PM reviews security situation at high-level meet

In the backdrop of the ever-deepening Pakistan- China Military and strategic nexus, PM Manmohan Singh on Wednesday held a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to take stock of the security situation in India and its extended neighbourhood.

The need to rapidly modernize the Indian armed forces, with special focus on development of military capabilities on the eastern front with China, as well as the turmoil in the Af-Pak region is understood to have figured in the meeting. Defence minister A K Antony, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee home minister P Chidambaram national security advisor Gopal Pillai and the three Service chiefs, among others, participated in the meeting.

The three-tier NSC consists at the apex level of Cabinet ministers, headed by the PM, with subordinate entities like the Strategic Policy Group, the Joint Intelligence Committee and the National Security Advisory Board.

As reported earlier by TOI, India is now taking steps to counter China's massive build-up of military infrastructure all along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC).

They range from deployment of Sukhoi-30MKIs and spy drones in the North-East to the raising of two new mountain infantry divisions (over 35,000 soldiers), with their HQs in Zakama (56 Div) in Nagaland and Missamari (71 Div) in Assam.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Govt orders security audit of vital installations

The Centre has ordered security audit of all vital installations, including nuclear stations, oil refineries and military bases, across the country. The order has been issued after a high-level meeting held by the Union Home Ministry following the last week's terrorist attack on a naval base in neighbouring Pakistan.A joint-team of Intelligence Bureau and local security heads will survey and assess the level of security of the vital installations.

All nuclear plants, ISRO installations, oil refineries and airports will be covered in the audit. Any gaps in the security, if found, will be identified and plugged while Quick Reaction Teams are to be formed wherever they do not exist. All states and security forces have also been asked to intensify vigil around the vital installations and military camps and foil any attempt by militants to disturb peace," an official said.

Additional forces will also be deployed in public and religious places to prevent any sabotage attempt, the official said.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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ONGC: Subsidy burden takes a toll; stock down

Government-owned ONGC reported more than 60% sequential decline in net profit in January-March as it gave away about two-third of its oil revenues to subsidise losses of retailers amid soaring crude prices, reviving memories of fiscal 2008-09 when global crude peaked pushing up subsidies on fuel.

At 9:40 am, shares of ONGC were trading 1.31 per cent down at Rs 274.75 on the Bombay Stock Exchange . The huge sequential fall in earnings stands in sharp contrast to private sector explorers such as Cairn India, which reported 22% growth in net profit helped by higher prices even though production fell.

ONGC's share in subsidy at Rs 12,135 crore in the fourth quarter was almost equal to the total of past three quarters. This took the total subsidy toll to Rs 24,892 crore for fiscal 2010-11, more than double than previous year. n January-March, although ONGC earned an average oil price of $108.90 per barrel, it ended up with just $38.75 in hand as the government took away the rest. What remained was nearly 25% below the year-ago period causing a 26% fall in net profit.

The company reported net profit of Rs 2,791 crore in the last quarter driven by higher profits on natural gas, whose prices were revised in fiscal 2010-11, and increasing share of production from joint ventures. As there is no subsidy burden on production from joint ventures, the 60% incremental volumes helped.

Although oil prices have jumped more than five times since 2004-05, ONGC's average profit growth has been a mere 6.5% per annum. The average annual growth in its market capitalisation was just about 4.5%. Every year, the government has taken away a chunk of its profits to pay for losses made by oil marketing companies.

The subsidy sharing mechanism and its value-destructing impact will keep weighing on investor sentiment. The government is expected to divest its stake further in the company in early July.

This could induce the government to introduce some reforms for a better price. Investors, who are otherwise living off the annual dividend payouts, may look forward to a run-up in prices if the follow-on offer materialises.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Commute Bhullar's death sentence: Amarinder

After SAD sought the PM's intervention in showing mercy to Khalistan militant Devinder Pal Singh Bhullar, former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Sunday favoured commuting his death sentence to life in prison.

President Pratibha Patil on May 26 rejected the mercy petition of Bhullar, a member of Khalistan Liberation Force (KLF).

"I feel killing a man is not going to solve the problem. By killing a man you can't solve the problem," Amarinder, who is also President of Punjab Congress, told reporters here.

With Punjab set to have Assembly elections early next year, Amarinder said that his views were in his personal capacity and not that of the party.
While asserting that there was no doubt about the crime committed (by Bhullar), Amarinder maintained it was his personal view, and said "let him (Bhullar) stay in jail forever and give him life sentence".

He pointed out that Bhullar was already in jail for ten years, of which the militant spent eight years under death row. These factors should have been taken into consideration while taking final decision on his mercy petition, he said.

"I cannot comment on other cases. The matters are sub-judice," he said, when asked about his stance on similar other cases.

He said that in Bhullar's case the judicial process had been completed.

On SAD seeking the Prime Minister's intervention, Amarinder said he was not aware about it.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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ASOKA LIFESCIENCE FOUNDER SOURAV ROY SPEAKS TO ANGSHUMAN PAUL ON HOW HE PLANS TO USE R&D AND MARKETING INITIATIVES FOR A PAN-INDIA REACH

But your flagship brand is ‘Walk On’ and you have been promoting this brand a lot. Why haven’t you promoted ‘Resq” to that extent?
Walk on was created with the intention of a dual solution. Most of the pain killers for knee-related pain were also synonymous to acidity. So whenever a doctor suggested a painkiller, it had to be accompanied by an antacid. But Walk On was the only tablet available in the market that came with a dual solution and hence the brand became very popular. We thought it good to invest in the promotion of Walk On as we would get adequate returns on our investment. Till now, we haven’t received much of response from Resq and we don’t think it’s the right time to advertise.

Broadly, how are your products different from others in the market?
We focus a lot on R&D and we have tied up with Jadavpur University that supports us with our exclusive research. We also sponsor two fellowships in the same university, which ensures that we have the right talent doing our research. Moreover, our products are based on nature with no side effects.

What are your plans for a pan-India presence?
We are available in many leading retail stores and by the end of August, we will enter two southern states. But initially, we won’t do an exclusive tie up as it limits us to those cities where that retailer is present. So we would be going on a pan India basis but not by blindly depending on any retailers.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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SPECTRANET MD UDIT MEHROTRA TALKS TO VINEET SINGH ABOUT THE COMPANY’S PLANS FOR A PAN-INDIA PRESENCE

With respect to services like broadband facilities that Spectranet provides, your prices are very low as compared to competitors. Is that the biggest differentiator or does service play a greater role?
It helps both ways, because Spectranet is relatively a small company in terms of its cost structure, so it’s much lower. But we try to provide better service by making our own profits. If you have two to three options in the market with the same price range, you definitely tend to go for the one which gives you better service. We try to work both aspects hand in hand.

Do you think that the new players coming in this area are going to bring the service charges down? And how is it going to effect the existing players?
Yes, this is a problem with the entry of new players, they come in and try to bring the prices down. Ultimately it reflects in the profit margin of the existing players. The price goes down and the penetration goes up, but this becomes good at one end. The penetration goes up, performance goes up, companies try to get a higher number of subscribers, which eventually becomes good for the market and better for everybody else.

What are the personal challenges you have faced as a leader for Spectranet? Could you share any particular instances?
Challenges have really been in relation to charting the way forward for the company. I really mean to say it that there is nothing that happens only because of me in the company. We work as a team, take decisions as a team, and face the challenges as team. If only I take decisions, it is not sustainable and from an organization’s point of view, everything has to be sustainable. For example, consider the challenges we faced and have been able to overcome during the time when we started expanding Spectranet. When you go from one city to another, it is one thing to have one office in a city, and another thing to have offices in 3-4 locations. How do you drive a company which is in 5 locations today and 50 tomorrow. Driving all of the locations together in a proper way together is one of the challenges that I faced and overcame as a leader.

An age old leadership debate is about charismatic leaders vs team oriented leaders. Can a leader really be any larger than the organisation that he leads, in your view?
For somebody who is leading an organization, I guess there are no different success stories for the two. If the ship sinks, so does the captain. So there are no failures or successes for me that are different from the organization. But still, it is a work in progress for me. I would not like to stand up and say that we have achieved everything, but yes, we are working towards it. Success always lies in the work in progress.

Where do you see Spectranet 5 years from now?
In the coming five years, I believe that Spectranet would be one of the most valuable broadband services companies; with broadband being the key revenue contributor. Moreover, Spectranet would continue to grow as a more integrated communication service provider and be of the most valuable companies in the industry.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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NITIN AGGARWAL, DIRECTOR, PRAYAG EXIM INDIA LTD - HOW THE COMPANY MANAGED THE TRANSITION FROM AN UNKNOWN ENTITY TO A STRONG CONTENDER

How far have you been able to expand your market reach?
In Delhi/NCR our total sales are not more than 5% but our kit’s availability is shown from top to bottom and from west to east. For the retail market, we have our presence mainly in the South and North. Prayag’s products are mainly used in coastal areas.

What challenges did you face as a leader and how did you overcome them?
The company started with plastics and it took us around 7 years to convince the people about what the product was all about. Our plastics are of high quality and 6 times costlier than the normal ones. This resulted in an increase in the cost by about 4 times of the normal plastic taps, which in turn, are much more economical. It took us long to make people understand about our products’ value and importance. For that, we increased public awareness through railway stations and public utilities along with free installations and demonstrations.

Which segment has been the greatest contributor to your business?
Public places were the prime focus as Government was facing problems. They wanted a replacement after every 3 months. So from a company perspective, we gave the commitment of 7 years’ warranty inclusive of maintenance and the repairing cost. Our reputation mainly grew because of our “quality” which our customers saw. Even after 4 years, the products did not create problems, whereas in the metal products, the symptoms start showing after 4 months. Slowly, we started exporting to Kuwait, Oman, Dubai and Qatar.

What are your strategies of dealing in this industry now, as we are seeing prices of land rising, indirectly affecting the bath accessories industries demand?
In the early day, the ‘flat’ concept was government driven whereas it’s a completely changed scenario today. We have also started targeting big builders on contract basis for our products.

What are the core competencies and success factors driving you?
‘Quality” is the only factor driving our company as we believe that our customers should be getting the value for their money. The USP of the product is “Fit it and Forget it” as there is no maintenance.

Where do you see Prayag 5 years down the line?
Currently, we are in Top 10 companies of India and we are planning to enter the Top 3. The market is huge in nature and is shifting its gears towards being much more organised than it is today.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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mega-bucks in advertising

And now, much of Lufthansa’s marketing efforts are in fact geared towards a newer TG – young executives, students and non-metro leisure travellers. Says Lufthansa’s Sangeeta, “Our TG is also evolving. So the aim of this exercise is to help build connections with future customers. We’ve developed a special microsite where we’re helping students wanting to go out to study.” She’s referring to the recently launched student’s microsite, www.lufthansa.com/students, which has been created keeping aspects of student needs in view and is constantly updated with offers from partners like Apple, Nikon etc. It also has a dynamic students’ blog that offers helpful tips to them on topics such as overseas education, life at campus and travelling smart.

On an additional note, Lufthansa is rapidly expanding its frequent flyer alliances in India. Under its Miles & More frequent flyer programme, Lufthansa has already forged partnerships with Air India, Jet Airways, India Times Shopping, Kempinski Hotels (Leela), Matrix Cellular and The Taj Group of Hotels. All these services are for the benefit of Indian passengers travelling abroad and travellers visiting India.

To gel well with its various target segments, Lufthansa has created three distinct positioning lines – Precious Moments, Pioneering Spirits and Longer Fairytale – even though their tagline, ‘There’s no better way to fly’, remains the same. Says MRM’s Kapoor, “While a line like Precious Moments is sort of a universal casting, Pioneering Spirits is more rational as it talks about the pioneering nature of the airline – to lead from the front.”

At the same time, association with bowling tournaments, branding at cinema halls, tactical campaigns on radio (Lufthansa was the first airline to use this medium) and extensive online branding with the use of Lufthansa Nat Geo Genius Seasons I and II (an online game) has rounded the airline’s radical communication strategy... And no, it still doesn’t plan to have a TV commercial!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Alone & Aloof or Crowded & Connected?

A new trend of ‘mass mingling’ is making its way in where the Net generation will live simultaneously in real & virtual worlds and make both the worlds meaningful & engaging

One of the best status messages I have come across on Facebook says, “The only place where it is cool to talk to a wall.” This reflects the popular predictions that pundits have often made about the generation that loves to be online. They have always argued that the online habits will turn a whole generation into antisocial isolated zombies. And that the Google enabled world will make everyone ‘search’ for bite sized info as the appetite for discovering new things will go down tremendously.

Has it really happened?
Dan Tapscott in his book Grown Up Digital has debunked many of these popular predictions. He calls this multi tasking, living in multiple dimension generation as Net Generation. He goes on to explain that in order to understand what the future holds we need to understand the Net Generation. He debunks the theory about short attention spans and zero social skills. He terms the Net Generation as remarkably bright community, which has developed revolutionary new ways of thinking, interacting, working, and socializing.

Popular trend watchers have now started to speak about a new trend of ‘mass mingling’ where the Net generation will live simultaneously in real and virtual world and make both the worlds meaningful and engaging. So is technology making people alone and isolated or is technology enabling them to be connected and engaged?
Technology actually has moved to a new level. Version 2.0 of Net is not on PC but on the mobile. The very basis of the aloof argument has been turned on its head. So now your friends, connections, appointments, and possibly emotions always travel with you.

The basic insight of people wanting to be connected has not changed. It’s this need for connection that had driven 500 million people to be on Facebook, Twitter, My Space, Four Square, Google Wave, et al, and through the act of status updates, feeds, blogs, pictures and interests, they broadcast their desire to find new connections. They invariably find new connections and friends through common interests, hobbies, opinions and practices. It doesn’t stop in virtual space only. Look at your Facebook page and see how many event invites are there. By attending any such event people have proactively connected with a bunch of common interest friends in real world. So instead of making the net generation socially challenged, it made them socially active and eclectic.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2011.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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PERFUMES, TOOTHPASTE...

Bollywood-Stars’ Merchandise Fails to Ignite Sales! Reasons?

As everybody and their toothless aunts know, it doesn’t get hotter than Bollywood when it comes to connecting with the teeming masses in India. Movies, shows, endorsements... stars rock big! By the same token, shouldn’t co-branding or lending their name [or initials] to merchandise spell an automatic, super-duper sale? In the West, it sure does! Be it Paris Hilton, Tiger Woods, Britney Spears, Michael Jordan, Kate Winslet, J.Lo, Justin Timberlake, Antonio Banderas, Catherine Zeta Jones, they all burn the consumer radar.

Alas, here – despite the Bolly-crazed fans – the same doesn’t seem to find the resonance of the West. The sizzling sex-symbol of the seventies, Zeenat Aman was first off the block with a perfume named after her. Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar followed. The luminous beauty Madhuri Dixit joined the party too with a range of herbal hair and skin care products by Emami (under the brand Beauty Secrets by Madhuri). In more recent times, John Abraham’s The John Abraham Wrangler Clothing, a premium prêt denim line, took off, as did Shilpa Shetty’s S2, a new fragrance. “The fragrance pays homage to Shilpa’s Indian heritage and appeal to the European market,” explains the perfume creator, Mark Earnshaw. Reports indicated that in the West, the brand beat off stiff competition from such big stars like Paris Hilton, J.Lo and Sarah Jessica Parker to reach the number 3 spot in two weeks flat of its launch! Shilpa and Bipasha Basu also have workout videos now; and before we forget, even the Little Master Sachin Tendulkar co-created a toothpaste named Sach with the Future Group (with the tagline, ‘Ab din ki shurvat, Sach se!’).

The Big B and SRK have also done their number in this area. While Paris-based perfume major Lomani launched a perfume named after Amitabh Bachchan, a French company, Jeanne Arthes introduced a perfume, Tiger Eyes by SRK, and flooded lifestyle outlets and malls with it. “For his zillion fans, it is the romantic King Khan captured in a bottle,” says Director of Jeannes Arthes Board, Thibaud Perrin.

Has all of this, however, captured the popular imagination of the Indian consumer? Have the B-town worshippers been inspired, motivated, charged or excited to turn buyer and choose these specific brands as their ‘preferred’ ones because of loyalty?

Surveys and studies reveal that the Indian consumer definitely loves the Bolly-stars – then what comes when it’s about picking perfumes? Explains 19-year old Mumbai-based Maya Sen. “I wouldn’t dream of picking up any of the local perfumes! For me, I’d stick to my foreign brands, any day”. She is not alone. Vinod Behl agrees. The 25-year-old Bangalore based techie says, “The Big B, SRK and gang are cool stars. I love watching their moves & antics but buying their named brands is not for me! I’d happily stick to overseas brands, anytime.” Strangely, current research corroborates this think amongst the consumer class of today.

Harmeet Singh of Fragrance Lounge confesses that few people buy fragrances for the celeb factor. “It’s invariably Dior, Givenchy, Calvin Klein & Armani that are in high demand. Neither markets nor mindscapes are developed or sophisticated enough for the local fare,” says Macwinn Fernandes, spokesperson for the perfumes division of the multi-brand store, Shoppers Stop.

Why this West-is-best movement? Behavioural Scientist Anand Halve believes it is both about mental conditioning and track record. “From time immemorial, ‘foreign’ and ‘imported’ have been magical words, right? They have evoked images of quality and class in look, feel and delivery. Even today in most FMCGs, the stuff from abroad is ‘perceived’ to be superior, right? Can the best of whisky, wines or beer; apparel, footwear or perfumes, gadgets... whatever, match theirs? This is not to devalue our stuff, but it is truly an unequal battle. Besides, the core competence of celebrities – especially ours – is not attuned towards a practical brand-fit. Think about it: Lata and perfumes? Sachin and toothpaste?”

For decades, big iconic foreign names have dominated our minds when perfumes, bags, belts and female toiletries & accessories are discussed. These are revered global brands, hymned and celebrated from time immemorial. Compared to them, the B-town offerings are new, untried and untested, with only the celeb-name lending it some credibility. They could well be excellent, but to build brand confidence, credibility and equity in another sphere against world class brands like Dior or Givenchy, is going to be very difficult. In today’s world, a discerning consumer actually buys a highbrow branded product (a Louis Vuitton product, for example) because it actually lasts longer, looks better, and satisfies the utility factor to a much larger extent than other brands.

Bolly-brands have to realise that the Indian mind has to be first de-colonised and seduced with reasons that better be really convincing, both on the ground [Why should I buy it? How is it better than them?] and in the mind [what will it do to me, for me? How will it empower me?]. The day that happens, Shilpa Shetty will have scored a bull’s eye.

Until then, Bolly celebs with merchandise named after them... freeze! Clearly, it’s not an idea whose time has come!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM B-School Detail
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