India 4th In B-School Destinations List

That the US and the UK are the most popular destinations for management studies is not big news. But the findings of a survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which conducts GMAT, a B-school entrance test used globally, have thrown up some surprises.

Number 4 on the list of the Top 10 preferred destinations for B-school aspirants is India, with Canada at No 3. Israel and Spain are the other surprise entrants.

According to experts, India's foray into the elite league has a lot to do with the emergence of institutions such as the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad, which was ranked No. 12 globally in the Financial Times ( London) Global MBA rankings earlier this year. The IIMs, which use GMAT as an entrance test for their executive MBA programmes, are also responsible for India's popularity.

Although making it to the US has, for long, been the great Indian dream, it is not the only North American country that's attracting desi students. Many are now making a beeline for Canada, which not only has a robust economy and liberal visa policies but also promises good job prospects. ''In testing year 2010, India was the top foreign country that sent score reports to Canadian graduate management programmes,'' reveals GMAC's survey.

Supreme Court - Managements free to fix hours of work

The Supreme Court said that courts must exercise restraint and refrain from interfering with functions of the managements that involve administrative decisions including fixing of the working hours.

"In our opinion, fixing of hours of work, provided they do not violate any statutory provision or statutory rule, are really management functions and this court must exercise restraint and not ordinarily interfere with such management functions," said a bench of Justice Markandey Katju and Justice Gyan Sudha Misra in their judgment delivered Monday, but only made available Friday.

The bench's ruling came as it disallowed an appeal by the Transport and Dock Workers Union of Mumbai Port Trust on two different and discriminatory working hours of typist-cum-computer clerks, before and after Nov 1, 1996.

Those appointed before Nov 1, 1996, had to put in seven hours' work during the day which also included half an hour lunch break, while those appointed after this date had to put in eight hours of work with half an hour lunch break.

The union had contended that this was discriminatory and violated the Article 14 of the constitution providing for equality before law. The management of the Mumbai Port Trust said that it had to resort to these working hours because of the stiff competition from private players.