Author Archives: Ashima Kumar

Watching this giant move is fascinating. Its speed belies its sheer size. This giant that I am talking of is the rural market. It is asserting its weight in the Indian consumer market and businesses today are sitting up and making a note to see how this bottom of the pyramid can give fillip to their profits.
Capturing this market comes with challenges and needs a different approach and skill set from businesses. To read more about these click here
http://knowledgetoday.wharton.upenn.edu/2013/03/how-companies-are-trying-to-win-in-rural-india/

One and a quarter of a billion! My head just spins when I try and visualize that number and especially when I know that what I am looking at is India???s approximate population today. The glass half empty, pessimist in me thinks of all the associated problems???so many mouths to fill, education, healthcare for so many people. But then the glass half full, optimist in me raises his head and says??????Think of the opportunities??? ???so many mouths to fill, education, healthcare for so many people.

And I am not the only one talking about this. Corporates and businesses across the country are looking at this huge pool of potential customers. They are looking to see how they can reach them with their products in a more efficient manner. And this is pharmaceutical companies, agricultural companies, financial products companies???the list is endless. New partnerships, strategic alliances and some truly innovative ideas???the methods being evaluated(/already used?) make ???last mile??? a very interesting area to watch.

As businesses clamor to climb aboard the ???last mile??? train we wait and see if it indeed delivers on its promise of growth and development!!

???The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits,??? said the economist Milton Friedman. According to him companies had to simply work within the boundaries of the law that govern them.

But what if there is a gap in the law? Are companies bound by ethics to not violate the trust placed by the various interested parties? Or is the end goal of increased profits enough justification for companies to squelch out any niggling thoughts of being morally accountable.

While some might argue that in today???s economic scenario being altruistic just doesn???t work, there are other firms and individuals who aren???t simply paying lip service to things like corporate social responsibility.

Does this mean our value system as individuals and as corporates is changing? Is the value system deteriorating or is it simply changing to fit in a changing and challenging economic and social environment?
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Keeping in mind all this, asks Mr. Keki Elavia, senior Chartered Accountant, ???Is there a case for over-regulation rather than under-regulation of companies in the future????

I am a little (actually a lot..) worried that each day when I open the newspaper I almost expect a new fraud or scam to have been unearthed. And even when that is the case I don???t get as shocked as I used to. Don???t get me wrong, the outrage I feel has gone up but sadly the shock value is going down like the stock market these days!!!

So I was interested to know that Sachin Pilot, Corporate Affairs Minister is trying to address the increase in white collar scams via new initiatives to prevent, ferret out and investigate corporate frauds.

I hope it works. And if the measures taken manage to shake down some of these fraudsters sitting smugly on the corporate ladder???well then more power to you Mr. Pilot!!

To read more see this article – http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/forensic-lab-to-check-corporate-fraud-planned/article4544682.ece