IIPM- News Articles

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Wah Astad!

A virtuoso dancer-choreographer, Tagore’s timeless poetry and a group of multi-talented boys come together to create magic with a blend of modern dance, puppetry and music, writes saibal chatterjee

The nature and scope of contemporary dancer and choreographer Astad Deboo’s work are such that resting on is oars is never an option for him. Constant, rhythmic and perfectly orchestrated movement, both creative and physical, is an integral part of his life and art. And it invariably assumes hypnotic proportions when he weaves it into a top-notch stage performance.

It did just that and more on the evening of February 11 in a packed Kamani Auditorium in New Delhi as the 65-year-old virtuoso, in the company of eight one-time street children that he has been working with for close to five years, interpreted four poems/songs of Rabindranath Tagore.

Although the 80-minute performance was woven around only four of Tagore’s poems, the sheer range of Deboo's choreography was absolutely stunning.

From the Yogic stillness of the opening piece (Surrender) – staged with three of the boys – to the mesmeric blend of Kathak chakkars and dervish-like whirling in the final solo act (Awakening), Interpreting Tagore was an experience that allowed the audience to come face to face with an array of moods created through a blend of music, light, sound and, of course, dance.

Deboo and Tagore go back a long way. It was in 1995 that the internationally celebrated choreographer first worked with Gurudev’s poems in a solo performance in Kolkata. In the programme note on Interpreting Tagore, the dancer writes: “I zeroed in on three poems – Akla Chalo, Your Grace, and Every Fragment of Dust is Awakened. When I read them, I was deeply touched. For me, they were resonant of my own struggles with the forces of traditionalism and the resistance to new ideas of a stone-hard bureaucracy.”

Deboo’s new Tagore work is an expansion of the earlier performance, with a fourth poem, Surrender, added to the repertoire. Interpreting Tagore was conceived as a tribute to the poet on his 150th birth anniversary and premiered at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai in November 2011. It has since been staged in many other cities, including once before in Delhi. “The earlier performance in Delhi was for a limited audience,” says Deboo. “This is the first public show of Interpreting Tagore in the city.”

“When a 150th anniversary tribute to Tagore was suggested to me, I decided to revisit the earlier work, expand its scope, and bring these young performers into the act,” says Deboo.

While the veteran dancer is an acknowledged master of his art, the boys have brought an amazingly spontaneous level of energy and verve to the performance.

The two centrepieces of Interpreting Tagore are each remarkable in their own way. Your Grace is enlivened by the use of striking masks and larger-than-life puppets. Walking Tall, a translation of Akla Chalo, is a dramatic rendition of the iconic anthem of stoic defiance.

“Some of these young performers know how to operate puppets, so I incorporated these giant figures into Your Grace, which is about Goddess Kali. The poem gave me the scope to bring in a whole ritualistic act – the young boys and I, as devotees, offering our sorrows to the Devi because that is all that we have,” explains Deboo.

Walking Tall, the legendary choreographer points out, is “semi-autobiographical”. He says: “It is my dig at the Indian classical dance mafia, the cultural bureaucracy and corporate sponsors. In spite of these people, who have constantly been a hindrance, I continue to do my work on my own terms. I continue to walk tall.”

Echoing Deboo’s experiences while seeking sponsorships to fund his projects, Walking Tall depicts dancers and corporate executives negotiating with each other and ordinary artistes earning the latter’s support while the genuinely creative dancer is shooed away disdainfully. Deboo informs the piece with a mix of anguish, anger and humour.

The Tagore poems, translated by Delhi academician Aruna Chakravarty, are read prior to every piece by veteran film and theatre actor Akash Khurana. “These poems,” says the thespian, “are so deeply felt, profound and lyrical. They contain echoes that can touch every life.”

Deboo seamlessly moves from the personal to the universal and from the here and now to the metaphysical in his interpretation, an act supported by an array of eclectic musical pieces drawn from diverse sources. Among the musicians whose work the choreographer uses in these performances are Italian composer Frederico Senesie, singer Amelia Coni, Finnish pianist Iiro Rantala and Japanese composer Yoichiro Yoshikawa.

Deboo is especially proud of the eight former boys of Salaam Baalak Trust (SBT) who are now a part of the Astad Deboo Dance Company, having earned their spurs through years of intensive training with the master. “This group of boys is quite unbelievable,” he says. “My group in Manipur is very good too, but these boys are something else. They have raised the bar to a point that makes working with them a challenge.”

The youngest in the group is 18-year-old Rohit Kumar, while the oldest is the 28-year-old Mohammed Shamsul. “The latter is getting married tomorrow,” reveals Deboo. “As the foster-father I will have to be there at the wedding.”

The young performers have come a long way since they first met Deboo in 2008. At that point, they were a group of 14 raw youngsters, including four girls. After six months of rigorous training, they were ready to perform alongside Deboo – the result was a series of shows of a six-piece routine titled Breaking Boundaries. It was designed specifically to serve as a showcase for the street children out to claim their place in the world.

The group, which has now been pared down to eight, embraces multiple talents – puppetry, graphic design and animation, among other skills. Two of the boys, Shamsul and Avinash Kumar – Deboo describes them as “my left and right eyes” – are assistant choreographers. “They ensure that the rehearsals happen without let and the dancers stay in touch during the long breaks between one performance and the next,” says Deboo.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

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ExecutiveMBA

Monday, May 27, 2013

Ad hoc raj

India's border roads are in a shambles in contrast to China's aggressive infrastructural engagement on the eastern front, reports Mayank Singh

The key to sound military infrastructure are roads and if for some reason, or a couple of reasons, they become a low-priority subject for defence planners, then the basic movement of troops is likely to be affected when they are required the most. Bad or non-motorable roads, as the 1962 China debacle revealed, failed to facilitate faster troop movement, equipment mobilisation and deployment in the forward areas of the then North Eastern Frontier Agency (NEFA).

Five decades down the line, the same handicaps dominate the same topography – India’s eastern border against China's military might. Even as China has assiduously built military infrastructure along the 4,056-km Line of Actual Control (LoAC) in the three sectors – Ladakh, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim/Arunachal sectors – the Border Roads Organisation (BRO), the country’s premier defence road construction agency is in shambles, thanks to red tape, infighting and political apathy.

The paralysis in BRO is viewed gravely by defence analysts and military experts who have raised the spectre of low-level border infrastructure coming in the way of the country’s defences. Experts paint a sordid picture: there is high level of frustration and discontent in BRO as projects have been delayed and costs overrun are the rule, rather than exception. Insiders say the future of 72 strategic roads in critical border areas hang in balance and construction work has slowed down.

The BRO is split into 18 projects, each headed by a Chief Engineer or a Brigadier-level officer from the army. Of them, General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) officers head only five – the rest is with the army. So in terms of experience and technical qualifications, both GREF and the army stand as equals – at least in theory.

Problems begin right at the top. Nearly 52 years after it was set up, no recruitment rules for the post of the Director General Border Roads (DGBR) has been made. Former DGs of the BRO, most of them army officers, accept that there is no restriction on a civilian heading the organisation. The delay in appointing heads then would seem inexplicable.

In such circumstances, operations are a major casualty. There is acute shortage of officers at the levels of Assistant Executive Engineers and Executive Engineers which are dominated by serving officers from the army. The AV Singh Committee, set up by the Ministry of Defence in 2008, was designed to improve career mobility by bringing down the age profile of commanding officers and improve professional prospects. But a cursory look at the sanctioned strength and the number of personnel posted in BRO would reveal scarcity at operational posts.

Significantly, an Indian Army grappling with its own problem of scarcity of officers, has kept the posts pending.

The BRO is a combined civil-military project. Its authorised strength comes from army, the salary is paid for from the budget of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and the DG BRO, for instance, figures on the official list of MoRTH and is the main interface between the BRO and other ministries.

When it came to hiking salaries during the Sixth Pay Commission, armed forces had justifiably put up their case strongly. But when it came to GREF, there were double standards. Their request to have one of its officials to represent their point of view was conveniently overlooked.

There are other issues like Separated Family Accommodation (SFA) and allowances. Army officers posted in remote and tough conditions are given SFAs along with various allowances, but GREF officers in similar situations have to make do with their own arrangements. Experts say there have to be ways and means to evolve a mechanism so that there is a sense of parity in the difficult job at hand. For instance, the high mortality rate of the BRO personnel is a clear indication of the hazards they face. (See box)

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Saturday, May 25, 2013

Spot on prediction

On May 31, 2009, TSI carried an in-depth cover story on how dynastic politics would hold no more water in India and that it cannot be associated only with the Congress party and that there are numerous political families in India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. The story dug deep into India’s history and how Indira Gandhi donned the role of the Prime Minister following the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, which happened to be the starting point of the dynasty debate. However, this phenomenon is not restricted within the Indian boundaries with the Bush and Kennedy families having already made a similar mark in America. The trend has surpassed the political field and has spread its wings in business, films and cricketing world as well. The magazine compiled and revealed a list of over 150 Lok Sabha members who belonged to some dynasty – big or small. Even as TSI did this story, the charisma of the crown prince Rahul Gandhi was diminishing. Given the lack of influence Rahul Gandhi has had on the voters, TSI was spot on in its prediction.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Friday, May 24, 2013

India's other Shame: Missing Children

More than 60,000 kids disappear every year in the country, most never to be recovered. Anil Pandey chronicles this saga of police and media apathy.

Bittu is 14 years old and clings to his mother Sheila Devi for dear life. No matter how hard we try, it is difficult to make this reticent teenager talk. Hesitantly, with fear haunting his eyes, Bittu tells his story that started near his house in Sangam Vihar, Delhi about five years ago. Then about nine years old, Bittu was playing near his house when someone offered him a laddoo. The next thing he remembers is being mercilessly beaten and forced to clean utensils for a traveling theatre group. Once, his abductors branded a symbol of the deity Ganesha on his arm. Another time, he was so badly beaten that he lost an eye. Bittu says there were more than 50 kids like him who were working like slaves for the group.

Ever since he disappeared in 2008, his parents Sheila and Arvind, who originally belong to Bihar and are daily wage workers in Delhi, kept pleading with the police to help them find their missing son. After much pleading, an FIR was registered and that was that. As far as the cops were concerned, Bittu was just one of seven kids who disappear every day in Delhi. As far as the media was concerned, Bittu and his parents were too poor to waste their anger on. But Bittu was lucky. When he was in a train somewhere near Varanasi in October, 2012, Bittu escaped and managed to reach his village in Bihar. His parents brought him back to Delhi on November 12. Since then, a traumatised and brutalised Bittu is scared to step out of his house and clings to his mother. Of course, the cops have never bothered even once in the last five years to help the family. Says Shiela Devi, “The police has not come to visit us, or even call us for investigating the matter. If they had, maybe my son would have been rescued earlier.”

After the brutal gang-rape and murder of the 23 year old student recently in Delhi, the media and the chattering classes are loudly talking about how women in India, particularly Delhi are very unsafe. There are debates on castration and death penalty for rapists and severe punishments for crimes against women. In all this, we have unfortunately soft pedaled another equally important issue: the shocking number of young children who go missing every year in India, never to be recovered. A study conducted between 2008 and 2010 by Bachpan Bachao Andolan reveals that about 1,20,000 children went missing, an average of 60,000 a year. One out of every four child who went missing remains untracked even years after their absence was reported.

This correspondent chased this story way back in 2008 when nobody seemed bothered about this horrifying and shameful reality of Delhi and of Indian society. The story was indeed praised by some, but most sniggered at the decision of the editorial team to put this out as a cover story. While pursuing this story in 2008, this correspondent had met about two dozen families whose children had gone missing. In almost all cases, it was a familiar tale of police apathy, arrogance and cussedness. “A police officer asked for a bribe of Rs 3,000 to register an FIR and get a missing child ad printed in newspapers from me,” says Azhar, a resident of Jahangirpuri, C Block whose daughter Atika has been missing for more than five years. In almost all cases, the cops simply refused to register an FIR. In any case, the entire media was so engrossed with the murder of the upper middle class girl Arushi Talwar that nobody seemed to have any time for the missing children of the slum dwellers of Delhi.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
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Saturday, May 11, 2013

“Right to banking should be made a fundamental right”

C. H. Venkatachalam, General Secretary, All India Bank Employees Association, says what is really required now is re-emphasis on the social objectives of PSBs and retuning their activities co-terminus with the national planning process

When India became independent in 1947, all our banks were in private sector and were handmaids of one or the other industrial house. Later, when India chartered the path of planned development with public sector playing a pivotal role in it, resources were required. However, these banks that had huge public money were reluctant to get involved.

Banks were unwilling to go to rural areas and serve the masses. They were more interested in doing business in cities and towns, and making big money in the process. Agriculture had to be developed and as such rural India needed financial help. But private banks refused to cooperate. Hence, came the necessity to convert Imperial Bank of India into State Bank of India in 1955. This was the beginning of public sector banking in India. Then came the watershed decision – the nationalisation of 14 private banks in 1969. This completely changed the Indian banking scenario.

Banks started moving to villages extending credit to priority segments which were hitherto neglected. Class banking was getting melted to mass banking. With further dose of nationalisation in 1980 and starting of regional rural banks (RRBs), public sector banks (PSBs) became a dominant force in the country controlling about 93% of the banking activity.

Bank credit started reaching agriculture sector, and for employment generation, poverty alleviation, , infrastructure, etc. Banks were finally on the right track. But with the advent of new economic policies in 1990s, banks started journeying in a different direction. Government’s equity in the banks got diluted. Provision was made to allow private capital upto 49% in PSBs. Then came the policy decision to allow new private banks, and a dozen of them came in the scene only to vanish soon.

A case in point is Global Trust Bank which was started with all fanfare and open encouragement from the Government. But what happened to that bank and how that poison had to be swallowed by a PSB – Oriental Bank of Commerce – is a history now. Now the Government wants to go in for the next generation of reforms. Recently, they managed to get some amendments approved by the Parliament in the Banking Laws – more voting rights to private investors in PSBs, from 1% to 10%. Similarly, in private sector banks the present ceiling on voting right has been relaxed to 26%. What for? The game is clear; give greedy private players more access to India’s strong banking system that deals with huge public money. The total deposits of Indian banks have today crossed Rs.60 lakh crore. It is four times the total annual budget outlay of the Central Government. In short, liberalise the regulations and allow these players to plunder public savings.

Read more......

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Wednesday, May 08, 2013

Can Naresh Goyal turn around Jet Airways like he did a decade back?

The airline industry does attract colourful figures like the media-shy Naresh Goyal. It would seem that the smell of gasoline encourages more emotions than economic decisions. Bleeding bottomlines, a confused operational model, a mixed fleet and an unforgiving environment. How can Goyal rescue a company in such turbulence?

It’s impossible to capture Naresh Goyal’s style of running his airline in a simple phrase. Rather, if there’s any one who loves dirty little business secrets, this czar of Indian aviation is right up there. We are not referring to his ownership of 18 lesser-known companies, or even how he manages the cash flow at the Isle of Man-based Tail Winds Limited (which owns a 79.99% stake in Jet). It’s his decision-making style that keeps people guessing which foot he will put forward next. If there is a CEO in India Inc. who can fire 2,000 employees and recall them in a day by politely blaming his management in public for keeping him in the dark, it is the very diplomatic Goyal (in October 2008). If there is a businessman who can dare to risk souring a two decade-long relationship with a supplier as powerful as Boeing by placing a $3 billion-worth order for 15 Airbus A330s only because Boeing couldn’t assure ‘immediate’ delivery of the aircraft he’d wanted, it is the impatient Goyal. ‘Gut-feel’ is the word that explains how he takes decisions at Jet. Till date, his intuition has led him down the right lane in a market where the honours are unevenly divided. But the common sight of heavy losses at Jet in recent quarters, and the revelation that the airline had been trying to save Rs.350 million by delaying service tax payments (in March this year) makes many believers doubt this fact.

But he isn’t new to having his back to the wall. A decade back, Goyal had come to face with a similar situation. An airline bleeding for four consecutive years (losses totalling Rs.5.25 billion between FY1999-2000 and FY2002-03) in an industry that had only bad news (losses of airlines in India during the period amounted to Rs.25.51 billion) made critics question the longevity of Jet. But Goyal brought his airline back into the black (Jet made profits of Rs.10.35 billion in the four years leading to FY2006-07). He did well by paying attention to cost-cutting and better utilisation of Jet’s fleet – between FY2002-03 & FY2006-07, Jet’s annual expenditure per aircraft dropped 41.13% to Rs.971.41 million and its load factor increased 39.21% to 71%.

The present situation is in part a reflection of what occurred ten years back. During the past four years, Jet’s losses have risen to Rs.11.14 billion (with an accumulated loss of Rs.17.3 billion) and the industry is struggling for life (losses of Rs.244.68 billion). The challenge for Goyal is clear – save the airline. Problem is – this time, the numbers read worse. That the company has reported negative earnings of Rs.10.62 billion in just the past four quarters (leading to Q3, FY2011-12) is only a quick summary of the trouble tale. Over the years, competition has intensified implying a division of the revenue pie, Jet’s market share has plummeted (from 48.7% in 2002 to 28.8% today), swinging moods in EU and US markets haven’t helped Jet’s international operations (which contributes to 55% of its topline; during Q3, FY2011-12), ATF prices have skyrocketed (by 235.5% in the past eight years), a weakening rupee has made aircraft-leasing, en route navigation costs and fuel more expensive and recent actions by the fuel supplying companies and the IT department have only made living tougher for Jet. What should Goyal do?

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Tuesday, May 07, 2013

International

Intel: change of guard

Otellini’s successor to come into a hard landing

The Paul Otellini era at Intel Corp is drawing to a close. Intel’s legendary CEO will call it a day in May 2013, after working for an astounding 40 years in the service of the world’s largest chip maker. The news came as a shocker, as Otellini, 62, surprised the tech community by announcing to retire three years before Intel’s mandatory retirement age. He has had a stellar record at the helm of Intel since 2005. Intel’s revenue increased by 57% to reach $55 billion at the end of 2011. He also settled an antitrust suit against Intel for $1.25 billion, and went on to convince Apple to put Intel chips in its computers.

Otellini will hand over the baton to a new incumbent at a critical juncture in the company’s 44-year-old history. Until not very long ago Intel strode the tech world like a collossus, enjoying over 80% share of the global market in computer chips and processors. But those days of glory are now a fading memory as new rivals and upstarts such as Qualcomm and ARM Holdings have eaten into the turf that was once Intel’s happy hunting ground. The company also found itself turning up late for the party as new players made rapid gains by moving in fast and capitalising on the big shift towards mobile devices.

The Intel board has begun its search in earnest for a worthy successor who can turn around the flagging fortunes of a company beset by an eroding market share and falling PC sales. Last month Intel’s Q3 net income fell by more than 14% to $3 billion on falling PC sales (its core competence area). According to market research firm Gartner, PC sales fell flat for the seventh quarter in a row during the second half of 2012 and the outlook for the future doen’t look bright either. Will Otellini’s successor be able to step up to the plate and revive Intel’s business in these challenging times?

HP: DEAL gone sour

Autonomy deal blows up in the face

Bad luck seems to have become a constant companion of the US technology major Hewlett-Packard (HP). The latest downer is it’s purchase of Autonomy, a British software company, for a whopping $11 billion last year. How HP, an old warhorse of the tech race, could have been so naive to jump at a deal, which had disaster written all over it from the word go? Autonomy’s numbers were fishy to begin with. Its stated profit margins of around 50% did not seem to translate proportionately into cash flow and its claim of double-digit organic growth in software license revenue appeared too good to be true. And despite being warned by analysts that it was forking out too high a price for the acquisition, the computer maker went ahead with the deal. Not surprising that it has now unravelled with destructive force leaving behind a toxic trail of accounting rigmarole. HP is now engaged in salvaging the situation and limiting its damages. The company has written down $8.8bn in the value of the deal. It has also fessed up to “serious” accounting improprieties at the British company. However, it will take some time before HP is able to clean up the mess and leave the stink behind.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

ExecutiveMBA

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Distinguished teamwork

Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to participate in the Inside China article (Business & Economy cover story for the month of August 2012). I am impressed by the knowledge and expertise of the authors and the overall quality of production. Your staff did a terrific job of adding graphics, tables, photos and editorial changes to my humble story. It has received positive reviews from friends, family and colleagues for its level of professionalism and polished appearance. I especially enjoyed reading the China: Read. Learn. Repeat article by Prof.A. Sandeep. The focus on the Chinese auto industry was spot on and well written. I am pleased to be associated with such a distinguished collection of experts. Thank you once again.

Arthur C. Wheaton
Director, Western NY Labor and Environmental Programs & Faculty of Industrial Relations, Cornell University ILR School

Great issue on Reverse Innovation/Exnovation

The Business & Economy issue on ‘Reverse Innovation/Exnovation’ (cover story for the month of October 2012) was simply a great issue and I totally loved it. You have exactly captured the essence of reverse innovation. In my view, Reverse Innovation represents the biggest opportunity for India in sectors as diverse as transportation, energy, health care and education.

Prof. Vijay Govindarajan
Earl C. Daum 1924 Professor of International Business, Tuck School of Business University of Dartmouth

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

Monday, May 06, 2013

"India can't afford to ignore a big market like EU”"

Ajay Sahai, Director General & CEO, Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) reasons why Indian government needs to aggressively push for the conclusion of India-EU FTA

B&E: Critics argue that through the FTA the European Union is eyeing India’s highly lucrative retail pie and as such the Indian retailers would be on the receiving end. What’s your take?

Ajay Sahai (AS): India is gradually developing into an open-market economy and I don’t think there should be any problem when it comes to opening its doors to the European Union. I am totally in favour of the FTA as it will not only expand our market reach, but will also make us more competitive. If there are certain sectors, which the government feels need protection, then it should surely safeguard their interest. In fact, the FTA needs to be negotiated in that manner.

B&E: Don’t you think that the liberalisation of retail services under the FTA can also put pressure on small farmers’ livelihoods? Not only do big supermarkets ask for very high standards and reject produce on grounds of not meeting that quality, they can gradually take away farmers’ access to local markets. Isn’t it true?

AS: If we are talking within the context of WTO membership, then we are not a signatory to the agreement on government procurement. But if EU wants the government procurement clause to be integrated in this FTA, India needs to be really cautious. The reason is simple. The stakes are indeed high for India as sectors as diverse as railways, energy and telecommunications to construction and health, hitherto reserved for domestic constituencies and used to address economic and social inequalities and to promote domestic growth and development, are slated to be up for grabs by EU firms. Government procurement in India has a social objective and it should be fulfilled at any cost.

B&E: Which sector has a significant upside potential if the India-EU free trade agreement comes into play?

AS: The Indian apparel and textiles industry will see a major boost once the FTA is signed. The EU accounts for about 50% of India’s annual apparel and textiles exports of over $13 billion. Hence, the FTA holds a lot of significance for the domestic textile industry, which at present is outpriced by its less developed counterparts in the region. For instance, apparels produced in India cost around 15-20% more than those produced in Bangladesh. Because of its least developed country status Bangladeshi textiles and apparels enjoy duty-free access to the EU markets, which is not the case with Indian garments. Currently, we are also losing market to China, which will change as soon as the FTA comes into play.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

BBA Institute

Saturday, May 04, 2013

Exorcising the demons of the 1962 Indo-China war

Fifty years ago, India and China fought a bitter and brutal war sparked off by mutual distrust and acrimony. Today, though both countries continue to build and strengthen bilateral ties, the memory of that war still haunts the two countries .

The commemoration of 50 years of the India-China war is now upon us. On October 20 1962, China launched a two-pronged offensive in Ladakh and across the McMahon Line, overrunning Indian forces in both theatres and capturing Rezang la in Chushul in the western theatre, as well as Tawang in the eastern theatre. Then, a month later, on November 20, the Chinese declared a ceasefire and announced the withdrawal from the conflict zones.

After the war, India claimed that China was occupying about 33,000 square kilometres of its territory in the Aksai Chin region of Ladakh. China laid control over Aksai Chin, a high altitude desert, and established the current Line of Actual Control following the short border war. Despite the region being nearly uninhabitable, it remains strategically important for China as it connects Tibet and East Turkistan, China’s occupied western frontiers.

Excuses have been thrown up for the Indian military debacle. India was ill prepared; it believed in non-violence; it trusted the Chinese and in the ‘Hindi-Chini bhai bhai’ shibboleth. Fingers have been pointed, most famously at then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, defence minister Krishna Menon, and Lieutenant General B.N Kaul, who was in charge of the army on India’s eastern frontier. But even fifty years later, people of India are not still unaware of the circumstances and reasons that led to India’s defeat.

Successive Indian governments have refused to release the Henderson-Brooks report that investigated the lapses of 1962. The report submitted by Lt.Gen. Henderson Brooks and Brigadier P.S. Bhagat in 1963 was presented to prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and a couple of ministers. Unfortunately, the report remains “top secret” till date. The government made a statement in Parliament on May 10, 2012 that the Report of the Operations Review Committee on the 1962 war will not be published following an order of March 19, 2009 by a Bench of the Central Information Commission as it is likely to have a security bearing on army’s operational strategy in the north-east and deployment of forces along the line of Actual Control.

According to a widespread view among many scholars of the India-China war, China wrongly believed that India was going to seize Tibet after providing political asylum to the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama. Also, India’s forward policy of building new outposts along the de facto line of control, even pushing that line forward, annoyed China immensely. According to a recently published book on the India-China war by a senior Indian Revenue Service (Customs and Central Excise) official K.N. Raghavan, India erred in unilaterally fixing her borders with China in 1954. This, along with India’s decision to give asylum to the Dalai Lama, made China suspicious of India, says the book, titled ‘Dividing Lines’.

Despite the 1962 war, the border dispute between Indian and China has proved to be a tough nut to crack. The two countries share a border that is approximately 4,000 kilometres long but border disputes continue to prevent the full normalization of relations despite almost a quarter decade of negotiations. The Sino-Indian war crystallized and enshrined the suspicions and stereotypes that each side held of the other. To this day, Beijing suspects that India, with the help of the U.S., strives to undermine its rule in Tibet in order to balance against China’s growing power.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Friday, May 03, 2013

This one's for you Lance

The charges levied against Armstrong are devoid of substantive proof, and he must seek legal recourse

“I have never doped. These charges are baseless and motivated by spite,” is the response from Lance Armstrong, seven times winner of Tour de France, the prestigious cycling competition, countering charges levelled against him by the doping monitoring body, USADA, which has also stripped him of all titles and honors and banned him from competing in the future. USADA claims that Lance Armstrong has been cheating the cycling fraternity since 1996, and also claims that blood samples collected from him in 2009 and 2010 are fully consistent with their claim. What one is perplexed about is why USADA was silent for so long, if they had found the blood sample manipulation long back in 2009? Also, USADA’s assertion of Armstrong’s guilt from the 1990s lacks substantive proof.

Lance Armstrong has pointed fingers against USADA’s CEO, Travis Tygart, and has termed this as a ploy for vendetta and dismissed it as being sans merit. The Armstrong’s defense is neat and solid: he has been accused of doping for 16 years, yet in over 500 drug tests conducted to him, he failed in none.

Support is pouring in towards Armstrong – from his ex-coach Johan Bruyneel, his sponsor Nike and even from his competitors like Alberto Contador. UCI (the Tour de France organiser) has now revealed that USADA has even failed to hand over the so-called “evidence file” to UCI despite various reminders.