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Amaethon 2007 - IIM-A's annual AgriBusiness Summit - is to be held from January 19 to 21, 2007 continuing with the tradition that began three years ago. Amaethon has come a long way since then and this year Amaethon is expected to be a mega affair.
Amaethon 2007 will see at least 500 participants from 50 B-schools and 33 agribusiness management colleges across India making best use of an opportunity to interact with the most brilliant minds in the agribusiness sector and compete for over Rs. six lakhs' worth of prize money.

Amaethon has grown over the years in terms of scale, contests and speakers. This year Amaethon is offering Business Plan contests, Commodity Trading games, Management Games, Paper Presentations, Case Analysis, Panel Discussions, Movie Reviews, and many other events over the three days.

The theme for this year's Amaethon is "The Awaited Dawn" - capturing the strong feeling that India's agriculture and development sector needs a new beginning to match India's commendable growth in corporate and industrial sector. Various events at Amaethon 2007 will try to find out ways to bring about this much-awaited dawn.

The whole amalgamation of events under Amaethon is divided into four main sessions-
1. Entrepreneurship session
2. The AgriBusiness session
3. The Development session, and
4. Informals

All these sessions would aim at finding ways to modernize the agribusiness in India through possible policy changes, government initiatives, or through modern technology and practices like promotion of commodity trading. Attempts would be made to analyze various aspects of issues like agriculture productivity, micro-credit, managing risks in agriculture and rural infrastructure, and look for means to better them.
Amaethon 2007 is also attempting to foster entrepreneurial spirit among the students with various activities devoted towards this end. Apart from Business Plan contests, the event will try to find ways in which such plans can actually be taken forward and a sustainable growth is achieved.


Students from all across India will share their views and plans and will get the opportunity to listen to business and thought leaders like -

" Mr. Joseph Massey (Deputy managing Director, MCX)
" Dr. K.G.Karmakar (Managing Director, NABARD)
" Mr. Parag Desai (Director, WaghBakri Tea)
" Dr. Sudarshan Iyenger (Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith)
" Mr. Jagat Shah (CEO of Global Networks, International Trade Management Consultant)
" Mr. Satyan Mishra (Founder and CEO, Drishtee.com)
" Mr. Vipul Mittra (Commissioner and Secretary, Rural Development)
" Mr. Bakul Dholakia (Director, IIM Ahmedabad)

Many other dignitaries and academicians from IIM Ahmedabad and other institutions will also present their views during Amaethon 2007.

There would also be various informal activities like Antakshari, Agribusiness Simulation Game, Quizzes, Lateral Thinking Puzzles, Treasure Hunt, Cultural Night & Dance Party, etc. to add color to the mega event called Amaethon.

This year's Amaethon really promises to be a major success and an honest attempt to find ways to bring about 'the awaited dawn' in India's agribusiness and development sector. IIM Ahmedabad welcomes all students and young professionals to come and enjoy the experience.

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FMS aims to prepare managers to lead the rapidly growing aviation sector in the areas such as airports, airlines and air freight management. The short but focused exposure to the students by FMS indeed marks a beginning for a systematic and scientific education to meet the growing need for efficient and effective management in civil aviation.
To place the industry's and the students' requirements in aviation in an appropriate perspective, Faculty of Management Studies, University of Delhi, MBA Management of Services, is organizing a Civil Aviation conclave called "Udaan".
The driving goal of this initiative is to create awareness amongst the industry leaders of the growing interest of students in civil aviation and gain insights into the dynamics of the industry.


Sessions
The theme of the conclave: "Civil aviation – the promise, potential and performance".
The seminar shall be conducted in two sessions:

1) Session one: Airport management
Topic: The possibilities of efficiency and service enhancement of airports and the manpower requirements.

2) Session two: Airline and air freight management
Topic: The growth strategies, performance and future issues in passenger and cargo operations of air carriers.

Date, time and venue of the conclave
The seminar will be held on the January 24, 2007.
The venue shall be the Faculty of Management Studies Auditorium, University of Delhi, South Campus.

Duration:
The seminar shall be held on the 24/1/2007 from 3: 00 PM to 9:00 PM.
The program of events is as follows;

3:00 – 4:00 P.M – Inaugural address by the chief guest and introductory session.
4:00 – 4:30 P.M – Refreshments
4:30 – 6:00 P.M - Session one: Airport Management
6:00 – 6:30 P.M – Refreshments
6:30 - 8: 30 P.M – Session two: Airline and Air Freight Management
8:30 – 9:00 P.M – Concluding address
9:00 – Dinner

We look forward to your participation in this event and to be able to be enlightened by
you on this exciting industry.

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Mr. Godrej said that there has never been a better time to build India. After decades of protection, one would lose the will and the ability to perform. But Indian economy has now come out of age. Now, India is a low cost, high quality, global hub for outsourcing. He churned out the figures like India being the largest number of FDI approved, second largest manufacturer of the Cement in the world, Hero and Bajaj as the world's largest two-wheeler manufacturers. Infact, nine out of ten diamonds are processed in India. The pharmacy and auto sectors are not far behind.

Mr. Godrej had valuable hindsights, which he shared with the students.
One, graduating from superb educational institutions is essential. The critical question is how many of them who do, transform themselves into Passionate Leaders.
A leader should be truthful, need to have a clear vision. He needs to have constant exposure to new ideas.
Second, he should not lend to his ear to somebody who says its not done that way.
Not to somebody who says, you are taking a big chance, a big risk. Not to that internal voice of fear. That voice of fear which says there are smarter, taller, luckier people than you.
Third, you need to play to win. Defeat is not for you.
Fourth, Dare mighty things, Have stretch goals, Learn to pick yourself up after falling, Make your vocation as your vacation, Enjoy what you do and grab opportunities.

On being asked how he managed in the changing times in India, he replied that managing one's core strength is the key. If further growth is required then one can go for acquisition and diversification. He also emphasized on how important it is for a leader to have effective communication with his team. The need of the hour is to use modern communication techniques like electronic communication, to the fullest. According to Mr. Godrej, a very important need in any team today is need to be creative. Too much of discipline reduced creativity. Some degree of “madness” is essential to stir the company and expose it to revolutionary ideas. He also said that brand was a very important factor in a company's success. Godrej, he said has been a well accepted brand since a long time in the Indian market. But, because of the legacy of its brand, Godrej has faced a lot of problems in positioning itself as a company with any new technologies. So, at Godrej they have tried to revamp the policies a lot. They have made a policy that after every evaluation, the bottom 5% people in the company will have to leave. And the top 20% will be rewarded with faster career growth. When telling about his experiences, he told that earlier the industry rules were so strict that his definition of success was to get a license to enter the industry. But today with liberalization and privatization gaining momentum, success for a company has become how much EVA it can achieve in a period. But the biggest reason for success of Godrej is that in Godrej Industries, they take the “Bottom up Approach instead of the Top down Approach” which means that they try to take in more opinions from the all level of organization members, instead of trying to impose the top level decisions always on them.

When asked about the image that India will be stuck with the back office tag, he responded by saying that ideally, if we can engage 1.1 billion in value add work, it would be great. But few years back, even graduates were unemployed.
But not anymore. India's competitiveness will not be because of labor arbitrage but because of our demography. Relatively being young is what clinches the deal. In Russia, Germany and China, it has started declining. Infact, we can be the groundbreakers, who can lead back offices done in other countries other than India.
The session came to an end with Mr. Godrej underlining the importance how leaders should always try to listen to others.

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Now in its third edition, this year's sports meet had 130-member strong contingent from IIM Bangalore visit God's own campus (IIMK), with an aim of bettering their last year's tally of 12-1. But, IIMK proved to be a worthy contender winning 5 events in all and giving a stiff competition in the rest. With the home crowd rooting them on, IIMK scored points in Basketball, Swimming, Snooker and Table Tennis (both men's and women's).

IIMB was a clear winner in Cricket, which it won by 6 wickets. Opener Amit Gupta's unbeaten knock of 86 out of a total of 133, certainly made a difference to the game adding a point to the visitor's score-card. IIMB won the football match 3-1, while it got an easy victory in Badminton (Women's). The visitors also emerged a victor in Volleyball, Chess, Tennis and Throwball (women's). However the celebrations for the visitors ended swiftly and with a thump as IIMK returned the favors in Table Tennis (a 3-0 win in both Men's and Women's events) and Basketball, whitewashing all competition. Asif of IIMK was the star of the Baskeball match scoring half of the points.

Badminton (Men's) was a tough call till the end. Vikram Devare's brilliant performance couldn't help IIMK win Badminton, but the home crowd's hooting made it a not-so-relishing moment for the Bangaloreans in spite of their victory, more so because they ended on a losing note with last three events turning in favor of IIMK.

Intended to build camaraderie and lasting relationship between the two southern IIMs, the sports meet certainly symbolizes the cut-throat competitive spirit the IIMs are known for. If the Bangaloreans felt out-numbered and out-voiced more this time, they can settle the account when they host the meet next year.

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Speaking at the function Kalam said agricultural growth had stagnated, even as industrial and service sectors were growing at 12 and 18 per cent respectively. “While the number of people engaged in agriculture and land under farming will reduce considerably, the required food production would double to almost 350 million tones by 2020. The Finance Ministry has doubled the agricultural credit by banks to Rs 2 lakh crore, but it has not touched the life of needy farmers,” expressed Kalam, while delivering his lecture on 'Research missions for insurance business'.

The President called for research on methods that banks and insurance companies could employ to mitigate rural problems. “During my interaction with farmers in Punjab, Haryana and Tanjore, it came out that the sons and daughters of farmers are leaving the agricultural sector. Through research, institutes like NIA can come up with solutions like institution of a successful cooperative society model on the lines of dairy products in Anand or the Maharashtra Sugar industry, and also value-added products in agriculture,” the President said while addressing students.

According to Kalam, the research challenges for the second green revolution include determining the quality of soil, matching the soil to the seed water management, fertilizer management and pre-and-post harvest management. He also suggested that NIA syllabus for its management programmes should focus on realising integrated agriculture produce and management from food and marketing, including financing and risk cover.

Outlining his vision for the institute, Kalam said that with the entry of private players in the insurance market, NIA could create a simulation model of the whole insurance business taking the competitive environment into account.

Urging students to venture into rural areas, Kalam advised them not to be commanded by difficulties, rather to lead and overcome them.

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In today's world, where computers have become as ubiquitous as televisions, IT plays a very important role in an organization. Systems Continuum explores different aspects of IT in business by initiating discussions on cutting-edge topics.

The Systems Continuum 2007 is the first event in Continuum 2007 series. This event is being conducted in association and with active support from NASSCOM and is sponsored by IBM and co-sponsored by NEWGEN. It will be organized on 4th February with a theme relevant to the current trends in the IT industry. The Systems Continuum 2007 will see a series of lectures and panel discussions on the theme 'Infusing IT into the Indian Industry'. Speakers of the stature of Padmabhushan Dr. F.C. Kohli (Founder TCS), Mr. Rajdeep Sharawat (Vice President, NASSCOM), Mr. Tarun Gulati (General Manager, DPE, Microsoft) would participate in the event. To add to this, there would also be a Workshop on Case Studies by PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Corporate Lunch and a National Level Paper Presentation Contest.

The workshop by PWC focuses on introducing management students to understand the role of IT Consultant. Through the analysis of a LIVE case, the workshop will introduce the participants to the techniques of attacking and solving real life IT consultancy problems.

The corporate lunch will provide an excellent opportunity for students to interact and network with the corporates from industry.

The National Level Paper Presentation contest aims to generate innovative ideas to harness the potential of IT in various sectors of the industry. It provides a unique opportunity to the participants from various B-Schools to exercise their grey cells and compete with the best brains in the country.

A credible corporate strategy today should include Information Technology (IT) as an integral component. Today, IT pervades all levels and manners of corporate decision-making. Systems Continuum 2007 promises a day full of stimulating discussions with the distinguished speakers on the role that IT can play in enhancing the performance of Indian Industries.

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Mergers and acquisitions is a growing trend that is emerging in India. There are enormous strategic acquisition opportunities for Indian companies. Last year alone saw 1141 deals worth approximately $27 billion in the Indian M&A; market. At the same time, some of the larger companies tend to spin off or, de-merge, parts of their operations, to concentrate on their `core' activities.

The seminar was attended by over 100 corporate managers, company secretaries, faculty and students of business schools. The renowned practitioners in the area of mergers and acquisitions, who spoke on this occasion, were

· Ms. Shailashri Bhaskar - Former Deputy General Manager, Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

· Mr. S. V. Subramaniam - Corporate Advisor, Larsen & Toubro Limited

· Ms. Shashikala Rao - Company Secretary, Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Limited

· Mr. Surendra Kanstiya - Former President of Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI)

· Mr. Ramesh Laxmanan - Practising Chartered Accountant.

The keynote address of the seminar was delivered by Justice F. I. Rebello, Judge, Bombay High Court. He lauded the efforts of JBIMS and CCRT for organizing a seminar on such a thought-provoking and topical subject

Ms. Shashikala Rao who has been a part of many successful restructuring assignments spoke at length about the regulatory and procedural aspects of mergers. Ms. Shailashri Bhaskar, former deputy general manager in the primary market division of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) explained the intricacies of regulations and compliances involved in effecting takeovers. Mr. Surendra Kanstiya dwelt with mergers and acquisitions from the perspective of competition law. Mr. Subramaniam spoke on ethical and corporate governance issues involved in mergers and acquisitions. Mr. Ramesh Laxman touched upon the valuation aspects of mergers and acquisitions. He provided valuable insights into the valuation practices followed globally. Dr. A D Sawant, Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Mumbai concluded the seminar with a valedictory address.















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Certeza aims to inspire the younger generation towards entrepreneurship. At this one-day event the student teams will take part in games wherein they will face simulations of real-life situations challenging their innovativeness, practical approach and be persuasive skills. The focus will be on practical intelligence, perseverance & 'thinking out of the box' since these are the most important tools that go into the making of an entrepreneur.

The event would be participated by 50 teams in all. These teams will be selected from a qualifying round contest from top B schools like the IIMs, NITIE, JBIMS, NMIMS etc. & also from premier engineering colleges like IITs, VJTI, SPCE etc.

Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan's S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) is rated among the top B-Schools in the country. Inaugurated in 1981 by the then British Prime Minister Rt . Hon'ble Margaret Thatcher, it has moved from strength to strength due to its innovative pedagogic approach and its ability to adapt to the changing business environment. It has been in the forefront of creating a new paradigm of management education that combines rigor and relevance to achieve the twin objectives of 'influencing practice, and 'value based growth'.

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The controversy regarding SEZs & land acquisition has spread to each and every corner of India, with places like Singur and Nandigram becoming household names. Having the media crying hoarse about the issue almost everyday has lead to this subject capturing the mindspace of industrialists, farmers, politicians and the media alike. It has also managed to catch the imagination of various students across the wide spectrum of Indian B-schools.
With over 250 confirmed registrations within 10 days of the contest opening, Enuncio'07 is spoiling to be one of the most hard-fought paper-writing contests doing the rounds this year.
Another major attraction of the contest is the Rs 35,000 bounty and a third AC train excursion to colorful Kolkata that will be up for grabs.

Authors of selected papers will be invited to IIFT Kolkata's SEZ Conclave for final presentations in front of an illustrious panel of industry experts, who will share their expertise on the matter.

Given such an intense level of competition and healthy incentives in place to motivate participants to slug it out, Enuncio'07 has all the makings of a premier paper-writing contest. The final winners will be chosen on their level of originality, innovation, critical analysis and recommendations.

With all the necessary checks and balances in place, Enuncio'07 will ensure that only the very best will prevail!
(
http://www.iift.edu/iift/Enuncio2007%20Brochure.pdf)
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From its relatively humble beginnings with events more or less confined to Bangalore colleges, 'Unmaad' has evolved today to a multi-million rupee, gigantic, national event. Over three days, Unmaad saw a record attendance of more than a thousand outstation participants and several thousands from in and around Bangalore. This year's edition, similar to last year's, featured a diverse set of more than 50 events that ran non-stop over 72 hours, including literary events, performing arts, fine arts and other events like Mr. and Ms. Unmaad, the Unmaad Ramp of Fire, the B school of Rock and a host of interesting workshops and audience events.

Teams from all over the country displayed their talents at Unmaad, with extremely high quality participation; examples being IIT Bombay's touching original play on the last days of three men condemned to the gallows, and the home team, IIM Bangalore's adaptation of a play on the political manipulation of Dalits in today's society, the socially conscious street plays, the grace of the classical dance performances, the heavy-metal mania of the Amateur Rock featuring some of the best college bands from all over the country slugging it out for top honors, the prettiest and most handsome faces walking the Unmaad ramp in creations that would have made Rohit Bal proud, and some of Bangalore and indeed, the country's best quizzers battling it out intensely during the audio-visual and open quizzes.

The big events for each day, though, were definitely the big-ticket professional performance nights featuring two of India's most popular solo artistes, Lucky Ali and Kailash Kher, along with Indian and Pakistani mega-stars, Indian Ocean and Ali Azmat as part of the Unmaad Unity Concert, forming an integral part of the Unmaad 2007 experience. A selection of India's finest musical artistes were also performing during the 'B school of Rock' event judged by Sam Lal, arguably India's best rock-writer. Ticket sales for the concerts continued at fever pitch throughout the preceding week and during the fest and the Bannerghatta Road campus was flooded with students from colleges all over Bangalore along with students and corporates from Bangalore and places as far away as Delhi and Calcutta.

Taking brand Unmaad all over India this year were Radio Mirchi and Channel V, two of the principal media partners. Radio Mirchi were, in fact, broadcasting for one entire day straight from IIM Bangalore's campus – taking the excitement of Unmaad all over Bangalore. Channel V also broadcast live from Unmaad 2007 across the country. It is certain, then, that the Unmaad fever worked its magic again, bringing with it three days of Madness, Melodrama and Magic, right here at IIM Bangalore.
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The theme was “commercialization of the Media: changing roles and responsibilities) The event was a grand affair with luminaries from the world of print, television and radio gracing the event. While Mr. Hari Jai Singh(Former Editor in chief of Tribune, Journalist and author), Mr. Swaminathan Ankleshwar Iyer (Journalist of Swaminomics fame, former editor of ET)and Ms. Shobha De(Celebrity journalist and author) represented the print media, Ms. Anjana Kashyap(anchor, ZEE News) and Mr. Tapas Sen(Exec VP, radio Mirchi ,Timesgroup) spoke out for television and radio respectively.

The event was kicked off by Dr. Vinayshil Gautam from the Department of Management Studies who introduced the panelists by giving a small brief on each.
Mr. Hari Jai Singh, who was also the moderator of the conclave set the ball rolling by sharing his views on the rapid commercialization of the media and the dilemma it has created in the minds of both, the viewers and the fourth estate. He stressed on the need for journalists to draw a “Laxman Rekha” and achieve a balance between TRP ratings and social responsibility.

During his address, Mr. Swaminathan Iyer was more vociferous in his support of the media. Defending their need to commercialize, he stated that the better financials of media companies was the reason for the marked improvement in the quality and reliability of content today. He concluded with the firm belief that increasing competition and freedom was the only way to promote social justice.

Ms. Shobha De struck a more compromising note in her address. While acknowledging the fact that media credibility has taken a hit in recent times, she supported Mr. Iyer in his views on competition and censorship. According to her, viewers had to shoulder some responsibility in enhancing the quality of journalism in the country. She also urged the Indian public to be more open and participative in the workings of the fourth estate.
On his part, Mr. Tapas Sen gave his take on the role of radio in achieving social empowerment. While calling radio as the true mass medium, he shared many examples of how radio had taken up social causes. His views on the ability of radio to mobilize the masses into action were especially insightful.

Ms. Anjana Kashyap began with her interpretation of the media's role in the Jessica Lal case. Calling it a perfect example of positive media intervention, she focused on the need to present different viewpoints in front of the masses. At the same time she stressed on the increasing number of errors creeping into television reporting today. She called on the Indian media to pull up its socks and act more responsibly in its pursuit of excellence.

The conclave was now thrown open to questions from the house wherein audience members quizzed the panel on many aspects relating to media censorship and sensationalism. All the panelists were very enthusiastic in their responses to these queries. The Conclave ended with a small summary of the discussion by Mr. Hari Jai Singh after which each of the luminaries was presented with a memento by Dr. Vinayshil Gautam on behalf of the Department of Management Studies.

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The event began with Dr. Lakshmi Mohan, Faculty, School of Business, State University of New York giving the keynote address. Drawing from her immense experience on the research of global business trends, she commented on the impact of IT in India and the latest opportunities. She firmly stated that globalization is here to stay and the money was in Implementation & Consulting Services. She concluded on the note that Healthcare, Pharma Contract Research & Manufacturing and Automated Decision Technologies were the key growth areas of the future.

Mr. Amitava Roy - President, Symphony Services spoke on the role of Engineering services driving IT in the future. Dispelling myths surrounding the engineering outsourcing and offshoring he mentioned that competitive pressures in the country had declined margins and profitability thereby necessitating application of new business and delivery models. He also mentioned that India would be a leading market for products and services by 2020. 'We need to think world-class and de-link the notion of a viable innovation from a client endorsement with breakthrough ideas for end-users. Product Innovation should surprise the customer and not wait for an endorsement' was his concluding message for the audience.

Mr. Aditya Vikram Jain - Assistant Vice President, Evalueserve spoke about the knowledge process outsourcing as a key driver for the IT Industry. Mr. Vikram said that the future opportunities were in the new areas such as Healthcare / Clinical research, Animation services, Remote Education, Sarbanes Oxley compliance related work. The Growth areas needed a shift towards higher value-added work in all areas. Multi-lingual work, new markets (particularly for IP work) and SMEs are a large potential, yet to be fully tapped. He highlighted that building knowledge and credibility around expertise/knowledge, Delivering highest quality consistently, people management, training and retention, c omplying with standards and regulations were the main challenges in the KPO sector. He concluded by saying that KPO is a step in the right direction making India a knowledge hub in the 21st century

Highlighting the Product development market as another key driver for IT, Mr. Ghana Pendse , Vice President - Persistent Systems said that an iterative development process needed to be followed to suit the product according to the customer's needs. Highlighting the need to develop a product development culture in organizations he urged them to recognize the efforts of offshore teams in creation of new IP. He also pointed out the need to establish clear IP Protection policies through appropriate contracts & systems and trained people in order to win customer confidence.

Giving his views on Remote Infrastructure Management services, Mr. Muthu Rajashekar , Director - Cognizant Technology solutions spoke about what made the RIM possible from India. He spoke about abundant Network and telecom capacities, state of the art tools for IT management and troubleshooting, emergence and adaptation of process standards that boost confidence levels of customers. Developing vendor's ability to render Quality Services – globally, Services and practices compliant with industry standards and the ability to add value and customize services and solutions, can strengthen the RIM capability with competitive edge. He spoke on the plausible t hreats coming from IT security concerns & Data thefts. Wrapping up his speech he emphasized that tremendous help towards this industry could come from educational Institutions, Government, Product vendors and the Media.

The highlight of the event was a panel discussion moderated by the Joint Director of SPJIMR, Prof. Sunil Rai. The discussion had the four speakers' (mentioned above) debate with expert analysts from the industry. The eminent panel comprised of Mr. Baru S Rao - CEO, CapGemini, Ms. Jaya Vaidhyanathan - Partner, Accenture Consulting Services, Mr. Pradeep Udhas - Global Head of Sourcing Advisory for KPMG, Mr. Gaurav Singh, Senior Manager, NASSCOM Research and to provide the entrepreneurial insights, Mr. Ajit S. Nagral - Founder & Chairman, NuGenesis Technologies Corporation, Founder and President, Megaware, Inc.

The discussion, well directed by Prof. Sunil Rai, brought out relevant issues confronted by the IT industry and actions to counter the same.

Ms. Jaya Vaidhyanathan remarked that the absence of innovation arising out of inability of Indian mindset to question efficiency and effectiveness is a major hurdle in achieving success in moving up the value chain. In her opinion the society, educational institutions and corporates have to endeavor to foster spirit of innovation to prepare talent.

Mr. Baru S. Rao suggested that it is better to start from consulting and build systems, in the course of which explore operating processes and plausible problems and subsequently attain refinement. He also emphasized that today customers are sensitive to value and they question the expertise of consultants involved in relation to the domain. The key is to sustain accrued advantage He also highlighted an issue of the dearth of deployable resources in the country.

Mr. Gaurav Singh said that as Indians, there is a wider acceptance across the global IT Community. This recognition is an asset in meeting challenges while addressing newer opportunities. As a representative from Nasscomm, Mr. Gaurav also pointed out that the minimal participation of the government but appropriate support has indeed helped the growth of the Indian IT industry and it can only go up from here on.

Mr. Pradeep Udhas was optimistic that India will be able to sustain its competitive advantage even in the future. He said that in IT, requirements are not clear and so Indians will do better and will maintain the lead. He said that he was bullish about India. He also cautioned that .we cannot leave education to educationists alone and there is need for collaboration with Institutions and building public private partnerships as the way for the future. He also pointed out that there is a lot of potential in educational outsourcing and India had potential to become an educational hub.

Giving the entrepreneurial insight, Mr. Ajith Nagral said that both the industry and academia have to step in for the benefit of IT in the future. There is a need to learn to propel resources to attain upward movement on the value chain, and win customer confidence. He also highlighted that dispute resolution was one problem area and takes inordinate time. This issue needs to be addressed to build customer confidence.

The discussion ended with recommendations from the experts to propel IT in 2010. The panelists were unanimous in stating that the key is to create domain skills and the ability to deliver with the right tools. The emphasis for the future is in the processes and attitude building in the employees. The panelists agreed that there has to be increased corporate participation along with that from regulatory bodies like Nasscomm to address the issue of talent shortage. For India to succeed we need to have Indian Products, and better management of cultural and operational issues, was the common opinion.

The analysts and the experts together with academicians discussed the future that lay for the IT industry in India that the promise rests very largely with Engineering and Infrastructure Services, supported by growth in Product Development and consolidation of success of KPM. All in all an event that brought together the best of the IT discussing what is best for the IT, leaving the audience spell bound and asking for more.








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TCI looks at the respect for one's self, for others, for the common task and the actual situation are central issues. TCI promotes the understanding of working together in groups Respect for the uniqueness of each specific group - its constituency, its goals, its particular condition in time and space increases the efficiency of the groups actions. TCI has been successfully applied over a period of 30 years in Europe and the USA, mainly in education but in organizations as well, for training, personal development, working with groups, leading meetings and conferences etc. The system is applicable from the smallest group ( i.e. counseling) to the largest (i.e.town meetings).

The Workshop was conducted for corporate and working professionals of Human Resource Development area and for Students from the Institute.

The Workshop saw the ideas of the various constituents that interplay in the organisation (I, We, IT and the Globe) being discussed at length. Then there ere the Axioms that were essential for guiding the interaction between these four elements which were shared with the group. The last part of the TCI theory included the Postulates that have to be kept in mind when a person seeks to lead a team through TCI . The Session which lasted for about three hours was full of Small Group Activities (SGAs) and practical discussions anchored by the coach ,so as to help assimilate the knowledge better with the participants
The resource person and Coach for the Workshop was Prof. Hermann Eppler from Switzerland. He is an architect by profession, leading a architectural firm for over thirty years. He has taught Architectural Design on Construction (including computer aided architectural design) at the University level. This occupation showed him the necessity to know more about pedagogy, didactics and working with groups and he got acquainted with the System of Theme Centered Interaction, a method specially suited to work with groups. He has experiences with TCI for over 25 years. He has a diploma as a group leader with TCI from the Ruth Cohn Institute for TCI international in Basel, Switzerland and facilitated many workshops in Switzerland, China, Siberia and India. He has served as a member of the Board of the Ruth Cohn Institute for TCI international and as a President of this Institute.

The workshop was interactive and used data from extensive research that Prof. Tojo had done in various firms in India and USA. The participants said that it was indeed new experience. One of the delegates, Amit Masram, remarks, “Theme Centered Interaction strengthens the ability of the individual to realize his or her specific potential together with other individuals in the group. Post this workshop, I have realized what 'respect' is and how it plays with the dynamics in our interaction with our near and dear." Another delegate, Ashutosh Srivastava, remarks, "Stunning! Going one step beyond I have realized in a nut shell that "the whole is more then the sum of its parts".

The Centre of Social an Organizational Leadership, which is affiliated to the School of Management and Labour Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai has conducted workshops of such nature in the past too. In the pat there have been may including a workshop on Appreciative Inquiry that was conducted by Prof. Tojo Tachchenkery from the George Mason University for corporates and students alike.



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"We are at an incredible tipping point for the world economy and it's all around innovation,” said Nick Donofrio, Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology, IBM Corporation. "Innovation requires new skills to ensure that people, countries and economies remain competitive in this globally integrated world, and by investing in initiatives like Service Science, Management and Engineering, IBM and India will provide those skills."

Signing the MoU, Professor Rammohan Rao, Dean, ISB said, “A strong industry –academia partnership is extremely important for us to provide management education that is relevant and current. I am sure that IBM and the ISB together can conduct cutting edge research that will be immediately applicable in India, and also successfully replicated elsewhere in the world. The ISB is proud to be associated with IBM for pioneering this research in India.”

“The aim of this agreement is to support ISB to open the SSME Program which includes high-end research, development of case studies and curriculum for the Executive Education and the Post Graduate Program in Management with the help of IBM so that the discipline of service science can be developed and lead to nurturing specialized human resources,” said Dr. Daniel M Dias, Director, IBM India Research Laboratory.
Professor Viswanadham, Executive Director, Centre for Global Logistics and Manufacturing Strategies (GLAMS) at the ISB said, ”With 30 % of our economy dependent on it, the service sector plays a very important role in the Indian economy. The Centre for Global Logistics and Manufacturing Strategies will explore innovative possibilities to streamline, transform and automate processes and develop human resources to deliver services more efficiently. The study will focus on service chains connected with ITES, Retail, Textiles, Logistics, Supply Chain Finance, Human Resource Management, Business Services and others.”

Service Science, Management and Engineering:

The world economy is experiencing the largest labor force migration in history, driven by an environment altered by broader global communications, growth of emerging markets and technology innovation. Services now accounts for more than 50 percent of the labor force in Brazil, Russia, Japan and Germany and over 75 percent of the labor force in India, the United States and the United Kingdom. This shift to services has created a skills gap, especially in the area of high value services, and many leading universities across the globe have begun exploring and investing in this area, working in tandem with thought leaders in the business world.

The new interdisciplinary academic field "Service Science, Management and Engineering," or SSME, aims at studying, improving and teaching services innovation. The goal of the SSME discipline is to drive productivity, quality, and sustainability of services, while making the learning rates and innovation rates more predictable across the service sector, especially in complex organization to organization services including business to business, nation to nation and government to population. This new academic discipline brings together ongoing work in fields of computer science, operations research, industrial engineering, business strategy, management sciences, social, cognitive and legal sciences, to develop skills required in a services-led economy.

This first-of-a-kind SSME collaboration in India, offers an academic way of understanding interactions between client and provider, using a mix of scientific and business concepts to focus on areas that might not be core in either a Masters of Business Administration or computer-science program.

Since 2004, IBM has spearheaded a series of initiatives, inviting hundreds of faculty from universities around the world, in a call to action. Many leading universities across the globe have begun exploring and investing in this area, working in tandem with thought leaders in the business world. This services science initiative will strengthen IBM's ability to help develop future services skills in this region while providing solutions to meet the needs of the evolving Indian economy in an increasingly services-based worldwide economy.




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In its 70th year, TISS decided about re-imagining futures in response to the changing environment. After a lot of introspection, review and reflection on the existing programs and structure, TISS decided to go in for restructuring and this has culminated in a new structure with five schools- Social Work, Management and Labour Studies (at Naoroji campus), Health Systems Studies, Social Sciences and Rural Development (at Tuljapur) and 4 independent centers- Disaster Management, Lifelong Learning, Media and Cultural Studies and Research Methodology- that draw from and contribute to all schools. All these and many more are responses to the changing national and international social scenario.

The Alumni meet to be held this week is unique in many ways. Although it's another call from the alma mater to the alumni, yet it's the first of its kind that is going to happen especially with the institute undergoing a lot of change after the restructuring. The idea is to connect with the alumni and provide a platform wherein alumni from various earlier specializations that include fields as diverse as Social Work, Personnel Management, Health and Hospital Administration and who have carved a niche for themselves in the professional world to come and share their myriad views and experiences on various issues. Apart from strengthening the relationship and bonding between the alumni, the present students, institute, faculty and administration, this would be an opportunity for the alumni to add new wings to the new vision and mission of the institute.

The program is scheduled for two days. It starts with the voice of the institute in its song. The program schedule for both the days has been attached herein. The Alumni Meet is being hosted by Mr. Krishnakumar, Chairman - Governing Board, Director, Dr. Parasuraman, Deputy Director, Dr. Usha Nayar, and all the current faculty, staff and students. The organizing committee has already confirmed the participation of over 500 alumni who have expressed their zeal and enthusiasm in coming back to the place where it all began.

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Also present at the occasion were Prof. Julian VanGramberg, Director, School of Business, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia and senior faculty members of XLRI.

Speaking on the occasion, Father Casimir Raj said that the MoU would be beneficial to both the schools and that they would work together in the exchange of information and material, in joint research and in joint service activity. Another significant understanding was the exchange of both students and faculty. The exchange program for students would aid in providing the students an international exposure in today's globalised world.


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The event started with a panel discussion on the topic 'Attractiveness of the Indian Industry for the IT sector: Expectations of the Indian Industries from the IT sector'. The IT sector was represented by Mr. Rajagopal Tampi, Vice President, Mphasis/EDS and Mr. Jaijit Bhattachrya, Director, Govt. Strategy, Sun Microsystems while Mr. MD Agrawal, Chief Manager, IS Refinery System, BPCL and Dr. Phatak, HOD KReSIT talked on behalf of the IT user in the industry. The discussion brought forward aspects like the concentration of current IT players more on the global markets and India being not mature enough to value quality and complexity of IT services. But all of them converged on the view that IT is of utmost importance for any business to grow and remain competent.

Next in line was the keynote address by Padmabhushan Dr. F.C.Kohli, former Deputy Chairman, TCS, recognized as the Father of Indian IT industry. He emphasized on the need for localization of the computer languages used for the 900 million Indians who are not exposed to English education. Mr. Kohli highlighted those sectors of Indian Industry which are still not using/ tapping the potential of IT like power loom industry, retail sector etc. He underlined the importance of effectiveness over efficiency. The difference between them, he explained, is that efficiency is the ratio of just the output to input whereas effectiveness is the ratio of potential output to input. After an hour long session, Mr. Kohli ended the speech with a resounding statement for an enchanted audience
“Don't get deterred by constraints. Learn how to avoid them or bypass them. Success would be yours.”

Mr. Rajdeep Saharawat, Vice President, NASSCOM, addressed the audience on the topic 'Challenges for Indian IT industry in targeting Bottom of pyramid'. According to him, in the existing structure of the Indian IT industry, the IT firms are catering to the needs of the large firms, which are few hundreds in strength and belong to the top of the pyramid. He emphasized that in order to tap the under-served small scale industries, the IT industry must show interest in the segment and create and service the capacity to address growing consumption.

The paper presentation contest, held as a part of the Systems Continuum 2007, received a huge response from top business schools across the country. After preliminary evaluation four teams, one each from IIM Banglore, FMS Delhi, NITIE and IIT Madras, were shortlisted for delivering presentation on the day of the event. With the retail sector booming, it wasn't surprising that of the four entries shortlisted, three entries were related to the attractiveness of retail sector while one examined the education sector. Professor Rajendra Sonar, Shailesh J. Mehta School of Management, Mr. Rajesh Mehta, HR from IBM, the title sponsor of the event and Mr. Harish Bhinde, Head BFSI vertical of NewGen, the associate sponsors, constituted the panel of judges. Teams from FMS and IIT Madras shared the first prize of Rs 15000.

A case study workshop was conducted by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) which received an enthusiastic response from the students of various B Schools. The four shortlisted teams presented their case analysis, which was followed by a comprehensive solution by Mr. Himanshu Gupta, Principal Consultant, PWC. The session was highly interactive and informative with Mr. Gupta addressing IT related doubts of the students.

The event ended with a talk by Rakesh Kumar Rai, Architect, Infrastructure Solutions, ASEAN/SA, IBM India Pvt. Ltd followed by the valedictory address and Prize Distribution Ceremony.

Systems Continuum 2007, which was supported by NASSCOM and sponsored by IBM (title) and Newgen (associate), was a huge success, appreciated by one and all.

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Banking Conclave Started in 2005 as a platform to discuss the reforms and policies affecting the future of banking, in its second version at the Ballroom of Intercontinental The Grand, Mumbai presented amongst the august forum the repercussions in terms of operational and credit risk due to Basel norms implementation and Micro Financing as the latest buzz word. It was an enlightening flow of ideas and experience on the topics of immediate future importance.

The day started with a welcome address by Prof. K. S. Subramanian, Director of SCMHRD who set the ball rolling by particularly emphasizing on the time of this event, which coincides with the MNC Banks growing bigger, Standard & Poor upgrading India's ratings and corporate India doing well. Hence, Banking is the pillar that would support the growth. Microfinance, on the other hand should change the face of developing nations, as it leads to inclusive growth.

Chief Guest Mr. Pawan Bansal, Minister of State, Finance further emphasized the importance of banking to sustain not just industry but the economy as a whole. Mr. Bansal was particularly happy and encouraged management students to take such initiatives more often. Mr. Bansal also talked about the Self Help Groups (SHGs) and the fact that financial expansion shall lead to social expansion. 42% of population still does not have access to institutional credit. A financial exclusion leads to social exclusion. To sustain microfinance, the cost of capital has to be low. SHGs can not be left in the hands of NGOs alone. Basel – II norms affects the operating risk management and the focus area of the bank shifts with change in socio - economic responsibility.

This was followed by a panel discussion on Micro Finance. The key note speaker for this event was B. D. Narang, Director, NABARD and Ex – Chairman, Oriental Bank of Commerce. He identified that India has the largest pool of manpower which can be turned into entrepreneurs, this condition is further facilitated by high rate of growth of economy. He emphasized the need to look towards the poor as a customer instead of a beneficiary. The effective cost of transaction routed via MFI is still very high.

Ms. Sharma, Head of Microfinance & Sustainable Development (SD) Division of ABN AMRO said that to make the model sustainable we need to reduce the cost by using effective technology. Another point put up in the discussion: Even though Micro Financing may have been successful, it has failed on the principle of universality as the success achieved by Micro Financing Initiatives has invariably been individually driven and the replication of the model at other places has been a failure. So the panel agreed upon developing a robust model which can be replicated. Micro finance is also a dire need of the hour because it can provide a paradigm shift to the socio – economic structure of the society as it hands the economic parity to women in society, which is apart from the vertical divide between the haves and the have-nots.

The discussion on Basel ll was started by Krishnakumar Variar, Director- Risk Solutions & Consulting, CRISIL, who opened the discussion by questioning the need and significance of regulatory compulsions of Basel II norms. It was found that whether banks would have implemented risk systems, may be not, but at whether they should have as a part of best practices definitely, yes.

Basel ll reforms help in implementing a system to reduce operational risks and manage credit risk volatility. Basel ll is a policy which may not directly impact the economy but it is for the survival of the banks in its own. In simple terms, Basel ll proposes that capital needs to be sensitive to risk, hence risk has to be quantified.

The accord directly refers to the need for reduction of operational risks and facilitates the same with standard procedures. Raising the capital adequacy ratio to 12% from 9% increases the safety net towards credit exposure.

The panel reached at the consensus that for a successful implementation we need to build skills for risk management and to institutionalize courses like actuarial sciences to impart knowledge and skill in this domain.

The conclave was concluded with a final word by Mr. Narang further showing a light on the future of banking and gearing up for the roadblocks ahead. He defined operational risk in terms of the aggregation of small mistakes that happen during the course of the normal working of the bank for reasons as simple as not knowing the customer among others.
He also touched upon optimum level for Tier I capital, hit on Bank's balance sheet due to implementation and tax conundrum with respect to operational risk.

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The agenda for the day also included the release of a book called 'Institution Building in India – Some Experiences' by XIME's loved and revered Director Prof J Philip. The book was released at the hands of Fr E.H.McGrath SJ, Former Director XLRI, in the presence of academicians, industry leaders such as Mr. Bijou Kurien, Head, Reliance Retail; Mr Sarosh J Ghandy, Chairman, XIME; Mr Sharu Rangnekar, Management Educator; Fr Abraham, Director XIMB and Prof.M.R.Rao, Dean of ISB, Hyderabad and XLRI Alumni. The book details Prof Philip's foray into the corporate world to being a Director at IIMB, to finally starting XIME.

Fun, Frolic, Games, Laughter and recalling nostalgic memories of XIME was the theme of the day. The present batches studying at XIME 'broke the ice' with the alumni through a game, which was, as expected, played with infectious zeal.

Performing live at the campus was an international band, that dished out some foot-tapping numbers on their Hawaiian Guitar, Drums and Keyboards.

What followed next was the Batch parade with, now eminent personalities of the corporate world, taking to the stage and introducing themselves. The Parade which included a Red-carpet welcome for the alumni, (some of whom had flown in from the UK, China and Australia) had all the razzmatazz associated with the Oscars. It was only obvious that the colours of personalities of the alumni spilled onto the audience. As the ex-XIME students introduced themselves in interesting ways the audience soaked in the humour, amidst continuous applause.

All in all, as the day came to a close, alumni and students alike were left asking for more. What they ask will be delivered to them of course, in XIME Alumni Meet 2008!

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In keeping with NITIE's tradition of saluting the community with sincerity and affection, its students hope to visit Justice S.K. Chenani Old Age Home at Navghar Road, Mulund to spend February 14, 2007 in their midst.

There is no better exercise to the heart than reaching down and lifting someone up.
On the day when the whole word celebrates love and sharing, the inmates of an Old Age home would probably feel the pain of separation from their loved ones the most.
Some are there out of choice, some out of compulsion, some destitute, some diseased, some without knowledge of being abandoned. Like all, they too wish to be loved and cared for, not be endured with patient resignation. With the hoopla surrounding Valentine's day, it is quite likely that there sense of emptiness becomes acute.

Arun Nagarajan, management batch of 2008, has been coordinating the slated activity, interfacing between NITIE and ex-colleagues from his L & T days. According to Arun “The most satisfying experience would entail giving joy through various acts of service to those sorely in need of it.

Last year a few L&Teers; celebrated this day with the 30 residents of Chenani Old age Home. And they came back with such blissful memories. This year with some of the L&Teers; in NITIE we are looking to go back with a large band of friends from here and strengthen this bond.”

Valentine's Day is synonymous with the expression of love. The festival is indicative of the universality of such an emotion. That love and affection can transcend the toughest sociological barriers is anecdote enough. Yet, the key to a meaningful Valentine's Day should be in its celebration 'differently'.