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10.25.06
Googlers In Short Supply In India
 By
Doug Caverly
Google is reputedly a great employer: at the Googleplex in Mountain View, workers are treated to recreation facilities, "snack rooms," and bring-your-dog-to-work privileges, among other nice bonuses. Nonetheless, Google is having a hard time "recruiting talented locals in its South Asian operations."
Ram Shriram, a Google director, recently admitted the problem. "I know first hand that we've had a bit more of a challenge trying to hire engineers for Google in Bangalore compared to other parts of the world," he said, according to the Gulf Times.
You can't fault the company for not making an effort, though. On the Google.co.in home page, there's a "We're Hiring" link. Click on it, and you're told of a company that encourages its employees "to make their dreams a reality." Google says it believes in "a fun atmosphere," and offers benefits like "Mediclaim insurance, life insurance, business travel / personal accident insurance," and "sick time, maternity leave, paternity leave, and family care leave."
Google's hiring problems in India may not be due to a lack of appeal (or advertising), though. Rather, there may be an issue of finding applicants with the proper qualifications. Shriram "cited a shortage of web development skills such as knowledge of Javascript and Ajax (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML)," the Gulf Times reported.
"The people are smart, innately smart but don't have this particular skill set yet," Shriram said. "It's great to find a good founding team, but then I can't find middle management. I can't find engineers."
It's also possible that Indians are less than eager to associate themselves with Google due to recent Orkut-related problems. As Amar remarked in a WebProWorld post, "It's becoming a big issue in India as there in no privacy in the site."
Google Earth: An Indian Farmer's Best Friend
By Doug Caverly
A number of farmers in India were going to have their land taken away. They would have been compensated, but now, thanks to Google Earth, they may get to keep the land, or at least receive more money for it.
Farmers were told that their land was infertile, and that the government intended to designate it a Special Economic Zone, which iTWire's Sufia Tippu defines as "a special duty-free enclave designed to promote foreign investments in a comprehensive range of economic activities."
24 villages have been affected by this decision, according to Tippu. Tech2.com puts the number at 45. Both reports support Tippu's statement that activists are "using pictures of land in the village taken from Google Earth as a proof of it being fertile," though.
"Activist Vaishali Patil said that the local officials had submitted a report to the state government about the land being infertile and low in production, but this did not show up on the satellite pictures," the iTWire article continued.
It remains to be seen if the government will accept the Google Earth images as proof of the land's fertility. Tippu reported that, "according to the government officials, you can get higher resolution images from Google Earth to identify waste land, but the images are for just one season. In order to identify the condition of the land, the images have to be for at least two seasons."
The scales seem to be tipping in the farmers' favor, however, judging from the amount of attention they've received. And if they save their farms, they'll owe it all to Google Earth.
About the Author:
Doug is a staff writer for WebProNews. Visit WebProNews for the latest ebusiness news.
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