Showing posts with label IIPM Admission Detail. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IIPM Admission Detail. Show all posts

Monday, October 08, 2012

Wealth Creation or Crony Capitalism?

from nano to sezs; from aviation to telecom, india inc. is a tale of state patronage

Some time during 1998, the media went into a tizzy. For the unthinkable had happened. First, the Delhi Police raided the office and residence of the Group President of Reliance Industries Ltd. V. Balasubramaniam. There were allegations that Balasubramaniam (or Baalu as the legendary lobbyist of the late Dhirubhai Ambani was famously known) had ‘violated’ the Official Secrets Act. Then again, officials of CBI raided the office of Reliance at Nariman Point in Bombay and even the fabled residence of the Ambanis called Sea Wind. All sorts of rumours flew thick and fast at that time. There were dark whispers that Baalu was in trouble because someone finally had the guts to nail him for getting access to the Union Budget even before it was presented to the Parliament. Most business journalists presumed that to be true; even though the allegations have never been proven. More than the raids, it was the political context of the time that had raised eyebrows across all and sundry. A government led by the BJP with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as Prime Minister was ruling India. Hacks, lobbyists and pundits were writing and talking extensively about how the rise and rise of the BJP and the decline and fall of the Congress had dealt a crippling blow to the ‘connections’ that Dhirubhai Ambani could boast of in New Delhi. Many had thought that the salad days of Reliance Industries, when it comes to getting ‘favourable’ back door benefits from the government at the centre were over.

They were conclusively proven wrong. It was under a BJP-led government in 2001 when Reliance made a classic back door entry into the mobile telephony sector of India – without a valid license! Mobile phone service providers like Bharti cried foul and loudly complained against this unfair treatment and asked for a level playing field. The matter went to the Supreme Court and Reliance was effectively given a back dated license after it agreed to pay a license fee. Then again in 2008, rivals cried foul when Reliance Communications, now led by Anil Ambani, was given licenses for launching GSM services across India. This time under the UPA government, but as we said, that debate is no longer relevant.

For some things never do change in India and for India Inc.!

When it comes to covering India Inc., the media has clear perceptions about entrepreneurs and business houses. It is taken for granted that the Ambanis are unmatched when it comes to ‘managing’ the environment in North and South Block. Of course, the Ambanis are also admired for the ‘wealth creating’ skills; but there is always that touch of cynicism when one mentions their name in the list of India’s top business houses. But no such sniggers are heard when it comes to discussing ‘clean companies’ like Infosys and business houses like the Tatas.

Unfortunately, like most perceptions, these pre-conceived notions are merely manufactured myths. The reality is: everybody takes advantage of ‘State’ patronage to create an aura of entrepreneurship and innovation. Take India’s most respected business house Tata. When Ratan Tata unveiled the dream car Nano in January, 2008 in New Delhi, the media went simply hysterical. Even the foreign media, which is usually condescending towards most things Indian, lauded the Nano as a modern day marvel. So hyped was the coverage that you would think Ratan Tata might get the Nobel Prize for leading a team of innovators that could make a car for less than Rs.1 lakh.

Amidst all this, someone like Mamta Banerjee was branded a spoilsport as she was protesting the acquisition of land in Singur in West Bengal for the Nano factory. Bristling when some media outlets gathered the guts to say that the manner in which Tata Motors was acquiring land would sully the good name of Tatas, Ratan Tata made a melodramatic statement to a TV channel: “ If I believe that we were doing something wrong, then I will be the first one to pull out… You put a gun on my head and pull the trigger or take the gun away, I won’t move my head.” Move he did. Both his head and Tata Motors’ factory moved lock stock and barrel from West Bengal to Gujarat. But even as it was shifting base, Tata Motors approached the Calcutta High Court requesting an order to stop the Right to Information Commission from revealing details about the tacit agreement it signed with the West Bengal government.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face


Saturday, October 06, 2012

Can Ratan Tata Salvage his Nano Dream?

The Small Wonder has been Struggling to Match The Demands of its Target Group after The Settlement of the Initial Hype. The Storm is over. B&E gives a Detailed Analysis of The Past Issues and The Future that Lies Ahead for The Nano

Though the small nano uses less gasoline than many larger cars, the enormous potential numbers could mean an equally enormous environmental impact, an exponential rise in carbon emissions as well as other kinds of pollutants. The United Nations’ top climate scientist, Indian economist Rajendra Pachauri has said he is already “having nightmares” about precisely this scenario

”This was a prominent blogger writing soon after the launch of the Nano in January 2008

And of course, there was the brouhaha over the traffic jams, the pressure on Indian roads and what not. I remember my Editor-in-Chief Arindam being slightly baffled by the extraordinary hype generated in Indian as well as global media in January 2008 when a proud and beaming Ratan Tata wowed everyone by saying “A Promise is a Promise” while unveiling the Nano at the Auto Fair. The promise he was referring to was the one to keep the price of Nano at Rs.1 Lakh(0.1 million). Arindam was baffled because he was perhaps the only person who had written a stinging article in 2007 lambasting Tata and West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadev Bhattacharya for the ugly mess at Singur, the original site chosen for the Nano factory. He had also logically argued how and why a Rs.1 Lakh(0.1 million) car was actually a chimera. Of course, not many alleged pundits of corporate India paid much attention back then. I remember journalists – who otherwise display better sense on some rare occasions – forecasting that Indians will buy more than 1 million Nanos a year very soon.

Sooner or later, reality has a nasty habit of catching up with hype. In early October this year, I sent a fairly long SMS to the Editor-in-Chief basically saying that it is perhaps time for a big story on the Nano since there were persistent and unflattering reports about the actual volume of sales of the Nano. In my SMS, I pointed out that July 2010 was the best month ever for the Nano with sales of 9,000 units. And sales started heading south after that – even though the Indian auto industry was in the midst of an unprecedented boom. We both agreed that it was time for an analytical story on the seemingly inexplicable inability of Tata Motors to increase volume sales of the Nano despite the hype around the brand.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

 
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Monday, September 10, 2012

Missing the Multiplier

Independent India has seen the MSME sector grow by leaps and bounds and is proving to be the most promising and reliable sector for job creation and poverty alleviation in India. Despite an elaborate and dynamic policy framework, the road to the next level for MSMEs continues to be hindered largely due to the lack of adequate and timely credit.

The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is widely considered to be the engine of the Indian economy. Constituting over 80% of the total number of industrial enterprises, it serves as the backbone of the nation’s industrial development. However, since independence, it has been suffering from some fundamental problems (poor credit availability, low level of technology, less skilled manpower, low production capacity and others), which have been the major roadblocks in its endeavour to scale up.

Globally considered as the driver of all economies (developed & developing) and a medium for promoting equitable development, SMEs in India contribute significantly to the manufacturing output, employment and exports of the country. According to the 4th All India Census by GoI, Ministry of MSME, it is estimated that in terms of value, the sector contributes 45% to manufacturing output and 40% to total exports. The sector is an umbrella for around 30 million units (both registered and unregistered in both manufacturing and service enterprises) and is the biggest employment provider after agriculture; providing employment to 59 million people (2006-07), which is supposed to grow to around 70 million by 2010. Producing more than 8000 products for national and international markets, SMEs’ contribution to India’s GDP has risen three-folds from 6.04% in 2000-2001 to 17% in 2009-10, and is expected to reach 22% by 2012.

Of all the problems faced by MSMEs, non-availability of timely and adequate credit at reasonable interest rates is the most significant. Despite its commendable contribution to the nation’s economy, SMEs do not get the required support from the concerned government departments, banks, financial institutions and corporates, which hampers its competitiveness in the national and international markets. One of the major causes for low availability of bank finance is the high risk perception of the banks in lending to SMEs and consequent insistence on collaterals (despite strict RBI guidelines not to insist upon collateral against a loan), which are not easily available with these enterprises. Manas Kumar Nag, CGM-SME, SBI, adds another perspective to the problem, “Generally, SMEs coming for loans are not aware of their financial position, which leads to lack of transparency and hesitation from our side.” The problem is most acute for micro enterprises and first generation entrepreneurs requiring small loans. Let us look at the options that are available to them.

In the year 2000, the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGMSE) was launched by the Government of India to provide collateral-free credit and strengthen the funding system to facilitate smooth flow of credit to the SME sector. To operationalise the scheme, GoI and Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) jointly set up the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE). Both the existing and the new enterprises were eligible to be covered under the scheme. Under this scheme, the lender should give importance to project viability and the borrower should avail the credit facility purely on the primary security of the assets financed. The Credit Guarantee Scheme (CGS) reassures the lender that, in case of any default by the unit that availed collateral free credit facilities, the Guarantee Trust would reimburse the loss incurred by the lender up to 80 to 85% of the credit facility.


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

Monday, September 03, 2012

Drunk pilots should be jailed!

It’s unbelievable that DGCA still does not cancel the flying license of a pilot flying drunk; the IIPM Think Tank does a critical analysis of the lopsided DGCA regulations

Last month, the DGCA announced that a pilot who gets caught drunk twice ‘might be’ sent for ‘rehabilitation’; and if caught thrice, the same ‘might’ lead to their job termination. Within two days of the announcement, DGCA upped the punishment post haste and announced that a pilot caught drunk once will have his or her license suspended for three months. A second time would lead to permanent suspension.

While the DGCA is self-applauding itself on its apparently stringent resolve to reduce drunk flying, one is flabbergasted at how lenient such a resolve is in reality, given the fact that pilots are responsible for the lives of more than a hundred passengers per flight. The DGCA should learn a lesson or two from the Delhi Traffic Police, which now has a zero-tolerance policy for drunk driving, where any driver caught driving drunk even once will have his/her license cancelled immediately (1378 licenses were cancelled by the Delhi Police in the last eleven months under this clause). Clearly, the DGCA feels that it’s all right to allow drunk pilots to keep flying.

Further, till now, the DGCA has been checking pilots through breath analysers before the flight starts, without keeping a check on whether the pilot drinks during the flight. Pilots know and realise this easiest method of avoiding getting caught. One is told that the DGCA, after so many decades of existence, has started advising such checks post the flight too.

We say that the DGCA diktat should have focussed on cancelling the licence of the pilot and jailing him. The Motor Vehicles Act already has this stringent provision of jailing for drunk drivers, with the term ranging from three months (for first time offenders) to six months (for repeat offenders). It’s unbelievably strange that the DGCA doesn’t believe in that.


Friday, August 31, 2012

TO EARN PROFITS, ATTRACT INVESTORS!

Global Investment Guru Jim Rogers, who Co-Founded the Quantum Fund along with George Soros (The Fund Returned 4,200% in ten years, as compared to the S&P 500’s 47% in the same duration), believes that commodities are a strong investment avenue for indian firms, and that the govt. should cooperate to make india inc. more profitable

When the economy gets better after the ongoing recovery mode, commodities will go up. And even if it doesn’t get better, commodities will remain the hot favourite, as governments would press to print more currency and whenever the government has done that in the past, real asset prices tend to go up, be it rice, wheat or natural gas. In the present situation, a credible investment and productive capacity for 25 or 30 years in the commodity field will be excellent whether the economies get better or they don’t. Most of the commodities tend to be fruitful but for the near future that is 2 to 3 years, agriculture will be a golden call.

With the recent mergers and acquisitions (M&As) activity heating up the Indian market, like any other economy, Indians are shelling-out a little extra for the target company. But these M&As are of no sense as they normally destroy value. Forget about making-profits with these deals. If an Indian company can, it should rather invest in the stock market over M&As as there is a lot of liquidity in the Indian market and a huge potential in stocks. So stocks are the right way to go if you want to make profits.

Talking about the comparison between India and China, when returns are considered, the Chinese market will outperform India in the short-term, but with India allowing foreigners to invest in the Indian market, India will be a much better market in comparison to China in the long-term. But considering the manner in which the government behaves and acts on important economic and corporate decisions at present, I am not really sure that the government in India actually means good. But if it does, India is really the place of more interest. Hence, for the time being, China is the preferred destination and Chinese companies would be my desired targets.

Talking about profit-making in the farm & agricultural sector in India, at present, a lot has to change. There has to be definite reforms in different sectors in India to unlock their potential specifically in agriculture, where India can be a leader in the global economy, as India has the soil, weather & location. Unfortunately, the government is ruining agriculture with all kinds of restrictions and despite thousands of Indian farmers committing suicide every year, the government is allowing the restrictions to develop. A farmer in India cannot have more than 5 hectares of land and these Indian farmers can never compete with their counterparts sitting in Australia and America. A farmer in India has the potential to own 10,000 hectares. The Indian government should open up the agricultural sector, so that it becomes much more competitive.


Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Style Police catches Sonam!

Sonam Kapoor’s co-star in Saawariya, Ranbir Kapoor, consciously toyed with the imagination of women as he danced with just his towel on, but Sonam herself recently came close to some inadvertent skin-show. At a promotional event organised for her upcoming film Aisha, Sonam nearly had a wardrobe malfunction incident, when it was noticed that she was having a rather tough time keeping her pants on. For someone who has been working very hard on being a style diva, such an event would’ve been disastrous!


Monday, August 20, 2012

Big, fat, hairy & audacious...

Quite a few global IT giants have proved that it takes just one big killer product or application to enter the Fortune 500 league. Finacle was supposed to be that for Infosys! Today, it contributes just about 4% to Infosys’ revenues. What went wrong? by Virat Bahri

The reputation of a thousand years could be built in one hour, as per an old Japanese proverb. Or one product, when you look carefully at the leaders of the technology industry today. Consider this: Microsoft for Windows, Google for search engine, Oracle for its database application, Apple for its iPod (whose success led to their latest killer product – the iPhone) and SAP for its SAP ERP software.

If one analyses the contribution of these iconic products to the revenues of these companies, one can conclude that while a diversified product portfolio is important, one big, formidable and audacious play is all a company needs to move from being good to being great.

Apple to apple comparisons (pun unintended) with Infosys may be a tough call, since the company has charted a different growth path. But when the company’s core banking product Finacle (launched in 2000) begin to gather rave reviews in the Indian, and the global banking space, many speculated that this was the killer application that would take Infosys into the league of greats.

If you measure Finacle by that yardstick, you are liable to be disappointed; since in revenue terms, the product’s contribution to Infosys’ total revenues is just around 4% for FY 2009-10! So it is not Google Search or Microsoft Windows. But a combination of vision and a certain degree of good fortune have been instrumental in Finacle reaching a turnover of $208 million in 2010 from $48.6 million in 2005, a CAGR of 33.74%. Meanwhile Infosys’ revenues are $4.804 billion for the year ending March 2010, and growing at a CAGR of around 23.7% over the past four years. But amidst the growing clutter, can Finacle retain its growth trajectory for the long term. B&E engaged in an exclusive interaction with Infosys Finacle global head Haragopal M., who discussed Finacle’s evolution and future ambitions.

Launched in 2000, Finacle was a right product at the right time for the Indian market at least. That was because Indian banks did not have any integrated platform at that time, and there was a strong need for providing anytime anywhere banking. This was in contrast with the developed world, where legacy systems were in place, which is why the core banking transformation started in Asia Pacific. That has provided Indian banks with an advantage as well, since their efficiencies have gone up quite phenomenally. Hargopal cites the transformation that core banking solutions have brought for Indian banks with some figures, “Average bank spending per capita of customer is around $76 in global banks, whereas a bank in India spends around $11-14. Indian GDP increased by 184% from 2000-2010, bank deposits rose by around 500%, lending increased by about 300-350%, but scale of banking staff has gone up by a mere 5%.”

Finacle has positioned itself on the propositions of scalability, richness of its functional software, flexibility, efficiency and execution capability. The company upgraded itself very quickly from being an ISV to a one stop consulting partner for all the needs of the clients. The major challenge was to integrate the system, piece by piece, even as the client’s regular operations were going on. As Hargopal puts it, “It’s like changing the engine of a Boeing during a transit landing flight!”


Friday, August 10, 2012

EXTEND TAX HOLIDAY

A NEEDED STEP TO MAKE HOUSING A REALISTIC PROPOSITION

In order to support developers’ efforts of promoting LIG/MIG housing projects, there is an immediate need for a tax holiday under section 80-IB (10) to make LIG/MIG housing a more realistic proposition. For the same, the cut-off date for eligibility should be further extended and tax holiday eligibility, based on project completion condition, should be restored. Even the tax holiday benefit under section 80-IA (4) (iii) is only for industrial parks notified up to March 31, 2011. We suggest that the time limit for notification of industrial parks under the New Industrial Park Scheme 2008 should be extended up to March 2015 as during the slowdown in 2008–2009, there were certain delays in the execution of the projects.

Integrated townships projects should be given incentives at par with infrastructure and single window clearance mechanism should be introduced for such integrated townships to ensure efficient execution. Integrated township projects deserve infrastructure status since while developing integrated townships, developers also develop the infrastructure comprising of roads, lighting, water drainage systems, et al, in and around the township.

Measures such as tax incentives should also be extended to developers who take initiatives for improving social infrastructure through Slum Redevelopment Projects/ Dilapidated Housing / Social Housing. Growth in commercial space during 2007 and 2008 was driven primarily by IT and ITeS sectors. But following the slowdown over the last two years, IT spending, particularly in the BFSI sector, has been hit. Therefore the minimum tenant requirement should be reduced to 10 units. Also, the time limit for notification of industrial parks under the New Industrial Park Scheme 2008 should be extended up to March 2015 and benefits under section 80-IA should be extended to developers.

Further, section 56(2) – section 56(2) of the Act should not be made applicable to the transfer of immovable property. In addition to the existing deduction of up to Rs.100,000, a separate limit up to Rs.200,000 deduction should be permitted for repayment of principal portion of housing loan for self occupied residential property.

Read more....

Wednesday, August 08, 2012

From 9,903 to 17,641!

After the euphoric bull run of 2009 it’s the stock pickers who will rock the market in 2010. Gyanendra Kumar Kashyap uncovers the front-runners and dark horses...

The Indian equity markets churned out one of the best annual returns (a whopping 76.35%) in 2009 – a reflection of investor confidence in the Indian economy’s resilience. Nonetheless, even after the euphoric rally, a number of questions remain over the market’s future course, most critically pertaining to the future course. After the unidirectional trends of the previous two years, 2010 is likely to usher in a period of volatility with the market moving in a broad trading range for the better part of the year. The bullish sentiment is likely to continue in 2010, only that it will be more selective than being broad based.

Mid and small cap indices are likely to outperform the key indices in 2010. Analysts expect about 12-15% gain for the key indices in 2010 from the current levels. However, the focus would gradually shift from macro driven unidirectional market moves to stock-specific investment opportunities based on earnings growth and absolute valuations. Given the current scenario wherein there are apprehensions regarding reversal of interest rate cycle led by spike in inflation, adverse impact of the withdrawal of the economic stimulus, the fears of further fiscal slippage and the sustainability test of global recovery; the markets could turn edgy in the first half of 2010.

The benchmark index, Sensex, is in a position of relative safety since it has retraced close to 70% of its prior downtrend making re-test of March lows (8,047 level) highly improbable. And if equity experts are to be believed, then 2010 is well poised to bear good returns. Moreover, the government is likely to mop up more than Rs.240 billion by divesting stakes in several state-owned companies and the primary route for this fund raising will be through initial public offers (IPOs). This will certainly provide the much needed fillip to the market rally in 2010. In fact, there are analysts who believe that if history can form any basis for future and if historic average internal rate of return of 17.25% per annum is maintained, then the Sensex can even reach astonishing levels of 1,00,000 by 2020. Although that’s quite pleasing, one would assume it’s an expectation more belligerent than required.

Like others, Dinesh Thakkar, CMD, Angel Broking, too is of the opinion that banking & infrastructure are the two sectors that will outperform in 2010. His reasoning is based on the pick in economic activity and high spends on infrastructure. Apart from infra, capital goods (as the investment cycle picks up with a lag in demand), media, retail and cement (a dark horse that could surprise positively amid pessimism) stocks could well surprise the investor fraternity in 2010. Clearly, if you have excess money, this is the place for you. If it’s a matter of your life’s savings, stay out!


Saturday, July 28, 2012

2010 was theirs! Is 2011?

FMCG Saw Some Heavy action on the M&A front last year. But, as The Industry matures and valuations rise, It’s The small-ticket Strategic Acquisitions that will drive the sector in 2011

If there was one sector that saw some heavy action on the mergers and acquisitions (M&A) front last year, it was fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). For the uninitiated, the total value of M&A deals ($797.83 million) in the sector in 2010 went up 16 times when compared to the 2009 figure ($47.94 million), and in fact, a whopping 23 times from the 2008 number ($33.97 million). Reason: India’s Rs.460 billion FMCG market remains highly fragmented with over 50% of it dominated by non-branded, unpackaged home made products. This certainly presents a tremendous opportunity for established brands, both domestic and multinational, to expand their reach across the country by pursuing inorganic growth strategies.

Several FMCG companies such as Dabur, Marico, Godrej Consumer Private Ltd. (GPCL) and Emami have already been snapping up companies or brands since 2010 to expand their sphere of activity. While GCPL did five outbound deals and one domestic deal in 2010, rivals Dabur and Marico forged two outbound deals each. In fact, a significant contributor to the growth registered in 2010 were outbound deals (domestic companies making acquisitions abroad). There were 18 outbound deals worth $506.90 million in 2010 as against four deals worth $45.5 million registered in 2009 and two deals totalling just $2 million in 2008. It was high valuations of local assets that drove the homegrown companies abroad. Considering this, there was certainly a rebound in M&A activity levels in FMCG in 2010. Companies which had postponed M&A activity in the past two years were clearly making up for the lost time in 2010. Sounds logical! But then, what about M&A’s in the sector in 2011? Does M&A activity in the sector continues to experience the same momentum as it was witnessing some six months ago?



Friday, July 27, 2012

Green to Gold and author of Green Recovery

In The Aftermath of The Global Financial Meltdown, Corporations are facing unique Challenges. The Future is in Incorporating and Capitalising on a Green Strategy writes Andrew Winston, Co-Author of Green to Gold and author of Green Recovery.

All of these pressures are making up for a green wave which is altering business dynamics permanently. Like it or not, companies and countries must deal with current and longer-term environmental issues while simultaneously working on current economic challenges. Luckily for businesses, the solutions to both economic and environmental problems overlap heavily. The same strategies and tactics that address long-term environmental challenges will help companies survive today’s economic conditions.

Companies that want to stay healthy today, and also get ready for the inevitable upturn to come need a strong green plan. In tight times, figuring out what to prioritise is even more important. I suggest focusing on four areas:
Get lean by revving up your energy and resource efficiency to survive the downturn.
Get smart by using environmental data about products and value chains to save money, innovate, and generate competitive advantage.
Get creative and rejuvenate your innovation efforts by asking heretical questions such as “Can we run our business with no fossil fuels?”
Get (your people) engaged and excited by asking employees to solve their own, the company’s, and even the world’s environmental challenges.
The four major areas of focus will benefit your company today and tomorrow. Betting on efficiency and getting lean will save you money quickly, but also make you more competitive in a future with higher resource prices and more questions from customers about your environmental footprint. Gathering data on the company’s environmental footprint up and down the value chain will help you identify high-priority areas for cost cutting today and make you smarter about where to focus longer-term innovation efforts. Getting creative means optimising today’s processes and operations and developing tomorrow’s new products and services. And of course, engagement and alignment of all your people makes all of these efforts possible. In short, green isn’t an additional, tangential pursuit that clashes with business functions; it is a core part of operations today.

In tight times, more than ever, a solid plan for a green recovery will make your company more competitive, no matter what its size.