|
|
|
|
Obama and his AmericaThe election of Barack Obama as the next president of the US, however much it owed to the candidate’s vision, character and charisma, was ultimately propelled by the near-financial collapse in that country, and the very real economic pain that followed. Generic offerings of hope and promises of change became focused on specifics of government aid for the economy, its firms and its people. But the symbolism and significance of Obama’s election is enormous—whatever happens going forward—for people in the US as well as for the rest of us in the shadow of the world’s only superpower. India needs to create an education system that will allow its Barack Obamas to realize their potential What does Obama mean for India? Not in the practical foreign policy arena, where not too much should be read into his initial remarks on Kashmir, but in the space of ideas, of social conceptions. A decade ago, Sunil Khilnani wrote about the “idea of India”. He offered three perspectives: that of India as a modern state, that of an experiment in democracy and that of a stratified society confronting “the imperatives of modern commercial society”. His conclusion was ultimately to argue for acceptance of diversity over the exclusiveness of Hindutva. Recalling the innuendos of John McCain, and especially Sarah Palin, on the campaign trail, one can see how the majority of Americans rejected the attempt to paint Obama as the Other, as un-American. There are parallels between narrowing visions of America as white and of India as Hindu, and India should also learn to reject such narrowness. There is also a lesson in Obama’s socioeconomic background. He is a highly-educated lawyer, who speaks beautifully. Again, the Republicans tried to make him seem elitist (and occasionally his comments, such as those on people bitterly clinging to guns and religion, gave them ammunition), but ultimately, the majority of Americans were comfortable with someone educated, eloquent and unafraid to reveal his intelligence and judgement. These qualities were apparent in the televised debates, all of which Obama was judged by viewers to have won. Obama came from an educated background, but his family had to struggle economically at times. He went to private schools for his undergraduate college education, presumably with financial aid. American higher education has been one of the country’s major strengths, spanning public, taxpayer-funded colleges and private institutions that use donations from wealthy alumni to make top-quality education accessible to diverse groups. Contrast this with the capacity-constrained Indian higher education system, where thinking about equity and diversity rarely gets beyond ever-widening quotas that do nothing to increase overall supply or access. Pioneering Dalit leader B.R. Ambedkar had to come to America for higher education, and the rich in India always have that option, but how many Obamas is India preventing from rising to the top through its misguided straitjackets on higher education? It’s unfair to criticize a Lalu Prasad or a Mayawati for lack of an educated manner when the education system is designed to shut them out. India needs to create an education system that will allow its Barack Obamas to realize their potential. In 2006, the new President-elect had written a book called The Audacity of Hope. This was a remarkable combination of personal observations, reflections on society and sophisticated analysis of economics and politics. If one is to judge by his writings and his subsequent speeches, Obama takes a middle road in his approach to economic policy, rejecting market fundamentalism as well as government paternalism. He uses advisers from the University of Chicago as well as Wall Street. He decries the sometimes painful effects of global capitalism, but he does not reject the capitalist system. Recent financial failures require effective regulation, not banning markets. This is a lesson for India. Many intellectuals in India seem to think that markets are evil, or that democracy and markets are somehow an unstable mix. In truth, allowing markets to flourish in India has created hope for millions by fuelling economic growth. It is the government that needs to catch up in fulfilling its part of the social contract. But not government as mai-baap sarkar. Obama also speaks of the need for individual sacrifice along with the promise of government help. His vision embraces community organization as well as a new social contract for a nation exhausted by partisan battles and cynical manipulation by a ruling elite. This is the largest lesson from Obama’s election for India. Hope and vision in a leader can inspire, and can triumph over fear and divisiveness. A balanced and honest approach to the nation’s problems was appreciated by the electorate in America, and India’s voters are likely to respond more to such honesty than traditional politicians give them credit for. Gandhi and Nehru inspired India, each in his own way, but each was limited by his experiences and his time. No Indian leader has come close since then. India now deserves its own Obama. Nirvikar Singh is professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Your comments are welcome at eyeonindia@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 5:15 pm Obama and his AmericaThe election of Barack Obama as the next president of the US, however much it owed to the candidate’s vision, character and charisma, was ultimately propelled by the near-financial collapse in that country, and the very real economic pain that followed. Generic offerings of hope and promises of change became focused on specifics of government aid for the economy, its firms and its people. But the symbolism and significance of Obama’s election is enormous—whatever happens going forward—for people in the US as well as for the rest of us in the shadow of the world’s only superpower. India needs to create an education system that will allow its Barack Obamas to realize their potential What does Obama mean for India? Not in the practical foreign policy arena, where not too much should be read into his initial remarks on Kashmir, but in the space of ideas, of social conceptions. A decade ago, Sunil Khilnani wrote about the “idea of India”. He offered three perspectives: that of India as a modern state, that of an experiment in democracy and that of a stratified society confronting “the imperatives of modern commercial society”. His conclusion was ultimately to argue for acceptance of diversity over the exclusiveness of Hindutva. Recalling the innuendos of John McCain, and especially Sarah Palin, on the campaign trail, one can see how the majority of Americans rejected the attempt to paint Obama as the Other, as un-American. There are parallels between narrowing visions of America as white and of India as Hindu, and India should also learn to reject such narrowness. There is also a lesson in Obama’s socioeconomic background. He is a highly-educated lawyer, who speaks beautifully. Again, the Republicans tried to make him seem elitist (and occasionally his comments, such as those on people bitterly clinging to guns and religion, gave them ammunition), but ultimately, the majority of Americans were comfortable with someone educated, eloquent and unafraid to reveal his intelligence and judgement. These qualities were apparent in the televised debates, all of which Obama was judged by viewers to have won. Obama came from an educated background, but his family had to struggle economically at times. He went to private schools for his undergraduate college education, presumably with financial aid. American higher education has been one of the country’s major strengths, spanning public, taxpayer-funded colleges and private institutions that use donations from wealthy alumni to make top-quality education accessible to diverse groups. Contrast this with the capacity-constrained Indian higher education system, where thinking about equity and diversity rarely gets beyond ever-widening quotas that do nothing to increase overall supply or access. Pioneering Dalit leader B.R. Ambedkar had to come to America for higher education, and the rich in India always have that option, but how many Obamas is India preventing from rising to the top through its misguided straitjackets on higher education? It’s unfair to criticize a Lalu Prasad or a Mayawati for lack of an educated manner when the education system is designed to shut them out. India needs to create an education system that will allow its Barack Obamas to realize their potential. In 2006, the new President-elect had written a book called The Audacity of Hope. This was a remarkable combination of personal observations, reflections on society and sophisticated analysis of economics and politics. If one is to judge by his writings and his subsequent speeches, Obama takes a middle road in his approach to economic policy, rejecting market fundamentalism as well as government paternalism. He uses advisers from the University of Chicago as well as Wall Street. He decries the sometimes painful effects of global capitalism, but he does not reject the capitalist system. Recent financial failures require effective regulation, not banning markets. This is a lesson for India. Many intellectuals in India seem to think that markets are evil, or that democracy and markets are somehow an unstable mix. In truth, allowing markets to flourish in India has created hope for millions by fuelling economic growth. It is the government that needs to catch up in fulfilling its part of the social contract. But not government as mai-baap sarkar. Obama also speaks of the need for individual sacrifice along with the promise of government help. His vision embraces community organization as well as a new social contract for a nation exhausted by partisan battles and cynical manipulation by a ruling elite. This is the largest lesson from Obama’s election for India. Hope and vision in a leader can inspire, and can triumph over fear and divisiveness. A balanced and honest approach to the nation’s problems was appreciated by the electorate in America, and India’s voters are likely to respond more to such honesty than traditional politicians give them credit for. Gandhi and Nehru inspired India, each in his own way, but each was limited by his experiences and his time. No Indian leader has come close since then. India now deserves its own Obama. Nirvikar Singh is professor of economics at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Your comments are welcome at eyeonindia@livemint.com Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 5:15 pm Reasoning is crucialNew Delhi: After several years of a Common Admission Test weighted towards quantitative skills, the 2008 exam, taken on 16 November by around 290,000 students seeking MBA seats at the Indian Institutes of Management, marked a noticeable shift to emphasizing verbal reasoning and language. The test, commonly referred to as CAT, had an English section with 40 questions, up from 25 in last year’s exam. Click here to watch video “It is a good thing to have, because (otherwise) you get students with good quantitative skills but not good English,” says Gautam Puri, who is vice-chairman at the coaching company Career Launcher. “In the last few years, it became more of an engineering paper.” Puri, who has taken the exam every year since 1995 to keep a tab on it, says the verbal reasoning questions were also less ambiguous, and therefore easier than before. The increased number, though, made the section crucial to making the cut-off for getting into the much sought after IIMs. Career Launcher pegged the number of points needed in each section to pass the exam at 30-32 in the quantitative section, 46-48 in the verbal analysis section, and 28-30 in the data interpretation section. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 5:07 pm Off the shelfMeaningful work spurs on employees  GetAbstract finds plenty of depth in Bains’ argument that people work better when they know that their labour serves a greater good. Meaning, Inc.: The Blueprint for Business Success in the 21st Century Gurnek Bains Profile Books, 2007, 224 pages List Price: $24.95 ISBN-13: 9781861978837 ***** Dos and dont’s in a workplace  To develop her book, Bruzzese culled through hundreds of letters she received from workers asking for advice about problems they encounter at work. GetAbstract suggests that she can teach you a lot about what constitutes acceptable—and not so acceptable—workplace behaviour. 45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy: And How to Avoid Them Anita Bruzzese Perigee Trade, 2007, 256 pages List Price: $13.95 ISBN-13: 9780399533174 Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:56 pm Books | Marketing: the health index of a democracySince marketing is the engine behind economic development in any advanced consumer society, a direct link connects the success of marketing as a whole with the health of the democracy. Explaining this link—and showing how marketing and government complement each other—requires discussing many issues affecting consumers and citizens. To get to all the relevant issues, John Quelch and Katherine Jocz do meander a bit, but they make an innovative argument showing the benefits of linking democratic practices to the best practices of marketing.  Democracies are “political marketplaces” that elect government leaders. Members of the electorate are “political consumers”, a democracy’s equivalent of market consumers. In a consumer marketplace—as in a democracy—people expect choice, open transactions, the ability to help shape the marketplace, access to pertinent information, open economic access (at least if you have money) and the ability to obtain what they need. Consumers tend to base their choices on acquiring things that improve their status or relationships, defend their values and help make the world more understandable. These forces also drive the purchase of goods and experiences, as do consumers’ perceptions about status and “the pursuit of happiness”. Historically, political candidates have borrowed heavily from contemporary marketing. Candidates have always used mass media marketing to reach the electorate with everything from buttons to TV ads. Andrew Jackson became a “man of the people” in his 1828 presidential campaign. In 1840, the conservative Whigs sought to sell their upper class candidate, William Henry Harrison, as a simple man who drank hard cider, a favourite of the working class. Politicians build their brands by creating emotional bonds that are light on policy details. While this works in campaigning, it locks politicians in place. Unlike marketers, they are not free to develop new messages or change positions, lest they seem indecisive. Politicians also can benefit from negative advertising, which is rare in consumer marketing. Negative ads work in politics since an election is based on getting a market share of voters, in contrast to consumer marketing’s goal of enlarging the entire pool of eligible “voters”. Pepsi and Coca-Cola both benefit when more sodas enter the field, since that expands the market. When candidates compare themselves to other candidates, their intent is to attract voters at their competitor’s expense. Like marketers, politicians value brand name recognition, since the high cost of becoming known and running for office is a barrier to entry for many hopefuls. Political parties have turned to brand type recognition to jump-start campaigns. While the consumer market also has barriers to entry, the difference is that buyers have frequent opportunities to make multiple choices among brands. That option doesn’t exist in US electoral politics, where races have single winners who serve for fixed terms. Quelch and Jocz demonstrate that politics can distort the marketing process by injecting misrepresentation, half-truths and broken promises. Can politicians learn from marketers? Maybe, but getAbstract thinks this book is best suited for innovators in government, non-profit leaders, professional marketers and anyone who needs to sell a message to win—from a salesperson to an on-the-stump politician. Rolf Dobelli is the chairman of getAbstract. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:55 pm Spencer Stuart Perspectives | Tech co seniors head for AsiaThe Asia-Pacific region is quickly attaining greater strategic importance for global technology companies. Once a place where corporations were content to field a mid-level sales executive, an R&D branch and a local procurement office, Asia is now becoming a hub for very senior executives —and even the headquarters of global business units. Consider these actions by leading technology companies: Cisco Systems Inc. has established a globalization centre in Bangalore and relocated its chief globalization officer, who reports directly to the chairman and chief executive officer, to manage it. The company is also planning to relocate more senior executives to China to implement its latest corporate strategy for the country. International Business Machines Corp. has established its procurement headquarters in Shenzhen, the first time the company has placed a key function outside the US as it becomes more globally integrated. Fairchild Semiconductor Inc. has positioned two direct reports of its CEO in Singapore. And Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. has moved its $1 billion-plus (about Rs4,880 crore) Global Electronics division to Asia.  Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint Key drivers While only 16% of respondents to the survey said their companies earn at least 30% of revenue from Asia today, 40% expect Asia to account for at least 30% of revenue within three years. According to Owen Chan, president of Asia-Pacific for Cisco, based on current growth rates, China, India and the US will be the three largest economies in the world by 2050. This is driving the company’s strategic investment in Asia over the next 10 years. Cisco has invested heavily in its Asia presence, announcing in 2005 a plan to spend at least $1 billion over three years to expand its India operations, and in 2007, a $16 billion investment plan for China. Less than half the respondents in the survey said that Asia is important to their company’s cost-reduction initiatives, while at least 80% said the region is very important for driving revenue growth. Thus, while Asia-Pacific may still be viewed as a low-cost option for manufacturing, when business functions move to Asia, it is done primarily for proximity to customers and suppliers, not to control costs. Retaining talent A January 2007 Economist Intelligence Unit corporate network survey of 600 chief executives of multinational companies found that a shortage of qualified staff ranked as their biggest concern in Asia. Moving global functions and business units to Asia can help companies attract, retain and develop better talent in the region over both the short and long terms. Companies with direct reports to the CEO in the region are at a distinct advantage since they can offer a potentially more promising career path to employees. John Paterson, chief procurement officer for IBM, who heads the company’s global procurement operations from Shenzhen in China, says this is important because if an employee thinks that his/her career will cap out because all the senior jobs will go to expats, there is much less motivation to stay around. Having decision makers in the region also gives local employees the opportunity to assume greater responsibility—and companies a chance to better develop local talent. At the same time, companies want to groom indigenous executives who understand Asia but have a global view in order to run a global business unit. International experience can be just as important for Asian employees as it is for their stateside counterparts and is a big retention benefit. Inspiring loyalty A strong local presence inspires loyalty from more than just employees: When a company moves a global business unit to the region, customers and vendors recognize its long-term dedication to the region and are more likely to commit in return. IBM has seen the benefits of its Asia strategy on its vendor relationships. Since the company made a visible commitment by moving its headquarters to Asia and invested serious time, energy and money with suppliers, it has seen the acceleration of vendors’ willingness and readiness to support the company on a truly global basis. This is critical as IBM transforms into a globally integrated enterprise doing business where it makes sense based on costs, economies and skills. Companies such as Cisco are even teaming up with governmental and educational institutions to prepare the next generation of workers. In China, Cisco is working with educational institutions to set up at least 300 networking academies. Students who attend them will get networking training and be prepared for CCNA (Cisco certified network associate) certification so that they’ll be ready for IT jobs when they graduate. Competitive advantage One thing is clear: Placing senior leadership in the Asia-Pacific region offers a competitive advantage for many companies. The region is too complex, is changing too fast and has too much potential to manage from a distant headquarters. But that does not mean it makes sense to move to Asia because it’s a trend. And it does not make sense to move a business function to Asia for cost reasons alone either. The true drivers should be to move closer to customers and employees who are making those decisions and to respond more effectively and rapidly to the market. For those companies that see their future growth coming from the economies of China and India, putting a wide array of resources under a senior leader in those markets may be a necessity. Developing truly global suppliers in Asia might require placing the leadership of the procurement organization right there beside them. And if the customers have moved to Asia, the organizations that design, build and sell products to them must be there too. As a result, companies dedicated to succeeding in Asia may need to fundamentally change the structure of their organizations. There is a window right now for companies who get in and offer really meaningful positions that will attract top-notch talent. And those unprepared to seize the moment may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in this high-growth region. Send your comments to spencerstuart @livemint.com This article draws from a recent Spencer Stuart white paper, The C-Suite Moves East: Asia’s New Place in the Corporate World. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:55 pm Watch out for the placebo effectWhat makes consumers believe that a high-priced branded product or one with a fancy packaging is better? Baba Shiv calls it the placebo effect, with the brain deriving more pleasure from extraneous factors that may not be directly linked to the intrinsic quality of the product. How then does a consumer guard against the placebo effect? Gather information, compare the effectiveness of rival products and take informed decisions, says the professor. It is this attempt by Shiv to understand the non-conscious placebo effects of marketing that led to findings such as people consuming high-priced drinks solving more brain teasers compared to those who consumed cheaper energy drinks. Shiv, who has served as a consultant for several marketing and law firms on issues ranging from branding and pricing to trademark infringement, says his primary aim is “to change business practices” and “help people take better decisions”. Edited excerpts from an interview: In one of your research papers, you have said price can influence the consumer’s experience of a product. The research, citing an example, says a consumer who pays a higher price for an energy drink is likely to solve more brain teasers than the person who pays a discounted price. On the face of it, this seems far-fetched. It makes the consumer seem naive. Close to 90-95% of the mental processes are not accessible—the conscious brain cannot access the mental processes taking place in the subconscious mind. Most of the time, that is good for humans as it differentiates us from a computer. For evolutionary reasons, we have developed habits where routine processes go to the subconscious mind.  Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint Are you saying that consumers are likely to buy a product at a higher price when people are usually looking for bargains? You have to divide the notion of utility in economics in three ways. First, predictive utility—it’s when before you buy, you think of what utility you will derive at what cost; second, experience utility—when you consume the product you know what utility has been derived, and third, remembered utility—consumers who are coming back the next time to purchase the product. And this is triggered by both of the above. Having said this, let’s look at women’s apparel—look at women at a certain income status (level) buying clothes. It is well known that women prefer to buy items at a discount—if the item is not at a discount, they bargain more than men. Men usually don’t worry about the discount but women get an emotional buzz from the lower cost or the bargain they managed. Now, that forms part of the predictive utility, (but) the same low price before they bought it at a bargain can manifest itself as a lower experience utility. So, on one hand, there is this huge emotional buzz before the purchase, but because of the discount, your brain will not derive much pleasure—so you will start using the item less or get rid of it sooner than you would if the item was bought at a regular price. There are two forces working in opposition (opposite directions) —positive and negative—and the important thing is the remembered utility driven by predictive utility—which means getting it at a discount. So, when you think of utility, a combination of predictive and experience (utility) is what determines remembered (utility). In a nutshell, this is not a paradox. Yes, people like bargaining but this is their emotional buzz. Besides pricing, what are the other marketing factors that can influence consumer response to a product? The first and foremost factor that modulates consumer response to a product is the brand name that is made powerful by brand communication. A consumer responds in a different way to a product that is a well-known brand to one that is not branded, even if the two products (branded and unbranded) are made up of similar properties. The other factors that give out cues to a customer, in ways that are not related directly to the product, are packaging and presentation. For example, there may be a bottle of perfume beautifully packaged standing on a shelf versus the same perfume with no packaging that sends out a completely different message. Similarly, the presentation of the retail setting, whether it is food in a restaurant or the same bottle of perfume in a well-lit, well-designed store as opposed to the food or same perfume sold at a no-frills outlet. The brain derives more pleasure from these factors in the environment that may or may not be directly linked to the product itself. So, do these factors that influence consumer response and experience so strongly work on products across the board or only on certain categories such as perfume and food? These factors do not depend on the categories under which the products come. They are determined by the nature of benefits being offered by the product and the benefits can be categorized in three ways: search—these are products, looking at which you will know this is what you require; experience—products which do not depend on the look as much as they do from actually using or experiencing the product, and credence—under this type, whether you see it or not, you will not know whether the product has worked till some time has passed. For example, when you start taking medication for a health problem that starts showing its effectiveness after six months or when you send your car for servicing, you do not know what the mechanic has done until you realize things are working differently, if at all, at a later time. Consumers, in this case, just believe that the product has the benefit. The placebo effect is at its minimum in search and maximum in credence. Are there any downsides to adopting such extraneous influencers to change consumer perceptions? For the consumer, there are huge downsides because they may make wrong decisions based on the placebo effect. Take the case of medication I used earlier—you have a generic medicine at a regular price and a branded one at a much higher price. The placebo effect will make the consumer choose the branded medicine, even though it may not be as effective as the unbranded one. Or a manufacturer may have a wonderful presentation for his wares, but he may be charging the consumer a higher price on products, so the consumer may end up paying for the presentation without knowing it, whereas she may get that very product at a much lower cost elsewhere. Apart from causing customer disappointment, the environment also suffers as the materials used for presentations are what landfills are made up of. Aren’t there any ethical issues related to this phenomenon of mapping brain signals to understand consumer behaviour? At the end of the day, isn’t it going to help companies exploit consumers’ emotions more? I get asked this question all the time—I am doing research which is not for the benefit of any firm. I do it for the consumer, so (that) she can make educated decisions—not only for herself but also for others. What I hope to tell consumers is that you may give in to fancy packaging but you’re the one paying for it. I don’t help firms and that’s true for researchers that study the brain and decision making. Do you use the results of your study for commercial purposes? No. If a firm does go ahead and use the results of my study, I really can’t stop them. But yes, when I talk to brands they are more of a guest lecture, where I share my expertise on human decision making. So, companies call me to talk about how the brain makes decisions—these are more scientific talks. Could you share with us some interesting insights that you may have given a company? Did the company apply them? I really cannot share the names but the one (company) I can talk about is Google Inc. I gave guest lectures as they have a (lecture) series where professionals come in to talk. When companies come to me to solve their problems, I normally say no because I’m here to change business practices by making people think differently (so as) to help them take better decisions. So, I’m there as a scientist answering questions on my research—so hopefully, consumers can make an informed decision. My papers and research are available openly on the Internet, so there is no reason why they would pay me—but yes, I can elaborate on my experiments—(but) I don’t solve problems. What are you currently working on? My current research interest includes the study of the emotional and the motivational brain and their implications for human decision making. An example is my current research showing strong dissociations between wanting and liking through the phenomenon of “jilting”, wherein an individual is eager to receive a rewarding outcome but the outcome does not materialize. What we show is that under such situations, the individual has reduced liking for the rewarding outcome (and) at the same time wants the outcome more (than if the individual were not jilted in the first place). Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:54 pm Reasoning is crucial - Livemint
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:53 pm Layoffs can be less painfulThe global financial meltdown is taking its toll on Indian companies. Many are resorting to layoffs to cut costs and sustain business. The largest domestic private air carrier Jet Airways (India) Ltd, for instance, laid off 27 expatriate pilots recently. In October, the carrier had announced it would cut 1,900 jobs but had to reverse its decision following employee protests and government concerns over the mass layoff. New York-based credit cards and travel services firm American Express Co., or AmEx, has begun downsizing its workforce in India as part of its worldwide effort to cut costs. Around 120 to 150 employees are likely to lose their jobs as a result. A day after the news of layoffs at American Express India on 3 November, mobile handsets maker Motorola Inc. announced its India operations would face job cuts as part of a plan to shed 3,000 jobs, or about 5% of its global workforce. There are several such instances where companies have announced job cuts.  Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint The employer-employee relationship in India is very different from that in the rest of the world, say most human resource experts. Not only is there an emotional element involved, but our intricate social structure and the lack of a legal framework that could protect both employer and employee in such situations makes the process extremely complex. “Here, retrenchment is not viewed the way it is in the West. There is a social taboo attached to job loss,” says K. Raghavendra, vice-president and head, human resources, Infosys BPO Ltd. The company has identified around 440 surplus employees in the last three months but hasn’t let them go because of several such reasons. “Severance is a complicated issue. There are legal, human and cultural aspects to it and, therefore, it is virtually impossible to execute an ideal severance,” says Anoop Narayanan, partner, Majmudar and Co., a Mumbai-based law firm. The law firm has been engaged by a large US manufacturing company to retrench the staff of a loss-making unit of its Indian subsidiary. This will result in 200 employees losing jobs. “We are developing a severance strategy which would include communication with employees, trade unions, government authorities, obtaining approval from the government on severance compensation,” says Narayanan. The key challenge is that in these rapidly changing times, we are governed by 60-year-old laws. Need to review laws The laws here make the retrenchment process extremely cumbersome. Currently, there are around 47 Central laws and 157 state regulations that directly affect the labour market. Most of these regulations are often inconsistent and, at times, overlap. Labour experts say it is impossible for either firms or workers to be aware of their rights and obligations when rules and regulations are spread over such numerous national and state-level Acts. “The key challenge is that in these rapidly changing times, we are governed by 60-year-old laws,” says Tapan Mitra, chief, human resources, Apollo Tyres Ltd.  Sensitive issue: All political parties have a casual approach to labour legislation, says RP Bedi’s Jaideep Bedi. Ramesh Pathania / Mint Labour law experts point out that international labour laws, while giving companies the freedom to sack employees, also have adequate clauses to safeguard the rights of blue- and white-collar workers. Bedi cites the US Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act that requires companies to give employees a 60-day notice before mass layoffs or an eventuality such as the closure of a business unit or a plant. In India, employees in the services sector or industries where there is no manufacturing activity have little legal protection against layoffs because it is yet to be decided whether such workplaces should be treated as industrial establishments under the Industrial Disputes Act. “Many companies have exploited the absence of legal guidelines and there are several instances where employees have been fired without even a day’s notice,” says J. John, editor, Labour File, a journal on labour and economic affairs that comes out once in two months. In the absence of strong legal safeguards, the employment contract is a way to ensure that termination is in accordance with the terms and conditions of the employment agreement and the contract of employment, say experts. An employment contract will include standard clauses such as terms of employment, probation, compensation, confidentiality provisions, work hours, benefits payable, notice period, compensation and other requirements for termination, non-compete and governing laws. “If the termination is not in accordance with the employment agreement, then the employee can initiate legal proceedings against the employer for breach of contract, claiming damages and other remedies,” says Narayanan. Though employee contracts for senior executives in India have protection in the form of strong severance clauses and termination benefits, it is not so in the case of junior and mid-level employees. Transparency matters There can never be a perfect and easy layoff but companies can definitely make it easier for the person who is going to go back home jobless. Experts say taking employees into confidence and explaining to them the compulsions for retrenchment can mitigate the injury and insult to a great extent. Some experts argue that companies should admit job cuts are a fallout of their own non-performance rather than the fault of employees. “Companies must learn to admit to their non-performance rather than label laid-off employees as unproductive workers,” says John. “Employers need to get their act together and handle layoffs with fairness.” Bali agrees: “You shouldn’t spring a surprise on your employees. You have to be able to honestly explain the reason for disengagement.” The key challenge is that in these rapidly changing times, we are governed by 60-year-old laws. Many developed countries have a strong social security infrastructure that acts as a cushion during periods of involuntary retirement. “We have no such thing here,” says Bedi. “In India, the absence of a strong social security network and system creates an additional responsibility for companies,” adds Mitra. “We need to work towards a fair and uniform process that benefits both the employers and employees.”  Loopholes: Many firms have exploited the absence of legal guidelines—and some have fired employees without even a day’s notice, says Labour File editor J. John. Ramesh Pathania / Mint In July, one of the country’s largest corporate groups, Reliance Industries Ltd, sought the help of recruiters to outplace around 400 employees from its fuel retailing business. The business was being downscaled after expansion plans didn’t take off as expected. AmEx, too, is making efforts to make the process less painful for the laid-off employees. “People who are displaced will receive full severance, outplacement assistance and other support to aid their transition,” said an AmEx statement. “Through an outplacement service, companies saddled with extra people can get rid of them without causing much heartburn,” says Ramesh Hande, director, Insync Consulting India Pvt. Ltd, a human resources solutions company that also offers outplacement services. “These are employable people who can be easily placed in firms that are hiring.” Typically, outplacement services can cost a company up to 15% of an employee’s salary. Still, the benefits far outweigh the cost. “It should be understood that a painful retrenchment impacts even the morale of those employees who have not faced the axe,” says Jatar. A cordial parting not only helps the employee who has been shown the door but also helps the firm project a more humane face among its present and prospective employees. As Bali puts it, the perceptions shaped by how you have treated your disengaged employees have a bearing on who you can hire in future. “You might need the same people to come back when things are back to normal. If you have been good to them, there are better chances of them coming back to you,” he says. Infosys BPO’s Raghavendra says his company has not laid off people in its six-and-a-half years. “Laying off is an easy option,” he says. “The challenge is to take care of your people in tough times as well as manage costs.” Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:53 pm Business at Oxford | ‘Strategizing’ communication’ Critics are quick to point out the hazards of over-reliance on “Offlish” such as solutioning, siloing and even expendituring. At best, it shows a command of the contemporary vernacular and at worst, it suggests the speakers have no idea what they are talking about. Yet, the fads and fashions of business-speak need to be understood as part of the dynamics of wider language evolution.  Illustration: Jayachandran / Mint Take the word “strategy”, for instance. Rarely considered jargon, strategy is respected as a staple in the business lexicon, a hardy perennial, immune to the whims of fashion. Consequently, it might be expected that its relevance and meaning is unambiguous, universal and unchanging. Our research paints a different picture. With support from Oxford University Press, we used the Oxford English Corpus, or OEC, a vast database of 1.8 billion words of 21st century English, to investigate how the term strategy and its various grammatical inflections (for example, strategic, strategize) are actually used, not just in business but across the English language. Strategy has a much more dynamic, nuanced and intriguing character than previously imagined. Imported to English from ancient Greek, strategy is etymologically rooted in stratos, which means “an army or group of soldiers”. A strategos is a leader of a stratos and strategy is the art of warfare, or of leading, or commanding. A stratagem was a device used to deceive an enemy. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the first appearance of the word strategy in English back to 1688 and military origins. Around 1840, strategy began to migrate into more common usage, taking on additional meanings around the 1950s in association with business competition and game theory. Despite its widening portfolio of application, the diffusion of strategy across the English language has not been uniform. English is spoken by an estimated one-third of the world’s population, but not all English is the same English. Important linguistic differences exist between different dialects at the national, regional, local and community levels. This is reflected strongly in our research, which found significant variation in the popularity of the term strategy across a range of dialects. For example, strategy is most popular in Irish English and South African English, occurring over twice as often as expected (230%) and least popular in Indian English, occurring only around a third as often as expected (36%). In British English and American English, the figures are 130% and 88%, respectively. In the context of an increasingly globalized business environment, understanding the popularity and relevance of seemingly universal and neutral terms such as strategy can be crucial for effective marketing and communication. We also found that different subject areas exhibit preferences for different inflections of strategy. The most striking example of this is the adjective strategic, occurring over 10 times more frequently in the military area than expected (1,050%), sending a clear signal that it is mainly a militaristic term. In contrast, the verb strategize occurs only half as often (52%) as expected in the military area. The verb is, by far, the least commonly used inflection of strategy overall, but is the fastest growing. Notably, its patterns of behaviour differ from strategy and strategic in almost every respect. For example, strategizing is almost exclusively used in informal and unedited written contexts such as weblogs and chat rooms, whereas the other inflections are most likely to appear in formal, technical and edited documents and speeches. Language is in a perpetual state of flux; new words and phrases come and go all the time. Some evolve to become part of the general vocabulary, others adapt to serve specialized niche functions, others still are flash-in-the-pan fads or simply fade away unnoticed. Our research suggests that those who urge us to simplify the language of business are swimming against the tide. Appeals for straight talk sometimes sound like the quest for “one best way”: in principle, not a bad objective, but under the circumstances, probably impractical. This is especially true if your customers, suppliers, employees and other stakeholders are diverse in terms of language, age, education and interests. Put simply, it cannot be taken for granted that the particular meanings associated with words or expressions in one linguistic context will be understood in exactly the same way in another or that meanings will remain the same over time. This holds true even for apparently conventional terms such as strategy. Business leaders who worry about using jargon can afford to relax. They are keeping good company when being creative with language. William Shakespeare, John Keats and Oscar Wilde were famous for their manipulation of English, even though language mavens of the day criticized them for language “abuse”. It’s perfectly apt that a true master in the art of communication, Shakespeare, was the first to turn the noun “dialogue” into a verb in Timon of Athens (1607) —Apemantus: “Dost dialogue with thy shadow? No,’tis to thyself. To the Fool”. Send your comments to businessatoxford @livemint.com Eamonn Molloy is a fellow in management studies at Pembroke College, Oxford. Contributions from Susie Dent, journalist and broadcaster, are gratefully acknowledged. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:53 pm PM rules out possibility of early general election On Board PM’s Special Aircraft: Prime Minister Manmohan Singhon Sunday ruled out early Lok Sabha elections in the wake of the worsening global economic downturn and fears of its adverse impact on India.  Holding ground: Manmohan Singh addresses the media on board his special aircraft while returning from Washington on Sunday. Subhash Chander Malhotra / PTI “It (economic crisis) has no bearing on elections. The elections will be held on schedule,” he told journalists accompanying him in his special aircraft on way back from Washington where he attended a summit of Group of Twenty, or G-20, leaders. Singh was asked about the possibility of the global crisis forcing government to go for early elections or change any plans for early polls in view of the fears the crisis has stoked. To another question, Singh said his government has performed reasonably well and he sincerely hoped that the people would repose their confidence in them. Asked how realistically he felt that the approaching elections would impact the government’s response to the crisis, he said, “The crisis is not our making. I would like the people of India to judge us by the response of the government to the crisis.” “We acted in time. While the rest of the world is in gloom we will still maintain a growth rate of 7.5%. The goal is growth with stability and more inclusive growth is a reality and will remain a reality despite the onslaught of adverse turn on our external environment,” he said. Elections to constitute the next Lok Sabha are due before the last week of July 2009. Source: LatestNews-Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:34 pm Mozilla is organized to build an open InternetMitchell Baker, chairperson of Mozilla Foundation and Mozilla Corp., is a lawyer-turned-tech evangelist who in the early 1990s helped set up the legal department at Netscape Communications Corp., later bought by AOL. Netscape is known best for the Web browser that lost the browser war with Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer. About 10 years ago, she helped found the Mozilla Foundation, a non-profit organization, and in 2004, Mozilla launched its Firefox Web browser. The Economist has described Firefox’s tale as a curious one. Edited excerpts from an interview with Livemint Radio: What is the curious tale? The curious tale of Mozilla? Mozilla is the tale of something everyone knew could never happen. A few things happened in the early 1990s after Netscape’s great success. Microsoft appeared on the scene, Microsoft had its own browser. Eventually, through a series of activities that browser controlled something like 97%, meaning that 97 out of every 100 people who ever accessed the Internet always did it through one single means.  Innovative Web: Mozilla Foundation chairperson Mitchell Baker says the revenue relationship with Google is kept separate from the product and the relationship is irrelevant to what Firefox is or becomes. Reuters And that, in turn, was a direct effect of having only one and no competition. But at the same time everyone knew it was impossible to compete with Microsoft in this space. And so it was left to Mozilla, the open-source small, scraggly child that no one really wanted except a few of us that were involved and no one thought it would ever succeed to take and fight this critical battle. Because it turns out that the browser is not irrelevant, it is the part that each one of us as a human being touches. It is the tool that we, as human beings, have to access the Internet and so it is not irrelevant, it is fundamental. And so, Firefox was launched in 2004. What is Mozilla’s manifesto and what are you trying to achieve through Mozilla? Mozilla is, at heart, an international public benefit organization. We are organized both legally and in our social covenants with each other to create public benefit and to build the Internet that is open and accessible and truly global and allows innovation across cultures and across a multitude of different business models and different companies. So the manifesto expresses that mission or that set of values. We are technically and legally a non-profit organization. That means that all of the value that we create is owned by the public and cannot be distributed among or to private persons as you would with shareholders. And so that’s the legal mechanism that re-enforces the Internet as public infrastructure. Tell us about your relationship with Google. You have a revenue-sharing relationship with Google. What about Google’s Chrome (Web browser) and what impact will it have on the relationship because there is a sense among certain people in the community that the folks that’ll switch to Chrome will come from the Firefox group. That’s a set of related questions. The first one is what impact does the revenue relationship have on the product or what impact does Chrome have on the revenue relationship. You know, I’ve said for many years that we keep the revenue relationship with Google separate from our product. So as to Firefox, the revenue relationship is irrelevant to what the product is or becomes. We’ll develop Firefox as best we can; as we think best. Firefox has a large share of the early adopters among its users and so I think we all expect that many of those early adopters will go look at Chrome. We expect most of them will come back. And there’s a bunch of reasons for those but clearly some will stay. We expect Chrome to have some market share; we don’t actually expect it to, like be a giant or take-off or any of those things but it will certainly have some market share. ...if you look at Firefox 3, it really is a great browser—maybe the best that we’ve ever seen. You know, we expect that some of these people may stay with Chrome for—I don’t know; release, two releases, whatever—and come back. So, we’re not actually particularly worried about losing many of our users. There is that perception again that Google is trying to do the same thing that Microsoft did 10 years ago when you talked about the monoculture. How is Google different? First of all, Google’s different because Microsoft created a setting in which they had 99% market share on the OS (operating system) and 97% across the border—operating system, browser and desktop productivity apps. We have not seen Google remotely approach that setting now. And I know that the Google relationship with Yahoo! and Microsoft feels unbalanced. Like Google is clearly winning and that’s true! But imagine what it would be like if Google were 97% market share holder. Second thing is that Google’s DNA is clearly about the Web..., about the movement of information around the Web which can’t all be controlled. So, I think their DNA is different than Microsoft’s... But, certainly there are concerns that Google’s becoming not just the powerhouse of our era but a monolith. You certainly can’t toss them off, I think. You know it’s always worth watching. You know Google, I think, will speak to this and I think they understand the concern. They understand that people are watching so to some extent it is a slightly different setting... Let’s switch to the success of Firefox. What went right for Firefox and what made the difference and what continues to make a difference in the success of Firefox? For Firefox, a couple of things lined up at the right time. First of all, it’s an important product. We talked about it earlier, how important it is. Not only was it important but the options were all bad. So people had a reason to look at something different. Three, we had the right product. So how do you get the right product? Sometimes it is the right people, sometimes it is luck, sometimes it is process. We rely somewhat on the right people and a lot on the right process—those two together which we had in Firefox and certainly we still do because if you look at Firefox 3, it really is a great browser—maybe the best that we’ve ever seen. Interestingly most of the Firefox users are not in the US but outside. For instance, in India, there are millions of Firefox users. How are you reaching out to them? What are you doing in terms of localization of Firefox? Well, we’ve always had an active localization community. In fact, I think Firefox is probably the leader in bringing real-time, multiple-language releases into consumer software. We have an odd way of doing this. We rely on local groups of people, volunteers to create the special aspects that are necessary. So, we localize both in language, menu items and so on but also for locale meaning we make sure the engine goes to the right place and various other parts of the products should be tuned and not just to a language but to the way you are. We have such communities in India and we’ve been spending more time with those communities and learning more about India, and trying to figure out what other locales are there, what’s the most important thing, the various different languages in India, is its localization not related to language so much but other aspects of being in India. What other way can we make it so that people can participate. So the reason that the localizers are good example of what’s important in Firefox is we’re trying to build communities of people who demand the ability to build the Internet we want. It is great to be a consumer and it is great when things appear for free; browsers appear for free and websites appear for free. And being able to consume that is such a wonderful thing. When it is free that is wonderful. But it only goes so far. But if all we are are consumers then, if something doesn’t work for us, we’re just stuck. And if something doesn’t work because it is tuned for one business company or one goal and we’re stuck with it, that’s a terrible place to be. So we’re trying to build not only Firefox but Mozilla as a set of people who understand that if you want the Internet to work in a way that’s good for you or your country or your people, who speak your native language or the other things that you care about, getting involved is the way to do it. And then we provide the ways to get involved. So, that is what the localizers are. What goals do you think you still have to accomplish both for yourself and for Mozilla? For Mozilla, the articulation about the importance of participation that we talked about today; this is new. We have been successful in explaining why this arcane piece of software like the browser matters and then demonstrating it and getting it into the hands of people. So first grade battle, we have done pretty well at. The next ones are, it is not just a browser—if I can’t get involved, if I’m willing to make that effort and the energy but I still can’t get involved and I can’t fix the things about my life that don’t work but I can’t get involved with the browser, I can’t get involved with the Internet, I can’t see it, I can’t understand it. If all I can do is consume it, better or worse— that is a failure of the Internet. That is a great challenge for Mozilla to explain that and to continue to demonstrate and put tools in the hands of people. It is just like the Internet were all out of the US and there was no way that content would ever break free of being US-centric and the only video you ever saw came out of US movie studios you know, produced in one culture—that would be a failure! And in the same way, the inability to access it to make it real—for me it would be a failure. And I think that is a pretty good-sized challenge and that encompasses data as well as other technologies. Excerpts from a radio interview by Kamla Bhatt. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:33 pm Urgency eases for GM wheat as prices fallDUBAI (Reuters) - The push to promote genetically modified (GM) wheat to combat global food shortages could slow as global commodity prices ease, a top industry executive said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:49 pm Kamath for further liquidity injection - Hindu
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:48 pm PM returns from G-20 Summit - Press Trust of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:46 pm GLOBAL MARKETS WEEKAHEAD - Unremitting gloom and capital flightLONDON (Reuters) - Investors enter the week surrounded by unrelentingly poor global economic news, fading hopes of a significant end-of-year stock market recovery and a growing reliance on governments coming to the rescue.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:21 pm Gold to remain a safe haven despite volatilityDUBAI (Reuters) - Gold will remain a safe haven for investors in what is one of the worst financial crises in history, despite the recent price volatility, a senior industry official said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:12 pm JP Morgan could axe thousands of jobs - reportLONDON (Reuters) - JP Morgan, the US investment bank, is drawing up plans to axe thousands of jobs across its worldwide operations, reports The Sunday Telegraph.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:02 pm Temasek likely to keep Tata Tele stake - officialNEW DELHI (Reuters) - Temasek is yet to take a final decision on whether to exit India's Tata Teleservices, but is likely to remain invested, a senior official said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:01 pm IT sector growth to slowdown: InfyInfosys Technologies, country's second largest software exporter, said on Sunday that the growth in the IT sector will be slowerSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 2:59 pm Pricing not under pressure due to global meltdown: Infosys - Times of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 2:57 pm OPEC President suggests decision more likely in DecALGIERS (Reuters) - OPEC may have to wait until December to take action to reach a preferred oil price range of $70-$90 a barrel because the effect of its latest cuts is not yet clear, the group's president said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 1:50 pm Isro to set up centre for atmospheric studies in TirupatiHyderabad: “The ISRO is ready to establish a world class facility for advanced atmospheric studies near the temple town Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh,” its chairman G Madhavan Nair informed Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy. Madhavan Nair was replying to a message sent by the Chief Minister congratulating the ISRO team on the success of Chandrayaan-I mission. The Chief Minister, in his message, sought the establishment of a Human Space Programme (Astronaut Training and Bio-medical Engineering Centre) and offered necessary land in Anantapur district close to Bengaluru. Rajasekhara Reddy said that the land was readily available in Anantapur district close to Bagepalli in Karnataka on NH-7, 69-km away from the new Bengaluru International Airport. “We are ready to provide required land for this project at a concessional rate and extend all necessary support,” Nair said in the letter the National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) of the ISRO that is functioning at Gadanki near Tirupati since 1992 is engaged in fundamental research related to atmospheric and space sciences and developing various types of radars and lidars for atmospheric studies. “The NARL has proposed to expand its activities towards advanced technology experiments and in this regard a laboratory for developing flight instruments is planned to be set up near Tirupati,” he said. “We seek a positive response from you to support for getting suitable land of about 20 acres for establishing a world class facility for atmospheric studies,” he added. The chairman said as part of the ISRO’s initiatives on Human Spaceflight Programme (HSP), a centre for training Indian astronauts has been planned to be set up around Bengaluru in coordination with the Indian Institute of Aviation Medicine. “We are presently pursuing the approval process of the HSP with the government,” he added. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 1:46 pm Godrej asks government to offer stimulus packageConsumer goods major Godrej Group has urged the government to offer a 'stimulus package' on the lines of China to help domestic companies sustain their growth momentum, a top official said here Sunday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 1:02 pm Protectionism should not be allowed, PM tells G-20!Advocating a multi-faceted approach to tide over the current economic crisis, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday coordinated global fiscal stimulus to help mitigate the severity and duration of the recession.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm MetLife to hire 2,000 managers, 30k agents by March!Private sector insurer MetLife India on Sunday said it plans to hire about 2,000 managers as well as 30,000 advisors and double its branch network by March.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm CVC questions Govt on spectrum allocation, pricing!The Central Vigilance Commission has sought details of the Government policy of allotting spectrum to new telecom firms at Rs 1,658 crore for all-India licence.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm India loses USD 44-bn forex in Sep-Oct on global woes!India`s foreign exchange reserves, having peaked at USD 314.62 billion in May, dropped by over USD 44 billion in the past two months.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm Telcos to pay more as spectrum fees for microwave access hiked!Government has significantly hiked radio waves fees for microwave access and backbone network, which are necessary to run mobile operations.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm Economic crisis tops agenda of APEC leaders` summit!The crisis plunging the world into a recession is to dominate an APEC summit in Peru next weekend, along with efforts to firm up an international response to the turbulence.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm RBI likely to cut repo rate by 50 basis points: Experts!Receding inflation has raised hope for a further cut in the short-term lending (repo) rate cut by at least 50 basis points, which experts feel might come sooner than later.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm `Banks may cut PLR further if RBI takes action`!With inflation declining and fiscal discipline improving in the system, the Reserve Bank might reduce its cash reserve ratio and repo rates further enabling banks to lower their lending, deposit rates further, bankers said.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm Let funds flow smoothly to infra space: Assocham!Warning that project activity is likely to witness a slowdown in the infrastructure space, industry body Assocham on Sunday urged the government to ensure smooth fund supply.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm Economic summit vows action — takes few concrete steps!World leaders battling a dire and deepening economic crisis vowed Saturday to cooperate more closely, keep a sharper eye out for red-flag problems and give bigger roles to fast-rising nations.Source: Zee News : Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:46 pm ICICI Bank sees more rate cuts, easing creditNEW DELHI (Reuters) - ICICI Bank, India's second-largest lender, sees interest rates and credit easing further as inflation falls faster than expected, its chief executive said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:05 pm UK bookie predicts India win in Indore, series triumphFew in England expect an English win in the seven-match one day international (ODI) series against India, if one were to go by the bets placed with a top British bookie.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:02 pm Development must be a mass movement: Modi - Press Trust of India
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 11:57 am Godrej asks govt for stimulus package for India IncBusiness conglomerate Godrej Group asked the government to offer a stimulus package on the lines of China to help India Inc sustain its growth momentum.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 11:46 am SA appeals G20 to restructure Global financial systemSouth Africa's apex business body has appealed the G20 to restore confidence in the global financial markets so as to alleviate the effects of the economic turmoil.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 11:31 am Foreigners throng Janpath market for variety at bargain pricesColourful stoles, silver jewellery, Kolhapuri slippers and a lot more are available at a reasonable price at the Janpath market in Connaught Place, a downtown shopping area in the Indian capital frequented by foreign tourists looking for a cheap bargain on trinkets and curios to take back home.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 11:30 am WKLY TECH ANALYSIS: Nifty has strong support at 2500 - Business Standard
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 11:06 am Hit by inflation, labourers turn their backs on capitalAs prices soar and insecurity grows, those at the bottom of the social ladder are finding it difficult to make two ends meet. So, leaving behind their dreams of a better life in the city, they are beginning to migrate back to their native villages.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 11:02 am India's jute industry feels pinch of recessionIndia's jute industry, which bags large orders from the Middle East and Europe, is likely to take a big hit from the ongoing global recession, and a strike in West Bengal next month will worsen the situation, say experts.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:32 am SRF revenues to shrink by up to five percentLeading textile company SRF Ltd Sunday said its revenues would fall by three to five percent this fiscal due to the current economic downturn.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:32 am Hit by inflation, labourers turn their backs on capitalAs prices soar and insecurity grows, those at the bottom of the social ladder are finding it difficult to make two ends meet.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:27 am TIMELINE - Financial crisis since OctoberREUTERS - Here is a chronology of the global financial crisis since October:Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:19 am High volatility expected on D-Street on RBI move, G-20 summitMumbai: Dalal Street is likely to witness heavy volatility this week, as although the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced a slew of positive measures there were just promises from world leaders to wipe away the economic crisis, feel analysts. “Amid the general negative bias in the market, D-street will take cues from the RBI’s steps and the G-20 summit. Accordingly though market may trade in the positive zone for some time but will eventually fall back in the red,” Kejriwal Research and Investment Services (KRIS) official Arun Kejriwal said. RBI’s action can spell boon for realty and finance sectors but overall there exists a negative trend and as a result there will be heavy volatility, marketmen said. “Volatility is extremely high across the world markets and till the uncertainty boils over, domestic markets are likely to continue on their downward journey. Stocks are oversold and awaiting a positive trigger to bounce back,” brokerage firm SMC Global Vice President Rajesh Jain said. The benchmark index Sensex witnessed a highly volatile trade last week and settled down by nearly 2% at 9,385 points on Friday. World leaders have warned that economic momentum is slowing substantially across the world and the global outlook has weakened. Leaders in the G-20 summit have agreed to initiate strong and significant actions to stimulate economies, bring transparency in financial system, offer liquidity and reform financial institutions to beat recession. The summit also pledged to help emerging and developing economies gain access to finance. Meanwhile, the RBI has announced a slew of measures, including permission to housing finance firms to raise funds from overseas markets and raising the interest rate ceiling on foreign currency deposits. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:17 am 'Indian job market is insulated from global economic crisis'Companies operating in India are 'upbeat' about the economic growth here and the country's job market is totally insulated from the effects of the global financial crisis, industrialists said here Sunday.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:01 am Haryana looking for site for national level fairsThe Haryana government is looking for an appropriate location in the state to provide an alternative to New Delhi's Pragati Maidan for holding national level fairs and exhibitions, a state official said.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:00 am Europe’s grand plans for new Bretton Woods on holdWashington: It was no Bretton Woods 2. European leaders had great hopes for the emergency summit that they persuaded lame-duck President George W. Bush to host—with some comparing it to the 1944 wartime conference at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, when 44 nations created the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. Even though French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown hailed Saturday’s meeting of global leaders as “historic,” they didn’t get what they wanted in terms of establishing a new brand of capitalism, dethroning the US dollar in a shake up of the world’s currency systems, or a quick-fix overhaul of the financial system. Instead, leaders from the old economic powerhouses of Europe and North America and the fast-growing economies of Asia and South America agreed on the broad themes needing to be addressed to prevent the financial crisis from wrecking their economies—and to keep talking. The summit conclusions were big on strong-sounding intentions, but short on concrete plans. The world will have to wait until April to see how serious they are when leaders gather for a second summit, probably in London. By then, finance ministers will deliver a catalog of measures designed to rein in risky investing, including better regulation of financial markets, revised accounting rules, and an assessment of the compensation of bankers. “What matters now are the follow-up actions,” said World Bank President Robert Zoellick. Crucial to the success of this meeting will be the attitude of President-elect Barack Obama, who wasn’t even present in Washington. German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’s hopeful Obama will play ball. “I have not the slightest doubt that we will be able to proceed along the way that we set out today,” she said. “This is a reasonable approach that the new president will surely support.” Despite the lack of substance—which financial markets will judge Monday—leaders claimed they still accomplished much by just gathering in such large numbers to grapple with the world’s financial panic and pledging to work together to contain it. In the past, a select few players—principally the world’s top seven old-world industrial democracies: the United States, Japan, Britain, Germany, France, Italy and Canada—have talked among themselves. But the financial crisis has hit these economies hardest, and the engine of global growth next year will depend on the ability of countries such as China, India, Brazil to weather the storm. The G20 includes the seven major industrialized nations, the European Union, and Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey. “The crisis has shown to leaders of the world the need to act together,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Sarkozy claimed that the different economies of Europe, which were initially divided on their response to the crisis, showed “complete unity” and persuaded the US to break new ground. “The US administration has accepted to move on subjects where historically all US administrations refused to move,” he said The leaders agreement to consider oversight of rating agencies is, he said, something that “was never before accepted in the Anglo-Saxon world.” And he hailed the decision to examine whether the compensation of bankers encourages risk-taking, saying “it wasn’t simple” to get Britain and the US on board. Merkel pronounced herself “extraordinarily satisfied” with the meeting. She said that the document points to a willingness to implement comprehensive reforms in the regulation of the global economy. Brown said he won agreements he was seeking on closer coordination of fiscal policy, on pledges to make progress on reforming international financial bodies like the IMF and on making a concerted effort to strike a deal on the long-stalled Doha round of world trade talks. But progress isn’t likely to be made as quickly as he hoped, and pledges on cooperation over the use of government spending or tax cuts are loosely worded in the summit’s communique. His hopes that several nations would pledge funding to boost the IMF’s $250 billion dollar bailout pot for struggling economies during the weekend’s summit were dashed. But Brown, who toured the Gulf last month to rally support for the plan, told reporters he expects new pledges over the coming weeks. Bush, described by Sarkozy as a “loyal” but “not easy” partner, called the meeting “very productive.” But reflecting possible trans-Atlantic difference to come, Bush sounded more cautious about market regulation. “Whatever we do, whatever reforms are recommended, we need to be guided by this simple fact: that the best way to solve our problems and solve the people’s problems is for there to be economic growth. And the surest path to that growth is free-market capitalism,” he said. Acknowledging that the tough talks are still to come, Sarkozy said that the big questions discussed by leaders on Saturday “can’t be resolved in three weeks.” “Bretton Woods took two years,” he said. —Associated Press writers David Stringer, Michael Fischer and Desmond Butler contributed to this report. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 10:00 am Outsourcing biggest concern for India post-Bush: Moody'sOutsourcing by US companies will be the biggest concern for India due to the change in US administration next year, says a global research firm.Source: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 9:39 am India tipped to be world’s largest gaming marketBangalore: “The console gaming market in India, which is one of the biggest untapped markets in the world with less than one per cent penetration, is expected to reach $125 million by 2010,” a senior official of Sony Computer Entertainment said. “The Indian console gaming market, which is expected to reach $125 million by 2010, offers a huge potential for marketers in days to come,” Sony Computer Entertainment Country Manager Atindriya Bose said. “The world gaming market is expected to reach $43 billion by 2010 with Indian outsourcing potential being $10 billion,” he said. “India is lagging behind by 10-15 years in the world gaming curve but had picked up rapid growth in the last 2-3 years with the console gaming component having experienced a seven fold growth,” he said. “The Indian gaming market right now is nascent but many new gamers were moving in. It is currently a vibrant market,” he said, adding that the sector was picking up in the metros as well in other cities with the Punjab belt, Gujarat, Vishakatpatnam, Salem, Thiruvananthapuram seeing a lot of momentum. “However, the industry is facing some challenges, import duties are as high as 31.7%, creating a major hurdle. The fluctuation of the dollar rate had also hindered stabilisation of prices,” he said. But, there had been a lot of rationalisation of prices of gaming consoles recently. The Playstation-2 and portable playstation which were in the range of Rs11,000 to Rs18,000 had dropped to Rs6,000 to Rs9,000 while the Playstation-3 had seen a drop in prices from Rs40,000 to Rs 25,000, he said. “Piracy was another major hurdle especially in Playstation and Portable Playstation. However, rationalisation of prices had helped in countering the piracy effect to some level,” he said. “The three main gaming segment comprised the kid segment ranging from 10-14 year olds who played games but were under parental supervision. The second segment comprised college students who were glued to the latest developments globally in the gaming scenario and discussed gaming a lot,” Bose said. “The early earner segment comprised those who should have played games 10 years earlier but could not as the industry in India had not been developed,” he said. Out of the three segments, the first two were growing rapidly with many new entrants to the field. “The picking up of gaming market is evident from the feedback and the blogging spots on gaming,” he said. “The console gaming market currently had witnessed an installation of 6.5 lakh consoles in the country with majority being individual consumers. Corporate sales were seen mainly in BPO and IT sector were gaming was being used as a ‘stress buster.´ However this segment constituted a very little of the entire market, and could be grown further,” he said. He believed the current vibrancy in gaming would soon lead to an avalanche shortly. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 9:28 am Etisalat eyes buys with $3 bln war chestDUBAI (Reuters) - Emirates Telecommunications Corp (Etisalat) is eyeing acquisitions as it seeks to benefit from falling prices in a financial crisis, potentially using its $3 billion in cash, a senior official said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 9:22 am Top 10 club’s wealth shrinks by Rs34,000 cr in a weekBy PTI Mumbai: Country’s top 10 firms club witnessed an erosion of over Rs34,000 crore in its market capitalization amid the meltdown last week, while valuations of Reliance Industries and ONGC saw a massive dip. The top 10 companies together lost Rs34,423 crore in market cap last week, while Reliance Industries alone suffered a loss of Rs10,906 crore. Also, state-run ONGC’s market valuation declined by Rs10,277 crore in the past week to Rs 1,48,341 crore. At the end of Friday’s trade, the total market value of the 10 most valued firms, comprising six public sector units and four private sector entities, stood at Rs9,80,727 crore, down from Rs10,15,150 crore a week ago. During the last week, Mukesh Ambani-led RIL, which has the maximum weightage among Sensex stocks, fell in all the four trading sessions and settled at Rs1,148.55, a loss of 5.69% compared to previous week’s close, on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The market valuation of RIL which slipped from its Rs two-trillion mark a couple of week back dipped further to Rs180,758 crore. However, it retained its numero-uno position. Meanwhile, Bharti Airtel regained its third slot after gaining Rs28.47 crore last week, thereby replacing state-run power utility NTPC, which suffered a loss of Rs1,600 crore in market cap to slip to the fourth place. Country’s largest lender State Bank of India took a hit Rs5,025 crore in its valuation and hold the fifth place. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 8:06 am PM rules out early general electionsBy PTI New Delhi: On board the prime minister’s special aircraft, Manmohan Singh today ruled out early Lok Sabha elections in the wake of the worsening global economic downturn and fears of its adverse impact on India. “It (economic crisis) has no no bearing on elections. The elections will be held on schedule,” he told journalists accompanying him in his special aircraft on way back from Washington where he attended a summit of G-20 leaders. He was asked about the possibility of the global crisis forcing government to go for early elections or change any plans for early polls in view of the fears the crisis has stoked. To another question, Singh said his government has performed reasonably well and he sincerely hoped that the people would repose their confidence in them. Asked how realistically he felt that the approaching elections would impact the government’s response to the crisis, he said “the crisis is not not our making. I would like the people of India to judge us by the response of the government to the crisis. “We acted in time. While the rest of the world is in gloom we will still maintain a growth rate of 7.5%. The goal is growth with stability and more inclusive growth is a reality and will remain a reality despite the onslaught of adverse turn on our external environment,” he said. Elections are due before the last week of July in 2009 to constitute the next Lok Sabha. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 7:06 am Rs 1-cr for Bahrain Kannada Bhavan - Express Buzz
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 6:33 am Proportion of unsafe injections more in rural area: studyBy PTI New Delhi: Rural India is more at risk as far as unsafe injections during vaccinations are concerned, according to a new study, “Assessment of injection practises in India” conducted by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The proportion of unsafe injections is about 10% higher in villages as compared to cities. The study found that more vaccines were prescribed to urban communities than to rural ones. About 21.6% of the population in urban areas were prescribed vaccines as compared to 15.9% in rural areas. “The proportion of unsafe injections was around 65.9%, nearly 10% more when compared to those in cities (54.9%). The difference was maintained when data was stratified according to the type of health facilities and type of health providers,” the study, which included 85 medical colleges from across the country, said. Besides, the proportion of injections carrying a potential risk of spread of blood borne viruses is also somewhat higher in villages (33.4%) as compared to that in urban areas (26.6%). “These differences in injection safety could be explained by the higher use of glass syringes in rural areas, variations in the profile of prescriber and their safety records and training of the injection givers,” the study said. However, availability and fundamental status of sterilization equipment was similar in the two areas but appropriate waste disposal was consistently a bigger problem at health facilities located in villages. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 5:29 am BHEL, Areva T&D to form JV for manufacturing nuclear reactorsBy PTI New Delhi: State-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd is in talks with electrical equipment maker Areva T&D India, the Indian arm of French Areva Power, to form a joint venture company for manufacturing nuclear reactors. “BHEL and Areva T&D are in talks to form a joint venture for manufacturing nuclear reactors,” Minister of State for Power Jairam Ramesh told PTI, adding that the facility would be set up in Finland. BHEL would have 26% stake in the JV company, sources said. The JV would manufacture European Pressurized Reactors (EPR) of 1,600 MW capacity each. Areva T&D India is a part of French electrical equipment maker Areva Power. Areva T&D has bagged a 35 million euro (approx. Rs221 crore) order from state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd to provide transmission and distribution services to its unit. The order includes providing Bhillai Steel Plant, a flagship unit of SAIL, with a 132 KV gas insulated sub-station, besides offering protection, control and monitoring system for the existing ones. The project is scheduled to complete by October 2010. Source: Home - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 5:16 am SKF India to put Haridwar facility on - SteelGuru
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:56 am IT Ministry gives nod to set NIXI hub in AhmedabadBy PTI Ahmedabad: Ministry of Communication and Information Technology has given a nod to set up a hub of the National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI) in Ahmedabad, a press release issued from the Gujarat Government said here today. “Ahmedabad becomes the seventh city in the country that is getting the hub of a national internet exchange,” the release said. It added that “The union government has already approved such hubs for Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai while it has given approval to Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Banglore in the present round.” In Ahmedabad, the hub has already become operational at GNFC info tower here. The NIXI-HUB would restrict the wastage of bandwidth in local traffic, which would have impact on the economy in foreign exchange and it will be beneficial for internet services providers in the state as it would reduce bandwidth expenses, the government release said. Source: Tech News - Livemint.com | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:34 am Steel Min asks for 10% import duty; SAIL denies prod cuts - Moneycontrol.com
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 4:13 am Plane fuel cheaper, will fares follow? - Economic Times
Source: Google News India - Business | 16 Nov 2008 | 3:17 am World leaders urge fast action on financial crisisWASHINGTON (Reuters) - World leaders pledged rapid action on Saturday to rescue a weakening global economy from the worst financial crisis in over 70 years and agreed to give emerging nations more say in running financial affairs.Source: Reuters: Money News | 16 Nov 2008 | 2:37 am Banks’ provisioning norms for realty, capital markets easedMumbai, Nov. 15 In yet another set of measures to further boost liquidity and enhance credit flow, the Reserve Bank of India on Saturday eased prudential norms for banks’ exposure to sensitive sectors such as the capital market andSource: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Aviation fuel prices cut again; fare cuts unlikely for nowNew Delhi, Nov. 15 The domestic oil companies have reduced the price of aviation turbine fuel by between Rs 5,500 and Rs 6,000 a kilolitre at the four major metros. The decision of the oil companies means that domestic airlines will be paying forSource: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Kudremukh Iron Ore unfazed by meltdown; plans new facilityKolkata, Nov. 15 Undeterred by the current crisis, Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd (KIOCL) sticks to its plans to set up a ductile iron spun pipe manufacturing facility and modernising the pellet plant at Mangalore to ensure a better future.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Weekly News Round-upThe Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, on Thursday called for strengthening bodies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank as also regional banks and regional arrangements so that the fallout of the global crisis is minimal onSource: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am RBI allows longer export creditMumbai, Nov. 15 In view of the difficulties being faced by exporters on account of the weakening of external demand, the RBI has decided to extend the period of entitlement of the first slab of pre-shipment rupee export credit, currentlySource: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Mumbai developer pegs sales with ‘buyback’ offerMumbai, Nov. 15 Amid the gloom in the realty sector, the cloud appears to have lifted, at least for a Mumbai developer who has managed to sell 50 apartments in one week with a buyback offer incorporated in the saleSource: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Recession helps cleanse the system, say some auto component cosChennai, Nov. 15 The slowdown in automobiles sales may be having its inevitable deleterious effect on the auto components industry, but instead of the wail of the stricken, what is heard are words ofSource: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am PE flows into realty at 2007 levelsBL Research Bureau Private Equity (PE) investments in the Indian realty sector in 2008 may turn out to be about the same as last year.Source: Business Line - Home Page | 16 Nov 2008 | 12:00 am Sebi survey to probe investor apathyThe Securities & Exchange Board of India, or Sebi, has decided to conduct a survey to find out why investors are staying away from the securities market.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 15 Nov 2008 | 7:29 pm More steps to combat crisisThe Reserve Bank of India today announced a slew of measures to attract foreign currency deposits and boost liquidity to mutual funds, non-banking finance companies and exporters.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 15 Nov 2008 | 7:28 pm ATF prices fall further, air fares stay highState-owned oil marketing companies have cut the prices of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), or jet fuel, by 12 per cent from midnight tonight the first fortnightly price revision.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 15 Nov 2008 | 6:34 pm India to get $3 bn moreThe World Bank will provide India an additional $3 billion a year over the next three years as part of a broad plan to make available $100 billion of additional liquidity in that time frame to shoreSource: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 15 Nov 2008 | 6:32 pm 75% jobs to wilt at Lotus MFAt least 150 of the 205 employees at Lotus India Mutual Fund may lose their jobs.Source: Business Standard | Front Page Headlines | 15 Nov 2008 | 6:32 pm India, Russia re-negotiating aircraft carrier costIndia and Russia are re-negotiating the cost of the aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov amidst reports that Moscow has demanded an additional $2 billionSource: Daily News & Analysis: Money News | 15 Nov 2008 | 4:23 pm Vaghela weaves yarns of hope for textile sectorTextiles Minister Shankarsinh Vaghela Saturday sought to dispel the gloom engulfing the Indian textile sector, reeling under global economic downturn, slump in export orders and liquidity crunch.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm Mamata wants global tenders for Singur's abandoned landTrinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee Saturday demanded global tenders for setting up industry at the abandoned land of Tata Motors's Nano plant site in West Bengal.Source: IndiaeNews.com: Business News | 15 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm
|
