IT industry requirement ‘for’ India

When one thinks of IT, they can get only the picture of IT industries, serving US, UK, Australia, Singapore etc. But ironically, there is a lot that has to be done in our country with respect to Information Technology. As per the NASSCOM president, R Chandrashekar, The IT industry needs to reach out to the domestic market and there is a great requirement in these pockets of our nation.

image courtesy: isamit.in

“We need to reach out to the people in domestic market and achieve the transformation which the nation requires. Only through technologies will we get services which are accessible, convenient and affordable,” the NASSCOM chief said here today in his address at the National e-Governance conference.

Chandrashekar said there are good amount of opportunities that can be employed with new technologies like social media and cloud computing.

“We have to admit that the industry has also not looked at the domestic market as intensely and seriously as it should have,” he said.

Government can do lot better in these markets that are a good chance for infrastructure improvement as well as for job creation.  Govt. can also create an integrated platform to engage social issues like women’s safety, construction of roads and social audit.

It could be done with minimum expense and will have a big impact on the e-governance programme, and also it would be the first of its kind in the world.

There is a need to promote partnerships with industry and the government to reform the administrative processes in each of the ministries and states.

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Reasons for today’s downfall of Sensex

 

Fall of Rupee Value: The rupee falling down fast to 63 levels against the dollar and it can sink to 65 levels(1 dollor= 65 Rs.), as experts forecast. The rupee hit 62.90 in early trade on Monday, its lowest level since November 22. Low value of Rupee means the FII’s (Foreign Institutional Investor, you can also check one of my previous blog http://thekalyan.com/2014/01/10/fii-and-its-role-in-indian-markets/ ) start selling the rupee and start investing the dollors in some other markets. This creates the tension of loosing investments in the SENSEX, causing the markets to loose the shares, thus leading the market value to fall down.

 

Image courtesy: firstpost.in

Quantitative Easing: The US central bank is currently buying assets worth $85 billion per month from the marketplace which has helped ease global liquidity conditions and India has been a beneficiary with respect to continuous inflows of capital. Fed officials are seen cutting their bond-buying programme by another $10 billion.

As per the latest data, December jobless rate in the US fell to 6.7% from 7% month on month. Also, in the third quarter, the US economy grew at about 4%. All these leads in reduction in buying these assets. Therefore, any reduction in the pace of easing by the Federal Reserve is likely to affect the capital inflow and also the value of the Indian rupee.

Rise in Repo rate: As WPI (wholesale price index is at higher rate than the retail inflation, RBI may see a rise in repo rate (http://thekalyan.com/2013/12/16/rbi-what-is-repo-rate/)

Elections 2014: Last year, the stock market was sort of confident that a BJP-led government would make it to a stable govt.  but AAP will have an impact in having the BJP to have a stable govt. Latest surveys see the BJP managing a little over 200 seats, but then that won’t be enough to form a strong and stable government, which is a key factor for good markets. An instable govt., will have a less strength in the decisions because of external support by other parties, making the markets rely on the govt. standpoint.

How MBA is valuable..!!

 

Jump on the corporate ladder
: If one is working in a industry for few years and have CEO dreams or he / she is not happy with the salary he/she is getting, an MBA may just boost the need. MBA can help move from junior to middle and from middle to senior management. With a good MBA degree your senior manager designation can be turned into a GM profile in less than two years which otherwise may take five to eight years. 

An MBA also helps in commanding a higher starting salary as compared to a non-MBA with same experience. 

Not having an MBA can prove to be an obstacle in some organizations.

  

Image courtesy: einsedu.com

Change in career path: 
Marketing, finance, HR give a perspective to understand the business in various directions. 
If one has a year’s experience in sales and do not like it much, he/she can do an MBA, specialise in HR and get a job in that field. During MBA, one can also intelligently plan their internships to show focus on a new industry that they want to switch to.

Opportunities and increased earning: 
Most of the good jobs advertised want MBA listed as an essential qualification to apply. People who hold an MBA degree find different types of employment opportunities, both domestically and internationally. 

It is estimated that 70 per cent of the senior managers or board directors worldwide are MBAs. So one gets higher salaries as MBA. It is relevant to know that this growth mostly comes with longer work hours.

To start on your own: 
At the core, MBA teaches skills to manage different parts of a business and exposes a person to real world business situations using case studies and industry visits. So it is a good training ground for up coming managers and entrepreneurs. If one want to become an entrepreneur, he/she can get into an MBA programme and learn the basics of sales, marketing, business planning, finance and get started as an entrepreneur. An MBA is not essential to become an entrepreneur but it surely helps. 
May be college dropouts like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg are famous, but there are  quite a large number of entrepreneurs, who get on that path after finishing their degree.

Knowledge: Finally MBA is about acquiring knowledge. 
Ite is a great way to acquire diversified knowledge. When one puts the knowledge to work and share with others, their growth becomes faster. If one goes into an MBA with an open mind, he/she will come out a better person.

To top it all, an MBA is ticket to a fast growth career and success if you are willing to work for it.

For more info, pls check the Times of India 21st Jan 2014

FII and its role in Indian Markets

As mentioned in my previous blog “So what is FDI all about?..” FDI is about investment by a foreign investor for doing business in our country. It is also important to understand what an FII is.

Foreign Institutional investors (FIIs) are entities established or incorporated outside India and make proposals for investments in India.

 

Image courtesy: http://choosewashingtonstate.com

FIIs can invest in the stocks and debentures of the Indian companies. In order to invest in the primary and secondary capital markets in India, they have to venture through a scheme from Govt. of India called portfolio investment scheme.

FIIs are among the major sources of liquidity for the Indian markets. If FIIs are investing huge amounts in the Indian stock exchanges then it reflects their high confidence and a healthy investor sentiment for our markets. But with the current global financial turmoil and a liquidity and credit freeze in the international markets, FIIs have become net sellers (on a day to day basis).

FIIs are pension funds, mutual funds, insurance companies, investment trusts, banks, university funds, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds, hedge funds and charitable trusts. NRIs are also eligible to be registered as FIIs

As per latest government norm foreign investors with less than 10% stake in a particular stock will be considered as FII, and more than 10% stake as FDI.

Role of FII in recent downfall of Sensex –

Because of political uncertainty in the future elections, the FII’s are decreased in the start of this year. This has caused the Sensex fall for the fifth consecutive session, the worst beginning-of-the year performance since 1996.

Markets are concerned about the rising momentum behind AAP as there could lead to a hung Parliament. Meanwhile. FIIs bought stocks worth $20 billion in 2013

So what is FDI all about?

FDI – Foreign Direct Investment.

FDI in simple terms is a company from a country investing into the business of another country.

Example, Wal-Mart trying to invest into the retail markets in India. FDI can be done as investing into production, joint ventures, acquisitions or expanding the existing operations into another country.

Why India seeks FDI?

• Capital need – as the money in India is inadequate for a good economic growth
• Especially country like India when transforming from developing to developed nation!!
• FDI bring Technology, skills and business expertise
• Employment increase
• Indirectly helps increasing exports

 

Why the opposition?

• Domestic companies loose the markets
• Small enterprise face tough competition in terms of quality, knowledge, skill and technical expertise.
• Eventually, domestic companies may surrender their ownership to these companies.

Automatic route and Government route

In FDI policies, a company interested for FDI has to take prior Government approval if legislated as Government route. And no prior approval is required is automatic route.

There will be a percentage of FDI that a company can invest on –

Some of them for example are:

• FDI cap in telecom – 100% (automatic route upto 49% and beyond via govt. route)
• Insurance sector – 49% – Automatic route
• Single brand retail – 100% 49% through automatic, 49-100% through government
• Petroleum 49% in – automatic route, from earlier approval route

Why is gold price decreasing globally

As most of us are aware the gold value in international market is going down. This is directly linked to the US economy. Lets evaluate the reasons for gold value decrease.

 1.   Cutting stimulus program: U.S. Federal Reserve.

 All the following has made US Federal Reserve to cut the stimulus (a package initiated by any government to flow the economy) to $10 billion, because of

• improvement in number of jobs, 7 percent in November to a five-year low;
• retail sales climbing the most in five months in November; a boost in industrial production;
• 13.3 percent jump in housing prices, combined with a five-year high in home construction.

This made the reduction of Gold value.

2.   Stock markets boomed up.

The stock markets in the United States caught fire, and everyone seemed to be jumping into equities, as Gold offers no dividend payments

3.   Cyprus gold bailout

Cyprus is a small Mediterranean island that holds significant stores of gold. Cyprus shocked the world, and the gold market, by announcing it would sell its gold to finance a 400-million-euro bailout, and relax the underperforming banks — even hinting that the government would go after the deposits of ordinary citizens. The impact on gold was drastic, with gold falling below $1,500 for the first time in more than 18 months, as investors worried that the other European nations doing the same.

4.   Indian import restrictions

The rise in gold imports has affected the India’s current account deficit (CAD) and hence RBI has imposed restrictions on imported gold. RBI also introduced an 80:20 scheme, whereby 20 percent of imported gold had to be exported back. Gold trading was also banned in special economic zones. These measures resulted in total gold consumption in India dropping by 50 percent, from 310 tonnes in the second quarter to 148 in quarter three.

A note on Wrist Watch Industry

Though India has high potential, the current infrastructure in India is challenge. The economic slowdown has added to this making the things worse.

Buying habits of customers are shifting – customers are buying from online retail like Flipkart etc.

Mobile phones are definitely not a competition for the watch industry. Wrist watch is a style statement. Once a person is capable of earning he or she is interested to buy a watch which shows that he/she is focused on time. Every occasion demands a type of watch. Fashion watches, sports watches, digital watches, luxury etc.

Watches like Samsungs watch still need the cell phone along with them. The Samsung watch’s positioning is more on connectivity, gadget pro. Where as a wrist watch is all about focus on time sensitive person