Showing posts with label guru economist. Show all posts
Showing posts with label guru economist. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 30, 2010

The Barefoot Blueprint

Highlights: From 1972 to 2007, the Barefoot approach has reached three million men, women and children living below poverty line through 20 community based organisations all over India.

Drinking water: 3140 hand pumps installed: 1042 hand pump mistries trained repairing hand pumps in 764 villages in seven states. Reaching nearly one million people.

Alternative energy: Solar lighting to 9347 houses, 274 night schools, distributed 4736 solar lanterns. 289 Barefoot Solar Engineers trained. One 30 KVA micro-hydel plant established in Ladakh providing lighting to 150 families. One Reverse Osmosis (de-salination) plant powered by 3 KWp solar power plant.

Barefoot architecture: Barefoot Architects have constructed 200 houses for the homeless in 76 villages benefiting 3000 families in Rajasthan. Fabricated 178 geodesic domes of scrap metal with ferrocement roofs in 56 villages for 4000 rural artisans in six states.

Education: 714 Night Schools in 673 villages for 235,000 dropouts (170,000 girls) attending school for the first time in eight states

health: Barefoot College is working through a network of 605 traditional midwives: 231 Bare foot doctors, 14 barefoot lab technicians.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Wednesday, June 09, 2010

Unsuccessful attempt to kill al Qaeda

On Jan 13, 2006, American UAVs fired multiple missiles into the village in an unsuccessful attempt to kill al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri. In October 2006, the first drone strike killed 82 people, mostly children, which in turn triggered the very first attacks against Pakistani forces. They started integrating houses and bazaars into defence. And if that was not enough Lashkars and political agents were attacked and killed. “Lashkars are tribal militia who restore order in these regions. They are neither raised not supported by the government. It is an age-old system that cannot be controlled. We only intervened when things got out of control of the Lashkars,” adds Nauman. Among other incidents, political leaders and NATO supplies were targeted and locals were abducted for ransom. In the areas controlled by militants, girls’ education was banned and basic rights were gravely endangered.

The limit came when Taliban started collecting revenue and issuing permission for commercial activities. A letter seeking permission to open a factory was displayed. Beside it was a letter on Taliban’s letterhead that had promptly granted the permission to move ahead. The army intervened. However, the tribal asked for nanawatai fearing civilian casualties. The army complied when the 700 elders of Mamund Tribe signed the 28-point document of surrender.

However, the lull was utilised by Taliban to strengthen their stronghold. But the Pakistan army also benefited from the ceasefire. Taliban was stripped of its ideology, its propaganda whip and the most important constituent of its plot, that is, the claim for execution of Sharia laws. After months of myopic irresolution the government mustered the guts and decided to call their bluff. Notwithstanding harsh censure from within the country and abroad, Islamabad accepted the demand. After achieving what Taliban claimed it was fighting for, they lost their lead cause to go on committing slaughter in the name of acting out an “Islamic Renaissance”. But they did not stop. The local populace turned against them. The army launched Operation Sher Dil in August 2008.

It was started to stop the imminent fall of Khar, headquarters of Bajaur agency, to the Taliban. The focus then shifted to Dara, Mullah Syed and Banda areas. Rashakai, Tang Khatta, Mamoond, Bai Cheena, Bicheena, Delay, Nisarabad, Niag Banda, Charmang and Khazana, were also targeted due to the largest concentration of Tahreek-e-Taliban (TTP) there. The land here is perforated with several wet and dry river beds making road progress toilsome. On August 6, 8,000 troops from the 14th Division, backed by 20 Cobra attack helicopters from the 31st and 32nd Squadrons and fighter jets pounded Taliban holdouts. It was a great display of force and might.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Silk routes back in vogue!

The new trade routes can alter the power equation in Asia

The entire trade route of Asia seems to be undergoing a major overhaul. Almost every Asian nation, including China, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and many other similar economies are banking upon their maritime and sea-routes (containers and ship fleets) to boost their trade and dominate the trade routes. Add to this, the rise in the naval strength of countries like China, India, Japan and Korea to fortify their presence on the vast spread of water.

However, beside these conventional trade routes, new and strategic trade routes are also being chalked out by countries to bend the rules of international trade and eventually the power equation in the region. Numerous gas and oil pipelines are already crisscrossing Central Asia. A 7,000 km long Turkmenistan–China natural gas pipeline is already meeting energy demands in China and is also allowing Turkmenistan to diversify its energy-export clients beside Russia and Iran. Similarly, other projects like Kazakhstan–China direct oil pipeline, Iran-Pakistan project — to name a few — are under construction. Even the cross-country road connectivity is being designed. India is actively refurbishing roads in Afghanistan while China is connecting Myanmar with road networks. Myanmar has also proposed to expand a planned road project with Bangladesh to link China in a tri-nation network which is believed to boost multilateral trade and will also allow them to check the on-going smuggling and illegal crossings. In the same lines, countries are also designing and re-designing rail routes. China already has rail routes in Tibet and is planning to expand it to Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan. China is also planning to build a high-speed railway network across Asia and Europe through Central Asia, thus connecting 17 countries (linking China with Singapore, Germany, Europe and Russia). This is predicted to not only strengthen its trade and economy but will also allow China to fortify its regional and global integration goals, especially in Central Asia. China is also building a new airport near Mt Everest, which will make easier for the passengers to travel to the Himalayan Kingdom and also to make Chinese presence around Tibet quite apparent.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Friday, June 04, 2010

“Ekla Chalo re” (Go alone if necessary)

Mamata has taken a risk and roped in important veteran Congress leader Subrata Mukherje and youngster Mahua Moitra of the Rahul brigade. The present scenario, though not rosy, favours her more than the left. But, the ‘down but not out’ CPM will not allow that to happen easily and has showed extraordinary unity within the Front. They are reaching out to people with folded hands, begging pardon for the past mistakes and failures. On the 150 year birth anniversary of tagore, if Mamata’s call is “Ekla Chalo re” (Go alone if necessary), then Left Front’s slogan is “du bela morar aage morbo na bhai morbo na” (fight till the last breath).

Yet, it is advantage Mamata. Although the alliance is nowhere, piecemeal seat- sharing arrangements can emerge. The pattern of seat sharing is not uniform at all levels. In past municipal elections Trinamool and the Congress have even had understanding with the BJP. But, that is not possible at the Assembly level. So, the Left leaders want to utilise this situation to consolidate strength and gain extra energy for the ensuing Assembly polls. LF chairman Biman Bose has stressed on garnering 50 per cent-plus votes at each booth. Although that is 11 per cent less than that of the last civic body polls in 2005, it is seven per cent higher than that of the last Lok Sabha election. It is tough but that is the goal, Bose admits.

Mamata’s TMC is a one-person show, just like in the case of Mayawati or Jayalalithaa. Since the leader’s decision is the party’s decision, taking a stand is easier. But there is a flip side too. Unquestionable allegiance to the leader functions as a deterrent. The call for change can be a cause of anxiety for Mamata. Her change entails only changing the faces, not in behavioural approach or in governance. Substantive news reports are flowing in regularly from two district Panchayats– South 24 Parganas and Midnapore – ruled by TMC alone. They are repeating the same mistakes which saw the Left booted out. If the TMC supremo ignores these factors, her call for change may boomerang.

In the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, Sonia gave in to Mamata Banerjee’s demands. But 2011 is the year of Mamata’s reckoning. The political path is always slippery. There is no vacuum and Mulayam Singh Yadav is ready to fill the void, so is Lalu Prasad Yadav. Mayawati is always game for a bargain. Mamata’s actual assessment will come in 2011 as she is expected to take the reins of state power. That path will be decided in these civic polls.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Employing prisoners in call centre is a good precedence

The fact remains that the country with over 115 crore population and with estimated unemployment rate of over 9 per cent while its counterparts like Brazil and china have unemployment rate of just 7.4 per cent and 4.2 per cent respectively. Which also means that over 10 crore Indians are unemployed. Horrifyingly, over 60 per cent of the workforce is engaged in agriculture. What is more horrifying is that almost 92 per cent of the workforce is in unorganised sector. And only over 10 per cent have regular employment. With over 389 universities, 16,000 colleges and 1,500 research institutions, India produces more than 2.3 million graduates and about 750,000 post-graduates every year. Sadly, 25 per cent are employable which means that country is having inadequate skill development training programmes.

Solution? It actually lies within the problems itself. India needs to revamp the skill development and training programmes. It needs initiatives to bring more and more workers into the organised sector starting from professionals working in MNCs to rickshaw pullers in the city streets.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Red protests turn ugly

The movement has altered long-held views of Thai politics

A famous joke about Thailand that has been repeated ad infinitum in the diplomatic circles world over, is that this country is the world’s long lasting fledgling democracy. Funny as it might be, one could not have agreed more. The Army, the Palace, the judiciary—every institution in this country is a power centre except its people. This has shaped much of Thailand’s political discourse over the years. This week, it reached its pinnacle.

The brutal conflict between troops and anti-government protesters has accelerated in the Thai capital after the administration cast off a call by the so-called Red-Shirts for UN-mediated talks. The regime, on its part, said that since Thailand is a sovereign nation, it won’t accept outside mediation. On the other hand, in a significant departure from their earlier stance, the Red-Shirts, have agreed to accept the proposal by the Senate Speaker who wants to mediate the talks.

Earlier this week, the administration provided buses to allow women, children and the elderly among the Reds to abandon the large encampment they have been using for many weeks. The new round of negotiation will reconsider the proposal made by Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, who had offered to call snap polls in November—a full one year prior to the expiry of his term. However, what followed was the typical battle of nerves where both the regime as well as the Reds refused to cede further grounds.

After weeks of fooling around, both the sides now mean business. The regime insisted that it will carry on with its crackdown aimed at choking off the Reds, who have captured, and held, about 3 sq. km of protest zone blockaded by fuel-soaked tyres, bamboo spikes and reinforced by Molotov Cocktail carrying youths in Bangkok’s posh commercial and tourism hub. A special order that empowers the Army with sweeping power to “restore order” was expanded to 22 of Thailand’s 75 administrative divisions, up from 17 last week.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Monday, May 03, 2010

Shadows of history

He pointed out that when he was the foreign minister of India, he proposed that there should be no city-wise visa. The constituency of peace needs to be pushed forward and the people of the subcontinent have to play their vital role in this regard, he said.

The Kashmir issue can be resolved only through talks; it was high time that there were good relations between India and Pakistan because peace would not prevail until there were good relations between the two countries, Singh maintained. We need continuous engagement if we want to resolve Kashmir issue. India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are unique and we should answer our questions ourselves instead of looking towards the West, he said.

He said that for an author, one's book was like a child and burning a book was like burning a child. Singh also shared his remorse over the extremist reaction caused by his book in India. They should have at least read the book before punishing me, he said.

Prior to the Kargil conflict, Singh and Vajpayee came from Amritsar to Lahore on a bus and the Lahore Declaration was signed; but hardly had the ink of the agreement dried when the Kargil War happened. Don't ask me what you did, he said, adding that Siachen was not a water-related issue and needed to be resolved at the earliest. Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was the ambassador of Hindu-Muslim unity and he was an Indian for most part of his life, Singh said, adding that the shadows of history were the main stumbling blocks in the peace process in the subcontinent. "Let the people come forward," he remarked.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Monday, April 12, 2010

The issue of human cloning is a grave ethical concern

Nevertheless, some concerns related to biotechnology are clearly not baseless. Technical issues like proper genes delivery mechanism, limited knowledge of the functions of genes to be used, multigenes disorders and environmental impact are yet to be properly researched and clarified. Also, the spectre of evil use of biotechnology is also looming large, as there is danger of biological weapons passing into the hands of terror groups.

The issue of human cloning is a grave ethical concern. Combined with nano-technology, this field is expected to (in the near future) provide workable solutions to reverse aging completely. The sociological dilemma that humans will have has not even been discussed properly, leave alone researched. Nevertheless, the good that biotech can do is still overwhelming. Over 9 million people die worldwide every year out of hunger and malnutrition, of which 5 million are children. GM crops do carry the promise of helping them out. 7.6 million people die out of cancer annually. Around 31.3 million adults and 2.1 million children had HIV by the end of 2008. Can biotechnology save such cases? Perhaps. Should research be promoted? Definitely.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Friday, April 09, 2010

A brief visit isn’t enough for this place

“About six lakh tourists visited Gulmarg last year. This year we are expecting more, so we are trying to develop the infrastructure by giving licences to the locals to set up guest houses in the area,” Ilyas Nasir, chief executive officer, Gulmarg Development Authority, told TSI. Pahalgam is another beautiful place where tourists from across the country and foreigners prefer to spend much time during their Kashmir visit. Pahalgam was once a preferred location for Bollywood films. It is located at an altitude of 2130m above sea level amidst the great Himalayan range. A two-hour drive (95 km east of Srinagar) leads to this beautiful place which presents glamorous look due to its pine forests, snow clad mountains, healthy climate and vast meadows and pastures. The place is Kashmir's premier resort, cool even during the height of summer when the maximum temperature does not exceed 25 degree centigrade. The Liddar river is popular for trout fishing. Travellers interested in fishing have to obtain a licence from the Directorate of Fisheries in Srinagar which is being easily provided to them. Pahalgam is the starting point of a number of trekking and hiking trails to the surrounding mountains.

Trekking around Pahalgam is exhilarating, as it takes the traveller through virgin pine forests, clear mountain streams, and meadows of wildflowers. Pahalgam is also the entry point for the famous Amarnath Cave, a holy site for Hindus. Most of Amarnath pilgrims choose to return back from the Baltal route to see charming beauty of Sonamarg.

Sonamarg (meadow of gold), situated at an altitude of 2730 m has snowy mountains as its backdrop. The Sindh river that meanders through the valley abounds with trout and mahaseer. Ponies can be hired for the trip up to Thajiwas glacier, which is a major local attraction during the summer months. Sonamarg is the base of a major trek that passes along several mountain lakes –Vishansar, Kishansar, Gadsar, Satsar and Gangabal. Sonamarg is also the take off station for the drive to Ladakh across the Zojila, a major pass in the Great Himalayan Range, through which the Srinagar-Leh Road passes.

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, April 08, 2010

A haven for eco tourists

It has some way to go before it can match the best, but gujarat's lone hill station is still ideal for a weekend family holiday

There are plenty of holy places across the state of Gujarat. Every single day, hundreds of thousands of tourists visit these spots. This probably reflects the religious mindset of the Gujarati people.

But along a1600-km-long sea coast from Saurashtra to Surat, the state also has numerous sandy beaches – Chorvad, Somnath, Dwarka, Ahmedpur Mandvi, Tithal and Dumas. However, due to lack of a concerted tourism-centric approach, these beaches have remained untouched.

But not so Gujarat’s solitary hill station, Saputara, which, too, has suffered years of government apathy. But happily, the Gujarat government has turned its attention to this tourist spot of late and chances are that Saputara will evolve in the years ahead.

Saputara is located1000 metres above sea level. For many Gujaratis, Saputara is not so much a hill station as a retiring spot en route to Shirdi in Maharashtra. Waghai is South Gujarat’s tiny town with a humble tribal population and dense jungle. Most tourists use this route to reach Saputara as it is directly linked to Ahmedabad, Baroda and Surat. Another road to Saputara is from Ahwa, the district headquarters of Dang, Gujarat’s smallest district.

The bus ride from Ahwa takes three hours and the road is treacherous. It is like a roller-coaster ride and, halfway through the journey, I feel like throwing up. But as I breathe the fresh air of the hills, I begin to feel much better.

In 1960, after Gujarat was carved out from Mumbai state, the government decided to develop Saputara as its only hill station. Nestled in the womb of nature, this sleepy resort attracts tourists that are endowed with an adventurous streak. Saputara's eco tourism circuit, too, attracts many.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Tuesday, April 06, 2010

Stop al-Qaeda and the Taliban

Arif N Pervaiz, an eminent environmentalist and independent consultant, said Washington would not be of any help in resolving the water dispute with India. “No third country can solve a bilateral water dispute between India and Pakistan.” There are apprehensions among peace activists in Pakistan that acquiring sophisticated weapons from the US would escalate the arms race between two nuclear-powered South Asian neighbours who have fought four unproductive wars since achieving Independence.

Executive Director of Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) Karamat Ali recently said that the “permanent establishment” in the two neighbouring countries do not want peace in the subcontinent. Since the Mumbai carnage, he said, the US had sold armaments worth $15 billion to both Pakistan and India and it seemed that the two countries were now the main buyers of weapons from the superpower.

Ali said that there was a five-to six-fold increase in conventional weapons after Pakistan and India tested nuclear bombs, despite the fact that it was propagated that a nuclear bomb would be a “deterrent”.

But Pakistan’s top defence analyst and scholar Dr. Hasan Askari-Rizvi rejected the notion that in the current situation the subcontinent might witness an escalation of the arms race between the two South Asian neighbours.

“The military assistance from the US will not start an arms race between Pakistan and India because India is obtaining weapons keeping in view its requirements and Pakistan is also acquiring equipment primarily to cope with terrorism pressures,” he told TSI.

Dr. Askari-Rizvi agreed that the “strategic dialogue” between Pakistan and the US has been “reasonably successful” in addressing the issues between the two countries.

“They have agreed on a framework for pursuing bilateral relations, including the Afghanistan problem,” he said. “The US is now shifting the focus towards long-term socio-economic development of Pakistan while keeping the security concerns in mind, war on terrorism and upgrading the military,” he 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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Monday, April 05, 2010

There is an urgent need for reforms in the food processing sector

Better news for those willing to delight the Indian food-lovers is the fact that expenditure on food items account for the largest chunk of expenditure for Indian households; they spend 31% of their incomes on it. By 2015, the Indian food industry is expected to clock turnover figures of $258 billion, from $181 billion registered in 2008. In India, increase in food consumption has happened more due to an increase in per capita expenditure, rather than an increase in the number of mouths being fed. And the urban-rural divide is visible here too. Economic liberalization causing a growth in the urban middle class and their disposable incomes has taken urban food consumption far ahead of rural India.

But, in stark contrast to the developed world and even some of our developing counterparts, India’s total food processing output is estimated at $70-75 billion – just 40% of value of the entire food industry. It is presently growing at a CAGR of 15%, but is predicted to leapfrog at 35% per annum in the future. From mind crunching numbers to headcount, the sector employs an estimated 15 million people. According to an analysis by Dr. J. S. Bedi, “without any replacement of labour, the employment intensity in the organised food processing sector per million rupees of investment currently stands at 1.8 directly and 6.4 indirectly.” As far as the unorganised section of the food processing industry is concerned, there the employment intensity is estimated to be approximately 10 for both direct and indirect employment per million rupees of investment. However, there are concerns as whenever Indian agriculture goes into a state of disarray, farm processing runs into a rough patch. A sneak peak into the economics & dynamics of the sector, and you realise that it scores just a tad better than agriculture, which in India, still remains largely subjected to the vagaries of the weather!

What are the roadblocks and challenges going ahead? Currently, the food processing industry is both nascent and highly fragmented. In sharp contrast to developed countries and even China where food retailers are much larger than food processors and producers, India’s packaged and processed food makers are much larger than food retailers, largely because of the 100% level of FDI allowed (as compared to zero FDI allowed in food retailing where many brands are sold).

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Two new IPL franchises were sold-off by BCCI at record high rates

Three years back, when IPL was born, Mukesh Ambani and Vijay Mallya paid Rs.441 & Rs.440 crore respectively to purchase Mumbai Indians and Bangalore Royal Challenger franchises. Many pundits had then questioned their vision, calling it nothing more than a mirage; they were wrong. IPL turned into a trusted and successful sporting brand, turning profitable during just the second year, for both the BCCI and the franchise owners. And what equity it had built in just the first year. Despite general elections forcing the entire tournament out of the country, brand IPL did not lose its glitter; instead it shone brighter, thanks to some great advertising prior to the third edition. According to market experts, IPL 3 will generate Rs.1000 crore in ad-revenues. Even in terms of viewership, IPL no longer looks a 3 year-old infant. TAM (Television Audience Measurement) reports prove how viewership has increased by 6% this season, as compared to IPL 2, with more than 67 million viewers watching the first three matches of IPL 3 in India alone. The story as far as global audience goes is similar. With IPL matches being broadcasted live on YouTube for the first time, viewers in UK, US and Australia are showing keen interest in IPL. [This online strategy has also created a huge buzz in the country.]

There is a danger however – of ad-rates hitting the ceiling, which would therefore divert advertisers to other formats, as Sam Balsara, CMD of Madison World says, "IPL may turn in to a Golden Goose. Due to overhype, the ad-rates of IPL slot is too much now. This may slowly divert advertisers from IPL to other cricketing events. But at this moment IPL is rocking!" As per a London-based brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance, the value of IPL 3 (at $4.13 billion) is twice that of IPL 2 ($ 2.01 billion). But is this growth a sustainable one? Brand Finance says, it is. Even a pumped up Modi says, “IPL will become the world’s biggest sporting brand!”

Coming back to where we started. Should the very expensive $300+ million purchases of the Pune and Kochi camps be questioned? To answer it in a line, when Mallya and Senior Ambani paid hundreds of crores of rupees for two teams, three years back, they earned many criticisms. Today they are earning riches. Undoubtedly, there will be expenditures for the two new teams, but can you forget the umpteen sponsors who are willing to even plaster the batsmen's helmets with their logos? You have our answer right there. Pune & Kochi, the bidding dates are nearing!
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, March 26, 2010

After many years of waiting, Pranab Mukherjee says RBI will issue licences to new banks

Ever since the banking sector opened up in 1993, the regulator has given out just 12 licenses (of which 10 were given in the first year, while two were given in 2002 to Kotak Mahindra Bank and YES Bank). Therefore, this announcement came as a good tiding to many public, private players and NBFCs (of the likes of Shriram Capital, Sahara, Reliance Capital, the Aditya Birla Nuvo group, Bajaj Auto group, L&T Finance, Tata Capital, Indiabulls, Religare, Exim Bank, IFCI and SIDBI), who have for long, worked on blueprints to make a name in the Indian retail banking arena. To represent the joys at the bourses in numbers, at the end of the Union Budget day, the Religare stock (an NBFC) had inched up by 3 per cent, Aditya Birla Nuvo gained 4 per cent, Reliance Capital grew by 8.1 per cent while Bajaj Auto Finance surged 5.3 per cent. Expressing his intentions in this regard, Sunil Godhwani, CEO & MD, Religare Enterprise, says, “Banking is a natural progression for any integrated financial services player...” As a company official says, “Religare is currently waiting for a banking licence, and at present, talks are on with the ministry.”

The entry of these new players in a sector which at present has 96 scheduled commercial banks [27 public sector banks (which hold over 75 per cent of the total assets of the banking industry), 31 private banks and 38 foreign banks], with a combined network of over 53,000 branches, will not only increase competition and dilute PSU involvement, but will force some change in the functioning of the banking domain as a whole. But despite hopes that these new banking aspirants will increase penetration of banking services in the country (only 6.4 per cent of the branches of new private banks are in rural areas), the question is: are they prepared yet?

Under the current guidelines, a new private sector bank should have a minimum net worth of Rs three billion, and no single entity or group of related entities can hold more than 10 per cent in a bank. There is a distinct possibility that RBI may increase the minimum net worth limit to at least Rs five billion, but many participants are confident of making the cut; one of whom is Ajay Srinivasan, CEO, Birla Financial Services, who says, “We welcome this initiative and will definitely apply for a licence. We are confident of meeting any eligibility criteria that might be set.” While talking about the change in the eligibility criteria for these new entrants, Usha Thorat, Deputy Governor of RBI says, “We have to work on it. It’s a long process and will take some time.”

Evidently, RBI is not pleased with Pranabda’s positively eager approach on opening up; and however hard the Ministry of Finance may try, RBI has historically been known to have the wherewithal to pull the plugs where necessary. How long before this ‘promise’ becomes a ‘policy’? Two years is our estimate; earlier is our hope; right now is an impossibility – forget it!
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Anti-Cuba terrorist groups

For close to four decades now, anti-Cuba terrorist groups based in Miami have been involved in a number of terrorist activities against Cuba, or against everyone who campaigns for normalisation of affairs between the US and Cuba. According to several estimates, nearly 3,000 Cubans have died as a result of their actions.

The world watched in dismay when terrorist Luis Posada Carriles was released from jail in the US. Posada Carriles masterminded the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner, which killed 73 people, and a string of bombings of Havana hotels and nightclubs in 1997. Efforts to extradite him to Venezuela, where he is also wanted in the jetliner bombing, have failed. Radical groups in Miami like ‘Commandos F4’ and ‘Brothers to the Rescue’, function with absolute impunity from the US soil to attack Cuba – with the knowledge and occasional support of the FBI and the CIA. It was to contain them that Cuba decided to send them to Miami to monitor the activities of these radical groups. After several months of meticulous planning, the Five, or the Miami Five as they are called at times, managed to infiltrate the group and started sending warning about the imminent attacks.

However, the FBI arrested the Five on September 12, 1998, and held them in internment for 17 months in Miami jail. The seven-month-long trial was a virtual witch-hunt. Defence attorneys’ motions for a change of venue were declined on five occasions by the judge, although it was obvious that a fair trial was close to impossible in Miami. Finally, on June 8, 2001, the sentence was passed. However, on August 9, 2005, the Five won the right of appeal. A three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the convictions of the Cuban Five and ordered a new trial outside Miami. However, in an unpredicted reversal on October 31, the 11th Circuit Court vacated the three-judge panel’s ruling and granted an “en banc” hearing before the full panel of 12 judges. The panel voted 10 to two to deny them a new trial.

The case still lingers on.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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Friday, March 19, 2010

Anand Mahindra has taken his group company to many territories uncharted by him

However indisputable might be Mahindra’s leadership intent, the truth also is that striving hard to break beyond past estimates, Anand Mahindra has bet upon a few areas in recent times, which might either succeed in achieving the visionary targeted result for the group or could hit the group situationally extremely hard. Be it the $625 million acquisition of the troubled Satyam in April 2009, which made this conglomerate the de facto #4 in the IT sector, or the IPO of Mahindra Holidays & Resorts in June 2009, that was oversubscribed 10 times over, Anand Mahindra’s recent leadership charge for his $6.7 billion brigade is a brilliant case study that is in the historic making.

Truly, as far as Mahindra Group’s profit margins are concerned, the Q3 FY2009-10 results are not quite a treat for the onlookers. During the quarter, the group’s operating margins dipped by 2% (at 14.54% of revenues) as compared to the previous quarter. This disclosure led to a 5.5% dip in the company’s share price, which closed at Rs.1,071.25 on January 25, 2010, the day the Q3 results were announced, thereby marking the biggest slump at the bourses for the giant over the past five months. Yes, one of the prime reasons for the aforesaid fall in profitability was the rise in commodity prices, which over the past quarter, have increased by a considerable 1.7%, thereby affecting the group’s bottomlines directly; but a focus was also subsequently raised by the industry and even competitors on whether Mahindra was, or was not, prepared for the more than expected cost pressures (Shashank Srivastava, CGM, Marketing, Maruti Suzuki, while adding that Mahindra is currently one of the toughest competitors that Maruti has in the Indian market, shared with B&E, “Anand Mahindra has built a very strong organisational structure within the group, but what fascinates me most are the experiments that the company has done over the past years. For instance, in the case of its auto business, be it the Xylo or the Logan, both of them have helped the company’s image grow beyond that of just being a Jeep-maker in the country.”) Especially because Anand Mahindra has traditionally espoused the Welch way of being amongst the top within their operational sectors and of not settling for anything less (“We have always aimed for the No.1 or No.2 spot in the segments that we operate in...” Anand Mahindra tells B&E).
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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, March 18, 2010

Fear has driven as many as 40 men of a special anti-Maoist police outfit to desert their posts in Orissa’s red corridor

Gripped by panic, several policemen posted in the Maoist-affected areas of Orissa have committed suicide. Two years back, one sub-inspector of Motu police station in Malkangiri district killed himself after receiving a threat from Naxals. Last year, a CRPF jawan posted in the same district shot himself for much the same reason. Last month, an SPO (special police officer) of Mathili police station of Malkangiri committed suicide after Maoist extremists threatened him with dire consequences if he did not quit the job.

To recover lost ground and restore confidence among tribals, the Orissa government took an initiative last year to deploy tribal youths as SPOs to tackle the Maoists. But after the killing of three such SPOs, more than 20 SPOs have quit their job. Unwilling to be identified, one SPO told TSI, “Life is more precious than a government job.” According to a rough assessment, over 150 police personnel posted in Maoist-affected areas of the state have managed to get transfers to safer places in the past two years.

This isn’t only about security personnel. Government servants, contractors, businessmen, shopkeepers, and even elected representatives are fleeing from Maoist intimidation. Last month 15 elected representatives of Chitrakonda panchayat samiti under Malkangiri district resigned after a Maoist diktat. In the last decade, more than 10,000 civilians of undivided Koraput district are estimated to have migrated to safer parts of the state.

The Orissa government does recognise the magnitude of the problem but is at its wit's end. Chief minister Naveen Patnaik, who also holds the home portfolio, has been accusing the Congress-led UPA government of not cooperating with the state in the latter’s anti-Naxal drive.

The leader of the Opposition in the state Assembly and senior Congress legislator Bhubinder Singh dismissed Patnaik's allegation and blamed the Orissa government for the failure to combat the Maoists. Singh said, “Patnaik is hoping to achieve victory without jumping into the battlefield. He has held the home department for an entire decade. And it is this decade of inaction that has witnessed the spread of the red corridor in Orissa."

No matter who eventually wins this inevitable political blame game, it is becoming disturbingly obvious that Orissa is in ‘unsafe’ hands. The law is literally on the run in the state’s Maoist-infested districts. The common man is a sitting duck.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


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

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