Funds make part exit from Everonn Education

Everonn Education shares witnessed sharp spurt in trading volumes on Wednesday, as some big institutions made part exit from the company. The stock, which was in the positive territory during the earlier part of the day, failed to sustain gains and closed 2.13 per cent lower at Rs. 247.7 on the BSE. Trading volumes rose over seven fold to 5.36 million shares against its two-week average of 697,000 shares. On the NSE, 11.4 million shares changed hands, of which only about 16 per cent was deliverable quantity.

Institutions which sold shares of the company include Morgan Stanley, JF Eastern Smaller Companies Fund, Clariden Leu and Lloyd George Investment Management. These funds offloaded about 14 million shares, according to bulk deal data available with the exchanges. As against this, bulk buyers were found only for 362,000 shares. Among the buyers were Edelweiss, Morgan Stanley (12,742 shares) and Citi (100,000 shares).

The stock crashed 45 per cent in the last five trading sessions. Everonn has been under pressure since September 2, when the company had said its Managing Director, Mr. P. Kishore, has been taken into judicial custody. Mr. Kishore was arrested for allegedly giving a bribe to conceal taxable income.

Source: The Hindu Business Line, September 8, 2011

IIM-B, IIM-C may extend campus placement period

A year after the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), changed its final placement process, its peers in Bangalore and Calcutta, IIM-B and IIM-C, plan to alter their final placement process for the next year. Both institutes are in consultation with each other to put in place a process that will extend the final placement period, making it less stressful for both students and participating companies.

“In the next five-six weeks, we will introduce changes in the placement process. Companies have expressed that they want more time for it. We, too, realised that it gets too stressful and hectic for students,” said a placement official from IIM-C. The changes in the placement process also take into consideration the fact that these institutes have increased their batch sizes. Thus, students and companies would get more time to interact. IIM-B, for instance, will have 375 students, against 350 from the earlier batch. At IIM-C, 362 students will be placed this year. The numbers will go up to 425 and 462 students at IIM-B and IIM-C, respectively, for the 2011-13 batch.

A professor at IIM-B said till IIM-A changed its placement process, most firms visited IIM-A, IIM-B and IIM-C during the same time of the year for final placements. A poor job market in 2009 had forced B-schools to review their placement strategy. In fact, the changes IIM-B and IIM-C are bringing in, are more or less in sync with that of IIM-A’s, where students and companies can get ample time to evaluate each other. “A spread out placement process will make our task easier to schedule firms during placements,” said the professor.

IIM-A, incidentally, was the first IIM to make changes in its placement process last year, by bringing in the cohort-based system. Under the system, every weekend saw firms from a particular sector visiting the campus as a cluster. International investment banks and consulting firms formed the first cluster. The process carried on for well over a month. The new system will ensure more interaction time between students and firms.

Source: Business Standard, September 8, 2011

FMS students and faculty protest as DU turns to CAT

The students, faculty members, administrative staff and alumni of the New Delhi-based Faculty of Management Studies (FMS) have opposed the Delhi University (DU) move to scrap the institute’s own entrance test, and instead switch to the Common Admission Test (CAT). FMS used to conduct its own entrance test for the MBA and PhD programmes every year. The members were agitated because the decision to join the non-IIM B-schools in accepting CAT scores was taken at the last moment and the brochures for this year’s December 4 exams were ready for sale. DU, which represents FMS, has meanwhile approached the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) for accepting CAT scores — a test promoted by the IIMs.

In a letter sent by DU on August 25, the university said it would be unable to conduct the FMS entrance exam this year. According to the letter, the university is “severely strained by the burden of the exams conducted, on a national level by other departments”. With DU moving from the annual exams pattern to the semester system, the university felt it was short of manpower to conduct the exam. Confirming the move by FMS, Janakiraman Moorthy, Convenor of CAT 2011 and faculty member at IIM-Calcutta (IIM-C) said: “Yes, FMS has approached us for accepting CAT scores. While the procedure is pending, a decision is most likely to be arrived at within this week.”

According to FMS sources, cost was not an issue as the Delhi University was earning from the sale of forms. On its part, the university declined to comment on the concerns of the faculty members and students. However, a student speaking on the condition of anonymity, said: “DU is not ready to explore options. It can possibly postpone the exam this year, if it intends to and can outsource the FMS entrance exam from next year as IIMs do. DU is simply shifting its burden to CAT.”

According to FMS faculty, the move will primarily dilute the brand. “FMS will become just one among many colleges enrolled with CAT. The pattern of FMS entrance test was very different from the CAT exam giving more focus on verbal ability and is a speed-based test. Joining CAT would actually not serve our purpose in taking the kind of candidates we want,” said a faculty member. FMS students also feel this will dent the institute’s brand image.They are gathering online support of their alumni through social media platforms and online petitions.

The FMS decision to accept CAT scores comes at a time when the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have also decided to do away wih the Joint Management Entrance Test (JMET) in favour of CAT. The decade-old entrance exam for the business schools run by the IITs and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has given way to the CAT promoted by the IIMs.

The move by the Delhi University may be in consonance with HRD Minister Kapil Sibal’s directive of replacing multiple exams of one type with one exam to save time and effort. According to the minutes of the meeting held by the FMS faculty on Monday, the decision to replace the FMS exam with CAT was taken up owing to the university’s expressed inability to help conduct the test. If the FMS joins CAT, the university will have to shell out a one-time registration fee of Rs. 50,000 and an annual fee of Rs. 200,000 in addition to Rs. 200 per candidate to obtain the CAT scores. Last year 66,000 students had taken the FMS entrance test.

Source: Business Standard, September 8, 2011

Indian Institute of Science allays fears over Huawei tie-up

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has assured the Ministry of Communications that its upcoming telecom lab in Bangalore does not pose any security threat despite its tie-up with China’s telecom gear-maker Huawei Technologies. The lab is being built solely to address the concerns raised by intelligence and security agencies over the Chinese vendors. The Department of Telecom in the ministry will soon notify the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), which had raised concerns about IISc’s collaboration with Huawei, especially regarding cyber security.

The Economic Times had first reported in June that Huawei Technologies, a major supplier to Indian mobile phone firms and the object of the Indian government’s suspicion, had been enlisted to provide know-how and equipment for a facility that will be a clearing house for all imported telecom gear. The report added that the Chinese vendor had signed a memorandum of understanding with IISc under which Huawei would provide “documentation, expertise, methods and standards for studying telecom equipment”.

Huawei is the world’s second-largest telecom gear maker after Ericsson, with 2010 revenues of $28 billion. The government has been suspicious that it and another Chinese company, ZTE, could use the telecom equipment they supply to snoop on India and even launch cyber attacks. IISc, in its reply, has clarified that “the lab was fully funded by the telecoms department and not a single paise had been received from any company for this work”. “The issue of anyone else funding this activity was never discussed, or offered or raised by anyone,” it added. ET reviewed a copy of this communication.

“In order for IISc to perform certain studies in respect of telecom equipments, IISc shall be requiring detailed understanding about various features, standards and related documentation. Huawei…agrees to share some information, knowledge, software, hardware and equipments with IISc for its studies,” said the MoU between both partners. It also says that both of them can visit each other’s facilities, including Huawei’s manufacturing plants and logistics centres.

The IISc centre was given funding by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee in the 2010-11 budget. It is being modelled after the China Information Technology Certification Centre that operates and maintains a national evaluation and certification scheme for China’s IT and telecom security.

Source: The Economic Times, September 8, 2011

IIM-Ahmedabad publishes audited employment data

The Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has published audited employment data for its three full-time management programmes. CRISIL has audited the data and verified that it has been published in keeping with the new Indian Placement Reporting Standards (IPRS), pioneered by the IIM-A. The data is based on IIM-A’s flagship post-graduate programme, the PG programme in Agribusiness Management and the one for Management Executives.

The IIM-A-pioneered IPRS aims to standardise reporting of placement statistics, says a press release. The framework can be adopted by other business schools. The IPRS specifies the standard format in which the aggregate statistics will be reported across function, sector, and location. The aggregate statistics to be published include minimum, maximum, median and average salaries across every parameter. The framework envisages a demarcation of performance-linked compensation from fixed salary, thus enabling a more realistic understanding of compensation offered on campus. The standards also require that employment data be audited by an independent auditor.

Dr. Samir Barua, Director IIM-A, has been quoted as saying: “This is an important step towards self-regulation. The credibility of the data is enhanced by the fact that it has been audited by an independent auditor.” CRISIL’s audit process involved validating the information in the placement report with offer letters and communication of salaries received directly from recruiters. Ms. Roopa Kudva, MD and CEO, CRISIL, said, “We believe this will mark a shift from the excessive focus on the ‘highest salary paid’ to comprehensive compensation data covering all students in the class which presents a more realistic picture.” The press release said this initiative will help students make more meaningful comparisons of business schools, keeping their choice of roles and geographic preferences in mind.

Source: The Hindu Business Line, September 8, 2011

IIIT Bill stalled in RS over faculty quota

The government was unable to get a Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday as Congress MP J D Seelam proposed for reservation in faculty in institutions of excellence, which was supported by the BSP, RJD and LJP members. Seelam demanded reservation for SC/ST and OBC candidates in the Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT), Design and Manufacturing, Kancheepuram, soon after Human Resource Development (HRD) minister Kapil Sibal moved the Bill which seeks to upgrade it to an institute of national importance.

As Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan was about to ask for a voice vote for the passage of the Bill without discussion, Seelam raised the issue of reservation, prompting members of the BSP, RJD, LJP and the Left to seek discussion on the Bill. S C Mishra of the BSP accused the Congress and BJP of reaching an understanding for passage of the Bill without debate.

Sibal said while there is reservation in admissions in the institutions of national importance, there’s no such provision in the case of faculty. Amidst acrimonious scenes, Khan adjourned the House for 15 minutes. Senior ministers, including P Chidambaram, Sibal and Pawan Kumar Bansal, were visibly upset with Seelam.

When the House reassembled and Sibal clarified that there was no provision of reservation in the faculty, BSP, RJD and LJP members rushed into the well and shouted slogans against the government. The House was adjourned for 30 minutes. The Bill has already been passed by the Lok Sabha.

Source: The Indian Express, September 8, 2011

No sign of job slowdown at IIMs this year

Telecom companies are downsizing, so are some stock brokerages, and information technology (IT) firms are watchful. There are more than a few jitters in the job market, but none of that is taking away the lure of B-Schools. Early data flowing in from at least five Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) suggests that companies, especially MNCs, will hire more from campuses this year than the last.

IIM-Calcutta (IIM-C) has already received 45 pre-placement offers, or PPOs, and 17 pre-placement interviews, or PPIs, for students in the 2012 batch. International banks such as RBS, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered have made many of the early PPOs. Consulting firms like McKinsey & Co, BCG, Bain & Co, FMCG major Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and software giant Microsoft are also in the fray. The institute had received 92 PPOs last year. “Our estimates indicate the numbers this time are slightly higher,” says the institute’s Chairman-Placements, Amit Dhiman. He added that IIM-C has already received multiple offers from major international financial hubs such as New York (Wall Street), London, Singapore and Hong Kong, despite concerns of a financial slowdown.

IIM-Indore (IIM-I) and IIM-Kozhikode (IIM-K) have already raced past their respective PPO figures for the previous year. “The numbers are rising sharply over the last two weeks. Most of the companies start delivering their PPO/PPI status in September,” Ashish Sadh, Chairman-Placements at IIM-Indore, said.

This is just the beginning
Companies such as Citibank, American Express, Deutsche Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra, HUL, Cognizant, Tata Motors, TCS, Set MAX, Madura Garments and Cummins have made offers at the institute. Prof. PD Jose, Chairman-Placements at IIM-Bangalore (IIM-B), said, “Such (hiring) decisions reflect the expectations of companies with regards to the future economic outlook.” IIM-B said ‘the trend looks healthy’, but IIM-Ahmedabad (IIM-A) did not share any numbers.

“More than 50% of the PPOs are from strategy consulting firms. The conversion rate (of internship to PPO) at the top five consulting firms is greater than 90%. Finance is the next big sector, with 33% of PPOs so far,” said Sapna Agarwal, career development services head at IIM-B. The institute had received 90 PPOs last year. Aruna Krishnan, GM-Talent Engagement & Development at Wipro, said, “There is no cause for concern with regards to slowdown in hiring. It is a continuous process for the company to hire talent from top B-schools to fill leadership positions.”

Deloitte CPO Dhananjay Bansod added, “Our agenda is growth and we will continue to hire for growth.” Companies make pre-placement offers to candidates who intern with them for around two months during the summers. Early offers indicate employers want to retain talent ahead of the final placements in January next year. Pre-placement offers have just started flowing in. The window will be open till January-February until final placements kick off. Typically, PPOs from investment banks come October onwards, so a good chunk of PPOs is yet to come.

“Considering that September is the most productive month, we expect a definite rise compared with last year,” Anmol Bhalla, placement committee coordinator at IIM-I, said. Still, 2012 will not be without challenges. Many IIMs have increased batch sizes this year; IIM-I, for example, has gone from 240 to 450. Among the non-IIM B-schools, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies has received a total of 18 PPO & PPIs from JPMorgan Chase, Cummins India and Idea Cellular. “Recruiters’ perception has been encouraging this year,” said Shobha Pai, Director-Placements, School of Business Management, at the institute. Management Development Institute (MDI)-Gurgaon too has received about 20 PPOs and 23 PPIs, compared with a total of 41 PPOs last year.

Source: The Economic Times, September 8, 2011

More loans for IIMs but nil for vocational courses

For those seeking educational loans to achieve their academic dreams, here is cause for cheer: Students choosing academic courses in India can now borrow up to Rs.10 lakh (Rs. 1 million), up from the previous Rs. 700,000. For overseas programmes, the ceiling will be Rs. 20 lakh (Rs. 2 million). However, those pursuing vocational courses, skill development courses, off-campus courses and on-site or partnership programmes in the country and diploma courses and certificate courses abroad will no longer be eligible for educational loans. These are part of the new guidelines for educational loans issued by the Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) to its member banks.

Banks will now have the freedom to consider a higher loan for special courses such as those in institutes like the premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). Moreover, for loans up to Rs. 750,000, the repayment period has now been extended from five years to 10 while for loans above Rs. 750,000, it has been extended from five years up to 15 years. Moreover, students seeking admission to an educational institution through the management quota too cannot avail themselves of an educational loan as part of a directive by the Ministry of Finance to banks asking them to revamp existing educational loan schemes. The revamp also extends the repayment period for loans. While banks are now free to fix their own interest rates, the government will extend a 1% interest concession during the study or moratorium period. However, banks must charge lower rates for loans up to Rs. 400,000 with a concession of up to 50 basis points for girl students.

According to the guidelines, merit will be the sole criteria used by banks to assess loan candidates. However, postgraduate studies leading to PG degrees and PG diplomas offered by reputed institutes / universities will be covered by educational loans. However vocational / skill development study courses, off-campus courses and on-site / partnership programmes are not eligible for loan under the new IBA scheme. What is also new is that courses for teachers training, nursing and B.Ed courses will be eligible for education loans, provided the training institutions are approved either by the central government or the state government. Such courses should necessarily result in a degree or diploma course and not just a certification.

Banks can ignore the financial position of parents while evaluating loans to a meritorious student. The repayment possibilities have to be based on the projected future earnings of the student on employment after education. To avoid being subjective, banks can rely on market information to gauge the earning potential for various careers as also the repayment capability.

Source: The Financial Express, September 8, 2011

IITs eyeing higher corporate funding for their research projects

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), India’s premier technology institutes, are eyeing higher corporate funding for their research projects. IITs want to decrease their dependence on government research grants and look attractive to corporates for research tie-up.

While IIT-Bombay’s research fund grew by 80% to Rs. 180 crore (Rs. 1.8 billion) from Rs. 100 crore (Rs. 1 billion) last year, only Rs. 22 crore (Rs. 220 million) came from the private industry. “Although our research is funded predominantly by the government, the funds from the industry are growing much faster and we are focusing on that. We want to have to have a broader linkage with the industry,” says Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Dean of R&D at IIT-Bombay.

And they are doing this with support in setting up research laboratories, creating collaborative projects between faculty and students and getting research projects sponsored. IIT-Kharagpur’s research fund has been hovering between Rs. 120 (Rs. 1.2 billion) and Rs. 170 crore (Rs. 1.7 billion) for the last five years, but the institute expects the number to grow. It has attracted Rs. 120 crore funding from Damodar Valley Corporation to carry out advanced research in power technology. “We are making concentrated efforts to make IIT-Kharagpur a hub for innovation,” said Prof. Chakraborty, Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy (SRIC) at the institute.

Prof. Banerjee of IIT-Bombay says the institute want to sustain a 40% growth in R&D fund year-on-year after having doubled forecast. IIT-Madras too is expecting to increase its research fund to Rs. 200 crore (Rs. 2 billion) this year from Rs. 150 crore (Rs. 1.5 billion) in the last financial year. The institute has already clocked in Rs. 120 crore (Rs. 1.2 billion) this year.

These institutes are also promoting research at the college level. IIT-Delhi invites students to spend the summer doing research on a subject of their choice. Apart from using alumni donations, the college also funds student and faculty projects with a seed money of Rs. 1 crore (Rs. 10 million). “The idea is to be in the forefront and not lag behind. Efforts like these give us more exposure and help in competing with the universities abroad,” said Prof. SN Singh, Dean, Industrial Research and Development at IIT-Delhi. The institute is involved in a major project in the field of nanotechnology with a Rs. 50-crore (Rs. 500 million) grant from the Ministry of Information Technology.

Such collaborations with the government and the industry is shaping a new approach towards research. According to Singh, encouraging faculty and students to get involved in research will give them more exposure. The variety and scope of the projects are also interesting. For instance, the government of India has set up a tea engineering research center at IIT-Kharagpur for revamping tea making technologies. “We want to promote interdisciplinary research at IIT. If we are able to take on our problems and try to solve them, it will bring out immense learning,” said Chakraborty.

Patent filing too is beginning to gain as much importance as research itself. IIT-Bombay for instance, looks for patent-worthy ideas from thesis and dissertations submitted by graduate students. The spurt of activity happening on the licensing side is giving fillip for the IITs to push reseach further. IIT-Bombay received around Rs. 24 crore (Rs. 240 million) of licensing revenue this financial year.

Source: The Economic Times, September 8, 2011