Cover Story
- Franchisees will have to understand what viewers want.
- Hard-nosed and uber-successful tycoons like Mukesh Ambani,Vijay Mallya and others paid millions for their IPL teams and players. The revenues they earn by way of ticket sales, team sponsorships, merchandising, etc., are expected to rise each year, thus making it easier for them to become profitable as the years go by. BT's Shamni Pande and Tejeesh N.S. Behl report.
From the Editor
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is now in the "middle overs", and, by all accounts, is already a massive hit. If there was a question mark, it was over how the eight franchise owners-among them such big names of India Inc. as Mukesh Ambani, Vijay Mallya, Ness Wadia and others-and Sony Entertainment Television (SET), the official broadcaster, would recover their investments. Five wines to die for
A number of international wines are now available in India. Here are five of the very best chosen by one of India’s most talked about wine journalists. Golf is a true test of character, the saying goes. So, whether you’re putting on the green, or trying to wedge your way out of a bunker, it pays to be dressed sharply. The final word on the finest Indian wines has been said. In a first-ever initiative, eight experts across India, Australia and the US sat across a table for five hours in Delhi on April 30, blind tasting 38 wines to zero in on the best Indian wines across different categories. I see nothing wrong with a scenario like this—Jyoti Randhawa makes a birdie and the threesome in grass skirts standing by the green suddenly come to life. They switch on the portable audio system and do a jig around the green before the “Quiet please” signs go up.'Indian wine has got much better'
One of the best-known names from the world of wine, Michelle Rolland is known as the ‘The Flying Wine Maker’. In India for a week, the 61-year-old Rolland spent time with BT More, discussing Indian wines and how they fare vis-à-vis the global fare. A family torn apart by civil war; an officer recalls the funny side of his NDA days; and memories that haunt an author—three gripping novels based on real life incidents. Three great ways to spend the weekend. If you are going to be driving over 2,500 km a month, then it makes sense to buy a diesel car, to even out your EMIs. Less than that, stick to petrol for the time being.Luxury and, now, even sports cars are increasingly being fuelled by diesel. At 32, Pooja Jain is Executive Director and heir apparent of Luxor India.We met her over a glass of champagne on a Saturday evening to find out what makes her heart skip a beat. Stop reading books on wines to increase your grape quotient. Go on any of these five amazing wine tours around the world. Call your travel agent. Pronto! In the first-ever rating of Indian wines, BT More got eight experts from around the country and beyond to try out 38 different wines to zero in on the best wines made in India. Here are the results.Annual Indian wine ratings 2008
For the first time ever, the finest Indian wines, rated. Read on. Some of the latest timepieces on offer are also technological masterpieces. It’s a scorcher out there as summer turns on the heat. Time for some cooling drinks? Try these at home, even without expert supervision. When it comes to pairing your shirts with the right tie, the initial urge is to play it safe. Yes, some styles are enduring, but it always pays to experiment a bit.We look at four distinct ties that you can wear with four styles of dress shirts. Prague is a lovely city with a lot to offer by way of castles, quaint boat rides and architectural marvels. But it’s also one of the best places to be in if you are a jazz buff, a beer guzzler or one who ventures into exotic lounge bars to sip large portions of exotic liquor once the sun has set. Sanjoy Narayan went there, did that and survived to tell the tale. While we mourn the death of the music album at the hands of downloads, music labels are releasing remastered versions of classic albums from the Sixties, the golden age of pop. Check out these luxury products that were launched recently. We bet your credit card is in for some heavy duty work. Dig in. Gorge on all those sinful snacks you have been dying to try out, without fear of losing your abs to flabs. Love what the Chinese do to those seemingly innocuous looking pieces of meat and fish to create a dim sum platter that tastes so heavenly? Don’t migrate to China yet (as if you wanted to). Try out these four great dim sum lunches in your city, instead. The big bad city, a femme fatale, a morally ambiguous hero and blazing guns—wrap all this up in a web of shadows and you get the alluring world of Film Noir—one of the great creations of modern cinema. We take a look at some classics that are now available on high quality DVD. The Concorso D’Eleganza is Europe’s biggest classic car show, and also showcases the latest concept automobiles. Kushan Mitra went to the shores of Lake Como to check it out. What’s your sport? Whether it’s cricket or pool, darts or beer guzzling—there’s no place like a sports bar to chill out. World's most valuable CEOs
Much has been said about how India's top executives take home large salaries. We take a glance at the top companies by market capitalization in the world's top economies and see what their bosses make.Mega market for ultra-low-cost cars
As income levels rise in developing nations, an entirely new category of vehicle buyer is emerging, signalling an enormous potential for ultra-low-cost-cars (ULCCs) priced between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 2 lakh.Hic-town Indians on booze binge
Alcoholism is becoming a major problem in Indian society. Not only are Indians drinking more, they are beginning to drink earlier. Not much is known about Hasan Ali Khan, except that he was a small-time punter in Pune till he suddenly hit the big time five years ago. “India will never have a revolution. China will need one every two or three centuries... Its society is hierarchical… India is diverse”George Yong-Boon Yeo, Foreign Minister, Singapore, in The Indian Express Rs 8,000 crore: Cost of the 27-storey skyscraper being built in Mumbai by Mukesh Ambani. Once completed, this will be the world’s largest and costliest privately-owned home, according to Forbes When Finance Minister P. Chidambaram proposed changes in the Finance Bill 2008-09 recently, one of them was the extension of the tax holiday for the IT industry by one year, till March 31, 2010. Despite the failure of the Pune administration to successfully implement a “bus corridor”, the Delhi government is implementing a 5.8 km stretch of BRT with segregated corridors for buses, cars, cycles and pedestrians. No wonder, the index of industrial production (IIP) is on a roller-coaster. The 9 per cent GDP growth targets may well remain just that—targets—if India Inc. continues to reel under critical shortage of electricity.India needs a stronger China policy: Bill Emmott
Bill Emmott was in India recently, on his “umpteenth visit”, to promote his latest book, Rivals: How the Power Struggle Between China, India and Japan will Shape our Next Decade. He spent some time with BT’s Kushan Mitra in New Delhi dicussing the new Asian power paradigm. Excerpts: Rising prices and interest rates have raised the total cost of ownership by around 10 per cent over the last one year. Luckily for Goenka, demand has been fairly elastic over the past few months despite price increases. Several low-fare carriers are advertising fares as low as Rs 0 (GoAir), but when you book a ticket, you discover that you end up paying Rs 2,350 as fuel surcharge. The United States is losing ground in education and is no longer the destination of first choice for many prospective international graduate students, says a recent study by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS), an organisation of 500 higher educational institutions in the US and Canada. The fortnight’s burning question. Will global oil prices cross $150 per barrel in 2008? A bumper harvest and comfortable stocks could lead to an easing of food prices. Airtel's African safari
Will Sunil Mittal succeed in acquiring MTN? Over the past 3-4 years, a number of domestic firms have bid for South African companies. Why is India Inc. headed to South Africa? Heineken may be getting in Vijay Mallya’s hair. Risk isn’t a four-letter word for Merrill Lynch. Dr Reddy’s makes three niche acquisitions in 30 days. There could be some out-ofthe-blue IT hubs in the making. Tyre maker Ceat unveils a new logo in a bid to get back on track. The BJP promises farmers free power for votes. ISB may spread its wings. First stop could be Mohali. Lord Swraj Paul’s Caparo Group has big plans for India. Yash Birla Group has firmed up plans in the health and wellness space. A tie-up with the Apollo Group to set up a hospital and another alliance with the Singapore-based Pacific Healthcare Holdings. Aggregating Indian films and soaps is big biz in the West. Consultancy firm Ernst & Young (E&Y), in a report estimates the value of Indian content sold outside the country—films and television content—at over $200 million Indian media & entertainment makes a mark at the NAB Show. For the first time the NAB show had an India pavilion and an ‘Indian Super Session’ titled Tune In to India’s Entertainment Economy: From Emerging to Surging and as many as 400 Indian delegates. There are at least a dozen portals in the online travel market. Cleartrip seeks to dominate in this competitive market. Silly season
With eight more state elections due over next 12 months, culminating in the general elections in May 2009, we can expect many more populist, and desperate, measures to woo the electorate. Inflation continues to be the principal concern of policy makers in the country. Prices of vegetables, lentils, rice and wheat—the staple of most consumers in India—have shot up over the last few months, eating into household budgets. The Indian Premier League has already claimed its first high-profile casualty. Vijay Mallya, owner of the Royal Challengers Bangalore team, has sacked Charu Sharma, CEO of the franchise, following the poor performance of the team in the first half of the tournament. Feedback from readers
Your cover story Real Estate, Correction or Crash? was timely, as a churn is already evident in the realty space in the country. It gave a clear picture of the actual situation prevailing in the different regions, metros and peripheral towns, and put in perspective all the factors affecting realty prices. Out of cold storage
Organised food retailing is going to be huge, but it will be nothing without a back end, and a backbone. That’s where the logistics sector comes into play—right from state-of-the-art warehouses to the entire gamut of cold chain infrastructure. BT's Anand Adhikari says that companies in India and abroad have shown a keen interest to invest in this sector.Commodities ban: Will it help?
The government has banned futures trading in eight commodities and is planning to extend this to some more items. However, the available data on futures trading does not show any evidence that it has either reduced or increased volatility of spot prices. Is it a wrong move? BT's Rohit Viswanath finds out. While India Inc. had managed to avert a sharp deceleration in its topline and bottomline growth in the first three quarters of fiscal 2008, it’s the last quarter that perhaps gives a clear picture of where they are headed. Hit by higher input prices and interest rates, corporate earnings growth was down sharply in the last quarter of 2007-08. Now with derivatives losses growing, India Inc. faces anxious times ahead. Despite the joint CEO experiment not coming off in several high profile cases globally, Chairman Azim Premji is betting on the model to unify Wipro’s IT businesses and spur growth. He is rather confident that the teams are ready and the timing is right. BT's Rahul Sachitanand finds out whether the new arrangement will work. K. V. Kamath - The elder statesman
Kundapur Vaman Kamath, 60, MD and CEO of ICICI Bank, the second-largest bank in the country, has now turned his de facto position as one of India Inc.’s elder statesmen into a de jure one—he recently donned the mantle of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) President for 2008-09. With the business environment getting more competitive, advertising agencies are redrawing job profiles to tap deeper into the talent pool.Taking baby steps into the nano world
India Inc is waking up to nanotechnology, and this promises to change the way you live—whether by arresting the biological ageing process or curing diseases, such as cancer, diabetes and HIV-AIDS, or even bringing out the best from shampoos and airconditioners. A report by Nitya Varadarajan. Tata Steel has made a difference to the lives of the tribals in Jharkhand in its 100th year of existence. Fish farming is on in full swing in the tribal villages this May and the ponds are swarming with fish, thanks to the livelihood development programme initiated by the behemoth. A report by BT's Ritwik Mukherjee. "Time to go back to the basics"
Nilesh Shah, Deputy Managing Director, ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company, talks about the current market and the strategies that investors should adopt in the changed market realities in an interview with BT’s Krishna Gopalan. India will see a dramatic rise in the number of wealthy households by 2017. It has been a good recovery for the stock markets so far. Whether stock markets rise or fall, smart money will always chase sound stocks. Here’s what you should keep an eye on. Real estate MFs promise to change the landscape of realty investments and make them accessible to all. Here’s what you should know. General insurers are offering a host of health insurance benefits. How can you make the most of it? The banking sector has been through many downs—loan waivers, subprime writeoffs, derivative losses and CRR hikes. But is the worst over? Campaign guru
Ravi Singh, CEO & Founder of Election Mall Technologies Inc.; Bharti Airtel’s Gopal Vittal; Ashwin Kapur, Executive Director, Atlas Laboratories & Pharmaceuticals; Ford India’s Michael Boneham; NCDEX CEO & MD R. Ramaseshan and Videocon’s K.R. Kim. The flat panel TV buyers'guide
Flat Panel TVs are getting cheaper, so maybe, it’s time you bought one. Here’s a ready reckoner. Currency futures on cards
The RBI is keen to launch exchange-traded currency futures contracts in India soon. In a recent report, the central bank has advocated the launch of forex futures in domestic exchanges under the purview of markets regulator SEBI. State-owned telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) is unhappy that it is being forced to give up its Access Deficit Charge (ADC) handout from this year. ADC was a levy paid by private players to BSNL for providing services in rural India. A desperate government has resorted to drastic measures to tackle inflation. Its latest salvo is the decision to ban futures trading in four commodities— potato, soya oil, chana and rubber. Anbumani Ramadoss
Over the last four years, Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss, a qualified medical doctor, has been in the news for reasons more wrong than right. Noted
Relaxed: By RBI, lending norms for infrastructure projects to encourage banks to earmark more funds for core sector projects. A flawed premise
Globalisation and geopolitics will intertwine and become the new global paradigm this century. Tea planters in a pickle
The tea gardens of Assam are faced with an unexpected and severe labour crunch. This is affecting their operations this plucking season that started in April. The reason: the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). BT's Ritwik Mukherjee reports from the Martycherra tea plantation in the Cachar district. India's 20 most wired
Can information technology be transformational? Without doubt, yes. And here are 20 examples to prove it. Our annual listing of the most IT-savvy outfits in the country. 
