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Department of Commerce

September 2013

Volume 2Issue 3

Editorial team

Prof. Thomas Joseph, Associate Dean of CommerceProf. Nithila Vincent, HOD of Commerce

Dr. Anuradha P.S., Coordinator of B.Com Honours

Faculty Coordinators

Dr. Veerta Tantia, Assistant ProfessorMr. Raghavendra B.C., Assistant Professor

Student Core Committee

Design TeamLavanya Bhatt

Jatin SethiVarsha Rajashekhar

Editing TeamNamrata Sastry

Contents

Current Affairs............................................................................................1

Advertising: Truly meaningful?.................................................................2

Corporate Sector of India...........................................................................3

A Glimpse into Prayas...............................................................................4

The life of Steve Jobs.................................................................................5

Cloud Computing.......................................................................................7

Top Five Reasons why Indian Businesses need Digital Marketing...........8

From the Placement Department...............................................................9

Glimpses into Mitige of Ages...................................................................10

Modern Day Globalized World.................................................................11

Commerce Lab Footprints........................................................................13

National Seminar 2013.............................................................................14

Debate Club: Suyukti................................................................................15

Finance Terms you should know...............................................................16

Food Review..............................................................................................17

Current AffairsNamita Kulkarni

2 B.Com C

Government announces Seventh Central Pay Commission

The government announced the setting up of the Seventh Central Pay Commission (CPC) ahead of elections, heralding the prospect of salary increases for nearly 80 lakh employees and pensioners, although the actual revisions will take about three years or so and could put finances under strain at the time. Five state governments go to the polls in November while general elections are expected to be held in May next year. The government constitutes Pay Commission almost every ten years to revise the pay scales of its employees and often these are adopted by states after some modification. As the Commission takes about two years to prepare its recommendations, the award of the seventh pay panel is likely to be implemented f rom January 1 , 2016, Chidambaram said.

As rupee hits hard times, India woos foreign players

Stung by the rupee's recent collapse, Reserve Bank of India is taking a carrot-and-stick approach to curb trade in the offshore forwards market that is seen as a key source of wrenching currency volatility. However, with no viable alternative to trading in non-deliverable forwards involving the rupee, the strategy is likely to have only a limited impact. The RBI recently met with a handful of foreign banks and asked them to stop acting as market-makers for rupee NDFs, according to three bankers involved in the discussions. New RBI chief Raghuram Rajan, who took office Sept 4, said the bank will look to ease restrictions once the rupee stabilizes.

PM may woo US with FDI in e-commerce ventures, may allow 51% FDI

Overseas investment in e-commerce could be one of the bargaining chips Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has to offer on his current trip to the US, where he is scheduled to meet President Barack Obama and address the UN General Assembly. Indian officials have been working on a proposal to allow up to 51% foreign direct investment in e-commerce ventures, something US retailers such as Amazon and eBay have been lobbying hard for. Such a move will bring it on a par with FDI allowed in multi-brand retailing. The progress the government has made in this regard will give Singh, who arrived in the US on Thursday, something to discuss in his interaction with CEOs of American companies should the e-commerce issue be raised. The Commerce and Industry Ministry is not keen on opening up e-commerce retail for foreign direct investment (FDI) despite the push by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO)

IIM-Calcutta ranked first for finance in B-school ranking

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Calcutta said it ranked top in finance by 'Financial Times' among 70 global business schools.

"It is heartening to note that IIM Calcutta is ranked No 1 in finance and No 2 in Economics among the top 70 global business schools that offer masters in management programme," an IIMC release said.The Financial Times ranking listed top business schools under several subject categories, including General Management, Economics, Marketing, International Business and Finance.

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Advertisements are a form of communication for marketing and are used to encourage, persuade or manipulate an audience to continue using a product or service or to take a new action. It is a tool which is commonly used by companies to market their products to the masses through various media like newspapers, radio, internet and most commonly television, which is omnipresent in an Indian household.

W h i l e s o m e o f t h e advertisements that we see today a r e m e a n i n g f u l , t h o u g h t -provoking and make you smile, most of the others, and by most, I mean around 75%,are not only against the sentiments of some groups but also, are put across in a completely different way from what is required.

Some of the ads that belong to th is group are hopeless ly meaningless.

One advertisement belonging to the “hopelessly meaningless” category that immediately comes to mind is the Meritnation advertisement. Students are given laddoos based on the marks they have scored in one of their exams. Parents of the children fight for who gets the laddoo, stating the marks obtained by their wards. “92%, 94.3%” and the laddoo keeps changing mouths. Is this the only thing school life is about? After leaving school, the only situation these marks are used in, is to gain a d m i s s i o n i n t o a h i g h e r educational institution. They are not the end of the world. Such ads make students who are average in their academics feel

extremely insignif icant as compared to the 'toppers'. Also, it takes away from the whole holistic development that is required for every student in their formative years. Of course marks matter, but not to the extent that is shown in this particular advertisement.

Adver t i sements today a re targeted only at gaining a share of the product market but not actually keeping the sensibility factor. The ads for deodorants have been criticised time and again for symbolising women as objects who are very easy to get. This has led to such a big scene that a person in the USA sued AXE because he did not get a girlfriend, although the ad assured the world that it was a one-stop strategy for everyone looking for a partner!

Advertisements: Truly Meaningful?Anand Bhat

1B.Com Honours B

Advertisements are often misleading and convey a wrong message to the viewers.

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Corporate Sector of IndiaBharat J Ambore

3 B.Com C

çIndia has a very vibrant corporate sector, which is one of the major driving forces of its economic growth.

From major multinational corporations to small and medium enterprises and ranging across a wide diversity of sectors, including manufacturing, construction, telecom and services, the corporate sector has played a significant role in the economic development of the country. This growth and development of corporate sector was enabled by the liberal reforms introduced in the country from time to time.

There were about 30,000 registered companies at work in 1957, with estimated paid-up capital of Rs.1078 crore i.e. initial year of 2nd five year plan and this number has increased to 781988 registered companies at work as on 31st march, 2012.

The Corporate sector, apart from creating wealth for the nation, plays a significant role in the national economy by providing investment and employment opportunities to millions of our people in India. The corporate sector consists mainly of non-government companies which form 99% whereas government owned companies are a negligible 1%.

The corporate sector in India is dominated by small and medium sized companies as they constitute 92% of the sector. These companies have authorized capital of less than one crore rupees. The remaining 8% companies have authorized capital of more than one crore rupees. Only 1% companies have authorized capital of more than Rs.25 Crores.

The industrial sectors having major concentration of Indian companies are the manufacturing sector, finance, insurance, real estate and business activities, wholesale & retail consists of 31% of total companies followed by finance, insurance, real estate & business activities which together form 30% of the Indian corporate sector. The industrial sector with the activities of wholesale & retail trade, hotel & restaurants forms 16% whereas construction forms 8% of the corporate sector.

The three largest states constituting 54% of the corporate sector are Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal. The top fifteen states having largest concentration of Indian companies are Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Haryana and Chandigarh in that order. These states constitute 96% of the sector.

Ministry of Corporate Affairs is extending its efforts to meet the expectations of the Corporate Sector and its stakeholders in the changing national and global business environment through a number of initiatives to bring about ‘Good Governance’

The Corporate Affairs Minister of our nation, Sri.Sachin Pilot is bringing remarkable reforms and success in corporate sector. The corporate sector of India shall overtake the world’s strongest market in years to come, as the numbers are evident; to prove its growth from 2nd Five year plan to 12th Five year plan.

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PHOTOS FROM PRAYAS

PRAYAS, the annual national inter collegiate fest organized by the Christ University Commerce Association, is one of the most anticipated events on campus.

PRAYAS 2013 – Battle for the Throne was indeed a business extravaganza. Over 40 top commerce and management colleges were invited. Fifteen made it to the finals on 18th and 19th September. Colleges like Lady Sri Ram College Delhi, Symbiosis Pune, St. Xaviers College Kolkata, Loyola Chennai, Centre for Management Studies Bangalore, Jain University Bangalore, St. Aloysius

Mangalore, and St. Josephs College of Commerce Bangalore were in the fray for the throne.

Best Manager, Entrepreneurial Development, Finance, Marketing, Human Resource, Public Relations, Business Quiz, Treasure Hunt and Mock Stock were the main events. These events tested the intellect, creativity, business acumen, and determination and persistence of the participants.

St. Josephs College Of Commerce proved to be the Strongest, Smartest and Sharpest and emerged winners.

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He held 5.4 million shares of a company and 138 million shares in Disney. He was estimated as the 42nd wealthiest American with 8.3 b i l l ion do l la r s . Having encounte red unexpected , is the most admired entrepreneur among teenagers. Today he is regarded as the man who revolutionized personal computing into an experience and this is all none other than the owner of Apple, Steve Jobs. Ever wondered what made this person successful? If not let me tell you how. Most people in the affluent society choose philanthropy as a part of their life and this is a complete personal choice made and executed through experience. It is said great decisions are usually made by great people. Though simple, this impeccably exemplifies Steve Jobs.

Success is not what Jobs sought, for he believed in passion. He says being passionate about what you do breeds success. And that’s exactly how he overcame hardships in his life. In 1979 he was thrown out of Apple though he held a major stake in the foundation of the company during this time. Due to the allegations made by the other founders, he was forced to leave the company and when asked about the phase of his life by an interviewer, he replied saying “The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again”. This charismatic attitude of jobs helped him repose even the most difficult situations of his life. As a business student, one might think all this happened because of good schooling and a successful graduation but the unbelievable truth is that he was a failure in school and was not even a college graduate. Despite his biological parents abandoning him for adoption Jobs never accepted defeat, just to save money on his meals. He used to walk seven miles on weekends to the Hari Krishna

temple in Chicago for a free meal and would sell coke cans for 5 cents occasionally.

After a decade Jobs came so practically close to death that he realized how important it is to use life as a medium to propagate success. Let me briefly describe how this incident took place in his life. In 2003 he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and he was asked to make this public because of his two esteemed financial possessions Apple and Pixar. It all seemed like The End for Steve Jobs and for the

first time he had to accept defeat. Soon Jobs went under innumerable medical tests to save life; after three months he underwent a biopsy and the results left the doctors in tears of joy because the cells that were extracted from the tumour in the pancreas were apparently the rarest form of pancreatic cancer and were definitely curable by a medical surgery. By the end of 2004, happiness was again bestowed upon Jobs.This is how Jobs was struck with the realization of how important life is to reach the seven letter word ‘success’. It’s obvious that Steve Jobs’ biggest rival would be the founder of Windows, Bill Gates. But when Bill Gates was asked whom he admired the most he replied, “In terms of an inspirational leader, Steve Jobs is really the best I have ever met

The Life of Steve JobsSatish Selvam

1 B.Com A

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Steve Jobs is undeniably an extraordinary man by any standard. He has left his mark on no less than 5 billion people across the globe. This middle class hippie kid with no college education built a computer empire and became a multi millionaire in a few years and in spite of being fired from his own company he has millions of fans around the world. Not only has he contributed to the creation of the new leader in animated movies for decades to come but he is now widely acknowledged as one the world’s most eminent business executives and an unrivalled visionary. He has changed millions of lives by making technology easy-to-use, exciting and beautiful. And all this success sums up to his immortal determination.

Once an interviewer asked a CEO of an MNC, what is the key to success?

CEO: It’s very simple just two words-right decision.

INTERVIEWER: And how do you make a right decision?

CEO: Simply one word-experience.

INTERVIEWER: And how do we get experience?

CEO: Simple again, just two words-wrong decision.As I draw this to a close, I must pose a question. Do you know what the best part of Steve Jobs is?

HE IS NOT DONE YET!!

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Cloud computing refers to network-based services which appear to be provided by real server hardware, which in fact are served up by virtual hardware, simulated by software running on one or more real machines. These virtual servers are intangible and hence can be moved easily without affecting any of its applicants. It has grown to be a dominant paradigm, the reduction in handling space and complexities in working with is the biggest advantage of cloud computing. It involves applications and services offered over the internet. These services are offered from data centers all over the world.

Early electronic computers such as Colossus used punched tape (a long strip of paper on which data was represented by a series of holes, a technology now obsolete), and today it has grown to an amusing extent. Today everyone is transmitting there data from their huge hard disks (1TB, 500TB, etc.,) to storing data in the clouds (storing in the air, in the internet, intangible form).

Today IT has become an integral part of everyone’s daily life. IT has made life easier and has changed every aspect of business; economic and social, problems that have been resolved with the help of Information Technology are pure miracles.

Cloud Computing is the new buzz in the IT Industry today. It has begun the new era of computing. Cloud computing is now evolving like never before, with companies of all shapes and sizes adapting to this new technology. The big enterprise has already moved to cloud computing, but small and medium scale enterprises are a little hesitant as they have

already invested a huge amount in the traditional data base. It would be a very big change; say, a makeover of their whole data storage. Nevertheless, it’s more apt for medium enterprises than for small enterprises.

Cloud computing is forecasted to continue to grow and develop even further in the future. The larger data base is now replaced by cloud. It is a cost efficient method to use, maintain and upgrade, contrasting classic storage devices. Companies would rather load just one application that would allow all its users to log into a web-based service, than install a suite of software in each desktop. This form of computing also has unlimited storage capacity, which proves to be one of the biggest advantages. In addition to this, cloud computing provides easy backup and recovery, automatic software integration (scientific work load shift) and fast and easy access to information.

In spite of its huge benefits, there are certain risks involved in cloud computing. Technical issues may cause serious loss of data and hacking may be one of the biggest risks leading to zero security for the confidential data stored. Lack of technical skills and expertise may result in massive losses for the enterprise.

Cloud computing provides lot of job opportunities in the present industry. The latest statistics shows that by 2015, cloud computing employees will be one of the highest paid in the IT industry.

Cloud computing has been a great effective advancement in the IT industry. It has a long journey of success ahead, across the industry.

Cloud Computing: The new era in Information Technology

Sonu A Taledar5 B.Com D

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Top five reasons why Indian businesses need Digital Marketing

Madhumita Kumar

3 B.Com D

“The Internet will create the winner and bury the laggards”- Philip Kotler

With the advent of the internet, and more recently, smartphones, an increasing number of Indians have gained access to easy, cheap and effective means of communication. India is currently the third largest internet user in the world and the number of active internet users is growing at around 28% per annum. India has the second largest number of Facebook users in the world, and accounts for around 2.87% of the total Twitter users across the globe. These statistics, when looked at from a marketing perspective, represent a challenge and an opportunity- a challenge, because marketers can no longer build effective marketing strategies using traditional media alone; and an opportunity because these trends allow marketers to benefit from the several advantages of digital marketing.

What is Digital Marketing? Simply put, it refers to a variety of promotional techniques that use internet- enabled devices to engage customers. It is embodied by an extensive selection of product, service and brand marketing tactics, which use internet as the core promotional medium, apart from television, mobile phones and radio.

Here are the top five reasons why Indian businesses will benefit from digital marketing:

1. Fast and easy access: With the number of internet connections on the rise, Indians prefer using the internet as a primary source of information and means of communication. It is therefore no surprise that marketers use the internet as a means to promote their goods and service to mass audiences. Further, the digital

marketing renders campaigns flexible- marketers can make quick changes to their promotional content at the click of a mouse.

2. Collection of Information: Digital marketing helps marketers collect varied information about their clients, such as demographics. This information will go a long way in measuring the performance of an advertisement or the campaign as a whole and in initiating steps to improve performance in the future. Consulting firm McKinsey suggests that leveraging big data generated through digital marketing could improve operating margins by as much as 60%

3. Improves customer relationship: Social media marketing has made marketing more interactive than it ever was. Customers can reach out to brands through Facebook or Twitter and get their problems heard and sorted at any time of the day. Brands can take advantage of this opportunity to improve their credibility and image.

4. Cost effective: Often, digital marketing campaigns cost lesser than traditional campaigns, especially those involving television advertisements. In fact, setting up a blog to promote a business or uploading a promotional video on YouTube costs nothing. With a little spending on search engine optimization, a website could appear on the first page of Google search results. This makes digital marketing very suitable for small businesses that cannot afford a large marketing budget

5. Possibility of going Viral: One of the best things that can happen to a business is its advertisement going Viral. Using social media share buttons on websites, email and social media channels enables messages to be shared

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social media channels enables messages to be shared very quickly between people. When executed correctly, Viral marketing campaigns can prove to be a cheap and effective way of quickly elevating the attention that a brand receives.

Thus, Digital Marketing has opened to doors to opportunities that are impossible with traditional marketing and Indian business need to be able to perceive these opportunities and leverage them to emerge as winners in the marketplace.

From the Placement Department

Resume Writing Session

As the placements season will soon begin in full force, the placement department has planned on conducting a series of training sessions for the third year students in order to help them better their skills and prepare themselves for the various rounds in the placement process.

The very first step in applying for a job is to create a resume. Naturally the first session conducted was on resume writing skills. The session was for 3 hours and was conducted by professionals from the Bridge Institute of Training and Development from Chennai.

The session was very comprehensive and covered all aspects of resume writing and presentation. We were also given insights on how to handle a group discussion as well as a personal interview. The session was filled with activities, games and a great deal of information that was not previously known to us. This session received a good amount of positive feedback and was found to be very helpful.

So the next time we write a resume we are sure to remember those few key points that will set us apart and get us to the next level.

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PHOTOS FROM MITIGE OF AGES

Mitige of Ages, an Inter Class Commerce Fest conducted by the Department of Commerce, was kick-started on the 23rd of August with great enthusiasm, and successfully concluded on the 19th of September 2013. The objective behind conducting the fest was to discover the students who possess talent and the potential to grow professionally and personally.

The theme for this year’s Mitige was chosen as ‘Music’. Music invokes emotion and enthusiasm among individuals. Music brings colour to life. And thus, to bring out this enthusiasm, emotion and competition among students, this theme was adopted. All the 10 events were named parallel to the theme and Mitige was named MITIGE OF AGES because it signifies a fest which is unique and one of its kinds compared to Mitige of all the previous years.

Cartooning, Debate, Mock Stock, Crisis Management and Business Plan were off stage events; and Dance, Music, Business Quiz, Launch and Personality were on stage. Active participation was seen from all the classes.

The overall championship was awarded to 1 Year Bcom Honors B for highest points from participation and winners.

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Books are sometimes the strongest tools that spread enlightenment to people reading them. Such was the case with me, when I came across this book ‘The Greatness Guide’ by Robin Sharma. This book offers its readers many tricks on how to achieve success in today’s fast and ever changing world. While reading books, the most fascinating thing is that you end up getting very innovative and creative ideas, sometimes not directly related to the subject matter being read. This is how I got this crazy and creative line – “It is all about managing differences, building and developing culture. Success is then just a product of it.” In this article I would be introspecting on these lines.

I remember very well, the guest lecture we had last semester on Globalization. The first thing that was spoken about was the relation between globalization and differences. This is a very new challenge we face every day, not just in business but in our day to day life as well. Globalization has led to a situation where differences meet, be it, in case of lifestyle, language, clothing, rules and regulations and many more. This has made the world diverse and dynamic, but along with it there are many side effects, which each one of us willingly or unwillingly deals with every moment. As a result there is a lot of confusion, and there are also clashes among people of varied perception. Success of a person thus firstly depends on how he reacts to this difference. For instance, let us assume a girl from a very orthodox Indian family, for whom working late in the evening is a big no. However, she

ends up getting herself placed in an organization that demands her to take up the night shift. How would she deal with it? Here she is encountering a difference in ideology. Her success would now depend wholly on her reaction to it and how she would be able to handle the situation. Here, it would be ideal for her to explain the new demands of the current corporate world to her family, so that they would be able to make a shift in their thinking. If she is particular about following her family ideals, it would be better for her to look for a new job than to not fulfill the demands of the work in a later stage.

The second important thing I would like to discuss in this article is about, building and developing a new culture. This is certainly very challenging and sensitive work. It takes great effort to build a new culture all together. Are you wondering then, why on earth I am even stressing on this as the second most important thing? As far as I am concerned I believe that one of the most effective ways to deal with differences is to adapt to it. Adaptation here means coming up with creative ways that can bring a about changes within oneself without harming anyone’s ideology or perspective. The best example would be many organizations which have their own organizational culture in place, with their own sets of rules and regulations, with their own style of functioning and so on. This will make an outsider also connect well with it. For instance, McDonald’s, though originally an American fast food chain, today has branches across the world including India. It is popular,

Modern Day Globalized World:The Success Formula

Manish Shetty

3 B.Com K

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but why? How was it able to tap Indian markets with such different eating habits? One of the reasons was their response to change. Today we have western food – burgers being served with Indian flavor in them, just to suit the Indian taste buds. This is a very small example where organizations have achieved great success just by making some minor changes in the way they function as an adaptation tool, and slowly leading to the development of a new culture.

This formula of success is not restricted to only a business organization, but can also be applied to everyday life. Just making some minor changes in the way we dress, the way we think, the way we carry ourselves around and also by giving our best to create a new culture and a new perspective in the society can help each one of us achieve success. When I think about these, the best example I get is of Christ University. I have always loved the fact about my college, that it is a new world in its own, just as Baba Amte in one of his interviews, has described his Aanandvan as “A world within the world”. We have our own Dress code, we have our own set of rules and regulations, we have our own diversity, and we have our own principles and motives in life, along with the dreams and aspirations of each and every student.

To conclude, one of the best ways to attain success today is to manage differences and also to develop a new culture through adapting to changes.

Test your knowledge:

1. By what name is Phiroze Jeejebhoy Towers better known as?

2. In 1932 J.R.D Tata founded it as Tata Airlines…., how do we commonly know Tata Airlines now?

3. The power of knowledge is the tag line of which newspaper?

4. Which drink was named by its inventor after rejecting the first six names that were offered?

5. The most iconic slogan of this company when translated in China read “Eat your Fingers off”. Name the company and the famous slogan.

6. Which bank is set to launch India’s first ever floating ATM on a boat in Kerala?

7. The quality enforcing technique of Six Sigma was first introduced by which American company?

Answers:

1. Bombay Stock Exchange

2. Air India

3. The Economic Times

4. 7 Up

5. KFC ‘Finger Lickin Good’

6. SBI

7. Goldman Sachs

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Globalization, a common terminology used in today’s modern society, has evolved through many stages and has currently reached a situation where the globe has become a single village due to various improvements taking place in the field of technology, commerce, education and other sectors of the economy. As a result of this, the world has entered into a common platform and there is a lot of interdependence between countries. The field of Commerce plays an important role in making dreams a reality for various developing and developed nations of the world.

E-Commerce has replaced the age-old concept of buying and selling with the modern methods that incorporate innovations of information technology to capture a wider market base and assist the buyers and sellers in a more economical and efficient manner. E-Commerce has a considerable impact on the developing economies as compared to the developed economies.

Today, E-Commerce plays a vital role because there is practically no business taking place without the use of information technology and therefore commerce has also adopted information technology in business operations.

The importance of E-Commerce can be highlighted as follows:

1) Modification of business activities according to changing requirements of technology

2) Assisting majority of business operations

3) Simplification of operations in business

4) Assist in having a widespread network of customers

The Merits can be listed as below:

1) Ease of operations

2) Economical

3) Minimized utilization of time

4) Useful for variety of businesses

The Demerits can be listed as below:

1) Not suitable for technologically backward areas

2) High Cost involved in training personnel

3) Reduced employment opportunities

4) Scope for increase in cyber crime

On the whole, E-Commerce is important for an Economy like India due to the widespread population and the concept can be considered worthwhile as the number of advantages outweigh the number of disadvantages.

Commerce Lab Footprints:E- Commerce

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National Seminar 2013“Sustaining a Competitive Edge in the Changing Global Scenario”

A GLIMPSE INTO THE SEMINAR

The Department of Commerce, Christ University has always been an active steward in promoting the research culture by setting up forums, research seminar and workshops. The national seminar on “Sustaining a Competitive Edge in the changing Global Scenario” is one such attempt by the Department of Commerce, Christ University to bring together academicians and researchers from industry and academia to discuss and deliberate on strategies adopted by companies to sustain their competitive advantage.

The Preparations for our National Seminar started from the month of April. The theme was finalized in the month of June followed by the forwarding of the finalized pre invites to various institution in an around Karnataka and other states. The seminar received more than 50 Papers which were reviewed by an expert committee and out of which 25 were selected for presentations. The papers covered a wide variety of topics ranging from bank assurance to FDI in retail; from vendor management to study on ATMs in reducing regional disparity.

In order to promote the paper presentations from the beginners and to encourage them in their endeavors the organizing committee exercised leniency and adopted flexibility in short listing their papers for the final presentation.

The National seminar marked its opening with an inaugural session with Dr. Murli Nagasundaram delivering the keynote address, the inaugural session also witnessed the august presence of Col.Dr.Fr. Thomas C Mathew, the Vice Chancellor of Christ University along with the dignitaries from the department of commerce. The ceremony also witnessed the first release of the seminar proceedings. Followed by the Inaugural ceremony ‘Panel discussion’ the first in the line of event of National seminar’s agenda saw veteran resource personnel from their field of specialization discuss and debate on the Theme of the National seminar from their respective domain perspectives. The event was quite interactive by keeping the forum open for questions from the audience. The forenoon session witnessed paper presentations from the field of Human resource management and Marketing management. The second day’s presentations were from the field of Banking and finance and general management. The seminar also honoroured the best papers presented in these two days.

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What we do: Model United Nations (MUN), Simulated Parliamentary Debates, Roundtables, General Discussion forums on issues of current interest.

Why Join us: Develop Public Speaking skills, Critical thinking and Rational Reasoning, Extempore and Impromptu, Constructive Arguments, Independent Research and Teamwork, English and General Awareness.

‘It is better to debate a question without settling it than to settle a question without debating it’ (Joseph Joubert)

Debate has been inextricably intertwined with the concept of an open society. For democracy to function, the values that debate encourages - reason, tolerance, the careful weighing of evidence, etc… must be cherished and nurtured. More than a mere verbal or performance skill, debate embodies the ideals of reasoned argument, tolerance for divergent points of view and rigorous self-examination. Above all, it’s a platform for those who hold opposing views to discuss controversial issues without descending to insult, emotional appeals or personal bias. A key feature of debate is that it rarely ends in agreement, but rather allows for a robust analysis of the question at hand. Thus debate fosters the essential democratic values of free and open discussion. Above all, once students have learned how to debate, they are able to critically examine the pronouncements of their social, political and economic representatives and to make informed judgments about crucial issues.

Functioning of Suyukthi:

Suyukthi intends to carry out its operations with concrete steps. These steps involve the management of space, the management of time, and aboveall the organization of the club structure. At the club level, debating teams, along with their coaches (mentors) and other club members would prepare for tournaments

and serve learning community. Teachers, and club members are encouraged to participate as judges, and volunteers within the club program. In the longrun we anticipate to showcase tournaments at the departmental and then to college level, and eventually flourish our club into an independent national debating platform with corporate support and sponsorship. Students of differing ages, grades, and abilities are encouraged to participate and contribute to the club and its efforts. This debate club serves as the starting point from which, ideally, an independent national debate organization will arise.

The debating Tournaments under Suyukthi would vary in size from small competitions, which might take place at the department level, later at college, to large national and international tournaments that can attract hundreds of debaters and coaches. Suyukthi intends to bring in interested students of all the batches in Commerce under one roof at regular intervals. The debating sessions at the college (with the help of mentors from Law department) would be conducted regularly on topics of current interest on all Thursdays at 3:00pm, and also at times and convenience of the club members. Topics for each Thursday would be decided a week in advance. Yearly, we also intend to showcase one national debate competition under the banner of Suyukthi. All these initiatives will be coordinated by two leaders from each batch who will coordinate with the rest. Thus a team of six team leaders would report to a president and two vice presidents who would pioneer the club.The team Suyukthi comprises the following:

President: Muhammad Sinan.

Vice Presidents: Samyuktha Manogaran and Parvathy Anantha.

Team Leaders: To be elected from the representatives from each class.

Debate Club: Suyukthi

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The primary intend of Suyukthi is to train students who may in future be required to debate and resolve matters independently. However, Debate clubs work best when there is a strong sense of group identity, when members feel that they are part of something. The individual debater should not feel that he or she is a soloist, meeting casually with other soloists for the sake of a competition, only to go off independently afterward. Rather, the debater should feel that the debate club is like a symphony orchestra, which

exists as an on-going corporate entity. When this feeling exists, the reward is a broad sense of well-being. Everyone in the group shares the joys of victory; the disappointment of loss, when shared, is assuaged. A sense of group identity is not a mystical goal that can be achieved only through a lucky combination of people but a collective and well structured group with a purpose. Come on….let’s debate

Consortium

A group made up of two or more individuals, companies or a government that works together towards achieving a chosen objective. Each entity within the consortium is only responsible to the group in respect to the obligation that is set out in the consortium’s contract. Therefore, every entity that is under the consortium remains independent in his or her normal business operations and has no say over another member’s operations that are not related to the consortium.

Tech bubble

A pronounced and unsustainable market rise attributed to increased speculation in technology stocks. A tech bubble is highlighted by rapid share price growth and high valuations based on standard metrics like price / earnings ratio or price / sales. The technology stocks involved in a bubble may be confined to a particular industry (such as internet software or fuel cells), or cover the entire technology sector as a whole, depending on the strength and depth of investor demand. At the peak of a bubble, many fledging tech companies will seek to go public through Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) in an attempt to capitalize on heightened investor demand.

Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs)

Prepaid payment instruments are payment instruments that facilitate purchase of goods and services against the value stored on such instruments. The value stored on such instruments represents the value paid for by the holder, by cash, by debit to a bank account, or by credit card. The Prepaid instruments can be issued as smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, internet accounts, internet wallets, mobile accounts, mobile wallets, paper vouchers and any such instruments which can be used to access the prepaid amount (collectively called Payment Instruments).

Financial GlossaryMr. Girish S.

Assistant ProfessorDepartment of Commerce

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When I was approached to write an article for the ‘Mudra’ I was really happy but I was also confused! Which topic should I write on? Which topic deserved to be written on the paper with my blue ball pen which had a purple body and was given to me by a sponsor of PRAYAS 2013? Which article?

That’s when Lavanya came to my rescue and said that she would like me to write a review about some restaurant or anything related to food. I really don’t know about everyone but she did seem to have a lot of faith on my taste buds!

Inspired by her faith on me (or rather on my tastebuds) I put on my thinking cap. Now the question was which restaurant/product would I review? I wanted to review some restaurant/product that was new and affordable; something many people hadn’t heard of and yet had the potential to make it big. Now every restaurant/ product I thought was established and the new restaurants lacked the zest. I did not want to review some mediocre restaurant just for the sake of reviewing. I mean what’s the use when people read that some restaurant somewhere serves average food? What’s groundbreaking? I wanted to review some food product that people could eat and say, ‘Ah this was epic!’ or some restaurant which would be fit enough for them to say ‘Yo! This has to be our new hangout place!’

After days of searching for such a product/ restaurant I finally found one such product! The treasure was at home! Yes folks I found this product in our very own Christ University! The product’s name is ‘Maula’s Masala Biryani’

Let’s be frank, we all love Biryani, especially if it is Dum Biryani. Initially I was a bit

skeptical to try this out because I have had enough pulaos and flavored rice in the name of Biryani. Anyways I bought this mouthwatering delicacy from Kiosk for Rs. 60. When I opened the lid, a whiff of aroma escaped from the aluminum box! The aroma was so heavenly, so out of this world that every part of me craved to have it and even before I realized the Biryani was in my mouth. The soft rice just melted in my mouth and the masala in it disconnected me from this world and took me to another world. In the second spoon along with the rice I realized that I had chewed something else; something that was tender and juicy. It was the chicken! Where on earth was that chicken from? In no time I finished the Biryani. I couldn’t help but walk back to the Kiosk and ask for another one and the only reply I got from the pot- bellied cashier seated over there was ‘Biryani khatam ho gaya!’ I don’t know why but for a moment I thought he was lying so I scanned the place thoroughly to see if there was even one Biryani left but to my dismay there was nothing left. Then with a wry smile I turned back and started walking towards our block…

Call it marketing/ advertising or the humble opinion of this foodie ‘Maula’s Masala Biryani’ certainly has Dum!

Food Review: Maula’s Dum Biryani.Mark Twain

1 B.Com Hons C

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