Showing posts with label news weekly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label news weekly. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Russia, France for MRCA

With no-strings-attached access, complete transfer of technology and the IAF’s familiarity in operating Mirage and MiG 29 aircraft, the lethal and all-new combat platforms of MiG 35 and Rafale should be India’s choice, Tathagata Bhattacharya writes

It has been almost 10 years now that the Indian Air Force (IAF) projected a requirement for 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA or MRCA). It was touted as the biggest defence aviation deal of the decade. We are virtually into another decade and the procrastinating Indian defence establishment still has not decided upon the procurement. As the six competitors near completion of the trials, it looks like the deal will finally materialise this decade. And it is likely the deal size will increase to about 200 aircraft, depending on requirements. The deal is valued between of $12 and $14 billion.

Any discussion on what aircraft suits India best has to factor in various parameters. And since the aircraft are going to be in service for at least 40 years and, thus, play a significant role in the transformation of IAF from a tactical air wing defending the country’s airspace into a strategic force capable of domination of far-away skies, the choice has to be in sync with IAF’s future procurement plans.

The IAF, in 2025-2030, should ideally have about 60 squadrons looking after the varied needs of air defence, air superiority, multi-role, deep penetration strike, reconnaissance and electronic warfare. While the Indo-Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (PAKFA) would constitute the higher end of the spectrum and will be the frontline stealth fighter for establishing air superiority, the indigenous LCA Tejas air defence warplanes will make up the lowest end of the rung. As many as 200 FGFA and at least 200 LCA are likely to be in service by 2030. Adding the 280 Sukhoi 30 MKIs to the list, India will have 34 squadrons of fourth and fifth generation Beyond Visual Range (BVR)- capable aerial combat platforms. The 120-odd upgraded MiG 29s and Mirage 2000s will be in the last leg of their service then. The indigenous stealth Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA), which has already passed wind tunnel tests, should also be operational by then. Detractors will jump and point to the delays of the LCA project. LCA was India’s first attempt to build a world-class light combat aircraft from the scratch. Slowly but surely, India has been able to develop an R&D and building infrastructure which should be able to see MCA through. Ideally, this infrastructure should have followed the development of the HAL HF-24 Marut way back in the 1960s. And though IAF sources would hardly acknowledge it, the LCA goalposts were moved too often (thrice) to suit the changing requirements of the IAF, leading to its delay.

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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Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Size does matter

Around her 31st birthday, Hollywood actress Kate Hudson, it seems, got for herself a rather unusual gift. Hudson’s recent pictures have shown her looking fuller and have led to rumours that the “Raising Helen” star has gone in for breast implants. Well, insiders are believed to have let out that the “How to lose a guy in 10 days” actress has, in fact, gone through a ‘small boob job’ last month right after losing her guy, baseball player A-Rod. Not that this is a first of its kind incident in Hollywood, but it does raise eyebrows since she has often been heard endorsing small breasts for sheer comfort of ‘wearing plunging necklines’!

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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Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Your life, our rules

A free-for-all scenario emerges in India with socio-religious bodies instructing individuals on how to live their lives, where to work, whom to marry, etc. Vikas Kumar, T. Satisan and Khurram Raza talk to those who issue these decrees and find them utterly unapologetic

In the Indian democratic framework, freedom of expression is slowly becoming the prerogative of organised, and often self-appointed, groups and organisations to issue draconian decrees which invariably infringe upon the principles of civil liberty and individual rights. And what is interesting and dangerous is that all of these groups have a quasi-socio-religious sanction. So if a Hindu Khap Panchayat decides the marital life of a young Haryanvi, the Darul Uloom Deoband puts paid to an educated Muslim woman’s dream of making it big in the corporate world. The Church in Kerala, on election eve, even instructs people whom to vote for. Its stand on drinking and sale of alcohol is also draconian. Recent incidents suggest that in spite of India sending out a lunar mission and becoming an IT powerhouse, these retrograde faces continue to challenge the principles of rights and liberty enshrined in the Constitution. The role of Khaps has become synonymous with ‘Honour Killing’ in the name of protecting caste and gotra (ancestral linkage) traditions. Khaps, representative bodies of a cluster of villages unified by the same caste, gotra or geography, have some roles in settling community disputes but, of late, they are in news for all the wrong reasons. They are constantly dishing out Taliban-like verdicts. The irony is that the entire establishment seems to be petrified when it comes to tackling these errant Khap leaders. Manoj and Babli dared to challenge the Khap’s decision. Both were brutally murdered. However, a trial court in Karnal district of Haryana dared to take the murderers on, sentencing the killers to death.

However, instead of learning from the judgment, Khap leaders openly opposed the verdict and even demanded amendment in the Hindu Marriage Act, seeking ban on same gotra marriage. Baljit Singh, a self-styled Khap leader, rubbishes all charges levelled against Khaps. He says, “It is unfortunate that words like ‘Tughlaqi Farman’ are being used for Khap verdicts.” Media persons in a presser in Delhi were stunned when he said, “We urged our members to help the victims of court judgment in the Manoj-Babli case on humanitarian grounds.”

The political establishment in Haryana has turned a blind eye, fearing loss of votes. Khaps exercise immense political clout and this can be gauged from the fact that INLD’s Om Prakash Chautala and the Congress’ Navin Jindal support them. Sompal Shastri, former Union agriculture minister, is evasive. He tells TSI, “To my knowledge none of the Khaps ordered honour killings. However, they can be criticised for not condemning these deaths.”

Prem Chaudhari, researcher on Khaps, says, “Khaps are medieval establishments and their primary task was to provide security. Earlier, villages were small and people knew each other well. In the last two to three decades, small villages have become bigger and numbers of gotra in these villages have increased from 4 or 5 to 20 or 25. People are getting educated and they often come out of their village in the pursuit of education or for jobs. This means increased interaction between boys and girls who often fall in love without knowing their caste or gotra. It is difficult for them to follow old customs and traditions as situations have completely changed.”

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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Tuesday, March 02, 2010

A Ball by the Baltic

“Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree”, said Emily Bronte; and autumn in Jurmala is one time when this spa resort turns ‘golden.’ In this blissful golden forest, one could unwind and recuperate at will. Jurmala, quietly nestled near the Baltic Sea and amidst the famous continental European nations like Germany and Finland, is amongst the most fascinating Baltic destinations. Jurmala boasts of its National parks, awe-inspiring art and architecture, white sand beaches and beautiful boulevards perfectly suitable for soothing romantic walks.

Once in Jurmala, pamper yourself by visiting the wide range of spas available, and indulge in tempting curative massages. ‘Paradise city’, as Jurmala is also known, is well known for its hydrogen springs and a certain kind of mud, which has medicinal properties, very useful for massages and mud- treatments. If your idea of recuperation is some breathtaking adventure, then drive down to Sigulda and experience some skydiving simulation without the parachute. One doesn’t need to get on a plane and jump out of it; simply float in the air above gigantic ventilators in a vertical wind tunnel. But if your idea of a good day spent is exploring new places, then a visit to the city of Tukums is a must. It is a very short drive away from Jurmala and is better known as Latvian Hollywood! One could take props and don the army gear and pretend to fight the war in a battlefield, while making funny videos and taking hilarious pictures. Jurmala also offers its guests a glimpse of the late 19th century. In the vicinity are some wonderful old wooden homes and other buildings that display many decorative Art Nouveau details. Those who appreciate art, culture and tradition would love to visit the Baznica Church and Jurmala City Museum, which has almost 50 thousand exhibits in different historical and artistic collections, as well as exhibits of underwater archaeology. Jurmala’s true assets are its white sand beaches like Majori and Bulduri beach.

Jurmala, probably has the longest stretch of beaches on one side and on the other is the beautiful Lielupe River, which flows parallel to the beach. Those accompanied by kids could splash around at the Aqua Park. Nature lovers can go for some photography or a refreshing walk in Kemeri National Park.

Jurmala is a fusion of breathtaking natural beauty, artistic museums and traditional architecture. Revellers could choose from sunbathing and relaxing at the beach to hopping from one fabulous town to another… This small, yet interesting Baltic hide-away is sure to cast a spell.
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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Outlook Magazine money editor quits
Don't trust the Indian Media!
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Friday, February 26, 2010

It’s a business deal. They have your asset (son) and you have the consideration (Rs.60 lakh)…

Perhaps Naresh Gupta of Adobe was lucky or smart enough to follow these golden rules once he knew Anant was kidnapped. Still shaking his head at the trauma, Gupta, while recalling those torrid days of November, 2007, says, “Of course, there were troubled faces all over, and there were many people in the house; but I simply told them to take care of themselves, as I had to spend more quality time thinking about the next step, rather than waste time in grief, thinking about what had happened!” Nor did Naresh agree immediately to whatever the kidnappers demanded. Back in Delhi on late Monday night, Naresh exchanged anxious phone calls at least five times a day with the kidnappers on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. All this, while putting up a brave front in front of Noida cops and the hordes of journalists who were providing round the clock coverage of the ‘sensation’. Of course, Naresh also took the help of a Philippines based security professional who has handled numerous cases of abduction. “He told me”, Naresh recalls, “It’s a business deal. They have your asset (son) and you have the consideration (Rs.6 million)… No harm will come to the child if you give them what they want.” After three days of negotiations, Naresh paid the ransom on Friday and Anant came back home safe on Saturday, November 17, 2007, almost six days after he was kidnapped. Contrast this with the tragic experience of Sanjay Chawla and his family. His son Ribhu was kidnapped at about 2.45 PM on July 28, 2009. The advance ransom amount of Rs.1.5 million was paid the same day. And yet, Ribhu was killed and his body discovered the next morning. While explaining the uncertain acts of the abductors, former CBI officer Pandit avers, “It is virtually impossible to predict how criminals react...”

The Anant and Ribhu kidnapping cases also reveal another emerging and disturbing trend: more and more of such cases are now the handiwork of first time, petty or even ‘amateur’ criminals while most abductions till a decade or so ago were done by organised crime syndicates. Two cases reveal how kidnapping was a more focussed and ‘organised’ operation in those days.

Back in 1998, Ahmedabad was in a tizzy when rumours spread that up and coming entrepreneur and budding industrialist “Gautam Adani has been kidnapped” by gangsters. Recalls a veteran journalist Jayesh Gadhvi, “I was covering some small crime bits here and there but at large, there was not a single interesting news in the city that could raise my eyebrow. But late that evening, I was informed that Adani had been kidnapped and that alert had been declared in the city.” An FIR was registered in Ahmedabad and Jayesh and fellow media professionals furiously chased the story for the next week or so. According to him, though there were many rumours and distortions, his informal interactions with the police convinced him that the kidnapping was indeed genuine and had been done by Fazl-Ur-Rahman, a member of the notorious Dawood Ibrahim gang. Nobody knows how much money, if any, exchanged hands; nor is anyone willing to talk about the ‘case’ at the moment. Even the cops shy away saying that “the case is too old to be discussed.” That is understandable, given Gautam Adani’s stature and profile as a billionaire entrepreneur. In fact, dozens of entrepreneurs and tycoons in Mumbai have quietly paid ransom demands to organised crime syndicates to avoid being kidnapped or killed; though no one is willing to go on record with their names. Bombay is “off the record” replete with stories of how real estate magnates, owners of restaurants and bars, movie producers, directors and stars and even blue blooded industrialists routinely receive menacing phone calls from Dubai and Karachi. But then, even cops are not willing to take names except admitting that Dawood Ibrahim and his henchmen are still active.

While nobody want to talk about the alleged Adani abduction, family members of Partha Roy Burman are far more forthcoming. A director of the closely held Khadim Shoes was abducted from near his factory in Kolkatta in July, 2001. Police investigations revealed that the kidnapping was carried out by a gang called Asif Reza Commando Force which had Dubai based gangster Aftab Ansari as the head. Ansari is also known to be former henchman of Dawood Ibrahim is now facing trial in Kolkatta for the brutal murder of 22 policemen in a terror attack in Kolkatta in January, 2001. Family members and friends insist that crores were exchanged for the safe recovery of Roy.
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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Outlook Magazine money editor quits
Don't trust the Indian Media!
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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

A glorious history that’s now set to repeat itself

First impressions of the bhel bhopal township are anything but encouraging. but as Manish K. Pandey delves into the details, he finds that bhel could well be on its way to bringing back the good old days

It was a cold winter morning in the capital, foggy like any other. Though I somehow managed to reach the New Delhi Railway Station on time, it took me a while to board my train to Bhopal, as I had to cross several platforms on the way. And by the time I could settle down in the train, it was the onset of dawn. The sun was rising and so was a brisk wind that every now and then blew its way through the still dark station. However, I was quite warm inside the train, as it grudgingly commenced its journey towards the city of mosques and lakes … and of course, home to one of the most well known Navratna PSUs – the mother plant of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), the largest engineering and manufacturing enterprise in India in the energy-related and infrastructure sector.

The train was still in the outskirts of Delhi and the middle-aged, smartly dressed gentleman sitting beside me had already introduced himself. His name was Shyam Bora. Call it my sheer luck or a plain coincidence, he turned out to be a supplier of raw materials (for the last 30 odd years) to BHEL!

“The condition of the township has deteriorated over the last few years. Roads, streetlights, houses, et al, happen to be in bad shape. However, the BHEL management seems to be doing nothing about it,” he told me. This really surprised me, as according to several observers, the township (that spreads over an area of around 20 sq km) was well known for its greenery and for providing facilities like parks, community halls, library, shopping centres, schools and banks to its residents. “While old employees are retiring at a fast pace, new recruitments still take a backseat...” added Bora. But that was where the bad news ended, in Bora’s opinion. On the professional front, he was more than happy supplying to BHEL. Apart from BHEL, he had been supplying raw materials to other corporate houses as well. But the bond that he shares with BHEL Bhopal is perhaps special. “Despite the fact that they have a credit period of 90 days, which is far greater than other companies, it has always been a growing relationship with them,” said Bora.
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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Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Turn the music to... Hard kaur

Turbulent times didn’t shake her; instead she chose to shake ‘em up with her power rap and hep hip-hop. The "Glassy" gal shares with Aakriti Bhardwaj how to have fun ‘Hard Kaur’ style…

What was Taran Kaur Dhillon’s childhood like?

Taran Kaur Dhillon was very, very, very quiet. We used to live in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and my grandparents were quite strict. I was really good at school; did no mistakes. I was like ‘the golden child’ as they called me; quite different now (laughs). That is because life changes, times change... I am Hard Kaur because people made me ‘Hard Kaur’. In a way, bhagwan jo karta hai, acha hi karta hai. I lost my dad when I was five-years-old in the 1984 riots. My mom was a single parent and she had to remarry a man 25-30 years older to her for the security of her children. Then we left for England…

How did you decide to be a singer, a rapper on that?

I went to UK when I was 10 and by the time I was thirteen, I had an accent, and I picked up how this country works and how the people are. I couldn’t fit into any of the groups in school. The Indian kids would bully me all the time because I didn’t know English properly, but my teachers used to love me. Only the black girls’ table liked me and admired my dance. They would all listen to hip-hop, reggae, jungle and I just fell in love with hip-hop music! On our way back from school those girls would sing the normal song and I would rap. They gave me the confidence…

When I started college, I told my mum I wanted to be a rapper. She agreed. I started in 1991 – hip-hop had started in 1979 – so I had to do a lot of homework. I had to learn where it came from, how many albums and artists were there, what happened in their lives, basically everything. For ages, I just hibernated in my room, writing and listening. There is no school which teaches this; you have to teach yourself. I released my first single at 16. The Indian community went crazy. At least 60 per cent people were like ‘wow!’ But the remaining 40 per cent were like 'kya kalon ka music kar rahi hai!' But my mum believed in me and I kept going.


How do the audiences in UK react to an Indian female rapper?

It’s amazing. When a non-Asian person hears your rap they go “wow, I can’t believe you are Indian and you are that good” and Indian people would go “Oh, ok”. Now they understand this music, but 20 years back they didn’t like it. I used to do real music, which nobody wanted to buy because it’s not party music. It talks about conscience and real issues. Once my mum went like ‘Indian logon ke liye bhi to kuch banana’. And then I wrote “Glassy..”

What about the professional move from UK to India?

Professionally it was not that bad because "Glassy" was such a big hit, though I didn’t expect it. I went on to do shows and Shankar Mahadevan called me; I played my new album “Supawoman” for them. They claimed to love "Glassy". When I came back, Mr Sriram called me for “Johnny Gaddar”. I did “Move Your Body” with Shankar Mahadevan… The rest of course is history.

You have also collaborated with Eminem's group D12 for your next album. You hope to make it into the big league internationally?

It was largely for my own satisfaction; I wanted to do some Hard Kaur thing anyway, more like real hip-hop. If no company released it, I’d release it myself. There are a lot of schemes in UK for artistes. You can put your songs on white label, or put them on iTunes; the radio will play it and the more downloads you have, the more you’ll go on charts and the record company will take you. I only wanted the song released because people are dying to hear real hip-hop and dance to it.

Any plan to enter into Bollywood?

Yes. My debut film is called “Patiala House” and is directed by Nikhil Advani. He approached me to play a character, which reminded me of my younger days. It’s a family film that talks about second generation Indians in UK. I’m having a blast doing it! I’ve also done two tracks for the film with Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy.
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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Friday, February 12, 2010

Inconvenient Truths?

Lord Christopher Monckton, British politician, policy advisor and prominent climate change denier vents his spleen on Glaciergate...

The UN’s climate panel, the IPCC, is now doomed. Not a word it or its chairman says can any longer be taken seriously. The news that it is at last abandoning its entirely false claim that the glaciers of the Himalayas will disappear entirely by 2035 is one of the last nails in the coffin of this unlamented corpse.

A few weeks ago, I e-mailed Professor MI Bhat, of the Indian Geological Survey. Professor Bhat is an entertaining, courteous and always profoundly knowledgeable scientist. I asked him how his glaciers were getting on.

Professor Bhat is particularly fond of the 9575 glaciers that debouch from the high plateau of the Himalayas into India. He seems to know each of them personally – which are advancing, which are retreating and which are doing nothing much at all.

His report in response to my question was to the point. The glaciers were doing just fine, he said. Nothing unusual, compared with what could be found in the records going back at least 150 years.

What about Gangotri? I asked. He knew the answer at once. It has been receding, but not really because of “global warming”. Instead, local geological instability – common in the Himalayas– was the chief culprit.

Overall, he said, there was nothing to indicate that the glaciers were going to melt away on account of “global warming”. He was baffled by the IPCC’s contention that the glaciers would all be gone within a quarter of a century. As far as he was concerned, there was not the slightest basis in science or observation for any such notion.
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, February 11, 2010

General gets lost in electoral labyrinth

Though the wily politician has outsmarted the war horse in the battle of democracy, rajapaksa has to handle acute ethnic polarisation. Saurabh Kumar Shahi explores other probable fallouts of the sri lankan polls from Colombo.

Sympathy and an army general do not cut a very feasible combination. However, you can not actually help but sympathise with General Gardihewa Sarath Chandralal Fonseka. Imagine his plight. Less than six months ago, he was riding on the euphoric wave that erupted following the annihilation of LTTE. He was venerated along with President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The then Indian NSA, in one of those moments where Indians are known to let their tongue and not the mind do the talking, proclaimed he was the best army general operating in the Milky Way. Then Fonseka did what many, who don’t know how to handle veneration, do; he decided to take on the President and his political family in hubris.

Six months later, filing my story from the media centre at the Department of Information Building in Colombo, I can’t help but extend my sympathy. He has lost the election, the veneration and much of his face all in one go. On the sites displaying minute by minute results, comments are pouring in. One T P Ranadheera writes from Pennsylvania, “You lost everything General: serves you right. Come to Pennsylvania with your Green Card; I might help you land a job at some filling station.” Ouch. That should hurt.

The final results are out and the incumbent Rajapaksa has scored a landslide victory, garnering 57.88 per cent of the votes polled. The General has tallied 40.15 per cent. As expected, the incumbent has done marvellously in South and Central South areas where most of his constituent — Sinhalese rural and semi-urban class — resides. Similarly, as expected, Tamils, Muslims and Christians; as well as the urban middle and upper middle class among Sinhalese have solidly been behind Fonseka. The General has won the Northern districts of Jaffna and Vanni as well as Tamil and Muslim-dominated Trincomalee & Batticaloa in the east. He has also managed to win in Mannar, again Muslim-dominated, and Nuwara-Eliya, which has a sizable population of Plantation Tamils (different from Jaffna Tamils).

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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Tuesday, February 02, 2010

And it all began with a wish, minus the genie!

B&E’s Pawan Chabria meets up with some individuals who opted to go barefoot in search of success, rather than lazily stepping into the comfort of guaranteed, cushioned golden shoes offered by well set organisations...

Often labelled as the land of agriculture and farmers, India has also surprisingly achieved many a milestone when it comes to churning out new-age entrepreneurs. If truth be told, then gone are the days when every fresh MBA-labelled individual was found salivating for those temptingly fat pay packages offered by multinationals; rather these days, many are much more enthusiastic about registering a start-up, and moulding it into a new capitalistic force. B&E presents a handful of such real-life tales of MBA entrepreneurs who either shunned the very sight of a 9-to-5 job from a distance or those who grew tired of the luxury and convenience offered by a follow-the-clock-to-the-hilt profile.

Anuj Guglani, CEO of Ace Associates, worked for auto majors like Honda (for 3 years) and GM (for 4 years) after completion of his MBA course from IIT Delhi, before starting his own venture. He was involved at various middle-management levels during his stint with Honda, and was handling the showroom workforce training for GM before he left his job, only four months after his marriage. That was of course not an easy decision to make. Anuj smilingly recollects, “There was a lot of pressure... but my family supported me all the way.” When asked about how much his management education had helped him in his venture, he explained that those two years played a critical role in ensuring the success of his company today. “MBA education is very important for starting or handling a business today. It cultivates a vision and completely changes the way your thought-process operates,” he adds. Anuj started his dream run with little money (as he had spent almost all his savings on a Switzerland trip with his newly-wed wife), but immediate success within a short interval greatly improved his cash-position; he explains, “Since I was lucky to get a client like Mitsubishi just days after the launch of the business, it really took no time to break-even.” In fact, Anuj has today diversified into areas like social networking portals with the newly launched World Auto Forum (for auto-lovers).

So what’s the latest offering from Ace Associates? Well, it comes in the form of a mobile service called, ‘Top five points’ through which a particular salesperson is provided with five reasons for justifying why a certain brand of automobile is preferable over a competitive brand whenever he feels a need to convince his customers. As Anuj claims, he has already roped-in two big auto brands as potential customers for this new service venture. At present, he is also on the lookout for new talent who can take care of his new ventures. And this too isn’t posing any problems to Anuj, “Surprisingly, the response to a start-up venture like ours, has been more than expected, which proves the fact that new-gen MBAs are more than willing to work with start-ups...”

Udit Bhandari, CEO of Indimoto.com, an MBA (with specialisation in Marketing) from The University of East London, UK shares some similarities with Anuj. He too joined the auto sector after his management education, where he worked in GM for about six months. As he says, his MBA education made it easier for him to establish his online second-hand car & bike portal in the country. “The MBA programme helped me in increasing my understanding of business and its various modalities. While setting up Indimoto.com, the learning received in management school helped me to realise various value propositions and to create a strong full-time team, a business plan and a marketing strategy,” he explains. Indimoto.com caught people’s attention via its carpooling initiative, which encouraged commuters to share vehicles to save fuel; clever enough an advertising strategy! Rashmi Vaswani, Founder, Rage Chocolatier, is also one of those who are following their passion with a purpose to strike gold; the only difference was that she couldn’t wait to get started and got down to business right after she completed her post-graduate diploma in management. Her passion was manufacturing chocolates, which she took up as a business opportunity in 2005, and success for her has been sweeter than the product itself.

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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Monday, February 01, 2010

Big Love spreading wings

A controversial Malaysian ‘polygamy club’ decides to spread its branches to Indonesia and beyond. And it has everyone concerned…

It is an issue that has been the central premise of a hit television series, Big Love, on HBO. It has been a recurring conflict that has brought the personal law and civil law in India at loggerheads. And now, a Malaysian club promoting polygamy has drawn flak for its expansion plans in Indonesia. Being a part of the culture in Islam, it isn’t surprising that a polygamy ‘club’ exists in Muslim dominated Malaysia. Equally unsurprising is the fact that it would want to spread its sphere of operations to Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation. The Ikhwan Polygamy Club was founded in Malaysia in August this year and launched in Indonesia with the opening of a branch in Bandung in October. In Big Love, a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah is shown practicing polygamy. The show’s plot line drew criticism from the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since polygamy is not allowed in Christianity. However, it is a practice that’s accepted in Islam.

There is widespread citing of Prophet Mohammed having more than one wife, including women who were widows. But what is it that makes polygamy such a touchy issue? Evolutionarily speaking, it is sort of hardwired in all living species. Says Neuro-psychiatrist Dr. Sanjay Chugh, “Polygamy is probably intrinsic to all living species. It is a direct correlate of the need to procreate and ensure furtherance of the species.” Pointing out the differences in terms of attitudes to polygamy in various cultures, he suggests that “Being monogamous is the result of social conditioning.” Adds Dr. Chugh, “Wherever the social constraint is not evident or so marked, as it is in certain religions and communities, polygamy still prevails.” That would sure explain the club and Big Love. The club is actually looking at expanding to other parts of Indonesia including Jakarta, but the clerics and women rights organisations alike are not exactly ecstatic. The Indonesian Ullema Council (a board of Muslim priests) termed it a ‘provocative campaign’ given the fact that the country is trying hard to build a modern and secular image. It’s not as if polygamy is outlawed in the country (the Marriage Act in Indonesia does allow it under certain conditions), but it is not exactly celebrated. And the strongest opposition comes from women.


Although the club tries to portray it as “panacea to win the love of God”, the practice promotes abuse, say women’s rights groups. Perhaps the brazenness with which the club openly promotes the practice is the real issue.

There is a tendency to trivialise the whole issue of polygamy in Islam, with men taking multiple wives almost as a pastime. This is a dangerous trend that could spread if organisations like these have their way. And, the founders of the club don’t exactly have the most impeccable antecedents. Many of the club’s 1,000 or so members are former members of a banned Islamic sect, Al-Arqam, outlawed 15 years back by the Malaysian government after the group’s teachings and beliefs were found to be deviating from Islam. Religiously, polygamy may be acceptable in Islam, but it comes with caveats. Trivialising the issue this way could end up making it look like a perverted deviation..

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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, January 23, 2010

From fire to food

Delhi-Tel Aviv tech cooperation goes much beyond arms deals, Consulting Editor Tathagata Bhattacharya writes

As the 4X4 tyres eat up the tarmac that cuts through the Judean Desert, south of Jerusalem, my eyes get alternatively transfixed on the Dead Sea to my left and the stony, rugged terrain to my right. Less than 50 mm rain, highest salinity level in the world and virtually no soil to till – the conjunction of these factors point to the impossibility of survival of plant life. But then, the steed takes a sharp right turn and at the head of the turnpike leading to Kibbutz En Gadi, I meet Ron Meir. Over the next one hour, he takes me through a crash course on ‘greening a desert’ as we walk past some 5000 plants belonging to 1,000 species, some of them like the Amazonian Ceiba reaching a few hundred feet into the sky. The whole world has taken note of the greening achievements of Israel and India is going a step further, trying to rope in that expertise to maximise agricultural output and by trying horticulture and plantation projects in the arid and semi-arid tracts of the country.

At the heart of the Israeli success story has been the contribution of Bezalel Eliahu who migrated to the Promised Land in 1954 from Kerala. He pioneered the concept of ‘fertigation,’ which means using drip irrigation to reach both water and food to the plant’s roots. “Plants need to eat and drink. So we mix liquid fertiliser with water and reach the mixture at its base. Since the plant gets all the nutrients at its base, the roots don’t grow out much. This allows more intensive planting. In India, since there is abundant rainfall and a lot of alluvial soil, we don’t respect these aspects. But with climate change and the realisation that a lot of land is actually lying fallow, change will come. In Israel, when we came, we were faced with the harshest conditions. So we became kings of innovation. India can certainly benefit from our expertise,” he says.

The Indian government is on an overdrive to rope in Israeli technologies. Farm secretary T. Nanda Kumar is expected to visit Israel in February to hasten the technology transfer process. The efforts are bearing fruit. A pilot project on olive plantation in Rajasthan, near Jaipur, is currently underway on 210 hectares. The Rajasthan government is partnering Israeli firm Indolive Limited and an Indian company, Plastro Plasson Industries, for the project which saw 50,000 saplings planted. The test run, if successful, can lead to greening of the Thar desert, apart from generating livelihood for locals.
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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, January 22, 2010

The recent mass demonstration by sugar producers

The recent mass demonstration by sugar producers could just be the tip of the iceberg that is about to slam India’s economic ship.

In fact, the current year’s Wholesale Price Inflation (WPI) is likely to end at 7 per cent or more. But the real yardstick to measure the affordability of the common man, the Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) might again reach the debilitating range of 12-13% as it did around two years ago. Not just this, with a sudden splurge in the capital markets by revived influx of foreign investors and the excessive overpricing of stocks and IPOs is leading to a scenario where an asset price bubble could form pushing the overall inflation further. In fact, according to Dr Mukesh Anand, Senior Economist, National Institute of Public Finance and Policy (NIPFP), “Especially at a time when per capita (disposable) incomes are also rising, over-capacity in key (core manufacturing) sectors has led to burgeoning costs pushing prices up.” And one factor that would definitely make the ground more slippery for UPA regime would be the global oil prices pushing hard to relive ‘glory days’ of early 2008. With crude already near the $80 mark, this is one slippery terrain which can derail the growth engine once again.
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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, January 08, 2010

Vijay Tirath - Union minister Krishna Tirath’s Husband

Vijay Tirath is a man of rare mettle. He not only allowed his political mantle to pass to his wife, Union minister for women and child development Krishna Tirath, he also gave up his job to become her 24-hour support system as she went about hers.

Mr Tirath’s is a political family. His father, T Sohan Lal, was a freedom fighter and worked with Mahatma Gandhi. After Independence, he became an active member of the Congress. He became the municipal commissioner of Delhi (back then the post was for an elected representative) at the age of 25. He also represented the Karol Bagh LS constituency that voted his daughter-in-law to Parliament.

Vijay Tirath chose to let his wife inherit the mantle. He recalls: “We both had government jobs. I decided to stay put and take care of the family. She decided to resign and get into into politics.”

Krishna Tirath's rise in Delhi's political circles was meteoric. From being a metropolitan councillor, she went on to become an MLA, an MP and a Cabinet Minister. When she became a minister in Sheila Dikshit’s cabinet in 2000, Vijay resigned as a bank manager. He recollects, “I wasn’t able to help her full-time because of the job. Now I can spare time. From political rallies to making poll strategies, I am always with her.”

The husband takes care of each and every detail of her campaign and other responsibilities. He even counsels her at times on political matters. But as far as her ministerial duties are concerned, he keeps a safe distance. His area of expertise, says Mr Tirath, is electoral strategy.

Asked whether he has any regrets that he gave up his natural political inheritance and lost the opportunity to be a Union minister, the soft-spoken Mr Tirath says, “It is our joint venture. Therefore, there is no room for such thoughts.” And has he changed in the wake of his wife’s success? “Not an iota,” he replies.

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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, January 06, 2010

The victims’ fight for justice is still on

The victims’ fight for justice is still on, spearheaded by Abdul Jabbar of Bhopal’s Rajendra Nagar. For 25 years, he has been waging a battle under the banner of his ‘Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sanghatan. Jabbarbhai told TSI, “Do you know what Arjun Singh told the SP and District Collector that day? I don’t want to know where these dead bodies will be dumped but you should take care to downplay the number of deaths”.

Policemen and soldiers buried the bodies in Budani jungle, 40 km from Rajendra Nagar, and threw many of the dead into the Narmada. The state acted in collusion with Union Carbide. The government still continues to say that just 3,500 people were killed in the tragedy whereas 8,000 people died on the three days subsequent to the tragedy. The toll has mounted to 25, 000. More than 5 lakh people are injured.

The number of Bhopal gas tragedy victims is five times more than what the government is willing to admit. In 2004, Jabbarbhai filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking enhancement of compensation to the victims. But in 2007, the Court asked him to go to Bhopal’s welfare court, which the SC said was the ‘proper forum’. As per the order, he filed 1,01,000 petitions on behalf of the victims in the welfare court in 2008. But the Welfare Commissioner in 2009 January, without proper reason, rejected the petitions. So, Jabbarbhai went to the High Court, Jabalpur, which, in turn, directed him to move the Supreme Court again. He says with a sad smile, “It’s just a game. See how big and tough it is…”

Janet Braun Renitz, one of America’s notable mural painters was busy on the day of Bakr-id creating a mural on a wall located in front of the Carbide factory. “It’s been 25 ruthless years and Americans are the sole cause for this tragedy. Even after knowing that truth, Dow Chemicals (the new owners of UCC) and UCC are never ready to accept the moral responsibility is a shame. They are corporate criminals, they have no heart... It’s 100% corporate imperialism. They feel they can do anything” she told TSI.

The Union Carbide plant now resembles a graveyard. A police check post prevents people from entering the premises. The building and rooms are covered with layers of dust. To this day, nearly 8000 metric tonnes of chemical waste contaminates the soil and water around the factory. Various scientific studies, including one released by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), have corroborated the reality of water and soil contamination.

The open site, where effluents from the factory (around 10,000 metric tonnes) remains out of the spotlight, is slightly away from the plant. Known as Zahreela Talab (poisonous lake), it spans across 20 acres. Land sharks are eyeing this site. If they move in without detoxification, it could prove to be disastrous.

In 1992, the state government stopped registering people who died due to the effects of the gas leak. In 1994, the Indian government terminated of long-term medical studies of the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research). In 1989, the SC ordered a paltry sum of $470 million as compensation to the victims.

Even after the 2004 SC directive to double the compensation, the average amount received for a single case of death is approximately Rs 1 lakh. Compare this with what the kith and kin of the Uphar cinema hall fire in Delhi received – Rs 15 to 18 lakh per victim. Even in death and bereavement, the Bhopal gas leak victims haven’t been spared the effects of brazen class discrimination.

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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, December 28, 2009

Climate Science is Sound...

Claims Michael MacCracken, Chief Scientist for Climate Change Programs at the Climate Institute in Washington DC.

A wide range of scientific information makes clear that significant global warming will result from unchecked human activities, particularly the combustion of coal, petroleum, and natural gas. The carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is now over 37% above the pre-industrial value determined from air bubbles trapped in ice cores, and the methane (CH4) concentration is over 150% higher. That these higher concentrations will lead to global warming is clear from Earth’s history, from conditions on Mars and Venus, and from theoretical analyses. The changed concentrations are, however, not the only factors that affect climate. Both natural factors and other human activities (such as emission of sulfur dioxide and black carbon [soot], and changes in land cover) can also alter the climate. Actual conditions thus depend on the changing mix of these influences over time, all slowed by the time it takes for the oceans to warm, snow and ice to melt, and other factors to adjust.

While roughly similar situations in the geological past can serve as analogs, the present situation is unique in many ways. As a result, computer models of the climate’s atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice necessarily provide the best tools for understanding the potential response of the climate as forcings change. Because they are theoretical, however, testing is used to evaluate the level of confidence and caution to place in their results. The tests indicate that models do quite well in representing the range of climates around the world and its response to major volcanic eruptions. Most importantly, the models reproduce the large-scale space and time variations of the 20th century, finding that both natural and human-related factors played a role, with the human-related factors being the only way to explain global warming and climate change over the last several decades.

The really troublesome aspect of the model studies is that they tend to underestimate. Compared to model projections, Arctic sea ice is retreating faster, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets are losing mass faster, sea level is rising faster, oceans are taking up CO2 less rapidly, the ranges of plants and animals are shifting faster, and more. Closer examination has been showing that there are amplifying processes that have not yet been included in the models because it had been thought they would react slowly. Claims by skeptics that models overestimate and that recent warming has slowed rely on a very selective analysis of the data; they then draw a conclusion not backed by any of the other data sets indicating rapid change is underway.

For the future, increasing reliance on coal and other fossil fuels can only make the climate situation worse—and much worse if we do not rapidly start to reduce the global emissions exerting the strong warming influence. Both developed and developing nations have to participate in this effort, but issues of equity and alleviation of poverty merit thoughtful consideration, as described in the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Fortunately, the science of the situation suggests an approach of ‘Differentiated Responsibilities, but Comparable Challenges’ that can accomplish this.


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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, December 26, 2009

Global warming: An inconvenient truth or a convenient untruth?

While the debate simmers in copenhagen, Rahul Chaudhary explores a tizzying array of perspectives that would've sent our planet spinning, if it weren't already...

Even as world leaders converge in Copenhagen to save the world from impending doom, induced at least in part by man-made global warming, scattered but strong voices that dismiss the save-the-planet clamour as a figment of the collective imaginations of the climate scientists, are getting louder. Clearly, the global warming debate is far from settled. In fact, it might just have received a shot in the arm, especially after the events in the run up to Copenhagen, touted as the most decisive meet on global warming and climate change.

As we wait for action to heat up in Copenhagen, where negotiations begin in the true sense with governments fighting hard to haggle for concessions and cuts in emissions besides deciding on future mitigation targets, there are those who believe that the only winning party in the whole exercise will be states and groups who stand to gain with the introduction of discriminatory licensing policies, taxation regimes and expensive technology, thus offloading the costs of vital economic development on the developing world in the process. The sceptics believe that such a scenario would only serve the purpose of entrusting governments with greater control over our lives, and therefore our destinies, and cause further economic and social disparity in the world.

Climate change believers on their part maintain that ‘deniers’ are often funded by rich corporations (biggest consumers of fossil fuels) who contribute much to the climate woes facing the world. They cite examples like the 2003 heat wave in Europe that killed close to 35000 people to support their theory.

Scientists are after all humans, and therefore capable of erring, not to mention the assumptions that go into the climate models. So whose word should the common man go by? Perhaps the answer to that lies in the question. Without, for a moment, subscribing to either view (and there is a good reason for that, for one cannot impress the public by mere number crunching, or by explaining just how these climate models work, nor can we risk mistaking the words of climate change sceptics as gospel truth), let’s consider both possibilities. Let’s for once believe that we’re the ones causing climate change or global warming, however, big or small our contribution. Let us say that doomsday prophecies of melting glaciers and rising sea levels, of food shortages and resulting epidemic are a future reality, however distant. What then? We can then take solace in the fact that the world at large is on the right track. For clearly, there is evidence-based consensus among the ‘green’ scientists and that forms the basis for the global warming mainstream thinking endorsed by international governments. And if the world, as they claim, is really falling apart, then whatever we achieve at Copenhagen or in any future agreement will only help us buy more time for future generations.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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