The Great Debate (India)

from Abhiram Nandakumar:

Stories of intuition and hope

Infosys’ head honcho S.D. Shibulal revealed he is an INTJ type.  It is hardly surprising then that Shibu, as he likes to be called, was one of the pioneers of the Global Delivery Model – corporate speak for outsourced IT services.

INTJ (short for Introvert, Intuition, Thinking and Judgment) is a rare personality type based on psychoanalyst Carl Jung’s works. INTJ personalities are self-starters, preferring to work alone without an authority looking over their shoulders and meticulously plan their activities to achieve success.

Shibulal’s thoughts on M&A and his company’s margins reflect his INTJ traits.

“M&A is like falling in love. There is no plan like falling in love!” he said at the Reuters India Investment Summit.

Considering it has only made three acquisitions over the last five years, Infosys clearly doesn't fall in love easily.

Still, Shibu said the Indian software services behemoth “is comfortable spending 10 percent of its revenue on acquisitions.”

from Abhiram Nandakumar:

A garage, a beaker and a Bunsen burner

Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, one of India’s most influential businesswomen and among the world’s most powerful women, says she’s an accidental entrepreneur.

Mazumdar-Shaw has shown that modest garage start-ups can extend beyond software and hardware companies. She set up what is now India's largest listed biotechnology company in 1978 and she encourages others to follow suit.

“Today a lot of early stage research work can be done in a garage,” she said at the Reuters India Investment Summit.

Mazumdar-Shaw reckons opportunities for bio-tech startups are huge, considering the demand for sophisticated technology like genomic based systems, diagnostics for cancer stem cells, and high-end synthetic biology. All these are usually developed in small labs across the country.

“What I find today is that there are a large number of very innovative young biotech entrepreneurs who are doing things in a very small way. CellWorks is doing very interesting work on drug design.”

Her advice to budding entrepreneurs – If you have a novel idea and are looking to set up a business, don’t think twice, just go for it.

Rahul Gandhi next Congress chief?

Rahul Gandhi is set to become the next Congress party chief within a few weeks, The Economic Times reported on Saturday. The report said several party leaders, including a cabinet minister, had confirmed the handover is likely in “four to eight weeks”.

After Rahul takes over, Sonia Gandhi will restrict her role to giving broad directions to the party and government, the report added.

The Nehru-Gandhi family political dynasty has no other equivalent in the world, combining the birthright of royalty with the tragic glamour of the Kennedy clan. A member of the family has been in charge of India for more than two-thirds of the period since independence from Britain in 1947.

But Rahul Gandhi’s apparent ascendancy, and uncertain leadership qualities, has raised questions about whether a family political dynasty is compatible with a modern democracy. In September, Reuters interviewed Congress party officials and family friends, some of whom have talked to the media for the first time. They revealed deep concerns about the future of the Gandhi dynasty.

Rahul’s taking over as Congress president, if and when it happens, will come at a time when the government is battling high inflation, corruption scandals and slowing growth. Is this the right move for the ruling Congress?

Anna arrested: Will the move backfire?

Veteran social activist Anna Hazare has been arrested by police at his home to prevent him from defying authorities with a fast to the death.

Will the move backfire? Share your views.

Comment on this blog or call us at 011-41781026 to register your views.

SLIDESHOW:  The anti-graft campaigner

OPINION: Defining democracy LIVE BLOG: Hazare arrested

Views (via phone) ANIL ZINGADE (Pune) – “Whatever he’s doing is very good. It’s a good decision for such a thing. We’re always there for support.”

Is the cabinet reshuffle merely cosmetic?

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh retained key allies in a cabinet reshuffle on Tuesday in a bid to help him fight accusations of corruption and policy paralysis, choosing instead to focus on gaining support ahead of state elections next year.

Key ministers were retained while Jairam Ramesh was moved to the rural development ministry from environment.

Will the minor cabinet reshuffle be sufficient to fight a slew of graft scandals, public protests and high inflation that have undermined the government?

Share your views.

iPad 2 or PlayBook: which tablet is better?

Now that the BlackBerry PlayBook has been rolled out in India, are you still thinking of buying the revamped Apple tablet?

Customers now have the option to buy the PlayBook, which features Wi-Fi support, with 16, 32 or 64 GB of memory and the models are priced between 27,990 rupees and 37,990 rupees.

The iPad 2, a thinner and faster version of the original Apple tablet, features two cameras for video chat and is priced between 29,500 rupees and 46,900 rupees, depending on the model.

Apple iPad 2 or BlackBerry PlayBook — which tablet is better?

Will hike in petrol prices hurt your budget?

IOC, BPCL and HPCL raised petrol prices by 5 rupees a litre from Sunday, a move that is bound to hit the common man’s pocket.

Though this will prove to be a relief for state-run oil firms, it can have an impact on inflation as well.

Brokerage Nomura said in a report late last month that even a 10 percent hike in petrol and diesel prices would add around 70 basis points directly to headline inflation. Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has said inflation is likely to remain at elevated levels between 7-7.5 percent during FY12.

How is this hike seen affecting your daily budget and is it likely to change your spending habits?

from MacroScope:

India’s central bank battles alone in inflation struggle

What more does India's central bank have to do? Last week data showed March inflation rising to almost 9 percent on an annual basis. More importantly, core inflation is above 7 percent for the first time in 3 years meaning demand-side pressures are rising fast. And that's despite the Reserve Bank of India raising interest rates eight times since last March.

The inflation data comes just after a quarterly HSBC report based on purchasing managers indexes showed that inflation in India seemed impervious to monetary policy tightening.

The truth, is the inflation-fighting central bank has little backup from the government which remains stubbornly in spending mode. Its foot-dragging on reform and foreign investment contributes towards keeping food price inflation high. This year's fiscal deficit target is 4.8 percent of GDP and even this is seen as optimistic.

"What India really needs is to have domestic demand slowing down quite rapidly but the government is not prepared to risk that,"says Claire Dissaux, investment strategist at Millenium Global in London.

The RBI has repeatedly said it shouldn't have to do all the heavy lifting. But lack of support from the government means the central bank will have to put up rates another 100 bps this year, analysts reckon.

Of course India is not alone in this bind though it is the most extreme example of lax fiscal policy being counterbalanced by tight monetary policy. Brazilian interest rates are among the highest in the developing world at 11.75 percent and that is down to loose fiscal policy, a lot of it "quasi-fiscal spending" via the state development bank BNDES, research house Capital Economics says.

Brazil's central bank suggested recently that fiscal tightening of one percent of GDP would have the same impact as 125 bps of interest rate hikes.

Congratulate Team India

Mahendra Singh Dhoni struck a dramatic six to bring the World Cup to India on Saturday after Sri Lanka had threatened to ruin their party.

India is only the third side to win batting second, a feat that seemed beyond them when Lasith Malinga dismissed both openers in his first four overs. India also became the first country to win the World Cup as host.

Join us in congratulating Team India on their win.

India v Pakistan: Who will win?

Nothing gets bigger in this part of the globe than a cricket match featuring India and Pakistan. The rivalry would be renewed in Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final in Mohali in Punjab.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yusuf Raza Gilani will watch the match in what is billed as “cricket diplomacy”.

According to a newspaper report, airport authorities have received requests from business tycoons, including Mukesh Ambani and fellow industrialist Vijay Mallya, to allow them to park their private jets in Chandigarh.

While politicians and Bollywood celebrities will also be in tow, there is a growing sense of anger among the ticket-seeking fans who complained of large-scale black-marketing.

How important is this “mother of all cricket contests”? Who do you think will win? Share your views.