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NEWSLETTER 12 Pages 18th Oct 2012 24th Oct 2012 www.xedintellect.com BUSINESS NEWS ECONOMIC INDICATORS 2 COVER STORY 3 PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK 4 CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE 5 NEWS ANALYSIS 6 NEO CORNER 11 NEWS DIGEST… IN BRIEF PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE BSE 18,710.02pts Brent Crude $109.2 (as on Oct 23) ECONOMIC INDICATORS Indian Hotels Company makes $1.86 bn offer to buy Orient- Express Hotels COVER STORY 1 public hospital, 36 casinos: Welcome to Macau GLOBAL NEWS After 8 decades of printing, Newsweek to go all digital Bashar al-Assad a weekly news bulletin N N O O B B E E L L P P R R I I Z Z E E I I N N E E C C O O N N O O M M I I C C S S 2 2 0 0 1 1 2 2 - - S S P P E E E E D D D D A A T T I I N N G G W W I I T T H H G G A A M M E E T T H H E E O O R R Y Y MISCELLANEOUS NEWS Join us on Facebook… Virginia Rometty INDIAN E-COMMERCE COMPANIES PART TWO

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Page 1: Oct 18- Oct 24

NEWSLETTER

12 Pages 18th Oct 2012 – 24th Oct 2012 www.xedintellect.com

BUSINESS NEWS

ECONOMIC INDICATORS 2 COVER STORY 3 PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK 4

CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE 5 NEWS ANALYSIS 6 NEO CORNER 11

NEWS DIGEST…

IN BRIEF

PERSONALITIES OF

THE WEEK

CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE

BSE 18,710.02pts

Brent Crude $109.2

(as on Oct 23)

ECONOMIC

INDICATORS

Indian Hotels Company makes

$1.86 bn offer to buy Orient-

Express Hotels

COVER STORY

1 public hospital, 36 casinos:

Welcome to Macau

GLOBAL NEWS

After 8 decades of printing,

Newsweek to go all digital

Bashar al-Assad

… a weekly news bulletin

NNNOOOBBBEEELLL PPPRRRIIIZZZEEE IIINNN EEECCCOOONNNOOOMMMIIICCCSSS 222000111222---

SSSPPPEEEEEEDDD DDDAAATTTIIINNNGGG WWWIIITTTHHH GGGAAAMMMEEE TTTHHHEEEOOORRRYYY

MISCELLANEOUS NEWS

Join us on Facebook…

Virginia

Rometty

INDIAN E-COMMERCE COMPANIES

PART TWO

Page 2: Oct 18- Oct 24

KKKNNNOOOWWW YYYOOOUUURRR BBBAAASSSIIICCCSSS::: QQQUUUAAANNNTTTAAATTTIIIVVVEEE EEEAAASSSIIINNNGGG

EEECCCOOONNNOOOMMMIIICCC IIINNNDDDIIICCCAAATTTOOORRRSSS

Quantitative easing (QE) is an unconventional monetary policy used by central banks to stimulate the national economy when conventional monetary policy has become ineffective. QE can be used to help ensure inflation does not fall below target. Risks include the policy being more effective than intended in acting against deflation – leading to higher inflation, or of not being effective enough if banks do not lend out the additional reserves.QE3 refers to the third round of quantitative easing by the US Central Bank. It was announced on 13th September 2012. In an 11-to-1 vote, the Federal Reserve decided to launch a new

$40 billion a month, open-ended, bond purchasing program of agency mortgage-backed securities and also to continue extremely low rates policy until at least mid-2015. According to NASDAQ, this is effectively a stimulus program which allows the Federal Reserve to relieve $40 billion dollars per month of commercial housing market debt risk with no maximum amount or time limit. Ratings firm Egan-Jones said it believes the Fed‘s decision ―will hurt the U.S. economy and, by extension, credit quality.‖ Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke also acknowledged concerns about inflation.

BSE – 18,710.02 pts (fall by 83.42 pts) as on 23 October - Source : Reuters The BSE fell on Tuesday due to the following reasons: 1. ITC showcased very good earnings data which led to a lot of profit booking after its shares hit a record high last week 2. Hero Motocorp fell due to cautious outlook on its results 3. Lacklustre earnings performance by global companies which led to fall in Asian and European markets 4. Credit rating downgrades of five Spanish regional governments 5. Caution prevailed ahead of expiry of October derivative contacts on Thursday, 25 October Brent Crude – $ 109.2 as on 23 October – Source : ET Brent Crude has slipped to the $109 level thanks to investors brushing off Iranian threats halve oil exports in case of sanctions. Caterpillar has also warned that the state of US economy was bad and a slowdown is in progress. Though the Syrian conflict‘s escalation is worrying markets however the slowing economy of the world also means that production will lower leading to less expenditure of oil.

In the next decade nearly 1 billion women are likely to enter the global labour force. But their economic

potential is largely unrealised. According to a report by Booz & Company, a consultancy, if female

employment rates matched those of men, GDP would increase by 5% in America and 9% in Japan by 2020.

The impact would be even larger for developing countries, home to most of the world‘s women who lack

adequate education

and support (social

and political).

Increasing female

employment would

increase GDP

significantly in

countries like India

and Egypt, where

female labour-

participation rates are

below 30%. These

countries rank low in

Booz‘s index of

women‘s economic

empowerment.

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Page 3: Oct 18- Oct 24

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Getting a phone call at 3.30 AM would normally augur less than pleasant news. However for Alvin Roth and Llyod Shapely, the news was far from unpleasant. They had just been informed that they have been selected for this year‘s Sveriges Riksbank prize in economic sciences (in other words the Noble Prize in economics). Being hard boiled academicians, their reaction was one of subdued happiness, if media reports are to be believed. The duo has been awarded the Nobel, for, ―the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design‖ in other words, for their work in relation to deferred acceptance theory and match making. The duo helped create the phenomenon that is known as speed dating. This might seem strange, considering that the study of economics normally deals with everything but with nothing even remotely associated with whimsical matters like love or the desperate needs of patients.

Laureates extraordinaire

Lloyd Shapely, is the son of Astronomer Harlow Shapely. While studying at Harvard University, Lloyd was drafted into the US Army during the Second World War. After his return to Harvard, he finished his Bachelors in Mathematics. He worked for the famous RAND Corporation for a year before entering Princeton University to complete his Ph. D. in 1948. His work on Game Theory has ensured that he has become a symbol of the theory that has so greatly influenced business and economics. The George Gund professor of Economics and Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, Alvin Roth, got his degree in Operations Research from the Columbia University and did his Ph. D. from the Stanford University. Roth‘s work dealt with Game Theory, market design and experimental economics. He is credited with redesigning mechanisms for selecting medical students and matching

students to various schools such that students get to go to schools that are on their preferred list. His approach has always been focused on applying his theories to real world problems and not remaining focused on theoretical aspects unlike a lot of his peers in the world of academia.

It is all a game

This year‘s economics Nobel is different because the awardees have not created some esoteric theory that is workable only in perfect models that the real world never throws up. Roth and Shapely‘s work has solved fundamental problems that have not much to do with money but with the problem of limited choices. Game Theory, taught in some manner or the other in most b-schools, though a complete study in itself, is in a nutshell the study of choices humans make given a certain number of options and the predictability and outcomes of those choices.

Llyod Shapely‘s deferred acceptance theory was born out of an algorithm created while studying how stable couples can be created. In the model they studied, there

will be some women with multiple suitors and others with none. Considering that only the men propose, the women would reject their non favorites and pocket the best of the available options without actually accepting. Now the rejected can make a second offer and if the women find the new offers better they can choose the new one. Of course, the real world rarely works accordingly, but this was the base theory behind the creation of speed dating wherein multiple women and men meet each other for a few minutes before meeting others and selecting the best partner. This theory was refined by Roth to help in the creation of the medical resident program in the US for hospitals. The system which was chaotic earlier was centralized and modified over the years to take into account women doctors and couples who would like to work in nearby hospitals. The theory also was applied to schools accepting students to help make sure that a student and the school both got the options they considered favorable. Furthermore, the theory has helped kidney patients find matches in the absence of an open market to buy or sell kidneys.

In the world of business, selecting markets, based on profitability and possibility is an area that uses deferred acceptance theory. Employers seeking employees is surprisingly similar to men and women seeking each other for marriage. Given multiple options, selecting the best candidate can often be aided by the application of theories developed by Roth and Shapely. It is in fact, good news that for once economists are being rewarded for their concrete ideas rather than academic disagreements on how to salvage bad situations which are well on their way to becoming worse. Most Nobels are awarded for theoretical work that, though they advance the body of existing knowledge, rarely create practical solutions. Apparently, the Nobel committee feels that the world could use some practicality for a change. Couldn‘t we all?

Page 4: Oct 18- Oct 24

Bashar al-Assad – President of Syria

Bashar al-Assad, the current President of Syria, inherited an iron-fist ruled country from his father along with one of the toughest jobs in the Middle East and was bold enough for wanting to introduce Western-style reforms in the strife-torn country. His image has taken a serious beating ever since protests broke out against his regime in March 2011 (inspired by the Arab Spring) and he used brutal force to crush the uprising. Showcasing a strong willingness to kill, Assad believes that his violent tactics are succeeding and that he still enjoys the popular support of the masses. The civil war has also led to fresh border clashes with Turkey and Lebanon with the Lebanese accusing him of killing their intelligence chief Brig. Gen. Wissam al-Hassan (who accused the Syrian regime of planning to create unrest in Lebanon).

Assad was born in Damascus in 1965. His father, Hafez al-Assad, was the then-President of the country and had risen through the ranks of the Ba‘ath Party from humble beginnings. Contrary to his elder siblings, Assad was reserved as a child and by his own admission lacked interest in politics. Wanting to become a doctor, Assad studied medicine at the Damascus University, graduating in 1988. He later trained at Damascus military hospital to become an ophthalmologist and in 1992, shifted to London to finish his residency. In 1994, Bashar was called back to Syria after the death of his elder brother Basel (a dashing military man who was heir apparent) and quickly thrown into a military career and trained in leadership and Middle East diplomacy. His father connived to remove all political opponents and when he died in 2000, Bashar took his place as President.

Syrians in particular and the world in general saw him as a youthful and forward-looking leader who was determined to weed out corruption and introduce economic and political reforms in the country. However, he soon announced that he would not support policies which might threaten the dominance of the ruling Ba‘ath Party, thus rapidly deflating Syrian hopes that their country would soon turn democratic. His Presidency has seen an edgy relationship with Israel over nuclear armament issues, has been the subject of peer-criticism over military occupation in Lebanon and has witnessed tension with Turkey over water rights. His violent crackdown on the uprising has killed more than 25,000 people, rendered the efforts of UN peacekeepers futile, received global condemnation and expulsion from the Arab League and reinforced his image as a brutal dictator in the eyes of his population. Analysts say that if he fails to clean up his act, the possibility of a full-scale foreign-sponsored civil-war cannot be ruled out.

Virginia Rometty- Chairman and CEO, IBM

Everyone agrees that having the ‗Big Blue‘ on their CVs puts them in a different league. But when someone is handed over the CEO‘s post of the coveted company, it puts them in an entirely different league altogether. Virginia Rometty, as the current Chairman and CEO of IBM, is one such person. Being the first woman to head the company, she was ranked by Forbes as the ‗Most Powerful Woman in Business‘ in 2012.

Rometty was born in 1957 and studied computer science and electrical engineering at Northwestern University, graduating in 1979 with high honours. She started her career with General Motors Institute but soon moved to IBM as a systems engineer in 1981. In 1991, Rometty joined IBM‘s Consulting Group where in her capacity as Senior VP, she was instrumental in acquiring PricewaterhouseCoopers Consulting (the acquisition was considered to be the largest in professional services history) in 2002 and credited with creating a global team of more than 100,000 business consultants and services experts. After that, she successfully held various leadership positions in the organization. Prior to becoming CEO, she was Senior VP, Sales, Marketing and Strategy where she was responsible for business results in the 170 global markets in which IBM operates. Her biggest achievement is the establishment of IBM‘s Growth Markets Organization which is expected to contribute 30% of IBM revenues by 2015.

Rometty is known for her long-term strategic thinking and client specific focus. Her bosses credited her with stimulating IBM to keep pace with the needs and aspirations of its clients and urging the company to deepen its expertise and industry knowledge. She places great importance on selecting the right kind of people and sets ‗directional arcs‘ for her organization-a strategic belief of sorts that her employees can latch on to and use for motivation. An exceptionally private person, Rometty was the centre of attention soon after she became CEO when historic Augusta National Golf Club upheld its controversial male-only policy and didn't extend an invitation to her (which was frowned upon because all past IBM CEOs were members). The club soon changed its decision and opened its membership to women for the first time in 80 years. However, Rometty rarely plays golf and enjoys scuba-diving and Broadway plays more.

PPPEEERRRSSSOOONNNAAALLLIIITTTIIIEEESSS OOOFFF TTTHHHEEE WWWEEEEEEKKK

“No

government

in the world

kills its

people,

unless it’s

led by a

crazy

person,”

“A plan can

be well

thought-out,

intensely

researched,

and

minutely

detailed, but

in an

increasingly

volatile

world, that

isn't

enough.”

Page 5: Oct 18- Oct 24

Flipkart.com IIT graduates and Amazon co-workers, Sachin & Binny Bansal started Flipkart – online book shop with a seed capital of just Rs. 4 lakhs. Soon, the company expanded to offer a variety of goods like apparels, electronics, personal & home care etc. It is one of the early e-commerce websites in India to implement the cash on delivery (COD) mode of payment. The company has rapidly expanded owing to its inorganic growth route, inventory based model and has attracted large number of customers with its services like 30 day replacement policy, EMI payment & free shipping. Flipkart has adopted Amazon‘s inventory based model and it reached breakeven point in 2010, three years after its incorporation. It offers more than 11 million book titles, lifestyle products, office supplies, ACs and air coolers. On an average, it has over two million registered customers, sells nearly 20 products per minute, ships around 30,000 goods per day thus tapping sales of around two crores in a single day. Flipkart recently acquired its fourth round of funding worth $150 million from Naspers Group and Iconic Capital; and the company will soon launch an online market place – an e-commerce website wherein third party retailers can sell their goods to customers using the Flipkart platform.

Snapdeal.com The Indian version of Groupon – Snapdeal started off as a daily deal website but later forayed into online retailing of a

variety of products like clothing, accessories, mobiles, electronic goods, footwear, etc. It is an online marketplace which provides a common platform for retailers and customers to sell/buy goods. It follows the business model of eBay and uses third party courier services. Unlike Flipkart it does not hold any inventory and also provides discount deals on services in restaurants, spas and entertainment

activities. Snapdeal‘s business model focuses on selling the excess inventory and the company has seen tremendous increase in its revenues with the sales of such unused products like clothes, watches, sunglasses, etc at discounted prices. It charges over 30% upfront for any deal and rest of the amount is to be paid to the merchant. With a strong subscriber base of around 18 million, operations in nearly 50 Indian cities, the company sells over ten thousand discounted deals every day.

Myntra.com

Myntra was started by three IIT alumni as an online store for personalized products which operated in B2B (business to business) segment and provided various gifts like T-shirts, greeting cards, mugs, diaries, wine glasses, photographs personalized as per the needs of the clients. By 2010, it became India‘s largest online personalized gifts store with around 50% market share. It entered the business of online retailing, thus catering to the B2C (business to consumer) segment two years ago. It currently offers several products of over 300 domestic and international brands. The company‘s business model is simple; it just sells the current season merchandise online to customers at MRP. Tier II & III cities contribute to over 50% of Myntra‘s annual revenues & it sells goods worth around Rs. 15 crores per month. Myntra‘s recent ad campaign ―Real life mein aisa hota hai kya?‖ has attracted huge crowds to the website – which has recently added an app for a virtual dressing room in order to enhance the shopping experience of customers.

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Page 6: Oct 18- Oct 24

1) India’s civil nuclear power program gets Australian uranium backing – IE/FT/TOI IMPACT: Electricity hungry India, is currently rejoicing as its electricity woes are going to end soon. Firstly, Australia has removed the two-decade ban on uranium mining in Queensland – and has agreed to export the nuclear metal to India and secondly, it‘s much delayed Kudankulam nuclear plant will be up and running in next two months. India will face severe shortage of electricity if it does not implement its plans to build around 20 nuclear plants which would generate around 63K MW of electricity by 2032. After the Indo-US nuclear deal and the abolition of trade sanctions on India by the Nuclear Suppliers group in 2008, increased imports from Australia will help the country achieve its ambitious plans. KEY PLAYERS: Australia, India WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? The fourth largest producer of uranium, Australia, does not have any nuclear plants in the country and exports the metal to other countries. Uranium exports from Australia contribute to only 20% of the overall global demand. Until two years ago, uranium was riding high on the market with its prices up to $136 a pound but after the Fukushima disaster, developed countries have turned their back towards energy from nuclear sources and thus the prices of uranium have fallen below $50 a pound. But developing countries are moving towards the generation of electricity from nuclear plants. China is in the process of increasing its nuclear power generation from the current two percent to five percent by next eight years. New reactors are likely to be functional in India, Russia and South Korea in a decade or so. 2) After eight decades of printing, Newsweek to go all digital in 2013 – HT/Forbes/Firstpost.com IMPACT: The use of tablets and mobile internet is on the rise. It was predicted that the print media will be obsolete in

the coming decades and digital media will take over. The latest announcement by the editor-in-chief of Newsweek that the weekly currently affairs magazine will go all digital by January 2013, hints to the fact that printing of newspapers and magazines has become a costly affair in the digital era and it is time to start the transition towards digitization. Due to technological advancements, reading habits of consumers are changing. The number of advertising pages in the magazines has seen a decline of about 8% in the first half of 2012. The cost of printing and distribution of the magazines have gone up. Also with the increase in the social media usage, large numbers of advertisers prefer digital space over the traditional printed one. KEY PLAYERS: Newsweek, Digital magazine WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? Newsweek will be rebranded as Newsweek Global - a single

worldwide edition which can be availed from the website on subscription basis. Newsweek merged with the Daily Beast Company – US based news reporting website two years ago forming The Newsweek Daily Beast Company. The transition of the 80 year old news magazine also sheds light on the current situation of print media in India. According, to reports, Indian newspapers still make a lot of money from advertisers as compared to their global peers. Internet penetration in India is still low, let alone the usage of mobile internet or tablet PC – which gives us a heads up that there is a long way to go before Indian publishers go all digital. 3) Kingfisher Airlines takes a deadly halt – ET/NDTV/BusinessToday IMPACT: Eight months after trouble started brewing in Vijay Mallya promoted Kingfisher Airlines, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has finally cancelled the licence of the beleaguered airlines. The airline was operating only 10 flights as compared to 66 a year ago. It has accumulated a debt of around Rs. 7000 crores and has suffered losses up to Rs. 8000 crores since it started operations seven years ago. Vijay Mallya‘s failure to come up with a detailed feasibility plan within the stipulated time along with the pilots & engineers strike –which led to an abrupt cancellation of flights since past ten days has fuelled DGCA to take such a harsh decision. Although FDI in aviation has been approved to 51%, Vijay Mallya has failed to convince any foreign investor to take up the airlines debt. Kingfisher pilots are demanding their four months salaries within two days and have declined the management‘s proposal to pay their three months salary in three instalments before Diwali. DGCA also pointed out safety concerns as the aircrafts have not gone for maintenance since past few months. Also the airline has seen 40% attrition between March to September 2012 – according to provident fund records. KEY PLAYERS: Kingfisher Airlines WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? The king of good times is receiving flak for his extravagant lifestyle and his inability to raise funds from the breweries business. Also, Mallya is asking banks to restructure loans and has not paid the employees for months which, indeed hints at the lavish king‘s lack of concern towards his people (employees).

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Page 7: Oct 18- Oct 24

4) Eurozone crisis hits Siemens solar business – Reuters/FT IMPACT: The current Eurozone crisis has hit many companies, one of them being the German electronics conglomerate Siemens AG. The company is in the process of finding buyers for its loss making solar business which contributes to less than one percent of the group‘s revenues of 73.5 billion euros. The once sought after solar business is now bringing down the profits of Siemens. Europe is the top consumer of solar power, but due to the economic crisis, the regional

governments have reduced subsidies for green power considerably and have adopted strict austerity measures in order to reduce spending and to salvage their economies. In addition to this, the prices of solar panels have reduced significantly due to fierce competition from Chinese manufacturers. Countries are now in the process of improving their economic conditions, thus the agenda for green economy has taken a back seat. KEY PLAYERS: Siemens, Solar Power

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? Siemens had started investing in the solar power business in 1980s and was one of the biggest manufacturers of solar panels in 1990s. Three years ago Siemens bought Solel – an Israeli solar equipment designer and manufacturer company, as it anticipated tremendous growth in next two years and expected to acquire a 20% market share in the solar energy business. After the sale, Siemens will have its presence only in wind and hydro power – in terms of renewable sources of energy. 5) India scores high in the list of most difficult countries to do business in – BS/Moneycontrol.com IMPACT: The World Bank & International Finance Corporation have jointly published a report – ―Doing Business in 2013‖ which states that Singapore is the best place in terms of ease of doing business. India has maintained its status of being one of the most difficult countries to do business in by ranking 132nd in the list of 182 countries. Some of the parameters in which the country scores very poor are: starting a business; getting construction & electricity permit; paying taxes amongst others. Key highlights of the report are as follows:

Singapore has ranked first consecutively for the seventh time in the ease of doing business rank

Hong Kong ranks second in the list followed by New Zealand, US & Denmark India ranks lowest amongst the BRIC nations – with China at 91; Russia at 112 & Brazil at 130

India has consistently shown improvements in past seven years in simplifying & reducing the cost of regulatory processes

It takes 27 days and 12 procedures to start a business in India It takes 33 days and 13 procedures to start a business in China Neighbouring countries scored better than India: Sri Lanka ranked 81st; Nepal 108; Pakistan 107 & Bangladesh 129.

KEY PLAYERS: India, Singapore WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? After the report was published, the Directorate General of CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) said that they are working upon streamlining the process of starting a business and will make it a single window electronic process in coming years. 6) Indian Hotels Company makes $1.86 billion offer to buy Orient-Express Hotels – ET/BS/BL IMPACT: Tata-owned Indian Hotels Company (IHC) already owns a 6.9% in Orient Express Hotels Ltd (OEHL). The interest shown to increase its holding is interesting because IHC has already been twice rebuffed by the management of OEHL-the second time as recently as August 2012-by saying that the combination was not a ―strategic fit‖. IHC shareholders have given a thumbs-down to the proposed deal questioning the high price the company is willing to pay

for OEHL. Several analysts also have reservations about this move as not all of Tata‘s global acquisitions have contributed to its net profit. They allege that in this case, the gestation period maybe longer than usual as the global economy is still shaky and the demand for luxury goods and services has not yet started alleviating (OEHL owns luxury hotels in Europe, South America and US). KEY PLAYERS: IHC, OEHL WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? Widely perceived as Ratan Tata‘s last big move before retirement, IHC‘s acquisition of OEHL would increase its borrowing costs sharply.

A point to be noted is that Indian Hotels‘ other overseas properties such as the Pierre in New York have hardly done well when compared to its domestic operations. In an interesting Italian twist, IHC has roped in Luca Montezemolo‘s Charme II Fund which sends a strong signal to OEHL that even after the acquisition; its identity of a luxury hotel chain will be maintained. If the proposed deal becomes successful, it will be among the largest overseas deals from an Indian company and it would also be named as a rare example of a hostile bid by an Indian firm.

Page 8: Oct 18- Oct 24

7) HCL Technologies posts 78% jump in quarterly profit – The Hindu/ Financial Express IMPACT: HCL Tech‘s net profits have risen more than what industry experts had predicted. The company‘s strategy of moving work to cheaper locations and benefitting from favourable currency movements has helped in posting a 78% jump in profits. During the quarter, HCL added 38 clients, won 12 multi-year, multi-million dollar deals and saw its business from the US and European markets grow 4% and 2.7%, respectively. According to consultancy firm TPI, HCL expects clients to either trim or maintain their technology budgets and has placed its bets on the so-called ―churn market‖ that‘s estimated to be worth about $40 billion (around Rs.2 trillion today) in the second half of 2012. The company‘s guerrilla strategy has sent its shares to their highest levels in more than 12 years. KEY PLAYERS: HCL Technologies WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? HCL Technologies, formed in 1991, is currently the fourth largest IT company in India with business outsourcing forming a major chunk of its business. According to NASSCOM, India's $100 billion-a-year outsourcing industry is set to grow at 11-14 per cent by March 2013. HCL Tech is poised to capture a larger share of the market by ―hunting‖ for $ 40 billion worth of contracts coming up for renewal in the October-December quarter. With the growth of rivals such as Infosys slowing down, HCL is hoping to cash in on this situation and add more Fortune 500 companies to its client list. 8) Supreme Court panel recommends stopping GM crop open field trials – ET/ livemint IMPACT: The recommendation of the Parliamentary Committee appointed by the Supreme Court has evoked strong criticism from Indian as well as foreign scientists. According to a statement by 65 global economists and social scientists, ―the recommendation is highly detrimental to development of science and harnessing the potential of

biotechnology for reviving the country‘s agriculture to accelerate poverty reduction and reduce malnourishment.‖ They allege that anti-GM groups have tried to challenge the available evidence on Bt cotton (the only GM crop commercially grown in India and the centre of controversy for long) benefits for small farmers. Studies also show that farm household incomes and living standards have increased as a result of Bt cotton adoption. KEY PLAYERS: Supreme Court, farming community, scientists & researchers, GoI WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? India‘s growing population means the country needs to produce larger quantities of food from a fixed quantity of land. India has the dubious distinction of housing 30% of the world‘s malnourished people because food here is expensive. This kind of stance taken by the Supreme Court will not help matters.

Largely touted as the key to India‘s next Green Revolution, lawmakers are all set to dump a technology that holds enormous potential. Research on a variety of GM crops (Chickpeas, mustard, tomato, banana, etc) which can double pulses production, reduce dependence on imports and make quality fruits and vegetables available to India‘s poor; automatically go into cold storage with this ruling. This status-quo has also made large-seed companies rethink their entry into the Indian market thus robbing the country of much needed money inflows. 9) History TV18 to expand distribution footprint - The Hindu Business Line/BS IMPACT: In order to gain a strong lead in the factual entertainment genre, History TV 18 plans to expand its reach by offering its content in more regional languages. After one year of its launch in October 2012, the channel has now a viewership of 72 million in India. TV 18 which used to run the same channel under an alliance with Star TV had a decent run establishing its presence. However, things turned around after the company joined hands with the US-based A+E Networks. History TV18 accelerated growth for the entire genre from 2 per cent and 15 per cent in 2010 and 2011 to a whopping 29per cent post launch. This is partly due to its regional language feeds. The channel is available in eight languages, such as Gujarati, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil, and Urdu among others. However, the company feels that these channels are underpriced in terms of advertising. Efforts to monetize the regional language content are underway as these hold an untapped source for the advertisers. The main target group of the channel is above 15 years. KEY PLAYERS: History TV18 WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? History TV18 stands in direct competition with Discovery and National Geographic channel which have 27 percent and 15 per cent market share respectively in the market (TAM data). The company is also looking forward to the launch of additional channels from A+E‘s global portfolio that includes Bio (The Biography Channel), Lifetime and Crime & Investigation Network in India.

Page 9: Oct 18- Oct 24

10) Shoppers Stop using analytics and new technology to boost footfalls - ET IMPACT: One of the oldest high end retailers in India, Shoppers Stop, is busy reaping benefits these days. The company has been able to string together data strategy and analytics for devising winning campaigns. This has provided it a clear edge over other retailers in India. For instance, data analytics provided it a correlation between stock market surge and money spending patterns of Gujratis. Hence, when the markets rose some eight per cent in early-to-mid September, Shoppers Stop made maximum out of the spending spree by devising campaigns focussed on Gujarati customers. Similar strategy was adopted during Id to target Muslim shoppers. Shoppers Stop has found several ways to mine its data. For instance, it has devised special programs for working women - who shop most often in the middle of the day - to keep them coming into its stores. Using analytics in these cases can sometimes come up with some curious piece of information which in no-way can be found otherwise. (eg: for women it is not very unusual to buy salwar tops and men's undergarments together; in fact, it happens quite

frequently) KEY PLAYERS: Shoppers Stop WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? This intense focus on analytics is already paying dividends; in fiscal year 2012 Shoppers Stop earned additional revenues of around ₨ 35 crore; and it has already beaten this figure in the first six months of FY 2012-23. It expects to earn up to ₨ 70 crore this year. The company which had only 24 stores five years ago has 54 stores till date and expects to add some eight more a year for at least the next three years. 11) Voltas set to sign a JV with Arcelik - ET/BS IMPACT: Voltas has entered a joint venture with Turkish white goods maker Arcelik and plans to launch its own refrigerators, washing machines and microwave ovens. The Tata group owned company which specializes in Air Conditioning has signed agreements for technology transfer, product development, and manufacturing and is now looking forward to set up a new plant in the country. Arcelik is a part of $3.63 billion Turkish conglomerate KOC Group which owns 10 popular durable brands. KOC group has seven per cent market share in the European consumer appliances market. Hence, the deal is seen as a huge bet for Voltas; till now it was dependent on the air-conditioning segment which has just four percent penetration in Indian households. This is not the first time Voltas is entering the home appliances segment. The company used to own a well known brand Allwyn, which was eventually sold to Electrolux in the late 1990s. KEY PLAYERS: Voltas, Arcelik WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? Voltas‘ re-entry in the home appliances space derives momentum from its recent success in the AC market. The Company has emerged as the market leader with a 20.6 per cent market share in the air conditioning space in August 2012, followed by LG Electronics India with 15 per cent and Samsung Electronics with a 12 per cent market share. While Voltas and Arcelik have completed the market feasibility study, they are yet to decide on the ownership structure of the proposed joint venture. 12) ITC rides high on cigarette, FMCG business - BS/ET IMPACT: ITC - India‘s largest cigarette maker - has posted a 21 per cent increase in net profit to ₨ 1,836.4 crore in Q2 of 2012 vis-à-vis same period last year. Taking analysts by surprise, most of these profits have come from its rapidly growing non-cigarette FMCG business. Alarms have started ringing for Britannia as ITC has increased its share to more than 28 per cent in cream biscuits segment. This is result of its bottom-up strategy. The company had started

with mass market Glucose biscuits which used to make up 50 percent of total biscuit sales, but now it has moved on to premium offerings like Sunfeast Dark Fantasy. This strategy to targeting volumes first and niche later is visible in other segments as well. Nestle for the first time in 10-15 years has now started to offer aggressive discounts and incentives to retailers on Maggi to protect its market share from ITC‘s Yippee noodles. Moreover, ITC has been able to gain significant market share in the Soap & Shampoo space, achieving break even in many of these new businesses in no time. At the same time its cigarette business is also reaping desired profits. KEY PLAYERS: ITC

WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? Perhaps, ITC‘s only reason for worry is the Hotel business which is performing below expectations due to troubled economic scenario. However, this has not stopped it from launching its super-premium offering, the ITC Grand Chola in Chennai. Analysts say that the success rate of ITC' FMCG brands is better than the norm in the FMCG industry in which 70per cent of the launches don't make the cut after the first two years.

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13) 1 public hospital, 36 casinos: Welcome to Macau – Reuters IMPACT: It is a six-hour flight from Mumbai to Hong Kong and one-hour journey on the Turbojet hovercraft, and then one can land in the casino country, Macau. It is one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China, the other being Hong Kong. A fleet of nearly 2,400 brightly coloured casino buses shuttles an oncoming mix of visitors from all across the world. However, there‘s a heavy price to all this. Skewed development which promotes gambling now brings in revenue of more than $33 billion and accounts for more than 40 percent of GDP. There are more than four times as many gambling tables per 1,000 residents than hospital beds. The already overburdened transport network is clogged with tourist traffic causing an increase in accidents. Thousands of Macau residents have taken to the streets this month to call for more welfare measures, more public housing and more action to check inflation. Many believe that the world's most densely populated territory and fastest growing economy, has got its priorities all wrong. KEY PLAYERS: Government of Macau WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? Macau last year attracted 28 million visitors - more than the population of Australia - and while the gambling industry has boosted general living standards over the past decade, residents say the development of social infrastructure, including healthcare and transport, has lagged behind. People believe that only hope for change in government policies is the upcoming leadership change in China. 14) The world is still heavily pro-Obama: BBC international survey – BS/ET

IMPACT: Obama might be having sleepless nights preparing himself for the presidential debates, but across the world, including in India, people still want to see Barack Obama re-elected. According to an international survey by BBC World Service, Obama ousted Romney in 20 of the 21 countries with Pakistan being the only one where more people favoured the Republican for an election. The poll comes just two weeks ahead of the US presidential election and while Americans appear to be almost equally divided in their choice, the people across the world overwhelmingly support the incumbent. The survey showed that on an average of 50 per cent people prefer Obama, compared to only 9 per cent who prefer Romney; the rest said that they had no preference between the two. France, where 72 per cent of those surveyed favoured the President against 2 per cent for Romney, emerged as the most pro-Obama nation.

KEY PLAYERS: Barack Obama WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? The poll indicates that Obama's foreign policy has been accepted more widely over that of the previous Republican governments. Pakistan‘s disapproval is kind of obvious. However, US actions in Pakistan have perhaps removed doubts in people‘s mind about the US policies. Compared to four years ago, support for Obama went up in seven of the 15 countries, including India, that were polled this time as well as in 2008. 15) Government to sponsor officers to the world’s first Master’s degree in anti-graft studies – ET KEY PLAYERS: Hit by a streak of big-ticket scams, the Government is planning to sponsor cops and vigilance officers to the world's first Master's degree in anti-corruption studies scheduled to be launched in Vienna by end of this year. The department of personnel and training has written to CBI, all ministries, state governments and the CVC informing them that the government is willing to fund the candidates for International Anti-Corruption Academy's (IACA) two-year part-time degree. The course is designed to impart training in global best practices against graft. Both distance learning and in-class modules are on offer. Originally an initiative of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the European Anti-Fraud Office, the Republic of Austria and other stakeholders, IACA turned into an international organisation in March last year with a constituency of over 60 UN member-states and global bodies. KEY PLAYERS: IACA WHY IT IS IMPORTANT? The complete cost of the course is around 25,000 Euros. On completion the individual gets a Master's degree under the European Bologna process and becomes eligible for enrolment into Ph.D programmes. This can prove to be a game changer for India‘s intelligence agencies which often lack protocols and standards to deal with even most common of the situations.

MMMIIISSSCCCEEELLLLLLAAANNNEEEOOOUUUSSS NNNEEEWWWSSS

Page 11: Oct 18- Oct 24

Make my dream

Make me some money! Makemy trip generates revenue, according to their prospectus filed at the

time of their US IPO , ― through commissions and incentive payments from

airlines, service fees charged to customers and fees from their global

distribution system service provider which facilitates the reservation and

confirmation of airline tickets on its system.‖ Revenues from the hotels

booking side of the business comes from the difference between the package

charged to the customer and the cost of acquiring the service.

Funding

Makemytrip has received funding upwards of $30 million before it went for its

IPO. The funding process started in earnest only post 2005 when they re-

launched their India site, prior to that their early bad experiences with external funding had made them wary. SAIF

partners was among the first VCs to believe in Makemytrip with an investment of $10 million. In the second round SAIF,

Helion and Sierra together put in about $ 13 million. The third round was led by Tiger fund who invested about $ 8

million out of a total of $ 15 million. The other investors in this round were, SAIF Partners , Sierra Ventures and Helion

Venture Partners.

IPO

Makemytrip decided to go public in 2010. Considering that the US market had better appreciation of online ventures,

the company decided to get listed in NASDAQ. The company intended to raise $70 million but ended up getting over

subscribed and raised more than a billion dollars. Interestingly the company was actually making losses. In fact it

hadn‘t turned a profit since inception! In fact it was only in the 4th Quarter ending March 2011 that the company

reported a net profit of $3.7 million.

HR Policies

In a number of surveys Makemytrip has been adjudged the best place to work. In fact in one such survey by the Great

places to Work Institute, it was ranked third behind Google and Intel. Makemytrip is renowned for its culture and

places great emphasis on hiring people who share the entrepreneurial values of the company. In fact a lot of

Makemytrip employees have gone on to become entrepreneurs or already harbored entrepreneurial ambitions. In fact

Kalra doesn‘t believe in coming in the way if his employees want to start off on their own. Rather, Kalra makes it a point

to provide sage advice to these entrepreneurs-to-be and even helps them out with their plans.

Makemytrip has gone on to even acquire a few start-ups started by ex-

Makemytrip employees. Kalra organizes annual staff retreats and even offered to

pay half for any employee that wanted to attend TEDx when it came to Bangalore

in 2009. The company is also famous for holding hackathons or ‗pyjama parties‘

(as they are dubbed) which are 24 hour coding events much like the one‘s shown

in ―The Social Network‖. Stock options are one of the major draws at Makemytrip

which has enabled many a ―tripper‖ (what Makemytrip employees are called) to

start off their own ventures. Independence is something no tripper has a dearth of

in the organization.

Makemytrip‘s investors approve of this approach and feel that the company has a

knack for hiring top of the line talent and getting out of their way. A strong set of

10 core values also guides the company and forms the culture. They are

excellence, innovation, teamwork, passion for winning, empowerment, fun at

work, integrity, respect for people, accountability and customer centricity.

NNNEEEOOO CCCOOORRRNNNEEERRR PART TWO

Part 2

Page 12: Oct 18- Oct 24

Makemytrip believes that for employees to repeat good behavior, that behavior has to be recognized and rewarded.

Keeping this in mind, Makemytrip has an extensive rewards and recognition program for its trippers. For example there

is the ―hallabol‖ award for top performance in sales. It is not just actual physical achievements that matter. Even

behavior that exemplifies the core company values is rewarded. For example if employees share interesting resources

relating to work, with fellow employees then they are appreciated for it. In fact a lot of credit for Makemytrip‘s success

goes to its forward looking HR policy (there is an HR person for each floor of the office) which makes the company a fun

place to work in despite the hectic schedule.

Future Plans

In an interview, Kalra has stated this: He frequently cites an estimate that about half of India‘s population can afford

some kind of travel—whether it‘s something as simple as a long-distance bus ticket, or as complex as weekend scuba

diving trip to Mauritius. Only 4 percent of the population, though, or about half of the 8 percent of Indians with Internet

access, currently book travel online.

Kalra identifies this gap, the 46 percent of travelers not booking

online, as a crucial opportunity: ―Our number one challenge is how

to reach out to those people who can afford to buy travel but are

not online or have mind blocks in terms of buying online—they

have security issues around giving their card number out, or they

need a little more help.‖

Changing demographics are also influencing OTA as the usage of

online payment modes is gaining wider acceptance. MakemyTrip

has also opened retail outlets mainly for their holiday packages, to

reach the offline consumer base in Indian cities. This also serves as

a branding move according to the company‘s representatives. The firm also intends to move focus from flight ticketing

to hotel bookings and travel packages. The rising number of people travelling to nearby regions like Sri Lanka and

South East Asia will be another major influencer for OTAs, Makemytrip included.

The company has also come up smart phone apps and sms based booking which don‘t require a smart phone or an

internet connection.

Conclusion

Makemytrip.com offers valuable lessons to every person who intends to be an entrepreneur as well as those who intend

to lead people in the volatile world of business. Sure, many feel that Makemytrip is a glorified copycat based on

international models. However, it is a case of the right kind of copying. It is a great model of execution that actually

solves problems for people and provides them with a great experience in an easy manner. As can be adjudged from its

HR policies, Makemytrip is obviously doing a lot of things right when it comes to managing its internal stakeholders and

ensuring they feel like a part of something larger and not merely a cog in the machine. The future will bring forth a host

of challenges for the entire OTA industry, but with them will come opportunities as well. Makemytrip is uniquely

positioned as a market leader to exploit those opportunities and has the work culture and the freedom to do so with

élan. Makemytrip is not so much about the business idea but about how to execute the right way. Even more so, the

company is about people and making them happy, be it customers or employees. With such a formula in place, it is

rather hard for any company to go wrong and not much has gone wrong till now or is likely to.

Page 13: Oct 18- Oct 24

SOURCES

Charts & Graphs: http://www.economist.com/node/21563412

SOURCES FOR COVER STORY

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/oct/15/nobel-prize-economics-alvin-roth-lloyd-shapley http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2012/oct/15/nobel-economics-prize-winners-dating-problem

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alvin_E._Roth http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2012/10/nobel_prize_in_economics_lloyd_shapley_and_alvin_roth_win_for_deferre

d_acceptance.html

SOURCES FOR PERSONALITIES OF THE WEEK: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bashar_al-Assad

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/a/bashar_al_assad/index.html http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/711020/Bashar-al-Assad

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/syrian-president-bashar-al-assad-powerful-accused-of-beirut-car-bomb-that-killed-lebanese-security-official/story-fnd134gw-1226499697263

http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2004-Q-Z/al-Assad-Bashar.html http://www.biography.com/people/bashar-al-assad-20878575

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/world/middleeast/in-rare-interview-assad-denies-ordering-crackdown-in-syria.html?_r=0 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Rometty

http://www-03.ibm.com/press/us/en/biography/10069.wss http://www.businessinsider.com/ibm-ceo-virginia-rometty-on-leadership-2012-10

http://www.forbes.com/profile/virginia-rometty/# http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/people/person.asp?personId=23314014&ticker=IBM

http://allthingsd.com/20111025/ibm-has-a-new-ceo-meet-virginia-rometty/

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/05/business/a-ceos-support-system-a-k-a-husband.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://wraltechwire.com/business/tech_wire/news/story/10925093/

CORPORATE INTELLIGENCE:

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/flipkart-may-launch-online-marketplaceits-website/189381/on

http://www.flipkart.com/about-us http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipkart

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/flipkart%5Cs-competitors-tweak-inventory-based-model/481796/ http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-29/news/32923545_1_ceo-kunal-bahl-grabbon-com-acquisitions

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snapdeal http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/flipkart%5Cs-competitors-tweak-inventory-based-model/481796/

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2011-06-14/news/29656986_1_kunal-bahl-discount-india-s-groupon http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/myntracom-targets-rs-500-cr-revenue/468553/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myntra.com http://business-standard.com/india/news/myntra-launches-virtual-trial-room-style-studio/191861/on

SOURCES FOR NEWS ANALYSIS (1-15)

1) India’s civil nuclear power program gets Australian uranium backing – IE/FT/TOI http://www.indianexpress.com/news/india-tempts-aus-state-to-lift-mining-ban/1020358/0

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/fc6f29ba-07e2-11e2-8354-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2ADxJGGNT http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2012-10-21/india/34626765_1_kudankulam-nuclear-power-nuclear-plants

2) After eight decades of printing, Newsweek to go all digital in 2013 – HT/Forbes/Firstpost.com http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2012/10/18/newsweek-going-digital-only-layoffs-coming/

http://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/NorthAmerica/Newsweek-becomes-digital-magazine/Article1-946646.aspx http://www.firstpost.com/living/newsweek-goes-digital-how-will-it-affect-print-news-mags-in-india-496562.html

3) Kingfisher Airlines takes a deadly halt – ET/NDTV/BusinessToday http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-20/news/34606603_1_flights-time-dgca-kingfisher-airlines

http://profit.ndtv.com/news/cheat-sheet/article-kingfisher-staff-management-meet-ends-inconclusively-312368 http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/nearly-40-per-cent-of-kingfisher-

airlines-employees-left-between-march-and-september/articleshow/16945256.cms http://businesstoday.intoday.in/story/business-model-behind-kingfisher-airlines-mess/1/189224.html

4) Eurozone crisis hits Siemens solar business – Reuters/FT http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/10/22/us-siemens-solar-idINBRE89L09D20121022

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/de6c5f9c-1c2c-11e2-a14a-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2AI2MOgNV 5) India scores high in the list of most difficult countries to do business in – BS/Moneycontrol.com

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/doing-business-still-tough-in-india-singaporebest-world-bank/490526/ 6) Indian Hotels Company makes $1.86 billion offer to buy Orient-Express Hotels – ET/BS/BL

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-19/news/34584284_1_orient-express-hotels-orient-express-holdings-orient-express-board

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/indian-hotels-dips-after-making-offer-to-acquire-orient-express/191977/on

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/indian-hotels-to-make-offer-to-buy-orient-express/article4009854.ece

http://www.firstpost.com/fwire/fwire-india/orient-express-ratan-tatas-last-big-move-before-retirement-496948.html http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2012/10/22/analysts-question-indian-hotels-bid/

http://www.firstpost.com/business/indian-hotels-makes-1-2-bln-bid-for-orient-express-495768.html 7) HCL Technologies posts 78% jump in quarterly profit – The Hindu/ Financial Express

Page 14: Oct 18- Oct 24

http://www.thehindu.com/business/hcl-tech-q1-net-up-78/article4004956.ece

http://www.financialexpress.com/news/hcl-technologies-q1-net-profit-up-78-/1017907/0 http://www.livemint.com/Companies/Hsdodnp6Rvg6CQB0sA3L2L/HCL-posts-78-jump-in-net-profit.html

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/10/17/hcltechnologies-results-idINDEE89G01K20121017 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HCL_Technologies

8) Supreme Court panel recommends stopping GM crop open field trials – ET/ livemint http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-10-20/news/34606534_1_field-trials-gm-crops-gm-corn

http://www.livemint.com/Politics/Z7sIscyN6C4sCuqQmUPtEK/Court-panel-recommends-stopping-GM-crop-trials.html http://forbesindia.com/blog/technology/is-gm-crop-in-india-headed-the-us-clean-tech-way/

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/commodities/gm-crops-panel-report-not-objective-say-experts/article4016990.ece?homepage=true&ref=wl_home

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/scientists-seek-pms-interventiongm-crops/192095/on 9) HistoryTV 18 to expand distribution footprint- The Hindu Business Line/BS

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/marketing/historytv-18-to-expand-distribution-footprint/article4022984.ece

http://business-standard.com/india/news/history-tv18-aims-at-no-2-slot-in-factual-entertainment-genre-in-fy13/191266/on 10) Shoppers Stop using analytics and new technology to boost footfalls- ET

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/services/retail/shoppers-stop-using-analytics-and-new-technology-to-boost-footfalls/articleshow/16922992.cms

11) Tata Group company Voltas set to sign a JV with Arcelik- ET/BS http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/electronics/tata-group-company-voltas-set-to-sign-a-jv-

with-arcelik/articleshow/16873257.cms http://business-standard.com/india/news/voltas039-all-weather-acs-beats-korean-rivals-/191844/on

12) ITC rides high on cigarette, FMCG business- BS/ET http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/itc-rides-highcigarette-fmcg-business/490195/

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/cons-products/fmcg/itc-takes-on-britannia-nestle-to-become-the-leader-

in-fmcg-sector/articleshow/16872365.cms

13) 1 public hospital, 36 casinos: Welcome to Macau – Reuters http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/21/us-macau-infrastructure-idUSBRE89K0G320121021

14) The world is still heavily pro-Obama: BBC international survey – BS/ET http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/the-world-is-still-heavily-pro-obama-bbc-international-

survey/articleshow/16943048.cms http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/world-is-still-heavily-pro-obama-bbc-survey/192733/on

15) Government to sponsor officers to the world’s first Master’s degree in anti-graft studies – ET http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/government-to-sponsor-officers-to-the-worlds-first-masters-degree-in-anti-

graft-studies/articleshow/16945754.cms

NEO CORNER SOURCES: http://yourstory.in/2012/10/two-minutes-with-deep-kalra-and-wisdom-flowing-if-you-start-a-business-focussing-on-exit-you-will-

never-get-exit/ http://dare.co.in/people/inspiring-50-entrepreneurs-2011/deep-kalra-makemytripcom.htm

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-07-20/news/32764558_1_makemytrip-serial-entrepreneur-android-app/3 http://gaikwad.in/makemytrip-com-case-study/

http://www.webintravel.com/news/makemytrip-keeping-a-startup-culture-as-it-scales_3221 http://www.livemint.com/Companies/BD6Qb4j5eJ9UrcXRPKxACL/MakeMyTrip-seeks-to-diversify-business-through-small-acquisi.html

http://www.growthinstitute.in/emagazine/apr12/coverstory01.html http://education.intoday.in/story/deep-kalra-makemytrip.com-travel-portal/1/207844.html

http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/lunchbs-deep-kalra/481200/ http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/13/what-indian-entrepreneurs-should-learn-from-makemytrip%E2%80%99s-rocket-ipo/

http://peoplematters.in/articles/cover-story/cover-story-intervoew-deep-kalra-ceo-make-my-trip

http://www.techinasia.com/india-disruption-travel-startups/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccafannin/2012/06/29/makemytrip-faces-new-flight-patterns-in-indian-online-travel-as-yatra-buys-

travelguru/ http://techcrunch.com/2009/11/13/makemytrip-com-is-ecommerce-in-india-finally-happening/

http://peoplematters.in/articles/cover-story/cover-story-intervoew-deep-kalra-ceo-make-my-trip http://www.webintravel.com/news/the-making-of-makemytrip-and-what-will-drive-future-growth_1656

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1495153/000095012311055159/u00846de424b1.htm