From the Editor ...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
Development put on the back burner
A
n article carried by PASSLINE in the January 15-February 14, 2011, issue had discussed the paradoxical Kerala situation of economic growth evading the State in spite of its being ahead of all other States in the country in social development and individual prosperity. It had also pinpointed the reasons for this predicament. Now as the State slouches towards Assembly elections in another two months’ time, trends in public opinion and political values reveal that both main fronts in the fray, the United Democratic Front (UDF), led by the Congress, and the Left Democratic Front (LDF), presided over by the Communist Party of India (Marxist), are in deep trouble. Both are trading charges, some of them decades old, against each other. Two coalition partners in the opposition UDF (until a few weeks ago it was almost certain to recapture power this time), which had been traditionally providing strength to the front, have started fraying badly, even threatening indirectly that they are unlikely to hold. And to provide comic relief, the LDF which has kept power since May 2006, is ready to welcome with open arms whoever is on the way to join it.
Editor & Publisher
VARGHESE PAUL Kochi Correspondent
SUBIN MANANTHAVADY Ph: 9946903949
The curious point observers of the scene note is that neither front is offering any revolutionary policy changes or landmark economic overhaul of the State. The LDF’s trump-card seems to be the revival of the Smart City project which had been in limbo for almost half a decade and the opening of the Vallarpadam International Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) for which the major credit should go to the Centre. Privatization, which alone can boost the State’s economy, is definitely on the agenda of the UDF (and in recent times on the LDF’s too), though both seem to be not serious about considering sales of State units’ assets.
Chennai
AUGUSTINE JOSEPH Ph: 09381000534
The familiar refrain at UDF functions is that the State cannot claim to have launched any major projects during the past about five years and that the LDF is only following up whatever projects the previous UDF Government had initiated. The LDF Government has not been able to move an inch in completing even those projects, says the UDF. Trying to score a march over the UDF, the LDF cites the revival of the Smart City project and the ICTT.
Bangalore
JAYACHANDRAN Ph: 09886929331 Delhi
Despite the UDF’s accusation of failing to ensure industrialization and create job opportunities for the State’s millions of unemployed youth and also of arresting the rising prices of essential commodities, the LDF still thinks its record under the indefatigable V S Achuthanandan, Chief Minister, is solid enough to carry it to the throne after the election. They feel the Chief Minister is still popular even after almost five years in office, and with the signing of the Smart City deal and the opening of the ICTT he has become a ‘developmentalist’. Some mention his no-holds-barred war on corruption and fight against social evils like the sexploitation of poor girls. But all this may not win big policy changes or a clear majority for either front.
AFGANULLAH Ph: 09910498222
Manager-Marketing
SAJAN K Keethara Publications Pvt Ltd
The ideas this time are going to be different judging by the events that have been taking place for some time. Voters are tired of the vicious atmosphere prevailing in the State, the gimmicks of both fronts and of having to carry the burden of the same fronts in power since the State’s formation in 1956. (Kerala’s tradition is that it has not elected an incumbent government). But they know they have no option.
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Business is looking to the new government that will come to power after the elections for policies that encourage growth. But people say they are not expecting big economic changes from either front. And it looks as though they won’t get any.
www.passlinebusinessmagazine.com Varghese Paul
Readers' views
Rally against corruption S ir,—Your
editorial, ‘Radia, Kalmadi, Raja…’(January 15-February 14) is very powerful and I congratulate you on such a wonderful piece. There is a website, www.voteforindia.org, which has come into existence to fight against corruption. It organized a big rally in Delhi on November 30 last. I don’t have any direct connection with this organization but feel that it is the duty of every Indian to support it. M N Raju, Chairman, MNR Educational Institutions, Hyderabad.
Excellent idea Sir,—Kudos to your editorial. Your new idea on currency denomination is excellent. Try to patent it before someone initiates it. Rajkumar, SMS
Thought-provoking Sir,—The editorial citing the huge losses to the country through mammoth scams like the Commonwealth Games and 2G Spectrum involving Kalmadi, Raja and Radia should open the eyes of ministers and bureaucrats. There will be no takers for the novel idea as fresh scams are sprouting involving new people in the top echelons of power. So a constant tag on money units may not be possible in India. But it is thought-provoking for those concerned. Ajith Kumar, e-mail
PROJECT
4
By A Special Correspondent
The much-publicized Vallarpadam ICTT, in all probability, is a still-born child, and the struggles to resurrect it make very little sense. The best course for Kerala now is to forget about the project and make the best use of the transport and other infrastructure, which was built in the name of supporting it.
T
he Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) project was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on February 11, 2011, just a day ahead of the new International Airport Terminal at Thiruvananthapuram. The media had celebrated these events as major milestones for Kerala’s development. The new Rs 300-crore terminal, designed and built by the Airports Authority of India (AAI), a mini-Navratna CPSU (Central public-sector undertaking) m record time, is reported to be a world-class facility. It has taken off well and started operations without any glitches, unlike the Vallarpadam ICTT of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT), built by India Gate Terminal Private Ltd (IGTPL), sponsored by Dubai Port World (DPW). Operations at the Cochin port came to a dead stop soon after the ICTT inauguration for a variety of reasons: legal, procedural, logistical etc and mismanagement of labour relations. Close to Rs 2,000 crore was spent by the Railways, National Highway Authority, and CPT on facilities at the ICTT. More than five years ago, CPT had handed over its profit-making Rajiv Gandhi Container Terminal (RGCT) to IGTPL as an incentive to build, own and operate an ICTT on the Vallarpadam side. Even more, the entire port area on the Vallarpadam side was promised to be operated as a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) by CPT in order to facilitate the smooth operations of the ICTT, which has been publicized as a great boon to Kochi, a boon considered
even a notch above that of even the Smart City project. Despite all the massive public expenses and efforts, ICTT is unlikely to start operations at Vallarpadam in the near future as revealed in an interview with Mr Anil Singh, who heads the operations of DP World in the Indian subcontinent. In his interview, published by a lead-
ICTT may remain Mr Singh was doubtful about cost parity with the Colombo ICTT, with which Kochi is to compete. He explains his reasons in detail: “We have an understanding with the Port Trust to ensure that Vallarpadam is competitive in terms of user charges. It is a commitment....We will not be competing with our counterparts in India. We will be competing with
Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal (ICTT) project being inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on February 11, 2011.
ing business daily recently, he had said: neighbouring Colombo. Our charges “There are three things that make a con- should be internationally competitive to tainer transshipment hub work. They are: attract mainline vessels.” He had pointed cost parity, expertise in handling contain- out that for the Government-owned CPT, ers and exemption from cabotage.” Ac- which is already running at a loss, cording to him, “these three conditions, honouring this commitment (to reduce that are crucial for Vallarpadam to click, vessel charges) would be an onerous are yet to be put in place, though it has task. The second factor, according to him, the potential to become a major interna- was efficiency in handling containers. To ensure this the port should have the best tional transshipment hub.” February 28 - March 31, 2011 PASSLINE
equipment, experienced people and capability in terms of deep draught (depth of water) required for large vessels. He said: “We have bought the best equipment. We have people with experience in operating international transshipment hubs. But we need a minimum 14.5metre-deep draught to bring in mother vessels. This is what we were promised (by Cochin port). Today, what we have is draught of 13 metres; this is a big concern for us.” According to Mr Singh, dredging was the responsibility of CPT and this has been delayed, and IGTPL was ready to start operations last year itself. But dredging got delayed. Kochi needs to attract large vessels, say, 6,000 TEUs and above, he had said. Since that was not possible, Mr Singh wanted to shift the container operations from the existing Rajiv Gandhi terminal to Vallarpadam and start handling smaller ships of 2,000-2,500 TEUs. He had expressed the hope that CPT would be “able to complete the dredging soon, so that they could really start transshipment.” In other words, Mr Singh has made it clear that the much-publicized ICTT will not start operating in the near future, and DPW was not legally obliged to do that, and it is demanding all possible help in doing this, including changes in the Indian cabotage law. Relaxation in the cabotage law is the third, and most important, pre-condition for operating ICTT, according to Mr Singh. This means permitting foreign lines to
5 and makes a mockery of the prolonged process of project bidding by private players as set by the Government. If the Government is giving some concessions or is relaxing certain conditions such measures should have been made available to other project developers as well”. The demand for cabotage relaxation by DP World and the move by the Shipping Ministry to grant it has now developed into a bitter national debate thanks to the numerous allegations of political and bureaucratic corruption in Delhi.
a non-starter operate feeder services to and from Vallarpadam. Under the cabotage regulations, foreign flag vessels are currently not allowed to operate along the Indian cost: “We were told it (the relaxation of rules) is coming… But nothing has happened so far”, Mr Singh had complained to the daily’s interviewer. It looks strange that all such conditionalities from a foreign investor are cropping up after several billion rupees were spent from the public exchequer in support of the project. However, little is known about how much money DPW has brought in and how much it has taken away from RGCT operations. Its managerial and technological inputs seem to be next to nothing, if we go by the mess it created in the import and installation of Chinese cranes and related equipment.
being resisted now by Indian shippers. According to a Mumbai-based port consultant quoted by the website of logisticsweek (http://logisticsweek.com/ ocean/2010/07), DP World cannot bring in such conditionalities now. It had participated in the tender for the Vallarpadam project, knowing fully well even the policy of cabotage, which would prevail on the winner of the contract. He had sad: “After winning the contract, if they are asking for concessions and the Government is offering some such freebies, it goes against the very purpose of the Model Concession Agreement (MCA)
In early 2008, PASSLINE had sent a written questionnaire to Mr Suresh Joseph, the then CEO of the ICTT project, to get a brief on the progress of the project. Some of these questions were simply ignored, and response to others came in much late, only in August 2009 (see issue of August 2009). Mr Suresh was confident at that time of commissioning the facility by November 2009, as was scheduled then. He was also confident of handling the social problems arising out of shifting the port operations to Vallarpadam side, and did not bring in any conditionalities like relaxation of the Indian cabotage law, which is
ICTT with its highly computerized container handling and accounting systems may, at best, provide a few hundred jobs, whereas the two
The unimaginative manner in which port-related projects were conceived and RGCTs together implemented by CPT under advice of its global consultants is condemnable. It could engage does not even consult the Kerala Government or the Cochin Corporation bea few thousand. fore launching major projects. CPT had painted a glorious transformation of graphic reshuffle and transformation of Cochin port some two decades ago on port activities, proposed by these corpothe strength of its corporate rate plans, on the lifestyle of plans: “In line with the port delocal communities has been velopment strategies, the imhardly evaluated by CPT, and portant present port activities unlike the good old Bristow (crude and container handling) project, which was delivered will migrate to the Vallarpadam with precision, the ongoing CPT and Puthuvypeen areas, as projects are facing numerous these locations provide the opuncertainties as in the case of timal boundary conditions for ICTT. Corporate plans, drawn Anil Singh further development. The reup two decades ago, have only maining conventional cargo little relevance today. They are seen sumhandling activities (POL, dry bulk, break marily withdrawn even from CPT bulk and other liquid bulk) will be located websites. With the rapid transformation at Willingdon Island and the present liqof the global economy and rapid changes uid jetties. Willingdon Island and the in shipping patterns and technologies, present liquid berths along Ernakulam the concept and desirable patterns of Channel will be upgraded to accommoICTT hubs have undergone fundamendate the remaining conventional cargo tal changes. That is why DPW wants to handling activities and to meet the future wriggle out of its contractual obligations requirements for efficient cargo handling. for organizing the Vallarpadam ICTT in The facilities are being upgraded through competition with nearby Colombo. The modernization of Mattancherry Berth, much-publicized Vallarpadam ICTT, in all providing new 110-KV power supply, new probability, is a still-born child, and the trucking terminal and provision of addistruggles to resurrect it make tion of new cargo handling very little sense. The best equipment. A business district course for Kerala now is to forat the southern end of get about the project and make Willingdon Island is planned. the best use of the transport This will accommodate wareand other infrastructure, which house and office activities was built in the name of supwhich is expected to enlarge porting it. In fact, the ICTT facilas the area will be a supply ity is meant only for transshipchain nodal point of the future.” Suresh Joseph ment of containers from one (quote from an earlier CPT ship to another, bypassing custom forwebsite and reviewed in this column in malities. It needs no external transportaJuly 2009). tion whatsoever and was conceived as a The impact of such massive geo- facility for improving the turnaround time and profitability of the so-called mainline or mother ships. If mother ship visits are rendered costly because of heavy maintenance dredging, Cochin port should learn to survive with smaller vessels, as now planned by DP World, and explained by its Indian CEO. We really do not need DPW for this, for CPT has been operating RGCT for several years, much before they had come in. CPT could operate two RGCTs, one on the Willingdon Island side and the other on the Vallarpadam side after paying up whatever compensation that is due for DP World, in accordance with international law. ICTT with its highly computerized container handling and accounting systems may, at best, provide a few hundred jobs, whereas the two RGCTs together could engage a few thousand.
PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
THE MEDIA
6
New players in race to corner glory By Antony Ooden
T
Ultimately, to succeed in the field, newspapers and channels need to deliver something that is distinctive. People will pay for news and views if they think they have value. The media should focus relentlessly on that.
he fourth estate is getting crowded with new players in both the print and electronic media set to enter the scene. It is heard on the grapevine that Mumbai-based English daily Times of India is setting up its unit in Kochi in a tie-up with leading Malayalam daily Mathrubhumi. Moreover, the Deccan Chronicle of Hyderabad is likely to launch its Kerala edition in a couple of months, initially from Chennai and later from Kochi. A few months ago a Gulf-returned Malayalee scribe had launched City Chronicle, an English tabloid (morninger), in collaboration with some entrepreneurs in Thrissur. He had intended it to be circulated in Thrissur district only, but is now planning a Kochi edition too. Rumours of film director Priyadarshan planning a newspaper have been doing the rounds for a while. Some people also say that the son of an eminent entrepreneur is mulling a vernacular daily from Kochi and another industrialist’s son is following suit. In the electronic arena, seven Malayalam TV channels are going to hog the limelight. Prominent among them is the channel of Nikesh, son of CMP leader M V Raghavan. Another entrant is K Muraleedharan, son of the late Congress leader K Karunakaran, who is busy with his channel’s work. Some leading newspapers, the Mathrubhumi, the Kerala Kaumudi, and some NRK industrialists are also said to be launching their TV channels in Malayalam. The
morningers, Thozhilali, Malabar Mail, Kerala Times, The Indian Communicator (English) and Sadvartha (Malayalam) may not have faded from Malayalees’ memory. Whatever it is, the demand for scribes and allied staff is going up and availability and suitability is coming down.
‘Employment-generating’ What will be the repercussions if so many newspapers and channels appear on the scene? Can such a tiny State accommodate these many? Mr M K Das, eminent jourM K Das nalist and former Editor (Kerala) of The New Indian Express, says the immediate result will be that it will create a lot of employment opportunities. He asserts that there is space for new dailies and channels because most of them will spring from Kochi and will focus on it. Kochi, he says, has a lot of floating population, and numerous industrial and educational projects are coming up here. Of Kerala’s 34 million people the percentage of English-knowing and reading people is between 20% and 30%. And this percentage is going up with the new generation choosing studies in the English medium and many English training institutions coming up. So we can see a society of English-speaking people within five years. The two existing English dailies
distribution. Manual labour is getting scarce for the job. For morningers it is the early bird that catches the worm. This is difficult to come by. The paper loses its value if it reaches the reader late. There are competitors too to grab the market. Says Mr Das: “As time passes doorstep deliveries will become a thing of the past. We have to get accustomed to a system where copies of newspapers/ publications will be piled at a single point and readers will have to reach there and get a copy manually or from the vending machine by inserting or dropping coins/ currencies as in Western countries”.
' Professionalism and content matter' Journalist, columnist and writer K M Roy has a very optimistic view of the media world and says: “There is plenty of scope for the media, print or visual, to set up K M Roy shop provided they have professional content that can inspire the readers/viewers with human interest stories and professional management”. He talks about the pleasure he derived from reading the Chicago Tribune. “Its content was so interesting that I read 16 pages at a stretch,” he says. About the cause of the closure of some dailies in Kochi he says that it was due to the lack of professional and experienced management. Most of the media revenues come from advertising and ads are necessary for stability and survival, says Mr Roy. “With liberalization the business community can set apart a major portion of profits for ads. For example, a jeweller who earns a profit of Rs 6 lakh by selling 6 kg of gold spends threefourths of his profit on publicity. Unless he advertises his products or services he cannot grab market share. A new media venture will certainly get ad support,” he says.
Madhyamam daily has also started its drive for recruitment for its channel. Sources say all these channels are endorsed by NRKs. The Malayala Manorama is going ahead with its entertainment channel. While the hype is on the upcoming dailies there is the sad story of those which had started with much fanfare having had to fold up. The disappearance of Pioneer (English morninger), Express (Malayalam), Tetco Times and Kerala Mid-Day Times (Malayalam eveningers) is not too long to be forgotten. The fate of the Catholic community-launched PASSLINE
in the State command a circulation of just 2.5 lakh. “There is no doubt therefore that more English dailies can survive here”. The Times-Mathrubhumi collaboration will also boost the advertisement revenues of both. The English daily’s advertisement charges and subscription rates are lower and its product bulkier than those of other English morningers. The technological advancement in the field has made publication of newspapers and magazines easier. Manpower requirement is also not huge. But the difficulty is with regard to circulation/
February 28 - March 31, 2011
Mr Roy also agrees that distribution is a problem. There is shortage of people, especially for supplying morningers. “But even a housewife can supply an eveninger after completing her morning chores and earn a good commission”, he says. He says today’s publications are bulky and are relatively cheap. The majority of Keralites can afford two dailies since they earn good remunerations”, he says. According to Mr Roy, chances of English dailies coming up and succeeding are greater because most youngsters To page 7
DEVELOPMENT
7
The ‘new crisis’ on our farms W By R Hali
Walk through the lanes of our rural areas. Nobody is using a fork or pickaxe to dig the earth to plant a few tapioca cuttings and sow a few vegetable seeds.
hen I read the article, ‘The Kerala Paradox: Growth v Income’, in the January 2011 issue of PASSLINE, I thought I should share my views on the subject with the readers of the magazine. As a close observer of the economic scene in Kerala, I think I am entitled to this privilege though I admit that I am no economic expert. Here is what I have to say. Kerala’s economic growth is really linked in an unusual style with its social development efforts and its close association under international trade and cultural exchanges of a different kind, and needs a new wave of ‘awareness change’. Indian accomplishment since Independence in the universal all-round economic development efforts is not very rosy. No State in the country can even think of such a uniform scale of economic, cultural and social progress as Kerala could achieve irrespective of the colour of flag that has ruled the political fortune of the State from time to time. The degree of variation in the lifestyles and comforts enjoyed by the rich and the poor is still astonishing in all Indian States when compared with the Kerala
situation. Perhaps the reaction of the public to various controversies may look like vulgar intolerance but quite often it acts like a ‘check master’ preventing several from committing similar situations causing huge embarrassments. The hunger for land, the emergence of the land mafia etc may be products of unchecked flow of unaccounted money, running with the blessings of political parties and clever support of not only service personnel but also lawmakers and custodians of law. A more liberalized approach would have improved the information technology (IT) sector but a more liberalized set-up may also create the Andhra tragedies. In a State committed to the public sector, it will be a difficult task to ‘swim’ against the national policy where gates are wide open for privatization happening now providing unimaginative growth to a handful of industrial titans. Who knows what sort of price we will have to pay for it in the future. People get shocked when Spectrum 2 scandals come to the notice of a government only when the CAG report is placed before Parliament. Everyone knows that
the CAG gives more than three opportunities for clarification and each time all communication directly comes to the Secretary of the department! So a social control system is an unavoidable necessity to check the growth of vital ‘cashdrenched’ sectors to avoid such ‘titanic’ scandals. This is no justifier for our comparatively weak performance in the IT, road development and infrastructure development sectors. In agriculture, the Kerala situation is very different. A farm economy built on cash crop strength is facing a ‘new crisis’ which should be discussed and analysed by economists, politicians, social scientists, agronomists and fortune-bidding trade and trade union leaders. Tapioca costs Rs 22 a kg while one coconut is fetching Rs 15 to Rs 18. Prices of vegetables ranging from unripe jack to red tomato are so fluctuating that the traders ‘put’ prices on customers after ‘reading’ their eyes and the ‘need needle’. But walk through the lanes of our rural areas. Nobody is using a fork or pickaxe to dig the earth to plant a few tapioca cuttings and sow a few vegetable seeds. Why?
Attractive prices are no more a charm or inspiration to ‘soil the hands’ of Kerala’s rural population. It is easier to convince the urbanites on health hazards of pesticide-coated vegetables and fruits than motivating the countryside to produce some vegetables and bananas in their backyards. The only crop that gets a royal treatment in costal areas and rice fields is rubber. The late M K K Nair of FACT had predicted that Keralam was turning into ‘Rubberalam’. With the emergence of the ‘money order revolution’ and its growth to ‘transfer money exchanges’ outnumbering the once-popular ‘pan shops’ all over Kerala it is not easy to lure the rural folks to till the land and soil their hands to welcome the age-old profession, ie farming. Perhaps a situation in the future when note bundles cannot deliver agri-commodities to prepare food may create a new wave of attitudinal change among Keralites. Let us hope that there will be a big immediate change too. But where is the political will for this? You have to create this as no stock exchange handles trade in this novel ‘subject’.
‘Demand for periodicals will rise’ 1,000 crore, of which Rs 600 crore goes to the print and Rs 400 crore to the visual sector. The bulk of the Rs 400 crore is cornered by two or three leading channels. New entrants can thrive because there is good potential for ads from sectors like the retail which are growing fast. ‘In the print media, English language publications will have better chances of survival”, he says.
From page 6
today go for English language-oriented courses. Today’s jobs also require English language skills. “There is plenty of scope for an English eveninger in Kerala. Its absence is a great void,” he says. “There is a great shortage of professional journalists both in English and Malayalam although there are many institutes which train youngsters. Making them professional scribes requires time.”
Publications, even channels, concentrating on niche areas, like shipping, IT, biotechnology, food processing, marine technology, banking and insurance, offering news and views of these sectors will certainly appeal to people, he says.
“There is the possibility of periodicals dominating in circulation because they can be kept for future reference. Dailies are for immediate use and are to be thrown away after that,” he says. Novelist and journalist K L Mohana Varma says it is freshers who can excel and survive in any field because they can absorb technological changes fast. It is unpredictable. To make his point clear he narrates the experience of a person who was stunned by a boy repairing his three-month-old cyber K L Mohanavarma system because the little one knew the latest technology. At the same time, says Mr Mohana Varma, the advances in technology and the emergence of electronic communication may bring down the demand for dailies and increase that for periodicals because the latter
‘Survival of the fittest’ can be used for future reference. The emphasis on language will also diminish but content will have the upper hand. Novelist Steig Larsson had predicted in 2003 that it was wrong to say that the demand for manpower would go down with the advent of the computer. “As he said, job prospects have increased manifold since,” says Mr Mohana Varma.
‘Niche publications have cope’ Another prominent journalist who wants not to be quoted says that the media generates ads worth Rs PASSLINE February 28 - March 31, 2011
A former newspaper owner, who does not want to be identified and whose daily is now defunct, says that there is no more space for new players in the print and electronic media because it is already surplus. Only an entrepreneur with huge resources and who can compete with frontline players can survive in the field, he says. Ads are the backbone of the media. Only topnotch firms can hope to get them. Second-level players can just exist. Those at the bottom level are doomed. Ultimately, to succeed in the field, newspapers and channels need to deliver something that is distinctive. People will pay for news and views if they think they have value. The media should focus relentlessly on that.
BUDGET
8
By K P Joseph
I
f there is an international prize for the most optimistic and self-confident Finance Minister in the world, there is no doubt that the Kerala Finance Minister, Dr Thomas Isaac, will easily win it for the budget for 2011-12 that he presented in the State Assembly on February 10. In most countries of the world, government budgets are dangerously out of balance as the governments are sinking in debt and deficit. Finance Ministers everywhere are a very worried lot, as they try to increase taxes and cut spending amid growing public protests. But Dr Thomas Isaac was all smiles and the very picture of happiness when he read out his long budget speech. He has not raised any tax and has proposed lavish spending to help all sections of the people. While other countries are busy freezing the salary of government employees, the Kerala Finance Minister has generously increased salaries. There was no overdraft or treasury closing during the current year and the large arrears in paying the bills of contractors have been completely cleared. There has been a very impressive increase in the collection of taxes. Budget deficit is under control, he claims. He will be the envy of his counterparts in other countries. The Finance Minister has taken the trouble to present the budget a month earlier than in the previous years, probably to keep the voters happy before the elections, with all the gifts he promises for them. The proverb says that it is the early bird that catches the worm. In the past the Kerala budget used to be among the last to be presented. Is Kerala’s financial position as rosy as Dr Thomas Isaac describes it in his budget speech? A look at the budget volume, Budget in Brief 2011-12 tells a very different story and will show that the Minister has been closing his eyes to escape seeing unpleasant things. The fiscal deficit is estimated at Rs 10,641 crore, by far the largest in the history of the State. The per capita public debt is one of the highest among all State governments, in spite of the fact that the per capita tax in Kerala is one of the highest in the whole country. Spending has been dangerously out of control for a long time in the Kerala Government. Fraud, corruption and waste are going up all the time, with the Government blissfully unaware of it.
A budget to win the election? as well as the UDF. The total estimated expenditure in the 2011-12 budget is Rs 49,279 crore. Out of this, Rs 16,326 crore is being spent on salaries of Government employees and Rs 7,311 crore on pensions. This means that 81% of the State’s own revenue is spent on salaries and pensions alone. Add to this another amount of Rs 6,255 crore spent on interest on debt. Not much money is left for spending on public needs. This absurd pattern of spending is very rare among other States and needs early review and corrective measures, which is very unlikely, whether the LDF or the UDF wins the next election. Let us examine what the Government is doing to deal with this problem, of which it does not seem to be sufficiently aware. According to a thick budget volume which runs to over 500 pages that gives details of the staff employed in each department, the total number of Government employees in Kerala (not including public-sector companies and corporations) is 4,99,563 now. It used to be 4,88,691 last year, an increase of 10,872 employees in just one year. Let us take a look at the Finance Department, working directly under the Finance Minister. The number of Additional and Joint Secretaries in the Finance Department is much more than in any other finance department in any State government and is being increased. Or take the Kerala Public Service Commission. It has 19 members. No other State Public Service Commission in the country, including much larger States like Uttar Pradesh or Maharashtra, has so many members as Kerala. Even the Union Public Service Commission has fewer members. The number of staff in the Kerala Public Service Commission has increased by 102 in one year; from 1,520 to 1,622. Many people had high hopes that Dr Thomas Isaac, with his academic background, exposure to the outside world and experience in chairing the Public Accounts Committee was in an ideal position when he became the Finance Minister to bring order into the chaotic Government finances. But he has not been able to do anything much as will be too evident from his latest budget. Strangely enough, he has been
on the eve of the election, it will be unrealistic to expect the Finance Minister to enforce better financial control.
Thomas Isaac even more reckless in spending public money than some of his predecessors. He has been making tall promises in his budgets, without any effective action to implement them. In his budget speech last year he announced the start of the Rapid Rail Corridor project, with an estimated investment of Rs 50,000 crore for
The Finance Minister has taken the trouble to present the budget a month earlier than in the previous years, probably to keep the voters happy before the elections, with all the gifts he promises for them. The proverb says that it is the early bird that catches the worm. In the past the Kerala budget used to be among the last to be presented. which he said a joint venture company would be set up in 2010. What has happened? We are not told. There is no mention of it in this year’s budget speech. A lot of space in the budget speech this year has been taken up for announcing the Comprehensive Road Renovation Project which is estimated to cost Rs 40,000 crore. Will it fare any better than the Rail Corridor Project? Like a duck laying a lot of eggs without trying to hatch them, Dr Thomas Isaac is fond of announcing several new projects without taking any trouble to check the progress in implementing them. But
The public will be justified in demanding from the next government that comes to power better value for the tax money it pays. If the Finance Minister spends even half the time he spends on increasing tax collection, to reduce unnecessary spending, the Kerala Government finances will be in for a better shape. A careful examination of the Deposit, Loans and Advances, Suspense and Remittances section of the Public Account Section of the Government accounts by a small team of technically qualified people will help to locate very large amounts that can be made use of by the Government. There are large amounts of advances drawn for different purposes for which detailed bills have not been submitted for years. It is possible to recover much money if detailed accounts are called for early. The Kerala Government had accepted the recommendations of the Asian Development Bank about the budget timetable and related matters. But these have not been implemented. This has to be looked into. Whichever party comes to power after the next election has to appoint a committee of experts and get its suggestions to improve budgeting and financial control, as early as possible. There is little sense in producing one dream budget after another without making any attempt to improve financial management which is disastrous now. The recommendations made in the reports of two commissions to deal with the problems in the past have not been implemented. One commission was appointed by the LDF Government and the other by the UDF. It is the taxpayer who is paying for all this. It is time that the media took up the matter in earnest. It can be said that the other countries can follow the magic of the Kerala Finance Minister in reducing the deficit after increasing spending and avoiding increasing taxes. This can be outsourced and will certainly bring enormous amounts of money to the Kerala Government as Finance Ministers from across the world line up for getting the advice of the Kerala Finance Department to solve budget problems. If this happens, the Kerala budget deficit will be wiped out in less than an hour. Meanwhile like a young man trying to please the girl he loves and make her agree to marry him by presenting her with a big bouquet of flowers, the Finance Minister is trying to please the voter with his dream budget. Will he succeed? Let us wait and see.
Cost and time overruns on a frightening scale occur in the completion of major projects. There is an irrigation project that has been under execution for half a century, which has not yet been completed. A whole volume can be written about the numerous ways in which public money is being wasted by the Government, both during the times of the LDF
(The author is a former AccountantGeneral of Kerala) PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
BUSINESS
9
By Subin Mananthavady
Acting requires only talent; business needs money too. Since several film actors are flush with money, they try their hand at business. Some Malayalam actors have already proved or are proving that they have the ability to succeed in business too as they have proved in filmdom.
D
o film actors make the best, or at least good, businessmen? It seems some of them do (not the business of acting, really). But the history of the entertainment industry or, rather, the film industry, shows that not many actors had business in their veins. Even if they had, they didn’t venture into it. They most often remained actors and mere actors, some of them of course great ones. The film industry which had a very modest beginning in the very first year of the 20th century, 1900, has evolved into a full-blown industrial complex today. It, however, is not like many other industries, say the auto, food or housing industries, which provide necessities. It simply promises, yes invariably only Mohanlal promises, that for a given fee it will supply entertainment. That in most cases ‘entertainment’ turns out to be ‘disappointment’ is another matter. There are certain ingredients that make viewers enjoy a film and make it earn cash. Actors know this best of all. Actors also know that acting is not for all time. There is a ‘season’ for it. One cannot go on acting, even if one wishes to do so, for reasons known to them, the film industry and viewers. So, many of them turn to other avocations. Acting requires only talent, business needs money too. Since several of them are flush with money, they try their hand at business. Some Malayalam actors, like the following, have already proved or are proving that they have the ability to succeed in business too as they have proved in filmdom.
recently opened a production house called Playhouse. Mohanlal has successfully established himself in the seafood, curry powder, hospitality, film, studio and multiplex construction businesses. His business ventures include Vismaya Max, a film post-production studio, and the College for Dubbing Artists at the Kinfra Film and Video Park, Thiruvananthapuram. He is a Director of Uni Royal Marine Exports, a Kozhikode-based major seafood export company. He has also stakes in Hedge Equities, the share broking firm in Kochi. His chain of hotels extends to foreign countries too. He fully owns Travancore Court, a three-star hotel in Kochi, and Harbour Market, a restaurant in Bangalore. The restaurant chain he owns in Dubai is called Mohanlal’s Taste Buds, the name his curry powder business, which has a range of spices, masalas and pickles, bears. His film production company is Pranavam Arts and distribution wing Pranavam Film Distribution Company. Max Lab Entertainments also focuses on film distribution and production. Kunchacko Boban is the Managing Director of Dubex, a Vyttila (Kochi)-based construction and real estate firm set up by a group of NRI businessmen. It has a total staff of 80. “My entry into realty was purely serendipitous, like most other things which have happened in my life”, he says.
Jayasoorya’s wife Saritha is a biotechnology degree holder and she did not like to be confined in her house. Besides, their son Advaith is attending Mammootty school. But they recognized that biotechnology degree holders are in demand only outside Kerala. If Saritha went out of the State and with Jayasoorya always busy with his shooting schedules, things at home would go out of control. So they planned to start some business. “We were confused about what to choose. Later we thought of a textile shop. I have some costume sense and a craze for dresses. Thus we started ‘Dejavu’ “, says Jayasoorya. Located at PanampIlly Nagar, Kochi, Dejavu sells churidars, kurtas, bags, accessories etc. Saritha manages everything, but during shooting breaks Jayasoorya joins her.
Padmanabhan Pillai was a poor businessman. Though Kunchacko Boban arrived he started several busiin Kochi from Alappuzha after nesses—rice mill, china clay his marriage to Priya with the Lal factory, workshop—none was intention of doing an MBA a success. His son Dileep, course and also scouting for a property to settle. That was the beginning of his Gopalakrishnan in real life, grew up business venture. “I had met a lot of bro- watching his father’s hardships and kers for a rented house in Kochi. wished to become a businessman, a That was when the idea of real successful one at that. Though he beestate development struck me. came a part of the Malayalam film indusMoreover passing the MBA ex- try, he later fulfilled his dream. The first amination seemed difficult. So he started was the restaurant busiI dropped it and decided to fo- ness—two restaurants in the D-lips cus on the real estate busi- chain in Kochi. Then came ‘Twenty 20 – ness. In films I have done sev- the Food Mall’ and ‘Mango Tree’.
One of Mollywood’s acting moguls, Mohanlal, who is 30 years old in film acting, has been busy for some years widening his business horizons too. He has opened hotels and restaurants in eral stereotype characters. They Dubai, Kochi and Bangalore. haven’t attracted much attenDileep, a popular actor, has Dileep tion. I have now an alternative a share of the pie in some ventures: he runs restaurants and owns career. It was K T Augustine, a close fama houseboat in Alappuzha. He is also a ily friend in Dubai, who made the sugsuccessful producer of films. Up-and- gestion and later insisted that I do somecoming Jayasurya has a textile shop, thing else. He suggested the villa project. which is run by his wife. Kunchacko My wife, who is a civil engineer, also Boban, the ‘chocolate’ hero, has his real helped”, says Kunchacko Boban. estate business. Actor and director Lal “We have a villa project near the owns a leading film studio in Kochi. Chalakudy river. Most of the 65 villas there Young Prithviraj, who has a large follow- have been sold out. Another project ing among youngsters, has turned pro- nearby with 45 villas is nearing compleducer. Mammootty, the other leading tion. Twenty of these have already been name in Malayalam after Mohanlal, has booked,” he says. Did his film star imPASSLINE
age, the famous Udaya Studio label and the name ‘Kunchacko’ help him in his business? Yes, he says. “My business also helps me a lot in selecting roles. With an alternative source of income an actor is not under duress to don any and every role that comes his way”, he says.
February 28 - March 31, 2011
‘Twenty 20’, with a western ambience, at the Padma theatre complex on M G Road starts buzzing with activity from 11 am and is open till 12 midnight. The dishes range from salads, wraps, short bites and sandwiches to burgers and hot chocolates. The restaurant also offers Chinese dishes. Dileep has a restaurant, ‘Mango Tree’, at the ancestral house of singer Yesudas in Fort Kochi. Yesudas’s family had sold the house years ago. The name ‘Mango Tree’ was chosen in memory of Yesudas’s mother Elizabath who had To page 10
PRODUCT & SERVICE
10
Akshay Agarwal and Aravindakshan Nair briefing the Press Health Minister P K Sreemathi Teacher inaugrating Dhathri Ayurveda Kendra. Dr S Sajikumar, Chief Physician and Managing Director, Dhathri Ayurveda Kendra, Mr Geojy Kurikott, Councillor, Palarivattom, and Ms Minimol, Councillor, Mamangalam, are also seen.
Dhathri opens speciality hospital in Kochi D
hathri Ayurveda Kendra, the health and wellness arm of Dhathri, leading ayurvedic FMCG company, has opened its latest Ayurvedic Speciality Treatment Hospital in Kochi. The 60bedded hospital located at P J Antony Road, Palarivattom, was inaugurated by Health Minister P K Srimathi Teacher the other day. This is the third hospital of the company in Kerala, the first one being at Velanchira, Kayamkulam, which was established in 1993 and the other at Guruvayur. The hospital will provide a wide range of treatments for psoriasis, arthritis, joint disorders, neck and spine, rheumatic problems (‘marma’) and hair- and skin-related ailments. Specialized treatments for diabetes, hypertension, migraine, sports-related injuries and posture issues will also be available. “Sending expert ayurvedic doctors to foreign countries will boost the potentiality of ayurvedic treatments in foreign countries also,” the Minister suggested. “We were keen to set up the hospital in the heart of the city as there is no ayurvedic speciality hospital in Kochi which can provide treatments for such a wide range of ailments”,
Dr S Sajikumar, Managing Director of Dhathri Ayurveda Kendra, said. “Moreover we have found that people are turning increasingly to ayurveda for treatments of the above-mentioned diseases for long-lasting results which has been our area of speciality for years.” “We bring with us a tradition of 300 years in ayurvedic treatment for various ailments and have been able to carve a niche for ourselves in the wellness and health segment”, Mr Rajeshkumar, DGM, Service Division, said. “With the setting up of this hospital we can cater to a wider number of people and also create better awareness about the benefits of ayurveda in the health segment.” Patients will be treated under the expert counselling and supervision of well-trained ayurveda doctors and therapists. Medicines are formulated from the extracts of authentic herbs mentioned in the ayurvedic texts and are manufactured in the units of Dhathri Ayurveda in Kayamkulam and Nellad, Muvattupuzha. The hospital will also provide special treatment packages for IT and bank professionals and senior citizens.
Acumen launches PMS K
ochi-based financial services company Acumen has launched portfolio management services (PMS). Open to individuals, companies and NRIs, the services, according to the company, will help investors reap the gains and attractive returns that the capital markets offer over long terms. Capital markets give the best returns over longer periods. For the last few years, however, the markets have been fluctuating wildly. This often results in the investor’s getting panicky, taking wrong investment decisions or keeping away. PMS relieves investors of the need to spend time on studying and tracking the markets and yet reaping the higher returns that equities typically offer since market experts do it for them. “A key feature in our PMS services will be the process of investments, whereby all investment decisions will be taken by a panel of investment experts having decades of experience in the capital markets. Every research idea generated has to pass through certain prefixed parameters to qualify for investments. Checks and processes like these will bring in a margin of safety to the portfolio,” says Mr Akshay Agarwal, Managing Director, Acumen Group. The company is also offering various options to investors based on their risk profile and preferences. Besides regular themes, the Acumen PMS will offer specialized themes like ‘Shariah
portfolio’ that invests in Shariah-compliant companies, ‘contrarian portfolio’ that invests in fundamentally strong but beaten-down companies, ‘global Indian theme’ investing in Indian companies having global aspirations and ‘next-generation Theme’, which focuses on companies with high promoter stakes on the cusp of any major change. The minimum investment starts at Rs 5,00,000 and varies from theme to theme. “India is the second fastest-growing economy in the world, and the best way to share the growth is to invest in its capital markets. Besides, the recent correction in the markets has made valuations attractive and the markets offer very good investment opportunities for capital appreciation,” says Mr P R Aravindakshan Nair, Director of the company. The Acumen Group offers financial services form over 600 locations in the country. Mr George Mampilly, CEO, feels the recent corrections in the markets have triggered a wave of panic in the broking fraternity. But there is a silver lining: such times are generally the best times to expand operations and offer better services” Besides Mr Akshay Agarwal, Mr Aravindakshan Nair and Mr George Mampilly, the recent meeting announcing the PMS launch was attended by Mr Akhilesh Agarwal, Director, Mr Suraj Nair, Vice-President-PMS, and Mr Sanil Kumar, Head, PR & Training.
Some also enter film production field house’ will produce a film same compound. DLS, jointly district some time ago jointly with soon. some eminent eye surgeons. Dr started with actors Suresh planted a mango tree at the P Sasikumar, Dr J K Reddy and Gopi and Dileep, undertakes Mammootty is also the courtyard of the house. Suraj, post-production works of com- Dr Anoop Chirayath are the eye Chairman of Malayalam husband of Dileep’s sister mercial films. “With new equip- surgeons who conceived the Communications, which Sarojani, handles the restaument and studios, Mollywood project. And Lal has been the runs the Malayalam chanrant business. Dileep also will prove self-sufficient in film- Kerala agent of Qube digital nels Kairali TV, People TV owns a house boat in making technologies within a screening for the last four years. and We TV. Alappuzha and a production short time. Until a few years Mammootty’s ‘Playhouse’ house named ‘Grand ProAfter completing more ago we had to depend on operates from Kochi with producduction’. He has produced Kunchacko Boban than 50 films in three South Chennai for post-production tion controller Anto Joseph at the Prithviraj seven films under this banIndian languages Prithviraj is turning proworks. With the arrival of these helm of affairs. “The firm will ducer. He entered the film production field ner. studios we can do the works also produce and stage dra- with a new banner named ‘August Cinema’ Besides being a director, script writer, in Kerala and save money”, mas apart from distributing in partnership with Santhosh Sivan and actor, producer and film distributor, Lal is says Lal. “Editing, dubbing, films”, says Mammootty. ‘Play- Shaji Natesan. Prithvi’s debut production a good businessman too. He became a sound effects, graphics work, house’ will also distribute venture will be cinematographer turnedproducer and distributor in the mid-1990s songs recording, final mixfilms featuring other heroes. filmmaker Santhosh Sivan’s Urumi, in and established a film production and ing—every facility is available “It will open up new opportu- which Prithviraj himself will don the lead distribution company named Lal Crehere”. Lal’s wife Nancy runs nities for budding talents in the role. A multilingual, Urumi is produced siations. Apart from this Lal owns a leadthe studios. field of film and drama”, says multaneously in Tamil, Hindi, English and ing film studio ‘Lal Media’ at Kakkanad, the actor. The new company Malayalam. “August Cinema will produce Lal also started ‘I Vision’, Kochi, which was started eight years ago. started its operations by dis- good films and our aim is to bring Malayalam eye hospital, at Three years ago he started another stu- an Jayasurya tributing some films. ‘Play- films into the global scene”, says Prithviraj. dio, ‘DLS Studio’. Both studios are in the Koorkkanchery in Thrissur From page 9
PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
PERSONALITY
11
wise nobody can survive in this field and maintain quality”, says Sunil. Sunil has also ventured into TV channel production. Some of his productions are Crime File, on Surya, and Cinema Cinema, Chiriyo Chiri and Thalalayam, on Doordarshan. He is now busy with a television programme on travel, Tours and Travels.
Passline News Service
H
is ambition was to become a customs officer. But he strayed into the field of advertisement because of his expertise and skills he attained later. Sunil Cathay, Managing Director of Cathay Marketing and Advertising Company based in Kochi’s Panampilly Nagar, has been very active for more than 16 years in Kerala’s advertising field. Apart from Cathay, Sunil owns another advertising firm, Black Coffee. Its operations are mainly based in Kochi and Chennai. A native of Kochi, Sunil is the son of the late Paulose and Rosy. “My father was a well-known rice merchant in Mattancherry. I learnt my lessons in business from my father. Very harsh with his children, father, however, was an avid reader. He also forced me to read books. Gradually I started to write poems. I used to send these to magazines and newspapers. Some of them also got published. While I was at school, I used to publish handwritten magazines with the help of friends. At the same time I started to draw pictures too. Surely, these skills helped me a lot in my subsequent career”, Sunil reminisces. A graduate in history from a Bangalore college, Sunil had his schooling at Kochi and Ooty. “I got a part-time job
when I was in my seventh standard. This was mostly during the vacation. I continued this practice while in college also,” he says. After graduation, Sunil joined an advertising firm of Bangalore as a business executive. “I learnt my basics there,” he says. He then worked with two other firms for short periods and took over charge of the Kerala operations of a national agency, The Force Advertising Agency, of Bangalore. After a two-and-a-half-year stint there, Sunil started Vayudooth Travels and Advertisement along with a friend, Sani Davis, in Panampilly Nagar. After six months Sani left him when he got an offer from Dubai. Sunil renamed the firm Cathay Advertising Company. Black Coffee was started afterwards. Sunil’s clients include Double Horse, Thomson Pipes, Pan America Shirts and Trousers, Yavonne Churidar, Paragon Steel, Kairali Steel, Ogun TMT, MCR, Dream World Water Park, Ramtheerth Oil, Videon Food Products, Manjusree Tea and Sobha Textiles, Coimbatore. “Competition in creativity is good. But the current unhealthy competition relating to commission among advertising agencies is harmful to the sector in Kerala. Existence here is becoming difficult because of this. So unity among ad agencies is very important. Other-
PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
Sunil’s wife Reshma is a homemaker. The couple have two children, Hrithik and Henrik. Hrithik has acted in 16 ad films including those for Nellara jams, Nenmany rice, Colombo umbrellas, Everlast roofings and the Double Horse brand. Henrik has also acted in an ad for Scot TMT.
12
HEALTH
conception programmes like IVF and ICSI. Nalla G Palaniswami
K
ovai Medical Center and Hospital (KMCH), started in June 1990, is a 500bedded multidisciplinary super speciality hospital, near Coimbatore airport on National Highway 47, Peelamedu (Coimbatore-14).
holmium laser for spine and prostate surgeries, video endoscope, operating microscope, auto analyser, computerassisted navigation for hip and knee replacements, ESWL for the removal of urinary stones etc.
KMCH is equipped with state-of-theart medical equipment such as 3T MRI, 64 slice volume CT scanner, endo-bronchial ultrasound (EBUS), 4D ultrasound scanner, flat panel cath lab, cardiac electro-physiology lab, bone mineral densitometer, digital mammography,
The hospital is equipped with 14 operation theatres, and superspeciality procedures like open heart surgeries and other cardiac surgeries, endoscopic spine surgeries, knee and hip replacements, complex brain surgeries, bariatric laparoscopic surgeries and vascular
surgeries are done regularly there. Angiograms, angioplasties and stenting are being done with very high success rates. The Interventional Radiology Department at KMCH is one of the few centres in the country where advanced procedures for the brain have been performed for decades, including coiling of aneurysms, embolization of AVMS and management of strokes. The state-of-the–art fertility centre at KMCH is well equipped to do assisted
(From left to right) West Bengal Governor M K Narayanan, KMA Secretary Premchand and V-Guard team members Praveen V K, Vinay Suthan, Salini John and John Mathew Sebastian.
‘Young Managers Contest-2011’ award for V-Guard team V
-Guard bagged the first position in the ‘Young Managers Contest2011’ conducted by the Kerala Management Association in connection with the management week celebrations held in Kochi recently. Mr M K Narayanan, West Bengal Governor, presented the KMA-OEN trophy and cash award of Rs 25,000 to the V-Guard team. Among the 22 teams which participated in the contest, 11 were selected for last presentation. PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
Cosmetic surgery: Modern instruments of fine 2mm and 3mm cannulaes, especially zirconium-coated cell-friendly cannulaes, cause less damage to the soft tissue, provide good protection for the neurovascular bundles, and enable a cosmetic surgeon to perform pin-hole surgery—scarless breast reduction both in male and female. Beauty: ‘Breast aesthetic augmentation by autologous tissue” is a refined procedure by utilization of such fine instrumentations as mentioned afore. Scarless breast augmentation and breast reductions are carried out regularly at the KMCH Cosmetic Surgery Department. Dr Nalla G Palaniswami is the Chairman and the Managing Director of the hospital.
13
THE ENVIRONMENT
By K Vijayachandran
T
he findings and recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are being widely challenged and disputed today. It had started soon after the publication of its voluminous reports with a few sceptics questioning the authenticity of its data base as well as the science and scientific models used for forecasting. IPCC was established in 1988 under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) for assessing the scientific, technical and socioeconomic information relevant to the understanding of the risk of human-induced climate change. It does not, by itself, carry out new research nor does it monitor climate-related data.
The controversy over climate change findings and related recommendations of IPCC had developed into a conflict between believers and sceptics by the time of the Copenhagen Conference of 2009 (COP-15) on the Kyoto Protocol. The 800-page comprehensive report of NIPCC, claimed to be a product of several years of research by more than three dozen scientists, along with several other published and unpublished studies and reports, served as powerful campaign material by the rapidly swelling ranks of the climate sceptics. Its assessments are mainly based on published and peer-reviewed scientific and technical literature. The goal of these assessments was to inform international policymakers and negotiators on climate-related issues. The Kyoto Protocol (1997) and other treaties signed under the UN Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) were based on the findings and recommendations of this expert body, which is now accused of data manipulation and fraudulent practices in
Conflicting perceptions of IPCC and NIPCC scientific research. The Internet has turned immensely rich in the so-called Climate-Gate literature. A comprehensive alternative report, co-authored by several reputed scientists and titled Climate Change Reconsidered, was published in August last year by the so-called NIPCC or Non-governmental International Panel on Climate Change (see the site www.nipcc.org). This report quotes the opinions of several experts drawn from diverse disciplines and questions the findings and recommendations given in the IPCC reports: * Prof. Freeman Dyson, professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton University, one of the world’s most eminent physicists, said the models used to justify global warming alarmism are “full of fudge factors” and “do not even begin (attempt) to describe the real world.” * Dr Zbigniew Jaworowski, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Central Laboratory for Radiological Protection in Warsaw and former Chair of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, a world-renowned expert on the use of ancient ice cores for climate research, said the United Nations “based its global-warming hypothesis on arbitrary assumptions, and these assumptions, it is now clear, are false.” * Dr Richard Lindzen, a professor of meteorology at MIT and member of the National Research Council Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, said the IPCC is “trumpeting catastrophes that couldn’t happen even if the models were right.” * Prof Hendrik Tennekes, Director of Research at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute, said, “There exists no sound theoretical framework for climate predictability studies” used for global warming forecasts. * Dr Richard Tol, Principal Researcher at the Institute for Environmental Studies at Vrije Universiteit and Adjunct ProfesPASSLINE
sor at the Center for Integrated Study of the Human Dimensions of Global Change at Carnegie Mellon University, said the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report is “preposterous ... alarmist and incompetent.” * Dr Antonino Zichichi, Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Bologna, former President of the European Physical Society and one of the world’s foremost physicists, said global warming models are “incoherent and invalid.” In a separate article, Freeman Dyson of Princeton University had written: “I have studied the climate models and I know what they can do. The models solve the equations of fluid dynamics, and they do a very good job of describing the fluid motions of the atmosphere and the oceans. (However) they do a very poor job of describing the clouds, the dust, the chemistry and the biology of fields and farms and forests. They do not even begin to describe the real world that we live in.” The NIPCC report points out that many of the scientists, cited above, had observed that computer models can be ‘tweaked’ to reconstruct climate histories after the fact. But there is no assurance that ‘tweaked’ models will do a better job in forecasting future climates, and indeed points to how unreliable the models are. Individual climate models often have widely differing assumptions about basic climate mechanisms but are then ‘tweaked’ to produce similar forecasts. This is nothing like how real scientific forecasting is done. Kevin Trenberth, a lead author of Chapter 3 of the Working Group I contribution to the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report, replied to some of the scathing criticisms on the blog of the science journal Nature. He argued that “the IPCC does not make forecasts” but “instead proffers ‘what if’ projections of future climate that correspond to certain emissions scenarios,” and then hopes these ‘projections’ will “guide policy- and decision-makers”. He says, “There are no such IPCC predictions, although projec-
February 28 - March 31, 2011
tions given by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are often treated as such.” Several former apologists of the IPCC report now concede that the forecasts in the report were not the outcome of scientific procedures. The NIPCC report has alleged that they were the opinions of scientists transformed by mathematics and obscured by complex writing. “Research on forecasting has shown that experts’ predictions are not useful in situations involving uncertainty and complexity. We have been unable to identify any scientific forecasts of global warming. Claims that the Earth will get warmer have no more credence than saying that it will get colder”. The controversy over climate change findings and related recommendations of IPCC had developed into a conflict between believers and sceptics by the time of the Copenhagen Conference of 2009 (COP-15) on the Kyoto Protocol. The 800-page comprehensive report of NIPCC, claimed to be a product of several years of research by more than three dozen scientists, along with several other published and unpublished studies and reports, served as powerful campaign material by the rapidly swelling ranks of the climate sceptics. It was in this context that the Inter Academy Council (IACwww.interacademycouncil.net), the standing forum of the scientific academies of member countries of the UN, was asked to study and report on the processes and procedures followed by IPCC. This study was jointly commissioned by the Secretary-General of the UN and Chairman of the IPCC in March 2010, and the full report was submitted in October 2010 well before the climate conference of December (COP-16) held in Cancum of Mexico. IAC, while appreciating the efficacy of its highly decentralized style of functioning, had found IPCC wanting on several counts in respect of processes and procedures. Its recommendation regarding forecasting procedures To page 14
14
COMPANIES
FCRI for R&D in fluid flow engineering F
luid Control Research Institute (FCRI) is committed to contributing to the growth of Indian industry and research and development (R&D) in the vistas of fluid flow engineering. Over the past more than two decades, FCRI has extended its services to industries worldwide in advanced flow measurement techniques, calibration and testing and is undertaking/executing sponsored R&D assignments in fluid flow engineering from leading organizations.
ment facilities. FCRI provides: Service to flow product industries; Expertise in third-party auditing of metering skids according to AGA/API/OIML standards; Is a third-party independent evalua-
For undertaking these activities, FCRI is equipped with hi-tech flow measure-
Conducts a postgraduate certificate course in oil and gas engineering for engineering graduates; Undertakes calibration of pressure and temperature transmitters, flow computers, hydrometers, specific gravity transducers etc;
Commissioned during 1989, FCRI, an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, is the first of its kind in South Asia and is dedicated to research and development in fluid flow measurement and control techniques. QR evaluation, certification/testing and calibration of flow engineering products, control devices and related instrumentation systems are carried out with state-of-the-art facilities. Established with techno-economic inputs from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the institute provides advanced facilities for the technological development needs of the flow product industry and serves as a national certifying authority. FCRI regularly undertakes sponsored R&D assignments from public/private industries and conducts relevant training programmes.
Has a customized training programme for specific requirements of the industry as well as induction training programme on flow measurement and control;
Extends services to refineries, power, process industries, defence and flowmeter manufacturers.
tion agency for specialized flow products; Undertakes ‘arbitrations’ related to custody transfer; Provides calibrations of flow products and provers at site; Offers regular national and international training/HRD programme on flow, control and instrumentation;
The following major companies utilize FCRI service: ONGC, IPCL, BPCL, HPCL, IOCL, GAIL, Indraprastha Gas Ltd, Mahanagar Gas Limited, Emerson Process, Endress+ Hauser, Instrumentation Ltd, FMC Sanmar, RIL, BHEL and AUDCO. Various water supply boards have been taking advantage of the high reliability and accuracy of its systems to prove their metering equipment. FCRI has established air flow facilities covering areas related to industrial
gases.The Oil FlowLaboratory was commissioned in 1995. The Water Flow Laboratory has specialized test rigs for the precise calibration of flowmeters, testing of valves, pipe fittings and other flow products. FCRI has been accredited by the National Accreditation Board for esting and calibration Laboratories (NABL) according to ISO/IEC 17025 under the category of ‘mechanical measurement’ also. The Noise and Vibration Laboratory of FCRI is well equipped for in-plant/site studies with state-of-the-art equipment/instruments. The electronic and Instrumentation laboratory has refined instruments which have a high degree of accuracy. The various testing facilities available in the laboratory are impact testing machine, actuator testing facility, facility for testing of safety products and domestic appliances and multiphase facility. The environmental test facility (ETF) at FCRI caters to environmental testing needs for almost all types of manufacturing and R&D industries. FCRI has undertaken projects in the area of software development and has successfully conducted more than 100 national training programmes and 34 international training programmes. It is holding its fourth flotek-g global conference and exhibition 2012, ‘Towards Smarter and Greener Flow Measurement and Control: Oil, Gas, Water’ from January 18-20, 2012, at FCRI, Palakkad.
Restructuring of IPCC recommended From page 13
is self-explanatory: “Quantitative probabilities (as in the likelihood scale) should be used to describe the probability of well-defined outcomes only when there is sufficient evidence. Authors should indicate the basis for assigning a probability to an outcome or event (eg based on measurement, expert judgment and/or model runs)”. IAC has recommended a total restructuring of the IPCC organization in order to improve its accountability and responsiveness to stakeholders. This report served as an eye-opener for all those who were uncritically accepting the findings and recommendations of IPCC. This will lead even to the virtual collapse of the Kyoto Protocol. IPCC is now under organizational compulsions either to wind itself up or to start redoing the climate exercise all over again and right from the scratch. It was even hoped that the massive investment programme for re-equipping the global energy sector, based on IPCC recommendations, would help in easing the global financial crisis. However, even before the Cancum meet, the much-fancied Carbon Credit was being quoted far below its nominal value in the global markets: This climate instrument promoted by the World Bank has proved itself to be a non-starter. And, the global action programme based on the IPCC recommendations is now found to be economically unfeasible. And that was why the Cancum meet turned out to be a fiasco from day one. And the fate of COP-17, planned for November-December of 2011 at Durban of South Africa, is already sealed. Like the global Y2K campaign, that had spent as much as the Second World War, the massive exercise organized under IPCC is also being denounced as a global fraud.
It is quite relevant to mention here that the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared by IPCC and its CoChairman, former US Vice-President Gore and Indian economist Pachouri of Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI). In his thanksgiving speech before the Norwegian Academy, Mr Gore had said: “We, the human species, are confronting a planetary emergency—a threat to the survival of our civilization that is gathering ominous and destructive potential even as we gather here.
Mr Gore went on describing, in his speech, the numerous scary predictions made by IPCC; the melting of North Polar ice cap and the major cities in North and South America, Asia and Australia starving of water and getting submerged by rising sea levels, the rapid destruction of biodiversity etc, etc. All such rhetoric sounds somewhat comical, within less than a decade now, as mankind and the assembly of nations learn to look at the climate issue far more objectively and equipped with more powerful tools and theories. The Economist weekly of December 20, 1997, (cover page) had attempted an inventory of environmental scares and scarcity forecasts of the last two centuries, starting with the best-selling pamphlet of Malthus in 1798, on global population. The Economist makes an opening comment: “Forecasters of scarcity and doom are not only invariably wrong, they think that being wrong proves them right.” Unlike Malthus, forecasters of the 21st century are armed to the teeth, with computing power and their capacity to fudge having increased severalfold!
But there is hopeful news as well: We have the ability to solve this crisis and avoid the worst—though not all— of its consequences, if we act boldly, decisively and quickly... The earth has a fever. And the fever is rising. The experts have told us it is not a passing affliction that will heal by itself. We asked for a second opinion. And a third. And a fourth. And the consistent conclusion, restated with increasing alarm, is that something basic is wrong. We are what is wrong, and we must make it right.” PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
The concluding para of this well-documented Economist article was even more relevant to the contemporary debate on climate change. It points out: “Environmentalists are quick to accuse their opponents in business of having vested interests. But their own incomes, their advancement, their fame and their very existence can depend on supporting the most alarming versions of every environmental scare.” And then quotes H L Mencken: “The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed—and hence clamorous to be led to safety—by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”
PROFILE
15
Wipro, Infosys have Malayali CEOs T
Mr Kurian who hails from Kottayam replaces the country’s third-largest software firm Wipro’s joint CEOs after the company lagged rivals in performance over the past few quarters. Infosys Technologies, India’s second-largest IT firm, was replacing its CEO with Mr Shibulal as part of a regular reshuffle of the top deck. Mr Shibulal is one of Infosys’ founders and belongs to Alappuzha.
he mantle of administration of infor- foster innovation, leadership, teamwork and mation technology giants Wipro and Infosys work values within the organization. has fallen on two Malayalis, Mr T K Kurian On June 22, 2007, Shibu took over from and Mr S D Shibulal, having been appointed Mr Gopalakrishnan as Chief Operating Ofas CEOs, respectively. Mr Kurian who hails ficer and has been serving this role since. from Kottayam replaces the country’s Shibu received a master’s degree third-largest software firm Wipro’s in Physics from the University of joint CEOs after the company lagged Kerala and a MS in Computer Scirivals in performance over the past ence from the University of Boston. few quarters. Infosys Technologies, He is a member of several internaIndia’s second-largest IT firm, was tional forums, like the Seoul Interreplacing its CEO with Mr Shibulal national Business Advisory Counas part of a regular reshuffle of the cil (SIBAC), the International Board top deck. Mr Shibulal is one of T K Kurian of Foundation, Globethics.net; the Infosys’ founders and belongs to Alappuzha. Global Corporate Governance Forum’s PriWipro replaced Mr Girish Paranjpe and Mr Suresh Vaswani as CEOs of the IT business, a move that is aimed at simplifying its organizational structure. The change is believed to have been prompted by the Azim Premji-owned Wipro’s relatively poor performance compared with peers such as TCS, Infosys and Cognizant. Even smaller rivals like iGate have done extraordinarily well in the past several quarters. Mr S Kris Gopalakrishnan, incumbent Infosys CEO, is expected to pass on the baton to the COO, SD Shibulal in April this year. Infosys started following the practice of changing its CEO regularly to give all the founders a shot at running the company. Mr Gpalakrishnan took over from Mr Nandan Nilekani in 2007, who in turn became CEO when Mr N R Narayana Murthy stepped down in 2002.
vate Sector Advisory Group, the International Advisory Board, Boston University and the Metropolitan College Dean’s Advisory Board, Boston University. Mr Kurien is a member of the Wipro Corporate Executive Council. With over 27 years of global diversified experience, including the 10 years he has been with Wipro, he has been instrumental in building and scaling many of Wipro’s businesses successfully. He has a track record for customer centricity, passion for excellence and rigour in execution. He has proven to be a transformational leader and has been instrumental in turning around the various businesses that he has spearheaded within Wipro including the BPO, media, telecom and consulting businesses. Mr Kurian is also credited with building global leadership for some of Wipro’s business units which he led across the world.
Mr Shibulal is also a member of the Board of Directors of Infosys. Shibu, as he is fondly called, has over three decades of IT leadership experience. He has played a pivotal role in the Infosys journey and a seminal role in the evolution of the Global Delivery model which is now the de-facto industry standard for delivery for outsourced IT services. Shibu started his Infosys journey in 1981 by first spearheading its project management, followed by client relationships in North America for a decade. He followed this with a five-year sabbatical with Sun Microsystems between 1991 and 1996, where he was responsible for designing and implementing its first e-commerce application amongst other credible contributions. In 1997, on his return to Infosys, Shibu established and headed the Internet consultancy practice. He moved on to serve several leadership roles at the group level, firstly as the Worldwide Head of Customer Delivery and later as Group Head, Worldwide Sales and Customer Delivery. Over the years, he has been known to PASSLINE
Before taking over the role as CEO of the IT business in February 2011, Mr Kurian was President of Wipro’s recently launched Eco Energy business. In June 2008, he took on the responsibility of heading Wipro’s consulting arm, WCS (Wipro Consulting Services) and spearheaded its growth, establishing it as a distinct offering by Wipro. From 2004 to 2008 he headed Wipro BPO, during which time he turned the busiS D Shibulal ness around to achieve market leadership, best-in-class profitability and revenue growth. He was given the Global BPO Industry Leader Award by IQPC (International Quality and Productivity Center) in 2007 for the exceptional performance of Wipro BPO. In February 2003, he became the Chief Executive of Wipro’s Healthcare and Life Sciences, the new business segment formed in April 2002 to address the market opportunities in healthcare and life science IT. In his early years at Wipro, he started the Telecom Internet service provider business for which he managed to create a significant impact by accelerating revenue growth. Before joining Wipro, he served as the Managing Director of GE X Ray from October 1997 to January 2000 and prior to that was the CFO of GE Medical Systems (South Asia). He is a chartered accountant by qualification.
Medimix founder V P Sidhan passes away Dr V P Sidhan, 80, founder and the chairman of the Medimix Group reached heavenly abode. He hails from an ancient ayurvedic family, Cholayil. Taking the traditional family wisdom found in ancient palm leaf manuscripts, Sidhan enriched it with modern ingredients and production techniques bringing the Medimix soap into the market and made it one of the biggest successes. Beginning on a very modest scale, Medimix later forayed into other areas under that brand name creating new products or introducing sub-brands. After securing his DMS degree from Kilpauk Medical College, Chennai, in 1964, Sidhan joined the Railway as a medical officer. He launched Medimix in 1969. He retired from service in 1989 after putting in 25 years of service. He leaves wife Soubhagya, children, Pradeep, Priya and son –in-law Dr A V Anoop. February 28 - March 31, 2011
BUSINESS & LAW
16
By Bobby John Pulickaparambil
Speeding up commercial disputes settlement T
he major criticism against the Indian legal system is the delay in its adjudication mechanism. “Justice delayed is justice denied”—anybody having firsthand experience with a civil court will readily agree with this maxim. Speedy and efficacious civil dispute resolution mechanism is inevitable for any healthy democratic system. But, unfortunately, our civil dispute resolution mechanism proceeds only at a very low pace, if not at a snail’s pace. Consequently, there is a general feeling that civil court remedy is a time-consuming, expensive and never-ending process.
It is for the policymakers to explore ways to make arbitration more effective and attractive to the business world. Conciliation and mediation are some modes for resolving commercial disputes. They help the parties to reach an amicable settlement. Though the apex court has stressed the need for conciliation and mediation, these are yet to emerge as a mainstream mode.
ing and amending the law relating to domestic arbitration, international commercial arbitration and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. The Act is drafted in tune with the model law of international commercial arbitration 1985 adopted by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law. The Arbitration Act 1996 strives to curtail the scope of court intervention during the arbitral proceedings. The new Act restricts the grounds under which an arbitration award can be
solving commercial disputes. Lack of professionally trained and skilled mediators may be one of the reasons for this. Commercial disputes stand on a different footing from other civil disputes. The very nature of such deputes warrants speedy adjudication. Ordinary civil courts, which are flooded with large numbers of cases, cannot give priority to commercial disputes and adjudicate them in a time-bound manner. The concept of ‘commercial courts’ was successfully
challenged. The role of institutional arbitration was recognized. Another feature is the freedom given to the parties to choose the law applicable, even if arbitration is held in India. The scope of procedural objection was considerably reduced. However, the 1996 Act also failed to deliver the desired result. Despite the provisions in the Act to restrict court interventions and other dilatory tactics, it is not uncommon that the interested parties protracted the arbitration proceedings. It is for the policymakers to ponder the subject and find out some ways to make arbitration more effective and attractive to the business world. Conciliation and mediation are other modes for resolving commercial disputes. These are methods that help the parties to reach an amicable settlement of the dispute. Though the apex court has time and again stressed the need for conciliation and mediation, these methods are yet to emerge as a mainstream mode of re-
experimented in some countries. These are courts exclusively designed to adjudicate commercial disputes. The presiding officers of such courts will have special knowledge and expertise in commercial law and connected matters. Such courts may be freed from the rigour of procedural laws. The fact that the court is exclusively meant for commercial disputes will expedite the disposal of cases. Another aspect is the modernization of courtrooms. A full-fledged case management system with well-knit achieves is a must for such courts. The court should be connected through a computer network so that each judge, lawyer and litigant can get the necessary information in front of him. It is high time to establish such courts in each commercial hub and major city in the country. Trade and industry badly need some bold steps to revamp the commercial dispute resolution mechanism in this country on a par with international standards.
This alarming situation has many ramifications, particularly for the business world. The business fraternity is bound to cope with the speed of the modern information technology era. Survival of the fittest and the fastest is the new mantra. Then what about commercial disputes? Nobody is interested to put himself into a civil case, which may take years or even decades to attain finality. Here comes the role of new methods other than the traditional civil court remedy. Alternative Dispute Redressal (ADR) developed as a substitute for traditional civil court remedy consists of arbitration, conciliation and mediation. Arbitration is nothing but referring the dispute to a private judge. In fact it is not a new concept to India. Our ancient court ‘sreni’ was regarded as an arbitral tribunal formed by guilds of people engaged in the same profession or business. Arbitration has many advantages. Being a private judge, the arbitrator can conduct hearing in a convenient and flexible manner. He can fix the hearing beyond the normal office hours. Likewise, he can post the case for hearing on public holidays and Sundays. Thus, arbitration is more convenient to the business people who find it difficult to appear before ordinary civil courts during normal office hours or on working days. But the arbitration system has failed to enthuse the business community in India for more than one reason, the main one being that the old Arbitration Act 1940 permitted frequent court interventions at almost every stage of the arbitration proceedings. Subsequently, the Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996 was enacted with the aim of consolidatPASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
NEWS
17
FICCI holds business talks in Jaffna A Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) delegation interacted with potential entrepreneurs and investors in the northern region of Sri Lanka and had exclusive B2B meetings with the Jaffna Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka recently. The members of the team comprised diverse business interests, including farm machinery, agricultural tractors, spare parts, industrial minerals and chemicals, construction materials, gems and jewellery, pharmaceuticals and herbal and household products, The visit, according to the FICCI, created a gateway to re-establish and fructify new linkages and discuss future business opportunities by helping Indian exporters and manufacturers target new business opportunities in this region. The 10-member FICCI team visited Jaffna during the second Jaffna International Trade Fair (JITF) 2011 held from January 21 to 23, 2011. This is the maiden FICCI delegation to Jaffna after the declaration of peace there. The theme of the fair was
ogy, food, beverage, packaging etc. In his inaugural address, Mr Kantha deliberated upon the huge potential that exists in Jaffna and highlighted various initiatives taken by the Government of India in furthering economic engagement with Sri Lanka.
mission and the Sri Lankan Government. It was anchored by the Indian Consulate in Jaffna.
On the sidelines of the fair, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka, the counterpart organization of FICCI in the island nation, organized an investors’ forum. It focused on market requirements and export opportunities in the northern provinces, institutional framework and regulatory aspects of investments, business development for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Jaffna, investment opportunities by the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka, land purchasing opportunities in the northern provinces and financial services available for investments.
The exhibition, inaugurated by Mr Ashok K Kantha, High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, focused on various sectors including agriculture, construction, apparel, automobile, hospitality, travel and tourism, consumer goods, housing, financial service institutions, information and communication technol-
There were mobile business clinics at the fair which provided free consultancy service to small and medium entrepreneurs on various aspects including technology, human resource development, management consultancy, enterprise development and expansion of existing business.
The FICCI delegation with Mr V Mahalingam, Consul-General of India in Jaffna (extreme left); Mr Kosala Wickramanayake, Vice-President, Sri Lanka SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (second from left); Mr Ashok K Kantha, Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka (fourth from left); Mr Manish Mohan, Additional Director and Head–South Asia, FICCI (fifth from left); Mr Manish, Counsellor (Economic & Commerce), High Commission of India in Sri Lanka (extreme right); and Mr Tissa Jayaweera, President, Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (second from right).
‘Jaffna: Open for Business’. The fair which was organized by Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services and the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka, in association with the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of Yarlpanam and Sri Lanka Convention Bureau, had large presence of Indian businessmen. India was the partner country for the exhibition, which was supported by the Indian High Com-
Meet discusses logistics industry issues A summit on logistics, organized by the Kerala Goods Transporters Federation (KGTF) in Kochi recently, addressed the issues faced by the industry with a view to resolving them. It also discussed the importance of road safety awareness. Organized in association with the Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Indian Oil Corporation and Rotary International, Kalamassery, with the active participation of the Kerala Government, the summit was inaugurated by Fisheries and Registration Minister S Sharma. Mr P K Saseendran, Vice-President, KGTF, welcomed the gathering. Papers were presented by Mr Adarsh G Nair, Motor Vehicles Department; Mr K S Sasidharan, former Deputy Chief Engineer, Cochin Port Trust; Mr K Chandran Pillai, Secretary, CITU State Committee; Dr M Bhasi, School of Management Studies, CUSAT; Dr Jagathy Raj, School of Management Studies, CUSAT; Mr Jayathilakan, former President, Kerala Management Association; Mr K Prasad, SLIsM,
Lubes; and Mr C P Unnikrishnan, Chief Manager, Fleet Marketing, Indian Oil Corporation; on issues related to logistics and road safety. Transport Minister Jose Thettayil inaugurated the evening session. Mr N A Muhammed Kutty, President, KGTF, presided. Industries Minister Elamaram Kareem remembered legends like P V Chandran of KTC, Moidu Haji of Kerala Roadways, Nasser of Fast and Safe Transports, O K Vasudevan of Okay Transport Corporation and Kuruvilla of Alleppey Parcel Service. Devaswom Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran honoured Mr K K Sharma, President, CGTA. Mr K Kunhali, Secretary, KGTF; Mr P Rajeev, MP; Mr Dominic Presentation, Mr Dinesh Mani, Mr V D Satheeshan and Mr Ibrahim Kunju, MLAs; Mr P M Nazirudeen, General Manager, Indian Oil Corporation; Mr Dipak Aswani, Chairman, Kerala Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Mr Makkar, President, Rotary International, Kalamassery; and Mr K V Nair, Treasurer, KGTF; also spoke.
Sivakumar P
Kala V
Elected office-bearers Mr Sivakumar P, Managing Partner, SVJS & Associates, Company Secretaries, Kochi, and Ms Kala V, Company Secretary, Cochin Shipyard Limited, Kochi, have been elected Chairman and Secretary, respectively, of the Kochi Chapter of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India for the year 2011.
Madonna opens silver jubilee branch
Kerala State Women’s Development Corporation (KSWDC) Managing Director P T M Suneesh and NIIT Ltd, New Delhi, Senior Vice-President Manish Mohan exchange the document for implementing various training programmes for enabling educated women to secure employment in different sectors. State Health and Social Welfare Minister P K Sreemathi, KSWDC Chairperson N K Radha, State Health and Social Welfare Department Secretary M Dinesh Arora are also seen.
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The Madonna Group, Sony’s authorized service chain in Kerala, has entered its silver jubilee year with the opening of its 25 th service centre at Angamali in Ernakulam district. Angamali Municipal Chairman C K Varghese opened the centre on January 24. V-Guard mentor Kochuouseph Chittilappilly inaugurated the silver jubilee fete. To add pep to the jubilee year Madonna Electronics has announced fabulous services and attractive prizes to customers. Those seeking Madonna service during the jubilee year will get a gift voucher of Rs 500 free. A lot will be taken every month from the gift vouchers and the winner will get a Sony 4 GB pen drive as prize. In the mega draw taking place at the end of the year, a 32"
February 28 - March 31, 2011
Sony LCD TV and a home theatre can be won, according to Madonna Electronics founder-proprietor Felix Silvester. Madonna had its beginning at IS Press Road in the Ernakulam area in January 1987 as a TV centre in a 100sq ft area. The Kozhikode branch was opened in 1992. In the same year Madonna became Sony’s service provider. At present Madonna has presence in all the districts in the State. Today the group is the major service chain for electronic appliances in Kerala. Madona also has active presence in home automation, surveillance security system and audio and video solutions. It has contributed expert technicians inside and outside the country. In Kochi Madonna has service centres at Edappally and M G Road.
18 Dhanlaxmi improves profit Dhanlaxmi Bank has reported a net profit of Rs 7.3 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2010, an increase from Rs 1.3 crore for the corresponding period in the previous year. The bank attributes the improved performance to growth in non-interest income and overall business.
‘Fed Flash’, the real-time account credit product of Federal Bank, being jointly launched by Mr Shyam Srinivasan, MD and CEO Shyam Srinivasan, and Mr Sudhir Kumar Shetty, COO, Global Operations, UAE Exchange. Federal Bank Executive Director P C John, Chief General Manager T S Jagadeesan, Deputy General Manager (IBD) A Surendran and Mr Pramod Manghat, Vice-President, Global Operations, UAE Exchange, are also seen.
Federal Bank Q3 net up by 30% F ederal Bank has announced an operating profit of Rs 356.71 crore for the third quarter ending December 31, 2010, which is higher by 7.59% over the corresponding figure for the previous fiscal. The net profit for the quarter grew by 29.79% on a year-on-year basis to reach Rs 143.10 crore. Total business reached Rs 65,154 crore, an increase of 7.48% from the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. The increase in deposits was 6.73% from Rs 34,587.27 crore to Rs 36,913.53 crore. Net advances went up by 8.49% to Rs 28,240.02 crore. Retail advances grew by 8.8%on a y-o-y basis and touched Rs Rs 8,943 crore. The total number of branches and
ATMs has increased to 737 and 775 respectively, as on December 31, 2010. The bank has received Reserve Bank of India clearance for opening 60 more branches in tier-1 and tier-2 centres, a large majority of which are located outside Kerala. Three additional regional offices are also proposed to be started soon. Besides, there are plans to open more than 50 branches in tier-3 to tier6 centres this year. To enhance the convenience of its customers, the bank has made free the usage of other banks’ ATMs. Now a Federal Bank debit card holder can have transactions through any bank’s ATM in the country, any number of times, without being levied any charges.
Syndicate Bank net Rs 256 crore Public sector Syndicate Bank has posted a net profit of Rs 256.1 crore registering a 24.5% rise in the third quarter ending December 31,2010. It was Rs 206 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Nine months’ profit stood at Rs 759 crore, from Rs 645 crore. Total business grew 18% to reach
Rs 2,25,910 crore. While deposits grew 14.8% to Rs 124,603 crore, advances increased by 21.9% to Rs 101,307 crore. Gross non-performing assets (NPAs) decreased to 2.32%, as against 2.43% a year earlier. Capital adequacy ratio dropped to 11.7% from 13.5% last year.
Marginal rise in Canara Bank net Canara Bank has posted a net profit of Rs 1,106 crore in Q3 ending December 31,2010, showing 5% growth over the previous year. According to Chairman and Managing Director S Raman the profits in the first three quarters had been higher than in the entire year of 2009-10. The bank made an operating profit of Rs 1,513 crore, 9.6% higher than that a year ago. The total volume of business amounted to Rs 4.53 lakh crore at the end of the quarter—deposits of Rs 2.63 lakh crore and advances of Rs 1.90 lakh crore. “Deposits increased by 25%, compared with 16.5% in the banking industry”, Mr Raman says. Advances grew by 29% compared with the industry average of 24.4%. Net interest margin at the end of the quarter was 3.21%, 50 basis points higher than a year earlier. Net interest income increased by 43.4%. Gross non-performing assets, as a proportion of total assets, declined from 1.77% a year ago to 1.44% at the end of the last quarter. Referring to the move by the bank to acquire a bank in the US, Mr Raman says, “We have made some headway and are examining a couple of options. We are also going to apply for a branch licence in the US”. On the bank’s exposure to the infrastructure sector, Mr Raman says its portfolio of Rs 42,000 crore is well dispersed. The risk of an asset liability mismatch is not great because the bank’s access to low-cost current and savings accounts is fairly comfortable.
The bank plans to raise capital of up to Rs 1,000 crore by issue of equity shares not exceeding 5.5 crore of the face value of Rs 10 each to augment its tier I capital base, support its business growth and expansion plans and also strengthen its capital adequacy ratio. Total business grew by 76.1% to Rs 18,303 crore from Rs 10,393 crore as on December 31, 2009. Total advances and total deposits continued to rise during the quarter registering a yearon-year growth rate of 77% and 76% respectively. Total income increased from Rs 156 crore in Q3FY10 to Rs 283 crore for the same period this year, recording a growth rate of 81%. Non-interest income rose from Rs 17 crore to Rs 33
According to the bank, concerted efforts were made to recover non-performing assets during the period resulting in the gross NPA ratio declining from 1.76% as on December 31, 2009 to 1.05% as on December 31, 2010. The total capital adequacy ratio (CAR) as at December 31, 2010 (computed according to Basel II guidelines) remained at 13.39%, as against the regulatory minimum of 9%. Tier-I CAR was 10.68% against 9.78% as on December 31, 2009. Mr Bipin Kabra, Chief Financial Officer, says the bank’s significant investments in infrastructure, technology, people and processes have paid off huge dividends. “Overall, improvement in asset quality and renewed focus on existing and new business and feebased income has contributed to our growth. Given the robust business portfolio, we are confident of enhancing revenue and profitability and re-affirming our strategic commitment,” he says.
SIB posts Rs 75-cr net profit in Q3 T hrissur-headquartered South Indian Bank (SIB) has recorded a quarterly (ending Dec 31, 2010) net profit of Rs 75.36 crore as against Rs 62.46 in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal. The net profit for the ninemonth period increased to Rs 210.80 crore during the current year from Rs 195.14 crore during the previous year. The total business of the bank has increased by Rs 10,675 crore from Rs 35,511 crore to Rs 46,186 crore on a yo-y basis registering growth of 30.06%.
Andhra Bank net profit increases A ndhra Bank’s net profit increased to Rs 331 crore in the third quarter of 2010-11 from Rs 275 crore in the same period in 2009-10, registering 20.4% growth. The operating profit grew by 30% and stood at Rs 627 crore against Rs 482 crore, while net interest income(NIM) improved to Rs 840 crore, recording growth of 44%. Chairman and Managing Director R Ramachandran says the net profit for the nine months ended December 2010 improved to Rs 954 crore from Rs 806 crore, registering a year-on-year growth rate of 18.4%. The operating profit grew by 32.7% to Rs 1,702 crore from Rs 1,283 crore. Total business stood at Rs 1,47,682 crore against Rs 1,17,899 crore in December 2009. Deposits at the end of December 2010 amounted to Rs 82,095 crore as compared with Rs 66,547 crore in December 2009, reflecting growth of 23.4% on a y-o-y basis.
KVB’s profit Rs 113 crore The net profit of Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has risen by 49.23% to Rs 113.22 crore for the third quarter ended December 31, 2010 from Rs 75.87 crore earned during Q3 of previous fiscal. The operating profit rose to Rs 179.62 crore from Rs 131.56 crore. PASSLINE
crore in Q3FY11, an increase of 101%, as a result of the focus on fee-based business.
February 28 - March 31, 2011
While deposits have gone up by Rs 6,355 crore from Rs 20,643 crore to Rs 26,998 crore (30.79% growth), advances have increased by Rs 4,320 crore from Rs 14,868 crore to Rs 19,188 crore (29.06%). During the nine months, the face value of the bank’s equity shares was subdivided from Rs 10 each into 10 equity shares of Re 1 each. The capital adequacy ratio is healthy at 14.89% under BASEL II standards against the regulatory requirement of 9%.
Central Bank Q3 profit rises 32% Central Bank of India has reported a 32% increase in its net profit for the third quarter ended December 31, 2010 at Rs 403.52 crore on the back of a steep 96% rise in interest income. The net profit for the corresponding October-December period last year was Rs 306.44 crore. Net interest income for the reporting quarter almost doubled to Rs 1,432 crore from Rs 730 crore a year ago. Central Bank, which is planning to come out with a Rs 2,500-crore rights issue soon, was also able to widen its net interest margin to 3.45% from the 2.04% in the year-ago period. However, poor conditions in the bond market resulted in the bank’s non-interest income dipping to Rs 250 crore from Rs 364 crore year ago, Chairman and Managing Director S Sridhar says. The trading profit was down 76% to Rs 43 crore, Mr Sridhar says, maintaining that the bank had registered a jump in its commission income. The bank’s provisioning for bad and doubtful debts rose to Rs 127 crore from Rs 16 crore in the corresponding period last year. Mr Sridhar says a single account of an agrotech company resulted in the provisioning going up by Rs 77 crore. Other banks also had an exposure to the account.
19 V-Guard profits, sales surge Electronic and electrical major VGuard Industries Ltd recorded a 62.55% rise in profit after tax in the third quarter ending 2010 December 31 at Rs 8.55 crore. In the third quarter of the last fiscal it was Rs 5.26 crore. During the third quarter of the current fiscal the net turnover of the company rose to Rs 176.80 crore, an increase of 47.76% over the figure for the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The profit before tax increased to Rs 11.88 crore, a growth rate of 49.05%. During the current fiscal, the company crossed yet another milestone by achieving a net turnover of
Rs 503.74 crore for the first nine months, the growth in turnover being 61.55%. The profit before tax for the first nine months is Rs 41.01 crore, an increase of 36.47% over the figure for the corresponding period in 2009-10. The company achieved a profit after tax of Rs 28.41 crore for the nine-month period, an increase of 46.52%. “The increase in profit is due to the growth in the demand for electric water heaters, wires and cables”, according to Executive Director Mithun K Chittilappilly. “Introduction of various models has helped to increase the demand for the products and trust in the brand”, he adds.
Princess Gauri Parvathi Bayi inaugurated ‘Yaathrika’, the new building of Kerala Travels Interserve (KTI), the first travel agency in Kerala, in Thiruvananthapuram recently. Former Ambassador T P Srinivasan, Tourism Secretary V Venu, film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Additional Secretary K Jayakumar, KTDC Chairman Cheriyan Philip, Kerala Travels Managing Director K C Chandrahasan and Jaya Chandrahasan are seen.
Manappuram Q3 net profit zooms
Paul Antony CPT Chairman M r Paul Antony has been appointed Chairman of the Cochin Port Trust (CPT). Mr Paul Antony is now SC/ST Department Principal Secretary with additional charge of the Energy Department. He has served as Development Commissioner of the Special Economic Zone in Kochi and is a 1983 IAS holder of the Kerala cadre
Manappuram General Finance and Leasing Limited (MAGFIL) has continued its strong performance during the year into the third quarter as well. Net profit for the quarter ended December 2010 increased by 113% to Rs 74.53 crore compared with Rs 34.99 crore for Q3 of last year. Profits for the nine months ended December 2010 are also up by 129% at Rs180.86 crore as against Rs 79 crore for the same period last year. Announcing the results after a board meeting recently, Mr V P Nandakumar, Executive Chairman of the company, said the growth in profits was driven by the record growth in asset under management (AUM) which had shot up to Rs 6,498 crore, an increase of 188% over Q3 of the previous year. Operating income of the company for the quarter
was Rs 330 crore compared with Rs 132 crore for the comparable quarter of the previous year, recording growth of 150%. Profit before tax (PBT) grew to Rs 111 crore (Rs 53 crore earlier) and provision towards income tax stood at Rs 37 crore against Rs18 crore for Q3 of last year. The company has opened another 402 new branches during the quarter taking its national network to 1,795 spread across 19 States. Even at this pace of expansion, the average business per branch has increased to Rs 3.59 crore as against Rs 3.51 crore during the previous quarter ending September 30, 2010. A total of 3.25 lakh new customers were added during the quarter extending the total customer base to 10.28 lakh.
Former Chairman N Rama chandran’s service had been extended to February 16, 2011 in view of the inauguration of the Vallarpadam International Container Transshipment Terminal.
Platform supply vessel The keel for a platform supply vessel was laid the other day at Cochin shipyard Limited by Mr K Madhavan Nair, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Kochi, in the presence of the owner’s representative, Mr Greg, Brage Supplier’s Ltd, Norway. Cmde K Subramaniam, Chairman and Managing Director, senior officers and CSL employees were present. The vessel is being built for Brage Supplier.
Mr K Madhavan Nair, Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Kochi, Mr Greg, owner’s representative from Barge Supliers, Norway, Cmde K Subramaniam, CMD, CSL, Mr V Radhakrishnan, Director Technical, Mr Ravi Kumar Roddam, Director Finance, Mr Aboobacker, former Director (SR), and Mr Jose Mathew, Chief General Manager (SB) at the keel-laying function.
L&T issues infrastructure bonds L &T Infrastructure Finance Company Limited has issued its ‘Long-term Infrastructure Bonds 2011 Series’. The bonds, having benefits under Section 80CCF of the Income Tax Act 1961 with a face value of Rs 1,000 each in the nature of secured redeemable non-convertible debentures, aggregate to Rs 1,000 million with an option to retain an oversubscription of up to Rs 3,000 million for allotment of additional bonds. The issue opened on February 7, 2011 and will close on March 7, 2011. Carrying a minimum lock-in period of five years from the date of allotment, the bonds can be redeemed after 10 years
from the date of allotment. The issue is to be listed on the National Stock Exchange of India Limited and the minimum subscription will be five and in multiples of one thereafter. ICICI Securities Limited, HDFC Bank Limited, Karvy Investor Service Limited and SBI Capital Markets Limited are the lead managers to the issue and Bajaj Capital Limited, Integrated Enterprises (India) Limited and RR Investors Capital Services(P) Limited the co-managers. The funds raised through the issue will be utilized for ‘infrastructure lending’ according to Reserve Bank of India regulations. PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
L V Prasad Group’s PXD comes to Kerala A fter successfully launching its highly appreciated digital cinema network (PXD) across Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, the Prasad Group has brought it to Kerala. Founded by legendary filmmaker L V Prasad in 1956, the Prasad Group has been a leader in post-production of feature films all over India. It was after years of crucial R&D and understanding the global trends in digital cinema that Prasad is launching its brand of digital cinema called PXD Cinema Network (Prasad Xtreme Digital Cinema Network) which is far superior to other such products presently in the market. It is now tying up with theatre owners all over South India and installing the PXD systems and digital projectors to provide DCinema and E-Cinema as required. Prasad operates six film labs across India and has received the national award for the best film lab 18 times. Its film storage vaults all over India have a large collection of film negatives stored safely on behalf of filmmakers. Now film makers can get trusted service in the management of digital cinema prints, distribution and exhibition. PXD provides excellent service support across all district headquarters of the State. Says Mr Sai Prasad, Director, Prasad Group: “As one of the most experienced and trusted companies in the world of Indian cinema, we are involved in the postproduction of a majority of feature films in all languages. Over the years we have been the trusted custodians and managers of producers, distributors and exhibitors’ interests alike.” “Our main intention is to ensure that transparency and accountability is built into the business model in the same way it has been happening till now with the Film Laboratories, keeping in mind the long term and short term interests of film makers and rights owners.”
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS
''What the investor looks for is maximum benefit from his investment but the norms are so stringent that it is not at all feasible for the sector which
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needs huge investments''
‘AICTE move will sound the death-knell of engg colleges’
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n earlier years, the atmosphere in the educational field used to get polluted during the fag end or at the beginning of the new academic year following tugs of war between the promoters of self-financing colleges (SFCs) and the State Government. And these used to end either with the appointment of a commission to study the differences and submission of its report, or with the migration of students to higher educational institutions in the neighbouring States or the intervention of the court. This year also the way has been cleared for another battle, but the parties involved this time are self-financing college managements and the All India
private investments in the education sector, the AICTE’s new regulations will force investors out of the sector, says Dr Nayar. ''What the investor looks for is maximum benefit According to Dr G P C from his investment but the Nayar, President of the FederaG P C Nayar norms are so stringent that it tion of Associations of Private is not at all feasible for the Unaided Professional Colleges, the sector which needs huge investments'', AICTE’s new approval process will says Dr Nayar. sound the death-knell of self-financing Council for Technical Education (AICTE) thanks to the latter’s new regulations in connection with the approval process for 2011- 2012.
colleges. Though the Government is formulating plans for two lakh more seats in the technical education field and more
The AICTE has indiscriminately increased rates right from application form money to course fee. The fee for an engi-
neering college application form, which was just Rs 5,000, has now been raised to Rs 7.5 lakh. Formerly the deposit required for an engineering college seat used to be Rs 35 lakh. This is now Rs 90 lakh. For management colleges this was Rs 15 lakh earlier, and Rs 35 lakh now. This amount has to be deposited for 10 years in the joint names of the institution and the AICTE. According to the new rule, however, the interest accrued on this deposit will be credited only to the AICTE’s account. “This is not at all justifiable,” says Dr Nayar.
Management colleges too not spared The AICTE wants to impose more regulations on management courses also. The move will certainly cause irrevocable damage to management institutions and also to the future of students, says Dr Nayar. Those management institutions conducting PGDM courses, including IIMs, all autonomous bodies, have been following some procedures for the last 35 years. Every institution has a methodology and separate syllabus for its students compatible with corporate requirements. Now the AICTE is trying to tilt the situation with its adamant stand. In India there are 395 PGDM institutions. Freedom to admit students, fixing the fee structure and conducting exams in accordance with the universities are the fundamental rights of these inPASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
stitutions. The latest AICTE regulations on PGDM institutions are ridiculous, Dr Nayar says. According to the AICTE’s new dictates, admission will be based only on scores in the CAT, MAT or State entrance commission tests and classes should start only after March 31. But to suit the recruiting companies’ timings and considering the future of the students, institutions may have to commence the classes by December end or in the first week of January. “This is what we have been following for the last 35 years.” Another restriction imposed by the AICTE is that the final exam will be conducted by it. This is another point of contention. The fees structure to be fixed by the State will deprive the management of its right, says Dr Nayar.
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS B
harata Mata Institute of Management (BMIM), Thrikkakara, Kochi, one of the premier Bschools in Kerala, achieved the current exemplary status very soon after its inception. Affiliated to M G University and approved by the All India Institute for Technical Education (AICTE), BMIM provides the best ambience for nurturing and nourishing entrepreneurial spirit mong students. “The main objective of our MBA programme is to mould highly professional entrepreneurial leaders,” says Fr Dr Varghese Kalaparambath, Director, BMIM. According to Fr Varghese, there is a need to build more confidence among the students so that they start their own industry after passing out. “We focus more on interactive learning through case studies, group discussions, seminars and other related activities. We are also planning to innovate our students’ training programme from next year by providing them with more
BMIM nurtures entrepreneurship to equip an individual to boldly face the challenges of the future. We make sure that each and every student has a special bond with the teachers and the college. We are also planning to increase the number of seats,” Fr Varghese says.
practical industry exposure. The idea is to permit every student to spend a day every week in an industry. This will help the students build more confidence to start an industry themselves,” he says. Apart form the summer internship programme, live projects are assigned for almost every subject providing ample opportunity for the students to have industrial expe-
SNGC—helping make engineering leaders S
ree Narayana Gurukulam College (SNGC) of Engineering is designed to educate the next generation of engineering leaders to analyze and solve complex problems of importance to society, to collaborate as productive team members, to engage in lifelong learning and to practise professionally and ethically.
T A VIJAYAN
SNGC was established in 2002 by the Kunnathunadu SNDP Union, headquartered at Perumbavoor, to accomplish the ideals of Sree Narayana Guru. The functioning of the institution is steered by the Sree Narayana Gurukulam Trust. The members of the trust hail from various professional fields, and they have a set objective of opening avenues to the youth in world-class higher education in engineering and technology and in allied disciplines. The college has been approved by the All-India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and is affiliated to M G University. It has separate hostels for gents and ladies. The ladies hostel is located within the campus. SNGC continually works to engage the students, faculty and staff in the integration, creation and dissemination of technical knowledge through teamwork and personalized instruction. Hi-tech laboratories for different departments, personality development programmes and meditation classes are its attractions. The institution has added another 1.5 square feet of area this year to impart Mtech and Vlsi courses. SNGC is also enhanced their MBA seats from 60 to 120 this year. Adv. T A Vijayan is the Executive Director of the institution.
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Being a nationally accredited institution of higher learning, the growth of Bharata Mata College (BMC), established in 1965, was phenomenal.
rience. Another speciality of BMIM’s MBA programme is that in addition to the regular curriculum, the institute imparts various certificate courses to equip the students with recent developments in the field of business administration.
“Faculty at BMIM strives to impart and nurture outstanding performance. Emphasis is on Fr Dr Varghese Kalaparambath building strong leadership, positive attitude and ethical behaviour so as
BMIM, the sister institute of BMC, owned and managed by the Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, is hemmed in on all by a picturesque township renowned for its proximity to the industrial hub of Kerala. South Indian Bank, HSBC, HDFC, ICICI Prudential, Federal Bank, CIPLA, Geojit, IBS and the Kotak Group are some of the major companies that come for recruitment every year. Cardinal Mar Varkey Vithayathil is the patorn of the Institution.
RSET — where students get unparalleled excellence
ajagiri School of Engineering & Technology (RSET) is one of the premier educational institutions in Kerala. Established in 2001, the institute is an endeavour of the Sacred Heart Province of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate (CMI), which has been for years a pioneer in the field of education. At present, the CMI mission of education comprises 448 institutions—including over 200 schools, 14 university-affiliated colleges, one engineering college, 12 technical institutes, one university, one medical college, three BEd colleges, five special schools, 18 non-formal educational institutions and 17 cultural centres spread all over India and beyond.
in VLSI Design & Embedded Systems, Computer Science & Information Systems, Signal Processing and Industrial Drives and Control. RSET has an ICT-enabled teaching learning process, awards for talented students, remedial programme for weak students, national-level recognition for students’ projects, RSET special electives, skill development programmes, distinguished lecture series by eminent scientists and industrialists, international/ national-level conferences, continuing education and also the Rajagiri Research & Consultancy Centre(RRCC).
Located on a sprawling 90-acre campus on the banks of the Chitrappuzha, Kakkanad, RSET is in close proximity to a large number of industries in the large and small-scale sectors of the industrial belt of Kerala. Kochi Refineries Ltd, VSNL, FACT, Cochin Special Economic Zone Its industry interaction includes training (CSEZ) and Kinfra Export Promotion Inprogrammes for industry, concurrent indusdustrial Park are some of the immediate Rev Fr Jose Alex trial exposure for students and faculty, indusneighbours. RSET shares the campus with Rajagiri trial training for students, MOUs with industries, inSchool of Management, one of the top business cubation centre, entrepreneurship development cell, schools in India. The institute is affiliated to Mahatma FDP with TCS, campus connect with Infosys, MisGandhi University, Kottayam, and approved by the sion 10x with Wipro, college connect with Mphasis All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and internship with companies like Arbitron etc. and is accredited by NAAC, with top rank by Data The infrastructure includes well-equipped labs, Quest, RECCANIT, Mint etc. well-stocked library with e-journals, digital library and RSET has a distinguished array of faculty meminstitutional repository, multimedia hall with videobers drawn from nationally and internationally reconferencing facilities, Wi-Fi-enabled campus, fitputed technical institutions, like IITs and RETs, who ness centre, hostels, cafeteria, bank, ATM, post ofteach, guide and lead the students to an unparalfice, student facility centre, stadium, tennis court, basleled level of excellence. Rev Fr Jose Alex, founder ketball court etc. and Director of RSET, himself is a veteran educaIt has excellent faculty student ratio, very high tionist and has been instrumental in taking the pass percentage among engineering colleges of Rajagiri flag beyond the country’s borders and fathe state, 23 University ranks in five batches, Strong cilitated international tie-ups. alumni & PTA, Continuous faculty development The institute offers four-year BTech programmes programmes, Collaboration with leading overseas in several subjects. There are postgraduate universities and international faculty and student exprogrammes (MTech) change program and Community & Social Service. PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS
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ederal Institute of Science And Technology (FISAT) has a unique position in the professional education sector in South India. With the motto ‘Focus on Excellence’, FISAT has been envisaged and developed to become a centre of excellence in professional education. It aims to transform young talents into competent and socially committed professionals with a global vision. FISAT aspires to be among the best engineering colleges in the country through a series of action plans that enhances the quality and value of education. In the meantime it has bagged numerous national-level recognitions. It was selected in 2009 and again in 2010 for the national award for the Best Student Branch of the Computer Society of India. After the final phase of the centralized allotment of engineering seats for the 2010-2011 academic year by the Entrance Commissioner of the Kerala Government, FISAT emerged as the most preferred engineering college in the self-financing sector in the State. Academic studies: The institute offers BTech programmes in Electronics and Communication Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electronics and Instrumentation Engineering and Mechanical Engineering. Other programmes being offered are MTech in Communication Engineering and Computer Science and Information Systems, MCA and MBA. FISAT has carved a niche for itself in the education world, eloquently demonstrated by the flying colours attained by its students in academic studies, placements as well as extracurricular and co-curricular activities. The very first batch of BTech students graduated in 2006 with an overall pass percentage of 93 with three ranks. The success story has been repeated year after year. This year it has secured three top ranks with outstanding results in the university. Such accolades in a relatively short span of time demonstrate the passion for excellence and the relentless pursuit of quality. However FISAT does not wish to rest on its laurels. Placements: The Placement and Training Cell has an exemplary track record in placement facilitation and employer satisfaction. The students are groomed according to the requirements of industry. Every student is made to go through a series of soft skill enhancement training programmes during their course totalling nearly 200 hours, which prepares them to face the challenges of this new era. FISAT probably has one of the best-trained students in the State and this is clearly indicated by
Committed to society, focused on excellence P V Mathew
the high acceptability of its graduates in industry. Its students have also been successful in bagging more offers in the combined recruitment drives conducted by various companies. The cell has been successful in placing almost all the eligible students in multinational companies. The fact that more than 1,000 of its students are placed in over 75 MNCs and in other companies, like Microsoft, IBM, TCS, Infosys, Keane, Satyam, L&T, Wipro, CTS, IBS, Federal
The institute has excellent infrastructure facilities like fully equipped laboratories, a well-stocked computerized library with modern accessing facilities, research centres etc. Sports facilities of international standards like acrylic basketball court, volleyball court and tennis court, fitness centre, language lab, internet cafe, Wi-Fi, counselling centre, full-fledged bank branch, ATM etc are some additional amenities available on campus.
P V Mathew Mr P V Mathew, Chairman of the Federal Bank Officers Association Educational Society which manages FISAT, is also the Senior Vice-President of the All India Bank Officers Confederation (AIBOC). AIBOC has a membership of 2.5 lakh bank officers of State Bank of India and its associate banks, global and private-sector banks and the regional rural banks (RRBs). Mr Mathew was elected at the ninth triennial national conference of the confederation held at Bhubaneswar in January. Bank and Bank of Baroda and Government and public-sector companies like BARC, ONGC, Powergrid etc speaks volumes about the quality of its students. This year so far FISAT students have bagged more than 160 job offers in various companies. Infrastructure: The institute has state-of-the art teaching facilities and environment for academic pursuits. A team of eminently qualified faculty with rich experience and high exposure is the backbone of the college. The faculty has been the finest and picked from the best based on merit and experience. PASSLINE
Value additions: The campus vibrates with top-class curricular activities and co-curricular and extra-curricular activities like national and international conferences, technical fests, workshops, seminars, invited lectures, Industry-institute interactions etc that provide students with a professionally accomplished educational experience. Research centres: The Centre for High Performance Computing (CHPC), an autonomous research centre under the Department of Computer Science, FISAT, focuses on research and consultancy work in cluster computing using free and open-source technolo-
February 28 - March 31, 2011
gies. Through the indigenously built high-performance super-computing system, Dhakshina Cluster-II, the centre provides a much-sought-after computing resource to the student community thereby paving the way for cuttingedge research. Apart from creating an environment of continuous learning, the centre provides facilities for doing BTech, MTech and PhD projects for students in FISAT as well as other institutions. It also aims for canalizing on industry-academia linkage. FISAT is the only engineering college in Kerala to have its own Super Computer. Instrumentation Research and Consultancy Centre (IRACC): Realizing the growing importance of automation in process industries, IRACC is established under the Electronics and Instrumentation Department for promoting research in process instrumentation. The centre has facilities to simulate process plants, distribute computer control systems and implement control techniques. Facilities are extended for doing projects by the students in FISAT and other institutions. Centre for research and innovations in signal processing (CRISP): Signal processing techniques have come to occupy central place of importance in engineering and technology as evidenced by the plethora of electronic devices available in the market and which employ simple to complex signal processing operations. This points to the opportunities available for research in signal processing. CRISP aims to be a host to research in signal processing with particular emphasis on To page 23
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS
GIM—for that extra business acumen
DIST: ultimate forum for professional education I
n this world of race, De Paul Institute of Science & Technology’s (DIST) boundless academic cluster is prinking with its architectonic beauty as a complement to the magnificence of Angamaly, a strategic, commercial and industrially developing city in Kerala, a call away from Cochin International Airport. DIST’s goal is the Vincentian mission, ‘Liberation through Education’ and the selfless Vincentian fathers are endeavouring to achieve it. Now DIST is leaping to its committed aim of creating advanced studies, research and social welfare programmes. DIST is a professional college affiliated to M G University, Kottayam, is approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and is ISO 2008-certified. Run by the De Paul Education Trust owned by the Marymatha Province of the Vincentian Congregation, DIST offers four prominent postgraduate degree courses— MBA, MCA, MHRM and MSW— and two undergraduate courses—BCom and BCA. The salient features of DIST are: serene and peaceful campus; wellequipped most modern lab with the
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n today’s hyper-competitive global business environment, where change is the only constant thing, aspiring managers should be able to cope with the new business styles and hitherto-unknown business paradigms. This necessitates that the future corporate executives must be intellectually moulded and fine-tuned to the emerging business scenario. GIM is committed to attaining this end by creating MBA+. The plus stands for the extra business acumen it brings about in its students through its well-developed, time-tested, unique methods of training.
latest computers and other paraphernalia; spacious library with latest reference books, journals, periodicals and membership of All India Library Network; add-on management software courses; 24-four hour high bandwidth Internet facility; Wi-Fi-enabled campus; qualified and experienced faculty; best-known visiting faculty members; international certification programmes in association with DePaul University, Chicago, US; vibrant platform for extracurricular activity; career guidance and placement assistance; hostel facility on the campus in a peaceful environment; special coaching for effective communication, language skill and personality development; student counselling programme and DePaul Centre for Research and Development (DCRD).
GIM is an exclusive management centre developing core competence and corporate decision-making skills in the students through value-based education and is a pioneering institute offering the MBA programme affiliated to Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, and approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) of the Union Government. Bharathiar University has recognized GIM as a Centre for Management Research leading to MPhil and PhD degrees.
DIST is a real piece of greenery of the intelligentsia and is the ultimate forum for professional education. As they say, “Winners are not quitters and quitters are never winners.”
The institute was founded by Sree Guruvayurappan Educational and Charitable Trust in 1995. GIM’s governing council comprises eminent academics and leading industrialists with Prof (Dr) M V Pylee, former Vice-Chancellor, Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT), as the Chairman
Fr Dr Sebastain Mappilaparambil, Principal DIST. Fr Daison Vettiyadan is the Vice Principal & Director Finance for DIST.
and Dr Varghese as Convener. GIM has a state-of-the-art computer lab, with more than 2,000 sq ft space, LAN-networked computer systems, broadband Internet connectivity etc. It also has a Communication Lab with a wide array of language software packages to help students improve their communications skills. GIM Library, with several thousand titles, many periodicals and innumerable CD-ROMs on functional management, helps students to broaden the horizons of their minds. Students of GIM get the unique opportunity to organize a wide variety of events including intra-collegiate and inter-institution management meets, alumni conventions and seminars and interactions with students from foreign universities, which provide them with hands-on experience in planning and executing. Located on a spacious campus at Navakkarai, 18 km away from Coimbatore, and 30 km from Palakkad on the Coimbatore-Palakkad Highway amid serene and picturesque surroundings dotted with farms, coconut groves and vibrant green, GIM has almost 100% placement record every year in major corporates from India and abroad. Exclusive transport facilities are provided from Coimbatore and Palakkad to the college campus. Separate hostel facilities are available to both boys and girls.
Visionary and inspirational leadership From page 22
digital signal processing. Its mission is to translate in-house research into innovation in electronic devices and methods. Co-curricular and extra-curricular activities: FISAT has earned a prominent place in the sports arena also. It had successfully conducted the WTA International Women’s Tennis Tournament last year. In all 32 players from all over the world came and participated in the mega event. Apart from this, many national, State and university-level tournaments were conducted on the campus to provide exposure to the students and to promote budding sportspersons. Its teams have won many prizes in university- as well as State-level championships. This year FISAT is the second runner-up in the M G University Youth Festival. Its students won six first prizes and three sec-
ond prizes in the prestigious competitions. Also, students of the college have also won laurels in tech fests and cultural fests conducted by other colleges.
rank list. Presently 168 students have benefited from this scheme. The total scholarship under this scheme is around Rs 60 lakh.
Community services: For every student, commitment to the nation’s development is essential. The institute has been carrying out outreach activities with students’ participation that enhances the quality of life. A massive IT literacy programme to train 10,000 youth and women in rural areas is being implemented with the support of local youth clubs. A campaign to make Mookkannoor an addiction-free panchayat is also being planned.
The activities of various student clubs, like the nature club SWAN, are aimed at creating a new generation of youth, which can appreciate the importance of preserving nature and create eco-friendly and green solutions as engineers. The road safety club INSIGHT is working to create awareness among students about road safety measures.
Students with high academic results and hailing from economically backward families are granted full fee concession. The selection is made purely on the basis of the Kerala Entrance Examination PASSLINE
Management: Established in 2002, FISAT is managed by Federal Bank Officers Association Educational Society. Run by a trade union on a ‘not-for-profit’ basis, FISAT is distinct from other institutions. It is committed to society and focused on excellence. The leadership is truly visionary and inspirational. It has
February 28 - March 31, 2011
been able to fulfil the overwhelming trust and faith that has been reposed on them by thousands of students and their parents. The achievements of FISAT and the beauty of the campus are the manifestations of the dreams of the Educational Society. These could not have been possible but for the superb guidance and support extended by the dedicated team lead by Mr P V Mathew, Chairman, Mr V K Prasad, Vice-Chairman, and Mr E K Rajavarma, Treasurer. Spread over 35 acres of lush green campus in the sedate village of Mookkannoor, this ISO 9001-2008-certified institution, approved by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and affiliated to Mahatma Gandhi University, provides a truly conducive atmosphere where the students can excel. Dr P S Sreejith is its current Principal.
EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS
By Shinin Sunny
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Risk management in institutions
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The risks on school premises are many. Chemicals and gases in the laboratory may cause injuries to students.
arents dreaming of a bright future pump in their hardearned money into the education of their children. Thus education has become a fast-growing industry in Kerala. The risks associated with education also grow day by day. Are the parents and managements of educational institutions aware of risks and ready to handle them? A girl pursuing education in a prestigious medical college in Tamil Nadu some time ago approached a voluntary organization for aid to continue her education. In a personal interview it came to be known that she got admission to the college paying a hefty donation upfront for the management quota. Her father was employed abroad and he managed to pay the monies from his personal savings and a bank loan. He died in an accident and the income of the family dropped
abruptly. Paying the college fee became difficult.
tours and picnics and ragging are some other problems.
In another incident, the mother of a CBSE school student had to seek an application for transfer of her child to a Government school since the fee was unaffordable after the death of her husband. Imagine the trauma of this mother and child.
Many a time schools are not equipped to handle such critical situations. The incident where a doctor’s son died because of lack of proper medical attention after an accident is no surprise. The major reason for not getting proper medical attention at critical times is the nonavailability of money for the treatment till the guardian or parent comes to the scene. No one can predict when and where accidents will happen and the parents may not be available at the time of contingency for many reasons. These uncertainties point to the need for a comprehensive risk-covering mechanism for students, parents and teachers. Teachers also face the same or similar risks.
It is obvious that children are not financially protected in the area of education. Road accidents are a very common risk seen among students. It was recently reported that a child got disabled because of injury to its spinal chord and neck and the parents found it difficult to find money for the treatment. Parents often ignore overloading of carriages carrying children to school and back home. The risks on school premises are many. Chemicals and gases in the laboratory may cause injuries to students. Injuries are also possible during sports and games and may result from quarrels among students. Food poisoning and epidemics may occur. Accidents due to construction work in schools and during study
Since managements of educational institutions are liable for the accidents to students and teachers on the premises of the institution they should take keen interest in implementing risk management tools. In a recent verdict a court ordered a penalty of Rs 5 lakh against the management of an educational institution in Thiruvananthapuram on an accident claim from the parents of a student. Insurance can be of help in these situations. AIMS Insurance Broking Private Limited has customized the students’ insurance policy of
PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
United India Insurance Company which covers the death of a parent due to an accident for Rs 1,00,000 and death of the student due to an accident to Rs 50,000 and reimburses hospital expenses up to Rs 10,000 for diseases and accidents. The premium for this including tax is Rs 100 a year. Tata AIG General Insurance Company has similar schemes which also cover the teaching and non-teaching staff of the school free of cost based on a proportion of the students’ enrolment in the schemes. They cover deaths due to accidents and permanent total disability of students up to Rs 25,000, deaths due to accidents and dismemberment of staff up to Rs 1,00,000, deaths due to accidents and dismemberment of parents up to Rs 1,00,000, medical expenses for accidents (inpatient and outpatient) of students up to Rs 5,000 and medical expenses due to accidents (inpatient and outpatient) of staff up to Rs 10,000 along with a weekly compensation of Rs 1,000 up to 52 weeks. The premium is Rs 120 for a year. The educational institution should ideally insure the buildings and contents under the fire policy with coverage of earthquakes. The premises should be insured against third-party liabilities. Vehicles also should be insured and managed properly. Educational institutions should ideally consult a risk management adviser and incorporate their recommendations for controlling and managing risks.
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
By Bini G Varghese Managing Director, In House Aviation
Low-cost carriers’ increasing role in tourism development
travel that companies have to offer: budget, scheduled, charted and cargo.
Transport provides the vital link between tourist-generating areas and destinations and so is an essential element of tourism. Good accessibility is a fundamental condition for the development of any tourist destination. The transport industry
can also be a major beneficiary of tourism because of the additional passenger demand that may be generated. Aviation is becoming an increasingly important mode of transport for tourism markets. While air travel has today become the dominant long-distance travel mode and much international tourism, moves towards deregulation, particularly the emergence of the low-cost carrier sector, have also increased aviation’s significance for short and medium-haul tourism trips. Thus developments in aviation can have very important implications for many leisure and business tourism markets. In spite of the obvious closeness between the aviation and tourism industries, there are very few specialist texts PASSLINE
on this subject. Most tourism-focused books consider aviation as just one component of the tourism industry which needs to be discussed, whereas aviation specialist texts rarely concentrate on just leisure travel. In addition there is very little literature that gives a detailed appreciation of the complexities and potential conflicts associated with the development of the coherent and effective aviation and tourism policies. The Aviation Society and travel industries are very closely linked especially on commercial airlines dealing with holidaymakers. This is because in order for holidaymakers to travel on the airline they need to go through travel agents and tour operators to find the airline that is right for them and to book their tickets. There are different types of airline travel that companies have to offer: budget, scheduled, charted and cargo. It is for the travel agents to make sure the passengers get the appropriate flight for them. They wouldn’t send a high-class businessman on a budget airline. Airlines assign prices to their services in an attempt to maximize profitability. The pricing of airline tickets has become increasingly complicated over the years and is now largely determined by computerized yield management systems. Because of the complications in scheduling flights and maintaining profitability, airlines have many loopholes that can be used by the knowledgeable traveller. Many of these airfare secrets are becoming more and more known to the general public, so airlines are forced to make constant adjustments. Most airlines use differentiated pricing, a form of price discrimination, in order to sell air services at varying prices simultaneously to different segments. Factors influencing the price include the days remaining until departure, the booked load factor, the forecast of total demand by price point, competitive pricing in force and variations by day of week of departure and by time of day. Carriers often accomplish this by dividing each cabin of the aircraft (first, business and economy) into a number of travel classes for pricing purposes.
February 28 - March 31, 2011
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types of airline
viation is becoming an increasingly important mode of transport for tourism markets. While air travel has today become the dominant long-distance travel mode and much international tourism, moves towards deregulation, particularly the emergence of the lowcost carrier sector, have also increased aviation’s significance for short and medium-haul tourism trips. Thus developments in aviation can have very important implications for many leisure and business tourism markets.
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There are different
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A complicating factor is that of origindestination control (O&D control). Someone purchasing a ticket from Melbourne to Sydney (as an example) for AU$200 is competing with someone else who wants to fly Melbourne to Los Angeles through Sydney on the same flight, and who is willing to pay AU$1,400. Should the airline prefer the $1,400 passenger, or the $200 passenger plus a possible Sydney-Los Angeles passenger willing to pay $1,300? Airlines have to make hundreds of thousands of similar pricing decisions daily. The intense nature of airfare pricing has led to the term ‘fare war’ to describe efforts by airlines to undercut other airlines on competitive routes. Through computers, new airfares can be published quickly and efficiently to the airlines’ sales channels. For this purpose the airlines use the Airline Tariff Publishing Company (ATPCO), which distributes latest fares for more than 500 airlines to computer reservation systems across the world. The extent of these pricing phenomena is strongest in ‘legacy‘ carriers. In contrast, low-fare carriers usually offer preannounced and simplified price structures, and sometimes quote prices for each leg of a trip separately. Computers also allow airlines to predict, with some accuracy, how many passengers will actually fly after making a reservation to fly. This allows airlines to overbook their flights enough to fill the aircraft while accounting for ‘no-shows‘, but not enough (in most cases) to force paying passengers off the aircraft for lack of seats. Since an average of 1/3 of all seats are flown empty, simulative pricing for low-demand flights coupled with overbooking on high-demand flights can help reduce this figure. This is especially crucial during tough economic times as airlines undertake massive cuts to ticket prices in order to retain demand. Moreover, the industry is structured so that airlines often act as tax collectors. Airline fuel is untaxed because of a series of treaties existing between countries. Ticket prices include a number of fees, taxes and surcharges beyond the control of airlines. Airlines are also responsible for enforcing Government regulations. If airlines carry passengers without proper documentation on an international flight, they are responsible for returning them to the original country.
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS
ASIET Most-sought-after technical college E
Padmashree for quality education T
he main aim of the Padmashree Charitable Trust, formed in 1994, was to provide quality education. Being the first one to start a physiotherapy institute in Bangalore, the group now has several colleges under its umbrella.
The Padmashree Group offers a wide range of courses from health sciences to life sciences including Physiotherapy, Nursing, Medical Laboratory T e c h n o l o g y , B i o t e c h n o l o g y , Microbiology, Genetics, Biochemistry, Dr Ashwanth Narayan C N Plant Tissue Culture and Computer Applications. Today, the group has made tremendous progress under the able leadership of its Managing Trustee, Dr Ashwanth Narayan C N. Situated at Nagarbhavi in Bangalore, the institute has an overall academic atmosphere as it is in close proximity to Bangalore University campus at Jnanabharathi, the National Law School of India University and Ambedkar Institute of Technology. Thecourses are affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Health Sciences, Bangalore, and Bangalore University. Apart from the state-of-the-art educational complex the institutions have tie-ups with reputed hospitals to impart clinical training to paramedical students and close links with biotech companies/research institutes for providing training to the biotech students. There is also a special course to teach the student English and train those students who plan to take their IELTS/TOFEL and other board exams. The group also provides postgraduate courses. The library of the institute has the unique distinction of having over 10,000 volumes comprising various medical and general books of foreign and Indian authors, reference books, journals etc. It is maintained in a serene atmosphere to disseminate knowledge to students. Padmashree also offers merit scholarships to all students who excel in university examinations and secure distinctions, and organizes several conferences, seminars, workshops and national conferences. 0151
The Adi Shankara Trust, estabstablished in 2001, Adi Shankara Institute of Science lished with the blessings of and Technology (ASIET) soon Jagadguru Sri Sankaracharya became the most-sought-after in- Mahaswamikal of Sringeri Sarada Peetham and guided by stitute in the technical eduthe great vision of Adi cation sector in Kerala. LoShankara, keeps the light cated at Kalady, ASIET has burning for generations to been providing come. It has been a piovalueadded professional neer for the last 50 years education with technical in catering to the growing excellence and ethical valdemands of highly speues since the beginning. Coming under the Adi Dr B S Krishnan cialized science graduates and technologists. Shankara Trust, a registered trust which has carved a niche The other institute run by the trust is in the educational arena, ASIET of- Sree Sarada Vidyalaya, Kalady. fers BTech and MBA courses. The objectives of the trust inThe vision of ASIET is to provide clude the bringing of excellence in a good environment for individuals the engineering, agricultural and medical fields by organizto transform into technoing higher education logically superior, socially courses in these areas. committed, spiritually elThe trust also desires to evated and nationally reconduct educational instisponsible citizens. Aptutions and hostels inproved by the All India spired by the ancient Council for Technical Edu‘gurukulas’. It stands for cation (AICTE) and affilisecular moral values, givated to Mahatma Gandhi Dr S G Iyer ing importance to Indian University, the college is culture. Popularizing Sanaccredited with ISO skrit education and in-depth study 9001:2000 certification. ASIET is claimed to be the first of Vedanta thought is another obnewgeneration engineering college jective. to get the prestigious international standards certification, which is done by KPMG Quality Registrar and accredited by the Dutch Council of Certification for quality technical education.
ASIET is managed by Dr B S Krishnan, Managing Trustee, and headed by the electronics wizard, Dr S G Iyer, who is ably assisted by a group of young, dedicated and competent faculty.
AIM orients students to meet industry challenges T
he Albertian Institute of Management (AIM) is one of the best B-schools in Kerala. Coming under the auspices of the great educational heritage of the Archdiocese of Verapoly, AIM imparts high-quality, value-based, industry-focused management education.
education. As part of the training, students are constantly exposed to various industries, both small and large. During the course period a student will get 25-30 visits to various industries,” says Dr Clement Valluvassery, Manager, AIM.
in industry. Knowing an industry, especially the real problems faced by it, is the main thing that helps students understand the intricacies involved in the field. We have strong ties with many industries. Our students visit these industries, get the real inputs and discuss the experience with other students back here. Also our students have membership with the Kerala Management Association (KMA). They regularly attend all important board meetings,” says Dr George Sleeba, Director, AIM.
The yeoman service rendered by the Archdiocese of Verapoly in the field of education has an inThe objective of AIM’s MBA spiring legacy spanning over cenprogramme is to acquaint the students turies. The starting of St Albert’s with the dynamics of the business enCollege in 1946 was a milestone vironment and the principles and pracin the educational progress of tice of management and to develop the Dr Clement Valluvassery Dr George Sleeba Kochi. AIM’s MBA programme is The institute gives topmost priority analytical skills, strategic thinking and as unique as the institute itself. There are only 60 to placement of the students. decision-making capabilities with emphasis on students in a batch and all of them get individual the holistic development of the individual, imbib“We are getting good response from compaattention. ing the mission of the institute. nies. More than 50% of our final-year students are “Our curriculum focuses more on the new trends getting placed. “ “We focus mainly on industry - o r i e n t e d PASSLINE
February 28 - March 31, 2011
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS
Rare academic feat in a family Passline News Service
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Sasidharan, 55, of Mannampoyil in Kozhikode district has earned three degrees, 23 postgraduate degrees, three postgraduate diplomas and 12 certificates. He is waiting for the results of the MA examinations in Education, Mass Communication, Social Welfare Administration and Criminology and Police Administration. Sasidharan’s elder brother T P Pavithran, 58, has to his credit eight master’s degrees and a BEd and is doing his MA Philosophy. The youngest of the brothers T K Sathyanathan, 52, possesses 10 master’s degrees, two degrees and one diploma and is waiting for the results of his MBA and LL M.
earning is a continuous process. We learn till we die, they say. There is nothing surprising about many people worshipping the Goddess of Learning. But it is surprising to learn that three brothers in a family are learning and learning, and adding one degree after another to their kitty. They have together amassed 45 degrees so far! T Sasidharan, son of the late P K Aandi and T P Janaki belonging to the remote village of Mannampoyil in Kozhikode district, had passed the SSLC examination with good marks. He wished to select the third group (humanities) for his predegree course but his parents wanted him to join the science group so he could be groomed to take up the medical profession later.
Thus he joined the science group for predegree at Sathyanathan Chelannur S N College, Kozhikode, in 1975. But he soon realized that it was not his cup of tea. He failed the exam twice but he was not dejected. He shifted to the third group, passed the predegree exam and later took the BA History degree from Calicut University as a private student. Later he secured the MA History degree from Government Arts and Science College, Kozhikode. He had never to look back again, making a triumphant march from one course to another and amassing degrees.
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sity), MA Social Welfare Administration (Annamalai University) and MA Criminology and Police Administration (Madurai Kamaraj University) courses. He is also doing research in ‘Archeology of Wayanad’ and in Education (IGNOU). Sasidharan’s elder brother T P Pavithran, 58, who is the Principal of Mar Baselios College of Education, Sulthan Bathery, has to his credit eight master’s degrees and a BEd and is doing his MA Philosophy (Madurai Kamaraj). He is also finalizing three books—Recent Trends in Education Psychology, Cognitive Style Learning Mode and Achievement and Research Methodology and Statistics.
12.30. Along with this I prepare my notes for Diet too. When the exam comes near, my mind turns like that of a school student. Tension and anxiety grip me,” he adds. But degrees have not benefited him much financially. He is now in debt. “I don’t know the exact amount I have spent on education. Huge amounts have been expended on exams, books and travelling. I have taken heavy loans from several banks for the purpose. The banks are now asking me to pay back the amounts,” he says. But these things are no obstacles to his pursuit of studies. “Since we are in the teaching profession, this continuous learning is of
great help. It makes us wellThe youngest of the brothequipped teachers. We also ers T K Sathyanathan, 52, who find that many people especially is the First Grade Librarian in our students are encouraged the Government Engineering and motivated by our continuCollege, Thrissur, possesses ous enquiry and learning,” this 10 master’s degrees, two deis what Pavithran has to say. grees and one diploma. He “Confronting exams makes has completed his MBA in TourSasidharan me happy. I consider each ism Management and LL M (Annamalai University) and is waiting for exam as a friend and it is a thrill. For me learning has now become a habit. When the results. The brothers derive great satisfaction we are learning, our brains are
and find fulfilment in inquiry and learning and in acquiring degrees. They have never had any respite from exam fevers. “I can’t think of a life without learning and exams. I want to study and pass exams till my death”, says Sasidharan. He is now busy preparing for his upcoming exams. He has got above 50% marks in every exam. “I have worked for seven months as the Principal of Diet, Now the 55-year-old Thrissur. When I worked there I Sasidharan, who is the Senior didn’t get time for my studies. It Lecturer in Planning and Manwas because of my academic agement at Diet, Sulthan interest that I joined Diet as a Bathery in Wayanad district, has senior lecturer at Sulthan to his credit three degrees, 23 Batheri. I acquired these depostgraduate degrees, three Pavithran grees not for my promotion. I postgraduate diplomas and 12 am satisfied with my current job. I get selfcertificates in various subjects from difsatisfaction from learning,” says ferent universities in the country. His postSasidharan. graduate degrees include 18 MAs, one
engaged and learning makes us eager to know more things. Never stop learning; consider it as a continuous, lifelong process”, Pavithran adds.
“Learning and writing exams are my life. From my childhood, there has not been a year without examinations. By preparing for exams, I learn new things. I wake up very early and study from 4 am to 7 am. At night studies may go up to
In a world which attaches great value to instant gratification and immediate rewards, these brothers who worship and serve Goddess Saraswathi in the true spirit of Nishkama Karma are rare beacons of light and radiance.
MBA, two MPhils and two MEds. Sasidharan is now waiting for the result of the MA Education (Indira Gandhi National Open University-IGNOU) examination and at the same time doing the MA Mass Communication (Alagappa Univer-
Says Sathyanathan: “As a librarian I get much time to learn. During my career I have worked in engineering, ayurveda, arts and science and medical colleges. This is the 13th place I am working at. I establish good relationship with the teachers. That helps me to learn new things. Moreover my brothers influence my learning process. Passing an exam is a great thrill. Everyday I read 10 to 12 newspapers. I glance through university notifications about new courses. When I see a new course, I apply for it. Money is the problem. In the beginning I had great difficulties. Now I don’t think about the money I have to spend on my studies.”
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28
EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS
CMS: ‘Challenge Meets Success’ I
Bharathiar University in recognition of his service rendered to the cause of education.
n its motto ‘Challenge Meets Success’ is enshrined the CMS Group of Institutions’ radical idealism and inventiveness of a few Malayalees of Coimbatore and their continuous struggle to overcome the challenges they had to face. The CMS Educational and Charitable Trust, established in 1988, was the progeny of the Coimbatore Malayali Samajam. Initially, the trust had nothing substantial to build on except a moderate capital and plenty of self-confidence. But it had a clear vision which saw education not only as a vehicle for progressing in a multilingual and multicultural situation but also as a crucial instrument for survival in the knowledge society of the future. Hence the trust started CMS College of Science & Commerce.
Mr Velayudhan Nambiar, popularly known as C K V Nambiar, though born at Thalassery, chose Coimbatore as his ‘Karma Bhoomi’. He is also intimately connected with many social organizations of the city. During his lengthy tenure as the Secretary of Coimbatore Malayali Samajam, he worked ceaselessly for the establishment of CMS College of Science and Commerce.
postgraduate (PG) courses. In 1988, it had fewer than 50 students in make-shift classrooms at Ganapathy, Coimbatore. By 2007 it had more than 3,500 students on an expansive 36-acre campus with The naming of the college state-of-the-art infrastructure as ‘College of Science & Comat Chinna vedampatti, a submerce’, instead of the usual urb. Further, the college has practice of naming a college become an autonomous in‘College of Arts and Science’, stitution, accredited at the ‘A’ was a significant pointer that level by NAAC and with ISO the trust was willing to M P GOPALAKRISHNAN 9001: 2000 certification. traverse roads less travelled by. Moreover, it clearly foresaw that if our By 2007 when the students’ strength country has to progress into the 21st cen- equalled that of a university, diversificatury, we need science and commerce tion became necessary. It was here that more than anything else. the sagacity of the Chairman of the trust, The achievements of CMS College Mr M P Gopalakrishnan, and the Secreof Science & Commerce for the past 23 tary, Mr C K V Nambiar, came into play. years have been remarkable. From an Both had the foresight to consider higher institution that offered just three under- education not as a luxury but as somegraduate (UG) courses, the college has thing essential for national, social and grown into one that offers 17 UG and 14 economic development.
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The first step of the two stalwarts was to diversify the CMS Educational & ChariBorn in Coimbatore, Mr Gopala table Trust and to make the CMS Instikrishnan at 23 became the youngest tute of Management Studies a standchartered accountant of the city. Thereafalone institution. The success ter his career graph took an of this venture prompted them upward trajectory making him to start one more B-school, not only a successful chartered CMS Academy of Management accountant but also a corporate and Technology, in 2009. In the consultant and director of sevsame year the trust started an eral companies. He is keenly engineering college. CMS Colinterested in social and cultural lege of Engineering and Techactivities and is associated with nology has shown tremendous several organizations. But his progress in a short time and C K V NAMBIAR crowning glory came when the has become a popular destination for Governor of Tamil Nadu nominated him those who aspire for technical education. as a member to the Syndicate of
February 28 - March 31, 2011
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EDUCATION: NEW HORIZONS Karunya University for all-round excellence K
arunya University in Coimbatore was founded with the noble vision to raise professionals and leaders of high academic calibre and unblemished character, nurtured with a strong motivation and commitment to serve humanity. The Karunya Institute of Technology was started as a private self-financing engineering college on October 4, 1986. In 2004, the institute was awarded the Deemed-to-be University status in recognition of its academic excellence by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development and subsequently renamed Karunya University. Karunya University is into its 25th year of service in higher education with specific focus on Engineering and Technology. In the short span of its existence it has moved swiftly ahead to carve a niche for itself as an institution promoting all-round excellence. In a nutshell, Karunya is a co-educational, fully residential, technological university imparting holistic education to develop the body, mind and spirit of the students. The origin of the institution is amazing. In 1981, the late Dr D G S Dhinakaran, God’s servant, received the divine commission to start a technical
university which could turn out outstanding engineers with leadership qualities at the national and global level. Building up such a great institution was no easy task. The Dhinakarans had to face innumerable trials and tribulations including the tragic death of their dear daughter during the course of this great endeavour. But nothing could stop them from reaching the goal. True to its name (Karunya means ‘compassion’) Karunya University shall be a university with a social concern which will address the problems of humanity through teaching, research and extension in socially relevant areas. The students and faculty of Karunya University will be imbibed with spiritual discernment and a zeal to serve humanity and to eventually become leaders of society. To accomplish the vision, Karunya University, a Christian Minority Institution, will be committed to transforming lives through the following objectives: To raise undergraduate and postgraduate students and research scholars to serve humanity by attaining high levels of academic excellence, profes-
high levels or through providing spiritual care.
sional competence, exemplary values and spiritual empowerment; To find solutions to human problems in areas relating to water, food, healthcare and energy through scientific, social and technological research as well as policy formulation; To set up care homes for physically and mentally challenged as well as the elderly and the terminally ill to enable the students to understand the human needs and pain, by participating in the services rendered to them on campus and thus to dedicate themselves to work towards solving those problems through research, development, policy-making at
As an extension to the God-given plan of Karunya University, the Karunya Trust began the ‘Community Development’ service way back in 1991 by establishing the Evangeline Matriculation School and dedicating it to the local poor and tribal people who live in the surrounding villages of Karunya Nagar. The school is well equipped and provides excellent education to nearly 500 students every year. The other projects of the trust, viz the poultry and agricultural farms etc not only help all the local people to get jobs to earn their livelihood but also help in improving the living conditions of these people. The students of the Karunya institutions also involve themselves in educating the rural people by conducting adult education programme, mass literacy programme etc. The rural people, especially the tribal people who have so far not been exposed to such educational methods, now enjoy reading and writing and give themselves a better opportunity to survive in this challenging world.
Nehru Group of Institutions: exclusive higher education centres T
he prestigious educational institutions in South India under the popular Nehru Group of Institutions are synonymous with world-class education. The institutions are an enchanting world of exclusive higher education for a truly challenging and much-rewarding academic career. The campuses serve as temples of learning for students of various academic streams exceeding 12,000 in number. The ISO 9001- 2008-certified large conglomeration of institutions was founded in 1968 by the late P K Das, an eminent academic and a philanthropist, and is patronized by the Nehru College of Educational & Charitable Trust. The institutes are affiliated to Alagappa Uni-
versity, Karaikudi, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, Anna University, Chennai, Anna University, Coimbatore, and Calicut University, Kozhikode. Located in parts of Tamil Nadu and Kerala and spread over 300 acres of land on five campuses, the Nehru Group hosts 12 institutions catering to the diversified needs of students in Aeronautical Sciences, Engineering, Information Technology, Management, Medicine, Pharmacy and Arts and Sciences. The Nehru College of Aeronautics & Applied Sciences is uniquely equipped with world-class facilities like aeronautical laboratories and workshops and possesses 10 kinds of aircraft for training and research including King Air C 90 Beach, Learjet 25 B, Cessna 150 and 152, Europlan aircraft and Bell and Estron F 28 helicopters. Most campuses enjoy a salubrious
climate and a serene atmosphere well outside the reach of the bustling noise of the cities, an unparalleled gift of nature towards an ambience par excellence in academics. The group has a highly disciplined and competent faculty of around 750, world-class and modern infrastructure facilities like libraries with online backup, computer laboratories with CAM/ CAD and Internet and Wi-Fi facilities and classic classrooms, seminar halls, board rooms, laboratories, workshops and production units. The campuses are provided with a reasonable quantum of residential facilities for the students to stay and take up their academic programmes round the clock. Day scholars’ commutation to and from the campuses is ably and comfortably facilitated by a strong fleet of transport network operated by the management to benefit around 7,000 students on a daily basis. The Nehru Group is on a special academic agenda viz: A focused learning and teaching process to instill competency and confidence levels in the minds of students, stimulate thinking and creativity making them self and ‘active learners’, and to impart ability to face a given situation or challenge in life through seeking and retrieval of information; A wholesome personality enrichment of students through club activities, association activities, health clubs, parentteacher associations, alumni associations, faculty exchange programmes with industries and corporates and invited and guest lectures, as part of the curriculum; A package to impart technical, soft and communicative skills, team-building ability, leadership qualities, group and panel discussions and assertiveness in decision-making and attitude so as to mould the students not merely into ‘eduPASSLINE
cated youth’ but also into ‘employable youth’; Well-improvised sports and athletics, cultural events, debates, quiz programmes etc for talent building and skill owning and a well-conceived monitoring and evaluation system on teach-
February 28 - March 31, 2011
ing and learning processes on all campuses headed by senior academics backed by performance assessment of faculties, self-appraisals and feedback from students and institutional and departmental heads.
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Health & Beauty, Higher Education 7, 8, 9 April 2011 Dharubaaruge Exhibition Hall Male, Republic of Maldives
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