IIPM Diaries

I guess this was the only thing I had not written on till date. Memories at the Indian Institute of

Planning and Management(IIPM), Hyderabad. Boy not a day goes by when I don't think of

those days or bug people and my friends about the days spent there. It was the Summer of

2006 during the month of May many bright young enterprising cheerful faces dressed in full

formals began entering the campus for the Orientation day and there were a lot of dreams and

aspirations for many entering the B School world. Some wonderful faces smiling and were

getting to know their future batchmates by interacting with them. At this moment it was like a

dream come true something an MBA grad hopes for the things he wants in his next 2 years a

wonderful atmosphere. We had a brief session at the orientation and were briefed on things that

lay ahead for us for the next 2 years. It was over and classes were to start next day. The story

unfolds now.


A bright sunny morning classes to begin at 8 A.M and this young MBA student took his

bike out and had to get to the college on time. Did not want day one to begin by being a late

Lateef. So fully dressed and ready the exciting journey began had to cover nearly 20km to reach

the place. So I reached before time. Then had to go and look for a place in the class few more

people waiting already outside then we go and seat ourselves. Introducing ourselves to one

another and smiles from the other end was making the start a pleasant journey something I

wanted and was blessed. This was all happening till the Professor for the first class of our two

years was to enter. So the first class was a Quantitative Techniques class well this was

something Maths haters like me would not be pleased to begin the day with. But it went off well

and had a couple of other classes for the day. Day 1 ended and we headed out to the canteen the

favourite hangout for any college student. So all handshakes around with batchmates

introducing ourselves and everyone sharing their background and other stuff. It sure was

interesting and soon after some chatting headed home feeling excited came home and narrated

the day's experience to mom and she was happy that I was happy and took a liking to the place.

Soon the first week was over and the Freshers party was to be held on May 29, 2006 at Bottles

and Chimney(B&C) one of the most sought after place in the city for pub hoppers. As expected it

was a grand affair with the batch turning up at the venue and it was exciting. This was a perfect

start to the B School life and being an extrovert I sure looked forward to it and enjoyed it. We

danced, chatted, did all things possible and let our hair down that evening. The event was

followed by nice dinner hosted by the college at the same venue. It was nearly midnight and the

day ended and we had to get back to college next morning at 8 A.M...It was a fantastic evening

that I for one would never forget.


Meanwhile slowly the assignments and presentations were given and life was getting tougher

slowly. The next week a list of extra curricular activities that would be held were announced.

Once again the excitement continued with all of us gearing up for the activities that were to be

held. We had events like tug of war, Quiz, Debate, Dumbcharades, best manager, antakshari, etc.

Took part in whichever I could and felt happy that things were really interesting as well as

academics was going side by side. Soon things were in full swing and we were getting used to the

campus life. Then came the fest Aagman which was to be held and the new batch is expected to

show its talents and skills through different activities in this event and the students ended the

day on a high by putting up a good show. After this soon days were going fast and we were

almost towards the end of first trimester where it was in full swing and then comes an

announcement one day that there would be a debate competition held by the college for the

batch and five of the best speakers would be selected to go to the USA for GOTA(Global

Opportunities and Threat Analysis) which was a part of the course where every student gets to

go on a industrial study tour for two weeks abroad. The debate competition was held and after

two rounds the final five students were picked up and as luck had it I was among the five

selected. I still remember that evening my friend Preetham called up and gave me the news that

I was selected and he also was selected along with three others Ajaz, Neha and Ruchi. Boy it was

a fine moment and I shouted with excitement and first thing told mom, dad and bro about it.

All were happy for me but the twist in the tale was still to come. I didn't have a Passport as I had

tried earlier three four times at the Passport office and had some issue everytime. Then I ran

helter skelter next few days and finally managed to get the passport. Then the D day came and

it was the 30th of September 2006 and we had to leave for the USA from New Delhi to Newark

in New Jersey. On landing in Newark I was thrilled it was the first time ever I was going outside

India and that to it was to the USA a dream for many Indians to visit it once in their lifetime.

At this moment I was living a dream and YES IT WAS A DREAM COME TRUE. Had a great

time in the USA visited New York City, Washington D.C and also visited the UNO, World bank

and some other top organizations like USIBC, Citigroup, Sanofi Aventis, NYMEX etc. It was a

great experience visiting some of these organizations as well as had a great time sight seeing in

these cities. The trip was over and came back to college and narrated our experience to other

batchmates who were yet to go for their GOTA. Meanwhile the course was on full fledge, more

presentations, case studies etc. Meanwhile we had college parties at Pyramids in Country Club

Hyderabad before Independence day, then a fest called Utsav, then Valentines day party at

B&C. Things were only getting interesting as days passed by though there were the boring

routine days as well. As days passed by our Summer Internship and Project trimester began

and we had a lot of running around to do but we gang of friends continued meeting, going for

parties, movies, lunch, dinners, our Hookah parties at Mocha, Deli9, Rhapsody etc continued. As

time passed 1 year was complete and we were now into our final year with just two trimesters

left. The 4th Trimester was the basic of our specializations which we had opted for and we were

focusing on the days ahead for our placements and other plans but we continued our parties,

hangouts in the midst of all this working on presentations. I had a nice gang of friends with

whom I frequently hung out and we painted the town red going to the most exotic and

happening places. Preetham, Ankit, Ajaz, Ansaar and I were a most frequent hangout gang and

the days we had together the fun, the parties, pulling each others leg were all some real fine

moments. Also the trip to Treasure Island with batchmates was a real thriller then the

Industrial visit to Pochampalli was also fun.

Then came the last trimester the 5th Trimester the Placement season was on. Companies

were frequenting campus and the heat was on with a lot of excitement as well. After all this was

one of the most crucial phases of our entire two year life on campus. I finally got placed in a

leading Asset Management Company and was really happy. The two year hard work and the fun

finally paid off and got the best of both. It was Feb 21st, 2008 and our last exam of our last

trimester was the last exam of our lives for most of us and the Dean came and announced that

we would be having the Farewell Party at Marriot Hotel at night. There was a lot of excitement

and emotions running side by side on that day happy we were relieved from the burden of

studying and emotional that we would all be parting ways soon and go in different directions

ahead in our lives. The Farewell like the freshers was a grand affair with achievers being

awarded for their respective achievements during the two years followed by the dancing on

dance floor, the grand dinner and finally the tearful emotional set of batchmates hugging one and

other many of us probably that night didn't want to let go of our friends and we were left

wondering "did it all ever have to end"? As I wrote the previous sentence I did get emotional

for a minute recollecting the two years in a flash. But I also know all good things have to come to

an end. And This fantastic journey did come to an end when we had our CONVOCATION in

June 2009.

The years 2006-2008 were some of the finest moments of my life and I'm glad I could pen it

down. From the parties to the USA trip, to the bunking for movies to other adventures I

Cherish it all. Wish those days come back. But life ahead has something else in store for us.

Cheers!!!

Troubled Times in AP...

Back to blogging after a long time as I was having a tight schedule didn't update

too often, I'll try to update it as frequently as possible.

The latest burning issue in our beloved state AP regarding the demand for a separate

statehood for Telangana is disturbing. Deteriorating Law and Order in the state is a cause of

worry as this is usually a Peaceful and Progressive state. Vested interests of a few people and

increasing violence in the state is throwing normal life out of gear. The sad part is all this is

happening after the demise of one of the best CM (YSR) we had till date who was elected

unanimously by the people for a second term and where he won the major number of seats

from Telangana. This indicates the wish of the people of Telangana as well who showed they

preferred the exisiting position in the state and were not to keen on a separate state and they

had other major issues which they wanted sorted out.


Some groups who lost the Election, now all of a sudden want to be in the limelight and are

diverting from the real poblems faced by people and creating havoc. Where were these people

when floods recently broke out which was the worst in 100 years? So many people lost all they

had and the agitators were not even in the scene at that moment. If they were so concerned

for the people of Telangana why didn't they come out and show their solidarity then, that

would have been more genuine. If the present situation continues the state would be hit as

prospective Investors would hesitate to come and invest which would prove to be dreadful in

the long run. We seem to be lagging behind our neighbouring states in terms of development

who are ahead of us and the last thing we would want is any kind of instability or break down

of Law and Order in the state. With political equations changing leaders across different states

are going all out to woo Investors and bring about development as many state governments

which won a second consecutive term realised that development is helping them beat anti

incumbency. Im sure the people of the state wouldn't like to lag behind and waste time fighting

for people who have vested intersts in a separate state formation. Hyderabad is losing out to

Bangalore and Madras already so in terms of comparing cities even there our capital city is

losing out to the competitors. The Government also sorry to say is unable to take a tough stand

on this issue and I think this is where I feel the absence of a leader of YSR's stature is being felt.


The Government needs to realise that people badly want jobs and basic necessities and it

should look to solve those issues and ensure that we focus on developing the state and nip the

existing crisis in the bud before it bursts and then making it impossible later to control. It is in

the interests of the welfare of the state and majority of the population that the Government

needs to realise how dangerous the situation could be if it gets out of hand which seems to be

going out of control already. It still is not too late to bring back the glory of the state and we

have shown over the past 15 yrs how AP has grown as a state with two good Chief Ministers

back to back doing their bit. Instead of fighting for a separate Jai Tealangana movement or a

Jai Andhra movement or a separate Seema state, the government should understand that

people have voted them to power with a majority and they have a stable government which

can solve this issue soon and instead of waiting for orders from Delhi the AP Government

should hit right on target and continue the good work the state has achieved so far and not

allow fringe elements to ruin the prosperity of the state. Hoping things get back to normal as

soon as possible....Cheers!!!

A Budget that made the Markets think realistic and something which did not really benefit most Industrialists...

First of all a lot was expected from this budget probably like the media and the markets we also

had unrealistic expectations with everybody wanting fast track reforms and stuff probably

forgetting the current crisis which we are in the midst of.

Yes, I personally was disappointed with the Part B of the budget pertaining to the tax

proposals especially the Direct Taxes part of it.The personal income tax exemption raised by

just 10,000 was a real small amount and did not seem to make much of a difference to majority

of the taxpayers. Most of them were hoping for the tax exemption limit to be raised by 30,000

to 40,000 which would have given confidence to the people in these tough times instead it would

have been better not to have made any changes to the existing limits. One of the few things that

we could cheer about was abolishing the Fringe Benefit Tax and Commodity Transaction Tax.

Also the introduction of Goods and Services Tax(GST) from 2010 seems to be a good proposal

which is expected to bring uniformity in taxes whether it works or not would be interesting to

see. The Government's decision to substantially improve the pension of the retired defence

pensioners below officer rank is a very good move as they deserved to be rewarded for their

great services rendered for which the country is thankful to them. Focusing on Infrastructure

which is one of the most important factors in the growth of an economy is a step in the right

direction and hopefully there would be many more projects completed in the next 5 years.

Hopefully we would see more development in Rural as well as urban Infrastructure. To generate

12 million jobs per year is a positive step in the right direction and unemployment in the next 5

years would see a drastic fall if the government is able to achieve its target. Now coming to

the major issue of Disinvestment, the Finance Minister by stating that public sector enterprises

such as banks and insurance companies will remain in the public sector and will be given all

support, including capital infusion, to grow and remain competitive has taken a bold step in the

right direction and is not rushing into it and privatising some of the profit making PSU's.

Increased credit flow for agriculture should hopefully increase the agricultural growth rate.

An increased allocation of more than 144% for NREGA was one of the biggest positives of this

budget.Surprisingly not much emphasis was given to education and healthcare which were

expected to be the key issues to be focused on.

The big corporate honchos also praised some of the social reforms though they did not get too

many sops in their favour. As one of the top Fund Managers of a leading Asset Mgt. Co put it the

Markets expected a T20 match but the government played it like a Test match not even a One

Day International. So the budget may help in the correction of the markets in the long run. All

said and done much as people may like to criticise the FM I think it had quite a few positives

that could be taken from it and Pranab needs to be appreciated to some extent considering the

situation the world is in and laying a platform to achieve 9% growth. We should hopefully see a

good Budget in Feb that will lay the foundation for the long run and create wonders if they go on

the right track. Congress has it in them to do wonders but can they live upto it is the big

question? Cheers!!!

And The Man of the Match goes to...

THE INDIAN VOTER...Yes you read it right. The big day finally came and the Election results

were out and to everybody's surprise the average Indian voter had once again proved to the

world that he is no fool as perceived by certain sections of the Indian society.


The voter gave a sizable mandate to the Congress and UPA though not a clear majority for the

Congress. The voter voted for a stable government which most of us thought would not happen

this time but the voter has clearly indicated his choice and what he expects. The voter did not

give a clear majority to either of the national parties and gave a reasonably big oppostion to the

government as well thus proving that nobody is permanent. Mr. Advani's dream of becoming

PM did not go down well with the voters though he has had achievments but somewhere down

the line his image as a hardliner may have been one of the factors that prevented the voters

from giving him a clear mandate. Now that the junta has voted for a stable government the UPA

should not become complacent and take things lying down. They should start accelerating in

reforms such as labour reforms, rapid infrastructure, increasing FDI in sectors such as

Insurance, retail, aviation. Also spend tremendously on Education and pass the Right to

Education bill. It should also not lose focus from the key component of our economy the

agriculture sector and make sure that there is tremendous growth in agriculture which has been

on the negative side for the past few years nationally with an exception of Andhra pradesh

which showed positive growth in agriculture thanks to some of the schemes implemented by the

state government. Though people of Hyderabad expect the CM YSR to focus on the city as well

this time and gives us better roads, no power cuts and allow more investment into different

service sectors and create more jobs.


The key here is if the Government manages to do reasonably well at the Centre then this will

be the glorious phase of the India story. This is a great opportunity for the government to prove

its worth and in these tough times that is the need of the hour. All said and done the Congress

should realise if the voter has given the party alone 200+ seats it expects a lot from them and if

they fail to capitalise on this opportunity and fail to deliver then the next time the voter may

not even give them 20 seats. So Congress its either you perform or perish the voter's

expectations are clear. Let us all hope for the best and come out of this gloomy economic

scenario as soon as possible and the PM had promised last month that he would revive the

economy within 100 days. That is left to be seen whether 100 days or not atleast by this year

end people will hope Singh's magic works. Jai Manmohan and Jai Indian voter the real

"MAN OF THE MATCH". Cheers!!!

Is India really Shining and is the Aam aadmi going foward??? Will May 16th change that or will it be just another election???

Finally the D day is in a week's time with the last phase of polling still left and the nation and the

world all looking forward to the result. From the opinion polls it seems to be neck to neck

between both the national parties and heading for a fractured mandate. In these tough

economic conditions that's the last thing this nation wants. We want a stable government even if

it is a coalition to get out of this on going crisis. Nobody wants filibusters which I think is one of

the major reasons our country has faced a slow pace of development since independence. Well

this is one of the major reasons that everybody fears if a jumbo alliance government is formed

which would slower development as each ally would be blackmailing the government to fulfill

their needs.


India's growth story in the past few years has caught the attention of the world and everybody

praising it. This is something which we can be proud about but still the ground realities as we

know is not really encouraging considering the way the educated employed and the media

project it. The reality being the same common issues faced since time immemorial starting from

food, clothing, shelter, electricity, water, healthcare etc. I don't want to get into these issues in

detail as it won't be enough to put it down here. Now coming to the question Is India really

shining and is the common man going forward? Well the answer is it is a mix of both a Yes and

No. Yes, for the urban educated elite who can afford to study in good quality institutes

getting a good global exposure and manage to get decent jobs or start their own ventures.

No would be a convincing answer if you look at the situation of the common man who still

struggles for a basic living and does not get jobs or earnings from his crops even if he owns a

piece of land as we know the Indian farmer is born in debt, lives in debt and dies in debt. Also

the increase in the cost of living has made it that much more difficult for the common man to

survive. Successive governments have failed to improve the living conditions of the people is the

most common answer you would get from the people. This is true to a great extent but blaming

the government alone is not enough. Well, what are we as privileged people who have access to

technology and other latest things doing? It may sound boring and outdated but we could

probably help in a small way like say educate a poor child by buying books for the child and help

in enrollig the child in a decent school with access to good education. If we can help in a small

way it could make a huge difference and we can do our bit for the upliftment of our nation and

society. Many people hope that this election results would change their lives and bring some joy

and hope to them. Some say when we see young politicians we have hope and faith in them and

they will change and bring about better reforms.


Finally it all depends on what the electorate has decided and what is in store for the political

representatives. All in all I personally think most would treat this as any other ordinary

election. All that one can do is hope for change as usual but I think this election one hoping for

change is nothing wrong since in these present circumstances we need all possible support and

help from the elected representatives. Did we talk about words like change and hope? Well the

time has definitely come that we take atleast one step forward to head in that direction to

even have a glimmer of hope for change to occur.

Is IPL more important than Elections?

These days Lalit Modi is busy motivating himself to hold the second season of his brain child IPL and having frequent meetings with various top government officials scheduling and rescheduling IPL for the second season. Chidambaram on his part has done a decent job in trying to ensure that IPL goes on as usual (inspite of facing shortage of security personnel) so that the organisers don't incur huge losses. If the Indians considered IPL more important than the elections scheduled later next month then we really need to introspect as to which is of a higher priority?

Many of them would say its better to go to the stadium and watch IPL rather than go and vote for the politicians who will disappoint us as always and we say they are going to loot us as always. Well then we need to ask ourselves are we not being looted here again by going to watch IPL? The answer is a big "YES". By giving up our basic fundamental right to watch the IPL you are making few others rich who is as bad as the politicians we scold. Lalit Modi makes crores at the expense of die hard cricket fans like us who are willing to make him richer and not getting anything in return for making him richer except losing precious time and increasing his coffers. There are many cases pending against Lalit Modi(was given in detail in OUTLOOK recently) and he was also known as the Super Chief Minister of Rajasthan when Vasundhara Raje Scindia was CM due to his proximity to her and he has probably made the same amount or much more in a very short span of time which our politicians have made slowly over the years. Contrast this to our politicians for whom we go and vote on the given day agreeing to the fact that they may not deliver and make a lot of money but here you get to use your basic fundamental right and your representative from your constituency may take up your problems with the government(as he is at the voter's mercy literally our mercy since he has to decide whether he has to retain his seat in Parliament or Assembly before he comes back to the voter for the next election) and try to do something whether he does it or not? You may vote for a guy who helps in forming the next government whose support can either help make or break a government. The government which is formed post elections will do its best to ensure the economy grows, implement policies which may be favourable to us and give us tax relief, give us jobs, give us better roads etc. though finally we'd end up criticising the government for evrything because we as citizens would prefer to go and watch Dhoni, Yuvi, Gilchrist and others hitting the ball all over the ground as we believe that we are going for something which is very important in our lives.

At the end of all this what is it that we gain from sacrificing our voting right and going for IPL? The answer is obvious Lalit Modi and co become richer along with a few top cricketers. And with all this comes a cost of additional tension for the security personnel to guard the celebrities who come to play and the IPL board has ordered for bullet proof vehicles for the safety of players at the expense of the junta's contribution. Given both the cases what would you as a citizen prefer? To make a few individuals richer or get something in return which is rightfully yours either through good roads, jobs, prosperity of your nation and a better standard of living.

Inspite of all this many of them would forgo their fundamental right and go for entertainment and when the next government is formed we'd get back to doing what we love the most "Government Bashing". Well probably for once let us try change by using our fundamental right as it is not going to make a difference in our attitude as we would continue government bashing, after all thats what is the advantage of a democracy. Let it not be for the want of trying and see if it can make a real difference for a change.

So people decide whether you want the concentration of wealth to be in the hands of already wealthy people who would become wealthier directly with our money or would you like your wealth to increase which can become a reality if you choose between the two given alternatives? Does this ring bells about something called Opportunity cost??? Cheers!!!

The Positives of Tamil Nadu

Well, before I begin I would like to state that I ain't writing this since I'm a Tam Brahm...

The southern most state in South India which is many times misunderstood for many reasons and looked down upon by people from the rest of the country. This state which speaks the language which is one of the oldest in the world and probably the oldest in India has achieved a lot over centuries. This state supposed to be highly conservative and orthodox is progressive in its own way and is a model for many other states in India. Since thousands of years this state has grown, evolved and matured into one of the most progressive and finest states in modern India and "Yes" I feel proud to say that my roots are from this state though I'm a Hyderabadi for all practical purposes and am proud to be a Hyderabadi as well. The heritage of TN is also well maintained.


Now coming to some of the facts about this state, if one looks back at the history of this state its always been a center for learning and education. The proof of this is visible in Tamil literature which has many great scholars in literary work as well as other areas such as Science & technology, Economics, Political Analysts etc. When one reads the accomplishments by the Chola dynasty it is intersting to note that even in those days they were very advanced and far ahead of their times and the proof of the pudding is in their literary works and construction of temples which are present all over the world with their remarkable engineering skills. Famous Chola emperors such as Raja Raja Chola and Rajendra Chola played a crucial role in the spread of Tamil culture and literature and took it far and wide. There were many other dynasties which came later who also played a role in development and upliftment of the society.
If one looks at this state today you get many mixed reactions and feelings about this state and Madras(oops Chennai) in particular. Many people in India are of the opinion that this state is backward and people are underdeveloped since they wear dhotis and lungis and that it is a very unfriendly state and a state which doesn't speak Hindi (but they do speak good English) and does not have good looking babes(a complaint by our generation). Well the reality is something entirely different, if one wants to find a big state in India having a balanced development this is probably one state where people can look to. The literacy rate is preety high and is among one of the top most literate states next to Kerala and West Bengal. Tamil Nadu isn't just Madras alone which many people think its only Madras. There is much more to this state it is home to many top educational institutions, industries, agriculture, ( you don't hear of too many farmers committing suicide in TN when compared to other states in India), automobile manufacturing, textiles,etc. If one takes a ride across the length and breadth of this state on your way you would find so many towns and villages which have good facilities and you would find education centres easily along with flourishing commercial activities. To name a few other places in TN which are reasonably well developed and contributes to the growth and development of the state one should probably visit Coimbatore, Salem, Erode, Tirupur, Namakkal, Madurai, Trichy, Thanjavur, Cudalore, Tirunelveli, and the surrounding villages of some of these towns you would find plenty of self employed people who have been able to give a better living to their families and have contributed to a significant amount of prosperity to the state and nation. I guess people should once cover major parts of the state to get a glimpse of what it is all about and clear many misconceptions. If one looks at the progressive attitude of people let me tell you it is one of the few states in India which gives equal opportunities to men, women, children to achieve something substantial in life. If one talks about opportunities given to women this state is one of the few states which has women working as bus drivers, conductors, social workers, petrol pump employees, CM, MPs, police stations separate and many more facilities. Not to mention safety levels in this state is by and large pretty safe to live in and has a good law and order except for stray incidents which may occur once in a while. It is also not prone to communal trouble.

One of the major reasons this state has grown a lot and achieved a lot is due to access to education for the masses. Agreed, there are loopholes but which state doesn't have??? So the next time if you come across a person(guy or gal) who seems to be smart(may or may not be good looking) and if you wonder which part of the country they belong to, then don't be surprised if the answer is TAMIL NADU.

For outsiders who want to visit the state just visit the place normally as you would visit a new place and don't go with a mental block that the place aint going to be good, you could well be in for a pleasant surprise!!!

Inspite of all this I feel this state has never got it's due credit. It's high time it gets some!!!