Left isn't right

IIPM Prof Arindam Chaudhuri on Our Parliament and Parliamentarians' Work

Its 'secular tactics' may not save LDF from an imminent electoral rout. The 'tactical policies' it adopted in the last elections will return to haunt the front, writes K. Sunilkumar

Left parties, especially Communist Party of India (Marxist), always flaunt their 'secular' credentials. In every election in Kerala, the main leftist propaganda is that they never dilute their anti-communal stance.

But the people of Kerala cannot forget the image of Abdul Nasar Madani, chairman of People's Democratic Party (PDP), sharing the Left Democratic Front (LDF) campaign platform in Ponnani with CPI(M) state secretary Pinarayi Vijayan. It was a joint 'secular' campaign for Dr. Hussain Randathani, the Independent candidate of the LDF in the last Lok Sabha election. Madani was imprisoned for eight years in connection with the Coimbatore blast that occurred on February 14, 1998. He is now listed as the 31st accused in the Bangalore blast case. Madani's party whole-heartedly supported LDF in the election and campaigned for the victory of Left candidates. But Madani was not alone in his support for the comrades. Indian National League (INL), which broke away from Indian Union Muslim League, has had an informal alliance with LDF for 14 years. Jamaat-e-Islami, the Muslim 'fundamentalist' organisation (as portrayed by the CPM leaders) also supported the left 'secularists'.

Moreover, the Sunni Muslim organisation led by Kanthapuram A.P. Aboobacker Musliar, an orthodox leader who publicly opposes the entry of women into politics and even education for Muslim girls, clandestinely helped the leftists in Kerala. This 'secular circus' was played out with an eye on a possible victory in some Lok Sabha seats in Malabar area.

Kerala Congress (J), led by P. J. Joseph, infamous in a case of molestation on board an aircraft, represented the Christian sections in the state. Unfortunately, voters sabotaged these calculations. LDF could win only three of the 20 Lok Sabha seats. Within the next six months, in byelections to three Assembly seats, voters rejected LDF's 'secular agenda' yet again. These electoral setbacks and pressures from in and outside the CPM forced the party to alter its election tactics and strategies. Factional fights in the party and the departure of allies from the Front have severely trimmed the LDF. The Janata Dal (S) led by M.P. Veerendra Kumar, a theoretician of anti-globalisation politics, broke away from the alliance thanks to differences with the CPM leadership during the Lok Sabha elections. The party has now joined the United Democratic Front (UDF), which favours globalisation.

A few days ago, Kerala Congress (Joseph) walked out of LDF and merged with Kerala Congress (Mani), led by K. M. Mani, a senior political leader in Kerala. KC (M) is a UDF constituent. INL has also snapped its ties with LDF and is now in negotiations for return to the mother organisation, IUML, the second largest party in UDF. Following the Central leadership's inference that the alliance with Madani had damaged the party's image in the LS polls, CPM has been showing disenchantment with it.

After police action during an agitation against mass eviction for a four-lane road to Kinaloor (Kozhikode) organised by Solidarity (youth organisation of Jamaat-e-Islami) and political parleys with Muslim League leaders, the Jamaat has turned into a 'class enemy' for the Marxists. Now CPM and LDF are trying to make new allies to cover the losses and improve their prospects in the coming elections. Two crucial polls are ahead for the Kerala CPM and LDF in the next 11 months.

As Muslim and Christian minority parties shun the comrades, the latter have begun to move in the opposite direction and are wooing Hindu votes. CPM has already started its new strategic shift to woo some major communities in the Hindu fold. The party leadership has started a blame game against minority organisations and are molly-coddling Hindu outfits like NSS and SNDP.

An indication of this shift is evident from statements and writings of top leaders of the party. The first shot was fired by from Pinarayi Vijayan through his categorical allegation that Christian bishops were responsible for scuttling the merger of Kerala Congress factions. And V. S. Achuthanandan, chief minister of Kerala, jumped to the conclusion that 'Muslim and Christian communalism is on the rise in the state.' He accused the Congress of backing such communal elements.

Congress and UDF leaders have alleged that Achuthanandan and CPM are trying to play the Hindu card for the next election. K.M. Mani, leader of Kerala Congress, has questioned the CM's statement on legal grounds because 'it is against certain communities.' Senior Congress leader and Union overseas Indian affairs minister Vayalar Ravi, too, alleged that the CM's statement blaming the Congress for the growth of Muslim and Christian communalism was "a political ploy to appease the majority community and the RSS'.

After the CPM politburo issued a clarification in this regard, the party's stand vis-a-vis this new strategy was finally out in the open.

'The politburo noted that various communal and caste forces are being mobilised against the LDF government. These forces are sought to be consolidated behind the Congress-led UDF. The increasing intervention of religious and communal bodies in politics does not augur well for the secular polity in Kerala,' said the politburo statement issued after its meeting held in Delhi on June 5 and 6.

According to some political observers, the shift in the CPM stand is a move to make new alliances or whip up Hindu sentiments against the minorities. 'In the last two decades, CPM has tried to woo minorities in the state. They succeeded to some extent. But after the last Lok Sabha elections proved that it cannot derive any gains from the minorities, the party began to woo Hindus,' says B.R.P. Bhaskar.

He also argues that the CPM in Kerala is a party that is dominated by Hindu members. 'The minority population in the state is 44 per cent, but only 20 per cent of CPM's membership is made up of people belonging to the minority communities,' Bhaskar explains.

The Sangh Parivar, especially BJP, which has been trying to make headway in Kerala politics, have also come out strongly against at the new 'duplicitous' strategy of the CPM. 'Christian and Muslim fanatics who stood with CPM for a while ditched them at a time when they were needed the most. All of a sudden, the leftist forces are now desperately trying to project themselves as the sole secular face in a bid to win back the trust of the Hindu voter,' Haindava Keralam, a pro-Hindu website, recently wrote.

However, political observers in the state believe that the new 'secular tactics' may not save LDF from an imminent electroal rout. The 'tactical policies' that it adopted in the last elections are still quite fresh in the minds of the people and these memories are likely to return to haunt the Kerala Marxists and their allies in an election that, like the recent municipal polls in West Bengal, will be a litmus test.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Economy: Is us facing great depression

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American families are about to lose unemployment benefits, health insurance, or both

Paul Krugman Economist and NYT Columnist

What's the greatest threat to our still-fragile economic recovery? Dangers abound, of course. But what I currently find most ominous is the spread of a destructive idea: The view that now, less than a year into a weak recovery from the worst slump since World War II, is the time for policymakers to stop helping the jobless and start inflicting pain.

When the financial crisis first struck, most of the world's policymakers responded appropriately, cutting interest rates and allowing deficits to rise. And by doing the right thing, by applying the lessons learned from the 1930s, they managed to limit the damage: It was terrible, but it wasn't a second Great Depression.

Now, however, demands that governments switch from supporting their economies to punishing them have been proliferating in op-eds, speeches and reports from international organisations. Indeed, the idea that what depressed economies really need is even more suffering seems to be the new conventional wisdom, which John Kenneth Galbraith famously defined as 'the ideas which are esteemed at any time for their acceptability.'

The extent to which inflicting economic pain has become the accepted thing was driven home to me by the latest report on the economic outlook from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, an influential Paris-based think tank supported by the governments of the world's advanced economies. The OECD is a deeply cautious organisation; what it says at any given time virtually defines that moment's conventional wisdom. And what the OECD is saying right now is that policymakers should stop promoting economic recovery and instead begin raising interest rates and slashing spending.

What's particularly remarkable about this recommendation is that it seems disconnected not only from the real needs of the world economy, but from the organisation's own economic projections. Thus, the OECD declares that interest rates in the United States and other nations should rise sharply over the next year and a half, so as to head off inflation. Yet inflation is low and declining, and the OECD's own forecasts show no hint of an inflationary threat. So why raise rates? The answer, as best I can make it out, is that the organisation believes that we must worry about the chance that markets might start expecting inflation, even though they shouldn't and currently don't: We must guard against 'the possibility that longer-term inflation expectations could become unanchored in the OECD economies, contrary to what is assumed in the central projection.'

A similar argument is used to justify fiscal austerity. Both textbook economics and experience say that slashing spending when you're still suffering from high unemployment is a really bad idea ' not only does it deepen the slump, but it does little to improve the budget outlook, because much of what governments save by spending less they lose as a weaker economy depresses tax receipts. And the OECD predicts that high unemployment will persist for years. Nonetheless, the organisation demands both that governments cancel any further plans for economic stimulus and that they begin 'fiscal consolidation' next year.

Why do this? Again, to give markets something they shouldn't want and currently don't. Right now, investors don't seem at all worried about the solvency of the U.S. government; the interest rates on federal bonds are near historic lows. And even if markets were worried about U.S. fiscal prospects, spending cuts in the face of a depressed economy would do little to improve those prospects. But cut we must, says the OECD, because inadequate consolidation efforts 'would risk adverse reactions in financial markets.'

The best summary I've seen of all this comes from Martin Wolf of The Financial Times, who describes the new conventional wisdom as being that 'giving the markets what we think they may want in future ' even though they show little sign of insisting on it now ' should be the ruling idea in policy.' Put that way, it sounds crazy. Yet it's a view that's spreading. And it's already having ugly consequences. Last week conservative members of the House, invoking the new deficit fears, scaled back a bill extending aid to the long-term unemployed ' and the Senate left town without acting on even the inadequate measures that remained. As a result, many American families are about to lose unemployment benefits, health insurance, or both ' and as these families are forced to slash spending, they will endanger the jobs of many more. And that's just the beginning. Even conventional wisdom says that the responsible thing is to make the unemployed suffer. And while the benefits from inflicting pain are an illusion, the pain itself will be too real.


An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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THE LOST STATE: HOW AND WHY JHARKHAND IS IN A HOPELESS MESS

IIPM BBA MBA Institute: Student Notice Board

At the mercy of Guruji

As politicians fiddle while Jharkhand hurtles out of control, hopes of a long-term turnaround for the beleaguered state have all but vanished into thin air

When, on November 15, 2000, the state of Jharkhand was carved out of nearly half of Bihar’s geographical territory, about a quarter of its population and all of its mineral wealth, the new entity had much going for it. Of the annual revenues of Rs 10,000 crore that Bihar generated at that point, Jharkhand got 65 per cent.

Having had a clear headstart in terms of industrial development thanks to initiatives in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad and being enviably rich in mineral and natural resources, Jharkhand had economic indices that were all positive. Observers predicted that the new state would prosper and Bihar would sink further into impoverishment.

Since then much water has flown down the Subarnarekha – the river got its name because legend has it that gold was once mined at its origin in a small village near Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand. But a goldmine is the last thing the state can hope to strike given the ham-handed way it has been run all these years.

The hope and excitement have abated. Today, Jharkhand, as it begins its second bout of President’s rule in six months, is in danger of being written off as a failed experiment, a stinging riposte to those who argue in favour of smaller states.

Jharkhand has been in existence for a few months shy of a decade. Its progress report is abysmal. Stagnation has stalked it at every step, and the purpose for which the state was set up – improving the lot of the tribal communities that inhabit its forested areas – has not been served. Jharkhand is lost in the woods.

While Bihar, driven by a new-found political will, is in the process of scripting a remarkable turnaround story, Jharkhand languishes at the very bottom of the development index heap, unable to tide over the severe distortions of a political system controlled by those that are blinded by the thirst for power.

Is the repeated fractured electoral mandate that the people hand out the real bane of Jharkhand? “Don’t blame the voters,” says Shivanand Tiwari, JD (U) national spokesman and Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar. “It is a crisis of leadership in Jharkhand. The state does not have a credible political force that the people can trust and whole-heartedly support. It simply hasn’t emerged.”

Indeed, it is Jharkhand’s political leaders and administrators who have let the state down – very badly and repeatedly. The frequent body blows have left Jharkhand in a complete mess. There are no signs that might indicate that things are about to get better. More than half of Jharkhand’s population – around 27 per cent of which is tribal – live below the poverty line. Corruption is a norm, opportunism the guiding mantra. Shibu Soren, the man who led the movement for a separate Jharkhand for several decades, could have made the difference. But he found himself embroiled in a series of political scandals, including one that stemmed from a murder charge and another that was related to a bribes-for-votes deal in which Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) MPs were paid hefty sums to support the P.V. Narsimha Rao government at the Centre in a no-confidence motion in 1993.

Guruji, as Soren is known to his supporters, has lost ground owing to his unpredictable ways, both in the state and at the national level. He is but a pale shadow of the tribal rights crusader that he once was. As his son, Hemant Soren, jockeys for a position of strength in the state, the image of Jharkhand’s first family, pretty much like that of the state itself, is in dire need of refurbishment.

The result is that a state that was formed essentially to serve the interests of its indigenous communities is today in the grip of intense tribal disaffection. The political process has been hijacked by vested interests. The threat of Maoist violence hangs heavy over the state as the government barters away forest land to big industrial players that are looking to exploit Jharkhand’s huge reserves of iron, coal, bauxite, copper, mica and limestone, among other minerals.


Everything that could have gone wrong has gone wrong in Jharkhand. Large-scale industrialisation has led to extensive environmental degradation and rapid depletion of the state’s forest cover and water resources. Moreover, the growing avarice of the people in power has unleashed corrupt commercial and political practices, unbridled exploitation of the tribal communities and a process of slapdash urbanisation.

The anomalies have multiplied. The indigenous people of the state are now in a majority in only a handful of the 22 districts of Jharkhand. Dwindling water resources and botched-up irrigation projects have placed the tribals at the mercy of the elements. Even if the state does receive a good monsoon, no more than a single harvest a year is currently possible. For the rest of the year, the Adivasis, including women and children, are forced to work on daily wages in mines, quarries and civil projects in abominable circumstances.

It has been all downhill for Jharkhand because the state has never quite managed to wriggle out of its political limbo. The state is once again back to square one. After 11 months of President’s Rule last year, it went to the polls in the hope a getting a new government by Christmas. It did. On December 30, 2009, Soren took over as chief minister for the third time with support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and JD(U).

A crisis was triggered when the Jharkhand chief minister voted in favour of the Congress in a cut motion in the Lok Sabha in April. The BJP withdrew support. But sensing an opportunity of heading the Jharkhand government on a rotational basis, the party decided to get into negotiations with the JMM. A deal was struck. The two parties agreed to form a government, with BJP taking first strike and then vacating the CM’s post 28 months on for the JMM. But when push came to shove, Soren refused to step aside. The deal fell through. With no party in a position to form an alternative government, Jharkhand is under central rule once again. Plagued by greedy self-serving politicians, corporate entities out to dip into the state’s mineral reserves and make a killing and mounting tribal unrest, the state is fast hurtling out of control. “It is really shameful that Jharkhand can't a government that lasts,” says social activist and student leader Uday Shankar Ojha. “This is a complete travesty of democracy.”

Jharkhand has seen seven governments rise and fall in less than ten years and now an eighth attempt to cobble together a new dispensation has also come unstuck. Says veteran journalist Hari Narayan Singh: “The greed for power among politicians has become so overwhelming that expecting real development to happen would be asking for too much. The men who lead Jharkhand are terribly myopic – all that they are interested in is the reins of power so that they can siphon off public money for themselves and their parties.”

It is free-for-all season in Jharkhand. Where else could an Independent MLA turned chief minister, the son of a Ho Adivasi mine worker and himself a one-time welder, have spirited away Rs 4,000 crore and buy mines for himself and his cronies in Liberia and Thailand?

Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda may now be cooling his heels in a jail along with four of his one-time Cabinet colleagues, but the grab-whatever-you-can-while-you-can spirit that he represented continues to make its presence felt in the corridors of power in Jharkhand. Over 100 MoUs have been signed for industrial and mining projects in Jharkhand and there is no way of knowing with any degree of certitude whose pockets are being lined in the bargain although the needle of suspicion does point to the men who call the shots – the ruling establishment and the bureaucracy.

Bihar JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari is aghast at the plight of Jharkhand. “No state in India can claim to be as rich in resources as Jharkhand, but show me one state that is worse off than Jharkhand today. Who would have ever imagined that Jharkhand would come to such a pass? The people’s hopes have been completely dashed,” he says.

Says academician and Rajya Sabha member Ram Dayal Munda: “Ten years certainly isn’t a long time in the life of a state. Jharkhand is going through a difficult phase and this is not be the end of its woes. Worse might be up ahead. The trouble is that the political leadership here does not seem to have the will to do something about changing things for the better.”

The brief history of the state of Jharkhand is littered with broken dreams, squandered promises and shattered hopes because its politicians have never been able to rise above their petty interests. They have proven to be a bunch of opportunists who simply cannot see beyond their own noses – and coffers. The state has repeatedly been witness to the sorry spectacle of horse-trading of the most shameful kind, quick-fix coalitions forged to serve narrow political ends and brazen embezzlement of public money. The state bleeds in every which way. In the nine and a half years of its existence, Maoist violence has taken a toll of the lives of nearly 3,000 police personnel and others, including two legislators. But in the five months of Shibu Soren’s third tenure as chief minister, Jharkhand saw a marked lull in Maoist depredations.

The JMM supremo’s Maoist sympathies are well known – he gave party tickets to six Maoists in the last Assembly elections and is alleged to have won his own seat with the help of the extremist elements in the state. Now that he is out of the saddle, there are fears that Jharkhand will be hit by a renewed spurt in Maoist violence.

The people are at the end of their tether. Corruption is almost a stated official policy in Jharkhand – it gets worse by the day even as the bureaucracy – which, too, has its hands in the till – continues to be completely unresponsive to the grievances of the people. The Jharkhand populace has nobody to turn to for succour. Since the founding of Jharkhand, Maoists have forced parts of the state to observe 700 days of bandh, which adds up to a total of almost two years.

Hari Narayan Singh holds the national political parties equally responsible for the state of affairs in the state. “The national parties haven’t been able to go beyond politics in Jharkhand. As a result, things have floundered here without let,” he laments.

All the four men who have held the chief minister’s post in the state – Babulal Marandi, Shibu Soren, Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda – are from tribal communities. After the latest Assembly election, the BJP did toy with the idea of propping up a non-tribal politician – either senior party leader Yashwant Sinha or Jharkhand deputy chief minister Raghubar Das – as the leader of the state government, but was eventually compelled to stick to the tried and tested Arjun Munda. But with Soren and his overly ambitious son, Hemant, putting the spanner in the BJP’s works, the proposed coalition based on a power-sharing arrangement proved a non-starter.

“It is important for the big national parties to come forward and play a constructive role in building Jharkhand,” says Harivansh, chief editor of Prabhat Khabar. “For democracy and the process of development to take proper roots here, the rule of law has to be re-established.”

The worsening Jharkhand scenario has obviously given the state’s intelligentsia, or whatever is left of it, no cause for cheer. Ram Dayal Munda blames the situation on the fact that Jharkhand hasn’t still been able to cut its “umbilical cord” with Bihar. “I feel that Jharkhand never quite managed to break away in the real sense from the mother state,” he explains. “It is still very much under Bihar’s shadow. Bihar is beginning to move on but Jharkhand is unfortunately still trapped in a time warp.”

Intellectuals in the state point to the fact that much of the state’s woes might have stemmed from the fact that the tribal leadership has failed to carve out its own identity. They have chosen to mimic the discredited political ways of the outsiders (locally referred to as diku) who constitute nearly 70 per cent of Jharkhand’s population.

Says Harivansh: “On the parameters of administration and development, Jharkhand has been a complete disaster. No wonder the state is now looking for its eighth chief minister in a period of less than ten years.”

The search for stability is still very much on, but hope is clearly on the wane. Jharkhand came into being nearly ten years ago on Adivasi icon and freedom fighter Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary. Both the legend and his dream have all but been forgotten.

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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The bone of contention

IIPM Prof Rajita Chaudhuri: The New Age Woman

My recent columns might suggest that I have become a bit of a grave-hugger but fear not dear reader, it is but chance and coincidence that this piece follows the one that went before. But here’s a letter that I just had to deliver…

To the Nobel Committee (And whoever else cares to listen)

Dear people of the Prize, greetings from the land of the dead…

I’ve been dead for long… one month and seventy four years to the day, to be precise. And yet, not a day slips by when I don’t toss and turn whatever remains of me in my grave… for I just can’t RIP.

Homes, towns, barracks and borders rest in easy peace because of me, and yet I know no peace… for here I lie, all forgotten in my grave.

I concede I was no statesman, no diplomat of name, who flew around the world, brokering war and peace. I admit I was no evangelical do-gooder trying to heal the world nor fought for the rights of those wronged, and yet I feel that the “the world’s most prestigious prize” – the Nobel Peace Prize could’ve been mine.

You sneer and snigger and wonder why I, Max Von Stephanitz, a veterinary student and a mere captain in the king’s cavalry, ought to be rewarded thus for the fact that I bred a dog… but my word, what a dog!

Rural Germany of that time had a variety of intelligent canines, some herding sheep, others protecting homes. While each had its strengths, I wondered if I could blend all these qualities to create a super dog. With my experience in veterinary sciences I set about the task of unifying these varied breeds and creating what came to be known as the Deutscher Schaferhund or The German Shepherd Dog - a task that in terms of vision and difficulty rivaled Bismarck’s attempts to unify Germany.

Once the breed had been created, it was a picture of beauty and strength, and loyalty, devotion and intelligence that was supreme amongst the canine race. The first registered GSD was a dog called Hektor (later renamed Horand) and he epitomised all these qualities. The GSD was a companion and a colleague that shepherds were glad to have by their side.

However with the Industrial Revolution, the sheep and their pastures disappeared and even this great super dog started losing relevance in the rapidly developing industrial economy of Germany. It was at that point that I realised that the GSD, with its versatile intelligence and tremendous physical capabilities, could be just as much of a trusted ally in the city. And so, I recommended the breed to the local police force. Here the breed’s ‘kampftrieb’, its desire and ability to be protective of those and that it considered its own and that acute ability to use its nose and have the steadfast courage to follow the scent to the ends of the earth made the GSD into an instant hit. Police stations around the country wanted them. I was thrilled with the success of my dogs. But a dark cloud loomed over Europe. The First World War erupted in the summer of 1914 and yet, even this unfortunate event couldn’t blight the glory of the GSD. The dog was an able comrade for soldiers in battle, as a sentry, as a search and rescue dog who sought and saved wounded soldiers and as a brave messenger who let neither bullet nor shrapnel deter it from its mission. And before you point a finger at me for seeking a ‘Peace Prize’ for creating a war weapon, keep in mind that the GSD was committed to saving lives not taking them… a canine version of the Red-Cross.

Like Bob, for instance… Germans Shepherds won numerous gallantry awards but even amongst them, Bob was special. During the war, many wounded soldiers would’ve bled to death or of their wounds if Bob hadn’t found them in the dead of night. Red Cross volunteers would search through the night but they could never be sure that they had rescued all from amongst the corpses. That’s when Bob would be pressed into action and this big German Shepherd, regardless of the soldier’s nationality, would find the wounded that the volunteers had missed, thus saving countless lives.

The GSD won fans across nations and enemy lines. And soon it became the most popular breed in the world. I was elated and I died a happy man.

From my final resting place, I observed the rise and rise of the GSD. It has busted crime by capturing drug smugglers; become eyes for the blind and ears for the deaf and given them freedom and independence; protected homes and people from violent crime; kept our streets safe by sniffing out criminals and acting as a deterrent; rescued sleeping families from poisonous gasses and fires; saved lives and limbs of men women and children from Afghanistan to Angola by detecting bombs, explosives and land-mines around the world, making our world a safer place for you and your children and rescued people buried rubble.

Tell me Committee, aren’t these achievements comparable even to an alarmist IPCC, a two week old American President, a scam riddled UN or the contributions of leaders with blood on their hands like Kissinger and Arafat. And just in case you are considering, I know that you don’t dole out posthumous prizes. But you see I’m not asking for it for myself. You could give it to the SV(Society for the GSD). It would mean a lot to the people and their dogs who took man’s best friend and made it better…

Until then I’ll haunt these halls, watching you as you anoint others and suffering silently in my grave, along with those thousands of GSDs who died violent deaths so that you may live and know peace…

For more articles, Click on IIPM Article.

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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ROBIN HOOD MARKETERS

Though all their efforts, both in terms of branding and advertising, might bear fruits, the key to long term success for an NGO is still held by the level of transparency it maintains in its operations. Anibrata Pramanik, Network Co-ordinator, Griha Adhikar Mancha (a Kolkata-based NGO) explains, “If we are not transparent, we can not function at all. True governance, transparency and accountability are our main flanks.” In fact, going a step further, NGOs are now increasingly adopting new transparency measures like social accounting and audit to establish higher credibility. So much so that over 240 NGOs have published their annual reports for the last year, and all these were actually published voluntarily. As per Sanjay Patra, Director, Financial Management Services Foundation, “Governance is another issue that plays a critical role. Earlier governance was not given much importance, but the time has changed. Today an NGO can also promote itself in terms of having good governance.”

Despite all, there are still many who believe that if NGOs go down the marketing path, they will lose contact with the grassroots in favour of formulating strategies and campaigns, which are geared towards the country’s middle classes. “NGOs should stick to their roots and do what they do best – focus on empowering the disenfranchised, and encourage mass mobilisation to hold the government to account,” says Nicola Macnaughton, a volunteer with Voluntary Service Overseas (an international development organisation that works through volunteers to fight poverty in developing countries) in her blog. This perhaps might be the reason that many NGOs in India still shy away from using marketing tools due to its links with capitalism. Still, one cannot deny the fact that most of them are now increasingly drawing on marketing techniques, be it paid advertising, branding, celebrity endorsement programmes, and audience profiling, to project their messages and to raise funds.

As more NGOs mushroom within the country, the time has arrived when a mere tag that one is operating in the social sector is not enough for subsistence. This clearly calls for the creation of a positioning statement (both in the minds of the donors and the beneficiaries), be it in terms of branding, recall, transparency, or governance. And that can only come if these modern day Robin Hoods start embracing innovative marketing tools in their fund raising strategies and acting more like cutthroat marketing corporations than like pure and simple social service organisations. Clearly, Sisters of Charity – however committed – is not necessarily an example of what other NGOs today wish to become. A war was never won on an empty stomach... neither was social transformation.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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The best advice I HAVE EVER GOT

AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN
“My best is the most recent advice that I got from my Paa (Amitabh Bachchan) and that is never to mix professional and personal life. For starters, I have implemented that by absolutely NOT discussing work once I am home.”

RAGHAVENDRA RATHORE
FASHION DESIGNER
“My wife always advised me to be more systematic and well planned. I never listened to that and I learnt my lesson. Today, I am involved in so many things and this has been possible because of proper planning and through effective execution of various plans.”

RANA KAPOOR
FOUNDER & MD, YES BANK
“The best advice I got was from Ashok Kapur, non-executive chairman of Yes Bank, who played a significant role in my life. I learned from him the concept of corporate governance and he advised me to always utilise time properly.”

CHETAN BHAGAT
“Never let success make you over confident and always be yourself. This was told by my mother and I follow it to date.”

PETER KRONSCHNABL PRESIDENT,
BMW INDIA
“Never start celebrations before reaching the finish line and this advice was given to me by my mentor.”

ROD WALLACE
MD, PORSCHE CARS INDIA
“My mother adviced me to be a patient listener. Always listen to your people she said and I stand by this guruspeak!”

DILIP CHHABRIA
CAR DESIGNER
“I learned from my father to never give up whatever the situation. In the beginning of my career when I was struggling, this advice influenced my moves a great deal.”

K.VENKATARAMAN
MD, MAHINDRA RETAIL
“My best advice came from the novel ‘Illusions’ by Richard Bach, which talks about the adventures of a reluctant Messiah and says that you will have to believe in your potential. The book inspired me a lot in my professional career.”

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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ICICI Bank is finally out of the woods it went into last year. But, the resurgence needs more push to regain its lost ground, says Deepak Ranjan Patra

October 10, 2008 was no less than a ‘Black Friday’ for India’s second largest lender, ICICI Bank. It was the day when the bank’s stock price nose-dived by a mind boggling 28% amid rumours of the bank’s potential exposure to the global financial turmoil, particularly to the collapsed global financial giant, Lehman Brothers. The situation had turned so critical that the bank’s Joint Managing Director (Chanda Kochhar at that point of time) had to announce in a television interview, “If people have fears around us, I’m re-clarifying these are small exposures considering our size and profitability.” Not only that, the bank also filed complaints with the regulators about some conspiracy going on to drag its share price down.

Those events looked big then, but in reality they were nothing more than a few short term glitches and their remedies were not difficult to find. The real damage, however, for the bank came in the form of a steep fall in its brand value. The bank responded to the crisis with a series of image makeovers within the next few months. Today, when one can safely say that the worst part of the global financial turmoil is over, the moot question is whether ICICI Bank has been able to rebuild its brand value to past levels?

Before understanding ICICI Bank’s brand value re-creation one must first understand what it has lost. ‘Brand Finance Global Banking 500’ report for year 2009 (published early this year) indicates massive erosion in ICICI’s brand value as compared to 2008. As per the report, ICICI Bank’s brand value plummeted over 60% (to $939 million) from $2.6 billion a year ago. Moreover, the bank’s ranking (in the list of top financial brands across the globe) has gone down from 64 to 108. Avers Unni Krishnan, MD, Brand Finance India, “Brand ICICI has faced a substantial erosion of value after the financial crisis. This is certainly a source of concern for the bank and it needs a strong hand to recover.” No doubt the bank has actually responded to the situation with a very strong hand, but with a soft voice.

Since November 2008, ICICI Bank has hit the accelerators in terms of its campaigns. Data available with AdEx shows, between November 2008 and October 2009, the bank’s ad volume has recorded remarkable growth, with a higher focus on television media as compared to the industry average in the BFSI domain. In terms of TV ads, while the volume of the BFSI segment has gone down by 24%, the duration for which ICICI Bank’s ads met the audiences’ eyes was 64% higher than it was for the year ago period (November 2007 and October 2008). Similar is the case in print media. Although ICICI’s ad volume has registered a 5% fall in print media, it’s still better than the industry average, which witnessed a 14% fall.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Clutter-breaking advertisements from insurance companies are helping them push child insurance policies to a new high.

The fad is only just beginning to pick up with consumers. Gyanendra Kumar Kashyap wonders how this beginning will pan out...

As customised insurance plans are catching the fancies of Indian life insurance companies, the idea of alluring parents to think about their child’s future seem to be bouncing on everyones’ courts. And why not, sector analysts peg the child plan market in India to be around Rs.350 billion (approximately 20% of the entire life insurance market). In the segment, where product differentiation is tough, what the players have tactically resorted to are clutter breaking advertisements. Agrees Rahul Agarwal, CEO, Optima Risk Management Services, as he says, “There is not much of product differentiation; returns and features are more or less similar; all the difference comes in how well have the companies used the emotional plank as a brand and marketing strategy.” Who would have missed the brilliant ads from Max New York Life, Aegon Religare, Bajaj Allianz, LIC, ICICI Prudential, Aviva, HDFC SL, et al?

Considering the fact that most of the child policies offer similar features, the challenge for them lies in the fact how well and how differently the individual insurers market their product. Undoubtedly, the child insurance policy advertisements on air these days do carry a realistic feel and drive home the message without beating around the bush. Yet, there are brand analysts who feel that branding in the insurance domain (a serious business arena as they put it) has not taken off till now. However, considering the number of advertisements enticing the parents to opt for child insurance plans, the branding aspect of the insurers is certainly taking the centre stage. Consider the latest ad from Bajaj Allianz, “Papa mere future ke bare mein kya socha hai…” or, the one from the stable of Max New York Life, “…Bolo beta Chekoslovakia…” and you will agree how suavely they have used children as their focus to target the parents. Yet the moot question remains as to whether these advertisements have been successful in convincing the parents and have their best bets paid off?

It is estimated that in India over a third of the population comprises of children under the age of 18 and half of the household expenditure goes towards providing for education. It is therefore imperative for them to get a reliable source of funding the particular need. Says Rishi Mathur, Vice President, Product Development & Customer Management, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, “In India, even today, given that children are considered a source of retirement income, parents desiring a secure future for their children are more of an emotional requirement. However, with the cost of ‘quality’ education growing exponentially, parents, especially in mass market segments, are finding it increasingly difficult to fund the best learning for their children and to provide a sound footing for the child’s career post-education.” While these indicate that need for such products actually exist, it is crucial for the insurers that while planning a child benefit product the timing of benefit must coincide with the key milestones in the child’s life.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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It’s about promoting experimental cinema

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The recently concluded 11th Osian’s film festival held in Delhi created some extra zing this year. And the reason were popular Hindi movies like Dev D, Oye Luckey, Love Aaj Kal et al which made it to the list of those presented in the film festival. This is the first time that the festival has included mainstream Bollywood movies. Neville Tuli, Chairman, Osian’s said, “It is important to include Bollywood when you are having a film festival in India. You can’t ignore such a huge industry and only promote foreign language cinema.” But to ensure that the inclusion of Bollywood movies does not overshadow Osian’s objective of promoting experimental cinema, movies that attempt a new style of cinema in Bollywood were chosen.

Pallavi Srivastava

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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...OF STATUES & STRATEGIES

Mayawati, Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh

The four-time CM of Uttar Pradesh, Mayawati, may be a Dalit by birth, but Behenji’s truculent nature is no less well-known. One who knows how to translate prospects into capitalised political business, this angry (young?) woman, who once championed the cause of the Dalits in pink chiffon suits, has now started playing realpolitik on a national level. Be it the act of transferring, suspending or sacking IPS officers in her state or whipping organised retailers, Mayawati has become a brand with the USP of having a ‘forceful’ power to convince. Despite her term being plagued with controversies including Taj Corridor and Yamuna Expressway cases, she has continued to gain wider acclaim in her home state, which by virtue of its population, plays a vital role in national politics. Some believe that her hold is growing weaker (thanks to Rahul Baba’s campaigns in UP), but brand Mayawati has the masterful knack of staging a comeback when you least expect it.

“If one were to use a metaphor for Mayawati’s politics, it could be almost likened to a luxury item now converted into a ‘necessity’. But like all products, I feel, over-supply is bringing down the brand value of Mayawati,” says Venkitesh Ramakrishnan, Dy. Editor, The Hindu. Until then, perhaps most of Lucknow and Noida would have given way to still more parks and more Maya statues...

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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IS THE FEMALE CONSUMER STILL IGNORED, NEGLECTED & UNDERVALUED?

IIPM: An intriguing story of growth and envy

While each person’s perspectives are different, there are four broad areas where any sane marketer and company would be well advised to look – and tap. They comprise food, fitness, beauty and apparel. Financial services and health care are also businesses worth zeroing-into. The challenge is to offer easier and more convenient ways to make purchases in an environment where – unlike Indian husbands, 71% of who pitch in on household chores – they get no support from their spouses.

It is believed that when the recession slowly moves out, women will occupy an even more important position in the economy. Then seat belts that cut into the neck, pedals that the woman driver can’t reach, badly designed seats, nothing for women who wear high heels when they drive; kitchen shelves so high that only men can reach them, low security inside apartments should be closely reviewed. Also, in this age of working women keeping long hours in unsafe metro cities, how about a phone that has alarm buttons, instead of the corny colour pink? Or a free beeper with every working moms phone so her kids could just beep and she could call back, pronto? These points apparently were mooted, but cell phone manufacturers found them unimportant and trivial and instead concentrated on pink/floral glitter phone!

It’s time companies and marketers wake up to this new reality, cast aside chauvinistic blinkers and convert these challenges into opportunities. There is a whole slew of commercial opportunities in women’s social concerns. Women seek to buy products & services that do good for the world and hence brands that resonate physical and emotional well being, provide care and education for the disfranchised of the world and encourage love and connection, will benefit. It’s time to recognise the power and equity of the women customers. They will no longer take crap, increasingly trash male-specific selling patterns, resist being stereotyped, segmented by age or income or worse – lumped together into a ‘one-size-fits-all’ woman club.

Beyond looking at them as ‘geographical market’, they should be viewed as intelligent, respected and cherished target groups, with their very own wants, needs, apprehensions, insecurities, dreams … and of course, [sometimes] deep pockets too! That would be the best way to gain breakout growth, loyalty and market share for a sublime and undervalued fraternity who occupy half the sky.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

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GILLETTE MACH 3

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AGENCY: MEDIACOM

OBJECTIVE: To increase Mach 3 razor trials & increase market-share.

SITUATION & IDEA: Despite being present in the market for more than a decade, Gillette Mach 3’s sales were flat due to premium pricing. Research said that consumers thought highly of Gillette Mach 3, but not about shaving per se. But they did enjoy arguing. And so the ‘India Votes: To Shave or not’ idea was born, giving a chance to argumentative Indians to do just that.

EXECUTION: A first of its kind shaving survey was commissioned with questions like ‘Are clean-shaven men more successful?’ and ‘Does the nation prefer clean-shaven celebrities?’ The survey results were bombarded across TV, radio, print & online media. Actors Milind Soman and Kunal Kapoor were roped in to shave off their beards to entice consumers.

RESULT: Not only did the trials for Mach 3 increase 400 times after the campaign, the market share of the brand went up by 25%.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Will the ad world soon be mourning the death of brand Cadbury? Or perhaps Irene has a more ‘Krafty’ plan...

In a bid to create a “global powerhouse in snacks, confectionery & quick meals,” Kraft Foods CEO Irene Rosenfeld has laid siege to one of the crown jewels of corporate Britain. Irene’s bold move to acquire Cadbury for $16.7 billion has shaken other confectioners like Nestlé & Hershey out of sweet reverie. After all, if Irene (who is sixth on the 2009 Forbes list of most powerful women) pulls off this coup, Kraft will become number one in the global confectionery market, creating a $51 billion company and its market share would touch a cool 14.9%, toppling the apple cart of Mars, which currently rules the market with a 14.5% share.

The advertising world too has been shaken out of its reverie. Even though the deal is far from done, Madison Avenue is already salivating at the prospect of the $2.7 billion advertising monster that the acquisition is likely to create. As per Ad Age, in case of a marriage, in the US alone, the merged entity would together spend close to $1.5 billion in marketing (See table for details).

With Mars’ acquisition of Wrigley last year, further consolidation in the industry was expected. And Cadbury being the second largest confectioner, it was perhaps ripe for the picking. Irene has said that Kraft is “eager to build upon Cadbury’s iconic brands & strong British heritage.” Irene’s altruistic vision notwithstanding, as it happens more often than not in such cases, the acquired brand gets absorbed into the host brand. In this case that will mean the end of Cadbury as we know it. Says Rob Frankel, Branding Expert “Chances are that Cadbury’s entire history and brand value will slide into oblivion, as Kraft absorbs it.” We have our fingers crossed. Do you?

Vareen Ray

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

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Are you leading a healthy lifestyle? Too much of healthy food is actually unhealthy for you...

You may have been intrigued by friends who follow the Kareena Kapoor diet, eating every two hours in order to obtain the hourglass figure, and some other friends who “claim” they eat nothing at all during the day to lose weight yet you see them eating junk from others’ plate every hour or so. While there are certain others who cannot let go of their soups, salads and protein shakes and other healthy meals come what may. And when this becomes a fixation which they cannot let go, there certainly is something to be worried about.

Some people eat food to live, while certain others live to eat but what about those who live to eat right? While we may agree that to live a healthy life you must eat right but what when this “eating right” becomes an obsession? Steven Bratman, a Colorado M.D., coined a term orthorexia nervosa which means excessive focus on eating healthy foods. This focus might turn into an obsession, which may result in severe malnutrition or even death! Orthorexics or people suffering from orthorexia nervosa are very particular about what they eat. Sugar, salt, caffeine, alcohol, wheat, yeast, corn and dairy products are completely off-limits. In fact, products that have been chemically treated or have artificial flavouring too have to be avoided. This leaves them with few options to choose from and thus they end up looking, and being, malnourished.

Dr. Shikha Sharma rightly says, “There are some people who have obsessive personalities. It has nothing to do with eating healthy. They can be obsessed about their boyfriends, their children, their looks. It’s a sequence that has an inherent psychological disorder of obsession, only the subject changes. So, I would say the eating part is not as important as the psychological aspect or the kind of personalities they have. Any obsession affects relationships more than anything else because people who are obsessed become very difficult to live with. Kids find it difficult to live with such parents, relationships break down, and the person himself might go through depression or anxiety.

Basically, these are personality disorders. Even while giving a diet plan, we try and make sure to not give them extremes of diet plans. For example, we don’t tell them to avoid sweets altogether. We’ll tell them to always try to eat healthy things. So, instead of giving them a list of do’s and don’ts, we tell them to opt for healthy options. I have come across patients who would measure every calorie, they were very obsessive about everything including the way they would look. Even if they did not look alright for one day, they would crib. They were very demanding as patients as well. Ideally, they should see a psychological counsellor and side by side do yoga, particularly pranayam, because that helps people to unwind and de-stress.

But frankly, suggesting someone to see a psychological counsellor is out of question in India because people take it as an offense. But we still recommend yoga and pranayam to clients with behavioural problem because more than the physical weight loss benefits of yoga, it is the internal balance and positivity which is required, so we try and encourage that.”

Similarly, some people are obsessed with exercising and scientists believe that excessive exercise can trigger a reaction in the brain, which is similar to the reaction caused by drugs like heroin. And once a person stops exercising, he would tremble, have drooping eyelids and jabbering teeth, which, might we add, are also the symptoms of a drug addict. But as is often said, excess of anything is bad, even if it is healthy eating!

Aakriti Bhardwaj

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2010.

An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist).

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

The Sunday Indian:- B-SCHOOL RANKING SCAMSTERS EXPOSED!
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