Change agents 2008

Battling on

Battered. Is that the right word to describe Ratan Tata now? The man, who could do no wrong after the twin buyouts of Corus Group and Jaguar-Land Rover, is suddenly looking more human. After being forced to take the Nano project out of Singur in West Bengal, Tata, 71, had to face the nightmare of the iconic Taj Mahal Hotel being taken over by terrorists. But Tata is always game for a fight. At the annual general meeting of Tata Tea in Kolkata a few years ago, Ratan Tata had warned an extremely agitated shareholder, saying: “I am from Bombay, but that does not mean I cannot shout.” The suave Tata will surely live to fight another day.

King with cash

If 2008 was annus horribilis for much of corporate India, then Malvinder Mohan Singh—the scion of the Singh family, which owned Ranbaxy Laboratories— clearly bucked the trend. Singh, 36, sold his family’s nearly 35 per cent stake in what was arguably India’s first transnational pharma company, at pretty much peak valuations not just for the year, but quite possibly for a few years to come. Of course, there were some serious scraps with the US drug agency, FDA, but by the end of the year, it has turned out to be quite rosy for Singh.

A whole new ballgame

The Twenty-20 format for cricket is by no means his discovery, but its execution and internalisation for India certainly is, thanks to Lalit Kumar Modi, 45, Chairman & Commissioner, Indian Premier League (IPL) & VP, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). He’s the change agent that Indian cricket needed, and thanks to the estimated revenue of $2.5 billion (Rs 12,500 crore) that DLF-IPL raked in, BCCI’s position has been unquestionably established in the International Cricket Council. The reason we need to keep track of this man is simple: Just watch the way foreign cricketing boards are looking to replicate the success of the Indian format.

All fire, no smoke

One thing’s for sure—the Marlboro man is certainly not on Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Anbumani Ramadoss’ New Year mailing list. Ramadoss, 40, has done enough in his stint as Health Minister to make headlines—his spat with the Director of AIIMS and his diktat on smoking on celluloid, to name a few. But the ban on smoking in public places that he enforced— as controversial, as it was with the cigarette lobby—is one welcome step that should earn him plaudits from all passive smokers. Sure, nicotine inhalers ascribe motives to Ramadoss’ actions—but even if there were motives, they’ve certainly helped clear up the air.