision removes a six-figure barrier that had made the H-1B route unaffordable for many applicants and employers. The impact was immediate. Following the announcement of the fee,…
In a tragic accident after a molten iron spill at Visakhapatnam Steel plant run by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam (RINL), about eight workers died and six were injured on 8 June, 2026. The accident occurred at around 4:15 pm in the steel melt shop-1 when workers were moving a bucket of molten iron, heated to about 1,600°C, with a crane when it tipped and spilled. The police reported that the spill caused a strong explosion that sent flames up and set the crane on fire. Five bodies were found at first, and rescue teams pulled out three more from the debris…
A simple exchange between an employee and their manager has gone viral on social media, prompting discussions about empathy, flexibility and the role of managers in shaping positive workplace experiences. The story emerged from a post shared on Reddit’s r/IndianWorkplace forum, where an employee described how their manager encouraged them to take an additional day off after returning from a 10-day vacation. The post, titled “Went on a 10-day vacation, informed I’m back tomorrow, got told by the big boss to take one more day to settle in,” quickly resonated with users across platforms. According to the employee, they had…
The Assam government has approved a 2 per cent increase in dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) for state government employees and pensioners, benefiting more than eight lakh people across the state. The decision was taken at a meeting of the Assam Cabinet and announced by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. With the latest revision, the DA and DR rates will increase from 58 per cent to 60 per cent. The enhanced rates will come into effect from July, and eligible employees and pensioners will receive the revised benefits accordingly. Announcing the decision, the Chief Minister said the government…
Paytm? is set to significantly expand its workforce, with reports indicating that the fintech major plans to hire around 4,000 employees as it accelerates investments in artificial intelligence and strengthens its merchant ecosystem. The recruitment drive, expected to continue until March 2027, will span multiple functions, including product development, technology, artificial intelligence and senior leadership roles. The planned hiring represents a nearly 10 per cent increase in the company’s current workforce, which stands at approximately 40,000 employees. According to reports, Paytm has already added more than 800 employees over the past two months and is actively recruiting for thousands of…
Meta? has unveiled a new workforce-development initiative aimed at addressing the growing demand for skilled workers needed to build the data centres powering the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. Called America’s Workforce Academy, the programme will provide free training in construction and technical trades, along with a pathway to employment on Meta-backed data-centre projects. The company has committed $115 million towards the initiative as it ramps up investments in AI infrastructure across the US. The five-week programme will train participants in high-demand roles such as electrical work, HVAC installation, welding, plumbing and fibre-optic technology. Graduates will receive industry-recognised credentials and will…
SHL, a global firm in talent acquisition, workforce management, and psychometric science, has appointed Paramita C. as its chief people officer, strengthening its leadership team with a seasoned HR executive whose career spans more than two decades across global technology and talent-focused organisations. Based in London, Paramita will lead SHL’s global people strategy, with responsibility for talent management, employee engagement, leadership development, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), culture transformation and organisational effectiveness. She joins SHL from Cornerstone OnDemand, where she served as vice president, global HR business partnering. In that role, she partnered with business leaders to drive workforce strategy,…
Eastman Impex is sharpening its focus on workforce development alongside business expansion as it pursues an ambitious growth plan aimed at reaching Rs 1,200 crore in revenue by 2029. The automotive components manufacturer, which currently records a turnover of around Rs 700 crore, has outlined a multi-year expansion strategy that includes annual investments of about Rs 40 crore over the next three years. While the investment will primarily support capacity expansion in aluminium fabrication and axle-assembly manufacturing, the company is also placing significant emphasis on strengthening its people strategy. Employing more than 2,200 people, Eastman Impex is increasingly focusing on…
A viral social-media post has reignited conversations about parental leave, work-life balance and the responsibilities employers have toward working parents. Shared on X by user Simon Ingari, the story centres on an employee seeking six months of paternity leave and the unexpected response he received from his manager. According to the post, the employee informed his manager that he planned to take six months of paternity leave after the birth of his first child. The manager initially raised concerns about the team’s workload, noting that the office was already operating with limited staff and that a prolonged absence could create…
A growing number of educated young people in Jammu and Kashmir are struggling to find suitable employment despite earning college degrees, raising concerns about the widening gap between education and job creation in the Union Territory. According to the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2023–24, graduates account for just 13 per cent of the workforce in Jammu and Kashmir. The figure points to a significant challenge for the region, where thousands of students complete higher education every year but face limited employment opportunities. The employment situation is particularly concerning given that Jammu and Kashmir’s unemployment rate stands at 6.7…
Mars has elevated Shahine D. Ardeshir to people and organisation director for growth and enabling functions across Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA), effective May 2026. In her new role, she will lead HR for marketing, digital technologies, finance, corporate affairs and legal, supporting Mars’ growth agenda across diverse AMEA markets. The elevation follows after nearly five years as people and organisation director for Mars Wrigley in India, where Shahine guided the people’s strategy through business change and cultural transformation. Before that, she spent two years and nine months as associate relations lead for India, Middle East and South Africa,…
Dabur Research Foundation appoints Priyanka Gaur as HR head. Moving from FyneHand, she’s set to lead people strategy with over two decades of experience in HR and business growth at the Indian contract research organisation. Gaur started her professional journey in 2003 at JLL in HR and administration, staying until 2006. From 2006 to 2007, she worked at Hindustan Times as senior executive HR. She then moved to NDTV as deputy manager HR from 2007 to 2010, where she managed compensation and benefits. Between 2011 and 2014, she headed learning and development at Escorts Kubota. In 2014, Gaur started her own…
Emids, a healthcare-focussed digital transformation and engineering company plans to hire 1,000 forward-deployed context engineers or FDCEs over the next year as it pushes AI deeper into healthcare operations. The company says healthcare Global Capability Centres are moving beyond traditional engineering. Large firms now want people who know both the healthcare system and how to use AI to solve real problems. Abhishek Shankar, CEO, Emids reportedly believes that most Fortune 2000 healthcare companies already have GCCs and in the AI era, they need to get much more value from them. For that they need not just engineers, but FDCEs who…
Mitrabinda Mishra has been appointed the general manager -human resources at NoBroker.com. Her previous role at Zepto sharpened her expertise to build and scale HR systems for rapid growth, an experience she now brings to strengthen NoBroker’s people strategy. After completing a BE in Electronics and Communication, Mishra started her career at Infosys in 2009 as a system engineer where she scaled to assistant business analyst post before quitting in November 2016 to start her own freelance interior designing projects. She went on to do a PGDM in Marketing from the Institute of Management Technology, Ghaziabad. In July 2017, BAeHAL…
Employees at Microsoft are feeling more engaged and empowered at work, according to the company’s latest internal surveys. However, concerns around career growth, productivity, and organisational clarity continue to persist as the tech giant navigates rapid business and technology shifts. In an internal communication to employees, chief people officer Amy Coleman shared insights from Microsoft’s latest Employee Signals survey. The findings showed an improvement in the company’s overall “Thriving” score, which measures how energised, empowered, and purposeful employees feel in their work. The score rose by three points to 79, indicating stronger employee sentiment compared to previous survey cycles. The…
Cloud analytics and software company Teradata has decided to suspend annual salary increases for its global workforce in 2026 as it channels more resources into artificial intelligence (AI) initiatives. The move affects around 5,100 employees worldwide and reflects the growing emphasis technology companies are placing on AI-led growth. The decision, which recently came to light through media reports citing an internal communication from the company’s leadership, is part of Teradata’s broader strategy to strengthen its AI capabilities and accelerate product innovation. The company is reportedly redirecting funds that would typically be allocated for annual pay revisions towards investments in AI…
Google has reportedly reduced headcount across parts of its Cloud business, including teams within its cybersecurity operations, as the company continues to prioritise investments in artificial intelligence and emerging technology initiatives. According to reports, the workforce reductions have taken place over the past two weeks and have affected multiple teams within Google Cloud. Among the impacted groups is the company’s Threat Intelligence Group, a well-known cybersecurity unit that tracks cyber threats, state-sponsored attacks and global digital- security developments. The layoffs have also reportedly extended to parts of Mandiant, the cybersecurity firm acquired by Google in 2022 as part of its…
US telecom major T-Mobile has strengthened its presence in India with the launch of a new Global Capability Centre (GCC) in Hyderabad. The company plans to build a workforce of around 1,000 employees by 2027 as it expands its technology, engineering and cybersecurity capabilities. The newly-inaugurated facility, spread across nearly 2,50,000 square feet, will serve as a key technology hub supporting T-Mobile’s global operations. The centre will focus on software engineering, product development, DevOps, data analytics and cybersecurity, areas that are becoming increasingly critical as telecom companies accelerate digital transformation initiatives. The Hyderabad GCC is expected to play a central…