Business Today readers give their feedback on the magazine's coverage
Business Today readers give their feedback on the magazine's coverage -
Business Today Feb 17, 2013 issue
Business Today readers give their feedback on the magazine's coverage -
Murthy's Magic
The cover story on Infosys (Missing Murthy, February 17) is well written. Infosys today lives only on its past glory. It is in danger of looking ordinary. All the good things that happened at Infosys did so when N.R. Narayana Murthy was at the helm. With each change at the top, growth has come down by half. If not for the rupee depreciation by 20 per cent, the growth last year under S.D. Shibulal would have been three per cent. The earlier Murthy gets back to the helm, the better it is for the company.
- Munish, on email
Mallya's Mistake
The feature on Kingfisher Airlines (Waiting for the Westerlies, February 17) highlights the airline's real troubles. Captain G.R. Gopinath, through his innovative low-cost airline Air Deccan, had given the aam aadmi the hope that he, too, could fly. At one point, the Railways had a tough time getting passengers for luxury rail travel because most preferred using a cheap airline instead. But Vijay Mallya followed just the opposite strategy after acquiring Air Deccan, bringing in luxury and raising fares as well, on his Kingfisher Red. But the airline is now itself in the red. It is saddled with an accumulated loss of Rs 10,000 crore. Its woes will not end by just infusing more funds. Hope the common man gets a chance to enjoy low-cost comfortable air travel again soon.
- Mahendra K. Nayak, Bhubaneswar
Brand Modi
The story about Gujarat (Distant Drums, February 17) was interesting. No doubt Modi has been more successful than any of his predecessors in packaging the state's strengths. And brand Modi is riding high. Politicians and managers in corporate houses should work like him. In fact, his style lays down what the new manager's style should be.
- Akhilesh Kumar Sah, Faizabad
Sensational?
I would like to put into context the rather sensationalised piece on Biocon that was reported in Business Today (If I were to make a product, I would not do it in India, January 20, 2013).
My comments were directed to the policymakers within government to roll out urgent policies that would provide the very successful Indian pharma sector with enabling entitlements that could build formidable and unbeatable global leadership in product development and manufacturing.
The success of the Indian pharma industry today is thanks to entrepreneurial leadership. This needs to be enhanced through government investing in supporting infrastructure, expanding regulatory bandwidth that eliminates delays and implementation of the Foreign University Bill to build high-end skills. I would like to categorically state that I believe unequivocally in the "India advantage" in pharma and continue to develop products leveraging our English-speaking talent and low-cost operational advantage.
My comments were aimed at the future if urgent enabling steps were not taken today. Biocon continues to expand its manufacturing base in India as it does its R&D, and I remain confident in establishing India as a leading global development and manufacturing hub. India's pharma sector is the secondlargest sector after IT, with a potential to attain a size of $100 billion by 2025. The government must ensure that we realise this potential.
- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon Limited
(The Editor notes: We take Ms Mazumdar-Shaw's points, but her comments carried in the January 20, 2013 issue, as also the headline, were a faithful reproduction of her interview with Govindraj Ethiraj on Headlines Today.)
Business Today receives scores of responses to its case studies. Below is the best one on Punjab Tractors Ltd (December 23, 2012)
Mahindra put its faith in Punjab Tractors Ltd. PTL had a formidable line-up of products, which had made a mark on the market. The problem was its Augean stable. Appointing farsighted personnel at the helm, who successfully dissected the ills that plagued PTL, was well begun but half done. M&M's aim in acquiring PTL was to gain a clear lead over TAFE, which was breathing down its neck after acquiring Eicher Motors Ltd. M&M needed to infuse new life into once-roaring brands such as 'Swaraj', which was now staring at death. It needed to realign, revitalise and revive the product pipeline. The firepower of PTL's products was never in doubt. The problem was gross mismanagement. PTL's products were revitalised by overhauling the entire setup without tampering with the strengths of its brands. The labour union was also persuaded into seeing sense in the process. PTL's products surprisingly even gave M&M's own products a run for their money. Most importantly, they took M&M leagues ahead of TAFE. - Avinash Iyer [avina123@yahoo.co.in]
(Avinash Iyer wins a Harvard Business School Press pocket mentor)
Murthy's Magic
The cover story on Infosys (Missing Murthy, February 17) is well written. Infosys today lives only on its past glory. It is in danger of looking ordinary. All the good things that happened at Infosys did so when N.R. Narayana Murthy was at the helm. With each change at the top, growth has come down by half. If not for the rupee depreciation by 20 per cent, the growth last year under S.D. Shibulal would have been three per cent. The earlier Murthy gets back to the helm, the better it is for the company.
- Munish, on email
Mallya's Mistake
The feature on Kingfisher Airlines (Waiting for the Westerlies, February 17) highlights the airline's real troubles. Captain G.R. Gopinath, through his innovative low-cost airline Air Deccan, had given the aam aadmi the hope that he, too, could fly. At one point, the Railways had a tough time getting passengers for luxury rail travel because most preferred using a cheap airline instead. But Vijay Mallya followed just the opposite strategy after acquiring Air Deccan, bringing in luxury and raising fares as well, on his Kingfisher Red. But the airline is now itself in the red. It is saddled with an accumulated loss of Rs 10,000 crore. Its woes will not end by just infusing more funds. Hope the common man gets a chance to enjoy low-cost comfortable air travel again soon.
- Mahendra K. Nayak, Bhubaneswar
Brand Modi
The story about Gujarat (Distant Drums, February 17) was interesting. No doubt Modi has been more successful than any of his predecessors in packaging the state's strengths. And brand Modi is riding high. Politicians and managers in corporate houses should work like him. In fact, his style lays down what the new manager's style should be.
- Akhilesh Kumar Sah, Faizabad
Sensational?
I would like to put into context the rather sensationalised piece on Biocon that was reported in Business Today (If I were to make a product, I would not do it in India, January 20, 2013).
My comments were directed to the policymakers within government to roll out urgent policies that would provide the very successful Indian pharma sector with enabling entitlements that could build formidable and unbeatable global leadership in product development and manufacturing.
The success of the Indian pharma industry today is thanks to entrepreneurial leadership. This needs to be enhanced through government investing in supporting infrastructure, expanding regulatory bandwidth that eliminates delays and implementation of the Foreign University Bill to build high-end skills. I would like to categorically state that I believe unequivocally in the "India advantage" in pharma and continue to develop products leveraging our English-speaking talent and low-cost operational advantage.
My comments were aimed at the future if urgent enabling steps were not taken today. Biocon continues to expand its manufacturing base in India as it does its R&D, and I remain confident in establishing India as a leading global development and manufacturing hub. India's pharma sector is the secondlargest sector after IT, with a potential to attain a size of $100 billion by 2025. The government must ensure that we realise this potential.
- Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman & Managing Director, Biocon Limited
(The Editor notes: We take Ms Mazumdar-Shaw's points, but her comments carried in the January 20, 2013 issue, as also the headline, were a faithful reproduction of her interview with Govindraj Ethiraj on Headlines Today.)
BEST OF THE LOT
Business Today receives scores of responses to its case studies. Below is the best one on Punjab Tractors Ltd (December 23, 2012)
Mahindra put its faith in Punjab Tractors Ltd. PTL had a formidable line-up of products, which had made a mark on the market. The problem was its Augean stable. Appointing farsighted personnel at the helm, who successfully dissected the ills that plagued PTL, was well begun but half done. M&M's aim in acquiring PTL was to gain a clear lead over TAFE, which was breathing down its neck after acquiring Eicher Motors Ltd. M&M needed to infuse new life into once-roaring brands such as 'Swaraj', which was now staring at death. It needed to realign, revitalise and revive the product pipeline. The firepower of PTL's products was never in doubt. The problem was gross mismanagement. PTL's products were revitalised by overhauling the entire setup without tampering with the strengths of its brands. The labour union was also persuaded into seeing sense in the process. PTL's products surprisingly even gave M&M's own products a run for their money. Most importantly, they took M&M leagues ahead of TAFE. - Avinash Iyer [avina123@yahoo.co.in]
(Avinash Iyer wins a Harvard Business School Press pocket mentor)
