Is it the time to nurture IPOs?

There couldn’t have been a better timing than this! While the initial public offering (IPO) of the Ahmedabad-based Adani Power was being applauded by the investors (the IPO was oversubscribed 3.8 times within the first few minutes of its opening), Adfactors PR, one of the leading corporate and financial PR consultancies of India was busy launching its unique programme – IPO Nurture™ – for companies planning to tap stock market in the near to mid-term future. “The IPO is a transformational journey for a company. It is a rigorous process and requires careful planning and execution at all stages. We’re confident that IPO Nurture will deliver immense value to companies in successfully managing this transformational journey,” avers Arun Ohri, Director of the IPO Nurture programme at Adfactors PR. No doubt, the launch of the product seems to be perfect as a fresh wave of IPOs (thanks to government’s disinvestment agenda) is about to hit the market. But, is there really a need for such offering, is the question that’s doing rounds in many minds. “Companies often dilute value by approaching the market under-prepared (or late at the time of DRHP filing) in terms of the desired public profile and the ability of the management to face public scrutiny. The programme will save them from losing at that front,” reasons Madan Bahal, MD, Adfactors PR. Moreover, the offering is also designed to support a firm’s various strategic initiatives enroute to the IPO like private equity, mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and attracting competent partners and consultants on board. So, Mr. CEO what’s up in your mind?

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

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

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Revelling in FMCG dreams

Management guru Arindam Chaudhuri’s latest blockbuster book, Discover The Diamond In You

What started as an effort to promote private labels in Reliance Retail, Mukesh Ambani has now a full-fledged business idea of venturing into the FMCG space up his sleeves. Ambani has bid to acquire two soap brands of Henkel India – Aramusk (male deodorant soap) and Moloy (sandalwood soap), the combined value of which is estimated to be Rs.10 crore. Apart from acquiring brands, Ambani also plans to set up FMCG subsidiaries and rope in third party logisitics services to handle marketing and distribution. But is acquiring brands the right strategy to venture into a new domain? “Yes,” answers a retail analyst, “as these brands are doing well in regional markets. And being a price discounter, it’s expected that Reliance will sell these soaps at lesser prices.” Moreover, acquiring brands will help Reliance save in R&D investments and increase focus on strengthening the distribution network.

Savreen Gadhoke

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010

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

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Brand wars may be very common in the corporate sector where marketing and advertising whiz kids pit their brains and guile against each other.

But it is also a reality now in the political arena. The 124-year-old Congress Party has just recently given a demonstration of how to ‘revamp’ a brand and make it connect with old consumers who had lost faith and new consumers who ride on hope. Priyanka Rai, Surbhi Chawla & Neha Saraiya report

Such brainstorming sessions are fairly common in the corporate world where managers get together and pick each other’s brains to evolve a strategy for the future. And when it comes to brand managers, the sessions become even more intense as the war for consumer preference and market share intensifies. Meenakshi Natarajan, Jitendra Singh, Jairam Ramesh, Ashok Tanwar and Salmaan Khursheed cannot be called brand managers by any stretch of imagination. Nor can Pankaj Shankar be called a corporate communications manager. For that matter, you will not know Vishwajeet Prithvi Singh as the Chief Technology Officer.

Most management students and managers will probably not even be familiar with most of these names. And yet, these are the largely unknown names and faces that have scripted one of the most famous brand revamps in contemporary history. The first lot did the brainstorming and fashioned the current brand strategy for the Congress Party in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. Pankaj Shankar, quietly and unobtrusively, communicated this strategy to media persons willing to listen. And Vishwajeet Singh is the geek, who used computers, spread sheets and data mining to round off the new brand strategy.

This band of men and women met numerous times in 2008 and 2009 to plan a brand strategy for the Lok Sabha elections. The challenge was formidable. The Congress was a really old brand that had seen hitherto loyal customers deserting it in droves during the 1990s. The challenge was to revamp the brand and lure back the old faithful. An even bigger challenge was to connect the more than 100-year-old party with the youth. Now, every Tom, Dick and Pundit knows the team has clicked. For people in the world of advertising, it was a marketing masterstroke. Says Josy Paul, National Creative Director and Chairman of BBDO, “ The Congress ad campaign was more about how it can be relevant to different audiences. The key to their campaign was relevance. It was more about young audiences and telling them the Congress is still relevant.” Even as late as December 2008, no one could have been certain about unknown youth ‘leaders’ like Minakshi Natarajan and Ashok Tanwar winning Lok Sabha elections. But win they did, propelling Congress towards its highest market share in the electoral marketplace in almost two decades!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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SPIRITUALITY AS FMCG!

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Monojit Lahiri investigates this new phenomenon that is gaining frightening and hysterical dimensions in the ritzy, glitzy and glamorous metros of a nation that continues to look west for self esteem!

It is an astonishing paradox of human life that, with progress, sophistication, modernity and success comes depression, loneliness, alienation and insecurity! Today in year 2009, as we scan the lifescape inhabiting planet earth – with special reference to the so- called advanced and developed western countries – we find startling horror stories of dysfunctional life amidst plenty. Why? Because nothing in this world comes for free and the first world joys offered by the enticing packages called Consumerism and Globalisation come with a sinister price-tag! Family life, social life, cultural life, intellectual life … everything is sold at the altar of moving up in life. So, what’s next? What is the solution? Where is the salvation? Enter the marketers of Spiritualism…!

Declares today’s hot young, controversial film- maker (Dev D, Gulal) Anurag Kashyup, “If you have a Sapnon Ka Saudagar, why can’t you have a guy hawking spirituality?! The con-game is the same, boss!” On a more serious note, Kashyup believes that in today’s troubled and recession-hit times where tension and pressures rule the roost, spirituality is in high demand and low supply. “Hence, the smart, shrewd marketer who has his ear to the ground and is able to think on his feet, can do wonders – for his desperate clients and laughing wallet.” He cites the example of Astha and a host of similar TV channels which enjoy a wide viewership cutting across all stratas of society. He also points to the success of Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, Robin Sharma’s The Monk who sold his Ferrari and most of Deepak Chopra’s best sellers. Sister Yogini of the Brahmakumaris (a spiritual movement like The Art of Living, The oneness university, Isha Yoga) looks at it differently. She admits that a lot of seekers come to them because they are freaked out by life’s pressures and desperately desire peace and happiness. “Our movement is not necessarily about renouncing the world but offering peace and progress within the confines of daily life.” Adds Avanti Birla, high profile businesswoman, “Spirituality for me is as much about fulfilling my responsibilities at a personal level as it is about connecting with it in a societal way.” To Parmeshwar Godrej, Mumbai society’s celebrated diva and social activist, “The real path is about self-discovery.” While she agrees that there is a trendy, hybrid spirituality being marketed, she believes that people are evolving all the time and their personal sense of spirituality doesn’t necessarily depend on what’s written in the instruction manual.

The irrepressible Prahalad Kakkar in typical forthright fashion, provides a cool conclusion. “It’s like selling coals to Newcastle! C’mon guys, we are, historically and traditionally, a spiritual nation with rituals and beliefs embedded in our psyche. Whether it’s the sandhya-deep accompanied by conch-shells at dusk or the vision of what life is about – Karma, Maya – spirituality remains an intrinsic part of our being. Unfortunately, pathetic West-apers that we have become, we seem to be enthusiastically buying - into their hard-selling spirituality to us in the form of a fashion thing; a with-it and uber-cool solution to all worldly problems that blitzes our sense of peace and contentment. Its sold – and bought – (like in the West) as a quick-fix, a fevicol for the battered soul, imagine! But then, at the end of the day I guess it makes sense to remember that we live in an age of Vigyapan not Vigyan, brother… So just about anything goes!”

Monojit Lahiri

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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The still-unpaid Logan bet!

The Most Revolutionary Concept In Education PLANMAN CHE CENTRE FOR HIGHER EDUCATION, Supported by IIPM India’s Leading B-School

Joining hands with the French auto giant Renault SA, Mahindra & Mahindra ambitiously launched Renault in May 2007, fuelling competition in the mid-size car market. A runaway success in the European market, Logan flopped in India. The car promised plenty at its launch, given the Rs.6-7 lakh price tag and diesel engine advantage. Although it got off to a promising start, Logan was not able to sustain the momentum. M&M had to scale back production by some 30-40%. The 50,000 units capacity Nashik facility, today rolls out just over 1,000 Logans monthly!

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

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Where’s the passion in Indian fashion?

Professor Arindam Chaudhuri says

No doubt that fashion is a sunrise sector, but so far, the over-the-top glam quotient has only managed to leave behind glum faces in its wake. Glitzy models sashaying down the ramp with their tattooed bodies and skinny mannequins draped in sequined crêpe in store windows require huge investments. But Indian designers lack the corporate backing in terms of big sponsorships and licensing deals for that. Mumbai-based designer Rocky S attempts to explain why corporates shy away from Indian fashion houses. “If someone is investing in your business, he/she has full liability to know what exactly is happening with the money. We are still in a nascent stage to maintain such transparency,” he professes. Rocky adds that sighting the potential of corporate funding, many design houses are now starting to become more organised. “Some of us have now even begun to pay attention to financial audits,” he claims. On cue, corporate funding has also begun to happen in a small way. Textile house Raymond’s has launched a designer wear retail chain called ‘Be’ with Rohit Bal, Anshu Arora and others. Moreover, the inimitable Ritu Kumar has been designing wardrobes for all Miss India participants in international beauty pageants since 1994, with some winning awards for the most outstanding evening gown!

Is that enough for India Fashion Week (or Delhi Fashion Week) to become the fashion ‘Mecca’ of the world and steal the show from Milan which alone contributes 10% to the world’s fashion market? Market watchers do not seem to think so. Especially with the present unstructured and unorganised nature of the industry, they feel that the projected 2012 is too short a time for India to become the world’s fashion capital. Fact is, they say, that India’s designer fraternity is still wary of corporate alliances and hesitates in seeking expert financial advice. Key posts within any fashion house are still occupied by close friends and family members. “Compared to the foreign market, we have still not been able to create a very structured and organised market in India for designer wear. Designers like Tarun Tahiliani and Satya Paul have started focusing on the local market with their retail stores, but we are still lagging behind from the retail perspective,” admits Sumeet Nair, Managing Director of Fashion Foundation of India.

Acquiring professional management teams is therefore fast becoming a priority for Indian designers who want to match the standards set by their global peers. The beautiful Ritu Beri for one has already begun corporatising her set-up. Her team today boasts of separate vice presidents for sales, purchase, quality and finance; an art she perhaps learnt during her year’s stint (in 2002) as head of French fashion house Scherrer’s ready-to-wear line. On the other hand, designers like Satya Paul – who have already tasted success in India’s premium mass-market, are roping in Genesis Colors Pvt. Ltd. to handle financial and logistics related issues.

Despite the baby-steps being taken by India’s fashion fraternity to professionalise their operations, too many one-man-shows, glamorous PR plugs and Page 3 pictures abound. Sure, the talent is there and the creativity simply wows. But to make for a globally acclaimed brand and financially sound sustainable business, the trickle of corporate influence on India’s fashion design glitterati must turn at least into a tide (if not a flood) for any indelible prints to be left on the industry. Who knows, Kate Winslet may yet wear a Ritu Beri to the Oscar night! Read more

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

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RFID is conquering the last yard in retail

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RFID is streamlining inventory management & improving customer service for retailers the world over

Amit Mukherjee,
Group Chief Information Officer, RPG Enterprises

Retail is one of the largest industries in India, accounting for over 10% of the Indian GDP and more than 8% employment. Industry analysts say that it is on a high growth trajectory with a projected $453 billion potential by 2011(E), fuelled by the Government of India’s (GoI’s) increasing focus on achieving 9-10% growth in GDP, and the growing consumer income level and aspirations. With such a huge demand and an operations-intensive supply side, Indian retailers are gradually realising the power of technology as a key growth enabler. Retail organisations are leveraging information technology (IT) to reduce costs, improve performance, and create competitive advantage. A key technology player would be Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), which is proliferating rapidly throughout the retail industry. This is also good news to the Indian software players as they can now look inwards for business. With a broader market for RFID & more software players with expertise, it is also becoming viable for small retail players as well.

The retail fever gripped India in 2000, but the automation process started only a couple of years back. The main reason for the technology laggardness was the lack of scale. The industry was very nascent, share of organised retail was a miniscule percentage of the total market base and the retailers were still experimenting. As the industry grew by leaps and bounds, the high performance companies started rethinking the fundamental business processes and strategies that can be enabled by RFID - and started using these to differentiate them in the marketplace by developing cost-effective and efficient supply chain applications and capabilities.

Major impact on supply chain can be created through RFID - automated devices can keep track of a product from distribution centre to the store. This enables adequate inventory management and advance planning so that demand can be met timely. Proper planning would ensure economies of scale while a product is being ordered, better tracking would mean better control of shrinkage and therefore result in a lot of savings, part of which can be transferred back to the consumer. So RFID will also have a positive impact on consumers, as well. No wonder, global retail giants like Wal-Mart focus so much on RFID technology and they had in fact implemented such technology some twenty years back.

Even though, RFID adoption in India is comparatively new but statistics show that India’s growth in organised retail has been much faster than in the other matured markets of US and Europe. As the Indian retail players grow and acquire scale in operation and as they wake up to the benefits of technology and become more and more savvy, we will see significant investments in RFID adoption. It is difficult to forecast accurately, but within five years, investment in RFID would be to the tune of Rs.50-100 crore.

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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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Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000

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Technical Specification

Camera: 2MP (1600 x 1190); Zoom: 3X Digital Zoom; Microphone: Built-in Face tracing with CMOS Sensor; Viewing Angle: 71 degree.
PRICE: N.A.

With definite conviction, this gizmo is only for notebook users, and this is palpable from the spring loaded LCD clip on the back. Like any other product from Microsoft, this one is scratch-resistant and has a brushed metal finish; no wonder the Microsoft LifeCam NX-6000 has enough to beckon the consumer. There’s more! And to protect the miniscule CMOS sensor from being drenched, the sensor has been placed behind a big piece of flat plastic. According to a Delhi based wholesaler, the gadget is, “Easy to handle and is brilliantly weather-resistant, all which makes this product different from those offered by rival Sony.”

Marketers’ delight: Easy to carry anywhere and its palpability will delight the customers.

Tester’s note: Pros – 2 Mp camera. CMOS sensor. Good protective casing and collapasible lens. Cons – Clasp restricts suitability to thinner notebooks. Frame rates drop at higher video resolution.

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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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?e? ?????µe t?? ap??t?s?!!!

Now IIPM's World-Class Education... for everybody!!

Strapped for cash, fighting to breathe, Novartis seems to be hitting blind by investing valuable cash in M&As

The Bible has one of the first references to Quo Vadis, aka, “Where are you going?” A question the world seems to be asking of the Swiss drug behemoth, Novartis, quite pertinently. Sectorally, the global drug industry is anything but in good health; and Novartis seems to be trying hard to combat this losing battle by diversifying – the recent $39 billion acquisition of a 77% stake (25% now and 52% between 2010-2011) in the eye-care firm Alcon (from Nestlé) a leading case to point.

Danielle Vasella, Novartis Chairman and CEO, is pretty clear that he needs to find newer avenues for growth; and overt reliance on precociously radical pharmaceutical is not a remedy he can rely on. Digest this. In 2005, Vasella doled out $13 billion to buy out cheap generic German drugmakers Hexal and Eon Labs. And in year 2006, Vasella splashed out $5.7 billion to acquire US vaccine maker Chiron in a bid to enter global vaccines market. On the positive front, the global vaccine market is expected to touch $20 billion in 2009 (more than 100% increase over 2004). And creditably, even Novartis’ generic arm, Sandoz, is No. 2 worldwide.

So what’s right with the Alcon deal? It’s the leading player of the $25 billion eye care industry. Claudia Lenz, Bank Vontobel analyst, told B&E, “Alcon...will undoubtedly become a profitable source of growth for Novartis once it acquires the majority sometime in 2010 or 2011.” Novartis already has a massive hold on the global contact lens business; and with Alcon’s globally sold glaucoma drugs and cataract surgery products (double digit sales growth), the company will also help Novartis tap developing economies, where Alcon’s markets grew 21%.

So what’s wrong with the deal? “This acquisition removes the financial flexibility of Novartis to meaningfully address its structural problems as the company heads for a patent cliff in 2012,” asserts Karl Heinz Koch, leading pharma analyst at Bank Vontobel. Even Morgan Stanley forecasted that Novartis, in the next four years, will be facing generic competition to approximately one third of its revenue sources. Add to this the hitting Bear Sterns assessment that clearly downgraded the deal as rank expensive.

If diversification were Vasella’s paradigm, one wonders why last year he sold off the top performing Gerber Foods to, hold your breath, Nestlé itself (for $8 billion). It’s a predicament he’s yet to resolve, especially at a time when cash at Novartis is disappearing faster than Elvis left the building! Quo vadis Mr. Vasella?! We know what his grudging response (in Greek, of course) would have been, “?e? ?????µe t?? ap??t?s? [I don’t know the answer!]” Elvis fights on...

Priyanka Rajpal

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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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WEN JIABAO - Time for chindia!

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WEN JIABAO
Time for chindia!

Being the Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, Wen Jiabao has gained lots of acclaim of being a poised, practical and a great leader. To complement the point, Mohammed Saqib, Fellow, Rajiv Gandhi Institute says, “Wen is a very good leader. When today, China is our largest trading partner, surpassing US, the duo is bound to be friendly with each other and it’s a compulsion.”

With dollar and pound weakening, there would be higher competition in foreign markets, besides the incessant struggle to gain energy resources. Besides, of course there are other crippling issues, the border being one of them. The need of the hour is to strengthen the tactical and supportive partnership. Wen, having been named ‘the people’s premier’, has a commoner figure with the public, and his more amicable qualities are held to contrast with the enigmatic and somber President Hu Jintao. Jiabao as President (which people feel he should be) could surely achieve much more Indo-China relations. Perhaps he could just lend the maturity and sensitivity needed to ensure lasting camaraderie between the two emerging superpowers.

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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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ANIRUDH DHOOT - Indian samurai

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ANIRUDH DHOOT
Indian samurai
When he first entered the office of Videocon, he proposed grand diversifying plans for the company like entering into entertainment complexes in smaller cities such as Nashik, Aurangabad, Surat and Nagpur. In fact, his idea of entertainment was not just confined to multiplex theatres but was aimed at offering the consumers almost every mode for spending ‘quality’ free time. He also planned to open sports bars, shopping complexes, art galleries, gymnasia and oxygen bars, and if these weren’t enough, he even tried his luck in an online lottery and 24 hr. entertainment channel, but all in vain.

He went ahead and invested half of Rs.500 million (of earmarked investment) tying up with Reliance Infocomm to source 2,000-odd fixed wireless terminals, but the project met a silent end. Anirudh Dhoot might have failed in his first attempt as a businessman, but today, as CEO of the Electrolux Division of the Videocon Industries, he has moved on like how.

Anoop Kumar, President, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association, comments on Anirudh Dhoot, “Anirudh Dhoot is now in a position to establish a firm global footprint for Videocon. Undoubtedly, Dhoot will spearhead more acquisitions for Videocon to make it a globally successful consumer durable company.” His latest plans are to take Electrolux refrigerators to West Asia, Africa & SAARC nations. So the ambitions of Dhoot seem to be soaring not only within India but internationally too. And led by the Videocon resurgence, the era of Indian pre-eminence in consumer durables may not be too far away.

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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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Education for All

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The World Bank’s one of the seven millennium goals “education for all” has been a slogan of Indian bureaucrats for years, unfortunately with far lesser ramifications to celebrate. India’s very strength, 300 million plus young population can simply turn into the explosive weakness if they are kept deprived of modern education and skill enhancements.

India has over 388 degree granting universities, it comprised of 221 State Universities, 24 Central Universities, 11 Private Universities, 114 Institutions Deemed to be Universities, 13 Institutions of National Importance and 5 Institutions established under State legislations. Unfortunately they are capable to provide mere 50% seats of the total applied for a degree. It may meet the gap if India increases the number to 750 state and central universities with 100% capacity utilisation in the next few years. Though as per the All India Council for Technical education the number of recognised engineering colleges touches 1617 by the end of 2007, over 60% of them are concentrated in just five states Tamil Nadu (286), Maharashtra (181), Karnataka (134) and Uttar Pradesh (125). This is not enough as developing countries like china are producing more engineers or IT professionals than India. Thus another 750 autonomous engineering colleges with equal concentration in each state may help to meet the gap. Moreover, 75 IITs (Indian Institute of Technology), 75 IIITs (Indian Institute of Information Technology) and 75 NITs (National Institute of Technology) should be started across India. Number of medical colleges in India is only 271 where 255 are recognised and the number of seats remains as low as 30,000. The country is in short of 600,000 doctors. Thus another 75 new medical colleges on the lines of AIIMS have become imperative. Number of seats for PG courses is just 11,005 which forces pass-outs to choose foreign destinations permanently.

However, mere seat increase and expansions of existing renowned colleges might not be the only solution. Proper performance based incentives for faculties to reduce their attrition rate, perfect utilisation of existing space for it is, IIMs, IITs are important.

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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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Lalu is from mars, Pc is from uranus

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While Lalu ‘Karan’ Yadav has emerged as the reformer, who’s keen to introduce world-class processes in Indian Railways, Palaniappan ‘Arjun’ Chidambaram has introduced proposals that smell of tacky populism, if not downright vote-bank budgeting. It’s a clear case of Politics vs Privatisation

T hough the concept of reincarnation had been written about and captured on reel too many times before, it was the 1995 movie, Karan Arjun, which took the concept of reincarnation to a new sibling level. We had, lo and behold, two brothers, living in a rural village, who’re killed in one birth (of course, how’ll they be reincarnated otherwise), and are reborn again in a few years in a city – with each bro’ having a starkly different personality – to come back together to avenge their earlier ‘early’ demise!

Well, consider the stunning similarities this movie has with our hero duo, Lalu Yadav and P. Chidamabram (PC for us; works in movies too), and their recently presented Budgets. While both Lalu and PC suffered huge near-death political setbacks in their political lives, a few years down the line, they seem to have been reincarnated with a rejuvenated verve towards gaining political power in India. It’s quite surprising but Lalu and PC, just like Karan and Arjun, though (perhaps) having a similar objective, actually have different attitudes towards life – theirs, as well as those of the 800-odd million thoroughly disadvantaged poverty-ridden Indians living below $2 per day (UNDP data). Think about it! While Chidambaram, to woo vote banks, has shrewdly kept the hooting horn blowing 24x7 to ensure his Budget is perceived as populism incarnate itself, the fashionista’s nightmare Lalu Prasad Yadav has doubly ensured that his reforms are pristinely focused towards earning money and less about playing to the masses! In other words, while Lalu is focusing on earning money for the future elections, PC is focusing on losing money, of course, for the future elections! B&E compiled a few choice examples.

Though Lalu ‘Karan’ Yadav has given a few sops to passengers (like reducing fares, more as a matter of lip service), it’s quite clear that he knows that Railways earns almost 90% of revenues from freight only, reason enough for Lalu to ensure maximum focus on this segment only. His focus on building a new coach factory in Kerala is extremely tactical, as the coaches from this factory would be lighter and would allow more wagons per train, increasing payloads by almost 78%! That’s a humungous increase simply by process reengineering – that is, by increasing yield per train than load tariff being charged. In fact, Lalu has most cleverly reduced freight rates. In another brilliant tactical move, Lalu has started focusing more on commodities that have a higher potential for revenue generation, for example, steel, export goods, cement, etc. Look at where has it brought the Railways. Under the NDA government, while costs were almost 96% of revenue, under Lalu, costs are only 75% of revenues, displaying record operating margins. Accidents have dramatically decreased and, at the same time, Railways profits have increased this year to Rs.25,000 crore, which is a benchmark 21% return on capital. Lalu has cleverly achieved 15% rise in earnings simply by increasing freight volumes by 8.6%. And this year, the volume is again expected to increase by 7.6%, which can consequently add a staggering 10.4% more to the revenues.

Now look at what Palaniappan ‘Arjun’ Chidambaram has conjured up. Firstly, the purely populist and definitely pompous Rs.60,000 crore loan waiver for small and marginal farmers seemingly is targeted towards the misery-ridden downtrodden farmers. Unfortunately, with more than 50% of farmer families already entwined in debt traps, and nearly half of those with private non-institutionalised sources, this waiver in reality would fail to reach the true disadvantaged farmers, but would still ensure superhot hype and wasteful government investments!

But PC populist Arjun doesn’t stop here. Income tax threshold has been raised to Rs.150,000, banking transaction tax is being withdrawn, hospitals are being given five-year tax holidays, corporate taxes remain unchanged, so does peak customs duty, central value-added tax is being reduced to 14%, pharma excise duty down to 8%, excise duty on two and three wheelers cut to 12%, small car duty cut altogether, petrol and diesel ad valorem duty cut completely and replaced with standard duty that’s almost half of previous, fertiliser subsidy (Rs.310 billion), special purpose tea fund (Rs.400 million), farm credit target (Rs.2.8 trillion), food subsidy (Rs.327 billion). Almost everything smells of tacky populism, if not downright vote-bank budgeting!

And where has he openly tried to increase the government’s revenues? You’ll die laughing if you hear it. PC’s planned to levy a 5% customs duty on naphtha imports by polymer units! You tell us, if this is not playing to the masses, then what is. It’s quite clear that though Lalu’s reforms might not be perceived by the masses as impressively as PC’s, the fact of the matter is that Lalu is closer to ground realities of business, as PC is perhaps to the ballot!

It was John Gray who glamorously used planetary symbols to define the differences between men and women in his book, Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus. As the Budget story goes now, the Martian Lalu surely seems closer to Earth with respect to practical revenue generation than ‘Uranusian’ Chidambaram, whose misplaced budgetary ambitions might yet work out, not purely for the actual advantage his proposals give to the disadvantaged masses, but more so for the potential ‘populist’ marketing hype that can be generated throughout India within hundreds of millions of unlettered civilians.

Well, it’s not just by chance that 61 years into Independence, our intellectual politicians have safely kept more than 400 million Indians as thoroughly illiterate, and also utterly poor and distressed. Now, what do you say?

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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Blair aims for EU presidency

He is a warmonger; an American poodle and last but not the least a money spinner, busy converting his international political capital into lucre. These are some of the criticism the former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is facing in his run-up for the European Union Presidency. In addition to Blair, currently, there are two more candidates – Taoiseach Bertie Ahern of Northern Island and Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean Claude. While Nicholas Sarkozy is all for Tony, the former French president Giscard d’Estaing has expressed his apprehension, “Tony Blair cannot be President of Europe because the new President of Europe must come from a country, which respects all its European commitments.”

“Presently, EU does not have any legal provision for a President. The post will probably come up for grabs after the Constitution of the European Union comes into force by 2009. It will be a two-and-a-half year term for the president, who will be elected through a long process extending up to one year, but one cannot say that the process will be democratic because it will not involve the European population directly in electing their president,” says Naseer Ahmed editor Atlantic Affairs, a UK-based website while speaking to B&E.

Tony Blair’s aspirations to be the first President of EU are bound to raise controversies, especially in view of his closeness to Bush and his Iraq war policies. However, if he is able to turn things around in the Middle-East and usher in a new era of lasting peace in the region, his acceptability may improve in the coming days.

While Blair’s love for Anglo-Saxon economic model may endear him to the French President Sarkozy, but will the French public let another proponent of liberalisation be their leader?

B&E edit bureau: Atul Bharadwaj

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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The torch bearer

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2008 Olympics is Guo’s baby

Just nine months ahead of the Olympic Games, China’s communist party has picked Guo Jinlong, as new mayor of Beijing. Guo, a native of Nanjing, Jiangsu province, is considered to be a stranger to Beijing city. With most of the planning and execution for Olympic Games nearing end, Guo appointment is certainly a political move that has very little relation to the Olympics. But all said & done, Guo will be one of the fastest emerging stars in China’s communist party at the end of successful games.

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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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Are Bush & Mush nuclear allies?

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America holds crucial leverage over both, the Pakistan nuclear weapons & Musharraf

The recent political unrest in Pakistan has again revived the old debate. How secure are the nuclear weapons of Pakistan? One thing is clear. Protecting Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, either through coercion or through inducement, have occupied the centre-stage of the Bush Administration’s South Asia policy in the post-9/11 order.

Fuelling the debate, a well-referred intelligence journal recently claimed that the US took control of the Pakistan nuclear assets soon after September 11. In what could open a Pandora’s Box in US- Pak strategic affairs, the journal stated that Pakistan was given an ultimatum by the US to either allow the Americans to take control of the nuclear weapons or to be prepared to face the consequences. If Pakistan protested, “the US would be left with no choice but to destroy those facilities, possibly with India’s help,” stated the journal. “This was a fait accompli that Musharraf, for credibility reasons, had every reason to cover-up & pretend it never happened, & Washington was fully willing to keep things quiet,” it added. Earlier the US press had reported that the Bush Administration had already spent about $100 million to help Pakistan secure the nuclear safeguards. A New York Times report claimed that the US was building a training centre for nuclear security inside Pakistan. Does the US really have a grip on Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals? Is it the major reason for uninterrupted Bush’s support to Musharraf?

It is a fact that Musharraf has used the threat of a possible jihadi takeover of arsenals to ensure American support even for his dictatorial moves. The central goal of the general’s strategy is to convince Washington & the European capitals that the nuclear country would be plunged into deep crisis if he was removed from the helm. This ‘deluge-after-me’ strategy appears to have gone down well at least with the US. The military regime lets the Americans enjoy control over the warheads, in return the US continues its assistance to Islamabad. This was evident when State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, “... ultimately, the major responsibility for that (securing arsenals) falls with the Pakistani Government. They have made public comments to the effect that the arsenal is secure, that they have taken a number of different steps to ensure that. We ourselves see no indication to indicate to the contrary.” The question, however, is that how long the ‘super power’ & Cold War ally continue this cat & mouse game? How long the US continue its support for a general who is almost disowned by his own people? The classic crisis the US faces is, it can’t disown Pakistan overnight. But the longer it extends support to Musharraf, the deeper Pakistan’s falls. The more, not the merrier, at least in this case.

B&E edit bureau: John Stanly

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

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Are Bush & Mush nuclear allies?

IIPM’s 36th Glorious Year of Academic Excellence

America holds crucial leverage over both, the Pakistan nuclear weapons & Musharraf

The recent political unrest in Pakistan has again revived the old debate. How secure are the nuclear weapons of Pakistan? One thing is clear. Protecting Pakistan’s nuclear weapons, either through coercion or through inducement, have occupied the centre-stage of the Bush Administration’s South Asia policy in the post-9/11 order.

Fuelling the debate, a well-referred intelligence journal recently claimed that the US took control of the Pakistan nuclear assets soon after September 11. In what could open a Pandora’s Box in US- Pak strategic affairs, the journal stated that Pakistan was given an ultimatum by the US to either allow the Americans to take control of the nuclear weapons or to be prepared to face the consequences. If Pakistan protested, “the US would be left with no choice but to destroy those facilities, possibly with India’s help,” stated the journal. “This was a fait accompli that Musharraf, for credibility reasons, had every reason to cover-up & pretend it never happened, & Washington was fully willing to keep things quiet,” it added. Earlier the US press had reported that the Bush Administration had already spent about $100 million to help Pakistan secure the nuclear safeguards. A New York Times report claimed that the US was building a training centre for nuclear security inside Pakistan. Does the US really have a grip on Pakistan’s nuclear arsenals? Is it the major reason for uninterrupted Bush’s support to Musharraf?

It is a fact that Musharraf has used the threat of a possible jihadi takeover of arsenals to ensure American support even for his dictatorial moves. The central goal of the general’s strategy is to convince Washington & the European capitals that the nuclear country would be plunged into deep crisis if he was removed from the helm. This ‘deluge-after-me’ strategy appears to have gone down well at least with the US. The military regime lets the Americans enjoy control over the warheads, in return the US continues its assistance to Islamabad. This was evident when State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, “... ultimately, the major responsibility for that (securing arsenals) falls with the Pakistani Government. They have made public comments to the effect that the arsenal is secure, that they have taken a number of different steps to ensure that. We ourselves see no indication to indicate to the contrary.” The question, however, is that how long the ‘super power’ & Cold War ally continue this cat & mouse game? How long the US continue its support for a general who is almost disowned by his own people? The classic crisis the US faces is, it can’t disown Pakistan overnight. But the longer it extends support to Musharraf, the deeper Pakistan’s falls. The more, not the merrier, at least in this case.

B&E edit bureau: John Stanly

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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