July 17, 2008
A recent merger between two prominent business figures Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd and Indian Oil Corporation has received quite an attention. The whole thing revolves around Indian Oil Corporation making available its around 2,000 Kisan Seva Kendras across the country for the sale of Max New York Life insurance products.
Well, quite a thought out merger. On one hand, it is promising a more secured life to the rural masses across the country as declared by Max New York Life Insurance Deputy Managing Director Mr. Rajesh Sud and on the other hand, it will help the Indian Oil Corporation to diversify its product base offered through its Kisan Seva Kendras.
However, majority of us would really be looking forward to the extent of help that can be provided to the rural people through the life insurance products as has been promised by Max New York life Insurance. No life insurance policy comes for free as you are required to pay a minimum amount of premium. Now, the amount of premium to be charged along with the flexible payment plan that may be offered to an Indian villager earning an average monthly wage of about 180 US dollars is something to look for.
Although most of us would already like to believe that it is an act that is aimed more at penetrating the booming Indian insurance market, somewhere we would want such a merger to bring some qualitative change in the rural community. Even today, there are many villages in India that require a substantial amount of community welfare services such as schools, hospitals, safe drinking water, rural credit and others. This can be particularly demanded when Max New York Life Insurance Co Ltd is taking the advantage of utilizing the existing distribution networks. If it is getting such a scope to enlarge its market and that too in one of the world’s largest economies, it has every responsibility to pay back to the society.
As for Indian Oil Corporation, in the past too, it has entered into such mergers with leading companies such as National Seeds Corporation, Indo Gulf Fertilizer, Bank of Baroda, Oriental Bank, Dena Bank, Dabur and many more to make available their products and services to rural population. An addition to its product list in the form of life insurance products will definitely help it to strengthen its market image and adding to its value chain. However, from a common man’s perspective, everything boils down to direct benefits that will accrue to the masses out of a merger of this kind. Now, how much this merger will live up to its expectations and promises is a big question whose answer lies in the womb of the future.
July 9, 2008
At a time when Fuel prices, especially petrol are on fire, India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki has launched a new LPG variant of its flagship model M800. The cars are comfortably priced between Rs 2.05 lakhs to Rs 2.26 lakhs. The speciality of these cars lies in their ability to run on both petrol and LPG and have been named M 800 DUO. The new M800 will be available in two options–M800 Standard with LPG M800 AC LPG.
A research into the marketing scheme of Maruti Suzuki, throws light on the fact that dual fuel vehicles have always formed a prominent part of their overall product strategy. Apart from being economical, the factory fitted LPG kit ensures that a passenger’s journey becomes doubly safe.
The company, has probably been inspired to launch the M800 DUO, owing to the success of their previous dual fuel cars such as the Wagon R and Maruti Omni. Success of these cars clearly portray the preference of the market, where users want safety coupled with cost effectiveness. CNG run cars are also popular as they are environment friendly.
According to reports from Marurti Suzuki, the company has sold almost 1,25,000 cars that are powered by LPG . Designed in-house by a team of 24 engineers, the Maruti 800 Duo works on gas mixer system based on Integrated Gas Technology which results in optimization of performance and superior emissions. The emission of CO2 in The LPG variant is about 10% less than the petrol variant of the M800, thus it is more environment friendly. The cars are being manufactured at the company’s Gurgaon plant. All the components are fitted on-line side by side with the petrol variant, thus ensuring superior quality levels. Like all other cars and products from Maruti, the M800 Duo also undergoes strict checks as per the quality standrads set up by the organization. All factory fitted equipments also enjoy full warranty benefits. Thus, Maruti 800 Duo is expected to provide the customers with the benefits of lower running cost, without the risk associated with unapproved, after market LPG kits.
Maruti Suzuki pioneered the alternate fuel scenario in the country by introducing Factory fitted models starting in 2001. The dual fuel cars manufactured by the company have been largely favoured by the fleet operators and other commercial users, due to their low running costs and low maintenance cycles.
Have you ever wondered what a Steven Spielberg movie would appear like with Bollywood actors, Indian locales in the backdrop and some song and dance sequences? Or, how much would you like to see the world famous stars such as Brad Pitt and Nicholas Cage in an Indian masala flick? Well, there will be little left to your imagination soon… as you might see all of this happening in real! With the Anil Ambani- owned Reliance Big Entertainment tying up with some of the finest Hollywood actors for movie production, it is only a matter of time before the direction of these movies start. The latest news however, is the 1500-crore deal between Amitabh Bachchan’s AB Corporation and the younger Ambani’s RBE to produce films, television programs, reality shows, Internet and mobile content and live shows. The collaborated company plans to produce as many as 70 movies, which will be targeted at the Indian as well as the International film viewers.
This latest update has created waves in the Indian entertainment industry. We can only imagine what would happen next, as this is the perfect platform for the amalgamation of the Indian and the International cinema. Now, unlike the 1980s and 90s, where there were stereotyped movies ruling the Bollywood scene, we are sure to see a high rise in more meaningful cinema. With these out of the ordinary movies being widely accepted by the International movie watchers as well as the multiplex audiences in Indian metropolitan cities, the directors as well as the producers would be at a much lower risk of running into losses.
Also, with this tie-up where the joint production house has decided to venture into the television segment as well as reality shows. This also implies that we would now get to see more of quality soaps and shows from the production house. The inclusion of the mobile content and Internet movie content in the Bollywood scenario would also take film advertising to a much higher level. So, for the Indian audiences, this deal signifies the surge of a new genre of quality global cinema with an Indian touch!
July 1, 2008
Till recently, I used to travel comfortably in my car to the office. The travel expenditure was quite affordable for a person like me who belongs to the middle class segment of the Indian society. But, with the increase in fuel prices my traveling expenses increased tremendously. The impact of fuel price hike was not confined to my traveling expenses only, even the vegetables, fruits and every daily needed goods have become costlier. When I was going through the newspaper, I came to know the real cause of all these. It was the increase in fuel prices by almost 8-14 % for petrol and diesel and Rs. 50 per LPG cylinder, which have resulted in rise of inflation. The new prices include the customs and excise duty cuts. The move came in an attempt to save the oil marketing companies from bankruptcy. These companies were incurring losses at the sale of every unit of petrol, diesel and LPG due to their inability to pin their selling prices to the purchase price of crude. Thus, to bridge the gap, the government increased the price of fuel with full awareness of its effects on the already soaring inflation rates. I agree and so do the other sensible citizens of India that bankruptcy needs to be tackled in some way or the other. But may be, the government should have been a bit more sensitive while implementing these changes. The fuel price hike has not only hit the automobiles sector but have far reaching effects on each one of our lives.
India is a developing nation and majority of its population falls in the Middle Income Group. Though prices of commodities have increased due to inflation, there has been no increase in remunerations to balance the situation. Thus, every buyer now has been forced to squeeze their requirements, as a change in their budget seems like an un-viable option.
The current annual wholesale inflation has touched the 8.1 percent mark. The government is hoping that the effect of price hike on inflation would be marginal at around 60 basis points. But if we go by economists’ view, it will have larger repercussion on the life of a common Indian and especially on the tertiary consumers. Expectedly enough, the cost of living would increase alarmingly for all. As a consumer now you would have to pay more prices for same goods. Further, the inflation caused by increase in fuel prices will have its impact on corporate sectors as well. Higher costs would directly affect the bottom line and the inability to pass on the price would lead most companies to shrink their profit margin to maintain sales.
The fuel price hike resulting in rising inflation is also likely to adversely affect the stock market. It was evident with the Sensex loosing nearly 400 points on June 4. Evidently the investors’ reaction reflects anxiety about the likely impact of the fuel price hike, which was more than what the market expected.
Now, all hopes are pinned on the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) as inflation is now beyond its comfort zone. India is eagerly waiting to see if the RBI will raise the cash reserve ratio (CRR) or the interest rates to bring the situation under control. Will these measures be effective enough to tackle this grim situation or our country will be on roads of becoming next Argentina?
Rememeber cutting out the pictures of the Jaguar and the Land Rover from the cover pages of a car magazine? Many of us had actually savored these two brands as the ultimate dream machines. This dream can now come out of your childhood scrapbook and actually hit the Indian Roads. As, Tata Motors, have finally sealed the deal with Ford and has acquired the Jaguar and Land Rover for 2.3 billion dollars, many affluent Indians have been dreaming of. The Indian carmaker that made headlines for introducing the $2500 Tata Nano in January will add to its portfolio a lineup of rugged luxury Land Rover SUVs and sleek Jags that can cost as high as $100,000.
The acquisition is expected to work wonders for the brand image of Tata, as the company that owns two of the most prestigious luxury automobiles. However, analysts are apprehensive since, as of now Tata does not have a presence in the luxury automobiles section even in its home market as most of Tata’s vehicles that ply on roads are their commercial trucks.
Though TATA motors are exploring their chances of bringing the two British masterpieces on to Indian roads, in the long run it does not seem to be a very good idea. There are various reasons why it may not work out. The first and foremost reason being the condition of Indian roads. Other reasons such as affordability and competition from a host of other brands follow suit. Talking about the Indian roads and their conditions, how can I not point out the so-prominent pot holes, which serve as absolute deterrents for the epitomes of luxury to ply on. The basic problems with Indian roads is majority of them are extremely narrow. Traffic congestions and water logging problems further add to the misery. Presence of other forms of transports such as rickshaws and bicycles leave absolutely no space for big luxury cars.
Another apparent problem in the way of the success of the Jaguar and Land Rover is the average viability of an Indian Buyer. India is still dominated by the middle income group and there are only handful of people who can actually afford these ultimate definitions of luxury. The average annual per-capita income in India is only a little above Rs. 22000. Under such conditions, it will only be a distant dream to percieve a lot of Jaguars or Land Rovers on the streets of the country.
