The India For Me In 2018

Thankfully Android is still in fashion and I did not have to get a new phone this year.

Successes are created more in social media.

MeToo stories in every generation.

Whatsapp causes a blur between fake and real.

From birthday/festive greetings on phone to whatsapp messages. The voice of friends and families less heard.

More Indians acknowledge the power of yoga

Cows got the same status as man or maybe more.

Media told me that BJP was only about cows, Hindutva and temples.

Rahul Gandhi/Congress suddenly emerge as the most caring and honest government.

Vijay Mallya tweets that he is desperate to pay his loans but no one wants it. They only want to see his face on Indian shores.

A slight likelihood of a Mallya in Jet next year?

Work productivity dipped to a low with everyone watching youtube videos of the 3 big Indian weddings – Priyanka, Ambani and Deepika.

At least the “Cow” concentration got everyone now veering towards our very own rich Gir Cow milk but still very expensive.

And its organic, organic, organic food all the way.

Still confused why my mutual funds did not earn me more than what I would have earned if put in fixed deposits. 

Stock Market Investments for the common man has to be very, very long term.

People are learning how to segregate wet and dry garbage

Long lived Mumbaikars are all talking of one thing – Building Redevelopment and corpus money.

Even in the worst economic depression, Mumbai property prices will only rise and cause its worst depression in families with more property fights.

I am waiting for the day when a 9 to 5 job becomes a 9 to 5 job

Most friends’ kids going abroad for studies and perhaps they never come back?

The Mumbai Metro construction saw traffic jams and dust and pollution through the year.

Netflix and Hotstar is entertainment now

Heaven got a lot more crowded this year.

A great actor Sridevi passes away in a bath tub and we only hope it was a natural death.

Sunanda Pushkar’s death case did not move much this year and still remains a mystery. 

Finally Arnab Goswami’s voice only became louder from Times to Republic. And still India did not know what the discussions were about.

Why Do Acquisitions Prove Fatal For Airlines?

Another good and leading airline that seems to be crashing is Jet Airways. The reason as always given is the rising cost of Aviation Turbine Fuel and the usual story of high taxes.

But never quite understood the Jet Airways downhill story. Before 2012, it was the leading airline and it was making operational profits. After 2014 started the decline. This was two years after it sold its 24% stake to Etihad in 2012 for Rs 2,000 cr.

So in an environment when other airlines like Air India are on the uphill post its restructuring and Indigo and others are not very bad off, what makes Jet suffer the most. We know that its entry into the Gulf routes did not work as it should. But is that the complete reason?

Why is it that post acquisitions, airlines, seem to come crashing down. Air India went into losses post Indian Airlines takeover, Kingfisher post Air Deccan takeover and now Jet Airways.

What does this experience in the aviation sector tell us or how do management schools look at this trend?

On one hand what kind of due diligence is done to ensure that stake sales and acquisitions are indeed beneficial in the long run?

On the other are we to believe that airlines cannot create any kind of buffer for fluctuating ATF prices?

It is important to address these issues as there is a whole generation of youth who come into this industry, give their heart and soul to make a career here and suddenly everything erupts in the air. Jobs are lost, salaries remain unpaid and so many go unemployed after putting in the best years of their life.

We have seasoned economists talking about how the government should privatise Air India and that is the best for everyone. Will that indeed solve the problem when private airlines are themselves bleeding?

Where lies the solution?