In 2008, any question about job offers drew grim looks from B-school students and professors. This year, the smiles are back.

B-schools see surge in pre-placement offers

Business Standard

In an ambitious leap for the Indian scientific research establishment in the telecom space, the G S Sanyal School of Telecommunications of Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) has emerged as the first IIT to bag research sponsorships of Rs 11 crore from Vodafone Essar&rsquo;s global research and development team, as part of an initiative backed by the Union government, to delve into 4G technology. IIT-KGP, which partnered with Vodafone recently to set up the Vodafone Essar-IIT Center of Excellence in Telecommunication, has now signed for Rs 11 crore of projects with it over five years to carry out research projects of relevance to the telecommunication industry.

IIT-Kgp bags research sponsorships

Diversified business conglomerate ITC Ltd is targeting a Rs 1,000-crore turnover from its stationery business in three to five years, led by new product launches targeting school children and institutions. It&rsquo;s current revenue from this business stands at Rs 280 crore.

ITC to launch new products in stationery biz

The deadlock between the Vijay Mallya-owned United Spirits Ltd (USL) and the Indian Hotel and Restaurants Association (Ahar) and Maharashtra Wine Merchants Association (MWMA) continued for the third day today, taking a toll on the sales of USL&rsquo;s two flagship brands, Bagpiper and McDowell.

Maha stores stay off Bagpiper, McDowell

To emerge as successful business managers in the prevailing recessionary times, the management students need to pick up the right employable skills, aim to work with an open mind and stop looking at their institutes as placement agencies.

Experts stress on competitive management skills

Placements for the last batch at the Institute of Insurance and Risk Management (IIRM), an institution set up jointly by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (Irda) and the Andhra Pradesh government, took a dip as only 43 diploma holders out of the 72 could so far get placement.

Placements take a dip at IIRM

As the exchange semester draws near, the scare of contracting swine flu is not being taken lightly by premier management institutes. Even though the drop in the number of students opting for the exchange programmes is not alarming, management schools are not taking any chances. Students have been issued advisories on swine flu and also advised to undergo a medical check-ups before leaving the nation, and undergo diagnosis after they come back from long-term vacations.

B-schools strategise to fight flu scare

NIS Sparta, the training, education and learning solutions provider of the Reliance ADAG, is setting up 50 community colleges to link vocational education and employability with academics. In the next one year, the company will open these colleges in 50 cities of the country including small towns, urban and semi-urban clusters.

NIS Sparta to open community colleges

Educational institutes having multiple objectives, including imparting education, cannot be denied the benefit of income tax exemption, the Delhi High Court has ruled.

Educational institutes should be provided tax benefits, says HC

Press Trust of India

Media planners and advertisers are focusing on the success of individual shows rather than the fast-changing ranking of channels.

Twist in the plot

A lot of the advertising greats will tell you that the first rule about doing an ad is not to do it. What they mean is, do not dash off an ad as soon as you are asked to do it. Resist the temptation. Instead, acquire every bit of information and trivia about the product or service that you are about to advertise. Toss all the facts and information in your mind, sift through it, and then do the most important thing. Link actual experiences from your life to the information you have gathered. If you can do that successfully, more often then not, you will have something beautiful to show.

'Life partner'

Way back in 1996 when people were still struggling to understand the relevance of the internet and digital platforms, Olivier Fleurot, who was then with the French newspaper Les Echos, launched the first online French news website. Fleurot, who has taken over as the chief executive of Publicis&rsquo; new PR structure, which includes MS&amp;L, Publicis, and Kekst &amp; Company, and Publicis Events Worldwide, speaks to Sapna Agarwal on his target to increase the contribution of the Bric nations to his firm&rsquo;s overall revenues to 25 per cent. Excerpts.

'The winners will be players with data and deep pockets'

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has been at the forefront of scientific research in India for nearly a century. The institute, the brainchild of the visionary Jamshetji Nusserwanji Tata, has produced many luminaries in science who have been at the vanguard of India's progress. At a time when the government is looking to setting up more IIScs across the country, the credibility of the new institutes could come under a cloud. Professor P Balaram, Director of IISc has a tete-a-tete with Praveen Bose &amp; Bibhu Ranjan Mishra on the status of research in the country and challenges.

'PPPs today are nothing but business deals'

Soap opera

Car makers the world over are in a fix &mdash; how to get customers back to their showrooms. The liquidity crunch, depressed stock markets and fears of joblessness have dented consumer sentiment badly, though there seems to be a recovery of sorts in India. Synovate Motoresearch, the automotive research division of Synovate, the global market research company, has come out with its Tipping Point Study which seeks to address these concerns of automobile makers.

&#39;Auto companies need to deliver at the dealer's level&#39;

Domino&rsquo;s Pizza is now delivering pasta.

Dial-a-pasta

Spoof ads have been for long the norm in aerated beverages. They have of late been done with telling effect in categories like soap, dental cream, motorcycles and even direct-to-home television. Now is the turn of chocolates.

Munchy bites

If you thought Kolkata-based Emami Group will take life easy after the acquisition of Zandu last year, your judgement could prove wrong. It has plans to invest some Rs 1,600 crore in its personal care business. This includes new products as well as extension and repositioning of brands.

Emami Group: Personal care push

It&rsquo;s a small car with big ambitions. The Volkswagen Polo is the car that Volkswagen India wants to bring it the volumes. The German carmaker sells the Passat and Jetta in the country, together which accounted for about 1,500 units last year, which Volkswagen hopes to double this year. But with the compact Polo, it will enter an already crowded and extremely contested segment. More players like Ford, Toyota and Nissan are firming up plans to enter it.

Volkswagen: And here comes Polo

REALISING THE importance of brand identity and an uplifting consumer experience, many brands in India have started focusing on translating the brand personality into communication and messages that reinforce the brand positioning. From materials, shape, in-store music to even smells, the consistency of brand communication is more important at the point of purchase than advertising.

KIT: Retail trends

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