A massive number of students follow the test papers online for competitive exams such as CAT, GMAT, GRE and AIEEE and Web 2.0 interface has further opened up the channels of communication between students and their peers. This allows students to get feedback and recommendations from fellow online users about test matters, online solutions, tutorials and institutes. Not just academic, the vocational courses are also offered online that is enabling students to complete courses in a stipulated time frame. Preparing for competitive examinations in various fields without having to purchase any books has been a boon for many students. One of the biggest advantages is that the online courses are student-centric and not time-bound that helps even working people to pursue their academic ambitions. India’s online tutoring industry is riding high on success as foreign students are too keen to outsource tutoring services from India.

So, the moot question is: Can online studies replace classroom education, especially at primary and junior level? Chauhan believes the role of a teacher as mentor is important at primary and junior levels of the education process. “That is irreplaceable because the teacher acts as a facilitator to the overall development of the child.” Online studies at this level, feels Chauhan, are really meant to assist the child in gathering knowledge in a simplified yet effective manner. Click here to read more...

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"vested interests"

How does one account for this paradox then? One is too old to work in the bureaucracy, but not too old to hold a major political portfolio! Neurologists say it is possible at age 75 to have an IQ of 100 and yet be able to give the correct answers of only half as many questions as at age 21.

Of course, retirement ages have been mandated for a purpose. A man of 60 may be in full control of his faculties, and yet lack the energy and zest for work of somebody half his age. You simply cannot get around these physiological facts. The reaction time slows down and various "vested interests" come into play. As one psychiatrist said of Shivraj Patil's repeated changing of suits after the Delhi blasts this year: "He is a narcissist obsessed with sartorial matters, unmindful of the country's safety!"

Officially, almost no young politician takes the retirement issue up for discussion. BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy, himself in his mid-40s, is one such. "Technically speaking there is no such provision in the Constitution. The age of an individual cannot define the limits of his contribution in politics. Each must decide for himself or herself how much work they have the energy to do," he says. D Raja, National Secretary of the Communist Party of India, agrees: "Politics is not like other professions. Politicians know when they should retire."

Says sociologist Vijay Lakshmi Nanda: "It is the job of the political parties to choose and raise the right kind of people. It is their job not to select and represent too old and inefficient representatives. If all the candidates are old, who are we going to vote for? The problem is the right kind of people are not reaching there." In most cultures, the young prefer to stay away from politics.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan

How many new faces are expected in the new ministry?
Let’s keep that issue on the shelf for a while, please!

What are the major challenges you face in your second term?
Challenges are a constant reality. The BJP government has completed some major developmental projects in the last term. Some new projects have been worked out as well.

We started those projects with due dialogue and consultation with the people for whom those specific projects were meant. To do that, we organised massive mahapanchayats (public hearings). However, all the projects have not been completed, so we have to ensure that they come through. Our biggest challenge is to make Madhya Pradesh a fully developed state in the next five years.

What will be the priority sectors for the new government?
There are some formalities to set up the new government. These may be over soon. But work has not stopped. We have started work already. At the very outset, we have held a meeting on potable water. It is our top priority to give drinking water to all the areas of the state.

Besides, we shall work ceaselessly for the uplift of women. We shall make the projects that are running more effective. We shall take up the issue of large investments in the state and augment industrial growth with an eye to generating employment. Power generation is a top priority.

Even as Congress conceded defeat, yet they have promised to extend positive cooperation. How do you see that?
The BJP does not have reservations on taking help from anyone so long as it benefits the people of the state. We feel people must rise above sectarian politics and together participate in the development of the state.

We sought the support and mandate of the people precisely for this purpose, and we got their blessings for our work. We have always welcomed positive cooperation for the development of the state, which is our highest goal......Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Carnatic's digital incarnation

Lovers of Carnatic music rejoice! Besides the month-long classical music fair in the form of live concerts that will be held in the Tamil month of Margazhi (December 15 to January 15), you will now be able to enjoy such musical treats from the comfort of your neighbourhood multiplex. On December 18, "Margazhi Raagam", a 110-minute film of nine songs performed by popular Carnatic singers Bombay Jayasree and TM Krishna, will hit the big screens.

Bringing this whole new musical experience to you is Jayendra, director and well-known ad filmmaker. “Live concerts have their own charm, but they also come with their own disadvantages, like low audio quality and noise disturbances. Visually too the result is not so satisfying, keeping in mind the distance between the stage and the audience, and the unflattering lighting. Besides, the microphone positioned right in front of the singer makes it virtually impossible for the audience to see emotions on the singer’s face. There are a lot of factors like that. But in "Margazhi Raagam", such shortcomings have been erased,” Jayendra told TSI. ...Continue

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The Sunday Indian

India is still fumbling for a response to Pakistan in the aftermath of its worst ever terror strike, writes Ranjit Bhushan

So what can India do more substantially? According to former foreign secretary Kanwal Sibal, India should immediately suspend the composite dialogue with Islamabad, along with a slew of other measures: suspend rail and road communications, suspend cross-border and LoC border trade and even reduce Pakistan High Commission's staff strength.

Islamabad has already refused firmly to hand over either Dawood or Azhar. Some experts say that while the LeT is being accused of being the mastermind, there is enough to suggest that the well-trained commando killers were from Pakistan Army, engineered to create opportunities for moving their beleaguered troops from the Afghanistan border to the Indian side, particularly because American drones have continued to hit Pakistani positions on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

The US, aware of the potentially volatile situation in south Asia, and certain knowledge that if India engages Pakistan on its eastern border then its war on terror in Afghanistan would be compromised, rushed in Condoleezza Rice to assuage India’s feelings. And she commended India's restraint so far. But Rice told the media on her arrival: "I have said that Pakistan needs to act with resolve and urgency, and cooperate fully and transparently, and that message has been delivered."

In 2002, after the attack on the Indian Parliament, the then NDA government had backed the demarche with heavy troops mobilisation and a threat to fight a "once and for all" battle with Pakistan. That never happened. This time, however, the world waits with trepidition as to what the next move is going to be....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

What does one have to be -- and do -- to become a shankaracharya?

The authentic Hindu religious tradition prescribed a much more austere anointing procedure. The Sanskrit scripture Mathamnaya Upanishad clearly lays down the shankaracharyas’ selection process and in Mahanushashan Upanishad are listed the rules for eligibility. It is a foolproof process. The tradition is that shankaracharyas anoint their successors during their lifetime; following which the anointed person is granted recognition by the Kashi Vidvat Parishad. This is a 150-year-old organisation with 35 living members -- most of them eminent Sankrit scholars. So how come things have gone so horribly wrong? For, barring minor disputes over posts and perks, there seems nothing much wrong with the KVP’s activities. The rot that has set in is entirely due to various vested interests, which have raised at least three similar sounding committees like the Varanasi Vidvat Parisgad, the Varanaseya Vidvat Parishad and the Akhil Bhartiya Vidvat Parishad. And bodies like these have been covertly selling degrees and posts – with the result that dozens of self-styled shankaracharyas have sprung up in different parts of the country.

The life sketches of the likes of Sudhakar Dwivedi show how these nondescript people, who somehow found the money to buy their grandiloquent titles, came to sully and ultimately criminalise the faith. Dwivedi, the son of a police sub-inspector (who retired early this month) quit his job in 1993 to become Swami Amritanand. And then, along with his friend Rajesh Pachauri, he set up the Sharda Sarvagyapeeth in 1999. In 2003 he moved to Kashmir where he declared himself a shankaracharya.

The septuagenarian Shastri vividly remembers the 2003 developments. “KVP vice- president Ram Yatna Shukla and its spokesman Shivji Upadhyaya came to me with Pachauri to say they had convened a meeting of the KVP executive to anoint Amritanand as shankaracharya of Jammu. And they claimed to have the support of other KVP members like Adya Pradas Mishra, Rammurthy Chaturvedi, Rajeshwar Upadhyay, Vashishtha Tripathi and Paras Nath Tripathi. I objected on two counts. One, Jammu isn’t a peeth. The northern seat of Shankaracharya is in Badrinath. And two, I came to know that Dwivedi had two wives and that the matter was in court.”...Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Farmers are reeling under power crisis and rain shortage

KARNATAKA : POWER CRISIS

The agricultural yield, including food grains and vegetables, have gone down by more than 50 per cent this year. Adding to the farmers’ woes, there was a loss of groundnut crop worth Rs 225 crores. Of the 1,45,533 hectares of land cultivated during the kharif season, 90,389 metric tonnes of crops in 1,41,730 hectares of land were spoiled, agriculture department officials informed. This ‘powerless’ situation has affected not only Chitradurga but farmers across the state. “Over 37 per cent of the land in Karnataka is cultivatable, and around 50 lakh acres of land is irrigated through pump sets. But shortage of rain, followed by severe power shortages, will only worsen the situation.

This is responsible for the spiraling prices of vegetables,” says KS Puttannaiah, president of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, who holds the government responsible for the current crisis. “The government tends to mislead the farmers, assuring them free power supply during the monsoons. But when the rain stops, the load shedding begins,” complained Kodihalli Chandrashekhar, working president of Karnataka state farmers’ association. Some drastic needs to be done to bail out the farmers. Now!....Continue

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The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank
The Sunday Indian

Global meltdown might not be that bad for India's commoners

India's real estate market too is witnessing some troubled times as prices are collapsing. Again, good news: prices here have always been irrational as demand for decent housing always outstripped supply, and for the fact that Indian real estate giants rarely make houses for the the masses. For them the market was always people from high income bracket and NRIs. With NRIs losing jobs faster than resident Indians, the crashing of prices will do more good than harm to the common man. And the news of lower inflation rates due to recession acts as an icing on the cake for him. This recession is a lesson on the risks of having an export-oriented economy. Interestingly, India's saving grace can be its large domestic market that can guarantee against vagaries of global fluctuations. Its time for India Inc to realise the efficacy of giving more importance to the needs of the common man lower down the pyramid. Telecom companies have shown how permeating down the socio-economic ladder have proved to be a boon for the industry thus making it one of the largest as well as the fastest growing markets of the world which, recession or no recession, continues to grow. Its now time for rest to follow the cue and unleash the potential of India’s latent but colossal rural market. Only that would ensure immunity from global recession. Certainly the common man would not be complaining about it, even if it's recession....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Cain and Abel revisited?

YSR’s heart overfloweth for the rights of the minorities, you bet. He is not just continuing with the benefits of Haj subsidy for the Muslims, he has thought up a new scheme for the Christians, modelled around the Haj facility, and has promised to do the same for Sikhs and Parsis as well. But will this ensure that Andhra people will agree to live under his dispensation happily ever after? No chance, for he has ended up splitting the Christians themselves because of a nuance that is typical of Andhra Christians.

Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Rajasekhara Reddy is going to give all 'white-card' holding Christians Rs 20,000 as a subsidy for visiting the sanctums in the Holy Land. On the face of it, it is a ‘progressive move’, extending communal facilities and increasing benefits to Christians. But clearly, this is a case of trying to woo voters from that denomination. The state government is setting up a separate wing for Christians in the state’s minority welfare department, along with the constitution of Christian Minority Finance Corporation.

The Haj House in Hyderabad that hosts pilgrimage to Mecca will now play host to the Christians after the departure of last batch to the Haj on November 16. The state government has allocated a budget of Rs two crore for the financial year 2008-09 and the seven-day package is being organised by Andhra Pradesh State Minorities Finance Corporation. Mohd Ali Shabbir, minister for Minorities Welfare, said the funds allocated to the ministry would be dispersed to all minority groups according to their population and Rs 1.27 billion has already been allocated by the government for minorities' welfare in the 2008-09 budget. The Congress government claims that the budget was increased by five times during the last four years. ...Continue

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The Sunday Indian

On 16th November, 1988, Benazir Bhutto was elected as the Prime Minister of Pakistan in the first ever open elections of the country.

I also remember that Bhutto’s stance to ease tension with India was resented by the establishment. There were accusations in the newspapers that Bhutto had passed on secrets to the Indian government regarding Sikh extremists who were allegedly trained in Pakistan. This was nothing new. In 1972, when her father Zulfikar Ali Bhutto signed the historic Simla Accord, he was also accused by right-wing parties of compromising on the national interests. Bhutto studied in elite schools and was not proficient in the national language Urdu when she entered the realm of politics but she was quick to learn the language, though the common man was amused at her accent and grammatical mistakes.

She was also an ‘eastern’ wife. During a book launch ceremony at Karachi Press Club, when a stringer from TIME magazine asked her if it was true that she had strained relations with her husband, she became furious and snubbed him. No wonder, she always denied corruption charges against Zardari.

Strangely enough, despite the fact that she studied at Harvard’s Radcliffe College and Oxford, she was superstitious and used to visit faith healers, anxious to know about her fate. At the same time, she was also daring and would not hesitate to visit places where security was inadequate. In fact, her tragic death on December 27, 2007, in Rawalpindi, was the result of a security lapse.

Like her father, Bhutto too had a photographic memory and party workers would be astonished when she would address them right even if she had met them only once.

I believe that her brief tenure as Pakistan’s Prime Minister (1988-90 and 1993-96), and exit from power, could be attributed to mainly two factors: One, her husband Asif Ali Zardari’s passion to accumulate wealth, and two, her inability to organize Pakistan People’s Party on democratic lines. Pakistan People’s Party always remained under a dynasty.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Refused to throw up a winner for Democrats

There are now basically two schools of thought that revolve around the future prospects of the two candidates. One school of thought says that Obama has a better chance to defeat a Republican candidate. There are two reasons behind this logic. The first is that Obama offers a vision for real change while Hillary practices a middle of the road kind of politics that embraces many Republican themes. Second and more important is the deep resentment and even hatred that the Clintons trigger amongst Neo-cons and the deeply conservative Americans who detest the very thought of another Clinton in the White House. There is a strong chance that Hillary as the Democratic candidate will attract an avalanche of sleazy allegations, a tidal wave of Monica Lewinsky jokes and a lot of mud thrown at the alleged peccadilloes of the former occupants of the White House. Some of the mud might stick and sink the Hillary candidacy. This school of thought thinks that most Democratic voters are smart and seem to realise this fact.

Yet, it would be foolhardy to write off the precision run election campaign of Hillary whose biggest asset would the deal making and negotiating skills of her husband and former President Bill Clinton. According to many analysts, while Obama may be attracting the media attention with highly publicised endorsements and support, Bill is busy furiously talking to and pumping hands with the people and the movers and shakers who really matter in the Democratic Party. And his eight years as President have left him with a huge fund of goodwill generated through his politics of patronage. Without any doubt, Bill now plays a decisive role in deciding the fortunes of Hillary and her candidature. Her top strategist, Mark Penn said, “The race will drag on for weeks longer; this is not going to be decided any time in the near future.”

Either ways, whether Hillary or Obama eventually win the nomination and the Presidency, they will create history. And they will inherit the job of the most powerful man on earth from a man who has decisively transformed America into the most hated nation on earth. That is when the real politics will begin.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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Communities is an inherent part of its business strategy

CSR is actually bundled along with the company business charter that the union cabinet outlined while allowing the incorporation of the company. The charter for the then – proposed gas corporation was: “to create necessary infrastructure for transport, processing and distribution of gas, to set up facilities for segregating natural gas into different components by a process called fractionation. Secondly, to acquire gas assets of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Oil India Limited. And lastly to act as coordinator for gas sector to ensure proper utilisation of gas.” Judge the significance of the words ‘proper utilisation’ that mentioned in the last line against the backdrop of the fact that gas flaring was then rampant in both onshore and offshore fields. This burning issue figured regularly in Parliament in the form of written questions. But things have changed today. There are hardly any questions that are asked about flaring. The new questions now primarily relate to supply, shortage and the price of gas that’s being supplied by various producers.

Over the years, GAIL has created awareness about the eco-friendly and energy-efficiency virtues of gas over liquid fuels and coal across the country. Thus, the more gas it transports and markets, the stronger it emerges as a protector of the environment, which has slowly become a vital component of CSR of corporates the world over. One should thus not feel surprised to find the catchline ‘Blueprint for a Greener Tomorrow’ donning the cover page of GAIL’s annual report for 2006-07.

The annual report stated that “as we expand our gas pipeline networks, reaching the green fuel to newer ports of call, we are proud to contribute in our small way towards the preservation of the environment by making the gas available to increasing parts of the country, helping curb hazardous emissions and provide clean fuel for city transportation.” GAIL adds value to its business-embedded CSR activities by amplifying them at the project sites and through a slew of philanthropic, medical, educational, vocational, explicit environment protection and other welfare activities across the country.

The very business of laying and operating pipelines confers additional advantage and challenges on GAIL when it comes to fulfilling CSR. It has to know the people, understand their problems and aspirations, and it has to do with communities located along the length and breadth of its pipelines network. The company has thus to reach to the people cutting across caste, culture and geographical boundaries, unlike other companies that have the easy option of funding a few show-piece CSR projects located in villages around their factories.

Take the case of GAIL’s proposal to lay a parallel pipeline for transporting gas in the existing right of undertaking (ROU) of Vijaipur (MP)-Dadri(UP) pipeline to carry more gas to these two states as well as to Rajasthan and Haryana. In August 2007, it decided to commission a ‘Population Density Index’ survey, 200 metres on either side of entire pipeline route. The survey would identify dwellings and all public places such as schools and dispensaries where more than 20 persons assemble.

Such data would not only enable GAIL to factor in the safety requirements and future expansion prospects, but also help it know about the lack of public facilities along the route. This enables the company to spread and stretch its resources on CSR initiatives over diverse locations ranging from supply of water tankers in Ajmer district of Rajasthan, to funding of a respiratory disease treatment centre at Agartala in Tripura.

And GAIL does innumerable activities across the entire CSR spectrum all over the country in a low-key fashion. It has hardly ever invited the media to report on its CSR operations, unlike other companies that want the world to perceive them as socially-responsible corporate citizens. The company sets aside 1% of its profit after tax for CSR initiatives every year. It has an explicit CSR policy in place for several years.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Google is knocking at every opportunity

Even though Google is knocking at every opportunity, most of its mash-ups have failed to either see the light of day or lost their sheen within a few months, just like web accelerator, Google Catalogue, Google video Player, Google answers, Orkut (it’s popular only in Brazil and Asia, and is a distant loser to facebook and MySpace in US). A fair criticism of Google as per Clayton Moran, Stanford Financial Group is that “It is only strong in one area – search advertising. In order to succeed in video and display, it has bought YouTube and DoubleClick. As such, Google has yet to successfully develop any other advertising service outside search. And, this creates some uncertainty around whether Google can build competitive businesses in mobile, radio, TV and print.”

A reason as to why Google failed in leaving a footprint in other areas could well be that it’s often difficult to be successful in areas that aren’t closely related to your core competency as Rob Sanderson, an expert at the American Technology Research asserts, “Price comparison services have generally been difficult to sustain and Google doesn’t appear to understand marketing either and that lack of competency is curious given how tied they are to advertising as a revenue source.”

Clearly, in the current times, Google has to work hard on making ‘clearly defined’ applications that users are ‘aware of’, and unless that happens, its misses might one day become the most analysed business case study!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Why MP is considered the ‘next’ destination by entrepreneurs & tourists?

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

It’s right at the madhya (centre), and it deserves attention. But there’re more reasons why MP is considered the ‘next’ destination by entrepreneurs & tourists alike – call it the result of ‘completely revamping and professionalising’ the overall state machinery (be it for birds or for the bucks!). sreoshi ghose presents an account...

Giving them company is the other Birla, the Birla Corporation Ltd (from the MP Birla group) that has invested an incredible $62 million in its cement plants at Satna. While on one hand, cement is a major thriving sector in MP, there are players from other sectors that are enjoying every moment of their MP ride like the auto, pharma, FMCG & beverage & IT sectors, as Ashwani Lohani, MD, Madhya Pradesh State Tourism Development Corporation (MPSTDC) asserts, “The private sector investment in various sectors in the state has witnessed a boom in the last three years due to the extremely proactive role being played by the government.”

The auto sector is mainly based in Pithampur, near Indore. From Bajaj Tempo to Eicher Motors Ltd. (who have worked their way up the ladder of economic prosperity over the past two decades) to Kinetic Motors (which has come a long way in the past half-a-decade), all have a plant there. Eicher’s manufacturing facility at Pithampur, has an annual production capacity of 20,000 units. Its experience in the state as a company official terms it, has been “excellent”. Even Nicholas Piramal has a pharma R&D & production plant in Pithampur. Then there are other districts which have attracted major investments from other sectoral giants like the Raisen district, where beverage major Coca-Cola India has a plant and Procter & Gamble has an advanced technology detergent manufacturing plant. In Chindwara district, there is an HUL unit and in Malanpur, there is a Cadbury India plant. Indore among many investors has Ruchi Soya Industries Ltd. (edible oil refinery) and IPCA Laboratories Ltd. (drug facility). IPCA also has a plant at Ratlam. Then there is a Ranbaxy Laboratories plant at Dewan district.

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An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Minimum networth criteria

SEBI has decided to raise the minimum networth criteria for portfolio managers to Rs.2 crore from existing Rs.50 lakhs. Portfolio managers, whose networth is less than Rs.2 crore at present, will have to augment it to at least Rs.1 crore within the next six months and to Rs.2 crore in six months from the date of announcement of this regulation.

Currently, IPO allotment takes 21 days and the refund process takes a further two weeks. But, banks were not paying interest on the money, which means investors are losing interest for 36 days while banks are benefiting from the float. But with the new rule investors will now enjoy interest on the same. So far, after every oversubscribed IPO, there are grievances of non-receipt of refunds from the investors. However, with the electronic lien system in place investors can get back their money right after the allotment.

While many analysts feel that the new system will make the IPO process more efficient and hassle-free. A few like Ashvin Parekh, National Industry Leader, Global Finance Services, Ernst & Young feel, “From the policy point of view, it’s a very significant move but from the process point of view it is equally critical. It calls for substantial amount of process challenge.” One thing is certain though, when it’s about getting their money back, investors now can breath ‘very’ easy.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Reliance communication's plan to enter the GSM space

No doubt, in every business, the fight has always been to secure the top slot. This has not only forced players to act proactively but also to enter into agreements of co-opetition with each other. For instance, the aggressive streak in Reliance Communication’s (RCOM) plan to enter the GSM space by end-2008 not only forced other telecom service providers like Vodafone-Essar, Bharti Infratel and Idea Cellular to alter their course but also pushed them to merge their wireless-infrastructure businesses to help cut costs and improve efficiencies – all, to benefit all.

While undoubtedly, it’s a win-win situation for all the parties involved, what many have missed is that beneath their sleeves and behind this ‘win-win’ facade, each player has an Ace which will enable them to strike that blow needed to give them the coveted sceptre, something they would have failed to achieve on their own!

That was as far as the companies were concerned. But wouldn’t this hamper industrial growth? “Although the coming together of telcos will prove advantageous at the back-end, in terms of providing economies of scale and cutting down on operational costs, but they would never divide their customers,” reasons Ravi Shekhar, Manager, Springboard Research. This means, no matter whatever they do, competition remains alive, in a healthy form.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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CAS is implemented

Besides, if and when the 2nd phase of CAS is implemented, Tata Sky and Dish will not be the only players vying for consumer attention. Sun TV’s DTH arm, Sun Direct, has already spread its wings in the north Indian market, the stranglehold for these two biggies. Says Tony D’Silva, COO, Sun Direct, “We still have issues in getting appropriate content to appease the North Indian market, but there are far greater South Indians in North India than North Indians in South India, which is a huge market that we are looking at.” Besides, players like Reliance and Airtel (with their respective DTH services) are keenly waiting in the wings for this second round of CAS. Given enhanced competition, the fight for subscriber attention will be supreme and players would have to shell out big money on promotions, further underlining the red on their balance sheets.

Be that as it may, the fact remains that the DTH market in India is hopelessly under-potential as of now, with merely 5-6 million subscribers (including viewers of Direct TV, offered by DD), in a country of over 71 million cable and satellite homes. Says Prakash Bajpai, President and CEO, Home and Enterprise Business, Reliance Communications, “There’s space for all. Competition has always been good for the industry. See what it has done for the telecom sector,” adding that the more the number of players, the more faster the entire segment will grow.

Agreed competition has played a vital role in making India the second largest telecom market till date, but the government has played an active role to make telephony popular and affordable. If DTH too wants to trot on the same path, political will and support would be a major prerequisite. In fact, the DTH Operators Association of India – DOAI (a la COAI) – has been designed to be that combined voice of the industry, which will enable them to lobby to improve their lot.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has also come to the aid of the sector, with a suggestion that broadcasters should offer a la carte system to DTH operators, allowing customers to subscribe to individual channels (as opposed to bouquets), making it more cost effective. TRAI also suggests that broadcasters charge 50% less from DTH operators in comparison to cable in non-CAS areas. If implemented, DTH players are likely to become more cost competitive vis-à-vis analog viewing. Until then, the colour will remain red, and not out of choice.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Burn expansion

What media analysts are waiting with bated breath is the manner in which the latest war pans out. For that will not only deliver a verdict on the strategy of the Jain brothers to go for slash and burn expansion, but also decide the fate of Hindu as the most formidable print media house in the South along with Malaylam Manorama. In a first of its kind in the world, TOI has launched an ambitious plan to break the mould of a newspaper being city specific. It has had mixed results in markets like Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. Chennai is clearly the last frontier.


This war is further complicated by the fact that The Deccan Chronicle is already a brutally aggressive player in the Chennai market. The paper claims a circulation of 3 lakh in Chennai though analysts reckon that it commands 30% of the market while Hindu still controls more than 50%. “Deccan Chronicle is going to launch its Bangalore edition very soon, probably in 2 months. Apart from this we are planning our Coimbatore and Trichy edition which might be a reality in a year from now,” avers Bhagwan Singh, Chief of Bureau of Deccan Chronicle’s Chennai Edition. It has also launched a pink paper called Financial Chronicle and has tied with NDTV to provide content for a local metro channel.

In many ways, this media war is reminiscent of Mumbai in 2005 when both Hindustan Times and DNA invaded the hitherto impregnable market of TOI. Both have decisively broken the TOI monopoly in Mumbai, though there is still no final verdict on who is winning the war.

N. Murali is not about to give up. “We are more interested in protecting the already existing market which was around 50% earlier,” he says One thing is for sure. Murali and Ram will have to do more than, much more than merely protect their turf. The Jain brothers are ruthless predators who leave no stone unturned when it comes to invading and capturing a market. They have already landed on Marina Beach. Mount Saint Thomas is not too far away. The last frontier is now tantalisingly close.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
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Banking on this potent Nucleus

With over 2,000 employees providing solutions to the BIFS sector, the HR at Nucleus helps to align the intellectual capital with the company’s growth By sachin bharel

Remember when you last saw a typewriter being used in an office for typing those long boring official documents? Don’t scratch your head, for the once ‘ubiquitous’ typewriter no longer adds to the glory of the offices of the corporate world. Reams & reams of epitaphs have been written on the demise of the typewriters after the advent of the best & latest technology (read computers) that delivered at the speed of light. Technology has completely revolutionised the way work is done, in offices as well as at home. Be it in retail (with RFID technology) or FMCG (with supply chain management) or for that matter in banking (with Internet & mobile banking) (at home and at office), it is mastery over technology that has taken these sunrise sectors to a much superior level.

Rather than being caught at the backfoot, the Indian Banking sector, for one has used technology to its best advantage. So, gone are the days of standing in long queues to get a check cleared or for cash withdrawal or for paying your daily utility bills. With Internet & mobile banking, even long-haul transactions are now done in mere seconds. And all this has been possible with the development of key banking software products that caters to the technology needs of the banking & financial services. Nucleus Software Exports Limited is one such company that has been a frontrunner in providing software solutions to the banking & financial services industry. From retail banking to corporate banking, cash management, trade finance, Internet banking and credit cards, the company provides software solutions to the entire banking value chain, not only in India but globally in countries like US, UK, Australia, Japan, UAE and many more. Nucleus Software boasts of over 150 customers in more than 100 countries. With manpower of over 2,000 people spread across the globe, the company attributes its success to its sound HR that has worked hand in hand to smoothen out the processes & systems and has aligned the intellectual capital to achieve the common goals. Speaking to 4Ps B&M, Ravi Verma, VP & Global Head-HR reveals, “Here the HR works proactively to meet the expectations of the employees. Once the old benchmark is over, the HR takes a step forward in understanding the new expectations of its people. It needs to be more in sync with the needs of the employees and contribute to the growth of the organisation.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Rocked the Indian streets

Interestingly, the Warbug deal in 2005 not only rocked the Indian streets by being the biggest stock trade, but also sent shivers to the boardrooms of global PE firms. SMC, a Private Equity firm reckons, “It (Warbug-Bharti) was a landmark deal suggesting the absorption depth of Indian corporate at the investment stage and hence, bringing India on the global radar of PE Funds.” In fact, in 2007, India raked in the highest amount of Private Equity, comprehensively outstripping China, which attracted only $8.3 billion PE investments during the same period. The future seems even more enticing.

Evalueserve forecasts show that by the year 2010, India will see a staggering $20 billion worth of PE receipts. “Our research also shows there are more than 366 firms currently operating in India and another 69 are planning to start their operations soon. In total, they seem to have amassed $48 billion earmarked for investments in India during the next three and a half years, (July 2007 – December 2010),” says the latest Evalueserve report. As of today, ‘shooting northwards’ is how one can easily describe the gargantuan increase of PE investments in India. As discussed earlier, PE investments are not an alien phenomenon and have been quite prevalent in the country for more than three decades, even playing a significant role in the Silicon Valley story. It was in 1975 when Risk Capital Foundation become the first VC-PE to kickstart its operations in India. After that, many Indian institutions like Industrial Financial Corporation of India (IFCI), ICICI, among others, started mushrooming all over the place. There was no considerable action in the Indian VC-PE space until the end of the mid and late 90s. With the dot-com boom, the VC-PE phenomenon got a shot in the arm and in 2000, the value of deals skyrocketed to $1.16 billion. Then post the dot-com bubble bust, investments plummeted and reached a low of $470 million in 2003. But since 2004, there has been a secular rise in PE inflows.

The broad umbrella of Private Equity also encompasses some new deal variants that perhaps need mention. Consider the case of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd., which has bought stakes in different companies in consideration for modest cash payment along with branding and advertising agreements with the investee company. These fall under Private Treaties. There are many big names like that of Dainik Jagran, HT Media, Dainik Bhaskar and Network 18, which are known to be associated with Private Treaties (by already having or planning to spin off new departments for the same).

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus