IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE

SUMMER 2009
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Dear Alum,
It's been a little over 10 months
now since I joined the Alumni
Office at IIMB. Time flies so fast in
the lovely woods and the granite
walls of our campus. It's been a
very eventful period for the
Alumni Association and I can't
help but feel grateful to the
wonderful support you all have
provided. The 34th Annual Convocation took place on
April 2, 2009, with about 419 students graduating this
year. It was a moment of joy for everyone. We wish the
class of 2009 all the very best and also intend to keep
them engaged with IIMB through the Alumni Office.
The Alumni Office has been very busy over the last six
months working to create a formal structure of the Alumni
Association worldwide. We are very happy to inform you
that we now have 11 recognized city chapters in
Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi,
Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Middle East and New
York. I was fortunate to witness the launch of Kolkata,
Mumbai and Delhi chapters and meet with many of you.
The office-bearers of these chapters will work with the
Alumni Office and serve as nodal agencies for you to
connect with IIMB. We also have representatives for
every batch who will help us reach out to you all. The
goal of having these structures is to ensure that we reach
out to everyone and collaborate in various programmes
that benefit the entire IIMB community. We encourage
you to update your information on www.iimbaa.org, get
the contacts of your local city chapter and stay
connected.
Editorial Team (left to right): Sushma R; Sonira Gulhati; Aparna Datta; Srividya Krishnamurthy
Anusmaran '09, planned in all 11 cities between the 16th
to the 23rd of May is a good example of how this
structure is beginning to work. For the first time, we had
telephonic conferences between six India chapters to
plan the event. The office bearers worked very hard to
get partners to sponsor the event and for the first time,
we all realized the power of working together. It's a sense
of nirvana to see these chapters now taking full
ownership and charge of their cities, driving the agenda,
engaging students and the alumni in that city to come
together. We can only go onwards and upwards from now
on. I sincerely urge you to maintain the momentum.
We are proud to bring you the Summer 2009 edition of
the IIMB Alumni Magazine. From a humble beginning
eight months ago, and from the launch of the first edition
in Winter 2008, I think we have come a long way with this
edition. The editorial team comprising of the lovely ladies
Aparna, Sonira, Srividya and Sushma have worked very
hard to bring you the Summer 2009 edition. In this
edition, you will meet more alums from a cross-section of
industries, batches and programmes, their views on the
recent economic situation, articles from members of the
faculty, updates from students, alumni events, reunions
and class notes. Last, but not least, some very touching
words and pictures that capture the essence of our
campus.
I still recall my first mail to all you in August 2008. And I
will use the same words here again. Let's Engage,
Energize and Enhance IIMB's leadership through a
strong Alumni Association.
Rakesh Godhwani, PGSEM '04
Head, IIMB Alumni Association
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE

Contents
Editorial Committee:
Sankarshan Basu
Rakesh Godhwani
Aparna Datta

From the Alumni Office 2

Editorial Team: Round Table 4

Aparna Datta
Rakesh Godhwani
Sushma R
Srividya Krishnamurthy Back to B-School 9
Sonira Gulhati

Salon 14

Design & Production

Cicada Media Hall of Fame 23
Bangalore

Anusmaran 25

IIMB ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT
Class Notes 28
BANGALORE
Bannerghatta Road
Bangalore 560 076, India What's Up @ IIMB 30
Tel: +91-80-2699 3336
Fax: +91-80-2658 4050
Email: alumni@iimb.ernet.in
Website:www.iimbaa.org IIMB in Motion 36

Giving Back 38
Copyright, 2009. Indian Institute of Management Bangalore.
All rights reserved. No part of this magazine can be reproduced
either in part or full without IIMB's prior written permission

FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION ONLY IIMB on My Mind 39

ROUND TABLE

GETTING PAST THE ECONOMIC

DOWNTURN - AND GAINING THE
HIGH GROUND
Professor Chiranjib Sen, Professor,
Waiting to exhale. That could sum up the current mood in Economics and Social Sciences,
IIMB (Moderator)
business circles. For the past few months, the global
economic downturn has affected everyone to a greater or Nagendra Venkaswamy, PGP '82 -
President, Juniper India
lesser extent. It's been the subject of discussion in
boardrooms and at the water-cooler and out on the streets, as M. S. Rajagopalan, PGP '83 - Vice
President, Real Image
people struggle make sense of the tectonic shifts in the
financial landscape worldwide and impacts at a personal Samir Kumar, PGP'86 - Managing
Director, Inventus India
level. To try and decipher the situation, IIMB Alumni
Association hosted a Round Table on the topic at IIMB on Ravikiran, PGSEM '01- Head of
Solution Centre, Nokia Siemens
April 15, 2009, with alumni participants. The discussions form Networks
the basis of this article, which offers several takeaways on
Jay Srinivasan, PGP '94 - Head,
coping with economic cycles and coming out stronger. Governance & Assurance, Fidelity
India

The situation as I see today is that the worst is probably

Professor Chiranjib Sen
We are here to discuss an issue which is on everybody's
minds. Every day, the newspapers bring tidings about the
economic crisis, and people are always looking for signs
as to whether it's going to continue, how big it is, how
long it will last etc. We don't expect to find answers in our
discussion but we probably can figure out the current
situation and where it is heading.
India fortunately, has been somewhat insulated, as
compared to the rest of the world. There is no doubt that
we are affected. A situation like this is a reminder that our
success is dependent on countries and organizations
around us. We are also meeting under the shadow of the
G 20 meetings.
over. To be able to revive from this economic crisis we
need to build back a healthy financial sector. A global
boom that is backed by a strong financial sector is the
opportunity of the future. So it's essential we zero in on
this boom. To give you a concrete example, Obama
seems to be trying very hard to get the green energy
boom going. It's the way in which the United States'
supremacy in science and technology can be re-
harnessed.
Gentlemen, you are in the forefront of these major
developments and must be facing the difficulties of the
present turmoil. I am sure you all have given a lot of
thought to the situation and how it must be faced. So we
are looking forward to hearing from you. We shall start
with Mr. Venkaswamy.

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
ROUND TABLE

Round Table panelists (left to right): M. S. Rajagopalan, PGP '83; Samir Kumar, PGP '86; Nagendra
Venkaswamy, PGP '82; Professor Chiranjib Sen; Ravikiran, PGSEM '01; Jay Srinivasan, PGP '94

To my mind the next year or so is going to be tough and

Nagendra Venkaswamy
Professor, thank you for giving us an overview. I'd like to
say that I am not quite as optimistic about the future as
you.
Fundamentally I think the whole crisis is because of
leverage - leverage in households, real estate and
financial services. Historically, if you look at any of the
depressions or downturns, leverage has often been the
cause. This has created huge assets in India as well. I
wouldn't give credit to our government for the creation of
the asset bubble and 9% growth in the economy. Much
of it is due to the huge increase in value of assets
globally. If we look at the latest figures that have come in,
the real impact of the economic downturn is being felt in
India now. Our industrial growth is 3% as opposed to
8.7% earlier and our export growth is 7.6% as opposed
to 26% earlier. The GDP is expected to grow at 6%,
which is respectable, but let us not forget that the 6% is
due to the fantastic growth in the first two quarters of the
fiscal.
Historically recessions have lasted about 16-18 months.
It doesn't look like this crisis is going to be over that
soon. India is hit just like the rest of the world. In the good
old days, we didn't go out and buy a refrigerator if we
didn't have money for it. Today 95% of fast-moving
durables are bought on credit. Ninety-eight percent of all
automobiles including trucks are bought on credit and
that has gone through the floor.
we need to be prepared for it. So what is it that we can
do about it?
After some brainstorming there are a few general survival
strategies that came to my mind. These could be applied
in any organization. In my opinion there is a list of
priorities which every company can follow in order to
help one get out of this crisis sooner than later.
1. Understand your business; understand what your
core competency is and focus on it.
2. Act decisively and quickly - what are the key drivers
of your business? Where are you going to cut costs,
what are you going to focus on etc.? Act before the
problem hits you anticipate.
3. Cash is king - preserve the cash. The impact can be
sudden, so one has to be prepared.
4. Focus on what matters - revisit the investment
programs, cut out empty revenue customers and
channel partners and focus on high margin
customers /opportunities
5. Manage the cost base - operational expenses,
simplify processes, and cut business processes, cut
cost wherever you can without disturbing your core
business.

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
ROUND TABLE
6. Value people - this is the time when people are
nervous and insecure. At times like these,
managements need to communicate frequently and
transparently.
7. Take advantage of opportunities- look at low-cost
acquisitions, new markets, new customer
requirements, etc.
8. Focus on innovation- this will hold you in good stead
when the economy improves.
9. Closely communicate with your stakeholders- your
channel partners, customers, shareholders, etc.
Not doing anything at times like these is actually a
disaster. In my opinion if we focus on these nine points it
will help us come out a lot better. At the same time we will
be over ambitious if we expect overnight recovery.
Rajagopalan
I would like to take the discussion further to give a
societal view of the situation. Unlike Prof Sen or
Venkaswamy, my thought are somewhere in the middle. I
am neither too optimistic nor am I pessimistic. To explain
my point of view, I would like to make use of an example.
Let us say that there is an earthquake and everybody
starts to feel tremors. People head outside their houses
and wait. Some buildings fall, others survive and some
get damaged. The fact is that in time, people do get back
to their houses/offices and get back to what they need to
do.
Just as there are different parts of the earth that could
experience different effects of the earthquake, the effect
of the financial crisis is also differential. Some parts of the
world are more insulated than others.
Today I would say that approximately 90-95% of the
salaried people are keeping their monthly incomes. Why
do we have to go into a freeze mode? If we go into a
freeze mode by not doing anything, the impact would be
greater than what it could be otherwise. This financial
instability and crisis cannot go away by just sitting quiet.
By freeze mode I mean the lack of consumption. We
need to go out there and spend. A stimuli needs to be
provided for people to consume, especially in times like
this. Consumer consumption stimulation needs to be
focused on, especially in a country like ours.
Consumer consumption along with government
expenditure in core areas like healthcare, education, etc.
can help us get out of this crisis in less than a year.
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Samir Kumar
I come from the Venture Capital industry and we take a
slightly longer term view of things. We see recessions as
good opportunities, not just from our investment stand
point but for the entrepreneurs that we back.
In boom times, like in 2006-07, everyone started to go
overboard. People wanted to join only the large
corporations. So the start-ups had a tough time
recruiting. Start-ups couldn't compete with the salaries
offered by the larger companies. Rents went through the
roof- people wanted fancy offices. So it was a difficult
time for entrepreneurs. The scenario in tough times like
this is quite different - large companies are either laying
off people or cutting salaries. People are therefore
looking at other opportunities. A start-up job is no longer
looked down upon. Expectations of people who join are
reasonable, rents are realistic and start-ups can afford to
hire offices in decent locations. People who think it is a
good thing to start a venture in boom times don't do it
now, so competition is less. Customers who are the life
blood of start-ups are more accessible. So from a start-
up point, I think, recessions are spring-cleaning times.
They are extremely essential for the economy. Obviously
if it lasts for ten years it's not good for anyone, not even
the start-ups. From the VC point of view also these are
great times to invest. Expectations are reasonable,
valuations are reasonable and given the long time
horizon we have, we think investments made in these
times will yield very good results.
Ravikiran
I would like to give you the perspective from the stand-
point of someone working in the telecom industry.
Ten years ago, a mobile phone was not a commodity but
a premium service. Like Venkaswamy mentioned, India
has added 15 million new subscribers in the last month.
In the last two months we have added a total of 30
million. Now let us look at the world markets. The markets
can be divided into two - the mature markets like the US
and Europe where the recession has set in completely
and the other countries being India, Vietnam, Indonesia,
Africa and Eastern Europe etc. In mature markets which
are recession hit, people are not spending much, so it is
a time to be cautious. In a market like that it is not wise to
make to investments. Even companies are cutting down
on business communication. There is a pressure on
operators and in turn on vendors.
Most operators today are global players and are safe
guarding their investments by putting a lot more into the
emerging markets like India and South-East Asia etc.
SUMMER 2009
ROUND TABLE
The growth in emerging markets, on the other hand is
reasonable and hence companies are making
investments there. Even in India, companies in the
telecom sector haven't stopped investing in
infrastructure. This optimism and growth will not be seen
for long, though. There has to be a natural slowdown. In
my opinion it will be natural and not because of the
economic slump. There will be something to worry about
only if people start cutting back on using communication
services. So what do we do with our portfolio?
Companies prefer to cut down on innovations and
technology rather than people. Let me share with you, the
solutions I am looking at to get us through this crisis.
The first and foremost is to keep the fundamentals
intact. Like Venkaswamy mentioned, to conserve
cash. In our case it is also to get the cash in.
Cost control at times like this is very critical.
Build an organizational culture which can sustain you
in tough times like this. Employees are coming
together in times like these and there is a certain
level of insecurity.
Opportunities do exist; it's just a matter of going out
and finding them.
Jay Srinivasan
The recession has definitely debunked a thought, that
India was insulated from the Western markets. India is
feeling the heat of the latest economic crisis. I work at
Fidelity, which is an investment company. One of things
we have is a governance model in which we check on
certain triggers in the market when we do our corporate
buying. Over the years we have realized that one
requires to be prepared for any outcome at any given
time. Today, there is a compelling need for companies to
be nimble, to be able to put things into place much faster
than they did before. One of the learnings for a company
like ours has been to put a process in place, a strategy
that will ensure that we are able to implement our plans a
lot faster.
Today almost ninety-five per cent of people in India are
using credit for all their consumer durable purchases. I
am not too sure about how much of the investment by
companies has been protected by appropriate
safeguards. I think in the next three to six months a huge
crisis is going to occur when people are not going to be
able to meet their obligations. I hope I am wrong but I
think that this is going to have a ripple effect on the whole
economy.
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With the situation being what it is, there is certainly a
sense of insecurity among people. To give you an
example, there is a Barista and an Adigas in the building
where I work. In the last six months I noticed that the
Adigas was starting to get more crowded than the
Barista. This is a wonderful barometer. Personally I don't
think I would pay 50 or 60 rupees for a cup of coffee
unless I know my future is secure.
We are reasonably insulated, but I think there is a need to
diversify our portfolio so that our dependence on the
western economies comes down.
At Fidelity, we are looking at shuffling our portfolio and
giving customers safer options of investments.
Customers are also looking at safer investments. So there
is no irrational exuberance anymore.
Times like this are excellent for organizations to take
a look at their controls. Other things to do: Keep your
people engaged. It is just not enough for them to
have their jobs. This is essential because when the
market starts recovering it is these minds that will
start looking at opportunities outside.
Don't waste a good recession. Use the time to
network.
Educate yourself.
Travel, engage in social activity. Re-set your own
inner compass.
Professor Chiranjib Sen
Thank you, gentlemen. I'd like to raise some issues that
emerged in my mind during this discussion. I think there
is a great need for a systemic approach to thinking. The
key question is whether or not this is a period in which
India can emerge from the shadows. In the last decade
or so we have definitely grown in confidence. But can we
make a quantum leap in the near future? This cannot
happen only at a micro level. Here I think it is the
entrepreneurs who need to be more imaginative to chart
a new collective direction. We certainly cannot bank on
world economies to recover, and wait to be bailed out.
The global economy is unlikely to return to its old
trajectory. Then what is it that we can do? I think in our
discussion today we've stumbled upon some wonderful
ideas about how we can strengthen our companies. What
we need now is a strengthening of mutually
complementary investments, which will not only lift us out
of this recession, but propel us forward. We need a vision
which will pull our country out of this economic crisis.
SUMMER 2009
ROUND TABLE
Discussion:
Samir Kumar:
There are a lot of ways to stimulate the economy and fuel
demand. In my opinion one of the ways to do that is to
unleash the entrepreneurial energy of India. We can start
right here at the academic institutions. At most business
schools, we are taught not to take risks. I think a shift in
that needs to be made. We should teach our youth to be
able to take calculated and mitigated risks.
Venkaswamy:
Whether we like it or not the recession is going to play
up. India is a country that has been driven by
consumption, more specifically internal consumption.
That in a sense has protected us. Fortunately exports
only constitute fifteen per cent of our GDP. Internal
demand is down and needs to brought up. So how is it
that we can bring this internal demand back again? The
way to get people to spending more is to give them a
vision of a secure future. To have a bright future an able
leadership is required. As a country we are great at
planning but terrible when it comes to execution. Even
the 9 per cent of growth we've had over the last few
years has made the government complacent.
Everybody knows what has to be done, now is the time to
go out there and do it. It is a fact that there has been
downsizing and we have been hit by this crisis just as the
other countries. The one thing I am more bullish about is
the telecom and communications sector. I think the last
thing people are going to give up is their mobile phones
or their internet connection. People need communication
devices to look for jobs, network with people etc.
Rajagopalan:
I do agree with Venkaswamy that people will not give up
their demand of mobile phones and other communication
devices. The job cuts do exist; there is an impact no
doubt. I do not think that the consumption of basic things
like food have gone down drastically. People may have
shifted down from say a Barista to an Adigas, but they do
eat food. One never knows about the future being secure,
not only in times of recession.
Venkaswamy:
While most of us sitting here may not hesitate to see a
movie or eat out today, we will think twice before
investing in an apartment, if we aren't too secure about
our future. We are only a fraction of the economy. If you
look at the majority of the population things are bad.
Several thousands of construction workers have lost their
jobs. One million people are going to come back from
Dubai to Kerala jobless. Even the national highway
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
authority project which was way ahead of schedule is
now forty per cent behind schedule. The biggest
employer in any part of the world today is construction.
Some of the biggest players in this market are badly hit.
We are witnessing a fairly serious situation where many
people and organizations may be impacted.
Srinivasan:
If we look at the Indian economy it has done well in the
last 5-10 years because of two sectors, IT and real
estate. So what we need is diversification. I would say we
also need to focus more on manufacturing. That's where
the government can play a huge role in making it easy for
people to manufacture in India and export. Contract
manufacturing is another huge opportunity. I think we've
been going after the low-hanging fruit for way too long.
Venkaswamy:
I disagree with what you say, Jay. The fact that a product
or a brand has to be at the top of the food chain is wrong.
Take the example of a McKinsey. It does not have a
product. That you should expect a TCS or an Infosys to
have a product like an Excel or a Windows isn't correct. If
you look across the globe there are very few companies
who excelled in both services and product. Our strength
lies in the services sector and we should focus on that.
Also, I do not think that the back bone of our economy
has been IT and real estate. If you look at our economy,
every single sector has grown dramatically over the last
five to seven years. Less than five percent of our
economy is driven by IT. We are a services driven
economy and we should be proud of it.
Professor Chiranjib Sen:
In conclusion, I think the present problem that the world
is facing is because of what is being called market
fundamentalism. If ever there was a time to understand
how false the idea of an unregulated world being the best
world is, it is now. It is also important that we move
beyond government bashing because it's a totally jaded
thing. What we need is some medium-term restructuring
because we have over invested in certain areas.
From our discussion, one of the things I am reminded of
is the theory of Paradox of Thrift. If in times of recession
people try to save more by spending less and
conserving, they may be doing themselves a favor but it
drags down the economy.
Also we discussed and shared several ideas on what we
as individuals and companies can do to get out of this
recession sooner than later and meanwhile learn
something from it. It is a time to take a pause and think
about restructuring our thinking, our strategy and our
mindsets.
SUMMER 2009
BACK TO B-SCHOOL
UNDERSTANDING INDIA'S
REGIONAL INITIATIVES WITH
EAST AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA
BY PROFESSOR RUPA CHANDA
Introduction
Over the past two decades, most economies have
entered into free trade agreements (FTA), preferential
trade agreements, and economic cooperation and
economic partnership agreements (collectively termed
PTAs). Between 1995 and 2005, more than 220 PTAs
were notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Between 2000 and 2007 alone, 185 agreements were
concluded.
The Asian economies are major participants in this trend.
More than half of the 60 or so agreements that the major
economies in the Asia-Pacific region have entered into
involve countries from within the region. India too has
joined the bandwagon of regionalism. In recent years,
India has significantly expanded its bilateral trade and
investment relations with Asian countries by initiating
PTAs. Within Asia, India has been involved in negotiating
bilateral FTAs with Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh,
Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Myanmar,
Singapore, China, Korea, and Japan. It is also a member
of BIMSTEC*. FTA negotiations are underway with the
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). India
is also pursuing the idea of a pan-Asian economic
cooperation initiative known as the Asian Economic
Community (AEC).
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
The shift in India's global economic and strategic
relations towards the Asian region is a result of its 'Look
East Policy' (LEP), initiated in 1991. The LEP aims to
deepen India's economic and political linkages with
Asian countries and forge mutually beneficial economic
partnerships within the Asian region. Since then, bilateral
relations between India and other Asian countries have
expanded rapidly. India's trade share with developing
Asia doubled from 12 per cent to 24 per cent between
1987 and 2004. Over the past decade, its average
growth in merchandise trade with developing Asia has
been higher than for all other regions. (Asher 2007)
India's PTAs: motivating factors
What are the reasons underlying India's growing interest
in negotiating regional and bilateral agreements with the
Asian economies? The answer lies in a combination of
factors. From the perspective of other Asian countries, it
could be explained by India's growing importance to the
rest of Asia in the latter's pursuit of diversified export
markets, continued growth and macroeconomic stability,
and efforts to counterbalance China's regional
dominance. From the Indian perspective, these efforts
could be explained by Asia's growing importance in
India's pursuit of regional export markets and investment
sources, and for securing its long-term geo-political and
strategic interests.
SUMMER 2009
BACK TO B-SCHOOL
India's growing importance in Asia
Over the past decade, India's growing domestic market
has attracted attention as an investment and export
destination. In 2006, India accounted for 11 per cent of
incremental global GDP in purchasing power parity terms
- second only to China, which accounted for about 30 per
cent. What makes the Indian and Chinese economies so
important for the rest of the Asian region is that their
growth is largely driven by domestic forces such as rising
consumption and investment, favourable demographics,
growing affluence, and long-term favourable growth
prospects. These domestic stimuli can help temper the
adverse effects of a slowdown in major developed
markets.
India's growing importance for the rest of Asia also stems
from its emergence as one of the leading exporters of
commercial services, particularly in IT and various
professional services. In 2005, India's share in Asia's total
services exports and imports stood at 10.7 per cent and
9.1 per cent, respectively, underlining its significance in
global commercial services trade within Asia (WTO
2006).
There is also demographic complementarity between
India and other more rapidly ageing Asian countries that
could be tapped for labour-intensive manufacturing as
well as services provision. India has a growing working
age population to total population ratio as against the
declining ratio in other major Asian countries, such as
China, Korea, and Japan.
On the investment front, India has considerable potential
as an investment destination for other Asian countries.
Korea, China, Japan, and Singapore contributed on an
average about 35 per cent of India's total FDI inflows
between 2001 and 2005 (UNCTAD). Malaysia and
Singapore have a keen interest in ensuring a close and
stable relationship with India. Meanwhile, Indian
companies continue to invest significantly in Asia, with
India's outward investment stock in this region estimated
at US$12 billion in 2006 (Asher 2007).
The rise of Asia
India's interest in negotiating regional agreements with
other Asian countries is also explained by its realisation
of the region's growing significance in its trade and
investment flows, its long term growth prospects, and
larger strategic objectives. Just as Asia cannot ignore
India, India cannot ignore the rest of Asia.
Over the past two decades, the centre of gravity of world
trade has shifted towards Asia. This region is projected to
grow annually at 4.9 per cent during the 2006-20 period
as compared to 3.5 per cent for the world as a whole,
with China, India, and Vietnam projected to grow most
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rapidly within Asia. The share of East and South East
Asia's exports in world exports rose from 14 per cent in
1980 to nearly 27 per cent in 2006, while its imports
expanded from 15 per cent to 24 per cent during the
same period. The Asian region today accounts for about
50 per cent of India's total exports. ASEAN alone
accounted for about 9.5 per cent of India's imports and
nearly 10 per cent of India's exports during 2006-07, up
from mere 1.2 per cent and 1.7 per cent shares
respectively in 2001-02 (IBEF 2007).
Given the strong investment and trade linkages among
East and South East Asian countries, India's agreements
with selected countries (e.g., Singapore and Thailand)
and regional groupings (ASEAN) also provide it with an
opportunity to penetrate third countries and the wider
regional market using the hub and spoke method. For
example, when the Indo-Singapore Comprehensive
Economic Cooperation Agreement was signed, IT
industry experts noted that this agreement would provide
them the opportunity to tap the wider Asian market by
using Singapore as a front office and hub for their Asia-
Pacific operations.
Counterbalancing China's economic influence
India's efforts in Asia may also be motivated by its fear of
marginalisation, in particular, a concern that it could
suffer from trade and investment diversion due to China's
regional agreements within Asia. More than 50 per cent
of China's total trade is now with Asian countries. China
has formed nine bilateral FTAs and is considering
negotiations with about 30 other countries (Gibbs and
Wagle 2005). In the Asia-Pacific region, it has a mini-FTA
with Thailand, a framework agreement with ASEAN, and
negotiations are underway with Australia, New Zealand,
and Japan. Interestingly, India's PTA initiatives are with
almost the same set of Asian countries, reflecting the
competitive regionalism forces at play.
ASEAN too may be seeking to counterbalance China's
growing role within Asia by forging an agreement with
India. The ASEAN economies are concerned about the
intense competitive pressures that a China-ASEAN FTA
could bring from Chinese manufacturers.
Recent reports indicate that earlier patterns of investments
- wherein FDI was re-routed from ASEAN countries to
China for intermediate input production, which was then
imported for further value addition in the ASEAN countries
and final export to Japan or the US - may be changing,
with investors locating their investments and doing their
value addition in China for direct final export to Japan, the
US, and other markets. Hence, there is concern that an
FTA with China could be at the expense of the ASEAN
countries.
SUMMER 2009
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India provides an alternative market to China, not only as
an export destination but also for sourcing intermediate
inputs and locating investments.
Geo-political considerations
Many geo-political considerations have also played an
important role in India's regional integration efforts in Asia.
One such consideration has been to develop India's
North-Eastern region and to curb insurgencies in the
border areas. BIMSTEC, for example, envisages
cooperation in trade and investment, technology,
transportation and communication, energy, tourism, and
fisheries, through collective plans. Another initiative, the
Mekong-Ganga Cooperation (MGC) Forum (India,
Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, and Thailand)
launched in 2000, aims to undertake economic
development by developing transport, communication,
and infrastructure facilities along with promoting tourism,
culture, and education in the Mekong region. MGC offers
immense scope for India to develop its North-Eastern
states.
traditional sectors and go beyond a status quo view of
bilateral relations by addressing emerging areas, such as
services and investment and create the basis for a more
dynamic and competitive relationship with its partners.
*BIMSTEC: Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral and Technical
Cooperation. It includes Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka,
Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal.
Rupa Chanda is Professor and currently Chairperson, Economic
and Social Sciences Area.
Email: rupa@iimb.ernet.in
The article above is an excerpt from a paper published in
the May issue of the journal Asia Pacific Economic
Literature, and co-authored with G Sasidaran (Research
Associate at Institute for South Asian Studies, National
University of Singapore).

Another strategic consideration is to counteract China's

political and diplomatic influence in the region. China's
regional agreements in the Asia-Pacific go beyond
economic objectives to build stronger political and
diplomatic relations and establish leadership credentials
in the region. India's regional efforts with similar countries
can be seen as a move to establish its own political and
diplomatic clout in the region.
References
Asher, M., 2007. India's rising role in Asia, Working
Paper No. 121, Research and Information System
(RIS) for Developing Countries, New Delhi.
<http://www.ris.org.in/>, accessed 29 January 2009.

Some Final Thoughts Gibbs, M. and Wagle, S., 2005. The great maze:
regional and bilateral Free Trade Agreements in Asia-
Looking ahead, geo-political and strategic interests are
trends, characteristics, and implications for human
likely to become increasingly important in shaping India's
trade and investment cooperation strategies and its development, Policy Paper, Asia-Pacific Trade and
choice of partner countries, regions, sectors, and issues. Investment Initiative, UNDP Regional Center in
One such issue will be energy security. Another important
Colombo.
issue will be maritime security and trade facilitation. For
instance, the proposed Indian Ocean Rim Association for
IBEF, 2005. India ASEAN: India's Enduring
Regional Cooperation (IOR-ARC), could promote trade
and investment cooperation between the countries Commerce with Rest of Asia, Gurgaon
bordering the Indian Ocean rim and help India meet its http://www.ibef.org/artdisplay.aspx?cat_id=402&art_i
geo-political, commercial and wider regional interests in
d=14327
Africa and the Asia Pacific.

Overall, a mix of commercial, strategic, geo-political, UNCTAD FDI Database at <www.unctad.org>

developmental, and other considerations will guide India's
regional integration initiatives. But if India wishes to truly WTO, 2006. International Trade Statistics, World
benefit from such agreements, it must be prepared to: (a) Trade Organisation, Geneva.
look beyond its immediate defensive and narrow interests http://www.wto.org/english/res_e/statis_e/its2006_e/it
in particular sectors and products; (b) complement its
liberalisation efforts under such agreements with forward s06_toc_e.htm, accessed 29 January 2009.
looking reform measures to build capacity and leverage
the market access that is obtained; and (c) look beyond

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
BACK TO B-SCHOOL
CUTTING THROUGH
THE HYPE
Myths and realities of the current Indian economic scenario
BY PROFESSOR SANKARSHAN BASU
The global financial crisis has been around now for some
time. A lot of people believe that the crisis started in the
spring of 2008 with the closure of the venerable Bear
Sterns, while there are others who believe that the crisis
started in the summer of 2007 with the advent of the
mortgage crisis in the US. Whatever the choices of date
in terms of the start of the crisis, almost all agree
unequivocally that there is a crisis and right now we are
in the midst of it. The crisis has been compared by some
to the "Great Depression" and there are other
commentators who have called the crisis more severe
than the "Great Depression" as well. Definitely it has been
the "Financial Crisis of the Century". Indian industry and
some policy planners also believe that the impact of the
crisis is no less severe in India. However, the question
remains as to whether it is as severe in India as it is being
made out to be. In fact, there is a strong view that is
coming around is based on the fact that the impact in
India is far less severe than that has been talked about -
the severity of the crisis is being hyped up by the
industry in expectation of better sops from the
government. This is a theory that seems to have some
merit in it and this article looks at the justification of this
view.
It may be noted that the Indian economy is still growing,
unlike most other developed economies which have
formally been declared to be in recession and hence
contracting. Yes, it is true that the growth rate in the
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Indian economy has slowed down from around 9% levels
over the last couple of years to about 6% in the financial
year 2008 - 09. In this context, it needs to be noted that
6% by itself is not too bad - in fact for decades the Indian
economy grew at what has subsequently been termed as
the "Hindu Rate of Growth" of about 3% - 3.5% per
annum. Even in the heady days of 9% growth, there were
doubts raised over the sustainability of the 9% growth
rate and there were no global financial crisis clouds
hovering over the horizon. In view of this, there is no
reason for the level of panic and gloom that has set in
due to a drop in the growth rate to 6% levels - the
hypothesis of "hype" is to some extent justified.
Another approach is based on the financial data released
by the Reserve Bank of India on an annual basis - this
shows that the exposure that the Indian economy has to
the external sector (all countries put together) is only
about 15% of the country's GDP. Add to this some trickle
effect and even then the total exposure to the external
sector will not be more than 25% of the GDP. Even if we
potentially assume the hypothetical worst-case scenario,
this would mean that the impact on our GDP should be to
the tune of 25%; i.e. the size of India's GDP should
contract by 25%. Given the fact that India's GDP was
about USD 1 trillion last financial year (2007-08), this
should imply that the size of India's GDP should contract
to USD 750 billion.
SUMMER 2009
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It should be noted that this number is larger than the
comparable number in 2006-07, when the upsurge in the
economy started. Further, with a billion-plus consumer
base and growing, this is an impact that can be easily
absorbed by the Indian economy. In this context, another
point that needs to be mentioned is that government
servants form a significant part of the consumer base
and with the implementation of the 6th Pay Commission
for Central Government employees, the disposable
income of a significant section of the consumer base has
suddenly gone up. Even without this, the domestic
consumer demand in India had not come down. All these
indicate that the market in India is growing and hence
there is no reason for the level of despondency that is
being portrayed.
In fact, this brings us to the question: why is this level of
despondency being portrayed? There are potentially two
reasons for that: first the expectation of something worse
to come. However, that seems to be highly unfounded
given the fact that globally a turnaround is being seen.
The other plausible reason seems to be that by keeping
up with this faade of a sorry state of the market, things
which seem to be seemingly beyond the control of the
industry, they expect a larger largesse and set of sops
from the government. This seems particularly plausible
given the fact that the new government which took over
on May 22, 2009 will have to present the budget for the
year 2009-10 by early July 2009. Given this, there seems
to be a view that is gaining ground that this whining will
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
continue till July, and only post the budget
announcements will any semblance of "business as
usual" come back to Indian industry. Thus, the hype
about the impact of global slowdown on the Indian
economy and markets, to the extent that is being touted
about, needs to be tempered in reality and the hype
around the meltdown in India modified somewhat.
Based on this, it might be a good idea for policy planners
to be wary of all the industry demands in terms of
largesse and sops, and look at the reality of the Indian
scenario rather than base it only on the basis of global
markets. One has to realize that the inherent strengths of
the Indian market and the benefits it has as compared to
the global market - the large size of the consumer base is
a force to reckon with and should not be treated as a
liability. It is high time for Indian industry to be more
circumspect about its demands, for it cannot be propped
up by the government in excess of what the situation
warrants.
Sankarshan Basu is Associate Professor, Finance and Control Area,
Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and Chairperson IIMB
Alumni Association
Email: sankarshanb@iimb.ernet.in
SUMMER 2009
SALON
CANDID
CONTRIBUTIONS
DR.K. RADHAKRISHNAN, PGP '76
Dr. K. Radhakrishnan is currently Director of the Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre at Trivandrum and has done his
country proud with his contributions in the area of space,
notably as a key member of the Chandrayaan-1 mission
and RISAT-2.
On his visit to IIMB in January 2009, Dr. Radhakrishnan
spoke to the IIMB team about his life after IIM and what
he learnt from the Institute. Here are some excerpts from
the interview
Q: How has the IIMB evolved from the time you were
studying here?
A: When we joined the IIMB, it was in its formative years.
We started in a hired campus in the heart of the city. The
hostel was in building which was a Kalyan Mandapam,
behind Lalbagh. We even ran our own mess, which was I
would say the first lessons of management education that
we had. We were all like a close-knit family.
From then, IIMB has come a long way. It has become one
of the leading institutions for management education in
the world. As an alumnus, I am always proud to say that I
belonged to this institution.
Q: Tell us about your professional journey since you
graduated from the IIMB?
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A: I came to the Institute from ISRO. I had about four
years of service as a design engineer. After I graduated I
went back to ISRO. I was then with the Vikram Sarabhai
Space Centre Trivandrum for another five years, looking
at the avionic systems for the launch vehicles,
specifically the SLV 3. Later I came back to the ISRO
headquarters where I was in charge of budget and
economic analysis for the entire space program.
In 1996 I decided to study further and enrolled in a
doctoral program at IIT Kharagpur. I moved to
Hyderabad with the National Remote Sensing Agency of
ISRO. I was running a national mission called Integrated
Mission for Sustainable Development. Through this
mission we were essentially trying to see how the space-
based remote sensing data could be used for water-ship
manning at micro-level.
Soon after, I got an offer from the Department of Ocean
Development to set up a new centre in Hyderabad for the
ocean information services. I took up that challenge. I set
it up as a model scientific institution. In a couple of years
it became an attraction for the international community in
the oceanic realm. Then in 2004 when the tsunami
disaster struck, we came forward to set up the early
warning centre for tsunami and storm searches.
SUMMER 2009
SALON
This became one of the best model centers for tsunami
early warning in the whole world.
In 2005 I came back to the ISRO family again to become
the Director of National Remote Sensing Agency in
Hyderabad.
For the last fifteen months I have been at the Vikram
Sarabhai Space Centre as the Director. It has been a
very satisfying period. We've had 3 successful launches
of the PSLV. The icing on the cake undoubtedly has been
the Chandrayaan mission. Our PSLV c 11 vehicle put the
Chandrayaan into the earth's orbit where it started its
journey to the moon. We also made the Moon Impact
Probe that came out of Chandrayaan space craft and put
the Indian flag on the surface of the moon on November
14, 2008. I have had a very purposeful and satisfying
career so far.
Q: What has the Institute given you?
A: The Institute has taught me how to look at things in a
different perspective. That's the first thing I learnt. The
two years at IIMB teaches one to look at things in a
holistic way.
Q: What role has IIMB played in your success?
A: From an engineer one has to become a manager and
then a leader. What IIMB did was to accelerate the
process of becoming a manager. Also it laid a foundation
for leadership. Today I am in a role where I have to
develop leaders and my training at IIMB has definitely
helped me to do this.
Q: Today we see several successful IIMB alumni all over
the world doing exceedingly well for themselves. What is it
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
in your opinion that sets them apart?
A: Apart from management education, what IIMB gives
you is also a sense of values. Initially the thrust was on
serving the public sector. Money was not as important as
service to the country. I think this has had a huge impact
on how one thinks and behaves in one's professional life.
There is a sense of responsibility towards society and
one's country. I would say that this is one of the great
lessons that one learns at IIM, apart from the techniques
and tools of modern management.
Q: Why do corporates prefer IIMB students?
A: To begin with IIM attracts the best talent from all
across the country. So the input is fantastic. Secondly the
training that one receives here over the two years is the
best that it can get. So certainly the output has to be of
high quality. Naturally the corporate world finds the IIMs
to be a gold mine of talent.
Q: Any thoughts or a piece of advice that you would like
to share with the new PGP students?
A: IIMB is providing you the best training that is possible
and the country is looking for talent to build a new nation.
The growth of the nation for the next fifty years is in the
hands of the younger generation. So there is a major
responsibility for you in the nation-building process. It is
important that all of you understand this and take your
responsibility seriously.
Q: IIMB as Alma Mater- what does it mean to you?
A: IIMB has a very special place in my life. It is the place
where I built the foundation of my career and learnt to be
a thinking individual and a thinking manager and leader.
SUMMER 2009
SALON
SONJOY CHATTERJEE, PGP '94
A seasoned banker with over 15 years experience in the
banking industry, Sonjoy Chatterjee, did his B.Sc. in
Chemical Engineering from Jadavpur University Calcutta
and went on to doing PGDM from IIMB.
Sonjoy, currently Executive Director on the Board of ICICI
Bank, is responsible for Corporate & Investment Banking
and the International Banking business of the Bank. He
joined erstwhile ICICI's (eICICI) project finance business
in Kolkata in April 1994. Since then he has held various
positions in the bank including Head of Strategic Support
in the office of the Group CEO, eICICI.
In 2003, Sonjoy moved to UK to set up ICICI Bank's first
overseas subsidiary. Today ICICI Bank UK Plc is the
largest overseas Indian bank. This proved to be one of
the highlights of his career and a great challenge.
"I would say that setting up the UK business for the bank
was like an entrepreneurship challenge. That along with
the diverse roles I have held in the bank are the biggest
joys of my career," says Sonjoy.
IIMB had a very big role to play in his life and Sonjoy is
grateful for that. He met his wife here who was one batch
junior to him. She is now with KPMG, managing corporate
finance. His time here has had a very strong impact on
his thinking and way of living, he says.
"My years at IIMB taught me how to be more sensitive to
people around me. The education here is more than just
management education. I would definitely say that my
time at IIMB gave me an all-round development," he
adds.
Sonjoy has fond memories of his life on campus. The
campus was barer then and there were more open
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
spaces. "I remember the early morning jogs and visits to
the nearby temple down Bannerghatta road. It was and
still is a visually beautiful place," he adds.
According to Sonjoy, balance in life is the most important
thing. Whether it is in one's personal or professional life, it
is important that one keeps one's head on the shoulders.
He advises today's students to remember that the
platform for success is very important. Once one has
that, one should make the most of it.
Having been one of the Institute's first drummers, Sonjoy
still plays once in a while. Though work keeps him busy,
opportunities like off-site meets provide him a chance to
re-live his passion sometimes.
Sonjoy lives in Bombay with his wife and two daughters, 8
and 5 years of age.
From iimpressions '94
SONJOY CHATTERJEE aka Dicky, Chottu
This gentle giant had a passion for anything that
began with A - grades or babes. After drumming
for 5 terms, he ultimately broke the final barrier
when he drummed his favourite song I AM at IT
Again. Who ever said drumming ain't good
business?
This Bong with a big heart was a big hit with the
faculty as well. Extremely helpful, he would fight
for just causes, be it for a student or the campus
dhobi. An academic buff to the core - 'A's were
the only grades he ever saw. But International
Business wasn't really A business for him. Watch
this tall guy doing taller things in life!
SUMMER 2009
SALON
"L-square parties, the night canteen, Desan's food,
movies at the amphitheatre, case competitions and
placements.."
Trying to count the ways I remember our alma mater, and
ways it has shaped who I am today is no small feat.
I joined Deloitte Consulting's US practice through their
on-campus recruiting process in the summer of 2001. I
started out in the Chicago Office, as a Senior Consultant
in the Financial Services Practice. I later moved to the
New York office in early 2004, primarily driven by the fact
that my wife (who was one year my junior at IIMB), was
working in NY. Over the last 7+ years with Deloitte's
Financial Services Practice, I have had the opportunity to
work with every major US financial services institution
across Capital Markets, Banking and Insurance. My
areas of focus include Cost Reduction, Enterprise
Transformation and Merger Integration, specifically in the
operations and technology space. The challenge of
working with global teams, on the critical business and
operational strategies and their execution has been
hugely enriching (and caused some material graying -
but we won't dwell on that). The focus on global FSI
clients has allowed me the opportunity to work across all
continents, in some hostile, but mostly hospitable
surroundings.
I am one of a handful of my batch-mates still with the
Company I joined out of campus. Some of that is general
good fortune (member of a thriving practice area within a
high-growth industry), some due to the challenge my
assignments have brought - at times historic,
transformational initiatives for some of the world's leading
banks - very high visibility with long term implications,
and some perhaps due sheer incompetence on my part
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
RANJIT BAWA, PGP '01
and my complete inability to land another job.
My wife Pallavi and I live in Manhattan, with our two-year
old son Jai. Pallavi is a Director in leveraged finance with
a boutique investment bank, and Jai spends his time
wrecking havoc in our apartment and running around in
the park. As a family we enjoy traveling, attending
concerts and the opera (Pallavi enjoys, I submit and Jai,
the lucky kid, gets to stay home) and experimenting with
new restaurants and watering holes. And between those
family vacations and work, I manage to fit in a round golf
and occasional squash.
The obvious platitudes to the City aside, one of the
benefits is that over a dozen of my classmates from IIMB
live in the tri-state area, and we make it a point to catch
up at least quarterly. It's a great forum to catch up on
what has been going on with the alma mater as well as
old friends.
As I look back on my two years at IIMB, the dunking, the
first marketing quiz, my affiliation with the FII, the startup
club, the class play - the Institute offers you so many
opportunities to go beyond the academics, to help you
grow into a multi-faceted individual, and to build lifelong
friendships. More than what I learnt in the classrooms, it's
the lessons learnt in building relationships with my
classmates that have endured. The professional free
riders and the class RGs may abound, but a little dose of
confidence and the right work ethic, will break down walls
and offer up opportunities to showcase your unique
talent, in more ways that you can imagine. Always
remember, you can't keep a good man down!
SUMMER 2009
SALON
A familiar face at the IIMB, Associate Professor Vasanthi
Srinivasan now teaches at IIMB, and has the advantage
of have having been on been on the other side of the
classroom as well during her time as a student of the
(doctoral) Fellow Programme in Management at IIMB.
Vasanthi did her Post Graduation in Personnel
Management and Industrial Relations from XLRI
Jamshedpur which was followed by a stint in a large IT
organisation over three years. Vasanthi was always clear
that she wanted to do a doctoral program and so enrolled
for the FPM in the year 1995. It took her six years to
complete the program, which was otherwise a five year
one, since she decided to take a maternity break.
Six years later, with a doctoral degree and daughter in
tow, Vasanthi decided to get back to working and joined
P&P, a consulting firm in the non-profit sector.
"I was always interested in the non-profit sector and was
happy to take up an opportunity like that. The education I
received at the IIMB helped me tremendously. I could
apply a lot of what I had learnt at IIMB in my work," she
says.
Teaching came very accidentally for Vasanthi. It was
never something she thought she would do.
"A professor of mine had to go on medical leave and
since she knew I lived in Bangalore, she asked me
whether I could take a few lectures. So initially I came in
as a guest faculty. Finally, after three years of being
visiting faculty I decided to take up teaching as a full-time
career," she adds.
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VASANTHI SRINIVASAN, FPM 2000
Besides teaching, Vasanthi is very passionate about
corporate social responsibility and leadership and ethics.
She feels the need to teach management students the
importance of ethics in management.
As a Human Resources person and a professor at one of
the country's leading business schools, Vasanthi gets an
opportunity to design new courses and offer new
electives. This is something that proves to be very
exciting, she says.
As an alumnus of IIMB, Vasanthi has various wonderful
memories. She says it gave her the confidence and
ability to look at things from a holistic perspective. "IIMB
is a place which has so much to offer and yet gives you
the space and freedom to think and be when you need it,"
she adds.
The library was a place Vasanthi used to frequent. She
says that she used to spend hours together at the library
and even knew where each book was kept.
"I would advise the current batch of students to make use
of everything the institute has to offer. The whole
atmosphere, the professors and one's batch mates can
all be sources of learning- one must try and learn from
everywhere," she adds.
Being a faculty member at the very institute one has
studied in provides some unique perspective. Having
specialized in HR, as a student Vasanthi often thought
about what HR meant to a student who was not going to
specialize in it. This has helped Vasanthi design the
courses she teaches, and teach them differently too.
SUMMER 2009
SALON

SHARADA SUBRAMANIAM,
PGPPM '03

Sharada Subramaniam, is currently Special Secretary to
the Governor of Karnataka. She did her Masters in
International Relations from the School of International
Relations, JNU, New Delhi and then went on to join the
government service. Much later, Subramaniam took a
sabbatical and enrolled in the Post-Graduate Programme
in Public Policy and Management at the IIMB. The two
years played a definitive role in shaping her career and
propelling her to her current position. She is the only
woman from the Indian Audit and Accounts service to do
a course at IIMB.
"Studying at IIMB gave me a sense of confidence, a
realization that I was on the right track," she says.
Sharada has held various positions in the government,
from being Deputy Accountant General (Central Revenue
Audit) in the office of the Account General (Audit),
Karnataka (1995-1998) to being Director Finance, Coffee
Board of India (1998-2003) and now the Special
Secretary to Governor of Karnataka.
In her current role, Sharada interacts with several heads
of states and dignitaries. The Governor of Karnataka is
also the Chancellor of all universities in the state and so
there is a lot of interaction with academicians as well.
Being an alumnus of IIMB is an asset in her current role.
savored every moment. She fondly remembers the quiz
competitions held with the PGP students and the project
work etc. She left with a sense of pride, and the ability to
think more holistically, she says.
"I would advise the students of the current batches to
make the most of their time at IIMB. It can add
tremendous value to your life. Take in as much as you
can," she adds.
Juggling a high-profile career with a husband and two
children isn't easy. Sharada says this could certainly not
have been possible without a supportive husband. "We
women can never really enjoy our success completely.
Guilt is a part of being a working mother and home-
maker," she says.
Sharada lives in Bangalore with her two children aged 15
and 11 and her husband who is also in government
service.
The above photo shows Sharada along with B S
Yeddyurappa present Chief Minister of Karnataka.

"When you have a degree from a prestigious institution

like IIMB, people start looking at you with a certain
respect. Moreover it gives you an edge over other
colleagues," she says.

Sharada had the support of her family to take a mid-

career academic break. Though a day-scholar, Sharada
says she enjoyed her time at the IIMB thoroughly and

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SALON
Vinod Nair is an engineer and is currently CEO of Enzen
Technologies. In earlier assignments, Vinod has lead
technology consulting, systems integration and
programme management engagements with leading
global consulting firms. His experience covers a number
of industries including Utilities, Engineering & Financial
Services spanning countries in Europe and India. Vinod
lives in Bangalore with his wife and 15-month old son and
is a very active alumnus.
Q: Tell us about your professional journey post IIMB?
A: Before coming to IIMB I was working for some large IT
organizations for ten years. Though I was doing well
professionally and monetarily, I knew this wasn't my
destiny and there had to be something else I had to do.
So when the IIMB opportunity presented itself, I
welcomed it knowing well that having to manage a high
pressure multi-million project alongside assignments,
surprise quizzes etc was not going to be easy. The Post-
Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise
Management at IIMB began and life became busier than
ever. It was early 2000 and the BPO wave had just
begun. After various calculations and late night
discussion over chai a group of friends and I decided
that we would chuck everything we have and start our
own BPO. In the heat of the moment, none of us realized
that all three of us had full-time jobs which we couldn't
leave because of parental and social pressures! So I
ended up juggling between my full-time job, the evening
course at IIMB and the startup BPO Company! Our
dreams came crashing when the BPO didn't take off. It
took us ten months to realize that things were not working
out. So I then decided to concentrate on my studies at
IIMB. As a learned man had once said - entrepreneurship
is like a perennial itch - once you get it, it's almost
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VINOD NAIR, PGSEM '03
impossible to get rid of it. For me the entrepreneurial itch
resurfaced right after I completed my graduation. I quit
my well-paying job and plunged fully into realizing my
passion. That's when Enzen was formed, under the
guidance and stewardship of my long term mentor and
guru. Good planning, prudent financing combined with
very strong passion and vision made sure that this
venture continues to be a grand success. In three years
time, Enzen has grown to a 100 crore company uniquely
positioned as an end-to-end solutions provider for the
global Energy & Utility Industry. Enzen's team of 1200
professionals serve over 150+ global energy and utility
customers across 10 countries. Despite the recession,
Enzen's results have still been reasonably good.
Q: How has professional life changed since you graduated
from the IIMB?
A: I have known several IIM graduates who fail to come to
terms with the real world. Being from an IIM, they have a
chip on their shoulders and think they are a cut above the
rest. As a result they often lack humility and patience, and
thus fail to make an impact in their organizations. Having
seen this, I was extremely cautious about how I
positioned myself post my graduation from IIMB. Unlike
most people I didn't do the IIMB course to graduate with
a fatter pay package or senior position. I was lucky that I
had clarity about what I wanted to achieve. My
professional life has changed 360 degrees because of
the shift from an employee to an employer mindset. Today
I feel personally responsible for the 1200 people and their
family members whose livelihood is dependent on this
organization. Everyday when I drive back from work, I ask
myself how my actions or inactions could have impacted
those around me.
SUMMER 2009
SALON
Q: IIMB as an alma mater- what does it mean to you?
A: I often tell people that while my engineering course
taught me how to fix machines and appliances, my
tenure at the IIMB showed me how to diagnose problems
in the right perspective and come up with an innovative,
yet implementable solution.
Armed with the experience of four entrepreneurial
ventures, I came to IIMB feeling over-confident about my
knowledge of entrepreneurship. It is now that I realize
that IIMB played an important role in helping me realize
my entrepreneurial dreams. The course definitely
broadened my horizons. At IIMB I learnt to dream bigger
dreams than I would have otherwise. So the Institute
definitely holds a special place in transforming my life
and helping me realize my dreams.
IIMB IN BLOGOSPHERE
Are We Inventive Enough?
BY SANJAY ANANDARAM
Posted on http://www.startupjourney.blogspot.com,
Spetember 7, 2008. The Start-up Journey is a web log
and forum for entrepreneurs catalyzed by Arun Natarajan,
Founder of Venture Intelligence.
Over the weekend, I was immersed in reading Madcap
Crazy Inventions by Gyles Brandreth, a slim volume
published in 1997 as a tribute to the imaginative people
from around the Western world. These quite remarkable
people dreamt up an incredible variety of inventions that,
no doubt, they thought would prove very useful but which
we recognize today as being simply ridiculous. Of
course, the inventors themselves had faith in their
inventions! The inventions range from a spaghetti eating
tool to a robber catcher to a rat scarer to a stammer
stopper to reversible trousers to the Smellorama (where
smells were made to match the action on a movie
screen!). Most of the inventions were made in the 1st half
of the 20th century.
On February 28, 1856, the Government of India
promulgated legislation to grant what was then termed as
"exclusive privileges for the encouragement of inventions
of new manufactures". On March 3, 1856, a civil engineer,
George Alfred DePenning of 7, Grant's Lane, Calcutta
petitioned the Government of India for grant of exclusive
privileges for his invention - "An Efficient Punkah Pulling
Machine". On September 2nd, DePenning, submitted the
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
Q: What strong memories do you have of IIMB?
A: I would say there are a lot of sweet memories.
Discussions over endless cups of sweet tea. Working on
assignments late into the night, struggling to meet those
impossible deadlines. The quiz competitions that brought
out the competitive spirit in us.
Q: What advice/thoughts would you like to share with the
current students at IIMB?
A: Visualize your goals and dreams every day. Your sub-
conscious knows no difference between your imagination
and reality, so if you rehearse your success in your mind,
then your subconscious will believe in it and make it
happen.
Specifications for his invention along with drawings to
illustrate its working. These were accepted and the
invention was granted the first ever Intellectual Property
protection or patent in India!
After the patent for the "efficient punkah pulling machine"
one would have imagined that the electric fan would have
been patented in India electricity having come to India in
1906. Look around and see the environment around -
there are thousands of opportunities for innovation and
invention. Yet the story of inventions and patents in India
has been a long and sorry one.
That set me thinking. What would a list of Madcap Crazy
Inventions look like for India? I suspect our list, if at all,
there were one would be rather short and boring. And
why should that be the case?
Madcap and Crazy are two words that as most
stereotypes would have us believe adjectives that
describe brainy scientists and inventors. Would we
describe our scientists and inventors as "madcaps" and
"crazy"? Why not? I think the problem lies in our social
milieu. To make truly quantum leaps in science and
innovation, one needs to be imaginative, unafraid to
question the status quo and be willing to experiment. And
even more unafraid of failing.
SUMMER 2009
SALON
Einstein imagined what it would be like if he were to ride
atop a beam of light - A madcap idea? Yes! Crazy idea?
Yes!! Edison is supposed to have tried several hundred
materials before he chose the tungsten filament for his
electric bulb. Our social milieu frowns upon questioning,
imagination, experimentation and indeed failure.
True innovation comes from both right and left brain
thinking. Not valuing or appreciating the arts and
humanities adequately leads to atrophying of creative
powers and insight. Creating "insanely great" products
like what Apple routinely churns out, for example,
requires not just engineering smarts but a high degree of
creativity. As a nation, we've consistently under-
emphasized the arts (the economic rationale is
appreciated but that's not the point) over the last 50
years and are now therefore left wondering about the
arcane intricacies of say, user interface design, which is
all about understanding how humans interact with each
other. Movie making, for example, is another field which
requires an enormous amount of creativity - from writing a
top class script to visualizing the scenes to creating the
mood to the music. Without the training in giving free
reign to one's imagination, experimenting and failing, it is
hard to see how top class movie making talent from India
can stand up on the world stage and be counted.
Another example: how many of our youngsters read
science fiction for example? How many writers of sci-fi do
we have? How many of our youngsters read or write or
undertake creative pursuits? Sci-Fi by its very genre
challenges the writer and the reader to imagine worlds
that don't exist. Innovation will ensure that these worlds
come to pass! Is it a coincidence that the US and Japan
have the world's most evolved and robust sci-fi sub-
cultures?
Sure, there have been truly Indian innovations that have
addressed Indian problems but these have been
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
sporadic and highly uneven. The National Innovation
Foundation, the GIAN-Honeybee network are terrific
initiatives to harness innovation and grass-roots
inventions. But there needs to be many more such
programmes especially ones that can be scaled.
With India's booming economy and growth prospects, it
can only be hoped that more and more madcap and
crazy ideas will be worked upon, failures
notwithstanding. After all, as the saying goes, if you
haven't failed it means you haven't tried hard enough.
What do you think?
Sanjay Anandaram is a passionate advocate of
entrepreneurship in India; He brings close to two
decades of experience as an entrepreneur, corporate
executive, venture investor, faculty member, advisor and
mentor. He's involved with Nasscom, TiE, IIM-Bangalore,
and INSEAD business school in driving entrepreneurship.
He can be reached at sanjay@jumpstartup.net. The
views expressed here are his own.
Sanjay Anandaram is from the PGP batch of 1991
Several IIMB Alumni are active bloggers. We list
below some which we found while surfing. Do
send us URLs of other blogsites operated by IIMB
Alumni and we'll list them in the next issue of the
IIMB Alumni Magazine
Yadav Chandana - PGP1979
http://valueconcept.blogspot.com
Anantharam Mani - PGP2001 - http://nl-
media.blogspot.com
SUMMER 2009
HALL OF FAME

VASANTH NAIK, PGP '83

Managing Director, Nomura International
IIMB Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2007

Vasanth Tilak Naik, recipient of the IIMB Distinguished thereafter. According to his colleagues, Naik is a perfect
Alumnus Award in 2007, is educator, researcher and example of an intellectual powerhouse and a brilliant
manager, all rolled into one. Currently Naik is Managing strategist.
Director, Nomura International and is based in London.
He heads a team called quantitative strategies group
which is a part of Nomura's fixed income research
division.
Some of the awards and distinctions received:
Naik completed his B.Com from Gujarat University and
then went on to doing PGP at IIMB, graduating in 1983.
Later he also completed his Ph.D. from the University of Journal of Finance Smith Breeden Prize,
California, Berkeley in 1988.
1999 for article Optimal Investments,
After ten years of teaching at the University of British
Columbia, Vancouver, Canada, Naik joined Lehman Growth Options and Security Returns"
brothers in 1998 as Director, Interest Rate Strategies,
Fixed Income Research in London.
MBA Teaching Excellence Award,
Naik's strong interests lie in research, and in the finance
academia he is viewed as a very successful academic University of British Columbia, 1996
and researcher. His papers have been published in
leading finance journals world over. He has also received
the Smith Breeden Prize for his published work in the Second Prize in the Chicago Quantitative
year 1999.
Alliance Competition for academic
Despite being a researcher, Naik's contribution to
academia did not end at that. At the University of British research, 1996
Columbia, he was also very closely involved with the
running of the MBA Program and also taught several University of California Regents'
courses in investments, derivatives and risk management
for both undergraduate and MBA programmes. Fellowship (1986-1987)
In 2005, Naik became the Managing Director at Lehman
Brothers and made rapid progress through the ranks

23
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
HALL OF FAME
Sankaranarayanan Padmanabhan, recipient of the IIMB
Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2008, has been working
with the Tata conglomerate since he graduated from
IIMB. Currently Padmanabhan is Executive Director
(Operations) at Tata Power and is responsible for all the
Company's Operations which include Generation,
Transmission and Distribution businesses. Prior to this, he
held several positions with Tata Consultancy Services
(TCS) in various capacities.
Mr. Padmanabhan, a gold medalist in Electronics and
Communication Engineering from the PSG College of
Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu did his Post-
graduate Diploma in Management (PGP 1980-82) at
IIMB, with a specialization in Marketing.
While at Tata Consultancy Services, Padmanabhan
worked in several different capacities. He headed the
Application Software and Maintenance Practice (2001-
2002). Prior to this he was responsible for the Airline
Industry Practice (1999-2000) and the Delivery Centre at
Sholinganallur, Chennai (1998-2000). He was also CEO of
the Aviation Software Development Consultancy, a joint
venture between TCS and Singapore Airlines (1996-1998)
and Country Manager for TCS Switzerland (1993-1996).
As the Executive Director & Head Global Human
Resources of Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS),
he drove initiatives to create a multilingual and culturally-
diverse global workforce and was responsible for over
100,000 employees worldwide. In his capacity, he
achieved the highest retention rates at TCS as compared
to the overall Indian IT industry, besides creating a world-
class training and learning focused organisation, capable
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
SANKARANARAYANAN
PADMANABHAN , PGP '82
Executive Director (Operations), Tata Power
IIMB Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2008
of integrating over 30,000 new employees every year.
Over the span of his career Mr. Padmanabhan has had a
rich experience in large scale project build up and
delivery, global sourcing and operational efficiencies. He
has played a key role in several landmark projects such
as the development of a Securities Clearing and
Settlement System for SEGA in Switzerland as well as
other key engagements in New Zealand, Australia, UK
and USA.
Mr. Padmanabhan is known for his effective people skills
and innovative approach to problem solving and human
resource management.
Other positions currently held:
Member- Board of NDPL (North Delhi Power
Limited)
Member- Board of Powerlinks Transmission
Limited (a JV WITH Power Grid)
Member- Board of Tata Power Trading Co. Ltd
Member- Board of IEL (Industrial Energy
Limited (a JV with Tata Steel)
Member- Board of Tata Power Trading Co.
Member- Board of Chemical Terminal Trombay
Limited
SUMMER 2009
ANUSMARAN '09

anusmaran
engage energise enhance

Bangalore

Bangalore

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
ANUSMARAN '09

Dubai
London

Singapore

Delhi

Singapore

26
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
ANUSMARAN '09

Mumbai

Mumbai

g
Hong Kon

HongKong

27
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
CLASS NOTES
PGP 1984
Rajendra Nargundkar has written an autobiography titled
"My experiments with half-truths - Adventures of an IIMB
Alumnus"
Rajendra Nargundkar
PGP 1988
Obituary
Mohan Nathan
Mohan Nathan as I remember him
What do you write about a friend who was literally an alter
ego of yours?
Nalini and I first met Mohan in 1986 at IIM Bangalore.
That's twenty three years ago ... but I still remember the
IIM days vividly. The endless chai cups at Aunties, the
last minute cramming (after having partied through the
entire term), the dashes to class when we realized that
there was a "surprise quiz" scheduled in POM, the
disastrous attempt to put together a band with Mohan on
rhythm guitar ... and I remember an unflappable, cool-as-
cucumber person who always sailed through. remember
his setting up Crescendo Music, and the first audio
cassettes that were released through that company (I still
own them). I remember the awe and wonder when we
realized that Jethro Tull was visiting Bangalore, and I
remember Mohan's (as usual) irreverent interview with Ian
Anderson. I remember his never-say-die attitude all
through the years ... even through deep personal sorrow
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
when Mohan lost his younger brother, and then, his
father. I remember his struggle with his pancreatic
operation a year ago, and his victoriously coming back to
life But most of all, I remember the days and months we
spent together at my place, the long sessions of music,
and the inspiration he provided to me to pick up the
guitar for the first time. I remember Mohan being around,
and when a dull day automatically brightened.
Rest in peace, Mohan. I'll miss you ... but I just know that
where ever you are now, the place would be brighter and
more cheerful. Have a great after-life, my friend.
Guhesh Ramanathan
Director - Strategic Partnerships
Professional Aptitude Council
www.proaptitude.com, +91 99017 70317 Mobile,
+91 (80) 25216711 Work, +91 (80) 32449422 Work
PGP 1989
Surendra Rajiv
Surendra Rajiv spent a year at IIMB as Visiting Faculty
during July 2008-June 2009. He is Professor of Marketing
at the NUS Business School, Singapore and was on
sabbatical leave, to study the emerging retail structure in
India. Earlier he was part of the faculty at the Graduate
School of Business, University of Chicago, and visiting
faculty at the Haas School of Business, University of
California. Professor Rajiv holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees
in Industrial Administration (Marketing) from the Tepper
School of Business, Carnegie Mellon University. He
obtained his B.Sc. in Mathematics from Patna University
and PGDM from IIMB.
Professor Rajiv's research interests include analytical
modeling of marketing strategies using Game Theory and
Industrial Organization paradigms. He also specializes in
using econometric modeling to understand consumer
choice behavior. His work has been published in leading
Marketing, Strategy and Economics Journals and he is
also on the editorial boards of reputed marketing
journals.
SUMMER 2009
CLASS NOTES

PGP 2003 at that age. Manasi Prasad is truly a multi faceted artiste
Apart from her passion for the arts, she is also
academically accomplished. She is an Engineering
graduate and was also a recipient of Aditya Birla
Scholarship while at IIMB . She gained the experience of
a corporate environment, while working at Standard
Chartered Bank, Bangalore. Her other activities include
hosting live and TV shows as a compere, composing and
singing music for dance productions, as well as writing
and speaking extensively on various subjects.

Akshita, daughter of Sathish

and Aparna

Sathish Krishna (Batch of 2001-2003, PGP) and his wife

Aparna had a pretty little daughter on 17th April. They
have named her Akshita

Rajesh B (PGP2003) and his wife Ranjeetha had a son -

Gautam.

Anurag Sinha (PGP2003) and his wife Shivani Sharma

had a daughter - Jahnvi. Ajit Phadnis

PGP 2007 Ajit Phadnis, has been selected for the Lok Sabha
Internship Programme 2009. The internship is a new
initiative in India and was started only last year. It has
Manasi Prasad been introduced on the lines of the US Senate internship
programme and gives an opportunity for the youth (21-28
years) to understand the working of the parliamentary
system. Only 5 interns from all over India are selected to
pursue the programme every year.

PGP 2009

Manasi Prasad, PGP07, has been selected for the

Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar awarded by the Sangeet
Natak Akademi, New Delhi, in the category of Carnatic
vocal music, for the year 2008. This award, instituted in
2006, is given each year to young artists under the age
of 35 in various disciplines, who have made a mark in
their respective fields.

Living life to the fullest has always been Manasis motto,

and as one of the rising stars among the new generation
of Carnatic musicians, she has certainly exemplified this.
Manasi was initiated into Carnatic classical vocal music
and Bharatanatyam dance at the age of 5. Since then,
she has been pursuing the arts with passion and Sharmili Phulgirkar, PGP 09 married Viraj Datar
dedication. Manasi gave her maiden solo music concert on April 18, 2009 at Mumbai
at the age of 14 and also released her first audio cassette

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
WHAT'S UP AT IIMB

Vidhu Vinod Chopra

TAKE ONE: LIVE

ACTION FILM STUDIES
AT IIMB
IIMB students experience a film shoot on campus and in the process learn about film
production

Movie-making was the flavor of the month at IIMB during January 2009. The cast, producers
and crew of 3 Idiots were on the IIMB campus for the whole month, which brought Bollywood
stars up close, and gave students, staff and campus residents a unique opportunity to
personally witness how film-shooting actually gets done.

For those who came in late, here's the trailer: 3 Idiots is a movie being directed by Rajkumar
Hirani and produced by Vinod Chopra Films (of 'Munnabhai' fame and several other major hits).
The story is based on Chetan Bhagat's novel Five Point Someone. The film stars Aamir Khan,
Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Kareena Kapoor and Boman Irani. The film is "a satire on India's
educational system" according to the blurb on Vinod Chopra's official website, and is slated for
a December 2009 release.

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
WHAT'S UP AT IIMB
On January 12, the Central Pergola was the scene of
action with Aamir Khan on the sets, and half the student
population of IIMB landed up for a ringside view. Apart
from the acting, students got to observe how sets are
constructed, how 'takes' are planned according to
location.
On January 16, another major event on campus was a
talk by celebrated film producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra.
Directed at students the talk was virtually a documentary
of Vinod Chopra's own life, narrated with such cinematic
verve that you could almost visualize each turning point
in his life. His pearls of wisdom: stay true to yourself,
pursue your dreams.
As part of Unmaad 2009, the annual cultural
extravaganza hosted by IIMB, a movie-making workshop
Aamir Khan at the IIMB creche along with kids and members of the IIMB community
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
was held on January 30, with Boman Irani, Madhavan
and Sharman Joshi sharing their experiences, and
fielding questions from the audience on topics like an
actor's life, economics of movie making, right education
to enter the entertainment business and the personal
experiences of the stars.
The excitement extended even to the little ones on the
IIMB campus: Aamir Khan spent time at a crche
managed by IIMB and interacted with kids of faculty
members and employees residing on the IIMB campus.
Apart from the thrill of having the stars on campus, the
film shoot itself turned out to be a learning experience for
IIMB students and campus residents.
SUMMER 2009
WHAT'S UP AT IIMB

34TH ANNUAL
CONVOCATION
The 34th Annual Convocation was held at the Indian Institute of Management
Bangalore on April 2, 2009. A total of 419 students from the Fellow Programme in
Management (FPM), the Post-Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), the Post-
Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM) and the Post-
Graduate Programme in Software Enterprise Management (PGSEM) graduated this
year.

Professor Pankaj Chandra presented the Director's Report, in which he gave the
highlights of the year, including recognitions received by the Institute and faculty
members, new initiatives in terms of programme offerings, accreditation, other
activities and developments on campus, including new construction of faculty
quarters, a new canteen etc. He exhorted the graduating class to become agents of
change in issues related to society at large.

Former Chief Justice M.N. Venkatachalaiah was the Chief Guest and delivered the
Convocation Address on the Science and Art of Management. In his encouraging
address to the graduating batch, Former Chief Justice Venkatachalaiah told the
students to "keep a balance between human welfare and economic progress".

Mr. Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman Board of Governors of IIMB presided over the
function and gave away the diplomas to the graduating students. He gave an
inspiring speech, commenting on the economic downturn, saying that the "Meltdown
was an aberration" and that the graduating students would have plenty of
opportunities for growth in their lifetime. He stressed on purpose and perseverance as
guiding principles in life.

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
WHAT'S UP AT IIMB

Professor Trilochan Sastry

Dean Academic

Professor B Mahadevan
Dean Administration

DEAN
APPOINTMENTS
Professor B Mahadevan took over as Dean Administration in April 2008. Dr Mahadevan
belongs to the Production & Operations Management Area, and joined IIMB in 1994. He
has over 15 years of wide ranging professional experience in teaching, research,
consulting and academic administration at IIM Bangalore and other reputed academic
institutions such as IIT Delhi and XLRI, Jamshedpur. He was a visiting scholar at the Amos
Tuck School of Business Administration, Dartmouth College, NH, USA during 1999 - 2000.
He was also a retainer consultant to Deloitte Consulting LLP, USA during 2001 - 2002. He
obtained M.Tech and Ph.D. from the Industrial Engineering and Management Division of IIT,
Madras.

Professor Trilochan Sastry took over as Dean Academic in December 2008. Dr Sastry
obtained a Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He also did his B. Tech. from
IIT Delhi and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. Prior to joining IIMB in 2003, he was a faculty
member at IIM Ahmedabad. He has to his credit a number of management cases on
operations management, ethics, change management and electoral reforms. Professor
Sastry has been a consultant to various Indian and International corporations. He is a
Trustee of Cooperative Development Foundation, Hyderabad, Chairman of Association for
Democratic Reforms, and Secretary of the Centre for Collective Development, focused on
promoting small and marginal farmer Cooperatives. In November 2008, Professor Sastry
received a significant honour in being invited to be a member of the prestigious Bretton
Woods Committee.

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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
WHAT'S UP AT IIMB
K Kumar
Chairperson, NSRCEL
NSRCEL: IDEAS TO
IMPLEMENTATION
The Nadathur S. Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial
Learning, or NSRCEL as most of us at IIMB know it, was
started in October 1999 with a generous endowment from
Mr Nadathur S Raghavan, formerly Joint Managing
Director of Infosys Technologies Ltd. What may seem a
quiet tucked-away corner of IIMB is, in fact, buzzing with
activity and has several achievements to its credit.
The Centre was started with a vision to champion
entrepreneurial studies at IIMB. Today, the Centre not only
trains entrepreneurs and promotes entrepreneurship
through teaching, research, short-term programmes and
seminars/panel discussions, but also has an active
Incubator Cell for startup companies. Since inception,
NSRCEL has incubated about 23 companies out of which
over 10 are successfully running businesses.
"Once an individual or group of individuals comes to us
with a unique idea, it goes through a three-stage filtering
process. We examine the idea in totality for its viability to
become a fully self-sustaining business," says A.
Suryanarayanan, Chief Operating Officer of NSRCEL.
The objective of NSRCEL is to produce successful
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IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
A. Suryanarayanan
Chief Operating Officer, NSRCEL
companies that will have the potential to create jobs,
revitalize neighbourhoods, commercialise new
technologies, and strengthen economies. The
fundamental concept behind the incubation of a startup
company is to help the core team focus on their business
idea without having to worry about statutory, legal or
other formalities.
Thus, incubatees at NSRCEL can expect complete
physical as well as intellectual support for a period of 18
months.
From basics like a fully wired office on the IIMB campus,
to legal, HR, secretarial support, and other facilities, the
Centre also offers the incubatees the benefit of the IIMB
network. Just Books is the latest company to take up
incubation at NSRCEL, starting on April 30, 2009.
The experience of incubatees at NSRCEL has been
pleasant and enriching. 8K Miles, one of the companies
currently in the incubation process, is an IT related firm
and has benefited tremendously by having access to the
IIMB network.
SUMMER 2009
WHAT'S UP AT IIMB

As Paddy Raghavan, a co-founder of the firm says,
"NSRCEL has offered tremendous value-addition for
8KMiles. Through our incubation at NSRCEL, we were
able to get access to professors, PGP students and
industry experts which otherwise would have been close
to impossible."
Apart from access to the IIMB network and all the
physical infrastructure and intellectual support, NSRCEL
also reviews the progress of the business every six
months. "This periodic review is done so that corrections
can be made if required. More importantly, if the idea isn't
fructifying, we can advise them to cut their losses soon
enough," adds Suryanarayanan.
Of course, that isn't the only way alumni can engage with
the centre. "We look forward to support from the alumni in
terms of their network and intellectual support.
We also hope that alumni would come forward to mentor
Incubatees that are generating businesses in their areas
of interests.
Apart from the commercial interest in a project, a lot of
alumni want to give back to the institute where they
studied. This could be a great way to do that," adds
Suryanarayanan.

To overcome the limitations of a single physical
incubation location, the Centre is now also sponsoring
what is being termed 'virtual incubation'. This means that
the selected companies would receive all support except
that of physical space and infrastructure. This would
enable NSRCEL to meet the larger goal of
encouraging/promoting entrepreneurship and increase
the reach of NSRCEL/IIMB. Vyvaya Labs from Belgaum is
has enrolled for virtual incubation.
The Centre hopes to have an increasing number of
alumni participate in their activities. This would not only
benefit the Incubatees but would also give IIMB alumni a
chance to remain current and enhance their interest
areas.
For more information and to engage with NSRCEL,
contact:

Till date, only one of the incubatees at NSRCEL has been A. Suryanarayanan
led by an IIMB alumnus. The reason for this, Chief Operating Officer
Suryanarayanan feels, could be the fact that the long- Nadathur S Raghavan Centre for Entrepreneurial Learning
duration IIMB programmes from which the alumni would Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
have emerged, have not focused on entrepreneurship so Phone: +91-80-2699 3710
far. Needless to say the Centre always encourages IIMB Email: surya.a@iimb.ernet.in
alumni to tread the path of entrepreneurship! Website: www.nsrcel.org

IIMBAA ORGANIZES TALK

BY SUBROTO BAGCHI
IIMB Alumni Association organized a talk by
Subroto Bagchi on March 28, 2009. Mr Bagchi
is a co-founder of MindTree Ltd., an
international IT consulting company. In April
2008, he was re-designated as the "Gardener"
and in this role he tries to "re-pot, fertilize and
weed and clip the human resources." Mr
Bagchi took the opportunity to speak about his
book: Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons for the
Young Professionals. Through personal
anecdotes and simple words of wisdom, this
book provides lessons to young professionals
on working and living, and is an inspiration to
'young India.'

35
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE SUMMER 2009
IIMB IN MOTION

NEW PROFS IN THE FACULTY BLOCK

campus! Armed with
. A new set of professors are at large on the IIMB
Generation Next. Young Turks. The Young Ones grounds, these talented
l universities, and coming from diverse back
doctoral degrees from renowned internationa
y. Meet the new team:
individuals have recently joined the IIMB facult

NA
ANUBHA DHASMA ss or in September 20
08. She holds a
t Pr ofe
joined as As sis tan , USA. Earlier, she
Anubha Dhasmana pk ins University, Baltimore of
Ph.D. in Economics
from Jo hn s Ho mmerce, University
on om ics fro m Sh ri Ram College of Co an d an oth er M.A.
Ec
received a B.A. in School of Economics
lhi , a M. A. in Ec onomics from Delhi e ha s re ce ive d se veral awards and
De rsi ty. Sh
hns Hopk ins Un ive Economics, Johns
Economics from Jo llo ws hip , 2001-2006, Dept of Shri
honors, including De
partm en t Fe University of Delhi;
ra La l Bh arg av a Gold Medal, 2000,
Hi
Hopkins University; University of Delhi.
ari Ro hta ng i Gold Medal, 2001, DC during
Ra s Bih
na l Mo ne tar y Fund, Washington,
th the Interna tio e, and L.A. Times
Anubha worked wi wi th the Economist magazin
ne assig nm en ts of Economics, as
2007-08, and has do hn s Ho pk ins University, Dept of
newspaper. She wo
rked at the Jo including Elements
du rin g 20 02 -0 6 and took courses int ere sts are in
t and teaching
Teaching Assistan ics . He r res ea rch an d
d Econometr mics, Development
Finance
Macroeconomics an cs , Ma cr oe co no
oeconomi
Inter national Macr
Econom etr ics .

Public Policy
ERJI has a Ph.D. in
ARNAB MUKH 07 . H e in
sor in Ju ne 20 and an M.A.
rji jo in ed as Assistant Profes , Santa Monica, California rli er, A rn ab
Arnab Mukhe duate School hi. Ea
ee RAND Gra ning, New Del
from the Pard Ec on om ic St udies and Plan
for
Economics fro
m the Centre rsity of Delhi.
Ec on om ic s from the Unive systems and
Community
iv ed a B .A . in Pu blic H ea lth
rece Public Policy,
se ar ch interests lie in
Arnab 's re ational Water
t. from the Intern
D ev el op m en
holarship in 20 05 in 2005 at the
de d the Ph.D. sc H ag op ian Fellowship nt and
Arnab was aw ar
d th e K ip and Mar y A nn
th e Si r R at an Tata Travel Gra
Institute an de d
Management was also awar
R A N D G ra du ate School. He 01 .
Pardee wship in 20
san Rice Fello
Donald and Su

N 2008. Deepak is a
DEEPAK MALGHA or (CPP) in December
t Pr ofe ss cal
Deepak Malghan joi
ned as As sis tan interests in politi
wi th res ea rc h and professional lic y, mo de rn
public policy sc
holar onmental po
gic al ec on om ics , energy and envir
olo
decentralisation, ec ip.
d so cial entrepreneursh 60),
Indian his tor y, an Kumarappa (1892-19
ing an int ell ec tua l biography of J.C. ok pr oje ct is the
Deepak is currently
finish hi. This bo
an d clo se as so cia te of Mahatma Gand s on the his tor y of
economic philosoph
er
Fo un da tio n Fe llo wship for book
stigious New India
recipient of the pre
independent India. y of scale and
ere sts are in the analytical theor
ics, Deepak's primary
int al economics
In ecological econom or ary the ory of scale in ecologic
of contingent valua
tion. Co nte mp tical synthesis of
theoretical aspects . He is wo rki ng on a major new theore
's doctoral research
ed as part of Deepak
was largely develop ective. eering, political
ics from a scale persp of economics, engin
ecological econom r that span s the dis cip lin es
entrepreneur and
erd isc ipl ina ry academic caree a pa ra lle l career as an energy y.
In addition to an int endently pu rsu ed g product compan
y, an d ec olo gy, De epak has also indep rtu p de ce ntr ali se d energy engineerin on iss ue s of
philosoph founder of a sta ons
cate. He is the co il society organizati
energy policy advo se ve ra l go ve rn me nt, business, and civ
rked closely with
Deepak has also wo y. rs in economics an
d
y resources and polic ryland, and a Maste
decentralised energ m Un ive rsi ty of Ma l Af fai rs. He als o
onomics fro Internationa
ak rec eiv ed his Ph .D. in ecological ec od row W ils on Sc hool of Public and
Deep iversity's Wo
) from Princeton Un eton University.
public policy (MPA an d tec hn olo gy policy from Princ
sc ien ce
has a certificate in
 IIMB IN MOTION

ary
ITY Area in Janu
MOUTUSI MA tant Pr of es so r, Marketing U nive rsity of
aity jo in ed as Assis an ag em en t from the M .A.
Moutusi M a Ph.D. in Busin
ess M s an
tta. She also ha s lie in
Sh e ho ld s rs ity of C alcu
2008. the Unive terest
an MBA from l. Moutusi's in
Georgia and ur U nive rs ity, West Benga on se ve ral subjects
En glish fro m Jadavp
. Sh e ha s re searched , consumer
in E- commerce er behavio ur
g Th eo ry , , co ns um
Marketin ion making
nsumer decis
including co .
ternet search
information, in

a Ph.D.
0 0 7 . Mukta has
LKARNI Marc h 2 xas, San
MUKTA KU n t P rofessor in the University of Te
as A s s is ta from the Baruch
arni joined nt Studies nal Psychology from
Mukta Kulk M a n a g e m e o .A. in App
lied
ation and Organisati o done M
in Organis an M.S. in Industrial he h a s a ls
Antonio an
d w York. S iversity.
U n iv e rsity of Ne gy from Mumbai Un esource
it y
College, C nd a B.A. in Psycholo th e rs a s a Human R uman
Bro H
Psycholog
ya h Lehman siness as
B , M u k ta worked wit fo r In te rn ational Bu . H e r re search
ing IIM Centre ew Yo rk
Before join e is s m a n t, b o th a t N
ti ce s .
d at the W h Assistan urces prac
Analyst an d Marketing Researc ur and Human Reso e and
Resources
an
a ti o n al Behavio T h e Emergenc
in Org a n is identa lly : r, T. Beck,
interests lie C h ange Acc D. Plowman, L. Bake
Ra d ic a l with nt Journal
u k ta 's p aper titled a n g e , c o -authored a d e m y o f Manageme al Best
M C h Ac urn
on of Small hed in the gement Jo
Amplificati
n d D . V ill a rreal, publis Academy of Mana
,a 07
S. Thomas on the 20
0 7 , 5 0 , 5 15-543) w
(20
rd.
Paper Awa

ing as
SEEMA GUPTA currently serv
N ov em be r 2007 and is s of M ar keting,
in ed IIM B faculty in re st s lie in the area
Seema Gupta
jo aching in te munication.
r. H er re search and te t an d C orporate Com
Assistant Prof es so anagem en than and an
po ra te Reputation M ve rs ity , Udaipur, Rajas
Adver tising, C or Sukhad ia U ni . Seema was
Ph .D . from Mohanlal t, U da ipur, Rajasthan d
Seema ho ld s a Manag em en Psychology an
m R . A . Po dar Institute of of he r B .A . in Economics,
MBA fro completion
old Medal on
awarded a G rsity.
Rajasthan U ve ni
rience. She ha
s
Statistics at the rp or at e industry expe da ip ur
as co ge U
ng as well d B. N. Girls' C
olle
tensive teachi ions (MICA) an ry Manager.
Seema has ex C om m un ic at w as Te rr ito
at M ud ra Institute of R PG gr ou p w here she
taug ht with the
e also worked
prior to IIMB. Sh
lled
areas of Contro
se ar ch in te re sts lie in the pl ic at io ns to
ARNAB BASU ob er 20 07 . Arnab's re en tia l Eq ua tio ns with ap ng
in Oct es of Partial D
iffer
Multi-Agent Le
arni
ant Professor osity Techniqu sm Design for
na b Basu jo ined as Assist ua lit ie s, Vi sc an d M ec ha ni
Ar nal Ineq on Game Theo
ry
esses, Variatio esently working
Diffusion Proc . H e is pr
rid Gam es Mumbai.
Stochastic Hyb am en ta l Re search (TIFR),
te of Fu nd Arnab was
Systems. es fro m the Tata Institu ar ag pu r. While at TIFR,
System Sc ie nc g from IIT Kh Foundation
Ph .D . in C omputers and te r Sc ienc e and Engineerin 8 an d th e In fosys Research
Arnab has a pu -200
onours) in Com . thesis in 2007
his B. Tech (H r the Best Ph.D
He completed is Aw ar d fo
sken Best Thes g Research
awarded the Sa h. D .) st udies. d. M um bai and Visitin
Fellowship for
Gradu at e (P atics Pv t. Lt hing interests
h & D ev el op ment) of BrainM C en tre , Ba ng alore. His teac
Head (Researc GE Global Rese
arch
rlier served as es Laboratory, d Statistics.
Arnab has ea n Te ch no lo gi ob ab ilit y an
In form at io n and Decisio e G am e Th eo ry and Pr
Fellow, -cooperativ
Research, Non
lie in Operations
GIVING BACK
THE SUPPORT IIMB CAMPAIGN
IIMB's vision is to build leaders and entrepreneurs
through holistic, transformative and innovative education.
Aiming at building a truly global management institute,
IIMB is working on several initiatives:
Supporting new academic programmes for a diverse
group of students
Providing financial assistance to brilliant students
Building world class infrastructure
Strengthening the alumni services
Having the best faculty
Significant and relevant research focused on
emerging issues, areas of concern and collaborative
work with other reputed institutions
Entrepreneurship development as an important
focus area of all student programmes
Holistic learning through an integrated learning
system comprising both the technical and non-
technical aspects.
Ruchira Neog
38
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
In order to achieve these aspirations, the Institute
requires significant resources, expected to be raised
through the Institute's initiatives in fund-raising.
IIMB alumni have common values, common areas of
interest and want to turn their shared interests, vision and
passion into action. IIMB alumni are therefore at the heart
of any fund-raising campaign, and we look to you to re-
connect with you alma mater in tangible ways.
Based on discussions and interactions with the alumni,
IIMB has identified specific areas of contribution. Our
comprehensive fund-raising programme will have a
variety of initiatives that you, as an alumnus, would like to
espouse or support. Such support will enable IIMB to
move in a planned and strategic manner towards
sustenance, retain its cutting-edge position, be the
leading business school in the country and amongst the
top five business schools globally.
We look forward to your support to IIMB. We plan to
launch a fund-raising campaign soon. Watch this space
for more details!
Ruchira Neog joined IIMB as Head-Development in
January 2009. At IIMB, Ruchira is working on the
Institute's fund-raising efforts, building linkages with all
IIMB stakeholders and strengthening revenue generation
activities.
Ruchira has earlier worked in the voluntary sector with a
leading NGO in the North East of India. She has been
mobilizing resources from donor agencies, bilateral and
government agencies, UN Bodies and corporates and
implementing major developmental initiatives in the area
of community health, education and gender concerns.
She has been closely associated with the implementation
of the National Rural Health Mission in Assam and the
other NE states.
SUMMER 2009
IIMB ON MY MIND
BY PIYUSH SINGH
Managing Director
IDC Centre for Consultancy and Research
Bangalore
PGDM 1987-89
Twenty Years Ago!
It's been a long time, since I walked thru these corridors
And how old memories have started to flow
The 'movie' hall, night canteen, Jethro Tull and The Doors
You could find me there, every other night, twenty years ago.
It's been a long time, since I saw those lecture halls
Some profs might still be there, who I would barely know
I did learn a few things here, though mostly, I had a ball
Those crazy days, the way we played, twenty years ago.
The frisbee games, tennis ball cricket, o' how nostalgia grows
Tall tales and cards, trips to 4th block, MG and Brigade road
Tea at 'aunties', rum 'n' cola, and late night 'video' shows
You could find me there, every Friday night, twenty years ago.
It almost seems like yesterday, where do the good times go?
Life was so much fun, twenty years ago!
39
IIMB ALUMNI MAGAZINE
And Now!
And now that I have revisited the campus, on our 20th year
reunion
Reconnected with friends and relived old times
I wonder if it will be, just an event to be remembered and
forgotten
Or will it be the beginning of something more sublime.
While some seek joy in their family and friends
And others in worldly possessions
Some look for it in career trends
Yet others in devotion.
As IIMB alumni, we can be proud
We create jobs, we innovate and we train minds
On the career front, we have several tales to be read aloud
But it seems to me, that it is true happiness that we still strive
to find
If we can make a small contribution, a small change around us
To bring happiness and hope, in the life of others less
privileged
While this might not give us lasting fame, or media accolades
It will certainly give us great joy, and pleasure unabridged.
So when we meet for our next reunion, let there be fun and wit
But along with that it will be great, if you could also bring a gift
A gift of giving, a tale of selfless act
Today, in all sincerity, let's make this solemn pact.
SUMMER 2009
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT BANGALORE
Bannerghatta Road, Bangalore - 560076, India