Management Insights for Social Transformation (MIST) is a novel forum, initiated by the Department of Management Studies, IIT Madras, to put in place a channel for interaction between management students and social organizations and philanthropists. Through MIST, DoMS is aiming at inviting eminent people and unique organizations who have influenced the society in a defining manner, to share their experiences and enrich the students with their outlook towards the society at large.
The students of DoMS endeavor to synergize existing management practices and evolve new ones for the benefit of the society.
The first edition of MIST at DoMS, IIT Madras was graced by the presence of the Commissioner of Police, Greater Chennai, Mr. R Nataraj. He has been known and acknowledged for his numerous awards for his meritorious service over more than 30 years and lately had initiated a scheme to make 'Chennai City' the safest and the 'Chennai City Police' the most efficient. On the occasion, the Head of the Department of Management Studies, Prof. L S Ganesh spoke on the need to sensitize people to the larger cause of the society.
Mr. Nataraj embarked on the topic by addressing on the major police functionaries, the modes of information supply, publicity of the activities, training structure for various activities, and use of technology in day to day activities.
The Commissioner addressed the issue of cyber crime, which is on the rise with growth in the number of IT companies in the city, and the Chennai Police's initiative in creating special cells to deal with such problems. Mr. Nataraj also described at length, the technological initiatives taken by the Chennai Police, collaboration with NGOs for development of de-addiction centers, campaign against drunken driving; drive against juvenile crime and also about the latest HR practices used by the police to train the policemen with help from various IT companies. Finally, he concluded by saying that it is important to build the police force as an institution with a human face. He also stressed on the necessity of the students and the educated class to actively participate in their neighborhood so that the problems can be nipped in the bud before they get unwieldy.
The rolling Indian stock market seems to be attracting the financial enthusisasts from VGSoM. A workshop was organized in VGSoM to arm the students with technical and fundamental analysis of the stock market. The leading technical and fundamental analysts, Mr. Rajat K. Bose and Kalpana Kabra conducted the workshops at VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur. Mr. Rajat K. Bose is known as the leading and the best technical analyst in India. He has been involved in securities research for the last fifteen years. He appears as an analyst on various Indian TV channels including CNBC-TV18, NDTV profit, Sahara Samay, Awaz and Zee business. He has also written for the Economic times, Kolkata and the Statesman, Kolkata. Ms. Kalpana Kabra has been a well-known technical analyst in the securities market for the last 10 years. She has appeared on the CNBC, Zee Business, and quite a few regional TV channels to advise investors. She is the course coordinator for the Investment Management course at the Birla Institute of Futuristic Studies, Kolkata. The Technical Analysis workshop conducted from 14th to 15th January 2006 for twenty hours had practical sessions on the technical analysis of the stocks. The sessions included Dow theory basics, Trends, Trendlines, Channels, Reversal and Continuation patterns, Indicators, Moving averages, Stops, Gaps, Trading for profit, Intermarket analysis, and more. The Intermarket analysis was a quick hit with the students, since it covered the relationship between different markets ranging from Oil, Commodities, Bond markets, Stocks markets, etc. The hands-on sessions gave the students a complete exposure to the analysis of the charts of the stocks. The sessions also covered the myths behind technical analysis. The workshop provided the tools and techniques for the analysts in the making. The Fundamental Analysis workshop was conducted from 25th to 26th March and 1st to 2nd April 2006 for forty hours. The workshop included introduction to fundamental analysis, role of an analyst, forecasting growth for long term and short term, playing the cycles, market share, economic indicators, Strategy & competition, analysis of financial statements, financial ratios, equity evaluation, portfolio construction, asset bubbles and more. The workshop provided the tools needed for fundamentally analyzing the companies and their stocks. The hands-on sessions and practical examples made the workshop more interesting. Armed with knowledge on technical and fundamental analysis, the budding analysts at VGSoM are raring to go.
Mr. Pradeep Gopi, Head Strategic Recruitment, US Technology, kept the audience at IIT Kanpur glued to the seats for a 2 hour long session during his lecture on “Opportunities for MBAs in the IT Industry”. Once again this was a session organised as a part of “JYOTIRGAMAYA”, the Corporate Interaction Series. The guest was felicitated by Prof. Jayanta Chatterjee. of the IME department.
The Shailesh J Mehta School of Management at IIT-Bombay is holding their second event of the Continuum series- the HR Continuum, on the 9th April 2006.
CONTINUUM, the rolling seminar series, is a regular event at SJMSOM. This event aims to cover the latest trends in management by inviting eminent speakers from business and academia and drawing from their knowledge and experience.
The corporate climate today is a far cry from the business world of the yesteryears. Successful organizations are becoming more adaptable, resilient, quick to change and customer-oriented. The re-established HR business objectives now expect the HR manager to parallel the needs of the organization with the dynamic business environment.
Change has become an ongoing process. Yet, organizations undergoing change typically forget to address the “people side”. HR Continuum 2006 tries to emphasize the importance of HR in managing this change and underlines the importance of getting HR "a seat at the table", thereby justifying the theme of the day “Aligning HR with the Changing Business Environment”.
The other events of the day are a Poster designing competition, B-Pratyancha, a national level Sudoku championship, and a Panel Discussion on “Opportunities Galore @ India Inc. - Is customization of HR practices the solution to plug Attrition?”
The first event of the 2006 series was the “Systems Continuum” on the themes “IT in Business strategy: A journey from 'Enabler' to 'Driver'” and “Cutting edge trends in software industry”; on the first and second days respectively. Valuable insights were drawn from eminent speakers including Mr. Amit Agarwal(MD, Amazon), Dr. G.N.Srinivas(Head, SOA, CC, Hewlett Packard), Mr. Himanshu Gupta(Principal Consultant, PwC), Mr. Rajdeep Sahrawat(VP, NASSCOM), Mr. Raj Nair(Chairman, Avalon Consulting), Mr. Suhas Datta(Senior Manager, Accenture), Mr. Vineet Kshirsagar(Industry Manager, Education, Microsoft), Mr. Rajdeep Sahrawat(VP, NASSCOM), Mr. Sambha(Senior VP, Compulink), Mr. Venkat Ramani(Regional Director, TCS)
For registrations and other details, please visit:
Addressing the ceremony, Professor Rammohan Rao, Dean,
In an inspiring speech replete with encouragement, the Chief Guest, Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman Tata Sons Limited said that the graduation was, “A great moment for the students because it marked the termination of a curriculum which is amongst the best in the country and also because you head into the business world in India at a very exciting time-a time when India is being seen by the world as a country on the move. And you have an opportunity to play a role in the future development of the country.” Thanking the faculty at the ISB and the family members of the students for helping them achieve their goal, Mr. Rajat Gupta, Chairman of the Governing Board of ISB asked of the graduating class, “Go with a learning mindset. You will learn from everything you do, but only if you look and have the mindset.” He encouraged the students to help others succeed, “If you make other people successful, they in turn will help you succeed.” He requested the students to learn the habit of giving, “You have got a lot from the society and the institution. Give back to both in whatever measure for it will hold you in great stead.”
Jubilant cheers rent the normally calm atmosphere that characterises the Academic Centre as the Class of 2006 came up to the stage to collect their certificates. The crowning moment of a year that has seen the students achieve many firsts, was witnessed and celebrated by their families and friends who had come in from all over the country, ISB Board members and many corporate honchos. At the graduation Shankar Prasad and Gaurav Bansal were awarded the ISB Scholars of Excellence Awards in recognition of their all-round exceptional academic performance. The ISB Merit Scholarships were awarded to the top 53 students of the class for their distinctive performance in various spheres during the year of study.
The outgoing class organized successful summits and knowledge sharing sessions in different
spheres which saw participation from eminent business and political leaders, leading academicians and young achievers. The varied experiences and approaches adopted by the students through the year contributed to enriching the learning experience at the ISB.As the evening came to a close moods of joy slowly faded to one tinged with a touch of sadness as the realisation dawned that the incredible experience that is the ISB had come to an end for another class. The young men and women who said the final hurrah at the campus this evening were now moving out, ready to script their individual destinies.
The
The corporate climate today is a far cry from the business world of the yesteryears. The role of human resources has been evolving for quite some time now, reestablished to support the attainment of the overall strategic business plan and objectives. The HR manager today is expected to parallel the needs of his organization with the dynamic business environment.
The keynote speaker was Prof. S. Bhargava of SJMSOM, who gave a holistic view on the topic, with the advantage of an academician's point of view.
He enumerated 5 facets of aligning people to Business Strategy. He gave the audience a peek into the unique concept of Bharti for “insourcing” when everyone else is on the route of outsourcing.
He summed up his very insightful talk by quoting Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal as “HR drives business, and not the business driving HR”.
He laid emphasis on getting the right people and managed to address the day's question “How to measure the HR effectiveness”, by giving the Human Capital Index and the Team Effectiveness Index.
The first batch of the PGDSM MIT program, at SPJIMR comprising of 29 participants, recorded a 100% placement with as many as 40 offers being made on the first couple of days itself. The industry response and acceptance of the PGDSM MIT course has been phenomenal with several major IT organizations offering managerial as well as techno-managerial profiles to the participants of the first batch of the program. Top notch global IT organizations like Cognizant Technology Solutions, Infosys, Oracle, Birlasoft, Tata Consultancy Services, HCL, Atos Origin, PCS, Hexaware and Paladion visited the campus for recruiting PGDSM MIT participants; Cognizant Technology Solutions and Paladion Networks being the first timers on the SPJIMR campus. The participants were offered profiles in
“Grab leadership opportunities to propel
In his convocation address to the students, Mr Godrej urged the outgoing batch of students to Go for leadership by taking tough decisions which may not be popular, taking big chances , playing always to win but without playing dirty and dare to have mighty goals. He also advised them to make enjoy their vocation if they wanted to suceeed.
This year's campus recruitments at
Congratulating the students, Dr. Bala V Balachandran, Founder & Honorary Dean of The Institute, said, "These Junior Pioneers have done Great Lakes Institute proud. They have pioneered the brand really well during their stay at Great Lakes Institute of Management. We hope they will serve the corporates who have recruited them well and justify the trust and cooperation extended by them in our endeavour to encourage industry participation in management education.”
Addressing the Convocation Mr. Adi Godrej, Chairman, The Godrej Group said “The more I hear about the wonderful achievement of Great Lakes Institute of Management, the more I am impressed. I am also very pleased that the institute has also started an Executive MBA program, too. I wish
The occasion was also graced with the presence of Mr K. B Chandra Sekar, Chairman & CEO, Jam Cracker Inc,
The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) was established as the first National institute for Post-Graduate studies and Research in Management by the Government of India in November 1961. Over the years, IIMC has grown into a mature institute of global repute, imparting high quality management education.
IIMC has a very strong alumni base, which makes it unique amongst the top management institutes of the world. IIMC Alumni occupy leadership positions as corporate managers, academicians and successful entrepreneurs, worldwide. The alumni maintain a close relationship with the institute, helping each other in their growth.
Team Alumni at Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) organizes the Annual Alumni summer party in different cities across
Event Details:
Venue:
Date: 1st weekend of May
Purpose:
The “Annual Alumni Parties” of IIM Calcutta have taken the shape of a “Tradition” and provide the perfect platform for interaction between alumni, faculty and students of the institute. This event is the most looked forward event on the IIMC calendar as alumni who are unable to attend the Alumni Reunion held on campus find it convenient to turn up here in large numbers and spend an evening remembering the halcyon days of campus life.
This interaction is extremely beneficial for the faculty and students as they get industry feedback and an update on the most relevant issues in the corporate world. It also provides a unique opportunity to directly interacting with the senior executives of respected companies across industries. On the whole, it is an event soaked in nostalgia, respect, love and admiration.
Program of Events:
Walk down the memory lane – A student's presentation
Interactive session between Faculty / Alumni / Students.
Guest lecture by prominent personality/famous alumni.
Musical Performance by IIM Calcutta students and Guests.
Drinks and Dinner
The Indian School of Business (ISB) has increased its student intake by 20% for the current Class of 2007. The Class of 2007 – all working professionals - has 418 students as compared to 345 students in the Class of 2006. The ISB will now be counted as one among the largest, when compared to the top B-Schools in the world.
The current class has many students who have rejected offers from B-Schools in
Another highlight of the new class at the ISB is the significant increase in the number of women students. The ISB, which has always encouraged women to take up a management career, has seen an upward trend year after year in women student intake. The number of women students which has gone up to 87 from 67 last year, represents 20% of the Class of 2007, which is comparable to some of the leading European B-schools.
The Class of 2007 comes from varied academic backgrounds and diverse work experience. Some are Doctors, some are from the Indian armed forces, others are entrepreneurs, architects, model/actor, urban planner, chef, etc. Students with interesting industry backgrounds like media, advertising, real estate and social services have also joined the ISB this year. The class boasts of a mix of students who have excelled and won acclaim for excellence in both scholastic and non-scholastic activities. Few remarkable examples include a student who has won the Operation Vijay Medal for the Kargil war, students who have applied for patents, a student who has won the International Femtor Award for emerging business leader in
XLRI's highly active alumni network spans the length and breadth of the corporate world, not only in
The Meet also serves as a platform, where XLRI tradition gets debated, recalled, savoured and endlessly enjoyed by batches cutting across the young and the old. (Every XLer, be he from the 1960s or the 2000s, passes through a fixed set of unique traditions and traditional events during every calendar year). The Meet also sets the agenda for the year ahead, albeit through informal one-to-ones, on how these traditions could be spearheaded better in the year ahead and what would lie in store for the future.
The meet is a huge inspiration to the current batch of XLers. Famous alumni of XLRI include B. Muthuraman, MD, Tata Steel; Bhushen Raina, MD, Tata Tinplate: Jaspal Bindra, CEO (Indian Region), Standard Chartered Bank; Arun Maira, Chairman, Boston Consulting Group; Manet Paes, MD, Alliance Air; Rakesh Das, Head, Consumer Business Risk Review (Asia Pacific), ABN Amro Bank; C. V. L. Srinivas, MD, Maximize Asia Pacific; Shantonu Aditya, President, Discovery - SET India; N. Ankhouri, VP - HR, Hero Honda; Gopi Nambiar, VP - HR, Seagrams; Gurveen Singh, VP - HR, Reckitt Benckiser; Bernard Martyr, Senior VP - HR, Indian hotels (Taj).
The stage for the Meet is being set by the students of the batch of 2007, who are currently placed in different parts of the Country, engrossed in their Summer Internships in Corporate India.
Among the Sponsors and Partners for this year's events across the Country are Seagrams, Pepsi, SAB Miller, Frito-Lays, Spicejet, Mercer Consulting, ITC, GSK, Nokia, Hindustan Levers Ltd, Tata AIG, Cognizant Technology Solutions, ICICI Prudential, Kanexa Consulting, Essar, Standard Chartered Bank, Reckitt Benckiser and many others.
MET League of Colleges has provided a golden opportunity to its management students to be an integral part of the NGO Section at the United Nations' Headquarters in New York. Pawan Thadani narrates his experiences.
"I consider myself fortunate to be part of the contingent that served at the UN Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) in the winter of 2004-05. It goes without saying that the enthusiasm among METians for grabbing this break has gone up tremendously."
"It was Dassera when I got the news that I had been selected to be a part of the Winter Mission of the UN ECOSOC. My joy knew no bounds! From that time on until I left Mumbai on 19th November 2004, the four of us- Shweta, Purva, Bhavin and myself plunged into preparations for the trip ahead of us. To add to our excitement, we had a generous de-brief from the pioneer group of students that had visited UN in the Summer of 2002 to set up what is now a familiar term among METians- "The Paperless Committee" (a record management and an electronic meeting system for the Committee on NGOs). It dawned on us that the work we were chosen for was of a unique nature and that we were to be part of a forum of delegates from all over the globe!"
"The euphoria among the group was immense. My first day at work was filled with social extravaganza and I must admit that I have never had the pleasure of meeting a bunch of people with such diverse origins. The NGO Section is one of the few departments in the Secretariat of the UN that has interns throughout the year! Our friend, philosopher and guide Ms. Meena, a tough taskmaster and a highly energetic individual, Meena possesses the true qualities of a perfectionist and is an ideal facilitator. As my memory races back to the first week that I spent in our cozy little "Paperless Committee" cabin, I recall the number of times I wrote and re-wrote memos of communication to various personnel while sipping my cup of 'freshly brewed medium roast' coffee (recommended as an adrenaline gusher by Meena). 'Nothing is good enough until you think it is perfect' is Meena's magic mantra. "
Among the several projects that I undertook, I would like to highlight particularly, the work that I did on the Report of the Secretary General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. In his address to the General Assembly in September 2003, Kofi Annan warned Member States that the United Nations had reached a fork in the road. It could rise to the challenge of meeting new threats or it could risk erosion in the face of mounting discord between States and unilateral action by them. He created the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change to generate new ideas about the kinds of policies and institutions required for the UN to be effective in the 21st century. In its report, the High Level Panel sets out a bold, new vision of collective security for the 21st century. The Panel has set out 101 recommendations for various bodies that make up the United Nations. Primarily it has advocated the setup of a Peace-Building Commission that will fill the crucial gap between regional organizations, international financial institutions and the UN by giving the necessary attention to countries emerging from conflict.
We did have our share of socializing and retreat during thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. The group was elated when the Head of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA)- Mr. Sarbuland Khan acknowledged the contributions of MET and its students in an address during a private gathering on Christmas Eve. And if you thought that the UN employees were conservative and shy, you should have been a part of the party that went on that evening. There was wine, entrees and conversations galore! The Regular Session of the Committee was fast approaching and in a span of just over five weeks we were geared up for a smooth show. Running errands from the NGO section office to the conference room in the main Secretariat building had become a frequent affair and enjoyable all the same as we would get to relish the sumptuous meals at the One-world Café- a melting pot of different cuisines from across the world. My vegetarian co-workers must
agree that they never felt out of place as there was always something for them to eat (I was the only non-vegetarian in the group).
Note taking of the proceedings of the committee was a job that was handled by each intern by rotation. This task was one that required maximum concentration and a high level of alertness. Any point missed could lead to misinterpretation of an entire discussion among the delegates. The biggest advantage the note-takers had was that they learnt a great deal about the NGOs whose applications were being discussed or reviewed. And it was this involvement with the work of the NGOs that gave us a chance to interact with delegations from the member nations. We had the honour of having lunch with the delegate representing India- Smt. Mukta Tomar who appreciated the work that the Indian team had put in during the Committee. This was when we realized that our contribution was special and MET had provided us a platform for making a difference at the global level!
We decided to spend the remaining days of our Winter Mission in concentrating on regular work of the NGO Section and learnt that the scope of work of this tiny group was very broad. In the following weeks we were fortunate to witness a movie screening on Dr. Kiran Bedi who was at the end of her tenure in the UN. The documentary on reform of the prisoners at Tihar jail through meditation- "You be the Sky" moved many a heart. An NGO called "Woman on Top" sponsored a conference on Domestic Violence of which we did become a part. The team helped to manage logistics for the opening ceremony of the conference organized by the NGO Section. Our last week was spent wrapping up the various projects that were ongoing like the Publication of the Millennium Development Goals where I had to hand-over the completed surveys of NGOs who sent in details of the work that they were doing in line with the eight goals set out by the United Nations.
If I were to sum up what I learnt from this Winter Mission, I could go on endlessly using all the buzzwords of management for all of them did unfold while we performed the wide range of tasks. Each one of us specialized in some areas while assisting others in their work. But what matters most to me is that we did make a difference, a difference that may have changed the life of someone, somewhere.
Pawan was a part of the 3rd batch of UN interns and is currently working with Globe-OP Financial Services.
The Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) has a very strong alumni base, which makes it unique amongst the top management institutes of the world. IIMC Alumni occupy leadership positions as corporate managers, academicians and successful entrepreneurs, worldwide. The alumni maintain a close relationship with the institute, helping each other in their growth.
Team Alumni at Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIMC) organizes the Annual Alumni summer party in different cities across India with the intention of strengthening the bonds between IIM Calcutta, its alumni and current students. These parties are occasions where they get to meet in an informal and relaxed atmosphere, to renew old friendships and remember the old days.
For the 100-odd alumni of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, who attended Nostalgia 2006, the alumni meet in Bangalore, the annual event brought back old memories and gave an insight into all the flutter happening at one of the country's best B-Schools.
“We are proud to see our alma mater grow. There has been a quantum shift in infrastructure, faculty and industry interface, and the fat pay packets say it all. Thankfully, we do not have theoretical robots graduating from Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.
At Bangalore, the Alumni cell is active and we have 700 e-group members placed in high positions. It is a pleasant feeling to relive all that was once part of our lives,” says Ganesh Kudva (53) of the 1976 (eleventh) batch.
For the organisers - summer interns, who are working with companies like Microsoft, Citigroup, Wipro in Bangalore, the meeting was an opportunity to interact with their much experienced seniors.
“Alumni has always helped nurture industry relations and initiated many academic progr-ammes on the campus. This meeting is a good platform to bridge the gap,” says Mohit Bajpai , a summer intern with Citigroup.
“The Summer Parties are held across Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Pune, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and are meant for those who are unable to attend the Alumni Reunion at IIM-C campus. Apart from networking with stalwarts, we take a tip or two on success, aspiring to be the future corporate leaders,” says Srimoyee Mitra interning with the same organization.
Says Piyush Dalmia, another intern, “A 21-minute video presentation on the activities and the campus strikes a chord with the seniors.The mention of how the 'mini Howrah bridge' and the beautiful lakes in the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta, (IIM-C) still remain a favourite haunt for students, to who thrashed who at the IIM-XLRI sports meet this year – it truly is a walk down the memory lane”.
Some interns were thrilled by the illustrious guests of the event. Says Akil, an intern with Ocwen Financials, “It isn't daily that, one gets to interact with people of the stature of Director General of Asian Development Bank. Learning from their insights is one of my most valuable take-away from this event.”
Following is the text of their joint statement released at a press conference at IIM, Bangalore.
Dear Members of the Press,
First of all we would like to extend our gratitude on behalf of the entire IIM Student Community for coming here to listen to our viewpoints.
All IIM students are presently interning in various organizations across the World and hence it had been difficult to mobilize our concerns earlier.
However, we are happy to state that Student Representatives from all 6 Indian Institutes of Management (Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore, Kozhikode and Lucknow) have assembled here today in the IIM Bangalore campus to put forth the unanimous stand of the Student Bodies on the Issue of Reservation. Since it was not possible for all the Presidents of the 6 Institutes to be physically present themselves here today, they have nominated their representatives to be with us.
Our Stand on the Issue is as follows:
1. We extend our support to the medical students protesting in Delhi and other parts of the Nation in their cause.
2. We are against the proposed increase in Reservation in Graduate and Post Graduate Institutes of excellence in its present form.
3. We do not feel that increasing the number of seats will resolve this issue. Increasing the number of seats is contingent on the availability of infrastructure and human capital, the latter getting dearer by the day.
4. Regarding Reservation in principle, we believe that it was an exception made to the Right to Equality by the framers of our Constitution. This exception has continued far longer than envisaged. This very fact is a reason enough for us to request the Government to have a second look at the effectiveness of the policy and the way it has been implemented so far. We need to have a status check and we need it before we go ahead with further reservations.
5. While we agree that the weaker sections of our society need to be given a boost, the way in which the boost is being given may not be serving the purpose entirely.
6. The level at which reservation is offered makes a difference. The later the reservation is offered in a candidate's life, the tougher it becomes to ensure parity. By introducing reservation at lower levels, say in primary schools, the deserving and disadvantaged candidates are given the opportunity earlier in their lives which is much more beneficial. Also, having introduced Reservation at a lower level, the percentage of reserved seats must be progressively reduced as the level increases. We believe if the ailing infrastructure of primary education in India is taken care of at the grassroots level, we might very soon not need a Reservation Policy at all.
7. As a policy, Reservation does not seem to do justice to those who are unable to avail Reservation. There is absolutely no reason in denying a seat to candidate and then offering the same seat to another who has not performed at par. Whatever be the justification, one cannot deny the fact that by endorsing and adopting Reservation, we are doing gross injustice to some while attempting to deliver justice to others. Surely a better method has to exist. It has to be found out and implemented.
8. Those who believe and base their arguments on the logic that the entrance exams do not judge the true potential of a candidate and hence a lesser mark in the entrance exam is not an indicator of the person's academic abilities, should try and contribute in evolving a more objective/subjective criteria for evaluation where the true potential of the candidates can be assessed. Our effort needs to be directed towards this rather than taking the easier way out of compromising on the merit list.
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9. The idea is to look at an alternative. While some have been proposed, we are not proposing any right now. We intend to work on it as soon as we regroup in our institutes and have a basic framework ready soon.
All that we are saying now is that extending reservation further is not going to help anyone's cause. We believe the empowerment should start at the lowest level. As we progress towards higher education, let merit be the sole criteria. If the present systems of evaluating merit are not comprehensive enough, let the efforts be directed towards that. But as long as we have a system of evaluating merit, bypassing that system and tampering with the criteria is akin to making a mockery of those who work hard to succeed in the present framework.
Thanking you
Yours sincerely,
Srihari Bharatthi R Shreyan M L
President, Students' Council Placement Representative
IIM Bangalore IIM Indore
Anshul Saxena Srinivasan V Narayanan
Student Member, Students' Council
IIM Ahmedabad IIM Kozhikode
Akil Mohammad Memom Priyatham Vankayalapati
Student Student
IIM Calcutta IIM Lucknow
End of statement text .
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"After ten years I see myself at least 10 to 15 private albums old." This ambitious statement pretty much sums up Gaurav Dagaonkar's commitment to walk the road he has chosen for himself all the way through.
An MBA from India's best B-school making music?
"Ever since I made my first song I knew this is what I wanted to do," Gaurav says in a very matter-of-fact way.
"It happens sometimes to you that when you do something, you realize that this is really what you want to do. I enjoyed composing my first song so much I kept composing more songs. If you are really enjoying what you do and if you feel you have a chance to make a career out of it, that's what pushes you forward."
Which explains why after finishing his degree Gaurav, chose not to sit for campus placements and instead dashed to his home in Mumbai.
Back in Mumbai, Gaurav has been spending time feeling the hard edges of the music industry while trying to get one of the record industries to promote his album."The most important thing I've done is visit a lot of record companies over the last month to understand the way things work for a new artiste," he reveals.
His stint with Times Music during his summer internship has helped, though. He knew how to access the company's A&R.; "I also visited Sony Music, Universal Music, Sagarika Records, House of Music (HOM) Records and Phat-Phish Records. I still have to visit a few companies like T-Series and SaReGaMa and will be doing so in a couple of weeks," he
adds.
Publicity on account of being an IIM Ahmedabad graduate following unconventional career notwithstanding, it has not been an easy sail for Gaurav in the music industry.
"The scene is quite difficult for a newcomer. A new artiste is required to submit a demo version of his album comprising of four to five songs to the music companies for their consideration. The cost of the demo has to be funded by the artist. If it gets approved, then you are expected to make your own music video, which is an investment of at least Rs. 7-8 lakhs if you get it made by professionals, in order for the music label to promote your album," he explains.
For an Indipop artist, according to Gaurav, a break costs a minimum of Rs 10-15 lakhs.
The technicalities are as intricate. "These companies have grades like grade A or grade B or grade C to categorize an artist. So if they think that you are a grade C artist they may not promote you aggressively, whereas if they feel you are an artist who is going to sell a lot then they will promote you well by putting your promos on channels like Channel
[V], MTV and also by organizing promotional events for you" he elaborates.
Arranging finances for the demo wasn't difficult for Gaurav, but managing the moolah for the album and the video remains a challenge.
"The video is made once the music is approved. The music companies have a say in the way a video is made. You have to make the music video based on their requirements," Gaurav informs.
And this is only the beginning.
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"When you record a good song you need to work with good producers. They should know their sound and music very well, they should be people who are willing to experiment with different kind of sounds, and who are willing to do a song tastefully and there should be good sound engineers to handle the mixing and mastering of the album.”
A search for the right producers is on, but Gaurav would rather not disclose names at this juncture.
Gaurav's band has three guitarists, a keyboardist and a percussionist. "The keyboardist is irreplaceable. I have known him since my IIM days and we used to play together at various occasions," says Gaurav.
The album's vision too is pretty much made.
"A couple of songs are soft, meaningful and reflective numbers quite like Shaan's 'Tanha dil'. There are two fast and powerful rock based Hindi songs and a couple of ballads in Hindi. Besides that there are three to four original English songs and a fusion track based on the life of handicapped street children. There is also a salsa based track," he
reveals.
The MBA turned musician plans to finish his demo by mid July and then take it to the music companies. In the meanwhile, Gaurav and his band are rehearsing for live shows.
"The most important is doing a live act, that's the way you reach out to the people and that's the way you get most of your income. You start with small shows before the album is released; after it releases you do many shows," Gaurav says.
Tough as it might be to be a musician, what has worked in Gaurav's favour is a comfortable financial position.
"I'm lucky that I don't have any financial constraints; there are many people who have opportunities but unfortunately have a lot of constraints, like immediate family needs," he says with a touch of frankness.
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Gaurav credits his unconventional move not only to his family but also what he calls the support IIM Ahmedabad provided to its young entrepreneurs. "They helped us a lot by publicizing our ideas and also getting a lot of contacts for us, but for me to succeed as a music artiste, it's my music that has to be really good. If I wanted to work in a music company as a manager then IIM-A would have definitely helped. My aim was totally different yet they helped, going out of their way to have a press release about me by Mr Narayana Murthy (Infosys Chairman)."
"Some of our professors have helped me with contacts in the film and entertainment industry. There have been other people who have given me the contacts for my live shows. IIM- A alumni have come forward with contacts as well. Things are working out well, though it's a long process," Gaurav recollects.
The great plunge however was taken with due research. A summer internship with Times Music was part of the big plan.
"I have a proper plan with milestones and deadlines. It's good to have a plan A and plan B but when you know you have a plan B you don't give 100 percent to plan A. You should make a plan A as if there is no plan B and give your 200 percent to it. Set milestones, deadlines, have a detailed plan and don't leave any stone unturned," he explains.
That's when the entrepreneur in him begins to speak.
"Unless you have a proper understanding of the business it is very difficult to succeed, you'll keep making mistakes all the time. Being an entrepreneur is not an easy job, it involves a lot of pressure, frustration, but you have to be prepared. The most important thing is you should get into a business you love doing; don't just get into a business for the sake of doing it and to prove that you are an entrepreneur. I am getting into music with a long-term perspective, having a retail chain, music label because I love that; this is what I want to do. I have that kind of passion for music and this industry and I want to be a person who helps it grow in the future. Do something that you really love only then will you be able to give 100 percent, that's what I feel. You're then bound to succeed!"
"I don't want to release five albums per year; it will be maximum one or two albums. Apart from that I will be starting into my own company (related to music) within a couple of years. I plan to have my own music label one day in which I use the power of the Internet extensively, create innovative ways of getting music to people, launching new artistes and bands, promoting their music, beating piracy and making money for all of us. Some day I would also love to have my retail chain of music stores." Gaurav concludes.
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