Cover Story
- In a country teeming with young millions, it should not be too difficult to find a group of ambitious men and women who are deciding the future of India. A look at top 20 young guns who represent the future of Indian business.
- Electronic commodity trading has led to a big rise in volumes, and this is just the beginning.
- Besides facilitating inclusion, the unique identification project could spur innovation.
- India's cloud computing market is expected to reach $16 billion by 2020.
- Phones are likely to replace cash and plastic as a mode of payment.
- India's turn on the information highway may be around the corner with broadband wireless.
- Like mobiles, low-cost tablets could create economic opportunities.
- Solar energy costs more than thermal power, but is becoming more affordable.
- Some 720 million Indians lack clean water, and public-private partnerships are showing the way.
- While the country adopts and creates cutting-edge technology, it has before it urgent and basic concerns such as the scarcity of water and electricity, affordable access to information, and financial inclusion.
- They never made it to the IAS, but have helped thousands of others do so.
- He has a passion for control and an appetite for the new and untried.
- The baker has come a long way, but hopes to go even further.
- Once desperately poor, this marginal farmer's son now owns a fleet of trucks.
- How an Army subedar's son became a top-notch crane manufacturer.
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- Genpact is today a $1.5 billion business but GE's bigger contribution is India's $6 billion BPO industry.
- The $450-million acquisition of Tetley in the UK in February 2000 by Tata Tea indeed set the stage for buyouts by Indian companies.
- India's busy satellite TV industry traces its origins to a visit nearly 22 years ago by a Punjabi rice trader to the Mumbai office of national broadcaster Doordarshan.
- Besides introducing the taste of coffee to traditional tea belts, what the marquee chain quietly ushered in is a wave of cafe culture in India's small towns.
- Pit stops across the past two decades to track how the country has changed.
- ICICI changed the Indian banking system with aggression in marketing, competitive pricing and doses of innovations.
- Infosys stood out in the way it ran its business: sharing wealth with employees, refusing to grease palms, focusing on systems and processes to sustain business, encouraging meritocracy, and obsessing over quality of work and delivery.
- The root cause of sports not flourishing is lack of professional management.
- Today, one in two cars sold in India has the Maruti badge. Not just that, the credit for a robust automobiles industry whose output makes for about five per cent of India's GDP is mostly with Maruti Suzuki.
- Airtel pioneered a model that helped it to significantly lower down the cost of providing service.
- Social media promises to be full of drama, triumphs and twists.
- Ads will celebrate 'Indianness' and 'youth' even more emphatically.
- Kishore Biyani's Big Bazaar unveiled the power of organised retail in India, and that too without any foreign partner.
- NSE changed equity trading in India through clear rules backed with technology and risk-avoiding margins.
- In the mid-1990s, customer service levels were set by monopoly providers such as Indian Airlines or public sector banks. In such a market, Jet Airways redefined it.
- This sunshine industry has failed on many fronts and needs to do better.
- India's growth success is undermining its ecosystems.
- Farmers are getting a very raw deal. Much has to change for them to thrive.
- If some hurdles are removed, India can create and maintain world-class assets.
- Every city of more than three million people needs a metro immediately.
- The country is in poor health, and private hospitals can do little to improve it.
- NGOs have proliferated, but only a few have had game-changing impact.
- Why the number of women CEOs still remains woefully low.
- The next decade will belong to those who expect the best but plan for the worst
- India's fragmented, decentralised nature will work to its advantage.
- India has a sound, rule-abiding banking system, but challenges remain.
- Let good schools and colleges expand freely, increase technology use.
- Entrepreneurs are thriving, but with more support, can do even better.
- With its outstanding record in innovation, India is poised to become a global leader.
- Research cannot flourish if making money is the primary pursuit.
- Newspapers will not die in India, but TV may face regulation.
- The cynics may not realise it, but the tide is turning against corruption.
- The executive, legislature, judiciary and media are all functioning poorly.
- Business Today celebrates its 20th anniversary and looks ahead at the next two decades.
- "We are a far better informed nation today than we ever were in our history - three-quarters of a billion Indians now have telephone connectivity," says Chaitanya Kalbag.
- Avenues of transformation can be many, but education is the most effective
- There are frustrations galore at the grassroots, but it is essential to persevere.
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- Key to the photographs, with each potential champ's take on what the future holds
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A lowdown on how to live it up and make 2012 a cracker of a year
From fast cars, to fashion and breathtaking holidays, a lowdown on how to live it up and make 2012 a cracker of a year.Hot cars that are going to hit Indian roads in 2012
Luxury and supercar manufacturers have a number of vehicles lined up to wow the Indian market in 2012. Here's a quick list of the most hotly-anticipated cars revving up to get here.Hero Motors Pankaj Munjal's favourite things
Check out what Pankaj Munjal, Managing Director, Hero Motors prefers in home essentials, gadgets, apparels and media.Top four luxury adventure holidays of 2012
Tired of the same, tourist traps? For travel experiences with a difference? Here's our pick of the top four luxury adventure holidays that will redefine vacations in 2012.Restaurants that redefined fine dining in 2011
In 2011, a handful of restaurants redefined 'fine dining'. Anamika Butalia explains why they have raised the bar.Check the desirability quotient of new products launched
Check the desirability quotient of new products launched.Shouvick Mukherjee on books that have made him what he is today
Shouvick Mukherjee, VP & CEO, Yahoo! India R&D talks about the books that have made him what he is today.Places to travel and things to do this month
Places to travel and things to do this month.Nightclubs Avalon and Pangaea raise the bar for nightlife in Singapore
All crystal and bling, nightclubs Avalon and Pangaea, raise the bar for nightlife in Singapore. Hitani Kaur parties at last year's debutants among the world's party hotspots.Ritz Carlton - A remarkable addition to Hong Kong's soaring skyline
{mosimage} Here's to the virtues of high-living.Restaurant reviews: Diva in Delhi and Red Zen in Pune
The latest addition to the 11-year-old Delhi favourite Diva dresses down but keeps the banner flying high. Red Zen at Pune's Marriott Courtyard has upped the ante for Pan Asian cuisine in a city that loves food.Fashion trends for men in 2012
In 2012 men's fashion gets fresher, younger, and more playful. Colours range from white to brights; Prints and plaid make a comeback, the jacket goes double-breasted, and altered lengths add an element of surprise.Do it yourself guide on dressing, cocktail mixing and art
The corporate world has plenty of protocols. Here are some that concern fashion and style. Master Mixologist of Vladivar Vodka, Yangdup Lama decodes the hard science of cocktail making. Sonia Arora Sood fills us in on the trend of installing artworks in your homes.Sports tidbits from around the world
Fast cars, bikes and boats. Sports tidbits from around the world.Indian whisky expert Sandeep Arora on Japanese spirits
The Japanese attribute the success of their spirits to the weather. Indian whisky expert Sandeep Arora indulges in the mild warmth of their spirits.Izmir is a captivatingly beautiful littoral city
Izmir, in South West Turkey, is a captivatingly beautiful littoral city, which harbours great archaeological sites, back-country delights and some very beautiful people.Hot destinations for holidaying in 2012
The discerning traveller has evolved beyond standardised itineraries and prefers bespoke travel. Here are the go-to hotspots for experience-based vacations in 2012. Here's to the endless virtues of globetrotting.Rossano Ferretti and Bastien Gonzalez to give grooming lessons to Indian men
When it comes to self-care, settle for nothing but the best. Rossano Ferretti and Bastien Gonzalez are masters of their craft, and they're now in India to cater to your every grooming whim and fancy.Food trends 2012: Restaurateurs need to be innovative for quality food
Indian diners are now an experimental breed, willing to shell out hard cash for quality food. Restaurateurs must respond with fresh, local, responsibly-sourced ingredients, served creatively. Here's to new-age gastronomy.Road trips to look forward to in 2012
There are road trips and then there are road trips. While some only get you from A to B, on others the journey is as magical as the destination. Here are a few that may inspire you to hit the road in 2012.Bespoke tailoring for the fashion conscious man
Bespoke tailoring has come of age. Fashion-forward gentlemen now have plenty of high-quality options to choose from to find a suit that matches their style. We help you navigate through the myriad choices.Auctions from around the world: What went under hammer in 2011
What went under the hammer in 2011? A look at pricelss auctions from around the world.Top five essentials to reinvent your look this year
Get your spring style in place with the latest designer collections. We round up the top five essentials to reinvent your look this year. Prep your wardrobe and wear it right.
Retail industry selective in its hiring
Industry insiders claim many aspiring to join the sector are unaware of the roles and responsibilities it entails.
'You cannot have development without growth.'
Much has changed in the last 20 years. Aspirations have climbed so high that even a growth forecast of 7.5 per cent of GDP this year - down from the earlier projected nine per cent - puts the business community in a sulk.