Revving It Up On The New Normal

The Superbike Segment in India is beginning to open up as Incumbents and New Entrants fill up gaps in The Market. B&E’s Sanchit Verma does a Quick Stopgap Review before the Number Game Begins

Outrageous is what defines these mean machines – be it their pricing, their power quotient, their cool factor, or even their target customer. Superbikes have always enjoyed a cult position across the world among those who have them, and never have failed to get noticed by those who don’t. And India has been no exception. Bikes like Yamaha R1, Suzuki Hayabusa and Kawasaki Ninja have been painstakingly beckoning the creed of rich young and style conscious Indians of late. And they are not exactly getting disappointed, despite being high on the price factor, due in part to the high import duties. Otherwise, it is more of a smooth ride over the rough Indian landscape, since Indian home-grown manufacturers like Hero, Bajaj and TVS are still to manufacture a genuine superbike.

The market for superbikes in India was conspicuous by its absence till the earlier part of this decade. The era changed with rising urbanization and with the two wheeler sports segment, whose share in the total motorcycle market has grown to 17% in 2009-10 (from 14% in the previous financial year). Yamaha initially disappointed bikers with its products, which somehow didn’t give the owners the ‘Yamaha’ global brand experience. But bygones became bygones with the launch of the R15, which helped Yamaha rebuild its sporty image. Interestingly, when Yamaha brought to India their global favourites R1 and V-Max for a test sale to the Indian customers, they sold a surprisingly high 50 units in 3 months. Soon, other global players realised that the Indian market has matured enough to take on these high-end machines. Players like European major Aprilla have already announced big plans to re-enter the market with their motorcycles and scooter line up. Ducati opened its second showroom last year in Gurgaon with bikes ranging from Rs.1 million to 4.5 million in the portfolio. “We have received a positive response from all bike enthusiasts and it’s good to know they are excited about the Ducati brand. We feel honoured to be part of the evolving motorcycle industry in India,” said Mirko Bordiga, CEO, Ducati, APAC.

Bajaj also has understood the importance of a luxury bike in the portfolio. They have tied up with European major KTM Motors, and their product might hit Indian roads in 2011. Kawasaki also brought in the famous Ninja, which has received an enthusiastic response. Suzuki introduced the Hayabusa with proper service and spares parts availability. Never too late Harley-Davidson announced its much awaited cruiser bike entry by launching 12 bikes in the portfolio ranging from Rs.6.75 lakh to Rs.3.5 million. In fact, their recent plans to open up the CKD plant in Haryana showcases the rising demand in the industry.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

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Policy-COAL: DEMAND & SUPPLY

Amidst tight global supplies and price rise, it’s imperative to reassess the management of our coal resources and its impact on our energy security 

Coal imports to India reached 90 million tonnes in 2010 and are further expected to touch 110 million tonnes in 2011 despite the current high prices. This is due largely on account of the growth in the economy through expansion of infrastructure and electricity supply. But it is also a result of continued insufficient quantity and inferior quality of domestic coal available. According to a PwC report, India currently imports 12% of its coal supply due to inefficiencies in coal transport from mining regions to coal plants located in the coastal regions, low quality domestic coal and slow reforms within the coal industry. The report adds that by 2030, total coal imports in India will exceed coal imports into the entire European Union by 10%. And with the current annual shortage of 142 million tonnes staring us in the eye, the question remains as to how India will address this shortfall to meet the growth in domestic demand.

In order to satisfy the burgeoning coal demand, the Indian coal industry needs more investment and private players to raise its production level. At the same time environment clearance and rehabilitation and resettlement (R&R) issues that create serious roadblocks for private companies have to be removed. “A comprehensive policy is required to be formulated for the purpose of effective and efficient utilisation of the nation’s coal resources. The abundance of coal promises to provide energy at affordable prices and can be a substitute for expensive imports to a significant extent,” says a CLSA report on the sector. Without doubt, the coal mining sector in India needs structural overhaul to attract investments that can help the sector meet the growing needs for raw material and power, steel, cement and other usages.

The Government has indeed made strides in this direction by allowing captive mining for various approved end usages. Although a number of coal blocks have been allotted since the 1990s to private players in the power, steel and cement industries for meeting their captive requirements, the progress made in bringing these blocks to production has been quite dissatisfactory till date. According to the Annual Report, FY 2010 of the Ministry of Coal; of the 208 coal blocks allotted to various companies including ultra mega power projects till FY 2010, only 25 mines have been commissioned till the fiscal year-end and were producing coal at nominal levels of 7-8% of the country’s total production. The problems being faced by the corporate sector (except coal mining companies like CIL) include lack of experienced manpower with a track record in commissioning large coal projects.

Among other recent initiatives by the government to reduce the demand/supply gap is the drafting of a new policy for auction of coal blocks, which will replace the existing system of allocating blocks for over a year. However, industry professionals argue that there is a need for streamlining the allocation process as also a need to monitor the progress of project implementation more closely. At the same time, the coal-mining sector needs incentives to encourage innovation and adoption of cutting edge technologies, which would not only make underground mining profitable but also boost quality and output besides serving the purposes of environmental risk mitigation. Failure to do so would be akin to shutting one’s eyes to what may turn into a grim reality – India does not have adequate extractable coal reserves either to meet current incremental demand or make long-term supply commitments. If we remain in a state of denial, we will not take the urgent and necessary steps to augment our coal reserves.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

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“Be aware!”

“Be aware!”, echoed both masters. Here, it would be pertinent to note that both have been responsible for giving extensive close quarter combat (CQC) training to various law enforcement agencies, the military and some of its elite units. It seemed a generic directive, but as the South Africans proved, it was the one trait – being aware of one’s environment (moving away from glass areas, fire, checking for exits, and finding resources for barricading an area) that saved more than a 100 lives.

“Secondly, you should always stay low – you might escape both bullets and heavy smoke”, urged Vicky Kapoor. “Krav Maga (used by the Israeli Defence units) was designed to counter hostage situations”, he elaborated, as he showed us how he would’ve handled armed hostage takers even if handcuffed “and while most Israelis would’ve made difficult hostages because they’ve served in the army and trained in CQC, most of us Indians are neither trained nor aware. Even if you can’t get army training, every school, RWA and organisation should run programmes that run basic first aid. Doctors trapped in one of the hotels saved the lives of a wounded few with basic first aid techniques. Perhaps many others could’ve been saved. Teach people what to do incase of a fire or an earth quake. Offices have fire extinguishers but who knows how to use them? In case of a fire or explosion, more might die in a stampede. Simple evacuation drills could save lives. Martial skills could be infinitely useful, but the rest is basic and should be mandatory training for each and every Indian. Wake up, and take charge of your lives. No one else would do it for you”, he concluded. Incidentally, Vicky Kapoor has been training security teams in some prominent hotel chains in the aftermath of 26/11. Kanishka echoed the same thoughts. “We’re usually too busy walking like zombies to notice our surroundings. Why is that man so nervous? Whose bag is that? Where are the exits? Which is the closest hospital? I’m not saying you should be in a state of paranoia 24/7, but be aware of your surroundings. And be careful before you start a self defense course to prepare yourself for hostage situations. They work…” he said as he demonstrated how even an unarmed hostage could, at the right moment, “with the right training”, disarm an armed assailant and get out alive “… but you must understand that combat martial styles, like Kali (a martial art used by the Filipino Marines) begin where most martial sports (Tae kwon do and sport Karate are sports which’ve banned lethal techniques, focusing instead on scoring points) end. Their aim is to train to finish the opponent (even if armed), not score points and this distinction is very important when you choose a martial art for self defense. Presence of mind, common sense and even the ability to engage hostage takers in a conversation, a negotiation, could save your life. If that fails, train the mind and the body with self defense skills and you might still come out alive.”

I know what you’re thinking? What good are martial skills in the face of a bullet. Well, if someone wants to shoot you, he will and there’s nothing you can do about it. But in a hostage situation, escape if you can. And if you can’t, wait. There might be a moment when the terrorist comes close enough for you to act. I hope such a day never comes, but if it does, you might as well be prepared… See you in the dojo then… PS Mr CEO(s), do remember to organize fire safety, first aid and evacuation drills in the office. It might save more than just one life…....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Star Cruise !

The routes of these ships keep on changing and there are a lot of cruises one can choose from, like Blues Cruise, Star Cruises, Royal Caribbean etc and the cruise packages also vary. The one I journeyed on, stopped at the Langkawi Islands and Phuket Islands for half a day each and I got down at Phuket Islands, the best and the cheapest place to shop. The beaches at Phuket were beautiful and I couldn’t resist trying out para-sailing, where I was perhaps the only one who was made to brush through the sea water for at least half a minute – perhaps the best moment of my life! I also tried driving a motorboat and later, after a Thai massage, I made my way back to the cruise.

Evenings can occupy one with a variety of activities. The ‘games room’ hosts talk shows, game shows and dance classes. A staircase from there leads to the Captain’s Bridge Viewing Gallery where passengers can watch the Captain toil over the complicated consoles. Then there is a ‘picture house’ that screens movies. The cruise liner also has a discotheque and an Africa-themed karaoke bar. So not only did my days pass by in a jiffy, but my nights were just as much fun. However, as they say, there are no free lunches in the world; most of the activities came with a price tag!

The last night was really special as the Captain and the crew joined the party with the passengers. There was music, dance and dinner... It could not have ended on a better note, leaving me with a lot of memories to be cherished... until I set sail, yet again.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

SECURITY DISASTER

A Defence Ministry report of March 2007 stated that there is real danger from sea. Quoting from the report, Defence minister, A.K.Anthony, informed the Lok Sabha that ``there are reports about terrorists of various tanzeems being imparted training and likelihood of their infiltration through sea routes..." When further queried by a MP whether "maritime terrorism, gun-running, drug-trafficking and piracy are major threats that India is facing from the sea borders of the country?", Anthony’s reply was a categorical `Yes, sir.’

At the Fourth Regional Security Summit in December, 2007, at Manama, National Security Adviser, M.K. Narayanan – now in the eye of the storm – told those assembled that "there are now certain new schools that are being established on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, which specialise in the training of an international brigade of terrorists to fight in many climes...According to our information, recruits from 14 to 15 countries have been identified as trainees there... —``.

This is no ordinary threat either. The Ministry maintained that ``studies had been conducted about important targets, with regard to vulnerability, accessibility, poor security, absence of proper counter-terrorism measures, etc. The sea route, in particular, is becoming the chosen route for carrying out many attacks, even on land. ''

Despite overwhelming evidence and warnings, no lessons have been learnt. In 2000, in the aftermath of the Kargil war, four task forces were set up. Of them, one was dedicated to border management. Defence doyen K.Subramaniam, who authored that report warned that "the long coastline with its inadequate policing makes it easy to land arms and explosives at isolated spots on the coast." He recalled that this was the route taken to smuggle explosives into Maharashtra in 1993 before the Mumbai blasts. "The situation, if anything, has worsened over the years with activities of the ISI becoming more widespread along the coast…Such coastal areas must be particularly kept under surveillance." That, sadly, is the last thing that the security establishment did. ....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Oh, brother!

For a limited cast of only five characters, “Sorry Bhai” is a markedly refreshing departure from standard Bollywood fare. The movie plays around with a simple theme of sibling equations as influenced by the catalyst called the elder sibling’s fiancée. The script is a typical take on the ‘dysfunctional-family-comes-together-for-a-cause’ mould. Harsh (Sanjay Suri) has been away (in Mauritius of all places!) from his family, while his younger brother Sid (Sharman Joshi) tries for a research grant for his latest hypothesis (a cranky idea involving a wooden dog!). When Harsh decides to get married to Aaliyah (Chitrangada Singh), he pleads his younger brother to get his parents, especially his mom for the wedding. The fun in dysfunctional is put in by the antics of the parents, played with superb chemistry by Boman Irani and Shabana Azmi.

Sharman Joshi does a pretty good job keeping up his boyish yet mature image while Chitrangada Singh essays a role that perhaps doesn’t present her as much of a challenge as her debut one did. For an actress of her potential, this is just about par for the course and she is underutilised. On the brighter side, the scenes shared by her and Shabana Azmi deserve special mention. Sanjay Suri exudes quiet confidence as usual and it fits his big brother persona perfectly. The slow narrative (you sort of expect that with a limited cast of characters) is a dampener though the locales of Mauritius do provide a picturesque background for the well shot scenes.

“Sorry Bhai” deserves a watch, at least for being far better off than the apology of a movie that other comedies have become.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

The Mumbai attack could not have happened without assistance from the locals

A close scrutiny of the terrorist operation will tell you that this was certainly not the result of some momentary emotional impulse. The killers had clearly done their homework well and were both well trained and deeply indoctrinated. It is quite obvious why they targeted Mumbai -- because as India’s financial capital an attack on it would draw the maximum publicity worldwide. The terrorists’ aim this time was to discourage overseas investments in India. That is why they took on foreigners. What they want is to bleed India financially – to hit us hard. The attack has already send shivers down the English cricket team, as a result of which all tournaments have been cancelled.

The attack has exposed the numerous chinks in the Indian Intelligence armour. For consider: none of our agencies was able to come up with a single clue even after so many people had been killed. And the sad thing is that this is not a one-off incident. Our intelligence agencies almost never wake up in time so that such attacks are pre-empted. They come on the scene after the incidents have already occurred. If we are really serious about stopping such attacks on India we will need to strengthen our intelligence agencies manifold. We will need to modernise it so that it becomes possible to develop foolproof intelligence mechanisms at the local level. Then only will we be able to spot suspicious activities before this kind of mayhem is unleashed.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Call of nature

When one wants to answer the call of nature, one goes to the bathroom. But according to scientists, the kitchen garden may be a better place. Why? Studies have discovered that urine helps plants like cabbages to grow more. Researchers in Sweden used urine (stored for six months) to fertilise a plot of cabbages and compared the results with a similar plot where conventional fertilisers were used. The findings, cabbages watered with urine grew to be not only bigger but healthier than most other conventionally treated plants. And yes, they tasted the same!...Continue

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The Sunday Indian

who will win? Ajai Bhambhi

Chaotic Centre, BJP to lose states

Venus, the planet of luxury and wellness has been a major factor in India’s fate for the past 20 years. This is amply reflected in the great strides India has taken over that period. However, at present, Ketu will play a spook: its temperament does not dine together with Venus. From November 4, 2009, Ketu sub dasha will play a major role in the main mahadasha of Venus. Result: chaos. The 2009 general elections’ result will have no single party form the government at the Centre, and which party comes, it will not complete its term.

Congress: Presently with Venus in the 11th house along with Jupiter is good. In astrology 11th house indicates huge gains by friends, well-wishers etc. Congress will not win as many seats it had won in the last election but it shall be in a position to call the shots due to its alliances. However, a precise prediction can only be made after the poll dates are announced.

BJP: In this party’s case, since it has a Venus-Mercury combination - which is good - we still believe that the party will do well in this election but to get a mandate will not be an easy task.

Delhi: The charts of VK Malhotra and Sheila Dixit are not too different, but going by all considerations, there can be no better time or opportunity than now for the former.

Rajasthan: Vasundhara Raje might manage to manipulate MLAs and come back, but chances are she will go down fighting. Madhya Pradesh: Shivraj Singh Chauhan, with his Moon chart showing Jupiter leaving Sagittarius on December 9, 2008, is a sure loser! Chhattisgarh: Raman Singh beware: Saturn’s sadey saati in operation, so the least said the better!...Continue

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The Sunday Indian

An island in the ocean

“Why do you do yoga all the time? You want to live to be 150, isn’t it? Why? What would you do at 150… all alone while your friends, your loved ones, perhaps even your children and grand children have all gone? Not worth it!” Thus spake Kakoo (uncle) – let’s call him Dr Kakoo…
Dr Kakoo happens to be my favourite uncle in the neighbourhood and he’s seen me grow from the toddler who chased after a butterfly (which, incidentally, has nothing to do with being gay; I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Sir David Attenborough and Steve Irwin do pretty much the same thing on TV) into a professional gadfly. And ever since the time he suggested I might want to reconsider my decision of running away and joining the circus as a four-year-old, I’ve always found his advice timely and pertinent.

But this time, I begged to differ...
I was sitting in his living room, following up on an after dinner chat, while a replica of the Mona Lisa stared down at us from luminous white walls. He insisted that life was worth living only till about 80 (Kakoo’s in his 70s) or so and beyond that, it is but a listless wait for the end to come. And since reaching that limit, going by current gerontological standards, was a more likely statistical possibility than not amongst middle-class Indians, why bother with the mind-numbing stress of a workout for a few more years of life?...Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Repeated violence rubbishes claims of 'island of peace'

Though the police initially claimed that the Maoists had been responsible, the latter, uncharacteristically, made no such claim. And one top retired IPS officer said that had the Maoists been responsible, they would have made a claim. Besides, said the officer, it was not a land mine, for that would have blown up the car into smithereens, but only some splinters had smashed the windshield of the police car.

Kuldip Singh, Inspector General of Police (Western range), admitted on November 4 that the four kilometre stretch had not been under surveillance as the police had no information it could be under Maoist influence, and in fact, it was a CPI(M) controlled area. But this is not a one-off incident. Recently, Maoists blew up an ambulance, killing a doctor and a nurse travelling in it at Belpahari, near Salboni. Interestingly, they did so because in these areas, the state police, scared witless of being attacked, use not their vehicles but ambulances for patrolling. The Maoists later admitted the mistake.....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Iskander-M leaves Poland and Czech vulnerable to Russian attack

IIPM Publication
The location of deployment and choice of the missile both say much about Russia’s position on this current tussle. During the cold war, Kaliningrad was perceived as the first line of defence against an aggression from the west. Russia condensed its strategic presence in the region post Cold War, but it still has tens of thousands of troops and quite a few key bases there, counting the Chernyakhovsk naval air base as well as the Baltic Fleet's headquarters at Baltiysk.

Named after the greatest conquer of all time, Alexander of Macedon, Iskander-M missile system, or SS-26 as NATO would like to call it, will be Russia’s new armoury in the region. “The deployment of Iskander that has a range of more than 300 miles would equip Russia to mark the entire territory of Poland and also parts of the Czech Republic,” said Anatoly Tsyganok, a military expert at Military Forecast Centre, while talking to TSI from Moscow. Iskander launchers are mounted on an eight-wheeled truck, making them extremely manoeuvrable. The missile’s “variable flight trajectory” means it is tricky to knock down. However, it has not been made clear on the Russian part whether the Iskanders to be deployed in Kaliningrad will have a nuclear payload or not....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

Sambit Mohanty (30), Leo Burnett

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

Sambit Mohanty (30), Leo Burnett. He’s won a New York silver and a Abby gold. He’s been a finalist at the Cannes too. A student of journalism and advertising, he is of the opinion that creativity never happens to anybody by intention. It is mostly by accident. But for him, it was actually a mixture of both. He had no clue what creativity was, when he came to Delhi to prepare for his civil services exams. And before he knew, he landed up at IIMC, where he found his true calling. “That time I figured that there is something called creativity. I was completely oblivious of the term earlier,” he says. After starting his career at McCann Erickson, he’s had stints at Lowe, Publicis and Vyas Giannetti. Sambit has worked for a range of products like Dettol, Mortein, Cherry Blossom and India Today. He’s had a busy few months recently, with the launch campaign for the introduction of Chevy Spark, the Minute Maid ad campaign (Where’s the pulp), and lastly the fiery Thums Up-Akshay Kumar ad. But the real high in his life was when after seeing the Cherry Blossom ad, ad guru Alyque Padamsee himself called up the McCann office to congratulate him.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Sinewy Mark, accosts ‘Hurd’les!

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

He salvaged HP from the Fiorina storm, but will he be able to braze out weaker PC market and strong competition from the likes of Dell?

The day NCR put out a release about Mark Hurd’s quitting circa 2005, NCR’s stocks dipped southwards by 17%. It was that kind of respect that this man drew at the Wall Street before accepting to be HP’s knight in shining armour post a debacle known as Carleton S. Fiorina, the brain behind HP’s Compaq takeover.

And Hurd continues to be the board’s favourite man since his era began. A contrast to flamboyant Fiorina, Mark Hurd is a man who’d pass a crowded metro station without anybody noticing him. But in Hurd is also a man who’d like to roll up his sleeves and get on with the job rather than elaborating on a futuristic vision of a typical ‘visionary’ CEO.

Hurd moved to HP at a time when shareholders were screaming in his ears for that rarity called profits. And he got on with the job hands on. Being an operations man certainly has its pros and cons. Hurd chose the pros first. Throwing a slew of cost cutting measures, Hurd cut down costs that rang a bell on Wall Street when an increase of 17% in profits was announced last year to the tune of $7.3 billion. And revenues rose 14% to $104 billion.

“The story really for us has been in the past two years, we have been able to keep our costs flat. However, if you were just to look at a simple piece of paper, it would say, costs are the same at HP in 2007 that they were in 2005. Difference is $18 billion dollars more revenue on the top line….,” had said Hurd at a keynote address last year.

Now to the ‘cons’. While year 2008 has got on to a good start with first quarter net revenue up at 13%, or $3.4 billion, from a year earlier to $28.5 billion, speculations on a grim PC markets is all it takes to put a question mark on HP’s future prospects. Moreover, considering the fact that Dell will soon be reaping the benefits of its retail strategy (as it decided to sell through the indirect route from last year), it will be difficult for Hurd to maintain HP’s dominant position in the global PC market. While one really cannot doubt Hurd’s style of running this giant, his job now is to sell more rather than clean internally.

From a 25% increase last year, PC sales of HP is bound to take a hit in wake of a worldwide crunch in hardware sales and is hence expected to grow by only 5.4%. To cater to the situation, Hurd has already outlined his aggressive intents by announcing promising new products in the printer, PC and the enterprise markets for the year 2008. However, industry watchers are doubting whether this move be enough to maintain HP’s momentum in the long run.

Mark Hurd has done the rescue act before but HP’s shareholders expect nothing less from him this time as well. That’s exactly what happens when you save the Titanic from sinking. They expect you to do that again & again...

Edit bureau: Shashank Shekhar

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!