Solutions to Change

 Study reveals 17% reduction in petrol sales   A rise in petrol prices is not a new phenomenon for Kerala. After its deregulation in June 2010, petrol price was hiked eight times. Research states that in April 1989, petrol cost Rs 8.50 per litre, while diesel was Rs 3.50. Today, petrol costs Rs 65.6 per litre, after a Rs 5 increase on May 15, 2011. Due to public concern, the Kerala government waived off sales tax on the hiked portion of the price, which brings the price down by Rs 1.25 per litre. A study conducted by the Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR) at various petrol pumps in Kochi shows a 17% reduction in petrol sales in litres after the hike and an 11% reduction in petrol sales in rupees. This hike in petrol prices is sure to hurt the common man, irrespective of class or creed. However, rising fuel costs is also an opportunity to promote the usage of public transport. An endeavour like Bus Day assumes larger significance here, not just to mitigate ...

A poster of the Bus Day at Vytilla Junction, Kochi Kochi is set to celebrate yet another Bus Day! The Centre for Public Policy Research (CPPR), with the support of the Indian Chamber of Commerce, telecom partner Uninor, and media partner Red FM is observing May 31 as ‘Bus Day’. Celebrities and politicians are expected to participate in the event, the route for which is the Fort Kochi-Aluva stretch. The event will be flagged off from Thoppumpady at 8 am. Both KSRTC and private buses operators will participate in this venture. ‘Bus Day’ will be conducted on the third Wednesday of every month, for the next three months. The state’s first Bus Day was held on December 18, 2010. It was flagged off from Kakkanad Civil Station at 9 am by actor Dileep. Transport Minister Jose Thettayil, Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany, Deputy Mayor Bhadra Satheesh, and Collector Dr Beena used the public transport system on that day, in addition to other celebrities, MLAs, and prominent persons from all walks ...

Mukund P Unny And a yet another election season got over!.. But this time around..the word that struck the minds of voters, more than anyother is "CHANGE". This word is assuming tremendous power these days, worthy enough to overthrow mightiest of governments. It was initiated in to the political parlance by Barack Obama, after which it caught the imagination of almost every opposition parties. What happened in WB, was something really unbelievable (atleast till 2-3 years ago). Mamata Banerjee, in fact steamrolled over the Left, in that state. Her victory is significant considering the the organizational foundation the Left has managed to build there in the past 40 years. And you saw even the sitting Chief Minister getting uprooted by the storm of change. That phenomenon was something that happened in India after 40 years or so. The Left should have seen its debacle coming right after the Nandigram incident happened, where it all started. As Communist Party of India General Se...

D Dhanuraj The recent election results have shown a paradigm shift in Kerala politics. The initial impression is that the performance of regional parties has cost the fortunes of both fronts, forcing them to move to Cantonment House ; a probable turning point for Kerala’s politics. During the last two elections, the CPI (M) took initiatives to check untested claims of regional grouping, and they fairly succeeded in quantifying and assessing the vote base of those parties involved. This time around, the Congress failed to take a cue from these learnings to assess the potential of splinter groups in the UDF. At the end, both fronts lost the race. Kerala is one of the earliest states to have embraced coalition politics. It saw ups and down in the 70s, crashing at times due to the underpinning of democratic processes. There was stability in the 80s and 90s, but at the cost of consolidation of religious groupings, with the latter being allowed to handle major portfolios, like education and ...

Patent is the exclusive right given to the right holder to reap benefits out of his invention. Internationally, it is the TRIPS Agreement that regulates the law relating to copyrights, patents, trademarks and other forms of IPR. In theory, the logic behind patent is that, for the discovery of new medicines, companies need an incentive to make this investment; patents provide that protection. As research and development of novel drugs within pharmaceutical multinationals has slowed down, they have focused their energies on patenting minor tweaks to existing drugs in order to extend monopolies, whenever possible. In international trade circles, this is called ‘Evergreening‘. ‘Evergreening’ results in infinite monopoly or a lifetime of artificially high-priced medicines, as only one manufacturer is allowed to supply the drug in the market during the existence of patent right. As a result of this trend, the need to have affordable medicines intensified in 2005, when India amended its pate...

Introduction The Board of Directors of a public listed company comprise mainly of 2 types of Directors. The Executive Directors who are part of the company are concerned with the day to day running of the company and dealing with the every issues which crop up. Independent Directors on the other hand are accomplished persons who are on Board of the Company, who have no relation to the executive Directors. Their main function is to bring in a fresh perspective towards Boardroom strategies and at the same time prevent mismanagement of the Company. As per SEBI regulations, every listed company should have atleast a third of the Board filled with ID’s. Independent Directors An ID is a non-executive director on the board of a company who has integrity, sense of accountability, track record of achievements, financial literacy, experience and the independence to balance the interests of various stakeholders, ability to think strategically, degree of commitment, sense of devotion, etc. The co...

Introduction Character merchandising can be defined as the adaptation or secondary exploitation by the creator of a fictional character by a real person or by one or several authorized third parties of the essential personality features (such as the name, Image or appearance) of a character in relation to various goods and/or services with a view to creating in prospective customers a desire to acquire those goods and/or to use those services because of the customers’ affinity with that character. Characters can be fictional or real. Few examples of Character Merchandising are: - A toy is the three-dimensional reproduction of the fictional character Mickey Mouse - Tennis shoes with the name ‘André Agassi’ - An advertising movie campaign for the drink Coca Cola shows actor Amir Khan drinking Coca Cola History The concept started in US during the 1930s, when Walt Disney became famous through its creations - Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, etc. In India, we it is though Hanuman, Krishna, et...

Drip Marketing is a communication strategy that sends, or ‘drips’," a pre-written set of messages to customers or prospects over time. These messages often take the form of email marketing, although other media can also be used. Drip marketing is unique from other database marketing in two ways: (1) the timing of the messages follow a pre-determined course; (2) the messages are dripped in a series applicable to a specific behavior or status of the recipient Drip Marketing Mediums Email - The most commonly used form of drip marketing is email marketing, due to the low cost associated with sending multiple messages over time. Email drip marketing is often used in conjunction with a Form (web) in a method called an Autoresponder. In this method, a lead completes the form on a company's website and is then enrolled in a drip marketing campaign with messaging appropriate to the form's context. Direct Mail - Although more costly, direct mail software has been developed that en...

The Bar Council of India, the apex body of the lawyers in the country, adopted a resolution in April 2006 and added a new Rule 49(1) (j) in the Advocates Act. As per the rule, Judges need not be addressed as ‘Lords’ and lawyers can address the court as 'Your Honour' and refer to it as 'Honourable Court'. If it is a subordinate court, lawyers can use terms such as 'Sir' or any equivalent phrase in the regional language concerned. The resolution has since been circulated to all state councils and the Supreme Court for adoption, but over five years now, the resolution largely remains on paper. In response, the Kerala High Court Advocates Association in 2007 passed a resolution that judges of the Kerala High Court need not be addressed as ‘Lordships’; instead can be addressed as ‘Your Honour’ or ‘Sir’ . Recently, the Advocates Association of the Punjab and Haryana High Court also passed a resolution on similar lines. Newspaper reports suggest that Judges have been...