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Advanc’edge MBA October 2012 3

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Aditya Prakash IengarEditor

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All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole and in part without written permission is prohibited. Printed and published by Kamlesh Sajnani, on behalf of, IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises, Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (E), Mumbai - 400 051. Printed at Uchitha Graphic Printers Pvt. Ltd., 65, Ideal Ind. Est., Mathuradas Mill Compound, Lower Parel, Mumbai - 13 and published at Mumbai.

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Recently, photographer Michael Stokes’s images of wounded war veterans took the world by storm. The photographs depict various soldiers —all of them young — who have lost limbs and are supported by mechanical extensions.

The biggest hurdle that Stokes faced was to help the veterans overcome their lack of confidence. In a world where beauty and acceptability appears to be married with perfect bodies and figures, these veterans couldn’t imagine standing in front of the world, exposing their biggest weakness for all to see.

However, the finished images are a sight to behold. And the biggest takeaway for these veterans was that not only did they look good, but their anxiety had washed away.

At a smaller, less profound level, the same thing is happening with you. The anxiety that is always there at the back of your mind as the CAT date approaches will have increased somewhat when the CAT notification came out this July.

By the time you read this, everything about the CAT and its changed structure will have become clear. You’ll have seen that the test window has been brought down from the earlier several days, to just two in CAT 2014 and finally to only one day — November 29th — in 2015.

The instinctive reaction to such changes is anxiety. Just as those veterans had faced that initial anxiety — the fear of the unknown and the un-experienced.

But let me tell you that there is no need to fret. At a fundamental level, the CAT remains the same — an evaluation of your aptitude that tests your quantitative, verbal, logical reasoning and data interpretative skills. A few adjustments in your strategy over the next 100-odd days and meticulous solving and analysis of simulated CATs should put you on the path to that coveted 100 percentile score.

To tide over this anxiety, we have a few tips for you, provided by motivational speaker and author Sharon M. Weinstein. Instead of stressing out over your preparation and consequently losing some of your focus, she advises that you maintain your balance in all situations to make the most of your potential.

Keep calm and study hard.

A U G U S T 2 0 1 5CONTENTS

Disclaimer : The views expressed in the articles by contributors and others are not necessarily those of the Publishers, unless specifically stated therein. While no effort is spared in ensuring the accuracy of the information published herein, readers are advised to reconfirm the current facts before acting upon any such information. The Publishers regret their inability to accept responsibility for any inadvertent errors of commission or omission in this issue. Readers are recommended to make appropriate inquiries before incurring expenses or entering into commitments in relation to any advertisement appearing in this publication. The publishers do not vouch for any claims made by the advertisers of any products or services. The Publisher, Printers or Editor shall not be held liable for any consequences in the event of such claims not being honoured by the advertisers. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, in any form or means, or stored in a database or retrieval system without prior permission from the publisher.

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SUCCESS STREETSHARON WEINSTEIN,

Motivational speaker, consultant, educator and

author

08

COVER STORYCAT 2015: 100 days to 100 percentile

05

CORPORATE INTERVIEWABHIROOP MEDHEKAR,co-founder and COO at Taskbob

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COUNTDOWN10 Ads that bring alive the

Patriotic fervour

14

SUCCESS STREETEmotional intelligence makes the best leaders

17

SNIPPETSNews in brief

19

STUDY HOURTest Q&As

Word Dose: A glimpse of the apocalypse

Globescan

SuDoKu

3134

3538

CORPORATE WORLDIs Russia the next problem for Europe?

Key Economic milestones reshaping India

Chinese stock market crash, Iran deal and India

2225

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Pratik GourNational Product Manager - CAT

With just over a few months remaining for the all-important CAT, now is the time you gear up for the stage in your life that will transform your career and your future. Forget

shortcuts, here we present a “smart”-cut to cracking the CAT and achieving success.

CAT 2015: 100 days to 100 percentile

t is that time of the year when the CAT is slowly looming quite near, and you and

other MBA aspirants like you tend to be on the edge of their seats. By the time you read this, the CAT notification will have been released and you know that the CAT will be held on November 26, 2015.

To some of you, it’ll appear as if you still have time to put in just that extra bit of effort to reach your target score. For others, the CAT notification might serve as a wake-up call, and push you to start your preparation properly, or perhaps hone your skills a little more.

Everything said and done, it’s quite clear that you have approximately 100 days left for the CAT. These 100 days can probably change the way you will live for the rest of your life, since getting a call from any of the top 30 business schools can definitely add another dimension to your life, and transform your future.

So if you are sincere, and willing to shape the next 100 days to your advantage, you must start thinking of how to go about your preparation and achieve what a lot of us aspire to but few ultimately achieve.

Every CAT aspirant needs to keep in mind that at the most fundamental level, there are two aspects that must be dealt with correctly to be able to really crack the CAT and make the most of it.

The first is to be a smart test taker. The second is to be a smart B-school applicant. Let us consider these individually.

HOW TO BE A SMART TEST TAKERThe first obvious question is this:

who is a smart test taker? He is one who manages to crack the test, by clearing the cut-offs of the B-schools he aspires to get admission into.

Let us take an example. Let’s say you are looking at getting admission to IIM Lucknow. The first thing you need to do is find out the approximate percentile cut-offs of IIM Lucknow last year, and then strive your hardest to put in all the preparation you can, in these last 100 days and achieve that percentile.

I

Make sure you religiously take the simulated tests.

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LOOK AT A STUDY TIME OF AT LEAST 350 HOURS IN THE

LAST 100 DAYS TO THE CAT.

To go about this, you have to perform an analysis of your strengths and weaknesses.

Look at all the topics you have been going through. Solve 20 questions (covering all the concepts) of each of these topics. Make sure that you solve 5 easy, 10 medium and 5 tough questions. Now look at your result. If you have an accuracy of over 90 per cent in the topic, then it is an area of strength for you. Anything less than 90 per cent accuracy makes the topic your area of weakness.

This exercise should take anything between a minimum of 15 days and a maximum of 20.

Once you have worked on identifying your strengths and weaknesses, the next step is to start working on them.

Areas of strengthFocus on your areas of strength, and start enhancing them. Work on questions that have a higher difficulty level. If you have completed the work on your class sheets and study material, start solving modular tests and area tests. Then move on to workshops questions and section tests. This process has to be followed for all the topics which you think are your strengths.

Areas of weaknessNext up are you areas of weakness.

You will have a natural resistance to these topics, but that is what you have to resolve, if not break. Sometimes we do not want to focus on topics because we do not want to solve them. It is okay to not like some of the topics, we can ignore them. This can certainly be done for some selected topics, as we all know that the CAT is a test of selection and choice, and not of completion.

However, you will need to start from scratch to tackle the weaknesses. Work on them, and try and reach the proficiency level required by the CAT. From there, use the same process that you used for your strengths to minimise your weaknesses.

Study planA number of classroom students will have already gone through their study schedule, planned in sync with the various resources available to them. But now, it is important for each and every one of you to schedule the last 100 days in the

run up to the CAT on the basis of your strength-weakness analysis, your B-school aspiration, work timings, college schedules, etc.

The study plan has to be crisp. In the last 100 days, you should look at a minimum total study time of 350 hours. This will ensure great scores in the CAT.

Actual test taking strategySimCATs, i.e., mock tests, are a dress rehearsal for the CAT. During these tests, you should experiment and strategise.

I’ll give you an analogy. The Indian Navy has war games in the Indian Ocean every year to be ready for any eventuality. During these games, which are basically simulated situations of war, the Navy tests new weapon systems, new warships and new submarines every year.

This is pretty much what you need to do with your simulated CATs, or SimCATs, whether you do it at home, at your study centre or online. You should use 25 tests as practice-based tests, in which you can experiment a lot. For instance, you can begin with the Verbal section in some tests. In others, you might start with the Quant section. Try solving questions of the sections as they come in one test and then try fluctuating between the two sections.

Remember. The bottom line is that any online simulated test you take should be used for the purpose of experimenting and creating strategies for the actual CAT.

On the other hand, when you’re taking a SimCAT at a centre, under similar conditions as the CAT, you have to take it as seriously as you would treat the actual CAT. In fact, in the last 5 such mock tests, you should use the same standard strategy and try to maximise your score using that strategy.

Sticking to basics, working on Image used for representational purpose.

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strengths and weaknesses, applying concepts and taking a number of mocks will be your ultimate plan — for any student, in fact — to crack the CAT.

HOW TO BE A SMART APPLICANTThe CAT score is taken as an admit score for more than 150 business schools in India. When we consider the top 50 B-schools, over 40 of them accept the CAT score for their selection and admission process.

The CAT gives a direct admission to 19 Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), for a total of 26 programmes run by these institutes. Any graduate with or without work experience is eligible to apply to any of these programmes.

The important thing to keep in mind is that you have to be smart when you’re applying to these institutes and their programmes.

CAT score: What to expectYour score of the last 5 simulated tests should give you a range of percentiles that you can expect in the CAT. On the basis of this expected score, your interests and aspirations, you should be applying to the various programmes at the

business schools. You should also keep in mind that beyond the 19 IIMs, you should not apply to more than 5 to 7 business schools.

Now this will give you a total of 25 business schools to which you can hope to get an admission. The way to select these business schools is to interact with the alumni, their faculty and other platforms and discussion portals.

Choose B-schools based on specialisationA student who is interested in advertising ignores an IIM Indore admission because somebody had once told him that MICA is brilliant for advertising.

Read the statement above carefully, and consider this. Your specialisation will be for two years, but excellence is for the rest of your life. An IIM Indore student can also do advertising, but he will carry the IIM brand name for the rest of his life. MICA is definitely the best business school for this particular specialisation, but it doesn’t feature in the top 10 business schools of India. IIM Indore, on the other hand, is easily in that top 10 list.

So remember, business schools should be chosen on the basis

of excellence, alumni and the education they impart.

Tests other than CATMost MBA aspirants generally take the CAT and several other tests, ranging from the XAT to CMAT. But you must remember that if you specifically target an admission to one of the top 10 business schools, and are prepared to put in the perseverance and consistence required, you should stick to the CAT and XAT.

However, if you’re open to exploring opportunities beyond the top 10 to one of the top 40 B-schools, that is when you should look at a medley of tests — CAT, XAT, NMAT, SNAP, IIFT test, etc. And if you’re looking at beyond the top 40 B-schools, that’s when you add the MH-CET and the CMAT to the list of tests that you must take.

In summary, remember the old adage — don’t work hard, work smart — extends to your CAT experience as well. Be a smart applicant and a smart test taker. It will certainly help you in achieving the success that you’re aiming at, and get you a coveted seat in one of the best business schools in India. A

First and foremost, there is no need to worry. Even though the CAT structure has changed, the topics and questions remain the same. So a little tweaking of your strategy will set you right on track.

Let us now take a look at what has changed in the CAT 2015. l THREE sections instead of TWO: Quantitative Ability (QA - 34 questions), Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension (VARC - 34 questions) and Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning (DILR - 32 questions)l Test duration: 180 minutes instead of 170 minutes.l Sectional time limit: 60 minutes per section. Significantly, you cannot move between sections.

l Type-in questions: For the first time in the history of the CAT, there will be a few questions in each section that won’t be in the multiple choice format. The answers will have to be typed in.l On-screen calculator: Another first in the history of the CAT is the introduction of a basic on-screen calculator. l Other details about CAT 2015: } Test date: November 29, 2015 } Test venues: 650 test sites across 136 cities } Time slots: TWO - Morning and afternoon } Registration: August 6 to September 20, 2015 } Official sample test: Available on CAT website from October 15, 2015

CAT 2015: What’s changed

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This is one of the fundamental things we must all learn, says motivational speaker, consultant, educator and author SHARON WEINSTEIN. In a conversation with Aditya Prakash Iengar, she shares how important it is to have a life beyond work, and offers some advice on how to handle stress.

You must learn to say no, and let the matter go

Please tell us about yourself.I’ve been a registered nurse for more than 45 years, and my nursing career has taken me not only across the country, but across the globe. My initial nursing interest was infusion therapy, which is IV drug administration, and I’ve taught that subject in 14 countries and in every state and province within North America.

But beyond that, I’ve had the privilege of serving as a contractor for the United States Department of State, and through them I oversaw multiple heath projects in the former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe, where I worked for two weeks of every month for 10 years.

You’ve created programs in Australia, Soviet Union and elsewhere. Please tell us about them.I started out creating programs that dealt with IV drug administration and safe

practices. I taught these programs in every province I worked in. Then I was associated with the National Health Service in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, working on similar programs and quality control.

What made you shift to public speaking and educator?I’ve actually been a public speaker for over 30 years, and I never knew that I could be a professional speaker until somebody offered me money to speak! At that point, it occurred to me that maybe I was

good enough, and I should take advantage of that opportunity.

The other thing is that I was working 100 hours a week, sometimes in three countries in a week. Because of that, I had no time for myself. I used to meet my husband in Paris or London or somewhere, and then I would return to Armenia or Azerbaijan, and he would return to Chicago!

ALLOCATE A SPECIFIC TIME TO

AN ACTIVITY, AND DO IT THEN, AND

ONLY THEN.

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When you’re constantly asked to work overtime, you must sometimes say no. Here’s how to do it.Say that you really value your job and the relationship you have with your boss, colleagues and the company. Your goal is to always do the best for the organisation. However, that said, you also have a life and responsibilities beyond work. These can be anything from your family or an ongoing education. So say you cannot work on a particular day, but add that if you can strategise with your team or boss, and maybe work one day later each week, you’ll be happy to make it happen. That’s it.

You must always say what you can do, and what you can’t. You must recognise this and move on. Don’t try to be too efficient, don’t try to be all things to all people, and learn to let it go.

And then we would meet again a couple of weeks later. I realised that as I was approaching an age where I would become a grandmother, that if I didn’t make a dramatic change in my own life, I would have no life.

This realisation came quite late to you, then?Yes, it did, absolutely! I was working hours and hours across multiple countries, and I never knew how to say no! I used to say yes to everything; if you want something done, sure, I’ll do it for you! But I never gave a thought to the fact that there were two key factors that were missing. Firstly, my time, which was not my own but someone else’s, and secondly, I wanted to someday be able to play on the floor with my grandchildren and get back up again! But the way I was working, that would never, ever have happened.

Not being able to say “no” is actually quite common, and can lead to a lot of difficulties? How do you handle this?You should shift your mindset, and you’ll find that you will shift your life in the process. One of the key ideas in my book B is Balance is that “No” is a complete sentence. You don’t need to justify it. You say “Thank you so much for asking me, I’m honoured. But with my current schedule, there is no way I can do this, and do it well to suit your needs.” For example, I was recently asked to be the honorary president of their group, and I told them that I was truly honoured to be given the privilege, and thanked them for thinking of me. But I needed to say no because I could not give the job the attention it deserved.

I think that learning to say no is a key factor in each of our lives, regardless of who we are and what kind of work we do. It enables us to get a life, so to speak! Because if you think about it, if we don’t have a life, we really have nothing. So you say no in a nice way, without burning your bridges or causing offense.

How can one manage to achieve a good balance between work or studies and life?You must change your mindset. You must change the way you feel internally, emotionally, physically and spiritually about your responsibilities and what’s

important to you. I always tell people to think about what brings them the greatest joy in life. What makes you get out of bed each and every day? When you can balance this with your efforts each and every day to get the job done, then and only then can you achieve true balance.

MBA aspirants are usually under a lot of pressure, either while studying for the entrance exam or doing so while still working. How do you handle that pressure?

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Take a deep breath. Relax. When you’re at work, be there 100 per cent and give your 100 per cent. If you’re a student, and you’re studying for the entrance test, put your whole mind to it. But don’t be the kind of person who doesn’t take breaks and who doesn’t take care of themselves. Don’t sit in front of your computer gobbling down fast food and soft drinks. This will never allow you to put in your best work and effort, whether it is at your job or in your studies. So give 100 per cent, but remember to take time out for yourself, even if it is just for 15 minutes.

A lot of students go abroad to study or to work, and they find it difficult to adjust to the different culture and people and mindset. How can one keep a level head in such situations?I believe that there is nothing more beneficial for a student to move out of their comfort zone and study in another location, whether it is another city, state or country. They must spend a lot of time consciously trying to understand the culture there, because it will really broaden their experience and make them that much more valuable. Even at my age, my colleagues go abroad to various countries on assignment or to work for a year or so just to be able to understand how other people and other cultures work, and to enjoy the benefits and values they bring to the table.

So, to not be overwhelmed, spend some time first

consciously understanding the people around you. It will help you settle in, and will be very enriching.

Many students often feel stressed because they can’t manage their time properly. They get bogged down by the amount they have to study, coupled sometimes with their work. Any advice for them?

Make two lists. The first one is what must be done, and the other is a to-do list. Put your tasks and everything you have to do in either one of the lists. All the tasks in the first list must be done immediately or on the same day, or there will be ramifications, whether at work or your personal backlog. The tasks in our to-do list are all those that can be put aside to be done later in the week or month.

The second thing is to handle a piece or paper, or your mail, message or notification only once. For instance, if you’re checking your email, either click respond and write your reply and send it, or click delete. Don’t save it for later and tell yourself that you’ll get back to it. Using my own example, I check my email between 7 and 9 am, and again between 3 and 5 pm. During the rest of the day, I don’t check it at all. I make that clear to everyone too. So this gives me a block of time between those two “check mail” times when I finish what needs to be done.

This holds true for every activity. Set aside a specific time for something, and do it at that time and only then. A

Tips to reduce stress}Calm, controlled breathing

}Regular exercise and stretching

}Adequate sleep during the night

}Power naps during the day

}Eat well balanced meals

}Maintain proper posture

}Learn to prioritise

Think of five areas in your life and begin your process to simplify. Write down each area. These areas could be your work, food/nutrition, exercise, family, school/college, community, professional affiliations and extra-curricular activities.

Some solutions:l Look at everything you do on a daily basis and determine areas where you could be more efficient or can eliminate duplication. Propose changes to make yourself, your work, and your area more efficient.l Eat foods prepared simply, but eat with family and friends or make a ritual out of it, with each

person responsible for one aspect of the meal. l Look at your community or professional affiliation responsibilities. Drop membership on a committee to free your time.l Clear out the clutter in your life to make it easier to find what you need. Take action immediately on those items that require only a simple response. Create a system for managing follow up items. l Turn on the TV only when you have a program to watch. Monitor media consumption and avoid disturbing news that brings you down.

Excerpt from Sharon M Weinstein’s B is for Balance.

Balancing Act: Simplify by Five

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... says ABHIROOP MEDHEKAR, co-founder and COO at Taskbob, the instant home services venture started seven months ago with just four employees and is now a 92-member force. The IIT Bombay and IIM Ahmedabad alumnus shares with Alolika Banerjee how he managed to break free of the lure of a cushy job at McKinsey and start his own enterprise.

‘We are all the same, all kings in our company’

Q. Tell us about your journey from MBA aspirant to entrepreneur.I harboured the dream of starting something of my own ever since I was an MBA aspirant myself. Even during my IIT days, the idea of running my own company seemed fascinating. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg were my idols. Being a techie guy, I already knew all about coding and building websites. But there is a lot more to business than merely knowing the technology. That’s when I thought an MBA degree would propel me in the right direction. I enrolled with IMS for the test series in 2007. With their help and guidance, I got admission to IIM Ahmadabad in 2008.

At IIM-A, I focused a lot on entrepreneurship-related courses. There is a very famous course called LEM – Laboratory for Entrepreneurial Motivation. I enrolled for it and it helped widen my vision towards business, commerce and trade from a realistic angle. I was keen to start something immediately after

MBA, but it was hard to resist a lucrative offer from McKinsey. But after five years at their Mumbai office, in December last year, I quit and started my own dream venture — Taskbob.

Q. Why the name Taskbob?Taskbob stands for instant home services. We solve all kinds of common household problems, be it plumbing, electrical work, carpentry, repairing home appliances, cleaning and even chauffer services. These are just some of the problems all of us face every day. And these can only be solved by someone prompt, efficient and reliable. So who else fits the image better than Bob the Builder?

This sector has been majorly neglected because of the customers’ lack of trust, which has built up over the years due to poor service, negligence and overcharging by the servicemen. At Taskbob, we want to change this very image and regain the customers’ trust. And Bob the Builder can best usher in that change! (Laughs)

Q. What inspired you to start this enterprise – the kind of services you provide? Since I’d wanted to start a business, I would keep noting down every interesting idea I had. Over the next few years, I had jotted down almost 25 to 30 impressive ideas. But I could never zero in on a particular idea. I

Life at McKinsey used to be pretty hectic. And during weekends, I was too tired or lazy to do household work. And when I would call for a serviceman, he would either not turn up on time, do a bad job and if I was inattentive, charge exorbitantly. My friends too had similar tales of woe. So four of us, Aseem Khare, Amit Shalia, Ajay Bhat and I, decided to start our own venture.

Q. Tell us about the challenges you faced in the initial days and the problems you confront now.

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The problems in the initial days were certainly different from those we encounter now. To begin with, Aseem and I had put in money from our own savings. During those days, the first challenge was team building. We needed a set of like-minded individuals across different departments like tech, marketing, sales and others, who were efficient, intelligent and ready to make the most of their creativity with our shared vision. And for that, we needed more funds. So after our shared savings sustained us for three or four months, we approached investors. And in this, my IIT and IIM networking helped us find talented people.

The second set of challenges was finding skilled servicemen. Winning the trust of the customers was most crucial, and so, we needed to offer the maximum value proposition. That required a lot of brainstorming and running around.

Now the challenges are different. In the past seven months, we have been able to win trust through our technology and services. Now we are looking to scale up our business.

Q. This is the age of start-ups. What is your take on the spurt of these businesses?I feel the spurt of start-ups is good for the Indian economy. Instead of seeking employment, enterprising individuals are looking for ways to generate employment. What can be better than this?

People’s attitudes have also changed quite a bit. They are no longer hesitant to work for start-ups. The entire conservative culture that a big brand name matters is diminishing. People are more willing to work for companies where they get to wear multiple hats and play meaningful roles that are more interesting, fast-paced and less bureaucratic than a big corporate culture.

Q. You are still in your 20s and already running a company. What do your employees think of working for somebody so young?There are many entrepreneurs around the world much younger than me running far bigger companies! (Laughs) It’s the perspective that matters most. I learnt the basics of running a company from my stint at McKinsey. I feel the best way to get the most from your employees is to encourage them constantly, which enthuses them to strive harder and perform better. At Taskbob, we don’t work under anyone, we work towards actualising a common shared vision.

All Taskbob employees enjoy their work environment, because they get a lot of space, independence, ownership and accountability. My co-founders and I help to set forward a direction to the company, and after that, we leave it to them to respond to their true calling.

Q. Many people your age are spendthrifts. Does running a company make you a cautious spender? Actually, my life hasn’t changed much since I started Taskbob. McKinsey is a generous paymaster and in my stint there, I put together some pretty decent savings. Moreover, we got funding right after we started the company, which took care of the operational part.

My lifestyle hasn’t really changed much. The only change is that I am hardly getting any time at the weekends! During my McKinsey days, I was completely free on Saturdays and Sundays. But after starting Taskbob, the lines between work and life started blurring. Every day becomes a work day. In fact, in our business, Saturdays and Sundays are peak days

and that’s when we get lots of requests from customers.

Q. What are some of the most important lessons you’ve learnt as an entrepreneur?Taskbob is primarily a customer-driven company, so to me, the customer is king. As an entrepreneur, nothing is more satisfying than solving customers’

problems and getting their honest feedback. In our business model, servicemen are important

for us, since we work with them closely. Even though they might come from a lower income segment, we treat them as equal stakeholders in the company. They are not our workers but partners. This helps us stay ahead of our competitors.

My third learning involves the employees of the company. Slowly over the months, I have realised that I must start assigning work to people and trust them to complete their tasks with due diligence. Initially, I used to micromanage everything. But as we expanded and reached 92 staff, I realised I couldn’t supervise everything on my own. I learnt to nurture people for leadership roles under me. In this way we are building the next layer of leaders.

Q. Let’s talk of a make believe world where there is no Internet. In such a scenario, what do you think you would be doing?(Smiles) Life without Internet would be a really

START-UPS MUST DISTINGUISH

THEMSELVES TO STAND OUT AMONG

THE CROWD.

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different world. But I would have been running a similar start-up on a mobile platform. Instead of sending us queries through the app, people would have simply called us with their problems. You see, the app is just an interface. The actual challenge lies in solving customers’ requirements.

Q. Today, the struggle for sustenance is startlingly hard for start-ups. How difficult is it to tide over competition and establish one’s identity?Whatever the field, everything is fiercely competitive today. So any venture must have certain distinguishing elements to make it stand out. The value proposition offered by any company must be good enough to sustain it in the long run.

Another thing is the use of technology. Both this and the value proposition are difficult to replicate. At Taskbob, we take tremendous pride in the superior technology that we offer along with our endeavour to offer nothing short of the best to our customers.

A third differentiator is the pace of execution. In a competitive environment, this would be to make the first move, stay ahead of competition and scale to multiple markets.

Q. How do you keep your cool, maintain your focus and take crucial decisions when it matters the most?It’s true that there are days when nothing seems to be going right. On such days, I prefer not to interact much. It doesn’t help to vent one’s anger on someone. So I cool down first before interacting with my colleagues.

Q. Is there anyone you draw inspiration from?There are a couple of people actually. In terms of values and vision of building something really significant in India, I look up to Narayana Murthy. A company can be run in many ways, but what I find inspirational is the fact that a very big business — a huge empire — can be built and completely driven by values like honesty and integrity.

Globally, in terms of innovation, I look up to Steve Jobs. He is the pioneer of the entire smartphone evolution. He helped people aspire for a better world with his innovative technology and thinking.

Q. What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given that has helped you immensely?My senior McKinsey partner gave me a piece of advice once, which I truly cherish even today. He told me that it is okay to move fast, it’s very easy to get diverted in a fast paced environment and burn a lot of money

without generating any real value for the company. It is far more important to remain focused on the fundamentals of the business. I treasure his advice and try to implement it.

Q. What is the road ahead for you in your journey as an entrepreneur?Currently we have scaled up to the whole of Mumbai and Thane and are planning to expand further. Our vision is to build a company similar to Uber, not only in the kind of brand and structure, but also in terms of how efficiently they are able to deliver the customers’ expectations using technology. And that’s what the entire team is working towards. In the course of next year or so, we will scale up to multiple cities in India. We will keep experimenting and adding more services to our basket.

Q. Your advice for management aspirants?It’s important for the aspirants to focus on the CAT and enter a decent B-school. Any MBA programme is an immense learning ground where they can expand their information horizon like never before. They can learn from books, associations with a cosmopolitan peer group, endless debates, quizzes, interactive sessions.

But the most important learning in a B-school is the amazing networking one develops. For those who want to take up entrepreneurship, nothing can be as valuable as this networking.

For MBA aspirants who want to venture into something completely on their own, they should work for a start-up. This will give them the experience of starting up without actually doing so. They will get to learn what team building is all about, how risk-taking decisions are taken after extensive brainstorming sessions and how the office becomes the most exciting place to spend time with colleagues who become closer than family. A

Abhiroop with the other co-founders of Taskbob Aseem Khare, Ajay Bhatt and Amit Chahalia

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Dr (Prof) Uday Salunkhe,Group Director, WeSchool

In a world that is transcending boundaries, people of all sorts come together at the workplace. And to make that an effective organisation, the key parameter is the emotional

quotient that leaders have, or need to have.

E

Emotional intelligence makes the best leaders

motional intelligence, as Wikipedia puts it, is the ability to recognise one’s

own and other people’s emotions, to discriminate between different feelings and label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide one’s thinking and behaviour.

This many sound blasphemous, but it is true. It is not that the leaders have a fair amount of emotional quotient, but it is quite the other way round. People with decent levels of emotional quotient make it to top positions of responsibility. Life presents us choices; based on our selections, our graph takes shape. These selections are largely driven by our emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence reflects how mature our choices are — in our actions, reactions and responses to stimuli we get, external or internal. Encouraging emotional intelligence in the workforce has become one of the core policy stands of present businesses and organisations.

Emotional intelligence: How it can helpFailure may be frustrating to some, but to a few, it may be inspiring, drawing out persistence and perseverance. Our positive experiences get morphed into habits and philosophy that govern

us, giving a shape to our thought process. In the context of workplace hierarchy, after a certain level, intelligence is a given. Emotional quotient then becomes the decisive variable.

All of us have seen people who seem to be blessed with magnanimous doses of equanimity. They seem quite unperturbed, even in the face of most challenging of circumstances. You never hear their voice wavering. These are the blessed ones with lavish emotional intelligence. They know how to deal with emotions — their own and others — and how to make these work to their advantage and mitigate a crisis on hand. They are open to contrary views and are accessible. And these are the people the world wants to be with, or at least, the majority wants to be with.

Emotional quotient: Its importanceEmotional intelligence makes one amicable and adds adaptability to one’s personality. It can be a crucial element in a team. Professionals should have the flexibility of working in eclectic teams, which are cross sections of the globe, performing with ease amidst diverse mindsets that may be brilliant yet opposable

at times. Hence, they need to be emotionally intelligent. It is aptly said that people are hired for their high IQ and fired for their low EQ. Emotions take away your ability to see clearly because you are looking through affected lenses.

Organisations and EQHence, Emotional Intelligence has as crucial a role to play, if not more, as the core craft. It is also one of the important metrics used to identify people when they are hired for crucial roles. High EQ people are a breeze — they are pleasant to work with, prudent and pragmatic. They naturally draw out support from their colleagues and others.

Considering the global element, fast-fading international

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boundaries, and multinational teams collaborating on projects of immense value, will it be wise to lose out on them simply because of inappropriate handling of emotions? Also, it isn’t only about the goal and its accomplishment, emotional intelligence renders the journey towards the goal very pleasant. Hence, even the parameters based on which professionals are scanned and gauged have evolved to include emotional quotient as a significant element. How good and effective a team player is, and his adeptness with emotions to get things moving towards organisational goals, have become some serious requirements in the minds of the top management. And the approach is quite justified too.

Competition to CooperationThe world today has immense opportunities for growth. There are new and unexplored vistas of progress and opportunities. Cooperation from different players has been proved to be a multiplier force, and the impact grows exponentially. We have experienced it firsthand, in our collaborations with some of the best known players across the globe. Every time, we have been pleasantly surprised by the end results. We have been able to make impactful presence in fields as diverse as renewable waste management, health, rural management, innovation and many others, because we believed in the power of collaboration and concerted efforts. It brings the best brains and boundless resources together. It breaks the isolation and busts the myth of a siloed existence. The challenge of the crunch is always preceded with help pouring in from some quarter or the other.

Sympathy and EmpathyCollaborations need a common

thread that connects. And it is an established fact that empathy — the ability to relate to others — is a great propeller for businesses. Putting oneself in the situation others might be going through gives us a glimpse of what it may be for them to be in that given situation. To some, the concept of empathy might appear tangential to the concept of a traditional workplace, marked with competition and the race to the top. But the fact remains that for a leader to be effective, it is imperative to relate to his/her stakeholders.

Empathy and leadershipThe downtrend comes when leaders get so insulated in their world that they become oblivious to the needs, emotions and sentiments

of the people. A leader is a leader because of the people following him willingly. And this happens when one knows what they have in their heads and hearts. Empathy is that window that gives one this needed tool. Empathy should be an important element of all business communication and deliberations. Leaders need to have open mindsets, affability and accessibility to some extent to get a feel of the pulse of their workforce. Empathy begets commitment and a sense of being a part of the organisation. It draws out the best.

Empathy involves understanding and relating to others, respecting their sentiments and viewpoints. It asks for attitudinal magnanimity

and graciousness in the thought process to consider new thoughts and beliefs. It establishes a connection with the other person. And the benefits are immense. It is a professional imperative that leads to enhanced productivity and commitment.

How EQ and spiritual intelligence can helpSpirituality is not an antediluvian concept. It is the most practical aspect of business today. It gives a righteous character and acts as a beacon on our actions, particularly for those who have the power to make a difference. It pronounces the sanctity of a righteous and prudent behaviour — a model pattern of thoughts and actions that will create positivity and peace of mind. So why

would we close our eyes to the practice of a spirituality-enthused work culture?

Spirituality doesn’t ask for difficult contortions. It is an affable way to make our deliberations chaos-free and positive. Spirituality gives a humane touch to business deliberations. All talks of societal impact, ecological concerns and reaching out to the

billions will fizzle out in the presence of such spiritual awareness.

Most of our policies have a distinct spiritual element to them, though the real rationale gets diluted after a while. Spirituality is the kernel of reservations for the weaker sections. CSR talks of empathy at workplace. It is another thing that after some time, these need to be updated. But we see them more as policies and clauses. Give it a thought. The outreach programmes and many similar initiatives have spirituality as their essence.

Emotional intelligence and spirituality are parallel concepts and give a humane touch to the business world and bring about a boost to productivity. A

A LEADER IS A LEADER BECAUSE OF THE PEOPLE

FOLLOWING HIM WILLINGLY.

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snippets

Bronze Age treasure trove found in DenmarkArchaeologists have discovered a treasure trove of gold spirals, which

may have been used for religious ceremonies during the Bronze Age, buried in a field in the largest island in Denmark.

The 2,000 gold spirals that were found in Zealand have been dated as originating between 900 and 700 BC, according to the Danish National Museum. Each spiral is made up of pure gold thread and measures up to three centimetres in length. The entire find weighs between 200-300 grams.

Newsin brief

Here are some

interesting

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over the last

month

Sri Lanka President dissolves parliamentSri Lanka’s President dissolved parliament, a government spokesman said, in an effort to consolidate power and push through political reforms.

Two government officials said elections will be held to elect a new parliament on August 17. President Maithripala Sirisena, who was elected on 8 January, needs parliamentary support to

push through reforms he has promised, including limits on the powers of the executive presidency. The United Nations Human Rights Council is expected to release a report in September on human rights abuses during the final phase of the war against the Tamil insurgency in 2009.

RMSI edges past Google to become the best company to work for in India IT services company RMSI, based in the National Capital Region and offering GIS (geographic information system), modelling & analytics and software services, has edged past Google India and topped the Best Companies to Work for Study 2015, a

collaboration between the Economic Times and the Great Place to Work Institute. Google India had consistently topped the survey for five consecutive years. RMSI had topped the rankings

in 2009. Seven hundred companies signed up for India’s Best Companies to Work For 2015. The survey was done

on over 1.8 lakh employees across 20 sectors, making this the most comprehensive survey of workplace culture in India.

India pledges $1 billion for Nepal’s reconstruction programmeIndia has pledged USD one billion in assistance to quake-ravaged Nepal for its massive

reconstruction programme, asserting that it will strongly stand behind the Nepalese government.

The announcement was made by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj on June 25th during an international donors’ conference in Kathmandu. Swaraj hoped that a “stronger, united and more confident Nepal will rise” from the debris of destruction.

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AAP presents its first ‘Swaraj’ budget; 106% increase in education allocationThe Arvind Kejriwal government presented its first budget on

June 25th with the allocation for education increased by 106 per cent.

Finance Minister Manish Sisodia said this allocation for education was probably a first in this country. Explaining his decision, Sisodia further said, the increased 106 per cent provision for the sector indicates AAP’s commitment to the cause of education. Along with education, health and transport have also received special attention in this session, which Sisodia referred to as a ‘Swaraj’ budget.

Alibaba is all set to acquire a quarter of Micromax’s sharesChina’s e-commerce giant

Alibaba is all set to acquire a quarter of Micromax’s shares for about $700 million (Rs 4,200 crore). This is the first time an overseas investor will be acquiring the stakes of an Indian phone maker.

This deal involves the sale of a stake of 20-26 per cent to Alibaba Group Holding, the owner of China’s leading online payment solutions company Alipay, thereby allowing it to gain entry into one of the world’s fastest-growing handset markets.

The transaction is likely to value India’s No. 2 handset maker at $3.5 billion (Rs 21,000 crore) inclusive of debt.

India to become world’s second largest smartphone marketLooking at the ever increasing sales figures, India is all set

to overtake the US and become the world’s second largest smartphone market, selling an impressive 174 million units by 2017, after China.This prediction has been published by the international research firm Strategy Analytics, which also forecasted that global smartphone sales are set to grow from 1.5 billion units in 2015 to a record 1.7 billion by 2017.In the report it is also clarified that global smartphone sales will grow from 1.5 billion units in 2015 to a record 1.7 billion in 2017.

11 Indian companies in Forbes Asia’s ‘Best Under A Billion’ list

As many as 11 Indian companies have been named among top 200 Asia Pacific corporations in Forbes Asia’s ‘Best Under A Billion’ list. The list covers public companies with annual revenue of $5 million to $1 billion, Forbes said, adding that they should also have positive net income and should be publicly traded for at least a year.

The Indian companies that made it to the list include Avanti Feeds Ltd, Borosil Glass Works, Byke Hospitality, Caplin Point Laboratories, Centum Electronics, Kaveri Seed, Kitex Garments, NGL Fine-Chem, Orbit Exports, Premco Global and Vakrangee.

‘Arre’, ‘yaar’ enter Oxford English DictionaryWhen someone is exclaiming ‘Arre yaar’ don’t assume the person is talking in Hindi. The person is speaking perfect English. According

to Oxford English Dictionary, Hindi words like ‘arre’, ‘yaar’ have been the latest ones to be included in the revered lexicon.

Even though in India the word ‘arre’ could be commonly written as ‘arrey’, in the Oxford English Dictionary it is being spelt as ‘arré’. The meaning of the word ‘arré’ is explained as ‘used to express annoyance, surprise, or interest, or to attract someone’s attention’ while ‘yaar’ has been described as ‘a friendly form of address’.

Same-sex marriages become legal all across the United States of AmericaGay marriages have been made legal across all the states in the United States of America after

a Supreme Court ruling that declared attempts by conservative states to ban them unconstitutional.

“No longer may this liberty be denied,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote in the historic decision. “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”

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Top Ramen noodles taken off shelvesInstant noodles brand Top Ramen, which had also been a favourite with children and adults alike, has been taken off the shelves from the Indian market on orders from central

food safety regulator FSSAI. The news of its withdrawal has been announced by Indo Nissin, the company that manufactures Top Ramen. Earlier, Nestle had to recall Maggi noodles, while Hindustan Unilever also withdrew its Knorr instant noodles brand over safety and regulatory issues.

Meanwhile, Britain’s food regulator has tested Nestle’s Maggi Noodles and the tastemaker separately and declared it to be perfectly safe for consumption. The levels of lead reported in the flavouring have not given any cause for concern, reported a UK Food Safety Agency spokesperson.

SC allows child’s guardianship to unwed moms; father’s consent not requiredThe Supreme Court has given the

verdict that father’s consent is not required in giving guardianship of a child to an unmarried mother.

The apex court bench headed by Justice Vikramajit Sen said this while recalling the earlier order of a guardianship court and asking it to re-examine the plea by the unwed mother seeking guardianship of the child without issuing notice to the father.

Indian Railways, Army are in the Top 10 world’s biggest employers’ list: Study Indian Railways and Army are among the world’s biggest employers, together employing a

massive 2.7 million people, said a report.According to a research published by the World

Economic Forum, Indian Railways is ranked at the 8th place, followed by Indian Armed Forces, in the list of world’s biggest employers.

Saina becomes the highest paid female sports endorser in IndiaIndian badminton player Saina Nehwal has becomes the highest paid female sports endorser in the country ahead of tennis player Sania Mirza and boxer

Mary Kom after signing an endorsement deal with Kellogg, pegged at close to Rs 1.5 crore

The India spokesperson for Kellogg, the world’s largest breakfast cereal maker, confirmed the association with Nehwal but declined to give details of the deal. The 25-year-old world number 2 badminton player already has endorsement deals with Yonex, Bajaj Nomarks cream, Iodex pain reliever, Indian Overseas Bank and the Sahara group

Iran agrees to a breakthrough nuclear dealSix world powers – the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany have agreed on a breakthrough deal with Iran on limiting Iranian nuclear activity in return for the lifting of international economic sanctions. This deal

will bring to a close nearly a decade of isolation for the Islamic republic. Iran’s foreign minister called the agreement “historic”, saying it opened a “new chapter of hope”. It reportedly gives UN nuclear inspectors extensive but not automatic access to sites within Iran. Negotiations between Iran and the six world powers had begun in 2006.

World’s oldest man dies at 112Sakari Momoi, the world’s oldest man in the Guinness World Records, who credited healthy eating and getting plenty of sleep for his longevity, has died at the

age of 112, Japanese media reported. Momoi was born in Fukushima in February 1903

– the year the teddy bear was introduced and Orville Wright carried out the first powered, heavier-than-air flight.

The world’s oldest man is now likely to be Japanese Yasutaro Koide, born in March 1903, a little over a month younger than Momoi. US resident Susannah Mushatt Jones, 116, is the world’s oldest person.

India among top 10 countries to attract highest FDI in 2014: UnctadIndia gets the ninth position in the list of top 10 destinations for foreign direct investments (FDI) in 2014, according to the World Investment Report 2015 released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development (Unctad). Last year it had failed to make it to the list when it was ranked 15th. During 2014, FDI inflows into India jumped 22 per cent to $34 billion at a time when global FDI fell by 16 per cent

to $1.23 trillion. Unctad projected global FDI flows to rise 11 per cent to $1.4 trillion in 2015.

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Dr Suresh Srinivasan

Is Russia the next problem for Europe?

Things are not quite hunky dory yet for the Eurozone, even after the Greece episode has settled down somewhat. Owing largely to its own political machinations, the Russian

economy is also likely to run aground, with far reaching ramifications.

L ast month, the Greece issue almost came to a boiling point. Some

temporary relief was gained when the European central bank and the Eurozone members extended a stopgap package to save Greece from bankruptcy. While this could turn out to be a perpetual problem until a hard decision is taken by the Eurozone members on how to handle Greece, Europe has other problems, even without Greece.

The geopolitical uncertainties that Russia has created in the region through the annexation of Crimea and interference in the Ukrainian affairs have become a serious concern for Europe. Many of the European nations, including

Germany, are still dependent on Russian energy in terms of oil and gas imports. Furthermore, the deteriorating finances of Russia, and the social turmoil this could create, are some of the major potential problems for Europe and the global economy.

Western sanctions and the Russian economy The western sanctions are slowly crippling the Russian economy; no international funding has been coming in for more than 15 months. Russia’s international reserves have declined close to US$140 billion during the last year. Funds are also steadily flowing out of the country. All of these factors

have sharply weakened the economy. The panic and economic weakness is strongly apparent on ground.

The price of wheat, which is the Russian staple food, has increased by more than 70 per cent over the last couple of years. Russian living standards are continuing to fall. Consumers are panicking and the value of the Ruble has sharply deteriorated and remains volatile. Over the last three years, President Vladimir Putin has steeply increased social spending without a matching increase in revenues. He has also been funding the shortfall in the regional budgets through subsidised loans, triggering off deficits to the federal budget. Economists have predicted that Russia’s GDP growth for the coming year could well turn out to be negative.

How did the West engineer the sanctions? The sanctions were imposed through two rounds. The first was done early last year (2014) when senior Russian officials, diplomats, CEOs of major Russian corporations and supporters of the President were targeted. Sanctions imposed on Russia are crippling its economy

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INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE

Adanis’ port acquisitionsGautam Adani today is the largest port operator in the country. Adani Ports was recently awarded the concession for Vizhinjam port in the state of Kerala, and is expecting to commence construction in November. The construction is expected to be completed within the four-year deadline. Unconfirmed reports state that the Adani group is expected to take over the Katupalli port in Tamil Nadu from Larsen & Toubro and the Gangavaram port in Andhra Pradesh. L&T operates the Katupalli port and also has a large ship-building capability in this port. The Adanis are also active in energy, metals and mining, and with such a massive expansion in the port business, we need to see how the company can pull all of these together to deliver shareholder value.

Infosys AGM The recent annual general meeting has been a very special one for Infosys. Founder N.R. Narayana Murthy, for the first time, attended the meeting in the capacity of a

shareholder, rather than as a member of the governing board. A year earlier, he and his son Rohan Murthy gave up executive positions after appointing Vishal Sikka from SAP to lead Infosys. This was first time ever in the history of Infosys that there were no founders on the board or associated with the company anymore, a true milestone where the baton is passed on from promoters to professional managers.

Sanctions were in terms of travel bans and asset freezes. Most of these individuals were extremely wealthy, and travel bans, including to Europe, was expected to hit them hard. The second bout of sanctions was kicked off during the middle of last year, i.e., 2014, where no foreign money was allowed to flow into Russia. All routes were sealed and major financial institutions were kept under close watch to avoid such fund flow into the country.

Over the last 12 months, with no external funds flowing in, Russia has been steadily moving into a debt trap. The debt of regional governments grew by close to 80 per cent over the last three years. Debt as a percentage of revenue in many of the 80 regional governments stood at close to 150 per cent of their revenue, although Russia’s federal debt was a mere 10 per cent of its GDP. Especially with the western sanctions, the regional governments are resorting to expensive foreign currency local bank loans, which, however, come at very high interest costs.

Russia’s activities hurting own economyAccording to experts, more than the Western sanctions, Russia’s own activities are hurting its economy. Economists opine that the problems would have been there even if there had been no sanctions at all.

President Putin’s authoritarian regime lacks democratic legitimacy. Russia is an economy that is dependent primarily on gas and crude oil exports. For decades, the foreign policy of the Soviet Union had been anchored on interference with neighbouring states. Today, Putin is still following the same script and, in one way or another, it is central to his survival. The perception of the masses is that the dire state of the Russian economy is more due to American and Western ploys, rather than a product of Russia’s own political weakness. It is reported that Putin’s actions have gone down well with the masses, and he is still quite popular and seen as a saviour of national interests. However, this could turn out to

be short-lived and could change if the Russians realise that it is the leadership that is making them poorer day by day.

Sanctions not the only factor Putin has been playing a political game and using his popularity to water down the actual financial crisis. He has been preaching that the worst is over and that Russia has passed the peak point of its problems. Putin has also been insisting that Western sanctions would not affect Russia in the way that they affected Iran, clearly saying, “Russia is not Iran. Our country is bigger, our economy is bigger and more diversified,

President Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian regime lacks democratic legitimacy

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INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE

Infosys turnaroundThe recently announced first quarter result of Infosys is, in a way, a victory for founder N.R. Narayana Murthy’s faith in bringing in, Vishal Sikka, the first externally sourced non-promoter director to head the company. This change has clearly caused the company to pick up after several quarters of poor performance. Infosys reported a much higher profit

as compared to analysts’ estimates, at a 5 per cent increase, primarily due to robust growth in the US market, its mainstay. More importantly, it provided a guidance of more than a 13 per cent growth in its revenue over the coming year.

Hero group diversifies into electronicsHero group has entered the electronics segment through the acquisition of a majority stake in set top box maker Mybox Technologies. It has a business plan to

invest `500 crore over the next few years. The group has also announced the formation of a new company, Hero Electronix, which will spearhead the group’s activities in the segment. The electronics industry is set to grow significantly over the next decade; with 4G connectivity likely to become the norm and education, media and entertainment industries converging, there seem to be immense opportunities for this industry to flourish. The question is how Hero will build a competitive advantage in this industry.

and we have a different energy policy.” Putin said he didn’t expect the sanctions to be lifted anytime soon, but is confident that the Russian economy can withstand the pressure.

The major cause of Russia’s problems is actually twofold — deeply entrenched corruption and poor economic policies practised by the Putin government. A coterie of friends, cronies and relatives are systematically swindling the national wealth through contracts with large nationalised companies like Gazprom. With economic development more or less at a standstill and policies of national interest not being pursued, the industrial activity in Russia has reportedly virtually come to a halt — a perfect recipe for social unrest in the offing, sooner or later. The falling oil prices have been deeply impacting the Russian economy. With such a steep fall in oil prices, and Russia being predominantly an energy exporting country, its exports are

down by close to 40 per cent as compared to good times.

Europe implicationsThe biggest trump card Russia currently holds is that Europe is not perfectly united at the moment. In fact, Russia can be said to have caused the divide, with certain European nations becoming dependent on the Russian energy supply. This supply cannot be switched without a major cost, in the short to medium term.

The United States has also not been able to bring about a permanent solution to guarantee Europe long term energy supplies in the event of a Russian fallout. US President Barack Obama could have a domestic backlash on his hands if he guaranteed traditional fossil fuel exports to Europe across the Atlantic. Shale is yet to mature, and it is too early to assess whether it could be supplied to Europe to the extent of replacing Russian energy imports! This is being

used by Russia for its benefit and it is virtually blackmailing the Western powers by meddling in Ukraine and Crimea.

Russia is also scouting for assistance in the form of funds from China. The Chinese, however, are extremely cautious, as they could earn the flack of Western economies as the transparency in fund flows across the board is quite high, these days.

The way forward seems that a crisis will erupt, pushing Russia to the threshold of collapse, which will possibly force it to come to the table for negotiations. The latest Iran development could be a good takeaway for Russia, and can highlight the positive side of cooperating with the global community. But this is likely to take time and in the process, is likely to cause significant damage to Europe, and trigger geopolitical uncertainty and to the global economy as a whole! A

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Dr Suresh Srinivasan

Chinese stock market crash, Iran deal and IndiaThe sudden Chinese stock market crash has left the Chinese economy shaken, even as

Chinese regulators sprang into action with a slew of remedial measures. This, coupled with the recent Iran nuclear deal, will have a significant impact on the Indian economy.

I n the first half of July 2015, the Chinese stock markets crashed, sending

shockwaves around the global markets. The Shanghai exchange stocks lost more than 6 per cent in value, resulting in an overall loss of around 30 per cent from the peak value it had attained around a month ago. One third of that peak value has been completely wiped out, just like that!

Following the crash, there was mayhem all over, with more than a thousand companies halting trading. Trillions of dollars, more than US$3 trillion to be precise, in market capitalisation has been eroded in a short span. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index in

the US reacted by a sharp fall of more than 1.5 per cent in a single trade, reaching a four-month low.

China’s response to crashThe coordinated manner, and the intensity at which the Chinese regulators reacted to this crash, is the case in point here. The nervousness on the part of the Chinese authorities was extremely evident, and their concerted actions were unprecedented — for more than a week, a slew of measures were unveiled every day! Regulators restricted short-selling and pension funds were pledged to buy more stocks. All the initial public offerings in the vicinity were suspended and

brokers created a fund to buy shares, backed by cash from the People’s Bank of China — China’s central bank. Interest rates were cut, and margin requirements were eased to allow more activity to flow into the stock markets. It was also quoted that speculators were allowed to use their houses as collaterals for margin loans. The state media was encouraging such coordinated action.

Why were the regulators firing all cylinders to ensure the Chinese markets do not fall below a particular level?

Reasons behind China’s responseA popular opinion is that the Chinese government prefers to ensure that the slowing economy makes a soft landing, rather than collapse dramatically. This is being shown as the reason for such an exaggerated response to a stock market crash. In fact, many analysts believe that the Chinese slowdown could possibly have a deeper impact on the global economy, far more than that of the Greece crisis!

There are other fundamental economic statistics that need to be read together with the stock market crash in order Chinese stock markets crashed suddenly in July

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to appreciate the magnitude of the problem. Both exports and imports have been steadily decreasing, and for an export oriented economy, this spells really bad news. Imports for the last quarter decreased by more than 17 per cent.

In effect, China has been facing a unique problem. Earlier the main challenge for the Chinese central bank was the low interest rates in developed economies and managing the resultant excess liquidity that flowed into China in the form of foreign institutional investments. Such excess liquidity used to be absorbed through special monetary policy tools that the Chinese central bank devised. The problem now, on the other hand, is just the opposite. With the US dollar strengthening, the local Chinese currency has come under pressure and the regulators are striving to ensure that this doesn’t trigger off a mass exodus of funds.

What is at stake?In spite of all the concerted efforts in response to the crash, the recovery of the market has not been that dramatic, especially given the slew of measures that were taken. This begs the question: Is there a fundament issue with the Chinese economy that the government is trying to downplay?

Although it is very difficult to understand, predict and make a call based on the manipulated Chinese stock market movements, there is certainly an asset bubble that is steadily building up over a period time. The world is closely watching China and its slowdown with great caution and attention, and has been trying to decipher even the most minute development only for the reason that any adverse outcomes from

China can damage the global economy much more than the current simmering European issues.

The Indian storyThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has claimed that that there are signs of recovery in the capital investment cycle. The Centre for Monitoring the Indian Economy (CMIE) has confirmed this view and indicated that new investments announced during the quarter ended June 2015 were 30 per cent higher than the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Active monsoon in many parts of the country is also good news that could lead to a higher economic growth.

However, exports still remain a major problem, as they have been steadily decreasing over the last six months. Everything said and done, the biggest challenge to the Indian economy is neither Greece nor China, but corporate debt and the asset quality of banks, both of which are a major concern. Both corporate debt and asset quality of banks need to be carefully managed and these entities should be strong enough to withstand any adversities that will cascade from the Greece crisis or the China slowdown.

Asset quality of banksThe challenge is to recognise the deteriorating quality of assets and take remedial measures on a timely basis, rather than identify them once they go bad, which merely adds to the problem. With the asset quality problem paramount in the infrastructure sector, the RBI is monitoring long tenure loans of 25 years to infrastructure companies that can be refinanced every five years, and in the process constantly keeping the quality of asset in check.

Corporate debtThe debt levels of Indian corporate are also a concern, and are in part responsible for the poor asset quality to a certain extent. Overseas borrowings of Indian corporates have also steeply increased during the last 18 months. The overall corporate debt is now pegged at around US$180 billion, and is higher by more than 20 per cent as compared to the previous year.

The RBI has warned that most of these foreign currency loans are remaining un-hedged and the RBI will not bail them out should something go wrong in terms of exchange rates. Especially in capital intensive sectors like

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INDIA INC: AT A GLANCERajya Sabha Panel approves GST In a very positive development for reforms in India, a Rajya Sabha panel approved most of the provisions relating to the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The current NDA government has been struggling to clear this bill since it came to power, and the primary contention is the ability of the bill to cautiously balance the sharing of revenue from GST between the Central and state governments. The bill will replace a number of the currently prevalent indirect tax laws into one comprehensive tax law. In spite of the Rajya Sabha panel clearing the bill, moving forward, the NDA government is likely to face stiff opposition from the likes of Congress, AIADMK, Left parties and other parties controlling the states.

Gold is crashingDuring the last week of July, gold prices crashed by 3 to 5 per cent across the globe in a matter of hours. This development is being attributed to the fact that the US dollar is strengthening and investors are moving away from gold, which is considered to be a safe haven in times of high risk perception, to a class of assets like the US dollar, where they are seeing a far superior return in the short run. Another theory suggests that this is primarily an outcome of the Chinese stock market crash, where there was forced selling in order to divert investments into the stock market to keep the share prices from crashing further.

IndiGo eyeing IPOIndia’s largest airline IndiGo is proposing to raise `2,400 crore through an initial public

offering (IPO) proposed during the year. IndiGo is considered to be the only profitable airline in India, but the numbers have not been very clear of late, as it is a private company whose accounts were not made public. IndiGo shareholders and managers have done a commendable job over the last 10 years to promote an airline that started from scratch to become the largest airline in the country, taking on the industry’s biggest players like Air India and Jet Airways. Many other companies are also entering the Indian financial markets to raise equity, which includes Cafe Coffee Day.

Narayana Murthy on innovation In his latest speech at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore, Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy observed that no invention or technology or any sort of disruptive innovation has emanated from India

over the last six decades. He was critical about the level of innovation in India, and blamed the academic community for such a state of affairs. Academicians, however, did not buy into such a statement. They argued that the community has been showing a number of inventions, but the Government of India is to blame for not providing adequate financial support and nurturing such inventions to become innovations. They also listed out a number of examples where India invented (radical innovations) but such inventions were not transformed into innovation.

real estate, infrastructure and cement, the debt to asset ratio is adverse. Many corporate are dicing their non-core assets to repay the debt and get to more comfortable levels.

Iran nuclear dealThe landmark deal that has been recently negotiated between Iran and the Western world is a major milestone in the global geopolitical arena. Iran and six world powers concluded this historic agreement, wherein Iran’s nuclear programme, which was a major concern for the western developed countries, will now come under the western oversight and in return for which the international sanctions imposed on Iran would be gradually withdrawn.

As a result, in the short to medium term, more crude oil will flow into the international markets, and crude prices could possibly start reducing to levels even below US$50 a barrel. This is great news for India, which is a major importer of crude oil. In addition, with India’s cordial relationship with Iran, it is an extremely attractive market for India to enhance and deepen bilateral relationships, including foreign direct investments, which had not been possible for the last few years.

In summary, both the Greece turmoil and China slowdown could have an impact on the global economy including India. While the Greek issue was already factored in, the China impact can cause unforeseen damage. Indian banks need to keep their asset quality stronger and Indian corporates need to manage their debt carefully in order to withstand any economic adversaries imported from these nations. A

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Quant

Are you a Brainiac? In this section, we shall explore several different types of questions from the various areas of entrance exams like the CAT, CET, GMAT,

etc, and how to best solve them.

1. In DABC, AB = 5 units, AC = 7 units and (A = 900. If AD is the angle bisector of (A and B-D-C, then find the length of AD.

1] units 2] units 3] units 4] units

A(DABC) =

Let AD = x

Now, A(DADB) = × AB × AD × sin45o

= × x

A(DADC) = × AC × AD × sin45o = × x

A(DABC) = A(DADC) + A(DADB)

= = = 3 x

x = = units. Hence, [3].

2. 60% of a class are boys and 25% of the boys are at least 5 feet tall. If 25% of the girls are less than 5 feet tall, what is the fraction of the students in the class who are at least 5 feet tall?

1] 2] 3] 4] Cannot be determined

15% of the class (boys) are at least 5 feet tall and 30% of the class (girls) are at least 5 feet tall.

= of the students are at least 5 feet tall. Hence, [1].

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Verbal

Q1) The mission of Project Gutenberg is simple: To encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks. This mission is, as much as possible, to encourage all those who are interested in making eBooks and helping to give them away. In fact, Project Gutenberg approves about 99% of all requests from those who would like to make our eBooks and give them away, within their various local copyright limitations. Project Gutenberg is powered by ideas, ideals, and by idealism. Project Gutenberg is not powered by financial or political power.______________________.

(1) Therefore, Project Gutenberg is not in the business of establishing standards.

(2) Therefore Project Gutenberg is powered totally by volunteers.

(3) Therefore, we offer as many freedoms to our employees as possible, in choices of what books to do, what formats to do them in, or any other ideas they may have concerning “the creation and distribution of eBooks.”

(4) Because we are totally powered by investors we are hesitant to be very bossy about what our investors should do, or how to do it.

The last two sentences give us the clue as to which options can be discarded. According to the last two sentences, Project Gutenberg is powered by ideals and not money. Eliminate [4] immediately which talks about the power of investors. [3] can also be eliminated since we are not sure about the connection between “high ideals” and “not powered by financial or political power” with “as many freedoms to our employees as possible” stated in [3].Ideally we need a sentence in between to explain this connection logically. [1] can also be discarded since the connection between the last two sentences and “not establishing standards” as stated in [1] is also not logically clear. [1] implies that since Project Gutenberg is not investor driven and is an idealistic mission therefore it does not intend to have high standards. Therefore, eliminate [1]. If a project – such as Gutenberg – is idealistic and not driven by finance, then it is likely that it will be staffed almost entirely by unpaid volunteers. With such a mission statement Gutenberg will probably not have adequate resources to recruit paid employees on a large scale. Hence, [2].

Q2) Cuba and the US have formally restored diplomatic relations after an agreement struck last year putting aside decades of hostility came into force. Just after midnight on Monday, the diplomatic missions of

DIRECTIONS for questions 1 and 2: The following questions have a paragraph from which one sentence has been deleted, indicated by a blank. From the given options, choose the sentence that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

3. A man’s property was distributed between his son, daughter and wife in the ratio 2 : 3 : 5. He had a plot of land, a house and Rs.1 lakh. The son got two-thirds of the land, the daughter got the house and the wife got the remaining land and Rs.1 lakh. What is the value of the land and house, respectively? 1] Rs.60000, Rs.90000 2] Rs.75000 each 3] Rs.75000, Rs.112500 4] Data insufficient

Let their shares be 2x, 3x and 5x.

of the land is 2x.

Then, the remaining part of the land i.e., of the land = x.

Hence, from the wife’s share, Rs.1 lakh = 4x.

x = Rs.25000.

The value of the land and the house = 3x each, i.e. Rs.75000 each. Hence, [2].

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DIRECTIONS for question 3: The sentences given in the following question, when properly sequenced, form a coherent paragraph. Each sentence is labelled with a letter. Choose the most logical order of sentences, from among the given choices, to construct a coherent paragraph.

each country became full embassies. US Secretary of State John Kerry is due to hold talks with his Cuban counterpart Bruno Rodriguez later in the day in Washington._________________. There were still “issues that we don’t see eye to eye on”, a US state department spokesman admitted.

(1) But Cuba says the restoration of diplomatic relations with its giant neighbour - which it calls an economic coup – will make it an economic vassal of the United States.

(2) But distrust for each other still remains due to the Bay of Pigs Cuban missile crisis which occurred in 1961.

(3) Despite the historic shift, both sides admit to lingering difficulties.

(4) The agreement is expected to be immensely beneficial to Cuba since the decades old US blockade was hugely damaging to its economy.

The final sentence of the paragraph indicates that despite the normalization of relations between Cuba and the US, there are still some hurdles that the two countries have to cross before they become friends and not just countries with diplomatic relations. Therefore, the blank sentence must contain the fact that not everything is rosy in their relations with each other. [3] states this and effectively forms a link to the last sentence of the paragraph. If [1] was true, Cuba would not have agreed to full diplomatic relations with the US. [2] does not link logically with the final sentence which is about “issues” (meaning current issues) the two countries do not agree on. Historical events are not current issues. [4] is entirely positive and does not bring out the obstacles still pending between the two countries. Hence, [3].

A) But the actions needed to avoid, reduce, capture, and store emissions would bring much wider benefits as well; in addition to reining in emissions, maximizing the land’s potential and protecting its vegetation is an efficient way to provide assistance to a large number of increasingly vulnerable people.

B) For starters, deforestation and agricultural emissions from soil, fertilizers, and livestock account for around one-quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases.

C) The land beneath our feet holds huge, largely untapped potential for rapid gains in both the fight against climate change and efforts to achieve the sustainable development Goals, which the international community is expected to adopt later this year.

D) Better management of the land could not only reduce emissions, but also trap the equivalent of 7-10 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year by 2030.

E) This amounts to roughly half the emissions we need to cut in the coming decades to meet the international goal of preventing a global rise in average surface temperature of more than 2º Celsius.

1) BCDEA

2) CBDEA

3) BDCAE

4) BADEC

At first glance, B seems to be the opening sentence. BD are linking sentences since D mentions how the greenhouse emissions from soil, fertilizer and livestock can be reduced from “around a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases” mentioned in B. Only [2] and [3] have a BD link with only [3] having B as the opening sentence. But in [3], C and A occur directly after D and neither DC or CA can be linking sentences as they make no sense when placed together. However, DE and EA make sense when placed together as E mentions the number in terms of reduced emissions first stated in D and A describes the wider benefits of such a cut in greenhouse emissions. This combination is present in [2]. Hence, [2].

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WOR

D DOS

E

M AT C H T H E W O R D S W I T H T H E I R M E A N I N G S

A glimpse of the apocalypse

1. Strait – (streyt) (adj)

2. Stench – (stench) (n)

3. Filth–(filth)(n)

4. Scum – (skuhm) (n)

5. Conflagration– (kon-fluh-grey-shuhn)(n)

6. Purge–(purj)(v)

7. Prodigious– (proh-dij-uhs)(adj)

8. Pestilential – (pes-tl-en-shuhl)(adj)

9. Suffice–(suh-fahys)(v)

10. Putrid–(pyoo-trid)(adj)

11. Devour– (dih-vou-uh)(v)

12. Brimstone – (brim-stohn) (n)

13. Nauseous – (naw-shuh s) (adj)

14. Loathsome – (lohth -suh m) (adj)

15. Fetid–(fet-id)(adj)

16. Carcasses – (kahr-kuhs-us) (n)

17. Reeking–(reek-ing)(n)

a. Decaying or rotting and emitting a foul smell

b. An extensive fire that destroys a great deal of land or property

c. Eat (usually food or prey) hungrily or quickly

d. Causing hatred or disgust; repulsive

e. Relating to or tending to cause infectious diseases

f. Dead bodies of animals

g. Affected with nausea; feeling inclined to vomit

h. Smelling extremely unpleasant

i. Disgusting dirt

j. Of limited spatial capacity; narrow or cramped

k. Rid (someone) of an unwanted feeling, memory, or condition

l. Be enough or adequate

m. Smelling strongly and unpleasantly; stinking

n. Sulphur

o. Remarkably or impressively great in extent, size, or degree

p. A layer of dirt, usually on the surface of a liquid

q. A strong and very unpleasant smell

Thehorrorofthisstraitanddarkprisonisincreasedbyitsawfulstench.

All the filthoftheworld,alltheoffalandscumoftheworld,wearetold,shallrunthere

astoavastreekingsewerwhentheterribleconflagrationofthelastdayhas

purgedtheworld.Thebrimstone,too,whichburnsthereinsuchprodigious

quantityfillsallhellwithitsintolerablestench;andthebodiesofthedamnedthemselves

exhale such a pestilentialodourthat,assaintBonaventuresays,oneofthemalone

would sufficetoinfectthewholeworld.Theveryairofthisworld,thatpureelement,

becomesfoulandunbreathablewhenithasbeenlongenclosed.Considerthenwhat

mustbethefoulnessoftheairofhell.Imaginesomefoulandputridcorpsethathaslain

rottinganddecomposinginthegrave,ajelly-likemassofliquidcorruption.

Imaginesuchacorpseapreytoflames,devouredbythefireofburningbrimstone

andgivingoffdensechokingfumesofnauseous loathsomedecomposition.

Andthenimaginethissickeningstench,multipliedamillionfoldandamillionfold

againfromthemillionsuponmillionsoffetid carcassesmassedtogetherinthe

reekingdarkness,ahugeandrottinghumanfungus.

ExcerptfromJamesJoyce’sA Portrait Of The Artist As A Young Man

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A quiz to boost your General Knowledge

1. Apart from Singapore, Nepal, India and Sri Lanka, which is the other country that has granted permission to Life Insurance Corporation to run its business?

a. Bangladesh b. Maldives c. Nepal d. Afghanistan

2. An Indian team had set a previous world record by planting almost 10,000 trees in an hour’s time. Another country broke that record recently and set up a new one by planting 49,672 trees in one hour. Name this country which has accomplished this almost impossible feat with only 100 volunteers.

a. Kyrgyzstan b. Belarus c. Bhutan d. Tunisia

3. Irwin Rose, who passed away recently, had been an American Nobel Laureate. Rose won the prestigious award in the year 2004. In which field did he win the Nobel Prize?

a. Chemistry b. Literature c. Medicine d. Physics

4. Name the pair that won the Canada open women’s doubles title.

a. Eefje Muskens and Selena Piek

b. Brigitte Yeo and Lisa Menard

c. Jwala Gutta and Ashwini Ponnappa

d. Lisa Menard and Selena Piek

5. The World Sanskrit Conference was first organised in New Delhi in 1972 and ever since, it has been the conglomeration of scholars from all across the world. Name the country which is hosting the 16th World Sanskrit Conference.

a. Myanmar b. Indonesia c. Thailand d. Nepal

6. The United States of America has the world’s second largest Jewish population. Name the country with the highest Jewish population in the world.

a. Palestine b. Canada c. Norway d. Israel

7. An online poll conducted by Cricket Australia’s website came up with a list of world’s best test players of 21st century. Name the cricketer who topped the list.

a. Brian Lara b. Ricky Ponting c. Sachin Tendulkar d. Inzamam Ul Haq

8. Kerala has signed this player as its brand ambassador for Ayurveda, as a part of its ‘Visit Kerala’ scheme. Name the player

a. Steve Waugh b. Rahul Dravid c. Steffi Graf d. Kumar Sangakkara

9. This state in India has declared June 22 as Snake Bird Day. This move is part of a campaign to protect this endangered species. Name the state.

a. Kerala b. Madhya Pradesh c. Manipur d. Rajasthan

10. This country has started making the world’s first highway to protect endangered bees in order to give the insects a safe passage through the city. Which is this country?

a. Norway b. Peru c. Guyana d. Falkland Islands

11. Matti Makkonen, the Finnish engineer who died recently, was extremely famous in the field of mobile communications. How is he most popularly known?

a. Father of Voice Calling b. Father of Smartphone c. Father of SMS d. Father of MMS

12. The World Food Prize worth US$ 250,000 has been awarded annually since 1987 to exceptional individuals who have made spectacular achievements contributing to improving the quality, quantity or availability of food throughout the world. Who won this Prize in 2015?

a. Sir Fazle Hasan Abed b. Shaykh Hasan Ali c. Kenneth Quinn d. Mohammed Gauspir

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Communication Skills Builder + Quantitative Skills Builder + Enhance Your English Proficiency

Fill in the form send it along with your DD to : IMS Publications, a division of IMS Learning Resources Pvt. Ltd., E Block, 6th Floor, NCL Bandra Premises,Bandra-Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400 051. Tel. No. : 022-66680005 / 66170000

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13. Name the country which is the largest market for Indian Seafood Products.

a. United Kingdom b. Australia c. United Sates of America d. China

14. India’s per capita income increased 9.7 per cent last year as per the World Bank report. What was India’s per capita income in 2014?

a. $1,453 b. $1,650 c. $1,503 d. $1,631

15. This bank is the first one in India to launch Watch Banking for Apple Watch. This initiative intends to provide banking services through all wearable devices across platforms like iOS and Android. Name the bank.

a. Yes Bank b. Standard Chartered Bank c. HDFC Bank d. Royal Bank of Scotland

16. Name the country that has won the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2015.

a. USA b. China c. Australia d. Italy

17. This North East state of India has been declared as a ‘disturbed area’ for an entire year with immediate effect from June 30, 2015. Name the state.

a. Manipur b. Mizoram c. Tripura d. Nagaland

18. This is the most commonly cultivated spice in India and is mainly exported to countries like USA, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Middle East and the Far

East. It is also the largest exported single spice from India. Name the spice.

a. Cardamom b. Chilli c. Cinnamon d. Clove

19. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development, NABARD, organised a massive financial literacy and awareness drive on July 12, which eventually coincided with the bank’s 34th Foundation Day. Name the state where NABARD organised this programme.

a. Andhra Pradesh b. Haryana c. Madhya Pradesh d. Odisha

20. The SAARC Festival of Literature is an annual event, which is organised by the Foundation of SAARC Writers and Literature. This organisation works in areas of literature and culture to build up relations among the countries. Name the city which is the venue for this year’s SAARC Literature Festival.

a. Lucknow b. Secunderabad c. Nagpur d. Kolkata

21. Omar Sharif recently grabbed all the eyeballs after his death. What was his profession?

a. Writer b. Politician c. Actor d. Gazal Singer

22. Total Fertility Rate is a measure of the population growth of a nation. What is India’s Total Fertility Rate as on July 2015?

a. 2.3 b. 2.4 c. 2.5 d. 2.6

23. Khanjar 2015 is a joint special exercise between India and another country. Which is that country?

a. Kyrgyzstan b. Guatemala c. El Salvador d. Ecuador

24. Name the state where India’s longest road tunnel is coming up.

a. Himachal Pradesh b. Uttarakhand c. Jammu and Kashmir d. Karnataka

25. Name the insurance company that has launched India’s first digitalised policy in India.

a. India First Life Insurance b. Metlife India Insurance c. Kotak life Insurance d. Reliance life Insurance

26. With the formation of the Unit Trust of India, the Mutual Fund industry kick-started in this country. Name the year in which this happened.

a. 1962 b. 1963 c. 1964 d. 1965

27. This country has recently set up world’s largest cancer registry system, covering over 300 million people. The move is to fight the deadly disease with evidence-based and more-targeted intervention programmes. Name the country.

a. China b. USA c. Germany d. Australia

28. Recently two IPL franchises have been suspended for a couple of years after they were found guilty in an illegal

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38 How to PlayFill in the grid so that every horizontal row, every vertical column and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1-9, without repeating the numbers in the same row, column or box. You can’t change the digits already given in the grid. Every puzzle has one solution.Hint: Don’t fill in numbers at random. While filling a particular square, write numbers 1-9 on a pad and start eliminating those numbers that already appear in the same row, column or 3x3 box.

SuDoKu

For more similar puzzles, visit:www.sudoku.com

ANSWERS

GLOBESCAN

1. a 2. c 3. a 4. c 5. c

6. d 7. c 8. c 9. a 10. a

11. c 12. a 13. c 14. d 15. c

16. a 17. d 18. b 19. d 20. a

21. c 22. d 23. a 24. c 25. a

26. b 27. a 28. a 29. b 30. c

31. b 32. c 33. d

WORD DOSE

betting and match fixing probe. Name the panel appointed by the Supreme Court that had suspended these two franchises.

a. Justice Lodha Panel b. Justice Dattu Panel c. Justice Krishna Panel d. Justice Mukesh Moudgil

Panel

29. Manayangath Subramanian Viswanathan was a renowned man and won several awards and titles while he lived. What was he famous for?

a. Writing skills b. Music skills c. Dancing skills d. Administration skills

30. Name the person who has recently been appointed as the chairman of Narmada Valley Development Authority?

a. Pradeep Sharma b. Kiran Takur c. Rakesh Sahni d. Navin Chandra

31. This city has been chosen as a part of the ‘Cities of Music’ under UNESCO’s cultural division, the Creative Cities Network. It has been selected in the music category under UNESCO’s “field of excellence” plan. Name the city.

a. Anjar b. Varanasi c. Barmer d. Jhansi

32. Name the largest Portuguese speaking country in the world.

a. Chile b. Portugal c. Brazil d. Algeria

33. Apple very recently introduced “Apple Pay”, a mobile payments system in a country. Name the country.

a. United States of America b. Germany

c. Australia d. Britain

1. j 2. q 3. i 4. p 5. b 6. k 7. o 8. e 9. l 10. a 11. c 12. n 13. g 14. d 15. h 16. f 17. m