Under pressure from local industrialists who fear they are losing out to foreign competition, the Indian government is reviewing a number of free-trade pacts, including those pending with Thailand and Asean.

“Bilateral agreements having divergent standards with different countries may not help India remain competitive in the international market,” said R.V. Kanoria, a international trade expert with the Confederation of Indian Industry, a New Dehli-based trade group.

“Liberalisation of tariffs by the Indian government should be calibrated with internal reforms in labour, infrastructure and agriculture,” he said in an interview with the Bangkok Post.

In October 2003, India signed a signed a limited trade deal with Thailand that came into effect in September 2004. Under the so-called “early-harvest” agreement, which expires in 2008, Indian and Thai firms can freely import and export 82 items. The deal calls for tariffs to be reduced by 50 percent in 2004-05, 75 percent in 2005 and 100 percent in 2006.

Bilateral trade in these 82 items consequently doubled to US$430 million in 2005 from $217 million in 2004, with Thailand recording a trade surplus of $253 million.

The lopsided numbers soured the Indian business community, particularly the automotive components makers, and talks on a more comprehensive deal that would cover thousands of items has since stalled. Recently CII said it was working to modify existing FTAs and implement a new set of industry recommendations for future trade deals, while claiming that multilateral agreements under the World Trade Organisation would benefit the country more than bilateral agreements.

“Toyota, Honda and Procter & Gamble are the three multinational corporations that have benefited the most from the Indo-Thai FTA,” said Sharif D. Rangnekar, an economic analyst and editor of the Indiabiznews.com website.

He added that “these three companies find the logistics of doing business with India rather attractive because they have major manufacturing units in Thailand and find it easy to launch their products in India”.

Indian products, on the other hand, “don’t have a large market in Thailand even if they have the required certification,” Mr Rangnekar said, explaining that this is partly due to the fact that India’s population of 1.1 billion dwarfs that of Thailand.

Criticism of the India-Thai FTA has come from a wide range of sources, including industry groups, independent research think-tanks and columnists. In 2004, the National Council of Applied Economic Research slammed the pact, primarily because of the complicated issue of “rules of origin”. It also questioned if the “early-harvest” agreement is compatible with WTO rules.

Last year, India’s Ministry of Commerce undertook an impact assessment study of the limited trade scheme with Thailand, which analysed trade flows and drew inferences for the future. The Tariff Commission also submitted a similar study to the federal Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion in New Delhi.

The CII committee headed by Mr Kanoria will soon come up with guidelines for the Indian government to consider before negotiating FTAs. These are expected to include guidelines relating to negative list, common floor prices and rules of origin.

A survey by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), one of the largest apex industry associations in India together with the CII, found in 2005 that imports from Thailand rose phenomenally under the limited FTA, while exports from India to Thailand actually declined.

What is the relevance, if hundreds of MBA graduates to manage and large multinational corporations, products and services for ordinary citizens can not buy, because they are poor?

The Institute for Planning and Management (IIPM), MBA-degree (two years full-time during the planning and entrepreneurship) and BBA level (three years full-time when planning the programme and the spirit of company), where the emphasis is on the prosperity of the economy.

“Policies and academics, intellectuals too. There is no economy without the prosperity of the economy,” says Professor Arindam Chaudhuri, dean of IIPM. “This is an MBA / MA (Economics). Manager without adequate knowledge of the economy remains a mental handicap, “he adds.

IIPM is of the opinion that in the context of globalization, it is essential to train a new generation of entrepreneurs, given the new global challenges of the confidence of international markets, while others obligation for the eradication of poverty among Indian masses within a generation. The Institute, before the two tasks: a reorientation of education and research on the needs of public and private sectors and for the connection between national economic planning and development of private enterprises in the country. It aims to develop a three-dimensional personality of his students: the pursuit of knowledge, commitment to economic, social and cultural upliftment of the masses and culture of taste for literature and the visual arts.

The research has helped to develop their own IIPM themes such as “beyond the principles of Economics and Management Sciences learned that students concepts such as the survival of the weakest, the law of the marginal increase, with the exception of the old concepts of survival of the fittest on the market economy and the law of declining marginal. All students specializing in areas of marketing and information technology. “Business average sale . They do not understand, if you do not understand marketing, “says Arindam Chaudhuri. In addition, students have the option of specialization in finance or human resources.

Source: The genesis of this IIPM dates back to the sixties. A proposal by Dr MK Chaudhuri, the Institute under the name of the Institute for planning and management of the national economy has been sent to Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister and Chairman of the Planning Commission. A study has been turned by Dr MK Chaudhuri during 1964-65 to acquire first-hand knowledge on the treatment of similar institutions in Europe. A working paper on regional planning was put into circulation under the name of Indian Institute of Planning in 1969. The Institute was founded in 1973 by its founder Mr. Chaudhuri, director of the resumption as a professor and director of research at the resignation of the Chair Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore.

Attendance at movie theaters: IIPM authorization test, e-Pat (entrepreneurship and planning Admission Test) is based on a written test, group discussion and interview. E-Pat is based on several parameters regarding EQ (emotional quotient) and mapping of the entire personality of IQ are often too high EQ rear seat when it comes to entrepreneurship.

Tests for admission-cum-interviews have been conducted so far in 15 centres - Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar, Mumbai, New Delhi, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Patna and Trivandrum.The Faculty includes more than 75 permanent members and more than 35 members travel to each branch of the IIPM.

Internships: Last year, there were over 200 companies for IIPM campus placement, including several Fortune 500 companies. IIPM is located in Bangalore since the last academic year. It is also in New Delhi, Mumbai and Pune.

A DELOITTE survey of 100 of the world’s largest financial-services companies indicates that these companies expect to transfer an estimated $356 billion of their operations and two million jobs offshore over the next five years to reduce costs, and the most likely beneficiary of this move is India.

Falling in line with such a trend is Prudential Process Management Services (India) Pvt Ltd (PPMS), the fully-owned subsidiary of Prudential plc, UK. The company opened a $10-million centre in the suburb of Powai in Mumbai last May and is poised to boost its employee strength in three months to 850 from 628. It has been necessitated by a number of projects that the company has taken up for the parent company. In a chat with eWorld, R.K. Rangan, Managing Director, PPMS, talks of the company’s present and future plans. Excerpts:

Rangan says Prudential’s decision to outsource its back-office operations was opposed by the unions. However, despite protests, the company has set up business process outsourcing (BPO) operations in Ireland, Scotland and London, besides the Mumbai facility.

The Indian subsidiary was set up in an effort to cut costs and adopt customer-friendly solutions, as the financial services business transformed itself from one based on personal interaction to the online mode. Says Rangan: “We do not call it outsourcing to India. The unions have been kept in the picture from the start. There is a struggle, but we have assured our staff that they will be helped with jobs.” He clarifies that not all the jobs have been lost, as staff are being redeployed wherever possible.

Besides, quite apart from the cost advantage, outsourcing was also necessitated by a real shortage of skilled workers in the UK and the US, he says. Prudential plc is just one of the global brands that is outsourcing operations. Other multinational corporations such as GE and American Express have also set up large service centres in the country. There are a number of reasons for the trend among MNCs to set up subsidiaries, the most important being the need to maintain confidentiality. A fully-owned subsidiary also allows for flexibility of operations. Further, companies setting up bases in the country train staff for their specific requirements.

Stone Bridge International, a leading international consultancy business enterprises has considerably expanded its practice in India and added that four high-level advisers in Washington and New Delhi. The move to improve Stonebridge’s Global Reach.

Stonebridge CEO Anthony Harrington said: “This high-level team to help our customers in India, press the remarkable economic transition. Stonebridge India, the platform of counselling and support Indian and multinational corporations in several sectors.

Former U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Celeste has decades of experience in India and will continue to play a leading role in providing strategic advice to the client company as Senior Director. Ambassador Celeste two terms as governor of Ohio and was director of the Peace Corps. He is currently president of Colorado College.

More Stonebridge is pleased to announce four new additions to its team of India, including Pradman Kaul, Chairman and CEO of Hughes Network Systems, Diane McMahon, previously with the Council on Foreign Relations and director of the US-India Business Council; Srini Srinivasan, former chairman of AT Kearney in India, whose headquarters is in New Delhi, and Raymond Vickery, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development.

Pradman Kaul, Chairman and CEO of Hughes Network Systems (HNS), meets Stonebridge as Senior Director. HNS is the world leader in broadband communications satellite services and network solutions with customers in 100 countries. Kaul is a great expert in the field of telecommunications and Industry has recently been a national reconciliation Academy of Engineering. Kaul has several company’s success in India and is president of the Maryland-India-Business Round-Table.

Diane McMahon, including the Council on Foreign Relations, joins Stonebridge as Vice President. Previously, McMahon has served as director of the US-India Business Council and Director of the International Trade Policy in the law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. McMahon coordinated July 2005 meeting between members of Congress and Prime Minister Singh by the JRC and the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Srini Srinivasan, former president of AT Kearney (India) Ltd, meets Stonebridge as Senior Director, whose headquarters is in New Delhi. Srinivasan has extensive operational experience and strategic planned and executed several new ventures in India for a number of sectors. He is recognized as a leading expert in the field of information technology, software development, R & D, as well as organizational transformation initiatives overall.

Raymond Vickery, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development, meets Stonebridge as Senior Vice President. Vickery is well known for his work in India, the USA’s economic policy. He served as chairman of the US-India Business Council Working Group on chemicals and petrochemicals and has extensive experience advising clients multinationals in India. During his time at the Chamber of Commerce, Vickery departure for the USA and India Commercial Alliance.

These additions Stonebridge improve the expertise and knowledge of India’s political and economic landscape. Stonebridge Chairman Samuel Berger, former U.S. National Security Adviser, will continue to actively promote US-India Business Cooperation and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s strategy of USA and India strategic dialogue. Mr. Leblanc is also chairman of DB Zwirn Global Investments, a subsidiary of another investment fund international capital and trade vessels of more than $ 4 billion in capital under management and 15 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Stone Bridge International, a leading international consultancy business enterprises has considerably expanded its practice in India and added that four high-level advisers in Washington and New Delhi. The move to improve Stonebridge’s Global Reach.

Stonebridge CEO Anthony Harrington said: “This high-level team to help our customers in India, press the remarkable economic transition. Stonebridge India, the platform of counselling and support Indian and multinational corporations in several sectors.

Former U.S. Ambassador to India Richard Celeste has decades of experience in India and will continue to play a leading role in providing strategic advice to the client company as Senior Director. Ambassador Celeste two terms as governor of Ohio and was director of the Peace Corps. He is currently president of Colorado College.

More Stonebridge is pleased to announce four new additions to its team of India, including Pradman Kaul, Chairman and CEO of Hughes Network Systems, Diane McMahon, previously with the Council on Foreign Relations and director of the US-India Business Council; Srini Srinivasan, former chairman of AT Kearney in India, whose headquarters is in New Delhi, and Raymond Vickery, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development.

Pradman Kaul, Chairman and CEO of Hughes Network Systems (HNS), meets Stonebridge as Senior Director. HNS is the world leader in broadband communications satellite services and network solutions with customers in 100 countries. Kaul is a great expert in the field of telecommunications and Industry has recently been a national reconciliation Academy of Engineering. Kaul has several company’s success in India and is president of the Maryland-India-Business Round-Table.

Diane McMahon, including the Council on Foreign Relations, occurs in Stonebridge as Vice President. Previously, McMahon has served as director of the US-India Business Council and Director of the International Trade Policy in the law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw. McMahon coordinated July 2005 meeting between members of Congress and Prime Minister Singh by the JRC and the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian Americans.

Srini Srinivasan, former president of AT Kearney (India) Ltd, meets Stonebridge as Senior Director, whose headquarters is in New Delhi. Srinivasan has extensive operational experience and strategic planned and executed several new ventures in India for a number of sectors. He is recognized as a leading expert in the field of information technology, software development, R & D and complete organizational transformation initiatives.

Raymond Vickery, former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development, meets Stonebridge as Senior Vice President. Vickery is well known for his work in India, the USA’s economic policy. He served as chairman of the US-India Business Council Working Group on chemicals and petrochemicals and has extensive experience advising clients multinationals in India. During his time at the Chamber of Commerce, Vickery departure for the USA and India Commercial Alliance.

These additions Stonebridge improve the expertise and knowledge of India’s political and economic landscape. Stonebridge Chairman Samuel Berger, former U.S. National Security Adviser, will continue to actively promote US-India Business Cooperation and is a member of the Aspen Institute’s strategy of USA and India strategic dialogue. Mr. Leblanc is also chairman of DB Zwirn Global Investments, a subsidiary of another investment fund international capital and trade vessels of more than $ 4 billion in capital under management and 15 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Stonebridge Vice-President H.P. Goldfield has participated actively in the USA and India, while trade relations, as Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Trade Development and the White House in the Reagan administration. Vice President Matthew Goodman, was responsible for the problems of India during his service as director of the Asian economy in the National Security Council of President Bush.

I’m a graduate of commerce have an interest in Certified Public Accountant (CPA). I would like to know what the scope of the course. — M. D. Prasad

The CPA is an opportunity for accounting professionals to gain knowledge in the areas of management, information technology and e-business, US-GAAP and the code of ethics, in collaboration with key sectors such as accounting, auditing, tax and economic law.

The CPA, University of ICFAI was designed to ensure that the requirements of the modern accounting professionals. At the end of the course requirements, students are the Graduate member of the Society of Certified Public Accountants (SCPA).

Those who complete the program of the CPA are eligible for employment in the central government and quasi-government organisations, public bodies, private enterprises and multinational corporations.

I do my B.E. (Civil) last year. I will clearly for the GOI Engineering Services Exam calendar of next year. I would like to obtain information about the exam. — Bamang Raju, Davangere

The Union Public Service Commission has placed India Engineering Services (IES) is very important media.

The written exam includes Section I, composed of issues such as objective, and Section II, the compromise traditional securities. The two sections will focus on the whole curriculum discipline techniques viz. Civil engineering, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering and electronics and telecommunications engineering, which is Phase I of the recruitment process. Phase II is the personality test.

The scheme under consideration is as follows:

Paper I (Objective-type) (General Aptitude Test) Part A: General information in English. Part B: general studies (for a total of 200 characters). Paper II and III (Goal-type) in civil, mechanical, electrical, electronics and telecommunications and engineering (400 dollars). Paper IV and V (test conventional type) in civil, mechanical, electrical, electronics and telecommunications and engineering (400 dollars).

The personality examination is 200 marks. The recruitment is done in various departments in Group A of the central government.

Below are the categories for civil engineering: (i) Indian Railway Service of Engineers, (ii) Indian Railway Stores Service (Civil Engineering contributions), (iii) the central engineering, (iv) Military Engineer Service (IDSE Framework buildings and roads), (V) Service Central Water Engineering (Civil Engineering admissions), (vi) Central engineering (roads), group A (Civil Engineering contributions), (vii) the Indian Ordnance Factories (Engineering Branch) (Civil Engineering contributions).

I am a student of electronics and communication. I have plans to make an MBA from closing. My dream is, in the context of a press conference of the house. I want my MAS management in the media. I need guidance. — Vijay, Bangalore

You must write Admission Test of the town by the IIMS. Once successful, could be efforts to enter the field of media management.

You can also get in the Mudra Institute of Communications Ahmedabad and the Post Graduate Program in Communications Management (PGPCM), one to two years’ residence. The program can help you reach the summit.

I have my technique in the field of information technology MS University in Tamil Nadu. Do I follow, software, networks, databases or telecommunications? I would like, of course, a certification in one of the above fields. Certification is help me? — P. Raj Mathan

Data Warehousing and networking are needed. The offer, it offers a lot. You should obtain certification in these areas an Institute for reliability, which also offers job placement.

Gandhinagar: The country the company does not have enough foreign direct investment (FDI). A survey among people involved in the sector of the IDF found that Gujarat foreign funds is not proportional to their immense potential.

And the problem is the state “communal image ‘, chaotic urban poor transport and communication skills of white-collar workers.

Chief Executive Officers, fund managers, managing directors, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Finance leaders of multinational corporations and financial institutions were interviewed and selected randomly out of 70 respondents, 55 said that Gujarat’s performance during the acquisition of foreign direct investment was “below potential.

About 11 respondents said it was “its potential,” three did not respond and said simply, it was “above potential”.

Sebestian Morris of the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, the implementation of the investigation, to clear out questionnaires to 750 people closely involved in the decision - are involved. Of the 150 replies received, a sample of 70 was more than 140 usable responses.

More than half of respondents were Presidents. “Gujarat has further attracted foreign direct investment than the gross domestic product (GDP) of the size of the project

There are 130 students in the class of 2001 inaugural speech

One of the most ambitious Indian Business Institute opens its doors to emerging companies.

India has been School of Business at some of the best of Indian Industry houses, in collaboration with the three major international business schools.

Our vision is to create a world in the same class of school in India

Sunday, the first batch of 130 students, selected by a thorough permitting process in the new campus built in the city of Hyderabad in southern India.

Financed and run by Indian leaders and multinational corporations, which has already ISB high expectations in India-Business and Corporate.

“Our vision is to create a world in the same class of school in India, which is known as among the best schools in the world,” said Pramath Sinha, ISB, Chief Executive Officer.

Hyderabad India is one of the leading centres of excellence

“Other agencies of the same type in other parts of the world, has lasted 25 years until the class and famous throughout the world. But we are trying to do great from the start by adopting innovative methods” “said Sinha.

This is the first time that several top Indian companies, houses have joined hands and their money for the creation of a Business School, at a cost of three billion rupees ($ 63.8m).

Territory of Pondicherry: Pondicherry University operates a cell stage to help students jobs by country campus interviews by multinational corporations.

The cell was made in June 2005, has so far benefited 806 university students and universities is connected, will help 56 companies, Vice-Chancellor (in charge) P. Kuppuswami told journalists Monday.

He said, 67 graduates of the School of Computer Science, 37 by the Department of Management Studies, 21 graduates of MBA (Banking Technology), 36 graduates from tourism and 22 in other areas of employment of the University received by the cell.

Three hundred and ninety-six students from institutions of higher education members of the university and students of science 227 affiliated colleges still had jobs.

A consortium was formed in the body of the university on technical and scientific universities to cover students from the Union.

He said, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is now accredited University of Pondicherry and three private high schools specialized technology Campus Accounting.

Besides TCS, the other big placement agency were aware, Infosys, Wipro, Accenture, Satyam, Caritor and HCl.

Placement Officer, Rajkumar Samuel said that, if the cell was created in 2005 about 30 companies belonging to interviews and 332 nominees. Students at other institutions of higher education has no link with the university, there were also benefited, and those in higher education institutions in the past have been covered.

The main characteristic was that the campus was guarded interviews pre-final year students (who would graduate in June 2008).

TCS would be the first company to maintain the interview on March 7th at the University. Cognizant, Infosys and Accenture would follow.

The chancellor said Nathan p. Loka TCS had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the University Faculty for organising development programmes, training for students and technical workshops.

KOZHIKODE, FEB. 6 The Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-C), a major attraction Corporate houses for its campus recruitment.

The positioning on the programme IIM, the K-1 and February 2 57 final saw every year students in the third part of the Business School obtain lucrative prominent placements in India and multinational corporations.

Speaking The Hindu, Dr. AH Kalro, IIM-K director, said the company, on the campus of the Institute in search of talent, representing a cross section of the entire industry.

How many cases were of 33 organizations from 76 for a batch of 57 students. The average salaries earned a colossal Rs 6.14 lakhs per annum, and the highest bid Case 14.5 lakhs per annum.

Mr. Saji Gopinath, the chairman of the mediation, said the largest part of the business, bids on the ground to win IIM talent. Among the companies that contribute to the campus recruitment consultancy have been companies such as Arthur Anderson, AF Ferguson, Kale Consultants, banks and financial service providers such as GE Caps, Citibank, HSBC, BNP Paribas, HDFC Bank, marketing major American studios like HLL, colors Asian Marico, Godrej soap and computing businesses Ramco, HCL Infosystems, ICICI Infotech I-Flex, MphasiS BFL, SAPS and Polaris Labs.

As many as 25 percent of students were undertaken at side, which is higher than the entry-level positions. There were students who had work experience before going IIM.

Mr. Saji Gopinath said that the fears of some of the students, that quality jobs, it will be difficult to obtain because the inertia in the labour market was to negate the results of the recruitment on campus this year .

The consulting firm has offered GE caps the highest salaries 14.5 affair lakhs per year for a student IIM-K. This student, offered the post of vice-president of ITI has a sign for engineers and a few years of professional experience along with a good reputation in IIM-K.

Dr Kalro said, the salaries offered this year have been entirely reasonable “, as well as standards IIM”. If students of the IIMs at Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Calcutta, offer higher wages, it was the fact that many foreign companies, the share paid in dollars campus settings in the institutions.

At IIM-K, no foreign company to hire this year. Some other large companies, including ICICI, not even in the campus recruitment program this year, they had expressed an interest in IIM talent.

A said Dr Kalro a major handicap for IIM-K is that it is not accessible by air to places like Bangalore, where a large number of houses have Corporate his seat. The leaders of hiring companies, there is a flight over to reach Mumbai Kozhikode. It was a time of the year.

The IIM-K hopes to overcome this handicap, in the coming years, thanks to the introduction of video-conferencing.

A said Dr Kalro the success of campus recruiting through this year, the forecast for the future of the ranks of students of IIM-K, began four years ago. He said that the care of students, we get a well-paid job in a firm was only one of the objectives of the Institute.

The goal was greater refine their curriculum, the students play an important role in nation-building and quality management to be achieved.