IIM-A GDPI-1

Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad GDPI Experience (2011) - 1/1

Candidate: Abhishek   

Work Experience: 30 months

There were 12 in a group. 

Essay Writing:

Topic: too much higher education is bad for the development of the country"

Time: 10 mins. Managed to write a short but logical essay and even managed to conclude it with 2 mins to spare. 

Personal Interview:

2 members in panel. I'll say Right, Left and Me.

R:tell me about ur work in short.
Me: did. 
R: so abhishek, u do steel refining. U know how to remove sulphur from steel. Tell me why is sulphur considered an impurity in steel.
Me: sir sulphur leads to something called hot shortness which is when steel fails (fractures) under hot working.
R: and why does hot shortness happen?
Me: I dont know that much details sir.
R: still. Make a technical guess.
Me:sir may be at high temperatures sulphur forms some compounds which act as inclusions and give internal stresses. N so when worked upon steel cracks. ( later i find i am correct. Only didnt know that the compound is iron sulphide.) R smiles. Without being asked I go on to add that sulphur does it in hot conditions while phosphorous does the same in cold conditions. It is known as cold shortness.
R: are u sure phosphorous does it in cold conditions? Not hot?
Me: yes sir. For sure phosphorous causes failure on cold working only.
R:and why does cold shortness happen?
Me: no idea again sir. (would be on similar lines as before. But i avoided guessing unless asked to. he is ok with that. Passes on the baton to left.)
L: so abhishek, been to foundries before? During college visits?
Me: yes sir. Did my industrial training at HAL foundry forge division.
L: so u'll know there is a severe problem of rejections in castings in industry these days. Can u statistically give the causes.
Me: ( dont know what he meant by statiscally. Simply gave the reasons) sir there is th problem of inclusions which may come through furnace or during moulding. Problem of hydrogen which comes from moisture if moulds r not properly dried. Also chilling stresses if moulds r not properly preheated
L: ok. Now explain how u would take up this challenge in an industry. Analyse causes n deal with them. ( again used th word statistically 2-3 times. I was scared of that word now)
Me: sir the most important cause for rejections would be inclusions. And as a first step to their formation i'd say they come from the furnace itself. If we have long heat hours and we hold molten steel in the furnace for long the refractory walls get iroded and enter steel as inclusions.
L: ok so now we come to the conclusion that time is a determinant. More the exposure time more the inclusions.
Me: yes sir. Heat time should be as less as possible to avoid inclusions.
L: so now if i plot a graph with time on x axis and exposure on y axis and have time t0 and t1 and exposure e0 and e1 at which particular combination would we have max inclusions. 
Me: t1e1

L happy now. Makes some comment on the glow in my eyes n the smile on my face. I couldnt tell that i was trying hard to keep a smiling face. He asked me if i was never asked this kinda case before. I said we did this kind of analysis for our internal quality improvement but discussing it for the first time with an outsider.

R: ok so what r ur hobbies. Wat u do in ur free time.?
Me: i am into swimming and cricket sir. And when not doing that i read something or watch TV
R: u into any teams?
Me: sir swimming i've been to district levels. I've also been in my departmental cricket team in college. We dont have a swimming team in BHEL. But we are working to have one in place this year. We have inter-unit tournaments in BHEL.

Then they said they were done. Offerred me a toffee. I came out.

Verdict: Converted

IIM-B GDPI-2

Indian Institute of Management, Banglore GDPI Experience (2011) - 2/2

Candidate: Abhishek  

Work Experience: 30 months

Venue: India Habitat Centre, NDLS

Date: 19th March, 2011

Just 7 of us in a group. Panel consisted of a Sir, a Madam and an Alumni.

Essay writing:

Topic: "Census is a wasteful exercise, sample surveys should suffice"

We were given 30 mins to write just one page. Don't know what they were thinking. IIMK gave 20 mins for 3 sheets, L gave 15 mins for 2 sheets while A gave only 10 mins for 1 sheet. To top them all, C gave only 5 mins to write 1 sheet of essay. And after having passed through such tough essay tests before, 30 mins for 1 sheet, sounded like a cake walk. And after the 5mins per sheet Calcutta exp, I swear, I would have written 4 essays on 4 different topics in those 30 mins..lolz. Neways, I focussed on my handwriting with the extra time at hand. Broadly wrote against the topic. Was done in 20 mins. And from what I could gather by my discussions with others, I had done a great job with my essay. And that too with beautiful handwriting for a change

Personal Interview: 

I was first in the group to be taken up for PI. They looked like a perfect panel from an IT city IIM. all out with their laptops and continously taking notes while I spoke. I exchange greetings and am asked to sit.

Sir: Abhishek, tell us something about urself

Me: Keep telling about my city of birth- family- btech -hobbies - job- company, etc etc

Sir: So, where is it that u work exactly?

Me: Told about my unit and exact work in BHEL. Told about the location of the unit at haridwar.

Sir: So Abhishek, what is your view on China importing ores from India?

Me: Sir, china is mainly like importing iron ore from india. I see it as a part of the larger strategy to secure mineral assets abroad to safeguard its economy and industry from future crises. It has been aggressively pursuing the acquisition of oil fields too , along with coal and iron mines abroad. India, being a democracy, hasnt been able to take quick decisions in this regard, till now. But late though it is, we are also now pursuing the acquisition of oilfields abroad. As in india, we dont allow private players to own mines , china rather imports ore from india than own mines here. It is using up our resources to build its own economy. We are actually squandering away our precious natural resources by not using the ore for our own nation building and rather exporting it away at throw away prices.

Sir:Ok. So what would be your take on the situation, if you were the industries minister at centre?

Me: Sir, Actually according to me, the major problem plagueing the iron and steel sector, is the capacity crunch in the steel sector. We have to export so much of raw iron ore, as we dont have enough steel making capacities that would consume the iron ore we produce. Personally, i appreciate the Japan model a lot in this regard. Japan has no ore, mineral or oil produced there. But it imports all iron ore, makes steel out of it, then makes cars out of the same steel and exports them later on to the very nations like india, from whom it took the iron ore after doing almost 100 times value addition. As the industry minister my aim would be to do as much value addition to our raw materials as possible in india itself. Have steel plants to consume the ore, and have more tool, component, construction and automobile industry to use up this steel to produce finished products. The more stages of value addition we have, the more jobs we'll create, something we desperately need in this country.

Sir: U know the controversy regarding the Jindal Steel plant expansion? What is the reason why we are not able to expand steel plant capacities in india?

Me: Sir, actually in india, the major problem plagueing industry expansion is the land acquisition issue. We are majorly an agarian state, and land here is scare. Per capita land holding is also less. People are not willing to part with their land easily. 

Sir: No. But I dont think land was the issue with Jindal plant.

Me: Sir , I am not really sure what the exact issue with the Jindal plant was. I was talking generally about the land issues hindering steel plant expansions. Take for example the POSCO plant issue in orissa. Even the Mittal Steel plant had problems with getting permits to set up plants next to the mining area. Even the industrialists have been too adamant on setting up the industry in a particular area or piece of land only. At times, they want their plant next to a particular mine only. Their logic is to save on the transportation cost of transporting the ore from the mine to the plant. But then you cant keep avoiding transportation forever. If you set up your steel plant next to a mine in chattisgarh, then you'll be away from the automobile plants in gurgaon, where your market lies, or the ports in vishakhapatnam and kolkata, from where you need to export it. You can be next to only one of the three major areas. So one should never fear transportation, rather government should work real hard to provide excellent, road, rail and port infrastructure such that the industrialist never fears setting up the plant in any corner of the nation. If not on the fertile agarian pathches of land like singur, one may set up his plant on any of the several barren pieces of land easily available in the country. And govt should make sure that his plant then has excellent acces to road, rail and power, so that it can function as smoothly from that location as any other

Sir: But dont u think we have railways and roads? We do have them right? Where is the problem then?

Me: Sir those things are there. But their capacities are by no means enough to meet the industry's demands. We at BHEL get diesel every month through the oil tanker rakes of railways, for our internal consumption. And I know how much issues are involved with it. one has to book a rake, almost a month in advance. Lots of hassles are involved. And again, due to the heavy traffic on our railway lines, the rake never reaches us on time. Although, i agree that freight cost by rail comes at a third of the cost. But then, rail transportation should be made more reliable and easily available to the customer. Again, the state of roads in the areas around mines is pathetic. Due to the corruption on toll booths at highways, we have over loaded trucks plying on the highways everywhere. The roads breakdown long before their lifetime and road network is left in shambles. We need to work on strengthening both these modes of transport and make sure none of the industry or mining belt is left uncovered.

Sir:You've studied in NITK. Means, u've been in karnataka for 4 years. You must be aware of the controversy regarding the illegal mining in bellary district and the problems in karwar. What would your take be on these issues as the chief minister of karnataka? Do u think yediyurappa handled these well?

Me: Sir, I dont think karwar we have iron ore mines. They were there in kudremukh earlier...

Sir: Thats ok. karwar it was some problem with some other ore. U carry on...

Me: Sir, with regards to the bellary illegal mining issue and the karnataka government's stand on it, I feel there are 2 cases possible. Either the government is also corrupt and it is working hand in hand with the Reddy brothers. They have their share in the mining profits and support it. In that case, there is nothing more left to say. But suppose for once, we assume that the chief minister in karnataka is really an honest man, and he actually wanted to put an end to the illegal mining in bellary, then the way he handled the situation was not right. He knows, that he runs a minority government. He doesnt have sufficient majority in the house. He doesnt have enough strength in the assembly to take on the Reddy brothers directly. Twice he tried to do that, and twice his government came to the brink of collapsing. The reddy brothers have been blatantly blackmailing him on this issue. According to me, he should have used this god sent opportunity to form a government in karnataka for the first time to handle other issues and ignore the bellary mining scam for some time. He should have worked for the poor and marginalised in the state, and used these 5 years to develop a good will among the masses. And then come back with a thumping majority next time, with stronger numbers and then take a tough stand against the reddy brothers. With weak numbers in the parliament, we have seen how even the DMK and the left parties have been creating problems for the central government and never let them take important decisions in the nation's interest.

Sir: So tell me , why do u want to do an MBA?

Me: Lots of nonsense. Same old rata hua answer. Talked about my self realization during work that one needs to have knowledge horizontally about all areas of the company in order to succeed. I've seen my own bosses develop cold feet when they are put in from production to commercial at 45 yrs of age. That beyond a certain point you'll have to be and expert in multifunctional capabilities to have a bird's eye view of the overall administration of the company, take better decisions and emerge more successful. If u are not an allrounder then, u cant grow and you cant be efficient either. I want to be well aware of all areas from a young age itself and emerge more successful. Learn about finance, hr, marketting, etc apart from the technical stuff tat I already am an expert at...etc...etc

Sir: Hmm. So do you know about the Toyota Model of hierchy in industry that is followed in Japan?

Me: NO

Sir: Under this model, when an engineer is first recruited like u were first recruited as a fresher from college, you are first posted for a fixed period of time in all areas of the company one by one. And only after spending time knowing each functional area, u start growing vertically. Would u like to be under such a model?

Me: Why ofcourse sir, that is an awesome model. It'll make anyone an allrounder, something so essentially required. 

Sir: U know at IIM Bangalore, we have so many PSUs coming for recruitment. Would you like to join BHEL again after your MBA once you have wider knowledge about all areas of work horizontally?

Me: (How I hated this question. No way I am getting back into a PSU ever again) Ya sure sir. Once I am done with my learning there is no problem with going back. 

Sir: But then u'll spend so much time learning new stuff and begin again at the bottom in the company.

Me: Sir, that I anyways have to learn someday or the other. Even if i dont do my MBA today and continue to work with BHEL i'll get stuck somewhere at higher levels if i dont develop necessary knowledge now. U know, we have a policy, wherein one has to have the knowledge of atleast 2 shops and 1 non shop office department, before an AGM can be promoted to a GM. And a GM should have knowledge of atleast 2 different units before he may become an Executive Director. How will I ever succeed in a different department if I dont learn the stuff concerning that department. And again that age, its difficult to learn new things. I better do them now 

Ma'am: Hmm k. Abhishek we dont have a copy of your profile or sop with us. Do u have one?

Me: I dont have my profile , but I do have a copy of my sop (sir walks up to me and takes it) 

Sir: So Abhishek, tell me. Have you ever tried your hand at Stand Up comedy? No actually I feel you can do that well.

Me: (WTF...do I look like Raju Srivastava to u?) No sir. Actually I know I have the ability wherein I can narrate a particular normal incident to a group of friends such that it may sound funny. But if I have to narrate the same incident to the same group of friends, professionally, like them being audience, and me on stage, I cant do it. I've got terrible stage fear. 

Ma'am: How do u know you have stage fear?

Me: I can never be my natural self when I am on stage. There is always a shadow of pretence or conciousness. I call this stagefear. 

Ma'am: So Abhishek, tell me about ur interests....as in like hobbies.

Me: Maam, actually I am into swimming. I've been upto district level in swimming. I've also been winning prizes at various competitions held at college and unit level in BHEL. Apart from that, I play cricket also. Not great enough to be in my college or bhel team. But then I was in my departmental team at metallurgy department in nitk. 

Ma'am: What else?

Me: (ya ofcourse, u'll now keep asking else else, untill u can find something to grill me on) When I am not swimming or playing cricket, i read something or watch TV

Ma'am: So what exactly do u read?

Me: Actually my interests have varied over all past years. When I was in school , in primary days, I began with hardy boys. During high school days, I shifted to agatha christie and all 

Sir: No no. Dont give us the entire history. What about the past 2-3 years.?

Me: Actually nowadays, I am not into any specific category of books. I sometimes read fiction, sometimes philosophy, sometimes something else 

Ma'am:What books on philosophy have u read?

Me:There is no fixed author or category maam. Sometimes its like Paulo coelho's Alchemist, sometimes its.... 

Sir: Oh comeon. Dont mention alchemist. Its like a thin booklet. U can finish off stuff like that in one sitting

Me:Ya, I mean. That is not all. But I am not very choosy about the books I pick now. I've even tried my hand at the BIBLE, sometimes random books by some random authors. Develop ideas from whereever u can 

Ma'am: So u are like, u may read anything and everything. you have no choice or idea in mind when you pick a book.

Me: Well actually in most cases, somebody might have read the book and recommended it to me. I'd have heard of the ideas in the book and would want to read it myself to know them better and develop my own insights based on them 

Ma'am: And apart from these books?

Me: Newspapers/Magazines 

Sir: So u dont do any serious reading nowadays?

Me: Sir, I am not left with so much time at hand after my work and sports, that I'll read books after books. At times I have to attend double shifts at plant and may remain at work for 16 hrs at a stretch. I just come back home to sleep and again get back to work. I cant devote such long hours to pursue such academic hobbies so much now. In school days I used to read a lot.

Sir: Ok, so what all books did u read in school?

Me: I was mainly into reading Agatha Christie books. Was a big fan of Perry Mason series by Erle Stanley Gardner. Also read a lot of fiction titles by Jeffery Archer

Sir: So tell me why was jeffery archer in jail earlier?

Me: Oh was he? How would I know!!! I only read his books. I have no idea why he ever went to jail and all (they all start laughing)

Sir: And what about college time?

Me: Sir, college time mainly the same set of authors continued, but I started reading with less ferocity. 

Sir: I really dont understand why people always say their reading habbit reduced when in college. College time is when it should really pick up.

Me: Sir , actually there are so many other activities to do when in college

Sir: Like what? Dont tell me u spent ur entire time swimming at surathkal beach.

Me: (smiling) Not surathkal, but I did swim at Gokarna beach

Sir: That u must have. I know. So what happened. What took up your time at college?

Me: Sir, there are so many other things to do. When you are at a place like NITK you have talent coming in from every corner of country. And once you see them doing things, you explore a lot of things. Like, I even tried my hand at guitar in college and failed miserably. You see people doing stuff and you explore them yourself. You have the entire lifetime later on to continue pursuing your reading interests. 

Alumni: (Speaking for the first time)So tell me one thing which would be like your ultimate dream come true....

Ma'am: Something Like Nirvana...

Sir: Something which you would want for yourself, or want to see urself at the age of say, 45 years.

Me: Lots of fundae.... filmi style....fultu dialogues... I dont want to disclose this answer as I find it embarassing myself. They smile a lot after the answer. I smile back. 

Sir: So why IIM Bangalore abhishek?

Me: Sir, now U might say I am giving childish reasons. But this is it. As true as it can get. IIMB is one of the best management institutes in the country. Every aspirant's dream institute. I have only dreamt of getting into a place like this. Its too good. Again, its like one of the best cities in india. Pub city...wow. How I wish to settle down in a metro city . Be in a metro city. I love crowded trains. I love the traffic jams on the roads. I dont want to go back to a small country like town like haridwar. 

Sir: Ya , that way baroda is a good city.

Me: Baroda is good. Bombay is better. (he smiles)

Alumni: So IIMB is one of the best or the best management institute in the country?

Me: (awkward smile and ...) Sir I'll say one of the best. A, B and C are a league apart. Together they are the best.

All smile. Thank each other and take leave.

Verdict : Converted

IIM-L GDPI-2

Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow GDPI Experience (2011) - 2/3

Candidate: Abhishek  

Work Experience: 30 months

Venue: IIM, Lucknow

Date: 12th March, 2011

I had only 5 candidates in my group after counting out the absentees.

Group Discussion:

Topic: The division of Indian states based on language was India's greatest historical mistake"

We were given 15 mins to write an essay first. Time ended abruptly. No warning. We were given only 7 mins to discuss(WTF!!!)I brought up d issue how linguistic division have made regional identities greater than national identities. Gave examples of linguistic riots (anti gujarati in mumbai in 1961), kannada marathi fights over belgaum n anti hindi fights now in mumbai. Lots of people were deviating from d topic n started discussing need for small states.

Personal Interview:

Now the PI panel we got was a typical IIML panel, custom built for stress PIs. prof Yamini Sahay ( MA in Psychology) and prof P. raina ( PHd in communication). This ensured that the panel had no technical interests and we 5 group members better brace ourselves for tougher times to come. One after another 3 of my group mates came out retired hurt when finally my turn came. i went in , greeted them n took my seat.

PR: (looking at my form)so abhishek, u r interested in cricket I see. Can u tell me about today's match?

Me: why yes sir. i was following d match all this while I was waiting outside. Then I told him about d match situation, current scores n predictions. This was when he decided tat he shall have no more discussions on cricket. 

PR: out of nowhere comes up with a sanskrit shloka n asks me to translate.

Me: ( clean bowled) Err....but sir...sanskrit was way back in school (wtf...its been 10 yrs since I last studied it)

PR: dont worry. Its a school level shloka only

Me: fumbled. Then asked him to repeat it slowly. He did. Anyways I couldnt make head or tail of it. Told I couldnt.

YS: ok. So tell me about ur favourite charactor in history.

me: that would be Kautilya.. Or chanakya as we popularly know hin

YS: n why him?

Me:sir actually he was a man with tremendous self belief.when he got insulted he didnt bother if the man against him was a king or a powerful man and he went ahead and had his revenge ( he was a "go getter"; in modern mgmt terms, I wanted to say. Didnt though.)

YS: so just because he took his revenge?

ME: not just that maam. He was a patriotic man. He loved his country. When he realised that his country was being ruled by a fool he decided to replace him and went ahead and found the right man for the job. If he'd have wanted he could have ruled himself but he wasnt power hungry. Again he was a very knowledgeable man.he wrote india's first detailed book on economics "Arthashastra". artha= money and shastra= a treatise.

YS: what does arthashastra contain?

ME: I havent read it myself but from what I've heard it contains detailed instructions on how taxation system should be, land record maintenance, duties of a king etc.

PR:tell me which subject did u derieve ur morals from?

ME: sir actually I dont derieve my morals from any subject. My morals are based on my own reasoning of what is right and what is wrong. Dont need any subject to teach me that. But then namesake we did have a subject called moral science then. Just cleared it for clearing sake.

PR: yes yes at that age u r too young to understand such subject too. So, have u heard of Kalhana? ( I shake my head in disagreement) Rajtarangini? No?

ME: sir actually my knoledge in sanskrit was restricted to my school textbook and so I may not know about some sanskrit author like that.

PR: Oh come on. He is a famous man in history also (later I realise kalhana was a 12th century kashmiri brahmin who wrote rajtarangini, a book on kashmir's history)

me: no idea sir

PR: see abhishek u say u r interested in sanskrit and history and u cant even answer questions like this?

Me: but sir I said i liked these topics as subjects in high school. Am not an expert on them.

YS: no. But when u mention them in a PI u should be ready to answer questions on them. Anyways....(they both now talk to each other saying this fellow doesnt know anything. No point continuing with the PI. ) and then they let me go.

Verdict: Converted

IIM-K GDPI-2

Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode GDPI Experience (2011) - 2/3

Candidate: Abhishek  

Work Experience: 30 months

Interview Centre: Hotel Vikram, NDLS

Written Assessment Test (WAT): 

Topic: "Nothing is more conducive to peace of mind than having no opinion at all"
Number of candidates: Lots. didnt bother to know. may be 50-60
Time: 30 mins
Brief Snapshot of Discussion:

Personal Interview:
Panel Members Intro:

• Prof C RAJU (Quantitative Methods and Operations Management )
• Prof Mahesh Bhave( Strategic Management )

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
As I enter the PI room, I see both CR(left) and MB(right) across the table. Pleasantries exchanged, and I am allowed to sit.

MB: (Looking at my form) So Abhishek , U r from Vadodara, hmm? (Me nodding in agreement). U've come all the way from vadodara for PI.
Me: My hometown is vadodara sir. I've come here from Haridwar. I work at BHEL haridwar.
MB: So tell me something about BHEL, Haridwar.
Me: We have 2 units at hwr. One is HEEP which is one of the major units of bhel. It manufactures Turbine and generator sets and other allied components. My unit is the foundry forge unit. It is a feeder unit and makes castings and forgings for the inhouse use of bhel. Our major orders are from HEEP itself and so unit is located at haridwar. But we take orders from BHEL BHopal, Hyd and Trichy also.
MB: Oh, so even Hyd , Trichy are BHEL units?
Me: Why ofcourse sir. They are the Major Units of BHEL. Mine is only a small feeder unit.
CR: So why MBA now?
Me: My standard answer. Lots of gyan. Included statements were I showed my interest in finance and desire to learn more on the subject.
CR: So given a chance, which specialization would u choose at IIM?
Me:Finance sir. I wouldnt do it from any other field.
CR: Why Finance?
Me: I am inclined towards finance sir. That is my interest
CR: How and When did u realise that you are interested in finance?
Me: Sir, since high school, I'd always get interested by things such as the annual reports of companies that my father would get. I'd read those balance sheets and try to make sense of them. Terms such as PBT, PAT, turnover were quite known to me , long before my friends had ever even heard of them. Then when I came to BHEL, I got interested in the finances of my company, and studied the same information about my company. Anyways, I was good at mathematics , and found it easier to do these kind of accounting. When I couldnt find many avenues to satiate my hunger for more knowledge in the field, i'd resort to NCFM courses and financial newspapers and tried to know as much as I could.
CR: So u say u have interest in finance. Tell me, how do u (me in particular) decide which company to invest in , in case of stockmarkets?
Me: Sir, I'd look to invest in those companies which are undervalued in the market. Where people out of their fear or some negetive sentiment, have undervalued, a potentially strong company, and which will eventually come up once the picture becomes more clear to people. For eg due to recession and more recently due to bank rate hikes, people have developed a negetive sentiment about the banking industry. Scripts of biggies like ICICI bank and HDFC bank have crashed from highs of 1200-1600 range to as low as 300-400. But these are solid banks and have sound finances. They wont go down so easily. AS u can see, their scripts have already come up a lot. And as things become clearer, they'll rise further, bringing them closer to their actual value.
CR:How do u decide which companies are undervalued?
Me:I try and look at the balance sheets of the company from its annual reports. Find out company's order books position in case if its a manufacturing company. Look at the governnment policies for the sector and analyse from experts' views as to how well the company is placed to capitalise on or shield itself from them, as the case may be. Read news reports on the company and try to see where the company policies are headed. Overall from all these, if i analyse that the company has a sound future ahead, and still find that people have not realised this yet, and due to some negetive sentiment, the company is undervalued, i'd invest in it.
CR: So Abhishek, suppose after you passout of IIMK and suppose some loss making company, which hasnt done well for the past 20 years, whose balance sheet has never been good, and wherein the newspapers have always reported negetively about it, offers you a high amount of salary and recruits you. And now it tells you that they have a sound strategy ahead, a good team with good people like u and that they've decided to work hard in future, and asks you to sell its shares in the market, how would you go about doing it?
Me: Sir, I'd explain, how we have a sound strategy, explain what we plan to do hence forth in future, and how it shall open vast opportunities for us. And that we'd have a bright future ahead , so kindly invest in us.
CR: Hmm, so just because the company pays you high to do so, u'd go ahead and sell its shares, whether u believe its worth investing in the company or not?
Me: Sir, I assumed the fact that the company would have already explained its future strategy to me, and once I myself would have started to believe in it, i'd sell it. It wont be very difficult to ask people to believe in something you already do.
CR: What if you yourself were asked to invest say 30 lakh rupees of yours to invest in that company, would you do so?
Me: Ofcourse sir. If I am convinced of the company's strategy , and believe in its sound future, I'd surely invest in it. In fact, I have invested in companies like that. I've invested a considerable amount of my money in Suzlon Energy. Now this company is not perceived to be in strong financial condition. This is purely because the company is in heavy debt which it took for overseas aquisitions. Newspapers have been reporting negetively on its health. Its share script has fallen from a high of 140-150 and now trading in 40s. But I believe wind power has a very strong future. It'll be the one of the major driving forces of power production in future and as a company which has already visualised this and has invested heavily in manufacturing facilities will obviously have a first mover's advantage in this and do well to emerge as victorious.
MB: So , u believe wind power has a future eh?
Me: It has a very bright future ahead sir. And as the fossil fuels start to get depleted, it could no longer be avoided also
MB: And what do u have to say about solar power?
Me: Sir, solar power is also a very useful source of power. But then, setting up a solar power plant is very costly. The equipment and setup is not cheap. And the resultant electricity is therefore costly, around 10-12 Rs per unit. In current times I dont think solar power can survive without govt subsidy and power purchase agreements. A few states , including my home state gujarat , is going about doing this, and hence investment is coming into solar power too. But I feel, it'll take some more time and lot of R&D into solar power, whereby we may be able to setup a solar power plant at a cheaper cost. Untill that happens, solar power will have to wait to come on board in a big way. (MB getting more and more impressed with every passing statement. Later on I find that renewable energy, austrian economics, etc were his research interests and I had by mistake ventured into his forte)
MB: But do u know that wind power is intermittent and there are usually no transmission lines close to the windmills. The grid companies also have complains, that if they allow wind power to be put on grid intermittently, it damages their equipments.
Me: Sir whether they like it or not, they cannot avoid wind power. Earlier there was a time when the cost of power produced in thermal power plants through coal would come out at 1.5 Rs per unit and at that time people would even frown at using wind power coming at a cost of 4-5 Rs per unit. But things and times are changing. Fossil fuel reserves are getting depleted by the day. The new UMPPs are being planned in coastal areas and govt has clearly directed them to use imported coal for their use. The coal that comes from these places such as indonesia is not as cheap as the indian coal is, and hence the cost of thermal power is increasing. Moreover with the world getting more aware about pollution and green house effect, and the idea of carbon credits coming, you even have to pay (i.e. buy carbon credits) if u pollute. Hence the cost of thermal power is no longer affordable, and with its cost rising, suddenly we find wind power more affordable. I believe, in future, we can no longer ignore wind, tidal and hydel power. And once solar power technology is worked upon to make it cheaper, it'll be coming in a big way too. (Again I get one "good " from him)
MB: Ok, given a choice, suppose you have a choice of using a 1 MW turbine or a 1.5 MW turbine for a wind mill, which one would you go for?
Me: Sir, for that I'd first have to do a proper analysis of the area, the wind velocity and other parameters of the particular area and calculate for what capacity of the turbine, will the windmill work at maximum efficiency. I dont know how they do in windmills, but I'll tell u, in case of thermal power sets, we have something nowadays, called as supercritical technology. It is the ideal capacity of the turbine-generator-set at which the fuel would be used at maximum efficiency. What if i put up a 1.5 MW turbine set and the wind velocity is not strong enough to move it , it wont help. If a 1 MW turbine is more suitable, i'd rather have two windmills of 1MW set up rather than one of 1.5 MW( MB was very very happy now and was jumping with joy. Offerred me a biscuit from the tray in front of him. took and thanked him)
MB: Can u tell me now who is the minister for new and renewable energy ?
Me: (with a smile) No sir. I had read it before. But dont remember it anymore
MB: (smiling) Farukh Abdullah?
Me: Hmm. Now I know its him. Couldnt recall
MB: (reading my profile) So what is this NITK?
Me: National Institute of Technology Karnataka, Surathkal
MB: ok. so u have also studied polymer science , hmm?
Me: Sir actually because its metallurgical and materials science, for the sake of material science, we have one subject on polymers and one subject on ceramics. According to us metallurgists, all materials can be classified into metals, ceramics and polymers. Hence namesake we have one subject on polymers and ceramics. Not very deep study. Just superficial.
MB: So u are a metallurgical engineer, eh? U know, I am a chemical engineer ( I nodded and exchanged smiles. Finally the secret engineer-engineer brotherhood was coming alive. CR didnt like this and he took the discussion to an uncomfortable area)
CR: Anyways, tell me what is the basic difference between a life insurance and a general insurance.
Me: Sir in case of life insurance the Premium amount goes on increasing as the person gets older, while in case of a general insurance, say for ex a vehicle, the premium amount goes on decreasing as the vehicle gets older.
CR: No. I dont understand this. Why should it be so. In both cases the things get old right?
Me: Actually sir the premium amount depends on the amount of risk the insurance company takes to insure the item or person. In case of life insurance , and older person stands greater risk of death or disease, and hence there is a greater probability that the company will have to pay up if it insures his life, as compared to a younger person. In case of a vehicle there is always a depreciation in its value. A new motorbike would cost 50000 Rs, but a 5 yr old may cost 10000 Rs. So, if a new bike gets stolen, the company stands to lose 50000 rs but for a 5 yr old bike the company would have to pay up only 10000. So less the risk, lesser the premium.

Now CR still doesnt understand this. Comes up with some weird explanations where he says he'll buy a bike and burn it down and claim insurance. Dont know what all he was trying to say. I said you cant burn down ur bike and claim insurance. its always an accidental insurance. He said he'll claim the fire was an accident. Full crap. I tried one more fruitless effort at explaining the same logic to him what i told before and CR would still not understand. MB is smiling. Finally he decides to save me and change the topic

MB: So Abhishek, other than finance, what other subject do u like?
Me: U mean sir, which other core metallurgical subject?
MB: No no. I mean, other than finance and metallurgy, which other field would you like to take up for your career?
Me: Hmmm...(Thinking hard not to venture into any field where I could be grilled) Sir, Actually I am interested in finance, economics, accounting these subjects only.
MB: Economics? Ok, have u heard about Austrian economics? ( I said no) xyz economics? (Again NO) abc economics? (No. It was only now that I realised how many different types of economics existed). pqr economics ?( This time he was really eager to hear a yes)
Me: Sir, actually I've only read about these terms when i go through the eco times. But I dont know much about them in details.
CR: But you said you are interested in finance and economics! And u dont know about all these terms?
Me: Sir, I said I am only interested in finance. If I had already known all these terms, I wouldnt really need to do an MBA then, would I? I want to learn about economics and finance and know about all these terms, which is why I want to do an MBA.
CR: Yes yes. One only needs to be interested in learning about finance. He is not expected to know it all (GRRRR...well if u knew that, why ask dumb questions? Every PI , I have to have a member on the panel who'll grill me. Luckily I had MB who had developed a liking for me and would always emerge a saviour when I'd get trapped)
MB: Forget all that. (Ofcourse. Where were u all the while when I wanted you to interrupt CR. Even I want to forget all that) What are your views about Tulsi Tanti?
Me: Sir, Tulsi Tanti, the owner of Suzlon Energy (Ya right. He is still obcessed with suzlon and wind energy. Good for me though) is a great entrepreneur. According to me, he has everything that it takes to be a great entrepreneur. He came up with a great idea to set up a wind power equipment company in india, when no one else thought of it. He had the vision to forsee an upcoming upportunity. He has invested big in manufacturing capacities already and has the first mover advantage also. If only he doesnt lose out on the technology front in future to his competitors, because a lot of other companies are also moving in to the same sector once they've started to see the potential, he'll always emerge out victorious and more successful. He'll surely overcome his debt and other liabilities and going to make it big in future. I firmly believe in him (MB again happy now)
MB: Can u name any competitor of Suzlon?
Me: Vestas is one of the competitors.(I get one more good from him)
MB: So you interested in taking up entrepreneurship?( Later on I realise, entrepreneurship is one more of his research interest besides austrian economics and renewable energy)
Me: I would be interested sir, provided I have a great idea. Right now I have nothing fresh in my mind, something that has great potential and unthought of by anyone till date. But , if and when in future I do come up with something, I'd surely like to take up entrepreneurship. Actually I do have one friend of mine in Maruti, who is a mechanical engineer and my 1st yr room mate. And we do share this thought on so many occasions where we tell each other that someday, if we come up with a great idea, we'll do something for sure, once we are all done with our loans and other responsibilities. I am a metallurgist and he a mechanical engineer with an automobile background, who knows, we may set up a foundry to make auto components, u know. But then these are not very fresh ideas and already big players are there in the field doing the same job , and I dont have enough ancestral money to risk on projects without having proper thinking done on them.
MB: Do u know what is present value?
Me: Present value of what sir? A company?
MB: Present value of a Project.
Me: Sir, I know only one present value. A term which financial companies use to describe the amount one should invest today to get a fixed amount after a fixed tenure.
MB: OK. Do u know how to calculate that?
Me: yes sir. It only involves a reverse calculation wherein you already know the amount and ,rate of interest and tenure, and you calculate the principal using the compound interest formula.
MB: Means , u can calculate it right?
Me: Nodding, yes sir.
MB: Tell me something else abhishek. Something else going on around the world today, that has interested you.
Me: Sir, actually a lot of things have been happening around. But amongst all (Again dragging him to an area I am a fan of..... Politics) I was most interested in the recent protests against and the fall of Arab World dictatorships. For a long time now, I used to believe......actually I didnt believe, but what was in my mind due to the constant projection by the media, that the arab world is incompatible with democracy. Most importantly this was a rhetoric maintained by america in world media, and we all were led to believe that. But , now after all these years, this myth in my mind was shattered totally. I see not one or two, but the entire league of arab nations , one after another , taking to the streets , and protesting against their dictatorial regimes. It is very clear now that they too werent happy under those dictatorships and want democracy. I wonder what took them so long to do this. Anyways, better late than never.
MB: Any offbeat politician that u admire a lot?
Me: Offbeat means sir?
MB: Offbeat means, any non main stream politician or some state chief minister....
Me: Well ofcourse, I do appreciate a lot of state chief ministers.
MB: who all?
Me: Amongst the many politicians sir, I appreciate Mayawati, Bihar chief minister NItish kumar ......and ofcourse my homestate chief minister Narendra Modi a lot sir.
MB: Why Mayawati?
Me: Well, actually sir until a few years back, as a boy who had grown up in gujarat, I had this habit where i'd look at the chief ministers of other states, and those of them who I didnt find as performing & upto the mark, I'd comment as to why would the people of that state elect such and such person as the chief minister. Not just me, a lot of people, get judgemental about the electoral verdit people in other states give, with regards to their constituencies and feel as to how can they could elect such and such person to power. Being in Gujarat, or maharashtra or karnataka, we all would feel that way about the people of UP who'd elect Mayawati and likes to power and question their rationality. But after I came to UP (Haridwar i consider culturally UP) and I saw the situation on ground, I was astonished. Casteism in the entire gangetic plains of UP and BIhar is so severe, sir, I've never experienced anything like that back home in Gujarat or Karnataka where I've studied. I've known people here refer to each other as Panditji, Thakurji or Lalaji instead of their names. (He was surprised at this). And this is not a trend just among the illiterates and the uneducated, even the executives in my company follow this norm. And its not considered offensive nor frowned upon, rather people like being referred this way. Even at work, I'd have upper class workers approach me and ask me not to ensure a level playing field or support the lower caste fellow workers there openly. And I have a tough time asking them to keep me out of it all. I have to explain them that for me at work, a man is either a crane operator, a welder or an electrician as the case may be and that is all I know of him. If they have any differences, they may kindly take them out of factory gates. When inside the factory gates, I as a senior in the shop cannot and will not differentiate between any worker based on his caste of birth. It is not only against my ethics but also against Raj Dharma, preached to a ruler in olden days wherein it was given that all his subjects should be treated equal.

But then, this was something that was going to stay, and when situation in urban areas was so severe, I could only imagine how the conditions must be in the country side. In this situation, Mayawati has brought the much needed self respect back to these people. She has given them a hope, that yes , there is somebody out there in the government who thinks of you. This nation has not rejected your lot, and left you to rot in the darkness of poverty, illiteracy and discrimination. Rather you are very much a part of this nation and stakeholders in its democracy. All that was needed that these people be given a faith that yes, they can compete with the upper castes and the more fortunate for the nation's resources and opportunities and they can also do well, and then they'll start doing it on their own. For that matter I appreciate Lalu Prasad Yadav of bihar a lot too sir. Before he came to bihar, the situation was so severe in bihar that a lower caste person couldnt imagine standing amongst higher caste people without fear. And this i've got from one of my friend who is from Bihar. But 15 years of his rule in bihar has done wonders to their self confidence. True, he may not have a wonderful track record as far as development and corruption is concerned. But may be the man on the street probably didnt want development as much as he wanted self respect. And he gave him that in Bihar, as what Mayawati gave in UP. If I were given a chance to change Bihar's past and say change those 15 years of Lalu's rule with a leader of my choice, I'd again want Lalu only to have ruled in those 15 years there. And which is when I came to the conclusion sir, that in a democracy the people are never wrong. They know it best what they want, and we as spectators from other states, have no right to interfere in their internal business or comment on that. (MB was getting so emotional and so was I. We both could have cried and hugged each other at that moment. All the while, CR was an uninterested listener)
MB: And now what do u feel about Nitish Kumar?
Me: Sir, once the people of bihar got the much needed selfrespect to begin with, now they wanted development, jobs and other good things. And which is when they've now got the right man for the job at helm. NItish kumar is working real hard to lift the lot of bihar out of poverty and depreviation. The crime rate is lowered , law and order situation is improving, he is cracking down on corruption, highways are coming up. Things are really looking up in bihar today. 5 years back, it was unimaginable to think of flyovers in bihar, and today u have several flyovers coming up in patna.
MB: And how do u compare his ways to Narendra Modi?
Me: Sir, Nitish Kumar is more inclusive in his ways. While Narendra Modi is more autocratic in style. But then both have honest intentions, and both are hardworking, both are bringing development. Styles may be different, but it doesnt really matter as long as they get results.
MB: (happy and thoughtful) U really love politics , dont u?
Me: (With a hesitant smile) I do sir
MB: Would you like to join it?
Me: I would sir. But I know I cant. Its very difficult to join politics in india. And anyways, running a nation is like running a company. You need management skills at both places. Our chief minister runs our state like a CEO of a company.
MB: Is it really same as running a company?
Me: Well not exactly same sir. In running a state one needs to look at a lot of social responsibilities also. Like my home state gujarat, lags severely on health and education indices. And as an able chief minister , Modi is working really hard on them. Sometimes I wonder when he has been such an efficient administrator , why then is he having difficulties in improving health and education indices. But then sir, a lot of our problems and success are deep rooted in our cultures also. No one understands money better in india than Gujaratis and they'd anyways have got a lot of money flowing in the state. Modi may be only gave that same flow a little bit of push. When it comes to education, things are a bit difficult. I still remember an industrialist friend of mine tell me about what his grandfather,who had set up the factory that is their family business now, told him. He told him that education only makes one a good employee. We need to become good employers. (MB smiles) So u see sir, mentalities and mindsets are very difficult to change. In gujarat, once u get a job, or start a small time tea shop also, students drop out of schools in villages. It is very difficult to convince people to stop earning and keep learning. But then, Modi is a very hard working man sir. He has been working on it, and I have full faith in him. I am sure he'll do it.
MB: (Totally satisfied with me by now) So Abhishek, why IIM Kozhikode?
Me: (showing full surprise at the question) Why IIM Kozhikode!!! Its IIM sir! Kozhikode, Lucknow, Indore.... does it really matter? U are a faculty at IIM sir and I really dont know how it feels to sit on that side of the table and ask questions, but for us students on this side sir, IIM is God LIke. It matters a lot sir.
MB: (Totally elated. Needs no more explanation): Any questions u'd like to ask us ?
Me: I was so happy I just wanted to come out and rush back to my friends. I kept smiling and shook my head. We thanked each other and I finally left.

Verdict: Converted