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Thursday, May 2, 2013

Why everybody at SpiceJet loves Raymond

Two years back, Neil Raymond Mills took over as SpiceJet’s new chief. Then, the airline was unwell. He began by slashing costs. Strategies that didn’t make economic sense were forgotten. Today, the airline appears a turnaround tale. Reality is, the job isn’t over yet. Worse, harsh history could repeat itself

A simple analogy. If you drive a car at a constant speed minus stops, you burn less fuel. The gains don’t become apparent after each short drive. But in a quarter of a year, the reduction in fuel consumption starts to show. The results become more pronounced in a year. Much is saved in gas and cash. Common sense. But most airlines in India ignore such small money-saving acts. SpiceJet is not one of them. At the airline, this “constant speed” philosophy is communicated as a compulsory key message to each of its newly recruited pilots. These cockpit handlers are supposed to remember it every time they leave an air strip. The idea is to get the pilots to save anywhere between 0.5% to 1% of the airline’s fuel bill. A small chunk saved. But at SpiceJet, if a cost can be avoided, it is.

Cost-cutting doesn’t always help
The company’s hardheaded emphasis on lowering costs does affect its operational efficiency metrics. Unfavourably at times. In July 2012, SpiceJet’s On-Time Performance (OTP) on domestic routes was 84.3%. That meant, about 16 of every 100 flights were delayed beyond 15 minutes. Much of this is can be blamed on the constant speed norm that is in place at the airline. This makes the airline’s record only better than the havoc-stricken Air India’s (OTP of 81.2%) and now-stripped-to-the-bone Kingfisher Airlines’ (81%). All other airlines recorded OTPs in the 90%-plus range [IndiGo: 95.3%, GoAir: 90.3%, and Jet: 91.6%]. The company isn’t one to worry about offloading passengers to peer carriers (and cancelling flights) either, when load factors don’t justify economics. The carrier strives to maintain an average load factor (LF) of over 75%, and plans to increase it over the quarters to come [in Q1, FY2012-13, LF was 80.8%]. Result: SpiceJet’s flight cancellation record (2%) is only better than those of Air India (3.2%) and Kingfisher (8.2%). Others boast of a lower figure (IndiGo: 0.1%, Jet:1.4%, GoAir: 1.6%).

Mills... a number-loving turnaround guy
But CEO Neil Mills, who has turned around the airline in the past two years, knows that these numbers only tell a part of the SpiceJet story. He is familiar with how budget airlines work. An industry veteran of over 20 years, this former CFO of Middle-Eastern LCC Flydubai knows his numbers fall on the rational side. He measures every paragraph in the book by weighing data. That is exactly how he helped build Flydubai from scratch. He plugged cost holes at the company, and improved its balance sheet, helping the airline grow from a drawing on the whiteboard to a fleet of nine operating aircraft in just a year-and-a-half. Before Flydubai, he was at easyJet for 12 long years. Under him, the company grew from 4 to 174 aircraft, and became one of the biggest, most profitable airlines in Europe.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

2012 : DNA National B-School Survey 2012
Ranked 1st in International Exposure (ahead of all the IIMs)
Ranked 6th Overall
Zee Business Best B-School Survey 2012
Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
IIPM strong hold on Placement : 10000 Students Placed in last 5 year
IIPM’s Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri – A Man For The Society….
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management
IIPM makes business education truly global
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM B-School Facebook Page
IIPM Global Exposure
IIPM Best B School India
IIPM B-School Detail
IIPM Links
IIPM : The B-School with a Human Face

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Misinformed media

Morphed videos, tampered pictures, and misinformation drive Western media reporting on Syria

International media coverage on Syria is often based on flimsy grounds. A report of a 3-year old child battered by Assad’s forces and having bruises all over her body was covered in hundreds of western media outlets that created nothing short of a storm in a teacup. This media campaign’s entire basis was nullified after 3 days when it was found out that the girl child’s identity and her battered condition was nothing but a figment of imagination.

It isn’t entirely surprising. Top notch media giants like CNN, BBC and France 24 report from second hand sources regarding Syria. Most interestingly, the main material for such ground-reality-check stories is sourced from a UK-based NGO called The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which is partially funded by western governments. Most of the Western media houses, including the likes of BBC, The Guardian & The Telegraph rely on a man named Rami Abdulrahman of SOHR for Syrian stories. However, in a shocking revelation, it was unearthed that this man doesn’t exist on the roster of SOHR!

Due to the lack of primary sources of information, the reportage is often full of contradictions. For instance, a reporting spree that sustained for 10 days narrated a back-to-the-wall situation for Baba Amr and its people, who were trapped in their houses against a counter offensive by Syrian forces, which was supposedly creating a humanitarian crisis there. The Syrian army supplied this piece of information as Western journalists were barred from being in the country for a first hand conformation. The report was covered in the most distinguished houses like CNN, France 24, The New York Times and The Washington Post. However, the Syrian Army changed their stand with counter claims that the civilians were relocated to safe zones! While the media as well as the Free Syrian Army admitted that there were hundreds of armed fighters in Baba Amr, every armed fighter who died in the battle was somehow shown as civilian to swell the number of civilian causalities. More interesting, however, is the story of ‘Syria Danny’, a 22-year-old British citizen of Syrian descent, who travelled to Homs during the year end and started appearing as a witness on western media channels, especially CNN. His daily ritual would include videos showing him ducking as shots were fired in the background, while he begged for armed intervention from the West and Israel. His, as well as CNN’s, luck ran out when a video appeared exposing how he asks his friend to start firing when he goes live and how footage from Libya was used. Similar wrong reporting appeared in BBC too!

Similarly, one Mousab Azzawi, claiming to be working for SOHR was paraded by BBC and CNN during live programs for no less than two months. Later, it was proven that the fellow had never seen even the inside of the SOHR campus, leave alone working for them. In the same month, a blog purportedly written by a lesbian woman in Syria, which described among other things, the massacre by Syrian forces, was picked by all the above mentioned visual and print outlets. A month later, it was revealed that the owner of the blog was one Tom MacMaster, an American studying in Scotland.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Saturday, April 20, 2013

World economic outlook 2012

The global recovery is threatened by intensifying strains in the euro area and fragility elsewhere. Financial conditions have deteriorated, growth prospects have dimmed, and downside risks have escalated. This is largely because the euro area economy is now expected to go into a mild recession in 2012 as a result of the rise in sovereign yields and the impact of additional fiscal consolidation.

No respite in 2012

Global growth prospects dimmed during the fourth quarter of 2011, as the euro area crisis entered a perilous new phase. Activity remained relatively robust throughout the third quarter, with global GDP expanding at an annualized 3.5% – worse than the September 2011 WEO forecast. Growth in the advanced economies surprised on the upside, as consumers in the US unexpectedly lowered their saving rates and business fixed investment stayed strong. The bounce back from the supply-chain disruptions caused by the March 2011 Japanese earthquake was also stronger than anticipated. Growth in emerging and developing economies slowed more than forecast, possibly due to a greater-than-expected effect of macroeconomic policy tightening or weaker underlying growth.

China leads emerging countries

Total business spending on fixed assets, such as factories, machinery, equipment, dwellings, and inventories of raw materials et al, which provides the basis for future production, picked up pace in advanced economies during Q3 2011. However, emerging economies saw a slight decline in the spending. China topped the list with 47.8% spending while India managed to spend 32% of the total investments on fixed assets. One of the prominent reasons for declined spending in emerging nations is the lack of business confidence created due to lackluster demand, high inflation and interest rates, ambiguous investment policies. Once these issues are sorted out, emerging world will hopefully be back on track.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

US housing market report

With US facing the fears of a double dip recession, investments in real estate remains sluggish. However, continuous fall in home prices and mortgage rates have brought in a great opportunity. Though the post-crisis over-cautious approach of lenders and borrowers is still playing spoilsport, current valuations and demographic dynamics may soon change the scenario.

Housing crisis continues

Housing boom in the US that began in the late 1990s led to an exponential growth in home sales. In fact, the demand remained quite strong during the period and outpaced the supply of new built as well as old homes on sale. As per reports, average sales of houses stayed at around five million per year. But with the economic crisis coming into picture, demand dipped thick and fast from over five million to less than four million. Since then, inventories have been on a painfully slow drift downward as a drop in demand offset much of the impact of the collapse in home building. However, by August of this year, combined new and existing homes listed for sale have fallen to 3.6 million units, having completed roughly 70% of the journey back to normal.

Mortgage payment at record low

With a sharp dip in mortgage rates, US Families have to leash out very low rates out of their income to pay for mortgages. As per Freddie Mac, by October 7, 2011 mortgage rates have fallen to an average annual level of 3.94%. Assuming the use of a fixed rate mortgage with 20% down, it will make the median mortgage payment on a single family existing home just 6.9% of per household personal income, compared to an average of 14.4% since 1966. While this presents a downside market, it also emphasises on the long-term gain that one can achieve by investing in the cheaper than average houses locking in cheaper long term financing available at present. Because, any demand pull in future will also pull these prices up.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Monday, April 15, 2013

Keep the recourse ready

For JSW Steel, the mining ban in Karnataka has had significant short term implications. Although temporary, they do hold valuable long term lessons

Abad quarter can come once in a while as an aberration. But sometimes, even aberrations have a tendency to outdo themselves.

For the $7 billion JSW Group, the second quarter of the current fiscal is a case in point, for the company suffered a whopping 71% dip yoy in its net profit. In the midst of a legal quagmire over availability of iron ore for its 10 mtpa (million tonne per annum) Vijaynagar plant, its production level has also dropped to half its original capacity. JSW did post higher sales and production numbers, but its Profit After Tax (PAT) still shrank to Rs.1.27 billion from Rs.4.45 billion for the same quarter last year. The turnover and net sales for the second quarter stood at Rs.82.42 billion and Rs.76.25 billion respectively, showing a growth of 33% yoy, mainly due to a higher volume and an improved sales realisation. EBIDTA for the quarter is Rs.13.32 billion, up by 15% yoy. The company has posted a net profit after tax of Rs.1.27 billion after considering foreign exchange translation losses.

The shortage of its prime raw material iron ore is the main reason why the company is facing this perilous situation. Ironically, there is little that the company can do at the moment. After the SC order to ban mining in Bellary, Tumkur and Chitradurga in Karnataka after the controversies over significant iron ore degradation in the region, a number of steel companies have been affected. For JSW Steel, which is planning to take the capacity of its mega steel plant in Vijaynagarto 12 MTPA by 2014 (10.2 MTPA currently), the impact is much greater. Although the SC allowed NMDC to mine 1 million tonnes per month from its two minesa and allowed e-auctions of 1.5 million tonnes every month, the output is far from adequate for the steel producers. Due to that, the prices of the ore have also gone up drastically. As an alternate measure, the company is attempting to source some amount of iron ore from neighbouring Goa, Orissa & Chattisgarh. In August, production levels at the Vijaynagar plant dipped to 28% owing to the shortage, which officials say have improved to about 50 to 60% levels in October. “High procurement cost of iron ore from neighbouring states and the subsequent e-auction basis to sustain an optimum level of steel production from its Vijayanagar plant, the company’s cost of production went up by Rs.1,500 per tonne in Q2 FY12 as against Q2 FY11,” JSW’s group CFO Seshagiri Rao shared with B&E. The company’s production was lower at least by 4,50,000 tonnes due to acute shortage of iron ore and higher procurement cost of iron ore also increased the cost of production of steel by about Rs.1,500 per tonne during the quarter.

JSW took the cue from the Supreme Court permissions and procured 2.08 million tonnes in the e-auctions. But the company is yet to improve capacity utilisation significantly from existing levels as the receipt of the e-auction material is taking a considerably longer time due to procedural delays and logistical constraints. They have received only around 18% of the supplies committed. No wonder then that the company is forced to revise its outlook for steel production further downwards to 7.5 mtpa (crude steel production, original guidance 8.75 mtpa) and 7.8 mtpa (saleable steel sales, original guidance 9 mtpa) for the full year ending March 2012.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Saturday, April 13, 2013

B&E Indicators

Growing rural-urban divide

After a phase of robust growth, the Indian telecom juggernaut appears to be slowing down. The number of net mobile connection additions in May 2011 was about 35% less as compared to March 2011. Further, the gap between urban and rural teledensity has widened over the last decade. This is evidenced by rural mobile teledensity of only 35% as compared to urban mobile teledensity of 156% in June 2011.

Slowdown in growth in rural areas

The gap can widen even further as rural growth slows. It’s evident that the urban markets are almost saturated whereas, there is a lot of untapped demand in rural India. Thus, additional investments are required for rolling out services to the unconnected population in rural areas. Moreover, with India’s broadband penetration being abysmally low at about 1%, investments are needed to deploy 3G services and meet the latent demand for broadband across India.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Thursday, April 4, 2013

B&E Indicators

Asian liquidity remains solid

Liquidity remains solid for non-financial, speculative-grade companies in Asia. The region’s Liquidity Stress Index was 12.3% in June, unchanged from May, and far below the 37% high it hit during Q4 2008 amid the global economic recession. In fact, the Asian Liquidity Stress Index has remained near its current level since the start of 2011 and is at its lowest levels in three years.

A low probability of default in the region

The high level of corporate liquidity in Asia suggests a low probability of default for the region’s speculative-grade companies. In fact, there were no defaults during the first half of 2011. Even the Asia-Pacific (ex Japan) trailing-12 month speculative-grade default rate has remained at 1.7% since the beginning of 2011. This situation, coupled with manageable refinancing needs, indicates that the default rate will continue to stay low for the rest of the year as well.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri

and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Monday, April 1, 2013

How Competitive is Africa Today?

While The world clocked an Average GDP growth rate of 4.2% over the last decade, Africa grew at an Astonishing 5.2% pace. In Fact, Africa’s Continued Economic Upsurge gets a boost from The Fact that its recovery from The Global crisis has been faster than has been the case in many other parts of The World. B&E analyses The African Competitiveness.

Lack of diversification

Although the growth of African economies as a whole accelerated in the past decade, their export growth rates continued to lag behind that of other developing regions, thus further widening the gap between Africa and the rest. In fact, Africa’s share of global exports plummeted from 4.1% in 1981 to 1.7% in 1998, only rising slightly to 2.4% in 2009 (in 1948 Africa’s share of world trade was 7.3%). What perhaps ails the African exports is the lack of diversification, be it in terms of commodities or destinations. While 80% of Africa’s export today consists of oil, minerals and agricultural commodities, 70% of the continent’s exports is directed towards US and the European Union, thus making African economies more vulnerable to external shocks.

Room for Improvement

The twelve distinct pillars of the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) take into account the fact that countries across the globe are at different stages of economic development. In an international context, it is observed that both North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa are outperformed by Southeast Asia, and all the BRIC economies. A bird’s-eye view of the global listings in terms of GCI shows that only three countries from the African continent figure in the first half of the overall ranking (Tunisia, 32; South Africa, 54; and Mauritius, 55). It is apparent from the chart that the largest dispersions among the African countries are in terms of macroeconomic environment, health & primary education, and market size pillars.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist). For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Can we See Some Accountability... Please?

While there are Mixed Reactions over The Impact of SC’s Verdict on P. J. Thomas’ Appointment as CVC, The Nation Actually needs to Focus on Politicians who run The Show.

The office of the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), the apex vigilance institution, has lately been in the news for all the wrong reasons. In a first of its kind in India, a three-member Supreme Court (SC) bench on March 3 quashed appointment of P. J. Thomas, a 1973-batch IAS officer of the Kerala cadre, declaring it as “un est” in law.

Thomas’ current woes date back to a palmolein import case in 1991 when he was the Food Secretary in the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala. In 1996, the Left government in Kearla had ordered a vigilance inquiry into the cabinet decision taken by the then Congress-led Government to import 15,000 metric tonne of palmolein oil, which allegedly caused a revenue loss of Rs.20 million to the state. Thomas was selected to the post in September, 2010, by a committee consisting of the PM, Union Home minister P. Chidambaram and Leader of Opposition, Sushma Swaraj.

Meanwhile, with the Prime Minister accepting responsibility for the “error in judgement” as the final signing authority that approved Thomas’ appointment as CVC, the move has just become a blessing in disguise that Thomas would like. According to Thomas’ counsel Wills Mathews, Thomas has now moved to SC challenging the very legality of the verdict that set aside his appointment as CVC. “The constitutional provisions mandate that the matter be heard by a five-judge bench as opposed to the three-judge bench that handed the verdict in this case. Moreover, the selection of Thomas was carried out by a government committee and the error has been accepted by the PM himself,” Mathews told B&E. When asked about the future course of action, Mathews said that since the error had been committed by the Union of India, it was for the government to rectify it. “Once the mistake is corrected, Thomas will automatically be reinstated,” he said.

Amidst all this chaos also lies a threat to the confidence of whistleblowers who had utmost faith in the CVC when it came to reporting matters pertaining to corruption in government offices. For Dhanraj Singh (name changed on request), a whistleblower involved in bringing the Chairman of a CPSE to book after he took matters to the CVC, “Reporting matters to the CVC is not a routine affair and takes a lot of courage to go ahead with pursuing the matter due to the constant fear of consequences.” While getting matters attended to has been a cause of concern, there is also sheer disappointment when one finds that the appointment of the highest anti-corruption authority was taken lightly. “The anxiety among many of us is on how future complaints will be treated,” Dhanraj adds. Alongside this sense of disappointment within a section of “honest” government servants, there is also a separate school of thought. “The Apex court’s verdict annulling the appointment of the CVC has come as a major jolt to the government and we can expect an overhaul in the manner in which the anti-corruption watchdog functions. We expect more sincerity from the CVC now,” says another whistleblower on condition of anonimity.

Read more....

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Can Opportunity Reveal their Genius?

Buoyant car sales offer an Unprecedented Opportunity for The Indian The Auto-Component industry to ramp up its Investments and Innovation. Can they meet The Demand?

From its small beginnings in the 1940s to the spectacular growth over the last couple of decades, the Indian auto component sector has come a long way. In fact, the industry is one of the front runners for grabbing the global auto components outsourcing market estimated to be worth $700 billion by 2015. As India’s consumption story for cars is expected to remain strong, component manufacturers are gearing up to meet the challenges and demands set by the automobile sector. “The automobile industry is growing at a pace of 30% vis-à-vis the economy growth of 8-9%, so there is bound to be a correction sooner or later. However, the last three years have been full of surprises and we hope the growth will continue,” says Anil Gadi, Executive Director, Shriram Pistons. Car sales for fiscal year ending March 31, 2011 are forecasted to grow by at least 25% from a year earlier, according to the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM).

According to the Automotive Component Manufacturers’ Association (ACMA), an industry body, the total passenger car production in the country will jump four times to reach nine million cars by 2020. On the other hand, the Indian auto component industry is expected to also grow by over four-fold to $113 billion by 2020. “India would be among the top five vehicle producing countries in the world by 2020,” says Vinnie Mehta, Executive Director, ACMA. A recent ACMA report puts the turnover of the auto component industry at about $26 billion in 2010-11, up 18% from $22 billion in 2009-10. The report states that 40% of the auto component industry is dominated by body and structural products, 20% by engines and exhaust, and 10% each by suspension and braking parts, transmission and steering parts, electronics and electrical and interiors.

However, the road to growth is not without hiccups. The Indian auto-component industry is up against challenges such as lack of good infrastructure, increasing input costs, et al, which could slow down growth. ACMA estimates that an investment of $35 billion must be made over the next decade to help car makers realise their targets. But the parts industry invested a measly $1.7 billion in 2009-10, half of the required rate.

Doubts over the sector’s ability to cope with the unprecedented demand have a strong basis. The second half of 2010 was characterised by long waiting periods at car dealerships of popular models. For instance, Maruti Suzuki Swift had a waiting period of over three month while the recently launched Polo from German car maker Volkswagen had a waiting period of over six months. Industry veterans ascribe the reason for the delays to component shortages, which adversely impacted the production cycle. Take, for instance, the case of utility vehicle maker Mahindra, which suffered a 10% production loss in the first quarter of FY 2010-11, mainly due to shortage of components like tyres, fuel injections and castings. At the other end, players like Maruti and Volkswagen were forced to keep consumers waiting because of the inability of their vendors to supply components as per schedule. Similarly, Volvo Eicher Commercial Vehicles also took a 20% hit in the production numbers, as their component manufacturers were not able to match pace with the orders.

Read more.....

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

In the Pink!

Recently pop-star Pink was at a chat show and when asked the secret to her glow, she revealed that she was eating for two of late! While the media has been abuzz with rumours of Pink being on the way to motherhood, she has stayed tight-lipped about it as she has previously suffered a miscarriage. She also mentioned that a doctor inadvertently let it slip that she’s expecting a baby girl!

Read more....

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Thursday, March 7, 2013

10 years to Clean up The Ganga

The NGRBA needs another 10 years to Clean up The Ganga; Will it be Too Late by Then?

The World Bank has stepped forward with an offer of $ 1 Billion to help save the Ganga, but is lack of funding the main obstacle? Not, says Ms Rama Rauta, Convener of Save Ganga Movement and expert member of the NGRBA. “It’s bureaucratic apathy and lack of political will that stands in the way. For example, there are plenty of STPs, but there’s no power. The STPs thus don’t work, and untreated effluents go right into the river again.” She believes if the decision-making powers lay in the hands of scientists and environmentalists instead of politicians, “we could have cleaned out the Ganga 10 times over by now!” A couple of thousand crores have been expended to date – though the government spends nearly as much on the Ardha Kumbh and Maha Kumbh Melas periodically – but the squalid state of affairs only point to inefficient use of Operation and Maintenance (O&M) funds.

What hope is there for the Ganga? There is, in the River Thames in England. Says Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi, Geologist and Lecturer in the Department of Environment and Water Management at Ranchi University, “Thames, which remained polluted for many years in the wake of the Industrial Revolution and rapid urbanisation, is now pristinely clean.” Rakesh Jaiswal also mentions River Rhine as a good model to learn from. “It is just a matter of having the will and working together.” Dr Priyadarshi reiterates.

Indeed we have no choice but to work together to salvage the Ganga, if we expected to be bestowed with salvation by this river from the heavens any longer.

Read more.....

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles

Monday, March 4, 2013

“Our global strategy fitted beautifully"

Ford India President & MD Michael Boneham has worked tremendously hard on his India basics since appointment. In an exclusive interaction with sanchit verma, Boneham talks about Ford's new outlook towards India

B&E: What was your initial reaction when you were informed by Alan Mulally to handle the Indian operations?
MB (Michael Boneham): Firstly I have been a previous manufacturing director for the region of Asian Pacific & Africa; so I had a good understanding of India and I have come over here a number of times and spent time over here. I thought I have a good understanding of India but in reality I didn’t, because Chennai is not India and India is not Chennai. For me, I was always very excited about the opportunity because I knew that India was going to become very very strong in Ford's plans globally. Three years ago, we were still in the process of putting that strategy together and working on the strategy and trying hard to get a vehicle into the heartland of the Indian market. That was certainly a small car because 70% of vehicles in India are small cars and we have never done that in India before. We have done well in the segments we are in but those were small segments. And what we were, was being a niche player, a very interesting niche player; and that was what we didn't want to be any more. We wanted to be a major player. So obviously for me as an individual, it’s challenging. My boy is in Australia and it's the most difficult separation. So overall, the opportunity and challenge which the Indian market gave me is fantastic. I couldn’t think of a better place to be in.

B&E: During the economic breakdown when GM announced bankruptcy, Ford managed to survive. Can you share your experience of those times?
MB: Everyone suffered to an extent through the global financial crises. It was not only the car industry; it was the total industry; the global economy which faced difficulties. For Ford, we started with a better plan which Alan Mulally initiated. During the crisis, we were heavily into restructuring, looking at volume, doing balancing, getting capacity as per demand, looking at our global product range and making it from the fuel efficient perspective. We were taking our profile from being a truck manufacturer to a motor vehicle manufacturer, where we went through the segment range. We all started significantly on the journey and borrowed over $20 billion to fund our products right and that was when the credit markets were open and available to us. That was a smart move when the economy came down and it enabled us to come though the very difficult period. We were very proud of the fact that we did not use any government funding in US. If you look at the turnaround and the way we moved very quickly from what was the most devastating and the most difficult period for the global economy and the industry in 2008-09 to $2.3 billion dollar profit in Q1 this year.

Read more......

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

Friday, February 8, 2013

Killings over water

When it was predicted about a decade back that the next World War would be fought for control of water, sceptics dismissed it as a mere hyperbole. Now, with killings over water being reported from across the country, the spectre of the past is becoming a scary reality. The team of anil sharma, raju kumar and nishant bhadreshwar take stock of the situation

The scenario in the state capital Jaipur is no better, where water is being supplied once in a day, and that too only for an hour. “To add to our woes, we have heard that the government is planning to make it once in 48 hours. How would we live,” says Ashok Kumar Sharma, a resident of the walled city area.

Gone are the days when people would man pyaos to give water to the thirsty. Now, people are manning water bodies to keep the thirsty away from them. Water shortage has forced the residents of a village near Bikaner to maintain a tight vigil on the village water bodies to prevent water theft. “There is always a threat of water theft, so we have appointed watchmen to keep a vigil on our water bodies,” says Bhola Ram, a resident of Pugal village in Bikaner district.

It is feared that the availability would fall below 450 cubic metres by the year 2050. As per the international accepted norms, availability of water below 500 cubic metres is considered as absolute water scarcity.

Although the Ashok Gehlot government is trying to take steps to ease the crisis, but so far the problem persists. “We are doing whatever best we can. Supplying water through tankers and running water trains. We have decided to supply water through tankers to more than 10,000 villages during May and June,” a senior official of the water department tells B&E. “We have also decided to focus on community-based water management solutions instead of predominantly engineering-based ones,” he adds.

The situation in the neighbouring Madhya Pradesh is probably worse. Brawls over water are resulting in people eventually killing each other at many places in the state. Incidents of the killing of three people of the same family in Bhopal, two people in Indore, a person in Bilkhiriya village and a person in Devas dot the 2009 calendar.

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

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