Let us have a look at the behaviour of a customer when he gets acquainted with a product. Initially he would get to know about it through various media like TV, Print Ads or the internet. Then he would weigh his options considering various criterions like price, utility, value etc. Before the advent of the internet the customers had to rely on what was shown on the Television or what was published in news papers and magazines. The only way the customer could verify the claims of the companies was to try out the product or by word of mouth which was not very effective due to the limited exposure to people who used the product. People were apprehensive about reviews that were given on Television and in Newspapers as there was a possibility of these reviews being sponsored. But today it is not just customers giving the companies feedback, but the internet has opened a channel between the customers. Forums, blogs, social networking sites have been game changers. Customers are very quick to voice their opinions on the web. The customers air their opinions freely on forums and blogs that give them complete freedom to express their views. These opinions can be positive or negative about a product. Either way the company can use this as an opportunity to consolidate their position. This gives the company a unique learning opportunity using which they can they can carefully study the reviews of the customers and then make suitable amends or changes in the product in accordance with the expectations of the customers. Understanding, measuring and responding to customer reactions on the internet has become an industry in itself. Nielsen has a suite of products that helps the company to perform an in depth study on the customers i.e. their demographics, preferences and behaviour.

Should the Companies participate in Social Media?

Now this was a question that many companies faced during the dawn of social media on the web. Some grabbed this new opportunity to understand their customers better while others were slow to respond. Gradually there has been acceptance in the industry that social media is here to stay and it will have a powerful impact on the way companies promote their products. Not participating actively in Social Media could convey wrong signals to the customers. The customers might think that the company is unconcerned about their views. Even worse, misconceptions about the product may go uncorrected and create false rumours that may damage the reputation of the company. Companies realized that participation in social media conveyed a sense of trust, which is very important for it to build a reputation. The companies do not have any fear if they believe that they have offered the best they could to the customer. In case the review is positive they company can officially participate in the discussion and amplify the facts that have helped it in getting a positive review from the customers. If the reviews are negative the company can clear any misconceptions that the customers have about the product. For example HUL has started the ‘Sunsilk gang of girls’ online portal to increase awareness of their products. This initiative comes from an effort by Sunsilk to develop a greater understanding and connect between the consumer and the brand by building another interface with them. The brand stands for togetherness, fun and expertise, and that’s what the site seeks to propagate. It also serves as an exclusive girls’ forum and helps them share information related to health and well being.

Participation in Social Media broadly involves two stages. First is making the Customer aware of the products by advertising in appropriate places. It is easier to target customers as a group rather than as individuals. It is easier to penetrate the group as word of mouth advertising works efficiently due to the trust between the members, their ideological proximity or common interests. So the companies can target specific groups (online communities) which may appeal to the members. If you are a MBA entrance exams coaching agency, then placing advertisements on a MBA entrance discussion forum makes more sense than advertising on a Forum for Photography. So participating in social media gives you the opportunity to selectively target the audience that you feel would be more receptive to your advertisements. Another advantage is that you can measure the response of the customers on social media. Number of page views and the number of banner advertisement clicks are examples of parameters used to study the interaction with customers. The quality of the interaction can be gauged by parameters like the time spent and bounce rates i.e. how frequently users have quit the site. The second part is actually interacting with the customers. In addition the company can selectively participate in discussion on these forums to dispel any doubts that customers may have regarding the company and the product. Some of the companies have forums of their own, which completes the cycle by facilitating feedback from the customer. It is this feedback that has opened a completely new dimension that can be explored by the companies. The internet has revolutionised the marketing scene and there are many more changes to come with the boom in the number of internet retailers.

Check you results here

http://xatonline.net.in/loginstu.aspx

According to CoolAvenues.com

XLRI has shortlisted 1372 applicants for Group Discussion and Personal Interview round for Human Resource Management Programme. The XAT cut-offs for HRM is – 80 percentile in EL, 80 percentile in DM, 70 percentile in QA and overall 88 percentile.

For Business Management Programme total 955 applicants have been shortlisted for Personal Interview. The XAT cut-offs for BM is – 70 percentile in EL, 80 percentile in DM, 92 percentile in QA and overall 90 percentile.

The List of the colleges accepting CMAT has come out

Some of the prominent b-schools accepting CMAT are

Asia Pacific Institute of Management (New Delhi), Goa Institute of Management (Goa), Gitam Institute of Management (Vizag), KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research (Mumbai), IFIM Business School (Bangalore), SIES College of Management Studies (Navi Mumbai), Department of Management Studies – NIT Dugapur and BITS Pilani.

Check the below link for the complete list
http://aicte-cmat.in/Documents/51.pdf

SIBM Pune Shortlist is out

You can check your results here

http://oamssnap.blueshiftindia.com/sibmgepistatus/

The cut off has been 91.75

All the best everyone

CAT2011 results are now available. Please have your CAT registration number and email address ready and click on the ‘CAT2011 Results’ button. In case of occasional slowness caused by heavy traffic, please try again after some time.

Check your results here

https://weaiimcalcat.catiim.in/

Time has come now to prepare for Phase 2 , THE GD PI PROCESS , we will be providing a Tip/ a link to an important article etc everyday

TIP 1: Recommending Reading Blogs such as

http://swaminomics.org/

http://blogs.economictimes.indiatimes.com/

http://blogs.hbr.org/

A regular read of these blogs will keep you aware of the latest happening around the globe

Start Reading 2 -3 Posts a day

XLRI Jamshedpur, Business Management: 38
XLRI Jamshedpur, PM & IR: 34
XIM Bhubhaneswar: 32
GIM Goa: 24

Test your answers with XAT score calculators

http://xat.testfunda.com/

http://www.careerlauncher.com/examcorner/

http://www.time4education.com/xat12_analysis.asp

AICTE has come up with another test similar to AIEEE (conducted for engineering colleges), this time for MBA institutes.  CMAT is a test which is supposed to be a test for around 4000 + colleges other than IIMs which offer MBA. They are coming up with this test, so as to make available a common platform for test givers based on which MBA colleges (approved by AICTE) can select students. But the question that arises now is:  Would it really work? Would it really ease the pain of students and minimize the number of tests? Will it substitute the existing multiple national level tests? If yes, which ones?

Making CMAT the most widely accepted common test for MBA is not simple. Many things need to be done to accomplish this objective.

The first one is that the top institutes approved by AICTE should accept CMAT. If we assume that these institutes are ready to accept a single test, why shouldn’t they accept the CAT. The CAT is old enough now and it has helped the IIM’s and numerous other colleges for a long time now.

Secondly, should it be mandatory for B-schools to select candidates on the basis of CMAT? Because if it is not then it will take years before most of the B-schools accept CMAT voluntarily.

Thirdly, it can create more confusion among the candidates if other tests for the B-schools are not stopped. It can serve its purpose only if all the B-schools including top ones (except IIMs…. maybe) accept only CMAT scores. If not, it will make life more difficult for students. AICTE has not come out with the list of B-schools who will consider the CMAT score and it is making it difficult for the students to accept CMAT as the main MBA entrance exam.

Another problem that arises with CMAT is that it a test for the ranking of students and not for their elimination. This means that it will just rank students on the basis of their performance as is the case with AIEEE and it has to be ensured that it will be of good standard.

This year, CMAT will be a three-hour online exam, to be conducted over nine days in two shifts (9.30 am – 12.30 pm and 2.30 pm – 5.30 pm). The 100-marks test will be divided in four different components of 25 marks each, wherein one mark will be deducted for each incorrect answer. Apart from aptitude, a general awareness section has been included in the exam.

As of now many top B-schools have shown resistance towards CMAT because of the following reasons:

1) There has not been any official letter from AICTE to these B-schools about considering CMAT score.

2) Many colleges have already started their admission process and CMAT is yet to be conducted. This can delay the admission process.

3) Top B-schools may consider the scores for subsequent year depending on its validity and their admission deadlines.

The test may make it easier for candidates appearing in 2013 depending on the action taken by AICTE…. but at least for this year, the confusion among the candidates about whether to take the test or not has certainly been aggravated.

Maharashtra management Common Entrance Test (Mah-CET) 2012 had been postponed by two weeks to March 11, 2012 to make way for the dates booked by the All Indian Council of Technical Education (AICTE) for its Common Management Admission Test (CMAT).

According to a Report on Pagalguy.com

An official from the Directorate of Technical Education (DTE), Maharashtra state government told PaGaLGuY that a decision to the effect had already been taken and hence 2012 will be the last instance ever of the Mah-CET. The official refused to go into the details explaining why such a decision had been taken. However, it can be wagered that the aggressiveness with which the AICTE has been pushing the CMAT could be the reason for Mah-CET’s scrapping.

MAHCET is an entrance exam organized by DTE Maharashtra every year for admissions into MBA/MMS courses of more 200 colleges across Maharashtra. Some of the well known colleges that accepted the MAHCET score are JBMIS, KJ Somaiya , Welingkar Mumbai and Bangalore

We will keep you posted as soon as we hear more

Placements is one of the most crucial information aspirants seek before taking admission in a college . Parameters such as ROI , Average , Highest , Median are some variables on which they judge a placement season . We all have been fearing a potential melt down of the eurzone , ever depreciating rupee , volatile market and gauge how it will effect the job market

A few articles have come on economic times giving different signals regarding placements in b-schools this year

Quoting a few extracts from their article
“For students graduating in 2012, the real-time learning of managing their careers through economic volatility is the only consolation in what threatens to be a gloomy placement season across the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and at the Indian School of Business.
“
“The number of Day Zero finance jobs, including those from investment banks, are likely to go down,” says Prof Dhiman. “But not every sector is doing badly. Consulting companies have multiple job offers, as do IT, technology product companies.” Adds Debashis Chatterjee, director, IIMKozhikode: “The number of companies visiting and offers being made will be conservative.”
FMCG and durables companies haven’t dropped out. They are coming to the campus, but they will recruit fewer students. “Some have said they are coming just to maintain their relationship on campus. They will recruit only 1 or 2 people,” says Dhiman. Some FMCG companies had hired 10-15 each last year. Pre-placement offers at IIM-C are down to 75 compared with 90-plus during the same time last year. Some Day 3, Day 4 companies have also dropped out.

Crore-Plus Salaries, Foreign Jobs Missing

“In 2009, we were banking on domestic offers. But this time, besides global offers, even the domestic ones will be affected,” adds Dhiman. IIM-Bangalore has been tempering the hopes of its students for some time now, not just this year. “The students are mature now and many of them come with work experience; they understand they may not get their dream job.

if we summarize the report on IIMs , its basically says that few profiles such as Core finance, FMCG may suffer both in terms of offers and CTC , and on the brighter side the consulting , IT and tech product companies will offer higher number of jobs . This is a mirror image of the condition in the economy , where booming sectors are expected to hire more

So what about Tier II b-schools

Such as the IMIs , IMTs , MDIs etc

Quoting a few more extracts

It’s the second rung-B schools that will feel them hard. Most of their students won’t land plum jobs this year. Not only are employers hiring fewer candidates this year, they are also deciding against an upward revision of salaries for B-school graduates.

Placements have begun at many such institutions , including Fore School of Management (FSM), International Management Institute (IMI), and IBS Hyderabad. IBS, Hyderabad, for instance , has witnessed a drop in the number of jobs being offered by each company this year.

However, some companies are tweaking the compensation structure by adding a larger part of the salary package to the variable, says an official familiar with Bschool placements, who did not wish to be named. LG, for instance, is offering a fixed salary of Rs 4.5 lakh, similar to last year. There is the bonus element, but it varies according to the candidate’s performance.

“Some companies have offered salary packages that are less by Rs 50,000 to Rs 1 lakh this year,” said a placement coordinator at a Delhi-based management institute , who too did not wish to be named. While it has been difficult to get organisations to look at an upward salary revision, a lot of recruiters have promised to look at revisions in the next fiscal, says Anita Lal, chairperson – placements, FSM. Yet, the institute is hopeful of a good placement season .

“We have confirmation from as many as 93% of recruiters which visited last year and despite the slowdown, 11 new recruiters have confirmed their participation,” she adds. The average package at the institute was at Rs 7 lakh last year.

Cosmetic goods and toiletries manufacturer Emami plans to plans to hire up to 15 management trainees from various secondrung B-schools this year. The company also says it will follow the market trend while deciding on salary packages, although there won’t be any cutting back.

“There will be an increased emphasis on variable pay,” says Krishna Mohan, CEO of Emami. Hoping that business will remain as usual , IT giant Infosys is planning to hire more candidates from top B-schools as well as second-rung schools this year.

A similar situation it seems is reported for second rung b schools as well and a salary drop is expected from the last year . But i guess the current emphasis has to be on brand and profile of the company that just CTC , as most of the top companies will surely go for CTC revisions once the economy stabilizes lets say in the last quarter of 2012

Most of the important entrance exams are either over or about to finish and now is the time to fill college applications. So, deciding which colleges to fill must be one of the simplest decisions you will have to make. Right??

Not really. You have too many options (terms and conditions apply) and estimating the test scores is as simple as understanding women (hint: very difficult). So, how do you go about selecting colleges to apply for. Here are a few basic guidelines or rather tips that would help you filter your choices. So, the most important criteria for nearly all the students is:

1) Placements.

I know. I know. Your first reaction on seeing the heading would be: “Haha.. I already knew that, sparky. Tell me something new.” Believe me, this is not as simple as it looks. There are many FINE PRINTS that the colleges do not want you to see. Do not worry though. I will help you understand those fine prints. (Been there, seen that )

  a) The placement figures include many variable costs. (People with experience can skip this point) – The salary figures that you see in the placement reports of most colleges includes many variable components. So, if you see an average package of, say, 12 lakhs per year, you would assume that you will take home 1 lakhs in cash per month. However, this is not the case. How much cash you get depends on what the company sets. On average, it is 60% – 70% of the figure you see. Yes, I understand that 60k – 70k looks good enough, but how many colleges do you know that had 12 lpa as their placement average.

Right here Johny... see, it says that 70% is variable...

  b) Look for median instead of mean. – Amongst the first thing that you will learn after entering an MBA programme would be a simple logic. ‘AVERAGE is misleading. Look for median figures.’ Apply this logic while looking at the placement figures of the institutes you wish to apply to. Let me explain how averages can be misleading.

  Let us take an example of an imaginary MBA institutes. Say the institute has 100 students and 5 of them secure packages of 1 crore each. Another 5 get 50 lakhs each. 5 more get 25 lakhs. 60 get something aroung 10 lakhs and remaining 25 get 5 lakhs.

  The average comes out to be something around 16 lakhs per annum. However, as you can see, 85% students get 10 lakhs or less. However, if you look at the median, it comes out to be 10 lakhs which is what 60% of the students get. As you can see from this example, you have much higher chances of getting the median package than or getting the average package.

  c) Check if the institute is reporting its figures according to IPRS (Indian Placement Reporting Standards). IPRS is a placement reporting system started by IIM A. Though it would not make a drastic difference, but it would help you make sure that the placement figures reported have been audited. Do not make this point as the sole criteria though.

  d) Check the UPDATED list of companies coming to the college – Make sure that the company or companies that you wish to work in come to the institute you are applying to. There have been many instances when colleges have included names of companies that visited the institute some time back in the past. There have also been cases when the name of the institute was put even when the HR visited a personal friend in the institute. (I have heard these cases but would not testify. ) Make sure that the list is updated. If required, call the companies and ask them if they really do visit the institute FOR PLACEMENTS

  e) How many days/months does it take for the students to get placed. – As a rule of thumb: The sooner the better. (Terms and conditions apply)

2) Pedagogy and quality of education.

The quality of education that you will get from the institute is one of the most important things that you should be looking for. There are a few things that you must note in this regard.

  a) Number of core faculties (full time professors) – Everything being equal, learning from a full time professor is superior to learning from visiting faculties. There are many reasons for this. First of all, full time professors are available are easy to get in touch with. In case you need any help in a subject, you can personally meet a full time professor during his time in the institute. This is not the case with part time professors.

  b) Updated syllabus – Make sure that the institute is constantly updating its syllabus according to changing industry needs, regulations, etc. It would be futile to learn something which is no longer applicable in the industry. You would be surprised to know that there are hundreds of institutes that are using syllabus designed many years ago.

  c) Method of teaching - There are some institutes that teach using the case study method while there are others that use theory method. Many others use a combination of both. Though I would not say which of the methods is better, I would say that I find the mix of case study and theory to be best of student development.

  d) Student to Faculty ratio - The higher the ratio, the better it is..

3) Cost of education (and availability of credit)

Most of you would already be aware of this and some of you might have already corrected me………

Its called Return on Investment, you fool of a writer.

However, it is not correct to call it Return on Investment. Why? (Read this article on Return on Investment (ROI): A flawed Concept to measure effectiveness of B-Schools). In short, I would say that calculating the ROI as placement divided by fees is not the correct measure for analysis.

  a) See if the fees is justified – You must make sure that the fees you are paying for the institute is justified and that you get your money’s worth from the institute.

  b) Education Loan – Must sure that the institute you are applying to has link up with some bank which helps you get cheaper loan with minimum processing time. If not possible, at least make sure that you would get the required funds from a bank.

4) Number of students in the institute

Only one vacancy left.

The number of students in the institute or rather, the number of students that you would compete with during placements is very important to note. Everything being equal, an institute that has lesser students is better. Why is it so?

  a) Competition in placements – So, there is a company that has decided to offer a package of 15 lakhs to 10 students in your institute. Wouldn’t it be easier to compete with 120 students than to compete with 420 for the 10 spots?

  b) Scarcer resources – In an institute with more students, there would be scarcer resources for each student to use. If you do not think of it being important, consider that the internet speed would be divided amongst all of you. This means slower FACEBOOK and music downloads for you.

There are many other things to be considered too… But the above points are the most important ones. Best of Luck in this second phase of this MBA season..

Probable Cut-offs

SIBM – Pune 95+

SCMHRD 90+

SIIB 85+

SIBM – B’glore 85+

SIOM 80+

SITM 76+

SCIT** 70+

SSBM 65+

SIMS 62+

SIMC*** 58+

SICSR 55+

SIHS 60+

SIG NA

There has been a significant drop in MBA applications this year across tier 2 and tier 3 b-schools. Looks like MBA is loosing its sheen in the eyes of aspirants.

According to an Article Published on Economic times,

This year, the number of people who actually took CAT – the entrance examination for the premier Indian Institutes of Management and more than a 100 other top institutes – was 1,85,000, compared with 1,86,229 students last year.

CAT registrations, however, went up by less than 1% this year to 2,06,500 compared with 2,05,000 students last year. Fewer students sat for the exam.

Reasons sighted has been the economic slowdown and compensation inflation at the Under Graduate  level. Most of the colleges have increased their fees without a very significant increase in the median placements. MBA, now, does not seem to be such a profitable investment.

Quoting the Article
“Engineering graduates, who are already well paid, are now finding that they are not seeing any significant increase in salary by getting an MBA, unless it’s from a top school,” says Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar (XIMB) director PT Joseph.

Some of the more interesting facts are

All India Management Association (AIMA), which conducts the MAT entrance, confirmed a drop in the number of enrolments without quoting exact numbers. More than 1.6 lakh students enrol for MAT every year. US-based Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which conducts the popular GMAT entrance examination in over a 100 countries, too said there has been a fall in number of enrolments. GMAC said while 2,58,192 students took the exam globally in 2010-11, the number of applicants was higher, at 2,63,979 in 2009-10.

Even in India, which has been one of the fastest growing markets for GMAT, there has been a fall in enrolments. The number of Indians who took GMAT fell to 25,394 in 2010-11 from 30,633 in 2008-09.

Financial Instability…. Is it a curse or is it a boon? Is it like that reality check which we need to bring ourselves back to the path of inclusive growth and development?? Or is it a result of Greed and no fear? Is it the outcome of politics or is she the side effect of “Globalization”? Everyone has a different opinion on this problem, yet no one seems to have a solution.

DARK HISTORY

If we look at history, World Economy has been in and out of recession since the great depression in US of 1930’s, but the aftermath of these incidents did not cause a domino effect across the world. Why? May be the lack of economic integration or globalization. That needs to be seen …

After 1930’s, U.S didn’t see another recession for next 40 years; probable reasons were: tightly regulated financial markets and prohibition of speculation of public deposits by banks. During period of 1980-90s there was a huge boom in the financial industry in US and this period saw the deregulation of banks and hence allowed these banks to invest in risky assets with the public deposits.

The banks grew and became bigger and bigger. Some said that these banks have become “Too big to fall”, but by 2001 the investment banks fell and caused loss of $5 trillion,. The reason cited for this was lack of regulation. But who started the deregulation process? Yes, you guessed it right. It was the government itself. And we saw the “IT Bubble Burst”. The investment banks sold millions or maybe, billions dollars worth of financial instruments (Stocks, Bonds, etc.) to the general public. They told them that these companies were great investment opportunities, and funnily all these stocks or bonds were rate atleast AA if not AAA.

THE DERIVATIVES

During the 1990s, the deregulation of the financial sector lead to birth of complex financial instruments called “Derivatives”. Derivatives were called the product of Financial Innovation which made markets “Safer”. Some of the lobbyists in the US government and Senate, helped in complete de-regulation of derivatives, getting a bill passed to completely ban regulation of derivatives

The Investment Banks such as Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Banks such as Citigroup, JP Morgan, and Insurance companies such as AIG; together produced the first financial weapon of mass financial and economic destruction and the chief reason for 2008 Global Meltdown “Collaterized Debt Obligations”. Now the banks could pass on their credit risks to general public, by dividing these loans into tranches and getting them rated AAA or AA and selling them to investors who thought they were buying AAA rated securities called “Pass through Certificates”.

After securitization of these loans banks became complacent, they no longer needed to follow up with the borrowers for repayment, they were now interested in selling of these loans since they were insured by agencies such as AIG. AIG was selling credit default swaps. The credit default swaps acted as insurance for investors investing in CDOs, so if the CDOs defaulted, the AIG would pay the investors the compensating balance in exchange of a regular premium the investors paid for the insurance just like we pay for life insurance in India. These credit default swaps could be traded in the secondary market and one could bet on a CDOs getting defaulted. And funnily enough banks started speculating against CDOs which were created on the loans given by the banks at the first instance, meaning banks were now betting on their own loans getting defaulted and were making millions.

So when these CDOs actually defaulted, AIG had to pay to the speculators and the investors. The resultant was a massive fall not only of AIG but the entire financial industry. We saw the bankruptcy of AIG, collapse of Lehman brothers and many others. And we saw a major bail out of $700 Billion Dollars for the major banks and financial institutions in US. The investors who had invested in these CDOs across the world lost millions and billions of dollars. More than 15 million people lost their jobs during the time period of 2008-2009. The bail out money given to these defaulted banks were used for distributing bonuses to their employees..

Is it Economics or Politics, my friend???

From History we have understood that politics and economics go hand in hand. The de-regulation and bail outs has caused more financial harm to common people than one can ever imagine

Present is no different, after S&P downgraded U.S credit rating, there has been a domino effect of negative economic reality across the world, even impacting the ever-growing emerging markets of India and China. The US $14 trillion dollar debt problem off course is a big problem but why is it that this ticking time bomb was not observed earlier. This happened after a disagreement on increasing the debt ceiling in between the Obama Administration and the Congress (mostly controlled by Republicans)

Eventually the debt ceiling was raised by $900 billion, which was subject to substantial debt reduction a few months hence. However the horse was already bolted and S&P had downgraded US bonds to AA+. Later it admitted an error of $2 trillion in projecting US debt a decade hence and which lead to the resignation of Mr Deven Sharma the then S&P president under suspicious circumstances.

The Possible Solutions can be to either increase tax or decrease government spending. By decreasing spending will result into decreased consumption hence will negatively impact the economy, similarly increasing taxes would also lead to a decrease in consumption. A probable solution is again growth, growth will lead to more jobs, higher productivity, can help government reduce spending, increase taxes. But it is again not as easy as it seems, creating jobs in an economy which is highly dependent on imports from China and outsourcing around the world will not be easy. President Obama on 7th September 2011 introduced, a $300billion plan, this plan included tax cuts and spending for2012 to boost job creation and stimulate recovery

He also introduced a $447 billion jobs plan, which meant policies such as businesses that hire unemployed veterans would receive a tax credit of up to $5,600. If their hire unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities, the tax credit would increase to up to $9,600.
Quoting Source “http://www.portfolio.com/business-news/2011/09/08/obama-proposes-477-billion-dollar-jobs-package/”.

The final say on these plans is yet to come. Hope these policy changes are effective in bringing a much needed change in the US economy

Here Comes Europe!!!!

The Sovereign Debt Crisis in Europe due to countries like Greece and Ireland has shaken the entire EuroZone and questioned the efficiency of it functioning altogether and it has been further blown out of proportion after downgrading of Italy & Spain.

In countries around the world, the government controls both fiscal and monetary policy, and hence can always print enough currency to pay its debts. But in Economic integration of Eurozone, 17 European countries had given up their currencies in favour of the “Euro”, the economic policies of these countries is now managed by the European Central Bank.

Under a Non EuroZone scenario Greece could have devalued its currency and solved the some of the financial troubles it finds itself now. But today Greece can no longer do that so it’s unable to repay its debts. People of Germany, Holland and the Northern European countries are increasingly resentful of being asked time and again to bail out their Southern Counterparts

Probable option for countries like Greece, Portugal, Ireland and other weak Europeans countries can be to abandon the euro and revert to their old currencies after massive devaluation while marinating themselves as a part of European Union just like Britain

Growth or Austerity??
Growth is a much better way to restore a country’s economy than austerity. Greece, Portugal and Ireland can be better off exiting EuroZone and subsequently devaluing their currencies, and then restoring their finances through growth rather than austerity. But a Greek/Portuguese default may mean massive losses for all European banks holding Greek/Portuguese bonds. If Spain also chooses to default, European banks will be in the soup: almost all will need rescue and recapitalisation. But this might result into a onetime bail out of these countries and subsequently leading to planning for future GDP growth and national development, rather than repeated failed bail outs

What this probable recession holds for India??
There might be some impact on exports and FDI which may dry up comparatively to previous few years. If there is a serious recession, the government may consider a fiscal stimulus. The recession may push global prices down and reduce the inflation problem, so it might help the RBI which is trying to control the inflation so far unsuccessfully by loosening the monetary policy.

Comparatively Higher Savings rate, high Foreign Exchange reserves and a low current account deficit may mean it can survive a double-dip recession.

However exports will be impacted, so will be the GDP growth, but India should be able to cope with recession, as it did in 2008-09.

Heads of some of the world’s most important organizations

1. Christine Lagarde is the head of International Monetary Fund
2. Robert Zoellick is the head of World Bank
3. Ban Ki-moon is the Secretary-General United Nations
4. Ben S. Bernanke is the current chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank ( it’s like the RBI of US)
5. Reserve Bank of India Governor is Duvvuri Subbarao
6. U. K. Sinha is the head of SEBI (Securities Exchange Board of India)
7. Pascal Lamy is current Director-General of WTO
8. Jean-Claude Trichet is the current president of the European Central Bank

Oscar Awards 2011

• Best Picture: The King’s Speech
• Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
• Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan
• Best Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, The Fighter
• Best Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, The Fighter
• Best Directing: Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
• Best Foreign Language Film: In a Better World, Denmark
• Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network
• Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King’s Speech
• Best Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3
• Best Art Direction: Alice in Wonderland
• Best Cinematography: Inception
• Best Sound Mixing: Inception
• Best Sound Editing: Inception
• Best Original Score: The Social Network, Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• Best Original Song: We Belong Together from Toy Story 3, Randy Newman
• Best Costume Design: Alice in Wonderland
• Best Documentary Feature: Inside Job
• Best Documentary (short subject): Strangers No More
• Best Film Editing: The Social Network
• Best Makeup: The Wolfman
• Best Animated Short Film: The Lost Thing
• Best Live Action Short Film: God of Love
• Best Visual Effects: Inception

Filmfare Awards 2011

• Best Film : Dabangg
• Best Director :Karan Johar (My Name Is Khan)
• Best Actor in a Leading Role : Shahrukh Khan (My Name Is Khan)
• Best Actress in a Leading Role :Kajol (My Name Is Khan)
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male) : Ronit Roy (Udaan)
• Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female) : Kareena Kapoor (We Are Family)
• Best Debut (Female) : Sonakshi Sinha (Dabangg)
• Best Debut (Male) : Ranveer Singh (Band Baajaa Baaraat)
• Best Debut Director : Maneesh Sharma (Band Baaja Baraat)
• Critics Award for Best Actress : Vidya Balan (Ishqiya)
• Critics Award for Best Actor : Rishi Kapoor (Do Dooni Chaar)
• Critics Award for Best Film : Vikramaditya Motwane and Sanjay Singh (Udaan)
• Best Scene of the Year : Golmaal 3
• Best Lyrics : Gulzar – Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji (Ishqiya)
• Best Music Composer : Sajid Wajid (Dabangg)
• Best Song Composer : Lalit Pandit for ‘Munni Badnam Hui’ (Dabanng)
• R.D. Burman Music Award : Sneha Khanwalkar (Love Sex aur Dhokha)
• Best Male Playback Singer : Rahat Fateh Ali Khan – Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji (Ishqiya)
• Best Female Playback Singer : Shared by Mamta Sharma for ‘Munni Badnaam Hui’ (Dabangg) and Sunidhi Chauhan for ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ (Tees Maar Khan)
• Lifetime Achievement : Manna Dey
• 40 Years Of Greatness Award : Amitabh Bachchan
• Best Costume Design : Varsha and Shilpa (Do Dooni Chaar)
• Best Choreography : Farah Khan for ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ (Tees Maar Khan)
• Best Dialogue : Habib Faisal (Do Dooni Chaar)
• Best Screenplay : Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan)
• Best Story : Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane (Udaan)
• Best Background Music : Amit Trivedi (Udaan)
• Best Action Director ‘: Vijayan Master (Dabbang)
• Best Cinematography : Mahendra Shetty (Udaan)
• Best Action Sequence : Vijayan Master (Dabbang)
• Best Editing : Namrata Rao (Love Sex aur Dhoka)
• Best Production Design : Mukund Gupta (Do Dooni Chaar)
• Best Sound Design : Shared by Pritam Das (Love Sex Aur Dhoka) and Kunal Sharma (‘Udaan)

Governors of Indian States