IT training and education company Aptech has bagged the contract to conduct the AICTE&rsquo;s maiden management entrance test &mdash; Common Management Admission Test (CMAT) &mdash; for admission to post-graduate diploma in management institutes. The test will begin next month. Pravir Arora, executive vice-president (enterprise business) at Aptech, tells M Saraswathy how Aptech is prepared to ensure smooth conduct of CMAT.

Q&A: Pravir Arora, Aptech

Business Standard

The fluctuation in rupee will not impact students' decision to defer or cancel their plans of studying abroad. Education is perceived as a long-term career investment, particularly when one looks for superior education in notable and top-rated institutions abroad. There will be no compromise on quality education to offset the increasing costs of studying abroad, and therefore little apprehension in joining the foreign institutes.&nbsp;However, there may be marginal decline in student traffic internationally with respect to tier -II and tier-III colleges abroad where the quality of education and infrastructure are comparable to the domestic institutes.

Students' corner

Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) &mdash; the two premium brands owned by Tata Motors, India&rsquo;s largest automotive company &mdash; will tighten up frivolous expenditure to contain cash in a slowing automotive market.

JLR to get cost smart in slowing market

Nissan Motor Company may have missed the boom in small cars in India. But the third-biggest Japanese car maker is confident of shoring up volumes, as it works on several small car projects simultaneously. Nissan executive vice-president Andy Palmer said the firm was targeting a substantial jump in market share. However, Bajaj Auto may not be a part of this equation. He spoke to Swaraj Baggonkar on the company&rsquo;s plans.

Q&A: Andy Palmer,Nissan Motor Company

As the slowdown clouds get darker in the new year, there is an interesting divide among the country&rsquo;s business schools. Even as the mood is gloomy in the top schools (Indian Institutes of Management, International Business School and so on) that are set to start with their placement season, the not-so-marquee names are having a reasonably good run.

Shyamal Majumdar: The B-school divide

Dozen two-wheelers, 30 passenger cars and CVs unveiled.

Small goes big, big goes small 

Some of the golden rules that have remained unchallenged in factory management do not hold good for management of services. One such is: if you cannot measure it, you cannot manage it.

V S Mahesh: Managing the service moments of truth

RV-VLSI Design Centre, a Bangalore-based finishing school for engineering students and working professionals, has unveiled 'resume builder' - a free tool to assist engineering students under the VLSI (very-large-scale integration) and embedded system domain and to help the semiconductor industry in accessing the talent pool easily.

RV-VLSI unveils job portal

The Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad, has won the 'Annual Case Study Competition 2011&rsquo;, an initiative under the aegis of internet products company Directi, at Mumbai. The team 'DateRide &ndash; Goodfellas' from ISB won the competition and a prize of Rs 1 lakh at the grand finale on January 5. The contest was spread over four months and saw over 1,100 participants across 42 teams from 20 management schools .

ISB wins competition

Ending the first leg of placements at its campus on a high note, The Institute of Management, Nirma University (IMNU) has witnessed the highest salary of Rs 10 lakhs per annum. However, the same didn't see any rise as compared to previous year.

IMNU wraps up first leg of placements

B-schools add a new component to their charges &mdash; placement fee.

The art of placement: Cash under the table

The ice-cream and frozen dessert market in India is estimated at approximately $450 million in 2009-10. Growing at approximately 12-15 per cent, it is expected to cross $900 million by 2014-15. The branded market is estimated at approximately $200 million and is growing at 20-25 per cent.

KIT: Ice-Cream Market in India

Entrepreneur and venture investor Kanwal Rekhi has many accolades to his credit. After selling his start-up firm Excelan, which manufactured smart Ethernet cards, to Novell, he spearheaded the company before returning 100x to his venture investors. He also co-founded TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) to promote entrepreneurship. Now managing director of Inventus Capital, an early-growth venture firm, the entrepreneurial spirit is still alive.

Q&A: Kanwal Rekhi, Inventus Capital

A well-timed voucher or coupon can sway the toughest cookie on earth&hellip; err heaven, according to a new campaign from daily deal website Snapdeal.

Cutting a sweet deal

The top 10 business bestsellers

&nbsp;

    In which international listing will you find ICICI Bank, Aditya Birla Group, HUL, Bharti Airtel and Wipro together?&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    What does the term Planning Poker mean and who uses it generally?&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    The CAT (Computerized Axial Scan) was invented in the UK in 1974. The success of which pop band facilitated this invention and why?&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    What term best describes the current US economy which has more of the wealthy and poorer classes with

The Strategist Quiz (#235)

    Harvard Professor Pankaj Ghemawat's AAA triangle consists of three broad strategies for cross-border differences namely adaptation, aggregation and arbitrage.

Answers to last week`s quiz (#234)

The entry of Future Supply Chain Solutions into multi-brand retail via a subsidiary has given some regional brands the kind of exposure they could only aspire to before.

Minding other people's business

Vodafone says it has the widest presence of exclusive retail in the country, serving over a million walk-ins.

Zoozoos sweat it out in rural sun

In the near future, every company will need to come to terms with the phenomenon of social media. Employees, customers and other stakeholders will expect and demand it. Against this backdrop, it is important today to understand the capabilities of a social organisation and analyse the importance of mass transparency, according to this extract from the book The Social Organization.

The extended enterprise

While tablets are giving stiff competition to other mobile devices, according to a recent online survey by IMRB International, they still have some way to go before they emerge as the perfect entertainment companion for digital consumers.

Page 810 - News