Learn Excel Build

NIMA eMag
North India Management Association
(J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan & Chandigarh) March-April 2012

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds
NIMA Regd. under Societies Act 1860

Issue - 2

Hadimba Temple, Manali

NIMA eMag
Foreword Marketing Financial Products - Dinesh K Kapila Smoothing Coal Mining - Dr. P. K.Vasudeva Sorry General..-S P Singh Bhalla

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

1-2 3-4 5-6

CONTENTS

Managing the Well-being of Military Col. (Retd) D S Cheema 7 Collaborative Planning.-Dr. A. K .Varma Right To Information Act ( RTI ) - TEJ K. MAGAZINE Biwi & The Boss - J.S. Gogia Controling BP Spiritually - Deepak Behl Karsog:Valley of Temples and Orchards - Dr. N.K Sharma Srinagar- Essence of Kashmir J.N.Vohra NIMA Events 8 9-10 11 12-13 14 15-16 17-20

NIMA
President Dr. Gulshan Sharma Vice President Ajay Gupta Secretary General JN Vohra
A Bi-monthly e-mag of NIMA edited by JN Vohra
SCO-1, Level III, (Opp. Reserve Bank of India), Sector 17-D, CHANDIGARH - INDIA Phone : +91-9814556072 you can send your feedback to nimachd11@gmail.com

Views expressed in the Article inside are that of the authors NIMA may not essentially subscribe to these views

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Foreword
Dear Friends, As you are aware, North Indian Management Association (NIMA) works to create an environment that is compliant and conducive to the development of business enterprises and academic fields for professional progress. In view of this, NIMA endeavour to partner with other management bodies across the globe and expand services and management competencies. NIMA aims to align the countrys industry manpower with the skill requirements.Therefore, skills development is an imperative initiative that is practiced by the entity to upgrade countrys employability scenario. Being its one of the objectives to serve public for betterment and motivate individuals to realize their true potential, NIMA continuously work for professional development and prompt advanced education.We believe that an expanding job market would encourage potential candidates to upgrade their skills and mint more revenue streams for the countrys economic scenario. In order to empower all segments of the society, NIMA propagate essential research and consultancy services that encompass avenues like socio economic development of the country & future management trends in various domains & NRI investment, opportunities, scopes and channels in North India. Our experts also provide consultancy and help build the perspective of the state government functioning, work towards academic partnership and analyse the availability of the resources for channelizing their proper utilization for gainful opportunities. I congratulate NIMA fraternity for participating with proactive contribution of their experiences from diverse fields in the form of write-ups for NIMA eMag, which is circulated widely. Your experiences are indeed valuable for the society. God bless all

Dr. Gulshan Sharma President-NIMA

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

VIEWPOINT

Marketing Financial Products in Rural & Semi Urban Areas

Dinesh K Kapila
AGM, NABARD Shimla. The marketing of financial products in rural areas or semi urban areas, specially in the hinterland presents unique challenges as also learning opportunities. My own posting in the districts enabled me to gain insights into the process and I am sharing some experiences as they only amplify the viewpoint. While discussing the marketing of financial products, I am essentially focusing on the marketing and sale of mutual funds, ULIPS, tax free bonds, traditional life insurance products, medical insurance, infrastructure bonds, FD's of companies etc. The scenario in rural marketing is always complex, the distance from the company / corporate offering the product is vast, both in terms of geography and perception. The absence of qualified agents, bankers facing stiff targets for cross selling products, a perception of safety embedded in all products, dependence on subsidy and governmental programmes, arbitrage, mis- selling, lack of access to financial papers, inability to appreciate financial media channels etc makes the whole experience most interesting and at times amusing. Add to this the mixture of conservativeness and suspicion ingrained amongst ruralites while interacting with city bred officials (that is urban centric in thoughts and orientation) while they endeavour to market financial products during short visits to rural areas,it can be a formidable challenge for most. Kisan Credit Card I will start with my land lady at the district headquarters. Owning two houses, a lavish triple storey structure for herself and a reasonably comfortable house for me (both houses were adjoining), the lady owned vast property, urban as well as agricultural. One day I complimented her for the new Ford Fiesta parked in her driveway. She acknowledged the greetings and then said in chaste sophisticated Punjabi, it was thanks to me ! Now zapped, I asked her how so, she said 1 the bank which had loaned her the amount was generous in sanctioning a loan of Rs 3.00 lakh and said it was charging a low rate of interest due to NABARD. Now mystified, I went over to the branch of the Regional Rural Bank located nearby, the Branch Head said he had loaned her Rs 3.00 lakh as crop loan under the Kisan Credit Card which entitled her to concessional rates of interest and no compounding of interest, all this because she was a farmer. Technically he was correct, and then came the clincher, as a well off farmer, she would certainly repay in time and would get an additional incentive for prompt repayment !!. Such cases did occur at times and was confirmed by colleagues, but then such is the reality. I also realized over time two aspects of finance a well off farmer or a ruralite intrinsically understood, the value of land and interest. Hence the obsession in buying land, as the farmers would say in Punjabi when asked about their obsession with land, boss, ask God to create land !!. Then I must talk about Satvinder Singh, a progressive farmer and a close associate, owning 12 acres of land. He would come over and ask what to do with his cash surplus, ask about subsidy schemes of the government and so on as also at times request for putting in a word for more fertilizer for his cooperative society. One day he came over and proudly stated he was also a participant in the modern financial world, having invested in a single premium ULIP and in a mutual fund. He even advised me to invest as I would be doubling my money in three to four years and so on. With him were four more farmers, all having invested similar amounts, all excited at their diversification in such investments. I gently inquired if they knew how the money would be invested, about the functioning of stock exchanges, fluctuations in values, NAVs etc. The confident answer was that the Agriculture Banking Head of a major bank branch in the town had guided them and assured them about the return. Curious, I asked how they had come by so much liquidity, well, the branch head had simply first issued a crop loan(subsidized by the central government) through the kisan credit card and then after crediting their account, debited it for the ULIP / Mutual fund investments !!. After

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Satvinder and the farmers left the office, I went over to the branch, they sheepishly confessed they were way behind targets for loaning and selling insurance / mutual funds, the only recourse was to do what I have just described. I confronted them about the knowledge deficit of the investors about the products, it was met first with silence and then a lame excuse that these farmers being comparatively well off would be able to live through a crisis, if at all it occurred and this was occurring at many branches as regards the better off agriculturists only. When I inquired deeper, I realized even the bank officials were not aware about the intricacies and had attended a one day training session only. Needless to say, I spent hours later every week explaining the concept of such investments to such groups of farmers, as and when the stock markets tanked. Another interesting mode was to borrow at a low rate of interest (crop loans are subsidised) and then reinvest in fixed deposits with the same branch. This ofcourse is not the norm, but the better off and astute agriculturists do at times exploit such opportunities, specially when bankers are under pressure to achieve targets. A caveat, this is not the norm or happening in all regions, or for that matter amongst all farmers; the marginal farmer is totally out of the loop on such financial innovation. Relationships matter Relationships matter a lot in rural settings in winning trust and bringing about investments in financial products. The rural hinterlands have provided a fertile setting for scams and unfulfilled promises and assurances.The rural folk tend to connect unconnected dots, if a company had promised buy back for a commodity and subsequently failed to honour its promise, it makes it very difficult to market a new financial product in the same area, even if the two events are separate issues.This also explains the success of post offices in banking and that of old style bankers operating for a considerable time in a certain area.There is comfort in such

relationships, even if cash could be withdrawn from an ATM, it would be in order for the customer to walk in and exchange greetings. The barriers of limited broadband access, electricity outages, lack of understanding of terms and conditions, limited literacy of even the well of residents and ill-trained staff at offices of intermediaries are understood, but corporate India has been visibly negligent in tapping the comparatively well off and cash rich segment in rural areas. I even approached a major corporate specializing in marketing / selling of a diverse range of financial products to atleast venture out of Chandigarh and attend some meets which were being organized but the mindset was it would not be a viable venture. Bankers cannot be expected to sell such third party products effectively, strangely, I found some bankers themselves to be deficient in knowledge about mutual funds, though their branches had posters about such products. Thus massive knowledge inputs are required as also modes of reaching out to segments which can understand and invest in products with an awareness of its potential upside or downside. These are of course personal recollections and interactions, many would have different experiences. But the essence is to realize that marketing of financial products in rural areas would require a different mindset, an understanding of rural cultures, development of channels for collection (say micro SIPs or ULIPs), a mode to reach out with publicity material and adequately trained staff, access to data / information about households which can afford to invest etc. Dinesh K Kapila is presently posted as AGM at NABARD Shimla. These are his personal views and do not reflect the views of his employer.

Whenever you look back at your life, be positive. Whenever you look at the present, be realistic. Whenever you look to the future, be bold

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

TIMELY INTERVENTION

Smoothing Coal Mining is a Welcome Sign

DR. P. K. VASUDEVA Former senior professor, ICFAI Business School, Chandigarh

The Competition Commission of India (CCI) competition regulator plans to probe whether state-run coal miners have thwarted competition in the sector, robbing it of growth despite the country holding record reserves of the fuel. Domestic coal reserves rose 37% in two years to 74 million tonne in 2011, but this could not be matched with a faster pace of production. Coal production growth in fact slowed to 0.19% in 2011 from 7.9% in the previous year, delaying industrial projects and causing rolling blackouts as coalbased power generators sat idle. "Today 22,000 mw of power is lying idle due to coal shortage.The CCI will be looking into why the market is not being allowed to grow even after 20 years of liberalisation," informed a CCI official. After the nationalisation of coalmines in 1973, mining sector is almost entirely in the hands of public sector companies, with Coal India controlling more than 80% of

production. However, the miner has not been able to ramp up production despite availability of enough funds. The regulator will be probing abuse of dominant position by the state-run monopoly, which has the backing of the coal ministry, under Sections 3 and 4 of the Competition Act, 2002. But coal secretary Alok Perti said neither the state-run miners nor the ministry have done anything illegal. "We are not doing anything wrong. We are working under the 3

purview of law," Perti said.The Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Act, 1973 does not permit commercial mining from captive blocks and has been awaiting amendments for more than a decade now. Restrictive trade practices Restrictive trade practices have effects not only on production but also on prices.The wholesale price index for coal increased by 13.25% in the September 2011 compared with 7% in 2010.The coal import bill also gets inflated due to inefficient tapping of mines. According to government data, the country imports more than 100 million tonne of coal every year. The competition watchdog CCI will also investigate if there were irregularities in the allocation of captive coal mining blocks. "Blocks have been allocated to some companies randomly. We are looking into the case with all seriousness, as it affects the critical power sector," said another top official. The CCI is also worried that the ministry's policy proposal on surplus coal and washery products limits production of coal up to an approved level, which industry says will compound the fuel scarcity problem. The officials warned that since the proposal seeks to sell surplus production to CIL at below-production cost, the competition issue would only get aggravated, benefiting only the state monopolies. Coal India, whose net profit increased 68% between 200607 and 2010-11, is sitting on record cash reserves of Rs 49,000 crore.The world's largest coal miner has a net worth of Rs 30,000 crore and a market capitalisation of Rs 200,000 crore. Coal India refused to comment on the matter. The CCI will soon refer all complaints against the Kolkatabased miner to the director general of investigations for a probe. PMO'sTimely Intervention The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) should be commended for its decisive intervention in getting Coal India Ltd (CIL) to sign firm fuel supply agreements (FSA) with all power plants that have entered into long-term deals with distribution utilities for selling power and are to be commissioned before March 31, 2015. The CIL, which produces 80 per cent of India's coal, has in recent times only been issuing letters of assurance (LOA) that do not legally bind it to supply fuel once a project is up and running. The

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

state-owned miner has not inked a single FSA since April 2009. The PMO has now asked CIL to convert the preliminary LOAs into firm FSAs, committing it to supply at least 80 per cent of the full quantity of coal mentioned for a period of 20

years. In the event of shortfall, CIL would have to arrange for imports or supplies from other government entities, failing which penalties are triggered. The PMO directive that has acted as a regulator covers around 26,000 megawatt (MW) of LOA-based power plants commissioned between 2009-10 and 2011-12, plus an equivalent capacity slated to come up in the next three years. Given that a typical 1,000 MW thermal station burns 4-mt coal annually, it translates into a requirement of 200 mt or so. The benefits of securing FSAs for these projects are obvious for a power-starved nation, even if CIL may have to be shaken out of its lethargy to ramp up production from both existing as well as new mines especially those that have already received the necessary approvals. In the shortrun, it may have to even reduce e-auction sales and divert

supplies from non-power consumers including cement and steel. But PMO actions can only be poor substitutes for more substantial reforms. Foremost among them is the longdelayed enactment of the Coal Mines (Nationalisation) Amendment Bill and setting up a Coal Governance and Regulation Authority which is pending since 2007 (T L Shankar Committee report). Unless commercial coal mining is thrown open to new players, India's reliance on imports estimated at 100 mt-plus against domestic output of 550 mt this fiscal will only grow. And that is simply not sustainable. Coal India's move to roll back price rise made effective from January 1, 2012 following opposition from coal consumers has triggered debate for the establishment of regulatory mechanism for the sector. Power generators and experts believe that the coal regulator was a need of the hour to bring about transparency in pricing. "The issue of establishment of a coal regulator did come up for discussion during the meeting between the Prime Minister and the industry CEOs held on January 18. The ministry strongly pitches for a regulatory mechanism for coal sector to be put in place at the earliest." The intervention of the CCI in considering a suo moto investigation into whether the virtual monopoly of the state in the sector is responsible for the slowdown is a welcome sign till a strong regulatory mechanism for coal sector is put in place at the earliest. The writer is former member of Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, UT Chandigarh. He can be approached E-mail: vasu022@gmail.com

-Doubt sees the obstacle; Faith sees the way, -Doubt sees the darkest night; Faith sees the day, -Doubt dreads to take a step; Faith soars on high, -Doubt questions "who believes"; Faith answers "I"

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

CASE STUDY

"Sorry General,You Can't Have It and Eat It Also."

S P Singh Bhalla Consultant HR/Industrial Laws/Management of Disciplinary systems. Abstract : This case study deals in principle with vital employment issue of seeking alteration of dates of their births by employee(s) nearing terminal of their long innings in service. Correct date of birth in service record is extremely important as it determines various entitlements including extension in service tenure, increments, promotions, retention of official accommodations, perks, fringe benefits, official Status, entitlements of conveyance, entertainment, orderlies so on and so forth depending on Service rules, be it Defence or Civil. Fundamenals remain the same i.e. change in date of birth or for that matter month or year of birth has to be contested by the aspirant immediately on joining the services. Time is of vital essence. Officers trying to seek change nearing their superanuations have to account for as to why they could not get it earlier indeed an hurclean task almost next to impossible. This is the rationale behind the consistant judicial rulings of the Apex Court and followed by no. of State High Courts from time to time. Within the above frame work, a live case has been captured pertaining to the Chief of Army Staff of India, General V.K. Singh which has attracted wide attention and was found 'amusing' to HR, legal, judicial and defence circles since apart from avoiding the controversial issue pertaining to the General himself of seeking alteration of year of his birth at the fag end of his innings despite repeatedly undertaking to abide by the original year of birth declared by him, issue also impacts discipline within Army and the defence services in particular, his spat wth the Defence Ministry, propriety of former four Chief justices of India in deviating from Judicial rulings given by Apex Courts on the issue, ethics and integrity forming strong pillars of Defence services and Corporate governance, grace and prestige of office of Army chief, contradictory record maintained by the Adjutant General and Military Secretary wing of the Army. Main Case : General Singh at the time of joining National Defence Academy as a 'Gentleman' Cadet had declared 1950 as year of his birth supported by required documents and has been consistently undertaking to bind himself so during his entire service span on numerous occasions including at the time of periodical, promotions, regulating his various entitlements in Army, change in hierarchy of commands but of late, took a 'U' turn in claiming year of his birth as 1951 in lieu of 1950 and his attempts to force the Government to give effect the change in official records an avoidable arm twisting strategy adopted by the General. Ministry of Defence has after detailed examination taken apposite, just and appropriate legal and administrative stands in accepting 1950 as year of his birth, the General committing on numerous occasions during his entire career, accepting promotion after promotion including his elevation as Chief of Army of the Nation - 02nd largest Army of the World. His last few promotions based on year 1950 of his birth are: As Corps Commander in 2006 (from Major General to Lt. General). As Army Commander in 2008 (as GoC-in-Chief Eastern Command). As Chief of Army Staff in year 2010. Aggrieved on the refusal of the Government to succumb to his pressure tactics, General filed a 'statutory' complaint with the Defence Ministry reiterating year of his birth as 1951. Plea of the General that his Matriculation Certificate evidences 1951 year of his birth is too late, vulnerable and weak to withstand the valid stand of the Govt. at this

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

belated stage nearing the end of his innings that it is the General himself who has been consistently binding himself to 1950 as year of his birth since his joining N.D.A. all through during his service; thus he can't have 'u' turn at fag end of his service. There are umpteen no. of judicial rulings emanating not less than from Apex Court consistenly holding that change in birth sought for by employees at the time of supperannuation should not be agreed to, ordinarily. Present issue surely falls within the settled propositon of Law not once or twice but a consistent stand of Apex and State High Courts for several years. A sample citation of Hindustan Lever Ltd.,Vs. S.M. Jadhav 2001 LLJ 1695 by Apex Court suffices to buttress the settled legal position. General's soliciting at the back of the Defence Ministry and Attorney General of India, 'convenient' legal opinions from former four Chief justices does suggest as if the Army in general and he in particular were operating as independent 'State' within the Indian 'State' not giving positive signals. It is equally beyond comprehension as to how former chief justices had opined against the Law settled by the Apex Court of which they have been on the bench at one or the other point of time before superannuation or is it just the obvious 'lure' and 'personal' interest instead of 'public' interest rendering opinions favourable to the General in direct contradiction to the settled judicial consensus by the Apex Court and numerous State High Courts, reminding of a Russian Proverb: WHEN MONEY SPEAKS,TRUTH IS SILENT. Surely, T.S. Eliot was not wrong when he cried anguishingly : " HALF OF THE HARM THAT IS DONE

IN THE WORLD IS DUE TO THE PEOPLE WHO WANT TO FEEL IMPORTANT. " Learning notes : Case study offers good many teaching notes for HR Managers/Students and Law Officers. It calls for: 1. Urgency to carefully settle the issues/documents of staff at the time of their joinining leaving no scope for ambuity, whatsoever, lest it should take the shape the case study deals with if lingered on unnecessarily. 2. Time is of great 'essence'. If claims are not settled immediately, it affects adversely their tenability since Law does not help those who 'sleep' over their rights. 3. If the claims are unnecessarily dragged on, Law takes it that contentions raised by the parties have been acquiesced with. 4. No doubt, 'Matriculation Certificate' incorporating date of birth have a strong bearing on the determination of the issue and supersedes particulars furnished to the contrary by the candidates but if inconsistencies are not resolved immediately, 'Matriculation Certificate looses it's 'sheen' in the eyes of Law and rightly so. 5. Case study calls for consistencies to be co-ordinated and resolved by all departments of the Organization unlike in the current case study, Army's two arms i. e. Adjutant General and Military secretary Branch have contradictory year(s) of birth of the Army Chief in their respective records. Left hand was not knowing what right hand was doing, spelling avoidable disastrous confusion and misgivings. 6. Obviously the custodians of records did not get the facts across promptly settled forgetting Rudyard Kipling's basic lesson of using six honest serving servants : "WHAT and WHY and WHEN and HOW and WHERE and WHO." 7. Corruption is not confined to 'bribes' only. World Bank defines it as use of public means" for personal ends and includes improper or selfish exercise of power and influence." 8. Does not the episode reflect shifting of 'focus' from "Service before self' to "Self before service' first and the third words exchanging their locations per force of the falling societal values. 9. How come that four former Chief justices of India gave their opinions contrary to the legal position settled by Apex Court of which they were at one or other point of time, part of the same Institution?

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Army Welfare

Managing the Well-being of Military Personnel

Col (Retd) D S Cheema Vice President (HR), FTP With the ever expanding participation of our armed forces in operations and in aid to civil authorities, our troops are experiencing more deployments. The risk inherent in their job and frequent and lengthy separations from the families affects the well-being of military personnel in many ways. Certain stressors like isolation, boredom, work load, danger, ambiguity in job responsibility and powerlessness etc. lead to adverse outcomes related with attitude, health and performance Armed forces policy makers need to put in special effort to preserve and promote well-being of the soldiers above a particular level in the interest of operational readiness and how well they will be able to perform their job once called upon to do it. Towards this end, the government has undertaken certain specific measures, perhaps less as a moral obligation but more as a 'necessary evil'. The process started after 1971 Bangladesh war when the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, 'rewarded' the forces with freerations. Recently, S i x t h P a y Commission has addressed to a large extent, the grouse of the defence personnel that they get lesser pay and pension as compared to their civilian counter parts. It is too early to conclude that this increase will actually motivate them to perform better than before. Let us understand how money motivation actually works in armed forces. When we conclude that better welfare of service personnel can lead to better motivation and hence better performance, we assume that such personnel are perfectly sensible, calculating machines ie they are perfectly rational beings. Our observation of how people actually behave does not support this view. In fact we may be led to the conclusion that most of the people are irrational in their behaviour. Many studies by behavioural economist infer that financial incentives as a device for enhancing motivation and performance does not have a linear relationship. In some cases more money or wrong welfare measures, beyond a particular level, may decline the performance. If human 7 beings were perfectly rational, the motivation and performance should increase with more money and more welfare. There is another factor which comes in to play. Paying people more money can result in higher performance in certain type of w o r k , s ay w h e n performing simple mechanical tasks, but the moment you expect a soldier to use his brain also, which is necessary for many tasks in armed forces, the opposite can happen. A soldier should be looked after only that much which does not blunt his soldierly traits and qualities. It is easy to conclude that using money to motivate a soldier can be a double edged weapon. For such tasks that require cognitive ability, low to moderate level performance- based financial awards can work very well. But when the incentive level is very high, it can command too much of attention and the person may lose focus as he/she may be distracted by the expectation of very high level of reward. For this very reason, increasing an infantry soldier's pay, while keeping say that of the engineering cadre soldier's pay at the same level, will get better results.(Of course, other implications of pay parity have to be kept in mind) Increasing the salaries of officers, for that matter, may not get us higher level of motivation and higher standards of performance, but doing the same for men may get us much better results. What is the threshold level of monetary incentives for officers and what is that for different categories of soldiers engaged in different kinds of tasks, needs special studies. Another aspect related with the reason of a soldier wanting to die for the nation, is also relevant here. Soldiers don't lay down their lives for money..of what use money is to a dead man? Men sacrifice their lives for much more powerful things; honour, faith, family, country and perhaps some time for the sake of mankind. As Philip Mason aptly puts it in 'A Matter of Honour',men may come to colours for pay but it is not for pay that they earn aVictoria Cross

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Article

Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment Practices

Dr. A. K .Varma Principal, Continental Group of Institutes, Jalvehra, Distt. FGS (Punjab) The global business environment collaboration has become the holy grail of supply chain improvement and has been referred to as the driving force behind effective supply chain management. Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment's (CPFR)underlying premise is that wider integration of firms within the supply chain will lead to a better focus on customers through the development of a single shared forecast of demand and a reduction of lead times.The benefits resulting from a successful application of CPFR include reductions in stock-outs, improved inventory management, shorter cycle times, stronger relationships between trading partners, better overall system visibility and customer service, and improved cost structures. CPFR is a paradigm-breaking business model that takes a holistic approach to supply chain management among a network of trading partners. Approved as industry guidelines by the Voluntary Inter-Industry Commerce Standards (VICS) organization and the Uniform Code Council (UCC), CPFR has the potential to deliver increased sales, interorganizational streamlining and alignment, administrative and operational efficiency, improved cash flow, and improved return-on-assets (ROA) performance. There have been a number of widely known initiatives started with this objective from time to time like VendorManaged Inventory (VMI), Efficient Consumer Response (ECR) and Quick Response (QR): The CPFR Model The CPFR model (Figure 1)offers a general framework by which a buyer and seller can use collaborative planning, forecasting, and replenishing processes in order to meet customer demand.To increase performance, the buyer and seller are involved in following four collaboration activities listed in logical order. 1. Strategy and Planning- In this activity, the buyer and seller come to an understanding about their relationship and establish product and event plans. 2. Demand and Supply Management - in which customer demand and shipping requirements are forecasted. 3. Execution- the third collaboration activity involves placing, receiving, and paying for orders, and also preparing, delivering, and recording sales on shipments. 4. Analysis-for this activity, the execution step is monitored and key performance metrics are measured to work towards continuous improvement. In its first phases, CPFR was interpreted as a linked sequence of nine business processes, backed by industry standards. But in practice, CPFR wasn't as linear as the nine steps implied. So today it is viewed as a wheel that can be entered at any point, as depicted in Figure 1.

Figure 1: CPFR Model (Source:VICS) CPFR is a business practice that combines the intelligence of multiple trading partners in the planning and fulfillment of customer demand. CPFR links sales and marketing best practices, such as category management, to supply chain planning and execution processes to increase availability while reducing inventory, transportation and logistics cost. CPFR assumes a great deal of data sharing and exchange between partners in all steps. Data is necessary to measure the common metrics, to identify the exceptions in sales and order forecasts, and also is important to support decision making on the exception items. Therefore data integrity is almost a must for these steps to fulfill their missions. As a result, frequent update of data is important to ensure that real-time information is exchanged between partners. The frequency of data update could be agreed upon between the partners to meet the need of their specific relationship. Ever since the release of the CPFR Guidelines and Roadmap, there has been steady increase in the number of companies implementing CPFR. In addition to the successes seen in the U.S. and European pilot implementations, CPFR has also gained increasing attention in other parts of the world as well. In Asia, Corporate Japan is one of the fervent advocates of CPFR, large multinational company like Hitachi is one of those companies adopting CPFR practices. Other companies who have successfully experimented with CPFR are: Motorola, Wal-Mart and Sara Lee, Cisco, Living.com, Amazon.com, Dell Computers, JC Penny, Kmart, Federal Express, Kimberly-Clark, Nabisco and Wegmans, Solectron and Koda. 8

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Informative

Right To Information Act ( RTI )

Tej K. Magazine Management Adviser & Corporate Trainer Director Traam Services Pvt. Ltd.

EMPOWERMENT What is RTI? RTI ( RIGHT TO INFORMATION ) is :Empowerment of People of India. This is the best gift, the government has given to people of this democratic country the Aam admi, after independence of the nation. INTRODUCTION The Govt. of India resolved that in order to ensure greater and more effective access to information, the Freedom of Information Act 2002 must be made more progressive, participatory and meaningful with more access to information on the working of central, state governments, public sector undertakings and others who fall under the purview of the Act. Thus, the RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT-2005 was born, for providing a strong frame work for effectuating the right of information recognized under Article 19 of the Constitution of India. RIGHTTO INFORMATION ACT 2005 The Right to Information Bill having been passed by both houses of Parliament, received assent of the President of India on June-15, 2005. It got incorporated in the Statute Book as THE RIGHT TO INFORMATION ACT-2005 (22 of 2005). Along with RTI Act-2005, the following were also created: a) The Right of Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules-2005. b) The Central Information Commission (Appeal Procedure) Rules-2005. c) The Central Information Commission (Management) Regulations-2007. INFORMATION WHICH CAN BE ACCESSED Information means any material in any form, including records, documents, memos, e-mails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, log books, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, data material held in any electronic form and information related to any private body which can be accessed by a public authority. Besides, any 9

micro film, facsimile copy of a document, any reproduction of images embodied in such microfilm, any other material produced by a computer or any other device. WHO WOULD PROVIDE INFORMATION? Generally Central & State Governments, Public Sector Undertakings & Corporations, a Private Body which can be accessed by a Public Authority. PUBLIC AUTHORITY Public Authority means any authority or body or institution of self government as enshrined in the Constitution of India, or by a law enacted by Parliament or a State Legislature. By notification issued or order made by appropriate government authority that includes a body owned, controlled or substantially controlled by government; a substantially financed NGO directly or indirectly by funds provided by the appropriate government. WHO CAN OBTAIN INFORMATION? Any Indian who desires to obtain information under the Act, shall make a request in writing, or through electronic means in English or Hindi or official language of the state, in which the application is being made, accompanied by prescribed fees (Rupees ten by Cash / DD / Postal Order ), to the Central Information Officer or the State Information Officer or the Public Authority, as the case may be. TIME LIMIT a) On receipt of request with the prescribed fees by the concerned authority, the information has to be provided as fast as possible, but, not later than 30 days. b) Where the information concerned is relevant to life and liberty of a person, the information has to be provided within 48 hours of the receipt of request. c) If the application is made to a particular public authority, but, the subject matter is closely connected with some other authority, the same would be forwarded to closely connected authority, under intimation to the applicant, within 5 days of receipt of application. INFORMATION OFFICERS th Central Information Commission, 4 . Floor, Block-IV, Old JNU Campus, NEW DELHI 110067, Web: www.cic,gov.in

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

(Details about States Information Commissioners can be obtained from above given web site )

EXEMPTED INSTITUTIONS Government organizations, which do not presently fall under the purview of the RTI ACT, are presently 22 in number these include Enforcement Directorate, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, Central police organizations like Indo Tibetan Border Police and Assam Rifles etc.While the Central Government is reviewing to prune the exempted list and restrict the list only to intelligence and sensitive organizations; CBI is trying its best to get the exemption status. APPEAL PROCEDURE Appeal is filed with Central Information Commissioner or the relevant State Information Commissioner, as the case may be against deemed refusal of the Public Authority concerned along with self attested copies of the orders and documents against which the appeal is being preferred. BUREAUCRATIC APATHY Answerability as per RTI Act creates inconvenience for corrupt government officials and political bosses, alike.They try to suppress or delay parting with information, which does not suit them or would expose them. There is a provision in the Act to impose fine on erring officials. Several times officials land up in paying fines from their pockets. Society needs to fight, against insensitivity of bureaucracy, for successful implementation of RTI ACT. WHISTLE BLOWERS People, who take upon themselves the challenge of exposing misdeeds of the government, are known as RTI ACTIVISTS or WHISTLE BLOWERS. Such Activists are quite a few times shadowed, intimidated, blackmailed and threatened. There have been a few cases of killings of RTI Activists. But, the society should not get discouraged and should continue their campaign unabated, against bureaucratic menace. The Act also has provision for providing police protection to whistle blowers. IMPORTANCE Importance and intentions for successful implementation of

the RTI ACT, can be gauged from the following message given by UPA Chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to Prime Minister Dr. Man Mohan Singh, on November-10, 2009: The RTI ACT as one of the most effective pieces of legislation, as instrument that has empowered people and made government more responsive. Much has been achieved in these initial years and while there are still problems of implementation, RTI has changed the lives of our people and the ways of governance in the countryit is important therefore, that we adhere to its original aims and refrain from accepting or introducing changes in the legislations or the way it is implemented that would dilute its purpose. ACCOUNTABILITY & SOCIAL CAUSE As said earlier RTI ACT is empowerment of people of India. The Act has made political leadership and bureaucracy conscious that, they are accountable to people of India.That, they have to perform and make work culture transparent. In this era of multi billion rupee scams, cancer of corruption at all levels from a chaprasi to the secretary and the minister, red tape-lethargy-delay and incompetence in government working, it is the duty of all social minded individuals, societies, service clubs, NGOs, professional organizations, educational institutes etc. to create MASS AWARENESS about the RTI ACT, help individuals to file RTI APPLICATIONS, follow up with concerned PUBLIC AUTHORITIES for INFORMATION & RESULT , to cleanse the government of corruption, ensure transparency and accountability, so that the society progresses . The fruits of efficient & responsive government working, dispensation of justice, respect for human rights and development are fast, effective and these reflect on quality of life of the common man the aam admi.

INTRODUCTIONTO AUTHOR Tej K. Magazine, by profession is Management Consultant & Corporate Trainer in Leadership- Communication SkillsMarketing Supply Chain Management. Distinguished Member-Indian Institute of Materials Management. Eloquent orator & writer, committed social worker, 53 times Star Blood Donor. Charter Member-Lions Clubs International since 1975- recipient of coveted Top Ten World Award for Promotion of International Understanding & Co-operation in year 2000. tej@traambiz.com

10

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Humour

Biwi & The Boss

J.S. GOGIA Ex-GENERAL MANAGER (S&D), CHAMBAL FERTILISERS & CHEMICAL LTD

Handle them with great care. Both biwi and the boss are the useful persons for you. They play an important role in your day-to-day life.They are capable to take you to the heaven or show you the way to hell. Ideally speaking, you must love your work place. Your home should be a temple of peace. These two places are governed by these two 'deities' (devi and devta) with whom you spend most of your time. I have always maintained,If you have a bad boss, your half life is gone. If you have a bad wife, your other half is also gone.You can book your room at Agra (asylum) or wherever you feel like; choice is yours. You are spending half of your effective life in the office. No matter what kind of the organization you serve, your immediate boss is the person with whom you are most concerned. So is the case with other half of your life, which you live with your wife at home. It is not easy to change both of them.You cannot change the job all the time in search of a good boss. So is the case of wife, it is neither easy nor advisable to do that. I have changed my five bosses in search of an ideal one but I dare not to change ..! Two persons were good friends. One was quarreling all the time with his wife while other was enjoying peaceful living. The first one asked the second for the secret of his happiness. He smilingly replied I don't interfere in normal course. The other said, When do you interfere. The answer came when there is conflict between China and India or war between India and Pakistan. She lives on her past. I am on future Recently we celebrated silver jubilee of our marriage. One of my guest said, Congratulations! You had 25 years happy married life. I replied,She has always been living in the glory of her past while I am living on my future. We never met 'at present'; still we had happy married life. Frankly enough, our habits are diagonally opposite. I am an extrovert, while she is an introvert and self-possessive. I am in the habit of over spending her well saved money. I live in the complexity of the world, while she believes in simplicity. I am fond of perfumes & cosmetics, while she does not believe in the artificial life. Someone asked me, 'sir, there is always a woman behind every successful person; you have become GM because of your wife'. I said 'I would have gone few more steps ahead, if there would have been two of them'. You know, 'Boss is always right.' If his graphs are going down, don't hesitate to justify. Were you not there, the profit would have further gone down. Sir, you have saved the company by minimizing the losses. The boss is always wise by virtue of his position. Don't challenge his decision, just

defend them. If the boss says to the sun, I am seeing the moon. You say, 'Sir I am also seeing the stars in the sky'. Once I had to work with a rascal.We, numbering forty, resigned one by one, as we did not compromise with him. Love his cats & dogs Remember protocol to follow. You should not wear better clothes than your boss. He will never like it, if you do that. Once I had to put all my clothes in the suitcase and I borrowed something to wear from my neighbour on arrival of my new boss. Don't forget to love his cats & dogs; take care of them well. It is not a small thing, it is ever rewarding. Find out the favourite choice of the boss, the brand of cigarettes and drinks he likes.You should know his lifestyle to identify the gift items you intend to present him at certain occasions. It is always good to judge his temperament & emotional behaviour to find the best time when he will be receptive to your valuable feedback you have gathered. Courtesy calls to the boss are always rewarding; ask your Biwi to accompany you. It is better if she makes same hair style as of boss's wife. Don't forget to take a packet of sweet and tell the boss that you have celebrated today the birthday of a niece of your brother's wife. If the boss is in receptive mood, give some feedback of the office. It will provide you good coverage for your shortcomings in professional capacity and competency. Tell him as your sacred duty that his number two is a trouble shooter. Someone asked me the secret of maintaining a good car. I said,Both car and wife behave well if maintained well. But be careful, don't lend them to anyone.They will get spoiled and it will be of no use. When I asked the model of the car, he replied,The model of my car and the wife is the same (as he got car in dowry). Both needs replacement, I said.Why don't you think to change the rings of pistons, suggested my friend. What will happen if biwi and the boss join hand together? Biwi starts going in his car for shopping and movie. She also tells you in advance about the assignment of your choice and likely promotion. Signal starts flushing Maamla Garbar Hey! Mr. Batra was a fine engineer in the industry. All of a sudden, his speed of promotion picked up momentum.After smelling that his wife has joined hand with his boss, he resigned and asked his wife to move away. But she preferred to divorce him, as she was not ready to leave his boss. I heard my friend praying Oh God! Bless me with good biwi and good boss. Give them wisdom, the wisdom of not making my life miserable, as I am to pass through this world only once.

11

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Health

Controling BP Spiritually
Deepak Behl Free Lance Writer

Blood Pressure is one of the commonest ailments that human being faces today. Basically it is a slow and silent death. When a person is young,one does not take enough care and applies a casualapproach to everything which ultimately lands him or her into various kinds of physical ailments e.g. high or low blood pressure, diabetes, allergies, insomnia,asthama, the list is endless. Blood pressure or many of the physical ailments in the human

body cannot be termed as diseases. Whatever bad or negative is happening to the body, it is the result of intake of one's own thoughts or the junk food. So instead of curing the physical ailments, we must try to concentrate on our thoughts. Just like we eat good (satvikbhojan), we remain healthy throughout life.Similarly if we think good, there is no question of any physical ailment. But since we are not aware of this small little thinking pattern, we indulge in huge discussions and delebrations and land up nowhere. Everyone looks for peace outside but it is within but still out of reach. Learning bicycle in childhood is not difficult (in fact it was fun) and we learn it (no matter how many times we fall), similarly curing self of any kind of body ailment is not difficult but the bent of mind is such that we don't want to learn. Here a story that comes to my mind. A Mahant (Elephant Trainer) brings a baby elephant and ties him with an iron chain. The baby elephant is not strong enough to break the chain inspite of many attempts. So ultimately he

gives up and closes the door of his mind and agrees to his fate and acts according to the whims and fancies of the Mahant.When the baby elephant grows up, the Mahant ties the elephant with a thin rope which the elephant does not even try to break it. Reason being that the door or channel to his mind is blocked.The elephant is strong enough to uproot a tree and lift it with his trunk, so what do you think can't he break the thin rope. It is only due to the reason that he stopped thinking in that direction. Similarly we people thought that these diseases are part of our life and we compromise on it. But the soul is so strong that still (even in old age) it has tremendous power to cure self but we don't want to cure ourselves. You can cure your own problem of Blood Pressure. It is very-very simple. PROBLEM : Each problem starts with your own thought and can be solved with the help of good thoughts only but we do not pay heed or attention to the cause of the problem. Once a bad thought (hate, jealousy, anger) creeps your mind, it is like planting a cactus. It is easy to uproot when it is a plant. But ones it takes a form of a tree, it becomes difficult just like it is difficult to cut a jungle full of thorny plants/trees. This kind of jungle or a life full of problems can only be solved with the help of Rajyoga. Example :A stitch in time can save nine. When we were child we were not taught to pay attention to the kind of thoughts we are generating whether negative or positive. There are still some parents who teach their children to grow in a positive manner and they feed them with healthy food (SatvikBhojan). But most of the parents are not aware as to what is SatvikBhojan (Pure food). So, the end result is garbage in, garbage out. SatvikBojan or healthy food/diet is the one which is prepared by a person (he/she) while remaining peaceful, engrossed in thoughts of God and prepare strictly vegetarian food (exclude Onion and Garlic). This satvikbhojan is also known as VaishnavBhojan. The Onion and Garlic are hot in nature and thus has the tendency to change your thoughts. The present generation is more vulnerable as they are addicted to TV/Cell phones/Computers etc. which gives more negativity to thought process. 12

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

on thought which is coming to you again and again. If that thought is bothering you or you feel it is a bad thought, try replacing it with good thought. It is similar to a TV programme that you are watching is not of your liking, you switch to another channel. Similarly replace the bad thought with good thought. (2) If any one has hurt you and that face is repeatedly coming to your mind, then you must replace it with some good picture or with a picture of a deity/God. SOLUTION : If you see the termites or cockroaches in home, you quickly try to get rid of them. But there are vices like Kama (Lust), Krodha (Anger), Moha (Attraction), Lobha (Greed) and Ahankaar (Ego) inside us but we hardly care to clean them up.We clean our houses daily but we hardly pay attention to clean up our mind or body. Meditation (Rajyoga) is one such solution to all the problems in life. (1) During the day, try to remain calm. Keep a check (3) Every thought is in your control. Don't let other people control your thoughts. For this, check is very necessary. Rajyoga mediation helps you check these thoughts. (4) Feel good factor : If you want respect from others, you must first learn to give respect to others. If you want love from others, you must first learn to love others. If you want to feel good during the day, try make others feel good and you shall have it. If you want to remain healthy, teach others to remain healthy through Rajyoga. Through this write-up I invite the children of this planet to be part of Rajyoga (or in other words Raj Vidya) and gift the world with peace of mind. Deepak Behl, 09316984807 deepakbehl@hotmail.com

Attitude Given each letter of the alphabet a number in which they fall in the sequence, e.g., A=1, B=2, C=3 etc. If you add up theletters of the alphabet in the word "ATTITUDE", this is the result: A=1 T = 20 T = 20 I=9 T = 20 U = 21 D=4 E=5 100, so see ATTITUDE = 100% The greatest discovery of my generation is that you can alter your life by alteringyour attitude. 13

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Tourism

Karsog : Valley of Temples and Orchards

Dr. N.K Sharma Professor in Tourism Management The picturesquevalley of Karsog in theMandi district of Himachal Pradesh offers a variety of attractions to those who are in search of solitude, relaxation and soft adventure. Dotted with numerous temples and fruit orchards, here in the fertileKarsog valley, one can havegentle walks to the surrounding hills orknolls or go trekking to places like Shikari Devi. Karsog, the main town in the valley, is 120 kilometers from Mandi and 128 kilometres from Shimla. The road from Shimla passes through the poplar rendezvous of Naldehra,famous for its 9 hole golf course situated in idyllic surroundings. Proceeding further we reach Tatapani, on the bank of Sutlej river, with many sulphur springs, whose curative and invigorating qualities attract a large number of people including visitors from far and wide. Karsog, which has a well stocked bazaar, exudes peace and enjoys salubrious and mild climate. If one is keen to study hill architecture, onewill find treasures of it in the remarkably well preserved ancient shrines dedicated to Durga, Shiva and Nag and other local deities.These edifices incorporate both indigenous traditions and outside influences. Seven kilometers fromKarsog, in villageKao, is a temple constructed on a rectangularplatform with a passage two feet wide for pradakshina.The wooden planks enclosing the pradakakshina path are slanting outwardly. Out of the rooftop ofthe main building rise two pagada like structures covered withchiseled slates and capped by gilded amalka which enhances the attractiveness of the view. Below the evesarewooden pendants (like stalactite knobs) for ornamentation. The idol of Kamakshi Devi in the sanctumis veryimpressive. The use of wood, stone and slate in the constructionof the temple shows a high degree of dexterity and workmanship which was achieved by the artisans and carvers hundreds of years ago who had carried out different types of tasks according to the architectural norms in those days. Duringnavratras people from surrounding areas and far afield, attired in their best, visit the shrine and offer prayers tothe goddess with sacrifice of the buffaloes.It seems that Karsog and its neighborhood must have been a centre of Shaivaism, in the past as it is evident from the worship of Shiv and Shakti in the region.There are hardly any shikhrastyle temples which we often find in some other parts of Himachal Pradesh , as also in Mandi. Twenty-five kilometers from Karsog is another temple of considerable interest dedicated to devtaMahunag, another form of Shiva, is located on a hilltop commanding extensive views. A powerful deity in the hierarchy of gods of the region, Mahunagattracts a large number of devotees and also makes the annual pilgrimage to Mandi to attend the Shivratri fair. Located on a stunningly beautiful site atop a ridge, the HPTDC well appointedHotel Mmaleshwar at Chindi, 13 kilometers from Karsog commands perhaps, some of the finest views of the valley and the mountains. .It is one of the most lovely places of Himachal Pradesh. For a weekend getaway from the monotonous daily routine life, Chindi is an ideal destination that provides a welcome break. Chindi being a very small hilly area is not that way visited by the tourists but yet the place has got its own charm and splendor.

The sight of the rambling hills together with the lush green forests and valleys is really something mention worthy. Chindi's real claim to fame in India at large lies at the top of the hill above the village; the Chindi rest house, now converted into a hotel itself looks something like a miniature Georgian country manor house, with a large, well kept garden and a serene view, looking out as it does over miles of gently rolling hills. 14

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

Tourism

Srinagar- Essence of Kashmir; An Account of the Trip

J.N. Vohra Projects & Maagement Consultants

When the plane was hovering over the Srinagar Air Port for landing, I peeped through the window panes and could take a mobile snap of the snow covered peaks of Himalayas.The pilot of the plane announced outside temperature 17Celcius, almost 16 lower than Delhi Airport, from where we boarded the plane. It was pleasant outside in Mid-October. Earlier, I had made couple of visits to the valley for wellearned leisure tours with family.This visit was almost after a decade. I accompanied Dr. Gulshan Sharma, president Asian Motivation Forum and a hardcore tourism fit with Ph.D. in tourism from U.K. The purpose was to participate in the Indian Travel Mart (ITM) and to visit Kashmir University where Dr. Sharma was to deliver lecture on 'Skills and Employability'. We stayed at Jamal resort located in Ishber. The hotel is in close proximity to the Dal Lake, NishatBagh, and Royal Springs Golf Course. Jamal Resorts is promoted by JCI (Jamal Carpet Industries) Group of companies. Dal Lake Dal Lake is the heart of Srinagar.We daily passed through its boulevard to reach to Zabarwan Park, the place where ITM was organised. Our taxi driver informed us that 'you drive about 27 kilometers around the Dal Lake from start to finish at a point'. The Lake is surrounded by mountains on its three sides and five basins and a number of well linked channels of Jehlum tributaries as source of water. The Lake reappeared in this part, in the desiccated Valley of Kashmir- (According to folk etymology, the name "Kashmir" means in Sanskrit: Ka = water and shimeera = dehydrated. It is also said that Kashyapa, a Hindu sage, had drained out all the water and there appeared the magnificent KashmirValley). We could see hundreds of house boats (Shikaras) in the Lake for the tourists to reside on the lake in an atmosphere of peace and tranquility.Though many tourists, mainly from 15

Bengal and Gujarat were moving around the lake but not many shikaras were found active. 'Darbar' Move Srinagar, located on the Kashmir Valley at the banks of the River Jhelum, is summer capital of Jammu & Kashmir state. The capital shifts from Srinagar to winter Capital in Jammu City starting from the first week of November. A replica of state assembly is located in Jammu for the legislatures to jostle with during winter assembly session. Earlier, we had witnessed on TV that a legislator had thrown a chair towards the Assembly Speaker during summer session in Srinagar. Bi-Annually, entire staff of J & K Secretariat, menial to ministers, Raj Bhavan, High Courts, offices of DGP moves to Jammu to their winter habitations. Unmindful of any mishap that may occur on 300 Kilometer route to Jammu and back, causing loss of some precious Government records, many truckloads of records of these offices move on one way traffic on national highway. Govt. functioning comes to halt at Srinagar. Maharaja Sir Hari Singh, who signed the instrument of accession to India, ascended the throne of Jammu and Kashmir in 1925 and governed the state till 1950. He was known for his reforms. He threw the temples open to Harijans, banned the flesh trade by the women and allowed the remarriage by the widows. Hari Singh was a secular king. Standing at Zabarwan Park our guide pointed towards the high mount seen on the other side of Dal Lake, where HariParbat Fort was situated. Inappropriately, I felt, the fort of Mughals and ascendants of Maharaja Hari Singh is now known as KabutarKhana (habitation of pigeons). Kashmir Goldmine Long back a Kashmiri Hawker selling Pashmina Shawls in the streets of Chandigarh informed me, on my asking, in his own

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

rustic understanding that neither Pakistan nor India would like to dissociate with their claim on Kashmir since both know about the goldmine underneath some mountains situated in the area.That may not be true but the abundance wealth which the area possesses is in the cultivation of Saffron, Sericulture, Dryfruits, Pashmina and Shahtoosh, altogether is not less than gold. The use of Shahtoosh, known as King of fibers is banned since it is believed that this fiber is obtained by killing Chiru, an antelope, living o n h i g h mountains of LehLadhak. As this animal spices is vanishing, it is now protected spices. Our guide drove us about 20 Kilometers towards a place Pampore, famous for world's best saffron.We were assured by the salesman, sitting in a roadside shop that what we got is pure saffron (@Rs.200 per Gram) and best of the AkhrotGiri (Walnut kernel @ Rs. 1600 per Kilogram). Skills & Employment According to information provided by the Employment Department of J & K, there are 1.2 lakh educated unemployed registered with various employment exchanges in the State. Though, Government of India economic survey estimated the number at 4 to 5 lakhs. More serious challenge for the government is that 48 percent of the 71 percent of youth population between the ages of 18 to 35 in theValley are estimated unemployed. There are programs of Government of India to provide joboriented training to graduates, post-graduates and professional degree holders in the state over a period of five years, besides National Skills Development schemes. What avenues are available in the state to provide gainful employments to the trained, skilled and educated youth in the State? We entered into conversation with the professor, who very kindly was escorting us to various places. There are many uneducated people with inherited skills who are absorbed in their traditional avocation such as shawl and carpet weaving, wood and metal works, cultivating saffron and sericulture. There are no establishments of corporate houses for IT, pharmaceuticals, or consumer durables. No big industries can come up in the valley without damaging the environment and scenic beauty of the place. The potential of the state in generating hydro power has also not been exploited for creating some sorts of employment opportunities. Perhaps, the only avenue for employment lies in corporatising service industry; tourism, health related

industries and centers, event management, film cities and IT enabled services such as Call centers and food processing and packaging industries. Some of these trades can also be channelised for self-employment. For all this to happen it is imperative that a sense of peace, harmony, and safety prevail in the state. In the absence of employment avenues within the state educated youth would need to seek employment in other parts of the country or go oversees or seek government jobs, which are not enough even to absorb miniscule of the youth passing out from the universities in the state. The general opinion was that it is more dangerous to build a battery of educated unemployed than uneducated, because educated unemployed youth will get frustrated soon for not getting the occupation of their standing after having spent time and money for getting their education. In other words, in coming years, the conflict in the valley may get aggravated within rather than from outside, if some steps to solve it are not taken immediately. The Opinion We had occasion to talk to some of the educated youth regarding their opinion about India-Pakistan relations. Most of them refrained from talking on the subject or did not understand the complexities of the same or were not interested about the prevalent situation. Some articulated and said, look neither India nor Pakistan can get each other's territories of Kashmir without going for a war, which is unlikely, both being nuclear countries. The only chance is negotiations and compromises; the best thing would be to revoke Shimla agreement that was signed between India and Pakistan after the 1971 India-Pakistan War'. What they understood was that in this agreement it was accepted that the Line of Control (LOC) in the state of J&K would continue as the de facto border and both countries would not try to de-stabilise the same. Other than this, they opined that borders of both sides of Kashmir be made porous as we have with Nepal. So some of them have an opinion, unmindful what has been the resolution of Indian parliament or what the separatists of the valley maintain.The utmost need of the state is to defuse tensions, conflicts and state of uncertainty,I thought. Whatsoever be the situation in Valley, the essence of Kashmir is best summarized by Jahangir,"GAR FIRDOUS BAROYE ZAMIN HAST, HAMIN HASTO HAMIN HASTO HAMIN HAST", if there is heaven on the earth, it is here, it is here, it is here. *After ten days of our visit, in Lal Chock and at other places in Srinagar there were blasts and grenades were thrown on army bunkers, indicating that the valley simmers underneath or is the cause of the neighbor.

16

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

NIMA EVENTS 2011-12

NIMA signs MOU with Management Association of Nepal (MAN)

3 April 2012
Welcome Speech of MAN's President made at Hotel Annapurna, Kathmandu It is my pleasure, in this evening, to welcome our very important guests- Dr. Gulshan Sharma, President NIMA, Mr. J. N.Vohra, Secretary General, NIMA, Prof. Narinder Kumar and Dr Rajdeep Singh from NIMA. It is really a great opportunity for us to sit together with such a high level delegation on behalf of North India Management Association (NIMA). I also want to take this meeting as an opportunity to shed some lights on MAN's activities. MAN, as a National Association of M a n a g e m e n t professionals has been actively engaging in promoting, facilitating and supporting the development of p r o f e s s i o n a l management in the country. Since its establishment in 1979, MAN is committed toward contributing the n a t i o n t h ro u g h i t s professional expertise and it has been continuously delivering its expertise in the field of management. MAN, today, is recognized as a national non-government organization, having strong membership base of over 2,000 professional individuals and more than 200 corporate organizations as institutional member. It has extensively engaged in the development of professional managementthrough research activities, consultancies, trainings, and management education. In international arena MAN is one of the founding members of Asian Association of Management Organizations (AAMO). It has close links with a number of well-known professional bodies like the American Management Association (AMA), International Management Association of Japan (IMAJ), All India Management Association (AIMA), Pakistan Management Association, Malaysian Institute of Management and Singapore Management of Association among others. 17 MAN has been undertaking various activities and making efforts towards releasing its objectives. It has one Management Development Centre (MDC) under its Umbrella whose main objective is to work as an independent national think tank for the management development issues. MDC aims at creating and promoting independent expert opinions in the contemporary issues related to the socio-economic and management development. It also operates Management Development Campus that commits itself to facilitate all management practitioners and working managers in improving their professionalism by creating and promoting appropriate and pertinent management know-how and practices. To materialize this motto, MAN-MDC has initiated a 2 years- University Executive Master in Business Administration (EMBA) program. Thus, MAN is basically undertaking various such activities which include interactive sessions, management education (EMBA), researches/studies and consultancies, information services, and professional training courses. In executing these activities, MAN seeks support, in various kinds, from our partner organizations at reciprocity basis and wants to strengthen mutual relationship among us in promoting, facilitating and supporting the development of professional management. We also want to explore sitting jointly with our partner organizations, the areas of activities for which we can do better joint together. Therefore, certainly we will expect to strengthen the level of cooperation and relationship with NIMA, so that, we can go together for the development of professional management and cope with common issues in this course. In this august meeting, I feel proud and pleasure that MAN and NIMA has signed a MOU seeking and exploring the areas of mutual benefits. I think it will be the part of management development process in the region. We believe that these linkages will enhance mutual cooperation and relationship among us in promoting, facilitating and supporting the development of professional management, its best practices and techniques available across the world. Finally, I also want to take this meeting with high level NIMA delegates as an opportunity to share and learn experiences. Probably, we will have an informal interaction with our valuable guests during the dinner. Lastly, once again I would like to extend my warm regards

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

and thanks to our important guests from NIMA. And I also my special thank goes to Dr Rajdeep Singh for his graceful efforts to organize this level of meeting between MAN and NIMA. Thank you and wishing you all the best. Janak Raj Shah President, MAN and Hon'ble Member , National Planning Commission, Nepal

WORLD RECOGNIZES THE POWER OF SKILLS PROF. SATINDER DHIMAN

In a seminar on Emerging trends in management and their relevance in India Context, organized by North India Management Association (NIMA), Prof. SatinderDhiman, Later in the day, Prof. Dhiman took over as president of International Punjabi Chamber for Service Industry (IPCSI) in a Press Conference held at MountView on 23rd February. Prof. Dhiman as co-director of Academy of Spirituality and Professional Excellence (ASPEX) signed an MOU with NIMA. The MOU envisage facilitating research and publications in the respective areas of expertise, exchange of experts for conducting executive management development programs and facilitating industry exchange programs. Prof. Dhiman while talking about his forthcoming book entitled Seven habits of Highly Fulfilled people; Journey from Success to Significance, said that you can take Punjabi youth off drugs by providing them better alternatives to hang on. He said that Power of Knowledge and life skills can wean away youth from drug addiction. Remedy is to make them skilled enough to attain excellence in whatever they want to do.That can provide them better space in the society.

Associate Dean of Management, Woodbury University, California said, World recognizes the power of skills. Time has come when only skilled people will get the opportunity for employment in most of the developed nations. We need to look at the problems in its wider context and make our box of knowledge bigger rather than thinking out of the box. Effective leaders display the traits of simplicity, clarity and elegance. Future trends in management are to learn these skills in addition to self-realization aptitude, added Prof. Dhiman.

NIMA PRESIDENT HONORED by VICE CHANCELLOR of PUNJABI UNIVERSITY, PATIALA DURING CONCLUSION OF PUNJABI FILM FESTIVALS

JN Vohra Secy. Gen. NIMA explaining the various clauses of MOU signed with ASPEX

MOU signing ceremony between NIMA and ASPEX at Hotel Mountview, Chandigarh

18

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

CORPORATE SECTOR SHOULD DEVELOP TOURISM INFRASTRUCTURE : PROF. INBAKARAN

Dr. Robert Inbakaran delivering his talk on Emerging trends in Global Tourism students of various colleges

Indian tourism industry has emerged as the new engine of economic growth and employment generation capable of

alleviating poverty and giving fillip to the indigenes arts and crafts, said Prof. Robert Inbakaran, former Director Centre for Tourism Research University of Canberra, Australia during an interactive session on Emerging Trends in Global Tourism and their relevance in Indian context organized by North India Management Association (NIMA) and ITFT Education Group.

Prof. Inbakaran said that India had all the ingredients to attract large number of international visitors if innovative initiatives are taken by the Union Ministry of Tourism and State Government to harness natural and cultural assets of India. There is huge potential for developing domestic tourism in India since now disposable income is available to the burgeoning middle class population. While planning for tourism, measures should also be taken to protect environment and the fragile ecology, added Prof. Inbakaran. Prof. advocated community approach to tourism and urged the corporate sector to come in a b i g w ay t o d eve l o p infrastructure and other facilities as corporate social responsibility. Prof. Inbakaran gave various references of tourism development in China and Australia.

ADVENTURE SPORTS CAN PLAY SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN BUILDING YOUTH CHARACTER : LT. GEN GL BAKSHI
National Adventure Foundation (NAF) organised a seminar cum workshop on 'Role of adventure sports in building character among youth'. The seminar cum workshop was sponsored by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of India. The chief Guest on the occasion was Sh Ram Niwas, IAS, FC cum Principal Secretar y to Govt. of Haryana. Present on the occasion were President NAF, Lt. Gen GL Bakshi, PVMC (Retd.) and Brig. Ravi Kumar (Retd.), Executive Director NAF-HQ and renowned tracker ShAvinashDeoskar. Large number of youth from the area attended the seminar. Dr. Gulshan Sharma, president NIMA and executive director of ITFT welcomed the guests and initiated the discussion. He said that he is ever ready to support these kind of activates where youth develop some skills and become spirited to serve the nation. Speaking on the occasion, Sh Ram Niwas said that adventure is necessary part of education to develop all round personality of the youth. Sh Ram Niwas, who is an avid lover of adventure sports and tourism, while relating many adventure places in the world said that 'India is a complete package where all sorts of locations are available to undertake complete range of adventures sports that take place in air, land, and water, such as bungee jumping, gliding, hang gliding, rock climbing and river rafting'.Youth adventure like hiking and tracking make youth more confident, he added. Lt. Gen GL Bakshi said that National Adventure Foundation (NAF), as an NGO is performing a 'community service' oriented role in promoting Adventure activities among the youth, particularly those hailing from the under privileged sections of society. He said that the role of NAF is not to make champions in adventure sports; rather the organization encourages youth to take initiatives in undertaking any sort of adventure to overcome their fears to face various challenges of life. Lt Col YPS Dahiya (Retd.), Director NAF Chapter of Chandigarh, Punjab and Haryana displayed a film on adventure sports and thanked ITFT College to provide the venue and made arrangement for the success of seminar a n d wo r k s h o p. T h e Seminar was followed by demonstration of various adventure activities. Tomorrow, a field workshop on adventure activities and practice will be held at the same venue.

19

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

March-April 2012

NIMA PARTICIPATED IN ROSE FESTIVAL, CHANDIGARH

NIMA participated in Rose Festival, Chandigarh, considered as largest Rose Show in the country. The festival was held Feb 24-26. This festival is celebrated in the Rose Garden every year in the end of the month of February.The festival displays, in abundance, the bloom of different type of roses. Many domestic and foreign tourists visit this festival The festival was inaugurated adviser to Chandigarh administrator KK Sharma. The lively and fun filled ceremony was marked by the releasing of balloons, playing of brass and pipe bands, beating of drums, performance of folk dances by different states and display of other distinctive regional art forms depicting the 'unity in diversity' culture of our country. Famous singers like MohitChauhan performed live during the festival. In addition to the annual flower contest, there was a 'rose prince' and 'princess' competition, on the spot painting, rose quiz, folk dances, photography competition and kite flying. NIMA PR manager Ms. Jyoti Paul was one of the judges in princes' competition. Large number of people visited NIMA Stall. The Rose Garden was set up in 1967. Spread over 46 acres, it has 17,000 plants showcasing nearly 800 varieties of roses and medicinal plants.

NIMA PARTICIPATED IN AIMA'S '2ND WORLD MARKETING CONGRESS

NIMA President Dr. Gulshan Sharma and Secretary GeneralJ.N.Vohra participated in AIMA's '2nd World Marketing Congress held at Hotel Lalit, N.Delhi from 2nd and 3rd March. The Inaugural address was given by HH RadhanathSwamiji. Other speakers included Dr Subramanian Swamy, President, Janata Party, MrPrabhuChawla, Editorial Director The New Indian Express Group, and MrAdityaGhosh, President-Indigo Airlines. Noticeable sessions included; 'Marketing for the Fast Changing World', 'Marketing of Anti-Corruption Agenda', Panel discussion on 'Marketing of Political Parties and Exploiting the Power of Creativity'. HH RadhanathSwamiji presented his book on 'The Journey Home:An Autobiography of an American Sadhu

20

Learn Excel Build

NIMA
Energizing Young Minds

NORTH INDIA MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION

Dedicated towards Skills Development, Employment & Entrepreneurship

www.nimachd.org

Knowledge Partner ITFT EDUCATION GROUP-CHANDIGARH

SCO-1, Level III,(Opp. Reserve Bank of India), Sector 17-D, CHANDIGARH - INDIA Phone : + 91-172-2720302, 9814556072, E-mail : nimachd11@gmail.com nimachd.blogspot.com