Interview Preparation Kit IIM Udaipur

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BY
Silvertongues - the Toastmasters Club of IIM Udaipur
Tips to ace the PI

An interview is not much different than a speech, except that you get to sit down, speak
to just a few people, and you are not the only one talking. Generally, experts of some
variety are asked to give speeches in large gatherings. For instance, an astrophysicist
won't speak on the perfect biryani since that is not his/her area of expertise. In your
interview, you are the expert about yourself because you know yourself best.
● "Tell me about yourself" is your window to drive the interview in your desired
direction. Talk about unique aspects of your personality, work habits, backgrounds,
and interests.
● Craft your 'introduction' into three parts and walk the interviewer through these
three aspects of yourself that make you the right choice.
● Don't come off as too emphatic about why you are 'the right fit.' Talk crisply and
transparently so that it is easy to understand.
● Engaging speakers use pauses to their benefit. They let their words seep into the
listeners' minds and use this time to frame their next thought. Never rush into
answering a question. Instead, pause for a moment while you consider and collect
your thoughts.
● Know when to complete your answers. Speaking less eludes authenticity and is
always easier. If the interviewer wants more, they can enquire.
● Questions asked are often related to your background. Freshers are asked about
their courses' subjects and final year projects. For candidates with work experience,
questions are often based on their projects, technology, the domain of expertise, or
industry. Thorough knowledge in these aspects is necessary to perform well.
● Body language is the key to acing your interview. Practice your handshake to look
confident when shaking hands with the panellists. Sit up straight without crossing your
arms or legs. Answer in a clear voice, without adding filler words such as "umm," "er."
Nod politely and smile while listening to the panellists and thank them at the end of
the interview.
● "Do you have any questions for us" is an opportunity to show your interest in and
ask domain-specific questions. If you feel you still need to add something to the
interview, this is your window to do it.
Be calm, relaxed, and confident!

BY
DHRUVA - the HR Club of IIM Udaipur
General Awareness Topics

1. Challenges and Solution of Work from Home (WFM) Trend
Despite all the perks remote workers enjoy, there are several challenges that arise
from working out of the office. According to Buffer’s 2019 State of Remote Work report,
the most common problem remote workers have is unplugging after work – an issue
22% of respondents said they experience. Loneliness is the second most common
problem (19%) while collaboration (17%), distractions at home (10%), time zones
(8%), and staying motivated (8%) are all issues that affect remote workers and the
companies they work for.
https://zapier.com/blog/remote-work-challenges/
2. Workplace trends Post COVID
A recent Gartner poll showed that 48% of employees are likely to work remotely at
least part of the time after COVID-19 versus 30% before the pandemic. As
organizations shift to more remote work operations, challenges would surface to shift
performance goal-setting and employee evaluations for a remote context. The focus
for management becomes improving productivity—supporting teammates with the
resources they need and scoping projects in a clear workflow.
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/organization/our-insights/reimagining-
the-office-and-work-life-after-covid-19#
3. Hope & Resilience (HR) in the post COVID-19 world
Describing 2020 as an unusual year would be an understatement. We lived through
a little over three-quarters of fear, uncertainty, and confusion. The impact of Covid-19
has been universal though sadly some countries suffered a little more than others and
some sections of our society paid a higher price than the rest.
With safety concerns overriding all others, human resource (HR) as a function came
under the spotlight with little time or room to accommodate any failure. The
unprecedented situation narrowed our focus to three challenges:
a) How do we keep people safe?
b) How quickly can we adapt to the new ways of working?
c) How can we sustain the gains we have managed since the lockdown?
https://www.peoplematters.in/article/life-at-work/hope-resilience-hr-in-the-post-covid-
world-28020
4. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence - Widespread Job Losses

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a thing of science fiction, it exists in the world all
around us, automating simple tasks and dramatically improving our lives. But as AI
and automation become increasingly capable, how will this alternative labour source
affect your future workforce? In this article, we will look at both some optimistic and
pessimistic views of the future of our jobs amidst increasing AI capabilities.
Technology-driven societal changes, like what we are experiencing with AI and
automation, always engender concern and fear—and for good reason. A two-year
study from McKinsey Global Institute suggests that by 2030, intelligent agents and
robots could replace as much as 30 percent of the world’s current human labour.
McKinsey suggests that, in terms of scale, the automation revolution could rival the
move away from agricultural labour during the 1900s in the United States and Europe,
and more recently, the explosion of the Chinese labour economy.
https://www.iotforall.com/impact-of-artificial-intelligence-job-losses
5. Women’s Empowerment – Hiring on merit beyond numbers
In a world of mandates that have succeeded in increasing numbers, but not
necessarily in changing mindsets, it is time to take a step back and revisit diversity
strategies within organizations. The global scenario has shown some promising
developments, showing improved female representation amongst C-Suite employees.
However, globally and in India, diversity across hierarchies and across blue-collar &
white-collar jobs, is yet to be seen. There is a lot to be addressed beyond the numbers,
and a lot of unlearning and relearning to be done.
India is currently in the bottom ten countries when it comes to women’s participation
in the labour force. Is it enough, then to simply recruit a certain mandated number of
women, with no changes in hiring policies and no deeper understanding of merit-based
recognition and promotion?
https://www.peoplematters.in/blog/employee-relations/womens-empowerment-hiring-
on-merit-beyond-numbers-27400
6. Ethics and morals cannot be taught in classrooms
Ethics and morals of a person are defined by the actions and values with which one
lives in the society. Most of the time the morals are built based on the lessons learned
from society. Morals are the guidelines that one follows in professional as well as
personal life whereas ethics take care of the needs of the group within the society to
which one belongs.
https://anurodh2008.wordpress.com/2014/02/10/ethics-and-morals- cannot-be-
taught-in-class-rooms-only/
7. Relevance of gender sensitivity and #MeToo movement

The #MeToo movement began in the United States more than a year ago in response
to accusations of sexual abuse and harassment by powerful men in the entertainment
industry and other sectors. It soon became a global movement as women shared their
stories of harassment or gender-based discrimination.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/world/metoo-takes-fight-for-gender-
equality-to-new-heights-un-women-11012250
8. Challenges faced by educated and working women
“Nature has given women too much power, the law gives them too little.” In the
contemporary world, women no longer lag behind in terms of career. They are keeping
themselves shoulder to shoulder with the opposite sex. However, even today they are
expected to do multitasking. They have to take care of family and household even if
they are working. Working women refers to those in paid employment.
https://blogs.siliconindia.com/munmungarg/Problems-faced-by-Working-Women-bid-
6o9R741r50475322.html
9. Time for paternity leave policies?
Though Indian companies are increasingly waking up to the need to introduce
paternity leave policies, the question is are they doing enough? Paternity leave is a
benefit given to a male employee on becoming a parent. A standard benefit across
most companies, this policy was introduced in India a decade ago by technology
companies who wanted to attract talent and be known for their HR practices. This
benefit is now also prevalent in government and public sector companies, which offer
up to a maximum of 15 days of leave.
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/relationships/work/Time-for-paternity-
leave-policies/articleshow/47954505.cms
Some Other Topics
10. Online education, work from home: Have we arrived in the virtual world
11. National Recruitment Agency – Pros & Challenges
12. Lessons for the World from COVID Pandemic
13. Nurturing Innovation in the workplaces
14. Impact of technology/digitization on our lives
15. The strategic role of HR Manager
16. Can e-government limit the scope of the informal economy?
17. How to train remote employees to work more effectively?
18. Training and development in 2020
19. Browsing at the workplace affects productivity
20. Gig Economy: Statistics, why is it growing, Pros & Cons, Impact of COVID-19
21. Has employee work-life balance reached a crisis point?
22. Is gender pay disparity within global organizations justified?
23. A positive attitude can make a huge difference in your productivity. It can also
improve workplace morale. Yes or no?
24. Peer pressure: does it make or mar your future?
25. Issues about article 370 (History and Provisions)
26. Cashless Economy- Boon or Bane?
27. Amazon forest fire- who is to be blamed?
28. Privatization of Government Sectors
29. E-commerce: Unrealistic discounts are dangerous
30. Pros and Cons of Agriculture Bill 2020
31. Is social distancing the new world order?
PI Questions
1. Tell me something about yourself in brief.
2. Tell me about your background.
3. What are your strengths and weaknesses?
4. How did Covid-19 impact your life?
5. How did you utilize your time during the lockdown?
6. Advantages & Disadvantages of lockdown due to COVID-19.
7. There is a trend of people going for 2 MBAs. What are your views about it?
8. You have changed jobs/jumped ship too many times already, why so?
9. What is your greatest fear?
10. If I call up your current or previous reporting manager now, what will be their
opinion about you?
11. What was your worst argument? How did you resolve it?
12. Did you ever have a conflict with your current/previous boss or professor?
13. What did you do in the last year to improve your knowledge?
14. Explain the difference between group and team. Are you a team player?
15. Have you ever had to fire anyone? How did you feel about that?
16. What is the most difficult thing that you have ever accomplished?
17. What is the difference between hard work and smart work?
18. Where do you see yourself 3 years from now? Where do you see yourself in 5
years?
19. On a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself as a leader?
20. What makes you angry?
21. Are you open to take risks? Do you like experimenting?
22. What are your future goals? Tell me about your short-term and long-term
goals.
23. What motivates you?
24. What are your hobbies? What are you passionate about?
25. What are your biggest achievements till date?
26. What are you most proud of?
27. What has been your greatest failure?
28. What do you always regret? Do you have any regrets?
29. How do you respond to change?

30. Are you an organized person?
31. Can you describe your time management skills?
32. Are you reliable? Can you be trusted with responsibilities?
33. What are the three things that are most important for you in life?
34. What was the toughest decision you ever had to make?
35. If you won a Rs.10-crore lottery, what would you do with the money?
36. Give me an example of your creativity.
37. What makes you happy?
38. How do you work under pressure? Can you handle the pressure?
39. What do you know about us?
40. Why do you want to join us? Who will you pick between us and college X?
41. Why should we select you over your equally talented peers?
42. Do you have a good work ethic?
43. How do you deal with feedback and criticism?
44. Give an example of a time you had to respond to an unhappy manager/
customer/ colleague/ professor/ friend.
45. How quickly do you adapt to new technology?
Your interview comes to an end when the interviewer asks you, “Do you have any
questions for me?”
BY
The Public Policy Group of IIM Udaipur
Some Topics to Remember

1. Farm Bill
Why in the news?

Recently, three agricultural bills were passed by the Parliament of India on 27
September 2020. Protests against these acts picked up in September 2020,
particularly in Punjab and Haryana, where the Indian farmers have been at the
forefront.
Background
On 27 September 2020, three agricultural bills were passed by the Parliament of India.
The bills collectively seek to provide farmers with multiple marketing channels and
provide a legal framework for the farmers to enter into pre-arranged contracts, among
other things. The three laws are the Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce
(Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection)
Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential
Commodities (Amendment) Act, which came into effect following the approval of
President Ram Nath Kovind.
Reforms
View: If these bills are enforced, disguised employment will be addressed, innovation
and technology would kick in, and new avenues will open up in the food processing
industry.
Counterview: The government is trying to avert the main problem by passing the
baton to Corporates. The main issues include wastage of grains in storages at FCI,
Indian farmers not having resources such as cold storages, etc., to which their western
counterparts have easy access.
Help Marginal Farmers

View: This Bill will help marginal farmers in states like eastern UP, Jharkhand, Bihar,
and many other states as there will be a more significant number of buyers, and the
crops produced here are not affected by MSP.
Counterview: Marginal farmers do not have equivalent resources as large corporations

and have a lower hand against them. This may result in them getting undermined by
the corporates.
2. MSP
View: The main issue of the Bill raised by farmers is that MSP is not guaranteed, which
means that their crops may not have any lower limit, and there is a scope of
exploitation by these corporates. These fears gain strength with the experience of
States such as Bihar as an example, which abolished APMCs in 2006. After abolishing
mandis, farmers in Bihar received lower prices than the MSP for most of their crops.
Counterview: MSP was never made mandatory in the constitution. If the government
wanted to abolish MSP, they could have done it way before. The Bill will increase the
production of farm produce according to the demand and hence bring efficiency.
Corporate centric
View: Bill seems more inclined towards corporate entities. Big companies have the
upper hand, and farmers are not on a level playing field. These big corporates can
quickly negotiate with farmers for very minimal prices hence pushing them into an
abyss.
Counterview: Corporate inclusion will ensure more buyers and hence create more
opportunities for the farmers. Already working systems such as those in the dairy
businesses are pretty successful, further strengthening this fact.
Challenges
View: Bill seems more inclined towards corporate entities. All stakeholders involved
have not been taken into account. All the aspects have not been thought through; not
having strong opposition at any of the houses can also be one reason. There has been
no attempt to clarify things to farmers. It has been more like a sudden bomb drop. The
timing to roll out the Bill has not been very good. There is no protective provision for
farmers.
3. OTT Platforms under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
The Decision
On 12 November 2020, the government issued a notification declaring that all OTT
platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, and others will be brought under
the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting purview.
Background
So far in India, no laws or rules regulate the subscription rates and certification of OTT
platforms’ content. Following pressure to regulate the content streamed on these
platforms, the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) proposed a self-
regulatory model.
Indian OTT Platforms Industry
The Indian OTT platform industry's market size was almost 500 crores at the end of
March 2019 and is expected to become a 4000-crore revenue market by the end of
2025. By 2019, India had as many as 17 crore OTT platform users.
Attempts of Self-Regulation
With increasing cases of people filing complaints against some content, like the
indecent portrayal of army personnel (ALT Balaji), the Online Curated content
providers had proposed a Digital Curated Content Complaints Council, which was
rejected by the I&B Ministry.
View
● Much like YouTube, OTT Platforms stream content through the internet. Hence,
there should be no regulation from the government.
● It is up to the discretion of the viewer to decide on the content they consume.
● The regulation may hamper artistic creativity.
● The government may try to censor certain content which it deems politically
incorrect to them.
Counterview
As Article 19 of the constitution also imposes certain restrictions on Freedom of

Speech, some streamed content regulation is necessary as total independence can
prove counterproductive.
The race to gain TRPs by the content creators may scuttle any future self-regulation
of the industry, as the violators will be the regulators themselves.
4. National Education Policy

The Union Cabinet has recently approved the new National Education Policy (NEP),
2020, intending to introduce several changes in the Indian education system - from
the school to the college level.
● The NEP 2020 aims at making "India a global knowledge superpower".

● The Cabinet has also approved the Ministry of Human Resource
Development’s renaming to the Ministry of Education.
● The NEP cleared by the Cabinet is only the third major revamp of the framework
of education in India since independence.
Key Points:
School Education:
● Universalization of education from preschool to secondary level with a 100%

Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school education by 2030.
● To bring the 2 crores out-of-school children back into the mainstream through
an open schooling system.
● The current 10+2 system needs to be replaced by a new 5+3+3+4 curricular
structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years,
respectively.
● Class 10 and 12 board examinations to be made easier to test core
competencies rather than memorized facts, with all students allowed to take the
exam twice.
● Teaching up to at least Grade 5 to be in mother tongue/regional language. No
language will be imposed on any student.
Higher Education:
● Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50% by 2035. Also,

3.5 crore seats to be added in higher education.
● Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with
IITs, IIMs, to be set up as models of best multidisciplinary education of global
standards in the country.
● The National Research Foundation will be created as an apex body to foster a
robust research culture and build research capacity across higher education.
● Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) will be set up as a single
umbrella body for the entire higher education, excluding medical and legal
education. The same set of norms will govern public and private higher
education institutions.
5. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)

Why in the news?
The second meeting of the Quadrilateral Strategic Dialogue of Foreign Ministers was
held in Tokyo.
● Attendees: Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Australia's FM Marise

Payne, India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and the US Secretary of
State Mike Pompeo attended the meeting.
● In the meeting, Pompeo said that his mission was to direct the Quad towards
building a coalition to counter Beijing's aggression in the region. This pointed
out to the LAC standoff and Chinese aggression in the South and East China
Seas.
● His proposal did not only seem to be just a coalition of democracies committed
to a free and open Indo-Pacific. But it also seems like the US is keen on turning
the Quad into a full-fledged military alliance of countries facing tensions with
China.
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD, also known as the

Meaning
Quad) is an informal strategic forum between 4 countries
1) The United States

2) Japan
Countries involved
3) Australia
4) India
Initiated as a
2007
dialogue in
Semi-regular summits,
Maintenance information exchanges and
military drills between member countries.
To ensure and support a "free, open and prosperous" Indo-

Objective
Pacific region."
Benefits of Quad:
There is a formation of a matrix of strong trilateral and

1)Matrix of relationship
bilateral relationships.
1) US–India–Japan trilateral dialogue is now held at the

ministerial level
2)Strong engagements
2) Japan–India–Australia trilateral dialogue was recently
initiated.
India has also acquired several major defence platforms

3)Major defence platforms from the US, and preliminary efforts at joint defence
production are underway.
The forthcoming Ministerial meeting signals to China that

4)China's assertive
assertive or aggressive behavior will not derail this
behaviour
mechanism.
6. Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020
UNEP (United Nations Environment Program) defines EIA as a tool to identify the
environmental, social, and economic impact of a project before decision making.
The objective is to predict the environmental impact at an early stage in project

planning and design and find ways to reduce the adverse effects.
EIA notification 2006:
To understand the changes in the current draft EIA notification, we need to understand
EIA 2006 rules first:
EIA notification 2006 decentralized the EIA by dividing the projects into
● Category A: EC from central government

● Category B: EC from the state government
1. B1- Mandatory EIA
2. B2- EIA Not Mandatory
● Public consultation after EIA report submission
● Reduced EIA conducting time (from 20-28 months to 10-14 months)
● Compliance report to be submitted by parties every six months
EIA notification 2020:
● Post facto approval: EC will be granted even after construction has started. The
government does not want to hinder economic development.
● Changes to the public consultation process: The time period for the public to
respond is reduced from 30 days to 20 days.
● Changes to submission of compliance report: compliance report to be
submitted only once a year and not every six months.
● Bypassing EIA is possible now:
1. No EIA is needed if the government deems the project strategic.
2. Projects up to 150,000 sq. meters do not need scrutiny. (previously 20000
sq. meters.)
7. The Bill amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

About
● The FCRA regulates foreign donations and ensures that such contributions do
not adversely affect internal security.
● First enacted in 1976, it was amended in 2010 when a slew of new measures
was adopted to regulate foreign donations.
● The FCRA applies to all associations, groups, and NGOs which intend to
receive foreign donations.
● It is mandatory for all such NGOs to register themselves under the FCRA. The
registration is initially valid for five years, and it can be renewed subsequently.
Amendments
● Under the Act, certain persons like election candidates, editor or publisher of a
newspaper, judges, government servants, etc., are prohibited from accepting
any foreign contribution.
● The Bill adds public servants to this list.
● Public servant includes any person who is in service or pay of the government
or remunerated by the government for the performance of any public duty.
● Aadhaar For Registration
● Any person seeking prior permission, registration, or renewal of registration
must provide the Aadhaar number of all its office bearers.
● In the case of a foreigner, they must provide a copy of the passport or the
Overseas Citizen of India card for identification.
FCRA Account
● The foreign contribution must be received only in an account designated by the

bank as an "FCRA account" in such branch of the State Bank of India, New
Delhi, as notified by the central government.
● No funds other than the foreign contribution should be received or deposited in
this account.
● The person may open another FCRA account in any scheduled bank of their
choice for keeping or utilizing the received contribution.
Administrative Expenses
● The Bill reduces the utilization of funds for administrative expenses from 50%
to 20%
Conclusion
● On the one hand, the Bill is meant to "bring in transparency" and "stop misuse
of foreign contributions by people."
● On the other hand, the proposed amendments will increase the cost of doing
business for India's non-profits and may make them further vulnerable to
harassment.
8. One nation One Election

Why in the news?
Recently, Our Prime Minister Narender Modi addressed the concluding session of
the 80th All India Presiding Officers Conference via videoconference, and he said-
"One Nation, One Election isn't just an issue of deliberation but also a need of the
country."
Background
India held synchronous elections for the assembly and the Lok Sabha from 1951-52
to 1967. However, due to the dissolution of some Legislative Assemblies in 1968 and
1969, a problem was posed to the system of simultaneous elections. The Lok Sabha
dissolved in December 1970. Thus, ever since then, the elections to the State
Assemblies and the Parliament have been held separately.
Other countries practicing the system of simultaneous elections are Sweden,
Indonesia, South Africa, Germany, Spain, Hungary, Belgium, Poland, Slovenia,
Albania, etc.
Arguments
1. Saves cost involved
View: If India chooses this system, it will help save a huge amount of money. This
means that if all the states & UTs go for a 1-time election, the total cost would be
around ₹11 billion. However, presently around five states go for polls every year, and
the cost of conducting elections in different periods becomes very high.
Counterview: As India is a large democracy, conducting simultaneous elections would
require huge machinery & resources, leading to high cost.
For Example: In the Indonesia election: More than 270 election staff die counting votes
due to high stress and long working hours.
2. Saves time
View: The system will also save a lot of time along with money. The Election
Commission of India requires the assistance of a significant number of polling officials
and armed forces to ensure smooth, peaceful, and impartial polls. Campaigning and
unnecessary expenditure on luring voters by providing free things will be significantly
reduced. People in power will get time to focus on the promises they made. Diversion
of lots of people from actual work during elections will be reduced to only one time
through the system. Thus, there will be more time to focus on developmental activities.
By such a system, the business supply chains will not be affected time and again.
Counterview: Having elections at a different time increases employment
opportunities. If elections are conducted in one-time mode, the election results will be
delayed by a significant amount of time and may result in other adversities.
3. Adverse impact on federalism

View: Under Article 172, it is said that like parliament, the state legislatures "shall
continue for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting." There is no
expected date for the first meeting of the state legislatures, and therefore, any effort
to modify this would be anti-constitutional. Such modifications should not impact
federalism as depicted in the Kesavananda Bharati vs. the State of Kerala case.
Counterview: Federalism is not impacted as Rajya Sabha has the representative of
states and one-nation, one-Election nowhere affects the right to equality and hence
is not unconstitutional. There is a proper system of legislature, administration, and
judiciary to protect the rights of people.
4. Adverse Impact on Spirit of Democracy

View: Most Illiterate people in the country can be persuaded. National party dominance
can lead to an influence on state elections. People in power can schedule an election
in a way they want. 77% of the voters will vote for the same party in state and national
as there will be good coordination if there are the same parties. Regional parties will
be wiped off. People will not be able to use their rights of anti-defection law and
dissolution of government will lead to hung parliament wherein presidential rule will be
imposed wherein people will not be free to do anything. The voices of people will be
heard only after five years, and people will feel ignored.
Counterview: In 2019, At the time of the General Election: Simultaneous polling was
held in Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, the results were different at the state and central level.
Similar was the case with Delhi. People are well aware of choosing the best leader to
represent them at national and state levels. It is an authoritarian dispensation that has
caused fear in people. If the current party in power could influence results, then the
same party would have remained in power every time elections were held.
9. US elections and its outcome: Impact on India and the World
Foreign Policy
The US foreign policy with regards to India will depend on US-China relations. The US
will try to stop India from going into Russia's sphere of influence. Kamala Harris' Indian
descent can be beneficial in the Indo-US context.
US' Interference in India's Internal Matters

The US might exert more pressure on India regarding Article 370, CAA, and NRC.
Kamala Harris has been a vocal critic of India's Kashmir Policy. Considering the tough
stance of the current Modi dispensation, India will not allow any interference in its
sovereign matters.
Defence Ties
Being one of the largest importers of arms globally, India is a lucrative market for US
defence manufacturers. The US will continue to support India in the defence sector to
make it a counterweight to China.
Economy
Tariff issues between India and the US, such as on the Harley Davidson bikes, can be
resolved. A new Taxation System in the US, promoting higher taxes for the rich, can
impact US FDIs in India and Indian MNCs.
Immigration
With the Biden Administration being more liberal in its immigration policies, Indian
professionals can hope for H1B visa rules to be relaxed. This can benefit Indian
professionals in the post-COVID scenario.
Environment
With the US President-elect Joe Biden pushing for renewable energy sources, India
is sure to benefit from future US policies on the environment. India expects to resolve
outstanding issues like the WTO standoff on solar panel modules.
US Elections 2020 At A Glance
● Democratic candidate Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected the 46 th

President of the United States on 7 November.
● He won by securing 51.3% votes (more than 270 out of 538 are required).
● Mr. Biden's running mate, Kamala Devi Harris, will become the first woman and
first Indian- and African-American Vice- President of the country.
● Mr. Biden's Victory came after his third attempt at the Presidential elections.
(1987 & 2008 were the other two attempts).
● Mr. Biden has spent eight years as the vice president to Barack Obama.
● Mr. Biden is the oldest candidate to be elected as President of The United
States (77 Years)
● The 2020 US election cycle, including presidential and congressional races,
came with a massive price tag of $14 billion, making it the most expensive polls
in history.
● Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris are scheduled to be inaugurated on 20 January 2021.
● Mr. Trump became the first US president since 1992 and the eleventh
incumbent in the country's history to fail to win a second term.
● Mr. Biden won the largest share of the popular vote against an incumbent since
1932.
● Mr. Biden became the second former vice president since 1948, after
Republican Richard Nixon in 1968, to be elected President and the first
Democrat to do so.
Defence Wrap-Up
General Bipin Rawat took over as the first Chief of

Defence Staff of India on 1st January, 2020.
He will function as the Secretary in the newly
created Department of Military Affairs in the
Ministry of Defence.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

presented the Union Budget with the allocataion for
Defence pegged at $65.86 billion for FY 20-21
The 11th edition of DefExpo was held in Lucknow

with a theme of 'India: The Emerging Defence
Manufacturing Hub' from 5-8 February, 2020
India eyes $5 billion worth of defence exports by
2025: PM Modi at the 11th DefExpo
To boost indigenous defence production, Defence

Minister Rajnath Singh annouced restrictions on
import of 101 weapons and military platforms,
including artillery guns, air defence systems and
assault rifles
Skirmishes erupted between India and China on 15th

June, 2020 at the Galwan Valley on the Line of
Actual Control (LAC); 20 Indian soldiers martyred
with an unspecified number of casualties on the
Chinese side.
Boeing handed over the last batch of 5 AH 64-E

Apache attack helicopters to the Indian Air Force.
This completed Boeing's contractual obligation
worth $3 billion to supply 22 Apache and 15 CH-47F
(I) Chinook helicopters to the IAF.
The first batch of 5 Dassault Rafale multirole fighter

jets landed at the Ambala Air Force Station on 29th
July, 2020, nearly four years after India signed an
inter-governmental agreement with France worth ₹
59,000 crore in 2015.
PM Modi inaugurated the strategic 9.02 km long

Atal Tunnel below the Rohtang Pass in Himachal
Pradesh built at a cost of ₹3200 crore. The tunnel
will provide all-weather connectivity to the Lahaul-
Spiti valley and and an alternate access route to
Ladakh.
Preparation Tips
1. Think of the right questions to ask the interviewer; it could be related to research
facilities or anything related to college.
2. You need to have good knowledge about the state you belong to; you need to
be aware of recent happenings and famous things about your place of
residence.
Interview questions:
1. Who is the CM of your state?

2. Positive and negatives of Budget
3. Presidential vs. Parliamentary Elections
4. Woman leader who has inspired you
5. Data for the inflation rate, repo rate, and GDP at present, in the country
6. Questions on Important personalities like the Finance Minister of the country,
Telecom minister of India, Chief Economic Advisor.
7. Which is the oldest court in India? What is the Foundation Year for the same?
8. Name some rivers around your place, along with their origin point and the point
where they meet the ocean/sea.
9. Which are the Scandinavian countries?
10. Name the countries in Southern Africa.
11. CEOs of major organizations (Google, Alibaba, Microsoft, GE, etc.)
Topics for Extempore
1. US-China Trade war

2. Make in India
3. Tourism: The boon for India
4. Role of sports in the overall development
5. Que Sera Sera
6. Effect of COVID in India and the world
7. Climate change
8. Sustainable Development Goals
9. Corporate Social Responsibility
10. Death Penalty
11. Role of Artificial Intelligence
12. Gig Economy
13. Lessons learned from COVID-19.
International News and Events to read up on
Following are some of the key news items from around the world you might like to
read. These will be helpful for general knowledge-based interview questions. You may
also cite these as supporting examples for subjective questions to steer the discussion
towards topics you are familiar with and comfortable with.
1. Political turmoil in Venezuela

2. Benjamin Netanyahu, PM of Israel, indicted of corruption charges
3. US signs deal with Taliban in Afghanistan in a bid to ensure peace in the region.
4. Syrian airstrike on Turkey killing more than 30 soldiers; heightened tension
5. News agency - Reuters suspended in Iraq after raising concerns on the
government's COVID-19 statistics - later suspension revoked.
6. Parliamentary elections held in South Korea amidst peak Covid-19 cases
7. Hong Kong protests against the extradition bill resume amidst pandemic.
8. Black Lives Matter protests
9. Lebanon fuel tank blast
10. Armenia-Azerbaijan land conflict
11. US Presidential Elections
12. COVID-19 spread and statistics
13. Pfizer, Moderna come up with vaccines against COVID-19, which claim more
than 90% accuracy.
Opinion Formulation on the following International developments
These are some of the topics you may find under the 'Extempore' heading. These may
also be given to you as extempore topics in the interview to gauge your depth of
thinking along with your knowledge. It is highly recommended to have an inside out
view on the following topics along with relevant data and facts. It is also advised that
for optimum results, try formulating your own opinion on the topics instead of thrusting
the views presented in an editorial upon yourself.
1. WHO's efforts to deal with Covid-19

2. The ban on "Chinese" apps and Indian's subsequent boycott of Chinese
products (a corollary of India-China border tensions)
3. US government's antitrust case against Google - possible branch off into topics
like net neutrality and data privacy.
4. Handling of the COVID-19 pandemic - New Zealand vs Brazil - Comparison
between two ends of the gamut
BY
Technalytics - the Analytics and IT Club of IIM Udaipur
Topics – Analytics
1. How has technology helped in pandemic management?

Start with the current example of the COVID-19 pandemic. Identify the problems that
are faced in a pandemic. Give some information regarding technologies like AI,
Machine learning, Big Data, etc., and how these technologies were used to manage
the pandemic. Also, try to come up with innovative ideas on the applications of these
technologies.
https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/next-gen-technologies/covid-19-8-
ways- in-which-technology-helps-pandemic-management/75139759
2. COVID-19 has pushed businesses towards digital/technological

transformation and changed the industry forever.
Start with the pre-COVID scenario of technology/IT infrastructure used by different
businesses. Share information on how COVID disrupted their businesses. How did the
companies respond to the pandemic in terms of technology/IT infrastructure
transformations? How will these transformations affect their business in the short and
long term?
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-
insights/how-covid-19-has-pushed-companies-over-the-technology-tipping-point-
and- transformed-business-forever
3. Is 100% Work from Home (WFH) possible for the Indian tech industry
currently?
Start with how COVID has pushed the Indian IT industry towards Work From Home.
What is the opinion of the business leaders of IT companies regarding WFH? What
are the financial, social, and legal impact of WFH on these companies? Explain issues
with WFH like - data security and implementing critical tasks, underdeveloped physical
infrastructure at home, complex team coordination issues, etc. Also, explain the
benefits of WFH like - less real-estate infrastructure expense, time saved by
employees, more flexibility to employees, etc.
https://analyticsindiamag.com/why-100-work-from-home-wfh-is-not-possible-for-tech-
sector-in-india-at-the-moment/
4. Digital transformation in 2021 will be imperative for businesses

Start with what digital transformation means. Discuss some disruptive technologies
that can affect the current business environment. Explain whether businesses must
transform or not and why. Explain how businesses can adapt to the changes. Give
examples of failures and successes of various industries from the current world.
https://cio.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/strategy-and-management/digital-
transformation-in-2021-will-be-imperative-for-businesses-ntt/79163177
5. Artificial Intelligence during a pandemic: The COVID‐19 example
Start with a brief description of Artificial Intelligence. Explain the situation in a

pandemic. Discuss whether AI can be used to make the situation better or not and
give reasons for the same. What are the consequences of adapting to AI technology
in a pandemic in various sectors (health care, service sector, etc.)? What are the pros
and cons of adopting AI?
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/hpm.2987
6. Big data and Information privacy - A future challenge

Explain what Big data is. Explain what an information policy is and why it is required.
Discuss the examples of data leaks that have happened before. Suggest ways to avoid
such incidents or describe how numerous countries are trying to keep the information
about their citizens private.
https://www.groupdiscussionideas.com/big-data-and-information-privacy-a-future-
camahallenge/
7. Social networking in our lives

What is social networking? What was the situation before, and how has it changed
during the pandemic? What are the advantages and disadvantages of social
networking?
https://www.groupdiscussionideas.com/social-networking-in-our-lives/
PI Questions
1. What is data analytics, and what are the different types?

Analytics is the process of finding a pattern and obtain insights from data. It is used to
make decisions based on the insights obtained.
Types of analytics:
• Predictive Data Analytics

• Prescriptive Data Analytics
• Descriptive Data Analytics
• Diagnostic Data Analytics
Sources:
https://blogs.oracle.com/datascience/4-types-of-data-analytics
https://datafloq.com/read/the-four-types-of-data-analytics/3903
2. What is the Internet of Things (IoT), and what are its applications?
IoT is a network of various devices, software, and sensors connected to each other
that can transfer data via the internet without any human interaction.
Applications:
• Smart Home
• Smart City
• Wearables
• Agriculture
• Healthcare
Sources:
https://www.edureka.co/blog/iot-applications/
3. How does Blockchain work, and what are its applications?

Blockchain is the digital, distributed, and decentralized ledger responsible for logging
all transactions without the need for an intermediary.
Applications:
• Payment processing, money transferring

• Monitor supply chains
• Data Sharing
Sources:
https://www.fool.com/investing/2018/04/11/20-real-world-uses-for-blockchain-
technology.aspx
https://hackernoon.com/blockchain-technology-explained-introduction-meaning-and-
applications-edbd6759a2b2
4. What is big data?

Big Data refers to a vast volume of data that can be structured, semi-structured, and
unstructured. It comprises of the following 5 Vs:
• Volume: Size or amount of data

• Variety: Different types of data, such as social media, web server logs, etc.
• Velocity; How fast data is growing (exponentially)
• Veracity: Uncertainty of data, e.g., the trustworthiness of social media data
• Value: What the data being stored and processed is worth, and what are the
benefits of consumption of such data to arrive at insights?
Sources:
https://www.educba.com/big-data-vs-data-mining/
5. What is data mining?

Data Mining is the process of discovering patterns from the vast amount of data, used
majorly in Machine Learning and statistics. It extracts information from data that is
used for analysis.
The components of data mining cover 5 levels, namely:
• Extract, transform and load data into a warehouse

• Store and manage the data
• Provide data access (communication)
• Analyse (process)
• User interface (Present data to user)
Source:
https://www.educba.com/big-data-vs-data-mining/
6. What is cloud computing, and what are its applications?

Cloud Computing is the process of delivering computing services such as servers,
storage, databases, software, etc., over the internet for faster processing and more
efficient infrastructure.
Applications:
Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
• Storage
• Data Backup
• Hybrid Cloud Approach
• Testing and Development
• Big Data Analysis
Source:
https://azure.microsoft.com/en-in/overview/what-is-cloud-computing/
https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/C/cloud_computing.html
https://www.ibm.com/cloud/blog/top-7-most-common-uses-of-cloud- computing
7. Difference between Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence?

Artificial Intelligence means human-like Intelligence (in perception and judgement)
inculcated into a machine to provide answers similar to humans. Machine Learning is
a subset of Artificial Intelligence that deals with the process of training a machine so
that it can provide results similar to humans.
Source:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2016/12/06/what-is-the-difference-
between-artificial-intelligence-and-machine-learning/?sh=39eb8a882742
8. What is edge computing?

Edge computing is the latest technology trend that is getting famous by the day. The
technology is based on the philosophy of bringing computing power close to the data
source. This helps in reducing bandwidth and latency.
The technology aims to run fewer cloud processes and shift those processes to
locations such as the user’s system or an edge server. Bridging this gap between the
data and the computation reduces the long-distance communication between the
server and the client, which enhances the speed of the process.
The technology will be popular in areas such as healthcare, retail, and manufacturing.
Source:
https://www.webopedia.com/definitions/edge-computing-definition-meaning/
9. How can new technologies help us in the fight against COVID-19?
a) Blockchain
Application:
• Tracking Infectious Disease Outbreaks

• Donations Tracking
• Crisis Management
• Securing medical supply chains
Source:
https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/technology/digital-world/blockchain-technology-
and-covid-19/
b) Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence

Application:
• Understanding and Tracking the spread of COVID-19

• Image Scan Analysis and Reducing Hospital Staff Workloads
• Robots using AI minimizes contact between people
• Contact tracing apps
Source:
https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/technology/artificial-intelligence/how-ai-is-
helping-prevent-the-spread-of-the-covid-19-pandemic/
c) Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality

Applications:
• Holding conferences and interacting with people virtually

• Training employees virtually
• Scientists are using it for molecular design and collaborating for coronavirus
research
• Online entertainment and exploring virtual travel destinations
d) Internet of Things (IoT)

Applications:
• IoT connected devices will support Work from Home (WFH)

• IoT and Blockchain helps in communicating information faster to health care
workers
• Inventory control
• Telemedicine
Source:
https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/technology/digital-world/iot-and-covid- 19/
https://www.bbvaopenmind.com/en/technology/digital-world/8-key-tech- trends-in-a-
post-covid-19-world/
BY
ConsultU - the Consulting Club of IIM Udaipur
About Consulting
Let’s Define Consulting according to the Oxford dictionary, which says, “Engaged in
the business of giving expert advice to people working in a specific field.” In other
words, a consultant is someone who advises a specific group of people.
That’s it! It’s just that simple.
So, who is a Consultant?

A consultant has some level of expertise that a group of people find valuable, and
people within that group are willing to pay the consultant to access their knowledge.
Why is consulting so valuable?

The answer to that lies in the core meaning of Consulting.
The true meaning of consulting

Suppose the consultant is someone who gives advice. Then, the question is, why do
people need guidance, and why are they willing to pay for it?
People ask for advice because they want to change something, attain something, or
become something.
That’s why people want advice, to get to a certain point but they don’t know how to get
there. They are either facing obstacles or can’t overcome them.
The true meaning of consulting is helping people solve problems and move from
their current state to their desired state.
And the more valuable that desired state is to someone, the more they are willing to
pay for help in getting there.
Why People Hire Consultants?

There are three main reasons people decide to bring in outside advice:
1. They are unable to figure it out or get to their desired state on their own.
2. They have a general idea, but they want to get there faster.
3. They want to save time and effort by following an efficient and proven system.
Consulting is more than just giving advice. It involves a hierarchy of purpose:
1. Providing information to a client.

2. Solving a client’s problems.
3. Making a diagnosis, which may necessitate the redefinition of the problem.
4. Making recommendations based on the diagnosis.
5. Assisting with the implementation of recommended solutions.
6. Building a consensus and commitment around corrective action.
7. Facilitating client learning—that is, teaching clients how to resolve similar
problems in the future.
8. Permanently improving organizational effectiveness.
Broad classification of Consulting:

When someone says, "I'm a consultant," they are typically going to fall into one of three
categories.
1. Management Consulting - Management Consulting is what most people think
of when someone says “consulting.” This field is dominated by large firms like
McKinsey, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group, which are hired to
help enterprise businesses improve strategy and operations or manage
significant business events like mergers and acquisitions.
2. Corporate Consulting - This is more of a catch-all category for those with a
“Consulting” job description in the corporate world. It involves in-house
consulting services, implementation teams, B2B consulting businesses, and a
host of other things.
3. Independent Consulting - When someone has developed expertise in an
area, they choose to build and run their own business around that expertise.
Classification based on functionality.
1. Management Consulting - Management consultants, also known as business
consultants or organizational advisors in practice, are consultants who focus on
all sorts of regulatory concerns, from strategy to a variety of elements within
management. Management Consulting is a collective term used for all services
that fall under Strategy Consulting, Operations Consulting, and HR Consulting.
Management Consultancy frameworks are often used to assess several
factors.
a) Strategy Consulting - The term Strategy Consulting is used to describe

consultants who operate at the highest level of the consultancy market,
focusing on strategic topics like corporate and organizational strategy,
economic policy, government policy, and functional strategy. Their focus
lies more on quantitative/analytics skills, and their job description
revolves more around advising and overseeing implementation.
Examples of Strategy consulting:
(i) Corporate Strategy
(ii) Business Model Transformation
(iii) Mergers and Acquisitions
(iv) Organizational Strategy
(v) Digital Strategy
b) Operations Consulting - Operations consultants are consultants who

help clients improve the performance of their operations. Consultancy
activities in this segment vary from advisory services to hands-on
implementation support for both primary functions (e.g., Sales,
Marketing, Production, etc.) and secondary purposes (e.g. Finance, HR,
Supply Chain, ICT, Legal, etc.).
c) Human Resource Consulting - HR consultants help clients with human

capital challenges within their organizations and improve the HR
department’s performance. Chief topics central to HR consultants’ job
descriptions are organizational changes, change management, terms of
employment, learning & development, talent management, and
retirement.
2. Financial Advisory Consulting – This segment generally works on questions

that address financial capabilities and, in many cases, the analytical capabilities
within an organization. A financial consultant often works with a company’s
CFO or the strategic consultant to help the business align its financial goals
(e.g., overhead costs, return on investments, profit margins, etc.) with strategic
goals.
3. IT Consulting - Technology consultants, also known as IT, ICT, or digital

consultants, focus on helping clients with the development and application of
Information Technology (IT) within their organization. IT consultants focus on
transitions (projects) in the ICT-landscape, contrary to regular IT-employees,
who work on day-to-day IT operations (so-called ‘business as usual’ activities).
4. Marketing Consulting – Whether you need a new logo for your company, a
new market position for one of your brands, or a new social media strategy to
interact with your customers, or planning and implementing a marketing
strategy, a marketing consultant helps in all marketing aspects of a firm’s
business.
5. Compliance and Legal Consulting – These consulting services help firms

ensure that they adhere to federal and local laws and regulations. A compliance
consultant must have a sound knowledge of local laws and regulations as it’s
essential for successful businesses to be compliant with local and federal laws.
6. Others – This includes consulting groups that are not commonly practiced and
can be classified as “Small Shops”.
a) Real Estate consulting
b) Engineering consulting
c) Design consulting
d) Pharma consulting
e) Petro consulting
f) Sustainability consulting
g) PR consulting
Tools and Methodologies for consulting

Business experts have several tools at hand to analyze company performance. Here
are six frameworks that consultants and business analysts use and that you might
consider adding to your own set of tools.
What is a business framework?
As an independent consultant, clients ultimately hire you to solve a problem or pain
point. Frameworks are useful tools that help you analyze the issue, structure your
thinking, and communicate your recommendations. Business frameworks can help
you articulate goals with strong business writing and develop a blueprint for success.
You can take a broader conceptual framework and scale it to fit your needs. A business
framework also gives you a starting place and a common vocabulary that you can edit
to fit your client’s goals.
Business frameworks for consultants
We explain seven frameworks that can be used across disciplines to answer some of
the most common business questions:
1. The 3C: Corporation, Competition, and Customer
The 3C model is a classic strategy
model. Whether you are a
management consultant hired to
improve costs or a technology
consultant tasked with adding
infrastructure, the 3C model can
support analysing intrinsic and
extrinsic factors to develop
sustainable solutions.
(https://online.visual-paradigm.com/knowledge/strategic-analysis/what-is-ohmaes-3c-model/)
2. Porter’s 5 Forces
Power is a key element in your and your client’s success. To sustain profitability and
a competitive position, you want to balance the power in your favor. Porter’s Five
Forces is a useful tool in helping you to understand both the power of your current
competitive position and the planned position.
(https://yourfreetemplates.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Porter%E2%80%99s-five-forces-e1552181129804.png)
Porter's five forces are:
1. Competition in the industry

2. Potential of new entrants into the industry
3. Power of suppliers
4. Power of customers
5. The threat of substitute products
KEY TAKEAWAYS
• Porter's Five Forces is a framework for analysing a company's competitive

environment.
• The number and power of a company's competitive rivals, potential new market
entrants, suppliers, customers, and substitute products influence a company's
profitability.
• Five Forces analysis can be used to guide business strategy to increase
competitive advantage.
3. SWOT Matrix
The SWOT Analysis framework is used to evaluate the Strengths (S), Weaknesses
(W), Opportunities (O), and Threats (T) of a venture or a project.
(https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2017/12/20/swot-analysis)
The process of identifying your company’s core competencies helps you define your
company’s positioning and competitive advantage. A core competency is the
proficiency in an area that is not easily replicated by competitors. It allows your
company to deliver unique value to customers, thus giving the company a “leg up” on
the competition. One example is how the employees and the unique culture of
Southwest Airlines allow them to provide better customer service and faster
turnaround times for planes.
4. PEST Analysis
PEST helps you understand the broader Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and
Technological environment in which you operate.
(https://venturefounders.com/pest-analysis/)
The basic PEST analysis includes four factors:
● Political factors relate to how the government intervenes in the economy.

Specifically, political factors have areas including tax policies, labour laws,
environmental laws, and political stability.
● Economic factors include economic growth, exchange rate, inflation,
and interest rate. These factors significantly affect how businesses operate
and make decisions. For example, interest rates affect a firm's cost of
capital and, therefore, to what extent a business grows and expands.
Exchange rates can affect the costs of exporting goods and the supply and
price of imported goods in an economy.
● Social factors include the cultural aspects and health consciousness,
population growth rate, age distribution, career attitudes, and emphasis on
safety. High trends in social factors affect the demand for a company's
products and how that company operates. For example, an aging
population may imply a smaller and less-willing workforce (thus increasing
the cost of labour). Furthermore, companies may change various

management strategies to adapt to social trends caused by this (such as
recruiting older workers).
● Technological factors include technological aspects like R&D activity,
automation, technology incentives, and the rate of technological change.
These can determine barriers to entry, minimum efficient production level,
and influence the outsourcing decisions.
5. BCG Matrix
The BCG Growth-Share Matrix provides a framework for deciding how to use
resources. It is also helpful in assessing each product or business unit’s ability to
continuously generate profit.
(https://www.business-to-you.com/bcg-matrix/)
Four categories of BCG matrix

The BCG growth-share matrix breaks down products into four categories:
● Question marks – High Growth, Low Market Share (Uncertainty)
● Dogs – Low Growth, Low Market Share (Less Profitable)
● Stars – High Growth, High Market Share (High Competition)
● Cash cows – Low Growth, High Market Share (Most Profitable)
It is simple to implement and easy to understand. Larger companies can use it for the
seeking volume and experience effects. It predicts the future actions of a company.
Hence, the company can decide its proper management strategy. It helps managers
evaluate balance in the firm’s current portfolio of Question Marks, Dogs, Stars, and
Cash Cows.
6. McKinsey 7S
The McKinsey 7S Framework is a good tool to help you find and fix internal
organizational problems.
(https://www.intology.co.uk/the-mckinsey-7s-framework)
McKinsey 7S Framework is a strategic planning tool designed to help an

organization understand if it is set-up in a way that allows it to achieve its objectives.
Before the advent of the 7S Model, when managers thought about organizational
design, they tended to focus on structure and strategy. They thought about who is
responsible for what, who reports to whom, how many layers of management there
should be, and how to beat the competition.
It is used for:
● Organizational change
● Mergers and acquisitions
● Implementation of a new strategy
● Understanding the weaknesses (blind spots) of an organization
7. MECE
MECE is a systematic problem-solving framework that helps to solve complex
problems. It can help you eliminate confusion and focus on critical data that points the
way towards success.
(https://www.caseinterview.com/mece)
Benefits of using a business strategy framework.

A business framework can be used to analyse and guide decisions for your client and
your own business. For example, the 3C Model can help you develop a competitive
strategy for your client or can be applied to develop a social media marketing plan for
your personal brand.
There is no one best framework, and often you may find that you are using multiple
frameworks in the course of your client’s work. Frameworks save you time by providing
a starting point for information gathering and analysis but remember the most powerful
framework you have is your expertise and common sense. These tools are time-
savers, but ultimately it is your business insight that will deliver value to your client.
Guesstimate Questions
1. How many Samsung phones are currently being used in India?
2. How many masks were sold in the month of April 2020?
3. How many masks were sold in the previous month?
4. How much drinking water is needed for your hometown?
5. How many volleyballs can you place inside the room we are in?
6. How many weddings are held in India each day?
7. Estimate the total revenues from Harry Potter films if they are released today.
8. How many people fly in and out of Mumbai Airport every day?
9. What is the size of the market for disposable masks in a day?
10. How many golf balls/ footballs would fit inside a Boeing 747?
11. Guesstimate the total revenue earned by the Indian tourism industry in February
and March in 2020.
12. How would you estimate the market size of the food delivery industry?
13. How many extra petrol pumps are needed in India in the current scenario?
14. How would you estimate the revenue of a Cricket stadium hosting a T20
match?
15. What's the daily requirement of tomatoes for McDonald's?
16. How would you estimate the total production of paddy in India?
Interview Questions
1. Why do you want to pursue consulting?
2. What makes a good consultant?
3. What according to you, is essential to be a consultant?
4. What is the primary cause of concern for consulting firms around the world?
5. Facts vs instincts. Which is more important?
6. Bottom-up vs top-down approach. Which is better according to you?
7. How should consultants set prices for projects?
8. How do you size a market?
9. Why do companies need consultants?
10. Tell me about a time when you faced an ethical dilemma and how you managed
it?
11. How would you explain a complicated technical issue to a client?
12. How does a consultant segment a market?
13. If you want to start a McDonald’s outlet in India, what factors will you consider?
14. What skills do you believe are crucial for success in management consulting?
15. Which industry do you see evolving and why?
16. What are some important ethical considerations for consultants?

Typical Business Problems

● Does an alliance make sense? Would the market share value of the whole be
higher than the sum of the parts?
● Five new competitors are about to enter the market in the next three years. We
need a sales forecast for the next five years. Develop a strategy that would
allow us to preserve/gain market share.
● My marketing department is burning money. I need to reduce costs without
affecting performance and sales in any way.
● I need a Data warehouse built for my company. As of today, I don’t even have
a single centralized data repository – everything exists on employees’ laptops
in a thousand spreadsheets. How do I go about it?
● I want to introduce my product/service in China, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Build
me a roadmap and entry/launch strategy.
Following articles/videos may help you:

How Consultants Project Expertise and Learn at the Same Time | Coworking
Consulting
Consulting Is More Than Giving Advice (hbr.org)
6 Tools Every Business Consultant Should Know (harvard.edu)
Project Management Consulting Skills - How consultants manage projects and file
structures - YouTube
What Does A Consultant Do - Successful Coaching & Consulting Secrets Ep. 4 -
YouTube
Sources
https://www.mbopartners.com/blog/how-grow-small-business/top-business-
frameworks/
https://www.bcg.com/en-in/about/our-history/growth-share-matrix
https://fourweekmba.com/3c-model/
https://expertprogrammanagement.com/2018/05/pest-analysis/
https://www.consultancy.in/career/types-of-consultants
https://www.consulting.com/what-is-consulting-definition
BY
PiE - the Economics Club of IIM Udaipur
Some Important Concepts

Inflation
It is a quantitative measure of a sustained rise in the general price level of goods and
services in an economy where a currency unit buys less than before. Rising inflation
leads to a decrease in the currency's purchasing power (meaning a loss in the real
value of money).
There are several types of inflation:
• Deflation: The opposite of inflation, when the general level of prices falls
• Stagflation: Combination of high unemployment and economic
stagnation with inflation
• Hyperinflation: It refers to unusually rapid inflation. In extreme cases, this can
lead to the breakdown of a nation's monetary system.
Fiscal Policies
It is the means through which a country controls its revenues and expenditures to
achieve economic objectives and influence a nation's economy. The two principal
instruments of fiscal policy are –
• Taxation
• Government spending.
Changes made in the two components are expected to change the aggregate demand,
savings, investments, and income distribution. The two types of fiscal policy are –
• Contractionary – increase in taxes and/or decrease in government expenditure

to fight inflation.
• Expansionary – decrease in taxes and/or increase in government expenditure
used in recession.
Monetary policies
It is the process by which the monetary authority of a currency controls the supply of
money, often targeting an inflation rate or interest rate to ensure price stability and
general trust in the currency. Monetary policy is maintained by increasing the interest
rate or changing the amount of money banks need to keep in the vault (bank reserves).
The two types of monetary policy are:
• Contractionary – aimed to reduce the rate of monetary expansion to fight

inflation. The policy reduces the money supply in the economy to prevent
unsustainable capital investment.
• Expansionary – aimed to increase the rate of monetary expansion to stimulate

growth in the economy. Economic growth must be supported by additional
money supply.
Gross Domestic Product
GDP is the market value of all the finished goods and services produced within a
country in a particular time period and is a measure of its economy.
GDP = C + I + G + NX
where -
"C" represents all private consumption or consumer spending in a nation's economy
"I" is the investment or sum of all the country's businesses' capital spent
"G" is the sum of government spending
"NX" is the nation's total net exports, calculated as total exports minus total imports.
Real v/s Nominal GDP
Real GDP is an inflation-adjusted measure that reflects the value of all goods and
services produced by an economy in a given year, expressed in base-year prices.
Nominal GDP, on the other hand, is GDP evaluated at current market prices.
The main difference between the two values is that real GDP is adjusted for inflation
while nominal GDP is not. Generally, for a country with positive inflation, nominal GDP
will often appear higher than real GDP.
Consumer Price Index (CPI): It is a measure of price changes in consumer goods
and services purchased by households.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI): It represents the price of a representative basket of
wholesale goods.
Taxes
Direct Taxes are taxes directly paid to the government by the taxpayer. It is a tax
applied to individuals and organizations by the government, e.g., income tax,
corporation tax, wealth tax, etc. The individual or organization, upon which the tax is
levied is responsible for fulfilling the tax payment and cannot shift it to another
individual or entity.
Indirect Taxes are applied to the manufacture or sale of commodities. These are
initially paid to the government by an intermediary, who then adds the amount to the
commodities' value, e.g., GST is a comprehensive tax levy on manufacture, sale, and
consumption of goods and services nationally. GST is collected on value-added to the
goods and services at each stage of sale or purchase in the supply chain through a
tax credit mechanism. The system allows the set-off of GST paid on the procurement
of goods and services against the GST, which is payable on the supply of goods or
services. However, the end consumer bears this tax, being the last person in the
supply chain. Experts say that GST is likely to improve tax collections and boost India's
economic development by breaking tax barriers between states and integrating India
through a uniform tax rate. (Source: http://gstindia.com/)
Balance of Payments
Balance of Payments shows a country's transactions with the rest of the world. It
encompasses all transactions (inflows and outflows) between a country's residents
and its non-residents involving goods, services, and income; financial claims on and
liabilities to the rest of the world, and transfers such as gifts. The two sections of the
BOP are:
Current Account BOP measures the inflow and outflow of goods, services, and
investment incomes. The current account comprises the trade balance in goods and
services. The account's main components are:
Trade-in goods (visible balance)
a) Trade-in services (invisible balance), e.g., insurance and services
b) Investment incomes, e.g., dividends, interest, migrant's remittances from
abroad
c) Net transfers – e.g., International aid
Current Account Deficit measures a country's trade in which the value of goods and
services imported exceeds the value of goods and services exported. The current
account also includes net income, such as interest and dividends, and transfers, such
as foreign aid. However, these components tend to make up a smaller percentage of
the current account than exports and imports. A current account deficit represents
negative net sales abroad. Developed countries, such as the United States, often run
current account deficits, while emerging economies often run current account
surpluses. Impoverished countries tend to run current account deficits.
Financial Account (Capital) BOP measures the outflow and inflow of capital into the
economy. It considers the movement of capital, both short term and long term, and the
loan repayments, which includes:
a) Foreign direct investment
b) Purchase of securities by investors
c) Loans by international financial institutions
Balance of Payments Crisis

Also called a currency crisis, it occurs when the current account deficit cannot be
maintained. It leads to a fall in foreign exchange reserves, and the country can no
longer attract sufficient capital flows to finance the current account deficit. Crises are
generally preceded by large capital inflows, which are associated at first with rapid
economic growth. However, a point is reached where overseas investors become
concerned about the level of debt their inbound capital is generating and decide to pull
out their funds. The resulting outbound capital flows lead to a rapid drop in the value
of the affected nation's currency value.
Balance of Trade
The difference between a country's imports and its exports is termed as Balance of
Trade. Balance of trade is the largest component of a country's balance of payments.
Debit items include imports, foreign aid, domestic spending abroad and domestic
investments abroad. Credit items include exports, foreign spending & investments in
the domestic economy. A country has a trade deficit if it imports more than exports;
the opposite scenario is a trade surplus.
Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
An investment made by a company or entity based in one country into a company or
entity based in another country. The investing company may make its overseas
investment in many ways - by setting up a subsidiary or associate company in the
foreign country, acquiring shares of an overseas company, or a merger or joint
venture. Entities making direct investments typically have a significant degree of
influence and control over the company into which the investment is made.
Types of markets: Comparison of monopoly, oligopoly, and perfect competition
markets.
Perfect Monopolistic
Parameters Competition Competition Oligopoly Monopoly
Number of Large Large Small One
firms
Products Identical Differentiated Similar, No close
differentiated substitutes
Entry, Exit No barriers Free of Some entry Effective entry
Barriers barriers barriers barriers
Market price No control Small control Substantial Significant
control control control
Important Financial Rates (as on 29th December 2020)

Check the latest figures before the interviews.
Policy Rates
Policy Repo Rate 4.00%
Reverse Repo Rate 3.35%
Marginal Standing Facility 4.25%
Rate
Bank Rate 4.25%
Reserve Ratios
CRR 3.00%
SLR 18.00%
Lending/Deposit Rates
Base Rate 7.3% - 8.8%
MCLR (overnight) 6.5% - 7.1%
Savings Deposit Rate 2.7% - 3.0%
Term Deposit Rate > 1 year 4.9% - 5.5%
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): It refers to the ratio of demand deposits, time deposits,
and cash-on-hand that commercial banks are required to maintain with RBI. Lowering
CRR will leave the banks with excess reserves towards making loans and would,
therefore, increase the money supply.
Repo Rate: Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (RBI in the
case of India) lends money to commercial banks in any shortfall of funds. In inflation,
central banks increase the repo rate as this acts as a disincentive for banks to borrow
from the central bank. This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and
thus helps in arresting inflation.
Reverse Repo Rate: Reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a
country borrows money from commercial banks within the country. An increase in
reverse repo rate means that commercial banks will get more incentives to park their
funds with the RBI, thereby decreasing the market supply of money.
Bank Rate: This is the rate at which RBI lends money to banks or financial institutions.
The Bank rate signals RBI's long-term view of the economy and outlook for interest
rates. If the bank rates were to increase, banks would increase lending rates to their
customers to maintain their profit margins.
The Rise of E-Commerce
E-commerce, or business on the internet and other computer networks, can be
between businesses (B2B), between forms and consumers (B2C), or between firms
and the government (B2G). Over the past decades, e-business has provided various
methods for buyers and sellers to transact, and exploitation of the full potential of
developments can profoundly impact both individual sectors and macroeconomic
performance and economic policies. At the aggregate level,
• productivity and economic growth rise

• efficiency in supply and distribution
• lower transaction costs
• low barriers to entry
• improved access to information
In the B2B context, higher efficiency comes from exchanges via lower procurement
costs and better supply chain management.
Important Links of current affairs and articles:
• http://www.rbi.org.in/scripts/Glossary.aspx
• http://indiabudget.nic.in/budget2013-2014/survey.asp
• http://www.google.com/publicdata/directory
• http://www.tradingeconomics.com/
• http://www.economist.com/debate/archive
• http://forbesindia.com/blog/category/economy-policy/
• http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/indiaatlse/
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economics.asp
Current Affairs and Economics Articles:

1. Was India Right To Quit RCEP?
https://www.bloombergquint.com/opinion/india-out-of-rcep-was-india- right-to-quit-the-
regional-comprehensive-economic-partnership
2. India's economy in 2020: Year of many questions
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/covid-economy-india-budget-2021-gdp-
7123862/
3. US-China trade war impact: India gained $755 million additional exports
to US
https://www.livemint.com/news/india/us-china-trade-war-impact-india-gained-755-
million-additional-exports-to-us-11573047787150.html
4. Raghuram Rajan on how India can get back to work after coronavirus
lockdown
https://scroll.in/article/958281/full-text-raghuram-rajan-on-how-india-can-get-back-to-
work-after-coronavirus-lockdown
5. How persistently high inflation undermined RBI's effort to revive growth
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/rbi-monetary-policy-committee-rates-
unchanged-inflation-indian-eonomy-explainspeaking-7094660/
6. The economic implications of India opting out of RCEP
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/india-out-of-rcep-china-economy-trade-
angle-7053877/
7. A Fiscal Deficit Target in a Range
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-editorials/a-fiscal-deficit-target-in-a-
range/
8. Bank Mergers in India
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/big-bank- theory/article29302726.ece
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/is-there-much-to-gain- from-bank-
mergers/article29385214.ece
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/will-bank-mergers-make-a-
difference/1698654/
9. FDI inflows record first decline in six years this fiscal

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/fdi-inflows-record- first-decline-in-
six-years-in-fy19/article27274439.ece
10. Zero interest rates discourage savings and help create asset price
bubbles
http://www.worldreview.info/content/zero-interest-rates-discourage- savings-and-
help-create-asset-price-bubbles
11. The road to economic recovery
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-the-road-to-economic-recovery-
6912879/
12. What is PLI scheme, and which sectors will be under it?
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/what-is-pli-scheme-which-sectors-will-be-
under-it-7001985/
13. What the IMF said about the Indian, global economy
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/imf-indian-economy-gdp-coronavirus-
explainspeaking-6784365/
Other sources that can be used for preparation:

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/blogs/et-editorials/page/1/
• https://indianexpress.com/about/explained-economics/
• https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economics.asp
• https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/macroeconomics
• https://www.khanacademy.org/economics-finance-domain/microeconomics
• https://www.econlib.org/library/Topics/College/whatiseconomics.html
BY
Finomina - the Finance Club of IIM Udaipur

What is Finance?
Finance is a broad term describing the study and system of money, investments, and
other financial instruments. Bonds, Stocks, Derivatives, Mutual Funds are some
examples of financial instruments.
Finance is classified into -
● Public Finance - This includes tax systems, government expenditures, and
budget procedures. The government oversees the allocation of resources,
distribution of income, and stabilization of the economy.
● Corporate Finance - To put it simply, corporate Finance involves managing
the assets and debts of a business. Calculating whether a project would give
considerable returns on a given investment comes under Corporate Finance.
● Personal Finance - It is the proper management of an individual's income and
expenses. Retirement planning is one example of this.
● Behavioural Finance - It seeks to understand the emotional, social, and
psychological reasons behind financial decisions. An example would be -
Studying the reaction of investors to a lawsuit brought against a company.
What is Accounting?
Accounting could be understood as recording, classifying, summarizing, and reporting
of the business transactions and economic activity from business operations over a
period of time to the stakeholders such as shareholders, employees, the general
public, or the regulators.
Remember this equation:
Assets = Liabilities + Equity
Example: You take a loan of 1 crore; 1 crore gets added to the assets side as cash,
which you received from the lender(s). And one crore gets added to the liabilities side
as a loan you took from the bank. The same goes for all transactions. The equation
is always balanced.
Check the company's annual reports to get an idea about the Balance Sheet, Income
Statement, and Statement of Cash Flows. We just discussed how transactions get
recorded in the balance sheet. The income statement is simply a statement of income
and expenses. Cash flow statements describe where the cash is coming from and
where it is going.
Domains of Finance
Banking
The banking industry handles money, credit, and other monetary exchanges and
offers investment accounts, authentications of stores, and financial records. Banks
utilize these stores to make credits. These advances incorporate home loans,
business credits, and vehicle advances. Business banks offer types of assistance to
private people and organizations. Retail banking gives credit, store, and cash to
executives, people, and families.
Web banking offers these types of assistance through the internet. The area is
additionally called E-banking, internet banking, and net banking. Most banks presently
offer online administrations. Since they have no branches, they can pass cost reserve
funds onto the buyer.
Venture banking discovers financing for companies by starting public stock

contributions or bonds. They additionally encourage consolidations and acquisitions.
The biggest U.S. speculation banks incorporate Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman
Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, and Morgan Stanley.
Insurance
The insurance sector comprises companies that offer risk management in terms of
insurance contracts. The insurer will guarantee payment for a particular future event,
and in return, they will charge a premium from the insured or the policyholder.
Life insurance is a sector with tremendous growth potential – that is how the life
insurance sector is referred to as, due to the low insurance penetration and density in
the country among its comparable peers, which is visible with premium growth at a
CAGR of 16% between FY15 and FY20 in India.
Portfolio Management
Portfolio management is the process of managing an individual's investments to

maximize their earnings in a specific time interval. Furthermore, efficient portfolio
management ensures that the risk of the capital invested is reduced to counter
financial or economic risks. Portfolio managers optimize the investment risk, provide
an investment mix, and diversify the portfolio to achieve financial goals.
Principally, portfolio management can be visualized as a SWOT analysis of various

industries and sectors and classifying them according to the risks associated with
them.
Objectives of portfolio management are as follows:
● Capital appreciation
● To maximize Returns on Investment (ROI)
● Risk optimization
Career Opportunities:
● Investment Banks - Investment Bankers, Security Salespeople, traders
● Commercial Banks - Loan officer, Branch Manager, Investment Bankers,
traders
● Money Management Firms - Portfolio Manager, Security Analyst
● Hedge Funds - Portfolio Manager, Security Analyst
● Private Equity Firms - Investment Bankers
● Real Estate Firms - Financing Specialist, Analyst, Deal Manager
Types of business
There are four types of business organizations: Sole Proprietorship, Partnership,
Company, and Limited Liability Company (LLC).
● Sole Proprietorship - A business owned and run by one person for their
benefit. The business's existence is entirely dependent on the owner's
decisions.
● Partnership - Refers to a business owned by a minimum of 2 and a maximum
of 50 people. They are of two types - General partnership (do not require a
formal agreement, but all partners' liability is unlimited) and Limited
partnerships (require formal agreement, and partners' debt can be limited).
● Company - It's a separate legal entity from its owners. A private limited
company has a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 200 shareholders. In
comparison, a public limited company can have as many shareholders as
possible.
● Limited Liability Company - Similar to a limited partnership, an LLC provides
owners with limited liability while giving some of the income advantages of a
partnership.
A financial market is where people trade financial securities, commodities, etc. The
stock market, bond market, forex market, derivatives market are a few examples of
the financial market.
Money Market deals with the trading of debt instruments like inter-corporate deposits,
certificate of deposits, treasury bonds, commercial papers, commercial bills, etc.
Trading occurs in a very short time in the money market. Money market participants
are large institutional investors, mutual funds, and commercial banks.
The capital market deals with trading financial instruments like equity, public sector
bonds, and mutual funds units. Capital markets are composed of the suppliers and
users of funds. Capital markets are mainly composed of primary and secondary
markets. The stock market and Bond market are the most common capital markets.
Forex, also known as F.X. or Foreign exchange market, is an over-the-counter global
marketplace. The foreign exchange market determines the currency's exchange
around the world. Forex is the largest financial market in the world, which works 24
hours a day. The trade of currency always takes place in pairs. Hence, one currency's
value will be relative to the value of another currency in the pair. The most liquid trading
pair is EUR/USD.
Financial Statements:
Financial statements are formal records of the financial activities and position of a
business, person, or other entity. Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cashflow
Statement are the three primary financial statements.
Income Statement shows a business's income and expenditures. It also indicates
whether the business is making a profit or a loss for a given period. It also provides
information about the enterprise's operations, including sales and the various
expenses incurred in the stated period.
The Balance Sheet shows the position of the business at a particular point in time. It
shows the company's assets, liabilities, and equity. In a balance sheet, Assets =
Liabilities + Owner's Equity.
Cash Flow Statement measures how well a company generates cash to pay its debt
obligations, fund its operating expenses, and fund investments. It helps stakeholders
understand how the company's operations are running, where it is getting cash, and
spending money. The cash flow statement has three sections that report cash flow for
three different kinds of activities - Operating Activities, Investing Activities, and
Financing Activities.
Scope of Finance Function: Investment, Financing, and Dividend Decisions

1. Investment Decision: Investment decisions are often referred to as Capital
Budgeting or Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) decisions. These decisions create
revenue and profits for the firms.
2. Financing Decisions: These decisions have got to do with the source of funds.
A corporation can raise money from lenders or shareholders. Overall, the
financing choices available to large corporations are endless, and the decisions
related to these are financing decisions.
3. Dividend Decisions: The profits after tax can be distributed to the shareholders
or retained by the firm. These decisions related to the appropriation of profits
after tax are dividend decisions.
IFRS vs. GAAP

GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) is a common set of accepted
accounting principles, standards, and procedures that companies and their
accountants must follow when compiling their financial statements.
IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) is a set of international
accounting standards, which state how particular types of transactions and other
events should be reported in financial statements. IFRS guidelines are less
comprehensive and lack details compared to GAAP.
The International Accounting Standards Board is the independent accounting
standard-setting body of the IFRS Foundation outside the United States.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board is a private, non-profit organization
standard-setting body formed to establish and improve GAAP in the United States.
Fixed Asset Only the cost model IFRS also recognizes

Valuation can be used to value revaluation models in addition
fixed assets in to cost models.
GAAP.
Intangible Assets Intangible assets are Intangible assets are valued

valued at fair value. based on future economic
benefits.
Earnings per share This averages the This does not average the
Individual Interim Individual Interim period.
period.
Development Cost All development Some developmental costs are

costs are expensed expensed, and others are
out under GAAP. capitalized.
Liabilities Grouping GAAP requires the IFRS does not make such a
splitting of liabilities classification.
into current and non-
current.
Income Statement Extraordinary and Such items come under

unusual amounts are income statements.
shown below net
income.
Preparation of GAAP prefers a IFRS is in favor of a control

Cons F.S. risks-and-rewards model.
model.
Business cycle
A business cycle refers to the cycle of fluctuations in the Gross Domestic Product
(GDP). It explains the expansion and contraction in the economy.
Various stages of the Business Cycle are:
1. Expansion: Expansion is the first stage in the business cycle. This stage
depicts an increase in positive economic indicators like income, output,
employment, and profits.
2. Peak: The economy then reaches its upper saturation point, i.e., peak. The
peak is the second stage of the business cycle. The economic indicators do not
increase any further and are at their highest.
3. Recession: The recession is the next stage. The demand starts falling rapidly,
and all the positive economic indicators like income, output, employment, etc.,
begin to fall.
4. Depression: The next stage is Depression, which indicates a commensurate
rise in unemployment. The growth in the economy in this phase continues to
decline.
5. Trough: In the Trough Stage, there is further decline until the positive indicators
reach their lowest point. It is the negative saturation point for the economy.
6. Recovery: After reaching its negative saturation point, the economy comes to
the stage of recovery. The economy now has a positive attitude, and positive
indicators start increasing.
Initial Public Offering (IPO) is the issuance of public shares by a company to raise
capital from public investors. By issuing an IPO, a private company transforms into a
public company. Once a company decides to go public, it gets regulated by SEBI.
Hence, the company has to disclose a few details mandatorily for the knowledge of
investors.
Follow-on Public Offering (FPO) is the issuance of shares by a company listed on a
stock exchange. The company issues additional shares after an Initial Public Offering
(IPO) to raise more capital to expand or to pay off the debt. Companies use FPO to
diversify their equity base. FPOs are also known as secondary offerings.
Details of the major IPOs of 2020
What is Fundamental & Technical Analysis

Fundamental analysis refers to the method of analyzing securities by determining
the intrinsic value of the stock. It involves analyzing the financial performance and
position of the company. It assesses all the factors that can influence the stock's value,
called fundamentals, which are nothing but financial statements, management,
business concept, competition, etc. It aims at analyzing the economy as a whole, the
industry to which it belongs, and the firm itself.
It focuses on both the past and the present data and is relevant for long-term
investments.
Technical Analysis refers to the process of analyzing price volume movements. It
predicts the change in the price of a security based on market information. It
determines whether the uptrend or downtrend in price will continue or will reverse in
the future. The main objective of the technical analysis is to identify the right time to
enter or exit the market.
It focuses only on past data and is relevant for short-term investments.
There are two methods for conducting technical analysis:
Understanding Chart Patterns: The chart patterns help in determining the direction
of the trend. Green-colored candlestick is referred to as showing the bullish trend,
while red-colored candlestick shows a bearish trend.
Examples of Chart Patterns are Spinning Top, Hammer and Hanging Man, Head and
Shoulders, Double Top, etc.
Technical Indicators: These indicators are heuristic or mathematical calculations

based on price, volume, or open interest of security used by traders who follow
technical analysis. They predict as well as confirm the trends.
Examples of Technical Indicators are Simple Moving Average (SMA), Relative
Strength Indicator (RSI), Stochastic Oscillator, Moving Average Convergence
Divergence (MACD), etc.
Shares, Bonds, and a few basic concepts related to them in the simplest
possible terms
Share: It refers to a unit of ownership in the company. A share is the share in the
share capital of a company and includes stock.
Types of Shares
Preference Shares: It carries the following two preferential rights over holders of
equity shares.
● Preferential right in respect of dividend at a fixed rate or a fixed amount
● Preferential right in respect of repayment of capital in the event of winding up
Equity Shares: Those shares which are not preference shares are known as
equity shares. Members holding equity shares carry voting rights. The rate of
dividend is not fixed.
Primary Market: Primary market is where the bond or new stock is sold for the
first time.
Initial Public Offering: It refers to the process of offering shares of a private
corporation to the public in a new stock issuance.
Share Market/ Stock Market: It refers to a collection of markets and exchanges where
regular activities of buying, selling, and issuance of shares of publicly held companies
take place.
Example: SENSEX, NASDAQ, etc.
Market Capitalization: It refers to the market value of a company's outstanding
shares of stock. It is calculated by multiplying the total number of the company's
outstanding shares by the market price of its share.
Net Worth: Net worth refers to the difference between the assets and liabilities of the
company. It presents a snapshot of the company's current financial position.
Bonds
It refers to the unit of corporate debt issued by the company. It is a long-term debt
security that enables firms to borrow money for a fixed period of time at a fixed rate by
multiple lenders.
Coupon: It is the annual interest payment that the bondholder receives from the date
of bond issue till its maturity.
Coupon Rate: It is calculated by dividing the periodic interest payments received by
the bond's face value.
Yield to Maturity: It refers to the total return anticipated on a bond if it is held until it
matures.
Zero-Coupon Bond: It refers to the debt security that does not pay any interest but
instead trades at a deep discount, offering full face value at the time of maturity. The
difference between the face value and the price of a zero-coupon bond indicates the
investor's return.
Golden Rule of Accounting: Real, Nominal, Personal A/c
There are 3 Golden Rules of Accounting. To understand the three golden rules, one
needs to have an understanding of the three types of accounts, which are:
a) Real Accounts: These accounts are recorded in the ledger as Assets or

Liabilities. The balances of these accounts are not closed at year-end, and the
balance amount remaining is carried forward to the next year.
Ex. Building a/c of a business
b) Personal Accounts: These are recorded as accounts belonging to individuals,
firms, and associations. Ex. Creditor a/c: creditor of a business
c) Nominal Accounts: These are Ledger accounts of all incomes, expenses,
losses, or gains. Ex. Interest a/c
Based on the above accounts, there are three golden rules to be followed when
recording any transaction:
#1 For a real a/c: Debit what comes in, credit what goes out
#2 For a personal a/c: Debit the receiver, credit the giver
#3 For a nominal a/c: Debit all expenses and losses, credit all incomes and gains
Discounting
We use discounting to find the present values of payment or a stream of payments
that is to be received in the future. As we know, A dollar is always worth more today
than it would be worth tomorrow if money has a time value. As the discount rate
increases, the level of risk associated with an investment and its future cash flows also
increases.
Ex. The present value of $110 at the beginning of a year is $100 if the discount rate is
10% per annum.
Time Value of Money
Time Value of Money is a concept which states that the same amount of money will
have a higher value today than it will have in the future. The reason behind money
having higher value is its ability to earn interest. As money can be deposited in a bank
to earn interest or invested in assets (Real of Financial) to earn a return, any amount
of money is worth more the sooner it is received.
How is TVM calculated?
FV = Future value of money
PV = Present value of money
i = Interest rate
n = Number of compounding periods per year
t = Number of years
Based on these variables, the formula for TVM is: FV = PV x [ 1 + (i / n)](n x t)
Net Present Value (NPV)
Suppose we want to identify whether a project is a good investment opportunity or not.
The simplest way to do this is by comparing the initial investment with the cash
generated using that investment. If the cash generated using the investment is more
than what we had invested, it is a good opportunity and vice versa. Cash received is
called cash inflow, and the cash paid is called cash outflow.
Since cash inflows and outflows occur during different time periods, and because of
the time value of money, their value can differ significantly from the amount. We need
to find the present value of these cash flows and then subtract outflows from inflows.
Net present value (NPV) is the difference between the present value of cash inflows
and the present value of cash outflows over a period of time. NPV is used in capital
budgeting and investment planning to analyze the profitability of a projected
investment or project.
Internal Rate of Return (IRR)

IRR is a measure of an investment's rate of return. The term 'Internal' refers to the fact
that IRR does not consider external factors like inflation, cost of capital, or financial
risks.
Generally, if the IRR is more than the Discounting Rate, we accept the project. If IRR
is less than the Discounting Rate, we reject the project.
The net present value becomes zero at the discount rate equal to IRR. Sometimes
more than one IRR is also possible for an investment opportunity.
Annuity
An annuity is an equal and at equal time intervals of cash flows made over a
predetermined time period. Annuities can be used for various purposes, but the most
common one is providing a steady income for retirees.
The formula for the present value of an ordinary annuity, as opposed to an annuity
due (where the cash flows are made at the end of the year) below. (An ordinary annuity
pays interest at the end of a particular period, rather than at the beginning, as is the
case with an annuity due.)
PV = PMT× {1 - (1 / (1+r)n )} ÷ r
where:
PV = Present value of an annuity stream
PMT = Money value of each annuity payment
r = Interest rate (also known as the discount rate)
n = Number of periods in which payments will be made
Perpetuity
A perpetuity is a security that pays for an infinite amount of time. In Finance, perpetuity
is a constant stream of identical cash flows with no end.
The present value of a perpetuity is calculated as follows:
PV = PMT ÷ r
Where:
PV = Present value of a perpetuity
PMT = Money value of each cash flow
r = Interest rate (also known as discount rate)
Non-performing asset (NPA)

A Non-performing asset (NPA) is described as a classification for loans or advances
in respect of which the interest and/or installment of the principal amount has remained
'past due for a specified prolonged period. In other words, an asset (loan or advances
made by a bank) is labeled as a non-performing asset when it ceases to generate any
income for the lender. Once the borrower has failed to make interest or principal
payments for 90 days, the loan is considered to be a non-performing asset.
NPAs impose financial burdens on the lender; a large number of NPAs over a period
of time can suggest to regulators that the financial health of the bank is at risk.
NPAs may be categorized as a substandard asset, a doubtful asset, or a loss asset,
based on the length of time overdue and the likelihood of repayment.
According to a report by CARE Ratings, the ratio of gross NPAs of banks for the
quarter ended in September 2020 has fallen to 7.7% from 8.2% in June 2020 and
7.9% in March 2020.
NBFC
A Non-Banking Financial Corporation (NBFC), also known as a Non-Bank Financial
Institution (NBFI), is a financial institution offering certain bank-like services but has
not been granted a banking license from the regulator. They are not allowed to accept
demand deposits from the public, and this limitation keeps them outside the purview
of conventional oversight from the financial regulator. There are several NBFCs, and
below is a non-exhaustive list of some of these:
● Asset Financing Companies (AFCs)
● Housing Finance Companies (HFCs)
● Investment Companies (I.C.s)
● Loan Companies (L.C.s)
● Micro Finance Institution (MFIs)
For more info on NBFCs Click here
Corporate Governance
Refers to the set of rules, processes, or laws by which an enterprises' business is
operated, regulated, or controlled. It involves keeping in mind the best interests of all
stakeholders. Corporate governance is based on 4Ps, namely - People, Process,
Performance, and Purpose. It makes companies accountable and transparent to
minimize expropriation and unfairness for stakeholders.
Arbitrage
Arbitrage is a type of trade when security, currency, or commodity is nearly
simultaneously bought and sold. The purpose is to benefit from the difference in prices
for the same financial instrument offered on different exchanges.
To know more about Arbitrage and a few compelling examples: Click Here
Diversification
Diversification includes different types of investments like stocks, bonds, real estate,
commodities, etc., in the portfolio to mitigate the risk. Even for stocks, one should
invest in more than one industry to diversify the portfolio. It will help hedge against the
market volatility, and it will reduce the risk to give higher returns in the long term.
Mutual Funds
A mutual fund professionally manages a well-diversified investment portfolio on behalf
of the investors, and they charge small fees in return. It could be an ideal investment
vehicle for those who do not know how to invest or do not have enough time to
regularly follow market trends. Investors can select a mutual fund scheme based on
their financial goals.
Mergers and Acquisitions
When a company takes over another company, it becomes the new owner; it's called
an Acquisition. From a legal viewpoint, the target company ceases to exist; the buyer
controls the business. The buyer's stock continues to be traded, while the target
company's stock ceases to trade.
A Merger is the voluntary fusion of two companies into one new legal entity. The firms
that agree to merge are roughly equal in terms of size, customers, the scale of
operations, etc. Therefore, the term "merger of two equals" is sometimes used.
Mergers are most done to gain market share, reduce operational cost, expand to new
territories, unite common products, and increase profits - all of which should benefit
the firms' shareholders. After a merger, shares of the new company are distributed to
existing shareholders of both original businesses.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

RBI is the central bank of India, which is the only bank that is authorized to plan,
prepare, and implement monetary policy for India. The primary objective of RBI is to
maintain price stability by keeping inflation in check. It also ensures the consistent
growth of the economy while making decisions. RBI issues currency and also
exchanges or destroys currency not fit for circulation. RBI is known as the 'bank of all
banks' because it regulates all banks in India.
Security Exchange Commission of India (SEBI)
SEBI, also known as the Security Exchange Commission of India, is the regulator and
controller of India's capital markets. The stock market, Money market, etc., fall under
the bracket of the capital market. SEBI primarily works for the investors' best interest
to maintain their confidence in the market by ensuring many checks and balances to
maintain transparency. SEBI was given statutory power under the SEBI Act, 1992 on
30 January 1992.
Basel Norms
Basel Norms are the international standards issued by the Basel Committee that aim
to deal with the banking regulations and was established to strengthen the banking
system worldwide. The committee was established in 1974 and included central bank
governors of ten countries to solve the issues regarding the regulatory framework of
financial institutions.
Basel I
Basel is the first accord issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
(BCBS) in Basel, Switzerland. The accords were first established in 1988 and deal
with the minimum capital requirements for banks. The main aim of these norms is to
minimize the risks associated with the financial institutions, which include the credit
risks that occur when a borrower from the bank cannot repay his loan.
Basel II
The Basel II accord was first published in June 2004 and has devised rules regarding
cash that has to be maintained by financial institutions to compensate for their
operations as well as other liquidity risks. This norm is second in the series of accords
issued by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS). The Basel II norms
were added to the Basel I norms to accommodate more deep models for calculating
regulatory capital. These norms suggested mandating the financial institutions to hold
more capital, which corresponds to the risks associated with the institution.
The three crucial pillars of Basel II are:
• Minimum Capital Requirement: It deals with the regulatory capital for the bank,
which will compensate for the credit risk, market risk, and regulatory risk associated
with the bank.
• Supervisory review: This pillar works as a regulator for pillar I and provides a
framework to deal with systematic risk, liquidity risk, and legal risk associated with
the bank.
• Market discipline: It mandates the institution to provide information relating to the
institution to the investors and the various stakeholders. This pillar helps them to
establish the capital sufficiency of the financial institution.
Basel III
These norms were published in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008. These
were first published in November 2010 and was scheduled to be introduced from 2013;
however, it was extended to 31 March 2019. The accord deals with the problems faced
during the financial crisis. It aims to strengthen the bank's capital requirements by
increasing the banks' liquidity and decreasing the financial leverage associated with
the banks.
Topics - Finance
1. Role of AI/ML in Finance
2. Bank Mergers
3. The anticipation of the world towards the turnaround of global financial markets
4. How can the MSME sector evolve in these recessionary conditions?
5. The exploding use of A.I. in the investment and banking sector
6. The implication of US-China trade wars on the macroeconomic growth of the
Indian economy
7. Impact of Covid-19 on investment decisions
8. Steps the Indian government is taking to combat an economic slowdown
9. Is Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 useful reform to recover back bad
loans?
10. ESG Investing
11. Structural changes in the Indian banking system to tackle the problem of
growing NPAs
12. Recent moratorium implemented on different banks and the impact
PI Questions
1. What are the various capital budgeting methods?
2. Explain NPV and IRR.
3. Can we have multiple IRR? When do we have multiple IRR?
4. Which method is better to make an investment decision - NPV or IRR?
5. What do you mean by the financial statements? What are its types? How are
they interlinked with each other? State the treatment of prepaid expenses in
each of the financial statements?
6. What is the market cap of the company? Is it the same as the net worth of the
company?
7. What is depreciation? Why do we calculate it? What is the rate of depreciation
on furniture? Compute the depreciation on the chair you are sitting by both
methods?
8. If you are to invest in a company's share, what are the three things you will
check in their books of accounts?
9. What is the importance of the different financial statements? Which, according
to you, is the most important and why?
10. How is Corporate Income double taxed?
11. How will you decide which project to Finance?
12. Extempore on Budget
13. What is GDP (Purchasing Power Parity)
14. Difference between cost, financial, and management accounting.
15. What is the difference between operating leverage and financial leverage?
16. What is the difference between the balance sheet of the company and a bank?
17. What is the difference between Depreciation and Amortization?
18. Views about recent share buybacks by companies like TCS (6 October 2020),
WIPRO (12 October 2020), and how does the decision of share buyback affect
the company?
Preparation Tips or Potential Interview questions:
1. Read financial statements from the company's annual reports in which you
were working, if you have work experience.
2. Pick any one sector and thoroughly prepare on the growth, investments, key
financial parameters used in the sector analysis, and recent current affairs.
3. Be very clear with the basic concepts, especially if you have a
commerce/economics background. Financial statements, capital budgeting
methods, financial ratios are some important topics. Be clear with the concepts
of depreciation, amortization, tangible and intangible assets, and other basic
accounting terms. You should be able to answer everything if your basics are
clear.
4. Must study Financial Crisis 2008 and recent M&A deals in India.
5. In case you are sure that Finance is the domain you wish to choose, be clear
about various career opportunities in Finance and your preference among
them.
6. Have a basic understanding of SENSEX, NIFTY, and stock markets.
7. How did the COVID-19 pandemic boost monopolization and market power?
Must reads
1. Why do we need the National Education Policy? — An article expounding on the

need to reform the education sector.
2. The Essential Commodities Act — A story of how one policy on hoarding might
have done more harm than good.
3. Are property cards a game-changer? —An explainer on how we could
potentially empower rural landowners.
4. What happened to Lakshmi Vilas Bank: The story of how an old bank with a
rich legacy crumbled under its own weight.
5. What does LIC do with its money? — An interesting exposition on LIC and its
investment strategy.
6. Limiting Operations — A story of how the regulator is trying to even the UPI
payments playing field.
7. The changing face of the Life Insurance industry — How HDFC Life is adapting
in a rapidly evolving industry.
8. Do not underestimate the taxman — A classic case study of how the taxman
went after Flipkart and Tiger Global in a bid to retrieve billions in taxes.
9. The Vodafone Tax Saga — One of the longest-running tax sagas in Indian
corporate history simplified.
10. What if we abolished the Income Tax? — This is perhaps one of the most
controversial pieces we have written this year.
11. The best scam stories from 2020.
12. America's Monopoly Problem Goes Way Beyond the Tech Giants.
13. Here's How Covid-19 Is Boosting Monopolization and Market Power.
BY
Marclan - the Marketing Club of IIM Udaipur

What is Marketing?
Marketing is a societal process by which individuals and groups obtain what they need
and want through creating, offering, and freely exchanging products and services of
value to others.
What are Sales?
Sales is an agreement between a buyer and a seller on the price of a security. e.g.,
an insurance agent trying to sell insurance, a salesperson selling encyclopaedias door
to door.
What is the difference between Marketing and Sales?
The selling concept takes an inside-out perspective. It starts with the factory, focuses
on the company’s existing products, and calls for heavy selling and promotion to
produce profitable sales. The marketing concept takes an outside-in perspective. It
starts with a well-defined market, focuses on customer needs, coordinates all the
activities that will affect customers, and produces profits through creating customer
satisfaction.
What is a Product?
Product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or
consumption.
What is a Service?
An act of performance that one party can offer to another that is intangible and does
not result in the ownership of anything. Its product may or may not be tied to a physical
product.
What are Needs, Wants, and Demands?
Needs, Wants, and Demands: Needs describe basic human requirements like food,
air, water, education, entertainment, etc. Needs Become wants when they are directed
to specific objects that might satisfy the need.
Need for food ---> Want for a Hamburger (KFC Zinger).
Demands are wants for specific products backed by a willingness and ability to pay.
Marketers do not create needs. Needs pre-exist marketers. Marketers, along with
other social influencers, influence the wants.
What is Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning?
Segmentation is a marketing technique that helps a marketer identify and profile a
distinct group of buyers with everyday needs. Once the segmentation is complete, the
marketer must decide which segment he/she shall target to sell his/her product or
service. After segmentation and targeting, the marketer must establish and
communicate the benefits of offering to develop an image in the customer's mind.
What is the difference between customer and consumer?
Customer - Buyer, not necessarily a user
Consumer - Might be a buyer, but an end-user.
A product is designed to give maximum satisfaction to the consumer and is branded
and advertised to make the maximum appeal to the customer.
Example – A father purchases a 5 star for his son: in this case, the father is the
customer, and the son is the consumer.
What are the 4 P’s of marketing?
Product – These are the goods and services for sale. The customer considers the
design, quality, features, and functionality of the product.
Price – It is the amount the customer needs to pay to purchase the product. Discount,
payment returns, and credit period are considered in the process.
Place – These are the methods of distribution, channel, and logistics in which the
product reaches the customer. It includes the location of the process.
Promotion – It is the act of creating awareness of the product in the minds of the
consumer. It involves persuading consumers into customers through advertisement,
sales promotion, personal selling, and direct marketing.
What is Digital Marketing?
Digital marketing is a form of direct marketing that links consumers with sellers
electronically using interactive technologies like emails, websites, online forums and
newsgroups, interactive television, mobile communications, etc.
What is Social media marketing?

It is a marketing technique to market your product and brand on various social media
channels like Facebook, Twitter, etc., to increase brand awareness and generate a
lead for the business.
What is Content marketing?
It is creating and promoting content for the product, for brand or customer awareness,
lead generation, and traffic growth for the website.
What does AIDA stand for in advertising?
The AIDA model is an acronym - it stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. It
is a marketing model that describes the steps that a customer goes through in
purchasing a product.
What are the 5 C’s of Marketing?
The 5 C’s help in making the right decisions and construct a well-defined marketing
plan and strategy.
1. Customer – Determine what are the needs of your customer. A few research areas
can be market segments, frequency of purchases, the number of purchases, retail
channel, and customer needs depending on trends over time.
2. Company – Determine if your company can meet those customer needs. For
example, whether your company has the right product line and technical expertise. An
excellent tool to find out your company’s strengths and weaknesses are the “SWOT”
analysis.
• Strengths: innovative products, expertise, and procedures.

• Weaknesses: lack of knowledgeable technical support or average product quality.
• Opportunities: a new international market or a market led by a weak competitor.
• Threats: a new competitor or price war.
3. Competition – Determine who competes with your company in meeting the
customer’s needs. Is the competitor an active competitor, or is it a potential threat?
What are their products exactly? What are their strengths and weaknesses?
4. Collaborators – Determine if there is an outside source or third-party guidance to

help the company, such as distributors, suppliers, etc.
5. Context/Climate – Determine if there are any limitations due to
• Political issues: legal problems, trade regulations, taxes, or labour laws

• Economic issues: growth rate, labour costs, and business cycle stage
• Social impacts: demographics, education, and culture
• Technological developments: impact on cost structures
This is also known as “PEST” analysis.
Which is your favourite advertisement, and why?

To be prepared for this question is it advisable that you check out a few of the latest
ads. Ads with a social message are easy to explain and easy to analyse because it is
obvious why you like them.
Here are a few of the advertisements -
https://top15.in/top-15-indian-advertisements-with-a-social-message/
Explain - Pure monopoly, Oligopoly, Monopolistic competition, Pure Competition.
a) Pure monopoly
A monopoly is a market situation in which there is only one seller of a product with
high entry barriers for others. The product has no close substitutes. He is a price maker
who can set the price to his maximum advantage.
b) Oligopoly
Oligopoly is a market situation in which a few firms are selling homogeneous or
differentiated products. It is also known as the competition among the few.
c.) Monopolistic competition
Monopolistic competition refers to a market situation where many firms are selling
differentiated products. No firm can have any perceptible influence on the other sellers'
price-output policies, nor can it be influenced much by their actions.
d.) Pure Competition
In pure competition, the number of buyers and sellers is enormous. There is perfect
competition among them. Every firm is a price taker and a quality adjuster.
What is a brand, and what is the importance of brand management?

A brand is the set of product or service attributes imbibed in the consumer’s mind in the
form of a name, symbol, logo, design, and trademark. The importance of brand
management is:
- Product differentiation from competitors
- Building a corporate image
- Creating a bundle of benefits for different product categories
- Attract and retain the most loyal customers
Marketing News and Current Affairs

Moment Marketing-
https://www.marketingweekly.in/post/a-brief-and-curious-enquiry-into-moment-
marketing?cid=b3049fd3-231d-403d-ae1d-2fe610c0bdb7
https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/marketing/spotlight-2020-
emerging-marketing-trends/80039204
https://www.marketingweek.com/marketing-weeks-top-news-stories-of-2020/
BY
SKEIN - the Operations Club of IIM Udaipur

Operations Management
Operations management is the administration of business practices to create the
highest level of efficiency possible within an organization. It is concerned with
converting materials and labour into goods and services as efficiently as possible.
Operations management professionals try to balance costs with revenue to
maximize net operating profit.
Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management can be described as managing the flow of products and
services, beginning from the products’ origin and ending at the product's
consumption. It also involves transportation and storage of raw materials involved
in advancing research, production, and fully furnished items.
Advantages
The key advantages of Supply Chain Management are:
1. It develops improved customer relations and service by meeting customer
demands.
2. It improves efficiency and overall organizational functions.
3. It minimizes storage and distribution costs.
4. It assists in getting goods shipped to the right place at the right time.
5. It improves inventory management and supports the successful
implementation of just-in-time stock models.
6. It assists businesses in waste minimization, cost reduction, and efficiency
throughout the supply chain process.
Supply Chain Strategies
1. Push Strategy:
Push strategy relies on modeling, customer demand forecasts, and
pushing as many goods onto the market as possible. The companies
foresee the demand long before it arrives and plans the production and
inventory to meet their needs. For example, winter clothing reaches the
retailers at the end of summer so that as soon as winters arrive, new stock
is there in the shop.
2. Pull Strategy:
Pull Policy is based on customer orders. It helps the company generate the
number of required items. In business, production and distribution depend
on demand. An example of a pull strategy is McDonald’s, where they start
preparing burgers after receiving an order.
Scheduling
Scheduling involves making decisions regarding the allocation of available capacity or
resources (equipment, labour, and space) to jobs, activities, tasks, or customers over
time.
Different types of scheduling strategy
Chase Strategy: Companies that use the chase strategy, or demand matching
strategy, produce only enough goods to meet the demand or exactly match that
demand.
Make-to-Stock: Instead of setting a production level and then attempting to sell goods,
a company using make-to-stock would estimate how many orders its products could
generate and then supply enough stock to meet those orders.
Make-to-Order: Companies using a make-to-order strategy produce goods after the
customer has placed an order. Often, a company that produces one-of-a-kind goods
uses the make-to-order method.
Assemble-to-order: Assemble-to-order (ATO) is a strategy where products ordered
by customers are produced quickly and are customizable to a certain extent.
Inventory Management
What is Inventory?
Inventory is an idle stock of physical goods that contain an economic value and are
held in various forms by an organization in its custody, awaiting packing, processing,
transformation, use, or sale at a future point in time.
Types of Inventory by Function
INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT
Raw Materials Work In Process Finished Goods
Consumables required Semi-Finished Production in Finished Goods at

for processing. various stages, lying with Distribution Centres
various departments like throughout Supply
E.g.: Fuel, Stationary,
Production, WIP Stores, QC, Chain
Bolts & Nuts, etc.
Final Assembly, Paint Shop,
required in
Packing, Outbound Store, etc.
manufacturing
Maintenance Items or Production Waste and Scrap Finished Goods in

Consumables material transit
Packing Materials Rejections and Defectives Finished Goods with

Stockists and Dealers
Local purchased Items Spare Parts Stocks &

required for production Bought Out items
Repaired Stock and

Parts
Why do manufacturers/organizations hold inventory?
1. Meet variation in production demand

2. Cater to cyclical and seasonal demand
3. Economies of scale in procurement
4. Taking advantage of the price increase and quantity discounts
5. Reduce transit cost and transit time, which in turn will reduce the overall lead
time
Some more terminologies

Throughput Time/ Flow rate – Measures the number of flow units moving through the
process in a given unit of time.
Process Process Time
Batching of raw materials (cement, 180 secs

aggregate, water, admixture)
Mixing of raw materials 120 secs
Dispatch of finished products 90 secs
In the above example, the maximum quantity of concrete that can be produced is 1
cubic meter in a single iteration.
Processing time for each activity is shown. So, the throughput time is the total time
it takes to manufacture 1 cubic meter of concrete.
Cycle Time – There are two types of cycle time- one which can be calculated for each
process involved in the production and the other which can be calculated for the entire
concrete production. Both the cycle time are dependent on the processing capacity
(how many units can be produced in an hour, in this case, the unit will be 1 cubic
meter).
Process Stations available Cycle time = (𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆/

𝒏𝒐. 𝒐𝒇 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏)
Batching 4 45 secs
Mixing 2 60 secs
Dispatch 2 45 secs
Each station’s cycle time is the average amount of time it will take to produce 1 cubic
meter of concrete as output. Assuming each station can carry out one process at a
time, the processing time is divided by the number of workstations. For example,
mixing takes 120 secs per 1 cubic meter of concrete produced. But since there are 2
stations available, 1 cubic meter of concrete can be produced in 60 secs of cycle time.
Bottleneck – The bottleneck is the slowest cycle time (longest cycle time) in the
process, and it determines the rate at which the entire system can produce concrete.
In other words, the bottleneck determines the capacity for the entire manufacturing.
In the above example of concrete manufacturing, the mixing process is the bottleneck.
Just-in-time
The just-in-time (JIT) inventory system is a management strategy that aligns raw-
material orders from suppliers directly with production schedules. Companies employ
this inventory strategy to increase efficiency and decrease waste by receiving goods
only as they need them for the production process, which reduces inventory costs.
This method requires producers to forecast demand accurately.
Some retailers now use the JIT method to streamline the delivery process. For
example, a company that markets office furniture but does not manufacture it may
order the furniture from the manufacturer only when a customer makes a purchase.
The manufacturer delivers it directly to the customer. The retailer has saved the cost
of storing inventory.
Six Sigma
Six Sigma is a disciplined, statistical-based, data-driven approach and continuous
improvement methodology for eliminating defects in a product, process, or service.
The table below demonstrates the number of defects per million at different sigma
levels. Sigma represents the population standard deviation, which is a measure of the
variation in a data set collected about the process. Suppose a defect is defined by
specification limits separating good from bad outcomes of a process. In that case, a
six-sigma process has a process mean (average) that is six standard deviations from
the nearest specification limit. This provides enough buffer between the natural
process variation and the specification limits.
Trending topics in Supply Chain

COVID-19 has accelerated the process of organizational revamp. Organizations are
focusing on automation and AI capabilities, which simplifies the supply chain. Few
trends that can be seen soon in 2021 are smarter supply chain towers, which can
anticipate potential problems and provide resolutions in an automated, optimized
fashion at a regional and global scale. To maximize resilience and ensure business
continuity, companies need to maximize every available channel. Having an
omnichannel can help in case of a natural calamity and reduces dependence on one
source. The real-time systems and processes help to minimize information lag time.
The rapid changes in demand and supply make historical forecasting difficult. The best
way is to have an agile GDSM approach to continuously reallocate and optimize the
use of resources and manufacturing capacity. There will be a high demand for
vaccines in 2021, which will lead to the establishment of a robust network of cold
chains. 2021 will see many collaborations around forecasts, shipments, ETA, and
inventories in real-time. 2021 is full of opportunities, and the supply chain will see a
significant revamp.
Top Supply Chain trends in 2020

1. Hyperautomation
Hyper automation is a framework to mix and match a vast array of technologies in the
best possible way, such as historic legacy platforms with recently deployed tools and
planned investments. If deployed correctly, hyper-automation can encourage broader
collaboration across domains and act as an integrator for disparate and siloed
functions.
2. Digital supply chain twin

A digital supply chain twin (DSCT) is a digital representation of the physical supply
chain. It is derived from all relevant data across the supply chain and its operating
environment. That makes the DSCT the basis for all local and end-to-end decision
making.
3. Continuous intelligence
Continuous intelligence is one of the most significant opportunities for supply chain
leaders to accelerate their organizations’ digital transformation. It leverages a
computer’s ability to process data at a much faster pace than people can. Supply chain
leaders — or other systems — can look at the processed data, understand what is
happening and take action immediately.
4. Supply chain governance and security
This is an increasingly crucial macro trend, as global risk events are on the rise and
security breaches impact companies on both the digital and physical levels. A wave of
new solutions is anticipated to emerge for supply chain security and governance,
especially in the fields of privacy as well as cyber and data security. Think advanced
track-and-trace solutions, smart packaging, and next-gen RFID and NFC capabilities.
5. Edge computing and analytics
The rise of edge computing, where data is processed and analyzed close to its
collection point, coincides with IoT devices’ proliferation. It’s the technology needed
when there is a demand for low-latency processing and real-time, automated decision
making.
Edge computing is right now making its way into the manufacturing industry. For
example, some organizations have adopted driverless forklifts for their warehouses.
Heavy equipment sellers can use edge computing to analyze when a part needs
maintenance or replacement.
6. Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) in the supply chain consists of a toolbox of technology options
that help companies understand complex content, engage in a natural dialogue with
people, enhance human performance and take over routine tasks. Currently, AI helps
supply chain leaders solve longstanding challenges around data silos and
governance. Its capabilities allow for more visibility and integration across networks of
stakeholders that were previously remote or disparate.
7. 5G Networks
Compared to its predecessors, 5G is a massive step forward with regard to data speed
and processing capabilities. The ubiquitous nature of 5G boosts its potential for supply
chains. For example, running a 5G network in a factory can minimize latency and
enhance real-time visibility and IoT capabilities.
8. Immersive experience
Immersive experience technology such as virtual augmented and mixed reality can
influence the trajectory of supply chain management radically. Those new interaction
models amplify human capabilities. Companies already see the benefits in cases like
onboarding new workers through immersive on-the-job training in a safe, realistic
virtual environment.
For more information on the latest supply chain trends, check out the links below.
● https://www.gartner.com/smarterwithgartner/gartner-top-8-supply-
chain- technology-trends-for-2020/
● https://www.aacb.com/trends-in-supply-chain-and-logistics/
● https://www.riverlogic.com/blog/top-supply-chain-trends-you-need-to-
know- in-2020
● https://www.sdcexec.com/sourcing-
procurement/news/10358095/hitachi- consulting-six-key-trends-
changing-the-supply-chain-management-today
● https://www.supplychain247.com/article/top_trends_accelerating_the_sup
ply_ chain_in_2021/supply_chain

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Tips to ace the PI

Be calm, relaxed, and confident!

General Awareness Topics

4. The Impact of Artificial Intelligence - Widespread Job Losses

7. Relevance of gender sensitivity and #MeToo movement

Some Other Topics

29. How do you respond to change?

Some Topics to Remember

Why in the news?

Help Marginal Farmers

Counterview: Marginal farmers do not have equivalent resources as large corporations

3. OTT Platforms under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

Indian OTT Platforms Industry

As Article 19 of the constitution also imposes certain restrictions on Freedom of

4. National Education Policy

● The NEP 2020 aims at making "India a global knowledge superpower".

● Universalization of education from preschool to secondary level with a 100%

● Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education to be raised to 50% by 2035. Also,

5. The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad)

● Attendees: Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga, Australia's FM Marise

The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD, also known as the

1) The United States

To ensure and support a "free, open and prosperous" Indo-

There is a formation of a matrix of strong trilateral and

1) US–India–Japan trilateral dialogue is now held at the

India has also acquired several major defence platforms

The forthcoming Ministerial meeting signals to China that

6. Environment Impact Assessment Notification 2020

The objective is to predict the environmental impact at an early stage in project

EIA notification 2006:

● Category A: EC from central government

EIA notification 2020:

7. The Bill amends the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010.

● The foreign contribution must be received only in an account designated by the

8. One nation One Election

3. Adverse impact on federalism

4. Adverse Impact on Spirit of Democracy

9. US elections and its outcome: Impact on India and the World

US' Interference in India's Internal Matters

US Elections 2020 At A Glance

● Democratic candidate Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was elected the 46 th

General Bipin Rawat took over as the first Chief of

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman

The 11th edition of DefExpo was held in Lucknow

To boost indigenous defence production, Defence

Skirmishes erupted between India and China on 15th

Boeing handed over the last batch of 5 AH 64-E

The first batch of 5 Dassault Rafale multirole fighter

PM Modi inaugurated the strategic 9.02 km long

1. Who is the CM of your state?

Topics for Extempore

1. US-China Trade war

International News and Events to read up on

1. Political turmoil in Venezuela

Opinion Formulation on the following International developments

1. WHO's efforts to deal with Covid-19

1. How has technology helped in pandemic management?

2. COVID-19 has pushed businesses towards digital/technological

4. Digital transformation in 2021 will be imperative for businesses

5. Artificial Intelligence during a pandemic: The COVID‐19 example

Start with a brief description of Artificial Intelligence. Explain the situation in a

6. Big data and Information privacy - A future challenge