Cover Story
- Continuing with our series on India's New Business Dynasties, we feature Rana Kapoor who gave up a top notch banker's job to set up his own bank. Today, YES Bank has revenues of Rs 2,369 crore and a market capitalisation of Rs 9,500 crore.
- Havells, which Qimat Rai Gupta bought for Rs 7 lakh in 1971, is now the fourth-largest lighting company in the world.
- Jagdish Saxena, who never wanted to get into business, now heads a pharmaceutical empire.
- After working with the Tata Group for 33 years, Vishambhar Saran quit to build a Rs 5,000 crore conglomerate.
- Having turned Allcargo into a Rs 2,600 crore giant, Shashi Kiran Shetty now wants to go global.
- Once TV's first family, the Balaji Group now makes hit films.
- The GVK Group employs many professionals, but G.V.K. Reddy always has the last word.
- Deepak Puri's Moser Baer has grown into the world's second largest producer of blank compact discs
- As part of our series on India's new business dynasties we feature Capt. G.R. Gopinath of Deccan Charters Ltd. Having begun in 1997 along with friend Capt K J Samuel with a single leased helicopter - operating out of a small office in Bangalore, he has since grown into a mature business with a fleet of 13 choppers and three aircraft.
- Continuing with our series on India's New Business Dynasties, we feature Adani Group's Gautam Adani. The 48-year-old chairman is building an integrated operation in power, oil and gas, and agriculture.
- G.M. Rao cements a structure around his business and family to make sure they stay together even after he is gone.
- Thirteen years ago, BT compiled a list of 50 top business families. If a similar list is compiled today, it would have a host of names that had not been heard of then.
The reclusive stars: The Mittals, Biyanis, Chandras
Short profiles of some of the biggest and most innovative entrepreneurs.
What's cooking?
A booming economy means big business for premium kitchen brands, says Anumeha Chaturvedi.
ESOPs: Preparing for the year-end bounty
If your employer is planning to grant you employee stock ownership plans, or ESOPs, along with your regular bonus, increment or promotion, this is a good time to understand this complex incentive.
Maruti Suzuki, Toyota enter each other's territory
A budget carmaker tries its hand at luxury while a luxury carmaker goes the other way. Welcome to the genre-hopping world of Maruti Suzuki and Toyota. April is your final chance to discover the fantastic Southern Alps of New Zealand before winter sets in. Check the desirability quotient of the new products launched. The Suzuki GSX-R1000 is a beauty that balances its performance to accommodate both new and experienced riders. We take you on a whirlwind trip across Spain's hidden treasures and hedonistic preserves. Come undone. Deepak Chandnani, President, OBOPAY talks about the books that have made him what he is today. The new Eaton Transit Hotel at Delhi's T3 terminal has upped the standard for flyers in the country. 'There are different kinds of love, but they all have the same aim. Possession.' Vast, sprawling vineyards, a state-of-the-art winery, a sleek minimalist guesthouse of contemporary architecture; accompanied by large quantities of vino. Two days at the Fratelli winery in Maharashtra were a lesson in wine and passion, and their Indian connection. A great view, choice drinks and a buzzing atmosphere make The Table a great joint, but the food at the restaurant's globally-inspired menu at Colaba's newest eatery, leaves a lot to be desired. Swinging to African drum beats, walking like Scandinavians or just imitating a monkey; when it comes to workouts, quirky is the buzzword. Fight the blues of bad health and get in the pink with some interesting exercises. Twenty-six acres of land on the outskirts of Mumbai has been turned into a dirt track for India's first safety driving school for rally drivers. Innovative programmes and quality teachers make AutoMission a hit. Antarctica, the land of sculptural icebergs, wallowing seals and rookeries of penguins, is in every way a bucketlist destination. Plan a visit to the white continent with our travel blueprint. Immensely popular in its various forms throughout the Mediterranean, anise-based drinks are the best way to kick back on a hot afternoon. Bags are one of the easiest ways for the man of the moment to accessorise. There are great choices out there too. We bring you some of the best from this season to help you make up your mind.
Into the headwind
A spurt in input costs and interest expenses is eroding the profit margins of corporate India.Washington is starting to look like Delhi, says British historian Niall Ferguson
An erudite scholar, acclaimed author and the William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, British historian Niall Ferguson wears several hats. Edited excerpts from an interview:Bhopal gas tragedy case: Past horrific, present tense
The re-opening of the Bhopal case has industry bodies worried. The calamity has affected Japanese business badly, including companies that have a presence in India. An anti-fraud measure has online merchants fuming.Japan nuclear crisis: Lessons for India
Is India's nuclear establishment prepared to deal with a Fukushima-type crisis? Ambiguity over its business model, top management transition and a testy second-tier leadership will challenge Infosys like never before.We need strong regulators, says MP Rajeev Chandrasekharan
"Corruption, nepotism...are symptoms of a deep-rooted malaise in our governance," argued Rajeev Chandrasekhar, one-time telecom magnate and now independent Member of Parliament, at the India Today Conclave.Green GDP a matter of livelihoods, says Jairam Ramesh
Industry's most-hated minister, Jairam Ramesh, whom his critics cite as the biggest threat to India's GDP growth, stuck to his guns at the India Today Conclave. Real estate is in the doldrums again, thanks to rising interest rates, tighter lending norms and a volatile market.A.M. Naik: Why is this man splitting L&T?
A.M. Naik risks squandering his legacy with a rushed plan to split the company.India Today Conclave 2011: Festival of Ideas
This year's India Today Conclave featured thought leaders from around the world. BT interviewed those who had something interesting to say about business and economy.Internet Has to be a Neutral Place, says Tim Berners Lee
Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, 55, is regarded as the father of the World Wide Web. A British engineer and computer scientist, he currently teaches at MIT. He spoke to BT's Kushan Mitra.2G Scam: Arun Shourie says Centre has succeeded, not Opposition
BJP leader Arun Shourie is in touch with the Department of Telecom official who blew the whistle on the 2G scam that has led to the arrest of former UPA telecom minister A Raja. He speaks to Puja Mehra. Excerpts:We love the news business: James Murdoch
At 38, he is not given to mincing words. James Murdoch, Chairman and CEO, Europe and Asia, of the $32.8-billion News Corporation, openly criticised the foreign direct investment norms in India that cap the entry of global players in the news and digital broadcasting space. In an interview with Shamni Pande he opens up on the group's plans for India.
Leadership style with Arun Bharat Ram
Chairman of SRF Ltd Ltd Arun Bharat Ram talks about his leadership style.
Civilizations revisited, brilliantly
The book explains the history of the West and why the West is history, says Srivatsa Krishna.
Inflation worries: What RBI should do next
Tightening of interest rates was required, but the time may have come for a pause, says the former Director General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research.Find out the meaning of a new business word: Jawboning
Jawboning: The use of public appeals to influence actions, especially relating to business.Bill Gates, Warren Buffett: Primer for Giving
Gleaned from public interactions of Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates in India.Smart New Trading Tool To Help Find Prices of Shares
A newly-introduced software provides instant information on the price of shares across bourses. $71.7 bn: The revenues of the Indian IT-BPO industry by the end of 2011, accounting for 5.8 per cent of the country's GDP.Gadgets review: iPad 2 and Motorola Defy
The iPad2 is not yet available in India, and is not expected to be here even during the second phase of Apple's product roll-out in late April.Business leaders: Walk the talk
"For another Green Revolution, you need technology...Services like electricity and water; marketing...and lastly, farmers' enthusiasm. The last is the most important input and it is totally absent," says M.S. Swaminathan.5 Steps To Here: The Harshad Mehta Legacy
Know all about the Harshad Mehta stock market scam in only 5 steps.Don't compare India and China, says Deloitte Global MD
Jamshedpur boy MANOJ SINGH is the Global Managing Director of Operations at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, one of accounting's Big Four worldwide. Suman Layak caught up with Singh. Biggest business deals in the past 30 days (February 15 to March 14)
Biggest business deals in the past 30 days (*February 15 to March 14) Legacy as lasting nightmare
Professor at the Centre for Policy Research Bharat Karnad says certain nuclear aspects of the Fukushima Daiichi disaster in Japan have a bearing on the fanciful power generation schemes that have been taken up by the Manmohan govt.
People business
He spent the last few years in exotic locales such as Borneo, Phuket, Auckland and Kuala Lumpur managing properties. Now, 38-year-old Australian Shaun Langdon is in India with a tough job in hand. From the Editor
A worldwide debate is raging about the risks of nuclear power. Even if the Indian government's audacious plan for a necklace of reactors takes shape, we will derive only five per cent of our energy needs from nuclear plants by 2050. Business Today readers write to the Editor
Your cover story Making 500 Million People Employable (April 3) has accurately highlighted the various aspects of the compelling responsibility of shaping the skill dimensions of Indians, writes B Rajasekaran from Bangalore. Time to be a patent agent
The current pool of patent agents is way too small to meet the demand, says Manu Kaushik.
