Monday, September 29, 2008

Extended loans to farmers

But hang on a minute. Didn’t we miss out on something? Of the list of expenses, where was the term agriculture? After all, it is agriculture credit that we are talking about, isn’t it? Herein lies the problem with rural agriculture credit, and the UPA government’s tall claims that it has managed to increase rural credit flows by several times since it came to power in May 2004, and improve the lives of the rural and ailing farmers.

Although 25% of KCC credit limit is allowed for personal consumption purposes, at least 60%-75% is being used for the same by the farmers, with little or no expenditure on agriculture. In a way, it’s logical too. Farmers, or any human beings, seek to first satisfy consumption-related needs (Maslow’s hierarchy), and all the other requirements take a back seat. Since private money lenders, who used to finance consumption in the past charge interest rates as high as 60% per annum, bank credit offers farmers with a cheaper credit option.

While bank credit is available at cheaper rates, in some cases, it is also unsecured. Even big farmers use bank credit for purchasing land and creating new assets. And what do the bankers have to say about the alleged misuse of credit? “The disbursal has to be in the form of cash; once it is disbursed, banks have no control over the usage. To prevent misuse, we should have a system whereby banks directly pay money to suppliers (through a demand draft or cheque). But that would restrict farmers’ bargaining powers to get a better deal,” adds the PNB manager in the Khanpur branch.

“Low yields per unit area across crops have become a regular feature of agriculture,” stated the Economic Survey of 2006-07. “Besides, farming is not what it used to be. Fertilisers prices are up, irrigation costs are up, land prices are up, and the end result is that productivity is down,” explains Karam Singh. For example, take the case of sugarcane growers. “The main culprit is the sugarcane payment, which is delayed by 10-12 months. The cane payment of last April is being given now. If we have timely payment, there will comparatively less problem for us. Besides, the ongoing tussle between the mill owner and the state regarding the price has made us miserable,” explains Singh.
Not to forget that the Indian farmer is plagued with several problems. His remuneration for his produce is low, he’s still under the control of middlemen, his debt burden is high, and many still committ suicides. and farming for most villagers is unviable as a profession. So, while the intermediaries like the banks are doing a good job to provide credit, there are no checks and balances to ensure proper usage of the funds. In addition, it is still too small and the farmers still go to the local baniyas to meet their requirements. So, timely and adequate credit with a transparent monitoring system is the need of the hour.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Wednesday, September 24, 2008

For cost effectiveness

Can be adopted as a complement to current method
Laissez-faire economies of the West do their accounting with it. Foremost MNCs of the US do their Budgeting through this methodology. And these countries owe success of their economies to this technique – Capital Budgeting! And that’s exactly the reason why developing economies should adopt it. And why should India bereft itself from it? With increasing expansion and complications of government functioning and intricacies of the economic structure, the addictive hype about revenue budget, capital Budgeting provides a method to the madness of understanding the entire amount of capital that is generated within the country under various flows.

But this technique has to be used prudently, otherwise it would generate hitches like rigidity and improper focus of decision making. No doubt, it gifts benefits like cost effectiveness, analysis of risk factors et al giving a more realistic picture, as it supports the development of a financial model that accounts for all these above mentioned factors.

To put things in a proper perspective, Capital Budgeting would give a fuller picture about revenues and expenditure, would complement the revenue Budgeting, which is already practiced, and would closely help monitor infrastructure developments. Though India doesn’t have a completely open economy, incorporating such an approach can alleviate capital movement, which will then create a business-friendly environment along with robust economic growth. Transparency and process orientation would become the hallmarks of any national accounting process; two factors that the world expects as hygiene factors!

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

A consensus appears to be slowly building...

... use rebound in stock indices to quit markets and go long on precious metals
The obvious question investors are facing now is whether the current stock market rout around the world is similar to the 1998, 1990 or 1987 corrections, which all provided great buying opportunities or whether we just completed the first leg of a more severe and longer lasting bear market. I can sympathize somewhat with the goldilocks’ crowd view that the current decline does provide a buying opportunity because the magnitude of the decline is similar to the 22% drop in 1998 (from the October 9, 1998 low the stock market rallied by 33% to the end of the year) and the 19.3% decline in 1990, which was followed by the great bull market of the 1990s.

In 1987, the S&P 500 collapsed by 33% between August and October and provided at its panic low a tremendous buying opportunity, as it resumed its up-trend, which lasted until 2000. The goldilocks view is best summarized by Thomas Peterson of Bull Eye research, who pointed out in mid January that, “this decline has been a market event, not an economic event. That may change this week. But we note the Fed has amble room to cute rates - is it too late? We don’t know. What we know is the money supply has been rising significantly in the past 12 months as central banks have tried to inject funds to offset some of the financial institutions’ losses. That money hasn’t disappeared. Companies still have lots of cash. As of last week, there were also enormous piles of cash sitting in many US funds, in addition to that recorded in money market funds. US stocks are under-owned according to several surveys. These are reasonable buffers to limit the downside. In the past, when we have had this combination of factors, the market has gone down temporarily. As in 1990 and 1987, but it has always become a great buying opportunity.”

Personally, I am not so sure that we are dealing here merely with a ‘market event’ and not with ‘an economic event’. I am leaning more toward the view of George Soros, who thinks that, ‘the current crisis is not only the bust that follows the housing boom, it’s basically the end of a 60-year period of continuing credit expansion based on the dollar as the reserve currency’.

Moreover, I doubt that there are ‘enormous piles of cash sitting in many US funds’ because equity mutual fund cash positions were at the end of last year at a record low. Also, at the end of last year, Barron’s surveyed 12 Wall Street strategists. With the exception of two strategists in the US whose 2008 year-end target for the S&P 500 was 1525, all the others had year end targets of between 1600 and 1750! In other words, just before the current rout in the stock market, Wall Street was very positive about stocks. Under these conditions it would be unusual to sit on ‘enormous piles of cash’.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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Monday, September 22, 2008

Excess of everything is bad!

Resources & re-production needs to be well managed
“We have never seen this before: we went begging for wheat and for two weeks we could not find it,” said a senior World Food Programme official at the recently concluded World Economic Forum in Davos. With the soybean & wheat prices going sky high, the official lamented that so acute is the food crisis that the countries are too niggardly in sharing their produce. While there are many who blame this on the ever reducing agricultural land, another set of experts completely blame the rising population for the dwindling food supplies. The Optimum Population Trust believes, if the current rate of population growth goes on, it is likely to touch 134 trillion figure by 2300. While that may be a bit farfetched, the UN estimates cite that the global population is likely to stabilise at 10 billion mark by 2200. And according to experts, such large chunk of human species are likely to make it 50% more difficult to manage climate change; prevent the overuse of natural resources & make it 50% harder to provide food for the entire lot. However, more excruciating than the population increase is the fact that global consumption has been rising at an alarming rate. According to noted environmentalist George Monbiot, “By 2100, global consumption will increase by roughly 1,600% & economic growth this century could be 32 times; as big an environmental issue as population growth.” Consumption or population – the fact is that mankind needs to deliberate on being a little more judicious.

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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'This is one of Big B's best performances'
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IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Saturday, September 20, 2008

The steely wonder

The CFO of ArcelorMittal talks about his grand plans for India, China, and the group, and the future of the global steel industry

It was a chance meeting at Taj Mansingh’s Ricks bar in New Delhi. The young, boyish-looking man asked for a small favour and got talking. It was then that he revealed that he was Aditya Mittal, the son of L. N. Mittal, and the CFO of the world’s largest steel company, ArcelorMittal. But his humility and his willingness to interact with the Indian media came to the fore when he readily agreed for an interview at a later date. Unlike other businessmen, he stuck to his words.

While the father, L. N. Mittal performed the almost-impossible task of consolidating the deeply-fragmented global steel industry, and went on to become the largest player with a manufacturing capacity of over 100 MTPA, his 31-year-old son, Aditya, has played a central role in the creation of the steely behemoth, which is known as ArcelorMittal. Today, Aditya is the CFO of the ArcelorMittal. He is the group’s financial wiz kid, who has a iron-like grip on financials and numbers.

He caught the attention after he managed the Ispat International’s IPO ($775 million), the largest ever in the steel industry. In 1999, his father crowned Aditya as the head of M&A activities. Aditya’s opportunities came in the early 2000s, when the steel industry went through a crisis and almost every firm was available for sale. But unlike others, Aditya acquired assets for dirt-cheap prices, except possibly Arcelor. He chose firms that offered access to raw materials, which is critical in the steel sector.

Under Aditya’s vision, the group successfully made strategic acquisitions like that of the US-based ISG, Sidex in Romania, Annaba in Algeria, Iscor in South Africa and others. Not to forget his recent triumph – Arcelor. For example, when there was a deadlock between Arcelor and Mittal Steel, Aditya’s father wrote a letter to Arcelor to carry on things further. And this was matched by Aditya, who negotiated with Arcelor officials to remove the roadblocks that stood in front of the deal.

What makes Aditya a complete M&A architect is the fact that he has made acquisitions at a maddening pace, and ensured that there’s a perfect seamless integration between the different assets. During a press conference in New Delhi after the Arcelor deal was through, LN passed on the integration queries to his son. In a suave manner, Aditya replied that “we will be sitting with the (Arcelor) management and come up with a resolution which is logical for both the companies.” That’s the kind of diplomatic acumen that he has shown several times.

Aditya has grand plans for India, most of which are under wraps right now. All that ArcelorMittal managers reveal is that major announcements are likely to be made in 2008 & 2009. The same is true for China, and India and China are the only two nations where the Mittal Group is yet to establish and consolidate its presence. But Aditya’s skills will be tested in both these countries.

Here are excerpts from an exclusive interview with Aditya Mittal.After the successful Arcelor deal, how has been the journey so far? How has been the integration experience, especially with respect to operational synergies and cultural issues? What are the kinds of acquisitions that you are looking at right now, both in geographical and strategic senses?

The journey has been even better than we expected. There has been tremendous willingness and commitment among our employees to ensure the success of this integration. We are ahead in terms of our synergy target, and have just launched our new brand. Looking ahead, we have a three-pronged growth strategy focused on product, geography, and value chain. We announced last year that we had identified opportunities to raise capacity by 20% through organic growth alone. This growth is largely in developing markets such as Brazil, Eastern Europe & Kazakhstan. M&A is part of this strategy. In fact, we announced over 30 acquisitions in 2007 with a total investment value of approximately US$10 billion. The steel industry is a cyclical one. Where exactly do you think is the industry headed towards at the moment? Will the cycle really end with Beijing Olympics, or are we in a long-term bullish commodity phase?

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008

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

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
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IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
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'This is one of Big B's best performances'
IIPM to come up at Rajarhat
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Tuesday, September 16, 2008

De(education)

Lack of fund may raze MDGs
When the UN came out with Millennium Development Goals in 2000; with universal primary schooling for all boys and girls, as one of its goals, alongwith seven other similar goals, UN members and leading institutions which participated, were over-excited and over-confident over accomplishing it. But at halfway of 2015 deadline, when poor countries are in need of additional $11 billion for spreading education, major developed powers are lackadaisical.

‘Education for all’ is one of the imperative goals to uplift a vast section of global society. Poor school children, specially those who don’t go to schools, are used as low-paid labourers in hazardous occupations, vulnerable to trafficking and often sexually harassed just like oppressed women. On the urge of the World Bank, many underdeveloped countries like Ghana and Kenya have devoted 10% of their national budget for education. Countries like Norway, Sweden & Netherlands are generous to the mission but the US and Japan, like many others are reluctant and stingiest for it. A meeting in Dakar, Senegal, recently, is a pointer towards North’s denial to fund South further. But isn’t North equally responsible when it hunts these poor countries for their national interest?

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Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative
Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
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'This is one of Big B's best performances'
IIPM to come up at Rajarhat
IIPM awards four Bengali novelists
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
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IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
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The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

Raise a toast to the scientific edge

There isn’t much about new CEO John Lechleiter to enthuse the markets about Eli Lilly at present, but this diligent scientist may well prove more than a handful for competition

When John Lechleiter joined Eli Lilly and Co. 29 years back as a Senior Organic Chemist, little did he know that he would reach this far. Thirty seven years hence, Lechleiter has been appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of the company, replacing Sidney Taurel, the current Chief Executive. Lechleiter will assume office from April 1, 2008. As Lechleiter recently said to Forbes, “Who would’ve thought that a kid who joined the company in 1979 as an organic chemist, wearing his whites, would be standing here today?” Taurel passed the baton to Lechleiter at a time when the company, in the last six years, has incurred losses amounting to $6.8 billion in sales to generic competition.

Chief Executives normally have a flair for financial numbers, but this guy is different, for his core competence is science. Label it as a trendsetting expedience or a step well thought of by the company, fact is that in an era where the top slot has invariably been occupied by sales & marketing executives, the appointment of a scientist can be truly considered as an epoch in the pharmaceutical industry. Undoubtedly, Lechleiter’s scientific expertise should provide Eli Lilly an edge over other drug making companies especially in the R&D. Buoyed by the announcement on December 18, the company’s stock price rose slightly to reach 53.49 cents (trading at 56.06 cents currently on January 8).

A native of Louisville, Ky., Lechleiter is a recipient of a Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Harvard. In 1986, he was made the manager of research and development projects for Europe. In 1993, he became the V.P. of pharmaceutical product development. Lechleiter was appointed senior V.P. of pharmaceutical products in 1998. He became the executive V.P. of pharmaceutical operations in early 2004. Lechleiter is a member of American Chemical Society. He is also at present serving on the Visiting Committee of Harvard Business School.

Undoubtedly, Lechleiter has climbed the top of the ladder ostensibly by his skills and knowledge. But there is no denying the fact that he lacks the global experience and multi-lingual skills of Taurel. Taurel stated on the change, “John has been preparing for his new role as my successor for several years.” An elated Lechleiter proclaimed, “We will stand firm by the timeless values laid down by our founders, yet act decisively to maintain our strong competitive position.”

Given his role and responsibility, the first thing that tops his list of agendas is to replace some of its best selling drugs, slated to lose their patents over the next few years. Eli Lilly & Co. has always been passionately focussed on R&D. With $15.6 billion sales in 2006 (less than a third of industry leader Pfizer with $48.3 billion), yet its R&D expenditure for the fiscal year 2006 was close to 20% of revenues (Pfizer spent 15.7%). And indeed, the investments may bear fruit as the drug maker is all set to introduce as many as six new drugs by 2011, at the same time when its top selling drugs, Zyprexa and Cymbalta lose their patents.

Managing short term expectations & long term growth objectives will continue to be his most compelling challenge. But with a clear road map, one could well expect Lechleiter to make it a smooth ride for Eli Lilly stakeholders, who sorely miss the good old days when Eli Lilly’s stock was trading at above 100 cents levels.

For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source :
IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

Read these article :-
ZEE BUSINESS BEST B SCHOOL SURVEY
B-schooled in India, Placed Abroad (Print Version)
IIPM in Financial times (Print Version)
IIPM makes business education truly global (Print Version)
The Indian Institute of Planning and Management (IIPM)
IIPM Campus

Top Articles on IIPM:-
IIPM to come up at Rajarhat
IIPM awards four Bengali novelists
IIPM makes business education truly global-Education-The Times of ...
The Hindu : Education Plus : Honour for IIPM
IIPM ranked No.1 B-School in India, Management News - By ...
IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
Moneycontrol >> News >> Press- News >> IIPM ranked No1 B-School in ...
IIPM ranked No. 1 B-school in India- Zee Business Survey ...
IIPM ranked No1 B-School in India :: Education, Careers ...
The Hindu Business Line : IIPM placements hit a high of over 2000 jobs
Deccan Herald - IIPM ranked as top B-School in India
India eNews - IIPM Ranked No1 B-School in India
IIPM Delhi - Indian Institute of Planning and Management New Delhi ...domain-b.com : IIPM ranked ahead of IIMs