
The year 1994-95 was very interesting because there was a directive from the Indian government which wanted us to localise fast. We had to travel to Japan a lot because our main collaborates [Sumitomo] were there and I found that travelling was increasing more and more. Then we had Maruti requesting us to localise very intricate parts which were under patents, so there were a lot of conflicts and I had to also travel a lot to Europe and look for second sources. Because I was travelling a lot, I appointed one person who would be responsible for the whole company and every aspect/problem would first be reported to him
We didn't have mobile phones or emails back then, so it took time to communicate. So, one had to trust the people one was working with.
When I would come back from these trips of 8-10 days, I would find the company a little better, in a little stronger position because being a professional he was really focusing on every aspect of the company. That got me thinking that if travelling is going to increase-and my family had also moved to Australia-maybe it is a good thing that I withdraw from my position as a managing director, maybe for a year, and let the professional handle the day-to-day running of the company. The rest is history.
This model of management did phenomenally well and drove the company to a particular point where one could

12:13 PM, Jun 17, 2013

New Delhi: The IOC on Tuesday asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to co-ordinate and submit all amendment proposals to the world body by no later than June 12, 2013, so the the process of lifting the ban on India could be started at the earliest. This letter is followed by the one, dated 24 May 2013, where the International Olympic Committee had issued the roadmap for the country's return...

01:49 PM, Jun 04, 2013

St Petersburg: A row between India and the International Olympic Committee which has led to the suspension of the country from all Olympic activities is heading towards a possible resolution, the IOC said on Thursday. The IOC banned India in December after refusing to recognise the results of Indian Olympic Association (IOA) elections due to government interference, which led to a tainted official being named its secretary general. "We are...

10:42 PM, May 30, 2013

New Delhi: Wrestling fans are in for some anxious hours on Wednesday evening when the ancient Olympic sport fights with six other for one remaining spot in the 2020 Games during presentations made before the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in St. Petersburg, Moscow. In February, the IOC voted to drop wrestling after the 2016 Rio Games - even though the participation of the sport dates back to the ancient Olympics...

06:11 PM, May 29, 2013

St Petersburg: Wrestling expects to make an International Olympic Committee shortlist of candidate sports for the 2020 Games as it battles to restore its Olympic presence, international federation (FILA) president Nenad Lalovic told Reuters. "We of course expect to be in the shortlist," the Serbian said in a telephone interview before his departure for the IOC Executive Board meeting in Russia this week. "We don't have guarantees but we will...

04:36 PM, May 28, 2013

Taiwan's world boxing chief (AIBA) President Ching-kuo Wu announced his intention to run for International Olympic Committee president on Thursday, saying the Olympic movement should be bigger than just the Games. IOC Executive Board member Wu is the fourth IOC member following Germany's Thomas Bach and Singaporean Ng Ser Miang, both IOC vice presidents, and Puerto Rico's Richard Carrion to decide to run for the post. The election is set...

01:55 PM, May 23, 2013

Moscow: Wrestling has introduced drastic changes designed to keep the ancient sport in the Olympic programme, the newly-elected president of the world governing body (FILA) said on Saturday. More categories for women, eliminating draws and cutting down the number of competitors are just some of the initiatives being introduced as wrestling battles to salvage its Olympic status after the International Olympic Committee (IOC)'s executive board made a surprise recommendation to...

12:07 AM, May 19, 2013

New Delhi: India's Sports Minister Jitender Singh on Thursday said that the roadmap for India's return to the Olympic fold has been chalked out by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and it will take 30 to 60 days to complete the entire process. The Sports Minister, who met the IOC officials in Lausanne on Wednesday, said, "The roadmap has been decided by IOC to bring India back into the Olympic...

08:28 AM, May 16, 2013

Lausanne: It's status quo for the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday refused to lift its suspension until free and fair elections are held. The IOC Wednesday held a meeting with the Indian delegation headed by the Minister of State for Sports Jitendra Singh and representatives from the National Sports Federations (NSF), who are also members of the suspended IOA. A representative of the...

01:03 AM, May 16, 2013

New Delhi: Sports Minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday asked the IOC to "assist" in bringing India back into the Olympic fold and said that the country is at "crossroads" as far as sports administration was concerned. "We are at the crossroads of change in the way India Sports is administered in India. We come to you with a common understanding. We hope the IOC will also assist us in bringing...

06:56 PM, May 15, 2013

New Delhi: Indian shooter Abhinav Bindra, part of the sports ministry delegation to Lausanne, Wednesday said the International Olympic Committee (IOC) was worried about the governance of Indian sports. Bindra has gone to the IOC headquarters in Lausanne with the ministry officials for getting India back into the Olympic fold. The IOC suspended the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) last December for violating the Olympic charter in its election process. "IOC...

06:18 PM, May 15, 2013

A crucial meeting between India's top sports officials and the International Olympic Committee is currently on at its headquarters in Switzerland to try and get India's suspension revoke. although IOA president VK Malhotra and IOC member Randhir Singh are not at this meeting, a nine member indian delegation is presenting its case to find ways to get India back into the fold. ...

04:38 PM, May 15, 2013

New Delhi: Top IOA delegates were busy giving finishing touches to their action plan as they geared up for the crucial meeting with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne to draw a roadmap for India's return to the Olympic fold. Most of the IOA delegates will leave for Lausanne tonight for the May 15 meeting which is expected to start the process of getting the ban on India lifted. Though...

05:16 PM, May 13, 2013

New Delhi: With four days to go for the crucial meeting between Indian officials and the International Olympic Committee, efforts to persuade acting IOA President VK Malhotra and IOC member in India Randhir Singh to reconsider their decision to pull out have not borne fruit with both insisting on staying away. Malhotra and Randhir had decided to boycott the meeting came a day after the IOC agreed to include Hockey...

05:48 PM, May 11, 2013

New Delhi: The crucial Lausanne meeting between the Indian officials and the International Olympic Committee to find a way for the country's return to the Olympic fold will proceed as per schedule on May 15 despite the dramatic pull-out of IOA acting president V K Malhotra and IOC member Randhir Singh. The IOC has sent a message to the Swiss Embassy here to expedite the visa formalities of all the...

06:14 PM, May 10, 2013

New Delhi: In a dramatic development, the Indian Olympic Association's acting president V K Malhotra and IOC member in India Randhir Singh on Thursday pulled out of the crucial meeting with the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne next week, apparently miffed with the world body's changed stance. Barely six days before the May 15 meeting to find a way for India's return to the Olympic fold, the pull-out of these...

04:50 PM, May 09, 2013

New Delhi: The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) delegation for the crucial meeting with International Olympic Council (IOC) on bringing India back into the Olympic movement, will now include Hockey India general secretary Narinder Batra and Jharkhand Olympic Association president R K Anand. The meeting that is scheduled to be held in Lausanne, Switzerland on May 15 will feature six delegates from the IOA. Apart from Batra and Anand,the other members...

10:54 PM, May 08, 2013

New Delhi: Falling in line with the government's Sports Code, the Badminton Association of India (BAI) has amended its constitution by fixing the term and the age limit of its office bearers. The sports ministry has asked the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the National Sports Federations (NSFs) to be on the same page by adopting the Sports Code ahead of next month's meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)....

12:36 PM, Apr 28, 2013

New Delhi: The Congress core group met a short while back to discuss the Central Bureau of Investigation's (CBI) affidavit on coal block allocation scam report with its allies and backed Law Minister Ashwani Kumar. Kumar told the core group his job was to look at the legal points in the draft and that he had done nothing wrong. Allies said the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would be the next...

02:25 PM, Apr 26, 2013

New Delhi: A Parliamentary standing committee on coal and steel, which will submit its report on Tuesday, contains a few explosive conclusions. There could be trouble both for the UPA and NDA as the report says all the coal blocks distributed between 1993 and 2008 were unauthorised and not done in a transparent manner. Meanwhile, the report observes that no bidding process was held for coal allocations. Though it is...

08:16 AM, Apr 23, 2013