If George W. Bush wishes to be remembered in future ages -- and what high-spirited world leader doesn't? -- he will devote much of his second term to forging close and durable links with India.
Naturally, US President Bush must seek to get Continental Europe back into the Atlantic camp. With the sun of the anti-US Jacques Chirac setting and the star of the realistic and sensible Nicolas Sarkozy on the rise in France, and with the likelihood of the pro-US Angela Merkel's taking over Germany's chancellorship from the ridiculous failure that has been Gerhard Schröder's, the Continentals are already moving Bush's way.
Read More...
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
India rises, Silicon Valley drools
Promod Haque grew up in the old India, born into a lower-middle-class family, but he was lucky enough to attend a school in New Delhi for the children of wealthy dignitaries. His father was a bureaucrat; his mother took a job as a teacher elsewhere to cover his tuition. "I was very fortunate to go there," he says, "but I was an outsider."
After he graduated in engineering and started selling medical gear in India, he proudly bought his parents their first refrigerator. Two years later, in 1972, he arrived in the US for grad school at Northwestern -- and was stunned to see that every student apartment had its own fridge.
Read More...
After he graduated in engineering and started selling medical gear in India, he proudly bought his parents their first refrigerator. Two years later, in 1972, he arrived in the US for grad school at Northwestern -- and was stunned to see that every student apartment had its own fridge.
Read More...
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Build Systems if not Leadership
Govindraj Ethiraj of CNBC-TV18 writes about the need to build Systems if not leadership by relating Mumbai Blasts 2003 and Mumbai Heavy Rain.
"A system is agnostic to people and personalities. And that's what this city needs, at least in the area of information management"
Read More...
"A system is agnostic to people and personalities. And that's what this city needs, at least in the area of information management"
Read More...
Friday, August 12, 2005
Bored on phone? Beware Jerk-O-Meter
Ever wonder if that spouse, friend or co-worker on the other end of the phone is really paying attention? The 'Jerk-O-Meter' may hold the answer.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing software for cell phones that would analyze speech patterns and voice tones to rate people -- on a scale of 0 to 100 per cent -- on how engaged they are in a conversation.
Anmol Madan, who led the project while he pursued a master's degree at MIT, sees the Jerk-O-Meter as a tool for improving relationships, not ending them. Or it might assist telephone sales and marketing efforts.
"Think of a situation where you could actually prevent an argument," he said. "Just having this device can make people more attentive because they know they're being monitored."
Read More...
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology are developing software for cell phones that would analyze speech patterns and voice tones to rate people -- on a scale of 0 to 100 per cent -- on how engaged they are in a conversation.
Anmol Madan, who led the project while he pursued a master's degree at MIT, sees the Jerk-O-Meter as a tool for improving relationships, not ending them. Or it might assist telephone sales and marketing efforts.
"Think of a situation where you could actually prevent an argument," he said. "Just having this device can make people more attentive because they know they're being monitored."
Read More...
Do you talk loudly on the cellphone?
The complaints are familiar and frequent: People on cell phones talk too loud, they use them at inappropriate times, and they just don't seem to care if they are bothering anyone.
The horror stories are famous too. Cell phones at funerals. Cell phones at weddings. Cell phones in class. And of course, cell phones in restaurants.
President Bush has a well-known low cell phone tolerance. He gives a withering evil eye to those whose cell phones ring during his public appearances.
Read More...
The horror stories are famous too. Cell phones at funerals. Cell phones at weddings. Cell phones in class. And of course, cell phones in restaurants.
President Bush has a well-known low cell phone tolerance. He gives a withering evil eye to those whose cell phones ring during his public appearances.
Read More...
KPO, the latest buzzword in Indian IT
India's business process outsourcing industry will soon be edged out by the emerging knowledge processing or KPO sector as the biggest revenue grosser, according to an industry expert.
Kiran Karnik, president, National Association of Software and service Companies, on Friday while predicted that the country's IT exports would grow by 32 per cent to touch $22.3 billion by the end of the current fiscal, said KPO was set to outgrow the BPO sector in the coming years
Read More...
Kiran Karnik, president, National Association of Software and service Companies, on Friday while predicted that the country's IT exports would grow by 32 per cent to touch $22.3 billion by the end of the current fiscal, said KPO was set to outgrow the BPO sector in the coming years
Read More...
Narayana Murthy's dream for the future
India's software giant Infosys Technologies Limited has entered its 25th year of existence. In these 25 years, the company has scaled many a peak, making the nation proud of it.
N R Narayana Murthy, Chairman, Infosys, however, has plans to turn the company into a bigger, stronger, and global player.
At an analysts' meet, held to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of Infosys in Hyderabad, Murthy spoke about his future for the company.
Here's the speech that he delivered...Read More...
N R Narayana Murthy, Chairman, Infosys, however, has plans to turn the company into a bigger, stronger, and global player.
At an analysts' meet, held to mark the silver jubilee celebrations of Infosys in Hyderabad, Murthy spoke about his future for the company.
Here's the speech that he delivered...Read More...
10 rules to manage your boss
Jacques Horovitz, Professor of Service Strategy, Service Marketing & Service Management at IMD, one of the world's leading business schools says :
1. Decisions: If you do not want a 'no' or procrastination, give him/her a hand
2. Manage her time: You may represent only 1% of her problems, don't make it as if it is 100%.
3. An opinion: If you ask for her opinion, she will always have one
4. Information: It is not data.
5. Problems: Don't just come with problems, come also with solutions.
6. Assumptions: Do not assume she knows as much as you do, but assume she can understand;
7. Delegations: Constantly test the waters.
8. Promises: Do not promise what you cannot deliver, and avoid surprises, trust is at stake
9. Differences: Manage differences in culture
10. Trust: Don't be sloppy in your documentation. It undermines trust
Read More...
1. Decisions: If you do not want a 'no' or procrastination, give him/her a hand
2. Manage her time: You may represent only 1% of her problems, don't make it as if it is 100%.
3. An opinion: If you ask for her opinion, she will always have one
4. Information: It is not data.
5. Problems: Don't just come with problems, come also with solutions.
6. Assumptions: Do not assume she knows as much as you do, but assume she can understand;
7. Delegations: Constantly test the waters.
8. Promises: Do not promise what you cannot deliver, and avoid surprises, trust is at stake
9. Differences: Manage differences in culture
10. Trust: Don't be sloppy in your documentation. It undermines trust
Read More...
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Why 'work-ex' is must for MBAs
Barkha Shah & Malavika Mariswami writes in Rediff :
You don't understand risk till you actually take one, and if you don't understand risk, you're training to be a Bureaucrat of Business Administration, not a Master.
Ouch! That hurts -- if you're doing an MBA without any work experience ('work-ex' in campus lingo), as most Indian B-school students are. Work experience is not a hard and fast part of the admission criteria for most institutes, and an MBA is the 'done thing' nowadays straight out of college.
Read More..
You don't understand risk till you actually take one, and if you don't understand risk, you're training to be a Bureaucrat of Business Administration, not a Master.
Ouch! That hurts -- if you're doing an MBA without any work experience ('work-ex' in campus lingo), as most Indian B-school students are. Work experience is not a hard and fast part of the admission criteria for most institutes, and an MBA is the 'done thing' nowadays straight out of college.
Read More..
Friday, July 29, 2005
Cheap computing for millions!
Novatium Solutions, a Chennai-based startup is building a $100 (Rs 4,300) computer using the "thin client" architecture. This, the company hopes, will take "computing to the next billion."
In Bangalore, Encore Software is engaged in a similar experiment. Its SofComp is being promoted as a sub-Rs 10,000 mobile computer. Earlier, the company had developed the handheld Simputer with the help of professors from the Indian Institute of Science in the city.
SofComp combines affordability, computing ability and mobility, say Encore's chairman Vinay Deshpande and vice president Shashank Garg. It works without a hard disk and uses the system-on-chip architecture.
Set up by Shishir B Purohit, Novatium, meanwhile, dreams of making low cost PCs widely available, an effort backed by Ashok Jhunjhunwala, the Indian Institute of Technology (Chennai) professor who took wireless telephony to villages. Its computer, based on "thin client" architecture can handle most routine office work such as e-mail, word processing, spread sheets, presentations, and Internet browsing.
Read More...
In Bangalore, Encore Software is engaged in a similar experiment. Its SofComp is being promoted as a sub-Rs 10,000 mobile computer. Earlier, the company had developed the handheld Simputer with the help of professors from the Indian Institute of Science in the city.
SofComp combines affordability, computing ability and mobility, say Encore's chairman Vinay Deshpande and vice president Shashank Garg. It works without a hard disk and uses the system-on-chip architecture.
Set up by Shishir B Purohit, Novatium, meanwhile, dreams of making low cost PCs widely available, an effort backed by Ashok Jhunjhunwala, the Indian Institute of Technology (Chennai) professor who took wireless telephony to villages. Its computer, based on "thin client" architecture can handle most routine office work such as e-mail, word processing, spread sheets, presentations, and Internet browsing.
Read More...
How to set up a large start-up
Think big, start small and scale up fast: it's every manager's dream.
For Shikha Sharma, Managing Director of ICICI-Prudential Life Insurance Company, it was a challenge. Hiring people, opening branches and offices across the country, unleashing a media blitzkrieg, getting customers: She explains the strategy and the processes employed in founding a large start-up.
Read More...
For Shikha Sharma, Managing Director of ICICI-Prudential Life Insurance Company, it was a challenge. Hiring people, opening branches and offices across the country, unleashing a media blitzkrieg, getting customers: She explains the strategy and the processes employed in founding a large start-up.
Read More...
Thursday, July 21, 2005
Just what are credit derivatives ?
Rediff article says...
Like any other financial derivative, credit derivatives provide payoff to the investor that depends upon the underlying default risk associated with any financial instrument, especially bank loans.
Read More...
Like any other financial derivative, credit derivatives provide payoff to the investor that depends upon the underlying default risk associated with any financial instrument, especially bank loans.
Read More...
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
The book that inspired me
Ankur Bhatia, MD, Amadeus India Sub Continent writes...
I have just finished reading Stephen Covey's The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness To Greatness. It's all about self-introspection, understanding your true potential and the difference you can make to the people around you.
It emphasises that success comes to those who, as a starting point, listen to their inner selves. Thereafter, based on the needs of the people with whom they interact, they create innovative ways to empower them.
Covey calls the present times the 'New Knowledge Worker age' in which, in order to thrive, innovate, excel and lead, we must build on and move beyond effectiveness.
As a continuation to his previous book, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, in this book he emphasises the eighth habit. Simply put, the eighth habit means to find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.
It is the answer to the soul's longing for greatness, the organisation's focus on excellence, and humanity's search for its 'voice'. The book is insightful, encouraging and definitely inspiring.
It has introduced me to new ideas and practices that will have a profound impact not only on my professional life but personal life as well.
I have just finished reading Stephen Covey's The 8th Habit: From Effectiveness To Greatness. It's all about self-introspection, understanding your true potential and the difference you can make to the people around you.
It emphasises that success comes to those who, as a starting point, listen to their inner selves. Thereafter, based on the needs of the people with whom they interact, they create innovative ways to empower them.
Covey calls the present times the 'New Knowledge Worker age' in which, in order to thrive, innovate, excel and lead, we must build on and move beyond effectiveness.
As a continuation to his previous book, The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective People, in this book he emphasises the eighth habit. Simply put, the eighth habit means to find your voice and inspire others to find theirs.
It is the answer to the soul's longing for greatness, the organisation's focus on excellence, and humanity's search for its 'voice'. The book is insightful, encouraging and definitely inspiring.
It has introduced me to new ideas and practices that will have a profound impact not only on my professional life but personal life as well.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Intel`s $700-mn India project faces trouble
Business Standard Reports...
Govt reluctant to make an upfront payment of $100mn demanded by IBM.
There seem to be hiccups on the way towards setting up Intel?s proposed $700-million wafer testing facility in India as the government appears reluctant to meet some of the demands raised by the world?s largest chipmaker.
Apart from flexibilities on external commercial borrowings and tax benefits, Intel had asked the government to make an upfront payment of $100 million, officials told Business Standard today.
But the government is not ready to make this kind of a contribution. A team from Intel negotiated the terms of a deal with officials last week but a breakthrough could not be achieved, officials said.
Read More...
Govt reluctant to make an upfront payment of $100mn demanded by IBM.
There seem to be hiccups on the way towards setting up Intel?s proposed $700-million wafer testing facility in India as the government appears reluctant to meet some of the demands raised by the world?s largest chipmaker.
Apart from flexibilities on external commercial borrowings and tax benefits, Intel had asked the government to make an upfront payment of $100 million, officials told Business Standard today.
But the government is not ready to make this kind of a contribution. A team from Intel negotiated the terms of a deal with officials last week but a breakthrough could not be achieved, officials said.
Read More...
B-schools make managers, not leade
Vipul Jain, CEO & MD of Kale Consultants writes :
B-schools don't teach you leadership. The job of a leader as distinct from a manager - is to unflinchingly believe that tomorrow will be better than today.
That's what keeps you together when you don't know how you are going to get to your goal. It makes you get out of bed and get to work. As a leader, people look up to you; they draw energy from you. Many of us are managers; few are leaders.
Read More...
B-schools don't teach you leadership. The job of a leader as distinct from a manager - is to unflinchingly believe that tomorrow will be better than today.
That's what keeps you together when you don't know how you are going to get to your goal. It makes you get out of bed and get to work. As a leader, people look up to you; they draw energy from you. Many of us are managers; few are leaders.
Read More...
Friday, July 08, 2005
India, most attractive retail mart
Rediff Reports:
Improved investment climate and a more liberal foreign direct investment regime have made India the top destination for global retail giants like Wal-Mart, Benetton and Tesco, which are looking to expand overseas, international management consulting firm A T Kearney said on Friday.
India displaced Russia to move from second place to first in the 2005 Global Retail Development Index released by AT Kearney. The Index is a study of retail investment attractiveness among 30 emerging markets across the globe.
The country's retail market totalling $330 billion is vastly underserved and has grown by 10 per cent on average over the past five years. It is also one of the most fragmented retail markets in the world -- the combined market share of the top five retailers totals less than two per cent.
India's ranking was driven by an improved investment climate due to the recent relaxation of direct ownership restrictions on foreign retailers, it said.
"The message for retailers on India is clear: move now or forego prime locations and market positions that will become saturated quickly," A T Kearney vice president Mike Moriarty said, adding retailers that missed opportunities to capture first-mover advantage in China can make up for it in India.
Read More...
Improved investment climate and a more liberal foreign direct investment regime have made India the top destination for global retail giants like Wal-Mart, Benetton and Tesco, which are looking to expand overseas, international management consulting firm A T Kearney said on Friday.
India displaced Russia to move from second place to first in the 2005 Global Retail Development Index released by AT Kearney. The Index is a study of retail investment attractiveness among 30 emerging markets across the globe.
The country's retail market totalling $330 billion is vastly underserved and has grown by 10 per cent on average over the past five years. It is also one of the most fragmented retail markets in the world -- the combined market share of the top five retailers totals less than two per cent.
India's ranking was driven by an improved investment climate due to the recent relaxation of direct ownership restrictions on foreign retailers, it said.
"The message for retailers on India is clear: move now or forego prime locations and market positions that will become saturated quickly," A T Kearney vice president Mike Moriarty said, adding retailers that missed opportunities to capture first-mover advantage in China can make up for it in India.
Read More...
How women can save money
Sushma Gupta, a 32-year-old mom has been managing the household finances since the last 12 years. Her husband gives her a fixed percentage of his salary every month for running the household.
As you would know this task is not easy. It includes everything from buying groceries/ everyday consumption items to things that the kids might need.
Sushma seems to be doing a remarkable job and manages to save a few thousands each month. One of her neighbours, Anita works for a mutual fund house and gave her an idea- to invest the amount she saves each month in an equity fund.
She has started a systematic investment plan and keeps aside Rs 3,000 every month for the same. The amount is not much but what matters is the investing habit. Remember that each brick helps in building a house.
Read More
As you would know this task is not easy. It includes everything from buying groceries/ everyday consumption items to things that the kids might need.
Sushma seems to be doing a remarkable job and manages to save a few thousands each month. One of her neighbours, Anita works for a mutual fund house and gave her an idea- to invest the amount she saves each month in an equity fund.
She has started a systematic investment plan and keeps aside Rs 3,000 every month for the same. The amount is not much but what matters is the investing habit. Remember that each brick helps in building a house.
Read More
'It was the right time to go' : Vivek Paul
Rediff Interview:
Vivek Paul, 46, grew Wipro over 10 times , emerged as its brand ambassador and the poster boy of Indian IT.
In a candid interview with Businessworld's Shelley Singh, Paul opened up to talk about his times at Wipro and why he quit. Excerpts.
How will you sum up your stint at Wipro?
It was a good chapter in Wipro's book. We set a vision that looked impossible. It makes you feel better because we did it with such confidence.
Less than 1 per cent of India's population is associated with IT and it feels great to know that the whole country is proud of what we did. I built a great team, built some very unique business models, and got customers to come to Wipro -- there is lot of repeat revenue from customers.
Read More...
Vivek Paul, 46, grew Wipro over 10 times , emerged as its brand ambassador and the poster boy of Indian IT.
In a candid interview with Businessworld's Shelley Singh, Paul opened up to talk about his times at Wipro and why he quit. Excerpts.
How will you sum up your stint at Wipro?
It was a good chapter in Wipro's book. We set a vision that looked impossible. It makes you feel better because we did it with such confidence.
Less than 1 per cent of India's population is associated with IT and it feels great to know that the whole country is proud of what we did. I built a great team, built some very unique business models, and got customers to come to Wipro -- there is lot of repeat revenue from customers.
Read More...
Blasts: Indian BPOs boost staff for UK rail queries
Rediff reports :
Call centres in India brought in extra staff and asked some to work overtime to answer a flood of inquiries to Britain's National Rail after a series of deadly bomb blasts hit London's transport network Thursday, officials said.
Read More
Call centres in India brought in extra staff and asked some to work overtime to answer a flood of inquiries to Britain's National Rail after a series of deadly bomb blasts hit London's transport network Thursday, officials said.
Read More
Inside story: Why Vivek Paul quit Wipro
Rediff quotes Businessworld artcile :
On May 5, Wipro vice chairman Vivek Paul walked into the second floor Bangalore offices of Wipro executive vice president (human resources), Pratik Kumar. The meeting was unscheduled.
Paul told Kumar about a certain sense of 'restlessness' that had seized him lately. He disclosed how he 'was evaluating to do something else'. Kumar thought Paul was at a stage 'where he wanted to make a decision'.
After the conversation, Kumar lost no time in speaking to Wipro chairman Azim Premji on what had transpired between him and Paul. Premji seemed to be aware of what was going on in Paul's mind. He simply expressed his quiet disappointment to Kumar
Read More...
On May 5, Wipro vice chairman Vivek Paul walked into the second floor Bangalore offices of Wipro executive vice president (human resources), Pratik Kumar. The meeting was unscheduled.
Paul told Kumar about a certain sense of 'restlessness' that had seized him lately. He disclosed how he 'was evaluating to do something else'. Kumar thought Paul was at a stage 'where he wanted to make a decision'.
After the conversation, Kumar lost no time in speaking to Wipro chairman Azim Premji on what had transpired between him and Paul. Premji seemed to be aware of what was going on in Paul's mind. He simply expressed his quiet disappointment to Kumar
Read More...
Just what is securitisation?
Rediff Article says :
'Banks will have to unload bad loans to Asset Reconstruction Companies by FY2007' read a leading business newspaper headline sometime back.
A bank selling its bad loans! This might sound strange, but it has been made possible by securitisation.
This article explains the concept of securitisation and how it can change the banking business in India.
Read More...
'Banks will have to unload bad loans to Asset Reconstruction Companies by FY2007' read a leading business newspaper headline sometime back.
A bank selling its bad loans! This might sound strange, but it has been made possible by securitisation.
This article explains the concept of securitisation and how it can change the banking business in India.
Read More...
Thursday, June 30, 2005
7 great strategies to succeed
Ajay Piramal, Chairman, Nicholas Piramal India Limited, reveals how he achieved phenomenal corporate growth in a new industry by implementing a differentiated strategy.
You cannot fool yourself, reality will strike.
Five years ago, my management style was radically different from what it is today. I was a hands-off manager and had entrusted the running of the company to a professional manager.
However, over a period of time I realised that though the company was profitable it was not performing to its fullest potential. Delving deeper into the issue I recognised that the company was not moving in the right direction in terms of sustainability of profit levels, quality of people and retaining market share.
The first thing I did was to change the CEO and personally get involved in the management of the company. I took a step back, understood the basics, hired McKinsey to evaluate our strategy and then implemented it. My top management was restructured and we improved the quality and depth of management across the company.
We got out of unprofitable businesses and worked on maximising the value of the assets we owned. This was a huge challenge for me and it made me more detail-oriented and quantitative. I spend a fair amount of my time now in planning and thinking in order to identify performance levers, growth engines and the root causes of poor performance.
1. You have to think big. Because ultimately you are what you think you are.
2. The values of the employees should be harmonious with those of the organisation.
3. You must keep stretching your employees more and more.
4. It is essential to break barriers.
5. Every company reinvents itself over a period of time.
6. Believe in your strategy and stick to it even if you are criticised for it.
7. It is important to have milestones to motivate your employees.
Read More...
You cannot fool yourself, reality will strike.
Five years ago, my management style was radically different from what it is today. I was a hands-off manager and had entrusted the running of the company to a professional manager.
However, over a period of time I realised that though the company was profitable it was not performing to its fullest potential. Delving deeper into the issue I recognised that the company was not moving in the right direction in terms of sustainability of profit levels, quality of people and retaining market share.
The first thing I did was to change the CEO and personally get involved in the management of the company. I took a step back, understood the basics, hired McKinsey to evaluate our strategy and then implemented it. My top management was restructured and we improved the quality and depth of management across the company.
We got out of unprofitable businesses and worked on maximising the value of the assets we owned. This was a huge challenge for me and it made me more detail-oriented and quantitative. I spend a fair amount of my time now in planning and thinking in order to identify performance levers, growth engines and the root causes of poor performance.
1. You have to think big. Because ultimately you are what you think you are.
2. The values of the employees should be harmonious with those of the organisation.
3. You must keep stretching your employees more and more.
4. It is essential to break barriers.
5. Every company reinvents itself over a period of time.
6. Believe in your strategy and stick to it even if you are criticised for it.
7. It is important to have milestones to motivate your employees.
Read More...
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
E-commerce set to boom in India
Rediff reports :
The total value of e-commerce activities within India has exceeded Rs 570 crore (Rs 5.70 billion) during 2004-05, according to a research conducted by Internet & Online Association of India, a not-for-profit Industry trade organisation.
The report estimates a 300 per cent plus growth rate during the next couple of years and has targeted a whopping Rs 2,300 crore (Rs 23 billion) worth of e-business conducted within the country by the year 2006-07.
The IOAI research report conducted in association with Cross Tab Marketing Services has tracked Internet user's proclivity for shopping online. The research was undertaken with a view to understand the profile, Internet usage, products purchased along with propensity to buy along with the nuances of shopping online with the shopper's affinity and aversions to online shopping.
Read More
The total value of e-commerce activities within India has exceeded Rs 570 crore (Rs 5.70 billion) during 2004-05, according to a research conducted by Internet & Online Association of India, a not-for-profit Industry trade organisation.
The report estimates a 300 per cent plus growth rate during the next couple of years and has targeted a whopping Rs 2,300 crore (Rs 23 billion) worth of e-business conducted within the country by the year 2006-07.
The IOAI research report conducted in association with Cross Tab Marketing Services has tracked Internet user's proclivity for shopping online. The research was undertaken with a view to understand the profile, Internet usage, products purchased along with propensity to buy along with the nuances of shopping online with the shopper's affinity and aversions to online shopping.
Read More
Wednesday, June 22, 2005
Uniform bank A/C numbers soon
Rediff report says :
Bank account holders will soon have a standardised unique individual account number with the introduction of real time gross settlement and straight-through processing in the banking sector.
This is because the electronic network of RTGS is, at times, unable to read alpha-numeric or complete numeric account numbers.
"Accounts numbers vary across banks," said R Gandhi regional director (Andhra Pradesh), Reserve Bank of India. Different banks have different customer identification numbers based on legacy issue and systems. Read More...
Bank account holders will soon have a standardised unique individual account number with the introduction of real time gross settlement and straight-through processing in the banking sector.
This is because the electronic network of RTGS is, at times, unable to read alpha-numeric or complete numeric account numbers.
"Accounts numbers vary across banks," said R Gandhi regional director (Andhra Pradesh), Reserve Bank of India. Different banks have different customer identification numbers based on legacy issue and systems. Read More...
Tuesday, June 21, 2005
Ownership of cars to double by 2009-10
Rediff report says :
The rapid rise in the country's middle and upper income classes, more than overall GDP growth per se, is likely to lead to a dramatic hike in the demand for big-ticket items like motorcycles, refrigerators and cars/jeeps, according to the National Council of Applied Economic Research's latest report, "The Great Indian Market". Read More...
The rapid rise in the country's middle and upper income classes, more than overall GDP growth per se, is likely to lead to a dramatic hike in the demand for big-ticket items like motorcycles, refrigerators and cars/jeeps, according to the National Council of Applied Economic Research's latest report, "The Great Indian Market". Read More...
Friday, June 03, 2005
Kumar Mangalam Birla's 9 Big Lessons
Under Kumar Mangalam Birla, the $6-billion Aditya Birla Group did not just acquire a new logo, it transformed itself. From a commodity-based organisation steeped in babu culture it is today an aggressively modern multicultural transnational with more than 72,000 people drawn from twenty different nationalities.
Read the complete interview
Read the complete interview
Friday, May 20, 2005
India Inc doubles foreign buys
We might have seen the Rajniganda commercial about the Indian Business Tycoon acquiring the East India Company and we might have thought it as a good day dream. Here are some news which says that dream might be true.
Rediff Report says:
India Inc's hunger to acquire businesses abroad is increasing. The value of overseas acquisitions by Indian companies more than doubled to $9.30 billion in 2004 from $4.5 billion in the previous year.
While the number of deals has not gone up significantly (316 in 2004 compared with 305 in 2003), the huge rise in terms of value indicates that Indian companies are ready to dig deep into their pockets for the right acquisition.
Agrees Manish Thakkar, vice-president, M&A, at ICICI Securities. "We believe that the next 12-18 months will see major activity in oil and gas, technology, textiles, and health care - a large component of which will be cross-border in nature," he said.
Rediff Report says:
India Inc's hunger to acquire businesses abroad is increasing. The value of overseas acquisitions by Indian companies more than doubled to $9.30 billion in 2004 from $4.5 billion in the previous year.
While the number of deals has not gone up significantly (316 in 2004 compared with 305 in 2003), the huge rise in terms of value indicates that Indian companies are ready to dig deep into their pockets for the right acquisition.
Agrees Manish Thakkar, vice-president, M&A, at ICICI Securities. "We believe that the next 12-18 months will see major activity in oil and gas, technology, textiles, and health care - a large component of which will be cross-border in nature," he said.
Thursday, May 19, 2005
Lemelson Recognition and Mentoring Programme : Boon for Rural Innovators
Innovation and rural India would seem mutually exclusive terms. But that is about to change.
The Lemelson Recognition and Mentoring Programme -- or L-RAMP -- launched in rural Tamil Nadu for inventors, is a union of technology, innovation and funds.
L-RAMP is a joint initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Rural Innovation Network, and the Lemelson Foundation, USA.
Impressed with the work done by the Rural Innovations Network, the Lemelson Foundation has decided to pour funds into the project and give it financial muscle and a major impetus.
Read the Complete Story
The Lemelson Recognition and Mentoring Programme -- or L-RAMP -- launched in rural Tamil Nadu for inventors, is a union of technology, innovation and funds.
L-RAMP is a joint initiative of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Rural Innovation Network, and the Lemelson Foundation, USA.
Impressed with the work done by the Rural Innovations Network, the Lemelson Foundation has decided to pour funds into the project and give it financial muscle and a major impetus.
Read the Complete Story
Innovators in Rural India ? You bet!
Anna Saheb Udgave, a 70-year-old farmer from the Sadalga village in Karnataka's Belgaum district, developed a low-cost drip irrigation system to fight water crisis in his village.
When the situation improved and water became available in plenty, he started farming sugarcane in place of betel leaf. Later, he improved upon his innovation and turned it into a mega sprinkler, and called it Chandraprabhu Rain Gun.
Other impressed farmers of the same village slowly started using Anna Saheb's rain gun in their farms.
Now, if Anna Saheb's rain gun can be found in the market and if the farmers of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are using it successfully, it is all because of a Chennai-based non-profit organisation -- Rural Innovation Network.
RIN is the brainchild of Paul Basil from Moovattupuzha in Kerala. Basil, a mechanical engineer with a post-graduate degree in forestry management, worked for the National Dairy Development Board. Later, he worked with the European Union's horticultural project in Kerala.
Read the Complete Story
When the situation improved and water became available in plenty, he started farming sugarcane in place of betel leaf. Later, he improved upon his innovation and turned it into a mega sprinkler, and called it Chandraprabhu Rain Gun.
Other impressed farmers of the same village slowly started using Anna Saheb's rain gun in their farms.
Now, if Anna Saheb's rain gun can be found in the market and if the farmers of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka are using it successfully, it is all because of a Chennai-based non-profit organisation -- Rural Innovation Network.
RIN is the brainchild of Paul Basil from Moovattupuzha in Kerala. Basil, a mechanical engineer with a post-graduate degree in forestry management, worked for the National Dairy Development Board. Later, he worked with the European Union's horticultural project in Kerala.
Read the Complete Story
Friday, April 01, 2005
Coimbatore, the new IT hotspot
Rediff Report Says
With top IT destinations including Bangalore and Mumbai facing infrastructure problems, Coimbatore is slowly emerging as a preferred destination for leading information technology firms among second-rung cities.
A host of top-rung IT firms, such as Cognizant Technology Solutions, Spectramind, 24/7 Customer, have already announced their expansion plans in Coimbatore.
Coimbatore enjoys the advantage of the presence of 19 engineering colleges in and around the city that churn out over 6000 engineers every year.
The city also has over 70 arts and science colleges and 14 polytechnics, said Lakshmi Narayanan, president and CEO of Cognizant, which is setting up a development centre in Coimbatore, employing 400 people in the first year of operations.
"The Coimbatore facility can also attract good talent from Kerala and Tamil Nadu," he said.
The Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu, the nodal agency to coordinate IT investments in the state, is developing 40 acres of land in Coimbatore for setting up an Information Technology Park. The park would have a built up area of 2.50 lakh sq.metres.
"We don't want Chennai to get overcrowded and face infrastructure problems like Bangalore," said K S Lakshminarayanan, chief technical officer, Elcot, explaining the Corporation's initiative to promote second tier cities such as Coimbatore, Hosur, Tiruchirapalli and Madurai.
Already, Tata Consultancy Service, e-Brahma, KG Infotech, Pricol Instruments and other smaller IT firms operate in Coimbatore. "The city has excellent infrastructure, including power, roads and good public transportation," said Cognizant's Narayanan.
Though Karnataka was also promoting second-rung cities such as Mangalore and Mysore, they are no match to the natural advantages offered by Coimbatore, he added.
Coimbatore was well connected by air, rail and road. "Coimbatore is one of the few tier-2 cities with an international airport with reasonably good domesticconnections," he said.
During 2004-05 fiscal, the software exports from Tamil Nadu were expected to cross Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) mark, with almost the whole contributed by Chennai.
Officials said this would change in the coming years with Coimbatore contributing a significant portion to the overall IT exports from the state.
With top IT destinations including Bangalore and Mumbai facing infrastructure problems, Coimbatore is slowly emerging as a preferred destination for leading information technology firms among second-rung cities.
A host of top-rung IT firms, such as Cognizant Technology Solutions, Spectramind, 24/7 Customer, have already announced their expansion plans in Coimbatore.
Coimbatore enjoys the advantage of the presence of 19 engineering colleges in and around the city that churn out over 6000 engineers every year.
The city also has over 70 arts and science colleges and 14 polytechnics, said Lakshmi Narayanan, president and CEO of Cognizant, which is setting up a development centre in Coimbatore, employing 400 people in the first year of operations.
"The Coimbatore facility can also attract good talent from Kerala and Tamil Nadu," he said.
The Electronics Corporation of Tamil Nadu, the nodal agency to coordinate IT investments in the state, is developing 40 acres of land in Coimbatore for setting up an Information Technology Park. The park would have a built up area of 2.50 lakh sq.metres.
"We don't want Chennai to get overcrowded and face infrastructure problems like Bangalore," said K S Lakshminarayanan, chief technical officer, Elcot, explaining the Corporation's initiative to promote second tier cities such as Coimbatore, Hosur, Tiruchirapalli and Madurai.
Already, Tata Consultancy Service, e-Brahma, KG Infotech, Pricol Instruments and other smaller IT firms operate in Coimbatore. "The city has excellent infrastructure, including power, roads and good public transportation," said Cognizant's Narayanan.
Though Karnataka was also promoting second-rung cities such as Mangalore and Mysore, they are no match to the natural advantages offered by Coimbatore, he added.
Coimbatore was well connected by air, rail and road. "Coimbatore is one of the few tier-2 cities with an international airport with reasonably good domesticconnections," he said.
During 2004-05 fiscal, the software exports from Tamil Nadu were expected to cross Rs 10,000 crore (Rs 100 billion) mark, with almost the whole contributed by Chennai.
Officials said this would change in the coming years with Coimbatore contributing a significant portion to the overall IT exports from the state.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
The story of India's richest woman
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon has risen from middle class background to India's richest woman by sheer hardwork and grit.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw should have been afraid. Every day for three months in 1985 she waded through a crowd of angry employees to get to her office at Biocon India, a maker of enzymes in Bangalore. This was her payback for hiring uneducated employees.
After they joined a communist labor union, she retaliated by automating the plant. The crowd outside burned her in effigy.
"I didn't think they'd hurt a woman," she says. But her detractors have certainly tried to hold her back, making it about as tough as possible for a woman to find her way.
Still, over the last two decades Mazumdar-Shaw, now 51, has turned a small enzyme manufacturer into one of India's premier tech companies. It netted $30.5 million on revenue of $122 million for the fiscal year ended Mar. 31.
Read the full story here.
Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw should have been afraid. Every day for three months in 1985 she waded through a crowd of angry employees to get to her office at Biocon India, a maker of enzymes in Bangalore. This was her payback for hiring uneducated employees.
After they joined a communist labor union, she retaliated by automating the plant. The crowd outside burned her in effigy.
"I didn't think they'd hurt a woman," she says. But her detractors have certainly tried to hold her back, making it about as tough as possible for a woman to find her way.
Still, over the last two decades Mazumdar-Shaw, now 51, has turned a small enzyme manufacturer into one of India's premier tech companies. It netted $30.5 million on revenue of $122 million for the fiscal year ended Mar. 31.
Read the full story here.
India offers Venezuela refinery stake, eyes oilfield
Yahoo reports :
India will offer Venezuela equity in a refining firm and take a stake a Venezuelan oilfield to cement growing ties between Asia's third largest consumer and the World's No. 5 exporter, top officials said on Friday.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), which is bidding for foreign oil assets to secure energy supplies, is likely to take a 49 percent stake in the San Cristobal oilfield, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said.
In return, Petroleos de Venezuela would be offered equity in ONGC's refining subsidiary, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, Aiyar told reporters after meeting Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez.
"MRPL can process Venezuelan crude. In April, a delegation will go to Venezuela to discuss various issues including the quality of crude oil and the volume available," Aiyar said.
Earlier, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country was keen to begin long-terum crude supplies to India.
"We want to have a long-term agreement for crude oil with India," Chavez told a forum of Indian business leaders.
India's sole private refiner, Reliance Industries started importing Venezuelan crude in recent years but state-run firms have not processed oil from the OPEC member.
"Tomorrow, we will sign agreements with the prime minister for energy cooperation. We want to start to supply petroleum in a permanent way, the same as we do with the United States," Chavez said.
Aiyar said India's strong ties with Venezuela will help Indian firms penetrate the Latin American region.
India, which imports 70 percent of its crude needs, consumed 2.46 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2004 and is forecast to use 2.53 million bpd this year, estimates from the International Energy Agency show.
The country is likely to import 85 percent of its needs in the next two decades as its economy grows 7-8 percent a year, encouraging Indian firms to bid for foreign oil projects.
ONGC is competing with Chinese companies in the race for foreign petroleum assets.
In January, China signed energy accords with Venezuela that aimed to make the largest oil consumer in Asia a major player in the oil and gas industry.
Venezuela ships more than half its daily output to the United States in a decades-old energy relationship.
But Chavez, a fierce critic of Washington, has made clear he wants to diversify overseas energy ties to reduce its economic dependence on the American market.
ONGC's overseas subsidiary, ONGC Videsh, has stakes in oil and gas projects in Myanmar, Sudan, Russia, Libya and Australia and recently signed a $40 billion deal to import LNG from Iran.
India will offer Venezuela equity in a refining firm and take a stake a Venezuelan oilfield to cement growing ties between Asia's third largest consumer and the World's No. 5 exporter, top officials said on Friday.
State-run Oil and Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), which is bidding for foreign oil assets to secure energy supplies, is likely to take a 49 percent stake in the San Cristobal oilfield, Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar said.
In return, Petroleos de Venezuela would be offered equity in ONGC's refining subsidiary, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, Aiyar told reporters after meeting Venezuelan Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez.
"MRPL can process Venezuelan crude. In April, a delegation will go to Venezuela to discuss various issues including the quality of crude oil and the volume available," Aiyar said.
Earlier, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said his country was keen to begin long-terum crude supplies to India.
"We want to have a long-term agreement for crude oil with India," Chavez told a forum of Indian business leaders.
India's sole private refiner, Reliance Industries started importing Venezuelan crude in recent years but state-run firms have not processed oil from the OPEC member.
"Tomorrow, we will sign agreements with the prime minister for energy cooperation. We want to start to supply petroleum in a permanent way, the same as we do with the United States," Chavez said.
Aiyar said India's strong ties with Venezuela will help Indian firms penetrate the Latin American region.
India, which imports 70 percent of its crude needs, consumed 2.46 million barrels per day (bpd) in 2004 and is forecast to use 2.53 million bpd this year, estimates from the International Energy Agency show.
The country is likely to import 85 percent of its needs in the next two decades as its economy grows 7-8 percent a year, encouraging Indian firms to bid for foreign oil projects.
ONGC is competing with Chinese companies in the race for foreign petroleum assets.
In January, China signed energy accords with Venezuela that aimed to make the largest oil consumer in Asia a major player in the oil and gas industry.
Venezuela ships more than half its daily output to the United States in a decades-old energy relationship.
But Chavez, a fierce critic of Washington, has made clear he wants to diversify overseas energy ties to reduce its economic dependence on the American market.
ONGC's overseas subsidiary, ONGC Videsh, has stakes in oil and gas projects in Myanmar, Sudan, Russia, Libya and Australia and recently signed a $40 billion deal to import LNG from Iran.
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
The spirit of Kamatchi
Subroto Bagchi of MindTree Consulting writes in BusinessWorld India about A journey of a destitute, young mother that began in 1926 carries lessons in leadership and decisionmaking. Read the real life story (Requires BusinessWorld India's Free Registration). For people who don't have patience to register, please read ahead :
Kamatchi was born in 1898 in Kattikulam - now in Tamil Nadu. Those were the days when a female child was raised with the sole purpose of getting her married off. So was Kamatchi. By stitching together subsequent events in her life, we gather that by the time she was twenty-five, she had five children from her husband, Thalakaswami. He did not care much for her, and one day just went away.
The eldest daughter was all of twelve and the youngest was two and a half years old when Kamatchi decided to take charge. We do not know how but she left Kattikulam and finally landed up in Madras in a state of destitution. She looked for work - not an easy thing in 1926. Around the same time, there were recruitment agents looking for rubber plantation workers for British clients. Kamatchi signed up and sat in a sailboat with the five children in tow, and arrived at a rubber plantation to become a 'tapper'. As Kamatchi went to work, the oldest daughter took up the task of mothering the other four. Two of these were the in-between sons who started going to school. Kamatchi and her brood braved on under a hutment of a swampy rubber estate until 1945. Then came the Japanese, and took away the two boys as slaves to build the bridge over the river Kwai in Burma. This was called the 'death railway' because people seldom returned, falling to the rampant bouts of cholera, typhoid and malaria.
The war was over and the Japanese retreated, but Kamatchi's little boy never came back. The older son somehow did and went on to complete his higher education, eventually becoming a headmaster. On his return, he took complete charge of the surviving siblings, and asked Kamatchi to retire. In 1966, she passed away, a single mother - leaving behind her legacy in Malaysia, a country with the highest number of people of Indian origin. Kamatchi's son, in turn, carried on her lineage. One of his sons, Dr Vignesh, was narrating this fascinating story of courage as he was driving me to the venue of the Malaysian-Indian Economic Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
He grew up to qualify as a veterinary practitioner. All his siblings are in the mainstream of Malaysian society today. I asked him about his recollections of Kamatchi. When Dr Vignesh was a boy, Kamatchi's sunset years had begun. Life in the rubber estates had left her an asthmatic. But she remained until her last, the matriarch who was a go-getter, who knew no fear, a motivator and a fighter. Though she believed in God, she was non-ritualistic and exhorted her children to rely on self-help. She used to say: "You have to take charge; God does not come through the tin roof to dole out bounties."
We study leadership and decision-making in business - a subject that fascinates us. We debate if leaders create circumstances or vice versa. We talk about decisions and momentous ones, with the power to create generational impact. In all this, we analyse character in leadership, and use analogies from political history and military conquests because business leadership hasn't been in existence long enough to create narratives with directional value.
My mind goes back to 1926. I see a twenty-five year old, illiterate woman - nah, girl. She is with five children; the youngest by her bosom. Six human frames and a small bundle of cloth, representing her departure from the past. What would have happened if Kamatchi had stayed on in Kattikulam, bemoaning the runaway husband and seeking the alms and mercy of village elders? What would have happened if she had killed her children and herself? What if she had abandoned them? I shudder and seek solace in the miracle of now.
In all this, what was the most important decision that Kamatchi took? For me, it was the one to dislocate herself from Kattikulam. That single decision changed the fate of three generations. It was the potently unsafe option. Kamatchi did not go to business school but lived the saying that 'the safest place for a ship is the harbour'. But it was never built to stay there.
Kamatchi was born in 1898 in Kattikulam - now in Tamil Nadu. Those were the days when a female child was raised with the sole purpose of getting her married off. So was Kamatchi. By stitching together subsequent events in her life, we gather that by the time she was twenty-five, she had five children from her husband, Thalakaswami. He did not care much for her, and one day just went away.
The eldest daughter was all of twelve and the youngest was two and a half years old when Kamatchi decided to take charge. We do not know how but she left Kattikulam and finally landed up in Madras in a state of destitution. She looked for work - not an easy thing in 1926. Around the same time, there were recruitment agents looking for rubber plantation workers for British clients. Kamatchi signed up and sat in a sailboat with the five children in tow, and arrived at a rubber plantation to become a 'tapper'. As Kamatchi went to work, the oldest daughter took up the task of mothering the other four. Two of these were the in-between sons who started going to school. Kamatchi and her brood braved on under a hutment of a swampy rubber estate until 1945. Then came the Japanese, and took away the two boys as slaves to build the bridge over the river Kwai in Burma. This was called the 'death railway' because people seldom returned, falling to the rampant bouts of cholera, typhoid and malaria.
The war was over and the Japanese retreated, but Kamatchi's little boy never came back. The older son somehow did and went on to complete his higher education, eventually becoming a headmaster. On his return, he took complete charge of the surviving siblings, and asked Kamatchi to retire. In 1966, she passed away, a single mother - leaving behind her legacy in Malaysia, a country with the highest number of people of Indian origin. Kamatchi's son, in turn, carried on her lineage. One of his sons, Dr Vignesh, was narrating this fascinating story of courage as he was driving me to the venue of the Malaysian-Indian Economic Summit in Kuala Lumpur.
He grew up to qualify as a veterinary practitioner. All his siblings are in the mainstream of Malaysian society today. I asked him about his recollections of Kamatchi. When Dr Vignesh was a boy, Kamatchi's sunset years had begun. Life in the rubber estates had left her an asthmatic. But she remained until her last, the matriarch who was a go-getter, who knew no fear, a motivator and a fighter. Though she believed in God, she was non-ritualistic and exhorted her children to rely on self-help. She used to say: "You have to take charge; God does not come through the tin roof to dole out bounties."
We study leadership and decision-making in business - a subject that fascinates us. We debate if leaders create circumstances or vice versa. We talk about decisions and momentous ones, with the power to create generational impact. In all this, we analyse character in leadership, and use analogies from political history and military conquests because business leadership hasn't been in existence long enough to create narratives with directional value.
My mind goes back to 1926. I see a twenty-five year old, illiterate woman - nah, girl. She is with five children; the youngest by her bosom. Six human frames and a small bundle of cloth, representing her departure from the past. What would have happened if Kamatchi had stayed on in Kattikulam, bemoaning the runaway husband and seeking the alms and mercy of village elders? What would have happened if she had killed her children and herself? What if she had abandoned them? I shudder and seek solace in the miracle of now.
In all this, what was the most important decision that Kamatchi took? For me, it was the one to dislocate herself from Kattikulam. That single decision changed the fate of three generations. It was the potently unsafe option. Kamatchi did not go to business school but lived the saying that 'the safest place for a ship is the harbour'. But it was never built to stay there.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Azim Premji's 8 Steps to Excellence
Among others, Wipro has recently won the prestigious 'Risk Management Award,' instituted by the Financial Times-The Banker magazine. What is that which makes this company so successful? "An obsession for excellence," says Azim Premji, Chairman & Managing Director, Wipro Limited.
Excellence endures and sustains. It goes beyond motivation into the realms of inspiration. Excellence can be as strong a uniting force as solid vision.
Excellence does not happen in a vacuum. It needs a collective obsession as I have experienced the benefits of excellence in my own life. Excellence is a great starting point for any new organisation but also an unending journey. What is excellence? It is about going a little beyond what we expect from ourselves. Part of the need for excellence is imposed on us externally by our customers. Our competition keeps us on our toes, especially when it is global in nature.
But the other driver of excellence is internal. I have found that excellence is not so much a battle you fight with others, but a battle you fight with yourself, by constantly raising the bar and stretching yourself and your team. This is the best and the most satisfying and challenging part about excellence.
Azim Premji lists the 8 Steps to Excellence
1) Create an obsession with Excellence
2) Build a collective Self-Confidence
3) Understand the difference between perfection for its own sake and excellence
4) Realise that we cannot be the best in everything we do. Define what we are or would like to be best at and what someone else can do better
5) Create processes that enable excellence
6) Create a culture of teaming
7) Invest in excellence for the future
8) Excellence requires humility
Read Azim Premji's 8 Steps to Excellence
Excellence endures and sustains. It goes beyond motivation into the realms of inspiration. Excellence can be as strong a uniting force as solid vision.
Excellence does not happen in a vacuum. It needs a collective obsession as I have experienced the benefits of excellence in my own life. Excellence is a great starting point for any new organisation but also an unending journey. What is excellence? It is about going a little beyond what we expect from ourselves. Part of the need for excellence is imposed on us externally by our customers. Our competition keeps us on our toes, especially when it is global in nature.
But the other driver of excellence is internal. I have found that excellence is not so much a battle you fight with others, but a battle you fight with yourself, by constantly raising the bar and stretching yourself and your team. This is the best and the most satisfying and challenging part about excellence.
Azim Premji lists the 8 Steps to Excellence
1) Create an obsession with Excellence
2) Build a collective Self-Confidence
3) Understand the difference between perfection for its own sake and excellence
4) Realise that we cannot be the best in everything we do. Define what we are or would like to be best at and what someone else can do better
5) Create processes that enable excellence
6) Create a culture of teaming
7) Invest in excellence for the future
8) Excellence requires humility
Read Azim Premji's 8 Steps to Excellence
Thursday, February 10, 2005
BlackBerry, for the people on the move
With the introduction of BlackBerry, the email mobile which uses GPRS for sending/receiving emails by AirTel, the indian businessmen and top executives can be always connected to their enterprise information on 24x7 basis.
The Advantages to the BlackBerry users are :
• Quick sharing of information
• Effective management of e-mail
• Accepting meeting requests while out of office
• Easily accessible web information
• Promptly respond to urgent messages
Read how BlackBerry has stormed the Indian Corporate World.
The Advantages to the BlackBerry users are :
• Quick sharing of information
• Effective management of e-mail
• Accepting meeting requests while out of office
• Easily accessible web information
• Promptly respond to urgent messages
Read how BlackBerry has stormed the Indian Corporate World.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
ClamWin - A Free Open Source Antivirus for Windows
ClamWin has been selected as Project Of Month for February 2005 by sourceforge.net. For more information, visit ClamWin's website
India's IT Leaders talks
At Nasscom 2005 in Mumbai, India's IT leaders talk about the future...
Read Infosys's Narayamuthy on Brand Building
Read Wipro's Azim Premji's views on Future for Indian IT
Read Infosys's Narayamuthy on Brand Building
Read Wipro's Azim Premji's views on Future for Indian IT
B-schools can't teach you common sense
Salil Kapoor Head, Marketing, LG Electronics says:
A B-school education helps you grasp concepts and in analysing situations. But it does not prepare future managers for the practical part of business.
I believe that in other countries, especially in the West, management students enjoy longer and more effective interaction with industry. But essentially in India most students come in with no work experience and therefore, there is no sharing of experience with their peer groups.
I had already worked for four years when I joined the part-time MBA programme at Delhi University's Faculty of Management Studies. That held me in good stead.
I am convinced that freshers cannot relate fully to what they are taught -- they can't visualise the situations that are being explained in class.
And it doesn't help that the people teaching them have no practical experience of corporate life, either. Most of the teaching fraternity has little experience of real business.
And research projects are very different from actual work with industry. I earnestly believe that all lecturers at management institutions should be practising managers.
Read B-schools can't teach you common sense
A B-school education helps you grasp concepts and in analysing situations. But it does not prepare future managers for the practical part of business.
I believe that in other countries, especially in the West, management students enjoy longer and more effective interaction with industry. But essentially in India most students come in with no work experience and therefore, there is no sharing of experience with their peer groups.
I had already worked for four years when I joined the part-time MBA programme at Delhi University's Faculty of Management Studies. That held me in good stead.
I am convinced that freshers cannot relate fully to what they are taught -- they can't visualise the situations that are being explained in class.
And it doesn't help that the people teaching them have no practical experience of corporate life, either. Most of the teaching fraternity has little experience of real business.
And research projects are very different from actual work with industry. I earnestly believe that all lecturers at management institutions should be practising managers.
Read B-schools can't teach you common sense
ICICI's K V Kamath on How to manage change
ICICI Bank's MD and CEO Mr. K.V.Kamath's interesting prescription on How to manage change ?
1) Learn how to deal with people who are stagnating
2) Look for proxies, observing what happens elsewhere
3) Bias for action
4) Organisational structural changes
5) Timing and how you deal with uncertainty is an important part of success
6) Simplify the complex
7) Be bold
8) Indian Managers Paradox - Employee Productivity vs Technology Productivity
9) 90-day rule
10) Put ear to the grapevine
11) Mix entrepreneurship in a professional context
12) Identify the leaders from the crop coming in
13) New Ideas
Read more on "How to manage change"
1) Learn how to deal with people who are stagnating
2) Look for proxies, observing what happens elsewhere
3) Bias for action
4) Organisational structural changes
5) Timing and how you deal with uncertainty is an important part of success
6) Simplify the complex
7) Be bold
8) Indian Managers Paradox - Employee Productivity vs Technology Productivity
9) 90-day rule
10) Put ear to the grapevine
11) Mix entrepreneurship in a professional context
12) Identify the leaders from the crop coming in
13) New Ideas
Read more on "How to manage change"
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Azim Premji's Four Pillar for Creating a world class firm
Azim Premji, Chairman, Wipro says :
To create a world class firm
1) Quality is the first pillar and it can be seen through the eyes of the customer.
2) Importance of choosing a direction and sticking to it.
3) Creating an enterprise that is sensitive to various cultures.
4) World-class enterprises need world-class leaders.
Read the text of lecture on "Creating a world class enterprise with diverse growth engines" organized by Confederation of Indian Industry, in New Delhi.
To create a world class firm
1) Quality is the first pillar and it can be seen through the eyes of the customer.
2) Importance of choosing a direction and sticking to it.
3) Creating an enterprise that is sensitive to various cultures.
4) World-class enterprises need world-class leaders.
Read the text of lecture on "Creating a world class enterprise with diverse growth engines" organized by Confederation of Indian Industry, in New Delhi.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
Want to suceed ? Harvard guru's tips
Mr. Robert S Kaplan along with Mr.David Norton has developed "Balanced Scorecard" Concept to stir up your organization.
The world is changing with trade barriers disappearing and competition becoming fiercer than ever.
Robert S Kaplan says that to succeed, you have to change the way you operate. Measure performance, think strategy and use the Balanced Scorecard to stir up your organisation. It's worth it.
They have five simple mantras to create a strategy-focussed organisation:
i) Translate strategy to operational terms,
ii) Align the organisation to the strategy,
iii) Make strategy everyone's everyday job,
iv) Make strategy a continual process, and
v) Mobilise change through strong, effective leadership.
Read Robert S Kaplan's interview
The world is changing with trade barriers disappearing and competition becoming fiercer than ever.
Robert S Kaplan says that to succeed, you have to change the way you operate. Measure performance, think strategy and use the Balanced Scorecard to stir up your organisation. It's worth it.
They have five simple mantras to create a strategy-focussed organisation:
i) Translate strategy to operational terms,
ii) Align the organisation to the strategy,
iii) Make strategy everyone's everyday job,
iv) Make strategy a continual process, and
v) Mobilise change through strong, effective leadership.
Read Robert S Kaplan's interview
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
Compassionate Capitalism & How to build a great Company
Mr. N.R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies says on Compassitionate Capitalism....
"Embellish the spirit of capitalism with fairness, decency, transparency and honesty, and the result is compassionate capitalism."
Read also his ideas on how to build a great company
"Embellish the spirit of capitalism with fairness, decency, transparency and honesty, and the result is compassionate capitalism."
Read also his ideas on how to build a great company
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
BSNL goes broad band
It is a very happy beginning that the public sector giant BSNL has launched broadband access across many cities and towns. The package for Home and Business users are attractive. I am planning to get a Home Package.
Emergic is Wisdom
Emeric.org, the thought blog of Rajesh Jain(Founder of IndiaWorld.com) is a collection of wisdom about technolgy and people. Please read regularly.
Monday, January 17, 2005
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