A former director of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, professor MS Ananth, recollects a dinner table conversation with an Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer. The IAS officer firmly believed that the IIT Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) could easily be replaced by any other exam in India. Like what, asked Ananth? Perhaps, the UPSC examination, argued the officer. It is fair, tough and can pick the best minds in...
11:32:56 AM Feb 23, 2012
Rohini Mukherjee Designation: Survey team leader of Hungama Report, Naandi Foundation; manages Global Partnerships, Institutional Learning & Education at Naandi Education: Master's degree in social work from Delhi University Career: Joined Naandi in 2005 as manager, Global Partnerships; prior to that she worked in remote rural areas of Bengal, where she was also the founding member of a grassroots not-for-profit advocacy group that took up democracy and governance issues on...
11:58:32 AM Feb 22, 2012
Hedge funds and professional investors are always looking for countries with lower interest rates where borrowing is cheaper and then invest the same in countries with higher interest rates. Earlier, it was the Japanese yen that gave them this opportunity. After the Lehman crash, the dollar became the funding currency of choice. Investors sold dollars where interest rates were low and purchased currencies like the Indian rupee where the interest...
11:42:20 AM Feb 22, 2012
Advertising company Alok Nanda and Company has now turned to retail with the launch of its first design store, Filter. (Disclosure: Alok Nanda and Company is Forbes India's advertising agency). Tucked away in the narrow lanes of the Kala Ghoda, Mumbai, Filter is a retail space that houses the works of illustrators, photographers, graphic designers and product innovators. The products range from one-off pieces of furniture, framed limited-edition prints and...
10:34:59 AM Feb 20, 2012
I wasn't the science teacher's pet in school. And I can't confess I know too many scientists either. Yet, over time, I've come to appreciate the role of science in our society. And I have often wondered why India produces so many brilliant minds in the world of science"each of whom leave their impact on our world, but choose to work out of laboratories many thousands of miles away. I...
11:00:34 AM Feb 18, 2012
Name: Maheshwer Peri Age: 42 Education: CA, ICWA, ACS Designation: Publisher, Outlook group and Chairman and Publisher, Pathfinder Publishing Pvt Ltd. Career: Joined SBI Caps (1991 " 1995), later joined Hathway Investments at age 25 and started Outlook group. Moving now to Pathfinder Publishing which publishes two magazines Careers360 (in English & Hindi), COMPETITION 360 and runs a career counseling website www.careers360.com Passion/Interests: Watch Sports (tennis and football), Travelling, Reading...
10:40:11 AM Feb 18, 2012
Ravi Prasad Age: 51 Designation: Executive Chairman, Himalaya Drug Company The Challenge: Take the companys range of therapeutic and personal care products to overseas markets How He Did It: He targeted doctors through articles in peer-reviewed journals and allowed customers to sample the products in supermarkets The Next Goal: Double the companys revenues riding on the strength of the international operations that is growing faster than India Himalaya started building...
11:11:57 AM Feb 16, 2012
In the post-implosion analysis of the microfinance sector in Andhra Pradesh, one entity came out virtually unscathed"the idea that microfinance is basically a force for good. The argument was that microfinance has the potential to alleviate poverty and empower people, and the real problem is with a few unscrupulous or greedy microfinance organisations. The solution therefore was better regulations"such as capping the interest rates and increasing transparency. Muhammad Yunus, founder...
11:04:03 AM Feb 15, 2012
Mayank Pareek won't forget the crisis of 2008 in a hurry. In November that year, less than two months after the infamous Lehman Brothers crash, India's biggest passenger car maker, Maruti Suzuki, felt its blow straight in the jaw. By the end of that month, it suddenly lost a quarter of its sales compared to the previous year. December was no better. Sales fell by another 10 per cent. By...
10:59:53 AM Feb 15, 2012
Rio de Janeiro in Brazil will have a different kind of carnival this year. From June 20 to 22, the city will host the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, which is expected to bring together heads of states, ministers, senior officials, representatives from international organisations, civil society leaders and environmentalists. Since the conference is a 20th year follow-up of the most famous environmental meeting held in the recent decades"the...
12:55:54 PM Feb 13, 2012
USA The US, ranked number one, has always been a leader in innovation. However, after the recession, innovation has taken a backseat in the USA. This could possibly hamper job creation. India India, ranked sixth, is one level higher than the UK in innovation. Its most innovative sectors are energy, healthcare, telecommunications, and fast moving consumer goods. China China is the fourth most innovative country and the second largest investor...
12:18:00 PM Feb 13, 2012
In October 2009, nine months after converting the floundering Nature's Basket into a gourmet food store, its team was pleasantly surprised. Its seven stores in Mumbai had seen sales grow at 70 per cent " a surprisingly quick validation of their change in strategy. Getting there, however, has been a rough ride. Two years earlier, Godrej's Nature's Basket business wasn't going as planned. The store, set up in 2006, had...
11:52:16 AM Feb 11, 2012
This spring, there is music in the air. Here are some music festivals that will leave you whistling a tune. Sulafest 2012 Location: Sula Vineyards, Nashik When: February 4-5 Artists: Nitin Sawhney, Blackstratblues, Papon & East India Company Damage: Rs. 1,800. The highlight this year is undoubtedly Nitin Sawhney. He is a huge favourite of Rajeev Samant, founder and CEO of Sula Vineyards. Area79 Music and Arts Festival Location: The...
12:43:38 PM Feb 10, 2012
While the Uttar Pradesh elections hog the lion's share of coverage in national media, the Punjab elections are proving to be the more colourful of the two. YouTube, Facebook, and other media platforms are full of the hilarious conversations between cartoon characters Jeeta and Jaggi created by the Congress, who take pot shots at the failings of the SAD"BJP (Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party) government. SAD has responded through their...
12:28:18 PM Feb 10, 2012
You know, there is no easy way to say this, says Gaurav Jain, the 39-year-old managing director of Swastik Roadlines and explains. His father had started Swastik in partnership with two friends. Jain joined the company in 1999 when it was doing very well. It had 23 trucks. None of the founders realised what was around the corner. Ever since its inception in 1997, the company had grown on the...
05:50:47 PM Feb 09, 2012
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