Showing posts with label IIPM Gurgaon. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IIPM Gurgaon. Show all posts

Monday, October 08, 2012

A piece on Israeli grandmothers!

And on why mothers and grandmothers of this great nation play a critical role in the Israeli-Russia spar

Since August 28, 2008, almost all western media in some or the other form, are criticising Russia’s decision of recognising the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia [once considered part of Georgian influence] by considering it Russian-occupied territories. Not only have both Fortune and Economist featured Russia’s growing influence on their cover stories in the last few weeks, even global leaders have suddenly started recognising that Russia still exists. In sarcastic criticism, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expectably showed her support to Georgia and warned Russia, “In contrast to Georgia’s position, Russia’s international standing is worse now than at any time since 1991...” How interesting dear Ms. Rice that you use that year as an example, for we believe that for the first time since 1991, Russia is finally regaining its rightful position on the world platform. And please Ms. Rice, neither you nor your favourite ‘Kiss Army’, of whom you are a self-confessed die-hard fan, are even an iota interested in what happens in Georgia, are you ma’am?

But what we wish to impetuously implicate out here, and what has been missed out by a majority of media in the process has been the emergence of a strange spar between Israel and Russia over the Georgian war! Analysts and experts in both Israel and Russia are bombarding each other with anti-Russian and anti-Israel statements respectively. Even in the media, while on one hand, Israeli press is accusing Russia of increasing its arm trade with the Middle East, on the other hand, the Russian media is leaving no stone unturned to prove the presence of arms and Israeli training hubs in Georgian land. And now, gravely serious political leaders allege that Russia’s nuclear fuel supply to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant is an initiative against Israel and Georgia. The question is, why is Israel suddenly getting into the benign act of protecting Georgia?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


 
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Monday, September 10, 2012

Follow the Sun Tzu way

Lakshmi Vilas Bank is planning to grow purely on secured lending. That kind of risk aversion is not only rare but is quite strange given the industry in which the bank operates. But does such a strategy really work? B&E runs through the bank’s top management to understand the answers.

83years, 58,000 shareholders and 1.64 million customers, yet the predominantly south-based Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB), which wants to spread its footprints across the nation and become a strong name in the retail lending space, is not ready to take the risk of unsecured lending including credit cards and personal loans. When we heard this rare and stringently risk averse premise of doing business in the banking industry, our first assumption was that it was a joke. Obviously, it wasn’t; but be that as it may, we did realise that there was a well endowed case study in the making, and grabbed the opportunity to go through the bank’s operations and top management’s strategic intent to understand the nature of the beast.

Amazingly so, the bank’s (over) conservative approach has resulted in an unexpected 52.71% growth in operating profit in the last fiscal. This is one of the best amongst various South Indian banks. LVB’s financial results can fox even the most discerning critic. Not only did LVB’s interest income jump by 38.28% to Rs.9.09 billion in the financial year 2009-10 from Rs.6.57 billion in the year ago, its total income too grew by a strong 32.47% to Rs.10.12 billion in the last fiscal.

And then comes the paradox. If a bank is so risk averse, its NPAs should be at historic lows, right? Wrong! LVB has some of the highest and most worrying NPA levels in the banking industry. For starters, LVB has managed to reduce both its gross and net NPA levels to 4.27% and 3.31% respectively from 5.12% gross NPA and 4.11% as of March 31, 2010. But, going by industry norms, the figures are still very high. For that matter, other South Indian banks like Karur Vyasa and Catholic Syrian Bank – two which B&E covered in its previous issues – are operating at a net NPA to net advance ratio of less than 1.5%. In fact, the NPA ratio was one of the biggest reasons for a sharp 38.82% drop in LVB’s net profit last year despite the earlier mentioned income growth.

The bank, which kept aside Rs.585 million as provisions and contingencies in FY’09, had to increase the same by a mammoth 131% to Rs.1.35 billion in FY’10. However, the bank, which is now investing on process changes and credit monitoring to improve credit quality of its asset portfolio, is seemingly confident that they will be able to bring down the NPA level to below 1% within the next 18 months. P. R. Somasundaram, MD & CEO, LVB, accepted to B&E, “The bank’s credit monitoring and recovery efforts have been very reactive in the past. Now we are keen on making it highly pro-active.” But then, as Vaibhav Agarwal, VP – Research, Angel Broking points out, “Despite the negative effect on the NPA front, smaller banks like LVB still need to lend to riskier segments as this is the way they can improve their overall earnings and deposit base, leading to an overall reduction in the bank’s deposit cost.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Saturday, September 08, 2012

Michael Douglas is back!

Gordon Gekko made a rasping comeback in the Wall Street sequel, Money Never Sleeps, but what was an even more emphatic comeback was that of Michael Douglas against cancer. Diagnosed with a stage four tumour in his throat a couple of months back, Michael recently wrapped up his last chemo session and is now set for six weeks of rest and recovery. For life, greed is good.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
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Monday, September 03, 2012

“AT THIS POINT, GEC BUSINESS IS GOING TO COME DOWN”

UTV’s Global Broadcasting division posted a remarkable turnaround in the last year. CEO M. K. Anand speaks to B&E on the favouring factors and future expansion

M. K. Anand, CEO, UTV Global Broadcasting, remarkably left another media behemoth, nee paper tiger, the Times group, to join the UTV group. B&E gets into conversation with the man who has taken UTV’s Broadcasting arm to the market with popular channels like UTV Bindass, UTV Action, UTV Movies Bloomberg UTV and UTV World Movies and finds out how he is set to take them further:

B&E: UTV Global Broadcasting is on an upward trajectory and growing faster than ever. What is the synergy driving the division?
M. K. Anand (MK): The only synergy from the corporation point of view is the brand name ‘UTV’. With the experience that Ronnie brings to the table coupled with his understanding of the Indian entertainment consumer, the trajectory has generally been up for the last 5 years in the B2C space. From a macro economic point of view, the market has taken a dip and again rebounded. What worked for us were the investment decisions that Ronnie took when other companies were cutting down. So this company decided that recession was over 6 months before the rest of the companies of our country did. That’s how we got a head-start. The growth in GRP (Gross Rating Points), which happened over the existing period was far earlier than when the recession actually got over because investment into content and distribution happened when other people were cutting down.



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Friday, August 31, 2012

Why MPs must get a pay of Rs 5 Lakh Per Month

The credibility of our politicians is so low that the media and the public at large are sniggering at the proposal to raise the salary of MPs to `50,000 per month. Thanks mainly to their own behaviour and the brazen corruption of some of their fellowmen, we often tend to forget or ignore the fact that those are MPs and MLAs who actually perform the most important tasks in the country. For the middle class chatterati which has a ‘radical’ solution for every problem that India faces, the solution would be doing away with MPs, and perhaps even elections. Frankly, the middle class chatterati has no interest in democracy. But India cannot afford such solutions.

Given the enormity of the task they perform, I think the MPs need to be paid far more than what they get now. Look at it this way: each MP is responsible for a shareholder base of about 20 million. The actual budget of each constituency runs into hundreds of crores every year. And while district collectors and district magistrates are merely transferred for incompetence or non-performance, an MP can – and often does – actually lose his job! To that extent, an MP actually deserves a monthly salary of `5 Lakh per month. There should be an additional travel and other allowance of `1 lakh per month. That sounds preposterously high? It is not. Paying them these ‘reasonable’ salaries will cost the tax payer less than `1000 crores a year.

But as pointed out and suggested by this magazine and many others umpteen number of times, the problem is not paying generous salaries to our MPs – they deserve that for sure. The problem is with the ‘perks’ that they enjoy. That really is costly and something no elected representative of any functional democracy can demand as a right. Yes, by all means pay `6 lakh every month to our honourable MPs. But then stop giving them free housing in VIP Delhi. Just as it happens in UK, USA, Denmark, Australia and most other democracies, ask our honourable MPs to find their own houses-rented or owned. This will lead to enormous savings for the society – apart from making the MPs more connected with the citizens of India.

Just imagine what can happen to the Indian economy if the logic is extended to all politicians and all bureaucrats in India. They are squatting on the most prime real estate assets available in the country. For example, pay a district collector (an IAS officer) a monthly salary of `1 lakh and ask her to find her own house. Surely the rent for even a wonderful house in a small town cannot exceed `20,000? Why let her stay in a massive bungalow with acres of lawns when that land can be better utilized commercially? You know what the answer will be when politicians and bureaucrats are actually offered this option – huge tax free salaries but no perks. They will find every possible excuse and refuse. That is because our mindset has really not changed much since the British left. 


 
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Srinagar is where the shikaras and houseboats wait for the tourists to return...

The city changes its hues with different seasons, each having its extravagant charm and splendour. Be it the vast, frozen Dal Lake in the pristine white winter, or the blossoming irises in Nishat bagh in the colorful spring, or the honey-dewed orchards and rippling lakes in the pleasant summer, the scenery will leave you spell-bound from the very first step out of your hotel, especially in the golden autumn when the crisp Chinar leaves carpet your way. Painters, photographers, poets will find inspiration for new creations around the year every step of the way!

Migratory birds and a variety of wildlife are also a major draw to this enchanting land. The Hangul stag, the endangered species of red deer, is particularly famous and is found in the Dachigham National Park. The Park is also where other animals typical to the state such as musk deer, black or brown bear, leopards and migratory birds are found.

A tourist in Srinagar will be spoilt for choice when it comes to picking up keepsakes. Shops filled with an awesome array of handicrafts – from silk or wool carpets with Persian designs, to intricately carved walnut wood and paper machie items – are found lining the streets. The wide variety of the craft-items ensures there’s something to suit every pocket.

The architecture of the city is a mix of old and new buildings; there are houses with sloping roofs, minarets of mosques rise into the skies while narrow streets are characteristic of the city. Lal-chowk is the commercial centre of the city and is located in the heart of the city.

The attire of the people here is simple and conservative. As Islam is the religion followed by the majority, most of the women wear burkhas and hijabs. On the other hand, the cuisine is rich and elaborate. Enough to whet anyone’s appetite, Wazawan is the ultimate in Kashmiri hospitality. This royal cuisine of Kashmir has been influenced by Iranian, Afghani and Central Asian styles of cooking, yet it’s unique and its preparation is considered no less than an art in the eyes of the Kashmiris. Non-vegetarian dishes dominate this extravagant 36-course meal.

As one watches the sun set from a house boat anchored on the Dal Lake, one can’t help but wonder why a heaven like this has had to endure such hellish years. Not a place you’ll forget easily, Srinagar is one place that will stay with you not just in photo albums, but also in the deepest confines of your heart.



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Wednesday, August 22, 2012

COMPUTING: TABLET WARS

While its utility is still questionable, Apple’s iPad has unleashed a new, internecine battle on the tablet front, which will involve both device manufacturers and OS providers

Starting off with Sony, it’s planning to develop a device that would primarily be an e-book reader and is expected to debut the same by the end of the year. Microsoft too is rumoured to be giving shape to a tablet called Courier, which is expected to be a dual 7-inch (or so) screen with multi-touch feature, and designed for writing, flicking and drawing with a stylus, in addition to fingers. Google is also expected to be playing a formidable role in the tablet wars with Android at the fore front. The open source software that is getting regular updates has already made waves (NPD claims it to be the second most used operating system, even ahead of the iPhone OS) with plenty of applications to cater to the emerging needs of the consumers. It’s expected to be the first choice for tablet computing, given its love for Flash and multitasking abilities. As a matter of fact, MSI and Asus had showcased tablet powered by Android earlier at the CES and are open to the idea of having an Android-based offering in the near future. Google is also rumoured to be working on its own tablet. Given the kind of success Google Nexus One has got, this one could surely get iPad panting! Similarly, HP’s White-hot Slate arriving with WebOS on “Smartphones and Tablets” will be only used in touch kind of devices. Michael Souers, S&P Equity Research, comments to B&E, “Apple is competing against itself. As I-pad is proving to be a great success, it could take away the major market share from its competitors, especially in the E-book segment.”

These may be distant dreams, but there are a few products that are already trying to make the most of the iPad frenzy by offering more packed devices at more enticing price tag. One of these is being offered by a German company Neofonie and it was been innovatively called WePad. The spec sheet for the same reads out to be 11.6-inch screen, 1.66GHz processor, front-facing camera, 2 USB ports, SIM slot, MicroSD slot, Flash, Adobe AIR, and ability to use all open eBook standards; in short all the things that the Apple iPad was criticised for not providing. It’s also noteworthy that this Android-based tablet is priced at €449, while iPhone is priced at €499. This indicates that the war is already on and with newer options being added in the market, and there is going to be some form of price correction. Interestingly, all this competition would also heat up the OS space with a brawl between iPhone, Android & Windows. For us, that means more innovation, better, sleeker gadgets and the price tags getting sweeter.


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Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Open the Ex files!

Innumerable marketers are selling ‘happiness for tomorrow’ but ‘love market’ offers memories of the past...

If one defines the term ‘market’ in its simplest form, it would be called an arrangement where goods or services can be exchanged by people. But the intent of the content in this article isn’t to describe the terms in economics’ glossary or the forces affecting them, but to talk about the business of love. In fact, what would be better than to begin with the ‘Love Market’ of Vietnam that is held on every lunar March 27 that falls sometime in May? Called the Khau Vai Love Market, the market is about 100 years old among different ethnic tribes such as the Dao, H’mong and Tai in the northern mountainous region of Vietnam. However, the popular ‘form of love’ sought in this market isn’t the ‘new love’ but the ‘old flames’ doused by circumstances or recklessly quashed by kinfolk. Legends tell the tale of a boy and a girl from two different tribes who fell in love with each other but were not able to marry due to the differences between the tribes. To avoid bloodshed and maintain peace, the two decided to part ways but meet every year on that day, March 27th of the lunar calendar. The place where they used to meet was Khau Vai, which today has become the love market festival centre for former lovers and it features food and drinks, musical performances and even folk games. In fact, the tradition has gladly turned out in a way that both husband and wife together leave to look for their respective former lovers. In case only one spouse wants to visit the market, she can do so without feeling guilty while the other one stays at home without feeling jealous!

While the online dating business, which is worth a billion dollars per annum (competing with pornography), gives the opportunity to seek new love every day, the world is divided into two factions when it comes to concluding if ex-lovers should be good friends.


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Tuesday, August 14, 2012

Exclusive Darkness at noon

Dependants of jawans killed by Maoists struggle to stay afloat. A report from Orissa by B&E’s Dhrutikam Mohanty

Two years of anguish have gone by since Mase Madkami’s husband, an SGO jawan, lost his life in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists. But life hasn’t returned to normal for the 25-year-old woman. She lives in the southern Orissa village of Udupa, 25 kms. from the Malkangari district headquarters. Her hut, located in a distant corner of this tribal hamlet, has four rooms. Her husband, Ganga Madkami, was the family’s sole breadwinner. Today, the responsibility of their eight-year-old son and Ganga’s ageing parents is on Mase’s frail shoulders.

We reach her house at dusk. Her son, Sunadhar, is studying in the front room. Mase is busy cleaning a lantern. Udupa does not have electricity. In a while, the lantern will be the only source of light in this benighted home. “I never imagined I’d ever have to see such dark days,” Mase begins to narrate her tale of woes. “Five days after the incident, the chief minister handed out cheques to the families of the martyrs. He also promised each affected family a job, a plot of land and other government benefits. He had tears in his eyes. We had reason to believe that we’d be taken care of by the government.”

But Mase’s hopes were dashed. “For six months I ran from one office to another to get my dues. I finally received Rs. 4 lakh as compensation and Rs. 10 lakh for his life insurance. But I am still waiting for the promised job and land,” she says.

Her problems have increased manifold with the passage of time. She has to travel to Bhubaneswar every month to collect the family pension. Being a single lady, she is usually accompanied by somebody from the village, which entails additional expenses. At times she has to travel to the state capital more than once for the same purpose. Sometimes the officers concerned are not available. At other times, the processing of her payment is deferred. “We are illiterate poor villagers and don’t know much about government procedures. But running around like this for what was promised to me is actually hurting me more than my husband’s death,” says Mase, tears welling up in her eyes.

Given the constant drain on her limited resources, she is worried whether her son would be able to complete his education. She says, “Including my old father, I have four dependants. Tell me, how will I manage to continue paying for my son’s education?” Despite a government announcement of financial assistance for the education of the children of martyrs, Mase hasn’t received any payment. Sunadhar, on his part, wants to follow in the footsteps of his late father and join the police force. But will a heartless bureaucracy, which operates from the comfort and security of air-conditioned offices, allow this hapless boy to fulfill his dream? The story of 23-year-old Manini Devta is much the same. She had married SGO jawan, Kanhu Charan Devta in 2006. A year later, she gave birth to a baby boy. The family was a picture of happiness. But a landmine blast on July 16, 2008, at MV126 village changed everything. Kanhu died aged 26, leaving behind his young wife, one-year-old son and his old parents. Her entire life still ahead of her, Manini is struggling to survive. She stays with her in-laws in a small dwelling unit in Malkangiri’s police colony. Kanhu’s old parents have been mental wrecks ever since they saw the lifeless body of their son. Manini tells B&E, “I don’t know what to do now. Though we have received an amount as compensation, we are yet to get a piece of land or a job as promised by the government. Whatever we receive as pension is exhausted in running to different offices in the state capital. It is becoming increasingly tough for me to handle the day-to-day household expenses.”

Manini is a graduate and she expects to get a job under the government’s rehabilitation scheme. However, it has been two years now and her application, and her hope, are lost somewhere under heaps of files dumped on the desks of the babus. This system reeks of apathy at every level. It is a system that leaves a martyr’s widow at the mercy of callous government officials. Doesn’t the family of a brave young man who died fighting those that are waging war on the state deserve better?

The situation is no better for lady constable Pratima Rout, a survivor of the Nayagarh massacre masterminded by Maoists. She has been subjected to ill-treatmen, cheating and mental torture by her own department.

Pratima, who lives in a one-room rented house in Khandapada Road in Nayagarh, is only too willing to pour her heart out. Having been treated most shabbily by the police force that she belongs to, she is seeking justice, but nobody has the time or the inclination to give her a hearing. On that dark night two years ago, Pratima was in charge of the magazines house when 300 to 400 Maoists barged into Nayagarh police station firing indiscriminately. She was shot four times before she fell unconscious. She was hospitalised in a critical condition.

Hear her story. “My condition was so bad that the doctors had given up hope. I had lost a lot of blood. While those that had sustained minor wounds were discharged after treatment, I was retained as a vein in my leg was torn. I continued to lose blood. After nearly a month and 18 days, the department informed me that I won’t get any more financial assistance and that I would have pay my medical expenses. I was really taken aback. I was at my wit’s end. I had no idea how I would arrange the money.”

Though her brother went to meet the Cuttack Superintendent of Police and he assured the family that he would intervene on Pratima’s behalf, nothing happened. Pratima and her brother took loans and used up their savings. They then went back to the department seeking help as she had to undergo four different surgeries. When Pratima met the district superintendent of police, he suggested that she should apply for a loan from the Police Welfare Fund (PWF). She applied for Rs. 20,000. The money was released promptly. But Pratima soon realised that she had been lured into another trap.

Read more......

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Monday, August 13, 2012

“The biggest mistake of my life was that i believed in the stock market in 1999.”

He came, he saw, he conquered ... Subhash Chandra, the media maverick, in an exclusive conversation with B&E, shares the eventful ups and downs that he faced during his journey to the top

B&E: When was it that you realised that it’s time that you hand over your major business responsibilities to the next generation? What was it that prompted the thought?
SC: The next generation has been a part of various businesses within the group for several years. They have proved their mettle and are leaders in their own right. In fact, I feel the takeover process has actually been gradual.

B&E: What is the most defining moment of your life? Something that changed your entire life...
SC: It was the day when I was asked to leave the College of Engineering as my family could not afford the fees and expenses. If that wouldn’t have happened, life would have been on a different path.

B&E: When are you planning to take full retirement from all business responsibilities?
SC: Currently my role in the group is that of a mentor. As far as full retirement is concerned, you will surely come to know when I take this decision.

B&E: 10-15 years down the line, where do you see your group with the next generation completely in charge of all business responsibilities? 
SC: I see each company in the leadership position in their respective industries.

B&E: What is your biggest strength as a businessman?
SC: To see a business opportunity ahead of its time and back it up passionately.

B&E: What is one thing you have learned the hard way from life?
SC: Never give up. Even if you fail initially, you need to be persistent and keep trying until you succeed.

Read more....

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