Wednesday, June 02, 2010

Back away

Hmix of a rom-com with a slightly pungent taste of explicit humour

The Backup Plan needs to buck-up if it plans to do good business at the box office. Attracting the crowd on J-Lo’s (Jennifer Lopez) pretext would not suffice for this drag of an epic which atrociously stretches for around 2 hours. No doubt the movie begins in an interesting manner and there are funny and romantic sequences all through, but gross scenes showing loud uncouth women delivering a baby in a tub and trying to portray it as funny is probably the epitome of misconception.

The movie starts to pinch after a while when such disgusting motherhood cravings are blatantly shown onscreen. Jennifer Lopez gracefully comes on screen as a pet shop owner who is a self made woman and has only a granny to call her family. Her urge to have a kid is satisfied when she artificially gets herself inseminated and takes the bold step to greet motherhood all by herself.

Never having met Mr. Right, she least expects to run into him (Alex O’Loughlin) so soon after she makes this giant leap in her personal life. How Mr. Right actually plays along and supports this not so single mommy is fun to watch. It was also fun to see the ‘dog whisperer’ Cesar Millan on screen sharing his favourite ‘how to be a pack leader?’ tips! Although the little pooch, who mostly steals the show, is an interesting companion for the hot diva; one shall not miss the scene when J Lo’s granny walks the aisle and unites with her 97 year old fiancé at the altar. But there aren’t too many back ups beyond that.

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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Thursday, April 08, 2010

Explore the many facets of nature in Karnataka.

gokarna
Planning a quick and reinvigorating getaway this summer? Coastal Karnataka, with its crystal clear seas, mind-blowing beaches and captivating sunsets, is the place for you. A few days out there in the sun and sand are guaranteed to get you back into top throttle. Make Gokarna your base. Located in a coastal area, it is a famous pilgrimage centre surrounded by a dense jungle. It also has four beaches.

Kudle beach is about a 20-minute walk from Gokarna. This beach has simple huts and eating places. OM Beach is 30 minutes further south. The beach got its name because it is shaped like the auspicious ‘Om’ sign. There are some really basic huts and tea shops along this beach. There are two more beaches near Gokarna, Half Moon and Paradise, each a 30-minute walk from one another. You can get bottled water and food on all the beaches near Gokarna.

If you make your way through coastal Karnataka, there are some places that you can’t overlook. Maravanthe beach, for instance. The drive to the picturesque beach is an unforgettable experience in itself. It is located 50 km from Udupi, a seaside town, where NH-17 cruises along with the Arabian Sea on one side and the Sauparnika river on the other against the backdrop of the Kodachadri Hills.

You can get here by train and bus. The Konkan Railway passes close to Gokarna. Express trains stop at Karwar, Kumta (23km), and Ankola (25km). Ppassenger train stops at Gokarna Road (10km). A bus departs from Gokarna at 11 am to meet the train going to Margao at 11.30 am. Gokarna Road Station (70487) is 9 km from the town of Gokarna.

kabini Reservoir
A ride on State Highway 33 taks you to Kabini Reservoir, 50-odd km from Nagarhole National Park. Here, the lush green forest and the waters combine to create an ambience difficult to describe in words. Easy accessibility may be the reason for Kabini’s popularity. It is 80 km from Mysore and 220 km from Bangalore.

The river, which originates in Wayanad district of Kerala, flows eastwards and joins the Cauvery. The area around the reservoir was once a favorite hunting spot of Maharajas of Mysore. Later, British Viceroys took a liking for the place.

Kabini is at its most beautiful when it rains. The winds whistle through the forest and the stream gushes along with gusto, creating a wonderful symphony. But the place yields just as many delights in summer. Large congregations of Asiatic elephants gather here when the river recedes to reveal rich grass meadows on the banks. Other wild animals and birds arrive to add to the beauty of Kabini.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Taking One step forward...

How to make the concept of microfinance work in India

If before Independence, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose said “Give me blood and I will give you freedom", then today every unemployed Indian youth says “Give me some money and I will help you build a prosperous India.” Ideas flowing from the remotest corner of the country are equally brilliant but fail to flourish for sheer lack of access to capital. But things are changing. Thanks to the emergence of microfinance. Recent reports reveal an interesting picture. Microfinance is serving 86.2 million clients in India. The portfolio reached Rs 351 billion, according to The Bharat Microfinance Report, 2009 by Sa-Dhan, the Association of Community Development Finance Institutions. Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) have succeeded to cover over 71 per cent of the 331 of the poorest districts of India in 2009. In total, 413 districts, today, avail the benefits of microfinance all over India. What more interesting to notice is that 93 per cent of the active borrowers are women. And over 7.7 million are from SC/ST or minority groups. Even the growth of MFIs is quite satisfactory. MFIs with portfolio of over Rs 50 crore were growing by 40.5 per cent during 2006-08. Similarly, MFIs with portfolio of over Rs 5 crore to Rs 50 crore are growing by 97.5 per cent. And MFIs with below Rs 5 crore are growing at the rate of 78 per cent. This is raising the debate for consideration of the need, relevance and urgency of a standard regulatory framework for MFIs.

However, certain areas should be considered seriously to make microfinance an effective tool for social transformation. Firstly, as Dr Prakash Bakshi, executive director, NABARD says “saving protection is the first step forward of microfinancing”. People in villages have money and they want secure saving methods which can later work as capital. The NREGA alone created eight crore accounts in the villages. Villagers are getting money from many welfare schemes or small business entities. Secondly, institutions have to ensure the assurance of loans given as per the needs of the borrower and not as per their own whims and fancies and at their own convenience. The repayment procedure of loans should be flexible. For example, the client may earn income after four months post-investment. But forcing him to repay the loan on a weekly or a monthly basis would make it very tough for him to repay. Thus, he would become more prone to defaulting. Moreover, India’s practice of equity capital adequacy ratio against loan is very strict. For example, for a loan of Rs 10,000, a client should have equity capital of around Rs 2, 000 which is very high compared to many other nations. Most importantly, a mere Rs 10,000 one time loan will not guarantee the upgradation of the standard of living of the borrowers. The need of the day is a long term empowerment scheme. All in all, to make microfinancing effective, the country needs a self-regulatory body, more like Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) or Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to ensure accountability and transparency. And who can better justify it other than Mr Chuck Waterfield, CEO & President, MFTransparency as he says “micro-credit is not an exchange of negotiations between two equal parties and thus need monitoring.”
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, March 30, 2010

International adoption is emerging out as a new illegal business

According to an adoption advocacy organisation in the US, around 13 countries have put a ban on international adoption. There have been numerous cases where adoptive parents later kill the children or these orphans find themselves in foster care. So much so that these so-called orphans turn out to be local children and not actually orphans. This can be exemplified by recent arrests of American missionaries in Haiti — accused of trafficking 33 Haitian children out of the quake-stricken country. A few countries use this process for exporting their socially detested or undesirable children to foreign families.

All in all, international community (viz. Hauge, UNICEF) need to urgently give a pause to the on-going glamourisation of international adoption and make it more transparent and regulated process. In the light of natural disaster and social and civil unrest, it is pertinent for countries to arrange bilateral arrangements and developed agencies based on proper accreditation norms. Otherwise soon this gratifying gesture of better-off society will take a shape of gigantic business and become an ‘icon’ among modern families. The present form of international adoption provides a different life, but do not promise a better life. What else could be the reason behind an American flying a thousand miles to adopt a baby while the next-door Canadians prefer adopting, more than 100,000 children, from the US itself? In the same breath, a very few Americans find time to adopt orphans after the Katrina or Rita disasters; but don’t mind flying thousands of miles away and adopt a few so-called orphans from Africa, Korea or other south Asian nations. Sounds quite morbid, isn’t it?
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Row over misuse of uniform

Actor Mohanlal under attack for appearing in gold ad

Superstar Lieutenant Colonel Mohanlal, who fought several villains in reel life, is drawing flak from social activists in real life. His fault: He appeared in a gold advertisement wearing a military dress. The incident infuriated Dr. Sukumar Azheekkode, a prominent Malayalam writer, orator and cultural activist. He accused actor Mohanlal of misusing the military dress in an advertisement that appeared in several local newspapers on the Independence Day of 2009 for Malabar Gold — a jewellery network.

“Mohanlal was offered the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by territorial army just because he acted in a few films as army officer. And now he uses his uniform to sell jewellery,” alleges Azheekkode.

Mohanlal catapulted to fame in 2009 when he was granted the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His die-hard fans in Kerala had welcomed the move because this was for the first time in Indian cinema that an actor got such recognition for his stellar performance in the film Keerthichakra (which portrayed the Army’s anti-militancy operations in Jammu and Kashmir). Besides, he has also acted in Kurukshetra (which dealt with the Kargil War). He is an iconic figure in Kerala. That is why the chairman of the Malabar Gold A. P. Ahmmed is unperturbed by his criticism. He says Mohanlal has been our brand ambassador for the last six years and he has never done anything to hurt people’s sentiments. “He had appeared in military uniform for our advertisement on the Independence Day. So what is wrong in it,” he says. Ahmmed asked protesters not to make a mountain out of a molehill.

But Azheekkode is in no mood to back down. Calling it an “anti-national activity,” he wants Mohanlal to apologise for misusing the military uniform. He claims to have also spoken to Defense Minister A. K. Antony regarding the critical issue. He tells TSI that the defense minister had even called him and received his complaint. But all these are having no impact on Mohanlal as he has refused to air his comment on the issue. For the time being, he is maintaining a low profile in the hope that the controversy would peter out.

Azheekkode is also opposing the state government’s move to nominate Mohanlal as the brand ambassador to promote khadi products. “A person who endorses liquor (in an advertisement for a liquor company) is now promoting khadi products. This is an insult to Mahatma Gandhi,” says Azhikode, who is a Gandhian. Both Azhikode and Mohanlal have not been on speaking terms for a long time. Relationship between them turned sour after Azhikode had sided with veteran actor Thilakan whose outburst against Mohanlal had led to his suspension from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA), organisation of film actors.

The incident has not dented Mohanlal’s popularity in the state.
For Complete IIPM Article, Click on IIPM Article

Source : IIPM Editorial, 2009


An IIPM and Professor Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist) Initiative

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Outlook Magazine money editor quits
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