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December 31, 2005



The pleasure and pain of India
Despite the occasional over-charging India is excellent value for money of many Asian destinations.

Of mice and mobiles
If GDP growth does accelerate and corporates increase their share of the economic pie, a Sensex rise at 20-25 per cent over the next 5 years doesn't seem unreasonable

Is Indian economy slowing down?
And will slow down further if oil prices don't fall by the end of 2006.

The wine story begins well for India
In five years' time wine consumption in India would have grown from 600,000 to 28 lakh

Indian art rakes in the moolah
The Big Money will continue to come from outside




December 30, 2005



The 'USP' of Indian managers
If Indian management has anything to be proud of, it is the ability to succeed and achieve global standards in what are still undoubtedly and unabashedly Third World conditions.

The real M&A test is yet to come
Since M&As have now become a lot more expensive, future such exercises will have to really create value

Is the rupee correctly priced?
It is opportune to examine the feasibility of setting up a public debt office in Delhi and later in the state capitals.




December 29, 2005



Safta: Panacea for South Asia
Removal of trade barriers and all other irritants hampering free trade in the SAARC region would result in a win-win situation for all.

More money in show biz than ever
The entertainment and media industry will get richer in 2006.

Airport upgrade mired in controversy
The problem with the process so far is precisely the lack of sunlight

Kudremukh to wake up to a new dawn
India, with its strong courts and tenacious NGOs, is better off than China.




December 28, 2005



WTO meet: Lessons for India
The Hong Kong gains will disappear unless the next six months of talks succeed.

The biggest economic events in 2005
Can the markets be up for a fourth year running? History would not favour such an outcome.

The story of fake drugs
There is no foolproof system of recall of drugs in India.

Forces that will define companies' future
Are Michael Porter's competitive forces model and value chain model viable in modern era of digitalisation, globalisation and de-regulation?

Dump populism, let India grow
Can India rise to the challenge of keeping populism at bay in 2006.




December 27, 2005



Why is risk management important?
Risk management helps in identifying critical risks can adversely impact the firm's business and taking proactive steps to deal with such risks.




December 26, 2005



India, soon a shoppers' paradise
With Wal-Mart wannabes fast forwarding their expansion plans and the government determined to let foreigners in, the excitement is palpable.

Tips on service tax for the next Budget
The rate of service tax should be increased to 16 per cent to make it equal to the CENVAT rate




December 24, 2005



Talking up Bimstec
The Japanese will invest only if there's an opportunity, not because of a 'China-risk.'

30% India Inc owned by foreigners. So?
Should it worry us if 30% of publicly quoted Indian companies are owned by foreigners? No, but watch further developments, says T N Ninan.




December 23, 2005



B-school model vs real life
The B-school model is too compartmentalised and orderly. In real life, most functions overlap and a good manager has to have an eclectic approach to doing things.

Why are people poor?
It is a failure of social scientists that other than aggregate figures of poverty decline there is little data on households that rise out of poverty and those that sink back.

The flat tax
The future of the flat tax might lie in countries which, like the East Europeans, are moving from the plan to the market.

Bull Bullion!
Rather than dwindle, global liquidity looks well poised to grow in India at least for the next few years.




December 22, 2005



Make consulting a career choice
It is in the hands of individuals to how to design, develop and leverage their skills to be competitive in the global village of information

Gateway to your American dream
Indian students spend more than a billion dollars annually on management education in US, UK, Europe and Australia; and the interest in foreign B-School degrees has been on the rise in line with economic prosperity in India.

If wishes were horses!
What I would love to see in 2006? As a consumer, I would like to believe that in 2006, most of us would have more spending money than last year.

India's growth story
A growth story is not plausible unless it includes measures to accelerate agricultural growth in UP and Bihar and not just Punjab and Haryana.




December 21, 2005



Predicting 2006 and beyond
Whatever happens in 2006 might well define the India that you will see in the next decade.

Will BPOs face a staffing crisis?
The solution lies in putting millions of people through world-class universities.




December 20, 2005



The IITian Way of Giving
'Billions have been flowing back as gurudakshina from IIT Bombay's alumni, who

Can rural job quota scheme succeed?
There's little hope for the scheme unless a sense of seriousness is injected into it.

Why open source software is hot
Studies, surveys and experience have shown that majority of IT managers of global corporations are using open source software




December 19, 2005



Kamal Nath: Spoiler or saviour?
Nath, along with Brazilian Minister Celso Amorim, has become the voice of the developing countries at Hong Kong.

Whither Trade Organisation?
Despite frustrating outcomes of biennial meets, it is not wise to give up on the WTO process.

Graduates in India? 48.7 million
On the face of it, the NCAER's India Science Report has a lot of good news for those feeling depressed about India's education sector.

Investors, look before you leap!
Investors need to be choosy and discerning when new issues get listed.




December 17, 2005



Paying for India's infrastructure
Manmohan Singh estimated that India would need $150 billion equivalent over the next five years to upgrade its infrastructure. That works out to roughly Rs 6,75,000 crore. But that may be an underestimate.




December 16, 2005



10 simple steps to be safe in the digital era
Here are 10 simple steps to cover you against more than 80 per cent of all the causes of information security breaches.

Is RBI really growing up?
the RBI's thinking still appears to be liquidity-neutral

Does reservation help?
There's little evidence that it actually does...




December 15, 2005



How BPO staff can fight racial abuse
Training and counselling are the only two ways of tackling racial abuse, say HR experts.

Where Indian banks fall short
Few PSU banks are making effective use of their branch networks to sell other products to earn fee income.

The quest for insurance cover
Life insurance in India needs to be more aggressive in order to tap the potential afforded by the rise in income levels.




December 14, 2005



Budget: Time to be innovative
A booming economy gives a chance to have a go at economic management as a holistic exercise, instead of presenting a stereotypical Budget.




December 13, 2005



Shift in bilateral trade policy
the prime minister has been frequently talking about bilateral trade treaties on mutually preferential terms, comprehensive economic co-operation agreements, free trade area arrangements and the need for creating an Asian economic union.

What B-schools don't teach
Management graduates need to understand that the I-know-management approach won't work in the real world. What stands you in good stead is constantly honing and sharpening the skill sets you have acquired.

Go West, young man!
Despite the rise of Asia, India's longer-term interests will continue to be with the West, says Suman Bery.




December 12, 2005



Where's the benefit from WTO?
If just 16% of the projected benefits are to come to developing countries, where's the benefit.

The Indian pension mess
One of the major problems facing many countries is the mess in the finances of pension schemes of both the private and public sectors.

Airports Authority's clean up strategy
the AAI has transferred all officers that had anything to do with the tendering system till now

How good is a public notice to the taxpayers
The reason why government departments do not want to give public notice is that, if found wrong, it is likely to be produced in court to claim it was a promise binding the government.

IT just gets better
India is no longer just a source for affordable skills for global tasks. The world's IT innovators are seeking to make it affordable to very large numbers of Indians, who are seen as part of a key emerging market of the future.

In the govt thinking of farmers interests?
By stalling the multilateral negotiation at the WTO, is the government protecting some other interest groups?




December 10, 2005



Corruption: No one is clean
The world's top industrial countries are ignoring the rot within their own backyards.

US dollar: What's going on?
Globalisation economics: if China won't revalue, the world will devalue.




December 09, 2005



A day in the life of India
Nothing gives me greater pleasure than watching stories of progenies fulfilling dreams. Take the latest television commercial, 'A Day in the Life of India' for The Times of India.

What ails the PF body
The solution lies in making the pension benefits less attractive, perhaps by increasing the age of retirement by 2-3 years as this will increase the years of contribution to the fund and reduce the years of drawing pensions from it.

Arrogant ministers make mistakes
Especially since governments, and ministers, seek to aggrandize their own authority.

The year in retrospect
In terms of Asia's rise, it needs to be mentioned that much of basic research in the US is done by scientists of Asian origin




December 08, 2005



10 tips to manage a global project
Organisations struggle to reach the required levels of quality and effectiveness because their methodologies are not adapted to a global multi-cultural environment.




December 07, 2005



Here come the laser land levelers
The equipment ensure flawlessly even surfaces and can enhance productivity by about 15 per cent.

Indirect tax reform: Unfinished task
Ushering in a two-level GST with only selective excises should now be on the tax reform agenda.

From 'dream team' to Singh Parivar
Manmohan Singh's dream team is still around and doing a decent job. But there are unmistakable signs of that dream team becoming the Singh Parivar.




December 06, 2005



How to finance brand building
Small companies, and those in the retail space, need to find innovative ways to finance brand building.

3 tips more important than MBA
Avnish Bajaj, eBay India chief, lists three lessons he had learnt through experience, which in more handy than the MBA course.

How telecom firms reap profits
Telecom firms are increasingly using courts to delay reforms as that allows increased profits for a longer period.

What stalls power reforms
With each passing day and fresh intervention by the government, India's destiny with competition is getting pushed back that much more.




December 03, 2005



Play that funky malware, live!
Caught between downloading pirated music or being nuked by malware distributed by the record company, what are the options?

What's in store at Hong Kong?
Despite the huge political pressure by the US for a consensus on several issues, the WTO Ministerial at Hong Kong is likely to go the Cancun way.

How dramatic has been India's growth
The change is not as dramatic as some numbers suggest because the structure of the economy has changed, says T N Ninan.




December 02, 2005



Indian consumers changing, and how
India is not just a volume market anymore.

US colleges not as good as thought of
While American colleges are better than Indian ones, tehya re not worth the tuition fees they demand, which is around $25,000 a year.

5 IT lessons that cannot work!
The Indian IT industry needs to look within and correct the many processes that it thinks are flawless and evolve, say Anoop Saxena and Arshia Anwer.




December 01, 2005



Rural banking without roots
Increased credit facilities in villages cannot happen in isolation, without greater rural development.

How to sustain 8% growth
The falling cost of funds through the late nineties is widely recognised as a key contributor to emerging Indian competitiveness. So the need to cut the cost of money further is not so widely recognised.

Broadband to have BIG competition
Get ready for video-on-demand and massive multiplayer gaming.

Gurgaon may beat Bangalore
The Haryana chief minister seems to be ahead of his Karnataka counterpart in many respects.




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