September 7, 2009

Succession planning in India – Corporate and Political

Since the era of LPG (Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization) has set in India and the Indian masses both in its hinter and heartlands have been exposed to the Western world, a direct or indirect comparison has ran between the West and the East spanning a plethora of issues ranging from day to day life (like why doesn’t India use dishwashers) to more long ranging ones (could brain drain be reversed). Among these, the issue of succession planning in Indian organizations has got most prominence from time to time, the issue has again become media’s darling with the sudden and tragic death of Y. S. R. Reddy and the talks of Y. S. J. Reddy to be his heir apparent. At this stage, let us try and trace the roots of what differs in terms of succession planning between these two parts of the world.
Cultural Ethos and way of life
Let us compare an average life of an Indian with a Western male, an Indian more or less shall follow the four ashrams of the Vedas - till about 25 he shall pursue his education, till about 45 or 50 (in case of lower and middle classes this age spans at times up to 60) he shall spend his life working, then till about 70 he shall worry about getting his off springs married and settled and then he shall live his remaining retired life.
While a westerner will be on his own by 16 or 18, would have completed his high school by then. He will then separate from his parents to find and mark his own identity. By the time he turns 30, he would have more or less scripted his coming life.
The common thing between these two lives is a search for a home to stay in. For an Indian it is a 2 bedroom flat for a westerner an apartment.
Note the stark difference - getting a child settled (i.e. to make sure he gets a job and a spouse) is more or less a responsibility of an Indian parent but in US that is not the case. These are primarily individual’s decision with a little influence of his family. – This is the root cause of why we see a son as an heir apparent to his father unlike in the west.
Add to this the caste system, the joint families, a society that does not freely permit (forget about encourage) innovation and free style and we have – ‘like father like son’. Viola!
Put in other words, taking a parent’s role is an ‘option’ for a child in west and an ‘implication’ for a child in east.
But then what about meritocracy and professionalism
An often quoted criticism regarding Indian style of succession planning is that it forsakes meritocracy and professionalism. Let us examine this argument and see if it has got merits.
On the face of it, we see that many a bright professional managers see a glass ceiling in their organization because they cannot reach beyond a certain point in the organization, same applies to Indian politics, a congress leader as talented as Priyaranjandas Munshi or Shashi Tharoor or Jyotiraditya Scindia cannot fathom getting a top job at Congress.
Also, it is not the case that the professionally ran Western business has always prospered, not all the companies which formed a part of S & P 500 in 1975 are a part of S & P 500 in 2009. Reason – the multi dimensional nature of environment in which activities like politics and business are carried out, in which succession planning and leadership are but just one dimension of the environment.
Though I have not researched, but it may also turn out that professional management is no better at running an enterprise as family management.
Now, look at a few examples of Indian polity and business where professionalism and grooming through the cadre is considered a big advantage against a family back drop.
Sudhir Maheshwari (Chief of Staff at Arcelor Mittal) plays as critical a role as Laksmi Mittal himself, Bikham Agarwal (Executive Vice President (Finance)) who joined Laksmi Mittal back in his first plant at Indonesia is as good and as important as Aditya Mittal. All of ADAG and RIL’s ventures are manned by professional managers (often poached from competitors) and not family kins.
Narendra Modi was a General Secretary with BJP before becoming the Chief Minister of Gujarat (without a family back drop) Manmohan Singh is an academician first and a PM later (and is nowhere near to a politician)!

September 5, 2009

Indian Art Market?

Indian art has been around for over 5,000 years — a complicated and lively reflection of the country’s countless historical, religious and political developments.

Now as a stock market, the respondents are talking about rebound, boom and bust in the Rs. 2000 crore Indian art market, with a new lot of young and first time buyers, revival in the purchase of high-end art by collectors and the entry of Korean and Chinese buyers and investors in the market. Instead of looking it as a collection out of passion excellence and fantasy for creativity, now all the galleries in the sumit are looked as more of an investment option.

When stock markets experience a downswing, investors search for more profitable alternatives, and alternative assets that improve the risk-sdjusted return on their portfolios. But indian art index has a (–)ve market beta and 0 correlation with the S&P 500, another intersting investment for a well diversified portfolio.

Did we ever try to probe into reasons for the decline in Confidence levels in the once-booming market for Indian art? (Dropped by 63% since October) Is it lack of awareness or is it the trickle down effect of recession in the West? Moreover the problems that auction house are facing are high holding cost of inventory. And some galleries cannot liquidate their inventories, as they have used their artworks as collateral to borrow money from banks for expansion. It is yet to be seen how long would it take for the Indian art market to rebound, go for global expansion in full phase and arouse an interest of more foreign investors? How justified are the art collectors, when they claim that because of fall in Indian art market, it has come down to realistic levels and that makes buying easier now than a few months ago when one had to pay inflated prices?

We think that there is a need to promote art education, museums should be more active and discussions and seminars should be held.

What do you think taking into consideration the historical background of Indian art market and boom and bust and expected boom in Indian art market.

Share your viewpoint!

September 4, 2009

Lost in the woods of Finance- think how about this one???

Just look at the graph the history of 06-07 is set to be repeated in 2010 Mar-May Era.Think about the same scenario the big bull is set to return next year but before that investors will have the pain. Similar patterns on the chart Metals throbbing to take one large leap. Before it crashes out


September 2, 2009

Current Decision on Sugar a thumbs up for the cos?

We recall a statement from a fund manager. "Our fund did really well when others had gone down by 90% of their wealth, we managed to safe guard 40% of it y-o-y: - Simply it means they lost their NAV by 60% but in order to present a rosy piture to the investors they changed the perspective.Perception plays the most vital part in today's world

People tend to overlook their own common sense but try to borrow others idea. This is where people get stuck. Indian Investors are prone to this habit. People who made smart money are the ones who invested at the correct price or the one's who used simple common sense. I guess the second group made larger amount. Friends re visit the development on Sugar stocks and discuss what worse is stored from here or theoretically unsystemati lies in the sector. The sweetness is here to stay for quite some time but imagine what are the negatives that can make the sweet story go bitter.

Keep discussing and posting the ideas on our mail.

September 1, 2009

Effect on Courier Firms

The Rs. 8000 crore express courier services, industry with 4500 odd courier companies has been forced to drop pace, with the slowdown in retail finance activities.

The cause is not too difficult to interpret. The BFSI segment gave the industry business such as delivering welcome kits, debit and credit cards, contract notes, policy documents, dividend warrants, annual reports and mutual fund statements. But credit card volumes have fallen 20% in recent times, thanks to credit aversion among banks. Things are no better with ULIP or direct equity investment by retail investors. As such, express courier market leader Blue Dart and Express It, which used to derive 25% and 90% of their business respectively from the BFSI sector, are hit to a larger extent.

Even pricing is a crucial factor in this industry. The low-margin, high-volume business largely means that economy of scale is very important to survive in this business. Also in the express courier segment, having a broader national presence helps.

Festive deliveries, such as DHL’s Rakhi Express for delivering rakhis during the rcently concluded festival, haleem during the Ramzan period by Gati courier offer as occassional booster to business. And recently Blue Dart has initiated Money Back Guarantee plans like Domestic Priority1030 and Dart Apex 1200 which ensures that documents and small shipments are delivered the next business day to selected regions at 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m., or else the money would be refunded. Airline companies like Deccan is also toying with the idea of Cargo and Express Logistics Solutions within the country.

With their ability to track individuals and their addresses, credit collection on behalf of banks for a fee, and KYC forms are newer areas in which they could venture out. Yet the future is not bleak. As the government plans for financial inclusion, bank accounts are expected to swell to 600 million, up from 300 million. With banks moving towards automation and setting up more ATMs, debit cards show the promise of providing a lot more business.

But there is another risk from automation and digitalization, as in the near future the complete financial kit could be downloaded from the internet itself. We think that the courier companies need to revamp their strategy and need to work in close knit with packers and movers.

Share your views!

August 31, 2009

Uncontrollabe Natural Factors or Drought of Ideas or Lack of Management Mechanism??

The dredge from exports and foreign investment may have moderated, looking at 6.1% GDP growth in 1st quarter but the drought has emerged as a new major challenge in India. As the primary industry is hurt, the rest of the production chain will experience the flow-on effects. For instance, a sharp decline in farm output is expected to reduce demand for transport and storage services, and the supply for exports could also drop sharply. It would have a cascading effect onto hydro electric generation, ground water levels, inflation, automobile sector, fishery industry recharging of reserviors and many more allied industries. Even gold import has decreased by 90% as high prices prevented the people and drought further acting as a spoilsport.

Drought has even emerged as another terrorist for heaven of India, J&K which has losses of over Rs. 400 crore due to it. Agriculture production is likely to fall by 14% - the third highest fall in foodgrain production since 1964-65 and expected to impact the GDP by around 60-100 basis point.

The state governments are demanding that the limit of 100 days assured employment under the NREGP be extended to 200 days as a drought-relief measure. 20% cut in salary by Mumbai office bearers of Congress Working Committee in the face of drought is presumed to act as a panacea. Governmet promised that every BPL family would be entitled, by law, to 25 kg of rice or wheat per month at Rs 3 per kg. Let’s learn some facts that are government really serious enough?

The Maharashtra government has sealed its ambitious plan to develop a Rs. 300 crore statue, tallest in the world once it is completed to honour the state's biggest hero, Chhatrapati Shivaji. Is it really justified when the state is grappling with huge debt and drought in 2/3 of its area? And where dozens of impoverished farmers struggling with debt and poor rainfall have killed themselves in southern India in recent weeks, leaving behind families plunged even further into poverty. And how can we forget the Vidharba mishap? The mockery is that government establishment is still debating on actual number of people living below poverty line. The previous rounds of fiscal stimulus are now tickling down the economy, providing a notable boost to activity, but what about the rising fiscal deicit? “Kahin Barish to Kahin Sookha”. While Western UP is relling under severe drought but Eartern UP is under floods. But these floods are not due to rains but are caused due to excessive flow of water from Nepal. Now what would you call it: unforseen natural calamities or …?

Wih drought turning into reality, and speculation and hoarding spiralling food prices, the agriculture ministry is planning to amend the Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essentia Commodities Act (1980) such that centre can take action against hoarders of food grains directly. But that amounts to treating the symptom than the disease as the government is yet to come up with a comprehensive drought management mechanism.

What shall the government do further to mitigate the adverse impact arising from climatic changes? (Food for thought: Establishment of, foodgrain banks, village seed banks, water banks, feed and fodder banks, and village knowledge centres, ….. and what else!)

As the government faces a sea of questions, the nation thirstly awaits solutions.

Share your views!

August 27, 2009

Talent: Sprinting or going for a sell-off

Have you ever thought of a business model where you ask people to pay 20,000 and get trained. Than you tie up with your friends company or you probably know someone put the crowd for three month internship where you recieve 7000 stipend per person you send. And than you ask the company to kickout 40% of the people so that you can send the next lot. Many companies have started this business model where HR and the person ties up.

Friends an appeal just do not fall into this trap. Also never send any money/draft to a person who states that he belongs to so and so company if you send a draft to us you will get a call and than we will return your money. Indian law does not allow such provision where companies charges you for conductiong your intrview.

So beware of this trap and do not forget to spread the same. If you come across any such companies name please mail it to your friends and also report it to Police/Ministry. Write to us @ splconquest@gmail.com

Investment- with one more dimension

Analyze market with one different dimension-Have you ever thought you can catch market momentum and reversal by mix of few indicators. Nifty PUt-call ratio, PE of Index, Momentum reversal indiicators and few other parameters. The biggest challenge is to take and make money in the falling wedge. For instance one cannot deny the fact that market can be irrationally exhuberant compared to what one can look at.
Learnings for finance students in this case would bee how to make sure that market is postioned for a fall/ rise.
Take a sectoral example:Consider a case of banking Industry. Historically all PSU's have traded in terms of P/B in the range of 0.6 to 1.42. If one catches and holds at 0.7 he has made money like anything because of the underlying volatility. Think about one strategy where you lock investment in a banking stock for dividend yield> post tax return on savings account. this is the right time to invest in a bank. If you want to analyze, look at the PSU's with three year average dividend payout in 2006 scenario and 2009 beginning and if they were giving you a div yield of 7% odd. You build one of the sure short money making strategy. Buy underlying/ Sell higher call options if freely tradeable/ sell simultaneous puts or take a short on Banking Index with Vanilla long on your stock and capacity to absorb short term supplies. there are numerous ways one can make money if it identifies a right time to enter into a sector. This is part one of the Investment Series that we are going to post every alternate day. Now its upon you to think how one can make money and learn the art of making money by using all the ideas that we suggested. For queries write to us@ splconquest@gmail.com.
Friends this is what we expect in the scholarship competition for JP this year. Last year we had banking dilemma but this year the hot flavor is Portfolio investments in India. We will definitely have something on it in the competition. Keep following us to learn the real investment strategies and overview of the economy.
Some key words in banking sector you need to understand are NPA, GPA,NII,NIM,PCR,P/B,Asset utilization, Risky weights etc. along with basic information

Unleashing New life in Automobile Industry

April 1st 2010 would be written in gloden words in $35 billion Indian Automobile industry. In another step towards greener technology, we are going through a phase of evolution from Bharat Stage I to II to III and now much awaited IV norms.

But are all Indian Players ready for it? And how expensive would the new cars be with new norms, considering the current norms prevailing in the market? But we think that considering the economic meltdown and the ever looming recession, the work is still difficult for any automobile company, despite the fact that some players like Maruti Suzuki, Hindustan Motors and Hyundai claim boldly that they are ready for it and even come up with cars that comply to these norms.

Why it is that none of NE states have been named to comply with Bharat IV norms? Are they neglected? And would there be price reduction for those CV and passenger vehicles which does not comply with IV norms? And do you think that people who do not reside in those 11 identified cities (NCR, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Surat, Kanpur and Agra) are left unattended to suffer from pollution? And don’t you think it would create another marketing dilemma for these players to decide upon to focus more on which area after April 1st – 11 cities or Rest of India? And by how much %age is it expected to boost exports?

One would be surprised to know SIAM officials are happy to stay behind European norms and cited the example of after-treatment devices as they claim that we can learn from their experience. Are Indians born to be followers according to these officials?

Great news for workers and planners of NREGP! We think that the governement has to put up a separate notice board at each state board that one is moving from Bharat stage IV norms area to non-norms area, if one is going from say Delhi to J&K.

Share your ideas!

August 26, 2009

An Appeal from SPL Conquest

Given the response on the mail over what we post on our blogspot, seems to have a uni-direction thought process. This monotonous thought process is possible only when an individual thinks about it and writes the same. Any topic that we post can be viewed from different perspective as well. The idea of keeping you people thinking, is to promote discussion among your friends, but despite over 100 of responses, it seems our purpose stays defeated, as you all are not forming a habit of discussion. The benefit that will accrue if you discuss among your group:

  • It will boost your confidence on the final day
  • By learning other people’s perspective, you’ll be able to develop a sound thought process

So, it’s a request on our part to all the visitors, followers to make it a habit of posting the analysis as a group.

Another thing that can be done on your part is to start the channel on comment section, where you can get the insight across B-schools and not only of your own confined group.

August 25, 2009

A new Avtar – Pay per click, Cost per impression, …, ??

You would be shocked to know that in 2008-09 advertisers spent Rs. 51663 million. Now just think of calculating the amount of extra money that you paid for product/services which compensates for advertisement and promotion spending?

Have you ever calculated the time that you devote online vis-à-vis watching television or listening to radio or say watching a print ad? Or has it changed over a period of time from traditional media to digital media? Out of the total advertisement spending, about 5.4% was taken up by Internet advertising, 51.4% and 27.4% by televsion and print respectively. But the interesting fact is that digital media is set to grow from approx Rs. 800 crore by whopping 44% in the next year, while the rest is expected to fall by 10%. Try to analyse the reason for the expected rise in figures. (Food for thought: rising service sector, rising young adults, increasing social networking portal, increasing visibility, higher accountability, easier to calculate ROI and what more…)

And is the allocation and growth figure similar for each and every sector or how much is the disparity among sectors? Just look at the chart shown above and try to anlayze the reason for the disparity. (figures are in Rs. million)

But one cannot deny the fact that every solution has a flip side to it. So what about the ethical issues associated with it? Moreover, keeping into consideration the wide difference in the reach of internet users and number of mobile subscribers, online advertisement might have a tough competition with mobile advertisement.

Share your thought on it for one day you could also be in a dilemma on the proportion of advertisement spending through different channels.

Cornflakes – A substitute of Food

Reasons to celebrate! There has been a price war among the cereal manufacturers like Kellogg, General Mills and Post and Nabisco cereals. But is it really a reason to enjoy for the consumer?

In some of our previous articles, we have mentoined that Indians are trying to ape the West, but is it justified at the cost of your health? Do you think that people are diverting more towards ready to cooked food? Or is it mere presentation of one’s standard of living? Still unanswerable!

Is recession good for cornflakes manufacturers, as they claim that cereal is an especially strong category, as consumers seek to maximize the value received from every dollar spent?

Have you ever tried to probe into the real target segment for cornflakes? Is it only limited to working young adults, school going children or is it tightening its grip to every class and every age group?

Studies suggest that most commercial cereals like cornflakes with the exception of Fibre One, Ultrafibre,Bran Flakes and a few others, contain a gram or two of fiber, and they are usually high-glycemic (meaning they raise blood sugar quickly). Not only this, they even contribute to weight gain, cravings and ultimatley lower energy.

If one is planning for suicidal, we think it’s really a good option, but the drawback is that it kills slowly. Alas! The consumption of high-glycemic foods is not only bad for your waistline, but even worst for your heart. They even hamper the functioning of one’s blood vessels and raise the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. And best part is that it put undue stress on one’s artries.

We would suggest you to give a second thought whenever you are consuming cornflakes at the cost of your health and when one knows that Breakfast has to be the King.

Share your viewpoints!

August 24, 2009

Equity Market- Is it unleashing the beast again?

Irrationality and Euphoria this is exactly what prevails in the market which is beyond people sentiments and also beyond control, couple of quarters back one used to think about tight grip of bears and the same market used to consider bulls are dead.
Market is a beast which will ensure nor the bull or the bear survive. It says let the irrationality survive but still the fortune will be created by Rational investors.

How? An appeal to all of you to think and analyze market in these three phases.
May 2006-Oct 2006 the recent crisis of 2008 and the midst of bull runs in the associated periods between 1st Jan 2006 to 1st August 2009.

How does this help for your placements?

While posting this on our blog, we had to justify how this will help you people on placements. Think about it what this exercise could do

You people need to analyze market trends in the sense which sectors were growth packs and which sectors underperformed, which sector had potential rise and which was a market performer?
What triggered market meltdowns? For e.g. 2006 was an aftermath of sell-off in commodity market. This is one case were people opened up Valuations Matrix and realized we had long way to go. The history needs to be looked and analyzed as one of the question in you interview would be where you see market from here by the turn of this year. Your insights and findings might get you a placement in one of those finance companies that comes for placements? Isn't it worth thinking from placement perspective if not otherwise!!!!

Send your findings to splconquest@gmail.com

August 23, 2009

Wow God- A new Market!

As India continues to ape the West, does mythology have a market in India? Or does mythology appeals to only senior citizens? We say that global meltdown has rocked economies, then why is it that amount in the Hundi in Tirupati has been increasing at a rate of around 30-40% y-o-y?

Have you ever tried to probe into TRP of “Shri Krishna”, or the ROI on Ramanand Sagar’s “Ramayan” and B. R. Chopra’s “Mahabharat”? Or did you ever thought the amount of revenue that the channels like Aastha, Sanskar, Zee Jagran and Sadhna are garnering out of commercials? One would be surprised to know that almost 70% slots on Aastha TV are pre-booked by advertisers at any given time. In which direction are we heading? Yes, my friends Search for God is the buzz word in market.

Apart from these religious channels, even the demands for mythological books are growing rapidly at about 30% every year. Even India’s leading VAS content developers like Mauj Telecom, IndiaGames and Cellebrum have started focussing on religious content, ranging from the frivolous (like astrology, numerology et al) to the profound as it accounts for 12-15% of the total Rs. 60 billion VAS industry.

Even deity statue makers are carving their own special niche in this godly industry, and you would be surpised to know that Indian mythological and religion inspired arts and sculptures contribute 20% of the Llardo’s entire turnover, an organised player in this industry and they sell Lakshmi wares at Rs. 7.5 lakh a piece today. What would you call it – a lifestyle statement?

How could one forget the travel companies? Of the estimated 400 million journeys undertaken by the Indians every year, close to 25% journeys are to pilgrimage centres, and numbers are swelling. And leading the race are the Gurus that claim to take you a step closer to spirituality and well being, offer peace of mind for battered soul from places like ISKON, OSHO world, Patanjali Yogpeeth and Art of Living Centres. And you would better find out the price that is being charged at these places.

Hats off to Technology! It has allowed people to e-donate, online puja, e-Seva, e-Accomodation at temples. Good news for Sachin Tendulkar fans! You could see him in a movie titled Vighnaharta Shree Siddhivinayak that the Siddhi Vinayak temple is making and marketing with the help of Vistaas Media and Eros International. And in this whole discussion how could you forget the animated myhthological market, where Hanuman Returns earned 320% return for Toonz Animation Pvt. Ltd.?

So what do you think: Is God on Sale or is it a new organized market opening up in India in a big way?

Share your views!

August 22, 2009

The IFT challenge- For Finance Friends

IT companies are vulnerable to the foreign exchange risk as compared to other businesses, as the theme for them is outsourcing. Simply, it means earn in US $ and pay in INR. The last two years have been volatile for RE/$ equation. More imporatantly we framed a model pre 2007 and post 2007 to test whether those 8-10 factors impacted in the similar fashion or things have changed for IT companies in terms of covering their foreign exchange risk. From Naked call/ naked put to Collar formation .A lot of things changed for large companies.

We found a case where companies entered into swap agreements. We also found that few of the companies formed collar position to cover their exposure.
What we want you people to do is discuss and think how collar/ other strategies are formed and also think about swap agreements.
Friends this is one exercise which will ensure you know 30% of option strategies straight away. Right from Straddle to strangle and than collar to box.
Please note:We are in midst of releasing the case, just want to ensure we do not fall in legal tangle with the large Indian Corporate houses. ELse we would rename the companies. One exercise for all the Security analyst.

August 21, 2009

Airline Industry - Boom to Bust to .....???

Few years ago, India's airline industry was flying high. India, one of the fastest growing and most competitive aviation markets in the world. Six new carriers launched. In the last four years, Indian carriers ordered 400 Boeing and Airbus jetliners worth about $37 billion.

But is the fairy tale for Indian airline industry over or is it that there is only one story around the corner – mayhem? The impact of the economic recession is clearly visible, as Indian aviation industry posted a whopping loss of $2 billion in FY’09. This mayhem is not peculiar to only Indian airline industry but has hit global players viz. British Airways, Air-France KLM, Lufthansa, to name a few.

Players are forced to postpone their international expansion plans. The domestic capacity is on a decline. Do you think that resorting to steps like turning their full service domestic fleets into budget businesses, deferring aircraft deliveries, cancelling orders, rationalizing routes and trimming staff would work as balm to their sufferings?

Now what are these players shouting for? Bailout! Players like British Airways have already got the support from the governement while Indian players are still waiting for a bailout in the form of reduction in taxes and airport charges, allowing them to import jet fuels under the open general license which would save them on high sales tax, as also proposed by Naresh Chandra Committee and adding ATF under declared goods category, which the airlines say will result in an estimated annual savings of $624 million for the industry. According to an estimate, the ATF prices in India are 60-70% higher than those at the international level, and fuel costs accounts for about 40% of the total operating costs vis-à-vis 10-15% in other countries, add to their woes.

As part of measures to provide relief to the airlines, the government has already brought down customs duty from 5 to 2.5%. Is that sufficient enough?

But critics’ claim that still after 4-5 years only 2% of the population travels by air and the airline industry did very less or nothing to attract the 98% that uses road and rail travel. Even the allegation was raised that the airline operators formed cartel and fixed the price of airline tickets, which is a crime in any other country. But was this practised in any India for the lack of transparency or is it because we lack structural aviation policy? But it is projected that cargo traffic, airline traffic, number of passengers or even the number of airplans, each of these will record a growth rate between 3% and 5.5% over the next 20 years.

But how relevant do you think these future prediction holds good keeping into consideration their bleeding status? And do we need a bailout package or an aviation policy?

Share your viewpoint or send us your feedback at splconquest@gmail.com

August 19, 2009

Competition- Yama of Cartelization

Have you ever thought the reasons for cartelization? One of the basic factors that drive the sustenance of a cartel is lack of distinction. It is no wonder that most of the proven and averred cases of cartelization are in industries which have a low level of differentiation such as cement, fertilizers, tyres etc. or which are either commoditised like oil, food, grains, sugar etc. Secret cartel agreements are a direct assail on the principles of competition.
Cartelization is not peculiar to India. Even the Asian Shippers Council complained that shipping lines are conspiring to slap additional charges on Asian exports.
Do you think that the approval granted to Shree Renuka Sugars from the FMC for buying 5% in NCDEX is a signal towards cartelization? As we think that these approvals would allow the players to virtually check the prices of commodities and at the same time also profit from the price movements on the exchange.
To curb cartelization, CCI, which got the statutory powers in 2007 by an Act of Parliament, has been formed by the government, to promote and sustain competition in the market and protect interests of consumers. If it finds any company guilty of being part of a cartel or abusing their position, it can impose penalty up to 10% of the average (three-year) turnover of the firm or companies involved. That is in contrast to MRTPC’s powers, which can only ask companies to abstain from such activities.
Do you think that the pressure by the Indian Inc. on government to stall the notification of Section 3 and 4 of the Competition Act which make it mandatory for the companies to seek prior approval of CCI on matters related to mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is a sign of cartelization in future?
But the recent cartel formed by the airline companies and the concomitant withdrawal of the stike threats foreground the facts that cartel in India will increasingly find it difficult to withstand public scrutiny in the information age and retaliation by regulatory authorities for consumer protection.
Export-oriented industries such as software in India are examples of limited cartelization with active government support. With increasing scrutiny of industry data it will become difficult for cartels to justify their actions to the civil society.

Share your views!

August 18, 2009

Do theories have different interpretation in the Real World?


Porter’s 5 forces model implies Profit = Selling Price-Cost Price

Friends have you ever thought that whether its marketing or finance discipline, what makes a difference is the bottom line (Profit). Keeping this in mind, we took a holistic approach on Porter’s 5 Forces model.
Think from the perspective of business doer and evaluate how Porter 5 Forces impact the three variables i.e. Profit, Selling Price and Cost Price.

Feel free to write your feedback and learn what's the reality behind. You can even mail your analysis at splconquest@gmail.com




August 16, 2009

Decoding the New Tax Code

Media, Tax Man and General consensus feels tax savings for common man with the new tax code. Is this a fact, we doubt the same:
The new system will help in clarity, simple tax filing procedure easy to calculate tax returns and what we call a transparent system, No doubt about it.

What about tax planning? More importantly who suffers the middle class in the service sector?
The real story, Corporations happy with the slab cuts specially the FMCG pack and other Corp Houses paying 30% tax would now be paying 25%.

The common man story: A simple mathematics but making my tax burden go up? Here we write the story of the common man.

Consider the scenario 2012, 31st march under old and new system. Before that we suggest you to go through the expenditure revenue statement:
Earning s >Cash> Pre tax 7 lacs, Expenditure:Home loan repayment 1 lac( 80C) home to be occupied in 2013, ,interest 50k,(Travel Allowances 9.6k and other benefits non tax 40.4 k) totaling 50k ,15k medical, HRA benefit 1.5 lacs. House hold expenditure 2 lac.




So what makes you believe that the new tax code favors the aam aadmi. It’s an even more expensive shot of wine. Media Tax Man please help us to understand if we are wrong . Also the government is trying to emphasize on investment habit. But this reduces liquidity in the hands of the common man 2.65 lac of other expenditure will cover all the monthly household expense, in new regime if one wants to pay less of tax, invest more with a 5 year lock in. What about emergency requirement.

Note: Pardon us if we have gone wrong anywhere, would incorporate the correction immediately this is what a CA has accepted the fact to be.Note PWC argues that HRA would still be there if thats he case than many would not fall underthe purview of tax itself. There is no clarity. But hRA is defined as Benfit recd by employee from Employer. This is not the only burden you need to pay additionally, tax on your retirement and etc. Adding link for all of you to take a different view on the Hype created by media.Think about it and discuss. FOr details on the tax code hit the below link
http://lite.epaper.timesofindia.com/getpage.aspx?pageid=1&pagesize=&edid=&edlabel=ETBG&mydateHid=13-08-2009&pubname=&edname=&publabel=ET
This is only for service class wait for the SME's and COrporations who stand to lose on the new system. Suggestions/Comments please.

Political Recruitment in a Corporate Isshtyle…..!!

Did you ever had an idea how much does a company/organization spend in terms of recruitment, forget about the training part? Can the amount be as big as Rs. 2-3 crore in a single state like Gujrat, which the IYC (Indian Youth Congress) team spent for the just concluded youth congress election? If it can be, just think about India as a large!
Gone is the conventional grassroots panchayat assembly ticket itinerary to become state level office bearers. We think the days are not far when we would see Congress Inc. or BJP Inc. or be it any political part name with Inc. as a suffix.
Rahul Gandhi the master mind behind revamping the image of IYC is on a hiring spree pan India. And what would the employees in the organization/team be called as? “Aam Aadmi ke Sipahi” or “freedom fighter” or would they bear different managerial post as CEO, CFO, Business Development Executive, Analyst, consultants and other posts in an organization one can think of.
We all understand the fact that youth is considered as the backbone of an economy and don’t forget that youth are the target segment for IYC. So do you think it could be a next viable employement opportunity for you? Or do you think a new industry is opening up for the mass at large?
Candidates are grilled by a panel on their vision for the future of the youth wing, so how about the idea of schools/colleges opening up where people would be imparted training, how to get into these upcoming organization?
Do you think his concept of “ONE MAN ONE POST” as also suggested by Antony Committee is set to revolutionize the functional structure in the organization?
To what extent do you think that the policy of corporate culture adopted by IYC to identify and prepare a new generation of leaders is feasible?
Share your ideas!

August 15, 2009

Limitations of Ratios:

Have you ever thought the financial world backbone that indicates so many strategy of investment has limitations that needs to be understood by People at large?
A simple Current Ratio or even Debt to Equity (Net worth) Ratio has different interpretation. For instance: Theoretically, A high current ratio indicates CA > CL by that many times its benefits can be read in all of the books or a CR <1 indicates short term liquidity crunch for the company.
HLL Hindustan Lever now known as HUL maintains a higher current liability than its current assets meaning it has got few of its fixed assets financed by the Current liabilities than the big question is how it manages its cycle so well.
A debt equity ratio of 2:1 theoretically says fine for the company, what about banking, and financial institutions. Forget that it’s a business specific thingy agreed what about companies in real estate space offering paper to lenders. Still one goes out and buy the stock of the company.
Ratio of PE 6 and PEG of 0.5 seems expensive but a stock at a PE of 12 and PEG of 0.8 still looks attractive. Think about it before we answer.

5th P of Marketing Mix – Packaging

Did you ever think that what rating would you give to Product, Price, Place, Promotion and the 5th P (Packaging) on a likert scale? Or to what extent are they inter-related?

We claim that there is numerous benefit of packaging. But is it only addition to image and identity of a company, protection, artistic, ethnicity, mode of transportation, identification of goods, identifying and promotion of company, communication to target audience, it’s utility, brand association and brand building? Or do you think the gain of packaging is a never ending list?

Do you think the new packaging of lifebuoy increased the sales of lifebuoy? Have you ever thought how does the company quantify it?

We cannot deny the fact that for many brands the packaging usually sets the tone for all of the other communications efforts establishing the brand’s overall look and feel.

But these days there is another concern revolving in the minds of consumers related to marketing. Packaging material! Have you ever thought on the extent of threat to the environment and homosapiens survival by the so called attractive packaging material which one’s claim that it helps the company a lot?

Give it a serious thought from now onwards, as these issues are likely to come at some point of time in your life either as a consumer or as a marketer.

Share your thought on this!

August 14, 2009

THE CASE OF CORE BUSINESS WITH NON- CORE BUSINESS ACTIVITIES

KK DYES AND CHEMICAL (P) ltd. is having a net worth of 60 crore. The company is expanding its business operations in places other than Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The company reported a net profit of Rs. 10 crore for the fiscal year 08-09.The company PBIT stood at Rs. 27.3 crores. After the company goes for expansion the company will generate Rs 35 crore (PBIT). The amount that is required to fund the project is estimated at Rs. 62 crores. The real benefit that will accrue to the company is from 2011 due to fertilizer policy that will add to the bottom line Rs 5 crore. The company is having a debt equity mix of 2:1. The financial institution has offered the company that the fresh loans can be raised at 18% if debt equity goes beyond 2:1. The company wants to expand in order to benefit from the new fertilizer policy.the promoters are in no position to contribute fresh capital The company hires you as a consultant in order to recommend how to finance the project needs. The promoters are ready to use accruals of the firms. The company has provided you with the financial statements and the expectations in terms of PBIT are provided above. Recommend what should be done by the firm in order to make the project feasible. The expectation of the owner in terms of cost of capital is next to nil from additional investment. However they will not accept if the project uses the current cash flow generated by the company. The company will accept the recommendation of the consultant and he will receive huge rewards if the project kicks in but if lay out for funding is not prescribed than the company need not pay anything to the consultant. Being a consultant you have to find a feasible solution or walk away without any reward...... Other details available through mail
If you are interested in getting the details of the entire case., relevant facts on it and solve the case. Write to us asking for a copy of the same @
splconquest@gmail.com. Before that make sure you add yourself to the followers list. This case is available only for the followers of SPL Conquest team.

August 12, 2009

Generic Cricket

Eat cricket, sleep cricket and watch cricket. This is the mantra that is being preached all over India and has been spreading to other parts of the world as well.

I believe that T20 is more acrobatic and explosive form of game. But again a second thought comes to one’s mind that how about the Test format, where real qualities of players are tested in terms of stamina, concentration, legerity and talent. But don’t consider me an old grouch that I cannot see the benefits of pulling in young fans, market opportunity and increasing TRP ratings.

But is this format of game promoted with a mere intention of garnering more revenue with celebrities coming into limelight followed by auction of players as if they are some commodities or is it a sign of changing mindset? My friends claim that it is stealing the show from the longer version of game, more so specifically from one day format.

More so importantly, I think that it is a life saviour for few players who when used to fail miserably in one day format, could see hooligans on the street burning their photographs/home or welcoming their failed team with black flag.

Do you think that in the near future 50-50 format would fade away and T20 format would have tough competition with S6 format, keeping into consideraton the fast pace of life? And don’t forget 5 day format!

But are we diverting from technical cricket and has been woweed by these money-spinning business? So what do you want – classical shots or rock and roll cricket? Choice is yours!

Post your comment or send us your feedback at splconquest@gmail.com

Decoding the New tax Code

The decades old tax regime comes to an end next fiscal. One set of group who will not be happy are the Chartered Accountants and Lawyers( filing eturns) because they will have less of extra income for tax planning. Decoding the tax code but before that give a thought on the above issue with following questions-

Do you take any indication with the new tax code?
How markets will be impacted think about it?
How your personal income is affected?
Does it favor the rising middle class? Think why?
How does it impact the tax regime?

If you think you got it? Wait for us to match your thought with numbers and facts
Its not what this seems to be
Friends we are working with numbers to give you better insight. Keep following the blog.
" Open your mind like a parachute it works only when its open

Write to us for any query splconquest@gmail.com


August 11, 2009

Priavte Label – Worth Practising??

Do you think that the rift is only between organized retailer and unorganized retailer? What about the threat to national brands with the introduction of private labels by organized retailers? Replacement of private labels has been widely practised by foreign counterparts – Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour, Metro and biggies in this field.

Given below are some facts and figures which would force you to think how and why did it happen:-

· International retailers like Wal-Mart of USA and Tesco of UK have 40% and 55% own label brands representation in their stores, respectively.

· According to KPMG study, globally private lables contribute 17% of retail sales with a growth of 5% p.a.

· In India private labels constitute 10-12 per cent of the organised retail product mix.

· Among the major Indian players, the degree of private label penetration was the highest in Trent with 90 per cent, followed by Reliance Retail (80 per cent), Pantaloon (75 per cent), Nilgiri's (38 per cent), Indiabulls/Piramyd (30 per cent) and Foodworld (22 per cent).

But do you think that the future looks bright for retailers with the introduction of private labels? How about customization, identifying and filling the customer’s value expectation, supplying minimum threshold quality, maintenance of store’s quality standards, and assortment of products? Apart from these criteria, nummber of other sensitive issues needs to be taken care of in order to push up brand and store loyalty. Or is it the willingness of cosumers to down-trade? But they have to make sure that they do not exercise over private labelling. Line extensions provide another lesson for retailers.

But what do you think are the steps that a national brand manufacturer shoud deploy to mitigate this risk? Do you think that fighting selectively, coming up with offereings frequently and moving out of those categories where the products do not make a symbolic or emotional difference would turn out as a saviour for them?

What do you think should be the next step of the retailers when they have never been able to brush aside the affront of being called cheaper brands?

Send your feedack/Post your comment or mail to us for any query at splconquest@gmail.com

August 9, 2009

Is the ban on surrogate advertisement justifiable?

The importance of advertisement cannot be lowballed, but at times they are accused of misguiding people at large. When such accusations are proved, some advertisements are scraped off from media. That did happen with ads endorsing alcoholic drinks and cigarettes. But how can we forget brand extension? And these are deployed to bypass the advertisement ban.

Surrogate advertising is prominently seen in cases where advertising a particular product is banned by law. Advertisement for products like cigarettes or alcohol which are injurious to heath are prohibited by law in several countries and hence these companies have to come up with several other products that might have the same brand name and indirectly remind people of the cigarettes or beer bottles of the same brand.

Few surrogate advertisements shown in print, electronic and outdoor media are - Bagpiper soda and cassettes & CDs, Haywards soda, Derby special soda, Gilbey green aqua, Royal Challenge golf accessories and mineral water, Kingfisher mineral water, White Mischief holidays, Smirnoff cassettes & CDs, Imperial Blue cassettes & CDs, Teacher's achievement awards etc.

But do you think that the laws framed to curb surrogate advertisement such as Cable Television Network (Amendment) Rules 2009 are effective? How about OOH media tool?

Tune into the coverage of Formula 1 racing and you will see cars racing around circuits of the world with the names and logos of tobacco and liquor companies emblazoned on every part of the vehicle and the driver, and do you still remember Royal Challengers (Royal Challenge) Bangalore, and how about Wills Lifestyle(Wills)? Does this mean that ITC cannot advertise its products in Indian events even though it is a major contributor to the exchequer in terms of excise and duties? And the list continues!

But I think that instead of discussing more on this substitute adverisemet, we should focus more on - If it is legal to manufacture, distribute and sell a product, why should it be illegal to promote the sale of that product?

I don’t think anyone can answer that question convincingly. If it has been established conclusively that cigarette smoking kills, why is it that it is available to us?

Mail us your thought on this at splconquest@gmail.com

Just Interpret



Hi Friends from Finance Stream,

Just interpret the results and think why this year will be different from last 30 years for Sensex. A challenge that will help you people to think rationally.
All the best. Mail us your answers @ splconquest@gmail.com

August 5, 2009

Stock Picking Formula

Picking gems that can turn out to be true multi-baggers:

Gems are those stories that has a long way to go because of strong order book and execution capabilities or strong business model or a hidden gem in the balance sheet that will be recognized once it nears its fair value. It is always good to pick stocks that will be the flavors of tomorrow rather than chasing stocks that has hogged limelight and once thing works out as expected a fair value on clear picture can be estimated. The return these stocks can give is tremendous, with sentiments towards equity markets not being positive such investments provide cushion to the investors.
The logic behind picking stocks:

  • Pick a stock in a category that’s under-owned by financial institution: An under owned sector hogs limelight and gives good returns as financial institutions try mopping up stocks in the sector, once outlook on the sector changes. These sectors go through re-rating and gems identified in the sector can give returns that are much higher than index leaders. IT companies a classical eg in the case
  • In addition to it, the stock has to be Low on valuation to its peers, preferably sectors that are beaten down in terms of scenario they are into and going forward a slight positive can result in faster re-rating of stocks.
    Principle of investment: PEG ratio<0.3>
  • Price Earning (P/E) in single digit: It reflects the market price divided by EPS of the company. Companies of similar size and similar earnings, a stock with lower P/E will be preferred. However some sectors do not command high P/E, it is always good to compare stock with large players and similar peers.
  • Growth potential of close to 20% CAGR: A company having visibility of 20 % y-o-y will always have some interest either by financial institution or large players. A clear cut accumulation can be seen in such stocks during market corrections.
  • Other factors that needs to be considered: Large players in the range of 13-15 times forward. Strong order book and execution capabilities, management track record and uniqueness in business model and low on risk. Look for cushion in these stocks in terms of price to book value or EV to sales or other financial ratios that can justify its potential going forward.

This is just a brief guideline and one of the way of picking stocks.

Contributed by ,

SPL Investments

Another Venture from SPL Group

August 4, 2009

Have you ever thought the way Investments are done

Karm Bhumi hai teri karm karta ja placement ki kya sochta hai pagle aage badhta jaa
Manegi Duniya loha tera bas apni Soch aur samjh ko Duniya ke saath badalta jaa.....
One of the motivational force that drives SPL conquest and thats why we inspire confidence..
This is for all of them who is feeling a bit low today but don't be worried life is full of opportunities and if you miss one you have another waiting for you.So cheer up
Talking about opportunities, Lets share the thought on Investments today,
a friend of mine told its a place where people with experience and people with money meet to exchange the goods they own Money and Experience Is it the fact?
Finance students please think about it,that market today does not look at pricing alone, or even simple concepts which are of no relevance in real world like Beta or PE Ratio. The world of investment is about gaining experience and lot of solid research makes you a deadly wine that attracts profit.
A very simple equation that we as a team talk about is the concept of replacing cost of proven businesses during the tougher times. Do remember an investor is one who knows what he is doing to protect his portfolio and not the one who buys on other recommendations.
Few of the investment formula jargons that we heavily rely on are
Identifying Growth Sectors, Themes that will be winning investments, EV/EBITDA, replacement cost theory PEG ratio and many more sophisticated tools of investment technical and otherwise.
Identifying gems based on there intrinsic value which does not even involve using a DCF technique just a simple call on the valuation front and you get it
Doing lot of Value research as a team we never focus on Reliance or SBI but we do focus on small mid cap gems. This is an area where true baggers are identified lot of risk and even higher return. Want to learn more about investment write to us/follow us on our blog and do not forget to register as a follower.
Today I wanted to know how many of you are actually curious about learning new things on investments. So vote or either write to us if you want more. we will teach you the real investment market and real meaning of investment. To learn more about Investments forward your queries to splconquest@gmail.com and learn about Indian Equity Markets

August 3, 2009

Important Data

Rates %
Bank rate 6
Repo rate 4.75
Reverse Repo Rate 3.25
CRR 5
SLR 24
PLR 12.75-13.25
Savings Rate 7.5-9.6
Deposit rate 3.5
Call rate 2.25-4.3

RBI GOvernor : Mr Subba Rao
Sebi Chairman : C B bhave
Mahindra Satyam: Under Vineet Nayyar
Vice President: Mohammad Hamid Ansari
President: Smt. Pratibha Devsingh Patil
Speaker of Lok Sabha: Meira Kumar


Basic Information on HDFC bank

Along with the basic search on HDFC make sure you are updated with the following facts too:

HDFC Bank Promoted by Deepak Parekh was incorporated in the year 1994. 16 years down the line, the bank has become a mammoth. Who does not know about HDFC bank. A bank which has a track record of giving consistent growth maintaining highest net margins in the sector and still emerging as a winner during the toughest situation

HDFC is a 64000 crore market Capitalized bank which has a very steady model of growth. The strength of the business structure of HDFC extends to its unlisted companies.

Bank has never been too aggressive and that’s why it has managed the down turn so well. Think about its competitors ICICI bank a drastic fall from the peak of 2008 was almost on the verge of shut down. The bank has always received premium over its competitors because of its strategic growth. During the slowdown too, it merged Centurion Bank of Punjab with itself in 2008 as the management knew how much downside is there in the global scenario.

Do remember friends Mr. Parekh, was heading the Satyam saga to safeguard the confidence of the investor and their wealth stuck in the company.

The bank is all set for Basel Norms and would benefit the most once the sector opens up for foreign players in a large scale.

HDFC sister concerns are FII’s favorites whenever the bank index has to recover it makes the first move on the bourses.

Highest Net Interest Margin, best CASA Ratio and its subsidiaries (not exactly) but sort of a Subsidiary like HDFC securities Mutual Fund Life Insurance etc. makes it clear the bank has all the potential to grow even bigger.

Please prepare about the company on these lines I am sure that’s all you would need to know about the company.

Note:- Please note this is to provide basic information about the topic to make sure that you get an idea on the subject in the sense what lines you need t0 prepare on.

All the very best friends,
SPL Conquest

Swine Flu – Global Bedlam or Edpidemic

Do we fear volcanic eruption, do we think about global warming, and then don’t you think that this new pandemonium deserves a serious attention?

History:-

Novel H1N1 earlier referred to as Swine Flu was first detected in US in April 2009. In 2008, World Bank estimated that a flu pandemic could cost $3 trillion and would result in a nearly 5% drop in world GDP. Do you think that the World Bank were correct with the stats? Let’s see!

Facts & Figures:-

According to latest estimate of WHO, approx 816 people have died from infection. An estimated 1 in every 158 people in England is thought to have had swine flu since the outbreak began in England at the end of April. In India itself, 525 cases have been identified mostly in the state of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur and Delhi and yesterday a girl in Pune died and I think everyone must be aware of the reason by now. It has the power of swiping away 12% of US GDP.
Researchers do have come up with anti virus Tamiflu but they are effective only if taken in the first 48 hours of infection but they also bear side effects like nauseau and diarrhoea.

Steps taken by the governement:-

In UK, government has started a national pandemic flu service helpline, which helps people diagnose whether they have swine flu and tells them what to do if they are ill.
Similarly, Maharashtra government has decided to boost homeopathic research on the H1N1 virus with an initial provision of Rs 5 lakh.
Even in Jordan, ministry will purchase Thermal Scanning Cameras, a device that images transmitted heat which would be placed at airport and at border crossings.

Beneficiary:-

But overall it has come as a boon for vaccines and anti-viral drug maker. (Justification: Shares of Novavax Inc touched a two-year high of $4.40, Vical Incs shares rose to a new 52-week high of $3.96 on Nasdaq, Biocryst Pharmaceuticals Incs shares rose as much as 18% to a two-year high of $11.20).

Precaution:-

If you think we are safe, I think we are mistaken because on 14th June, around 100 software professionals in Hyderabad walked into the Government Chest Hospital, the nodal centre for handling swine flu cases in the state, to get them checked for the virus, out of message spread about Swine flu. This booby hatch deserves special attention, in terms of awareness, safety precaution, initial diagnose if one is suffering from fever so that it does not spread. Your fellow citizen’ life is equally important.

Note:- Please note this is to provide basic information about the topic to make sure that you get an idea on this.




August 2, 2009

GD TOPIC for PLACEMENTS

Here's the list of Important GD Topics

Indian Film At Oscars
Realty TV Shows should be banned as its in bad taste for our Culture
Gayism in India
Delhi Metro Mishap who should be blamed
Maytas and Satyam the link to the Hyderabad-metro project
General Motors
Cash for Clunkers
Common Wealth
Tata Motors movement to Gujarat from Singur- Political financial
Google Vs Microhoo
Are social networking sites a medium to promote vulgarity
RNRL vs RIL
Tie up of ADAG with Dream Works
and Many more

August 1, 2009

Friendship Day Gift from SPL CONQUEST to the batch of 2010

Hi All,
We know you have placement season coming up, with HDFC BANK being the first play ground in your life for most of you. As a team, we decided to give you a list of probable questions that will help you to face the interview of HDFC BANK. Give a thought to all these questions before you go to the final round and we are sure you will come out as a winner.
This is a friendship day gift to all our friends irrespective of whether you have subscribed for it or not. This question's answers will be addressed to people who are part of SPL CONQUEST.
Here goes the list of questions
*About the Company:
1) HDFC Bank facts-
2) Why Join HDFC Bank?
*Mapping HDFC job offer with your potential and one 's own expectations

1) Why Should I Select you over others/ work ex ppl?
2) What are your aspirations?
3)If you get placed other than your home town, are you comfortable with it?
4)Which is your dream company? – think about it, how should you answer it?
5) Are you ok with the flexible job in terms of role, when you know that this would not be a justification to the degree that you hold?
6) Define your priorities -Growth or Money or Ethics or Others?
7) Can You Lie
*Current Affairs and General Awareness
1)What is Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate,SLR, SDR, Call Rate etc
2)India Budget 2009 Highlights
3)Fiscal Package
4)General Motor Mishap
5)Microhoo
Could be GD topic too
6)Sach Ka Samna vs Politicians why indian society leaders so worried?
7)Men Vs Women i n JOb Market
8) IPL a spoil sport for interest in One Day international Cricket
*Job Related
1)What do you think are the qualities of the relationship manager? Why do you think so, give justification for each point?
2)How do you handle your team members during times of slowdown, when you had to let go off some people?
3)How secure do you think your current job is during these times of slowdown and why would you think so?
This question would test on stability
4)How would you deal with the customer if you know that he understands only the regional language and you don’t have any understanding of it?
etc etc.....

*Situation Based
1)Convince me why I should buy your service product over others?
2)If the customer asks you to give him/her some privilege rate of interest below the floor rate on the account he is holding with HDFC since long and then he would consider taking one crore loan, how would you deal with the situation, given the condition that this is the target situation for you?
3) Job of Relationship Manager is not about only managing relationship with the customers? What extra is required out of of them?

Friends this is not a comprehensive list as it would be unjustifiable for those who have already registered with us!
All the best for your future ahead.Happy Friendship Day!!