from the www.advancedge.com EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
editor
The road to El Dorado may be a fabled one, and ‘open sesame’ may not conjure up the treasures. However, to compensate, the road to success is laid
Kamlesh Sajnani
on the foundations of management schools where students can translate their EDITOR
dreams into reality.
Rohit Pithauria
EDITORIAL
Management education is assisting the students in scripting their
Correspondents:
destinies, and the leading institutes are increasing their numbers to tackle
Puja Shah
the onslaught of applications. The IIM brand has added six new institutes
DESIGN
since 2010.
Uma Shirke
However, the six new Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) – Ranchi,
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Udaipur, Kashipur, Raipur, Trichy and Rohtak - were not greeted with much
Shahid Malek
drumroll and the path was fraught with trepidations about brand dilution
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and the standard of quality. But the institutes are making a foray into the mainstream, albeit cautiously, under the mentorship of the old IIMs.
CIRCULATION / SUBSCRIPTION Ramesh More
The proof lies in the placements; the highest salary ranges between Rs 20-24 lakhs and the average salary stands tall at 12.50 lakhs. Some of the
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prominent organisations which hired from the campuses are HSBC, Pfizer, Tata Motors, BPCL, HDFC, Tata Steel, Cognizant, Mother Dairy, YES Bank,
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Ernst & Young among others. It’s a win-win for the aspirants because these
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CONTRIBUTORS Beena Panchal, Mahesh P, Gaurav Sharma, Ashima Chhalill
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progression. The June issue highlights the placements at various institutes to assist you in making an informed decision about an institute. Career Watch section talks of the dearth of management professionals in Urban Management and the opportunities the sector presents to catpult your career. In Financial Guide, we discuss building entrepreneurship. I wish you the best and success in all your endeavours.
editor@advancedge.com Email: publications@imsindia.com Websites: www.advancedge.com, www.imspublications.com, www.imsindia.com
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole and in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed and published by Kamlesh Sajnani, on behalf of, IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., 1/45 Tardeo A.C. Market, Tardeo, Mumbai - 34. Printed at Uchitha Graphic Printers Pvt. Ltd., 65, Ideal Ind. Est., Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 13 and published at Mumbai.
Rohit Pithauria
Contents
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03 | News
22
Integrated Programmes
42 | Success Street The A-Game
06 | Notice Board
43 | Corporate World Heartaches in Telecom
07 | First Step COVER STORY WIN with SIX
June 2012
25 STUDENT INTERVIEW Aniket Koparkar Student of ISB Hyderabad
11 | MBA Buzz SPECIAL REPORT Placement Saga
27 | Financial Dynamics
Doesn’t India Deserve Better?
48
FM packs a punch
Get set, Go
29 | Region Focus
46
The Rising Dragon: China
50 | World View
36 | Career Watch
Towering Success
French President and the Future
54 | Study Hour WORD DOSE Nikola Tesla 57 Globescan
Disclaimer : The views expressed in the articles by contributors and others are not necessarily those of the Publishers, unless specifically stated therein. While no effort is spared in ensuring the accuracy of the information published herein, readers are advised to reconfirm the current facts before acting upon any such information. The Publishers regret their inability to accept responsibility for any inadvertent errors of commission or omission in this issue. Readers are recommended to make appropriate inquiries before incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The publishers do not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of any products or services. The Publisher, Printers or Editor shall not be held liable for any consequences in the event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior permission from the publisher.
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INSEAD introduces Master in Finance INSEAD recently announced the launch of a Master in Finance degree programme, aimed at experienced financial industry professionals seeking to advance their competitive and management skills within the financial sector. The programme will be launched on its Asia campus in Singapore in April next year. Given the ever-increasing complexity of financial instruments and the continuing globalisation of financial markets, strong quantitative and analytical skills are necessary to make the best business decisions. According to the institute, although the demand for Master in Finance programmes has been growing steadily since the financial crisis, most programmes on the market are targeted towards undergraduate degree holders with little or no work experience. In contrast, this programme is designed for professionals. The degree course will provide a greater depth of finance and accounting skills than you would normally experience in an MBA while offering the leadership and management education you would not usually find in a traditional finance degree. The curriculum covers a range of topics to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to apply finance principles to complex transactions in finance.
IIM-A, B-schools of BRIC to launch executive programme Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) will shortly launch a programme for senior management executives in September-October 2012. The idea is the brainchild of Fundacao Dom Cabral (FDC), a top business school in Brazil. The partner institutes from Brazil, Russia and China will get equal number of participants from their respective countries. The programme is for senior executives from companies where they will be spending time together for www.advancedge.com
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NEWS
FIRST STEP
every week in a different location. The duration of the programme can be 20 days and each country will bring in 10 participants to make the class size 40. The fee could range anywhere between Rs 13,00,000 and Rs 15,00,000. This will be in addition to the travel cost borne by the executives. Harvard, MIT to launch free online courses Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology will launch a $60 million initiative under which they will offer free online courses to students, a collaboration headed by Indian-origin professor Anant Agarwal. The new online education platform ‘EdX’ would be overseen by a Cambridge-based not-for-profit organisation and be owned and governed equally by the two universities. MIT and Harvard have committed $30 million each in institutional support, grants and philanthropy to launch the collaboration. EdX provides an opportunity to improve education on the campuses through online learning, while simultaneously creating a new educational path for millions of learners worldwide. ICRA MEI grading service With the need for differentiation increasing significantly in the Management Education Institute (MEI) sector, the MEI grading service offered by ICRA Limited has gained further momentum. ICRA has announced MEI grading services for the School of Business Management (SBM), Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Science (NMIMS); Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship; Hyderabad Business School; and Acharya Institute of Technology, MBA. An ICRA MEI Grading Service reflects its opinion on the quality of education imparted at the institutes concerned. Naresh Takkar, managing director, ICRA, Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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believes that the grading service seeks to benefit all the stakeholders i.e. the students, recruiters, faculty, and the institute itself by providing a reliable and independent opinion on the quality of education. The grading is deduced by following an analysis against several quantitative and qualitative parameters that ICRA draws upon the basis of its own research and in consultation with various experts belonging to fields of professional education and user industries. The MEI Grading Services are assigned on a five-point scale - from EB1 to EB5 - with EB1; reflecting a very high quality of management education, while EB5, the opposite. ICRA has assigned an EB1 IN Grading at the all-India level, and an EB1 MH Grading at the state level to the MBA Core, MBA Banking Management (BM) and MBA Capital Markets (CM) courses offered by SBM and NMIMS, Mumbai. ICRA has further assigned an ICRA EB 2 IN Grading at the all-India level, and an ICRA EB 2+ KA Grading at the state level to Xavier Institute of Management & Entrepreneurship, Bengaluru; an ICRA EB 3 IN at the allIndia level, and an ICRA EB 3+ AP Grading at the State level to Hyderabad Business School, Hyderabad; and an ICRA EB 4 IN Grading at the all-India level to Acharya Institute of Technology, MBA, Bengaluru.
US business school ties up with IIM-Lucknow Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow to deliver programmes in the field of business analytics. Kelley’s first foray into India will result in two graduate-level, year-long certificate programmes with spots for about 100 students. One programme will be for students enrolled at IIM Lucknow and the other will be open to working professionals in India. The emerging field of business analytics involves the use of data to guide decisionmaking. It typically includes large quantities of data on past performance and the use of tools such as predictive analytics and simulations to run what-if scenarios. The goal is to improve productivity, increase profits and create and exploit an organisation’s competitive advantage. Sauder revamps MBA structure Business schools must manage and stay ahead of change
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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FIRST STEP NEWS
by periodically evaluating their curriculum in the light of the dynamics in the global economy. In line with this, the Robert H Lee Graduate School at the Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia (UBC), Canada, is offering a revamped MBA structured according to the demands of the industry and the economy. The new MBA is the result of a two-year process of consultation with business leaders, faculty, students and alumni to give students a 360-degree management perspective, extensive real-world business experience and first-hand exposure to marketplaces around the globe. In order to ensure that students are up to the challenge of a volatile global market; creativity has been added as a major theme in the new MBA. Students will be pushed to explore new ways of thinking and approaching business problems to bring their best ideas to the surface. The school has started a Business Innovation career track to equip students to generate breakthrough ideas, test innovations, and create new value propositions. Starting fall 2012, the MBA will include a mandatory global immersion experience under which students will travel to the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), Copenhagen School of Business, or the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, China, to form teams with MBA counterparts and work for multinational companies. The new MBA programme will cater to students from a variety of backgrounds and work experience ranging from two to 20 years, will require GMAT score of 650 and above and fluency in English. www.advancedge.com
Three-year degree holders as academic associates in ISB Indian School of Business plans to take individuals who have completed three-year degree programmes as academic and research associates. Generally, people hired by ISB as academic and research associates are those who aspire to pursue doctorate programmes overseas. Academic associates (AAs) are scholars who assist faculty with research and teaching while Research Associates (RAs) help faculty with research only. ISB also plans to expand this programme (of hiring RAs and AAs) to include bachelor degree holders in Mathematics, Statistics, and Economics from top colleges. At present, the programme is only for post graduates or those who have completed four-year degree. The associates are hired through campus recruitment from institutions such as IITs and IIMs. Each of them works with a faculty member. The associates take their GMAT or GRE tests if they have not done so before, and usually apply for PhD in the fall of their second year and leave for their PhD at the end of their second year. Threeyear bachelor degree holders would typically apply in the fall of their third year. The intake of academic and research associates is based on the number of faculties at ISB.
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Managing business plans The Hatch, an accelerator and a pre-seed stage fund for
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FIRSTNEWS STEP
high-potential start-ups in India, recently announced a programme to assist Entrepreneurship Cells (e-cells) in colleges to manage their business plan competitions more effectively. The goal of the programme is to provide value not just to the winners and finalists of college business plan competitions, but also to provide structured feedback and mentoring support to all deserving participants. A typical business plan competition in a college receives over a 100 entries from which, two to three winners get prizes or benefits. However, there are quite a few entries whose business plans have an underlying potential that can be sharpened through structured feedback, advice and active mentoring. The custom programme from The Hatch will help more entrepreneurs convert their ideas into businesses. The programme will be supported through various initiatives including Collaborative Virtual Learning Programs, Start-up Accelerator and Business Incubation of The Hatch at physical office spaces. The Hatch Institute and The Hatch Virtual Learning Centre are knowledge resource platforms for entrepreneurs. ISB signs MoU for executive education in Middle East The Indian School of Business has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bahwan CyberTek (BCT) Group of Oman, to provide executive education courses in the Middle East. The Centre for Executive Education (CEE), ISB, would deliver executive education courses for senior and middle management in the Middle East. BCT, an associate of the Suhail Bahwan Group, will focus on industry verticals such as banking, financial services, government, energy utility industry and infrastructure. The executive education programmes will cater to both the citizens of Oman and expatriates. The programme will be delivered in Oman from September this year for 50 to 100 people in the first year. BCT plans to expand this to the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and other countries in the region. ISB will focus on the design and delivery of the programmes. The CEE, which offers open and customdesigned programmes, is also looking at creating case studies relevant to the region. Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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FIRST STEP
NOTICE BOARD CET AMMI (A ssociation of Manag MMS Inst em itutes) wil l be condu ent of MBA/ Entrance cting a Co Test (CET mmon ) on Jun admission 17, 2012 to seats th at for are still vac Round III (through th ant after C AP e normal M 2012 proce aharashtrass). CET Some of th e known in stitutes par test are : ticipating in the • Weling kar Institutes Developm of Managemen ent & Resea t • MET In stitute of M rch – Matunga anagement • Mahat – Bandra ma Educati on Society • Pillai ’s Institute o f Managem Research ent Studie s & • Pillai’s HOC Instit ute of Man & Researc agement S h tudies • Neville Wadia Inst it u te of Mgmt. Research Studies & • Kohino or Busines s School, K Mumbai urla (Wes t), • GNV S Institute of Managem For comp ent, Sion lete list, visit www inst_partici .mahaamm pating.htm i.com/ l Eligibility : 50% in Graduation category an for Gener d 45% in al graduation category for reserv ed Sections: V Comprehen erbal Ability an sion, Qu d Readin antitative g Logical/Vis Aptitude ual Reaso and ning. Use allowed of calcula tor is Last Date for Sale of Applicatio 2012 ns: 13th Ju ne, Last Date for Submis si o June 2012 n of Appli cations: 14 th Date and T ime of CE T: 17th Jun am to 01.3 e, from 11.3 0 pm 0 Date and T ime of GD and PI: 1 pm onward 7th June, 2 s .30 Date and T ime of dec laration o June, 12.00 f results: 2 noon 7th
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
Sardar V allabhbha i Patel In School of ternationa Textile & l Managem • Cours ent e: 1. MBA T extile Man agement 2. Post G raduate D iploma in Textiles, A Managemen pparel and t • Eligib Retail ility: B ac h el o r’ discipline from a reco s degree in any gnized inst 50% mark itution wit s h • Test: CAT/XAT /CMAT/ X TENCET A T /MAT or SVPIST M Entrance /JCCAT/ June) Test (25th • Last D ate for su b mission o 13th June, f applicati on: • Applica 2012 tion Process: Applicatio Prospectus n forms ca & n b http://www .svpistm.ac. e downloaded from in Filled in ap plication fo rm along w Rs 400/( Rs 300/ith DD of for SC/ST Director SV ) in favor P Internatio of” nal School Managemen of Textile & t”, payable at Coimbat reach the In ore should stitute late • Websi st by 13th te: www.s Ju n e,2012 vpistm.ac. in
Karnatak a Manag ement A (KMAT) ptitude T est • Test: 2 2nd July 2 0 1 2 (2pm to 5p • Last D m) ate for su bmission 12th July 2 of applica 012 tion: • Applica tion Proce ss : Obtain fo payment o rm against f Rs. 500 ( cash For MBA/M Register CA) or Rs online on www.kmat and send a india.com DD of Rs. 500 (MBA 600/-(MBA /M CA) Rs. & MCA) drawn in “KMAT20 favour of 12” payable • Websi at Bangalo te: www.k re. matindia.c om
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Cover Story FIRST STEP
WIN with SIX Image courtesy:google
Six is the new lucky number for management aspirants as new IIMs after capitalising on the pedigree are gradually leaving an indelible mark.
Gaurav Sharma
S
lowdown and recession in the world economy; shrinking global markets; rising inflation; falling rupee; the world is undergoing a tough time when it comes to money: earning and spending. The need of the hour, then? Smart managers who can cut costs and are smart enough to call for tough measures in such times. And who creates these smart managers? The first name that crops up is Indian Institute of Management. Even as India gains reputation of an ever-growing consumer market, the need for young educated managers is only swelling. After having established the first institute in 1961, the number of IIMs is rising steadily. The first IIM in Calcutta gave way to seven more institutes, only to have been followed by six new IIMs. Today, there stand 13 IIMs in various parts of the country teaching all-inclusive management skills.
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The six new IIMs: Kashipur, Ranchi, Rohtak, Raipur, Trichy, and Udaipur, have been mentored by the old IIMs. IIM Ranchi, the eighth IIM to be established in 2010, is mentored by IIM Calcutta. IIM Rohtak, the ninth IIM to be inaugurated, was the first of the six IIMs to be established, in 2010-2011, as part of the Eleventh Five-Year Plan. Mentored by IIM Lucknow, it was inaugurated and started operating on 30 June 2010. IIM Raipur, inaugurated on October 11, 2010, is mentored by IIM Indore. IIM Tiruchirappalli, the eleventh IIM, was inaugurated on 4 January 2011. It is mentored by IIM Bangalore. IIM Udaipur, the 12th IIM, started operation on July 2011 under the mentorship of IIM Indore. IIM Kashipur, the 13th and youngest IIM, started operation in July 2011, under the mentorship of IIM Lucknow.
Courses offered
The two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), offering the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), is the flagship programme across all IIMs. Some IIMs also offer a one-year Post Graduate Programme for experienced executives while others also offer the Fellow Programme in Management (FPM), a doctoral pr ogramme. The Post Graduate Diploma and Fellowship are considered to be equivalent to MBA and Ph.D, respectively. Many IIMs also offer short-term executive education courses and part-time programmes.
Vision and Mission
What differentiates one IIM from the other is the vision of mission of each institute. IIM Kashipur was set up with the objective of providing quality Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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FIRST STEP Cover Story
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management education while sensitising students towards the needs of the society. “Our vision is to attain thought leadership through erudite fusion of western processes with the eastern wisdom. We have already introduced courses on Indian culture, Inner development and Indian ethos in our PGDM programme. We have an international conference coming up in August 2013 on Indian management,” mentioned Prof MJ Xavier Director, IIM Ranchi. With a vision to be global leader in the creation and dissemination of knowledge in management and to be India’s future global learning centre like the ancient Nalanda, IIM Rohtak’s mission is to be in the forefront of knowledge creation through research. IIM Rohtak strives to develop its students as true citizens embodying impeccable professional integrity and unparalleled social commitment as well as leaders with an excellent
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New IIMs follow the same rigour and quality parameters, be it selection of faculty, students or the academic matters, thereby, maintaining the quality of education. Dr. Prafulla Agnihotri Director, IIM Trichy
”
sense of purpose with respect to corporate mission. In the first year itself, IIM Rohtak began its PostGraduate Programme (PGP) batch with 50 students. In the second year of its existence (2011-12), it grew to a batch size of 120, a size which other institutions have taken much longer to reach. For the first time in the history of IIMs, the four new IIMs at Rohtak, Raipur, Ranchi and Trichy came together to conduct the PGP selection interview process together. IIM Rohtak had a big role in this new initiative. Now for 2012-13 admissions, all the six new IIMs are collaborating. IIM Raipur believes in preparing ethical leaders who are not only committed to business, commerce and industry but are also socially conscious towards their contribution in nation building and bring in name for the country globally. IIM Raipur Director BS Sahay says, “The institute’s strength is the pool of talented students who come from diverse
backgrounds ranging from engineering to fashion technology to even medical sciences. We intend to take the institution to new heights in the field of research and academic excellence.” IIM Udaipur aims to set a new benchmark in the field of management education by delivering a high quality of education through the dissemination of knowledge. IIM-U has decided to increase the number of seats from 70 to 120 from this coming session. They have 58 students in the current session. “IIM Trichy aims at preparing young minds to contribute to the betterment of the global society. Thus, IIM Trichy wants to be a globa l institute which will encourage diversity both among students and faculty. We expect our students to lead ethically in the global corporate world,” outlined Dr. Prafulla Agnihotri, Director, IIM Trichy.
Old vs New
What sets apart the new IIMs? “New IIMs have an advantage of ‘Brand’ IIM. Though they are not as old as some of the older non-IIM institutes, which are perceived to be better than the new IIMs, new IIMs being IIM, follow the same rigour and the strongest quality parameters in all aspects, be it selection of faculty, non-faculty or students or the academic matters thereby maintaining the quality of education. They do not follow any shortcuts and enjoy better confidence of all stake holders – students, faculty as well as recruiters,” opined Agnihotri of IIM Trichy. Agnihotri also said that they do not have a single vacant seat. “New IIMs have small number of students who are given personalised attention. However, the established IIMs score higher in terms of infrastructure, image and alumni network. Five years down the line, the rankings could change drastically,” said the very hopeful Xavier of IIM Ranchi. “We had planned to take only one section of about 60-65 students, being the first year. It was decided in the very first board meeting which took place on 3rd January 2011 that IIM Trichy would start with only one section to begin with. This decision was deliberately taken so that we could provide personal attention to each and every student. However, I am glad to www.advancedge.com
Cover Story FIRST STEP state that we received a thunderous response to IIM Trichy - thanks to the excellent infrastructure provided by NIT Trichy and the excellent quality of full time faculty that we could attract, we had 84 students in the first year,” said the IIM Trichy Director. The new IIMs are definitely trying to come out of guarded mentoring of the established IIMs. The six new IIMs at Ranchi, Rohtak, Raipur, Udaipur, Trichy, and Kashipur conducted the Common Admissions for the PGDM for the 2012-14 batch. The new IIMs have also scrapped the GD in favour of PI (Personal Interview) and Written Analysis Test (WAT). “Group discussion didn’t give equal opportunity to each candidate to be evaluated. So, all the six IIMs decided to do away with it and replace it with WAT. This helps in examining the writtten communication of the student as written communication is very important in the organisations,” says Sahay.
of the first Batch of 2012 at IIM Rohtak was a resounding success. Twentyseven companies competed and made 58 offers to the batch of 47 students. Multiple students have received offers exceeding Rs.25 lakhs per annum. The average salary is Rs.12.22 lakhs
Placement Saga
When it comes to placements, the older Indian Institutes of Management have competition from the younger ones. After learning the tricks of the trade from their mentors, the younger IIMs are now approaching the regular set of companies that visit older IIMs for placements. IIM Trichy For its summer placement, IIM Trichy boasts of having placed 84 students with an average stipend of over Rs.54,400 with a foreign placement. Some of the companies that recruited from the campus are Rediff.com, Amul, Berger Paints, Arvind Lmited, IOCL, HSBC, ING Vysya, ICICI, Yes Bank among others. IIM Rohtak The Final Placement Season www.advancedge.com
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per annum. Twenty eight percent of students took up assignments in the financial sector while marketing profile was lapped up by 32% students of IIM Rohtak. The companies that partcipated in the final placement included HSBC, Pfizer, Tata Motors, BPCL, HDFC, Tata Steel, Cognizant, Mother Dairy, YES Bank, Tata Power, Max New York Life Insurance, Berger Paints, RBI, Titan and Ernst & Young among others. IIM Raipur Despite the four-month delay in starting operations, IIM Raipur boasts of having achieved the placement-figure-feat, which is at par with or exceeding other premier B Schools. The average compensation offered for the batch of 66 students, stood at Rs.12.94 lakhs per annum. The average compensation for the top 20 percentile students is Rs.16.2 lakhs per annum. Forty two percent of the batch opted for marketing profiles and 31% opted for finance profiles. Prominent among the companies which participated in the processwere HSBC, Tata Motors, Yes Bank, Accenture Business Consulting, IIFL, Berger Paints, Pfizer, HT Media, BPCL, RBI, Emami, Infosys BPO, Godrej & Boyce, Oracle Financials, Usha International, Polaris, USL etc. IIM Ranchi IIM Ranchi marked the successful completion of placements of its first batch graduating in 2012. The placement process for the batch of 43 students began in mid-January. The process saw participation from as many as 30 recruiters with 43 students being spoilt for choice with 65 offers. The highest foreign salary offered was Rs.24 lakhs to two students for roles in Middle East. Additionally, the highest domestic salary of Rs.23 lakhs per annum was offered by a financial services firm to two students. The average domestic salary for the Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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FIRST STEP Cover Story batch stood at Rs.12.97 lakhs with the median salary being Rs.12.5 lakhs per annum. The minimum accepted offer in the placement process was Rs.8 lakh. The institute excelled at finance despite the downturn in the financial market with close to half the batch (44.2%) opting for finance related roles. “We had a headstart as we were mentored by IIM Calcutta. We have gained the greatest advantage in the area of finance which is reflected in the jobs that we have received in the same area. We had several of the faculty from XLRI that gave us an advantage in marketing. We have now tied up with IBM for Business analytics. We also have got strong internal faculty in all areas of management,” conveyed the Director of IIM Ranchi. Some of the companies that recruited from the campus are RPG Group, Jindal Steel & Power, Jaipur Rugs, nst & Young, Sonata Software, Polaris, Actuate Management Consulting, HT Media, Flipkart, Godrej & Boyce, Pfizer, Maruti, Tata Steel, United Spirits, Eveready Industries, Titan, Berger Paints, Cavinkare, etc. IIM Udaipur Indian Institute of Management, Udaipur, completed the process of summer placements for its first batch. The PGP batch of 57 students received offers from Nomura Securities, GE India, ICICI Bank, UAE Exchange, Union Bank of India and YES Bank, Godrej and Boyce, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages Ltd, Hunter Douglas, United Spirits and Raymond Ltd among others. The highest stipend on offer for the internship period is Rs 1,00,000 while, the average stipend for the batch stands at Rs 45,600. The top 25% of the batch has an average stipend of Rs 79,300 whereas the average for the top 50% stands at Rs 64,800. IIM Kashipur The batch of 37 students got 43 offers from 28 companies across diverse sectors, profiles and geographies.The maximum numbers of offers were made by Tata Motors. Organisations such as HDFC, ICICI Bank, ICICI Lombard, IDBI Bank, IDBI Capital, RBI, Religare, SBI Capital, Cadila, Perfetti, Tata Motors, Tata Steel, Aircel,
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New IIMs have small number of students who are given personalised attention. However, the established IIMs score higher in terms of infrastructure, image and alumni network. Five years down the line, the rankings could change drastically.
”
Prof M J Xavier
Director, IIM Ranchi
Airtel, Dabur, Hero MotoCorp, Jubilant Industries, Tata Communications, Voltas etc. Well, if the figures are anything to go by, the newer crop is definitely creating a healthy yield.
Managing the future
To stay ahead of the game, the six IIMs are now gearing up to offer many more courses and specialisations. IIM Ranchi was the first among the IIMs to get into the HR field. “We are launching certified barefoot manager programme to promote entrepreneurship in rural areas in July 2012. We have started the Fellow programme and offer a stipend of Rs.30,000 in the first two years and Rs.35,000 in the next two years. In the pipeline are programme on energy management, media management and public health management,” informed the Director of the institute. IIM Raipur provides one of the best financial packages for doctoral students. Currently, the students are provided Rs.20,000 per month as stipend for first and second year and Rs.24,000 for third and fourth year. Institute IIM Ranchi
IIM Rohtak IIM Raipur IIM Trichy IIM Udaipur IIM Kashipur
Taking a step towards the future, IIM Ranchi is currently experimenting with a plan to offer virtual classrooms to students sitting in their hostels. The lectures will be broadcast live. IIM Ranchi will provide laptops or tablet computers with biometric sensors and cameras that would help students interact with the faculty. Students would be required to register their thumb impression using the biometric sensor every half an hour, to help keep a check on them. IIM Trichy will be offering few programmes in specialised areas such as Manufacturing Management and Executive Education in near future. IIM Rohtak is in the process of discussing with potential international partners including in the USA and is likely to come out with active international collaborations soon. It has signed its first US agreement with the Indiana University, Kelley School of business, which is ranked in top 100 in the word. IIM Rohtak has also decided to set up an Advisory Council consisting of well-known corporate and academic personalities from internationally acclaimed organisations and institutions to guide the institute in its future plans. IIM Kashipur dreams of becoming the leading management institute with a global vision and it has already started taking steps in that direction. Currently, offering a Post Graduate Programme in Management, the institute would introduce industry-specific programmes with intensive research and consultancy activities. IIM Rohtak also has robust plans of introducing new programmes in the next few years. Even as the new batch of IIM pedagogy focuses on developing global managers who prove to be a right fit in the fast-changing business environment, what remains to be seen is how these institutes pan out in the years to come.
Programmes PGDM & PGHRM PGEXP Certified barefoot manager PGP PGP PGP PGP PGP
Fees Rs 9 lakh Rs 4.5 lakh (18 mnth) Rs 500 per certificate Rs 9 lakh Rs 6 lakh Rs 10 lakh Rs 8 lakh Rs 8 lakh www.advancedge.com
Special Report MBA BUZZ
Placement Saga Indian institutes have yet again come out unscathed in downturn. A detailed report of placements at some prominent B-schools in the country. IIM Bangalore
F
inal Placements at IIM Bangalore saw 363 PGP students of Class of 2012 getting 423 offers from 126 companies. Of these, 206 offers were made during the final placements, 124 offers (for students with more than 22 months of work experience) during lateral placements and the remaining 93 were Pre-Placement offers. A total of 43 overseas offers were made, of which 41 were accepted. These offers were made for Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, London, Paris, New Jersey, Dallas, Seoul and Switzerland. Eight students, including 2 students who received PPOs, opted out of placements before the commencement
of the final placements in pursuit of entrepreneurial ventures. Two students who had deferred their placements last year participated in this year’s process. Offers Made Final Placements
206
Lateral Placements
124
Pre-Placements
93
Total
423
Domestic
380
International
43
Total
423
Consulting
Thirty per cent of the offers were from this sector. McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co., Booz & Co. and A.T. Kearney saw 37 offer acceptances among them. Accenture Management Consulting recruited Offers Accepted 12 students. Arthur D. Little made offers based out of Dubai. Siemens 197 Management Consulting, Z S 93 Associates and PRTM Consulting recruited exclusively from IIMB 73 among all IIMs. Deloitte Consulting 363 (14), IBM Consulting (17) and 322 Cognizant Business Consulting (9) 41 made offers in large numbers. Other consulting firms that made offers 363 were Global e-Procure (GEP), Ernst & Young, EXL Service, KPMG, PwC, Redseer Consulting, Capgemini Consulting, Wipro Consulting and Synergy Consulting. Hay Group and Vertical Learning offered consulting profiles in organisational development.
Finance
Image courtesy:google
Twenty two percent of the offers came from this sector. Profiles offered were Investment banking, Private Equity, Private and Wholesale Banking, Treasury and Mergers, and Acquisitions. UBS, Swiss Investment Bank offered Equities Derivatives Trading profile based out of Hong Kong. Private Equity giant The Blackstone Group recruited for London desk, and Capital One recruited two students for Dallas office. Duferco Group recruited for metal trading role based out of their headquarters in Lugano, Switzerland. Deutsche Bank - CIB and American Express made six offers each. DBS, www.advancedge.com
Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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MBA BUZZ Special Report HSBC, O3 Capital, Avendus Capital, Goldman Sachs, Ocwen, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Axis Bank, Societe Generale, ICICI Prudential and UAE Exchange offered roles in investment banking and finance domain. ICICI Bank took on board eleven students. Earlier, PPOs were made by Morgan Stanley (Hong Kong), J P Morgan Chase, Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank (London), Nomura, Goldman Sachs, RBS, UBS, Standard Chartered and Citi Global amongst others.
Sales & Marketing
Around 21% of the offers were made in this sector. Proctor & Gamble made eight offers for positions based out of Singapore and India. Hindustan Unilever, Kraft-Cadbury, Pepsi, Heinz, Bharti Airtel, Nokia, ITC, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, Avon, Hindware,
Nerolac, Times of India, H T Media, Toyota, Star India, Philips, Comviva, Videocon and Vodafone recruited from IIMB. Supermax recruited 16 students for positions based out of India and Dubai. Infosys-Sales recruited students for client-services roles based out of Europe and US.
Others
Around 9 % of the offers came from the general management and manufacturing sector while 4 % offers were made in the e-commerce sector. The remaining 14 % was constituted by IT sector. Hyundai Motors recruited for global leadership programme based out of its headquarters in Seoul. TAS and Aditya Birla Group recruited 5 students each. Regular recruiters such as Amazon, Hinduja Group, Mahindra & Mahindra, Lodha Group, Reliance Industries, Larsen & Toubro, Cairn
India and Mphasis strengthened their relationship with IIMB by recruiting in substantial numbers. Siemens Group, Punj Lloyd and Robert Bosch offered leadership roles. Some of the recruiters from the technology domain were Microsoft, Google, Zynga, Yahoo, 3M, HCL, Polaris and MindTree. The e-Commerce sector was represented by Flipkart, InfoEdge, SnapDeal and Amazon. Flipkart alone recruited 6 students offering Senior Manager profile in Sales & Marketing and Supply Chain.
Lateral Placements 2012
Students with more than 22 months of full-time work experience were eligible to participate in the lateral placements 2012. More than 55 companies participated in the process, making a total of 124 offers of which 93 offers were eventually accepted.
IIM Calcutta
I
IM Calcutta’s final placement process kicked off on 20th February and concluded by 23rd February. The process concluded with all of the 352 students who sat for the placement process receiving job offers by the end of the fourth day. Also, the lateral placement process began in the first week of January and continued till the third week of February.
Sector-Wise Information
Lateral Placements
More than 55 firms visited the campus during the laterals process and 130 offers were made. Recruiters such as Accenture Management Consulting, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Shell among others made offers across diverse profiles. Infosys made five international offers (US and London offices) for its Global Sales team. Microsoft has
made the largest number of offers. The company recruited nine people, across three different profiles - Microsoft IT, India Development Centre (IDC) and Microsoft Finance. Internet and e-commerce companies such as Snapdeal, Zynga, Jabong, Flipkart and Amazon have also recruited candidates in large numbers. General Management roles were offered by corporate houses such
Finance made the most contribution with the largest number of offers (28.53%). Also, Consulting companies made a significant portion of the pie with 26.80% of the offers. This was closely followed by Sales and Marketing (22.48%) and General Management (8.93%). Finance firms’ compensation generally comprised fixed component ranging from Rs 30-40 lakhs for Indian and Rs 40-60 lakhs for foreign locations, and a bonus component ranging from 100% to 200%. Consulting firms offered around Rs 20-25 lakhs as base package plus bonus component for Indian locations. Marketing companies offered in the range of Rs 15-20 lakhs for Indian locations.
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Image courtesy:google
Special Report MBA BUZZ BCG, McKinsey, Bain, A.T. Kearney, Accenture among others made a number of offers at IIM Calcutta. IBM Consulting participated in the final placements for the first time. Other recruiters in this sector included Opera Solutions and KPMG. The sales and marketing sector saw participation from all the major sectors such as FMCG, Media, Telecom, Pharmaceuticals among others. All the major recruiters in the FMCG domain like P&G, HUL, ITC, Kraft Cadbury, Nestle, Johnson & Johnson CP among others recruited in big numbers. ITC made six offers for sales and marketing roles. HT Media and Times Group recruited students for their Sales and Marketing divisions. Telecom companies such as Airtel and Vodafone recruited in big numbers. Students
as Aditya Birla Group, Hinduja, Adani Group, Punj Lloyd, Bosch, and Ericsson among others for their leadership roles. Offers were made in the consulting domain by firms such as Deloitte, Accenture, Capgemini, CTS, PwC, and BMGI among others. The final placement process began with 130 laterals offers and 95 PPOs.
Final Placements
IIM-C students received PPOs from firms such as UBS, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Barclays Capital, Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC Global Markets, Rothschild, Credit Suisse, Nomura, Jacob Ballas, Clearwater Capital, among others. Zurich Financial Services hired for its Zurich and New York offices, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch hired for an international finance profile based out of Hong Kong. Capital One made an international offer for its Dallas (Texas) office. Other major recruiters in the finance domain included Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank. Among Indian investment banks, Edelweiss recruited from IIM Calcutta for its trading role. Banks such as Development Bank of Singapore, ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank and Yes Bank recruited for their corporate banking and treasury divisions. Roles were offered in the finance domain by companies such as Ocwen Financial Corporation, JM Financial, RBI, CRISIL, UAE Exchange, American Express and IFMR Capital. www.advancedge.com
Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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MBA BUZZ Special Report opted for sales and marketing roles in pharmaceutical companies such as Biocon, GSK Pharma and Novartis. Lenovo recruited for the first time from IIM Calcutta. Roles in general management firms such as TAS, Cairn, Mahindra and Mahindra were offered to the students. Ingersoll Rand, a firsttime recruiter at IIM C, offered an opportunity in their Entrepreneur Creation Program.
Batch Profile
The batch of 2010 comprised 34% freshers and 66% students with prior work-experience. Among them, 15 % of the students had workexperience of more than 36 months.
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS)
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he total number of graduating students was 413. The average compensation for the 2012 Batch stood at INR 13.04 lakhs per annum, while the highest CTC offered on campus rose to INR 30 lakhs per annum. Out of 121 companies that participated in the process, 34% of the companies were new recruiters, or companies that were returning to NMIMS after a hiatus.
downturn. 32% of the batch got offers in the BFSI sector across a plethora of functions ranging from Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Equity Research, Treasury, Wealth Management, Risk Management, International Banking, Strategy, Branding, Retail Banking, Asset Management, Credit Rating, Credit Risk etc.
BFSI
Global financial majors which recruited from the campus were Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Nomura, Citi Bank,
The placements in the financial space were not affected by the economic
Banking
Royal Bank of Scotland and Deutsche Bank (Operations). The batch also got offers from Indian banks such as ICICI Bank, Yes Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Bank and IDBI Bank. PSU banks like Bank of India, Central Bank of India and Allahabad Bank also managed to recruit talent.
Financial Services
The financial services area also reposed the faith in the students of NMIMS, the major companies that participated were: Bloomberg, Motilal Oswal Securities Ltd., India Infoline (IIFL), Darashaw, India Bulls, SBI Caps, CRISIL, ICRA, ICICI Securities, Axis Sales and Securities, L&T Finance, UBS Verity, HSBC Global , FINO, Karvy Private Wealth and Amba Research.
Insurance
The major players were AVIVA Life Insurance, HDFC Life Insurance, Kotak Life Insurance, Marsh India, Jardine Lloyd Thompson and Policy Bazaar.
Trading and Operations. Image courtesy:google
Steel Commodities Trading giant Stemcor returned to the campus after a three year hiatus.
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Consulting
Ernst & Young, PWC, KPMG, Gartner, Gallup Consulting, Cognizant Business Consulting, Avista Advisory, Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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Special Report MBA BUZZ I-Maritime Consulting and Milliman offered profiles ranging across Risk Advisory, Financial Advisory, Marketing and Strategy Consulting, Operations Consulting and IT consulting. Michael Page and Tower Watson from the HR Consulting space participated for the first time.
national business daily, The Economic Times and its channel ET Now. Advertising veteran Rediffusion Young & Rubicam and Customer Centria, an upcoming Marketing Automation company extended offers to students of NMIMS as well.
Conglomerates
Airtel, Vodafone, IDEA, Aircel and Tata Communications offered roles of Business Development, Marketing and Corporate HR.
GE, RIL, Adani Group, Aditya Birla Group, DSCL, Vedanta and L&T extended offers to students in leadership profiles of Strategy, Finance, Sales and Marketing and Operations.
FMCG/CD
A traditional stronghold of NMIMS, this sector had the presence of ITC, Reckitt Benckiser, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, Red Bull, Adidas, Dabur, Wrigley’s, L’Oreal, Nivea, Kelloggs, Wipro CCL, Givaudan, UB Group, Carlsberg, Pidilite, Titan Industries, Emami, Philip Morris, Whirlpool, Videocon, Usha International for the profiles of International Marketing, Branding, Sales & Marketing, Operations & Distribution.
Media & Advertising
HT Media offered the highest package for a Sales and Marketing job at NMIMS. Bennett Coleman and Co. Ltd hired students for analyst roles for its
Telecom
IT/ITES
Amazon, Microsoft, Google and Dell Analytics. Further HP, Capgemini, Infosys, Wipro Technologies, HCL Technologies, Virtusa, Polaris, Tally Solutions, KPIT Cummins, Vinculum, Seclore, EXL Decision Analytics, MuSigma and NSE-IT continued to extend offers in good numbers. Suvidhaa Infoserve also recruited for the first time from campus.
Manufacturing
Apart from legacy recruiters, Asian Paints, Akzo Nobel, Tata Motors, Cummins and Godrej and Boyce, NMIMS attracted new recruiters such as Ceat Tyres, Nitco Tiles , De Decor and Thermax which offered roles in Sales & Marketing, Operations and Distribution.
Others
McDonald’s offered roles in Sales and Marketing and HR functions for the first time. DHL Express, Metro Cash & Carry, Thomas Cook, Boehringer Ingelheim, GATI, Fermenta Biotech and MyNutrition offered roles in Sales and Marketing and Supply Chain.
A Season of Firsts
About 34% of the recruiters either participated in the placements for the first time or visited after a gap. More than 60 jobs were offered by the new recruiters. From amongst many included big players like Amazon, Microsoft, Stemcor, Dell Analytics, Adidas, L&T Finance, Michael Page, Aditya Birla Group and Vedanta. Other prominent names were AVIVA Life Insurance, Aircel Limited, Amba Research, Boehringer Ingelheim, Customer Centria, De Decor, Emami, McDonald’s, Nitco Tiles, NIVEA, Seclore, Rediffusion Y & R, Policy Bazaar, Milliman, Jardine Lloyd Thompson and Mu-Sigma. Several students received PPOs and PPIs from companies such as JPMC, Tata Capital, Nomura, Axis Sales & Securities, GE, RIL, L&T, ITC, HCCB, Dabur, L’oreal, Reckitt Benckiser, Cummins, Whirlpool, Vodafone, Idea, McDonald’s, Wipro Technologies etc.
SP Jain Institute of Management & Research
T
he class of 2012 witnessed 81 companies queuing up to hire students. 175 students received a total of 257 offers. The average salary increased to Rs 15.46 lacs. A brief compilation of statistics from the Placement Process for the Class of 2012 is as below:
51.43% of the 2012 Class received pre-placement offers and preplacement interviews through autumn internships at the corporate houses, including TAS, Microsoft, HUL, Pepsi, P&G, Nestle, Intel, J&J Consumer, Colgate Palmolive, J&J Medical, Citibank, General Electric, HT Media, Flipkart, McKinsey, Britannia, Participants in the 2012 batch 176 Aditya Birla Participants in the batch opting out of placements 1 Group, HSBC, GSK, Reckitt Total number of offers made 257 Benckiser, Number of participating companies 81 JP Morgan, Number of first-time recruiters 18 M i e b a c h Consulting, JM Number of lateral offers 131 Financial, O3 Total number of pre-placement offers (PPO/PPI) 90 Capital, Wipro No. of offers per student 1.47 Consulting Average Salary 15.46 Lacs among others.
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Key Highlights } } } }
51% of the batch has offers of Rs. 15 lacs and more. 75% of the batch has salaries of Rs.13 lacs and more. The median salary for the batch of 176 students was 15.25 lacs. Foreign offers were made by Deloitte Malaysia.
General Management
Tata Administrative Services, Mahindra & Mahindra, Reliance Industries Limited, RPG Group and Reliance Power made about 18 offers for several middle management positions..
Consulting/ IT Consulting
Nineteen per cent of the batch was placed in consulting firms, included Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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MBA BUZZ Special Report TSMG, Ernst and Young, PRTM, Accenture Management Consulting, CEB, Deloitte, Cognizant Business Consulting, Vector Consulting, Capgemini, Bristlecone among others. The profiles offered by the consulting bandwagon include strategic consulting, operations consulting, financial advisory and IT consulting.
Investment Banking, Corporate Banking, Institutional Equities, Equity Research, Credit Rating, Credit Risk, Treasury, Project Finance and Corporate Finance. The campus also saw participation from AC Nielsen, making offers for their Emerging Leaders Program. 21% of the batch got offers in the Financial Services and Banking sector.
Finance
IT/ITes
The batch picked up offers from financial players such as JP Morgan, Standard Chartered Bank, Citibank, Deutsche Bank, ICRA, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, SBI Caps, Nomura, GE, Edelweiss and Barclays. Offers were received across a plethora of functions ranging from
IT companies such as Microsoft, Google and HCL Technologies offered sales roles on campus. Corporate IT roles were offered by organisations such as General Electric, Unilever and Citibank. IT majors such as NetApp, Directi, HP and Wipro Consulting offered a plethora of roles.
Marketing and Operations
FMCG sector doled out offers to 27% of the students. Sales, marketing and supply chain roles were made by FMCG majors that included Hindustan Unilever Ltd., P&G, Kraft, PepsiCo, Nestle, GSK, Johnson and Johnson Consumer and Medical Groups, Asian Paints, Britannia, Marico, HCCB, L’Oreal, Reckitt Benckiser, Nivea, Nokia,Wipro Consumer, etc. Telecom roles were offered by Bharti Airtel and Vodafone. Roles mapping across other sectors were also offered by Novartis, 3M, Cummins, Philips, Castrol, Raymonds, Tata Motors and Titan. Media roles were offered by HT Media.
XLRI
X
LRI School of Business & Human Resources concluded its Final Placement Process 2012 in less than four days, with 98% of the batch getting placed within the first three days. Some key statistics of the process are:
Finance Sector included Citibank, Nomura, Bloomberg, Edelweiss, Rabobank, ICICI Bank, YES Bank, L&T Finance, SBI Capital Markets and DBS Bank. Additionally, corporate finance roles were offered by Airtel, Cairn India Energy and Reliance Industries.
Students Total number of students Opt-outs Effective number that appeared for placements Companies and offers Number of companies that made offers Total number of offers made Average offers per student Total number of Lateral offers made Number of Lateral offers accepted Total number of PPOs made Number of PPOs accepted Salary Average Domestic salary of total offers Median Domestic salary of total offers Highest Domestic salary Highest International salary
Finance
Goldman Sachs made 12 offers for its Asset Management and Investment Research roles. Standard Chartered offered roles in Financial Markets while one student was made an offer in N M Rothschild’s Investment Banking division. Other recruiters within the Banking and
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
235 (BM: 115, PMIR: 120) 1 (from BM batch) 234 73 284 1.21 52 48 72 62 Rs 16.48 lakhs Rs 15.5 lakhs Rs 40 lakhs USD 150,000
Consulting
Offers were made by Boston Consulting Group and McKinsey and Co. Deloitte Consulting recruited for India as well as US roles for its Strategy and Operations and Human Capital divisions. Gallup Consulting was a first-time recruiter and offered multiple roles across divisions. Accenture Management Consulting
made offers for its India and Global practices. KPMG, Ernst and Young and IBM Consulting made the highest number of offers for their Human Capital as well as Business Services practices. Other recruiters included Hay Group, Tata Strategic Management Group, Mercer, AonHewitt, Nielsen, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, PeopleStrong, Wipro Consulting, Cognizant Business Consulting, Capgemini Consulting, Infosys Consulting and HCL. Vector Consulting, an operations consulting firm, recruited for the first time. XLRI also established relevant ties with Strategic Decisions Group and Renoir Consulting.
Marketing
Unilever, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Nestle, PepsiCo, Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages, Asian Paints, Marico, Castrol, Britannia, ITC, Kraft Cadbury, Lenovo and Airtel were among the top names which made their presence felt. Airtel was among the largest recruiters with a total of 12 offers on campus.
General Management
TAS, Cairn India Energy, Aditya Birla Group, Mahindra, Hinduja Group, Lodha Group, Reliance Industries, RPG, Coromandel and Olam International www.advancedge.com
Special Report MBA BUZZ were among the top names. Technology companies such as Facebook, Amazon, Flipkart, Redbus made offers. Other companies which participated were Michael Page, Suzlon, HPCL-Arcelor Mittal Energy Limited, Tata Motors and Raymond. Global Pharmaceuticals major, Novartis AG offered its prestigious HR Leadership Development Role at Basel, Switzerland, making it the highest international offer of US $150,000. Below is the profile of the Batch of 2012 (June 2011 intake graduating in May 2012). The batch comprises of a total of 121 participants from diverse industries with a wide range of experience.
Image courtesy:google
2012 BATCH STATISTICS Class Composition Batch Size People on sabbatical
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121 7
Average Age
30 years
Average work Exp.
7 years
Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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MBA BUZZ Special Report Work Experience:
Functional Experience:
Students Career interests
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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Special Report MBA BUZZ
Lateral Placements
With more than 40% of the batch eligible, there was a thrust on lateral placements to ensure that students could leverage their experience to the hilt. Firms such as Amazon, Deloitte, Aditya Birla Group, Siemens and Microsoft were some of the recruiters who made offers.
Sectoral overview
Barclays Capital, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citibank and Nomura were some of the investment banks that recruited students. Other banks and financial institutions such as RBI, Yes Bank, DBS, Axis Bank also recruited a significant number. Consulting companies recruited in large numbers in both the finals and laterals processes. The recruiters in the consulting space included Boston Consulting Group, McKinsey & Company, Bain & Company, Oliver Wyman, Opera Consulting, AT Kearney, Booz and Company, Accenture and Deloitte. A large number of students took up roles in Sales and Marketing in various companies such as HUL,
P&G, Kraft, Nestle, Airtel and Supermax. General Management profiles were offered to students by TAS, Aditya Birla Group, RPG Group and Ingersoll Rand among others. Several e-commerce companies such as Zynga, yebhi.com, redbus and InfoEdge recruited students for roles in product development, marketing and general management.
Top recruiters
In terms of volume, IBM was the top recruiter across clusters having picked 21 students from the campus. Of the top global consulting firms, Boston Consulting Group recruited 17 students and McKinsey & Company recruited 9 students. Accenture recruited 14 students which included offers made through the laterals. Among global investment banks, the Royal Bank of Scotland recruited 11 students for various roles in several international locations and was the largest recruiter in this cohort. In the
FMCG cohort, first time recruiter Supermax made the highest number of offers and recruited 14 students, while global major Proctor and Gamble recruited 7 students. Among other firms participating in the process, Bharti Airtel recruited 11 students for a number of roles and EXL Service recruited 9 students from the campus.
Entrepreneurship
IIM Ahmedabad has always encouraged students to take up entrepreneurship as a career and this year, six students opted out of the placement process to start their own ventures. The start-ups include a social venture to make elderly people financially self sufficient, a service to provide doctors and medicines at one’s doorstep, and an information security consulting firm. IIMA offers a placement holiday to its students wherein they will be allowed to participate in placements in one of the next two years in the event that their venture does not work out.
Image courtesy:google
T
he placement process was conducted in two stages. The first was the laterals process where firms interviewed students with work experience and offered them mid-level positions. The next was the final placement process which was conducted in the cohort system introduced by IIM Ahmedabad in 2010 and followed since. More than 120 firms participated in the placement process in 2012 including the laterals process.
IIM Ahmedabad
Indian School of Business (ISB)
T
he placement season yielded a total of 631 offers for the 528 participating students, from 348 companies, which included several first time recruiters. 46 students opted out of the placement process to join their previous employers, return www.advancedge.com
to their family businesses, start their own ventures, etc. About 5% of the class is in various stages of the rolling placements process that will conclude by the end of May. The ISB follows a system of ‘Rolling Placements’, a lateral hiring process that is spread
over several months, giving both recruiters and students time to find their best fit.
Growth in Global Leadership Programmes
This year witnessed a spurt in the Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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MBA BUZZ Special Report Zeneca, Biocon, Dr Reddy’s, Eli Lily, Indegene, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Novartis, Pfizer, made 41 offers this year, as against 28 companies making 30 offers the previous year.
Image courtesy:google
International remain unaffected
number of offers for various ‘Global Leadership’ programmes of leading companies. These are fast-track leadership programmes, where the company chooses highly talented professionals and grooms them for senior management roles. A total of 87 offers were made for such roles by 27 companies – a significant rise from 28 such offers by 19 companies last year. Participating companies included Abbott, Aditya Birla Group, Bharti Airtel, Citibank, DuPont, GE, HCL Technologies, IngersollRand, Philips, Pfizer, Siemens AG, Luxottica Group, YES Bank, among others.
Leading Sectors
Consulting The consulting sector continued to be in demand, constituting over 30% of offers from companies such as AT Kearney, Accenture, Booz & Co, Deloitte, Diamond Consulting, Gallup Pte Ltd, KPMG, McKinsey & Co, Parthenon Group, PRTM, PwC, The Boston Consulting Group, and Valcon
Management Consultants. Technology The technology sector was the second leading sector that yielded about 28% of the offers through a broad spectrum of roles in Technology Consulting, Sales, Product Management and Project Management. The companies in this sector include Apple, Cognizant, Facebook, Google, IBM India, Infosys, Microsoft, and Siemens AG among others.
Placements
The tentative sentiment in the global economy notwithstanding, International companies continued to increase their participation in the placements at the ISB making 92 offers as against 83 in the previous year. The positions offered were across 11 countries namely, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, UK, USA, Dubai, Nigeria, Singapore, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong. Leading companies such as Apple, Astra Zeneca, Bloomberg, Booz, BT, Delta Partners, Expedia, GE, Goldman Sachs, and PRTM were among a
E – Commerce on the rise
Companies from the e-commerce and digital space made their presence felt on campus this year constituting a total of 28 offers from 6 companies, as against the 6 offers from 2 companies in the previous year. The companies from this space were Amazon, Cleartrip, Expedia Flipkart, Makemytrip and Myntra.
Pharma and Biotech in demand
The Pharma and Biotech sector continued to be in demand. A total of 27 companies including Astra
list of 73 participating companies this year. Some of the global companies such as Novartis and Siemens made offers across multiple countries and with varied roles.
Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies (JBIMS)
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he 2012 batch was a diverse mix with 25% of the batch comprising females. Students were from varied backgrounds such as Engineering, Medicine & Pharma, Commerce, Arts and Humanities. The level of work experience also ranges from 0 to 5 years. While sectors such as BFSI, FMCG, and Pharma remained favourites among the students, there was also
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
a good presence of Consulting & IT, ICICI Bank and YES Bank were the Telecom & Media and Manufacturing top recruiters on the campus. Apart companies. The Placement Season also from the regular recruiters, this year saw the emergence of 118 new sectors such as Total Number of Students 95 Renewable Energy, Number of Registered Companies HR Consulting, Number of Participating Companies 86 22 S-Commerce and Number of First Time Recruiters E-Commerce. Standard Average Domestic Salary INR 14.9 lakhs Chartered Bank, Highest Domestic Salary INR 24 lakhs www.advancedge.com
Special Report MBA BUZZ
Fostering New Ties
This season saw a first-time association with organisations such as Google, Aditya Birla Group, Amazon and Michael Page International. Some of the other organisations that participated in the process include HDFC Standard Life, Aircel, Pidilite, Goodyear, Nerolac Paints, Timesgroup, Gadhia Solar, Manipal Group, and GTT Connect.
Pre-Placement Offers
23% of the batch was offered PPOs from companies such as Hindustan Unilever Limited, Procter & Gamble, Colgate Palmolive, ITC, Citibank, JP Morgan Chase, Nomura, Axis Bank, Tata Motors, Johnson & Johnson Pharma, Cummins, AstraZeneca and Tata Capital.
BFSI & IB
Consumer Banking and Wholesale Banking were offered by Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered Bank. Also, front end Investment Banking role was offered by Barclays Capital. ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, YES Bank, Indiabulls and L&T Finance offered profiles such as Investment Banking, Structured Finance, Project Finance, Treasury, Corporate Banking, and Risk Management. Apart from the regular profiles, India Infoline and HDFC Standard Life offered Corporate Strategy Profile and Debt Capital Markets profile was offered by SBI Capital. Also, Bloomberg offered international profiles.
Image courtesy:google
Barclays Capital, Johnson & Johnson Consumer, PepsiCo, Accenture Management Consulting and Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages also recruited from the campus.
FMCG & Pharma
Companies that recruited are HUL, P&G, Colgate Palmolive, J&J Consumer, ITC, Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages, Britannia and Pidilite. The recruiters in the pharmaceutical sector were Johnson & Johnson Pharma, Abbott, Pfizer and AstraZeneca.
Consulting & IT
McKinsey & Company continued its trend of recruiting from the institute. Other consulting firms that offered roles were Accenture Management Consulting, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Michael Page International and Jones Lang LaSalle. Maritime & Shipbuilding consulting was offered by i-Maritime Consultancy. Google offered profiles in Sales domain. HUL and Reliance Industries Limited offered IT profiles. Tata Consultancy Services, HCL Technologies, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture Technologies and MphasiS offered various profiles such as Global Consulting Practices and IT Advisory roles.
Manufacturing Conglomerates
&
Various Business groups such as RIL, General Electric, Mahindra & Mahindra, Raymond, Reliance Power, Tata Motors, Shree Renuka Sugars Limited and Tata Steel offered various profiles in General Management, Strategy, Corporate Finance and Marketing. Also, international profiles were offered by Jumbo Electronics. www.advancedge.com
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MBA BUZZ Special Report
Integrated programmes The main aim for introducing integrated programmes is to create people who are efficient in two branches, out of which one would include management. Ashima B Chhalill
What is an integrated MBA programme? Integrated MBA is a combination of technical courses and management education. It is a dual degree master’s programme that is as rigorous as the full-time MBA. A student holding an integrated MBA degree gains thorough knowledge in the principles and practices of business management over
Image courtesy:google
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W
ith the growing number of educational institutes offering a plethora of management courses, many of us are often left confused when it comes to choosing an appropriate management course. While the choice is still largely between the popular and traditional choices of full-time MBA or part-time MBA, the relatively newer format, which is quickly gaining acceptance, is that of an Integrated MBA. The AICTE, the technical body authorising and overseeing technical education in the country, took the initiative to introduce the five-year integrated MBA program in many universities and colleges in India. The main aim for introducing this course is to create people who are efficient in two branches, out of which one would include management studies. It is to help students develop managerial skills to allow them to venture into any field and be able to manage the same. According to AICTE director SS Mantha, instead of pursuing a bachelors degree in a particular field for four years and then management for another two years in different institutions, the integrated programme is a better option as this helps students pursue two degrees in five years and in the same institution with normal fees.
Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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Special Report MBA BUZZ the duration of five years because of the varied exposure, opposed to shorter duration full-time or part-time MBA programmes. “Many people often make the mistake of confusing the regular MBA with the integrated MBA, even though they are very different from each other. MBA is a postgraduate degree programme that teaches the techniques and hypothesis involved in managing a business, whereas integrated MBA is a long-term course that looks at business administration, beginning
with its foundation to duties of a manager within an organisation,” says Lakshman Iyer, visiting faculty with several management colleges in Pune. The five-year course is spread over ten semesters. After the commencement of the course, at the two-year mark, the student is allowed to choose a subject for specialisation. Students are allowed to specialise in any of the fields such as human resource, finance, marketing, information technology, operations, etc.
Eligibility A student who has completed the 12th standard is eligible. The components of an Integrated MBA An integrated MBA programme spans over ten semesters and offers students a wide choice of functional management subjects, as well as an option to take up a dual specialisation. It helps students develop decision-making skills, problem identification and solving, as well as integrative and logical thinking.
Year I
Year II
Year III
Year IV
Year V
Principles of Management
Economic Analysis for Managers
Cost and Management Accounting
International Business
Project Management
Business Organisation
Business Mathematics
Research Methods for Management
Business Policy and Principles of Insurance Strategy
Organisational Behavior
Marketing Management
Company Law
Legal Aspects of Business
Management of InterPersonal Effectiveness
Principles of Accounting
Introduction to Information Technology
Corporate Accounting
Financial Management
Events Management
Business Environment
Operations Management
E- Commerce
Management Information System
Entrepreneurship Development
Elective-1
Human Resource Management
Banking Theory and Practice
Elective-2
Organisational Development
Elective-3
Quantitative Methods Business for Management Communication
Table: A Representative Integrated MBA Program Course Structure Following
are
some
of
the
colleges that offer the integrated MBA
programme:
Colleges
Duration
Cost
Salary
IIT Kharagpur - Vinod Gupta School of Management
5 years
6,00,000
Highest Salary offered: Rs. 18 Lacs p.a. Average Salary Offered: Rs. 12.02 Lacs p.a. Median Salary offered: Rs.10.15 Lacs p.a.
IIT Mumbai’s Shailesh. J. Mehta School of Management
5 years
8,00,000
Range: Rs.8.20 lacs to Rs. 9.40 lacs p.a.
Narsee Monjee Institute Of Mgt & Higher Studies – 5 years NMIMS, Deemed Univ
10,35,000
Average Salary: 6 Lacs p.a. Highest Salary: 12.65 Lacs p.a.
Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS)
4 years
3,45,000
-
IIT-Madras
2 years
3,00,000
Average Salary: 8.75 Lacs p.a.
Amity University
5 years
10,00,000
-
Kurukshetra University
5 years
2,30,000
-
Besides the above, University of Lucknow, Maharshi Dayanand University in Rohtak, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya in Indore, Allahabad University and several private universities such as Lovely www.advancedge.com
Professional University and Maharshi Dayanand University offer integrated five-year programmes. Various top and reputed universities from around the world, such as the Yale School of Management,
Stanford University, Duke University, Cornell University, New York University, University of Pennsylvania, etc., also offer the dual degree integrated programmes. Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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Image courtesy:google
MBA BUZZ Special Report
Getting in Some examples of ways to get in, and the tests that are required for an integrated MBA course are: l All the IIT institutes require the JEE qualification. l Narsee Monjee Institute Of Management & Higher Studies (NMIMS) requires the student to be 12th pass with a 50% and also must have a good score in the aptitude test conducted by the college (N-MAT). l VIT University, Vellore, Tamilnadu conducts its own entrance examination. Also, group discussions and interviews are conducted. l Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) provides admission to 12th pass science students with a minimum 50%. l Kurukshetra University conducts its own entrance examination. l Maharshi Dayanand University requires the student to obtain a good score in the entrance test conducted by the University and also the applicant must be 12th pass with a 50% score. l There are many universities/institutes in Andhra Pradesh that accept the ICET score for providing admission to post graduate management programmes. l At IIM Indore, candidates will be called for Aptitude Test (AT) and Personal Interview (PI) based on their academic performance in secondary or equivalent, higher secondary or equivalent, scholastic achievements and performance in SAT. Take your pick The combinations and options available in the integrated programme, with regard to various colleges in India and abroad are:
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} If a student wishes to pursue a career in commerce, then the ideal combination for an integrated MBA course would be BBA+MBA for five years. If he/ she wishes to pursue a career in the engineering field, then the integrated MBA course would consist of the B.Tech + MBA for five years. } NMIMS has broken new ground by offering a five-year integrated MBA Tech. programme, a unique combination of engineering and management; likewise, MBA Pharma Tech (MBA+ Pharm. Tech), an amalgamation of Pharma Technology and Management, has also been introduced as a five-year integrated programme. Other areas offered are IT, chemical, telecom and manufacturing. } Students can opt for integrated MBA courses in finance, health, consultancy, information technology, telecommunications, media, services from a slew of colleges. Prospects Students completing the course can look for jobs in public or private firms, but career opportunities for these students usually depend upon the specialisation they have chosen while pursuing the course. This course provides students with both technical and managerial skills, which enables candidates to perform successfully in any field. “For B.Tech aspirants, an integrated MBA programme allows them to opt for any field of engineering, with the surety that at the end they will also be MBAs - in my opinion, a great combination,” says Nitin Bhushan, Senior Treasury Risk Advisor at Saudi British Bank.
Benefits of an Integrated MBA course While there may be many who feel a regular MBA programme is better than an integrated course, an equal number see the benefits in pursuing an integrated program. Here are some of the benefits: l Prolonged exposure: An integrated MBA course focuses on business management concepts and allows the student to be exposed to the same for five years, at the same time allowing the student to correlate the same to the surrounding business environment. This allows for stronger grasp on concepts learnt and enhanced ability to be able to apply the same in the real world market scenario by the end of the course. l Start early: Students who are clear about pursuing a career in management studies can opt for the integrated MBA course immediately after 12th Standard. l Dual skill sets: An integrated MBA degree is also known as a dual degree where a student pursues a degree in BBM as well as MBA. l More bang for the buck: An integrated MBA course saves money, time and effort of taking up two different degrees at different points in life. It offers an integrated solution. l Good learning: An integrated MBA course, from a reputed college or university equips students with the knowledge and skills required to position themselves as well-qualified candidates and future leaders in their chosen field. Disadvantages of an Integrated MBA course For the nay-sayers, these are the problems that befall the integrated MBA programme: l Not for everyone: Not everyone is capable of pursuing an integrated MBA programme, as you must be passionate about business management and should be able to identify this interest early on. You also need to be interested enough to be able to last for 4-5 years, studying the same discipline. l Not widely accepted: “It might not be easy for students who hold an integrated MBA degree to get internships or an opportunity to work for reputed firms compared to the students who hold regular MBA degrees,” opines Saumya Sarin, exrecruiter at ABC Consultants, a leading recruitment firm based in Mumbai. www.advancedge.com
Student Interview MBA BUZZ
“Sharing knowledge is key at ISB” Aniket Koparkar is a student of ISB Hyderabad. He has been a professional table tennis player and has represented the country numerous times. In a conversation with Puja Shah, he shares his experiences at ISB and how he prepared for his admission process. Tell our readers about yourself? Prior to my admission to Indian School of Business (ISB), I had been a professional table tennis player. During the 14 years of my professional sporting career, I represented India about 50 times with the national team and traveled to 22 countries. From 2009-2012, I worked for Indian Oil Corporation Limited and my job profile was to play for them at the national and international table tennis competitions. About a year and a half back, in 2010, I got involved in our family business while still playing professionally. Our business is in the beauty care Industry and I played a key role in diversifying it, by launching Papillon Wigs & Weaves, a hair care centre for cancer patients. What led you to pursue an MBA? Papillon Wigs and Weaves venture was the turning point. I was always sure in my mind that I would have to quit sport at some point of time, as I wanted to learn further. Through my short entrepreneurial stint, I could see that there was a lot I could connect from my sporting career to the business world. Goal setting, ambition and passion to achieve that, managing people, analysing situations, handling pressure, etc were a few areas I was already trained in. However, I realised that in order to grow our business tenfold there are plenty of business skills I needed to hone. That’s when I decided to do an MBA. I was quite sure of not going out of India unless it was one of the top three B-schools. When I looked at how things worked at ISB, how ISB chooses its student body, among other several things, I could immediately make the difference between ISB and other Indian B Schools. ISB has a world-class faculty, curriculum that is at par with the leading global B-schools and a diverse student body. As I envision growing my business in India and globally, the strong network of ISB was an added attraction. According to you, what are the features that make ISB different from other B-schools? What makes ISB unique is its high-quality education packed in a one-year course. It is a hectic course, but I am learning important lessons on time management. The student body is another feature that differentiates it from other top B-schools www.advancedge.com
in India. People come in from different fields, functions, countries and bring along tremendous experience that adds value to the case studies in the classroom. The culture at ISB is another distinctive feature. Although the school has a grades disclosure policy, the culture is competitive and collaborative at the same time. It’s amazing when you have these peer-topeer learning sessions for almost all the subjects. Sharing your knowledge is a key tradition at ISB. What was the biggest hurdle in your test preparation and how did you overcome that? My biggest concern while preparing for the GMAT was the patience. I could play table tennis for hours but when it came to sitting in front of the computer for four hours, it was a problem. However, I rectified it soon. I had never done any quant intensive course after my 10th standard and that did worry me a bit. I prepared for around 3-4 months with a lot of resolve. I started my prep with short study sessions of two hours 3-4 times a day and later after a month shifted to fourhour study sessions to build the stamina for the exam. The last two months I frequently took mock exams, which were most beneficial. It is very important to take the mock exams under the exam conditions. The more you drift away from that, the worse it will be for you on the exam day. When I was sure I had put in my best efforts, I registered for the GMAT. Although I wasn’t happy with my score, I soon realised that GMAT was just the starting point of the whole application process. Which other B-schools did you apply to and what was your experience of their selection procedures? As mentioned earlier, I was very sure of not going abroad unless it was one of the top three B-schools. I got calls from Wharton and London Business School (for their MiM programme), but could not convert these. LBS MiM programme was a priority below ISB. I had applied to Stanford and HBS as well. More or less, all these top schools have a very similar selection process as ISB’s. It was about what all you can bring to the school. Everything matters; academic record, GMAT score, work experience, leadership roles, achievements in extra-curricular activities, recommendation letters etc. All these schools have Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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MBA BUZZ Student Interview application essays and if you are shortlisted the AdCom interviews you. Then, the final shortlisting is done. Although the procedure at all these schools is more or less similar, every school has its own culture and you need to figure that. Talk to alums, talk to people who have been through the process and if you have taken the help of a consultant, trust them. I must mention the role of IMS Consulting team in my application process. They were spot on about the school-specific courses, tone of the essays and much more. The most important thing I did was to trust them. Tell us about your Personal Interview experience? What were the most valuable lessons that you learnt from the experience? My Personal Interview (PI) at ISB was a wonderful experience. Two of the alumni and a member of the admission committee conducted my interview. It started with the usual questions and ten minutes later they started grilling me. The interviewers thought that a professional player, also involved in a business venture, might be doubtful of pursuing an MBA. They asked questions related to my business, industry growth rate, competitors, and goals. One of the interviewers gave me two business problems, one was to calculate a target market for my brand and the other was an estimate question regarding my venture. I realised soon that more than the actual numbers they were interested in the logic behind my answers. I was able to justify my answers, quickly and logically, and most importantly was able to stand by the goals that I had put in my essays. The interview went on for around forty-five minutes and I had a good feeling that I had cracked it.
Image courtesy:google
Tell us about your selection experience at ISB, highlighting the structure and the way the process is conducted? The selection is based on the entire application quality. No aspect can compensate for the other. Also, let me emphasise that GMAT score is not the only criterion. I have friends with a 770 score who were rejected and I got in with a 680. You need to introspect a lot to build a good application. The essays are perhaps the most important factor at ISB or any B-school for that matter. The readers are going to judge your personality through these essays. First step to the selection procedure at ISB is the initial application, with all the academic details, GMAT score, essays etc. Another very important aspect is the recommendation letters. The third important part is the interview as that will be your personal interaction with the school community. ISB has two rounds in which you can apply. The Round 1 deadline is sometime in September and
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
Round 2 deadline is in November. Then you get a call for your interview and the final selection communication comes about two months from the application deadline. What had been your greatest challenge during the first few months on the campus? It’s still my second month on the campus. My biggest challenge was to cope with the pace of ISB, both within and outside the classroom. ISB has tremendous co-curricular activities and you need to prioritise. I could not set my priorities right in the first month, but soon realised that I needed to decide what to do and what not to. Describe a typical day for you at ISB. A typical day at ISB is 4-5 hours of lectures and then double that time goes into pre-reads and assignments. I usually get up at eight and play a few games of squash or hit the gym. Later, I sit for pre-reads that go on till 1.30. Lectures start at 1.45 and go on till about 6. Then, I spend around an hour at a cafeteria with friends. Post that, I spend time with my study group with some of the assignments or homework. Later, one can get involved with the club activities of one’s choice. There are plenty of professional and social clubs at ISB. Students are usually up till 3-4 am. We study, have fun, start jamming sessions etc. Sleep is everyone’s last priority on the campus. What are your long-term aspirations and how do you see the ISB MBA helping you achieve the same? My long-term aspiration is to expand our family business, first across the nation and then across the globe. This would require tremendous amount of business skills, exemplary leadership, great people management skills and a strong network in and outside India. ISB MBA would not only prepare me or equip me with the required skills, but also help me turn my ideas and ambitions into reality. It will help me groom as a leader in the true sense through its numerous curricular and cocurricular activities. The practical knowledge gained through the Experiential Learning Programme as well as the PAeVs would teach me the practical applications of business. More importantly, ISB is not just about this one year, I believe it is going to be a lifelong learning through my association with the school. The network that I build in this year and in the years to come is going to be the most valuable resource. What would you like to tell MBA aspirants who probably yearn to be in your shoes? Anything they need to know and prepare for when it comes to ISB? First, don’t decide where to apply solely on your GMAT score. The application committees look for much more than that. If you truly believe in your candidacy, go ahead and apply. Don’t try to alter your profile so that it fits the profile the school wants. Be yourself in the applications. When it comes to ISB, one thing everyone should know is that it is hectic. However, it is not as bad as it sounds. You get a hang of it once you are here and in no time you start loving the fast-paced environment. Other than that, ISB is a school where you can try to do whatever you want. It’s a completely student-driven school. You can take any initiative and the school will support you. It is the perfect school for people who like to challenge themselves. www.advancedge.com
FINANCIAL DYNAMICS
Get set, Go
Images courtesy:google
Entrepreneurship needs viable idea, hardwork and wherewithal to turn ideas into triumph. Get a lowdown on homework for business venture, planning and financial conundrum.
Beena Panchal
T
oday, there exists a whole new breed of go-getters that is exploring opportunities to start one’s business. There are numerous stories of graduates from top B-schools who opt out of placements as they wish to be entrepreneurs. A recent article in Economic Times shared a story of a 19-year-old Sahil Lavingia who convinced venture capitalists to invest $1.1 million (Rs 5.8 crore) in his startup venture. He has designed Pinterest, a virtual pinboard that has the world of social networking all excited. There are people keen to make their mark in the world of business because either they have a creative idea, product or service that is useful to the people or it has a lot of demand. “To become an entrepreneur one must have a dream. One must have the agility and the ability to implement this dream and take on the challenges that come by,” says Professor Prabal K.Sen, founder Chairperson Entreneurship Development Centre, XLRI. A person is in the right direction if the decision to start a business stems www.advancedge.com
from the idea of making profit from something one enjoys doing and wants to tap the knowledge in the specific domain. The reasons have to be right, not that there is an opportunity around or the person is tired of the job. Such reasons may not be sufficient and may not pull you through tough times. Homework for startup venture The first step towards starting a business is to do the homework. Many may wrongly believe that they must reinvent the wheel. Although a few of startup ventures may actually do this but not everyone has to. For most
“
One must have the agility and the ability to implement the dream and take on the challenges that come by.
”
Professor Prabal K.Sen
Founder Chairperson Entreneurship Development Centre, XLRI
people wanting to start their business, it is necessary to consider a few things such as } How to improve a certain product or service that is already available in the market? What can be done differently or better than the other person doing it? } If the area of business is already decided, then it is about finding out which market segment is not yet explored. One way to get a clear picture is by listening to your own frustrations/ needs and of those around you. For e.g. recently, a psychologist duo started a weekend night service of baby-sitting so that couples can spend their weekends together. All one needs to do is to get into an ‘idea mode’. Market research also plays a crucial part. Regardless of how exciting an idea may seem, one must pay attention to what the findings of the market research are. It is helpful to leverage the expertise. It is important that you identify the business that suits your interest and Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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experience for it is smarter to start with something you already have an expertise in rather than venturing into a completely new zone. This will add to your confidence and you will be able to move ahead with problems and decisions at a far more efficient pace. Sanjay Engineer, Managing Director, Infinite Myraaids Pvt. Ltd., trains corporate employees in functional, soft and business communication skills. He shares the reasons to start his business, “My experience of being in retail business for several years gave me an understanding of the need for corporate training in the retail sector. There is a lack of trained personnel with an inability to sell correctly. This is what prompted me to get into the corporate training business. Besides, there was a need to do something more exciting.” Planning for the brainchild Often, it is said that starting a business is a big risk. However, if you spend appropriate time, in weighing the pros and cons, it becomes a calculated risk and not an impulsive one. One important aspect is calculation of the cost. This helps in predicting financial performance in the first few quarters. Due to the risks and challenges, many feel the need for guidance and mentoring. Many top business management institutions have identified this need and have set up entrepreneurship centers and departments to train those who wish to start a business or plan to grow their business. Professor Sen mentions, “The Centre of Excellence at XLRI lends conceptual as well as networking support to the students. We also promote and vouch for candidates seeking bank loans or help from the government. agencies. Often, interactive sessions with banks are also organised to provide clarifications to the students on the nitty-gritty of a business loan.” Financial Funding Finding funds to fuel your dream is easier these days, especially if you are confident and sure of your plan. We have come a long way from the days when one had to fall back on one’s savings, fixed assets or money borrowed from family and friends. Although, these remain the most preferred options for
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“
Nothing attracts a Venture Capitalist more than an innovative idea and attractive business model.
”
Anant Kulkarni
Managing Partner, Milestone Religare Investment Advisors most startups, many other options are available. One of the options is to get funds from the venture capital firms or private equity firms. They invest the shareholders’ money in return for a minority share in the company. Some firms may like to invest in the business that already has its product or service established and requires funding for commercialising the business or further scaling up the operations. There are firms that are willing to fund right from the inception stage. However, it is important that you create a meaning and value for the product before you approach VCs or any private equity fund. Anant Kulkarni, Managing Partner, Milestone Religare Investment Advisors, says, “The first thing that comes into the picture is the business model. Nothing attracts a VC more than an innovative idea and attractive business model. Second, the model must chart a clear path for the execution of the idea. It must clearly indicate the expertise and resources available in terms of team, reachability and
understanding of the market. Third is the scalability of an idea. At an initial stage an idea may appear interesting, however, what is important to a VC is whether an entrepreneur can scale it up and replicate the service across different markets over a period of time.” Those seeking funds for startups have to make sure they have a good understanding of the business with a clear opportunity and risk analysis and a reasonable plan of execution. Angel network is a concept that needs to catch up in India. Angel investors are high net-worth individuals who invest for a minority share in a startup. They are usually entrepreneurs or senior employees in top multinational companies. To seek funds from angel investors one needs to have the right background, professional contacts and credentials. Banks too are involved in giving loans for businesses. Banks usually give loans to already existing small businesses. These businesses must show over three years of profitability and a sound credit history. Those with a product of pure innovation may also look at funding from the government. “The hot sectors for investments are definitely technology or any services enabled by technology such as e-commerce, telecom services, education, healthcare, engineering/manufacturing services, logistics and renewable energy,” says Kulkarni. The world of entrepreneurship is for those who are dynamic, adaptable to their environment and open to modern methodology and technology.
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FINANCIAL DYNAMICS
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REGION FOCUS
The Rising Dragon: China Country’s meteoric economic rise has led to entry of many top B-schools. Pack your bags to gain access to high quality education at low cost. Puja Shah
T
here is an old saying - History Western economy. In the last repeats itself and history is twenty years, China has developed definitely repeating itself in some of the most preferred MBA the area of education. In ancient programmes by collaborating with times, South East Asia boasted of top US and European universities being the centre of learning, the (eg. Tsinghua University with MIT’s title which was later bequeathed Sloan School of Management and to the West. However, slowly but Fudan University with Washington Such programmes surely South East Asia is regaining University). its former glory and at the heart of are some of the most sought-after this change lies the economic giant– courses in China, as their curriculum meets the international standards. China. Prof. David Robb, Associate China offered its first MBA degree in 1991 and since then has Professor of Management Science witnessed a tremendous ascent in and Engineering at School of and Management the number of B-schools offering this Economics Tsinghua University, says degree. Just a decade ago, it would at have been unimaginable for students “To experience, first hand, the to opt for a business degree in China dynamism and underlying drivers of but now it boasts of two B-schools, the Chinese business and cultural CEIBS and Guanghua School of environment can only come from Management, in the Financial Times living and learning amongst Chinese Global MBA rankings, at number students, faculty, and business 24 and 54, respectively (excluding people, and consumers.” Today, Hong Kong). Many others such students all over the world want to as Beijing International MBA, Fudan University’s School of Management and Tsinghua University’s School of Economics and Management are fast climbing the ranking charts. The major contributing factor to this change is the transformation of China into a global economic power. In comparison to the US, China’s B-schools are very young. Their growth is directly linked to the country’s meteoric Rama Velamuri economic rise since the 1980’s Academic Director and the subsequent fall of the Global EMBA, CEIBS
Images courtesy:google
“
Advantage of an MBA from China is that you spend 18 months in the fastest growing and the second largest economy in the world.
”
www.advancedge.com
be a part of this evolution and the Chinese government is all set to take advantage of this situation. The Chinese Education Ministry is looking to draw around 5,00,000 international students by the year 2020. Already, the percentage of foreign students is showing promising growth, with renowned schools such as China Europe International Business School’s (CEIBS) numbers almost doubling in the past five years. Other schools are also recording positive results, especially those which have collaborations with US or European universities. MBA in China China has two types of universities, government and private, where the duration of an MBA is generally 18 to 24 months. The top government universities for an MBA are the School of Management at Tsinghua University, Guanghua School of Management at Peking University and the School of Management at Fudan University. CEIBS and Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business are the top independent universities. These five schools are featured in the QS Global Top Business Schools. Apart from these five, there are many other excellent options such as Beijing International MBA (BIMBA) offered by the National School of Development (NSD), Peking University.
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REGION FOCUS The admission procedure is tough and on par with international standards. It includes the GMAT test scores, essays and a personal interview. Therefore, the quality of students and the education provided is not compromised upon. Prof. Robb concurs and says, “China has focused on quality, attracting outstanding students from top companies and schools in China and abroad (including Ivy League), and this year we are being even more selective in admissions.” He also goes on to explain that the caliber of an MBA programme is very much dependent on the quality of the faculty, administrators and resources available and in this regard China shows a positive trajectory in terms of the research and teaching experience/ capabilities, professionalism, student focus and the number and quality of resources available. But quality, he says, also depends on culture, interaction between international and domestic students, extra-curricular activities and guest speakers. Each of these, he believes, has improved in recent years.
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Why study in China? Cost For students wanting to study abroad, this is perhaps the most important factor to consider. A degree in any of the top universities in the US will cost nothing less than Rs 50 lakhs, but an MBA at Tsinghua University’s Integrated MBA programme, associated with MIT’s
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“
China has focused on quality, attracting outstanding students from top companies and schools in China and abroad.
”
David Robb
Associate Professor of Management Science and Engineering, School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University Sloan School of Management, will cost you approximately Rs 18 lakhs. Therefore, you get all the facilities of a top-notch education with no extra cost. In addition to this, China’s cost of living is quite low and if you take advantage of China’s cheap food and housing outside the university, the savings are even greater. This means foreign students studying in China can almost halve their MBA tuition costs without having to sacrifice on the brand name. Less work experience required Though work experience in Chinese B-schools is mandatory, they do make an exception for the right candidate. One such school is the Beijing International MBA (BIMBA) where students are considered not only for their experience in business but also for their varied extra curricular activities. Even if a student has no relevant work experience
but has studied music or has been a part of the military, he/she will be considered. This practice makes for a diverse student body which in turn benefits the school and its students. All students benefit from this mixed exposure since each possesses different experiences and has different suggestions to make. Jobs Opportunities Galore Shanghai is the centre of commerce in China and a major financial hub of the world. It houses headquarters of international banks, m ulti-national and local companies. Beijing, being the capital of China, is a centre for IT and government organisations. A vast majority of China’s research and development is also done here. Combine this with the emergence of China as an economic superpower and you get abundant job opportunities. Therefore, MBA in China will expose you to future employers and also their work culture. Education Consultant, Karan Gupta, agrees and says, “China is soon to be the world’s leading economy and will have great potential for all kinds of jobs. Hence, it makes sense to study in China, but only at the top schools.” Besides, if you have work experience in China and know the language, getting a job in other countries becomes easier. The country has also successfully made the transition from manufacturing to innovating and service hub. This has opened up more avenues for MBA graduates. China has seen a huge surge in campus recruiting, so much so that, Shanghai has launched a new B-school to meet the demand. A Chinese MBA from a leading business school puts graduates in an exclusive position of either becoming a China expert for organisations in China or finding recruitment in Chinese businesses abroad. Prof. Rama Velamuri, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Academic Director, Global EMBA at CEIBS, reiterates this, “After the MBA, if you can work in China for a few years, as many CEIBS’s expatriate graduates are doing, you make yourself attractive to a very large number of companies from all over the world.” www.advancedge.com
REGION FOCUS
”
Karan Gupta
Education Consultant
Besides, the Chinese government encourages young MBA graduates to set up businesses there. This way they are creating opportunities for students who have an entrepreneurial bent of mind and at the same time boosting their economy. Collaborations and Accreditations Chinese B-schools have understood the need for a cheap but branded MBA which is why they have collaborations with some of the top MBA programmes across the world. Tsinghua University’s MBA programme is offered in association with MIT’s Sloan School of Management’s MBA and Fudan University’s MBA is in collaboration with Washington University’s MBA programme. These MBA programmes are immensely popular for their low cost as well as their name. When asked, how students benefit from Tsinghua University’s collaboration with MIT Sloan, Prof. Robb said, “The relationship is longstanding and growing, in scope and depth. Students benefit from many aspects of this, including MIT Sloan Professors delivering some lectures, MIT Sloan input on program curriculum design, networking with IMBA alumni. They also profit from the China Lab which is a consulting program with MIT students and from the potential to join the prestigious MIT MSMS Program, to which 6 IMBA students were admitted this year.” Despite numerous B-schools cropping up in the last decade, China has retained a tight leash on the quality of education. Therefore, many of their top B-schools have accreditations from the UK (AMBA), www.advancedge.com
Top Five 5 B-schools in China
1. China Europe International Business School (CEIBS) A few years ago, Forbes had ranked the CEIBS business MBA programme as the eighth among the top 10 non-US two-year MBA programmes in the world. CEIBS has seen its percentage of foreign students almost double from 20 per cent to 39 per cent over the past five years. According to Professor Rama Velamuri, “CEIBS has a unique positioning amongst the world’s leading business schools, which is captured in four words: China Depth, Global Breadth. This means that we offer the best China depth relative to our global peer schools and the best global breadth relative to our Chinese peer schools.” He also mentions that the CEIBS MBA curriculum is designed to provide rigorous analytical and problem solving skills in all the functional areas. Responsible leadership, sustainability, cross-cultural competence and the entrepreneurial spirit are also strongly emphasised at CEIBS. } Average GMAT Score: 691 } % Female Students: 37 } % International Student Ratio: 40 } Average Salary: 51000 } Average Years Work Experience: 5 } Accreditations: AACSB, EQUIS http://www.ceibs.edu 2. BiMBA: Beijing International MBA at Peking University BiMBA (Beijing international MBA), is listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the most valuable Chinese programmes. It is a joint educational venture, started in 1998 between Peking University (Beijing, China) and its global partners - Vlerick Leuven Gent Management School and China Center for Economic Research, operated by the National School of Development (NSD) at Peking University. BiMBA’s mission is to develop into a worldclass MBA programme at China’s best university. BiMBA aims to train, develop and inspire passionate business leaders and professionals of competence, character and commitment. } Average GMAT Score: 676 } % Female Students: 38 } % International Student Ratio: 36 } Average Years Work Experience: 3 } Accreditations: AACSB, AMBA, EQUIS www.bimba.edu.cn
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China is soon to be the world’s leading economy and will have great potential for all kinds of jobs. Hence, it makes sense to study in China.
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Visa Formalities Getting a Chinese visa is a hasslefree procedure. If the form is properly filled and the right documents are provided then a regular visa will take a processing time of just four working days. After receiving the offer letter from the university, the student will also get a visa application permit (Form JW202), stamped by the business school. With this the student can apply for the Student Visa at the Chinese Embassy. China also permits students to work for 16 hours a week, except during summer and winter vacations. For this a student will require a separate work permit. Learn Mandarin Studying full-time in China means you have to learn Mandarin. Unlike Indians, Chinese do not speak English locally and very little English is spoken in offices or on the streets. Learning a new language is not easy, especially mandarin, but students take up the challenge since most multinational companies have interests in China. Therefore, speaking Mandarin is an asset that can put you a cut above the rest. Western financial woes The western financial crisis has seriously affected the MBA aspirants. Till a short while ago, USA and UK were the most popular destinations for students seeking an MBA, but
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Beijing International MBA at Peking University 3. School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University Among China’s most recognised is Tsinghua’s IMBA program, developed in 1997 through a partnership with Massachusetts-based MIT Sloan School of Management. It is consistently ranked one of the best business schools in China. It was the first mainland Chinese institution outside of Hong Kong to have achieved AACSB and EQUIS accreditations for its business and accounting programmes. SEM also offers an EMBA programme in partnership with INSEAD. } Average GMAT Score: 650 } % Female Students: 38 } % International Student Ratio: 45 } Average Salary: 26000 } Average Years Work Experience: 6 } Accreditations: AACSB, EQUIS www.sem.tsinghua.edu.cn/portalweb/appmanager/portal/semEN 4. School of Management, Fudan University School of Management at Fudan University is structured to be an international-level business school. The school has nine Ph.D., sixteen masters and two professional Masters programmes of MBA/EMBA. The school is reputed for its high-standard schooling and wonderful educational environment. } Average GMAT Score: 600 } % Female Students: 28 } % International Student Ratio: 10 } Average Salary: 27000 } Average Years Work Experience: 3 } Accreditations: None www.fdms.fudan.edu.cn
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Rankings The Financial Times Global MBA rankings 2012 include two schools from China (excluding Hong Kong) – CEIBS at number 24 and Guanghua School of Management at number 54. The QS Global Top Business Schools in Asia Pacific has five schools from China (profiled in the latter part of this article). These rankings prove that China’s B-schools have maintained top level of education, best facilities and their graduates have been successful in getting good jobs in less than three months post graduation.
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US (AACSB) and Europe (EQUIS). All of these accreditations are given only after a strict quality check on faculty, standard of education and infrastructure.
School of Management, Fudan University www.advancedge.com
REGION FOCUS looking towards beginning operations in China. This creates a huge market for job-seeking MBA graduates.
5. Guanghua School of Management, Peking University Guanghua has extensive collaboration and exchange programmes with leading international institutions such as the Kellogg Graduate School of Management of Northwestern University, the Queen’s School of Business at Queen’s University, INSEAD, ESSEC, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Fuqua School of Management at Duke University and Stanford Business School. It also boasts of some very distinguished faculty members who have doctorates from Harvard, Oxford, Purdue etc. } Average GMAT Score: 650 } % Female Students: 44 } % International Student Ratio: 28 } Average Salary: 24000 } Average Years Work Experience: 2 } Accreditations: AACSB, EQUIS http://www.gsm.pku.edu.cn/mba/en/index_en.html
Visa Procedure Student Visa (X Visa) is issued to an outsider who comes to China for study or an internship for a period of more than six months. Generally, a student visa is valid for one entry i.e. three months. The holder of this visa must go through residential formalities in the local public security department within thirty days of entry into China. The student needs to pay a visa fee of $30 and the regular processing time of four working days . They also have two other services: Express Service (which takes only 2-3 working days for processing and charges $20 extra per visa) and the Same Day Rush Service (which charges additional fee of $30 for one working day processing).
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Guanghua School of Management, Peking University
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School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University
now Asia has emerged as a serious contender for the top spot. For students, the image of the US and the opportunities available there has taken a grave beating as a result of the ongoing crisis. The more recent downgrade of the country’s credit rating also didn’t help. But it is Europe www.advancedge.com
that comes out worse. Students see the continent as almost bust thanks to the current sovereign debt crisis. Applications to MBA schools in China have increased drastically in number, especially from the West. Not only the students, but the business houses are also increasingly
Documents to be submitted 1. A valid passport as well as a copy of its information page: Your valid passport must have at least six months of remaining validity with at least one blank visa page in it. 2. One completed Q1 Visa Application Form 3. One recent photo of 2X2 square inch (black & white or color is acceptable). 4. The original and photocopy of the approved Foreign Student Visa Application Form (JW201 or JW202) issued by relevant Chinese government unit, and the admission notice from the Chinese school. How to apply 1. You may submit the application to the Visa Office of the Embassy or Consulate -General. 2. If you cannot come in person, you may entrust someone else or a travel/visa agent to drop off your application at the visa office of the Embassy or Consulate – General. 3. No appointment is required. 4. Mailed applications are not accepted. (All regulations are subject to change without notice.) Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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REGION FOCUS
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CAREER WATCH In Focus
Towering Success
India is poised to become third largest construction market by 2020. Thus, opening opportunities for urban managers.
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Puja Shah
“A
new Chicago has to be built every year in India,” states a report by the Oxford Economics. If that is so then we are woefully short of professionals to manage this rise in the urban and infrastructure sector. India being one of the fastest growing economies of the world, its cities are at a critical level of urban transition where the urban population is demanding more space, infrastructure, amenities, and the construction sector is eager to supply. The Planning Commission of India has proposed an investment of around US$ 1 trillion in the twelfth five-year plan (2012-2017), which is double of
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that in the eleventh five-year plan. The government has planned to build metro railways, subways, airports, highways and residential spaces. India is also predicted to be third largest construction market in the world by 2020. Therefore, one can safely say that India is on the brink of witnessing an immense growth in urban infrastructure. This growth, in turn, requires careful planning and managing which is why there is a need for professional urban managers in the country. The construction sector is the second largest industry in India, after agriculture. About 250 ancillary industries such as cement, steel, brick, timber and building material are dependent on the
construction industry. Consequently, a rise or fall in this sector can have a domino effect on many other industries. This is one of the main reasons that urban managers, who are specifically trained in the nitty-gritties of this industry, are the need of the hour.
Why an Urban Management MBA instead of a General MBA
The benefit of doing a specialised MBA is that each sector has its own unique requirements and if you can meet these then you get a headstart on achieving your career goal. In India, the tremendous growth in urbanisation has created a demand for MBA graduates with a specialisation in
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In Focus CAREER WATCH
Career Scope
Currently, the urban construction sector contributes to about 11% of India’s GDP and is set to grow at a rapid rate. Hence, the potential for careers in this industry is high. Commercial Real Estate Development - Commercial real estate developers impact the way a society grows and functions since they create or built environment. They plan and develop structures keeping in mind the need of the people, surrounding geographical conditions and existing laws. Financial analytical abilities, ability to manage several projects at the same time and strong communication and negotiating skills are required since they have to regularly liaison with financers, contractors and political bigwigs. The risk in development may be high, but the satisfaction and return can be as well. Commercial Lending and Real Estate Finance - There are many commercial banks and insurance companies that specialise in real estate lending and mortgage. Good financial, analytical and networking skills are required to generate new business with developers and brokers. Real Estate Securities Analysis and Investment - Real estate security is a very niche area and requires a different
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expertise compared to traditional stocks and bonds. The performance of real estate securities is interconnected with the dynamics of the construction sector and is subject to specific tax and legalities. Graduates of urban and real estate management can work with investment banking firms, a security analysing or rating agency or as a fund manager. Strong financial analysis skills, combined with knowledge of both real estate markets and public capital markets are required. Consulting and Advisory Services - The urban development sector is complex and requires experts able to bring unique knowledge and skills to help in solving real estate challenges. Consultants and advisors assist clients through challenges such as investment, appraisal and valuation, corporate real estate services, tax advisory services or other specialised consulting. Graduates can find opportunities at major brokerage firms, valuation firms, major accounting firms and other professional services firms. Asset Management - As an asset manager you can be a part of an investment firm, full service real estate advisory firm or work directly for a property owner. Asset managers make the critical decisions necessary to execute a successful investment strategy while taking into account the constantly changing dynamics of realty markets and capital markets. They acquire assets as a part of an investments strategy, reposition assets through capital improvements, and refinance assets or dispose of assets. Asset managers need a thorough understanding of realty and capital markets. They also need strong analytical skills to recognise and
measure opportunities, and team management skills to execute the strategy. In addition to the above career opportunities in the private sector, a degree in urban management opens up opportunities in the public sector as well. Urban Planning and Regulation - Urban or city planners work with governments to manage the growth and development of communities for the benefit of people and the environment. Urban planners work with developers, investors, residents and politicians to minimise pollution, traffic and congestion while maximising realty value, quality of life and sustainability. Planners may work directly for a municipality or for a consulting firm.
Salary Trends
The dearth of urban managers has favourably affected their salaries. A.K. Srivastava, Director, School of Urban Management, Amity University, says “India, even after 60 years of independence could not produce real estate and infrastructure professionals; therefore, there exists a huge demandsupply gap. These professionals are high in demand and get more remuneration as compared to their counterparts.” An urban/real estate manager can get a starting salary of 6.5 lakhs, or more depending on the company, job profile and experience of the candidate.
Courses
Many institutes have now realised the need for India to produce urban managers, therefore, a number of specialised urban management courses are available. Some of them are profiled below:
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urban management. “Increased focus on sustainable urban development in government policies and programmes, the thrust on implementing various reforms in urban sector, massive public and private sector investment being made in urban infrastructure development, real estate sector, township development and SEZs, and the need for building the capacity of institutions engaged in urban management and governance are creating enormous opportunities for careers in this area,” says Dr. Shaleen Singhal, Associate Professor and Head, Department of Policy Studies, TERI University. TERI University offers a two-year MBA in Urban Management. A course specifically designed for urban management prepares the students in business nuances within the urban infrastructure sector. These skills will also give students an edge while searching for a job.
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Eligibility criteria The candidates must possess a bachelor’s degree with at least 50 per cent aggregate marks or equivalent CGPA and English
AMITY University (School of Urban Management) MBA in Urban Infrastructure and Real Estate Management Overview Amity University’s School of Urban Management runs a two-year specialised course in Urban Infrastructure and Real Estate Management in regular as well as weekend mode. CEOs of various real estate companies, international property consultants and organisations such as Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have been consulted to design a unique course so that application oriented knowledge can be imparted to the students. The programme costs approx. Rs. 1,00,000 per semester and also includes a summer internship. Eligibility The eligibility criteria is graduation in any field with a minimum of 50% marks. Selection Process Candidates are shortlisted on the basis of CAT/MAT/ GMAT scores, group discussion and a personal interview. If they haven’t given any of aforementioned exams, they can appear for a test on the day of the interview.
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as a subject at least till 10+2 level. Candidates appearing for the final year of bachelor’s degree/awaiting results can also apply. Selection process The candidates will be shortlisted based on CAT/GMAT/MAT scores and marks obtained in the qualifying degree. Selection from the shortlisted candidates will be on the basis of group discussions and interviews.
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Overview TERI University offers a two-year MBA in Urban Management. MBA Urban Management has been created to produce professional urban and real estate managers and equip them with knowledge, skills and experiences that prepare them for a successful career in the public sector (city government, local bodies), private sector (developers, financial institutions) and institutes conducting research and training on urban and real estate development. Dr. Singhal says, “MBA Urban Management is aimed at integrating the knowledge of traditional business management with the domain knowledge of sustainable urban development.” This programme includes a summer internship. The fee for the course is Rs. 1,25,000 per semester.
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TERI University MBA in Urban Management
National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) Post Graduate Programme in Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure Management Overview ICMAR is a leading educational institute founded by the Indian Construction Sector. It is a non-government and a non-profit organisation started in 1983. It is recognised by Government of India as a Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation - SIRO. It offers a two-year post graduate programme in Real Estate and Urban Infrastructure Management. This inter-disciplinary programme builds upon the concepts of management, engineering, architecture, law, information technology, urban economics and behavioural sciences to combine theory with practice. The fee for this course is Rs. 2,15,085. Their recruiters include multinational corporations such as Louis Berger group Inc, Bechtel Corporation Ltd, Currie and Brown, ENVAC, Black and Veatch, JLL Group, Barsyl, KPMG, OPAL, ICICI housing Finance, BASF, Bharti Realty etc. Eligibility Candidates with a degree in engineering or architecture from a recognised institution are eligible. Students seeking admission require at least 50% marks at graduation level. Final year students can also apply. Selection Process All eligible candidates have to undergo a written test, group discussion and a personal interview. www.advancedge.com
In Focus CAREER WATCH Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University (CEPT University) Masters of Infrastructure Planning Masters of Urban and Regional Planning Overview CEPT became a University in 2005. The University is recognised as Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (SIRO) by Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR). It offers many courses related to planning, housing, design and architecture.
Master of Planning (Infrastructure Planning) The Master of Planning programme in infrastructure planning responds to the emerging need of the infrastructure professionals in the country. This unique programme combines technical, managerial, financial as well as socio-economic issues aspects of infrastructure development of India. It is a two-year full-time course.
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Master of Planning (Urban and Regional Planning) The Master of Planning programme in urban and regional planning started in 1972. It is a two-year programme that emphasises a multi-disciplinary approach focusing on spatial, social, economic and environmental issues related to human habitat in urban, rural and regional contexts. The course aims at a holistic coverage of urban and regional planning issues as well as specific inputs in different areas involving micro and macro planning issues.
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and evolving measures to tackle them in a planned manner.
School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi Masters in Urban Planning Masters in Housing
Masters in Housing This programme offers comprehensive introduction to various aspects of habitat development such as elements of housing policy and finance, infrastructure and technology, design and project formulation, real estate and housing markets, disaster mitigation and management and legislation. The programme was started in 1958 on the recommendations of the United Nations. Institutions around the world have recognised the programme for their membership.
Overview The School of Planning and Architecture, University of Delhi, offers a two-year masters programme in Urban Planning and also a two-year masters in Housing.
Eligibility Candidates with at least 55 percent marks in aggregate (50 percent in respect of SC/ST candidates) in any discipline are eligible.
Masters in Urban Planning This programme is designed to prepare students in the skills of analysing the physical, social, cultural, economic and ecological dimensions of urban settlements, comprehending their problems,
Selection Process The selection of admission will be based on performance in the qualifying examination and, or GATE/CEED/Project/ Portfolio, Statement of purpose, Test or Interview.
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CAREER WATCH In Focus
Henley Business School, University of Reading MSc International Planning and Sustainable Urban Management The aim of this degree is to prepare graduates for a career in urban planning and management especially in developing countries by providing opportunities for upgrading knowledge and skills in a range of disciplines. The MSc in International Planning and Sustainable Urban Management (IPSUM) is based on three core modules, three option modules, one Interdisciplinary Critical Study Project and one Placement module. The core modules deal with problems and issues in developing countries; theories to help conceptualise these issues; and tools and techniques to deal with it. The option modules include finance, geography, planning and real estate. Students will also undertake a desk based ‘Interdisciplinary Critical Review Project’ and an international Work Placement Project. The programme is jointly accredited by the Royal Town Planning Institute and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Entry Requirements A good first degree in any cognate discipline or relevant work experience (minimum of 2 years) assessed as adequate by the University. IELTS score of 7.00 with no component being less than 6.5.
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HEC Paris, University of Wisconsin-Madison, HKUST Business School, INCAE Business School The Global Real Estate Masters Global Real Estate Master Programme was launched by the Wisconsin School of Business and HEC Paris in Europe in partnership with Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and INCAE Business School in Costa Rica. The programme builds on the Wisconsin School of Business’ expertise and tradition in real estate education, strong alumni network and international industry connections. Students from around the world are offered the choice to start the programme at one of three business schools, each one a leader on its continent: HEC Paris, HKUST, Hong Kong, or INCAE, Costa Rica. Students who enroll in the GREM will benefit from comprehensive courses in real estate finance and economics. They will learn everything, right from the core concepts of feasibility analysis and deal structuring to applied skills in real estate development and real estate portfolio management. This programme is one of the most highly ranked real estate degrees in the world and allows you to graduate with dual degrees – an MBA and a Masters and the cost for the programme depends on which university you pick as a base.
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International Courses
SUCCESS STREET
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SUCCESS STREET
The A-Game
Alumni act as a bridge between the industry and institute. Learn to leverage the alumni factor to achieve greater success in your career. Saurabh Chaubey, Director, IMS Raipur
“I
had read many articles about the banking industry to understand it better, but it was an interaction with an alumnus working in a reputed bank that gave me a real glimpse into the work environment and current industry scenario,” says Senthil Kumar, a NITIE alumnus. Alumni act as a bridge between the B-school and industry. As a part of the corporate workforce, alumni are the best judge of the relevance of the B-school curriculum to the demands of the industry. In addition, they act as brand ambassadors of the institute in the industry. It is a season of MBA college admissions and many aspirants might have heard from various institutes. Before deciding the college, it is better to consider the A-factor or Alumni factor. One should always take into account the organisations and designations of the alumni while choosing the college. Although there are many reasons for a B-school to boast of good alumni, the most important reasons are1) Work experience: Working on the case studies in the college constitutes the theoretical knowledge of the business, but to understand the dynamics of the business one needs to get hands-on training regarding day-to-day factors that affect the business. By interacting with alumni, the aspirant comes to know of the difference between theory and corporate dynamics. In today’s world of cutthroat competition, it is advantageous to gather as much practical knowledge as possible. 2) Selection of specialisation and industry: Alumni can shed light on the job prospects of a specialisation and can help in deciding the suitability of the profile. Apart from the information about specialisations, alumni can
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also provide insight into whether a particular industry will grow or not. This information can be very helpful while making a decision about joining a sector. Although such information is available with the faculty, their knowledge is also dependent on the inputs from alumni. Therefore, it is better to gain firsthand information. 3) Help in joining and switching a job: During placements, alumni are a very important factor, especially, in bad economic conditions. References from alumni can provide a big push in such conditions. Even after joining an organisation, one can visit the college alumni official, or access LinkedIn webpage and find openings posted by the alumni. While switching a job a good alumni network helps a great deal. It is imperative to know how to go about building the network, as apart from annual alumni meets there is hardly any other means available within the college structure. So, it essentially boils down to your interest and human relations skill. A few ways to connect with alumni l Alumni meets: Alumni meets offer the most convenient opportunity to meet many alumni at a time. Most of the colleges’ alumni committees organise such meets once in a year; the students can be a part of the
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When you know someone went through the same experience and made it big, it instils confidence to excel. Vinay Prabhakar
IIM Raipur graduate
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organising committee and introduce themselves to the alumni during such events. It is an opportune time to establish relations. l LinkedIn groups: Connecting with alumni over LinkedIn is a fast-growing trend, as most of the professionals are LinkedIn members. Many colleges have made alumni groups a platform to connect with an alumnus from a particular industry or segment, as it overcomes distance constraint. You can even connect to an alumnus working abroad and share their valuable experiences. l Weekend Projects: At many good B-schools, alumni offer weekend projects to students, as per the company requirement or for their start-up ideas. These projects not only provide opportunities to learn from alumni but also a chance to display the potential, which can be very helpful for your career. If a student aspires to become an entrepreneur then such projects can provide real-life management skills, before one ventures into his/her project. l Alumni regional chapters: Most of the B-schools have alumni chapters for different locations, such as Mumbai, Bangalore or USA. These chapters are to develop alumni network in a specific area and leverage its benefits. Apart from these, one should keep finding opportunities to connect with the alumni, as they act not just as a ladder for career growth but are also a source of inspiration. As Vinay Prabhakar, an IIM Raipur graduate, says, “When we look at our alumni we get inspired to dream big. A successful career requires time and hard work, and when you know someone went through the same academic experience and made it big in life, it instils confidence to excel.” www.advancedge.com
CORPORATE WORLD
Heartaches in Telecom Supreme Court created fresh ambiguity about modalities of sale by ordering government to conduct 2G spectrum auctions and grant licences by August 31. The ruling comes days after TRAI announced new guidelines for spectrum auction.
Mahesh P
T
he Indian telecom industry was once considered a highrise sector and till recently operators boasted of huge additions to the subscriber base every year. Among other landmarks, India’s largest telecom company Bharti Airtel acquired the Africa operations of Zain Telecom. It was a happy time for the sector and telcos were brimming with confidence. However, over the last two years the confidence is waning. In fact, the last two to three years have been the worst for the Indian telecom industry. First, the 2G scam, which according to the Comptroller and Auditor General or CAG made a loss of 1.76 lakh crore rupees to the exchequer, led to the arrest of former telecom minister A Raja. Then came the biggest body blow to the industry. In February this year, the Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of 122 licenses, as those licenses were issued during A Raja’s tenure as the telecom minister. The apex court also ordered the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), www.advancedge.com
the telecom regulator in the country, to make fresh recommendations for the telecom spectrum auction in future, within four months. It also asked all the telcos that lost licenses to cease operations by June 2. This means that about Rs 40,000 crore invested by the eight licence-holder companies is lost and these companies have to bid for fresh licenses. Of the total amount invested, two-third was by two telcos, Uninor and Sistema. Last month, the Supreme Court created fresh ambiguity about the modalities of the sale by ordering the government to conduct 2G spectrum auctions and grant licences by August 31, rejecting the Centre’s plea that it required 400 days to complete the process. The apex court also allowed all the mobile companies whose licences were cancelled earlier this year to continue operations till September 7, extending its earlier deadline of June 2. TRAI’s New Arithmetic The apex court order comes days Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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CORPORATE WORLD after the telecom regulator announced new guidelines for the 2G spectrum auction. The regulator proposed a high reserve price for telecom spectrum to be auctioned, at nearly Rs 3,622 crore per MHz in the 1,800-MHz band for GSM services. According to the new guidelines, the spectrum reserve price is close to 10 times higher than what operators had paid in 2008 (Rs 1658 crore) for acquiring licences. This price recommended by the regulator is also eight per cent higher than what was paid by the winning operators for 3G spectrum, which was at Rs 3,350 crore per MHz. Impact On Telcos The development may come as a blow to the companies whose licences are affected by the SC order and were looking at the auction to win them back. Uninor, the Indian unit of Norwaybased telecom giant Telenor, Russia’s Sistema, Aditya Birla Group’s Idea Cellular and Tata Teleservices will now have to shell out huge amounts of money to win back the spectrum. Not just that, the huge investments made by these companies will also go down the drain as there is no refund on this. Telcos Up In Arms Soon after the announcement the heads of Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone Group Plc, Idea Cellular Ltd and Telenor ASA met ministers and top officials to persuade the government to reject the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India’s (TRAI) recommendations on spectrum auction. Bharti chairman Sunil Mittal after a meeting at the Prime Minister’s office said that TRAI’s recommendations over the last 18 months are deeply flawed, inconsistent and destructive for the industry. Uninor said some of these recommendations will create a severe negative impact on the entire industry. It also asked the government to ensure that the gains of the past few years of affordable phone calls are not undone. UK-based Vodafone said several of these recommendations are retrograde
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After the announcement, telcos met ministers to persuade the government to reject the TRAI recommendations on spectrum auction. and, if accepted, will do irreparable harm to the industry. It also said that this will hamper the ability to connect the unconnected and goes against the objectives of the National Telecom Policy of ensuring improved rural teledensity and the right to broadband. Vodafone also wrote to telecom minister Kapil Sibal saying this decision would lead to a 10,000 crore rupees additional cost burden for the company.
Unhealthy Financials There is also every chance that the demand for 2G spectrum will be muted. That is because telcos paid about one lakh crore rupees for the 3G, broadband and wireless auction and the telecom business is going through a serious financial crunch. So, telcos don’t have that kind of money to splurge. Most of them don’t see bidding at this price economically viable. Only two to three of the nine players are still serious about their business in India. Operators like Loop Telecom have already expressed their intent to surrender their licenses and shut shop. Telenor has also said that it may contemplate exiting its business in India if the government accepts TRAI’s recommendations. According to analysts, TRAI`s recommendation for the spectrum reserve price and re-farming remains the key negative for the sector. They believe that such high reserve prices are impractical and telcos that are already into huge debt due to the 3G auction won’t be able to come up with that kind of money. This means that the question of any bid above the minimum or the reserve price may not arise as telcos won’t be able to raise the huge amount. Impact on the End User Even if the telcos come up with the money this may have a detrimental effect on consumers as tariff may go up. In the case of 3G, operators are not cutting tariffs due to the huge amount of investment made in the form of spectrum fees despite slower uptick in 3G services. The new guidelines if implemented could lead to the end of the low-tariff regime and the operators will have to pay significantly higher for the spectrum. This in turn will lead to an upward revision in tariffs. A clear indicator to this is Vodafone’s announcement to increase its tariffs in Mumbai by 20 per cent. According to Swiss research and brokerage firm UBS; the recommended spectrum price will lead to a tariff hike by 47 to 64 per cent. Analysts believe that if the www.advancedge.com
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CORPORATE WORLD
recommendations are accepted in their current form, it would place a heavy financial burden on telcos for acquiring spectrum and migrating to new networks in case of re-farming. State Telcos Too Will Face the Music Like the telcos, the government too is cash crunched and auctioning spectrum at the current rate will bring in huge money to the exchequer. On the flipside, it’s not just the private telcos that will face the music if the TRAI’s recommendations are accepted. Government-owned BSNL and MTNL too will be hit by these regulations if it is cleared. In fact, the recommendations suggest that 2.4 MHz excess spectrum should be taken back from MTNL. Impractical Recos? Most analysts believe that TRAI did not take into account the practicalities of the financial health of the sector and the stage of evolution of the Indian telecom market. They believe that this will dampen investor sentiment and no foreign company will be ready to invest in the sector. TRAI calculated the prices based on the price set for the 3G auction, but it did not take into consideration the financial health of the telcos who are in deep debt due to the 3G auctions. The telcos are over leveraged and it is unlikely that they will be able to come up with such money. www.advancedge.com
But TRAI on its part is playing a safe game. It doesn’t want to be blamed in the future for undervaluing the spectrum. According to TRAI Chairman JS Sarma, the government needs to realise the full price of the spectrum. TRAI believes that the spectrum amount is a small amount of the telcos’ total cost and expressed full confidence that the telcos will pay for the spectrum. TRAI believes that this is not a burden for the telcos and there is no need to make a hue and cry. According to the guidelines, the telecom companies don’t have to pay the full amount immediately. They will pay only 25 or 33 per cent upfront. The remaining will be paid in 10 years. Also, the regulator believes that the paying capacity of telcos will go up in twenty years (the license period). However, a major worry for the government is the August 31 deadline set by the Supreme Court. Analysts believe that it’s virtually impossible to meet the deadline and more time is needed for the auction to be complete. What Next? The Department of Telecom has asked for some clarifications from TRAI and after TRAI’s response, the matter would be referred to the Telecom Commission. The final decision would be taken by an empowered group of ministers.
Telcos on its part are waiting for the government to take a final decision. If the recommendations are accepted as it is, litigation is the only way for the telecom companies. Some of the telcos have already filed curative petitions in the Supreme Court. TRAI’s recommendation seems to be good on paper but doesn’t look practical. Agreed, the telcos don’t have to pay upfront and can recoup the money and make profits in the long run, but the financial health of the telcos is too bad and their survival for the next one to two years at this price may look unlikely without a significant tariff price. TRAI has tried to save its face and sent the recommendations to the government, and now the ball is in Kapil Sibal’s court.
7
Rs lakh cr Value of spectrum available in different bands.
3,622.18
Rs cr Reserve price for 1 MHz in 1,800-MHz band.
7,244.36
Rs cr Reserve price for 1 MHz in 900 & 800-MHz bands 1,800 MHz & 800 MHz Spectrum to be auctioned in 2012-13.
900 MHz To be auctioned in first half of 2013-14.
700 MHz To be auctioned in first half of 2014-15.
Auction open to all holding CMTS/ UAS licence/unified licence or eligible for grant of unified licence. Final bid price of one auction to be the base price for next auction.
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Spectrum valid for years can be traded but only for limited purpose. IN THE DOCK } Idea } Uninor } Sistema } S Tel } Videocon } Idea Cellular } Tata Teleservices } Loop Telecom } Etisalat DB Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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CORPORATE WORLD
Doesn’t India Deserve Better? Image courtesy:google
India’s rating has been lowered to negative (BBB-) by Standard & Poor in the light of dim economic growth, political climate and slow fiscal reforms. Mahesh P
O
n April 25, global credit rating agency, Standard and Poor, lowered India’s rating outlook to negative. S&P also warned of a downgrade in two years if no improvement is seen in the fiscal situation. India’s political uncertainty was also a cause of concern for the global credit rating agency. “The outlook revision reflects the view of at least a one-in-three likelihood of a downgrade if the external position continues to deteriorate, growth prospects diminish or progress on fiscal reforms remain slow in a weakened political setting,” said S & P’s credit analyst Takahira Ogawa in a statement. S&P lowered India’s outlook from stable (BBB+) to negative (BBB-) which is the lowest investment grade rating and is a notch above junk. The move is expected to make external commercial borrowings expensive for Indian Inc and may also have implications for the capital market. S&P had upgraded India’s sovereign rating to investment grade in January 2007, nearly 15 years after downgrading it to junk status due to the 1991 balance of payments crisis. The finance ministry was fast to allay any fears and take control of the situation. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the credit rating agency’s decision to lower India’s credit rating outlook to negative is a ‘timely warning’. However, he assured
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investors that there is no need to panic and the government is committed to the economic reforms. He assured that the economy will grow at 7 per cent, around 7 per cent if not plus, and will be able to control fiscal deficit at around 5.1 per cent. The ministry has stated that the reform process and necessary administrative decisions, required to ensure that the fiscal deficit is retained at projected level, will be taken. Interestingly, the lowering of the rating outlook comes despite Finance Ministry pitching for an upgrade at the recent round of meetings between the officials and representatives of the S&P. According to S&P, a downgrade is likely if the country’s economic growth prospect is dim, its external position deteriorates, its political climate worsens, or fiscal reforms slow down. Analysts say the latest revision in outlook by S&P should serve as a wakeup call for the UPA government, and the coalition should announce measures to kick start the economy and boost investment.
Why the Move?
The big question is what prompted Standard and Poor to lower India’s outlook? Inflation the Menace Over the past three to four years the biggest headache for the government has been the inflation. Soaring food
prices and the government’s inability to tame the menace has been a big blow for the ruling coalition UPA. Over the years inflation has been soaring so much that it has been eating into disposable incomes. According to a Reserve Bank of India report last year, household savings which are one of the biggest contributors of growth have dropped to less than 10 percent of gross domestic product or national income for the first time in 13 years. During the period of 2004 and 2008-09, India’s savings rate, including both physical and financial assets, surged to over 30% of GDP, thanks to an average annual growth of over 8%. This had helped in investments in the country, reducing the dependence on the foreign capital. The cuts in subsidies and price hikes in diesel and fertilizer prices have also contributed to inflation. Another culprit has been the deregulation of petrol prices in June 2010. Oil marketing companies have hiked petrol prices may times since that. To tame inflation, the government had to sacrifice growth. Reserve Bank of India hiked rates 13 times in three years to control inflation hampering growth. The central bank in its last credit policy in April, cut rates, a clear indicator that inflation will be under control and to bring the focus back on growth. Financial Health Worries Just like inflation the government has been unable to control fiscal deficit. www.advancedge.com
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Political Uncertainty Another big issue has been the political uncertainty that India has been facing. As the ruling Congress doesn’t have absolute majority in the Parliament so all major reforms have been on the backburner. The Congress also can’t afford to upset its allies with an eye on the general elections in 2014. One of the most important reforms was foreign direct investment in multibrand retail. Even as FDI in single brand retail got approval, upping FDI in multi-brand retail has met with stiff resistance not just from the opposition but also from allies. The www.advancedge.com
Doesn’t India Deserve Better?
Image courtesy:google
India’s fiscal deficit for the last financial year ballooned to 5.9 percent against the projected 4.6 percent. A higher subsidy bill and lower tax revenues resulted in India missing its fiscal projections for 2011-12. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, in his budget speech promised to bring it down to 5.1 % of gross domestic product at Rs 5.13 lakh crore. India’s current account deficit, too, has been widening on account of rising fuel prices and a large gold import bill. S&P, however, feels that India may not be able to bring fiscal deficit under control. In the current fiscal, S&P expects India’s GDP growth at 7 %, the combined central and state fiscal deficit at 8 % and current account deficit at 3.7 %. S&P said that high fiscal deficits and a heavy debt burden remain the most significant constraints on the sovereign ratings on India. S&P expects only modest progress in fiscal and public sector reforms, given the political cycle -- with the next elections to be held by May 2014--and the current political gridlock. Such reforms include reducing fuel and fertiliser subsidies, introducing goods and services tax, and easing of restrictions on foreign ownership of various sectors such as banking, insurance and retail sectors. On the other hand, S&P said the ratings ‘could stabilise again if the government implements initiatives to reduce structural fiscal deficits and to improve its investment climate’. Fiscal measures could include an increase in domestic prices and a more efficient use of fuel and fertilizer subsidies, or an early implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
government was forced to suspend the cabinet decision to clear FDI in multibrand retail and put the issue on the backburner after Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee opposed it. One of the biggest taxation reforms is the Goods and Services Tax which will replace all existing indirect taxes levied on goods and services by the Indian Central and State governments. This has been facing stiff opposition from the Bhartiya Janata Party. BJP ruled states have been opposing GST as it fears loss of tax revenue and losing flexibility to alter tax rates in the new regime. This has resulted in GST missing its April 2012 deadline set by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee.
Foreign Investor Sentiment
Foreign investors have slammed the government for policy uncertainty. Lack of reforms has been a deterrent for foreign investment. Foreign investor community was awaiting the FDI in multi-brand retail. But a rollback of this, due to political pressure, has disappointed foreign investors. Another dampener for foreign investments flowing into the country could be Mukherjee’s announcement in the budget to introduce General Anti Avoidance Rules or GAAR. This will amend the Income Tax Act from 1962 to ensure it can tax mergers and acquisitions involving foreign companies with assets in India. This has also come under stiff opposition from the foreign investor community. S&P also lowered the outlook for a number of banks and public sector firms, including State Bank of India (SBI), Steel Authority of India Ltd, Indian Railway Finance Corp. Ltd and NTPC Ltd, to negative from stable. It did the same for India’s top technology firms as well— Infosys Ltd, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Wipro Ltd.
But overall economists believe India deserves better than the BBB- status. India is the only Asian country with the BBB- status and only countries like Bangladesh, Bosnia etc are a level below India. Greece and Belize are the nations which are in the junk club. Currently countries like Colombia, Croatia etc are in the BBB- status. In the BRICS Group (Brazil, Russia, India, China and Spain), India is the lowest with both Brazil and Russia having BBB while China having AA- and Spain having A. Few would disagree with S&P’s assessment of India’s economic and fiscal situation. To sum up there is no debate that India is performing worse than before, but the point to be noted is that it’s still performing better than most other countries and certainly better than many ranked ahead of it. Spain and Italy, two countries suffering from a debt crisis are rated higher than India. Agreed our fiscal deficit is getting worse but we are still way better than most other countries. Britain and PIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Greece and Spain) have a higher fiscal deficit as a percentage of GDP than India. The positive part though is that India is a developing nation and is one of the fastest growing economies in the world and will be able to go back to 8-9 percent growth sooner than later. S&P: INDIA OUTLOOK -VE l The Rationale l High deficits, debt burden major constraints l Investment, economic growth have slowed THE BBB- CLUB l S&P Ratings l Barbados l Colombia l Morocco l Tunisia l Azerbaijan l Croatia HOW INDIA STACKS UP S&P Ratings Brazil
BBB
Russia
BBB
India
BBB-
China
AA-
Spain
A Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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FM packs a punch
With GAAR, IT authorities will have power to look into companies that have been established with sole aim of claiming exemption from capital gains tax. Mahesh P
The GAAR Guidelines Under the GAAR provisions, the revenue department will have the onus of proof to initiate action. An independent member who will be a non-tax officer will be a part of the threemember panel to ensure objectivity. Also, a resident or non-resident can now obtain an advance ruling for a proposed arrangement to determine applicability of GAAR provisions. GAAR Provision In DTC The GAAR will also be a
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part of the Direct Taxes Code or DTC Bill which will be tabled in the monsoon session of Parliament. Just like GAAR, DTC has also been delayed and was supposed to kick off in 2012. Now, the Finance ministry plans to implement both GAAR and DTC from April 1, 2013. However, DTC, which will replace the 50-year-old Income Tax Act, is yet to be tabled in Parliament. This would be done after incorporating the suggestions of the standing committee on finance headed by Bharatiya Janata Party leader Yashwant Sinha. GAAR On Hold till 2013 The finance minister’s announcement in Parliament on the deferral of the introduction GAAR by a year to April 1 2013 is definitely a relief for foreign investor community but it’s just a temporary one. Pranab Mukherjee has followed the UK government’s pattern and has given a 12-month notice to businesses and foreign investors to get their act together and get ready for a provision such as GAAR. FIIs will now have time to convert “impermissible arrangements” into permissible ones. Shell companies investing in India can wind up their operations by divesting their holding in Indian stocks in this
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee
period. Genuine FIIs will have to pay tax like other FIIs not routing their money through tax havens. Why FIIs Fear GAAR? Tax experts believe that foreign institutional investors have a reason for being concerned about the imposition of GAAR as this will give the Income Tax authorities the power to look into companies that lack substance and are set up mainly for tax-avoidance. More importantly, complex structures and shell companies used for round-tripping would also come under the taxmen’s lens once GAAR gets implemented. Under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius, investors pay capital gains tax in the country of domicile. As Mauritius does not charge any capital gains tax on investments, these investors don’t pay a single penny as tax. In the light of recent developments, foreign investors have either withdrawn or put on hold investments worth over USD 10 billion within just over a month of GAAR being announced. If the GAAR is implemented in its current form then business pundits fear that the impact could be much higher and could lead to loss of investments worth billions of dollars. Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) are hoping for changes and clarifications in the final draft of the GAAR, otherwise they could consider exiting a vast majority of their holdings worth over Rs 11 lakh crore. Finance Ministry knows that FII inflow may come down in the short term, but it is certain that it will not impact the FII inflow over the long-term. Image courtesy:google
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hen Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented the Union Budget on March 16 the worst fears of foreign investor community were realised. As expected Pranab Mukherjee introduced the General Anti Avoidance Rules or GAAR in the Income Tax Act, which provides more freedom to the tax authorities to deal with sham transactions. Through this the income-tax department will now have the powers to deny tax benefit to any foreign entity if a transaction was carried out exclusively for the purpose of avoiding tax. This means that if an entity is set up in Mauritius with the sole objective of claiming exemption from capital gains tax, then the tax authorities can decide or deny the claim for exemption provided under the India-Mauritius tax treaty. Such FIIs arrangements which are entered into with the intention of tax evasion are termed as “impermissible arrangement”. Presently, 1,110 FIIs are registered with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) and about 56 per cent are operating through Mauritius.
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CORPORATE WORLD The move is aimed at reducing the deficit and stem tax evasion, however, some tax experts believe India’s image as an investment hub may take a beating with the implementation of GAAR. Experts believe that global companies may rethink their investment plans in India because of the ambiguity over the taxation. They believe the move is bad for Indian economy, corporate,and capital markets. The Finance Minister is only protecting the nation’s interest. Political watchers believe one reason to introduce GAAR could be to clamp down on the black money that’s entering through the stock markets. Also, the government has mounting deficits. It has to reduce these deficits as most of the reforms are stuck until the general elections in 2014. Foreign direct investment in various sectors including multi-brand retail, pensions, banking, insurance etc are all on the backburner and won’t happen until 2014. There is pressure on FDI from both opposition and allies such as Trinamool and DMK. Retrospective Amendments Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the budgetary also proposed to amend the Income Tax Act with retrospective effect from 1962. The Finance Minister has made it clear that even though the amendment is from 1962 the government won’t reopen any case beyond six years, retrospectively. Tax experts believe this was done with the objective of bringing the Vodafone case under the ambit of tax through the back door after it lost the litigation in the Supreme Court. However, according to Pranab Mukherjee this is not for a special case such as Vodafone’s and is for enabling provision to protect the fiscal interests of the country and avert the chances of a crisis. The Finance Minister’s logic looks simple. His objective is to ensure that for each and every transaction tax is paid at least once. The government will also ensure that no company which has paid tax in one country will be asked to pay tax in another. Pranab Mukherjee while discussing GAAR stated that India is not a ‘no tax’ or ‘low tax’ or even a ‘tax haven’, India is a country where all taxpayers, whether resident or non-resident, will be treated on a par. According to Indian tax laws, if you pay tax in one country, you need www.advancedge.com
not pay tax in the other country of your business operation, as covered under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. The Finance Ministry in a note had played down concerns that the retrospective amendment would create negative sentiment.Dismissing apprehensions, Finance Ministry has assured that there would be no negative sentiment for FDI because of retrospective amendments. According to the ministry, clarificatory amendments have been proposed to bring tax certainty and to makje it clear that India has a right to tax such transactions. In effect, since the Vodafone transaction was not taxed in either of the countries, it was susceptible to 10 per cent tax in India. Vodafone Tax Case Backgrounder In February, 2007 Vodafone PLC had entered into an agreement with Hutchison
Image courtesy:google
Telecommunications International Limited, in Cayman Islands to acquire about 67 per cent equity in the Indian telecom business of Hutchison Essar Ltd. The agreement was through Vodafone’s Netherlands entity and the total value of the deal was 11.2 billion dollars. The Income Tax Department alleged that the buyer which is Vodafone in this case failed to deduct tax on the deal, and issued a show cause notice to Vodafone in September 2007 for tax evasion.Bombay High Court, in September 2010, dismissed Vodafone’s writ petition and ruled in favour of the IT department and held that the share transfer by Cayman entity is liable to tax in India. The total tax impact of the transaction is over Rs 11,000 crore. The High Court said, “The essence of the transaction was a change in the controlling interest in HEL which constituted a source of income in India. The transaction between the parties covered within its sweep, diverse rights and entitlements. The Petitioner
(Vodafone) by the diverse agreements that it entered into has a nexus with Indian jurisdiction. In these circumstances, the proceedings which have been initiated by the Income Tax Authorities cannot be held to lack jurisdiction.” Vodafone then filed an appeal before the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court decision. Victory For Vodafone The battle was finally won by Vodafone. The Supreme Court in January this year ruled in favour of Vodafone saying capital gains tax is not applicable to the telecom major. The apex court also ordered the income tax department to return Rs 2,500 crore and interest to Vodafone. The Supreme Court in its ruling stated that Section 195 would apply only if payments were made from a resident to another non-resident and not between two non-residents situated outside India, and in the present case the transaction was between two non-resident entities through a contract executed outside India. Consideration was also passed outside India. Thus, the transaction has no nexus with the underlying assets in India. Justice KS Radhakrishnan in the conclusion of the order said, “Consequently, the demand of nearly Rs.12,000 crore by way of capital gains tax would amount to imposing capital punishment for capital investment since it lacks authority of law and, therefore, stands quashed and I also concur with all the other directions given in the judgment delivered by the Chief Justice”. Bearing On Other M&A Deals The Vodafone judgment will have a direct bearing on other M&A deals, including AT&T, SABMiller PLC and Sanofi Aventis, which have been under I-T department scanner and are fighting similar tax claims. M&A Deals Pending Idea Cellular-AT&T $ 150 mn deal pending in Bombay HC GE-Genpact $ 500 mn deal pending in Delhi HC Mitsui-Vedanta $981 mn deal in Sesa Goa pending in Goa HC Sabmiller-Fosters 2006 deal pending in Bombay HC Sanofi Aventis-Shantha Biotech $770 mn deal pending in Bombay HC Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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WORLD VIEW
Fr€nch Pr€sident and the Futur€ Gaurav Sharma
François Hollande has a difficult balancing act to perform, since he has come into power amidst global economic slowdown and Europe’s debt crisis.
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Images courtesy:google
F
rançois Hollande ousted Nicolas Sarkozy to become the 24th President of France on 6 May 2012. He was inaugurated on 15 May, and shortly afterwards appointed JeanMarc Ayrault to be his Prime Minister. He also appointed Benoît Puga to be his military chief of staff, Pierre-René Lemas as his General Secretary and Pierre Besnard as his Head of Cabinet. Hollande launched his campaign in March 2011 to become the Socialist and Radical Left Party candidate for the 2012 French presidential election and announced that he would be contesting the presidential primary. Hollande made the announcement that he was running for President following his reelection as a department executive. On 16 October 2011, he won the Socialist and Radical Left Party nomination with more than 56% of the votes over First Secretary Martine Aubry, following a long campaign. On 22 April, he topped the ballot in the first round of voting in the presidential election, and on 6 May he defeated the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round run-off, becoming the new President of France. Hollande is the second Socialist President of the French Fifth Republic, after François Mitterrand. A member of the French Socialist Party, he has previously served as the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 1997
to 2008 and as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France for Corrèze’s first Constituency from 1988 to 1993 and then again from 1997 to 2012. He also served as the Mayor of Tulle, and the President of the General Council of Corrèze. “My dear countrymen, on this day, May the 6th, the French have chosen change, and have elected me to the Presidency of the Republic,” Hollande told supporters in a victory speech in Tulle. “I am keenly aware of the honor done to me and of the greatness of the task ahead of me. And, here before you, I undertake to serve my country – with the devotion and the exemplariness required of this high office,” he added. The just-concluded presidential election has been characterised by many observers as a referendum on Nicolas Sarkozy, who came to power five years ago and, for a time, enjoyed widespread support. His popularity has since tanked, in part due to his embrace
of ineffective austerity measures as a response to the worldwide financial crisis and accompanying economic downturn. Socialist Hollande has called for more investment in France’s public services and fewer austerity measures. The closely-watched election has been expected to have significant repercussions, particularly in Europe, which is trying to shake off the fiscal crisis. “Europe is watching us,” declared François Hollande after being confirmed as winner of the French presidential election. “At the moment when the result was proclaimed, I am sure that in many countries of Europe there was relief and hope: finally austerity is no longer destiny.” Even before Hollande’s victory, the public discourse across Europe had started to change: less talk of relentless deficit-cutting and structural reforms, and more talk about growth. The EU www.advancedge.com
bureaucracy long favoured Nicolas Sarkozy in the belief that, despite his flaws, the continuation of the “Merkozy” partnership (Sarkozy and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor) would ensure greater stability. However, Eurocrats started to see in Hollande a champion for several of the European Commission’s proposals that have been languishing for months. These include its call to recapitalise the European Investment Bank and issue new EU “project bonds” to finance big infrastructure schemes. The IMF is predicting that France’s deficit will reach 3.9% of GDP next year, above the three percent target agreed with EU partners. It will be a difficult balancing act for the Socialists, who are taking power in the middle of a global economic slowdown and Europe’s debt crisis. France’s GDP did not grow in the first quarter of the year. Economists say growth will require deep reform in France’s inflexible labour market — and it’s unclear if Hollande is willing to take that on. The new government will also confront major international questions, such as Hollande’s promise to withdraw troops by the end of the year from Afghanistan. Many NATO partners are unhappy with Hollande’s decision. France had previously committed to keeping troops in the country until 2013. European Union: Bitter Truths The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union or confederation of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. It was created in the aftermath of the Second World War. The first steps were to foster economic cooperation: the idea being that countries who trade with one another become economically interdependent and so more likely to avoid conflict. Since then, the EU has developed into a huge single market with the Euro as its common currency. What began as a purely economic union has evolved into an organisation spanning all policy areas, from development aid to environment. The single market is the EU’s main economic engine, enabling most goods, services, money and people to move freely. Another key objective is to develop this huge resource to ensure that Europeans can draw the maximum benefit. www.advancedge.com
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WORLD VIEW
President François Hollande with Nicholas Sarkozy However, the grass is no longer greener in any of the 27 pastures currently with Eurozone crisis crippling the EU. Many political economists believe that the financial crisis was destined to happen because of the way the European Union deals and make their trade policies. They argue that the European Union only takes action after the facts and that they only address a situation when it has already become a problem. A monetary union, the Eurozone, using a single currency comprises 17 member states: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. In 2010, the EU generated an estimated 26% (16.242 billion international dollars) share of the global gross domestic product making it the largest economy in the world. It is the largest exporter, the largest importer of goods and services, and the biggest trading partner to several countries such as China, India and the United States. Of the top 500 largest corporations measured by revenue (Fortune Global 500 in 2010), 161 have their headquarters in the EU. EU had an agreed budget of €120.7 billion for the year 2007 and €864.3 billion for the period 2007–2013, representing 1.10% and 1.05% of the EU-27’s GNI forecast for the respective periods. By comparison, the United Kingdom’s expenditure for 2004 was
estimated to be €759 billion, and France was estimated to have spent €801 billion. Since the late-2000s financial crisis, the Euro zone has established and used provisions for granting emergency loans to member states in return for the enactment of economic reforms. The Euro zone has also enacted some limited fiscal integration, for example in peer review of each other’s national budgets. The issue is highly political and in a state of flux as of 2011 in terms of what further provisions will be agreed for Euro zone reform. The EU is facing a tough test because they pin much hope on the golden rules to get out of the euro crisis at a time when Europe is passing through economic crises as well as the world economy as a whole. This happens while options are limited. The president of Germany’s Central Bank, who also represents Europe’s largest economy, has warned the French president-elect of the persistent rejection of the golden rules. France and the European Union The French economy did not grow at all in first three months of 2012 and the previous quarter’s growth was cut, in a blow to new president Francois Hollande. Official figures released showed that French GDP growth was zero percent in the three months up to March 31. Growth in the last quarter of 2011 was revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%. Inflation rose 0.1% on a monthly Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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WORLD VIEW basis after a jump of 0.8% in March. Year-on-year inflation dipped to 2.1%, back to the level seen in mid-2011. How worse can it get? The country is swamped by an annual budget deficit of €100bn euros and a debt level of 90pc of GDP. The crisis goes deeper. “Since 2005, export growth has fallen significantly below the euro area average,” said the International Monetary Fund.
critical level of seven percent. By early February 2012, yields on French 10year bonds had fallen to 2.84%. France, the region’s second-largest economy, is seeing its borrowing costs rise this week to the highest level in 14 years. The Way Forward Taking a step towards resolving the crisis, Hollande and his Socialist government has already adopted a 30% paycut, a gesture of shared sacrifice by leaders who must now reduce the country’s massive debts and tackle spiraling unemployment. Employment Minister Michel Sapin said his major challenge would be reducing unemployment that has reached 10 percent and allowing people who started working at a young age to retire earlier than a law passed under Sarkozy currently allows them to. Sarkozy faced down unions and strikes to push the retirement age to 62 from 60, saying it was the only way to save the system. Hollande promised during his campaign to protect France’s elaborate
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The growth figures will weigh on new President François Hollande. François Hollande cannot completely abandon his campaign promise; otherwise he will lose credibility before he begins his first term in office, which would put the EU in a real impasse in the coming period. However, there are practical solutions to find a way out, but this requires something like surgery to remove obstacles facing the Union. If these problems are resolved successfully, the EU will become stronger and more coherent. Even as Europe’s debt crisis sharply escalates, the region’s two
largest economies, Germany and France, appear increasingly divided over how and whether to deploy largescale financial firepower to calm nervous markets. The first thing to do is to find a consensus between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Hollande. The two countries are fully aware they cannot turn the clock back, especially after all of Europe had been unified under their leadership and occupied its new and important position in international relations. France’s public debt in 2010 was approximately U.S. $2.1 trillion and 83% GDP, with a 2010 budget deficit of seven percent GDP. By 16 November 2011, France’s bond yield spreads vs. Germany had widened 450% since July, 2011. France’s C.D.S. contract value rose 300% in the same period. On 1 December 2011, France’s bond yield had retreated and the country successfully auctioned €4.3 billion worth of 10 year bonds at an average yield of 3.18%, well below the perceived
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WORLD VIEW social benefit system — even vowing to roll back some of Sarkozy’s cuts — while also continuing to trim the country’s deficit. France hasn’t balanced a budget in nearly 40 years, and Hollande has promised to eliminate the deficit in 2017. It will be a difficult balancing act for the Socialists, who are taking power in the middle of a global economic slowdown and Europe’s debt crisis. France’s GDP did not grow in the first quarter of the year. Economists say growth will require deep reform to France’s inflexible labour market — and it’s unclear if Hollande is willing to take that on. Hours after being sworn in, François Hollande flew to Berlin for crucial Euro zone talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel. As the leaders of Europe’s two largest economies, they face the continent’s debt crisis while holding opposing positions on how to resolve it. New elections in Greece have raised the chances it could be forced to leave the euro, which both have said they opposed. Merkel, like UK President
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David Cameron, had supported Sarkozy’s re-election campaign. New elections in Greece have raised the chances it could be forced to leave the euro, which both have said they opposed. The leaders did not try to paper over their disagreements, both admitting that there were differences between what they meant when they talked about strategies to promote growth. Whatever their differences, the crisis in the Euro zone will put them under huge pressure to compromise. About François Hollande Full Name: François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande Birth: 12 August 1954 Hollande’s Political platform } Regarding foreign policy, he supports the withdrawal of French troops present in Afghanistan by the end of 2012. } In terms of European politics, he aims to conclude a new contract of Franco-German partnership and advocates the adoption of a directive on the protection of public services. Proposes closer FrancoGerman partnership: an acceleration of the establishment of a FrancoGerman civic service, the creation of a Franco-German research office, the creation of a Franco-German industrial fund to finance common competitiveness clusters (transport, energy or environment) and the establishment of a common military headquarters. } With regard to the financial system, he backs the creation of a European rating agency and the separation of lending and investment in banks. } Concerning energy, he endorses reducing the share of nuclear power in electricity generation from 75 to 50% in favor of renewable energy sources. } Regarding taxation, he supports the merger of income tax and the General Social Contribution (CSG), the creation of an additional 45% for additional income of 150 000 euros, capping tax loopholes at a maximum of €10,000 per year, and questioning the relief ISF measure that should bring €29 billion in additional revenue. } On the integration of young people,
}
} } }
}
} } }
}
the recruitment of 60 000 teachers, creating a study allowance, setting up a contract that would allow generation of an experienced employee to be the guardian of youth. Aid to SMEs, with the creation of a public bank investment-oriented SMEs and reducing the corporate tax rate to 30% for medium corporations and 15% for small. Recruitment of 5,000 judges, police officers and gendarmes. Construction of 5,00,000 homes per year Restoration of retirement at age 60 for those who have contributed more than 41 years. Hollande supported same-sex marriage and adoption for LGBT couples, he’ll be pushing the issue in early 2013. The provision of development funds for deprived suburbs. Return to a deficit of zero percent of GDP in 2017. Favours ratifying the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, for the recognition of regional languages of France: Alsatian, Lorraine Franconian, French Flemish, Catalan, Corsican, Breton, Gallo, Basque, Langues d’oïl, Franco-Provençal and Occitan. Wants to combine the positions of presidents of the European Commission and of the European Council (currently held by José Manuel Barroso and Herman van Rompuy, respectively) into a single office and that it should be directly chosen by the Members of the European Parliament.
17 Member States of the European Union use the euro as their currency Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland. Non-participants Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom are EU Member States but do not currently use the single European currency. Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
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STUDY HOUR
WORD DOSE Gaurav Sharma
Nikola Tesla Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, mechanical engineer, electrical engineer, and futurist. He is acknowledged for developing the modern alternating current (AC) electrical supply system. He trailblazed modern electrical engineering and many of his discoveries were momentous. Tesla’s patents and theoretical work also formed the basis of wireless communication and the radio. In the United States, Tesla’s fame rivaled that of any other inventor or scientist in history or popular culture. Possessing an eidetic memory, Nikola Tesla was a polyglot, and along with his native tongue he also spoke Czech, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Latin. Tesla had many unusual idiosyncrasies and consternation. He was fastidious about asepsis and hygiene, and was by all accounts mysophobic. Tesla became cloistered towards the end of his life. Tesla gained a reputation in popular culture as the archetypal “mad scientist”. He became a proponent of an imposed selective breeding version of eugenics. Tesla was influenced by the Vedic philosophy (i.e., Hinduism) teachings of Swami Vivekananda; so much so that, after his exposure to Hindu-Vedic cogitation, Tesla started using Sanskrit words to name his fundamental credo regarding matter and energy. Tesla’s work fell into relative obscurity after his death but since the 1990s his reputation has experienced a popular cultural resurgence.
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
STUDY HOUR Word Dose
WORD MEANINGS Futurist (n)
Acknowledged (adj)
Trailblazed (v)
Momentous (adj)
(fyoo-cher-ist)
(ak-nol-ijd):
(treyl-bleyz)
(moh-men-tuhs)
A follower of futurism
recognised or made
To be a pioneer in
of great importance or
known; avowed
(a particular subject,
significance, especially
technique, etc.)
in having a bearing on future events.
Theoretical (adj)
Eidetic (Adj)
Polyglot (adj)
Idiosyncrasies (n)
(thee-uh-ret-i-kuhl)
(ahy-det-ik)
(pol-ee-glot)
(id-ee-uh-sing-kruh-sees)
Existing only in theory;
Relating to or denoting
A person who knows and
A mode of behaviour or
hypothetical
mental images having
is able to use several
way of thought peculiar
unusual vividness and
languages
to an individual
Asepsis (n)
Mysophobic (n)
detail, as if actually visible
Consternation (n)
Fastidious (adj)
(kon-ster-ney-shuhn) A
(fa-stud-ee-uhs)
(uh-sep-sis)
(mahy-suh-foh-bee-ik)
feeling of anxiety or
Very attentive to and
The absence of bacteria,
A dread of dirt or filth
dismay, typically at
concerned about
viruses, and other
something unexpected
accuracy and detail
micro-organisms
Cloistered (adj)
Archetypal (adj)
Proponent (n)
Eugenics (n)
(kloi-sterd)
(ahr-ki-tahy-puhl)
(pruh-poh-nuhnt)
(yoo-jen-iks)
Secluded from the world;
Very typical of a certain
A person who advocates
The science of improving
sheltered:
kind of person or thing
a theory, proposal, or
a population by controlled
course of action
breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics.
Cogitation (v)
Credo (n)
Obscurity (n)
Resurgence (n)
(koj-i-tey-shuhn)
(kree-doh)
(uhb-skyoor-i-te)
(ri-sir-gence)
Concerted thought or
A statement of the
The state of being
Renewal, revival,
reflection; meditation;
beliefs or aims which
unknown, inconspicuous,
comeback
contemplation
guide someone’s
or unimportant
actions
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
www.advancedge.com
STUDY HOUR
Gaurav Sharma
1. The 1895 artwork by Edvard Munch – a modern symbol of human anxiety – was sold at Sotheby’s for $119,922,500 recently. Name the painting. a. Nude, Green, Leaves, and Bust b. Mona Lisa c. The Scream d. The Persistence of Memory 2. Kwangmyŏngsŏng-3, a North Korean Earth observation satellite, exploded shortly after launch. The international community later condemned the failed launch. The launch was planned to mark the centenary of the birth of ......? a. Kim Yong-nam b. Kim Il-sung c. Kim Jong-un d. Lee Myung-bak 3. ......has been sworn in as president of France, becoming the first Socialist leader in 17 years to occupy the Elysee Palace. a. Francois Hollande b. Nicolas Sarkozy c. François Mitterrand d. Jacques Chirac 4. Drugmaker Piramal Healthcare has agreed to buy which USbased healthcare data provider for $635 million to boost research and development? a. Bayer b. Decision Resources c. Abbott d. Biocon 5. It has snatched the title of world’s largest mobile handset vendor from Nokia in the first three months of the year, confirming Nokia’s continued decline as it struggles to keep pace with fastmoving competition. a. Sony Eriksson b. Blackberry c. iPhone d. Samsung
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6. Name the Yahoo chief executive who stepped down after investor Daniel Loeb, whose company Third Point LLC owns a 5.8 percent stake in Yahoo, accused him of padding his biography by faking a computer science degree. a. Scott Thompson b. Carol Bartz c. Jerry Yang d. Ross Levinsohn 7. Keith Rupert Murdoch is the founder, Chairman and CEO of which American global media holding company? a. Warner Bros b. Paramount c. BCCL d. News Corporation
12. How many matches are being played in IPL season 5? a. 50 b. 98 c. 45 d. 76
8. Where is Olympics 2012 taking place? a. China b. Mexico c. London d. Brazil
15. …… is to hold a second round of elections on June 17, after final talks by the major political parties to form a coalition government were unsuccessful. a. Greece d. Pakistan c. Afghanistan d. Sri Lanka
9. Which country has shut down its last working nuclear power reactor just over a year after tsunami wrecked havoc? a. Mexico b. Libya c. Australia d. Japan 10. Which country is preparing its first republican constitution? a. Myanmar b. Nepal c. Sudan d. India 11. Microsoft recently acquired stake worth $300 million deal in which digital-book business? a. Barnes & Noble b. Amazon c. Flipkart d. Apple
13. Which team played against Chelsea in Champions League Final? a. FC Bayern Munich b. Manchester United c. Arsenal d. Liverpool 14. When was the First International Silent Games, for athletes with a disability, held? a. 1819 b. 1975 c. 1924 d. 2000
16. The European Commission states that the combined eurozone economy is likely to contract by 0.3% in 2012, as an ongoing debt crisis and high unemployment continue to wrack the …euro-using nations. a. 9 b. 17 c. 10 d. 13 17. Name the current British Prime Minister. a. David Cameron b. Tony Blair c. John Major d. Gordon Brown 18. U.S. President Barack Obama visits …. on an unannounced
Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
57
STUDY HOUR
visit coinciding with the first anniversary of Osama Bin Laden’s assassination by the U.S. a. Rajasthan b. Iraq c. Pakistan d. Afghanistan
19. Aung San Suu Kyi is the leader of which political party of Myanmar? a. Communist Party of Burma b. National League for Democracy c. National Unity Party d. Democratic Party for a New Society 20. Bahrain’s King ….. grants new powers to parliament. a. Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa b. Hamad ibn Isa Al Khalifa c. Muhammad ibn Khalifah Al Khalifa d. Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa
a. The Dirty Picture b. Byari c. Zindagi Na Milegi Dubara d. Kurmavatara
25. Who wrote the book on which Slumdog Millionaire movie was based? a. Arundhati Roy b. Vikas Swarup c. Vikram Seth d. Rabindranath Tagore 26. Who is the founder of social networking website Facebook? a. Mark Zuckerberg b. Sabeer Bhatia c. Ankit Fadia d. Steve Jobs 27. Who is the Governor of RBI? a. YV Reddy b. Bimal Jalan
c. Manmohan Singh d. D Subbarao
28. The… is an international organization that was created on July 22, 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference and came into existence on December 27, 1945 when 29 countries signed the Articles of Agreement. a. International Monetary Fund (IMF) b. World Bank c. International Labor Organisation (ILO) d. World Trade Organisation (WTO) 29. Who appoints Chief Justice of India? a. Prime Minister b. Rajya Sabha c. Lok Sabha d. President
21. The founding member of Beastie Boys, the influential American hip hop group, died aged 47. Name him. a. Adam Horovitz b. Adam Yauch c. Michael Diamond d. John Lydon 22. Vladimir Putin is sworn in for a …six-year term as President of Russia. a. Third b. Ninth c. Second d. Fourth 23. Lionel Andrés Messi is an Argentine footballer who plays in La Liga for …. and is the captain of the Argentina national team. a. Manchester United b. FC Barcelona c. AC Milan d. Real Madrid 24. Apart from Deool, which other movie was awarded the Best Feature Film at the 59th National Film Awards?
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
How to Play Fill in the grid so that every horizontal row, every vertical column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9, without repeating the numbers in the same row, column or box. You can’t change the digits already given in the grid. Every puzzle has one solution. Hint: Don’t fill in numbers at random. While filling a particular square, write numbers 1-9 on a pad and start eliminating those numbers that already appear in the same row, column or 3x3 box. www.advancedge.com
STUDY HOUR
30. What is the full form of NASDAQ? a. National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations b. National Association of Secutiy Deployment and Quotations c. Native African Society Dealing in Automated Quotations d. National Asset of Securities Dealing and Augmented Quotations
c. Maria Sharapova d. Flavia Pennetta 34. Which team won Champions League? a. Bayern Munich b. Chelsea c. Manchester United d. Barcelona
35. Whose cartoon recently generated a row in the parliament? 31. Which Bollywood movie has a. Mahatma Gandhi been ranked in Time’s Top 10 b. BS Ambedkar millenium movies? c. Narender Modi a. Devdas d. Rajiv Gandhi b. Sholay c. Black 36. Which automobile company d. Zanjeer launched limited edition Punto Sport? 32. What’s the name of Facebook co- a. Hyundai founder Mark Zuckerberg’s wife? b. Nissan a. Steffi Graf c. Fiat b. Priscilla Chan d. Chevrolet c. Lucy Liu d. Jennifer Aniston 37. Who was the top paid US CEO in 2011? 33. Who won woman’s title in Italian a. Oracle’s Larry Ellison Open 2012? b. Apple’s Tim Cook a. Li Na c. Ford Motor’s Alan Mulally b. Serena Williams d. JC Penney’s Ronald Johnson
ANSWERS 1.c 2.b 3.a 4.b 5.d 6.a 7.d 8.c 9.d 10.b 11.a 12.d 13.a 14.c 15.a
38. Who is the newly President of Serbia? a. Tomislav Nikolic b. Boris Tadic c. Vladimir Putin d. Aleksandar Vucic
elected
16.b 17.a 18.d 19.b 20.d
39. Which foreign cricket player has been named in the IPL molestation 26.a 27.d 28.a 29.d 30.a row? 31.a 32.b 33.c 34.b 35.b a. Wayne Parnell b. Keiron Pollard 36.c 37.b 38.a 39.c 40. c c. Luke Pomersbach Answer to the Sudoku d. Ross Taylor 21.b 22.a 23.b 24.b 25.b
Solution, tips and computer programme at www.sudoku.com www.advancedge.com
40. Which Biotech company has been downgraded by the Portugese Investment Bank ‘Espirito Santo’? a. Zydus Cadilla b. GlaxoSmithKline c. Biocon d. Nicholas Piramal
Advanc’edge MBA May 2012
59
STUDY HOUR Events Calendar
B-school
events
IMT, Ghaziabad to Host Global B-School Network’s Annual International Conference Venue: Delhi, Taj Palace Date: June 11 – 13, 2012 A member of GBSN, IMT Ghaziabad, the Academic Host of the 2012 conference is getting the stage set for some very valuable interactions and knowledge sharing. The institute, ranked among the top ten B-Schools in India, is known for its path breaking programmes and curriculum. IMT’s courses are of international quality yet within the context of local relevance. The 2012 conference is an opportunity for thinkers and leading academicians to meet and share ideas on a common platform. It will throw light on several relevant subjects in today’s B-School education. Participants will also exchange ideas on innovative programmes that have worked for them, share leading edge research and examine proven approaches to deliver management education. It is an opportunity for them to compare trends in management education and cultivate partnerships for possible student and faculty exchange programmes. Being Indian, we see the world sitting up and taking notice of India – as a market and as an opportunity for investment. It is the new emerging economy, and is growing despite the odds. Tremendous change is seen today. The future leaders in the world of management are a lot more focused and ready to explore the unexplored and rather under tapped rural markets. They seek to make a difference and boost development. For that is where the future is. Website: http://gbsnonline.org/members/annualconference/2012-annual-conference.html The Thirteenth Annual Global Information Technology Management Association GITMA WORLD CONFERENCE 2012 Venue: Bangalore, India Date: June 17 - 19, 2012 “The GITMA conference started with a strong focus that continues today. It brings researchers, educators and practitioners together from around the world and fosters an atmosphere conductive to the supportive presentation of emerging and mature research ideas.” (Barry Shore, previous program chair) This conference provides a unique opportunity to all IT educators, researchers, and practitioners from all countries to get together to network, develop lasting relationships, and exchange ideas. The clear strength is the international participation and the following people should attend: Educators, researchers, and practitioners from North America (including US, Mexico, and Canada) Educators, researchers, and practitioners from all other part of the world, including developed, developing, and underdeveloping nations. Educators, researchers, and practitioners doing work in all areas of Global IT Management Website: http://www.alliance.edu.in/gitma2012/index.html
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Advanc’edge MBA June 2012
ISB-Ivey Global Case Competition 2012 Venue: Hyderabad Date: June 6th, 2012 The Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Case Development at the Indian School of Business (ISB), in partnership with Richard Ivey School of Business, The University of Western Ontario announces the ISB-Ivey Global Case Competition 2012. The event is supported by European Association for Management Development (EFMD) and Association of Indian Management Schools (AIMS). Launched in 2010, this is their third year of hosting the competition and first in its global avatar. Through this competition they aspire to reach out to a wide network of Indian and Global B-Schools with the objective of facilitating the building of a repository of a high-quality, internationally benchmarked cases about Indian businesses. The submitted cases are suitable for use in MBA classrooms across the globe as they showcase the unique issues and challenges faced by organizations and business leaders in India. A panel of internationally acclaimed subject experts judge each case in a double-blind review process and give written feedback on each case. The top cases from this competition are marketed to a global audience of business schools through Ivey and distributed through Ivey and Harvard Publishing (Harvard University, USA)—the two largest sources of business cases in the world. Final Date for Submission of Case and related material: June 20, 2012 Announcement of Results: August 3, 2012 Case Presentations and Awards Ceremony: August 2427, 2012 Website: www.isb.edu/casecompetition/ Business Maharaja Venue: Sapient Institute of Management Studies Date: June 1st – 3rd, 2012 The event ‘Business Maharaja’ will be a two stage process wherein the 1st stage will be the scrutiny stage where the expert will filter out the written business plan sent by participant on below given criteria and award them marks. Plan that pass their overall cut-off will be invited to the campus for a formal presentation explaining to a panel the feasibility and applicability of the business plan. The plan will be judged on certain parameters and the final score will be compiled taking into consideration the evaluation marks + final day presentation. There will be separate competition PG and UG Students. No. of participant in team- Min. 1 and Max. 3 The Final Day Presentation will consist of following activities for the budding entrepreneurs a) Formal presentation b) Question and Answer session c) Bazaar – wherein the student will have to set up a Point of Sale at a pre-allotted spot in the campus and market his product to the audience using ads, jingles, posters, banners, etc (only hitch here will be that if the students bring in industrial products, it will create a hurdle for them in terms of ads) Website: http://www.sapientyze.com www.advancedge.com