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Global MBACAT 2015Other Tests

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Mumbai | Volume XII | Issue 6

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January 2015

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CAT 2014:CAT 2014:

If not, then what?If not, then what?

Advanc’edge MBA October 2012 3

editor

Aditya Prakash IengarEditor

from the

As you read this, you will have your CAT score in your hand, and will be getting calls from the various institutes. I don’t really have to tell you that this is going to be the make-or-break moment for you. How you perform in the few GDs that are held by institutes, what you write in your essay, and how you fare in the personal interview round will determine your future. We have already covered the basic skills you need to showcase in these rounds in the previous issue of Advanc’edge MBA.

A very real scenario — and a not very rosy one — is that your CAT score turns out to be not quite what you wanted. This would be put you in a difficult situation, one where you have to consider that you might not get into the business school that you were aiming for, after all. At this point, a lot of students make the mistake of giving up, or getting depressed that their MBA dream is shattered. I’m here to tell you that this is certainly not the case.

Speaking from personal experience, I can tell you that the path you have chalked out for yourself — a good CAT score, a great institute, an amazing two years and a bright career — is not set in stone. It might just happen that your CAT score is not as good as you expected, but that is certainly not enough to snatch away your bright future. I’m here to tell you that there are many, many other roads that can be equally rewarding, and you never know, you might just end up enjoying more.

For instance, you can choose to attempt other tests like the MH-CET, which can get you into great business schools like JBIMS. You can consider going abroad to an international institute to get a global MBA, which can provide a very rich experience and give the perfect jump start to your career. Before you scoff and think that an international MBA is unaffordable, let me tell you that it isn’t. With loans becoming easily available nowadays and the plethora of scholarships on offer, an international is not the “dream” it was a decade ago — it is a very possible reality. And finally, you can always choose to take the CAT next year, give it your best, and get into that dream institute you’ve been planning all along.

So don’t lose heart, life is just beginning for you. Keep a level head, and you’ll reap rewards aplenty.

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Cover Story 06 | CAT 2014: If not, then what?

MBA Buzz

10 | MH-CET: The significant other

18 | Test Analysis: NMAT, SNAP

Countdown

22 | Ten famous cases of Corporate Espionage

Corporate World

24 | Who’s responsible for the corporate collapse of UB?

30 | Of small banks and payment banks

36 | India’s guide to growth: Restructuring key sectors

Study Hour 44 | Test Q&As

46 | Word Dose: Atticus and mockingbirds

48 | Globescan

50 | SuDoKu

CONTENTS

JANUARY 2015

Advanc’edge MBA January 2015

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CAT 2014:If not, then what?

The Advanc’edge Team

With the CAT results soon to be out, there is a possibility that you may not have scored as much as you would have wanted. But all is not lost. In this article,

we explore other options that you might want to look at.

T he CAT results are just around the corner, and everyone is waiting

anxiously. A lot of those anxious minds might be thinking that if the scores are not as they had hoped, their MBA dreams would be shattered. But that is far from the case. Let us explore three different paths that you can take, if you feel that your CAT scores are not up to the mark, and you might not get admission into your dream B-school.

Option 1: Retake the CATThe first and foremost option is the most obvious. Wait for another year, prepare again, plug all the gaps that you feel still remain, and take the CAT again in 2015.

If you think this doesn’t seem like the ideal option, think again. In this one year, you can actually increase your chances of getting an admission into your dream business school.

For freshers, the best course of action is to start working somewhere, preferably in the field in

which they would want to specialise. This means that when you’re taking the CAT next year, not only do you know more about your preferred choice of field and career, you’re more confident, and, of course, you have a year’s worth of work experience. This adds a lot of weight to your profile, as the selection process at all the institutes includes a weightage for work experience.

For those already working, use this additional year to plug your gaps, as mentioned before, and do something that adds to your profile.

Get involved in community service, start a serious hobby that you can build into a passion, learn a language, get an additional certification. Think of this extra year as a gift you can use to make sure you crack the CAT next year.

Option 2: Other testsThen there are the other tests, of course. If you’ve already registered for the SNAP, NMAT, TISS, XAT, etc, you have already covered your bases. A good score in any one of these tests will ensure that you

are halfway to a good business school.

Even if you hadn’t registered for these tests, there are lots more to do. To start off, take tests like the MH-CET. This test is the entrance exam to some top business schools in Maharashtra, including names like Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, etc. Admission to nearly 85 per cent of the total seats in Maharashtra will be given through the MH-CET. Similarly, the other state specific tests are TANCET (Tamil Nadu),



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ONE OF THE BEST TAKEAWAYS FROM STUDYING AT AN INTERNATIONAL

UNIVERSITY IS YOUR PEERS.

ICET (Andhra Pradesh), PGCET or KMAT (Karnataka), etc.

To know more about the MH-CET, head over to the MBA Buzz section of the magazine, where you will find a detailed explanation on the test.

Another test you can look at is the CMAT. This is a national level test conducted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) for admission to several autonomous and state MBA programmes. In the next of the magazine, we have compared the CMAT and MH-CET and the differences between them.

Finally, you can also choose to get enrolled in niche programmes like the Business Analytics programme at Praxis Business School, Kolkata. Given that Data Analytics is becoming one of the most important aspects of an organisation’s functioning, the demand for quality business analysts is growing, and Business Analytics programmes offer a highly successful career option.

Option 3: International education Finally, the third option is to explore getting an MBA degree from an international university. Naturally, this has its own advantages and disadvantages, but it is certainly a viable option, especially if there are programmes that begin in 2016, which means that you don’t miss out on a year at all. To pursue an international MBA programme, you will need to write the GMAT. Reportedly, the GMAT is easier than the CAT, which is said to be the toughest MBA entrance exam. The advantage of GMAT is that it can be taken anytime during the year, which means you can prepare for it and take the test when you’re most confident. So you can always prepare for both the GMAT, as wel as to retake the CAT in 2016.

One of the best takeaways from studying at an international university is the kind of peers you get to meet. With a class that is comprised of students from 10 or 11 different countries and faculty from across the world, the learning experience is almost unparalleled when you consider the exposure you get. So, at global MBA programmes, since there are individuals of so many different nationalities in one class, students end up learning not only from their professors but also from their classmates.

Today, European universities top most of the lists, with European business schools having the seven highest 5-year MBA gains in the world. For instance, at IMD

(Switzerland), students are currently earning US$2,11,000 five years out of school after arriving in Lausanne, Switzerland with a median salary of US$84,000. This equates to almost three times the pre-MBA salary!

Moreover, graduating students are placed in companies across the world, which leads to even more exposure in terms of culture, markets and workforce. This also means that the students get access to a large network of alumni who are working in companies across the world.

Another advantage of an international MBA is that except in the US, most programmes are a one-year or 15 month course. This means that students don’t have to invest

two full years to get their MBA and get a career boost. In fact, one-year programs are also slowly becoming popular in the US, as business schools look to offer an alternative to students who don’t want to be out of the workforce for two years.

MiM programmesFinally, there are also Masters in Management (MiM) programmes offered in institutes across the world. MiM programmes are designed for people in the early stages of their career – right after their undergraduate degree or after about a year on the job. Most business schools do not even require or ask mandatorily for professional experience for their MiM

programmes. The programme is mainly targeted at candidates with non-business related undergraduate degrees such as in Humanities, Science, Arts or Engineering, and at those with a background in business studies.

The length of MiM programmes are also usually just a year, and include a compulsory internship. As for tuition fees, MiM programmes are cheaper than MBA

programmes. While tuition fees at the most expensive full-time MBA programmes can reach as high as €70,000, the most expensive MiM programmes cost only around half of that.

The primary disadvantage for most Indian students is the cost involved in getting an MBA from an international business school. However, that disadvantage too is slowly fading, as more and more institutes have started offering scholarships that can go as high as even the full course fees. Apart from this, getting loans for studying at an international institute is far easier today than ever before; this adds to the affordability of these international programmes. A



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MH-CET:The significant other


With the CAT now over, there is a growing curiosity among candidates about the test,especially given its new format. In this article, you will find a breakdown of the test and

its contents in the four slots, and what you can expect to score.

F rom last year, the MH-CET came back with a bang, as a notification released by the Directorate of Technical Education in

Maharashtra. Admission to the Maharashtra state seats, which constitute as much as 85 per cent of the total seats, will be through the MH-CET. So buckle up, and write the exam, because you’ve already crossed the first hurdle — the CAT.

In case you’ve just come to the CET arena and are wondering what’s going on, let’s take a look at the test structure first.

CET Written TestThe test consists of 200 multiple choice questions arranged in random order that assess different areas. The duration of the test is 150 minutes (2½ hours). There is no negative marking for incorrect answers. Therefore, it is imperative that the students attempt all the questions and intelligently guess the answers to unsolved questions.

Table 1: Structure of MH-CET in previous yearsThe second bit of information about the MH-CET is that

it is quite similar to the CMAT. Now, because the CMAT was also begun with a similar objective as the MH-CET, confusions may naturally arise as to why there are two tests anyway. So let’s now see how the two tests are different.

Comparison with CMATAt a paper level, there are four key differences between the CET and CMAT. These will alter your paper level strategy for the test. CMAT is a computer based test while the CET has been paper based in the past. The latest news is that the DTE is thinking of making the test online. If this happens, then this difference will no longer exist.

Another key difference is that the CET has no negative marking, unlike the CMAT; this makes the CET more test taker friendly.

The CET is a speed based test, while the CMAT is not. In the CET, 200 questions have to be completed in 150 minutes, i.e., test takers have less than a minute per question. The CMAT, on the other hand, has 100 questions to be completed in 180 minutes, which means there is 1.8 minutes to solve each question. This requires a test taker to change his strategy in terms of sharpening his approximation skills and learning various shortcuts.

The CMAT has set based questions only in the Verbal section, and that too had been introduced in the last test. The CET has many set based questions, which makes things easier. Students will have to read a passage and answer several questions, or analyse a single graph and answer many questions based on the graph.

At the area level, the differences between the MH-CET and CMAT are follows. • The CET does not have questions on General

Area Number of Questions2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

Quantitative Ability 25 22 15 15 25Data Interpretation 15 20 20 25 20Data Sufficiency 7 5 5 10 5Logical Reasoning 58 48 54 53 51Visual Reasoning 30 25 30 30 30

Verbal Ability & Verbal Reasoning 55 48 61 52 54

Reading Comprehension 10 32 15 15 15

TOTAL 200 200 200 200 200


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Awareness. This is a big positive since students find it difficult to prepare for questions of this type.

• CET has 25 to 30 questions based on Visual Reasoning, while the CMAT so far had barely one question. Furthermore, the Visual Reasoning questions in the CET are of a higher difficulty level. A lot of practice is required for this section.

• The CET has 48 to 54 questions on Logical Reasoning, while the CMAT has only 25. This is another area that a student needs to focus on and practice to attain speed.

• The CET has 20 to 25 questions on Data Interpretation, while the CMAT has only 2. Moreover, these DI questions are generally set based, i.e., 5 DI questions with, for instance, 4 sub-

questions each. This is another area of importance.• The CET has 48 to 61 questions on Verbal Ability

& Verbal Reasoning. The CMAT’s English section, especially the September 2013 CMAT, was heavily based on Reading Comprehension. Verbal Reasoning questions were very few.

• The CMAT has many questions on Quantitative Ability and covers advanced topics as well. The CET has only 15 questions and does not cover advanced topics. So this is an area of respite for CMAT students.

Finally, if you really want to get a perfect idea about what the MH-CET is like, read on for an analysis of MH-CET 2014.

Area Easy Medium Difficult Total

Synonyms / Antonyms 4 1 5

Fill in the Blanks (Cloze) 10 10Grammar – Replace the Highlighted Part (tense)

3 2 5

Grammar – replace the highlighted part (vocabulary)

4 1 5

Connector based sentence starters 3 2 5

TOTAL 24 6 0 30

CET 2014 analysisApart from the fact that the test went online for the first time last year, CET 2014 was similar to the CET conducted in 2011 and 2012. As it turned out, time management was key to get a good score. The test was conducted across three slots on March 15, 2014 and one slot on March 16, 2014.

Difficulty-wise, the paper was easy provided the students knew which questions to skip. Logical Reasoning was time consuming and a few questions were tricky. Quant had a few surprises, with around 20 questions and a few set-based questions in Geometry. Due to these reasons, students found the paper on the difficult side. The Verbal section was comparatively easy. So students with Verbal as their area of strength would not enjoy too much of an advantage over students weak in Verbal. Visual reasoning questions were much easier, but in a few questions, the diagrams were not clear. There were a few new question types, but they were easy to solve. LR had symbol-based logic (conclusions) without the coding for various mathematical symbols. Verbal had connector-based sentence starters. The test overall was similar across the three slots. In comparison to Day 1, students found the test on Day 2 a bit difficult in some areas.

The test taking experience was smooth but with a few stray incidents. One centre in Mumbai unfortunately faced a power cut during the test. There was also some delay in commencement of the test. In some centres, the tests began at 10 am, while at one centre it began at 10:15 am. The students were expecting the test to begin at 9:15 as indicated in the hall ticket, but that appeared to be the entry time and not the test start time. Some students also seemed to be rushing at the last minute to procure a photocopy of the hall ticket and their photo ID. Unlike the rumours,

scratch papers were readily available to the students.

Sectional feedback: Verbal AbilityTable 2: Overall break-up of VA questions

All Vocabulary and Grammar questions are included here. There were 30 questions in this section. Most of the questions were easy to solve.

There were two Cloze exercise with 5 blanks each. A few questions were of a medium level of difficulty, but keeping the overall theme in mind, the answers could be reached after some consideration. It was possible to solve all Grammar and Vocabulary questions within 30 seconds each, with at least 80 per cent accuracy. On day 2, the question types and difficulty levels remained unchanged. An interesting feature was that at least 10 questions from this area appeared amongst the last 15 questions in the paper. As a result, there were students who never got to see these questions.

Sectional feedback: Verbal ReasoningThere were 25 questions spread over various constructs. There were comparatively fewer Critical



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reasoning questions. Furthermore, the options weren’t too close, so one could find the answer quickly and easily, unlike the dilemma faced in close options. The jumbled paragraph question was on the difficult side. It was a set-based question, so it was important to get the entire sequence correct. Syllogisms were easy and quick to solve. 2 questions were asked for the same scenario, making it further scoring. Cause and Effect and Course of Action questions too were on the easier side. In context, statements were overall straightforward barring one or two where there could be ambiguity. On Day 2, the question type and difficulty level remained more or less the same.

Table 3: Overall break-up of VR questions

Sectional feedback: Reading ComprehensionThe test had only 2 Reading Comprehension passages of medium length. The passages were also easy to comprehend. Furthermore, the questions did not have close options. One of the passages was on Time, and as such was a little philosophical in nature. The passages had 5 questions each with 1 question each on the medium to difficult side. On Day 2, there wasn’t much difference with regard to the difficulty level of RCs or the questions asked.

Table 4: Overall break-up of RC questions

Sectional feedback: Quantitative AptitudeQuestions based on this area were relatively easy, with a few tricky questions that could have gotten the test taker stuck. A good strategy for these questions would be to move on if you do not figure out your approach within the first 30 seconds. The questions were distributed across Arithmetic (about 4 to 5 questions with one each on Profit & Loss, Simple & Compound Interest, Time speed & Distance, Averages,

etc), Modern Math (4 questions — 2 Probability, 1 on Permutation & Combination, and 1 on Sequences and Series), Geometry (6 to 7 questions including 2 sets — one of 3 questions and one of about 2 questions). Both the sets were based on properties of circles. This was a surprise element in QA, as figure-based questions, especially set-based ones in Geometry like this have never appeared before in the CET.

2 questions were based on 3D objects, i.e., Cuboids and Cylinders), with 1 to 2 questions each on Numbers and Algebra. Five of these questions were in the nature of Quantitative Comparison, which is quite commonly asked in the CET. There were no questions on BODMAS. On Day 2, a question each appeared on pipes and cisterns, and partnership instead of profit & loss. The speed & distance question too was related to the upstream and downstream scenario. In comparison to Day 1, quant on Day 2 seemed to be difficult, definitely in terms of the question types.

Sectional feedback: Visual ReasoningIn the online format, this area is the most challenging for a lot of students, and can be a make-or-break area. A total of around 25 questions were asked in this area, with questions being asked on Completion of series (both 5 figure as well as 6 figure), Find the missing figure in the series and 4 figure Analogies. Again, this area had a mix of easy and medium level questions. The most appropriate strategy here again would be to not get stuck on questions and move on, as there were a lot of easy questions to fall back on.

On Day 2, around 15 questions were asked from series completion, 5 questions from Odd Man Out and 5 from Analogy. Some students were reported to have found some figures in Visual Reasoning questions quite unclear.

Sectional feedback: Data Interpretation & Data SufficiencyA total of 4 sets of 5 questions each in the first slot were based on Data Interpretation. 2 of the sets, one a caselet based on airfares between various cities and a table (based on toll collection) were quite direct and easy in calculations. Both these sets should definitely have been attempted. A line graph (based on income of different years of 3 companies) and a bar graph (based on sales of different types of books) would have challenged your analytical and observations skills a bit. However, once analyzed well, these too were not that difficult. On Day 2, students found a DI set containing a hexagonal figure difficult. One set was from Venn diagrams.

Data Sufficiency (2-statement) had around 5


Critical Reasoning 4 4

Jumbled Paragraphs 0 5 5

In context statements 4 1 5

Syllogisms 7 0 7

Cause and Effect 2 2

Course of Action 2 2

Total 19 6 25


Passage – Inflation 4 0 1 5

Passage – Time 2 2 1 5

Total 4 9 2 10



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questions on Quantitative Aptitude (more Arithmetic-based, i.e., Percentages, Profit & Loss, etc) and 5 on Logical Reasoning (Arrangements, Comparisons, Directions, etc).Though not easy, this was a high scoring area. An important point to note here was that options did not appear in a standard option format as it does in Data Sufficiency. For example, if in a question, you had the option “Question can be answered by statement 1 alone” as the first option, in the next question it might appear in the 4th option. So don’t fall into the trap of getting the answer right and marking the wrong option.

Sectional feedback: Logical ReasoningQuite a few of the arrangement sets here were time consuming, but once you analysed the sets, it would mean around 5 to 7 easy marks in your pocket. Students found at least 2 out of 4 LR sets difficult. One on Linear Arrangement involved half people in a sitting position facing north and the remaining half

in a sitting position facing south. Students found this question difficult. A symbol-based family tree, although easy, appeared in the CET for the first time. Symbol-based logic (conclusion) had appeared in a far easier format, as in it did not involve decoding. The inequalities were mentioned directly and conclusion statements were based on those. These were easy and quick to solve. A

Table 4: Approximate break-up of LR questionsTopic No of Questions Level of Difficulty

Arrangements 4 sets ( around 28 questions) Medium

Sequential Input Output 6 questions MediumSymbol based logic( Conclusion) 6 questions Easy

Symbol based family tree 5 questions Easy to Medium

Coding (Sentence based) 5 questions Easy to Medium

Coding (Alphabet based) 2 questions Easy

Series (Wrong element) 6 questions Easy to Difficult

Top B-schools accepting MH-CET

Sr. No. College Name Total Seats

1 JBIMS, Mumbai 120

2 SIMSREE, Mumbai 120

3 SIMSREE - PGDM, Mumbai 60

4 KJ Somaiya (SIMSR) , Mumbai 120

5 Welingkar, Mumbai 120

6 SIES, Mumbai 120

7 N.L. Dalmia, Mumbai 120

8 MET, Mumbai 180

9 Xaviers Institute of Management, Mumbai 60

10 Chetana, Mumbai 120

11 IES, Mumbai 60

12 Lala Lajpat Rai Institute of Management, Mumbai 180

13 PUMBA, Pune 180

14 Shree C. E. Society's Indira Institute of Management, Pune 180

15 MAEER's MIT School of Management, Pune 120

16 MAEER's M.I.T. College of Engineering , Pune 60

17 Sinhgad Institute of Management, Pune 420

18 Chanakya's Indira College of Engineering & Management, Pune 60

19 Maharashtra Institute of Technology, Pune 60

20 Shri Ramdeobaba College of Engineering & Management, Nagpur 60

21 Dept of Business Management, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University 60

22 Dr. Ambedkar Dept of Management Studies & Research, Nagpur 180

23 Tirpude Institute of Management, Nagpur 180

24 Dhananjayrao Gadgil Institute of Co-operative Management, Nagpur 60



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MAT 2014 (DAY 1 SLOT 1) was quite similar to last year’s, with a marginally tougher Quantitative Skills section. The DI sets, in

particular, were a lot more calculation intensive compared to last year’s. Since there is no negative marking, it is better to guess answers to all unsolved questions in the last few minutes of every section.

What made the NMAT a pleasant experience was that students were permitted to take a break during the test (although there is no scheduled break). However, the timer does not pause during this break.

Sectional Analysis: Quantitative SkillsThis section consisted of Data Interpretation, Data Sufficiency (a handful of questions) and Quantitative Aptitude questions. Almost 90 per cent of the questions were DI and QA based, with both enjoying almost equal weightage.

Most of the questions on Quantitative Aptitude varied between ‘easy’ and ‘moderate’. A few were tricky. The QA questions were distributed evenly across all areas of Mathematics (i.e. numbers, arithmetic, modern math, geometry and algebra), with slightly more questions from arithmetic & modern math.

Unlike last year, where you would find a couple of easy DI sets, all the DI sets in this slot were time consuming. The DI sets had four questions each and were based on bar charts, pie charts and tables.

The DS questions were evenly distributed among numbers, algebra, modern math, geometry and arithmetic.

Almost all questions were clubbed area-wise or according to question type: For example the geometry questions were together and the DS questions were together Some QA questions were tricky. However as the average time available to solve each question is quite less, you should ideally not get stuck on questions and instead try to attempt the easier questions first to maximize your score. Considering the difficulty level of this slot, an attempt of around 35 questions would be good for this section. If the DI sets seem calculation intensive, we advise attempting

DI sets after attempting the standalone QA questions.

Sectional Analysis: Logical ReasoningAbout 30 per cent of the questions were on verbal reasoning (statement–conclusion (syllogism based and others), critical reasoning, strong & weak arguments etc.) There were a couple of decision making questions too which outlined some scenarios and listed courses of action that you could take. The options here were relatively easy to choose from. The remaining Logical Reasoning questions were from arrangements, groups & conditionalities, family tree, numerical grid, coding, series, alphanumeric series, directions, symbol based logic etc.

On the whole, this section seemed on par with last year’s.

Sectional Analysis: Language SkillsThis section had two passages with a few questions each. The passages had about 300 - 400 words. The remaining question types were mark the error (in a sentence), fill in the blanks (double, cloze, prepositions-based), jumbled paragraphs, analogies and antonyms and synonyms. Again, considering the limited time, one should leave the RC passages to the end as at least one of them is expected to be moderately challenging. Apart from the synonyms and antonyms, (for which one would require a reasonably good vocabulary), the other questions were simple. This section too was quite at par with last year’s.

Test Analysis:NMAT, SNAP


N

STUDENTS WERE PERMITTED TO TAKE A

BREAK DURING THE TEST.HOWEVER, THE TEST

TIMER DOES NOT PAUSE DURING THIS BREAK.



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SNAP 2014 Analysis

The overall structure of the SNAP exam remained the same as that of the previous years’. The exam consisted of 3 sections having 40 questions of 1 mark each (Quantitative Ability, General English and General Awareness) and one section having 30 questions of 2 marks each (Analytical and Logical Reasoning). The overall difficulty level of the exam did not vary much from that of the previous SNAP exams’ but the English section was perceptibly more challenging than before. A majority of the questions varied between an easy to moderate level of difficulty. The best way to maximize one’s score would have been to select questions judiciously and read quickly.

Table 1: Overview of SNAP 2014

Sectional Analysis: Quantitative AbilityThis section was dominated by arithmetic and modern mathematics. There was one DI set with five questions, based on a pie chart. Additionally, there were two questions on sequences (odd-man-out and complete-the-series). There was no question on data sufficiency. A majority of the questions in this section were of an easy to moderate level of difficulty. However, a few questions on modern mathematics, especially those on logarithms and probability, were somewhat tricky. Therefore judicious selection of questions was of utmost importance.

It has been observed that over the last two years, the level of difficulty of the Quantitative Ability section in SNAP has gone up.

Table 2: Questions in QA

A good strategy would be to attempt about 26-28 questions in 30-35 minutes with 85% accuracy.

Sectional Analysis: General EnglishThis section was more challenging than the previous years’ SNAP English sections. There were about 14 pure vocabulary questions (we are including vocabulary questions requiring knowledge of grammar under ‘grammar’), 16 grammar questions, 9 RC questions and 1 verbal reasoning question. About 18 questions were very easy, about 11 were of a moderate level and about 11 were quite challenging (either due to difficult words or due to difficult-to-eliminate options) It was very important not to keep pondering over questions that were confusing and instead be decisive. Though students prefer to avoid RC, this time the RC questions were much simpler than many non-RC ones. So, students should have attempted them. For the longer passage, reading one paragraph at a time and solving one question alongside helped as the questions were in the same order as their answers were in the passage and one could save spending time on scanning. In 25-30 minutes, one could go through all the questions and attempt about 30 questions with 80% accuracy.

Table 3: Questions in General English

Section Subjectarea

Number of questions

Marks per question

Total marks

Section I Quantitative Ability 40 1 40

Section II GeneralEnglish 40 1 40

Section IIIAnalytical &

LogicalReasoning

30 2 60

Section IV General Awareness 40 1 40

TOTAL 150 180

Topics Number of questions Difficulty

Arithmetic 13 Easy to moderateModern Math 7 Moderate to difficultyGeometry 6 Varying, mostly easy

Numbers 4 Easy

Algebra 3 Easy to moderateData Interpretation 5 3 easy, 2 difficult

Others 2

Topics Number of questions Difficulty

Vocabulary 14 Mixture of easy, moderate and difficult

Grammar 16 Varying, mostly easyReading Comprehension 9 (6+3) Easy to moderate

Verbal Reasoning 1 Easy



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Sectional Analysis: Analytical and Logical ReasoningOverall, the level of difficulty of the logical reasoning questions could be termed as moderate, not easy, mainly because of one set on circular arrangement (of 6 Germans and 6 Americans, which had an additional condition of sequencing of communication between people on both the tables). This set was best left out. All other questions were solvable and very much like the SNAP questions of previous years. There were 5 single questions and 17 questions in sets. The single questions and the question set based on Venn diagrams (students passing in English, GK and Mathematics) were the easiest of the lot. Using options to your advantage in the single question on matrix arrangements (5 persons – 5 professions) and family tree (6 people A, B, C, R, S, T) would have saved you time. Also, the single question on clocks could have been answered by a lot of you just by looking at the options.

The Verbal Reasoning questions (8 in number) were welcome as they required hardly a minute per question and were quite simple.

Ideally, one should have allotted 45 minutes to this section and solved about 22-24 questions with about 85% accuracy.

Sectional Analysis: General AwarenessThis section contained a healthy mix of questions from various areas (politics, government, awards and personalities, sports, literature, etc…) There were about 31 questions based on static GK and 9 based on current affairs. Most questions (25) were based on world affairs, while 15 had to do with national affairs/events. About 12 questions would have been very simple for someone who had prepared for SNAP GK, 13 would have been moderately challenging and about 15 would have been tough. So, in 10-15 minutes, students should have been able to attempt 18-20 questions with about 70% accuracy.

The expected cut-offs are around 105 for SIBM and around 95 for SCMHRD. A

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Who’s responsible for the corporate collapse of UB?Over the last few months, UB group chairman Vijay Mallya has been steadily losing ground, and his ownership stake and control over many of his prized companies are slipping. Despite

a strong start, did the downward slide of Kingfisher Airlines lead to Mallya’s misfortunes?

B efore the current chairman of United Breweries (UB) Holdings

Vijay Mallya took over, the once successful UB group had been steered by his late father Vittal Mallya for close to three decades. The UB group was present in business like beer, spirits, engineering, fertilizer, chemicals and pharmaceuticals. These businesses are structured as independent companies that are owned by the UB Holdings.

After his father’s demise, Vijay Mallya took over the reins of UB Holdings in the 1990s, and not only strengthened its core businesses of spirits and beer, but also moved the group into other diversified businesses like real estate and airline. Kingfisher Airlines was initially positioned as neither a low cost airline, nor a premium branded offering — initially, it treaded the middle path.

Under Vijay Mallya’s leadership at the UB Holdings level, the spirits business grew to become the third largest in the world, brand owner of three of the world’s top global brands. UB Holdings’ shares scaled a price of `1,100 seven years ago.

The beginning of the fallVijay Mallya’s move to diversify the group into the airline business through Kingfisher — and the subsequent acquisition of Air Deccan in 2007 — turned out to be the inflexion point which unfortunately reversed the successful trajectory of UB Holdings from success to a massive erosion in shareholder value.

From the high of `1,000 plus, the shares of UB Holdings steeply lost value, now hovering around at a paltry `20 per share. Such is the damage Kingfisher Airline wrought to the group’s overall financial position.

Kingfisher Airlines The airline’s story is very interesting — Mallya floated Kingfisher Airlines, and only later positioned it as a luxury

carrier. At the time, Kingfisher couldn’t fly overseas due to

regulatory restriction of not yet

completing f i v e

years in operation. Impatient to overcome this barrier, Mallya acquired the low cost airline Air Deccan (which had been in operation for more than five years), a public limited listed company, and “reverse merged” Kingfisher’s operations into Air Deccan. The name was then changed from Air Deccan to Kingfisher, and Mallya gained the eligibility to fly overseas.

Was flying overseas that strategic and was it that important for Kingfisher to create a superior value for its shareholders at that point in time? Not really. The domestic operations itself were in a flux. With the Kingfisher brand offering the high end premium, Mallya positioned the Air Deccan fleet at the other end of the spectrum as Kingfisher Red, a low cost offering. Unfortunately, such contrasting positioning within the same company confused passengers. To add to the misery, the international operations were positioned at the top end with luxurious offerings. For a startup carrier, to

compete with


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seasoned players on the international route was another challenging task. All of these had a negative bearing on the overall operations of Kingfisher, seriously impacting its financial position.

The financial deterioration of Kingfisher Airlines pushed Mallya to sell out the spirits business, dilute holding and control in United Breweries, lose control over Mangalore chemicals and fertilizers and be termed as a “willful defaulter” by the consortium of banks.

Who is responsible? Were there not enough warning signs?Is the chairman of UB Holdings, the group holding company responsible? Mallya has been the overall strategist for the group. He has been instrumental in growing the liquor business across the world to scale unprecedented highs, but in the same spirit, he is equally responsible for the poor performance of the airline business and ruthlessly allowing it to go bankrupt!

Management team Although one can argue that Kingfisher Airlines had an independent management team headed by its CEO which was instrumental in running the

airline on a day to

d a y

basis. Therefore, shouldn’t this CEO and the management take responsibility to have failed in course-correcting the business in a proactive manner to avoid this bankruptcy?

Unfortunately, a widely published belief about Mallya has been that as a director on the airline’s board, he was famous for interfering in the day-to-day operations of the airline and seldom allowed the CEO of the airline to function independently and take professional decisions. In fact, this is the same reason being attributed to attrition levels at senior management positions in Kingfisher Airlines.

Although the airline created a superior value to its high-end customers, the management failed to provide that value at a viable and sustainable cost-point that could provide a return on the investments made for offering such high end services! Such recklessness has been the main problem and is a primary driver for the airline’s decline.

Board of directorsIs the UB Holdings’ board of directors collectively responsible? There are two independent non-executive directors sitting on the board of UB Holdings — N. Srinivasan and Lalit Bhasin (as per moneycontrol.com, as of December 20, 2014).

“Independent non-executive” directors mean that they are independent from the management of the company, and their role would

be to oversee the activities of the management, and mentor the directors and managers of the company to ensure the

management acts in the best interest of its shareholders.

In short, if the independent directors sense that the management is functioning poorly and taking decisions that will erode shareholder value, they should be the first to blow the whistle! The very purpose of such independent directors is to act swiftly and raise the issues at board meeting so that the minority shareholders not participating in the decision making process are aware of such issues in a timely manner. Unfortunately the independent directors failed completely on this account.

Globally, focus is shifting more and more towards the boards of companies for running the organisation efficiently and taking care of shareholder interests. The excuse that “we have just overseen the operations, but the management has been in control and has been

Vijay Mallya

N. Srinivasan

Lalit Bhasin



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INDIA INC: AT A GLANCE

Murdoch acquires Mumbai’s BigDecisions.comMumbai based start-up BigDecisions.com (started as bigdecisions.in) which specialises in helping investors make optimal decisions in choosing life and health insurance, retirement

planning, buying and renting real estate to planning for a child’s education, has recently been acquired by the Rupert Murdoch-owned News Corp for an undisclosed amount. It also recently acquired PropTiger.com a real estate based e-commerce platform. BigDecisions.com will be left as is, without being merged with News Corp, with the existing management continuing to run the operations. News Corp has been very bullish about India; its India involvement includes Dow Jones, The Wall Street Journal, Factiva and HarperCollins Publishers.

inefficient” is no more an argument that will hold water and absolve the independent directors from their responsibilities. The responsibility lies squarely on the board, more specifically the independent directors, who need to raise issues that are likely to erode shareholder value, in a timely manner.

Bankers’ roleCould the bankers at least have averted Kingfisher’s catastrophe? Given the high stakes of more than 7,000 crore they had with the airline, should they not have been proactive and timely and pulled up Kingfisher for mismanagement and poor strategy? This has been one of the other major reasons for the failure of Kingfisher Airlines. State Bank of India (SBI), the lead banker, in spite of the financials of Kingfisher Airlines steeply deteriorating, failed to term Kingfisher and Mallya as a “willful defaulter” until other banks in the consortium like Union Bank took the lead.

What lessons can Corporate India learn?Promoters should not unduly interfere with the professional management who are experts in running a particular business; undue interference can not only bog down the professional management, but also completely take away the onus and responsibility to run the company away from the professional managers. Ergo, the board cannot hold them responsible when something goes wrong!

Secondly, it is very rare for the financial position of companies to deteriorate drastically overnight; there are enough signals and warnings available in a careful scrutiny of the financial statements and key solvency ratios. These can never be missed! Bankers need to be vigilant and cannot get away with shirking this responsibility.

The boards, especially the independent directors, need to sound out the shareholders in a timely manner if they smell irregularity, in terms of management actions. A

LS passes Companies Act (Amendment), 2013The Lok Sabha has passed the Amendment bill to the Companies Act of 2013, which now overrides the Companies Act of 1956. A number of changes have been made to the corporate legislations that will go to substantially enhance investor and shareholder protection. The definition of “related party transactions” has been substantially enhanced, and should widely protect minority shareholders in listed companies. Provisions relating to accepting and using public deposits have also been strengthened in favour of the depositors. All these will go to improve corporate governance. However, many stakeholders have pointed out a number of provisions in the new Companies Act (Amendment) 2013 as unrealistic, and this could increase the administrative burden on companies.

Air India’s fortune looking upAir India’s market share in terms of passengers carried has shown improvement in the last month, perhaps as a result of the disruption and cancellation of SpiceJet flights. Given that this is the holiday season, tickets are generally booked and flight schedules drawn many months in advance, cancellations and changes can cause severe disruptions and

inconvenience to passengers. That is why the government is interfering and attempting to see how it can work with banks to support SpiceJet, at least in the short run, to help ease its liquidity position so that it does not come to a standstill and create havoc to passengers. However, it is for the SpiceJet management to ensure the airline finances are well sorted out and it gains long term viability!



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Banks like ICICI offer a wide range of services, unlike small banks that have fewer services and cater to a niche community.


Of small banks and payment banksOne of the key pillars to support the growth of an economy is financial inclusion and penetration among the population. The Indian

population not under the banks’ fold is still massive, which has egged the RBI on to extend licences to small banks and differentiated banks.

T he Government of India and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are contemplating

how the country’s macro-level banking structure should emerge to effectively support India’s growing economy. A banking structure that is conducive for increased financial penetration and inclusion, that supports rural and agricultural development, complements small and large corporates in their domestic and international aspirations, and above all, one that caters to the growing middle class, is paramount.

A number of questions arise in this context. Will India need a few “super large” banks, which by their sheer size can deliver superior service at the lowest cost to a wide spectrum of customers? Or should India have a number of small but specialized banks with specific customer or geographic focus to precisely satisfy their varying needs? Or, finally, should it be a combination of both?

RBI licencesIn one of its policy documents released in August 2013, the RBI had indicated that it would license small banks and other differentiated banks in order to extend banking services to the underserved and un-

served sections of the population, which has currently been a major challenge.

Universal and differentiated banks“Differentiated banks” are different from ‘”universal banks”’, which are what we’re generally familiar with in countries like India. Universal banks offer many different services like savings bank account, deposits, consumer banking, home loan mortgage banking, foreign currency services, wealth management services, insurance, mutual funds and stock market investment services.

However, differentiated banks

focus on a very narrow range of service, restricted to a very small community or geographic area, catering to their specific needs. Generally, universal banks are large and geographically spread across the country and have overseas branches as well, while differentiated banks are small in size and geographic and product diversity.

Differentiated banks are very popular in developed markets like the United States. For example, a bank would only focus on practicing doctors and serving their needs for managing their finances and extending credit to help them acquire medical equipments.



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On similar lines, the RBI is now coming up with licenses for such small banks that would serve niche interests that meet credit needs of small and medium sized businesses, unorganised sector like grocery stores and vegetable vendors, low income households, farmers and migrant work force. Such an initiative is likely to further the principle of inclusion by bringing in a large proportion of the population that are currently out of the banking fold, remaining unbanked. India’s traditional universal banks have been unable to penetrate the unbanked, in a large way! The RBI has recently come up with guidelines for licensing such small banks in the private sector.

Licensing of the small banksThe objectives of RBI in setting up small banks will be to further financial inclusion by providing a savings vehicle to underserved and un-served sections of the population. The second goal is to allow such small business units, small farmers, micro and small industries, and other unorganised sector entities to access credit in their limited areas of operations, through high technology-low cost operations. So, the whole objective boils down to reaching more sections of the society, providing

them access to basic banking and financial services, and thereby inducing economic development through a “bottom-up” approach.

Who will be eligible to apply for the small bank licence? Existing non-banking finance companies, micro finance institutions as well as individuals having 10 years of experience or more in banking and finance companies and societies are eligible to apply for setting up small banks.

The criteria on which such applicants will be evaluated have been spelt out by the RBI, and will include their past record of sound credentials and integrity, financial soundness and successful track record of running their businesses for at least a period of five years.

What will be the capital requirement and the requirement from promoters?Applicants need to have a minimum capital infusion of `100 crore. At least 40 per cent of this capital should come from the core promoter and should not be taken out of the business for the first five years. Between the fifth and the tenth year, the core promoter’s 40 per cent holding should be diluted down to 30 per cent and further to 26 per cent over the next two years; this will ensure that as the bank

matures, one single party does not have excessive control that can help him serve his personal interests, rather than that of the borrowers.

How can a small bank be defined and what will be its scope? The area of operations of the small bank will normally be restricted to a small to medium sized geographic region where such banks will be able to relate to the local community in terms of understanding and culture. Generally, expansion beyond such geographic restriction will not be possible.

Such small banks can accept deposits and lend to small farmers, small businesses, micro and small industries and unorganised sector entities. They can also undertake other simple financial service activities with prior approval from the RBI. They won’t be able to set up subsidiaries to undertake non-banking financial services activities.

Other stipulations of the RBIThe RBI is very particular that the initial business plan submitted by the applicants be realistic, and will be compared with the actual results once they are licensed to operate. The RBI has clarified that there are substantial deviations from the original business plan, various restrictive clauses would kick in.

Furthermore, in order to ensure that such banks function in the

Farmers are one community that will benefit from the licences granted to small banks that would serve niche interests.



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The Indian economy needs a banking sector that is conducive for increased financial penetration and inclusion.

best interests of the borrowers, the boards of the small banks will have a majority of independent directors not directly related to the management of such banks.

Payment banksOn similar lines, the RBI is also in the process of seeking applications for “payment banks”, whose role will be to facilitate payments and remittance services and demand deposit products to small businesses and low-income households with

an initial restriction of holding a maximum balance of `1 lakh per customer. The whole idea is that these banks are not intended for facilitating savings in the economy (which will be the role of the small banks), but to ensure payment services are made available at the grassroots level of the society.

How do these help the Indian economy inch forward?For the last 60 odd years since Independence, public sector banks

(PSB) have been major players in the Indian banking industry but still continue to under-perform compared to their private sector peers in terms of profitability and asset quality. However, the entire banking system in the country, including public and private, has failed to achieve financial inclusion, as more than 50 per cent of India’s population do not have a bank account. More importantly, the number of banks per capita is also ridiculously low in India as compared to our western counterparts.

The NDA government’s recent “Jan Dhan” scheme is specifically to address this issue. In order to deepen the financial inclusion, licences need to be given to a number of small and payment banks that can operate at the grassroots level and bring more population within the banking fold. Such an initiative is a prime driver for the long term economic growth of the country and is a major policy initiative in the banking sector. A

INDIA INC: AT A GLANCEGlobal economic outlook 2015 If reports and experts are to be believed, 2015 seems to be a little scary for the global economy. The outlook is extremely uncertain with the world staring at a number of geo-political, financial and economic concerns. Russia is on the verge of economic collapse as a result of sanctions imposed by the West on account of Russia’s interference in Crimea and Ukraine. The fall in crude oil prices to unprecedented levels has hit its national finances (which is highly dependent on oil revenue) to such an extent that it may take years to recover. The drop in crude oil price could be a boon for countries like India, but still opens up huge uncertainties as we step into 2015. While the US economy is showing signs of growth, German and Japanese economies are substantially slowing down, and the political situation too is dicey, with the Democrats apparently having lost their ability to make key decisions for the US economy. All of these are enough to spawn spiralling uncertainties in the global economy.

Flipkart now valued at $11 bnOnline retail giant Flipkart is now valued

at close to $11 billion, which is an impressive feat, achieved within a short span of time. It has been rapidly tying up funds from all sources over the last few years to fuel its aggressive growth, and is currently the largest player in the Indian e-commerce industry. With the growing younger generation having adopted well to shopping online, an exponential growth in smartphones and better Internet connectivity have all boosted the growth of the Indian e-commerce industry. Japanese Soft Bank (owner of the Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.com) also recently invested in rival Indian start-up Snapdeal. The move is interesting, given that Alibaba was recently listed in the US stock markets at a valuation of more than US$200 billion, thereby becoming one the top five most valuable global companies. Is Flipkart looking to follow in Alibaba’s footsteps?

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E

India’s guide to growth: Restructuring key sectors

To boost the Indian economy’s growth to double digits, a number of things need to be done, the first and foremost of which is to restructure the key industrial sectors of power, coal and

telecom. Steps have been taken in the right direction, but fruition is a long way away.

ver since coming to power, the NDA government has been trying to open up

the Indian economy to ensure the country catches up to mitigate the poor economic growth, at less than 5 per cent gross domestic product (GDP) growth, recorded over the last three years.

Although it is extremely challenging to fast forward all policy decisions that have been pending for more than five years in a short span of time, the government has at least been steadily gathering the low hanging fruit! Policy easing and restructuring key sectors like power, coal and telecom is evident, and the government might just taste success soon.

Backbones of the economyThe three sectors mentioned above are extremely important ones that will go to fuel the country’s economic development. The power sector is totally dependent on the coal sector and jointly, if they are not facilitating the country’s economic growth, they can have an adverse impact on the country’s economic growth to as high as 2 to 3 per cent. The telecom sector forms the backbone of the

country’s knowledge economy and e-commerce business, and forms the lifeline of the country’s entertainment and media activities.

Furthermore, the Prime Minister has promised round-the-clock power to all Indians by 2022, and recently announced that the coal industry will be significantly opened up to the private sector. Currently, close to 90 per cent of the country’s coal output comes from the public sector, which has been extremely

inefficient in production. In effect, the government had committed itself to move quickly to revive coal mining, increase domestic production of gas, and find other ways to ease the constraints on power companies. The key question here is: Is the government walking its talk?

POWER SECTORThe biggest challenge for the country today is to produce adequate power required to grow the economy at a double digit rate.

Even though gas is environmentally friendly, India’s gas production output is low, with only around 8% of power plants running on gas.



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More importantly, such power needs to be produced at a cost that will position our manufacturing sector competitively against its global counterparts.

The total installed power capacity in India is around 255 Gigawatts. Around 60 per cent of this are coal dependent thermal power projects. Not more than 8 per cent is fuelled by gas, even though gas is considered to be more environmentally friendly.

Power plants predominantly use coal or gas as feed stock to produce power. Many coal-based power projects are operating at very low capacity because of poor coal production in the country, despite India being endowed with one of the largest coal reserves in the world.

Low outputWith gas production drastically reduced in the Krishna Godavari KG-D6 basin over the last few years, there has been a severe shortage of gas, which is why most of the gas-based power plants are virtually idle. More importantly, a large part of the gas produced is also being shared with fertilizer companies, depriving gas for power

producers. Also, the government’s slow decision making in fixing the gas price in the country has discouraged more international and domestic companies to invest in gas exploration and production activities in the country. These are so many issues that need to be sorted out on a war footing!

The government has already started coming to the rescue of such gas based power plants by helping them restructure their debt and ensuring that gas is available to them at a reasonable price through pooling imported gas with locally produced gas. However, these are short term measures and the only way to revive the power sector is to revive the coal sector.

Moreover, in order to boost renewable energy in our overall “energy mix” to achieve around 15 per cent by 2020, the government is preparing a roadmap which it has promised to release by February 2015.

Efficient power supplyOther parallel initiatives are being implemented. For instance, a bill was recently introduced in Parliament to help electricity

suppliers become more efficient. Once this bill is passed, consumers will be able to choose their electricity supplier, thereby making the inefficient players redundant. The Electricity (Amendment) Bill of 2014 is likely to bring through many reforms in the power sector, touching upon areas ranging from generation, distribution, transmission, trading and use of elasticity, and will also safeguard consumer interest. The government is also spending billions to overhaul the country’s transmission and distribution system, which is one of the most inefficient systems in the world.

COAL SECTOR Coal is the “energy lifeline” of India. Coal drives more than 60 per cent of India’s energy production. Shortage of coal at power plants is one of the main causes of severe power cuts across the country and for power plants remaining idle. Close to 70 per cent of India’s coal-based power plants are running on extremely low levels of coal stock, and in fact have to actually shut down operations if there is a minor disruption in coal availability. For an economy aspiring to popularise the “Make in India” campaign, this is completely unacceptable.

The Coal India problemThe biggest culprit is Coal India, which is the largest producer of coal in the world, but is also highly inefficient in terms of productivity due to the unionised labour, mismanagement and mafia interference. It has completely failed to meet its output targets, and severely impacted the power plants that were built based on Coal India’s assurance of feed stock supply.

The Prime Minister himself has intervened and promised to restructure Coal India to ensure

Coal production is very low, and so, neary 70% of India’s coal-based power plants are running on extremely low levels of coal stock.



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that it increases its annual growth in production to 16 per cent from the current 1 per cent over the next five years. A number of areas including labour affairs, research and development, maintaining quality of coal (iron ore contamination in supplied coal can severely damage power plant equipment) and mechanisation are key areas that must be focused on.

Coal blocksThe passing of the bill for fresh auction of 204 coal blocks, which had been cancelled by the Supreme Court last year, is a welcome and timely initiative. The coal blocks are likely to be auctioned out early next year, which is expected to bring in the efficient private sector to enter coal mining in a large way so that coal production becomes more reliable and efficient. More importantly, dependence on Coal India will reduce over the next few years.

Quick wins are already being recorded — coal production has gone up to 7.5 per cent and power generation from coal-based plants has grown 21 per cent after the new government came to power.

TELECOM SECTOR The Indian telecom sector is starving for spectrum capacity, especially after the Supreme Court cancelled more than 120 licences earlier issued for 2G spectrum on account of corruption, and the arbitrary and unconstitutional manner in which they were allocated to companies.

The new government has already initiated proceedings for a fresh round of auctioning and reissuing of spectrum capacity to the telecom industry players. Sector regulator TRAI is closely involved in setting the base price for such auctions, which became one of the most controversial

India update: Foreign currency reserveIndia’s foreign currency reserves and equivalents ended at US$ 316 billion during the end of the second week of December 2014. The value of reserves held by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been fluctuating due to the variations in the exchange rate of the portfolio of currencies held in the basket. Also, the RBI periodically intervenes in the foreign currency markets by purchasing or selling currencies, in order to hold the value of rupee within an appropriate band depending on volatility of the foreign currency markets. Primarily, there have been two issues that have been of concern — the first is the ending of the quantitative easing by the United States Federal Reserve (as the US economy is now picking up in terms of growth and the Federal Reserve is of the opinion that quantitative easing will no more be required to pump liquidity into the market). The second is the commencement of quantitative easing by the Japanese government to stimulate the economy through easing liquidity. The resultant fund inflow and outflow from the Indian economy can bring in a little volatility to the Rupee-US dollar parity.

Climate change talksThe recently concluded climate change talks in Lima, Peru, ended inconclusively, with the differences of opinion between developed and developing economies widening on how much each one of them is responsible for the

reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The issue of contention has always been with respect to Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR). Developing economies feel that developed economies, which have already created enough environmental damage over the decades of their development, should take on a higher burden and allow emerging economies to be more lenient in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, as they need to catch up with developed economies in terms of economic development. The issue of “national circumstances” has now emerged in the current round of talks. Developed economies are now claiming that they need to be provided lenience with respect to emission norms in a wide range of circumstances, like recession, which opens up a number of uncertainties that developing economies are unhappy about.

Infant mortality on its way down in IndiaWith the NDA government working on a number of economic targets, including fiscal deficits, current account deficits, GDP growth rate, exports and imports, there is very little focus on

the targets for reduction in infant mortality rates. Currently, India is ahead of the target of 39 infant deaths per 1,000 of live births. The “Under-5 mortality rate” is also a key indicator that reflects healthcare infrastructure in the economy as well as the extent of healthcare inclusion achieved. India achieving a substantial reduction in this indicator from 126 to 52 per 1,000 in the last 23 years, we are still lagging behind the global average of 46 per 1,000 live births. It needs to be appreciated that the government’s primary role should be to create the necessary platform in the country for healthcare, rather than running airlines and manufacturing companies.



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India vis-à-vis China

By comparing India with China, the efforts required are well demonstrated. China has been steadily growing its GDP at more than 10 per cent year over year for the last 20 odd years, and still continues to grow at slightly below 10 per cent, far higher than India’s GDP growth. India needs to grow at more than 10 per cent (which is double the rate at which it has been growing in the last couple of years) for the next 20 plus years to achieve what China is today, in terms of size and stature. Such is the magnitude of the challenge!

China also recently surpassed the United States to become the world’s largest economy on a purchasing power parity basis; the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts China to record $17.6 trillion this year, ahead of the $17.4 trillion by US.

Continued and sustained sectoral reforms in the power, coal and telecom industries will be instrumental in India achieving such levels of success!

issues in the cancelled licences.The government is better

prepared to handle the auction this time, and an acceptable formula for the pricing parameters is also

emerging, with the complete involvement of a number of specialists. It is expected that the spectrum will also be auctioned early next year.

Are these initiatives adequate to boost the economy into double digit growth? That is still to be evaluated, since the government has just got us to a starting point. A lot more needs to be done at the grassroots level to bring such initiatives to fruition. It will take significant time, energy and resource; apart from the Prime Minister and the concerned minister, the bureaucrats and ministries themselves need to work at the grassroots level to open up these key sectors that can make or break the country’s GDP growth. A

SpiceJet facing cash crunchChennai-based Indian carrier SpiceJet has flown into turbulent air, with a severe cash crunch forcing it to ground planes, cancel flights and hold payment to employees. The airline might go the same way as Kingfisher, but if public information can be believed, it

seems that the management could soon tie up an acquisition deal where the potential new owners infuse the necessary cash and equity into the ailing business. The Chennai-based Marans own close to 55 per cent of the airline. The market capitalisation is reported to have been diffused by the outstanding debt and the mounting dues to airport authorities and other suppliers.

Asia biz sentiment reboundsWith a strong growth recorded in the US and crude oil prices dropping to unprecedented levels, business sentiment among Asia’s top companies rebounded in the fourth quarter to the second-highest level in almost three years. This was reported by a recent survey carried out by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with INSEAD. However, such sentiments are yet to fully reflect in the Indian corporate corridors! Although the new NDA government has kickstarted a number of initiatives and the Prime Minister is spearheading a battery of marketing campaigns across the world, a positive effect in the corporate environment is yet to show up on ground.

Atos to acquire Xerox IT outsourcing businessFrench company Atos recently announced that it would acquire Xerox’s information technology outsourcing (ITO) business for $1.05 billion. The acquisition will give Atos a

presence in 45 countries, apart from tripling its business in the US; Atos also gets a business that has almost 90 per cent of its revenue coming from North America. It will also increase its India headcount, which is currently at around 10,000. The revenue for Xerox’s ITO business for 2014 is expected to be around $1.5 billion. Atos will also take over Xerox’s ITO employees in the US (4,500), including employees in offshore destinations India, Philippines and Mexico (3,800) and another 570 in the UK and Germany. Many European companies like Atos are currently diversifying into fast growing Asian countries to counterbalance mature local businesses.

Dr Suresh Srinivasan is a Chartered Accountant, has an MBA (Bradford UK) and a Doctorate in Strategy. He is a Professor of Strategy in Great Lakes Institute of Management and a management consultant.



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GITAM Schoolof International Business

MBA - International Business

MBA - International Banking and Finance

MBA - Global Logistics and Supply Chain Management

ADMISSIONS 2015-2017

Eligibility All Programmes

50% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade in any Bachelor's Degree

after (10+2) from a recognized University. Those awaiting results of

Final Year Degree examinations can also apply.

Admission Process

1. Application can be submitted “on line” by visiting our websitewww.gsib.org.

2. Application along with brochures shall be made available atdesignated centers on payment of Rs.1000/- in favour of GITAMSchool of International Business, payable at Visakhapatnam.

3. Candidates can register for GET'15 in the same application bypaying on additional fee of Rs.500/-.

Prof. M. Subramanyam, Chairperson – Admissions

GITAM School of International Business,GITAM University, Visakhapatnam – 530 045

Tel:(O) 0891-2840413, Mobile No. 9490886714 | Email : [email protected]

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The Programmes are designed to cultivatethought leaders in International Business.

Students will have opportunities to participate inInternational Study Tour to broad base theirunderstanding of International Business.

Students will have opportunities to do an elective:Business Analytics offered by IBM, and SAPoffered by NTT Data.

Students will have the opportunities to study oneor two trimesters at Burgundy School of Business,Dijon, France, or at International University ofParis, at Paris or Summer Internship/ ResearchProjects at those places.

Students will have the opportunities to participatein Seminars/Conferences at various places inIndia, interact with highly distinguished peoplefrom Academia, Industry, and the Government.

Multi-cultural ambiance in the School withstunning beach-front location adds value tostudents for learning.

All programs are residential, and accommodationon the campus is arranged without additionalpayment. However, students would have to payfor their mess charges and overheads.

GSIB ADVANTAGE

Some of our Recruiters

CSR-GHRDC B-School Survey 2014:■

Business.th

■ 4 in “B-Schools of Excellence”.

Business India B-School Survey-2014 : A + +

NHRDN B-School Survey-2014:th

■ Ranked GSIB as 44 B-School among 50 top-rankings B-Schools in India.

nd2 best B-School specializing in Intenational

Rankings

Opportunities at GSIB

■

for the best outgoing student

■ 100% fee waiver : First Ranker at the end of Third Trimester.

■ 50% fee waiver : Second Ranker at the end of Third Trimester.

■ Presidential Gold Medal : For overall performance in the

programmes

■ Teacher's Gold Medal : For the first ranker in the programmes

■ Sliver Medal : For the second ranker in the programmes

■ Bronze Medal : For the third ranker in the programmes

■ Merit cum Means Scholarships

Dr.K Rosaiah Award of Excellence : Cash Awards of Rs.1,00,000/-

For more details visit: www.gsib.org

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Quant

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

etc, and how to best solve them.

1. If f(x) = , then what is the range for values of x and y for f(x) + f(y)

= ?

1] –1 < x < 1; –1 < y < 1 2] x < –1; –1 < y < 1 3] –1 < x < 1; y < –1 or y > 1 4] x < –1; y < –1

Ans: f(x) = 0 and f(y) = 0

f(x) + f(y) = 0 ... (1)

If x = y = 0, f(x) = f(y) = 1 and = 0

f(x) + f(y)

option [1] is eliminated. If x and y both are negative, then (1 – x), (1 – y) > 0

> 0 only when x > y.

Option [2] is eliminated as x < –1 < y. Option [4] is eliminated as x can take greater value than y. Option [3]: –1 x < 1; y –1 or y > 1 y –1 x or –1 x < 1 < y x – y = 0 only when x = y = –1 y < –1 < x < 1, (x – y)(1 – x)(1 – y) > 0 For x < 1 < y, (x – y), (1 – y) < 0 and 1 – x > 0 Thus,(1)issatisfiedbyallvaluesinoption[3].Hence,[3].

2. Twocirclesofradii3cmeacharetouchingeachotherexternallyasshowninthefigure.

AB and CD are common tangents to both the circles. Find the area of the shaded region. 1] 21.77 cm2 2] 7.64 cm2 3] 7.74 cm2 4] 7.84 cm2

Ans: Thegivenfigurecouldbedrawnas


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VerbalDIRECTIONS for question 1: In the following question, there are sentences that form a paragraph. Identify the sentence(s) or part(s) of sentence(s) that is/are correct in terms of grammar and usage (including spelling, punctuation and logical consistency). Then, choose the most appropriate option.

Q1. A. ManypeopleimplicitlybelieveintheHydraulicTheoryofViolence; B. that humans harbour an inner drive to aggression C. that builds up inside us and must periodically be discharged. D. Nothing could be farther from E. a contemporary scientific understanding of the psychology of violence. 1] B and D 2] A, B and E 3] C and E 4] A, C and D

Ans: The semi-colon at the end of part A is incorrect – the correct punctuation mark should be a colon. The correct preposition after ‘drive’ in B should be ‘towards’ not ‘to’. ‘Farther’ refers to a physical distance; inafigurativeusagesuchasinD,‘further’isused.Therefore,onlyCandEarecorrect.Hence,[3].

Q2. Just as 18th-century tsar Peter the Great claimed a swampy patch of Baltic seacoast and stamped his brand on St. Petersburg – the national seat of power in imperial Russia – so, too, did Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev pick out a remote spot on which to plant the flag of a new Kazakhstan. Never mind that the previous capital, Almaty, is a temperate, pleasant city that few save the president wanted to leave. In late 1997 the government officially relocated to frigid, windswept Aqmola, 600 miles to the north, on the treeless steppe of Central Asia. The town was subsequently rechristened Astana, the Kazakh word for ‘capital’. Other capitals have had similar origins, including, of course, St. Petersburg, which Fyodor Dostoyevsky once described as ‘the most theoretical and intentional town on the whole terrestrial globe’. The description was not meant to flatter. But eventually the Russian city took on a life of its own, endured and prospered.

1] Will Astana do the same? 2] A brand new capital for a new country, Astana is the future of Kazakhstan. 3] But Astana has none of the advantages of the Russian city. 4] Now, of course, St. Petersburg is no longer the capital of Russia, but it remains a vital, thriving city.

Ans: Option [2] does not follow from the last line of the paragraph, which is about the Russian city of St. Petersburg. Option [3] seems like it fits, but it does not really complete the paragraph, as what the ‘advantages’ are is not stated as yet. A careful reading of the paragraph shows that it is about Astana, not St. Petersburg, which is given only as an example for comparison. So the paragraph should end with somethingaboutAstana.Sobetween[1]and[4],theformeristhebetteranswer.Hence,[1].

DIRECTIONS for question 2: The following question has a paragraph from which the last sentence has been deleted. From the given options, choose the sentence that completes the paragraph in the most appropriate way.

In ABCD, AB = PQ = CD, also AC = BD = PQ = 3 + 3 = 6 cm ABCD is a square of side 6 cm. A ( ABCD) = 62 = 36 cm2

Area of each of the semicircles with centre P and Q =

Area of shaded region = 36 – 2 = (36 – 9 ) = 7.74 cm2 Hence,[3].

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Atticus and mockingbirdsW

ORD D

OSE

a. – Was full of excitement or activity

b. – A short period of intense conflict

c. – Lack of bravery

d. to fight with the intensity and ferocity of a wild animal

e. – away from public scrutiny,

where one is free to indulge in actions that one would otherwise not do in public

f. – Qualities or features regarded as a characteristic or inherent part of someone or something

g. – (Of a bird or other animal) use or build a nest

h. – basic principles, the elements or first principles of a subject

i. – A course or principle of action adopted by an individual

j. – flattering or favourable

k. – Unnoticed, not attracting attention

M AT C H T H E W O R D S W I T H T H E I R M E A N I N G S1. Attributes – (a-truh-byoots) (n)

2. Inconspicuous – (in-koh n-spik-yoo-uh s) (adj)

3. Buzzed – (buhzd) (v)

4. Complimentary – (kom-pluh-men-tree) (adj)

5. Bout – (bout) (n)

6. Policy – (pol-uh-see) (n)

7. Cowardice – (kou-er-dis) (n)

8. Private ground – (idiom)

9. (Fight) tooth and nail – (idiom)

10. Rudiments – (roo-duh-meh nts) (n)

11. Nest – (nest) (v)

With these attributes, however, he would not remain as inconspicuous as we wished him to; that year, the school buzzed with talk about him defending Tom Robinson,

none of which was complimentary. After my bout with Cecil Jacobs when I committed myself to a policy of cowardice, word got around that Scout Finch wouldn’t fight any more,

her daddy wouldn’t let her. This was not entirely correct: I wouldn’t fight publicly for Atticus, but the family was private ground. I would fight anyone from a third cousin upwards tooth and nail.

Francis Hancock, for example, knew that.When he gave us our air-rifles Atticus wouldn’t teach us to shoot. Uncle Jack instructed

us in the rudiments thereof; he said Atticus wasn’t interested in guns, Atticus said to Jem one day, ‘I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds.

Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’That was the only time I heard Atticus say it was a sin to do something,

and I asked Miss Maudie about it.‘Your father’s right,’ she said. ‘Mockingbirds don’t do one thing but make music for us to enjoy.

They don’t eat up people’s gardens, don’t nest in corncribs, they don’t do one thing but sing their hearts out for us. That’s why it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.’

Excerpt from Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird


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Young graduates face a dilemma. With the business world changing rapidly, they need to prepare for careers that don’t exist today, but the educational options available to them are designed for jobs that are fast vanishing in the face of technological changes and globalisation.

Today’s graduates need much more than a handful of obsolete subjects and project work to be called managers. They need real business experiences, practical knowledge and skills, and need to be prepared for careers that will move across functions and verticals. In the highly competitive business world, aspiring managers are expected to have top-notch skills in communication, team relations, analytics and more.

At ITM – Business School, we realised how innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and critical thought are pushing the business world forward. In order to stay contemporary and ahead of the curve, ITM has identified the increasing influence that factors such as technology, globalisation and sustainability have on the world economy.

We’ve taken all these learnings and crafted the most practical PGDM program in India — the ITM PGDM iConnect. ITM PGDM iConnect is a uniquely designed programme that delivers practical work experience, practical courses and practical skill-sets that are needed for creating careers that are future-ready.

What is iConnect?iConnect is a new approach addressing the challenges of the next-gen workplace: experience working with teams, core business know-how, excellent communication skills, strong analytical abilities and more. Doing away with purely classroom-rooted methods, iConnect seeks to open up the world to the student, bringing together the forces of academics, self-development, professional development and real work experiences into a cohesive and mentored learning experience.

The highlights are:• Fully redesigned and streamlined curriculum.• 5-month, full-time industry internship at top companies,

guided by our experienced faculties.• Comprehensive training in communication skills, technical

skills and professional development through our exclusive ‘TALEWIND’ curriculum.

• Innovative courses or placement preparation- Corporate Transition, Career management and Competency enhancement.

• Integrated CSR ProjectsThe end result is the most practical management

programme, from the Most Practical Business School. ITM Business School’s six campuses (Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai-Dombivali, Navi Mumbai, Noida and Warangal) offer the AICTE-approved ITM PGDM iConnect, with specialisations in Digital Marketing, Financial Markets, Retail Management, International Business, Supply Chain & Operation Management and Pharma Management, in addition to standard specialisations in Finance, HRM and Marketing.

ITM is consistently ranked among the Top 50 business schools in India, with our campuses among the top 5 in their states.

Placement successOur students have unprecedented access to over 650 companies for campus placement. ITM has enjoyed a very successful placement record for the last 5 years. In 2014, the average CTC recorded was `4.5 lakh per annum, and the highest CTC was `15 lakh per annum.

The application deadline for all ITM PGDM iConnect programs is March 30, 2015. The deadline for the special early admissions process which awards scholarships and financial aid is December 30, 2014.

For more information, visit www.itm.edu/pgdm, or speak to an Admissions Counselor at 1800 209 9727.

ITM – The Practical Business School

Advt.



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47

Young graduates face a dilemma. With the business world changing rapidly, they need to prepare for careers that don’t exist today, but the educational options available to them are designed for jobs that are fast vanishing in the face of technological changes and globalisation.

Today’s graduates need much more than a handful of obsolete subjects and project work to be called managers. They need real business experiences, practical knowledge and skills, and need to be prepared for careers that will move across functions and verticals. In the highly competitive business world, aspiring managers are expected to have top-notch skills in communication, team relations, analytics and more.

At ITM – Business School, we realised how innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity and critical thought are pushing the business world forward. In order to stay contemporary and ahead of the curve, ITM has identified the increasing influence that factors such as technology, globalisation and sustainability have on the world economy.

We’ve taken all these learnings and crafted the most practical PGDM program in India — the ITM PGDM iConnect. ITM PGDM iConnect is a uniquely designed programme that delivers practical work experience, practical courses and practical skill-sets that are needed for creating careers that are future-ready.

What is iConnect?iConnect is a new approach addressing the challenges of the next-gen workplace: experience working with teams, core business know-how, excellent communication skills, strong analytical abilities and more. Doing away with purely classroom-rooted methods, iConnect seeks to open up the world to the student, bringing together the forces of academics, self-development, professional development and real work experiences into a cohesive and mentored learning experience.

The highlights are:• Fully redesigned and streamlined curriculum.• 5-month, full-time industry internship at top companies,

guided by our experienced faculties.• Comprehensive training in communication skills, technical

skills and professional development through our exclusive ‘TALEWIND’ curriculum.

• Innovative courses or placement preparation- Corporate Transition, Career management and Competency enhancement.

• Integrated CSR ProjectsThe end result is the most practical management

programme, from the Most Practical Business School. ITM Business School’s six campuses (Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai-Dombivali, Navi Mumbai, Noida and Warangal) offer the AICTE-approved ITM PGDM iConnect, with specialisations in Digital Marketing, Financial Markets, Retail Management, International Business, Supply Chain & Operation Management and Pharma Management, in addition to standard specialisations in Finance, HRM and Marketing.

ITM is consistently ranked among the Top 50 business schools in India, with our campuses among the top 5 in their states.

Placement successOur students have unprecedented access to over 650 companies for campus placement. ITM has enjoyed a very successful placement record for the last 5 years. In 2014, the average CTC recorded was `4.5 lakh per annum, and the highest CTC was `15 lakh per annum.

The application deadline for all ITM PGDM iConnect programs is March 30, 2015. The deadline for the special early admissions process which awards scholarships and financial aid is December 30, 2014.

For more information, visit www.itm.edu/pgdm, or speak to an Admissions Counselor at 1800 209 9727.

ITM – The Practical Business School

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A quiz to boost your General Knowledge

1. On 12 December 2014, Pawan Chamling completed 20 years inofficeasthechiefministerofwhich Indian state?

a. Arunachal Pradesh b. Sikkim c. Assam d. Meghalaya

2. Who was appointed the new Intelligence Bureau chief on December 13, 2014?

a. Dineshwar Sharma b. Syed Asif Ibrahim c. N. Sandhu d. Rajiv Mathur

3. A court recently dropped charges againstHosniMubarakover the killing of 239 protesters during the 2011 uprising against him.He is the formerPresidentof which country?

a. Iran b. Lebanon c. Syria d. Egypt

4. “Super Victor” was votedthe 2016 European football championship’s mascot. Which country will host Euro 2016 from June 10 to July 10, 2016?

a. Portugal b. Italy c. France d. Netherlands

5. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, who was in the news recently for controversial communal remarks at an election rally in Delhi, is the Union minister ofstate for ____________.

a. Food processing industries b. Heavy industries and public

enterprises c. Agriculture d. Tribalaffairs

6. Which country topped the global corruption index rating released recently?

a. Singapore b. Maldives c. Canada d. Denmark

7. Which country was recently hit by an acute water crisis after a fire in the country’swater treatment plant caused extensive damage and led to disconnection of water supply?

a. Fiji b. Maldives c. Indonesia d. Philippines

8. Which Union Minister ofRailways recently inaugurated Wi-Fi Broadband Services at New Delhi Railway Station.

a. Suresh Prabhu b. Prakash Javedkar c. DVSadanandaGowda d. Ravishankar Prasad

9. In December, Singapore signed a memorandum of understanding with which Indian state to develop a world-class capital city for that state?

a. Gujarat b. Maharashtra c. Andhra Pradesh d. Telangana

10. Aishwarya Rai was recently felicitated by the Miss World Organisation for her charity work“BeautywithaPurpose”.

In which year was she crowned Miss World?

a. 1991 b. 1999 c. 1996 d. 1994

11. Which Indian-origin woman was recently appointed chairman of Santander UK, becoming thefirst woman to head a majorBritish bank?

a. Nadasha Kriti b. ShritiVadera c. Priyanka Agnik d. Krishna Kripa

12. Who among the following has been voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2014 in December last year?

a. LewisHamilton b. Sachin Tendulkar c. Novak Djokovic d. Lionel Messi

13. Recently, a lone heavily-armed man of Iranian-origin named ManHaronMonisheld17peoplehostage at a café in which city for around 17 hours?

a. Peshawar, Pakistan b. Melbourne, Australia c. Sydney, Australia d. Lahore, Pakistan

14. Which company was named India’s biggest company by the Fortune 500 list of Indian companies for 2014 released on December 15, 2014?

a. Reliance Industries b. Bharat Petroleum c. Steel Authority of India

Limited d. Indian Oil Corporation



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15. Which terrorist organisation of Pakistan stormed the premises of the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16, 2014 and shot dead around 141 people, of whom 132 were students?

a. Lashkar-e-Omar b. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan c. Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan d. Tehreek-e-Jaferia Pakistan 16. Name the first made-in-India

nuclear submarine which began its sea trials in December 2014.

a. INSArihant b. INSKalvari c. NSKhanderi d. INSAridhaman

17. Forhowmanyyearshas Indianwoman boxer Sarita Devi beenbannedby InternationalBoxingAssociation for refusing to accept a bronze medal at the IncheonAsianGameslastyear?

a. 1 b. 3 c. 2 d. Lifetime

18. Name the heaviest nextgeneration rocket test-fired byISRO on December 18, 2014,taking India closer to realizingthe dream of manned space flight.

a. GSLVMark-I b. GSLVMark-II c. GSLVMark-III d. GSLVMark-IV

19. The Union Cabinet on December 17, 2014 approvedthe Constitutional Amendment Bill on Goods & Services Tax(GST).Fromwhichdatedoesthegovernment plan to implementGST?

a. January 1, 2016 b. March31,2015 c. April 1, 2015 d. April 1, 2016

20.Namethe Indian-Americanwhowas recently confirmed by theUS senate as a Federal judge in the District of Columbia.

a. SanjayGupta b. AmitPriyavadanMehta c. ManojShyamalam d. VinayMurthy

21. India is participating in thedevelopment of software forthe world’s largest telescope as announced recently. Where will this telescope be housed?

a. Oslo b. Perth c. Hawaii d. Alaska

22. Who among the following players have been named asmen’s and women’s World Champions respectively for2014bytheInternationalTennisFederation(ITF)?

a. Rafael Nadal & Serena Williams

b. Novak Djokovic & Serena Williams

c. Rafael Nadal & Venus Williams

d. Novak Djokovic & Venus Williams

23. Which team won the inaugural edition of the Indian SuperLeague football tournament on December 20, 2014?

a. AtleticodeKolkata b. KeralaBlasters c. FCGoa d. Chennaiyin FC

24. Who was recently appointed the new chief of India’s ResearchandAnalysisWing(RAW)?

a. PrakashMishra b. Alok Joshi c. RameshwarNathKao d. RajinderKhanna

25. According to a recent report of Insurance Regulatory and

Development Authority (IRDA)that was tabled in Parliament by Union Finance MinisterArun Jaitley on December 19, 2014, what percentage of total populationinIndiawerecoveredby health insurance?

a. 17 per cent b. 31 per cent c. 25 per cent d. 41 per cent

26.Renowned dancer Sitara Devi,who passed away at the age of 94 inMumbai inNovember lastyear, was an exponent of which classical dance form?

a. Kathakali b. Kathak c. Bharatnatyam d. Kuchipudi

27. Violence erupted in Fergusonon November 24, 2014, after agrand jury found there was no probable cause to charge the white officer who shot deadan unarmed 18-year-old black youth. Ferguson is a small town in which country?

a. USA b. UK c. Canada d. Australia

28.In an interim order, the DelhiHigh Court had restrained which Chinese mobile company from importing and selling its mobile phones in India due to chargesof patent infringement?

a. Lenovo b. Huawei c. Xiaomi d. Gionee

29. Who has recently been named TimeMagazine’s Person of theYear for 2014?

a. NarendraModi b. Ebolafighters c. VladimirPutin d. Ferguson protestors

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

SuDoKu

Solution, tips and computer programme at www.sudoku.com

ANSWERSGLOBESCAN

1. b 2. a 3. d 4. c 5. a 6. d

7. b 8. a 9. c 10. d 11. b 12. a

13. c 14. d 15. b 16. a 17. a 18. c

19. d 20. b 21. c 22. b 23. a 24. d

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

31. a 32. c 33. c 34. b 35. d

WORD DOSE

30. Kailash Satyarthi of India and Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan on December 10, 2014, received the Nobel Peace Prize for 2014. In which city in Norway is the Nobel Peace Prize presented?

a. Stavanger b. Bergen c. Trondheim d. Oslo

31. The Union Cabinet has approved the official amendments to the Insurance Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2008 which recommends a composite cap of ____ per cent on foreign investment in insurance (FDI).

a. 49 b. 50 c. 51 d. 100

32. Phillip Hughes was named his national team’s “13th Man”, at the first Test match between India and Australia in Adelaide. The cricketing world was recently struck by Hughes’s death when he passed away after being hit by a bouncer from which bowler?

a. Jason Beherondoroff b. Michael Beer c. Sean Abbott d. Jackson Bird

33. Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and which other player have been shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d’Or award?

a. Neymar b. Luis Suarez c. Manuel Neuer d. None of these

34. Which state on November 29, 2014 appeared on the country’s rail map more than six decades after independence, with the PM flagging off the first train?

a. Arunachal Pradesh b. Meghalaya

c. Mizoram d. Assam

35. According to Forbes, which top Indian celebrity has the highest

earnings in 2014? a. Shah Rukh Khan b. Amitabh Bachchan c. Akshay Kumar d. Salman Khan

1.f 2.k 3.a 4.j 5.b 6.i

7.c 8.e 9.d 10.h 11.g

A mba jan2015

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