IIM : Indian Institute of Management

MICA beats IIM-A to win the national L’Oreal Brandstorm Finals

In a close contest, the team from Ahmedabad based Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA) aced the team from prestegious IIM, Ahmedabad in the finals of BrandStorm 2007, a marketing plan contest organized by cosmetic company L’Oréal.

The finals were held on 27th March 2007 at JBIMS, Mumbai. Speaking with MBAUniverse.com, L’Oreal’s India MD Didier Villanueva’s said, “Overall the presentations were much better than last year. The two teams from IIM A and MICA were on the top of the heap. It was tough to decide but in the end we gave the award to the team from MICA. It was a more holistic presentation.”

MICA team will now fly to Paris to compete against the national winning teams from each country and present their Marketing Strategies to L’Oréal’s CEO, Jean-Paul Agon and other L’Oréal top marketing managers.

More : mbauniverse.com

Scottish heritage, Indian culture

Cairn India has drawn strength from its Scottish parent, but also built new systems and processes to support its role in the countrys oil sector.

Edinburgh-headquartered Cairn Energy PLC has a presence in India dating back less than a dozen years; it moved headquarters from Chennai to Gurgaon only a year-and-a-half ago, which is when some serious strategising on the human resource policy front began; and an Indian entity named Cairn India Limited listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange as recently as January 9 this year.

The lack of historical baggage was coupled with an opportunity to fashion a new organisational culture. Processes and systems now in use at Cairn India (which has working interests in 15 blocks, including Ravva in Andhra Pradesh, Cambay Offshore in Gujarat and Mangala in Rajasthan) are the product of a cross-functional team that was tasked with drawing up new a new strategy, competency model, vision and ideology.

More : business-standard.com

IIM Ahmedabad to hike fees soon

The Indian Institutes of Management in Bangalore and Indore hiked their fees for the postgraduate programme and IIM-Ahmedabad is likely to follow suit after its board meeting on March 31.

IIM-Bangalore raised its fee for the postgraduate programme in management by Rs 75,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh, while IIM-Indore hiked the fee from Rs 1.50 lakh to Rs 1.90 lakh from the coming academic session. The IIM-B board approved the hike and its director Prakash G Apte justified the move, saying students earn between Rs 8 lakh and Rs 10 lakh a year after the programme and could easily afford the increase.

The Indian Institute of Management Calcutta has proposed to hike its fees from the next session. There is a proposal for hike in fees from Rs 1.75 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. It, however, has to be ratified by the board, IIM-C head admissions Ashish Bhattacharya said.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

IIM alumni hail verdict, say their fight has not gone waste

With tears welling their eyes, IIM alumni, who showed remarkable perseverance in fighting the Manjunath murder case, today termed the court verdict convicting all the accused as a triumph of truth.

Several batchmates of S Manjunath, an Indian Oil Sales Manager whose murder sent shock waves across the country, sobbed when District Judge S M A Abidi pronounced the verdict.

They, however, felt happy that their efforts had not gone waste.

More : hindu.com

Now, shell out Rs 75,000 more to study at IIM-B

Its official now. Students who have enrolled for the post-graduate diploma in management (PGDM) programme at the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, will have to pay Rs 2.5 lakh per annum. At present, the fee is Rs 1.75 lakh.

Announcing the fee hike after a board meeting on Monday, IIM-B director Prakash G Apte said: At an earlier board meeting, we were deliberating over the Rs 2-lakh figure, but at the IIM, we spend Rs 4 lakh per student. Since most of our students come from a fairly comfortable background, we fixed this amount.

Apte said the increasing salaries of students is also a reason. Average starting salaries today are in the range of Rs 10-12 lakh. Im sure students can afford Rs 2.5 lakh.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Justice to Manjunath as main accused gets death

The main accused in the 2005 murder of S. Manjunath, who refused to surrender to the fuel adulterers, was sentenced to death as the young mans father said justice was rendered to his brave son Manju.

Relieved with the judgment, the young mans father compared the judge with god.

While Pawan Kumar Mittal alias Monu will be hanged to death, his seven accomplices, charged with criminal conspiracy, have been awarded life sentence.

More : indiaenews.com

Vijaypat Singhania IIM-A board chairman

Vijaypat Singhania, chairman emeritus of Raymond Limited has been named as the new chairman of the society and the board of governors of Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) for a period of five years from the day he takes over the responsibility.

The Union ministry of human resource and development announced this on Friday. Singhania was also in the board of governing council of IIM-A in the years 1994-99. Singhania has been appointed after chairman and chief mentor officer, Infosys Technologies NR Narayana Murthys five year term as the chairman of the society and the Board of Governors of IIM-A ended on March 10.

Singhania is expected to preside over the 42nd annual IIM-A convocation on March 31 at the IIM-A campus where Union finance minister P Chidambaram is the chief guest. Currently, Singhania is the sheriff of Mumbai.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The man, the scientist and the visionary

It is surprising that the first full-fledged biography of the charismatic, dynamic visionary Vikram Sarabhai has taken so many years. Learning about Vikrams death at the age of nine, Amrita Shah, now a columnist, has authored the biography of the renaissance man of science, the founder of ISRO, PRL, IIM-A, ORG apart from inspiring an young nation.

To begin with, the book narrates the life of the Sarabhais, briefly portraying the clan through historic incidents in the pre-Independence era. Quite a few of the characters are fascinating, like Ambalal, Vikrams father and owner of the biggest textile mill in Ahmedabad; his sister Ansuya, a labour leader, or the fiery freedom fighter Mridula, the living example of nishkama karma. And the ambience of arts and culture the Sarabhai children grew up with.

Then the book traces the scientific pursuit of young Vikram under the leadership of Sir CV Raman, and many other leading physicists all over the world, who were to shape his unique vision.

More : newindpress.com

Why this IIM grad prefer social work

Her driver father had little education to help her with studies. And in Class V, Shallu Gusain, had even failed her English exams. There was a happy twist to her story though — the 18-year-old now teaches English to students who are at times older to her. The man who has made this possible is an IIM-Ahmedabad graduate who gave up the lure of making big money to run a school where learning would be fun.

And Shallu is not his only success story. At Manzil, located in the midst of bustling Khan Market, Ravi Gulati has helped many children to realise their dreams. Students from two to 28, fill the classes. They come from the nearby servant quarters, slum clusters, government schools and colleges.

A board outside the school simply reads, No. 13 - Manzil. As you climb up the stairs and enter the flat, you find a medley of students either narrating stories in English, learning maths the fun way, singing, dancing, or picking up rudimentary skills in theatre. There are no marks or grades in this school, no awards, or scoldings. For the 100-odd boys and girls who come here, Manzil aims to make schooling a lesson in life skills. As Ravi says: The idea is to take education out of the books and make it real. We allow children their space to learn and build their confidence through practical learning — whether it is through English conversation, play of numbers in maths or computer skills.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

Vijaypat Singhania nominated to IIM-A board

Speculation over who the new chairman of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA), will be, was laid to rest on Friday evening. The ministry of human resources development, headed by Arjun Singh, has nominated Vijaypat Singhania as the successor to Infosys chief mentor NR Narayana Murthy, who retired recently.

Singhania, chairman emeritus of Raymond Ltd, was the dark horse in the race for the IIMA chairmanship. Aditya Birla group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla and Sunil Bharti Mittal were also said to be strong contenders at one stage. Singhania now takes over as chairman of the society and the IIM board of governors for a period of five years. His nomination comes just a week before the annual IIMA convocation scheduled for March 31.

At one stage in the race, Anil Ambani was also said to be a contender. His brother Mukesh Ambani is already chairman of the IIM, Bangalore, board. The HRD ministry plays a major role in the appointment of all IIM chairmen. Since Anil Ambani is already a member of IIMAs governing council, he should have had a good chance. But his strong political association with the Samajwadi Party obviously worked against him, a source said on condition of anonymity.

More : dnaindia.com

Vijaypat Singhania new chairman of IIM Ahmedabad

Renowned aviator and Chairman Emeritus of the Raymond group Vijaypath Singhania has been appointed Chairman of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad for a term of five year. Seventy-year-old Sanghania is also Sheriff of Mumbai since December 2005.

Singhania replaces Narayan Murthy whose term expired on March 10. Singhania is at present in London, but is expected to take charge before March 31, the day the convocation of the IIMA is fixed.

He has an old association with the IIM Ahmedabad. He was on the Board of Governors of the Institute for five years from 1994 to 99.

More : gujaratglobal.com

Justice for Manjunath

The judgment in the Indian Oil official S Manjunaths murder case that sparked a nationwide outcry will be delivered today, 16 months after the 27-year-old IIM Lucknow graduate was gunned down. Majunath was killed apparently for opposing petrol adulteration by a pump owner.

Manjunaths death is an irreparable loss that his family is yet to come to terms with. And they now want justice.

It should be a lesson for people who own arms and use them indiscriminately, as well as petrol pump owners who are adulterating petrol and selling it. They should get severe punishment. Not just me, but the whole world is watching, said Manjunaths father Shanmugham.

More : timesnow.tv

Manjunath murder verdict today

The District and Sessions court of Lakhimpur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh will deliver its verdict in the much-awaited S Manjunath murder case on Friday.

Manjunath was a sales officer with Indian Oil Corporation Limited and was allegedly murdered in 2005 for blowing the lid off the fuel adulteration racket and fuel mafia rampant in Uttar Pradesh.

An graduate of IIM-Lucknow, Manjunath was killed on November 15, 2005 and his bullet-ridden body was recovered on November 20, 2005 from neighbouring Sitapur district.

More : ibnlive.com

World Bank funds in hand, they engineer upgradation

Equipped with World Bank funds made available through Central Governments National Projects Implementation Unit (NPIU), four engineering colleges and two polytechnics from State have finally launched on mission upgradation: from procuring new equipment to settling on IIM-A and Harvard University for introducing faculty members to the latest practices in the world of engineering.

The World Bank had allocated Rs 85 crore for the purpose two years ago. However, the disbursal of funds was held up as colleges making use of the funds were required to be at least partially autonomous, which none of the four colleges - LD Engineering College, Chandkheda Engineering College, Dharmsinh Desai Institute of Technology (DDIT) and Government Engineering College Modasa- or the Government Polytechnic at Ahmedabad and Surat, were. After a special autonomy was granted to them by the State Government last year, the funds were released to the institutes. While LD Engineering College received Rs 30 crore, Chandkheda Engineering College received Rs 20 crore, DDIT received Rs 18 crore and GIC Modasa got Rs 15 crore. The two polytechnics received Rs 1 crore each.

The entire upgradation plan is expected to be over by June this year, which is also the deadline set by the NPIU. A team from NPIU had visited the six institutes in January, but finding that funds were yet to be utilised, it had pushed back the deadline for final review to June.

More : cities.expressindia.com

IIM tagged defence guys bag plum jobs

The respect and protocol accorded to officers on the basis of their ranks appears to have found favour at the boardroom levels too.

Armed with the IIM brand name – or that of top institutes like MDI Gurgaon and XLRI – retired defence officers are managing to rake in packages that are more than comparable to packages offered to the institutes flagship post-graduate programme (PGP) course students.

The officers are pass outs of the six-month Certificate Course in Business Administration which has been initiated by the Directorate-General of Resettlement, Ministry of Defence (DGR-MoD) in association with the IIMs at Ahmedabad, Indore, Kolkata, Bangalore, formerly Lucknow, XLRI, MDI and Narsee Monjee Institute of Mgt Studies.

More : business-standard.com

IIMs IITs increasing seats for quota

The IIMs and the IITs have decided to have a slow increase in the percentage of seats for the OBC quota implementation laid by the Veerappa Moily Oversight Committee.

The Moily panel has asked all the IITs and IIMs to increase the seats by 18 percent for over three years so as to achieve 54 percent expansion in the seats and at the same time to reserve 9 percent for the OBC students every year so that these institutes can meet the target of 27 percent.

Only two IITs - Kanpur and Roorkee are increasing their seats by 18 percent and will reserve 9 percent for OBC in the coming academic session. IITs at Mumbai, Chennai, Kharagpur and Guwahati are going to increase their seats by 13 percent and will reserve the half for the OBCs. IIT Delhi is going to have a least increase of 10 percent and will reserve 5 percent for the OBC in the next coming academic session

More : indiaedunews.net

Salary up by 45 pc at IIM-Is final placements

IIM Indores Batch of 2007 signed off with a total of 329 offers to its 114 students (at 2.89 offers per student) from 67 companies, including an unprecedented 29 new ones. Average salary of accepted offers went up 46.1 pc from 8.5 lakhs to 12.35 lakhs. With this, in the past 3 years, the average salaries have gone up by almost 100 pc. The highest salary on offer was US$ 110,000 offered by a leading Indian IT firm. And with 12 international offers, the students of IIM-I are all set to make a mark on the world.

With a batch hailing from diverse educational backgrounds – doctors, CAs, media, science and commerce graduates, and a few engineers, the recruiters had a vast talent pool to choose from. Daring to go beyond the lure of the lucre, the placements saw some students taking unconventional decisions to leave high-paying offers to take up their dream jobs or even to dive into the unknown by accepting new profiles.

This year, IIM Indore stepped up to the next level in job profiles. Recognizing the talent on offer, a host of new companies swooped down on campus offering a wide range of profiles. Even campus regulars came back with meatier roles, offering greater responsibilities.

More : pagalguy.com

Profiles get more interesting at IIM -A PGP-ABM placements

The Post Graduate Programme in Agri-business Management (PGP-ABM) at IIM Ahmedabad batch of 20 students received 35 offers this year. Recruitments 2007 saw average salaries increasing by 25 pc for freshers and 20 pc for laterals. It also gives credence to the tremendous value addition to the ABM students who undergo common academic module with the PGP programme for the first year of study.

Greater job diversity was the distinguishing feature of placements this year. The PGPABM students bagged consulting and advisory roles in RABO bank, one of the largest bank worldwide, engaged in agri-financing and consulting. Excited about his job profile in RABO bank, Manoj Nair, who got placed as Manager, Research/Strategic Advisory, (Food and Agribusiness) said, This has opened yet another major sector where ABM grads would be required in large numbers in the coming years. Being an international concern the exposure will be challenging as well as rewarding.

Yet another new profile in offer was that of knowledge banking in YES bank. While continuing the long association with the big names in sectors of Food, Supply chain, Procurement, Agricultural finance, Retail and Commodity trading, the placements this year also saw interest of FMCG giants like Pepsi and Marico who participated in the process for the first time.

More : pagalguy.com

IIM grads to regulate market

M Damodaran should be pleased. Indias brightest are giving up lucrative job-offers at blue chip companies to join the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The capital markets regulator is recruting from IIM campuses for the first time in its 15-year history. Though the offers were modest, a handful of IIM students at Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Kolkata and Lucknow have signed up to join the market regulator.

The Sebi chairman recently said the organisation is looking for bright students from law and management schools. This was aimed at bringing new and fresh ideas to an organisation, that has been singled out for being dependant on old hands. Sebi was offering two profiles - one to monitor legal compliance especially the IPO channel and the second was to work on the restructuring and reform of Indian bourses.

At both IIM Ahmedabad and IIM Kolkota, two students each have opted for Sebi out of the handful offers made. Elsewhere, one student each from IIM Lucknow and IIM Bangalore were selected to join Sebi. While the student from IIM Lucknow is still considering the offer, the student from IIM Bangalore is taking it up, it is learnt.

More : economictimes.indiatimes.com

These IIM students want to follow their own dreams

Eleven students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) have this year said no to attractive pay packages during the campus placement drive as they want to follow their own dreams.

A number of leading global and national firms had pitched their tents at the five-day placement event ending Monday at the IIMA campus here, offering salaries in the range of $225,000 to $300,000 for international jobs and between Rs.6 million and Rs.10 million a year for Indian jobs.

However, the 11 students of the prestigious business school either opted out of placements or rejected job offers to start their own enterprise, IIMA authorities told the media Tuesday.

More : theindiancatholic.com

280 top b-brains take the final bow at IIM

Brain drain may just be passé as a concept. On the final day at the Indian Institute of Management campus here, several toppers said they want to stay put to enjoy the ride with the emerging India. On Saturday, 280 students were awarded degrees and diplomas at the institutes 21st annual convocation.

India is growing at a rapid pace and even NRIs and foreign entrepreneurs are setting up shop here. It will be quite satisfying to stay on and contribute in the countrys progress, said Gautam Motwani, the gold medallist topper.

But a disconcerting fact to emerge was the lack of female students as the countrys top biz-brains celebrated successful completion of their programmes. Girls still have to face many hurdles when it comes to education, particularly at a higher level, Pranshu Gupta, winner of the Best Girl Student award, said. My parents played a vital role in my career but I know many friends who were equally talented but were not allowed to study further. Education is still not a priority for girls in small cities and towns. There were only 30 female students, m ost of them from metropolitan cities, out of the 280 passouts.

More : cities.expressindia.com

Foreign placements losing their sheen for IIM-A students

An increasing number of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, students are preferring to work in India overcoming the fascination to go abroad or are opting out of the placement rituals to start their own ventures.

The final placements of the current batch of the IIM-A two-year post graduate programme, which completed on Monday evening, saw 124 national and international companies, 14 more than last years 110 companies, recruiting all the 224 students in the first two days after 11 opted out of the placements or rejected offers to start their own ventures.

As high as 72 per cent of the students have accepted offers to work in India, while only 63 students of the total of 235 have accepted international placements 13 per cent would be in the United Kingdom and 8 per cent in the United States. In the placements last year, six students had opted out to start their own ventures. There were 11 students who rejected international offers in preference to working in India.

More : hindu.com

These IIM students want to follow their own dreams

Eleven students of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) have this year said no to attractive pay packages during the campus placement drive as they want to follow their own dreams.

A number of leading global and national firms had pitched their tents at the five-day placement event ending Monday at the IIMA campus here, offering salaries in the range of $225,000 to $300,000 for international jobs and between Rs.6 million and Rs.10 million a year for Indian jobs.

However, the 11 students of the prestigious business school either opted out of placements or rejected job offers to start their own enterprise, IIMA authorities told the media Tuesday.

More : indiaedunews.net

Railways hire IIM experts for freight corridor

The mutual admiration of Indian Railways and the prestigious Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) seems to be growing.

After IIM-Ahmedabad invited railway minister Lalu Prasad to deliver a lecture on the railways turnaround last year, the public behemoth has appointed a three-member team from IIM-Calcutta to prepare a business plan for a Rs 25,000-crore dedicated freight corridor (DFC) project.

Rather than hire a fancy consultancy firm, the Railways has reposed faith in a team from IIM-C to study transportation requirements of key industries and analyse burgeoning freight market.

More : timesofindia.indiatimes.com

IIM-A whiz kids look to swadeshi plac

To be part of the great Indian story, more and more graduates of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) have shown preference to entrepreneurship and rejected foreign offers for Indian locations during the campus placement event here, according to data released Tuesday.

At the five-day placement event at IIMA ending on Monday, 11 students of the prestigious business school rejected foreign offers in order to take up jobs in India and be a part of the Indian growth story.

The salaries offered to IIM-A graduates have steadily increased over the past years, and this year was no exception, IIM-A director Bakul Dholakia told media. Both domestic and international salaries have increased substantially.

More : theindiancatholic.com