The idiot box is feeling the heat of the number three race.

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The idiot box is feeling the heat of the number three race. The crown is passing hands almost on a monthly basis. A battle or two is won by every new channel. But who will eventually win the war? Pallavi Srivastava investigates...

‘Everything is transient and it’s unwise to hold onto things, as tomorrow they simply may not be around’ is what Lord Krishna preached in the Bhagavad Gita. Centuries later, the fight for the number three general entertainment channel (GEC) crown on the Indian teletube is becoming equally transient. After the launch of three new GECs – 9X, NDTV Imagine and Colors, GEC rankings are changing on a fortnight to fortnight basis. So what is it that is making viewers so volatile? Why are new channels unable to sustain their high TRPs (grabbed in the first flush of their launch)? And does that means that in the long run the GEC equation will just keep shuffling between Star, Zee & Sony?

Sample this: In May 2008, 9X was at number three with a channel share of 11% while NDTV Imagine and Sony lagged behind with a 9% channel share. In July 2008, NDTV Imagine led the number three race with 10% channel share, 9X followed with 9% channel share, Sony’s channel share was 8% and the newly launched Colors had 4% channel share. In August 2008 (from 1st August till 25th August), Colors jumped to number three with 12% channel share. Sony, NDTV Imagine and 9X followed with 9% channel share each (as per aMap ratings).

The numbers clearly indicate that every time a new GEC is launched it replaces the existing number three. But unfortunately the neonate is not able to sustain it for long and loses to another new kid on the block. Anooj Kapoor, Business Head, SAB attributes it to the novelty factor. “If there are three apple sellers in a market and the fourth one comes and shouts that I have different apples, a lot of people would want to taste his apples. But when they realise that his apples too are just the same, they return to the original three.” In between the hullaballoo created by new channels, veteran Sony has started regaining its lost TRPs, thanks to some innovative programming and some star value (a la Salman Khan in Dus Ka Dum). So much so, the second week of August saw Sony outshine 9X and NDTV Imagine, both in terms of GRPs and channel share.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Curbing Inflation

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...a power packed punch from RBI

Ever since the inflationary beast crossed RBI’s tolerance level on March 1, 2008, there has been no looking back. As a matter of fact since then inflation has surged by over 84%. In fact the Central Bank has finally accepted that curbing inflation is its prime objective and has been taking a series of measure to limit the beast. As an antithesis to the efforts, the beast has been galloping at a faster pace and is pegged at a 13 year high at 11.42%; it is evident that the public’s ‘tryst with inflation’ continues.

The two recent measures, increasing the repo rate (rate at which the central bank lends to banks overnight) and CRR (cash reserve ratio, proportion of deposits that banks are required to keep with the central bank) by 50 basis points (bps) will have its impact on the corporate houses as well as individuals. As a measure to anchor inflation, the hike in CRR will suck Rs.200 billion from the market and help in restraining demand. For banks already struggling with high borrowing costs, the added burden will only lower its earning from each loan. Amid tightening monetary policy, it is the individuals and the banks that are the worst hit; individuals will either have to increase their loan repayment period or else bear the brunt of increased lending rates. And for the banks the difference between the interest earned from loans and the amount paid to depositors will further narrow down. “The CRR and Repo rate hikes are larger than expected. These will increase the costs for banks who in turn are expected to raise lending and borrowing rates in the days to come. Higher rates are expected to impact both consumers and corporates,” Dipen Shah, VP, PCG-Research Kotak Securities tells 4Ps B&M.

Banks have already started raising their prime lending rates (PLR); SBI has increased its BPLR to 12.75%, Union Bank to 13.25% ICICI to 13.50% et al and others are considering similar moves. For an individual who wants to settle the loan repayment in time, it means an increased EMI (for instance, for an amount of Rs.2 million for a period of 20 years the EMI at 12.25% would be Rs.22,371 while in the present scenario it could be as high as Rs.24, 147). Further, corporates too need to rethink on their capex plans for the cost of working capital and long term debts are likely to move northwards. In such a scenario it’s only those who have surplus cash who can benefit by higher interest rates on their savings; but considering the double digit inflation the fears of negative interest on the surplus looms large.

However the question is, will the RBI continue tightening monetary policy? Tushar Poddar, VP Asia Economic Research, Goldman Sachs, avers, “The RBI will wait and watch inflationary trends over the next several weeks, particularly signs of pass through to broad based inflation and broad money growth, before raising rates again.” Well, as everyone battles with inflation RBI’s next review of the monetary policy will be worth watching.

Gyanendra Kashyap

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Epson Stylus CX5500

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Technical Specification

Excellent functionalities of 4-in-1: Print, Scan, Fax & Copy.
PRICE: Rs.5.5 lakh without taxes
WARRANTY: 3 months or 50,000 copies (whichever is earlier)

The printer is undoubtedly one of the best bets as it is the only entry AIO (printer-scanner-copier) offering 4 individual ink cartridges with a speed of 5760 DPI resolution (highest amongst other entry level models). “Its Dura-Brite Ink technology ensures water, fade and smudge resistant Prints. Moreover, Epson uses the Micro-Piezo Print technology which takes full control of the size, shape and placement of ultra fine Super Micro Dots and which are the important parts of any product lying the category,” asserts Rahul Addy, spokesperson, Epson. Its Low ink Cartridge is cheaper than others and starts from as low as Rs.250 each. The product has other important features like CCD technology, which helps it for 3-D scanning. The printer is small, portable, unlike big printers which are very difficult to carry, and is quite easy to move from one place to another.

Marketers’ delight: A high-precision letter edging on colour makes its high quality speak loud.

Tester’s note: Pros – Fast printing speed and excellent image printing. Overall looks, performance, speed and priced under 5K. Definitely a buy for those who have a limited budget yet want a high performing printer.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Fujitsu Lifebook LifeBook U1010 (3.5G)

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Technical Specification
Screen size: 5.6 inch; RAM: 1 GB; Operating Systems: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium; Processor: Intel A110 Ultra Mobile CPU (800MHz, 512k L2 Cache, 400MHz FSB)

PRICE: Rs.1,15,884
WARRANTY: 1 year

The first thing that you notice about the Fujitsu LifeBook U1010 is of course its size. Spread over just 5.6 inch of screen space, it’s closer to a PDA than a standard notebook. With a WideScreen LCD (1024*600 resolution), a passive touch panel, integrated Intel graphics, Realtek 100Base Ethernet, integrated web cam and a 56 key keyboard (with fingerprint reader), the notebook packs quite a punch. And yes,it weighs only 630 gm. But a RAM of just 1 GB can’t ensure a speedy performance.

Marketers’ delight: The LifeBook U1010 is compact and featherweight. Size is the USP; not performance.

Tester’s note: Pros – Ultra-portable. Good video performance. Reasonable price. Dual memory slot Cons – Slow performer. Mediocre battery life.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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Hopes & dreams, trapped under the rub(b)le

IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA

External factors dealt the final blow. Short-term external debt of commercial banks grew to $19 billion and spelled doom for the financial system of the country. Artificially supported ruble led to the warp of prices on export and import – competitiveness of Russian goods became low, it became inefficient to produce goods domestically. As a result, for example, 60% of food items were imported. The country had a clear oligopolistic socio-economic model with 10% of domestic companies producing 70% of goods. Consumption level was high and there was no saving. Everything which was produced was “eaten away”. Canceling export duties instead of excises led to inflating of energy prices, which also decreased competitiveness of domestically produced goods. Further, oil prices fell, which decreased budget revenues. Capital investment into the economy fell sharply too.

Moreover, published statistical data was often misleading. Informational war of oligarchs versus new reformers who came to power led to the fall of confidence in markets, among banks and foreign investors. Then the Asian crisis came to Russia and the country saw a massive sell-off of assets. There was an intensive capital outflow from the country. CBR’s interventions did not have an effect. Yields on GKOs exceeded 100%, money market rates overnight reached 170% and the stock market crashed. Moreover, the anti-crisis program was of no help and IMF didn’t agree to give the second rescue money tranche. Result – default.

But, then it was long back. Whether Russian economy has became sturdier or not is the real question now. Yes, certainly, it has. Currently Russia faces favourable external economic conjuncture (with oil prices above $110/bbl) and continues to accumulate economic and political weight in the world.

Russia’s annual GDP growth amounted to 8.1% y-o-y in 2007 while the nominal figure stood at $1.39 trillion. Unemployment rate amounted to 6.6% in February with 5 million people from the labour force currently unemployed. Disposable income of the population grew by 10.6% y-o-y in February 2008. Russia’s industrial production demonstrated good dynamics in February with 7.5% y-o-y growth figure. Despite all talks about poor democracy of elections, political risks were diminished with the end of the presidential elections campaign. The country will keep the economic course unchanged, which creates a sustainable background for healthy investment climate. Moreover, it retains positive ratings from leading rating agencies: Moody’s (Baa2), S&P (BBB+), Fitch (BBB+) with Moody’s further going to increase Russian rating soon.

Small number of emerging market economies can boast of such high results, which Russia achieved in recent years. Russian banking sector is also strong and shows good growth dynamics despite the fact that it was affected by global financial crisis triggered by the meltdown of the US housing market and sophisticated structured investment products. Gold and forex reserves of more than $500 billion, the Reserve Fund, the National Welfare Fund and higher than expected budget surplus lend confidence with respect to the strong support of the economy.

However, there are a lot of problems which the government is planning to solve: higher than expected inflation and increase in real disposable income of the population are some of them. Possible difficulties with payouts of corporate and banking foreign debt, which have been heavily discussed recently are exaggerated. Debt burden is moderate and is manageable. The situation on money market is also much better than expected before. The Russian economy, indeed has come a long way since 1998.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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GHULAM NOON - Curry king of london

IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA

GHULAM NOON
Curry king of london

Realms and realms of paper have been written on the success stories of Non-Resident Indians like L. N. Mittal, Sant Singh Chatwal et al. One person who sits pretty on this A-list of NRIs is Ghulam Noon, a UK based businessman who took age-old Indian culinary delights from an Indian woman’s kitchen to become one of the biggest suppliers of Indian food – frozen, chilled and packaged – internationally. His company, Noon Products produces more than 10,000 dishes for the highly sophisticated packaged food industry of London.

From a remote village of Rajasthan, to filling the shelves of supermarket stores with Indian cuisine, Noon has walked quite a distance. Witnessing the surge in Indian restaurants in London, gave him the idea for this novel concept. Instantly his venture was a runaway success with the Indian fraternity living in London. Noon Products was later taken over by Irish food conglomerate Kerry Group.

In March 2006, after loaning £250,000 to the Labour Party of UK, Noon became a key person to exercise his clout on the British politics. With such dynamism, Noon has come to symbolise the modern and much more liberated section of the Indian society.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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RANA KAPOOR - Knowledge driver

IIPM INTERNATIONAL - NEW DELHI, GURGAON & NOIDA

RANA KAPOOR
Knowledge driver
I have been extremely fortunate to have known Rana Kapoor, Founder/MD & CEO, YES BANK since the past 19 years. Rana Kapoor has completed 28 years in the banking industry, and he still believes in an important philosophy injected by his late father who believed that “the harder you work, the luckier you get.” Since his very early days in banking, he always nurtured a dream – that of building a world class knowledge-driven private Indian banks catering to a fast emerging India.

Despite several challenges faced in these past years, he successfully conceived the idea of YES BANK, a Bank that would create a strong platform for professional entrepreneurship, set the highest standards for corporate governance, professional integrity and transparency, set higher benchmarks in banking services, and create and share value with all stakeholders. As a professional entrepreneur, he has focussed on establishing a high quality, technology driven, state-of-the-art private Indian Bank catering to “Future Industries of India”, since mid-2003. Under his leadership, YES BANK is steadily evolving as the finest quality bank in India with exemplary business & financial outcome.

Kapoor envisages the bank in the role of a ‘money doctor’ and has a diagnostic approach to banking. He has also spear-headed various knowledge leadership and developmental initiatives in emerging sectors like the Food & Agri-business sector as well. He envisages India taking centre stage in the 21st century as the Global Knowledge-based economy, driven by fast-paced, growth focused corporates and exemplary entrepreneurship, and therefore believes in a knowledge driven approach focusing on the key growth sectors of the Indian economy.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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What about my loan

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The distress of the farmers can be understood through another set of statistics. “About 85% of outstanding debt of cultivator households from institutional agencies was in the interest range of 12 to 20% per annum. On the other hand, 36% of cultivator households’ outstanding debt from non-institutional agencies was at the interest rate of 20 to 25% and another 38% of outstanding debt at 30% and above. This shows the exploitative nature of non-institutional credit market,” stated the Radhakrishna Committee report.

Clearly, the Chidambaram’s loan mela will not help those it is meant for. Experts contend that the Finance Minister could have easily opted for other, more realistic, solutions to help the Indian farmer. Joshi thinks that the existing defaulters should have been made “eligible for another loan with a condition that previous ones will be waived off in case the first few installments of the new loan are paid back in time.” He adds that the government should have focused at long-term solutions to “augment farm incomes and empower farmers so that they are able to repay their loans.” Even Sharma admits that “a new mechanism has to be worked out to bail out farmers who have taken credit from the moneylenders, and crack down on a new breed of lenders, who charge exorbitant interest in the name of micro-finance. The loan waiver package does not address the real causes of growing indebtedness. It has to be accompanied with a road map that ensures that farmers do not pile up more debt in the near future. Or else, future governments will have to go in for yet another loan waiver.”

Others like S.L. Shetty, Director, EPW Research Foundation, believe that such loan melas “create a psychology amongst all classes of indebted farmers (even those who were willing to repay) to not repay their loans in future.” And the final word comes from Amir Ulah Khan, Director, India Development Foundation, who says that “the key to the success of the loan waiver (even in the form that Chidambaram expects) will be in the implementation of the scheme.” But knowing the delivery systems in the case of other welfare schemes in India, we know who will enjoy this Maha-Mela.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
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HCL’s ‘nano’ ambitions

IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

The company launches the smallest and the cheapest laptop

While India is still wondering about the practicality of Tata’s Nano project, another Indian manufacturer HCL has gone ahead and embraced the ‘Nano’ concept. HCL Infosystems has unveiled its MiLeap series, which is supposed to be the smallest and cheapest laptop available in the country. The notebook has a 7-inch LCD screen, weighs less than a kg and has an attractive starting price point of Rs.14,000.

Ajai Chowdhry, Chairman & CEO, HCL Infosystems Ltd. commented on the product, “This revolutionary new range of ultra portable laptops will herald in a new category of computing devices, opening up a wide range of new usage scenarios and application areas.”

Well, HCL’s MiLeap can definitely be called revolutionary when it comes to price. Before the launch of MiLeap, the entry level laptop segment was dominated by companies like Acer, Compaq & Zenith but even these companies were unable to break the important Rs.15,000 price point. While HCL is the first company in the world to launch a laptop at this price point, globally its counterparts are focusing more on performance and design. Recently, Apple launched its super-slim laptop called the Macbook Air. With its innovative slim design and ultra portable features, the ‘Air’ gives the mobile computing a completely new standard. Even Lenovo is revolutionising the mobile computing with its new IdeaPad range of low weight laptops.

With the tech giants realising the growing importance of laptops in daily life, the futuristic technological innovations in the laptop arena are going to be even more exciting.

B&E edit bureau: Neha Saraiya

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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The Queen of Wellness

IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Rajvi Mariwala connects with & understands Marico’s brands. She hopes to create a brand on her own in the future. But can she? BIKRAM KESHARI JENA presents an analysis

Although the pedigree factor is in play here, this 27-year-old gives you the feeling that she wishes to carve out a name on her own. There’s a strong underlying drive in her to become a self-made entrepreneur. Meet Rajvi Mariwala, daughter of Harsh Mariwala, CMD, Marico. So, while one can’t rule out the ‘Born with a Silver Spoon’ marque, one may have to keep it on the side in this case. Unlike the sons and daughters of several industrialists, Rajvi proved her worth before joining the family-owned business. During the first few years of her career, she spent time in other firms and climbed the corporate ladder like any other trainee.

An MBA from the University of Geneva, Rajvi has got the right training to prepare her to run the business. She might be in her twenties but she’s not short of experience. Apart from Marico, she has had stints at the US based Merci Corps North West and Trikaya Grey. In 2006, she joined Marico to shoulder the responsibility of creating new brands and positioning them. In the future, she hopes to create a new and successful brand and she’s willing to learn as well as wait for it to happen. Her ideal leader is her father, who has built one of the fastest-growing niche FMCG companies with an annual turnover of Rs.15.6 billion, which enjoys leadership in most segments that it is present in.

In the past year or so, Marico has initiated a slew of brand acquisitions and product launches, including Fiancee, Nihar, Manjal, and HairCode. Explains Asish Dangi, Analyst, Pinc Research, “The rationale behind the acquisition of Fiancee and HairCode was to enter global markets like Africa and South Asia. The brands are powerful and have given the company an upper hand compared to its competitors. Currently, the company’s growing at 20-25% globally, and this establishes that the brands have been successful. Thanks to Fiancee and Haircode, Marico controls a fifth of the Egyptian market in these respective segments.” Others contend that the strategy behind acquiring Nihar from Unilever India was to kill competition.


For example, when Marico acquired the coconut oil brand Nihar from Hindustan Lever for a total consideration of Rs. 2.27 billion in February 2006, it helped the company to increase its market share by nearly 9%. “The major gain has come in the Eastern India market where perfumed oils from Nihar have helped Marico in gaining an additional market share of over 40%,” as revealed by a recent study.

Stated a recent analyst report: “Marico is riding high on its international business. The journey so far in Bangladesh, Middle East, USA etc. has been very encouraging. We believe that the company’s experiment would continue as far as entry into other geographical regions is concerned.” It added that “Marico has acquired 4 brands in FY ’06, 2 in India and 2 in Bangladesh. These have helped the company achieve tremendous size, volume and market share. Further acquisitions cannot be ruled out, should it appear as a strategic fit to Marico’s portfolio.”

Rajvi has already received kudos for these actions. “Harsh Mariwala is no doubt a great visionary, but the way Marico was growing, it required the zeal of the next generation. Rajvi understands sales and branding well. Although a year is too short to prove her sole contribution, she will do great work with the brands in Marico’s portfolio,” affirms FICCI’s FMCG analyst, who has worked with the family.

As a professional, she’s hell bent to do justice to what the Marico name stands for. Rajvi has inculcated the ‘organisation’ philosophy. She thinks that Marico is about the organization & the team, and any individuals should not be highlighted. This was one reason why she refused to be quoted in this article. One of her colleagues in the division agrees, “Rajvi is very committed and focused, and professional interactions with her are really pleasant experiences.”

Rajvi has started mulling out strategies to strengthen Marico’s brands. According to a recent analysis, “Marico’s biggest strength lies in its brand management, whether regional or national, particularly in a commodity-like business where margins play a hide-n-seek game. Today, most of Marico brands command either leadership or challenger positions in their respective categories and hence enjoy premium pricing resulting in better margins. This also makes it easy to launch new products.”

But she has a long way to go from here. This is a learning experience, and she still works as a trainee. In addition, adverse external factors can spell doom for Marico’s growth strategy. For example, higher tax rates can slow down the sales of premium products. Similarly, an ongoing change in competitors’ strategy can harm Marico. Finally, if Rajvi fails to live up to her father’s expectations and is unable to manage future growth as well as the positioning of Marico’s brands, the company’s future can be a bit clouded. Its wellness can easily be threatened.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Trying hard for level playing fields

IIPM : EXECUTIVE EDUCATION

Sort out the operators & make sure that the consumer gets his due

The former Secretary of the Department of Telecom (DoT), Nripendra Misra, who was appointed Chairman of Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) last year has opened the Pandora’s box by aiming to bring in competition in telecom sector. His dual-tech policy allowing a single operator to provide both the CDMA & GSM services within the same circle, have set the operators marching to court and media. The other issue, which Misra would have to expedite in 2008 is related to 3G spectrum and broadbasing the broadband network across the nation. The 1967-batch IAS officer will have to do much & at a much faster pace in 2008 to make consumers happy.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
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Resurrecting the lost pride

IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence

We are only busy with the trinity of the big cats – tiger, lion & leopard and in contemporary India, the best known of the non-roaring big cats – the Cheetah, who are fastest land animal, has been forgotten. It can reach speeds between 112 km/h & 120 km/h and can accelerate from 0 to 110 km/h in three seconds, faster than most of the modern racing cars. Its hunting prowess attracted nobility, through 5,000 years, to keep it with them, & it was this practice, which has cornered it to few corners of the world, as it is biologically weak to breed in captivity. Moreover, growing human & livestock population caused reduction in Cheetahs’ habitat and that was major reason of it being extinct in India, since 1952. Cheetah is also in World Conservation Union (IUCN) list of vulnerable species. 90% cheetahs are now in Namibia & Botswana. “Earth is left with just 12,000 Cheetahs,” Dr. Divyabhanusinh, an authority on Cheetahs in India, told B&E. But, can’t Cheetahs be rehabilitated in India? In 100-200 sq. kms. of grassland, with sufficient prey base & vegetation, Cheetahs can be rehabilitated, Sinh said, adding that he had studied empty DNA of Indian Cheetahs and Botswana Cheetahs and they are same. Then, their Cheetahs can be rehabilitated in India. “Cheetahs can be brought from Botswana, where their growing numbers are harming human’s interests,” said Sinh. “The Narayan Sarovar in Kutch, holds the potential for introduction of the lost specie,” said Dr. Yadvendra Dev Jhala of Wildlife Insitiute of India.

“Lack of money isn’t hampering rehabilitation of Cheetahs in India, it’s absence of political will,” said Sinh.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
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IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
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IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Can Mallya’s Deccan and similar low-cost airlines handle the onslaught of a new competitor, Lalu’s Indian Railways? shashank tripathi of 4Ps B&M digs

IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence

As a kid, strange as it might seem, I always used to scoff at cartoons, especially the ones with superheroes. And through the years, my favourite hotshot target superhero always remained the man of steel, Superman! As comical as the reasons might seem, I had two to berate him. One, he was always there to do social service and save the world (I mean, come on, is there no other good reason for a superhero to exist?!); and two, he could fly (Oh please! Get real!). For me, Superman was, in short, a loser, who was like a sissy with just one pocket-full of Kryptonite! And who was, in fact, my favourite toon emperor? Uncle Scrooge! Consider this. Scrooge couldn’t ever fly; he was never there to do social service; and saving the world was as alien to his mind as the Indian football team thinking about qualifying for the World Cup. And what more, Scrooge could have eaten Kryptonite dry for breakfast and not have indigestion (till lunch at least)! So what was he there for? Money! Period! Scrooge didn’t care less about relationships, and lesser about what people think of his dressing sense!

I guarantee, the deja vu and the metaphoric similarity would hit you as hard as it hit me, if you were to compare – like I did – India’s low cost carrier (LCC) industry with a competitor they never expected, Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Indian Railways. Think about it, Lalu ‘Scrooge’ Yadav doesn’t care less about relationships, gives two hoots about what people think of his dressing sense or deportment, and would kick ‘world-saving’ ideas out of his dairy farm if it would cost him even a penny. But the one issue CEO Lalu has never lost sight of in all these years, is profit! The Indian Railways has perhaps never seen brighter times! And what, on the other hand, has the LCC industry focused on? Social service. What else would you call year after year of operating with humungous losses of thousands of crores, and still attempting to offer lowest prices to air travellers?

“There are no real pure low cost airlines in India and there will probably not be any in the future,” shared Maunu Von Lueders, CEO of Jet Lite, when I caught up with him, “In other words, even the best performers are bleeding and they’re trying to use Band-Aids to stop the bleeding!” Without doubt, the King of them all, Vijay Mallya, was and continues to be the poster boy of the aviation industry, rewriting the entire inflight experience to world class standards using Kingfisher Airlines, offering exceptional services at affordable prices. When Mallya jumped on to the LCC bandwagon using Deccan Aviation’s takeover, everyone expected this sector to have glorious days up ahead. But nobody had counted on fuel prices, eh!

But really, LCC’s competition had started way back in May 2004, when the UPA government was sworn in and Lalu took over the huge loss making Indian Railways as the Union Minister. Imagine how he would have felt. There was the authoritative government funded Rakesh Mohan Committee report, which forecasted that the sordid state of affairs of Indian Railways would guarantee over Rs.61,000 crore losses by 2015 and the only way out was privatisation.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...
domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Debashis Paul, Senior Vice President and General Manager, McCann Erickson

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

Debashis Paul, Senior Vice President and General Manager, McCann Erickson: Anand has an extraordinary sense of art direction, which is very contemporary, most relevant and striking. That’s why he is quite different from others. He has powerful visualisation and that’s why he can easily work on any theme, which is quite tough. He has mastered the skill of art direction and can easily understand the connotation of the theme and work on it very fast. Vaybhav, on the other hand, is a good creative thinker. He brings a lot of fresh ideas to the table. He is a radical thinker. As a person, he is reliable, professional and approachable to work with. Both of them have recently brought out a wonderful ad campaign on Reebok (I am my biggest challenge) with Bipasha Basu.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices in the domestic market

IIPM Ranked No. 1 B-School In Global Exposre - Zee...

Then there are other benefits on the cost side. As per sources at Air Deccan, Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) prices in the domestic market are valued at 170% of international standards. That basically means that operations on international routes would guarantee cheaper ATF prices, thereby lowering the costs for the airlines. Aniket Mhatre, Aviation Expert, PLIndia convincingly states, “The costs for international operations are lower as ATF outside India is at Rs.32/litre as against Rs.49/litre in India. As ATF contributes to about 40-45% of airlines costs, costs for flying international are lower (as you can refuel overseas, as Air India does). Hence, international yield per seat is higher.” Agrees Rajeev Batra, Executive Director, KPMG, “ATF is a controlled commodity in India. It is not so abroad, instead being freely tradeable. Naturally, players flying abroad will stand to gain from this.”

The fact bears significance considering that Indian carriers have had a poor record where operating statistics are concerned (refer Figure 4) with most reporting higher operating expenses than revenues. Then there is also the attractiveness of price restrictions, which apply on international routes that are more regulated and therefore create a scenario where loss-making can be avoided by careful pricing method. As Craig Jenks, President, Airline Projects Inc. asserts, “Globally, international traffic grows faster than domestic traffic and so it is an interesting opportunity. In India, domestic market has been growing faster, resulting in excessively low fares. International routes are more attractive since they are restricted by the government.” What this implies is that restricted access to these routes means lower levels of dog-fights for the operating airliners – some relief for domestic carriers, which have been bearing the brunt of predatory pricing for years now! “Long-haul operations are always more profitable since they lower the operations cost. Bigger planes will offer you three times bigger capacity than small ones in domestic routes. Margins for international carriers are always more than that of domestic depending upon sectors…” is how Jet officials put it.

But do these opportunities come sans challenges? “International operations provide a greater diversification of revenues, generate greater feed for domestic operations and may suit the strategic objectives of an airline, but the challenges should not be underestimated. International flights test you on both the quantity and quality factors,” says Somaia. With Air India having under-exploited international opportunities for years now, it’s time for private carriers to show that they have stronger wings to fly greater distances. That was the quantity challenge. There is another challenge factor though – that of quality. Can Indian operators provide long-distance, international flight travellers with that kind of top notch services, which maybe a BA or a Lufthansa can offer? “Yes, why not? Indian carriers can compete effectively with their global counterparts on the service parameters. We can capture up to 50% of the international traffic in India in the mid-term,” snaps back a Jet official.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
4Ps Power Brand Awards 2007
When IIPM comes to education, never compromise
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!

HDFC

When IIPM comes to education, never compromise

Investee: HDFC

Investor: Carlyle Group

Investment Value: $650 mn

Says Tejinder Singh, Analyst, Arihant Capital Markets, “The rationale for the deal is primarily the Indian growth story, which HDFC has successfully reflected. Carlyle Group has shown much interest in the housing finance domain, a niche area; thanks to the surge in disposable income of Indians. Its interest in this domain is also highlighted by the fact that it has picked up a significant stake in Repco Home Finance for a cool $27.7 million. For the purpose of growing, expanding and even maintaining its position in the market, a lot of capital will be needed and thus the association will be a long term one. Though they have no clear categorisation, it is the overall industry opportunity that guides their investment in India. Be it Repco or HDFC, it goes on to prove that investments being made by Carlyle in this segment are long term in nature. Besides capital, PE firms also bring with them international expertise in terms of technology and management, besides closely monitoring management developments.”

The deal between Indian mortgage major Housing Development and Finance Corporation (HDFC) and the New York headquartered PE giant Carlyle Group set a new record for PE transactions in India. Following the foot steps of ICICI Bank, HDFC struck a deal valued at Rs.26.38 billion (Rs.1,730 per share), which gave Carlyle Group a 5.6% stake in HDFC. The deal was a part of the larger vision of HDFC to raise Rs.31.14 billion by selling 18 million shares. The investment for its first Indian deal was made from Carlyle’s large cap fund (Asia Partners II). HDFC has plans to use a part of the proceeds to maintain its 23% stake in its subsidiary HDFC Bank. A part of the proceeds will be further used to fund growth in HDFC’s insurance (which needs over Rs.6 billion every year) and mortgage businesses.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
IIPM, GURGAON
IIPM - Admission Procedure
IIPM is A World of Career
Why Study Abroad When IIPM Gives You 3 global Advantages!