Credit: Tenor
Also in this letter:
■ K’taka BJP MLA asks Centre to ban promotion of online gambling
■ G20 Finance Track to discuss crypto, taxation tomorrow
■ HCLTech growth guidance ‘best’ among IT peers, says CFO
US lawsuit accuses TCS of favouring Indian and South Asian candidates
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is facing a class action civil rights lawsuit in the US that accuses it of discriminatory hiring practices.
A class-action lawsuit is a type of lawsuit in which one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group.
Disgruntled former employee: Former employee Shawn Katz filed the lawsuit, which accuses TCS of discrimination in hiring on the basis of race and national origin, at the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, according to case details accessed by ET.
Katz alleged that the IT major has engaged in a pattern of discrimination against individuals who are not South Asian or Indian in hiring and employment decisions.
Katz, who worked with TCS for over nine years, claimed he was fired after not finding the right opportunities within the organisation due to a lack of assistance from the hiring teams that allocate projects to employees.
Details: The latest lawsuit accused TCS of “knowingly and intentionally creating and maintaining an overwhelmingly disproportionate workforce in the United States that consists of approximately 70% South Asian employees (primarily from India).”
It claimed that while only about 12% to 13% of the United States’ IT industry is South Asian, approximately 70% of TCS’ United States workforce is South Asian, mainly Indian employees who are in the US on work visas.
It also alleged that TCS’ talent acquisition strategies are designed to attract and favour Indian candidates, and that TCS offers better career growth opportunities to candidates on visas over non-Indian and non-South Asian candidates.
Deja vu: In 2018, a California district court ruled in favour of TCS in a similar lawsuit filed by three former employees.
K’taka BJP MLA asks Centre to ban promotion of online gambling
Former Karnataka law and education minister S Suresh Kumar has written to Union Ministers Amit Shah and Nirmala Sitharaman, urging them to ban the promotion of online games involving real-money bets through advertisements and other forms of marketing, including text messages and mobile calls.
Driving the news: In separate letters, he wrote he was aware of the court rulings allowing online games of skill. But the government could nonetheless consider a ban on marketing by online gaming companies in the interest of protecting youngsters, he added.
Kumar urged the government to treat online gambling like alcohol and cigarettes with respect to advertising.
“Though the consumption of liquor and cigarettes is allowed under the law, their manufacturers are expressly prohibited from advertising and marketing them and even our GST regime treats them as demerit goods… I am of the strong view that the same regulations should apply to online games involving money,” he said.
Skill vs chance: The former minister added, “I am aware courts have upheld the legal validity of online games of skill, but there is no bar on the government from prohibiting advertising/marketing/texting by online gaming companies to lure people into playing these games by betting money.”
Case in SC: Karnataka recently moved the Supreme Court, challenging a high court judgement earlier this year that quashed some key amendments to the Karnataka Police Act, 1963, which sought to prohibit betting in online games.
Tamil Nadu, too: The Tamil Nadu assembly has also passed a bill seeking to ban online gambling, including online games of chance (such as rummy and poker), and draw up rules for online gaming.
The E-Gaming Federation met the TN governor last week. Seeking to explain the interpretations by the Supreme Court and high courts, it insisted that games like poker and rummy have clearly been identified as games of skill.
G20 Finance Track to discuss crypto, taxation tomorrow
The union finance ministry said a globally coordinated approach to crypto assets, advancing the international taxation agenda, and reorienting international financial institutions will be key items on the agenda for the G20 Finance Track meetings, which start on Tuesday.
Details: The first G20 Finance and Central Bank Deputies (FCBD) meeting, jointly hosted by the finance ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), is scheduled to be held from December 13-15 in Bengaluru.
“The meeting of the G20 FCBD will be co-chaired by economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth and RBI deputy governor Michael D Patra,” the finance ministry said in a statement.
Other topics: It added that deliberations will be held on matters of global relevance, including infrastructure development, sustainable finance, global health, international taxation and financial sector issues.
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HCLTech growth guidance ‘best’ among IT peers, says CFO
HCLTech’s 16-17% annual revenue growth guidance for its IT services business is still the “best” among tier I Indian IT majors, its chief financial officer Prateek Aggarwal told us.
Catch up quick: India’s third-largest software firm said on Thursday it may clock annual revenue growth at the lower end of its guided range, causing its stock to stock ended 6.5% lower on Friday’s close.
India’s third largest software services provider by revenue said last Thursday it may clock annual revenue growth at the lower end of its guided range, pushing stocks lower by 6.5% on Friday.
We reported on Monday morning, citing several analysts, that the commentary underscores the uncertainty that the whole industry may be facing.
Yes, but: “We are talking about a half percent kind of a number. Anybody will take 16.5% as the midpoint. It is really small to be very honest,” Aggarwal said.
On the macro front, he said major economies have not yet slipped into a recession, which is good news for the Indian IT sector. “The recession might hit in the second half of the calendar year 2023 and it is “still a little way off to my mind”, he added.
Also Read | HCLTech’s stock rout a sign of wider growth concerns, analysts say
Infographic Insight: biggest gaming acquisitions
The US Federal Trade Commission recently sued to block Microsoft’s planned $69 billion takeover of video game company Activision Blizzard, saying it could suppress competitors to Microsoft’s Xbox game console and its growing games subscription business. The FTC’s challenge is being seen as a test case for President Joe Biden’s mandate to scrutinise Big Tech mergers.
If it goes through, Microsoft’s nearly $69 billion deal for Activision Blizzard will be the most expensive video game company acquisition ever, followed by Take-Two Interactive’s Zynga deal worth $12.7 billion earlier this year.
Take a look at others on the list.
Today’s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Zaheer Merchant and Megha Mishra in Mumbai. Graphics and illustrations by Rahul Awasthi.
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