Seasonal Magazine Latest Issue by John Antony

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VOLUME 10 ISSUE 7 JULY-AUGUST 2011

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MAGAZINE

Seasonal Vol 10 Issue 7 July-August 2011

Managing Editor Jason D Pavoratti Editor John Antony Director (Finance) Ceena Senior Editorial Coordinator Jacob Deva Senior Correspondent Bina Menon Creative Visualizer Bijohns Varghese Photographer Anish Aloysious Correspondents Bombay: Rashmi Prakash Hyderabad: Iqbal Siddiqui Delhi: Anurag Dixit Director (Technical) John Antony Publisher Jason D

Indian investors again had a ride on their favourite rollercoaster. Nifty dipped up to 5200, gave the false impression of a free fall, and again bounced back against all predictions to scale 5600 again. Smart analysts have stopped being bullish or bearish, instead resorting to the widest possible range predictions like “Nifty will continue to travel between 5150 and 5750.” Who doesn’t know that? But again, who does practice investment according to that? Fear and greed. There isn’t a third emotion worth mentioning in the market. The biggest market operators would play with those sentiments to outsmart retail investors and make big-time money.

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What Works in this Stock Market?

MEMBER

It is very rare for Reliance Industries to fall 4%. It happened recently on July 1st. All that was necessary was a CBI raid on the premises of a former Director General of Hydrocarbons (DGH). Now the only thing to be worried is whether four-percent-a-day falls will become a habit for India’s largest enterprise. Or even worse, whether RIL would do a GTL/GTL Infra. “The world’s largest independent telecom tower company” had went in for a 60% fall within hours. Top brains in the market are already insuring the Sensex against such a fall. They had recently decided to oust RIL’s former cousins Reliance Infrastructure and Reliance Communications from the flagship index, and induct new heavyweights Coal India and Sun Pharma into their place. Ask any market participant about Reliance Industries’ fall, and they would be quick to cite corporate governance issues. But then, when had RIL didn’t have any governance issues? Even while it used to deliver blockbuster returns to investors, it was not entirely free from transparency issues. But back in those days it was called as the ‘business acumen’ of Dhirubhai & Sons. Or take the case of Infosys Technologies. Always steering clear of corporate governance issues, what would explain Infosys’ fall from 3500 to 2600 recently. Ask analysts and they would cite slowing growth. But isn’t that self-evident? The correct signal was Nandan Nilekani

jumping the ship. Someone who can’t read that ought not to be in the stock market. Ask analysts to show rocksolid scrips, and they would point at HDFC Bank or TCS. Sure, HDFC Bank and TCS are two solid scrips that have delivered huge returns. They meet the minimum criterion of respect for equity, by refraining from serial-dilution as far as possible. But whether their ‘performance’ was due to cor porate gover nance or growth strategies or something else is open to debate. Who can forget Deepak Parekh getting invited to the Government-constituted Board of Satyam, a company to whom HDFC Bank had lend substantial sums. Or who can forget TCS often being the only Indian software vendor who qualifies for government projects across the world - including in India - that are getting bigger and bigger? And see the newfound aggression with which TCS took on CLSA that downgraded the entire Indian IT sector? Forget these biggies, as the real action is in the mid-caps. It is as though market has suddenly realized that North America or Europe won’t save India. The new buzzwords are FMCG, pharma, domestic, consumer brand etc etc. Or how can stocks like Titan, Bata, or Dabur trade this high when inflation is at its peak? It is next to absurd, and the perfect example of a mid-cap bubble. Yet the party is going on, and when the bubble finally bursts, everyone will say, oh what a ponzi was that! The final verdict as far as making money from the markets is concerned is summed up by ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, when he says, “I have stopped giving tips, as retail investors don’t know when to exit.” And when to exit, indeed, is much sooner and shorter than most investors realize. The bigger question is, are the markets such a big thing to be taken seriously? Not really, in a direct way, even though market always puts on such airs. We even have a PM who was famous or infamous - according to your perspective - for remarking once that he can’t lose sleep over Sensex shedding some 500 points. He was the FM back then. But however market-haters try, the unfortunate reality is that it is one of the best available indirect barometers of a country’s economic health, be it America or India. That remains so, simply because there is no other thing than a stock market index that gets affected instantly by so many core economic inputs - jobs data, GDP, industrial output, interest rates, and even non-economic inputs like governance or corruption issues. Booming indices might also be driven by bubbles, but frequently diving indices are indeed signs of poor economic health. John Antony

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MAGAZINE

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Contents 10 Global Brands that Helped the Most Evil Regime in History It’s scary just how efficient the Nazis were at directing an entire country, including its population and industry, towards their evil goals. Everyone knows about the big three corporations that worked with the Nazis. Hugo Boss designed the intimidating uniforms of the SS (as well as the drabber brown shirts of the SA and the the Hitler Youth); Volkswagen designed the Beetle at...

Bill Gates on Family, Charity, & INDIA This is not the way I'd imagined Bill Gates, says Caroline Graham of Daily Mail, who was allowed a rare nterview with the world's second richest man.Rocking gently in his chair, he begins to sing: 'I wanna be a billionaire so freakin' bad. Buy all the things I never had. I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine. Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen...'

Meet the 5 New Small Cars Coming This Year The coming two months and the festive season starting October will see some of the best small car offerings in India. Indian and international brands are now all focused on small cars...

ACHARYA INSTITUTES:

Focus is on Continuous Quality Improvement Home to over 5650 students, this 120-acre 15-lakh sqft campus is today visited by the likes of Google, Ford, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, and many more. Founder & Chairman B Premnath Reddy is betting everything he has to swiftly move up..

Coal India to be India’s Most Valuable Company? Will Coal India soon edge out Reliance Industries to become India’s most valuable company?

ENGINEERING @ RAJAGIRI:

Innovative Yet Seasoned The leading new-generation engineering college, once noted for its innovative practices, has....

India's Voodoo Economics! At the beginning of the last year Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assures us that inflation will come down by March. In March, after the Budget was presented the same year, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee assures us that the effect of his budgetary proposals in controlling inflation will be visible by May...

Groupon is the Next Wave of E-Commerce. But Can the Revolutionary Business Model Sustain? Groupon.com features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in more than 565 cities around the world. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon can offer deals that aren’t available elsewhere. Groupon brings buyers and sellers together in a fun and collaborative way that offers the consumer an unbeatable deal, and businesses a large number of new customers. To date, it has saved consumers more than $300 million and claims it has...

5 WikiLeaks Hits of 2011 That Are Turning the World on Its Head Is 2011 capable of exceeding 2010's revelations? And what discoveries in 2011 has WikiLeaks unearthed thus far? between Collateral Murder, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diary, and Cablegate, it appeared as though 2010 would go down in history as the most shocking year in WikiLeaks revelations. Americans discovered that trigger..-

CHOITHRAM INTERNATIONAL, INDORE

Demystifying, Economising, IB Education

“Musli Power X-Tra was Always an Ayurvedic Medicine and, Now, We Have Got Justice From Court”

Promoted by the internationally renowned Choithram Trusts, led by.. noted

Seasonal Magazine had some hard questions for Kunnath Pharmaceuticals Founder, Dr. KC Abraham, who has recently upped his..

INDUS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, BANGALORE

Hamriyah Free Zone Taps Kerala Market Through Thiruvananthapuram Technopark

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SOBHA CITY, THRISSUR

Cover Story

Seasonal Magazine

It’s scary just how efficient the Nazis were at directing an entire country, including its population and industry, towards their evil goals. Everyone knows about the big three corporations that worked with the Nazis. Hugo Boss designed the intimidating uniforms of the SS (as well as the drabber brown shirts of the SA and the the Hitler Youth); Volkswagen designed the Beetle at Hitler’s behest and churned them out using slave labor; and IBM designed the punch cards that were used to systematize the extermination of people by race and class. However, these weren’t the only companies that acted in collusion with the Nazis — other global businesses still recognizable today also sold their souls to the devil in different ways — and you might be surprised at some of the names that are to follow.

10. J.P. Morgan Chase On reflection, the collusion of Chase Bank (now J.P. Morgan Chase), with the Nazis isn’t so surprising. One of its major shareholders, J.D. Rockefeller, had directly funded Nazi eugenics experiments before the war. Between 1936 and 1941, Chase and other US banks helped the Germans raise over $20 million in dollar exchange, netting over $1.2 million in commission — of which Chase pocketed a cool $500,000. That was a lot of money at the time. The fact that the German marks used to fund the operation came from Jews who had fled Nazi Germany didn’t seem to bother Chase — in fact they upped their business after Kristallnacht (the night Jews throughout Nazi Germany and Austria were systematically attacked by mobs in 1938). Chase also froze the accounts of French Jews in occupied France before the Nazis had even gotten around to asking them to.

Between 1936 and 1941, Chase and other US banks helped the Germans raise over $20 million in dollar exchange, netting over $1.2 million in commission

9. Ford Henry Ford himself was a notorious anti-Semite, publishing a collection of articles under the charming title, The International Jew: The World’s Foremost Problem. Ford even sponsored his own newspaper which he used as a propaganda piece, blaming the Jews for World War I, and in 1938 he received the Grand Cross of the German Eagle, the highest medal Nazi Germany awarded to foreign citizens. Ford’s German operation produced one third of the militarized trucks used by the German army during the war, with much of the labor done by prisoners. What’s even more shocking is that Ford may have used forced labor as early as 1940 — when the American arm of the company still had complete control.

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Ford’s German operation produced one third of the militarized trucks used by the German army during the war, with much of the labor done by prisoners.

8. Random House You may not have heard of Bertelsmann A.G. but you will have heard of the books published by its many subsidiaries, including Random House, Bantam Books and Doubleday. During Nazi rule, Bertelsmann published propaganda and Nazi literature such as “Sterilization and Euthanasia: A Contribution to Applied Christian Ethics.” They even published works by Will Vesper, who had given a rousing speech at the book-burning in 1933. Random House courted Nazi controversy again in 1997

Kodak’s subsidiaries in neutral European countries did brisk business with the Nazis, providing them with both a market for their goods and valuable foreign currency.

7. Kodak When you think Kodak, you think of happy family photographs and memories caught on film, but what you should really be considering is the slave labor that the German branch of the firm used during World War II. Kodak’s subsidiaries in neutral European countries did brisk business with the Nazis, providing them with both a market for their goods and valuable foreign currency. The Portuguese branch even sent its profits to the branch in the Hague, which was under Nazi occupation at the time. What’s more, this company wasn’t just making cameras; they expanded into the manufacture of triggers, detonators and other military goods for the Germans.

when they added, “a person who is fanatically dedicated to or seeks to control a specified activity, practice, etc.” to the Webster’s dictionary definition of Nazi, prompting the Anti-Defamation League to say that it “trivializes and denies the murderous intent and actions of the Nazi regime.”

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6. Coca-Cola

Fanta is a tasty orange-flavored drink that was originally designed specifically for the Nazis. That’s right, ingredients for the cola that gives the brand its name were difficult to import, so the manager of Coca-Cola’s German operation, Max

Keith, came up with a new drink that could be made with available ingredients. In 1941, Fanta debuted on the German market. Max Keith was not himself a Nazi, but his efforts to keep the Coca-Cola operation alive through the war meant that Coca-Cola pocketed some handsome profits and could return to distributing Coke to American GIs stationed in Europe as soon as the war was over.

5. Allianz Allianz is the twelfth largest financial services company in the world. Founded in Germany in 1890, it’s no surprise that they were the largest insurer in Germany when the Nazis came to power. As such, they quickly became heavily involved with the Nazi regime. Their CEO, Kurt Schmitt, was also Hitler’s economics minister, and the company insured the facilities and personnel at Auschwitz. Their Director General was in charge of the policy that paid the Nazi state instead of the rightful beneficiaries when Jewish property was damaged following Kristallnacht. What’s more, the company worked closely with the Nazi government to track down the life insurance policies of German Jews sent to the death camps and, during the war, insured the possessions stripped from those same Jewish people on behalf of the Nazis.

Allianz CEO, Kurt Schmitt, was also Hitler’s economics minister, and the company insured the facilities and personnel at Auschwitz. Novartis manufactured dyes, drugs and chemicals for the Nazis during the war. Novartis has owned up to its culpability and tried to make amends in the manner of other complicit firms by contributing $15 million towards a Swiss fund for compensation to the victims of the Nazis. Bayer, though notorious for its origins as a subdivision of the manufacturer that made the Zyklon B gas used in the Nazi gas chambers, isn’t the only pharmaceutical company with skeletons in its closet. The Swiss chemical companies Ciba and Sandoz merged to form Novartis, most famous for its drug, Ritalin. In 1933, Ciba’s Berlin branch fired all of the Jewish members of its board of directors and replaced them with more “acceptable” Aryan personnel; meanwhile, Sandoz was busy doing the same with its chairman. The companies manufactured dyes, drugs and chemicals for the Nazis during the war. Novartis has owned up to its culpability and tried to make amends in the manner of other complicit firms by contributing $15 million towards a Swiss fund for compensation to the victims of the Nazis.

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4. Novartis

3. Nestlé In 2000, Nestlé paid over $14.5 million into a fund to try to deal with claims of slave labor suffered at their hands from Holocaust survivors and Jewish organizations. The firm has admitted that it acquired a company in 1947 that had used forced labor during

Nestle has admitted that it acquired a company in 1947 that had used forced labor during the war and has also stated that “[It] is either certain or it may be assumed that some corporations of the Nestlé Group that were active in countries controlled by the National Socialist (Nazi) regime employed forced laborers. the war and has also stated that “[It] is either certain or it may be assumed that some corporations of the Nestlé Group that were active in countries controlled by the National Socialist (Nazi) regime employed forced laborers.” Nestlé helped with the financing of a Nazi party in Switzerland in 1939 and ended up winning a lucrative contract, supplying the entire chocolate needs of the German army during World War II.

2. BMW BMW has admitted using up to 30,000 forced laborers during the war. These POWs, slave laborers and inmates of concentration camps produced engines for the Luftwaffe and so were forced to aid the regime in defending itself against those who were trying to save them. BMW focused solely on aircraft and motorcycle manufacture during the war, with no pretense of being anything other than a supplier of war machinery to the Nazis.

In partnership with Krupp, a German manufacturing firm, General Electric deliberately and artificially raised the price of tungsten carbide, a material that was vital for machining metals necessary for the war effort. 1. General Electric (GE)

BMW focused solely on aircraft and motorcycle manufacture during the war, with no pretense of being anything other than a supplier of war machinery to the Nazis.

In 1946 General Electric was fined by the US government owing to its nefarious wartime activities. In partnership with Krupp, a German manufacturing firm, General Electric deliberately and artificially raised the price of tungsten carbide, a material that was vital for machining metals necessary for the war effort. Though only fined $36,000 in total, General Electric made around $1.5 million out of this scam in 1936 alone, hampering the war effort and increasing the cost of defeating the Nazis. GE also bought shares in Siemens before war broke out, making them complicit in the use of slave labor to build the very same gas chambers where many of the stricken laborers met their end.

Nation

India's Voodoo Economics! At the beginning of the last year Prime Minister Manmohan Singh assured us that inflation will come down by March. In March, after the Budget was presented the same year, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee assured us that the effect of his budgetary proposals in controlling inflation will be visible by May. In May, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia told us that inflation will come down once monsoon is fully active across the country... ut monsoon in real life is either in excess or in deficit; never 'perfect' or 'normal'. So by August, the economic advisor to the prime minister tells us that inflation continues to be high because of drought or floods, or for that matter, both. In October, the economic advisor to the finance minister takes over and tells us that inflation is high on account of higher demand during the festival seasons between September and November. The prime minister then takes over at the beginning of this year and resumes the same story all over once again. I may not have got the sequence right regarding the utterances of these men -- but I am sure that this is the sum and substance of the 'response' of the government's agenda to fight inflation. What is appalling to note here is that the government is completely cut off from the causes that driveinflation in India and hence, to that extent, clueless in working out a solution. FDI in retail will curb inflation: Voodoo economics at its best

Seasonal Magazine

In the last week of May 2011, a high level government committee headed by Kaushik

Basu, chief economic advisor, recommended the contentious policy issue of opening up of multibrand retail to foreign direct investment -- ostensibly to rein in inflation. While the copy of the report has not yet been made public, press report suggests that the core arguments contained in the report were that inflation prevailing in the country was primarily on account of issues contained in managing supplies from the farm gate to the consumers. "The gap between farm gate prices of agricultural produce and the retail prices (in India) are amongst the highest in the world as also amongst the emerging markets. China, which opened its retail sector to FDI in 2004, has shown the benefits of opening of the sector and having in more players," Basu is reported to have said. Suddenly Chinese statistics have become credible. Press reports also suggest that this study was inspired by a similar research by the International Monetary Fund (whose credibility too is questionable) which suggested allowing FDI In retail trade could dampen inflationary pressures.

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It is indeed pertinent to note that organised retail in India is less than 5 per cent when compared to 20 per cent in China and in excess of 50 per cent in some of our Asian neighbours. But one must understand the difference between organised retail (where domestic capital is used) and allowing FDI in retail, where the presumption is that it is foreign capital, technology and management that would do the trick! The underlying logic for this suggestion is that FDI in retail would reduce losses in transportation, improve logistics, reduce prices, provide remunerative

prices to farmers and open up foreign markets for our small and medium enterprises. In short a win-win situation for everyone. Well, if wishes were horses, beggars would ride . . . While it is indeed true that there is enormous scope for improvement in the management of our supply chain between the farm gate (or factory gate) and consumers, the fact remains that we are stuck with archaic laws, poor infrastructure and a very strong anti-reform lobby. No wonder the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) strongly opposed the proposal to open up retail trade to FDI and said that the arguments in favour of it were 'totally irrational and illogical'. While one may not entirely agree with the CAIT on its own counter arguments, one must concede that the CAIT is spot on when it says '. . . the argument that FDI in retail will tame inflation is nothing but an imaginary exercise by the people who have the tendency to ignore the

ground realities'. And controlling inflation by allowing FDI in retail to me is the crux of the issue. Is it wishful thinking? Is it an imaginary exercise? Or is it acting under the hydraulic pressure of the global retail lobby? Whatever be it, the linkages between controlling inflation by allowing FDI in retail seem irrelevant, at best, and stupid, at worst. By setting up a few malls in our cities one is not sure as too how the government can control inflation across the country. Either our government is too naive or simply believes in voodoo economics. Mostly the later, it appears. A command perform ance? In the run up to the visit of American President Barack Obama to India in 2010, Wal-Mart chief executive Mike Duke arrived in India a few days earlier to set the stage with a strong pitch for liberalising this industry.

Also, "In India, there is an opportunity to work all the way up to farmers in the back-end chain. Part of inflation is due to the fact that produces do not reach the endconsumer," Duke said. If controlling inflation was supposed to be an incentive to the consumer, Duke offered palliatives forIndian manufacturers too. According to him, allowing FDI into this sector "will also enable Wal-Mart to increase sourcing of products from India by developing more vendors here." Well, if press reports are to be believed, the Kaushik Basu report in 2011 faithfully reproduced these arguments put forth by Mike Duke. For the uninitiated, fashioning policy formulations by working through the government is part of a larger business strategy adopted by multinational retail giants. Those who have been following developments in the past few years

know that Wal-Mart alone must have spent millions of dollars in India for lobbying with our government to open up retail sector for FDI. President Obama, no less, too is reported to have lobbied hard with the Indian government during his visit to India last year. Is the Kaushik Basu report merely a part of this larger design? Or is merely coincidence? Was it a command performance? Well, your guess is as good as mine. Nevertheless, we seem to ignore that the Doha Round negotiations are underway for over a decade now. By unilaterally opening retail to foreign trade, we run the risk of getting far less in the multilateral negotiations of the Doha Round. And in such a scenario, we could end as net losers. Similarly, the Kaushik Base report seems to suffer from a fatal flaw. In a brilliant two-part article authored by Kamal Sharma and Jeevan Prakash Mohanty titled FDI in retail: A question of jobs, not ownership in retail (Business Line, Sept 29, 2005.) the authors point out: 'The primary task of the government is still providing livelihoods and not create so-

called efficiencies of scale by creating redundancies. If we assume 40 million adults in the retail sector, it would translate into around 160 million dependents. Opening retailing to FDI means dislocating millions from their occupation and pushing vast number of families under the poverty line. The western concept of efficiency is maximising output while minimising the number of workers involved. This will only increase social tensions in a developing country like India, where tens of millions are still seeking gainful employment.' And should small retailers feel the pinch on account of unfair trade practices adopted by larger retailers, they are supposed to rush to the Competition Commission of India (CCI), file a petition hiring expensive Delhi-based lawyers and instantly get succour from the Commission. How stupid. How insensitive. How sinister. Do the authors of this idea understand India, its complexities and the structure of its economy? The assumption as to how a small bureaucratic set-up in New Delhi can act as a countervailing force to tackle the monopolistic and predatory tendencies of large multinational corporate is indeed fatally flawed, especially in the context of such multinational corporate themselves fashioning polices of the government in the first place. With successive governments in India acting heavily in favour of foreign interests, one gets a distinct feeling that more often than not, issues in India, in the immediate future, will increasingly get settled on the streets than through informed debates. Allowing FDI in retail seems to be destined to be settled in the streets. (Author MR Venkatesh is a Chennai-based chartered accountant.)

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Duke is reported to have stated that 100 per cent FDI in the Indian retail sector would 'help contain inflation in India'. He added that FDI in retail would contain inflation by reducing wastage of farm output, as 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the produce does not reach the end-consumer.

Interview

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Bill Gates on Family, Charity, & India

his is not the way I'd imagined Bill Gates, says Caroline Graham of Daily Mail, who was allowed a rare nterview with the world's second richest man. Bill Gates with Caroline Graham

Travie McCoy and Bruno Mars’s hit Billionaire reached No 3 on both sides of the Atlantic last year. The irony of the lyrics isn’t lost on either of us. They are, Gates chuckles, regularly used by his three children to poke fun at him. At 55, he has graced the cover of Forbes magazine many times. As the co-founder, with Paul Allen, of Microsoft, he grew a 1975 backroom start-up into a software behemoth worth, at its peak, $400 billion. Oprah Winfrey is a close friend; the pair meet regularly and she has discussed signing his ‘Giving Pledge’ to donate the bulk of her $2.7 billion estate to charity. And the Queen? Well, she gave him an honorary knighthood back in 2005. ‘The Billionaire song is what my kids tease me with,’ he says. ‘They sing it to me. It’s funny.’ They have apparently also introduced him to the ‘joys’ of Lady Gaga, ‘but the 12-year-old is always worried about the nineyear-old listening to songs with bad words. So he’s like, “No! Skip that one!” So I only know some Lady Gaga songs.’ It’s probably just as well his

children have a well-developed sense of humour. Gates is officially the second richest man in the world, only losing the No 1 spot to Mexican businessman Carlos Slim last year, after holding it for nearly two decades, on a technicality; he has given away $28 billion to charity, so is now personally worth ‘only’ $56 billion.

bridge, I spend time with my family. I drive myself around town in a normal Mercedes. I’ve had a Lexus. The family has a Porsche, which is a nice car that we sometimes take out. We have a minivan and that’s what we use when it’s the five of us. My eldest daughter rides horses, so we go to a lot of three-day shows. The kids are a big part of my schedule.’

But Jennifer, 15, Rory, 12, and Phoebe, nine, aren’t going to inherit anything like that much.

Has he succumbed to the inevitable pleas from the children for an iPad, iPhone and iPod? His face hardens: ‘They have the Windows equivalent. They have a Zune music player, which is a great Windows portable player. They are not deprived children.’

‘I don’t think that amount of money would be good for them.’ He won’t specify what they will get, but the reports that they’ll receive ‘only’ $10 million each can’t be far off, because he concedes, ‘It will be a minuscule portion of my wealth. It will mean they have to find their own way. 'They will be given an unbelievable education and that will all be paid for. And certainly anything related to health issues we will take care of. But in terms of their income, they will have to pick a job they like and go to work. They are normal kids now. They do chores, they get pocket money.’

He mentions a U2 concert he attended the previous night in Seattle, which has been the talk of the town. He has been friends with Bono for years; along with his wife, he shared the cover of Time magazine with him in 2005, when the trio, dubbed ‘The Good Samaritans’ for their philanthropy, were named ‘Persons of the Year’. ‘We went to the concert with my daughter and three of her friends, so there were six of us and we took the minivan. I drove.’

He is determined that his family life should be as unaffected as possible by his fortune, and that he should be a hands-on father.

Did Bono invite them backstage? A long pause, then: ‘Umm, no – actually, he stayed at our house.’ Of course.

‘I never took a day off in my twenties. Not one. And I’m still fanatical, but now I’m a little less fanatical. I play tennis, I play

There’s something surreal about hearing Gates talk on such a personal level. Meeting him is comparable to meeting a head of

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Rocking gently in his chair, he begins to sing: 'I wanna be a billionaire so freakin' bad. Buy all the things I never had. I wanna be on the cover of Forbes magazine. Smiling next to Oprah and the Queen...'

His foundation has assets worth $37.1 billion, thanks in part to contributions of shares from his mentor, American ‘uber-investor’ Warren Buffett. state. We’re in a conference room in the sparkling new home of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in Seattle, a $500 million glasswalled, eco-friendly office space which Gates jokes is ‘mostly the brainchild of my wife – I just signed all the cheques’.

Famously publicity-shy, he has granted this rare one-on-one interview to Live not – unsurprisingly – to talk about what non-Apple gadgets his children have, but to promote a ‘pledging conference’ for donors and partners of the GAVI Alliance (the Global Alliance for Vaccines and To say that Gates is socially Immunisation, which Gates awkward is putting it co-founded in 2000) that mildly. This is a man ‘My full-time work kicks off in London on who built a multifor the rest of my life Monday. is this foundation.’ billion-dollar company Will he ever return to yet seems totally Hosted by David helm Microsoft? unaware of the social Cameron, the event ‘No. I’m part-time niceties of life. His marks the culmination involved. But this is my job now.’ voice is loud and oddly of a drive, spearheaded high-pitched. He’s in by Gates, to raise $3.7 constant motion as he speaks, billion to vaccinate 243 million rocking in his chair with his arms children in the world’s poorest folded protectively in front of him, countries against illnesses such as tapping his toes, fiddling with a pneumonia and measles. Gates and pen. He fails to look me in the eye Cameron are expected to announce and doesn’t engage in small talk. the money has been successfully raised and, it’s hoped, will save four I ask him whether this is it now – is Microsoft history to him, replaced in his heart by his philanthropy? He retired from the day-to-day running of Microsoft in 2008, with many believing it has since lost its edge to companies like Apple and Google. He says, ‘My full-time work for the rest of my life is this foundation.’ Will he ever return to helm Microsoft?

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‘No. I’m part-time involved. But this is my job now.’ His foundation has assets worth $37.1 billion, thanks in part to contributions of shares from his mentor, American ‘uber-investor’ Warren Buffett. But forget the figures. The only thing Gates wants you to know is that he intends to give it all away.

million lives over the next four years. His foundation began humbly in 1994 after a double whammy that made the billionaire think about his own mortality. It was the year Gates married Melinda, 46, a former Microsoft manager, and when his much-loved mother Mary, a former teacher and businesswoman, died of breast cancer. After Mary’s death, Gates’s father Bill Sr, feeling listless, started ploughing through the stacks of begging letters which had piled up at his son’s office, simply ‘for something to do’. He would send the requests he thought worthy to his son, who would then write the cheques, which Bill Sr would send out with brief notes. Bill Sr is now co-chair of the foundation, and still shows up for work every day, despite being 85. In a letter to her daughter-in-law on the eve of the wedding, Mary Gates wrote, ‘From those to whom much is given, much is expected.’ Gates still has the letter. ‘It was six months before my mum died, so of course we kept that. It’s at home.’ Gates decided vaccinating the world’s disadvantaged is a costeffective, simple way to help the very poor. ‘You get more bang for your buck.’ Why not be the guy who cures cancer instead? ‘The motto of the foundation is that every life has equal value. There are more people dying of malaria than any specific cancer. When you die of malaria aged three it’s different from being in your seventies, when

‘The motto of the foundation is that every life has equal value. you might die of a heart attack or you might die of cancer. And the world is putting massive amounts into cancer, so my wealth would have had a meaningless impact on that.’ He is swift to praise the Prime Minister for increasing Britain’s foreign aid.

I mildly disappoint him when I ask whether foreign aid really does go to the most deserving. What about Robert Mugabe’s henchmen skimming off millions in Zimbabwe? ‘Well, no one gives aid to Zimbabwe through the Mugabe government,’ he says sharply. ‘Charities like the World Food Programme go in on a direct basis. When we buy vaccines we are super-smart about what we pay. We get price reductions. We can track how many kids get the vaccines. People don’t stockpile vaccines. It’s not like you’re going to go to Mugabe’s mansion and you’d find polio vaccines in the basement and he’s going’ – at this point, marvellously, he breaks into a Dr Evil impression – ‘“Ha, ha, ha! I took it ALL!”’ How about countries like India, which receives billions in aid yet has 70 billionaires and a space programme? ‘Countries which receive aid do

graduate,’ he insists. ‘Within a generation Korea went from being a big recipient to being a big aid donor. China used to get quite a bit of aid; now it’s aid-neutral. India in the north still needs all the help we can give in terms of helping with childhood death rates, maternal deaths and polio.

how he helped pull himself across a river in Uttar Pradesh, and that while everyone in the Western world has heard of Bill Gates, in the Third World he’s a nobody.

‘Oh, absolutely. They don’t know who I am, because it doesn’t relate to their world. I went to one place with the chief minister and ‘It is important to me to get out into someone said, “Who is this guy?”, the field. I went to Uttar Pradesh (in and the chief minister said, “This northern India) recently. It was a is a white-skinned guy I brought long way from this…’ with me.” If you’re a person struggling to eat He waves his hand In a letter to her and stay healthy you daughter-in-law on around the conference might have heard about the eve of the room. wedding, Mary Gates Michael Jordan or wrote, ‘From those ‘It is important to see Muhammad Ali, but to whom much is places. When you go you’ll never have heard given, much is into a ward with kids expected.’ of Bill Gates.’ who have cholera, it’s His passion for aid is such horrific. They are losing their that he devotes his spare time to vital fluids and their brains are reading about it: ‘At the moment shutting down. As a father, as a I’m reading Getting Better by human, it’s just horrific. Charles Kenny, and I’m going to ‘I met this girl, Hoshman, a polio China soon, so I’m reading The victim. She’s three years old and can’t Dragon’s Gift, about the history of walk and never will. She’s just Chinese aid to Africa.’ beginning to realise how different her Gates is a voracious reader. His life will be from the other kids’. I famously palatial home – a £100 spoke to her mum and her older sister. million, 66,000 sq ft hi-tech Because of the work we’ve done she wonderland overlooking nearby will be one of the last 50 kids in India Lake Washington – has a library to be paralysed from polio.’ packed with books. Ironically, he He smiles when I tell him one of prefers his books in old-fashioned his foundation workers told me physical form: ‘I read a lot of

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‘What David Cameron is doing is something to be proud of. The UK has led the way, particularly in getting value for money. Your government went and ranked the various aid groups. Some came out poorly and some came out very strongly. GAVI was ranked one of the best of all, because if you give those vaccines to the poorest of the poor, the impact on saving lives and avoiding sickness is incredible.’

obscure books and it is nice to open a book. But the electronic devices are good as well. Digital reading will completely take over. It’s lightweight and it’s fantastic for sharing. Over time it will take over.’ His pride and joy is the Codex Leicester, one of Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, which he bought in 1994 for $30.8 million. ‘I’m lucky that I own that notebook. I’ve always been amazed by Da Vinci, because he worked out science on his own. He would work by drawing things and writing down his ideas. Of course, he designed all sorts of flying machines way before you could actually build something like that.’

‘It is important to see places. When you go into a ward with kids who have cholera, it’s horrific. They are losing their vital fluids and their brains are shutting down. As a father, as a human, it’s just horrific.

‘The next big thing is definitely speech and voice recognition. You’ll be able to touch that board or speak to it and get your message to colleagues around the world. Screens are cheap.’

He has his own Twitter account and Facebook page, although ‘I had a problem with Facebook, because the friend requests got out of hand’. He is friends with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, 27, who has already pledged to give most of his fortune away. Gates lets slip that Zuckerberg may be engaged to Priscilla Chan, his long-term girlfriend: ‘I didn’t say to Mark, “Give me all your money!” He was predisposed to do it and he came to me seeking advice.

He says it would be one of the first things he’d rescue from his home in a fire, but adds, ‘I have documents by Isaac Newton and Abraham ‘I read a lot of obscure books and it is nice to Lincoln. I have some open a book. But the pretty nice art too. It electronic devices are would be a shame to good as well. Digital lose any of that.’ reading willcompletely

'His fiancée Priscilla thought about education and he gave money to take over. Newark, New Jersey, He’s still inquisitive and we did a co-grant so about technology. Pointing that some of our people who to a large whiteboard behind my had some expertise in that field head in the conference room, he could help him out. He deserves gives me a tip. credit. I started meaningful

philanthropy in my forties. He’s starting way earlier.’

I ask about his ‘legacy’, and for the first time I understand how Microsoft employees felt when Gates interrupted meetings to declare, ‘That’s the stupidest idea I’ve ever heard!’ ‘Legacy is a stupid thing! I don’t want a legacy. If people look and see that childhood deaths dropped from nine million a year to four million because of our investment, then wow! I liken what I’m doing now to my old job. I worked with a lot of smart people; some things went well, some didn’t go so well. But when you see how what we did ended up empowering people, it’s a very cool thing. 'I want a malaria vaccine. If we get one then we’ll have to find the money to give it to everyone, but the impact would be so huge we would find a way. Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied. What I’m doing now involves understanding maths, risk-taking. The first half of my life was good preparation for the second half.’

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Gates was always described as a geek, but that seems terribly unfair in the wider context of the passions that now drive him. As I stand to leave, he laughs the label off. ‘Hey, if being a geek means you’re willing to take a 400-page book on vaccines and where they work and where they don’t, and you go off and study that and you use that to challenge people to learn more, then absolutely. I’m a geek. I plead guilty. Gladly.'

Auto

Meet the 5 New Small Cars Coming This Year

Maruti Cervo, the small car from Maruti is expected to do well especially since it has received good response in Japan.

Launched towards June end with a price range of Rs 400,000 - 600,000 Toyota Etios Liva - launched in June. The Toyota Etios Liva is the first small car by Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) in India. It has been launched at a price tag of Rs 400,000 to Rs 600,000. Small car Liva's petrol version is powered by a 1.2L VVT engine. Liva is expected to come in diesel version with a 1.4L engine at a later stage. Once launched, the Toyota Etios Liva will give a good fight to Hyundai i10, Maruti Swift and

expected in October2011 priced between Rs 150,000 and Rs 200,000

Chevrolet Beat besides others. Chevrolet Beat Diesel - expected in July @ Rs 450,000. General Motors is expected to power the Chevrolet Beat Diesel with a 1L three-cylinder engine that produces 57bhp power and a maximum torque of 140Nm at 1750rpm. It would be the smallest and perhaps the most economical diesel car in India. The Beat Diesel is expected to deliver around 24 kmpl average in the normal run. It will also be fitted with VGT (Variable Geometry Turbocharger) to give the car more power besides making it more fuel efficient. After its launch Beat Diesel will be in direct competition to Toyota Etios Liva, Ford Figo, Maruti Ritz besides others. Chevrolet Beat Diesel is expected to be price around Rs 450,000.

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he coming two months and the festive season starting October will see some of the best small car offerings in India. Indian and international brands are now all focused on small cars. While Toyota is coming up with Toyota Etios Liva by the end of June or July, General Motors would be launching Chevrolet Beat Diesel in July while Maruti is coming up with new Maruti Swift this August. Besides, there would be two attractions - Maruti Cervo and Honda Brio - in the small car segment in October. Let's know more about these offering that have become talk of the town.

Toyota Etios Liva is the first small car by Toyota Kirloskar Motors (TKM) in India.

New Maruti Swift - expected this August.. The all new 2011 Maruti Swift will be the same B+ segment car. It has the same body type as its predecessor. The looks will be intricately upgraded and the engine power will be upgraded from the existing 85bhp to 87bhp. The looks have been revamped though the general appearance of the typical Swift has been preserved. The new Maruti Swift could be priced around Rs 500,000 to Rs 600,000. The new Swift would have its rivals including Fiat Punto 1.2, Chevrolet Beat, Ford Figo and Hyundai i10 besides others. New Maruti Swift is expected this August. The all new 2011 Maruti Swift will be the same B+ segment car.

Honda's concept 'man maximum, machine minimum' is at its best in Honda Brio.

Honda Brio - Expected in October 2011 Maruti Cervo - expected in October 2011. This small car from Maruti is expected to do well

The new Maruti Swift could be priced around Rs 500,000 to Rs 600,000.

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General Motors is expected to power the Chevrolet Beat Diesel with a 1L three-cylinder engine that produces 57bhp power and a maximum torque of 140Nm at 1750rpm.

Chevrolet Beat Diesel - expected in July @ Rs 450,000

specially since it has received good response in Japan. Once launched the sporty, sleek Maruti Cervo would replace Maruti 800. The 660cc petrol driven car would deliver 60 bhp of power and 64Nm of torque. The car is expected to be priced between Rs 150,000 and Rs 200,000 with a four-speed manual transmission. A sleek body line, coupled with eye-shaped head lights and a Honeycomb radiator grille would surely make it a big hit just like Maruti 800. The car is expected to offer a mileage of 20 to 24kmpl. Honda Brio - expected in October 2011. Another hatchback in the offing is Honda Brio. When it was displayed at the New Delhi Auto Show, people mistook it for then recently launched Chevrolet Beat that has almost identical dimensions. This car that proposed striking fuel efficiency, great ground clearance has compact and bold styling. Honda's concept 'man maximum, machine minimum' is at its best in Honda Brio. The new Honda offering will surely be a good option compared to Maruti Swift and Volkswagen Polo. Brio is likely to cost Rs 500,000.

Cyber Trends

Groupon is the Next Wave of E-Commerce.

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But Can the Revolutionary Business Model Sustain? Groupon.com features a daily deal on the best stuff to do, see, eat, and buy in more than 565 cities around the world. By promising businesses a minimum number of customers, Groupon can offer deals that aren’t available elsewhere. Groupon brings buyers and sellers together in a fun and collaborative way that offers the consumer an unbeatable deal, and businesses a large number of new customers. To date, it has saved consumers more than $300 million and claims it has generated millions in revenue for the businesses it features. Groupon originated the concept of using collective buying to get a daily

deal on local goods and services, and is an outgrowth of ThePoint.com, an online community launched in 2007 for organizing all forms of group action and fund-raising around a “tipping point” of required participants. Imagine you’re a small business owner. You have to choose between two propositions:

$7,000 in 30 days and the remainder in 60 days. In exchange, you’ll give my customers cheap products for the next year. I’ve been working on local for a long time and I know it’s hard to get small businesses to spend money on advertising. Really hard. Even getting $200 a month ($2,400 a year) is a high hurdle to meet.

1. You can pay $62,500 for marketing. You’ll get a whole lot of customers coming through your door. No guarantees if they will ever come back, but they’ll come once.

There’s no way a business will sign up for #1. Most merchants would laugh you out of the store if you asked for $60,000.

2. I’ll pay you $21,000. You get $7,000 in about 5 days, another

Although they sound completely different, #1 and #2 are really the

Except they are. In droves.

Businesses are being sold incredibly expensive advertising campaigns that are disguised as “no risk” ways to acquire new customers. In reality, there’s a lot of risk. With a newspaper ad, the maximum you can lose is the amount you paid for the ad. With Groupon, your potential losses can increase with every Groupon customer who walks through the door and put the existence of your business at risk. Groupon is not an Internet marketing business so much as it is the equivalent of a loan sharking business. The $21,000 that the business in this example gets for running a Groupon is essentially a very, very expensive loan. They get the cash up front, but pay for it with deep discounts over time. In many cases, running a Groupon can be a terrible financial decision for merchants. Groupon’s financials also raise questions about its ongoing viability. Buying Groupon stock could be as bad a deal for investors as running a Groupon offer is for merchants. This is my opinion, but I have some facts to back it up.

Traffic is Not Necessarily Profitable Traffic Groupon can clearly deliver customers. But in order to know if it makes financial sense as a customer acquisition tool, merchants need to know two key numbers: 1. The proportion of Groupon customers who are already their customers 2. How often new customers come back.

The higher the first number, the worse their deal will perform. The higher the second number, the better their deal does. But for most businesses, these critical numbers are impossible to know. Groupons haven’t been out long enough to generate this data. And Groupon’s tracking methods aren’t collecting this data. (My intuition is that Groupon doesn’t want to know.) Groupon touts a win-win proposition. But the reality is that Groupon usually wins and merchants usually lose. The merchant agreement is one of the most lopsided I’ve seen. It’s rare that Groupon loses, until merchants figure out how to cheat.

business. Because of all the hype around Groupon, salespeople are able to use the “Who’s Who” model - sell what an honor it is to be specially selected to be featured on Groupon. Groupon’s process for selecting which deals it runs has little transparency. It’s not always the highest bids that win; sometimes, lower value bids win just to keep subscribers opening their emails. (In this case, think of merchants bidding with discounts, so the deeper the discount, the higher the bid). I’ve also heard from merchants who say Groupon has changed their deals at the last minute to make them more profitable for Groupon.

The Hidden Auction Cash is King Underlying Groupon’s success is an auction. It’s not explicit, like Google’s AdWords bidding platform, but the economic effects are similar. The fact that Groupon runs daily deals creates artificial scarcity and drives up pricing to absurd levels. Even with four deals a day in a given market, you’re talking about fewer than 1,500 deals a year. The “bid” in this auction is the total revenue that goes to Groupon. That’s a function of the value of the voucher, the negotiated revenue share and the number of deals that will be sold. The number of deals that will be sold is a function of, among other factors, how deep a discount and how commonly needed the product is. The larger the discount, the greater the volume. All of this creates an incentive to drive up Groupon’s revenues. It also provides an incentive for salespeople to sell bigger and bigger deals, some of which might not be suitable for a small

Many small businesses are struggling for cash and the Groupon sales pitch resonates. Marketing with no upfront payment. You get cash within days. A steady stream of customers. This is not a new idea. Rewards Network has been offering restaurants cash upfront in exchange for discounted meals over time. (But on more generous terms than Groupon.) Groupon’s - calls tough economic times a risk; but the recession was really their opportunity. As other forms of credit dried up, struggling businesses jumped at the chance to get cash now in exchange for discounting their product later. The real risk for Groupon is that the economy improves to the point that businesses don’t have to resort to deep discounting.

Repeat Groupon Businesses Some of the analysis of Groupon’s

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same - it’s the Groupon business model.

long term prospects has pointed to repeat Groupon offers from merchants as evidence of a viable long-term model. How can a repeat customer be bad, right? For a Groupon merchant, a repeat customer is a great thing. But for Groupon itself, a repeat customer can be a sign of trouble ahead. I had been struggling to understand why some businesses ran repeat Groupons or cycled among the various daily deal vendors, given that the economics clearly suck if you can’t drive repeat traffic. Some let the same customer buy 3 or more of the same deal. That’s a clear no-no for a loss-leader designed to acquire new customers. A conversation with Forkfly (a Groupon Now competitor) CEO Paul Wagner was enlightening. He suggested that they were doing what struggling families do when they max out a credit card - they get another one. That makes perfect sense. Revenue from subsequent daily deals help pay for the obligations created by the first one.

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Receipts look like the one at right. Lots of product going out, staff to pay and little cash coming in. Taking out another Groupon loan is a quick fix. (If I were a sales rep, I’d have that date marked on my calendar for follow up. “I know we did 50/50 last time, but I’m thinking Groupon gets 70% this time.”)

Hacking Groupon How would you exploit an overpriced loan? Don’t pay it back.

Assume that you’re a business that is unscrupulous and you’re looking to make a quick buck. You could create a wildly generous deal that would sell like crazy. In about 30 days, you’ll have 2/3 of your share of the deal. Then you shut down operations. It also works for businesses that are just having a tough time. As critical as I am of Groupon, the slam dunk case is to sign up with Groupon if you’re going bankrupt. I strongly encourage every business that is about to go under to call Groupon. It makes total financial sense. If you’re lucky, the upfront cash will be enough to help you stay afloat. If not, well, you were already going out of business. It may be your best option. In the short term, you’re actually helping Groupon because they’re being valued on revenue and no one is taking into account risk. Groupon is essentially holding a portfolio of loans backed by the receivables of small businesses. If

The onerous terms for participating in Groupon also create an adverse selection problem. The most successful businesses don’t need Groupon for customer acquisition or financing.

a business goes u n d e r , consumers will come back to Groupon for their money back. Unless Groupon is actually doing credit assessments on businesses that it chooses to feature, this is a big risk for Groupon. The onerous terms for participating in Groupon also create an adverse selection problem. The most successful businesses don’t need Groupon for customer acquisition or financing. The assumption is that nothing will go wrong and all of these “loans” will be paid back. (At least the subprime mortgage lenders were able to sell that risk off to Wall Street and AIG.) Like the mortgage lenders, Groupon doesn’t know exactly how much risk it has piled up. Because some merchants track redemptions on paper, Groupon has no way of knowing how many

Underlying Groupon’s success is an auction. It’s not explicit, like Google’s AdWords bidding platform, but the economic effects are similar.

Google, with more than $36 billion in cash on hand, is uncomfortable enough with that risk that it dumps it onto Google Offers buyers. Groupon could mitigate this risk by changing its terms and conditions so that the consumer is responsible in case a merchant goes bankrupt.

Relying on Float Where does Groupon get all the money to give to these merchants? Credit cards - yours. Groupon gets paid within a couple of days by its banks. It then takes that money and gives it to the merchant in three

Like the mortgage lenders, Groupon doesn’t know exactly how much risk it has piled up. Because some merchants track redemptions on paper, Groupon has no way of knowing how many unredeemed Groupons are outstanding.

chunks. From prospectus:

Groupon’s

days—more than twice as much, 1 day earlier.

Our merchant payment terms and revenue growth have provided us with operating cash flow to fund our working capital needs. Our merchant arrangements are generally structured such that we collect cash up front when our customers purchase Groupons and make payments to our merchants at a subsequent date. In North America, we typically pay our merchants in installments within sixty days after the Groupon is sold.

There’s no way that was an accident.

If Groupon matches these payment terms, they’ll need cash faster and need to grow faster. (Google Offers accelerates the rate at which Groupon’s scheme has to draw in new suckers.) If Groupon doesn’t match, it gives Google a key differentiator to win deals. If those businesses go with Google’s more generous terms, that too will starve Groupon of the cash it needs to pay earlier merchants. Groupon is

We use the operating cash flow provided essentially holding a Now here’s the portfolio of loans backed by our merchant crazy part. Not by the receivables of small payment terms and only is Groupon businesses. If a business revenue growth to effectively giving goes under, consumers will fund our working come back to Groupon for loans to merchants, their money back. capital needs. If we but it also works the offer our merchants other way around. The more favorable or merchant is on the hook for accelerated payment terms or our the entire value of those deals until revenue does not continue to grow Groupon pays the merchant back in the future, our operating cash its portion. Unlike other loan flow and results of operations providers, the merchant is making could be adversely impacted and a short-term loan to Groupon. we may have to seek alternative (Not technically, but effectively.) financing to fund our working They buy inventory in advance of the Groupon run. They also serve capital needs. the initial rush of customers. The Translation: They’re using money business is in a hole before they from new deals to pay for previous get their 30- and 60-day Groupon deals. They need to keep growing payouts. revenue. As of March 31, they While the chances might be small, owed merchants $290.7 million. Groupon merchants should know that In the agreement I’ve seen, the first they’re taking on the risk of Groupon’s installment is 33% in 5 days. If they collapse. If Groupon collapses, a lot have to pay merchants faster, that of small merchants could be left could lead to problems. holding the bag. And Google might force that to happen. According to Google Offers’ payment terms, merchants receive 80% of their share in 4

(From TechCrunch, by Rocky Agrawal, a product strategist, since 1993, focused on the intersection of local, social and mobile.)

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unredeemed Groupons are outstanding. If a business goes under and the records are unavailable, every buyer of that Groupon could try to make a claim against it. (The risk is mitigated by the fact that a lot of redemption occurs within the first 60 days, but we don’t know how much.)

Education

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Focus is on Quality Impro ome to over 5650 students, this 120-acre 15-lakh sqft campus is today visited by the likes of Google, Ford, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, and many more. Founder & Chairman B Premnath Reddy is betting everything he has to swiftly move up Acharya in the educational value chain, be it creating the best infrastructure, attracting the best faculty on outstanding terms and working conditions, and by delivering path-breaking initiatives like their International Academy for Competency Enhancement (IACE), a finishing school that industry takes seriously.

B Premnath Reddy Founder & Chairman

ACHARYA INSTITUTES, BANGALORE

Continuous vement Seasonal: Acharya Group has grown on all fronts during the past 5 years. How far has profe ssionalizing the teaching and non-teaching staff, advanced growth at Acharya? Premnath Reddy: I will give you just a brief overview of this, and let Dr. C. Vijaykumar handle the specifics. What you say is correct, around five years back we took a conscious decision to thoroughly professionalize the entire organization, and one of the most visible changes came in the top rung with the induction of Dr. Vijaykumar himself. And yes, professionalizing the entire organization has definitely helped us attract higher growth and stature, by way of better students and better faculty. Over to Dr. Vijay now. Dr. C Vijaykumar: Since Chairman did the overview, let me get into the specifics, the examples. The first thing that should be mentioned is that for our engineering college faculty, we recruit lecturers with a minimum qualification of MTech, with preference for higher qualifications like PhD. That also means there are no guest lecturers or faculty with just BTech or any such arrangement. We have also

set up an R&D Division to ensure that even those faculty with Masters qualifications are registered for PhD, so that within the next five years we would like to have more faculty with PhD qualification. Coming to the nonteaching staff, all of them have basic or advanced qualifications, but more than that, we provide them with an excellent in-house training programs to equip them fully. And both teaching and nonteaching staff are taken outside regularly on professional trips, where we get outside trainers to impart various professional skills. Last but not least, let me highlight an important step our Chairman has undertaken to attract the best staff. Acharya was the first college in Karnataka to implement the Sixth Pay Commission recommen dations. Seasonal: That is quite surprising. You mean Acharya was the very first college to do this? Dr. C Vijaykumar: Yes, absolutely. In fact our Chairman implemented this even before it was offered in Government colleges. He did it in last October. Seasonal: Acharya Institutes have come a long way during the past 3-4 years, with companies like Infosys, Wipro, IBM, Ford, Google etc taking your students through campus placements. But if you look at the companies, it is

more skewed towards IT, Auto, & Engineering sectors. How has been the progress in placements in the other sectors, as Acharya has a wide portfolio of arts and science programs? Premnath Reddy: No, this is not true now. It is already changing, and Vijay will update you on this. Dr. C Vijaykumar: Well, the pattern you mention regarding IT & Auto was there, and that was due to two things - one, our engineering college is the largest one, and secondly, this was Bangalore, where IT held the sway. But as Chairman said, this is already changing. Financial sector has been active on the placement front. Since the last couple of years, we have been successfully placing our Pharmacy, BBM, & BCA students, and even many of our arts & science students. But in this latter section, yes, there is room for improvement. One reason is that we are not very keen on encouraging BPO recruitments. It is a policy thing, about which Our Chairman Mr. Prem is very particular, and he will update you on this. Premnath Reddy: Yes, we are not too keen on some typical BPOs, and that is the main reason why placement is not up to our desired level in some streams. I feel that students are really losing out when they join many BPOs. The pay might be good, but the avenues for

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Seasonal Magazine in conversation with Chairman, B Premnath Reddy; Director - Admissions, Shalini Reddy; and Director , Dr. C. Vijaykumar.

Research. But with a good percentage of your over 5500 students hailing from neighbouring states, why have you decided to stick on with Bangalore? Dr. C Vijaykumar: Well, long back maybe Our Chairman had this idea to spread out, but now the statistics have changed. Acharya is no longer catering to just the neighbouring states. We have sizeable number of students from almost every state and centrally administered areas. So, the fact is that Acharya @ Bangalore has clicked big time. In one way, you can say that Acharya's growth has been perfectly synchronous with Bangalore's growth as an educational and career destination. Now, when students from across India want to come to Bangalore

“

“Acharya has a sizeable number of students from almost every state and centrally administered area, and it is now home to over 450 students from nearly 30 countries.”

“

moving up are very limited, and more than that, they wouldn't go for that life-changing professional or higher degree. I strongly believe that they are better off joining either conventional careers like banking or insurance, or going for meaningful higher studies. Seasonal: Engineering education remains your key thrust area at Acharya. How do you see the Karnataka Government's recent ordinance on engineering admissions that force the consensual route? Dr. C Vijaykumar: It is a nonissue really as far as Acharya is concerned, but let me ask Ms. Shalini who is the real expert over here to fill in the specifics. Shalini Reddy: You see, in Karnataka, we have a proliferation of engineering colleges. The seats are basically divided between 45% based on CET, and 25% based on COMED-K and 25% is college's own admissions. Many of the newer colleges have trouble in attracting students, and they surrender those seats to the government quota. Acharya is unaffected with this development because our own quota, COMEDK as well as CET quota are full. Seasonal: At 120 acres and 15 lakh sq ft, Acharya Institutes has become one of the largest integrated academic facilities in the country catering to students from Plus-2 to

to study, it doesn't make much sense to branch out. Seasonal: Overseas students have always been a niche strength of yours. How do you feel about India's policies towards foreign students? Where all can things be improved to attract more foreign students? Premnath Reddy: In fact, I wanted to discuss the aspect of overseas students in the last question itself. Overseas students are also one of the reasons why we have concentrated on Bangalore. This city has tremendous mindshare among not only NRIs, but parents and students of foreign origin. Over to Dr. Vijay for the details. Dr. C Vijaykumar: I think we at Acharya are very much qualified to speak about this aspect you raised. Because, Acharya is now home to over 450 students from nearly 30 countries. Two improvements that are possible by the Government come readily to my mind. Number one, the student visa process has much room for simplification, and speeding up. Secondly, there is absolutely no quality criteria now regarding the institutes admitting overseas students. This should change immediately because, if it doesn't, sooner or later, it is going to backfire on “Brand India” as an

unfortunately, there is absolutely no quality criteria being followed in selecting the institutes. Seasonal: You had started a polytechnic at Tanzania a few years back. How has been the performance, and do you intend to take the Acharya brand to more countries?

Dr. C Vijaykumar, Director Educational destination. We are not calling for any complex quality standards that only a few institutions will pass. There should be at least some criteria regarding an institution's track-record, quality of infrastructure, experience of faculty etc. Shalini Reddy: Maybe Dr. Vijay should also speak about his personal qualification, or should I say, personal experience in this line, of servicing foreign students. Dr. C Vijaykumar: Well, if it helps the discussion, definitely. I was earlier with EdCIL India Ltd., which as you might know, is a public sector undertaking under MHRD providing educational consultancy services. Working

there, I had pioneered India's first educational exhibition abroad, in which I took a group of 30 select institutions to participate in roadÂŹshows across 5 countries. We started off with Middle East, targeting NRIs, but later took the show to Africa. I repeated the exercise two more times in the years that followed, taking a larger contingent of Indian colleges, across Africa, South Asia, South East Asia etc. I was inspired by the way UK was promoting their educational institutions in India and across the world, through such road-shows. Today, private organizers are conducting too many road-shows of Indian institutions abroad, but

Premnath Reddy: Yes, definitely, at least two more countries in South and South East Asia are in our immediate horizon. But your question is interesting in more ways than one. Will you fill it up for me, Vijay? Dr. Vijaykumar: Well, it is quite interesting for me too, on a personal level. I was instrumental in acquainting Acharya with the African market, especially Tanzania. Later, over here, I worked closely with our Chairman in fulfilling his ambition to start a high-quality institution in Tanzania. It is a very successful polytechnic and we have an intake of around 150 students across three engineering streams there. It is doing quite well, and the opportunity over there is huge, as Indian education is highly regarded there. The reason why our Chairman is now bullish to spread our wings to more countries is something more. We are already predicting that post WTO/GATT, India is going to open her doors fully to international universities and you are going to see a flooding of foreign institutions here. To be competitive in this regime, we too have to spread our wings to more countries and make the best use of the opportunities that will emerge due to this new international trade treaty. Our first stop will be in a South or South East Asian country where we may go in for a large-scale tie-up. Seasonal: How do you view the

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Dr. C Vijaykumar: Well, what I am going to say is not Acharya's official say on this. Take this as my personal opinion. Shall I proceed,? Premnath Reddy: By all means, say what you feel like. Dr. C Vijaykumar: I think there is much truth in what Mr. Jairam Ramesh has said. Once upon a time the strength of the faculty was everything, I admit. It facilitated better infrastructure and reputation. But nowadays, what drives IITs/IIMs really is the collective brilliance of its students. They are the cream of cream and they discuss and collaborate on a continuous basis. If you take the average faculty over there, they are more interested in extracurricular things, consultancies, research, private pursuits and what not. It is a far cry from what an average faculty at say our university, the VTU, has to undergo. Here the competition is intense and a teacher has to prove his brilliance,

he has to assure quality in the graduates, in order to come up. That is why we have voluntarily and unilaterally implemented a unique quality assurance framework, where a three-member team of quality advisors oversee each and every step of the teaching-learning process. Coming back to your question, we are

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“The employability training for students at ourInternational Academy for Competence Enhancement( IACE) starts as early as the 3rd Semester or Second Year itself. We start grooming our students for employability early itself, and we make sure that we continue with that process throughout the course, in a concurrent fashion, and the results have been quite telling.”

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recent row over Minister Jairam Ramesh's statement that IIT/ IIM's brilliance is more due to meritorious students than meritorious faculty? Do you think private institutions like Acharya can one day equal the quality offered by IIT/IIMs?

improving by leaps and bounds, year after year, in the average entrance rank of our students. Seasonal: Can you give a broad outline of the industryacademicia interactions at Acharya? How far have these initiatives been helping in grooming up more employable graduates and post graduates? Dr. Vijaykumar: Since the last 2 years, we have made tremendous progress on this front. We have an IBM Excellence Centre over here. A Teacher Improvement program is under taken by Infosys. Novell is doing another program here. And the most interesting project is our the International Academy for Competency Enhancement (IACE). This is the brain-child of our Chairman, and I request him to fill up the details here. Premnath Reddy: Well, the objective of IACE was how to enhance employability of our graduates. We decided that we won't leave any stone unturned to achieve that objective. No amount of investment would deter us. The project has to be novel and groundbreaking in its effectiveness. We finally set it up successfully. The real innovation over here is not the beautiful infrastructure, not even the guest lectures by industry stalwarts, but the fact that the employability training starts as early as the 3rd Semester or Second Year itself. We start grooming our students for employability early itself, and we

Premnath Reddy: Shalini here would be the best person to answer that. It is her passion which is driving much of our CSR. Shalini Reddy: Let me say about both our core CSR activities, and the related field of how ecologically holistic our approaches are. Our main CSR work is about adopting neighbouring villages, and our nursing college has been instrumental in providing healthcare for needy women in our surrounding villages. Prem has got another ambitious CSR project in his mind, which we will be implementing shortly, and that has got to do with our Fashion Technology students teaching needy women about modern dressmaking aspects and we are creating an NGO to organize the whole thing and maybe even to market the apparels to create a sustainable livelihood for them.

â&#x20AC;&#x153; "Since Acharya was successful in Tanzania, we will be spreading our wings more, and our next stop now will be in South and South East Asian countries, where we may go in for a large-scale tie-up."

senior scientist in a national level Textile Research Association and later with EdCIL India Ltd., before joining with us. Together with all that he has the initiative to try new things, which is how we came to know each other for the first time. Dr. C Vijaykumar: I think the Acharya Family is blessed with a visionary Founder & Chairman. While taking the difficult decision of leaving a cosy PSU job and opting for the private sector, this inspired and reassured me a lot. Unlike many other entrepreneurs in this sector, education is not just another business for him. He does only education, and it is his life. Our Chairman is not from a business family, and soon after his college, he had made up his mind to focus on education. His dream was to build a leading institution, and his dream keeps on expanding, and now it is to build a world-class group of institutions. He is also a great leader when it comes to staff welfare or remuneration, and staff is kind of assured that their Chairman is forever building a bigger and bigger opportunity for all of them. Coming to Ms. Shalini, I would say Mr Prem and Ms. Shalini are the perfect couple. She understands Prem's dream more than anyone else, and would support him to any extend. This is remarkable on her part. I would say Ms. Shalini's dedicated hard work and attention to detail are the secret weapons in Acharya's arsenal.

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Seasonal: What all constitute your main CSR activities? Can you briefly touch upon the contributions of management, staff, & students in CSR?

Seasonal: Three of you appear to be a great team in guiding Acharya to great success. Can each of you comment on others' strengths? Premnath Reddy: Well, it is not just we three. We have a very broad and effective line of professional leaders. But coming to Dr. Vijay over here, he has a unique experience behind him. He did his post-graduation in applied psychology, did his doctoral thesis on entrepreneurship with a CSIR scholarship, and has worked as a

â&#x20AC;&#x153;

make sure that we continue with that process throughout the course, in a concurrent fashion, and the results have been quite telling.

Our students are also involved in educating villagers about the need to vote and thus mark their voice in the democratic process. Coming to our eco-friendly features, we do water-recycling, we do organic farming for our own mess needs etc.

In Focus

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Coal India to be India’s Most Valuable, Backed by Results, Demand Momentum ill Coal India soon edge out Reliance Industries to become India’s most valuable company? If that happens that would be something to cheer for the whole nation, as here is a PSU, and a very equitable one at that - it is the largest employer edging out the biggest of private enterprises. The decent Q4 & FY’11 results, as well as recent intentions to boost production growth rate from 6% to 9%, has made even the most respected international brokerages call for a re-rating of the scrip. The demand environment also continues to be strong, with NTPC alone placing a 10 MT order, and 18 of the who-is-who of world coal like Rio Tinto, Peabody, Massey, Xstrata, Sinarmas lining up to serve Coal India with whatever coal it can’t produce on its own in time. And to move Coal more efficiently, Coal India has even offered Indian Railways a deal to buy many new rakes. For a recent entrant into India’s capital markets, Coal India has really

gone places. The first flight was, of course, unknown to many. It was during an almost decade-long run-up to its IPO, when Coal India Ltd and its wholly owned subsidiaries effected a magical turnaround in business. The second flight was the most famous, when CIL did what was the world’s third largest IPO in recent history, and witnessed huge oversubscription as well as handsome listing gains. But soon came a period of lull, when the markets considered that the Coal India scrip was fully priced between Rs. 300 to Rs. 350. This period also witnessed fundamental challenges for the company from a few fronts including environment and transportation, as well as a scheduled leadership change at the top. But by mid-March, CIL had sorted out most of these problems under the new Chairman, NC Jha, who was formerly Technical Director and, of course, a company veteran. And the third flight began for the company and the scrip, which saw this most-recent Maharatna achiever quickly surpass IT major TCS and petroleum major ONGC, to become India’s second most valuable company and most valuable PSU, by market capitalization. Now, the only company remaining ahead, Reliance Industries, seems so near with not more than 58,000 crore separating

Sirprakash Jaiswal, Minister of Coal

Coal India is all set to be included in the prestigious BSE Sensex index from August 8th onwards, a move that will help not only Coal India, but the Sensex EPS itself.

NC Jha, CMD, Coal India

by a Planning Commission directive that would have restricted the eauction arrangement that is not only a boon to power projects with no explicit coal-linkages, but an 80% more profitable arrangement for Coal India, than the usual Fuel Supply Agreements (FSA) under which it sells at hugely subsidised prices. CIL has also taken up the logistics issue head-on with Indian Railways, by working together as well as fighting for its rights when needed, with good results coming in. By focusing on green initiatives as well as publicizing them, CIL has also largely addressed the environmental concerns. But what will really make Coal India fly for the long haul this time is the sheer demand for their product, as well as the enormous room remaining to extract better prices vis-à-vis high international rates. Already, it is estimated that out of the 80,000 MW power generation target for 2017, barely 40,000 MW worth of projects have succeeded in obtaining coal-linkages. This booming demand and scope for better prices have successfully neutralized a recent enormous jump in wage bill, and are expected to make Coal India a scrip of long-term investment potential.

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their respective market caps. With the FY’11 results just out, Coal India seems very much poised for the next and possibly final takeoff to become India’s most valuable enterprise. Consolidated net profit for the fiscal is up by almost 13%, on a revenue growth of over 11%. Not a bad jump at all, considering the huge base on which it has come. Coal India is also boldly addressing several challenges to its momentum posed by policy hurdles, railway logistics, and environment concerns. With the full backing of Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, Coal India seems to have surmounted the challenge posed

World

5 WikiLeaks Hits of 2011 That Are Turning the World on Its Head

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Is 2011 capable of exceeding 2010's revelations? And what discoveries have WikiLeaks unearthed so far in 2011 ? etween Collateral Murder, the Iraq War Logs, the Afghan War Diary, and Cablegate, it appeared as though 2010 would go down in history as the most shocking year in WikiLeaks revelations. Americans discovered that triggerhappy soldiers who have been trained to kill are likely to shoot innocent civilians, including journalists and children. They learned that the US military handed over detainees they knew would be tortured to the Iraqis, and as a matter of policy, failed to investigate the hundreds of reported torture and abuse by Iraqi police and military. The Afghanistan logs showed many more civilians killed than previously known, along with oncesecret US assassination missions against insurgents. And Cablegate shed light on a US foreign policy that values self-interest over democracy and human rights at all costs, perpetuating anti-American sentiment in the process.Is 2011 capable of exceeding 2010's revelations? And what discoveries in 2011 has WikiLeaks unearthed thus far?

The Arab Spring: Information is power. In

January of this year, the north African country of Tunisia captured the world's attention, as a relentless and inspiring democratic uprising managed to overthrow the autocratic President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in just a matter of weeks. Protests were initially sparked by food price inflation and staggering unemployment, as demonstrated by the self-immolation of a disillusioned young man named Mohamed Bouazizi. But we should never underestimate the power of information when it comes to stirring things up. The role of the WikiLeaks Embassy cables, which revealed the US government's view of the president and his ruling circle as deeply corrupt, cannot be overlooked. Of course, Tunisians were well aware of their governmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s corruption long before Cablegate. However, the Tunisian government felt threatened enough by the leaks to block access to the Lebanese news Web site AlAkhbar after it published U.S. cables depicting Ben Ali and his government in an unflattering light. They went on to block not just WikiLeaks, but any news source

publishing or referencing leaked cables that originated or referenced Tunisia. Their repressive reaction to the leaks pushed protesters over the brink, as it epitomized the country's utter lack of freedom of expression. And if there's anything the hacktivists at Anonymous hate, it's censorship, which is why they retaliated by shutting down key Web sites of the Tunisian government, an effort they dubbed "OpTunisia." The Tunisians were the first people in the Arab world to take to the streets and oust a leader for a generation. There is no denying that WikiLeaks acted as a catalyst in that effort, supplying more fuel to a fire that eventually toppled a regime. This helped inspire the revolt in Egypt and beyond, as uprisings against brutally repressive regimes extended to Bahrain, Syria, Yemen, and Libya. As the protests spread, WikiLeaks cleverly released key cables revealing government abuse and corruption in those nations, which intensified the protesters' demand for democracy. Amnesty International recently drew a link between the protests in the Arab world and the release by WikiLeaks of thousands of secret U.S. diplomatic documents. In fact,

Guantanamo Files: The 'worst of the worst' included children, the elderly, the mentally ill, and journalists. In April of this year, WikiLeaks released the Guantanamo Files, which included classified documents on more than 700 past and present Guantanamo detainees. These files paint a stunning picture of an oppressive detention system riddled with incoherence and cruelty at every stage. They shed new light on the persecution of Al Jazeera cameraman Sami al-Hajj, who was caged at the camp for more than six years and then abruptly released without ever being charged. His crime was working for Al Jazeera. It was also revealed that almost 100 of the inmates sent to Guantanamo were listed by their captors as having had depressive or psychotic illnesses. Many went on hunger strikes or attempted suicide. Officials in charge also found it appropriate to detain children and old men, including an 89-year-old Afghan villager suffering from senile dementia, and a 14-year-old boy who had been an innocent kidnap victim. Authorities heavily used unreliable evidence obtained from a small number of detainees under torture to justify due-process free detentions. They continued to maintain this testimony was reliable even after admitting that the prisoners who provided it had been mistreated. Despite President Obama's promise to close it, the shameful, legal black hole that is Guantanamo is still open for business: 172 detainees remain imprisoned at Guantanamo, about 50 of whom are being subjected to indefinite detention.

Friend or Foes: US allies are among the leading funders of international terro rism. Following the secret raid on Osama bin Laden's compound, WikiLeaks released the Pakistan Papers, a batch of previously secret State Department cables specifically dealing with the US relationship with Pakistan. The cables were published in Dawn, Pakistan's oldest and most widely-read Englishlanguage newspaper.

And if there's anything the hacktivists at Anonymous hate, it's censorship, which is why they retaliated by shutting down key Web sites of the Tunisian government, an effort they dubbed "OpTunisia." The documents expose the complicity of senior Pakistani officials in US drone strikes that have maimed and killed hundreds of innocent civilians, including children. A cable from late 2009 reveals Pakistani officials actively encouraging the bombing missions. Despite longstanding denials, the documents disclose that the US has been conducting special ops inside Pakistan and taking part in joint operations with the Pakistanis since 2009. The most disturbing, though not surprising, reports show that the Saudis, our supposed allies, are among the leading funders of international terrorism. It appears Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been financing jihadist groups in Pakistan for years. A cable written in 2008 by Bryan Hunt of the U.S.

consulate in Lahore, Pakistan, reads: “financial support estimated at nearly 100 million USD annually was making its way to Deobandi and Ahl-i-Hadith clerics in south Punjab from organisations in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates ostensibly with the direct support of those governments.” Hunt outlines the process of recruitment for militancy, describing how “families with multiple children” and “severe financial difficulties” were exploited for recruitment purposes. The cable details the recruitment of children, who are given age-specific indoctrination and would eventually be trained according to the madrassah teachers’ assessment of their inclination “to engage in violence and acceptance of jihadi culture” versus their value as promoters of Deobandi or Ahl-iHadith sects or recruiters. Recruits “chosen for jihad” would then be taken to “more sophisticated indoctrination camps, after which “youths were generally sent on to more established training camps in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and then on to jihad either in FATA, NWFP, or as suicide bombers in settled areas." Therefore, the US government, well aware for years of Saudi Arabia's disgusting exploitation of children, has remained a steadfast ally of the world's biggest financier of terrorism.

War over Artic: World leaders are practically lighting a fire under the Arctic. As Secretary of State Hilary Clinton met with the Arctic Council last month to discuss oil exploration, WikiLeaks, with impeccable timing, published a new trove of cables highlighting a race to carve up the Arctic for resource exploitation. Nations battling to poison the arctic with oil drilling include Canada, the

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the United Nations recently declared Internet access a basic human right in a report that cites WikiLeaks and the Arab Spring as driving factors.

US, Russia, Norway, Denmark, and perhaps even China, which all have competing claims to the Arctic. The leaks illustrate a frightening reality, where world leaders are greedily awaiting the opportunity to exploit the oil and natural gas that lie beneath the melting Arctic ice, even arming themselves for possible resource wars. A least that's what the Russian Ambassador Dmitry Rogozin hinted in a 2010 cable that reads, "The twenty-first century will see a fight for resources. Russia Should not be defeated in this fight."

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A 2009 cable suggests US paranoia about Russia: "Behind Russia's policy are two potential benefits accruing from global warming, the prospect for an [even seasonally] ice-free shipping route from Europe to Asia, and the estimated oil and gas wealth hidden beneath the Arctic sea floor." Russian Navy head Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky is quoted in a 2008 cable as saying, "While in the Arctic there is peace and stability, however, one cannot exclude that in the future there will be a redistribution of power, up to armed intervention." Clearly, banking on the melting of the polar ice caps has taken priority over halting or even reversing the catastrophic effects of climate change. The Arctic contains as much as one quarter of the world's gas and oil reserves, once hidden under huge masses of ice and inaccessible through frozen seas. However, ice is melting faster than predicted, presenting profitable business opportunities which are leading the Arctic countries to lose sight of longer-term climate issues. Greenpeace oil campaigner Ben Ayliffe underscores the danger of this mentality: “These latest Wikileaks revelations expose something profoundly concerning. Instead of seeing the melting of the Arctic ice cap as a spur

to action on climate change, the leaders of the Arctic nations are instead investing in military hardware to fight for the oil beneath it. They’re preparing to fight to extract the very fossil fuels that caused the melting in the first place. It’s like pouring gasoline on a fire.”

Slave Labour by Brands: Washington would let them starve to protect US corporate interests. The Nation has teamed up with the Haitian weekly newspaper Haiti Liberté, to analyze some 2,000 Haiti-related diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks. The cables will be featured in a series of Nation articles posted each Wednesday for several weeks. The first in the series, "PetroCaribe Files," reveals, among other things, how the United State, with pressure from Exxon and Chevron, tried to interfere with an oil agreement between Haiti and Venezuela that would save Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, $100 million per year or 10 percent of the country's budget. The second piece, set to publish this week, "Let Them Live on $3/Day,"

“These latest Wikileaks revelations expose something profoundly concerning. Instead of seeing the melting of the Arctic ice cap as a spur to action on climate change, the leaders of the Arctic nations are instead investing in military hardware to fight for the oil beneath it. They’re preparing to fight to extract the very fossil fuels that caused the melting in the first place. It’s like pouring gasoline on a fire.”

Russian Navy head Admiral Vladimir Vysotsky is quoted in a 2008 cable as saying, "While in the Arctic there is peace and stability, however, one cannot exclude that in the future there will be a redistribution of power, up to armed intervention." reveals Washington's willingness to keep Haitian sweatshop wages at near slave labor levels to save American corporations a few bucks. US clothing makers with factories in Haiti, such as Hanes and Levi Strauss, were infuriated after the Haitian government raised the minimum wage from a puny slave wage of 24 cents an hour, to a slightly less puny slave wage of 61 cents an hour. In a clear symbol of who it serves, the US State Department stepped in to exert pressure on Haiti’s president, who duly carved out a $3 a day minimum wage for textile companies. But, according to the Nation's expose, that was still too much: "Still the US Embassy wasn’t pleased. A deputy chief of mission, David E. Lindwall, said the $5 per day minimum “did not take economic reality into account” but was a populist measure aimed at appealing to “the unemployed and underpaid masses.” To understand the barbarity of this behavior, consider that a Haitian family of three (two kids) needed $12.50 a day in 2008 to make ends meet.

More to come? These revelations are not the only leaks of 2011, just those I have chosen to highlight. WikiLeaks continues to leaks cables all over the globe. Although they have received little attention in the US press, leaks in countries like Peru, Ireland, Malaysia, and El Salvador are generating headlines, controversy and debate. Perhaps what we have seen from WikiLeaks is just the tip of the iceberg.

Tie-up

It was a rare coming together again of two sisterly cultures, whose relationship extends back to decades, if not centuries. When Hamriyah Free Zone and Thiruvananthapuram Technopark came together recently to sign an MoU to extend mutual business relations, the real winners were not either organizations, but the businesses in Kerala who will now receive preferred treatment at the sprawling Hamriyah Free Zone in Sharjah. Already there are several companies of Kerala origin in this fast growing free zone. This new coming together is the brainchild of Dr. Rashid Al Leem who heads HFZ and Technopark CEO Mervin Alexander.

ver 1110 companies had started functioning in HFZ in 2010, thus maintaining their credentials as one of the world’s fastest growing free zones for may years now. Not only that, Hamriyah Free Zone - which was always a regional leader in quality certifications - went for some of the most contemporary and coveted certifications during these two years. Today, there is only one free zone in the whole world - of around 5000 free zones - that is certified SA8000 for Corporate Social Accountability. Even more importantly, HFZ is the first

government body in the world to achieve the coveted SA8000 standard. When Dr. Leem was in India recently, he was also pitching for something new - HFZ’s new SME E-OFFICE products. The ‘E’ stands for Executive, Economical, Efficient, & Electronic. A quick look at the features of E-OFFICE will be enough to swoon even the most cost-sensitive SME entrepreneur. Imagine getting to start your own office in UAE for as little as $6850! Now, if you feel that this is only the upfront fee, you are wrong. Included in this tiny amount - which works out to around Rs. 3 lakhs - are office rent for one year, license fee for one

year, service charges, initial post box charges, name approval charges, one telephone line charges, and believe it or not, allotment of four visas! In short, everything a commercial or service SME would need to be up and running in UAE is included with the 10 square metre office space. If an SME entrepreneur is looking for a more flexible general trading license, it is available as another E-OFFICE package that costs just $2740 more, but it also includes allotment of one more visa. And of course, the new E-OFFICE packages comes with the four ‘100%’ advantages enjoyed by bigger units in Hamriyah Free Zone - 100% company ownership, 100% repatriation of capital and profits, 100% tax-free environment, and 100% exemption from all commercial levies. Is there any wonder then Hamriyah Free Zone is now home to over 5500 companies from nearly 137 countries, employing over 60,000 people, with a total investment of $6.5 billion. There are only two more secrets to this mammoth success. One is, of course, Sharjah’s and Hamriyah’s strategic and infrastructural advantages like three world-class sea-ports, and an international airport connecting 230 cities, that make directly addressing 1.5 billion customers across three continents, a snap for HFZ companies. The other closely guarded secret is Dr. Rashid Al Leem himself, who as DirectorGeneral of both Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA) and Sharjah Ports & Customs, has imbibed in this free zone organization a rare energy and passion, that makes he and his team globe-trotters for this vision.

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Hamriyah Free Zone Taps Kerala Market Through Thiruvananthapuram Technopark

ENGINEERING @ RAJAGIRI:

Innovative Yet Seasoned The leading new-generation engineering college, once noted for its innovative practices, has matured into a more seasoned player competing directly with the state’s older government engineering colleges, as well as making its mark on the national scene. Record placements this year with companies like TCS, HCL, Microsoft, Wipro, Accenture etc is proof for the overall quality with which Rajagiri grooms its engineers.

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uring its first batch 2001-05, Rajagiri School of Engineering & Technology (RSET) was all about groundbreaking practices, innovation. Who can forget the way Rajagiri popularized the campus placement culture in this state, known for its rather shy industry-academicia interaction. From its very first batch of students, Rajagiri did this exceedingly well, by facilitating placements by global IT giants like Infosys. A decade has passed rather quickly at Rajagiri. In this Decennial year, even though it still stands a step above almost all private engineering colleges in pursuing innovative practices, the evolving character is

more of a mature, seasoned player in engineering education. No wonder then that it is attracting some of the best students of Kerala, who a decade back would have preferred the government engineering colleges. For example, Rajagiri has produced 23 university rank holders in its five batches until now. The institution’s policy of attracting only highly qualified and experienced faculty drawn from nationally & internationally reputed institutes, has helped a lot in grooming these rank holders. Rajagiri is nowadays also competing directly with the best in the sector. Affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University and approved by All India Council for Technical

Education (AICTE), this ambitious engineering college is now active on the national scene, with a NAAC accreditation, and has bagged top ranks by Dataquest, Wall Street Journal’s Mint, RECCANIT etc. After a decade of grooming the college, Founder Director, Fr. Jose Alex has moved on, and the engineering college now has a seasoned leader in Dr. Fr. Antony Kariyil, who has been heading the entire Rajagiri Group of Institutions, as well as heading this Group’s promoting organization, the Sacred Heart Province of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), arguably the most prominent indigenous congregation belonging to the Catholic Church. Apart from the engineering college,

The maturity of RSET is also visible in it graduating from a graduate college to one offering various MTech courses. The postgraduate programs at Rajagiri include MTech in specializations like VLSI Design & Embedded Systems, Computer Science & Information Systems, Signal Processing, and Industrial Drives and Control. But the real benchmark for maturity in an engineering college is the level of industry interaction and this is one facet where Rajagiri comes out with flying colours. Rajagiri follows the innovative route of concurrent industrial exposure for students and faculty that ensures that both aspiring engineers and their teachers are in tune with what the industry demands these days. Rajagiriâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s partners from industry for this initiative include TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Mphasis etc. Apart from these arrangements, Rajagiri

has an Entrepreneurship Development Cell as well as an Incubation Centre. Strengthening the industry ties further and both ways, Rajagiri offers training programs for industries and internship with select companies. Over the years, the infrastructure and facilities for students and teachers have grown with the RSET campus now probably being the most well-equipped one in the state. Well equipped labs, well stocked library with e-journals, digital library and institutional repository, multimedia hall with videoconferencing facilities, and a WiFi enabled campus are noteworthy academic facilities. But recognizing that no-play makes students dull, the recreational facilities are also topnotch like fitness centre, stadium, tennis court, basketball court etc. General amenities include hostels, cafeteria, bank, ATM, post office, student facility centre etc. What really makes a higher education institution successful in the long run is not only infrastructure, but a culture of innovative initiatives. Rajagiri, in fact, thrives on such initiatives. These include a strong alumni & PTA, continuous faculty development programmes, collaboration with leading overseas universities and international faculty and student exchange program, community & social Service, ICT enabled teaching

Dr. Fr. Antony Kariyil, Director learning process, awards for talented students, remedial programme for weak students, national level recognition for studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; projects, RSET special electives, skill development programmes, distinguished lecture series by eminent scientists and industrialists, international / national level conferences, continuing education, and their research initiative, the Rajagiri Research & Consultancy Centre (RRCC). At the end of the day, what counts most is the campus placements, and Rajagiri continues to be unbeatable on this front. In 2011, RSET set a new record when 300 Rajagirians were placed successfully within a period of 60 days. TCS was the first to visit this year and remained the most prolific recruiter at 146 students. Other prominent companies include HCL which took 66 students, and Patni which took 30 students. Several Rajagirians were also placed by companies like Microsoft, Accenture, Wipro, & Ernst & Young. BTech streams at Rajagiri are Applied Electronics and Instrumentation, Computer Science and Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, and Information Technology.

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Rajagiri Group is home to reputed educational institutions like Sacred Heart College, Rajagiri College of Management & Applied Sciences, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences, Rajagiri Australia, Rajagiri Vidyapeetham, Rajagiri Inter national School for Education and Research (RISER), RECT IGNOU, Rajagiri Higher Secondary School, Rajagiri Public School, Viswajyothi CMI Public School, and Renewable Energy Centre, MITHRADHAM.

Sports

British Olympic Hopeful has Indian Roots Rajiv Ouseph is currently ranked No.1 in England and has won the Senior National Singles title four times in a row at the English National Badminton Championships in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011. Rajiv became the first player to win four consecutive national singles titles since 1991. He achieved a career best world ranking of world number 18 in July 2010 after his career best win of the US Open men’s singles title and winning the Bronze medal in the Men’s Singles Event in the 2010 European Badminton Championships. Later that year he won a silver medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in men’s singles, as well as the bronze medal in the mixed team event. Other major titles Rajiv has won in his career include Canadian Open, French Open, Scottish Open, Irish Open, and European Circuit Finals. Rajiv is one of the English hopefuls for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

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Telegraph Sport: Tell us who you are Rajiv Ouseph: I’m a full-time badminton player. Probably my best performance was a silver medal at the Commonwealth Games. I also got a European bronze medal and won the US Open. What is your present state of mind? RO: The Olympics is in the back of every athlete’s mind at the moment. But we’ve got a lot of stuff going on before that. We’ve got our world championships in London this year, which is a good

opportunity for us to do well in front of our home fans. We all need to individually qualify for the Olympics as well. Is your London 2012 build-up on track? RO: Yes I think at the moment it is. For me I just need to maintain my ranking and try and go higher if I can. But if I carry on like this then I’ll be at the Olympics. When did you last skip training? RO: I was ill a few weeks ago so I didn’t train then. But I don’t think I’ve skipped training for any other reasons in a while.

Is sporting success down to luck, talent or hard work? RO: To be honest I think it’s a mixture of all three. Obviously you need talent to do well in your sport but I think hard work goes a long way. You need to be lucky within the sport too though. In badminton you can benefit from good draws and people getting injured. Is winning silver, losing gold? RO: I would probably say that, yes. In our sport there’s only two people so if you’re not winning then you’re losing. How do you celebrate? RO: I think it depends what sort of tournament it is. When I won the US Open it was a really big win for me so I went out with a couple of my friends and chilled out. If it was something bigger then I might do something else. You’ve got to keep it in perspective. What is your idea of happiness? RO: Being happy with yourself and enjoying what you’re doing. I’m lucky in that I can’t see myself doing an office job every day. I’m lucky that I can play my sport and go around the world without too much to worry about outside that. I think it’s good to be happy with what you’re doing. What is your idea of misery? RO: Probably being stuck in an office job. Basically being stuck in something that you’re not really enjoying doing. It can get you down and depressed. Are you jealous of anyone?

RO: Maybe tennis players because they’re another racquet sport like us, but they get a lot more exposure. I think if people were to look at badminton and tennis they’d see they’re actually very similar, the profile would increase and we might be in a better position as a sport. What one thing do you regret? RO: I went straight from A-levels to training full-time. If I had my time again I’d probably try and get my degree straight after school and then concentrate on badminton after that. What’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought? RO: Probably a laptop. Everyone’s got a MacBook here so I tried to be a bit different and got a Sony for about £700. When did you last clean your toilet? RO: We’re quite lucky because we stay in Badminton England accommodation so our rooms get cleaned for us. When I’m back home my mum takes care of that too, so I’m quite privileged in that respect. How much is a pint of milk? RO: I think it’s 85p. [It’s more like 45p] McDonalds or Burger King? RO: McDonalds. I like the chips more. iPad or newspaper? RO: Newspaper I think. I’m a bit old school like that. I do like reading a sports section. You see someone kick a dog. What do you do? RO: Ask them why they did that and maybe have a bit of a go at them. Do you believe in UFOs? RO: No. It’s just us out there. What would you like written on your gravestone? RO: Ideally I’d like ‘Olympic champion’ and maybe something like ‘family man’.

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Have you ever lied to get out of training? RO: No, not really. Since I’ve been full time I’ve been quite good because it’s my job now. It wouldn’t be great to skip for no reason. But when I was younger there was a couple of times when I probably told them I was going the dentist or something. When I may have been doing something else.

CHOITHRAM INTERNATIONAL, INDORE

Demystifying, Economising, IB Education Promoted by the internationally renowned Choithram Trusts, led by noted philanthropist Satish P Motiani, and executed by noted educationalist Dilip Vasu, the Choithram International School of Indore is today not only one among the only four IB World Schools in the country, but leading the out-of-box thinking by breaking some unquestioned paradigms in education, aided by a generous use of technology, but still fulfilling parents’ desire for affordable international education.

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he International Baccalaureate Program is one of the toughest to master in India not only by students and teachers, but by parents. Many international schools have used this to their advantage in creating an aura around IB programs, and of course, for charging exorbitant fees. But in reality, the UN-sponsored and Geneva-headquartered IB program is the easiest to understand, and the one that makes real sense. In fact it is thought of as complex, only because it is so simple, says, Dilip Vasu, the young, dynamic Principal of Choithram International. “Which is the easiest alphabet to draw for a kid,” asks Dilip. Most probably C or U, we

reply. “Then why do all schools start with teaching A, one of the most difficult for a kid,” asks this Principal. IB education, in fact, gives that kind of flexibility to start teaching from an appropriate alphabet that makes sense for a kid. “Teaching D is so easy after C, isn’t it,” asks this bornto-teach teacher who has had a few stints in other leading international schools, including IB schools, before joining Indore-based Choithram, around six years back. Madhya Pradesh & Chhatisgarh constituting Central India was never a stronghold for international schooling. To correct this, it called for an international organization of repute. Preferably with local roots. Enter Choithram Group, which was

Dilip Vasu

established by Seth Thakurdasji Choithram Pagarani, which has its business in UAE, UK, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan, African countries and different parts of world including India. Choithram is perhaps the largest and most reputed NRI Group hailing from MP, with 65 years of international track– record and operating in 26 countries. Under family scion Satish P Motiani’s able leadership the T. Choithram Foundation started – Choithram International – in 2004 at Indore, Central India’s economic capital and their beloved hometown.

philanthropist who started enduring institutions that still provides healthcare and education to the poor.

The first IB affiliated international school in Central India, Choithram International draws on the international expertise of the Group as well as the Foundation’s long experience in public schooling. Choithram International has produced world toppers and national-level subject toppers, many a time. Though sparing no expense to come up with a state-of-the-art campus, complete with its own indoor stadium, Choithram International is also the undisputed leader in affordable International schooling, with fee coming up to only one–fourth of comparable international schools. It is a legacy imbibed from Group Founder Late Thakurdasji Choithram Pagarani who was not only a globe–trotting entrepreneur but an exceptional

Choithram International equips all its students with Apple iPads, through which they can access Grade 1-12 courseware designed by Stanford University, and read over 6 lakh books online, whenever they wish, wherever they are.

Dilip Vasu continues, “That is about conforming to IB standards. But we are also the most flexible when it comes to utilizing the measured freehand that IB accords it schools.” Coming to his favourite topic of innovation in education, he coolly informs us that he has done away

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Satish P Motiani

Says Dilip Vasu, “Choithram is quite different from most IB schools in two ways. First of all, you wouldn’t find a more conforming school than Choithram to the stringent IB standards.” This is indeed true, with it being one among the only four fully IB World Schools in India, with not only full implementation of IB’s Primary Years, Middle Years, & Diploma Program, but exclusive implementation of IB which means that Choithram International doesn’t accommodate any other curricula unlike many namesake IB Schools.

Choithram International’s fees is the lowest among all IB Schools in India, much lower than many CBSE schools calling themselves international, thanks due to Managing Trustee Satish P Motiani’s attitude that education should never be looked upon as a business. with cursive writing from Choithram, once and forever. “If you and me, and millions of our generation are now not following the cursive writing we practiced for weeks and weeks together, let us not burden this new generation with this wasteful exercise that is there only because no teacher has had the guts to question it.” That of course, is one beauty of IB. Anything that restricts a child’s creativity can be shown the door, even if it is cursive writing. IB encourages each school to have its own pedagogy, its distinctness.

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Dilip takes out his Parker and waves the pen at us. “This is going to be obsolete within the next 3 to 5 years. So it anyway doesn’t matter whether you have done cursive writing or not”. And that brings him to talk about one of the core philosophies that differentiate IB from all other curricula. IB, it seems, is more interested in teaching children not the hot subjects of today, but how to learn to learn that hot subject of tomorrow. “Do you know the buzzing subject, five years from now,” asks Dilip. “Neither do I, nor the teacher, nor the student.” So what IB really does is teach the student to learn any unknown subject that may emerge 5 or 10 or 15 years down the lane. That is why IB curricula has such formidable subjects like Theory of Knowledge. Dilip Vasu is in a prophetic mood when he adds, “We can’t expect our children to carry on with a career that they might chose today. Unlike mine and your generation, these kids will elect to change careers at least 3 to 5 times within their lifetime.” Globalization

and the technologies that are emerging everyday would make sure that, according to this Principal. Speaking about technologies, Choithram is one school that is at least a generation ahead of the rest. With full blessings from his leader Satish P Motiani, the technologies that Dilip has implemented for their students would make any school drool. Forget the Apple iPads to all students. Also forget, if you want, the Grade 1-12 study materials from Stanford University that comes preloaded in the iPads. But even the most ardent critic would applaud the vision to include a six-lakh book online library. “Gone are the days when a school library’s books were counted in thousands, and even the most popular book had only a couple of copies. Our students can access any of these six-lakh books anytime they want by just logging on to the network.” When we met him, it was barely days since Dilip Vasu had returned from New York, after leading an IB delegation of eight students from Choithram who attended the UN General Assembly for around five days. “We represented Tajikistan,” informs Dilip and continues, “What is the point in a nation’s students representing that nation itself? If

there is a shuffle, we get to learn another nation in a vast sense. That is how the radical IB thinking goes.” Are all these innovations delivering, we ask Dilip. “IB is for moulding leaders. For grooming a typical engineer or doctor, this may be overkill. This is for creating worldchanging leaders.” He gives a quick example. Earlier in his career, Dilip had been guide to a student’s IB Diploma thesis, and this student later went on to establish a multi-million dollar business empire based on the business idea in that thesis. Mind you, without attending college after his IB Diploma! But even with all these achievements Dilip Vasu is most eloquent when he speaks about the affordability of Choithram International. “Parents are literally stunned to know that we charge around Rs. 75,000 only for IB, in a world where CBSE schools posing as international schools are charging up to Rs. 2 lakh.” This is no magic, however, according to this Principal. “This institution is forever indebted to the truly philanthropic nature of our Managing Trustee, Satish P Motiani. He is a legend in Indore, if not Madhya Pradesh, for his various social works through the Choithram Trusts. He has never looked upon education as a business.”

Conservation

ONGC Comes to the Rescue of Eastern Swamp Deer

Earlier found in Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, the swamp deer has now been declared extinct

in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The eastern swamp deer or ‘Barasingha’ survives as a single population of around 600 individuals restricted to the floodprone Kaziranga National Park in Assam. With only one viable population in existence today, this eastern swamp deer is today a severely endangered herbivore due to factors like flood, disease and epidemic transmitted from livestock. There is an urgent need to secure its future or we face the risk of

losing this magnificent natural heritage. Realising this, oil major Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC) joined hands with the Wildlife Trust of India to assist the Assam Forest Department conserve the endangered Eastern Swamp Deer. The joint initiative was launched on 16th November 2010 in Kaziranga National Park. The ‘ONGC Eastern Swamp Deer Conservation Project’ will assess the population dynamics, threats and factors limiting growth and distribution of Eastern Swamp Deer to prepare and implement a conservation strategy including creation of new viable populations outside Kaziranga. ONGC is financing 100 per cent of the project cost of around 86 lakh. The project envisages scientific study and to generate statistical data along with identifying suitable sites for re-introduction of the deer at Orang, Pobitora & Manas and win support of the local communities. As a result of these activities, the number of Swamp deer is expected to increase. ONGC is committed to the conservation of natural resources, flora and fauna of Assam and other northeastern states of India. ONGC adds value to the lives of communities wherever it works, in India as well as abroad, and Assam is very special as the Indian oil industry started here.

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he eastern swamp deer faces a high risk of extinction, more than even the Royal Bengal tiger or the onehorned rhino. However, unlike the rhino, not much attention has been paid to the plight of these deer in Assam.

INDUS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL, BANGALORE

Staying Ahead on the Innovation Curve When every other school starts speaking about innovation, what does the original innovators do? Indus International School of Bangalore, promoted by a group of high-flying industrialists, technopreneurs, and academicians, and led by much-decorated former army man, Lt. Gen. Arjun Ray, VSM, PVSM, and noted academician Mrs. Sarojini Rao, is nowadays going where no other school has probably gone before. The school is exploring ways and means in which students can engage and contribute to the civil society around them.

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or those who have known Bangalore’s Indus International School up-close, it is unnecessary to hear that this is a school which is a class apart, created by extraordinary leaders for grooming extraordinary leaders of tomorrow. This essence of the school has been best captured by the pivotal role, Lt. Gen. Arjun Ray, has taken on in the school ever since its start in 2003. However, this Param Vishisht Seva Medal holder had some sobering advice to tomorrow’s leaders recently. Addressing students from four Bangalore schools, including Indus, the much decorated General reminded, “One needs to serve first, then lead.” Though an often repeated theme long back, during the Gandhi era, the timing and the target couldn’t have been more challenging. The retired General was not addressing an average cross-section of Indian students, but students hailing from relatively affluent families across the globe, who have been fortunate to study at posh international schools, like Indus, in India’s Silicon Valley.

The General’s logic? “Students in India are disengaged from the civil society,” thunders this mostly suave army man who has attended the prestigious Staff College, UK.

Bangalore to come up with Inter Student Council League, an arrangement that will facilitate welfare of schools through sharing knowledge with each other.

The timing couldn’t have been better. Civil society has been in the limelight than ever before during the last three months. Civil society leaders like Anna Hazare, Aruna Roy, Arvind Kejriwal, and many others had emerged as new beacons of hope for a country ravaged by corruption.

Displaying zero-egos and a nonprotectionist attitude, these schools are setting an example for other schools to follow in sharing. Indeed, the League is already inviting other noted schools to join, subject to the adherence of some guiding principles.

But student engagement with civil society has been a largely neglected area. But then General Ray and the Indus Trust and its schools that he heads, is known to walk their talk. Just visit Indus International Community School, a group school located at Billapura Cross, Sarjapur, Bangalore. Or just have a look at their website. This is the world’s first ever international school created for poverty-stricken students by, believe it or not, the students of Indus International School! The Indus CEO had delivered these words during the Charter signing of another novel venture. The school collaborated with three other premium schools in

Though the sharing will include academics, sports, and arts, core thrust areas will be community outreach and environmental betterment. To get the ball rolling, the League has already tied up with

The Science Exhibition, participation in Destination Imagination, visit by France’s Victor Hugo School, Harvard Model United Nations, trips to Germany & France, and Indus Dance Fest, were only a few among the numerous events hosted by

Lt. Gen. Arjun Ray

Indus during the last year. Coming to the aspect of what makes academics at Indus truly outstanding, Indus Principal, Mrs. Sarojini Rao, recently opined, “Apart from the curricula, we provide our students orientation on emerging knowledge domains like ecology, entrepreneurship, biodiversity, internet technologies, bio-technology etc.” Mrs. Rao, stood first in her University in Economics and is a double postgraduate in Education and Economics. She is trained in all the three IB programs (PYP, MYP and DP), and is also a graduate from the Principal’s Training Center for International School Leadership, USA. The 40-acre Indus Campus in Bangalore is not only an aweinspiring one in its looks, but a carefully thought out campus. The spacious classrooms are more than ample for the limit of 25 students, and are equipped with play areas for preschool, projection systems, computer facilities and lockers. The integrated sports complex comprises an indoorstadium and an outdoor track and field stadium. The well-equipped amphitheatre has a seating capacity of over 800. Indus admits both residential students and day scholars. There are separate boys and girls hostels based on the ‘house’ concept. Each hostel is closely

Mrs. Sarojini Rao

supervised by an experienced houseparent. After the success of their flagship Bangalore school, the Indus Trust has established two more similar schools, Indus International School, Pune and Indus International School, Hyderabad. The Indus Trust is promoted by highflying industrialists, technopreneurs, and academicians like Sushil Mantri, Kumar Malavalli, HB Jairaj, and Professor Shivaram Malavalli. Speaking to Seasonal Magazine, Gen. Ray opined on what really differentiates the Indus experience for students. “We are very particular that the environment here promotes order, fearlessness, independence, a love for learning, a connection to the world, and a sense of social responsibility.” These values are much in sync with the International Baccalaureate Curriculum the schools follows.

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the noted NGO, Child Rights & You (CRY) to organize various events that would lend power to addressing crucial child rights issues. The Indus campus is nowadays in a drowsy mood. The academic session had come to a close on June 10th, and summer holidays are on. The over 1100 students from over 32 countries that make up Indus Bangalore would now return to this campus on July 25th (for Grades 10 & 12), and August 8 th (for all others) for the new academic year. When the year reopens, it would be another eventful one for the students of Indus. For years now, the mind-blowing events that leaders like Lt. Gen. Ray and Principal Mrs. Sarojini Rao have facilitated for the students, teachers, and parents, have come to define much of the unique experience of being in the Indus family.

SOBHA CITY, THRISSUR

Designed to Make You Forget that You are in Thrissur, or Kerala, or India Sobha Developers with its talent for foresight, attention to minute details, and uncompromising build quality had selected not Bangalore or Kochi for its largest integrated township development. The 55-acre Sobha City is fast nearing completion in Thrissur, with almost all of the earlier launches in this township a complete sell-out. Now super-luxury apartments are available in the three-towers of Sobha Saphire, while showrooms are available in Sobha City Mall, with both these residential and commercial spaces overlooking the scenic 6.5 acre lake. oresight is not building a tower in Lower Parel, and lamenting two years later that there is a glut of office-space in Mumbai. Ask PNC Menon if you have a different opinion.

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Foresight is choosing Indian real estate over Middle East real estate in 1990. Foresight is choosing Bangalore in 1995, and not in 2005. Foresight is shunning Indira Nagar and discovering Sarjapur Road. Foresight is beating the countryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest developer, in going public. Now when Sobhaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s largest integrated township till-date gets ready - not in Bangalore, not in Kochi - but in Thrissur, there would be some stock market

Sobha Saphire

analysts who would sputter, Thrissur, where?

Sobha City Mall

Because Sobha City would have enriched any city, even New Delhi, even New York. But what PNC Menon probably saw was the reverse - it can be a project that would makes cities immaterial.

At the heart of Sobha Cityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s aesthetics is the 6.5 acre manmade lake, which doubles up quietly in the background as one of the largest rainwater harvesting

facilities in the country. Living options include luxury villas and luxury apartments across four tower-complexes. If you are new to Sobha City, you are pretty late. Three of those towers - Sobha Topaz, Sobha Lifestyle, & Sobha Malachite - are already sold out, as are almost all the luxury villas. But the saving grace is that residential units are still available in one of the latest and best complexes - Sobha Saphire, while showrooms are available in Sobha City Mall. Sobha Sapphire is a soaring 26storey three-tower complex with 216 super luxury apartments, all overlooking the scenic lake. Available in three formats, living spaces range from an ample 1716 sq ft to a king-size 3083 sq ft. Bedroom options are also ample at 3BHK & 4-BHK.

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At 55 acres of greens and waterbodies to relax in, and integrated features like a luxury business hotel, spa, restaurants, food courts, not to speak of world-class office spaces, Sobha City is the perfect implementation of an international grade township.

In-Focus

“Musli Power X-Tra was Always an Ayurvedic Medicine and, Now,We Have Got Justice From Court” Kerala High Court has revoked the State Government imposed ban on the manufacture and sale of Musli Power X-Tra. We met a beaming Dr. KC Abraham to ascertain the nitty-gritty of the developments. Seasonal Magazine had some hard questions for Kunnath Pharmaceuticals Founder, who had recently upped his challenge to Rs. 10 crore for anyone proving tadalafil’s presence in their blockbuster ayurvedic drug, Musli Power X-Tra. Here, he shares his radical views on various aspects of his flagship product, as well as about the greater question of being an entrepreneur in the state: ou had recently upped your open challenge from Rs. 5 crore to Rs. 10 crore, for anyone proving the presence of certain allopathic molecules in Musli Power X-Tra. Why?

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Well, it is because we want to convey to our customers that we remain doubly sure about our product. Which company would dare to do something like this? Nobody had come forward to even stake a claim to the earlier reward of Rs. 5 crore. But the rumour mill continues that somebody found tadalafil in it. It is tough to kill a rumour, especially if it is being spread with malicious intent and in an organized manner. The reward is open to anyone proving that genuine capsules of Musli Power X-Tra contains tadalafil, sildenafil, or steroids, through gold standard tests like Mass Spectrometry or HPLC. The court has just removed the Government ban on manufacture and sale of Musli Power X-Tra. Are there are conditions attached to it? Earlier we had obtained a stay on

the Government order. Now the court has revoked the Government ban. We welcome the court order, obviously. There are some conditions set, but most of them are for the Government to follow. They were directed to collect authentic samples from us and get it tested at a Ghaziabad test facility specifically created for testing herbal medicines. Government was also directed to allow us a hearing, if we request to have such a hearing before them on this issue. The only condition set before us is to cooperate in giving authentic samples, which we were always complying with. Since we had a stay for most part of this ban period, we continued to manufacture and sell the medicine all over India and abroad, including in Kerala. But hasn’t the negative publicity affected the sales? No, it is not the negative publicity that has affected, but the organized effort from some quarters to derail the product’s supply-chain and sales. But we are confident of surviving this crisis. Are you saying that your product was being targeted despite the stay? Who is behind this, according to you?

It was being targeted by a section of the bureaucracy, despite the stay, for some weeks. At the behest of whom, I have often indicated in media interviews. But we have fought it out with the authorities, and now the situation is better. Somebody just can’t kill the demand for the product, however hard they may try. Are you repeating the allegation

I would repeat that any day. But on a final analysis, that should be expected. They are our competitors. Our blockbuster ayurvedic product is affecting the sale of these allopathic medicines with sideeffects. But at the end of the day, I am more disappointed with the corruption prevailing in a section of the bureaucracy in Kerala. Can you tell a specific example? Well, I don’t want to blame anyone through media. Whatever I had to say, I had said it in their face. There was this officer with whom I was pleading my case. I told him that I am not asking him to bend any rules, that Kunnath was paying huge excise duty, income tax, and VAT to the government, as well as other taxes to the government, and that I was providing hundreds of jobs in this state. And you would be shocked at this officer’s reply. He simply asked, “But what is there for me in it?” But, again, that also should be expected by a business, isn’t it? Which state doesn’t have corruption? No, you are totally wrong over there. Here, it is not a matter of just

corruption but sadism. You won’t just believe it unless you are at the receiving end of it. Here in Kerala, lobbies with vested interests and officers will vow to finish a business off. I would call it a case of superinflated egos and sadism. Business success is never appreciated in this land. But you are continuing with your business in Kerala… Yes, very much I will continue in Kerala. But that is because I don’t mind fighting it out, as long as I am on the right side of the law. A few friends and even political leaders are advising me that I would grow a hundred times faster if I go outside Kerala. But I think that would be a cowardly thing. Secondly, nobody understands the scope of this product. This is not going to stay as a local medicine or brand. We are already taking this product to many countries. I want Musli Power X-Tra to be the first internationally successful product from Kerala. But that also means you are not derisking your business model… No, we will de-risk it systematically. Our current production unit is built according to US FDA standards, and duplicating such a setup in a neighbouring state is not a great deal for us. We can do that any day we decide to go for it. Our organic farming for our herbal ingredients is already outside the state, in Rajasthan, and it is being done in a massive way. But our greater focus now is strengthening our logistics, sales force, customer reach etc. across the country and abroad. You have also been reluctant to make Kunnath Pharma a multiproduct company. That also goes against the conventional wisdom of de-risking… You won’t believe how many times I have heard this same argument from consultants. But that is because, they just don’t understand the scope of this product that I mentioned earlier. I will elaborate. Musli Power X-Tra’s target base is

the whole world population - men and women - between 18 to 80 years. We have not even scratched the surface of this market. But having said that, Kunnath is indeed pursuing the development of quite a few products like our antiasthmatic, anti-diabetic, anti-highcholesterol, and a few more drugs. Some of them are offered only through physician-channels and some are under clinical trials. We don’t want to enter any segment with a half-baked or undifferentiated product. The drug has to work absolutely. Like Musli Power X-Tra. Its efficacy is what made it a hit. Not the advertisements or even the controversies. In all segments possible, we want to replicate that success. Nothing less than that. But none of your ingredients in Musli Power X-Tra is secret. Can’t it be replicated by someone else? That is the mystery. Let me ask you a question in return. If it were possible, won’t it have been done already? In fact, many many pharma companies - local and foreign, ayurvedic and allopathic - have tried and failed here. Most of them want to make only a quick buck. None are willing to invest crores and crores of rupees and spend years and years of research to develop a drug as effective as ours. The secret lies in our unique ratios of highconcentration active principles, and it is a patented invention. Nobody is going to replicate that. In which all countries are Musli Power planning to enter? We started off with Kuwait and Bahrain, and later entered a few more GCC countries including UAE. In Singapore, we have obtained all the necessary permissions and we may enter any time now. Recently, we have surmounted major hurdles in getting even the US FDA approval. We hope to get the final approval soon. We will take this to each and every country gradually. It is not a big deal for a safe product that works.

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that MNC Pharma is behind this? Or is there something more?

Joyalukkas Hands Over Mercedes Key to the Winner

The key of the Mercedes Benz Car for the winner of Joyalukkas “Drive your dream offer” was handed over to Mr. Mubeel. The offer was the Christmas – New Year gift for the customers of Joyalukkas Mangalore Showroom. The offer promoted by the World’s favourite jeweler Joyalukkas

saw thousands of customers trying their chance by purchasing jewellery to win a Mercedes Benz C Class. The offer was valid between December 18th 2010 to February 20 th 2011. In a marvelous formal function, Assistant Commissioner of Police Mr. Raveendra Gadadi handed over the key of Mercedes Benz car to Mr. Mubeel. Arun Sunny, Manager of Mangalore showroom was also present in the function. The offers of Joyalukkas have been widely received and appreciated for their uniqueness and customer satisfaction.

Rajarathnam RC Royal Grande @ Thirumullaivoyal, Chennai

Seasonal Magazine

Where Aesthetics and Ergonomics Blend to Create Luxury Rajarathnam Construction (P) Ltd has unfolded RC-Royal Grande that lives it up to its name. Modern aesthetics and ergonomics have blended well to bring you a home that is contemporary in look and traditional in comfort, providing the best of both worlds. RC-Royal Grande is nestled in a well planned layout, that allows one to experience the ultimate value for money and luxurious living too. RC-Royal Grande is a sprawling project of 176 stylish homes ranging from 870 to 1145 sq.ft. comprising of 140 nos. of 2 bedroom & 36 nos. of 3 Bedroom flats in 3.4 acres of land. RC-Royal Grande comes with all essential amenities and is strategically located at Thirumullaivoyal with convenient neighborhoods surrounding. Apart from this, it also boasts of close proximity of reputed schools like Vivekanandha Vidhyalaya, Kendriya Vidhyalaya, Ramaswamy Mudhaliar High School, Venkateswara

Matriculation, TI Matriculation, Heart of Mary immaculate Hr. School, and Colleges like St.Peter’s College of Engineering , Veltech College of Engg., Murugappa Polytechmic, Jaya Engineering College, Sriram Engg. College, and St. Michael’s Polytechnic. Also close to renowned hospitals like Sir. Ivan Stead Ford Hospital, Dr.Ravindranath Hospital, Dr.Bhat’s Eye Hospital and close to IT hubs and Industrial sectors. Architect of the project is Sathyanarayana Associates, while Structural Design is by SBS

Associates. Project financing is by LIC Housing Finance Ltd. The meaning of comfort at RC-Royal Grande is something which makes you come home to more than just four walls. The simple touch of luxury goes with each amenity provided, like, Gymnasium, Library, Association room, A/C Party Hall, Children’s play area, Exclusive Open Car park, Landscape, Back up Generator, Intercom, R.O. plant, Provision for Broad band, Common DTH service etc. RC Royal Grande is a CRISIL 4-Star rated project.