People, place and products

MANVINDER BANGA
Vindi's PE Challenge

After deciding to end a 33-year career at Hindustan Unilever and Unilever this March, Manvinder 'Vindi' Singh Banga, 55, seems to have found his new calling. He joins Clayton, Dubilier & Rice (CD&R), LLC, a private equity firm, as an Operating Partner based in London. "CD&R is very focussed on corporate renewal. They find underperforming companies and businesses and work to improve them sustainably and generate value," he says. Banga's role will be to work with the firm's partners to identify suitable investment opportunities. In addition, he will chair and oversee one or more of CD&R's portfolio companies. Banga says it was the right time for him to move on to a new canvas. Seems he has found the perfect one.

— Anusha Subramanian

LALITA GUPTE
The World Is Her Oyster

Over her career spanning 35 years, Lalita Gupte has pretty much done everything there is to do in the banking industry. Now comes another feather in her cap. After securing a board-level position at the world's largest mobile phone manufacturer, Nokia, three years ago, Gupte now heads for French major Alstom, SA. Gupte, 61, who is currently a Non-Executive Chairman of ICICI Bank's private equity arm ICICI Venture, has been appointed on the 14-member Board as an independent director. "It's a non-executive post," is all that she says. But clearly Alstom is banking on her expertise and prowess. Gupte's appointment comes at a time when India has become a focus area, especially for Alstom's power and public transport businesses. By all accounts, another testimony of growing recognition of Indian talent in the global corporate world.

— Anand Adhikari

RAMESH RASKAR & ANKIT MOHAN
The 'Vision'aries

These two Indian engineers working at MIT's famous Media Lab are part of a team that has come up with an ingenious way of using mobile devices to diagnose vision problems. Project NETRA — short for Near Eye Tool for Refractive Assessment and also the Sanskrit term for eye — aims to reduce eye testing costs considerably. It works by fitting a sensor on top of a mobile screen, getting the device to run the requisite software and then getting a person to use a simple toggle button to match different patterns. The big thing about the system is that it gives people in remote places access to relatively decent eye evaluating technology at affordable prices. If Indians can see clearer in a few years, they may have two of their brethren in Boston to thank.

— Kushan Mitra

BHUTAN
Land of the Thunder Dragon

This autumn, try out Bhutan, for trekking or simply to take in the great views. The skies generally clear from the second week of September, and you can take in the Thimphu dance festival (September 17-19). Take a Druk Air flight from Delhi or Kolkata to Paro, an hour's drive from capital Thimphu. Overall, rates are surprisingly reasonable, but autumn is the peak tourist season so plan well in advance. Places to see: Bumthang and Punakha. October to December is the period for river rafting.

— Somnath Dasgupta

SONY NEX-5
Small in Size, Big on Features

Want the interchangeable lenses feature of a single-lens reflex camera without the heft? Sony might have an answer in this camera that is expected to be launched soon. The NEX-5 is touted as the world's smallest and lightest camera with support for interchangeable lenses, and thanks to its magnesium body, it is tough, too. Luckily, Sony is making sure the camera has support for regular Secure Digital (SD) cards in addition to its proprietary Memory Stick (MS) cards. The camera will feature a 14.2-megapixel sensor and will be able to take pictures in low-light conditions as well, thanks to high-ISO sensitivity. Users who like to take video clips will be happy to know that the camera will also support shooting for 1080i high-definition video. At an expected price of over Rs 50,000, though, it costs a pretty penny.

— Kushan Mitra