NEW DELHI: Audit and consulting firm PwC on Wednesday announced plans to hire over 10,000 people over the next five years, a majority of whom would be STEM students, as it seeks to step up the share of consulting business in the overall revenue mix.
As part of the ‘New Equation’ initiative unveiled on Wednesday, the network of firms will focus more on four segments — ESG, deals, risk and regulatory and transformation — with a fivefold jump in campus hiring lined up. The plan is to have at least 40% gender diversity, while earmarking a spend of around 1% of its annual revenues, estimated at around Rs 50 crore currently, for upskilling employees and partners.
“We will invest up to Rs 1,600 crore to acquire and enhance our capabilities across our chosen focus areas, including, for instance, our four goto-market platforms which encompass the most critical areas our clients are dealing with — be it support with evaluating acquisitions, incorporating ESG metrics into their operational structure, navigating the evolving regulatory environment or their overall transformation agendas. We will also be setting up a research institute,” PwC India chairman Sanjeev Krishan told TOI.
Besides, it is looking to enhance focus on entrepreneurial and private businesses, including unicorns and startups.
‘Removal of retro tax to boost investor confidence’
PwC India chairman Sanjeev Krishan has said that the removal of the retrospective tax provision from the law will help shore up investor confidence. “This is a big issue, isn’t it?...this is a really progressive step from the government, and most importantly, it removes policy uncertainty. This is good timing, as India hopes to benefit from the post-Covid geopolitical situation, and I would like to believe that India will feature prominently in the future plans of most investors,” he said.
