We are having the great debate on FDI going on in both houses of parliament. And looks like the government is going to win the vote on it and its going to be passed, finally as a bill. By doing this, we welcome the Walmarts, Tesco and Ikeas of the world. Key things which differentiate the entry into Indian space for any foreign retail giant are to be noted here. The first being, every state in India has the final say in it, so inevitably, the ones who see this as too-foreign, and job-destroyer will not allow it. Secondly, such retailers can only be opened in large cities with greater than 1 million population. This is important, as it makes sure that there is enough space for both the local grocer and the big malls, as due to the inherent nature of our society and economy, there will always be people shopping from local 'kirana' (mom and pop) stores. However, the ugly ones, and ones which do not add any value to the economy, by hoarding whenever possible, by cheating on excessive prices/faulty weighing machines will definitely be off streets. We will also see some of these people (and people working for them), moving into other jobs likely to be created by the big supermarkets (directly or indirectly).
I think this is a good move by the government, especially because we are not going the whole hog. Cautious steps , like the ones which prevented the over-indulgence of domestic banks in casino activities of the foreign banks (which led to the crisis, remember ?), saved us from going bust like the EU. We will never see a Tesco in every city if we go this cautiously, at least in the next 10 years, and we will get a chance to better this model as there will be a lot of learning generated. Our retail sector as a whole will gain the much needed expertise as our middle class economy grows (burgeons), and there is no reason why we can not see a successful domestic retailer (big bazaar) grow as mammoth size as Tesco ($64 Billion Revenue & more than 500,000 employees worldwide).
There are many arguments which have been presented in the media , both for and against, and I do not think any of them hold ground. The fact that we are not allowing the foreign players a complete 'hand', I think we are playing it safe. In this time of fiscal crisis, lower growth, falling USD revenues, shrinking EU , when our balance of payments could go for a toss in less than 6 months (cant verify the source), we definitely need to move swiftly. One remark made by leader of the opposition who is vehemently opposing this move demands attention. She says that to keep prices low Walmart etc will source materials from China and we will in turn be helping Chinese manufacturing sector, instead of creating domestic jobs. Well, that is narrow thinking, and looks like an argument made just for the sake of it. If there is such demand for Chinese goods, I am sure there will be companies that will start competing with them by producing them domestically at lower cost and better quality. Also, a booming Chinese economy will only help the global economy (and ours in turn too) in the longer run.
One of my friends pointed to the post in The Hindu about the waste that the supermarkets create because of their quality standards. It is true that undersized onions, and bananas not curved to right degree are rejected by supermarkets in many countries. But its an exaggeration, if not anything else. We already waste a lot of grains and vegetables. Consider this an additional refrigerator in the house which will hold more food items that you buy from the market, and keep them for longer.
And because we can not afford to (not allowed to) have Tesco/Walmart in every nook and corner, there will always be enough demand for even the so called 'substandard' produce. But, waste, like we do now, is inevitable. Why can't the government make sure it invests more in cold storage facilities (modern ones) by the money it generates from FDI so that it can give fair price to the farmer, so that the farmer can get a better buyer to look forward to and not forced to sell to middleman (now) or Tesco (future).
India is such a diverse nation, both socioeconomically and geographically that we will always have a place for all types of businesses to run their shops. We just can not have a single formula (FDI for all , no-FDI for all) for every problem. Allowing FDI in retail is that cautious step in the right direction.
Thursday, December 06, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Samsung Galaxy note 2, Google Nexus 4 and more updates ...
A lot has happened since Apple launched its iPhone5. Most intriguing is the failure of Maps on iOS6 and Apple firing its executives and project manager in the Maps team ! Are the iOS maps really that bad ? Well, they might look visually good, apparently they are not accurate. I have not personally used the maps on my ipad but I do miss the google maps which disappeared after I upgraded from iOS5. I now use the browser version of google maps on my ipad, the best alternative for apple users.
Mobile space has heated up with Samsung Note 2 doing incredibly well, and also by the launch of nice-looking Windows 8 based Nokia Lumia Phones. Google Nexus 4 by LG has made its appearance as well, (finally, was much awaited), but it sold out even before it went out for sale (literally, if some tech journals are to be believed). With the Blackberry 10 coming up next year in Jan, this is going to be exciting.
And since I am in the fray to get a new mobile phone after my blackberry curve contract ended few months back, I am interested in the seeing how the market responds to the new handsets, all of whom have good reviews and are 'best-selling' (!). I have my eye on the iPhone5 but its too pricey (and even out of my budget, apparently, as suggested to me by one of the phone gurus from phones4u !). Well, to be fair, yes it is too pricey, especially after paying a meager £25/month on my blackberry contract for the last 2 years. It appears that the cheapest iPhone contract I can get is for £39 / month. An unlocked one in the UK costs £529, and after doing all NPV calculations etc, came to a conclusion that a contract worth 35 or below will be cost-efficient, and for anything more than that I will be better off buying an unlocked one ! As price-sensitive I am, I decided to wait and watch the market for few more months. The iPhone prices have come down, from a min of £42/month to around £38-£39/month now.
Also had a look at the Samsung Galaxy note 2, and found it really smart ! Its big, on the look and feel of it, but its quite easy to use, responsive and full of features. After using it for a while, I thought I could handle it ! The stylus adds an extra bit of weight to its already huge list of features. So this phone is definitely another option which is worth exploring.
Another phone I am looking for is the Nexus 4 from LG, which is a powerhouse of an android device with Jellybean 4.2 and a powerful processor, high RAM etc. It lacks 4G LTE, but in the UK I don't think its going to be affordable in the near future (at least for me). However, its hard to get hands on, and sold out everywhere (tried the US and Canada stores as well). Carphonewarehouse are selling it at a premium over its advertised price of £279 (16GB) on google play.
Mobile space has heated up with Samsung Note 2 doing incredibly well, and also by the launch of nice-looking Windows 8 based Nokia Lumia Phones. Google Nexus 4 by LG has made its appearance as well, (finally, was much awaited), but it sold out even before it went out for sale (literally, if some tech journals are to be believed). With the Blackberry 10 coming up next year in Jan, this is going to be exciting.
And since I am in the fray to get a new mobile phone after my blackberry curve contract ended few months back, I am interested in the seeing how the market responds to the new handsets, all of whom have good reviews and are 'best-selling' (!). I have my eye on the iPhone5 but its too pricey (and even out of my budget, apparently, as suggested to me by one of the phone gurus from phones4u !). Well, to be fair, yes it is too pricey, especially after paying a meager £25/month on my blackberry contract for the last 2 years. It appears that the cheapest iPhone contract I can get is for £39 / month. An unlocked one in the UK costs £529, and after doing all NPV calculations etc, came to a conclusion that a contract worth 35 or below will be cost-efficient, and for anything more than that I will be better off buying an unlocked one ! As price-sensitive I am, I decided to wait and watch the market for few more months. The iPhone prices have come down, from a min of £42/month to around £38-£39/month now.
Also had a look at the Samsung Galaxy note 2, and found it really smart ! Its big, on the look and feel of it, but its quite easy to use, responsive and full of features. After using it for a while, I thought I could handle it ! The stylus adds an extra bit of weight to its already huge list of features. So this phone is definitely another option which is worth exploring.
Another phone I am looking for is the Nexus 4 from LG, which is a powerhouse of an android device with Jellybean 4.2 and a powerful processor, high RAM etc. It lacks 4G LTE, but in the UK I don't think its going to be affordable in the near future (at least for me). However, its hard to get hands on, and sold out everywhere (tried the US and Canada stores as well). Carphonewarehouse are selling it at a premium over its advertised price of £279 (16GB) on google play.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
iPhone 5 Launched !
Whoa ! Finally its here !
Let me be frank. The only reason I have added this post to my blog is to generate some traffic to my blog, or rather to see if this really works.
If you are in the UK and want to buy an unlocked iPhone you can do so from 21st September. Details on the apple uk store:
Am I buying it ? Well, no. At least not for another 6 months. When it comes to phones I am one of those wait-and-see-how-this-goes types. Definitely not the early adopters, and I like to press buttons than touch. But the iphone is a good product in general, and will consider buying one when my current phone (yes, you guessed it right, blackberry) dies.
Pricing: You can buy the unlocked version from the apple store for £529 (basic one), but prices on contract are not yet out. Samsungs and HTCs have a tough time ahead, as I have already seen them dropping prices. Just saw a £29 a month contract on Galaxy S3 in today's daily, which is much less than when it was launched. I don't think the iphone5 will be available below $42 (close to iphone4s launch price I believe), and will give the android makers the run for their money.
Until then I will sit back, see other people use it, read reviews, compare tariffs (Oh! I love doing that) and enjoy.
Updates:
Let me be frank. The only reason I have added this post to my blog is to generate some traffic to my blog, or rather to see if this really works.
If you are in the UK and want to buy an unlocked iPhone you can do so from 21st September. Details on the apple uk store:
Am I buying it ? Well, no. At least not for another 6 months. When it comes to phones I am one of those wait-and-see-how-this-goes types. Definitely not the early adopters, and I like to press buttons than touch. But the iphone is a good product in general, and will consider buying one when my current phone (yes, you guessed it right, blackberry) dies.
Pricing: You can buy the unlocked version from the apple store for £529 (basic one), but prices on contract are not yet out. Samsungs and HTCs have a tough time ahead, as I have already seen them dropping prices. Just saw a £29 a month contract on Galaxy S3 in today's daily, which is much less than when it was launched. I don't think the iphone5 will be available below $42 (close to iphone4s launch price I believe), and will give the android makers the run for their money.
Until then I will sit back, see other people use it, read reviews, compare tariffs (Oh! I love doing that) and enjoy.
Updates:
- Sept 14: Apple iphone 5 sold out on first day, 20x times faster than iphone 4s ! (Techcrunch link). Despite reports claiming that iphone5 launch was a damp squib and it did not live up to the expectations and hype, fact of the matter is that the iphone still is the most popular phones in the market.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Oracle vs Google : Lawsuit of the decade !
Oracle is suing Google over Google using the Java framework in Android without license.
This presentation released by Oracle gives a clear picture of what it is suing Google for. It definitely presents the picture from Oracle's part, and on first look paints a very dark picture about Google's use of android. Oracle claims that the Android framework is copied from Java, without paying the due credit, and of harming the bigger java community. Some example (of code) do suggest that Android is based on Java, a lot of it is just taken verbatim.
This part of the presentation clarifies what is going on :
Do you need a license if you are building an application using Java : No. However, if you are extending Java, and providing an API specification or application framework of your own, you do need one, especially for commercial purposes. Android clearly (until court decides otherwise), in my holy opinion, falls under that category.
Here is what the presentation says about 'When is a Java License necessary' :
Most of the developers of java fall under the first category, but some companies do need to use Java for the rest two and they thus purchase License from Oracle (formerly from Sun) and some also contribute to Java community. Several exampls quoted in the presentation.
I think Oracle has a good case, however the Google side of the story is interesting as well, as it claims that Java programming language, or any language for that matter is not copyrightable. Partly true, and remains to be seen how it is presented in court. Meanwhile, the hearing started in San Francisco yesterday (17th April) and the next 8 weeks are going to be really interesting.
And then remains the lawsuit about the patent/copyright infringements which will be heard soon after. More on that later.
References:
Oracle presentation (91 pages, takes a while to open) : http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/features/opening-slides-1592541.pdf
Bloomberg news coverage : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-17/ellison-testifies-oracle-explored-dropped-making-java-phone-1-.html
BBC news : http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17705873
This presentation released by Oracle gives a clear picture of what it is suing Google for. It definitely presents the picture from Oracle's part, and on first look paints a very dark picture about Google's use of android. Oracle claims that the Android framework is copied from Java, without paying the due credit, and of harming the bigger java community. Some example (of code) do suggest that Android is based on Java, a lot of it is just taken verbatim.
This part of the presentation clarifies what is going on :
Do you need a license if you are building an application using Java : No. However, if you are extending Java, and providing an API specification or application framework of your own, you do need one, especially for commercial purposes. Android clearly (until court decides otherwise), in my holy opinion, falls under that category.
Here is what the presentation says about 'When is a Java License necessary' :
- You are writing an application (say a web-application) in Java programming language : NO
- You are providing class libraries on Java API Designs : YES
- Downloading java software components: YES
Most of the developers of java fall under the first category, but some companies do need to use Java for the rest two and they thus purchase License from Oracle (formerly from Sun) and some also contribute to Java community. Several exampls quoted in the presentation.
I think Oracle has a good case, however the Google side of the story is interesting as well, as it claims that Java programming language, or any language for that matter is not copyrightable. Partly true, and remains to be seen how it is presented in court. Meanwhile, the hearing started in San Francisco yesterday (17th April) and the next 8 weeks are going to be really interesting.
And then remains the lawsuit about the patent/copyright infringements which will be heard soon after. More on that later.
References:
Oracle presentation (91 pages, takes a while to open) : http://www.oracle.com/us/corporate/features/opening-slides-1592541.pdf
Bloomberg news coverage : http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-17/ellison-testifies-oracle-explored-dropped-making-java-phone-1-.html
BBC news : http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-17705873
Wednesday, April 04, 2012
Some more GMAT tips
Recently an acquaintance, one of my brothers buddies, emailed me asking about some GMAT tips. I noticed that I have not written anything on that topic so here it is. I will try to answer the basic questions people have when they think about taking the test (or when they think about taking the MBA plunge). Will write the same things that I replied to this guy.
1. How much time needed for preps ?
'That depends ! ' on individual. Why not take a test now without preparation and see how you score. You will know exactly how much preparation you need (I know you are mature enough). You will find a lot of online tests for free - try mba.com first.
2. Which books to refer ?
I referred to a limited set of materials as I had limited time. Depending on how much time you have you can refer to more. however, doing the official guide thoroughly is a must.
3. When should I take the GMAT ?
Check the university websites you want to apply to and note down the application deadlines etc. All of them have several rounds of applications (mostly starting from July/Aug) and its better to apply in Round 1. They sometimes also mention the time during which you should have taken the gmat (not too long back, and not very recent - like a month as well !, so check this first).
In general, for applying to schools which start their session in Aug/Sept 2013 (for example) applications will start July/Aug 2012 and for that ideally you should take the test before end of May (or stretched to June). For Indian b-schools, deadlines tend to be later, so you can adjust accordingly, so check school websites individually.
4. Prep guidelines ? Mug Vocab, regular practice or what ?
Vocab is not so critical for GMAT as it is for GRE, so no need to mug. I believe for most of us Indians, Quants (QA) is also not an issue. Verbal is something which needs practice and tuning. So start early on that, and do that as often as possible. For grammar basics, buy a Wren&Martin English grammar book early on and go through it once.
5. What score is good enough ?
Score is something which puzzles everyone. Remember that GMAT is only a necessary condition for entry and not sufficient. I would say its only 10% sufficient. This means that a good score would only mean you have fulfilled only 10% of criteria for admission. However, a poor score (less than 650 perhaps) would not take you anywhere unless you have an excellent academic record throughout + excellent career progression + extra curriculars.
For US b-schools, at least for the top 15, as an average Indian with engineering background, you must have at least 720-730. Check www.pagalguy.com, they have discussion threads on various schools and profile/GMAT scores of people who were admitted in prior years. I know people who have made it to good top 20 schools in the US with 680-720 as well, but they had excellent application/essays, recommendations, top-notch work experience and very good extra curricular to back it up. Also it makes a good case for scholarships if the score is good.
Also be aware of the average/minimum gmat score required for admission reported on school websites. You must add 20 to that score as they all put Indian applicants into a different pool where the competition tend to be (naturally !) intense. So the average GMAT score of Indians who get through is 20 more than overall class average.
Feel free to post any questions on this thread.
Here is my GMAT experience post - http://followingmydream.wordpress.com/2009/08/06/my-gmat-story/
Also there is a post about mba abroad in general - http://followingmydream.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/thinking-of-doing-an-mba-abroad/
Like almost every other thing in the world, read these with a pinch of salt !
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Love the Sky Sports Cricket broadcast
After having watched cricket back home on television for so long, I had noticed how much was I missing when its telecast without any advertisements. It cant get better than watching it live on sky sports. Well there are commercial breaks in between, but occasionally (say once after 10 overs) , and not so frequent as we have in India. And they do not eat up the first and last balls of the crucial overs.
How else could I have noticed the mannerisms of VVS during the recent tour to Australia. The way he strokes the crease number of times after the over is complete before going to talk to the batsman on the other end, can only be seen when you are watching the sport completely without any interruption especially between overs.
I noticed another such mannerism in Morne Morkel during their recent series. While starting his run-up Morne would first walk towards the straight boundary a few steps before starting to turn around and run for his runup. Quite peculiar and easy to miss.
I might have seen them while viewing them on ESPN/Neo in India as well, but that is not the point. The joy of watching a sports to me is to follow it completely between and after overs. I love it when the camera keeps following a batsman or a bowler covering his every move during that between-over break. Its part of the game, and I think its a shame we have to put advertisements during that period. Not that we have not got enough of them all across the screen during an over.
How else could I have noticed the mannerisms of VVS during the recent tour to Australia. The way he strokes the crease number of times after the over is complete before going to talk to the batsman on the other end, can only be seen when you are watching the sport completely without any interruption especially between overs.
I noticed another such mannerism in Morne Morkel during their recent series. While starting his run-up Morne would first walk towards the straight boundary a few steps before starting to turn around and run for his runup. Quite peculiar and easy to miss.
I might have seen them while viewing them on ESPN/Neo in India as well, but that is not the point. The joy of watching a sports to me is to follow it completely between and after overs. I love it when the camera keeps following a batsman or a bowler covering his every move during that between-over break. Its part of the game, and I think its a shame we have to put advertisements during that period. Not that we have not got enough of them all across the screen during an over.
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