The krishna without a flute

Srikrishna Commission report that had probed the violence in Mumbai during the 92-93 riots, explicitly states that “The response of police to appeals from desperate victims, particularly Muslims, was cynical and utterly indifferent. On occasions, the response was that they were unable to leave the appointed post; on others, the attitude was that one Muslim killed was one Muslim less... Police officers and men, particularly at the junior level, appeared to have an inbuilt bias against the Muslims, which was evident in their treatment of the suspected Muslims and Muslim victims of riots. The treatment given was harsh and brutal and on occasions, bordering on the inhuman... The bias of policemen was seen in the active connivance of police constables with the rioting Hindu mobs, on occasions, with their adopting the role of passive on–lookers on occasions, and, finally, their lack of enthusiasm in registering offenses against Hindus even when the accused was clearly identified and post-haste classifying the cases in ‘A’ (True but not detected) summary”

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

copyrights till now

Copyright has its beginnings in the 16th century when Mary I, the reigning English monarch, granted monopoly and censorship powers to the Stationers’ Company under which though, no royalties were paid to the authors. This monopoly expired in 1694 and was eventually replaced in 1709 by the Statute of Anne, regarded as the first modern copyright law. The Stationers’ Company did not easily accept the Statute of Anne since it reduced their power and their profits. Since then, similar laws have been passed in most nations. With the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DCMA) of 1998, in what can only be interpreted as an effort to preserve profits derived from lucrative but about-to-expire copyrights and to protect profits from the threat of peer-to-peer distribution of music via Napster & similar Internet services, entertainment media distribution companies forced an extension to American copyright law and a broadening of its terms to include criminal penalties for its breach. Today, copyright laws are not about safeguarding motivations to create as is frequently claimed by entertainment companies but about preserving profits from a business model that has become obsolete with the Internet.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Stalk exchange?!

For now, OMX is all Nasdaq has...
National boundaries are passé; even ‘companies’ apparently seem outdated when it comes to M&As. If this still sounds strange, consider how Stockholm- based OMX stock exchange (with 791 companies listed & a daily turnover of $7.49 billion), the largest in Europe aft er Euronext & LSE is making matters worse between NYSE & Nasdaq. For Nasdaq, to watch NYSE walk away with the $14.3 billion Euronext only rubbed salt into its wound. Worse, despite having raised itd bid for LSE to $5.3 billion, its attempt for almost two years now has proved futile a big setback indeed!

But as they say – ‘some never learn’, Nasdaq is now eyeing OMX as H. Furlong Baldwin, Chairman, Nasdaq noted, “At Nasdaq, we are privileged to be partnering with such a reputable institution as the OMX…” Nasdaq also sold it 31% stake in LSE for $1.6 billion on August 20, 2007 as a proactive move as it knows that OMX will cost more than its May 2007 bid of $3.67 Billion – all thanks to Dubai Stock Exchange’s $4 billion bid for OMX.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Missing skill!

Lack of vocational colleges
While we continue celebrating India’s economic resurgence, what oft en gets ignored is the question, whether our future workforce would be skilled enough to tap global opportunities. The widening gap in skills, signals the tremors of coming ‘jobless’ nature of the economy. As per the World Bank, the growth in employment in the formal sector is merely 0.6% while in the informal sector it is 1.1% annually. The crucial fact that needs attention is that over 93% of India’s total workforce is involved in informal sector. Consider this: India has only 5,100 Industrial Training Institutes and 1,745 polytechnics colleges and its vocational colleges has 171 low quality specific skill or subjects while more than 1,500 highly skill subjects are covered in similar colleges worldwide. Add to it, the outdated syllabus and license raj like centralised control system. While a globalised environment would exponentially increase job opportunities in the informal sector, it is to be seen whether our polity has the vision to frame policies for tapping such opportunities by qualitative & quantitative enhancement of vocational training system.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Evil prevails...

and opium too in Afghanistan
The relationship between Afghanistan and opium dates back to time immemorial. While terrorism has destroyed the country, it is perhaps drug which will wipe out the nation from the world map Production of opium is growing frighteningly & even defeat of Taliban has not reduced its production. It has a shocking 193,000 hectares under opium cultivation which produced 8,200 tonnes of opium this year, which is a 34% increase over last year. No other country in the world has ever cultivated on such a deadly scale. Close investigation has indicated that opium production in poverty stricken central & northern region is decreasing while that of in rich southern region has detonated to an unprecedented level. Five provinces from south supply 70% of total opium while Hilmand alone provides 50% of country’s production. It is easier to drop missiles and kill a few perpetrators but more difficult to change a way of life and lure of easy money which is imbibed in a civilisation for centuries. Perhaps NATO and the US are learning it the hard way now.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

A perfect blend of sitar and violin...

On August 28th, Delhi swayed to the melodic performance of the acclaimed pop classical violinist Vanessa Mae. The show began with the notes of the sitar maestro Ustad Nishat Khan and a musical piece by the young prodigy Vanessa, followed by the much awaited jugalbandi between the renowned sitarist and the talented violinist. Sponsored by Seagrams 100 Pipers pure music, the packed auditorium and the cheering crowd were enough to give a ‘thumb’s up’ sign to the organisers. Bestowed with thunderous applause at the fall of the curtain, this perfect combination of talent and glamour definitely succeeded in making a mark among the music lovers of India as well.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Holcim in love with India

Someone has rightly said that real heaven lies in India. And to vouch for it, we have no other than Markus Akermann, the man at the helm of Holcim – world’s leading cement company, straight from the lands of world’s most beautiful country, Switzerland. Akermann in no time cracked the brass tacks of Birla Cement empire via taking controlling stakes across couple of companies. Currently, he is making his company’s foundation more firm in the country. The company plans to acquire 3.9% of Ambuja Cement Ltd. (ACL) at Rs.154 per share, in total for $220 million, from the founding families of the company. This buyout will also cross the limit of 5%/FY for Holcim. Therefore, as per the Indian takeover code, the company is making a 20% open offer to the public @Rs.154 per share and in total for $1.12 billion will be pumped for this.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Turn a pro with Intel power!

The new vPro chip technology has been launched by Intel Corporation. A platform technology, vPro is a compilation of chipsets, a Core 2 Duo processor and other elements. Centrino, introduced in 2003, was Intel’s first platform technology. vPro ensures security of business personal computers in an enhanced manner, that entails filtering and defending against possible virus attacks. This advanced platform allows turning on and turning off desktop PCs which are on the company network, despite hard disc failures or corruption of the operating system. The list of PC makers that are selling Intel vPro desktops and notebooks in include HP, Lenovo & Dell. It appears that Intel is now indeed innovating to keep competition at bay. With arch rival AMD already doing much to gain market share in the US and other Intel strongholds, there is no way out!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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

Who would bear the losses, eh?

Sprint Nextel Corp. is in a position to lose a $2 billion investment in a new phone characteristic, if a court blocks Qualcomm Inc. from making the required chips. Qualcomm executives have intimated the court that there will be huge losses due to it. Qualcomm rival, Broadcom Corp., has asked US District Judge James Selna in California to eternally bar its rival from making chips enclosed by three Broadcom technology patents after an 18 month phase out period. A board of judges found in May this year that Qualcomm invalidated the patents, including one associated to walkie-talkie technology that Sprint plans to imbibe in phones in the first quarter of 2008, known as the QChat.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2007

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