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It's
Raining Crores For Indian Professionals
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1C
is passe, 2C is par for the course, 4C is
the elite new club that is swelling when
it comes to professional salaries. Salaries
in India Inc are going through the roof
and the last year has seen close to a dozen
professionals switch to new jobs with fat
annual pay cheques of Rs 4 crore. Feel smug,
if you belong; derive vicarious pleasure,
if you don't. Sample this: According to
sources in the executive search industry,
Raghu Pillai and Gunender Kapoor joined
Reliance Retail for Rs 4.5 crore and Rs
4.2 crore, respectively. Similarly, George
Zacharias joined Yahoo India at Rs 4 crore.
The investment banking plus private equity
(PE) frat saw Munesh Khanna join DSP Merrill
Lynch at Rs 4 crore, Mahesh Chabbria and
Shankar Narayan join 3i and Carlyle, respectively,
at Rs 4.5 crore. Last year, Neeraj Swaroop
joined Standard Chatered Bank for Rs 4 crore
as well. There are others who are knocking
at the doors of the 4C club as well. Recently,
Anil Chawla joined DE Shaw for Rs 3.75 crore
and Mohit Bhatnagar joined Sequoia Capital
at Rs 2.65 crore. Similarly, Rajeev Karwal
joined Reliance Retail at Rs 2 crore and
Firdose Vandrevala joined Motorola at Rs
2.5 crore. These new entrants to the 4C
group show that the club is no longer the
preserve of Indian promoters. Even business
houses like Reliance and Bharti are paying
astronomical salaries. Scarcity of talent
coupled with specialised competency and
new business opportunities are driving salaries
north. "A fraction of the talent in India
earns salaries comparable to the best in
APAC. Indian business houses are doling
out higher salary increases compared to
MNCs across sectors to bridge the gap that
existed previously," says Sandeep Chaudhary,
business consulting leader of HR firm Hewitt.
The talent pool in India is small and a
war for talent is escalating salaries. New
entrants and existing players looking at
new businesses along with new geographies
are forcing employers to hike salaries and
hunt globally as well. "It is professionals
who are commanding top salaries now. It
is not just CEOs, it is pretty common to
see business heads also crossing the crore
mark," says Gangapriya Chakraverti, business
leader, Human Capital Product Solution,
Mercer HR Consulting. But are these huge
salaries sustainable? Hewitt HR Consulting
safely predicts that these salary increases
are sustainable till '09 atleast. Indian
companies are becoming especially competitive
when it comes to luring top executives with
a mix of high basic salary, incentives,
ESOPs and deferred pay. Companies are also
increasingly looking at performance-based
salaries, with variable pay as a percentage
of salaries on the rise.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 31, 2006
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Dailies,
Satellite TV Improve Reach
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There
has been an increase in the reach of the
press, television, radio and the Internet
during the last year, while cinema generally
recorded a decline in audiences, the findings
of the National Readership Study 2006 (NRS
2006) reveal. Dailies had a total readership
of 203.6 million, adding 12.6 million readers
during the year. The print media, that is,
dailies and periodicals combined, had a
readership of 222 million. The study says
urban readers spend 44 minutes a day on
newspapers and rural readers, 35 minutes.
The National Readership Studies Council,
an autonomous division of the Audit Bureau
of Circulations, released the findings of
NRS 2006 in Mumbai on Tuesday. The Times
of India is the most read English daily
with 7.4 million readers. The Hindu is second
with 4.05 million readers. It has overtaken
Hindustan Times, which stands third with
an estimated readership of 3.85 million
readers. Television now reaches 112 million
homes, including 68 million households with
access to cable and satellite TV. Satellite
television grew in reach from 207 million
individuals watching in an average week
in 2005 to 230 million individuals in 2006.
Radio showed a resurgence, with its reach
increasing from 23 per cent to 27 per cent
of the population in an average week. FM
radio led the growth with 119 million listeners,
a 55 per cent rise over last year. The number
of Internet users logging on every week
grew from 7.2 million to 9.4 million, with
faster growth in urban areas. However, the
number of individuals who accessed the Internet
in the last three months was 12.6 million.
The number of mobile phone users accessing
value-added services also rose during the
year.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 30, 2006
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More
Indian Cos Likely to List on AIM of UK
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The
UK-based Alternative Investment Market (AIM)
is increasingly the favoured bourse of choice
for companies, particularly those from emerging
markets, seeking to raise funds. In fact,
analysts point out that the next couple
of years will see a number of Indian firms
listing on the AIM. Currently, there are
only two Indian companies on the AIM - Noida
Toll Bridge and Great Eastern Energy Corporation
- but the number may increase to as high
as 19 in the next year or so, Mr Vishesh
C. Chandiok, Partner and Director - International
Business, Grant Thornton, said. He added
that Grant Thornton itself was currently
advising about 30 Indian companies for listing
on the AIM. Out of these 30, interestingly
12-13 are real estate/retail firms, six
IT/ITeS firms and two pharma companies.
"On an average, these companies are looking
to raise about $30-40 million," Mr Chandiok
said.
Courtesy:
www.thehindubusinessline.com, August 28,
2006
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Mumbai's
Lone Limo Finds The Going Tough
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Nobody
else in this country has what Pradeep Thampi
parks in his garage - a 23-feet long, white
limousine. Thampi, who is into the business
of private air charters, always loved sophisticated
machines. But nothing would have prepared
him for the experience of manoeuvering this
rather large vehicle on the narrow streets
of Mumbai. The toughest part, according
to his chauffeur, Uttam , is taking a U-turn
. For this reason alone, the super-luxurious
vehicle - actually a modified Hyundai Sonata
- has a digital camera fitted for a clear
rearview. "I haven't violated any RTO rules
nor have I deliberately caused any traffic
jams,'' says Thampi, laughing. The limo
also has a U-clamp fitted at the bottom,
the only part of the vehicle that comes
in contact with the concrete surface even
when on a bad road. The car was designed
for Mumbai's infamous roads by Shreyans
Parekh, who is in the Limca Book of Records
for modifying local cars. "The initial idea
behind wanting a limo was to transport my
very select clientele from their Lexus or
Mercedes into the aircraft they charter'',
says Thampi. However, once it was ready,
he fell so much in love with the limo that
he now uses it for personal travel from
his residence in a Lokhandwala highrise
to his office. Uttam was given a week's
intense training by Parekh and had to actually
make blueprints of the different routes
that he can take. Thampi's four-door limo
has it all - a popcorn and cola-holder just
as his son Nikhil and daughter Pranavi wanted
it. It also has two DVD screens, a bar,
a rack to hold six crystal glasses, a portable
table, a walk-in area for the laptop and
a hands-free intercom.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, August 28, 2006
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Indian
Workers go on Strike in Dubai
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Around
140 Indian and Bangladeshi workers in the
Saudi city of Hail have gone on a strike
for the second time in two months demanding
payment of unpaid wages over the past year.
The workers belong to a company which has
a contract with the region's General Directorate
of Health Affairs. They are involved in
the maintenance and cleaning of various
hospitals and healthcare centres in the
region. Indian Consul General Ausaf Sayeed
said that the consulate's labour wing had
been able to solve such problems in the
recent past. "One of the measures we are
taking is to include a representative of
our welfare section in the team headed by
the labour consul that we send to different
regions periodically to address labour issues,"
Sayeed was quoted as saying in Arab News.
"In fact, I will lead the team myself to
places and regions where there are a large
number of Indian workers," he added.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 28, 2006
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Home
Front: Hindujas vs Mittal
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The
Hinduja brothers have acquired a prime property,
which originally belonged to the British
queen, for £58 million. The idea: to spend
another £40-50 million and convert it into
a mansion for their joint family. Though
SP Hinduja and GP Hinduja, chairman and
president respectively of the Hinduja Group,
are based in London, the proposed mansion
at Carlton House Terrace on the Mall, the
road leading to Buckingham Palace, will
also have residential accommodation for
the families of Geneva-based Prakash Hinduja
and Mumbai-based Ashok Hinduja when they
visit London. Acquired from the Crown Estate,
the property with 60 rooms would accommodate
38 members of their extended family, sources
close to the Hindujas said. Once completed,
in three years time, the 'palace' is likely
to outstrip the value of Lakshmi Mittal's
house in Kensington Palace Gardens, said
the Sunday Times. In any case with 62,000
sq ft of living space, it will have 12,000
sq ft more area than the Mittal home. Mittal
had paid £70 million to Bernie Ecclestone,
motor-racing's powerbroker, for the house
in west London. The renovation of the Carlton
House Terrace, the former head office of
the Crown Estate, will cost the Hindujas
almost £800 per sq ft. So far the most expensive
interiors in London have cost £400 per sq
ft but the Terrace comprises of offices,
so more money will be needed for conversion
into luxurious living areas. This will include
32 bedrooms, one living room, dining room
and kitchen -- because the brothers plan
to have their meals together. The property
has an impressive history. Its past residents
have included Earl Grey, whose family gave
their name to the tea, and William Gladstone,
the Liberal PM.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, August 28, 2006
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Four
NRIs Among S'pore's Richie Rich
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Here's
another example of the growing wealth among
the non-resident Indians. And no, these
are not the already well known names like
Lakshmi Mittal, Swraj Paul and Indra Nooyi,
but relatively lesser known Indians who
have struck gold in the eatern part of the
world. Four NRIs - Murli Kewalram Chanrai,
Mustaq Ahmad , Sudhir Gupta and Kartar Singh
Thakral - figure in the latest Forbes list
of Singapore's Top 40 Rich List. The four
Indian expats are collectively worth $1.54
billion, which accounts for more than 5%
of the combined net worth of $28 billion
accumulated by Singapore's 40 richest people.
Chanrai - ranked the richest Indian in Singapore
- is the head of the $3 billion Kewalram
Chanrai Group, while Ahmad is the owner
of the hugely popular Mustafa Centre in
Little India. Gupta, on the other hand,
is a tyre tycoon who made it big is Russia,
while and Thakral is into textiles and IT
peripherals. The 83-year-old Chanrai was
placed seventh among the list of Singapore's
Riche Rich with a net worth of $880 million
. His Kewalram Chanrai Group is held privately
by overseas Indian family trusts and is
part of the 150-year-old Chanrai empire.
From a humble beginning in trading business
in India and Nigeria in 1860, the family
business has grown into a conglomerate with
business spanning across textiles, commodities
, international trade, IT and real estate
spanning over 45 countries. Next in line
is 47-year-old Sudhir Gupta, who has been
ranked as Singapore's 13th richest person
with a net worth of $320 million. Gupta,
a Singapore citizen and a PhD in agricultural
chemistry from Russia, started with a tyre
company in Moscow. After acquiring a Dutch
company , he formed Amtel-Vredestein , a
tyre company which was listed on London
Stock Exchange last year. Kartar Singh Thakral,
who has been ranked 25th with a net worth
of $175 million, joined his family trading
business in 1949. His empire spans across
various businesses , including the Singapore-listed
Thakral Corp, that distributes technology
gears for products like iPods in China and
India. The Thakral Group made a humble begining
with 'Punjab Store' in Bangkok in 1905.
Mustaq Ahmad, who happens to be the last
among the four Indians at the 27th position
with a net worth of $165 million, is the
owner of one of Singapore's famous landmarks
- the Mustafa Centre. Fifty five-year-old
Ahmad runs a bustling store in Singapore's
Little India called Mustafa Centre, which
is stuffed with more than 150,000 items
ranging from beds to spices. The store was
opened in 1971.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 28, 2006
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First
Trinidad And Tobago President of Indian
Origin Dies
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The
first Indian origin President of Trinidad
and Tobago, Justice Noor Hassanali has passed
away. He died on Thursday in his sleep at
his Westmoorings home, ten kilometres from
Port-of-Spain. He was 88. Hassanali, the
first Indo-Trinidadian to become President
of Trinidad and Tobago served two terms
as the Head of State from 1987 to 1997.
Prior to his election as the President,
he served as a High Court judge and lectured
at the Hugh Wooding School of Law, University
of the West Indies. He was also the first
Muslim to become Head of State in the Caribbean,
Latin and South America. Hassanli was ailing
for the past two years and was buried under
strict Muslim rites on Friday afternoon.
The former President is survived by his
wife, a son and a daughter. Before his demise,
he had requested a private funeral, and
an inter-religious service afterwards,"
to thank God for life." Trinidad and Tobago
Prime Minister Patrick Manning and Leader
of the Opposition United National Congress,
Winston Dookeran also paid tributes to his
high integrity and human values.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, August 26, 2006
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India
Glittering: Indians Love Affair With Gold
And Diamonds
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'India
Shining' slogan may not have won the last
elections for BJP, but some of the policies
initiated during its governance have literally
turned it into reality and paved the way
to make it 'India Glittering' too ! The
opening of FDI upto 51 percent in single
brand retailing has led to a rush of International
jewellery brands entering this lucrative
market with the mushrooming of designer
diamond jewellery retail and SIS stores
all over the country to cater its huge 300
million middleclass population. With the
increased spending power due to the strong
growth of Indian economy, there is also
a clear shift in the thinking and tastes
of the current generation from Gold to Diamonds.
Of the jewellery market of nearly Rs.60,000
crore, diamond jewellery is estimated at
around Rs.10,000 cr and branded jewellery
at nearly Rs.2,000 cr, and growing sharply
in double digit percentage. According to
a study by consulting firm McKinsey, the
branded jewellery market in India would
touch Rs.10,000 crore (US$2.28 billion)
by 2010. Over 30 brands now operate in this
segment with many more new ones in the pipeline.
As for Gold, India's love affair with this
yellow metal needs no introduction. Tradionally,
investment in gold has been an obsession
as many considered it a safety net, chiefly
due to weak investor rights and shaky financial
systems in the past. World Gold Council
(WGC) estimates that Indians own about 15,000
tonnes of gold, which is about 10 per cent
of the whole world's stock. Inspite of the
sharp rise in gold prices, war in Iraq,
appreciation of rupee etc, India's stupendous
demand in recent times has made it the largest
consumer, accounting for about 25% of total
global demand. As a comparision with USA,
India's GDP is only 1/20th in size, but
the consumption is one and a half times
of USA. This is a truly remarkable change
from 1990 when India was literally forced
to pledge 40 tonnes of gold with Bank of
England due to a delay in meeting its foreign
exchange commitments.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, August 25, 2006
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Marriages
Are Made in Billions
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NRI
steel tycoon L N Mittal has made it to yet
another billionaire club of Forbes business
magazine for hosting the most extravagant
wedding affair of the century. Mittal outscored
billionaires like Donald Trump of US, luxury
titan Bernard Arnault of France and Andrei
Melnichenko of Russia with a $60 million
extravaganza in honour of his daughter Vanisha's
nuptials, Forbes magazine said in a report
titled "Billionaire Weddings." Mittal family
had sent out 20-page invitations in silver
boxes, while 1,000 guests were put up in
a five-star Paris hotel for the five-day
affair for marriage of Vanisha Mittal with
Amit Bhatia in June 2004. A party was hosted
at Versailles, while another event reportedly
took place at a wooden castle temporarily
erected in Parc de Saint-Cloud , Forbes
said. Pop signer Kylie Minogue performed
at the event, while 5,000 bottles of Mouton
Rothschild were emptied with wine tab estimated
at $1.5 million. Ladies were said to have
sported special henna decorations and received
Luxe goody bags of jewels. Besides Mittal
affair, weddings of Donald Trump as well
as that of his son in 2005 also figure among
the five billionaire weddings listed by
Forbes. At the wedding of Donald Trump and
Melania Knauss in January 2005 at Palm Beach,
Florida, about 420 guests, including Hillary
Clinton and Rudolph Giuliani, were invited
to the event at Trumps' 18-acre Mar-a-Lago
club. Besides making it to the top of biggest
billionaire weddings in this century, Mittal's
event almost rivals what is considered to
be the most extravagant wedding of the modern
time, Forbes said.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 25, 2006
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Man
Force to Debut at Hannover Fair
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Man
Force Trucks Pvt. Ltd. will participate
in the world's truck and bus show in Hannover.
Four heavy trucks produced in India have
been flown to Hannover for showcasing them
in the largest auto show. In a statement
on Wednesday, Abhay Firodia, Chairman and
Managing Director, Force Motors, said that
this was the first time that trucks produced
in India would be on display at the Hannover
Fair.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 24, 2006
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Kolkata
Couple Buys Plot on Moon!
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A
Kolkata-based couple has tried their luck
to have a dream home on the moon by purchasing
two acres of land there for $100 from an
agent through Internet. Anish Dasgupta and
his wife Soma, residents of Howrah district,
paid for the purchase on the Internet with
a credit card. Dasgupta, a travel consultant,
told a TV channel which said that he came
across www.lunarrepublic.com on the Internet
offering land for sale on the moon and then
thought of shifting to the satellite. Documents
of the purchase were sent to him after the
transaction, he said. "The location of the
land is tract 34, latitude 13.5 degree south
and longitude 47.5 degree west," he said.
The plot, Dasgupta added, was a little off
Oceanus Procellarum, known as the Ocean
of Storms, as mentioned in the 'ownership
certificate' he received. He said that when
Russia could send a tourist to space, it
was not a far-fetched notion to reside on
lunar surface. "But then, if people think
I'm looney, let them think so," he added.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, August 24, 2006
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126
Years And Still Chugging
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Three
vintage steam locomotives will simultaneously
chug out of Siliguri railway station on
Wednesday to commemorate the anniversary
of the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR)
services. The country's first "toy train"
made its maiden run in the hills on August
23, 1880. Siliguri is the only station in
the world to have all three railway gauges
- broad, metre and narrow, Northeastern
Frontier Railway (NFR) authorities say.
DHR is the second railway system in the
world to be accorded World Heritage site
status by UNESCO, in December 1999. The
Indian Railways run trains on the narrow
gauge including in the Darjeeling hills
where steam locomotives are no longer in
routine use in the broad and metre gauge
sections, according to T. Rabha, Chief Public
Relations Officer, NFR. "The idea of having
steam locomotives to roll out of Siliguri
station on all the three gauges is to revive
memories of the predominance of such locomotives
in the railway network as well as to commemorate
the occasion of the first DHR toy train
service from Siliguri to Kurseong in the
Darjeeling hills," he said on Tuesday. The
MAWD locomotive that will haul carriages
on the metre gauge, built in 1944 in the
U.S, has been brought from Guwahati; the
engines are still being used for chartered
trips in the NFR's Lumding division in Assam.
The one to be operated on the broad gauge
was made by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works
in 1965. It has been requisitioned for the
occasion from the Rewari locomotive shed
of the Northern Railway in Haryana.
Courtesy:
The Hindu, August 23, 2006
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B'lore
Cos Most Mobile; Beat Mumbai, Delhi
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Enterprises
in Bangalore are among the most mobile-ready,
giving close chase to Singapore and Bangkok
when it comes using applications on mobile
phones, providing laptops to employees,
instituting mobile device management policies
and other mobility-related criteria, according
to a survey by the world's largest handset
vendor Nokia. It was conducted across six
cities -- Singapore, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur,
Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore. The survey
evaluated enterprises on various parameters
under the heads of adoption, environment,
infrastructure and policy. Bangalore was
third on the mobility-readiness index after
Bangkok and Singapore, outshining Delhi,
Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur. Bangkok had the
highest mobility score in the study followed
by Singapore. Both Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur
had nearly the same level of mobile-readiness,
while Delhi was lower. The study identified
mobile e-mail as one of the most popular
applications with 74% of enterprises surveyed
in India using some form of it. Other key
findings were that 49% used a mobile calendar
and 47% could access the office intranet
through their mobiles. Bangalore was better
than Singapore when it came to adopting
mobile applications and instituging policies
that allowed employees to work from home.
However, it lagged behind when it came to
providing VPN (virtual private network)
access and having security policies. Mumbai
scored better on these two counts as compared
to Bangalore. The top three mobile applications
or solutions for enterprises, according
to the study, were mobile instant messaging,
accessing the intranet or corporate database
on the mobile phone and accessing CRM (customer
relationship management) applications on
the mobile device or phone.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, August 23, 2006
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India
to be a Marketer's Delight by 2020
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According
to a joint TeamLease Services-Indicus Analytics
report, the age group of 25-39 years is
projected to grow by about 43% to 35.8 crore
in 2020 from 25.1 crore in 2006. This age
group, with its supposedly high propensity
to spend, will grow twice as fast as the
total population. This segment's expected
high growth will no doubt spell good news
for marketers, advertisers as well as finance
companies.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 23, 2006
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Maharaja
Meets The Makeup Man
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The
Maharajah will get to show off his new wardrobe
by February '07, when Air-India's wide-bodied
aircraft join the fleet. As part of its
re-branding exercise, the airline will sport
a new look, with enhanced in-flight service
and improved on-ground customer facilities.
The much-talked about attire of air hostesses
will undergo a change too. The good old
saree will continue, but with a designer
touch. ''Brand Air-India will continue to
reflect Indian ethnicity," V Thulsidas,
chairman & MD, Air-India, told ET. Following
the re-branding exercise, 'Maharajah', Air
India's mascot, will undergo an evolutionary
change, he added. Mr Thulsidas said Air-India
will be cautious about its makeover this
time round. ''The new look was not well
taken by the consumers last time when A-I
tried experimenting with it," he conceded.
The carrier had gone in for an image change
in 1987, when the Maharajah's role as mascot
had got relegated. But this time, the Maharajah
is back with a bang. The airline has already
started making some cosmetic changes in
its look-and-feel. Its logo, the 'Centaur',
has witnessed minor changes, with the archer's
bow and arrow pointing upwards, signifying
future growth prospects of the airline.
The hyphen in 'Air-India' has also been
dropped. Fresh tags such as 'Flywell' have
been added. The CMD said the look of the
Air-India aircraft will not see any prominent
changes. In the case of Air-India Express,
the low-cost subsidiary, the aircraft will
continue to sport different cultural designs
on its tail. Last year, Air-India had hired
a brand-building firm, Alia Group, to rejuvenate
the brand. The board of directors has sanctioned
a budget of Rs 400 crore, to be spent over
two-year, for refurbishing existing aircraft
fleet; and upgrading lounges, ticketing
and customer interaction services, aircraft
interiors, upholstery, and livery.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 23, 2006
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Pink
Wheel Brigade Set For India Debut
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It's
A song that the Boss made memorable. It's
a film that Clint Eastwood starred in. But
most famously, it's a concept that Mary
Kay popularised. Yup, we're talking about
the pink Cadillac. And the fiesty bunch
of sales women for whom it's has always
been the ultimate prize. Now the pink wheel
brigade will soon be at your doorstep as
Mary Kay, one of the world's largest direct
sales beauty product companies, debuts in
India. The US-based $2.2-bn company runs
a one-of-its kind career car reward programme
for its top performing sales professionals
with customised pink-coloured cars. And
although its stable is fairly varied including
everything from Pontiacs to Mercs, the Mary
Kay rewards programme has always been about
the pink Cadillac. According to sources,
Mary Kay is starting test-marketing in India
and would then consider going into full-fledged
local manufacturing. It is setting up a
wholly-owned subsidiary, which would import
skin care and cosmetic products for test-marketing.
Sources say the company would then consider
either making its products in India on its
own or opting for contract manufacturers.
If the test run is successful, Mary Kay
would invest anywhere between $1-5m over
the next five years for manufacturing related
activities. With the brand in India, will
Mary Kay's famous car reward programme also
roll out here? The programme is one of the
most innovative strategies employed by the
company to reward top performing sales professionals.
In the US, Mary Kay became famous for its
legendary pink Cadillac programme, which
was started 40 years ago by its founder.
As part of this programme, the company gives
its top performers a choice of cash compensation
or a pink Cadillac - a custom-coloured model
built specially by GM. The pink Cadillac
has since then become a symbol of the independent
American businesswoman. Typically, Mary
Kay buys the cars on a two-year lease, after
which they are repainted in another colour
and auctioned off. Apart from the pink Cadillac,
Mary Kay also runs car reward programmes
for the Pontiac Vibe and the Pontiac Grand
Prix. In some of its international markets,
Mary Kay is known to have rewarded its top
performers with other cars including the
occasional pink Mercedes.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 23, 2006
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Ustad
Bismillah Khan Passes Away
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Shehnai
maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan, one of India's
most celebrated classical musicians, passed
away in the wee hours on Monday. The 91-year-old
Bharat Ratna awardee, who had been ailing
for quite some time, died of cardiac arrest
at the Heritage hospital. Khan had been
admitted to the hospital on Thursday with
age-related health problems and weakness
brought on by his refusal to eat solid food.
"His condition suddenly deteriorated and
he suffered a cardiac arrest at 1.45 am.
Although Khan was put on the life support
system, doctors could not revive him. He
was declared dead at 2:20 am today," hospital
superintendent P S R Aiyer said. Ironically,
Khan's condition had marginally improved
on Sunday and he had been expected to regain
his health soon. Doctors attending on him
had said the Ustad's vital parameters -
pulse, respiration rate and blood pressure
- were at normal levels yesterday. He was
even given solid food after he expressed
a desire to eat home-cooked 'halwa'. Khan
had appeared to be in the best of spirits
and even sang a couple of songs for attending
doctors, Aiyer said. HRD Minister Arjun
Singh and BHU vice-chancellor Panjab Singh
had also visited Khan in hospital on Sunday.
The minister asked the Ustad about his wish
to perform at India Gate, to which Khan
had replied that it was his last wish which
would be fulfilled if God willed so. Although
he had been ill for quite some time, Khan
had repeatedly expressed his reluctance
to be taken to hospital and was shifted
by his sons and personal physician only
on August 17 after his health took a turn
for the worse.
Courtesy:
www.financialexpress.com, August 22, 2006
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It's
Virtual Entertainment For Jaipur
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With
the software industry rapidly gaining ground
here, many engineers are creating online
games for countries such as the US, the
UK, France and Italy, contributing their
expertise to virtual entertainment. After
New Delhi and Gurgaon, Jaipur -known more
as a tourist destination - has become the
next hub in northern India for online games.
The games are just like online chatting
where one can play the games without knowing
the competitor - who may be from any part
of the world. Many of Jaipur's IT companies
have started evincing interest in preparing
these games. "Software industry is growing
in Jaipur. There are several ISO-certified
companies which have been preparing them
for foreign developers," said Rajesh Singh,
a local software engineer. Many engineers
have also stepped into preparing mobile
games. The new trend is attributed to the
burgeoning use of the Internet and mobile
phones. Normally, it takes 8-10 months to
complete one game like the popular Punch
Ball and Age of Empires. "These games are
played on the Internet and each player is
connected through networking. Most companies
are trying their hands on games like Punch
Ball and Age of Empires, which are much
sought after games abroad," said Kapil Gupta,
a software engineer.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 21, 2006
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Millionaire
CEO Club Swells by 110
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India
Inc produced 110 new crorepati CEOs last
year. The list of corporate managers drawing
an annual compensation package of US$ 215,165
and above threw up 266 names in 2005-06.
The list will get longer as information
on 111 managers who had received an annual
compensation of over Rs 1 crore in 2004-05
is not available yet. Assuming that there
was no drop in their annual compensation
package last year, at least 377 professionals
earned over Rs 1 crore in 2005-06. In the
previous year, the crorepati CEO list featured
267 professionals. Of the 266 crorepati
CEOs studied here, the compensation package
of 46 managers has more than doubled, and
the remuneration of another 64 has risen
between 50 per cent and 100 per cent. One
hundred and eight promoter managers received
Rs 330 crore, and the remaining 158 professional
managers received Rs 433 crore in 2005-06.
Collectively, these 266 managers, including
professional managers and promoters, took
home Rs 763 crore in 2005-06, up 25.6 per
cent from the annual payment of Rs 608 crore
in 2004-05. However, CEO compensation as
a percentage of net profit remained unchanged
at 1.50 per cent for 165 companies. Mukesh
Ambani, chairman and managing director of
Reliance Industries, topped the list with
an annual compensation package of Rs 24.51
crore in 2005-06, against Rs 21.70 crore
in the previous year. Ambani received Rs
23.43 crore by way of commission, and Rs
1.08 crore as salary and perquisites. Hero
Honda Chairman Brijmohan Lall Munjal and
its Managing Director Pawan Munjal last
year took home Rs 11.80 crore and Rs 11.57
crore, respectively. The promoter managers
of Mercator Lines also took home hefty pay
packets, with Harish Kumar Mittal, CMD,
and Atul Agarwal, joint managing director,
getting an annual compensation package of
Rs 10.07 crore each, against Rs 2.88 crore
each in 2004-05.
Courtesy:
Business Standard, August 21, 2006
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NRIs
Set up Trusts For Investments
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Non-Resident
Indians are setting up trusts in India to
manage their money and ring fence a part
of their wealth. Since January, more than
10 NRI families from the Middle East, Hong
Kong, Thailand and countries with unfriendly
political regimes like Fiji have hired professional
trustees in India. The money put into such
trusts is being invested in Indian stocks
and other local assets. Besides the India
story, which is driving several NRIs to
allocate a bigger slice of their investment
here, they think buying stocks through a
trust is easier than the portfolio investment
scheme (PIS). Some of the portfolio managers
in brokerages and wealth management divisions
of large banks are also marketing the trust
route to their NRI clients. Corporate trustees
and other providers of trust services have
been selling the concept of trust as a succession
planning tool to local high net worth individuals
for a few years now. The interest from NRIs,
however, is fairly recent. "There could
be different reasons why this is happening.
A trust is a bankruptcy remote structure...
if an NRI runs into financial difficulties,
his personal wealth can be preserved through
a trust, where the beneficiaries are clearly
identified. But the real reason could be
a greater interest in India as an investment
destination," says Adrish Ghosh of IL&FS
Trust Company, which has set up about seven
trusts for NRIs in India in the past few
months. Just like the PMS, a trust can be
either discretionary or non-discretionary,
depending on whether the NRI would like
to take the investment decision personally
or leave it to the trust. In the later case,
the trust would have to appoint a fund manager.
The regulatory glare on investment through
participatory notes (PNs), and new disclosure
formats which require naming the beneficiaries
of PNs, may also have led some NRIs (who
are not allowed to invest through PNs) to
prefer trusts. According to market sources,
an FII registered in the UK has recently
been directed by regulators to unwind its
sub-accounts through which NRIs were investing.
Significantly, the money from different
kinds of NRI bank accounts can also be transferred
to a trust for investment in assets in India.
Since money can be repatriated from NRI
bank accounts, subject to certain norms
by the Reserve Bank of India, the trust
can also repatriate the money. In other
words, whatever rules apply to a particular
account, the money sourced from that account
would apply to a trust. According to Shefali
Goradia of the legal and tax counselling
firm, Nishith Desai Associates, a trust
is a more tax-transparent structure than
a holding company.
Courtesy:
The Economic Times, August 21, 2006
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A
Beeline For Tasting 'Miracle' Water
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Hundreds
of people have flocked to Mahim beach since
Friday night after reports of sea water
turning sweet spread all over the city.
People came to Mahim beach in large numbers
all through the night and even on Saturday
morning to collect sweet water in bottles,
jars and cans, considering it to be a 'miracle'.
Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai
(MCGM) officials have rushed to the spot
to collect samples of water and have appealed
to people not to drink the sweet water till
the results of laboratory tests were known.
The samples have been sent for chemical
analysis and bacterial analysis. The results
will be known by the evening, Additional
Municipal Commissioner Vijay Patankar said.
Samples were taken from Mahim beach and
Dadar beach, behind the Mayor's bungalow.
MCGM were also examining reports of discovery
of a sea water spring behind the Durgah
of Makdoom Shah at Mahim beach, officials
said.
Courtesy:
The Times of India, August 19, 2006
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India
to Hold Meet in US to Popularise Hindi
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India
has said that Hindi should be included as
one of the languages used by the United
Nations as it was spoken by a substantial
percentage of the world population. Minister
of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma
said that an international Hindi conference
would be held in New York early next year
as part of efforts to popularise further
the language in the world arena. "Hindi
should be included in the United Nations.
A substantial percentage of the world population
uses this language," Sharma said in New
Delhi on Friday evening after launching
the Hindi website of the Ministry of External
Affairs. With emphasis being laid on greater
use of Hindi, MEA launched the website in
this language as part of an effort to make
available the country's foreign policy to
a much wider populace. The Hindi website
www.mea.gov.in, developed by the National
Informatics Centre (NIC), will initially
be a mirror image of the Ministry's English
version and its further development is expected
later. Sharma said the Hindi website will
help in creating greater awareness among
the people about the government's policy
and perspectives on important foreign affair
issues. "It will go a long way in generating
interests in Indian democracy, literature,
culture, arts and socio-economic development,"
he said. The MEA is already engaged actively
in implementation of the Official Language
Policy of the government and is playing
an important role in promotion of Hindi
abroad. Regional Hindi conferences are held
every year in different countries and in
the current year, these conclaves have been
held in Australia, Abu Dhabi and Tokyo.
Courtesy:
Hindustan Times, August 19, 2006
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