Importance of Fitness in the 21st Century

Picturize this – It’s 6 o’clock in the morning. You wake up and peep through the window. What’s the most common sight you’ll get to see? Apart from the winter fog, you’ll see an army of uncles and aunties, grandpas and grandmas walking briskly up and down the alley or the nearby jogger’s park. They do this mostly in hopes of “losing weight“. But, how much have they changed ever since they started their “morning walks”? 

Most often than not, these morning walks are usually touted as “the tool” for getting fit. Next one is yoga. However, “practitioners” still don’t achieve their goals. So let’s find out what are the effective ways to get fit. Oh wait, lets understand fitness first. 

Fitness - the way we see it

Fitness is a concept that’s majorly misunderstood and every individual seems to have his/ her own definition of this concept. What we need to understand is that fitness isn’t just one thing but a combination of five components. If you want to get fitter, you need to improve these five components within yourself.

It doesn’t matter who you are as an individual (housewife, corporate executive, athlete, actor, teenager or geriatric {Senior Citizen} etc.), physiologically all human beings are the same. Hence, there isn’t a single category of people who wouldn’t need to work on all the components of fitness.

So what are these five components of fitness? Let’s have a look:

1.       Cardio-vascular Endurance: the ability of the cardiovascular and the respiratory system to transport oxygenated blood to the working skeletal muscles for an extended period of time without fatiguing.

2.       Muscular Endurance: Ability of a skeletal muscle or group of skeletal muscles to continuously contract at submaximal levels for an extended period of time without fatiguing.

3.       Musculoskeletal Strength: It is the combined strength of muscles, bones, tendons and ligaments. It includes muscular power which is defined as the ability of a skeletal muscle or group of skeletal muscles to perform maximally against load/ resistance in a given timeframe.

4.       Flexibility: it is the ability of the body to sustain full and complete range of motion (ROM) around joints.

5.       Ideal Body Composition: It is the ability of the individual to maintain the ideal ratio of adipose tissue (AKA Fat under the skin) to lean body mass. A man should have a body fat percentage of no more than 15% and a woman’s body fat ratio shouldn’t go beyond 20%.

So how do we work around the 5 components?

These five components are all inter-related. When you take a walk around the park or go running or rigorous dancing or even swimming, you’re only addressing one aspect of fitness – cardio-vascular endurance. Yoga is best for flexibility alone- these postures do not give musculoskeletal strength or cardiovascular endurance. Resistance training will make you strong. And, in spite of doing these three types of activities, if you don’t watch your food habits, you’ll still not be called fit because bad food habits will add to fat in your body.

After all, yoga won’t make you better at lifting heavy household items when the maid bunks work. And neither will your morning, evening or even afternoon walks let you do that. Remember, fitness is an integral part of life today. The fitter you are, the more productive you will be in office.  

Prosenjit Sarkar,

Student, INLEAD

Jan 2016 batch, INBM

Hotel Management Information System

Technology is making deep inroads into the hospitality industry, and hotels across the world are looking to use technology to make operation smooth and efficient. The quest for performance and efficiency in the hospitality industry has given rise to the development of a host of hotel management systems. In order to keep our Hotel Management students in with the changing technological trends in the industry, INLEAD recently organized an Industry Expert Workshop with Mr. Tarun Dua - Associate Director HRD & Training, Country Development & Management Services Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Dua talked about the various issues that are connected with the MIS for hotel services, the intricacies involved and the precision required in maintaining the same. The main agenda was to make the students aware about the importance of quality and maintenance of MIS in hotel and help them assess the amount of time and energy spent towards data management and the precision involved.

Mr. Dua led the students through the basics of MIS and also shared some very insightful and real time reports from his hotel and explained about the concept of MIS in detail. He mentioned about the 5 elements of MIS -- Timeliness, Accuracy, Consistency, Completeness and Relevance, and with the absence of even one the report generated will not hold any value. He further stated that for any hotel, room is a highly perishable product and Room Sales is of utmost importance on a daily basis. Rooms generates 70 – 80% profit margin on sales and is also the most expensive commodity for a Hotel.

He also explained how with the growing competition in the industry, it’s important for a hotel to understand the needs of their guest, for example, things like what gets sold most, what guests demand for most, what food material get used least and results in loss and how a good hotel management software, allows hotels to do just that.

He concluded the session with a very valuable thought; he said “always remain focused in life if you want to achieve your goal.” 

INLEADers @Columbia Asia Hospital — Palam Vihar, Gurgaon

INLEAD recently took students of HEAD to visit Columbia Asia Hospital, Palam Vihar, Gurgaon.  We were taken around the huge hospital’s premises and were given an extensive tour of its various facilities.

Here’s our bit about our visit:

The visit began at around 3pm with the HR Manager of Columbia Asia hospital acquainting students with the history and  foundation of the hospital. He thereon took us for a floor tour. The hospital offers a wide range of clinical services such as Obstetrics & Gynecology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Ophthalmology, Ear, Nose & Throat, Urology, Gastroenterology, Dermatology, Orthopedics and Plastic Surgery, Cardiology, Orthopedics, Neuro & spine surgery, Pulmonology. Qualified and experienced medical personnel and technicians ensure healthcare delivery of the highest standards. He explained how the wheels of every department be it kitchen, OT, cafeteria, billing etc.work in tandem to snsure smooth working of the hospital day in and day out. 

The hospital began its services in July 2008 and has already become a preferred healthcare service provider for the residents and corporate entities of Gurgaon. The hospital has international standard infrastructure and follows globally benchmarked standards of medical, nursing and operating protocols and is rapidly becoming the preferred healthcare destination for International Patients. The hospital is NABH accredited.

The hospital offers a wide range of clinical services such as Obstetrics & Gynecology, Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Pediatrics, Ophthalmology, Ear, Nose & Throat, Urology, Gastroenterology, Dermatology, Orthopedics and Plastic Surgery, Cardiology, Orthopedics, Neuro & spine surgery, Pulmonology. Qualified and experienced medical personnel and technicians ensure healthcare delivery of the highest standards.

In perseverance of maintaining its uniformity all over Columbia Asia Hospitals worldwide, this hospital also has the same interiors, colours, patterns and designs as the others along with the same dress code which is distinguishing and appreciated by both national and international patients as well as staff.

Moreover, the in-house cafeteria which is a rarity in Indian hospitals is worth noticing. There is a separate kitchen area dedicated to IPD patients where each menu of every patient admitted to the hospital is cooked separately and supplied to their room accordingly. Furthermore, the staff gets an additional discount. Everything is prepared in this kitchen from scratch with no outsourcing.

There is a 24 hours emergency, radiology and pharmacy facilities provided and special clinics like Bariatric Surgery Clinic, Knee clinic, Asthma Clinic, Cosmetic Clinic, ENT Clinic and 8am to 8pm Outpatient clinics is also there.  A comprehensive electronic medical records system forms the core of the hospital information system (HIS) that supports clinical decision making.

Columbia Asia provides excellent care at affordable prices. Their transparent rate structure for medical procedures allows patients to know in advance how much their care will cost. There are no hidden or extra charges.

In the future, all hospitals will be like Columbia Asia facilities: clean, modern, with the latest technology and designed to deliver efficient care to patients near where they live and work. 

- By Iman Ikram, Sakshi Sharma, Lincy Sarah John

July ’15, HEAD

INLEADers @Parle-G Industry Visit

INLEAD recently facilitated an Industry visit to Parle G plant in Neemrana, Rajasthan, which is Parle’s largest manufacturing unit in India, for the students of International Business Management and International Hotel Management, Batch Jan 2016. The visit proved to be an extremely interesting and exhilarating experience for the students. The drive along the highway, a tour of the magnificent plant leaves students with enough to mull over.

A visit to Parle G plant in Neemrana, Rajasthan begins with a great drive from Gurgaon to RIICO Industrial Area. The anticipation starts from there itself. The visit commenced at around 1 pm with the HR Officer, Ms. Usha, conducting a factory tour for the students, wherein they first took a tour of the biscuit manufacturing unit. They understood the baking process, the packaging process and the processes followed by every worker within the factory. The students were also able to view the entire baking and packaging process through a glass window, and even saw the imported machines that were used for colouring the biscuit wrappers.

This tour was followed by a presentation in the company auditorium about the history of the Parle G brand and how it has evolved from just one brand to the current 89 brands. She also explained the students about the logistics behind the Neemrana factory and the reason behind the success of the spread of their brands into the national as well as international market. 

Thereafter, students visited the candy plant and took a tour of the plant that manufactures Melody and Kaccha Aam candies. The entire industry visit was conducted over 3 hours at the manufacturing unit.

The Industry visit proved to be a great learning experience for the students where they got  a practical view of all that  they had studied inside the classrooms. 

My Internship experience at Cox & Kings

Cox and Kings is a travel company that traces its history to 1758, when Richard Cox was appointed as the regimental agent to the Foot Guards. It is now the longest established travel company with its headquarters in India. It is the leading holidays and education travel group with operations in 23 countries across four continents. In India Cox and Kings has presence in 149 cities. Their core activities is now the sale of packaged holidays for leisure travel, with a particular focus on cultural and adventure tourism. Historically, Cox and Kings has been army agents, travel agents, printer & publisher, news agents, cargo agents, ship-owner, bankers, insurance agents, and into dealing of several travel related activities. They are a premium brand in corporate travel, education and activity travel, meetings, incentives, conferencing, exhibitions, (MICE), trade fairs, visa processing and foreign exchange.

My experience

Getting to Intern in a company such as Cox & Kings, which is globally renowned is really a prestigious thing for a student like me/us. It is fairly a huge company where different work agendas has been divided into different sections out of which MICE division is one. My internship was circled into only this one division (MICE) which on the outside may sound like a small section but when you actually see the work on the inside it is a tremendous work going on in this department itself. MICE has again different teams working together as one and they are; Sales, Operations, Visa and Airlines. The team I got to work with was the Sales Team and the things that I learned from working with them comes in a lot of different areas, namely:

1.      I got to renew my MS Office skills.

2.      Built up on my personal traits like being patient with clients, remaining calm and composed in a difficult situation, on handling certain unfavourable circumstances, handling client meetings on calls, also how to not undersell or oversell your brand.

3.      Corporate work process in an Organization.

4.      Conducting outdoor meetings with clients.

5.      Preparing itinerary for the clients.

6.      Making and sending invites to the clients on special events.

7.      Maintaining clients for a long term.

8.      Selling the products by turning from Why’s to Wow’s.

9.      An impressive PPT always a must for selling of the products in a travel company, and

10.  A little bit in managing events.

Apart from the points that are given above I also learnt that Sales in the MICE division of a Travel Company is all about the clients/customers. Whatever they do or say should attract the clients and make them happy. In short, it’s all about customer satisfaction. Also a lot of probing is being done in sales. Given the fact that there are lots of other brands competing in the market out there, what we are giving them should be exceptionally good and different and that should be the reason for them to like and choose our brand. Also finding out why and in what ways are we lacking that we aren’t able to reach out to them is again another vital aspect that is acquired in my learning venture. Lastly, I would like to add that a team needs to work together as one in spirit in order to run the organization smoothly and soundly. That is only when goals are actually achieved not only just as an employee yourself alone but an organization as a whole.

In the whole process of my internship from the beginning till the end, there was only one challenge that I faced. And that is, modulating your character and behaviour and language according to the kinds of clients that we dealt with.  Well, that makes it three. 

Overall, it gave me immense pleasure to have got a chance to work with them. The people that I worked with from the Sr. General Manager to the Executives have all been very kind and supportive and it was a very encouraging and an inspiring 3 months for me. The time management was good, employees were friendly to assist with anything and even open to suggestions, and although it was a corporate company the manners and etiquette and even the clothing were very casual so there was a little pressure suspended because of that.  All in all, it was a tremendously amazing experience for me and I am more than eager to put my experiences and learnings out there for the betterment and development of any which company I choose to work with in the future.

-Wonchibeni Lotha

 Student INLEAD

 INBM, July 2015

The Success Story called Airbnb

 What would have been just a drifting thought couple of years back is now a reality. Technology and innovation has taken imaginations of people into the virtual world. The Airbnb was also a creation of an imagination.

Airbedandbreakfast was invented in the year 2008 by Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia when they converted their living room to accommodate three guest offering them bed and homemade breakfast. By doing so they could pay off their rent which they were finding it difficult to afford. Nathan Blecharczyk joined as the co-founder in February 2008. The officially launched the site on August 11, 2008. The name was shortened to Airbnb in March 2009 and also included homes, apartments, castles, boats, tree houses, igloos, tipis, private islands other than air beds and shared spaces.

In order to accommodate the newly added manpower, a year later they moved to its first office space. The company continued to grow at a rapid rate. In June 2012 they announced 10 million nights booked and of these 75% came from markets outside U.S.  Ashton Kutcher, actor and partner has a significant investment in the company and also is a strategic brand advisor for the company.

Airbnb is an online portal that connects people looking to rent their homes with people looking for accommodations. Airbnb users include hosts and travelers n 192 countries worldwide. According to an article in Investopedia last year Airbnb raised $1.5 billion in funds that brought the value of the company to about $25.5 billion. This made it worth more than the Chicago based Hyatt Hotels Corp (NYSE:H) and the Parsippany-Troy Hills, N.J.-based Wyndham Worldwide Corp (NYSE:WYN), respectively.

Travelers looking for accommodation can search for properties available in the listings, but have to create an Airbnb profile to book. Once the reservation request is submitted and payment details are entered, they get a confirmation from the host. Travelers pay a guest service fee of 6-12% towards customer support and the Host Guarantee. Airbnb takes a 3% service fee from the host for each reservation to cover the cost of processing the transaction.

Airbnb can benefit both hosts and travelers, while the host can meet people from around the world while making a little extra money, travelers can often stay for less than the cost of a hotel room. While there are benefits, there are concerns for both hosts and guests. The biggest risk for hosts is that their property can get damaged. Airbnb in " their Host Guarantee program” "provides protection for up to $1,000,000 in damages to covered property in the rare event of guest damage, in eligible countries."

The short-term accommodation industry in India is heating up with new and existing firms such as Stayzilla, Zostel, OYO Rooms and Guesthouser. Airbnb has over 1,500,000 listings in 34,000 cities in 190 countries.

-Bindu A Menon

 Senior Faculty, INLEAD 

The Story of Make in India

Make in India campaign commenced a day after India’s manufactured satellite Mangalyaan was successfully put in the Martian orbit, showing the world the processes, technology, science and innovation. On the day of launch Indian prime minister said “over the decades, the trust and confidence in government and policymaker’s have been lost and need to be regained” this shows his commitment towards making India a manufacturing hub.

Currently manufacturing contributes 15% of national GDP and the aim of this campaign is to grow this to 25% by 2022. Indian government is trying to make India a manufacturing hub by encouraging FDI, which can create employment opportunities, aiming to create 100million jobs by 2022. Its focus on Skill India, Startup India and Digital India may boost the “Make in India” campaign; they in fact can be termed as branches of same tree named Make in India.

How will Make in India succeed?

There were lots of doubts in the minds of economists and other industrial experts that whether India can compete with China in the manufacturing sector. China is the biggest competitor of India amongst all the other nations. But considering present situations, with the labor costs in China increasing, bank interest rates have also increased, the Government of China has been trying to push industries which are in the coastal line to the inside areas. In other words China wants to get rid of its “zombie factories”. And the manufacturing units are looking for a substitute country, like India. This is an opportunity for India and one such example is the factory that has been set up by FoxConn in India.

World is looking to invest in Asia, places with high demand, and this may be a very positive opportunity for India to attract investments.

What is the excitement with respect to FDI?

While talking about Foreign Direct Investments, on an average every developing country has contribution of F.D.I at 30%of G.D.P where as in India we have F.D.I only 12%of G.D.P, it is said that each 1% increase in F.D.I adds 0.4% of a country G.D.P growth.

There are many opportunities in India especially with its 65% of population which is less than 35years age, and a huge market with skilled work force. Talking about the Infrastructure, licenses, ease of doing business, etc. we are making steady inroads in all these aspects. Indian government is showing the whole world that India is the best place for investment and a Red carpet for foreign investors has been laid down. Single window clearance system has been put in place by FIPB (Foreign Investment Promotion Board) which lead India to jump by 12 places in Ease of doing business, from 142^nd position to 130^th.

Other requirements for success of Make in India:

Land acquisition bill and GST bill play a prominent role for India in attracting Investments from foreign players. The basic major cost of business is towards land, labor and raw materials. There is a need for Indian government to pass the above mentioned bills, as also increase the number of Special Economic Zones within our country.  In India we have often witnessed lack of cooperation and synchronization between the central and state governments, primarily because of multiparty system. They have to be brought together to ensure success of the Make in India campaign.

As a citizen of this country, I really do wish this campaign succeeds and creates the benefits we expect from it.

Manohar Reddy

Student, INLEAD

INBM, Batch July 2015

Are we smart enough to build Smart Cities?

The current Govt. true to its pre poll promises has taken up some initiatives that will in the long run be those initiatives which Indians would be proud owners of.  One such initiative is construction of Smart Cities. A project if successful, will serve as a model modern living concept.

What is a Smart City?
There are many definitions of Smart cities. While we will tackle that later, let’s look at some initiatives that the Govt of India has taken up in its Smart cities Mission. The mission is expected to set examples that can be replicated both within & outside the smart city.


According to the website http://smartcities.gov.in/ the core infrastructure elements in a smart city would include:
i. Adequate water supply;
ii. Assured electricity supply;
iii. Sanitation, including solid waste management;
iv. Efficient urban mobility & public transport;
v. Affordable housing, especially for the poor;
vi. Robust IT connectivity & digitalization;
vii. Good governance, especially e-Governance & citizen participation;
viii. Sustainable environment;
ix. Safety & security of citizens, particularly women, children & elderly; and
x. Health & education

Smart cities are aimed at improving the quality of life, provide employment opportunities, encourage  green living and especially create inclusive cities that look after its Have nots (i.e. poor, elderly, disadvantaged) and the Haves alike.

Choosing Smart Cities in India
There are 100 Smart cities in the pipeline that have been distributed among States & Union territories on the basis of equitable criteria. The formula gives equal weightage (50:50) to urban population of the State/UT and the number of statutory towns in the State/UT. This has resulted in all States & UTs having atleast 1 smart city, with Uttar Pradesh having a maximum of 13, followed by Tamil Nadu with 12, and Maharashtra with 10 such cities.

Monitoring of Smart Cities
The Union Ministry for Urban Development is responsible for implementing this mission. A total of Rs.70.16 billion has been allocated for this mission. National level monitoring will be of two types: Apex Committee & National Mission Directorate. These committees will develop strategic blueprints, coordinate across center & states, oversee capacity building, and approve the release of funds based on progress in implementation. The first smart city under construction is at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.

To conclude lets define Smart City:
To provide for the aspirations and needs of the citizens, urban planners ideally aim at developing the entire urban eco-system, which is represented by the four pillars of comprehensive development-institutional, physical, social and economic infrastructure. With these smart cities we will be able to boast of modern facilities & a quality of life comparable to western standard of living. It will be symbolic of a culture that needs to be fostered & inculcated such that a sense of discipline & timeliness becomes an integral part of our lifestyle.

Monica Mor
Sr. Faculty, INLEAD

The Madness & The Magic in Event Management

On day 1 of classes, I always ask my students this question, “ Why did you choose Event Planning as a course?"

The answers bring alive the most multifaceted perspectives of the industry from clean and unbiased minds.

Some of the responses are:

• I want to become famous by doing events.
• It is a very glamorous industry
• I want to learn about new trends in the event business
• I want to know all about new fashion & attire
• I want to meet celebrities
• I want to become an expert with the basics, work for 10 years and then teach like you mam to encourage others to be event managers.
• It will make me travel everywhere in India and abroad
• Meeting lot of different people and make new friends
• It is creative & fun
• After working for an event company for 2 years, I want to open my own event management firm.

All the reactions above have two key underlying themes:

a) Aspirations & b) Opportunity.

That is the biggest USP of the trade. Event Management embraces the vastness of dreams and the development of skill to bring them alive.  The high experiential value makes this extremely global, creative, young, dynamic, fast growing & lucrative trade a real bliss to be a part of.

Event Management is now an extremely structured industry due to it’s high demand. Today’s generation entering the profession is a lucky one. There are institutes offering courses to initiate prospective event managers smoothly into this profession. The foundation of anyone entering the business after having studied it always gives him or her an upper hand over another candidate without the necessary event educational base.  The curriculums spread out over a year or two, are well balanced between theory and practical training. That gives people a real quality entry to at least do an initial elimination of choice to be in it or not.  

The mystical world of events is not just a ‘job’ or ‘career’. It is a really cohesive journey of growth of various aspects of life at large.  We as event managers shoulder various really key responsibilities such as:

• Learning the real definition of teamwork and living it on a daily basis.
• Interacting with people at various levels and amicably molding our behaviors to create comfort for everyone who we are working with.
• Dealing with individuals from diverse educational & domestic backgrounds & from small and large cities and countries & highly skilled in specialized tasks.
• Brainstorming to bring alive some creative brilliance.
• Collaborating talent to create an impactful experience for all stakeholders with the power of creativity.
• Event managers identify heroes and design platforms to bring them to the forefront.
• In this profession one gets the autonomy to perform and lead with humble conviction. 

An individual who selects the above career is being constantly pushed mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually to keep raising the bar.  The result is a very solid human being.

Event managers develop high levels of emotional intelligence, are bustling with energy and positivity, are strong willed by always being solution providers, learn with an attitude of gratitude and develop great leadership skills. They get groomed in to managing themselves by understanding the importance of ‘me time’, relationships with colleagues & clients, friends and family and time management with detail and precision.

In the end, event managers with a lot of hard work, grit, glory, fun, long hours, persistence and a smile put various pieces of the puzzle together to create a really dreamy bespoke ensemble.  We make dreams of our guests come true, bring a smile to their faces and become a memorable spec in their life forever.

So I tell my students this; ‘the love for such a highly demanding world of events is like being pregnant! You either are pregnant or not. Similarly you either love events or you don’t. There is no middle ground”. The only way to find out is to immerse yourself in to this ocean of opportunity. All the above responses will surely make sense.

The high that one feels by seeing your mind come alive in the form of an event set is nothing but truly intoxicating. The backend and backstage madness takes center stage in a manner, which is magical.

 - Ms.Kanika Sethi Babbar

   Faculty, Event Management and PR 

    

The Budget Gravy Train of 2016

A budget that was met with tons of cynicism resulted in a plunge in stock prices of some companies & the shedding of close to 200 points in the Sensex on the 29^th of Feb soon after the presentation by Mr. Arun Jaitley, Minister of Finance.  A day after however, the Sensex surged ahead as a result of confidence shown by business houses in the pro farmer budget. The flop show curtailed primarily by our Minister of State for Finance, Jayant Sinha, who called the budget a “Vikas ka Budget”.

In a nutshell, it’s a budget that angers the salaried class, pacifies the startups, cajoles the farmer & nurtures the poor. So here’s presenting a quick run through on what’s in this budget for citizens of the Republic of India:

For the Farmers:

The Finance Minister has rolled out several sops for the farm sector with a focus on doubling farmers’ income in 5 years. An ambitious plan by all means, which clearly asks the nation to bring BJP back in power in the general elections of 2019. And with the upcoming state elections in UP & West Bengal which are typically agriculture driven, the Govt. aims to come to power there. In fact our service tax has risen to 15% (wef June 1), up by 0.5% (a new Krishi Kalyan Cess), clearly pointing to the importance of generating funds for the farming community. A dedicated long term Irrigation Fund with an initial corpus of Rs. 20,000 crore in NABARD has been created. In totality, the target for Agricultural credit in 2016-17 is 9 lakh crore.

Sops for the poor:

Jayant Sinha said that “Garibon ki Unnati”, or upliftment of the poor, would be government’s foremost priority. A unified social security programme which would be linked to Aadhar will identify & target the poor to provide them with food, shelter, sufficient income support, health cover, life insurance, pension & access to various credit facilities.  The Govt. has allocated Rs. 38,500 crore for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) this year. In addition, there will be a massive nationwide roll-out of ATMs & micro-ATMs in Post offices to ensure credit availability at all accessible points in the rural areas.

For the startups:

Not a very exciting sector, in terms of budgetary provisions this year. Rs. 500 crore has been allocated for Dalit & women entrepreneurs. There will be 100% profit deductions in 3 out of first 5 years for companies set up between April 1 2016 & March 2019.

For the salaried class:

This class is often the most stretched & penalized every year, ironically for paying their taxes! They would hereafter have to pay more for fine dining, movies, a visit to the gym or beauty salon, telecom services, electricity & mobile bills, amongst many other services which have been adversely affected by the hike in service tax. To top it all, their Provident Fund savings are also going to be taxed. It would be on the amount of the interest earned on the PF withdrawn if it’s greater than 60% of the total amount held.

The Digital twist:

Some positives, some negatives; multiple opinions are being posted on this year’s budget.  The budget, I must concede has one big positive, and that’s the huge Digital India flavor. It’s extremely tech-heavy other than being farmer-heavy. The finance minister has proposed establishing a land information management system, a financial data management center, an online agricultural marketing platform, a digital food grain procurement system, a website connecting dairy animal breeders & farmers, automation in 3 lakh fair price shops and a data-mining platform to nab tax evaders.

Well the train has moved from the Fiscal platform, let’s see where its stops, where it rolls back, where it derails & where it catches speed. Keep watching this space for more inputs & for any modifications that may happen as time goes by.

- Ms. Monica Mor

  Sr. Faculty, INLEAD

What is Zika Virus?

WHO fact sheet reads:

·          Zika virus disease is caused by a virus transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes.

·        People with Zika virus disease usually have symptoms that can include mild fever, skin rashes,     conjunctivitis, muscle and joint pain, malaise or headache. These symptoms normally last for 2-7   days.

·         There is no specific treatment or vaccine currently available.

·         The best form of prevention is protection against mosquito bites.

·        The virus is known to circulate in Africa, the Americas, Asia and the Pacific.

What is the Zika Virus all about:

Zika virus is related to Dengue, Yellow Fever, Chikanguniya etc. The illness it causes is similar to the mild form of Dengue. While Zika causes mild illness in some, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) issued reports that indicate Zika may be linked to serious birth defects in babies of mothers who were infected with this virus while pregnant. While this virus is not new, it is new to the Americas. The first case was reported in Brazil in 2015 spring. Since that time, it has spread through South and Central America, and the Caribbean. No locally transmitted Zika cases from mosquitoes have been reported in the United States of America, but cases have been reported in travelers returning from areas where Zika is present.

India & its status:

India falls in one of the most dangerous Zone for Zika virus because there are a lot of Indians who are based in America. A relatively unknown and mild, but extremely deceptive, mosquito-borne virus that attacks the foetus in an infected pregnant woman, may be spreading the disease quietly, not only across Bengaluru, but even all over the country. Bengaluru needs to be extra careful since it is the same Dengue mosquito at work here. India doesn’t have as of now the facility to test, identity and monitor Zika virus. Although an Indian pharma company based out of Hyderabad claims to have discovered a vaccine, WHO isn’t endorsing this claim.

A day after WHO warned that Zika virus was spreading "explosively", the government also decided to strengthen its surveillance system and asserted that it is taking all measures to ensure that it is "well prepared" in case of any eventuality. Health minister held a high-level meeting to take stock of the situation in view of the recent cases of Zika virus being reported from some countries in the presence of senior officials from the ministry and AIIMS.

Solution:

In the absence of any valid vaccine, prevention is the tool for protection. And the best prevention strategy is taking steps to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes. But women planning to have children soon, should consider the risks when traveling to affected areas. We need to be wary of the countries we travel to especially the ones with tropical climate. Here’s hoping Zika dies a quick death without us suffering from an epidemic like how Delhi suffered with dengue and H1N1 last year.

Mohit Hooda

Student, INBM

INLEAD, Jan 2016

Holistic Life Skills Workshop

The workshop on Holistic Life Skills by Mr. Mehernosh Bazyn Dittia, Founder & Director, Lighthouse Training, was one of a kind. The workshop introduced the students to a whole new approach on how to be the ultimate stable individual and live a life full of happiness and no regrets.

Mr. Dittia started off with the interaction with a spiritual curve where he shared a story of a Sensei who is trying to tell his student to let go off Arrogance, Anger, Domination, Jealousy and Greed in order to prepare yourself for learning. He alluded that the key to success is to become a seeker throughout your life and always be open to learning. He very particularly mentioned the difference between reaction and response. He also highlighted the importance of awareness in life and how one has to constantly remain aware of the emotions flowing through the mind and not get affected by the mishaps that one may encounter in day to day life and deal with a situation without being impulsive. He further discussed about a technique of creating two circles one of Concern and the other one of influence and deal with a situation on the basis of logic and evidence.

Mr. Dittia also spoke at length about the busy work life schedule these days, because of which we often forget the basics of life. Every human being is in charge of their own lives, actions and thoughts. We get carried away and let the world’s harsh words affect us; it’s we who set our mood and it’s we who decide to get affected by the negativity around us. It was a very insightful session about the basics of life.

Mr. Mehernosh Bazyn Dittia concluded the session by saying, “There is no escape in life and always make the correct choices.” 

An Insight on International Career Planning with Mr.Frederick Young

There’s talent within each of us, all we require is the right guidance to make the optimum use of our talent and knowledge. And, in order to provide our students with the best guidance and mentorship, INLEAD recently organized a session with the noted, Mr. Frederick Young, Managing Director, Global Education Management, United Kingdom. During the session, Mr. Young provided great career insights on International Career Planning to the students.

Mr. Frederick Young had an interaction with INLEADers on their international career prospects. He provided some very interesting  and important details on cultural aspects, international work culture, and certain attributes that needed to be inculcated while working abroad, as also some basic mannerisms that one should adopt. He had a lively interaction with students and gauged their interest areas as well as found out from them the countries where they wanted to work in.

Mr. Young started his talk with inputs on certain fundamental attributes and mannerisms that are essential while working in a foreign country. Some of these include smiling, maintaining eye contact, polished communication skills and virtues like patience and positivity. He exhorted every student to maintain a small journal and keep making both written and mental notes. He insisted that gaining respect from coworkers and customers was essential. He kept on reiterating that students should look at a long career with any organization, which will give them an opportunity to travel the world.

Post this introductory session, Mr. Young asked some questions from students related to their choice of career and their experiences if any of them had travelled abroad. From the answers he received he was able to gauge that students were extremely keen to study the diversity and work culture across nations. He encouraged them to follow their passion, maintain enthusiasm in all they would do as also explore the country where they would be posted. He asked them to keep treating their career dynamically and be prepared for changes that might happen in their sector, especially with the increasing role of Information technology.

The session concluded with Ms. Khushboo’s (Senior Vice President, INLEAD) views on   students’ expectations and she even put forth some questions to Mr. Frederick Young on   behalf of the students regarding job preparedness and cultural awareness. Mr. Young answered the questions by making the students wary about all kinds of career upheavals, work politics and work pressures. He stated that students would have to conform to certain norms (social as well as work) in any country. They should ideally find a mentor who can be their friend, philosopher & guide. This would make their stay pleasant & comfortable. The session cleared many apprehensions that students would have carried about international career prospects. All in all, the session was a huge success with the students taking home truckloads of knowledge about how to fulfill their International Jobs dreams. 

Writing it Right

“Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds or fails on the ability to engage, to make one think, to give a glimpse into someone’s head.” – Malcolm Gladwell

Aptly said, good writing is one that has the power to engage its readers, and stir a response from them, thereby fulfilling its very purpose. One’s style of writing reflects their personality. Today in business, from lords of finance to programmers who dream in code, everyone needs to write intelligently. By using simple, clear, precise language, and following a few other basic writing rules, you can become a better communicator and improve the prospects for your career.

We probably write on the job all the time: proposals to clients, memos to senior executives, a constant flow of emails to clients and colleagues. Hence, writing as clear and effective as possible becomes all the more imperative. According to experts, overworked managers with little time might think that improving their writing is a tiresome or even frivolous exercise. But knowing how to fashion an interesting and intelligent sentence is essential to communicating effectively, winning business, and setting yourself apart. “As Marvin Swift memorably said, clear writing means clear thinking.” You may have all the great ideas in the world, unless you can communicate, nobody will hear them. Luckily, everyone has the capacity to improve, says Bryan Garner, author of The HBR Guide to Better Business Writing. Effective writing “is not a gift that you’re born with,” he says. “It’s a skill that you cultivate.” (Source - hbr.org)

Here’s how to write simply, clearly, and precisely.

• Keep it Short: Start by writing short, declarative sentences. Never use a long sentence with too many expressions, where a short one will do. Be ruthless about self-editing; if you don’t need a word, cut it. However, brevity should never compromise on quality and completeness; don’t miss out on significant details, compromising on the quality of the message.

• Avoid Jargons: Never use a foreign phrase, an industry specific or scientific word, or any kind of jargon if you can think of an English equivalent, especially when your writing is not directed to the people from the same sector or industry.

• Simplicity: When composing an e-mail, make your point and move on. Write one idea per paragraph. If your big idea isn’t in the first paragraph, put it there. Start by asking yourself what you want the reader to do as a result of this e-mail. This is how one can add purpose to the writing.

• Be direct: Use active voice instead of passive voice. Active verbs help to reinforce your text. Instead of writing “The meeting was led by Tom,” write: “Tom led the meeting.” Passive voice could be used, however, to convey negative information. It’s better to write, “The confusion was caused by the report,” than, “the report caused a confusion.” Use a straightforward sentence structure–subject, verb, object–that people can read and understand quickly.

• Grammar: Whenever possible, use active instead of passive verbs. Active verbs help to energize your prose. Instead of writing “The presentation will be completed by us,” write: “We will complete the presentation.” Use a direct sentence structure–subject, verb, object–that people can read quickly.

- Sumit Chakravarty (Faculty), INLEAD

The Art of Teaching

Teaching I believe is the most respectable profession. Teacher is someone who provides education and guidance that transforms a man or a woman into a gentleman or a lady. A teacher’s role may vary across cultures. In education, teachers facilitate student learning, often in a school or an academy or perhaps in another environment such as outdoors. A teacher who teaches on an individual basis may be described as a tutor. Teachers face several occupational hazards in their line of work, including occupational stress, which can negatively impact teachers' mental and physical health, productivity, and students' performances.

Nowadays education is extremely important for survival in this world. Education is truly the process of facilitating the inculcation of skills, value, beliefs and good habits.

The last role, but probably the most important  is that of a teacher being a “motivator”. It starts at the very beginning of a lesson when teachers during the warming-up stage try to elicit from the students some information connected to the topic of the lesson thus making them use their previous knowledge and in this way arousing their curiosity.

As a motivator, a teacher introduces the subject and provides the Big Picture for it, and widens pupils’ ideas on the topic discussed. From my personal experience I really see that generating enthusiasm is an indispensable aspect of teaching. Children are very grateful when they see your respect and interest in their opinions. It gives them a chance to show their worth. You will be surprised how well they respond.

We are a country which respects its teachers and elevates them to the level where they are called “Guru”. I have been one not so distant in the past and I am aware of the adulation that my community gets from the student community. Teachers have to, in return work rigorously with these impressionable minds. It reminds me of a saying:

“करत करत अभ्यास के, जड़मति होत सुजान 
रसरी आवत जात ते, सिल पर परत निसान”

The interpretation is: “Persistence makes even a dumb man intelligent, just like (even) a soft rope, when rubbed continuously on stone, makes a mark on it.”

-Mohit Hooda,

 Student, INLEAD

INBM January 2016

Net Neutrality and TRAI Guidelines

There has been an ongoing debate about Net neutrality, not only in India but worldwide. Airtel had launched Airtel Zero, early 2015, which they eventually withdrew after suffering massive public criticism for being against the Net Neutrality ethos. This was however followed by Facebook bringing into our country Free Basics, earlier called internet.org.

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Monday 08^th February, 2016 barred telecom service providers from charging differential rates for data services, effectively prohibiting Facebook’s Free Basics and Airtel Zero platform in their current form.

The basic five point guidelines issued by TRAI were:

1.	No service provider can offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content.
2.	No service provider shall enter into any arrangement, agreement or contract, by whatever name called, with any person, natural or legal, that the effect of discriminatory tariffs for data services being offered or charged by the service provider for the purpose of evading the prohibition in this regulation.
3.	Reduced tariff for accessing or providing emergency services, or at times of public emergency has been permitted.
4.	Financial disincentives for contravention of the regulation have also been specified
5.	TRAI may review these regulations after a period of two years.

TRAI’s rulings in their own words:

“No service provider shall offer or charge discriminatory tariffs for data services on the basis of content,” the regulator ruled in its Prohibition of Discriminatory Tariffs for Data Services Regulations, 2016. It said the prohibition was necessary to keep the Internet open and non-discriminatory.

TRAI said a fine of INR 50,000 would be levied per day, subject to a maximum of INR 50 lakh, for any violation of these regulations by the service providers. An exemption, however, has been made for offering emergency services.

“We had issued a consultation paper just about 60 days ago on differential pricing. We deliberated on the issue for quite some time. Anything on Internet cannot be differently priced. This is the broad point that we have highlighted in the regulation,” TRAI Chairman R.S. Sharma told reporters at a conference.

Facebook’s reaction

In an emailed statement, a Facebook spokesperson said, “While disappointed with the outcome, we will continue our efforts to eliminate barriers and give the unconnected an easier path to the Internet and the opportunities it brings.”

Impact and conclusion

While the move was cheered by Net Neutrality activists and industry bodies such as Nasscom and IAMAI, telecom operators, who had been pushing for allowing of differential tariff for data service, expressed disappointment saying the ruling would impact the Narendra Modi government’s ambitious Digital India initiative.

Rajan Mathews, Director-General of operators body COAI, said “We are very disappointed with the ruling. Differential pricing is an effective marketing tool and would have helped in bringing online the next one billion people. We are confused as the decision comes at a time when the government is pushing adoption of Internet.”

Hemant Joshi, Partner, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, said differential pricing for different levels of services was a well-accepted principle across all industries and the concept inherently recognised the economic principle of paying differently for different levels of service and experience.

Amresh Nandan, Research Director, Gartner, said while operators might not be happy with this notification, they still have the ability and freedom to create different kind of Internet access packages as long as content was not a parameter to provide or bar access to anyone. “Such practices have already started elsewhere with products such as bandwidth on demand, bandwidth calendaring etc. to create premium products. Obviously it will require changes in network and operations but that’s where the telecom road map goes,” he added.

Positive indicators

Meanwhile, Net Neutrality activists see it as a positive indication for future regulations on issues such as regulation of over the top applications such as Whatsapp and Skype.

“The regulations are very progressive. They do not seek a middle ground but take a clear stand …We do expect a positive response on the larger issue of Net Neutrality,” said Karthik Balakrishnan, a member of Savetheinternet.

As per the regulations released on 8^th Feb, existing plans which are in contravention of the rules can continue for six months, post which they will need to be stopped. Within few hours of the regulations being released, Net Neutrality was the top most trending topic on Twitter in India.

-Manish Aakrit

 Student, INLEAD

 INBM Oct-2015