Cover Story

In Rahul Khullar, telecom firms see a regulator who understands them

After an age, telecom firms look to the future with hope and to the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India chairman with gratitude. In Khullar, the companies see a rare regulator who understands them.

Rival players in corporate India are working together for larger goal

Corporate India believes that cooperation between rival players within an industry, along with job creation, will increase productivity and put the economy back on tack. The idea gets the thumbs up at Business Today's CEOs lunch meet in Delhi.

In graphics: Snapshots of India's burgeoning banking sector

Snapshots of India's burgeoning banking sector. With the new liberal norms for entry of foreign banks and new banking licences likely to issued soon, the sector is poised to grow even larger.

Opinion polls, though popular, are still not reliable in India

Almost all poll pundits say it is highly unlikely that opinion polls can influence the outcome of elections. The only way surveys can influence the voter is if all of them predict the same result. The fence sitters are then likely to turn to the winning side.

How advertisers, broadcaster gained from Sachin Tendulkar's farewell series

Advertisers and broadcaster Star Sports made the most of the opportunity to cash in on the popularity of Tendulkar during his farewell series. Several advertisers booked multiple spots with Star Sports. This is unusual for a cricketing event other than the Indian Premier League.

Which is the best messaging app?

Messaging apps are all the rage now. There are dozens of them around and all, unlike the SMS, are offered free. A comparison of the features of the five most popular ones -

Recovery on the horizon for Indian aviation sector

Higher consumption of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) in recent months indicates improved aircraft movement on rising passenger and freight traffic. Indeed, ATF consumption got a boost despite price hikes due to the rupee depreciation.

Who said what on the role of investigation agency CBI

Who said what on the role of the investigation agency CBI -

Ingersoll Rand India Chairman Venkatesh Velluri shares his leadership style

Venkatesh Velluri, Chairman & President, Ingersoll Rand India, shares some of the firsts in his life -

Behind Honda's scooter outselling Hero's best-selling motorcycle

Analysts says Activa capitalised on the growing demand for scooters in recent months. Honda's scooter has undergone five facelifts till now.

How correspondents take banking to rural India

India already has more than 200,000 business correspondents who are as diverse as their rural customers: they could be carpenters, school teachers, village clerks, farmers or rural women with no education whatsoever.

Air India turnaround looks difficult as Dreamliners report problems

Air India was betting on the Dreamliners to turn around. The Dreamliners have faced one problem after another ever since their induction into the Air India fleet.

ISRO Mars mission gives a fillip to its component suppliers

The Indian Space Research Organisation wasn't the only one rejoicing after launching its first rocket toward Mars on November 5. Dozens of ISRO's local component suppliers also were cheering the successful start to the interplanetary mission.

Zomato aspires to build a global Internet brand out of India

Deepinder Goyal and Pankaj Chaddah plan to use the latest funding round of the online restaurant search guide to reach 22 more countries within two years and aim to list the company on stock exchanges in three years time.

Investigation: How gold from West Asia is smuggled into Kerala

Recent curbs on its official import have led to a spurt in the smuggling of gold. Business Today tracks the subterranean trail of the yellow metal from West Asia to Kerala.

Challenges that awardees of new banking licences face

The new banks cannot survive by being mirror images of existing banks. They have to harness their knowledge based on products they are familiar with.

How banks can ease difficulties in financing infra projects

IDBI Bank CMD M.S. Raghavan says the competition among banks in the infrastructure space has diluted the standards of financing. It is high time all of us stick to some standards in this space.

Foreign banks curb retail lending, shift focus to institutional business

Stung by the financial crisis of 2008, foreign banks have curbed their exuberant retail lending and are back in clover again.

Best Banks 2013: The others who braved the headwinds

Snapshots of winners in different categories of Best Banks listing. Some grew despite the slowing economy, some prospered by keeping tight control on the quality of assets.

Private banks turn to social networks to engage customers, boost brand visibility

Most have realised that social media offers an invaluable opportunity to reach sections of the target audience, particularly the youth.

HDFC Bank tops Business Today's Best Banks listing after five years

Some 53 per cent of HDFC Bank's 3,251 branches are in semi-urban and rural areas, up from 34 per cent three years ago. The bank aims to raise this number to 60 per cent in the next three years.

YES Bank, the best mid-sized bank, is focusing on retail growth

Managing Director and CEO Rana Kapoor says that since 2010, the bank's largest investment has been in retail, both in terms of people as well as products and services. Kapoor calls this YES Bank version 2.0.

Business Today lists the best banks in India that braved the headwinds

Indian banks face challenges as the economy slows and loan defaults mount. We raise a toast to those who braved the headwinds.

Indian women are making their way to the top in PSU banks too

In the past year itself, five women have moved into the corner office at state-run banks in the country, joining a small club of women at the top of the banking industry across the world.

How Business Today, KPMG ranked best banks in India 2013

The data to rank the banks was taken from published annual reports of the banks as well as the Reserve Bank of India's 'Profile of Banks, 2012/13'. The data considered was for the period 2009/10 to 2012/13.