beyond barriers - dec 2012

Volume IV. Issue IV. DeCember 2012

Dear junctionites,

Another year comes to a close and belying all rumours of Doomsday, we have all stepped rather safely into 2013. A new year inevitably brings along with it new hopes and new promises. Though the financial year-end is still a quarter away, the newness associated with the beginning of the calendar year never really seems to wear off. I take this opportunity to wish all junctionites and their near and dear ones a new year that is happy, peaceful, healthy and safe.

It is safety that brings me to a topic which cannot be overlooked by any Indian at this point. I would like to believe that mjunction is a company with a heart, and anyone with a heart cannot really turn a blind eye to women’s safety

issues any longer. The time has come not only to enforce laws, but also to introspect. We have a strong “Sexual Harassment at Workplace” policy and a team in keeping with Supreme Court guidelines, but I believe that no law can change people’s mindsets and that is what we need to do now. I urge each one of you to look within honestly and search for answers. Each one of us can be an agent of change, a change that is much-needed if we are to leave a safe world for our children to live in.

At mjunction, a personal milestone is never really personal. Thus, the “CEO of the Year” award that has been conferred upon me by the Indian Institute of Materials Management belongs not only to each and every one of you, but also to those who have walked a part of their professional careers with mjunction. It belongs to people who have once contributed to mjunction’s growth and have now moved on, and I am overwhelmed by the way they have responded to a personal feat and I thank each one of them.

Ours is an organisation that believes in changing with the times rather than resting on past laurels. Beginning this year, therefore, we have worked out a change in our working pattern which I believe will help us to optimise whatever learnings we have imbibed since inception. We have adopted McKinsey’s Three Horizon approach to structure the profitable growth of the company in the best manner possible. This approach will help us to ensure that while some business units “run the company,” some others “grow the company” and a few look to “transforming the company.”

The economic environment today is difficult and will probably continue to be so for some time. It is time for tough decisions

and re-alignment of thinking. It is time for re-arranging and re-thinking of priorities. It is time to re-invent strategies. It is time to look for new beginnings. And above all, it is time to keep our focus on the customer, the most important entity in our lives. It is only a customer-centric approach that can keep any corporate going and that has been the cornerstone of all our policies.

I believe we have a dedicated and hard-working team and like every other time, we will tide over these adverse conditions. I have full faith in India’s strong fundamentals and I believe India will once again chart the growth territory sometime soon.

Our Movement for Efficiency & Transparency initiative is going strong and we had a very successful event in Durgapur. I thank Mr P.K. Singh, the CEO of Durgapur Steel Plant, for supporting the initiative. The movement was kickstarted in August 2011 and has come a long way since then. We do not hope for a dramatic change but all change has to begin somewhere and that has been our effort. As we take this movement forward, we hope to see many more people join us as they believe in the cause.

Our CSR initiative ejunction has been growing steadily and we wish to keep the good story going. Our objective has been not only to train the students and make them employable but also to identify placement opportunities for them. I seek continued cooperation from you in meeting our objective.

Together, let us make this country and the world a better and safer place to live in.

Regards,Viresh Oberoi

DeCember 2012Volume IV Issue IV

WHAT’S INSIDE

Viresh Oberoi named “CEO of the Year” 2mj participations 3

IIM-C writes case study on mjunction 4MET travels to Durgapur 5Learning & Development @ mjunction 6

Client Speak 7mj Annual Picnic 8Featured junctionites 9Safety Corner 10BE Convention at Bangalore 10

My lessons in life by Azim Premji 11New faces at mjunction 12Mixed Bag 13Employee recognition 14

mj holds Brand Quiz 2012 15ejunction convocation at Jamshedpur 15Photo contest &Quiz Corner 16

BEYONDBARRIERS

From the MD


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FROM THEEDITOR’SDESK

DesignDebal Ray, Sobhan Jas

For suggestions, feedback and queries, please write to [email protected]

Copyright: All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means without the prior permission of mjunction services limited. Please inform us if any copyright has been inadvertently infringed.

Disclaimer: This document is for information purpose only. Certain information herein has been acquired from various external sources believed to be reliable. While we have taken reasonable care to compile this report, we in no way assume any responsibility for any error or discrepancy in regards to information contained herein. Readers are requested to make appropriate judgement without any prejudice or compulsion.

Visit our Corporate website at www.mjunction.inVisit our Corporate blog at www.awwb.blogspot.com

Dear Readers,A society is a reflection of its people and we cannot absolve

ourselves of any responsibility at a time when moral crisis in society has peaked in recent times. At a time like this perhaps it is time to dwell on greatness and progressive thinking in the truest sense and imbibe it in our beings.

We have recently celebrated the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, one of the greatest philosophers and thinkers of modern India. We organised meetings, declared a holiday and recounted his life and perhaps also his teachings. But how many of us really reflected on his philosophy? How many of us really understood and imbibed his teachings?

The global society, for all the external progress it is making, is rife with hatred, corruption, crime and perversion. Instead of observing a holiday, maybe we can reflect on Swami Vivekananda’s philosophy of tolerance, love for humankind and respect for a fellow human being. When the moral fabric of our society is so obviously threatened, it is only the guiding light of such thinkers that can prevent a complete collapse.

mjunction is very much a part of the collective conscience of the nation. Let us not think that each one of us cannot make a difference. Even if one of us can propagate a healthy mind, it would be one less sick person in our society. So let us join hands and pledge for a healthier society that consists of people with healthier mindsets.

Our managing director Mr Viresh Oberoi has been awarded the “CEO of the Year” by IIMM. It is a proud moment for all of us and we hope his thinking continues to transcend barriers in every way.

Our 2013 desk calendar also reflects the cornerstone of mjunction’s policies: Innovation. We hope you liked the theme and will contribute to mjunction’s innovative thinking and style of working.

Let the new year be safe and peaceful for each one of you.

Regards,

Madhuchanda DasguptaEditor

The Indian Institute of Materials Management (IIMM) has adjudged Mr Viresh Oberoi, founder CEO and managing director of mjunction services ltd, the “The Chief Executive of the Year”.

The award was conferred by the National Headquarters of the Institute in recognition of his valuable contribution in building mjunction services ltd as the largest e-commerce company in India and the impact that it has had on society by transforming procurement and selling processes into transparent, efficient and convenient services.

The award was presented by Mr Partha Chatterjee, Honorable Minister of Commerce & Industry, government of West Bengal, on behalf of the IIMM.

Some past winners of this award include, Mr B. Muthuraman of Tata Steel, Mr Rajiv Bajaj of Bajaj Auto, Mr Baba Kalyani of Bharat Forge and Mr Naveen Jindal of Jindal Steel & Power.

! CONGRATULATIONS !Congratulations on receiving the “Chief Executive of the year” awarded

by the Indian Institute of Materials Management.I have always admired you as a leader and would like to inculcate some

of your qualities in me.Sumit Chatterjee, ex-junctionite

The award is a most coveted one and has been won due to dedication, perseverance, devotion and immense service.

I offer my heartiest congratulations and hope your service of transforming processes of “buy and sell” of the supply chain in India go on with undiminished vigour!N. Nagori, Sr. Jt. President (Proj & Mktng), Birla Corporation

Please accept my heartfelt compliments on receiving the award. You have always been a source of inspiration and it gives me immense

pleasure to share your style of working and best practices that I inculcated during my stint at mjunction even today.Mangesh Chiddarwar, ex-junctionite

Viresh Oberoi named “CEO of the Year”

The Durgapur Branch of the Indian Institute of Materials Management

(IIMM) organised a day-long seminar on 'Challenges in Indian Steel Industry - A Supply Chain Perspective' on Sunday, December 23, at Hotel Citi Residency, Durgapur.

The programme was inaugurated by the CEO of DSP, Mr P.K. Singh and was attended by senior leadership teams of different SAIL plants including Corporate Materials Management Group of SAIL. The MJ team actively participated in this seminar and was represented by executives of Durgapur Branch as well as Kolkata HO. Mr Indranil Chaudhuri, Head, Account Management, of buyjunction, delivered a presentation to the audience titled 'Logistics in Steel Supply Chain - A Strategic Approach' which covered current trend of Indian Logistics industry, present challenges and how e-sourcing can help clients achieve tangible benefits in finalising logistics/transportation contracts.

Chairman of the Durgapur branch, IIMM, Mr Shantanu Chakravarty (also the executive director, MM, DSP) took keen interest in this programme and had a special word of praise for the MJ presentation. The MJ team also utilised this opportunity to engage themselves with many senior executives of SAIL who had assembled for this initiative.

mj at IIMM meet in Durgapur


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mj participates in NATCOM 2012

mjunction participated in NATCOM 2012, an annual logistics & supply chain conference organised by the Indian Institute of Materials

Management (IIMM) which was held in Kolkata on November 23 & 24, 2012.

Mr Ashish Goel, Account Manager- Private Clients, buyjunction, spoke in the conference on the emerging trends in the sourcing industry.

mjunction also participated in the exhibition which was part of the conference where it showcased its publications and reports. It also screened a short film on how buyjunction is changing the face of the procurement industry by bringing in innovation and transparency which brings about savings for the clients and ensures fair competition for the vendors.

mjunction participated in the 11th International Mining & Machinery Exhibition at Salt Lake Stadium, Kolkata from December 5 to 8, 2012. The exhibition was organised by

the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India’s Premier Business Association.

The event provides an ideal forum for the miners, planners and policy makers to discuss the various issues affecting the mining industry in the Asian region in particular, and also in the rest of the world. It also provides an excellent business opportunity for manufacturers of the mining and allied industry to showcase their technologies, new initiatives, products and services to the global audience.

More than 220 exhibitors participated from India and other countries such as Australia, Poland, Czech Republic, China, France, Italy, the US and others.

The event was an ideal platform for entrepreneurs, decision makers, senior government officials, investors, industry members, traders, equipment buyers and suppliers, academia, miners, engineers and trade delegations to congregate, brainstorm, showcase and forge meaningful partnership for business.

Junctionites Mr Sumit Jalan and Ms Rachita Das represented mjunction at the exhibition.

mj@IMME 2012

METALLURGY MEET

mjunction participated in a four-day meet at Jamshedpur from November 16 to 19, at the Annual Technical Meeting organised by the Indian Institute of Metals

(IIM).The country’s steel sector went through a four-day

brainstorming session over its multiple challenges, as the event attracted top executives from the steel industry, high performing metallurgists from the industry and research institutes of repute.

The meet was attended by the president of IIM and MD of Tata Steel, Mr H.M. Nerurkar, chairman of SAIL Mr C.S. Verma, steel secretary D.R.S. Choudhary and Union steel minister Beni Prasad Verma.

mjunction participated in the exhibition which was part of the event. The two publications Steel Insights and Coal Insights as well as the two high-end online reports – India Coal Market Watch and India Steel Market Watch – were exhibited at the event.


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Congratulations for this feather in your cap. Through the IIMC study I came to know that you implemented SAP in Tata Steel, but when we decided to go for automation of the material management function in SAIL and the choice was between SAP and your brainchild EPS, everybody unanimously settled for EPS.

Wish you the best for attaining more heights of success and thanks for remembering me in your hour of glory.

B. Muthuraman,Vice-chairman, Tata Steel

Thank you for the case study prepared by IIM. I am extremely pleased to note that mjunction has successfully evolved over a period of ten years to become the largest e-commerce company in India and the world’s largest e-platform for sale of steel.My heartiest congratulations to you and your team for this remarkable achievement and recognition of the same by IIM-C.

C.S. Sharma,Dynamic Sales Service International Pvt. Ltd, New Delhi

The Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata had approached mjunction in the year 2010, to do a case study on the company. This study involved extensive

interviews with the members of mjunction’s management, early members of the team and the customers, bidders and also key people of the founding members from Tata Steel and SAIL who were responsible for the birth of the idea of ‘mjunction’.

The authors of the case study are Professor Biswatosh Saha, Prof. Prarthan Desai and Prof. Vidyanand Jha. And after the entire study, they have published two cases – “Institutionalising the e-auction of Steel” and “Diversifying from the e-auction of Steel.”

mjunction services limited began in 2001 as a fledgling start-up joint venture co-promoted by Tata Steel and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) for selling ‘to-be-disposed idle assets’ and ‘secondary steel’ and is today the largest e-commerce company in India, having achieved a transactional Value of Rs 33,145 crore in 2011-12.

This journey from a fledgling start-up to the largest e-commerce company in India has been captured by the

IIM-C case study. It encapsulates how mjunction grew over the years, the challenges it faced and how it overcame them. These cases will now be forwarded by IIM-C to the Richard Ivey School of Business and if selected will be used as

teaching material by faculty in business schools around the world. This is a proud event for us at mjunction and we shared our happiness with our well-wishers and friends. In December, we sent them copies of the case study. The response was overwhelming and here we reproduce some of them.

IIM-C writes case study on mjunction

Dr. Sanak Mishra,CEO, Greenfield Projects India, ArcelorMittal India

Thank you for sending me a copy of the case study on the growth of mjunction over the years.

My congratulations on this very impressive growth under your leadership, and best wishes for continuing on this path.

Arvind PandeEx-chairman, SAIL

I was very happy to receive your mail and the excellent report of IIM, Kolkata on the evolution of mjunction. Needless to say that your commitment, energy, passion and leadership have been behind this remarkable success story.

I am glad that I was associated in the foundation and taking off stages of this initiative. Even before I went to Rourkela, nominated by chairman Arvind Pande as the Head of SAIL’s Task Force on e-commerce at the corporate headquarters at New Delhi, I remember how I struggled to convince the Board Members about the concept of e-commerce and regarding the justification of collaborating with Tata Steel.

I may share with you that in November 2012, on the occasion of the National Metallurgists’ Day

Celebrations and the Annual Meeting of the Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) held in Jamshedpur at XLRI Campus, I received the “JRD Tata Award for Excellence in Corporate Leadership in the Metallurgical Industries” for the year 2012. In my acceptance speech I referred to the opportunity of working with Tata Steel in the formative years of mjunction.

You may perhaps be aware that the first recipient of this Award, instituted in 2008, was none other than Ratan Tata, the successor to JRD Tata.


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The fifth Movement for Efficiency and Transparency (MET) conference was held in Durgapur on November 27, 2012, to provide a further thrust to turn the movement into a nationwide initiative.

Initiated by mjunction and a brainchild of the managing director Mr Viresh Oberoi, MET is an effort to recognise, reward and replicate models of creating efficiency and transparency across all aspects of governance, corporate and social life. The initiative, in fact, is an extension of mjunction’s corporate philosophy to constantly innovate and bring in transformation and efficiency, improving upon systems and processes.

The movement was kickstarted with the successful launch of the inaugural MET conference in Kolkata in August 2011 was followed by three MET conferences in Jamshedpur in December 2011, Bokaro in March 2012 and Bhilai in June 2012. Hosted at the Synergy Halll, CHRD Centre, Durgapur Steel Plant, by mjunction and supported by SAIL Durgapur Steel Plant, the conference saw significant participation with over 200 people from diverse fields and background of the city joining in.

The meet witnessed an enriching panel discussion on the subject of ‘Efficiency and Transparency - the key to an ever flourishing society’ wherein change leaders like Mr Rangan Varadan, co-founder, Micro Graam,

Mr Arnab Basu, partner PwC, Ms Joylita Saldanha from Janaagraha and Mr Himanshu Tayal from Hole-in –the Wall joined in, sharing their views and opinions. The conference also saw Mr P.K. Singh,

CEO Durgapur Steel Plant and Mr Viresh Oberoi, founder, MET and MD, mjunction addressing the audience.

Mr P.K. Singh, CEO, DSP welcomed the distinguished panellists to Durgapur and said, “It has been our culture to bring awareness about transparency, probity and integrity among our employees. On the one hand, we have well-laid down sets

of rules, regulations and guidelines for all spheres of our business activities and on the other hand, we have systems in place to ensure that the rules and regulations are implemented in letter and spirit. The fact that SAIL, a Maharatna company, in-

spite of having to strictly follow so many rules and regulations, has been consistently doing good as a commercial organisation,

is a testimony to the fact that we have been transparent as well as efficient in the conduct of our business”

Introducing the movement to the audience at Durgapur,

Mr Viresh Oberoi said, “We have ushered in transparency and efficiency in the sales processes of the steel and coal supply chains in India, as also to the sourcing and procurement processes across industries. Similarly MET has also been instituted with a thought process of recognising those who have brought about efficiency and transparency across aspects of governance, corporate and social life. MET is a platform to identify, appreciate, exchange and amplify contributions of individuals and organizations. It is a forum for the change agents to share their vision, experiences and stories and thereby encourage others to join the movement. Our ultimate goal is to catalyze and inspire similar achievements in civil society.”

Mr Rangan Varadan spoke about the journey of Micro Graam and its vision to create and run a platform for impact investment, intended to create a positive impact beyond financial returns. Mr Arnab Basu took the audience through the changing face of the enterprise in India. He spoke about the role of technology to drive efficiency and transparency. Ms Joylita Saldanha spoke about the journey of Janaagraha in transforming the quality of Life in India’s city and towns. She demonstrated the power of the current projects “I Paid a Bribe” and “I Change my City”. Mr Himanshu Tayal shared with the audience the very interesting concept of Hole-in-the-Wall that

even in the absence of any direct input from a teacher, an environment that stimulates curiosity can cause learning t h r o u g h self-instruction and peer-shared

knowledge.

MET travels to Durgapur

With corruption being the order of the day, the MET initiative to bring in transparency and efficiency, can be termed as the most noble cause today for the common man in India.

For many PSUs, including SAIL, e-commerce has contributed significantly in discovery of price for procurement as well as sales, in a very transparent manner. e-governance efforts by various state governments are reducing the misery of, to begin with, the educated class or citizens who are computer-friendly.

For the honourable cause of encouraging the change agents and recognising their efforts, I congratulate mjunction services limited, MET and Durgapur Steel Plant.

Anil Chaudhary,Director (finance), SAIL


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Learning & Development @ mjunction

The success of members of an organisation depends increasingly on having opportunities for learning and development and mjunction has built a strong foundation for the same.

As part of the learning and development approach, the training plan is aligned to the Corporate Strategic Objectives which facilitated in addressing the following:

• Building an effective account management process• Building capability in sales and marketing.• Establishing an effective client management process• Build, capitalise and sustain expertise in buying and selling

of non-core items and services • Build expertise in the entire value chain of buying and

selling.• Impart trainings to develop world class IT

infrastructure• Impart soft skills related trainings

The learning and development approach also aimed at the following:

• To build expertise in the entire value chain of buying and selling. Two batches of Procurement Management training were conducted every Saturday (eight Saturdays per batch) through IIMM Kolkata where 70 junctionites from BJ & Procurement teams participated. The feedback has been very encouraging and the participants felt that the training was relevant to their domain.

• To build, capitalise and sustain expertise in buying and selling of non-core items and services three knowledge sharing sessions on long, flat and melting scrap was conducted by a senior executive from SAIL. A batch of 35 from the metaljunction team attended these sessions and found them to be very enriching.

• Emphasis on development of internal pool of internal trainers. Fifteen internal trainings have been conducted by seven internal trainers till Q3 FY13 on topics related to safety & ergonomics, SAP, Asset Valuation, Procurement Process, Taxation and on Global Logistics, Shipping & Forwarding.

Trainings on CRM and negotiation skills were conducted at the branches of Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi for the first time involving branch executives including the CCOs. This resulted in saving of travel time and effort and also resulted in effective branch coverage.

The training needs of the senior management have been addressed by sending them for relevant MDP programmes in the areas of Leadership and their respective domains. The focus of the L&D activities has been to facilitate building competencies for achieving strategic objectives and accomplishment of action plans, both short-term and long-term.

“Delivery and presentation of the course was incredibly invigorating”–Indranil Chaudhuri, head Account Management,

on the training on Leadership

An organisation’s ability to learn, and translate that learning into action rapidly, is the ultimate competitive advantage

– Jack Welch

“We should have more of such sessions”–Arunava Mandal, head, valuejunction, on the training on Selling Skills

“It was a great learning”–Linus Lobo, chief of mjedge & Corporate Marketing,

on the training on Leadership

“Good training session. Request you to organise more of such trainings”–S. Raghavendra, executive, Chennai branch, on the training on CRM

“Excellent training programme”–K. Padmashree, executive, Chennai branch,

on the training on Negotiation Skills

“After attending this training programme, I feel more confident as I came to know many negotiation tactics”

–Rajat Saha, executive, HO on the training on Negotiation Skills

“Completed a very good training...was an appropriate one..thanks for arranging the same and nominating my name ...attended a good training after a long long time.”

–Soumen Baral, head, metaljunction on the training on Customer Relationship management


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Client Speak

We have done three reverse auctions recently through buyjunction with high alumina castable – 50%, 95% and ladle

nozzle filling compound being the items of procurement.For the first event of high alumina castable 50%, VISL achieved a

savings of 30.2% of its estimated value. For the second item, the savings was 7.4% of its estimated value and for ladle nozzle filling compound, it was 29.1% of its estimated value.

We would like to put in a word of appreciation for the team involved in this process and a special mention for Uma R, Saranathan Srinivasan and Thiruvalluvan K of the mjunction Chennai team for their timely suggestions on the bidding strategy.

V.S. HegdeDGM I/C (M&M, C&IT)

Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel Plant

The Rourkela Steel Plant has achieved a considerable amount of savings in the following auctions conducted by mjunction:• Bearings for converter drive hanging reducer; on December 24; savings

of 62.43%• Plate mill back-up roll neck BRGS; on December 28; savings of 54.17%• Inner race for R#0 BRGS; on December 19; savings of 12.52%• Led light for street light; on May 30, 2012; savings of 14.85%• HDEP roll 1700 mm; on November 6; savings of 14.31%.

I want to make special mention of the mjunction team of Rohit Saharan, Dipankar Das, Nitin Kumar and Sharat Kumar Karn, who played a significant role in the success of these auctions.

Padmanav Das, AGM (MM), Purchase, SAIL, Rourkela Steel Plant

The purchase (consumables section) of the Bhilai Steel Plant is very satisfied with three reverse auctions conducted by mjunction in November for critical items like Furan Resin and Activator, Common Salt and Ferric Alum. The auctions were successfully conducted at very short notice.

Jay Kishore Pandit of mjunction particularly put in a lot of effort along with the entire team of mjunction.

Harpreet Singh, AGM (Purchase), SAIL, Bhilai Steel Plant

The forward auction conducted by mjunction’s Bhilai team for scrap, spares and vehicles for NMDC Panna, achieved extraordinary results as a result of customer service of the highest quality.

I would especially like to mention Kamlesh Ghode of the team for the successful auction.

W. Vinod, Senior Manager (Materials), NMDC Panna

The project department of SAIL ISP Burnpur appreciates the effort of team mjunction in conducting reverse auction for procurement of steel straps and label of aluminium plate for embossing, which was conducted on November 6 last year. The auction resulted in a savings of 33.65% against the estimated value of the products.

A special word for Arijit Ghosh and Keshab Chandra Mandal of mjunction for helping to conduct the auction successfully.

Tapas Chottopadhyay, DGM Projects, SAIL ISP Burnpur

On December 14, 2012, mjunction conducted a reverse auction for Bokaro Steel Plant for procurement of silicon carbide. The price realisation in the auction was far lower than our estimated value. We have a special word

of appreciation of Sumit Kumar Das of mjunction for the effort that he put in. We would also like to thank the mjunction teams in Bokaro as well as in Kolkata for the successful auction.

T. Sarkar, AGM (MM), SAIL Refractory Unit, Bokaro Steel Plant

TRF’s association with buyjunction has been very fruitful and some of the outcomes were beyond expectation.

There has been time-bound action and the pressure created by the system was so effective that the reflections and influences were minimised. New vendors got ample scope to take part in a fair atmosphere which was reason for some discontentment earlier. Almost in all cases the order has been awarded to new vendors. Lastly, the process is so robust and comprehensive that there was little chance of error or dissatisfaction.

We would like to enhance and explore more possible engagement avenues with you in future.

Kaushik Sarkar, Head CPC-BMHE, TRF Ltd

The Managed Sourcing Services (MSS) team of mjunction does their best to provide the best services to RSP.

I would especially like to mention the services of Sunita Soreng of mjunction, who helped RSP with her end-to-end procurement solution services team. Her cycle time has been the lowest since the day this service commenced. We look forward to continued support from mjunction.

P. Rout, DGM-MM-PUR, SAIL, Rourkela Steel Plant

The workshop on reverse auctions conducted by team mjunction on October 3 and 10, 2012, was exhaustive and lucid and covered all aspects of the process very effectively. The workshop was conducted for the benefit of contractors and operating authorities. Immediate solutions to queries were part of the workshop.

On behalf of the Contract Cell Works department, I would like to thank the team for this effort.

Sanjeev Nayyar, DGM I/C (CC-W), SAIL, Bhilai Steel Plant

Dev Prakash Mishra, an associate of mjunction, is a sincere person with sharp analytical ability.

I wish him a bright and successful career in material management (purchase).

D. Dutta, AGM (Purchase), SAIL, Bokaro Steel Plant


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mjunction’s annual picnic was held on the bright and sunny winter morning of December 22 at the Green Valley Garden in Sonarpur where junctionites along with their families gathered for a day full of fun and frolic.

Interspersed with sumptuous meals, the day was a steal especially for the children, who enjoyed activities that were specially designed for them. Boating was a special attraction as was mehendi for the ladies. The lush green and sylvan surroundings added to the charm of the day.

Fun time at annual picnic


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The ever smiling and cheerful Sanchita Pal of metaljunction has been

part of the mjunction family for the last four years. Sanchita was born in Baranagar and shifted to New Barrackpore when she was five. That is where she spent her childhood, as she completed her schooling from the New Barrackpore Girls High School. From there, she moved to the Scottish Church College from where she completed her graduation and then again went on to do her Masters.

Sanchita says that all along, music has remained her passion and as she pursued her education she also pursued her music with equal zeal and fervour and went on to obtain a Diploma in Music.

Right from her childhood, Sanchita’s mother has been her greatest inspiration and support. She says she cannot remember a time in her life when her mother was not there to support her in whatever she attempted to do. Her father retired as Head Quality Inspector at the Cossipore Gun & Shell Factory.

Sanchita embarked on her professional career with Simplifly Deccan as Customer Care executive based out of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International airport in Kolkata. There, she was later shifted to the Administration department when Kingfisher Airlines acquire it. It was right after this that she joined mjunction.

Her stint at mjunction has been satisfying and delightful, in her own words. Sanchita makes special mention of the

extremely supportive and conducive work environment. She has always received a lot of encouragement and support from her colleagues as well as seniors which helped her to perform her tasks in the best possible manner. Sanchita is now in the auction team of metaljunction. Her job constantly throws up new challenges but the support of her team helps her to face them in a positive manner as well as gives her a lot of satisfaction.

Sanchita recounts that one of the biggest challenges she faced during her stint at mjunction was when the new auction process was launched at valuejunction, the business units that sells idle assets. Learning the process, sharing the knowledge with the team and then make customers aware of the bidding process was a daunting task. However, Sanchita could overcome this challenge with proper support and guidance from her team. In fact, it was an extremely satisfying venture which was also recognised in the form of a reward which was awarded to Sanchita.

In February 2011, she embarked on a new phase of her life with Sauvik Ghosh, who has been extremely supportive in all her ventures. Sanchita is an avid reader and in her spare time she loves to read both English as well as Bengali books. Another passion for her is cooking so she is constantly on the lookout for new recipes. When she is at home, she loves to try out new and special recipes.

Music, reading and conjuring gastronomic delights for her family and friends: for Sanchita, life is an ever satisfying and continuous journey.

It has been a long journey indeed for Srijan Datta, considering how common it is these days to switch jobs. However, for him, the

fervour to work for mjunction remains the same as it was on day one.

A B. Com graduate from Jaipuria College, Kolkata and a dual MBA in Marketing and Finance from the first batch at Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, Srijan landed up at mjunction directly from his on campus interviews.

It was way back in July 4, 2005, when six management trainees joined mjunction at Tata Centre and were immediately sent to SAIL and Tata Steel plants across the country after a brief three-day induction.

Soon after, Srijan decided to get married in November the same year. At that time there were no marriage leaves and management trainees could avail of 10 special leaves in a year. Srijan fondly remembers the day he applied for a three-day leave to his the then reporting boss, Mr Binny Mathew, who in his approval note to HR, wrote: “Srijan says he is going to marry, so leave approved!”

After an initial period of six months, Srijan joined coaljunction for six months of on-the-job training. During this period, Srijan was selected as a core team member for implementation of SAP at mjunction, an experience which he says was most enriching. In July 2006, Srijan was absorbed as assistant manager operations in coaljunction and was assigned a role in post auction under Mr Mihir Gandhi. During the same time, Srijan completed his ISO Lead Auditor’s Training and till date he continues to conduct internal ISO audits for mj.

By mid-2006, Srijan went on to take on his first KAM (CRM) assignment for Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) and soon had NEC and WCL too under his kitty. During his stint in coaljunction, Srijan could sign up a new client, SAIL ISP for sale of their Jhama Coal, an account which is still going strong.

In May 2009, Srijan decided to move on and join EPS. EPS, now a part of buyjunction, was at that point a separate department and desperately needed cleansing of its vendor database and completing implementation of EPS at SAIL units across India.

“Piles of vendor declaration forms were lying and the database was a mere excel,” says Srijan, when he joined EPS and it took about a year’s time to come up with streamlined vendor operations, for which Srijan gives full credit to his team.

Srijan soon went on to manage multiple SAIL Units as project manager – EPS and was also parallelly the head of Customer Support Team at Kolkata and the Technology SPoC. During this period, Srijan could not only complete successful implementation of EPS at SAIL, but was also able to sign up the post implementation EPS contracts with SAIL – MEL (now CFP), SAIL ISP and SAIL BSL.

In March 2010, Srijan completed his Business Excellence Leadership programme with Silver certification and qualified as a TBEM Assessor. In January 2012, Srijan was moved to the newly formed buyjunction 2 sales team for a very short time before he re-joined coaljunction in August. Srijan says getting back to coaljunction was like a “homecoming” for him.

Srijan is presently serving as a CRM, project manager PSMS and the Financial Controller of the business unit. In February 2012, Srijan received the “Long Service Award” at the mjunction birthday celebrations held at the Park Hotel, Kolkata.

In between there was a turning point in Srijan’s life when he became proud father to little Avantika (Gia) in February 2010. In fact, Srijan says he owes a lot of his success to his better half Mithu who has been a constant source of inspiration.

Over time, Srijan says, he has been blessed with good talented teams to work with across CJ & BJ and excellent and cooperative bosses like Mr Mihir Gandhi, Mr Senthilnathan, Mr Indranil Chaudhuri, Mr Anirban Sarkar and of course not to forget Mr Deepak Bhattacharyya whom Srijan continues to report to.

To Srijan, MJ is now more of an extended family than a mere workplace.

FEATURED JUNCTIONITES

Sanchita Pal

Philosophy of lifeBe happy and thankful for what you are now, and keep fighting for what you want to be tomorrow.

Source of inspirationMy mother

StrengthsHonesty and hard work

WeaknessShort tempered

LikesSimplicity and straight forwardness

DislikesDishonesty and complacency

HobbiesListening to music, reading

Favourite movie3 Idiots, Rang De Basanti, Top Gun and all Satyajit Ray movies.

Favourite film starSoumitra Chatterjee, Aamir Khan and Tom Cruise

Favourite musicRabindrasangeet, ghazals, rock music

Dream travel destinationKashmir, Australia, Switzerland and Maldives.

Favourite foodChinese cuisine

Favourite singerShreya Ghoshal, Lata Mangeshkar, Hariharan, Jagjit Singh

Vision for yourselfNever to give up on anything as miracles can happen anytime.

Favourite quote“If people are trying to bring you down, it only means that you are above them”.

Srijan Datta

Philosophy of lifeFollow your passion, and success will follow you.

Source of inspirationSolitude and peace when I’m on some mountain top

StrengthsPerseverance

WeaknessesEmotional

LikesSocialising

DislikesDeception / Treachery

HobbiesTravelling, photography

Favourite movieIndependence Day, Sarfarosh, 3 Idiots

Favourite filmstarAamir Khan

Favourite musicAnything pleasing to the ears (Country, Pop, Soft Rock)

Dream travel destinationBali, Las Vegas

Favourite foodNorth Indian

Favourite singerKishore Kumar, Sonu Nigam, John Denver, Cliff Richard

Vision for yourselfEnjoy life as it comes

Favourite quoteSuccess is getting what you want.Happiness is liking what you get.

Comments about mjunctionA young passionate company with an innovative, cooperative working environment.


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mjunction’s Guiding Force

mjunction was born out of an innovative idea, and so it decided to use “Innovation” as the theme for its 2013 calendar which is distributed to all junctionites, stakeholders and clients.

For each month of the year, the desk calendar looks at 12 great innovations that have changed our lives. Some of them are the ATM, robotics, nuts and bolts and the computer.

Road traffic safety refers to methods and measures for reducing the risk of a person

using the road network being killed or seriously injured. The users of a road include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, their passengers, and passengers of on-road public transport, mainly buses and trams. Best-practice road safety strategies focus upon the prevention of

serious injury and death crashes in spite of human fallibility. The basic strategy of a Safe

System approach is to ensure that in the event of a crash, the impact energies remain below the

threshold likely to produce either death or serious injury.Road safety is a result of contributing efforts from

all the sectors of the society including both civilians and government officials.

Some tips: • Do not use your mobile phone whilst driving or walking on the street or taking

staircases• Always wear helmets and seat belts • Do not drink and drive • Always adhere to speed limits • Do not drive if tired• Always observe and anticipate other road users• Take special care about children, senior citizens and pedestrians • Pedestrians should walk cautiously• Keep your distances

BE Convention at Bangalore

The mjunction MD, Mr Viresh Oberoi mentored the team which conducted TBEM External assessment for CMC. The teams were recognised at the Business Excellence Convention held at Bangalore on December 7 and 8, 2012.Soumen Baral of metaljunction was part of the team which conducted the TBEM external assessment for Tata Motor Finance.


11

Azim Premji, the business tycoon and philanthropist who is the chairman of Wipro Ltd, addressed the “Shaping Young Minds Program” (SYMP) organised by AIMA in collaboration with the

Bombay Management Association (BMA) in Mumbai. Here we reproduce his address as we feel his words are universally true.

The first thing I have learnt is that we must always begin with our strengths. There is an imaginary story of a rabbit. The rabbit was enrolled in a rabbit school. Like all rabbits, it could hop very well but could not swim. At the end of

the year, the rabbit got high marks in hopping but failed in swimming. The parents were concerned. They said, “Forget about hopping. You are anyway good at it. Concentrate on swimming.” They sent the rabbit for tuitions in swimming. And guess what happened? The rabbit forgot how to hop! As for swimming, have you ever seen a rabbit swim? While it is important for us to know what we are not good at, we must also cherish what is good in us. That is because it is only our strengths that can give us the energy to correct our weaknesses.

The second lesson I have learnt is that a rupee earned is of far more value than five found. My friend was sharing me the story of his eight year-old niece. She would always complain about the breakfast. The cook

tried everything possible, but the child remained unhappy. Finally, my friend took the child to a supermarket and brought one of those ready-to-cook packets. The child had to cut the packet and pour water in the dish. The child found the food to be absolutely delicious? The difference was that she has cooked it! In my own life, I have found that nothing gives as much satisfaction as earning our rewards. In fact, what is gifted or inherited follows the old rule of come easy, go easy. I guess we only know the value of what we have if we have struggled to earn it.

The third lesson I have learnt is no one bats a hundred every time. Life has many challenges. You win some and lose some. You must enjoy winning. But do not let it go to the head. The moment it does, you are already on your

way to failure. And if you do encounter failure along the way, treat it as an equally natural phenomenon. Don’t beat yourself for it or anyone else for that matter! Accept it, look at your own share in the problem, learn from it and move on. The important thing is, when you lose, do not lose the lesson.

The fourth lesson I have learnt is the importance of humility. Sometimes, when you get so much in life, you really start wondering whether you deserve all of it. We have so much to be grateful for. Our parents, our teachers and our seniors have done so much for us that

we can never repay them. Many people focus on the shortcomings, because obviously no one can be perfect. But it is important to first acknowledge what we have received. Nothing in life is permanent but when a relationship ends, rather than becoming bitter, we must learn to savor the memory of the good things while they lasted.

The fifth lesson I learnt is that we must always strive for excellence. One way of achieving excellence is by looking at those better than ourselves.

Keep learning what they do differently. But excellence cannot be imposed from the outside. We must also feel the need from within. It must involve not only our mind but also our heart and soul. Excellence is not an act but a habit. I remember the inspiring lines of a poem, which says that your reach must always exceed your grasp. That is heaven on earth. Ultimately, your only competition is yourself.

Contributed by Sanchita Bandyopadhyay, HR

My Lessons in Life

The sixth lesson I have learnt is never give up in the face of adversity. It comes on you suddenly without warning. Always keep in mind that it is only the test of fire that makes fine steel. A friend of mine shared this incident

with me. His eight-year old daughter was struggling away at a jigsaw puzzle. She kept at it for hours but could not succeed. Finally, it went beyond her bedtime. My friend told her, “Look, why don’t you just give up? I don’t think you will complete it tonight. Look at it another day.” The daughter looked with a strange look in her eyes, “But, dad, why should I give up? All the pieces are there! I have just got to put them together!” If we persevere long enough, we can put any problem into its perspective.

The seventh lesson I have learnt is that while you must be open to change, do not compromise on your values. Mahatma Gandhiji often said that you must open the windows of your mind, but you must not be swept off

your feet by the breeze. Values like honesty, integrity, consideration and humility have survived for generations. At the end of the day, it is values that define a person more than the achievements. Do not be tempted by short cuts. The short cut can make you lose your way and end up becoming the longest way to the destination.

And the final lesson I learnt is that we must have faith in our own ideas even if everyone tells us that we are wrong. There was once a newspaper vendor who had a rude customer. Every morning, the customer would walk

by, refuse to return the greeting, grab the paper off the shelf and throw the money at the vendor. The vendor would pick up the money, smile politely and say, “Thank you, Sir.” One day, the vendor’s assistant asked him, “Why are you always so polite with him when he is so rude to you? Why don’t you throw the newspaper at him when he comes back tomorrow?” The vendor smiled and replied, “He can’t help being rude and I can’t help being polite. Why should I let his rude behavior dictate my politeness?

I hope you achieve success in whatever way you define it and what gives you the maximum happiness in life. “Remember, those who win are those who believe they can.”

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12

New faces at mjunction

Anindya Majumderbuyjunction 2

Anjan Budabuyjunction 1

Ankit Singhaniastraightline

Avijit Mitraincubation cell

Bidyanand Jhabuyjunction 2

Bingyasini Pradhanbuyjunction 1

Debarati Boseincubation cell

Debleena Sahabuyjunction 2

Deepak Kashyapincubation cell

Dibyendu Palincubation cell

G Gopal Krishnabuyjunction 2

Kumar Ravishankarbuyjunction 2

Mahadev Dasbuyjunction 1

Moidul Islamincubation cell

Nadeem Quamarbuyjunction 2

Nepal Bhuniaincubation cell

Poulomi Duttabuyjunction 2

Raja Basakincubation cell

Rajan Pandeymetaljunction

Rajkumar Maityincubation cell

Rishika Kumaribuyjunction 2

Sabyasachi Ghoshbuyjunction 2

Saket Kumar Singhmetaljunction

Sangeeta Keshbuyjunction 2

Sanjib Balaincubation cell

Shamim Ahmedfinancejunction

Soumitra Nandybuyjunction 2

Soumya Chatterjeeincubation cell

Subhradeep Senincubation cell

Sumant Choudhurybuyjunction 1

HEARTIEST WELCOMETO ALL


13

MIXED BAG

Mukul Sarkar of autojunction enters into wedded bliss with Susmita

Shamim Ahmed of financejunction and Farha take the wedding vows

Deblina Pal of Internal Audit ties the knot with Prithwish

Rahul Das of buyjunction enters into holy matrimony with Sheuli

Wedding bells for Debanjana Dutta of buyjunction and Boudhayan

Beginning of new innings for Sumit Kumar Jalan of mjedge and Ritu

Baby Aditya born to Anamika Datta of buyjunction

Bhakti Bhusan Ghosh of B2C Marketing was blessed with little angel Moynaavi

Sudip Sanyasi of Procurement was blessed with baby Srijita

wedding bellswedding bells

The newbornS ...


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Spot Awards

November 2012

December 2012

Sanjoy Chakraborty of metaljunction got his fifth article published in the July-September issue of SAIL MTI Quarterly Business journal, The Growth. Sanjoy, who is a senior analyst, based his article on the pros and cons of allowing foreign direct investment in India’s retail sector. Titled “Foreign Direct Investment in India’s Retail,” Sanjoy has made an in-depth analysis of the much-debated issue.

Congratulations and keep up the good work, Sanjoy!

Sanjukta Ganguly of mjunctionedge has started her doctoral research work in Business Management at the University of Calcutta.

Sanjukta, who completed her Master of Business Management from the University of Calcutta and joined mjunction in 2010, is a part of the Editorial team which regularly comes out with journals and online reports on steel, coal and allied sectors.

We wish her all the best and success in her endeavour!

KU

DO

S


15

The Event Team organised a TIE Carrom tournament

which was played on league basis in the both singles and doubles formats. The finals were held on November 23.

Team Transparency won the singles match as Biplab Biswas won the game against Danish Ismail by 2-0.

The doubles title went to Team Efficiency as Abhishek Sen and Sukhen Chowdhury won the game against Abhijit Banerjee and Sayantan Dutta Choudhury by 2-1.

The awards were given away during the monthly cake-cutting ceremony in December.

Carrom contest @mj

In keeping with the spirit of Diwali, mjunction invited

two NGOs, both for the differently abled – Silence and Asha Niketan – for a Diwali exhibition on November 9.

The exhibits included scented handmade candles, greeting cards and costume jewellery. Enthusiastic junctionites visited the stalls and ensured that there were brisk sales.

Diwali

exhibition

The finals of the mj Brand Quiz was held on November 16, 2012, at the Godrej Waterside premises.

After several preliminary rounds, the 10 junctionites who made it to the finals spanned across business units and included people from the headquarters as well as the branches.

The 10 finalists were:• Madhurendra Kumar, metaljunction, from Bhilai;• Sagarika Bhattacharya, coaljunction, from Kolkata;• Chaiti Mazumdar, buyjunction 1, from Kolkata;

ejunction convocation at Jamshedpur

From its very beginning, the principal objective of ejunction has been to support, train and uplift the specially abled and financially challenged

sections of society. As part of this endeavour that mjunction has so lovingly nurtured, the company has always been on the lookout for partners who can share this vision and assist in turning it into reality. And mjunction has found one more worthy partner in Tata Steel.

mjunction services limited in association with Tata Steel hosted the convocation ceremony for the passing students of 39th & 40th batches of ejunction, a computer education and associated skills training programme for the underprivileged at the Kasidih Community Centre in Jamshedpur. Certificates were distributed to 46 students on this occasion on November 14, 201.

Mr Bipul Kumar of Urban Services, Tata Steel and Mr Abhishek Ranjan of mjunction services limited were the coordinators of the batch.Mr T.V. Narendran, Vice President (FP), Tata Steel, graced the occasion as chief guest. Mr Vinaya Varma, Vice President was invited as special guest.

Both Mr Narendran and Mr Varma handed over the certificates to the candidateMr Sanjay, Head, Urban services, Tata Steel and Mr. Ashish Goel, Group Manager, Jamshedpur who have spearheaded the initiative at Kashidih Centre,

were also present on the occasion. The event was also reported by a section of the media.

• Jaydeb Chakraborty, buyjunction 1, from Burnpur;• Somnath Mukherjee, metaljunction, from Rourkela;• Rituparna Mukherjee, Incubation Cell from Kolkata;• Avik Ray, metaljunction, from Mumbai;• Siddharth Bhatia, straightline, from Delhi;• Abhishek Chakraborty, buyjunction 1, from Durgapur; and• M.K. Badrinarayan, metaljunction, from Jamshedpur.

Debashish Mukherjee and Abhishek Kar conducted the quiz.

Round 1 consisted of questions based on the mj case study drawn up by IIM-C as well as mj current affairs. Round 2 was video-based. A film was screened and questions were asked based on that.

After the two rounds, Rituparna Mukherjee of Incubation Cell emerged the winner of the quiz. Our heartiest congratulations to Rituparna!

mj holds


16

The theme for the Photo Contest this time was “Winter”. We are pleased to announce that Shyamal Bhar of metaljunction has been adjudged the winner of the contest by our esteemed judges. Beyond Barriers

congratulates Shyamal and thanks all the participants.Apart from the prize-winning entry we are also including a few “notable

entries” which have been picked by our judges.

Candid Shots

QUIZ CORNERThe second edition of the Quiz Corner is here. Every quarter, the first all-correct entry will be awarded 150 points from straightline, the reliable online shopping website from mjunction. The decision of the quizmaster in this respect will be binding and final.The winner of the last quiz is Abhishek Kar. Congratulations Abhishek.So hurry up and mail your answers to [email protected]

� Who was the Time magazine person of the year in 2012? � Who served as the chief executive officer at Bain & company & helped

lead the company out of financial crisis. He later cofounded & led the spin off company Bain Capital in 1984.He was very much in the news in 2012 for a very different reason. Name this individual.

� This company was founded in 1988 by ex-military officer Ren Zhengfei and formed as a private company owned by its employees. Its core missions are building telecommunications networks; providing operational and consulting services and equipment to enterprises inside and outside of China; and manufacturing communications devices for the consumer market. Name this company which is very much in the news in India nowadays.

� X is the name of several people in real life and fiction who became shipwrecked, with some of them subsequently being cannibalized by their fellow seamen. This name was used in a 2001 book which was subsequently made into a movie in 2012. Identify X.

� X is an abandoned swimming pool complex located in Porte Molitor, 16th arrondissement of Paris, Île-de-France, Paris, France. It is next to the park Bois de Boulogne, and between Stade Roland Garros and Parc des Princes. The complex was built in 1929 and inaugurated by Olympic swimmers Aileen Riggin and Johnny Weissmuller. X was in the news in 2012.Identify X.

� He was born Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar in the village of Gorur, Karnataka. He was educated in a Kannada-medium school until Class V, then at Sainik School, Bijapur, followed by the National Defence Academy in Khadakvasla, Pune. After school he took a commission in the Indian Army, earning the rank of Captain. He spent eight years in the army and fought in the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War. Upon

retirement from the armed forces, he established an ecologically sustainable sericulture farm; his innovative methods earned him the Rolex Laureate Award in 1996.[1] Next, he started the Malnad Mobikes an Enfield dealership and opened a hotel in Hasan. Identify him.

� Which Indian company gets its name from the Gujrati word for “knowhow” and the English word for “bank loan”?

� This is the most important subsidiary of Gujarat Fluorochemicals. This company now aspires to be the India’s largest renewable energy generator through the wind energy business. What is it?

� Zhang Ruimin was appointed the managing director of Qingdao Refriegeration in 1984. Zhang was an avid reader of Western and Japanese business practices and management techniques. When he arrived in 1984, Zhang realized that the poor condition of the factory’s quality controls was endangering its continued survival. In 1985, a customer brought a faulty refrigerator back to the factory and showed it to Zhang. Zhang and the customer then went through his entire inventory of 400 refrigerators looking for a replacement. In the process he discovered that there was a 20 percent failure rate in his merchandise. To emphasize the importance of product quality, Zhang had the 76 dud refrigerators lined up on the factory floor. He then distributed sledgehammers to the employees and ordered them to destroy the refrigerators. The workers were hesitant; the cost of a refrigerator at the time was about 2 years worth of wages. Seeing their distress, Zhang said: “Destroy them! If we pass these 76 refrigerators for sale, we’ll be continuing a mistake that has all but bankrupted our company.” The refrigerators were smashed to pieces. How is this company known as today?

� Deepak Mohoni is the founder of Trendwatch (India) Pvt. Ltd. He is rated as India’s foremost market strategist by many investors. He is, however, remembered for coining a term. Which term did he coin?

Beyond Horizon by Sagarika Bhattacharya

It’s Time To Shine by Nilotpal Saha

Amidst the Blue & White by Shyamal Bhar

Compiled by Debashish Mukherjee of Corporate Accounts

The answers of the last quiz are as follows:1) Barfi; 2) Flex-Foot Cheetah carbon fibre transtibial prostheses worn by Oscar Pistorius; 3) Verghese Kurien; 4) Neil Armstrong; 5) Sunny Leone; 6) Outlook.com; 7) Group of Debt; 8) Waku Doki; 9) Q Shop from Sahara Group; 10) Manthan

beyond barriers - dec 2012

Documents

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