Cover Story
- We present 25 top leaders of corporate India, who through long stints shepherded a range of companies and took them to greater heights. Visit INSEAD Knowledge for more insights into the CEO ranking and a video interview of Bala Vissa, one of the authors of the study.The Top SixNaveen Jindal | A.M.Naik | Y.C. Deveshwar | Bhaskar Bhat | Sunil Mittal | R. Sridhar | The other nineteen
- We ranked best Indian CEOs based on the shareholder returns they generated during their tenure.
- The 19 of India's best-performing CEOs, who through long stints shepherded a range of companies in sectors as diverse as manufacturing, banking, fast-moving consumer goods, media, automobiles, pharmaceuticals and energy.
- Yogi Deveshwar's crack team has converted every penalty corner into a goal.
- Do not go by the detached demeanour of Business Today's top-ranked CEO; he has transformed a tiny, ailing factory into a Rs 47,000-crore empire.
- Guts, smarts and luck have catapulted Sunil Mittal to the top of the Indian corporate sweepstakes. And, he is comfortably perched there.
- When A.M. Naik started out, his odds of getting a job at L&T were low. But the company's success owes much to his doggedness.
- Titan Industries' Bhaskar Bhat has made India-manufactured watches respectable, providing investors undreamt-of returns in the process.
- Over a decade, Shriram Transport Finance's R. Sridhar has created an ecosystem for commercial vehicle finance.
Health and wellness snippets
A recent study has found that those with low salt levels in their diet were actually at greater risk of cardiovascular death and congestive heart disease.Our pick of the best travel, fashion, gaming and luxury apps
Here's our pick of the best travel, fashion, gaming and luxury apps as millions of apps fight for space on our handheld devices.Abu Dhabi's spectacular, adrenaline-filled adventures make it the perfect weekend getaway
Abu Dhabi's spectacular, adrenaline-filled adventures make it the perfect weekend getaway for Indian travellers.HDFC Life's Sanjay Tripathy shares his favourite books
Sanjay Tripathy, EVP & Head Marketing, HDFC Life talks about the books that have made him what he is today.Places to visit and upcoming events
Taking Manhattan's NoMad district from derelict to cool and spunky, a new 600-room hotel is all set to become the crowning glory of the area.Restaurant reviews: Silver Beach Cafe, AUMA, Amour
Silver Beach Cafe offers a warm setting and delicious food to kill a quiet day in Maximum City.Sir Paul Smith talks about his successful journey
The man who launched a million colourful striped shirts, Sir Paul Smith gets nostalgic about setting up shop in London in the 70s and about finally being cool with the multi-millionaire clothing impresario tag.Sula Vineyards' owner Rajeev Samant on his favourite things
Sula Vineyards' owner Rajeev Samant on his favourite things. Do it yourself guide on talking on table, massage, stained glass art, working in India and many more.Eight medical science innovations that promise easy lives
Eight cutting-edge innovations in the field of medical science that promise to make our lives easier.A guide on how to save yourself from online fraud
Don't take online fraud lightly. As the stakes are getting higher and we show you how stay on guard online.Are fad diets really worth a try?
Science or pseudo-science? Here's exploring a contemporary phenomenon that puts a radical spin on cutting back calories.Check the desirability quotient of new products
The launch of a new range of whiskies from The Dalmore is guaranteed to push the traditional boundaries of excellence in whisky making.Digital Technology: Problem of plenty
While technology promised to simplify life, it has instead made it more complicated. Wind your way through this digital labyrinth where there is a problem of plenty. The solution? Streamline rather than multiply.Future cities to be smart in every aspect
The city of the future is smart in every aspect; clean energy, super infrastructure and advanced technology. Take a look at what's to come.Shanghai's Fairmont Peace hotel welcomes all
The Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai welcomes luxury tourists, business visitors, and also time travellers.Kalli Purie's memoir is a rollicking ride on the ups and downs of weight loss
Kalli Purie's memoir is a rollicking ride on the ups and downs of weight loss, and why it's all finally worthwhile.
Prominent people who made news
Starring: Ajit Singh, Sudha Natrajan, Ilene H. Lang, Bal Mundkur, Shiv Inder Singh, George Soros
Cultural influences affect business negotiations
Cultural influences affect business negotiations in the global village.
Book review: Demand: Creating What People Love Before They Know They Want It
Want to create a success like the iPad or Nespresso? Demand has a bunch of good pointers.
Changing physically challenged lives via technology
Technological advances are transforming the lives of the physically challenged.
Subhash Chandra admires business leader Ratan Tata
Subhash Chandra, Chairman, Zee Entertainment Enterprises shares his leadership style. Auto Expo showcased some interesting trends
The recently concluded 11th Auto Expo showcased interesting trends. Volkswagen in India
Volkswagen, or VW, enters Indian market with Skoda. Assembly plant at Aurangabad set up earlierInterest paying ability of companies in the S&P CNX 500 falls to a five-year low
Interest paying ability of companies in the S&P CNX 500 falls to a five-year lowto high interest rates and a decline in operating profits, shows a study by CRISIL Research.Will the Food Security Bill add to India's fiscal crisis?
A majority of the respondents believes that it will. While guaranteeing food security is a laudable objective, the financial implications of the Bill are considerable.SEBI cracks down on insider trading
SEBI is cracking down on insider trading by the big guns of corporate India.SEBI decisions will help listed companies meet minimum public shareholding norms
Two SEBI decisions will help listed companies, private and state-owned, meet minimum public shareholding norms.Hero Impulse tops the list of most watched ads of Dec 2011
This time around, Cadbury India has hit the sweet spot with five ads in the BT-TAM top-25 list.Review: Flipboard and Acer Iconia S300
A must-have iPad app and another phone-cum-tabletQuotes from the 11th Auto Expo
We've never pushed it as a poor man's car. We pushed it as an affordable all-weather family car. Period. I don't consider it to be a flop. I consider that we have wasted an early opportunity, says Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons.RIL-Network18 deal: The real story behind the 'potboiler'
After bailing out Eenadu's Ramoji Rao in 2008, the Mukesh Ambani-led company recently signed a convertible debt deal with Network 18. The deal makes for a potboiler. Here's why. Assembly polls will be held in seven states in 2012. Dates for the elections in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa - being held between end of January and early March - have already been announced.New words in business: Firestarter
Firestarter means someone who exaggerates work situations and calls resolution meetings to emerge heroic.
Ulysse Nardin continues to master complication of watchmaking
Crafted and calibrated to perfection, Ulysse Nardin continues to evolve the tradition and science of complication watchmaking.
Gujarat's power sector turnaround story
Gujarat's power sector was in a shambles in 2001, when Narendra Modi became chief minister. A decade later it is in the forefront of states that have carried out sweeping power reforms, as a result of which it now has surplus power.
Planners, chocolatiers and even software makers are cashing on Indian weddings
Indians spend $25 billion a year on weddings. Planners, chocolatiers and even software makers are gatecrashing the party.
Vishal Retail's fall taught Ram Chandra Agarwal some tough lessons
In 2007, when his Vishal Retail Ltd made an initial public offer, it was valued at Rs 2,000 crore. Few thought then that the company's rapid growth would not stay permanent, least of all the company's founder.Why young, successful CEOs dump the trappings of corporate power
There are instances of people returning to salaried employment after an entrepreneurial stint. A trend of trying to break the mould as middle age approaches has begun and is likely to grow in the future.Marketers rush to cash in on rising interest for football in India
Football cafes that have sprung up around the country in the past couple of years are a symptom of the growing craze for football in a cricket-mad country.Solar energy business looks up in India as tariffs fall
India is sundrenched for more than 300 days a year and is ideally suited to use it. But the country has remained far behind Europe and the US, both in manufacturing and project capacities.How analytics firm Mu Sigma attracts investors
Analytics firm Mu Sigma, which dissects large amounts of data helping firms make sense of it, has gone from zero to $70 million revenues in six years and now employs 1,500; it expects to clock $110 million in 2012 with 2,100 employees.
Has RBI taken the wrong path by letting short-term volatile debt rescue rupee?
Reserve Bank of India deregulated the interest rates on bank deposits aimed at the rich NRI in a late-December decision. The central bank's logic was if dollar inflows rise, the pressure on the rupee will ease. But the big question among monetarists and forex experts is the risk such a surge in NRE deposits poses.
Company deposits and non-convertible debentures offer more interest
The mathematics of return clearly favours company FDs and non-convertible debentures. As with any other investment option, the risk of losing money should be a key consideration here as well. All Pain, No Gain
The pain of breadwinners for no fault of theirs has been placed on record in BT's cover story, Pain, January 22. The Centre must craft strategies to change course into the positive channels of viability and development.Response on Royal Enfield case study
BT receives scores of responses to its case studies. Below is the best one on the Royal Enfield's makeover (Nov 27, 2011). Roundup: Events of the fortnight
Infosys, India's second largest IT exporter, reported encouraging results for the third quarter ended December 2011.
Poor work habits can damage your vertebrae
Doctors say earlier people were unaware of the health risks their office-ridden, computer-dominated lives posed. They recommend at the least a regular post-lunch stroll in the sunshine. 
