THE EDITORIAL Address,

The business of business is business; i.e. any venture is based upon money and one of the key objectives of any establishment is to make money. This is one of the most important aspects of any organization. Hence the October issue of the PUMBA gazette is designed to touch upon these lines.

In order to evaluate the current scenario as far as Pharmaceutical industry is concerned a project has been undertaken by the students of PUMBA to analyze the companies on the basis of some necessary ratios.

An article on what can be done to make the healthcare facilities accessible to the masses has also been included.

An interview by Mrs. Subhada Sabade has also been incorporated which throws light on the macroeconomic aspects of the environment.

One of the 12 part series of the CSR activities undertaken by various companies has also been included.

In the BT news section the increasing number of ventures in this field is considered and the impact it would have on the sector.

A section upon the recent happenings in PUMBA has been also included.

Your feedback and Suggestions are welcome at thepumbagazette@gmail.com “Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man.” – Francis Bacon Sincerely Yours, Chief Editor: Queeny Bubna, MBA-BT (Sem III) (The PUMBA Gazette Team) (The detailed project report shall be provided on enquiry. Kindly send in your enquiries at thepumbagazette@gmail.com)

CONTENTS

• Cover Story 3

--“Financeutical” Figures

• Articles/Analysis 4

--PPP- Public Pharma Paradise

• Back to Society 5

--CSR initiative of Piramal Healthcare

• BT News 6

--Venturing@biotechnology

• Candid Talk 7

--An Interview with Ms. Shubada Sabade

• PUMBA News 8

-- Seminar

-- HR Rendezvous

“Financeutical” Figures The Indian pharmaceutical industry has always been a topic of interest owing to its established nature and immense difference from the other sectors. Though it is very difficult to analyze this segment of the market an attempt has been made by the students of PUMBA to study the existing trends in this sector. It is highly fragmented with about 24,000 players (around 330 in the organised sector). The top ten companies make up for more than a third of the market. The revenues generated by the industry are approximately US$ 7.6 billion and have grown at an average rate of 10% over last five years. The Indian pharmaceutical industry accounts for about 1% of the world's pharmaceutical industry in value terms and 8% in volume terms. In the recent past, Indian companies have targeted international markets and have extended their presence there; either by exporting bulk drugs, or by moving up the value chain and exporting formulations and generic products. The drug price control order (DPCO) continues to be a menace for the industry. There are three tiers of regulations – on bulk drugs, on formulations and on overall profitability. This has made the profitability of the sector susceptible to the whims and fancies of the pricing authority. The new Pharmaceutical Policy 2006, which proposes to bring 354 essential drugs under price control has not been officially passed as yet and has been stiffly opposed by the pharmaceutical industry. The R&D expenditure of the top five companies is about 5% to 10% of revenues. Despite growing at a CAGR of over 50% over the last four years, the ratio is still way below the global average of 15% to 20% of sales. However, despite the relatively low R&D spending, Indian companies are stepping up their research activities to make themselves more self sufficient in terms of product development, now that the product patent regime has come into force. The Ratio Analysis of 20 top listed companies in the industry gives much clear picture of the management efficiency as well as the industry’s average profitability. For this purpose the following ratios of the companies have been considered individually and then a weighted average was taken on the basis of the annual sales achieved by the company in the last four years. Quick Ratio- This ratio talks about the average solvency in the industry thus gaining or losing the investor’s as well as the creditor’s confidence in the specific industry. The pharmaceutical industry shows a relatively higher quick ratio though a drastic fall in 2008 and 2009 is observed which is possibly due to the liquidity crunch the world is facing in the last 2 years. However the ratio is high enough for solvency. Debt-Equity Ratio-The average debt that the industry acquires is quite low as compared to the equity employed; indicating that companies have enough funds and their dependence on outside funds for its management is very low. Though this is positive sign indicating cash richness nevertheless it also states that the companies have a greater cost of capital. Operating Cost Ratio- This ratio for the industry is around 80% which indicates that the profitability pre marketing expenditure is almost 20% which is quite decent. But the pharmaceutical industry shows majority of the promotion and marketing driven sales. Thus it reduces the net profitability to a much lower levels. Thus the company those are well diversified and having a lower operating cost than the industry average are likely to win the race in the end. Debt Collection Period- The debt collection period of the industry is increasing over time thereby indicating that the companies are becoming more and more liberal in their credit policies to boost sales. In the long run the companies may face bad debts, thus reducing their profitability. Working Capital Turnover- The Working Capital Turnover for the industry is gradually decreasing indicating reducing management efficiency. This is also possibly due to the liberal credit policies that the companies are adopting to boost up the sales but at the same time also increasing their working capital requirements. Net Profit Ratio-The net profit ratio for the industry is decent around 19% but it shows a gradual decline which indicates danger in the near future if the companies do not improve their profitability. Thus, improving the management efficiency at the same time reducing the

operating cost is the key. The industry can also focus on R& D which is yet in nascent stage. This can open opportunities for Indian companies in branded drug market, which is presently generic driven.

Return on Equity-The return on equity is quite stable, around Rs. 6 per rupee invested but the decreasing trend in the net profit ratio of the industry is the matter of concern. Prospects The product patents regime heralds an era of innovation and research resulting in the launch of new patented product launches. In the long run, domestic companies would face fresh competition from MNCs, as they would make aggressive new launches. Drugs with estimated sales of over US$ 108 billion are expected to go off patent between CY09 and CY13. With the governments in the developed markets looking to cut down healthcare costs by facilitating a speedy introduction of generic drugs into the market, domestic pharmaceutical companies will stand to benefit. However, despite this huge promise, intense competition and consequent price erosion would continue to remain a cause for concern. The life style segments such as cardiovascular, anti-diabetes and anti-depressants will continue to be lucrative and fast growing owing to increased urbanisation and change in lifestyles. Growth in domestic sales in the future will depend on the ability of companies to align their product portfolio towards the chronic segment. Contract manufacturing and research (CRAMS) is expected to gain momentum going forward. India’s competitive strengths in research services include English-language competency, availability of low cost skilled doctors and scientists, large patient population with diverse disease characteristics and adherence to international quality standards. As for contract manufacturing, both global innovators and generic majors are finding it profitable to outsource production. Currently, India has the highest number of US FDA approved plants outside the US at 75 plus. Compiled by: Monish Babariya, Neeraja Namboodiri, Nikeetaa Mhaatre, Nikhil Goyal, Sachin Dalvi, Shradha Bakare, Snehal Ahiwale (MBA-BT, Sem I and III)

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PPP: Public Pharma Paradise

“The health of nations is more important than the wealth of nations” in the words of Will Rogers and so every year when the Union Budget is declared everyone looks forward to the changes incorporated to the allocation of resources to the healthcare and allied sector. It has been a trend over the years and data suggests that government increases the expenditure by 2 to 3% for healthcare development every year. It is really encouraging to see the numbers but the ground realities portray a different picture. The states like Orissa and Madhya Pradesh having a per capita healthcare expenditure of Rs. 132 and 122, still have death rates as high as 92 and 87 respectively. In spite of the recent technological advances India ranks 132nd in the Human Development Index. This shows that there is a large gap between the two ends. The irony is that more vulnerable groups like households living in slums or below poverty line are not able to access the quality healthcare services. Is it only the government’s responsibility to bridge the gap? Is there anything that can be done by the Pharmaceutical industry which is an integrated part of the healthcare scenario in India? This does not imply that Pharmaceutical companies start with a few more CSR activities. Pharma companies are already doing a phenomenal job when it comes to CSR. We are talking about some innovative strategies by the corporate houses to support the government to improve the healthcare facilities as well as improving their bottom lines. As stated by the management guru Mr. Prahalad Kakkar in ‘Bottom of the Pyramid’, companies should consider investment in the BOP but not charity. Can the Pharma industry follow a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model for the betterment of the healthcare infrastructure in India? Many other industries have already used this model achieving decent results. The best aspect of this model is that it fulfills the ambitions of both the parties i.e. development and profits for government and corporate respectively. This strategy can also be used by the companies to nullify the competition at regional levels. There must be numerous ways by which this model can be applied; one such model is discussed below. PPP for Health care infrastructure development The health care infrastructure in the rural, semi urban and tier II cities of India is not very well developed. This situation opens up a unique opportunity for the PPP model. A constructive collaboration between the local government and a pharma company can transform the scenario. This model can be applied providing Semi – government hospitals, ambulance service, counselors and NGO support on a PPP basis. The responsibilities have to be shared by both the parties strategically in order to achieve the desired results. The core concept behind this project is of a semi-government hospital. This hospital should be a small or medium sized hospital located in a semi urban or rural area. The location should be selected strategically based on various parameters such as population, available options of hospitals etc. The hospital should be constructed in such a way that both the parties should have appropriate stake in the operations of the hospital. Role of Government The government should make land available for the Greenfield projects in this sector as per the requirements. The supplementary infrastructure like roads, electricity, water supply etc. should be provided by the government at subsidized rates. Funds should be made available for the maintenance and daily activities similar to a government hospital. The technical staff including the doctors should be made available by the government as in the government hospitals. Government should make available medical counselors and NGO support which plays an important role in the treatment of patients who are illiterate and poor.

Role of Company As per the allocation of land and location, the company should construct a hospital with all the required facilities. The initial capital investment, including instruments and other supporting facilities should be entirely by the company. The infrastructure should be maintained with the help of a management team looking after the daily operations. An ambulance support should be provided by the company to connect to more patients. The company should be given exclusive rights to sell its drugs with the help of a drug store in the premises of the hospital itself. The company should make sure that all the doctors in the hospital prescribe only the drugs marketed by the company. As stated earlier that the hospital will be a semi-government hospital, the services will be offered at a low price compared to the other private hospitals. Hence it will create a new segment of hospitals which will be intermediate of the free of cost government hospitals and high priced private hospitals. The company can enjoy monopoly due to the internal drug store but it should make sure that the drugs are provided at a low cost compared to other drug stores. This can be achieved by cutting down the supply chain and marketing expenses and the benefit can be passed on to the customers without sacrificing margins or maybe at higher margins. Benefits to Government

1) The reach of the health care facilities will be increased as the private sector will try to make it more and more inclusive.

2) The hospitals will lead to employment generation and up gradation of the social infrastructure.

3) Better equipped hospitals will be built catering to different tiers of the population and quality health care services can be provided at a lower price compared to the private hospitals. Benefits to Company

1) The exclusive drug store will drive the sales in that region nullifying competition. The supply chain will be out of picture hence significant cost reduction will lead to improved margins.

2) Promotional expenses in that area will be reduced leading to improvement in the bottom line.

3) The company can build its brand by attaching it with the hospital and promoting. e.g. ABC hospital (Supported by XYZ Pharmaceuticals)

4) The company will earn a lot of goodwill which can be an asset in the long run. Precautions

1) The company should be in a position to spend on the infrastructure of the hospital since it is a long term investment.

2) The company should have a large basket of drugs so that the drug store can fulfill all the needs of the customers.

3) The company should be free to make strategic alliances with other companies if important drugs are not marketed by them.

4) The government authorities should be dedicated towards the project and should not sacrifice on the quality at any cost. Of course the model discussed above is a hypothetical model but if it is made functional it will definitely help bridge the gap between the expectations of the population and the services provided. It will also give an edge to the company involved in the project over its competition. After the astounding success of the PPP model in other sectors we feel that it is time for health care sectors to benefit from it. Compiled by: Ameya Budukh (MBA-BT, Sem III) 4

Back to Society: CSR Initiative by Piramal Healthcare

Health of an individual is essential to the overall development of the realm. Particularly in a country like India where we have a diverse ethnic and cultural pool of people and a variety of diseases it becomes very vital to take care of the population. Health Scenario here is a matter of great concern as problems of fertility, mortality and morbidity remain unexpectedly high and not surprising enough India is slowly and steadily acquiring the status of the global chronic disease capital.

A number of companies do their share in this field by aiming to offer sustainable support to populations in need, through programmes in disease prevention, education, hygiene and access to health care. Mumbai based leading research and diagnostics firm Piramal Healthcare is wholly committed to the fight against Poverty and Exclusion. Piramal Healthcare aims to be recognized as a company that is socially responsible and that cares for people. The company regards the identification and implementation of aligned humanitarian sponsorship programme as key components of their company’s equity.

As a part of its Corporate Social Responsibility activity Piramal Healthcare has undertaken several social initiatives for the betterment of the society. To name a few E-Swasthya, Pratham India Education Initiative, The Gopalkrishna Piramal Memorial Hospital and recently launched nationwide campaign of “Help your Body” are the various initiatives undertaken by the company.

E-Swasthya Only 30% of Indians have access to modern medicine and Piramal E-Swasthya was created in order to explore ways to dramatically increase this number. With the dream to democratize healthcare and give the average Indian access to what many consider a luxury today, the group has developed their first model specifically tailored to serve the grossly underserved populations in the remotest of rural areas.

By 2025, India will have the dubious distinction of having 70 million diabetics, 213 million Hypersensitives and 60 million arthritics. According to a WHO report 388,000,000 people will die in next 10 years of a chronic disease. “Helpyourbody” is a comprehensive programme meant to reduce this projected trend of chronic diseases through three phases - knowledge, action and care. As part of its phase I, to create awareness, the Piramal Group will aim to enroll 20,000 doctors as crusaders across India— eventually increasing the number to 30,000. Each of these doctor-crusaders will disseminate knowledge and information to patients on risk factors for chronic disease, diagnosis and management. In phase two (Action), a special 'helpyourbody' test for chronic illnesses will be available at its 90 diagnostics centers spread across 47 cities. Detection camps will be organized in 20 cities across India reaching out to 1,000,000 people.. In phase III (Care), it will communicate to local communities in partnerships with various NGOs, the local medical fraternity will provide a platform for people to build and sustain momentum through periodic local activities. Piramal Healthcare believes that technology coupled with the empowerment of local women is the solution to all health related problems.

It is indeed a very big measure that Piramal Healthcare is taking to do its share. These diseases thus targeted are mainly lifestyle ones and need to be addressed seriously. Awareness regarding the same and their causes should be considered to be made public. The most striking property of the organization is to enable people help themselves as this is what is actually going to benefit in the long run.

Special Thanks to: Ms. Ruchi Verma, Piramal Healthcare.

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Venturing @ Biotechnology

With changing times investment opportunities in business are changing and due to the recent meltdown state people are becoming more cautious as to where to invest and where not. However the scenario is opposite if we consider the biotechnology sector which appears quiet lucrative. The returns in this sector though risky and with a relatively longer gestation period, are still very big and the gains weigh against the losses wherein we see a number of investors venturing into this sector. Over the past five years, India has witnessed a decent investment of over a billion dollar into this space both by foreign and domestic players. The Venture Intelligence survey of leading Private Equity (including Venture Capital) fund managers suggest a strong appetite adding to over $2 billion (about Rs 9,589 crore) investments that they have already made in the healthcare and life sciences (HLS) industry over the past five years.

It is the fragmented nature of both the healthcare services and pharmaceuticals sectors that attracts investors as they see clear potential for tapping into opportunities in partnership. The foreign financing is coming through the route of debt financing, PE funds, joint venture investment, drug discovery alliances and endowments through academic medical research centres. Other ways of funding include annual development fees payment, R&D funding, equity, quids, milestone payments and royalties. Apart from VCs and PEs, the Indian government along with a handful of NGOs, plays a potential role in funding biotech initiatives, especially R&D initiatives coming out of universities. The DBT's latest initiative-the Biotechnology Industry Partnership Program (BIPP) is a great welcome. Another initiative is The Biotechnology YES (Young Entrepreneurs Scheme). This is an innovative competition developed to raise awareness of the commercialization of bioscience ideas amongst postgraduate / postdoctoral scientists. The program is organized by the University of Nottingham, Institute for Enterprise and Innovation and Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council. There is another set of entities considered as strategic investors, who could be categorized as the 'big pharma companies'. These companies look at finances in their balance sheet, how they can mitigate their risk in the R&D portfolio, and then, take over another company. Funding is also done by government and NGOs who are not financially motivated but are driven more by public health or philanthropy. Corpus funding by an academic institution, which is a popular phenomenon in the West, has not yet picked up in India. This trend of investing in this sector began way back with the advent of the Human Genome Project. Then followed bioinformatics, clinical trial development and integrated drug discovery projects. Therapeutic and diagnostic biologics brought in the maximum amount of VC investments into the

space. Vaccines are another segment which has been attracting investors from everywhere into this diverse sector. Diagnostics, medical devices and the services sector today are also some of the lucrative sectors due to the increasing number of diseases and awareness among people. Investors chose diagnostic services, medical devices / equipment, hospital chains, wellness products and services and CROs as their favourite sectors for investments. Other areas of interest include specialized chains in areas like diabetes, orthopedics, optics, geriatrics and psychiatric. From a futuristic point of view, biosimilars is another area investors are cashing on. So far Biocon, Dr Reddys Labs and Lupin Pharma, are some of the prominent names successful in this field. Other prominent companies who have started initiatives in the field include Glenmark, Cipla and Intas Biopharmaceuticals. The latest in the news is Cipla entering into a 50:50 joint venture with a Chinese company for bio-similars. The joint venture would be called Biomab. Cipla is looking to bring out the JV's first product by 2010. Fidelity Fund Management, part of Fidelity International, Nadathur Holdings and Investments, Actis Capital, HSBC Investments in Glenmark, Tamasek, New Bridge Capital, ChrysCapital in Matrix Labs, Claris Life Sciences has Carlyte Asia Pacific as their investor, Ocimum from IFC, Sai Advantium from ICICI Ventures, GVK BioSciences from Sequoia, i2india Ventures, the Indian arm of Imperial Innovations, UK, the technology commercialization venture of Imperial College London are others that have encashed upon this opportunity.

Despite the growing number of investors in this sector there are problems at the technological level which India is facing strongly. To create an investment climate, one should look at investing in innovative ventures and make them successful but the problem here really is that the ideas are not maturing, and that, the business models are not sustainable. Generics were an easier option because it was easy to emulate and the returns were high. A young scientist, who wanted to start a company, would rather start an API or generics formulation business. What is required is not just creating new drugs but also about knowing and understanding things with a different perspective. What India needs is a team which has an in depth knowledge of the industry, acquainted with the dynamics of the field, hence are able to channelize their investments. In India, there are firms headed more by financial investors than those with a scientific background. Technical expertise needs to be included. Thus an integrated attempt by contributions both from a financial perspective and those comprising of technical knowhow is what is required for India to benefit in this epoch. Compiled by: Ankita Barve (MBA-BT, Sem III)

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Good economics is bad politics yet again….

Dr. Shubhada Sabade has a work experience of 28 years; of which she has spent 4 years Full-time Research; 9 years Full-time teaching at MBA level; 15 years visiting faculty; corporate trainer at companies like WIPRO, TNT, MsourcE and NTPC. She is presently working as Professor of Economics at Sinhagad Business School. She has co-authored the book

‘Business Environment of India’ in 2005, and written several articles for periodicals including ‘Economic Times’. The PUMBA GAZETTE interview team caught up with her to obtain insights into the current scenario and her views on the changes occurring on the global front economically. Q1. Given that the United States is severely affected economically, does it still have many years to continue governing as the leader? Despite the financial crisis leading to a deeper recession and a possible liquidity trap, US does have many years to go as the strongest economy by far. The power of the US comes from its ability to withstand any crisis and still remain on top by most measures of performance. When we talk of replacement, we must be able to segregate the answer into distinct compartments. For instance, will another country replace its superpower status? Not in the near future. Will US Dollar be replaced as the global vehicle currency? Possible. Not by another currency like Euro or Japanese Yen, but by a currency basket like the SDR. Will USA continue to govern the world economy at its free will? Not very easily henceforth. Will China give the US a run for their life? Not likely. Will various countries move their Forex reserves away from the US T-bills, making the US find it hard to finance their huge deficits? Yes sure. It has already started happening with establishment of SWFs. Another example is India buying 20 tons of gold from IMF for the portfolio-reallocation of their Forex reserves. Will ‘dollar carry trade’ nullify the expansionary effect of the monetary policy by removing US Dollars out of the US, possibly into emerging economies creating asset price bubbles there? Yes it’s already happening. Thus the current global crisis would moderate the US policy-arrogance if anything and they would think twice before taking the rest of the world for a ride. Q2. Economic theorists have argued that capitalism's current crisis is systemic and not cyclical. What according to you should be done in such a crisis? Indeed this crisis has moderated the hitherto extreme stance of capitalism and it is sure systemic. The monetary expansion and subsequent reversal would be cyclical, but the financial reforms that would take place in the self-proclaimed market economies like the US would be here to stay. As for India, we have had some of the best central bankers in the world and thanks to RBI’s conservative policies especially in loan-making and exposure to toxic assets abroad; India didn’t suffer from a similar sub-prime default situation. During such a financial crisis, manifesting in skepticism about the world’s reserve currency the USD, this is the right time to shift away from USD towards a currency basket rather than another currency, say the SDRs and letting the IMF widen the SDR basket and converting the notional currency into hard currency. For this, all the countries which maintain USD accounts in their BOP will have to maintain SDR accounts for international transactions; quote prices in SDRs and also make and take payments in SDRs. Bilateral trade between countries can do away with dollar as the intervention currency. Consequently, the world would be better off

re-allocating their forex reserves portfolio away from US T-bills, to avoid the loss made thereby. Also because if the US saving rate keeps rising from the past sub-zero levels into double digits, their deficits will come down drastically and one day US may not print adequate Treasury bills! Q3. Does the Industry in India actually need any stimulus package seeing the present growth of about 7.0% in GDP? If Yes, Which sectors are in extreme need of it? Rather than another stimulus package, we need a serious re-allocation of resources. With high inflation expectations, any more monetary stimulus is ruled out. While other central banks around the world have started reversing their accommodative policies, it might be time for RBI also to follow suit in a while if not right away. However fiscal stimulus is welcome, but while keeping a watch on the revenue deficit, since the FRBM target has already gone for a toss and not in sectors which can be managed well by the private players. The real sector that needs stimulus is infrastructure. And I don’t mean roads and airports so much as I mean social infrastructure. With all the talk about inclusive growth, what we need most urgently is schools, hospitals and roads; playgrounds, power and market in rural India. India is appallingly low on HDI. If our human resource is to be an asset, we must act on emergency footing and provide basic infrastructure and more so in the rural and underdeveloped regions of the country, else be ready for a massive uneducated, unskilled population ready to turn counter-productive and even anti-social. Indian agriculture is negatively subsidized with MRP often being below the market prices of the farm produce! What farmers need is timely loans, improved seeds, marketing facilities, irrigation and not loan waivers. Instead of spending Rs 60,000 crores on farmer loan-waivers, if half that money is spent on irrigation, the whole country’s rain dependency would be reduced and farmers wouldn’t need loan waivers. But the question is, do politicians really want sections of the population to become independent? Good economics is bad politics yet again! Q4. What competitive advantages does China have which enabled them to achieve a growth rate of 8-9% despite 40% of its GDP based on Exports? Why India was not able to achieve the same despite having a strong domestic market? China has an undervalued Renminbi (currency of People’s Republic of China) for export advantage, while Indian Rupee is not as much under-valued. Chinese infrastructure is far more conducive to industrial development than ours. This gives them a competitive advantage. Indian economy still depends a lot on monsoon and if the present crop is not good, our GDP growth rate could be revised downwards to 5.5%. But let us also not forget that the Chinese banking system is in the doldrums while Indian banking system is very strong with just about 4% NPAs. All said and done, one must take the official statistics of China with a pinch of salt. Q5. Looking at the role of R&D in various sector, is the present Budget going into R&D sufficient or does India need to focus more on R&D in the near future? Definitely yes, R & D is a must. But rather than depending on the government for everything, why can’t the private sector undertake R & D? I mean, government’s role should be restricted only to sectors where private investment is not likely to come forth like the social sector, the underdeveloped and neglected regions of the country, the underprivileged by economic category, and not caste-category. So India Inc could, and should most certainly spend more on R & D as the economy revives. India is lagging behind in genuine research, thanks to the education regulators and their bureaucratic ideas and whims. Education surely needs more attention, and more so, reforms and many problems would get solved automatically

Compiled by: The PUMBA Gazette Interview Team 7

PUMBA News

EMINAR On the 30th and 31st of

October PUMBA was graced by the presence of eminent personalities from the industry at the seminar organized at the behest of Dr. Samar Roy Chowdhary, Purchase Manager, NCCS, Pune and Visiting Faculty, PUMBA. This initiative helped the students to gain an insight into the operations of biotechnology industry. Dr. Arvinder Singh, Strategic Advisor & Head, Science & Technology, Becton Dickenson Ltd, India, Dr. Sivaram Chintalpati, Sigma Aldrich, Dr. Vimal Joshi, Sales & Marketing Head (India), Beckman Coulter, India and Mr. Siddharth Puranik, Marketing Manager, BioRad India were the key speakers. They enhanced our knowledge about the recent developments in the sector of bioinstrumentation and various strategies adopted by biosuppliers.

On 30th October, the students availed the opportunity to interact with Dr. Arvinder Singh who spoke about the life science market and broadened our knowledge about the emerging field of

cytomics. He shared his vast experience in the marketing of biotech instruments and emerging technologies. He expressed concern over the misuse of bio-waste generated in the hospitals especially the disposable needles. He highlighted the need of practical research in India and the scope for entrepreneurship.

Next, Dr. Sivaram Chintalpati of Sigma Aldrich elaborated the various

innovative technologies

developed and marketed by Sigma Aldrich. He highlighted the

applications of Zinc Finger Nuclease technology and microarrays in modern scientific research.

On the 31st October, Mr. Vimal Joshi of Beckman Coulter India graced the dais and enhanced our understanding of developments in various instruments like centrifuges, cell counters and cell sorters. Then, Mr. Siddharth Puranik of BioRad India addressed the gathering and explained the current and future prospects in the Biotechnology and BioPharma industries. The speakers shared their varied experiences and also answered the queries of students regarding the industry. With the worldwide industry on revival mode after the slowdown, the imminent speakers presented an optimistic as well as pragmatic view of the instrumentation sector which is an integral part of the biotechnology industry. HR RENDEZVOUS ‘09

HR RENDEZVOUS is an annual event of Department of Management Sciences, (PUMBA) organized by the Seminar Cell. The event is a platform to study the real life case studies concerned with Human Resource Managers. Selected case studies were enacted by the students before the panel of experts. The case studies were based on work pressure leading to suicide, office politics and the effect of mergers-acquisitions on the employees. HRM personnel gave innovative guidance to students on how to tackle such circumstances.

The event started with lighting of the lamp by the esteemed guests. Post lunch session included the panel discussion. The panel consisted of eminent Human Resource Managers - Ms. Swati Singh, HRM, Alfa Laval; Mr. Balaji Gopalan, Asia Pacific Director HR, Carraro; Mr. Bobby Kuriakose, HR Head, Forbes Marshall; Mr. Harish Nandwani, VP HR, Garware Wall Ropes Ltd; Mr. Deepak Phadnis, Senior Manager (Training), Ms Nilima Bhope HR Manager Praj Enterprises and Mr.Sudhir Phatak, VP HR Tata Motors. The topic for panel discussion was Innovative HR- Converting creative ideas into Strategies, which was extremely enlightening.

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