IIPM Research & Publication

A Case of different tariffs

2006-12-11T11:55:00.000-08:00

After getting a go ahead from the Supreme Court, TRAI has made separate tariff structure for commercial CAS and non-CAS users. The first category would comprise of three stars and above hotels, inns and other commercial entities. They would have to pay the price for subscribing to cable channels based on the mutually agreed price. However, the bouquets offered to this category would be subject to restrictions. This means that the price would be market determined. All other commercial establishments would fall under the second category and the tariff s for this would be determined by those in the ordinary cable subscription area.

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Source: IIPM, 4Ps, B&E

Virtual Economics

2006-11-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

Impressive though traditional economics are, virtual economics are equally astounding and a bit bizarre. First a background. Designers recognize that time and practice is needed to gain gaming skill and for that reason build skill levels into the game. In MMOG games as in chess and other “real” world games, the skill level of a player’s avatar or character is attained in game-specific ways. Similar to but otherwise different from chess’s Expert, Candidate Master and International Grandmaster, the video game levels are given virtual world labels such as Private, Grand Marshal, Scout or High Warlord in the World of Warcraft (WOW). And like the “real” world, avatars in Everquest or WOW accumulate weapons, gold & other virtual possessions. This should not be too surprising. What is surprising – at least it was to me – is that video game experts, many of them teens and some of them younger, earn good money coaching video game neophytes. USD $65 per hour is not uncommon. (www.gaming-lessons.com reports its youngest coach is 7 years old and began playing when he was 2 years old). Even more surprising is that some affluent online gamers who lack the time or patience to acquire virtual possessions or work their way up to higher game levels, outsource their acquisition. According to a New York Times article from December 2005, online gaming factories in China may employ as many as 100,000 young people as full-time gamers. These factories in China, Mexico and elsewhere, purchase online gaming soft ware & accounts. For more information on IIPM Editorial Article, please click here...,

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Source: IIPM, B&E

Time to show the other cheek

2006-10-30T13:49:00.000-08:00

“These days filmmakers throw in lots of money, buy huge spaces and then think they have conquered the world. But, big movies are not (merely) about big budgets or big stars or big promotions, they are about big ideas,” snaps Pritish Nandy, castigating the big-budget approach. Cutting edge corporatisation, aggressive marketing and powerful promotions can at best ensure that the movie recovers its money, and that too perhaps only in this year. Unless marketers respect the intelligence of the audience, the bullet that shot the hat off the cowboy’s head, could well now find its way right into the heart of Bollywood! For more information on IIPM Articles, please click here... , Also visit: Arindam Chaudhuri Initiative

Source: B&E and IIPM Publications

Great power requires even greater control

2006-09-11T11:15:00.000-07:00

Intellectuals have a great responsibility in shaping the future of democracy
It is a challenging task to select a few themes from the remarkable range of the work and life of Edward Said. I will keep to two: The culture of empire, and the responsibility of intellectuals – or those whom we call “intellectuals” if they have the privilege and resources to enter the public arena. The phrase “responsibility of intellectuals” conceals a crucial ambiguity: It blurs the distinction between “ought” and “is.” In terms of “ought,” their responsibility should be exactly the same as that of any decent human being, though greater; privilege confers opportunity, and opportunity confers moral responsibility. We rightly condemn the obedient intellectuals of brutal and violent states for their “conformist subservience to those in power.” I am borrowing the phrase from Hans Morgenthau, a founder of international relations theory. Morgenthau was referring, however, not to the commissar class of the totalitarian enemy, but to Western intellectuals, whose crime is far greater, because they cannot plead fear but only cowardice and subordination to power.

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Editor: Arindam Chaudhuri

Source: IIPM Publication

Anil Dhirubhai Group (4Ps Publication, IIPM)

2006-08-31T02:51:00.000-07:00

When Anil Ambani inherited the businesses of Reliance Energy, Reliance Infocomm and Reliance Capital, nobody would have envisioned his frenetic focus on rapidly expanding the organisation through acquisition of various businesses. But where does innovation come into picture within all this? It’s in the spirit of enterprise, and in the vision of becoming astoundingly larger than what normal growth could ever provide. And on these factors, the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) qualifies with pristine flying colours. But then, that never meant that Anil’s individual companies lacked the focus on innovation to even a degree. For starters, Reliance Infocomm is the first mobile company in India to introduce 3D-Animation on mobile phones. Not only that, Reliance Infocomm has introduced R World in Hindi; and by doing so, became the world’s first mobile service provider to offer mobile data services in more than one language on the same handset. Going a step further, they enabled short voice message in any language across the country for both mobile as well as land-line phones through their ‘Talking Message Service’ (TMS). Even their recent tiff with Qualcomm because of high CDMA royalty rates has not reduced the company’s focus on the high growth rural markets. But more critically, innovation for Anil is omnipresent in his corporate strategies. If retail is to Mukesh Ambani’s Rs.25,000 crore, then power plants, hi-tech health cities, and IT projects are to Anil Ambani’s Rs.55,000 crore; an amount that his company is proposing to invest in Orissa to develop specific usage power plants. Further, Anil’s Rs.3.7 billion acquisition of AdLabs shows clearly his, and his corporation’s intent in the entertainment sector. It is not surprising at all that both brothers, Anil & Mukesh, seem to be in a tearing hurry to achieve growth and sales turnovers faster than the other. So who will win? It definitely is not a war amongst the brothers for the above question to be answered one way or the other. But what is extremely clear is that innovation, for a change, has attained newer standards.

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Editor: Arindam Chaudhuri

Source: IIPM Publication

IIPM Editorial -> A cultural explosion!

2006-08-16T00:39:00.000-07:00

As if Edinburgh’s charming countryside, its castles, rolling hills and the Rosslyn Chapel just seven miles south, known to most – thanks to The Da Vinci Code – as the guardian of the secret of the Holy Grail, weren’t sufficient to lure tourists from far and wide, the three-week long Edinburgh International Festival starting August 13 shall certainly draw in millions of them! About a dozen festivals descend upon Scotland’s capital city boasting of the best of classical music, theatre, opera, dance and then some more! Starbucks Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival, Edinburgh Military Tattoo, Edinburgh Art Festival and scores more make up this extravaganza, where the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the biggest of all with 28,014 performances constituting 1,867 shows in 261 venues lined up for 2006! While Edinburgh International Book Festival is the biggest in the world, Edinburgh International Film Festival offers us the chance to be in the company of the nonesuch Sean Connery, dazzling Charlize Theron and the sultry Sigourney Weaver. Once you’ve had enough of the events, go and get a pint of beer for yourself at one of the pubs and party away with the Scots till the wee hours of the morning…

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Source: IIPM Publication, Editor: Arindam Chaudhuri

IIPM B&E July Magazine Article: Nissan was different from GM

2006-07-17T02:06:00.000-07:00

GM's stock rose nearly 9% with the news of the proposition, but later went down to previous levels as investors seemed skeptical about the success of the alliance. Although it is expected that post alliance, the trio would have a combined market share of around 25% of the global auto market, the fact that GM is going through troubled waters cannot be ignored. Moreover, GM and Nissan are strikingly opposite. Agrees Thilipte Houchois, an auto analyst with JP Morgan, “Nissan was different from GM because it was only hit by management paralysis and lack of style products. But GM is bogged down by under investments in brands and huge legacy and pension liabilities”. At present, GM spends around $2,000 per car on these liabilities. And this trans-atlantic alliance will allow Renault & Nissan to share the liability only to the extent of their equity holdings. Although, Ghosn would get an access to some of the finest automotive research, his skills would be put to real test now – for GM is a much bigger player in terms of scale, as compared to Nissan & Renault. Not to forget, GM has been continuously losing its market share. Further, Renault & GM compete head-on in their major markets, be it Europe or North America. Quite clearly, entering into an alliance would just mean the beginning of a painful phase for the three auto majors. So, whether the alliance happens or not, Mr. Kerkorian, you will have to ultimately look out for some other way to see GM churning profits.

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Source: (Business&amp; Economy), IIPM; Editor: Arindam Chaudhuri

IIPM News Article - What if Big Bro reads your emails?

2006-06-20T02:41:00.000-07:00

Orwell couldn’t have imagined of AES; an unbeatable encryption system
People are so used to technology 24x7, that now all information – be it medical, financial or national security – is in some digital form or the other. It is here where the threat of anti-social outfits is felt the most too. Recently, on June 7, 2006, a hacking in the US Energy Department’s super high security Nuclear Weapons Agency was uncovered. The hacker stole social security numbers of 1,500 employees, while a PC was serviced. Data theft from maintenance centres has almost become commonplace. And it is here that the solution lies with AES (advanced encryption standard), predecessor of DES (data encryption standard), a tool that can most efficiently prohibit virtual trespassing. Though AES was accepted as an international standard in 2001 by the National Institute of Standards & Technology, it is only recently that the true power of AES is being harnessed.

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Source: IIPM Publication , Editor: Arindam Chaudhuri

IRDA against 100% FDI in SEZs (IIPM Publication)

2006-05-22T01:01:00.000-07:00

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) has disallowed the establishment of insurance firms with 100% FDI in special economic zones (SEZs). The SEZ, by definition, is not included in the domestic tariff area, therefore, regulating such entities in India is not possible. Any disputes arising out of claims will have to be settled by a court outside India. The Regulator wants that insurance firms in SEZs should, instead, be treated at par with general industry norms, which it has conveyed to the finance ministry. The government wanted to take advantage of the provisions in the new SEZ Act.

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Source: Publication, IIPM

Chevron’s global refining capacity...(IIPM Publication)

2006-05-09T01:13:00.000-07:00

A company like Chevron typically has a larger plan, hence its forthcoming moves in India will be closely observed. To elaborate what Chevron means to the oil industry, allow us to present some facts. Chevron’s global refining capacity exceeded 2 million barrels of oil per day at the end of 2005, and its marketing network includes nearly 26,500 retail outlets (including affiliate companies) in 90 countries. With net income of $14.1 billion in2005, Chevron is truly a ‘black gold’ behemoth. Speaking on the tie up with RPL, Chevron Chairman & CEO Dave O’Reilly said, “We are very pleased to have forged this relationship... This underscores the importance of Asia to Chevron generally and India specifically.”

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Source: IIPM Publication

Onam’s festivities

2006-04-10T05:00:00.000-07:00

A parade of colourful lanterns held by children, and offerings of mouth watering moon cakes to the Moon Goddess marks Zhong Qui, the Chinese Thanksgiving. While closer home in Kerala, Onam’s festivities as well, expresses the gratitude of the people for the harvest. Eight nations of the world observe Thanksgiving as a national holiday, demonstrating just how the desire to express thanks to the Lord transcends differences across boundaries.

Source: IIPM - Business & Economy

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Barring the tea and oil industry in Assam (IIPM Editorial)

2006-03-31T21:12:00.000-08:00

The North-East faces two problems that are inter-related: lack of development and separatist insurgency. Barring Arunachal Pradesh, all the six other North Eastern states face violent insurgencies of various denominations and intensities. While many like ULFA of Assam have lost even local support after aligning with Islamic Jehadists, most insurgent groups enjoy the support of local populations. The reason is simple: of the Rs 100 billion earmarked specially for economic development of the region, barely 10% gets to reach the intended beneficiaries. After five decades, there is no industry worth its name in the region, barring the tea and oil industry in Assam.

Source: IIPM - Business & Economy

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Sisters in Synchrony (IIPM Publication)

2006-03-24T21:04:00.000-08:00

The charming daughters of Pandit Ravi Shankar serenade success as they carry forth the musical legacy

Her father’s daughter. That they both are, right from the typical builds to the unmistakable facial contours to, of course, the mastery over the melody. However, the shadows have receded and our ladies have emerged to shoulder not just their lineal legacy, but are now busy carving out individual illustrious niches in their musical métier. Anoushka Shankar and Norah Jones.

Source: IIPM - Business & Economy

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‘Tea’tering on caffeine (IIPM Editorial)

2006-03-22T23:11:00.000-08:00

Brewing caffeine, art and barista skills at the 2005 World Cup

Sipping steaming hot cuppa café mocha, kissed with flavours of chocolate, the alluring aroma clears the mist as the concoction stirs your senses. Doted upon by the regalia of the blossoms – the rose, which blooms the best when caffeine rises into its veins – and millions of people too, entranced by the aroma of the magical coffee bean, drink to its ever increasing popularity in celebration and gratitude.

Source: IIPM - Business & Economy

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