Chekhov's Mistress - Anecdotes and Hilarious Sketches from The Good Doctor by Neil Simon - @ Alliance Francaise, Aug 30 and 31, 7:15pm
Spotlight - a family driven by power, money and fear - @ ING Vysya House Auditorium, MG Road, Sep 2, 8:00pm
Monday, August 28, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
Bangalore Theatre Update
Bikhre Bimb - Written and Directed by Girish Karnad, Played by Arundhati Nag - @ Rangashankara, Aug 25, 26 and 27, 7:30pm
Final Touches - a pallette of four plays - @ Guru Nanak Bhavan, Vasanth Nagar, Aug 27, 7:00pm
For directions, call 98458-53093 or 9845243051 or mail yourstrulytheatre@gmail.com
Final Touches - a pallette of four plays - @ Guru Nanak Bhavan, Vasanth Nagar, Aug 27, 7:00pm
An Interactive Theatre experience where you make your Final Touches to all four plays by becoming the director of these plays and get a chance to "Complete the story" as you wish.
For directions, call 98458-53093 or 9845243051 or mail yourstrulytheatre@gmail.com
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Bangalore Theatre Update
Othello - @ Rangashankara, Aug 12 and 13, 3:30pm and 7:30pm
Make Sense Who May (A Tribute to Samuel Beckett) - @ Rangashankara, Aug 17 and 18, 7:30pm And @Alliance Francaise, Aug 25 and 26, 8.00pm
Words and Deedah - @ Rangashankara, Aug 19 and 20, 7:30pm And @Alliance Francaise, Aug 23 and 24, 8.00pm
Make Sense Who May (A Tribute to Samuel Beckett) - @ Rangashankara, Aug 17 and 18, 7:30pm And @Alliance Francaise, Aug 25 and 26, 8.00pm
Narratives on Beckett's life and scenes from some of his lesser known but aesthetically brilliant sketches
Words and Deedah - @ Rangashankara, Aug 19 and 20, 7:30pm And @Alliance Francaise, Aug 23 and 24, 8.00pm
Comic sketches on the lesser known occupations in the city
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Bangalore Theatre Update
The premiere of the musical theatre “Kaifi Aur Main” featuring Shabana Azmi, Javed Akhtar, and Jaswinder Singh, in support of India Foundation for the arts (IFA) on July 29th at 7 pm at the St.Johns Auditorium, Koramangala.
Find booking details here
Find booking details here
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
'Art' - Go Watch This Play!
Brilliant! 'Art' was amongst the wittiest dramas I ever came across. Written by Yasmina Reza and performed by Evam, a Chennai based group, 'Art' was about three friends Serge, Marc and Ivan whose relationship comes to a turmoil over Serge's purchase of a painting.
The script took the characters through a range of moods through the play - from pride to anger to frustration to envy to amusement to insanity. And enchanted the audience with brilliantly witty dialogue. The acting was a bit scratchy at times, and the set changes in the beginning were a mess, but the performance was still very delightful.
Shows are scheduled at Ranga Shankara at 7.30 pm on Thursday, July 20 and at 3.30 pm on Saturday, July 22. Go watch it!
I'm gonna watch another show by the same group - Double Comedy this Saturday at 7.30 pm. Also showing at 7.30 pm on Friday, 21 July and at 3.30 pm on Sunday, 22 July.
The script took the characters through a range of moods through the play - from pride to anger to frustration to envy to amusement to insanity. And enchanted the audience with brilliantly witty dialogue. The acting was a bit scratchy at times, and the set changes in the beginning were a mess, but the performance was still very delightful.
Shows are scheduled at Ranga Shankara at 7.30 pm on Thursday, July 20 and at 3.30 pm on Saturday, July 22. Go watch it!
I'm gonna watch another show by the same group - Double Comedy this Saturday at 7.30 pm. Also showing at 7.30 pm on Friday, 21 July and at 3.30 pm on Sunday, 22 July.
Friday, May 05, 2006
"The Indian at the Center Of the Global Economy"
TIME lists Nandan Nilekani among "100 People Who Shape Our World"... profiled by Thomas Friedman as "The Indian at the Center Of the Global Economy"
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Fuel Woes - Part I
More facts from the IMF report:
- Petrol price in India is double that in China.
- Kerosene is cheaper in India than in any other country.
* fob (free on board) is the price standard for international trade
I found another report by TERI, which tries to analyze the issues involved in petroleum pricing in India and comes up with some interesting observations. I am trying to build upon the analysis in this three-part series of posts.
We have a build up of prices in which more than 50% of the price is taxes. Effective tax rate on petrol in Mumbai is 146% of the basic price [TERI]. These rates are likely to be among the highest in the world.
To its credit, the government has cushioned the impact of the recent surge in oil prices through a price ceiling on oil prices and some duty relaxation (although absolute taxes collected on petroleum still increased). However, high crude oil prices are here to stay and the current price protection is only a postponement of the inevitable. Maintaining current high taxation, petroleum prices will have to be adjusted by an additional 40–45 percent. Petrol prices can reach Rs.75 per litre.
Such prices will lead to high inflation and slowing down of economic growth. We don’t want that. The TERI report presents data that suggests that oil prices can be reduced while maintaining revenue levels for the government. Two policy changes and an administrative change can help a great deal:
I. Price ceilings for petroleum products are based on the international free on board (fob) prices rather than import parity prices.
II. No subsidies are provided to reduce prices of LPG and kerosene in the market.
III. Fuel subsidies for poor households are distributed through cash transfers to special accounts created for all PDS consumers in state banks.
The three parts of this series will explain the rationale behind one each of these propositions.
I. FOB v/s IPP
The present pricing of petroleum products in the country is based on the import parity principle, that is, retail prices are to be comparable with the price of the product if it were to be imported. The parity provided to domestic refiners equals the fully loaded cost of the imported product [TERI].
IPP = FOB + logistics & overheads (~10%) + customs duty (~10%)
In reality India is importing only LPG/LNG while exporting most other products. So refiners are not actually paying out any logistics & overheads. Moreover, customs duty incurred on the imported crude oil (70% of total consumption) is much less than the duty added up in IPP.
As such, refineries are obviously making significantly higher margins than are apparent. Their margins include a “notional” component which is a direct result of a petroleum policy that favors the producer over the consumer.
When these high ex-refinery prices are subject to the high sales and excise taxes, the impact of the notional margin on retail prices is even higher. More data is needed for computation of the notional component of prices, but 15% should be a reasonable estimate.
- Petrol price in India is double that in China.
- Kerosene is cheaper in India than in any other country.
* fob (free on board) is the price standard for international trade
I found another report by TERI, which tries to analyze the issues involved in petroleum pricing in India and comes up with some interesting observations. I am trying to build upon the analysis in this three-part series of posts.
We have a build up of prices in which more than 50% of the price is taxes. Effective tax rate on petrol in Mumbai is 146% of the basic price [TERI]. These rates are likely to be among the highest in the world.
To its credit, the government has cushioned the impact of the recent surge in oil prices through a price ceiling on oil prices and some duty relaxation (although absolute taxes collected on petroleum still increased). However, high crude oil prices are here to stay and the current price protection is only a postponement of the inevitable. Maintaining current high taxation, petroleum prices will have to be adjusted by an additional 40–45 percent. Petrol prices can reach Rs.75 per litre.
Such prices will lead to high inflation and slowing down of economic growth. We don’t want that. The TERI report presents data that suggests that oil prices can be reduced while maintaining revenue levels for the government. Two policy changes and an administrative change can help a great deal:
I. Price ceilings for petroleum products are based on the international free on board (fob) prices rather than import parity prices.
II. No subsidies are provided to reduce prices of LPG and kerosene in the market.
III. Fuel subsidies for poor households are distributed through cash transfers to special accounts created for all PDS consumers in state banks.
The three parts of this series will explain the rationale behind one each of these propositions.
I. FOB v/s IPP
The present pricing of petroleum products in the country is based on the import parity principle, that is, retail prices are to be comparable with the price of the product if it were to be imported. The parity provided to domestic refiners equals the fully loaded cost of the imported product [TERI].
IPP = FOB + logistics & overheads (~10%) + customs duty (~10%)
In reality India is importing only LPG/LNG while exporting most other products. So refiners are not actually paying out any logistics & overheads. Moreover, customs duty incurred on the imported crude oil (70% of total consumption) is much less than the duty added up in IPP.
As such, refineries are obviously making significantly higher margins than are apparent. Their margins include a “notional” component which is a direct result of a petroleum policy that favors the producer over the consumer.
When these high ex-refinery prices are subject to the high sales and excise taxes, the impact of the notional margin on retail prices is even higher. More data is needed for computation of the notional component of prices, but 15% should be a reasonable estimate.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
A Carrot For Privatising India's SEBs
IMF's 2006 country report on India brings some interesting macro economic statistics to the fore. I will draw upon these numbers in this post and the next few.
This one is relates to the electric power infrastructure of the country and its effect on the manufacturing industry.
Apparantly, electricity prices in India are amongst the highest in the world. This is hurting our export competitiveness against other countries. The cost of electricity in China is half that of India.
Well, prices apart, we know that electricity is just not available for industrial use in many areas. The demand/supply gap is enormous.
Moreover, the power distribution is not reliable. The IMF report estimates that electricity outages cost Indian firms 8 percent of annual sales.
We all know the reasons –
- rampant electricity theft,
- free electricity to agriculture in many states,
- grossly inept state electricity boards (SEBs) and their bankrupt books,
- monopoly of SEBs in electricity distribution, and
- high taxes on power generation fuel.
The blame lies squarely on the SEBs. We must break up these clumsy behemoths, privatise electricity distribution and set up an independent body as a regulator. The expectation that private operators will run the distribution networks more efficiently is based on the premise that they will try to maximise profit.
Privatisation of Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) is a case in point. Though still grappling with the legacy of mismanaged finances and infrastructure, the private operators have considerably reduced leakage losses of DVB, which stood at over 50% before privatization [India Infrastructure Report 2004, 3i Network]. BSES Bombay has a leakage loss of 11%. Private players are also expected to maintain their equipment better, so there'll be less power failures. An independent regulator a la TRAI will make sure that these players keep a decent service level.
Benefits? Besides peace of mind to millions, that is.
I. Let's say the statistic of 8% sales loss has been arrived for only the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing accounts for roughly 25% of India’s GDP. If we can reduce outages by half, it translates to a GDP growth bonus of 1% (Assuming a linear relationship between outages and losses). That’s 7 billion dollars. 33,000 Crore rupees.
Revenue increase for the Government: minimum 10% of 33,000 = Rs.3,300 Cr - Enough to fund reasonable electricity subsidies for rural areas.
II. Reduced leakage means lower electricity costs for consumers. Translates to higher productivity for the industry, meaning export competitiveness, more cash, more investments, more jobs and again more revenue for the Government.
III. A boost to private electricity producers, whose business models have so far remained highly risky due to shaky finances of the SEBs. There is a huge demand/supply gap in electricity, which private producers will fulfill. Yet more manufacturing output, and more enterprises coming up all over the country.
IV. Free up enterprise capital used for captive power generation. Captive power generation of say 50MW is much less efficient than 1000MW power plants. Again major increases in productivity and the virtuous circle that follows.
V. Government cuts its losses in funding the losses of SEBs. I gather from miscellaneous newspaper articles on the subject that DVB's losses, running over Rs.1000 crore mounted huge fiscal burdens on the Government.
This one is relates to the electric power infrastructure of the country and its effect on the manufacturing industry.
Apparantly, electricity prices in India are amongst the highest in the world. This is hurting our export competitiveness against other countries. The cost of electricity in China is half that of India.
Well, prices apart, we know that electricity is just not available for industrial use in many areas. The demand/supply gap is enormous.
Moreover, the power distribution is not reliable. The IMF report estimates that electricity outages cost Indian firms 8 percent of annual sales.
We all know the reasons –
- rampant electricity theft,
- free electricity to agriculture in many states,
- grossly inept state electricity boards (SEBs) and their bankrupt books,
- monopoly of SEBs in electricity distribution, and
- high taxes on power generation fuel.
The blame lies squarely on the SEBs. We must break up these clumsy behemoths, privatise electricity distribution and set up an independent body as a regulator. The expectation that private operators will run the distribution networks more efficiently is based on the premise that they will try to maximise profit.
Privatisation of Delhi Vidyut Board (DVB) is a case in point. Though still grappling with the legacy of mismanaged finances and infrastructure, the private operators have considerably reduced leakage losses of DVB, which stood at over 50% before privatization [India Infrastructure Report 2004, 3i Network]. BSES Bombay has a leakage loss of 11%. Private players are also expected to maintain their equipment better, so there'll be less power failures. An independent regulator a la TRAI will make sure that these players keep a decent service level.
Benefits? Besides peace of mind to millions, that is.
I. Let's say the statistic of 8% sales loss has been arrived for only the manufacturing sector. Manufacturing accounts for roughly 25% of India’s GDP. If we can reduce outages by half, it translates to a GDP growth bonus of 1% (Assuming a linear relationship between outages and losses). That’s 7 billion dollars. 33,000 Crore rupees.
Revenue increase for the Government: minimum 10% of 33,000 = Rs.3,300 Cr - Enough to fund reasonable electricity subsidies for rural areas.
II. Reduced leakage means lower electricity costs for consumers. Translates to higher productivity for the industry, meaning export competitiveness, more cash, more investments, more jobs and again more revenue for the Government.
III. A boost to private electricity producers, whose business models have so far remained highly risky due to shaky finances of the SEBs. There is a huge demand/supply gap in electricity, which private producers will fulfill. Yet more manufacturing output, and more enterprises coming up all over the country.
IV. Free up enterprise capital used for captive power generation. Captive power generation of say 50MW is much less efficient than 1000MW power plants. Again major increases in productivity and the virtuous circle that follows.
V. Government cuts its losses in funding the losses of SEBs. I gather from miscellaneous newspaper articles on the subject that DVB's losses, running over Rs.1000 crore mounted huge fiscal burdens on the Government.
Reminiscing Placements
Eileen Gunn @ WSJ writes about some basic interviewing tips. Some of these reminded me of things I did right and things I messed up during my campus interviews two years ago :)
- Recruiters note that business-school students seeking jobs regularly slip from grounded confidence into arrogance and an inflated sense of entitlement. As a result, they often knock themselves out of contention for attractive jobs.
- Avoid overstating your role in team projects. Recruiters prefer to see an interviewee "be clear about what the team accomplished and about what their role was"
- Asking detailed, pointed questions about the company is a good way to show that you've done your homework. Asking questions about the company's culture indicates that you're looking for the job that will fit you best, rather than one that will provide the most prestige or biggest paycheck. Whirlpool's top campus recruiter recalls that one of the best questions he's been asked was: "What would a person see when standing in your parking lot at the end of the workday?"
- Recruiters keep an eye on candidates' social interaction through the interview process. For example, the candidate's chit-chat when the Whirlpool guy is escorting them from an interview tells him about their social skills and whether they're enthusiastic about his company.
- Recruiters note that business-school students seeking jobs regularly slip from grounded confidence into arrogance and an inflated sense of entitlement. As a result, they often knock themselves out of contention for attractive jobs.
- Avoid overstating your role in team projects. Recruiters prefer to see an interviewee "be clear about what the team accomplished and about what their role was"
- Asking detailed, pointed questions about the company is a good way to show that you've done your homework. Asking questions about the company's culture indicates that you're looking for the job that will fit you best, rather than one that will provide the most prestige or biggest paycheck. Whirlpool's top campus recruiter recalls that one of the best questions he's been asked was: "What would a person see when standing in your parking lot at the end of the workday?"
- Recruiters keep an eye on candidates' social interaction through the interview process. For example, the candidate's chit-chat when the Whirlpool guy is escorting them from an interview tells him about their social skills and whether they're enthusiastic about his company.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
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