Catch ‘em young: Kalam

Former President of India A P J Abdul Kalam exhorted the schools to teach children to become leaders at a young age as that would help in nation building. And while applauding CSR spend on worthy projects across the country, he also exhorted the corporate world to establish guidelines for fair business practice to safeguard consumer interest. He was speaking as chief guest at the 27th Council for Fair Business Practices awards for high ethics with ONGC, New Delhi. Former Supreme Court judge justice B N Srikrishna was the jury chief. Kalam said that Rs 12000 crore had been generated through the 2 percent corporate social responsibility contributions in the country from the corporates and he recalled a project in Orissa on education and eye centre for the underprivileged. He said global vision 2030 puts the focus on a plethora of problems plaguing the society. He said that primary among them was poverty. The others are education, safe drinking water, equitable distribution of resources, and affordable basic health care. The council should come out with suggestions on doing its bit to ensure that development comes with equal opportunities for all segments of society. Kalam also spoke about rural empowerment in the sense that education at the grassroots is the key for all round development of the nation. He said, “A leader thinks of “giving” hence schools ought to teach children to become leaders right from childhood by telling them not to “ask” but to “give”. Shyamni was Somani president of the Council told later that the awards were given to deserving business houses after a stringent check on their accomplishments in several categories including social responsibility and business ethics. Advocate Swapnil Kothari who was the executive planning member of the event said it was a success. -

XLRI - Xavier School of Management has created World Record for the largest hand washing relay

Report by India Education bureau, Jamshedpur:XLRI - Xavier School of Management, one of India’s premier B-School, has created World Record for the largest hand washing relay. Guinness World Records has officially confirmed the record. 

 

The initiative, ‘Banega Swachh India’ campaign was conducted by the Marketing Association of XLRI (MAXI) with support of leading hygiene product brand Dettol at the 36th MAXI Fair held at XLRI Campus in Jamshedpur in January, 2915 and was a part of MAXI’s awareness drive to spread the message of ‘Clean India’, carrying forward Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’.

 

The relay saw a participation of over 991 participants including members of XLRI as well as residents of Jamshedpur. The Guinness World Record authorities in London accredited this endeavour by XLRI students for the most number of participants in a hand washing relay in February after a scrutiny of the submitted evidences. XLRI has beaten the record formerly created in Sri Lanka by 650 participants.

 

Prithwish Datta, Secretary, MAXI thanked the citizens of Jamshedpur on behalf of the institute and ensured that the students of XLRI will continue their efforts of raising awareness about socially relevant issues taking forward the long standing tradition of this B school with a difference.

 

Fr. E. Abraham, Director, XLRI remarked, “We congratulate our Team MAXI for creating this record. This was a noble initiative entirely conceptualized by our students to spread awareness for Clean India Movement.”

 

“Following the Jesuit spirit of 'Magis', XLRI has always worked for the Greater Good of the Society and has strived to instil this spirit in the students. We are happy to see our students coming forward with such social initiatives,” he added. 

RELATED KEYWORDS: XLRI | Xavier School of Management |

Lord Meghnad Desai launches the Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics

Report by India Education bureau, Mumbai:“Economics is evolving with a mission to solve a firm's real life problems at the heart. Armed with vast data sets... micro-economists can produce startlingly good forecasts of human behaviour. Tech giants like Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, all hire economists.” - The Economist magazine, January 10, 2015.

 

Announcing a new academy which can cause a paradigm shift in the study of economics in the country - Meghnad Desai Academy of Economics. MDAE has been established by professor emeritus at the London School of Economics and Padma Bhushan awardee Lord Meghnad Desai. Launching in July this year, the Academy has been founded with a vision for students to - “Learn, think, apply and prepare students to take leadership positions in the global economy,” says Lord Desai.  

 

A Vision of Academic Excellence

 

The Academy is designed to be an institution of excellence that will provide graduate students with the academic rigor and applied skills to meet the dynamic needs of a globalized workplace. Its approach of marrying theory with real-world practical education from the corporate sector will provide students of economics and finance with enhanced toolkits when they enter the workforce.

 

Creative & Contemporary Design

 

MDAE stands apart in both the design of its course and its instruction. Its autonomy in course design allows for a contemporary curriculum. Additionally, it uses active case-study based learning rather than passive learning. The curriculum also strongly focuses on developing key skills like communication, analytical and quantitative skills - eventually making its graduates more marketable and employable.

Dr. Ajit Ranade, Chief Economist, Aditya Birla Group aptly describes it as a - “Carefully-designed global curriculum that addresses the needs of a modern and fast-growing economy, with an emphasis on the practitioner’s perspective.”

Faculty From Across the Globe

 

Top-ranking faculty, trained in institutions such as MIT, LSE, Warwick among others showcase the Academy’s emphasis on academic excellence. MDAE bears the unique distinction of bringing together some of the most renowned economists from across the globe. Illustrious members of the corporate sector will also be involved in curriculum design, live projects, guest lectures, internships, and placements.

 

The close involvement and excitement of the corporate world in the program is reflected in the words of Dr. Tushar Poddar, Chief India Economist, MD Goldman Sachs – “I am very excited about this program, as I think it will fill an urgent need in India for high quality macroeconomists trained for financial markets.”

 

Next Generation Global Economists

 

The Post Graduate Program in Economics and Finance at MDAE is a carefully crafted course which will move students from traditional thinking to critical thinking - the MDAE way.

 

With workshops and seminars conducted by renowned economics and finance professionals, live projects supported by the corporate world and strong foundations built through rigorous theories in mathematics and econometrics, the course aims at creating successful, marketable and employable global leaders for the future!

 

Founding Members

 

Lord Meghnad Desai - Chairman MDAE, Professor Emeritus London School of Economics, Life Peer, British House of Lords.

 

Dr Indu Shahani - Vice Chairperson MDAE, Principal of HR College, PhD Mumbai University; previously visiting faculty member at NYU Stern & UC Berkeley.

 

Academic Board

 

Dr Ajit Ranade - Head Academic Board MDAE, Chief Economist Birla Group, PhD Brown University, Btech IIT and alumnus IIM Ahmedabad; previously Chief Economist at ABN Amro Bank, Assistant Professor IGIDR Mumbai & ICRIER New Delhi.

 

Dr Mangal Goswami - Deputy Director, IMF – Singapore Regional Training Institute, PhD Kansas State University; previously desk economist for various IMF member countries, economist at ABN AMRO Bank, Singapore.

 

Dr Tushar Poddar - Chief India Economist, MD Goldman Sachs, PhD London School of Economics; previously economist at IMF, Washington DC.

 

Niranjan Rajadhyaksha - Executive Editor, Mint, MA Mumbai University, author ‘Rise of India: Its transformation from poverty to prosperity’; previously Deputy Director, Business World.

 

Advisory Board

 

PD Singh - MD, J.P. Morgan India, Corporate banking; previously Head, Corporate banking HSBC.

 

Basant Shroff - Partner at EY, Leadership team, financial services.

Faculty

 

Indradeep Ghosh - PhD MIT; previously Assistant Professor Haverford college.

 

Neeraj Hatekar - Director & Professor Econometrics, Mumbai University, PhD Mumbai University.

 

Abhinay Muthoo - Head of Department of Economics, University of Warwick, Co-Director of Warwick Policy Lab (WPL), University of Warwick, PhD Cambridge.

 

Rakesh Singh - Professor Economics, Great Lakes Institute of Management, PhD Mumbai University.

Vedanta - A Wise Life is Sweet

SWAMI SUKHABODHANANDA





Most people live life on the periphery and, hence, the sweetness at the depth -wise living -is never tasted. Life lived only for pleasure, success or a position is a superficial life.You have not questioned your living. You are living a mechanical life and are focused only on success, position and in imitating the social fabric.If you live a non-mechanical life, a conscious life, alert and diligent, you will observe things more clearly . It is not the world of things that gives us sorrow, but the world of thoughts and feelings, which give us sorrow or joy .
If you observe your action, you will see there are external actions and internal actions.Internal actions are the actio ns of though ts, values, beli ef, conclusio ns, dogmas, likes and disli kes. The inter nal actions greatly impa ct the quality of one's life. They give tensions in a subtle way . To see their movements and to transform them is true inner growth.
You smile at your boss, but internally you are angry with him. At the superficial level, you are pleasant but inwardly you are heated and, hence, the pressure. People are not conscious of their inner world and only look at the external world.One's external world is influenced by one's inner world.
Learn to be creative, learn to understand people, and creatively empower members in the organisation. In the process, you may be exposed to some amount of stress but learn to creatively release the tension with yoga, deep breathing, dancing, exercise or music.Ask yourself how I can change myself. This answer is not available in books but has to come from your search.

India remains world's largest arms importer

Rajat Pandit

New Delhi:





India continues with its embarrassing trudge on the world stage as the largest arms importer, which also makes it strategically vulnerable. A global think-tank on Monday said India's weapons imports are now three times larger than its neighbours China and Pakistan as well as cash-rich Saudi Arabia and the UAE.The latest data on international arms transfers released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) shows India accounted for 15% of the global arms imports from 2010 to 2014. “Between 2005-2009 and 2010-2014, India's arms imports increased by 140%. In 2005-2009, India's imports were 23% below China's and just over double those of Pakistan,“ SIPRI said.
India continues to grapple with a fledgling DIB, importing 65% of its military hardware and software. India has spent Rs 1,03,536 crore ($16.72 billion) in direct payments to foreign armament companies in the last five years, while exporting arms worth a paltry Rs 2,644 crore ($426 million) in the same time.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com China has surpassed Germany to emerge as the world's third largest arms seller with bulk of exports to Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, a Stockholm International Peace Research Institute report said on Monday . “Chinese exports of arms increased by 143%, making it the third largest supplier in 2010­14, however still significantly behind US and Russia,“ the report said. Despite the rise, China's share in global arms market remained just 5% while US and Russia accounted for 58%.
For the full report, log on to http:www.timesofindia.com

EU formally adopts climate change targets for December 2015 UNFCCC Paris Conference

The European Union (EU) has formally adopted climate change targets for December 2015 UNFCCC Paris Conference. Adopted climate change target includes a 40 per cent cut in emissions by 2030.

These targets were agreed by leaders of the 28 EU member-states at a summit in October 2014 but now have been officially forwarded to the United Nations.

EU announcement comes prior to the deadline of March 31, 2015 as it is binding on countries to announce their commitment to cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

EU countries when taken together form the world’s biggest economy and accounts for nine per cent of global emissions of greenhouse gases. EU has agreed to cut the greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40 per cent compared to 1990 levels.

United States also has formally announced its intention to reduce emissions by 26-28 per cent in 2025 compared with their level in 2005. It should be noted that US accounts for 12 per cent of global greenhouse gases emissions.

While, China has set a target date of 2030 for its global greenhouse gases emissions to reach peak.

Economic & Political Weekly: Table of Contents

New Kid on the Economic Policy Block

Vol - L No. 11, March 14, 2015 

• Editorials

The RBI and the government have decided to adopt the discredited policy of inflation targeting.

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• 0 Comments

More Outrage, Less Action

Vol - L No. 11, March 14, 2015 

• Editorials

By scaling down the number of rape crisis centres, the government stands exposed.

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Commentary A 'Dashboard' for the Indian Energy Sector Ashok Sreenivas, Rakesh K Iyer A first approximation of a multidimensional index assessing the energy sector in India would be a dashboard that would measure trends through five summary dimensions. Such a dashboard provides revealing insights, even in their condensed form. Read more	Commentary Maharashtra's Beef Ban Jyoti Punwani The Bharatiya Janata Party has claimed that it has merely fulfilled a long-pending promise to the electorate by bringing in a law banning the sale, purchase and possession of beef in Maharashtra. The arguments given by the proponents of the ban... Read more
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