Sure, there are a substantial number of jobs being created in the IT/ITeS sectors, but the grim news that out of every 100 graduates passing out every year, only 4-5 are "employable". What does employable mean?

Well, for starters the graduates need to have a fair grasp of the English language, and more importantly exude a can-do attitude. And that’s where most of the grads flunk. "Most graduates we interview score high marks in their studies, but when it comes to confidence and mastery over language, they are found wanting. Only about five in 100 applicants make the cut," says A. Raja Suresh Kumar, site leader for Genpact’s Hyderabad facility.

What’s the industry doing to make graduates "employable"? According to Mr Kumar, who is also a member of the executive council of the Institute of Services Management, the ISM has launched several measures to make graduates measure up. "Genpact works with the Jawahar Knowledge Centres under which students get an opportunity to work on live projects with us. This gives them the chance to work in real-time," he says.

The ISM and Genpact have launched a project called "Career Awareness and Recruitment Drive" in which colleges in smaller towns are given a presentation on the prospects in the IT/ITeS segments. "We had 10,000 attending a CARD programme in Warangal, and we plan to have such programmes in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and Tirupati," Mr Raja says.

The most ambitious recruitment tool, however, is in the pipeline. "We have just completed a pilot project called the Graduate Employability Test. This test aims to test the communication and analytical skills of graduates. We are fine-tuning the GET before we launch it in various colleges," he says. "We feel we are making an impact with our initiative to increase aw-areness about the pro-spects in the industry," Mr Raja adds. The trick now is to replicate these initiatives in other states.

Web peril

The number of journalists jailed worldwide for their work increased for the second consecutive year, and one in three is now an Internet blogger, online editor, or Web-based reporter, according to an analysis by the New York City-based Committee to Protect Journalists. CPJ’s annual worldwide census found 134 journalists imprisoned on December 1, an increase of nine from the 2005 tally. China, Cuba, Erit-rea, and Ethiopia were the top four jailers am-ong the 24 nations who imprisoned journalists. "Print reporters, editors, and photographers continue to make up the largest professional category, with 67 cases in 2006, but Internet journalists are a growing segment of the census and constitute the second largest category, with 49 cases."

Idea Cellular Ltd., an Aditya Birla Group company has filed its DRHP with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for a proposed initial public offer (IPO) of equity shares of Rs 10 each for cash at a premium to be decided through a 100 per cent book-building process aggregating to Rs 2,500 crores.

The company proposes to reserve equity shares amounting to Rs 50 crores for allotment to eligible employees of the company with the balance of Rs 2,450 crores to be available for allotment to public.

Of the total net issue, the company proposes to reserve 60 per cent to be allotted on a proportionate basis to qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), of which 5 per cent will be allotted to mutual funds. A further 10 per cent will be reserved for allotment to non-institutional buyers.

SEL plans Rs 185 cr expansion

SEL Manufacturing Company Ltd. proposes to enter the capital market soon with an IPO of 53,99,210 equity shares of Rs 10 each through 100 per cent book building process to part finance its expansion plan of Rs 184.57 crores. It has filed DRHP with Sebi for the purpose. The company is expanding its capacities in spinning, knitting and garment manufacturing at a cost of Rs 184.57 crores. "Post implementation of the expansion project we will have capacities of 74,256 spindles, four million pieces per annum of garments and 4,950 tons of knitted fabrics per annum," said Mr Neeraj Saluja, MD, SEL Manufacturing Company.