Why is it that people still don’t invest in gold mutual funds? Well, if you think otherwise, ask yourself, have you?

Benchmark started off with an initial corpus of about Rs.1 billion (in its fund titled Gold BeES); & from thereon, “we have got a very good response... Since the listing, the number of investors has increased over 70% & the number of units by over 30%, & that too in just about three months,” thumped Rajan Mehta, Executive Director, Benchmark Asset Management, to B&E. R Raja, Sr. Vice President, UTI Asset Management Company, was as equally excited, “From initial corpus of 1,399 kgs, our corpus has swollen to 1,581 kgs as on July 17, 2007”.

Though Ritesh Jain, Head-Fixed Income, Kotak Mahindra AMC (initial corpus Rs.400 million), stated dejectedly to B&E, “The response has been a tad lower than our expectations as the collections that we have garnered could have been higher by another 20-25%.” And there lies the most critical question. Should a 30% increase in units (as in Benchmark’s case), or a 181 kg increase in gold asset holdings (as in UTI’s case) really be a cause to rejoice?

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

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Beyond outsourcing

Human Resources is no longer just another cut-&-dry industry – only involved in solving the mundane day to- day human-related issues in the organisation. In fact, in today’s competitive environment, the changing role of human resources management has become increasingly complex & challenging. Following the boom of Information Technology, if forecasts are anything to go by, India is now on the threshold of a Human Resource Outsourcing (HRO) boom. Nowadays, HR managers are strategic business partners involved in advancing the enterprise’s strategic objectives. Quite simply put, with the companies firmly putting administrative work on a backseat, it is the new wave of HRO that is driving HR teams both globally as well as in India.

With double-headed challenge of reducing costs whilst improving the customer’s experience cited as one of the key reasons behind the HR outsourcing practice, it is Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) bug that is biting companies, as it is a viable option to outsource this activity. In an exclusive interview with B&E, Hastha Krishnan, CEO, Ma Foi Global Search Services Ltd. (MGSSL), says, “The HR outsourcing is at a very nascent stage in India even today, especially in comparison with the mature economies like the UK & the US.” The statement does ring a certain truth, considering that the current size of global recruitment industry is about $140 billion, out of which, only a miniscule $1.2 billion is outsourced. However, the twist in the tale is that the global RPO industry is growing at humongous 3.6% annually. In contrast, the size of organized recruitment industry in India is about $200 million. Adding the unorganized sector to it, the size of the Indian recruitment industry stands at a respectable $400 million.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008
An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank The Sunday Indian

‘Farmer exit policy’

In a shaming indictment, the report states that for the first time since the Green Revolution, the foodgrains (wheat, cereals & rice) production has hit an all time low. It is indeed a sad story that the annual per capita availability of foodgrains, which had stood at 179 kgs during the heydays of the Revolution in 1960s, has dismally reduced to 174 kgs in current times.

Shocking is the fact that today, the per capita availability of cereals in the country is a mere 12 kgs as against 19 kgs during the Green Revolution days (a fall of a numbing 37%). Nothing represents the government’s gross neglect more than the fact that in the last four years, the foodgrains production in the country has declined by roughly 8%, when the population has registered an 8% growth during the same time-period. According to experts, if this policy bias against the rural sector continues unabated, by as soon as 2011- 12, India will become a net importer of foodgrains. Unbelievably, while in the early 1980s, agriculture contributed to 20% of the gross capital formation in the country, by the dawn of the 21st century, its share had reduced to a puny 6%.

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Source: IIPM Editorial, 2008

An IIPM and Management Guru Prof. Arindam Chaudhuri's Initiative

IIPM Arindam Chaudhuri 4Ps Business & Marketing Business & Economy Kkoooljobs Planman Media Planman Consulting Planman Marcom Planman Technologies Planman Financial Planman Motion Pictures GIDF The Daily Indian IIPM Think Tank The Sunday Indian