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(Disclaimer: The views expressed below are those of the author and not of strat.in as a blog in general)

See the greatness of the IPL (Indian Premier League), how highly it stands among other sporting events, which has already provided us so much drama before the play has actually begun. It is in the news all over, flashing here and there, and catching eyes of all. Media is so much excited! After all, everybody was so much bored to see bald-headed Headley and evil-smiling Rathore’s face every day at the breakfast. IPL has provided the idle-sitting cricketers something to chirp about, write columns and give fancy statements in the media. It has given some freshness to the Pakistani people who had all got bored burning effigies of the US and the Taliban. It has given Pakistani ministers something to brag about and divert attentions from more serious issues. continue

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(South Block houses the Ministry of External Affairs)

When I look back and see if India should really have been like what it is today after 62 years of our freedom, I feel that we could certainly have done much better. We have shown progress on several fronts, both domestic and international, but a lot more needs to be done and a question that needs to be addressed is ‘Are India’s foreign policy makers holding India back?’ continue

Around 80% of startups close down within their first year of operation. While some of these go down simply because of part time involvement of the founders, lack of persistence and fizzling out of passion, a large percentage go down during their transition from a Startup(Micro) phase to a Small Business phase. A business can aim for the long term only when the owners have vision and concentrate on building a value system based on THRILL – Trust, Honesty, Respect, Innovation, Loyalty and Love. Since most of these are subjective, many businesses don’t believe in writing them down or have policies to define the role of THRILL in their company. But a closer look at each of these factors tells us how important it is for each one of these to be a part of your day to day business activities if you are seriously looking at building a company that grows consistently. continue

(Note: The following views are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of strat.in)

Last Month TED had their India Conference at the Infosys Campus at Mysore. As the videos are being published one by one, analyzing the highlights of the conference may give us some idea as to where we are going – continue

This is an article by our guest strater – Sasmita Patnaik – a student from XIM , Bhubaneshwar. We thank her for her thoughts and hope she would continue writing on strat.in!

Today we often talk of concepts like Globalization and World Economy. While we reinforce these ideas again and again, what we tend to ignore is the reach and impact of these concepts. Do we ever think of what these mean to a man in a village in rural India where more than half of Indian population lives or to an illiterate housewife. They say India engulfs an America and an Africa in her. On one hand while Delhi is looking forward to launch the Common wealth games hoping it would bring great publicity, exposure and opportunity to the nation, there is another part of India that is struggling to locate itself even on local maps of District Authorities. The question here is not if we should stop focusing on events like the Commonwealth Games and Olympics that India aspires to host in 2020 but if the focus is balanced. As much as we need to work at increasing opportunities, it is equally important to ensure that these opportunities created are accessible to all sections. Can we look at alternative modes of passing on the benefits of the Globalization to the ones who are indirectly an integral part of world economy? No one may recognize the individual farmer who cultivates crops, but he definitely is a part of our nation’s export economy. Recently the finance minister of our country came up with this idea o having cluster meetings with banks once in 3 months instead of annual meetings. This was done to ensure that smaller banks have a say in the meetings and are able to express their opinions more openly. If the government is looking at making the meetings more Participative, why can’t we come up with similar models of ensuring participation at grass roots. We have tried to integrate villages with nearby town economies. Why not look at a village – village integration, where the villages are interdependent for raw materials or markets. There are several small villages which cannot become self sustainable unless they are provided with adequate infrastructure and employment opportunities. It becomes too expensive for the government to develop infrastructure for smaller villages and settlements. So, the government could look at integrating smaller villages with larger ones and bring in cost effectiveness. continue

This is a guest article by Saswata Das. He graduated from IIM Calcutta earlier this year and works in the Financial sector. We thank him for his article and look forward to his future articles!

With trade volumes of IRFs in NSE barely touching the 1000 mark these days, it seems that all the initial excitement has fizzled out. This apparently dismal performance doesn’t bode well for the second edition of Interest Rate Futures introduced after a long hiatus of six years. continue

NHPC oversubscribed by about 23 times. Adani Power oversubscribed by about 21 times. And there will be a long queue of public issues to tap risk capital in primary markets. Usually IPOs are the instruments through which new retail investors enter equity markets. Why? Because these are advertised on Televisions, Toll check posts, big banners as part of OOH advertisements. We see IPO application forms being distributed as some product pamphlets. Are IPOs really that great tool for new retail investors or the investors which are around for some time to invest in equity? I think they are not! Let me present my thoughts through following points: continue

With every passing day I think when the recession will take back its curse. When will the potential candidates get employed without having to behave like beggars on street – those who spent huge amount of money to enhance their skills and knowledge so as to beat the other competitors fighting for the same positions? continue

Knowledge and Growth

Are these the best of times or the worst? Does the rise in the Sensex recently tell us that we are getting out of the depression or should the drought like situation tell us that we are getting into a worse one? Paradoxically – given the fact that almost 400 Mn people live on less than Rs. 50 a day, while another 250 Mn odd are over Rs. 200 a day – they have different perspectives. The top layer thinks about the sensex, the bottom about the drought. Dangerous situation to be in, where the wheels are turning inherently against each other. So what makes us believe that “India is on a growth path”? The media? Yes. Your friend the broker? Yes. The fact that more housing projects are still coming up? Maybe. The fact that India is held together by a glue that has been written about, experimented on and continues to lubricate the engine – the 500 Mn strong Great Indian Middle class. Definitely! continue

This post has been written by Tarun Daga, a second year student of Praxis Business School in Kolkata.

Levi’s, one of the leading denim wear companies across the globe, has once again come up with something new and innovative. This time it has nothing to do with the likes of unbuttoned jeans or for that matter, any kind of new product innovation. It has now come up with a unique marketing strategy which could take the apparel market into an all-new era. We have heard about EMIs for houses, cars and other white goods; but has anyone heard about EMIs for jeans? This idea has been conceptualised by Levi’s. Downturn market, cost cutting everywhere and empty pockets is the present situation; and here to curb all these hindrances, Levi’s is now, for the first time ever offering EMI facilities on its apparel wear in India. Simply shop for more than Rs. 1500 and you can avail this offer. This amount will be set off through your credit card in three equal instalments. They have also tied up with ICICI Bank for the credit card settlement. This idea is still in its early stage and is being experimented in Bangalore and a few other cities. Once successful there, the same will be implemented across India. continue