Sectors not hit by virus may see spike in hiring
JOB OPTIMISM Health care, e-commerce, packaged consumer goods, online education firms have shown intent to start hiring soon
MUMBAI: India’s formal jobs market seems to be stabilising and hiring is expected to pick up over the next six months, but the recovery seems to be uneven with most opportunities emerging from sectors that were least affected by the Covid-19 lockdown.
Several industries such as education and healthcare are expected to lead the way in fresh recruitments as the spread of Covid-19 and the lockdown have led to a sharp spike in demand, according to a survey of hiring intent by staffing firm Teamlease, which works with more than 3,500 companies.
While the pandemic has forced many firms to downsize, a few industries are also benefiting from the changed realities of the post-pandemic world. The firms that expressed their intent to hire soon include healthcare, online education, e-commerce and packaged consumer goods. However, hiring by airlines, hotels and many manufacturing companies will likely remain anaemic.
Teamlease defines hiring intent as the percentage of hiring managers planning to recruit in the near future and does not indicate the volume of hiring. “The current circumstances don’t lend itself to any comparison with the past when it comes to future of employment. We have to make do for now with the optimism simply around various businesses intent to hire rather than the quantum of hire,” Rituparna Chakraborty co-founder and executive vicepresident at Teamlease.
While hiring intent can change in future, the top-ranking sectors in the survey are expected to do the bulk of their hiring in the next six months. As many as 33% of healthcare and pharma hiring managers surveyed said they intend to hire soon. The education sector has also seen a sharp uptick in e-learning solutions, with many looking to upskill, leading to a surge in demand for remote learning solutions across segments. Here, 27% of respondents remain optimistic about hiring new employees. Firms in packaged consumer goods and farm equipment are likely to feel more confident about hiring as demand has either neared the pre-covid-19 level or have exceeded it.
Even as a demand revival takes hold, intermittent and localised lockdowns have disrupted manufacturing and supply chains. The e-commerce sector ranked No. 3 on hiring intent. It is expected to add a significant number of jobs with 26% of hiring managers responding in affirmative. Likewise, a good monsoon and the government’s increased allocation to rural employment schemes is expected to create a diverse range of jobs in the rural sector. The FMCG sector also features prominently among the top job creators followed by IT, energy and retail sectors.
MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) characterisation of YES Bank’s Additional Tier 1 (AT1) bond write-down will scare off future investments in such instruments and deprive midsized lenders of a valuable source of funds, fund managers and lawyers said.
As part of a rescue led by State Bank of India in the March quarter, troubled private lender YES Bank wrote down AT1 bonds worth ₹8,415 crore. In an affidavit before the Madras high court earlier this month, RBI said these bonds carry higher interest rates because of their higher risks, raising worries that this could lead to similar write-downs when a bank’s capital falls below regulatory requirements.
“Investors in AT1 bonds would need to brace for such a complete write-off of investment, especially in those of smaller-sized banks. So, it is unlikely we would subscribe to fresh issuances,” a fund manager said on condition of anonymity.
The development comes at a time when at least four banks— State Bank of India, HDFC Bank, Bank of Baroda and Canara Bank—have said some of their fresh fundraisings would be through AT1 bonds.
63 Moons Technologies Ltd, which held YES Bank’s AT1 bonds of ₹300 crore, moved a petition in Madras HC in June against RBI and YES Bank. It said that previously, in the case of public sector banks, the bonds were redeemed first and reconstruction came later, but in the case of YES Bank, it was in the reverse order.
“This is illegal and contrary to the provisions of Section 45 of the Banking Regulation Act,” said 63 Moons.
In its reply, RBI said bondholders were fully aware of the risks while investing and that they were contractually bound and cannot challenge the writeoff. An email sent to RBI seeking a response remained unanswered.