Dead by chance

Prisoners, facing Capital Punishment or not, often die in prisons due to inhuman conditions and lengthy delays between trials and executions. Authorities globally need to address this urgently

“The degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons,” avowed Fyodor Dostoevsky, a Russian novelist, in the nineteenth century. It may be tough to decide who is worse. From food quality to ventilation, sanitation, water, infrastructure & health care facilities; prisons globally are almost invariably found wanting.

To add to this, most prisons are overcrowded, especially in the developing nations. For instance, Uganda’s Muduuma prison is filled up to 3,200% of its capacity. India’s Tihar Jail is built for 4,000 inmates but currently has 12,000 plus inmates. Moreover, the time spent under trial and before execution of capital punishment has increased considerably. According to the Death Penalty Information Center in US, the average time spent on a death row before execution is close to 14 years (calculated in 2010). In China, the time spent on the death row is astonishingly low at around 449 days, which also explains the high number of executions per year in China (almost 60-80% of capital punishments of the world happen in China).

As per Bureau of Justice Statistics, the total number of prisoners dying in jail was 21,936 (2001-2007) in US out of which 82.9% were due to illness (mainly unhealthy conditions & lack of proper medical facilities). There is also an increased propensity for death row inmates to commit suicides, which in one way, can also be attributed to the environment that a particular prison projects and enforces upon a convict. The rise of the Death Row Phenomenon, wherein inmates die in jails, whether or not they were deemed to be executed, is a truism of the modern era.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

It’s The small-ticket Strategic Acquisitions that will drive the sector in 2011

FMCG Saw Some Heavy action on the M&A front last year. But, as The Industry matures and valuations rise, It’s The small-ticket Strategic Acquisitions that will drive the sector in 2011

If a recent report by KPMG is to be believed then M&As will intensify in Indian FMCG space in the near term. “However, the lack of large acquisition targets and the number of acquirers looking for opportunities means valuations will continue to be at a premium,’ says the report. In fact, the sector has already seen over a dozen deals in M&As in the first half in 2011 so far, and the momentum is expected to continue going forward. Certainly FMCG sector in India has been experiencing a phenomenal pace of growth since the last decade owing to increasing consumer incomes and rapidly changing consumer tastes and preferences. Further, large scale and low cost production facilities, modern retailing strategies, gives Indian FMCG companies an edge over its western counterparts. “All this certainly makes India an exciting place to be for international FMCG giants which are now looking forward to ramp up their Indian operations or are planning to enter the country soon,” says Oliver Mirza, MD, Dr. Oetkar Funfoods. For instance, Reckitt Benckiser has already acquired Ahmedabad-based Paras Pharma, makers of OTC brands like Moov, D’Cold, Dermicool, Krack, Itch Guard, et al, for a whopping $730 million (in December 2010).

However, going forward the sector is unlikely to see any big ticket acquisition as the local brands have still not scaled up beyond the $20-25 million mark. But then, that’s what they call a market for strategic acquisitions!

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Green Strategy as a Competitive Advantage

In The Aftermath of The Global Financial Meltdown, Corporations are facing unique Challenges. The Future is in Incorporating and Capitalising on a Green Strategy writes Andrew Winston, Co-Author of Green to Gold and author of Green Recovery.

For the past few years, the business world has been swept up in a green wave – a rising tide of interest and concern about environmental issues. Pressures from both natural forces and key stakeholders have made going green somewhat unavoidable. But a lot of business leaders hold on to an outdated view with respect to green, the misconception that environmental practices always cost a lot of money. But green doesn’t raise costs; it lowers them (quite often in the short run, and definitely in the long run).

Although your instinct may be to retreat from green initiatives in hard times, that would be shortsighted and a huge mistake. In tight times, most companies need to focus on their bottom lines, cut costs, and conserve cash – and they need to do it fast. Reducing energy usage and wastage – two pillars of going green, can save a great deal of money.

But as they say, nothing comes for free. Yes, some projects will save money immediately at virtually no expense, but greater rewards often require some commitment. So if corporations want to reduce energy costs, asking people to turn off lights won’t cost anything. But changing lightbulbs and installing motion detectors to get larger savings will clearly take some capital. The ROI will be high and the payoff fast, but it still requires some up-front expense.

So the critical distinction here is between costs and investments. Let me be blunt: if your business is unable to allocate any human or financial capital for investment in R&D, customer relationships, people, process changes, or anything – then no strategy, including a green one, will matter right now. Survival will be the only priority, and that means conserving cash above all. But most companies, even in these contemporary times, are still making decisions about where to put their attention, people, and money every day.

For those companies that are navigating these tricky waters but also want to position themselves for dominance in the future, thinking green can make all the difference. The logic for going green is no different from the logic for pursuing other business strategies. Companies look to drive profitability, innovation, customer loyalty, employee engagement, and so on. But unlike with most other strategies, the external forces driving green strategies make this issue unique and unavoidable.

Most of the forces driving companies to go green have not gone away. Environmental crises such as climate change and water shortages continue to evolve. Mega forces such as technology-driven transparency and the rise of the middle class in India and China – which will force the price of oil and other resources up over time – continue to advance. Back here in America, key stakeholders still demand more of companies than ever, especially corporate customers greening their supply chains. Even your employees and consumers, both of whom are under extreme financial pressure, still want some measure of environmental performance and social responsibility in the companies they work for and buy from.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

 

Bring in The ‘Fair’er Sex!

Greater Entry of Women has to be Encouraged at Various levels of Governance, as it is known to be Very Beneficial to Society

History is testimony to the fact that improving participation of and contribution by women in a country is a definite and valuable stride towards prosperity and development. The Indian Constitution does give women several rights, including the right to vote and be elected. But their participation in reality paints a grim picture. According to a UN survey of women in politics in 2008, India belongs to the lowest quartile with just around 9.1% women MPs in parliament. Even some conservative and relatively underdeveloped countries like Mozambique (34.8%) and Rwanda (56.7%) are way ahead. These countries believe greater women participation can improve governance and transparency.

Is India realising this? There have been policy initiatives favourable to women. Reservation has been increased to 33% for women in Gram Panchayat and municipal elections. The Rajya Sabha passed the historic Women Reservation Bill. Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has also promised 50% reservations for women in the upcoming municipal elections in 2012. Currently, Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has 96 (out of 272) women councillors (35% of the total).

There is one most positive factor that often escapes attention while discussing reservations for women. Global experience and empirical evidence has shown that women tend to be the least corrupt in the society and tend to rarely use fraudulent means. Case studies like Grameen Bank in Bangladesh only give loans to women as they have a near to 100% loan return rate.

Read more.....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

Let Technology do it!

The Literacy divide between Urban and Rural India is Particularly Dangerous. Technology can Provide an Effective Solution

Today, millions of Africans are using mobile phones (m-banking) to pay bills, transfer cash and buy everyday items. It is based on the fact that millions of people who don’t own a bank account own a cell phone. The same can be used to bridge the Indian rural-urban divide in terms of literacy. Indian education systems suffer from a non-uniform standard of teaching, teacher absenteeism, low access to schools et al, but technology can be one certain solution.

With 3G and mobile broadband services, internet can be made available to myriad students who don’t have access quality education. With over 612.2 million mobile phone subscribers in India, this can be extremely effective. Distribution of iPads (especially cheaper Indian versions like ‘Adam’) along with the facility of downloading eBooks would go a long way. Adams cost $327 or Rs.15,700 compared to iPads that come for around $499, and further reductions in price are a positive sign. Massive proliferation of such tablets can be immensely beneficial as it would enable eBooks to reach remote villages at a fast pace and take care of the content standardisation problem we face currently. The Union Education Minister last year talked about introducing a touch-screen, wifi enabled, solar powerd tablet PC that costs just Rs.1,600. These are the innovations that have to pursued with extreme passion is India is to take the massive literacy leap.

Information & Communications Technologies for Development (ICT4D) are used by All China Women’s Federation to help rural women get access to updated health information, by Cuba to promote online health initiatives and by Egypt to encourage rural education.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles.

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age WomanIIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting
IIPM Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri on Internet Hooliganism
Arindam Chaudhuri: We need Hazare's leadership
Professor Arindam Chaudhuri - A Man For The Society....
IIPM: Indian Institute of Planning and Management

A Dilemma of Plenty

Wakf boards can Achieve a lot if Managed Professionally

The Sachar Committee created enough sensation across India in its report in June 2006, which highlighted the weak social, economic & educational ground of Indian Muslims.

Are they indeed poor? The Indian Wakf board has a land holding of over 6 lakh acres, with a market value of a whopping Rs 1.2 trillion; more than the combined 2011 budget allocation on health and education in India. This means that Indian Muslims have the third largest land holding after Indian defence and railways. The largest concentration of Wakf properties is in West Bengal (148,200 acres) followed by Uttar Pradesh (122,839 acres). Other states with sizeable Wakf holdings are Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. The current value of Wakf properties in Delhi alone is estimated at over Rs.60 billion. So where lies the problem?

As per the Sachar committee report, the Wakf board presently manages Rs 1.63 billion annually out of its lands, while it can generate around Rs 120 billion if efficiently handled. There is widespread corruption on Wakf properties and least coordination between state boards and the central board. Most boards are headed by incompetent people or low ranking government officials. In addition, Wakf lands are often occupied illegally or locked in protracted litigation. Karnataka HC recently upheld the Wakf Board’s decision to evict the owners of Windsor Manor Sheraton hotel. The local managing committee had extended the lease with Windsor Manor without consulting the board. The latter cancelled the lease in 1981 and the case has been pending since.

Read more....

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2012.

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

For More IIPM Info, Visit below mentioned IIPM articles. 

IIPM Best B School India
Management Guru Arindam Chaudhuri
Rajita Chaudhuri-The New Age Woman
IIPM's Management Consulting Arm-Planman Consulting