Bits & bytes
Now, institute to train investors

Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is setting up a dedicated training and research institute to train investors and other stakeholders in securities market.

The institute, to be set up near Mumbai, would have six different schools which would train the investors and explain to them various facets of the capital market, SEBI Chairman M Damodaran said in Coimbatore recently.

"This institute will be the first of its kind in the world, run by a regulator," he said.

The institute would have different acadedmic programmes, including a Ph.D on Capital Market, Damodaran said.

He said 60 per cent of the facultly members would be drawn from India and SEBI has tied up with some experts in the US and the UK, who would mould the investors 'to work in a healthy market.' Construction activities for the institute would soon commence.

SEBI would also hold seminars to update journalists, particularly deskpersons of financial newspapers, on the happenings in the capital markets, he said. — PTI

SSi JQ course for professionals

Aptech Computer Education, the flagship brand of the Global Learning Solutions company, Aptech Ltd., has announced the launch of SSi Job Quotient ( SSi JQ) , a course specifically designed for engineers, MCAs and M.Sc. ( IT/ Computer Science), who are looking for comprehensive vendor certified courses and a quick entry into the software development companies. — TNS

Queue up, IFCI in hiring mode Enthused by expectations of capital infusion, Delhi-based financial institution IFCI has started a recruitment drive after a gap of five years to beef up its dwindling manpower. The IFCI, which has been in the red for the past five years, has opened its doors to new employees by inviting applications for 35 mid-level managers. Over the last six years, IFCI saw massive attrition with total staff strength going down to 475 from 831 as on March 31, 2001, a company official said in New Delhi. The current strength of 475 employees includes 353 executives and professionals, he said, adding the Voluntary Retirement Schemes (VRS) was also partly responsible for decrease in the number of employees. The company is in the process of inducting a strategic partner by selling up to 26 per cent stake. Ernst & Young has been appointed consultant to find out a strategic partner. By January next year, the process is expected to be complete which will bring much needed financial resources and management expertise for reviving its lost fortune. According to a recent recruitment advertisement, IFCI is now in the process of re-orientation with an aim to establish itself as a major player in corporate finance with focus on manufacturing, infrastructure and service enterprises. — PTI