By M H Ahssan
Netas Feel They Are Non-Voters, Hence Their Problems Do Not Figure In Poll Campaign
When Bill Clinton and George Bush came calling, they were promptly whisked to the swankiest part of the city which was showcased not only as Hyderabad’s pride but even its identity. Pictures of the campuses of software firms here have been used liberally over the last few years by the government to show how hip Hyderabad is. But civic concerns of people working or living in this IT hub have failed to make it to the manifestos of candidates contesting for the newly created Serilingampally assembly seat.
Comprising areas such as Madhapur, Hi-Tec City, Miyapur, Gachibowli and Kondapur, Serilingampally is possibly the most urban constituency in the state. But peep into the campaign plans of candidates, and you realise the urban voter just doesn’t exist for them. With a population of close to 6.5 lakh with roughly 3.81 lakh registered voters, candidates are sure that despite techies and their families forming a huge chunk of the population, they are not potential voters.
They reason that a good part of the urban population living here comprise migrants working in software companies and thus do not form a large vote bank for any party.
So, issues such as those of traffic, bad roads, lack of public transport and irregular water supply that have been grossly neglected by the present government are being ignored by the prospective MLAs as well. Instead, the focus of candidates across parties are the issues of the 72 slums dotting this area — that stretches from Raidurg to BHEL and Jagadgirigutta to Madhapur. “Travelling from Banjara Hills towards Shilparamam during peak hours is a nightmare. We get stuck in the traffic for hours together.
The roads are narrow and the signals are just not manned efficiently,” said P Naresh, a banker living in that area. This apart, the lack of a proper drainage system, especially in Hi-Tec City, has become a major concern not just for residents but also for environmentalists. “Chandrababu Naidu might have developed the area into an IT hub, but he paid no attention to the drainage system. Thus, during rainy season all the dirty water of this area enters the Durgam Cheruvu lake that not only pollutes the water body but also spoils its charm,” said citizen activist Jeevanand Reddy.
The candidates could well be underestimating the urban voter strength. This year, many IT companies have undertaken campaigns to coax employees to get themselves registered which has indeed led to better awareness and more people from this part getting registered.
However, denying the lack of attention paid to urban pockets, candidates say they have been campaigning in every locality and addressing issues concerning all sections of society. “We are not neglecting anyone. We promise to solve traffic and drainage problems here,” said Bhikshapati Yadav, Congress candidate, who earlier served as Serilingampally municipality chairman. However, his campaigns and padayatras so far have only been restricted to the rural pockets of Serilingampally constituency.
The highlight of Prajarajyam Party candidate Bandi Ramesh’s campaign too is about providing cooking material at Rs 100 to all poor families. “We are working towards providing social justice and hence this package,’’ he said. Predictably, urban issues are missing from his campaign plan.
“There isn’t much problem in the urban part,’’ he said, adding, however that a request to extend metro rail up to Patancheru has been made.
The reaction was much the same from the Telugu Desam Party camp, when asked about addressing the qualms of the middle class. “Some law and order problem needs to be looked into in these areas. That’s about it,” said Muvva Satyanarayana, the party candidate, before beginning to list the many problems, from drinking water to drainage, persisting in the slums of Serilingampally that he would want to address.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Fidayeen on terror mission in India
By M H Ahssan
Security agencies have been placed on high alert following an intelligence report that 7-8 trained pilots and more than a dozen women fidayeen have entered the country on a mission to carry out terror strikes and hijackings.
Security arrangements across the country have been reviewed and beefed up following the input that was received six days ago by Maharashtra police and some other security agencies. This was three days before the threat e-mail landed at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai and a Taj property in Chennai.
All security agencies and police force have now been briefed about a group of 20 people, who could be Pakistani nationals, entering the Indian soil. According to a source, “A group of 20 people, who could be Pakistani nationals, have entered the country to carry out terror strikes or a plane hijack. The group includes seven trained pilots and 13-14 women.’’
The latest intelligence is also one of the most serious threat intimations received by the aviation ministry.
“While we have been receiving terror threats repeatedly after 26\11, the current input is clearly the biggest one airports have received so far,’’ according to an official.
The message was conveyed to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which forwarded it to all airports across the country.
For the aviation sector, the message revives memories of the IC-814 hijacking by Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives on April 24, 1999. The hijackers demanded release of their leader Maulanad Masood Azhar from an Indian jail. In a hostage swap, the government released Azhar.
“As it is, security is tight due to continuing perception of terror threats post the bombings across the country and the 26\11 Mumbai attacks. This message has yet again put pressure to plug all loopholes, if any,’’ said an official. “Places regarded as valuable targets are under watch,’’ he added.
The input doesn’t specify the age group of the suspected Pakistani terrorists. Nor does it say how the group sneaked in.
A senior intelligence official said, “We cannot take a chance. This group may also be planning to disrupt the Lok Sabha elections in the country this month.’’
Security agencies have been placed on high alert following an intelligence report that 7-8 trained pilots and more than a dozen women fidayeen have entered the country on a mission to carry out terror strikes and hijackings.
Security arrangements across the country have been reviewed and beefed up following the input that was received six days ago by Maharashtra police and some other security agencies. This was three days before the threat e-mail landed at the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai and a Taj property in Chennai.
All security agencies and police force have now been briefed about a group of 20 people, who could be Pakistani nationals, entering the Indian soil. According to a source, “A group of 20 people, who could be Pakistani nationals, have entered the country to carry out terror strikes or a plane hijack. The group includes seven trained pilots and 13-14 women.’’
The latest intelligence is also one of the most serious threat intimations received by the aviation ministry.
“While we have been receiving terror threats repeatedly after 26\11, the current input is clearly the biggest one airports have received so far,’’ according to an official.
The message was conveyed to the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS), which forwarded it to all airports across the country.
For the aviation sector, the message revives memories of the IC-814 hijacking by Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives on April 24, 1999. The hijackers demanded release of their leader Maulanad Masood Azhar from an Indian jail. In a hostage swap, the government released Azhar.
“As it is, security is tight due to continuing perception of terror threats post the bombings across the country and the 26\11 Mumbai attacks. This message has yet again put pressure to plug all loopholes, if any,’’ said an official. “Places regarded as valuable targets are under watch,’’ he added.
The input doesn’t specify the age group of the suspected Pakistani terrorists. Nor does it say how the group sneaked in.
A senior intelligence official said, “We cannot take a chance. This group may also be planning to disrupt the Lok Sabha elections in the country this month.’’
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Neuromarketing In The Era Of Hyperactive Competition
By M H Ahssan
Market conditions are no longer just competitive, but hyperactive. And at the epicentre of this hyperactivity lies the consumer - caught in a perpetual flux as the constantly shifting dynamics rumble through his/her cognitive faculties. HNN explores the growing trend that is revolutionising the world of branding - Neuromarketing
To say that there is a surfeit of competition is stating the obvious. But how do companies ensure that consumers prefer them over the rest during that vital moment of truth, when the consumer is at the store within picking distance of their brand, or for that matter, their competitor’s. There are enough and more cases to highlight the fact that consumers walk the other way at the very last minute, leaving their preferred brand out in the cold. Shubhra S Kumar is one such consumer. When Kumar entered a large format retail store last week, she had already made up her mind on what she wanted to buy — three casual shirts, all Pepe. But when she walked out, her shopping bag did not have a single shirt from her preferred brand. Instead she had picked up a rather lesser-known brand Rig, without any salesperson pushing it down her throat. Why? Kumar states the obvious, that she found the range of Rig attractive in the key parameters of colours, finish and design.
For a new and growing tribe of experts in the field of marketing, this vague explanation is perfectly clear. For this is a set that probes for a deeper meaning using medical technologies like the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to explore last minute changes in consumer behaviour. Did Kumar’s brain pick up signals from a hyperactive competitor at the point of sale? Did the mind play tricks, or did it take a short cut in the purchase decision process? Called Neuromarketing, it’s the new, advanced, marketing technique that’s catching on like forest fire. To put it simply, Neuromarketing studies the marketing stimuli among consumers using techniques that are perfected not in business schools, but in medical universities — sensory, motor, cognitive, affective response and so on.
Be doubly sure, this is no brain wave, but a technique that’s finding a remarkable acceptance in the marketing departments of large corporations. An Internet search of the term ‘Neuro marketing’ throws up 2.5 million results. And the companies that are currently using Neuromarketing to mine for insights to their increasing roster of marketing challenges include the top-notch marketing corporations ranging from automobile companies to beverage makers. You name them, they have tried it. In fact, as we were going to press with this issue, a source told BE about a large scale, and extremely successful Neuromarketing exercise, being undertaken by a leading consumer goods company in India (more about that later).
When the next big thing, does become The Big Thing, CMOs could come with the prefix of ‘Dr’ to their names. Because understanding Neuromarketing, could mean bringing the expertise of understanding the human brain to the marketing world. For example, when consumers avoid the brand in question, a Neuromarketer could conduct an fMRI analysis to understand which areas of the brain actually influence such aversive behaviour. Or it can identify certain genetic codes that separate the risk takers from the conservatives and help companies design campaigns that trigger the risk takers to take action and prefer their brand over the competition.
If experts in the field are to be believed this data can be tracked in a manner that’s completely non-invasive. “Neural activity results in the generation of electro-magnetic signals that can be captured by sensors. These signals are processed and then analysed statistically to draw behavioural patterns of consumers,” explains P C Kutty, J Eddie chair professor at the FRM school of business. He adds that the accuracy of these measurements, that can be filtered down to the order of milliseconds (one-thousandth of a second) has attracted the interest of researchers who are demystifying the decision-making process.
N Swami, a senior executive from an MNC that’s tried out Neuromarketing points out that another area of interest that’s gaining ground among Neuromarketers, is to track the connection between the codes passed by the optical nerves to the brain. Some questions that are being asked by marketers include, do consumers exhibit a bias to products that they see more often, through exposure to advertisements and product displays, or do they pick brands that they see first at the store shelves. Other questions that are being explored include, does a product being placed on the left stand a better chance of being picked — considering that in countries like ours, consumers are trained from a young age to look from left to right (remember, before crossing the road).
At another level, the science of Neuromarketing is also being used to track which is the best possible marketing channel strategy, how consumers react to different pack sizes and price points at various points, which distribution strategy works better in triggering the positive response, which distribution mechanism sends confusing codes to the brain and so on. R Banerjee at the The Retail Institute points out that even different retail chains can trigger different stimuli among consumers. “The same consumer may buy your product at one retail point, but choose your competitor at another retail destination. This can happen despite the space allocated to your brand remaining the same” he says. That’s because different retail chains can have a different influence on the perception and evaluation of the product.
Other factors that influence the decision making process include the brain retrieving the episodic memory, past experience with the brand, sensory memory (memory that is stimulated through the senses) and so on. Analysis by neuromarketers help in establishing which parts of the brain show the maximum activity while selecting or rejecting a brand. These findings help marketers find out what are the influencing factors behind consumer susceptibility and helps in positioning the product in such a manner that it results in developing a judgement bias in favour of the product and also develop even the right product and price strategy for the entire portfolio of offerings.
Take the case of a large consumer goods manufacturer who’s supposedly running one of the largest Neuromarketing programmes that the country has seen. In this case, the company saw a remarkable decline in several of its key categories particularly in some retail formats, that too in particular states in the last three months. As a part of its critical salvage operations, the company also initiated a Neuromarketing exercise that has in a short span delivered much more than what the company bargained for. What triggered this amazing turnaround?
Market conditions are no longer just competitive, but hyperactive. And at the epicentre of this hyperactivity lies the consumer - caught in a perpetual flux as the constantly shifting dynamics rumble through his/her cognitive faculties. HNN explores the growing trend that is revolutionising the world of branding - Neuromarketing
To say that there is a surfeit of competition is stating the obvious. But how do companies ensure that consumers prefer them over the rest during that vital moment of truth, when the consumer is at the store within picking distance of their brand, or for that matter, their competitor’s. There are enough and more cases to highlight the fact that consumers walk the other way at the very last minute, leaving their preferred brand out in the cold. Shubhra S Kumar is one such consumer. When Kumar entered a large format retail store last week, she had already made up her mind on what she wanted to buy — three casual shirts, all Pepe. But when she walked out, her shopping bag did not have a single shirt from her preferred brand. Instead she had picked up a rather lesser-known brand Rig, without any salesperson pushing it down her throat. Why? Kumar states the obvious, that she found the range of Rig attractive in the key parameters of colours, finish and design.
For a new and growing tribe of experts in the field of marketing, this vague explanation is perfectly clear. For this is a set that probes for a deeper meaning using medical technologies like the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to explore last minute changes in consumer behaviour. Did Kumar’s brain pick up signals from a hyperactive competitor at the point of sale? Did the mind play tricks, or did it take a short cut in the purchase decision process? Called Neuromarketing, it’s the new, advanced, marketing technique that’s catching on like forest fire. To put it simply, Neuromarketing studies the marketing stimuli among consumers using techniques that are perfected not in business schools, but in medical universities — sensory, motor, cognitive, affective response and so on.
Be doubly sure, this is no brain wave, but a technique that’s finding a remarkable acceptance in the marketing departments of large corporations. An Internet search of the term ‘Neuro marketing’ throws up 2.5 million results. And the companies that are currently using Neuromarketing to mine for insights to their increasing roster of marketing challenges include the top-notch marketing corporations ranging from automobile companies to beverage makers. You name them, they have tried it. In fact, as we were going to press with this issue, a source told BE about a large scale, and extremely successful Neuromarketing exercise, being undertaken by a leading consumer goods company in India (more about that later).
When the next big thing, does become The Big Thing, CMOs could come with the prefix of ‘Dr’ to their names. Because understanding Neuromarketing, could mean bringing the expertise of understanding the human brain to the marketing world. For example, when consumers avoid the brand in question, a Neuromarketer could conduct an fMRI analysis to understand which areas of the brain actually influence such aversive behaviour. Or it can identify certain genetic codes that separate the risk takers from the conservatives and help companies design campaigns that trigger the risk takers to take action and prefer their brand over the competition.
If experts in the field are to be believed this data can be tracked in a manner that’s completely non-invasive. “Neural activity results in the generation of electro-magnetic signals that can be captured by sensors. These signals are processed and then analysed statistically to draw behavioural patterns of consumers,” explains P C Kutty, J Eddie chair professor at the FRM school of business. He adds that the accuracy of these measurements, that can be filtered down to the order of milliseconds (one-thousandth of a second) has attracted the interest of researchers who are demystifying the decision-making process.
N Swami, a senior executive from an MNC that’s tried out Neuromarketing points out that another area of interest that’s gaining ground among Neuromarketers, is to track the connection between the codes passed by the optical nerves to the brain. Some questions that are being asked by marketers include, do consumers exhibit a bias to products that they see more often, through exposure to advertisements and product displays, or do they pick brands that they see first at the store shelves. Other questions that are being explored include, does a product being placed on the left stand a better chance of being picked — considering that in countries like ours, consumers are trained from a young age to look from left to right (remember, before crossing the road).
At another level, the science of Neuromarketing is also being used to track which is the best possible marketing channel strategy, how consumers react to different pack sizes and price points at various points, which distribution strategy works better in triggering the positive response, which distribution mechanism sends confusing codes to the brain and so on. R Banerjee at the The Retail Institute points out that even different retail chains can trigger different stimuli among consumers. “The same consumer may buy your product at one retail point, but choose your competitor at another retail destination. This can happen despite the space allocated to your brand remaining the same” he says. That’s because different retail chains can have a different influence on the perception and evaluation of the product.
Other factors that influence the decision making process include the brain retrieving the episodic memory, past experience with the brand, sensory memory (memory that is stimulated through the senses) and so on. Analysis by neuromarketers help in establishing which parts of the brain show the maximum activity while selecting or rejecting a brand. These findings help marketers find out what are the influencing factors behind consumer susceptibility and helps in positioning the product in such a manner that it results in developing a judgement bias in favour of the product and also develop even the right product and price strategy for the entire portfolio of offerings.
Take the case of a large consumer goods manufacturer who’s supposedly running one of the largest Neuromarketing programmes that the country has seen. In this case, the company saw a remarkable decline in several of its key categories particularly in some retail formats, that too in particular states in the last three months. As a part of its critical salvage operations, the company also initiated a Neuromarketing exercise that has in a short span delivered much more than what the company bargained for. What triggered this amazing turnaround?
Neuromarketing In The Era Of Hyperactive Competition
By M H Ahssan
Market conditions are no longer just competitive, but hyperactive. And at the epicentre of this hyperactivity lies the consumer - caught in a perpetual flux as the constantly shifting dynamics rumble through his/her cognitive faculties. HNN explores the growing trend that is revolutionising the world of branding - Neuromarketing
To say that there is a surfeit of competition is stating the obvious. But how do companies ensure that consumers prefer them over the rest during that vital moment of truth, when the consumer is at the store within picking distance of their brand, or for that matter, their competitor’s. There are enough and more cases to highlight the fact that consumers walk the other way at the very last minute, leaving their preferred brand out in the cold. Shubhra S Kumar is one such consumer. When Kumar entered a large format retail store last week, she had already made up her mind on what she wanted to buy — three casual shirts, all Pepe. But when she walked out, her shopping bag did not have a single shirt from her preferred brand. Instead she had picked up a rather lesser-known brand Rig, without any salesperson pushing it down her throat. Why? Kumar states the obvious, that she found the range of Rig attractive in the key parameters of colours, finish and design.
For a new and growing tribe of experts in the field of marketing, this vague explanation is perfectly clear. For this is a set that probes for a deeper meaning using medical technologies like the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to explore last minute changes in consumer behaviour. Did Kumar’s brain pick up signals from a hyperactive competitor at the point of sale? Did the mind play tricks, or did it take a short cut in the purchase decision process? Called Neuromarketing, it’s the new, advanced, marketing technique that’s catching on like forest fire. To put it simply, Neuromarketing studies the marketing stimuli among consumers using techniques that are perfected not in business schools, but in medical universities — sensory, motor, cognitive, affective response and so on.
Be doubly sure, this is no brain wave, but a technique that’s finding a remarkable acceptance in the marketing departments of large corporations. An Internet search of the term ‘Neuro marketing’ throws up 2.5 million results. And the companies that are currently using Neuromarketing to mine for insights to their increasing roster of marketing challenges include the top-notch marketing corporations ranging from automobile companies to beverage makers. You name them, they have tried it. In fact, as we were going to press with this issue, a source told BE about a large scale, and extremely successful Neuromarketing exercise, being undertaken by a leading consumer goods company in India (more about that later).
When the next big thing, does become The Big Thing, CMOs could come with the prefix of ‘Dr’ to their names. Because understanding Neuromarketing, could mean bringing the expertise of understanding the human brain to the marketing world. For example, when consumers avoid the brand in question, a Neuromarketer could conduct an fMRI analysis to understand which areas of the brain actually influence such aversive behaviour. Or it can identify certain genetic codes that separate the risk takers from the conservatives and help companies design campaigns that trigger the risk takers to take action and prefer their brand over the competition.
If experts in the field are to be believed this data can be tracked in a manner that’s completely non-invasive. “Neural activity results in the generation of electro-magnetic signals that can be captured by sensors. These signals are processed and then analysed statistically to draw behavioural patterns of consumers,” explains P C Kutty, J Eddie chair professor at the FRM school of business. He adds that the accuracy of these measurements, that can be filtered down to the order of milliseconds (one-thousandth of a second) has attracted the interest of researchers who are demystifying the decision-making process.
N Swami, a senior executive from an MNC that’s tried out Neuromarketing points out that another area of interest that’s gaining ground among Neuromarketers, is to track the connection between the codes passed by the optical nerves to the brain. Some questions that are being asked by marketers include, do consumers exhibit a bias to products that they see more often, through exposure to advertisements and product displays, or do they pick brands that they see first at the store shelves. Other questions that are being explored include, does a product being placed on the left stand a better chance of being picked — considering that in countries like ours, consumers are trained from a young age to look from left to right (remember, before crossing the road).
At another level, the science of Neuromarketing is also being used to track which is the best possible marketing channel strategy, how consumers react to different pack sizes and price points at various points, which distribution strategy works better in triggering the positive response, which distribution mechanism sends confusing codes to the brain and so on. R Banerjee at the The Retail Institute points out that even different retail chains can trigger different stimuli among consumers. “The same consumer may buy your product at one retail point, but choose your competitor at another retail destination. This can happen despite the space allocated to your brand remaining the same” he says. That’s because different retail chains can have a different influence on the perception and evaluation of the product.
Other factors that influence the decision making process include the brain retrieving the episodic memory, past experience with the brand, sensory memory (memory that is stimulated through the senses) and so on. Analysis by neuromarketers help in establishing which parts of the brain show the maximum activity while selecting or rejecting a brand. These findings help marketers find out what are the influencing factors behind consumer susceptibility and helps in positioning the product in such a manner that it results in developing a judgement bias in favour of the product and also develop even the right product and price strategy for the entire portfolio of offerings.
Take the case of a large consumer goods manufacturer who’s supposedly running one of the largest Neuromarketing programmes that the country has seen. In this case, the company saw a remarkable decline in several of its key categories particularly in some retail formats, that too in particular states in the last three months. As a part of its critical salvage operations, the company also initiated a Neuromarketing exercise that has in a short span delivered much more than what the company bargained for. What triggered this amazing turnaround?
Market conditions are no longer just competitive, but hyperactive. And at the epicentre of this hyperactivity lies the consumer - caught in a perpetual flux as the constantly shifting dynamics rumble through his/her cognitive faculties. HNN explores the growing trend that is revolutionising the world of branding - Neuromarketing
To say that there is a surfeit of competition is stating the obvious. But how do companies ensure that consumers prefer them over the rest during that vital moment of truth, when the consumer is at the store within picking distance of their brand, or for that matter, their competitor’s. There are enough and more cases to highlight the fact that consumers walk the other way at the very last minute, leaving their preferred brand out in the cold. Shubhra S Kumar is one such consumer. When Kumar entered a large format retail store last week, she had already made up her mind on what she wanted to buy — three casual shirts, all Pepe. But when she walked out, her shopping bag did not have a single shirt from her preferred brand. Instead she had picked up a rather lesser-known brand Rig, without any salesperson pushing it down her throat. Why? Kumar states the obvious, that she found the range of Rig attractive in the key parameters of colours, finish and design.
For a new and growing tribe of experts in the field of marketing, this vague explanation is perfectly clear. For this is a set that probes for a deeper meaning using medical technologies like the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), to explore last minute changes in consumer behaviour. Did Kumar’s brain pick up signals from a hyperactive competitor at the point of sale? Did the mind play tricks, or did it take a short cut in the purchase decision process? Called Neuromarketing, it’s the new, advanced, marketing technique that’s catching on like forest fire. To put it simply, Neuromarketing studies the marketing stimuli among consumers using techniques that are perfected not in business schools, but in medical universities — sensory, motor, cognitive, affective response and so on.
Be doubly sure, this is no brain wave, but a technique that’s finding a remarkable acceptance in the marketing departments of large corporations. An Internet search of the term ‘Neuro marketing’ throws up 2.5 million results. And the companies that are currently using Neuromarketing to mine for insights to their increasing roster of marketing challenges include the top-notch marketing corporations ranging from automobile companies to beverage makers. You name them, they have tried it. In fact, as we were going to press with this issue, a source told BE about a large scale, and extremely successful Neuromarketing exercise, being undertaken by a leading consumer goods company in India (more about that later).
When the next big thing, does become The Big Thing, CMOs could come with the prefix of ‘Dr’ to their names. Because understanding Neuromarketing, could mean bringing the expertise of understanding the human brain to the marketing world. For example, when consumers avoid the brand in question, a Neuromarketer could conduct an fMRI analysis to understand which areas of the brain actually influence such aversive behaviour. Or it can identify certain genetic codes that separate the risk takers from the conservatives and help companies design campaigns that trigger the risk takers to take action and prefer their brand over the competition.
If experts in the field are to be believed this data can be tracked in a manner that’s completely non-invasive. “Neural activity results in the generation of electro-magnetic signals that can be captured by sensors. These signals are processed and then analysed statistically to draw behavioural patterns of consumers,” explains P C Kutty, J Eddie chair professor at the FRM school of business. He adds that the accuracy of these measurements, that can be filtered down to the order of milliseconds (one-thousandth of a second) has attracted the interest of researchers who are demystifying the decision-making process.
N Swami, a senior executive from an MNC that’s tried out Neuromarketing points out that another area of interest that’s gaining ground among Neuromarketers, is to track the connection between the codes passed by the optical nerves to the brain. Some questions that are being asked by marketers include, do consumers exhibit a bias to products that they see more often, through exposure to advertisements and product displays, or do they pick brands that they see first at the store shelves. Other questions that are being explored include, does a product being placed on the left stand a better chance of being picked — considering that in countries like ours, consumers are trained from a young age to look from left to right (remember, before crossing the road).
At another level, the science of Neuromarketing is also being used to track which is the best possible marketing channel strategy, how consumers react to different pack sizes and price points at various points, which distribution strategy works better in triggering the positive response, which distribution mechanism sends confusing codes to the brain and so on. R Banerjee at the The Retail Institute points out that even different retail chains can trigger different stimuli among consumers. “The same consumer may buy your product at one retail point, but choose your competitor at another retail destination. This can happen despite the space allocated to your brand remaining the same” he says. That’s because different retail chains can have a different influence on the perception and evaluation of the product.
Other factors that influence the decision making process include the brain retrieving the episodic memory, past experience with the brand, sensory memory (memory that is stimulated through the senses) and so on. Analysis by neuromarketers help in establishing which parts of the brain show the maximum activity while selecting or rejecting a brand. These findings help marketers find out what are the influencing factors behind consumer susceptibility and helps in positioning the product in such a manner that it results in developing a judgement bias in favour of the product and also develop even the right product and price strategy for the entire portfolio of offerings.
Take the case of a large consumer goods manufacturer who’s supposedly running one of the largest Neuromarketing programmes that the country has seen. In this case, the company saw a remarkable decline in several of its key categories particularly in some retail formats, that too in particular states in the last three months. As a part of its critical salvage operations, the company also initiated a Neuromarketing exercise that has in a short span delivered much more than what the company bargained for. What triggered this amazing turnaround?
A wide open poll, or new coalitions?
By M H Ahssan
Despite uncertainties, the electoral dice seems loaded against the NDA, though the UPA isn’t in a happy state either.
When the BJD recently walked out on the BJP in Orissa, many called the move a game-changer adverse to the NDA, which had already lost numerous allies and been pared to onethird its original size. Since then, the Congress’s seat-adjustment talks with the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janashakti Party in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar broke down. The three have formed a “fourth front”. The PMK in Tamil Nadu has quit the UPA and allied with the AIADMK-MDMK. Is this also a gamechanger, this time against the Congress?
Honestly speaking, the answer is not quite, although it’s a setback to the Congress-UPA. The AIADMK-led alliance will, as expected, gain at the expense of the DMK-Congress combine, but it’s unlikely to sweep the election given that the latter command a 35-40% vote. In UP and Bihar, the UPA will bleed from the Congress’s blunder in vetoing a national alliance. But the Congress was anyway slated to do relatively poorly in the two states. The SP-RJD-LJP arrangement is less a rival alliance than a pressure-group without synergy between its bases. No, the UPA hasn’t unravelled, not yet.
At any rate, these developments take the current turbulence, uncertainty and political promiscuity one step further. Parties are courting one another across alliances, abandoning the rules of coalition politics. The central question is if the churning will modify existing coalitions, or trigger a more basic transition from a decade-long era of pre-election alliances to expediency-driven post-poll alliances.
The answer isn’t clear, but three trends are plain. The UPA had an early edge, but may be losing it. If the Congress wins roughly the same or higher number of seats as in 2004 (145), the UPA should be able to form the government. But this isn’t assured. Second, the NDA is in disarray. Its core, the BJP, is in retreat. It’s desperately using communal hate-speech to stem its decline, with uncertain results. Its most important ally, the Janata Dal (United), is uneasy about staying within the NDA after the election.
Third, the non-Congress non-BJP Third Front has received a boost both from direct accretions and the SP-RJD-LJP front. It’s drafting a programmatic document which might give it some coherence. But this hotchpotch still lacks a holding party which can make it more durable than the V P Singh-led National Front (1989-91) or the United Front (1996-98). The Left is the Front’s progenitor, midwife and mentor — combined. But its seat-tally is likely to decline. The Front can’t come close to power unless the Telugu Desam, AIADMK and BSP do exceptionally well, and stay with it. These are big ifs.
Varun Gandhi’s venomous attack on Muslims represents one of the most nauseating episodes of the present campaign and a new low in the history of communal politics. His use of a super-derogatory term for Muslims, and his exhortation to forcibly sterilise them — a throwback to his father’s Emergency role — violate the election law and the Indian Penal Code. Such hatespeech belongs to the discourse of fascism and is profoundly anti-democratic.
This isn’t the first time the BJP has used anti-Muslim appeals to win votes. The Election Commission has over the years disqualified 3,423 people from contesting elections for “corrupt practices”, many related to communalism. Gandhi’s is a rare case where a candidate’s speeches are videotaped; producing irrefutable evidence. But the EC has no power to disqualify him until after a court convicts him. Disqualification after a candidate has vitiated the climate and harvested hatred can only partially remedy the original offence.
THE NDA isn’t going places. The BJP has antagonised the JD(U) by fielding from Bihar two loud critics of chief minister Nitish Kumar: Shatrughan Sinha and Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Kumar is building bridges with Muslims, especially backward-caste Muslims and doesn’t want communally tainted BJP leaders to campaign in Bihar. He has also refused to give a ticket to George Fernandes, the JD(U)’s most pro-BJP-RSS leader.
BJP campaign strategist Arun Jaitley has revolted against party president Rajnath Singh. L K Advani is unable to assert his authority. The BJP is floundering and substituting internet-based gimmickry for strategy. It will probably lose several seats in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It did remarkably well in these states in 2004, but its base has eroded. It’s unlikely to recoup through small gains in Gujarat, Jharkhand and Haryana.
The UPA isn’t in a happy state either. The Congress’s arrogant refusal to make seat adjustments has created a huge mess. In UP, it was remarkably inflexible towards the SP. But its nemesis came in Bihar, where the RJD-LJP offered it only three seats out of 40. It retaliated by nominating Sadhu Yadav and deciding to go solo in 37 constituencies. The Congress’s fate depends on whether it can make up in other states its likely heavy losses in Tamil Nadu and Andhra.
The Third Front can’t go far unless it’s seen as programmatically credible. This won’t be easy: all its constituents barring the Left stand tainted by past association with the BJP-NDA, including the BSP, which has thrice shared power with the BJP in UP. A convincing common manifesto asserting the Front’s commitment to secularism and inclusive economic policies could help — but probably not enough to turn the election around even if Mayawati improves on her 2004 score (16) and wins 25-35 seats in UP.
More important, the social energies that drove the non-BJP-non-Congress forces in the 1980s and 1990s have been significantly depleted. Optimistically, a Third Front with 100-120 seats could attract some NDA parties and form a government with the UPA’s support. But there are red lines here. The BJD, Akali Dal, AGP and TDP will find it difficult to accept Congress support. If the BSP joins the Front, the SP won’t. It the Left is in it, the Trinamool Congress will be out. If the RJD is in, the JD(U) will keep out.
The instability and uncertainty endemic in this hazy scenario won’t be resolved unless there’s a reworking of relations between plebeian forces and social movements, and political parties’ programmes and policies.
Despite uncertainties, the electoral dice seems loaded against the NDA, though the UPA isn’t in a happy state either.
When the BJD recently walked out on the BJP in Orissa, many called the move a game-changer adverse to the NDA, which had already lost numerous allies and been pared to onethird its original size. Since then, the Congress’s seat-adjustment talks with the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Lok Janashakti Party in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar broke down. The three have formed a “fourth front”. The PMK in Tamil Nadu has quit the UPA and allied with the AIADMK-MDMK. Is this also a gamechanger, this time against the Congress?
Honestly speaking, the answer is not quite, although it’s a setback to the Congress-UPA. The AIADMK-led alliance will, as expected, gain at the expense of the DMK-Congress combine, but it’s unlikely to sweep the election given that the latter command a 35-40% vote. In UP and Bihar, the UPA will bleed from the Congress’s blunder in vetoing a national alliance. But the Congress was anyway slated to do relatively poorly in the two states. The SP-RJD-LJP arrangement is less a rival alliance than a pressure-group without synergy between its bases. No, the UPA hasn’t unravelled, not yet.
At any rate, these developments take the current turbulence, uncertainty and political promiscuity one step further. Parties are courting one another across alliances, abandoning the rules of coalition politics. The central question is if the churning will modify existing coalitions, or trigger a more basic transition from a decade-long era of pre-election alliances to expediency-driven post-poll alliances.
The answer isn’t clear, but three trends are plain. The UPA had an early edge, but may be losing it. If the Congress wins roughly the same or higher number of seats as in 2004 (145), the UPA should be able to form the government. But this isn’t assured. Second, the NDA is in disarray. Its core, the BJP, is in retreat. It’s desperately using communal hate-speech to stem its decline, with uncertain results. Its most important ally, the Janata Dal (United), is uneasy about staying within the NDA after the election.
Third, the non-Congress non-BJP Third Front has received a boost both from direct accretions and the SP-RJD-LJP front. It’s drafting a programmatic document which might give it some coherence. But this hotchpotch still lacks a holding party which can make it more durable than the V P Singh-led National Front (1989-91) or the United Front (1996-98). The Left is the Front’s progenitor, midwife and mentor — combined. But its seat-tally is likely to decline. The Front can’t come close to power unless the Telugu Desam, AIADMK and BSP do exceptionally well, and stay with it. These are big ifs.
Varun Gandhi’s venomous attack on Muslims represents one of the most nauseating episodes of the present campaign and a new low in the history of communal politics. His use of a super-derogatory term for Muslims, and his exhortation to forcibly sterilise them — a throwback to his father’s Emergency role — violate the election law and the Indian Penal Code. Such hatespeech belongs to the discourse of fascism and is profoundly anti-democratic.
This isn’t the first time the BJP has used anti-Muslim appeals to win votes. The Election Commission has over the years disqualified 3,423 people from contesting elections for “corrupt practices”, many related to communalism. Gandhi’s is a rare case where a candidate’s speeches are videotaped; producing irrefutable evidence. But the EC has no power to disqualify him until after a court convicts him. Disqualification after a candidate has vitiated the climate and harvested hatred can only partially remedy the original offence.
THE NDA isn’t going places. The BJP has antagonised the JD(U) by fielding from Bihar two loud critics of chief minister Nitish Kumar: Shatrughan Sinha and Rajiv Pratap Rudy. Kumar is building bridges with Muslims, especially backward-caste Muslims and doesn’t want communally tainted BJP leaders to campaign in Bihar. He has also refused to give a ticket to George Fernandes, the JD(U)’s most pro-BJP-RSS leader.
BJP campaign strategist Arun Jaitley has revolted against party president Rajnath Singh. L K Advani is unable to assert his authority. The BJP is floundering and substituting internet-based gimmickry for strategy. It will probably lose several seats in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It did remarkably well in these states in 2004, but its base has eroded. It’s unlikely to recoup through small gains in Gujarat, Jharkhand and Haryana.
The UPA isn’t in a happy state either. The Congress’s arrogant refusal to make seat adjustments has created a huge mess. In UP, it was remarkably inflexible towards the SP. But its nemesis came in Bihar, where the RJD-LJP offered it only three seats out of 40. It retaliated by nominating Sadhu Yadav and deciding to go solo in 37 constituencies. The Congress’s fate depends on whether it can make up in other states its likely heavy losses in Tamil Nadu and Andhra.
The Third Front can’t go far unless it’s seen as programmatically credible. This won’t be easy: all its constituents barring the Left stand tainted by past association with the BJP-NDA, including the BSP, which has thrice shared power with the BJP in UP. A convincing common manifesto asserting the Front’s commitment to secularism and inclusive economic policies could help — but probably not enough to turn the election around even if Mayawati improves on her 2004 score (16) and wins 25-35 seats in UP.
More important, the social energies that drove the non-BJP-non-Congress forces in the 1980s and 1990s have been significantly depleted. Optimistically, a Third Front with 100-120 seats could attract some NDA parties and form a government with the UPA’s support. But there are red lines here. The BJD, Akali Dal, AGP and TDP will find it difficult to accept Congress support. If the BSP joins the Front, the SP won’t. It the Left is in it, the Trinamool Congress will be out. If the RJD is in, the JD(U) will keep out.
The instability and uncertainty endemic in this hazy scenario won’t be resolved unless there’s a reworking of relations between plebeian forces and social movements, and political parties’ programmes and policies.
PEOPLE NOW KNOW LEFT IS RIGHT: YECHURY
By M H Ahssan
CPM politburo member says that the country needs a non-Congress, non-BJP, ‘secular’ alternative, and is confident that the front will take concrete shape after poll results are out
If there is one pragmatic voice in an otherwise dogmatic CPM today then that’s certainly Sitaram Yechury’s. Having honed his skills as an interlocutor under the guidance of ace negotiator Harkishen Singh Surjeet when the late CPM general secretary played midwife during the birth of two UF governments, Mr Yechury has now donned the mantle. As the elections are expected to throw up a fractured mandate, his skills will be put to test. Excerpts from an interview.
The Left was part of the governing arrangement at the Centre for over four years. Do you think Congress has the political skills and sincerity to be the core of a coalition?
Congress did not show the sincerity to implement in right earnest the content and spirit of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) which in the first place was the basis on which the Left extended outside support. It’s because Congress violated the CMP by promoting a strategic alliance with the US on the question of the nuclear deal that the Left had to withdraw outside support.
Will it be easy to convince the electorate that the pluses in the government were on account of the Left and the negatives are the sole creation of Congress?
I think people have already realised this particularly in the wake of the impact of global recession. This would have been far more devastating had not the Left prevented the government from going ahead with financial liberalisation at least on five scores-- full capital account convertibility, privatisation of pension funds, banking reforms, raising FDI cap in the insurance sector and disinvestment of public sector units. On the other hand, people have already seen that but for the Left's insistence the NREGA would not have taken off leave alone be-ing extended to the whole country. It took full four years of dithering to finally announce rules for forest rights. During the course of the election campaign, these issues will become clearer.
Till some time ago, there were doubts about the political sustainability of the third front. How confident are you about the third front getting into a cohesive formation post polls?
Fairly confident. Additionally our past experience confirms this confidence. The United Front was formed after 1996 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA after the 1998 elections, and UPA was formed after the 2004 elections. And so shall it be with the alternative secular front post 2009 election.
The third front will require more parties with it if it has to take a shot at power at the Centre. Are you ready to do business with parties like SP.
We have worked with many of these parties such as SP, RJD and LJP in the past in a non-Congress secular combination. Today, we are appealing to all non-Congress secular parties to come forward and meet people’s aspirations for an alternative policy direction that can only be provided by a non-Congress secular alternative.
The national parties have become notional players in many important states. How do you visualise politics playing out in these states in the coming months?
This in a sense is the reflection of India’s rich social plurality which is reflecting itself in its polity. This is not a regression of democracy. In fact it is its maturing in the Indian context. Many of these parties will play an important role in their regions and contribute to political federation in the future.
Will not the growth of regional parties that play identity politics inhibit the growth of parties like CPM?
No. CPM has always recognised that class struggle in India has two components, namely struggles against economic exploitation and social oppression. As it’s only CPM and the Left that combine these two elements, identity politics will not inhibit our growth.
Which party will become the core of the third front?
The Left will play an important role. There is also a process on way to reunite the socialist Left, which is divided into several parties. But the alternative will be truly federal with equal role for regional parties along with Communist Left and socialist Left.
Has the association with Congress dented your party’s image in states like Kerala where the party is your principal rival?
On the contrary, people have seen the process that I have talked about earlier. They have also seen the manner in which Congress has reneged on its promises in the CMP.
How do you explain your party’s association with parties like PDP and leaders like Madani?
There is no front or alliance or seat-sharing with PDP. In any election we appeal to all to vote for us. In Kerala, they have responded by stating that they will vote for LDF as opposed to UDF..
Can CPM withstand the challenge from the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine in West Bengal? Do you think development is a saleable issue in West Bengal?
What has been happening de facto has been declared de jure in these elections. The polarisation in West Bengal in these polls is sharpening around pro- and anti-industrialisation forces. This is appearing more relevant and crucial with the impact of global recession. This will be the single most important issue on which people will vote in the state.
CPM has been maintaining that it could join the next government. How probable is CPM’s participation in a government at the Centre?
After the 1996 experience when the party declined the suggestion to make Jyoti Basu the prime minister, the issue of our leading or joining government at the Centre was thoroughly discussed at our 1998 Party Congress. We decided that if any such situation arises in future, the central committee will take an appropriate decision on the basis of the situation.
CPM politburo member says that the country needs a non-Congress, non-BJP, ‘secular’ alternative, and is confident that the front will take concrete shape after poll results are out
If there is one pragmatic voice in an otherwise dogmatic CPM today then that’s certainly Sitaram Yechury’s. Having honed his skills as an interlocutor under the guidance of ace negotiator Harkishen Singh Surjeet when the late CPM general secretary played midwife during the birth of two UF governments, Mr Yechury has now donned the mantle. As the elections are expected to throw up a fractured mandate, his skills will be put to test. Excerpts from an interview.
The Left was part of the governing arrangement at the Centre for over four years. Do you think Congress has the political skills and sincerity to be the core of a coalition?
Congress did not show the sincerity to implement in right earnest the content and spirit of the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) which in the first place was the basis on which the Left extended outside support. It’s because Congress violated the CMP by promoting a strategic alliance with the US on the question of the nuclear deal that the Left had to withdraw outside support.
Will it be easy to convince the electorate that the pluses in the government were on account of the Left and the negatives are the sole creation of Congress?
I think people have already realised this particularly in the wake of the impact of global recession. This would have been far more devastating had not the Left prevented the government from going ahead with financial liberalisation at least on five scores-- full capital account convertibility, privatisation of pension funds, banking reforms, raising FDI cap in the insurance sector and disinvestment of public sector units. On the other hand, people have already seen that but for the Left's insistence the NREGA would not have taken off leave alone be-ing extended to the whole country. It took full four years of dithering to finally announce rules for forest rights. During the course of the election campaign, these issues will become clearer.
Till some time ago, there were doubts about the political sustainability of the third front. How confident are you about the third front getting into a cohesive formation post polls?
Fairly confident. Additionally our past experience confirms this confidence. The United Front was formed after 1996 Lok Sabha elections, the NDA after the 1998 elections, and UPA was formed after the 2004 elections. And so shall it be with the alternative secular front post 2009 election.
The third front will require more parties with it if it has to take a shot at power at the Centre. Are you ready to do business with parties like SP.
We have worked with many of these parties such as SP, RJD and LJP in the past in a non-Congress secular combination. Today, we are appealing to all non-Congress secular parties to come forward and meet people’s aspirations for an alternative policy direction that can only be provided by a non-Congress secular alternative.
The national parties have become notional players in many important states. How do you visualise politics playing out in these states in the coming months?
This in a sense is the reflection of India’s rich social plurality which is reflecting itself in its polity. This is not a regression of democracy. In fact it is its maturing in the Indian context. Many of these parties will play an important role in their regions and contribute to political federation in the future.
Will not the growth of regional parties that play identity politics inhibit the growth of parties like CPM?
No. CPM has always recognised that class struggle in India has two components, namely struggles against economic exploitation and social oppression. As it’s only CPM and the Left that combine these two elements, identity politics will not inhibit our growth.
Which party will become the core of the third front?
The Left will play an important role. There is also a process on way to reunite the socialist Left, which is divided into several parties. But the alternative will be truly federal with equal role for regional parties along with Communist Left and socialist Left.
Has the association with Congress dented your party’s image in states like Kerala where the party is your principal rival?
On the contrary, people have seen the process that I have talked about earlier. They have also seen the manner in which Congress has reneged on its promises in the CMP.
How do you explain your party’s association with parties like PDP and leaders like Madani?
There is no front or alliance or seat-sharing with PDP. In any election we appeal to all to vote for us. In Kerala, they have responded by stating that they will vote for LDF as opposed to UDF..
Can CPM withstand the challenge from the Trinamool Congress-Congress combine in West Bengal? Do you think development is a saleable issue in West Bengal?
What has been happening de facto has been declared de jure in these elections. The polarisation in West Bengal in these polls is sharpening around pro- and anti-industrialisation forces. This is appearing more relevant and crucial with the impact of global recession. This will be the single most important issue on which people will vote in the state.
CPM has been maintaining that it could join the next government. How probable is CPM’s participation in a government at the Centre?
After the 1996 experience when the party declined the suggestion to make Jyoti Basu the prime minister, the issue of our leading or joining government at the Centre was thoroughly discussed at our 1998 Party Congress. We decided that if any such situation arises in future, the central committee will take an appropriate decision on the basis of the situation.
G20 meet: All eyes on India, China
By NEWSCOP
Manmohan Singh strode across the red carpeted tarmac, climbed the stairs leading up to his private suite in the Boeing 747, waved back within a minimalist arc as he is wont to, and disappeared inside. He was 30 minutes late, but looked purposeful. As the captain announced departure, we hoped the visit to the G20 summit in London on April 2 would serve some purpose.
With the world reeling under the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s, everyone’s praying that the summit will come up with a coordinated plan to pull the world out of the hole it’s sliding into. The cost of failure is too high to contemplate.
The 19 developed and developing countries and the EU that officially make up the G20 account for close to 90% of world GDP, 80% of global trade and roughly two-thirds of the planet’s population. So, what they decide should matter. However, experts are near unanimous that the differences among the 20 are so wide that it’s unlikely anything concrete will emerge from London.
For India, given the low expectations of any real breakthrough at the summit itself, attention could focus on the two bilateral meetings of Manmohan Singh — with British PM Gordon Brown on April 1 and US president Barak Obama the next day. While Brown and Manmohan have met recently when the former visited India, it will be Manmohan’s first meeting with the new US president.
The world, however, is expecting more from India. Given that most developed economies are contracting, there’s high respect for the two big economies that are actually growing — India and China. ‘Newsweek’ says so in its latest issue while predicting “the Asian Century is almost here’’.
Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon said that issues other than the economy were likely to figure in the Manmohan-Obama meeting.
The US new policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan and India’s assertion that the world must recognize Pakistan’s key role in global terror were always likely to figure and the Lahore attack on Monday will only add to the urgency with which the issue is addressed.
The meeting will also be watched for the atmospherics between the two leaders. While there is little doubt that Indo-US relations will continue to grow closer under Obama, many will be watching their body language and try to gauge whether the chemistry matches up to the Manmohan-Bush bonding.
The world will keenly watch what China does. The summit is seen by the western media as China’s first major chance to flex its muscles. Part of the reason lies in the fact that the wheel has turned full circle since the G20 was formed a decade ago in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.
That was when the developed world was sitting on its high horse and talking down to the Third World — Asia in particular — on how it must get its house in order. Today, roles have been reversed with the developed world desperately hoping that China and India can pull the world out of recession.
China has also given indications that it recognizes its international clout and means to use it. The most obvious pointers to this confidence have been suggestions on replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency of choice and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao saying that China hoped the US would do whatever it takes to safeguard the Asian gaint’s trillion dollar investments in US treasury bonds.
To return to the differences that beset the G20, much of Europe sees greater regulation of the financial sector as the key to resolving the crisis and preventing its recurrence, but is reluctant and fiscally constrained when it comes to offering larger stimulus packages.
The US wants Europe to cough up much more by way of a stimulus, but is averse to the idea of stringent regulation.
The developing country participants, India included, strongly want protectionism to be brought down and the issue will form a key parameter for judging the summit’s success or failure. It’s a principle that all have readily endorsed, but one that invariably proves too slippery to really catch hold of, given the domestic compulsions of each government.
As Menon candidly admitted, each country is likely to define protectionism in terms that best suit its interest. The issue isn’t just a developed versus developing country problem. There are accusations within the developing nations — China against India, for instance.
For the record, the G20 leaders meet is to discuss not just the immediate crisis, but also larger issues like a reorganization of the IMF and the World Bank to give the developing world a greater say in these institutions as well as enhancing the resources available to them.
But those hoping for paradigm-changing shifts in London might be doing so in vain.
Manmohan Singh strode across the red carpeted tarmac, climbed the stairs leading up to his private suite in the Boeing 747, waved back within a minimalist arc as he is wont to, and disappeared inside. He was 30 minutes late, but looked purposeful. As the captain announced departure, we hoped the visit to the G20 summit in London on April 2 would serve some purpose.
With the world reeling under the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression in the 1930s, everyone’s praying that the summit will come up with a coordinated plan to pull the world out of the hole it’s sliding into. The cost of failure is too high to contemplate.
The 19 developed and developing countries and the EU that officially make up the G20 account for close to 90% of world GDP, 80% of global trade and roughly two-thirds of the planet’s population. So, what they decide should matter. However, experts are near unanimous that the differences among the 20 are so wide that it’s unlikely anything concrete will emerge from London.
For India, given the low expectations of any real breakthrough at the summit itself, attention could focus on the two bilateral meetings of Manmohan Singh — with British PM Gordon Brown on April 1 and US president Barak Obama the next day. While Brown and Manmohan have met recently when the former visited India, it will be Manmohan’s first meeting with the new US president.
The world, however, is expecting more from India. Given that most developed economies are contracting, there’s high respect for the two big economies that are actually growing — India and China. ‘Newsweek’ says so in its latest issue while predicting “the Asian Century is almost here’’.
Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon said that issues other than the economy were likely to figure in the Manmohan-Obama meeting.
The US new policy towards Afghanistan and Pakistan and India’s assertion that the world must recognize Pakistan’s key role in global terror were always likely to figure and the Lahore attack on Monday will only add to the urgency with which the issue is addressed.
The meeting will also be watched for the atmospherics between the two leaders. While there is little doubt that Indo-US relations will continue to grow closer under Obama, many will be watching their body language and try to gauge whether the chemistry matches up to the Manmohan-Bush bonding.
The world will keenly watch what China does. The summit is seen by the western media as China’s first major chance to flex its muscles. Part of the reason lies in the fact that the wheel has turned full circle since the G20 was formed a decade ago in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis.
That was when the developed world was sitting on its high horse and talking down to the Third World — Asia in particular — on how it must get its house in order. Today, roles have been reversed with the developed world desperately hoping that China and India can pull the world out of recession.
China has also given indications that it recognizes its international clout and means to use it. The most obvious pointers to this confidence have been suggestions on replacing the dollar as the world’s reserve currency of choice and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao saying that China hoped the US would do whatever it takes to safeguard the Asian gaint’s trillion dollar investments in US treasury bonds.
To return to the differences that beset the G20, much of Europe sees greater regulation of the financial sector as the key to resolving the crisis and preventing its recurrence, but is reluctant and fiscally constrained when it comes to offering larger stimulus packages.
The US wants Europe to cough up much more by way of a stimulus, but is averse to the idea of stringent regulation.
The developing country participants, India included, strongly want protectionism to be brought down and the issue will form a key parameter for judging the summit’s success or failure. It’s a principle that all have readily endorsed, but one that invariably proves too slippery to really catch hold of, given the domestic compulsions of each government.
As Menon candidly admitted, each country is likely to define protectionism in terms that best suit its interest. The issue isn’t just a developed versus developing country problem. There are accusations within the developing nations — China against India, for instance.
For the record, the G20 leaders meet is to discuss not just the immediate crisis, but also larger issues like a reorganization of the IMF and the World Bank to give the developing world a greater say in these institutions as well as enhancing the resources available to them.
But those hoping for paradigm-changing shifts in London might be doing so in vain.
PURDAH POLITICS IN ANDHRA
By Reema Subia
2 Muslim women set to test poll waters
Muslim women have been the subject of extensive debate in India, chiefly around the conflicting claims of personal law, identity and gender, but no party has bothered much about their representation in mainstream politics.
After a long gap, some Muslim women have been given the chance to contest the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. While some like Fathima Begum (Hyderabad LS nominee) were named by Prajarajyam Party, two women — former mayor Mallika Begum, contesting from minority-dominant constituency of Vijayawada (West) and Pathan Noorjahan Khan, fielded from Pedakurapadu faction zone — are struggling to make inroads.
Well, both of them hail from average middle class families but their opponents are sparing no efforts to defeat them on the grounds that they are novices and incapable of facing the rough and tumble of elections.
Mallika Begum, who has been the first citizen of Vijayawada city for almost two years, won her division election with just 200 votes and became a mayor due to internal squabbles in Congress (read MP Lagadapati Rajagopal used her as a pawn).
Sources said Jaleel Khan, a minority community strongman, too had won the 1994 election with a thin majority of 3,108 votes from 26 divisions. “This means that he had secured a majority of only 119 votes per division, which is almost 45 per cent less than what Mallika got,” said a supporter of the latter.
Noorjahan’s predicament is no different as she is facing stiff resistance from the dominant Reddys in Pedakurapadu which has Muslim, Reddy, Kamma and Kapu population in equal numbers.
“Yet, Kapus and Muslims play second fiddle to Kamma and Reddy local landlords and this is where Noorjahan’s chances will take a nosedive,” an analyst said.
Ironically, Shaik Fathimunnisa Begum was the only Muslim woman who was sent to the assembly in 1972 from this constituency when Muslims were not sending their girls even to primary schools. Fathimunnisa had defeated local strongman Ganapa Ramaswamy Reddy (who by then had won three consecutive elections) with a huge majority.
When Fathimunnisa was replaced by Syed Mahboob in the 1978 election, he was defeated by Ramaswamy Reddy. “It is ridiculous to question the abilities of Muslim women. Both Mallika Begum and Noorjahan have proven themselves in electoral politics,” said a Congress party minority leader, supporting both their candidature.
Sources said Kanna Lakshminarayana, a Kapu, changed the social equations and ended the domination of two major players by winning four elections in a row. “It is to be seen whether Noorjahan, a graduate, can continue Kanna’s tradition and come out a victor,” he said. Kanna has shifted to Guntur West assembly segment this time.
2 Muslim women set to test poll waters
Muslim women have been the subject of extensive debate in India, chiefly around the conflicting claims of personal law, identity and gender, but no party has bothered much about their representation in mainstream politics.
After a long gap, some Muslim women have been given the chance to contest the Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state. While some like Fathima Begum (Hyderabad LS nominee) were named by Prajarajyam Party, two women — former mayor Mallika Begum, contesting from minority-dominant constituency of Vijayawada (West) and Pathan Noorjahan Khan, fielded from Pedakurapadu faction zone — are struggling to make inroads.
Well, both of them hail from average middle class families but their opponents are sparing no efforts to defeat them on the grounds that they are novices and incapable of facing the rough and tumble of elections.
Mallika Begum, who has been the first citizen of Vijayawada city for almost two years, won her division election with just 200 votes and became a mayor due to internal squabbles in Congress (read MP Lagadapati Rajagopal used her as a pawn).
Sources said Jaleel Khan, a minority community strongman, too had won the 1994 election with a thin majority of 3,108 votes from 26 divisions. “This means that he had secured a majority of only 119 votes per division, which is almost 45 per cent less than what Mallika got,” said a supporter of the latter.
Noorjahan’s predicament is no different as she is facing stiff resistance from the dominant Reddys in Pedakurapadu which has Muslim, Reddy, Kamma and Kapu population in equal numbers.
“Yet, Kapus and Muslims play second fiddle to Kamma and Reddy local landlords and this is where Noorjahan’s chances will take a nosedive,” an analyst said.
Ironically, Shaik Fathimunnisa Begum was the only Muslim woman who was sent to the assembly in 1972 from this constituency when Muslims were not sending their girls even to primary schools. Fathimunnisa had defeated local strongman Ganapa Ramaswamy Reddy (who by then had won three consecutive elections) with a huge majority.
When Fathimunnisa was replaced by Syed Mahboob in the 1978 election, he was defeated by Ramaswamy Reddy. “It is ridiculous to question the abilities of Muslim women. Both Mallika Begum and Noorjahan have proven themselves in electoral politics,” said a Congress party minority leader, supporting both their candidature.
Sources said Kanna Lakshminarayana, a Kapu, changed the social equations and ended the domination of two major players by winning four elections in a row. “It is to be seen whether Noorjahan, a graduate, can continue Kanna’s tradition and come out a victor,” he said. Kanna has shifted to Guntur West assembly segment this time.
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