Friday, May 31, 2013

Movie Review: The Attacks of 26/11

Brutal reality

A cinematic retelling of one of the most horrific event in India’s history is in itself a daunting task. But to attempt to do so with a dramatic yet conceivable narrative, one that does not compromise on the veracity or intensity of such atrocities, is a highly optimistic proposition. A proposition that needs a renaissance, a revival, to be shaped into being. It’s hard to argue that Ram Gopal Varma, the director, falls short.

There is no spectacular plot to speak of. Just a beautiful city and the terrible tragedy it suffered, and the intrigue and revulsion the tragedy evoked. It is told through the eyes of Rakesh Maria (Nana Patekar), the Joint Commissioner of Police (crime branch), giving his account of the eve of 26/11, leading up to the capture of Ajmal Kasab (Sanjeev Jaiswal). The linear narrative, painted in a classic noir style, excels to such an extent that it often makes for a tough viewing. The emotions it stirs are excruciating. However, the taste of bitterness the film leaves behind is suppressed by a brilliantly written penultimate scene, which adds a sane head to the ripped body. Seen through the lens of entertainment, the film is a certified thriller and is highly recommended.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

The artisan as artiste

A third-generation maker of Indian classical music instruments, Sanjay Sharma brings a high level of technical proficiency and creative innovation to a traditional craft. Arundhuti Banerjee catches up with this inheritor of a glorious legacy to figure out what keeps him going in the face of proliferating challenges

Pandit Ravi Shankar would probably have had to stop playing the sitar six years before he passed away had Sanjay Sharma not specially crafted a studio sitar for the legend.

In 2005, Pandit Ravi Shankar suffered a bout of pneumonia, which weakened his left shoulder to such an extent that that it cramped the upward movement of his hand. He faced the prospect of a permanent break. Sanjay, a disciple of the sitar maestro, stepped in with a solution for his guruji.

“I got a call from Chinamma (Panditji’s wife, Sukanaya Shankar) informing me of the problem. I went to guruji’s place with a solution in the form of a studio sitar,” recalls Sanjay, who has also crafted several other new generation instruments like the Z-tar and the E-rod and fusion instruments like ‘Lalita Veena’ and ‘Suroleen’ (a fusion instrument that combines the mandolin and the sarod).

Music is divine, it is said. But the connection that the soul makes with the world of musical sound would be impossible without a quality instrument serving as a link. So, when the younger generation is in thrall of the music that is proffered by Channel V and Coke Studio, Sanjay designs fusion instruments and upgrades classical music instruments with the help of modern technology.

“The idea behind redesigning and adding new technology to our age-old traditional instruments is to keep our musical culture alive and involve and attract the younger exponents. Even if they are interested in fusion music, they should have a supportive instrument for the purpose,” explains Sanjay, sitting in his Bhagat Singh Marg shop, Rikhi Ram’s Music, named after his grandfather, a man who started his journey as an instrument maker in 1920 in Lahore.

Sanjay’s father, Pandit Bishan Dass, continued the family tradition of instrument making and emerged as a trendsetter in the matter of innovation in this field. In 1998, he was honoured with the Sangeet Natak Academy award for his contribution in the field of musical instrument making by the then President KR Narayanan. Though it was a certainly token of appreciation from the government, Sanjay still feels that classical instrument makers do not get their due recognition.

“My father faced great difficulty in find a bride for himself. Since the family spent most of the time in a factory working with wood and other materials, people thought that we were carpenters! Thank God, times have changed and I did not face this kind of problem when I was looking for my life partner,” laughs the father of two teenagers.

Sanjay began as a tabla player – he had a Master’s degree in Music with specialization in the instrument – and toured many cities as a performer. He also learnt sitar from Pandit Ravi Shankar, so it was an easy choice for him to continue as a musician. However, when his father grew old it was his responsibility to continue the family legacy. His guruji encouraged him to take over the reins of the family business.

Since Sanjay and his father were always associated with music maestros in India and abroad, he did not face much competition in terms of the quality of his instruments. The only competitor they had was Hiren Roy, an expert craftsman in Kolkata. But the latter’s work suffered due to lack of efficient craftsmen who could continue the legacy of those glory days. Many shops have closed down or couldn’t measure up to the professional quality required. So after Roy’s death in 1942, they went into sharp decline.

The problem in our country is there are many music colleges but no institutions or professional infrastructure for instrument making. And it creates an imbalance in quality of music instruments. They are either exceptionally good as those produced by Rikhi Ram’s – these instruments can be played through an entire lifetime with proper maintenance – or of very poor quality and do not last more than five years. Creating and maintaining instruments of a high professional quality, skilled craftsmen are needed.

“To be a good instrument maker one has to have in-depth knowledge of music, understanding of the science of sound, a grasp over the nature of physics and modern technology and, last but not least, a creative mind to apply all these elements effectively,” he explains.

He adds: “All my specially designed instruments like the ‘E-rod’, ‘Z-tar’ or ‘Suroleen’ came as solutions to specific technical problems that musicians were facing in their bid to experiment with sound. For instance, E-rod is an electronic sarod, which will help with its sound outputs for fusion music concerts where drums, guitars and other instruments play with it. Since it is an acoustic instrument, it was difficult to get the sound across. E-rod is a solution to that.”

“The trick I used for electronic sitar was an in-built microphone inside the instrument which helps to play for a fusion platform as the sound will amplify by the mic. It was a specially designed sitar for Anoushka Shankar when she was working on her fusion album ‘Travelers’. I applied this in-built mic theory for tabla as well,” he adds.

His skill is beyond doubt. But making these quality musical products couldn’t be cheap. How does he address the issue of costs? With no help forthcoming from either the government or other sponsors, he fights a lonely battle. Sanjay has an NGO, Sanjay Rikhi Ram Vadya Parampara, which works for the cause.

Indian instruments like the sitar, sarod and santoor are far more delicate than western instruments like the violin and guitar. So they take time to make. A sitar takes two months to be made. The seasoning of the wood takes at least 25 years and it is a costly process. The older the wood the more long-lasting is the instrument. And the older the wood, the more expensive is the instrument.

The problem the instrument making industry is facing is due to the lack of knowledge that new comers have. The difference between a good and bad instrument is not the look of it but the sound quality and the longevity. An instrument is a ‘lifetime investment’ in Sanjay’s vision. Therefore, when a student or musician buys an instrument, he/she should have the knowledge to define the quality of the instrument by its sound, wood features, strings and shape.

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

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Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri’s Session at IMA Indore
IIPM IN FINANCIAL TIMES, UK. FEATURE OF THE WEEK
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BBA Management Education

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Time to Get proactive

It is in India’s interest to come out in the open and help restore regional balance

The conditions in Afghanistan are quite uncertain and in this complex situation, it is important that we keep our focus very clear. There are enough indications that the Pakistan Army and its Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) are going to try to install a pro-Pakistan government in Kabul. Once US troops depart, things are going to become difficult for its President Hamid Karzai, who may find himself besieged when Pakistan goes all out to help install a Taliban leader as its choice to head the government. There are other pro-Pakistani elements in the country who would be more than willing to lend a helping hand.

The US is vacating the country at a time when the Afghanistan National Army and it security set-up is neither complete nor fool-proof. If this very important tool of the government is weak or not effective enough, it will present serious difficulties in governing the country and to take things forward.

The situation will be aggravated with the popularity of Hamid Karzai, who despite being the most credible leader in that country at the moment, will face serious fragmentation of leadership under a new political dispensation. This big window of uncertainty will give space to Pakistan to
manoeuvre events according to its needs – and the needs of its allies.
It the eventuality of such a scenario developing, the threat perception to India’s national security would increase manifold. It is important therefore that New Delhi does everything required to ensure that its vital interests are safe and secure.

There is nothing wrong in coming out in the open to take a position which is in her self-interest and the well-being of Afghanistan which was India’s neighbour before Pakistan came into existence.

India has done serious ground work to bolster Afghanistan’s most important sectors; agriculture, education and health. It is making a difference to the lives of common people. I don’t think we should be shy of taking a stand nor reduce our role to make things better for the country and its people. We are a regional power and we have tremendous responsibility in this region. The country has been taking steps in Afghanistan, short of military support, but has avoided taking a public position. It is important that we do so keeping the regional balance of power in mind. Problems, if allowed to fester, have long-term consequences for us and the region.

Afghanistan is the gateway to central Asia, a strategic position which can help her to regain part of her economic base. India can assist in building infrastructure and conducting trade and other economic activities which will help both the friendly countries.

Economic activity needs to be given utmost priority, for only when the country generates its own revenue will it be able to fund its security forces and dedicate money for the much- needed infrastructure which will enforce the writ of the government. Once this cycle is set in motion, it will pay rich dividends and set the ground for Afghanistan’s revival.

It would also be instructive to remember that given half-a-chance, China will walk in and Pakistan will take their ‘help’ in securing what they consider their vital interests in Afghanistan. India needs to reassess its ongoing projects to find out areas where it can increase its support. For example, it can raise the number of people from the Afghan Security Forces being trained in India. There are a number of students from Afghanistan studying at important educational centres in India. We are already training professionals, including engineers, journalists and civil servants, who will contribute in raising a strong democratic set-up in their country.

We have always enjoyed good relations with the Afghan people and our diplomats and intelligence agencies have always found support in that country. It should be put to good use. This becomes doubly important when Pakistan is grappling with a number of serious issues – some which have the potential to tear it apart. If Islamabad, to divert attention from its own insurmountable problems, is able to meddle in the already muddied situation in Afghanistan, it will be detrimental to the interest of the people there.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Afzal Guru retrospective

The main Parliament attack accused on the death row talks in a wide ranging interview to

In the petition for reprieve, generally referred to as mercy petition submitted before the President of India, prime Parliament attack accused Afzal Guru has likened the story of his life with the story of hundreds of Kashmiri youth, especially those still behind bars. In his estimation, their anger, pain and anguish is still not understood by India. Kashmir is a holiday destination for most Indians who love the land but perhaps not its people. They don't know that for the young generation of Kashmiris, it has meant living with daily fears of arrest, torture and death. Afzal Guru says he comes from a very poor family. His father died when he was young and his elder brother Aizaz brought him up in the fond hope that the younger sibling would become a doctor. Guru was in the first year of MBBS when the Kashmiri youth began its so-called armed phase of their movement for self-determination. It was during those heady days that he joined the movement and crossed over to Pakistan. However, disillusionment set in when he realised that both India and Pakistan were using the restive Kashmiri youth as pawns in their respective politics. In 1993-94 he surrendered to the Border Security Forces (BSF). Post surrender, life became a misery as he was looked down upon and loathed as a traitor to the cause from his own people. On the flip side, the government's Special Task Force (STF) ensured that it did not allow a surrendered militant to live a normal life of dignity because for them, he was to be used as an informer. The STF would call him and other surrendered militants in the camp to beat, torture and humiliate in an effort to turn them into informers. Even though Guru was no longer with the movement, he did not wish to be an informer. Torture included stripping, being hung upside down, petrol being poured down his anus and him being put into freezing water in the bitter Kashmir cold. Guru has gone on to claim that his genitals were given electric shocks and he was flogged without mercy. Afzal now says those were officers who introduced him to a certain Mohammed, who later turned out to be one of the Parliament attackers. He had no choice but to accompany Mohammad to Delhi. The rest is the story of the Parliament attack case. In this exclusive, wide ranging interview Afzal Guru talks about his life, case, tribulations and philosophy

Omar Abdullah, chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir, has said that if the Jammu and Kashmir assembly also passes a resolution on the lines of the Tamil Nadu assembly, the reaction would not have been as muted as it was in the case of Tamil Nadu. What do you say on this issue?
I want to say that I had requested the government in Delhi to transfer me to the Srinagar jail so that I could be nearer my family. My old mother, wife and my minor son find it very difficult to meet me in Delhi. For a 30-minute meeting with them once a year, they have to undergo unimaginable hardships and mental agony. The bus journey is 24 hours one way. If I am in Srinagar jail, it can help reduce their misery. Delhi replied to me in writing saying that the state government has not given its consent for my transfer from Delhi to Srinagar jail. I do not understand why the J&K government has opposed my transfer to Srinagar jail. There are many accused in Jammu and Srinagar jails who have been charged with more serious offences. If Omar Abdullah is concerned with my plight, he should not have refused to accept me in Srinagar Jail. I do not desire nor need J&K assembly resolution nor am I concerned with this process.

Omar Abdullah says he has received no such request for your transfer from the central government.
In Tihar jail, I received two letters from the home ministry dated 20.05.2010 and 1.7.2010 informing me that the J&K government had rejected my application and had not given their consent for my jail transfer to Srinagar. In view of this, the Delhi government also rejected my application. To challenge this dictatorial and arbitrary decision, I approached the Supreme Court through its legal aid committee. The Supreme Court has issued notices to both the Delhi government and the state government. More than seven months have passed and my case has been adjourned four or five times but till date I have received no reply to my petition. My case has been reported in newspapers. Why is Omar Abdullah not responding to notices of the Supreme Court and clarifying his stand regarding my transfer application?

I am passing my days in very humiliating conditions. There are many restrictions on me. I am not afraid of hanging. The Tihar jail administration has virtually converted prisoners of high security wards into animals who are kept in cage-like-cells and thrown food to live. There is no liberty to play sports or go to the library etc. No fruits or cooked rice are allowed even from the family on the mulakat (meeting) day despite a flurry of high tech x-ray, metal detector machines. The conditions of high security prisoners is pathetic. In the name of conducting searches,  Tihar's security guards enter into cells at any time, searching private parts of the body in a crude and harsh manner. The constant day to day searches traumatizes and agonizes prisoners, their mind and their heart.

What grounds have you mentioned in your petition for reprieve (mercy petition) submitted to the current President of India?
The only charge against me was that I helped the attackers in getting accommodation for staying in Delhi and that I went with one of them to the market to purchase a car which was used in the attack. Only on the basis of such circumstantial evidence I was held guilty. The settled law is that an accused is not liable to death penalty for such side roles in the offence. From the very beginning I never denied the role played by me in the Parliament  attack. Even respected session judge S.N. Dhingra said in his court that Afzal is truthful. But no one has accepted or believed the other part of the story, the one about barbaric state terrorism played and perpetuated by the government of India through its security forces, especially the STF and Special Operations Group (SoG). This state terrorism is creating and cultivating persons like Afzal everyday by pushing innocent teenaged students behind bars under draconian laws like the Public Safety Act (PSA). So long as there is state terrorism, such attacks cannot be stopped. The government of India is converting Kashmir into mini-Afghanistan. Presently the situation in Kashmir is dormant and potentially like in Afghanistan. This volcano can erupt anytime. This is not a threat but a concern for the people of Kashmir as well as for the people of India. Kashmiris were never against the people of India. It is the policies of the government that have alienated the Kashmiri people. The solution lies through Kashmir, not through Pakistan. By talking with the Pakistan government and some separatist political jokers who have been rejected by the Kashmiri people, the government of India is wasting its time and worsening the situation in Kashmir. Presently there is only one reliable leader, that is respected Syed Ali Shah Geelani saheb who represents the feelings and perceptions of the Kashmiri people.

There are some news reports which say you have written a letter to Geelani, that it was a mistake on your part to submit the mercy petition, and that you want to be martyr?
Yes I have written such a letter to Geelani saheb. But the very word ‘mercy petition’ is a misnomer. In Article 72 of the Constitution of India, under which so-called mercy petition is submitted, the word ‘mercy’ is not mentioned at all. In the article, the words mentioned are ‘pardons’, ‘reprieves’, ‘respites’ , ‘remissions' of punishment to which a convict is entitled to claim if he feels that he has been handed out a wrong punishment. It is a constitutional right given to every convict. I did not seek any mercy but claimed a constitutional right for granting me reprieve/remission because I strongly feel that punishment of death penalty given to me is wrong. Since S.A.S. Geelani saheb is an honest and reliable political leader with both moral and political clout. Geelani saheb is neither a hard-liner nor radical or unreasonable or impractical. Geelani saheb’s insistence on UN-resolutions is the bottom-line which he has already agreed to leave but the government of India's arrogance and rigidity is worsening and drifting the Kashmir conflict towards unending instability and turmoil in this region.

Why is the issue of your death penalty taking a political colour?
My death sentence is a political issue. The hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment has stated that the collective conscience of the nation will be satisfied only when I am given the death penalty. Judgments in courts are given in accordance with legal principles and not on the basis of feelings and conscience of the people. Only khap panchayats do so. The people in Kashmir are annoyed because the Supreme Court has ignored the feelings and conscience of the people of Kashmir.

What would be the consequences in Kashmir if you are hanged ?
My hanging would worsen the situation in Kashmir. The people there look upon my punishment as part of the repressive policies pursued by the Indian government in Kashmir. There was no militancy in Kashmir till 1984. But after the hanging of Maqbool Bhatt in 1984 in  Tihar jail, the resentment of the people of Kashmir against the Indian government grew stronger and militancy took roots and flourished.

Have you written anything about your jail experiences and your long wait for hanging?
Not yet, but I want to.

It was reported that a Tihar jail superintendent has written a book on you and some parts of it have been published by a magazine. What do you have to say in this connection?
In the past I had discussed and debated with the jail superintendent on topics like religion, spirituality, the Kashmir dispute etc. He had recorded these things in a booklet form in English and has taken my consent as well. I don’t read Hindi. I would say that instead of distortions, he must come with the book written in English where we have talked about occupation by the Indian military, constant terror and the traumas of innocent Kashmiris.

What do you have to say about the bomb blasts at the Delhi High Court ? Your name has cropped up in some e-mails sent by some militant groups.
I have already issued a statement in this connection through my counsel N.D.Pancholi. I have condemned the blast as a barbaric and cowardly act. No religion permits killing of innocent persons. Such cowardly and inhuman acts must be condemned by all. I am disturbed that my name has been unnecessarily dragged in this connection. Some agencies/groups are playing dirty games by falsely involving my name. This is not for the first time. It has become routine that whenever such blasts take place, my name is sought to be dragged in, in order to malign me, to cultivate public opinion against me.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

Monday, May 27, 2013

The right moves

The inaugural hockey India league has hit the ground running with an eye on the goal ahead...
Years ago, when I saw my first hockey match in a stadium, the rot had already deepened. The introduction of AstroTurf had taken the game out of the realms of India and Pakistan, the traditional champs, and ushered in new champions in the form of Spain, Netherlands and closer home, South Korea. To set  things right, ESPN had devised Premier Hockey League (PHL) and it ran for three seasons before dying quietly. However, the experience was great. Unlike cricket, where you hardly get to see what's happening on the field, hockey is played as the close encounter. If you love the game, the experience of watching it on the field is unmatched.

However, sometime at the end of 2012, when Hockey India decided to start a league based broadly on the model of English Premiere League (EPL), frankly, I was not very excited. Another league, I thought? Only the previous year, at the star-studded World Series Hockey (WSH) matches, I saw officials selling tickets at discounts outside the stadium.

By early January, my cynicism deepened and turned into pure frustration. With only two weeks to go, the official website of Hockey India League (HIL) remained static with no information about dates, players, venues or tickets. However, a week before the tournament, somebody realised that these was important information and suddenly the website and the tournament's Wikipedia pages came alive. The nation was set for a superb hockey experience.

Let's talk about the structure first. The very idea of each team playing three matches against the other team with two or one match at home and similar numbers away, gave the tournament the desired respect. Unless you do home and away matches as is done in football, nobody takes the game seriously. Also, it was decided that unlike the EPL where all the matches are done on a round-robin basis, HIL will have semi-finals, play offs and a final match to bring in more excitement. Technically speaking, this might lead to some undeserved heartbreak with the best team losing in the knockouts, but it will indeed bring more spectators.

Talking of spectators, in all the five matches I watched in Delhi, there was no dearth of enthusiasm. The opening day saw a turnout of 11,000 where as all the other matches drew a crowd of somewhere between 5000-9000. That might not look enthusiastic but to put it in perspective, the matches of PHL and WSH never drew more than 2000. In fact, the attendance at the WSH was in the lower hundreds. What is great about HIL is not merely the numbers, but also the quality of spectators. In every match, you could easily see that even in the general stands, people around you knew the nuances of the game.

 I was surprised to see kids as young as nine or ten actually follow players from the Netherlands or Spain to the point that they knew their local clubs in their respective countries. Another clear distinction that can be made here is that spectators who turned up loved hockey as a game and not just India. In a clear contrast, a typical Ranji Trophy match draws merely a fraction because there is no “India” to support, so to say.

After the rickety start, the quality of the matches improved exponentially to achieve world class standards that was expected from it. I cannot begin to say how helpful this tournament is for young hockey players from the subcontinent (hopefully Pakistani players will play in the next edition). Playing with the likes of Jamie Dwyer, Moritz Fürste, Teun de Nooijer, Jaap Stockmann, Ashley Jackson, Joel Carroll, Lloyd Norris-Jones, Nicolas Jacobi, Andrew Bel Mir and Simon Child, among others, will do a world of good to the youngsters. It is evident that these foreign players have lifted the level of the game and have prompted Indian players to match their commitment. Already, the tournament has found stars in the likes of Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Malek Singh and Imran Khan.

Another important aspect is field formation. India and Pakistan are typically known to play 5-3-2-1 matrix where defenders hardly cross the mid-line. However, in HIL, almost every team preferred the 3-4-3-1 matrix or a variation thereof. The idea is to hammer in the concept that in hockey, you have 10 defenders and 10 forwards. So, for a typical 70 minutes of an HIL match, everyone is a  fullback, halfback, midfield/inner and striker. This works for AstroTurf and will do India much good. Also, most of the matches are scheduled late in the evening. It is because of these small changes that the matches have turned exciting, bringing in both spectators and viewership. TAM data suggested that among the non-cricket tournaments, HIL bagged the highest viewership, beating even the recently held European Football Cup. The environment in the stadium too was exhilarating, to say the least.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

"I am going to enforce party discipline"

Rajnath Singh is a BJP leader who is well rooted to the ground. After assuming charge for a second term as the BJP president, Singh who is in control of the main opposition party in the run up to the 2014 General Elections, talks in a wide ranging interview with A Sandeep and Anil Pandey

As the new BJP president, what are the biggest challenges that confront you?
My emphasis is on cleaning politics. Whether it is a party leader or a worker, actions have to match words. One of the main reasons why politicians are being discredited is what they say in public does not match up to what they do in private. That is the biggest crisis facing political parties and it is by no means confined to the BJP. We will try to gain the confidence of the people by our words and actions and I am sure it will work.

The 2014 General Elections are crucial to the BJP. Do you have a road map ahead?

People often talk about road maps but I believe that if every district and village has committed party cadres, no force can stop a political party from winning elections. Money power is not enough.

Will Narendra Modi lead the BJP in the 2014 General Elections?

The BJP tradition is that any decision on  the prime ministerial candidate is the prerogative of the party’s Central Parliamentary Board (CPB). They select a candidate taking everyone into confidence.

What would be LK Advani’s role?

The inspiration and guidance of senior leaders will certainly be there.

The BJP will not be able to get a majority in 2014 because of the influence of regional parties, who may be able to cobble up numbers of their own to set up a Third Front or third alternative.
Our aim is to get a majority on our own. But it may not happen. This is the age of alliance politics. The BJP will then head a coalition of parties to form a government. Many political parties will join us.

In Atal Behari Vajpayee’s tenure, the NDA was a multi-party alliance. At the moment, it does not have more than three or four allies.

At the moment, Advaniji is chairman of the NDA and Sharad Yadav is the coordinator. This is the right time to expand the NDA and with these two highly capable and experienced leaders at the helm, steps are being taken. I am just trying to stick to my brief.

Do you believe Nitin Gadkari’s ouster as BJP president on charges of corruption will harm the party’s prospects?

You may have noticed that despite the issue being in the news for over a month, not a single charge, prima facie, has been framed against him. A charge means nothing unless there is prima facie evidence of wrong doing; only then should a person quit. Gadkariji was a very sad man and he decided to put in his papers.

How will you tackle the shortcomings evident during Gadkari’s tenure?
He did a very fine job as head of the party and I believe that not everything can be done by the party president. Everyone has to work together.

Rahul Gandhi’s coronation as the Congress vice-president coincides with your elevation as the BJP president. Do you see it as Rahul vs Rajnath instead of Rahul vs Narendra Modi?
I have the responsibility of running the organisation and I would like to limit myself to that brief. My brief is the 2014 General Elections and I have my focus on that instead of other factors.

In Rahul Gandhi’s scheme of things, the Congress is laying special emphasis on youth and young leaders are getting a lot of opportunities. What about you?
I can tell you confidently that the number of young leaders in the BJP far outstrip the Congress. Young Congress leaders come from big political or business families so they become high profile. But in the BJP, our youth leaders belong to middle class families who have come through sheer hard work but are often ignored. I would request my friends in the media not to overlook BJP youth leaders who come from small towns. They will show results in 2014.

During your last tenure as the BJP president in 2008, the party came to power in Karnataka, a first in south India. Today with the Yeddyurappa revolt, the BJP lies in tatters.
When trouble in the party started in Karnataka, everyone predicted the beginning of the BJP’s end. But with the projection of Jagdish Shettar as leader, the BJP’s graph is going up again.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Beyond recommendations

Recommendations for changing rape laws might gathering dust

Time and again, the anomalies and inefficiencies of the Indian laws and judicial system have been exposed. Often, justice has been far from served. Moreover, law and governance have failed to keep the growing crime rate under check or act as a deterrent. The increasing number of crime cases against women (more so in Delhi) is a case in point here. As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), rape is the biggest crime in India with 24,206 cases registered in 2011 (22,172 in 2010). Moreover, the dismal conviction rate – at a mere 26 per cent between 2008 and 2011 – is a bigger worry.

Many would argue that this is a trivial number in comparison to the cases registered in some of the Western countries like Sweden, England or even the US. But the reality is, in the Western countries, the definition of rape covers a much broader crime cases related to sexual assault. For instance, British law considers any form of sexual assault as rape. In Scotland, intentionally touching a woman sexually or coercing a person to be present during a sexual activity to humiliate the person is also considered as rape. In India, only sexual intercourse is considered as rape and is punishable under Section 376 of the IPC – any other forms of sexual assault is charged under Section 354 (outraging a women’s modesty) which is bailable. Due to such an expansive application, many cases of rape go unreported – that is, if the police even agree to record the crime.

However, the government seems to have finally woken up on the backdrop of massive protests in the capital after the recent brutal gang-rape case. A committee headed by Justice JS Verma was formed to suggest amendments in the IPC by studying the best practices from the Western countries to make it more stringent to prevent rape cases. The committee received an overwhelming 80,000 suggestion from advocates, judges, police, politicians, NGOs and activists. Although the report has done away with capital punishment or chemical castration, the severity of punishment has been increased to lifelong imprisonment and the punishment for gang-rape cases has been increased to 20 years minimum from seven. For repeating the crime, a life-term in jail has been suggested. The committee has also recommended a Bill of Rights for women to be introduced on the lines of what is practised in New Zealand and South Africa. The fact remains that many committee recommendations have never been formally accepted. Of course, more than laws, literacy and changes in civic mind-set are imperative to increase the respect for women; yet, the change would start only once the recommendations are finally made into law.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

Movie Review: Race 2

Cold turkey, anyone?

Meant to be a pulsating “race to the finish”, it gets nowhere at all. Race 2, a slapdash sequel to the 2008 smash hit, gets caught in a snare of its own making and goes round in concentric circles.

The directing duo of Abbas and Mustan obviously do not believe in half measures. Their film is a crime drama so full of bizarre straws in the wind that they could fill up an entire barn and still spill over.

They actually do. Excruciating excess is the name of the game. Race 2 takes all of two and a half hours to huff and puff its ham-handed way through a graveyard of dud ideas where a full load of inanity goes head to head with a whole heap of banality. The result? You’ve guessed it: an absolute wreck.

Much of Race 2 – utter cock and bull – unfolds in Istanbul. Nattily attired men jump off cliffs, ledges and precipices in hot pursuit of each other and always land on their feet, not a hair out of place.

These moronic blokes not only live to tell the tale, they also get the chance to sport well-tailored suits, ride around the place in snazzy cars, and woo pretty girls only too willing to cling to the first available dangling arm.

Race 2 attempts nothing at all that could set it apart from the prelude. The directors are obviously in awe of the Hollywood rip-off that they foisted on Hindi movie audiences five years ago and made a neat pile of cash in the bargain. So the follow-up delivers more of the same and that, as you can imagine, translates into quite a nightmare.

None of the embellishments – songs, dances, chases, comic relief – can provide any amelioration.

Some of the characters in the old mix were duly bumped off in Race; one more is eliminated in a car bomb blast early in the sequel. The latter incident, which takes place purportedly in north Cyprus, sends conman-protagonist Ranveer Singh (Saif Ali Khan) to Turkey in search of the bad guys responsible for the heinous act.

In Istanbul, the hero encounters Armaan Malik (John Abraham), who lives in a garish mansion so sprawling that it could be mistaken for a resort. There are only two things he loves – money and women, strictly in that order.

Constantly by his side is his half-sister Elena (Deepika Padukone), a sweet assassin who can kill with a gentle sway of her hips, and a girlfriend named Omisha (Jacqueline Fernandez), as adept at archery and fencing as at the act of seduction.

As it transpires, all that the ladies – including a cleavage-flashing Ameesha Patel playing dimwitted Miss Kitty to Anil Kapoor’s eccentric Karamchand – succeed in doing is to reduce it all to a big, bad, bloated joke. Desperate to make a fast buck, they only make a sorry spectacle of themselves.

Their predictable conspiracies turn terribly tiresome after a point and the audience ceases to care which of the Kilkenny cats actually gets the cream. The cream is overly whipped anyway, so it can only be stale and sour.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

Friday, May 24, 2013

Setting the cat amongst pigeons

New Year 2013 has announced itself with a roar in Tamil Nadu – the roar of an octogenarian politician sounding a highly complex and ticklish succession bugle.

A question which had been asked for many years now suddenly has an answer and fittingly in the hoary cinematic traditions of the state, the drama in the new year was scripted by none other than DMK patriarch Muthuvel Karunanidhi when he put his stamp of approval on his political successor by naming his third and favourite son Stalin.

“Till my last breath I will work for the upliftment of society. To the question as to who will carry on this work after me, you should not forget Stalin, who is sitting here,” said  Karunanidhi, his emotions barely in check, while delivering a speech at a party function in Chennai, evoking loud and thunderous applause from the Dravida Munetra Kazagham (DMK) cadres present.

In a state where the Karunanidhi family essentially constitutes the DMK, the battle of succession in Tamil Nadu's first political family is a keenly contested affair. Coming from the grand patriarch himself, the naming of Stalin is being seen as a signal that of all of his inheritors – and Karunanidhi has many – it is only current DMK treasurer who has the capability to lead the party and the government. Except for Karunanidhi's second son and the Union Minister of Chemicals and Fertilizers, MK Alagiri, who did not hide his obvious disgruntlement, the rest of the DMK rank and file has fallen in line for now.  “DMK is not a shankara mutt for anybody to nominate,” Madurai-based Alagiri said in statement smacking of sarcasm. For good measure, the Union minister and DMK leader hit back and added that he would not accept anybody except his father as leader, making it clear that Stalin has a battle on hand if he thought a mere nomination by his father and supreme leader was enough to clear the way for him to assume the mantle of leadership for all times to come.
According to insiders, though silent, senior party men have strongly advised the Union minister not to react adversely. “Kalignar or Karunanidhi is the final authority and we abide by his decisions. All we ask is due to respect for Alagiri,” a veteran DMK functionary and Alagiri supporter told TSI.


However, Alagiri has chosen to lie low for the time being, hemmed in by son Durainidhi’s alleged involvement in the granite scam in Tamil Nadu.

Born four days after the death of Joseph Stalin, the great Soviet Communist dictator, Karunanidhi's third son was christened after him. The Tamil Stalin, his father's political shadow, has preferred to maintain a stoic silence and has chosen not to react to his father's statement or even his brother's outburst.

Not without reason. Karunanidhi, who is credited for successfully scripting screenplay for theatre, cinema and politics in Tamil Nadu for more than a half a century, has been equally successful in scripting son Stalin’s succession for more than two decades now.

A lot of it was in evidence last fortnight. The DMK chief played Chanakya to perfection, enlisting the support of nonagenarian party general secretary K Anbazhagan to propose Stalin’s name; all that he did was to second it, on the sidelines of a meeting of DMK district secretaries. Smart move.

Anbazhagan, who was present at the media conference, said if he proposed Stalin’s name, the others would have no option but to toe the party line. “The party president cannot reject the proposal,” Anbazhagan asserted. He should know. Asked whether he would stay away from contesting the forthcoming organisational polls, Anbazhagan declared he was not certain if he would be around till then!

The man named to succeed Karunanidhi is by no means a greenhorn. Stalin took to the political arena in 1967 as a 14-year-old participating in the anti-Hindi agitation sweeping the state, an agitation that also saw the ouster of the Congress party from St George Fort in the assembly elections. He campaigned for uncle Murasoli Maran, who was contesting for a Lok Sabha seat.

A graduate from the Presidency College in 1973, Stalin was inducted into DMK’s general council. After dismissal of the party government by the Centre on charges of corruption and imposition of the Emergency in 1977, both Karunanidhi and Stalin were among the front line DMK leaders arrested.
Sudhangan, a Chennai-based veteran journalist, believes several senior leaders who could have challenged Stalin’s position in the party are either no more or too old to be active. Some have been over the years systematically sidelined or have quit DMK to float their own outfit. One such leader and a good orator was V Gopalswamy or Vaiko who quit DMK in 1990’s to start his own MDMK.


Thursday, May 23, 2013

Stinking Mad Kitchen

Sunaina Panigrahi and Sabita Patil don't really have much in common except the fact that both are married and have kids that are growing up. One is a resident of Odisha and a school teacher. The other lives in Maharashtra and helps her husband in his materials supply business. The first one adores Naveen Patnaik while the latter thinks Raj Thackeray is nothing short of a Messiah. The first one is a Masters in Computer Applications while the latter discontinued her graduate studies when her first kid was born. The two are as different as chalk and cheese when it comes to ideology and world view and personal interests. Sunaina cannot keep her eyes off the idiot box when Big Boss is on air while Sabita tries her best not to miss an episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati.

And yet, both share one passionate feeling: a sense of betrayal and hurt coupled with a deep and abiding anger at Dr Manmohan Singh. The reasons are threefold: tomatoes, bananas and eggs. Or rather their prices. Sunanina says it was routine for tomato prices in her locality to drop to less than Rs. 5 a kilo during winters. " In the last few years, it simply doesn't drop below Rs. 20 a kilo even during peak season. How is that possible. Manmohan Singh is an economist. Doesn't he understand this?"she complains. Sabita is outraged because her kids love omlettes for breakfast and her pocket hurts when she buys eggs. "My husband tells me that India is the largest producer of eggs in the world. Then how come prices per dozen have gone up from about Rs. 20 a dozen to about Rs. 60 now? What is Manmohan Singh doing?" she asks. Both Sunaina and Sabita recently got a Facebook post that claimed banana prices in India were higher than those in America. They don't know if it is fact or not. But they know one thing: inflation has been a curse and they openly accuse Manmohan Singh and his UPA government for this.

Try telling them the following: that food inflation that hurts their family budgets so badly is not entirely the fault of Manmohan Singh. That rising income levels amongst the poor has led to a massive increase in demand for products such as tomatoes, eggs and bananas. It won't cut much ice. Both have a startlingly similar riposte: " If mobile call rates and prices of TV sets can fall every year, why do prices of such daily needs go up every year?" Manmohan Singh is himself a distinguished economist and his core team has many star economists. But can they answer these questions raised by Sunaina and Sabita? The hard truth is: housewives and working wives are very pissed off with the UPA government because it has been a miserable failure when it comes to controlling prices and helping families retain control over household budgets.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
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

ExecutiveMBA

Friday, May 10, 2013

How will the ‘Age of Big Data’ affect management?

Will access to Big Data further enable fact-based decision-making or analysis paralysis? Will analytics, as well as the supply of analytics-savvy managers, so badly lag ‘big data’ that it will only lead to confusion and misguided decisions? An exclusive HBS Working Knowledge article.

Ideas and trends converge from time to time in a way that suggests the possible shape of the future. Sometimes I think I can comprehend what they may mean. But other times I know I need help. This is one of those times.

Just two decades ago, we didn’t have Google and other information sources; storage constraints would not have permitted Google to provide everyday access to the ‘world’s information’. If we had had the information, we couldn’t have accessed it effectively anyway. Email systems were not widely available, let alone mobile devices with capacity to access the data. Now the capacity to store and access information through cloud computing is so great that we are entering a post-Google era in which new organisations like Factual (founded by a former Google employee) have set as their goal that of providing access to all of the world’s facts. Presumably this means data such as the location of every factory in the world, data that has not already been massaged and spun. Some facts have to be acquired and organised. Other facts are generated by so-called digital sensors operating worldwide in industrial equipment, autos, and the like. By linking the sensors, an ‘industrial Internet’ can be created. These trends appear to have ‘opportunity’ written all over them, particularly for those who are training now for jobs in data analytics. In addition to less wasteful marketing efforts (we should be able to know, for example, ‘which half’ of advertising is effective, thereby making an old marketing saw obsolete), they should produce more effective business strategies and inject added certainty into the appraisal of opportunities for new business startups. Furthermore, analytics (not the data) should be a source of continuing competitive advantage. In his new book, Charles Duhigg describes how the retailer Target uses data on consumption patterns to discern and address promotions to pregnant customers, perhaps even before they’ve announced their pregnancy to friends (and Target competitors). This is particularly important because pregnancy is one of those life events associated with significant shifts in consumption habits.

A problem is that the shortage of experts in data analytics (some call them ‘data whisperers’) is so acute that it may be years before a sufficient supply can be trained. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that up to 190,000 are needed now in US, along with 1.5 million managers capable of using their work. The shortage appears to be growing along with the potential for competitive advantage associated with data analytics.

This all raises many questions. Will the age of big data eliminate most or all uncertainty from business decisions for those most able to make effective use of ‘all the facts in the world?’ Will it fuel the next ‘gold rush’ for talent in a quest for competitive advantage? Will analytics, as well as the supply of analytics-savvy managers, so badly lag ‘big data’ that it will only lead to confusion and misguided decisions? Or is this just the latest management fad? How, if at all, should this affect education for management? What do you think?


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
 
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

ExecutiveMBA

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Nothing wrong in wanting to get richer

There is nothing wrong in wanting to get richer. But there are many ways to get richer, and entrepreneurs must be able to choose the right one

I maintain that there is nothing wrong with a youngster who is aspiring to make a lot of money as long as it is via legal and ethical means. You cannot become a saint at 20 and you shouldn’t. What is important is for you to realise that by seeking respect from every stakeholder, you will actually become richer in wealth. That is the trick that we all have to follow. That is why, right in 1981 when we started the business, I said that we must seek resect from everyone – right from customers to investors to vendor partners to employees to government to the society at large. If we sought that kind of respect, we would not short change anyone. We would adopt the finest principles of corporate governance, be fair to our colleagues, not violate any law of the land, pay our taxes properly and create goodwill with the society. We went ahead with the thought process that if we follow these tenets, revenues, profits and market capitalisation will automatically come. We said that we will separate management from ownership of shareholding and also laid down a fundamental principle that none of our family members will take up a non-merit based role in the company. So there is nothing wrong with youngsters seeking a path to get richer; all I am saying is that there are multiple paths to get richer. And one of the paths that this company has found to be effective is to seek respect.

The people I chose to partner me in this venture were chosen because they had very similar value systems. They were part of my team at Patni. Since equity, fairness, respect, value systems, et al were paramount to my mind, I took an unprecedented decision of making them equal stakeholders in the business. I have not come across any entrepreneur who picked up people with 1-1.5 years experience and gave them 15% equity. I have not seen any other case in the history of global business. Why did I do it? I did it because I believed in equity, encouraging youngsters and having good values. Even at the national level, I do strongly believe that these values will make India a better place.

When we started Infosys in 1981, India was a very different place as compared to what it is today. First of all, there was huge friction to business in the 1980s. For example, it was very difficult to get a bank loan. When we wanted to import our first computer, we went to multinational banks seeking finance – Citibank, Bank of America… where my nephew and my friends worked. They said, “We don’t give money to you guys. We only give money to very rich people.” These were the MNC banks. The Indian banks were also sceptical. Finally, we got funded by the state financial institutions. Secondly, in those days, infrastructure was very poor. It would take us two-three years to get a telephone connection. Thirdly, there were no data communication facilities in those days. We used to sometimes fax the source code to US. Fourthly, travelling outside India required approvals from the RBI as we did not have current account convertibility. We couldn’t hire consultants from outside India in quality, brand building, et al. Those are all taken for granted today. Today, it is all about competing in the marketplace based on innovation and based on how market-worthy you really are. Therefore, there is a lot of difference between the 1980s and today, and for the better.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
 
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

ExecutiveMBA

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Indira Gandhi earning the name of ‘Iron Lady’

Events that led to the surrender of the Pakistani forces in 1971, saw Indira Gandhi earning the name of ‘Iron Lady’. Her uncompromising attitude won India a war that even four decades later, is highlighted in history books as event that made India proud of its empathetic foreign policy and powerful armed forces

For India, the campaign was a fine example of what can be achieved with synergy. Major General (Retd) G. D. Bakshi, a combat veteran and an author, considers it to be one of the finest moments in the history of the Indian defence forces. “In military terms, the Indian forces achieved dominance in all the three domains of land, air and water during the 1971 war. It became an example of jointmanship. The Indian Air Force (IAF) achieved remarkable success when it achieved complete air superiority in the Eastern theatre of war in the first 48 hours. This enabled the advancing Indian Army columns to move without any fear of detection even under daylight,” he says. For the Army, the five division-strong Indian forces advanced from three directions and secured choke points well in the rear. The Navy had blocked the sea and while the war was being fought, it sunk the Pakistani Ghazi submarine and also destroyed the Karachi harbour. It was as a consequence of these events that on December 16, 1971, Lt. Gen. Aurora, accepted one of modern history’s greatest surrender at the Dhaka Race Course. The Indian Army liberated Bangladesh in 12 days. The speed of operations was a text book achievement. It surprised the defenders who were never allowed to regain their balance.

While on one end, in the East, India’s infantry units were marching into enemy territory with success, Pakistani forces had opened the Western theatre as well to compel India either to divert its forces or to slow down the assault in the Eastern sector. Performance of the Indian Army in the Western front was equally commendable. The infantry units credibly operated in the deserts. The way operations were handled at Longewala is a classic example of how to hold one’s nerve as a rifle company. The 23 Punjab Regiment, under Major K. S. Chandpuri, remained rock-steady in their defences. This was despite the enemy’s well-armoured attack. They detected and intercepted the movement of the 51st Infantry Brigade of Pakistan and foiled Pakistan’s attempt to break through at Longewala. By the time the enemy got back for a second shot, the IAF came to the Army’s rescue.

Pakistan had also planned a few audacious moves with its Air Force (PAF). It launched a pre-emptive strike on 10 Indian air bases at Srinagar, Jammu, Pathankot, Amritsar, Agra, Adampur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Uttarlai and Sirsa in the early hours on December 3. The aerial strikes, however, not just failed to accomplish the objectives, but also gave India an excuse to declare a full-scale war against Pakistan the same day. Under Lt. Gen. Aurora, three corps of the Indian Army invaded East Pakistan, entered Dhaka and forced Pakistani forces to surrender on December 16, 1971. Pakistan’s Lt. Gen. Niazi signed the Instrument of Surrender. The battle saw 11,000 Pakistani soldiers being killed, while in comparison, India suffered less than one-third of casualties. Pakistan lost 220 tanks during the battle. India, again less than a-third at 69. By December 16, Pakistan had lost a sizeable territory on both the Eastern and Western fronts.

The birth of Bangladesh, however came at an enormous ‘social’ cost. Before the Pakistan army was overpowered by the Indian Army, up to 3 million Bengalis had lost their lives in a span of nine ‘mad’ months.


Source : IIPM Editorial, 2013.
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri
 
For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles
 
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

ExecutiveMBA

Ever heard of a loss-making cartel?

Kingfisher is desperate for cash flow. Spicejet is aiming at market share. Jet desires to get back to its old profit-making habit. IndiGo wants to win through discounting. And Air India is simply paralysed. In such an unstable environment, will the formation of a cartel to control price satisfy the varied agendas of our aviators?
 

Economic crises breed dark ideologies. That is as true for Indian domestic carriers as it was in the case of global financial powerhouses that were forced to fall to their knees when times got tough.

Years of competent planning and incompetent execution caused havoc in the Indian domestic airline circuit. Bleeding financials, consolidations in the name of survival, illogical price wars and millions of rupees worth of checks defaulted are proof of this. And in the past few years there have been many-an-instance when the Competition Commission of India (CCI) was sent an alert that an enquiry into the activities of domestic airlines needed to be activated to check whether ethically, they are headed in the right direction. Both in 2010 and 2011, CCI gave a clean chit to airlines in India in this respect. But doubts still prevail.

Even today (in October and November this year), wisemen claim that in their attempt to turn over a new leaf, the carriers are involving themselves in an act of monopoly creation, setting floor prices, killing demand and working together behind closed doors to earn fat margins.

Such claims make it hard for onlookers to live peacefully. That the full-service carriers (FSCs) make it hard for no-frills (LCCs) to decide independently on entry price slabs isn’t amusing. There is some truth in their claims. In the past quarter (Q3, 2012), demand fell due to price hikes by airlines in the country (traffic stood at 12.61 million - a 11.16% dip y-o-y). This fall in demand, which experts claim is alarming, actually, isn’t. And the fact that demand hasn’t shrunk despite floor fares rising anywhere between 15-80% across various sectors y-o-y is good news for airline cartels operating in the country.

Various studies have attempted to arrive at a conclusive benchmark figure to explain price-demand elasticity (Ep) in the airline industry. As per a December 2007 report titled, ‘Estimating Air Travel Demand Elasticities’ by InterVISTAS, elasticities of air travel range between -1.24 to -2.34 (as concluded by Oum, Zhang, and Zhang). Another study by Oum and Yong of the Unversity of California, Berkeley, titled, ‘Concepts of Price Elasticities of Transport Demand and Recent Empirical Estimates’, puts this figure between -1.15 and -1.52. IATA adopted an econometric approach to bring out a more accurate estimation. The figure arrived at? -1.3 to -1.5 for the Intra-Asia market. At present, the busiest Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Bangalore, Delhi-Kolkata and Mumbai-Bangalore routes account for over 60% of domestic traffic. Air fares on these routes have increased by over 50% since December last! How should this translate into demand fall? Going by IATA’s calculated Ep of -1.3, price hikes on these four routes alone should have caused demand to fall by 65%. Assuming that prices across other hubs and spokes have remained the same since the start of 2012 (which obviously isn’t true, given that a one-month advance air ticket price on a hub-spoke route like Delhi-Guwahati has increased by 55% in the past year), the four busiest routes alone should have caused overall air demand to fall by about 40% (39% to be precise). That obviously hasn’t happened. For the first nine months of 2012, demand has fallen only by 0.99% y-o-y. Conclusion: economics fails to explain why the fall has been marginal. If the conspiracy theory is true, and airlines actually are functioning in a cartel and fixing prices, then it has benefitted them. Not a bad outcome for a loss-making sector! But as we said before, it’s a theory on paper. At least till the CCI proves someone guilty.


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