a mba july2015

Mumbai | Volume XII | Issue 12

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July 2015

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The GMAT StoryAn online adaptive test

SOUMYADEEP

AASHISH CHILLAR

NEHA MANGLIK

UTTAM KUMAR

HARSHVEER JAIN

VIBHU GUPTA

in CAT’14are IMS Students

6 100%ilers

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Advanc’edge MBA October 2012 3

editor

Aditya Prakash IengarEditor

from the

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All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole and in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed and published by Kamlesh Sajnani, on behalf of, IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051. Printed at Uchitha Graphic Printers Pvt. Ltd., 65, Ideal Ind. Est., Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 13 and published at Mumbai.

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Editor

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How many of you are still mourning the apparent demise of Maggi? The ubiquitous noodle-y delight that is almost synonymous with dorm rooms and hostels and bachelors’ apartments is now no more available on supermarket shelves and your local grocer’s hanging baskets. To many, this leaves a rather dismayed hole in their soul, in which lurks a disbelief about the presence of excess lead mingled with hope for the 2-minute meal replacement’s return.

Nestlé, the Switzerland-based parent company, sprang into action almost immediately after the shock ban on Maggi. In an unprecedented move in India, it recalled the product, destroying more than 27,000 tonnes and suffering a loss upwards of US$50 million. Apart from the usual damage control message that Maggi was a victim of perceptions and politics, and that nothing is actually wrong with it, Nestlé went a step further. And that’s what I want to talk about.

Nestlé sent out a strong, positive message, “We will be back.”

If you think about it, Nestlé’s move works both at a large, brand scale, as well as a small, individual level. By pulling the Maggi off the shelves immediately without getting into a protracted legal battle then and there (the battle has already started in the courts), Nestle showed that it cared for its customers, it had their best interests at heart, but most importantly, that there was always a possibility that it could be wrong!

And then, the strong message that it would be back. Which, if taken maturely, can mean that they will right all wrongs, defend their position if needed, and get back into the market.

How many times have you been in a discussion or argument with someone and not backed down from your point? How many times have you actually listened to someone just for the sake of listening, instead of waiting for them to finish so that you can reply? How many times have you actually admitted you were wrong? And finally, how often have you said confidently, “I’ll have an answer for you soon?”

Even if you’re reading this purely from the preparation point of view, you should know that you will always win brownie points if you’re mature enough to correct your erroneous standpoint or make way for a superior argument. Whether it is a group discussion or interview, they just want to see whether you have an opinion, have the ability to defend it, and more importantly, accept and adopt to a superior point of view.

And of course, there is always the satisfaction of being able to come back later with a right answer, a more mature demeanour and earn the respect.

Think about it.

Cover Story06 | Understanding the GMAT story

Corporate Interview09 | PRACHI GARG, Owner of GhoomoPhiro

B-school Vibe12 | Choose your weapon, and keep hitting

13 | Activity never ceases at a B-school

Point of View16 | MBA: A playground where you can play anything

Corporate World18 | The strategy focus of RIL and its impact on India

21 | US interest rates, Eurozone and the Indian economy

24 | IndianITfirmsarestanding at a crossroads

Snippets27 | News in brief

Must Reads30 | Mister Pip

The Shiva Trilogy

The 7 Habits of Highly EffectivePeople

Study Hour31 | Test Q&As

34 | Word Dose: A wretched view

35 | Globescan

38 | SuDoKu

Disclaimer : The views expressed in the articles by contributors and others are not necessarily those of the Publishers, unless specifically stated therein. While no effort is spared in ensuring the accuracy of the information published herein, readers are advised to reconfirm the current facts before acting upon any such information. The Publishers regret their inability to accept responsibility for any inadvertent errors of commission or omission in this issue. Readers are recommended to make appropriate inquiries before incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The publishers do not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of any products or services. The Publisher, Printers or Editor shall not be held liable for any consequences in the event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior permission from the publisher.

Payment to be made by crossed Demand Draft/Cheque drawn in favor of “IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd.” For subscriptions and related enquiries write to: Advanc’edge MBA, IMS Publications, A division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051.For more queries e-mail: [email protected]

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CONTENTS

J U LY 2 0 1 5PRACHI GARG

Advanc’edge MBA July 2015

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The Advanc’edge Team

While the GMAT structure is quite well known to most test-takers, there is much more to the test than meets the eye. Understanding the nature of the test will really help you get

the right perspective for your preparation and practice with the right purpose.

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Understanding the GMAT story

he GMAT is a statistically valid and universally understood measure of

your aptitude (as defined by the GMAC, an association of business schools) for doing a business course. So, if you take the test today in India and score a 720, and 4 years later someone takes the test in China and scores a 720, schools will accept both of you as having the same aptitude — the 94th percentile. The scores and percentiles have barely changed over all these years, since around 2.5 lakh people take the test every year. Moreover, your GMAT score will be valid for 5 years.

GMAT vis-à-vis CATIndian GMAT-takers must understand that unlike Indian tests like the CAT, the GMAT is not a test of elimination but a measure of aptitude. Thus, while a 720 on the GMAT means something precise, the same cannot be said about a CAT score — there is no standardised score to percentile conversion.

Also on the CAT since difficulty levels, question types and number of questions vary drastically from year to year, it cannot be statistically proved that people getting 99 percentiles in different years have

the same aptitude. This is not a problem for the Indian schools since the CAT is not intended to provide test-takers with a valid measure of their aptitude, it is for

institutes to eliminate a bulk of the approximately 2 lakh test-takers appearing for the CAT every year.

The GMAT structure - Table 1

Table 1

Section No of questions Duration Areas No of questions

per area

Analytical writing assessment (AWA) 1 topic 30

minutesAnalysis of argument 1

Integrated Reasoning (IR) 12 30

minutes

Multi-source reasoning 3

Graphics interpretation 3

Two-partanalysis 3

Table analysis 3

First optional break - 8 minutes

Quantitative 37 75 minutes

Datasufficiency 18 to 19

Problemsolving 18 to 19

Second optional break - 8 minutes

Verbal 41 75 minutes

Reading comprehension 11 to 12

Criticalreasoning 13 to 15

Sentence correction 13 to 16

Total test duration - 3 hours and 30 minutes


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The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) measures your ability to think critically and to communicate your ideas. During the AWA, you are asked to analyse the reasoning behind a given argument and write a critique of that argument.

The Integrated Reasoning section measures your ability to evaluate information presented in multiple formats from multiple sources — skills you need to succeed in our technologically advanced, data-driven world.

The GMAT showcases all of your skills — not just math. The Verbal section measures your ability to read and understand written material, to evaluate arguments, and to correct written material to conform to standard written English.

Standardisation runs right down to question-levelThe GMAT is precisely defined not only at an area-level, but also at a question-type level. For example, within Critical Reasoning there are fixed question-types like Weaken, Strengthen, Conclusion, Assumption and Inference and so on with a fixed number coming from each type. The same is the case both with the errors tested on Sentence Correction and the topics tested on the Quantitative section.

A computer-adaptive testOne of the unique things about the GMAT is that it is a computer-adaptive test — a test where questions are calibrated to the level of the test-taker. So easy questions are not posed to a test-taker likely to get a high score, and tough ones are not posed to a test-taker who is not likely to do well on the test.

Hence, everything hinges on the level of the test-taker, which the test’s algorithm predicts. The test will thus start with a question of moderate difficulty. If the test-taker answers it correctly, the algorithm

poses a question of slightly higher difficulty and if the test-taker answers it incorrectly then the algorithm poses an easier question.

A great test of competenceThe beauty of the GMAT is that despite the fact that everything is so transparent and so many actual old GMAT questions are available for practice, the test is not a cakewalk, with only 2 per cent of the takers likely to score a 750 or above.

Every question-type needs to be tackled with a precise strategy. For example, there is a foolproof test on how to solve the Assumption question type on Critical Reasoning. Once a test-taker understands this properly, there is only a certain amount of practice that he or she

would need — not more than 20 questions to ensure that 9 out of 10 times you get an assumption question right. The specific content of the question then becomes just a wrapper once you have mastered the underlying algorithm. The same applies to all other question types tested on the GMAT.

The GMAT scoreVerbal and Quant scores range from 0 to 60, but the actual range of scores that test-takers get is narrower. The actual range of scores is from 9 to 44 for the Verbal section with 45 being rare and 7 to 50 for the Quantitative section, with 51 being rare.

The sectional scores are calculated based on

• The number of questions answered within the stipulated time

• The number of questions answered correctly

• The level of difficulty of the questions posedThere is no negative marking in

the test, but if you run out of time and leave questions unanswered, the penalty is very steep — 1 point for every unanswered question would be a rough estimate. If you’re running out of time, randomly guessing and choosing answers can be done, however inadvisable it may be under other circumstances!

It’s not just about the GMATGiven the fact that in India, fates are decided solely based on test

scores, be it 12th boards or JEE or AIEEE, Indian GMAT-takers tend to place an inordinate amount of importance on the GMAT score. They book a date for the test just a few weeks before the application deadline, giving themselves enough time and more time to crack the test.

While the GMAT score is an important component of your

application, an equally important component is the quality of your application essays. A great GMAT score, even a 780, does not guarantee an admission. Apart from the GMAT score, institutes look for academic accomplishments, quality and diversity of work experience and personal profile, extra-curricular accomplishments. All these can be captured in a resume format. The institutes also evaluate your vision or life-goals, your leadership qualities, your attitude towards life, your approach to adversity, etc, all of these things are measured through your application essays.

Institutes accepting the GMATMost business schools across the world accept the GMAT score

THE QUESTIONS OF THE GMAT ADAPT

ARE CALIBRATED TO THE LEVEL OF THE

TEST TAKER.

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as a part of their admission and selection process. Several schools in India, such as the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad, the executive business management programmes at IIM Ahmadabad, Bangalore, Calcutta, Indore and other programmes at Great Lakes, NMIMS Mumbai, SPJIMR Mumbai, etc also accept the GMAT.

Preparing for the GMATIn terms of preparation, quality of practice becomes much more important than its quantity. A lot of test-takers preparing for the GMAT erroneously believe that just solving more and more questions will bump up their score. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The GMAT is a test that demands very limited but intense and precisely targeted preparation rather than an extended prep involving endless practice.

Start prep with a test date in mindThe application deadlines of schools start towards the end of the year (around September). Now, the GMAT can be taken all the year round, but test-slots are not available with equal ease all year round — test-slots are easy to get during the first six months of the year, but as the year draws to a close it is almost impossible to get a slot of your choice!

This is because either you want to give maximum time for your preparation and push closer to the deadline, and the queue gets crowded, or the CAT is finally out of the bag, in terms of all results being declared, only by the end of May. This is when the GMAT — the usual plan B — starts rearing its head and in actual prep starts in June after a recuperation period of a few weeks!

Plan a test date keeping the application essays in mind. Given the importance of your application

essays in the selection process, it makes sense to arrive at a test-date with at least a 30-day window before your first application deadline.

The ideal sequence for planning an MBA should be:

Optimum time for GMAT prepThe short answer is — a minimum of 2.5 months and a maximum of 6 months.

The optimum time needed depends on the test-taker but the prep phase for any test has two components — the prep-phase and the testing-phase.

A 30-45 day testing-phase is a mustThe GMAT is a long test with the test duration totalling up to 4 hours, including the 8 minute breaks. So, in a sense it is as much a test of mental stamina as it is of quantitative and verbal aptitude.

You might be used to working long hours, but 4 hours of intense, sustained test-taking effort is

something that is qualitatively different from the effort required at work. So the first goal of your testing phase is to develop test-taking stamina, by ensuring that you take a certain number of mock tests before your actual test date — from a minimum of 8 to a maximum of 17.

The second goal is to work between tests to gain the maximum possible score increase between your first and your last mock.This means that you will need to• Spend time analysing your test

with a fine-toothed comb and precisely identify problem areas.

• Work on those areas so that when you take the next test you make fewer mistakes from those areas.

If you take a minimum of 8 tests, then the least time you’ll require to make a meaningful improvement from your first mock score to the last is 30 days, sometimes more.

Up to 3 months in prep phaseThe duration of the prep phase purely depends on the test-taker’s ability, and Table 2 provides a classification of test takers and time on the scores they can secure without any prep.

Whether you take classroom prep or prepare on your own, your prep-phase if done diligently and with regularity should not last more than 3 months in most cases. The only exceptions are test-takers with a lot of work experience or those are really weak in Quant or Verbal. Then, the phase can stretch to 6 months.

So the optimum time to prepare for the GMAT is 4 months — 3 months of prepping and 1 month of testing. A

Table 2Quant Score

Verbal Score

Prep-Phase Duration

45 30 45 days

42 25 75 days

40 20 90 days


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...says PRACHI GARG, owner of GhoomoPhiro, an event management company for corporates. With MBA and journalism degrees up her sleeve, this new-age power-packed

lady tells Alolika Banerjee how the business acumen running in her blood helped her fulfil her long-cherished dream of turning her passion for travelling into her own company.

Education and learningcan never be wasted

Tell us about yourself and what prompted you to start a business of your own? I am a simple small town woman with big dreams. After my Class 12, I got introduced to the ways of a big city when I started doing my graduation in Computer Science from Delhi’s Miranda House. Before that I had always been within the confines of a small town in Uttar Pradesh called Bulandshahr.

However, I was always interested in going out and exploring new places. Travelling has been a passion that I have nurtured ever since I was a child. So starting a business that involved travelling was always at the back of my mind.

What is GhoomoPhiro all about? What is the kind of work that you do at GhoomoPhiro? Starting this business was more like giving wings to my passion. The fact that I named it GhoomoPhiro also came very spontaneously. One day I was sitting with my father when he suggested that since my area of work revolves around ghoomna phirna, why not name it GhoomoPhiro. So I started off very casually, but slowly, this company

became the most important aspect of my life. At GhoomoPhiro, we organise corporate tours

and events. It can be a single day event, a weekend programme or else a trip of four to five days. I inspect everything on my own – first starting from the quality of the hotels, living arrangements, amenities offered and, most importantly, the food offered. I feel quality matters a lot in a niche business like this one. So I try and ensure that I offer the best possible package to my clients. This way they are satisfied and I am content that my job has been done well.

After your graduation you were working in an IT company as a programme manager. What made you realise that you needed an MBA degree to further your career?I always wanted to do my MBA after gaining a few years of work experience. This is how I had chalked out my career path long ago. I view my MBA degree holistically. I could see it connecting the different dots in my life and giving me a newer perspective to go ahead. And honestly speaking, the MBA degree helped me

immensely to develop my contacts and reach out to a much more cosmopolitan diaspora.

You were already into business when you studied MBA. How did you manage to balance work and education together?I would want to give full credit to my time management skills for that. (Laughs) In fact, I cultivated this habit of multi-tasking right from my college days. At Miranda House, I not only studied Computer Science diligently, I was also associated with different societies and college groups. I was an active member

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of the Dramatic Society, president of NSS (National Service Scheme), part of Quiz Society and also an intrinsic member of their Creative Society. I also used to send out my writings to several publications and freelanced with them. I even wrote for Advanc’edge magazine while I was preparing for CAT. (Smiles) So handling multiple things while giving equal attention to each one of them individually was something I was quite used to doing since my college days. Naturally, I didn’t face any problems when I had to juggle my business and education. In fact, I thoroughly enjoyed my journey!

Was there any specific reason that led you to start GhoomoPhiro?Starting a business was always at the back of my mind. And since I hail from a business family, giving shape to an enterprise all by myself was not an alien concept for me. In fact, I was aware of the intricacies and challenges of running a company ever since my childhood.

To be honest, although I enjoyed my stint in the company I worked for, a part of me always yearned to start something of my own. I thought that, instead of toiling eight hours every day in an organisation, if I had to work for 20 hours for my own start-up, I wouldn’t mind! After all it would be my baby and I’d bear its complete responsibility – be it success or failure.

When did you realise that an MBA degree might be crucial in your stint as an entrepreneur?It’s not just about the MBA degree, I feel any kind of training or education is never, ever wasted. My computer science, journalism and MBA degrees put together have made me the person I am today. And whatever I have learnt from each one of them is put to the best possible use, now that I am running a company.

But specifically, I’d say my MBA days have helped me expand my social circle immensely, and building contacts is extremely crucial in a business. While studying, we all were like a family and today, I can say that the networking that I established during those days is invaluable and will be an asset to me in the days ahead as well.

I would want to add that my stint at Great Lakes was the only period of my life when I got the luxury, or to put it precisely, the right platform, to experiment with my business ideas.

You have mentioned that you come from a business family. Did that influence your decision to start a business?Absolutely. My parents are in the publishing business

and they are my biggest strength. They encouraged me and helped me carry forward my decision to start a company. Since they were both already running a company, they knew the nuances of the trade and what it takes to successfully start and run a business. So they gave me enough support to sustain through this challenging journey.

You could have easily carried forward your father’s business. Instead you chose the harder way and started your own business. How challenging was that? Share with us your ride.Yes, I could have worked in my father’s company. Even now I help my Dad with whatever I can contribute. But I always wanted to start something completely on my own. My parents had always taught me to listen to my heart. They had encouraged me to do things my way ever since I was a child. So when it came to business, I wanted to pursue my passion – travelling. I felt this business would help me travel more extensively, and naturally I’d feel enthused about my work. And my parents were supportive of my decision and never stopped me.

You have worked as a salaried person and now you are at the other end of the table – you generate salaries of your employees. How challenging is that role reversal?The role reversal is certainly challenging, because now at this juncture of my life when I am running a business, I am responsible not only for my family but the sustenance of my employees’ families as well. So I must say this makes me a more cautious and mature human being. The responsibility is also giving me immense satisfaction at the end of the day.

I am thoroughly enjoying this challenging journey. I get an amazing thrill every day to go to work, come up with strategies of expanding my business, deal with my employees and clients and basically run the company I am so passionate about.

Is running a company, however small or big, tougher than working in an MNC? When I am working for someone, I certainly put in hard work and concentrate a lot in order to achieve the best possible results. But when I am running my own company, the dynamics change completely. I will settle for nothing but the best every time my company delivers to the client. It’s a different ballgame completely, because the onus to succeed is completely on me. So I push myself to the limits to get appreciation from my clients. I will not call that challenging, but describe it more as a rewarding experience. My dedication and expectation levels are on a different high completely.



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Share with us some of the day-to-day challenges that you face.While running a business, I am bombarded with challenges continually. But the best part is that I never feel bogged down by them and look for interesting ways to sort them out. For example, I’ve even ended up cleaning my floor and my room on days my maid doesn’t come! This was certainly never the scenario when I worked in the IT firm . But trust me, I love everything that I do for my company. I never crib.

At times when the work demands, I often stay back late and finish a particular assignment. But I don’t have a problem because my company is my baby and it’s my responsibility to ensure all the requirements are properly met.

I am sure you will agree networking is an important part of MBA programme. Any advice for students who want to become entrepreneurs?Yes networking is certainly crucial in business and it’s an ongoing process never to be neglected.

But I would like to say that students mustn’t treat any lead as insignificant or irrelevant. Life is strange, and many a time the smallest and the apparently insignificant lead can convert into the most lucrative of deals.

Many entrepreneurs start companies to take forward their office work in a more personalised and niche manner. In your case it was not the case. What made you choose something completely different?I am a travel-crazy person so there was never any doubt that I wanted to choose travelling as the main theme of my business.

There is one more thing I am interested in. So if not travel, it would have been something to do with it, and that’s food. (Laughs) I love to eat and so again opening a business on food would have been like indulging in the varied gastronomical delights, which I am extremely interested in.

Many students pursue MBA after doing their computer science. But you have done journalism as well along with the two. How did you manage to fit journalism into your scheme of things? I have always loved to write ever since I was a child. So I thought that a journalism degree would be excellent to hone my writing skills. I already had a

degree in computer science. I used my writing skills to come up with impressive technical articles that received a lot of appreciation.

Moreover, I am a person who loves connecting dots from various fields. I feel there is so much to learn in this life. And now that I am running a company, I can utilise my education in the best possible manner because I end up doing multiple things.

What are your future plans with GhoomoPhiro? How are you planning for an expansion?Right now, we are organising corporate trips. Along with this, in future I am planning to organise trips for school children in 7th, 8th,9th and 10th standard.

There is also a distant plan of starting a trip for single women in groups of five or six people. Many women are clueless about their travel plans. They also face restrictions from families in the various stages of their lives. And yet, some of them do want to explore unknown territories. I want to help such women discover the uncharted territories of this world.

Any particular advice for MBA aspirants who dream of becoming entrepreneurs one day?Concentrate on your education first, but at the same time, dare to dream. Life is very long, so there is always scope to travel down unconventional routes. It is okay to defy conventions and travel along the road less taken. I would suggest that the best time to take up newer challenges is during your MBA days. MBA gives you an exposure to a lot of new things. So it’s the best opportunity to get experimental at this juncture of life. A

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It is never one single thing that stands out in an MBA course at a business school.It is, always, a confused conglomeration of ideas, people, activities and much more that

makes these two years of your life among the most exciting.

Choose your weapon, and keep hitting

here is something cathartic about education, especially those last few

months of bookish immersion before the foray into the world of suits, meetings and deadlines. Doing an MBA is not all about money. Those crucial six figures that go on both resumes and matrimonial websites often belie the reality of what truly transpires in those holy halls of marketing, finance and human resources. To say it is a wondrous experience would take away the glory of actually living it, but to say anything less would be grossly understating the same.

A concoction to assimilateI have found business education to be a tough concoction of pushing to the limits and the application of all that has been accumulated during the journey so far. There are no periods, just commas. IMT Ghaziabad has that unique attribute to pull you closer to itself, allowing you to assimilate what it offers so graciously, a bellwether among peers, before making you realise that it is more than just a business school. It becomes a way of life. The days (and nights) spent poring over presentations, books and chai are unforgettable and, in a way, add to the nostalgia that you long for.

The competition is fearsome at IMT; it is often not the prize that motivates you, but the knowledge that there is constantly someone out there on campus who is going that extra mile, striving to be more creative in the reach for compact business solutions. The scope for ideas bubbles out in myriad explosions of colour, each lighting up the year in their exceptional flavours.

The club lifeThe committees and clubs at IMT are an entirely different kettle. In a way, much of the institute’s two years is a result of the countless activities initiated and executed under the names of clubs and committees. Right from the smashing college fests to the acumen-teasing case study competitions, these bodies create families within a family, a healthy diversity that mocks the prejudices of governance and inflexibility. I have made friends I know are going to last a lifetime, and that is just as important.

Sports – a breather and builderThough much of IMT Ghaziabad precludes boredom through its plethora of events, what indeed keeps it floating on cloud nine for as long as you can see the horizon melting away, is the sporting

culture. Almost an aberration in a B-school, some may purport, but here, it fits into the jigsaw like missing pieces always do, fostering a culture of team work, competition and collaboration unlike any other field. True, education has few equals when it comes to the development of an individual, but sports have moulded the subjects of IMT into true leaders, into winners and challengers and into those who get up when they fall. For all the dramatisation of it, it is exactly what it sounds like.

Chasing success at B-schoolsIt is difficult for me to pinpoint particulars if I need to guide aspirants. There is no single path to success at IMT, let alone at any other B-school. Every year, a new student creates a new path, some strewn with flowers, others ragged and scaly. However, read. Get to

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know things around you. Ignorance is not bliss inside a B-school. It is a puller, a chain that is cast around the strongest tree, restraining you from marching forward. Read, read and read. Connect with people and foster strong connections. Build a strong, sensible social media

presence. Be aware. Have an opinion and be willing to change it when you see reason for the better. Let biases not cloud your judgment, and least of all, let passion not roost in another’s nest. Seek your own way, and when you walk through those gates, unleash

your mind to wander into every possibility. It is a battlefield out there. Choose your weapon and get hitting. All the best. A

The author is a second-year student of IMT Ghaziabad.

e all join management schools with the hope and will to develop our

business acumen, and ultimately achieve our goals of procuring that dream job or starting up that dream venture. It is incontestable — the amount of learning one acquires from studying in the prestigious business schools of the country. IMT Ghaziabad stands out with its expansive alumni base, experienced faculty and humungous number of opportunities for budding managers to hone their skills.

Daily lifeThe day begins with students rushing out of their red-bricked hostels to attend classes. The campus is always abuzz with activity, even in the wee hours. Classes go on till late evenings, but not in a fashion that will tire the students. The interactive sessions, and the breaks between them, keep the enthusiastic students active throughout, as they absorb every ounce of wisdom imparted in the classrooms. Management lessons are taught primarily through practical case studies,

which help students appreciate real life situations and prepare them for handling problems head on. Enough assignments and group activities keep them on their toes, encouraging them to come up with newer and more innovative solutions.

There are ample opportunities for students in the form of case study competitions and other inter and intra-B-school competitions. Some students invest all their time and energy in these competitions, especially the corporate competitions, and come out with flying colours. Some even bag highly sought-after jobs in established corporations as the prize.

Extra-curricular activitiesApart from opportunities outside the campus, there are various clubs and committees that the students join on campus according to their interests. These help students get hands on experience in fields that interest them and develop their overall personality. The wide alumni base of top management institutes helps students gather first-hand

knowledge from the big players in the industry in the form of various guest lectures. There is no dearth of opportunities for students at IMT Ghaziabad, and for those who sincerely want to make the best of these two years, the sky is the limit.

There is immense freedom given to the students, personally and academically, not restraining the creativity and letting them discover their inner talents. As a business school, IMT Ghaziabad helps you discover yourself while, paradoxically enough, letting you be. A

Activity never ceases ata B-school

Dharna Chauhan

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This is one of the highlights that comes across in conversation with PROF SURESH G. LALWANI, Chairperson of the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) at SP Jain Institute of Management & Research. Prof Lalwani talks to Aditya Prakash Iengar about the PGPM, the participants’ profile and what an aspirant can expect from the programme.

Commitment and credibility are key in SPJIMR’s PGPM

Q. Tell us about SPJIMR’s PGPM programme.The Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGPM) is an AICTE approved, one-year full time residential programme for professionals with a minimum of 5 years of work experience. These profiles generally have strong functional skills and are looking for a management programme that will strengthen their skills and broaden their breadth of scope of exposure. At the end of the day, when you progress in your career, issues don’t crop up in silos. So what we give to our participants is the capability to look at issues in an integrated manner and integrate their cross functional skills. Our programme architecture is designed to achieve this objective, and this differentiates our programme from others. Our faculty are well versed and in constant engagement with industry, its best-practices and next-practices. SPJIMR has been, after all, famous for recruiting faculty who come in with considerable industry experience and very strong academic backgrounds.

In PGDM programmes at most business schools in India, candidates both with and without work experience are admitted and there is an element of mass customisation in the jobs that they are eventually offered. The intake is also high, almost always greater than 200. In many IIMs this is higher than 400. However, the PGPM has relatively smaller capacity and the placement service for such lateral hires is a very different ballgame.

Q. Is work experience mandatory for the PGPM?Yes. The programme is for working professionals with a minimum of 5 years of work experience. These professionals are at a stage where they understand their functional roles well, and organisations treat them as growth drivers. Typically, with six to eight years of work experience, come greater responsibilities, since the individuals are mature, and understand both their roles and the organisation they’re in.

The problem, when it comes to giving larger roles, is that there isn’t enough managerial talent that can outgrow their comfort zones and develop breadth. This is where SPJIMR’s PGPM bridges the gap with its unique “business is business” approach as mentioned above.

Q. How is the student profile of the PGPM different from a traditional PGDM programme?In the context of the student profile, naturally the PGPM is different, since all participants have at least five years of work experience. If one has considerable work experience, one is likely to be more mature, can relate to class discussions more easily and therefore more participative and value additive throughout the programme. Such a student usually tends to have a greater commitment and earnestness. A vast number of my faculty will swear by the participation and commitment of our PGPM students.

Q. Please tell us about the admission procedure.We want to give our participants enough time to make an informed choice, rather than a brief window of a month or two to apply. We want them to figure out the essence of the programme and what they stand to gain from it. For instance, SPJIMR is famous for its placement capabilities and, of course, the advantage of being in a business hub like Mumbai. Moreover, SPJIMR is one of the country’s most trusted and authentic brands in management education. We have a track record over 34 years, acclaimed faculty, and is consistently top-ranked with strong industry connect and affiliations with global Ivy league business schools. All these factors come into play while the participants are making their choice.

We have a rolling admission process to the PGPM with a window of four to five months. All throughout, we are very conscious about quality. We don’t play the numbers game of taking in students just to maximise revenues. We invite applications over 4-5 months and screen them, arrange for interviews and gradually build up a robust merit list. In fact, some of the applicants are so good that we even give them a spot offer for admission.

Q. How will an individual at a junior level management position in their firm benefit from the PGPM at SPJIMR?That depends on the profile and experience of the individual. The participants in our programme have experience ranging from the minimum of five years to as much as 10 or 12 years.



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We encourage them to reinforce their careers, not make a complete departure from what they have been doing in the past. Sometimes people have adventurous ideas about their career, but while we never discourage aspiring and dreaming, those dreams and aspirations must align with the hard work required for skill development, knowledge assimilation and spotting opportunities to gain exposure.

Q. How does the PGPM strengthen the participants’ skills, while still retaining a general management focus?SPJMIR always asks every candidate their choice of specialisation when they sign up. This forces them to think about what they want to do in their careers. Most want to build or reinforce their careers and simultaneously develop general management skills. But some of them do look for a complete departure. These students go through extensive counselling. As I said earlier, we don’t discourage them, but we do make sure they do get a reality check and understand the risks and implications of their choices.

At the end of the day, the recruiter’s needs are supreme. So a lot of thought that goes into the selection process wherein students are expected to be strong functionally, and have the capacity to build their general management skills. Their interviews are taken by our faculty, who have a sizeable industry experience ranging from a decade to over two decades. So we have a very good understanding of what a recruiter requires and how we should be “processing” our intake to deliver talent that is fit to be a strong backbone for the recruiters’ growth plans.

Q. Companies often find management graduates do not have requisite skills and be employable. Do you think this is true, and if it is, how can you address it?It is true, yes. In fact, this is why SPJIMR always hires faculty with a healthy mix of those with a strong academic background with PhDs and applied-research papers to their credit, and those with varied and extensive industry experience who have a passion for teaching. We try to bring to the classroom whatever we’ve learnt during our industry exposure, and we don’t necessarily teach from the books. We run several industry-led courses, and we invite industry practitioners to teach. There are innovation, finance and banking, telecom modules, etc, and professionals from the respective industries come to teach these modules.

There are several advantages to this. When a telecom company or a bank actively runs a full-fledged course, they get to judge our students’ capabilities, and are quite convinced about the credibility of our participants and their skills. So a recruiter is, in a way, engaging directly with us in terms of courses, guest lectures, case studies, etc, which is why our students understand industry needs and develop skills to meet those needs and so can hit the ground running, if I may use a cliché.

These processes also transform SPJIMR students – it is well known in recruiter circles, that SPJIMR students are team players and not individualistic. That’s how you build trust and credibility with recruiters, something that SPJIMR has been doing over the last 34 years and continues to do so, with continuous improvements and innovations.

Q. How is the PGPM at SPJIMR different from other executive MBA programmes at other institutes?One of the first points to note is that we have one of the highest RoIs in the business. Our fees are far more cost effective vis-à-vis comparable business schools like the IIMs, ISB, etc. This has some bearing on our being a part of the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan family, which has its roots in the Gandhian era and has an enduring heritage of being a socially responsive member of Indian society, that is dedicated to its service by promoting quality education and Indian culture.

Secondly, SPJIMR has a greater sense of commitment in PGPM students. This is because our students leave behind good, well-paying jobs. For example, around 40 per cent of our class have been based out of offshore assignments. They usually earn far more than they would have earned in India, anything around `40 to 50 lakh a year, and give it up for an admission to the PGPM for its immense potential.

Q. Students today are drawn towards unconventional fields of management, such as energy, infrastructure, media, sports, etc. What are your views on this?The answer is simple. The market ultimately dictates the offerings. So when markets are supreme, what will drive the course is the potential for job creation in various verticals and this comes from business growth potential. Today there is certainly a trend of vertical oriented MBAs, and these courses are highly focused in their functional training.

The fact of the matter is that if you’re relatively younger with little work experience or even a fresher, it makes sense to target these kinds of specialisations. However, if you’re seven to 10 years into your career, you are looking at the next stage of growth and breadth of scope, where you’ll have to go beyond your comfort zone many a time. So in that sense, such focused courses may not be very relevant to an experienced candidate.

Q. Any advice for management aspirants?Get real, look at real life issues, and stay updated. Read papers like the Economic Times, Business Standard, instead of only tabloids or entertainment oriented material. I also recommend reading editorials, since it will help an aspirant gain a point of view. It is very important to have an opinion. Interviewers don’t really care if you’re right or wrong, they want to see if you have an opinion, a point of view, and have the courage to boldly express it, the rationale to defend it, or the agility to adapt to others’ views based on merit.

Sometimes, as is the case mostly with younger students, getting a top ranked institute that has a robust placement record can be counterproductive, since this can make you complacent. Avoid this at all costs. Once you graduate, even as a fresher, the MBA qualification will only give you a key to a good organisation and a good role, but it won’t necessarily guarantee sustained growth in your career. It takes a great blend of knowledge, skills and attitude – the knowing, doing and being as we call it – to take you to the pinnacle of your career. Delivering that perfect blend is what SPJIMR, Andheri, Mumbai, is well known for over several decades. A

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The best way to get the most out of your MBA is to step out of the rat race, and do what you want to do. Your MBA will be exactly as you perceive it to be.

MBA: A playground where you can play anything

Mohit Sanjay Bathija

“ I’m going to enjoy every second, and I’m going to know I’m enjoying it while

I’m enjoying it. Most people don’t live; they just race. They are trying to reach some goal far away on the horizon, and in the heat of the going they get so breathless and panting that they lose sight of the beautiful, tranquil country they are passing through; and then the first thing they know, they are old and worn out, and it doesn’t make any difference whether they’ve reached the goal or not.” ― Jean Webster

Backing up to those times, rushing for CAT tuitions, honing my aptitude, which, ironically, means a natural ability to do something, with a dream to get into the top MBA colleges to set my career on the right path. It was one of those times where I, same as all those sitting beside me for the interviews, had to prove that I was different and would be the One. The one in a million who would be remembered for the things I did and the history I built. I was one of you, laying my groundwork, gearing up for those interviews where I had to sit in front of a panel of professors, convincing them about why I wanted to do an

MBA, when I myself was clueless about what it meant.

Following the herdI was fortuitous to be selected by one of the top colleges of India, IMT Ghaziabad, and I joined the rat race where I knew I was running with all those around me, but in a direction I didn’t know and to an end that is still nowhere in sight. So I stopped and looked around, noticed what was going on around me and saw that my desires to be like others made me sit in a class learning the same things I already knew, made me do what I didn’t like, made me dress as a socially adept and acceptable animal. Then I would be released into the world with a plethora of lookalikes, all still hustling to prove they are different, but still lacking a

purpose of existence and, at that moment, I had my epiphany.

What an MBA means to meWhat does an MBA mean to me? I think I can finally answer that question, but then again, for all of you MBA aspirants reading this

article, it is not quite what it will, or should, mean to you. I hope that in a fortunate stroke of serendipity, you might find its significance to you.

MBA for me is Carpe Diem. It is about living the moment, doing what I love and being myself. I can’t be the best if I don’t want to do what I do. We come to institutes like IMT or the IIMs to become managers,

MBA FOR ME IS CARPE DIEM. IT IS

ABOUT LIVING THE MOMENT, DOING WHAT I LOVE AND

BEING MYSELF.


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but then we start talking the talk instead of becoming managers. It is the same everywhere, so what are we really supposed to do?

The sky’s the limitLet’s go back to the beginning. We have all had that moment when we were children when we could be whatever we wanted. MBA is exactly that, just for an older you. It is not classrooms or case studies, it is not simply walking in the line. It is, at least what it is to me, a chance to live childhood anew. At this point, you may be confused — why am I saying this? Maybe I don’t really know what I am saying? Let me break it down for you, just like when we were kids.

What can I do as a child? Anything! Do I need to answer to anyone? Not really. Who do I answer to? Myself! What are the restrictions? The sky’s the limit, or maybe even beyond! In an

MBA college, I can do what I want, when I want. If I want to learn something, I learn from those around me. Here, everyone knows something you don’t, but then the one who becomes the perfect manager is not the one who masters these skills or actually even the proverbial jack of any of them. It is the kid who can, like in a football match, get all of them to play together and choose the right team. He is the captain, who knows where each player belongs and where he can best serve the team.

If I am a kid, I can talk to anybody — something we call networking. If I am a kid, I can play any game — all industries and jobs are open to me. If I am a kid, I can think of anything and imagine stuff that does not exist — I think different, I am an entrepreneur. So if I am a kid, I have done my MBA.

Being at a B-schoolSo what do I do at IMT? Well, everything. I compete in competitions, I join and work in clubs and committees, I play my favorite sport. Everyone I meet are my friends, and I get ideas on which I work with passion, a passion I used to harbour when I was a kid, when I did not care what the rule was or what was acceptable and what wasn’t. For a time, there was no box to think out of. I just want to play, whatever the game is going to be.

Someone once asked me why I miss classes and reject the way things are supposed to be done, why I cannot fit into the norms and why I got to be different. She said I was missing the knowledge I could gain and therefore wasting my parent’s money on an MBA. It just reminded me of the legendary Frank Zappa’s words:“If you end up with a boring miserable life because you listened to your mom, your dad, your teacher, your priest, or some guy on television telling you how to do your shit, then you deserve it.”

If I had done what she’d wanted me to do, I would have been just like her. And though she is doing well, I am happier and I know someday I will be the manager that this institute wants me to be, but forgets how to teach me to be. Neither is she wrong, nor am I, but the beauty of an MBA is that it is what we perceive it to be. A

IN THIS MBA COLLEGE, I GET A

CHANCE TO LIVE MY CHILDHOOD ANEW.

Breaking free of the herd mentality is a must, if you want to make the most of your MBA.

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Dr Suresh Srinivasan

The strategy focus of RIL and its impact on India

Being the second largest company in India, the going ahead strategy of RelianceIndustries Limited will have a significant impact on the Indian economy. In this article,

we look at the strategies of RIL in its various business verticals.

R eliance Industries Limited’s (RIL) annual general meeting (AGM) is a key

milestone in India’s corporate and economic calendar. The directors’ spell out their strategies for the company, and they generally have a number of key implications on the Indian business environment; with the recently concluded RIL AGM, it is important to know what RIL is up to in the next three years.

Importance of RIL’s strategy in Indian economyRIL is the second largest company in India in terms of market capitalisation at `3.2 lakh crore, next only to Tata Consultancy Services, which has a market capitalisation of `5 lakh crore. Its market capitalisation is much higher than large government-owned companies like ONGC, Coal India and State Bank of India. RIL exports close to 12 per cent of India’s merchandise exports. Customs and excise duties are major steams of income to the Government of India, and RIL alone accounts for 5 per cent of this payment. It is the largest income tax payer to the Indian government in the private sector.

Shift in focus and resource allocationsThe short term and medium term strategic focus of RIL were outlined by Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of RIL. Overall, the company is in the advanced stages of completing investments worth `2 lakh crores on various projects in the areas of refining, telecom and retail, all of which are expected to start yielding revenue and profits over the next 18 months.

A clear trend is emerging, and this has been spelt out by Ambani. RIL’s strategic focus for the short to medium term will be towards consumer-driven businesses like telecom and retail. It will maintain status quo in petrochemicals and refining, but does not seem to be happy to make large scale investments in the oil exploration and production businesses, as the risk involved in this business outweighs the returns provided to shareholders.

Telecom focus: Reliance JioTelecom has turned out to be a major area in which RIL is allocating its resources. The telecom vertical — spearheaded

by Reliance Jio Telecom — has garnered a major share of such investments and is clearly the sunrise industry for RIL’s focus over the next five years. Brining connectivity to farmers, students, schools, hospitals and governments, Jio is targeting to be present in 18,000 cities and 1 lakh villages by the end of this year, covering 80 per cent of India’s population, and is targeting to reach 100 per cent by 2018 — a phenomenal feat indeed!

To achieve this, Jio has already laid out fibre optic cables across the country spanning 2.5 lakh kilometres. One of the large supporters of the “Digital India” initiative, Reliance Jio has deployed 5 lakh square feet area of servers that will host its cloud computing data centres and will also host Jio Drive, the data storage arm of the company. The

commercial launch of Jio services

is expected by D e c e m b e r

2015, when it will


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INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE

Summit to decide Greece fateUS stocks have been falling, ahead of the summit which will have representatives from the European Central Bank, International Monetary Fund and members of Eurozone countries. The summit, scheduled for the last week of June, is to decide the fate of Greece. Decisions

in this summit will include, among other things, whether Greece will continue to be part of the Eurozone or be expelled and have its own currency. The financial and banking crisis is steadily mounting in Greece, as panic stricken investors and common citizens are withdrawing cash from the banks.

also launch a high capability smartphone at less than `4,000. Its “Jio Chat” will compete with Whatsapp, which already has a million active users. Jio is also integrating TV/ mobile entertainment with its communication service, and will offer high definition video programmes on demand for consumers at an extremely low cost. To this end, it recently acquired Network 18, which has 17 TV channels.

Retail focusRetail is also a thrust area that has seen, and will see, large resource allocations in the near future. Over the last five years, RIL has relentlessly allocated resources to its retail business, which has seen more than 30 per cent compounded annual growth rate. RIL has now achieved market leader status, even surpassing the Future Group-Bharti Retail joint venture.

From the current network of retail outlets in 200 cities, RIL has announced that it will enhance its network to cover 900 cities, which is an extremely ambitious target,

true to the spirit of the Ambanis. Close to a billion dollars is being planned to be raised in terms of equity to support the growth in the retail business. Although the target looks inspiring, RIL is yet to prove its execution capabilities in the services business, as it is always been considered a specialist in products and manufacturing! This will be a challenge.

Refining and petrochemicalsRIL has signalled that it will continue to invest in refining and petrochemical assets and grow the business. RIL has created one

of the most efficient, state of the art plants for refining, and is considered a world leader in this space. It is rightly focusing more resources to grow this vertical.

This business has a potential to refine imported crude and export the same to developed economies that are closing down refining plants (RIL is already exporting successfully). Furthermore, in terms of sophistication of the refinery that is demonstrated by what is known in the industry as Gross Refining Margins (GRM),

RIL’s refinery (GRM at US$8.6 a barrel) has now surpassed the Singapore GRM (at US$10.9), which is considered to be the global benchmark in refining efficiency.

Segments that could become a lesser priorityHowever, with these pluses comes a downside. The oil and gas exploration and production business does not appear to be viable at this point in time. RIL has indicated that the Economic Value Added (EVA) is negative for this business. This means that the return on investments from this business

A major area of focus for RIL is telecom with Reliance Jio

Banks’ bad debts need to be sorted out: RBIThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently stressed on the need for addressing the bad debts of banks within a year, so that the banking industry becomes stronger and can be in a position to support the growth of the Indian economy. This important and sensitive

area hitherto had not received adequate attention. The non-performing assets of Indian banks have been steadily increasing, especially those of the public sector banks, due to poor economic climate, and banks have not adequately capitalised and stringent measures not taken by the banks in recovering debt as well as poor borrower quality resulting from inadequate due diligence at the loan approval stage.

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is less than the risks associated with this business, which technically means that this business is not viable unless some fundamental changes in the business model is brought in.

The negative EVA of the oil and gas exploration and production business means that either RIL is inefficient in operating this business, or the government policies (in terms of gas pricing and attractive policies in encouraging investments towards exploration and production) are not investor friendly. As a result of this, given an opportunity, RIL could exit the oil and gas exploration and

production business. This would be a major blow for the Indian economy, especially since state owned companies are quite inefficient in such a vital business area (where more than 70% of India’s crude oil requirements are imported, causing a drain on the scarce foreign exchange reserves). Hence, the only company that could possibly bring in vibrancy to indigenous oil and gas exploration and production is RIL, given its enormous size and financial power. However, this too does not seem to working, which is definitely bad news!

Looking forwardThe biggest plus is RIL’s plan of integrating its telecom, retail and e-commerce businesses, which makes clear sense. Of course, there is likely to be a number of challenges in integrating brick and mortar retail with e-commerce initiatives in lifestyle, grocery and consumer products. However, if successful, it will be a major milestone, one that RIL seems to be working on.

Large scale investments are being made across businesses, but there will always be a time lag for such investments to fully translate into revenue and profits that will go to serve as a return on such investment. During such periods of time lag, the profitability of RIL is likely to be negatively impacted. This will be applicable to both its telecom and retail businesses, both of which are large consumers of cash and investments, but it will take time to completely fructify. Until such time, the investors and markets will need to be patient. A

The refining and petrochemical business may not get priority in RIL’s strategic focus

INDIA INC: AT A GLANCEPanel recommendations for Indian RailwaysThe recent past has seen a number of announcements from Indian Railways. Minister Suresh Prabhu has been very vocal in scouting for investments to flow into the Railways to make it self-sustainable. The Debroy committee recently looked into the operations of Indian Railways and has made a number of recommendations. It has suggested that the reforms should not be implemented in one go, but spread over a longer period of time. However, it has recommended that the first step should be for the Railways to decentralise and pass on more authority to zonal and regional railway authorities and setups (like Central Railway, Northern Railway) and also restructure its financial relations with the Central government. Only then does the panel expect the privatisation to work seamlessly.

Low cost rural housing by 2022The low cost housing programme for the bottom of the pyramid is gaining momentum. Union Rural Development Minister Birender Singh has indicated that under the Housing For All scheme, the government is targeting to build durable and quality houses in rural areas and expects to achieve this by the year 2022. This will entail building 5 crore quality housing units that could last around 50 years, and the task has to be accomplished over the next seven years. To accomplish this ambitious project will require a number of construction specialists and overseeing agencies within the country.



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US interest rates, Eurozone and the Indian economy

The US Federal Reserve’s plan to hike interest rates, and the current ticking time bomb that is Greece, both might lead to yet another major global economic crisis. This will

impact emerging economies as well, India being one of them.

he United States Federal Reserve (Fed) has kept the interest rates at close

to zero percentage points for close to eight years. There has been no rate hike since 2006, as the economy failed to recover from the 2008 subprime crisis and the recession that followed.

However, over the last two years, the US economy has been showing signs of sustainable growth, albeit marginal, which means that the events were ripe for the Federal Reserve to increase interest rates and move away from the zero interest rate regime. Fed Chief Janet Yellen

has made it quite clear that the interest rate hike will happen. The uncertainty now is only with regard to the timing.

US: Economic overviewAlthough the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) was forecast to grow at 2.5 per cent for 2015, it seems to be growing at less than 2 per cent. Inflation currently at less than 1 per cent and unemployment rates at slightly more than 5 per cent are all good indicators that the US economy is now picking up. This warrants a rate increase.

If the economic activity picks up, which means economic growth is happening, and in such situations if the central bank is not increasing interest rates as a part of its monetary policy stance, the excess liquidity in the economy will lead to higher than permissible inflation. So, the Fed cautiously manages interest rates to balance GDP growth and inflation.

As a first step, 18 months earlier, the Fed stopped its bond buying programme, through which it was steadily injecting

liquidity into the markets. This turned out to have a significant impact on liquidity not only in the US but across the globe, including in emerging markets that are considered to be hot destinations where funds from the US and other developed economies generally find a way to.

Now, with a broad perception that the Fed will increase interest rates, at least before the end of 2015, there is a concern about whether this could hamper the growth prospects of the US and the global economy. The concern now is the timing of such a rate increase! The European issue that is unfolding at this point in time could have a number of implications on the US Fed’s decision to increase interest rates.

T

US Fed Chief Janet Yellen has made it clear that interest rates will be hiked.

18 MONTHS AGO, THE US FEDERAL

RESERVE STOPPED ITS BOND BUYING

PROGRAMME.

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Greece and the EurozoneA potential default from Greece to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and international creditors has brought in a sense of gloom in the Eurozone. As the deadline for various dues approach, and with Greece seriously running out of cash to carry on the day to day operations of the government, the European Central Bank recently extended emergency funding to keep the government machinery and banks running.

But these are stopgap arrangements; the long term survival of Greece within the Eurozone, which is a “protected environment”, is now faltering under a big question mark and will depend on the joint decisions the other Eurozone members, its central bank and various international creditors take. More specifically, Eurozone countries like Germany and France will have a major say, as they are sharing a large part of the burden that weak members like Greece exert.

Greece’s belief in bailoutIn the middle of all this, Greece is scrambling to raise funds in order to honour 1.6 billion euro that is due to the IMF by the end of June

2015. It is still not clear whether the creditors will strike a deal with Greece to provide e m e r g e n c y funding to avoid Greece defaulting to the IMF. With so much of u n c e r t a i n t y looming in the horizon, the political leadership under leftist Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is taking for granted that this issue will be sorted out, creditors will again oblige and the “funds tap” will continue to flow.

Tsipras has assured the nation that his government will strike a deal with the European Union and IMF creditors. However, the creditors and IMF are looking for some serious compromises and spending cuts that will result in long term self-sustenance by Greece. This time, they don’t appear to be in a mood to let this go easily, unless a magic solution is found!

What Greece needs to doHard decisions and compromises expected from the Greeks include taking extremely difficult decisions like reducing pensions and retirement benefits, reducing government jobs and make the machinery more efficient, and taking salary cuts, all of which are extremely painful and politically sensitive. These are, therefore, being avoided and Greece is taking the easier path of not confronting the issue head on. From all angles, it is a ticking time bomb — it appears that the creditors, Eurozone members, IMF and Greece need to bite the bullet now!

Although the Greek central bank has said there is no panic or crisis at this point in time, a major currency flight out of Greece is already taking place; investors are already pulling out billions of dollars. Last week, more than four billion euros were repatriated out of Greece. If Greece defaults, and if it exits the Eurozone, the implications to banks and international financial institutions are pegged at upwards of US$150 billion, which will have a significant impact on the global economy.

With the potential impact of such magnitude, the IMF is urging the US Fed to cautiously review when it increases interest rates, as this could compound the problem through further increasing uncertainty and reducing liquidity in the global economy, which is now slowly managing to look up.

India implicationsThe interest rate increase by the US and the Greece crisis will have a significant impact across the globe, and the spill-over effects are bound to be felt in India as well. If investors across the globe become more cautious due to heightened uncertainty, it could shake the very basis of the Modi government’s “Make in India” campaign, at the heart of which is India’s ability to attract foreign

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is confident of striking a deal with the European Union and IMF creditors.

A summit, attended by all affected parties, is soon to be held to decide the fate of the beleaguered Greece in the Eurozone.



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INDIA INC: AT A GLANCECCD eyes optimistic valuation in IPOIndian café giant Cafe Coffee Day is all set to enter the market for an initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to value the company close to `6,300 crore. CCD currently controls a large part of the Indian

premium coffee market and is taking on international competition like Starbucks and Costa Coffee. The chain is currently India’s largest café operator, and has been in business for the last 20 years with currently more than 1,500 outlets across the country.

India’s factory output on the riseThere is a silver lining on the dark clouds — India’s factory output is showing signs of improvement, with a 4 per cent growth for April following a five-month low of 2.5 per cent in March 2015. Both manufacturing production and mining output increased during April. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is marginally but steadily growing over the last couple of months. A sharp increase of around 90 per cent growth in excise duty collections in April-May is also indicative of the picking up of manufacturing growth in the economy. The latest figures IIP numbers also show a sustained growth in capital goods production over the past six to seven months. It gives confidence that an economic recovery is under way.

direct investment (FDI) into the country.

Specially since the Indian economy has not quite managed to make a substantial turnaround under the new government over the last 12 months, hopes are hinging on the serious initiatives that have been taken by the new government in that time period. All of these are expected to translate into growth over the next year or so, and the developments in the US and Eurozone could spoil such a party!

What comes nextIn the latest quarter ended March 2014, top line (sales) of top Indian companies grew at their slowest pace in the last four years. Demand is still weak and signs of the investment cycle picking up are still not strong. This means that it will take a couple of quarters more for the economic growth to materialise on ground.

The biggest risk India faces in the event of a global slowdown is in the form of India’s weak banking system, which is undercapitalised. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been crying foul that the finance ministry has time and again not acted to increase India’s banking capitalisation.

Over the next five years, India’s banks require close to `2.5 lakh crore of capital infusion, whereas the government is neither capable nor showing any signs of doing so. The only way this can be done is through privatising the banks and allowing private investors to infuse such funds, but we are nowhere close to such a situation. Greece, in fact, is a perfect example that weak banks are the biggest threat to a country when it comes to economic slowdowns, and we seem to be less prepared on these grounds! A

Privatisation in PSUsOne of the areas where the government has to act swiftly is to increase the disinvestment plan through which it can bring about privatisation. Through this process, it cedes its control in public sector units to private parties, so that the operations of the units are carried out more efficiently while at the same time helps raise funds that will go to reduce the current fiscal deficit. This is a low hanging fruit, and the need to address this matter is high. Although the process has been slow, the government has now announced that it will divest shares in IOC sometime around September 2015.

Infra delays due to corruption fearIndustry bodies are alleging the NDA government of playing safe and delaying projects. Recently, the Asociated Chambers of Commerce of India

(Assocham) commented that the relevant ministries and officers have become too conscious of the corruption free perception of the Modi government and are not going out of their way to approve projects on the fear of being accused of corruption. This is causing considerable delays in the approval of various infrastructure projects, including sectors like road, ports and power.

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With the proliferation of technology and related companies across the world, Indian IT and ITeS firms have to take themselves to the next level and provide value added services. A lack

of highly skilled workforce is, however, throwing a spanner in the works.

I

Indian IT firms are standing at a crossroads

ndian information technology enabled services (IT and ITeS)

companies have enjoyed the fruits of India’s position as a low cost provider of IT-enabled services and outsourcing contracts to multinational and Fortune 500 companies across the world for the last two decades. However, increasing competitive rivalry in the industry and the emergence of many other low cost destinations and companies are eroding the competitive advantage that Indian ITeS companies once had in this space.

New age demandsMore importantly, international clients no longer want straightforward vanilla jobs outsourced. They are expecting the outsourcing contractors to add value through innovation and strengthen the client’s position in terms of innovation, so that they can remain competitive in their core businesses. Indian ITeS companies are now being expected to move beyond the traditional outsourcing deliverables and service levels to offering far more value added components that could enhance the competitive advantage of their clients.

What the clients look forEmerging areas like “consumerisation”, which focuses on the clients’ customers, their behaviour and their spending patterns, are now becoming critical areas of focus for Indian ITeS companies. Solutions that integrate social media, mobility and analytics through cloud computing is becoming the order of the day. Providing solutions based on these parameters enhances the ability of their clients to understand their customers better and thereby offer products that precisely meet their demands. This is the only way ITeS companies can enhance their clients’ competitive advantage.

However, these require large scale investment on the part of the ITeS companies, and this investment might not immediately transform into revenue streams; it will take many years to be perfect these systems for them to be offered as viable solutions!

Non-linear growthWhen ITeS companies are successfully able to make these offerings, the revenue of ITeS companies will not correlate

to the full time equivalents (FTE) of employees deployed on the projects as used to be the case before. A larger proportion of the revenue will be driven by these higher end offerings. Moving away from “people based billing” has now become an important metric in the Indian ITeS business. Especially since valuable skills sets are in short supply in the country, non-linear growth becomes more critical. So effectively, a pure “human resource arbitrage” that used to work before is no more the name of the game. Value added services are, and will, form the fundamentals of value offerings by the ITeS provider to his international client.

Artificial intelligence is a key area of research and development for Indian ITeS companies.



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Client behaviour: Changes in trend Clients are also becoming extremely choosey, especially since the technology environment is so extremely volatile. The overall outsourcing requirement is now split between a larger number of smaller deals, as compared to what it used to be before. Furthermore, the duration of the ongoing contracts is drastically reduced; therefore, the clients retain the benefit of changing vendors if service levels are not up to expectations.

This has resulted in new deals that are offered becoming much smaller than what they used to be before. Outsourcing contracts greater than US$1 billion, which used to be common and abundant earlier, have now become especially scarce. The year 2013 saw 10 such large deals offered to customers, while in 2014, this number reduced to seven. It is likely to be even lesser in 2015.

Skill requirement: Demand vs supplyIn order to achieve such high-end value added offering, the Indian ITeS companies need skill sets of a much higher order than it currently employs and deploys. The skill set in India is becoming scarce, as although there is a substantial increase in ITeS business and a consequent demand for these high level skill sets, India’s educational institutions are unable to supply skilled professionals to match the enhanced demand! Moreover, most of the skill sets supplied by even the first and second tier technical and management institutions are not industry ready, and need a quite a significant “bridging training”.

More importantly, a large number of graduates with these requisite skills is moving away to form start-ups, which has been a marked trend over the last couple of years. This is exerting a further strain on the availability of high end skill sets for the Indian ITeS companies. Therefore, moving away from human resources arbitrage and targeting non linear growth makes a lot of sense, and is poised to become the order of the day. How is the industry looking at solving this problem?

Innovation through R&DAn unprecedented focus on innovation through research and development has emerged, and more importantly, collaborations between industry and academia are becoming common. For instance, Infosys has established research collaborations across the globe with the likes of Purdue University, Queens

University Belfast, Smart Services CRC Australia, Commit in Netherlands, East China Normal University and Renmin University. The company also supports relevant research studies in IIT Bombay’s Monash Research Academy and IIT Delhi.

Key focus: Automation, AI and roboticsAutomation, artificial intelligence and robotics are key areas in which the Indian ITeS companies are allocating large resources to gain competitive advantage. Automation is critical for software development and delivery, as the workforce is becoming more and more constrained, and the companies’ load on software development is increasing steeply. Automation drastically improves checking

software codes with a minimum level of human intervention, and improves productivity drastically, thereby saving costs of delivery. Integrating artificial intelligence and robotics technology enhances client productivity significantly, but requires a large allocation towards research and development by the IT service provider.

Key focus: Design thinkingDesign thinking is another area where IT companies are investing substantially to gain a competitive edge. It is a formal and documented ability of the service

Integrating AI with robotics technology will improve productivity, but requires large resource allocation.

CLIENTS ARE NOW LOOKING FOR

SOLUTIONS THAT INCLUDE VALUE

ADDED SERVICES.

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Dr Suresh Srinivasan is a Chartered Accountant, has an MBA (Bradford UK) and a Doctorate in Strategy. He is a Professor of Strategy in Great Lakes Institute of Management and a management consultant.

INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE

Alibaba-Foxconn investment in SnapDealGlobal e-commerce leader and Chinese company Alibaba, together with Foxconn, one of the largest suppliers for Apple in assembling its iPhones, are proposing to jointly invest more than `3,000 crore in the Indian e-commerce company SnapDeal.

The valuation at which the investments are likely to come in is pegging the total value of SnapDeal at close to `30,000 crore. Currently, most of the Indian e-commerce startups are hungry for funding, as they are exponentially growing and are attracting debt and equity funding from all sources.

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provider to view the client’s business as if it were his own, and identify problems and challenges and recommend practical and creative solutions that will go a long way towards improving the client’s revenue generating capability, productivity and cost reduction of the client. It has to be a mindset that id imbibed in all the workforce of the IT service provider while engaging with

the client, and naturally, this requires large amounts of investments in training by the IT service provider.

The Indian ITeS providers are striving to move up the value chain and are at a crossroads. How effectively they position themselves with such relevant capabilities will decide not only their future in the next decade,

but will also have a significant impact on India as a premium service provider to the global corporate! A

PVR to acquire DLF’s multiplex bizA large consolidation is happening in the Indian film and exhibition business. PVR is proposing to acquire DLF’s multiplex business of DT Cinemas for around `500 crore. On the one hand, PVR is constantly looking at opportunities to expand and scale its multiplex business and on the other, DLF is steadily pruning its noncore (non

construction/ infrastructure) assets in order to become efficient in its core business. This is where the two companies have seen a “fit”, driving the announcement for such a sale/acquisition.

Cairn merging into VedantaThe merger of the two Vedanta group companies Cairn India into Vedanta Limited was recently announced. Cairn is currently a subsidiary company of Vedanta Limited, and this merger has been triggered to merge operations and deliver improved financial flexibility, gain synergies, improve management and employee productivity. This will make the merged entity more competitive vis-à-vis the competitors and offer a better return to shareholders. Industry sources and competition feel that such a combined entity is uniquely positioned to help unlock India’s wealth of world class energy and mineral resources.

Wealth inequality doubles in 20 yearsThe politician’s promise that India will have “inclusive growth” doesn’t appear to be anywhere close to reality! The inequality in wealth generation has doubled over the last 20 years or so. The top 10 per cent of the wage earners in the country are earning more than twelve times that of the earnings of the bottom 10 per cent. This ratio has doubled over the last 20 years and such disparity is the worst possible situation for India as compared to all of the emerging economies. This means the difference between the “haves” and the “have nots” is steeply increasing and could result in social unrest despite economic growth — A major warning sign!


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snippets

Newsin brief

Here are some

interesting

titbits from

over the last

month

Narendra Modi completes a year in officePrime Minister Narendra Modi completes one year in office on May

26th this year. Modi enlisted the work done by his government, and said this is just the beginning in the endeavour to transform the quality of life of people.

In an open letter to the people, he said, “we have been able to restore trust in the government”, ensure a “corruption-free” rule and make “state governments equal partners in the quest for national development, building the spirit of Team India.”

Yash Birla among list of names having Swiss bank accountsSwiss tax authorities have revealed the names of several Indians having

accounts in their jurisdiction. After the names of the owners of Sawhney Tyres,

Sneh Lata Sawhney and Sangita Sawhney were disclosed, more identities of Swiss account holders from India became public. These included industrialist Yash Birla, Sayed Mohamed Masood and Chand Kausar Mohamed Masood, Gurjeet Singh Kochar and Ritika Sharma. Swiss tax authorities said that the names were disclosed because the individuals concerned had not provided valid addresses.

Small towns ahead of metro cities in jobs, self-employmentSmaller towns are surging ahead as hubs of jobs and entrepreneurial activity, beating larger cities and even metropolises, revealed a recent NSSO report on employment in cities.

Among Class III towns – those with a population less than 50,000 – nearly 45 per cent of male workers and over 50 per cent of female workers were self-employed. In big cities with a million-plus population, the proportion of self-employed was about 36-38 per cent for both men and women.

India gets its first transgender college principalIndia got its first transgender college principal when Manabi Bandopadhyay took charge of Krishnagar Women’s College in West Bengal on June 9. Before becoming the principal, Manabi was an associate professor of Bengali at Vivekananda Satobarshiki Mahavidyalaya. This

decision was taken by the College Service Commission.

Puma inching closer to Adidas as India’s market leaderPuma inched closer to companies like Adidas and Nike, after posting sales worth Rs 766.75 crore in the 2014 calendar year. This is despite the fact that Puma debuted in India in 2006, while the other two companies had made their foray in the Indian market much earlier.

The company has built on the advantage it took of a gap in the market when Reebok India took time out to deal with an alleged fraud in 2012.

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snippets

Maggi finally taken off the shelvesOn the face of tremendous controversies that rocked the nation recently, Nestle India finally decided to take Maggi off the shelves. Their action was

prompted by several states banning the ‘two-minute’ noodles, which had been an instant hit among kids and adults alike.

A statement was released from the company that asserted that Maggi was “completely safe” and it will be back in the market as soon as the current situation is clarified.

Doing away with chain-pulling to stop a trainReeling with losses worth Rs. 3,000 crore because of incessant pulling of

chains, the railway ministry has decided to completely do away with the age-old chains.

The work of removing the chains from the trains has already started in Bareilly’s Izzatnagar.

Now instead of the chains, mobile phone numbers of the driver and assistant driver will be displayed in coaches, so that passengers can contact the authorities during emergencies. A rail employee will also be present with a walkie-talkie for every three coaches in each train.

After integration with Sun Pharma, 18 Ranbaxy

top executives told to leaveSun Pharma, which had taken over Ranbaxy

Labs a year back, has gone in for one of the biggest culls of senior management professionals in recent times.

The Dilip Shanghvi-led firm has asked 18 top executives of Ranbaxy Labs to leave the firm a few weeks after Q4 profits shrank 44 per cent due to costs incurred in assimilating the buyout and regulatory issues.

Those who have been asked to leave are Indrajit Banerjee, President and CFO; Yugal Sikri, country head (India) Ranbaxy; Maninder Singh, V-P marketing; Govind Jaju, global head, sourcing; Ratul Bahaduri, director-finance; among others.

Two Indian-origin ladies in Forbes’s list of America’s 50 richest self-made women Two Indian-origin ladies have made it to Forbes’s inaugural list of

America’s 50 richest self-made women. India-born Neerja Sethi, with a net worth of USD

1.1 billion, has been ranked 14th on the list of the most successful self-made women in the US while London-born Jayshree Ullal comes in at the 30th spot with a USD 470 million net worth.

In another Forbes’s list of The World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2015, Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni has been raked 23rd. Dhoni’s total earnings stood at $ 31 million, including amount from salary/winnings at $ 4 million and endorsements worth $ 27 million.

Microsoft announces July 29 as Windows 10 release dateMicrosoft officially announced July 29 as Windows 10 release date.

Windows 10 is the latest version of their Windows operating system. Before this, Microsoft had kept their actually release date under wraps and had not disclosed the actual date of the release.

Microsoft will launch Windows 10 all across the globe to some 1.5 billion Windows users, who live in over 190 countries.

Windows 10 is Microsoft’s chance to win back users who didn’t embrace the changes made in Windows 8. So going by that, Microsoft has a lot riding on the success of Windows 10.

Only 5 of the 10 proposed IITs, IIMs to start admissions this year: HRD

ministry sourcesAdmission season is almost here and in this scenario, it seems that the government may give permission to about half of the 10 new IITs and IIMs, which were announced in 2014, to start admissions this year.

Sources suggest that the Human Resources and Development ministry may postpone the launch of the proposed IITs in Jammu, Chhattisgarh and Goa and new IIMs in Punjab and Odisha to next year as the respective state governments have so far not been able to offer suitable land for the permanent campus yet.


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snippets

Renowned architect Charles Correa passes away at 84Eminent architect Charles Correa, often known as the face of modern

architecture in India, passed away in Mumbai on June 16th after a brief illness. He was 84.

Correa played a very significant role in developing architecture in post-Independence India and has designed some of the most outstanding structures.

He had been honoured with the Padma Shri in 1972 and Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour, in 2006, and several other important national and international awards.

Twitter CEO Dick Costolo to step down on July 1Twitter Inc CEO Dick Costolo is stepping down, under pressure from investors

frustrated by the Internet company’s slow growth and seemingly constant shake-ups in its upper ranks.

Costolo will be replaced by co-founder Jack Dorsey on an interim basis. The company’s shares rose 7.7 per cent to $38.60 in after-market trading.

In a statement, Costolo said he was “tremendously proud” of his six years at Twitter. Costolo, who will step down on July 1, will continue to serve on the board, the company said in a regulatory filing.

No. of Indians with over $100 million trebles in a year: BCG Report

The number of ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals in India has more than trebled to 928 in 2014 from 284 in 2013, according to a Boston Consulting Group (BCG) report.

The report defines individuals with financial wealth (excluding residential properties) of $100 million (Rs 640 crore) as UHNW.

According to BCG, the Asia-Pacific region will be the main driver of increase in global wealth, fuelled by the rich in China and India.

India becomes UK’s 3rd largest job creator in 2014India has turned out to be Britain’s third biggest job creator in 2014. The country has witnessed a 65 per cent surge in foreign direct investments (FDI) from Indian shores.

According to the data released by the UK Trade Investment Agency, India has helped to create 9,350 jobs in UK in 2014 — second only to the US (36,778 jobs) and Germany (9,727 jobs).

Gold smuggling in India at an all-time high – crosses Rs 1,000 croreGold smuggling is an at all-time high in India as seizure in illicit trade has crossed Rs 1,000 crore mark in one financial year.

In 2014-15, customs, police and revenue agencies seized more than 3,500 kg of gold, whereas in 2012-13, the same figure stood at merely Rs 100 crore with just about 350 kg gold seized.

Meanwhile, an unexpected drop was seen in Nepal which had seen a massive spurt in gold smuggling in the last couple of years as the kingpin of illicit trade there died in the recent earthquake.

Uber hires women cabbies to refurbish its sullied imageIn order to revamp its image and reinforce customer confidence, cab aggregator firm Uber has decided to employ women drivers. In Mumbai, it has recently recruited 20 women cabbies to ensure the safety of women travelling alone, especially at night.

This comes straight after the criticisms Uber faced after the recent molestation case in Gurgaon. It is also an attempt by the company to enhance its image which had been sullied by the rape incident last December and the recent molestation complaint.

Amitabh Bachchan all set to debut as a toon hero Legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan is all set to make a debut. The 72-year-old

actor will be playing in an animated superhero avatar called Astra — a mythical hero from a distant world, who was stranded on earth millions of years ago after an epic battle and is awakened by eight-year-old twins.

For this debut into the world of children animation, the actor has partnered with CA Media-owned Graphic India. Disney Channel India has acquired this 52-episode animated series, called Astra Force, which will be telecast in 2017.

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must reads

Dr Stephen Covey was and still remains a hugely influential management guru, whose most famous

book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, became a blueprint for personal development when it was published in 1990. The principles may be used for life in general — they are not limited to workplaces, management, leadership, etc. The author’s concepts help people to grow, change, and become more effective in really any other aspect of human responsibility that you might imagine.

The book is easy to understand, and the “habits” seem very simple, and in many ways they are, yet to varying degrees they may entail quite

serious changes to thinking and acting.The book is really about developing that core set of values to the point where it’s easy to draw solutions to

problems from them, making you a much more effective person in all aspects of life.

In the category “Indians writing in English”, Amish Tripathi has firmly cemented his place

as an author to be read with his trifecta of books about the Lord Shiva — The Immortals of Meluha, The Secret of the Nagas, and The Oath of the Vayuputras. The trilogy depicts Shiva as a real man — a Tibetan tribal chief — lock-haired, battle scarred and possessing a fierce wit.

Shiva hates the frequent inter-tribal fights and seeks a way out. Eventually, the books are about deciding between good and bad, right and wrong, and becoming man and god.

A fresh concept of depicting Shiva as a man, with a simple narrative, fast paced writing, a strong foundation in history, and an enthralling climax make this

trilogy a must read.

Set in the Papua New Guinea island of Bougainville, Lloyd Jones’s Mister Pip starts off innocently enough.

A small village of people living in the middle of a vast ocean, leading their small lives within their apparently cocooned world of limited technology. Living in the midst of the black community is the only single white skinned man for miles, Tom Watts, the quiet, soft spoken husband of a local woman. Watts takes up teaching the local children, and then, without warning, the reality of the ongoing civil war steps in.

Mister Pip is equal parts horrific in the brutal, bestial and often abrupt harshness of war, and equal parts uplifting in the escape of a young girl Matilda into the world of Charles

Dickens’s Great Expectations, and from there to what we define as “civilisation”. A must read for anyone who yearns a change from light, entertaining reads.

Since you’re planning on doing your MBA, you need to be well read, and not just on current affairs. In this section, we offer you some choices of books that will broaden your perspective, and you will

find that you will never be at a loss in a discussion!

Mister PipAuthor – Lloyd Jones

Publisher – Hodder &

StoughtonGenre – Fiction

Price – `539

The Shiva Trilogy

Author – Amish Tripathi

Publisher – Westland

Genre – Fiction, fantasy

Price – `639

The 7 Habits of Highly

Effective People

Author – Stephen Covey

Publisher – Simon & Schuster

Price – `413Genre – Business, Self help

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Quant

Are you a Brainiac? In this section, we shall explore several different types of questions from the various areas of entrance exams like the CAT, CET, GMAT,

etc, and how to best solve them.

1. A lecturer uses a microphone while teaching. The 4.8 m x 7.2 m classroom has speakers mounted at the four corners. Whenever the lecturer ventures within 3 m distance of the corners, there is a disturbance on the speakers. What is the maximum distance that he can walk in a single direction, parallel to the longer sides of the room, without any disturbance?

1] 6 m 2] 4.2 m 3] 3.6 m 4] 1.2 m

AP = AB = 2.4 m. OA = 3 m. So, OP2 = (3)2 – (2.4)2.

So, OP = 1.8 m. So the maximum distance he can walk in the same direction = OQ = 7.2 – 2 (OP) = 3.6 m.

Hence, [3].

2. Ankit and Arpit started a cycle race from A to reach B. Arpit cycled at th of Ankit’s speed. Ankit broke some rules of the race and as a penalty had to go back to A after covering half the distance and then resumed the race. How long did Arpit take to finish the race if he won by 10 minutes?

1] 20 minutes 2] 25 minutes 3] 45 minutes 4] 80 minutes

Let time taken by Ankit to travel from A to B be ‘t’ minutes. Since, he travelled twice the distance from A to B, he took ‘2t’ minutes. Since Arpit travels at times Ankit’s speed, he took t minutes to travel from A to B.

2t – t = 10 t = 15

t = 20 minutes.

Time taken by Arpit to finish the race = 20 minutes. Hence, [1].

DIRECTIONS for questions 1: Choose the correct alternative.

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1] Sylvia Earle has spent decades trying to see the ocean with new eyes. A] What sort of material could best withstand the types of pressure you would encounter thousands of feet

below the ocean surface? B] “It could be steel, it could be titanium, it could be some sort of ceramic, or some kind of aluminium system,”

says Earle. C] “But glass is the ultimate material because when glass is evenly squeezed from all sides – as it would be

under the ocean – its molecules cram closer together and form a tighter structure.” D] Her “dream machine” is a submarine that could take scientists all the way to the bottom of the deepest

ocean floor.

6) By her estimates, a glass sphere about four-to-six inches (10-15cm) thick should be able safely explore the ocean depths she dreams of exploring.

Options: 1] ABCD 2] DABC 3] ACDB 4] DCBA

A, B and C form an obvious link. The “what sort of material” question in A is partly answered by B – “could be steel…” – and is definitively answered in C – “glass is the ultimate material”. Thus, we can eliminate [3] and [4]. C and 6 are linked since both talk about glass. Therefore, C is the concluding sentence and D will have to be the first statement in the series. Hence, [2].

Directions for the following two questions 1: Arrange the sentences A, B, C and D between sentences 1 and 6 to form a logical sequence.

3. The minimum value that the polynomial p(x) = x2 – 7x + c can take is:

1] always 2] , only when c > 0

3] , when c > 13 4] always

p(x) = x2 – 7x + c

p(x) = +

(on completing the square)

= +

Now, 0 and attains the minimum value ‘0’ at x =

Minimum value of p(x) is always , Hence, [4].

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33Q] Decomposition begins several minutes after death with a process called autolysis, or self-digestion. Soon

after the heart stops beating, cells become deprived of oxygen, and their acidity increases as the toxic by-products of chemical reactions begin to accumulate inside them. Enzymes start to digest cell membranes and then leak out as the cells break down. Damaged blood cells begin to spill out of broken vessels and, aided by gravity, settle in the capillaries and small veins, discolouring the skin. Body temperature also begins to drop, until it has acclimatised to its surroundings. Then, rigor mortis – “the stiffness of death” – sets in, starting in the eyelids, jaw and neck muscles, before working its way into the trunk and then the limbs. In life, muscle cells contract and relax due to the actions of two filamentous proteins (actin and myosin), which slide along each other. After death, the cells are depleted of their energy source and the protein filaments become locked in place.

1] Far from being ‘dead’, a rotting corpse is teeming with life. 2] Eventually, though, all other tissues and organs begin to break down in this way. 3] Then they invade the capillaries of the digestive system and lymph nodes, spreading first to the liver and

spleen, then into the heart and brain. 4] This causes the muscles to become rigid and locks the joints.

In order to answer this question correctly you need to focus on the last two sentences in the paragraph. Two proteins (actin and myosin) make muscle cells contract and relax by sliding along each other. If these two proteins are locked in place and cannot slide along each other anymore, the muscles in the body cannot contract or relax. Therefore, they are likely to become rigid and stiff. So the answer is [4]. [1] and [2] are not about these two muscle proteins – actin and myosin. Therefore, they do not connect with the last two sentences of the paragraph. [3] does not follow logically from the last two sentences of the paragraph. The action stated in [3] does not connect with the functions of the two proteins. The two proteins make muscles contract and relax while [3] talks about capillaries and lymph nodes. Secondly, we are not sure who or what the pronoun “they” in [3] is referring to: cells or proteins. Hence, [4].

Directions for question 3: The following question has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the sentence that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

1] People come from all over the world to experience the impeccable luxury of the Maldives, a nation composed of around 1,200 islands, located 595 km off the southernmost tip of India.

A] Guests can sip glasses of Champagne at freshwater pools’ swim-up bars, dine on Russian caviar and Wagyu steak, and stream the latest episode of Game of Thrones in their air-conditioned suite.

B] Nothing is lacking, nothing is out of reach. C] Yet amid all this, a sinking realisation constantly undermines the islands’ carefully manicured perfection. D] It’s the knowledge that all of this may soon be gone. E] Despite its remoteness, the resorts here – each located on its own private island – are unparalleled.

6) The nation, with its low-lying islands, has been labelled the most at-risk country in South Asia from the impact of climate change.

Options: 1] ABCDE 2] EABCD 3] EBACD 4] ABECD

6 with “most at-risk country” connects logically with D – “all this may soon be gone”. Thus we can eliminate [1]. A and B are a pair – the luxuries mentioned in A are succinctly summed up in B. So [3] can be eliminated. In [4], E does not connect either with B which precedes it or with C which follows it. E is about the remoteness of these islands and its unparalleled luxuries that it offers to tourists. E connects logically with 1 since both its “remoteness” – “located 595 km from the southern-most tip of India” – as well as its unparalleled luxuries – “impeccable luxury” – are mentioned in sentence 1. Therefore, 1 and E are a pair. This rules out [4]. Hence, [2].

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WOR

D DOS

E

M AT C H T H E W O R D S W I T H T H E I R M E A N I N G S

A wretched viewDespite his almost maniacal love for the city and a knowledge of it superior to anyone’s,

Dr. Juvenal Urbino had not often had reason as he did that Sunday to venture boldly into

the tumult of the old slave quarter. The coachman had to make many turns and stop to

ask directions several times in order to find the house. As they passed by the marshes,

Dr. Urbino recognized their oppressive weight, their ominous silence, their suffocating gases,

which on so many insomniac dawns had risen to his bedroom, blending with the fragrance

of jasmine from the patio, and which he felt pass by him like a wind out of yesterday

that had nothing to do with his life. But that pestilence so frequently idealized by

nostalgia became an unbearable reality when the carriage began to lurch through the

quagmire of the streets where buzzards fought over the slaughterhouse offal as it was

swept along by the receding tide. Unlike the city of the Viceroys where the houses were

made of masonry, here they were built of weathered boards and zinc roofs,

and most of them rested on pilings to protect them from the flooding of the open

sewers that had been inherited from the Spaniards. Everything looked wretched

and desolate, but out of the sordid taverns came the thunder of riotous music,

the godless drunken celebration of Pentecost by the poor.

Excerpt from Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s Love In The Time Of Cholera

1. Maniacal – (muh-nahy-uh-kuh l) (adj)

2. Tumult – (tyoo-muh lt) (n)

3. Ominous – (om-eh-nuh s) (adj)

4. Patio – (pat-ee-oh) (n)

5. Pestilence – (pes-tl-uh ns) (n)

6. Nostalgia – (no-stal-ji-uh) (n)

7. Lurch – (lurch) (v)

8. Quagmire – (kwog-mahyuh r) (n)

9. Buzzard – (buhz-erd) (n)

10. Offal – (aw-fuh l) (n)

11. Masonry – (mey-suh n-ree) (n)

12. Weathered – (weth –erd) (adj)

13. Wretched – (rech-id) (adj)

14. Sordid – (sawr-did) (adj)

15. Taverns – (tav-erns) (n)

16. Riotous – (rahy-uh-tuh s) (adj)

a. A soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot

b. Of poor quality; very bad

c. Exhibiting extremely wild or violent behaviour

d. A fatal epidemic disease, especially bubonic plague

e. A large hawk like bird of prey with broad wings and a rounded tail, often seen soaring in wide circles

f. Marked by or involving public disorder, loud and noisy

g. A paved outdoor area adjoining a house

h. The entrails and internal organs of an animal used as food

i. A sentimental longing or wistful affection for a period in the past

j. Inns or public houses

k. A loud, excited confused noise, especially one caused by a large mass of people

l. Involving immoral or dishonourable actions and motives; arousing moral

distaste and contempt

m. Stonework

n. Make an abrupt, unsteady, uncontrolled movement or series of movements; stagger

o. Giving the worrying impression that something bad is going to happen; threateningly foreboding, inauspicious

p. Worn by long exposure to the air; weather-beaten

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A quiz to boost your General Knowledge

1. She is a hot favourite with the American youth. She was ranked 65th on the Forbes most powerful list in 2015, making her the youngest woman ever to be included. Name her.

a. Elizabeth Holmes b. Taylor Swift c. Mary Barra d. Oprah Winfrey

2. This country has 196 of its languages listed as endangered, according to a UNESCO report. Multiple dialects in this country are on the verge of extinction. Name the country.

a. United Kingdom b. Australia c. South Africa d. India

3. Caravan tourism is a very niche concept in India that helps in promoting family oriented tours. In India, currently two states have been advertising Caravan Tourism. Name them.

a. Kerala and Himachal Pradesh

b. Sikkim and Rajasthan c. Kerala and Madhya Pradesh d. Gujarat and Andhra

Pradesh

4. The Kalahari Desert is a large sandy area extending 900,000 km² over many countries in the continent. Name the nation which is not a part of the Kalahari Desert.

a. South Africa b. Tanzania c. Botswana d. Namibia

5. Pato is an interesting game played on horseback combining elements from both polo and basketball. Which is the country where it is not only the most popular but the national sport as well?

a. Argentina b. Libya c. Bahamas d. Bulgaria

6. Name the player who won the 2015 CEAT Indian Cricketer of the Year award.

a. Mahendra Singh Dhoni b. Virat Kohli c. Suresh Raina d. Ajinkya Rahane

7. World Environment Day is celebrated on June 5th every year since 1973. What was the theme for the World Environment Day this year in 2015?

a. Stay Green, Stay Safe b. Preserve the Forests,

Preserve our Nature c. Seven Billion Dreams, One

Planet, Consume with Care d. Time to Give our Earth a

Chance: Go Green

8. Jamdani is a very popular muslin textile weaved in an Asian country. Name the country where this traditional form of sari is woven.

a. Nepal b. Cambodia c. Bangladesh d. Sri Lanka

9. The Delhi-Mumbai Economic Corridor is a state-sponsored

Industrial Development Project of the Government of India. How many states in India are covered in this project?

a. Five b. Seven c. Six d. Nine

10. Saudi Arabia for long had been the biggest oil producer in the world. However, in 2014, another country produced 15.9 per cent more oil to topple Saudi Arabia’s production. Name the country.

a. China b. United States of America c. Iraq d. Russia

11. The Government of Canada had proposed the concept of World Ocean Day in 1992 in Rio De Janerio at the Earth Summit. Since then, the day has been celebrated internationally as World Ocean Day. On which day is it observed?

a. June 8 b. June 12 c. June 20 d. June 5

12. This beautiful red-breasted bird has recently topped a poll of 200,000 people to become UK’s most favourite and first ever national bird. Name the bird.

a. Red-breasted goose b. Harlequin duck c. Smew d. Robin flies

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Fill in the form send it along with your DD to : IMS Publications, a division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises,Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400 051. Tel. No. : 022-66680005 / 66170000

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37

13. As per the recent studies, more than half of the working children in India are mostly concentrated in its five states – Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. However, out of these, only one state has seen a 13 per cent growth in child workers. Name the state.

a. Maharashtra b. Uttar Pradesh c. Bihar d. Rajasthan

14. A hospital exclusively for elephants will be shortly coming up in India. In which state will this hospital come up?

a. Gujarat b. Mizoram c. Tamil Nadu d. Kerala

15. Name the country, which, according to a World Bank report, had the highest investment commitment in 2014 in private sector and infrastructure sectors like energy, transport and water.

a. Columbia b. Sri Lanka c. Brazil d. Philippines

16. At the recently held 21st Asian Athletics Championship, India won 4 gold, 5 silver and 4 bronze medals. What was India’s rank at the Championship?

a. Third b. Fifth c. Second d. Fourth

17. Spaceflight New Horizons is all set for a historic flyby of a planet this year on July 14th. This scheduled flyby past the planet is the spaceflight’s tribute to the famous Voyager 2, the space probe launched

by NASA previously. Name the planet by which New Horizons is set for this flyby.

a. Neptune b. Mars c. Pluto d. Uranus

18. Name the author who has won the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2015.

a. Sarah Waters b. Ali Smith c. Jhmpa Lahiri d. Anne Tyler

19. According to a report from consultancy Brand Finance, this club replaced Germany’s Bayern Munich as world’s most valuable football brand. What is the name of this brand?

a. Manchester City b. Manchester United c. FC Barcelona d. Tottenham Hotspur

20. Madaraka Day is celebrated on June 1 every year since 1963 as a national holiday in a particular country. Which is that country?

a. Kenya b. Libya c. Papua New Guinea d. Peru

21. Name the state, which is the largest producer of e-waste in India.

a. West Bengal b. Delhi c. Maharashtra d. Andhra Pradesh

22. On which date is World Day Against Child Labour observed?


23. Indian Artist Nek Chand Saini was a revered Indian artist, who

died recently. Among his many creations, he was particularly well-known for which one of the following?

a. Lutyens’ Delhi b. Rock Garden, Chandigarh c. Lumbini Park, Hyderabad d. RBI Building, Mumbai

24. This country is the top destination for India’s outbound investment during June 2013 to May 2014 period. Name the nation.

a. Netherland b. United States of America c. Australia d. South Africa

25. Lipulekh Pass has been used since ancient times by traders, beggars and Manasarovar pilgrims. Which are the three countries that this Himalayan Pass connects?

a. Pakistan, China and Nepal b. India, China and Nepal c. India, Nepal and Bhutan d. India, China and Bhutan

26. This space body has won the space pioneer award for science and technology in 2015 for successfully accomplishing the Mars mission in its very first attempt. Name this body.

a. NASA b. RSA c. ESA d. ISRO

27. Ameenah Gurib-Fakim was recently designated as the first ever woman president of a country. She was the first woman to hold this ceremonial position. Name the country where she became the president.

a. Mauritius b. Maldives c. Trinidad and Tobago d. Seychelles

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38 How to PlayFill in the grid so that every horizontal row, every vertical column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9, without repeating the numbers in the same row, column or box. You can’t change the digits already given in the grid. Every puzzle has one solution.Hint: Don’t fill in numbers at random. While filling a particular square, write numbers 1-9 on a pad and start eliminating those numbers that already appear in the same row, column or 3x3 box.

SuDoKu

For more similar puzzles, visit:www.sudoku.com

ANSWERS

GLOBESCAN

1. b 2. d 3. c 4. b 5. a

6. d 7. c 8. c 9. c 10. b

11. a 12. d 13. b 14. d 15. c

16. a 17. c 18. b 19. b 20.a

21. c 22. b 23. b 24. a 25. b

26. d 27. a 28. b 29. c 30. c

31. c 32. c 33. c

WORD DOSE

28. On which date does Telangana observe its Foundation Day.


29. The World Health Organization in June 2015 declared India free of this disease, which is usually seen in newborns due to the infection of the unhealed umbilical stump. What is the disease called?

a. Umbilical Granuloma b. Bradycardia c. Maternal and neonatal

tetanus d. Encephalitis

30. Name the politician who was recently conferred with the prestigious 14th Sant Namdev National Award 2015 for promoting peace, communal harmony and brotherhood.

a. Nitish Kumar b. Narendra Modi c. Prakash Singh Badal d. Naveen Patnaik

31. Name the cricketer who has been named the coach of India Under-19 and A teams.

a. Wasim Akram b. VVS Laxman c. Rahul Dravid d. Ricky Ponting

32. Delhi Metro has received its first driver-less train, which will be operational by 2016. From which country has Delhi Metro received this train?

a. United States of America b. Germany c. South Korea d. Japan

33. After 85 years of monarchy, the citizens of this country decided to become a republic on June 2nd. Name this country.

a. Germanyb. Japan

c. Italyd. Hungary

1. c 2. k 3. o 4. g5. d 6. i 7. n 8. a9. e 10. h 11. m 12. p13. b 14. l 15. j 16. f

Total pages 40

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•CAT •CET •GMAT •GRE

a mba july2015

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