Showing posts with label iipm-press. Show all posts
Showing posts with label iipm-press. Show all posts

Thursday, March 07, 2013

And could also be where you Rediscover Yourself and Your Spirit

The Tip of Our Country was where Swami Vivekananda reached the tipping point, And could also be where you Rediscover Yourself and Your Spirit

Life at Kanyakumari some decades ago was often disturbed by communal tensions. Even the proposal for the building of Vivekananda Memorial in the early 60s faced much opposition from the Christian fishermen, who were perhaps afraid of being robbed of their means of a livelihood, as the dredging operations would cause soil erosion. They even went on to damage the Memorial tablet placed on the rock and installed a wooden cross in its place! Eventually, the issues were amicably settled. “Now, most of the tourists come here to see this Memorial. Those fishermen who protested earlier are the boatmen now who take the tourists to this rock,” says Ignacius Tagore, a senior journalist in Kanyakumari.

Every year 19 lakh people come to see this Memorial. The ferry service starts in the morning at 8 am and ends at 4 pm. “December to January, April to May are the two peak seasons. 10 lakh tourists come here then,” says Sornapandian, the Manager of the Boat transport here.

Kanyakumari district was earlier with the state of Travancore. After a long struggle by the local people, when states were formed on the basis of the language, Kanyakumari and adjacent places came to Tamil Nadu. You can still find people here speaking Tamil with a hint of Malayalam accent.

In 1982, there was a huge religious clash in Mandaikadu, a hamlet near Kanyakumari. “This clash happened due to a rumour,” says Dr. S.Padmanathan, a historian. “Those days the Hindus and Christians were friendly. There was a Hindu Bhagwati Amman temple and a Christian Mary Church. During a festival season, rumour spread that a woman was molested and so a clash erupted between the two sections. Police came to control the violence, and they resorted to firing in which six people were killed. But the situation has changed today. Both communities visit each other’s places of worship,” informs Padmanathan.

On the shore stands Kumari Amman temple. The virgin Goddess here is the incarnation of Parvati, who is believed to have stood in penance for Lord Shiva. It is one of the important Shakti Peeths in Tamil legends. One has to stand in a long queue to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Goddess here. The famous diamond nose-stud that she wears, has many stories behind it. The light from the diamond is believed to have caused many to be shipwrecked in the sea, as they would mistake it to be a lighthouse and come towards the shore. I was told that this was the reason why the east door of the temple was kept closed.


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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, February 09, 2013

The most recent BP Oil spill holocaust

John Hocevar, Oceans Campaign Director, Greenpeace USA, talks to B&E’s steven philip warner about the damage done and the consequences thereof of the most recent BP Oil spill holocaust

 B&E: There has been a lot of talk, especially with Obama promising a lot with green technologies. But nothing has happened that can be called a sweeping influence to the fuel consuming masses. Are we there yet?
JH: President Obama has said that we need to end our addiction to oil, and to develop renewable energy sources like wind and solar. While this is a laudable goal, it is meaningless without action to back it up. Decisions are being made now which will have lasting impacts. But there are matters much more serious and threatening to consider using the thinking cap. For example, plans are still moving ahead to allow drilling in the Arctic in 2011. If we cannot even handle a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, where we are probably better prepared than anywhere else on earth, how can we deal with a spill in the remote, pristine waters of the Arctic, where the Coast Guard acknowledges they have no capacity to respond? Policies only make sense on ground. And if they are kept limited to just the coffee table, there is little that can help avert a second BP-like crisis or crises.

B&E: So what immediate step do you recommend to save the ecology?
JH: We need an immediate ban on offshore drilling, and we must improve the safety of and ultimately begin phasing out existing wells.

B&E: But do you think this will go well with the oil companies?
JH: Which right policy does? There will surely be objections.

B&E: You are quite known as a lover of ocean life. You must be keeping track of what the recent BP disaster has caused. How about an experience that you’d want to share?
JH : I was at Grand Isle, Louisiana, one of the growing number of places unlucky enough to win a “heavily oiled” classification on the government maps tracking the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Despite BP’s efforts to keep it under wraps, we’re went there to document the impacts of the spill. Walking through Grand Isle State Park, we came across a tidal flat that was littered with tens of thousands of dead hermit crabs. It was a depressing scene, and took me all the way back to my first visit to the beach, over 35 years ago, when discovering hermit crabs at Rocky Neck State Park in Connecticut helped inspire a life-long love of the ocean. Now, I realise it can seem a little odd to wax poetically about hermit crabs when we’re talking about the biggest environmental disaster in North American history. Today, entire communities along the Gulf Coast are reeling, and many species – sea birds, turtles, and even a population of sperm whales – are being pushed to the brink of extinction. The problem is that it’s all connected. Hermit crabs are a bellwether for the health of the Gulf of Mexico. When the sediment fills up with oil, so do the shells of the hermit crabs, and they suffocate. So if all the hermit crabs on a beach die, it’s pretty safe to say that the entire top layer of sand is full of oil – and no longer able to sustain life other than bacteria. The true cost of oil really doesn’t end at the gaspump! We have to realise that.


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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, February 04, 2013

3 days is all it took...

...to sell-off a fortune to a rookie named Apple!

“How about earning $1 million worth of my company’s equity for 3 days in your garden (that’s where you basically do your research!)... Deal?” What if your competitor proposes this to you? Great deal, isn’t it? Well, not really... Cut to 1979, officials at Xerox Corp., learnt this lesson the hard way. Xerox, under David Kearnes then, had allowed engineers from Apple Inc. to learn the Graphical User Interface technology (GUI) during a 3-day learning session at Xerox’s Palo Alto Research Center, for a consideration of $1 million in Apple’s pre-IPO stocks. What followed shocked Xerox. Apple’s engineers soon launched a GUI-clad personal computer named ‘Apple Lisa’, arguably the first hit product from Apple! Jobs’ foresightedness for the technology and Xerox’s myopia, gave Apple the much needed lead in this regard. “When a company is new and small, it doesn’t seem like a giant competitive threat, so doing deals with it is not important enough for anyone to pay attention to. These companies become large competitors and the deals that were done years ago, which made sense back then, don’t make sense anymore,” supports Jeff Kagan, a Tech analyst. Well, the GUI technology today forms a part & parcel of every major OS in the world.


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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

ZIMBABWE: PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

People must standup if they want democracy in Zimbabwe

But the question is – even if Mugabe is dethroned this time, will democracy be set up in the country? Michael Schatzberg, Professor, Department of Political Science, University of Wisconsin-Madison shares the same thoughts while talking to B&E, “Free, fair, and transparent elections are a necessary but far from sufficient condition for the consolidation of secure democratic rule.”

For Zimbabwe, the answer lies in grassroot developments and will on the part of both people and politicians to share power. Then alone will democracy and progress prevail in Zimbabwe.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

TURKEY: AK PARTY

Turkey is increasingly being pushed towards a new kind of extremism

Senior members of the AK party believe odds are staked heavily against them as most of the 11 Judges hearing the case represent the secular intellectual strata that sees AK as a threat to Kemal’s legacy. Nevertheless experts want to differ. “On what base is the court bearing in mind the closure: a compendium of anecdotes from the unfriendly press? The case is so dubious it is tough to envisage that even the staunchest Kemalists take it at face value,” says Mark R. Parris, a retired career diplomat and an expert at the Brookings Institution’s Turkey Project, while talking to B&E.

AK party has pinned hope on the European Union (EU) to mediate and defuse the matter. EU on its part has criticised the case, saying that the kind of charges raised by the chief prosecutor should be debated in Parliament, not courts


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, October 29, 2012

Era of the Groomed Insider

Even today, Immelt takes a month off, just to travel from place to place and from division to division around the world just to ensure that internal talent is being well-groomed across all GE centres. And that’s where we arrive at ‘Session C’, which implies the leadership and organisational talent review programme at GE. During these intensive exercises, the CEO & VP-HR from across various divisions review the talent pool leadership potential of various candidates in GE. Today, the Welch Leadership Center continues its legacy, serving as a powerful organizational force that commissions each of its employees with an important reminder: to never stop learning. A striking similarity is found in the succession policy practiced at Infosys, where at a time there are more than one potential ‘internal’ candidates ready to be made the CEO (at present there are 55 potential candidates to replace Gopalakrishnan; 5 from the executive board, and 50 other Tier 1 leaders). This is where the Infosys Leadership Institute at the company’s Mysore campus comes into the picture.

The 162,000 square feet framework, built at a cost of Rs.411 million, is where the current business heads train and search for next-gen Infosys leaders. It is interesting how both these companies believe in this being the ‘era of the groomed insider’ – they hire, train and then choose one out of the trained lot. They don’t believe in scouting for an ‘outsider’ to lead the company. Efficient succession planning, training and development are the reasons GE and Infosys are forces to reckon with.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 27, 2012

MTN deal to create a Global Conglomerate

Having achieved 100 million customers in the Indian market, Sunil Mittal is betting big on the MTN deal to create a Global Conglomerate, says Surbhi Chawla
 
“There are three pillars of our success – strong vision and unique strategy, scalability and strong execution forces. Our strong and unique business model for the Indian market can now be applied to any other emerging market,” shares Manoj Kohli, JMD, Bharti Airtel Limited with B&E. Airtel’s robust business model has earned it many accolades in the past and continues to be the backbone of its success. Recently, Airtel launched operations in the Sri Lankan region with the same business model as it practices in India. The initial results that the company has received from this region are satisfying and there are already one million subscribers within six months of its launch.

One critical value chain differentiator for Airtel has been Mittal’s belief in employing strategic partners (some call it outsourcing non-core functions) and nurturing them as it allows Airtel to focus on its core competence of providing mobility while its partners take care of other services like tower maintenance, customer care, et al, thereby enhancing its scale. This has given the execution culture fostered at Airtel and in all its projects (like the Sri Lankan roll-out) a world class image. Airtel, perhaps predictably, with an EPS of Rs.40.79 (for March 2009) stands much ahead of Reliance Communication, which has an EPS of Rs.11.40. MTNL and Idea Cellular lag way behind with Rs.3.41 and Rs.3.25 as their EPS respectively.

“Airtel has always had the advantage of being the first mover in the category. It had booked a large number of postpaid customers, which still continue to be its customers. Over the years, Airtel has maintained its positioning of being premium than its peers and that too has worked in its favour,” says Ravi Shekhar Gupta, Telecom Analyst, Springboard Research. Airtel was the first private company to offer services in all the 23 telecom circles of the country.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 20, 2012

Hugging the bear

Nazi dreams faded after Hitler invaded Russia

It is said that history repeats itself, and who else can testify the same better than ‘History’ itself. During WorldWar II, Adolf Hitler did what Napoleon did in WW I. Hitler’s invasion of Russia wouldn’t have been a failed attempt and Stalin wouldn’t have seen a peak, have Hitler listened to his generals. Hitler and his team of generals knew (who were actually against attacking Stalingrad) that Stalingrad would be tough to invade and may cost them heavily. In the mean time (span of six long months) Russians mobilised their industry and even the weather condition deteriorated. During operation Barbarossa, the German army was not prepared for the Russian winter or Serbian winter. The German army was not fully equipped to fight the cold Serbian weather. Even Stalin brought all his troops from the east to the west (after realising that Japan is not a bigger threat per se) and his army slaughtered the Germans. The final blow came in when Hitler refused to allow his generals to retreat, even when it was for sure that they have no potion left. This led to death of thousands of Germans men in the Eastern front. Moreover, Hitler’s orders to German army to use “maximum cruelty” made Russians people to fight back and eventually support Stalin.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 18, 2012

SUN, IBM: ACQUISITION TALKS COLLAPSE

Sun must ideally go back to the negotiating table with IBM; it will be tough for it to survive on its own

Having Sun in its kitty would have helped IBM position itself in the high end segment of corporate computing and in the nascent market for cloud computing services. As a matter of fact, IBM would have enjoyed a 65% market share in the Unix-based servers market and about 42% share in the overall server market (addition of 10%). However, IBM was not too happy with the close relationship that Sun shared with its arch rival Oracle and given the kind of market scenario, it would make no sense to pay more to get its hands on an ailing company. But the vibes from Sun were apparently not too optimistic. So what''s in store for Sun with IBM now walking out?

Currently the mcap of Sun, which has been criticised consistently by analysts for being a stodgy technology driven company that cared less for customer demands or market trends, stands at $4.97 billion (as on April 10, 2009). That was why the company never really recovered as the server market got commoditised with time. IBM was actually paying a $2 billion premium for the company, which is currently in the midst of terrible times. The ongoing financial crisis has led to a further weakening of demand for Sun’s high-end servers and it has lost a whopping $1.9 billion in the last two quarters of the current fiscal. Furthermore, the company has already handed out pink slips to about 2,800 employees to trim costs and it is feared that the number can increase if the situation does not improve in the short term. According to Richard L. Ptak, Managing Partner, Ptak, Noel & Associates, “The problem for Sun is also that its management gives no indication that they recognise the problems that the company faces, let alone understand or solving them." Many would argue that though the server business is being hit, Java still continues to be a star product for this company. However, in 2008, out of the total revenues of $13.8 billion, only $200 million came from Java. It is ironical, therefore, that the company changed its ticker symbol to Java from SUN at NYSE, thinking that Java would ultimately drive the company forward. As per Wall Street analysts, there are chances of revenue slipping further for the next several years, given the present scenario.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

At the mercy of the State

Not much has changed for India Inc. since the UPA took the power seat in 2004. Genuine business interests continued to suffer, analyses VIRAT BAHRI

It would be wrong to say that the UPA regime was not one of great transformation. And their claim to fame (or the opposite!) in this regard is not just the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. One entire industry revved up its engines, took off with elan, and all but crash landed in the course of their term. Yes, we are talking about the aviation industry, an industry that decisively led the rest of them in gasping for breath, for the players were bleeding red much before Lehman Brothers actually sounded the alarm bells that shook the world.

Surely, the first question that comes to mind is: What did the government have to do with that? Indeed, as Binit Somaiya, Regional Director, CAPA rightly points out, “A large part of the responsibility for the revival of the aviation industry rests with the industry players themselves and not with the government.” But then, there were critical support systems needed for the industry, which the government failed to provide. In particular the lack of an Airport Regulatory Authority was a major unresolved issue, which, according to Binit, can be quite unnerving for investors; whose role was critical for the industry’s growth. Allegations of corruption in the bidding process for airports made matters only worse. Moreover the horse-before-the-cart philosophy prevailed here as well, as airport infrastructure lagged miserably behind schedule, as players went ballistic on expanding their fleet and routes.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Monday, October 15, 2012

Constructive destruction!!!

Don’t play against nature, it will surely bite you back later...

The waiting game on embryonic stem cell research is almost over with Obama signing the bill to allow state funding of it. But the debate isn’t yet over. It was during the Clinton regime that the concept of Stem cell research took shape for the first time. Abortion was legalised and UK’s successful experiment with in vitro fertilisation inspired scientists in the US. Hence the Human Embryo Research Panel of the National Institute of Health approached President Bill Clinton to allow state funding but considering the moral and ethical concerns, he refused it. Later Bush faced similar predicaments but reacted more strongly than Clinton. In spite of unanimous support in the Congress in favour of it, he used his veto power thrice to stop it. He strategically defended his decision by stating, ‘the bill would support the taking of innocent human life in the hope of finding medical benefits for others. It crosses the moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect. So, vetoed it.’


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Saturday, October 13, 2012

ISRAEL: COALITION

To form a government that pleases one and all, Netanyahu must discard some of his rigid ideologies

With these moderate parties backing out, chances are high that the next government will be dominated by hardliners. Middle East sources say that the PM-designate might take help from his natural “partners” – religious and right wing parties. Avigdor Lieberman’s Yisrael Beitenu party is also expected to join.

If such a rightist government comes to power, there are chances of conflict escalating in the region. Besides, the new government shall be free to expand illegal colonies; collectively punish civilians and kids for rocket attacks. Netanyahu has voiced serious reservations while meeting foreign leaders on $2.8 billion of aid going into the Gaza Strip for reconstruction. (The US is also willing to invest $900 million in the enterprise). Israel believes that the money will be used by Hamas to rearm itself. Israel has promised firm action if there is more firing from Palestine. More such rhetoric is expected from this regime. .

The Likud party leader can form a narrow government with the help of Shas, Avigdor Lieberman''s Yisrael Beiteinu, United Torah Judaism and other extremist parties, including the National Union. But he knows that including such extremist factions would be a PR disaster, which could negatively impact Israel''s relations with the US and the world. Clearly, by sticking rigidly to his stance, Netanyahu is making his cause harder than ever. Much as he may hate it, he may have to put the issues close to his heart on the backburner. That would, in fact, be good for lasting peace in the region too


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, October 12, 2012

BARCLAYS: FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Questioning the ‘brilliant’ financial disclosure by Barclays...
 
Add to this the fact that even the cost to PBIT and the cost to PAT ratios have increased by 5% and 16% respectively, the issue of operational efficiency also casts a dark shadow upon Barclays’ performance. Thus, the underlying fact is that Barclays’ ‘happy’ revelation is all due to some unusual gains and earnings on certain ‘abnormal’ deals that won’t make their way into its books every year.

Agreeing to the thought, even an analyst at Brand Finance avers, “The bank has been criticised for not ‘marking down’ asset value and the investors are sceptical about banks like Barclays for declaring toxic assets!” Thus it is quite clear that the Barclays’ FY‘08 audited figures do not paint the real picture! Now for the ‘real’ asset – its shares on the NYSE have tumbled by 85.6% since December 31, 2007 to touch just $5.83 as on February 17, 2009; its Mcap falling by 80% during the same interval – all this despite the ‘extraordinary’ result announced?! Talking about the bank’s immediate agenda, an optimistic John Varley, CEO, Barclays explains, “Our immediate objective at Barclays is... manage the impact of the credit crisis...” Yes, we wish you all the best in your endeavours, but seriously Sir, sometimes even strong financials can have little impact on stock fortunes; and as for your shareholders, the ‘positive’ earnings may just have become a matter to mourn over!


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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Stepping on the gas

The new Tata Motors chief has to be a visionary, no less than Ratan Tata himself

Tata Motors is one of the pillars of the Indian automotive industry; a company with a legacy that is hard to beat. The launch of Tata Indica had made Tata Motors a major automotive brand and is now considered to be a force to reckon with in the automotive industry. The prospective launch of the Nano has stirred a lot of interest in the public and there are a lot of expectations doing the rounds. However, the recent fall in sales has been marked by serious discomfort in the Tata camp and an anecdote of success is the need of the hour. For Tata’s vast empire, even a battalion of leaders may not suffice but we need supermen here.

There are a number of very able and competent managers in the Tata stable that can steer the group into the future. If choice be the ultimate parameter, two stand out – P. M. Telang, a 32-year veteran and Rajiv Dube, the new face of Tata Motors. Telang is presently the Executive Director of Tata Commercial Vehicles and commands a high respect from his peers. Spending such a vast time frame in the Tata Group, Telang has vast experience in manufacturing, sales and development in the truest essence; coming out on top in almost all requirements. Rajiv Dube, the President of the Passenger Cars division is the glamorous of the two men.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Thursday, September 06, 2012

Mumbai, the host to the biggest slum in Asia

While Mumbai, the host to the biggest slum in Asia still has a long way to go before it can become slum free, there are momentous changes that hold the promise of transforming India. B&E meets up with slum Developers, PE investors and of course, the government for an update!

However, currently Mumbai International Airport Ltd (MIAL) slum development programme has been an eyesore for a long time and the delays are only making matters worse. Recently, even as Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is reported to have sought details on the progress of the slum rehabilitation programme around the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), the company developing and operating the airport said it has not received any communication to that effect.”

In October 2007, realty firm Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) had bagged the contract for rehabilitation of 276 acre of Mumbai airport slums. Under the contract, HDIL needs to resettle about 80,000 slum households. According to MIAL, the encroached area is important for the expansion of CSIA. At present, the airport has less than 2,000 acres of land for development of the airport, of which 276 acres is occupied by slums.

According to HDIL, Phase 1 of the project has already begun with 85% of the work complete where about 20,000 slum dwellers will be rehabilitated. The company said that the first 16,000 tenants are scheduled to be allotted shortly. Recently, HDIL has raised $250 million through sale of shares to qualified institutional investors to part-finance the second phase of the airport rehabilitation programme in Mumbai, among others. H P Pandey, Vice President (Finance), HDIL told B&E, “We have closed the qualified institutional placement (QIP) following huge response from the overseas institutional investors. In fact, we have received bids in excess of $350 million. Besides part-financing of the airport rehabilitation programme, HDIL would utilise the funds to meet working capital requirements.”

The Prime Minister’s concern comes at a time when Mumbai’s existing airport infrastructure is fast reaching saturation point and there is still no clarity over the second airport site. Few days ago, Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, along with a delegation of ministers met the PM in Delhi regarding the development of the second airport in Navi Mumbai. Post the meeting, Chavan said that the Prime Minister had assured that he would look into the matter soon and will hold meetings with the Environment Ministry and Ministry of Civil Aviation to remove obstacles in the way.

In essence, the war between ministries and bureaucratic delays are only delaying the much needed de-suffocating pills for the city of Mumbai.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Why Osama will be...!

Alive! There are reasons to kill Osama, and there are reasons to keep him alive; Pakistan, and the US, look decisively tilted towards the latter

May 11, 2010: In context with the failed attempt of the Times Square bombing, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warns that Pakistan would face “severe consequences” if a future terrorist attack on US soil was traced back to Pakistan and said, “…Pak officials know where bin Laden, al Qaeda, Mullah Omar and the Afghan Taliban leadership are.” A few days later, she reiterates her warning (albeit in a relatively softer tone) and said, “There is more that Pakistan must do to face what is now a common enemy…” May 12, 2010: The US Defence Secretary Robert Gates bellows, “The relationship between the two anti-terror allies [aka, USA and Pakistan] has improved significantly over the last two years.”

In the two statements above, which are obviously contradictory, the usage of word “ally” does raise critical concerns. When one juxtaposes this with the latest leakage of thousands of secret US military records by a whistle-blowing site WikiLeaks, which proves Pakistan’s deep complicity in terrorist activities, US pro-Pak political intentions suddenly become suspiciously dangerous, as the US and especially Barack Obama ostensibly are still not convinced enough to declare Pakistan as a terrorist state, amazingly turning a blind eye to what seems crystal clear to the rest of the world!

But wait! Barack’s bent clearly must be a put-on, in his efforts to get Pakistan’s assistance to catch Osama bin Laden, right? At least initially, it seemed so. But of late, Barack’s double entendres just can’t be ignored. While Barack announced that his administration would stick with pulling out US troops from Iraq (down from a peak 150,000 to 50,000 by the end of this month), he has concurrently increased the deployment of US soldiers in Afghanistan (up from 68,000 to 100,000). With a shrewd redeployment, it’s quite clear that the US is simply gaining avenues to increase its influence over Central Asia. Without the excuse of hunting down Osama bin Laden and Taliban, the US would surely have faced global admonition on troop deployment.

On the other side of the coin, the presence of Osama and the controlled nurturing of Taliban and anti-India elements allows Pakistan to keep receiving spectacularly humungous aid from the US, most of the moneys going to the personal pockets of local bureaucrats and politicians in Pakistan, a handful of who – by some accounts – are now close to becoming billionaires. Pre-Osama, from 1991 till 2000, Pakistan received $434.2 million as economic and military assistance aid from the US. Post Osama (9/11), from 2001 till 2009, Pakistan has received a shocking $15 billion from the US; and Obama had deftly announced another hollering $7.5 billion in October 2009!


Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Friday, July 27, 2012

Rec has seen its Numbers Grow at a Steady clip in The Past Few Years, but will have to now Tackle Increased Competition

With the Infrastructure Finance Company (IFC) status being granted to it, REC gets a competitive edge as lending exposure to the private sector has gone up to 25%. In addition, REC becomes eligible for issuance of Infrastructure Bonds and for raising funds up to $500 million through External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) in a year.

However, the company still faces a significant downside potential as the top 10 customers account for 80% of the loan disbursed. Operating in the power sector does have drawbacks, as deadlines are rarely adhered to in power projects, which affects timely payments; and ironically, SEBs are the major culprits. Power Finance Corporation (PFC) is the immediate competitor of REC. It was meant to disburse loans to the generation sector earlier while REC was concerned with the T&D segment. As requirements increased, they both have got into each other’s ground. REC’s five year average return on assets and return on investment stand at 2.58 and 2.71 respectively, while the same for PFC stands at 2.84 and 2.97 respectively (Reuters). If you look at REC’s profile, T&D comprises of 51% of the loan book. On an incremental basis, lending towards the generation segment is higher in H1, FY ‘11 which accounts for 59% of the incremental disbursals. There are signs of stiff competition with banks in the T&D segment as banks are also offering competitive market rates due to their access to cheap deposits. Indeed, REC has been quite proactive in tapping cheaper sources of funds in India and overseas in the last year. Foreign currency loans increased to Rs.56.91 billion in FY 2010-11, a mammoth growth of 840% y-o-y (post IFC status). Truly, continued access to low cost funds, monitoring of client spreads and retaining competitive lending costs will remain the key to ensure that REC’s numbers stay healthy in the tougher and more competitive times ahead.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)