Wipro Technologies, the country's third largest information technology services company, is giving all its employees in India a pay raise from February. This will also apply to those working temporarily on onsite (with foreign clients) projects.
It is reliably learnt that the average raise is 8 to 9 per cent. A spokesperson confirmed the hike but wouldn't give the range or the cost to the company.
As of December 31, Wipro had 102,746 employees in its IT services business, which accounts for 74 per cent of the company's overall revenue. Salaries account for 50-60 per cent of an IT company's expenses.
The salary hike by the Azim Premji-owned company - which also has an interest in consumer care, lighting and engineering equipment - signifies the overall mood of the IT industry in India. Last year, most of them had cut jobs and pay, or had deferred salary hikes, with the sector facing the global economic slowdown.
TCS,Infosys and Wipro, the big three, had all deferred pay raises last year. Infosys had announced a salary raise of 8 per cent to all its employees in India recently. The company's personnel head, Nandita Gurjar, said employees with promotions had got a rise of about 12.5 per cent. TCS, the number one IT services company, is yet to decide on any raise.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), (BSE: TCS.BO, NSE: TCS.NS) today announced that it is the official technology partner of the Boston Athletic Association and the 2010 Boston Marathon to be held on Monday, April 19, 2010. The agreement features a strong presence by TCS at the Marathon and the three day John Hancock Sports and Fitness Expo held at the Hynes Convention Center.
"Wellness is an important concept for communities and individuals in today's world. We are very committed to supporting healthier communities At TCS, we actively encourage our employees and their families to make fitness and wellness a part of their lives. This not only helps them have a balanced work life, it also creates higher energy and a feeling of well being at the workplace," said N Chandrasekaran, CEO and MD, TCS.
Source: prnewswire.com

Bank of America Corp. reported a fall in its first-quarter profit Friday, in part due to lower mortgage-banking activity -- but its results handily beat Wall Street expectations.
First-quarter net income was $3.2 billion, or 28 cents a share, versus $4.2 billion, or 44 cents a share, a year earlier, Bank of America /quotes/comstock/13*!bac/quotes/nls/bac (BAC 18.31, +0.01, +0.06%) said.
Revenue at the bank fell 11% year-on-year to $32 billion, driven by what it said were the absence of credit-related gains on Merrill Lynch-structured notes that it had enjoyed last year, as well lower mortgage-banking volume and income.
First-quarter provision for credit losses was $9.8 billion, down from $13.4 billion in the first quarter of 2009.