A Year in the life of an MBA

 

- Moneeka Lodha MBA I Year

➤  How does a year in the life of an MBA student look like?

 Since so many aspiring students  want to know what to expect  from a new normal MBA degree, I thought to share with you all, my experience of the first year of my MBA from one of the top B-schools in Pune – Indira Global Business School ( IGBS )

Though, each person's experience will vary based on his or her educational background, work experience, undergraduate degree, graduate school, course selection, and interests. Nevertheless, I am sure that My Learnings will give you a general idea as to the classes, activities, workload and learnings you can expect.

➤ My Learnings

 

●Considering my profile, Being a fresher I was so overwhelmed with the network I had ( my faculties, seniors and peers) also the types and quality of competitions and events which were being conducted throughout the year, though all were virtual, but the energy was more contagious than Covid-19.

● In your MBA, you get very different perspectives of the simplest things, concepts like SWOT analysis and A/B testing make you think like a thinker at the same time as an analyst too. You would never find an MBA in your B-school including faculties, who had not accomplished something extraordinary that you always would feel amazed by getting to know such amazing personalities beside you, who are always there to guide you, support you and motivate you to go beyond your limits.

➤ Our suspicious mindset in the second wave of Covid-19 

  ● In the nutshell, the best thing I loved about my MBA is "Opportunities I got". In the beginning, our Batch was so worried that we would not get any practical experience of an MBA which is supposed to be the most important thing in grooming an MBA, we used to curse our fate, saying when our college would start, when would we get to experience our offline MBA, when would we meet our friends to whom we have seen only on Zoom and teams calls, also sometimes we used to feel agitated and painful to focus continuously on laptop for the prolonged time for better understanding of the important concepts of accounts and microeconomics.

 ➤ We got the results 

 But after our first semester,  we could see the results coming on our way and felt the sense of fulfillment and resentment of our MBA that we are exposed to great opportunities and fruitful results as in :-

 ➤ What I learnt in first year  MBA?

1. Each of us got a couple of live projects which have given us hands on experience for our corporate lives.
2. We all have done at least one internship in our area of interest, like HR, Finance, Marketing, Sales, Operations, Digital marketing etc.
3. 
   Even if the Market situation was worse, most of us  got an internship and very soon we have realised that it's the result of our boosted self-confidence and enhanced skills which we have acquired in the form of brainstorming, interactive lectures, insightful guest lectures and practical certification courses from our experienced faculties and corporate training agencies. 

4.  Each of us have got delivered more than 20 presentations and solved at least 50 case studies, have written number of research reports and dedicated hours for lots of assignments, taken part in group discussions, some worked in placements cells and committees, now getting spoon feeded the concepts of aptitude and domain subject, as well as interview skills, which will be reaping sweet and delicious fruits for our late night hangovers and early morning productive screen times as in our good placements.
   

5. An MBA can enhance your marketability as a professional and increase the quality and quantity of chances of job opportunities.

6. I believe that an MBA degree makes you proficient in handling managerial positions. You can even use your abilities and enhanced skills to create a business from scratch and take the path of an entrepreneur.

➤ A day in the life of an MBA

So long story short, you will find an MBA doing market research in the morning and making ppt in the afternoon, giving presentation on consumer behavior then submitting group project of SEO in the evening, studying personal finance and industries at night, making flow chart of product mix in the dreams and waking up with the anxiety, for the next day's interview, also getting a wholesome smile for the accomplishments, but enjoying the thrill of all with his squad.   

 ➤ Some new normal sentences which I learnt in my MBA first year 

 Mam, attendance link !

Am I audible and visible?

Sir, my Mike is not working :(

Network distortion ;)

You are on mute, please unmute yourself */

Make an another whatsapp group xD

Let's catch up on zoom :)

  

Blog By

 -Moneeka Lodha. 

MBA  I Year
Indira Global Business School, Pune.

The author can be reached by mail 

at moneeka.lodha@indiragbs.edu.in

 

 

 

eRUPI: India's Digital Currency

 

-Vijaykumar Patil MBA I YEAR

On 2^nd August 2021, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched e-RUPI, a prepaid e-voucher scheme. It is developed by National Payment Corporation of India (NPCL). It is a cashless and contactless instrument for digital payment.

It connects the sponsors (the one who pays the money) of the services with the beneficiaries (receiver of the service) and the service providers digitally. It does not need any intermediary for completing the transaction. The beneficiary is not required to have a bank account to avail the service provided by the sponsor. He or she just need to have a mobile phone. The beneficiary will receive an SMS and by showing that SMS, he or she can redeem the e-voucher.

Earlier, money for the welfare schemes used to come through many intermediaries like government officers. There was a great chance of corruption and getting money lesser than the allotted amount. In order to avoid this, the government had brought DBT that is Direct Benefit Transfer. Through DBT the government was able to transfer the money for welfare schemes to directly the beneficiary’s bank accounts. Although the DBT scheme is a good option to transfer the subsidy money, it has some issues like the beneficiary needs to have a bank account, money allotted for the welfare schemes could be misused, money given to one person could be used by another person.

The e-RUPI is a purpose specific e-voucher, that means t

he person can get only that service for which the voucher is issued. This feature also makes the e-RUPI safe and leak proof as there will not be any intermediaries. There will not be any delay for payments from the sponsor as the e voucher is prepaid, the money is already allotted for the service offered.

This new e-RUPI is very useful for the government welfare schemes. Let’s say the government has given fertilizer subsidy to a farmer. When the government gives subsidy for the fertilizer to a farmer, he will get the e-RUPI voucher to buy the fertilizer. This e-RUPI voucher will be in the form of a QR-code or an SMS. The farmer will go to the fertilizer shop, show the shopkeeper the QR-code. The shopkeeper will scan the QR-code, the farmer will then get the OTP on his mobile phone. After entering the OTP, the fertilizer vendor will get the money and the farmer will get the fertilizer.

This e-RUPI voucher can also be used by the private corporations. Let’s say there is a transportation company. It transports some goods by trucks. The company owner gives money to the truck driver to refill the fuel. There is a chance that the truck driver does not use all the money to fill the fuel and keeps some money with himself. In order to avoid this loss, the owner can issue the e-RUPI voucher for refilling the fuel to all the drivers. Drivers can then fill the fuel with those vouchers. This will also be easier for the drivers, as all this process will be contactless, they will not be needed to

carry any cash.

The experts are describing this e-RUPI launch as the first step towards India’s own digital currency. The government will assess the response to this scheme before launching its digital currency. Even without the future prospect of this becoming the digital currency, this standalone voucher scheme is a good move by the government. 

Vijaykumar Hanumant Patil 

MBA 1st Year

INDIRA GLOBAL BUSINESS SCHOOL ,PUNE

The Author Can be reached by mail at Vijaykumar.Patil@indiragbs.edu.in 

 

 

 

 

Healthy Life Style in Corporate Life

 

- Sakshi Tickoo MBA Ist Year

It all started in 2017 when I started my journey as a Java Developer with Fidel IT Services. As a fresher, I was joyful to start this journey. We used to learn technical stuff while working, but most of us were neglecting our own health, which was the root cause of many health issues.

However over a period of time, I gradually realised the importance of taking care of own health. Here are some of the common health issues which I and some of my colleagues were suffering from.

➲ Eye Strain: 

Since today’s work require working in front of a desktop/laptop all day, most employees develop eye strain. Eye strain is commonly associated with dry eyes and a painful sensation. It happens as a result of staring into the computer screen for a long period of time. The 20-20-20 rule has helped me to overcome this.

It is very simple and doable rule in which after every 20 minutes, look away from your screen and stare at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds. This reduces stress on your eye and can combat the negative effects of digital devices.

Apart from this, we can keep the brightness low and increase the font size which can reduce eye strain.

➲ Keep Hydrated: 

In the mission of completing targets we forget to drink water. Employees always do this at the cost of their health. It can cause dehydration etc. Don’t forget to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day. Try to avoid sugary beverages like Soda, energy drinks etc.

➲ Obesity:

Obesity in the workplace occurs because of unhealthy eating issues, lack of exercise, stress, sedentary lifestyle etc. PCOS is one of the major effects faced by Women due to sudden weight gain.  A whole day of just sitting in front of a desktop doesn't favour weight loss. To overcome, have meals on time (obviously no junk only healthy food), don’t skip breakfast and lunch, exercise, use office gyms, practice yoga or anything which you think can make sure you won’t gain sudden weight.  

➲ Maintaining work-life balance:

 In most of the Indian organizations, the workday starts somewhere between 9am and 11am and finishes anywhere between 6pm to 10pm. So hardly employers get time for family, hobbies or to maintain personal activities. How we can handle this is:

•        Focus only on wo
rk in working hours but don’t think about your work when you switch off your laptop.

•        Plan a vacation once in a year.

•        Work mostly in the morning and make evening free for your family.

➲ Stress and Mental Health: 

It is a key finding of one of the surveys that 67% employees think about work even when they are not at work. Stress related illness is common- lack of sleep, depression, anxiety and depression.

To get rid of this, meditate at least for 10minutes, spend time with positive people, surround yourself with people who will make you grow, follow your passion, can read spiritual books which brings positivity and helps you know about the ultimate reality.

  I am currently in my first year of MBA course at Indira Global Business School. I quit my job in the corporate sector and became student once again .Being a student once again has given me a new lease of life which has helped me to get rid of many complaints about my health.

There is a saying, if wealth is lost, nothing is lost but if health is lost everything is lost. You cannot enjoy the beauty of life if you are not healthy. So, take good care of yourself, Enjoy this beautiful life. Good luck and Cheers!!

 

Blog By

Sakshi Tickoo

MBA I Year

Indira Global Business School, Pune.

The author can be reached by mail at (sakshi.tickoo@indiragbs.edu.in)