ISSUE - 125 (SPECIAL ISSUE) 13th SEPTEMBER [TUESDAY]

CXXV -POOJA DALAL

Plato once said, “Man - a being in search of meaning”.

And indeed that is the beauty of life, to give meaning to it, to paint the empty canvas the way we want it. And each of us does it in his/her own

style. There could be as many interpretations as there are people. And lesser the information provided, more is the scope for creative thinking.

125 thus can be “CXXV” to the Romans, 125th anniversary to Coca-cola, 125 AD, or simply mathematical number 125 (a freidman number).

This list may not be indicative but is still an attempt to interpret 125 in different contexts. But the best thing is that year 125 stared with our

much beloved Sunday and brought a mix of political changes to the world, as well as cultural transitions. Romans were constructing beautiful

structures as usual, Africans were dealing with the plague, and Asians; well they are too diverse and complex to be summarised in one line.

Somehow it sounds too traditional to talk Year 125. So let‟s have a look on how a number can be lost and tracked back in the world‟s history

and cultural setup and be given new meanings and dimensions were there are none.

The Doomsday fable

12th December 2012 some say, would be the last day when any human sees daylight for the last time.

What actually prompted some scientist to make such a claim is the now very infamous -Mayan calendar.

According to the Mayan cycle, each cycle is 125 years long. In that Mayan‟s calendar, the end of the fifth

cycle is on the date 12th December 2012. The possible way in which our dear planet may end is still sub-

ject to debate with many hypothesised ends ranging from a collision of Earth with a passing planet Nibru

or a polar shift due to weakening of Earth‟s gravitational field.

Every God’s place

"In Rome, the Pantheon, so great within and without, has overwhelmed me with admiration." -- Goethe,

1786

Completely reconstructed in 125 AD by the cosmopolitan emperor Hadrian, this spectacular architectural

monument was dedicated to pan theos, "all the gods." It was later converted into the church of Santa

Maria ad Martyres. It is said that before the great Michelangelo started to work on the dome of St. Pe-

ter‟s basilica, he came to the Pantheon for inspiration. Today Pantheon is the burial place of several im-

portant Italians (including the artist Raphael), and it is also an active church.

This architectural genius was originally constructed by the magistrate Marcus Agrippa (his name ap-

pears on the inscription outside) in 27-25 BC, to commemorate the victory of Actium over Antony and

Cleopatra. This original temple burned down in 80 AD. And until the 20th century, Pantheon was the

largest concrete structure of the world!

The spell 125

Egypt is famous for its mysteries that are still to be unveiled by the present day scholars. One of the few

decoded pieces of its history is the Book of the dead.

The Book of the Dead was most commonly written in hieroglyphic or hieratic script on a papyrus scroll,

and often illustrated with vignettes depicting the deceased and their journey into the afterlife. The Book of

the Dead was placed in the coffin or burial chamber of the deceased. A number of the spells which made

up the Book were also inscribed on tomb walls and sarcophagi.

CXXV 2 125 WEEKS OF STOCKS 8 1 TO 5 DEVELOPED +DEVELOPING NA-TIONS

13

POINT OF CONTENTION 4 125 TO ME 10 CONNOTATIONS 6 COMPANIES 11

THE IBS TIMES

CXXV (CONTD)..

There was a famous spell 125 known as the „weighing of the heart‟. According to the spell, the heart of the deceased was weighed against the

feather of truth. This was done on the scale of Maat (it is often used as a concept of Divine wisdom or goddess of law, morality and justice),

by a jackal headed Anubis (god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion). The Ibis-headed Thoth

(considered as the heart – a seat of intelligence and the tongue of „Ra‟ the Creator God), scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart is

lighter than the feather, the deceased is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the waiting chimeric devouring creature Ammit

(a female man eating demon) composed of the deadly crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus.

Japanese Dragons

The Japanese history exactly comprises of 125 emperors till date. The current emperor Akihito (125th

emperor) can track back his descent to the legendary emperor Jimmu who is fabled to have descended

from Sun God and born to princess fruitful Jewel, daughter of a dragon king of the sea. Emperors in

some Asian countries claim to have dragon ancestors. This makes them so proud, that everything they

use is decorated with dragons and described in terms of the dragon: dragon-throne, dragon-robe,

dragon-bed, dragon-boat. Calling an emperor "dragon-face" is a supreme compliment. People be-

lieved that rulers could change themselves into dragons. For hundreds of years, Japanese emperors

used to sit concealed behind bamboo curtains whenever visitors came. Anyone who dared to sneak a

peek was condemned to death! Dragons in some of these countries have been considered so wise that

it is rumoured that one thirteenth century Cambodian king actually consulted a nine headed dragon

(also considered the real ruler of the land) in a golden castle for nights at length. In the oriental calen-

dars, there occurs a year of dragon every 12th year, and it is believed that children born under the

Dragon year enjoy health, wealth and long life. Hence Dragon is considered the embodiment of all

forces of nature on Earth, the greatest divine force.

Made in India

How could have we even talking about number 125 or year 125 or 125 gms, had the great Indian civi-

lization not invented the number system? Indians invented the number system and Aryabhatta in-

vented zero. The value of "pi" was calculated first by Budhayana, and he explained the concept of

what is known to us as the „Pythagorean Theorem‟. He discovered this in the 6th century, much be-

fore the European mathematician did.

Even in the field of medicine, India was much ahead of times. Known as the father of surgery, Su-

shruta and many other doctors of his time, conducted complex surgeries ranging from cesareans, cata-

ract, artificial limbs, fractures, urinary stones to even plastic surgery and brain surgery. Over 125 dis-

tinct surgical equipments were used. Deep knowledge of anatomy, physiology, etiology, embryology,

digestion, metabolism, genetics and immunity is also found in many texts. Along with all these, the

use of anaesthesia was also quite common, which was a success of its own kind considering this de-

velopments took place 2600 years ago!

Diverse as our thoughts can be, this is just a start to how we can find a common thread between all and sundry. So let your imaginations flow

and discover meanings we thought were not important enough but nevertheless caught our fantasy. Let‟s think different. Let‟s connect the

dots backwards.

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125: A POINT OF CONTENTION -VISHAL SONI The point is;

The ending of something is often the jolt we need to begin. The bane of our species is that we have petrified our sensi-

tivities to the extent that this is the only kind of awakening we understand now. Well, we are in luck, because that is

exactly what is in store for us.

I understand that you want me to write about a thousand words on my views about 125. Interesting. I hope what I write

next does justice to your time.

Fortune always favoured my rebellions. Like the dutiful only son of working class parents, when I quit engineering I

found work for myself writing fluff for the page three section of one of the prime newspapers in the country. Following

my resignation from there, which succeeded a mind numbing boredom which had set in after writing endless reams of

meaningless dribble for three years, I found a job at a tabloid, and I was at the desk. If journalism is Bombay, then the

desk is definitely Dharavi. I waded through a deluge of botched language, and misdirected stories. It felt like trying to

sew a cadaver together, a cadaver which has been through a mean meat grinder. When the futility got to me a couple of

years later I found myself in the cushy position of writing for a radio station, one of the better ones, if there exists such

a beast.

I never deluded myself into thinking that any one of these jobs were what I wanted to do for a prolonged period of

time. I‟ve always found it funny, how we know what we don‟t want to do so well, and have such a translucently vague

idea of what we really want. For anyone else, it would have been a simple matter of pig-headedness we Indians are so

well known for, to grow and strengthen their position in any one of the three jobs. For anyone else!

--

You see a child of no more than three, walking around in a garden in the morning sun. He suddenly glances upon his

shadow. He is entranced. It waves when he waves, it runs when he runs. He must have it. He starts running after it, the

shadow leads, or follows, depending on the child, but this he doesn’t know yet. He ducks and weaves, in an effort to

keep the wily apparition in his sights, his tiny legs pump furiously, his eyes grow wider as his brow is lined by honest

sweat. It eludes him, and yet it was always just there.

---

THE IBS TIMES

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125 A POINT OF CONTENTION (CONTD).. Satisfaction was a creature eagerly pursued, always tantalizingly close, but never close enough. And in the lack of sat-

isfaction, conformity comes easy. I grew comfortable at my job. I was employed, and happy. I wanted to go on air,

talk, not sit on my desk endlessly writing silly twenty second ads for concrete, and emptying my hyperactive imagina-

tion on the garbage heap that is the internet. The worst part was, I wasn‟t writing. But my job, I was good at it, and it

was relatively fun.

The little child grows tired, as the sun climbs higher. Its shadow disappears. He keeps standing up, and checking un-

derneath him as if to ensure it is still there.

A willful tear escapes his eyes; he is confused, is he loosing his playmate? He still doesn’t get it, but he is close. The

sun sets lower on the horizon, and the boy finds his playmate again. But now he knows, he runs around, jumping

prancing kicking imaginary balls but this time there is a steadiness to his actions. He now knows who his playmate is,

the sun will set, the shadow will leave, but the wisdom will stay.

---

Nothing satisfied me, every job I held slipped out of my fingers. What I thought was the society‟s inability to under-

stand was in-fact my own. But there is a balance now, an understanding that there are two worlds I operate in. One is a

domain which is mine, and another is a domain which has a multitude of inane variables which constantly affect its

structure. My survival depends on both, equally. Desires exist inside me, not many, but not so few that I can ignore

them completely. And as long as they do, I will do the needful to fulfill them. Not detached, but not entirely immersed

in them.

Understanding is nothing but a heightened sense of awareness of ones attachments, once attained, it leads to some-

thing far beyond detachment, and it leads to now, something that requires a few more pages to explain thoroughly. But

for now let‟s leave this at this and of course, focus on 125.

If life were to be described in numbers, 100 signifies what we need to do in order to survive and be happy and 25 de-

fines what we could do for ourselves and be happier. What we are doing in MBA a.k.a studying, cp, ncp, acp, blah

blah is 100, but what we are passionate about and we want to do is 25. But neither 100 nor 25 can exist without each

other. So, Life in total is 125, I guess, or rather, I hope.

THE IBS TIMES

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VARIOUS CONNOTATIONS! -SONAM SINGH

Just like any number one might think 125 is just a number. But is it really? Mathematically, 125 is the cube of 5.

Though it is made up of three prime numbers 1, 2 and 5 but when one writes it together it‟s no more a prime number.

This number is a good example of cyclicity as when one multiplies 125 with the number itself 3, 5, 7 times and so on,

the number ending is always „125‟. Analyzing this number just mathematically may not be full justice until one asso-

ciates this number with the corporate world. Satyam Computers which was once a buzz word in the market for its

scams and scandals is also associated with this number. It cost $125million for Satyam Computers to settle the law

suits it was facing in U.S. This amount is too large for some but it‟s an image saver for Satyam. On one side this

number is an image saver for one but on the other side it results in the loss of reputation for Reliance. Recently RBI

charged INR „125‟ crores to this firm as a fine for parking its ECB (External commercial borrowing) in its mutual

funds in contravention of ECB end use restrictions. It would not be wrong if one says that in the corporate world this

number appeared more of as a fine to the big tycoons of the corporate.

„$125 million‟ is the amount required to bring back Japan to its normal working and functioning. This amount can

change the life of the sufferers of the catastrophic event which shook the life of the inhabitants of Japan. Apart from

Japan, “$125” billion is the amount which can help in financing a massive economic program in Tunisia which is

aiming a high growth rate and low unemployment. From development point of view this number is a life saver glob-

ally!

„125*125‟ reminds me about the 2 minutes noodles, Surf Excel, Cadbury‟s and every good brand which attracts the

customer to its lucrative ad campaigns. This number is said to be the most appropriate size of the ad campaigns in the

marketing world. So next time whenever you see the ad space, recall this number. Marketing recalls about the mas-

sive growth of web which is one of the medium for promotion, networking and a complete different world. Recently

it has been found out that the total number of registered domains reached to a level of „125‟ million which is nearly

the population of Japan. If these figures are considered as human beings, then it has already reached the number of

the 10th populous country in the world. So this number is a milestone for the web world.

This figure is not only a milestone or any fine charged or the amount given as a relief fund for the victims of earth-

quake in Japan but also the upper range of speed which a cheetah can attain. It has been found out that a cheetah can

run as fast as „125‟km/hr and cannot cross this limit. So it would not be wrong to say that this figure could be a

benchmark for the world‟s fastest animal.

Even the entertainment industry is not spared by this figure. The buzz in the trade is that Reliance Big Picture bought

the rights of Shahrukh Khan‟s Don-2 from Excel entertainment for INR „125‟ crores.

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VARIOUS CONNOTATIONS! (CONTD) .. This movie was one of the biggest revenue generators for the entertainment industry. In the world of music too, this

figure marked as the highest numbers of covers to be made for any song. “You raise me up” sung by Irish singer Brian

Kennedy was featured in the movie “Once in a Red Moon” was covered 125 times in the history so far. In the enter-

tainment industry this may be recalled as a deal value or the highest covers to be released but for some, this value may

be targets and can be set as a mission. For instance, Celio, the premium menswear is planning to reach the total turn-

over of INR 125 crores by the year 2012.

This number will definitely remind one about the smooth ride on the 201km long national highway “125” from Sitar-

ganj to Pithoragarh in one of the beautiful state of our country, Uttarakhand. Apart from the national highways, in poli-

tics this number was visible on 28th December, 2010 when the largest political party of the world, Indian National

Congress, celebrated its “125th” anniversary and created a history by becoming the oldest party of this world. The

“125th” day of a non leap year falls on May 5 which has seen the birth of Guru Amar Das, Karl Marx, the famous

singer Chris brown and many more. But this day has also seen the great losses like the death of the 12th president of

Nigeria-Umaru Musa, Jean Astruc, Mikhail and Naushad Ali. Indian numerologist finds this number to be unlucky as

the sum of 1, 2 and 5 is 8 which is considered to be inauspicious while for Chinese this number is considered to be the

luckiest. Any number can never be lucky or unlucky as so far we have seen that this number was boon for some while

bane for others. This figure revolves around every individual, industry and even the gaming zone. How can one forget

the super Mario game which is also said to have a maximum of „125‟ stars!

One may feel that he is trapped by the number „125‟ as it is around us every second. A number gets a life when one

adds any suffix to it like hours, crores, stars, km/hr or any unit and the whole meaning of the context changes. One may

interpret it just as a number while one may find it to be the target to be achieved and for some it may be the highest

range of speed. It‟s just that the style of definition changes but the end goal remains the same, that is, number „125‟!

THE IBS TIMES

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BOURSES: THE ROLLER COASTER RIDE NEVER ENDS -SAINYAM KUMAR

After pondering a lot over how to link 125 to something of my interest, I thought of writing on something that has

seen everything in the last 125 weeks, something that has reached its abyss and pinnacle in the last 125 weeks and

what better to write than our own stock markets (it applies to the global markets but I will concentrate on Indian mar-

kets here). The fairytale of 21K ended with the real estate bubble bursting in the US and sending waves throughout the

world. It was said that the fundamentals of India were strong enough to withstand these waves but the herd mentality

and panic among the investors led to sliding of the Indian markets. The bankruptcy of Lehmann Brothers, the bailout

package of GE and the collapse of hedge funds did not have as high a correlation with the Indian markets as was being

reflected. The bear could not be tamed and the cautiousness reached to such a peak that the markets were trading in

the range of 8K during November 2008.

The US recession hangover took at least 4 months to go before investors finally came to senses to realize that markets

were so undervalued that the opportunities of value buying were at its peak. Mid-

2009 saw the bulls coming back into the picture. The run was so strong that the

markets reached 17k within three months. The period after that remained range

bound with the trades happening mostly within the range of 16K-17K for the next 6

months and it was only in April 2010 that the bourses almost touched 18000 but

slipped back within the above range. July 2010 is when the indices finally looked

like moving towards the pre-„recession‟ era.

Developing markets soon became the magnets for FIIs and capital started pumping the indices again. The sentiments

were positive, the 52-weeks high were being broken and money generator was started again. The markets cleared the

testing waters of 18K, 19K and leaped pass the big 20K mark as well.

A strong and stable government and an undying consumption made India a win-win situation for all the investors. The

market pundits started predicting a movement beyond the huge 21K. This was the time when a number of IPOs were

launched in India. These IPOs had two underlying characteristics:

Oversubscription: Almost all of them got oversubscribed at least 5X. (Jubilant Foodworks ended at over 31X while

Coal India at 15.2X.)

Opening day gains: Most of these IPOs made a killing on their opening day by being listed at a huge premium to the

issue price.

Even the Government of India found this as an attractive opportunity divest in some of its unit and make the deficits

good.

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BOURSES: THE ROLLER COASTER RIDE NEVER ENDS (CONTD)..

THE IBS TIMES

The investors welcomed all these moves with open arms and the rosy picture continued. To add to this were the posi-

tive IIP numbers and falling unemployment data.

All this while The States was still trying to come out of the recession but winning the consumer and investor confi-

dence was just not happening. This made investors choose the emerging economies as the best place to park their

funds.

But 21K was the milestone that we were not destined to cross this time well. 21004 was the peak and the number be-

came the bad omen again. Starting off with the 2G scam which resulted in a loss of $39billion to the exchequer, the

CAG scam, the delayed Cairn-Vedanta deal and the UPA Government soon became the corruption machine. The po-

litical stability took a hit and the markets took a southward trend. January 2011 witnessed the fall from the elusive

20000 mark and tried to offer some support at that level. But the supply shocks started putting inflationary pressures

like never before. Headline inflation reached an all time high of 16% in January

2011, forcing the RBI to intervene by increasing the interest rates. The rates were in-

creased not once, not twice but eleven times and the inflationary tiger could still not

be tamed. The numbers did come down to 9% but remained much above the tolerant

levels. The SENSEX had come back to 17K-18K by now.

The international gods assured that the grey clouds became darker for the Indian mar-

kets with the oil shocks coming from Libya, pushing the crude price to almost $150/

barrel. The torch was carried forward by European economies tasting the waters of

default. The devil started with Ireland, spread to Greece and eventually took Europe‟s third largest economy, Italy into

its wings as well. The tsunami and nuclear reaction in Japan and S&P downgrading US‟s credit rating with a negative

outlook were nothing short of a jewel in the crown of the international „conspiracy‟ against the Indian bourses.

August 2011 and we fell back in the 16K range. The international signals are still red but the interest rate cycle seems

to have almost reached its end now and Anna‟s issue of Jan Lokpal has ended as well. Let us hope that the bulls come

back in the markets and throw the „lazy‟ bears out.

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125 MEANS TO ME?! - RISHABH LAL

THE IBS TIMES

125 or CXXV signifies the next big thing to me. Gone are the days when milestones were restricted to 50 or 100 only. Don‟t you

find yourself saying that I am 125% sure, quite often these days? This signifies something of which you are sure and stand no

chance to lose.

I can almost picture 125 being the new benchmark to be used in cricket also. Celebrating milestones such as 50 or 100 would

seem like an archaic notion. Seeing the shorter versions of the game gaining widespread acceptance, raising your bat at each mul-

tiple of 25, with the ultimate feat of reaching 125 or 250 would come as a welcome change to remove 100 from the throne it has

been sitting on for so long.

125 is all about being a little more than perfect. The monopoly of 100 is over now. You want to break the tradition of having a

perfect score of 100. Taking nothing away from 100, let us go into flashback 125 years ago.

Its year 1886,

Frédéric Bartholdi designed a statue, which was gifted to the United States by France. This statue

was called “The Statue of Liberty”. Till this day, it is an icon of freedom and United States. This

year it is celebrating its 125th anniversary.

Its year 1886,

A pharmacist by the name of John Stith Pemberton invented an aerated beverage. The formula was

bought and sold under the name of Coca Cola. Today it is a $35 billion revenue generating company and

is synonymous with the word cold drink (remember thanda matlab Coca Cola!!).

Its year 1886, Karl Benz produced the first prototype of „Benz Patent Motorwagen‟, which is now better

known as Mercedes Benz. The company earned revenue of €97.76 billion approximately in 2010. Mer-

cedes is class, elegance personified. Its cars still leave the consumers in awe with each model better than

the previous one.

Its year 2011,And here we are still with our fetish of the 100. It is time we moved on and made 125 the

new pinnacle. With improved medical facilities, living till 100 is becoming a common task nowadays.

So we see that already 100 is losing its sheen. And I am sure 125 is ready to fill in those shoes. We have seen that in the past 125

years the world has got Statue of Liberty, Coca Cola, and Mercedes Benz. I do not know about the first one, but living without the

other two would not be too much fun. But what will be the drawback if we replace 125 to 100? I can only see one problem.

Cracking CAT would be even more onerous than now. Already to get into the blue blooded institutions you need a perfect per-

centile, but now striving for 125 percentile brings a whole new lot of things to the table.

All in all, I look forward to see 125 as the next big thing. As they say, to go that extra mile, lets see that if we are up, to go that

extra 25? They did it in year 1886, but are we ready to do that in 2011? History will be a witness to that.

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COMPANIES IN OPERATION FOR 125 YEARS - SWATI VERMA As said by the famous American author, Napoleon Hills, “Ideas are the beginning points of all fortunes.” let us commemorate the

125th issue of The IBS Times by honoring these brilliant ideas which have completed 125 successful years in the intensely com-

petitive global arena.

Let us celebrate the success of the top companies which have made their presence felt for the last 125 years and still continue to

do so.

DABUR

Dabur India Limited is a leading Indian consumer goods company with interests in Hair

Care, Oral Care, Health Care, Skin Care, Home Care and Foods. From its modest beginnings

in Calcutta way back in 1884 as an Ayurvedic medicines company under the leadership of Dr.

S K Burman, Dabur India Ltd has come a long way today to become a leading consumer prod-

ucts manufacturer in India. For the past 125 years, it has been fulfilling the requirements of

people across nations for natural, safe and healthy products thus providing a holistic lifestyle

option that keeps people away from the stress and anxiety that the new working culture has

brought along. The company has enjoyed the AAA ratings awarded by CRISIL depicting its

strong financial discipline and prudence.

The TATA Group

Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in The Bombay

House in Mumbai, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capi-

talization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engi-

neering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The group takes the

name of its founder, Jamsedji Tata, a member of whose family has almost invariably been the

chairman of the group. The 2009, annual survey by the Reputation Institute ranked Tata

Group as the 11th most reputable company in the world. The Tata Group has helped establish

and finance numerous quality research, educational and cultural institutes in India. The group

was awarded the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2007 in recognition of its long history of

philanthropic activities. In June 2011, based on market value Tata Group has become India's wealthiest group with $98.7 billion.

The Braj Binani Group

From trading to manufacturing to global operations, the story of the Binani Group is a saga of

pioneering efforts and path breaking initiatives. Today the Braj Binani Group is a diversified,

business house with interests in zinc, cement, glass fiber, composites, project management ser-

vices, construction etc. and with an expanding global footprint.

THE IBS TIMES

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COMPANIES IN OPERATION FOR 125 YEARS (CONTD)..

It truly epitomizes the growing aspirations of modern Indian business. The journey began with Binani Industries Limited (BIL), an

ambitious organization that aimed to be a pioneer in all its endeavors and set benchmarks while focusing on sustainable growth.

This ensured the progress and transformation of BIL from its humble beginnings to its present day global stature. The Braj Binani

Group traces its beginnings to 1872 .This enterprise grew from strength to strength from Binani Metal Works at Howrah to, China

and Dubai, the Braj Binani Group is now envisioning to explore newer global horizons. The Braj Binani Group is a multidimen-

sional business conglomerate, with a Net Global Asset Value of $521 million, Net Income of $ 603 million and a 1700 - strong

professional, committed workforce. After establishing its footprint firmly in India, China and Dubai, the Braj Binani Group is now

envisioning to explore newer global horizons. Setting its sights on emerging markets like South Africa, East Africa and Mauritius,

the Group is endeavoring to establish a strong network of Binani Cement presence across the globe.

COCA COLA COMPANY

On May 8, 1886, a pharmacist named Dr. John Pemberton carried a jug of Coca-Cola syrup to Jacobs‟

Pharmacy in downtown Atlanta, where it was mixed with carbonated water and sold for five cents a

glass. From humble beginnings 125 years ago, the Company has evolved from one product -- Coca-

Cola -- to more than 500 brands in 2011. It has grown from selling a modest 9 drinks a day in 1886 to

1.7 billion a day and has expanded from one city in one country to availability in more than 200 coun-

tries around the world. During the second quarter of 2011, it delivered solid operating results driven by

strong volume growth of 4.5 percent and pricing growth of 3.0 percent. Solid marketplace execution,

planned promotional activity, particularly surrounding the 125th anniversary of the Coca-Cola brand,

strong performance of the Coca-Cola trademark and other sparkling beverage brands, and favorable

weather conditions early in the quarter were the primary drivers of its volume performance.

THE IBS TIMES

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THE IBS TIMES 1 TO 5 DEVELOPED + DEVELOPING COUNTRIES - AVINASH ROY & KRITIKA SETHI

Today almost everyone across the world is curious about the importance and role played by his/her respective nation. Everyone

wants to know where his/her country actually stands among the other nations of this world. This curiosity tends to further enhance

our thirst to know more about the developed and developing nations around the globe which would ultimately assist by acting as a

reference for their comparison. So to discuss about the scenario of different nations, we need to classify them into two broad hori-

zons of developed and developing nations. The countries that are portrayed as developed nations of today might not hold the same

position and power tomorrow. So, the features of the so called dominating G5 nations and the role and emergence of BRICS na-

tions as the leaders in future is what we would be discussing in this article.

G5 is actually the name given to the 5 industrialized nations that meet periodically to achieve a co-operative effort on interna-

tional economic and monetary issues. It includes France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom and the United States of America.

U.S.A :

The economic history of US has witnessed the shift from successful colonies to a small and inde-

pendent agrarian economy in 1776. After 180 years of independence, it is successfully pioneering

world with almost quarter of the world‟s economy under its purview. The reasons of vibrant and

spiralling economy is a large unified market, supportive political legal system, vast areas of produc-

tive farmlands, a cultural landscape that valued entrepreneurship and commitment to invest in mate-

rial and human capital. Small businesses and entrepreneurs are approx. $154.5 million and is the

largest employment sector that is 53% of US workers. Large business houses employs 38% of total

workforce. US are a supreme power. Lot many people are still unemployed till date due to the reper-

cussions of the global crisis.

JAPAN:

Since 1960, Japan has experienced rapid economic growth. It is the second largest economy from

1968 untill 2010. In second half of 1980‟s, rising stock and real-estate prices had bubbled the econ-

omy. The bubble was crashed due to the downfall of Tokyo stock exchange in 1990-1992. The vol-

canic island country has inadequate natural resources to support large population, so it resorts majorly

to imports. Agriculture, fishing were the best developed resources in the past era. In the contemporary

period, manufacturing and processing industries are the major catalysts in the growth of the economy.

The strategy of economic development was necessitated by the establishment of strong economic in-

frastructure to provide the needed energy, transportation, communication and technological know-

how.

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1 TO 5 DEVELOPED + DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (CONTD)..

THE IBS TIMES

GERMANY

Germany is the largest national economy in Europe, the fourth largest in nominal GDP in

the world, and fifth by GDP (PPP) in 2008. Since the age of industrialisation, the country

has been a driver, innovator, and beneficiary of an ever more globalised econ-

omy. Germany is the world‟s second largest exporter with $1.120 trillion, €750 billion

exported in 2009 (Euro zone countries are included). Ex Germany is relatively poor in raw

materials. The service sectors contribute around 70% of the total GDP, industry 29.1%,

and agriculture 0.9%. Most of the country's products are in engineering, especially in

automobiles, machinery, metals, and chemical goods. Germany is the leading producer of

wind turbines and solar power technology in the world. The largest annual international

trade fairs and congresses are held in several German cities such as Hanover, Frankfurt,

and Berlin.

UNITED KINGDOM:

U.K. is the sixth largest economy in terms of GDP (nominal) and seventh largest in Pur-

chasing-Power-Parity (PPP). London is the world‟s largest financial centre along with

New York. It was the most prominent country in the nineteenth century and the first coun-

try to reap the benefits of globalisation and industrialisation. Its major sectors are agricul-

ture, hunting, forestry and fishing. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised and effi-

cient as per the European standards, producing about 60% of food needs. It also reported

that the economy is flexible to grow in the future and that household debts and poor ex-

ports were large growth-reducing factors, as well as its financial sector. It is the worst hit

by recession and is still not able to revive from losses.

FRANCE:

France is the fifth largest economy as per PPP and second largest by nominal GDP.

Heading industrial sectors in France are telecommunications, aero-space, defence, ship-

building, pharmaceuticals, construction, and civil engineering, chemical and automobile

production. It is the leading country in nuclear energy and on the other hand the second

largest agriculture exporter. Gifted by a rich heritage, it is the world‟s top tourist destina-

tion with more than 8.9 million foreign tourists coming there as per 2007.

All these 5 countries are G5 countries which are considered to be supreme on the economic front. In the past few years, the

world has seen a drastic shift from these first world countries to the BRIC countries. But, these two groups are mutually inter-

dependent on and have worked for the betterment. They can be categorised under parallel economy, who have worked hand-in-

hand for the cause of development of humanity.

BRIC is an acronym stated by Jim O‟Neill in 2001 and it refers to the four most important emerging countries of the world: Bra-

zil, Russia, India and China. South Africa was officially admitted as a member nation on December 24, 2010 after being for-

mally invited by China and the other BRIC countries to join the group. The group was renamed BRICS to reflect the now-five-

nation membership, with an „S‟ for South Africa appended to the acronym. Political dialogue between the BRIC countries began

in New York in September 2006, with a meeting of the BRIC foreign ministers.

These five countries are experiencing a huge growth and it is expected that, by the year 2050, the combined economies of the

BRICS nations could become among the five most dominant economies of the world. They are being though as the engines of

today‟s world economy and some business-people think that this prediction of the BRICS becoming the major economic force

has been moved closer to year 2025.

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1 TO 5 DEVELOPED + DEVELOPING COUNTRIES (CONTD)..

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Disclaimer- This newsletter is just a compilation of news from various sources. Thus, readers are expected to cross-check the facts before

relying upon them. Though much care has been taken to present the facts without error, still if errors creep in, necessary feed

back will be always welcomed. Editors will not be responsible for any undertakings. The newsletter is not meant for sale and

hence, no part of the newsletter should be used without the prior permission of the editorial team.

Sources- The Economics Times, The Hindu Business Line, Times of India, Business Standard, Financial Ex-press, Financial Times,

Business Week, Business World, The Economist, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Reuters, Moneycontrol.com, Vccircle.com,

yahoofinance.com, Business Today, India Today, Investopedia.com, Wikipedia.com, DNA, The Deccan Chronicle, The Hindu,

The Tele-graph.

EDITORIAL TEAM-

ADHIRAJ SOOD, NITIKA THAKUR, NITIN ARORA, RAJAT MONGA, SAINYAM KUMAR, SANDEEP ASRANI, SANYA DHAWAN, SHILPA MALHOTRA, SUPRIYA MAMGAIN TANIYA BANERJEE, VASUNDHARA ARORA.

THE IBS TIMES

BRICS countries are the fastest growing and largest emerging countries of the world and

they are the future. They together combine 40% of the global population, 25% of the land

mass and their GDP combined account for 66% of the GDP of the United Stated. What is

more, since trade happens globally, the share of the BRICS nations in this world trade has

increased over the years: in 2001 the BRICS accounted for just 7% of the world trade, but

by 2008 their share had increased to almost 13%.

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa are today bigger than ever before and they

play an essential role in the current world. It is therefore of vital importance to start hearing

their voices and start taking coordinated and global measures between all countries of the world, in order to create a

more sustainable, sociable and human world. The BRICS are emerging superpowers and they will become global su-

perpowers. Nobody is sure whether they will surpass the expectations, but there is no doubt that they have become

more important today than before.

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