Ola sets up tech centre in San Francisco, home turf of rival Uber

Company News
Ride-hailing firm Ola is taking on Uber by setting up a first-of-its-kind ‘Advanced Technology Center’ at San Francisco, in the United States (US), where rival Uber is headquartered.
Bengaluru-based Ola plans to build a team of more than 150 engineers working out of the centre to develop next-generation technology in mobility.
“The Valley and the talent ecosystem here are very conducive to the development of next-generation mobility solutions,” said Ola co-founder and chief technology officer Ankit Bhati. “This is also a big step in our journey as a global mobility player, with a mission that talent from around the world are inspired to join us on,” he said.
The center would look to onboard world-class talent who will collaborate with global teams in the various geographies where Ola operates. It would build technology solutions that can accelerate Ola’s ambitions across electric mobility and connected vehicles, as well as lead futuristic experiments like autonomous vehicles.
Ola is looking to hire experts across artificial intelligence, machine learning, data sciences, engineering and product development.
Founded in 2011 by Bhavish Aggarwal and Ankit Bhati, Ola now has a presence in 150 cities across India, UK, Australia and New Zealand. It currently serves more than 150 million users and is close to completing over a billion rides annually.

  In India, Ola’s core mobility offering is supplemented by its electric-vehicle arm, Ola Electric, a fleet management business, Ola Fleet Technologies, and a public transportation ticketing app, Ridlr.

Mumbai expects 20% salary hike, Bengaluru's IT staff expect least increment

Economy policy
Professionals in the financial capital are looking at higher pay hikes of 20 percent or more, while those in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru expect only about 10 percent increment this year, says a survey.
Professionals in Mumbai, Pune and Chennai are looking for higher pay hikes of above 20 percent, while their counterparts in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru expect only 0-10 percent hike, says a survey by jobs portal Shine.com conducted across professionals from across industries in Mumbai, Delhi- NCR, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chennai.

It has found that in Mumbai almost 37 percent of those polled are expecting increment of above 20 percent, while in Pune and Chennai it is 36 and 38 percent, respectively. As many as 62 percent of employees in Mumbai are looking for over 20 percent appraisal in the education or training sector, around 56 percent in the auto sector are eyeing the same.

"It is interesting to note the variance in employee expectations across different metro cities and across sectors. While employee sentiments are high across most sectors, it is a given that not all organisations will be able to meet these expectations," said Zairus Master, CEO, Shine.com.
Further, 48 percent in the auto sector and 38 percent in the education/training sector are also looking for over 20 percent hike in Pune. In Bengaluru, professionals are expecting up to 10 percent hikes, while those in Delhi-NCR are on a lower side.


 Over 46 percent of e-commerce sector employees in Bengaluru are only expecting an average growth of 11-15 percent. A sector-wise analysis of appraisal expectations reveals that the highest appraisal sentiment is being carried by professionals in the banking, financial services and insurance and BPO/BPO/ITES sectors with over 35 percent expecting over 20 percent hikes.

38 more cities to get diesel at doorstep as 3 OMCs plan to extend service

Companies News:

Residents of 38 more cities would soon be able to have diesel delivered at their doorstep as the three oil marketing companies (OMCs) plan to extend this service by March.
Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) are providing home delivery of diesel in nine cities — Pune, Delhi, Jaunpur, Chennai, Bengaluru, Aligarh, Rewari, Udaipur and Navi Mumbai.

“By the end of January, we will be having this facility in eight more cities and will extend it to 30 more cities by March 31,” said an official close to the development.
Home delivery of diesel had kicked off in Pune on March 16 last year. Among the cities with this facility, Navi Mumbai has the largest sales of 150 kilo litre a month while sales in other cities are at an average 40-50 kl per month. “The move helps large fleets of commercial vehicles as it saves both time and money for the fleet owners,” he added.


 The customer should buy a minimum of 200 litres at a time. However, the petroleum and explosives safety organisation is yet to give clearance for the supply of petrol to homes, owing to its inflammable nature. Firms supply diesel to homes using small tankers that has been retrofitted with a fuel dispenser. Based on the existing norms, any customer ordering more than 2,500 litres will need a clearance from PESO for storage...Read More

BigBasket eyes around Rs 250 crore revenue from organic food business.

Companies News:

Online grocery firm BigBasket is increasing its focus on organic food products, and expects this segment to contribute around Rs 250 crore to its overall revenues in financial year 2019-20 (FY20).

The Bengaluru-headquartered firm on Sunday unveiled new gluten-free and healthy products under 'bb GoodDiet' range at the Organics & Millets 2019 International Trade Fair here.

ALSO READ: BigBasket eyes 40% revenue; to launch beauty as category in a few days


 "We are observing a strong demand for organic products from a specific segment of customers who are very health conscious. This category grew more than two times since last year," said Seshu Kumar Tirumala, national head, buying and merchandising, BigBasket...Read More