Insurance Management

Insurance, as we all know, means being covered or protected against any hazards of life. It provides a safety net to both individuals and enterprises. The insurance industry is fast developing and many insurance companies are entering both life and non-life segments. With a boom in the insurance industry, there has been an increasing need for skilled professionals in the sector. A few years ago there were no professional courses dedicated to insurance, but now the scenario has changed and insurance companies along with the academic institutes have started offering specialized courses at the post-graduation level. The current scenario of the insurance sector is a very rosy one. Hardly 22 percent of the insurable population enjoys the protected umbrella of insurance, and rural market still remains largely untapped. As against only one life insurer and four general insurance companies in 2000, there are, at present, forty plus life and general insurance companies vying for a piece of the insurance cake. This is proof positive of the fact that there is vast un-chartered and under-covered territory and there is an unlimited scope for growth in this field in the country.

Indian Scenario
According to Associated Chambers of Commerce (ASSOCHAM) a growth of over 200 per cent is likely to be seen in Indian insurance business by 2010. At present insurance sector is booming and experts have projected a CAGR not less than 25 percent for the sector. Earlier an MBA in insurance was unheard of, but now with the entry of private players in the insurance sector and expansion of its operations, insurance has acquired the entity of global business. Professionals with eminent skills in managing the operations of insurance sector are highly in demand

Hospitality and Tourism

The Hospitality industry is a sunrise industry with a growth-rate of 11 percent. According to the Tourism Satellite Accounting (TSA) report, India is one of the most preferred tourist destinations for travelers across the globe. Growing at an average of 9.4 per cent over the next ten years, the above figure is expected to go up to almost USD 275.5 billion by 2018. Further, the industry is expected to contribute 6.1 per cent to India's GDP and provide almost 40 million jobs by 2018.
Hospitality is largely a people-oriented industry; the functioning revolves around a 24/7 cycle, requiring committed professionals. When recession hit the world last year, the tremors were felt in the hospitality sector too. However, the sector is showing signs of revival in India especially in the wake of the impending Commonwealth games. As the economy turns around and disposable income increases, one is likely to see a perceptible positive change in the hospitality sector. This is further likely to generate a large requirement of hospitality professionals in India.

Infrastructure: INDIA 2010

Anyone even remotely acquainted with the Indian economy would speak volumes about its almost phenomenal transition to a high growth path since the launch of the liberalization process in the early 1990s. But as the economy successively graduated from one growth track to a higher one, there came with it a growing realization that without the expansion of infrastructural facilities, the risks of overheating and inflation in the economy were just too high.

Across levels of policymaking and industry, a commonly acknowledged fact was that the existing infrastructure in the country was simply not adequate to achieve or sustain the target growth rates. That acknowledgement came through officially from the government when in the preface to the Eleventh Five Year Plan, it stated: "Poor quality of infrastructure seriously limits India's growth potential in the medium term and the Eleventh Plan outlines a comprehensive strategy for development of both rural and urban infrastructure. The total investment in these areas was around 5 percent of GDP in 2006-07 and the Plan aims at increasing this to about 9 percent of GDP by the terminal annum 2011-12."

Energy and Environment

Energy lies at the core of all economic activity and controls a country's rate of growth and development; the type and volume of our energy usage determines our environment. India is poised to become the fastest growing global economy in 2010, as per World Bank estimates, which project an 8 percent growth-rate for the country, ahead of China's projected 7.7 percent for the same period. However, India needs to strike a balance between its twin objectives of inclusive growth and sustainable development. A sustainable developmental path (with augmented focus on efficient and clean technologies) would entail an estimated additional investment of around 1.8 percent to 2.3 percent of the national GDP in 2010-2030.

Importance to the Indian Scenario

A McKinsey report released in August 2009 provides a projection of the Indian economy by 2030: real per capita GDP will climb to US$2700 (five times the 2005 level), cities will host around half a billion people, demand for power will rise to 3870 TWh (from 700 TWh in 2005), and automobiles will number around 380 million (an estimated 7 percent growth compared to 2005). India's gross energy demand will shoot up to 1.8 btoe per year (from 0.5 btoe in 2005) [making it the third biggest global energy consumer, after the US and China]. Hike in energy consumption and matching fossil fuel supply would push-up India's GHG emissions between 5.0 to 6.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, on an estimated GDP growth of 6 percent to 9 percent. The power sector is slated to become the biggest emitter, accounting for an estimated 2.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, by 2030.
India's market in low carbon and environmental goods and services is worth about US$270.98 billion (which translates to a 6 percent share of the global market, valued at US$4.32 trillion). Sustainable energy investment in India climbed to US$ 3.7 billion in 2008, a 12 percent hike compared to 2007 figures. India's National Action Plan on Climate Change (announced in June, 2008) focuses on promotion of renewable energy, energy efficiency via market based mechanisms (like energy savings certifications), recycling, overhauling of public transport, energy conservation, and creation and maintenance of forests, as effective 'carbon sinks'.
Government of India's Energy Conservation Act 2001, highlights the need for energy conservation and audit and identifies 14 energy intensive industries such as Aluminium, Fertilizers, Iron and Steel, Cement, Pulp and paper, Chlor Akali, Sugar, Textile, Chemicals, Railways, Port Trust, Transport Sector, Petrochemicals, Gas and Naphtha Crackers, Petroleum Refineries, Thermal and Hydel power stations, Electricity transmission and distribution companies and Commercial establishments.
Budgetary allocation under 'Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme' has risen by 160 percent to Rs 2080 crore in 2009-10, from that in 2008-09.

SAVE TIGER

Tigers are on the threshold of extinction. According to WWF, Tigers are amongst the ten most endangered species in the world. Over the last century more than 95% of the Tiger population has been wiped out & three sub-species are already extinct. Less than 3500 tigers remain in the wild today with around 50% in India & their numbers are declining fast.

Initial results from the Wildlife Institute of India Tiger census (released on 24 May 2007) are warning that India has far fewer tigers living than had been previously thought.

Indian Tiger Welfare Society, moved by the plight of the members of "Cat Family" like tigers due to shrinking habitat and large scale poaching, Indian Tiger Welfare was founded to spread awareness and work towards building safe haven for tigers that include Royal Bengal tiger, and Indian white tiger. The organisation shares the global conerns of protecting these endangered species and has joined hands with many such organisations who share the same conerns.The organisation shares the global conerns of protecting these endangered species and has joined hands with many such organisations who share the same conerns.

Not only is tiger a beautiful animal but it is also the indicator of the forest's health. Saving the tiger means we save the forest since tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished and in turn secure food and water for all.

If we make sure tigers live, we have to make sure that deer, antelope and all other animals that the tiger eats (its prey base) live. To make sure that these herbivores live, we must make sure that all the trees, grass and other plants that these prey animals need for food are protected. In this way, the whole forest gets saved! Saving the tiger means saving its entire forest kingdom with all the other animals in it.

Also forests catch and help store rainwater and protect soils. In this way we protect our rivers and recharge groundwater sources. Areas with less trees lead to floods, killing people and destroying homes. It takes away the precious soil, leaving behind a wasteland. The soil jams up our lakes and dams, reducing their ability to store water. By destroying the tiger's home, we not only harm tigers, but also ourselves.

The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the foodchain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator, an indicator of our ecosystem's health.

The Ambani family drama

At the centre of the fight is natural gas. Anil wants elder brother Mukesh-led RIL to supply the 28 mmscmd industrial fuel to his group firm RNRL at US$ 2.34 per mmBtu as committed in an agreement that split the Reliance business empire in June 2005.

RIL says it can’t fix the price without the government’s consent, much less sell it to whom it wants, although the Bombay High Court ordered it to tie-up supplies with RNRL after mutually agreeing to the terms.

The government, on the other hand, wants the Bombay High Court order set aside and the part of the Ambani family MoU pertaining to gas declared null and void. This because the government feels it is the owner of gas and it alone can fix the price and decide its utility.

Even as the court was making up its mind on the issue, the stakeholders couldn’t wait to slug it out outside the legal corridors. Anil Ambani turned the pressure on the government with his allegations that petroleum ministry (particularly minister Murli Deora) was siding with the Mukesh camp, causing much embarrassment to the government.

Incidentally, the government has since revised its petition on the gas dispute before the Supreme Court, restricting its prayer to that part of the MoU pertaining to gas. Earlier, it had asked the court for a direction to declare the Ambani family agreement null and void.

It was Kokilaben who oversaw the division of the Reliance empire in 2005, two years after the differences between the two brothers became public. The family split agreement provided for RNRL to get 28 mmscmd of gas at US$ 2.34 per million metric British thermal units for 17 years. But this plan was frustrated after the government fixed US$ 4.2 per mmBtu as the benchmark gas price — which Anil later alleged was done to help Mukesh renege on RIL’s commitment to supply gas to his group firm.

At another level, the Samajwadi Party, whose president Mulayam Singh Yadav is considered close to Anil, brought Lok Sabha to a halt thrice on July 29, demanding the resignation of Deora for his role in the Ambani brothers’ gas dispute.

Key Points

• Anil wants elder brother Mukesh-led RIL to supply the 28 mmscmd industrial fuel to his group firm RNRL at US$2.34 per mmBtu

• RIL says it can’t fix the price without the government’s consent. Government feels it is the owner of gas

• Petroleum ministry siding with the Mukesh camp, alleges Anil

• Anil expresses “Sadness… that today, gas produced by RIL was flowing to others, before it could be used within the group”; “unfortunately, in the pursuit of corporate greed, RIL has even forgotten the vision of the founder chairman (late Dhirubhai Ambani)!”

Dubai Crisis: 2009

Key points:

• Global financial markets fall like nine pins following financial crisis in Dubai

• Dubai World, the flagship global investment holding company for the government there, seeks time till May 2010 to meet its repayment obligations

• Financial crunch created by plunge in real estate prices after the global economic meltdown

• Indian bourses record significant fall for two days on November 26-27; recover in the face of a concerted confidence building announcements by the Reserve Bank of India

• Europe worst affected; US saved due to a holiday; in India, the trading session had already passed

• Significant number of Indians work in Dubai; will their employability be affected, wonders FM Pranab Mukherjee