An impressive 3.5 lakh people is estimated to be hired by Indian establishments in the June-ending quarter. This was revealed by a survey conducted by Ma Foi Randstad, a leading integrated HR service provider in the country. The survey goes on to forecast that ‘driven by India’s economic turnaround post downturn, hiring in the organized sector is set to pick up at a greater pace in the second quarter’.

The latest survey reveals that during January-March quarter, 1,53,564 jobs were created in India and predicts that during April-June quarter, 3,47,463 jobs will be created. The year 2010 may witness the creation of around one million jobs in the country.

The most promising development in the employment market revealed by the survey results is that the hiring spree is taking place across sectors and not limited to a few. Healthcare sector lead the show in new job creation during Jan-March quarter with a tally of 52, 752. Hospitality with 21,500 and Education, Training & Consultancy with 16,200 too came up with a good show.

Forecast for April-June quarter is again lead by healthcare sector with an estimated 96,248 new jobs. Real estate and construction sector with 52,115 jobs, hospitality with 49,000 jobs and IT & ITES sector with 34,000 jobs are also expected to contribute substantially. The jump in hiring is mostly in Real Estate and Construction, Media and Entertainment and Healthcare sectors.

The surveyed companies revealed their ‘wait and watch’ hiring strategy. Most firms said that the hiring would be spread across the year to avoid risk.

Ma Foi Randstad Employment Trends Survey is the country’s largest and most elaborate employment market study. The HR service provider has been conducting this survey since 2004. The latest survey results were based on the information gathered from 650 organizations spread over 13 industry sectors in top-eight cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.

India’s economic turnaround has boosted the hiring rate in the organized sector. A study conducted by Ma Foi Randstand, a global manpower consulting firm, said that 153,564 jobs were created during January-March 2010 and another 347,463 are to be added by June-end. According to Ma Foi Chief Executive K. Pandia Rajan, “The organized sector in India accounts for merely 9 percent of jobs. The government, the public sector and the private sector each contribute to one third of jobs in the organized sector. So, the positive sentiment of the organized sector should expand to the unorganized sector as well. And the pace of job creation in India, in fact, is little faster than what we envisaged in our study.”

Briefing on the city wise job creation, Rajan said that Delhi is likely be the largest employment opportunity provider with 38,350 jobs, followed by Mumbai (27,650 jobs) and Chennai (11,900 jobs). These figures were derived after surveying the employment trends in 650 companies across 13 industry sectors in eight major cities – Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune. The 13 industry sectors from which the data was generated during the survey included Information Technology and IT Enabled Services (IT and ITES), banking, financial service and institutions (BFSI), Pharma, healthcare, trade, including consumer retail service, energy, transport, storage and communication, real estate and construction, hospitality, media and entertainment. Other than these sectors, manufacturing of non- machinery and equipments, education, training and consultancy sectors were also included in the survey.

A survey conducted by the country’s top brokerage house ICICI Securities, said that Indians are mostly interested in buying houses worth Rs 20-50 lakh. The survey was conducted in eight Indian cities Mumbai, Delhi/NCR, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad and Pune. Housing demand in the National Capital Region comprising of Delhi and adjoining cities like Noida, Gurgaon and Greater Noida is much lesser compared to cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru and Mumbai. But these regions have a higher percentage of under-construction houses than any other region.

According to the survey, Indian home buyers prefer mid-income houses ranging from Rs.20 to 50 lakhs. While 50 per cent of prospective buyers are interested in houses worth Rs 20-50 lakh, 35 per cent want a price lower than Rs 20 lakh. In Delhi, most of the recent project launches are targeted at high-end home buyers who prefer flats worth Rs 1 crore or more. Unfortunately less than three per cent buyers want houses worth more than Rs one crore and 12 per cent are interested in a price tag of Rs 50 lakh to Rs one crore. To tap into the mid-income housing market, projects between Rs.20 to Rs.50 lakh should be launched to cater to the needs of the home buyers.

Popular US bike company Harley-Davidson has announced that the company has appointed its first 5 dealers to do the sale in India. The company is planning to start its bookings in India in April.

In 2010, the company plans to offer 12 models of its bikes. Bookings are scheduled to open on 20th April and the bikes will be delivered from June, 2010. The ex-showroom price of the bikes will start from Rs. 6.95 lakh and will go up to Rs. 34.95 lakh.

A statement issued by Harley Davidson said that the dealerships will be available in five cities, which are Chandigarh, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai.

Managing Director of Harley Davidson India Anoop Prakash said, “Today, I am delighted and proud to welcome on-board the first dealers in India to the Harley-Davidson family…Our aim is to create a strong network that will provide our customers a world-class Harley-Davidson ownership experience, and we are off to a great start.”

These appointed dealers will be the only dealers for Harley Davidson bikes, accessories, apparels and part, the statement said. The dealers will also work as official service centres for the company.

The company started the process to select dealers in September 2009 and is believed to have received great response and had got more than 100 applications.

The company said, “The Harley-Davidson India dealerships are being designed to the company’s global standards and will reflect the essence of the brand, offering customers the opportunity to experience what riders across the world have experienced for over a century.”

The company had got the permission to operate in the country back in 2007. But since at that time, there was a huge 100% import duty on the bikes, the company had to hold back its plans.

The operations started in August, last year. All the bikes will be imported from United States where Harley Davidson has its own Completely Build Units.