Suresh Krishanan (name changed), thanks his stars for not falling for a tempting job offer from a multinational financial power house a couple of months back. When the 32-year old MBA, currently employed with a public sector insurance firm, spurn the offer on personal grounds, the head-hunter who made the alluring offer warned him that he may live to regret his decision for the rest of his life.
?The offer they made was indeed tempting. But the posting was in Mumbai. After a lot of debating with my family and friends, I decided to give the offer a miss. For me, taking care of my old parents came before a promising career graph?, he says, adding, ?looking back, I thank God and my parents for not biting that bait. If I had taken up the job, I would have been on the streets looking for odd jobs now?. The company, which offered him employment, considered ?too big to fall? by many, had just announced a fresh round of job cuts as it collapsed under its own weight of toxic assets.
Says RK Sandeep Narayanan, an employee of the Central government, ?Unlike many of my friends (employed with the private sector), I can sleep well without worrying about my EMIs or when I will get my next salary. With the new measures announced by the government, I am sure of getting a good hike. I am planning to sell my old car and buy a new one as all of them (car companies) have dropped prices?. It is in this optimism of Sandeep and his ilk that the business houses are now finding a new ray of hope in these troubled times when consumer spending is going downhill.
Korean auto maker Hyundai was the first to spot the opportunity in the new found purchasing power of state government staff, by dishing out a new scheme targeted at Central government employees. The scheme, which ran through October till November, was said to be a grand success with the carmaker managing to meet its target, thanks mainly to the Central government employees? scheme. Under the scheme, Hyundai had offered rock bottom prices for its different models with discounts ranging from Rs 31,000 to Rs 17,000. According to senior officials of Hyundai Motors India Ltd, the scheme was tailor made to tap the increased purchasing power of Central government staff, whose pay packages have gone fatter after the government has decided to implement the Sixth Pay Commission Report which recommended hefty pay hikes across all the section of its employees.
National career Air India is in the process of beating the slowdown blues, at least partially, by offering special packages for Central government and public sector staff who are planning to avail their leave travel allowances (LTA). The LTC 80 Scheme, now being offered by Air India, promises to refund the full amount of the fare in case of cancellation, even for the lowest non-refundable fares just like any normal fare ticket.
A slew of private banks suddenly found the credit ratings of the PSU staff soaring and, ironically, the risk of lending to staff of private sector companies, financial services, media and related segments, going down.
?We have informally said that those who are employed with the Central government or PSUs are top picks, while issuing credit cards or personal loans. We are asked to go slow on others, including employees of IT companies. It is like a re-run of the dotcom burst phase?, says Vivek Naraian, a senior manager at a direct selling agent (DSA), which handles the sales for many private sector banks.
?It may sound ironic, but one clear thing that emerges from the current crisis is that the State has somehow become the icon for stability, especially when the ?invisible hands of the market? failed to do their job in the true sense of the term. The current crisis has made the State much stronger. So it may take some more time for the state to wither away?, mocks M Suresh Babu, who teaches economics and management at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. Both Marx and Marshall were proved wrong once again ?