Showing posts with label IIPM-News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IIPM-News. Show all posts

Saturday, May 11, 2013

The unputdownable!

Subrata Roy Sahara should come out winning on all fronts in the current face-off with SEBI! And why the erroneous Supreme Court judgment against Sahara goes beyond Parliamentary Acts and is being misused by SEBI to its own benefit!

There are a few things about Subrata Roy Sahara that even his harshest critics accept. That the man is a visionary – his mammoth investments in media, housing, hotel, sports and other industries being compelling evidence. That his open assertions of being a patriot have their weight in the various behemoth social initiatives undertaken by his group – with no apologies to the slanted English media in India which, I feel, hypocritically slanders anyone who represents the ‘other’ India (lest you should forget, it was this very media that shamelessly reported gossip a few years ago about him being ‘critically ill’ and on his deathbed; no surprises then that the same English media chose to ignore reporting how sprightly he was while meeting UK Prime Minister David Cameron a few weeks back in a closed door meeting discussing educational and research initiatives). And yes, that the man religiously knows his numbers and has a financial acumen that is better than the combined intellect of all Indian regulators in the various industries where he operates.

There are a few things about India that even its damnedest supporters don’t deny. That the License Raj era spewed out a few handfuls of family businesses that shamelessly chewed away the very idea of India, criminally sucking it hollow by monopolising industries, encouraged by corruption soaked politicians – and encouraging them in return. That this venomous combination over the decades led to a jaundiced India that today has hundreds of millions of illiterate people below the poverty line; that has no global brands to speak of, but many billionaires borne out of the excesses of the License Raj era (I call most of them ‘blood billionaires’, given that they’ve made the money on the blood of Indians). That the same group of blood billionaires, in cahoots with a similar group of corrupt bureaucrats (regulators included) and politicians, have fought and will fight tooth and nail, criminally and illegally, to ensure that there is no new honest and ethical claimant to their industry space, especially if such an entrepreneur were from the proletariat.

That Subrata Roy Sahara titles himself as the Managing Worker of his group only adds to the ire of India’s caustic bourgeoisie, which, hand in hand with the English media, would be loath to have such an unabashed community representative of workers amongst their well ‘oiled’ and ‘greased’ group. So every time Subrata Roy Sahara and his likes attempt to tread the path of diligent and astute effort – assuming the same equated to returns – they’re pulled down acerbically and vindictively by the group representing the old, feudal India. You see, this group believes that only they know how India should be run and by whom. Look around and you’ll see many examples strewn across India of how honest upstarts have been trampled upon by the powers that be before they could gain ground – wherever there has been anyone attempting to improve the condition of India, they’ve had a horde of regulatory, tax, police and judicial bodies running up their door to initiate the so-called enquiries and ‘search’. The current face-off that Subrata Roy Sahara has with SEBI actually exemplifies all this too well. A group that has issued OFCDs (Optionally Fully Convertible Debentures) since the year 2001 with all relevant government permissions, and which has regularly submitted all details as required by the concerned government authorities, suddenly gets a prohibitory order from SEBI in November 2010 against the OFCDs issued by two unlisted group companies (Sahara Housing Investment Corporation Ltd. and Sahara India Real Estate Corporation Ltd.) – and this despite the fact that just seven months before that, SEBI had, through its own communication to Ministry of Corporate Affairs, commented that as these were unlisted companies and had not filed a draft red herring prospectus with SEBI, any complaint with respect to these two companies should be handled by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Tuesday, December 04, 2012

Wealth Creation or Crony Capitalism?

from nano to sezs; from aviation to telecom, india inc. is a tale of state patronage

Some time during 1998, the media went into a tizzy. For the unthinkable had happened. First, the Delhi Police raided the office and residence of the Group President of Reliance Industries Ltd. V. Balasubramaniam. There were allegations that Balasubramaniam (or Baalu as the legendary lobbyist of the late Dhirubhai Ambani was famously known) had ‘violated’ the Official Secrets Act. Then again, officials of CBI raided the office of Reliance at Nariman Point in Bombay and even the fabled residence of the Ambanis called Sea Wind. All sorts of rumours flew thick and fast at that time. There were dark whispers that Baalu was in trouble because someone finally had the guts to nail him for getting access to the Union Budget even before it was presented to the Parliament. Most business journalists presumed that to be true; even though the allegations have never been proven. More than the raids, it was the political context of the time that had raised eyebrows across all and sundry. A government led by the BJP with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister was ruling India. Hacks, lobbyists and pundits were writing and talking extensively about how the rise and rise of the BJP and the decline and fall of the Congress had dealt a crippling blow to the ‘connections’ that Dhirubhai Ambani could boast of in New Delhi. Many had thought that the salad days of Reliance Industries, when it comes to getting ‘favourable’ back door benefits from the government at the centre were over.

They were conclusively proven wrong. It was under a BJP-led government in 2001 when Reliance made a classic back door entry into the mobile telephony sector of India – without a valid license! Mobile phone service providers like Bharti cried foul and loudly complained against this unfair treatment and asked for a level playing field. The matter went to the Supreme Court and Reliance was effectively given a back dated license after it agreed to pay a license fee. Then again in 2008, rivals cried foul when Reliance Communications, now led by Anil Ambani, was given licenses for launching GSM services across India. This time under the UPA government, but as we said, that debate is no longer relevant. 

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

Thursday, November 08, 2012

India’s PSU bank

After losing out market share to competitors, India’s PSU bank is slowly becoming a one-stop financial shop. By asif ahmed

 Under Purwar’s chairmanship, SBI acquired three small banks - Indonesia’s PT Bank IndoMonex, Mauritius-based Indian Ocean International Bank and Kenya’s Giro Commercial Bank. As a part of the overseas-driven strategy, SBI focused on developing foreign market that had substantial Indian population. During his tenure, SBI also made it to the coveted list of Fortune Global 500 list; he made the bank a member of the $1 billion revenues club, and was the first Indian bank to join it.

Bhatt comes from a different school, and thinks differently. According to him, the domestic market still offers immense opportunities to expand, and there are far more critical issues to be dealt with. “Overseas acquisitions can wait,” he said the day he took over as the chairman of SBI. However, Purwar’s legacy still lingers around. For example, during Bhatt’s time, SBI became the first Indian bank to open a fully-fledged branch in China. “Being India’s largest bank, it is only befitting that SBI should be the first to open a branch in mainland China,’’ said Bhatt. But this isn’t a focus area.

Keeping in line with the local mindset, Bhatt expanded the bank’s network in India. He tied up with other banks and institutions to cross-sell banking and financial products. S. K. Mishra, General Manager (Marketing and Cross-Selling Department), State Bank of India, explains, “In the Indian financial markets, mutual funds are rapidly gaining ground among retail investors due to various advantages such as professional management, diversification, and liquidity. For us, the tie-up will open up opportunities to provide our vast client base with a wider choice of products to meet their diverse financial needs and give boost to our fee-based incomes.”

Over the next three years, SBI plans to offer more financial services products like general insurance, custodian services, venture funds, wealth management, and pension-fund management. Given its size, number of branches, and growing customers’ base, it will not be difficult for the bank to woo customers for the new products. At the same time, SBI is the only Indian bank to have got the approval to manage the government’s pension fund. That, in itself, will be a big boon to future revenues and profits.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….

IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links  
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

Renewed rhetoric

ANIL PANDE says that the Madhya Pradesh CM is trying to win on the development plank. But his critics say that the strategy, if not inclusive, can prove to be worthless

Last year, in October, when corporate honchos were inking deals at the Indore Global Investors Summit, a substantial number of activists were protesting near the bust of Mahatma Gandhi at Regal Crossing, not far away from the investment summit. Among others, they were joined by activists from Narmada Bachao Andolan, and displaced farmers and tribals, who lost their land due to development projects in Neemach and Riwa districts. Needless to say, their feeble voices had no takers. The voices of the investors were amplified by the promised investments of Rs.120,000 crore.

The reason: in the last couple of years, development and good governance have emerged as vocal election planks. The days of ‘social engineering’ and ‘booth management’ have passed. Now, even people voting along caste lines expect a certain level of governance from their elected representatives. And, for a change, “governance” is determined on the basis of overall development. Poll pundits predict that as more youth participate in the electoral process, the development plank will continue to take a frontal position. At present, more than half of India’s population is constituted by people under-25 years.

In fact, development was one of the reasons why the BJP returned to power in Madhya Pradesh. Poor infrastructure did Digvijay Singh-led Congress government in. But now, the tables have turned. The BJP has completed four years in power. What’s more, development will once again be the frontal rhetoric in the forthcoming polls. Naturally, the BJP is worried. It wants to present a good report card to the voters. It wants development and the only way it can be done, says the BJP, is by inviting foreign capital.

That is why CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan is busy with his single agenda program. He has been successful in signing MoUs for projects worth more than Rs.225,000 crore in 2007 alone. Noted economist Alok Puranik finds foreign capital as the only way to initiate developmental projects in the state. Nevertheless, he wants the development to be inclusive. He predicts: “State governments focusing on investments in agriculture and manufacturing sectors have strong chances of returning back to power.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….

IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links  
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Friday, November 02, 2012

THE COMPLETE GLOBAL ECONOMY

WHEN OIL GREW, RUSSIA GREW; WHEN OIL FELL, RUSSIA ENSURED UKRAINE FELL. IF DUBAI IS A CASE IN QUESTION, THEN THE FACT IS THAT RUSSIA AND UKRAINE TOGETHER HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO DEBILITATE THE COMPLETE GLOBAL ECONOMY. SAYS GYANENDRA KASHYAP

Comparatively, Putin’s Russia – although not as bad as Ukraine – is the 7th ranked nation across the world on the cumulative default probability ranking (they have a default probability of 13.6%, better than Dubai). From 2005 to 2009, Russia’s fiscal balance has deteriorated phenomenally. While in 2005, there was a fiscal surplus of 8.2%, in 2009, there is now a fiscal deficit of 8% – a 180 degrees turnaround. Although Russia had managed to control its debt service ratio since 2005 (when it was 24.2) and brought it down to 11.3 in 2008, the same is expected to be 18 in 2009, an extremely worrisome rise. To Putin’s credit, FDI investment has increased from $12.8 billion in 2005 to $70.32 billion in 2008. But the forecasts for 2009 are close to half of this figure. External debt that was 33.6% of GDP in 2005 is now expected to increase to 47.1% in 2009. Add public debt of 5.4% of GDP, and you start realising that 52.5% of Russia’s national income of $1671 billion is pure and simple debt. In absolute figures, approximately $840 billion – compare this to Ukraine’s overall debt of $232.2 billion. Russia’s inflation worries continue, with 13.3% being the average inflation in 2008, although the same is expected to come down to 12% in 2009.

Fitch Ratings writes to us that Russia’s foreign currency and local currency long term IDRs have now been downgraded. Russia’s foreign exchange reserves saw an outward flight of almost $200 billion from July 2008 to February 2009. And with almost $137 billion of private sector debt coming up for repayment, these reserves might see a further fall very soon. At one point this year, the Russian rouble had fallen by a killing 37% when compared to the highest it had previously achieved against the dollar. Russia’s real GDP growth this year has been forecasted by Fitch Ratings to be -7%. In fact, World Bank has presented a worse picture, and has said that Russia’s GDP growth has been -9.8% in the first quarter, -10.9% in the second quarter, -9.4% forecasted in the third quarter and -10% in the fourth quarter. Interestingly, population is continuously falling by around 750,000 per year. The UN forecasts that Russia’s population, from 142 million now would go down to just 100 million by 2050. Still, in all fairness, Russia will make it through these times.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012. An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….

IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global

Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail

IIPM Links  
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Hindi-Nepali bhai bhai...

Nepal, a North-eastern neighbour with high hopes and expectations, looks forward to India for greater cooperation and help as it wants to emerge as an independent economy. B&E explores its demands and expectations in an exclusive interaction with the Nepalese diplomat in India.

“5 things Nepal appreciates about India...”

PAN-BORDER INITIATIVE:
Nepal considers India as one of the closest neighbours possible. One of the best things about India is its decision of pan-border initiative. There is nothing more important for bilateral relations between two countries other than free movement of people, which diplomats term as ‘people-to-people’ contact.

FRIENDLY PEOPLE:
Indians are very friendly. Lakhs of Nepalese work in Indian companies without much objection and discrimination. There can’t be a better gift than this as giving employment to the people is one of the best ways to help a neighbour. Not only that, there has been enough government support on the bilateral front. The recent inclusion of Nepalese in Indian Gorkha rifle regiment is a matter of prestige for Nepal and its people.

SOCIETY: There is also a lot to learn from Indian society and how it functions. Indian culture is one of the oldest and purest in the world. Prolonged existence of such a diverse society is not a matter of joke, as Nepal perceives.

DEMOCRACY: There is also a lot to learn from India’s form of democracy. Though there are flaws like corruption, poor governance or lack of transparency, attributes that democratic India has incorporated are praiseworthy. Nepal, with a history of life-long monarchy system, warmly acknowledges and tributes India for its achievement in regard to freedom of people, giving the right to vote to its citizens.

ECONOMIC TIES: Economic and trade relations with Nepal are satisfactory and a major boost for bilateral relations. The total trade of Nepal in 2006-07 was Rs.252 billion ($6 billion), of which 63.2 percent was with India.

“And the 5 things we dislike...”

BILATERAL TIES:
Good relations with India are one of the primary priorities of Nepal’s external policy. India certainly needs to be proactive.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

A new revenue model?

Is the Indian government missing out on billions?

One of the fastest growing nations, India faces a severe problem when it comes to effective and adequate revenue generation. For example, the government succeeded in generating only Rs.6,279.49 billion as gross tax collection while the proposed budget expenditure is Rs.9,532.31 billion in the budget year 2009-10. The country faces a budget deficit of Rs.2412.73 billion, which is 4.4% of GDP, a figure high for an emerging nation (in 2009, China’s budget deficit stood at yuan 111 billion, which is just 0.4% of the GDP). Since taxation is the major revenue source, the Indian government keeps attempting to look at increasing as well as ‘innovative’ ways generate more money. We looked around, and think we have one which will qualify in their standards. And that is to bring net based companies under an organised tax structure – beyond simply service and profits tax payments – on a narrow premise that we’re forwarding.

As a case study, search engine Google follows a unique revenue model with innovative products and services. It has AdWorks, which is a pay per click advertising program. This allows advertisers – on Google search and on other Google sites – to present their advertisements instantly to people who are looking for information similar to what the advertiser has to offer. And the advertiser pays Google for every click that surfers make on their links. Moreover, it has Ad-Sense, which allows Google to place clients’ advertisements on partner sites, wherein the partner sites earn part of the per-click payment. This unique double combo revenue model helped Google earn $21.79 billion in the FY2008, up from $16.59 billion in the last year. Even in the last quarter ending June 30, 2009, Google generated astounding revenues of $5.52 billion despite all talks of an economic slowdown. Yahoo is another internet service provider that generates a hefty chunk of money following a very similar revenue model. Yahoo Inc. generated $7.2 billion in the FY08 compare to $6.9 billion in the last year. In the last quarter ending 2009-06-03, Yahoo generated $1.57 billion.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Monday, October 29, 2012

Licensed to...

Where are the PSC regulations?

In the last few decades, specialised private security companies (PSCs) have come a long way and have increasingly assisted police and military in almost all levels of security. Their legacy is quite deep – private security companies assisted the British even during the US war for independence. More recently, the malaise caused in Iraq has opened up a new chapter, thanks to Blackwater – the largest PSC handling operations then.

A former Blackwater employee made a series of damning allegations against Blackwater’s owner Erik Prince in August, 2009 in a federal court in Virginia. As per this former employee, Prince “views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe” and that Prince was personally responsible for certain killings in Iraq. Although the judge has been sceptical about the claim, Prince has been accused of deploying medically unfit personnel for carrying lethal weaponry, just for earning more money. Blackwater has gone through several rebranding process (it’s now known as Xe Services) and has created more than a dozen affiliate companies (some allege, to transfer funds).


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Is First Movers’ Advantage really a blinder or a blunder for the Einsteins of business?

This criticism was resoundingly supported by well-acclaimed global researchers David Montgomery (Stanford University) and Marvin Lieberman (University of California), who, in their outstanding paper titled First Mover Advantages... stated that “The ability to ‘free ride’ on first-mover investments and resolution of technological and market uncertainty” comes as an advantage to Second-Movers! Putting a nail on the first movers’ coffin is the research by Richard B. McKenzie of University of California, who showed how failure rates across traditional industries for first moving pioneers was an elephantine 71%; first movers also had a pathetic average market share of 6%.

Talking more about numerical conclusions, a well referred research by professors Markus Christen (INSEAD) and William Boulding (Duke University) reads thus, “We found that pioneers in consumer goods had an ROI of 3.78% lower than later entrants. And the ROI of first movers was 4.24% lower than followers in the industrial goods sector. The bottom-line result: Pioneers were substantially less profitable than followers over the long run, controlling for all other factors that could account for performance differences.”

Dorde Kalicanin, faculty of Economics, University of Belgrade, while outlining the myth of first movers’ advantage, notes in his paper titled A Question Of Strategy: To be a Pioneer or a Follower, “Historically, the advantages of being a pioneer have been promoted to a much greater extent than the risks... It is logical that risks associated in a completely new product are greater than those associated with incremental product changes.” Professors Vladmir Smirnov and Andrew Wait, faculties of economics, University of Sydney, also devastated the supposed advantages associated with first movers. Their report titled, Second-movers advantage in a market entry game, conclusively puts forward the fact that each player “prefers to be a follower rather than a leader in the market, perhaps because they can free ride on the other party’s investment... The second entrant into a new market often does better than the first firm that entered. If a firm could commit to being the second entrant it would be better-off.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

RICK WAGONER: EXIT

32 long years did this Harvard MBA take to understand GM; one fine day it took the US Senate to fire him! No more gambles, Rick...

Oh yes, read your bio too – was interesting! Born: February 9, 1953, in Delaware, to George Sr. & Martha. Post-MBA, you chose GM over other lucrative jobs. Commendable! Your big break came in 1992, when the-then CEO Smith appointed you as the CFO. Your low-key lifestyle and the fact that you command a high popularity quotient amongst your employees, makes you most respected as a friend; but as a leader, there are complaints that you lacked that “ruthless streak needed to make the tough decisions required to bring GM back from the brink of bankruptcy.”

But Rick, we still stand by your ox-like faith in hybrids; an engine type which despite having existed commercially for 15 long years, accounts for a pathetic 2.15% of world automotive sales! Now 2.15% does not define majority, does it? But it’s ok Rick; poor mathematics is not a turn-off for us. But it sure did get your pants on fire, and we couldn''t do anything about it. [Sorry about that; for oil supply may be increasing, but water is really scarce in our parts of the world.]

Next, come to geography. Rick seriously, what were your grades in school? CEOs of manufacturing entities realised years back that shifting operations to emerging economies can help cut costs tremendously. You did too, but like the kid who skips homework, you jumped out of the window of sanity, and trashed your vision into the nearest garbage tank… and enjoyed playing football on American grounds. Oh yes, GM is an American legacy brand; how can GM cars be produced in emerging third-world, Hydrogen sulphide emitting lands? Well, thanks to your ‘Be American, buy American’ ideology, every GM vehicle produced in the past two years has cost GM $4,500 in just welfare cost. Rick, you rock! Your drained out industrial relation skills & super-confused branding philosophy have also put GM in a fix. Today, the cost of pension & healthcare per GM man-hour is a high $24 – a blood-freezing 100% more than at Toyota, Honda & Nissan! Now beat that!

Though the Obama administration finds you abortive, we still stand by you; for you taught us the harm that ‘addiction to legacy’ can do, and how to walk away with $26 billion of exit benefits after blowing your company to smithereens! But Rick, before we leave, here''s an information that you could use to justify the ''cold turkey'' stance that Democrats used to oust you – as per Federal records, GM contributed $1.7 million to the Republican pocket since you took over as CEO – 108.6% higher than what it gave the Democrats. Some revenge there, eh Rick? You are a veteran at GM – 32 long years and today, you''re married to Kathy & have three sons – Matthew, Scott & George. God bless you, Rick, for standing by your first wife & employer to this day. They never understood your sacrifices, did they (the US Senate, we mean)?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Saturday, October 13, 2012

NORTH KOREA: NEGOTIATIONS

N. Korea's rhetoric is a plea for a better deal, US needn't take it seriously

North Korea agreed in principle to end its nuclear weapons programme on September 15, 2005 and rejoin the international non-proliferation treaty in return for energy, economic aid and a US promise not to attack. But US went against its promises and N. Korea retaliated by conducting nuclear tests next year.

Recently, Pyongyang stepped up verbal attacks, saying that it's scrapping all military and political agreements with Seoul and considers itself on the brink of war with the South. “N. Korea makes such rhetoric whenever it perceives threat from the US or S. Korea or its domestic conditions become worse, particularly the economy. North hopes that it might get a better deal...,” says R. Subramaniyan, a doctoral fellow at the Academy of Korean Studies. The US needs to actually call their bluff, rather than paying heed. Even N. Korea knows that one misstep can lead to catastrophe in its own land.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

THE NIYAMGIRI MINING PROJECT CONTINUES TO TAKE A TOLL ON TIME

SLATED TO BE A MAJOR GAME CHANGER, THE NIYAMGIRI MINING PROJECT CONTINUES TO TAKE A TOLL ON TIME, MONEY AND PATIENCE FOR VEDANTA. WHERE DID THEY GO WRONG?

Perhaps the best antidote to such a situation would have been to have sought clearance to the entire project in one go. That would have also helped Vedanta better gauge the quagmire it later got stuck into. Furthermore, Vedanta has been painstakingly working on communicating to the world that all talks of environmental and tribal devastation are a myth. They argue that the mining takes up only 4-5 sq km of the total 250 sq km and the mining goes up to only 30 metres, whereas the hills are 1050 to 1306 metres above sea level. The company also refutes charges of destroying cultivable area, depleting ground water and polluting the environment.

At the core are the communities that everybody is talking about and claiming to defend. As we had written about extensively in our exclusive on Vedanta’s mining project in an earlier issue of B&E, the company is doing a lot of work for the local communities there as per the SC mandate, which includes education initiatives for children, provision of nutritional food, hospitals and mobile health camps. More important are the livelihood initiatives being initiated for the local communities.

Significantly, there is a division within the tribals for and against the project; the ratio of which depends on whose statistics you choose to believe. While Vedanta is a welcome development for some, those who are not touched by the R&R and the community initiatives will obviously be easily swayed by the NGOs and political elements; and that has in fact happened. As many as 23 Dongria Kondh activists have submitted an appeal to the National Environment Appellate Authority and the hearing is ongoing. Continuous engagement is a must so that rigid mindsets can be bent.

But before that, Vedanta needs the mining operations to commence so that it would be able to source bauxite at competitive rates and have the kind of profits that will sustain its interest. Dr. Mukesh Kumar, COO, Vedanta Aluminium Ltd., Lanjigarh, believes that better communication is the key to results. Patient and persistent engagement is the need of the hour. As it is, they have come too far now to be able to move back.


Thursday, June 09, 2011

Morgan Stanley cuts FY'12 India growth to 7.7 per cent

The next three to six months may not be very good for the Indian equities market, but it makes a very good investment proposition with a 12-18 months view, and India would continue to be on a high-growth path posting 7.7 per cent in 2011-12, said Morgan Stanley analysts. "There is a 19 per cent upside for the BSE Sensex considering our target of 22,100 points. And the market provides a great environment for the stock pickers, as the macro influence on stock prices has already peaked," said Ridham Desai, MD and head of Indian equity research team of Morgan Stanley.

"Valuations are looking attractive, especially on an absolute basis, and for the broader market, the market is pricing in slower near-term growth," he added. Morgan Stanley has shifted its focus from global commodities to domestic consumer-driven sectors. "We remain overweight on industrials and are cognizant of the downside to capital expansion," Desai added. Industrials include engineering, capital goods and infrastructure sectors.

Other favourites include energy, telecom and utilities, while sectors that are underweight are consumer staples, healthcare, financials and materials (commodities). Technology is in the neutral. "Risk-return analysis is in favour of small- and mid-cap stocks, compared to frontline stocks," Desai said. Global risks apart, the market performance would depend on the policy initiatives of the government in the coming quarters. Desai listed expected policy decisions as fuel price hikes, fertiliser prices, FDI in retail and coal mining policy.
"Higher interest rates are likely to put pressure on corporate profitability, but are unlikely to affect them much," said Desai, reasoning that the current debt levels of Indian companies was much lower compared to its own past. On the global front, the impact of withdrawal of quantitative easing (QE-II) in the US on commodity prices was identified as a major surprise in store. Consequent to the US launching the QE-II in September 2010, commodity prices shot up as the US dollar slid.

Responding to a query on the attractiveness of the Indian market for foreign institutional investors (FIIs), Desai said, "Foreign investors are cautious at present and are waiting to invest. But typically foreign inflows follow performance and not the other way round."

Chetan Ahya, MD and Asia Pacific economist at Morgan Stanley, said the government spending will nosedive this fiscal to seven to eight per cent of GDP from 18-19 per cent of CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) in the last five years.

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

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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Iconic sari gets recognition

It is all the rage in Kerala and other places, including Delhi

Balaramapuram village is at the centre of attraction after Kerala’s iconic “Balaramapuram Sari’’ has received Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection through Geographical Indications Act (GI Act).

The village is extremely popular in the state for producing such a wonderful sari. Thousands of weavers make the traditional Kerala Kasavu Sari for women and Kasavu Mundu for men in off-white with golden borders in this six square kilometres textile land — near Thiruvananthapuram. They are designed to be worn specially on propitious occasions. According to industry sources, about 27,000 handlooms operate in the village to produce these saris. The weavers — shaliyar community — use traditional throw-shuttle pit looms, fly shuttle looms and make cotton fabrics with pure zeri (kasav) or coloured yarn.

Hundreds of families, including women, are fully involved in weaving these saris. More than 200 cooperative societies are active in this area. They are fully involved in the production and distribution of the products. The Balaramapuram textiles are sold throughout Kerala through Hantex, and the exclusive shops of zeri textiles like Kasavu Kada and Karal Kada. “We never depend on mechanised systems like dobby, jacquard and jala. The imagination of the weavers and the excellence in silver covering and the gold plating of the silk make Balaramapuram matchless. We have no professional designers and fashion consultants. Our clothes are pure eco-friendly and survive for long,’’ says B.AnilKumar, a weaver at Balaramapuram.

Balarampuram sari is famous for its varieties. One can select saris from the price range of Rs 500 to 40,000. The weavers say that the North Indians, especially Delhiites, are fond of these costly saris. The gold, silver content of the zari is the significant factor which adds the brand value of the Balaramapuram clothes. “The present protection under the IPR confirms its uniqueness,’’ says Anilkumar, a trader.

But most of the weavers are apprehensive about the special protection. Besides, they fear that the traditional art may die as youngsters are not joining the profession. Of late their biggest worry has been the arrival of mechanically produced Kasavu sari that is available in the market for only Rs 100. Since then, the Balaramapuram sari has been facing a stiff competition.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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