Mr. Head on Wheels

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Here’s yet another red-blooded, driven entrepreneur, who has much more to his credit than just a legendary surname! A mechanical engineer from Pune University and Masters in manufacturing systems engineering from the University of Warwick in 1991, Rajeev Bajaj joined Bajaj Auto first as an officer on special duty and streamlined the manufacturing systems to improve the production quality and profitability. Since then, this bold Bajaj has concentrated on completely refurbishing the image of Bajaj Auto from old and ugly scooters to stylish and sleek two-wheelers! His role in this successful transition is applause-worthy, thanks to the manner in which he conceived and executed a realistic and result-oriented plan that focused on a few significant issues and delivered results! Rajeev is now steering Bajaj Auto towards the future with twin engine (petrol and LPG/CNG) two wheelers! That’s youth power for you!

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, 2006

An IIPM And Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Initiative

YET ANOTHER FACE OFF

THE AMBANI BROTHERS CONTINUE TO TAKE THEIR RIVALRY TO NEW LOWS

There was indeed a lot of bad blood between the Ambani brothers post the split. Largely though, the two seemed to be charting their own destinies. In the more recent past, however, the two seem to be crossing each other’s paths more oft en, and this is creating further complications in their relationship (or what’s left of it anyways!). After relentless altercations on issues like SEZs, airport and many others, the duo are again caught in a mêlée. This time, the bone of contention is the Navratana gas sector. On July 26, 2006, the Petroleum Ministry put a red cross to the gas supply agreement between Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) and the Anil Ambani owned Reliance Natural Resources Limited (RNRL). The Ministry rejected RIL’s proposal to supply gas to RNRL at $2.34 per mBTU (million British thermal unit), which is less than half the market price of $4.7 per mBTU.

So what does all this mean for RNRL? States Vijay Narayanan, Senior Research Analyst with Almondz Capital Markets, “If the current opinion is upheld, RNRL will have no option but to purchase gas at prices higher than the current.” He elaborates that even a one dollar rise in the price of gas will raise the price of electricity by around 30 paise per unit. This would, in turn, result in higher electricity generation costs. But this cannot be effectively passed on to consumers as electricity prices are regulated by law. These developments have put RNRL on the offensive, and it has accused RIL of manipulation. A spokesperson with RNRL states, “RIL is deliberately misleading the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas by withholding the full facts of the case. RIL’s attempt to mislead the Ministry is solely motivated by its selfish desire to secure a higher price for gas.”

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, 2006

An IIPM And Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Initiative

IIPM-Press:- DIDN’T WE DEFEAT TALIBAN?

TALIBAN MIND-SET UNDEFEATED..

The helplessness that marks the ‘eyes’ of the woman photographed twice in the span of 17 years by National Geographic remains the same even after the time lag. Aptly reflected in them is the unaltered position of women even in post-Taliban Afghanistan. They remain as humiliated as before, with their honour compromised and their socio-economic positioning fragmented. According to the UN and the Human Rights Watch, the attacks on girls’ schools have increased considerably post-Taliban, reducing the female student intake in secondary education to 5% in comparison to 20% of boys. The UN contends that about 300 schools educating girls were burned down post-Taliban. In another incident in May 2006, a female legislator, Malalai Joya, was attacked by her colleagues for ‘daring’ to participate in the male domain – Parliament! That Parliament, mind you, was formed after decimating Taliban!

The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission even contends that about 38% of women are wedded forcibly and about 50% are subjected to domestic violence leading to high number of suicides and self-immolation. Clearly, it is not the Taliban philosophy, but the culture of demeaning women that has to change. And for this, it is urgently required that women are integrated into all sections of governance in Afghanistan, as well as being provided social development.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

SIN’EDIN ZIDANE! THE TRAGEDY OF SENSIBILITIES...

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TO ZIDANE IS DEDICATED THIS WEEK’S CASSANDRA; AND TO WHATEVER HE STOOD FOR IN HIS LIFE

Those who the gods may destroy, they grant their wishes. Zinedine Zidane may be pondering that bit of ancient Greek wisdom today. Having announced that he would end his professional career with the World Cup, Zidane had his wish fulfilled. After France barely survived the tournament’s first round, Zidane performed at the top of his game and led the team to the brink of a second World Cup championship. But instead of finishing his career in triumph, or at least with an ovation, he was ejected from the final for head-butting an Italian player. There have been few such tragic moments in football history. Whatever the provocation that led to Zidane’s behaviour (probably a racial comment), his violent act seen around the world has tarnished his image.


The sad paradox is that while the world had been learning of and celebrating his legendary kindness as a person, he will now be distinguished for all time by an act of aggression. Indeed, Zidane’s status as an emblematic champion of the world’s most universal and popular sport does not fully explain why people have been so obsessed with him. His human qualities, as much as his amazing talent and technical feats on the field, counted equally in establishing his popular acclaim. Football has always been this way. For example, for the Argentineans, the diminutive Diego Maradona represented the revenge of the weak and the deprived. As a result, his countrymen excused his frequent bad behaviour time and again. Similarly, Pelé became the symbol of a harmonious, inter-racial Brazil.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006

SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY…

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...could end up withnothing for anybodyif a fi scal crisisderails growth

Money may not be able to buy love. But the UPA government appears convinced that it can buy enough votes to propel the precariously perched present regime into a second term at the Centre. A few days after the bomb blasts in Mumbai shook the nation, the Union Cabinet announced the formation of a Sixth Pay Commission for central government employees. This will inevitably lead to a hike in salaries; and analysts estimate that the wage bill of the government could go up by as much as Rs.200 billion every year. But of course, this is one rare decision of the government that the omnipresent Left has welcomed with open arms. Says Atul Kumar Anjan, Politburo member of CPI, “We welcome the 6th Pay Commission report. It is a long pending demand of workers and employees.” When asked to comment on the reaction of businessmen and industry bodies like the CII and FICCI that this move could trigger inflationary pressures, Anjan is contemptuously dismissive. “It’s their practice to oppose any benefit to wage workers or government employees.

The Left parties are hopeful that inflation will be under control,” he adds. If vain hopes and misguided socialism were enough, India would have eliminated poverty, illiteracy and unemployment by now; farmers would not be committing suicide by the hundreds and many states of India would not report infant mortality rates worse than those in Sub-Saharan Africa. And now, analysts are worried that the current government is displaying alarming signs of going back to the bad old days of a peculiar mixture of misguided socialism and crony capitalism. In fact, the Sixth Pay Commission is just another example of how the UPA government appears determined to wear the robes of Santa Claus and dole out goodies, freebies and subsidies as if there were no tomorrow. Simultaneously, the government seems to be veering towards the bad old days of paternalistic and somewhat authoritarian ways, where the rulers were simply not held accountable by the public for their decisions and still had the powers to decide what is good and bad for Indian citizens. This is not just a display of bad democracy, it is also terrible economics.

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Source:- IIPM-Business and Economy, Editor:- Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri - 2006