Friday, November 30, 2012

100th year of Mills & Boon

The 100th year of Mills & Boon brings more spiced-up sweet nothings!

I was almost able to foretell the developments in the plot… the thoughts that would pace in the minds of the protagonists during their first meeting; I could anticipate a conflict and would also know when they would lock lips and make up.

This sense of predictability gradually made me drift away from M&Bs, which brings me to the question – do these novels only appeal to girls of a particular age group? “Well, there might be a possibility,” says Sakshi, who is 27 but still hasn’t shed the M&B fixation. “During my teens M&B was perpetually the topic of discussion. Although I graduated to other kinds of reading but I don’t think I can give up M&B. I still have a few of them by my bedside and I just don’t mind escaping from reality and visiting that dream world whenever I have the time.” And on enquiring about the reaction that she invites on revealing that she still is a die hard M&Bs fan, Sakshi concedes, “You know, there will always be those who would denigrate these novels and you would always get criticism from them. It’s true that M&Bs are popular only among a certain age group but I’m also sure that there will always be those who enjoy it, regardless of their age.”

On the completion of its 100th year, with its sales figures assuring the presence of plentiful readers, Mills & Boon promises to transform and bring to you more spice and sparks within those pages. So women, those intense intimate moments which would end with a sensual kiss and perhaps a little more, would now transcend to the next level… So, till you pick up the next series of the new Mills & Boon, let me just leave it for your imagination to take over!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, November 29, 2012

A piece on Israeli grandmothers!

And on why mothers and grandmothers of this great nation play a critical role in the Israeli-Russia spar

Since August 28, 2008, almost all western media in some or the other form, are criticising Russia’s decision of recognising the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia [once considered part of Georgian influence] by considering it Russian-occupied territories. Not only have both Fortune and Economist featured Russia’s growing influence on their cover stories in the last few weeks, even global leaders have suddenly started recognising that Russia still exists. In sarcastic criticism, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expectably showed her support to Georgia and warned Russia, “In contrast to Georgia’s position, Russia’s international standing is worse now than at any time since 1991...” How interesting dear Ms.Rice that you use that year as an example, for we believe that for the first time since 1991, Russia is finally regaining its rightful position on the world platform. And please Ms.Rice, neither you nor your favourite ‘Kiss Army’, of whom you are a self-confessed die-hard fan, are even an iota interested in what happens in Georgia, are you ma’am?

But what we wish to impetuously implicate out here, and what has been missed out by a majority of media in the process has been the emergence of a strange spar between Israel and Russia over the Georgian war! Analysts and experts in both Israel and Russia are bombarding each other with anti-Russian and anti-Israel statements respectively. Even in the media, while on one hand, Israeli press is accusing Russia of increasing its arm trade with the Middle East, on the other hand, the Russian media is leaving no stone unturned to prove the presence of arms and Israeli training hubs in Georgian land. And now, gravely serious political leaders allege that Russia’s nuclear fuel supply to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear plant is an initiative against Israel and Georgia. The question is, why is Israel suddenly getting into the benign act of protecting Georgia?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Wednesday, November 28, 2012

General in the cop’s seat

Odierno needs to smartly balance policing with pacification

So the war that began on the pretext of denuclearising the Iraqi arsenal and dethroning a warmonger has now toned down to policing Al Qaeda. The recent change of guard in the coalition forces saw one learned General handing over the command to the other. With Saddam out of the picture and forces loyal to him either obliterated or incorporated into the Iraqi Army, General Raymond T. Odierno has responsibilities that befit a police chief. Analysts emphasise that as the Commanding General of Multi-National Force – Iraq (MNF-I), Odierno’s primary responsibility is to tackle Al Qaeda gangs.

“It’s Al Qaeda in Anbar province that Odierno will be dealing with,” affirmed Theodore Karasik, the director (research and development) at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis (INEGMA), Dubai. Odierno lacks the brilliant academic credentials of General David Howell Petreaus but has a career replete with pragmatic accomplishments. As the commander of 4th Infantry Division, he quelled violence in the non-complying Sunni strongholds where Saddam drew his closest Baathist comrades from. His troops captured Saddam Hussein. He was called in to crush violence whenever and wherever it surged in the country.

Former ISI chief Assad Durrani had told this journalist earlier that Al Qaeda is an invisible force and is not tangible. If it’s a force, it’s a dreaded one. It has the shrewdness to elicit violent reprisals from the Shia community and maturity to understand that killing its own cadres only fulfills its objective. It has struck missiles in Iraq's neighbouring Hashemite Kingdom and has the potential to direct them to the richer Gulf Emirates.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, November 26, 2012

The red letter day

Privatisation will benefit India Post and also uplift the rural economy

Change is the only thing constant in the world. Ironically though, we have a natural tendency to fear it. The same is true for India Post. Economic liberalisation and the resulting competition has blessed many industries by pummelling the domestic players into shape. However, India Post remains a stark exception to this trend, and there is no doubt that this anomaly has to change very soon. It has become imperative for Indian Post to exploit fully within its limited resources. We proceed to analyse how reforms in Indian Post can bring a paradigm shift in India. Consider this: India’s largest commercial bank, the State Bank of India (SBI) achieved a total turnover of approximately Rs.9 trillion (over $200 billion) with only 10,000 branches and the largest private commercial bank ICICI, with a mere 1308 branches, exceeded the total turnover of Rs.12.10 billion in 2007, whereas Indian Post, with over 1,55,000 branches, remains one of the biggest loss makers among state run giants. Instead of being a pride for the nation, it remains more of a predicament for the country.

The concept of postal services was posted in India as early as 1884, but even after over a century of trials and tribulations, Indian Post is still waiting to take off. Since its inception, Indian Post has launched a variety of services from mail handling to banking, insurance, small savings and remittances and has been of great service to the nation, but in none of these fields has it succeeded as expected. Instead, Indian Post is just another example of the stark failure of some of India’s legacy state-run corporations.

India Post comes under the Department of Post, which is a part of the Ministry of telecommunications and Information Technology. With the economic liberalisation, the Indian telecom sector, which also comes under the same umbrella (under the same Ministry), has seen robust growth thanks to privatisation, while India Post is yet to fire. Thus the IIPM Think Tank proposes that the government corporatise, deregulate, and bring more public-private partnerships into India Post to make it a success.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, November 25, 2012

Good business plan in India

B&E’s Savreen Gadhoke argues why manufacturing cars for the fairer sex does not make for a good business plan in India... [and the lady is serious!]
 
In India, still, experts comment and research agencies like HighBeam concur that at the lower level, women make up 10% of the total sales of even top mass market brands. Though India comprises a 200 million strong middle class, for whom a car is even now more of a luxury, which is bought after great discussions and compromises and generally driven by the man of the house, introducing a car exclusively for a woman belonging to this segment of society is just not a viable proposition.
 
Vivek Srivastava, Joint MD, Innocean Worldwide states, “Specific models being offered to the female buyers as a practice or an approach to market segmentation is not a wide-spread practice.” However, by mapping the needs of the middle class, manufacturers have launched 2-wheelers like Hero Honda Pleasure, TVS Scooty Pep, Kinetic Flyte, et al, which have been received well by females from this strata of the society and have performed well in tier-2 & tier-3 cities, mainly because of poor conditions of the public transport & low cost of ownership. Harshul Verma, Automobile Analyst, Khandwala Securities asserts, “Females generally prefer compact cars over bulky vehicles.” Would that make Tata’s Nano more a woman’s car than the people’s car? Comparing with the western world, in USA & UK, bulky vehicles like Volvo S40, Mazda 3 & Volkswagen Jetta are the first preferences of female drivers.

Indian automobile manufacturers are just not ready to take the risk of launching cars targeted exclusively at women. The foremost reason for this is that they do not wish to restrict their target audience. And as the well publicised Experian August 2008 research shows, men are better and more regular ‘re-buyers’ and repeat customers than women. Well, though my lady-like composure permits not, I have to accept, women are worse when it comes to the market place! 
 


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Saturday, November 24, 2012

FANNIE MAE & FREDDIE MAC: CRISIS & RESCUE

...and teach all Fed officials to do just that. Your ‘proactive’ revival might just work for sometime, but it isn’t enough to clean-off the mortgage mess! Right, Henry?!

So how serious is this twin-corp (Fannie & Freddie) issue? Imagine this – the duo control over $5.2 trillion worth of the US’ mortgage market; a thundering 43.3% of the total pie! Imagine them crashing!!! The Q1 FY 2008 net loss for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, pegged at $4.3 billion & $151 million respectively. So what’s the credit influx needed? As per Lehman Brothers, Fannie needs $46 billion while Freddie needs $29 billion! The eroding residential mortgage quality, alarmingly high debt-equity ratio (as high as 75 times!) and investor panic, all indicate that this downturn is likely to be prolonged & severe; and that companies would have greater capital needs as Mark Zandi, Chief Economist, Moody’s asserts, “Fannie and Freddie require some support from the Federal Government to shore up their liquidity positions...” The Fed has consistently been ‘reactive’ in its response to earlier crises but plans to swallow the ‘proactive’ pill this time with Henry Paulson on-board the Fed as it Chief Treasurer. However, the Fed should look for a more mid-term policy rather than adopting short-term strategies, which would only double its deficit and cause a further collapse of the dollar. Sadly, this intervention will only postpone the bottoming of the housing downturn and delay recovery. Worst, there will have to be many more outflows from Fed’s pockets, and at regular intervals. Watch out for this space! 


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, November 22, 2012

Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd. writes...

Prashant Agarwal, Vice President, Technopak Advisors Pvt. Ltd. writes...

There is a need to create large capacities and invest big in this industry to be able to produce and achieve the targets set by Government and industry, if we don’t have capacities we can’t expect to achieve the targets. Big players in the industry have to invest in a big way to create capacities and then go to large scale acquisitions of brands and manufacturing capacities in innovative product and design in Europe or US. It is important that the players are present in a complete value chain to avoid huge price pressure of sudden change in raw material prices or other costs.

Buyers are looking to source from India in a big way with long term perspective but they don’t find the capacities to cater to their requirements. The mantra is to have a perfect balance between scale of operations and product differentiation. This will help cater to buyer’s requirements like quick turn around time, assistance in product development, better quality and most importantly a long term strategic relationship. The service levels have to increase to an extent that the buyers do not have option to go to other vendors. Business should be based on the long term factors like scale of operation, buyer satisfaction, product differentiation, R&D, innovation not on short term factors like variation in raw material prices, currency fluctuation and other input costs. To get ahead of the others, we need to define a clear mission and vision, create our own niche and product differentiation, work towards better operational efficiency and capacity utilisation, provide best customer service, look towards complete value chain and believe in our country’s competitiveness.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Barbie doll will love!

Presenting the new male every Barbie doll will love!

In general, one can expect to be ‘socially presentable’ in about 10 days. The bruises fade away in one to three weeks and the incisions in one or two months (but they are made in the natural creases of the face and may be indiscernible much sooner). Healing continues over the next 12 to 18 months.

Men are also frequenting hair salons instead of barber shops, going for face packs and other skin toning treatments, shopping at cosmetic counters, getting facials and using moisturizers and sunscreens. They are often seen around the spa’s and also using and hunting for new beauty and cosmetic treatments.

“Truly men these days have been hovering around cosmetic surgeons for surgeries. Earlier there were fewer men, but now with the changing world, men have become a lot more concerned about their looks. They mainly come for nose jobs, gynaecomastia (development of the breast in the male) or liposuction.” But here’s a word of caution, “People seeking surgeries should be realistic and not expect miracles. Some come up with vague ideas to change their appearance completely, which is difficult to accompolish,” says Dr D.V. Chibbar, Consultant in Plastic Surgery, Fortis Hospital, New Delhi.

Cosmetic surgery is purely aimed at enhancing the appearance of a normal body part for cosmetic reasons. The trend is booming alright, but the procedure could prove to be costly, both psychologically and socially.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Tuesday, November 20, 2012

MAYAWATI: BSP INCLUSIONS

More and more political leaders from UP are joining Mayawati

To take this mobilisation to its logical conclusion, Mayawati – no friend of the traders until now – has recently ordered that no arbitrary arrests be made under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.

Dalit writer Chandrabhan Prasad told B&E, “The Brahman-Dalit confluence was a winning poll slogan. After coming to power, Mayawati is trying to increase her mass base. As compared to rural strongholds, her appeal in urban areas is limited, so these moves are aimed at bridging the gap.” The lineup of those who have joined the BSP is quiet impressive. Munawar Hussain, SP legislator from western Uttar Pradesh, Jagdish Rana, former minister in Mulayam Singh’s cabinet, former Congress legislator Ajay Pratap Singh & Lok Dal legislator, Kadir Rana who are now all formally in the BSP.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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RAM SETU: ASI

Will the government take Ram Setu to ASI and show its hand?

Arguing against the demolition, senior advocate C.S. Vaidyanathan and others involved contended that there was a possibility of going ahead with the project through alternative alignments if and when needed.

Interestingly though Sri Lankan authorities could drag India to the International Court of Justice on the plea that the entire project is an environmental threat to both countries involved.Let's see if this gap can be ‘bridged’?!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Sunday, November 18, 2012

Ma, we’re re‘pink’ing our strategy!

US slowdown is affecting employment across the globe, but the financial services sector leads the rest

Steven Tyler never uttered these words! But his group’s song was the rage of the 90s – ‘Pink is my favourite colour’, by the raucous Aerosmith! And you’ve been of late noticing how your boss has started crooning the song whenever you pass him by. Relax, it’s just a coincidence. Research shows that when bosses want to throw you out, they don’t sing Aerosmith songs :-) More seriously, international experts have been strongly commenting since last quarter that recession would not necessarily affect the skilled employment market that fast, especially in developed countries. Closer home, Dr. Naresh Malhan, MD, Manpower India comments that the impact on new recruitments “would not be imminent... especially when most businesses are plagued by talent shortage.”

On taking a global perspective, B&E realised that irrespective of how many experts we could put on one side of the table, it was the pink slip strategy that coloured every aspect of our finding, on whichever sector we touched. And there’s no better example than the global financial sector, with the sub-prime mistress raking in every penny uttering its name.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Escorting trouble Advani style

The BJP supremo distances himself from Kandahar fiasco but questions remain unanswered

Did the Home Minister of India know that his colleague, the Foreign Minister, was politely escorting terrorists in the aftermath of the Kandahar hijack drama to Kabul; a tale so tragic and humiliating that India will forever find it difficult to live it down? The then Home Minister and currently BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate, L.K. Advani, has suggested in his book `My country, My life’, that he was not in the know when then Foreign Minister, Jaswant Singh, escorted Maulana Masood Azhar and two other terrorist killers to safety in Kabul.

While Advani’s standing as a one of the few genuine practioners of realpolitic has been re-enhanced with this book - which is different from mere journalistic writing - his position on Kandhar is bound to put the BJP in the dock. Is this a case of too little too late? Does Advani, himself one of the great political spin doctors of modern India, think it is time for course correction to a sordid chapter of the country where he was ultimately responsible for law and order?

Close Advani sympathiser and columnist Swapan Dasgupta, makes this point: “Advani has taken an important step in distancing himself from the shameful capitulation in Kandahar. That, unfortunately, isn't enough. It is necessary for him to take advantage of the renewed interest in the subject to propose a policy that will make it impossible for another Kandahar to recur. In short, the BJP as a whole must admit that it erred in 1999 and assure the nation that no Government in future will repeat that mistake.“


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Friday, November 9, 2012

Pregnant requires reflection…

While every woman dreams of becoming a mother, getting pregnant requires reflection…

Interestingly, this is also the answer to the question that might have risen in most people’s mind when they first heard of Farah Khan’s pregnancy. “Luckily in her case all three started growing.” Well, if you are one of those who any day prefers twins or triplets, either for the fun of it, or to finish it all in one go, don’t get too excited. “It affects the healthy maturity of the embryos since the uterus has limited space and all of them compete with respect to growth,” mentions Dr. Swati.

If all of this is instilling hope in you to also aspire to delay the pending short (being optimistic) break from the fun-and-ambition-filled days that is required to bring a little one into your life, there is yet another angle to the story you should consider – moolah. “IVF is of course a costly affair. It costs a lakh easily for one entire cycle of fertilising and placing the embryos in the uterus,” reveals the doctor. While a lakh might sound affordable to many, the activity becomes costlier given “the success rate is 40%” and declines to a great extent for women close to 40 and above.

Though biologically, 20-24 is the best age to reproduce, it is almost juvenile to succumb to nature’s expectations in present times. There is a growing trend of late pregnancy and the number of women procreating (for the first time) in the age group of 30-39 has doubled over the last 15 years. But arising from age-related problems, like diabetes and blood pressure, are risks such as a longer period (6-12 months) to conceive, miscarriages and prolonged delivery, that complicate matters.

Technically, a woman’s menstrual cycle is an indicator of the fertility of her reproductive system but excessive weight, the breeder of most health problems, plays a villain in this case too. Dr. Swati warns, “Food habits and lifestyle play an important role. Obesity is prognostic of adverse effects on child planning, whether naturally or through artificial methods.”


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, November 8, 2012

A (c)ash rich proposition

GCIP acquisition gives sustainability but also substantially increases the risk profile for TCL

Tatas are on the rampage again! This time, it’s the less talked about Tata Chemicals Ltd. (TCL) that has created the buzz. The company announced a big ticket billion dollar mega acquisition of the US-based natural soda ash maker – General Chemicals Industrial Products (GCIP) on January 31. The acquisition (100% stake through a mix of debt & equity) will not only make TCL the 2nd largest soda ash maker in the world, but also help it command over 14% (over 5.5 million tonnes) of the world’s total soda ash capacity. However, it’s the choice of the target that deserves the real applause! Once the acquisition is complete, over 50% of TCL’s capacity would be through the natural route. This means both sustainability and natural hedge against the commodity cycle. “Since GCIP is using trona natural mineral, which can be converted into soda ash and is more cost effective (as production cost of natural soda ash is 40-45% cheaper than the cost of producing synthetic soda), it means increased profitability for TCL”, avers Rohit Nagraj, Sr. Research Analyst, Angel Broking. A Tata Chemicals spokesperson confirmed to B&E that “by 2009 and 2010, we will have more such overseas acquisitions as we believe Tata Chemicals has not yet utilised its full potential”.

The acquisition will not only enable the company to increase its capacity, but will also, in long term, give access to markets in North America, Latin America as well as Far East. Well, the sustainability is there to stay! (GCIP has natural soda ash mines expected to last for next 100 years). But then there are many who question the move on the backdrop of the US slowdown! “As many chemical manufacturers in the US are facing challenges, so will TCL,” says Paresh Nautiyal, analyst with Arihant Capital.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: USA

Super Tuesday refused to throw up a winner for Democrats. SUTANU GURU analyses

However, ever since Obama surprised Hillary with a win during the first primary in Iowa, his campaign has been steadily gathering momentum and the double digit lead that Hillary used to enjoy till about a month ago has been reduced to virtually nothing. Most resonant and powerful was the open endorsement of the Obama candidacy given recently by the brother, daughter and nephew of the former President John F. Kennedy. The youth seem to be particularly taken in by the openness, clarity and vision being offered by Obama in contrast to more of the same kind of politics that Hillary seems to offer. “What was once inevitable is no longer inevitable,” said David Axelrod, Obama’s Chief Strategist. “What was once a lop-sided race is no longer lop-sided. The momentum has shifted.”

Yet, Obama cannot rest; nor can he afford to be complacent. A tidal wave of enthusiasm and endorsements after the Kennedy family supported him led many pundits to predict that Obama would sweep the big states like California and even give Hillary a run for her money in her home state New York. Obama’s campaign manager David Plouffe said the senator was in a “strong position to win the Democratic nomination,” and eyed contests next week in Maryland, Virginia and Washington DC. This seemed to be political wisdom till even a few hours before voting began. But the results – as usual – have surprised the pundits. Hillary has scored a big win over Obama despite support from big Hollywood stars like George Clooney. Of course, it becomes even more difficult to predict who will eventually will the Democratic nomination because the party has a complicated way of figuring out who will get how many delegates from each state. Unlike the Republican Party where the winner takes it all, the Democrats allot delegates to the candidates on the basis of the proportional share of the votes won by them. Till the time of going to the press, it appeared as if Hillary is slightly ahead with about 500 delegates while Obama is close behind with about 475 delegates. To eventually win the nomination and formally become the Democratic candidate, either Hillary or Obama will have to win over at least 2050 delegates across the country.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).
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