Cover Story

Can Uday Shankar control all sports broadcasting in India?

Star India's Uday Shankar, already top dog in general entertainment, wants to prove his mettle again in sports TV. The hardnosed drive into sports is expected to add fat revenues at Star India.

TAM measurement is nothing short of a scandal in this country: Uday Shankar

Uday Shankar, CEO of Star India, spoke about the company's plans in sports broadcasting, his problems with TAM ratings and the mistakes that taught him valuable lessons during two extensive conversations with Chaitanya Kalbag and Shamni Pande.

Indian private carriers are tapping more overseas routes

Indian carriers are clearly chasing international routes to increase their revenues, and to overcome the pressure on profit margins from domestic operations

Review: Nokia Lumia 720, LG Google Nexus 4

LG Google Nexus 4's best feature is its pure vanilla Android 4.2 OS, devoid of any tweaks. It has an 8MP camera and a new easy-touse interface.

Food Security Bill may widen fiscal deficit

The National Food Security Bill may get Parliament's nod soon. It aims to provide wheat and rice to almost two-thirds of India's population of 1.2 billion at highly subsidised rates. But this showpiece legislation will come at a steep price, adding substantially to the government's food subsidy bill and widening the fiscal deficit. There will also be problems of implementation.

Rupee's latest slide is likely to set back the economic recovery in India

A weak rupee makes imports costlier, stoking inflation, and will also lead to a further widening of deficits.

Impact of the monsoon on agriculture will depend on its distribution

The impact of the monsoon on agriculture will depend on its distribution across the country over the next couple of months.

Setting up a website for your business is easy and cheap

For years, many traditional companies saw no point in an online presence, because they gained nothing from it. That is changing with the increasing relevance of local search powered by mobile phones. If you have a website, at least your name will show up when someone is searching for your kind of business.

Why policy riders are holding back global supermarket chains from setting up shop

Though the government has allowed foreign investment in multi-brand retail, policy riders are holding global retailers back from making significant investments in the country.

Why Narayana Murthy should not stay beyond 2 years at Infosys

Despite the thumbs up from investors to Murthy's return, some analysts are sceptical about his forthcoming five-year term. They feel he should give himself just two years to galvanise the company and then hand it over to a younger executive who can connect better with young workers.

Sasan Power commissioning flies into allegations that it was hurried through for financial benefits

Buyers of electricity from the project as well as the regional grid operator say the company hurried through the unit's commissioning without meeting the required performance parameters for financial benefits.

Amateurs writing food blogs have grown both popular and influential

Internet penetration in India may still be low, but restaurants have realised that wooing food bloggers has suddenly become an important part of their public relations exercise.

It is time for Murthy and Murty to figure each other out

Doting father or boss under pressure? Tech whiz or able assistant? It is time for Murthy and Murty to figure each other out.

Innovation special: Ideas from India changed the world

This year, Business Today's annual innovation special celebrates some of the successful innovations in India that have also resonated across the globe.FULL COVERAGE

'How Indian companies can promote innovation'

Vijay Govindarajan, Professor at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College in the US, speaks to N. Madhavan about how Indian companies can promote innovation. Special: Ideas from India that changed the world

Four pre-requisites for successful innovation

Ravi Venkatesan, former chairman of Microsoft India and author of the forthcoming book Conquering the Chaos, tells about four pre-requisites for successful innovation.

Innovation special: Siemens switchgear bringing electricity to many countries

Siemens switchgear developed for India is bringing electricity to consumers in a growing number of countries.

Forus Health has developed a slick retinal imaging device

Forus Health has developed a slick retinal imaging device.

Dhama Innovations's healing braces and wraps are a hit in US

Dhama Innovations's healing braces and wraps are a hit in the US.

Financial services provider FINO takes banking to the poor

Financial services provider FINO takes banking to the poor.

DHL understood what students wanted and made a business out of it

DHL understood what students wanted - and made a business out of it.

Hand in Hand is creating entrepreneurs in war-torn Afghanistan

Hand in Hand is overcoming ideological hurdles to create entrepreneurs in war-torn Afghanistan.

Aurolab has changed the face of eye care across the world

Aurolab has changed the face of eye care across the world with its affordable intraocular lens.

Nokia connects through an SMS-based information service

HUL Pureit water filters are touching millions of lives worldwide

Hindustan Unilever's Pureit water filters are touching millions of lives worldwide.

Project Shakti has helped thousands of women - and also men.

With some 48,000 Shakti Ammas and 30,000 Shaktimaans, HUL reaches over three million households in 100,000 villages in 15 states.

'Star's Shankar has made a huge bet on sports television'

Shankar, a quiet, stocky man with close-cropped hair whom you would pass on a busy street without a second glance, has built a formidable TV entertainment empire for News Corp's Rupert Murdoch over the past six years. He opened up with rare candour over two long conversations with me and Senior Editor Shamni Pande.