Cover Story
- Some 400 million kids below the age of 15 are India's most conspicuous consumers, lapping up not just toys, gadgets, phones and clothes but also counselling parents on big ticket purchases.
- India is a child-obsessed, child-centred culture. Over 70 per cent of Indian households have a child below 14, and one out of two households has a child between the age of 5 and 12.
- Kids may not understand the need for insurance, but financial services firms sure know how to get a share of their mind.
- Too much of television, slothful gaming and junk food are making Jack a dull boy.
- Kids in the hinterlands of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are no bumpkins when it comes to spending.
- Children are being exposed to digital devices from a very early age.
- Advertisers attempt to woo children with their own versions of reality.
- The children's segment is a big and serious business for brands of all hues.
The crisis, its cost and fallout
It would be naive of me to suggest that we in the microfinance sector did not know that a problem was brewing; we were just hoping it would never come and some of us were wondering when it would.Five Kashmiris the world should know
In the political and economic chaos that is Kashmir, BT discovers some entrepreneurs who have found a way to thrive. Now even small and unglamorous businesses have the opportunity to grow, thanks to micro-equity. The controversy over new service licences and allotment of spectrum for second-generation mobile telephony has claimed the telecom minister's job. But this is not the end of the scandal. President Nicolas Sarkozy's December visit and some political will can see India-France trade double in three years. Americans and Chinese point fingers, and India fails to sell its infrastructure funding idea. Puja Mehra reports from Seoul. The private players get a jolt, but that could be good. Scientists and some farmers are betting on a fungus to reverse declining soil productivity. Microsoft's India Development Centre was described by some as a body shop where code jocks did grunt work on small, meaningless projects. No more. As corporations and law firms begin to offshore work to India, the legal outsourcing industry is gearing up for a boom. United Technologies Chairman and CEO Louis Chenevert wants to grow his India business five times in as many years. He is not crazy.
Etcetera
The Lockheed SR-71, also known as the Blackbird, was the fastest manned aircraft in the world before it was retired by the US Air Force in 1998.A big market for E-print: John Solomon
You can hit print on your smartphone now. Hewlett-Packard demonstrated this function at its Innovation Summit in Singapore recently.India is vital for us: William E. Mccracken
William E. Mccracken, CEO, CA Technologies, was in India recently.He interacts with BT'S Kushan Mitra. Situated 6,215 feet above sea level, Kudremukh seems more like an idyllic retreat than home to India's largest iron ore mine. The dreaming dreamliners. India ranked a lowly 134 among 183 countries, according to a study by the World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, which evaluated countries on the basis of the ease of conducting business. Here's why:The top 10 most watched ads in October 2010
Pepsi and Coca-Cola have woken up and, hey, it is not even summer. Land Rover and Jaguar customers are buying JLR cars and not Tata cars. That shouldn't be mixed up. India's and the world's most talked-about CEOs in November. BlackBerry sports a new look and Hitachi tries something different. The second round of quantitative easing by the US could send more money rushing to emerging markets like India.The imperative of cyber security
The government, industry and public must work together and develop a comprehensive cyber security strategy.Find out the meaning of a new business word: Assmosis
What it means: The process of "absorbing success" or becoming successful by sucking up to the boss. The current stock market rally seems to be on a much stronger footing than the one in fiscal 2008, but investors need to be vigilant, argues Rashesh Shah.Should the Food Security Act cover the entire population?
The majority feels that the Food Security Act should cover the entire population. But such a policy decision would be difficult to implement. From the Editor: Dec 12, 2010
Money's burning a hole in our pockets, and kids who know exactly what they want - and what they want their parents to want - are powering this shopathon. Readers' forum
The Most Powerful Women in Indian Business (BT cover, November 28) is a unique platform that brings together a bevy of successful women to share their experiences, hurdles and triumphs in the corporate world.
Value climb
It is a small start but Indian factories are revving to move into higher value manufacturing. Local subsidiaries suddenly get more respect at multinationals as India accounts for a much bigger market. New business models take root - and some flourish - as more and more companies seek to tap into the demand among the unwealthy millions. The trickle down theory, which hit mainstream economic consciousness in the 1980s under Ronald Reagan in the United States, was turned on its head at the World Economic Forum's India Economic Summit mid-November.
Rewards of excellence
Business Today's seventh Most Powerful Women in Business Awards Nite was a celebration of feminine achievement.
'Investors turned away from funds at one of the best times for equities'
Ashu Suyash, MD and Country Head of Fidelity Mutual Fund, tells Babar Zaidi how the removal of entry loads on mutual funds last year has affected small investors. In the concluding part of the series on celebrity investors' strategies, Sameer Bhardwaj tests James O'Shaughnessy's method.
Brewing success
Entrepreneurs rush into the microbrewery business as Indians show a preference for fresh beer. Learn to manage time and stress better.
'We can beat the Malthusian Curse'
In his latest book, agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan notes the challenges that India faces on the farm front and offers solutions. He tells BT's N. Madhavan that the government's initial successes made it complacent and India again faces a crisis. Edited excerpts:
People Business
The story about a boy who neither spoke nor understood a word of English as a first-year student of engineering but went on to become one of India's leading industrialists has been told several times.
Where are the leaders?
Realising 'right-fit' leaders are critical to sustaining growth, companies scurry to build a robust leadership pipeline - and some of them are succeeding.
The pilgrim progresses
Tie up a visit to Cambodia's historical Angkor Vat temple with a luxurious stay at a picture-perfect resort set amid a tropical rainforest, located on the Thai island of Koh Kood. Check the desirability quotient of various products. London's landmark Savoy Hotel reopens after a refit that took almost two years and cost 220-million. Arindam Bose, Co-founder, Timtara.Com, talks about the books that have made him what he is today. The pains and pitfalls of dating a model far outweigh the pleasures. We tell you why. Get started on a Chinese martial art that gives you lightning moves and mind. Fast cars, bikes and boats. Racing tidbits from around the world. Honda is back with a VFR superbike that's a brilliant mix of a tourer and a superbike and is as much at home on the race track as on Race Course Road. Everything you need to know about matching food with lager, ale, stout and other beers. Sex sells, especially in art, where titillation, testosterone and temptation-stocked galleries and stands entice both aficionados and investors, and fuel sales. Sandeep Arora heads south and checks out the bars in Bangalore and Chennai. Here's his pick of the best watering holes for discerning tipplers. Here's something for the cosmopolitan globetrotter, specially crafted by one of the coolest designers around.Style mile turns into eat street
Mix a stellar view of the Qutub Minar with jazz tracks in the background, add a large pinch of greenery and aesthetic interiors, and whip together with contemporary Asian cuisine. You've just arrived at Circa 1193. There are different kinds of love, but they all have the same aim. Possession. Boosted equally by history and myth and its late start notwithstanding, the new 'New World' wine country set in one of the oldest wine-producing regions on earth is determined to wet as many throats as possible.
Breaking out the bubbly
An evening spent imbibing knowledge and the produce of Champagne becomes an occasion to remember.
