editor from the
www.advancedge.com Editor-in-Chief Kamlesh Sajnani
Editor Aditya Prakash Iengar Sr. Correspondent: Alolika Banerjee
Design Uma Shirke, Satish Yadav Sylvester Moses
Advertising Shahid Malek / Rajashree Murthy Tel: 022-6668 0005 / 6617 0000
Head - Publications Anand Sutaria
Circulation / Subscription Ramesh More
Address for Correspondence Advanc’edge MBA, IMS Publications, A Division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051.
Contributors Dr Suresh Srinivasan
It’s the time of the year when you are applying to B-schools where you would like to dedicate the next two years – the formative period that will make you ready for corporate life. This is the period when you need to think about how you would like to shape your life, reflect on your likes and dislikes, and choose a B-school based on your profile, interests and inclinations. Why follow the well-trodden path every time, why be one of the herd, when you can follow your own instincts and make a mark even as you respond to your own calling?
In this issue, we present some amazing personalities who are inspirations to us all in the way they have shaped their lives amidst extraordinary adversities. They braved poverty, misfortunes and rejections, but persevered. They were patient enough to believe in their dreams and not get deterred by what the world had to say. Their real life stories are shining examples that can teach us to persevere despite all odds. Alibaba Group Founder Jack Ma had once said, “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” These are golden worlds coming from a man who had faced innumerable rejections in life. However, he persevered, and today the world knows him as the richest man in China. Then there is Colonel Sanders. After he retired at the age of 65, he decided to break the rut and change his life once and for all. He even went door to door selling fried chicken. And, today, long after his death, people swear by the name of his company, Kentucky Fried Chicken or better known as KFC. If these people can fight it out, why not you? You need to dream and believe in it so much so that nothing can prevent you from reaching your goal. At this point in time, while you shortlist the B-schools you want to opt for, think of how you want to carve out your career, rather than what your peers are running after. The parameters for each one of us are different; it’s time we pay heed to that. And as you shortlist the B-schools of your choice, don’t forget to continue with your CAT preparation. Remember, a good CAT score is your primary focus. So keep up with your preparation, and we hope you really do well!
Write to the editor at: editor@advancedge.com Websites: www.advancedge.com, www.imsindia.com www.facebook.com/advancedgeMBA
All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole and in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed and published by Kamlesh Sajnani, on behalf of, IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., (CIN:U80220MH1999PTC121823) E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051. Printed at Uchitha Graphic Printers Pvt. Ltd., 65, Ideal Ind. Est., Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 13 and published at Mumbai.
Alolika Banerjee Sr. Correspondent
CONTENTS 05 08 13
16 20 22
COVER STORY The B-school that’s just perfect for you MBA BUZZ CAT ENGLISH: Certainly not a juggernaut CORPORATE INTERVIEW VIJAY JAIN Managing Director and CEO, ORRA COUNTDOWN Ten personalities who teach by example SUCCESS STREET AJIT BALGI Founder of The Happy High, NEWS SNIPPETS News in brief
26
September 2017
MUST READS The One Minute Manager On Writing All the Birds in the Sky
27
CORPORATE WORLD Consolidation is key for oil & gas sector
30
Beleaguered banks: Resolving the NPA issue
33
Financial investors gain power in tech cos
37
STUDY HOUR Test Q&As
39
Word Dose: Nature, the stunning seductress!
40 42
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.
Globescan SuDoKu
Period 1 Year 2 Years 3 Years
New Subscription Rates Issues New Rate 12 Rs. 480/24 Rs. 840/36 Rs. 1080/-
Payment to be made by crossed Demand Draft/Cheque drawn in favor of “IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd.” For subscriptions and related enquiries write to: Advanc’edge MBA, IMS Publications, A division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, E Block, Near Bandra Family Court, Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC), Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051. For more queries e-mail: publications@imsindia.com
HSEDCOVER ARRUPOHARYSTORY HDDUNTAS
The B-school that’s just perfect for you You need not apply to numerous B-schools just because they are top-ranked. You have to keep in mind certain parameters and then narrow down your choice as per your requirements and interests. In this article, we showcase the factors that you need to consider.
The Advanc’edge Team
prudent to have other choices as well. It’s not only about getting the right scores in the CAT, but also about building the correct profile that includes your previous academic scores and your extracurricular activities. In this article, we provide you a list of parameters, which you can use as a filter to find a number of schools that will fit you perfectly. This will help you to register for their tests accordingly.
Ask yourself why you want to do an MBA First and most importantly, you need to ask yourself certain pertinent questions – Will the schools, you are planning to apply to, provide the specialisation you are interested in? Or is the institute known for placements in your chosen career field? Most students seek an MBA for a specific purpose; whether it facilitates you to enter your chosen career or take up a completely new field, be it an entrepreneur or expanding an existing business, you will require a particular skill-set that will help you achieve your goal. So, it is important to define your objectives clearly, according to your background and motivation. Always keep this firmly lodged in your mind, as it will help you make the best choice for yourself.
Check the rankings Since rankings take into account many parameters like faculty, salary,
Building the correct profile is crucial in going for the right B-school for students. Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
F
inally! You have decided to pursue an MBA and are almost at the end of your CAT preparations. You have registered for the CAT because almost all top schools accept it, save for a handful which conduct their own tests. Now, the foremost question in your mind is - Which is the right b-school for me? Should I register for all the tests? Look, everyone’s list features the IIMs at the top, but it’s always
www.advancedge.com
COVER STUDY STORY ANDHRA HOUR PRADESH
placement, alumni feedback, etc, it is important to read a few ranking charts before making a list of your desired schools. MBA Rankings from top publications like Business Today, Economic Times, etc are great tools to compare business schools for placements, alumni satisfaction and value for money. Rankings in India differ largely from those for international institutes, wherein the programmes are also given a lot of importance in their ranking. However, apart from a few institutes that offer a high degree of specialisation in their programmes (which we shall discuss later in this article), most MBA programmes in India are highly general management focused. The practice of ranking the programmes is, therefore, not too prevalent in India. Hence, the first stop on your way to selecting which B-school you would like to study in is the rankings. However, do not base your decision completely on rankings, as the methodologies used in each of the rankings might be completely different and the percentage of responses might also differ. In some surveys, only 60-65% of the alumni will respond. It is incorrect, therefore, to gauge the quality of an MBA programme only by their ranking but it is a great tool to get an overview of the top MBA programmes. A factor that need not specially be emphasised is the reputation a given management institute commands and its brand image in the industry. While it is natural for older established institutes to have a better reputation, it is not always the case. Many students opt for the newer IIMs for their brand name even though they might not be highly ranked. Ultimately what matters is the
impact the institute has over one’s entire life and career and not just one particular job.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
Profile and Ability
that offer a highly specialised M B A
This is the most important filter. Check the eligibility and selection procedure of your top institutes. Do you meet these basic requirements? Do Most recruiters prefer employing students you think you can who have some work experience. get the required test score? Take SimCATs to get a programme, apart from the smaller measure of your abilities. Analyse degree of specialisations offered in your tests and work out the general management programme. average score that you could end A school that does not enlist up with. This will provide you with the specialisation you want will a basic level or grade of schools not suit your purpose. Interest that you should be looking at since in a particular field or subject is test scores are the first selection a vital ingredient in the choice criteria for most schools. Previous of a B-school. Some B-schools work experience will also help in have become tantamount to getting you a good placement. the specialisation they offer. For Most recruiters would prefer instance, XLRI and TISS are well employing students who have known for Human Resources, some work experience, especially MICA for Advertising, IRMA for if it is in the same sector that they Rural Management and NITIE for eventually want to be in. Industrial Management. But there Get into extra-curricular are other MBA programmes that activities. Be it in school, college are known for general management or classes, make sure you have with a focus on finance or have cultivated other interests besides excellent placements in consulting, academics. Though extra- etc. Nearly all general management curricular activities are not taken programmes offer far more than into account during the admission the core management skills. IIMprocess, they contribute to your Calcutta, for example, is where self-confidence and all-round you might apply if you want to development. Check the institutes’ work in finance, especially since batch profiles and honestly see a lot of financial companies come whether you will be the correct to the campus to recruit, and roll match for these schools. If yes, out enviable offers. Therefore, then continue to the next filter. If it is important to know what not, then go back and get a new field you want to be in. Once list of schools. you know which skills you want to focus on, you are in a better Specialisation position to consider which MBA is There are some institutes in India right for you.
HSEDCOVER ARRUPOHARYSTORY HDDUNTAS
Placements After picking a specialisation, consider placements. Keeping your specialisation in mind, make a list of companies you would like to work for. Check the placement records of the schools in your list and see whether these companies recruit from them. Placement details, which are generally available on the school’s website, provide placement information about the last batch in a comprehensive manner. You get to know how many students were placed, which companies came to recruit, how many offers were made per student, what was the highest and average salary offered, etc. Additionally, you will be able to see how many graduates obtain a position in your own field of choice in a given year, and thus adequately assess if that institute is the right fit for you. But to get the real picture, it is necessary to check placement reports of the last 3 years at least. Read the names of the companies that regularly recruit from them to see if any interest you. Another important detail to check is the number of offers per student. This signifies the amount of choice that a student has in terms of companies and the jobs they offer at the top B-schools. Post-MBA salary and increase in salary are two metrics that MBA aspirants should research. While doing your homework on increase in salary, look into the geographical location of the jobs. The salary pre-MBA and post-MBA should be calculated in one currency, taking into consideration the living expense of the city.
B-School Watch 2017 - July 2017 Institute Name Intake Fees (Lakhs) Average Salary Test Accepted FMS - Delhi 200 0.21 20 LPA CAT IIM - Ahmedabad 395 21 22.14 LPA CAT IIM - Bangalore 411 19.50* 21.42 LPA CAT IIM - Calcutta 505 18 - 20 (Approx) 20 LPA CAT IIM - Indore 511 14* 16.23 LPA CAT IIM - Kozhikode 350 16* 17.1 LPA CAT IIM - Lucknow 489 14.16* NA CAT ISB - Hyderabad 820 30.27* 22.58 LPA GMAT/GRE JBIMS - Mumbai 150 2(6 General) 18.76 LPA CAT/CET XLRI - Jamshedpur 390 20 19.21 LPA XAT/GMAT * Indicates fees inclusive of accomodation
Location This is important only if you have reservations about studying in a city or if you need to study in a particular city. The location of an institute is not important for the premier institutes. Employers seek out the best institute irrespective of its location. However, for the others, it would be better if the location is near a commercial hub, so that even if employers do not visit the campus, the student has an opportunity to come in close contact with potential employers. If possible, talk to people who live in the cities that house your selected B-schools and ask about the things that matter to you – safety, transport, culture, etc.
For students who are strictly looking for improved Return On Investment (ROI) options, FMS-Delhi is ranked first among the top 100 B-schools in India. So if you are going to take an education loan, researching on ROI will be helpful. You could also speak with the school’s alumni about ROI.
Faculty and Infrastructure A judicious mix of full-time and visiting faculty is crucial for any good institute. The full-time faculty is required to teach students the fundamentals of management and oversee development of their skills. The visiting faculty gives students the much needed industry exposure and valuable insights into the corporate world. The best way to know about an institute’s faculty is to get in touch with the students currently studying there. Infrastructure also plays a crucial part in this process. The presence of adequate and state-of-the-art infrastructure is an important determinant to judge whether the school offers qualitative environment conducive to learning. A fully residential programme fosters all-round development as peergroup and faculty interaction is not just restricted to the class hours but is a 24x7 process where the scope to learn is multiplied. A
www.advancedge.com
Be sure to research each school thoroughly by going through their curriculum and their placement data. The return on investment is only going to pay off if your school is known for being one of the best in your desired field.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
Fees and ROI This filter could take precedence over others if you feel the fee is beyond your current means. Most MBA education can be funded by loans and scholarships. You also need to check the ROI on your selected schools. One of the most important factors to consider is the return on your investment. If you graduate from a top B-school, your salary post placement can take care of the loan amount easily. But there are some top schools that do not charge an exorbitant amount of fee. In this case, the loan can be paid off in half the time frame that it usually does.
MBA STUDY ANDHRA BUZZ HOUR PRADESH
CAT ENGLISH: Certainly not a juggernaut With CAT 2017 scheduled for November 26, it is beyond doubt that you have been preparing rigorously for the big day. Here, we give you a few things that you can refer to at the last minute to tackle the English section of the test. The Advanc’edge Team
L
www.advancedge.com
anguage is a measure of Man’s progress. If the caveman had not communicated his thoughts and feelings by means of grunts first and language later, we would have been at the primate level. If Aryabhatta, Chanakya, Copernicus and Shakespeare had not employed language to disseminate their offerings to the world, all of us would have been poorer today in a substantive way. The lower order animals have a limited vocabulary because their lives revolve around specific sounds. Man is the only “thinking reed” who has advanced by means of language. In the present context, the
corporate world requires the manager to undertake rigorous study of disparate texts during report preparation, during organisational overhaul or when deciding marketing strategies. So is it any wonder that the CAT examiners test your proficiency in English? The English portion in the CAT broadly consists of Verbal Ability, Reasoning and Reading Comprehension. Of course, these are just names of sections but there could be overlaps. The Verbal Ability section could have questions on jumbled sentences and summary or analogies, which are aspects of reasoning. Even
Verbal Ability section has questions on jumbled sentences and summary or analogies. Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
Reading Comprehension questions are reasoning-based or occasionally vocabulary-based. Thus the objective is the same – to see how good you are at understanding concepts and how strong your command over the language really is.
READING COMPREHENSION Reading comprehension in the CAT straddles diverse subjects ranging from psychology, religion and politics to business, philosophy, science, etc. The emphasis in this portion is on interpreting the text and answering the multiple-choice questions that follow. Generally, the number of passages varies, and so may the number of questions per passage but essentially, a question may be direct, partially indirect or indirect. Traditionally, the percentage of direct questions has been lower than the other two types. Here’s a sample. Since all knowledge is knowledge of sense-objects, truth is simply the correspondence of our impressions to things. How are we to know whether our ideas are correct copies of things? How do we distinguish between reality and imagination, dreams or illusions?
HSEDARRUPOMBA HARYHDBUZZ DUNTAS
JUMBLED SENTENCES
literary attempt. l Learn to read in thought units
and not word after word. Remember, concentration is the key. l Mentally mark the important elements that you come across while reading. l Ensure accuracy in your attempts because negative marking is a reality. l A reading speed of 300-350 words per minute is ideal. You can develop speed by gradually reducing the time taken to read the same length of text. l Ensure exposure to rigorous non-fiction by reading editorials,
For sentence correction questions, know the fundamental rules of grammar that govern sentence construction.
Questions based on jumbled sentences actually constitute an aspect of verbal reasoning. You should quickly scan the text, eliminate the options that recur and then look for logical links. Here’s an interesting example. Q. “However” is a connective, you agree! Can it begin a sequence? Observe the following. a) However, he was tired. b) However hard he tried, Sam could not forget the incident. In sentence (b), we see that we can begin the sequence with “However” because it introduces the main topic. But in sentence (a), we cannot begin the sequence because the comma placed after “However” indicates that some thought process has already gone before!
SUMMARY QUESTIONS Summary questions too hark back to the good old précis concept of school days without the “one-third of the actual length” norm. Here’s an instance. Q. A politics of sustainable globalisation needs more than just the correct picture of what is happening in the world. It also needs the right balance of policies. Specifically, it demands a new social bargain among workers, financiers and governments that will make for sustainable globalization. Give them their due – the Thatcherites and Reaganites helped to prepare their countries for this era of globalisation and were instrumental in bringing it about by offering an unadulterated free-market vision for globalisation. Their view was “Let the market rule everywhere as much as possible and things will all be OK”. But a pure market vision alone is not enough. It is too brutal and therefore
www.advancedge.com
What is the criterion of truth? It cannot lie in concepts, since they are of our own making. Nothing is true save sense impressions and, therefore, the criterion of truth must lie in sensation itself. It cannot be in thought, but must be in feeling. Real objects, said the Stoics, produce in us an intense feeling, or conviction, of their reality. The strength and vividness of the image distinguish these real perceptions from a dream or fancy. Hence, the sole criterion of truth is this striking conviction, whereby the real, forces itself upon our consciousness and will not be denied. There is, thus, no universally grounded criterion of truth. It is based not on reason but on feeling. After reading the above extract, answer the following without going back to the text: a) Truth cannot be based on reason. True/false? b) Knowledge is synonymous with knowledge of sense objects. True/false? Ans: Both the statements are true. Now you can gauge how attentive and proactive a reader you had been and what is the gap in understanding that you have to bridge. If this passage has scared the wits out of you and you start to despair, then here’s a word of assurance: all is not lost. First read the passage slowly, understand it and then gradually, over a period of ten days or so, increase your speed. Timed reading will work best for subjects that you love and then you can begin using it on all topics. Here are a few golden rules that you must keep in mind for tackling the RC component. l Everything is contextual. No external knowledge is expected or required. l You should view this as a functional process and not as a
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
research studiesRead on a regular basis, beginning with subjects that you like. Subsequently, keep moving on to topics that are new or unfamiliar. l Spending a couple of minutes in determining the order of attempts will prevent you from getting stuck in a passage that is abstruse or has very close, difficult options. l If there is a question on selection of an apt title, opt for one that encompasses the gist of the passage than going for generic or out-ofrange ones.
MBA STUDY ANDHRA BUZZ HOUR PRADESH
www.advancedge.com
politically unsustainable. The Left, meanwhile, or what’s left of the Left, has tried to hold on to the paternalism of the welfare state as much as possible. This is not economically sustainable. 1. Sustainable globalisation calls for a new balance of power between workers and financiers and governments after the Thatcherites and Reaganites have done their bit. 2. It is necessary to strike a balance between politics and policies to ensure sustainable globalisation. A pure freemarket or welfare state vision is not politically and economically sustainable. 3. Thatcherites and Reaganites are usually at odds with the Left as they believe in pure market – driven economics. 4. Market – driven economies are most likely to succeed as opposed to welfare state economics. Ans: [1] While the passage mentions this, it does not reflect the whole essence of the passage. [2] Is closest to the essence of the passage, which is talking about finding a mix of politics and economic policies that will enable sustainable globalisation. [3] This may be true but the passage is not a commentary on ideologies. [4] The passage does not conclude on either economic policy and, therefore, not true. Hence, the answer should be [2].
CRITICAL QUESTIONS
REASONING
Questions based on critical reasoning deal with assumptions, conclusions, premises and inferences and are important from the point of view of rational thinking. To tackle such questions, remember these following points. l Logical thinking means doing away with emotional responses. l Examine the evidence and arrive at the answer. l Remember that an assumption is always implied and it must lead you to the conclusion. l Go by the process of elimination, negating unwarranted generalisations.
USAGE-BASED QUESTIONS Take a simple word like “hold”. It can mean any one of the following. To have a belief or opinion about something. Example: He held strong views on capital punishment. To wait, in a telephonic context. Example: Hold the line, she is coming. To last through time. Example: The theory held good for centuries. To suppress or control. Example: I held back my fury at this provocation. To maintain interest. Example: The programme did
To tackle such questions, remember: l When you read the passage, mark those words that are crucial to the essence of the passage. l Negate those options which are skewed or lack an essential component. Elimination this way will yield the right answer.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
not hold the child’s attention. To signify ownership. Example: The old man holds fifty percent of the shareholding. The catch is that you, as a test taker, should be aware of the usages to be able to crack any question type based on this quickly and correctly.
GRAMMAR-BASED QUESTIONS Q. “I am not conversant of all the rules.” Is the sentence correct or incorrect? If you have done your homework on prepositional usage, you will know that the sentence is incorrect because the word “conversant” always takes the preposition “with” after it. Hence for sentence correction questions, you need to know the fundamental rules of grammar that govern sentence construction. There are some things you could do or follow that might help strengthen your grammar and English usage. Refer to an advanced learner’s dictionary like the one by Oxford, with at least 1,50,000 words to help you understand usage and build your word base. An online version of the Oxford Dictionary also serves as an excellent reference. Maintain a ready-reckoner
www.advancedge.com
HSEDARRUPOMBA HARYHDBUZZ DUNTAS
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
MBA STUDY ANDHRA BUZZ HOUR PRADESH
or a checklist with respect to grammar rules that will be of immense help in sentence correction exercises. Whenever you come across an unfamiliar word, look up the meaning and write it down using it in a sentence of your own. Vocabulary cannot be built overnight.
FILL IN THE BLANKS
www.advancedge.com
In the case of “Fill in the Blanks” type questions, a sentence has a single or double blank followed by four options. To tackle such questions, always form “shadow words” of your own based on your understanding before looking at the options. “Shadow words” mean words that you, as a reader, feel will contextually fit into the blank(s). You should look at the options only after you have deduced the contextual implication so that you are not misled by the options. Consider the following example.
Q. After the sudden death of their leader, the revolutionaries thought it best to be _______ for a while before resuming their attacks on the reigning monarch. a) belligerent b) craven c) querulous d) quiescent In the example above, the shadow word will be based on the phrase “for a while before resuming their attacks”. It means that “they lay low”. “Belligerent” means “aggressive”; “craven” means “cowardly”; “querulous” means “in a complaining tone. Hence, logically only “quiescent” (meaning “inactive”) can fit. This does call for a certain proficiency in vocabulary but then, if you read regularly and combine it with the shadow word technique, you will find that your job will become far easier.
CONTEXTUAL USAGE Questions based on contextual usage could test your grasp on vocabulary, although the CAT per se is not vocabulary-centric. For example, take a look at the question below. Q. Mark the option that is closest to the word in bold. “Complicity” The soldier was arrested and tortured for his alleged complicity in the Boscoli conspiracy. a) reasonableness b) stature c) patience d) involvement To crack questions of this sort,
Syllogisms are based on a form of logic where the conclusion has to be derived from both the premises. first determine the mood of the sentence. In the above sentence, it is decidedly negative because he was tortured and arrested. Nobody would have done that to him if he had been reasonable. “Stature” doesn’t make sense in this context. “Patience” is a positive term as well. Hence, “involvement” is the right option.
SYLLOGISMS Again from the world of reasoning, syllogisms are based on a form of logic where the conclusion has to be derived from both the premises. Conditional syllogisms are based on the “fulfillment of
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
the condition, occurrence of the consequence” rule. Consider this example. “When I am hungry, I scream.” Do not waste time drawing a Venn diagram. First, understand the break-up. “When I am hungry” is the condition. “I scream” is the consequence. There are only two valid placements. Condition and consequence. Negation of the consequence implies negation of the original condition. Therefore, this is what follows. “When I am hungry, I scream.” “I do not scream; I am not hungry.” However, “I am not hungry; I do not scream” will not be a valid placement as it negates the original condition first. The negation of the consequence must be placed first. Now, let’s try this conditional syllogism with a twist. Consider this example. “Either you are crazy or you are a genius.” This is an example of an “either-or” syllogism (technically called disjunctive syllogism). If you are crazy = x and you are a genius = y, then there are only four valid placements for this type: a) x, not y b) not y, x c) y, not x d) not x, y. To prepare for this section, remember the following. l Chart out a detailed study plan. l Work hard on all the concepts of verbal ability as well as verbal reasoning constructs. l Never hesitate to use reference material and make notes to facilitate recall. l Practise regularly so that you learn to make the optimum use of time. A
CORPORATE INTERVIEW
Dream big and work hard towards it feels VIJAY JAIN, Managing Director and CEO, ORRA, one of the best known diamond jewellery brands in India. In a conversation with Alolika Banerjee, Jain shares how he tranformed a family-run business into a premium brand in the entire country. Q. ORRA is known for the finesse in its diamond jewellery collection. Being a man how did you develop this penchant for such artistically beautiful diamond jewellery?
Q. People usually look for unique options while starting a business. What made you go for the diamond industry, which already had an established market?
(Smiles) Well, what makes you think that only women can appreciate artistically beautiful diamond jewellery? A diamond is one of the finest gifts from nature’s beautiful bounty and it doesn’t require one to be born a woman to admire its beauty. When I took over the business responsibilities, I was clear on one thing – building a national brand from a family run jewellery business. I believe that understanding the core consumer is essential in any business, whether it is automobile, FMCG, manufacturing or jewellery. This is what has helped me further understand the core design aspect that appeals to the contemporary Indian women of today and help take strategic calls on expansion and merchandising of designs across the country. Along with all that, I feel my passion for art and photography also helped me in actualising my aesthetic sensibilities, which is very crucial in running a business like this. Today we have an award winning team of designers who work with the latest fashion trends in mind to create stunning pieces of jewellery.
My entrepreneurial journey began when I moved from a highly successful career in investment banking to reinvent a family jewellery brand which was then called Inter Gold Gems. We had very high aspirations and wanted to build a consumer centric business at a national level. This meant not only building a scalable organisation through an addition of people, technology, organisational structure, design focus and supply chain but also conceptualising and launching a new brand. The gold market in India has been largely fragmented and competitive, and did not have a very strong focus on diamond jewellery. Being part of the world’s largest diamond manufacturing company, we realised that our USP would be to leverage our rich diamond heritage. We not only wanted to build a national brand but also push
Q. Why entrepreneurship in the first place?
www.advancedge.com
Entrepreneurship is a journey that allowed me as a brand custodian to innovate and develop ideas beyond what would have been otherwise impossible. While you carry a considerable amount of responsibility and risk on your shoulders, entrepreneurship is an extremely fruitful learning experience that helps you visualise an idea from scratch to its end result. At ORRA we have looked at innovation not only from a design point of view, but also from that of a technological and retail point of view. These contributions have helped us to be recognised as India’s most trusted diamond jewellery brand for two consecutive years in a row.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
CORPORATE INTERVIEW
for diamond jewellery, which no one else had done so far. Being backed by a rich diamond heritage helped us make a mark. We also conducted an in-depth study of the international markets to map a journey of both diamond consumption as well as brands in this space. From an aspirational point of view, when I looked at the growth and profitability aspects, we felt that diamonds were definitely a better choice in the long term market.
Q. What were the initial challenges that you faced when you started this company? We faced considerable number of hurdles. The Indian jewellery market has been largely fragmented and, the consumer back then still preferred to go back to their traditional jeweller if they wanted to make any kind of purchases. While consumers were already in the transitional phase when we launched, they were still connected to their traditional jewellers which proved to be one of the initial challenges on the external front. On the other hand, we also did some kind of introspection and realised that it was crucial for us to develop and evolve the outlook of the existing staff to that of a high end luxury brand that would serve as a mark of ORRA for the years to come.
www.advancedge.com
Q. How difficult was it for you to stand against your already established competitors?
However, we have learnt our lesson and today invest heavily on both these fronts which have resulted in a positive business impact as well.
Q. What is that one recent trend that has excited you lately? The consumers of today can express their likes and dislikes more than ever before. What is true of the offline space is true for the online space as well and therefore the consumer cannot be taken for granted. This nature of the consumer therefore puts more pressure on the brand to ensure a seamless experience of products across platforms. With the consumer already present across different mediums as well as social media channels, marketing has become a very important aspect for growing and improving one’s business. The trend today is such that one in three consumers is on his cell phone watching television while one in four Indians is already online and accessing multiple channels. Even when customers walk into stores, they are checking their phones for price comparisons, details on products as well as a variety of other options. In a category like ours, where word-of-mouth is critical, social media is playing an increasingly important role. Our focus therefore has been on making “one view of the customer”, “one view of stock” and “one similar experience” unified across different channels.
ORRA began by offering an unmatched Belgian diamond legacy in an otherwise gold dominated market. At that time I believe we were the first to make people in general realise the essence of diamond jewellery. We literally shook up the sensibility of the market to seeing and appreciating the value of diamond jewellery. We made headway in the jewellery market with a clear differentiator and our design proposition. This coupled with our diamond centric positioning in a gold centric market, helped us stand out against the competition. ORRA gives a strong focus on anything related to design. We took a strategic call to display across all our stores curated and exclusive designs as opposed to simply filling up the store with multiple pieces of jewellery. From offering a quick browsing experience, we evolved to comfortable sofa-styled seating, inviting consumers to spend a relaxed time experiencing the product. And this luxury-oriented approach from our end saw an evolution of our consumer-base as well.
Q. Are there any books that you would want budding entrepreneurs to read?
Q. What mistakes did you make while starting your business and what did you learn from them?
Q. Advice for MBA aspirants who would want to make a mark in this competitive world...
When we started off, we were majorly driven by passion and instead of investing in systems and personnel training, we spent more on building the brand name.
This is a decade of tremendous opportunity. One should dream big, but that is not enough. One should also be ready to work hard towards achieving one’s dreams! A
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
Peter Drucker is my all time favourite and I still continue to read his works.
Q. Do you think an MBA degree is essential in today’s competitive world? Why? An MBA allows a person to gain a holistic perspective of the functioning and sustainability of a business. While one can choose to excel in various other degree courses, an MBA helps one to master different areas of business functionality that are very essential in today’s competitive market. My advice to young aspirants is that they should not view an MBA simply as a means to an end; rather they need to be able to constantly evolve and adapt. Simply having a degree will not ensure that you reach the top, but your perseverance, hard work and determination will help you carve a niche for yourself and that will make you indispensable.
www.advancedge.com
CORPORATE INTERVIEW
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
SUCCESS STUDY HOUR ANDHRA PRADESH STREET
Persevere and you will succeed ... says AJIT BALGI, Founder of The Happy High, wine and beverage consulting firm. This alumnus of SP Jain, Mumbai, shares his own experiences of starting his unique firm. A tête-à-tête with Alolika Banerjee. Wine curation is a very interesting concept. Can you tell us a little more about your company and how you function? Our company The Happy High educates people on liquor. It’s a place where people can try and understand the essence of alcoholic beverages through consultation as well as experiences. We adopt a completely holistic approach in our consultations based on our understanding of hospitality operations, market knowledge and most importantly subject matter. Let me give you an example. We organise dining awareness workshops for employees going on-shore or foreign locations. In short, we deal in brand evangelism through tasting and education. (Smiles)
www.advancedge.com
What led you to start this unique venture?
I was in the wine and food industry for around 14 years when I realised that I was made for wine and spirits, and it was then that I came up with the concept of The Happy High. There is still a certain mind block when it comes to alcoholic beverages and that comes from not being aware completely about the drinks. The Happy High is that one-stop shop for wine and spirit education and consultancy services in India. We intend to raise the bar for food, wine and spirit appreciation by creating awareness about quality for both professionals and the end consumer. Our key driving forces are our passion for food and beverages and the standard mediocrity in the food and beverage business which we aim to overcome.
What were the initial hurdles that you faced when you started this company and what are the challenges that you now encounter at this Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
stage of your journey? The Happy High was conceived in October 2013 and it has been a test of perseverance all throughout. The first year was all about pushing myself and putting doubts of my close ones to rest. The second year was about f i n d i n g our feet and getting business from existing connections and the third was about branding The Happy High. Each passing year has given me a new wave of confidence.
Who has been your inspiration in your life when it comes to the professional sphere? In the professional sphere, ‘Life’ itself has been an inspiration to me. Examples from people’s lives and my own, have helped me understand the balance between ambition, relationships, ethics and
HSSUCCESS EDARRUPOHASTREET RYHDDUNTAS
most importantly living life.
A typical day in the life of Ajit Balgi? A typical day starts with an hour of newspaper scanning, followed by writing assignments and emails. The second half is usually reserved for wine and spirit tastings, client and vendor meetings. I usually spend my evenings exploring new food and beverage spaces.
What is the most interesting aspect of your profile that you enjoy doing the most?
What are the three things you keep in mind when you recruit people for your company?
What are the essential traits, according to you, in order to become a successful entrepreneur? When you are an entrepreneur, you don’t receive the SMS that the world waits for at the end of every month, ‘salary credited’. This is the most important bit that anyone has to consider while taking that crucial leap. (Smiles) Dealing with uncertainty needs mental strength, being confident of yourselves and your passion needs 100% commitment, and aiming for that breakeven or that big break needs patience or perseverance. I have often seen that many people fizzle out or are tempted to go back to service as their accounts dry up and they fail to make profits in business. But it is essential to hold on to your passion and persevere, till you reach your goal.
Dealing with uncertainty needs mental strength, being confident of yourselves & your passion needs 100% commitment.
Hunger to learn, sound work ethics and effective communication are the things I look for when I recruit people for my company. I want people in my company who are primarily honest to their own selves. When they are given a task, they must not do it just because they have to, but because their heart tells them to do so. There is no problem in not knowing certain things. None of us know everything. But an inclination to learn is important and I want people in my company who have that. I have made mistakes while I have hired people in the past. These days I am more careful.
An MBA degree is essential to make a mark in today’s corporate scenario. Do you agree with this school of thought? I feel an MBA degree is essential to get the initial foothold in the corporate industry. The two years in a B-School shapes you perfectly for the professional life. I believe these are the two crucial life-changing years. However, after a point in time once you join office, you need to work hard and prove your mettle in order to make a mark. I feel commitment towards your work plays a pivotal role in shaping the career of a person. I have seen people even
Your words of advice for future MBA aspirants... Many want to do an MBA because it seems to be kick-starting people’s careers and the placement figures are often alluring. Many want to do it to change their streams from IT to finance. Many want to do it just for a degree as it may take them higher up in the corporate ladder. So future MBA aspirants need to ask that crucial question to themselves, why they want to pursue their Masters in Business Administration? After introspection, if they get an answer that statisfies them, then only must they go ahead with their management degree. Is it worth the opportunity cost of not earning that year and the cost of the course? If they can find convincing answers to their questions, they are sorted and must go ahead with their MBAs. There are many students who are not meant for MBA. Their priorities in life, inclinations and areas of interest are different from the others. In that case, they can achieve a lot in life even without opting for an MBA. A
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
My work involves travelling to different regions and countries in the pursuit of food, wines and spirits and this is the bit I Iust after. I have been to 4 countries this year and it has been a liberating experience.
without an MBA doing great professionally. However, a management degree is good since it can act like an excellent launch pad to an exciting career.
SNIPPETS STUDY HOUR ANDHRA PRADESH
News in brief
Here are some interesting titbits from over the last month Vishal Sikka resigns as Infosys MD and CEO Vishal Sikka, former top hand at German multinational software corporation SAP, who had taken over the reins of Infosys in June 2014, stepped down as Managing Director and CEO of the company on August 18. The board of directors of the company accepted the resignation and said Sikka would continue as Executive Vice-chairman. The IT major named U B Pravin Rao as Interim Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, reporting to Sikka, under the overall supervision and control of the company’s board.
Terror attack in Barcelona On August 17, at 16:50 local time (14:50 GMT) a white van smashed into people on Las Ramblas, a famous boulevard in central Barcelona that runs 1.2km (0.75 miles) and was packed with tourists. The van driver is said to have zig-zagged to try and hit as many people as possible along the pedestrianised area, knocking many to the floor and sending others fleeing for cover in shops and cafes. He killed 13 people and injured more than 100, and managed to flee the scene. Spanish police have described it as a terror attack.
Japan comes in full-support of India in its standoff with China Japan came out in full support for India in its long-drawn-out military standoff with China at Doklam, near the Sikkim-Tibet-Bhutan trijunction, saying no country should use unilateral forces to change the status quo on the ground. Acknowledging the situation at the Doklam Plateau, Japanese Ambassador to India Kenji Hiramatsu said, “We recognise Doklam is a disputed area between Bhutan and China and the two countries are engaged in border talks. We also understand that India has a treaty understanding with Bhutan, that’s why Indian troops got involved in the area,” according to the local media. Job opportunities in the telecom sector likely to take a boost: Study Job opportunities in the telecom sector are likely to increase by 30 lakh by 2018, a study has said. This phenomenon is most likely to happen because of the roll-out of 4G technology with an increase in data, entry of new players in the market, introduction of digital wallets and the popularity of smartphones leading to consistent increase in demand for technology. Emerging technologies such as 5G, M2M and the evolution of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are expected to create employment avenues for almost 8,70,000 individuals by 2021, revealed a joint study by Assocham-KPMG. It said the existing manpower in the sector may not be adequate both in number as well as in skill to cater to the upcoming demand.
www.advancedge.com
India’s luxury-car market, may hit a roadblock India’s luxury-car market, may hit a roadblock if the government implements the decision to raise the cess on large vehicles. In such a scenario, sales could even fall in 2017, industry executives have said. After a dismal performance in 2016, when the market shrank, luxury-car manufacturers had become upbeat when India set levies on the segment under goods and services tax at a lower rate compared with the previous regime. They had immediately cut prices to pass on the benefit to consumers, who had responded positively, pushing up demand. But earlier this month, the GST Council decided to raise the cess charged on large cars and utility vehicles to 25% from 15%, taking the total tax incidence to 53% (28% GST plus 25% cess).
Private equity and venture capital investments jump 41% In the first half of this calendar year, private equity and venture capital investments have touched a record USD 11.2 billion. This is a 41% rise over last year on the back of big ticket deals, as per one EY report. During the January to June period this year, PE/VC investments stood at USD 11.2 billion, the highest ever investments during the first six months of a year. In the January-June 2016, PE/VC investments stood at USD 8 billion. Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
HSEDARRUPOSNIPPETS HARYHDDUNTAS Trai accuses Apple of ‘data colonisation’ in India Telecom regulator Trai has accused American multinational technology company Apple, of engaging in “data colonisation” in India. Trai has also accused Apple of being “anticonsumer” since it does not allow customers to pass on details about pesky calls and unwanted messages to authorities as well as their mobile operators. The matter has remained unresolved over the last one year and has now led to an attack on the American electronics giant by R S Sharma, chairman of Trai. “While Google’s Anroid supports our Do-Not-Disturb (DND) app, Apple has just been discussing, discussing, and discussing. They have not done anything,” said Sharma.
Hrithik Roshan signs largest ever endorsement deal by an Indian start-up In one of the largest endorsement deals signed by an Indian start-up, health and wellness start-up Cure.fit has signed a five-year `100 crore contract with actor Hrithik Roshan, as a brand ambassador. This five-year-old association includes the actor’s equity stake in the company in lieu of cash investment, promotions and royalty from his personal brand HRX’s specialised workout plan. This plan will be introduced across Cult fitness centres operated by Cure.fit. HRX Workout offering, available at Cult fitness centres run by Cure.fit, will soon be launched on the mobile app, is expected to rake in `250-crore annual business in the years to come.
H-1B visa clampdown will reduce America’s competitive edge: Report Clampdown on H-1B visa programme will make it increasingly difficult for the US IT sector to attract open talent from countries like India. In this process, America might lose its competitive edge, a top American think-tank report has shown. As the Trump administration is carrying out a review of the non-immigrant visas, the Center for Global Development (CGD) in a report said that H-1B visa, the most sought after by Indian IT professionals, is beneficial for both India and the US. “It is really important to make sure that the I-T sectors from both countries are allowed to attract the right kind of people, because they really allow for innovation and growth in both the countries,” Gaurav Khanna, fellow at the CGD and co- author of the research paper, said.
India’s job confidence outlook highest in Asia Pacific market India’s job confidence outlook ranked highest in the Asia Pacific market, with 84% Indian professionals participants indicating that they foresee a good future economic scenario in the country. Indian professionals (84%) favourably viewed their job and economic situation in the next six months and assessed it as ‘good to excellent’, according to the Michael Page Job Applicant Confidence Index Q2 2017. The Index revealed that as compared to India’s 84%, it was 66% among their Asia Pacific counterparts. The Michael Page Job Applicant Confidence Index Q2 2017, evaluated the responses of 681 seniorlevel Indian employees across organisations and industries.
Ola investor SoftBank might consider investing in Uber The Japanese technology and media giant SoftBank is looking for options to invest in Uber at a time when the ride-hailing company’s leadership is in a position of unrest. However, SoftBank’s investment interest in Uber is absolutely in a nascent stage and the two companies have held only preliminary meetings. But if a deal were to be reached, it would add to a convoluted web of investments in the ride-hailing industry, where competitors have become strange bedfellows through investors who have placed bets on multiple companies. Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
Companies increasingly looking for flexible workforce: Survey According to a survey by Flexing It, the workforce dynamics are changing across the world and organisations are more and more keen to take on board significant number of flexible workforce, says a survey. Flexing It is a platform for independent consultants and flexible management talent. The survey showed that more than half of the surveyed organisations will have over 30 per cent of their workforce, double of what it is today, as flexible talent within next five years.
SNIPPETS STUDY HOUR ANDHRA PRADESH
www.advancedge.com
Arundhati’s second novel shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017 Arundhati Roy’s second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness has found a place among the 13 novels shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017. The Booker judges opine that Arundhati’s novel is “a rich and vital book [that] comes from the bowels of India”. The Man Booker Prize worth £50,000 prize, was bagged by Arundhati Roy, 20 years ago, in her 1997 debut novel The God of Small Things. A shortlist of six selected from these 13 will be declared on September 13th, while the winning book will be announced on 17 October. According to Baroness Lola Young, chair of the 2017 judging panel, for its 49th year, the 13 shortlisted novels for the Man Booker Prize “showcase a diverse spectrum – not only of voices and literary styles but of protagonists too”.
Supreme Court suspends ‘triple talaq’ divorce law India’s Supreme Court has blocked ‘triple talaq’ or instant divorce, practised by some in the Muslim community, until the government frames new legislation, a partial victory for Muslim women who had long argued that the rule violated their right to equality. Three out of the five judges on the constitution bench ruled against the ‘triple talaq’, which allowed Muslim men to divorce their wives simply by uttering the word ‘talaq’ three times. The judges said the law violated Article 14 and 21 of the constitution of India, which is related to equality, and protection of life and personal liberty respectively. Muslim women say they have been left destitute by husbands divorcing them through “triple talaq”, including by Skype and WhatsApp.
60% organisations improve employee engagement levels over last 2 years: Report Nearly 60% organisations affirmed to have improved employee engagement levels compared to last two years. For most (nearly 55%) organisations, the engagement levels have grown up by 10-15%, shows the TimesJobs survey of over 550 employers. According to the survey, of these 55% of the surveyed companies, 40% said to have investment heavily in their culture. Overall, 90% of the HR managers of these companies said that a focus on culture had improved their financial performance, as well. When asked about experiencing the organisational culture and improved engagement levels, about 80% employees strongly feel the link between the two and 20% do not. About 75% organisations happily invested to boost the engagement levels and only 25% companies do not invest at any level.
IIT entrance test to completely go online from 2018 Entrance to the premier engineering colleges-Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) will completely go online from 2018. In a meeting held at Indian Institute of Technology Madras on Sunday, the Joint Admission Board (JAB), it was decided that from next year the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) will be conducted online. Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director, Indian Institute of Technology Madras and Chairman, Joint Admission Board (JAB) 2017, stated, “The Apex Body for conduct of JEE (Advanced), at its meeting today (20.8.2017), has decided that JEE (Advanced) will be conducted in online mode from 2018 onwards. Further information regarding the examination will be provided by the JAB in due course.”
ATM withdrawals rise, so do PoS transactions It’s been six months since the demonetisation exercise got over, and cash withdrawals from automated teller machines have been steadily rising, latest data released by Reserve Bank of India have shown. At the same time, transactions through point-of-sale terminals have also risen, the data revealed. According to the data, cash withdrawals from ATMs were more than `2.22 lakh crore in June 2017, as compared to `2.54 lakh crore recorded in October 2016 — the month before the high-value notes were withdrawn. Cash withdrawals from ATMs halved in November 2016 as compared with October, coming down further in December.
India’s e-commerce market to touch $33 billion this fiscal: Govt The e-commerce segment in India is growing and is likely to touch USD 33 billion this fiscal, the Parliament was informed. In the 2016-17 fiscal, the online market had grown by 19%, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs C R Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha. “India’s e-commerce market is estimated to be USD 33 billion in the financial year 2017,” he said, quoting industry body NASSCOM’s latest estimates. Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
HSEDARMUST RUPOHARYREADS HDDUNTAS
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen July 2017
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!
T
he One Minute Manager has helped millions accomplish more successful professional lives, over many decades now. While the principles it lay out are timeless, our world has changed drastically since the book’s publication. The remarkable rise of technology, global flattening of markets, instant communication, and pressures on corporate workforces to do more with less—including resources, funding, and staff—have all revolutionised the world in which we live and work. In the book Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson have introduced the book’s powerful and important lessons, in a newer edition, in a concise, easy-to-read story. The authors teach readers three very practical secrets about leading others—and explain why these techniques continue to work so well even Name: The One Minute Manager Author: Ken Blanchard and today. Spencer Johnson As compelling today as the original had been nearly 30 years ago, this Genre: Non-fiction classic parable of a young man looking for an effective manager is more Price: `100 relevant and useful than ever. Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers India
“L
ong live the King” hailed Entertainment Weekly upon the publication of Stephen King’s On Writing. Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King’s advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 — and how the inextricable link between writing and living stimulated his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it — fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
www.advancedge.com www.advancedge.com
A
Name: On Writing Author: Stephen King Genre: Autobiography Price: `551 Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
story that deals with the actualisation of dreams, All the Birds in the Sky is a story about the end of the world and the beginning of our future. Childhood friends Patricia Delfine and Laurence Armstead never expected to see each other again, after they parted ways under mysterious circumstances during high school. After all, the development of magical powers and the invention of a two-second time machine could hardly fail to alarm one’s peers and families. The story then comes back to San Francisco, where both are adults, living the perfect posh lives. Laurence is an engineering genius who’s working with a group that aims to avert catastrophic breakdown through technological intervention into the changing global climate. Patricia is a Name: All the Birds in the Sky Author: Charlie Jane Anders graduate of Eltisley Maze, the hidden academy for the world’s magically Genre: Fiction gifted, and works with a small band of other magicians to secretly repair Price: `535 the world’s ever-growing ailments. Little do they realise that something bigger than either of them, something that had begun years ago in their youth, is determined to bring them together, to either save the world, or plunge it into a new dark ages. All the Birds in the Sky is indeed a deeply magical, darkly funny examination of life, love, and the apocalypse. July 2017 2017 Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September
CORPORATE HSEDARRUPOHAWORLD RYHDDUNTAS
Consolidation is key for oil & gas sector With a merger between ONGC and HPCL becoming almost a certainty, the question is how this move will help the oil and gas industry, especially in the global scenario, and with China doing aggressively well. We explore in this article the reasoning and the possible way forward.
T
he oil and gas sector in India is showing signs of sectoral consolidation. The government seems to be driving the public sector players into the consolidation mode. A cabinet committee has given its in principle approval for the sale of the government’s entire 51% shares in HPCL to ONGC, making the former a subsidiary of the latter. It is expected that ONGC will take over the management control of HPCL along with this equity sale. Potentially, the two companies may be merged. The Indian Government
currently holds a 68% stake in ONGC, with the rest being held by financial institutions, foreign investors and the public. It is also reported that a potential combination of Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and Oil India Limited (OIL) is on the cards. So what does the global experience say about vertical integration and consolidation in the oil and gas industry scenario?
The rationale for value chain integration in the oil and gas industry is driven by the levels of oil price.
Refining vs production
whether vertical integration in the oil and gas industry actually adds shareholder value. When the oil price is high, upstream players stay subdued with low investments and their profits low, while margins of refiners expand. The opposite happens when the oil price starts moving up. Of course, productivity differential at the refining stage do play a role. The rationale for value chain integration in the oil and gas industry is primarily driven by the levels of oil price. With the drop in global oil price over the last few years, upstream exploration and production companies have been bearing the brunt. However, that same scenario has helped the
Consolidation in the oil and gas space is an interesting development. Public sector companies have long dominated the oil and gas space, both in the upstream as well as in the downstream parts of the value chain. There has always been a debate as to
Oil and gas industry is primarily driven by the levels of oil price. Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
Dr Suresh Srinivasan
STUDY HOUR ANDHRA CORPORATE PRADESH WORLD
refining companies, as they receive crude oil inputs at lower costs, positively impacting margins.
Oil price & profitability Crude oil hit the historic mark of $140 a barrel in July 2008, dropped to $43 in February 2009 but recovered back to $100 by April 2011. However, since May 2014, it has been falling steadily to hit a bottom of $37 in January 2016. Currently, the crude price is hovering at around $50 a barrel. While oil price was high, many global companies like British Petroleum, Marathon, Murphy and Conoco Phillips deliberately took a call to partially wind down their refining business to stay more focused on exploration and production. Companies like ExxonMobil continued to stay fully vertically integrated. Today, with oil price hovering at around $50 a barrel, many of those companies that have
remained fully integrated, including Chevron, Shell and Total, have performed far better than their focused ‘pure play’ peers like Marathon and British Petroleum. Profits of global majors broken down between upstream and downstream sometimes reverse with steep oil price changes, and hence act as a hedge when they are vertically integrated. The ability to adjust production to serve most profitable markets over an integrated value chain is also an advantage.
Top oil & gas companies There are two Chinese companies in the global top five oil and gas majors. China National Petroleum and PetroChina are in the third and fourth position, in terms of revenue; They follow global majors like Exxon Mobil and Shell. The largest of the Chinese oil companies are government owned and are vertically integrated.
Oil & Gas: The China story Although the logic of global oil majors is equally applicable in the Chinese context, the rationale for consolidation and vertical integration in China is a bit different. China, like India, imports more than 70% of its crude requirements and is extremely ‘crude’ hungry. China’s national oil companies have been persistently acquiring oil fields and assets across the globe to secure the country’s long term energy requirements. They achieve this by providing financial and technical assistance to oil rich countries. For example, at least a third of power projects that came into existence in Northern Africa (Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, etc) were built by China. They added more than fifteen Gigawatts of power to the region. Similar Chinese investments have flown into countries like Angola, Ghana, Sudan and Uganda. Such
INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE Lawsuits against Infosys post Sikka exit? US law firms have begun preparations to file class action lawsuits against Infosys on behalf of shareholders. According to the suits, the shareholders suffered losses on account of the resignation of Vishal Sikka as CEO. Sikka has claimed that criticism by Infosys’ founders was a reason for his resignation.
Bajaj partners with Triumph Bajaj Auto has announced that it has entered into a global partnership with Triumph Motorcycles. The objective of the partnership will be to deliver a range of mid-capacity motorcycles benefiting from the collective strengths of both companies. The move is in line with the consolidation story between companies, globally and across segments.
Apollo enters North East with Assam Hospitals stake
www.advancedge.com
Apollo Hospitals, India’s largest healthcare provider, has recently made its foray into the North East region by acquiring a majority stake in Assam Hospitals in Guwahati. Apollo is also said to have indicated that it is considering more acquisition of small hospitals in northern and western parts of India in its bid to increase reach and revenue.
V-Guard exits B2B, to focus on core B2C model Kerala-based V-Guard, the consumer electrical and electronics manufacturer, is planning to exit from its B2B businesses that include industrial cables; the company has already exited from the industrial UPS manufacturing. It is active in wires, stabilizers, pumps and motors, inverter and battery systems for consumers, which is its core business, and the exit is purportedly to focus its efforts on this.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
CORPORATE HSEDARRUPOHAWORLD RYHDDUNTAS
The Indian context In the context of the ONGCHPCL transaction, as well as the proposed IOC-IOL merger, and potentially the larger consolidation of the Indian oil and gas industry, the central idea clearly is to have large companies, financially strong and possessing the capability to acquire energy assets outside the country. ONGC Videsh and OIL have earlier ventured to acquire assets abroad.
The ONGC-HPCL transaction may not be able to reap the full synergies of vertical integration at this time. ONGC Videsh, for example, is operating in more than 15 countries. OIL again has invested in oil assets in countries like Russia, Mozambique, Nigeria and Gabon. These are quite small in comparison to the China’s overseas energy investments, and are also quite fragmented and lack scale.
Bringing in focus More importantly, over the last decade, the vertical integration strategies of Indian oil majors have been quite haphazard. Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), primarily a downstream player, has been investing in upstream assets including potential investments in Mozambique and Brazil. Same
The consolidation The ONGC-HPCL transaction may not be able to reap the full synergies of vertical integration at this point in time, as there are no clear cut indications as to whether a merger will happen. In the short run, the two entities may still exist as is! Again, merging the two large organizations, as and when it happens, will come with its own challenges and the ability to pull the synergies through would be a challenge. However, the immediate visible benefit is that the government is expected to get revenue of around `30,000 crore from this sale, as ONGC is expected to pay cash to the government in this share purchase. So, per se, we may not be able to see any immediate major synergies and benefits from the ONGC-HPCL deal, as it is just the shareholding that is moving from one government entity to the other (ONGC). However, this could be a primer for a larger consolidation drive that is in the offing! A
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
investments are now paying off; close to one fourth of Chinese crude oil import are now effected through such countries. A very articulate long term energy security policy that seems to be well working! This involves enormous investments from China and Chinese national oil companies, which serve as a front for the sovereign government’s overseas oil investments. To that extent, China’s national oil companies need to be large and financially strong and have the capability not only to strike viable global deals but also manage such magnitude of imported crude. Hence, the large fully integrated national oil companies are the best structure to secure China’s long term energy security.
is the case with HPCL, which set up a number of joint ventures and subsidiaries to venture into the upstream business. Upstream companies like ONGC entered the downstream business with the acquisition of Mangalore Refineries and Petrochemicals (MRPL) and also had plans to enter the retail business. At some point, there were also cross holdings across ONGC, IOC and Gas Authority of India (GAIL). This lack of focus across the fragmented companies is precisely what the government is attempting to restructure. With more than 10 government-owned oil companies operating in India, consolidation could be the only way forward.
STUDY HOUR ANDHRA CORPORATE PRADESH WORLD
Beleaguered banks: Resolving the NPA issue With the Banking Regulations Act being amended to form the Banking Regulations (Amendment) Bill 2017, it is to be hoped that the problem of stressed assets will be addressed to a large extent. Both the banks and the RBI have initiated proceedings against defaulters.
Dr Suresh Srinivasan
S
tressed assets have become a recent phenomenon, and are proving to be a major challenge to the banking industry. These are an aggregation of Non Performing Assets (NPA) and restructured loans. NPA signifies the loans on which borrowers have failed to repay the interest of the principal within 90 days of the due date of such payment. The magnitude of stressed assets also has a bearing on the national competitiveness, as it impacts the strength of the overall banking system.
for the economy, the Reserve Bank of India and, of course, the banks. There have been a number of initiatives in the recent past to resolve the NPA issue and strengthen the banking system. Examples of these are Strategic Debt Restructuring (SDR) and Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets, also called S4A. However, while these have been initiated, they haven’t really led to tangible success in terms of material reduction in NPA levels.
Addressing NPAs
For instance, the S4A scheme allows a bank to convert a part of the debt of the defaulting company into equity and bring in
www.advancedge.com
A weak banking system that carries higher than acceptable levels of NPAs is a critical problem
The S4A scheme
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
Initiatives have been taken in the recent past to resolve the NPA issue and strengthen the banking system. capable investors. These investors can take over the management of the company and turn it around from bankruptcy. In such a scenario, the loans would also be bifurcated into sustainable and non-sustainable parts, so that the latter is converted to equity. The sustainable part would be left as is, where present cash flows would be able to service such debt, under the new management. Naturally, the banks will have to take on losses that result from writing off a part of the loan. However, the overall debt becomes better secured under the management of a more responsible shareholder. Recently, in addition to these initiatives, an amendment to the
CORPORATE HSEDARRUPOHAWORLD RYHDDUNTAS
Banking Regulations Act 1949 has brought in the new Banking Regulations (Amendment) Bill 2017.
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The expected end result is a hastening of the process of debt collection from defaulters, and a consequent reduction in NPA levels of banks.
The problem
Banking Regulations Act 1949 has brought in the new Banking Regulations (Amendment) Bill 2017. This enactment is more aggressive and puts more power in the hands of the Central government and the RBI and the banks. The Centre has the authority to direct the RBI, through the banks to act against loan defaulters. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will then initiate proceedings under
Stressed assets are pegged at close to `10 lakh crore. This translates to more than 15% of the total loans and advances, while it is pegged at around 5% for the private banks. A large part of these stressed assets are not provided for. More importantly, it is being assessed that the quantum of stressed assets has surpassed the net worth of banks, which is a major concern. Out of the total stressed assets, around `7 lakh crore are
NPAs. On the one hand, the Basel III norms require the banks to become more capitalised, while on the other hand, the stressed assets are wiping out significant levels of capital. Although the problem is primarily a major concern for the public sector state owned banks, private banks like ICICI and Axis too are showing stress of late. As far as sectors are concerned, the stressed assets are primarily spread across
INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE Emami eyeing scale through acquisitions? FMCG player Emami is looking for acquisitions in the healthcare and personal care products. Over the last few years, the company has been aggressive in acquisitions. In 2015, it acquired Kesh King for `1,600 crore and had earlier acquired the Zandu brand.
300% rise in renewable energy M&As Global M&A volumes for renewable energy in 2017 reached $15.4 billion (year to date), compared to only $3.6 billion in 2013. This represents a phenomenal increase of 322% over the four-year period. This growth is an extremely positive sign that investors are signaling interest away from fossil fuel based energy.
Govt close to privatisation target?
Infosys deal with Brilliant Basics to continue? Infosys has indicated that it will acquire Brilliant Basics, a London-based product design and customer experience (CX) company. However, it is unclear how this deal will develop after CEO Vishal Sikka’s exit, especially since his acquisition of Panaya, the Israeli software as a service (SaaS) company, is now struggling amidst the controversy.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
The Indian government is moving firmly on its target of achieving `72,500 crore through the privatisation route. Such sale is expected to come from mergers in public sector companies, and creation of a new exchangetraded fund (ETF). The ONGC – HPCL merger alone could get close to `30,000 crore.
STUDY HOUR ANDHRA CORPORATE PRADESH WORLD
infrastructure and construction, commodities including iron and steel, power, telecom and real estate.
The proposed solution A panel within the RBI has been constituted, and it will identify defaulting companies. The respective banks will then initiate insolvency proceedings against these companies. As a first stage towards addressing the NPA and strengthening the banking system, the RBI’s 5-member oversight committee panel has identified 12 defaulters that jointly account for 25% of the total NPA, in value. The RBI has given directives to the banks to initiate insolvency proceedings against these 12 companies and more. It is being reported that in fact, a total of 500 companies have already been identified, and the proceedings against the remaining 488 will commence soon. Banks too have been informed of this list, and have been asked to initiate a resolution plan within the next 6 months.
Recent developments As the first step, the State Bank of India, which is the lending bank, has already referred three companies — Bhushan Steel, Essar Steel and Electrosteel Steel — to the NCLT to initiate insolvency proceedings. These three companies alone account for around 10% of the overall stressed assets.
www.advancedge.com
The Essar Steel case
Essar Steel, for example, has around `45,000 crore of debt for a couple of years. The NCLT has now appointed independent resolution professionals; these individuals will now work with the companies to come up
with a resolution to repay the outstanding loan within 6 months. It has been reported that at least 30% of the debt may be surmised to be unsustainable. Hence, this may have to be converted into equity, diluting the majority shareholders, the Ruias. However, these are still early days and the plan needs to progress, crossing
SBI has referred three companies, Bhushan Steel, Essar Steel and Electrosteel Steel, to the NCLT to initiate insolvency proceedings. many hurdles, before a resolution is arrived at. Waters have already become murky. It is interesting to note that when the RBI referred Essar Steek to the NCTL for the initiation of insolvency proceedings, Essar Steel filed an application with the Gujarat High Court challenging the proceedings. Essar alleged that its selection by the RBI was arbitrary, and that the central bank had discriminated against it; Essar has claimed that other companies had been granted six months for a restructuring plan and resolution. Although the high
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
court immediately stayed the proceedings, it later dismissed Essar’s application. Naturally, such delay tactics are highly probable, and could slow down the process.
RBI involvement to help banks Banks themselves find it very challenging to bring up the issue of some of the defaulters, as they purportedly fear investigations. They have possibly hesitated to take the required action in time on this very basis, but this amendment brings in the RBI’s mandate and support to initiate action, relieving the banks of the responsibility. This is perceived as the weakness of the banks, and such an amendment will thus help the banks to move forward on a much better footing to address the NPA issue. This is a very positive result of the amendment. Moreover, the banks get a comfort factor, apart from the RBI backing, since even if they have to compromise with the lenders, it is in the best interests of reducing the NPA. However, on the flip side, it is also possible that banks may take the RBI’s intervention for granted, and thereby dilute the quality of future lending. If so, this can be prove to be damaging. On balance, these are extremely positive developments, and they should go a long way in strengthening India’s institutional base and address one of the most crucial issues challenging the country’s banking system. A
CORPORATE HSEDARRUPOHAWORLD RYHDDUNTAS
Financial investors gain power in tech cos While it is a given that a tech company — especially a start-up — will be driven by technology, financial investors are beginning to play a major role. Apart from providing the funding, these risk-takers are taking an active interest in directing the company as well. Dr Suresh Srinivasan
Investors giving direction When it comes to strategic decision making, a clear trend is emerging where the techies and the promoters are in fact being overshadowed by financial investors, who, for that matter,
are called early risk takers. From the perspective of such early investors, a timely exit is even more important than backing the right horse, i.e., the entry and funding decisions. As these technology ventures start gaining scale, it is hence not a surprise that the financial investors have now started taking an aggressive stand in charting the direction of these companies.
Financial investors in tech firms SoftBank is a classic case in point. Its aggressive investments in making many early stage investments, globally and more specifically in India, are quite well known. This Japanese company operates the $93 billion SoftBank Vision Fund that primarily invests in technology start-ups in the United States, Europe and the Asia Pacific region. In cab hailing operations, Didi and Uber were locked in cut-throat
SoftBank operates the $93 billion SoftBank Vision Fund that primarily invests in technology start-ups. competition in China, and in 2016 Uber eventually sold its China business to Didi Chuxing and got out of the Chinese operations. This is despite Uber CEO Travis Kalanick being bullish about Uber in China, and believing that Uber’s future lay in China. It is largely believed that the Chinese state and its regulations were so discriminating against Uber that it was forced to sell its share to the Chinese competitor. www.advancedge.com
T
he last decade has seen an unprecedented rise in technology companies, cab and hotel integrators, e-commerce companies and financial technology (fintech) startups. The technology innovation and the entrepreneurial zeal of Silicon Valley are powering more innovations in the autonomous car and energy storage space. On the one hand, the success of such technology companies has been primarily driven by the technology and quality of management. However, financing entities have started playing a major role in shaping up the scaling of such start-ups. There has been a large spillover of such technology initiatives that have now been well commercialised, even into emerging markets that have a large customer base, be it e-commerce or cab riding services.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
STUDY HOUR ANDHRA CORPORATE PRADESH WORLD
that remained vacant there seemed to be no clear executive in charge of running the company in such testing times. With his resignation and the uncertainties that followed, analysts expect Uber market valuation to have dropped down by as high as $10 billion from the peak valuation of around $70 billion seen at the Travis Kalanick
Behind the scenes? It is very interesting that Softbank also made large investments of around $5 billion in Didi Chuxing, the largest cab aggregator in China. Another interesting point is that SoftBank is also one of the earliest investors in Ola, the cab hailing service that is fighting a pitched battle with Uber in India. Speculations are rife that both Didi and Softbank have a hand in Uber’s China exit. Recently, with a number of scandals hitting Uber and Kalanick, he was forced to move out in leave of absence. In his absence and with at least six senior positions
In India SoftBank seems to be pulling through a strategy to fight Amazon. beginning of this year. This opened up an opportunity for the Uber rivals globally to join force; SoftBank seems to be taking lead in this initiative. Uber rival Grab Taxi, which was also earlier funded by SoftBank, operates cab hailing services across South East Asia including
Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Myanmar. Soft Bank and Didi are now funding Grab to the extent of $2 billion to scale up and strengthen its offerings. There clearly seems to be a concerted effort to displace Uber by SoftBank and Uber competitors, where SoftBank is staying invested. Softbank’s strategy in India’s e-commerce space also cannot be missed. In India SoftBank seems to be pulling through a strategy to fight Amazon. One of its early investments in India has been Snapdeal, way back in August 2015. Currently, SoftBank holds around 33% of Snapdeal. The other major shareholders are the promoters Kunal and Rohit Bansal jointly holding around 7% and a number of minority shareholders like holding around 28%. There are other shareholders like eBay and other venture capitalists. Softbank has been aggressively brokering a deal to sell Snapdeal to Flipkart; purely as SoftBank wants to see how it could influence the
INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE Airtel-Telenor, Dish-Videocon merger get tribunal nod The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has recently approved the proposed merger between Bharti Airtel and Telenor India. This merger comes on the heels of Vodafone’s merger with Idea and Aircel’s merger with Reliance Communications. Meanwhile, Dish TV India has announced that it too has secured the NCLT approval of its merger with Videocon D2h. This merger will create the country’s largest direct-to-home service provider, to be renamed Dish TV Videocon.
More public sector banking mergers in pipeline
www.advancedge.com
After the recent success of merging State Bank of India with associated banks, the Finance Ministry is said to considering clearing another such proposal in the public sector banking space. This move is purported to be effected by this fiscal end, with a goal to create 4-5 global sized lenders.
Nearly 600 train accidents in 5 years The recent derailment of the Utkal Express makes it the 586th train accident in the last 5 years, according to official figures. Moreover, 53% of these 586 are due to derailments. In the last three years, 333 people were killed in 206 train accidents.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
CORPORATE HSEDARRUPOHAWORLD RYHDDUNTAS
compete independently. Their strategy has been to scale down the operations, pick up a niche and run a focused and efficient operation such that the company sees sustainable profits emerging. The logic of the promoters further has been that with such scaled down and operations, the company can steadily better its valuations. The recent sale of its digital payments platform Freecharge to Axis Bank and its logistics business Vulcan Express has provided the immediately required cash and working capital to sustain the company for some time more, before which the promoters expect to restructure the company on the desired lines to make it profitable and
Dr Suresh Srinivasan is a Chartered Accountant, has an MBA (Bradford UK) and a Doctorate in Strategy. He is the Director of the 2-year PGDM at Great Lakes Institute of Management, as well as a Sr. Associate Professor. He is also a management consultant.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
Indian e-commerce consolidate. However, it has taken a call that a joint Flipkart–Snapdeal is better positioned to take on Amazon in the Indian market. More so due to the fact that Snapdeal is now a distant number three behind rivals Flipkart and Amazon India. Snapdeal has been struggling to remain in business, especially caught in price wars between the two largest players Amazon and FlipKart, both of whom are well positioned in terms of cash, at least for now. Snapdeal’s valuation as been steeply declining every day; the company which was valued at around $6 billion not very long ago, is now valued not more than $0.7 to $0.8 billion. Softbank has become restless and was brokering a major deal between FlipKart and Snapdeal’s Bansals and the other minority shareholders who are reluctant to sell at this point in time. The minority shareholders including the promoters have been reluctant to sell the company to Flipkart as they believe the company can still
A joint Flipkart– Snapdeal is better positioned to take on Amazon in the Indian market.
sustainable in the short run. Snapdeal has a battery of high profile minority shareholders like Ratan Tata, Azim Premji, Alibaba and Foxconn. Although many of them approved the deal of sale to Flipkart, it failed to secure the approval of all the minority shareholders. Eventually the deal was aborted leaving SoftBank the majority shareholder, disappointed. Within a few days of the FlipKart acquisition of Snapdeal being shelved, reports emerged that SoftBank had invested $2.5 billion in Flipkart. SoftBank also invested $1.5 billion in Paytm a couple of months ago. These actions of SoftBank reaffirm its seriousness in the Indian market and in positioning a strong contender against the growing presence of Amazon. For orchestrating a consolidated opposition in the Indian market, SoftBank needs to do more it seems; even with founder promoters jointly holding only 7% in Snapdeal, SoftBank was unable to unite the minority shareholders. The question is how it can achieve the same with other companies; say, Flipkart where the promoters hold 15% and in Paytm where the founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma holds 20%. All said, the aggressive steering of the course of ‘new economy’ companies by financial investors as they scale up, who seems to call the shot, is getting very visible! A
www.advancedge.com
STUDY HOUR ANDHRA CORPORATE PRADESH WORLD
Sept 2017 August 2017
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 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 DIRECTIONS for questions 1 and 2: Answer the questions on the basis of the information given below. Q-1. Two towns Rampur and Lakhanpur are 60 km apart. Sachin starts from Rampur towards Lakhanpur with a certain speed at 11:00 am, reaches Lakhanpur and immediately starts towards Rampur with the same speed. Rahul starts from Rampur, towards Lakhanpur with twice Sachin’s speed when Sachin is 10 km away from Lakhanpur (moving towards Lakhanpur) and after reaching Lakhanpur immediately turns back and starts for Rampur with the same speed.
2.
At what distance from Rampur do Sachin and Rahul meet for the first time? 1] 30 km 2] 46.66 km 3] 53.33 km 4] Data inadequate
At what distance from Lakhanpur do Sachin and Rahul meet for the second time? 1] 26.66 km 2] 33.33 km 3] 40 km 4] Data inadequate
For answers to questions 1 and 2:
Sachin require x hours to reach Lakhanpur after starting from Rampur.
He covers 10 km
in each hours.
Also, Rahul covers 20 km in each
hours.
2-[3]
DIRECTIONS for questions 3 and 4: Answer the questions independently of each other. Q-2. The expressions (5271 + 371), (3792 – 492 ) and (57211 – 572) are divisible by which of the following prime numbers? 1] 23 2] 7 3] 29 4] 11 Ans: (5271 + 371) is divisible by (52 + 3) i.e., 55. (3792 – 492) is divisible by (37 – 4) i.e., 33. (57211 – 572) = 572(57210 – 1)
572 is divisible by 11. All the three expressions are divisible by 11. Hence, [4].
Q-3. The parallel sides of cyclic trapezium are 6 cm and 8 cm. Find the radius of the circle circumscribing it if area of the trapezium = 49 cm2. (Given that radius < 10 cm) 1] 5 cm 2] 7 cm 3] 9 cm 4] [1] or [2] Ans:
Now, Rahul starts from Rampur when Sachin is at E. When Sachin is at Lakhanpur, Rahul is at B. Again when Sachin returns to E, Rahul is at D.
km
= 46.66 km from Rampur for the first time. Again,
They will meet somewhere between D and E. Rahul’s speed is twice Sachin’s, Rahul covers twice the distance covered by Sachin.
Distance covered by Rahul = (after D)
1-[2]
× 10 =
They both meet at a distance of 40 +
=
Area of the trapezium = × height = 49 7 × h = 49 2 h = 7 cm (h1 + 32) = (7 – h1)2 + 42 h1 = 4 r = 5 cm If AB and CD are on the same side of the centre, (x + 7)2 + 32 = x2 + 42 x is negative. This is not possible. Hence r = 5 cm. Hence, [1]. Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
1.
when Sachin is at D, Rahul is at Lakhanpur. When Sachin is at C, Rahul is at D. When Sachin is at B, Rahul is also at B. They both meet for the second time at B which is 40 km away from Lakhanpur.
ANDHRAHOUR STUDY PRADESH
Verbal DIRECTIONS for question 1:
The question has four sentences pertaining to a subject, and one of them is contextually / logically incorrect. Choose the option corresponding to the sentence that is inappropriate. Q-1. 1] The exquisite detail, vivid colours and radical 19th century style of the Pre-Raphaelites light up London’s Tate museum with a new exhibit of Britain’s ‘first modern art movement’. 2] The painting was the blockbuster of its day, produced by Hunt very late in his career; but it is a masterpiece of a period that is less familiar to viewers. 3] The show aims to demonstrate that the group led by Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt and John Everett Millais was responsible for Britain’s first modern art movement. 4] The 180 paintings, sculptures and tapestries of ‘Pre-Raphaelites: Victorian Avant-garde’ comprise the largest exhibition of the movement’s works at the Tate Britain since 1984
The paragraph speaks about modern art and artists of the Pre-Raphaelite period. Sentences 1, 3 and 4 are connected by their common theme: Britain’s first modern art movement. Only sentence 2, which speaks about a specific painting, deviates from this subject and does not fit in logically or contextually with the other sentences. Hence, [2].
DIRECTIONS for question 2: In the following question, there are sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) that are / is correct in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency). Then, choose the most appropriate option. Q-2.
www.advancedge.com
A. Clara has an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach when she heard her
B.
parent’s would be coming to meet her teacher.
C.
She spent her first recces standing in a corner of the playground, all alone.
D.
Suddenly two girls from her class came up to her.
E.
They were wearing identical red coats.
1] D and E 2] B, C, D and E 3] C, D and E 4] A, B, C and D
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
The paragraph is in past tense, hence the use of the word ‘has’ in sentence A makes the sentence incorrect. ‘Has’ should be replaced with ‘had’ to make the sentence correct. The plural form of ‘parent’ i.e. ‘parents’ and not the possessive form ‘parent’s’ should be used in sentence B. The word ‘recess’ is spelt incorrectly as ‘recces’ in sentence C. Sentences D and E are grammatically and logically correct. Hence, [1].
DIRECTIONS for question 3: In the following questions, there are four sentences. Each sentence has a pair of words that are italicized and highlighted. From the italicized and highlighted words, select the most appropriate words (A or B) to form correct sentences. The sentences are followed by options that indicate the words that may be selected to correctly complete the set of sentences. From the options given, choose the most appropriate ones. Q-3. The imminent (A) / eminent (B) arrival of the guest made everyone a little nervous.
John is a very erasable (A) / irascible (B) man – you should be mindful of what you say to him.
The blackout drapes, which offer complete privacy and light-control, are made of thick black serge (A) / surge (B).
David has always ensued (A) / eschewed (B) the limelight, preferring to spend time with his family.
1] ABAB
‘Imminent’ means ‘impending’ and ‘eminent’ means ‘noteworthy’; since the sentence is referring to the arrival of a guest, ‘imminent’ is the correct word.
‘Erasable’ means ‘capable of being erased’ and ‘irascible’ means ‘easily made angry’; in the context of the sentence the correct word would be ‘irascible’. ‘Serge’ is a ‘twilled worsted cloth or woolen fabric’ whereas ‘surge’ means ‘to rise and move in a billowing or swelling manner’. Since the given sentence speaks about curtains, the word ‘serge’ should be used. ‘Ensued’ means ‘to follow as a consequence or result’. ‘Eschewed’ means ‘to keep clear of or abstain from’. In the context of the sentence, the correct word would be ‘eschewed’. So the correct sequence is ABAB. Hence, [1].
2] BBBB
3] AABA
4] BABA
WORD DOSE
HSEDAR STUDY RUPOHARYH HOUR DDUNTAS
Nature, the stunning seductress! Nature had come into her own again and, little by little, in her stealthy, insidious way had encroached upon the drive with long, tenacious fingers. The woods, always a menace even in the past, had triumphed in the end. They crowded, dark and uncontrolled, to the borders of the drive. The beeches with white, naked limbs leant close to one another, their branches intermingled in a strange embrace, making a vault above my head like the archway of a church. And there were other trees as well, trees that I did not recognize, squat oaks and tortured elms that straggled cheek by jowl with the beeches, and had thrust themselves out of the quiet earth, along with monster shrubs and plants, none of which I remembered. The drive was a ribbon now, a thread of its former self, with gravel surface gone, and choked with grass and moss. Excerpt from Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca
1. Stealthy – stel-thee, adjective 2. Insidious – in-sid-ee-uh s, adjective – 3. Encroached – en-krohch d, verb – 4. Tenacious – tuh-ney-shuh s, adjective – 5. Menace – men-is, noun –
6. Triumphed – trahy-uh mf d, verb – 7. Beeches – beech s, noun – 8. Intermingled – in-ter-mingguh l d, verb – 9. Embrace – em-breys, noun – 10. Vault – vawlt, noun – 11. Archway – ahrch-wey, noun –
12. Squat – skwot, adjective – 13. Elms – elm s, noun – 14. Straggled – strag-uh l d, verb – 15. Jowl – joul, noun – 16. Thrust – thruhst, verb – 17. Gravel – grav-uh l, noun – 18. Choked – chohk d, verb – 19. Moss – maws, noun –
a. Tending to keep a firm hold of something; clinging or adhering closely. b. Large trees with smooth grey bark, glossy leaves, and hard, pale fine-grained timber. c. Proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with very harmful effects. d. A threat or danger. e. Behaving or done in a cautious and surreptitious manner, so as not to be seen or heard. f. To hold on to, like a hug. g. Advanced gradually beyond usual or acceptable limits.
h. Grew, spread, or laid out in an irregular, untidy way. i. Jaw, especially the lower one. j. A curved structure forming a passage or entrance. k. Short and thickset; disproportionately broad or wide. l. To push forcibly. m. Achieved victory or success. n. Small stones and pebbles, or a mixture of these with sand. o. Obstructed or clogged. p. A small flowerless green plant which lacks true roots, growing in low carpets or rounded
cushions in damp habitats and reproducing by means of spores released from stalked capsules. q. Tall deciduous trees which typically have rough serrated leaves and which propagate from root suckers. r. A roof in the form of an arch or a series of arches, typical of churches and other large, formal buildings. s. Mixed or mingled together.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
MAT CH T HE W OR D S W IT H T H E IR M EA NING S
ANDHRAHOUR STUDY PRADESH
A quiz to boost your General Knowledge 1. Which country hosted the 2017 BRICS Youth Forum (BYF)? a. Brazil b. China c. India d. South Africa 2. The Airport Authority of India (AAI) has signed MoU with this state government for development of aviation sector in the state. The scope of the MoU is to identify relevant factors influencing the development of civil aviation infrastructure in the state, assessing commercial potential of various airports of the state, identifying considerations for airport operations in the state, evaluating site related technical and engineering parameters for development of projects. Which state are we talking about? a. Uttarakhand b. West Bengal c. Nagaland d. Himachal Pradesh
www.advancedge.com
3. Kylie Masse, won women’s 100m backstroke gold at the 2017 World Aquatics Championships. What’s her nationality? a. Canadian b. French c. Dutch d. Mexican
4. This state government has recently launched its flagship ‘Apni Gaddi Apna Rozgar’ scheme for jobless youth by flagging off over 100 uberMOTO bikes. Under the
scheme, the state government will provide commercial two wheelers and four wheelers to unemployed youth at subsidised rates. The scheme will be a game-changer for the youth of this state and will play a catalysing role in encouraging micro-entrepreneurship opportunities. Which state are we talking about? a. Maharashtra b. Karnataka c. Punjab d. Bihar
5. The researchers at this IIT have developed a low-cost dirt detector that alerts authorities when a place needs cleaning. The Smart Hygiene Monitor (SHM) records levels of ammonia, sulphur dioxide, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds and particulate matter through sensors. In which IIT has this been developed? a. IIT Madras b. IIT Kharagpur c. IIT Delhi d. IIT Kanpur 6. Which city is to host the 2024 Summer Olympics? a. New York b. London c. Paris d. Copenhagen 7. Five months after its decommissioning in March, the navy’s aircraft carrier INS Viraat might just become an underwater attraction in
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
the Arabian Sea. Which state government has sent a proposal to the defence ministry asking that the carrier be given to it to be turned into an underwater dive spot on the Konkan Coast? a. Goa b. Maharashtra c. Kerala d. Gujarat
8. The Gangotri National Park (GNP) is home to snow leopards, ibex, tahr, himalayan barbet, serow, pheasants, partridges, doves, pigeons, etc. It provides majestic beauty of coniferous forests and grandeur of glacial world combined with lush green meadows. In which state of India is it located? a. Uttrakhand b. Chhattisgarh c. Bihar d. Uttar Pradesh 9. The Union government has launched “e-RaKAM” portal to provide a platform to sell agricultural produce. What does ‘RaKAM’ stands for? a. Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi b. Rashtriya Kisan Agriculture Mandi c. Rashtriya Kisan Agricultural Mandi d. Rashtriya Kisan Agrifarming Mandi 10. The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge “Europaweg (or Europe Bridge)” has recently opened in this country. It measures 1,620 feet long and rises as high as 278 feet above the Grabengufer ravine. The
HSEDAR STUDY RUPOHARYH HOUR DDUNTAS
11. In which state of India will you find The Sahyadri Tiger Reserve (STR)? a. Karnataka b. Maharashtra c. Tamil Nadu d. Andhra Pradesh 12. Name the person who has been sworn in as the new President of Iran. a. Mohammad Khatami b. Ayatollah Ali Khamanei c. Sadeq Larijani d. Hassan Rouhani 13. Name the Indian who has become Asia’s second richest man, according to latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI). a. Lakshmi Mittal b. Mukesh Ambani c. Pallonji Mistry d. Kalanithi Maran 14. In which state of India is Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (PWS)? a. Kerala b. Karnataka c. Maharashtra d. Tamil Nadu 15. India’s first private sector missile sub-systems manufacturing facility has been inaugurated on August 4, 2017. It has been established a line with the ‘Make in India’ initiative and Government’s policy to encourage private sector participation in defence product. It is a joint venture
between the $2.5 billion Kalyani Group and Israel’s Rafael Advanced Defence Systems Ltd. Name the city in which it was inaugurated? a. Kolkata b. Mumbai c. Hyderabad d. Chennai
16. Which nation hosted the 15th meeting of the Foreign Ministers of BIMSTEC countries? a. Indonesia b. India c. Bhutan d. Nepal 17. The Microsoft India has tied up with this state to use its artificial intelligence-based MINE platform to screen children for eye p roblems and prevent avoidable blindness. The Microsoft Intelligent Network for Eyecare (MINE) is an artificial intelligence platform to reduce avoidable blindness. Which is this state we are talking about? a. Telangana b. Himachal Pradesh c. Kerala d. Karnataka 18. The National Handloom Day (NHD) is celebrated every year in India to give an impetus to the sector and encourage the use of handmade loom. It was on this day that the Swadeshi Movement was launched in 1905. The movement involved revival of domestic products and production processes. What is the date on which the National Handloom Day is celebrated every year? a. August 5 b. August 6 c. August 7 d. August 8
19. India’s first helicopter-taxi (helitaxi) service will be started for those who cannot afford to spend time battling traffic to travel across the city. The service is expected to take off within three months. This helicopter service will cut down travel time to 15 minutes instead of two hours. In which city of India will this service be started? a. Mumbai b. Bengaluru c. Gurugram d. Chennai 20. Name the Indian Institute that has developed a highly sensitive nanometre-scale carbon monoxide sensor. a. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur b. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay c. Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru d. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras 21. Name the country that will host the 8th edition of Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES). a. India b. Turkey c. Greece d. United States of America 22. In which city of India is the Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) headquartered? a. New Delhi b. Kolkata c. Mumbai d. Chennai 23. The FIBA Asia Cup is known as Asia’s biggest basketball tournament. Name the country that hosted the 2017 FIBA Asia Championship.
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
www.advancedge.com
bridge connects a hiking trail through the Alps between Zermatt and Graechen. Name the country. a. Japan b. Russia c. China d. Switzerland
ANDHRAHOUR STUDY PRADESH
a. b. c. d.
India Japan Nepal Lebanon
24. In order to promote cruise tourism in India, a special event ‘The dawn of cruise tourism in India’ had been inaugurated on August 8, 2017. This initiative has a potential revenue gains to all stakeholders of close to `35,000 crore. The promotion of cruise tourism create over 2,50,000 jobs. Name the city in India where the special event had been organised. a. Panaji b. Kochi c. Thiruvananthapuram d. Mumbai 25. Amazon India has signed an MoU with which state handloom department to educate weavers and artisans to directly sell their products to Amazon customers? a. Telangana b. Hyderabad c. Chennai d. Kochi
www.advancedge.com
26. The Nal Sarovar Bird Sanctuary (NSBS) is one of the largest in India and harbours over 250 species of wetland birds such as rosy pelicans, flamingoes, white storks, brahminy ducks and herons. In which state of India is it located? a. Maharashtra b. Rajasthan c. Gujarat d. Kerala
27. Name the state in India where India’s first micro forest will be built. a. Chattisgarh b. Madhya Pradesh c. Rajasthan d. Himachal Pradesh
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. a
3. a
4. c 5. b
6. c
7. b
8. a
9. a 10. d
11. b
12. d
13. b
14. b 15. c
16. d 17. a
18. c
19. b 20. c
21. a
23. d 24. d 25. a
22. a
For more similar puzzles, visit: www.sudoku.com
26. c 27. a
WORD DOSE
Advanc’edge Mastering Business Acumen September 2017
1. e 6. m 11. j 16. l
2. c 7. b 12. k 17. n
3. g 8. s 13. q 18. o
4. a 9. f 14. h 19. p
5. d 10. r 15. i