Monday, November 26, 2007

POTA? Funny!

DEFENCE : ANTI TERRORLAW
It’s funny there’s no Act now...

Probably there’s no other country in the world, which has faced such a severe onslaught of terrorism and yet finds itself lacking tough laws to combat this menace. NDA Government’s POTA (Prevention of Terrorism Act) was brought in effect through an ordinance, but the UPA, to prove its secular credentials, revoked the powerful law, arguably only to handicap the police in convicting terrorists. Though POTA’s efficacy can be questioned, the fact is that the absence of a sensible Act has helped terrorists to continue with their work knowing well that even if they get caught, there were high chances of their getting spared (For example, it is nothing less than ridiculous that state police still needs permission to cross the state border while chasing down terrorists), one reason why ‘encounter killings’ by the police increased. State police forces, barring those in J&K, Andhra Pradesh and Punjab, are no match for organised terrorist groups, more because of the lack of structured powers than because of lack of ammunition. Unless the government shows resolve, the battle is surely not going to be won on the streets...

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Friday, November 23, 2007

The army’s fallen behind China

Defence : Army

Barmy army?
Considered to be among the best in the world in terms of skills and professionalism, the second largest army of the world has for long kept itself apolitical and has won many a war for the country. But over the last few years, it has been losing some of its sheen due to a severe shortage of commissioned officers, increasing pressure to deal with insurgency, suicides among its personnel and inordinate delay in getting the right kind of hardware owing to political indecisiveness. While it finds its artillery capability severely hamstrung owing to cannibalization of its old Bofors 155mm guns, for fear of political backlash, the new contracts for the 155mm Howitzers are not being awarded to the Swedish company, even though now it is a subsidiary of BAE Systems. Though Indian Army’s budget has been considerable increased in recent past, the fact is that China has gone far ahead of India in terms of troop modernization , without a matching response from India. Yet, in the worst of times and amidst hostile neighbours, the army still remains our best bet... with feet on the ground!

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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Wednesday, November 21, 2007

The Man of Steel gets his hands in Oil

After becoming the country’s Steel baron, L. N. Mittal has set his eyes on oil. Taking an exception to the current 26% FDI limit in public-sector petroleum refineries, government gave green signal to Mittal, allowing him to pick up 49% stake in Bhatinda refinery of HPCL for Rs.33.65 billion. The stake in the state run refinery with a capacity of nine million tonnes per year is being acquired through Singapore- based Mittal Energy Investments. The deal marks Mittal’s foray into the oil sector and is also the largest FDI in the PSU refining sector. Land of Uncle Sam; worth $2 billion Indian investments in the US have touched the $2 billion mark in 2006-07. The IT and the ITeS sectors accounted for 48% of the total deals. The investment figure is likely to go beyond $10 billion by 2010. Motivated by factors like greater profitability, cost advantage and a moderate regulatory atmosphere promoted by the government, a total of 48 overseas deals were inked in 2006-07. Also, many small and mid-sized deals contributed somewhere between $20-60 million. A joint study by FICCI & Ernst and Young predict better activity in this sector.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Read more:-

A tough Endeavour
Alarm bells
ICICI hai na!
Taking Taj to places...
Delhi to sip Starbucks first
A Fair and Handsome deal
Blackstone buys out Intelenet
Calling off the ‘Spice’y Idea!
HLL ‘Lever’ ages the power of Hindustan

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

HLL ‘Lever’ ages the power of Hindustan

In tune with its global identity, FMCG giant Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL) has finally re-christened itself as Hindustan Unilever Ltd. (HUL) after getting the government nod. The name change episode can be traced back to December last year when rumours started floating around about its probable name change. In February this year, the name change got the board of directors’ approval which was followed by shareholders’ approval in May 2007. The new name asserts the equilibrium between the company’s heritage in the country and the desired global alignment with its corporate brand ‘Unilever’. After much deliberation, the name Hindustan was retained in the new name, keeping in mind that India plays a vital role in Unilever’s scheme of things. Hindustan has been integrated in the new name to authenticate its commitment to the country’s economy, people, partners, employees et al. The company has also released its new logo which is being publicised through massive campaigns. The new logo carries Unilever’s statement of ‘adding vitality to life’. It incorporates the ‘U’ of Unilever that comprises of 25 different vitality icons and has the name Hindustan Unilever Ltd. inscribed at the bottom. According to the company officials, the corporate name will enhance Unilever’s global scale operations which will in turn benefit the Indian business locally and globally. However the stock markets were not very gung-ho about the change as company’s stock dipped by 1.64% to reach Rs.189.20 after the company announced its new identity in the country.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Monday, November 19, 2007

Delicious divorce!

How can divorces be delicious? For starters, Cadbury Schweppes plans to bring in Cadbury plc as its new identity once its separation is complete. Strategically, the company will take up a cost reduction initiative to ‘focus on fewer, bigger and more value-creating initiatives’ and ‘significantly reduce complexity across all aspects of the business’. Cadbury now plans to close 15% of its manufacturing sites globally while reducing 15% of its labour force. This is to achieve mid teen percentage margins by 2011, from the 10.1% in 2006. Over the next four years, the company aims to abridge its organisational structure for better execution of a focused commercial strategy. It was in March 2007, that Cadbury announced its plans to split Americas Beverages and confectionery, and of late confirmed that a ‘sale is the more likely expected as a outcome’. While showcasing tremendous confidence, the company believes that both the businesses have enough potential to operate in independent ways. On this cost reduction programme spanning 2007-2011, the estimated investment has been decided at $895 million, of which $99.4 million will be non-cash. Furthermore, the company has also restructured its confectionery business, with Britain, Ireland, the Middle East and Africa (BIMA) forming one part, while Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe (rest) representing the other.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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