Business Leaders

India's Top Earners

2012-05-15T09:49:18Z

Mukesh Ambani

The Chairman and Managing director of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries,the largest private sector enterprise in India, Ambani set up one of the largest and most complex information and communications technology initiatives in the world in the form of Reliance Infocomm Limited (now Reliance Communications Limited) and also holds the credit of leading the creation of the world’s largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar, India.

He was ranked 5th best performing CEO in the world by Harvard Business Review in its ranking of top 50 global CEOs. He is the only Indian to be a part of the United Nations MDG Advocacy Group. He is also a member of the board of directors of Bank of America Corporation and a present member of the international advisory board of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Because of his fondness for Cricket, he also owns the Indian Premier League domestic cricket club Mumbai Indians and was named the 2nd richest sports owner in the world by Forbes in 2012. According to the list of richest sports owners, he is richer than owners of Chelsea and AC Milan.

Recently, his Reliance Industries inked $7.2 billion deal with BP, which took 30% in 23 of its oil-and-gas blocks in India.

With regards to his personal life, the Family has yet to move into their 27-story sky palace in South Mumbai, though it hosts parties there.

Net Worth: $22.6 billion.

Lakshmi Mittal

He is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ArcelorMittal, the world’s largest steelmaking company. Mittal Steel is a global steel producer with operations in 14 countries. Recently Mittal Company expanded mining interests, buying Canadian miner Baffinland Iron Mines. In August last year, it partnered with Peabody Energy to buy Australia's Macarthur Coal for $4.9 billion. Son Aditya was recently given additional responsibilities for Europe, sparking speculation about succession.

Mittal is an independent director of Goldman Sachs, and member of the Board of Directors of European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company,World Steel Association, and Advisory Board of the Kellogg School of Management to name a few.

His residence at 18-19 Kensington Palace Gardens--which was purchased from Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone for £57 million (US$128 million)--made it the world's most expensive house at the time.It is decorated with marble taken from the same quarry that supplied the Taj Mahal. The extravagant show of wealth has been referred to as the "Taj Mittal.”

Net Worth: $19.2 billion.

Azim Premji

Azim Premji an Indian business tycoon and philanthropist is the Chairman of Wipro Limited, guiding the company through four decades of diversification and growth to emerge as one of the Indian leader in the software industry. Under his leadership, the Company in hydrogenated cooking fats grew within a few decades to an over $6 billion diversified, integrated corporation in services, medical systems, technology products and consumer items with offices worldwide.

In April, last year it bought the oil-and-gas IT arm of U.S.-based Science Applications International Corp. for $150 million. Premji donated $2 billion worth of shares last December to a trust to fund his education charity.

He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the nation's second-highest civilian honor. This Stanford Graduate, pledged to donate $2 billion for improving school education in India. This has been done by transferring 213 million equity shares of Wipro Ltd, held by a few entities controlled by him, to the Azim Premji Trust.[39] This donation is the largest of its kind by any Indian billionaire.

Net Worth: $13 billion.

Shashi & Ravi Ruia

In 1969, Shashi & Ravi Ruiatook over the small family run business, Essar Group. The year that the brothers began their reign over Essar was when the company really took off as a construction business. Essar grew rapidly and expanded into other commodity industries such as shipping, telecommunications, oil, gas and steel.

The building of this pioneering corporation has in turn helped to build the overall economy of India, and has brought the image of Indian business to new heights within the western world. Shashi is the Director of the Board at Essar Steel, and the Chairman of the Essar Group while Ravi is the Vice Chairman. The name of this world-renowned multinational, Essar, is a derivative of the initials of the two brothers first names.

The Family goes on fishing holidays together on their yacht, Sunrays.

Net Worth: $10.2 billion.

Savitri Jindal

She is an Indian steel baroness, the wealthiest woman in India and the world's 80th richest person. She is the Chair person of JSPL, the leading player in Steel, Power, Mining, Oil & Gas and Infrastructure, and a member of the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, (Legislative Assembly) MLA. She also served as a Minister of Power in the Government of Haryana until 2010.

The youngest son, Naveen, recently gave $2.5 million to the University of Texas at Dallas, his alma mater, which renamed its management school after him.

Net Worth: $9.5 billion.

India's most influential spiritual leaders

2012-04-16T04:13:44Z

Gen.H. Norman Schwarzkopf once said, “Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy.” The good leaders are not born by birth but they are to be made. To become an effective leader, one must have the desire and will power. The good leaders develop through a never ending process of education, training, self-study and experience. Well to become an effective leader, one must also know what leadership is. India is a land of spiritual leaders and gurus. These leaders and gurus are god’s greatest gifts to mankind and their lives have been a saga of compassion and love. They promote peace, love, brotherhood, humanity, and meditation in the world. Besides, they also inculcate humanitarian values to people in India and the rest of the world.

What makes for a spiritual leader?

Spiritual leadership is all about how well you present yourself. It is also about how you live. Let’s take a look at some characteristics for a good spiritual leader.

1. Courage: Spiritual leader musk know what is right in the sight of the Lord despite what his or her followers say. To be a good spiritual leader, one must be strong as leader and also trust the voice within you.

2. Boldness: Boldness is another characteristic to be a good spiritual leader. It means to be confident of what you speak and talk. It also relates to one’s personality. A bold personality comes in your speech and when you have the confidence that what you are saying is from the Lord.

3. Spirituality: The spiritual leader must be spiritual. Spirituality means the kind of relationship you share with god. A good spiritual leader is that who teaches his flock how to seek god for themselves.

4. Dependability: A spiritual leader must be dependable. He must be capable to handle his own affairs and that of others as well.

5. Humility: Another trait of a spiritual leader is humility. It comes from the acknowledgement that all talents and abilities that you have are gifts from the Lord. Humility also means that you recognize your strengths and your weaknesses and not be afraid to reveal them in front of your flock.

Glance at some of the India’s spiritual leaders

Shri Sathya Sai baba: Shri Sathya Sai baba was an iconic figure for over five decades. He was born in Puttapathi on November 23rd 1926. When he turned 14, Shri Sathya Sai started singing Vedic hymns and Sanskrit verses. His motto in life was to inspire people to follow the path of truth, good behavior, love, serenity and non-violence. He constructed an Ashram in Puttaparthy that came to be known as Prasanthi Nilayam. There are millions of his followers in the world that includes famous national and international personalities.

Baba Ramdev: In 1965, Baba Ramdev was born with an original name of Ram Kishan Yadav in Alipur. He is a spiritual young leader of India and is also well-known yoga teacher. With the means of television, he has taken yoga everywhere and his CDs of yoga are famous worldwide. Baba Ramdev has also claimed to cure diseases like Cancer and AIDS with yoga.

Mother Teresa: Mother Teresa was born on August 26, 1910 in Ottoman Empire. She was an Albanian Roman Catholic and was a famous humanitarian who started the Missionary of Charities. Most of her life, she spent in taking care of the poor, sick and needy people all over the world. At the time of her death in 1998, the missionary of charities was in operation in over 100 countries including hospices, orphanages, homes and schools.

Osho Rajneesh: Osho Rajneesh is the most renowned and most controversial spiritual leader of his times born on December 11, 1931. He was known as Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh during the 1970s and 1980s. Later, he changed his name to Osho. Osho was also the founder of Osho movement, a controversial spiritual and philosophical movement.

Shri Sri Ravi Shankar: Shri Sri Ravi Shankar was born in 1956 in the southern part of India. He is a famous spiritual leader of India credited with being the initiator of a foundation known as the Art of Living Foundation. His aim in life is to teach people cope with stress of everyday life and be at peace with themselves. He is also the founder of charitable organizations like international association for human values.

Bharat Thakur: Bharat Thakur is also one of the spiritual masters of India who has secured international recognition. He is the founder of artistic yoga and also has many meditation workshops to his credit. He also conducts yoga training-sessions for individuals and groups along with corporate yoga workshops throughout the world. Bharat Thakur has also opened yoga centres in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Moscow, Bangalore and Dubai.

While spiritual leadership involves many of the same principles as general leadership, spiritual leadership has certain distinctive qualities that must be practiced if spiritual leaders are to be successful.

Apple's Tim Cook receives the highest Salary

2012-04-10T06:22:43Z

Apple Inc's Tim Cook was the highest-paid executive officer in the US last year the New York Times reported.

However Cook will receive the shares in remuneration package at different times. Half of the 1m stock units – valued at $376m back in August 2011 – will be passed on in August 2016, with the remainder to be rewarded in August 2021.

Cook’s regular salary is around $900,000 per annum, while the exec is also promised a similar amount again as a performance-related bonus. The $1 salary Steve Jobs took was offset by the Apple founder’s huge personal holding of shares in the company: Jobs owned approximately 5.5m, which at today’s rates would be worth in the region of $2.4bn.

“In light of Mr. Cook’s experience with the Company, including his leadership during Mr. Jobs’s prior leaves of absence, the Board views his retention as CEO as critical to the Company’s success and smooth leadership transition” Apple said in an SEC filing this week

The Salaries for the other Tech heads were not even close to what Tim Cook earns. For example, Larry Ellison of Oracle Corp was second with $77.6 million, followed by J C Penney Co. (JCP)'s Ronald Johnson, at $53.3 million, the Times said. The median total compensation for US CEOs rose to $14.4 million, the newspaper said, citing the survey by executive compensation tracker Equilar.

Viacom Inc's Philippe Dauman, who was No. 1 in the survey last year, was fourth this year with $43.1 million, followed by Honeywell International Inc's David Cote, who received $35.3 million, the Times said.

Seventh through 10th, respectively, were Robert Iger, Walt Disney Co, $31.4 million; Clarence Cazalot Jr, Marathon Oil Corp, $29.9 million; Alan Mulally, Ford Motor Co, $29.5 million; and Rupert Murdoch, News Corp, $29.4 million.

Equilar's study for the newspaper covered the 100 most compensated executives at public companies with annual revenue of more than $5 billion and had filed proxy statements by March 30, the Times said.

Pakistan President, Zardari visits India along with son

2012-04-09T05:05:13Z

President Asif Ali Zardari, Pakistani head of state to India visited the country first time in seven years to normalise the strained relations between the two countries.

The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the visiting Pakistani president exchanged views in a one-on-one meeting, agreeing that their countries should adopt a step-by-step approach to resolve their differences and build on a recent thaw in their tense relations.

“Relations between India and Pakistan should become normal. That’s our common desire,” Singh told reporters. “We would like to have better relations,” Zardari said.

Singh said he had accepted an invitation from Zardari to visit Pakistan as soon as mutually acceptable dates are worked out. The two had last met in June 2009, in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg.

“We have a number of issues, but we are willing to find practical and pragmatic solutions to all those issues,” Singh said. “That’s the message President Zardari and I would like to convey.”

Singh reportedly told Zardari that the Indian people would judge progress in the bilateral relationship based on what actions Islamabad took to curb terror groups operating out of Pakistan.

“Zardari told Singh the two sides needed to discuss the issue further and this would be likely when their interior secretaries meet in the next few weeks. He insisted that the two sides should resolve their decades-old disputes over the Sir Creek river estuary, Siachen and Kashmir,” Mathai said.

Singh also offered Zardari help in finding 124 Pakistani soldiers and 11 civilians engulfed by an avalanche near the 6,000-metre-high Siachen glacier in Kashmir – known as the world’s highest battlefield. Zardari thanked Singh but did not immediately respond to the offer to help rescue teams.

But a surprise guest to accompany Zardari on this trip was none other than his son Bilawal Bhutto who was a part of the 40-member delegation. On his first visit to India, Bilawal stood behind the leaders, in a sign of his growing role in politics.

As soon as he landed in the country, the 23-year-old Chairman of Pakistan People's Party (PPP), expressed his excitement in a series of tweets from wherever he went.

This was Zardari junior's first ever visit and his first tweet said. "AOA India Peace be with you. I have just landed in Delhi. 1st ever visit.”

Within minutes of landing, he along with his father left for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's residence for lunch. He was seated next to Rahul Gandhi at the luncheon and invited him to visit Pakistan. Mr. Gandhi is said to have accepted the invite.

Mr Zardari's entourage left Delhi after lunch and took a chopper to reach Ajmer soon after 4 pm. From the Ajmer helipad, he was driven 12.3 km to the Dargah where he and son Bilawal offered flowers and chadar. Mr Zardari left for Pakistan in the evening.

Bilawal's appointment as PPP Chairman at a very young age was a part of Bhutto legacy. Mr. Zardari also added Bhutto to his son's name.

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is to the manor born. The oldest child of Asif Ali Zardari and Benazir Bhutto was three months old when his mother first became Prime Minister so he does know by now how to approach the science of politics.

Mamata Banerjee's plan of action for Kolkata

2012-03-30T06:37:31Z

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee again expresses her concern and raised her voice on funding for the National Food Security bill on Thursday saying that the monetary provision for state governments to fund it should be ensured, failing which it could not be implemented.

"In the food security bill there is no monetary provision. We have to arrange the monetary provision, otherwise it cannot be implemented," she said during an interaction with a group of journalists.

Talking about the centre’s move to decontrol the price of diesel and hike the price of LPG she said that any such decision would be opposed by her party, Banerjee said "I am worried about the people."

She said she had also requested the Prime Minister not to withdraw the subsidy on fertiliser. "Farmers are our asset. The Centre should not withdraw the subsidy on fertiliser," she said.

Banerjee said that she would plead for declaring Darjeeling and Coochbehar as backward districts. "While Sikkim receives 95 per cent subsidy from the Centre, why not Darjeeling?" she asked.

She also called for districts like North 24 Parganas which have considerable minority population, to be included in the list of backward districts.

She reiterated her government's intention for reorgansiation of districts like in UP, on the ground that division of districts would help to secure more funds from the Planning Commission.

"I feel four more districts should be created in our state for better administrative purposes.”

Banerjee dwelt at length on her government's steps to create more employment opportunities (2.75 lakh government jobs) after assuming power in May last year. "We have to look more at industry and also lay more stress on agriculture," she said.

She said with agricultural production up in the state, her government was eager to export rice to Bangladesh. "We have opened six channels for export to Bangladesh," she said. "I want export of our agricultural produce to US and other countries," she added.

The Chief Minister stated that she would meet the Planning Commission early next month to submit requirements of the state.

After Kingfisher, Air India employees to go on strike

2012-03-23T08:57:53Z

Kingfisher is already in news for its debt woes. And now it’s Air India that may see its employees going on strike from 2 April, as they have not been paid their dues for the past five months.

The strike warning from the staff followed the demand for a written commitment from the management that it will clear the entire dues before April 1, said union sources. “As many as seven unions out of the 13 had three rounds of meetings with the management here, but management could not give us a written commitment for full payment of our salaries and performance-linked incentives, which have not been paid for the past five months,” union sources said.

“We are firm on our decision to go ahead with the strike from April 2, for which we have given notice months ago. We will reverse our decision only if our dues are cleared before April 1. We don’t believe in any of verbal assurances from this management,” a senior Indian Pilots Guild official said.

The management also requested them not to strike as it will hurt the airline in the holiday season, the spokesperson said.

Pilots even reportedly asked the management to stop paying to oil companies and instead pay to employees, and leave the oil payments to the government, cabin crew association member said.

Apparently, the crippled national carrier is sitting on debt mount of over Rs 67,0000 crore. Meanwhile, an AI statement clarified that none of its international flights were affected by the “reported strike” by a section of its cabin crew.

India's Healthcare Industry is Touching New Dimensions

2012-03-14T07:35:44Z

Written By: Nargis Namazi

Recently, much has been said about the healthcare industry in India and its growth. And rightly so; the industry has been gathering steam and making people take notice of its massive growth. Last year, Dr. Prathap C. Reddy, Apollo Hospitals group founder-chairman said in Bangalore that the overall industry will show speedy signs of growth mainly because of increase in life expectancy, higher income levels, greater reach of health insurance, and growing lifestyle-related diseases. In fact, it is already a million-dollar industry that is currently undergoing a rapid expansion phase with 12 percent CGPA (cumulative growth per annum) since 2008. By 2020, the sector will accumulate Rs.1.3 trillion (Rs.12,60,000 crore) in revenues. “Government initiatives and public-private partnerships will help create better opportunities for nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians and specialized doctors across the country,” Dr Reddy said.

According to the Investment Commission of India, the market size of hospitals and nursing homes will grow at 20% every year & projected to stand at Rs. 54,000 crore. Medical equipment on the other hand will be somewhere close to Rs. 9,000 crore with 15 per cent growth; clinical lab diagnostics with Rs.4,500 crore - a clear 30 per cent increase. In addition to this, imaging diagnostics will be another money-spinning business standing at Rs.4,500 crore (30 per cent growth). Other services including training and education, aesthetics and weight loss, and retail pharmacy will stand at Rs. 9,000 crore.

There’s also been an influx of medical tourism, educational services, and leisure tourism in India which is likely to build up in the coming years drawing an additional $6-50 billion in revenue and producing close to 10-48 million direct and indirect jobs by 2020.

Investments in Healthcare

Global Ratings agency Fitch recently said that "India's healthcare sector will continue to witness investments in 2012 but at a slow pace, driven by a wide gap between the demand for, and supply of, healthcare services," Fitch Ratings said in its annual report '2012 Outlook: India Health Care'. It further added: "This (slow growth) is due to below-par healthcare infrastructure, especially in Tier II and Tier III cities, increasing lifestyle-related health problems, changing demographics, rising disposable income and insurance penetration, and increasing government support and medical tourism."

"The sector will continue to offer investment opportunities in increasing bed capacity, ancillary industries like medical technologies and diagnostics in Tier II and Tier III cities, while specialty services like cardiology, neurology, joint replacements etc, are likely to attract most of the investments in bigger cities," the report said.

Rise of the Insurance Industry

The Insurance segment is worth $3 billion (Rs 15,000 crore) as of now. “Health insurance is growing at 20% and will reach around $13 billion by 2020. So, it is growing at a faster rate than the healthcare industry but, even with that growth, you are talking about a funding gap of over $200 billion. The gap in rupees crore is so significant that the Indian government will have a serious issue in terms of financing healthcare” says Mr. Antony Jacob, CEO, Apollo Munich Health Insurance.

Competing with other Industries

The healthcare segment is moving ahead on the same line as the pharmaceutical or the software industries here. Like manufacturing, this segment also has the power to be the engine of the country’s economy. Thanks to this, many foreign companies will continue to invest in it in the years ahead.

The Path Ahead

Already, India’s economy is flourishing and the middle class is getting stronger with more disposable income to spend on healthcare services. The Government of India too is in the midst of constantly developing all inclusive policies on healthcare that aim to reinforce the sector – a high number of infrastructure and advance medical equipment solutions have been infused in the sector. In the years ahead, the sector holds greater potential and promise. “Health Insurance as a business, has the potential to show top line growth,” concludes Dr Reddy.

Air India averts a landing accident

2012-03-13T06:20:14Z

An Air India Flight had a close shave with a landing accident. Over hundred people aboard Air India's AI-614 flight had a fortunate escape at 8.30am on Monday when the tail of the aircraft hit the runway at a very high speed while landing. The Incident occurred when the plane was flying into Mumbai from Ahmedabad with 121 passengers. Luckily, no one was hurt.

The pilots apparently miscalculated the landing which led to the aircraft not touching down at the correct angle, leading to the tail strike.

"Mostly, tail strikes occur during a landing when a captain flares the aircraft over and above the prescribed angle. This can be serious as the speed of an aircraft (like in the Monday's incident) during landing is over 250 kmph and the impact can even lead to the plane breaking apart," sources said.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the incident. "I have sought details from the airline," DGCA chief Bharat Bhushan said.

According to the Sources the two pilots, including a woman commander, who were responsible for flying the plane would not be allowed to fly till the investigation is undertaken and necessary correctional training (called refresher), is provided to them if required before being allowed to fly again.

India wants the 'climate change' rules redefined

2012-03-06T06:33:51Z

India is seeking clarification on the differentiation between developed and developing countries, in the discussions on emission reduction under the Durban Platform.

India has sought to bridge this gap in its submission to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

"As the outcome of the process under Durban platform will be applicable to all Parties and this outcome is to be reached under the Convention, all principles and provisions of the Convention will apply in totality to both the process and its results. Accordingly, the efforts for increase in the level of ambition must be made, inter alia, in accordance with the principle of equity and the principle of-Common But Differentiated Responsibilities of the Parties (CBDR)," says Indian submission.

The Indian submission has postponed discussions on increased efforts to tackle the emission issue by developing countries till the IPCC's submits its fifth assessment report in 2013-14.

The Convention clearly puts the responsibility of absolute emission reduction on the developed countries. At the same time, it calls on developing countries to take measures to slow down the growth of emissions with domestic resources or with financial and technological assistance from developed countries.

So India's reluctance to support this issue could likely face disagreement from the Convention.

Kingfisher airlines getting its act together

2012-03-05T06:48:56Z

Kingfisher is getting its act together and today said it was in talks with tax authorities to un-freeze the accounts of the airlines and asking its pilots, skipping flying duties, to fall in line.

Pilots were protesting delay in payment of salaries.

"We are trying our very best to cooperate with the tax authorities and get our accounts un-frozen at the earliest so that normalcy could be restored, employee salaries paid and further aircraft recoveries started," a statement by Prakash Mirpuri, vice president, corporate communications of the airlines, said.

The airline has been in a financial mess for months now unable to meet its obligations, including paying salaries to its employees, clearing tax arrears and payment to vendors.

The development comes on the heels of the service tax department freezing as many as 40 bank accounts of Kingfisher Airlines for non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 40 crore.

Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has indicated that flight licence could be temporarily suspended, instead of being cancelled, to give the airline a chance to resume operations once it sorts out its problems.

As the crisis deepened when salaries were not paid, several employees including some pilots quit the airlines. Over 60 pilots have left in the past few months.

The airline reduced its flights beginning mid-October. From 400 flights a day it is down to only 170 daily flights now, using just 28 aircraft of 64. The airline urgently needs at least Rs 2,000 crore working capital to remain afloat.

But now the Flamboyant head of the Airlines, Vijay Mallya has said that he wishes to clear the debts soon and bring the business back on track.

High court to hear e-meter plea

2012-02-29T05:28:23Z

The Bombay High Court will hear the e-meter case today. Auto union leader Sharad Rao had filed a petition on Wednesday for which the hearing will take place today. The government had earlier issued a notification that e-meters must be made compulsory; Rao along with the auto unions had challenged the same. The notification had said that all autos must compulsorily install digital meters starting from April 1 – for all new autos; the same would be effective from March 1.

“The government notification has been issued and we may receive it in a day or two. Even if the notification is delivered by the end of the month, we will start the implementation from March 1 for new autos and April 1 for the existing ones,” an RTO official had said earlier.

Now, consumer activists also want to intervene in the petition; even a meter manufacturer has filed one. Rao said chief minister Prithviraj Chavan will be made party to the petition. "The CM has reneged on his promise to clear all our doubts on e-meters. Being in-charge of the transport portfolio, he should have brought out the notification on e-meters after taking us (union leaders) into confidence,'' he stated.

Thampy Kurian, another union leader, will also file a plea.

Tryst IIT Delhi is back

2012-02-28T05:32:24Z

It’s that time of the year again, when thought meets practice and creation meets execution. Tryst, IIT Delhi is back from 2nd to 5th March 2012. A perfect stage for talent, brilliance and intelligence, this is the roller coaster every techie dreams of. One of the biggest and most successful techno-management fest across the country, Tryst 2012 is bound to be better than ever before – as it undergoes a reinvention, combining the technical and the entrepreneurial under one roof. It also pays a tribute to some of the celebrated contributions in science fiction of all time by incorporating the Sci-Fi theme which forms the undercurrent for all its events and activities this year.

There is going to be an amazing laser show on one of the night, the likes of which has never happened n any other college in Delhi before.

Tryst will play host to eminent technologists and policy-makers like Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Arun Maira, Kiran Karnik this year along with founders of offbeat companies like Sachin Bansal (Flipkart), Nitin Gupta (PayU), Rohit Bansal (Snapdeal). Pranay Gupta, CEO, CIIE, IIMA is expected to grace a panel discussion about entrepreneurial avenues for engineers. Mark Templer, Science and Technology officer, US embassy, Siddharth Shankar - founder and CEO, Drishtee, Vijay Anand - founder, the Startup centre, and Pawan Agarwal, CEO, Mumbai Dabbawalas, also constitute a part of the elite guest list for this festival.

With exhibitions by Microsoft Gaming and DRDO, workshops on android development, web design, aero-modeling, ethical hacking, robotics, satellite design and more by National Innovation Council (NIC), IBM, ISEC, Microsoft, EIS systems, Wegilant and Robosapien; and poster-making competitions on innovation, national level multi-player gaming contests and movie screenings, Tryst not only offers to be intellectually stimulating but also a lot of fun for even the not-so-geeky.

From Technical Symposium to Robowars to Algorithm competitions and computer generated art; from fake research papers to kitchen chemistry to war simulation and society design; transforming trash to tools, complicating the uncomplicated, experiencing the magic of steam punk, the events are sure to have the participants and the visitors on their feet. With competitions spread across several genres, Tryst 2012 promises to have something for everyone.

The E-summit, which will be a part of the festival this year, will include B-plan and case-study competitions, apart from a startup showcase and a Biz Quiz. Panel discussions and TEDx talks also aim to give the audience enough food for thought. With an assemblage of nerve wracking competitions, brainstorming guest lectures by some of the biggest names in the field of science, scientific workshops, and extravagant exhibitions to showcase technological advancement at its best, this edition hopes to leave every thinker, innovator and creator asking for more.

For more information, log on to: www.tryst-iitd.com

Shuvi Srivastava

Vijay Mallya on paying salary and being the best

2012-02-28T05:19:00Z

In a mail to his employees, Vijay Mallya, the chairman of the crisis-ridden Kingfisher Airlines, wrote that he is working hard to arrange for funds to pay salaries to his employees at the earliest. Mallya's mail says: "I have organized funding so that we can pay your seriously overdue salaries which is a source of great personal sorrow for me. We are currently handicapped as our bank accounts are frozen by the tax authorities. I have been working tirelessly to urgently resolve this issue..."

Eminent citizens of the country have written to the Prime Minister asking him not to bail out the carrier at the taxpayer’s expense. Mr. Mallya has therefore sought help with two foreign airlines namely International Airlines Group and Abu Dhabi’s Etihad to invest in Kingfisher.

On the exodus, Mr. Mallya said: "Whilst many may have left our family and many may be in the process of leaving, our family may have become smaller for now.... We were the biggest and best. We may not be the biggest now but we remain simply the best for our guests and our valued King Club members." He also added that those employees who stick around these tough times will be rewarded after the crisis is over.

Prominent citizens such as Aruna Roy, Nikhil Dey, and S C Agrawal wrote to the PM that no bailout must be considered for Kingfisher at the taxpayers' expense. "The government seems set to 'persuade' banks to provide him yet another bailout to fund a company that has so far racked up almost Rs 7,000 crore in losses, entirely funded by loans. Since most of the money has been lent by nationalized and public sector banks, which are repeatedly capitalized by government, it would mean that this private enterprise will be bailed out with public funds. We, a group of concerned citizens, are writing to express our strong objection to any further bailout of the flamboyant billionaire, which will only allow him to continue to mismanage the airline," the letter says.

Agarwal simplifies Indian subsidiaries; forms Sesa Sterlite

2012-02-27T05:52:04Z

An organizational rejig in early 2012 for Vedanta Resources works perfectly, feels Vedanta Chairman Anil Agarwal. Mr. Agarwal has combined his flagship Indian companies named Sesa Goa and Sterlite Industries into a single entity which is being called ‘Sesa Sterlite’. He said this move was in keeping with his intention to simplify the business structure and merge the Indian subsidiaries.

Based in London, the miner has gone in for an important reorganizational drive by merging Sterlite Industries into sister concern and iron ore miner Sesa Goa. 'Sesa Sterlite' is a Rs 1,00,000-crore venture and will the world’s seventh largest natural resource company. Mr. Agarwal hails from Bihar and is one of the few men who were able to make his presence felt in the world of manufacturing.

He feels that with the creation of Sesa Sterlite, the best is yet to come from his company. "You have to see the holistic picture," Agarwal says. Even though Reliance Industries retains its premier position, Agarwal has been able to create a venture that can compete with it as well as generate profits. 'Sesa Sterlite has a ready debt of $6 billion at an interest of 5.5% compared to the prevailing interest of 12%. The new entity, valued at $20 billion, will generate $10 billion every year, so servicing debt is not an issue at all. Also, we will benefit from savings of $200 million each year by way of synergies” he states confidently.

Kingfisher in talks with two foreign carriers

2012-02-27T05:43:13Z

In a recent interview, Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher Airlines stated that a potential rescue could be likely as the carrier is in talks with foreign companies on the same. Mallya, who owns 58% share of Kingfisher, declined to comment on who these foreign airlines were. He however confirmed that he has secured provisional approval from these airlines that were ready to invest in Kingfisher very soon.

According to a source, Kingfisher could be in talks with International Airlines Group (which is the owner of British Airways and Iberia) while the other could be Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi’s flagship carrier. The partnership could involve these foreign parties providing equity in exchange for a minority state, stated the Times.

In the interim, Kingfisher has also sought aid from banks to offer them fresh loans to stay afloat. However, State Bank of India, Kingfisher’s lead lender said it will not consider any loans for now for the debt-laden carrier. The carrier has turned profitable since it was founded in 2005 and is now desperately in need of cash. Without help coming in, the carrier stands on the brink of a major collapse.

But with foreign aid pouring in, there could be a slim possibility that Kingfisher could turn things around. Vijay Mallya definitely hopes so.