{"id":17231,"date":"2024-04-03T14:41:23","date_gmt":"2024-04-03T14:41:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/03\/it-hiring-shows-signs-of-life-amazon-seller-appario-sold\/"},"modified":"2024-04-03T14:41:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-03T14:41:23","slug":"it-hiring-shows-signs-of-life-amazon-seller-appario-sold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2024\/04\/03\/it-hiring-shows-signs-of-life-amazon-seller-appario-sold\/","title":{"rendered":"IT hiring shows signs of life; Amazon seller Appario sold"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109009404\/IT%20hiring.jpg?resize=1200,900&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"IT hiring shows signs of life; Amazon seller Appario sold\" title=\"IT hiring shows signs of life; Amazon seller Appario sold\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>After an extended lull, major IT companies are showing signs of increased hiring activity \u2014 the first such rise in 20 months. This and more in today\u2019s ETtech Top 5.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Also in this letter:<\/span> <br \/>\u25a0 Infographic Insight: India\u2019s UPI story<br \/>\u25a0 Explained: Apple&#8217;s ReALM<br \/>\u25a0 FSSAI\u2019s rules for ecommerce on \u2018health\u2019 drinks<\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-bottom: solid 1px #979797; margin: 20px 0 14px;\" data-attr-sectionload=\"jsSectionLad_1\"\/>\n<p>Signs of life in IT hiring; companies stay cautious<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><\/div>\n<p>IT job-seekers seem to be in for a respite as <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/jobs\/hr-policies-trends\/it-services-firms-witness-first-rise-in-hiring-in-20-months\/articleshow\/108980894.cms\">major companies recorded their first rise in active hiring in the past 20 months<\/a>. Data suggests that the number of open positions accepting applications rose to 82,000 in March from a low of 50,000 in January this year.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Yes, but:<\/span> Owing to dipping attrition, the collective gross hiring by the top IT services companies fell 4-6% quarter-on-quarter in March, according to an analysis by staffing firm Xpheno, based on talent movement patterns in the January-March period.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Expert take:<\/span> \u201cWith the 4-6% drop, the gross hiring volume for the quarter ending March 2024 could emerge as the lowest in more than two fiscal years. But despite the dip in gross hiring, the combined impact of lowered exits, will result in a headcount degrowth that&#8217;s lesser than the previous quarter,\u201d said Anil Ethanur, cofounder, Xpheno.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Key numbers:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"ulCommon\">\n<li>4-6% drop in collective gross hiring action by the biggest IT services companies in Q4 vs Q3<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ulCommon\">\n<li>Gross hiring (attrition refills &amp; fresh hiring) declined for eight consecutive quarters<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ulCommon\">\n<li>Average attrition down at 14% vs 20% a year ago<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\"><br \/>FY25 outlook: <\/span>IT sector consultants said that the conversation for FY25 is still heavily focused on more dilution of the bench, increasing automation, improving efficiency and targeted hiring, mostly in niche areas such as AI and GenAI amid continued macroeconomic uncertainty and hardly any signals of demand recovery yet.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Catch up quick:<\/span> ET reported on Wednesday that Indian IT majors HCLTech and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/information-tech\/it-sectors-challenges-persist-in-q4-guidance-for-fy25-in-focus\/articleshow\/108982279.cms\">will likely pull ahead of their top-tier software rivals<\/a> as the outsourcing industry starts to put out fourth-quarter earnings next week.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Also read | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/tide-seems-to-be-turning-for-it-as-hiring-mandates-rise-50-in-february\/articleshow\/108798282.cms%E2%80%8B\" data-type=\"tilCustomLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tide seems to be turning for IT as hiring mandates rise 50% in February<\/a><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-bottom: solid 1px #979797; margin: 20px 0 14px;\" data-attr-sectionload=\"jsSectionLad_2\"\/>\n<p>Amazon India\u2019s largest seller Appario sold to Clicktech<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"artimg\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109009491\/Amazon logo.jpg\" alt=\"Amazon logo\" title=\"Amazon logo\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Amazon India seller Clicktech has <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/amazon-indias-largest-seller-appario-sold-to-clicktech\/articleshow\/109007624.cms\">acquired its peer Appario<\/a> as part of the ecommerce major\u2019s plan to divest stakes in sellers on its platform.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Driving the news:<\/span> Appario is the largest seller on Amazon India after <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/cloudtail-india-fy23-revenue-plummets-84-as-firm-stops-selling-on-amazon-marketplace\/articleshow\/104321632.cms\" data-type=\"tilCustomLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Cloudtail was shuttered<\/a>, and moves a significant volume of orders for the local arm of the US-based etailer. <\/p>\n<p>Amazon is also acquiring Appario\u2019s parent firm, Frontizo Business Services, from its joint venture partner, Patni Group. Appario is the wholly-owned subsidiary of Frontizo.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Deal details: <\/span>Clicktech is promoted by the Vinod Poddar group, which has interests in steel and coal processing, real estate and plastics. <\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Clicktech) believes that it can scale and grow by expanding its selection offering on the marketplace. Hence the board has decided to buy Appario\u2019s business and expand their product offering,\u201d executive director Raj Jain told ET in a statement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"artimg\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109009538\/Appario Retail timeline GFX.jpg\" alt=\"Appario Retail timeline GFX\" title=\"Appario Retail timeline GFX\"\/><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Amazon\u2019s plan: <\/span>Appario was the last remaining major seller in which Amazon itself held a stake. In October 2022, Amazon said <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/amazon-to-shut-seller-firm-appario-in-a-year-renews-frontizo-jv-for-three-years\/articleshow\/95204837.cms\" data-type=\"tilCustomLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it would delist Appario<\/a> from the platform over the next year, amid protests from smaller sellers and regulatory pressures.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">A look back:<\/span> This is the second time Amazon is divesting its stake from a seller entity to comply with local ecommerce norms. In 2022, Amazon had delisted and shut down seller Cloudtail, where it held a stake alongside Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy\u2019s Catamaran Ventures. Cloudtail\u2019s inventory was bought out by a number of firms like Clicktech and Cocoblu Retail.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Also read | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/amazon-india-largest-seller-appario-retail-fy23-revenue-falls-8-profits-rise-marginally\/articleshow\/105662763.cms%E2%80%8B%E2%80%8B\" data-type=\"tilCustomLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Amazon top seller Appario\u2019s revenue dips 8% in FY23<\/a><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-bottom: solid 1px #979797; margin: 20px 0 14px;\" data-attr-sectionload=\"jsSectionLad_3\"\/>\n<p>Ecomm, gaming, financial services comprise 80% of online transactions in H2 2023: report<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"artimg\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109009550\/UPI.jpg\" alt=\"UPI\" title=\"UPI\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Ecommerce, gaming, utilities, government and financial services contributed <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/ecommerce-gaming-financial-services-made-up-80-of-online-deals-in-h2-2023-report\/articleshow\/109008799.cms\" data-type=\"tilCustomLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">to about 80% of total online transactions<\/a> during the second half of 2023, according to a report by French payment company Worldline.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Fine print:<\/span> In-store transactions saw merchant categories such as grocery stores, restaurants, service stations, clothing stores, pharmacies and hospitals accounting for approximately 65% of transaction volume and nearly 50% of total value in H2 2023.<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"artimg\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109009592\/India UPI growth story Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH.jpg\" alt=\"India UPI growth story Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH\" title=\"India UPI growth story Apr 2024 Graphic ETTECH\"\/><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Rise in payment infrastructure: <\/span>Between July and December 2023, the number of point-of-sale (PoS) terminals grew by 26% to reach 8.56 million. Private sector banks dominated this space with a 73% market share, while public sector banks accounted for 18%. Additionally, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) QR transactions increased by 57% to 317 million during this period.<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"artimg\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109010426\/Top UPI Apps.jpg\" alt=\"Top UPI Apps\" title=\"Top UPI Apps\"\/><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Cards trailing:<\/span> The total number of cards in circulation showed a modest growth, reaching 1.3 billion in December 2023. Credit cards saw the highest surge with a 21% year-on-year growth to 97.9 million, followed by a 13% growth in prepaid cards and a 2% growth in debit cards.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Also read |<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/startups\/decoding-the-upi-growth-story-through-the-eyes-of-a-duopoly\/articleshow\/108625541.cms\">ETtech In-depth: Decoding the UPI growth story through the eyes of a duopoly<\/a><\/p>\n<hr style=\"border-bottom: solid 1px #979797; margin: 20px 0 14px;\" data-attr-sectionload=\"jsSectionLad_4\"\/>\n<p>Is Apple&#8217;s ReALM better than GPT-4?<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"artimg\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109009613\/Apple.jpg\" alt=\"Apple\" title=\"Apple\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Ahead of its global developers conference on June 10, Apple has hinted at its artificial intelligence (AI) plans. It released a research paper last week, which discussed its large language model (LLM) Reference Resolution As Language Modeling (ReALM) and how it can \u201csubstantially outperform\u201d OpenAI\u2019s GPT-4. ETtech looks at <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/ettech-explainer-is-apples-realm-better-than-openais-gpt-4\/articleshow\/109003347.cms\">some of its key aspects<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Reference resolution: <\/span>Apple said that while LLMs are extremely powerful for a variety of tasks, their use in reference resolution, particularly for non-conversational entities, remains underutilised.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Jargon buster:<\/span> Reference resolution is the task of determining what entities are referred to by which linguistic expression. In most cases, they refer to ambiguous or contextual words such as \u2018they\u2019 or \u2018them\u2019. While humans can easily understand them, it is difficult for AI chatbots to determine their context and comprehend them.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Also read | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/tech\/technology\/apples-tim-cook-tells-china-forum-ai-is-key-for-climate-battle\/articleshow\/108753595.cms\" data-type=\"tilCustomLink\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Apple\u2019s Tim Cook tells China forum AI is key for climate battle<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">ReALM of understanding: <\/span>Apple\u2019s LLM is trying to understand three identities.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"ulCommon\">\n<li><span class=\"subHead\">On-Screen Entities:<\/span> These are entities that are currently displayed on a user\u2019s screen<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"ulCommon\">\n<li><span class=\"subHead\">Conversational Entities: <\/span>These are relevant to the conversation and might come from a previous instance for the user. For instance, when the user says \u201ccall mom\u201d, the contact for mom would be the relevant entity in question.<\/li>\n<li><span class=\"subHead\">Background Entities: <\/span>These are relevant entities that come from background processes that might not necessarily be a direct part of what the user sees on their screen or their interaction with the virtual agent; for example, a song that starts playing in the background and ReALM can take note and understand that.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr style=\"border-bottom: solid 1px #979797; margin: 20px 0 14px;\" data-attr-sectionload=\"jsSectionLad_5\"\/>\n<p>No \u2018health\u2019 or \u2018energy\u2019 in malt-based drinks, FSSAI tells ecommerce companies<\/p>\n<div class=\"imageHolder\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"artimg\" align=\"center\" style=\"width:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109010453\/Soft drinks can have detrimental effects on liver health.jpg\" alt=\"Soft drinks can have detrimental effects on liver health\" title=\"Soft drinks can have detrimental effects on liver health\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Ecommerce platforms in India <a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/industry\/cons-products\/food\/fssai-tells-ecommerce-companies-to-stop-using-the-term-health-drink-or-energy-drink-for-malt-based-drinks\/articleshow\/108981294.cms\">are facing new regulations<\/a> from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding how they describe certain beverages. The terms \u201chealth drink\u201d and \u201cenergy drink\u201d can no longer be used for dairy-based, cereal-based, or malt-based drinks. <\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">Details:<\/span> This is mainly because \u201chealth drink\u201d isn\u2019t a defined category under Indian food laws, and \u201cenergy drink\u201d applies specifically to flavoured water-based beverages (both carbonated and non-carbonated). The FSSAI is essentially making sure that online sellers accurately describe these drinks to avoid confusing customers.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">No confusion:<\/span> The food regulator said the usage of incorrect terms can be \u201cmisleading\u201d for consumers. \u201cFSSAI has advised all ecommerce food business operators (FBOs) to promptly rectify this misclassification by removing or de-linking such drinks or beverages from the category of \u2018Health Drinks\/Energy Drinks\u2019,\u201d the regulator said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"subHead\">India play:<\/span> This comes as big names like PepsiCo, Coca-Cola, and Hell are offering energy drinks in India at a much lower price point compared to leading brands like Red Bull and Monster. They have also made these drinks more accessible by selling them in regular grocery stores, and now online.<\/p>\n<p><em>Today\u2019s ETtech Top 5 newsletter was curated by Gaurab Dasgupta in New Delhi and Vaibhavi Khanwalkar in Bengaluru.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After an extended lull, major IT companies are showing signs of increased hiring activity \u2014 the first such rise in 20 months. This and more in today\u2019s ETtech Top 5. Also in this letter: \u25a0 Infographic Insight: India\u2019s UPI story\u25a0 Explained: Apple&#8217;s ReALM\u25a0 FSSAI\u2019s rules for ecommerce on \u2018health\u2019 drinks Signs of life in IT [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/img.etimg.com\/photo\/msid-109009404\/IT%20hiring.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[607],"tags":[3865,22713,22629,5167,22712,11748,6847,22711,76,22710,11540,1116,8438,2508,1322],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17233,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17231\/revisions\/17233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}