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150

In a fast evolving economy wherein it is becoming increasingly essential to integrate the theories of the classroom with the realities of the outside world, the students of Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow have been proactive in conducting interactive sessions with thought leaders from the industry.

On the 28th of January, the students had one such session with Mr. Gopalakrishnan, the Executive Director of Tata Sons. Prior to this role, he was a Vice Chairperson of HLL. He is also the author of a book titled,” Management Lessons from the Animal Kingdom” that is coming out in print by the end of the year.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan presented a refreshingly different perspective on management. He spoke at length on the importance of intuition in leadership to the CEOs of tomorrow. He used metaphors from the animal kingdom and narrated lively stories to drive home simple truths.

The tête-à-tête was much appreciated by the overfull audience. Such insights play a vital role in fostering the young minds towards realizing their potential.

151

MBA students at IIT Kanpur traditionally delve on case studies prepared by Harvard Business School. However, Friday turned out to be an exciting exception to this routine.

Imagine, being in a senior position of an Indian Bank, which till date has only domestic presence. The Board of Directors has asked you to make a plan for foray into the international markets. You have to start from scratch, plan the countries you want to go to, the kind of products you want to offer and possibly forge alliances with other banks and even decide on the staffing and organizational structure…sounds exciting? Definitely, it is and it got the adrenalin rushing in the young 'managers to be' at IIT Kanpur campus.

The occasion was a talk by Mr. Bhargav Dasgupta, Head-International Banking Group, ICICI Bank. Instead of giving a lecture, he threw the challenge he had faced a few years back (that of planning an international foray) to the students and what evolved was a lively 2-hour discussion on possible alternatives and their pros and cons. The lecture hall almost seemed like a boardroom with arguments and counter-arguments flying thick and fast.

Mr. Dasgupta finally presented the strategy that the bank had actually followed and the present status of their international banking business.

On being asked about the most important lesson that he had learnt out of his career so far, Mr. Dasgupta responded, “ It is important to realize that strategies should never be rigid. You must be receptive to the vagaries of business and be ready to modify your strategy according to the business environment”.

152

The Indian school of Business (ISB) hosted the Asia Semi Final of the Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC). GSVC is a business plan competition that provides a forum for student entrepreneurs to showcase groundbreaking social ventures. The event was held at the ISB on January 28, 2006.

The Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC) exposes entrepreneurs, investors, managers and executives to the smartest new social ventures, and provides opportunities for corporate giving, community involvement and investment. The competition began in 1999, was organized by the Haas School of Business at the University of California Berkeley, the Columbia Business School and The London Business School, and is supported by The Goldman Sachs Foundation. The Indian School of Business is the GSVC's international affiliate and is responsible for promoting the competition in Asia and organizing the Asia Round of the competition. The ISB also organized guidance and support for teams entering the competition to fine tune their plans.

To promote the competition, the ISB sent out information about the competition to over 300 business and technology institutions across Asia. It also created a micro site for GSVC to provide necessary information to participants. These efforts resulted in 66 teams representing 27 business schools from 6 different Asian countries registering for the competition. The countries that participated in the competition were China, Thailand, Philippines, Australia, Hong Kong, and India; 40 teams submitted full business plans as their entries to the Asia Round of the competition. The plans submitted sought to exploit opportunities in a variety of areas such as agriculture, education, environment, health care and micro finance. The 40 plans went through a process of preliminary evaluation at the ISB by judging teams consisting of people with experience in the social sector. The judging teams short listed 16 of these plans for a presentation round at the ISB on January 28, 2006.

The presentation round of the GSVC Asia Semi Final was formally inaugurated by the Dean of the ISB Professor M Rammohan Rao on the evening of January, 27, 2006. To mark the occasion ISB also organized a Handicrafts Mela wherein local NGOs show cased products of ventures they were supporting.

An eminent panel of judges evaluated the 16 business plans short listed for the presentation round. The panel comprised Ms Sara Olsen (SVT Consulting), Ms Kim Alter (Virtue Ventures), Ms Alice Lin (IFC, Washington), Mr R S Sharat (DFID -UK), Ms Lakshmi Venkatesan (BYST), Mr Sarath Naru (APIDC Venture Capital and Venture East), Prof V Chandrasekar (ISB), and Prof K Ramachandran (ISB).

153

Never Go Unprepared


Yes sir, I hear you. You know it all. You even counted the number of steps on that staircase to the interview room. But you know that funny thing called odds. Its always a damp squib. You might want to do a bit of preparation. If you have stated, Accountancy as your best subject on your CV, youd better be darned good at it. Learn every rule in every accounting principle, by rote. And while youre at it, it probably aint a bad idea to memorize the number of pages in the Accounting Standards Book. Some interviewers ask for weakness. What a silly thing to ask, like your weakness would be of any help anyway. But you cant argue with their logic. So turn around any weakness on its head and make it your strength. If youre a weirdo, say you are quite innovative. If youre a lazy goose and leave things to last minute, say you work well with short deadlines. If you have had a not so great time at grad school, tell them you believe in holistic education and were active at extra-curriculars (of-course you need to back it up). Now if you think youre perfect, make up a not so debilitating weakness like unbridled appetite or chewing nails


Avoid Over Zealous Dressing


Green is the new blue. Nice tagline, no? Did you buy that green shirt already? Tsk, tsk, consumerism. Take my advice and save it for your best friends wedding. Yes, I know you bought it for this special occasion, your first interview. Classic white is out, I know. But how about sticking to other safe colors like blue or maybe gray. So what if its boring? At least you wont look like a radioactive leprechaun. Funny ties. Haha! Thats a good attention grabber my friend. Focus, focus. . . We are here to grab that job the pink piggies on that yellow tie may prove more an unhealthy distraction than attraction. Oh, I love that crocodile handbag of yours. Lets hide your entire disregard for the ecosystem, in the closet. You can flaunt it in that cocktail party, this weekend.


Never Underestimate Traffic Jams


The venue is only a block away and 15 minutes is all you need to get there. Have you heard of a certain someone called Mr. Murphy? No? Ill tell you that story later. But he devised some fine laws. One of them says on the day of your interview, every single car will be neatly lined in a jam from your gate till the venue and every signal will chose to turn red the moment you turn the key in the ignition. So leave home one hour in advance. Okay ,so now you have reached too early. What are books for, silly?


Do Not Fake Accent


Does your guy love the way you roll your Rs? Have people told you how close you come to sounding Oxford educated? Good for you, mate. But its hard to keep that up all the time, no? See, now thats the thing with fake accents. They have a habit of coming undone in the most inappropriate of moments. And chances are, it will happen at the interview too. Take my word, the interviewer WILL NOT be impressed. So let your natural accent do the talking this time, eh?


Do Not Invoke Skeletons in the Closet


Everyone has them. I have a closet bursting at its hinges and a new one on its way. No need to be ashamed. But an interview is not the place to unleash them. If you got sacked from your last job, this is not the best place to tell them your sob story. NO, I did NOT ask you to lie about it. All I am saying is, dont go about telling them what a @$*# %*@ your old boss was or bad mouth your colleagues. Chances are they just might call him up to confirm your little story. So be honest. But leave out the details. In this one exceptional case, the devil is in the details.


Never Lose Your Cool


Surely you have heard of stress interviews. The ultimate aim of every soul in that room will be to make you scream and run for life, tearing out your hair. So never lose that thing called cool. Its a slick one, Mr. Cool. Once hes gone, you might chew those manicured nails, twiddle your fingers or tear at that loose thread on your skirt (imagine all of it coming undone. Very Grim, yes). So pick up that Mr. Cool from under the table and be the pro that you are By the way, no matter what you do, do not gnash teeth. You might never get it in shape for the next interview, should you lose out on this one.


Do Not Imitate TV Ads


Advertisements these days have the zaniest of scenarios. When asked about hobbies do not say, crocodile hunting, river rafting you get my drift. No, theres no one to slap you, like that car ad, I admit. But if your boss invites you to go sky diving with him after you land the job, you might very well get trapped. If asked where you see yourself five years from now, do not delude yourself into thinking that pretty secretary will be sitting by your side and youll be doing the interviewing then on. Shucks, such things happen only in Bacardi ads. And no, that Nokia phone will not land you the job, as promised. But surely you already knew that. All advertisements must come with statutory warnings about such stunts, no?


Do Not Forget Silent Mode on Cell phones

In the highly unlikely circumstances, that you are technology-impaired, please familiarise yourself with your cell phones silent mode Its no rocket science, really. If you still cant find it, swallow your pride and bile and ask your friend. Imagine a scenario where your interviewer is asking you about your long term goals and your mobile phone plays Dhoom. Not a good scene. Be fair. Imagine if you were right in the middle of telling them why they should give you the job and the interviewers phone rings. Makes you forget your practiced lines, no? Dont feel bad, once you have the job you can flash that mp3 enabled-polyphonic gadget in everyones face.


Do Not Over-Accessorise


Oh, so you have an eyebrow piercing. Very nice. Did you say a tongue piercing too? I love how your nose ring matches your lip stud. But you wouldnt want to flash them at an interview. Oh yes, its all very well to say, Man! Thats so retro-like But you know what, the odds are that man on the panel has just finished rowing with his teenage son over that new piercing. Or worse, one of em panellists had a piercing himself that he had to take off for his interview. Either way, the situation looks not-so-rosy. When you talk, you want them to hear you, not look fancifully at that stud flitting in and out of your mouth. So the next rule: No piercings. Yes ladies, you can wear one pair of earrings



Do Not Be Stupid.


I know thats like a, do-not-forget-to-wear-your-pants instruction. Painfully redundant. But just so you dont forget.

Never take your ipod to the interview room

Dont smoke before interview. The tobacco smell is stronger than you think.

Do not chew gum. Youd look like a ruminating cow.

Do not ask too many questions. Remember who is the interviewee? Thats right, YOU!

Do not keep glancing at watch. Even if it is a Swatch Skin, its not legitimate reason enough. Theyd think theres some other place, youd rather be.

Do not ogle at the interviewers secretary. When you are boss, you can get your own.

You and the interviewer are NOT on first-name-basis.

Do not sing or dance to demonstrate talent.

Do not demand to know the interviewers salary.


I think youll be okay now. And yes, a little application of common-sense would go a long way in getting that coveted job/admit. Good luck!

154

Dr. Subhash D. Awale has been appointed as Director, NITIE, Mumbai by Ministry of HRD, Government of India, New Delhi. He assumed charge as Director, NITIE w.e.f. 25/1/06 for a five year tenure. Earlier, Dr. S.D. Awale was Joint Educational Adviser (Tech.), Government of India. He was also Vice-Chancellor of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Technological University, Lonere between 2000-2005. He holds a B.E. (Civil), M.E. (Structures) Degree and Ph.D. from IIT Delhi in the field of Technical Education particularly on the most critical issues on Engineering Teachers.

Dr. S. D. Awale has wide range of experience. He has been actively involved in the field of Technical Education as a Researcher, Teacher, Planner and Administrator and has handled all aspects of Technical Education including Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Management, Pharmacy, etc. His valuable contributions in conceptualization, planning, policy-making, implementation, growth and development in these areas have brought him a unique credit of being a leading professional in these fields.

His pioneering efforts in establishment of IIT Guwahati, IIM Lucknow, IIM Indore, IIM Calicut, IIITM Gwalior and AICTE have been exemplary. His contribution as National Project Director of the World Bank Project, UK-REC Project and CIDA funded Canada India Institutional Co-operation Project has been widely recognized in India and abroad.

155

FMS , Delhi organized a seminar on the concept pioneered by Prof C K Prahlad - The Bottom of the Pyramid- on “Local Entrepreneurship and Global Markets: Corporate Outreach to the Small Entrepreneur.” in association with the Centre for Civil Society. The panel comprised of Mr. Pradeep Kashyap, Managing Director, Marketing And Research Team (MART) Architect of 'Project Shakti' of HLL; Mr. Arjun Uppal, Consultant ICICI (Ex-MD, Mother Dairy); Mr. William Bissell, CEO, FabIndia and Mr. Sharad Agarwal, Project Manager, Hindustan Latex Foundation addressed the audience comprising of academia , business school students and others. Mr.Sachin Rao from Centre for Civil Society who has extensively worked with Prof. C K Prahlad and has worked on the famous e-choupal case of ITC moderated the discussion.

Mr. Pradeep Kashyap from MART, widely considered to be the foremost authority on rural marketing in India, spoke on rural distribution of HLL through project Shakti. He analysed the various aspects of distribution in rural areas that HLL employed and pioneered through Shakti Ammas and the social implications. He also gave an introduction on the new model that the company would be introducing by giving training to young men in rural areas to sell various products in a branded bicycle.

Mr. Sharad Agarwal from Hindustan Latex Limited spoke on the national NGO formed by his organization with the aim of providing innovative solutions on HIV/AIDS. He described the challenges being faced by HLL while marketing contraceptives to rural India and how the company is contributing to the social empowerment and health and well being of the society.

Mr. Arjun Uppal spoke on fresh produce value chain and challenges of integrating farmers with small land holdings, “We need to create a new class of market actors who will focus on small holders and provide services to them. This will happen such that both farmers and service providers find incentives in the new economic exchange that are profitable to both sides and are sustainable based on service charges they can levy on producers.” He opined that it was worth attempting integration of small holders into the markets because of fair price, efficiency improvement, quality improvement and sustainability. He felt that the optimal organization format would involve the Public Sector, Private sector, NGOs, and Individuals.

Mr. Bissell, CEO FabIndia gave an extempore on his radical business model. FabIndia has 30 odd stores, with branches in Rome and Dubai as well. It has 700 procurement centres. FabIndia's turnover has grown five fold in the last five years. Their weaver employees have also increased proportionately. He opined that to be an entrepreneur, you need to identify the opportunities and know how to “beat the system”. He cited how as a small player, he was charged higher rates in Dubai malls to subsidize bigger local players. He set up shop opposite the mall and expects consumers who intended to visit the mall to flock there. He felt that good social responsibility and profits go hand in hand. Companies can negotiate with credit players more efficiently than artisans. He described how the weavers have become stakeholders in the company. They have seen the shares they bought at Rs.100 go up to Rs.852 at today's prices. In fact, for two years there were no sellers of the shares! He defined an entrepreneur as “one who converts capital more efficiently than others. In fact, this is a national and social responsibility as capital is scarce.”

The interactive session which followed saw the full house of Delhi University post graduate and under graduate students engaging in lively discussion with the panel with questions ranging from role of India Inc in Rural Areas on employment generation to the practice by companies to champion corporate social responsibility through the rural schemes and change their existing image. Mr. Bissell warned us that just as poultry in India no longer tastes good as it is made as per international norms, if vegetables are also grown using chemicals, India could lose a potential source of competitive advantage. Mr. Kashyap spoke of how employment generation can only be a by product of corporate activity. 'Corporate India has not added to the eighteen million jobs it created last fifteen years.' The audience, which had a majority of MBA students, was addressed by Mr. Kashyap- 'B School students all over India are jobseekers, not creators.' The students answered that the efforts like Entrepreneurship Cell at FMS with the National Entrepreneurship Challenge had already addressed this paradigm. The panelists were unanimous in their opinion that the ultimate goal of an entrepreneur is to generate profits and what matters while formulating a business plan is Return on Capital Employed and everything else including job creation comes as byproducts during the process. Mr Sachin Rao who summarized the discussion said that the benefits to the bottom of the pyramid comes only through the active participation of the India Inc in exploring the potential of bottom of the pyramid however employment generation comes as a by product of this exploration.

The seminar was an initiative of the Media Relations team in FMS and plans are on to organize more such events in FMS , Delhi University, which would stimulate students to think differently and on the road less traveled, the one for the lesser privileged.

156

Loyola Institute of Business Administration (LIBA), one amongst the country's premier business schools and a part of the hoary Chennai based Loyola College, has today(18/01/2006) become a full-fledged research institution and the first B-school to be recognized by the University of Madras to conduct Doctoral programmes in Business Administration. Chief Guest, Dr. Jagdish N. Sheth, renowned marketing guru and Charles H Kellstadt Professor of Marketing, Emory University, inaugurated LIBA's Ph.D. Programme today.

At the inauguration, Dr. Sheth also delivered the inaugural address titled Making India Globally Competitive. Fr. P. Christie S J, Director, LIBA, welcomed the gathering. Fr. Jeyaraj S J, Rector, Loyola College and Dr. Anne Mary Fernandez, Registrar, University of Madras felicitated. Dr. Victor Louis Anthuvan, Research Coordinator, LIBA, delivered the Vote of Thanks.

The recognition and approval of LIBA as a Centre for Excellence and Research in Management studies by the University of Madras has earned LIBA the coveted distinction of being the first management institution to have earned this academic honour without having affiliation for master level programmes. LIBA is also the only B-school to be accredited to an external University body for conferring the Ph.D. degree.

“The uniqueness of the programme is that unlike other major business schools who offer only a Fellow Programme in Management, LIBA offers a Ph.D. degree. We have all the academic facilities and necessary infrastructure needed to offer a Ph.D. programme. More than 50% of the full time faculty have a Ph.D. degree, backed by extensive industrial and academic experience. In addition, many of the visiting faculty have Ph.D. degrees,” elaborated Father Christie, Director, LIBA.

Students can now enrol for both full time and part time Ph.D. programmes. The maximum intake for the PhD program is 50. Scholarships are available to the students registered for PhD degree in various subjects at LIBA. Nine doctoral guides in the various disciplines of management, such as Marketing, Finance, Economics, Systems, HRM and Operations will guide our research scholars.

“We are looking to foster quality research in management studies and take up research projects that will strengthen industry – institute interaction. Over the years, we want to become a bridge for continuous flow of knowledge from the practising management fraternity to research scholars and academia,” Father Christie added.

157

The government of India recently awarded Padmabhushan to the former Director of NITIE, Prof. N.S. Ramaswamy for his contribution to the country. A felicitation function was organized by the Institute to honour the achievement of its distinguished ex-director. Apart from the faculty, the function was attended by students and other staffs of the institute.

Padmabhushan Prof Ramaswamy served as the director of NITIE from 1968 to 1975 and with his hard work and dedication laid the foundation of knowledge and wisdom for future generations. He was also instrumental in leading NITIE to the path of excellence and glory. He is also the founder Director of IIM, Bangalore and has held posts of responsibilities with various government and international committees.

The function started traditionally with 'Saraswati Vandana' sung by a group of students and staff members. This was followed by welcoming Padmabhushan Prof N S Ramaswamy with standing ovation and huge applause. Dr S D Awale, Director NITIE, felicitated Padmabhushan Prof N S Ramaswamy with a shawl and plaque memento. The memento reflected the feelings of whole NITIE Family to convey the pride which they feel of having Padmabhushan Prof. N S Ramaswamy as their inspiration. Dr S D Awale lauded the efforts of Padmabhusham Prof N S Ramaswamy in bestowing the culture of excellence at NITIE and emphasized that he cherished the rich legacy he had inherited.

The Director's speech was followed by words of wisdom by the Guest of Honour, Padmabhushan Prof N S Ramaswamy who enlightened all to achieve great feats and set example for others to follow. An educational luminary, Prof N S Ramaswamy, shared his vast experience with the students and advised all those present there to work for the greater cause of the country.

The function ended with National Anthem sung by the students and staff.

158

'Samiksha'-panel discussion series was held on 11 Feb, 2006 at NITIE. It had a host of corporate personalities and students from across B-Schools coming to hear what the people who matter had to say. The discussion is aimed at providing an arena for student-corporate interaction.

The panel for the discussion constituted of- Mr. Abhinav Sinha (Principal, Boston Consulting Group), Mr.Aravind Mahajan (Partner, IBM Consulting), Mr.Arun Patankar (Principal Advisor, CII), Mr.Yezdi Nagaporewalla (Director- Industrial Markets, KPMG), Mr.H. Rajaram (VP Finance, Bluestar). The moderator for the discussion was Mr. Biren Bhuta (Sr. Correspondent, NDTV).

The topic 'India inc. going global' had some heated discussion. The proceedings started off with a ten minute presentation by the panelists on the topic. The presentations highlighted the fact that Indian companies in the growth phase needed some boost to grow to the next level, and this boost can be provided by inorganic expansion in the global arena. The presentations were followed by panel discussion and an audience question and answer round.

Mr. Arvind Mahajan in his opening presentation stated that “Growth is back on the Indian CEO's agenda, after years of cost cutting and restructuring”. He mentioned the recent trend towards setting up base in US and Europe by the major business houses. He cited the example that in the last year there were as many as 119 mergers & acquisitions though the total deal value was only around 3 billion USD.

Mr. Yezdi Nagaporewalla was of the view that “timing played an important role in mergers and acquisitions. An ill timed merger may go wrong even though there may be synergies in the two companies”. He showed cautious optimism by stating that India contributes just 1% to the global M&A;'s. “In the years ahead with a strengthening industry, it is bound to increase”, he stated.

The discussions later focused on the intricacies of the recent Indian deals inked in the past year. The average deal size (which is less than $30 million) and frequency of mergers in India provide a stark contrast when seen in the global scenario. Mr. Arun Patankar was of the view that “The regulatory barriers which had restricted the inorganic growth a few years back are no longer there and thus the industries are more outward focused”.

“Cultural differences can act as an impediment to successful mergers” said Mr. Abhinav Sinha. He also stated that “Global competitiveness is paramount, but developing synergies between the acquired companies is also of utmost importance”.

Mr H. Rajaram, VP, Bluestar, expressed a differing view asking why companies should blindly make global acquisitions when India is looked upon as a hot destination for all the global companies. “Consolidating position in India is an alternative option”, he suggested.

Mr. Biren Bhuta deftly steered the discussion towards the issue of global brand building exercise, looked into by the major players in Indian industry. The issues of Indian brands building a strong image and the effect of the globalization leading to head-on competition in the global arena also came up.

The discussion ended with the note that mergers and acquisitions are the way forward for Indian companies. Though the deals are smaller in comparison with US and Europe, these are the small steps which will fuel the growth of Indian companies to the next level.

159



There are some, for whom, drinking 40 bottles of Pepsi in one go is a feat. There are others who would settle for nothing less than summiting Mt Everest. But here we present to you, the Great-Grandma-of-Them-All Muneera Lokhandwala, who will settle for nothing less than a 100 percentile or close, in CAT year upon year upon year upon Okay, we shut up now, and pass the mic to Munira to give us the dope about smacking time management into submission for cracking CAT.


I am Munira Lokhandwala, a Math graduate from St. Xaviers college, Mumbai. I took the CAT in my final year of graduation i.e. Dec 1996 and got calls from all 4 IIMs (IIM I and IIM K had just started that year and I hadnt applied to either). After my GD/PI I got calls from Calcutta and Lucknow. I completed my post graduation from Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (batch of 1999). When I was preparing for my CAT, I didnt even consider taking the other entrance exams for various institutes. Was this arrogance? Lets see.


Here I would like to take what is fondly called in film making: a flashback. All of us remember the seventh standard scholarship exam that tested the math, verbal and visual skills of students. In that test I scored 36 out of 100 in Math (64 in Verbal and 50 in visuals). So you can definitely say that I wasnt born with the aptitude to crack such examinations.


So after the background, you can see where this will lead to. How does someone who is not born with the required aptitude skills go ahead and crack the CAT? Not just crack it, as in, just manage, but crack it with confidence. Incidentally even I had started my preparations for the CAT in February of (hold your breath) 1996. Whew! I was in the same boat as most of you are. I was in the second year of my Bachelors studies. So I started in February, took a break in April for my exams, in May for some holidaying and started again in June and continued till the end. There were two weddings (no, not mine) of close family members in between, so there was a slight break there. Excluding these breaks, I was preparing for the CAT, 2-3 hours a day, 6 days of the week, every week. So finally we can roll our sleeves and get down to the task. This article is not about what to do during the CAT. It does not talk about the shortcuts you can apply during the paper, the food you should eat to score better at the CAT and all the numerous facts / statistics /precautions/ rumors that you have heard about the day of the CAT. This article is about the long period before the CAT right from when you decide to take it to a nice slightly chilly Sunday morning when you are checking your pencils, eraser and admit card.


1) Plan backwards


You will never really remember when your CAT preparation started, but you will always remember when it ended. Did I hear 19th November? No, it will end on the 17th November. The CAT is an exam where presence of mind is essential, studying till the last minute or till the last day leads to an exhausted mind. So it is a good idea to stop preparing on the Friday evening before the CAT. So currently your deadline is 17th November. The last few months will be spent primarily on taking comprehensive tests. Lets try and work that out.


Right now is a good time to decide how many comprehensive tests you will take (including sims/ mocks/ aims). I think 30 tests are fairly sufficient. There is no point taking a test everyday or worse still, taking 2 tests per day. Working with 30 tests will easily take you between 70-80 days. This is because if you take a test with feedback on day 1 you will revise and take some area tests on day 2. Also you may need one or two days of break. So, assuming 75 days for comprehensive tests, takes your deadline to the end of August.


Taking full length tests right after covering your basics, is like walking into harsh sunlight from an air conditioned room, it will definitely lead to discomfort and if you are unlucky then perhaps headaches and vomiting too. Hence there should be some middle layer which acts like room temperature, in our analogy. That middle layer is going to be your section tests. So in the last fifteen days of August, you should take around two section tests at least from each area and spend some time going through the analysis and feedback for the tests. This will be the first time usually when you really start solving with the second hand making a loud noise every second. So get used to the idea before you venture into the comprehensive test territory.


So finally we have come to our first major deadline 15th August i.e. Independence day. Symbolically, it will be an independence of sorts for all of you. Independence from the normal area of basics and theory. Independence from learning and honing what you already know. From 15th August, you will be looking at applying what you have learnt and if you have learnt well. Then believe me you will enjoy the process.


2) In-depth Scheduling


With 15th August as the deadline, you should make a list of what is the kind of theory you want to complete, till that time. I have made a rudimentary representative list here to work from:


Reading


Word List


Math


Book on Verbal Ability questions


Book on Reading Comprehension questions


Book on Analytical Reasoning


Book on Data Interpretation


Practice book for Math


Your maximum time should be spent doing two major activities: reading and Math.


3) Daily schedule


Make a daily schedule which incorporates all your routines and breaks. If you watch movies a lot then it would be silly to make a schedule which does not consider 3 hours a week on the week-end spent in catching the latest release. Also try to shuffle the subjects, so that you do not get bored with one subject. A good time table for 2 days can look like this:


Day 1:


Half an hour of reading


Half an hour of word list


2 hours of math


Day 2


Half an hour of reading


half an hour of word list


1 hour of analytical reasoning / data interpretation


1 hour of reading comprehension exercises / verbal ability


4) Reading


For those who read as a hobby this will not be a major problem. For others, it is essential that you take out anything between 30 minutes to one hour for reading, daily. For the uninitiated reader, you can start by reading fiction but there is no use if you spend 3 months reading one big book by, say, Ayn Rand. Instead pick up any collection of short stories by assorted authors and start reading those. You will get used to various styles and different settings and, of course, different content. After reading fiction for one to one and half months, you can graduate to nonfiction. So, the next time you log onto pagalguy.com, open another window where you google on various CAT topics (a list of CAT topics is given as an appendix) and read articles related to them. The advantages are twofold. Firstly, you will get used to CAT-like passages and secondly, you will start gaining some knowledge on these topics. So the next time you have an RC on the same topic, you will not feel completely lost. For these reading sessions, never focus on speed. Only focus on understanding, if you read enough your speed will automatically increase.


Reading will not only help you in the verbal section, but also increase your comprehension in the other sections. It is the single most important factor that will help you crack the CAT.


5) Word List


There are very few questions that directly require knowledge of words. But knowing a lot of good words and improving your vocabulary will never harm but always help your CAT preparations. So pick up a good word list and start working on the word list every day or if your vocabulary is already good, then every alternate day. Even if you do an alphabet a week, you will take around 6 months, to complete the word list. Having a good vocabulary also ensures fluency in GD/PI. This is the part, where students are lazy, but after the CAT if you feel that just knowing one word would have fetched an extra mark in no time, thenit really hurts.


6) Math


Math, based on strengths and weaknesses, should be done either every alternate day or every day. Go through the theory, solved examples and then tackle exercises. If you cannot solve a problem do not rush to the explanatory answers, give it some time. Think. Get your mind to oil those rusted math gears and levers.



  • Try solving problems in the head, minimize the use of pen and paper

  • Make a note of important relationships in a topic.

  • Make a note of innovative approaches.

  • Remember writing a lot is very unhealthy for the CAT, but after you solve it in your head writing the explanation will clear doubts and reinforce learning. So please make good notes.


Munira Lokhandwala is an alumna from IIM Calcutta, batch of 99. She has been associated with cat coaching since 2001. In 2005, she started catalyst group tuitions for cat. (www.catalyst4cat.com) she is a regular cat taker herself. These are her scores:

year overall percentile

2005 100 %ile

2004 99.99 %ile

2003 99.98 %ile

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Has Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad violated its AICTE certification?

Applicants to the 2006-08 PGDCM course were astounded on Thursday to find that MICA had screened in students with CAT and XAT percentiles between 90 and 95 but many with higher scores were left out, giving way to speculations that sectional scores were used in the process.

Why is that an issue? According to the accredition terms quoted by government certification body AICTE for MICA, the institute is only allowed to use overall scores for their screening process. By that logic, only the top certain number of percentile scores would be allowed to take the next level MICAT. However, the pattern of the qualifying percentile scores did not adhere to this guideline.

In one of the clauses, the institute has reported that "Short listing is done based on the overall percentile and not on sectional cutoff."

When contacted, MICA Director Prof Atul Tandon told PaGaLGuY.com that the sectional scores had been used to decide the cutoffs to be used on the overall score.

"In the end, we have used overall scores only. But since we were using many different scores, that is, CAT, XAT, GMAT and previous years' CAT scores, we had to take sectional scores, past profiles, work experience and background also into consideration," he said.

This is again not in agreement with another AICTE clause, which reads, "CAT, or GMAT is used to shortlist candidates. 100% weightage is applicable for screening applicants." Clearly, weightages have been accorded to other factors too. Prof Tandon insisted that no AICTE rule had been violated and the institute was allowed to use factors other than the CAT score.

The matter has infuriated applicants across the country, some even feel cheated. "We had received official emails from MICA giving us updates like only overall scores would be used for the screening and that the cutoffs would be low owing to a tough CAT and XAT. Now it seems like it was all a cheap money making exercise to get more applications," said a student.






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Applicants who had paid Rs 2,600 to Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad to apply with both CAT and XAT scores would receive a refund of their second application fee starting from April 2006, MICA Director Prof Atul Tandon told PaGaLGuY.com.

The refund might not be of the entire Rs 1,300, as the fee kept by coaching institutes to sell the forms would be deducted from the amount, he added. The refund would be sent to the applicants' addresses, no action would be required on the applicant's part. For those applicants who take admission into MICA, the extra sum would be adjusted into the tution fees, Prof Tandon further said.

Several applicants to MICA's 2006 admissions process were asked to pay Rs 1,300 for a second time if they wanted to apply with their XAT scores over and above the XAT scores. However those who had applied in later stages had paid only Rs 1,300 for applying with both scores. The discrepancy had invited the wrath of many applicants.

Why did the discrepancy take place at all? Out of a messy management of admissions on MICA's part.

According to sources in MICA, the institute had to submit a list of its CAT applicants to the IIMs, who conduct the CAT, by December 15, 2005. At that time, the XAT application process was in progress and the students did not have their XAT IDs in hand. When the same students wanted to apply with XAT IDs, they were asked by MICA to pay another Rs 1,300. However in late January the IIMs allowed MICA to add more applicants using the CAT score. MICA extended its application deadline, and those who applied at that time could do so using both the CAT and XAT IDs on a single application form.

This is not the first time that there has been sloppiness in MICA's application process. In 2004, for example, MICA's short list was removed from its servers within hours of its announcement and replaced with an entirely new list. Some older names had disappeared while newer ones came up, causing many avoidable heartbreaks.






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All applicants with 90 percentile and above in CAT or XAT would be screened in for the MICAT, declared Mudra Institute of Communications today.

Curiosity was raised today when a couple of students were given calls today even though they were not selected in the first call list. When PaGaLGuY.com asked why MICA issued calls so late in the process, the MICA director, Prof Atul Tandon replied that "Its a good thing that MICA has released a second list and students should be happy about it".

Asked if all applicants above 90 percentile in CAT and XAT would be called for the admissions process for the MICAT, Prof. Atul Tandon said "Yes, I would suppose so. That is what we are doing".

When asked whether no applicant above 90 percentile would be left out from the admissions process, Prof Atul Tandon said "Yes, that is what the registrar has told me"

MICA's screening process had raised eyebrows on Thursday when it became clear that it not issued calls purely on the basis of the overall percentile in CAT and XAT.

To learn more about the issue read - Ambiguity in MICA admissions screening irks applicants

This seemed to violate its AICTE accreditation which had clearly mentioned that the calls would be given only on the basis of CAT and XAT and sectional scores will not be considered. Asked if there was any change in the admission criteria compared to the first list, Prof Atul Tandon replied in the negative and stated "Our entire internet connectivity was down for the last three days, so the call giving process had been interrupted but it was restored today morning. So we resumed the call process".

This implies that sectional cutoffs would not be criteria as had been speculated.



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The Insurance fraternity in India watched with baited breath as industry veterans came down on a common platform to express their views on topics of concern to the industry. The venue was Hotel Taj President, Mumbai and the platform, aptly called Insurance Summit 2006 was provided by National Insurance Academy School of Management (NIASOM). This is an annual event that has been initiated by the management students of NIASOM. According to the Director of the institute, Dr. K.C. Mishra, who believes more in the virtues of practical learning than classroom learning, this event was an opportunity for the students to hone their managerial skills by being involved in the organizing of the seminar.

Perspectives of the speakers were heard on an array of topics as Regulations, Life Insurance, Product Development, Detariffing, Marketing in Insurance, Distribution Channels Management, Pensions and Social Security. The event held on 9-10th February 2006, was graced by the presence of distinguished insurance industry professionals as Mr. B. Chakraborty, CMD of New India Assurance Company Limited who also happens to be the Chairman of the governing board of directors of NIA and Mr. R.K.Joshi, CMD (G.I.C. of India). The first day of the seminar was highlighted by the presence of such eminent personalities as Mr. K.K. Srinivasan (Member, IRDA), Mr. M. Ramadoss (CMD, Oriental Insurance), Mr. M.K. Garg (CMD United India Insurance Company Limited), Mr. Praveen Vashishta (CEO – Howden Broking Services), Mr. Liyaquat Khan (Vice Chairman, Watson Wyatt), Dr. R. Kannan (President-Actuarial Society of India) and Mr. R.J. Solomon (Director-Global project, Asia-Pacific, Marsh & McLennan). On 10th February, such brilliant orators as Mr. Gary Bennett (CEO Max New York Life), Mr. Sanjay Kedia (Principal Officer-Marsh India),
Mr. Andrew Clarke (CEO, Aon Global Services), Mr. Amitabh (ED-Marketing, L.I.C. of India), Mr. Arun Patil(VP-Marketing, OM Kotak Mahindra), Mr. K.N. Bhandari(Former CMD, New India Assurance), Mr. S.P. Subhedar(Sr. Advisor, Prudential Asia) expressed their thoughts on topics like Marketing, Distribution Channels etc.

The most exciting of all the sessions turned out be the Panel Discussion – Kshitij, moderated by Mr. G.V. Rao(Former CMD, Oriental Insurance), where Dr. H.
Sadhak( ED & Principal MDC, L.I.C.), Mr. Praveen Gupta(GM, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance), Mr. V. Ramasaamy( CMD, National Insurance) and Mr. K. Muralidhar(COO, SBI Life) voiced their opinions regarding health insurance, detariffing and pricing.
Research papers were also presented by students of NIASOM and other colleges from various parts of the country. Student authors of thirteen papers were felicitated on the occasion, amongst which three were selected to be best papers and rewarded with a cash prize of ten thousand INR each. The seminar owes its success to the support granted by the Principal Sponsors – Marsh and National Insurance Company Limited, the Co-sponsors- Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., New India Assurance Company Ltd. and Kotak Mahindra OM Life Insurance Ltd. And the Affiliate Sponsors – L.I.C. of India, G.I.C. of India, Bajaj Capital and Max New York Life Insurance Company Ltd. The media partners Sahara Samay and the Academic Partners – Bombay Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also played a pivotal role in the success of the seminar.
The Insurance Summit was truly an endeavour towards helping NIASOM realize its dream of becoming a world class institute. The seminar turned out to be a collage of thoughts on various issues concerning the Insurance industry. The seminar gave an opportunity to ignite young minds and help them have an in-depth look at the insurance industry. This interface was meant to bring together the different people belonging to the insurance fraternity so that they can share a symbiotic relationship for better introspection and circumspection, leading to the door of synchronized growth of the industry. For NIASOM, this is just the beginning of its journey towards excellence.

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Brand Mantras, Brand Shashtras and Brand Namkaran are the powerful tools of today's scenario to become the best entrepreneur in the world. “D'apprendre – The Entrepreneurial Workshop” was held on 17 February 2005 at NITIE Auditorium, organized by “Empresario – The Entrepreneurial Body at NITIE”. D'apprendre is a French term which means “To Learn" & here we learned from successful entrepreneurs. Experts from industry expressed and shared their views and actual cases from industry with students. Being a successful entrepreneur requires more than skills, aptitude, attitude and persistence and passion.

The Workshop started with the felicitation of Brand Guru Mr. Jagdeep Kapoor, Chairman and MD, Samsika Marketing Consultants by Prof. A. K. Pundir.

Mr. Jagdeep Kapoor enthralled the students with modern Branding Concepts. He provided insights of nine Shashtras for a Brand. The nine Shashtras are Need, Seed, Heed, Deed, Feed, Speed, Creed, Breed and Exceed. He stated that “when you decide to cross road just cross the road, don't wait for traffic to stop”. To sustain in the market one should adapt to market. He stressed that in today's scenario identification of consumer is more important than that of customer. The entire session was very lively and energetic.

Second session witnessed Mr. Sandeep Singhal, Chairman and CEO, Medusind Solutions enlightening participants with “Challenges in establishing a new venture”. The session enchanted the students and delegates with real perspective of challenges faced by an early start up. His lesson to audience is – “Capital is not the constraint in starting any business as perceived by most. The actual requirement is knowledge of target customer and market segmentation”. He emphasized that “money chases the people that necessarily don't need it”. He threw light on three most important ways of funding - venture funding, self funding and personal credibility based fund from customer. He emphasized on inception of idea and how to develop the idea. To get the people who share the vision and to build an A-Team were regarded as most crucial factors by him. The session was extremely interactive and created a novel, unthought-of and lucid picture of start up challenges.

Next to continue was Mr. Vishal Gondal, Founder & CEO, India games Ltd. It was a “My Story - From Conception to Execution” session in which he shared his valuable experiences and challenges conquered. His session commenced with questions from the audience which were vehemently answered by him. “Ideas are easy but execution is everything” was the mantra given by him. He stressed on the Passion behind the work and not on the Revenue earned. Success lies within the execution of ideas as he perceived. He laid lot of emphasis on new ideas and their conceptualization. He said “We try to do things which others are doing as we think they are doing well”, that may not be the actual fact”. The session became an inspiration for many to follow the passion in life.

The event was summed up with encouraging words of Mr. Vishal Gupta, Founder of Herald Logic. He also correlated his experiences as a Founder of Herald Logic with the earlier speaker's thoughts.

The memorable event ended with vote of thanks to all and with a promise of bringing more of such kind of entrepreneurial events in future.

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Samiksha 2006 – An event organized by PGDIE students of NITIE saw Industry stalwarts from various streams getting head to head in panel discussion on “VAT and its implications on Indian Inc.”
Samiksha takes the atmosphere of learning beyond the binds curriculum and keeps students updated with latest trends in industry to prepare the budding managers for challenges of evolving business conditions. The attempt is to attune the institute to become more responsive to & focused on dynamic nature of industry requirements.
The program was held on 24th February 2006 and was inaugurated by Dean Academics Prof. D S Hegde who emphasized that the present system of taxation was complex and posed several hurdles to the development of the manufacturing sector in India due to the multiple taxation scenarios. He said that VAT would ensure a bigger cake of GDP for tomorrow's India.
Mr. Arif Siddiqui, Business Head Logistics, AFL highlighted the implications of VAT on logistics distribution system. He expounded on the implications of VAT on the physical supply and distribution systems of an organization. He said that VAT will lead to far reaching changes in almost all organizations since remodeling supply chains, an area PGDIE, NITIE students are most interested in, will become indispensable. He went on say that goods and services can be classified into two categories, those demanding responsiveness or efficiency. Based on whether our products are belong to the “responsive/speed” or “efficiency/cost” category we need to design our supply chains. The focus will now shift from sub optimal CFAs to logistics and responsiveness and efficiencies of supply and distribution. He predicted reduction in distribution system layer and evaluation of new logistics models in the post-VAT scenario.
His statement “It is heart warming to see such a large student community interest in understanding the nuts and bolts of this not so simple facet of taxation.” testifies the impact NITIE made to the eminent personalities.
Mr. Sant Kumar Verma, Head Taxation, Bayer Cropscience Ltd. explained in lucid terms VAT as a concept and what its practical implications would be on industrial transactions with examples that gave some food for thought to the students aiming to be tomorrow's logisticians and procurement managers. He also explained the different slabs of VAT structure and their implications on manufacturing industries.
"It was really great to be a part of such a successful event", he said to describe the event.
Mr. S.M. Kulkarni, Corporate Head, Sales Tax, Mahindra & Mahindra, enthralled the audience with his lucent lecture on the basics elements of VAT. He explained about the various scenarios that today's supply chain students would face as tomorrow's supply chain and purchase mangers. Through simple examples he helped the student community of NITIE and other B Schools as well as other industrial delegates, comprehend the various techniques like outsourcing, vendor management etc. can help to reduce costs.
Ms. Renu Narvekar, Head Finance, P&G; Ltd. explemplified the VAT issues with reference to FMCG sector. She enlightened the audience on how VAT would be eliminating multiple taxation, increase government revenues bringing dealers and retailers also into the tax bracket. It will ensure greater transparency since it is easier to comprehend and lay a road map towards a unified national VAT regime. She said, however, that VAT puts FMCG companies in a spot of bother regarding decisions on who should bear the brunt of the additional tax which the distributors and retailers are forced to pay. She further went on to delineate the affects of VAT on sourcing, logistics, Systems and record keeping, ERP, customers and packaging regulations with reference to the FMCG Industry.
Mr. Vivek Bhimankar, Deputy Commissioner, Sales Tax, enlightened on various aspects of Post VAT scenario. He gave a whole new dimension to the event by elaborating on the need for VAT in the Indian economy. He said that with the signing of the WTO treaty and liberalization, the Indian industry needed to be forced to become more competitive. As states engaged in a rat race of tax concessions to attract industrial investment the state treasuries became bankrupt and the need for a uniform tax regime was felt. Thus VAT was born.
He highlighted “Earlier, tax system rewarded dishonesty. Now there is an incentive for being honest. VAT has not only refilled the treasuries but has also ensured better social life by decreasing the corruption levels.”
Ms. Sangita Shah, Editor, Stock Market and Commodities, Financial Express described Samiksha 2006 a grand success. She said that it was really a great experience moderating the event and appreciated the level of questions asked by the students.
The words “I have never seen such an interactive audience, not even in big programmes organized by industries in huge conference halls" articulates the story of success of the event.
Nearly 40 Industrial delegates from different Industries and students from various Business Schools attended the discussion and gained valuable insights on VAT.
Mr. Adreesh Mukherji, a student of K.J.Somaiya, Mumbai said “Just prior to budget scenario an educating session on VAT helped to understand tips and tweaks of VAT and also clarifies the misconceptions about the Tax structure.”
Mr. Manish Lal , an Industrial delegate from TotalFinaElf Ltd. expressed his comments as “The session gave more insights of implications of VAT on various sectors like FMCG, Automobiles, Logistics etc. and helped to understand the complications in a structured way”.
The session ended with Vote of Thanks Prof. Ashok K. Pundir to the distinguished speakers, Faculty, Media partners and the students.
But the students of PGDIE now have a challenge to take Samiksha to new heights in future and to evolve Knowledge Ocean for learning.”
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IIT Delhi, Department of Management Studies, saw Parivartan '06 held on the February 25th and 26th . The two day long management fest saw enthusiastic participation from both the B-Schools like NITIE, FMS, IIM-K, SP Jain, XIME Bangalore and the corporate world, with big names like Accenture and ESPN Star Sports, making the event a grand success.

Parivartan '06 was inaugurated amidst much fanfare by the Head of the Department, Professor Surendra S. Yadav along with Mr. Arun Goyal, MD, Delhi Transco, Mr. Sunil Agarwal, MD, Media House 20:20 and Mr. Anil Gupta, CEO, NEC HCL.

The fest, based on the theme of “Parivartan” had a plethora of events that captured the essence of management. Parivedan, the B-Quiz, received a tremendous response with close to 80 teams participating in the preliminary round. Six teams were selected to go on to the finals where they pitted their wits against each other for a grand prize of Rs.15, 000. The event was won by the Accenture team, with MHROD coming second. The event also saw celebrity participation with cricket commentator Gautam Bimani of ESPN Star Sports participating in the quiz. Parikalpana, the B-Plan contest, saw students from NITIE emerge as winners. Paridhi, the Case Study competition, saw the finals being held on the first day of the fest. The competing teams had to develop a strategy for the company known for its brand in golfing equipment which is planning to foray into the premium wine category. The event was won by the home team, while the team from the Faculty of Management Studies finished a close second.

The cynosure of the entire fest, Pariksha, modeled on the popular TV series, “The Apprentice” received enthusiastic participation with close to 50 candidates entering the first round. The candidates had to do a variety of tasks, right from answering questionnaires which tested their decision making and management skills to selling consumer goods in actual market places. The final round was an interview with Er. Harish Chaudhry, faculty of DMS, IITD, who tested the candidates' ability to handle stress and ability to think on his or her feet. The event was won by Mr. Amit Shah of NITIE, who walked away with a grand prize of Rs.25, 000. Apart from these, the fest also had a lot of informal events like Ad Mad and Mock Press.

Parishad, the panel discussion was the penultimate event of Parivartan '06. Eminent personalities from both the corporate world and the academia addressed the issue of Corporate Social Responsibility. Mr. Cherian Thomas from IDFC, Dr. Kirti Jain, Director, Worldwide Risk and Information Management, American Express, and Dr. Y V Verma from LG Electronics were the luminaries from the corporate world while Dr. B. Jaggi, Professor of Finance, Rutgers University, USA graced the occasion. The event was moderated by Dr. Vinayshil Gautam, Professor, Department of Management Studies, IIT Delhi.

The valedictory function was charied by Prof. Surendra S. Yadav, HOD, Department of Management Studies and the valedictory address was given by Mr. Ramesh Chandak, MD, KEC International.

The culmination of Parivartan '06 was the Corporate Dinner, where the top brass of the coporate world interacted with the students and shared their views. The chief guest for the evening was Mr. Christy Fernandez, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. The event was held on the lawns of the Department, with the dulcet sounds of ghazal music in the background.

Parivartan '06 was well endorsed by the corporates with Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, eClerx, DTDC, NTPC, Oriental Bank of Commerce, LIC and Power Finance Corporation Limited sponsoring the various events and Sahara Samay, Cool Avenues and Management Compass as the media partners.

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As quoted by many practitioners, leadership develops in the field and not in the classroom. This is the philosophy also taken up by XLRI. They have now designed a XLRI Leadership Expedition (XLE) , first of its kind in India. The objective of the XLRI Leadership Expedition is to aid in developing leadership traits amongst the participants. The Expedition takes up leadership aimed at the individual level as well as at the society. At the individual level, the expedition aims to develop the following

1. Strength of character (by exposing the participants to extreme hardships)

2. Ability of the individual to plan and execute under uncertain environment, taking decisions which affect the team (Through rotational leadership and experience sharing)

3. Motivate others at during crisis (by linking individual success to the team's success)

The other aspect of Leadership is to influence the society. In order to address this, all XLRI Leadership Expedition members will take up a cause where students of XLRI will contribute towards a relevant social/ environmental issue.

This year the Expedition team will be going to Mount Everest Base Camp. To fulfill its objective of influencing the society, it has partnered with CARE to spread AIDS awareness among the youth. Several lectures and field visits have been conducted in the City of Jamshedpur on this program of AIDS awareness, where students have interacted with youth and trucker communities.

To further this program , they have organised an online Quiz. The objective is that the students will be able to learn more about AIDS when they try to find the answers for the quiz. Quiz will be open from 28th February. 21.00 hrs to 1st March 12.00 hrs.

For further details, please click here

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The Indian School of Business (ISB) hosted the President of the United States – Mr George W Bush – on March 3, 2006, amidst the presence of the students, faculty and management of the School. Dr Condoleezza Rice,Secretary of State, Mr David C Mulford, Ambassador to India, Mr David T Hopper, the Consul General from Chennai, and a few other officials visited the ISB along with the President.

Rajat Gupta, Chairman of the ISB (Past Managing Director of Mckinsey and Senior Partner Worldwide), received the President along with Professor M Rammohan Rao, Dean, ISB. In an exclusive meeting, the Chairman and the Dean briefed the President about the history of the ISB, and the remarkable progress that the school has made since the five years of its establishment. “We are delighted that President Bush has chosen a premier management institution like the ISB for his visit. This is indeed a prestigious event for us,” said Rajat Gupta.

“The ISB has emerged as a world-class business management institution within a short span of time. We have highlighted the success of our one year post graduate management programme to the President. We took the opportunity to emphasise our focus on entrepreneurship and cutting-edge research, especially relevant to emerging economies,” said Dean Rammohan Rao.

President Bush was visibly impressed by the ISB campus, and with the ISB students. Two ISB students from the Class of 2006, Rajesh Mani and Ruchi Bansal, had earlier greeted President Bush on his arrival. The President also interacted with other faculty, students, and members of the ISB community.

“One of the reasons that I wanted to come to the ISB is that, as I understand it, it is a Centre of Excellence in education. It is a new school using innovative tools necessary to succeed,” said President Bush on his visit to the ISB on March 3, 2006. “I am honoured to be at the ISB,” he added.

The President then addressed a gathering of the entire ISB community of faculty, staff, and students at the Atrium of the ISB's Academic Building. President Bush fielded questions, and spoke to the gathering in a relaxed manner.

Following are some of the comments the President made during his visit.

On India:

 “Yesterday, I had the honour of standing on the stage with your Prime Minister talking about a new relationship between the US and India. I am excited about our strategic partnership. I'm equally excited about the future of India.”

“It is in the interest of the United States to be friends with India , it is in the interest of the United States to work for a free and fair trade with India.

“It is in the interest of the United States that an entrepreneurial class grow in this great country. It is in the interest of India that an entrepreneurial class grow in this country so that people can realize their dreams and find good jobs.”

“I said something interesting, at least I thought it was interesting, otherwise I wouldn't have said it, in a speech I gave in Washington, I think that it's interesting that India's middle class is 300 million large – as large as the entire United States.”

“India is a great democracy which is capable of having people of different religions live side by side in peace and harmony. It is a wonderful opportunity to trade (with India).” “One of the things that you can judge a country by is the vitality of the youth and one of the reasons I wanted to come to ISB because I understand it is a Centre of Excellence in education.”

On the Entrepreneurship Centre at the ISB:

President Bush reserved some more praise for the Entrepreneurship Centre at the ISB. He said, “It's hard to teach people to be risk takers, and you have professors here who give you the tools to be risk takers.”

Earlier, he had told Professor V Chandrasekar, Executive Director, Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED), “You've got a great thing going!”

Anjali Patel, a student from the ISB Class of 2006 was in the roundtable for entrepreneurs addressed by the President. She is the President of the Net Impact Club at the ISB, and told the President that she runs the social enterprise club with a lot of help from the faculty, the Entrepreneurship Centre, and the student body of the ISB. She also talked to the President about “compassionate capitalism” consisting of “providing venture capital funding to small businesses and social entrepreneurs so that they can sustain themselves.

About the ISB

The Indian School of Business is a research-oriented independent management institution that grooms future leaders for India and the world. Its association with the Kellogg School of Management, The Wharton School, and London Business School make it one of its kind in Asia. The School offers a one-year Post Graduate Programme; short-duration, high-powered Executive Education programmes for CEOs and senior executives; and a two-year Research Fellowship Programme. The origins and distinctive research of our faculty members ensure that our programme content is contemporary and global in its perspective, and develops our students' understanding of modern management opportunities and challenges.

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The Hon'ble Finance Minister Mr. Ghadai shared his views on the Union Budget at XIM. He felt there was a lack of proper strategy to achieve 8% consistent growth in the budget. This kind of growth requires consistent growth of 3-4% in the agriculture sector which can be achieved if states are given grants for enhancing the same. He also said that there was no major new programmes initiated only some modifications and re-christening of schemes which were introduced by our respected ex-Prime Minister Mr.Vajpayee's government. He had expected that there would be some outlets for the States which are lagging behind to remove the existing disparity among states but he was disappointed on these grounds. He also felt dejected as Orissa even though possessing the 2nd largest coal reserves (40000 mn tons after 60000 mn tons of Jharkhand) and port facilities and location advantages, was not a part of the Mega Power Project.

He also gave some insights into the State budget he had presented. He seemed positive for Orissa's future as a large number of industries are entering into the state, with 13 already started producing and 7 soon to begin. XIMB had an informed and diversified panel consisting of Mr. Anil Ratanpal, General Manager IDBI, Mr.A.K.Sabat, Chartered Accountant and Mr. Dillip Satpathy, Journalist. The moderator for the evening was Dr. D.V. Ramana, Professor in Finance Department of XIMB.

Dr.D.V.Ramana put some concerns for the panel to address to. Firstly he felt that it is very important to have inflow of investments and also efficient use of the same to have 8% growth. These inflow of investments are 72% from revenue receipts alone and tax contributes 58% in that 72. The loan and interest payment form 26% of the budget where the major part of loan is repaid as interest alone, so is it worth taking those loans. Mr. Anil Ratanpal suggested that there are hardly any major changes in the budget. He felt this budget didn't have negative impact on maximum industries. To conclude he said that it is a continuing budget, primarily growth oriented, pragmatic, rooted with objective of achieving the growth rate and economic reforms.

Mr. D. Satapathy said the direction of this budget was 3 fold, growth, equity and social justice. He spoke about the impact of the budget on major industries. He rounded off by saying “How will you balance your budget overnight, put tax on sales.” Mr.A.K.Sabat was the last and most humorous speaker who spoke on direct taxes and gavean insight from a point of view of a chartered accountant. He said that he views a country like a company whose Chairperson is Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, MD is Dr. Manmohan Singh, Director of Finance is Mr. P.Chidambaran, supported by Mr.Montek Singh Ahluwalia. He quoted Benjamin Franklin “Nothing is certain but death and taxes.” Mr. Sabat went to meticulous evaluations of various provisions and their loopholes. He discussed from the reasons black money had started circulated in the markets in India to the high margin in unorganized food market which goes untaxed. He was doubtful where the money for the investments allocated would come from if collection from tax alone was Rs. 6000 cr. and other avenues remained untapped. He summed by saying “Capital asset created correctly will give future results for this nation.”