Showing posts with label IIPM Ranking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label IIPM Ranking. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 06, 2012

A thespian grandmom

A thespian grandmom, a sultry mom, and two star daughters…

Having been part of two different eras, Moon Moon sees no influence of her mom’s work in her own. “My mother stopped acting about 15 years before I stepped into films. If you look at the history of cinema, you will see that each decade is different in terms of writing, story, direction etc. I could never have done the kind of role my mother did because I was never offered such roles. What came my way was very different and I had to measure up to the kind of work I got.” The challenge, as she says, was never about comparison or expectation. “In fact, the biggest challenge faced by actors of any era is that of competition from fellow actors.”

On whether it is difficult for a star child to deal with people’s expectations, Moon Moon interestingly pointed out, “One has to understand that people don’t really have any expectations. It’s more about meeting your own expectations. Eventually how one performs matters.” In her film career of 60 movies and 40 tele-serials in Bengali, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and even Marathi, Moon Moon Sen dared roles that were tabooed in the Indian film industry then. “They just wait to see what you are going to be like,” says Moon Moon with a conviction that appears to be her source of motivation too.

During the conversation, her well paced discourse in a husky yet clear voice was constantly reminding me of an elitist secondary school language teacher. The similarity between them was an effortless wider-than-usual stretching of lips for clarity in pronunciation. What led to such a thought could probably be my knowledge of her being an English teacher at one time or her constant words of encouragement for all star kids who somewhere along the line are trying to overcome the shadows of their predecessors. “Like today, no one really expects Ranbir to be like his father or mother. For Abhishek Bachchan, the challenge is nothing to do with him being Amitabh Bachchan’s son. Nobody expects another Amitabh Bachchan; they wish to see what Abhishek Bacchan is all about,” she explains. 


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.
 
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Saturday, October 13, 2012

FUNDS ALLOCATION: FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS

Priority should be given to smaller projects and projects-on-hold

In order to end the middle men commission concept and faulty tender processes, the government needs to adopt a fast-track single-window technical tendering process. The release of funds have to made much more efficient and quick – thus enabling the project to go on as per the schedule – as well as fines charged not just for implementation delays but also for unused funds (aka ADB). Smaller projects should be necessarily targeted first. For example, the JNNURM sanction should be immediately used for public facilities like roads, water in village areas, as these are the small projects that can be tendered and completed double quick.

Another innovative procedure could be to provide appropriate incentives to the tender awardees for completing plans before time and within budgets. Most importantly, well paid professional managers should be employed to manage and rate these projects from the government’s end. Believe us, it works to hire intelligent humans. Well, how many times have government ‘Abhiyans’ been rated on an Economic Value Added concept?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Thursday, October 11, 2012

A crown of steel, a road full of thorns...

Ratan Tata himself is in favour of the successor being an insider rather than an outsider

Tata Steel’s journey over the last hundred years has been a fascinating one. And driving this growth for the last one decade is B. Muthuraman. Muthuraman joined Tata Steel in 1966 as a Graduate Trainee. He worked in the areas of iron-making and engineering development for a period of ten years. He then moved to the marketing & sales division and spent nearly 20 years there, ultimately rising to the level of Vice President. He was appointed Executive Director (Special Projects) in August 2000 and served as the main change agent for the major diversification projects of Tata Steel. He was appointed as Managing Director of Tata Steel on July 22, 2001.Tata Steel is going to look for a new CEO, as the long-standing Chief Executive of the company steps down this September. There are three to four names of potential CEOs floating around. One such name is that of Philippe Varin.

Assuming Varin gets the nod from Ratan Tata to succeed B. Muthuraman, the appointment would help Ratan Tata’s efforts to underline his group’s international credentials. Post Tata Steel’s acquisition of Corus in 2007, Varin has worked closely and effectively with B. Muthuraman, Managing Director of Tata Steel to successfully integrate Corus and Tata Steel. At the age of 56, Varin would not be a particularly youthful choice. However, Ratan Tata is more impressed with his ability than youth. Ratan Tata recently extended his own term that allows him to stay at the helm until he is 75. The diplomatic Varin has shown every sign of having enjoyed working for the Indian company, though he now has a struggle on his hands, as Corus pushes through a £350 million cost-saving plan that could involve large job cuts next year. The Board of Tata Steel has appointed Kirby Adams to succeed Philippe Varin as Chief Executive Officer of Corus and of Tata Steel Europe – the holding company of Tata Steel’s European operations. It is also learnt that the coveted post – at the helm of Tata Steel – will go to an insider. A senior Tata Group official said that Ratan Tata himself is in favour of successor being a ‘Tata Steel man’ rather than an outsider.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Wednesday, October 10, 2012

ICELAND: PM RESIGNS

Iceland's PM resigns on the back of global economic turmoil

This crisis has been a tremendous let-down for 320,000 Icelanders, whose rising incomes and prosperity had left them quite unprepared for this. "What this essentially means is that this is a country without a government, so it's impossible to say what might happen next,” says Gunnar Kristinsson, Professor at Iceland University. It is anticipated that the economy will shrink by 9.6% in 2009, while unemployment will touch 7.8%.

Bailouts by neighbouring countries and IMF are failing to prop up the economy. The new PM Johanna Sigurdardottir is asking Central Bank governors to resign and is building consensus for a union with EU. As other options fail, this indeed seems to be the best way forward.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Look where we landed!

The new CEOs of Walmart & Yahoo! could actually explore an alliance!

At the beginning of this century, when the world had just begun adjusting to life after the Internet, everyone was talking about how the brick & mortar companies would be out of contention soon and the Internet upstarts would seize the day. The dotcom bubble burst and badly so, taking many believers with it. But the belief was not misplaced. Only, the Internet’s potential was overestimated. However, what must be understood is that no amount of technology can make up for the lack of a sound business model. This is evident from the travails of Walmart and Yahoo!, one company hails from the brick & mortar world of yore, and the other belongs to the futuristic Internet space. For both, 2009 is bringing in a crucial change in leadership (as US President Barack Obama would agree, change is the key word this year!).

Walmart will get its new CEO Mike Duke on February 1, replacing Lee Scott (who’s term has ended) and Yahoo! has already gotten its new CEO Carol Bartz replacing co-founder Jerry Yang (who stepped down following intense criticism). Well, the irony is that the ‘past’ seems to be ahead of the ‘future’. Walmart is successfully surviving the downturn and Yahoo! is struggling. But both CEOs have their own set of challenges.

Duke has been with Walmart for over 14 years. His appointment indicates that Walmart may be looking at expanding international operations (where Duke has valuable experience) immensely. Liz Crawford, VP-Retail, Strategy, Tracy Locke states, “Duke has learned valuable lessons in markets like Germany (where the chain had to close down).” Walmart will face overwhelming competition from Tesco, Metro, Carrefour, et al in emerging markets, as per Bryan Roberts, Global research Director, Planet Retail.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Monday, October 08, 2012

With the left burden off his shoulders Will arjun singh finally do some good?

For most of his term, he had his hands tied left, right and centre; Arjun’s back with a vengeance

Over the decades, he has emerged as one of the most respected entrepreneurs of post-Independence India and nurtures the powerful corporate legacy of the Godrej family. He is very optimistic about India’s future. And yet, when B&E asks Adi Godrej about one single issue that could derail India, he unhesitatingly says ‘education’. “The State has to encourage private sector participation in education. There is no other option. It is the private sector that made the third rate telecom and aviation sectors in India world class. It is the private sector that will do it in education.” And of critical importance is the FEI (Foreign Educational Institutions: regulation of entry and operations, maintenance of quality and prevention of commercialisation) Bill, 2007, that had to be shelved last year by Arjun Singh due to stiff opposition from the Left. Granted that the current UPA government has just about a few months left to go before it is election season.

But just as Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has staked his future legacy through the nuclear deal, HRD Minister Arjun Singh too has a great opportunity to stake his own legacy by reforming higher education in the country, and in a major way by getting the FEI Bill passed. In fact, the passing of this Bill could well lead to benefits that will be far more significant and enduring than the nuclear deal. And now that the UPA government is not hobbled by an obstructionist and obscurantic Left when it comes to policy making and implementation, Arjun Singh even has the space now to quickly leave a lasting imprint; if he so wishes to. The question is, does he?

It just seems, Arjun Singh wishes to do so, and this time he is moving double time. “The hurdles have been removed to an extent and now the Bill should be introduced... If time is available, I would like to see it happen,” Arjun Singh commented just 48 hours after the government won the trust vote. Arjun Singh even set up an urgent meeting with state education ministers to initiate a blueprint for considerable expansion and education reforms in the next five years. But as he confirmed with his actions, the meeting was primarily with a focus on getting the FEI Bill passed in quick time.

Report after report and study after study has revealed the tragic truth that while India churns out millions of graduates and hundreds of thousands of doctors, engineers and managers, most of them simply do not have the basic skills required for the demanding job opportunities that 21st century India is creating. In short, India is spawning leagues of unemployable literates. The key is for the higher education system in India to ‘produce employable’ youngsters. And what better a strategy than promoting the entry of foreign institutions, already at the cutting edge of globalisation and education benchmarks that are extremely pertinent to the new world realities.

At the heart of the problem is the serious lack of resources and the role of UGC and AICTE, the two bodies that are actually supposed to regulate higher education in the country. Admits former NCERT Director J.S Rajput to B&E, “It is a fact that the government does not have requisite resources to maintain standards in higher education. So, the role and responsibilities of private educational institutions becomes critical.”

Experts comment that though UGC and AICTE could have moved mountains in improving India’s higher education framework, both of them currently face a crisis of quality, and to a certain extent, credibility. Says Dinanath Batra, Convener of the Shikhsha Bachao Andolan, “Now, the PM places more trust on reports of the Knowledge Commission.” According to the President of Centre for Civil Society, Partha Shah, the basic problem with UGC and AICTE is that they have not changed with the times. Clearly, instead of acting as change agents and effective regulators, they continue to adhere to rule books that have grown old beyond what today’s demanding higher education sector requires. It is not that the UGC and AICTE were set up with the objective of stopping the growth of education. In fact, these two institutions were once upon a time not so long back seen as perpetrators of processes and structures in the education sector that could have radically transformed the promised growth into higher figures.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Saturday, October 06, 2012

It’s a Simple Matter of Investment

A Synchrotron is Welcome, But India still needs a Thriving R&D Culture

There is a plan to set up a ‘synchrotron’ in West Bengal with an investment estimate of Rs.60 billion to be made by the Indian government and private players, a concept that exists only in four countries – US, France, Japan and Germany. It is being hailed as India’s arrival into the Big Boys club in R&D. A synchrotron is a cyclical particle accelerator (like the one at the most famed CERN) that has its application in various streams of sciences. Truly, in the scientific industry, it’s equivalent to sending a man to the moon. For India, it’s not only a matter of pride, but a step towards rebranding itself as an upmarket research and development hub.

But keep this synchrotron instance to one side, and one starts viewing huge gaps in our R&D efforts. As per the latest data from the Ministry of Science and Technology, there were 3960 R&D institutions as of 2006, of which 707 were by the Central Government, 834 by State Governments and 2020 by private sectors. Total investment during 2002-03 was $3.91 billion, which was just 0.8% of the GNP. However, that increased to 2% of GDP in 2008.

But these numbers shrink when one compares the same to benchmark countries. OECD commented that even in 2006, China was apparently investing $136 billion in R&D. As of 2008, India had 1.5 lakh researchers compared to China’s 10 lakh plus. Even the US had a total R&D expenditure in 2006 of $340 billion. Global expenditure on R&D has dramatically increased from $525 billion in 1999 to $1.1 trillion in 2007. Positively looking, the patents granted in India had increased from 1078 during 2002-03 to 15220 during 2006-07. But in the same year, the European patent office issued 62,780 patents; and the US, 173,771 patents.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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Friday, October 05, 2012

WIKILEAKS: THE EULOGY

Left to us, We’d give the Nobel Prize to WikiLeaks, Run by the Rollicking Sunshine Press, For their Astounding Efforts... This one’s for them!

But more than all the numbers, WikiLeaks has beyond doubt proven that United States has knowingly not only committed the worst and unpardonable human rights violations, but also has violated the Geneva Accord that controls the behaviour of armies, who capture “prisoners during the course of operations.”

In comparison, Saddam’s kangaroo-trial and summary execution by the US government for the killing of 148 Shiites in Dujail, seems like child’s play. One wonders whether George Bush would ever be even charged with war crimes.

Back to topic, while the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen warned that the WikiLeaks Afghan expose is a threat to national security, President Obama commented, “These documents don’t reveal any issues that haven’t already informed our public debate on Afghanistan.” Strangely, the tenor of Presidential speak has been quite similar whenever WikiLeaks has squirmed the can open – their historic Guantanamo Bay expose inclusive, where WikiLeaks revealed the exact prison manual (termed the Standard Operating Procedure) for Camp Delta, that documented spectacular human rights’ violations – usage of dogs, belly irons, isolation torture et al.

But Assange hasn’t always gotten it right. In two notable mistakes, WikiLeaks has had to eat dust. In December 2006, WikiLeaks claimed that Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, a Somali political figure, had planned to assassinate Somali Government officials. Later, the claim was found to be unauthentic and led to WikiLeaks trying to cover up.

In another example, WikiLeaks jumped the gun during the 2008 US Presidential Election, by posting contents of an email account which purportedly belonged to Sarah Palin. It didn’t take much time for investigators to discover that it was just a fake email account created by David Kernell, a Tennessee University student.

But the world is fortunate that WikiLeaks has survived till now. In February 2008, the Swiss Bank Julius Baer sued WikiLeaks in a court in California, US and sought permanent shutdown of its website after it reported illegal activities in the bank’s Cayman Island branch. WikiLeaks won the case in March, 2008. This time they were lucky. It might not be so in the future. To that extent, Assange, your personal indiscretions aside, this one’s for you!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
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Monday, September 10, 2012

They call it Philanthropy, I call it Business Sense!

Post-liberalisation, India has not only witnessed tremendous economic growth, but has also experienced something which was more of a distant dream pre-liberalisation. With stock markets surging northwards, India Inc. has been all set to storm the lists that feature the “-est” of the world, both in terms of scale and scope. Not only did the Indian economy, within a span of less than two decades, touch the trillion dollar mark, but at the same time, India Inc. also booked their slots in the Fortune 500 and Forbes lists with unprecedented frequency. However, such entries did not change the attitude of these Indian corporations towards social cause. Unlike the West (and even China, Hong Kong and other Asian countries), Indian billionaires largely kept themselves away from the whole idea of philanthropy. This is quite evident from the fact that in spite of the surging number of billionaires, the fate of our workforces has not changed much. Else, how can one justify India’s Gini coefficient (an economic indicator that indicates the income inequality of the nation) of 36.8, which is even worse than Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The Asia-Pacific Wealth Report developed by Capgemini and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management reveals that in 2008, India had 84,000 HNWIs (High Net Worth Individuals) with a combined net worth of a staggering $310 billion (equates to approximately Rs.14,000 billion) with each HNWI on an average maintaining a balance of Rs.166 million – or more than $3.6 million. In 2009, the number of HNWIs grew and crossed the mark of a hundred thousand; and today, the same is estimated to be around 127,000. For the uninitiated, HNWIs are those who have assets of $1 million or more, excluding primary residence, collectibles, consumables, and consumer durables. To top this up, Forbes’ magazine lists around 69 Indians as billionaires, with the net worth of 100 wealthiest Indians being estimated at $300 billion as of 2009.

Now, to get a better perspective of the huge disparity, one just needs to compare this prosperity at the top of the pyramid with the misery at the bottom. The average Indian currently earns $1030 annually (the latest per capita figure). If one were to assume that everyone in India is caught in a time warp wherein the current billionaires’ wealth does not grow beyond the current levels, and at the same time those at the bottom do not spend a single penny for the next many years, then it would take more than 970 years for the average per capita earning Indian to even catch up with the current billionaires! With such high income disparities, if the top 100 HNWIs decide to donate merely 1 per cent of their total wealth, they could add around $3 billion every year to the economy, which could then fund a huge amount for basic developmental initiatives, which the average Indian is devoid of.

Again, to get a perspective of what this money can do, it is significant to understand how much does the government earmark for social imperatives. With the government planning to spend $6.72 billion in education and $4.83 billion on health & family welfare this budget, such a donation as mentioned above would go a long way in comfortably enhancing the allocation towards these social imperatives. Thus, a single year of donation can double and in some cases even triple the flow of funds, depending on the sector! If not for anything else, this $3 billion, which is a mere one year’s donation for India’s richest, can take care of the sanitation problems of 700 million Indians for good! And all this without causing much dent to the personal wealth of these top 100 wealthiest Indians. And mind you, here we are just referring to one year of donation; imagine the magic it could create if this trend of donations could continue for perpetuity. Also, here we are referring to just the top 100 of India’s wealthiest; imagine the social revolution that could be brought about if all 127,000 HNWIs donated 1% of their wealth every year for social development!


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
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Saturday, September 08, 2012

Do Aliens really exist?

August 5, 2010: UK Government officially accepts the hushing up of a confirmed UFO incident by releasing 5000 plus pages of UFO reports! So do Aliens really exist? The Scrutiny team does a quick recap of available research in this area!
 
Numerous scientists, defence intelligence agencies and government organizations, after years of research, continue to grapple with the possibility of alien life on other planets – and on earth. While none of them have indisputably confirmed the existence of aliens or UFOs, innumerable sightings at different times in history in different parts of the world have made stronger than required and straight-jacked denials from leading governments appear clearly unnecessary at the best, and to the critics, like cover-ups at the worst.

While the most famous July 1947 purported alien aircraft crash in Roswell, USA, was repeatedly denied by the US government (despite the statements by people like Maj. Jesse Marcel – deputed by the US government in the debris recovery at Roswell – who confirmed the crash to be of an “unearthly” extraterrestrial spacecraft), some of the other incidents have been accepted by respective governments to have definitely occurred; the Scrutiny team gives a quick review of the reports.

January 31, 1916: A UK pilot near Rochford reports a row of lights, like lighted windows on a railway carriage, that rise and disappear. In another similar incident, a US pilot sees six “flying manhole covers” between Wichita, Kansas and Colorado Springs, Colorado.

June 24, 1947: Much respected American businessman Kenneth Arnold is flying his private plane near Mount Rainier, Washington. He suddenly sees nine brilliantly bright objects flying across the face of Mount Rainier. He reports the incident and it immediately catches media hype.

April 18, 1962: A thousand odd people, including civilians as well as US Air Force officials and several radar sites spot a “meteor” over Oneida, New York, heading in a westerly direction. The meteor comes down in Eureka – US Air Defence Command reports that there is an unexpected power cut in the surrounding area. Interestingly, the meteor takes off again and finally disappears over the Nellis Air Force Base. Power resumes post the disappearance. The concept becomes the basis for many sci-fi movie makers.

March 13, 1997: More than a hundred eyewitnesses situated randomly between Nevada and Tucson report UFOs and lights travelling along a 300 mile area, with Phoenix, Arizona being the host to the maximum sighting. The most sightings occur in the area in and around Phoenix, Arizona. The National UFO Reporting Center confirms the incident. National Geographic confirms the same too and launches a specific science investigation on the incident over a decade later.
 

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
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Thursday, September 06, 2012

On the other side of the family

Post the split of the business, the destinies of L. N. Mittal and his siblings have been dramatically different. But one can also find them converging on some fronts now

For steel tycoon and Arcelor Mittal Chairman Lakshmi Niwas Mittal, leaving home ground to face the challenges and opportunities of the global business world, way back in 1976, proved to be the most ingenious business decision he ever took in his entire life. Initially, the move was made so that he could manage the international operations of Nippon Denro Ispat, his father M. L. Mittal’s steel firm; an expedition that started with a defunct steel plant in Indonesia. As the world now knows and acknowledges without batting any eyelids, turning around depressed steel assets was meant to be one of Mittal’s greatest strengths; coupled with a keen eye for the right opportunity. Ultimately the company’s operations had to be split in the family due to differences, and the international operations went to L. N. Mittal. From there on, L. N. Mittal began an exciting journey of self discovery and a dizzying ascent to the top of the global steel industry, a journey that culminated in the much celebrated takeover of Arcelor to form the Arcelor Mittal group. As far as the younger two brothers, Pramod Mittal and Vinod Mittal are concerned, they got the Indian operations of the company as per the split, and run Ispat Industries as Chairman and Vice Chairman respectively.

While it is hard to compare the two companies head to head, there are some interesting aspects of their businesses that are worth a mention. The most interesting is the aggression with which they entered each other’s turf, and also in the manner in which they have often faced issues with governments on the way. Through their holding company Global Steel Holdings Ltd., Pramod Mittal and Vinod Mittal have taken over steel making facilities in Philippines, Bulgaria and Nigeria. Arcelor Mittal continues to struggle with respect to operations in India (part of the reason being a now defunct condition in the split that prevented Lakshmi Mittal from doing so). In fact, the elder Mittal tried his trademark brownfield route when it tried to acquire SAIL and later IISCO, which were both shot down by the government. Even his plans for Greenfield expansion in Jharkhand with a 12 mtpa plant have faced abnormal delays.

In the case of Ispat Industries, its total output expanded remarkably to 16.4 mtpa by 2006, but of late, some of its projects ran into major trouble. The Nigerian government cancelled its SOPs to the company in 2008 for 1.3 million ton Ajaokuta Steel and Nigerian Iron Ore Mining. It planned to help in rehabilitation of Zimbabwean government owned Zimbabwe Iron & Steel Company, which was mired in a corruption scandal that rocked the entire establishment; and the project was given up. Similarly, its plans in Serbia also ran into trouble. By 2008, the company’s capacity was again back to 2.9 mtpa. One of the biggest problems with the company has apparently been its investments in nations which have been prominent on the international corruption watch list.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
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Wednesday, September 05, 2012

The Royal Life, like it was meant to be

Wander in the streets where Nawabs once walked, Marvel at the Mahals where they lived and bite into kebabs that were created especially for the royals; you just might find the city of your dreams waiting for you, here in Lucknow

The glories of Lucknow were born accidentally when in 1774 Asaf-Ud-Daulah, the self indulgent nawab who took over the reigns of Avadh, stifled by the watchfulness of his mother Bahu Begum, thought it best to pursue his interests away from his mother whose court was at Faizabad (120 km from Lucknow), which till then was the most fashionable city of India. Hence when the nawab zeroed in on Lucknow, the courtiers, traders, the nautch girls, the musicians, the story tellers, the magicians and the architects all came along bringing with them the glories of Faizabad to Lucknow, which in time was transformed into India’s most glorious court or what Rosie Llewellyn Jones calls “the city of dreams”.

Although architects have been quick to point out the mismatch of architectural styles and inconsistency in Lucknow’s buildings, historian Honria Lawrence writes that Lucknow comes closer to “Nearer to anything I have seen to realize my early ideas of the Arabian Nights and Lala Rookh.” So strong was the Britishers’ longing for their homeland that many imagined Hazaratganj, a grand Gothic boulevard running east to west of the Gomti river, then home to shops run by Englishmen and out of bounds for most commoners, as the Oxford Street of Lucknow. A walk through Hazratganj was a popular pastime called ‘Ganjing’. Walter Hamilton wrote of Hazratganj in 1928: “a very handsome street, after the European fashion…. a well-built new chowk in the centre, with a lofty gateway on each extremity, which presents a Grecian front on one side and a Moorish one on the other.”

An event that considerably shaped Lucknow was the 140-day-long siege of the Residency during India’s first War of Independence in 1857. Well documented, the siege was instrumental in changing the image of the capital of Oudh from a genteel, fun-loving place to a dangerous city that needed to be guarded against. Ironically, the Lucknow before 1856 was not built entirely of Nawabi dreams. It was this settlement at the Residency Hill, a garden suburb where the English lived in substantial bungalows, with a banqueting hall, a Gothic church and a tennis court running past pucca roads that proved to be the saviour of the British.

Though home to great writers, poets and intellectuals, for the tourist Lucknow offers three main delights. The gossamer beauty of its chikan or shadow work, its buildings and food. While reams have been written about Lucknow’s famous embroidery, some of Lucknow’s architectural delights include the Firangi Mahal, 400-year-old palaces once home to French traders. The Sheesh Mahal, with its inlay of numerous pieces of mirrors in different shapes and sizes, presented multiple reflections of objects moving before the mirrors laid in wall niches presenting a violent panorama of colour and beauty. The Moti Mahal, so called because of its pearl shaped dome, was especially treated to reflect the greatest of white brilliance. The Chattar Manzil is a magnificent palace depicting the best of Indo-Italian architecture.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
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Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Culture and legacy makes Pondicherry

A uniquely fused culture and legacy makes Pondicherry a place where time seems to come to a standstill, or better yet, rendered irrelevant

William Strunk had once said that ‘The best way to see a country, unless you are pressed for time, is to travel on foot.’ And Puducherry is definitely a place where you shouldn’t go if you are pressed for time. A good start then would be a stroll down the Promenade running along the beach. Lined with relics of an era gone by (the old light house, the old jetty) and statues of Joan of Arc and Mahatma Gandhi, it engulfs you in a time warp – a throwback to a splendid time past. The next stop should be the Ashram walk inside Auroville. This is a place that attracts people from all over the world as much because of its mystique and aura as due to its philosophy. While you soak in the amalgamation of cultures past, you can spare time to pick-up handmade paper (rather aesthetically designed), candles, incense sticks or even the clothes they wear at the Ashram. But that’s about all the shopping Puducherry allows, simply because it is not a place meant for indulgence in material pleasures like shopping or having a night out on town – it is sleepy and spiritual almost to a fault.

One pleasure you can indulge in though, is food. A delectable mix of French and South Indian cuisine will have your platter full as far as your gastronomic trip is concerned at Puducherry. Whether it is sea-food, especially prawns, or French cuisine at the heritage hotel – Hotel De L’ Orient – or south Indian ‘meals’, the food completes the laid-back experience in Puducherry.

There is just one thing that makes sense experiencing here – sitting back and watching the world go by. Some feel relaxed by it, some feel emboldened to reevaluate the meaning of their lives, still others look for deeper spiritual quests, but one thing that’s common to everyone who come to Puducherry is this – it’s a holiday experience like no other.


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Monday, September 03, 2012

Japanimation rising!

Lookout for animes’ invasion of Indian homes !

From Momotaro’s Divine Sea Warriors, the first feature-length anime film released in 1945, anime has come a long way in terms of its popularity and technology. The Japanese anime vogue gained momentum with the success of Disney’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs back in 1937 when Japanese animators realised their ability to adapt and simplify many Disney animation techniques, to reduce costs and limit the number of frames in production. And so along with Manga comics, anime became the alternative format of story-telling in Japan, and is now venturing outside its boundaries and contributing to the world animation industry.

The recent ‘Anime Cine Experience’ that took place in Delhi was the first of its kind to showcase the growing acceptance of anime in India. The Asian School of Graphics and Animation supported this initiative, which was designed by the voluntary organisation Cine Darbar, and aided by Directorate of Film Festivals of India, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, Embassy of Japan in India and the Japan Foundation. “The animation and gaming business is coming up in a big way in India. There are 300 companies working in this industry with almost 12,000 people and another 3,000 working on a freelance basis. The turnover has touched almost Rs. 1600 crores, including Rs. 600 crores as export of services. The industry is growing at the rate of 15 per cent but the best part is that we are just 2 per cent of the world business,” informed Sandeep Marwah, President of Marwah Studios and Director of Asian School of Graphics and Animation.

With channels like Animax gaining popularity in India, children here are no doubt growing up with more than just Disney and Nickelodeon. A decade ago, Pokemon and Doraemon became household names in every family with growing children. But like in Japan where there is a Manga comic for every age group, the same cannot be said for India where animation and comics continue to remain restricted to people belonging to the younger age bracket.


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Saturday, September 01, 2012

A DRIVE TO REMEMBER?

While everyone was scampering about, frightened by the slowdown ghost, Maruti peacefully posted a 105% increase in bottomlines during FY 2009-10. Result: it Climbed 21 places to #27 on this year’s list. But can maruti repeat the magic? By Pawan Chabra

When Maruti Suzuki gave India its first Maruti 800 hatchback, in the summer of 1983, there were voices that criticised this attempt as just another government-foreign tie-up to deliver a loss-making venture. The Indian masses were then quite content with the insipid Ambassadors and Padminis burning the Indian roads in a half-sparked fashion. They disbelieved the engine horsepower of a small carmaker to deliver the bottomline goods to carve out a space for itself in the top profit-making list of corporations of India Inc. 27 years later. Call it the effect of the Japanese hi-tech partner Suzuki, or give credit to the very fact that Sanjay Gandhi gave mileage to his auto-brainchild, the newborn pony won the race. Today, it’s the white stallion of the Indian auto sector, having recorded a bottomline of `24.98 billion and a topline of `290.99 billion during FY2009-10, and ranked at a covetable #26 on B&E’s Most Profitable List 2010.

For some, the fact that Maruti has retained the indisputable brand tag in the Indian market is as confounding as the first two pages of the carmaker’s FY2009-10 Annual Report. The first page is blank. The second one has a lady clothed in a blood-red coloured garment posing as a dancer. Strangely, there is no red ink in the pages that follow, but there is much of dance and song.

What has forever worked for the company is its focus on the Indian consumer’s wants and a deep insightful understanding of their psyche. Be it its first model (Maruti 800) or the subsequent launches like Zen, Alto, Swift, Ritz, A-Star, all have received an overwhelming response from Indian buyers. It has managed to nurture and retain the perception in the minds of the Indian buyers that they are actually laying their hands on a competitively priced, good quality product, that runs on Japanese technology. Its JV with Suzuki therefore has to be given due credit, as Bhargava says, “Both the parties are bringing their respective expertise to the table, to work for the benefit of the JV, rather than looking at getting the other partner out.”

Many expected the foreign players to force Maruti to mellow down on its Indian rampage. But consistent on-field knowledge is what the player has displayed. Despite the Indian per capita incomes increasing by the day, the carmaker maintains its belief in the price-sensitive nature of the Indian masses. It is right. During the past year, it has announced the launches of alternate versions of its hit Alto (Alto K10) and the A-Star, and CNG versions of five models – the Alto, the WagonR, the Estillo, the SX4 and the EECO. To penetrate deeper into the Indian masses, the company is even scouting for better opportunities in the tier II & III locations, which accounted for 18% of its sales during the past year; two years back, this figure stood at just 3%. Translation: the small carmaker has started thinking on a bigger scale, which will grant it greater mileage even in the years to come.

Take a look at the improvements in financials of Maruti. While its net income for FY2009-10, represented a growth of 105% over the previous year, its revenues showed a jump of 40%. The result – this year, it has climbed 21 places on B&E’s Most Profitable List. The last fiscal has been the best in terms of financial performance for the company. It was also a year when it crossed the 1 million production mark for the first time. So, do we expect a similar performance this year too?


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