TEAM IGNICION

WAT-PI
IIM LUCKNOW

KIT
2023
DEAR
ASPIRANTS
Congratulations!

IIM Lucknow family extends a hearty congratulations to all of

you for making it this far in the selection process.

To help you prepare for the next leg of your journey and enter
the gates of HelL, Team Ignicion at IIM Lucknow presents to you
the WAT-PI KIT 2023. This document contains domain-specific
information and past interview experiences that can help you
ace the final round of the admission process.

Reach out to us at -

Email: ignicion@iiml.ac.in

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ignicion

Instagram: https://instagram.com/ignicion_iiml

PagalGuy: https://www.pagalguy.com/iim-lucknow-2021-2023-
call-getters-official

We wish you all the very best for your interviews and future
endeavours!

Regards,
Team Ignicion
IIM Lucknow
 CONTENTS
INTERVIEW BASICS
2 How to plan for the interview?
5 HR Questions
10 Interview Tips

DOMAIN PREPARATION
12 Consulting

20 Marketing

27 Economics (Including Budget 2022)

40 Finance

57 HR
64 Entrepreneurship
69 Operations

83 Product Management & Analytics

93 Agribusiness Management

98 Sustainable Management

103 General (Including Current Affairs &

Economic Survey 2021-22)

126 PAST EXPERIENCES

Photographed by
Felix Manzano

Page | 1
 HOW TO PLAN
FOR THE
INTERVIEW?

Page | 2
 HOW DO YOU STRATEGISE AND PLAN FOR YOUR INTERVIEW?

Firstly, you need to understand what a Personal Interview is all about.

What is more important than your CAT preparation? Your interview. An institute forms an
opinion about you as a person through a personal interview.While CAT was all about your IQ, PI is
all about testing your Emotional Intelligence. It is a channel for the institute to get to know you
better as a person and also to judge if you fit into their institute. Thus, knowing yourself is the
most important part of your preparation.

The panel does not expect you to know all the answers. They are more interested in clarity of
thought with regard to what you have accomplished so far.

The focus of your interview can range from specific questions about academics or job to broader
questions about your life, personality and hobbies. Do your homework well. You should have a
well thought and practiced answer for questions that are commonly asked in any interview.

PILLARS OF INTERVIEW PREPARATION

Personality Based Questions

These questions are asked to understand if you are a good fit in the institute and if your
views and personality matches the institute’s culture. These are general questions about
one’s personality and hence it is not acceptable if you cannot answer these questions.
There is no right or wrong answer when it comes to answering personality-based
questions. It is more about understanding your clarity of thoughts. What is important is to
have a consistency through all your answers and thus it is advisable to be honest with
your answers.
It is important to know yourself to answer questions like strengths and weaknesses, long-
term and short-term goals, Why MBA, etc. Avoid answering ‘I don’t have any weaknesses’
as it shows lack of self-awareness. Thus, introspection is the key to answering these
questions.
While answering questions about your personality, try supplementing it with an example
or a short incident that justifies a particular trait.

Academics
Academics is something you cannot let go off even if you have been working. You are still
supposed to remember important details from your graduation. As for freshers, this is one
area that your interview will largely be based on. You need not study everything all over
again. The panel also does not expect you to study 4 years in 4 weeks all over again. What
they expect to know is if you have understood the concepts from graduation well. Hence,
ensure that you are thorough with the basics of what you have studied so far. Also, it is
important to understand the practicality of the subjects you have studied so far.
Tip: Prepare for your favourite subject in depth; Have an explanation ready for why it is
your favourite subject.

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 Work-Experience
For candidates with work experience, majority of your interview will revolve around what
your role is at work. Work profile, the assignments you have worked on and also a little
history and recent developments in your organisation will form major portion of the
questioning in this bucket. You also need to prepare well for examples showcasing your
leadership skills at work as well as team work.
Prepare well on the industry and the current market scenario of the industry you are
employed in. An in-depth information of your employer, processes, businesses, structure,
financial figures is important along with the knowledge of your competitors and their
strategies.
Also, highlight any work achievements, how you accomplished it, what it taught you, etc.

Extra-Curriculars
Any institute wants a well-rounded individual. Extra-curriculars show how balanced an
individual is. Show the interviewer that you are interested in things apart from your
academics and work.
Talk about positions of responsibilities held by you and major learnings, challenges,
teamwork and leadership opportunities.
When talking about your hobbies, try to show how you have consistently tried to be better
at your hobby. The interviewer will expect in-depth of knowledge about your hobby.
Let’s evaluate a scenario, say your hobby is swimming. The interviewer will expect you to
know the dimensions of an Olympic swimming pool, the volume of water in it, the
number of lanes in the pool, the number and names of events in the Olympics, top
international and national players.
Build your answers about your hobby keeping this in mind.

General Awareness
Static GK - Any institute wants a candidate who is aware. You are expected to have
knowledge about politics, civics, history and geography. Don’t be surprised if the
interviewer asks you the number of seats in Lok Sabha.
Current affairs - This is the most feared area of most candidates. Try to read as much as
you can. Making summaries of notes is also very important. We have compiled a list of
important current affairs over the past few months. (This is not an exhaustive list; with
current affairs it never is!)

Abstract
Be prepared for anything, this pillar is for absolutely anything.
The interviewer can ask you to solve a puzzle, give you real life situations or test your
analytical skills by giving you a guesstimate.
You will need to think quickly so be fresh and attentive.

So now that you know about the pillars, create a story linking all the pillars. Keep updating this is
as you give more interviews. Reflect about your life, your goals and your passion as much as you
can to create unique answers.

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 HR
QUESTIONS

Page | 5
 Tell me something about yourself.
Tell me something that is not on your CV.
Introduce yourself in 30 seconds.
Which one word would describe you the best?
Use 3 adjectives to describe yourself.
How would your friends describe you?
Why MBA?
Why IIM Lucknow?
Why do you want to join this institute? What, according to you, makes this institute unique?
Why do you want to join the ABM/SM course?
What will you choose between PGP and ABM?
What are your reasons to join an MBA program this year?
Why do you want to do marketing/finance/consulting/operations/hr?
What other calls do you have? If you convert X institute, would you still choose our institute
over X?
What other calls have you got?
Which discipline in MBA interests you the most? Cite some examples why you think you
might be a good fit for that discipline.
Should more new IIMs be opened in the country or not?
What are your short-term/long-term goals?
What do success and failure mean to you?
Tell me about an accomplishment that you are proud of?
Tell me about a time when you made a mistake and what did you learn from it?
What has been your biggest failure?
Do you have any regrets?
How would you rate yourself on a scale of 1-10?
How do you deal with criticism and sarcasm?
What are the 3 most important events of your life?
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
What is your biggest fear and how did you overcome it?
What is the most difficult decision you made in your life?
Tell us an incident where you stood against your superiors.
Describe a situation where you had a conflict with your colleagues.
Tell me about a time where you had trouble at work while working on a project.
Tell me about a time where you displayed leadership skills.
Describe a situation where you messed up.
Do you consider yourself a team player?
State 5 of your strengths and your weaknesses each? Why do you think XYZ (particular
characteristic) to be a strength/weakness? How have you handled it in the past? If not faced,
how will you handle a scenario (based on your weakness) in future?

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 What are the qualities of a Leader? What is the difference between a Leader and a Manager?
What was an experience in your life that you would want to go back and change?
What is the major setback that you have faced so far in your life? What did you learn from it?
Give an example where you have displayed commendable leadership skills.
Are you a team player? Give an instance.
Why did you quit your job?
By the time you join IIM L (if you get selected), you would have around 30 months of work
experience. Why do you want to make a switch at this point in your career?
What are you looking for in a new opportunity?
Why should IIM Lucknow take you in the PGP program?
Give us 3 reasons not to select you
What are the added advantages that a manager with technical background can provide?
Why should we select you given that there are thousands of similar applicants like you?
Mention a few aspects that you bring to the table if you are selected.
What value can you add to the class?
Are you a hard worker or a smart worker?
What sets you apart from others?
What are your hobbies?
Your passion and why?
Who is your role model (both family and non-family)? Why?
What motivates you?
How do you handle pressure?
What makes you uncomfortable?
If you were an animal what would you be?
Justification for year gap, if any?
We do not believe that extracurricular involvement is reason enough to justify your low
grades. What do you have to say?
What values did you learn through your extracurricular activities?
Did you hold a significant position of responsibility at your college? What did it teach you?
What is your contingency plan if you do not get selected in this interview?
If given a chance what would you do differently in this interview?
List three things that you like about my home town.
Tell me five unique things about your hometown.
What do you know about the political conditions of your hometown?
How important do you feel is social responsibility nowadays?
Did you ever face any ethical dilemma while you were working? How did you deal with it?
Describe the roles & responsibilities, and a project that I was working at that time in the firm.
Have you ever tackled any situation where you had limited resources and you had to manage
with it? How?
What adversity do you think you’ll face the most while pursuing your MBA?

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 Tell me 3 things that you learned from your job.
What are the reasons for you leaving the job?
Motivation behind your startup?
Mention a few things that you should not do in the workplace.
Why switch from x to y sector?
Work Ex related question - As you are already working as a Consultant at Deloitte, what
would you gain from joining IIM Lucknow. Why PGDM?
Tell us about your family business, the industry, your contribution? How will MBA help to scale
it further?
After MBA, job or Entrepreneurship?
International Trends in management domains.
News Headlines.
What are the famous things (food, clothes, monuments, etc) of your village/ city/ state and
Lucknow?
Last book you read, details about it- author, last line said by the protagonist, other books by
the same author?
Any new hobbies you developed during covid19?
How did you spend time during Covid-19 to become better?
What questions do you have for me?

SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS
How would you handle a situation where one of your team members is not working hard
enough?
In your CV form you have written that your work experience has taught you how to say ‘no’.
Can you tell us a little more about this?
If you have a family business you will not sit for placements or leave the job at an early stage.
Why should we choose you over a student who will sit for the placements and be a future
recruiter?
The candidate before you was a national level sports person. We believe he/she would bring
in more diversity at our institute. Give us 3 reasons why we should still select you.
Suppose we are a board of directors and we order you that out of the 3 options do not
suggest the best one for the client but suggest the one where we(Company) will earn
something. What shall you do?
Your boss tells you to distribute cards of his daughter’s marriage to top business associates
related to the company during the work hours. What would you do?
Now the boss tells you to tell an employee to do the task given in 3 days. But the employee
refuses. The boss is angry and hell bent that you have to fire that employee. Convincing him is
not an option. Either you will fire him or you will get fired, even then, that employee will have
to be fired. Now what will you do?

Page | 8
 Suppose, I am the PM of Greece, I hire your team as a company. Revive my economy as
efficiently, quickly and robustly as possible.
You have joined a bank which was Govt. Owned first but is now privatized, the people are
incompetent, what will you do as a leader to solve the deadlock?
You are a manager and you have to take a decision where you either pay a bribe or lose the
contract causing a loss of livelihood to 400 families.
If you are a new company and want to expand, would you resort to unethical practices for
your success, why or why not, counter questions about answers given
As you mentioned you play badminton, what can be the future of Saina Nehwal?
Suppose if an employee is to get promoted. You want to surprise them, but they are
dissatisfied and will leave. What will you do? Okay, now tell me if you know that someone has
to be fired but the management has not informed them will you?
Consider the scenario - You win a million-dollar lottery. Would you still be working?

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 INTERVIEW
TIPS

Page | 10
 Always prepare some good questions to ask the interviewer. These should not be about how
your interview went or placement statistics. Instead, focus on the learning opportunities,
electives available, research possibilities if you are interested etc. Treat it as an opportunity to
show your interest and knowledge about the course to the interviewer.

Any interview is a conversation, so be as natural as possible. Be confident, smile a bit, speak

with conviction and do not come across as wooden or boring. Don’t be arrogant or
overconfident, it will negate all the good things you do.

The faculty is interviewing hundreds of candidates. You need to build on your story and
differentiate yourself from them and give the interviewers a reason to pick you.

Go through the website of IIM Lucknow and try to get an overview of the course structure
and general information about the institute.

Have a good knowledge about the state/city you hail from and Lucknow, especially the
current affairs.

Everything you say should be backed up what you say with good relevant examples. Your
story should be complete and cohesive.

Do not go to the interview with a fixed mindset. Your interview may be nothing like what we
have described above. It is always important for you to keep a cool head and think clearly.
Your attitude and poise in the interview are as important, if not more, than what you know or
do not know.

Get a good sleep before your interview. BEING CALM DURING THE INTERVIEW IS OF UTMOST
IMPORTANCE.

Know your CV like the back of your hand.

Keep your composure; sometimes interviewers might try to rattle you up by asking
uncomfortable questions just to test your mettle.

If you don’t know the answer, try taking an educated guess or say you don’t know/remember.
Do not try to beat around the bush. Ex) Sir, honestly, I have never heard of this term but when
I get back, I will definitely make sure I read about it.

Keep a track of the time and don’t make good morning/good afternoon greeting mistakes. It
reflects your presence of mind.

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 CONSULTING

CONSULTING AND STRATEGY CLUB

YouTube:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr
q83R9MiXbuChoqGqGpIWQ
LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/in/consult-club-
iim-lucknow-a0345664
App: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?
id=com.csc1.myapplicationi

Page | 12
 CONSULTING - AN INTRODUCTION

Consulting is the branch of management that deals in providing expertise to businesses and
organizations to solve typical problems related to domains such as growth, strategy,
operational excellence, etc. Consulting means “engaged in the business of giving expert
advice to people working in a specific field.” In other words, a consultant is somebody who
gives advice to a specific group of people. The true meaning of consulting is helping
people solve problems and move from their current state to their desired state.
There are three main reasons people decide to bring in outside advice:
They are simply unable to figure it out or get to their desired state on their own.
They have a general idea, but they want to get there faster.
They want to save time and effort by following an efficient, proven system.
The three main categories of consulting:
Management Consulting: It is what most people think of when someone says “consulting.”
This field is dominated by large firms like McKinsey & Co., Bain & Co., and Boston
Consulting Group, which are hired to help enterprise businesses improve strategy and
operations or manage significant business events like mergers and acquisitions.
Corporate Consulting: Category of corporate consulting covers a massive spectrum of job
descriptions and focuses. This is a catch-all category that includes in-house consulting
services, implementation teams, B2B consulting businesses, and a host of other things.
Independent Consulting: Done by professionals who have developed expertise in an area,
they choose to build and run their own business around that knowledge rather than
continuing as an employee.

Consulting as a Career: You will develop business acumen over a multitude of industries by
solving the most pressing and complex problems faced by companies. The learning curve is very
steep since you work with the best of the best and interact with top management very often. It
helps build a structured thought process and superior analytic mindset. (Prepare a why
consulting answer based on your goals.)

Consulting firms: McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co, Kearney, Mastercard
Advisors, KPMG, EY, Deloitte, PricewaterhouseCoopers.

What is Strategy:
Strategy is a set of goal-directed actions a firm takes to gain and sustain superior performance
relative to competitors. A good strategy consists of 3 elements:
A diagnosis of the competitive challenge
A guiding policy to address the competitive challenge
A set of coherent actions to implement the firm’s guiding policy.

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 What is competitive advantage?
Competitive advantage is always relative, not absolute. To assess competitive advantage, we
compare firm performance to a benchmark — that is, either the performance of other firms in
the same industry or an industry average.
A firm that achieves superior performance relative to other competitors in the same industry
or the industry average has a competitive advantage.
Strategy is about creating superior value, while containing the cost to create it. Managers
achieve this combination of value and cost through strategic positioning. That is, they stake
out a unique position within an industry that allows the firm to provide value to customers,
while controlling costs. The greater the difference between value creation and cost, the
greater the firm’s economic contribution and the more likely it will gain competitive
advantage.
Sustainable competitive advantage: A firm that is able to outperform its competitors or
the industry average over a prolonged period of time.
Competitive disadvantage: Under performance relative to other competitors in the same
industry or the industry average.
Competitive parity: Situation when two or more firms perform at the same level.

Problems solved by a Consultant:

Guesstimates: Consultants are required to make educated estimates about the size of a
problem or impact of a strategy, using their logical ability, general knowledge and problem
specific learnings (garnered through extensive research and asking good questions).

Profitability: Case, wherein, the client is facing an unexpected drop in profits in the recent
past.
Frameworks/Techniques -
Identifying revenue sources and cost centers
Systematic analysis of revenue and cost levers
Competitor benchmarking
Value chain analyses

Market Entry: Case, wherein, the client requires assistance or advice in deciding whether to
make an investment in a new market.
Frameworks/Techniques -
PESTEL analysis
SWOT analysis
Porter’s 5 forces
Quantitative estimation of market attractiveness

Mergers and Acquisitions: Case, wherein, the client seeks advice on whether to execute a
strategic merger or acquisition.
Frameworks/Techniques -
Estimate standalone value of the firm to be acquired
Analyse revenue and cost synergies arising due to the merger/acquisition
Study the capabilities of the acquiring firm to execute the merger/acquisition

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 PESTEL Framework: The PESTEL model groups the factors in the firm’s general environment
into six segments and provides a way to scan, monitor, and evaluate the important external
factors and trends.
Political: Focus on how and to what degree a government intervenes in the economy by
analyzing government policies, political stability or instability in overseas markets, foreign
trade policies, tax policies, labour laws, environmental laws, trade restrictions and so on.
Economic: Economic factors in a firm’s external environment are largely macroeconomic,
affecting economy-wide phenomena. Managers need to consider how the following five
macroeconomic factors can affect firm strategy:
Growth rates. Levels of employment. Interest rates. Price stability (inflation and
deflation). Currency exchange rates.
Social: Also known as socio-cultural factors, are the areas that involve the shared belief and
attitudes of the population. These factors include – population growth, age distribution,
health consciousness, career attitudes and so on. These factors are of particular interest as
they have a direct effect on how marketers understand customers and what drives them.
Technological: We all know how fast the technological landscape changes and how this
impacts the way we market our products. Technological factors affect marketing and the
management thereof in three distinct ways:
New ways of producing goods and services
New ways of distributing goods and services
New ways of communicating with target markets

Page | 15
 Legal: These factors have both external and internal sides. There are certain laws that affect
the business environment in a certain country while there are certain policies that companies
maintain for themselves. Legal analysis takes into account both of these angles and then
charts out the strategies in light of these legislation. For example, consumer laws, safety
standards, labour laws, etc.
Environmental: These factors include all those that influence or are determined by the
surrounding environment. Factors of a business environmental analysis include but are not
limited to climate, weather, geographical location, global changes in climate, environmental
offsets, etc.

Industry Structure and Firm Strategy: The Five Forces Model

Used for industry analysis. It is used to check the lucrativeness and the general trend in the
industry. This is to help managers understand the profit potential of different industries and
how they can position their respective firms to gain and sustain competitive advantage.
Porter’s model identifies five key competitive forces that managers need to consider when
analyzing the industry environment and formulating competitive strategy:
Threat of entry: The threat of new entrants to the market determines the sustainability of
estimated market share. It is evaluated in terms of market entry barriers which may be in
the form of high fixed cost, product differentiation etc.
Power of suppliers: A competitive market with limited suppliers brings with its high
level of bargaining power of suppliers.
Power of buyers: Multiple products of same category gives the buyers an advantage in
bargaining, thus high bargaining power of buyers exists in multi-brand products. Five
forces analysis helps organizations to understand the factors affecting profitability in a
specific industry and can help to inform decisions relating to: whether to enter a specific
industry; whether to increase capacity in a specific industry; and developing competitive
strategies
Threat of substitutes: There is always a threat of substitute products replacing the
existing product(s) of a firm. Substitutes could lead to obsolescence.
Rivalry among existing competitors: Existing rivalry between firms can take a firm’s
profits to zero and may lead to shut down (ex. During price wars). In a competitive
environment, firm’s decision is highly influenced by what the competitors do.

SWOT Analysis:
This enables to evaluate a firm’s current situation and future prospects by simultaneously
considering internal and external factors. The SWOT analysis encourages managers to scan
the internal and external environments, looking for any relevant factors that might affect the
firm’s current or future competitive advantage.
The focus is on internal and external factors that can affect—in a positive or negative way—the
firm’s ability to gain and sustain a competitive advantage.

Page | 16
 To facilitate a SWOT analysis, managers use a set of strategic questions that link the firm’s
internal environment to its external environment to derive strategic implications.

Strategy requires you to make trade-offs in competing - to choose what not to do. Strategy
also requires creating a “fit” among company activities. Fit has to do with the ways a
company’s activities interact and reinforce one another. The activities of the company should
not seem to contradict with one another.
The strategic management process helps company leaders assess their company's present
situation, chalk out strategies, deploy them and analyses the effectiveness of the
implemented strategies. The strategic management process involves analysing cross-
functional business decisions prior to implementing them.

BCG Matrix
The quadrant matrix developed by Boston Consulting Group in the early 1960s is used to plan
market strategies. Growth rate is determined by reference to market research, or it can be
estimated.

Page | 17
 “Competitive position” includes an assessment of the firm’s overall market penetration and
profitability compared to the other players in that market. Products are then positioned in
the four cells as shown in the figure.
Cash Cows: Large Market Share in a mature industry. Requires little investment.
Star: Larger Market Share in growing industry. Requires investment to maintain the lead.
Question Marks: Small Market Share in a growing market. Requires focus and resources.
Dogs: Small Market Share in a mature industry. Little prospect for gain.

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 Ansoff matrix
One of the most useful tools for strategic planning is the Ansoff Matrix. It is an analytical tool that
helps business leaders identify the most effective strategies for responding to changes in the
market and achieving their goals. The Ansoff Matrix identifies four different types of strategies:
Market Penetration, Product Development, Market Development and Diversification.
Market Penetration: This strategy focuses on increasing sales of existing products to existing
customers. Companies can do this by improving the product, increasing advertising or
promotional activities, or offering discounts or loyalty programs.
Product Development: This strategy involves creating new products or services to meet
customer needs. Companies often use this strategy when they want to expand the range of
products they offer or to differentiate their products from those of their competitors.
Market Development: This strategy involves expanding the customer base by targeting new
markets. Companies can do this by entering new geographical areas, launching new
distribution channels, or targeting different demographic groups.
Diversification: This strategy involves entering new product and market areas. Companies can
do this by acquiring other companies or launching new products or services. Diversification is
often considered a high-risk strategy, as it involves investing in unfamiliar markets and
products.

Page | 19
Page | 20
 MARKETING

PRiSM: The Marketing Cell

Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/prism.iiml
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/prism.iimlucknow/
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/prismiimluc
know/

Page | 21
 SALES V/S MARKETING

MARKETING:
“Marketing is the social process by which individuals and organizations obtain what they need
and want through creating and exchanging value with others.”– Philip Kotler

SALES:
Sales is the act of transferor exchange of a commodity for money or another commodity and
involves a minimum of two people - buyer and seller.

MARKETINGOVER THE YEARS

Production Orientation Era (1800s-1920s)

This era highlighted a tunnelled focus on mass production. Companies thought that customers
are willing to pay for products that are cheap and readily available. Thus, business efforts were
primarily geared toward increasing the quantity rather than the quality of the output.
Manufacturers followed the principle of mass production to lower costs and more sales. When it
comes to marketing, businesses focused their efforts on promoting low prices and beating their
competitors.

Sales Orientation Era (1920s-1940s)

As more companies join the field, the sales tactics become even more competitive. Generally,
mass-produced products were already the norm. Back then, companies cared more about sales

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 volume rather than customer satisfaction. This ushered an idea that consumers will want to buy
a company’s products if they are enticed through eye-catching sales promotions. The Sales
Orientation was an era when companies heavily rely on marketing promotions to sell products
that companies made.

Marketing Orientation Era (1940s-1970s)

It was around the 1940s when industries realized that focusing only on their business needs often
leaves customers unsatisfied. At this stage, businesses’ marketing tactics include identifying what
customers need and effectively customizing activities that address these needs.
Hence, the marketing concept was born. It revolves around the idea that reaching the business
goals relies on understanding the needs of target customers first. Additionally, it concerns
providing them with the desired satisfaction than its competitors.

Societal Orientation (1970s-Present)

In this era, a marketing theory called societal marketing came into existence. It’s a concept that
emphasizes an organization’s responsibility to develop strategies that positively impact the
consumers’ well-being and the environment. It stemmed from a conflict of interest between
satisfying the customers’ short-term needs with society’s long-term welfare. During this phase,
companies shifted their goals to provide a better-quality lifestyle while ensuring that the
environment is not polluted. They don’t just create high-quality products; they were
environmentally friendly, too.

Digital marketing (1990s-Present)

Digital marketing opened the doors of opportunities for better traffic and exposure for products
or services. From the early 90s to today, almost half of the world’s population is online.
Businesses’ have since then moved on to digital platforms to effectively reach their target
market.

IMPORTANT CONCEPTS OF MARKETING:

STP (Segmentation, Targeting, Positioning)

Page | 23


This involves dividing the market into segments. This can be based upon various

groups of people who can buy the product. E.g.,
criteria upon which we can classify
Segmentation
Market for cars can be classified
income wise, i.e., a group of people who can afford
a 1 lakh car, some people can afford

a 5-lakh car and some 20 lakhs and so on.

of the market we are targeting, i.e., for whom are
This involves deciding which group
Targeting
we creating this product/service?

This involves positioning the product/service based on the target market. So, with
Positioning

the positioning per a target segment, the product will attract that set of customers.

MARKETING MIX

7Ps OF MARKETING:
Product — This signifies the product or the service the company is bringing to the market, its
key features, its USP’s (Unique Selling propositions).
Place — This signifies the placement of the product/service. It includes where the product will
be visible to the consumers and where they can buy it.
Price — This signifies the pricing strategy of the product. It includes at what price point the
product/service will be sold to the target segment.
Promotion — This involves the strategy with which the company will attract customers and
promote its product in various media (print, TV, social).
People — The ‘people’ element of the 7Ps involves anyone directly, or indirectly, involved in
the business-side of the enterprise. People who are involved in selling a product or service,
designing it, managing teams, representing customers etc.
Process — This includes the delivery of your service in front of the customer. It basically talks
about the ‘ease of doing business’ and repeatedly delivering the same standard of service.
Physical Evidence — Physical evidence often takes two forms: evidence that a service or
purchase took place and proof or confirmation of the existence of your brand. Physical
evidence brings a brand to the forefront of the game, and set it apart from your competitors
by showing you as professional, authentic and informed.

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 IMPORTANT TERMINOLOGIES:
Brand Recall
Brand extension
B2C marketing
Product Line Extension
B2B marketing
Top of the mind awareness
Digital and Social Media Marketing
Consumer Purchase Journey
Guerrilla Marketing
Surrogate Advertising
Brand Image
Ambush Marketing
Brand Personality
Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs
Brand Loyalty
Ansoff Matrix
Brand Equity
Moment marketing
Brand Revitalization

DIGITAL MARKETING

The term digital marketing refers to the use of digital channels to market products and services
in order to reach consumers. This type of marketing involves the use of websites, mobile devices,
social media, search engines, and other similar channels. Digital marketing became popular with
the advent of the internet in the 1990s.

Digital marketing involves some of the same principles as traditional marketing and is often
considered a new way for companies to approach consumers and understand their behaviour.
Companies often combine traditional and digital marketing techniques in their strategies. But it
comes with its own set of challenges, including implicit bias. This form of marketing is different
from internet marketing, which is exclusively done on websites.

The following are eight of the most common avenues that companies can take to boost their
marketing efforts. Keep in mind that some companies may use multiple channels in their efforts.
•
Website Marketing: A website is the centrepiece of all digital marketing activities. A website
should represent a brand, product, and service in a clear and memorable way.

Pay-Per-Click Advertising: Pay-per-click advertising enables marketers to reach Internet users

on a number of digital platforms through paid ads. The most popular platforms are Google Ads
and Facebook Ads.

Content Marketing: The goal of content marketing is to reach potential customers through the
use of content. The tools of content marketing include blogs, eBooks, online courses,
infographics, podcasts, and webinars.

Email Marketing: Email marketing is still one of the most effective digital marketing channels.
Many people confuse email marketing with spam email messages, but that’s not what email
marketing is all about. This type of marketing allows companies to get in touch with potential
customers and anyone interested in their brands.

Social Media Marketing: The primary goal of a social media marketing campaign is brand
awareness and establishing social trust. As you go deeper into social media marketing, you can
use it to get leads or even as a direct marketing or sales channel. Promoted posts and tweets are
two examples of social media marketing.
•

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 Affiliate Marketing: With affiliate marketing, influencers promote other people’s products and
get a commission every time a sale is made or a lead is introduced. Many well-known companies
like Amazon have affiliate programs that pay out millions of dollars per month to websites that
sell their products.

Video Marketing: There are several video marketing platforms, including Facebook Videos,
Instagram, and even TikTok to use to run a video marketing campaign. Companies find the most
success with video by integrating it with SEO, content marketing, and broader social media
marketing campaigns.

SMS Messaging: Companies and non-profit organizations also use SMS or text messages to send
information about their latest promotions or give opportunities to willing customers.

BCG MATRIX

The growth share matrix was built on the logic that market leadership results in sustainable
superior returns. Ultimately, the market leader obtains a self-reinforcing cost advantage that
competitors find difficult to replicate. These high growth rates then signal which markets have
the most growth potential.
The matrix reveals two factors that companies should consider when deciding where to invest—
company competitiveness, and market attractiveness—with relative market share and growth
rate as the underlying drivers of these factors.
Each of the four quadrants represents a specific combination of relative market share, and
growth:

Low Growth, High Share. Companies should milk these “cash cows” for cash to reinvest.
High Growth, High Share. Companies should significantly invest in these “stars” as they have
high future potential.
High Growth, Low Share. Companies should invest in or discard these “question marks,”
depending on their chances of becoming stars.
Low Share, Low Growth. Companies should liquidate, divest, or reposition these “pets.”

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 PUSH VS PULL MARKET:
Content Marketing Distribution: Pull vs Push

PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE:

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 ANSOFF MATRIX

Ansoff Matrix is a model useful for companies looking for expansion. The Ansoff Matrix provides a
route for the expansion using product and market as parameters.

If the company chooses to move ahead with the same product portfolio within the same
market, it is seen to take the route of Market Penetration. In such a situation, the role of extensive
promotional strategies and product rebranding becomes critical.

The route of Product development is taken when the company wants to launch new product
categories into the existing market.

Similarly, when the company chooses to expand into newer markets with the same product
portfolio, it is taking the route of Market Development.

When the company chooses to introduce new products in new markets, it is called
Diversification and this, of all options is the riskiest and the costliest one.

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 PORTER'S FIVE FORCES MODEL

Porter's Five Forces is a model that identifies and analyses five competitive forces that shape
every industry and helps determine an industry's weaknesses and strengths. Five Forces analysis
is frequently used to identify an industry's structure to determine corporate strategy.

Porter's model can be applied to any segment of the economy to understand the level of
competition within the industry and enhance a company's long-term profitability. The Five
Forces model is named after Harvard Business School professor, Michael E. Porter.

Porter's 5 forces are:

1. Competition in the industry
2. Potential of new entrants into the industry
3. Power of suppliers
4. Power of customers
5. Threat of substitute products

1. Competition in the Industry: The first of the Five Forces refers to the number of competitors
and their ability to undercut a company. The larger the number of competitors, along with the
number of equivalent products and services they offer, the lesser the power of a company.

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 2. Potential of New Entrants Into an Industry: A company's power is also affected by the force
of new entrants into its market. The less time and money it costs for a competitor to enter a
company's market and be an effective competitor, the more an established company's position
could be significantly weakened.

3. Power of Suppliers: The next factor in the Porter model addresses how easily suppliers can
drive up the cost of inputs. It is affected by the number of suppliers of key inputs of a good or
service, how unique these inputs are, and how much it would cost a company to switch to
another supplier. The fewer suppliers to an industry, the more a company would depend on a
supplier.

4. Power of Customers: The ability that customers have to drive prices lower or their level of
power is one of the Five Forces. It is affected by how many buyers or customers a company has,
how significant each customer is, and how much it would cost a company to find new
customers or markets for its output.

5. Threat of Substitutes: The last of the Five Forces focuses on substitutes. Substitute goods or
services that can be used in place of a company's products or services pose a threat. Companies
that produce goods or services for which there are no close substitutes will have more power to
increase prices and lock in favourable terms. When close substitutes are available, customers will
have the option to forgo buying a company's product, and a company's power can be weakened.

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 SOME BASIC QUESTIONS ON MARKETING

What is marketing?
What is Sales?
What is the difference between marketing and sales?
What is the difference between a consumer and a customer?
What is a brand?
Define STP?
Name your favourite brand and its positioning
What are the 4 Ps of Marketing? Give an example of the 4 Ps.
What are the 7 Ps of Marketing?
What is Porter's 5 Forces? What is Porter's 5 Forces used for?
What is Holistic Marketing?
What is SEO? How does SEO work?
What is digital marketing?
How do you measure the performance of digital marketing?
What is the Product life cycle?
What was the impact of COVID-19 on marketing?
What are some emerging trends in Marketing?
What is the importance of marketing?
Give examples of how some brands reacted to COVID-19?
Do you think COVID-19 has changed marketing forever?
What is the difference between a product and a service?
What is the difference between B2B and B2C?
What is the marketing strategy of your company?
What is your favourite advertisement and why?
What is the difference between social media marketing and digital marketing?
What is traditional marketing?
What are ATL, BTL and TTL forms of promotional strategies?
What is point of sales advertising?
How do you define impulse purchasing?
How has COVID changed the advertising/marketing landscape for the country?*
Give examples of companies which have changed their advertising and promotional
campaigns with respect to the COVID situation in the nation?
Why is it necessary for a company to have a marketing department?
What do you know about Digital Marketing? (lead generation, click per thousands,
impressions, engagement etc.)
What are a few types of pricing strategies used by companies for their products?
Some advertising controversies you can talk about in the recent times?
Talk about your favourite advertisement
You are the marketing head of an XYZ company, How would you market a famous product of
the company?
Why do you think you are a good fit for the role of marketing?
Sales or Marketing?

Page | 31
 ECONOMICS

PUBLIC POLICY CLUB

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Page | 32
 Economics
Economics is the social science that deals with the prioritization of options available by
individuals, society, and government for using scarce resources to meet the various needs of life.

Microeconomics
Microeconomics is the branch of economics that deals with decisions made by individuals,
households and firms to use resources and interactions between them for the utilization and
distribution of scarce resources.

Macroeconomics
Macroeconomics is another branch of economics that deals with the aggregate behaviour of the
economy (regional, national or global) in terms of performance parameters such as inflation,
GDP, national income, price levels etc.

Types of economies:
Capitalist Economy: It is the economy where the decisions about what to produce, how
much to produce and the price at which to sell is solely taken by the market or the private
enterprises in the system, and the state has no economic role. This concept was originated in
the famous work of Adam Smith- The Wealth of Nations (1776).
State Economy: It is the economy where the state solely takes the decision w.r.t production,
distribution, supply and price.
Mixed Economy: It is the economy where the state controls some elements, and the market
regulates the rest. In another way, it can be said that it is the combination of the capitalist
economy and the state economy.

The Game of Demand and Supply:

Demand curve: The demand curve is the graphical representation of the relationship
between the quantity of goods that consumers are willing to buy at each price. Influencing
factors: Income, price of other goods, tastes and preferences.

Supply curve: Relationship between the quantity of a good that producers are willing to sell
and the price of the good.

Market equilibrium:

Page | 33
 The quantity that producers are willing to sell depends not only on the price they receive but
also on their production costs, including wages, interest charges, and the costs of raw materials.
Aggregate demand is the total demand for goods and services in an economy.
Aggregate supply is the total supply of goods and services in an economy.

Money
Is anything that can perform the following functions that can serve as a medium of exchange, as
a store of value, as a unit of account and a standard of deferred payment.

National income and related terms

National Income: The income of the Nation can be calculated in four ways: GDP, NDP, GNP,
and NNP, which is also a subject in ‘National Income Accounting’.
GDP: Gross Domestic Product is the value of all the final goods and services produced within
the boundary of the nation during the period of one year. It is the summation of national
private consumption, gross investment, government spending and trade balance.
NDP: Net Domestic Product (NDP) is the GDP minus the depreciation of the goods and
services produced.
GNP: Gross national product is the value of all final goods and services produced within the
boundary of a nation by its nationals during an accounting period, including net factor
income from abroad. It includes income that our citizens earn abroad and excludes income
that foreigners earn here. GNP indicates both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the
economy.
NNP: Net National Product (NNP) is the GNP minus the depreciation of the economy.
Price fluctuations and terms:
Inflation: Inflation is the quantitative measure of an increase in the general price level of
goods & services, which results in a decrease in the purchasing power per unit of a currency.
Deflation: In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and
services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0%.
Stagflation: Stagflation is the situation of an economy when inflation & unemployment both
are at higher levels, which is opposite to the conventional situation. The conventional belief is
that a trade-off exists between inflation and the unemployment rate according to Phillips
Curve.
GDP Deflator: It is the measure of price behaviour. It is the ratio of GDP at the current price
and GDP at a constant price.
Recession: Is a period during which aggregate output declines. Two consecutive quarters of
decrease in output signal a recession.
Depression: A prolonged and deep recession becomes a depression.

Methods to Measure GDP: There are three methods to measure the GDP which are as follows:

1. Expenditure Method: The expenditure technique also known as the Income Disposal
approach is the most popular and commonly used of the three. It computes the expenditure of
several components such as domestic consumers, private enterprises, and the government. The
total of which is the GDP.

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 Y= C + I + G + NX
C: Domestic Consumption of goods and services
I: Private Investment in capital goods
G: Government Expenditure
NX: Net Exports = Exports of Goods & Services – Imports of Goods

2. Income Method: The income technique is used to calculate national income, which entails
aggregating the pre-tax earnings of people and enterprises in the economy. In a given
accounting year, it includes income from workers, rent from buildings and land, interest on
capital, profits, and so on. The income method depicts how national money is allocated across
the major earning groups in the economy.

`GDP=Total National Income + Sales Taxes + Depreciation + Net Foreign Factor Income

3. Value-Added Method: The value-added method, also known as the product approach, is
based on the product's net value added at each stage of manufacturing. The economy is often
organised into numerous industry sectors in terms of product technology, such as fishing,
agriculture, and transportation. The whole output of the economy's enterprises is added together
to calculate national income.

GDP of various Economies (As per World Economic Outlook, October 2022)
1. United States USD 26.19 Trillion
2. China USD 19.24 Trillion
3. Japan USD 4.37 Trillion
4. Germany USD 4.12 Trillion
5 India USD 3.82 Trillion

Per Capita Income Ranking of Various Economies (As per World Economic Outlook,
October 2022)
1 – Luxembourg, 6 – Singapore, 7 – United States, 18 – United Kingdom
21 – Germany, 31 – Japan, 70 – China, 139 – India

Types of policies:

Fiscal Policy: The policy in which the nation’s economy is regulated and monitored by the
government’s adjustment in spending and taxation.
Monetary Policy: The policy in which price stability and money supply and inflation rate
regulation are taken by the central bank of a country to achieve the macroeconomic
objectives.
Growth Policies: These are government policies that focus on stimulating aggregate supply
instead of aggregate demand.

Page | 35
 Ratios and rates:
Cash Reserve Ratio: Cash Reserve Ratio is the mandatory percentage of share a bank has to
keep with the Reserve Bank of India in liquid cash to combat the inflation and keep the
liquidity in check
Statutory Liquidity Ratio: Statutory Liquidity Ratio is the share of a bank’s deposits kept
with RBI in the form of Liquid assets to ensure bank’s solvency and money flow in the
economy.
Bank Rate: Based on the monetary policies, commercial banks can borrow loans from banks
from the central bank. The interest rate charged by the RBI on these types of loans and
advances to the banks is known as bank rate.
Repo Rate: Repo rate is the interest rate at which RBI lends money to the banks for short
term. With the help of Repo Rate, RBI can regulate the inflation and liquidity of the economy
of the country.
Reverse Repo Rate: Reverse Repo Rate is the rate at which commercial banks give loans to
the RBI. Reverse Repo Rate helps to regulate the money supply in the economy.
Marginal Standing Facility Rate: The rate at which the scheduled banks can borrow funds
overnight from RBI against government securities.

Budget terms:
Fiscal Deficit: The fiscal deficit is the difference between the total revenue and total
expenditure of the government. When a government’s total expenditure exceeds total
revenue, excluding any external borrowings it is termed as fiscal deficit
Surcharge: This is an additional tax or charge which is levied on a tax. It is calculated on
payable tax, not on income generated.
Revenue deficit: When the government’s net income is less than the projected net income,
a revenue deficit occurs. It is a key indicator to determine whether the government is
overspending from its regular income.
Capital expenditure: It is the fund used for development, buying or acquiring fixed assets
that may incur gains in the long run.
Revenue expenditure: This is the expenditure that does not result in the creation of any
fixed assets. Subsidies and interest payments come under the revenue expenditure.
Direct Taxes: The tax amount levied directly on individual or organization’s income or
property by the imposing body. It is based on the principle of ability-to-pay, which means the
entity with more resources have to pay more amount of tax. Examples of Direct Taxes is
income tax, wealth tax, property tax, corporate tax etc.
Indirect Taxes: It is the tax collected by an intermediary and paid to the government by
passing the tax burden on the consumer buying that good or service. It is the tax imposed on
the goods and services instead on a person or organization’s income, earning or property.
Examples of Indirect tax: Value Added Tax, Custom Duty, Service Tax.
Good and Service Tax: It is a destination based indirect tax that is imposed on the value
addition at each stage till final sale to the consumer. It has replaced many indirect taxes in
India. The Goods and Services are divided into five tax slabs for the collection of the tax: 0%,
5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.

Page | 36
 Transfer payments: Payments made by the government to people who do not supply
goods, services, or labour in exchange for these payments.

Exchange rate:
The price of one country’s currency in relation to another country’s currency.
Floating (or flexible) exchange rate: when two countries agree to let international market
forces of supply and demand determine their exchange rate. It fluctuates depending on
exports and imports of a country.
Fixed exchange rate: When two countries agree to keep their exchange, rates fixed through
use of monetary policy.

Other Important terms:

Consumer Price Index (CPI): The Consumer Price Index measures the overall change in
consumer prices over time using a representative basket of goods and services. The CPI is the
most extensively used measure of inflation, with policymakers, financial markets, businesses,
and consumers carefully following it.
Wholesale Price Index (WPI): A wholesale price index (WPI) is a metric that reflects the
overall change in producer prices over time. It is an inflation indicator based on the prices of
goods before they reach consumers.
Fixed Costs: Fixed Costs are the costs incurred by a company irrespective of the number of
products produced. The company will have to pay the building rent, salaries to its employees,
interest payments, etc., irrespective of the output.
Variable Costs: Costs that vary depending on the number of products produced (output) by
the company are called Variable costs. For example, the manufacturing costs of a shoe-
making company would vary based on its production units.
Elasticity: It is the percentage change in a variable resulting from one percentage increase in
another variable. The percentage change in demand for a one per cent change in price is
called the price elasticity of demand.
Economies of Scale: When more units of a good or service can be produced on a larger
scale, yet with (on average) fewer input costs, economies of scale are said to be achieved.
Economist Adam Smith identified the division of labour and specialization as the two key
means to achieving a larger return on production.
Diseconomies of Scale: Diseconomies of scale occur when a corporation or business grows
to the point where its costs per unit increase. It occurs when a firm's economies of scale
no·longer function. With this theory, rather than continuously decreasing costs and growing
output, a firm's costs rise when output rises.
Learning Curve: The learning curve illustrates how long it takes to gain new skills or
knowledge. The slope of the learning curve in business shows the rate at which learning new
abilities results in cost savings for a corporation. A learning curve is typically represented by a
percentage that indicates the rate of improvement.
Complementary Goods: An economic good which is usually used along with another good.
Ex: Tea – milk/sugar, Pen – ink/paper, etc.
Supplementary Goods: An economic good which is used in place of another good. Ex: Tea –
coffee/cold drinks, Pen – pencil/ crayon/ brush, etc.

Page | 37
 Consumer: An individual who acquires an economic good for direct use or consumption and
not for resale or use in the production of some other economic good. Ex: A person buying a
motorcycle for his personal use.
Customer: An individual who purchases an economic good on behalf of the consumer. A
customer may be different from a consumer. Ex: Government purchasing oil from OPEC for
consumption by the people.
Giffen Good / Inferior Good: A non-luxury product for which demand increases as the price
increases and vice versa, thus defying standards laws of demand and supply. Examples of Giffen
goods can include bread, rice, and wheat.
Veblen Goods: A Veblen good is a good for which demand increases as the price increases,
because of its exclusive nature and appeal as a status symbol. A Veblen good has an upward-
sloping demand curve, which runs counter to the typical downward-sloping curve. However, a
Veblen good is generally a high-quality, coveted product, in contrast to a Giffen good, which is
an inferior product that does not have easily available substitutes.

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS -
Microeconomics
What is elasticity of demand, elasticity of supply, cross-price elasticity?
Difference between Income and Substitution effect?
What are the exceptions to the law of demand?
Difference between inferior and Giffen goods?
Factors affecting demand and factors affecting the supply of a product?
What is consumer surplus, producer surplus and total surplus?
What are the characteristics of Perfect Competition, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition and
Oligopoly? Examples of all of them.
What is the law of diminishing marginal utility?
What is the law of diminishing returns?
What is Slutsky Equation?
What is the difference between Hicksian and Slutsky decomposition?
What is the difference between Hicksian and Marshallian demand functions?
What is an Indifference curve and its properties?
What is Marginal Rate of Substitution? How does it affect the shape of indifference curve?
What is an Isoquant?
What is a Budget Line? How IC and Budget Line help in finding equilibrium?
What is the theory of revealed preferences?
How do firms take their production decisions?
What are different returns to scale?
What is the shape of Total Cost curve, average cost curve, Marginal cost curve, total fixed cost,
total variable cost?
What is the relationship between average cost, marginal cost & average variable cost?
What is the break-even point for a firm? What are sunk costs?
What is the long run competitive equilibrium for firms?
What is game theory? What are different game theories strategies?
What is Nash Equilibrium?
What is the difference between Cournot Model, Bertrand Model & Stackelberg Model?

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 What is the deadweight loss? In which market structure deadweight loss is minimum?
What is price discrimination? What are the different types of price discrimination?
What are public goods and their characteristics?
How does asymmetric information and externalities affect the market?
What is the difference between shifting the demand curve and movement along the
demand curve?
What is perfectly elastic and perfectly inelastic demand?
What are price ceilings and price floors? Give real life examples?

INTERVIEW QUESTIONS - Macroeconomics

Which is better GDP or GNP?
3 methods to calculate GDP?
Real vs Nominal Interest rate?
What is the difference between Keynesian theory and classical theory?
What is the shape of aggregate supply curve in short run and long run?
What is disposable Income? How do you calculate it from national income?
What is CPI and WPI? What is India’s current CPI and WPI?
Difference between cyclical, structural, classical & frictional unemployment?
Why GDP is not a good measure? What all it does not include?
What is MPC and what is autonomous consumption?
What is secular stagnation?
What is life cycle hypothesis?
How changes in the real interest rate affects consumption?
What is the problem of twin deficit? Is India facing the same problem? How can we
overcome it?
What is fiscal deficit? How it is different from Trade Deficit?
What are the uses of money?
What is quantity theory of money?
What are the different methods of measuring money supply?
What is IS curve? What is LM Curve?
What is crowding out?
What is liquidity trap and what is classical case?
How to derive AD curve from ISLM framework?
What is the slope and position of IS and LM curve?
What is BoP account? What all it include?
Why current account + capital account balance is always 0?
What is J curve?
What is the impossible trinity?

Page | 39
 FINANCE

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP IN FINANCE (SIGFi)

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iim-lucknow/
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Page | 40
 What is Finance?
Finance is a branch of economics that studies the management of funds (money and like assets).
Through financial analysis, decisions and corrective actions can be taken regarding the collection
and use of those funds so as to optimize their use toward the objectives of an organization
(states, companies and businesses) or individual. Finance also encompasses the oversight,
creation, and study of money, banking, credit, investments, assets, and liabilities that make up
financial systems.

What is Accounting?
Accounting is the systematic and comprehensive recording of financial transactions pertaining
to a business, as well as the process of summarizing, analyzing and reporting these transactions.

What Are Financial Statements?

Financial statements are written records that convey the business activities and the financial
performance of a company. Financial statements are often audited by government agencies,
accountants, firms, etc. to ensure accuracy and for tax, financing, or investing purposes. Financial
statements include:
Balance sheet
Income statement
Cash flow statement

Using Financial Statement Information

Investors and financial analysts rely on financial data to analyze the performance of a
company and make predictions about the future direction of the company's stock price. One
of the most important resources of reliable and audited financial data is the annual report,
which contains the firm's financial statements.
The financial statements are used by investors, market analysts, and creditors to evaluate a
company's financial health and earnings potential. The three major financial statement
reports are the balance sheet, income statement, and statement of cash flows.

Understanding Balance Sheets

The balance sheet provides an overview of a company's assets, liabilities, and stockholders'
equity as a snapshot in time. The date at the top of the balance sheet tells you when the
snapshot was taken, which is generally the end of the fiscal year.
The Balance Sheet Formula -- {Assets} = {Liabilities} + {Owner's Equity}
The balance sheet total will be calculated already, but here's how you identify them.
Locate total assets on the balance sheet for the period.
Total all liabilities, which should be a separate listing on the balance sheet. It may not
include contingent liabilities.
Locate total shareholder's equity and add the number to total liabilities.
Total assets should equal the total of liabilities and total equity.
The balance sheet identifies how assets are funded, either with liabilities, such as debt, or
with stockholders' equity, such as retained earnings and additional paid-in capital. Assets are
listed on the balance sheet in order of liquidity.

Page | 41
 Liabilities are listed in the order in which they will be paid. Short-term or current liabilities are
expected to be paid within a year, while long-term or non-current liabilities are debts
expected to be paid in over one year.

ITEMS INCLUDED IN THE BALANCE SHEET

Assets
Cash and cash equivalents are liquid assets, which may include Treasury bills and certificates
of deposit.
Accounts receivables are the amount of money owed to the company by its customers for
the sale of its product and service.
Inventory

Liabilities
Debt including long-term debt
Wages payable
Dividends payable

Shareholders' Equity
Shareholders' equity is a company's total assets minus its total liabilities. Shareholders' equity
represents the amount of money that would be returned to shareholders if all of the assets
were liquidated and all of the company's debt was paid off.
Retained earnings are part of shareholders' equity and are the amount of net earnings that
were not paid to shareholders as dividends.

Understanding Income Statements

Unlike the balance sheet, the income statement covers a range of time, which is a year for
annual financial statements and a quarter for quarterly financial statements. The income
statement provides an overview of revenues, expenses, net income and earnings per share. It
usually provides two to three years of data for comparison.
Income Statement Formula and Calculation
{Net Income} = {Revenue - Expenses}
How to calculate?
Total all revenue or sales for the period.
Total all expenses and costs of operating the business.
Subtract total expenses from revenue to achieve net income or the profit for the period.

Data from Income Statements

An income statement is one of the three important financial statements used for reporting a
company's financial performance over a specific accounting period. Also known as the profit
and loss statement or the statement of revenue and expense, the income statement
primarily focuses on a company’s revenues and expenses during a particular period.

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 Once expenses are subtracted from revenues, the statement produces a company's profit
figure called net income.

Types of Revenue
Operating revenue is the revenue earned by selling a company's products or services. The
operating revenue for an auto manufacturer would be realized through the production and
sale of autos. Operating revenue is generated from the core business activities of a company.
Non-operating revenue is the income earned from non-core business activities and falls
outside the primary function of the business. Some non-operating revenue examples include:
Interest earned on cash in the bank
Rental income from a property
Income from strategic partnerships like royalty receipts
Income from an advertisement display located on the company's property
Other income is the revenue earned from other activities. Other income could include gains
from the sale of long-term assets such as land, vehicles, or a subsidiary.

Types of Expenses
Primary expenses are incurred during the process of earning revenue from the primary
activity of the business. Expenses include the cost of goods sold(COGS), selling, general and
administrative expenses (SG&A), depreciation or amortization, and research and
development (R&D). Typical expenses include employee wages, sales commissions, and
utilities such as electricity and transportation.
Expenses that are linked to secondary activities include interest paid on loans or debt. Losses
from the sale of an asset are also recorded as expenses.
The main purpose of the income statement is to convey details of profitability and the
financial results of business activities. However, it can be very effective in showing whether
sales or revenue is increasing when compared over multiple periods. Investors can also see
how well a company's management is controlling expenses to determine whether a
company's efforts in reducing the cost of sales might boost profits over time.

The Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement measures how well a company generates cash to pay its debt
obligations, fund its operating expenses, and fund investments. The cash flow statement
complements the balance sheet and income statement.
The CFS allows investors to understand how a company's operations are running, where its
money is coming from, and how money is being spent. The CFS also provides insight as to
whether a company is on a solid financial footing.
There is no formula, per se, for calculating a cash flow statement. Instead, it contains three
sections that report cash flow for the various activities for which a company uses its cash.
Those three components of the CFS are listed below.
Operating Activities: The operating activities include any sources and uses of cash from
running the business and selling its products or services. Cash from operations includes
any changes made in cash, accounts receivable, depreciation, inventory, and accounts

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 payable. These transactions also include wages, income tax payments, interest payments,
rent, and cash receipts from the sale of a product or service.
Investing Activities: Investing activities include any sources and uses of cash from a
company's investments into the long-term future of the company. A purchase or sale of
an asset, loans made to vendors or received from customers or any payments related to a
merger or acquisition is included in this category. Also, purchases of fixed assets such as
property, plant, and equipment (PPE) are included in this section. In short, changes in
equipment, assets, or investments relate to cash from investing.
Financing Activities: Cash from financing activities include the sources of cash from
investors or banks, as well as the uses of cash paid to shareholders. Financing activities
include debt issuance, equity issuance, stock repurchases, loans, dividends paid, and
repayments of debt.
Financial Statement Limitations: Although financial statements provide a wealth of
information on a company, they do have limitations. The statements are open to
interpretation, and as a result, investors often draw vastly different conclusions about a
company's financial performance.

Key Financial Ratios : Liquidity Ratios, Solvency Ratios, Profitability Ratios, Activity Ratios

I. Activity Ratios
Activity ratios measure how efficiently the firm is managing its assets.
Receivables Turnover Ratio

It is considered desirable to have a receivables turnover figure close to the industry norm.

Days of Sales Outstanding

These are the average number of days it takes for the company’s customers to pay their bills.
It is considered desirable to have a collection period close to the industry norm. A collection
period that is too high might mean that customers are too slow in paying their bills, which
also indicates that too much capital is tied up in assets. On the contrary, a collection period
that is too low might indicate that the firm’s credit policy is too rigorous, which might also
result in hampered sales.

Inventory Turnover Ratio

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 This ratio also known as stock turnover ratio establishes the relationship between the cost of
goods sold during the year and average inventory held during the year. It is a measure of a
firm’s efficiency with respect to its processing and inventory management.

Days of Inventory on Hand

As is the case with accounts receivable, it is considered desirable to have days of inventory on
hand close to the industry norm. A high processing period means that too much capital is
tied up in inventory and could also result in obsolete inventory. A low processing period
indicates that the firm has inadequate stock on hand, which could impact sales.

Payables Turnover Ratio

A measure of the use of trade credit by the firm.

Days of Payables

Total Assets Turnover Ratio

This ratio tells us the effectiveness of firm’s use of its total assets to create revenue.

The ratio varies as per industries. It is desirable to have the total asset turnover ratio close to
the industry norm. Low asset turnover ratios might mean that the company has too much
capital tied up in its asset base. A turnover ratio that is too high might imply that the firm has
too few assets for potential sales, or that the asset base is outdated.

Fixed Asset Turnover

This ratio is specific to the utilization of fixed assets. It is desirable to have a fixed asset
turnover ratio close to the industry norm. Low fixed asset turnover might mean that the
company has too much capital tied up in its asset base or is using the assets inefficiently.
A turnover ratio that is too high might imply that the firm has obsolete equipment.

Working Capital Turnover Ratio

This ratio helps us understand how effectively a company is using its working capital.
Working capital is current assets minus current liabilities. This ratio gives us information about
the utilization of working capital in terms revenue value.

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 II. Liquidity Ratios
Liquidity ratios help determine the firm’s ability to pay its short-term liabilities.

Current Ratio

Current Assets = Inventories + Sundry Debtors + Cash and cash equivalents +

Receivables/Accruals + Loans & Advances + Disposable Investments + Any other current assets

Current Liabilities = Creditors for goods & services + Short term Loans + Bank Overdraft + Cash
Credit + Outstanding Expenses + Provision for Taxation + Proposed Dividend + Unclaimed
Dividend + Any other current liabilities

The higher the current ratio, the more likely is the company will be able to pay its short-term
bills. A current ratio of less than one means that the company has negative working capital
and is probably facing a liquidity crisis.

Quick Ratio

Quick Assets= Current Assets- Inventories – Prepaid Expenses

This is a more stringent measure of liquidity. The higher the quick ratio, the more likely it is
that the company will be able to pay its short-term bills.

Cash ratio

This is the most conservative liquidity measure

The higher the cash ratio, the more likely it is that the company will be able to pay its short-
term bills.

Cash Conversion Cycle

The cash conversion cycle is the length of time it takes to turn the firm’s cash investment in
inventory to turn back into cash. The cash conversion cycle is computed from days sales
outstanding, days of inventory on hand, and number of days of payables:

High cash conversion cycles are considered undesirable. A conversion cycle that is too high
implies that the company has excessive capital investment blocked in the sales process.

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 III. Solvency Ratios
Solvency ratios measure a firm’s financial leverage and ability to meet its long-term obligations.
Solvency ratios include various debt ratios that are based on the balance sheet and coverage
ratios that are based on the income statement.

Debt to Equity Ratio

A measure of the firm’s use of fixed-cost financing sources. Increases and decreases in this
ratio suggest a greater or lesser reliance on debt as a source of financing.
A high debt to equities ratio here means less protection for creditors, a low ratio, indicates a
wider safety cushion since creditors feel the owners’ funds can absorb possible losses of
income and capital.

Debt to EBITDA Ratio

Another ratio that reflects a firm’s ability to meet debt obligations is debt-to-EBITDA ratio:

Fixed Charge Ratio

This ratio determines the company’s ability to meet its obligations.

Fixed charge coverage is more meaningful measure for companies that lease a large portion
of their assets, e.g. airlines.

IV. Profitability Ratios

Profitability ratios measure the overall performance of the firm relative to revenues, assets, equity,
and capital.

Net Profit Margin

It is a matter of concern if this ratio is too low.

Gross Profit Margin

Operating Profit Margin

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 Return on Assets Ratio

Return on assets (ROA) is an indicator of how profitable a company is relative to its total
assets. ROA is best used when comparing similar companies or by comparing a company to
its own previous performance.

Return on equity

The return on equity is the ratio of net income to average total equity.
Return on equity (ROE) measures a corporation's profitability in relation to stockholders’
equity. Whether an ROE is considered satisfactory will depend on what is normal for the
industry or company peers. A good rule of thumb is to target an ROE that is equal to or just
above the average for the peer group.

DUPONT ANALYSIS
The return on common equity is often more thoroughly analyzed using the DuPont
Decomposition. The DuPont analysis is an approach that can be used to analyze return on equity
(ROE). It breaks down ROE into a function of different ratios.
There are two variants of the DuPont system: The original three-part approach and the extended
five-part system.
For the original approach, start with ROE defined as:

We can expand this further:

The first term is still the profit margin, the second term is now asset turnover, and the third term
is a financial leverage ratio.
Expanding further:

The first term in the above 5-part DuPont equation, net profit margin, has been decomposed
into three terms:

is called the tax burden and is equal to (1 - tax rate),

is called the interest burden,

is called the EBIT margin.

We get :

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 What are the career options within finance domain?
The study of finance is relevant to a wide range of occupations. Finance professionals enjoy a
high rate of employment in leadership positions at all levels of financial management for careers
in business, industry, government, and public or private corporations. Finance majors typically
embark on careers in investment banking, asset management, consulting, capital market
research, corporate finance, risk management, banking, or financial planning, across industries.

The Basics of Stock Market

Market Capitalization (Market Cap): It is the total market value of the shares outstanding of
a publicly traded company; it is equal to the share price times the number of shares
outstanding.

NIFTY: The S&P CNX Nifty (also known as NSE Nifty or NSE-50 or 'Nifty') is a stock index in
India. Nifty consists of 50 stocks. The constituents of the index change periodically,
depending on liquidity, availability of floating stock, turnover and volume of transactions.

SENSEX: Sensex, otherwise known as the S&PBSE Sensex index, is the benchmark index of
the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)in India. Sensex is composed of 30 of the largest and most
actively- traded stocks on the BSE, providing an accurate gauge of India's economy. Initially
compiled in 1986,the Sensex is the oldest stock index in India. Analysts and investors use the
Sensex to observe the overall growth, development of particular industries, and booms and
bursts of the Indian economy.

Types of Investors:
Personal investors- Business owners often rely on family, friends or close acquaintances to
invest in their companies, particularly in the beginning. However, there is a limit to how
many of these individuals can invest in start-ups because of legal limitations.
Angel investors- Angel investors are usually high net worth individuals with a net worth of
more than $1 million. They are found across all industries and are useful for entrepreneurs
who are beyond the seed stages of financing but are not yet ready to seek out venture
capital.
Venture capitalists- Venture capitalists are used only after a business begins to show a
significant amount of revenue. These investors are notable, as they usually invest a
substantial amount of money (often around $10 million). They gain most of their returns
through “carried interest,” or a percentage received as compensation from the profits of a
hedge fund or private equity.

Government Security (G-Sec): A Government Security (G-Sec) is a tradable instrument

issued by the Central Government or State Governments. It acknowledges the Government’s
debt obligation. Such securities are short term (usually called treasury bills, with original
maturities of less than one year) or long term (usually called Government bonds or dated
securities with an original maturity of one year or more). In India, the Central Government
issues both, treasury bills and bonds or dated securities while the State Governments issue
only bonds or dated securities, which are called the State Development Loans (SDLs). G-Secs
carry practically no risk of default and, hence, are called risk-free instruments.

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Page | 50
 Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM): A model used to calculate the discount rate of a
company’s cash flows.
Commercial paper: Short-term corporate debt, typically maturing in nine months or less.
Commodities: Assets (usually agricultural products or metals)that are generally
interchangeable with one another and therefore share a common price. For example, corn,
wheat, and rubber generally trade at one price on commodity markets worldwide.
Convertible preferred stock: A relatively uncommon type of equity issued by a company,
convertible preferred stock is often issued when it cannot successfully sell either straight
common stock or straight debt. Preferred stock pays a dividend, similar to how a bond pays
coupon payments, but ultimately converts to common stock after a period of time. It is
essentially a mix of debt and equity, and most often used as a means for a risky company to
obtain capital when neither debt nor equity works.
Convertible bonds: Bonds that can be converted into a specified number of shares of stock.
Cost of Goods Sold: The direct costs of producing merchandise. Includes costs of labour,
equipment, and materials to create the finished product, for example.
Coupon payments: The payments of interest that the bond issuer makes to the bond holder.
Credit ratings: The ratings given to bonds by credit agencies. These ratings indicate the risk
of default.
Currency appreciation: When a currency’s value is rising relative to other currencies.
Currency depreciation: When a currency’s value is falling relative to other currencies.
Currency devaluation: When a currency weakens under fixed exchange rates.
Currency revaluation: When a currency strengthens under fixed exchange rates.
Default premium: The difference between the promised yields on a corporate bond and the
yield on an otherwise identical government bond.
Default risk: The risk that the company issuing a bond may go bankrupt and “default” on its
loans.
Derivatives: An asset whose value is derived from the price of another asset. Examples
include call options, put options, futures, and interest-rate swaps.
Dilutive merger: A merger in which the acquiring company’s earnings per share decrease.
Discount rate: A rate that measures the risk of an investment. It can be understood as the
expected return from a project of a certain amount of risk.
Discounted Cash Flow analysis (DCF): A method of valuation that takes the net present
value of the free cash flows of a company.
Dividend: A payment by a company to shareholders of its stock, usually as a way to distribute
some or all of the profits to shareholders.
EBIT: Earnings Before Interest and Taxes
EBITDA: Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization
Enterprise Value: Levered value of the company, the equity value plus market value of debt.
Equity: In short, stock. Equity means ownership in a company that is usually represented by
stock.
Fixed income: Bonds and other securities that earn a fixed rate of return. Bonds are typically
issued by governments, corporations and municipalities.
Float: The number of shares available for trade in the market times the price. Generally
speaking, the bigger the float, the greater the stock’s liquidity.

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 Floating rate: An interest rate that is benchmarked to other, allowing the interest rate to
change as market conditions change.
Forward contract: A contract that calls for future delivery of an asset at an agreed-upon price.
Forward exchange rate: The price at which currencies can be bought/sold for future delivery.
Forward rate (for bond): The agreed-upon interest rates for a bond to be issued in the future.
Futures contract: A contract that calls for the delivery of an asset or its cash value at a
specified delivery or maturity date for an agreed upon price. A future is a type of forward
contract that is liquid, standardized, traded on an exchange, and whose prices are settled at
the end of each trading day.
Goodwill: An account that includes intangible assets a company may have. E.g. brand image.
Hedge: To balance a position in the market in order to reduce risk. Hedges work like
insurance: a small position pays off large amounts with a slight move in the market.
High-yield bonds (a.k.a. junk bonds): Bonds with poor credit ratings that pay a relatively
high rate of interest.
Holding Period Return: The income earned over a period as a percentage of the bond price
at the start of the period.
Initial Public Offering (IPO): The dream of every entrepreneur, the IPO is the first time a
company issues stock to the public.
Investment grade bonds: Bonds with high credit ratings that pay relatively low interest rates.
Leveraged Buyout (LBO): The buyout of a company with borrowed money, often using that
company’s own assets as collateral.
Money market securities: This term is generally used to represent the market or securities
maturing within one year. These include short-term CDs, Repurchase Agreements,
Commercial Paper (low-risk corporate issues), among others. These are low risk, short-term
securities that have yields similar to Treasuries.
Mortgage-backed bonds: Bonds collateralized by a pool of mortgages. Interest and
principal payments are based on the individual homeowners making their mortgage
payments. The more diverse the pool of mortgages backing the bond, the less risky they are.
Multiples method: A method of valuing a company that involves taking a multiple of an
indicator such as price-to-earnings, EBITDA, or revenues.
Net present value (NPV): The present value of a series of cashflows generated by an
investment, minus the initial investment. NPV is calculated because of the important
concept that money today is worth more than the same money tomorrow.
Par value: The total amount a bond issuer will commit to pay back when the bond expires.
P/E ratio: The price to earnings ratio. This is the ratio of a company’s stock price to its
earnings- per-share. The higher the P/E ratio, the more “expensive” a stock is (and also the
faster investors believe the company will grow). Stocks in fast growing industries tend to have
higher P/E ratios.
Put option: An option that gives the holder the right to sell an asset for a specified price on
or before a specified expiration date.
Selling, General & Administrative Expense (SG&A): Costs not directly involved in the
production of revenues. SG&A is subtracted from Gross Profit to get EBIT.
Swap: A type of derivative, a swap is an exchange of future cash flows. Popular swaps include
foreign exchange swaps and interest rate swaps.

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 Spot exchange rate: The price of currencies for immediate delivery.
Tender offers: A method by which a hostile acquirer renders an offer to the shareholders of a
company in an attempt to gather a controlling interest in the company. Generally, the
potential acquirer will offer to buy stock from shareholders at a much higher value than the
market value.
Underwrite: The function performed by investment banks when they help companies issue
securities to investors. Technically, the investment bank buys the securities from the
company and immediately resells the securities to investors for a slightly higher price,
making money on the spread.
Yield to call: The yield of a bond calculated up to the period when the bond is called(paid off
by the bond issuer).
Yield: The annual return on investment. A high-yield bond, for example, pays a high rate of
interest.
Yield to maturity: The measure of the average rate of return that will be earned on a bond if
it is bought now and held to maturity.
Zero coupon bonds: A bond that offers no coupon or interest payments to the bond holder.

SOME CURRENT AFFAIRS TOPICS:

Time-independent topics:
Recent IPOs: Focus on analyzing IPOs
RBI’s monetary stance: Its impact on the economy & the financial markets
Recent Indian Unicorn Start-ups
Recent Indian & Global M&A deals
Recent events and volatility in the Indian stock markets
Key government policies: Budget, PLI schemes
Key updates of the sector in which the candidate has work/internship experience

Recent affairs:
US Federal Reserve announcements & its global implications
Global energy & supply chain crisis
Economic Impact of Russia-Ukraine conflict
2022 Inflation, Global recession in 2023
COP26
Lanka-India tank farm deal
World Economic Forum - Davos Agenda
China-Iran strategic pact
FTX bankruptcy
ChatGPT, Generative AI, future impact on organizations and jobs
China +1 Policy
India bond inclusion on MSCI world index
ESG investing
Digital rupee

You may refer to the below link for important news updates from, the last few months:
SIGFi Monthly newsletter :
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1TVUGDLNkFYhyO8YFKxfYjAlpycEePdwJ?
usp=sharing
Page | 53
 FINANCE FACT SHEET

Page | 54
 INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

Why Finance? What is the difference between Finance and Accounting? What are the different
branches of Finance?
What are the contents of an Annual Report of a company? What are key numbers or
information you look for in an Annual Report?
What key financial ratios do you consider in comparing two companies?
Describe the broad categories of accounting ratios used in financial analysis.
What is the difference between NPV & IRR? Which is better & why? (F)
What is : (i) WACC, (ii) Beta, (iii) CAPM Model
What is the Discounted cash flow model? Can you explain the same briefly? (F)
How would you value a bond? (F)
How can we measure risk? (F)
Explain what a yield curve is. What do you mean by an inverted yield curve? (F)
Can you explain a few multiples used in relative valuation? (F)
What is LBO? How is it different from an MBO? Give hypothetical examples for each
Differentiate an IPO and FPO
What is the underwriting of shares? What is an oversubscription?
What is PE Ratio? How is it useful?
What is the purpose of Cash Flow Statements?
What are the key metrics you consider in comparing two stocks of a given industry? Why do
you use those metrics?
What is a money market? How is it different from the stock market?
What are the highlights of this year’s budget? Do you think India is on track to become a USD5
trillion economy? What are the impediments/ challenges?
What is the budgeted fiscal deficit (in percentage terms) for the year 2022-23? How is the same
being funded?
Explain the crisis in India’s banking and shadow banking (NBFC) sectors.
What is currently happening with the Indian economy? Do you think the current slowdown is
cyclical or structural? Justify. Why do you think the stock market has been rising even though
the economy is slowing down?
Can you explain the modus-operandi of any recent scam in India?
Name some unicorns(start-ups) in India. What do you think is their USP?
Explain the sub-prime crisis of 2008. What was the trigger?

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 Explain the concept of a one-person company. Is audit mandatory for a one-person
company?
What has been the effect of the trade wars between the US and China? How can this be an
opportunity for India?
Recent M&A deals in India. What were the reasons behind that transaction?
What is the break-even point? Why does the marginal cost curve rise?
Crisis in banking sectors: Yes bank, PMC. Steps that must be taken to avoid a repeat of these?
What are deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities? Give examples
What is depreciation? How will depreciation affect the bargaining power of a seller? Explain
how depreciation drives bargaining power in the real estate sector. (For last part, think of
factors that might nudge real estate dealers to sell their property early instead of the benefit
of land appreciation)
What is the current status of cryptocurrencies in India from a policy perspective? Explain
recent events in the crypto space.
Do you agree with the RBI’s monetary policy stance?
If you were the finance minister, what measures would you have taken for post-covid
recovery?
What is decentralised finance? What are its applications and future potential?
What is funding winter? Why has there been a reduction in capital availability for start-ups?
What is the great resignation? Elaborate on recent layoffs across organizations globally. What
could the reason for these layoffs be?

(F) – Important for those with Finance background

Please refer to Interview experience section of this kit for more questions.

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 HUMAN
RESOURCES

HUMAN ENGAGEMENT AND LEARNING IN

CORPORATE SOCIETY
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamHelics/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/helics.iiml/

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 Human Resource Management (HRM) is the term used to describe formal systems devised for
the management of people within an organization. The responsibilities of a human resource
manager fall into three major areas: staffing, employee compensation and benefits, and
defining/designing work. Essentially, the purpose of HRM is to maximize the productivity of an
organization by optimizing the effectiveness of its employees. This mandate is unlikely to change
in any fundamental way, despite the ever-increasing pace of change in the business world.

HR CONCEPTS
Role of HR Managers
Management by Objective: Management by Objectives (MBO) is a personnel management
technique where managers and employees work together to set the record and monitor
goals for a specific period of time. Organizational goals and planning flow top-down through
the organization and are translated into personal goals for organizational members. It aims to
improve the performance of an organization by clearly defining objectives that are agreed to
by both management and employees.

360-degree Performance Appraisal: A 360-degree appraisal is a type of employee

performance review in which subordinates, co-workers, and managers all anonymously rate
the employee. This information is then incorporated into that person's performance review.
The feedback is often used as a benchmark within the employee's development plan.

Balanced Scorecard: The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning and management

system that is used extensively in business and industry, government, and non-profit
organizations worldwide to align business activities to the vision and strategy of the
organization, improve internal and external communications, and monitor organization
performance against strategic goals.

Performance Management: Performance management is a corporate management tool

that helps managers monitor and evaluate employees' work and overall contribution to the
organization.

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 Maslow's Need Hierarchy Theory
Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model
of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid. Maslow stated that
people are motivated to achieve certain needs and that some needs take precedence over
others. Our most basic need is for physical survival, and this will be the first thing that motivates
our behaviour. Once that level is fulfilled the next level up is what motivates us, and so on. This
five-stage model can be divided into deficiency needs and growth needs. The first four levels are
often referred to as deficiency needs (D-needs), and the top-level is known as growth or being
needs (B-needs).

Five main levels of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs are:

Physiological Needs: They are the most essential things a person needs to survive. They
include the need for shelter, water, food, warmth, rest, and health.
Safety Needs: Safety, or security needs, relate to a person’s need to feel safe and secure in
their life and surroundings. This refers to the need for job security, stable income, and savings.
Love and Belonging Needs: This level of the hierarchy outlines the need for friendship,
intimacy, family, and love.
Esteem Needs: Maslow broke up esteem needs into two categories: the need for respect
from others and the need for respect from oneself. Respect from others relates to achieving
fame, prestige, and recognition. Respect from oneself relates to dignity, confidence,
competence, independence, and freedom.
Self-Actualization Needs: Self-actualization relates to the realization of an individual’s full
potential. At this level, people strive to become the best that they possibly can be.

Big Five Model of Personality

Personality is an easy concept to grasp for most of us. It’s what makes you “you”. It encompasses
all the traits, characteristics, and quirks that set you apart from everyone else. Human resources
professionals often use the Big Five personality dimensions to help place employees.

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 The Big Five traits are -
Openness: Openness includes traits like being insightful and imaginative and having a wide
variety of interests.
Conscientiousness: People that have a high degree of conscientiousness are reliable and
prompt. Traits include being organized, methodic, and thorough.
Extroversion: Extraverts get their energy from interacting with others, while introverts get
their energy from within themselves. Extraversion includes the traits of energetic, talkative,
and assertive.
Agreeableness: These individuals are friendly, cooperative, and compassionate. People with
low agreeableness may be more distant
Neuroticism: Neuroticism is also sometimes called Emotional Stability. This dimension
relates to one’s emotional stability and degree of negative emotions.
Attitude: “My personality is who I am and my attitude is who you are.” Our behavior towards
an individual, group or people surrounding us changes but our personality is rigid, it does not
change.
Emotional intelligence: The intelligence that we acquire on interacting with individuals and
adapt accordingly in a conversation with the individual is termed as emotional intelligence.
For ex, within two conversations with Ravi, I came to know about Ravi’s reluctance to talk
about this family, hence I do not talk about this family anymore in our conversations. This
adaptation is due to emotional intelligence.

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 McClelland’s Acquired Needs Motivation Theory
Also known as the Expectancy Value Theory of Motivation, it states that humans have a total of
three core types of emotional needs, which they acquire as a result of their life journeys. The
needs the model considers are:
Achievement (getting things done)
Power (having influence over others)
Affiliation (having good relationships)

Herzberg’s Two Factor Theory

Herzberg’s Motivation Theory model, or Two Factor Theory, argues that there are two factors that
an organization can adjust to influence motivation in the workplace. These factors are:
Motivators: Which can encourage employees to work harder.
Hygiene factors: These won’t encourage employees to work harder but they will cause them
to become unmotivated if they are not present.

Decision-making process
In psychology, decision-making is regarded as the cognitive process resulting in the selection of
a belief or a course of action among several alternative possibilities.
The six steps involved in decision-making are as follows:
Define the problem
Identify the decision criteria
Allocate weight to the criteria
Develop the alternative
Evaluate the alternative
Implement the best alternative
We measure the output to check the Effectiveness and efficiency of the decision made.

Span of control: The number of people or employees who report to you is the span of control.

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 Organizational design: In simple terms, organization design means how various parts of the
organization and its distinct elements are brought together to make it functional. Organizational
design principles consider how these elements come together in the organizational functioning
and ways through which they can be reflected and improved.

Competitive advantage: It refers to what sets the organization apart from others and provides it
with a distinctive edge for meeting customer or client needs in the marketplace. It arises
primarily due to the core competence of the organization. Core competency is an organization's
defining strength, providing the foundation from which the business will grow, seize upon new
opportunities and deliver value to customers. A company's core competency is not easily
replicated by other organizations, whether existing competitors or new entries into its market.
For example, Honda's core competence is attributed to manufacturing capability and a culture
of innovation which gives birth to lightweight, high-revving, reliable engines which Honda uses
in its multiple products like cars, gensets, lawnmowers etc. Remember products are not a core
competency.

Strategy: Strategy can be defined as "A general direction set for the company and its various
components to achieve a desired state in the future." It means that all the organization's energy
and resources are directed towards a focused, unifying, and compelling output or future state of
the organization.

CODIFICATION OF LABOUR LAWS IN INDIA

Why was there a need to reform and codify India’s Labor Laws?
The existing laws have neither benefited industries nor workers due to various reasons such as:
Complexity and plethora of laws.
Poor enforcement of laws
Promoted more capital-intensive industries
Contractualization of labor
High administrative burden
Inadequate coverage hiking social issues

There are 4 Codes:

Occupational Safety, Health, and Working Conditions Code, 2020
Industrial Relations Code, 2020
Code on Social Security, 2020
Code on Wages, 2019

What is emotional intelligence?

Emotional Intelligence is the measure of an individual’s abilities to recognize and manage their
emotions, and the emotions of other people, both individually and in groups.

Attitude: Attitude reflects how we feel about something. It is evaluative statements- either
favourable or unfavourable—about objects, people, or events. For ex, When Rahul say, “I like my
job,” he is expressing his attitude towards his work.

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 Personality: Personality is the characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that
makes a person unique. It is the sum total of ways in which an individual reacts and interacts
with others and the measurable traits a person exhibits.

INTERVIEW TIPS
Body Language during Interviews:
Enter with a spring in your step and a smile. Be on time. Have a clean background.
Greet every panel member.
Try to make it more of a conversation than a Q&A session.
Don’t get nervous if things don’t go your way. Remain COMPOSED at ALL Times.
Most of the interviews begin with the interviewer asking you to introduce yourself. Make sure
to answer with points that initiate a conversation to guide the interview.
Listen to questions carefully, ask for clarifications if required. Answer clearly & concisely. Don’t
beat around the bush too much or rush into answering. Take a few seconds to think if needed.
Maintain eye contact, not only when you chat, but even when you are spoken to by the
interviewer. This illustrates that you pay attention.
First impressions have a significant influence on how you are viewed by interviewers for the
duration of the interview. Making the most of the first impression by genuinely smiling, being
confident, and offering a strong handshake.
Make sure to show enthusiasm in the interview: smile, nod your head, etc.
Do not fidget, touch your face, or shake your legs.
Look at the hints that are nonverbal. Experts estimate that only 30% to 35% of what people
actually communicate is conveyed through words; facial expressions, body gestures and
behaviour convey the remainder.
Keep your arms on your sides or in your lap. Do not fold your arms, it is a sign of rudeness.

Preparing for an Online Interview:

With online interviews and video-conferencing platforms like Zoom, Google Meet & MS Teams
becoming the new normal, candidates need special preparation and keep in mind the following:
Looking Presentable: The idea is to treat the online interview just like a regular offline
interview process which begins with dressing up in proper formal attire, being neatly
groomed and looking presentable to make a difference.
Finding the right Location/Camera Angle: Cleaning up your room and creating a clutter-
free environment which is suitable for an interview process. Also, ensuring a perfect camera
angle by maintaining it at eye level and having sufficient lighting (preferably not in the
backside) will help to maintain a professional setup.
Checking the Network/Audio connection: In order to save yourself from the last-minute
hassle, logging-in advance and checking your device network & audio connection should be
on the top priority list. It is advisable to have an additional internet connection readily
available during the course of interview.
Doing a Mock Interview/Dry Run: To calm the nerves and prepare your mind for the all-
important process, recording yourself or having a mock interview with a senior/friend will go
a long way in finding out whether you come across rightly or not.
Relax: Don’t forget to take deep breaths and have a calm mindset throughout the process.
The golden rule with such interviews is to treat them like face-to-face meetings. Smile, look
confident and enthusiastic, make eye contact and don’t shout but do speak clearly.

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 ENTREPRENEURSHIP

ENTREPRENEURSHIP CELL
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/ecelliiml
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ecelliiml/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ecell_iiml/

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 What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the ability and readiness to follow a passion along with any uncertainties to
make a difference by developing, organizing and running a business enterprise.

Why Entrepreneurship?
Willingness and determination to deal with risks to start a new business
Satisfaction of generating employment and contributing to the society
High learning through live experiences

Entrepreneurship is one of the resources economists categorize as integral to production, the

other three being land/natural resources, labour and capital. An entrepreneur combines the first
three of these to manufacture goods or provide services. They typically create a business plan,
hire labour, acquire resources & financing, provide leadership and management for the business.
Entrepreneurs commonly face many obstacles when building their companies. The three that
many of them cite as the most challenging are as follows:
Overcoming bureaucracy
Hiring talent
Obtaining financing

Key steps that most successful entrepreneurs have followed:

Ensure Financial Stability
Build a Diverse Skill Set
Consume Content Across Multiple Channels
Identify a Problem to Solve
Solve That Problem
Passion to Action
Getting Your Hands Dirty
Knowing When to Change Course
Shrewd Money Management

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 Lean start-up formats are charts that use only a handful of elements to describe your company’s
value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances. They’re useful for visualizing trade-offs
and fundamental facts about your company. There are many versions of lean start-up templates,
but among the oldest & most well-known is the Business Model Canvas, developed by Alex
Osterwalder.

Nine components of the Business Model Canvas version are:

Key partnerships: Note the other businesses or services you’ll work with to run your business.
Think about suppliers, manufacturers, subcontractors and similar strategic partners.
Key activities: List the ways your business will gain a competitive advantage. Highlight
things like selling direct to consumers, or using technology to tap into the sharing economy.
Key resources: List any resource you’ll leverage to create value for your customer. Your most
important assets could include staff, capital, or intellectual property. Don’t forget to leverage
business resources that might be available to women, veterans, Native Americans, and
HUBZone businesses.
Value proposition: Make a clear and compelling statement about the unique value your
company brings to the market.
Customer relationships: Describe how customers will interact with your business. Is it
automated or personal? In person or online? Think through the customer experience from
start to finish.
Customer segments: Be specific when you name your target market. Your business won’t
be for everybody, so it’s important to have a clear sense of who your business will serve.
Channels: List the most important ways you’ll talk to your customers. Most businesses use a
mix of channels and optimize them over time.
Cost structure: Will your company focus on reducing cost or maximizing value? Define your
strategy, then list the most significant costs you’ll face pursuing it.
Revenue streams: Explain how your company will actually make money. Some examples
are direct sales, memberships fees, and selling advertising space. If your company has
multiple revenue streams, list them all.

Questions That Delve into External Factors:

Does my entrepreneurial venture meet local regulations and laws? If not feasible locally, can I
and should I relocate to another region?
How long does it take to get the necessary license or permissions from concerned
authorities? Can I survive that long?
Do I have a plan about getting the necessary resources and skilled employees, and have I
made cost considerations for the same?
Tentative timelines for bringing the first prototype to market or for services to be operational?
Who are my primary customers?
Who are the funding sources I may need to approach to make this big? Is my venture good
enough to convince potential stakeholders?
What technical infrastructure do I need?
Once the business is established, will I have sufficient funds to get resources and take it to the
next level? Will other big firms copy my model and kill my operation?

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 Topics for Interview Preparation:
B-plans
Angel Investors
Venture Capitalists
Startup India
StartinUp
Unicorns
Bootstrapping
Budget 2022 on startups
Types of funding (Proof of concept, Seed, First & Second round, Development Capital)
Business lifecycle stage
Sources of Funding
Customer Acquisition Costs
DAU/MAU
Retention Rate

Questions related to starting a Venture:

What idea of business do you have? Explain your B-Plan (Business Plan)?
Why do you think your idea is a viable idea? What is the problem that you are trying to solve?
How does it differ from the competition?
Marketing Perspectives Terms: USP, Target Market, Break-Even Point, Customer Acquisition
Cost
Who is your major target customer and how do you identify them?
Who are your major competitors?
What is your business model?
What is the difference between the Venture Capitalist and Angel Investor?
Pitch your idea to me assuming I am a potential investor.
How will you price your product?
How will you manage your margins?

Generic Questions:
What is a Startup?
What are the different types of funding?
What are your future plans?
Different ways of idea generation
What inspires you to start your own venture?
What is your stand on job situation in India?
What are the different qualities an entrepreneur should have?
How will you ensure the team formed is strong enough?
How do you think startups can contribute in $5 Trillion economy?
Famous startups name & its founder.
Role of incubation centers
What has been the Impact of covid on startups?

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 Indian startup ecosystem with the number of new unicorns coming up
What are Disruptive startups?
What’s your Opinion on High valuations of startups?
What’s your opinion on more and more Startups getting listed on stock exchanges?
Any recent news about unicorn?

SOME OF THE PROMINENT VCS:

1) Sequoia Capital : American venture capital firm Sequoia Capital initially invested in well-
known companies including Apple, Google, Dropbox, and WhatsApp. In 2006, they created a
subsidiary called Sequoia Capital India, which focuses on funding high-growth start-up
businesses. They have large stakes in Justdial, Byju's, Freecharge, Practo, and CarDekho, among
other Indian businesses.
2) Accel Partners: Accel Partners is one of the oldest venture capital firms mostly invests in
internet technology start-ups. They invested in Facebook, Myntra, Flipkart, BookMyShow, among
other companies.
3) Nexus Venture Partners: US based VC firm Nexus have invested in Unacademy, Zomato,
Rapido, OLX.
Few other VC firms are Tiger Global Managements, Kalaari Capital, Blume Ventures etc.

FEW GOVERNMENT SCHEMES WHICH ARE INHERENT TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN INDIA:

·Startup India Seed Fund Scheme
·Startup India Initiative
·Venture Capital Assistance Scheme
·Pradhan Mantri Mudhra Yojna
·Atal Innovation Mission
·The Standup India Scheme

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 SOME OF THE TERMS RELATED TO ENTREPRENEURSHIP:
.Bootstrap: The term "bootstrapping" is used in business to describe the process of launching
and expanding a company using only readily accessible resources, such as personal finances,
home computers, and garage space. You must maximize your resources to finish the mission.

Series Funding:
Series A funding is an investment in a privately held start-up firm once it has demonstrated
success in developing its business strategy and the capacity to grow and produce income. It
frequently refers to the first round of venture capital that a company raises after seed and
angel investors. A start-up with potential but not enough capital can use Series A financing to
expand its operations by employing, purchasing inventory and equipment, and pursuing
other long-term ambitions.
In exchange for their investment and the risk they are taking, Series A financiers often receive
a majority or controlling interest in the start-up company.

Venture Capitalist:
A venture capitalist (VC) is a private equity investor who puts money into growing firms in
exchange for a stake in the company. This might include funding for new enterprises or assisting
small businesses that wish to expand but do not have access to the stock market. Jim Breyer, an
early investor of Facebook, and Peter Fenton, an early investor of Twitter, are two of the most
well-known investors in venture capital.

Angel Investors:
High-net-worth individuals who support small companies or entrepreneurs financially are
referred to as angel investors (also known as private investors, seed investors, or angel funders).
These individuals often do so in exchange for ownership stock in the startup or entrepreneur's
business. Angel investors' assistance for companies encourages creativity, which leads to a rise in
the economy. These risky investments often make up no more than 10% of an angel investor's
overall portfolio.

Start-up:
A start-up is a new business that is just getting started. Start-ups are formed by one or more
business owners who want to deliver a good or service for which they believe there is a market.
Since these companies often have high launch costs and low revenue, they look for funding from
a variety of sources, including venture capitalists.

Unicorn:
A unicorn is a start-up business that has a valuation of $1 billion or more. The venture capital
industry commonly uses it. Because unicorns are so rare, inventiveness is required. Due to their
vast scale, unicorn investors are usually private investors or venture capitalists, which excludes
retail investors from their investments.

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 Promoters:
A promoter is a person or group that aids in funding a certain financial endeavour. Promoters
frequently highlight penny stocks, a market where making misleading claims and exaggerating
a company's or its prospects has been typical. Promoters can also be journalists that write
favorable reviews or articles about a business in exchange for payment, which can influence
evaluations. Promoters are not required to hold a license or meet any specific requirements.

Idea:
Broken down, a business idea is a reason for setting up a firm. It controls all aspect of the
business, including what goods and services are provided and how these goods are sold. This
concept need not be original, but it must have the ability to seize a portion of the intended
market. Or, to put it another way, it must provide something unique from competing businesses,
or else their credentials and head start will make it nearly impossible for you to compete.

Technical Feasibility:
Technical feasibility is the process of formally determining whether it is technologically viable to
produce a good or service. Planning and preparing for each stage of the operation is crucial
before introducing a new offering or starting a client project. By examining the process,
including the tools, technology, materials, labour, and logistics, technical feasibility assists in
determining the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Viability:
Business viability refers to a situation in which a business is surviving. The ability to survive
depends on one's financial situation and productivity. A firm is viable if it either generates
enough profit to pay the owner back while also fulfilling its obligations to business creditors, or if
it has access to enough capital to last during a period when it is not producing any profit.

Crowdfunding:
Crowdfunding is a way to raise money to support projects and businesses. Fundraisers can use
online platforms to collect money from a large number of people. Crowdfunding is most
commonly used by start-ups and growing businesses to get alternative cash. It is a novel method
of raising funds for brand-new projects, enterprises, or ideas.

Networking:
One of the most crucial talents for business owners is networking. Building and maintaining
connections and relationships with others is the goal of networking. Your social and professional
personal networks that you build up through time might be a priceless asset. One of the
essential components for the launch of a firm may ultimately be obtained through a connection
formed at a social gathering for entrepreneurs.

Accelerator:
Business accelerators provide assistance to early-stage and start-up companies through
financing, short-term guidance, and training. A Business Accelerator’s long-term goals are to
help the businesses it supports to grow and become profitable quickly and make a return on its
investment (ROI).

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 Incubator:
An organisation that offers a variety of business support tools and services, including physical
space, capital, coaching, common services, and networking connections, accelerates the growth
and success of entrepreneurial businesses.

Clientele:
The clientele is the target market that an entrepreneur puts all of his energy into serving. They
are the ones who determine if a particular company will succeed or fail in the market. The
clientele's demands are what keep the entrepreneur busy and help him organise numerous
business ventures.

FEW LINKS FOR REFERENCE:

1. https://hbr.org/2021/07/entrepreneurs-and-the-truth
2. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/principles-of-entrepreneurship.htm
3. https://www.managementstudyguide.com/entrepreneurial-challenges-and-opportunities-in-
asia.htm
4. https://www.entrepreneur.com/leadership/the-dumbest-things-entrepreneurs-do-according-
to-mark-cuban/337115
5. https://www.forbes.com/sites/theyec/2019/05/02/the-psychological-price-of-
entrepreneurship/?sh=35c15a5b6adc
6. https://hbr.org/2000/09/why-should-anyone-be-led-by-you
7. https://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/how-a-multimillion-dollar-ice-cream-startup-melted-down-and-
bounced-back
8. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320007887_Entrepreneurship_Education_A_Stude
nts'_Perspective

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 OPERATIONS

OPERATIONS INTEREST GROUP

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oig_iiml/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OIG.IIML/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/oig-
iiml/about/

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 INTRODUCTION

Operations management is an area of management concerned with designing and controlling

the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or
services. It considers the acquisition, development, and utilization of resources that firms need to
deliver the goods and services their clients want. The goal of operations management is to
maximize efficiency of goods production and services that effectively fulfil customer needs.
OM includes strategic, tactical, and operational decisions.

Strategic decisions include determining the size and location of manufacturing plants,
deciding the structure of service or telecommunications networks, and designing technology
supply chains.
Tactical decisions include plant layout and structure, project management methods, and
equipment selection and replacement.
Operational decisions include production scheduling and control, inventory management,
quality control and inspection, traffic and materials handling, and equipment maintenance
policies.

Definitions
Product Design — The process of deciding on the unique and specific features of a product.
Process Selection —An excellent product design is worthless if a process for its creation
cannot be developed.
Process Control - Process control is the ability to monitor and adjust a process to give a
desired output. It is used in industry to maintain quality and improve performance.
Efficiency - Efficiency is the ability to avoid wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time
in doing something or in producing a desired result.
Effectiveness - Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to
produce desired output.
Quality management — The process used to ensure the quality of a product, including
measuring quality and identifying quality issues.
Total quality management (TQM) — A philosophy that seeks to improve qualityby
eliminating the causes of product defects and by making quality standards, the responsibility
of every individual in the organization.
Reengineering — The process of redesigning a company’s processes to increase its
production efficiency, improve quality, and reduce costs.
Lean Manufacturing - Lean manufacturing is a production process based on an ideology of
maximizing productivity while simultaneously minimizing waste within a manufacturing
operation. Derived from Toyota’s 1930 operating model called the “Toyota Way”.
Project Management - Project management is the process of leading the work of a team to
achieve all project goals within the given time, money, personnel, and other implementation
constraints.

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 Key Concepts:
Product and Supply Chain Compatibility
Products can be classified on the basis of demand patterns into two broad categories: functional
products and innovative products. Functional products typically have longer product lifecycles,
lower contribution margins, predictable demand patterns, and higher lead times, whereas
innovative products are short-lived, and have very high contribution margins, irregular
(unpredictable) demand patterns, and short lead times. Therefore, the ideal supply chain strategy
of the company should be devised considering the product characteristics. After determining if
the product lies closer to functional or innovative ends in the spectrum, the company can choose
between physically efficient and market-responsive supply chains. Efficient supply chains are
designed to minimize transportation, production, and storage costs, whereas responsive supply
chains are fast, flexible, and designed to manage demand uncertainty.

Ethical Sourcing of Sustainable Materials

Increasing consumer awareness and conscious purchase decisions have triggered the long-term
transformation of the industries, with brands inculcating sustainability in all aspects of the
business – from procurement to returns. ESG policies coupled with Trade 2.0 & demand driven
sourcing is driving the change in the procurement of sustainable materials. The need of the hour
has shifted to developing an agile sustainable model that addresses environmental and social
concerns without compromising on speed or scale. Bringing transparency to the POS, including
supplier details, work conditions, and carbon and water footprints of the products being
purchased, not only improves the company’s brand image but also adds to its social capital.

With possible significant scale-up in volumes and quantity of sustainable RM being used,
companies now strive to establish strategic partnerships with their suppliers. Many have designed

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 specific community outreach programs, including women’s empowerment programs and
capability-building programs. At the same time, to incorporate transparency into their
procurement process, firms have established stringent audit and remediation policies, which aim
to improve workers’ overall well-being, protect human rights and reduce environmental impact.
These remedial programs evaluate the suppliers and incentivize improvements, including moving
sourcing to green-rated factories or factories complying with the highest ILO standards.

Metrics and Performance Indicators

1. Perfect Order Rate: The perfect order rate measures the success of a firm's ability to deliver
orders incident-free, which ultimately helps them iron out issues such as inaccuracies,
damages, delays, and inventory losses. The higher the perfect order rate, the better, because
this KPI has a direct impact on customer retention and loyalty levels.
2. Days Sales Outstanding (DSO): The days sales outstanding (DSO) KPI measures how swiftly
you are able to collect or generate revenue from your customers.Essentially, a low, or healthy,
DSO number means that it takes a business fewer days to collect its accounts receivable. A
higher DSO level demonstrates that a company is selling its product to customers on credit
and taking longer to collect revenue in a tangible sense, which can stunt cash flow and
minimize profits in the grand scheme of things.
3. Inventory Turnover: One of the most superbly helpful supply chain KPI available today
focuses on logistics KPIs and helps a business understand the number of times its entire
inventory has been sold over a certain time frame: an incredible indicator of efficient
production planning, process strategy, fulfillment abilities, and marketing and sales
management.
4. Inventory to Sales Ratio: The inventory to sales ratio is critical to track since inventory is one
of the most important instruments in the supply chain. This metric measures the amount of
inventory for sale in comparison to the actual quantity that is sold, expressed as a ratio. It will
help the firm to adjust their stock in order to ensure high margins and is an estimate of how
well the company is dealing with unexpected situations.

Few other indicators include: Delivered On Time & In Full, Freight Cost per Unit, Fill Rate, Inventory
Velocity, Delivery Time and On Time Shipping.

Operations and Supply Chain

Operations
Operations management is an area of management concerned with designing and controlling
the process of production and redesigning business operations in the production of goods or
services.

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 Quality Concepts
Lean Manufacturing
Lean is a strategy for remaining competitive by identifying and eliminating wasteful steps in
products and processes. This management philosophy found its beginnings in the Toyota
Production System (TPS) and was later identified as "lean" only in the 1990s. TPS is renowned for its
focus on the reduction of the original Toyota seven waste to improve overall customer value.
The following practices are used in this strategy -
Improvement of equipment reliability
Quality at the source
Continuous flow production
The basic goal is to get more done with less by minimizing inventory at all stages of production,
shortening cycle times from raw materials to finished goods, and eliminating the following 7
wastes, often remembered by the acronym TIMWOOD.

Figure 1 - Sources of Waste

Transportation - This waste refers to any unnecessary transportation, such as that commonly
associated with the transit of materials or parts. Transportation is not a value-add activity as it
does not help transform the product into the customer requirement and can add further
problems through delays, damage or items being lost.
Inventory - Any parts or materials that are not immediately required are considered waste –
Inventory is one of the seven wastes that is most easy to spot in that it is easy to physically see
around the business. Inventory is waste as it ties up resources to manage it for example storage
space, personnel, capital outlay and processing.
Motion - An effective working environment can help reduce motion for a given process. This
may entail providing tools and equipment at point of use or making material handling processes
more efficient. A common tool used to analyze motion is the spaghetti diagram which can be
very effective at highlighting issues.

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 Waiting Time - Several causes can result in waiting, where the equipment is not in use, thus
reducing the utilization and the effective capacity of the process.
Over processing - Over processing is typified by carrying out more work on a product than is
required – this might be using more precision tools than are required through to, in the example
of office activity, bureaucratic approval systems for documents requiring multiple signatories or
reviews. Removing over processing requires careful consideration to ascertain the actual
requirement and ensuring that the process is engineered to meet this without any further
burden.
Overproduction - Producing more of something than is required by the customer is waste –
close attention to batch sizes and change over times can be imperative in not over producing.
The impact of overproducing can be considerable – not only is extra-material consumed but
extra processing and storage requirements add to the problem causing another of the seven
wastes – inventory.
Defects - Getting it wrong results in waste – whether that is manufacturing faulty parts that
require rework or at worst being scrapped or documents that are incorrectly completed which
can result in confusion or mistakes. Defects have a very real impact on the bottom line of your
business and can be one of the key contributors to inefficiency.

Skill - There is often another form of waste that is discussed with these 7 traditional wastes –
Utilized Talent. Human ingenuity is truly spectacular, but often those with the decision-making
authority do not have sufficient low-level knowledge to choose the best course of action.
Empowering the line workers to laborers to take critical decisions is a central principle in several
lean techniques to tackle wastes generated.

Takt Time
Takt time is a borrowing of the Japanese word takuto taimu, which in turn was borrowed from the
German word Taktzeit, meaning 'cycle time'. Takt time is the average unit production time needed
to meet customer demand.
For example, if the customer wants to buy 10 units per week, the average time to build a unit must
be 4 hours (or less) if the units are built during a 40-hour work week. Industrial manufacturing lines
must have production cycle times at least as short as the takt time so that production can meet the
customer demand.
Kaizen

Figure 2 - "Kaizen" Meaning

The Japanese word "Kaizen" means improvement, improvements without spending much money,
involving everyone from managers to workers, and using much common sense. The Japanese way
encourages small improvements day after day, continuously. The key aspect of Kaizen is that it is an
on-going, never-ending improvement process. It's a soft and gradual method opposed to more
usual western habits to scrap everything and start with new (breakthrough).

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 Kanban

Figure 3 - Kanban Board in Project Management

It is one of the many methods through which JIT is achieved. It is a scheduling system for lean and
just-in-time (JIT) production that helps determine what to produce, when to produce it, and how
much to produce. The system takes its name from the cards that track production within a factory.
Kanban is also known as the Toyota nameplate system in the automotive industry. In an industrial
setting, Constant Work in Progress (CONWIP) is a push pull production method using cards to track
production to ensure fewer inventory. This is like the Kanban board used in Project Management.

Six Sigma

Figure 4 - Error level in process

Six-Sigma is a business management strategy, originally developed by Motorola that today enjoys
wide-spread application in many sectors of industry. Six Sigma seeks to identify and remove the
causes of defects and errors in manufacturing and/or service delivery and business processes. It uses
a set of management methods, including statistical methods, and creates a dedicated
infrastructure of people within the organization who are experts in these methods. Six-Sigma aims
to deliver Breakthrough Performance Improvement from current levels in business and customer
relevant operational and performance measures.

Six Sigma defines 2 key methodologies – DMAIC and DMADV.

DMAIC is used to improve an existing business process.
DMADV is used to create new product or process designs.

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 Six-Sigma believes that –
Continuous efforts to achieve stable and predictable process results (i.e., reduce process
variation) are of vital importance to business success.
Manufacturing and business processes have characteristics that can be measured, analyzed,
improved and controlled.
Achieving sustained performance and quality improvement requires commitment from the
entire organization, particularly from top-level management.

Features that differentiate Six Sigma apart from previous quality improvement initiatives include –
A clear focus on achieving measurable and quantifiable financial returns from any Six Sigma
project.
An increased emphasis on strong and passionate management leadership and support.
A special organization infrastructure of "Champions," "Master Black Belts," "Black Belts”, “Green
Belts” etc. to lead and implement the Six Sigma approach.

Six Sigma defines 2 key methodologies – DMAIC and DMADV.

DMAIC is used to improve an existing business process.
DMADV is used to create new product or process designs.

5S

Figure 5 - 5S

The 5S quality tool is derived from five Japanese terms beginning with the letter "S" used to create a
workplace suited for visual control and lean production. The pillars of 5S are simple to learn and
important to implement -

Seiri - To separate needed tools, parts, and instructions from unneeded materials and to remove
the unneeded ones.
Seiton - To neatly arrange and identify parts and tools for ease of use.
Seiso - To conduct a clean-up campaign.
Seiketsu - To conduct seiri, seiton, and seiso daily to maintain a workplace in perfect condition.
Shitsuke - To form the habit of always following the first four S’s

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 Benefits to be derived from implementing a lean 5S program include -
Improved safety
Higher equipment availability
Lower defect rates
Reduced costs
Increased production agility and flexibility
Improved employee morale
Better asset utilization
Enhanced enterprise image to customers, suppliers, employees, and management

Supply Chain
Supply chain is sourcing and moving both the raw materials and the finished product. Operations
management is the part in the middle where the product is created from the raw materials. Supply
chain is how you get the raw materials from the suppliers (upstream) and how you get the finished
products to the customers (downstream)

Figure 6 - Simple Supply Chain (Product Flow)

Key Concepts

Supply Chain Management

Supply chain management encompasses the planning and management of all activities involved in
sourcing and procurement, conversion, and all logistics management activities. Importantly, it also
includes coordination and collaboration with channel partners, which can be suppliers,
intermediaries, third party service providers, and customers. In essence, supply chain management
integrates supply and demand management within and across companies.

Logistics
The time-related positioning of resources to meet user requirements.

Consignment
This most often refers to the act of placing your goods in the care of a third-party warehouse owner
(known as the consignee) who maintains them for a fee. In addition to storing the goods, the
consignee may sell or ship them to customers on your behalf for a fee. A consignment could also
refer to a batch of goods destined for or delivered to someone.

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 Inventory
A term used to describe all the goods and materials held by an organization for future sale or use a
list of items held in stock.

FIFO
First in, first out is a method of cost tracking where items are valued and sold in the order they were
purchased.

LIFO
Last in, first out is a method of cost lot tracking where your most recent purchases are sold first. It
works exactly opposite to FIFO.

Landed Cost
The total cost of ownership of an item. This includes the cost price, shipping charges, custom duties,
taxes, and any other charges that were borne by the buyer.

Bill of Materials
A listing of components, parts, and other items needed to manufacture a product, showing the
quantity of each required to produce each end item.

Demand Driven Supply Chains

This is where a supply system is in direct response to a single point of demand. All the components
across a supply chain are synchronized to meet the demand that it is trying to fulfil.

Transit Time
The time taken to move goods physically between different locations in a supply chain or laterally to
another facility.

Turnaround Time (TAT)

The total time taken to repair a component at the repair location, including waiting time but
excluding transit time.

Reverse Logistics

Figure 7 - Reverse Logistics

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 The requirement to plan the flow of surplus or unwanted material or equipment back through the
supply chain after meeting customer demand. In the case of ecommerce, this refers to the returns
that customers make. Reverse Logistics is a very important yet often forgotten component of
ecommerce and can determine its success or failure. This is really inefficient, and firms are
continuously trying to reduce their reverse logistics costs. This could also include material returned
for recycling – like Keventers returning empty milkshake bottles to their bottle maker for recycling.

Modern Techniques in OM and SCM

ECom Supply Chains

The fulfillment and delivery of customer orders are completed by a variety of moving parts that are
all included in the e-commerce supply chain.

The logistical procedures that make up the e-commerce supply chain include the acquisition of raw
materials, production of completed goods, warehousing, fulfillment, inventory control, and last-mile
delivery. A typical e-commerce supply chain also manages inventory tracking, supply and demand,
and various distribution schedules. Ecommerce supply chain management's main objective is to
make sure that every order is filled with high-quality goods and consistent product selections.

Operating a successful product-based brand depends on each stage of the ecommerce supply
chain (with an exemplary service level). Generally speaking, this kind of supply chain can be divided
into six distinct segments: supply and demand; warehousing; inventory tracking; order entry; order
management; and distribution, delivery, and returns.

Warehouse Management Systems

A warehouse management system (WMS) consists of software and processes that allow
organizations to control and administer warehouse operations from the time goods or materials
enter a warehouse (inbound Processes include receiving inventory, processing, QA checks, and
putaway) until they move out (outbound processes include order-inventory mapping, picking,
packing and shipping).
A WMS is often used alongside or integrated with other related systems, including ERP,
transportation management systems (TMS) and inventory management systems.
Warehouse management systems began as systems that were run on an organization's on-premises
servers. This model has been changing, and cloud-based WMSes are more common now.

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 Green Supply Chain
From product design to manufacturing to logistics management to product recovery, an
organization’s supply chain has a major environmental impact. However, it is not enough for a Green
Supply Chain strategy to simply attempt to mitigate these effects. To be accepted and successful, it
has to be seen to drive value creation through the organization. The wider goal may be CO2
reduction but for the organization the real benefits are measured in terms of better utilization of
assets, less waste production, faster times to market, greater Product innovation and increased
profitability.

"Direct interaction with supply chain partners can enable a company to reduce total
inventory levels, decrease product obsolescence, lower transaction costs, react more quickly
to changes in the market, and respond more promptly to customer requests.”

Benefits of a Green Supply Chain

Now, discussing the top line benefits. Of course, we have to comply with all the environmental
regulations and legislation. For any international organization, with breadth and pace of new
regulation it can be daunting in itself. But that's a given. It's something we have to do if we want to
continue business. The issue is to create a flexible and adaptable supply chain that can react quickly
and with a minimum of effort as the regulatory landscape changes. Next there's the importance of
green credentials for customers and employees. Especially in the retail and automotive industries,
consumers have become much more proactive in including green criteria within their product
selection process. Greening all parts of an organization will help drive the value in its brand – and
the supply chain has its role to play in that. But, if we're to be honest, only the enlightened few of
company boards are going to OK a major supply chain program based on top line benefits. There
has to be a positive impact of the bottom line.

Transportation Management Systems

A transportation management system, or “TMS,” is a platform that’s designed to streamline the
shipping process. It is a subset of supply chain management concerning transportation solutions. A
TMS allows shippers to automate the processes they have in place and receive valuable insights to
save time and reduce spend on future shipments.

Distribution companies, e-commerce organizations and anyone else that moves freight on a regular
basis realizes there are many moving parts to the shipping process, both literally and figuratively.
From quoting to delivery, those shipping freight are almost always looking for ways to optimize
spend and improve processes. Thanks to transportation management systems (TMS), shippers have
a solution on their side to do just that.

Benefits of TMS
Technological capabilities - With a transportation management system, you as the shipper will
have the technology you need to make routing decisions based on quotes, transit time and
carrier mix. This centralized location for quoting will eliminate unnecessary stress and time spent
during the booking process.

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 Simplify processes - A TMS can help to simplify the carrier selection process by allowing you to
evaluate the merchandise being sent and matching it with a carrier in the network. By
managing this entire process in one place, you will be able to revisit past shipments and quickly
match similar loads to the appropriate carriers.
Track freight - With a TMS, you can track freight that’s on the road and even receive alerts to
any transit exceptions or unforeseen delays from one location. It’s impossible to control human
error or Mother Nature, however, a TMS will let you see when delays are occurring and why.
Business insights - Robust transportation management systems will offer you in-depth insights
and reporting capabilities. For example, let’s say you oversee the shipping process for 20
locations that each send five shipments out a week. That’s 100 shipping invoices to create and
shipments to evaluate each week. With a TMS, information will all be stored in one location and
custom reports can be created to analyse things like the discrepancies between rates and final
invoices.
Ref.: https://www.freightquote.com/define/what-is-transportation-management-system-tms/

Hyper Automation
Hyper-automation is the concept of automating everything in an organization that can be
automated. Organizations that adopt hyper-automation aim to streamline processes across their
business using artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), and other technologies
to run without human intervention.

Robot Process Automation (RPA)

Robotic process automation (RPA), also known as software robotics, uses automation technologies
to mimic back-office tasks of human workers, such as extracting data, filling in forms, moving files,
et cetera. It combines APIs and user interface (UI) interactions to integrate and perform repetitive
tasks between enterprise and productivity applications. By deploying scripts which emulate human
processes, RPA tools complete autonomous execution of various activities and transactions across
unrelated software systems.

HYPER AUTOMATION SUPPLY CHAIN

The pandemic has greatly affected the ability to receive materials in a timely fashion, and low
staffing levels have resulted in process delay, creating logistical challenge at best.
Using RPA, inventory stock checks can occur 24x7, ensuring that a current view of inventory levels
and product availability is accessible at all times. In addition to inventory checks, RPA can be used
for procurement, pricing, billing, quote request, follow-up and data input, and system maintenance
and repair. Removing the dependency on manual intervention for repetitive processes, hyper-
automation can increase speed, efficiency and accuracy.
Ref.: https://www.ibm.com/cloud/learn/rpa

Blockchain
Blockchain is a shared, immutable ledger that facilitates the process of recording transactions and
tracking assets in a business network. An asset can be tangible (a house, car, cash, land) or
intangible (intellectual property, patents, copyrights, branding). Virtually anything of value can be
tracked and traded on a blockchain network, reducing risk and cutting costs for all involved.

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 Benefits of Blockchain

Operations often waste effort on duplicate record keeping and third-party validations. Record-
keeping systems can be vulnerable to fraud and cyberattacks. Limited transparency can slow data
verification. And with the arrival of IoT, transaction volumes have exploded. All of this slows business,
drains the bottom line — and means we need a better way.

Greater trust - With blockchain, as a member of a members-only network, you can rest assured
that you are receiving accurate and timely data, and that your confidential blockchain records
will be shared only with network members to whom you have specifically granted access.
Greater security - Recordkeeping systems can be vulnerable to fraud and cyberattacks.
Consensus on data accuracy is required from all network members, and all validated
transactions are immutable because they are recorded permanently. No one, not even a system
administrator, can delete a transaction.
More efficiencies - Operations often waste effort on duplicate record keeping and third-party
validations. With the arrival of IoT, transaction volumes have exploded. Limited transparency can
slow data verification. With a distributed ledger that is shared among members of a network,
time-wasting record reconciliations are eliminated. And to speed transactions, a set of rules —
called a smart contract — can be stored on the blockchain and executed automatically.

Ref.: https://www.ibm.com/in-en/topics/what-is-blockchain

Automated Guided Vehicles and Autonomous Mobile Robots

An automatic guided vehicle system (AGVS) consists of one or more computer-controlled, wheel-
based load carriers (normally battery powered) that runs on the plant or warehouse floor (or if
outdoors on a paved area) without the need for an onboard operator or driver.

Ref.: https://www.mhi.org/downloads/industrygroups/agvs/elessons/what-is-an-agv.pdf

An autonomous mobile robot (AMR) is any robot that can understand and move through its
environment without being overseen directly by an operator. Typically, this is achieved through an
array of sophisticated on-board sensors, computers, and maps, which allow AMRs to understand
and interpret their environment in order to function as a form of asynchronous transportation.

In a warehouse setting, these sophisticated technologies partner with the warehouse execution
software (WES) in order to grant AMRs increased flexibility to create their own routes between
locations within a warehouse or facility, identifying and avoiding obstacles and rerouting themselves
when necessary. The end result is a robot that is much better able to deal with the dynamic
environment offered by most order fulfillment operations.

Commonly used AGV/AMRs include

1. ASRS (Automatic Storage and Retrieval Systems)
2. Autobaggers
3. Skypods

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 Industry 4.0
Industry 4.0 is revolutionizing the way companies manufacture, improve and distribute their
products. Manufacturers are integrating new technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT), cloud
computing and analytics, and AI and machine learning into their production facilities and
throughout their operations.

Technologies driving Industry 4.0

Internet of Things (IoT)
The Internet of Things (IoT) is a key component of smart factories. Machines on the factory floor are
equipped with sensors that feature an IP address that allows the machines to connect with other
web-enabled devices. This mechanization and connectivity make it possible for large amounts of
valuable data to be collected, analyzed and exchanged.

Cloud computing
Cloud computing is a cornerstone of any Industry 4.0 strategy. Full realization of smart
manufacturing demands connectivity and integration of engineering, supply chain, production,
sales and distribution, and service. Cloud helps make that possible. In addition, the typically large
amount of data being stored and analyzed can be processed more efficiently and cost-effectively
with cloud. Cloud computing can also reduce startup costs for small- and medium-sized
manufacturers who can right-size their needs and scale as their business grows.

AI and machine learning

AI and machine learning allow manufacturing companies to take full advantage of the volume of
information generated not just on the factory floor, but across their business units, and even from
partners and third-party sources. AI and machine learning can create insights providing visibility,
predictability and automation of operations and business processes. For instance: Industrial
machines are prone to breaking down during the production process. Using data collected from
these assets can help businesses perform predictive maintenance based on machine learning
algorithms, resulting in more uptime and higher efficiency.

Edge computing
The demands of real-time production operations mean that some data analysis must be done at
the “edge”—that is, where the data is created. This minimizes latency time from when data is
produced to when a response is required. For instance, the detection of a safety or quality issue may
require near-real-time action with the equipment. The time needed to send data to the enterprise
cloud and then back to the factory floor may be too lengthy and depends on the reliability of the
network. Using edge computing also means that data stays near its source, reducing security risks.

Cybersecurity
Manufacturing companies have not always considered the importance of cybersecurity or cyber-
physical systems. However, the same connectivity of operational equipment in the factory or field
(OT) that enables more efficient manufacturing processes also exposes new entry paths for
malicious attacks and malware. When undergoing a digital transformation to Industry 4.0, it is
essential to consider a cybersecurity approach that encompasses IT and OT equipment.

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 Digital twin
The digital transformation offered by Industry 4.0 has allowed manufacturers to create digital twins
that are virtual replicas of processes, production lines, factories and supply chains. A digital twin is
created by pulling data from IoT sensors, devices, PLCs and other objects connected to the internet.
Manufacturers can use digital twins to help increase productivity, improve workflows and design
new products. By simulating a production process, for example, manufacturers can test changes to
the process to find ways to minimize downtime or improve capacity.
Ref.: https://www.ibm.com/in-en/topics/industry-4-0

Modern-Day Logistics (Emergence of 4PL and 5PL)

First Party Logistics: First Party Logistics are companies, which do their own logistics activities.

Second Party Logistics: Second party logistics people provide their own assets such as truck
owners, warehouse operators etc.

Third Party Logistics: Third party Logistics Provider (3PL) performs logistics services on behalf of
another company. 3PLs provide the management skills along with the physical assets, labor, and
systems technology to provide professional logistics services, relieving companies of the
responsibility of performing these services themselves. 3PL's typically can provide transportation,
warehousing, pool distribution, management consulting, logistics optimization, freight forwarding,
transportation management, rate negotiations, cost evaluations, and contract management
services.

Fourth Party Logistics: 4 PLs see the process and what is required for the process to succeed. A
4PL is a supply chain manager & enabler who assemblies and manages resources, build capabilities
and technology with those of complimentary service providers. They act as the first point for
delivering unique and comprehensive supply chain solutions. 4PL leverages combined capabilities
of management consulting and 3PLs. They act as an integrator assembling the resources,
capabilities, and technology of their own organization and other organizations to design, build and
run comprehensive supply chain solutions. 4 PL is an emerging trend, and it is a complex model and
offers greater benefits in terms of economies of scale.

Fifth Party Logistics: A 5PL supplier typically goes beyond specific supply chains and focuses on
larger supply networks. A 5PL will handle all aspects of supply chain management for a client by
organizing, planning, and implementing their logistical needs. Because of their emphasis on supply
networks, they will manage every supply chain within a firm. The majority of 5PLs focus on big data
and use technology to increase productivity, making them more valuable to e-commerce
enterprises than brick and mortar businesses. Robotics, blockchain, AI, and Bluetooth beacons are
further technologies that 5PLs may try to leverage.

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 Ref.: https://www.shiprocket.in/blog/1pl-to-10pl-understanding-the-various-models-of-logistics-
service-providers/

Elastic logistics

Elastic logistics refers to a model of conducting business that is flexible and agile enough to upscale
or downscale according to the demands of the market. This allows supply chain operations to
expand or shrink in almost real-time, based on predicted happenings in the market.

Elastic logistics uses automation processes in picking and packing, forcing warehousing and
logistics further towards supply-led decision-making. This endless expansion and contraction of
warehouse operations based on supply allows for more reliable financial control. Elastic logistics
allows companies to operate supply chains more efficiently in the face of fluctuations, and provides
for scalable upscaling and downscaling depending on seasonal activity and other changes. The
interplay between supply and demand has tipped largely in favor of demand.

Ref.: https://www.morethanshipping.com/elastic-logistics-the-future-of-the-supply-chain/

Key Government Initiatives:

ONDC: Currently, digital markets are closed and platform-centric wherein buyers and sellers need to
be on the same platform to carry out a transaction. The current model of e-commerce stifles
innovation, creates significant barriers to entry for new players, and creates a gap between online
demand and the local retail ecosystem. As a result participation in e-commerce is well below its
potential and has a tremendous opportunity to grow manifold.
ONDC, on the other hand, does not require that buyer and seller must use the same
platform/application to do a business transaction. Instead, it is a network-centric model where, so
long as platforms/applications are connected to this open network, buyers and sellers can transact
irrespective of the platforms/applications they use. Its like the “UPI of e-commerce”.

Features-
An open network
Eliminates the need for a central intermediary
An enabler for e-commerce expansion
An enabler for broad-based innovation
Market and Community-led initiative

NLP: As we know, a well-functioning logistics sector forms the backbone of domestic and
international trade in any country. It connects all vital industries and ensures a smooth supply chain
of goods and services. A logistics sector requires efficient transportation systems, inventory
management (warehousing), quick & easy flow of data, and reliable customer service.

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 Main features of the National Logistics Policy 2022:
The policy aims to bring down the logistics cost from 13-14% of the GDP to around 8% of GDP in the
next five years.
The Indian government will create a roadmap to reduce the country’s dependence on road
transport for cargo movement. It will explore more options like railways, shipping, and air transport.
The govt also plans to establish logistics parks/hubs strategically across the country.
The govt will focus on digital transformation in the logistics sector and bring it in line with global
standards. The new policy has four features: Integration of Digital System (IDS), Unified Logistics
Interface Platform (ULIP), Ease of Logistics (ELOG), and System Improvement Group (SIG).
Under the IDS, data from the road transport, railways, customs, aviation, and commerce
departments will be integrated into a single platform.
A ULIP will bring all the digital services related to the transportation sector into a single portal.
Industry associations can use ELOGs to reach out to the government and resolve issues.
Thus, all key entities involved in the Indian logistics sector can track real-time movements, access
documents digitally, reduce costs, and save valuable time. NLP aims to remove all obstacles and
inconsistencies in the logistics sector by re-engineering current processes. The government’s vision is
to develop a technologically enabled, cost-efficient, sustainable, and trusted logistics ecosystem for
accelerated growth. The fall in logistics costs would improve the competitiveness of Indian goods in
domestic and export markets.

Other Interesting Articles

1. Operations industry weekly news

2. Current Challenges for Operations Management
3. Five ways to optimize the COVID-19 vaccine supply chain
4. Supply chain industry weekly news
5. COVID-19: Managing supply chain risk and disruption
6. Supply Chain Challenges and Optimization in times of Disruption
7. Coronavirus: A lesson in supply chain risk management
8. 10 Vaccine Distribution Questions for Supply Chain Leaders
9. Distraction or Disruption? Autonomous trucks gain ground in US Logistics
10. Using blockchain to drive supply chain transparency
11. Blockchain in Logistics
12. Robotic Process Automation (RPA) trends and to-do list for scaling across the enterprise
13. The Digital Transformation of Logistics – Threat and Opportunity
14. Digital Twins in Logistics
15. Conquering Complexity in Supply Chains with Digital Twins

Page | 89
 PRODUCT
MANAGEMENT
& ANALYTICS
THE BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY INTEREST GROUP
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/biztech_iim_lucknow/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/biztechiimlucknow/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/biztech-iim-
lucknow/about/

Page | 90
 What is Product Management?

To put it simply, a product manager is like a mini-CEO where instead of driving the entire company,
he/she is responsible for managing a product from creation to successful adoption. Elaborating
further, the product manager is responsible for the strategy, roadmap, and feature definition for that
product or product line. Taking the idea to execution and constantly re-iterating it to build products
that customers love. Customer centricity is the core that drives product management.

Why Product Management?

Product managers act as an intersection of business, technology, and user experience (UI/UX) teams
and acts as a binding force amongst all of them. It is the responsibility of a PM to ensure a shared
vision among all the business units that he/she is interacting with.
Most importantly, product managers define what success is for each product, outline the product
strategy, and illustrate how it will impact both the customer and the goals of the company they
work for.

Responsibilities of a Product Manager:

There are a few core responsibilities common to most product management roles inside both
established enterprise companies and at startups. Most often a product manager is responsible for
understanding customer requirements, defining and prioritizing them, and working with the
engineering team to build them. Setting strategy and defining the roadmap is often considered to
be inbound work and bringing the product to market is often considered to be "outbound."

Product Strategy and Definition (Inbound)

Strategy and vision
Customer interviews
Defining features and requirements
Building roadmaps
Release management
Go-to-resource for engineering
Sales and support training

Product Marketing and Go-to-Market (Outbound)

Competitive differentiation
Positioning and messaging
Naming and branding
Customer communication
Product launches
Press and analyst relations

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 Key Trends in Product Management in the COVID Context

1. Some app industries are seeing a surge in user engagement — some as high as a 177%average
increase in daily active users(DAUs).
2. For struggling industries, app launches are down as much as60-80%.
3. Some app verticals are seeing prolonged spikes in engagement (Content& Media), while others
are experiencing temporary peaks before returning to normal (Grocery)

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 Suggested readings to appreciate Product Management:

Books:
Design of Everyday Things
Well Designed

Blogs/Articles:

Interview Tips
https://www.intercom.com/blog/evolving-your-product-management-career-ladder/

Product Management Frameworks:

The 3-Step Startup Marketing Framework We Created to Grow KISSmetrics
(https://hitenism.com/marketing-framework/)
8 essential metrics for measuring product-led growth
(https://www.appcues.com/blog/product-led-growth-metrics)
4 Steps to Defining GREAT Metrics for ANY Product
(https://hackernoon.com/metrics- game-framework-5e3dce1be8ac)
The FANG Playbook
(https://stratechery.com/2016/the-fang-playbook/)
Aggregator Theory
(https://stratechery.com/2015/aggregation-theory/)

Design in Product Management

Articulating Your Product Design Principles
(https://www.sachinrekhi.com/articulating-your-product-design-principles)
Don Norman's Principles of Interaction Design
(https://www.sachinrekhi.com/don-norman-principles-of-interaction-design)
Wireframes Aren’t Just for Designers
(https://www.mindtheproduct.com/wireframes-arent-just-for-designers/)

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 What is Analytics?
Analytics is the science of analyzing raw data to derive actionable insights and conclusions. The
techniques and processes may involve complex algorithms and machine learning concepts. Data
Analytics plays a pivotal role in helping businesses identify patterns, customer trends and
accordingly take decisions.

Different Types of Analytics

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 1. Discovery:
Objective is to understand the business domainand know the available resources (people, time,
technology, data)
Developing initial hypothesis to test with the data
2. Data preparation:
Understanding the data in detail
→
Performing ETL: Extract Transform → Load
Data visualization to understand nuances, trends and overview of the data
3. Model Planning:
Understand relationships between different variables and select the most appropriate and
relevant variables
Determining causal relationships between input and output, if it exists
Shortlisting possible techniques that can be employed: Classification, Clustering, etc.

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 4. Model Selection:
Develop and fit models on training data and evaluate on test data
Determine if the model is robust enough to be scaled to a larger dataset
5. Communicate results:
Comparing the outcomes with the defined criteria for success and failure
Checking if the results of the model are statistically significant
6. Operationalize:
Deploying the model to production environment
Monitoring of ongoing model deployment

Further reading: You can also check the below link to get more interview question of data analyst:
https://www.interviewbit.com/data-analyst-interview-questions/

Artificial Intelligence vs Machine Learning vs Deep Learning – Know the difference

Artificial Intelligence
Succinctly put, AI is the ability of computer program to function like a human. AI includes
algorithms that imitate the intelligence exhibited by humans and can solve problems in ways that
are considered “smart”. E.g., Amazon’s accurate AI that provides one of the most accurate of
predictions.

Machine Learning
Machine Learning is considered as a subset of AI. This comprises of algorithms that parse data,
“learn” from it and can apply what the algorithms have learned to make informed decisions. The
machines can learn from the data with the help of statistical techniques E.g., Email filtering, fraud
detection and dynamic pricing.

Deep Learning
Further subset of Machine Learning is Deep Learning. The objective of these techniques is to achieve
a goal or an artificial intelligence power that teaches computers to task and ability to understand
anything. The algorithms permit software to train itself to perform tasks, like speech and image
recognition. E.g., Application of Deep Learning to differentiate between dialects, autonomous
vehicles using deep learning to identify pedestrian

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 “How vast can Machine Learning really be? I mean isn’t it just a few algori…. Oh okay…My bad”

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 Latest Technology Trends:

1. AI and Machine Learning:

The AI is expected to grow be $190 billion industry with global spending on cognitive and AI
systems reaching over $57 billion in 2022. Though many conventional may be scrapped due to the
involvement of AI, several new kinds of jobs would open in development, programming, testing,
support and maintenance, to name a few. AI offers some of the highest paid salaries from $100,000
per year to around $150,000.
On similar lines, ML is also on rapid rise leading to increase in skilled and technical professionals. It is
believed that ML and automation will lead to more than 8% jobs in USA by 2025, including robot
monitoring professionals, data scientists, automation specialists, content curators, etc.
Following are the hot job posts concerning this domain in the market:
AI Research Scientist
AI Engineer
Machine Learning Engineer
AI Architect

2. Automation:
Many times, it is also referred to as robot process automation (RPA) which is basically referred to as
the use of software to automate business processes which are repetitive in nature. McKinsey finds
that less than 5% of occupations can be totally automated, but about 60% can be partially
automated (article). Though RPA has the potential to threaten the livelihood of around 9% of global
workforce, is also creating new jobs while altering existing jobs.

3. Quantum Computing:
Normal computers in their core deal with the binary 0 and 1. But what if they could achieve a state
of let’s say ½ or 1/4. This can help in optimizing power and increase the computational capabilities
exponentially by using the quantum concepts of superposition and quantum entanglement.
Tech giants such as Google, AWS, Microsoft, etc are already involved in making innovations in this
field. As per Statista, the revenue due to global computing marketing is expected to cross $2.5 bn by
2029.

4. Internet of Things (IoT):

You may have not realized this but there is a very high change you have used product based on IoT,
even your mobile phone uses this. Most of the handheld electronic “things” today use Wi-Fi for
connectivity to Internet and to each other, thus the name – Internet of Things.
Car doors can be unlocked remotely, switch on A/C of our home before reaching there, track fitness
on cell phone or your Fitbit devices. The IoT can enable better safety, efficiency and decision making
for businesses as data is collected and analyzed. It can enable predictive maintenance, speed up
medical care, improve customer service, and offer benefits we haven’t even imagined yet.
It is expected that by the end of this decade, there will be more than 50Bn IoT devices in active use
across the globe. Corollary, the spending on IoT is expected to reach $1.1 Tn in 2022. This will lead to
the creation of massive web of interconnected devices covering different domains of usage
simultaneously.

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 5. 5G – 5th Generation Internet:
Talking specifically in Indian context, the recent digital revolution has already catapulted the
country in a new direction. But what if someone told you that it’s just the beginning and the real
game is about to begin. That’s what 5G promises us. For quite some time, 3G and 4G had enabled us
to browse internet remotely on hand with ease, increasing bandwidth to stream Netflix, Spotify,
Youtube etc.
5G would take this experience to the next level by making services using AR and VR easy to use,
alongside cloud-based gaming services like Google Stadia, NVidia GeForce Now and much more.
Almost all the telecom giants are working to create 5G applications and by 2024, 40% of the world
would have 5G access.

6. Augmented and Virtual Reality:

The next step in reality-based simulations is AR and VR. Though their current usage has been largely
restricted to gaming, it has also been used to train navy, air force, astronauts etc by simulating real
circumstances. Usually working in tandem with some of the other emerging technologies we’ve
mentioned in this list, AR and VR have enormous potential in training, entertainment, education,
marketing, and even rehabilitation after an injury.
You would be surprised to know that 14 million AR and VR devices were sold in 2019. The global AR
and VR market is expected to grow to $210 billion by 2022, only creating more opportunities in the
trending technology, and welcoming more professionals ready for this game-changing field.

7. Blockchain:
You may have heard about this in case of crypto currencies, but that’s just one application of
blockchain technology. Formally defined, blockchain is a distributed database where data is shared
among different nodes of a network. The data can be stored in a decentralized fashion alongside
ensuring security of transactions without the involvement of any third-party application.
As the name suggest, data is stored in groups (or blocks) which together are connected via network
like a chain. When the storage capacity of a block gets over, a new block is created and previous
block is connected to the new one, thus continuing the chain.
Though blockchain has wide range of applications such as conduction elections, transaction
management, etc, it has its own downsides and vulnerabilities. First, blockchain required huge
amount of electrical can computational power which may be out of bound from most of the
general populous now. Therefore, feasibility becomes an issue. Secondly, blockchain enthusiasts
boasts the impracticality of a single person controlling majority of the blocks due to huge
investment that would be required to do so. However, the same might not be applicable for a
government, or a tech giant. It would be easier for them, to do a 51% attack where they would gain
access to the data of just more than half the blocks and thus controlling which data is correct &
which is wrong.

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 AGRIBUSINESS
MANAGEMENT
IGFAB
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IGFAB
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/igfab-iim-lucknow8942aa1b4/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/iim_lucknow_igfab/

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 ABOUT AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT
Agribusiness Management is the application of business skills from areas such as marketing,
finance, economics, and management to the agricultural industry. The core concepts of
management remain the same, but the perspective is from the food and agricultural point of
view. Agriculture ,as a sector provides a wide variety of challenges. The dependence on the land
fertility, climate, lack of agricultural infrastructure and access to capital are but just a few
challenges that this industry faces during the production stage. Post-production, most of the
challenges are due to the perishability of the products. The low shelf life of agricultural products
coupled with specific conditions required to store and transport goods pose unique challenges
and can be a supply chain nightmare. Hence, a food company needs to manage and control the
process right from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of finished goods to the end-
user. Thus, as an Agribusiness professional ,you would be required to have strong domain
knowledge and be well versed with management principles to manage the agribusiness value
chain effectively.

PGP ABM at IIM Lucknow

Agribusiness Management is not just about agriculture. It is a management course where
one learns how to manage a firm, which is related to agriculture/livestock/food processing
and another similar domain. It does not require too much technical knowledge. Moreover,
there is a foundation course in agriculture to familiarize you with the basic concepts. So even
if one does not have an agriculture background but is interested in being associated with the
Agri based industry, this course would provide the required learning.
Apart from the regular PGP subjects, there is one extra course focusing on ABM in each term
of the first year. During the second year, electives for both are different.
IIM-L has a common placement process for PGP and PGP-ABM. The eligibility for the
application to any company depends on the company’s eligibility criteria. ABM students can
hence apply to almost all the companies not just those specific to the agribusiness sector.
Each field can contribute to the Agribusiness sector be it engineering or commerce or
humanities. There are students in the current batch as well as the previous batches who did
not have a background in agriculture, yet they are outdoing their peers.
ABM program also has scope in all sectors, including marketing, finance, etc. related to the
agri domain. You will get immense opportunities in the fields of pharmacy, fertilizers & other
agri-based products or services in case you are inclined towards the field.
The diversity of students in PGP-ABM batch is similar to that of PGP batch. They have diverse
work experience. Some are from the consulting field, others from the IT industry, Auto
Industry and many students are from the biotech domain. Also, there are a healthy number
of freshers in the batch. You can pursue ABM and you shall get the same enriched experience
as the PGP students.
The committee selection process offers equal chances to both PGP and ABM students. For
Academic Interest Groups, relaxation is given to ABM students based on the academic
criteria. So, it depends entirely on your capability that whether you can make it into the
committees or not.

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 There is even a committee, IGFAB (Interest Group in Food and Agribusiness), which especially
deals with the events related to agri-business. IGFAB is the face of IIM Lucknow in the
domains of agri-business, environment, and rural management. It is the committee that
handles all the agribusiness activities and events in IIML throughout the year. The committee
also initiated the FAB Festival which includes various events like quizzes, article writing,
workshop, panel discussions and case competition related to finance, marketing, strategy,
etc. Apart from this, other events conducted by IGFAB keep on taking place all throughout
the year. IGFAB, under the umbrella of IIM Lucknow, acts to disseminate awareness about
agri-business, to carve paths for conserving the environment and to diffuse subtle prosperity
in rural India.
The summer placements of ABM students are almost at par with PGP students. ABM students
have also obtained general management roles, operation roles, marketing roles in firms like
Amazon, Flipkart, HUL, Star, etc.

General tips:
Apart from the technical knowledge regarding the graduation stream, a basic knowledge of
the agriculture sector is desired. It would benefit you to be abreast with the current news and
trends in the Agriculture sector in India and the rest of the world. The contribution of
agriculture to the Indian economy. You may need to justify your interest in the Agriculture
sector.
Be aware and know thoroughly about the current affairs and agribusiness related news,
Agricultural contribution in India with respect to all aspects like GDP, Export, Import etc.
Be aware of any special day on the date of your interview. (say environment day, republic
day).
Important topics: Organic farming, GM crops and BT crops, food and organisms;
Organizations like FSSAI, FCI, APEDA, NABARD, FAO etc. Related ministries (MoFPI, Ministry of
agriculture and farmer’s welfare etc.), Agricultural policies, Subsidies, MSPs etc, Business
model of companies like Swiggy etc.

PI Questions
Introduction: The answer to this question can make or break the interview. Prepare this
question well to take an edge. You can include education, career goals, hobbies etc. Try to
create a flow linking any major incidents in your life to your education and career goals.
Why MBA?
Why ABM?
PGP or ABM? Why?
Why not continue in the same field as you had in your under-graduation?
Were any projects undertaken during work? (Work experience-based question)
How would your work experience relate to an MBA in Agribusiness?
What contribution can you make in the agribusiness sector?
What do you think is the current status of agribusiness in India?
What are the major exports and imports of agricultural products?
What was your favourite subject in under-graduation? What subjects did you study in your
under-graduation?

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 Why ABM after your field of graduation?
What expectations do you have from this course?
What other calls do you have? Why are you interested in IIM Lucknow?
Name some companies working in the food and agribusiness sector.
Current affairs-based question and your opinion on the same.
Why do you prefer ABM over your other calls?
Do you know why agri-business management got this name, or what is the difference
between agriculture and agri-business management?
What is agribusiness?
Which Indian firms are in agribusiness?
Questions about the companies that you have filled in the application form for PGP ABM?
Why would you like to work for these companies?
Questions related to agriculture like types of soil, crops etc.
What is a crop? Examples of Kharif and Rabi crops.
What is the difference between manure and fertilizer?
What is a Fertilizer subsidy?
What is a fodder crop? Examples
What are GM food and crops? (BT cotton, BT soybean and BT brinjal in particular)
Questions on ICAR, APMC, and Commodity trading
What is NCDEX?
As a consultant, suggest 5 emerging areas to invest in biotechnology.
What are the problems in the agriculture sector?
What is Urea? Is it organic or inorganic? Describe its structure.
How does the agriculture sector contribute to climate change?
India GDP, rural population, Panchayati system etc.
Which revolutions do you know, like Green and yellow revolutions? (Examples Blue, white
etc.) Explain.
Questions on M.S. Swaminathan’s Green evolution
Questions on Farm mechanization and Green House Impact
Question on Nobel Prize in agriculture- Wolf prize.
What is horticulture, floriculture, olericulture, monoculture, crop rotation, multiple cropping,
FAO headquarters, crop diversity, contract farming etc.?
Questions on Products of companies like Pepsi, Coca Cola, Marico etc.
Biggest achievement and failure of your life. What did you learn from that experience?
What are Transgenic Crops? Explain
What are the major agricultural problems in Bihar?
Tell us about Agricultural Budget
What did you do in your Rural Agriculture Work Experience?
What are the challenges in the Agriculture sector in India?
What are your views on the Locust attack?
Why is the productivity in India low?
Which microfinancing units are providing loans to farmers?
What kind of loans are provided?
Which are the famous crops in your area?
What are some of the characteristics looked for in wheat from a breeding perspective?
Is there any problem with the cold storage chain for wheat in India?

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 What is the difference between cash and subsistence crops?
In which business does Monsanto operate? What kind of seeds do they deal with? Any
specific term?
What are BT crops, and what are the issues related to them?
What are the Three farm laws? What are your views on them?
What are the Farm laws repeal bill?
What do you know about Precision agriculture?
Are you aware of the use of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence in agriculture? How
are they being utilized to enhance production?
Expect some questions about government schemes and agricultural practices in your own
state. Develop an opinion about the effectiveness and any improvements that you can think
of about the schemes/practices.
Name some Unicorn startups in the agribusiness space in India.
What are the challenges that Indian agribusiness startups are currently facing?
What is the impact of the pandemic on the supply/demand and prices of Agri-products in
India?
What is the relationship between age and the price of rice, and why is it so?
How do you market software specially designed for farmers, considering the literacy rate of
Indian farmers?

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 SUSTAINABLE
MANAGEMENT

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pgpsm-iim-lucknow
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/iiml_pgpsm/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PGPSMIIMLucknow

Page | 105
 ABOUT SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT
Businesses are being driven by sustainability and inclusive development. Various national,
multinational, and international organizations are adopting policies and programmes focusing
on accomplishing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To ensure better compliance with the
corporate governance norms, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has made it
mandatory for the top 1,000 listed companies (by market capitalization) to prepare annual
Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR). The BRSR must cover the activities of
the companies related to the environment and stakeholder relationships. The BRSR reporting
requirements are expected to bring in greater transparency through the disclosure of material
ESG-related information to enable market participants to identify and assess sustainability-
related risks and opportunities. To run a business sustainably, legitimately and successfully, there
is a need for bright minds with knowledge and skills of management and a positive attitude
towards social and environmental issues. PGP-SM provides unique blend of core management
courses like Finance, Marketing, HR, Operations, Strategy, Statistics, IT and sustainability-related
courses.

PGP SM at IIM Lucknow

It is a two-year full-time residential programme being conducted by IIM Lucknow at its Noida
campus. The programme helps students develop an ethos of the environment and social
responsibility of businesses and equip them with holistic thinking and skills. The well-
designed curriculum focuses on developing the capability to recognize the inter-
connectedness of the economic performance of business with social and environmental
systems. Students would also be able to produce policy-relevant results.
Postgraduate Programme in Sustainable Management (PGP-SM) has been designed to
enable the students to:
1. Understand societal development from multiple perspectives
2. Acquire knowledge and skills in functional areas of business management
3. Actively participate in the growing worldwide debate on the purposes and responsibilities of
business
4. Become informed, self-aware and socially and environmentally responsible individuals,
contributing to social change
5. Challenge the status quo and suggest new and innovative opportunities for businesses to
grow without compromising social and environmental responsibilities.

The curriculum of PGP-SM is rigorous and is designed to equip students with the multiple facets
of management such as Operations, Strategy, Finance, Ethics, Economics, Decision Sciences,
Human Resources, Communications and Marketing with a thorough understanding of Business
Sustainability & Public Policy in the hindsight.

The curriculum is broadly divided into 3 content themes:

General management related concepts
Sustainability - including Environmental as well as Social aspects
Decision making and analytical ability related concepts

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 Unique Features of the PGPSM Program

Integrated Project:
The Integrated Project (IP), running in the corporate space throughout the second year, provides
an opportunity for the students to implement the skills and techniques developed during
academic interaction. It spans over nine months of three terms in the second year. It carries 1.5
credits. The student needs to work with any company on real-time projects. It is intended to
allow integrating theory and practice. Students have done IP in various companies like NTPC, EY,
Invest India, Flipkart, RTI International, GAIL, ITC, HCL, to name a few. List of few Projects
undertaken by the students of 2020-22 batch

1. ESG Rating Analysis and Corporate Strategy

2. Market research on the Energy sector and new growth opportunities
3. Sustainable Financing
4. Sustainable Brand's storefront launch
5. Comparative Scenario Analysis of NGFS, IEA and UNPRI IPR Net Zero Scenarios
6. Research for setting Science-based Net Zero Targets and Assisting in Devising an Action Plan
7. Market Monitor for FMCG Industry and ESG Gap Analysis on AI & Data Governance
8. Sustainability/ESG Advisory for EU region
9. TCFD Risks and Opportunities Analysis
10. Validation of Environmental and Social KPIs for Sustainability Reporting

Leadership Talk Series:

Leadership Talk Series (LTS) is a lecture cum interaction held with various industry experts to
facilitate corporate linkage with the institute and the learning of students. Leaders from the
energy sector, HR, development sector, start-ups and consulting domains have visited the
institute and interacted with PGP-SM students. LTS is designed to be a complementary
educational platform to the classroom pedagogy as speakers talk about ground challenges and
industry insights by bringing in their own experiences. The institute's location in Noida allows LTS
to attract speakers from all over the NCR region. Some of the companies that have been
associated with LTS are ABG, Shell, Schneider Electric, JSW, Nielsen, Fortum, Future Group and
Hero MotoCorp.

International Immersion:

It is a two week visit to universities and industries abroad to observe the best municipal and
corporate practices in the field of sustainability. Interaction with industry leaders and academia
are organised for exchange of ideas.

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 Campus and Hostel:

PGP-SM is offered at Noida Campus of IIM-L. Noida campus was chosen for this programme,
considering its proximity to Delhi NCR and Corporate Offices. The campus is spread over 20
acres and has an academic block, library, executive hostel and centre and faculty block. Also, the
campus has a badminton court, tennis court, football ground, volleyball court and a basketball
court. Facilities are available for indoor games (Table Tennis, Carrom, Pool, Chess). The hostel has
a fully functional gym.
Various committees are Placement, Disha (Placement assistance), Leadership Talk Series,
Alumni, Events, Student Affairs & Interest clubs, Media and Sports. Clubs are operations,
marketing, consulting, finance, product management, project management, IT, public policy,
NC orators, culture and sustainability.
Events like Manfest-Varchasva: The annual sports and business-cultural festival, Aarohan,
Pravaah - the corporate sports tournament, Parakram - The Intra college sports tournament
etc., add to the vigour at the campus and beyond.
Sanrakshan is the landmark annual event organised by the students of the program, which is
the leading Business Sustainability Conclave under the aegis of the Centre for Business
Sustainability. Industry leaders working in sustainable management are invited to the
conclave to facilitate industry-academia interaction. Our students also formulate and host
competitions on sustainable management concepts and emerging issues in the relevant
domain which were appreciated by students & participants from colleges across the nation.

PI Questions

Tell me something about yourself?

What are the projects handled in the past?
What are the responsibilities you face after being a lead?
What are the sustainability practices in IT?
What are the initiatives followed in your company?
Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?
Why SM?
Why you think you have to do something for others?
What differentiates humans and animals?
Why do you want to leave your job and join this course?
What do you understand about commerce?
What work did you do in Sustainability?
What is your rationale to choose this course?
Which other calls do you have?
What do you know about SDGs?
What is COP26?
Your understanding of India's stand in the Glasgow Summit 2021.
Facts about the place of residence

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 Reasons not to join PGPSM
What is commerce?
What is E-commerce?
What is the Difference between Ecommerce and Commerce?
Give an Example of an SM System?
You are SSGB, what is the methodology?
What are some recent developments in the Sustainability Area?
What was your role in CSR in the earlier organisation. Do you think companies that provide
products/services with social/environmental impact should be forced to do CSR?
How is sustainability different from CSR?
So you are saying you will work in a consulting firm that works with the government on
public policy? Does such a job profile exist? Tell us a few companies which work in that
domain. Why don't you do a government job then?
Why not PGP from any other institute?
What is the triple bottom line?
Do you know any indexes related to sustainability?
What do you understand from the shared economy?
What is the circular economy?
Do you think policies/laws play a role in driving sustainability?
Why not ABM?
Why do developed countries set up recycling plants in developing countries? Do you think it
is right? Why do developing countries allow the same?
What is Paris Agreement?
What is the scope for you to use creativity & innovation in PGPSM?
Do you think google steals data?
What is Six-Sigma? Follow up questions.

Page | 109
 GENERAL

Page | 110
 The idea behind this section is to show you that the interview day can be very unpredictable. We
have picked some tricky questions which caught students off guard on D-Day. Hope this gives
insights on what sort of questions can be asked. After going through this section spend some
time reflecting about the questions that can be asked to you based on your
hobbies/education/work experience and interests.

HOBBY RELATED

Instruments/Music:
Explain the Drum Setup for Def Leppard's drummer? In depth questions on drumming.
Questions on various instruments like tabla, djembe.
Some famous instrumentalists and why do I like them?
Why is SAREGAMAPA called SAREGAMAPA and not something else?
What do you do in the band?
Why don’t you want to become a full-time musician?
Name your 3 favourite guitarists and state why they are so?
Who is Pancham da?

Sports:
Few questions related to running in depth.
Football- favourite team and why? some questions on leagues, players and formations.
Tell me some qualities about Sachin which you learnt from his career.
What is the weight of the cricket ball?
What is the difference between Kookaburra ball and SG balls?
What is reverse swing?
Explain cricket ball swing in engineering terms.
What is the maximum number of runs a batsman can make in an ODI innings?
What is castling in Chess?
Chess Grand Masters and different openings in the Chess?

Cooking/Food:
Even though quality of milk is better in North than in West Bengal, why is WB famous for
sweets?
Cuisine of your home state?
Chefs you follow? Your inspiration?

Art/Reading/Writing:
Different style of painting and mediums?
Questions on HP Novels? Questions on your favourite/recently read book.
Questions on genres - Why Sci-Fi? Do you think current generation looks at Sci Fi as means of
escapism from reality?
Tehcnical questions about blogging, content creation and reach?

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 QUANTS/ STATISTICS
Explain probability density function, bell curve with some examples. (I scored less in quants
subjects during my undergrad).
Exhaustive questioning from correlation, regression and probability with problems given to be
solved on the spot
Define random variable. Typical question on examples.
Poisson distribution, normal distribution and binomial distribution.
Gave examples and asked which type of distribution will they follow.
Regression and its use in Duckworth Lewis rule in cricket.
Graph of mod(x)
What is sampling error?
Does it change with sample size?
Can you give an optimal sample size?
Draw the curve depicting relation between sampling error and sample size
What is meant by standard deviation?
Algebraic equations and derivations, Mathematical puzzles
Monty Hall Problem
Integration of some functions and their graphs
Differentiation, Global and Local Maxima and Minima
Statistical terms and real applications in a start-up?
Rank of matrices
Base conversion of Number system
Assumptions of linear regression model

STATIC GENERAL KNOWLEDGE

Cabinet ministers and their designations
Governors/Chief minister of different states.
Subprime crisis
How many seats are there in Lok and Rajya Sabha?
What is meant by e-commerce and m- commerce?
Number of states and union territories? Recently formed states/UTs?

ENGINEERING
Do you think there is lack of entry-level jobs for engineering graduates in the respective fields?
Specify some measurement instruments in electronics (done BE in EEE).
Mention some statistical measures while analysing data on population of a state over a
decade (had mentioned my favourite subject as Maths).
Questions related to Civil Engineering - How would I see if a project is feasible?
Which all calls do you have?
Asked some questions about AC machines and transformers. How step-up and step-down
transformers work.
Why does a petrol engine need a spark plug while diesel engines don’t? And which type of
engine needs more maintenance and why?

Page | 112
 Tell me all the three laws of thermodynamics.
Why don't you want to pursue a highly lucrative job in oil exploration/refinery? (Chemical
engineering background)
What equipment can be used to check and control pollution?
What are the bottom products of a distillation column used for refining crude oil? Difference
between SI and CI engines, between external and internal combustion engines, new traits in
engines, role of starter and igniter, spark plug?
Draw layout of a car.
Capacity of centrifugal pump.
India's position in semi-conductors? How India could improve the position against China.
Software Development process for communication app like zoom/g-meet.

ACCOUNTS AND FINANCE

What is a Balance Sheet?
Difference between asset and liabilities
Trial balance sheet, accounting (by writing)
What is IRR, difference between CPM and PERT
What is the difference between Cost, Value and Price?
So, you graduated in finance, tell us why banks take the book value and other market players
take the market value as price when calculating the P/E ratio?
Tell me something about crypto-currency.
How is the price of Bitcoin determined?
How will supply affect the demand for sea side villas?
What are your views about GST as a whole?
Buyback of shares
What is the rate of discount for calculating NPV?
Which are the only 2 fixed expenses in income statement?

ECONOMICS
How to measure income inequality?
What is Game theory?
What are the assumptions and exception of law of demand?
What should government do to save retailers from ecommerce?
Monetary Policy? Fiscal Policy?
What is fiscal deficit?

OPERATIONS
Upstream and downstream operations
What is Kaizen and Lean Manufacturing and what is the basic difference in PERT and CPM
methods of time study?
What is Six Sigma?
CPM and PERT analysis.
Agile methodologies

Page | 113
 AUTOMOBILE
·Since you are from Automotive industry, please tell me what is differential and its function
and what type of differential is used in Trains?
Is the MD of Mahindra an MBA?
Do you think it is appropriate to run vehicles on electricity in a country where most villages are
not having power supply in houses?

IT
What is internet of things? And how is cloud used in it?
Why does the world need IT managers?
How can you use IT in other fields?
Subject specific questions - what is a system? What is testing(white box and black box)? What
is modelling and how is it different from simulation?

MISCELLANEOUS
Do you think there's anything wrong with our education system? Is there a need to pay more
attention towards it?
Okay tell me one example of something which is unethical but legal, and one which is illegal
but ethical?
You have taken part in a math Olympiad, here take solve this math puzzle.
Do you feel you are at a disadvantage because you are the last person whom we are
interviewing today?
Why is Ola cabs still getting funding although in losses?
What is the Power Transmission loss in Andhra Pradesh?
There are a lot of slums near the Mumbai airport, because of which, the capacity is limited.
How would you relocate those people?
So, you have an Army background. How has that been as a differentiator? Don't you think that
Defence people are a bit attached to themselves, as they prefer Defence Hospitals over Civil
Hospitals for example?
Why do Keralites go to middle-east while Punjabis and Delhiites to Canada and Europe?
How does money transferred to India from middle east affect the exchange rate?
How is a company formed?
What is the average height of Indian males and females?
Women are good/bad managers: Comment.
What is AI, AR and VR? How it can be implemented in travel industry?
If you go to a venture capitalist, how will you convince them about your business plan?
Do you think believing is right?
Terrorists believe in stuff. Do you think they're right?
What do you know about the agriculture sector in India? Can it be better?
Sales is an acquired skill. You believe you have it? Sell this glass filled with toffees to us.
Name the seven chakras of the body and where they are located.
How has social media has affected our lives.
One liner for a beer glass at a gift shop.

Page | 114
 Who will you support in a India-Pakistan cricket match and why?
Types of personalities, what type of person are you?
How can you make 0+0=2?
Who are the Bharat Ratna awardee singers of India?
Calculate the no of planes flying above the interview center, right now
Explain how the masculine and feminine aspects of a culture embody themselves in different
ideologies.
Why alcohol is subsidized for army men?
Various drug policies in India.
Electric vehicle future in India and its effect on HPCL?
Five reasons why females make better managers? Five reasons why they do not?
Opinion on lateral entry in bureaucracy.

Page | 115
 CURRENT AFFAIRS

Indian Economy :
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/business/indian-economy-full-of-dwarfs-77-firms-deploy-
less-than-40-workers-92-have-less-than-100-employees-7923631.html

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/indian-economy-to-see-95-growth-this-fiscal-
arvind-virmani/article38232081.ece

https://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/govt-does-switch-operation-of-119701-
crore/article38352211.ece

India’s Current account :

https://www.thehindu.com/business/current-account-slips-to-deficit-in-q2/article38083000.ece

Economics of farm laws :

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/agriculture/modis-farm-reform-reversal-to-
deter-investment-in-indias-agriculture/articleshow/88099530.cms

GST 2022 :
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/gst/gst-from-rate-rationalisation-to-reduction-in-
compliance-burden-what-to-expect-from-indirect-taxes-in-2022/articleshow/88605813.cms

Afghanistan and India relations :

https://www.policyforum.net/how-the-taliban-is-affecting-indias-trade-with-afghanistan/

Covid Pandemic – Economic Impact

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/the-
coronavirus-effect-on-global-economic-sentiment

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0972150920945687

https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/11/02/na111121-indias-economy-to-rebound-as-
pandemic-prompts-reforms

Farm Bills
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/pm-modi-repeals-farm-bills-a-timeline-of-events-that-
followed-since-their-enactment-7630402/

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/what-are-new-farm-laws-and-and-why-farmers-are-
protesting/articleshow/79609234.cms

Page | 116
 Labour laws and reforms
https://prsindia.org/billtrack/overview-of-labour-law-
reforms#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20the%20Ministry%20of,Safety%2C%20Health%20and%20Wor
king%20Conditions.

India: the scope for global pharma leader

https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/dotcom/client_service/Pharma%20and%20Medica
l%20Products/PMP%20NEW/PDFs/778886_India_Pharma_2020_Propelling_Access_and_Accepta
nce_Realising_True_Potential.ashx

https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/health/indian-pharma-a-strategic-sector-from-make-
in-india-to-make-and-develop-in-india/2331377/

The V shaped GDP growth rate

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/indian-economy-recovery-growth-explained-7491224/

https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/is-india-looking-at-a-v-or-w-shaped-
economic-recovery-in-fy22-121090701123_1.html

New Education Bill

https://idronline.org/nep-2020-getting-the-basics-right/?gclid=CjwKCAiAl
6PBhBCEiwAc2GOVAErmN074wX1-
5YMJKRabpRHxbQDWuhI58WGhk7nVoeQy5cebEY19RoCdWkQAvD_BwE

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/reading-new-education-policy-india-schools-colleges-
6531603/

Epidemic Diseases Bill

https://prsindia.org/billtrack/the-epidemic-diseases-amendment-bill-2020

FDI policy changes

https://indbiz.gov.in/invest/fdi-
policy/#:~:text=In%20March%202021%2C%20the%20Parliament,the%20existing%20cap%20of%
2049%25.

https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/dpiit-close-to-finalising-revised-fdi-policy-to-facilitate-
disinvestment-of-lic-secretary-11641484111113.html

Aatma-Nirbhar Bharat & Make in India

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/atmanirbhar-bharat-abhiyaan

Vaccine wars
https://www.scidev.net/asia-pacific/covid-19-spawns-vaccine-wars/

Page | 117
 India’s G20 Presidency
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?
PRID=1882356#:~:text=India's%20G%20%2D20%20Presidency,Summit%20in%20September%20n
ext%20year.

The theme of India’s G20 Presidency is “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth One Family One
Future”.
India's G20 Priorities are:
Green Development, Climate Finance & LiFE
Accelerated, Inclusive & Resilient Growth
Accelerating progress on SDGs
Technological Transformation & Digital Public Infrastructure
Multilateral Institutions for the 21st century
Women-led development

2023: International Year of Millets (IYM)

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blexplainer/bl-explainer-how-the-international-year-of-
millets-will-boost-indian-millets/article66337440.ece

Air India: “Drunk man urinate on 70-year-old lady” incident explained

https://epaper.timesgroup.com/timesspecial/news-current-affairs/what-air-india-urination-shocker-
means-for-fliers/1673070917315?
fbclid=IwAR27Pdwi5Z5mMBn9u9TYXflfsMNniZGpXwuKL6OrRDTw3_PNxy7JPEoRz14
https://bit.ly/3XbmTl2
https://mybs.in/2cBXwx7
https://ift.tt/27A3swd

Government plans to use Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee

Scheme(MGNREGS) funds for afforestation works
https://ift.tt/2keW9gU

Punjabi realtors unhappy with Canada govt’s ban on property sale to foreigners
https://ift.tt/c03FKYZ

PRADHAN MANTRI GARIB KALYAN ANNA YOJANA (PMGKAY) off the table, Govt looks at a
rethink on wheat export ban
https://ift.tt/JtSEYkA

Fastest accelerating electric cars available in India in 2023

https://ift.tt/TymYo5h

Suryakumar Yadav, the first player to hit three T20I centuries outside the opening slot
https://ift.tt/bFMiXLK

Page | 118
 CES 2023: 4 trends that will shape the future of technology
https://ift.tt/FyXte3M

Why did foreign exchange reserves fall $70 bn in 2022?

https://ift.tt/a9310yZ

Reasons why study abroad journey for Indians is getting tougher

https://ift.tt/aVLduG8

Justice BV Nagarathna to take oath as the 54th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court on
September 2027, the first woman to ever hold that position.
https://bit.ly/3Xj9sQh

Indians use of antibiotics:

https://ift.tt/WauQyE2

Antimicrobial resistance: a global health challenge

https://ift.tt/gEHV61i

Jack Ma steps down from Ant Group: What comes now for China’s tech sector?
https://ift.tt/R5xZkEl

Pro-Bolsonaro protesters storm Brazil’s Congress in capital

https://ift.tt/K48sgYp
https://ift.tt/4nWH9Mr

For thousands of Indian techies, is it the end of the great American dream?
https://mybs.in/2cBXwwI

Indian startups, which saw a massive 35 per cent drop in funding in 2022 -- from $37.2 bn in
2021 to $24.7-- are bracing themselves for a deepening funding winter in 2023 as recession
fears loom
https://mybs.in/2cBXwu9

As share of renewables increases in grid, Govt explores storage options

https://ift.tt/Jn1yEvW

New investment proposals up 71% in 2022 as economy strengthens

https://ift.tt/BywJWzM

Promise of growth- Indian economy

https://ift.tt/BMPpsbe

Page | 119
 Joshimath crisis: Uttarakhand
https://ift.tt/XQRNpn8
https://ift.tt/m8ZqvPY
https://ift.tt/VoOjF78
https://ift.tt/6uVwrZA
https://ift.tt/Ig1Dkjn
https://bit.ly/3k1jSWa
https://youtu.be/9u9DufnREQw
https://bit.ly/3WnC8Xv
https://bit.ly/3ZzMKFm

What should the government do to correct the worsening nutrient imbalance from over-
application of urea and DAP
https://ift.tt/K68sOGU

Prosperity through philanthropy

https://ift.tt/seMHCdN

Demand for Indian generic drugs skyrockets in China amid Covid surge
https://ift.tt/Rq48hB6

Studying abroad not just about degrees but stepping stone for migration: Experts on
foreign campuses in India
https://ift.tt/3DxALpW

What’s happening in the capital of Brazil?

https://ift.tt/l1oA6QP
https://youtu.be/HOpfazJWd24

Competition among political parties to offer freebies is depriving India’s infra sector of govt
funding and thus hampering economic growth?
https://mybs.in/2cBYsWW

Surendran K Pattel from rolling beedis in Kerala to district judge in Texas

https://ift.tt/gXCeWKB

Around 40% of German companies expect output decline in 2023: IW institute

https://ift.tt/qZSoNLQ

Religious conversion a serious issue, should not be given political colour: SC

https://ift.tt/8CO2aYH

Dollar on Monday neared its lowest in seven months against other major currencies
https://mybs.in/2cBYsbF

Page | 120
 How hijab controversy made Muslim women students in Karnataka leave public
institutions, and move to private colleges they can ill afford
https://ift.tt/VpZYkor

The ozone layer on track to recover within four decades

https://ift.tt/Z0M4nxo

Apple exported more than $2.5 billion of iPhones from India from April to December
https://ift.tt/JpcnHl8

Covid crisis in China: China fudging its covid data?

https://ift.tt/wHZrJes

Writesonic founder: ‘AI will replace people who are not productive, but you will still need
humans in loop’
https://ift.tt/lu6GiRV

SBI dismissed the 'K-shaped recovery' critique, saying the pandemic was a 'leveler' which
helped in reducing inequalities.
https://mybs.in/2cBYseK

Tata Group is close to taking over a major plant in a deal that would give India its first
homegrown iPhone maker.
https://mybs.in/2cBZMGv

Election Commission against bringing parity between age for voting and contesting polls
https://ift.tt/93IEfH5

G20 event India to start UPI transactions with Singapore, Dubai this year
https://ift.tt/xjQgfYC

New FICCI president writes: Time to invest in India

https://ift.tt/Es3ZgmJ

Here’s how your cup of coffee contributes to climate change

https://ift.tt/Bnbohdu

Pakistan’s dire economic crisis

https://ift.tt/Ky9Wr1z

Microsoft AI tool Vall-E can mimic your voice

https://ift.tt/t3pu1rM

Why a new study claims logged tropical forests can emit carbon into the atmosphere
https://ift.tt/dpHJAms

Page | 121
 Omicron variants in India
https://ift.tt/7fXgH1b

Migrant entry numbers into Europe hit six-year high

https://ift.tt/zZha1rE

Peru protests: What is happening and why?

https://ift.tt/UJeStqg

P Chidambaram writes: First advance warning of 2023-24

https://ift.tt/UHi4k2b

Tavleen Singh writes: Developing country dreams

https://ift.tt/aHpu5Ts

Teachers, ready for AI in our classrooms?

https://ift.tt/I3Vguny

Kerala is the only state from India to feature in the global list
https://bit.ly/3GYAWVP

RBI was ‘never in the loop’ about demonetisation

https://ift.tt/DOc0PWZ

SBI, ICICI, HDFC Bank remain systemically important banks: RBI

via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/Whr8N6l

Govt should have brought law, RBI didn’t apply its mind: dissenting judge
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/2KgzNXA
https://www.agilytics.in/post/econometric-modeling-to-predict-tax-revenue
Good analogy of surge pricing framework to understand current inflation
https://medium.com/@neelkashkari/why-we-missed-on-inflation-and-implications-for-monetary-
policy-going-forward-fcd157e2ffcf

The #UAE has announced that it will begin implementing year-long paid leave for citizens
working in the government sector who wish to start their own businesses and become self-
employed, a report said.
Read more: https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/uaes-new-measure-for-government-
employees-this-country-is-giving-government-employees-1-year-paid-leave-to-start-business-
101672205771365.html

Autonomous farm tech and digital connectivity show way forward in agriculture
https://ift.tt/YTPN1Hi

Page | 122
 How can we reduce the massive carbon footprints of the super-rich?
https://ift.tt/peG8KDU

SC verdict on MPs, MLAs’ right to freedom of speech: What the ruling says
https://ift.tt/wRvHeE6

Draft rules for online gaming: Here are all the regulations govt has released
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/MUqyeZO
https://m.timesofindia.com/business/india-business/union-budget-indias-fiscal-deficit-explained-
in-10-charts/amp_articleshow/80599832.cms

Here's everything you need to know about the data localisation rules in India.
https://mybs.in/2cBXVDn

Why govt should not overregulate the gaming industry.

Read on to understand https://mybs.in/2cBWZsl

Foreign universities will need #UGC's nod to set up campuses in India. The initial approval
will be for 10 years. https://mybs.in/2cBX3Rf

What makes Union Budget 2023 so important? What are the former chief statistician of India,
Pronab Sen's expectations from it and how should you read it?

The BS Budget Show has all the answers

#BudgetInsightOut #Budget2023
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_br_dZ9QFfY

Cloud is a big game changer; tremendous momentum: Satya Nadella

via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/jDtoUdb

Affirmative action agenda of India Inc derailed due to CSR: DICCI’s Milind Kamble at idea
exchange
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/kuwgMsF

AI and the panic of the white-collar worker

via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/3NJcfkg

How global power dynamics are shifting with the Russia-Ukraine war and what challenges
it poses for India
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/5VA6c9d

India @ 75, Looking at 100: Preventative healthcare should become the focus of the next 25
years
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/Eho6smM

Page | 123
 What is causing the winter heat wave in Europe?
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/AR8gQ7k

Japan is offering families millions of yen to move out of Tokyo. Here’s why
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/T3q56S4

How weaker tax collections in November will impact Govt’s finances

via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/8EBtls9

India’s services sector growth hits 6-month high in December on strong demand
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/i8GnRwd

The judicial pendency question: How to lighten the court’s load

via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/mO5c0Dw

India’s G20 Presidency: Forging global solidarity

via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/zCgJ6QE

Foreign universities in India: UGC’s long overdue move in the right direction
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/xcrPUNd

Foreign universities, India campus

via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/98p4cMy

Electoral bonds worth Rs 232.10 crore sold in December, 83% redeemed in Delhi
via The Indian Express https://ift.tt/2aSoqks

Billionaire Jack Ma Is Giving Up Control of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group

https://ift.tt/NpdyRk6
Ant Group's founder Jack Ma will no longer control the Chinese fintech giant after the firm's
shareholders agreed to implement a series of adjustments that will see him give up most of his
voting rights, the group said on Saturday. Ma previously possessed more than 50% of voting rights
at Ant but the changes will mean that his share falls to 6.2%, according to Reuters calculations.
via Times of India https://ift.tt/5LjKvdS

Is China sharing enough Covid-19 pandemic information

https://mybs.in/2cBXwrd

Page | 124
 Extreme weather killed 2,227 in India in 2022
10 months of the year, except January and February, reported “above normal” monthly mean
temperatures for the country, making 2022 the fifth warmest year on record. Even globally, 2022
was possibly the fifth or sixth warmest year on record. The World Meteorological Department
(WMO) will specify it in its final ‘State of the Global Climate’ report in April.
via Times of India https://ift.tt/HLBm81D

3 CAPITALS FOR ANDHRA PRADESH : https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-

how-andhras-concept-of-three-capitals-is-inspired-by-south-africa-6189024/

Why in News?
As per the Andhra Pradesh Decentralization and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill,
2020,Andhra Pradesh State will have Visakhapatnam, Amaravati and Kurnool respectively as
the executive, legislative and judicial capitals of the State.

Arguments in favour of 3 capitals

Historically recommended: It was the central theme in recommendations of all major
committees set up to suggest a suitable location for the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
Distributed development: Different regions gain from a decentralized arrangement as
governmental activities are the fulcrum around which developmental activities spring up and
boost local economy. Justice B N Srikrishna Committee, set up to look into the demand for a
Telangana state, noted “concentration of development efforts in Hyderabad is the key reason
for demand of separate states”.
Planned Urbanization: It is better to work against a primate city with high population density
and move in favour of mid-sized cities with decent economies.
Avoiding financial crunch: It is expected that the new arrangement will come at a fraction of
the earlier cost for Amaravati as it would buy into existing infrastructure of Kurnool and
Vishakhapatnam.
Concerns over food security: KCS Committee raised concerns of food security when taking
away thousands of acres of fertile land for urbanization by developing Amaravati as capital in
single region.

Why it is being criticized?

Might hamper coordination: Governmental arms, especially the bureaucracy and ministers are
required to do frequent consultations. Separation and distance of the two might hamper
coordination during assembly sessions.
Lack of proper infrastructure: success of distributed development depends on a well-developed
infrastructural network linking the growth centers. Andhra Pradesh lacks these linkages now.
Environmental impact of densification: KCS committee warned about the environmental
impact of intensification and densification in cities, with a special reference to Visakhapatnam.
Also, Visakhapatnam region is prone to cyclones.
Not the only way for decentralization: For decentralized development, the best way possible is
strengthening of the local bodies. This not only results in the development of even remote
areas but also improve governance.

Page | 125
 Conclusion:
For the 3 capitals idea to be successful, including technology and frequent use of digital
communication to reduce the delay in decision making, improved coordination between
legislature and executive shall be done. This can also lead to reduction in overall logistics cost
for the state. Simultaneously, there is a need to strengthen local bodies- by providing more
funds, delegating more functions and providing better functionaries- to achieve inclusive and
overall decentralized development.

REGIONAL COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP (RCEP) AND INDIA

Why in News?
Recently, 15 Asia-Pacific nations have signed the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership
(RCEP), while India chose to opt out of the trade agreement.

About RCEP
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a Free Trade Agreement(FTA) that
has been signed between 15 countries including the 10 ASEAN members, China, Japan, South
Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
It now forms the world’s largest trade bloc, covering >2.2 billion people & accounting for 30% of
the world’s economy.
The RCEP was first proposed at the 19th ASEAN meet in 2011 with an aim to create a
consolidated market for the ASEAN countries and their trade partners.
While India was part of RCEP’s negotiations, it dropped out in November 2019, citing significant
outstanding unresolved issues. Although India has been given the option of joining later.

Why did India pull out of RCEP?

Trade imbalance with RCEP members: India’s trade deficit with RCEP countries has almost
doubled in the last five-six years – from $54 billion in 2013-14to $105 billion in 2018- 19, of which
China alone accounts for $53 billion.
Geopolitical considerations: India wanted RCEP to exclude most-favoured nation (MFN)
obligations from the investment chapter, as it did not want to hand out, especially to countries
with which it has border disputes (China), the benefits it was giving to strategic allies or for
geopolitical reasons.
Security considerations: Closer economic ties under RCEP have the potential to make the
countries of the region even more vulnerable to China’s economic and political coercion. This
could impact India’s security interests in Southeast Asia.
Lack of adequate protection for domestic industries: India’s proposals for strict rules of origin
(ROO) (criteria to determine the source country of a product based on which they get tariff
concessions or duties) and an auto-trigger mechanism to impose tariffs when imports crossed
a certain threshold were not accepted. Losing flexibility to raise tariffs coupled with lack of
strong protection measures and threat of circumvention of ROO through rerouting products
from countries with lower tariffs can endanger growth of domestic industries by flooding
Indian markets with foreign products that have been subsidized and emerge from countries
with unfair production advantages.

Page | 126
 Lack of Service component: Most developed RCEP countries where India can export services,
have been unwilling to negotiate wide-ranging disciplines in services that can create new
market access for trade in services in this region.
Impact on local industries: A large number of sectors including dairy, agriculture, steel,
plastics, copper, aluminium, machine tools, paper, automobiles, chemicals and others had
expressed serious apprehensions on RCEP citing dominance of cheap foreign goods would
dampen its businesses.
The impact of earlier FTAs on India’s trade balance has been ambiguous. Several trends in the
existing FTAs that does not favour signing another FTA, include:
Usually, signing FTAs has required India to significantly cut import duties, since most
partner countries already have low import duties. This has only led to trade diversion
(diversion of trade from non-FTA countries to FTA countries) and has rarely increased
India’s exports.
A NITI Aayog report had stated that India’s exports to its FTAs partners have not
outperformed exports to the rest of the world and have generally led to greater imports
than exports, giving rise to high trade deficits with FTA partners like South Korea, Japan
and ASEAN.
Other reasons include:
Lack of credible assurances on market access and non-tariff barriers.
Differences over tariff structure with China on goods.
India already has bilateral FTAs with ASEAN, Korea and Japan and negotiations are
underway with Australia and New Zealand. The e-commerce chapter has some clauses
that affect data localization norms in India.

Possible Implications of not joining RCEP

Protectionist image: Withdrawal from RCEP along with other recent measures such call for
self- reliance under Atmanirbhar Abhiyan, revised public procurement order giving preference
to local content can be perceived as India taking a protectionist stance in terms of trade
policy.
Impact on India’s export sector: RCEP was envisaged to strengthen Asian supply chains, bring
in investments and boost the member countries’ competitiveness in global markets. Isolation,
loss of potential investments and lack of competition might affect India’s performance in
terms of exports and growth.
Lost opportunity in securing a position in the post COVID world: RCEP is expected to help
member countries emerge from the economic devastation caused by the pandemic through
access to regional supply chains.
Effect on bilateral ties with RCEP countries: There are concerns that the decision will hamper
India’s bilateral trade with RCEP member countries as they would be inclined to bolster trade
within the bloc. Also, it could affect India’s relation with Japan and Australia with regards to
their coordinated efforts in the Indo-Pacific.
Loss for consumers: Some products might become more expensive for Indian consumers,
especially when global trade, investment and supply chains face unprecedented challenges
due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Page | 127
 LinkedIn: https://in.linkedin.com/company/credence-capital
Website: https://www.credencecapital.in/

ADDITIONAL INSIGHTS

STATE OF THE ECONOMY

India's real gross domestic product grew by 8.7 per cent in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, boosting
its total output above pre-coronavirus levels despite global macroeconomic headwinds, the
International Monetary Fund has said
India’s current account balance recorded a deficit of US$ 23.9 billion (2.8 per cent of GDP) in
Q1:2022-23, up from US$ 13.4 billion (1.5 per cent of GDP) in Q4:2021-221 and a surplus of US$
6.6 billion (0.9 per cent of GDP) a year ago [i.e., Q1:2021-22]
India’s forex reserves stand at $530 bn as of 4th November 2022

KEY DEVELOPMENTS

Fiscal
The fiscal deficit in 2022-23 is estimated at 6.4% of GDP.
According to the Centre, three continuous COVID-19 waves coupled with the ongoing Russia-
Ukraine war and global economic uncertainties have impacted almost all macroeconomic
indicators. Thereby, the Centre believes that economic projections amid global turbulence are
likely to result in the risk of a considerable gap between projected numbers and final prints.
Between April to September 2022, India's fiscal deficit widened to touch ₹6.20 lakh crore ---
accounting for 37.3% of annual estimates

Monetary
The Fed has raised interest rates multiple times throughout the year 2022, and the
benchmark rates currently stand at a 15-year high. The rate stands at 4.25-4.50% right now,
after a seventh hike this year
RBI has also increased repo rates four times this year, and the repo rate currently stands at
6.25%
The central banks across the world are to keep up with the inflation flight, and hence more
rate hikes can be expected till early 2023. Fed has a target of 5.1% where they might stop
hiking rates.

Page | 128
 PRICES AND INFLATION

There has been widespread global inflation due to demand forces and supply-side constraints
like the energy crisis owing to the Russia-Ukraine war, and central banks are finding it tough
to tame inflation
As of November 2022, US CPI was at 7.1%, down from 7.7% in October 2022
In India, the CPI stands at 5.72% as of December 2022, down from 5.88% in November 2022.
The inflation right now stands at a 12-month low
The WPI in India stands at 5.85%, is at a 21-month low, down from 8.39% in October and
10.55% in September

SECTORAL OUTLOOK

Agriculture
Largest sector by number of people employed, contributed 20.2% in the year 2020-21 as
against 18.8% last year
Much of the growth came from allied sectors like livestock, dairy and fisheries

Automobile
The industry attracted Foreign Direct Investment equity inflow (FDI) worth US$ 32.84 billion
between April 2000-March 2022, accounting for 6% of the total equity FDI during the period.
Investment flow into EV start-ups in 2021 touched an all-time high, increasing nearly 255% to
reach Rs. 3,307 crore (US$ 444 million).

Banking
Deposits grew at 9.1% y-o-y in 2021-22 as against the 11.9% in 2019-20, due to high savings
during the COVID period. As spending picks up, deposit growth is moderating, reducing
banks’ surplus liquidity.
The RBI recently issued new rules (like banning pre-paid instruments from offering credit
lines), that somewhat restrict, tech-based modes of lending like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) &
pre-paid cards. The regulations for fintech can help the sector build consumer trust and
attract capital

Page | 129
 RISE OF INDIAN UNICORNS

Startup Ecosystem in India

India has emerged and still remains the 3rd largest ecosystem for startups globally, with over
80,152 recognized startups as of 2022
We have recognized startups solving problems in 56 diverse industrial sectors, with 13% from
IT services, 9% from healthcare and life sciences, 7% education, 5% from professional and
commercial services, 5% agriculture and 4% food & beverages
Indian Startup Ecosystem has seen exponential growth in past few years (2015-2021):
a. 9x increase in the number of investors.
b. 7x increase in the total funding of startups.
c. 7x increase in the number of incubators
Till FY 2016-17, approximately one unicorn was being added every year, but over the past four
years (since FY 2017-18), this number has been increasing exponentially, with a whopping 66%
YoY growth in the number of additional unicorns being added every year. This year there has
been an addition of 22 unicorns
As of December 2022, India is home to 108 unicorns with a total valuation of $345+ bn. Out of
the total number of unicorns, 22 unicorns were born in 2022, with Bengaluru-based neobank
Open being the 100th unicorn

Unicorns of India
The year 2021, 2020, and 2019 saw the birth of the maximum number of Indian unicorns, with
42, 10, and 9 unicorns coming each year, respectively.
There has been an impact of funding winter on the Indian startup ecosystem, with India
adding half the number of unicorns, i.e. 22 in 2022 as compared to the year before.
Interestingly, no unicorns were added in the last quarter of 2022.
Geographically, the center of India's high-tech industry, Bengaluru is India's unicorn capital
with the largest number of unicorns headquarters followed by Delhi (NCR) and Mumbai
While every startup has its unique journey to becoming a unicorn, the minimum and
maximum time taken by a startup to become a unicorn are 6 months and 37 years,
respectively. Mensa Brands took only 6 months to become a unicorn in 2021, making it one of
fastest unicorns in Asia.

Ecommerce, Fintech and Enterprise-tech: Sectors with most unicorns

A thriving digital payments ecosystem, large smartphone user base, internet penetration and
digital-first business models, have come together to attract investors to invest in these sectors
Despite a booming sector, fintech has been facing stricter regulations from RBI on digital
lending and BNPL, but the regulations are expected to build consumer trust and thereby
would help attract more capital
Talking about e-commerce, India aims to democratize online shopping with e-commerce by
building ONDC (Online Network of Digital Commerce) for small MSMEs in India and giving
them access to a market which is otherwise dominated by players like Amazon and Flipkart
Indian e-commerce is anticipated to be $111.4 bn by 2025, and ONDC is said to be the next big
thing in e-commerce.

Page | 130
 Is the rise of Unicorns in India sustainable?

Effect of the funding winter on the startup ecosystem in India

The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of technology and tech-enabled business models.
Firms with a product-market fit are scaling faster than ever, allowing them to tap into large profit
pools with maturing unit economic models. But with the upcoming funding winter ongoing
globally, the Indian startup ecosystem is also affected, with India turning in no unicorn during the
entire last quarter of 2022.

How can loss-making companies command this kind of valuation? Is this a bubble waiting to
burst or is it sustainable?
Liquidity at the global level was at record levels when the markets, startups as well as the stock
market saw a massive infusion of capital, but with the rise of interest rates by central banks across
the world, there has been a crunch in the investment. Money was flowing behind ideas that bet
towards market dominance, but now the focus has shifted more towards profitability and margin
rather than growth alone.

Rise of Decacorn
2021 was a record year for decacorns, or new start-ups valued at $10bn or more
As of 2022, there are more than 1000 privately owned companies valued at more than $1bn in
existence across the world, with the USA and China being a house to most of them
One of the most recent additions to the decacorn club includes IPL, which reached a $10.9bn
valuation in 2022. The 12th edition of the cricket league saw the highest digital viewership at
18.6 million than any other season in the past.
According to an article published by inc42, India is set to have 10 unicorns and 5 decacorns
from the gaming sector.

Page | 131
 Summary of the Indian IPO Market in 2022

The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in 2022 have halved to 31 from 65 a year ago, but
overall they have delivered a healthy average return of 32% to their subscribers.
In total, companies mopped up a total of 58,346 crore rupees in 2022 through IPOs, and the
average issue size has come down to 1,844 crore rupees in 2022, down from 2,022 crore rupees
last year.
25 out of the 31 IPOs listed this year in India have delivered positive returns to subscribers.

NOTE: Current market prices as on December 7th, 2022

Largest IPOs of 2022

Delhivery – 5235 cr.

Adani Wilmar – 3600 cr.
Vedant Fashion (Manyavar) – 3150 cr.
Global Health – 2206 cr.

Delhivery IPO: Key Facts

Issue size: Rs. 5,235 cr.
Fresh issue: 4,000 cr. | Offer for sale: Rs. 1,235 cr.
Subscription status: Oversubscribed, ~1.63 times
Initial IPO price: Rs. 487
Price on listing: Listed at Rs. 495.2 per share, with a listing gain of 1.68%
Pre-IPO valuation: ~Rs. 35,300 cr.

Page | 132
 Adani Wilmar: Key Facts
Issue size: Rs. 3,600 cr.
Subscription status: Oversubscribed, ~17.37 times
Initial IPO price: Rs. 230
Price on listing: Listed at Rs. 221 per share, with a discount of 4%, ended day at 15.3% gain
Pre-IPO valuation: ~Rs. 29,800 cr.

Vedant Fashion (Manyavar): Key Facts

Issue size: Rs. 3,150 cr.
Entirely an offer for sale: Rs. 3,150 cr.
Subscription status: Oversubscribed, ~2.57 times
Initial IPO price: Rs. 866
Price on listing: Listed at Rs. 935 per share, with a listing gain of 7.9%
Pre-IPO valuation: ~Rs.21,000 cr.

Important Terms used in IPOs

Page | 133
 GLOBAL ENERGY CRISIS

An energy crisis is a situation in which the demand for energy exceeds its supply
In 2021, the world witnessed the latest energy crisis impacting a number of countries across
the world.
From 93 million bpd early in 2021, global oil demand has rebounded to 98 million bpd.
Past global supply crises have typically been limited to oil, but fast-changing natural gas
markets are in crisis as well.

POSSIBLE REASONS BEHIND THE ENERGY CRISIS

Lower production due to Covid – 19: Due to a fall in the level of industrial activity, energy
demand fell massively which led to reduced production; the level still hasn’t recovered.

ESG & Carbon disinvestment policies: Countries like China have pledged 65% reduction in
Carbon emissions by 2030 and have heavily cracked down on coal mining.

Insufficient production from renewable sources: In July, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration, renewable energy sources (excluding hydropower) provided just
under 10% of total electricity generation (gas was 42%).

Record level of consumer spending: Pent-up demand and economic recovery increased
consumer demand against pandemic constricted supply chains.

Page | 134
 IMPACT ANALYSIS IN INDIA

Page | 135
 PAST
EXPERIENCES

Page | 136
 ENGINEER + WORK EX

Interview Experience 1

Graduation College Birla Institute of Technology and Science Goa

Campus
Graduation Degree Others
Graduation Specialization Computer Science and Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions

1. What’s the biggest challenge for you after joining IIML?

2. What will happen if you give money to people for digging up a hole?
3. What issues will come while designing a bot for playing badminton?
4. Isn’t Mahabharata just like some random kings fighting amongst each other without
emotions?
5. What was your paper about?

Interview Experience 2

Graduation College Veermata Jijabai Technological Institute,

Mumbai
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electrical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself?
2. Why MBA?
3. Why are you quitting your job?
4. Which specialisation are you aiming for & why?
5. Certifications?
6. Difference between Cp & Cpk?

Page | 137
Interview Experience 3

Graduation College National Institute of Technology, Durgapur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Information Technology
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 21
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State West Bengal

Interview Questions

1. Why MBA after engineering?

2. Why not immediately after graduation?
3. Discussion on Budget 2021.
4. What are the skills required for a manager?
5. Discussion on my role as placement representative in UG.
6. A short debate on women safety measures.

Interview Experience 4

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Chemical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 22
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations/Pharmaceuticals
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Tell us about yourself.

2. Why leave a comfy job and come for MBA?
3. Hobbies?
4. Which was the Last TV series you watched? What were your learnings from that?
5. Pharma Industry and its divisions.

Interview Experience 5

Graduation College Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute

Technology
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.

Page | 138
Graduation Specialization Chemical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 32
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology/IT and ITES
Home State Uttar Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. What does your father do?
3. How was business affected during covid times?
4. Discussion around father's business for about 2-3 minutes.
5. What are your long-term and short-term goals?
6. What is fractional distillation.
7. Any questions for us?

Interview Experience 6

Graduation College National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 23
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering/Power
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. What is future of fossil fuels generated power? (Based on work experience)
3. Estimate the cost for installing a solar panel on a house.

Interview Experience 7

Graduation College Kumaraguru College of Technology

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electronics and Telecommunications
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 37
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Analytics/Pharmaceuticals
Home State Tamil Nādu

Page | 139
Interview Questions

1. Tell us about your role in the Pharma industry?

2. Tell us about your organization?
3. What kind of competition was the organization facing? Competing vaccines?
4. More details about my role in Supply Chain.

Interview Experience 8

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Patna

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology/ IT & ITES
Home State Bihar

Interview Questions

1. What is Machine Learning?

2. What is linear and non-linear optimization?
3. What is bagging and boosting?
4. How do we ensure that overfitting and underfitting be avoided?
5. What are different sampling methods in ML?

Interview Experience 9

Graduation College Sardar Patel College of Engineering

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations/Manufacturing
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. How does steering system works?

2. Difference between CI/SI engine vehicles and EV?
3. Details of Budget 2021.
4. Questions on Harry Potter novels.
5. Maslow's hierarchy of needs.

Page | 140
Interview Experience 10

Graduation College SRM Institute of Science and Technology

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Others
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 17
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Consulting/Media and Entertainment
Home State Tamil Nādu

Interview Questions

1. Tell me something interesting about yourself that’s not mentioned in your resume?
2. Where did you learn to shoot a rifle? Level of proficiency (based on Ans for q1)
3. Questions related to automobile engineering. (Current events and basic concepts)
4. Explain your role as a publishing consultant.
5. Mention a few projects undertaken during your work-ex, related challenges and solutions.
6. Can you recite a poem you've written?
7. Pitch yourself in 30 sec. (had mentioned elocution/extempore as a strength)

Interview Experience 11

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Production and Industrial Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Analytics/ Ecommerce
Home State Bihar

Interview Questions

1. Tell me something about yourself?

2. You look healthier than your picture, have you stopped exercising?
3. Tell me about your Udaan experience?
4. What is your work?
5. So, is it related to Just In time?
6. Which Sports do you like?
7. Why was Table Tennis moved from 21 points to 11 points?
8. What's the size of a TT ball?

Page | 141
Interview Experience 12

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Biotechnology
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Analytics/ Oil and Gas
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Who is the CM of Assam, CM of Pondicherry?

2. Name the 7 sister states.
3. What is Mean, Median and Mode?
4. What is Bayes Theorem?
5. What is Ltd. in the name of a company?

Interview Experience 13

Graduation College National Institute of Technology, Warangal

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 14
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations/Manufacturing
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about your academic background.

2. What kind of work were you involved in at your company?
3. Will AI and Machine learning replace engineers in future?
4. How autonomous vehicles are useful? How will they impact companies like ola uber?
5. Is shifting to lithium battery-based cars a viable alternative to current fossil fuel-based cars
considering Li also causes disposal problems?
6. What other IIM calls you have?

Page | 142
Interview Experience 14

Graduation College Jawaharlal Nehru Technological

University
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 46
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering/Consumer Durables
Home State Andhra Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Brief introduction.
2. Different types of heat exchangers?
3. What is breakeven point?
4. What are functions of supply chain management?
5. Some questions around work ex.

Interview Experience 15

Graduation College Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electrical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Purchasing/ real estate
Home State West Bengal

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Current Indian junior chess champion?
3. Difference between electrical and electronics?
4. Difference between 2G, 3G, 4G apart from speed?
5. How will you solve a business problem in sports management given you have a background
in electrical and commercial work experience?
6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
7. Difference between an industry and a company?
8. Which other calls do you have?

Page | 143
 Interview Experience 16

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations/FMCG
Home State Rajasthan

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. Tell me about your family?
3. What were your activities outside the campus?
4. About work ex company, its competitors, market share, a strategy to increase the market
share?
5. What were the major learnings from the work ex?
6. What do you like to read?
7. Why should you be admitted to IIM Lucknow?
8. What specialization would you want to do after coming to IIML?
9. What other calls do you have?

Interview Experience 17

Page | 134
Graduation College Institute of Engineering and Management
Kolkata
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Computer Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 30
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Education and training/marketing
Home State West Bengal

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. As you are from West Bengal, what do you think about the current political scenario in WB?
3. What is your opinion on privatization? Name some banks that you think should be privatized
and why?
4. Why did you switch to a marketing role after working for 2 years in IT?
5. What was your work like in Cognizant? Difference between stock and inventory? (work-ex
related)
6. Name some dance forms from WB.

Page | 144
 Interview Experience 18

Graduation College Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of

Engineering
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electronics And Telecommunications
Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering/Science and Technology
Home State Tamil Nādu

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Tell us about your work experience.
3. Why MBA?
4. Which domain of MBA most interests you and why?
5. What is value chain?
6. What kind of inventory method (FIFO / LIFO) is used for Wine? What are the advantages &
disadvantages of each?
7. Where do you see yourself once you graduate and some 10 years down?
8. What do you like to do in your free time?
9. What kind of books do you enjoy reading?
10. Which book that you read recently did you like the most and why?
Page | 13511. Do you what is the most expensive and USP component of Tesla?
12. Do you have questions for us?

Interview Experience 19

Graduation College PEC University of Technology

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification CFA level 1
Work Experience (in months) 18
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Business Development/Automobiles
Home State Himachal Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. So, tell me about your journey from school till now?

2. Tell me about your work Areas you looked after?
3. Recently a management change happened at hero MotoCorp in Jan, do know about it? Why
did it happen?

Page | 145
 4. So, why do you think an international person was roped in? To expand internationally?
5. Why hasn't hero come out in electric vehicles with full throttle?
6. 5 most difficult things in customer satisfaction?

Interview Experience 20

Graduation College MGMCET, University of Mumbai

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 43
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations/Oil and Gas
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Recent controversy regarding cricket.

Page | 1362. Are you interested in Politics?
3. Who is going to win the Elections (Tamil Nadu)?
4. How does one become CM, PM?
5. What is legislative assembly?
6. Why MBA?
7. What do you like to do in your past time?
8. Why Science Fiction?
9. Do you think current generation looks at Sci Fi as means of escapism from reality?

Interview Experience 21

Graduation College Delhi Technological University

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electronics And Telecommunications
Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Product Management/Ecommerce
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions

1. Tell me something about yourself which is not in your form.

2. Which specialisation are you interested in?
3. I have Rs. 3 lakh which I want to invest, how will you go about making the portfolio.
4. Asked about family background

Page | 146
 Interview Experience 22

Graduation College Anna University

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Leather Design
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 25
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Sales/Manufacturing
Home State Tamil Nādu

Interview Questions

1. Capitalist vs Socialist, which one is beneficial for a country?

Page | 1372. Which category does Trump fall into?
3. What are the 5 major problems with India?
4. How to solve them?
5. Why has sustainability suddenly become a hot topic? is it really necessary?

Interview Experience 23

Graduation College National Institute of Technology Karnataka

Surathkal
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Material Science and Metallurgical
Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology/Financial services
Home State Karnataka

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Why MBA?
3. What is product management?
4. Questions on work ex, projects, POCs during the tenure. (Lots of cross questioning)
5. Who is the textiles minister?
6. Which constituency does Smriti Irani belong to?
7. Why are farmers protesting?
8. What is E-choupal?
9. Difference between rights and duties?
10. Do you know anything about Rafale?

Page | 147
 Interview Experience 24

Graduation College Sri Sivasubramaniya Nadar College of

Engineering
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Civil Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 32
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Marketing/IT and ITES
Home State Tamil Nādu

Interview Questions

Page | 1381.2. Tell me why you want to pursue MBA and not cricket in spite of representing state level?
Would you be a good leader, explain with a reason?
3. How would you use civil engineering in MBA?

Interview Experience 25

Graduation College Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.

Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 46
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering/Consumer Durables
Home State Andhra Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Brief introduction.
2. Different types of heat exchangers?
3. What is breakeven point?
4. What are functions of supply chain management?
5. Some questions around work ex.

Interview Experience 26

Graduation College National Institute of Technology Tiruchirappalli

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization INSTRUMENTATION AND CONTROL
ENGINEERING

Page | 148
 Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 22
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology/ Financial Services
Home State Andhra Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Where do you work? Role?

Page | 1392. Where are you now?
3. Changes in your work while working at home during covid?
4. You have got high score in CAT and in academics throughout. What is your secret?
5. What are the new technologies in finance?
6. Anything in AI?
7. Can it help India against NPAs?
8. China digitalization
9. Why does India have more Software Engineers?
10. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
11. Any questions for us?

Interview Experience 27

Graduation College Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Computer Science and Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 23
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Since you work with a bank, you must have knowledge about exchanges?
2. How many are there in India?
3. What is your opinion on the privatization of PSU Banks in India?
4. Are you aware of logic gates?
5. Explain logic for XOR gate.
6. Draw the truth table.

Page | 149
 Interview Experience 28

Graduation College Malviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electronics and Telecommunications
Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 46
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Product Management
Home State Telangana

Interview Questions

1. Calls from other IIMs which you have?

2. So, if you get call from IIM Vishakhapatnam will you go, since it’s in AP?
Page | 1403. Are you currently doing WFH?
4. 2 difficulties which you faced because of WFH.
5. 2 plus points of WFH.
6. So, you work for Connected cars. Tell me what it is about? What is your job role?
7. So, why MBA after 3+ years of work exp and not after 2 years?
8. Can I ask you something about current affairs will you be, ok?
9. Few questions on Union Budget 2021.
10. What is your family background?

Interview Experience 29

Graduation College Delhi Technological University (Formerly DCE)

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions

1. Difference between Euler and Bernoulli equation?

2. What is hydraulics law?
3. What are the languages in the Constitution of India?
4. What are the rivers in your current residing state with origin and destination?
5. How will you resolve conflict between two departments?
6. Measures taken by your company for environment sustainability?
7. Why was India able to win test series in Australia despite injury of their main players?

Page | 150
 Interview Experience 30

Graduation College Delhi Technological University (Formerly DCE)

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electronics and Telecommunications
Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 9
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Analytics
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions
1. Introduce yourself.
2. Are you a batsman or a bowler?
Page | 141 3. At what speed do you bowl?
4. What is the length of the pitch?
5. Convert the length in meters.
6. What is the reaction time for the batsman to hit the ball at the speed which you are
bowling?
7. How much is India's GDP?
8. Convert the GDP in billion dollars.
9. What are your views on farm laws?
10. What should be the solution to it according to you?
11. What are Rabi and Kharif crops?
12. Convert hectare to acres and hectare to square meter.
13. What is the weight of an electron?
14. Draw the graph of log(x) and log|x|.
15. Differentiate sin(cos(x)).
16. Explain your final year project.
17. Why did you join a start up?

Interview Experience 31

Graduation College NIT Jalandhar

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Chemical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations
Home State Punjab

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.

Page | 151
 2. Some questions about hobbies.
3. What kind of safety techniques are used in your industry?
4. What are the points that are included in HAZOP?
5. What are the risk minimizing methods that your industry uses?
6. What's people from Punjab are doing in Delhi?
7. Why government is not listening to farmers?
8. Have you heard about binomial or exponential distribution?
9. What is binomial distribution?
10. One question on differentiation
11. What should we ask you to strengthen your case?
12. How will MBA benefit you?

Interview Experience 32

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Mumbai

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Civil Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State Tamil Nadu

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Why the transition from B.Tech. to MBA?
3. Walk me through your research project?
4. What is the scope of AI in Civil Engineering?
5. Why did you choose IIT Bombay for your B.Tech.?
6. Plot a rectangular hyperbola and show point of intersection with unit circle with center at
origin?
7. A probability-based question – Monty Hall problem.
8. Do you know Nirav Modi, tell me about him?
9. Walk me through your start-up idea and the work you did?
10. What are the 4 Cs of Diamonds?
11. Compare artificial diamonds to real diamonds, how are artificial diamonds made and their
impact to the diamond society?
12. Name 5 previous Vice presidents of India?
13. Explain ways in which one can safely demolish a building in a densely populated locality?
14. What are your favourite sports?
15. Which position do you play and explain the significance of this position?
16. Art is one of your hobbies – What are the benefits you derive from art?
17. What are some books you have read recently and give a synopsis for the same?

Page | 152
Interview Experience 33

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur

Graduation Degree B. Tech - M.Tech. (Dual Degree)
Graduation Specialization Manufacturing Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 23
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State Tamil Nadu

Interview Questions

1. Difference between efficiency and productivity

2. How is the Petrol Price decided?
3. What is the price of 1 barrel of crude oil?
4. What is the by-product of crude oil other than Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene?
5. What do you know about Ramayana, what can you learn from it?

Interview Experience 34

Graduation College National Institute of Technology Karnataka

Surathkal
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Chemical Engineering
Professional Qualification CFA Level 1
Work Experience (in months) 30
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Karnataka

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. Why did you leave a paying job to do an internship?
3. What did you learn in finance?
4. India s FDI in Indian units?
5. What is India's combined fiscal deficit for two years?
6. You did engineering and left it, why?
7. You must be comfortable with math; do you know optimization tell us about linear
programming and if it is used in practice?
8. What was the objective function, what were the constraints?
9. Which solver did you use?
10. Who invented linear programming?
11. Give 2 minimization functions and asked which will be lower

Page | 153
 Interview Experience 35

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Civil Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations
Home State Jharkhand

Interview Questions

1. You have a very interesting profile; how did you move from B.Tech.. in civil engineering to
Page | 144 event management?
Page | 1442. What are the things you will keep in mind while constructing a building in earthquake prone
areas?
3. Types of concrete mix and which one is most commonly used?
4. Who is the Chief Economic Advisor?
5. CEO, chairman and deputy chairman of Niti Aayog?

Interview Experience 37

Graduation College National Institute of Technology Rourkela

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 8
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering
Home State Odisha

Interview Questions

1. What is x^0? Prove it?

2. What is Purchasing Power Parity?
3. What is HDI and the HDI rank of India and Odisha?
4. Who was the architect behind the design of Bhubaneswar and what other cities in India did
he design?
5. Why MBA?
6. Why year gap and what did you do during that year gap?

Page | 154
 Interview Experience 38

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Civil Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Analytics
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions

1. What interview calls do you have?

Page | 1452. Why did you apply to only 4 colleges? Given that you are a risk analyst isn't it a risky
strategy?
3. Is IIM-Lucknow ranked 4 in India?
4. What have you prepared for the interview?
5. What is a cantilever beam?
6. What does grade of cement mean in practical sense?
7. What is the depth of a foundation of a 10-storey building in Faridabad?
8. What is your role in your company?
9. Can you use the credit risk prediction techniques directly in stock markets?
10. What do you want to do after MBA?

Interview Experience 39

Graduation College Delhi Technological University

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 20
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions
1. Introduction
2. What are the areas that you have studied for the interview?
3. Latest news topics except Russia Ukraine conflict?
4. Role of RBI?
5. What will happen if we will issue currency and distribute to poor people?
6. Which field would you like to specialise in?
7. What are quantitative techniques in operations management?
8. What is NPV and IRR?
9. What is the role of 'r' in these two and how it is different?

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Interview Experience 40

Graduation College Indian Institute of information technology,

Chennai
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Engineering
Home State Thrissur

Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself
2. is IIM Lucknow your best call
3. tell us why there is no 3 stroke engine, and only 2 stroke and 4 stroke are there
4. why MBA and why not MTech
5. which specialisation you will take in MBA
6. why operations
7. tell us where you see yourself in the next 5 years
8. tell us about the Ukraine Russia issue and the operational difficulties faced due to it
9. tell us about the Suez Canal issue
10. tell us about the sabarimala case

Interview Experience 41

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech
Graduation Specialization Chemical Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 59
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Oil and Gas
Home State Thane

Interview Questions
1. Where are you joining from?
2. Where is your posting location?
3. What other calls you have?
4. Tell me something about yourself
5. Tell me 3 interesting things about yourself
6. What would be oil and gas outlook for next 2 years? (Since I work in RIL)(I mentioned price
volatility and expected to be stable within 6-8 months)
7. So you think war will be over by 6-8 months?
8. Any reason for being with RIL for 4.5 yrs?
9. Favourite author?
10. Last book you read?

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 11. Any favourite line or aspect of the book?
12. Name any 5 thinkers from India (since I mentioned European Philosophers in last ques)
13. Are poets and writers also thinkers? (Since I said Vyasa and Valmiki in last ques)
14. questions regarding boiling point of crude oil
15. questions regarding Russia-Ukraine war

Interview Experience 42

Graduation College SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING, COCHIN UNIVERSITY

OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech
Graduation Specialization Computer Science and Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 34
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Telecommunication
Home State Kannur

Interview Questions
1. Introduction
2. What is Sedition
3. Knowledge about North India
4. Some questions on Computer science topics like what is a linker and a loader

Interview Experience 43

Graduation College National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech
Graduation Specialization Material Science and Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Consulting
Home State Bettiah

Interview Questions
1. Tell me something related to your work experience at ZS
2. As a metallurgical engineer why did you shift from Vedanta to ZS
3. How is sampling done in market research, smelting and iron making process
4. graphs on certain equations

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Interview Experience 44

Graduation College National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech
Graduation Specialization Computer Science and Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 34
Work Experience Domain/ Industry IT
Home State Kolkata

Interview Questions
1. Started with Are you a terrorist? (Due to a picture wearing mask on my gmeet profile),
2. Introduction, Is CSE even a real degree
3. Was it needed to get a degree or could I learn it on my own
4. why switch to an mba
5. when will the cycle of mba after engineering end
6. hobbies/what I do in my free time (said football related stuff)
7. asked dimensions of football field
8. few questions from current affairs

Interview Experience 45

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech
Graduation Specialization Electronics/Electrical Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 43
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Telecommunication
Home State Pali

Interview Questions
1. Integration and differentiation of basic trigonometric functions
2. Explain the Demand Supply Curve
3. What is CPI?
4. What is GDP?
5. Questions about challenges in Semiconductor industry
6. What are the major competitors of Qualcomm?
7. Semiconductor chip shortage that was ongoing during that period

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Interview Experience 46

Graduation College Indian Institute of information technology,

Chennai
Graduation Degree B.Tech-M.Tech. (Dual Degree)
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engg
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 44
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Services
Home State Vijayawada

Interview Questions
1. Questions about work experience
2. questions about car design, why the steering is in front?
3. Who are the main players in the sector you are working in?
4. Why MBA?
5. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

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 ENGINEER + FRESHER

Interview Experience 1

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Patna

Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Bihar

Interview Questions

1. How would you measure the surface area of the room you are sitting in?
2. Talk about macro-economic aspects of the farm law.
3. Explain need hierarchy theory. How will you use it in real life scenario?
4. Explain hydrodynamics.
5. Can you lift Mt Everest using force of your thumb? What problems will you face?
6. Compare your hometown to Lucknow.

Interview Experience 2

Graduation College College of Technology & Engineering, Udaipur

Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Computer Science and Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Rajasthan

Interview Questions
(I gave interview for PGP only but they asked me questions as if I am ABM candidate.)

1. Questions on White Revolution, Green Revolution, Chipko movement, Appiko movement.

2. Basic questions of C, C++.
3. Why MBA?
4. Which domain?
5. Why marketing?
6. Basic questions about marketing.

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Interview Experience 3

Graduation College Thangal Kunju Musliar College of Engineering,

Kollam
Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Civil engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Kerala

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Start a conversation with us.
3. Largest railway platform in India?
4. How do u compare Trivandrum and Lucknow?
5. Why MBA?
6. Why IIM Lucknow?
7. How will you adjust far from home?

Interview Experience 4

Graduation College Sri Venkateswara University

Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Computer Science and Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Andhra Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Tell me more about your interest in designing algorithms.
3. What is Travelling salesman problem?
4. What is Linear programming problem?
5. What is the scientific principle behind cricket ball swinging?
6. How do you bowl to an outswinger?
7. What are the important qualities of a teacher?

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Interview Experience 5

Graduation College National Institute Of Technology

Kurukshetra
Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electronics and Telecommunications
Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions

1. Tell us about yourself.

2. Perform any act for 30 sec.
3. How much you rate yourself on ethical on a scale of 1-10?
4. Tell me a real or hypothetical situation to prove it.
5. Tell me difference between unethical and unfair.
6. Why do we have different antennas now as compared to the past?
7. Why can't a TV perform the same thing as phone?
8. Are you good with math?
9. What is a matrix, determinant?
10. Does inverse of a Matrix exist for 2*3 order.
11. Asked to find the determinant of a matrix.
12. Do all matrices have a determinant?
13. A differentiation question: Differentiate x^x^x^... up to infinity.
14. So you are from Haryana, are those protests still going on?
15. Why they are protesting? Your view on it.
16. Are APMC and MSP same?
17. What is contract farming? Is it good for farmers?
18. Who pay for all seeds, fertilizer etc. in contract farming?
19. Isn't MSP a state issue?
20. Your weakness?
21. Why did you take a drop?
22. What you read in that book (An introduction to statistical learning)
23. Assumption of linear regression?
24. Error term in linear regression.
25. What other calls you have?

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Interview Experience 6

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi

Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Textile Technology
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Gujarat

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. How would your father describe you in 3 words?
3. Why MBA?
4. Why a switch to career after doing a B.Tech. from a prestigious institute?
5. Name of the Union Textile Minister
6. What is there in the budget for textile?

Interview Experience 7

Graduation College Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology

(NIT Bhopal)
Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Madhya Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself

2. What do you like about Bhopal?
3. What happened when REC converted to NIT?
4. What are your career plans? Short and long term goals?
5. Be more specific about your goals.
6. There are 1500 students like you and we want around 400 why should we take you?
7. What you have done if your goal is to be an entrepreneur? (Told about my Startup idea)
8. Don’t you think Organ Donation should be made compulsory in India?
9. What was operation Blue Star?
10. Do you know about the Ayodhya Verdict?
11. In both cases religious feelings were kept aside for something good then why not in case of
organs?

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Interview Experience 8

Graduation College Jadavpur University

Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Computer Science and Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State West Bengal

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself
2. Why MBA as a fresher?
3. Recent news (farm bill, the leader's name, your opinion who is correct - farmers or the
government?)
4. Name of India’s Vice-President?
5. Sports related questions, especially around cricket related. (Mentioned as my hobby)
6. questions regarding history of West Bengal and current economic and political scenario.

Interview Experience 9

Graduation College National Institute of Food Technology

Entrepreneurship and Management
Graduation Degree B.E./B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization FOOD ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Rajashthan

Interview Questions

1. Introduction
2. About Internship
3. What is SNF?
4. What is economies of scale
5. What is your favourite subject?
6. Extempore on Marketing increases Cost
7. What other calls you have?

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Interview Experience 10

Graduation College Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur

Graduation Degree B.Tech-M.Tech(Dual Degree)
Graduation Specialization Economics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Lucknow

Interview Questions
1. Why MBA?
2. 2 reasons why freshers should not be taken in
3. How would you contribute in class if asked questions?
4. Tell something about the economy
5. what is covariance?

Page | 165
 COMMERCE + FRESHER

Interview Experience 1

Graduation College Sri Guru Gobind Singh College of Commerce,

University of Delhi
Graduation Degree B.M.S.
Graduation Specialization Finance
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Delhi
Interview Questions
1. Tell us about yourself.
2. Questions on Government of Delhi Internship Experience.
3. Favourite Subjects from UG?
4. Explain PESTLE Analysis and BCG Matrix?
5. Which strategic frameworks would you use to measure opportunities and threats
apart from SWOT?
6. Assumptions taken in Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory?
7. What are NPV and IRR, which is better and why?
8. How would you value a bond?
9. A small puzzle based on Game Theory. (SOP specific)

Interview Experience 2

Graduation College Punjab University

Graduation Degree B. Com
Graduation Specialization Commerce
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Punjab

Interview Questions
1. Tell me something about yourself?
2. Why MBA?
3. What is your family business?
4. Favorite Subject?
5. What is the difference between the Budget prepared by a random person and a budget
prepared by Government?
6. What is fiscal deficit? How do we compensate it?
7. What is Inflation?
8. Punjab is a land of 5 Rivers. Name all the rivers?

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Interview Experience 3

Graduation College HNB Garhwal University

Graduation Degree B. Com
Graduation Specialization Accountancy and Finance
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Uttarakhand

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. Where are you right now?
3. Your percentile is really good, you must be having calls from other IIMs as well?
4. You mentioned cooking as your hobby, so this became a hobby during the Covid times or
you already had some kind of experience earlier?
5. How does your mother rate your cooking skills?
6. (Now I wanted to ask them something but they logged off, as I was about to leave the
breakout room the panel connected again and apologized - Asked them about IIM Lucknow’s
foreign exchange program.)
7. You want to go abroad?
8. Panel 2 again started asking me questions like: In the classroom, at what distance, will you
be comfortable to see the blackboard?
9. Your parents are professors, and you already had your M. Com. degree, so why don’t you
opt for a PhD program?
10. So, how will this MBA help you then?
11. You are planning to pursue PhD in management as well after this MBA?
12. How will the corporate sector help you?

Interview Experience 4

Graduation College Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Khalsa College

Graduation Degree B. Com
Graduation Specialization Accountancy and Finance
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Rajasthan

Page | 167
Interview Questions
1. Introduce yourself.
2. What is dual entity concept?
3. Favourite subject?
4. NPV vs IRR, which one is better and why?
5. What do you do other than studies and co-curricular activities?
6. What all places have you been to?
7. What separates India from other countries?
8. How will you improve tourism in India? any 3 steps?
9. Some questions related to places I have visited.

Interview Experience 5

Graduation College Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore

Graduation Degree B.A.
Graduation Specialization BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Uttar Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Show the AD-AS curve and explain it, also explain Consumer Surplus and Producer Surplus.
2. Draw and explain the IS-LM framework.
3. What is p-value?
4. Explain type I and type II error.
5. Can we say alpha + beta =1?
6. Formula for sample variance.
7. Why do we use n-1 in the denominator?
8. Few questions about multi-linear regression.

Interview Experience 6

Graduation College Fergusson College, Pune

Graduation Degree B.A.
Graduation Specialization Commerce
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Uttar Pradesh

Page | 168
Interview Questions

1. What do you think is more important- nature or nurture?

2. Why have stock markets been growing despite a recession in the economy?
3. What is differentiation? Find maxima of y = x^3.
4. What do you know about probability?
5. What is the probability of this building crashing to the ground? Is it 0.5? Why not?

Interview Experience 7

Graduation College Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies

Graduation Degree BMS
Graduation Specialization Finance
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions
1. Why do you want to pursue post graduation in management when your bachelors was in
management as well
2. why don’t you want work experience first
3. what are your salary expectations from the first job you get
4. other questions related to my interests, questions on some finance concepts

Interview Experience 8

Graduation College Ness Wadia college of Commerce

Graduation Degree BBA
Graduation Specialization NA
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Pune

Interview Questions
1. Intro and questions on graduation subjects
2. Which is your favorite subject?
3. Question on motivation theories and their application in real life
4. Questions on principles of management
5. why mba? why now as a fresher?
6. why IIML?
7. questions on German language (mentioned in intro)
8. questions on detailed history of my hometown(Pune),rulers ,their significance ,etc
9. Questions around venture capital

Page | 169
 Interview Experience 9

Graduation College Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies,

University of Delhi
Graduation Degree BBA
Graduation Specialization CFA(L1), FRM(L1)
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself, tell things which are not in your CV
2. What is difference b/w mergers and acquisitions
3. Questions on related due diligence
4. Questions on Mutual funds
5. difference between debt and equity mutual funds and its further categories
6. questions on alpha, beta, capital allocation line
7. differences in large mid and small cap companies
8. name 2 saints of india
9. History of the city or place you belong to
10. Famous people from your hobby of your interest
11. what do you know about capital budgeting
12. Questions on basic economics
13. tell us about your family and family business.

Page | 155

Page | 170
 COMMERCE + WORK EX

Interview Experience 1

Graduation College Symbiosis Centre for Management Studies,

Pune
Graduation Degree B.B.A.
Graduation Specialization Accountancy and Finance
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 13
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance/Metals and Mining
Home State Madhya Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. What is your favorite novel?
3. What are some things that you learnt during your work experience?
4. Do you believe that India could reach the $5Tn mark?

Interview Experience 2

Graduation College Vivekananda College

Graduation Degree B.Com.
Graduation Specialization Accountancy and Finance
Professional Qualification CFA Level 1
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Consulting
Home State Tamil Nadu

Interview Questions
1. Finance heavy questions revolving around key ratios of the sectors I had worked in.

Page | 171
 Interview Experience 3

Graduation College S.M. Patel Institute of Commerce

Page | 156
Graduation Degree B.Com.
Graduation Specialization Accountancy and Finance
Professional Qualification CA
Work Experience (in months) 39
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Gujarat

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. What is systematic risk and what is unsystematic risk?
3. What are forwards, futures and options?
4. What is Hedging?
5. A practical problem on Forwards.
6. What are some things that you learnt during your work experience?

Interview Experience 4

Graduation College Christ University

Graduation Degree B.B.A.
Graduation Specialization Business & Management
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Bihar

Interview Questions

1. Asked a few questions from work-experience description.

2. What is DCF, leverage, cost of capital?
3. Name another management division.
4. Some questions on Bihar politics.
5. Asked questions on current city, parents, siblings etc.
6. Opinion on Byju’s and Ed-Tech industry.
7. What is education?
8. Why MBA?
9. Which other calls do you have?
10. Have you appeared for CAT before?
11. What is the impact investing? How to choose stock -Index fund investing?
12. Who is the vice president of India?

Page | 172
Interview Experience 5

Graduation College St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata

Graduation Degree B.Com.
Graduation Specialization Accountancy and Finance
Professional Qualification CA
Work Experience (in months) 12
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State West Bengal

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Questions on Accountancy, IND AS, Depreciation.
3. Female role model you idolize and why?
4. Political views?
5. Why MBA? Why IIML?

Interview Experience 6

Graduation College Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi

Graduation Degree B.Com.
Graduation Specialization Commerce
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 32
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Sitapur

Interview Questions
1. Tell me something about yourself
2. Name 3 male entrepreneurs that inspire you
3. 3 female entrepreneurs that inspire you
4. 3 adjectives that describe you best
5. If I were the financial advisor of CM of UP tell 3 policies that I would suggest for companies
to set up more manufacturing units in UP.

Page | 173
Interview Experience 7

Graduation College Motilal Nehru College, University of Delhi

Graduation Degree B.Com.
Graduation Specialization Commerce
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 32
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Sitapur

Interview Questions
1. Tell us something about yourself?
2. How are Ratings done in Steel sector?
3. What are investment grade ratings?
4. Tell us one reason why we should not select you?

Page | 174
 ABM

Interview Experience 1

Graduation College College of dairy and food science technology,

Udaipur
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Diary Science & Technology
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 32
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Operations
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions

1. Tell us about yourself?

2. Why ABM?
3. If given a chance, will you choose PGP or ABM?

Interview Experience 2

Graduation College University of Allahabad

Graduation Degree B.Sc.
Graduation Specialization Zoology
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State UP

Interview Questions

1. What does your father do?

2. Which calls do you have?
3. Why not Indore?
4. Why have you scored low on Academics?
5. What did you do in the last year?
6. Questions on Amazon selling.
7. PGP or ABM?
8. Do you know about Dehaat?
9. General knowledge and current affairs questions.

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Interview Experience 3

Graduation College Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 34
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Marketing
Home State MP

Interview Questions

1. Details about work experience.

2. How does ClearTax impact the customers?
3. Questions on tax policies implemented by government.
4. Difficulty faced by individuals in filing their tax returns?
5. What other calls do you have?

Interview Experience 4

Graduation College St. Xavier’s College

Graduation Degree B.Sc.
Graduation Specialization Statistics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. What is the scientific name of Rice and Wheat?

2. Why are scientific names used?
3. What are the problems Indian Farmers are facing?
4. Are the new farm laws beneficial for the farmers?
5. If you agree, then give the pros, and if you don't agree, give the cons of new Farm laws.
6. Why are only Punjab and Haryana farmers opposing the new Farm laws?

Page | 176
Interview Experience 5

Graduation College Rajasthan college of agriculture, MPUAT,

Udaipur
Graduation Degree B.Sc.
Graduation Specialization Agriculture
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Rajasthan

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. Why ABM?
3. What is regression & correlation?
4. What type of soil is there in the Ganga basin?
5. What are GM crops and what is the controversy regarding it?
6. Which crop grown in your area & what are the problems farmers are facing there?
7. What is the difference between DSP & SSP?

Interview Experience 6

Graduation College Ahmedabad University

Graduation Degree BBA
Graduation Specialization Finance
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Rajathan

Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why would you like to pursue ABM even when you don't have any prior background
3. What have you done in the duration of pandemic, How would you prove it
4. Questions on economics and friends
5. Why I invest so much of me into my friends

Page | 177
 SM

Interview Experience 1

Graduation College National Institute of Technology Rourkela

Graduation Degree B.Tech. - M.Tech. (Dual Degree)
Graduation Specialization Electrical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Consulting
Home State Gujarat

Interview Questions

1. Tell us about yourself?

2. Questions on Work Experience- why consulting, why ZS?
3. What were your roles and responsibilities in ZS?
4. Questions on Liverpool’s dismal performance.
5. Questions on OTT regulations. (Tandav controversy)

Interview Experience 2

Graduation College Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce

Graduation Degree B. Com
Graduation Specialization Statistics
Professional Qualification CFA Level 1
Work Experience (in months) 36
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. Why SM?
3. What are your expectations out of this course?
4. Do you know what SDGs are?
5. What is Paris Agreement?
6. Walk us through your work experience at Deutsche Bank?
7. What are derivatives?
8. What is the difference between Forward, Future and Options?

Page | 178
Interview Experience 3

Graduation College Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Computer Science & Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 70
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State Punjab

Interview Questions

1. Why MBA?
2. What is ESG?
3. What are 3Ps?
4. Should CSR be mandated for corporates?
5. Why SM?
6. What will you choose if given an option among PGP from other B-Schools and PGPSM?

Interview Experience 4

Graduation College Oriental institute of science and technology

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 42
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State Madhya Pradesh

Interview Questions

1. Tell me something about yourself?

2. A situation where you had a disagreement with your manager and how did you manage
that issue?
3. Give 3 strengths and weaknesses.
4. Calculate the number of Mahindra that that you will manufacture if you are going to
launch it for the very first time in market.
5. Which subject do you remember from Mathematics?
6. Tell me some news that you read today?
7. Why MBA after engineering?
8. What is your understanding of this course?
9. Why do you think you are a perfect fit for this course?

Page | 179
Interview Experience 5

Graduation College Gokul degree college (Osmania University)

Graduation Degree B.Com.
Graduation Specialization Commerce
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 28
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Accounting
Home State Telangana

Interview Questions

1. How would you relate sustainability to your work domain?

2. Why Sustainability as a specialization?
3. Where would you see yourself in next 5 years?

Interview Experience 6

Graduation College Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology

Bhopal
Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Electrical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 34
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about the recent climate summit.

2. What were your challenges in your workplace?
3. Why do you want to do MBA in PGPSM?
4. How honest you are?
5. What all calls do you have?
6. Why would you join IIM L and not IIM K?

Interview Experience 7

Graduation College Sardar Patel College of Engineering

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Mechanical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 54
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology

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Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Tell us about yourself.

2. Why MBA and specifically PGPSM?
3. Since you are good at Math, can you help a layman understand what is probability?
4. Follow-up questions related to that like what is the formula to calculate probability.
5. What is the probability of this building collapsing in next 10 mins?
6. Since I answered that it won't be 0.5, why it is not 0.5?
7. How will you calculate the probability of this?
8. What are the 5 strengths and 5 weaknesses of a millennium generation?
9. Why was it difficult for you to jot down the weaknesses?
10. What were your challenges in your workplace?

Interview Experience 8

Graduation College MNM Jain Engineering College

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Computer Science & Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 64
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Sales
Home State Tamil Nadu

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. Why MBA now?
3. What's the Swachh Bharath Abhiyan? When was it started?
4. What do you think of Sustainability?

Interview Experience 9

Graduation College Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati University,

Ajmer
Graduation Degree B. Com
Graduation Specialization Accounting & Finance
Professional Qualification CA
Work Experience (in months) 38
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Rajasthan

Interview Questions

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 1. Why MBA?
2. Tell us about yourself.
3. Why SM?
4. What did you do in your profession?
5. Why are you leaving a lucrative profession and joining the MBA?

Interview Experience 10

Graduation College Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Chemical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 35
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Information Technology
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself.

2. Elaborate about the work you do.
3. Why did you apply for PGPSM instead of PGP?
4. What do you mean by sustainability?
5. Give an example of how the concept of sustainability relates with ExxonMobil.
6. Which other programmes have you applied for apart from PGPSM?

Interview Experience 11

Graduation College Sinhgad College of Engineering, Pune

Graduation Degree B.E/B.Tech.
Graduation Specialization Chemical Engineering
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 33
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Consulting
Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions
1. Introduce yourself?
2. What are some qualities of leaders?
3. Differentiate Managers vs Leaders.
4. Is Rahul Gandhi a good manager or Leader? Same questions for Mr. Modi and Mr. Shah.
5. Asked regarding cooking of vegetables. Are minerals and vitamins lost or not against direct
consumption of raw vegetables?
6. Why use of Lithium-ion batteries in Automotive, what issues?
7. Opinion on Farm laws

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 OTHERS

Interview Experience 1

Graduation College IHM Pusa

Graduation Degree Others
Graduation Specialization Others
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Karnataka

Interview Questions

1. How is hotel management?

2. What subjects?
3. What are the career opportunities in HM?
4. When a person goes to a village, they prefer to stay in homestays than hotels, what’s your
opinion?
5. What was your internship at IIM-B, how did you get it?

Interview Experience 2

Graduation College Shri M P Shah Govt Medical College, Jamnagar

Graduation Degree M.B.B.S.
Graduation Specialization Others
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Healthcare Services/ Healthcare
Home State Gujarat

Interview Questions

1. Why MBA after MBBS?

2. Doctors are usually good at everything but math, how will you manage the mathematics
part?
3. What did you learn in biostatistics?
4. What is 95% Confidence Interval?
5. Questions on hobbies etc.

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 Interview Experience 3

Graduation College Government Law College, Mumbai

Graduation Degree Others
Graduation Specialization Others
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 21
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Sales
Home State Haryana

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself - background.

2. Questions about farm laws, triple talaq, data privacy, abrogation of Sec 370.

Interview Experience 4

Graduation College St Xavier's College, Kolkata

Graduation Degree B.Sc.
Graduation Specialization Economics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State West Bengal

Interview Questions

1. Why do you want to pursue MBA as a fresher?

2. Reason for year drop?
3. View on economy and budget proposal, questions regarding statistics and economics?
4. Why not masters in economics?
5. What are your short-term goals?
6. Preferred field of interest?
7. GK questions & how did you spend your time during lockdown?

Interview Experience 5

Graduation College St. Xavier’s College

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Graduation Degree B.Sc.
Graduation Specialization Statistics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA

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Home State Maharashtra

Interview Questions

1. Introduce yourself.
2. Why do you want to do an MBA?
3. What is the difference between bonds and equity shares?
4. what are zero coupon bonds, what is Karl Pearson's correlation coefficient?
5. What is Taylor's Theorem?
6. What are your hobbies?

Interview Experience 6

Graduation College St Xavier's College, Kolkata

Graduation Degree B.Sc.
Graduation Specialization Economics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Analytics
Home State West Bengal

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. Why are economic students from SXC less capitalistic than those from DU?
3. If you get through all the IIMs you have an interview with, which one would you choose and
why?

Interview Experience 7

Graduation College Hindu College, Delhi University

Graduation Degree B.A.
Graduation Specialization Economics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Consulting
Home State Uttarakhand

Interview Questions

1. Tell me about yourself?

2. What are confidence intervals?
3. What is deadweight loss?
4. Tell me about your experience with this (project mentioned in my answer) project.

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Interview Experience 8

Graduation College Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University

Graduation Degree B.Sc.
Graduation Specialization Mathematics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions
1. What are you doing currently?
2. On a scale of 1-10 how good are you in Mathematics?
3. Tell me a function that is continuous everywhere but differentiable nowhere?
4. A function which is continuous but not differentiable?
5. What all was taught in your Math degree?
6. Okay, which books did you refer to for the Real Analysis paper?
7. Why do you want to get into MBA after mathematics?
8. Which specialization and why?
9. What other calls do you have?
10. Profile based questions on positions of responsibility and internships.
11. Marks in HSC/Grad.

Interview Experience 9

Graduation College Kalindi College

Graduation Degree Others
Graduation Specialization Journalism
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Ahmedabad

Interview Questions

1. What is Business Journalism

2. How journalism will help in management?
3. Elementary statistics

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Interview Experience 10

Graduation College Anil Surendra Modi School of Commerce,

Narsee Monjee Institute of Management
Studies
Graduation Degree BSc
Graduation Specialization Finance
Professional Qualification CFA
Work Experience (in months) 30
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Mumbai

Interview Questions
1. Introduction
2. How do you measure consistency
3. What is the formula for standard deviation
4. How do you reduce risk in a portfolio
5. Is it systematic or unsystematic risk
6. How many stocks should a portfolio have

Interview Experience 11

Graduation College Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu

University
Graduation Degree Dental Surgery
Graduation Specialization Dental Surgery
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Varanasi

Interview Questions
1. Since you don't have maths in your undergrad, how do you think you will cope up with it
during the program?
2. mythology about who was Ram's mother, arjun's wife other than Draupadi,
3. basic statistics (mean, median, mode)

Interview Experience 12

Graduation College Scottish Church College

Graduation Degree B.Sc
Graduation Specialization Mathematics and Computing
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA

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Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Varanasi

Interview Questions

1. Tell us some applications of mathematics in management

2. have you heard about farmer problem in LPP?
3. how do you decide which cab to choose while booking from OLA/Uber?
4. why does their pricing vary?
5. can you design an algorithm to decide which one to choose?
6. on what basis, Swiggy and Zomato deliver their orders?
7. tell something about NATO & Ukraine, why is the war happening?
8. what have Australia said regarding this?
9. what are your hobbies?
10. can you tell about our GDP growth?

Interview Experience 13

Graduation College Fergusson College , Pune

Graduation Degree B.A
Graduation Specialization Economics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) NA
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Pune

Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself
2. Why MBA
3. Russia Ukraine crisis in detail
4. Export Import relation between India and Russia
5. Questions on various concepts of Economics
6. Theatre related questions.

Interview Experience 14

Graduation College IPS ACADEMY

Graduation Degree B.Pharma
Graduation Specialization Pharmacy
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 24
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Marketing
Home State Indore

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Interview Questions
1. Tell me about yourself
2. Told them I like following football at the end of my answer for which they asked why do
people in India love cricket more than football
3. How has cricket been a boon or Bane for our country's GDP
4. what is your stand on the IPL
5. What was your job role in your recent company
6. what were your kpi's
7. why MBA, followed by which domain?

Interview Experience 15

Graduation College IPS ACADEMY

Graduation Degree B.Pharma
Graduation Specialization Pharmacy
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 34
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Research
Home State Mumbai

Interview Questions
1. Most of the questions were from my healthcare background, research work, COVID Vaccines
2. since I'm from research and development, efficiency of these vaccines
3. one statistics question

Interview Experience 16

Graduation College Hansraj College

Graduation Degree B.A
Graduation Specialization Economics
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 20
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Consulting
Home State Bihar

Interview Questions
1. Briefly tell me about yourself
2. Your College and academic background
3. What do you understand by Economics?
4. Difference between GDP and GNP
5. What is Phillips curve?
6. What is stagflation?

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 7. There were many other details related to economics
8. few questions were also from general knowledge.

Interview Experience 17

Graduation College Lady Shri Ram College for Women, University of

Delhi
Graduation Degree B.A
Graduation Specialization NA
Professional Qualification NA
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry NA
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions
1. Why MBA, why not Civil services?(since I'm from a political science background)
2. What is libertarianism?
3. How will you go about the statistical and quant part in the MBA programme, assuming
you've studied Math till 10th?
4. You've worked as an HR intern, what was your responsibility and what all did you learn?
5. Name 4 characteristics you think an HR should have?

Interview Experience 18

Graduation College IIM Indore

Graduation Degree B.A
Graduation Specialization NA
Professional Qualification CFA(L1)
Work Experience (in months) 0
Work Experience Domain/ Industry Finance
Home State Delhi

Interview Questions
1. About myself
2. favorite subject
3. differential calculus questions
4. research methodology
5. Questions about a few of my textbook and professors in IIM Indore
6. What is nash equilibrium
7. Explain Porter's Five Forces
8. Questions on fiscal and monetary policy, inflation rate, and other question regarding
economics
9. basic stats question, and graphs

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 SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT

1. Why Sustainable Management?

2. What is Sustainability?
3. Guesstimate question – Estimate the electricity bill for using this interview room for an
hour?
4. Why do you consider yourself a suitable candidate for SM?
5. What are your future plans?
6. You have very high work experience. Will you be able to cooperate with younger
batchmates?
7. Difference between Sales and Marketing
8. Why SM when you have better options?
9. What is an impression?
10. Where do you see yourself after 5 years?
11. Why pursue an MBA in SM after working in IT industry? How do you relate your work
experience to Sustainability?
12. SDGs specific activities in India
13. Role of NITI Aayog
14. How are European countries doing in the field of sustainability?
15. What is triple bottom line? Is Sustainability all about the environment?
16. What are the sustainability practices in IT?
17. What are the initiatives followed in your company around sustainability?
18. Why do you think you have to do something for others?
19. What differentiates humans and animals?
20. Why do you want to leave your job and join this course?
21. What do you understand about commerce?
22. What work did you do in Sustainability?
23. Give me reasons why one should not to join PGPSM
24. What is the difference between E-commerce and Commerce?
25. Why get into IT after mechanical?
26. Give an example of SM System
27. How do you help stray animals?
28. In your earlier organisation, what role did you play in CSR? Do you think companies
which provide products/service that have social/environmental impact should be forced
to do CSR?
29. What should be done about street animals especially cows looking at the religious
stigma attached to it?
30. How did you come to know about PGPSM?
31. How do Hot star and Netflix earn?
32. What is the revenue model of WhatsApp?
33. Sustainability vs CSR.
34. Form a punchline for IIM Lucknow.
35. What is triple bottom line?
36. Do you know any indexes related to sustainability?
37. Do you think policies/law play a role in driving sustainability?
38. What is the per unit charge for electricity produced by a solar cell?
39. Why do developed countries set up recycling plants in developing countries?

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 40. Which is the most polluting country in the world?
41. What is the scope for you to use creativity & innovation?
42. Is ZD (Zero Distance) in Infosys really benefiting?
43. Why is IT in INDIA not able to deliver products?
44. Do you think Google steals data?
45. If a packet of potato chips says the weight is 200 gm, are there exactly 200 grams? If no,
as a quality analyst, will you pass it? Explain.
46. How do oil prices vary?
47. SM requires creative thinking, mention any experiences from your life where you have
used creativity and problem-solving skills?
48. Talk about Paris Climate Deal
49. What is NPS?
50. Why is India called Bharat?
51. Who are the Hindus? Why are they called Hindus?
52. Do you know about Hydraulic fracturing? Why is it controversial? What are its harmful
effects?
53. What are the different dimensions of sustainability?
54. Is the recent PNB scam sustainable or not sustainable? Why?
55. What is the relation between Indian history and sustainability?
56. What do you think about US opting out of the Paris Climate deal?
57. What is ISO?
58. What do you know about the Cauvery Dispute?
59. What do you know about clean ganga mission?
60. What is green building? Why is it needed?

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