Showing posts with label Guru Economist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guru Economist. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Killer roads take a toll

Experts attribute road accidents to overspeeding

Some twenty-five passengers were injured when a bus collided with a truck on the NH 31 at Pathsala in Barpeta district on the night of May 16.

Nearly fifteen schoolchildren were injured when a school bus (AS 15-1616) fell into a ditch on May 22 at Burah in Darrang district.

Local dailies in Assam unfailingly reports about such road accidents. According to government statistics, during the past one decade road accident cases have doubled in the state. In 2000, some 2,429 road accident cases were reported. But the figure increased to 4,869 in 2009. Accidental deaths in 2009 were 1,991 as against 1,032 in 2000. In comparison to all India level, Assam shares 44 per cent of accidental deaths.

In Guwahati city, some 626 motor accident cases took place in 2007; 626 in 2007; 641 in 2008 and 508 in 2008. Among districts Sonitpur registered a maximum 363 accidental cases in 2009. Lower Assam’s Dhubri district and Barak valley’s Cachar district stood second and third with 346 and 306 accidental cases. Out of 4,686 accidents taking place in the state in 2008, as many as 2,683 accidents took place on national highways; 849 were on state highways and the remaining 1,151 on other roads of the state.

City Superintendent of Police (Traffic) Bibekananda Das told TSI that the traffic branch of city police is compiling last five years’ data of road accidents to study them. Only after completion of the process, decision could be taken to prevent accidents, the newly appointed SP (traffic) said. Traffic experts attribute road accidents to overspeeding and even increasing cars on the roads. “Untrained drivers, fake licence holders and absence of civic sense among people are also responsible for increasing number of accidents,” Violet Baruah, SP (CID) told TSI. The problem is further compounded when some drivers don’t obey traffic rules, she said.

According to the rule, mobile phones should not be used during driving and seat belts should be fastened, but only a few people obey them. Drunk driving is also responsible for several road accidents in the state.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Friday, June 11, 2010

HEART IN THE RIGHT PLACE

From a no-cost hospital to a super-specialty medical facility for the poor – retrenched workers of a sick steel company in West Bengal have masterminded the impossible, writes Chandrasekhar Bhattacharjee
It is a low-cost hospital where humanity breathes in all its glory. At the helm of affairs are a bunch of workers who lost their jobs when the sick Indo Japan Steel Company in Belur, West Bengal, downed its shutters for good.

Swami Vivekananda’s famed Belur Math is just a few meters away and those who run the Shramajeevi Hospital are clearly inspired by the great man’s words: “Who serves people serves God”.

The Shramajeevi Hospital has had a deep impact. Ask truck driver Umashankar. He was in danger of losing both his legs after a speeding car hit him in Durgapur in the early 1990s. At the NRS Hospital in Kolkata he was told that his legs, which had six cracks, would have to be amputated. But in Shramajeevi he was treated for two months and his legs were back to normal. His total bill was Rs 8,000. Umashankar is back at the wheels.

Mohammad Mehyor, 14, had his oesophagus severely damaged after he consumed hazardous acid while working in a factory. Wheeled into the hospital a few days later, his life was in danger. Doctors replaced his oesophagus with a piece of his large intestine. He is 21 today and leading a normal life.

A bypass surgery at this hospital costs no more than Rs 25,000 while private hospitals in Kolkata and elsewhere charge at least Rs 1 lakh. “The heart operation unit started about four years back and has already performed 300 bypass surgeries. At least 20 of these operations have been done completely free of cost,” said Dr Anil Saha, secretary of the Belur Shramajeevi Swasthya Prakalpa Samiti.

he Samiti now plans to build a 500-bed super-speciality hospital at Belu Milki village near Singur to serve lakhs of poor and working people. The new project is being envisaged as something more than just a hospital.

In the process of building the existing hospital, the workers were led by the sole union. It had no political affiliation. In the early 1980s, the secondary steel factory was in the throes of a crisis and went through a cycle of closures and re-openings. “Our neighbours helped us a lot during that period. But once the factory reopened, we would forget their good deeds, said Phani Gopal Bhattacharjee, the mentor of the hospital.

It was to repay the kindness of the neighbours that the workers of the factory came up with the idea of a free weekly medical check-up for the poor. The exercise began in 1982 in a Hindi primary school. “We soon expanded the scope of the operation to include eye surgery camps and minor surgeries,” said Bhattacharjee.

Junior doctors, who were agitating at that point against the authorities not for better wages but improved medical services in government hospitals, stepped forward to help the workers realise their dream of providing affordable healthcare to the poor.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Monday, April 19, 2010

Micromax’s quest for the 2nd spot

It was a rather quick climb up the ladder for Micromax. So far, so good. But even after becoming the third-largest handset vendor in India, it has a steep climb ahead, with threats in the names of both new entrants and seasoned players... Will it win the ‘Silver’ soon?

Two years into the business, and you dare to challenge the #1 & #2, even in a cluttered market; that for you is Micromax! It started as a distributor of PC hardware (for brands like Dell, HP and Sony) and after seventeen long years, felt the need to grow as an independent brand. Four friends got together – Rajesh Agarwal, Sumeet Arora, Rahul Sharma & Vikas Jain – and decided to grow their business. Many ideas poured in during the umpteen brainstorming sessions that the four conducted amongst themselves. Finally, they decided to bet big on Sharma’s idea – to marry mobile handsets and rural and price-sensitive India. Thus, the company’s first phone (the X1i), was born in an environment that would transform into what would be proudly called the second-largest mobile market in the world, next only to US, with about 10-12 million subscribers being added every month. Better news for the four friends, as trade pundits are predicting that the current growth momentum in the telecom industry will last till atleast 2012.

Despite all the good tidings, it still comes as a surprise that a new entrant has managed to make such a deep dent in the crowded domestic handset market. Micromax is currently the third-largest GSM vendor in the Indian market, with a share of 8.1%, perhaps just a few notches behind Samsung who at the second position has 10.4% control, as per market reports. [Nokia with 52.7% share is the number 1 vendor]. Micromax has been selling anywhere around a million handsets every month, for the past year, and as company officials state, it has earned about Rs.15 billion in revenues during the past year. So here’s something to digest – going by the numbers, the Indian handset market is estimated to have sold about 130 million handsets units in the last calendar year alone, which implies, that if we were to consider just the sales during the past 12 months, Micromax has a market share of 9.3%, much closer (as compared to the previously stated 8.1%) to the 10.4% share of Samsung!

And there is a lot more to be had from a handset market that currently, only has a tele-density of 49.5% and has supposedly clocked a turnover of over Rs.200 billion over last year. Little wonder, that many global bigwigs like Nokia, Samsung, LG & Sony Ericsson have time and again referred to India as one of their key markets. But with great opportunities, come greater challenges, and the same is true for the #3. Once, Micromax was a challenger; today it is also being challenged by many entrants like Karbonn, Lava, Maxx, Intex, Lemon, Gee Pee, Videocon, Usha Lexus, Orpat, Airfone and many more... Talking about the growing count of challengers, Deepak Kumar, AVP, Research, IDC India says, “The number of emerging mobile handset vendors in the India market had grown to 26 in Q2 CY2009 and their contribution to overall shipments in terms of units crossed 6.3% for the first time during the 12-months leading to June 2009. This is as against only 11 emerging vendors representing a share of 1.2% of overall shipments during the previous twelve-month period.”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

1848 Princess Tui Inn, Samoa

Lavishing luxuries galore, 1848 Princess Tui Inn is nestled at an ideal location facing the South Pacific Ocean. Serving pure pleasure on a platter to its customers, the 1848 Princess Tui Inn has always been the epitome of warmth and hospitality. The resort provides the most scenic view of the glistening sun, dusty golden sand and not to mention, the azure waters. Blending tradition with culture, the 1848 Princess Tui Inn provides one wholesome experience of sheer bliss! 1848 Princess Tui Inn is a paradise for travellers – those who like to take it easy and also who like to be on the move 24x7 and prefer to go backpacking...

The View: It’s a marvel to watch the refreshing and energising sunrise and the picturesque golden sunsets from the various terraces and patios at the 1848 Princess Tui Inn. The resort, besides offering a spectacular view of the ocean, and with all the natural beauty surrounding it, also presents the visitor with the opportunity of being one with nature.

Archi Type: This luxurious resort has been built with a deliberate reflection of its tradition and a hint of its culture in its otherwise contemporary interiors. The designs and decorations have been aesthetically chosen to suit the taste of its guests from around the world. With beauty, fitness and spa facilities and with choicest elements – best quality woodwork, subtle colour schemes and interesting artifacts – the resort caters to the needs of one and all…

Bon Appétit: 1848 Princess Tui Inn invites its guests to try the various creations of its chef known to blend classic and exotic flavours. Crabs, prawns and shrimps are a delicacy and blend well with the well-known chilled Vailima beer.

Around the Corner: 1848 Princess Tui Inn is conveniently situated in this miniature paradise with almost all fabulous hideaways at a reasonable distance. The spectacular island of Savai’i is just a stone's throw away from Princess Tui, and is the perfect base for visiting Papaseea sliding rocks, Papapapaitai Waterfall, Mataerva Beach and the markets of Apia.

From Under the Carpet: For those who wish to see everything in one place or those who suffer from lethargy, 1848 Princess Tui Inn may not be the best bet.

In Essence: Nurturing a relationship with sheer originality, apparent cordiality and sweet seduction is the hallmark of 1848 Princess Tui Inn.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Thursday, April 08, 2010

Southern wilderness - KERALA

If you are not hypnotised by this marvel of nature, something is wrong with your eyes, sense and sensibility

With an unspoilt and serene nature to bank on, Wayanad has turned itself into a popular tourist hub. The hill stations on the Western Ghats of Kerala with their exotic vegetation and vibrant wildlife attract every romantic who is fed up with the boredom and monotony of the day-to-day city life.

Attappady, Idukki, Pakshipathalam, Peerumedu, Silent Valley, Vagamon, Devikulam, Nelliyampathy, Ponmudy....the list of hill stations never ends. The aroma of exotic spices, amazing greeneries, glittering rivers, great ups and downs of topography, thrill of an adventurous drive through the mysterious hair-pin curves....are all a tightly packed combo which guarantees relaxation, peace and trance.

Come to Wayanad and you need not read Wordsworth's lyrics on nature. This entire northern district of Kerala is a full-fledged hill station. Located at an altitude of 700-2100 meters above sea level, Wayanad stands on the southern top of the Deccan Plateau. Kalppetta, Sulthan Batheri and Mananthaavadi towns provide the residential and travelling infrastructure for tourists.

This land was ruled by the renowned Keralavarma Pazhassi Raja among many others. The British took over the reins of Wayanad in the 19th . The wars Pazhassi waged against British with Kurichiya tribals are etched in golden letters in the annals of the freedom struggle. The tomb of Pazhassi Raja, better renowned as the lion of Kerala, is situated in Mananthavady, Wayanad.

Wayanad gives a traveller a unique mix - wildlife, trekking, historical places, pre-historic art and a peek into tribal life. The Wayanad Wild Life Sanctuary at Muthanga is a 344-sq-km abode of elephants, tigers, monkeys, spotted deer, panthers, sloth bears, sambhar, reptiles, bison, jungle cats, civet cats, gaur, wild dogs, wild pigs and other species. Rich in bio-diversity, this sanctuary is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The ideal time to visit is from June to October.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Making hay while the sun shines

The generous military aid to Pakistan by the US is a result of its efforts to stop al-Qaeda and the Taliban, reports Shahid Hussain from Pakistan

Faced with the imminent threat that the US might leave Pakistan in the lurch again to deal with extremist forces once it withdraws from Afghanistan in 2011, the Pakistan government, especially its army, is trying its best to make hay while the sun shines and extract as much military and economic aid from the superpower as possible.

No wonder the Pakistan delegation that visited the Washington last week to negotiate with the US leaders comprised Chief of the Army Staff, Gen. Ashfaq ParvezKayani, and the Chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Gen. Ahmad Shuja Pasha, something unprecedented in Pakistan’s 62-year-old chequered history.

The message was clear: security issues would be dealt with by the army. The Americans too welcomed the composition of the Pakistan delegation despite repeated suspicion that a certain lobby in the Pakistan establishment plays a double game and keeps its contacts with the Taliban alive. One reason for this complicity could be that it is the Pakistan army that is fighting the “war on terror” against the al-Qaeda and the Taliban and it is better to deal with them directly and assure them that Pakistan-US cooperation would continue despite odds.

Ahead of “strategic dialogue” between Pakistan and the US, Gen. Kayani held parleys with US defense secretary Robert Gates, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Army General David Petraeus, head of the US Central Command, and other senior US military officials, indicating it was the army that calls the shots.

Faced with anti-Americanism at home, it was essential that the Pakistan delegation does not return home emptyhanded. The US leaders did not let them down despite rhetoric for the last couple of months that they expected Pakistan to “do more.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been reported to have said the US has made a “strategic priority” to strengthen its partnership with Pakistan. In a testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, she declared that US efforts in Pakistan were vital for America’s success in Afghanistan. The hearings help set the stage for the upcoming debate this spring over the White House requests for $33 billion in new war funding coupled with $4.5 billion in foreign assistance, chiefly for Afghanistan and Pakistan.

According to official figures, US has given Pakistan $15.4 billion since 2002. Two-thirds of the aid is security-related.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Monday, April 05, 2010

Will they ever find a medicine to cure this limping cousin?

With legislations hampering the flow of capital into the Food Processing sector, it’s time for an overarching law to save agriculture’s closest cousin. Many hurdles, one goal – make the Food Processing sector shine!

India basks in the glory of diversity and proudly boasts of being a smoothly run sovereign democracy (Naxalism and Kashmir can be relegated to the footnotes for the sake of argument). Today, we sit on our laurels won in IT services and Pharmaceuticals and steadily, every other sector in services is being opened up to allow foreign participation, thereby create greater competencies and economies of scale. However, an interesting characteristic surfaces the moment we delve into the economics of liberalisation since 1991 – the opening up of all sectors to private and foreign investment, over time, have happened during a time when there were very few lives dependent on them for livelihood. Automobiles, telecom, banking, insurance IT, and pharma all were in their nascent stages and driven primarily by educated Indians. But with private money flowing in, a few million white collar jobs have been created and today, the services sector has scampered far ahead of manufacturing in the country. Sadly however, at the same time, the per capita food intake for the country has fallen below many sub-Saharan nations. Disguised employment in agriculture continues to run the vicious cycle of low capital investment, poor quality, fragmented markets negligible profits and again low investment. Amazingly, food processing, the next in the food value chain (post harvest) has borne the brunt of not only being the industry to absorb the massive numbers from agriculture, but also to create many new jobs related to technology and supply chain. But, the legacy of a socialist ideology and the commitments of coalition politics have made the sector languish till date in the dungeon of low scales, low investment and outdated technology.

Firstly, just for a start, the unorganised segment in food processing, will require an investment of about $23 billion over the next ten years (estimated on the basis of output ratio as 2:1 and capital intensity ratio as 5:1 of organised and unorganised sector). But on the credit side, there’s no dearth of roadblocks. According to the The Cooperative Act, cooperatives in the country, are restricted to borrowing only from Cooperative banks, DCCBs and Regional Rural Banks (RRBs), thus resulting in only a few (and narrow) pipelines of credit available for food cooperatives to start processing operations. Similarly, the private banks are still prohibited to lend to State warehousing corporations which form the bulk of storage for all food products in India. There has been a constant rhetoric to allow the use of warehouse receipts as collateral for attainig credit from banks, however, till date, there has been no resonating tone from the government on the same.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Saturday, April 03, 2010

So what do we do about cancer?

Cancer has become a major concern worldwide. Billions of dollars have gone down the research river, but the results are only visible in developed countries. B&E’s Amir Moin argues that developing nations are the place where the battle has to be won

Cancer has been haunting human civilization for centuries. To begin with, the world’s oldest documented cancer case was recorded in Egypt and dates back to 1500 B.C. Cancer not only leads to loss of lives, but also results in major economic losses. The US basedNational Business Group on Health, representing 185 of the Fortune 500 firms and providing cover to more than 40 million workers estimated in a recent study that productivity loss for US firms resulting from smoking related diseases cost them $157 billion, even larger than the GDP of New Zealand. In fact, Purdue University’s Health Care Special Report takes the same even higher at $234 billion. This dirge is just the tip. The US Office of Technology & Assessment made an emphatic conclusion post a recent study that smokers, on an average, took 300% more sick leaves than non-smokers. Another research highlights strong evidence thatthe probability of smokers to become disabled exceeds their non-smoking counterparts by 600%! But the real eye-popper is the research report by Cappelli, Pauly & Lemaire of Wharton, which states that obese individuals have 30-50% more chronic medical problems than those who smoke or drink heavily! Researchers with the American Institute for Cancer Research looked at seven cancers with known links to obesity and calculated actual case counts that were likely to have been caused by obesity. The result- more than 100,000 cases of cancer each year are caused by excess body fat!

The world is coming together to stand up to cancer. But, according to a report released by the World Health Organization’s cancer research agency, 27 million new cancer cases are expected by 2030 growing at a rate of 1% every year. Emerging economies such as India, China and Russia would be the worst hit. According to the report, around 1.3 billion people smoke globally, making tobacco the major avoidable cause of death and disease worldwide. Experts say that tobacco has killed 100 million people in the last century and will kill a billion in the 21st century. Harvard Medical School told B&E, “Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in both men and women. Although prostate cancer and breast cancer occur more commonly than lung cancer, lung cancer is a more fatal disease.”

Cancer no doubt has become a big issue. Infact, Harvard Medical School says that cancer is second only to heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States. Cancer kills one in four Americans and is the leading cause of death for women aged 40 to 79 and men aged 60 to 79. Society (common people and the scientific clan included) is doing all it can to spread awareness and at the same time fight this menace. At one end, you have cancer research institutes and the scientific community, working in order to make breakthroughs in the field of cancer cure. On the other hand we have NGOs and other non-profit organizations trying their level best to spread awareness about this deadly disease. For instance, Facebook went colourful a few days back. A strange yet unique – bra colour status updates – made its way into the network, but no one really knew how or why the what-colour-is-your-bra campaign took off. In case you are still confused and don’t see it, women were posting single word updates with the colour of their bra, hence the bombardment of ‘black’, ‘red’, and ‘nothing’ updates from your female friends. The colour update craze was started by women in Detroit who are trying to raise awareness around Breast Cancer. While all this was happening on the awareness front, scientists in Britain made a cancer breakthrough that could pave the way for tailor made treatment of breast tumours and revolutionize the way breast cancer is cured.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Friday, April 02, 2010

Inviting the wolf home...

It may be true that if you’re not on the World Wide Web in the 21st century, you’re practically out of business. But if your business becomes someone else’s business, then you might feel jittery every time you punch in your magic keys. Not everyone on the Internet is as naive as you are... Welcome to the world of illegal hackers!

Con men, burglars, small-time thieves and serious criminals… the web is no stranger to any of these. The Internet sure has given us access to the necessary information and all the knowledge that we might need. But it has also opened the doors of privacy and given unwanted elements access to our personal lives. Compulsive voyeurs or Peeping Toms have been aided with the already there and ever-increasing industry of the ‘Social Networking Sites’. These sites have turned the world around for those who seek comfort while interacting with a long-lost pal. As long as it helps one share and get in touch with buddies, it is good. But the moment undesired weirdos start troubling you with unending ‘Friendship requests’ or meaningless messages, it starts getting uncomfortable. This is when the so-called net-savvy individuals opt for the ‘Block User’ privacy option. In the present day scenario, where status messages have to change with every fresh cup of coffee, resorting to safety measures like blocking a pesky user may not suffice. Informing your dear ones and letting them know where and how you’re going for a vacation or a date or even a meeting (all in good faith) may be just the information needed for those waiting to strike!

Blissful at the look of increasing number of fans and followers or admiring the up-to-mark look of one’s new profile shall soon be passé. Cyber crime is growing by the hour and with every piece of extra information, which may aid even the most uninitiated net-using criminal mind, it is getting simpler too. “There is a huge list of scams such as online earning proposals, duplicate websites, phishing and Spam e-mails, credit card frauds and EFT (Electronic Fund Transfer) frauds.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Friday, March 26, 2010

Sweet revenge

India’s version of the Razzies, the Golden Kela Awards, where the worst performances are picked and ‘honoured’, was recently held in the capital. Sajid Nadiadwala’s “Kambakkht Ishq” was among the films at the receiving end of their ridicule, and was crowned the worst film of the year. Kareena Kapoor, who was an all new size-0 in the film, was also given the dubious honour of the worst actress of the year. Apparently, 3,00,000 people voted for these awards, and so revenged the film industry for unloading reels of rubbish at them in 2009 !
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Cashing in on Cesarean?

Most women are hale and hearty and capable of an uncomplicated natural childbirth, yet surgical childbirths are increasing...

Any sort of experimentation with nature’s way always attracts attention and debate. Medicine in several ways has led to the triumph of human will over nature’s rules. But this time the world is divided over the delivery techniques of childbirth. Today, a mother can opt for a natural delivery or choose the surgical (Cesarean section) route, but a sharp increase in the latter method across the world has stirred widespread concern. While in the US, one in four children is born via Cesarean section (C-section), WHO has reported that one in five deliveries in India is by Cesarean too. Obstetrician David Campbell Walters in his book, Just Take it Out: The Ethics and Economics of Cesarean Section and Hysterectomy (1999) claims that in the US, ‘in 20 years, there will be no more vaginal births.’ If you look at Walters’ claim in light of the existing figures of C-section deliveries in metros like Mumbai and Delhi (20-25% C-section deliveries) and even in most provinces in China (where according to China Philanthropy Times, the average rate of Cesarean birth has reached 40 percent), his prophecy might actually become a reality in a large part of the world… But what is driving doctors and mothers-to-be to opt out of the natural vaginal delivery? Why do doctors like David Campbell Walters (though in minority) advocate that women be allowed to choose a pre-planned Cesarean?

“Apart from the straight visible medical indications that suggest choosing a Cesarean delivery, most of the doctors today want to avoid the possibility of lawsuits for any problems in the child arising during labour,” says Dr. Kiran Dua, an experienced Gynecologist associated with several health care institutions like Lamaze that advocate normal delivery. He adds, “Most of the doctors think that if they can get free in two hours with a Cesarean, why should they monitor someone for 16-18 hours in labour and take stress?”

But while a Cesarean delivery leaves the mother with a severe, longer-lasting pain and with a risk of infections, it may cause harm to the child too in the form of ‘accidental surgical cuts, respiratory problems, failure to establish breast-feeding, and asthma’. Most often, mothers agree for a Cesarean “at the initiation and encouragement of the doctor and then to avoid labour pain”, says 31-year-old Sejal, a mother of two, and adds, “I was ill-informed about the cons of a Cesarean and my girl does have a respiratory problem.”

Vaginal births are not all perfect too, and in cases of poor care and midwifery, they may lead to ‘alterations in sexual sensation and if forceps are used, it may lead to urinary incontinence.’ Cesarean, as an informed choice, is being advocated by many in the US who contend that the costs, risks and benefits of both the procedures are balanced. But “In India, the money a doctor makes in a Cesarean is double the amount you get in a normal delivery, that too with much lesser effort,” reveals Dr. Dua. This leaves Indians with the task of discerning if their doctor is really concerned about their health, or of his/her own vested interests...
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Saturday, March 20, 2010

When the ‘ketal’ goes boiling...

An unknown Indian firm Dorf Ketal buys up the global catalyst business of DuPont Chemicals! Why isn’t everybody this side of the Atlantic celebrating, asks B&E ‘s Angshuman Paul

Seriously, how many of you had ever heard about Dorf Ketal? Considering that it is an Indian specialty chemicals company worth $220 million (revenues for year ending March 2009; targeting $300 million by 2010-11), you would understandably be quite reluctant to reply in the negative.

However, it isn’t entirely surprising that the company operates in relative obscurity. Besides the fact that it is a B2B player, the company has followed a very conservative model for growth and diversification. Consider this – after eight years of their corporate journey, the company decided to diversify (in 2000). And then, unlike other companies, Dorf Ketal hasn’t believed much in the concept of branding as a B2B company; even as world famous B2B companies are beginning to realise its criticality. And they intend to keep things that way. “Since we are in the B2B arena, mass consumers are not expected to know about us, but our target audiences like Reliance, IOC et al, know about us” argues a senior official from Dorf Ketal.

Nevertheless, things seem to be changing during the last decade for the company. They have grown by more than 30% during this period by cashing in on acquisitions. A bird’s eye view at the activity of the company during the past decade tells us that in a time span of eight years, the company has made at least five acquisitions to leverage potential synergies. For instance, when it acquired Sanmarg Specialty Chemicals-owned Intec, it helped Dorf Ketal to diversify into organic products like titanates and zirconates that have a strong demand in industries like oil & gas, paints & coatings, printing inks, industrial sealants, corrosion protection & emission reduction.

And now the name of Dorf Ketal has suddenly gatecrashed into notice with the acquisition of the global catalyst business of DuPont Chemicals and Fluro Products for around $40 million. The deal has been funded through debt and equity funds injected by the promoters. This particular venture of DuPont minted revenue of $50 million during 2008.

DuPont has deemed the business to be ‘non-strategic’ to its long term growth plans. On the other hand, senior officials in Dorf Ketal are hugely optimistic about the synergies that Dorf Ketal would enjoy from DuPont Chemicals & Fluoroproducts business. “It will provide us with several product innovations and technological developments pioneered by DuPont and also strengthen our position on the global platform,” says Vijay Malpani, Group Finance Controller, Dorf Ketal Chemicals (I) Pvt Ltd. The deal also enables the Indian chemical major to acquire DuPont’s assets associated with the Specialty Catalyst Business which comprises trademarks, sales, marketing and customer service. Strategically, the group has acquired the assets and deliberately avoided acquiring the entire business in terms of human capital. The company is trying to avoid the risk of a cultural mismatch with a US-based business.

The company plans to allow itself some lag time before it can take over operationally. DuPont will continue to manufacture and supply specialty catalyst products to Dorf Ketal for approximately 1 year under service and supply agreements. DuPont is also assisting Dorf Ketal with technology transfer & in setting up a new plant. Sudhir Menon, CMD of Dorf Ketal says, “The acquisition is a well thought plan to consolidate our position in newer product segment.”
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Thursday, March 18, 2010

The road to uncertainty

Pressure is on the govt not to close the transport corporation

The Shivraj Singh Chouhan government that had decided to shut down the Madhya Pradesh Road Transport Corporation (MPRTC) in 2005 has been unable to do so because of the Central government’s negative response. The government doesn’t know how to handle the explosive situation after the Central government and the surface transport ministry expressed their unwillingness to provide no objection certificate (NOC) to it.

Besides, the Industrial Dispute Act 1947 doesn’t allow any government to wind up Transport Corporation. Since 2005 the central transport ministry has rejected the state government’s proposal to close the MPRTC thrice. After rejecting the proposal for the second time, the transport ministry had declared: “In many countries the transport is operated in public interest.” But this didn’t stop the state government from changing its mind. It approached the central ministries of road transport and highways and labour and employment for the third time on November 12, 2009, seeking its mandatory approval for closure of the MPRTC. But the Central government didn’t accept it. Rather it asked the government to send another proposal on how to restructure the transport corporation.

It was then that the Madhya Pradesh government sought Rs 2590 crore from the Centre. At the same time on January 12, 2010, it posted the proposal to the ministries. Chief minister Chouhan even wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to intervene and resolve the matter. However, both of these were rejected, leaving the government with no other option but to mull on closing the MPRTC for good. The process of closure, Chouhan said, has reached an irreversible stage with 93 per cent of the 10,719 employees having opted for VRS. “Moreover, all the 681 nationalised bus routes operated by the corporation have also been denationalised,” he pointed out. But there is still some hope.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Wednesday, March 17, 2010

It’s all about homework!

'Homeschooling' is here to stay, especially in the developing world

The concept of 'homeschooling' has not caught-on with parents in this part of the world. But then, in most of the developed countries the whole idea of homeschooling has gone beyond mere alternative education and has entered the ambit of politics and lobbying.

For the starters, homeschooling is the education of children at home and is seen as an alternative, in developed countries, to formal education. However, the surge in homeschooling is hitting the market of conventional education system in the US. A conservative estimate shows that over 50 million children are enrolled in over 100,000 schools in the US. The average per student expenditure in the US public schools is around $7,000.

In the US, where quality of formal education is quite worrisome, parents are largely opting for homeschooling. Take for instance, the IQ level (and maths skills) of an average American student is far too less than his counterpart in the developing countries. A 2007 survey by the Department of Education reveals that 88 per cent of homeschooling parents felt their local public schools were unsafe, drug-ridden or unwholesome in some way and 73 per cent complained of shoddy academic standards.

However, in developing countries, the practice of homeschooling is not so common. Reason being, that homeschooling is too expensive in metros (even surpasses school’s tuition fees). And in non-metros (or tier-II and tier-III cities) parents are not able to match up with modern education syllabi. Moreover, homeschooling is not encouraged at the time of college admissions. Unlike the West ­— where there is a strong network of activities and legal lobby that has ensured colleges/institutes to have a separate policy — developing countries do not have any body to advocate this concept.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Friday, March 12, 2010

Budget backlash

The fuel price hike Announced by the finance minister has galvanised the opposition to close ranks in a rare show of unity. But will the sound and fury translate into long-term political gains? Pramod Kumar reports

In the final Cabinet meeting prior to the presentation of the Union Budget this year, three important financial decisions were taken. As the meeting drew to a close, the petroleum minister made a request for a hike in fuel prices. Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee assured him that some steps had already been taken through the excise duty channel. But agriculture minister Sharad Pawar and railway minister Mamata Banerjee warned that a fuel price hike would fan anger against the government and adversely affect the prospects of the UPA in Assembly elections scheduled for the coming months.

Mukherjee replied that not hiking fuel prices would adversely affect the pace of pro-people projects. So the allies advocated a 'wait and watch' policy: increase the prices of petrol and diesel and then gauge the popular reaction; if things threaten to snowball, get the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to intervene and order a partial rollback. It was also suggested that the time-lag between the hike and the eventual rollback could be utilised to lessen the oil pool deficit. In that scenario, the Congress would have its cake and eat it too, it was pointed out. But the fuel price hike triggered something that the Congress had not bargained for: new-found unity in the Opposition ranks which had for months been in disarray. In fact, a few parties that support UPA from outside have also thrown their weight behind the hue and cry raised by the Opposition. By protesting both inside and outside the ring, the two Yadav satraps — Lalu and Mulayam — have made it amply clear that they might even withdraw their unilateral support to the UPA on the issue of price rise. Political pundits, however, feel that this will not affect the UPA as it enjoys a comfortable majority.

The problem is that this approach by the allies has found resonance in the Congress itself. Some elements in the ruling party are not convinced with the logic trotted out for raising the petroleum prices through the Budget. Party leader Digvijay Singh has already expressed his reservations on the issue. Similarly, there is unease among the youth brigade too. In fact, the son of petroleum minister Murli Deora, Milind Deora, has openly come out against the decision. And he minced no words. He went as far as to write letters to both Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh seeking their intervention.

Congress strategists believe that such a step was necessary to correct certain financial misadventures of UPA-1. They claim the priority for the current regime is to strengthen the economy. Prior to the Budget, Mukherjee had clearly explained all the tough measures and had assured the Cabinet committee that although these measures would hurt momentarily, they would lead to long-term benefits. They would help put the economy back on track following the recession. He put forth the same explanation in the aforementioned Cabinet meeting too.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Thursday, March 11, 2010

That’s the shape of your heart?

But for some reason, we know, it beats well, and beats shareholder expectations by miles too. The only issue is that it‘s making them unhappy now!

“In a very tough environment, we delivered fourth quarter business results in line with expectations we provided in December.” These were the words of Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman & CEO, General Electric Co. as the company announced the results for the quarter-ending December 2008 on January 23, 2009. You said ‘tough environment,’ Jeff? Joking right? But your corporation is stronger than ever, isn’t it? What about the Jupiter-sized cash infusion of $3 billion in October last by Warren Buffett. And didn’t the US Prez (apparently impressed by his coverage on GE Capital-owned MSNBC Universal) sanction a government loan package of a staggering $139 billion to you. But of course Mr. GE, it’s also really alright that your stock, trading at $10.04/share on the NYSE (as on March 17, 2009, having fallen by 73% compared to a year back) is at an 18-year low; nothing much to worry about, really!

Your financial results also aren’t too suicidal, with income for Q4, 2008 (at $3.72 billion), having fallen y-o-y by a murderous 44.4%. And the top-line figures? Well, they are modest too, with revenues for Q4, 2008, recorded at $46.21 billion, a sad y-o-y drop of 4.9%. And what about the other GE pride, your NBC Universal unit. We heard that it is also not giving smiles to investors, having posted a 6% decline in profits! But then as we said before Mr. GE, nothing much to worry about, really!

Then there are more matters doing the rounds in my family circle –that you did something which none could achieve at GE in 71 years? You actually slashed dividends from 31 cents to 10 cents a share per quarter? Guess, it must have got you busy on your voicemails of late! And what about this for pride... My office folks were also talking about you singing a ‘bailout’ song this summer alongside Rick (GM), Ed (AIG) and Viki (Citi). Wow! I’d want a record of that too... autographed!
And we read your bio too! It went something like this: Immelt took over as the 9th Chairman of GE in September 2007. An MBA from Harvard, Immelt joined GE in 1982. He became a member of the GE Capital Board in 1997 and the President & CEO in 2000. Named thrice as one of ‘World’s Best CEOs’ by Wall Street Journal’s Weekly publication (Barron’s), Immelt is also a member of The Business Council and the Federal Reserve. We haven’t missed awe-inspiring tales of your efforts at GE, to instilling investor confidence. However we’d beg an answer for the recent cut in GE Capital’s (GECC) ratings by S&P from ‘AAA’ to ‘AA+’, an event which has further shaken investor confidence. You gave no answer, and Robert did. He dropped a mail (by the way, Robert Schulz is a Credit Analyst at S&P), and this is what he wrote, “GECC is under increasing earnings pressure, due to the recent sharp deterioration in general economic conditions around the globe.” Controversy about the shaky liquidity position of GECC is also doing the rounds in our neighbourhood. And there are experts that claim that in case of delinquencies in loan repayments, GECC will not be in a position to bear the credit risk. (Oh! These experts I say!) Then there was an estimate by CreditSights, an independent credit research firm, which I bumped into over the Internet. It forecasted how GECC needs $25 billion to get to the level of banks of its size. (Well Jeff, I’m your fan, and I do have some ten dollars in my bank. Tell me if I can help.)

Alright, forget experts, forget Schulz, forget the world, but don’t forget me Jeff. You’re my hero. From you I’ve learnt how to reduce a company’s share price by 80% (as you did during your tenure of seven years). From you I’ve learnt to gear myself up for a high write-off in pocket cash this year. [GECC dangerously faces “very high” write-offs in 2009 too!]. And what’s best, even I am not sure of crossing the $10 billion in earnings this year, just like GE. ‘Tough environment’, Mr. GE. But, what a coincidence... Enough jokes!
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

Read these article :-



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