PEPSI

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This brand captured hearts, no sooner did it whiz into India with its ‘choice of the young generation’ campaign

This brand has had a happy run in India, what with brand ambassadors comprising the who’s who of Bollywood and cricketers? But recent events have not been so happy for this cola major. First the pesticide debacle happened, and was closely followed with their highly betted-on Men in Blue facing a shameful exit in the cricket World Cup stakes. Ooh Aah India fell on its face, but did PepsiCo crumble? No way! The company bounced back with a happier projection for the next World Cup... seen their Pepsi Gold ad featuring kids vouching for 2011 World Cup? “We were confident about the advertisement’s success as we knew that the idea was different and there were less chances of it backfiring,” says Shoumitra Rai Chaudhary, Creative Director, JWT. And sure enough, the cola major has bounced back. It may have slipped thirteen places since last year, to hold Rank 32 in this year’s rankings, but let’s just pass it off as a rough patch in its brand life-cycle. For isn’t it true that hard times test the true character of a person? And Pepsi’s no small a celebrity, right? Yeh Dil definitely maange more!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Google goes ‘trendy’
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Feel like god, do You?
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Sons of Soil!

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‘Kar lo duniya mutthi mein’; and Mudra for sure has an ambition to straddle the world!

Once upon a time, Mudra was a star among stars. In a MNC dominated world, it proudly wore Indianness on its sleeve and demonstrated high levels of excellence. Today, every nook and cranny of Mudra’s office in Lower Parel in Mumbai, speaks volumes about that golden period. Those days maybe over, but the spirit lives on...

The year was 1976 when A.G. Krishnamurthy joined Reliance Industries as an Advertising Manager. Four years down the line, AGK (as he’s popularly known now) went to the Late Dhirubhai Ambani with the proposal of starting their own advertising agency. In his true entrepreneurial spirit, Ambani jumped at the idea. He gave him Rs.35,000 a locker along with its key and asked him to create the best textile advertising in the country. Mudra was born!

It started with only one client, Vimal in a 500 sq. ft. office in Ahmedabad. Soon other clients followed, Rasna, Nelco, McDonald’s, et al. Those were heydays and there was path-breaking advertising, ‘Only Vimal’, ‘I Love You Rasna’, ‘Humko Binnie’s Mangta’, to name just a few. Mudra gave the industry its many ‘firsts’ (first ever double-spread colour ads, first advertising institute MICA and many more). Within a short span of nine years, Mudra became the No.1 agency in the country.

The country’s first in-house agency that started with only one client, today boasts of an eclectic mix of Indian and MNC clients. Madhukar Kamath, MD & CEO, Mudra (he took over after AGK retired in 2003) explains, “In the multinational space we have clients like Philips, Johnson & Johnson (J&J), Unilever, and among Indian brands there’s Godrej, LIC, Big Bazaar, SBI, HPCL, R-ADAG, Air India, Madura Garments, et al.”

Today, Mudra might have lost its identity as a trailblazer, but in this age, when MNC agencies have gobbled up almost all big agencies of the country, it holds its head high as being only aligned with a global network (Omnicom’s DDB has a 10% stake in it) and retaining its name that is still very Indian.

If global alignments were the need of the hour, so was providing complete communication solutions to its clients. In 2005, Mudra launched Tribal DDB Worldwide to offer interactive solutions. Talking about Mudra’s sister concerns, Madhukar says, “We charted a path and metamorphosed the agency into a complete communication solution provider. We created Canvas Communications that is based in Ahmedabad and Interact Vision that handles smaller businesses. There is DDB Mudra here, which handles the J&J account.” Apart from these, Mudra, which is now over Rs.10 billion, has its media arm – OMS (Optimum Media Solutions) and a focussed communications services wing that has units like Rapp Collins India (direct response), Kidstuff Promos & Events (promotional marketing services), Primesite (outdoor) and Mudra Health & Lifestyle.

The year 2003 saw the launch of the very successful campaign for Reliance Infocomm (Kar lo duniya mutthi mein). Madhukar recalls the work done on Godrej Hair Dye, where the task at hand was to expand the market. He’s also extremely proud of the work done on SBI Debit Card last year, where the challenge was to create awareness. The outcome was an astonishing idea of welcoming the customer to a cashless world.

Vimal had an untimely death (though it is being revived now) and spunkier drinks have overshadowed the little girl who said, ‘I Love You Rasna’. Just like these brands, Mudra too has been overshadowed by the O&Ms and the Lowes. But, doesn’t it take guts to not give in to the many charms of an MNC and continuously fight tooth and nail to remain in the top ten? Yes, it does!

Edit Bureau: R. Prasad

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Driving into the ‘Year of India’!

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Peter Kronschnabel, President, BMW India, has stepped up the accelerator. And he has no intention of applying the brakes...

For decades, car aficionados globally have been irresistibly drawn to the panache, grandeur and sophistication that Bayerische Motoren Werke (in German) or Bavarian Motor Works (in English) represents. Confused? Well, the cars go by the popular sobriquet of BMW. Guess that resolves any question marks that mar your thinking. The auto-maker not just stands testimony to German engineering and sophistication (like Mercedes Benz does), but has surpassed that finishing line to become the answer for thousands who seek both elegance and performance. The last few months have been good for the world’s largest maker of premium cars; BMW’s US sales rose by 8.7%, while its global sales rose by 3% on the back of burgeoning demand for its 3-series convertible.

So, the last frontier really left for the German auto maker was to conquer the booming Indian auto market and over the last year, it focused on doing precisely that. BMW dashed ahead to first establish a sales subsidiary in Gurgaon last year, followed by a state of the art assembly plant for BMW 3 and 5 series (with an initial investment of Rs1 billion), which began operation in Chennai earlier this year. A booming economy (it grew at 9.4% in 2006-07), rising affluence and increasing demand for luxury cars (in 2005-06, 27,529 units were sold, whereas in 2006-07, a staggering 40,964 units were sold – a growth of almost 50%), are only a few reasons attributable to BMW worldwide declaring 2007 as its ‘Year of India’.

And this was the first thing affirmed by Peter Kronschnabel, President, BMW India, when he sat down for tête-à-tête with 4Ps B&M. Here to lead the ‘2007–Year of India– for BMW’ declaration made by his global CEO, Kronschnabel is quite optimistic about the unfolding scenario in Indian luxury car segment. “India has a strategic importance at BMW. The top end luxury car market in India is small, but it is growing at a brisk pace. It was 3,000 units last year and it is expected to become a 10,000 unit segment by 2010 – almost triple,” he opines. Small wonder that despite the low volumes in production and sales presently, the company is bullish about its future prospects here.

Born in Villingen, Germany in 1966, Kronschnabel began his association with BMW in 1995 as sales and marketing intern. His persistence and diligence first earned him the rise to the level of GM– Market Development – Region - Asia Pacific, Africa and Eastern Europe, and a few months ago, he arrived as President of the luxury car company in India. And Kronschnabel says that the vision of BMW in India is to be BIG! “An understanding of producing and retailing premium cars to the customers is very important from the entry level of the chain itself. It is a challenge, an effort to show that one can be successful in an on-going, long term process.” Having experienced different work cultures in numerous countries, the man draws out the differentiation for the indigenously Indian work culture and says. “In India, you work with well-skilled workers, motivated young people, who are at times over enthusiastic, but are able to come out with results, without having a plan in the first placel” he shares.

Since its inception in 1917, BMW has been phenomenally successful with the Mini, MG and Land Rover as its luxury mascots, with the present portfolio having model lines like the BMW 1, 3, 5, 6 and 7 Series, BMW X3, X5 and Z4, MINI (One, Cooper, Cooper S, Convertible) and the Rolls-Royce Phantom.

BMW is also seeking space for the future and is positive about launching its Mini series by 2009. Kronschnabel feels that the time is just right for its entry. The company’s Long term strategic approach in India involves launching the 5 series in June and promising exciting times ahead with launches of the X3 and X5. Even a few models from the world famous BMW Art Cars Collection will drive into India later this year. They hope to sell 1,200 units by year-end.

Kronschnabel also emphasizes on significance of launching diesel variations of BMW’s existent car models in the Indian market, which will increase and stabilize sales at a better level. The vision is to give the consumer a flexibility of choice, in the long run.

Boasting a global production network in 23 locations across 16 countries, BMW is gung-ho about the Chennai plant, and hopes that it will match the production capacity of its South Africa plant. “Nearly 50,000 cars are produced at the South African plant, set up in the 70s, of which 30,000 cars go for exports. We will try maintaining similar standards in India.”

Keen to develop a robust dealer network in India, Kronschnabel avers that BMW has even set clear and uniform standards for every dealership. “The experience with which the customers get the product and services is important and is what separates the company from its competitors,” he states. Talking of competitors, there are already quite a few in the Indian market, gearing up to spoil the BMW party, including hi-profile global brands like Mercedes, Audi, Bentley & Porsche. And as the man at the helm of BMW’s India ambitions, Kronschnabel may have tough days ahead, but surely not impossible to manage, especially when you are behind the wheels of the ultimate dream machine!

Edit bureau: Siddharth Nahata, Vantika Singh

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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That’s top class!

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The Merc C Class has a strong brand value... any surprise? NO!

Here is my pure and simple definition of a brand: the brand is a thought. A thought that lives in people’s minds. Nothing more and nothing less. It took me all of a complicated set of 11 years to arrive at this definition for a brand.

The Mercedes Benz has been a brand that has lived in my psyche for as long as I remember. Possibly from a point of time I saw Dr. Zakir Hussain, an ex-President of ours drive out in a regal black Mercedes Benz at a Republic Day parade decades ago (that was as a child growing up in political Delhi!); or possibly from a host of visuals of luxury and sheer aspirational un-affordability that stared back at me for many years from pieces of advertising that had three pointed star staring at you.

The brand Mercedes Benz therefore entered my mind, lived there for all of nearly four un-affordable decades, till at the age of 40, I was actually able to buy one for myself. I bought my Merc-C Class 3 years ago. Today, I love the car for sheer driving pleasure. Even on cluttered roads of Bengalooru city, the Merc is a good drive. I also love its interiors which are sober. What’s more, I even like the audio system of the car.

Concluding, the Merc is a thought. A thought, I love driving today.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Go for the ‘goal’d!

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Sure they are playing the game, the game of money, that is...

Thierry Henry is the former Captain of Arsenal Football Club. The name may strike a chord only with the most ardent football aficionados; but the fact that he just got richer by $33.07 million will make anyone sit up and take notice. Yes, an outlandish 24 million euros is the sum for which he was transferred from Arsenal to Barcelona Football Club. Elsewhere, in the UK, steel tycoon L.N. Mittal is showing a keen interest in acquiring Birmingham FC. Perhaps he is inspired by Roman Abramovic, the 16th richest man on earth (Forbes), who owns English club Chelsea (having $304.37 million revenues).

Money is flowing from all directions - merchandise, sponsorships, broadcasts, memberships and gate receipts on the match day. According to Deloitte, Spanish club Real Madrid churned out a stupendous $402.43 million in revenues (excluding player transfer fees) during 2005- 06, placing it on top amongst all football clubs, followed by Barcelona with $356.85 million & Juventus with $345.97 million. The English Premier League with revenues worth 2 billion euros (2005-06) is the largest & most profitable. It is expected that revenues of the league will rise to a staggering 2.5 billion euros for the 2007-08 season.

Well, going by basic diktats of economics, more money should make better teams. But correlate the revenues earned with the outcome of UEFA Champions League, 2006- 07 & this assumption looks completely flawed. The winner this year was not among Real Madrid, FC Barcelona or Juventus, but the relatively humble AC Milan, Italy (eighth in terms of revenue earnings). Money corrupts, eh?!?!

Edit bureau: Bikram Keshari Jena

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

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Unity murdered!

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Opposition gains electoral ground

Is Lebanon a nation-state or merely a pawn in the hands of Washington & Damascus? These questions are bound to be asked about a nation, which despite being subjected to regular wars, has refused to mature. Yes, maturity has eluded the nation divided on sectarian lines, between the Muslims and the Christians. This divide was much too visible in the recently concluded elections in Metn, Lebanon.

A rather newcomer to the game of politics, Kamil Khoury (supported by former General Michel Aoun), the Opposition candidate, was able to defeat the government backed Amin Gemayel, the former President (1982-88) & the father of slain Member of Parliament Pierre Gemayel. Amin’s party which holds Syria responsible for the murder of his son warned the Opposition during the elections that “Metn will never be a suburb of Damascus”. Retorting against the allegations of the murder and launching a frontal attack against Gemayel, Gen. Anon had said that these are “windmills of lies… “I will not call them sons of snakes, but sons of rumours & rumours are like a rootless weed. Once you pluck it out, it dies.’’ That the Opposition candidate was backed by none other than the former army commander Aoun, has irked the pro-Washington government, and the US backed Christian lobby. The question, which many Western analysts are asking is, how could a Christian (Gen. Michel) support the Hezbollah & Syria backed candidate?

It is no hidden fact that the US has been diligently trying to undermine the Syrian hold over the nation. And by trying to obliterate the Syrian impact from Lebanese psyche, the US & Israel are doing a disservice to global peace and stability. If the US continues to force a change of heart in Lebanon, merely to fulfill its own & of course, the Israeli vested interest, then all that the world will get is far greater instability & bloodbath, generating a fresh breeding ground for terrorism.

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‘Left’ out in a ‘right’ world?

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How lefty-friendly is the right handed world?

As a child when consciousness had little to do with me and even smaller was my awareness of directions, I distinctly (but perhaps not fondly) remember all the strait-laced grown-ups in the vicinity tapping on my hand every time, I would naturally lift it to eat or write. Later, on growing up, it dawned upon me that it wasn’t lack of etiquettes or absurdity of my acts that prompted those slight slaps but my dear left hand, programmed by nature itself as my first!

While this was then, the world now seems to have grown up to acknowledge our presence and even celebrate 13th August as the World Left-Handers’ Day. The day sets sights on apprising the ignorant right-handed world (which bullies the left - handers as squiffy or Keggy-handed on several occasions) that left-handers are not gawky and graceless for their innate abilities, but the forceful usage of chockfull right-handed gadgets which is in reverse for them. A common instance concerning this that races back and forth in the mind is the underground station where the automated ticket machine on one’s right leads a left -hander to either cross his hand to dump the ticket in the slot or put it in the wrong slot causing the adjacent gate to open!

Though the furniture in institutions hasn’t been any customised either, the compliments, then on ingenuity are quite common to several left-handers. The saying ‘only left-handers are in their right minds’ is true to its nature scientifically too. The right side of the brain controlling the left side of the body is dominant in holistic thinking making the left–handers exceptional at creativity, music, art, emotions and imagination. Undoubtedly, Leonardo da Vinci, Mark Twain, David Byrne, Paul McCartney, Amitabh Bachchan, Charlie Chaplin, Sarah Jessica Parker, Nicole Kidman and Oprah Winfrey are all left -handed champions in their respective creative arenas. Fast at spatial intelligence, yet faster at using both sides of the brain in complicated situations, left-handers face their share of hazards too. Reaching puberty four to five months later than their right-handed counterparts isn’t as heart sinking as the recent study that concludes that their average life span is lesser than right-handers too. Speech defects though common among left-handers can aggravate to stuttering and stammering if forced to convert into a right-hander. An unfortunate example was King George VI.

It’s gladdening that I didn’t give in to the forceful elderly to become like the stammering, tear prone king if not the least like the mirror writing prone Michelangelo and Lewis Carroll.

Edit bureau: Swati Hora (a proud leftist)

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

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Rescued by divine intervention!

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In an act of brilliance, our central bankers keep us afloat...

It was a crisis of a lifetime for our central bankers and… Christ didn’t they act infallibly right! In a world swamped by liquidity with ever looming danger of inflation…Christ didn’t they act infallibly right! Their intervention went down as the largest liquidity injection that mankind has ever witnessed, wherein funds worth hundreds of billions of dollars were pumped in to restore liquidity in the markets. For many, the recent liquidity crisis in the inter-bank market and how the central bankers handled it might seem like a bailout of epic proportions; but the truth begs to differ from this.

What happened in the past fortnight saw banks refraining from lending to each other, which led to a liquidity crisis. Substantiating the liquidity crunch, the London Inter bank Offered Rates (LIBOR) for dollar went through the roof from 5.37% as on to August 01, 2007 to 5.95% as on August 10, 2007 (See chart 1). Banks have been locked up with risky and illiquid assets, which are exposed to subprime lending and with a slump in the housing sector, these banks are not ready to lend to each other, considering the counterparty risk arising out of these risky exposures. This is where the central banks have stepped in to reliquify the markets by lending money to the banks in the interbank market. But then, is it liquidity that the world needs at this point of time, considering the fact that for the past few years, there has been an unprecedented amount of liquidity sloshing the global markets, fuelling alarming assets bubbles (chart 2)? Jay Bryson, Global Economist, Wachovia, explains to B&E, “Over the past few days, there has been a liquidity crisis with banks unwilling to lend each other in the interbank & the infusions made by the central banks will reliquify the markets.” So definitely it has been a matter of losing trust.

But aren’t the central bankers trying to bailout the banks? Well, a crunch in the interbank market means a slump in the world-wide banking system, which will bring the entire world economy to a grinding halt and central bankers would certainly not want that to happen. As Bryson puts it, “The central banks here are treading a fine line by not trying to bail out institutions, while at the same time they do not want a severe credit crunch, which will put a drag on the growth of the global economy.”

Again, won’t this liquidity injection be inflationary? Considering the fact that inflation targeting has been the mandate of central bankers, this liquidity injection doesn’t go down the throats of many easily. Normally, an injection of such proportion carries the seeds of inflation with itself. But then, here’s where the central bankers have acted smartly. All the liquidity that has been injected into the system has been through Repurchase Agreements (Repos) and by definition, central banks will repurchase what they have lent to the banks in the interbank market. So, the liquidity injection has been in terms of overnight lending which will be sucked back. As Craig Alexander, VP & Deputy Chief Economist, TD Bank Financial Group, clarifies to B&E, “There are no rate cuts as we saw in 2001, so the liquidity expansion hasn’t been as broad based. Moreover, liquidity being injected is through overnight transactions, so the money does not remain in the system and it won’t be inflationary.” He further argues that if the credit problems persist, the central banks will cut rates, but this would hardly prove inflationary, since it will be in response to concerns of economic weakness. But then, what’s with equity markets, when everything’s been so prudent. Well, first of all, the sell off has been to an extent marked by banks reversing their equity positions in search of liquidity. Secondly, there has been a psychological impact on investors as Craig Alexander elaborates, “The immediate reaction by markets was negative, as they worried that the central banks actions signalled that there was a major problem. However, markets will eventually realise that the additional liquidity is extremely positive & supportive to the financial system.”

Well, take a look around and one can see the markets are hitting back to normal and the trust seems to be back amongst the market participants. Well, a crisis of such debilitating proportion needed an divine intervention and… Christ they did act infallibly right!!!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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Kims’ talk to get kith & kin together

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The Koreans need to resolve their differences for a happy re-union

The leaders of North and South Korea, capitalising on progress made in the resolution of North’s nuclear imbroglio, plan to meet for the second-ever summit to iron out their differences. North Korean leader Kim Jong II will host South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun from August 28-30 in Pyongyang. Earlier during the first North-South summit, Kim had met the then-South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung in June 2000, also in Pyongyang. North and South Korea remain at war (at least technically) since the Korean War of 1953-54 ended in a ceasefire, & not as a peace treaty as widely perceived. Nevertheless, the earlier summit in 2000 coerced them to look forward on economic cooperation projects & stage reunions of thousands of relatives split by their shared border, which sadly is counted as the most heavily fortified & mine infested in the world. During the current summit, discussions might take place on a possible resolution of the 54-year-old cease-fire.

Pyongyang views the nuclear issue as a dispute solely with Washington, therefore it has refrained from getting into any confrontation with South Korea. Talking to B&E, Jeong Jae Sung, Political Editor of the Kim Jung Daily said, “The atmosphere of dialogue in N-Korea-US relations has been elevated after the departure of the Bush administration more than any other time. Meanwhile, N-Korea- China & North Korea-Russia relations have been speedily improving through economic cooperation.” With the Summit talks as a foothold; attention is being paid to getting North Korea into the international mainstream.

B&E edit bureau: Saurabh K Shahi

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Still in the search of respite…

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Borrowed vision cannot save it...

Consistently retaining its place in the list of the ten most poorest countries of the world is Malawi. As per HDI 2006, about 65.3% of the people are below national poverty line & approximately 43% below the international poverty line.

Malawi is being macerated not just by poverty, huge debts, poor education & environmental problems but also by health problems like Tuberculosis which has evoked the need for a nick name called ‘The Big Cough’. The economical scenario is beleaguering big time with a per capita income of merely $600. Of the population consisting of 10 million people, 6.53 million people are poor in Malawi, about 90% stay in the tribal villages thereby earning their living through fishing, farming or through tobacco production, which also happens to be the country’s key agricultural source. Malawi garners 90% of its export earnings from agricultural goods & the its GNP owes 38% to agriculture, vindicating the overriding dependency on agriculture of this poverty ridden country. To worsen matters, the country is also witnessing a rise in number of HIV victims. Malawi’s economy is apparently following a steep downward sloping curve. Despite the retrogressive nature of the country, it would not be an overstatement to say that Malawi can still recuperate from its contemptible state. Apart from being the member of several international organisations, Malawi has always treaded the part of a pro-Western foreign policy. Apart from maintaining cordial relation with big names like the US, Canada, Germany, Ireland, the World Bank & IMF, Malawi is also focusing on community empowerment through the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which was introduced in 2002. Along with the Malawi National Tuberculosis Control Programme, Fresh Water Project, Euthini Water & Sanitation Project etc are definite steps towards right direction, but then these intervention are too limited considering the depth of predicament. The transition would be challenging but then that’s how great nations are made.

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Day-tripping in Denver!

IIPM PUBLICATION

Say Denver and the first thing that comes to mind is, of course, the Denver Broncos (one of the most successful football teams in the history of American National Football League)... Then obviously, the famed country music singer, late John Denver… But Denver city, to the slightly above average tourist, means much more than that! Imagine a city where snow and the sun hit you with the same ferocity and on the same day (Denver claims more than 300 sunny days every year)! While in the east, there are to be ogled at, some of the world’s most breathtaking skyscrapers, and in the west, the most beautiful extreme in the United States – the Rocky Mountains. Imagine where citizens not only strive towards making the city law-abiding and reducing the number of homeless, but also at the same time aims towards legalising marijuana... There you have Denver (also called the Mile-High City situated that it is exactly one mile above sea level), the most populous city in the State of Colorado, and its capital, of course.

With the country’s largest city-park structure (a whopping 200 odd parks and 90 golf courses) and the second-largest Performing Arts Centre, the city also teems with over 40 museums (many nationally recognised, including the nouveau wing of the Denver Art Museum by the world-famous architect Daniel Libeskind) and an inviting 850 miles of hiking and biking pathways. With the award of being ‘the healthiest city in the whole of America,’ it’s no surprise that Forbes magazine has ranked Denver, for the third year in a row, as the number one city in the nation for singles!

Before we forget, at least don’t visit Denver for the sake of John Denver. God rest his soul; neither was he born in Denver (but in Roswell, New Mexico) nor was ‘Denver’ his real name (‘twas Henry John Deutschendorf Jr)! Rather, the coming months (July-August) provide you with better reasons, what with Denver hosting three internationally acclaimed festivals – the not-so-subtle Cherry Creek Arts Festival, the cultural bulwark Evergreen Jazz Festival and the thrillingly unmissable Rocky Mountains Balloon Festival! And for the intrepid Denver traveller, if a visit to the Zoo (no, not the White House) – the fourth most popular zoo in yankeeland – doesn’t rustle the animal instincts within you, one trip to the quintessential cowboy ‘Buffalo’ Bill’s Grave (and Museum) would be enough to smash you back into the heart of the Red-Indian ethos!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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The ‘Queer’ Commune

IIPM MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE

The capital gets a feel of its not so gay gay world...

Terms & conditions in love & sex are never accepted. ‘If gays & lesbians were to be tagged as criminals, just because their preferences do not fit into the perfect bracket, then even the varying methods of physical self gratification should be banned! My body, my vision, my likes, my love & my way is every individual’s right.” The Nigah Queer Fest held in Delhi between May 25 to June 3, helped gays & lesbians of different nationalities to come out & share their dilemmas & triumphs with an audience, which appreciated & understood their feelings of being ‘specially different’. Kuku, a queer, who was a part of the festival, feels delighted that an initiative of this sort was taken in India & considers it a great step to bring about ‘acceptability’ of queer existence in the world.

Lost & Found – a short black & white comedy focusing on two men, covertly flirting on a crowded bus – & other flicks like Milind Soman Made Me Gay, Coffee Date & Paper Dolls were shown at the festival. Normally deprived of movies that centre on their kind of relationships, these movies were a special treat for people from the gay community. Usually, movies project a sad miserable image of their lifestyle, however, here it was close to the real thing.

“I am a writer & have never faced any problem in my career because of me being gay. It was actually beneficial, but for my partner there have been ups & downs. He has lost 2 jobs. But now he will start something of his own. It’s sad, but...” Kuku trailed off . Kuku is like any one of us in many ways. He too desires a family as he feels parenting is important & hopes to adopt a baby girl in the near future. There are many others like Kuku who would want to do the same, but it’s only a handful of states in the entire world that permit adoption of a child by a couple of the same sex. India is home to millions of street children & orphans who live in absolute squalor & can, if the rules are relaxed, get a home, be parented & educated appropriately. But driven by the inhibitions of the society, the government holds fast to its prudish principles & thus consequently to its vote bank. By turning a blind eye to naked truths, we are killing the right of happiness for many gay people. When we proudly claim to be a democratic & liberal society in every other way, then why not in this aspect as well?

Nikhil (name changed), a queer & one of the organisers of The Nigah Queer Fest, looks at a positive possibility of making India as liberal as Holland. Nikhil says, “Indians are tolerant by nature & so I hope that the society will assimilate & accept the reality.” Nikhil feels that legality is a major issue but changing the mindset of the people is also important. “Unless you have legal change, you cannot proceed with the out-reach work. Issues like insurance, property etc. become questionable if being queer is not legalised. We are constantly harassed by the policemen – they pick up men from streets – & all this has to be changed,” rationalises Nikhil. Is it nature’s wish that we are refusing to acknowledge? Monica, who recited poems on gay love at the festival aptly remarked “I think we need to “de-criminalise”, not “legalise”. It is the process of engaging with the law in trying to get it to change – how the queer movement mobilises itself & articulates its demands for legal change – that really is more important than a change in the legal provision itself, though both are important.”

It’s about time we assimilate the insight on this issue & let this gift of God, even if be of a ‘different’ hue - bloom & blossom just as it should. Our political, rigid, jaded, rusty & confused minds need to let go off unreal ideals & not implement them by force or indulge in taming the gay & lesbians anymore. We live, we will live & till the time there is life on this planet, gays & lesbians should be allowed to live too.

Edit bureau: Megha Jaitly

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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The New Great Game Is Truly On

IIPM PUBLICATION

Back then, we wrote in the Business & Economy that Indian policy-makers are great at announcing a slew of new projects while it is nations like China that walk away with all the honours at the end of the day. We also wrote that energy security will become an issue that will be even more important than global terrorism. For better or for worse, we added that India is simply not exploiting the massive reserves of coal and its equally huge hydro-electric potential to satisfy rapidly growing demand for energy.

Nothing much has changed over the last two years. China continues to steal a march over India and even other countries, when it comes to persuading emerging suppliers of oil and gas to favour the Dragon. The disaster in Iraq shows how the whole Bush gambit was about energy security. And despite endless debates and seminars and talks, India continues to muddle its way through. There is no doubt that oil prices are not going to come down to old levels of $40 a barrel. So India has no choice but to keep looking for the elusive energy security that could determine the future of economic growth.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

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