Economy

“I never got any benefits from my contractors when I was working on my own but from the time I am working for LabourNet, I have my health insurance and was even paid when an accident happened a few months back. All my friends here are benefiting from LabourNet,” explains Suresh who is working all day at a construction site near the Tin Factory, KR Puram. He rests on a boulder to talk, wiping sweat off his forehead with his hands full of cement dust. Bengaluru-based LabourNet provides access to information about jobs and labour to construction workers and clients,…

Umesh V and his colleagues at The Mobile Store on 24th Main Road, JP Nagar 2nd phase shell out around Rs. 1200 to Rs. 1500 a month, from their own pockets. The reason? Hijras come to their shop every day, demanding money, forcing them to pay anywhere between Rs. 10 and Rs. 50 per day. “In a day, they come around four to five times. In a group there are around three or four of them. If you do not give them money, they use bad words or attack us and pull our clothes,” says Umesh who has been facing…

The markets of Madivala, Nelamangala, Banashankari and Naganathapura wear a new look these days. Buying vegetables, fruits and other home needs in the evenings has become easier now, thanks to the CFL bulbs that have replaced petromax lanterns in these places. They have illuminated smiles on the vendors’ faces too.Sarojamani, a small vendor for the last 17 years recalls that earlier the vendors had to either scramble for a place below the streetlight or spend on costly and low illuminating light sources or pack up their business by sunset. She used to spend more than Rs 900 per month for…

"Downturn is like baptism with fire. The day I surrendered my ID card, I was really down. It was a long day," expresses Suhas (name changed). Twenty-two year old Suhas started working with Sasken, a leading Bangalore-headquartered communications solutions technology company, in August 2008 as a fresh graduate. By the time he finished his six months training for his position as software engineer, the economic slowdown had hit his company. "The trouble started in October, bad news started pouring in. We were under constant apprehension. We thought we would go in December. In December, the firm started firing senior people.…

Citizen Matters Magazine - Vol 1 Issue 6Dear Readers, Let’s cut to the chase. Election campaigning has started in Bangalore. On April 23, voters from the city’s four parliamentary constituencies will elect their MPs. With the rising interest in voting amongst the educated classes, there will likely be many opportunities for you to directly engage the candidates when they come knocking. But what would you ask the candidates? Should we ask them to make our cities more liveable (which is largely a local government issue) or grill them on grave issues like economic slowdown, terror and communal violence? Or both?…

“Commerce flourishes by circumstances, precarious, transitory, contingent, almost as the winds and waves that bring it to our shores” - Charles Caleb Colton Even as the world reels under the effect of the economic slowdown, companies catering to the domestic market have not been affected all that much, say experts from various sectors, right here in Bengaluru. What does the downturn mean to industries in this blooming city here? How easy is it for namma students to get jobs this year? Are companies in the city still hiring? Or are they asking employees to swalpa adjust maadi? These are some…

Have you ever seen your grandmother or mother being possessive and nostalgic about their first Mysore silk saree? Just as today’s girls go ga-ga over a Swarovski, it was the Mysore silk saree which used to be considered an evergreen gift for a special occasion a few decades ago. It is no surprise that it has an interesting history as it was a thriving industry in itself in the state. Silk material and saris (Pic: Madhu Niranjan) The state sericulture industry saw successful highs in the past before it went down due to several reasons, including lack of technology upgrade…

Luxury apartments with world class facilities, half price sale at a clothes store, mobile phone with three-inch LCD, camera phones…just some of the advertisements on hoardings, serenading the consumer. But today as you drive through the city, more than advertisements for consumer products, you are likely to see advertisers calling for advertisements, their names and numbers given big and bold. Thanks to the economic downturn, say companies, they are taking it slow and cutting down on advertising expenses. But some in the advertising field say it has more to do with the mind than market conditions. Hoardings available on Koramangala…

Citizen Matters Magazine - Vol 1 Issue 3Dear Readers, As you know by now, the global downturn has impacted Bengaluru. In our conversations with citizens and businesses around the city, we noted some obvious and not-so-obvious markers to what’s going on.The earliest to face cutbacks were the city’s garment manufacturers, a major employer of workers. More recently, a round of layoffs has taken place atBengaluru’s major global firms, the bastion for white-collar jobs. The cuts are trickling down; anecdotally, shops and businesses in the city are confirming drops in sales over the past six months -- especially those that rely…

It was that time of the year again when Bangalore geared up to be a proud host of what is known as Asia’s premier air show! The Yelahanka air force station was decked up for Aero India 2009 from 11th February to 15th February. Defence Minister Mr. A K Antony declared Aero India 2009 open and also announced that the next Aero India will be held on 9th to 13th February, 2011. The inaugural site was house full with over 50 delegations including air chiefs, air marshals and generals from the airforces of US, UK, Germany, Sweden, Myanmar and other…