Yardi! Remember that name!

She’s impulsive! She’s gutsy! She follows her instincts! They say, whenever you think of ‘a’ Colors, think of Ashwini Yardi!

“When I was on my way to meet Raghav Bahl of Network 18, I was very clear in my head that I am not leaving Zee and moving to Colors. But since Raghav requested, I thought I’d go and politely refuse the offer. But when he explained to me about the kind of channel they were planning, I wanted in immediately!” It’s not that Ashwini Yardi, Programming Head, Colors, is impulsive in her decisions, but the perfect smile on her dusky face is mischievous enough to almost confirm the take.

Yardi’s landing in Zee was also quite on the run only. In her words, “It all happened accidentally.” After completing her college with advertising and marketing as key subjects, Yardi was busy dropping her resume in ad agencies, when one fine day, she got a call from an acquaintance Kunal Kohli at Zee. She went to the Zee office to meet him. Zee was just an year old then. “When I landed in Zee that day, I realised that it was a different ambience, a different working style than what I had been seeing in the agencies where I was dropping my resume. At that time, satellite television was a new phenomena and I just had this inkling that this might be a successful business, so why not give it a shot! And that’s how I landed in my first job at Zee.” The smile doesn’t disappear.

Look at her young disposition and one wouldn’t believe that she already put in fourteen years at Zee Network. Apart from playing a major role in the programming of the group’s flagship channel Zee TV, Yardi was involved in launching most of the channels like ZEE MGM, Music Asia, Zee Cinema etc. Then has the jump to Colors been as fulfilling? Yardi feels that her experience at Viacom 18’s Colors has been completely different from what she has experienced at Zee. “Colors has been like my own baby kind of thing,” she announces proudly glancing towards the small LCD in her office, which has been showing a repeat telecast of Colors’ blockbuster property Ballika Vadhu – rated amongst the top three shows since a long time now – since the start of our meeting.

Yardi accepts she often goes by her gut feeling. Be it joining Zee and later Colors or be it approving a show on child marriage (Ballika Vadhu) as key prime time property. She muses over an incident when a serial Kasam Se was being launched on Zee and Ekta Kapoor was shooting the marriage of one protagonist [Jai Walia nee Ram Kapoor] to Pia. Being troubled by the logic of the marriage, Yardi called Ekta in the midst of shooting and requested the marriage bride be replaced. After initial refusal, Ekta agreed. “Ram Kapoor was totally startled! He couldn’t make out why his bride was switched,” she adds laughingly. If gut feel’s got her this far this good, then we’d surely like to learn the magic mix too. Our ‘gut’sy woman is the first lady entry to the Occult!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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I Love You! I’m serious!!!

Which are the five most deadliest and commonly found viruses that can render your PC obsolecent? 4Ps B&M enlists the pests

The headline appears rather suggestive; it’s not! It’s one of the most deadly computer viruses that have affected the maximum number of PCs till date. [Indeed, the love bug managed to bite well!] Moving away from all expressions and phrases of emotions, let’s talk about something more practically disturbing. When was the last time you downloaded a file from the internet and discovered to your irritation that sometime later, your anti-virus has started bothering you with quarantine warnings? Worse, when was the last time you had to completely reformat your hard drive, made corrupt by the annoying viruses floating around? Annoying? Yes! They pushed you over the edge and made your laptop look like a piano that had forgotten what tunes mean, or some typewriter that your grandpa used some six decades ago, and had suddenly turned illiterate! Yes, blame it on those non-biological program codes floating around which we grandly term ‘viruses’! It’s also true that with every successful step of new breakthrough in the world of anti-virus programming, another deadly virus is born; another hacker; another purpose; another bunch of annoyed victims.

Here are the five most such program codes that are causing much anxiety in the world of PCs. [Go ahead, choose your enemy!]

PEST #1: Conficker

Disabling of Windows services such as Automatic Updates, Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), Windows Defender and Windows Error Reporting, websites related to antivirus software or the Windows Update service becoming inaccessible, user accounts getting locked out et al – that’s precisely what this most devastating virus in recent times, Conficker can do. But this is just the trailer...

Conficker has till date, infected anywhere between 9 to 15 million Microsoft Server Systems running everything from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 Beta. The French Navy, UK Ministry of Defence (including Royal Navy warships and submarines), Sheffield Hospital network, German Bundeswehr and Norwegian Police are some of the high profile victims! [What a clientele!] Microsoft set a bounty of US $250,000 for information leading to the capture of the worm’s author(s).

It’s also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido. It’s available in five different variants – A, B, C, D and E. The initial variant was discovered in early November 2008 and since then 4 others have been identified till December last year. The variants A, B, C and E exploit a loophole in the Windows server services to cause a buffer overflow in which the worm is downloaded in DLL form over the network and then connects to files like svchost.exe, services.exe or Windows Explorer process. The worm pushes and pulls executable payloads over the network, which are then used by the worm to update itself to newer variants, and to install additional malware. It really is today’s PEST #1!

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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S. SRIVASTAVA, MKTG HEAD, MARUTI

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1. Alto’s ‘A fresh new feeling’ ad campaign
2. Esteem’s ‘My daddy’s big car’ campaign
3. ‘India comes home in a Maruti’ commercial
4. Maruti’s ‘Ki kara papa, petrol khatam hi nahin honda’ campaign
5. SX4’s ‘The man amongst cars’ campaign

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

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Sardar kid, yellow polka dot turban, a dinky car...

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Brand: Maruti Suzuki
Agency: Capital Advt.

... and Papa kya kara, petrol khatam hi nahin honda! The beauty of this campaign was in its simplicity and humour; while its effectiveness was in conveying the message. “Till date Maruti products are considered to be high on fuel efficiency!” says the company!

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

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Indeed an ‘Easy Day’ for Bharti!

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It was precisely one year back when Bharti-Walmart JV announced the launch of its convenience stores, Easy Day, in Punjab. “It was a sensible decision to open stores in Punjab and will benefit Bharti in operational terms as it’s for the first time that such stores are being opened in Punjab,” avers R. Subramaniam, MD, Subhiksha. Moreover, investment in metros would have been twice compared to that in tier-II cities, while RoI from such cities is high due to low operating costs. Though the venture, like others, has been affected by the slowdown, it’s still better off than others. The strategy has definitely worked to the last tee.

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


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Better bankrupt than dead, eh?

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The US Congress and Fed should understand that the billions they are pumping into sick companies are not working wonders. They’re not working at all!

So what’s the most discussed oxymoron in the world of business? Bail out! And really speaking, if it wasn’t for all the proscrastinating Hamlets of the corporate world, we wouldn’t have losers triumph atop beggarly citadels. “It is certainly correct to let businesses fail that are poorly managed, rendered obsolete... or if they could not face the challenge of competitors. Creating more debt, will only lead to more problems down the road,” advises Lok Sang Ho, Director, Center for Public Policy, Lingan University, Hong Kong.

Alright, we know we might have hurt a few sentiments here, but keeping emotions aside, the plantiff proceeds as follows... American International Group (AIG), the world’s largest insurance group that took a writedown hit of $11 billion in FY2008 alone. But that was just the beginning of the troubled road. Since last year, the US government has given a mind-blowingly demonic $174 billion to AIG. We will discuss later where all that money went, but for starters, here are some numbers that prove why bailouts don’t work. After all that was given to its, the insurer posted a gut-wrenching $61.7 billion loss in Q4, 2008, the largest in American history! And to prove that the bailout funds have been dumped straight into the Fed’s bin, here’s a number - today AIG’s market value stands at $0.95 billion, having lost $107 billion since March 1, 2008! (Wonder where the $174 billion disappeared!!!) But the American government just doesn’t care; the oxymoron is a tad too dear! So what has been their latest reaction? Well, another $30 billion in fresh capital issued...!!!

So back to the question of where the $174 billion go. Well, reportedly, many claim that $50 billion of that went to two dozen US and European companies, many which include sick ones like Merrill Lynch, Bank of America and Lloyds Banking Group (which separately received a murderous $353 billion on March 8, 2009, as bailout from the UK government, for a 75% stake).

And are we forgetting the world’s largest bank - Citi, led by our very own, Indian-born Vikram Pandit. Citi, till date has received $45 billion in bailout package from the US Treasury. And today, what is left of the company is just a fast dwindling $5.64 billion in market value! (For the records, since the past year alone, Citigroup shares have tumbled by 96% on the NYSE! Some mercy do the gods in America have...)

Now, let’s talk about the Detroit giant - General Motors. Wagoner in his letter to the American Congress wrote, “By lending GM money, you will provide us with a financial bridge... This will allow us to keep operating and complete our restructuring...” (Right Rick, and then we can all go and meet Paris Hilton!) The hearts in the Congress melted, and GM received a total bailout package of $18.88 billion between December 29 and December 31, 2009. So didn’t the ‘bailout creamed with benevolence’ help Rick?

Well, today, GM’s condition has gone from bad to worse (worst?!) and its Mcap has fallen to a measely $0.89 billion! Further, Rick Wagoner has requested for another $30 billion from the Fed! (Oh! whatever happened to those billions?!?!) Commenting on GM’s worsening condition, Jack Welch, Former CEO, GE, once wrote, “The automakers’ boards should take the courageous step of putting their companies into bankruptcy!” ‘Better bankrupt than dead...’ Didn’t some wiseman say this before? (He wasn’t from the Fed or the Congress; was he?)

Steven Philip Warner

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009

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

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Not only is the biggest corporate scam in the history of India reminiscent of the Enron scandal of US, it has also put a blot on the face of India Inc

By Savreen Gadhoke

“It was like riding a tiger, not knowing how to get off without being eaten,” said 57-year-old Ramalinga Raju, Chairman, Satyam Computers, as he confessed his involvement in the Rs.78 billion corporate scam earlier this month. Touted as the biggest corporate scandal in the history of India Inc., experts are drawing imitable similarities with the 2001 fraud case of Enron. Enron, world’s premiere energy resource company, before Chapter 11-ing itself, was charged with accounting frauds of inflating balance sheet figures, and that too in the midst of the US economic slowdown. Circa 2009: Satyam was found in a similar situation of aggrandising company’s books, and that too at a time when the entire nation is struggling with the slowdown. Various assets (both tangible & non-tangible) are at stake: the future of around 53,000 Satyam employees, shareholder’s wealth, the repute of financial watchdogs such as SEBI and the image of India Inc. on the world map. And as the nation was still trying to digest the realities of Satyam fiasco, news came that World Bank has banned Wipro Technologies from doing business with it for the next four years. And as if that was not enough, Infosys Technologies has been charged with a Rs.33 crore service tax evasion charge. Seems like the curtain is slowly rising on the wrong-doings of Indian IT sector. While Raju has relieved himself of the burden of truth and cleared his conscience, he has, in the bargain, soiled the picture of corporate India across the globe. Has the exposure of the Satyam corporate scam tainted Brand India Inc.?

“Yes”, asserts eminent economist, Lord Meghnad Desai, “the unveiling of the corporate scandal at Satyam has cast a bad image of India Inc. on the world map.” And the consequences of the scam are for all to see: following the disclosure, losses to the tune of $2 billion were accounted by stocks of Indian companies listed on NYSE. Professes Van Jackson, Senior Strategy Consultant and a Foreign Policy analyst, “India Inc. is a victim of poor timing… Scandals never reflect well on associated national economies but the timing of the Satyam discovery makes it more damaging than a typical scandal of this magnitude.” It took almost two decades for the likes of Wipro, TCS, HCL Technologies & Infosys to carve a niche for themselves on the world IT map and just one corporate scandal may finish all that.

Avers Brian Moriarty, Associate Director for Communications, Business Roundtable Institute for Corporate Ethics, “This is a serious case of fraud… Value destroying behaviours such as fraud and corruption respect no borders.” More importantly, if other Indian companies are tainted with similar scandals in the short-term, this could damage investor trust and public trust more broadly. A fraud of this magnitude not only serves as a good excuse for companies to look elsewhere for their outsourcing needs but also speaks volumes of the practice of corporate governance exercised by not only the Indian IT sector, but entire India Inc.

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

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An IT company regularly employs disabled persons

Parthasarathy, the project manager of the hospital management systems, is the senior-most employee. “Our MD believes that people with physical disabilities are equally skilled. While many frowned at my disability, he gave me a job. I feel disabled are better suited to the IT field; we have proved it here,” he says. Aravind, who has completed his BA (English), was born blind. “I wanted to work in the IT sector, so I applied for a job here and was immediately recruited and trained in computer operations. Since I am blind, I work with the help of a software called JAWS,” says Aravind.

Kamath, winner of the best employer award from the Government of India, told TSI that disabled employees are more productive than their ‘normal’ counterparts in the IT field. “We keep in constant touch with an NGO that works for the disabled in this regard.” And how is LSIS coping with recession? “We use innovative methods, our products are cost effective. As we work in the Indian market, the global meltdown hasn’t affected us much.”....Continue

She doesn't attend the PM’s meeting on national security. Her cabinet decisions are unilateral

A recalcitrant Mayawati denied the charges, sent prime accused in the MK Gupta case to jail and got a clean chit from Gupta’s family saying they were satisfied with the state police investigations and did not feel the need for a CBI probe. But her birthday shehnai wailed, rather than screamed. No towering cake was cut, and she tried to play messiah by unveiling welfare schemes for the poor. BSP leaders admitted that Gupta’s brutal murder has become a major setback for their preparations for the coming Lok Sabha polls.

In Mayawati’s scheme of things the polls are a launch pad for a career in national politics. Buoyed by Communist Party of India’s general secretary AB Bardhan’s projections of her being the next prime minister, Mayawati is leaving no stone unturned to fulfill her dream. From championing the cause of Bahujan (‘majority’, the downtrodden) to Sarvajan (all communities), she has come a long way. While her former advocate general Satish Chandra Mishra is her interface with Brahmans, she has roped in former Union Minister of Congress, Akhilesh Das and perennial party-hopper Naresh Agarwal to woo upper caste Banias.


Sources say BSP might field at least 35 Brahman candidates out of 80 seats from the state for the Parliament. This, along with about a dozen Brahmans in ministerial positions in the state, has made Mayawati’s critics rechristen her party as Brahman Samaj Party. The rising stock of Brahmans in the BSP has eclipsed the Muslim leadership so much that the old Maya loyalist Naseemuddin Siddiqi – who was till last month in charge of not just UP but Delhi polls too – has been asked to take care of party’s Muslim constituency only.....Continue

The devil in the detail

In the year gone by, there has not been a single day when one would not have heard the word '3G' (used to denote third generation spectrum) rattling on the news channels. From its delay to its pricing to its allotments – almost everything has become a matter of controversy. And this controversy, coupled with the hype, is ensuring that everyone in India is aware that we are soon going to embrace this new technology, which would drastically transform our mobile experience. Well, most people are still wondering when we would exactly be able to experience the might of 3G. But then there are also others who are worried about larger issues such as, what exactly this 3G thing is all about, how it is different from WiMAX and how it has the potential to drastically enhance their mobile telephonic experience in the times to come? TSI presents a ready reckoner for the same.

As most people are aware, 3G stands for third generation spectrum. India is currently operating on a 2.5G. In layman’s language, all 3G would do is to enlarge the current pipe of spectrum, so that much more traffic and data can seamlessly pass through. “3G System represents the next step in evolution of mobile cellular communication. 2G systems in mobile cellular communications mainly focus on voice, while 3G systems support increased data communications and wireless broadband Internet access,” informs Nripendra Mishra, Chairman, TRAI . This makes us confront another big issue – how would the coming of 3G impact us as consumers? Looking from a more technical perspective, the factor that differentiates 3G and 2G networks is how quickly data can be sent and received. Industry experts state that 3G networks have the capability to send data up to 40 times the speed of earlier digital networks. And as 3G networks have markedly greater capacity along with better spectrum efficiency than 2G systems for mobile communications, it would enable the delivery of triple play converged communication services through wireless media. So subscribers of these services would have an instant access to their inbox, receive video calls, stream videos from YouTube, download music tracks and even watch live television shows on their mobile phone.....Continue

Kremlin steps on the gas

Russia-Ukraine dispute leaves Europe shivering

In the late 1980s, American President Ronald Reagan had cautioned Europe, in a hushed voice, against relying too much on Russian energy supplies, claiming that one day the Kremlin might find it alluring enough to twist it into a blunt-force foreign-policy device. It was brushed aside as Reagan’s infamous ‘cynicism’. This week proved he was just being plain foresighted. In the gas conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both sides are licking their wounds after 10 days of hostility. While it has emerged that the pumping of gas will be taken up again in days to come and the chill from the lives of millions in the freezing winter in southern Europe would promptly pass, the damage done politically and economically to both fighting parties will defy any quick fix. “Both stand to lose if they fail to reach a resolution: Russia will appear vicious and callous; Ukraine’s trustworthiness as a purveyor to Europe will be called into question and its bickering leadership will lose integrity internally and overseas,” Dmitri Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center told TSI.

Meanwhile, Russia declined to resume gas exports to EU via Ukraine early this week, after condemning Kiev for making objectionable changes in the deal that was painstakingly stitched up during the weekend. In a spell of shuttle diplomacy, the Czech prime minister, Mirek Topolanek, got Russia’s Prime Minister Vladimir V Putin to sign in Moscow, and then flew to Kiev, to get Ukrainian PM, Yulia V Tymoshenko, to do so too.

The deal had called for immediate resumption of gas under the supervision of global monitors who would guarantee smooth delivery of the fuel to Europe. Gazprom, Russia’s gas monopoly, cut supplies for Ukrainian utilisation on January 1 over the latter’s alleged fuel debts, and then blocked exports to the EU via Ukraine after condemning it of 'stealing' the gas. Underneath the wrangling over shipment fees and rates, Russia’s outline was clear. Ukraine has infuriated the Kremlin with its proposition to join NATO. Moscow saw an opening to split Europe and weaken those nations it still deems inside its sphere of influence. However, Russia is also worried that the West might deny it capital and technology to upgrade its ailing refineries. Therefore, it's worth watching who will blink first. If it is the West, then a new phase in history will start with Russia in the ring, and not on the sidelines....Continue

Versatility, thy name is…

…Paresh Rawal. The actor extraordinaire, who pulls off comic capers with as much aplomb as the wiles of the scheming creep, is often the un-publicised draw in most films. Here in an exclusive conversation with Neha Sarin…

What made you take up acting as a career?
It’s true that Naseer bhai (Naseruddin Shah) inspired me to get into acting, otherwise I'd have stuck to theatre alone. It’s only when I saw Naseer bhai and Om Puri, I realised that this is the right kind of acting. One must jump into it and must do this kind of acting…then you feel justified. I don’t know what I would have been into, if not for acting.

After playing the villain in the 80s and 90s, you became increasingly associated with comedy. How did the transition come about?
When you do justice to a villain’s role, you get bombarded with those kinds of offers, that’s how this industry works. But to my shock and surprise, Ketan Mehta walked in and offered me “Sardar” after auditioning a lot of actors and then he chose me – he had the faith in me. Then “Sir”, followed by “Tamanna” and “Raja”, after which I was bombarded with roles of the heroine’s brother or the hero’s father. Some of them were intense and some were plain stupid, but in the end I was playing a positive kind of a guy. And then came "Hera Pheri". Post "Hera Pheri", I was bombarded with comic roles.

What makes your chemistry with Akshay Kumar so brilliant?
He is one actor who has come up so brilliantly and I respect him a lot for that. He made it without help from any godfather. He came up doing the kind of roles that pahalwans were doing, then slowly and steadily he made his mark. And it’s not easy to go from an action hero to becoming a dependable star, which in the industry means an all-rounder – the one who can do comedy, tragedy, romance…it’s an achievement.

How do you adapt yourself to such disparate roles, each with its unique quirks?
I didn’t know if I was versatile, but my theatre training did allow me to try my hand at different kinds of roles. And more importantly, I desired to do different kind of roles and I guess that made me do justice to each of them.

"Oye Lucky" was a fun film; was it fun on the sets too?
In my entire career, I worked with very good people or very talented people but the combination of talent and goodness is very rare to come by. So it was a lot of fun working in "Oye Lucky". I played three different characters in the film and that was a lot of fun too. Dibakar Banerjee is one of the brightest directors in the industry.

How was it working with Abhay Deol?
What an actor! He is a highly underrated actor; he grows on you. He is one actor who is not concerned with his looks or six packs etc. He is only concerned about his character. He is sure, you see, unlike any other hero who probably would not pick up such risky roles. It takes a lot of courage to do such roles. That is why, he is here to stay. Bahut lambi race ka ghoda hai…

How was your experience working with other veteran actors in "Maharathi"?
It’s a lovely thriller and its appeal lay in the strong storyline and the kind of actors that are part of this film… It was joy, joy and sheer joy all the way, working with the likes of Naseer bhai, Om Puri, Boman Irani… It’s a kind of a dream come true when you work with the finest actors that the industry has to offer – the people you love and respect, they who inspire you…therefore, the end product is good.....Continue

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…AND YET, YES WE CAN!

On the night of November 26, when terrorists stormed the Taj, in a room on one of the floors, there was one of India Inc’s bright young beacons lying on the floor, alive, but terrified, confused and unsure. Next to him on the floor lay others, some bleeding, others perhaps weeping… A wall away, they could hear the crack of assault rifles, the cries of victims as they crashed lifeless in corridors and rooms and the deafening sound of explosions. As the acrid smell of the carnage wafted in with the smoke, panic set in. How much longer before the terrorists enter our room? Will they kill us all? What do we do? Questions raged in every head, including the young CEO’s… “We did not know what to do? We tried barricading ourselves inside the room… but it was rather flimsy…” he said on TV, after he was rescued the next day. He thanked providence and his spiritual practice for carrying him through those harrowing hours, for there was little else to bank on.

That same evening, in another part of the hotel, seven South Africans were dining in one of the restaurants when they heard gun shots inside the hotel. When they realised that there were terrorists in the hotel, they spoke to the other diners and told them who they were – bodyguards in the country on an assignment, protecting international cricketers – and explained that they had the training to handle this situation. “People remained calm”, one of them told a news channel, as they moved more than a hundred people out of the restaurant. “…it had a large glass area which could have been dangerous…” They switched off the lights to retain the element of surprise and then the other guests were herded into a conference room which was then barricaded by the South Africans with relatively sturdy objects like refrigerators and heavy tables. The bodyguards had armed themselves with what they could – cleavers and knives and were considering various possibilities when they realised that the building was on fire. They knew they had to evacuate, checked to see if it was ‘all clear’, got word through to the security personnel that they shouldn’t shoot and finally through the fire exit, guided 120 hostages to safety (including an old woman who was carried in a chair, down 25 flights of stairs!) ....Continue

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Dog Squad !

Dogs vied with each other at proving their skills in Kerala Police academy Passing-Out Parade too. A robbery scene was enacted by trainers, following which German Shepherd Lisa traced the ‘robber’ by sniffing his handkerchief and the weapon he left behind, as Manikantan, her trainer watched. Salma was adjudged the best tracker dog, Annie the best sniffer dog and Lisa the best demonstrator at the Academy.

C Bhuvanachandran, Superintendent of Police at the Dog Training School, proudly recalled the feats of the newly trained dogs. Brownie, who took charge in Thiruvananthapuram had detected bombs from a suitcase at the airport. Salma had even exposed a jewellery theft in Kottayam and Stella traced the culprit in the sensational killing of Chavakkad schoolboy Nizamuddin. Tarzan, merely by sniffing a stone thrown by the criminal at the Sree Narayana statue at Kollam, had nosed him out of his lair for the police.

Yeomen services notwithstanding, training centres have their own woes to contend with. “Life expectancy of a dog is about 10 years. And 18 of the 24 dogs in Kerala dog squad are 8-year olds. They need replacement. Every district needs a minimum of three dogs and spare dogs. The academy will be able to supply the required number of dogs only by 2012,” explains Alexander Jacob.

Nonetheless, amidst the awe and excitement buzzing in the crowd of spectators at the first Passing Out Parade of the four-legged commandos in the Academy, it was evident that the war on terror has a dependable, though mortal, ally in man’s best friend too; the only concern being if the lives of our brave men have gotten so dispensable, what of the dogs?....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

The new Line of Control

It is surprising, always from the benefit of hindsight, how much Indian investigators and the media now know about Mumbai’s bloody slaughter. The light and sound, the flurry or charges and counter charges by various responsible hands in the government, and the unseemly recriminations in the aftermath of one of the greatest security disasters in recent times, has added a new word to the lexicon – `actionable intelligence.’

What is actionable intelligence? Consider the following:

November 22, 2008: (two days before the attack): Shivraj Patil tells India’s police chiefs: "To control terrorism in the hinterland, we have to see that infiltration does not take place through the sea routes.’’

November 13, 2008: (a fortnight before the assaults) PM tells BIMSTEC summit, "Terrorism and threats from the sea continue to challenge the authority of the state."

March 11, 2008: A.K. Antony warns International Maritime Search and Rescue Conference of the "dangers of terror attacks from the sea in the region", admitting that the Coast Guard faces shortage of manpower and hardware.

September 18, 2008: RAW intercepted a phone conversation in which a LeT source says there is a plan to target a hotel at the Gateway of India through the sea route.

September 24, 2008: RAW identifies hotels which could be attacked: Taj, Marriott, the Land's End and Sea Rock.

If the ultimate aim of terrorists – apart from causing mayhem, murder and demoralisation– was to discredit the Indian security establishment, then it is a job well done. Waking up in the aftermath of an onslaught which has claimed over 200 lives (an understated figure?) and many hundreds maimed, the story of many gaps in the government action makes up for a picture which is not new .In line of fire is the Naval chief, Admiral Sureesh Mehta. Defence Minister, A.K.Anthony, pulled up the Navy Chief asking him how they missed the intelligence warning?....Continue

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The Sunday Indian

and to begin with, it was only a B-School fest!

Other popular events included Best Manager, Creative Writing, Ad-Guru, Flip Back and Treasure Hunt. The much-awaited evenings had an exciting line-up of rounds. Whilst the choreography teams set the stage on fire, the winner of the Solo Singing Competition walked away with a free trip to Switzerland. Mr and Ms Amaze won Rs 50,000 each. The Fashion Show highlighted the Amaze 2008 raison d’etre, with a slide-show illustrating global problems and suggested solutions. Adding lustre to the glitzy affair were Mukesh Tyagi (last seen on screen in “Fashion”), Shahnaz Husain (celebrated beautician), Muzaffar Ali (fashion designer), Salma Sultan (TV personality), Karishma Agarwal (MD, Galaxy Group of Hotels and lead dancer in Shiamak Davar’s troupe). Amaze 2008 thus delivered every bit of the fun that was promised, all the way to the grand finale.

On the evening of 14th November, DJ Suketu churned his latest chartbusters at Sun City Gardens and soon the jostling crowd succumbed to the dance beats. But the best was yet to come! Delhi witnessed its finest retro fiesta ever when Boney M featuring Marcia Barrett stepped on the stage and there followed 60 minutes of exhilarating music, as an audience of over 15,000 swung to the tunes of “Rasputin”, “Belfast”, “Rivers of Babylon” and yes... “Daddy Cool”.

At the end of the day, IIPM’s fest, Amaze, proved to be an apt forum to bring together youth from across the globe and advance synergy, peace and tolerance to the world – a mission well accomplished!....Continue

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