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

Monday, August 13, 2012

Living with a flawed destiny

Investments in defence at the cost of social good are unpardonable

Global annual military expenditure stood at around $1.46 trillion, as per a report in 2009. The top 15 countries with the highest military expenditure spent around 81.4% of the total. It is estimated that the world needs only about $260 billion annually for the next 10 years to eradicate all the basic malaise; be it poverty, insufficient healthcare, lack of shelter and clean water, illiteracy and sustainable energy. Given that kind of a comparison, there’s a clear paradox that countries are facing; are the investments towards defence supposed to only protect the ‘advantaged’ well earning masses?

US alone has spent over $5.5 trillion on nuclear arms till date, and has a current stock of over 10,000 nuclear weapons. US spends $35 billion a year on defence (or $96 million a day). Similarly, France has spent not less than $1.5 trillion on nuclear arms. USSR has spent $3.5 trillion on nuclear arms.


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Thursday, July 26, 2012

IPL 4: On a Gravy Train?

In its Fourth Edition now, The IPL Continues to Grow even though Franchises Need to look for and Exploit Alternative Revenue Streams.

Analysts are often flummoxed as to why successful businessmen don’t mind throwing huge sums of money to buy franchisee teams of the Indian Premier League (IPL). In January this year, two new teams in the IPL fray were snapped up for mind-boggling sums: Subroto Roy of Sahara Group bought Pune Warriors for $370 million and a consortium of businessmen forked out $333 million for Kochi Tuskers. In 2008, when the IPL was launched, one puzzled analyst asked India Cements’ Vice Chairman N. Srinivasan, owner of the Chennai franchisee, about his rationale in shelling out $91 million for buying a cricket team, which apparently did not make any business sense to his core activity of cement manufacturing. But for Srinivasan, investing in IPL was a very clear decision taken solely with a view to building his brand visibility throughout the country. For quite sometime, India Cements had been trying to shed its conservative image and grow beyond its traditional southern markets. Buying into IPL could prove to be a brilliant marketing strategy if the company is able to leverage this association for growing its core business and become a pan-India entity.

It’s not just companies like India Cements that stand to make hay from the shining IPL sun. IPL-4 saw close to 120 brands piggyback on its popularity and make this annual mixture of fun, entertainment and cricket a perfect pitch for brand activation. Tata DOCOMO, Godrej, Volkswagen and many leading brands have taken various marketing initiatives exclusively for the latest edition of IPL-4. Digital imaging brand Canon also joined the IPL bandwagon this season and launched its new range of cameras supported by a campaign featuring its brand ambassador Sachin Tendulkar. Others like Vodafone and Videocon, joint presenting sponsors for the tournament, allocated up to Rs. 600 million each in media spends for 180 seconds of commercials per match. And a record 11 associate sponsors – Samsung Mobile, LG, Hyundai, PepsiCo, Tata Photon, Havells, Cadbury India, L’Oreal, Godrej, Volkswagen and Hyundai – dished out Rs. 400 million each for 120 seconds of commercial time. Every IPL season generates around 12,744 10-second slots but this year it was more as the number of matches were up to 74 from 60 last year.

Also, while IPL-3 had a TV viewership of around 143 million for its 60 matches, this year the figure was already 170.5 million viewers for the first 43 matches in IPL-4. As advertising rates were up 15-20% this year to Rs .65 million for 10-second spots, tournament broadcaster Sony Entertainment Television, which paid $1.64 billion for a 10-year deal, expects to recover Rs 10 billion through channel advertising from IPL-4 itself. The government, too, expects to haul in Rs 3 billion in taxes as compared to Rs 1 billion it raked in from IPL-3.

The growth in this innovative cricketing property over the years has been a source of delight for millions of cricket-loving fans and IPL stakeholders as well. Despite recent controversies and allegations of money laundering by some team owners and the ignominious exit of former IPL commissioner Lalit Modi, the brand has continued to grow. There were more teams (from 8 to 10), more matches (74 compared to 60 last year) and even higher TV revenue (an expected Rs 10 billion compared to Rs 7 billion last year) as IPL-4 season kicked off in April with a better TV rating as compared to the last season (7.14 compared to 5.9 last year for the opening game). Brand Finance, a global consultancy, pegs the overall brand value of IPL at nearly $3.7 billion today, a surprising drop of 11% since last year when it was valued at $4.13 billion. “The fall in IPL’s brand valuation is directly correlated to the controversies that the tournament has faced over the past few seasons,” says cricket expert & commentator Gautam Bhimani.


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Monday, July 16, 2012

over demand for clemency for Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru

Voices are rising over demand for clemency for Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru. But indifferent to the politics, which is being played around his death, one martyr’s family says there is no other option but capital punishment for the one who shattered all their hopes. 

Politicians have always used compensation to counter any questions of inaction and this case has been no different. On one occasion a senior cabinet minister from the ruling government remarked, “They are rich people now,” stressing upon the amount of compensation that the families of the martyrs had received. On another occasion, Jayawati alleges that while the martyrs’ families were not allowed to meet the President, Afzal Guru’s family was allowed inside through a different gate as a senior minister was escorting them. “We are willing to forget everything, and to tell you the truth these things don’t even matter anymore. We have gotten used to it. The pain that is inside will only die when the guilty is punished. We will see to it that there is no escape for Afzal Guru,” says Jayawati.

If one takes things from a slightly different perspective, this issue and various others similar to this have a common cause – inaction. Timely trials are already more of an oxymoron in India. And with several pending mercy petitions (some since 2003) with the President, it is certainly not encouraging. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) usually consults the state government concerned before submitting the mercy petition back to the President with its advice. The President’s powers are always exercised with the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers. In this case, the delay by the MHA to submit Afzal’s petition to the President with its advice, and now its reluctance in divulging details of the process, perhaps indicates the dilemma the government faces in keeping the issue free of political considerations. The opposition has even termed the delay in deciding Afzal’s petition as the government’s strategy to avoid a religious electoral backlash.

Further, more than often, the hype that surrounds sentencing of capital punishment to convicts and mercy pleas causes a lot of stress on the President’s ability to take an objective decision under Article 72 of the Constitution that empowers the President of India to grant pardon or commute the sentence of a convict found guilty by Court. But holding it for as long as eight years is what leads to unwarranted consequences. The only thing that now remains to be seen is whether India’s most politicised death penalty will come to a logical end or not.


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Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Legacy on its last leg?

Will the Shehnai have to reconcile to the fact that there may not be another Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan? The son who was his successor is dead; the others are struggling, and there’s little other than memorial concerts to keep the tradition going. Puja Awasthi reminisces of the time when there was hope…

Ustad Nayyar Hussain Khan “Bismillah” passed away following respiratory problems at a Varanasi hospital on December 17, 2009. To me, he had begun to fade away in July of that year itself, when, as I got up to leave that baithak plastered with photographs and awards (including the Bharat Ratna) of his father the late Bismillah Khan, he thrust a couple of brochures (titled Music Represents Soul) and visiting cards in my hand and said, “Kaam dilwao. Koi bhi kaam chalega. Shaadi aur party mein bhi bajayenge.” (Get me work. Any work will do. I will play at weddings and parties.) I did not fail to notice that the Ustad’s name was bolder than Nayyar’s on the card. And that here was a man aged 70, the second son of a legend who had put a simple wind instrument to his lips and coaxed such sweetness from it that it ceased to remain an accompaniment to flashier ones, begging for work. The Ustad would neither have understood nor approved.

But when like Nayyar Khan, you live with four brothers, one sister and 30 children and grandchildren, in a lane that’s named after your father in a narrow, white house with 10 rooms, you have responsibilities you cannot shrug. And Nayyar Khan, being the successor to his father had to bear them all.

Such is Varanasi’s association with the Ustad that when he had passed away in August 2006, there were many who lamented “Bharat Ratna chala gaya” (The Bharat Ratna has gone). To his own family it was as though life had been sucked out of all those who had been left behind.

“My Abba had a generous heart but a sharp tongue. Nobody who came to our home would leave without a meal. After a concert, the cooks would work overtime to cater to those who came to congratulate him. Some had even named our home Bismillah hotel. But after him, the staunchest of his well-wishers have disappeared. There is just the occasional phone call. Yes, there are problems,” Nayyar had said going on to detail how he even had to haggle about the number of musicians he could take in his group for a performance. No one would of course have dared to make such talk to the Ustad. Yet, Nayyar was looking forward to a tour of the USA this year. “Before every performance, I tell the audience that they should listen to me as Ustad Bismillah Khan’s son, not as the Ustad himself and grant me some grace,” he had said.

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, February 24, 2010

Thank heavens for the power trip!

According to a report by Indiabulls, “the company sells power on merchant basis through short-term PPAs; such agreements command high realisations of around Rs.5–8 per unit.”On a standalone basis (the steel business), while net sales grew by Rs.76.46 billion (a growth of 41.7%), net profits grew by a relatively modest 21.7% yoy to Rs.15.36 billion. This is still far better than what most steel players have faced. Vikrant Gujaral comments on the situation, “We were among the early risers to the deteriorating conditions. However, since JSPL’s product range includes both long and flat products we were well placed to optimize our product mix in consort with changing market realities...” Also, the company relies a lot on the domestic market, where demand has continued to grow irrespective of recession (exports were only 13% of turnover); so they did not need to cut production. The report by Indiabulls further credits the good numbers to the 35.8% yoy increase in the average sales realisation of saleable steel.

Moreover, while a lot of steel companies were looking at horizontal integration as their strategic priority, JSPL has been looking at things differently. Gujaral puts it across thus, “No company in our space can hope to survive without robust backward integration. JSPL has always believed in this and assiduously built dedicated sources for key raw materials (ore, power and coal) in keeping with the integrated steel producer model...” The company has indeed believed in consistent investment, while maintaining a significantly low debt-equity ratio of around 0.8. However, with respect to Q1, 2009-10, the company saw a standalone fall in Net Profit after tax on standalone basis by 25% to Rs.3 billion due to low steel prices. Again, power business is helping them ride the cycle, as consolidated PAT rose by 123% to Rs. 9.88 billion. As steel prices begin their up cycle, the situation should further improve. According to Gujaral, “There are encouraging signs of demand picking up. Prices have increased by about 8-10 per cent in the domestic market and 7 to 8 per cent globally.” However, he admits that the recovery is still some distance away.

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 15, 2010

The Price of the last drop...

Water is synonymous to life but is also a cause of losing many lives

The water resources are plunging in Middle-East and North Africa, which hold 5 per cent of world population, but only 0.9 per cent of the world’s potable water resources. The countries hit by water scarcity are constantly on the rise – from only three in 1955 (which included Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait) reaching to 11 in 1990 (with the addition of Algeria, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Tunisia, and Somalia), with another seven are likely to join the group by 2025.

The potable water of Middle-East originates from three major river basins - Euphrates Tigris, Nile and Jordan. Water, without a slightest doubt, is a catalyst of conflict as more and more water scarce countries jostle for their increasing share. The 1967 war between Syria and Israel is being an example. Water conflict is also a basis of many diplomatic efforts and bilateral treaties, like the US brokered Johnson Negotiation in 1953-55 or agreement of Full Utilisation of Nile water in 1959 and Israeli-Jordan treaty in 1994. The twin factors of rapidly rising population and falling water levels are creating ripple in the interstate relations and even evolving into conflicts. There is a fall-out between Israel, Palestine and Jordan over Jordan River basin, between Turkey and Syria over Tigris and Euphrates; and between Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia over Nile.

In South Asia, however, with the exploding population and increasing environmental degradation, water resource will always be a bone of contention among the countries. In spite of various political and economic divergences, the South Asian countries have shown remarkable maturity in dealing with water distribution. Indus Water Treaty was signed in 1960, between India and Pakistan, where three eastern rivers namely Ravi, Sutlej, and Beas belong to India, while the western rivers viz. Indus, Jhelum and Chenab belongs to Pakistan. In spite of odd differences (like India is building two dams on Jhelum and nine on Chenab), the two countries have upheld IWT even at the lowest ebb of their relationship. Likewise, Ganges Water-Sharing Treaty, between India and Bangladesh in 1996, was a path breaking effort to solve the long-standing disagreement, where as Mahakali Treaty in the same year was an attempt to resolve water sharing crisis between India and Nepal.

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

To save fragile India…

…it's time to have strong federal laws to avoid any future mayhem

The week which was shadowed by the news of an impending 9/11 type attack on Indian skies by the jihadi elements across the border and a crucial meeting of the Indian Home Minister in Raipur to fine tune the nitty gritties of Operation Green Hunt against Maoists, two related incidents require special attention. The first is the candid confession of the Pakistani Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani (to the visiting US Defense Secretary Robert Gates) that his country is not in a position to guarantee that there would be no repeat of 26/11 type attack on Indian soil. The second incident is with respect to the ‘soft approach’ of Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren towards the Maoists at a time when the whole country is bracing up for an all out assault on this menace.

While Gilani might be right in his honest and candid acknowledgement of the failure of the Pakistani establishment to contain the ever growing fangs of the jihadis and while it might also be true that Pakistan itself has been reeling under a series of such attacks, the question that remains unanswered is whether India should continue to remain a sitting duck and pay for the inability of Pakistan to contain such so called non-state (but incubated by the state) actors. If Pakistan cannot contain them, then shouldn’t India have the right to get inside the Pakistan and neutralise the rogue elements hatching the plot of the next mayhem? If Pakistan feigns being a victim of the same terrorism that has been tormenting India for long, then shouldn’t it allow Indian armed forces to fight alongside the Pakistani forces against the rogue elements? Well, someone should have asked this question to Gilani and the rabbit would have instantly come out of the hat. The world has been a witness to the bogus trial of the chief of LeT, Hafiz Sayeed in Pakistan and how he has been getting clean chits in spite of the clear writing on the wall of his involvement in 26/11. No prize for guessing what US would have done if 26/11 had happened there.
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

Striving for alternative fuel

A varsity is taking help from farmers to produce biofuel

With oil reserves depleting in the Middle East, a university in Bangalore is working overtime to produce alternative energy. Scientists at the University of Agricultural Science (Gandhi Krishi Vignyana Kendra), Bangalore, are involved in a project that would make India self-reliant in fuel consumption.

The visionary project was started in 2006. Farmers have also been roped in to help scientists produce alternative fuels. Under this programme, the university established a Bio-fuel Park Project in Madenur near Hassan — 200 kms from Bangalore. Besides, scientists have unleashed a campaign to identify plants that can be used to produce bio-fuel. To date, some 300 plants have been identified. However, scientists are not homing in on edible oils.

Says Dr. Balakrishna Gowda, professor of the UAS: “The project is destined to achieve its goal without having an impact on the food security of the state. The positive thing about the whole programme is that we are getting help from farmers”.

He further added: “In European countries research is also going on to find out alternative fuels. But they are far ahead in research. All told, the problem there is that they are using agricultural land to cultivate bio-ethanol crops. Whereas in India, we are not touching agricultural lands. We use only waste lands, bunds, public lands and degraded lands.”

Under this project, seedlings are distributed among the farmers to be raised on bunds, backyards and waste lands. And it has been successful. With farmers’ cooperation, the university has been able to establish 325 Biofuel Seed Farmers’ Association (Jaivika Indhana Beejagala Belegarara Sangha) in the state. The domestic and large-scale oil expelling units, designed by experts, have been distributed to farmers. And they use it to extract oil from seeds. Every care is taken that the oil cakes, which are available after extraction of seeds, are not wasted. Farmers are encouraged to use them as manure in their farms. In Hassan district, more than 8 lakh bio-fuel species have been planted in thousand acres. Some 57 villages have been declared “Complete Bio-fuel Village” and scientists involved in the project have organised more than 900 awareness meetings across the state.

Says Dr. Gowda: “Today five per cent bio-fuel is being blended in conventional petrol. But this will be increased with the production of oil crops. We are gratified with the success rate. So far, it has been above 65 per cent.”
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 05, 2010

Let's be honest about Jyoti Basu

Sutanu guru gives 5 reasons why india cannot afford his ideology, politics, economics and legacy

It is a peculiar trait we Indians share: even those we love to hate acquire such a halo after death that we hate to deny we love to hate them. The death of former Prime Minister V.P. Singh was simply crowded out by the traumatic 26/11 attack in 2008. Yet, even then, we preferred to praise the man who should easily be ranked as the worst Prime Minister that India ever had. Something similar seems to be happening with the allegedly best Prime Minister India never had. Yes, I am talking about Jyoti Basu, the bhadralok Marxist whose death seems to have triggered paroxysms of naĆÆve nostalgia and hypocritical hype. The passing of an era is a term that is being bandied about even by his former opponents who hated his guts and ruthlessness. If you go by media reports after his death, Jyoti Basu should be up there with the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru; in fact, some have even compared him with Mother Teresa. Typically Indian, and so typical of our habit and tradition to praise those who have passed on and carp about people who don’t want to hide uncomfortable things under a dusty carpet.

But really, let's face some uncomfortable facts before we pronounce Jyoti Basu as the best Prime Minister that India never had and one of the greatest political figures of modern India. If you think Basu was a leader who cared for the poor and the downtrodden, here is what Magsaysay Award winner, author and activist Mahasweta Devi has to say, “Jyoti Basu did very little for the adivasis of the state. I met him on several occasions and appealed to him. My entreaties fell on deaf ears”. Sure, you might think that the respected Mahasweta Devi is prejudiced because of her single-minded devotion to adivasis and tribals. Sure, you can put blinkers and prefer to ignore opinion. But, can you ignore facts? Here are some facts that even die-hard believers of the ‘Left is Always Right’ dogma need to mull over:

l From being one of most industrialised states till the late 1960s, West Bengal is now one of the most backward. Close to 30,000 industrial enterprises were closed down and more than 27,000 units became ‘sick’ in the hey days of the Basu era of ‘Marxist Pragmatism’.

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

An MBA for PM?

Politicians would have been the least expected to have mba qualifications. B&e’s priyanka rai found out quite a handful...

Lawyers have dominated national politics since at least the days of the struggle for Independence. A look at the educational qualifications of the new council of ministers shows the first signs of a culture change in Indian politics. Today, we have many with a black cap showing off their MBA degrees – at least three ministers from the young brigade, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and Jitin Prasad are MBA graduates. In fact, many young MPs like Deepender Singh Hooda, Naveen Jindal, Milind Deora and P. D. Rai also belong to the not expected MBA brigade.

Deepender Hooda, son of the Chief Minister of Haryana and a Member of Parliament from Rohtak constituency believes that his MBA degree helps in adding value to his political career in many ways. “It helps you definitely; it trains your mind to adopt a particular approach to deal with situations in a more organised way. You get the bigger picture of the situation and you know then how to approach [the problem] in what way and solve it in very organised manner,” says Hooda. However, Jitin Prasad, Minister of State for Gas and Petroleum, also an MBA, though not denying the benefits an MBA degree has in politics, tales a different perspective, “I would like to see this in a different way that whosoever is entrusted with the responsibility in the electoral politics, a good education background always helps – whether it is a Law Degree or a Management Degree or some other qualification.

To take a conscious and judicious decision, a mix of your education as well as a sense of ground reality is always helpful.” But then, if contemporary politics is all about leadership skills and decision making abilities, wouldn’t having an MBA degree really help? “You start thinking in terms of projects not profits. There are many politicians I know with good intentions. They want to work but fail to deliver because I believe, they get engrossed in the process. Their approach, thinking is more process oriented whereas the other approach is deadline oriented (result oriented),” explains Hooda, who has worked with Reliance Industries Ltd, Infosys Technologies Ltd. (as a Software Engineer) and with Sabre Holdings, Dallas (USA) for two years. Hooda admits that he gains by applying the MBA strategies learnt in work to his constituency as well: “I apply the knowledge I have gained from my education, apply the strategies and I get the work done on time in my constituency.”

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, January 25, 2010

“Timely availability of seeds at convenient place is very important”

Dr. LK Pandey, National Sales Head, Sungro Seeds talks about the industry in an exclusive to B&E

Good seeds means a good crop. Sungro Seeds, which has been associated with the industry has tried to come up with high yielding seeds. In an interview with Vikas Kumar, Dr. LK Pandey, National Sales Head, Sungro Seeds Ltd. talks about the challenges faced by the seeds industry and what is Sungro trying to do to solve them

B&E: Scarcity of better quality seeds at required time and place discourages farmers from replacement of their own saved seeds with good quality seeds? How do you view this trend?

LKP: Timely availability of seeds at a convenient place is a very important factor in seed business. However, it hardly deters farmers to use high quality hybrid seeds. In fact competition has made a different scenario where seeds of more than one brand are present at any seed retail counter. Therefore, it is a matter of particular brand choice which farmer has to take rather than non-availability of products of any crop. Sungro like any other system oriented company has an annual planning system broken into monthly requirements and weekly requirements of all important segments or growing regions. It accordingly makes logistical arrangements for timely seed availability at every place of requirement.

B&E: Seed Multiplication under National Agriculture Research System needs major strengthening. How do you view this policy?

LKP: The seed industry has become customer driven where product features and quality is decided by customer preferences. As of now various choices are available in the market which helps customers to choose the best. The present NARS System should involve private sector also to make available right product at right time.

B&E: What are your views on prices of seeds particularly of hybrids and affordability among farmers?

LKP: Traditionally, farmers used to do maximum savings in seeds, though it makes only a fraction of total investment on inputs like fertilizer and pesticides. When we talk about the seed price in terms of kilogram then it appears exorbitant. However, if we think about total amount of seed required in one acre area then it looks reasonable and affordable.

B&E: What are the major achievements of Sungro Seeds till date? And what will be the next area for you?

LKP: In the year 2008-09 Sungro achieved sales turnover of Rs 45 crores by marketing almost 150 products of 26 crops throughout the country. We are market leader in cauliflowers, radish, cabbage, carrot, brinjals, okra, bitter gourd, chilli and tomatoes. Its products are demanded by vegetable growers all over India and overseas due to high quality and affordable price. Now, by mapping all the districts and every market segment, Sungro is planning to reach out to all vegetable growers in the country with the help of a large distribution network. We also export our products in many countries.
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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Saturday, January 23, 2010

The Transporter: reloaded

High speed railway systems can change the fortune of the third world

By now, the fact that the Copenhagen meet added around 46,200 tonnes of carbon dioxide, most of it from flights, has become a clichƩ. Studies have proved that air travel is now the fastest-growing contributor to global warming. In simple words, avoiding air travel can, to some extent, limit its harmful impact on the environment.

Furthermore, many countries are readily investing in environment-friendly mode of transport. In this long list of green transport, countries are fervent about the high-speed railway systems a.k.a HSR. As per a recent Eurostar research, the train to Paris (instead of flying) cuts CO2 emissions per passenger by a jaw dropping, literally, 90 per cent. Going beyond numbers, the environmental benefit due to HSR is more than what any empirical research can reveal. As airlines emit their CO2 directly into the upper atmosphere, thus the impact on environment is much severe. The Manchester City council, in UK, has revealed its interest on "high speed rail revolution" – precisely to tap on the increase efficiency and its environment-friendly attribute. Most of the developed countries like France, Spain and Germany are supporting the HSR concept. A few European countries have also decided to join HSR network linking the UK and Europe.

Besides reducing the amount of CO2, HSR, to a large extent, solves traffic congestion and air pollution problems. Traffic congestion not only pollutes the environment, but also waste fuel and waste productivity time. It indirectly hits the economy of the country by adding to the cost of doing business. Realising this fact, Japan has extended its Bullet train network by 76 per cent, thus linking almost all its cities. Even Europe has decided to add an extra 1,711 more miles by 2010. The air travel frequency between Paris-to-Brussels has almost disappeared after opening up of HSR links.

Undoubtedly, HSR can do more wonders in the third world. The third world countries will not only benefit from technology-leapfrogging but also will see a heave in other sectors too. They will obviously have an advantage of second mover and therefore, can reduce loss (by analysing the success model of HSR already in place) and customise the HSR model as per their requirement. Implementation of HSR in African and Asian countries will augment their infrastructure and employment. Beside this, if HSR links the urban and rural areas, it will also decrease urban migration and bridge the gap between rural-urban divide. With proper planning HSR can give rise to mid-size cities and satellite towns. Obviously, implementation of HSR model is not an overnight job and would require huge investment. But then proper planning and a good business model can surely make high-speed railways a success business model cum social initiative in the third world too. And if it seems a next to impossible task, then one must learn from China. China has launched the fastest HSR (CRH3) with an average speed of 217 mph covering a total distance of 663 miles connecting over 20 cities (connecting less developed regions to the metros) and is planning to expand it to 42 more HSR lines by 2012. Does it sound like a case in point?

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, January 22, 2010

“Similar to ‘Sanskritisation’

“Similar to ‘Sanskritisation’ in the socio-cultural sphere, ‘Congressisation’ is the most uncalled-for phenomenon in politics and it is the epidemic from which the TDP is suffering most from,” said political analyst Chakradhar Mukkamala, while referring to the burning issue of Telangana agitation as a testimony to the final decadence of TDP.

TDP was founded by the late N. T. Rama Rao (NTR) and came to power invoking insult to Telugu pride because Congress chief minister Anajaiah was berated by Rajiv Gandhi on the tarmac of the Begumpet Airport. NTR was the belated manifestation of the egalitarian dream of the Justice Party of 1910s and 1920s. An advocate of federalism, custodian of underdogs and messiah of the lumpen proletariat, NTR also filled the political void where the Left had failed. ‘Andhra Pradesh politics, till then, was ‘Congressised’, with pampered sections like Reddys and Malas monopolizing political power,’ another political observer Ravinder Durgam says.

The Reddy strongholds, spread over the southern region of Rayalaseema, Nellore and most of Telangana, produced most Congress chief ministers till the TDP was formed. Incidentally, the current CM Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy is also from the Reddy community only. NTR and his successor Chandrababu Naidu demolished Reddy domination, particularly in Telangana by fielding and successfully electing non-Reddy castes. Thus, the backward castes of Andhra Pradesh, particularly of Telangana, were swayed by NTR's egalitarian, socialist vows. But, after NTR’s demise and during the decade-long reign of his son-in-law, Chandrababu Naidu, his caste (Kamma) monopolised political power.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

The nexus between politicians and the mining mafia is wreaking havoc in many Indian states

The recent developments in Karnataka involving the Reddy brothers of Bellary substantiate that allegation. A decade ago, G Janardhan Reddy and G Karunakara Reddy, ministers in the present BS Yeddyurappa government, were small-scale financiers in Bellary. After they forayed into the mining industry, their stocks rose rapidly. Today, it is claimed that they control almost the entire government in Karnataka. It is also claimed that the Reddy brothers and their close friend, Karnataka health minister Sriramulu, fly from Bellary to Bangalore in their own helicopter almost everyday.

The connection between the Reddy brothers and former Andhra chief minister YS Rajashekara Reddy’s son Jagan Reddy is a well-known fact in political circles. The Bellary brothers belong to the BJP and Jagan to the Congress. But in the mining business, they are partners.

With their political clout and money power they have all but obliterated state boundaries with their mining activities. But after Rajashekara Reddy’s demise, the political scenario has changed. The Andhra government is gunning for the Reddy brothers’ Obulapuram Mining Company.

Already behind bars is Madhu Koda, former Jharkhand chief minister. A mine worker, he rose quickly up the political ladder to wrest the post of chief minister. Along the way, he used his position as minister for mines to line his pockets. He is now under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate. The irony is that in the name of development, the mining industry is growing helter-skelter in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Orissa. On the human development index, however, these states are proven laggards. “In terms of financial growth mining has turned into a major industry in India. But, the growth occurs only in the upper strata of the society. Mine owners, companies and politicians are reaping the harvest. In most cases, uncontrolled mining leads to an unequal society,” says Bhanumathi.

According to experts, almost 50-60 per cent of mining activities in India are illegal. For example, Forest (Conservation) Act of India 1980 is frequently circumvented, thanks to the nexus between mining and politics. Since the enactment of the Act three decades ago, the Union government has granted clearance to mining projects on more than 100,000 hectares of forest land. Though these clearances were strictly conditional, both state-owned and private mining companies have flouted all norms to maximise their profits.

For example, except for a few cases, these mining companies did not carry out compensatory forestation activities. In places that they did so, it was only an eyewash. According to the Union forest ministry, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh are top five affected states. In Andhra Pradesh, more 15,700 hectares of forest land has been released for mining activities. The story is virtually the same in the other aforementioned states.

“We need stringent laws to put an end to this. Otherwise both the environment, both natural and political, will be marred. I hope the proposed new Mines and Mineral Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act will curb illegal, unscientific mining activities,” says former environment secretary of Karnataka, AN Yellappa Reddy. The final draft of the MMDR Act has been sent to the Union Cabinet for approval.

The Union ministry of mines is hoping that the new Act will usher in an era of sustainable and community-friendly mining. The question is: will the political mafia that controls the spoils of the industry allow that to happen?

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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Saturday, January 16, 2010

The Mahatma gandhi family tree

HARILAL GANDHI

(Eldest son)

He was married to Gulab. They had five children, two daughters Rani and Manu and three sons Kanti, Rasik and Shanti. None of the children is alive anymore. Rasik and Shanti died in childhood.

RANI

Eldest daughter Rani was a homemaker. She had four children, Anushrya, Prabodh, Neelam and Navmalika.

Anushrya

Anusharya is not alive. Anushrya has two children, Lekha and Rahul. Lekha works in a hospital as medical techno;ogist in St.Louis, US. She has two sons, Dev and Amal. Rahul has two children, Anup and Avnee. He is business director in Washington University.

PRABODH

Prabodh is not alive. He was a doctor. He did his MBBS/MD in Mumbai but worked in a village in Saurashtra. He has two children, Sonal and Prayag. Sonal lives in Mumbai with her two children, Rachana and Gaurav. Rachana is a doctor and Gaurav is a computer engineer. Prayag has two children, Prachi and Darshan. They study in Saurashtra.

NEELAM PARIKH

Neelam Parikh has one son, Sameer. He is an eye surgeon, runs his own private practice in Navsari, Gujarat. He has three children, Siddharth, Gopi and Parth.

NAVMALIKA

Has three children, Parul, Manisha and Ravi. Parul and Ravi live in Toronto, Canada. Parul is a physiotherapist (private practice). She has two children, Sarthak and Anil, both students. Ravi is a computer engineer. He has two children, Neel and Akash. Manisha, too, is a physiotherapist in Nagpur. She has two children, Milli and Daksh. They are students.

KANTI

(Harilal’s son) He was married to Saraswati Ben . He is no more. He was a doctor. He did his MBBS from Madras. He worked in a dispensary in a mill and treated the workers of the mill. They had two sons. First son, Shanti, is a heart specialist. He is married to an American lady called Suzanne. He has three daughters, Anjalee, Anita, and Alka. They live in the US. The second son, Pradeep, is married to Mangla. He is a CA. He lives in Washington, US. He has two daughters, Priya, Megha.


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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