Batting Powerplays confuse captains

Ricky Ponting is still trying to work out how to use the new tactic most effectively © Getty Images

Ricky Ponting and Johan Botha are still coming to terms with when to employ the batting Powerplay in a critical decision that could turn a match. The new regulation allows the captain to choose the five-over block when the fielding team can have only three men outside the circle, with Australia using it in the 40th over in the second ODI in Hobart and South Africa calling for it late in their desperate chase.

The visitors eventually fell five runs short after taking 43 in the Powerplay. Australia managed only 23 and lost Michael Hussey and Cameron White in theirs and Ponting wished he had asked for it sooner. "I think probably in hindsight it would have been the right decision to take it earlier," Ponting said in the Age. "Statistics probably say the longer you hold it off in your innings, you're probably going to lose more wickets towards the end of your innings."

Botha expected more to happen when his team took the Powerplay, like it had when they won the opening match by three wickets in Melbourne. "Australia played really well in the first 30 overs and we probably should have looked a bit more at that and scored a bit quicker in the first 30," he said. "Because once the ball got quite a bit older and the wicket got a bit slower, it got more and more difficult."

A member of the crowd at Bellerive Oval was charged with racially vilifying a South African player, believed to be the 12th man Morne Morkel, when they fielded. "We have briefed the South African team management and they have confirmed that they were not aware of the incident and the player didn't hear any comment himself, but the police officer did,'' Cricket Australia's Peter Young said in theMercury.

"Our advice from South African team management is that they believe we have taken the appropriate steps and we have also apologised to Cricket South Africa in South Africa that this issue has occurred while they are being hosted in our country." On the team's previous tour to Australia there were a number of complaints about racist behaviour from spectators, which led to an ICC report finding the abuse was premeditated, co-ordinated and calculated.

Satyam clients have approached us: TCS

The country's largest software exporter, Tata Consultancy  Service, on Monday said some Satyam  Computer clients have turned to the Tata company on their own, adding it would not approach the clients of the scam-tainted firm.

"We are not approaching the clients of Satyam pro-actively ... but some of them have approached us on their own," TCS CFO S Mahalingam said here on the sidelines of the CII Partnership summit.

According to reports, a US client has terminated its contract with Satyam following the disclosures, citing uncertainty in the company.

It is widely believed that Satyam Computer's clients will migrate to competitors such as Infosys, TCS and Wipro, and according to a broking house report, TCS is likely to gain the most from it because it has the highest number of common clients.

Mahalingam said Satyam is a one-off incident but enough checks and balances should be there to prevent such occurrences.

Delhi 6: It's a 10/10 for Rahman!

'Dikhlade thenge in sabko jo udna na jaane,' a happy-go-lucky voice smugly states at some point during the thrilling course of Delhi  6'ssoundtrack. And man, what a thumbs down to all the seriously imagination-challenged musicians out there.

A R Rahman (who else, really?) makes waiting for his music such a worthwhile chore what with one fantastic soundtrack after another. Close on the heels of a deserving Golden Globes wins follows the anticipated score of Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Delhi 6. Considering its impossible-to-define Chandni Chowk roots, Rahman injects the sounds of this 10-tracked album with an eclectic fusion of various genres. Bottom line: it's a 10 on 10.

Here's why:

Move over Aditi, lyricist Prasoon Joshi, his soaring imagination and Rahman at his affable best; collaborate to produce the mirthful, fluttering sensation,Masakali. Playing on the metaphor of a carefree pigeon of the same name whilst drawing parallels with Sonam Kapoor's  chirpy Bittu, Masakali is unanimously charming and contagiously blithe. The real winner of this enterprise is, of course, a crisp-sounding Mohit Chauhan. Best known for his slow-motioned renditions like Khoon chala(Rang De Basanti), Tum  se hi (Jab We Met ) and Is this love? (Kismat Konnection), the Silk Route front man customizes this ravishing track with a touch of ada and frills of masti, once associated with the inimitable Mohammed Rafi.

While it's impossible to proceed into the album without putting Masakali on the 'Repeat' mode, the show must go on. And so it does through the Sufism-imbued notes of Arziyan. Its poignancy is echoed in the simplicity of its heartfelt cry, 'Maramat muqaddar ki kardo, Maula (Mend my fate, Almighty).' A song of this genre calls for flawless chemistry between its core voices, a requirement that is seamlessly exhibited in the range of Javed Ali and emotions of Kailash Kher.

Spirituality is a frequent theme of the album. It makes its presence felt in the pious prayers of Aarti--Tumre bhavan mein as well as Amitabh Bachchan's commanding baritone in Noor, where he waxes eloquent about God's omnipresent ways.

A dash of nu metal, a few cubes of alternative rock and spray of rap/hip hop, Delhi 6 is a grungy cocktail of metal and attitude. The latter is thrown in truckloads via Blaaze, Benny, Viviane Pocha, Tanvi and Claire. Rahman understands genres skilfully and juggles them to perfection, unlike the wannabe eagerness of his colleagues to achieve the same. Almost high on the pandemonium, individuality, insolence and romance of India's capital city, Delhi 6 pays a funky tribute.

The recurrent rhythm and care-a-damn tone of Hey kaala Bandar spell boys-just-wanna-have-fun brand of camaraderie. There is a lot of erstwhile Rahman to be found in this medley of cheek and cheer, from Barso re(Guru), Shanno Shanno (Yuuvraaj) to Behka (Ghajini ) and Paathshala (RDB).

Up next, the much-awaited Rahman-behind-microphone moment arrives. This time the maestro's surrealism is an upgraded reminder of Sting  in the Eighties. Its fairy-tale-like sorcery with a hint of Arabic exotica lends Rehna tu an aura of precise enchantment and magical romance, wherein a smitten lover gushes in honour of his lady's cosmetic-free loveliness. Joshi's penmanship goes from strength to strength, besotted and inspired in turns.

The ingenious writer gets another opportunity to pour his crimson-hued similes some more in one of Delhi 6'sbest creations, Dil gira dafatan. The delicacy of Ash King's performance, supported by Chinmayee, resonates in the mellifluous imagery and exquisite minimalism of this glorious beauty. Spellbinding stuff from Rahman, this.

Lending a humorous, snazzy twist to Saraswati Chanra's Main toh bhool gayi babul ka ghar-line of sentiments enters the playful and catchy, Genda phool. Composer Rajat Dholakia and Rahman share the credit for this immensely entertaining shaadi ditty performed with delectable naughtiness by Rekha  Bharadwaj (the husky voice behind Namak, Omkara) accompanied by Shraddha Pandit and Sujata Majumdar.

Rahman's mastery is at work as he treats the Indian classical form Gujri todi in a mesmerising fashion to helm the stirring bandish, Bhor bhaye. Sparkling in the impeccable traditions of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan's rousing rendition and a confident Shreya Ghosal, Bhor bhaye is a three-minutes-and-18-seconds long overwhelming experience.

There's enough inspiration to be found in Delhi's most celebrated pin code. And as he's done for so many other landscapes, localities and lanes in the past, Rahman pays Delhi 6 a whopper ode in this swashbuckler of a soundtrack. The musketeers will be envious.*

Over 2 million supporters to attend Obama's D-Day

Barack Obama  will be sworn in as America's 44th and first black President on Tuesday, bringing a message of hope to a nation hungry for change after eight years of George W Bush regime.

The 47-year-old would be sworn in by US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts at noon today (2230 IST) at the Capitol Hill.

Braving severe cold, an estimated two million people from all over the country have thronged Washington to be a witness to the historic occasion.

The inaugural ceremony, to be attended by hundreds and thousands of people, is being held under an unprecedented security cover. Thousands of security personnel from more than a dozen security agencies and sharp shooters in plain clothes have been deployed in and around the Capitol.

The actual inaugural ceremony itself would begin at 11 am US time (2130 IST) on the West Front of the US Capitol with musical selections by the US States Marine Band, followed by the San Francisco Body Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus.

The Democratic Senator from California Dianne Feinstein, in the capacity as the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, would deliver the welcome address and call the function to order. This would be followed by invocation by Dr Rick Warren.

Thereafter, Joe Biden would be administered oath of office to Vice President by Supreme Court Associate Justice John Paul Stevens. Following musical selection by composer

John Williams, the US Supreme Court Chief Justice would administer the oath of office of US Presidency to Obama.

Earlier in the morning, the outgoing President George W Bush would welcome his successor Obama and his wife Michelle at the North Portico of the White House some two hours before the swearing in ceremony.

Bush, along with his wife, would have coffee with the incoming first family along with Vice President-elect Biden and members of the Joint Congressional Committee.

At 10.45 am (2115 IST), Bush would depart the White House en route to the Capitol to participate in the swearing in ceremony.

In television interviews over the weekend and at his last press conference, Bush said he is looking forward to Obama's tenure as the President.

Soon after the inaugural ceremony is over, Obama would host a departure ceremony for Bush, who would leave for his new home in Midland Texas from the Andrews Air Force Base.

Obama and his deputy Biden would proceed towards the historic Statuary Hall at US Capitol for a luncheon hosted by the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies. The inaugural parade would start at 2.30 pm (0100 IST Wednesday) from the US Capitol to the White House.

Later, several dozen inaugural balls are scheduled for Obama with the Presidential Inaugural Committee itself hosting as many as ten inaugural balls including the Commander-in- Chief's Ball, the Youth Ball and the President Obama Home State Ball.

Obama is expected to appear in the Commander-in-Chief's Ball at the National Building Museum.

14 % drop in coral growth seen in the Great Barrier Reef

Increased sea surface temperature and acidity of sea water are the most likely causes

The effects of global warming have shown up in a definite way in the Great Barrier Reef of Australia.

A paper in the latest issue of the Science journal notes unprecedented effects of increased CO{-2} on the Great Barrier Reef. Scientists found the rate at which corals were able to build skeletons dropped by 14 per cent during the p eriod of study — 1990 to 2005.

Coral reefs are considered as the rain forests of the ocean as they support great biodiversity. Any drop in growth of the reefs of the Great Barrier Reef is hence worrying.

Unprecedented

What makes the study significant is that scientists studied 328 colonies from 69 reefs, and the duration of study was 15 years. “…This study shows that the effects are probably large-scale in extent and that the observed changes are unprecedented within the past 400 years.”

The growth of coral reefs depends on their ability to build skeletons. Skeletons are built by calcification of calcium carbonate (CaCO{-3}). There are a few things that may affect the calcification process.

Though the scientists note that the precise “causes of decline” in calcification are not known, their study suggests that increased temperature stress and increased acidity of sea water are the most likely causes.

Coral reefs are extremely sensitive to sea surface temperature. Any changes beyond 1 degree C for extended periods of time affect the corals. Increase in sea surface temperature affects and destroys the symbiotic zooxanthellae algae that live on the corals. Any damage to the algae leads to a loss of the symbionts and a rapid whitening of the coral host (thus the term "bleaching").

Mass coral bleaching was not documented in the scientific literature before 1979. 1998 saw a large scale destruction of coral reefs all over the world.

Effect of salinity

Since the oceans act as sinks for carbon dioxide, increased uptake of CO{-2} by ocean water will make them acidic. Supersaturation of tropical sea water with calcium carbonate is crucial for reef calcification process. Hence acidic water will compromise supersaturation.

The pH of the ocean has decreased by 0.1 unit (become acidic) since the beginning of the industrial revolution. And this has affected the calcification process.The researchers studied the Porites corals using X-rays and a technique called gamma densitometry to measure annual growth and skeletal density.

Studying the skeletal density allowed them to calculate the amount of calcification annually. They found that the calcification rate rose 5.4 per cent between 1900 and 1970. It dropped by 14.2 per cent between 1990 and 2005. The drop was mainly due to a growth slowdown from 1.43 cm a year to 1.24 cm.

Long term effects

How the sea surface temperature and lower pH would affect the reefs and marine organisms in the long run cannot be accurately predicted since living organisms and ocean are dynamic.

“We may not see drastic changes in a short period. And how the increased temperature, acidity and reduced skeletal strength due to calcite erosion would affect marine life are not known,” said Dr. M. Wafar, Senior Scientist at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa. “So this only calls for a more cautious approach.”

Coral reef recovery in Lakshadeep

The year 1998 saw a large scale destruction of coral reefs all over the world. This was due to increased sea surface temperature.

Coral reefs are extremely sensitive to water temperature. Any change beyond 1 degree C for extended periods of time affects the corals.

Coral bleaching

Ten years ago saw a layer of warm water spreading from the south into the tropical water. The warm water conditions persisted for as long as one month in certain places.

The mean maximum summer sea surface temperature increased by 2 degree C. “About 40-50 per cent of corals were lost in most of the reefs,” said Dr. M. Wafar, Senior Scientist at the National Oceanography Institute (NIO), Goa. “80-90 per cent of corals in Lakshadeep were destroyed.” Dr. Wafar has been involved in coral research for nearly 25 years.

Scientists from NIO have recovered coral reef in Kavaratti island, Lakshadeep through coral transplantation.

“The recovery has been quite good. In some places the live coral cover has increased by nearly 50 per cent,” said Dr. Wafar. “The government now wants us to undertake similar initiative in all the islands at Lakshadeep.”

Scientists will soon start growing corals for transplantation work at Agatti and Kadmat islands.

Coral transplantation

Pieces of corals broken naturally or otherwise are tied to slabs and put in shallow water and allowed to grow. The coral are put in reefs once they have grown well.

“We started the pilot exercise in Nov-Dec 2005. We used 100 coral tips, most of them belonging to fast growing coral genera.

“In 2 years’ time the growth was up to 25 cm in the best of the cases,” Dr. Wafar said.

In all 4 fast growing coral species and 4-5 slow growing species were grown and transplanted in the coral reefs in Kavaratti in 2008.

“We grew fast and slow growing coral species to offset a bias in the natural species composition,” he said. “We will do the same now as well.” Since reefs support many fishes, increased coral coverage has a direct positive impact on fish population.

The CAT scenario

The results of the Common Admission Test (CAT) are out. Management seat aspirants across the country — 2,46,546 who sat for this important examination on November 16 — found that the results this year were easy to access. Previously, candidates could check their percentiles only online and had to wait for call letters from the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) to be delivered by post. This time around, the IIMs seem to have pulled up their socks, beefed up the bandwidth and provided an integrated web site, making the process simple, quick and easy, almost at the click of a mouse.

The web site worked with clockwork precision, and candidates were saved the otherwise tedious, anxiety-ridden process of browsing through different IIM web sites and going through multiple servers crashing through the day.

With nearly 4,500 getting call letters, one significant part of this two-stage battle is over. CAT 2008 is only the first stage of the admission process to the much-coveted Postgraduate Programme in Management on offer at the seven IIMs in Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Indore, Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong.

The next step

For the few who made it, the path ahead is steep, long and arduous; with barely 2,000 seats on offer, the competition will be tough. Ajay Arora of the Triumphant Institute of Management Education (T.I.M.E.), Bangalore, said that the number of candidates called for group discussion (GD) and personal interviews (PI) has seen an increase. “This can be attributed to the fact that the next level of the quota for Other Backward Classes will kick in from this year. With this, the number of seats will naturally see an increase,” he said. For instance, the number of seats on offer at IIM, Bangalore, has gone up from 250 in 2007 to 275 in 2008. Furthermore, IIM, Bangalore, in November, announced that it had decided to increase its intake for its Postgraduate Programme in Management (PGP) by 75, increasing its total capacity to 345.

Mr. Arora had a piece of advice for candidates who received calls for the GD and PI stage, scheduled from the second week of February. “They should start preparing for the GD and PI in earnest. Though the CAT results are being announced around 10 days late this year, the IIMs are not going to change the GD and PI dates. GD and PI will be held during early February and this leaves students with only three weeks’ time to prepare.”

Differing criteria

Experts point out that cut-offs are not common for all IIMs. Neither is themodus operandi used to short-list students for the second stage.

For instance, 100-percentiler Lakshmisha S.K. was surprised that he did not receive a call from IIM, Kozhikode.

Same is the case with Ameya Mhatre, who shares the perfect score, but did not get a call from IIM, Shillong. What more can an institute want from a candidate who has scored a perfect 100?

“Maybe, it has to do with the fact that my engineering marks aren’t top-notch. I do not know,” Mhatre says.

The amendment to LIC Act

On December 23, 2008, the government introduced in Parliament a Bill for amending the Insurance Act, to raise the capital of the Life Insurance Corporation from Rs. 5 crore to Rs. 100 crore. On the face of it, the intention behind the proposed amendment may appear to be good. Unfortunately, it is not so.

Needless exercise

It is a recognised fact that a life insurance company does not require any capital. There were, and still are, many life insurance companies known as Mutuals. Standard Life of the U.K. (which operated in India even before 1900 and is now again in India in partnership with Housing Development Finance Company) was a mutual company till June 30, 2006. In India itself, Bombay Mutual, before nationalisation of insurance, was a well known example. The mutual companies have no capital — only working capital, during initial years. Policyholders are the owners of these companies and the entire profit, after tax, goes to them.

The Rs. 5 crore provided by the government at the time of formation of LIC was more in the nature of working capital than real capital. Today, the Controlled Fund of LIC exceeds Rs. 7 lakh crore, with a solvency margin reserve of more than Rs. 30,000 crore. This reserve, built up by transfers from surplus (profit) after tax, is akin to general reserve and, therefore, for all purposes, equivalent to capital, but with one difference. Ninetyfive per cent of this capital belongs to policyholders.

With policyholders thus providing almost 95 per cent of the capital, LIC is virtually a mutual company. In this context, an addition of Rs. 95 crore to capital is a drop in the ocean and serves no purpose, except perhaps to facilitate passing of a part of the business to the private sector, Indian and foreign.

Can a minority shareholder unilaterally alter the capital structure of a company? This question has to be first answered before the bill, in its present form, is taken up for discussion in Parliament.

As per the LIC Act, the Central government is not eligible for more than five per cent of the valuation of surplus emerging each year. This was in line with the standard set up by Oriental Assurance Company before nationalisation. In the case of private insurers, as per the Insurance Act, the shareholders are eligible for 100 per cent of the surplus emerging from without profit policies and 10 per cent of the surplus emerging from with profit policies. The unit linked policies come under the without profit category. With these policies constituting more than 95 per cent of the portfolio of private insurers, almost 98 per cent of surplus goes to shareholders in the case of private insurance companies.

Policyholders to suffer

If the proposed amendment to the LIC Act goes through, the shareholders’ share of profits of LIC will immediately jump from five per cent to 10 per cent and then gradually increase, during the next ten years, to more than 40 per cent. That is, within the next ten years, even assuming only a modest growth rate, the shareholders of LIC would get more than Rs. 15,000 crore a year, or Rs. 1,250 crore a month, as compared to the present level of Rs. 1,000 crore a year. This, at the cost of policyholders.

These figures would explain the objective behind the proposed amendment.

Such a move to siphon off the profits of LIC will result in enrichment of private pockets, drastically reduce the levels of bonus to policyholders, render the corporation uncompetitive and eventually weaken it beyond recognition. Simultaneously, the demand to withdraw government guarantee to LIC has been resurrected. The government can be allowed to withdraw the guarantee but, on one condition. Convert the LIC into a mutual company and make the policyholders, who have contributed 95 per cent of the capital, the owners.

The amendment to the Insurance Act made in 1999 has conferred on us a distinction. After this amendment, India is perhaps the only country not to allow formation of mutual insurance companies. But, this position can be easily rectified through a minor amendment to the Act. In this context, it is worth mentioning the view held by the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS). According to this body (not binding on member states), an insurance company can be either a joint stock or a mutual company.

For giving up its control of LIC, the government may be compensated through payment of a fixed sum, say Rs. 1,000 crore a year, for the next 20 years. One may feel that the quantum of compensation is high. But, the price of freedom always is.

If such a scheme is implemented, it would result in immediate increase in the levels of bonus to policyholders, making LIC a much stronger organisation.

In 1993, a national survey was got conducted by the Malhotra Committee, spanning cities, towns and villages. The survey showed that LIC’s emblem was readily recognised by more than 99 per cent of the persons covered by the survey. The LIC is not just a national institution. It is a symbol of national integration and its emblem is treated as a symbol of security. It is the duty of every right thinking Indian to stand up against any attempt to dilute this status.

Satyam board in talks with banks

‘All efforts to ensure payment of salaries on time’

HYDERABAD: The new Board of Directors of Satyam Computer Services Ltd. said here on Saturday that it has begun discussions with banks and financial institutions to address the issue of liquidity of the beleaguered company.

Meeting for the second time in six days, the board noted that last week had seen definite improvements on collections. This was expected to be a major priority for the business leaders in the company and the board in the ensuing weeks.

The board, whose strength was increased by the Centre from three to six on Thursday, conveyed a strong note of reassurance to the 53,000-strong work force and also expressed confidence that its key customers would remain with the company. It also discussed the scheduling of payments to its vendors.

The board kindled hope among the employees when it declared that it was making all efforts to ensure payment of salaries on time. It was in touch with key customers and so far had not heard of deliveries being affected.

“The board reaffirmed its confidence in its associates [employees] and their ability to continue delivering high quality work, as per the stated Service Level Agreements.” It was in conversation with customers, who, in turn, had expressed their continued support, which was a very encouraging sign.

The directors — Deepak Parekh, Kiran Karnik, C. Achuthan, T.N. Manoharan, Tarun Das and S.B. Mainak — issued a statement after deliberating for over six hours on the challenges confronting the company at Satyam Infocity. They constituted an Audit Committee with Mr. Manoharan as its chairman and Mr. Achuthan and Mr. Mainak as members.

Internal auditors

M/s Brahmayya & Co., chartered accountants of Chennai, were appointed the internal auditors of the company with immediate effect and Amarchand & Mangaldas & Suresh A. Shroff & Co., legal advisors to the board.

The board continued its search for a Chief Executive Officer and a Chief Financial Officer. Until these appointments were made, it would meet on a weekly basis to address the ongoing issues. While Saturday’s meeting of the board was chaired by Mr. Parekh, every meeting would be chaired by one of the directors by rotation till a full-fledged chairman was appointed by the Centre in line with the directions of the Company Law Board.

America's youngest Indian CEO

At 39 years, Francisco D'Souza, the India-origin chief executive of software firm Cognizant Technology Solutions, is one of the youngest CEOs in America, running an American public company that is worth at least $500 million.

The latest among a slew of honours for this young business honcho is a mention in business magazine Forbes' updated list of '21 youngest CEOs at USA's biggest companies.'

'Francisco D'Souza, 39, heads what is now the largest public company run by a 40-or-under CEO, though his $5.7-billion Cognizant Technology Solutions is dwarfed by the $16.9-billion Yahoo!.' Forbes said. 'D'Souza has been an officer at Cognizant for 11 years now, chief executive since 2007, and chief operating officer since 2003, when he was a mere 33.'

All the chief executives named in the list are in the age group of 34 to 40 years. 'They are the youngest people running the biggest companies in America. As they have gotten this far already, keep an eye on them in the future,' Forbes said in an accompanying report.

D'Souza took over from Lakshmi Narayanan, who became vice-chairman of the board. At the time, D'Souza was also inducted into the board.

In an interview he gave before he became CEO, he shared his views on how businesses become and remain profitable. "Cognizant choose the customer-centric, relationship-driven model right from our founding and we have built upon it. The outcome of this model is that we service a limited number of customers and provide increasing value as we grow those relationships. The fact that we serve our customers deeply is reflected in the ratio of relationship managers and client partner to be higher than our sales professionals," he said.

D'Souza is a person of Indian origin, born in Nairobi, Kenya. Since his father was a diplomat with the Indian Foreign Services, he has lived in and travelled to many different countries. He has an MBA from Carnegie-Mellon University and was a 2004 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist. He also won theEconomic Times Entrepreneur Award in 2005.

At Cognizant, which he joined in its early days, D'Souza oversees much of the operations and business development of the company. He has earned a total compensation of $ 1,777,883.00, according to Forbes.

Forbes also noted that the most experienced and seasoned old CEOs have to make hard-nosed decisions and endure intense scrutiny during tough times.

'Young CEOs may find themselves under an even brighter spotlight, thanks to their supposed inexperience. But at least they have plenty of time ahead of them to correct any errors -- and possibly move on to even bigger things,' it added.

Once he's out, society will embrace Raju

Raju need not fear ostracism once he's out - society will embrace him.

A friend in Washington told me that Indians working in the World Bank and International Monetary Fund began to swagger around with a new bounce to the step and a gleam in the eye when the Rs 64-crore (Rs 640-million) Bofors scandal broke.

'We are in the big league now' they gloated. 'Not your chota-mota stuff!' The Rs 7,136-crore (Rs 71.36 billion) Satyam [Get Quote] fraud must have them bursting with pride.

Size is a national obsession. Indians have stashed away more than anyone else -- a noble $1,456 billion -- in Swiss banks. We thrive on superlatives. Even Jawaharlal Nehru rejoiced in the Suratgarh farm being "the biggest farm in Asia".

A policeman claimed during the nineties' spate of kidnappings in Calcutta he could identify the kidnappers from the ransom demanded.

A crore (Rs 10 million) meant impressive Delhi criminals; a few lakhs suggested dehati gangs in Bihar; a measly thousand or two indicated local street-corner toughs. "Boys who extort Durga Puja chanda" he said contemptuously.

A double-column newspaper heading reflected another aspect of the complex.

'Grandpa Dawood celebrates in Pak' reported with no hint of criticism that 'champagne corks popped' and 'hundreds of kilos of pedas' were distributed in Karachi, Dubai and Mumbai to celebrate the birth of India's most wanted fugitive's grandson.

I shouldn't imagine any Mumbaiker refused either the bubbly or sweets. For that matter, Delhi and Mumbai society hostesses would probably scratch out each other's eyes for the honour of lionising Ibrahim Dawood at their parties if he ever appears in India.

Similarly, the poor might flock to gaze on Charles Sobhraj; the rich will fall over each other to shake his hand. As someone said of Britain's royal family, our heroes are famous for being famous.

Fame is the spur, never mind for what, bearing out Wilde's aphorism that 'the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about'.

The frequency with which the phrase 'world famous' is used implies we live not for ourselves but for the world. Even in remote towns Indians frankly confess to absurd doings like eating dahi while turning somersaults in the air to make the hallowed Guinness Book of Records.

A R Rahman put it nicely when he said, "Indians are crazy about Oscars". Slumdog Millionaire would be far more enjoyable if the Oscar judges enjoy it.

Indira Gandhi was uncharacteristically out of tune with this mood when she wanted tax evaders to be ostracised. She must have known that people admire and envy a leading member of a prominent industrial family who pays no tax.

Sir Biren Mookerjee was thought to be inept when the tax people threatened to seize some of the grounds of his Calcutta mansion.

Mrs Gandhi wasn't the only premier with a blind spot. V P Singh's prescription to force corrupt Indians to migrate showed he had no idea that half the population would happily call itself corrupt to escape foreign exchange and travel restrictions.

'India's Enron' has done India proud. It doesn't lead the fraud pecking order with WorldCom (Rs 43,650 crore or Rs 436.5 billion) or Xerox (Rs 29,100 crore or Rs 291 billion) but the real Enron lags behind with only Rs 2,866 crore (Rs 28.66 billion) missing.

Our Byrraju Ramalinga Raju has also beaten the flamboyant daredevil of the derivatives who gambled away the world's oldest merchant bank. Nick Leeson's fun and games cost Rs 346 crore (Rs 3.46 billion) less than Raju's creative accounting.

The pujas and representations by his friends confirm Raju need fear neither ostracism nor forced emigration once he's out. Society will clasp him to its bosom.

Reports say he chatted 'for several hours' with fellow Andhra jailmate, Kosaraju Venkateshwara Rao, former chairman of Hyderabad's Krushi Bank, who allegedly duped depositors of nearly Rs 32 crore (Rs 320 million) and fled to Bangkok.

What did they talk about? Raju may have said that Rs 32 crore was peanuts. "Even Global Trust went under for Rs 812 crore (Rs 8.12 billion)!" Also, that 8,300 Krushi depositors were nothing to write home about since Satyam's 53,000 employees and their dependents probably account for 424,000 jobs.

Rao wondered why Raju, with offices from Toronto to Calgary and Parsippany in New Jersey to Santa Clara in California, hadn't run, like three Satyam colleagues.

'The government runs faster' Raju replied. Bangkok is a hop, step and jump away, but India established diplomatic relations with Costa Rica and sent an ambassador to get Dharma Teja.

Foreign isn't safe. Look at poor Akshay Vishal in America! "Besides, how will anyone know one has refused VIP treatment (even if it wasn't offered), turned spiritual and reads Buddhist books if the Indian media doesn't have access?

Let us know what’s up

www.letzknow.com, the brainchild of a group of students, offers a host of services related to the academic and non-academic events in colleges.

 

A workshop on latest advancements in geology, a tech-fest that an aspiring electrical engineer just cannot afford to miss, an end-semester project that one is sure someone has done before… where does an info-hungry college student go for all this?

While these thoughts might have crossed the minds of hundreds of students in the country, some of them decided to try and find their own solution for what they saw as an information gap between students and student-related events happening in educational institutions across the country.

The result was www.letzknow.com, an education web service that offers users quick takes on the latest academic and non-academic events in colleges, including tech fests, symposia, social initiatives, international contests, scholarships and so on. What is more, all services offered by ‘letzknow’ are totally free (so far.)

“The idea of such a website evolved from our own experiences in our college life. We were mavericks and were always looking out for information about new opportunities and events in which we could participate. And we have seen many of our friends learning about a wonderful opportunity only when it’s too late. In this modern era, timely information is wealth. And we decided to help students acquire that wealth in abundance,” says H.K. Manikandan, a B.Tech. student at Amritha Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore, and co-founder of the web service.

In an interaction with The Hindu EducationPlus, Manikantan pointed out that the time spent in a college is the right time to “explore one’s interests and develop talents.” For this, each student must be aware of the avenues and opportunities available to him or her. And that is what the ‘letzknow’ team has attempted to do in their ‘whatz up’ section.

Online database

A growing online database of students and members of faculty in various categories of colleges is another feature of this student initiative. The ‘campus desk’ section of the site allows students and teachers to announce themselves to the world and thereby generate the opportunity for what the site calls ‘social networking’.

But perhaps the feature that many students would find interesting straight away on ‘letzknow’ is the digital database of projects and assignments done by students in colleges across the country. Suppose, reasons Manikantan, a student of Cochin University of Science and Technology, wishes to write a project for his engineering course. Now, he or she can rely only on seniors, peers or on whatever web resources that can be identified within the given time. But what if he or she can tap into a database of papers, reports and assignments that have already been done by hundreds of other students? It is very likely that a similar paper on a similar project has already been done and has already been posted on ‘letzknow’.

Students can also get their doubts cleared in a particular subject by getting in touch with their teachers. The drive to digitise such works of students is an ongoing project of ‘letzknow’.

Campus placements R.I.P.

Recession has hit the job market and fresh graduates are worried

Being a fresher in any industry, at any point of time is no duck soup. An ailing economy and a sluggish job market coupled with recession will only add to the woes of the young job seeker. With experts predicting that a significant part of 2009 will be mired in recession, the average soon-to-be-graduate has little to look forward to.

Analysts confirm that job markets across sectors are in a trough, and will continue to remain so for a while. While top-notch campuses in the country — be it engineering colleges or B-schools — registered sound placement trends, tier-II and tier-III campuses across education sectors did abysmally. Placement cells in most colleges had a tough time getting corporates to even visit their campus, let alone conduct recruitment.

In the technology sector, several companies picked up scores of bright young graduates-to-be in the hope that the recession would undo itself by the end of 2009. However, considering that several students of the 2008 batch have still not been given joining dates, even those who are “placed” are not entirely optimistic.

Raghav Kirit, a 2008 batch graduate of Electronics and Communication Engineering, had got a campus placement offer from Wipro Technologies.

The company sent him and his batchmates an offer to join the BPO services wing of the company.

Disappointment

“Why will I agree to work in a BPO when I am qualified to do much more than that? Similarly, many mid-size companies have not even given joining dates to our batch. When we have not been absorbed, how are they making offers at all these other colleges?” he asks.

The story rings a similar tone, across industries. The Hindu EducationPlusspoke to experts, colleges, academics and students across sectors to find out how the recession or the economic downturn will affect their careers.

From core industries such as manufacturing and engineering to media and retail, in the absence of growth, the job market is a tough place to be. According to a survey conducted by Naukri.com titled “Job Speak,” the overall job index fell from 1000 in July to 781 in October, which is a 21.9 per cent decline. Over the last three months of 2008, key sectors such as real estate, banking, finance, IT and retailing — all of which were pumping jobs into the market for fresh young graduates — showed a decline; while telecom, pharma and hospitality emerged as attractive options. While this report is not reflective on the overall state of any industry, it speaks primarily about recruitments. All the metros, which provide for a large chunk of jobs, saw a dip in the supply of new jobs to the tune of 16 per cent. Across most functional areas, the job portal’s report records a 15 to 20 per cent decline.

Sampath Shetty, vice-president, permanent staffing business unit at TeamLease, said the worst hit sectors, job-wise, in 2008 were realty, construction, broking, and investment banking. He points out that for freshers, the job market is likely to remain grim across sectors. “There will be some hiring in sectors involving telecommunication, FMCG, insurance and the pharmaceutical sector – these are doing well.”

Core engineering

“The good thing about the recession is that more students are opting for core courses. Last year, half the electrical engineering students went for IT jobs for the humongous pay packets. Now, the trend is reversed with almost everybody sticking to their trade,” says Roshni S., a student of BMS College of Engineering.

Several colleges showed positive placement trends in terms of manufacturing jobs, both in number of offers made and pay packets. However, tier-II and tier-III colleges fared badly. Unlike their IT counterparts, the manufacturing sector may not have declared a “recruitment freeze” but jobs will not be very easy to come by either.

According to a survey conducted by global consultancy firm KPMG, the BRIC region (Brazil, Russia, India, China) is showing signs of “buoyant levels of confidence regarding the prospects of business activities during 2008.”

However, with funding for projects on a low, several projects will be slowed down, which in turn will cut the demand for any kind of fresh recruitment. Architects and civil engineers will see a minor trough, but it is not expected to last long, Sarayu Krishnan, analyst at an HR hiring firm, says.

The Naukri.com survey quoted above records a 25 per cent dip in software. The hardware sector saw a dip in new jobs, while construction and engineering went down by 22 per cent since July, 2008.

“Public infrastructure projects and big manufacturing companies such as Larsen and Toubro will continue to recruit. However, these numbers have always been marginal,” Mr. Shetty explains. The telecommunication sector has been doing well, and will continue to recruit in the technical profiles too.

IT sector

This “sunshine sector” will see a more profound slump in 2009. Though IT majors posted good numbers on campus hiring, only time will tell how many will be absorbed. Last year’s track record with several mid-size companies not delivering on offers made, other majors such as IBM cutting flab at the eleventh hour with a “surprise test” and Wipro Technologies’ googly offer to join its BPO, has left freshers suspicious of any offer made.

While tier-I colleges in cities joined the IITs and IIMs in securing good jobs for their students, tier-II colleges fared badly. PESIT CEO Jawahar D. said that below-average students would have a tough time this year. “There is a 25 per cent drop in recruitments in almost all top companies. Even good colleges will find themselves on the borderline,” he said in a recent interview.

Mr. Shetty says: “Given that there have been retrenchments, there are plenty of ‘experienced’ candidates and 2008 freshers in the market. Employers will be spoilt for choice and the average fresher will have a tough time.”

Career counsellors recommend using the time to pursue higher education or acquiring additional skills in time for the market’s rise period.

MBA graduates

Have management jobs lost their sheen? Not yet, experts say. The most coveted profiles such as investment banking and the financial sector in general will not recruit in large numbers, but that will simply force the graduate to diversify into tertiary sectors, where there is a demand for talent. Needless to say, the impact will vary depending on how much value your MBA commands in the market.

“For students from tier-III colleges, the next six to eight months will be difficult because companies are uncertain where they are headed. Students will have to wait or make do with less-paying jobs,” says Ramesh Venkateswaran, Director, SDM-IMD, a B-school in Mysore. He says that companies have limited their intake and the college this year has invited 60 to 70 companies, compared to 38 companies last year.

Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren loses Tamar by-poll

Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren has lost the by-elections for the Tamar Assembly constituency by over 9,200 votes.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) Soren lost to Jharkhand Party candidate Gopal Krishna Patar.

Counting of votes for Tamar Assembly constituency began on Thursday at 0800 hrs IST amid tight security.

Soren was seeking to enter the Assembly within the stipulated six months after assuming office on August 27.

The seat fell vacant after JD(U) legislature party leader Ramesh Singh Munda was gunned down on July 9 last year by suspected Maoists.