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Cast your mind back to when you were a child. What did you want to be when you grew up? As youngsters, we wanted to be astronauts, lawyers, actors, cricketers, in the Air Force or the Navy. Some imaginative kids might have included musicians and writers and racecar drivers, even. We didn’t really know HOW we would go about becoming any of these, but just that they were our dream professions.
Fast forward to today. You’re going to sit for arguably one of the most competitive entrance exams in India. You’re just starting to build your career, or some of you may be enhancing it. That’s great. The question is: How much do you know now about what you want to be? Let’s face it, not knowing at this juncture of your life would be folly. Because, among the barrage of questions directed at you by business school panellists will be the fundamental one: Is your future clear in your head? Do you know, if not minutely then at least broadly, in which direction you plan to head? Now there are those who will tell you, “Dude, focus on your CAT now! You can worry about your aspirations later when you get your B-school calls!” Following this advice would again be folly. If it’s truly your aspiration, would you really wait until the last minute to give it shape in your mind? That’s a rhetorical question, the answer is a resounding no. So sit down and think. Seriously. Think about who you are, what you want to do and where you want to be. If you don’t know the specifics, spend some time scouring the Internet. It’s the biggest encyclopaedia we have! Introspect about where your interests and passions lie, and how they intersect with your career. We’ve already given you a leg-up in this issue of Advanc’edge MBA with a lowdown on a few sectors in India where you can pursue your career. Use the article and the information therein and let it be your launchpad to finding your career, your dreams, your future. I wish you the very best.
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Aditya Prakash Iengar Editor
CONTENTS 05
13
COVER STORY Management sectors: The best one for you
17
A C.A.T. Approach to Cracking the CAT
19
CORPORATE INTERVIEW
22
24
27
CORPORATE WORLD
30
IPL and its impact on the Indian economy
33
Flipkart acquires eBay India: What’s the scenario now?
36
MUST READS First, Break All The Rules A Moveable Feast My Name Is Lucy Barton
37
STUDY HOUR
39
Word Dose: Hunger
40
Globescan
42
SuDoKu
MBA BUZZ Stand out: How to improve your PROFILE
RAHUL AGARWAL, Founder-Director, Ideal Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. COUNT DOWN 10 Must follow rules of corporate etiquette SNIPPETS News in brief
May 2017
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.
Indian ITeS sector in the crossroads
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Management sectors: The best one for you Along with the preparation for the management entrance tests goes the need to be equipped with information. Which is your favourite sector? Which sector will be suitable for you? What opportunities does it offer? Here is an overview of the various MBA sectors in India. The Advanc’edge Team
I
n today’s world of businesses and corporates, there are more opportunities to have a successful career than ever before. With the business environment changing and taking on a global outlook, one of the most fundamental requirements for success in this field is to have a firm understanding of the functioning of the various markets and sectors. Well, for making this a reality, acquiring an MBA degree is an almost-guaranteed recipe for success. However, merely chasing after a management degree is not enough. One of the prerequisites of such a degree is to be highly aware of what’s going on around us, and gather information on the various fields in which one can pursue a career. In this article, let’s take a look at some of the traditional sectors where an MBA will facilitate a rewarding career, as well as some upcoming, not-so-traditional fields.
FMCG The fast moving consumer goods, or FMCG industry primarily deals with the production, distribution and marketing of consumer packaged goods, i.e., those categories of products that are consumed at regular intervals, such as food and beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals, plastic goods, paper and stationery and household products, etc. The industry is vast and offers a wide range of job opportunities in functions such as sales, supply chain, finance, marketing, operations, purchasing, human resources, product development and general management. In India, the FMCG market growth over the past five years has been phenomenal, primarily due to consumers’ growing disposable income, which is directly linked to an increased demand for FMCG and services.
in 2011 to US$ 74 billion in 2018. Growing awareness, easier access, and changing lifestyles have been the key growth drivers for the sector. With the FMCG growth in the country being driven by consumption, the sector continues to find favour with students who see its huge growth potential.
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The sector that students prefer The fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) segment is the fourth largest sector in the Indian economy. The market size of FMCG in India is estimated to grow from US$ 30 billion
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Major FMCG segments in India Sector Food and beverages
Personal care
Products Major companies Processed food, HUL, ITC, Tata Tea, health b everages, Godrej, Nestle, mineral waters, Amul, etc bread, biscuits, chocolate, confectionary, etc Wash products like soaps and shampoos, oral care products like toothpaste and toothbrush, cosmetics, etc
HUL, Proctor & Gamble, Dabur, Colgate-Palmolive, etc
Household Detergents, soaps, HUL, Godrej, care cleaners, etc Proctor & Gamble, Henkel, etc Interestingly, another large segment of the FMCG sector is the tobacco industry, where the biggest player in the Indian market is ITC.
The Pros and Cons Pros: • Huge potential given the expanding urban boundaries and the as yet largely untapped rural market.
• The upward trending changing lifestyle of today’s consumers and their increase in income levels mean an enormous opportunity for newer and more varied products to succeed on the market. • The government has announced various policy and fiscal measures, including FDI to the extent of 100 %, in the food processing segment, the largest FMCG segment. • The retailing sector is also a burgeoning one, and since it is intricately linked to the FMCG sector, it means that the relative growth potential of the latter is also very high. • There are already well known brands in the sector, both international and domestic, creating competition and therefore increasing investment potential. Cons: • The world today largely relies on emerging technology. However, in the FMCG sector, there is less scope of investing in this technology and achieving economies of scale. • The export potential in this sector is not high. • If import restrictions are removed, the domestic brands may face tough competition from international, more securely placed brands.
B-schools best known for recruitment from FMCG companies IIM Bangalore, SIBM Pune, SPJIMR Mumbai, NMIMS Mumbai, JBIMS Mumbai
BFSI Despite an economic slowdown, both in India and across the world, the Indian finance sector largely remained resilient. Things are certainly not bleak, especially if you’re looking at a career in the banking, financial and insurance sector. In fact, according to a Central survey, the BFSI sector is currently estimated to employ around 40-45 lakh people and is expected to provide job opportunities for 80-90 lakh people by 2022.
What students prefer The banking industry is a systemically important industry for the Indian economy in general a n d
The Pros and the Cons Pros: • A variety of roles and responsibilities. • Consumer types vary widely due to the wide range of products and services, which gives an excellent mix of relationship, sales,
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financial sector in particular as it comprises nearly 90% of the total financial services sector of the country. The banking industry in India has undergone significant transformation since the initiation of the financial sector reforms that were part of the structural reforms of early 1990s. The banking sector has steadily evolved from a state-directed banking system into a fairly open competitive one. Banking in India has become service oriented, maturing from the days of ‘walking in business’ to the present situation of 24 hour banking solutions to attract customers.
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operations, analysis and product management opportunities. • Lucrative salaries. • Use of newer and more efficient technologies to the fullest, which means working in top-notch settings with state of the art technology. Cons: • Sector is facing many changes, which means resistance and s ome conservatism when it comes to adopting, implementing and maintaining these changes.
B-schools best known for recruitment from BFSI companies IIM Calcutta, IIM Shillong, XLRI Jamshedpur, NMIMS Mumbai, IIFT Delhi, TAPMI Manipal, LBSIM Delhi
IT/ITes
Students’ point of view Placement reports of the top-ranked management institutes in the country show that the IT/ITeS is consistently among the top three sectors that are most preferred by MBA graduates. According to Dinesh Kapoor, Executive Director of Nielsen, “The IT sector seems to have found favour with students, even higher than the popular financial sector and banks. The healthy performance of the IT sector over the last few quarters seems to have had a positive impact on the students who once again are interested in the sector.”
The Pros and Cons Pros: • Most-sought after in the world, as Indians are more comfortable with English than other countries like Japan, China or Germany. • Most opportunities for on-site projects, which means more global exposure than any other sector. • Mostly young professionals in the industry, meaning more dynamic workforce and creative thinking. • Lucrative salaries. Cons: • Personal life shrinks, have to be on call most of the time. • Depending on who the client is, timing of the job might not be fixed.
What you need to succeed The first thing that’s needed in a field like the IT/ ITeS sector is the ability to handle pressure, given that with the constant advent of technology, the world keeps becoming smaller. A background in IT will also help, certainly, but not must for an MBA graduate to possess if he wants to specialise in IT.
B-schools best known for recruitment from IT companies Departments of Management Studies at IIT Bombay, Delhi, Kharagpur, Madras, NITIE Mumbai, SCMHRD Pune, ISB Hyderabad
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Today, all companies big and small are driven by technology; some in the core IT field, while others use technology for their day to day transactions. In fact, in a report listing the most valued brands in the world, eight out of the top 10 companies are from the IT/ITes sector! The Indian IT-ITes industry has transformed India’s image on the global platform and fuelled the economic growth of the country, employing almost 10 million Indians. Moreover, both Indian and international firms across sectors largely depend on the IT/ITes providers to make their business processes efficient and streamlined.
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CONSULTING Business consulting mainly deals with helping restructure companies using subjective and objective views of external consultants. Consultants can be engaged for their expertise in a particular industry or a sector, or as temporary staff members for a one-time project. The hiring of MBA graduates is pretty robust in the domain even in the time of economic slowdown. The argument here is that during a slowdown, consultants are more in demand, since most companies need advice on how to grow during any recession period. Even information technology companies such as Infosys and Wipro are trying to get into the lucrative field of business consulting, as it commands higher billing rates and also influences key strategies of the companies.
The Pros and the Cons
Types of Business Consulting
B-schools best known for recruitment from Consulting companies
Name Strategy consulting
Domain consulting
Technology consulting
Corporate finance
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Accounting
In-house consulting
Description Offer advice on tackling commercial issues. Use of existing framework to look at business problems and improve business efficiency by re-engineering them. Recommendations to increase profit, entry to markets, tech upgrades, etc. Specific to domains, involves bringing in experienced people for recommendations on best practices and execution. How best to use IT to meet business objectives. Includes customer relationship management, e-procurement, reverse auctions, web collaboration tools, knowledge and content management, etc. Helps accomplish financial objectives by assessing financial situation, developing and presenting financial strategies and plans, monitoring changes in financial status, raising funds, mergers and acquisitions. Consultation on data necessary for preparing financial statements and reports required by statutory and regulatory authorities as well as internal management. Includes tax advisory work, auditing the firm’s financials, signing off on the balance sheet, etc. Intra-company departments help quick execution of projects, since they are familiar with the corporate culture. Useful for conglomerates that need independent advice from the central staff.
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Pros: • High levels of income and perks. • Large scope for development of analytical, organisational, and communication skills. • Direct involvement in functioning and the future of firms, leading to greater job satisfaction. • Possibility of garnering a wide network across firms and sectors. Cons: • Hours are long. • Extensive travelling is required in most cases. • Stress levels can be high, since consultants often work on tight deadlines and schedules.
IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, XLRI Jamshedpur, ISB Hyderabad, IMI Delhi, IIT Kharagpur Apart from these major sectors, there are also other fields in which the demand for quality MBA graduates is increasing. Moreover, MBA aspirants are now looking beyond the traditional fields of management, and identifying new areas of management in which a career looks promising. This outlook is linked with how the world and its markets and economies are developing. For instance, the advent of big data and the enormous amount of analysis being required by most major organisations today have given rise to the most lucrative field of Business Analytics. Consider also the growing number of individuals who are becoming, or are on the way to becoming, celebrities. This, in turn, has given rise to Celebrity Management. And of course, with the natural resources in the world being threatened by our very existence, there is a vital need to conserve, preserve and manage them, in order to leave a sustainable world for future generations. This explains the emergence of fields like Water Management, Energy Management, Natural Resource Management and Sustainability Management. The list of these fields is huge, so let’s look at a few that show the most promise.
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RISK MANAGEMENT Insurance is an important tool for mitigating risk. The insurance industry has a strong interest in effective risk management, which plays an important role in reducing the amount of losses that a business faces. Both insurance companies and the risk manager’s roles are to analyse and anticipate the potential for the loss. The job is all the more challenging as no two risks are the same, and the profile becomes more complex once the companies expand and diversify. Risk management also addresses many risks that are not insurable, such as brand integrity, potential loss of tax-exempt status for volunteer groups, public goodwill and continuing donor support. If we take a look at the Indian market, the potential of the insurance industry is huge. The market size of this sector in India is projected to touch US$ 350400 billion by 2020. The country’s insurance market is expected to quadruple over the next 10 years from its current size of US$ 60 billion. During this period, the life insurance market is slated to cross US$ 160 billion. The general insurance business in India is currently at `78,000 crore (US$ 11.7 billion) premium per annum industry and is growing at a healthy rate of 17%.
Ltd., ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd., SBI Life Insurance Company Ltd., CholaMandalam MS General Insurance Ltd., IFFCO-Tokio, Tata AIG General Insurance Co. Ltd., Accenture, Kotak Securities Ltd., Franklin Templeton Investments and Birla Sunlife are just some of the companies that show keen interest in insurance and risk management professionals.
Institutes in India offering Risk and Insurance Management programmes
• I nstitute of Insurance and Risk Management, Hyderabad • SAMS Varanasi • EIILM University, School of Insurance & Risk Management, Sikkim • Amity School of Insurance and Actuarial Sciences • Institute of Management Studies, Kolkata
Career options Career opportunities are available within insurance as well as non-insurance sectors. This field is recommended for students who are good at number crunching. The demand is huge and is evident from the influx of companies at campus placements. General Insurance Co. Ltd., SBI General Insurance Company
INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT Career options Currently, the urban construction sector contributes to around 11% of India’s GDP and is set to grow at a rapid rate. Hence, the potential for careers in this industry is high. Financial analytical abilities, ability to manage several projects at the same time and strong communication and negotiating skills are required, to regularly liaison with financers, contractors and political bigwigs. There are also many commercial banks and insurance companies that specialise in real estate lending and mortgage. Graduates of urban and real estate management can also work with investment banking firms, a security analysing or rating agency or as fund or asset managers.
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Being some of the fastest growing economies of the world, India’s cities are at a critical level of urban transition, where the urban population is demanding more space, infrastructure and amenities, which the construction sector is eager to supply. This growth 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. 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-gritty of this industry, are the need of the hour. Unfortunately, the demand far outstrips the supply.
COVER STUDY STORY ANDHRA HOUR PRADESH
Institutes in India offering Infrastructure Management programmes
• TERI University • AMITY School of Urban Management • National Institute of Construction Management and Research (NICMAR) • Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Research Development (SCMHRD) • Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University (CEPT University) • School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi
SPORTS MANAGEMENT Sports Management is the application of management skills to the sports field. With sports revenues reaching new heights, there is an ever-increasing demand for professionals trained in the managerial, administrative and business aspects of sports. In India, sports is growing beyond cricket. The Olympics and Formula One are proof of this rage. Getting a billion people to believe in a game and instilling their faith in a team and its players is nothing short of a miracle, and it takes vision and perseverance to strategically market, manage and promote the game and its players. The popularisation of sports has created an escalating demand for leaders who can manage various international competitions and organisations, professional sports teams and major international sponsors involved in these events.
Career options
agent, team manager, sports public relations, sports marketing, sports event management, and others.
Institutes offering programmes
Sports
Management
• Alagappa University - Tamil Nadu • Indira Gandhi Institute of Physical Education and Sports Science - New Delhi • Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management - West Bengal • University of Technology and Management Meghalaya • International Institute of Sports Management Maharashtra • National Academy of Sports Management Maharashtra • Centurion University of Technology and Management – Orissa
Students from the general MBA field are opting to get into sports, which is why the IIM-Ahmedabad, has started offering a sports elective in their PGPM. A degree in sports management trains an individual to deal with sport management theories, sport marketing, fundraising, promotions, public relations, ethics in sports management, legal aspects of sports, facility planning and management, computer applications to sports, research methods, sports management problems, and issues and risk management. Graduates in sports management have varied jobs, ranging between sports
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MEDIA MANAGEMENT Only a decade ago, the Indian media and entertainment industry was a part of the unorganised sector in India. But things have changed today. The industry grew by US$12.9 billion in 2009 to US$14.4 billion in 2010, a growth of 11 %, according to a report by FICCI and KPMG. With the MEA (media, entertainment and
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advertising) sector growing at a CAGR of 13%, industry estimates that it would require about 7.5 lakh skilled professionals by 2017. An MBA in Media Management provides you a platform to understand the ever-growing media industry. A student learns about media economics,
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generating revenue, getting financers, marketing products, branding, strategising and budgeting. It offers a unique opportunity of being creative as well as business-minded. In addition, the programme aims at producing skilled business managers capable of working with not only online technologies but also conventional media, to promote products and services.
Career options
managers are also in high demand nowadays.
Institutes offering programmes • • • • •
Media
Management
SIMC Mudra Institute of Communication AMITY School of Communication Whistling Woods International Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research
After MBA in Media Management, numerous options are available in various industries. You can join television channels or production houses as a channel head, programming head, sales and marketing analyst, media planner or you can also join them in a financial or a creative capacity. There are many opportunities for jobs in the film industry too, as managers, production heads, marketing and sales head, finance analysts, PR managers, etc. In the online space, jobs at managerial and business level in this industry in DTH, gaming, animation and cellular data sectors are a good option. Social media
HEALTHCARE MANAGEMENT The healthcare manager is the skilled professional who is responsible for the planning and management of a healthcare facility. He works closely with medical staff, procuring the best infrastructure and coordinating treatment protocols to deliver quality healthcare with maximised efficiency. As the healthcare sector grows with emerging new treatments and technological advances, healthcare managers are needed in a variety of settings, including hospitals, clinics, public health departments, research universities, health insurance companies and private clinics. The Indian healthcare industry is expected to grow rapidly, at a rate of around 21% by 2020.
Career options After completing an MBA in healthcare management,
you can work in hospitals, clinics, old age homes, medical colleges and state health departments in the public and private sector. Similarly, there are huge and varied opportunities abroad in hospital management. Some of the areas in which health managers can shape their career are health information managers, medical record officers or administrators, health insurance managers, medical transcriptionists or editors, quality analysts in research centres, etc.
Institutes offering Healthcare Management programmes • • • • •
IHMR TISS AIIMS IMS, Devi Ahilya University Apollo Institute of Hospital Administration
HOSPITALITY/HOTEL MANAGEMENT also investing in the Indian hospitality sector and existing Indian hotel groups are adding hotel properties each year. This in turn has led to a growing demand for hotel managers.
An MBA in Hospitality Management offers tremendous scope for the future, as the food and beverage industry
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Hospitality/Hotel Management is part of the service industry, which brings in more money and creates more jobs than any other. The industry comprises 5-star, budget and heritage hotels, resorts and clubs and restaurants. The World Travel and Tourism Council has predicted that India has the potential to become the number one tourist destination in the world, growing at 10.1% per annum. Global fund companies and business houses are
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Career options
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in any country is the last to face economic upheavals. This gives the industry a certain security, which makes it an enviable career choice. It is also lucrative, more fast-paced, less mundane and offers fast career growth with many perks. The scope in this industry is growing daily with restaurants, hotels, spas and holiday resorts mushrooming everywhere.
Institutes offering Hospitality Management programmes • • • •
Amity School of Hospitality Indian Institute of Hospitality and Management Oberoi Centre For Learning and Development Hotel and Catering Management Institute
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Intellectual property is a general term for intangible assets owned and legally protected by a person or a company from outside use or implementation without consent. In simple terms, intellectual property is any idea, innovation or an invention that needs legal ownership to ensure that it isn’t copied or used without prior permission from the owner. All large companies possess enough intellectual property to bring some of it to the market and thereby generate large incomes from licensing and franchising. In fact, 55.7 million jobs, or around 27.7% of the US workforce, are supported by companies that depend heavily on intellectual property rights to protect their creative works.
in the world. Furthermore, IP is not restricted to just one sector or industry; it is required in almost all companies, irrespective of the industry they belong to. Therefore, IP studies will always be relevant, especially once all organisations start taking it more seriously. Companies are constantly on the lookout for suitable and competent professionals to handle their intellectual property issues. Industries such as pharmaceuticals, information technology, bio-technology, media, music, etc are always on the lookout for experts to handle their IP. Finally, the government sector also needs intellectual property managers, especially in fields of research, defence and agriculture.
Career options
Institutes offering programmes
IP
Management
Intellectual property laws are the same across the world, and so, with a degree in intellectual property management, you could get a job just about anywhere
• NMIMS – Institute of Intellectual Property Studies • Indian Institute of Patent and Trademark Attorney • Global Institute of Intellectual Property
ENERGY MANAGEMENT capitalists are investing huge amounts of money even in the new ventures. Students with an MBA in Energy Management can expect to be recruited at the mid-management level in various firms – both in the energy as well as non-energy sector, which includes companies such as Infosys, Tata Power, Reliance Energy, Suzlon Energy, ONGC, BHEL, L&T, Asian Paints, etc. You can gain employment as an environmental manager, power/energy trader, renewable energy manager, business development manager, energy project manager, energy analyst/ auditor, etc.
Career options
Institutes offering programmes
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Traditionally, energy has been thought of as oil and gas only. But now, the world has realised the potential of different sources of energy, mainly solar, wind and geothermal. The sudden interest in these different energy sectors has created a demand for qualified individuals who understand this industry. A course in energy management customises its curriculum to fit global standards, which gives students the tools needed to be effective in the energy market worldwide. It provides a programme that encapsulates a study of energy, its trading, conservation and sustainability, and gives a comprehension of the business techniques used in specific areas of energy management.
Major corporations across the world have realised the importance of conserving energy and are employing energy managers to address their energy systems in order to mitigate waste. As a result of the immense potential in this field, private equity funds and venture
• • • • •
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Energy
Management
University of Petroleum and Energy Studies National Power Training Institute Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology MDI Gurgaon TERI University A
HSEDARRUPOMBA HARYHDBUZZ DUNTAS
Stand out: How to improve your PROFILE What is it that a B-school looks for in an applicant? What should the candidates have done until their application that might get them the admission? It’s all about having a good, varied profile, one that will show you’ve done extraordinary things in an ordinary setting. How, you ask? Read on to know more.
A
ccording to a Harvard Business School admissions committee member, a successful business school application takes years to create, not a few months. While it may be true, let’s be honest about the whole thing. Nobody really knows that they will go after an MBA degree when they’re in, for instance, their eight or even 10th standard. One doesn’t attain the maturity to take such a decision that will probably stay with your career for the rest of your life until perhaps one is well into one’s teens, perhaps even later. However, the essential basis of the statement is most certainly true – it does indeed take some time to build a profile that will ensure that you have a better chance of getting an admission into your dream B-school. But there’s hardly any need to despair, even if you feel that you have only a few months left. This is the time when you build on your profile, and hone it properly, and if
you do it right, this will see you past the MBA and will turn you into a well-rounded individual.
Some of the specifics of the selection process First, let’s take a brief look at exactly what the B-schools consider for admission. There are some inorganic factors that B-schools like good scores, be it the CAT, CMAT, GMAT, XAT, SNAP, etc. and previous academic record. As far as these factors are concerned, it’s all in the clear, as the lines are clearly drawn about who’s eligible to apply and who isn’t. Then there is the work experience criterion. No B-school in India will turn away freshers, i.e., those who don’t have any work experience before applying for MBA. This is unlike certain B-schools overseas, such as those in the US, which don’t accept freshers at all. In India, work experience in given a certain weightage during the admission process in most of the top institutes.
However, after we’re past all of this, we come upon the “profile” criterion. During admission, B-schools tend to gauge the applicant’s profile, which is why it is called a profilebased selection. Unfortunately, this is usually accepted to be the most unclear part of the selection process, as B-schools jealously guard what parameters they use to determine the candidate’s acceptability to their programme. This means that apart from a few generic pointers, such as extra and co-curricular activities, involvement in sports and other events, etc, everything else is subjective. This is why it is imperative that before applying, or even thinking of applying, to a management institute, you take a good, long, hard look at yourself, and try to understand where you stand, and what you think you have to offer to the institute to which you’re applying.
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What kind of candidate are you?
Largely speaking from the profile point of view, there are three categories of students who apply to a management institute. First are those who are already working in the industry, and want to further their career through the management route. The second comprises candidates who have received their undergraduate degree, and are concentrating full time on preparing for the entrance exams. Finally, the third are the freshers, who are still studying, and plan to move directly from their undergraduate colleges to the B-school. One can argue that those with work experience have a definite edge over the others. While that might be true, the advantage is quite overrated. The admission selection process takes into consideration far more. Candidates who have work experience do indeed have a slight edge, but it is only slight, and at times, may even by nullified by other applications. For instance, take the case of Vasumathi S, an IIT-Kharagpur graduate who was applying for an MBA from the top management institutes in India. Vasumathi has regularly taken part in almost every event in her college during her engineering course, from dance, drama and debate through to voluntary field work and giving tuitions to the needy. “I knew that it would be far better to do something than to just sit in my hostel room and study,” she said. “After all, education is about much more than just learning up theories and sitting for exams.” Now, if you compare Vasumathi’s profile, which contains all of her activities apart from her studies, with an applicant who has only worked in a company
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for two years and hasn’t done anything much besides, Vasumathi emerges a far clearer choice for admission into a B-school, doesn’t she?
What you can do There are a whole host of things that B-schools look for in a candidate, and it is impossible to name them all, mostly because these parameters aren’t revealed by the institute. However, there are some factors that will be taken into consideration. And with just a few months left, these are the ones you can focus upon to try and build on your profile.
Cultivate a serious hobby This is probably the first thing you can do, and might even sound silly to many, but it isn’t as easy as it might seem at first glance. Almost everyone has some hobby or the other, but a serious one is something that not many cultivate. For instance, “reading” is a hobby that many people list in their application, along with other tired examples such as listening to music, watching movies, et
al. However, the admissions committee (AdCom) members who will be evaluating your application are not looking for such worn-out-with-use material. Therefore, if “reading” is a serious hobby, it will mean that it is something that gives you pleasure, and what you do whenever you have some free time. More importantly, just like any other serious hobby, this will define the sort of person that you are. According to IMS’s CMAT Product Manager Rashmi Sonthalia, “I didn’t really read much when I was growing up. But lately, I’ve been reading a lot. And it’s about how I’m responding to what I’m reading, and how I find out about the sort of person I am through my reading.” For instance, Rashmi recently read The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini, and loved the book. She then started another book by the same author, but realised that according to her, the underlying themes were very similar. She then decided to keep reading works by different authors. She also realised the kind of genres
Almost everyone has some hobby or the other, but a serious one is something that not many cultivate.
that she loves, the ones she’s okay with, and others she just doesn’t prefer. Her hobby, which was only a pastime earlier, has now turned into a serious hobby. “It’s all about finding order in the chaos. Instead of reading anything and everything, without rhyme or reason, you find a pattern in the randomness of your preferences. This will not only give you a very wholesome idea about the things you like, but also about yourself as a whole,” she said. Another example – start a blog. And maintain it. It can be about anything – writing what you feel like, a kind of personal diary, a photojournal, what have you. Maintaining that blog constantly will require a lot of discipline and effort, so if it is something you love doing, all the better. If you can ensure that you post something meaningful at least once every week, it will mean that you do have accountability, you understand responsibility, and that you can follow through on your own commitments. These are simply examples. The hobby can be anything else. Think of something that you love doing, but haven’t devoted much time to. Why you haven’t spent a lot of time doing something you loved can be for any number of reasons – you were concentrating on studies, you had too much work on your hands, what have you. But now is the best time to connect with yourself through this, gain a perspective about yourself through what you like. The motivator for this may be that admission process around the corner, but at the end of the day, this is something that will stay with you all your life. There is another perspective to all of this. Your hobby, and your seriousness in it, tells a lot about yourself. Let us consider
some other examples – travelling, solving puzzles like Sudoku, etc. Why do you like to travel? Why do you like solving puzzles? Is it about the people that you meet, the nuances, the general feel of a new place? Is it the thrill of exploring someplace new? Is it about the thrill of satisfaction you get when you complete a particularly difficult puzzle? As you can see, answers to these questions tell a lot about who you are. And that is what the B-schools look for in a hobby – it should tell them about the person that you are.
Volunteer There are so many NGOs out there that are working for the betterment of society in whatever way possible. Have you ever thought of lending a hand? Probably not. But this is the sort of community service that B-schools like to see. The
Benefits of engaging in a volunteer job • Among the key benefits of a volunteer job is learning and gaining greater information on a certain vocation or cause. • A volunteer job is ideal for an individual who draws satisfaction from selfless service. • A volunteer job provides an opportunity for developing personal strengths, skills and ability. Through volunteering, you will be exposed to dynamics of teamwork while capitalising on and learning communication. • Volunteering is a great way of adding value to a CV. Most of these jobs do not come with any payments, but your future plans are enhanced in terms of value through the experience that you gain.
AdComs like to see a candidate going out of their routine to do something meaningful, something productive, and something that benefits society as a whole. Unfortunately, this is something that many candidates misinterpret completely. In this race to build a good profile, many of them simply do some volunteer work for a few months until they get to the selection stage, and afterwards, forget about it. However, whoever they might fool, rest assured that the AdComs won’t be taken in by this. If your volunteering work was done solely so that you can list it among your achievements, they will see through it. Instead, think of something that you want to do for society. Stop a moment in your rushed, hectic, perhaps humdrum life, and put your mind to it – according to you, what do you think your society, especially what you see around you, needs? Look for an organisation that has a mission that you want to be a part of. Find an emotional connection and work on a problem that you have a passionate interest in solving. Once you have an idea, go to the NGO that works in that area. For instance, if you feel that it is imperative that children deserve better than to be made labourers on the street, volunteer with groups like Save The Children India. If you feel that these children need to be educated, volunteer with a foundation that imparts education free of cost to these children. If you think the most important thing to do is to conserve our environment, sign up with NGOs like Green Future Foundation or Ramakrishna Mission Lokashiksha Parishad. What you must not do is to run to different NGOs in the hope that a lot of community service would mean an advantage for you. Be sincere
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about it, identify your interest, and then volunteer. The AdComs really want to see that you have engaged with a community that you are passionate about serving and that the volunteer work you have done has importance and meaning to you. Remember, the quality of the experience is more important than quantity when it comes to community service. One significant leadership achievement can outweigh a laundry list of more limited volunteer work. On another note, what many B-schools look for in such examples of volunteer work or community service is whether you’ve achieved something on your own or not. If you’ve been able to make a significant contribution, that would certainly weigh in for you. And think about it, don’t you think that you will be able to make a significant, important contribution only if you know what you’re doing, and love it?
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Take up a part-time job
If you’re not already working somewhere, why not take up a small role in a company somewhere, part time? But before you decide upon this, do your homework, and remember, never assume that the AdCom fellows are stupid. According to a faculty member and an AdCom member in one of the Symbiosis institutes, anything that you’ve done merely to boost your efforts of getting into their institute will be seen through. However, if improving your profile is only one of the reasons, and the others include the fact that you’re actually sincere about it, two thumbs up! “Think about where you want to be after your MBA, which field or industry you want to be in. Then identify a company in that sector, and take up a part time job,” said
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The quality of the experience is more important than quantity when it comes to community service. the AdCom member, and added, “This will serve several purposes, apart from strengthening your profile. Firstly, you’ll find out yourself about the sector, first hand. There’s absolutely no substitute for this. Wanting to work in an industry and knowing about it theoretically is all well and good, but actually working in it, knowing what it is all about and then making the informed decision to work in that field counts for much more. This will also show the AdCom that you’re serious about working in a sector.”
Do something out of the ordinary For those who are working, a lot of free time is a luxury rarely enjoyed. So while they can still do all of the above, it would perhaps be unrealistic to expect the same level of dedication and commitment. Instead, ask yourself this: What kind of career progress have you made? Did you receive an out of turn promotion or appreciation? Did your responsibilities increase in your team? Have you acquired new skills? You will be evaluated on all of this. Therefore, volunteer for stretch assignments and unique projects. Showing up for work and doing what you’re told is a good formula for staying where you are, but it won’t get you promoted and it won’t get you into business
school. If you want to earn a spot in a top business school, then you have to show initiative and distinguish yourself from your peers. Furthermore, if you’re working in an over-represented field for MBA applicants like finance or consulting, you will have to pursue unique projects that will set you apart, which may mean volunteering for projects that others are unable or unwilling to tackle. For example, one successful applicant from a consulting firm volunteered for an international assignment in the Middle East in the middle of summer that none of his colleagues were willing to signup for. His admit letter was a great reward for the months he spent outrunning sandstorms and baking in the desert sun. Apart from all of this, you have to improve your own self, so that your profile stands up to scrutiny when you’re being interviewed. You need to have an idea about how businesses function. The AdCom doesn’t expect you to be the next Azim Premji or Ratan Tata in the making, although you might well be. What they do look for is basic business sense. For this, the only prescription is to keep reading up financial publications like the Economic Times, Business Standard, Bloomberg Businessweek, etc. Keep talking to people around you. This doesn’t mean gossip, but developing a meaningful conversation. Build on your communication skills. And don’t forget to be creative in what you do. Often, the difference between two candidates’ profiles lies in how they approached a similar situation – in their lives, workplaces, at their hobbies, etc. So remember, it is not too late to build a profile that will give you a good chance to get an admission. Be sincere, be honest with yourself, and be creative. For all the rest, it’s up to you. A
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A C.A.T. Approach to Cracking the CAT Just in case you thought that the above conforms to the age old wisdom in the adage - “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth”, you are definitely right - the C.A.T. for the CAT! The Advanc’edge Team
each phase and customise your approach accordingly – a process which we will label as “the C.A.T. approach,” wherein the C.A.T. is an acronym for Concepts, Application and Test taking, the three phases of preparation.
Concepts This is the first phase of preparation and is imperative to build basic conceptual knowledge. A sectional view of the CAT reveals three areas of testing – Quantitative, Logic & Data Interpretation and Verbal Ability. Performance in each section is linked to your ability to
Test-taking, per se, makes no sense if concept awareness is not in place or if the ability to apply concepts is questionable.
The first phase of preparation is imperative to build basic conceptual knowledge. connect with the fundamentals therein. Not knowing a concept can be a huge deterrent in effectively tackling a question; for example, it is virtually impossible to solve a question on “cyclic quadrilaterals” without knowing what one is. Further, each section differs in the range of concepts involved – the “Quantitative Section” has a greater diversity of concept areas as compared to the “Logic & Data Interpretation Section”, the latter being more practice intensive; while the “Verbal Section” has more concepts to be familiar with in the “Usage & Grammar” area as compared to the “Reading Comprehension” area. This difference in the sensitivity of each section to concept-intensiveness determines the time to be devoted to each section during this phase of preparation. It
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T
he CAT is a test which sends shivers down the spines of the students, for the following obvious reasons – the most widely accepted aptitude test for admission to top B-schools in the country, the magnitude of competition, the enormity of the stakes involved and the multiplicity of pressures to handle. All this requires a “well chalked-out and meticulously executed strategy”. In fact, the right approach to prepare is what differentiates a CAT cracker from a CAT defaulter. You need to phase out your preparation, identify the effort required in
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Students should graduate to the “application level” only after a comprehensive know-how of the key concept areas. is also recommended that you take a Diagnostic Test at the onset, which will bring forth the difference between the desired and expected levels of preparedness in each section. It has been observed that just a thorough awareness of major concepts can take a test taker to a performance level of 75 percentile in the CAT.
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Application
This is the next level of preparation and logically follows the “concept building level.” Students should graduate to the “application level” only after a comprehensive knowhow of the key concept areas. It is therefore suggested that a section-wise analysis of concept awareness be conducted and the gaps be plugged in before escalating to this level. The focus here is to develop a sectionwise ability to apply concepts and ingrain a problem-solving approach, involving skills to identify the sequential steps for effectively handling the questions. Students also need to stress on an integrated approach to solving questions; for example, a question might require an application of multiple concepts and therefore demand the proficiency to apply concepts
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in an integrated manner – previous CAT questions reveal that certain questions on time, speed and distance also entailed an application of concepts from
Computer-based tests mirror your adaptation to the new mode of test-taking and ensure the desired comfort levels. geometry, while questions on permutations and combinations required concepts from number theory as well. Taking an optimum number of sectionwise tests followed by in-depth analysis is the way forward in this level of preparation. It has been observed that a strong application orientation can take a test-taker to a performance level of 95 percentile in the CAT.
Test Taking This is the conclusive level of preparation and assumes
successful completion of the first two levels. Test-taking, per se, makes no sense if concept awareness is not in place or if the ability to apply concepts is questionable. The way ahead in this level of preparation is taking a range of tests simulating the difficulty level of the CAT and reflecting your performance on a certain scale. It is advisable that you take an adequate mix of paper-based and computer-based tests; while paper-based tests gauge your ability to respond to test questions in a conventional way, computer-based tests mirror your adaptation to the new mode of test-taking and ensure the desired comfort levels. Further, each test needs to be analysed well – the attempted questions need to be revisited from the perspective of bettering the approach and reducing the time allocated for solving them; the unattempted questions need to be explored from a feasibility perspective, which when attempted could have reduced the opportunity costs and apportioned out more time for other questions. Optimal test-taking can ensure competence with respect to significant test-taking skills such as time management, strategy formulation, prioritisation, judicious management of diverse sections, and can enable the testtaker to graduate to the highest levels of performance, with even 100 percentile being a possibility! In a nutshell, the C.A.T. approach helps you to structure your preparation in distinct phases and identify the challenges in each phase, thereby enabling you to put concerted and focused efforts ensuring more effective and strategic preparation. A
CORPORATE INTERVIEW
Passion is pivotal for your venture’s success ...feels RAHUL AGARWAL, Founder-Director, Ideal Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. In a conversation with Alolika Banerjee, he shares his entrepreneurial journey and the drive that led him to start his company at the age of 23.
During my college days, I was pretty focused on going to the USA to get an MBA. Since good US universities ask for work experience, I started looking out for work after the second year of college. This was 2001, the year private life insurance companies started operations in India. A friend of mine asked me to try my luck at Max New York Life (MNYL) Insurance. They didn’t give me a job. But a sales manager offered to make me an agent with them. It happened by chance and I never thought that it would become my career. I did exceedingly well with them and became the youngest MDRT (Million Dollar Round Table) member at the age of 20. That continues to be a record at MNYL till date. They even sent me to New York, to attend the Annual Sales conference of New York Life, 2002. There, I came to know about “insurance broking”, which hadn’t reached India till then. In 2003 I went and did my MBA in SP Jain and after getting out of college, I wanted to start something on my own. Since I loved selling insurance and insurance broking was a relatively new concept in India, I decided to start Ideal. I knew there was a lot of value addition to be done in this industry and I guess we have been quite successful with that.
Q. What were the struggles during those initial days and what are the challenges that you face now? During those initial days, like all start-up businesses, I faced the possible challenges one can imagine. No money, no brand, no good manpower was ready to
associate with us. I also did not have much knowledge about general insurance and no experience of running a business. Challenges now are that of intense competition, scalability, making the company a system and process driven organisation, margin pressure, development of human capital as the industry has thin resource base.
Q. How did you manage to run the company for so long without any external funding till now? Being the founder, I have been instrumental in driving the company from scratch to where it is today and that too without any external funding till recently. We have built the business primarily from reinvestment of our profits. My strength has been in identifying key people and bringing them on board and today we can boast of one of the best teams in the country. We have recently taken funding from Xelpmoc to increase our pace of growth and also to introduce more innovations in the market
Q. What do you have to say about the start-up culture of today? A start-up is nothing but starting a new business, which has now become a fad. People have always started new businesses and people always will, however, now the mindset has changed. Instead of growing organically, the idea is to raise money and grow inorganically. One aspect of start-up fever, which I admire, is the birth of a new breed of entrepreneurs who are hell bent on disrupting the way the world does business. They are focused on making our life easier – be it not standing in the heat for taking a cab, to ordering your basic supplies with the click of a button, to taking your business global while sitting in a shop in Chandni
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Q. You started Ideal Insurance at the age of 23, immediately after your MBA. What triggered your decision to start a venture so early on in life?
CORPORATE INTERVIEW
Chowk. Life has become so much easier than it was a decade ago. The world is available at the click of a button on your smart phone. The future of start-ups would be based on identifying and addressing customer needs. Only selling cheap products can never be a sustainable competitive advantage. There is always an order which emerges out of chaos and the same has to happen in the start-up phase. People are going to get rational. Entrepreneurs are going to get more focused. Investors are going to get more rational and less greedy.
to put in your money?
Q. Why do you think most of the start-ups these days fizzle out within a short span since when they get started?
Q. You play multiple roles – entrepreneur, angel investor, guest lecturer and motivator. Which is that one role, which you enjoy playing the most?
I feel entrepreneurship has given way to a mad race for making quick bucks. Focus is not on building an organisation, but on raising money, which has become the ultimate purpose of start-ups. People at times make the mistake that technology can solve all problems. Even though technology plays a very crucial part in business, if the basic fundamentals, people management and thought process are not strong, technology cannot take you very far.
Of course entrepreneur - It’s challenging... fun... and gives me a feeling of creation.
Q. What are the three most important qualities, according to you, which an entrepreneur should have?
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According to me, an entrepreneur should have a passion for the work he has ventured into, an ability to come up with great ideas and be a team player with a long term approach. Being an entrepreneur demands commitment and dedication, more than most jobs. If you’re ambivalent or only mildly enthused about your product or service, that’s not going to sustain you through the highs and lows, which will inevitably occur. Your love for your cause must be strong enough to give you a sense of purpose in your venture. As entrepreneurs, we tend to always have a full plate and feel that we can take on any task. In reality, if we keep adding to the plate, which is already full, it is eventually going to collapse and create a mess. Therefore it’s essential to delegate tasks to the right persons, for the overall betterment of the company in the long run. However, you have to choose the right persons whom you can trust with the crucial tasks at hand.
Q. You are an active angel investor and belong to the Calcutta Angels Network. Can you share with us a few of the interesting start-up ideas that have lately struck your mind and made you keen Advanc’edge MBA May 2017
Recently I have invested in a tech startup, named Tootle. They approached me with a unique concept. Tootle is an online platform where users can find local freelance service providers in their area. It caters as a platform where local freelancers can create their profile choosing from a wide variety of categories and subcategories of services for the employers to see, select, and hire. The concept was shared by a 24-year-old a computer science graduate from IEM, Abhishek Gupta.
Q. Do you think two years of management studies is important for a budding entrepreneur? Yes, management education is extremely important for, it teaches you the basics of a business. But along with that, one needs to work for at least 2 years, preferably in a family business or as an executive assistant to a high level professional to get some hands on field experience and understand the challenges.
Q. Your words of advice for students with aspirations to start their own ventures. Start your own venture in something that you are passionate about. And remember, do not opt for a business just because of the quick money it can provide; do it only because the cause excites you and is close to your heart. A
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News in brief
Here are some interesting titbits from over the last month Popular beer companies launch Increments in the range of 5-10% in this new brands in India financial year: Survey Heineken, Anheuser-Busch InBev, and Carlsberg will collectively be introducing about a dozen new beer brands in India to slake the thirst of its summer-singed consumers. For the world’s top three brewers, which together control about 90% of India’s beer market, new products could be the recipe for fending off an unhealthy cocktail of sales bans, shrinking store networks, and stagnant demand in a warm, tropical country with promising demographics and increasing affluence. India’s beer sales fell 2% in the year to March 2017, but companies expect the segment to expand 5-7% in the current fiscal, driven by premium products.
Corporate India is expected to dole out increments in the range of 5-10% in this financial year, a survey has pointed out. According to Genius Consultants’ Hiring, Attrition and Compensation Trend 2017-18 survey, 70% respondents said new, replacement hiring is expected across industries and 62% of corporate houses said projected increase in staff strength in their companies will be 1-15%. Moreover, a whopping 73 per cent survey takers consider that the demonetisation drive in India/ India Inc did not affect hiring new recruits, the survey noted.
No liquor sale in hotels and restaurants within 500 metres of highways
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The Supreme Court has clarified that there will be no liquor sale in hotels and restaurants, or liquor outlets, within 500 meters of state and national highways. A bench comprising chief justice J.S. Khehar, justices D.Y. Chandrachud and L. Nageswara Rao also modified an earlier ruling that banned sale of liquor with 500 meters of state and national highways. The court said the ban will be within 220m of the highway in towns with population below 20,000. “We find some substance in the argument that small towns on state highways would in most cases not extend 500 mts of the highway,” the court said. The court also exempted Meghalaya and Sikkim from the court’s order.
FMCG emerges as the highest paying industry in India
Uber to introduce UberEATS in India soon
The FMCG industry has emerged as the highest paying industry in India with an average annual cost to company (CTC) of `11.3 lakh across all levels and functions, says a survey. A robust demand for qualified personnel in sales, marketing and supply chain management roles coupled with close to 30% of jobs being posted in over 10 lakh category is being seen as the primary driver for FMCG industry to emerge as the winner. FMCG is followed by power and the IT sector, where employees across all levels and functions earn average annual salaries at `9.8 lakh and `9.3 lakh, respectively, the 2017 Salary Trends Study released by Randstad said. Pharma and healthcare, offering an average annual CTC of `8.8 lakh, and telecom (at `8.7 lakh) take the fourth and fifth position in the list as India’s most lucrative industries, the study noted.
Uber Technologies Inc. will soon launch food delivery service UberEATS in India, from the second quarter of the year. Uber’s entry into the food delivery segment comes at a time when most food start-ups are struggling with poor unit economics, while some have shut shop because of a dearth of funds. UberEATS, which is a separate app, was first piloted in 2014 in Los Angeles. The service has since been expanded to 58 cities across the world, including New York, Paris, Seattle, Bangkok, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong. “I am incredibly excited about bringing UberEATS to India. This is a significant investment, it spans multiple cities and regions, and it has the potential to change the food industry — with the push of a button — in one of the most vibrant food cultures in the world,” Allen Penn, the Asia-Pacific head of UberEATS, said in blog post.
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Enraged Indians end up uninstalling Snapdeal mistaking it for Snapchat Indian e-commerce portal Snapdeal, is bearing the brunt of having ‘SNAP’ in its name. Mistaking Snapdeal for Snapchat, many Indians enraged by Snapchat CEO’s comment that India is poor, are uninstalling the Snapdeal app and giving it poor ratings on app stores. The confusion happened after a former Snapchat employee claimed that Evan Speigel, the CEO of Snapchat, once made a comment that his app is only for the rich and that he does not want it to expand it into ‘poor countries like India and Spain’. The news spread like wildfire on the internet, and the way Chinese whisper works, by the time it reached the Indian social media circle, many hyper-nationalists decided to boycott the app. The Indian Twitterati, enraged by the remark, trended #BoycottSnapchat. In this confusion, some people even went ahead to uninstall Snapdeal, which is an Indian e-commerce portal.
Demand for senior professionals has grown over 30%
Double-decker AC train to be launched in July
Demand for senior professionals grew over 30%, even as overall hiring posted a stable 1% rise in March 2017. The recruitment index has been steadily growing since February 2017. According to recruitment portal TimesJobs.com report ‘RecruiteX’, the key takeaways are: • Demand up by over 30% for senior professionals. • Healthcare sector reports an 8% rise in talent demand. • Demand grew by 17% for doctors, nurses and medical professionals. • Hyderabad and Ahmedabad posted a 21% rise in talent demand.
The Indian Railways is all set to launch in July a special doubledecker, air-conditioned train service for overnight journeys on high-demand routes such as New Delhi-Lucknow, a senior Railway Ministry officer has said. Dubbed the Utkrisht Double-Decker AC Yatri Express, or Uday Express, the train will not have sleeper berths but only comfortable reclining chairs. Each of the coaches in the train will seat 120 people and will have hot food and beverage vending machines. The official said the Uday services will serve high-density routes like DelhiLucknow and the fare will be lower than that of the 3AC class in regular mail and express trains.
Godrej Properties to come up with Taj hotel Godrej Properties Lid (GPL), the real estate arm of the Godrej Group, has entered into an agreement with Taj Hotels Palaces Resorts Safaris to develop a Taj brand hotel at its flagship project, The Trees, in Vikhroli, Mumbai. The Taj at The Trees will have 150 rooms and suites along with dining, entertainment, and conferencing facilities. The Trees is a mixed-use development which contains a commercial precinct spread across 9.4 acres, which houses Godrej One, the Godrej Group’s global headquarters. Pirojsha Godrej, Executive Chairman, Godrej Properties said: “Our endeavour is to make The Trees India’s most exciting mixed-use development and this partnership is an important milestone towards that goal.”
Overall inflation moderates to 5.70% in March The annual rate of inflation based on monthly Wholesale Price Index (WPI) moderated to 5.7% (provisional) for March 2017 thanks to decline in fuel prices and manufactured products, as per the data from the commerce and industry ministry. The WPI inflation had touched a 39-month high of 6.55% (provisional) in February, while it was -0.45% in March 2016. According to an analysis by Nomura: “Primary food inflation trended higher, as vegetable inflation emerged after six months of deflation, although food price pressures are not yet a concern, as prices of cereals, pulses and spices have fallen sequentially in the last two to three months. Fuel price inflation moderated on favourable base effects and a fall in most market-linked fuels.”
India put up a decent show at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria with a total of 73 medals, which included 37 gold medals, 10 silvers and 26 bronze. Over 100 countries took part the quadrennial event, which was held from March 14-25, with Indian athletes finishing with a satisfactory medal haul. The Special Olympics Bharat (SOB) raked in gold medals from three team events - floor hockey, unified floorball and traditional floorball. During the last edition of the event, in Pyongchang, South Korea, India had secured a total of 46 medals. Advanc’edge MBA May 2017
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India wins 73 medals at the Special Olympics World Winter Games
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Kohli increases endorsement fee to Aadhaar-based biometric access for flyers to `5 crore per day be introduced soon? Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has hiked his endorsement fee to `5 crore a day for new contracts henceforth. This is the highest fee charged by any celebrity in India, even surpassing the top film personalities of Bollywood. Now, this increase will possibly put the 28-year-old in the league of international sports stars. This fee also exceeds what former captain MS Dhoni charged during his peak. Kohli’s earlier fee ranged between `2.5 crore and `4 crore a day. The increase comes as the renewal of his endorsement deal with cola maker PepsiCo is being negotiated. Kohli is undecided about renewing the Pepsi contract, given the health concerns associated with colas.
IT major Wipro has been asked by the government of India to develop a blueprint for Aadhaar-based biometric access to flyers at all airports across the country. Airports will begin the process of a passenger’s thumb being all the identification he or she requires to fly, after Wipro submits its report by early May. For quite some time, the aviation ministry had been toying with the idea of linking Aadhar numbers to air travel bookings and then enabling biometric access possible at airports. And finally, a concrete step in this direction has been taken after a recent meeting of various airport operators and airlines with aviation minister Jayant Sinha and aviation secretary R N Choubey.
State Bank of Travancore will cease to exist from April 1 Curtains will be coming down on the State Bank of Travancore (SBT) from April 1, following its merger with parent State Bank of India (SBI). Seventy two years after coming into being in Kerala SBT will cease to exist. Besides the State Bank of Travancore, the State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, State Bank of Mysore, State Bank of Patiala and State Bank of Hyderabad will also be merged with the State Bank of India, and the assets of these banks will be transferred to the parent bank from April 1 itself.
India features among one of the top 4 nations for highest number of deaths by smoking
PV Sindhu becomes the World No. 2 woman badminton player
A new study has revealed that more than one in 10 deaths all across the world was due to smoking in 2015 and over 50% of them took place in just four countries, one of which was India. Over 11% of 6.4 million deaths worldwide were caused by smoking in 2015 and 52.2% of them took place in China, India, USA, and Russia, according to the latest estimates in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study published in medical journal The Lancet. China, India, and Indonesia, the three leading countries with male smokers, accounted for 51.4% of the world’s male smokers in 2015. India has 11.2% of the world’s total smokers. Deaths attributable to smoking increased by 4.7% in 2015 compared with 2005 and smoking was rated as a bigger burden on health – moving from third to second highest cause of disability, the study said.
PV Sindhu, The Rio Olympics silver medallist from India, has become the World No.2 woman badminton player after some fine performances in the recent past. The Rio Olympics silver medallist, who claimed her first India Open Superseries title recently, beating her Olympic final rival Carolina Marin of Spain, jumped three spots as per the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) rankings. Incidentally, Marin was among the players Sindhu overtook on way to the second rank. Tai Tzu Ying of Chinese Taipei retains her top ranking. Sindhu had a poor outing in the Malaysia Open Superseries, going down 21-18, 19-21, 17-21 to her unseeded Chinese opponent Chen Yufei. However, she was rewarded with the No. 2 ranking because of her other significant performances in 2016 and this year.
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Sluggish hiring for IT sector in April-September period: Report
India’s IT industry is not showing a promising picture in the days to come. Hiring in the IT will remain sluggish for the period April ’17 – September ’17 with only 58% of the Indian IT employers looking to hire over the coming two quarters according to an Employment Outlook Survey released by Experis IT – ManpowerGroup India. The survey of Indian IT employers across the country indicates that although the labour market outlook is positive, IT professionals can only expect a moderate growth in job opportunities. However, southern and western region employers expect maximum job prospects in the months ahead, the report said. Hiring outlook in the Indian IT domain doesn’t look encouraging for the next few months due to various global macro economic factors such as the H1-B executive order and Brexit. IT companies are adopting a wait and watch strategy and taking alternate talent acquisition routes such as hiring temporary IT workers to cover immediate demands. Advanc’edge MBA May 2017
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Indian ITeS sector now at a crossroads The information technology sector is suddenly in a challenged state in India today. With visa restrictions, lack of skilled employees and change in customer expectations taking a toll on the industry, what’s the way ahead? Time for us to keep a cautious eye and wait and watch!
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he Indian IT industry is under a major transformation. It is one of the largest industries in the Indian context and a major contributor to the Indian economy both in terms of revenue contribution as well as in terms of employment generation. The industry has revenue of close to `9 lakh crores and creates employment for around 50 lakh employees. Indian accounts for over half of the global outsourcing business. Some of the large Indian IT companies are the largest and have the highest market capitalisation in the
Indian stock markets. That said, there are primarily three major issues that are facing the Indian IT industry and its players, today.
Customer expectations are changing Over the last 20 years, Indian ITeS companies have perfected the traditional ‘human resources arbitrage’ model. This entails primarily acquiring low skilled manpower from universities, providing them minimal training and charging the client primarily on the ‘Full time equivalent’ basis, i.e., based on the number of manpower deployed on the
Today, the Indian IT industry and its players are in the midst of a major transformation.
project. To a large extent, the value addition to the client is mainly demonstrated through a headcount dedicated to the project and the cost at which such manpower is deployed. India having had a significant cost advantage over its European and Asian competitors, and the ability of Indian IT companies to access university graduates at low cost, albeit low skilled, gave it the competitive advantage to run the business model successfully for the last 20 years. They were in fact able to reduce the cost of IT operations and improve processes of clients significantly. This situation however is changing drastically. Today, the Indian IT industry and its players are in the midst of a major transformation. The ‘time-tested’ traditional model of the Indian IT companies is now under threat, for many reasons. Global clients are not merely looking at cost reductions; they are looking for IT service providers to use cutting edge technologies like high end analytics using data housed on cloud, providing enterprise solutions using mobility and emerging technologies for tracking social media.
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Dr Suresh Srinivasan
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Client requirements are becoming complex and demanding every passing day; any solution offered is expected to encompass digitalisation and contours of internet of things using sensors. They are looking for IT companies to help them in areas like machine learning and artificial intelligence. Over and above these demands, they are expecting the tech companies to be highly cost effective. The only option for the Indian ITeS companies would be to use cutting-edge technologies like robotic process automation (RPA) and artificial intelligence (AI) to mechanise many jobs that are currently done manually.
Skill sets Skill set deficit is a major problem with respect to virtually all the industries in India; be it healthcare, infrastructure, banking and financial services or be it manufacturing; we are severely short in terms of available skill sets in the country. Our technical institutes, engineering colleges, universities
Indian IT industry is expecting nearly 2 lakh managers to become redundant over the next 5 years. and business schools just do not produce the number of skilled ‘industry ready’ managers who are capable of contributing to these sectors and ready to hit the ground running! This is a major concern. With such large scale transformation in client expectations, the skill sets we posses, albeit inadequate, are becoming redundant and new skill sets are in demand, which are scarce! This is a serious concern that is a threat to the long term competitiveness of the Indian IT industry! Skill sets they currently possess, will become less
relevant in the short to medium term, needing a major overhaul. Every company is working hard to become innovative and appropriately align itself with the changing market conditions, customer preferences, technology shifts and regulatory uncertainties in their key markets, like the Unites States of America. But, this is becoming extremely challenging. IT companies have to culturally transform themselves to achieve an innovative edge. This is a tectonic shift and many may not be able to successfully pull this through.
IT industry redundant
becoming
Indian IT industry is expecting close to 2 lakh managers to become redundant over the next five years with client mandate to reduce costs and the Indian IT companies deploying RPA and AI, as well as given the changing business model. There would be job loss at such senior levels where managers draw a salary of around `20 lakh per month.
INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE Walmart in talks to buy Bonobos Walmart, through a series of recent acquisitions, is expecting to make up for lost time in a race against Amazon in the e-commerce business. Walmart is reportedly in talks to purchase Bonobos, a menswear online retailer brand, specialising in affordably priced upscale suits, for $300 million.
eBay to close the sale of its India business to Flipkart eBay looks to close the sale of its India business to Flipkart early in the second half of this year and hopes that this strategic partnership with the country’s second largest marketplace will boost its profits in the Indian market. eBay has been laggard in the Indian ecommerce industry since its inception. www.advancedge.com
Significant acquisition deals in the Indian renewable energy sector
Last 15 months have seen large acquisition deals in the Indian renewable energy sector, with Tata Power’s acquisition of 1.1 GW from the Welspun, Greenko’s acquisition of SunEdison’s portfolio, and the merger of Orient Green Power and IL&FS Wind Energy being remarkable as prominent deals.
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The Indian IT industry is now being threatened by the new visa restrictions under the Trump regime. This will for sure impact the entry level job positions created every year and the impact is already being seen in the current year; job offers and placements in engineering colleges and business schools have reduced. This scenario is straight away evident. This can create a major problem not only for the IT industry but for the Indian
economy as a whole. One of the biggest challenges faced by the Indian economy is unemployment and traditional sectors like manufacturing and agriculture are already on the decline and are under-performing. IT industry used to be the silver lining. Unfortunately, it is no longer so. The only solution is for the engineering colleges and business schools to skill the students differently, in more value added technology domains like analytics, cloud and mobility, in line with the industry expectations. This will help the Indian ITeS industry to become more competitive in the medium to short term and have the skilled manpower to meet client expectations.
Visa restrictions in major markets The visa issue, though short
term and could improve over the medium to long term period, has placed enormous pressures on the Indian IT companies. Developed markets like the US, where close to 60% of revenue of Indian IT companies comes from, are discouraging foreign companies to depute so called ‘experts’ at cheap cost that snatch away US jobs; Indian IT companies thrive on deploying specialists at substantially low cost and short notice through the H-1B route. This is the cornerstone of the Indian IT companies’ business model; and it is now being threatened by the new visa restrictions under the Trump regime. The new legislation will drive the Indian IT companies to be more cautious. They would either look for local talent to fill up these jobs or only send very experienced people to fill up these positions; either way, their costs are likely to steeply increase and profit margins will for sure dwindle. Overall, the Indian IT companies are in the midst of a major industry transformation. How many of the large Indian IT companies can successfully reorient themselves to meet the changing expectations of the client is a significant question, which only time can answer! A
INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE US spice-maker McCormick & Company Inc to acquire Kohinoor
Facebook endeavours to free people from their phones With technology completely taking over our lives, Facebook’s research unit Building 8 is working to make it possible for people to type using signals from their brains, part of the lab’s broader effort to free people from their phones.
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US based spice-maker McCormick & Company Inc has said that it will fully acquire Kohinoor Speciality Foods India, which markets Kohinoor basmati rice, for an undisclosed amount. The company already has 85% stake in Kohinoor Speciality.
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and its impact on the Indian economy India is caught in the IPL frenzy. From being the 6th among the sports leagues of the world, the Indian Premier League is generating quite a hullabaloo. However, critics are also providing reasons to condemn this extravaganza. How the celebrated league shapes up, remains to be seen.
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he professional Twenty20 cricket league in India, the Indian Premier League (IPL), is one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas in the country. Organised every year during the months of April and May, this league had been started way back in 2007 by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), under the leadership of the then Chairman Lalit Modi. The most-attended cricket league, the IPL ranks sixth among all the sports leagues of the world. And, not only that! In the year 2010, the IPL became the first sporting event in the world, which was broadcast live on YouTube. And naturally, living up to its reputation, the brand value of IPL was estimated to be US$4.5 billion in 2015 by American Appraisal, a division of Duff & Phelps. According to BCCI, the 2015 IPL season contributed no less than `11.5 billion (US$182 million) to the GDP of the Indian economy, which is roughly around a little more than 1% of the overall GDP of India. And the popularity of this league seems to be on the rise with every passing
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season. Duff & Phelps added that the value of brand IPL has jumped to $4.16 billion after the 2016 edition, against $3.54 billion in 2015. And, what’s surprising is that, this 19% jump is despite the fact that the US dollar to Indian rupee currency has depreciated by nearly 10%. IPL over the years has become so big and resourceful that now it contributes to around 15% to 20% of BCCI’s total income, which is quite significant.
How IPL positively contributes to the Indian economy? In 2015 BCCI released financial
Former BCCI Chairman Lalit Modi
numbers associated with IPL profitability. Auditing firm and BCCI stated that IPL contributed a direct revenue of around `1,200 crore to the country’s GDP. Surplus from IPL, after setting off all direct expenses relating to the IPL amounted to around ` 210 crore. This is a noteworthy contribution and accounts to around 15% of BCCI’s total income. The profit figures are significant since BCCI plays a pivotal role in various cricket promotional activities within the country and IPL’s financial contribution can be leveraged to conduct such nationally important events. IPL directly impacts various stakeholders associated with it; this includes the spectators, state cricket associations, players, franchisees, organisers and event managers, television and media channels. However, along with these, where the IPL’s contribution to Indian economy is quite direct, there are a number of ways where IPL indirectly impacts the economy. Tourism IPL has taken over the nation like
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frenzy and no wonder tourism is one of the major beneficiaries of the Indian Premier League. BCCI estimated that around 20% of spectators in any IPL venue are mostly residents of places other than the host city. These also include overseas tourists who specifically travel into the country to witness such exciting matches. Similar to the concept of medical tourism, we now have what we call as ‘sports’ tourism; thanks to BCCI and IPL. More importantly, in a large country like India, tierII and III cities like Nagpur, Lucknow, Visakhapatnam, Pune, Dharmashala, Kochi and Ranchi are quite low down on the tourism radar even for resident Indians. IPL has managed to change this very psyche and has encouraged Indians within the country to travel to these smaller cities and contribute to incremental tourism. Development of cricket IPL’s popularity has spread so significantly throughout the country that people have started taking more and more active interest in the game of cricket. A result of which is the mushrooming of cricket coaching centres that are opening up to cater to the needs of budding
Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, the two stalwarts in the game of cricket, are inspirations to millions of IPL enthusiasts. cricket enthusiasts and their aspirational parents. State sports infrastructure gets a boost because of this increased vigour for cricket. More importantly, the size of budding new talent in the Indian cricket scenario has skyrocketed, which is already positively impacting the competitiveness of India’s national cricket team. This new trend is good for retired players as well, who are making quick money by imparting cricket lessons in these coaching centres. Boon for the advertising industry IPL has also helped employment generation across various sectors, like printing, merchandising, sponsorships,
internet clicks, mobile service providers, cab and taxi service operators, hotels and furnished apartments, event management, advertising industry, and others. For most of the fast moving consumer goods companies, IPL season of April and May is an important period in the product launch calendar as many new products are introduced during the time. Benefit for the government IPL also benefits the government in certain ways like, enhanced business contribution to companies across industries and sectors that result in higher incomes, translating into profits and eventually into additional taxes to the government. Overall,
INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE Patanjali aiming to clock double-digit growth in FY18
Future Retail Ltd. to demerge its home retail business Future Retail Ltd (FRL) has announced that it would demerge its home retail business in order to bring in the required focus as its portfolio of businesses are rapidly increasing. Post its merger with Bharti retail, the company has grown in terms of size, scale and portfolio.
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Patanjali, the new player in the FMCG block, is aiming to clock doubledigit growth in FY18. It has announced that it will be focusing only on the domestic market currently and not planning to venture into the international market with vigour. The FMCG company also ruled out any plans for IPO.
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the celebrations surrounding it do not contribute to the social causes. Moreover, NGOs frequently complain that IPL consumes public resources like power and police force availability that are already scarce in the economy.
The IPL fever has created a frenzy among fans and advertisers. the economic impact of IPL in addition to the direct impact is pegged at `1,90,000 crore. It is interesting to note that when IPL was shifted out of India to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the year 2014, because of a number of unavoidable factors, it was reported that the 15-day event resulted in an incremental economic activity that translated to `450 crores. It is also being reported that this amounted to around 5% of the total economic growth, which UAE achieved during that year.
Negative spillovers
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When an event of such magnitude is emerging, negative spillovers are inevitable. Charges of mismanagement in BCCI, nepotism, bribery, flouting foreign exchange laws and inappropriate use of funds have remained the center point of criticism.
BCCI’s one-upmanship There have been serious allegations of BCCI creating an empire for itself and considering itself to be above any other regulating bodies within the country. A number of cases against BCCI are under judicial
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consideration and the courts recently expelled senior officials of the BCCI and intended to bring its affairs under a body that is expected to make the BCCI’s transactions more transparent. Celebration of the essentially affluent strata Several non-government organisations (NGOs) and social activists argue that the Indian Premier League and all the hullaballoo surrounding it are mostly reserved for the affluent classes. They allege that when states like Maharashtra suffer from drought, IPL celebrates the rich through its matches, parties, events and programmes, completely ignoring the plight of the drought-hit victims. IPL and
The value of brand IPL has jumped to $4.16 billion after the 2016 edition, against $3.54 billion in 2015.
Polluting the environment NGO workers and social activists also argue that IPL matches and the craze surrounding it increase pollution levels in the cities. Reduction of environmental footprint, inadequate sewerage treatment plants and large scale wastage of water, especially in states suffering from drought problems, lead to various pollution hazards. Exhausting cricketers before important international tournaments Critics argue that IPL season can drain out national cricketers before important test matches and other significant international tournaments, thereby reducing the competitiveness of the players, who fail to give their 100% in crucial matches. However, if we balance out the positive and negative aspects, the benefits spill over the detriments. An event of such magnitude as the IPL, which involves so much of national interest and constructively keeps people engaged, is most welcome! At a point in time when terrorism is on the rise and youngsters are often drawn into illegal activities, which are against national interest, IPL is a fresh breeze that can actually be a remedy to the multiple social problems. Hopefully, if its management could be tightened a bit, it would surely become an asset to the country’s economy! A
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Flipkart acquires eBay India: What’s the scenario now? The e-commerce industry in India is in a very sensitive phase. Amidst the trend of acquisitions and intense competition from international market leaders, the desi players are leaving no stone unturned to survive in these trying times. Dr Suresh Srinivasan
operations. The deal is pegged at `9,000 crore; China’s Tencents would contribute around `4,500 crore, eBay would contribute around `3,200 crore and Micrsoft will invest `1,300 crore. As a part of the deal, eBay’s India operations would merge with Flipkart and Flipkart would move its data and platforms to Microsoft owned Azure, which would be its exclusive cloud partner. The latest round of funding from Microsoft and the acquisition of eBay’s operations in India is a desperate move by Flipkart. Some time back, news of a merger between Snapdeal and
Flipkart recently announced its biggest funding round and said it is acquiring rival eBay India. Flipkart were being discussed. However, all these are by no means a quick fix to the problems Flipkart, Snapdeal and eBay are facing in India. Let’s analyse why.
Discounts, no longer the lure Discounts, the main factor on which e-commerce companies were thriving, is going to become less important. Attracting customers and increasing online traffic, managing scale and choice of customer segments and product portfolios in a highly competitive environment will become critical. Capabilities that will provide seamless and rapid delivery and ‘return’ services, enhancing customer experience across multiple customer touchpoints will bring in success.
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he year 2017 has not been very encouraging for the Indian e-commerce industry. To begin with, global investors have turned hostile towards the Indian e-commerce start-ups. The flow of funds towards e-commerce companies has been severely curtailed. Naturally, e-commerce start-ups like Flipkart and Snapdeal have faced the brunt of the situation, with their valuations having declined sharply. Flipkart, for example has been devalued by several investors repeatedly. The message is loud and clear – the discount model is not working anymore! The aggressive growth of Amazon in India is another significant threat to the Indian players like Flipkart and Snapdeal. Get your acts together, or perish – this is the mantra that’s doing the rounds. Players like Flipkart and Snapdeal do not seem to have a cohesive strategy as they are scrambling for funds. Flipkart recently announced its biggest funding round and said it is acquiring rival eBay’s India
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providing a touch and feel ahead of ordering could also become important and sophisticated (many of them are working on more sophisticated sizing and fitting tools).
Need for increased investments
Middle and last mile delivery customer experience. Platforms need to build deep analytical skills to understand and make the right choice.
Boosting the tech component Investment in technology is paramount! Firms have to ensure ease of ordering when
Creating a superior customer experience needs enormous investments on many fronts. This will drive the need to go ‘asset light’; which means, doing away with the inventory-led model, are key components impacting diversifying the seller/ merchant base, expanding the number of sellers on the platform and the customers move from PCs shifting focus away from gross to tablets and to mobile phone merchandise value (GMV) to devices. This entails high spend on customer experience. technology that should support availability of mobile apps, Improved logistics integration of backend and front Middle and last mile delivery end infrastructure and analytics. are key components impacting Managing returns and possibly customer experience. This
INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE L&T signs up with South Korea’s Hanwha Techwin L&T has signed with South Korea’s Hanwha Techwin for manufacturing army weapons that will include self propelled guns for the Indian army. This is a good strategy for L&T when construction business is slowing down. Many companies like the Tata and the Mahindra groups are also entering the defense space lately.
IT companies reconfiguring their skill sets With India’s IT industry transforming, companies are reconfiguring their skill sets. Wipro, for example, recently decided to let go of its 350-400 employees as part of the appraisal process, which the company termed as a part of its plan to align its workforce with business objectives
Jaitley discussed visa issues with US Commerce Secretary
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With Trump’s latest visa policy posing severe threat to Indian IT companies, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently discussed the issue with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The Indian government is doing all it can on this sensitive issue that has an impact on India’s services sector.
Apple and Nike to expand their smart watch partnership Apple and Nike are working to expand their smart watch series partnership. This would be strengthened in the Apple Watch 2 offering. Apple wants to capitalise on wearable devices focused on fitness, which are becoming more and more acceptable by customers who are willing to pay.
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The threat from Amazon Players like Amazon, with deep pockets, are well positioned to take advantage of the emerging trends and gain market share. Amazon is the frontrunner, steering the industry in this direction. It has pledged US$ 5 billion in investments into India; and as promised, monies are actually flowing in. It is spending a large part of such investments into logistics and ‘middle mile’ delivery to enhance customer experience. To reach the remotest part of the country, it has recently created 20 ‘fulfillment centers’ across the country. Amazon’s focus to control the logistics chain and take control of the trucking market is also evident. It is said to be working on an
Players like Amazon, with deep pockets, will take advantage of the emerging trends and gain market share.
in areas densely populated with small and medium sized businesses, to register, provide image-cataloguing service train and onboard sellers on its platform; on-boarding is rapid and happens within 60 minutes. Amazon helps these businesses to sell on its platform and everything else including warehousing. The swift delivery to the consumers is managed by Amazon’s state of the art infrastructure.
‘uber’ like app that matches truck drivers with shippers and thereby eliminates brokers who currently charge a large commission for such services. With its globally scaled R&D capabilities (floating warehouses with drone delivery being patented in the US) what it could bring into the Indian logistics market over time could be setting the industry standards. More importantly, Amazon is striving to diversify its seller/ merchant base. Over the last year it has doubled its sellers on the platform to around a lakh and a half and almost tripled its product selection on the platform to around a hundred million, leaving Flipkart behind by miles! Through ‘Amazon Tatkal’ it runs a specially designed studioon-wheels travelling to more than hundred cities across the country,
2017 is likely to see competitive rivalry intensifying. Walmart for sure will take its rivalry with Amazon into India. It will enter the Indian ecommerce space, either through Flipkart equity infusion or otherwise. Although a bit late in the game, Alibaba has been mulling an India entry through acquisition of ShopClues, partly owned by GIC of Singapore, and possibly merging it with Paytm’s ecommerce business, which it already owns partly. Flipkart and eBay merger, and for that matter even if Snapdeal joins the party, would only have short-term benefits; but the problems would be more and the long term survival of these second rated players would become more challenging! Given all this, players who are able to focus on logistics and delivery capability, and move away from the discounting model, will take the market share in the medium to long term. This is precisely what the game seems to be about! A
Scenario in the days to come
Dr Suresh Srinivasan is a Chartered Accountant, has an MBA (Bradford UK) and a Doctorate in Strategy. He is the Director 2-year PGDM, Sr. Associate Professor at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai and a management consultant.
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component constitutes close to 15% in terms of cost to the net sales. Currently, a large part of logistics and warehousing is outsourced. Most companies don’t have an integrated end-to end logistics platform resulting in poor customer experience; high rejection rates on cash on delivery (CoD) transactions especially in rural areas and remote pin-codes is a logistics nightmare. All of these entail substantial investments and Indian players like Flipkart and Snapdeal are not very well geared for this due to severe liquidity crunch.
MUST STUDYREADS ANDHRA HOUR PRADESH
Since you’re planning on doing your MBA, you need to be well read, and not just on current affairs. In this section, we offer you some choices of books that will broaden your perspective, and you will find that you will never be at a loss in a discussion!
F
irst, Break All The Rules is a trend-setting book, based on in-depth interviews of 80,000 managers in 400 companies, which shows that the world’s best managers break virtually every conventional “rule” of management practice. In this book, author James K. Harter show why managers of exceptional calibre select employees for talent, not experience, intelligence, or determination. There is nothing called a rule that always has to be followed and effective managers keep that in mind when they define the right outcomes for people, not the right steps. They focus on developing employee strengths, not doing away with their weaknesses. Name: First, Break All The Rules The book will help you examine what you believe about Author: James K. Harter effective management and encourage you to think of ways Publisher: Gallup Press to set people up for success in your organisation from the Genre: Non-fiction Price: `899 beginning.
P
ublished posthumously in 1964, Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast is a literary masterpiece that captures the life of the author. Right from the days of his struggle in Paris during the 1020s, the book chronicles the life of this master story teller. A Moveable Feast is an elegy to the remarkable group of expatriates who gathered in Paris during the twenties and a testament to the risks and rewards of a writer’s life. The city of Paris is portrayed with passion in this book, from a map drawn in his distinct prose of the streets and cafes and bookshops that comprised the city in which he, as a young writer, sometimes struggling against the cold and hunger of near poverty, honed the skills of his craft. And of course the book is also about writing. There are lessons in the actual language, which is beautiful, and there are lessons in the insight into the writer’s brain, and the understanding of the fragility of the balance between being able to do it, and not being able to do it.
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Name: A Moveable Feast Author: Ernest Hemingway Publisher: Random House Genre: Autobiography Price: `298
n Elizabeth Strout’s deeply affecting novel, My Name Is Lucy Barton, the eponymous heroine endeavours to make sense of her story in spite of the vagaries of memory. The novel – narrated by the protagonist from the vantage point of the future, both with the benefit of hindsight and the unreliability of memory – takes places over five nights in the mid-1980s. Lucy Barton has been in hospital for three weeks with an undiagnosed illness after having her appendix removed. She is separated from her husband and two daughters, aged five and six, whom she misses desperately. Unexpectedly, her mother, from whom she has been estranged for years, arrives at her bedside. Lucy is now a successful writer, but her mother’s presence reignites memories of her childhood – of poverty, abuse and social exclusion. Name: My Name Is Lucy Barton A novel about love: about the complicated, complex love Author: Elizabeth Strout between a mother and daughter, My Name Is Lucy Barton confirms Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd Genre: Fiction Strout as a powerful storyteller immersed in the nuances of human Price: `499 relationships, weaving family tapestries with compassion, wisdom and insight. Advanc’edge MBA May 2017
HSEDAR STUDY RUPOHARYH HOUR DDUNTAS
Are you a Brainiac? In this section, we shall explore several different types of questions from the various areas of entrance exams like the CAT, CET, GMAT, etc, and how to best solve them.
Quant 1. 2. f(x) = 2x + 1, g(x) = (x – 1)2 . Find f(g(2)). 1] 3 2] 9 3] 15
4] 16
Exp: f[g(2)] = f[(2 – 1)2] = f(1) = 3. Hence, [1].
In the given figure, the diagonal BD of trapezium ABED is 10 cm. m BCF = 60°, m BEF = 90° and BC = BF = AB. Find the area of BCF, if BC is parallel to AD.
1] 25
cm2 2]
cm2
3] 75 cm2 4]
cm2
Exp:
Exp: Each of my deal consists of some purchased and some free biscuit and chocolates. Let me purchase A chocolates, then I will get
In
ABCD, AB is parallel to DC (as
trapezium) and AB = CD
m
B=m
ABED is
BCD is rhombus.
C=m
biscuits free and let me purchase B biscuits, then I will get B chocolates free. Hence, in first case
A + B = 12 and
Solving the two, we get, A = 10.5. Hence, I had purchased either 10 or 11 chocolates. In either case I will get 3 free biscuits, this means I have to purchase 2 biscuit, so I will get 2 chocolates free, hence I could not have purchased 11 chocolates because in that case I would have had 13 chocolates. Hence, I had purchased 10 chocolates and 2 biscuits. Let ‘c’ be the cost of a chocolates and ‘b’ the cost of a biscuit. Hence, 10c + 2b = 13 ... (1) Similarly, for second case: A+B=9 +B=8 Solving, we get, A = 1.5. Hence, I had purchased either 1 or 2 chocolates. In both, I get no bonus biscuits. This means
F = 60°
BCF is an equilateral
m
ADC = 60°
m
B=m
m
BDC = 30°
C = 60°
BDE is 30°–60°–90°
BE = BD = 5 cm
BC =
(A
BE = BCF) =
=
cm2. Hence, [2].
+B=5
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3. With Rs.13, I can get 12 chocolates and 5 biscuits, or with Rs.13 I can get 8 biscuits and 9 chocolates. But, in both the cases it also contains free biscuits and chocolates. The shopkeeper gives one biscuit free for every three chocolates purchased and a chocolate for every biscuit purchased. How much will I have to pay the shopkeeper if I want 15 chocolates and 9 biscuits? 1] Rs.15 2] Rs.20 3] Rs.18 4] Rs.21
ANDHRAHOUR STUDY PRADESH
I had to purchase 8 biscuits, so I will get 8 chocolates free, hence will purchase 1 chocolate. Hence, 1c + 8b = 13 ... (2) Solving (1) and (2), we get, c = 1 and b = 1.5
Also, for last case, A + B = 15
+ B = 9 Solving, we get, A = 9 and B = 6. Hence, I have to pay = 9 × 1 + 6 × 1.5 = Rs.18. Hence, [3].
Verbal DIRECTIONS for questions 1 and 2: In the following questions, a word has been used in sentences in four different ways. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence in which the usage of the word is incorrect or inappropriate.
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1. HEAD 1] In this poor economy, many families are unable to keep their heads above water. 2] She would never make a good doctor – she is incapable of keeping her head in an emergency. 3] The middle-manager was annoyed that his subordinates had gone over his head and appealed directly to the MD. 4] After considerable effort, the students managed to make head or tail of the assignment. To ‘keep one’s head above water’ means to survive financially. Simply to ‘keep one’s head’ means to remain calm in a crisis. To ‘go over someone’s head’ is to bypass someone’s authority and appeal to a person in a higher position than the former. So options [1], [2] and [3] are correct. But [4] is wrong – to ‘make head or tail of’ is used only in a negative sense, and means to be unable to understand; e.g. if the sentence said ‘Even after considerable effort, the students could not make head or tail of the assignment’. Hence, [4].
2. HEART 5] She used to wear her heart on her sleeve when she was younger, but life taught her to be more reserved. 6] He met his heart of hearts when he was just a teenager, and they have been together ever since. 7] He had his heart set on becoming a musician, so he was miserable when his parents forced him to study engineering instead. 8] Though our father was always strict and stern, we knew his heart was in the right place. To ‘wear one’s heart on one’s sleeve’ means to make one’s feelings known to all – this idiom fits in option [1]. To ‘have one’s heart set on something’ is to wish for something deeply, so the usage in [3] is correct. To ‘have one’s heart in the right place’ is to be fundamentally kind or loving, so [4] is correct.
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But ‘heart of hearts’ means one’s innermost private feelings, and cannot refer to a person, as it does in [2] (‘sweetheart’ or ‘queen of hearts’ might fit better in this case). Hence, [2]. DIRECTIONS for question 3: The following question has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the sentence that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way. 3. Our embrace of the idea that computer databases provide an effective and even superior substitute for personal memory is not particularly surprising. It culminates a century-long shift in the popular view of the mind. As the machines we use to store data have become more voluminous, flexible and responsive, we’ve grown accustomed to the blurring of artificial and biological memory. But it’s an extraordinary development nonetheless. The notion that memory can be ‘outsourced’ to machines would have been unthinkable at any earlier moment in our history. For the Ancient Greeks, memory was a goddess: Mnemosyne, mother of the Muses. To Augustine, it was ‘a vast and infinite profundity’, a reflection of the power of God in man. Now, his words seem old-fashioned. Not only has memory lost its divinity, it’s well on its way to losing its humanness. 9] Now memory is outsourced to machines. 10] God is no longer in the machine. 11] Mnemosyne has become a machine. 12] Mnemosyne is irrelevant in the information age. Option [1] is merely a repetition of what is stated in the middle of the passage, so it cannot be the concluding sentence. [2] makes no sense in itself or in the context of the passage. The passage refers to ‘Mnemosyne’ as the goddess of memory, so options [3] and [4] use her name as a symbol of memory. While [4] is not wrong in itself, [3] is a better answer, as it includes the idea that human memory is becoming mechanized. [3] elaborates on the idea of the loss of both ‘divinity’ and ‘humanness’ of memory in the last sentence. Hence, [3].
WORD DOSE
HSEDAR STUDY RUPOHARYH HOUR DDUNTAS
Hunger
Hunger was pushed out of the tall houses, in the wretched clothing that hung upon poles and lines; Hunger was patched into them with straw and rag and wood and paper; Hunger was repeated in every fragment of the small modicum of firewood that the man sawed off; Hunger stared down from the smokeless chimneys, and started up from the filthy street that had no offal, among its refuse, of anything to eat. Hunger was the inscription on the baker’s shelves, written in every small loaf of his scanty stock of bad bread; at the sausage-shop, in every dead-dog preparation that was offered for sale. Hunger rattled its dry bones among the roasting chestnuts in the turned cylinder; Hunger was shred into atomics in every farthing porringer of husky chips of potato, fried with some reluctant drops of oil.
Excerpt from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities
MAT CH T HE W OR D S W IT H T H E IR M EA NING S 1. Wretched – rech-id (adj)
7. Offal – of-uh l (noun)
13. Shred – shred (verb)
2. Hung – huhng (verb)
8. Refuse – ri-fyooz (noun)
14. Atomics – uh-tom-iks (noun)
3. Poles – pohls (noun)
9. Inscription – in-skrip-shuh n (noun)
15. Farthing – fahr-th ing (noun)
5. Modicum – mod-i-kuh m (noun)
10. Scanty – skan-tee (adj) 11. Rattled – rat-l d (verb)
6. Filthy – fil-thee (adj)
12. Chestnuts – ches-nuht s (noun)
a. Long, cylindrical, often slender pieces of wood, metal, etc. b. A small bowl, typically with a handle, used for soup, stew, or similar dishes. c. A small portion or part. d. Disgustingly dirty. e. The entrails and internal organs of an animal. f. Like, covered with, or full of husks. Husk is the dry and external covering of anything. g. A thing inscribed, as on a monument or in a book.
h. Past and past participle of hang. i. Small or insufficient in quantity or amount. j. Very few k. Make or cause to make a rapid succession of short, sharp knocking sounds. l. A glossy hard brown edible nut which develops within a bristly case and which may be roasted and eaten. m. Minute tiny bits. n. Matter thrown away or rejected as worthless; rubbish.
16. Porringer – pawr-in-jer (noun) 17. Husky – huhs-kee (adj) 18. Reluctant – ri-luhk-tuh nt (adj)
o. Tear or cut into pieces. p. A part which is stitched with a piece of cloth or other material used to mend or strengthen a torn or weak point in an old garment. q. Miserable or pitiable state. r. A former monetary unit and coin of the UK, withdrawn in 1961, equal to a quarter of an old penny.
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4. Patched – pachd (verb)
ANDHRAHOUR STUDY PRADESH
A quiz to boost your General Knowledge 1. The World Theatre Day (WTD) is observed every year to draw attention to the power of the stage. The day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute (ITI), the world organisation for performing arts. The day is a celebratio n for those who can see the value and importance of the art form “theatre”. When is the day observed? a. March 26 b. March 27 c. March 28 d. March 29 2. What is the India’s rank in terms of domestic passenger traffic, as per the latest report by the Sydney-based aviation thinktank, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA)? a. 1st b. 2nd c. 3rd d. 4th
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3. She became the first woman field officer in the Border Security Force (BSF), the country’s largest border guarding force. She hails from Rajasthan. Name her. a. Tanushree Pareek b. Priya Jeyakumar c. Anjali Gupta d. Sandhya Chauhan
4. In which state of India is Kinnerasani Wildlife Sanctuary located? a. Telangana b. Andhra Pradesh c. Tamil Nadu d. Karnataka
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5. This bank has recently launched “MoneyPlant RuPay International Platinum Debit Card” to provide more privileges to its premium & HNI customers. This card can be used for domestic as well as international cash withdrawal & purchase transactions. Name the bank. a. Dena Bank b. Punjab National Bank c. Karnataka Bank d. IDBI Bank 6. Truecaller has partnered with this bank to launch its new Unified Payments Interface (UPI)-based mobile payment service “Truecaller Pay” for Indian Truecaller users. Name the bank. a. Axis Bank b. ICICI Bank c. HDFC Bank d. HSBC Bank 7. Name the bank that has been adjudged the ‘Best Small Bank for 2016’ balance sheet size of less than `1-lakh crore. a. Karur Vysya Bank b. Dena Bank c. IDBI Bank d. Bandhan Bank 8. This Odisha-based installation artist has been chosen for the 6th edition of the Glenfiddich’s Emerging Artist of the Year 2017. He will represent India at the Glenfiddich Artists in Residence (AiR) programme where he will spend three months at the Glenfiddich Distillery in Scotland with seven artists from around the world. Name him.
a. b. c. d.
Sunil Sethi Peter Nagy Sitaram Swain Feroz Gujral
9. Name the person who has been appointed the new executive director of the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme (WFP). a. James Morris b. Nikki Haley c. Josette Sheeran d. David Beasley 10. The popular tribal festival – ‘Sarhul’ marks the beginning of New Year by worshiping trees. This annual festival is celebrated during the spring season when trees and other elements of nature are worshiped. Sarhul literally means ‘Worship of Sal’. The festival is dedicated to Dharti mata — Mother Earth. Tribals believe that they can use new crop mainly paddy, leaves of the trees, flowers and fruits of the season only after this festival is celebrated. In which state of India is this festival celebrated? a. Jharkhand b. Bihar c. Madhya Pradesh d. Rajasthan 11. This country has become the world’s first to ban metal mining nationwide following a longrunning dispute with a CanadianAustralian company over an environmentally questioned gold project. Which country are we talking about? a. Morocco b. El Salvador
HSEDAR STUDY RUPOHARYH HOUR DDUNTAS c. Odisha d. West Bengal
12. The Union Agriculture Minister Radhamohan Singh has inaugurated India’s first International Centre for Foot and Mouth Disease (ICFMD) in this state on April 1, 2017. The research centre has been constructed in joint collaboration of UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and Union government’s Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) to conduct research on viral disease of cattle and buffaloes. Which state are we talking about? a. Odisha b. Assam c. West Bengal d. Uttar Pradesh
16. Recently, the parliament of this country has presented a bill that would require public and private businesses to prove they offer equal pay to employees. The bill entails that companies and institutions of a certain size, 25 or more employees, undertake a certification of their equalpay programmes. If the bill is passed then this country will become the world’s first country to neutralise gender pay gap. a. Iceland b. Ireland c. France d. Denmark
13. Japan will provide Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan for infrastructure projects in India for FY 17. How much loan amount will it provide? a. Yen 445 billion b. Yen 232 billion c. Yen 371 billion d. Yen 201 billion 14. Name the city that has become the first Indian city to offer 1Gbps wired broadband internet service. a. Hyderabad b. Mumbai c. Delhi d. Kochi 15. Berhampur Thakurani Yatra festival was held for 29 days till May 1. The biannual extravaganza is the festival of the weaving community. Which state of India organises this festival? a. Kerala b. Manipur
17. What is the India’s rank in the world’s largest tourism economy in terms of GDP, as per the latest report of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC)? a. 6th b. 7th c. 8th d. 9th 18. The World Health Day (WHD) is observed every year on April 7 to mark the anniversary of the founding of the World Health Organization (WHO). The day provides a unique opportunity to mobilise action around a specific health topic of concern to people all over the world. What is the theme of this day in the year 2017? a. Working together for health b. Depression: Let\’s Talk c. Move for health d. Food safety 19. Name the movie that has won the Best Film award in the 64th National Awards-2017.
a. Neerja b. Ventilator c. Rustom d. Kasaav
20. Which is the state government that has imposed a 10% cow cess as surcharge on stamp duty for protection and propagation of cows? a. Uttar Pradesh b. Maharashtra c. Madhya Pradesh d. Rajasthan 21. This country will become the first one in the world to allow the production, sale and consumption of marijuana when its pharmacies will be allowed its sale in July 2017. It adopted a revolutionary law that legalised production, sale and consumption of marijuana. Under the law, buyers must make sure that they do not exceed the monthly maximum purchase of 40 grams (1.4 ounces). Which country are we talking about? a. Uruguay b. Norway c. Denmark d. Portugal 22. This state government has recently launched the Deendayal Rasoi Yojana (DRY), under which subsidised meals will be available at `5 per plate to people, especially the economically disadvantaged sections of society. Name this state government. a. Madhya Pradesh b. Andhra Pradesh c. Himachal Pradesh d. Maharashtra 23. Which city of India has started India’s first NBA Basketball School? a. Kolkata
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c. Angola d. Sudan
ANDHRAHOUR STUDY PRADESH b. New Delhi c. Mumbai d. Chennai 24. Name the author who has won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in fiction for the book The Underground Railroad. a. Matthew Desmond b. Colson Whitehead c. Hisham Matar d. Lynn Nottage 25. Name the state government that has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Union government for the ‘Power for All’ scheme. The aim of this scheme is to ensure 24hour power supply in the state by October 2018 and electric connection to every house and agriculture field by 2019. a. Uttar Pradesh b. Madhya Pradesh c. Rajasthan d. Tamil Nadu 26. Which state government of India has recently launched the ‘unemployment allowance scheme’? a. Bihar b. Himachal Pradesh c. West Bengal d. Kerala
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27. Which IIT in this country will start ‘Vastu Shastra’ classes for architecture students? a. IIT Delhi b. IIT Bombay c. IIT Madras d. IIT Kharagpur
28. Name the bank that will become India’s most-valued Public Sector Unit (PSU) in terms of market valuation. a. Punjab National Bank b. Allahabad Bank c. State Bank of India d. Reserve Bank of India
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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.
ANSWERS GLOBESCAN
SUDOKU
1. b
2. c
3. a
4. a
5. c
6. b
7. a
8. c
9. d 10. a
11. b
12. a
13. c
14. a 15. c
16. a 17. b
18. b 19. d 20. d
21. a
22. a
23. c
26. b 27. d
28. c
WORD DOSE
24. b 25. a For more similar puzzles, visit: www.sudoku.com
1. q
2. h
3. a
4. p
5. c
6. d
7. e
8. n
9. g
10. i
11. k
12. l
13. o
14. m 15. r
16. b
17. f
18. j