IFMR Digest February 2018

IFMR DIGEST

Issue 3 , Feb 2018

Skilling India

Towards a
robust
qualification
framework for
Training Programs

Women’s
Reservation
Bill Evidence for
Leadership &
aspirations

Cover Story

IT’S BEEN 10 YEARS BUT

SOME THINGS ARE YET TO CHANGE

Page

2 Cover Story
8 Expert Insight - Women’s Reservation Bill

Evidence for leadership and aspirations
12 Expert Insight - Skilling India - Towards a robust

qualificaiton framework for training programs
22 Student Article - The Internet of Things
27 Food for Thought
29 Fun Spot
31 Accolades
32 Happenings @ IFMR

Editor’s Desk

Hello Everyone,
There lies a moment of reflection ascribed to the end of every
cycle. It sieves out the grains of sensation and portrays a de-
tailed testimony of progression. While our compass still tilts
toward aspiration, our coffers of knowledge, experience and
exposure accumulate. Encompassing all these we are glad to
present the IFMR DIGEST February issue.
“Either write something worth reading or do something
worth writing.”- Benjamin Franklin. The happenings and
insightful articles aided us to efface the choices given by the
founding father of United States. This depicts the boundless
enthusiasm and intellectual competency that shaped the core
of our culture.
We the “Editorial & Communication team” believe that with
every turn of page you will get a fresh stream of thoughts that
will indeed nourish, polish and garnish all your human
qualities.
Happy Reading!

1

v Cover Story

IT’S BEEN 10 YEARS BUT
SOME THINGS ARE YET
TO CHANGE

2

Ten years have passed since the If any, the GFC and the ensu-
ing global recession, showed
2007-2009 global financial crisis the world that financial markets
(GFC) that originated as a shock when left unregulated or unmon-
in the subprime markets in US itored, do spin out of control and
and slowly transformed into the when they do so, the consequenc-
greatest recession that the west- es are unpalatable and scary.
ern world had ever witnessed
since the great depression. The Unprecedented fiscal and regu-
initial months of the onset of GFC latory measures were undertak-
are notable for the blame game en by governments and central
that ensued when it comes to the banks across the world to deal
institutions and the individuals with the GFC. So much so that
that were directly or indirectly fiscal and monetary policies since
responsible for nurturing an eco- the onset of the GFC were largely
system that paved way for GFC. based on the governments’ and
It was also a slap in the face for regulators’ evolving judgment
those who professed light-touch on how best to tackle the GFC.
regulation for they believed on Western governments and their
market’s ability to collectively respective central banks under-
take care of itself owing to the in- took all actions within and be-
herent self-interest of the day-to- yond their capacity to resuscitate
day market participants. and revive their economies from
the debilitating
effect of the GFC.

3

Governments pertaining to the in particular assess the effect of
emerging economies and their re- GFC on the curriculum centered
spective central banks were con- on Financial Markets. While the
stantly keeping tab on the events GFC has pushed fiscal and mone-
unfolding in the western world tary policies towards unchartered
and were basing their actions on territories and has brought-about
their assessment of the extent of a semblance of global regulatory
integration of their financial sys- coordination that was unfathom-
tem with the western financial able in the years before the GFC,
system and the attendant possi- the effect of GFC on shaping the
bility of untoward spillover ef- pedagogy centered on Financial
fects of unprecedented monetary Markets has been rather ordi-
and fiscal measures of western nary. This is not to say that the
economies on the emerging fi- GFC did not push academicians
nancial markets. and practitioners to revisit their
Today, as the governments, regu- perspectives on markets in gen-
lators and industry practitioners eral and financial stability in
look back on the events that un- particular.
folded during the GFC and the
consequent actions undertak-
en to deal with GFC at different
points of time, it is also necessary

4

Innumerable conferences are be- One of the catalysts behind the
ing held across the globe where global crisis was the widespread
academicians, practitioners and use of well-established conven-
policymakers alike regularly tional models whose underlying
showcase research that throws assumptions failed to truly cap-
light on the above aspects at dif- ture the real-world characteris-
ferent levels of granularity. GFC tics of asset prices. In addition,
and the consequent global reces- the industry per se was consis-
sion forced key decision mak- tently way ahead of the regulators
ers in financial services industry when it comes to the complexity
across the world to appreciate of the models being employed to
the need for robust risk manage- price higher order opaque syn-
ment practices and an appropri- thetic derivatives that misrepre-
ate incentive mechanism that re- sented the economic value of the
inforces robust risk management. underlying reference assets. In
However the cumulative effect of retrospect, the single most im-
all these broader happenings on portant contribution of the GFC
the trajectory of curriculum cen- is the much-needed (albeit late)
tered on Financial Markets has realization amongst one and all
been rather mediocre. about the limitations of such
conventional models when it
comes to capturing tail risk.

5

While the world is flush with If only the mainstream finance
more research on new impro- journals would be more recep-
visations of these conventional tive to scholarly contributions
models so as to accommodate for that possess theoretical anteced-
hitherto-neglected aspects that ents that run contrary to conven-
paved way for the GFC, what is tional econometric models, the
evident is inertia by the broader literature on financial markets in
intelligentsia to move away from general and market efficiency in
these conventional models that particular would be less-mono-
fail to reflect the true dynamics chromatic in nature, and the
of asset prices to other non-con- students of tomorrow would be
ventional models that are more wiser.
reflective of empirical distribu-
tion of asset prices. This lack of heterogeneity in re-
search on financial markets is
Scholarly contributions that re- synonymous to someone so fixat-
visit the inefficiency and fragility ed on guarding the boundaries of
of financial markets over time us- the island that she resides in that
ing non-conventional methodol- she turns oblivious to the beauty
ogies that are grounded in natu- and the breadth of the ocean that
ral sciences hardly make it to the engulfs the island.
mainstream finance journals. As
we all know, research published
today in mainstream finance
journals make their way into the
finance textbooks of tomorrow
which in-turn has a profound
impact on B-School pedagogy
centered on financial markets.

*Note: The views expressed here by the author
are personal in nature.

6

Authored by
Dr. Vinodh Madhavan,

Associate Professor – Finance & Accounting
IFMR Sri City

Dr.Vinodh Madhavan currently serves as an Associate Professor
in the Finance and Accounting (F&A) Area at Institute for Finan-
cial Management and Research (IFMR) Sri City. He completed his
Doctor of Business Administration program at Golden Gate
University, San Francisco.
He has taught courses such as Financial Reporting & Analysis,
Introduction to Financial Management, Corporate Finance, Security
Analysis and Portfolio Management, Financial Markets and
Institutions, Derivatives and Risk Management, and Time Series
Modelling in Financial Markets.

7

tt

Women’s The Women’s Reservation Bill
Reservation in discussion over the last two
Bill decades proposes to amend the
constitution to reserve 33 per-
Evidence for cent of all seats for women in
Leadership & Lok Sabha and all state legis-
aspirations lative assemblies. The bill, first
introduced in 1996 in the Parlia-
ment, was passed in Rajya Sabha
in March 2010. But it faced stiff
opposition in Lok Sabha and fi-
nally lapsed in 2014.

According to the Geneva-based

Article by: Inter-Parliamentary Union
(IPU), globally India ranks at

Arindam Banerjee, the bottom, 148th out of 193 UN
Policy Manager, member nations when it comes
J-PAL South Asia to the proportion of elected
women representatives in par-

liament. Even our neighbours,

Pakistan (20.7 per cent),Bangla-

India fares poorly globally and desh (19.3 per cent) and Nepal
(29.9 per cent) have higher rep-
regionally in representation of resentation of women in parlia-
women in the legislative assem- ment.
blies and houses of Parliament.

Only 11.8 per cent (64 of 543 The 73rd Amendment to the
members) of our elected rep- Constitution of India in 1992
resentatives in the current Lok mandated 33 per cent reserva-
Sabha are women and the Rajya tion for women in the three-ti-
Sabha has only 11 per cent elect- er Panchayati Raj institutions.
ed women representatives (27 In the next two decades, a few
of 245 members). state governments extended

the reservation to 50 percent of

seats in Panchayats for

Expert Insight 8

Expert Insight

Photo by Loren Joseph on
Unsplash

women. However, debates have tatives may face in terms of ed-

often arisen on the efficacy and ucation and prior experience,

impact of this reservation to em- and the preconception of weak

power women and improve gov- leadership, women have a real

ernance. A common criticism impact on policy decisions. Ev-

raised is that women do not have idence from both these studies

real power at the local level and also point that elected women

often act on behalf of a male deci- Panchayat pradhans were more

sion maker. inclined towards giving higher

priority than their male counter-

Evidence from a study by J-PAL parts to issues concerning wom-

affiliated researchers in West Ben- en such as public health, drink-

gal in 2008 showed that female ing water, sanitation, education

leaders raised the aspirations and roads.

parents have for their girls and

the aspirations teenage girls have A 2007 UNICEF background

for themselves. A similar study paper co-authored by J-PAL af-

by J-PAL affiliated researchers filiates elaborates on how the

in Rajasthan found that despite presence of a woman panchayat

the handicaps women represen- pradhan is likely to ensure more

9

women participating in dis- ing NDA led government did
cussions during the gram not table Women’s reservation
sabhas in the reserved Gram bill in the recently conclud-
Panchayats. Results from ed winter session. A strong
both Rajasthan and West Ben- political commitment by all
gal showed that the presence major national and region-
of a female elected leader al parties along with robust
also reduced the gender gap scientific evidence should in-
in adolescent educational at- form the deliberations and
tainment and resulted in girls debates for ensuring the pas-
spending less time on house- sage of women’s reservation
hold chores. bill in any of the forthcoming
sessions of the Parliament. If
Inspite of wide speculations passed, it will act as a nudge
and demands from women to pave way for nearly 180
groups and the main opposi- elected women members in
tion party Congress, the rul- Lok Sabha to shape India’s fu-
ture legislations and policies.

Expert Insight 10

Expert Insight

Inspite of wide speculations evidence should inform the
and demands from women deliberations and debates
groups and the main oppo- for ensuring the passage of
sition party Congress, the women’s reservation bill in
ruling NDA led government any of the forthcoming
did not table the sessions of the Parliament. If
Women’s reservation bill in passed, it will act as a nudge
the recently concluded win- to pave way for n e a r l y
ter session. 180 elected women mem-
bers in Lok Sabha to shape
A strong political com- India’s future legislations and
mitment by all major na- policies.
tional and regional parties
along with robust scientific

About the Author
Arindam Banerjee is a policy manager
at J-PAL South Asia where he supports
Programme Management and policy
outreach (Government, Public Sector
and trusts/ foundations/NGOs), Policy
research, conflict analysis, Livelihoods
and Sports for Development and pro-
gramming for poverty alleviation.
J-PAL South Asia is based at the In-
stitute for Financial Management and
Research (IFMR) in Chennai and was
established in 2007.

11

Skilling
India :

Towards a
robust
qualification
framework for
Training
Programs

Article by

Pratibha Joshi
Research Fellow

IFMR LEAD

Expert Insight 12

Expert Insight

The Government of India has

sharpened its focus on ensuring
today’s youth acquire necessary
skills to participate in the labour
force. As of June 2017, skills train-
ing programs under the Ministry
of Skill Development and Entre-
preneurship (MSDE) have trained
1.17 crore candidates under the
Skill India initiative (MSDE).

However, beyond skilling, can-
didates also face a challenge in
finding jobs where they can put
their newly acquired skills to
use. Since 2016, Pradhan Man-
tri Kaushal Vikas Yojana ( P M -
KVY2) had placed a little over
12% (95,772 candidates) of the
7.84 lakh trained candidates as of
October 2017 (PMKVY). The gov-
ernment has undertaken big push
efforts to build
technical capabilities and work
capacities in the
burgeoning workforce.

13

But are we able to
gauge and differentiate
between the skills our
workforce is acquiring?

Are we able to map
skills acquired to the
skill requirement of
occupations?

Expert Insight 14

Expert Insight

This article examines existing The MSDE’s National Skills Qual-
options for understanding skill ification Framework (NSQF) of-
components of training cours- fers a practical framework that
es and their shortcomings, and lists various levels of skills quali-
proposes some alternatives. fications. The competency-based
There is a need to ensure that framework organises all qualifica-
we create a method for catego- tions according to a series of levels
rizing the skill components of of knowledge, skills and aptitude.
jobs and training courses. This is akin to the standards of the
education system where students
What are some ways can acquire greater capabilities
to quantify the skills through every additional year of
our people are schooling (e.g. completing class 8,
acquiring? class 9, etc).

NSQF levels allow for ranking of
skilling courses from levels 1 to 10.
As 80% of the skills training cours-
es are for NSQF levels 3 - 5 (see
Table 1), it is expected that a large
number of candidates would end
up being trained at these same lev-
els. Furthermore there is no granu-
lar classification of the NSQF that
can be analysed to know if there
are any differences in the skills
and knowledge that trainees par-
ticipating in different courses can
acquire.

15

A second metric for measuring skills Chart 1 and Chart 2
acquired by trainees, could be the demonstrate that most
number of National Occupational courses end up with an
Standards (NOS), which tells us the average of 10-15 NOS
number of tasks a person should have per QP. It is likely that
learnt within a certain training course. some of these tasks are
Every training course comprises of a different in terms of the
Qualification Pack (QP) which con- capacities they focus
tains the number of NOS that the can- on; some could require
didate should be taught and acquire greater soft skills, or
abilities on. more technical skill -
but right now, we can-
not know the skill
component that
candidates acquire,
beyond number of
NOS, as the different
skill components have
not been classified and
linked to the different
NOS.

Expert Insight 16

Data source: NSDC excel file
as of 8th June 2017

Finally, the number of hours the level of skills acquired by
spent in training can also be candidates, and has implica-
used as a proxy to benchmark tions for planning and imple-
skills obtained by trainees. menting programs that boost
Keeping aside concerns with human capital in India. A pre-
using hours as a proxy for liminary review of literature
skills learnt, and exploring on the subject presents some
the possibility of using this as interesting alternatives. For
a measure - we find that the instance,
number of hours that have Balasubramanian (2016) esti-
been assigned to the various mates skill component of oc-
courses do not show a clear cupations by mapping jobs in
upward trend (see Chart 3). India to the Occupational In-
This means that for increasing formation Network (O*NET)
numbers of NOS, additional framework created and used
hours that intuitively maybe by USA for classifying knowl-
required for acquiring such edge, skills and abilities re-
capabilities do not seem to be quired for a job. Apart figuring
the case. Hence correlation be- ways to develop a framework
tween hours spent on a QP (to similar to O*NET for India,
acquire the mandated NOS) is we can also consider creating
broken. a task-framework a la Autor,
Levy, Murnane (2003) to clas-
To sum up, metrics presently sify core task requirements
available are not adequate to such as: cognitive, non-cogni-
provide quantitative informa- tive, repetitive, non-repetitive
tion on the skill component components of various skilling
of jobs and training courses courses. These task require-
in India. This leaves us with- ments can be derived from
out a clear understanding of curriculum available for every

Expert Insight 18

QP. This exercise can provide them to skills to estimate the
estimates of the relative use of effects of automation and
different cognitive and phys- by understanding the skill
ical skills in different tasks. It component of jobs and
will also facilitate identifying
jobs and sectors that face fast-
er technological changes that
affect labour markets. Autor
and Acemoglu (2011) build
on the task-framework for
classifying jobs and mapping

19

assuming that repetitive or As considerable public re-
non-cognitive aspects could sources are being spent on
be automated first, thereby skilling programs in India, it
providing information on is important to build a deeper
what jobs and sectors might understanding of their link-
require government interven- ages with labour markets,
tion for easing some and the expected interplay
labour market frictions caused with technological changes
by technological changes. in different sectors. Having a
well-classified framework of
Better data and classifications the different skill components
for analysis can help unearth of courses and their equivalent
important gaps in our efforts jobs, can significantly augment
to upskill the Indian labour our present understanding of
force. For instance, Chart 1 the potential of skills training
courses, human capital devel-
showed that on average our opment, and explore the pos-
training courses cover 10-15 sibilities of automation across
tasks, which pales in compar- sectors and functions.
ison to global averages of 30
tasks per course, thus raising
questions on how Skill India
can train workforce that can
meet global labour require-
ments.

20

About the Author:
Pratibha wants to play a meaningful role
in the development of the SME sector,
presently she has set her focus on India.
She is interested in understanding small
businesses and entrepreneurs – what
leads to their success, their life-cycle and
contribution to the economy. She has
completed her Masters in Public Admin-
istration and International Development
from Harvard Kennedy School, and
undergrad studies in Singapore.

21

“If you think that Internet has changed your life, think again. The
IoT is about to change it all over again!” – Brendan O’Brien

Technology and Innovation is more are connected to each
transcending all the barriers. other and share information
Internet as we all know is a among themselves.
global network where people
across the globe can share in- HOW DOES THIS IMPACT
formation among themselves YOU?
in just one click. But what is
‘INTERNET OF THINGS’, Now the next thing popping
I know most of you haven’t in your minds would be ques-
heard of this term and will use tions like why on earth would
their knowledge of etymology you want so many connected
to decrypt it to be something devices talking to each oth-
related to the internet. But you er what help will it do to us?
need to stroke your brain hard- Imagine yourself driving your
er, because it isn’t only about car to the garage and the shed
the internet, rather, it is a net- opens automatically. And
work where various physical what if your alarm clock wakes
devices, appliances and much you up at 6 in the morning and
then notifies your coffee mak-
Student Article 2e2r to start brewing your coffee

for you? Do you know how it Student Article
is done, Yes! You are in correct
line of thought that is the In- APPLICATIONS
ternet of Things (IoT). Other IoT has become so common
applications are smartphone that we don’t even realize that
controlled refrigerator, air pu- which appliance may be using
rifiers, in-house lighting sys- this principle, that is why it is
tem and countless others that said, its beautify can never be
are a part of our daily life. quantified. Few of the applica-
tions are explained as follows
HISTORY
SMART HOME
“Internet of Things”, coined Gone are the days when we
by Mr. Kevin Ashton was first used to control the lighting
applied in 1982 on a modified and other electronic devices
Coke machine at Pittsburgh manually. Now everything is
which was able to report its a touch away, you can control
inventory and whether newly each of them leaning on your
loaded drinks were cold. The couch remotely through your
fuel to this idea came in 1999, smartphone and the answer to
through the Auto-ID Center at that is Smart Home.
MIT. Radio-frequency identi-
fication (RFID) was identified Gone are the days when we
by Mt. Ashton as indispens- used to control the lighting
able for IoT to happen. Apart and other electronic devices
from using RFID the marking manually. Now everything is
of things may be achieved via a touch away, you can control
similar technologies such as each of them leaning on your
QR codes and couch remotely through your
barcodes as well as digital smartphone and the answer to
watermarking. that is Smart Home.

23

Most of the products are avail- the sector where the most
able in one of the four proto- industrial IoT (IIoT) projects
cols (medium of communica- are realized and investments
tion between them) and all of are made. But what exactly is
them are compatible with the this ‘Smart Manufacturing’? In
internet and the smartphones. B-school language, it is the use
These are X10, Z-Wave, UPB of smart devices to improve
and EnOcean. Products and the operating efficiency of a
hardware having same pro- manufacturing layout.
tocol can be added by home-
owners at their own will and In a smart factory every equip-
pocket’s strength. ment is connected. Since man-
ufacturers are aware of asset
SMART MANUFACTURING health and remaining useful
life of the assets, they can op-
With the dawn of the fourth in- timize different stages of the
dustrial revolution (Industry production process. Condi-
4.0) and digital transformation tional monitoring powered
of technology, the manufac- with analytics can help relate
turing industry becomes current and historical data
to anticipate equipment fail-
Student Article ure. Maintenance work can be
24

scheduled in advance which Student Article
can reduce unexpected down
time as well as the costs associ- called AutoLib can be tracked
ated with urgent orders of re- through GPS and also enables
placement parts and workers the driver to reserve parking
at short notice. space any anywhere in the city.
There are some smartphones
TRANSPORTATION applications like GasBuddy in
Australia which helps the driv-
Do you remember the scene in er locate the cheapest gasoline
the movie – Die Hard 4, where station.
the protagonist talks to 911 and
gets the operator to start the HEALTHCARE
vehicle stating an emergency
situation. Isn’t it amazing how Health Monitors
technology has evolved by These devices help the users to
now? Actually it has all been extract information like blood
possible due to IoT. pressure, heart rate etc. while
on the go. These are generally
Networked transportation in- used by daily users who keeps
dicates fitting vehicles with a check on their health once a
sensors and Internet connec- while. Some of them are – Fit-
tivity during the transit. He bit, Muse headband, Viatom
most recent example is from Checkme etc.
Paris where an electric card
sharing program

Medical Wearables Article written by
Medical wearables help doc-
tors and nurses monitor pa- Kumar Saharsh
tient’s data and inject timely Batch 2017-2019
drug into their body. Some of
the most common wearables
are – Portable Insulin Pumps,
Smart glasses and many more.

Internally embedded medical
devices
These devices are embedded
inside the patient’s body and
it helps in transmitting infor-
mation wirelessly. They do
it either using their protocols
(discussed earlier) or by Blue-
tooth. The most common de-
vices which we come across is
Pacemakers and Digital Pill.

Stationary medical devices

These devices provide a cost
and time effective way to mon-
itor chronically ill patients.
They are also the most targeted
group by thieves to steal mass
amount of patient’s data. Few
examples are – Chemotherapy
Dispensing Stations, beds that
could detect when occupied.

26

food for thought

Potatoes, Eggs, and Coffee Beans

Once upon a time a daughter After twenty minutes he
complained to her father that turned off the burners. He
her life was miserable and that took the potatoes out of the
she didn’t know how she was pot and placed them in a
going to make it. She was tired bowl. He pulled the eggs out
of fighting and struggling all and placed them in a bowl.
the time. It seemed just as one He then ladled the coffee out
problem was solved, another and placed it in a cup. Turn-
one soon followed. ing to her he asked. “Daugh-
Her father, a chef, took her to ter, what do you see?” “Po-
the kitchen. He filled three pots tatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she
with water and placed each on a hastily replied.
high fire. Once the three pots be- “Look closer,” he said, “and
gan to boil, he placed potatoes in touch the potatoes.” She did
one pot, eggs in the second pot, and noted that they were soft.
and ground coffee beans in the He then asked her to take an
third pot. He then let them sit egg and break it. After pull-
and boil, without saying a word ing off the shell, she observed
to his daughter.The daughter, the hard-boiled egg. Finally,
moaned and impatiently wait- he asked her to sip the cof-
ed, wondering what he was fee. Its rich aroma brought a
doing. smile to her face.

27

“Father, what does this mean?” water, they changed the wa-
she asked. ter and created something
He then explained that the new.
potatoes, the eggs and coffee
beans had each faced the same “Which are you,” he asked
adversity– the boiling water. his daughter. “When adver-
However, each one reacted dif- sity knocks on your door,
ferently. how do you respond? Are
The potato went in strong, you a potato, an egg, or a
hard, and unrelenting, but in coffee bean? “
boiling water, it became soft Moral: In life, things happen
and weak. around us, things happen to
The egg was fragile, with the us, but the only thing that
thin outer shell protecting its truly matters is what hap-
liquid interior until it was put pens within us.
in the boiling water. Then the Which one are you?
inside of the egg became hard.
However, the ground coffee Source:
beans were unique. After they https://www.livin3.com
were exposed to the boiling

28

Hot Shot

A young businessman had just The man said, “Yeah, I’ve come
started his own firm. He rent- to activate your phone lines.”
ed a beautiful office and had it
furnished with antiques. Sitting Employee Motivation
there, he saw a man come into
the outer office. Hoping to look The owner of a company tells
like a hot shot, the businessman his employees:
picked up the phone and started “You worked very hard this
to pretend he was working on year, therefore the company’s
a big, important business deal.

29

profits increased
dramatically. As a reward, I
‘m giving everyone a check
for $5,000.”
Thrilled, the employees gath-
er round and high five one an-
other.
“And if you work with the
same zeal next year, I’ll sign
those checks!”

Day Off

An employee goes to see his su-
pervisor in the front office.
“Boss,” he says, “we’re doing
some heavy house-cleaning at
home tomorrow,
and my wife needs me to help
with the attic and the garage,
moving and hauling
stuff.” “We’re short-hand-
ed,” the boss replies. “I can’t
give you the day off.”
“Thanks, boss,” says the em-
ployee “I knew I could count
on you!”

30 Source: https://albertaventure.com/

Accolades

SOUTH ASIAN QUALITY ASSURANCE SYSTEM (SAQS)
Institute for Financial Management & Research (IFMR), Sri city,
India has been accredited by SAQS (South Asian Quality Assurance
System) for a period of five years from 14th December 2017. SAQS
is an international system of strategic audit and accreditation de-
signed for the assessment of Institution in widely different
national contexts. It is a globally benchmarked system for Mento-
ring, Quality Improvement, Quality Assurance and Accreditation.
SAQS accreditation is awarded by The Association of Management
Development Institutions in South Asia (AMDISA), an
international not-for-profit association, and is a “SAARC
Recognized Body

31

Happenings

@ IFMR

Success Mantra with Alcatraz Dey,


Nov 11, 2017
Motivation is a hoax, it’s the
inner desire that matters. You
need to accept, adjust and act
on your desire. The words
of Alcatraz Dey, charged
the students of IFMR with
boundless energy and opti-
mism. The life of the thriller
writer is in itself a potboiler.
During the interactive ses-
sions he shared his visions
and insights about life. The
event was a spinoff from
routine lifestyle of an IFMR
student, but it supplied the
necessary recoil force to push
harder.

Event organized by Synergy

32 -The HR committee

Nov 12, 2017

Brand Master by Amandeep Singh

Alumni, Batch 2008-2010

“Next time you watch an advertisement, ask yourself what was
the business problem.” This was the message from Brand Mas-
ter Amandeep Singh, Alumnus of IFMR in his guest lecture at his
alma mater. He explained in detail about one of his successful proj-
ect, the viral “BIBA” ad campaign, the campaign is internationally
acclaimed. During his interaction he mentioned about change in
conventional marketing, Digital marketing and its pros and cons.
MNCs’ are erasing the demarcation between online and offline
market place while it redefines market it also points to some key
areas where future marketers should focus. While talking about
his journey this far he said “You have to break the barriers
between various departments”. A holistic idea about
management is necessary for managers.

Event organized by Alcom & 33
Markaholic

-Alumni & Marketing committees

t

Republic Day - Make in India Marathon
HR - Connect : Campus to Corporate

The Republic day celebrations of 2018 started off with the Flag
HOonis2t8inthgoefvDenect.eFmlabgerw2a0s17h,otihsteeedxbteyrnPa.Kl r.eBlaistwioanss, ctohme dmiritetceteoor foIfFMR
IhFaMs Ror.gIatnwisaesdfaolglouwesetdlebcytuareMinavraittihnognMevr.eRntavcoikmupmraisrinKgYo, fana a5lum-
Knums aonf dN1IT0 TKrmichryunc.uTrrheentmlyawraothrkoinngwaats Noraggaanrijuzenda bOyilSCriorCpitays HR
iHnecaodll.aTbohreattihoenmweiothf ItFhMe eRvaenndt wIIaITs. HThRecrounnnsetcatrt–edCaamt 6p:3u0s atmo Cor-
ipnotrhaetem. Tohreniindgeafrboemhitnhde tIhFeMthRecmaemwpuass twohgeirvee paabrtriiceifpvainstisonint-o the
csltuuddeedntsstuadbeonutts ftrhoemcobnottehmIFpMorRarayndroIlIeIToafsHwReMll aasctrhoesesmvparloioyu-s in-
edeussotrfitehse. Istuwrraosunadniningteinradcutisvtreiaslecsosimonpawneierse. Gthreeastpeenaktheursaianssmwered
wtoasspdeicsipfilcayqeudesbtiyonesvearsykoendebayntdhestsutuddenentstst.oTldhethsaptetahkeeyr shtaadteda that
uthneiqruoeleeoxfpeHriRenHcee.adCeisrtinfiocalotensgwerecroenifminmededtioatjeulsyt demistprliobyueteedman-
taogtehmeecnatn.dTihdeatreoslewhhaossbuecccoemssefumllyorceodmypnlaemtedictohveerrutnh.e years and it
has started incorporating other functions of business as well. With
the rise of technologies like SAP a new domain within the field has
been evolved popularly termed as HR Analytics. He stressed on the
fact that automation is going to shift the gears of operations within
every industry thereby increasing their profitability. The demand of
manpower will witness a steep decline in the upcoming years and
one might think that the role of HR is on track to become obsolete.
But he insisted that the role of HR or any other MBA specialization
is not going to become outdated. Instead the job designation and
nature of the work will evolve to match with the ongoing changes
taking place in the broader world.

29 Event organized by the 34
External Relations Committee of IFMR

Trade Mania

Being a finance committee in one of the best and consistently
ranked finance institute in the country naturally puts pressure
on you to brainstorm and come up with innovative events.
“Trade Mania” was one of such events conducted on
21st November, 2017 organised by Arthasabha – The Finance
Committee of IFMR. Trade Mania was organized to simulate
trading so that the participants can learn how trading works.
Though the primary focus of the event was to demonstrate
the art of trading in real world it also emphasized on the fun-
damental knowledge of capital markets amongst the partici-
pants. The 17 teams were given the task to analyse the news
related to different stocks displayed through power-point
slides. Based on the news displayed they had to predict the
stock movements and accordingly take a decision whether
to buy, sell or hold. Furthermore, they were also required to
abide by various rules and regulations. The news and stock
price movements depicted in the event were the replica of ac-
tual market movements. Students who experienced trading
environment for the first time were enthusiastic and over-
whelmed. The participants wholeheartedly appreciated the
event and further insisted that similar events should be or-
ganized with much more frequency. The committee was suc-
cessful in making the event both educational as well as
entertaining.

35

t

Event organized by Arthasabha
- The Finance Committee of IFMR

36

Guest Lecture on Business Analytics

Mr. Raghavendra, Head of data scientist to gain useful in-
DXC Technology’s Analytics formation from data”-he men-
Data Labs, delivered an in- tioned while elaborating on the
sightful presentation as a guest penetration of this
lecturer on 2nd November in technology.
Institute for Financial Man-
agement and Research. The
interactive session on Busi-
ness Analytics consisted of
both practical business usage
of analytics as well as the con-
cepts in the algorithm. Exam-
ples hovered from banking to
healthcare.

He urged the students not to
look at the subject as a sepa-
rate field but as a tool that can
improve the efficiency of any
operation. “Analytics tools are
available in the cloud nowa-
days, you don’t have to be a

Event organized by IFMR

37

Panel Discussion on Cryptocurrency

We all live in a highly digitized world where everything from
physical meetings to bank transactions have been digitised. Af-
ter the cash transactions were digitised, it is no wonder that our
currency notes are getting replaced by digital currency. With the
pace at which technology is growing and the reach it has in this
digital world, crypto-currency came up as one of the inventions
that amazed people. It is imperative that we understand the lat-
est buzzword and stay relevant.
It is in this regard that Alcom, the Alumni Committee of IFMR
conducted a Panel Discussion on 21st January 2018 on
“The future of Crypto-Currency and its impact on the Central
Bank”.

The panellists were Mr. Ravi Jain (Consultant - PKC Advisory),
Mr. Sandeep Garg (Assistant VP of Regional CMS sales - IndusInd
Bank), Mr. Meher Shiva Tadepalli (Solution Advisor - Deloitte)
and Mr. Jinesh Gulecha (Area Sales Manager - Crisil Ltd) and was
moderated by Mr. Jyoti Prasad Mukhopadhyay, (Assistant Pro-
fessor, Economics Area), Chairperson, Alumni Committee, IFMR
The discussion was a highly rewarding experience for the student
community of IFMR with the panellists starting with the basic
underlying principle of how a crypto-currency works and how it
gets its value from. The discussion was then on multiple fronts,

38

with the panellists enlisting insightful info on how the world
has changed over the invention, much to the amazement of
the audience.
The panellists then addressed the queries of the student au-
dience with the highest level of details possible, making them
get cleared on their doubts and queries.

Event organized by Alcom

39 The Alumni Committee of IFMR

Lakshmi Bal MahotsavThe 10th edition of Lakshmi Bal Ma

The 10th edition of Lakshmi Bal MaathIoFtsMavR (oLnBMth)ew7tahs oceflJeabnruataerdy 2018
at IFMR on the 7th of January 201w8.aTshsetaLrtaekdshatmIFi MBaRl Minathheotyseaavr 2009
was started at IFMR in the year 200m9 iinIytehrewmheomwoarys aofmlaetreitLoraikosuhs-stude
mi Iyer who was a meritorious studiennat natuIFnMfoRrt,uwnhatoepraosasdedacacwidaeynt. Th
in an unfortunate road accident. TdheedIiFcMatRe afradtaeyrniintyredmeceimdebdratnoce of
dedicate a day in remembrance ofthLeaksesrhvmicieIyshere, wanads cfoanrrdy oofudt oing
the service she was fond of doingch-iladtrteenn.ding underprivileged
This year Samarthan, the Scial Serv
children.
tered NGO, carried out its function

This year Samarthan, the Social SerTvhicies cylueabroLfBIFMMwR,aaslsboaaserdegoins- the t
tered NGO, carried out its functionkoidf sarcraamngeifnrgomthetwwohcohleildevreennth. ome
This year LBM was based on the TthheemcheioldfrCenir,cwues,rewinhveriteeidn a2n0d0 were
kids came from two children homeexsciftreodm. ITnatdhaeiarnedyeSsu, liltuwrpaestaa. day
The children, were invited and werTehseeyenwceorleouwrefulclolymderdesasneddaasnsdigned
excited. In their eyes, it was a daycaorfeoouftitnhgemantdheeenntetirrteaidnamy.enTth. ey w
They were welcomed and assignedtaaksetnudaetnotuvrooluf nthteeecrawmhpoutsogorkound
care of them the entire day. They weedrebysetrhveedchbirledarkenfa,satlaonndg twheitnh the
taken a tour of the campus groundlist.tlSecoreneensihnagdtrfeuens pwlaeyreinpglagnatm- es su
ed by the children, along with thechdairier,ctloemr Monr.spPo.KonBirsawcea,sf.oTohtbeall an

little ones had fun playing games such as jumping castle, musical

chair, lemon spoon race, football and volley ball.

40

ahotsav (LBM) was celebrated
8. The Lakshmi Bal Mahotsav
9 in the memory of late Laksh-
ent at IFMR, who passed away
he IFMR fraternity decided to
f Lakshmi Iyer, and carry out
g - attending underprivileged

vice club of IFMR, also a regis-
n of arranging the whole event.
theme of Circus, wherein 200
es from TADA and Sullurpeta.
e seen colourfully dressed and

of outing and entertainment.
d a student volunteer who took
were served breakfast and then
ds. Screening trees were plant-

director Mr. P.K Biswas. The
uch as jumping castle, musical
nd volley ball.

41

Fun games such as hoop in the loop, stacked cans were ar-
ranged, along with key chains give away. A drawing competi-
tion was held wherein the kids showcased their talents. After
eating a sumptuous lunch, they were entertained with mime,
dance and music. Apart from the performances planned for
them by the college’ Dance and Music clubs, the perform-
ers among the kids grooved to the music and matched steps.
They danced for peppy songs which they had come pre-
pared with. They were given gifts for participation. Further
the posters of animals and cartoon characters were given to
the children.

Samarthan came up with the initiative of awarding scholar-
ship to the most meritorious student in the school which they
teach in the memory of Sourav Rakshit, an excellent student
who passed away in an accident. It was offered to Ms. Arch-
ana - studying at the local govt. school. The kids were gifted
with stationery, plates and water bottles for their everyday
usage.
The fingerprints of the children were taken as a memoir. Ev-
eryone wished them luck and happiness for them to spread
their wings like a bird and take the best flight of life. Thus,
the 10th edition of remembrance of our beloved alumni
ended with fulfilment of societal contribution.

Event organized by Samarthan 42
The social service committee of IFMR

Interactive Session on Corporate Practices

answering them with the
right amount of relevance
and purpose. He was ap-
preciative of the kind of
questions that were asked
and shared his thoughts on
the prevailing HR practic-
es in the industry. He also
touched upon the impera-
tiveness of possessing
people skills in addition to
the technical acumen.

IFMR had the honour of host- Event organized by Synergy
ing Mr. Kalyanaraman Srini- The HR Committee of IFMR
vasan, Senior Manager HR at
Renault Nissan, for an inter-
action with the students on
Corporate Practices on 25th
November 2017. It was quite
an interesting interaction
with an array of questions be-
ing asked and Mr. Kalyan (he
43 likes to be called so)

44

Lohri

IFMR has always taken proud in diversity of its students and
the different colors of joy they bring together. In the month of
January whole of North India gears up to celebrate Lohri and we
at IFMR believe the same. Lohri is associated with bonfires and
family bonding along with consumption of sugarcane products
such as jaggery. Coming at the end of the winter season, it marks
the last day of the month Paush. It is during this time that the
farm fields gleam with wheat, the primary North Indian crop.

Lohri is essentially a festival dedicated to fire and the sun god.
The fire symbolizes the sun and is seen as a source of energy and
spiritual strength. It is worshipped as a deity with food-offerings
consisting of peanuts, popcorn, and sweets made of til-chirva,
gajak and revri.
The Event kicked off with ‘Lassi-wassi’ competition which was
basically a food race. Participants enjoyed the flavor of Punjab
in lassi and stuffed paranthas. Adding to the fun, later in the
evening a game of Tug-of-War was also arranged.
On the eve of Lohri, bonfire was lit up and students danced
around it glitzing and shimmering in traditional attires. Spe-
cial dinner was organized by Food & Hostel committee and the
whole event ended on a vibrant note with bhangra performance
by Lohri committee in which students later joined in.

45 Event organized by Lohri Committee

Innovinc

Edge- The Consulting Club of IFMR always strive to brush up
innovative thinking and decision-making skills in our students.
They organized a challenging event of two-liner case study with
the purpose of making student accustomed to situation they
might face at time of corporate interviews, which are mostly
based on real time case. First round of the event was designed in
a way where participants were supposed to present their stance
on the situation in form of a verbal presentation/discussion; Sec-
ond round was based on guesttimate questions where partici-
pants were given two guestimmate questions and 15 minutes to
solve that. The main purpose of the guestimmate questions was
to check the thinkingprocess of the participants and how logical-
ly they can proceed to solve a problem within a short period of 15
minutes.The event was won by Kumar Saharsh and Nikhil Jain
and the runner up team was of Abhimanyu Mahajan and Sneha
Ghelani. A total of 12 teams were shortlisted, consisting of two
members each. The event was judged by Professor Arindam das
and Professor Amar Saxena.

46

Innovinc

Edge- The Consulting Club of IFMR always strive to brush up
innovative thinking and decision-making skills in our students.
They organized a challenging event of two-liner case study with
the purpose of making student accustomed to situation they
might face at time of corporate interviews, which are mostly
based on real time case. First round of the event was designed in
a way where participants were supposed to present their stance
on the situation in form of a verbal presentation/discussion;
Second round was based on guesttimate questions where
participants were given two guestimmate questions and 15
minutes to solve that. The main purpose of the guestimmate
questions was to check the thinking process of the participants
and how logically they can proceed to solve a problem within
a short period of 15 minutes.The event was won by Kumar Sa-
harsh and Nikhil Jain and the runner up team was of Abhimanyu
Mahajan and Sneha Ghelani. A total of 12 teams were shortlist-
ed, consisting of two members each. The event was judged by
Professor Arindam das and Professor Amar Saxena.

Event organized by Edge

47 The consulting committee of IFMR

Republic Day
Make in India marathon

47 48