Experience the international learning with IIM Kashipur

Learning about global cultures and practices is a crucial part of the process of becoming a manager in today’s business context. With this objective in mind, IIM Kashipur strives to expose the students to international dynamics through its student exchange programs. With the growing number of foreign partner institutions across 3 continents, and the eager participation from students, we are well on our way to building a vibrant exchange culture.

Student exchange happens through 2 programs, the first being the Long Term Student Exchange Program which takes place in Term 5 for MBA Core. The process is kickstarted in the month of January every year for the exchange which usually takes place during the months of October to December. Once the students are selected and all procedural formalities are done, they leave for their respective allotted foreign institutes to complete 1 full term of their course.

The students are able to study among the best minds of the country and learn from incredible faculties. Interacting with them exposes the students to various nuances of business dynamics in foreign countries which include Greece, France, Israel, UK and more. Students also learn about the cultures through the local food, art, music etc. The exchange program also gives an opportunity for students to travel across the country they are visiting, make acquaintances and establish networks.

This does not end here, IIM Kashipur also started the Short Term Exchange Program (STEP) in the year 2019-20 where students visited ALBA Graduate Business School, Greece. STEP is a 2-week international study program that takes place right after Term 6 ends, where students can visit an institute with the purpose of learning short courses and immersing themselves in the local culture thereafter.

With the introduction of the first-ever MBA Analytics batch, we hope to include them into the Long Term Exchange Program as soon as possible, so that they can also enjoy the benefits of learning in an international setting along with their peers in the core batch.

About the author:

Bibhudat Bihari is pursuing his MBA at IIM Kashipur majoring in Marketing and Finance. He is the secretary of the International Relations Committee at the institute and is also a member of the quiz club. You can connect with him on Linkedin

Stand for yourself! | Choose to Challenge

On this occasion of International Women’s Day, we need to look back at what we have accomplished for the better status of women in society and what more needs to be done. The status of women be it in the economic, social, or political sphere, needs to be analyzed and needs to make sure that gender is not a factor anymore.

We have several government support programs, social media campaigns, and women activism movements, but a lot remain to claim significant improvements in this regard. The hidden issues which are still behind closed doors can be looked at only when the people who suffer get a voice of their own, that is, women.

If we have a peek in the economic sphere, women contribute mostly in unpaid labor, which includes taking care of the family, bearing children, taking care of the house. Only 29% of management roles are occupied by women as of 2020, which is a direct impact of the glass ceiling effect, which does not let women grow above a certain level in corporate offices. The burden of managing workload along with family responsibilities is impacting the efficiency of women. Women form the major chunk of the impoverished population, due to the patriarchal setup of the society- no hereditary rights (termed as “Hissa maangne waali”), no decision-making rights, and not even a right on how many children they have. These common but strong reasons have a strong impact, and if this needs to change, women need to stand up for these rights – method can be spreading awareness, reducing fear from what society will think, and if need be, a legal course as well.

Talking about the social angle, the status is not much different. The number of laws in India against female foeticide and infanticide is a testament to the views of people for the girl child. Despite a girl child being twice as strong as a male child at the time of birth, we face a low female-to-male ratio. Girls need to go out of their way to have a quality education despite several upliftment programs by the government, this can be attributed to the mindset of parents. Social customs have always held women as inferior, and our histories are marred with such tragic beliefs. For curing this we need a complete reset from the past belief of considering women as a “Bojh” to “Dharohar”. Women should focus on building on themselves and need to challenge the notions to change them.

 Lastly, but most importantly, we need to look at leadership. Time and again women have proved their leadership skills, but still, we see minimal participation from women in these roles. Despite the one-third reservation of women in local bodies, we have a patriarchal rule in the form of “Pradhanpati”. World politics has only 24% of representation from women leaders.

The above views show the sad reality of the status of women, which can be twisted only if women around the world are made aware of their rights, and it’s time women stand for themselves as no one understands the sufferings of women more than themselves. The quote from Rosalyn Sussman fits well, “We live in a world where a significant fraction of people, including women, believe that a woman belongs and wants to belong exclusively in the home.”

–Kamya (MBA BAtch 2020-22)

Probable impact of US Elections on global supply chain post-Covid

As the entire world went into the first-ever lockdown of the century, all except the medical staff were confined to their homes. This ensured that everyone stays safe, but every sector of business went into a state of despicableness.

Reason? SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION!

Such is the power of supply chain network especially in this era of Globalization! Any wrong decision can lead to a world full of chaos and violence.

Fortunately for us, the world leaders ensured there was enough supply of essentials required for survival. And now that Covid-19 vaccine shots are being administered, the hopes of Supply chain normalcy seem to be cropping up.

However, one major event that took place towards the fag end of 2020 that could potentially change the way International trade and supply chain worked until now was the U.S. Elections.

As I write this article, Joe Biden is the president-elect and what could it mean to the Supply chain?

During the Presidential debate, Joe Biden emphasized negotiating with the Pacific nations to restructure the international trading rules in order to reduce dependence on China. This would help other Asian & Arabian Countries to improve their economy as they would have the liberty to export more with limited competition from China.

Joe Biden is particularly wanting to support the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) so that the United Nations’ powers in terms of framing laws for international Supply Chain & International Trade are strengthened. The manufacturing sector in this region will see a boost as North American Countries are given incentives for Automobile manufacturing, especially that of Trucks & cars. With strong agricultural laws, the farmers will get access to the markets in all three countries.

Manufacturers in the US who offshore production and sell the products or services back in the US, have to pay a heart wrenching cumulative tax of 30.8%, to solve this issue. Biden’s policy focuses on local manufacturing, he promised to direct $400 billion in federal procurement towards manufacturing and emphasized on Made in America label.

The federal department many times in the past has claimed that manufacturing certain products is not feasible in America and that has given a huge market to other countries. Biden, while addressing this point, stressed using IT Technology to publish it on a specific website built for the same purpose. Once such requirements are posted on this website, tenders can try their hands on producing such products thus getting eligible for the 10% advance tax credit policy.

During almost all his campaign rallies, Biden mentioned the need to directly support small manufacturers, especially those headed by women, this would ensure the creation of jobs and keep the national per capita income increasing. Biden said he would direct $300 billion towards R&D of electric vehicle technology, 5G, Artificial Intelligence – this ensures procurement of parts required for the same and to ensure smooth supply chain, he promised to amend Custom laws and make it easier to buy.

He said & I quote “While medical supplies and equipment are our most pressing and urgent needs, US supply chain risks are not limited to these items. The US needs to close supply chain vulnerabilities across a range of critical products on which the US is dangerously dependent on foreign suppliers.” This prepares the U.S to be ready for a probable 2nd wave of Covid-19 & any kind of crisis in the future.

Biden spoke about how supply chains laws and the federal Government’s purchasing power can ensure smooth manufacturing of critical parts used in the United States’ defence systems. In this way, not just the end product but also the supply chain of manufacturers receives a boost. Biden mentioned the need to be environment friendly and has pledged to utilize the $500 Billion federal government spends on Zero Emission & 100% clean energy vehicles. This would again create more manufacturing & thus more jobs & thus a bigger growth in the US economy. He also mentioned he would bring in stricter laws that would govern the readiness of environment-friendly technologies in all infrastructure projects, thus, giving opportunities for renewable energy innovation & thus impacting supply chain networks.

All in all, most of Biden’s policies focus on reducing the dependence on China for products & supply chain services. This would only help America as they are moving towards becoming leaders in Mass production, Supply Chain services.

We’ll have to wait & watch how the American labour class reacts to this, since the labour costs are higher in America and the Chinese workforce is almost 5 times larger than in the U.S, the next 4 years is expected to witness intense geopolitical tensions. All the countries that are in Joe Biden’s good books might receive some goodies. In the Post Covid-19 era, America might overpower China on these lines & India must continue to maintain cordial relations with them by being diplomatic on issues & at the same time strive hard to increase in-house production of goods & services through schemes like Atmanirbhar Bharat.

–Sumanth S (MBA Batch 2020–22)

The irrationality of human behaviour in the Finance world

A career in MBA Finance is one of the lucrative and sought-after opportunities in the business world. But the irony in India is that when we go back into a student’s education journey, commerce subject which deals with all the basic nuances of finance & accounting is still not preferred as the desired subject as compared with science stream.

We often tend to confuse Finance with just accounting and calculations. But, the application of real finance is not just about numbers and calculations. It’s much more beyond that. It requires you to have: 

• Strong calculative abilities of Commerce
•  Analytical thinking process of Science 
•  And behavioral understanding of Humanities 

This third aspect of finance which is been ignored for decades but recently is becoming one of the hot topics for researchers. Due to the complexity and irrationality of human behaviour, it becomes difficult to take this factor into consideration for organized analysis. But this factor builds up the basis of most of the previous innovations in finance. Behavioural finance is like salvation to mathematical finance just like Friction is to Newton’s forces. For example, the birth of one of the major financial instruments in history is Insurance which is a result of irrational human behaviour explained by Kahneman and Tversky in terms of Prospect Theory.

When the fear of loss and uncertainties prevail, insurances emerged as a strong instrument for risk management. Thus, encouraging people to take risks and invest, leading to an increase in the liquidity of markets. It clearly explains human behaviour in cases of profits and losses.

Prospect Theory of Finances

The Prospect Theory graph clearly depicts that when we lose Rs. 100, our pain would be much more in comparison to the happiness in gaining Rs. 100. Thus, the magnitude of happiness and pain doesn’t vary linearly with the amount of money.

On the basis of this human behaviour, insurance policies proved to be very successful in monetizing the irrationality of human behaviour. There are various other such phenomena in human behaviour like social contagion, cognitive dissonance, anchoring, overconfidence, etc. which answer the events like the randomness of the stock market, people’s decisions and other such cases of the finance world.

Out of the 74% literacy rate in India, only 24% have finance literacy which is one of the major factors responsible for the economy of any nation. When people lack the ability to manage their own personal finances, how can we expect a nation to have a strong economy? Many people are still unaware of the power of compounding, time value of money, credit opportunities, etc. to make use of it for their improvement of financial status. Thus, it becomes very necessary for financial managers, strategists, and policymakers to discover innovative ways to bridge this gap. It is high time that we move away from the narrow approaches of finance and introduce new frameworks in the correlation between accounting and behavioural finance which will include markets, people and their behaviour.

There lies a lot of opportunities in the domain of financial risk management using behavioural finance. Though the implication of this concept has various challenges due to randomness and complexity yet it can be accomplished when the researchers and corporate leaders will work together in the right direction. We are heading towards a more complex world where simple answers are not suitable anymore. We will have to develop an ecosystem to sustain and grow in future.

One can refer to works of researchers like Professor Robert Shiller, Daniel Crosby, Kahneman and Tversky, etc for more understanding on the subject and topic of behavioural finance. This is a potential field waiting to get explored to its core. A lot of new developments can be seen in this direction in the upcoming time.

–Raksha Agrawal (MBA Batch 2020–22)

Demystifying Stock Market and Economics

Few lingering questions which every common investor has in his mind are how can the stock markets and the economy growth move in the opposite direction? Will the market crash due to poor economic growth anytime?

While the Covid-19 pandemic forced all economic activities to a total halt, pushing major economies into a recession, the markets around the world on the other hand had a mixed response showing a steep fall during the initial pandemic breakout and steadily recovering over time to race all-time highs in Indian and US exchanges.

The empirical analysis of the annual GDP growth rate and the historical market performance of leading stock exchange indices of major countries such as USA, Japan, China, and India respectively over the decade show little correlation between the growth of countries’ GDP and performance of stock markets.

Japan faced one of the worst decades of economic growth battling recession and unemployment having a maximum GDP growth rate of a mere 2% in the last decade. While Nikki_225, the benchmark index of the Tokyo Stock Exchange had lost more than 60% of its value over the decade, sharp falls in the index during this period was the result of external events such as Fukushima’s nuclear crisis and the European Sovereign Debt crisis in 2011. The rally in 2013 which surged more than 70% due to the weakening of Yen and expansive economic policy was short-lived as the market plunged by ~60% at the end of 2013 due to the weak GDP growth of China and quantitative easing of US Federal Reserve during the same period.

Though China’s economic growth declined gradually from 10% to 6% over the decade, it was still having the highest growth rate among the developing countries. The Shanghai composite index grew a mere 16% over the decade despite the country having the highest GDP growth among the major economies. The Chinese exchange majorly influenced by the domestic investors who were largely inexperienced and traded using borrowed capital persuaded by the Chinese state-owned media during the period of 2015, saw a bubble in the market with the index soaring more than 150% over the previous year despite the country having poor manufacturing and economic growth. However, the bubble was short-lived and consequently busted as it lost 40% of the value in the month of June and continue to fall subsequently due to the devaluation of Yen.

The turbulence of Chinese stock markets combined with slowing growth of China’s GDP, falling oil prices, and weakening of the Japanese Yen against the US dollar and Brexit event resulted in a global sell-out during the period of 2015–16 which impacted all major stock markets around the world including US and India. 

Despite having low GDP growth of around 2% over the decade, US markets have continued to grow over where the leading indices such as Dow Jones Industrial average, S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite have yielded returns of over 200% primarily driven by innovation and technology. FAANG companies due to the power of the platform model, network effects have had a compounded annual return of more than 20% individually over the decade. Markets also saw an emergence of new business models and sunshine sectors such as electric vehicles, e-commerce, AI & Cloud computing, alternative energy, OTT etc which continue to have positive investor sentiments.

Globalisation and foreign trade are also important factors to consider why the performance of the Indian stock markets has little correlation with economic growth as the manufacturing sector contributes only ~15% of total GDP compared to China and Japan which has ~ 30% and ~20% respectively. The major sectors such as IT, Pharma, Breweries and Distilleries, Precious Metals, Automobiles are export-oriented which relies on the US and the global economy. Sectors such as Refinery, Paint, Aviation are highly dependent on the price of crude oil as India is one of the major importers.

FII also has a significant factor to play in controlling the direction of the stock markets. Indian equities saw a record inflow of $23 Bn (Rs. 1.6 Lakh Crore) in 2020 as the global investors were optimistic about the strong economic recovery, vaccine progress and low mortality of Covid-19 in India compared to western countries. This liquidity provided by FII continues to drive the market sentiments forward leading the prices to soar all-time high across multiple sectors.

The performance of the stock markets does not rely only on the economic growth of the country. Other factors such as the nature of its constituents, the impact of FII, technology & innovation and global events can also impact the markets. Markets can be both forward-looking and reactive to economic events and will correct themselves in the event of any bubble during times of weak economic growth.

– Arjun R. (MBA Batch 2020–22)

A 2400-year-old HR Theory that Builds Empires

When we talk about the origins of modern management theory, we often start the curve from F.W. Taylor’s Principles of Scientific Management, authored about a century ago in 1909.

The evolution of the practice of managing people since then has gone through various stages, from Labour Welfare to a more organized form called Personnel Management, then to Human Resource Management, and now, to ever-complex, empathetic, and most-strategic People Management.

Managing human resources or people is mainly based on the edifice of motivation, the stimulus you provide to a person for doing a particular job, and staying loyal to you.

This simple-to-use yet hard-to-master concept of Motivation is utilized in all organizations today, by taking inspiration from various motivation theories, Maslow’s Need Hierarchy Theory (1943) being the most popular of them all.

Now, what if I tell you that there’s a centuries-old management theory that not just discusses the concept of Employee Motivation but also structures a complete HR cycle. This theory was authored about 2400 years ago (yes you read that right!). It holds its relevance even today – and will probably continue to do so forever. The theory is given by India’s pride Chanakya, one of the most advanced and brightest minds known to have ever existed. The theory is:

Sama – Dana – Danda – Bheda

Most of us might have heard this string of words plenty of times before but never really knew what it meant.

It means, 

Collaboration – Reward – Punishment – Separation: The entire HR cycle summed up in 4 words

Here is a short description of each of these four “Upayas”: –

Sama ~ Collaboration: It implies finding the right person for the right job and then ensuring a mutual win-win situation by aligning his or her individual goals with the organizational goals. The employer must make sure that every person in the organization feels like an integral part of the larger team. An efficacious collaboration requires attentive listening. If a person feels that he is understood by the people around him, his problems have ears, and his struggles have supporters, then he will be there for you when you would need him the most. This is the foundation stone of every relationship and any cracks left unfilled during this process can vandalize the whole ecosystem in the future.

Dana ~ Reward: At the end of the day, all conversations boil down to this – the monetary and non-monetary compensations one receives in return for loyal services to an organization. Salary, bonus, increment, promotion, wellness benefits, medical insurance, housing facilities, vehicle, stock options, personal assistant, etc – everything forms a part of Rewards and Benefits. It goes without saying that an underpaid employee would never work to his full potential. Interestingly, studies suggest that even an overpaid employee is a complacent liability for the company. So, it becomes crucial for HR to strike a healthy balance when it comes to Rewards & Benefits of the workforce.

Danda ~ Punishment: Now this serves as a discipline wand, a motivator but of negative nature. While the high-performing employee enjoys the reward, the low-performing faces the brunt of the management in terms of verbal backlash, pay-cuts, demotions, or even expulsion. In every organization, performance appraisals reveal a bell curve of employees’ distribution, where 70% of them are found to be average performers. Fear of Danda ensures that these employees do not deviate towards the category of Non-Performers and continue to match the outcomes with expectations.

Bheda ~ Separation: This involves parting with an employee in the form of voluntary or involuntary retirement, resignation, or expulsion. It is rightly said that change is the only constant. The people, whether you like, love or hate it, cannot work for you forever. They will leave you when a better personal or professional opportunity comes across their way. For HR, it is important to take this pragmatically and ensure that the HR cycle keeps on running smoothly by not shying away to collaborate with new people and focusing a great deal on their training and development.

_____________

These words of wisdom that continue to guide people-managers are the doctrines that helped Chandragupta Maurya build his enormous empire in 300BC. Even today, with the right essence and execution, these can empower each one of us in building our own!

– Savinay Goel (MBA Batch 2020–22)

A traveler of time- by Mohib Ahmed

These are lines written by me as I was pondering what it would be like to travel time. I wanted to go against the established Romanticism around traveling time, the exploration and discovery and what I really wanted was to shun the idea of using it as a plot device.
What I set out to accomplish, was to understand and explore how psychedelic it would be to travel time, how one might lose track of what’s happening as everything, at least to his or her mind, is happening at once as he or she can see time, not as a moment in which he or she is, but stretched out, all moments combined.
I wanted to explore what toll it would take on one’s body and mind.
The poem is in free verse, so it goes against common notions of poems as being rhythmic.
For those who do not know what free verse is, its a form of poetry devoid of rhythm, meter or any musical pattern. I like that form because it is raw and I believe that though putting words in a rhythm is an art in and of itself, much of the intimacy and urgency is lost in trying to write your thoughts while figuring out a rhythm for them.

A traveler of time

Lost in time, shattered reality.
Confusion, apprehension, panic
Like bare live wire, megawatts of
Electricity, explosions, illuminate
The insides of the brain.

Vestiges of fading memories,
Interposed one between another,
A negative on a negative on a negative,
Inverted hues, inside out,
Unfamiliar, ethereal, images amalgamated.

Past swallowed by the future,
Future becomes the present.
Few moments stretched over an eternity.
A rubber band stretched for light years,
Your consciousness thins

Reality bleeds of color,
Drained black and white, gaunt face
Looking into gaunt eyes, the mirror
Reflections, lost to the ripples of
The horizon-less sea, infinite

This poem is created by Mohib Ahmed, Batch of 2018-20, IIM Kashipur

Indian Youth Delegation- My experience in China

The People’s Republic of China is something that rises out of the mist of culture, cradle, and communism in the mind of every history buff. A constant hurdle imposer to India in the global political framework but a close ally in the rally of “Make Asia Great Again”, I received the opportunity to represent my country among the youth of this country- People’s Republic of China.

I was among the chosen 200 students across India who arrived in China, all decked and dressed, to unfold the extraordinary learning experience of our lives. Being a part of such a huge diverse contingent, I was mesmerized by the level of knowledge the youth of India possesses. Before arriving in China, we were advised to learn about Chinese culture. I read books, blogs, anything, and everything to make myself well versed but no amount of reading can match the experience which I had when I actually visited those sites.

We were told about the history of China and how Beijing became the capital of China. On 1^st October 1949 Peking, the former name of Beijing became the capital of China. In the Mandarin language, Bei means north and Jing means Capital. Beijing has a rich history of over 3000 years. Beijing can be termed as both modern and ancient capital of China. Beijing has the highest number of UNESCO World Heritage sites consisting of 7. Beijing has a population of 23 million people. Beijing experiences 4 seasons in a year- summer, winter, autumn and rainy season. The city is surrounded by Hills and mountains from 3 sides.

While traveling, the delegates were in awe of the infrastructure and the cleanliness of the roads of the city. I was amazed to see how lane discipline was followed and how proper spacing was maintained by the drivers of vehicles.

Later, we were taken to the Forbidden City. It is a palace constructed by the Ming Dynasty. Its construction started in 1406 and took 14 years to get the full completion. The Forbidden City is a UNESCO Heritage site. Here the infusion of Culture and Architecture can be witnessed at the best.

 

China is very rich in cultural heritage and having the privilege to observe it so closely is something I’ll cherish throughout my life. The Chinese National Museum gave a glimpse of all the major events that shaped the history and future of the People’s Republic of China.

Amidst all the explorations of the city, we received a lecture by the Professor Yang Xiaoping of the National Institute of International Strategy Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

The theme of the lecture was- “Building a community with a shared future for Mankind and cooperation between India & China.” In the lecture, Mr.Yang ushered about the era of New Socialism in China also referred to the new guiding ideology of Xi Jingping that coined “Chinese Dream” an equal challenge to the concept of American Dream.

The lecture provided a deep insight into how with the guiding principles of classical Marxism fissioned with the New Era of Socialism and thoughts of Mao Zedong has changed the fortune of Economy of China.

During the delegation, we visited OFO Headquarters in Beijing. One of the amazing things which I found there was, the sleeping rooms. If any of the employees feel the need to take a rest, he can take a nap in the sleeping room. Sleeping pods are put in place there. The major catch here is that one has to work for 8 hours a day with flexible timings i.e. the employee has to put in 8 billable hours at the office.

From art and culture to the technology, China is a country where explorations and awestruck experiences have no ends. While The Great Wall of China is a testament of what human endeavor could achieve, Hubei Provincial Museum hosts the archaeological artifacts of the Chinese emperors and gives the taste of how royalty looked like at this place in the past.

While talking about the technology, nothing could be more mesmerizing than the cars displayed at the Dongfeng Motor Corporation. Dongfeng is a pioneer in manufacturing Hybrid car models. From SUV’s to Multipurpose Utility Vehicles, the needs of all age group have been accommodated. Dongfeng’s self-brand cars are also available which is mainly popular in China. Apart from cars, Dongfeng has its presence in the arms manufacturing industry.

After the visit of the Dongfeng Motor Corporation, we approached the Wuhan Citizens Home. It is basically a Museum that covers the Past, Present and Future aspects of the Wuhan City. The first gallery carries various historical events associated with Wuhan city. One can see all the modern infrastructural development of the Wuhan city through a series of colorful portraits. Timeline for the same is also available therein. Above all the major attraction was the artificial strategic planning center of Wuhan. It is an artificial city model of the Wuhan city located in a large hall type auditorium of the museum.

One thing which I noticed in my interaction with people was that the Chinese keep their culture very close to their heart. One of the fascinating things we noticed was the teapots used by the Kings. It was all made from bronze and silver. Ancient Refrigerator was another one. Besides all such attractions, the musical instruments of those periods were the show stealer. We also got the opportunity to watch a Cultural performance which in a way resembles the concert. There the artists produced enormous musical sounds by using various instruments which we had seen in the museum. The show lasted for near about 30 minutes.

We later got the opportunity to explore Shanghai, the city which is considered as China’s showpiece of the prosperity. In my explorations, I feel the most magnificent structure of the Shanghai city was the Oriental Pearl Radio & TV tower of Shanghai. The tower has fifteen observatory levels. The highest (known as the Space Module) is at 350 m. The lower levels are at 263 m (Sightseeing Floor) and at 90 m (Space City). There is a revolving restaurant at the 267 m level. The project also contains exhibition facilities and a small shopping center.

My major takeaways from the Indian Youth Exchange program to China 2018 are diversity at the workplace is very important, it is Okay to fail, always think as a group, thinking out of the box is important and discipline is key to success. Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do and this is attitude is quite visible in the Chinese population. I believe experiencing and seeing closely everything as enhanced my learning exponentially and has made me understand the country’s culture to a large extent. In the end, I would like to conclude with the famous Chinese proverb, “Tell me, I forget. Show me, I remember. Involve me, I understand”.

This article is written by S.K. Murshed, PGP Batch 2017-19, IIMKashipur

Never Give Up: From an Average Guy to an Inventor!

It is a true story of mine.

(I had just graduated from my college. The company, I was about to join, had deferred my joining due to the ongoing adverse business conditions. It was very sad & distressing. I needed money. I looked for some other opportunities & with the help of a friend of mine, I secured a temporary role at PepsiCo R&D Center for about 2 months)

July 16, 2015. DLF Cyber City, Gurugram, India. (My First Day at Pepsico, GVIC)

There was a cluster of tall buildings all around. I was not exactly a city boy. I could sense the hustle & bustle of city (read corporate) life, the very moment I came out of Metro Rail. I was literally amazed. Sun shining bright in early morning & reflection of sun-rays from all around by glass panes. I had dreamt of living this life, It was coming true.

Before I could walk further, the sole of my shoe got broken, it was already in withered condition and I had also misplaced my foot over the pavement.

Somehow, I managed & as per the directions received by security guards, I reached the final venue. I was interviewed by a Senior Analyst at the company. He told me, that I had to come up with some solution for the problem, that one of their products was struggling with. Then & Then only, I could join the position, as I was told by him.

I said to myself, What?

I was not able to understand the problem properly & he was asking me to come up with a solution. Also, the problem was a bit related to Electronics & I was a Mechanical Engineer.

I asked myself, what other options did I have?

Answer Came: None.

Then, within a fraction of second, I replied with a big Yes.

Back then, my English Speaking skills were not good. But, it was the first time that I wasn’t afraid to try. I tried. I did better than my expectation & phobia of English speaking.

But then the real struggle started.

I come from a very weak economic background. I had only two shirts & two pants, which I had to wear on alternate days. The office location was around 65 Km from my home. I could use public transportation only. It took 5 hours a day for both ways journey.

My typical day was:

5:00 AM: Leave the Bed | 6:05 AM: Local Train | 7:20 Am: Delhi Metro | 8:20 AM: Sikandarpur | 8:50 AM: Reached Office

6:00 PM Left Office | Same way Back to home, around 9:30 PM & 11:00 PM: To bed.

I had to walk 8 Km in between to save some 40 Rupees a day.

It was frustrating sometimes, I used to cry during rainy nights & blame my conditions and the struggle that I had faced since childhood. But my Mother always supported me and I never gave up. I kept pushing myself.

I didn’t even take a single day leave when I was allowed to take 3 per month.

I made sure, I completed the task given.

Not only did I come up with a solution in 2 months but also prepared a white paper for PepsiCo. Then, It was sent for Patent Approval. During this period, I also undertook many tasks which I was not supposed to do. But I excelled in them also & came up with excellent results.

Yes, I blamed many things but when I worked, I made sure nothing to come in between me & my work.

Giving up was never an option & will never be.

Interesting Part: What did I get in return in this short period of 2.5 months?

(I received this mail a few days back that the white paper (which I filed back then) has been successfully published as a Patent & is listed on the Google Patent’s Site. I just can not express the emotions I underwent. I was smiling. I was all in tears. It was the result of all those hours that I had put in. Every single second, that I traveled to and fro. I hope you can relate to me.)

~ Now, I’m also awarded a title: Inventor!

~ I’m not an intelligent person. I’m an average guy. But, what makes me unique is: I never give up, I work hard. That’s all.

I’m still an average guy! 🙂

~ VST

This article is written by Vishvendra Singh Tomar, PGP Batch 2018-20, IIM Kashipur

Why 2nd of October should be more than just a holiday for students?

Everyone knows 2^nd of October as Gandhi Jayanti but there are only a few people who also know that this day is celebrated worldwide as International Day of Non-Violence. From the time we started schools in the kindergarten we have been learning about the father of our nation and why is he called so. Every year we have a national holiday on Gandhi Jayanti. The whole country takes its time off from their work and devotes it to remember the great man who made it possible for everyone to breathe the air of freedom. But is that all one should do?

Let’s look at it from a student’s perspective. What do we, as students do on Gandhi Jayanti? The probable answers might come down to sleeping till late and loitering around. At public platforms, we proudly tell others about incorporating Gandhi in our thought processes and try to make the world a better place but how often do we do that ourselves? Maybe me asking this question is in itself questionable but isn’t it worthy to start thinking how much Gandhi do we have in ourselves individually. If the motto is about taking a rest from our busy lives on the day dedicated to a man who himself never rested for the sake of freedom he didn’t get even to enjoy himself then stop insulting him by calling him your Bapu.

On this Gandhi Jayanti Bapu turns another year older in my mind and so does in all of yours as well. We are similar to the powers of history that stood beside Bapu when he was holding the baton for our freedom revolution. Why can’t we keep up with the same spirit  that changed the whole country at that time? It’s high time that we start seeing Gandhi Jayanti as something more than a holiday. It is explanatory in itself that what ought to be done?  If we are able to do that then the world around us will definitely turn into a superior version of what is the status quo.

This article is written by Utkarsh Yadav, PGP 2018-20 Batch, IIM Kashipur