Women Presidents, a prime minister in the 70s, several CEOs, women entrepreneurs, we have seen them all. Women often misunderstood, ignored, and categorized as 'the weaker sex', have negated the old adage to emerge as superwomen, super-moms, and multi-taskers, storming all bastions of life.

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Women have worked with tenacity to overcome their adversaries and establish a successful presence in every sphere. Management across sectors in particular has seen an increasing participation of women and that has not just been driven by the diversity factor but by the very real potential of women to contribute to the business. And yet, despite the strides made, the numbers still don't look quite equal. If one takes a step backward in acceptance of the fact that B-schools actually portray a pretty good estimate of the participation of women in business, one finds that these institutions still do not witness a fair balance as far as enrolment of women is concerned.

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Options are widening in the education scenario, including within the field of the very popular MBA programme. The overall objective of management degrees is to educate individuals as managers and business specialists, and improve the quality of management as a profession. Students have the option to enter into any field or sphere after an MBA, but with specialization in his MBA programme, his foray into various niche segments becomes easier, giving him a wide berth in the job market.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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There is a growing emphasis in the hospital industry on providing health care services to people across the country. The healthcare sector is growing and statistics indicate that the Indian healthcare delivery market is nearly US$18.7 billion and is growing annually at 13-15 percent. By 2012, the healthcare sector shall be equivalent to more than 8 percent of GDP and the share of the private sector shall increase to 75 percent. The government of India is also paying attention on providing health care in both rural and urban areas. The concept of healthcare is no longer limited to just going to a hospital, as a large number of people today relate it to a complete gamut of quality services linked to a hospital.

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“The world is a stage” and rightly so, said the Bard of Avon. To the extent that it has come to be a common stage for the management education fraternity as well, as they collectively seek and offer opportunities. A chilled can of Pepsi, a handful of KFC fries and an expensive pair of Nike are only a few outward examples of what globalisation has brought to India. On the larger economic canvass, it has opened an ocean of opportunities starting with the expansion of the job market, courtesy outsourcing and export-led growth in the Indian economy. Today the world is waking up to economies such as India and China and have recognized both, the labour and knowledge potential available in these countries. Also, with an increase in the number of interactions between different corporate cultures across the globe, the current flavor is ‘glocal’(a combination of Global and Local). Therefore, Enter the global manager! The need to have an international edge in one's profile has never found a bigger calling.

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For the benefit of our readers, could you shed some light on the ESSEC-India ties, highlighting the ESSEC-IIMA relationship, more about the dual degree and executive programmes offered through such ties? Do you think there is a need for B-schools to forge more such global tie-ups in the present day context?

The cooperation between ESSEC and IIM Ahmedabad started over 25 years ago when the first ESSEC students on exchange programmes went to Ahmedabad to study. Our cooperation strengthened over the years and reached a new milestone in 2006 when we established a dual degree and when the two institutions decided to co-operate on executive education and research. In particular, we have developed a programme on Luxury Brand Management that takes place in Paris and Ahmedabad.

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With CAT almost behind you now, (a few aspirants may still be bracing for other tests like the SNAP, MAT. XAT, JMET) its time to take a break before the real battle. The battle we are talking about is the Group Discussion-Personal Interview (GD-PI) which isn't very far. And so it is time to plan out strategies for the next level. The path to getting that most coveted MBA and for that matter the most desired B School seat is fraught with tweaks and turns at every step. Irrespective of your bright chances at your coveted schools it’s wise to start researching about the different selection processes that exist. The entire process of selecting the right Business School and applying, needs a great deal of forethought, planning and hard work. This level of selection is again full of surprises so no amount of preparation or planning can ensure a perfect GD-PI.

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After months of hard work and labour, you succeed in getting a personal interview call. You wouldn’t want to ruin your chances of making it to the portals of your favourite B-school by doing something stupid. I am sure you have been given a checklist of what all you should do to ensure you glide through your interview successfully. But it’s equally important to know things you should guard yourself against to ensure a smooth sail. Here’s a basic list of things you should avoid like a plague in an MBA interview:

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From 1947 to 2005 there has been a thirteen fold increase in the number of universities in India. With the recently concluded budget 2009-10 there is a proposal to further this growth so it looks like a sunshine period for higher education in India. Yet if you consider the number of individuals who pursue a degree in research the numbers are disappointing indeed. Especially since at the very least all these universities will require qualified faculty with research degrees. So what does it mean to have a Dr. before one's name?

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What had been going around as speculation for quite sometime finally turned into reality earlier this year with the IIMs declaring the computerization of the Common Admission Test. For the purposes of testing, the IIMs joined hands with Prometric, which is also the testing agency behind the GMAT to provide the computer based test. Since then, reams have been written about the CAT and mouse story and the clock has been ticking away furiously as students begin the countdown to the one of the most widely taken competitive examinations in the country. The IIMs themselves have come up periodically with clarifications about the test, application procedure etc. but that hasn’t done much, it seems, to clear the frenzy and anxiety among aspirants. A little clearing of the air may be of help.

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30th August, 2009 was the first milestone date for this year’s CAT takers – the much awaited CAT notification was released in all national dailies. Though the notification is awaited every year with a lot of curiosity, this time around the wait got further intensified due to the transition of the test from a paper based to a computer based mode, which catapulted a veritable deluge of questions. Myths were dispelled in a quick sequence on the official CAT website, www.catiim.in . The mouse ruled the roost as the instruction code implied a virtual dissolution of the paper regime, which was further manifested in basic instructions like prospective candidates requiring to maintain a valid email account throughout the selection process!

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India is still largely an agrarian economy, with a major chunk of its GDP still coming in from the agricultural sector. Second only to the services sector which contributes 42% to the nation’s GDP as per 2006-07 estimates, the agriculture sector’s share stands at about 36%. Post 1990, with liberalization and globalization, the agribusiness sector like others, has opened up new avenues for growth and development. With the world fast turning into a global village which results in direct impact of up- swings and down-swings in international markets on the domestic economy, India needs to look at strengthening what has been historically core to its economy and adopt a more pragmatic approach in this sector. This has also led to a glaring need for managerial skills in the agribusiness and rural sector.

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It is that time of the year when you are eagerly scouting the papers for MBA entrance notifications and advertisements and all your energies and attention are focussed on applying to various institutes and attending classes to prepare for the much-feared entrance tests, the CAT foremost among them. But pause for a moment; even though academic preparation and application are rightfully on top of your priority list at the moment, an MBA is not just an entrance procedure comprising filling of forms, writing tests and facing interviews. It is an education, an experience of a lifetime. So just as any other momentous experience in life, this too deserves your conscious consideration and introspection. This article seeks to awaken you to some very critical issues that you must give thought to before you take the plunge.

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“Start ups” is probably the most fashionable and frequently used term that you hear in the backdrop of the current downturn today. Not so long ago, in most B-School placement lists, start ups would only feature towards the end. Today, with the unprecedented slowdown in the global economy and with so many job cuts being reported across companies and sectors, starting one's own venture seems to be a preferred option for many an MBA graduate. In an article in the Businessweek by Karen. E Klein, which draws upon a study on entrepreneurial activity in the US, it has been stated that there will be an expected rise in entrepreneurial activity in the US in the next several months primarily due to the dynamism among people whose organizations are getting downsized. This may lead them to start their own businesses. In this article, however, we take a deeper look at the natural entrepreneurial knack among graduates of business administration, the initiatives taken by different schools to fuel this knack and how formal education helps those who veer off the beaten track to start their own enterprises.

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With billions of rupees at stake in just one tournament, it is clear that cricket means more than just a game today. The IPL brings with it a lesson or two not just for cricket enthusiasts but also for the corporate world. The twenty-twenty format might be a revolution in cricket, but it is more than just a cricketing trend. With an expected audience of more than 200 million people in India alone, the shift in this cricket format strongly pronounces the arrival of the modern consumer. He does not want a general college degree and a nine to five laid back government job. He is rather constantly looking for pace, innovation and challenges. McDonald’s drive-through is preferred over a leisurely dinner at the city restaurant.

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IIM B launched its one year full time Executive-Post Graduate Programme in 2008 and its first batch of 2009-10 has already commenced . In his message to aspiring candidates, Prof Malay Bhattacharya, who is the chairperson of the programme here at IIM B says, “The Post Graduate Programme of the institute aims at preparing leaders for facing the challenges of the emerging business world. The state-of-the-art academic infrastructure of the institute provides for an ideal atmosphere for the pursuit of academic excellence and the nurturing of individual actualization.” He gives out further information about the programme and prospects in a conversation with Serena Kallian:

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7 Extra Ordinary Students & their MBA stories :

1. Dreams of A Railway Booking Clerk
2. From Linguistic Expert to Manager
3. In Pursuit of opportunity
4. Un-“herd” (of) Mentality
5. Aiming for 'greener pastures'
6. A Man for Many Seasons
7. Bravehear

The three letters M- BA most probably conjure in front of your eyes colourful and glamorous images of lucrative, cushy jobs involving exciting brainstorming sessions with an intelligent mix of people who have Statistics, Financial and Economic jargon at the tip of their tongues and powerpacked boardroom meetings. Well, if that’s the case, then you have some real lessons to learn. What do you need to internalize these real lessons then? Firstly, you need to understand how your MBA is going to help you achieve what you want to in your career.

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