Indian pilots receive only 40% of budget

While the civil aviation ministry on Thursday said that the 1,600 pilots of Air India are paid Rs800 crore as salaries every month, the Indian Commercial Pilots' Association (ICPA) said that only 40% of the amount goes to the Indian pilots. They also said that the aviation ministry has been sitting on their demands to bring in parity in the wages of Indian Airlines and AI pilots and till date there have been 20 committees and consultancies appointed, yet nothing has worked out and a lot of money has been wasted in the process.

Reacting to aviation minister Ravi Vayalar's comments that the AI pilots salaries constitute a huge chunk of expenditure, the ICPA said that what is paid to them is considerably less than what is paid to AI pilots.“Of the Rs 800 crore, 60-70% goes to AI pilots as they have a fixed salary component where the company has to pay them for 80 hours of flying.While we are paid on hourly basis and with our under-utilisation, our salaries have gone down to 40% of theamount,” said an ICPA member.

The ICPA also questioned the manner in which the merger of the two companies was handled. “They spent more than Rs300 crore to manage the merger, but nothing came out of it,” said an ICPA member. “They hired global consultants Accenture for Rs200 crore to oversee the integration process of AI and IA.Then they hired financial advisory firm Deloitte for Rs90 crore to seek recommendations over lessening the wage bill and fuel cost and still the company is making losses,” said Captain Rishabh Kapoor, general secretary, ICPA. AI’s annual wage bill is Rs3,100 crore while fuel bill is Rs 4,000 crore.

Relevante Extends its India-based Leadership Team

Relevante India, a leading provider of accounting and technology solutions, announced the expansion of its India based leadership team with the appointment of five managers to the leadership team - Relevante.com. Relevante India, announced the expansion of its India based leadership team with the appointment of five managers to the leadership team. The company’s operations in India support its US operations as well as a growing portfolio of India based clients.

“We are very pleased with the growth of our India based operations and believe this expanded leadership team is strategically important for our continued success in both the US and India,” said William Brassington, Relevante's CEO. “This group of leaders has a track record of success and will be instrumental in the implementation of our growth plans for 2011 and beyond,” added Phanish Adivi, Director of Relevante India. The five appointments to Relevante India’s leadership team are as follows:

Rajnikanth Korapati will serve as Manager of Online Marketing with responsibility for overseeing the company’s website, social media, and eMarketing programs. He has been employed with Relevante of over five years and has more than six years experience in similar roles. He has a MBA in InformationSystems.

Tulasi Kumari will serve as Manager of Recruiting with responsibility for overseeing Relevante India’s Finance and Accounting recruiting operations. Relevante India will continue to provide permanent placement staffing solutions to accounting and finance departments of global companies with operations in India. Ms. Kumari has been employed by Relevante for over three years and has over five years of recruiting experience. She holds a MBA in Human Resources.

Jayasena Molugu will serve as Manager of Administration with responsibility for the company’s management reporting, content management, and performance management systems. Mr. Molugu has been employed with Relevante for over five years and has over eight years of experience in similar roles. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce. Narendra Naidu will serve as Manager of Recruiting with responsibility for overseeing the India based recruiters that support US clients. He has been employed with Relevante for less than a year and has over four years of recruiting experience. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce.

Sahadeva Reddy will serve as Manager of Business Development with responsibility for overseeing Relevante India’s Finance and Accounting business development operations. He has been employed with Relevante for one year and has over eight years of sales experience. He holds a MBA in Human Resources.