Nostalgia was in the air as the alumni of IIFT assembled at Floatel on Strand Road, the Howrah bridge gleaming in the background, for the annual IIFT Kolkata Chapter Meet.

Anshul Khandelwal, the alumni coordinator, was the anchor of the evening and he kickstarted the function by inviting Mr. Kushal Roy, Head of Kolkata Chapter Meet. Mr. Roy welcomed the alumni and emphasized on the importance of such events. He also invited applications for "The Alumni Of The Year" award.

Dr. K. Rangarajan, Centre Head of IIFT Kolkata was invited to the podium to address the audience. His update on the new sprawling campus that is expected to be operational by October gripped the attention of the alumni. Mr. Rituraaj Juneja, an esteemed alumnus of IIFT also addressed the audience on how the network of alumni, students and the college can mutually benefit from each other. This was followed by a presentation by Anshul  about IIFT's road map for the next couple of years. He also gave updates about the the various alumni chapter meets held in different parts of the country and the ones scheduled for the rest of the year.

Amar Budati, a student of 2012-14 batch, enthralled the audience with a short quiz on Kolkata. It prompted several enthusiastic responses and set the mood for the evening.

As the night progressed, old memories were revived and business cards were exchanged. We departed with a vow to come back again next year with a bang!

-- By Kartik Puri, 2013-15

It happened one day…

I recently attended the graduation ceremony of my engineering college (a year too late perhaps, happened in full swing nonetheless). It was good to reconnect with old colleagues. The topics of our conversations ranged from reminiscence of the “good old days” to general curiosity about what the other person had made of their life.

Amidst all the catching up and laughter, I happened to bump into my project mate, a friend who I had spent most of my last semester with, designing (watching him design?) a fancy vehicle locking system. Ashwin squealed out “Sruti, you got everything that you had asked for!” Honestly, I was very confused. Until that day, there hadn’t passed a single day in my life when I hadn’t whined about how I never get what I want. He continued, “It was exactly a year ago that you told me you wanted to do your MBA and that sometime in life you would like to go to France, walk the streets of Paris, admire paintings in that museum- what was it? - Louvre? And oh yes! Eat their food, sip their wine. .6 months into a B-School and you have it all! Some luck woman!” It’s funny how it took a-year-late convocation to make me realize that the world wasn’t conspiring against me after all. While Ashwin, being the enthusiast that he is, chattered on, I took a minute to thank the universe (Rhonda Byrne claims gratitude is key in her latest- “Magic”).

I can’t even begin to explain how/why IIFT has been right for me at so many levels, and the exchange program most definitely tops the list of reasons. When I learnt that I had been nominated to study at IESEG School of Management in Lille, it wasn’t just the fact that I was going to spend a trimester abroad, in “foreign land” that gave me the shivers; people go abroad all the time with their families these days. No, it was about the journey that awaited me, the adventure that I knew that I was going to embark upon with four other friends, some old, some new.


  It was the fashion capital indeed…

I remember when we landed at the Charles De Gaulle Airport of Paris, in time for new year celebrations. Just when the fact that we had reached started sinking in, few of us were shown out of the airport by a huge scary cop. Soon after, a cab ride to the hotel that cost us an equivalent of Rs 6000, did not help much either. My French, that I took so much pride in previously, failed me miserably at each and every step. It was definitely not a kickass start, so to speak. But as the night unfurled, things started looking up, more than looking up.

A walk on Champs Élysées (http://bit.ly/12hzOQj), the most commercial street of Paris, was definitely an eye-opener for a fashion lover like me. Hidden under layers of clothing and a thick black jacket and looking at French girls strutting about in their skirts and high-heeled boots, I felt like the quintessential monkey-capped bong. They were impervious to the 3 degree chill- I was going to follow suit very soon, I just didn’t know it that time. Marked by two significant monuments at its either ends, Champs Élysées was a vision to behold, the whole of it- beautiful people walking on a beautifully decorated street, obnoxiously priced and yet very charming pubs and restaurants, a jazzy ice skating ring, crêpe counters, a real-but-fake snowman, cuddly couples, stalls serving Vin Chaud (http://bit.ly/1bo3z8O) and Louis Vuitton.

As we reached the end of the street, in front of Place de la Concorde (http://bit.ly/11CcUrM), and looked to the right, there it was glimmering in full might, the Eiffel Tower. It was just as gorgeous as the world claims it to be. I was half expecting “Michel Adams presents FTV” to pop up mid air. Delighted with our discovery, we paced towards the Eiffel.

Walking along the Seine late at night was fun. Amidst the gaping-at-the-cars and the getting acclimatized to the grandeur of the buildings, the jokes and comments never stopped coming in. And that’s the best part about traveling with friends. No matter what the situation is, you’re bound to have a good laugh! That is really what makes the journey so memorable and worth it.

As we walked, we came across a hell lot of couples, smitten by each other, completely in love. Honestly, I don’t blame them. There was something about Paris; it was almost designed for love. I don’t know whether it was the weather, the open roads, the empty spaces, the imposing structures, the river, the perfectly arched bridges or the cliché associated with it but something about the city definitely screamed, “Love!” The silly-romantic-non-MBA girl in me kind of resolved to come back here with someone special someday (no offense to my lovely friends!).

After a never-ending walk, we finally reached our destination. The Eiffel didn’t look that perfect anymore. It was just a lot of metal and lights (it does look exceptional during the day, but that was something that I learnt at a much later stage of my visit). It was a wonder of the world nonetheless, so the photo clicking session began. Meanwhile, some Indians and Bangladeshis tried selling us Eiffel Tower key chains, offering us the best of deals. They even tried to please us with their Hindi. But I couldn’t care less. I was all about France and the French that time. The language, the clothes, the mannerisms, the crêpes- all of it. Crêpes! Now I could write a novel about the Nutella strawberry ones made in front of the Eiffel. They were most definitely the BEST that I’d had all across Europe! A soft but crispy crêpe smeared generously with the godly Nutella and add pieces of the sweetest, juiciest, reddest strawberries on earth and tadaaa! You have for yourself, what I’d like to call, “An experience divine”.

The following days we celebrated New Year’s, visited the Louvre, Sacré Cœur (http://bit.ly/12hB5a0) and Notre Dame (http://bit.ly/152Rpxr) and relived our childhood in Disneyland. Paris was my second favorite city in Europe (narrowly defeated by Rome). I can go on and on about each of these experiences, whether it is the evening mass at the Notre Dame or the Tower of Terror in Disneyland. But the fact is that I’d just end up boring you with a lot of details that might seem inconsequential to you, the way I bore some of my friends who missed exchange.
Because you’d never know with what passion and enthusiasm I’m writing this, because you never felt or experienced what I experienced. And hence I’m going to be limiting these blogs only to the fun and exciting parts…

 Next stop, Amsterdam!

By Sruti Chatterjee

The Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata organized the second edition of Post-Budget Analysis - ‘Budget Plus 2.0’. The panelists of the discussion were Mr. Rajib Basu, Associate Director- PricewaterhouseCoopers, Prof. Ranajoy Bhattacharya, Professor of economics at IIFT, Dr. Ajitava Ray Chaudhuri, Professor of Economics at Jadavpur University, Mr. Anjan Kumar Roy, Member ICSI, Anjan Kumar Roy & Co. Company Secretaries, Mr. Basant Kumar Maheshwari, Founder-TheEquityDesk Dot com. The discussion was presided over by Mr. Sanjeev Nandwani, Development Commissioner, FALTA SEZ.

Mr. Nandwani threw the discussion open emphasizing that budgets are a continuous process and who the Finance Minister is, plays a very little role on what the government’s policies are going to be. He pointed out that a major part of the budget’s every year focus is on meeting the 5 year plan targets.

Then, Mr. Nandwani asked the esteemed panel members to offer their opening remarks. Prof. Ranajoy analyzed the budget from an economic perspective. He observed that contrary to the belief that there would be a growth oriented approach by inclusion of economists such as Dr. Raghuram Rajan and the Finance Minister Mr. Chidambram would bring to the table has not occurred and the budget is oxymoronic to the approach paper of the 5 year plan. He deemed the budget to be neither pro-growth nor pro-social reform. Dr. Ajitava, in his analysis, divided the budget into 4 segments. The first, he said, was that the budget has been a continuation of old stories, but cited that there has been a 46 percent increase in the budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Rural Development. Another important point he touched upon was regarding the women banks. In his opinion, empowering the women by leveraging on the existing systems would have been better rather than the new provision for women banks. In his words, the govt. is “for the people, by the people and whoever for…” and this budget has proved to be a signaling mechanism to the masses. Mr. Rajib Basu took a different stance from the two economists and praised the Finance Minister for the work he has done given the constraints of the upcoming elections. In his words, “the budget is a statement and the money is being put into the right sectors” but raised questions on the amount of money allocated to these sectors. He also questioned the implementation of the policies which are announced in the budget and called for setting up of institutions for efficient implementation. Mr. Anjan Kumar Roy said that the budget has something for everyone and was a balance of reform and social sector measures. He said that the problem lay in implementation of such policies and has been so for the past 30 years. Mr. Maheshwari argued that “budgets have a shelf life of 72 hours”. He said that the investors in the stock market pay very little heed to the provisions in the Budget and exclaimed “good companies get around bad budgets and make money for their shareholders, while bad companies do not make money even in good budgets” pointing out that the stock market runs its course irrespective of the budget.

After the opening remarks, the floor was thrown open for discussion and Mr. Nandwani asked the panelists for their remarks on whether the budget was a populist measure or a policy measure and enquired their views regarding particular sectors. The issue of the declining savings rate in India from 36 percent to 30 percent was discussed at length and Mr. Ajitava remarked that the rent-seekers needed to have a leash and India cannot depend on foreign investors all the time. Various other issues such as the Domestic Institutional Investors (DIIs) following the FIIs in the primary markets and the buoyancy of the capital markets were pondered upon. When it came to the issue of disinvestment, Mr. Basant proposed the idea of giving away 200 stocks to every PAN card holder at a discount rather than to LIC as a measure of keeping the investor’s money with them only.

The audience constituting the students of IIFT, Kolkata campus asked pertinent questions regarding liquidity issues arising out of disinvestment, the overshooting of the target of 10000 crores due to the Food Subsidy Bill and the introduction of CTT to discourage people for investing in gold and silver.

The Panel concluded the discussion citing that although the budget touched everybody, it did not focus on any particular sector. 

As Indian Institute of Foreign Trade entered its golden jubilee year, bi-annual conference on Empirical Issues in International Trade and Finance (EIITF) was held at IIFT Kolkata, which opened the planned series of events for the year. This conference was the third in series which was initially launched in 2008 at IIFT, Kolkata campus and is conducted alternatively in Delhi and Kolkata since then.

With the progress of globalization, a large part of trade and financial transactions now involve cross border flow. The theme of the conference revolved around understanding the intricacies of these flows for trade and financial transactions and its benefit for organizations as well as countries. There were lectures and technical sessions on Gravity model of trade which has recently completed its 50 years of use. The topic of Micro finance as a tool to address the financial requirements was touched upon as well.

The theme of EIITF was in sync with the rapid progress of globalization of the world and increased interest of researchers in the field. The main aim of this conference, which was to bring the scholars together working in this field so that they can exchange knowledge and gain from each other’s experience, was achieved.

The conference was inaugurated by Dr. C.Rangarajan, Chairman of Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister. Jeffrey H. Bergstrand, Professor in University of Notre Dameand Maitreesh Ghatak, Professor of London School of economics addressed the audience as special key note speakers.

The conference was then taken forward by faculty from various esteemed institutes across world as well as eminent personalities from industry. The sessions revolved around trade and development, finance, trade theories, stock market returns and India’s performance with special emphasis on international aspect. Discussions were enriched by industry insights from experts like Ganesha Wignaraja, Asian Development Bank, Jaijit Bhattacharya, Director-Government Affairs, Hewlett – Packard India Sales Pvt. Ltd and Renu S Parmar, Advisor, Planning Commission.

As I walked down on the railway tracks in Tiljala area,Kolkata, slums sprawled on both sides of the tracks till eyes can see. Little kids in rags played on the tracks undeterred of any probable trains coming. Trains keep passing and rickety houses keep shaking still the life goes on like everything is normal. Though we may try to see , think and relate but we just cannot understand that feeling of growing up there.

As part of Social Awareness Program this is a full credit course which IIFT has included in the 2 year academic course of MBA where students are required to undergo 3 week NGO internship in the first year. Here, students are assigned particular NGOs based in Kolkata and they are required to work with them on assigned projects. The main purpose of this course is to sensitize the students who will be venturing in the professional world in near future such that they take the society along with them while they climb up the steps of success. Partner NGOs are selected which work for gamut of causes ranging from women empowerment to drug addicts.

I worked for Mobile School project in ‘Save the children’ as part of my internships. We in a group of two along with NGO team ventured in various parts of Kolkata where they have identified slum colonies as Mobile school bus stand. We used to spend two-three hours each in one location and then moved to another. Children above the age of five who have never attended school or dropped out for some reason were encouraged to enroll in this programme and attend the bridge course such that they can be main streamed in school soon. Children who have crossed certain age limit are counseled for taking up vocational courses.

We interacted with the kids of all ages as well as taught them little languages, mathematics. We counseled a few and motivated them to continue learning .Moderated a few children meetings and helping them identify their colony’s problem. Our main aim was to make a genuine effort to touch those children’s life a bit by giving them hope to rise above this, learn to see dreams, fill colors in them and reach out to achieve. Their simplicity and politeness towards us moved our hearts as seldom do we see kids of this age behaving like this. A simple act of making cute greeting cards along with those little kids made us all so happy that our another competitive parallel life looked so mundane.

Though we may not be able to bring a radical change in society in such a short duration but those moments do reflect back the time that brought heart felt smiles to those kids as well as mine.

By: Akanksha Garg

The word Advait essentially stands for oneness, non-duality or integrity. It holds a lot of relevance because our aim here at IIFT is not just to limit ourselves to acquiring knowledge or skill sets. We aspire to evolve into wholesome, responsible, contributing individuals of the society providing solutions that can be “integrated” with the world, to meet its needs, and promote a sense of “oneness” or Advait.

Keeping that in mind, a series of events and competitions that are practical, relevant and are perfect simulations of what is “out there” were conducted at the IIFT Kolkata campus which saw participation from business schools all over the country.

Rannbhoomi, a unique strategy event, offered the participants an opportunity to get into the shoes of the ultimate decision making authority of a company, namely the CXO officers and take decisions in order to steer their company through tough times.

Winners of Rannbhoomi accepting the prize from the judges

Vivarann – the Stock Pitch competition organized by Cashonova, the Finance club of IIFT, tested the equity analysis skills of some of the best brains in India.

Vichaar Vimarsh organized by BLASH, the Trade Club of IIFT, is a conceptual simulation of WTO, which aimed at providing a platform to budding managerial students to showcase their understandings of international business and trade.

Since its inception Advait has been growing and with the efforts of the students fueled by their enthusiasm it will be nurtured further to greater heights.

Rejuvenate the Indian Growth Story through Manufacturing and Trade

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade today hosted a discussion on November 10th at Kolkata on Manufacturing and Trade, and how these sectors are key for India’s future growth. The theme of the symposium was Rejuvenate the Indian Growth Story through Manufacturing and Trade. There was also a panel discussion on “How can we effectively derive most out of trade agreements and make them dynamic?” The group of speakers included Mr. Tilak Raj Seth - Exec VP, SEA, Siemens (Guest of Honour), Mr.Vineet Mehra –Director,Stemcor India, Mr.Ambarish Dasgupta-Exec Director and Partner, PwC, Mr. Pallab ChakrabortyAVP, Head of Manufacturing, United Spirits, Mr. Prabal 

Kumar Sen-Head of Entrepreneurship Cell, XLRI, Mr. Siddhartha Roy, DGM, L&T, Mr. Sushil Cherian-Business Leader, Anantara Solutions Pvt Ltd, Mr. Utpal Sinha, Kolkata Port Trust, Dr.Abhirup Sarkar-Vice Chairman, WBIDC, Dr. Ajitava Raychaudhuri, Jadavpur University and Dr. Suresh Kumar-IACCI, African Desk.Dr. K. Rangarajan, Centre Head, IIFT Kolkata, and Mr. Ravi Shanker, Chairperson, IIFT were also present on the occasion. The symposium is organised each year by the students of IIFT to focus on issues related to trade upholding the distinction of the institute as the institute of international business and trade.

The discussion at the symposium centered around reconnoitering the channels to boost manufacturing and trade to spurt the nation towards being a global superpower. With services growth in India taking place faster than manufacturing, the symposium aimed to thrash out ways to develop new ways to shift from services trade to goods trade in the Indian trade context. The aim was also to deliberate upon systems and infrastructure in India affecting trade and manufacturing, innovation of solutions to tackle 

problems in supply chain management and analyse the core strength of Indian trade in face of situations like rupee depreciation. The objective was also to discuss possibilities, need and impact of further trade collaborations for India. 

What is titanomachy? Well, simply put, it is just an idea. But, men will die, Greece will rise or fall, but this idea will live on…no matter what. What is popularly known as the most anticipated event of the academic calendar was upon us on the 30^th of October as the bidding process for the players began with full gusto...

The stage was set. The four teams (Ire of the Jedi, Dependable Devils, TMK & Maniac Marauders) had been formed & thoroughly marketed through social media. The owners sat with their newly appointed junior managers & bid for two solid hours in the conference room, eager to get the best set of players for all the varied games. The highlights of the bidding process were the never ending bids for Nakul & Jayanth who went for 2600 & 3200 points respectively. A bid that caught everyone’s eye was that of Vartika Goel who went for a heavy 2600 points. Speculation suggested that reason for her price going up so high wasn’t strictly, ahem, skill-based.

Once the teams were set, there was the draw which was carried out by Dr. R.P. Sharma. First up was Chess, then the first stage of Football to be followed by a mega day of all the matches of Volleyball, Basketball & Badminton. Next would be the day with all the Cricket matches followed by Table Tennis in the evening. The event would be concluded with the Football finals & the closing ceremony on the 12^th of November.

Chess was up first & the surprise player was Nitika Bansal who won over many hearts after defending brilliantly against Subhra & timing her out before tearing through Vartika Singh’s black army. Jedi raced to top of the table by finishing at the top. TMK followed in second place with DD finishing in third.

Next up was Football with stars shining bright in DD & MM’s caps. Rain played a major part in this match with the wet, muddy ground proving too hard to play for many. Regardless, DD demolished Jedi in their first round match by scoring 4 unanswered. The upset of the day was TMK overcoming DD when a half-intended pass by right winger Ankit Yaduvanshi found its way into the feet of Varun Raj & he found the net with ease. The player of this event was undoubtedly Mayank Gulati, the star goalkeeper of TMK who blocked attempt after attempt on his post.

The very next day was the mega-day. First up was Volleyball & there was just one thing that anyone & everyone had praises for in this event, the serves of Ankit Yaduvanshi. TMK, in both their matches were down by large margins before the ball was given to Ankit Yaduvanshi. In Manish Bhai’s words, ‘It was as if rockets were being launched from the other end.’ He was sadly the recipient of most of Ankit’s serves in their first encounter & the impact made his forearms clot. He was given the nickname ‘Hand of God’ by his teammates. Needless to say, TMK won & with Jedi finishing last, TMK took the lead in the points table.

The action then shifted to the basketball court where Manish Bhai’s two big buys shone & Raj set the trail ablaze. He was, by-far, the best player on the court that day. MM defeated DD in the final & MM recorded their first victory. This was the third time that DD was in the final & they had lost both of the two finals that they had played. In the third place match, TMK’s magician Mayank Gulati turned it around for TMK with a memorable 8 point game. Ankit Yaduvanshi also scored a three pointer from way out, rising over Nitika Bansal’s head.

Next came Badminton & it was really hard to pick out a single player that shone out. The level of play displayed by the top two was very high indeed. Manish Bhai, Tushar Pandey (JPC), Tarun Madaan & Viksit Arora were shining like gems & their doubles match was the highlight of the day. DD won the final but MM won hearts.

Dead tired from the day’s toil, the titans trundled their way back home. A brilliant strategy was devised by Umesh (all credit to him) which gave 3 days of rest to everyone before the action moved to the Cricket grounds where after defeating MM & Jedi respectively, TMK & DD met in the finals. This was the third final between these two giants. In the end, DD took the cake with a 14 run victory over TMK. There were no star players as such but Tarun Madaan, targeted to be lambashed in the final, bowled superbly & gave just 4 runs in his 3 overs which was the difference between victory & certain defeat. A brief fistfight between Ankit Yaduvanshi & Rohit Shukla was the highlight of the day. Kunal Patil set the stage ablaze with a quickfire 18 for Jedi which included 2 sixes.

The Table Tennis matches saw a major upset as TMK’s team, which looked very strong on paper, went out in the first round. DD won & it was Kunal Patil who was the shining star for Jedi once again. Titanomachy had been decided & yet, the Grand Finale was eagerly awaited.

The stage had been set. The ground had been booked. The torches had been lit. The time had come for the Football Finals. The final event of Titanomachy was upon us. MM & Jedi’s third place match was won by MM in extra time which set the stage for a last minute drama in the next match.

TMK’s strategy was to frustrate DD & hit them on the counter. With a rock solid defense, they were able to do just that. They created some really good moves with solid moves going down both wings. Raj Sharan had an off day & failed to convert a host of chances that were in the offing for TMK. The match ended at 0-0. Now is when the drama began!

Penalties were declared & just as it was about to start, the floodlights went out. So, the match was declared to be a draw. Many TMK players left including star finisher & right winger, Ankit Yaduvanshi. Then the lights were switched on again & after 3 extra penalties, DD won the tie amidst strong winds of controversy. It was a fitting end to a brilliantly organized event.

UMESH, hats off to your organizational capacity! The event was very well planned & executed.

By: Ankit Yaduvanshi

Mr. Rituraaj Juneja, the esteemed alumnus of IIFT took a session on “How to build your network” to build and leverage human networks. It was a highly interactive session where, through the medium of role-plays, he demonstrated the techniques to be employed in order to make a lasting impression in the minds of other people and how to get more and more business cards to grow one’s professional network. In his words, it is imperative that one must “Get rid of 10 business cards and get 10 new business cards every-day “. The session witnessed massive participation from the students and they were able to take home beneficial pointers regarding Business Networking.

By: Vibhor Aggarwal