Hong Kong, Nov 5 (IANS) Zee Group chairman Subhash Chandra has been honoured for his “lifetime contribution to the Asian pay-TV industry” at the 16th convention of the Cable and Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) here.
Marcel Fenez, CASBAA chairman said: “Subhash Chandra’s contribution has been critical to the extraordinary achievements of India’s pay-TV industry in the last 15 years. CASBAA and the industry applaud Mr. Chandra’s outstanding merits.”
In his acceptance speech, Chandra said: “The achievement is not my own. Many others have made this possible, most notably my old colleagues Ronnie Screwvala of UTV Software, Prannoy Roy, the chairman of NDTV, and Raghav Bahl, who now leads Network 18 Group.”
“Without teamwork, cooperation and investment from within India we’d never have had an industry that is able to contribute so much to India and the rest of Asia.”
Chandra was a speaker at the convention. Other Indian speakers at the convention include Indian Premier League (IPL) commissioner Lalit Modi, BAG Network chairperson Anurradha Prasad, Digicable Network chief executive Jagjit Singh Kohli and Reliance Entertainment president Rajesh Sawhney.
Showing posts with label VARSHA AGARWAL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VARSHA AGARWAL. Show all posts
Thursday, November 5, 2009
TOP ARTICLE
While many disagree about how to fix Indian higher education, there is broad consensus that it is, to quote Prime Minster Manmohan Singh, "in a
state of disrepair". Most analyses put the blame squarely on the government's shoulders. Higher education has been deeply politicised and as one of the last bastions of the licence raj, lofty rhetoric has typically disguised egregious venal behaviour.
However, much less attention has been paid to the role of business interests in shaping the direction of Indian higher education. Availability of skilled labour is a critical input for all firms, and hence Indian business has an enormous self-interest in the functioning of this sector. One could argue that just as Indian firms have been forced to adapt to chronic infrastructure shortages and disadvantageous labour laws, they have also adapted to the weaknesses of the Indian higher education system.
A surrogate higher education system has evolved and, in particular, workforce skill development is occurring outside the traditional domestic university model - within firms, by commercial providers, overseas, through open-source/virtual learning and in narrow specialised institutions. Investment by Indian firms in an array of workforce skill development practices, including new employee training, continual instruction, performance appraisal systems and university partnerships, have all gone a long way towards improving the skills of their workforce. But these practices are confined to the large corporate sector, which both has the capability to undertake such initiatives and can internalise the costs.
Indian business is also involved in provision of higher education. Where business enterprises offer narrow professional skills, such as training in a computer language, this model has been somewhat successful. But the vast majority of private sector efforts involve the promotion of professional education in fields such as medicine, engineering and business management. These are ostensibly not-for-profit institutions set up as trusts or societies, yet they represent some of the worst aspects of crony capitalism in India, with politicians and business interests colluding to provide dubious education at inflated prices. Government policies have ensured that it is easier for such suppliers to enter higher education than for genuine philanthropists. Professional associations, even statutory ones like the BCI and MCI, have largely failed to regulate the quality of these institutions - a testimony to the failure of the professions to self-govern.
But while Indian business has been somewhat successful in securing its short-term interests by aggressively pursuing skill development programmes, it has shown a striking absence of any long-term strategic vision with regard to higher education. No world-class higher education institution anywhere in the world makes profits. Great universities produce knowledge - where knowledge is a public good. Consequently all such institutions require subsidies, whether through the government or private philanthropy. Despite rapidly increasing wealth within the Indian corporate sector, private philanthropy has had very little impact on higher education.
The commitment of Indian business to philanthropy in higher education was strong prior to independence and has dwindled ever since. Pre-independence, business interests not only made the transition from merchant charity to organised professional philanthropy, but did so in a significant way. They created some of India's most enduring trusts, foundations and public institutions, including the Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia, Annamalai and Indian Institute of Science. Of the 16 largest "non-religious" trusts set up during this period, 14 were major patrons of higher education.
Today, the so-called not-for-profit educational institutions do not engage in philanthropy. Their income comes from fees rather than endowments and investments. Thus even while the number of "trusts" set up for philanthropy in higher education has been steadily rising, the total share of "endowments and other sources" in higher education funding has been consistently falling - from 17 per cent in 1950 to less than 2 per cent today. Some of this decline is to be expected, as the government has expanded its role in higher education, yet the extent is remarkable. Furthermore, donors today are more likely to retain effective control over the resources they contribute.
But Indian business has much to explain for a more egregious failing: for the most part, it sees little value in research and even less in building quality institutions that produce good research. This is manifest most starkly in its unwillingness to fund even world-class think tanks, let alone an outstanding university. The reality is that most Indian business elites' children study abroad, not in India. The sad implication is that this reduces their stake in lending a badly needed voice to genuine higher education reform in India.
It is extraordinary how much energy and capital Indian corporate titans are willing to commit to summits, conclaves and the like, where photo opportunities and power-point presentations pass off as the epitome of deep thinking and real insight. Yet, for all the posturing by Indian business elites and their courting of universities in the West (especially in the US), the notion of Indian business coming together to fund research centres that produce knowledge and provide quality education accessible to all sections of society in India does not seem to be on the horizon.
varsha agarwal
pgdm sec III rd
sec-b
state of disrepair". Most analyses put the blame squarely on the government's shoulders. Higher education has been deeply politicised and as one of the last bastions of the licence raj, lofty rhetoric has typically disguised egregious venal behaviour.
However, much less attention has been paid to the role of business interests in shaping the direction of Indian higher education. Availability of skilled labour is a critical input for all firms, and hence Indian business has an enormous self-interest in the functioning of this sector. One could argue that just as Indian firms have been forced to adapt to chronic infrastructure shortages and disadvantageous labour laws, they have also adapted to the weaknesses of the Indian higher education system.
A surrogate higher education system has evolved and, in particular, workforce skill development is occurring outside the traditional domestic university model - within firms, by commercial providers, overseas, through open-source/virtual learning and in narrow specialised institutions. Investment by Indian firms in an array of workforce skill development practices, including new employee training, continual instruction, performance appraisal systems and university partnerships, have all gone a long way towards improving the skills of their workforce. But these practices are confined to the large corporate sector, which both has the capability to undertake such initiatives and can internalise the costs.
Indian business is also involved in provision of higher education. Where business enterprises offer narrow professional skills, such as training in a computer language, this model has been somewhat successful. But the vast majority of private sector efforts involve the promotion of professional education in fields such as medicine, engineering and business management. These are ostensibly not-for-profit institutions set up as trusts or societies, yet they represent some of the worst aspects of crony capitalism in India, with politicians and business interests colluding to provide dubious education at inflated prices. Government policies have ensured that it is easier for such suppliers to enter higher education than for genuine philanthropists. Professional associations, even statutory ones like the BCI and MCI, have largely failed to regulate the quality of these institutions - a testimony to the failure of the professions to self-govern.
But while Indian business has been somewhat successful in securing its short-term interests by aggressively pursuing skill development programmes, it has shown a striking absence of any long-term strategic vision with regard to higher education. No world-class higher education institution anywhere in the world makes profits. Great universities produce knowledge - where knowledge is a public good. Consequently all such institutions require subsidies, whether through the government or private philanthropy. Despite rapidly increasing wealth within the Indian corporate sector, private philanthropy has had very little impact on higher education.
The commitment of Indian business to philanthropy in higher education was strong prior to independence and has dwindled ever since. Pre-independence, business interests not only made the transition from merchant charity to organised professional philanthropy, but did so in a significant way. They created some of India's most enduring trusts, foundations and public institutions, including the Aligarh Muslim University, Banaras Hindu University, Jamia Millia, Annamalai and Indian Institute of Science. Of the 16 largest "non-religious" trusts set up during this period, 14 were major patrons of higher education.
Today, the so-called not-for-profit educational institutions do not engage in philanthropy. Their income comes from fees rather than endowments and investments. Thus even while the number of "trusts" set up for philanthropy in higher education has been steadily rising, the total share of "endowments and other sources" in higher education funding has been consistently falling - from 17 per cent in 1950 to less than 2 per cent today. Some of this decline is to be expected, as the government has expanded its role in higher education, yet the extent is remarkable. Furthermore, donors today are more likely to retain effective control over the resources they contribute.
But Indian business has much to explain for a more egregious failing: for the most part, it sees little value in research and even less in building quality institutions that produce good research. This is manifest most starkly in its unwillingness to fund even world-class think tanks, let alone an outstanding university. The reality is that most Indian business elites' children study abroad, not in India. The sad implication is that this reduces their stake in lending a badly needed voice to genuine higher education reform in India.
It is extraordinary how much energy and capital Indian corporate titans are willing to commit to summits, conclaves and the like, where photo opportunities and power-point presentations pass off as the epitome of deep thinking and real insight. Yet, for all the posturing by Indian business elites and their courting of universities in the West (especially in the US), the notion of Indian business coming together to fund research centres that produce knowledge and provide quality education accessible to all sections of society in India does not seem to be on the horizon.
varsha agarwal
pgdm sec III rd
sec-b
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Atul Chaturvedi is new steel secretary
New Delhi, Nov 3 (IANS) Atul Chaturvedi has taken over as steel secretary from P.K. Rastogi, a ministry statement said Tuesday.
A 1974 batch Indian Administrative Officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Chaturvedi was earlier secretary in the department of fertilisers under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.
A 1974 batch Indian Administrative Officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, Chaturvedi was earlier secretary in the department of fertilisers under the ministry of chemicals and fertilisers.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Fritz Lab celebrates its 100th birthday
This year, Fritz Laboratory, home to the civil and environmental engineering departments, turns 100 years old.
As part of the centennial celebration, several sessions and events took place between last Thursday and last Saturday to unite students, alumni, faculty and staff by participating in events that may impact the future of Fritz Lab.
The reception that took place on Thursday afternoon was a success, said Stephen Pessiki, chair of the department of civil and environmental engineering. During the reception, alumni had the opportunity to catch up before the following events.
On Friday morning, several speakers from the engineering and history departments spoke to about 120 people about John Fritz's impact on Lehigh. "The speakers on Friday morning did a great job helping us look back 100 years and forward 100 years," Pessiki said.
Friday afternoon participants engaged in a design charette program session. Approximately 50 students and alumni got into groups of about five to seven people and were presented with a set of guidelines that they used to redesign Fritz Lab for the future.
The goal was to best utilize the building and create office space for the department chairs and other people whose offices will remain in Fritz Lab, even after some of the department is moved to the STEPS building. The session lasted for four hours, Pessiki said.
Pessiki said he was very pleased with what he saw happening during the charette program. "I think it's going great," he said. "I'm seeing a lot of hand raising and chin scratching, no blank stares. I'm enthused."
"The design charette program exceeded my expectations," Pessiki said.
Students came up with different ideas and models for how Fritz Lab could look in the future, even 100 years from now. These ideas and drafts were displayed on Saturday evening at dinner for everyone to see and observe the different ideas that groups came up with. About 100 people, including 60 alumni, attended the gala, which was the final event of the three-day celebration.
Sara Horsey, '11, a civil engineer and treasurer of American Society of Civil Engineers, said the civil and environmental engineers have to take classes in buildings all over campus and they want some space for themselves. The civil engineering home is supposed to be in Fritz Lab, but there is no space, she said.
Also the lab doors do not lock, so you can't leave experiments set up overnight, she added. The space in Fritz is not adequate for students, said Horsey.
Carolyn Reid, '11, a civil engineer and participant in the charettes program, agreed.
One aspect of the Fritz Lab "renovation" that Horsey and Reid's group focused on was keeping the natural light that is let into Fritz through the windows that surround the building.
The old part of Fritz Lab was built in 1909 by a Lehigh trustee and benefactor, John Fritz, Pessiki said. Fritz was an accomplished engineer, but he never had any formal engineering education, he said.
The student symposium on Saturday consisted of presentations by groups of students about topics relating to their majors, as well as several groups that focused on topics pertinent to clubs and organizations on campus, including Engineers Without Borders and American Society of Civil Engineers.
The gala dinner included a surprise- a John Fritz impersonator attended the dinner and gave a speech that Fritz gave many years ago, which had been modified to relate more to today's world.
"The celebration was the first step in kicking off keeping the alumni involved," Pessiki said.
Pessiki said the future of Fritz Lab looks promising. "From what I can see here, it looks very bright," he said.
As part of the centennial celebration, several sessions and events took place between last Thursday and last Saturday to unite students, alumni, faculty and staff by participating in events that may impact the future of Fritz Lab.
The reception that took place on Thursday afternoon was a success, said Stephen Pessiki, chair of the department of civil and environmental engineering. During the reception, alumni had the opportunity to catch up before the following events.
On Friday morning, several speakers from the engineering and history departments spoke to about 120 people about John Fritz's impact on Lehigh. "The speakers on Friday morning did a great job helping us look back 100 years and forward 100 years," Pessiki said.
Friday afternoon participants engaged in a design charette program session. Approximately 50 students and alumni got into groups of about five to seven people and were presented with a set of guidelines that they used to redesign Fritz Lab for the future.
The goal was to best utilize the building and create office space for the department chairs and other people whose offices will remain in Fritz Lab, even after some of the department is moved to the STEPS building. The session lasted for four hours, Pessiki said.
Pessiki said he was very pleased with what he saw happening during the charette program. "I think it's going great," he said. "I'm seeing a lot of hand raising and chin scratching, no blank stares. I'm enthused."
"The design charette program exceeded my expectations," Pessiki said.
Students came up with different ideas and models for how Fritz Lab could look in the future, even 100 years from now. These ideas and drafts were displayed on Saturday evening at dinner for everyone to see and observe the different ideas that groups came up with. About 100 people, including 60 alumni, attended the gala, which was the final event of the three-day celebration.
Sara Horsey, '11, a civil engineer and treasurer of American Society of Civil Engineers, said the civil and environmental engineers have to take classes in buildings all over campus and they want some space for themselves. The civil engineering home is supposed to be in Fritz Lab, but there is no space, she said.
Also the lab doors do not lock, so you can't leave experiments set up overnight, she added. The space in Fritz is not adequate for students, said Horsey.
Carolyn Reid, '11, a civil engineer and participant in the charettes program, agreed.
One aspect of the Fritz Lab "renovation" that Horsey and Reid's group focused on was keeping the natural light that is let into Fritz through the windows that surround the building.
The old part of Fritz Lab was built in 1909 by a Lehigh trustee and benefactor, John Fritz, Pessiki said. Fritz was an accomplished engineer, but he never had any formal engineering education, he said.
The student symposium on Saturday consisted of presentations by groups of students about topics relating to their majors, as well as several groups that focused on topics pertinent to clubs and organizations on campus, including Engineers Without Borders and American Society of Civil Engineers.
The gala dinner included a surprise- a John Fritz impersonator attended the dinner and gave a speech that Fritz gave many years ago, which had been modified to relate more to today's world.
"The celebration was the first step in kicking off keeping the alumni involved," Pessiki said.
Pessiki said the future of Fritz Lab looks promising. "From what I can see here, it looks very bright," he said.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
GAIL profit down 30 percent
New Delhi, Oct 28 (IANS) State-run gas utility GAIL India has posted a 30 percent fall in net profit for the quarter ended Sep 30 at Rs.713 crore as compared to Rs.1,023 crore reported in the like period last year.
The company’s half-yearly net profit also dropped by 29.1 percent to Rs.13,690 crore this fiscal from Rs.19,200 crore in 2008-09.
GAIL board, which approved the results, also decided to raise Rs.500 crore through a bond issue in early December.
“Our board has approved raising of funds from the market and we will issue bonds for Rs.500 crore with greenshoe option of 50 percent,” said GAIL chairman B.C. Tripathi.
The total income for the second quarter increased marginally from Rs.6,350 crore to Rs.6,370 crore — a rise of 0.3 percent.
The company has had to share Rs.4,580 crore for the second quarter with the government as part of distribution of under-recoveries across state-run oil and gas undertakings. Last year, it had given Rs.4,000 crore during the corresponding period.
GAIL has so far “shared” Rs.5,330 crore with the government this year
The company’s half-yearly net profit also dropped by 29.1 percent to Rs.13,690 crore this fiscal from Rs.19,200 crore in 2008-09.
GAIL board, which approved the results, also decided to raise Rs.500 crore through a bond issue in early December.
“Our board has approved raising of funds from the market and we will issue bonds for Rs.500 crore with greenshoe option of 50 percent,” said GAIL chairman B.C. Tripathi.
The total income for the second quarter increased marginally from Rs.6,350 crore to Rs.6,370 crore — a rise of 0.3 percent.
The company has had to share Rs.4,580 crore for the second quarter with the government as part of distribution of under-recoveries across state-run oil and gas undertakings. Last year, it had given Rs.4,000 crore during the corresponding period.
GAIL has so far “shared” Rs.5,330 crore with the government this year
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
biography of ratan tata
Biography of Ratan TATA
Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Mumbai) is the present Chairman of the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate established by earlier generations of his family.
Ratan Tata was born into the wealthy and famous Tata family of Mumbai. He was born to Soonoo and Naval Hormusji Tata, a Gujarati-speaking Parsi family. Ratan is the great grandson of Tata group founder Jamsedji Tata. Ratan's childhood was troubled, his parents separating in the mid-1940s, when he was about seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five. His mother moved out and both Ratan and his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai.
He was schooled at the Campion School, Mumbai and graduated from Cornell University in 1962 with a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering.
Ratan joined the Tata Group in December 1962, when he was sent to Jamshedpur to work at Tata Steel. He worked on the floor along with other blue-collar employees, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnaces.
In 1971, Ratan was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco), a company that was in dire financial difficulty. Ratan suggested that the company invest in developing high-technology products, rather than in consumer electronics. J.R.D. was reluctant due to the historical financial performance of Nelco which had never even paid regular dividends. Further, Nelco had 2% market share in the consumer electronics market and a loss margin of 40% of sales when Ratan took over. Nonetheless, J. R. D. followed Ratan's suggestions.
From 1972 to 1975, Nelco eventually grew to have a market share of 20%, and recovered its losses. In 1975 however, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency, which led to an economic recession. This was followed by union problems in 1977, so even after demand improved, production did not keep up. Finally, the Tatas confronted the unions and, following a strike, a lockout was imposed for seven months. Ratan continued to believe in the fundamental soundness of Nelco, but the venture did not survive.
In 1977, Ratan was entrusted with Empress Mills, a textile mill controlled by the Tatas. When he took charge of the company, it was one of the few sick units in the Tata group. Ratan managed to turn it around and even declared a dividend. However, competition from less labour-intensive enterprises had made a number of companies unviable, including those like the Empress which had large labour contingents and had spent too little on modernisation. On Ratan's insistence, some investment was made, but it did not suffice. As the market for coarse and medium cotton cloth (which was all that the Empress produced) turned adverse, the Empress began to accumulate heavier losses. Bombay House, the Tata headquarters, was unwilling to divert funds from other group companies into an undertaking which would need to be nursed for a long time. So, some Tata directors, chiefly Nani Palkhivala, took the line that the Tatas should liquidate the mill, which was finally closed down in 1986. Ratan was severely disappointed with the decision, and in a later interview with the Hindustan Times would claim that the Empress had needed just Rs 50 lakhs to turn it around.
In 1981, Ratan was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the Group's other holding company, where he became responsible for transforming it into the Group's strategy think-tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses.
In 1991, he took over as group chairman from J.R.D. Tata, pushing out the old guard and ushering in younger managers. Since then, he has been instrumental in reshaping the fortunes of the Tata Group, which today has the largest market capitalization of any business house on the Indian Stock Market.
Under Ratan's guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998, Tata Motors introduced his brainchild, the Tata Indica.
On January 31st, 2007, under the chairmanship of Ratan Tata, Tata Sons successfully acquired Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium producer. With the acquisition, Ratan Tata became a celebrated personality in Indian corporate business culture. The merger created the fifth largest steel producing entity in the world.
Ratan Tata's dream was to manufacture a car costing Rs 100,000 (1998: approx. US$2,200; today US$2,528). He realized his dream by launching the car in New Delhi Auto Expo on January 10, 2008. Three models of the Nano were announced, and Ratan Tata delivered on his commitment to developing a car costing only 1 lakh rupees, adding that "a promise is a promise," referring to his earlier promise to deliver this car at the said cost.
On March 26, 2008, Tata Motors under Ratan Tata bought over Jaguar & Land Rover from Ford Motor Company. The icons of British Luxury, Jaguar and Land Rover were acquired for £1.15 billion ($2.3 billion).
Ratan Tata, a shy man, he rarely features in the society glossies, drives himself to work in a Tata car and has lived for years in a book-crammed, dog-filled bachelor flat in Mumbai's Colaba district.
Awards and Recognition
On the occasion of India's 50th Republic Day on 26 January 2000, Ratan Tata was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest decoration that may be awarded to a civilian. On 26 January 2008 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian decoration. He will be among one of the recipients of the NASSCOM Global Leadership Awards-2008 to be given away at a ceremony on February 14 in Mumbai. Ratan Tata accepted the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2007 on behalf of the Tata family.
Ratan Tata serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. In March 2006 Tata was honoured by Cornell University as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, considered the highest honor the university awards to distinguished individuals from the corporate sector.
Ratan Tata's foreign affiliations include membership of the international advisory boards of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Booz Allen Hamilton. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation, and of his alma maters: Cornell University and the University of Southern California. He also serves as a board member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is an Asia-Pacific advisory committee member for the New York Stock Exchange. Tata is on the board of governors of the East-West Center, the advisory board of RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy and serves on the programme board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative. In February 2004, Ratan Tata was conferred the title of honorary economic advisor to Hangzhou city in the Zhejiang province of China.
He recently received an honorary doctorate from the London School of Economics and listed among the 25 most powerful people in business named by Fortune magazine in November 2007.
Ratan Naval Tata (born December 28, 1937, in Mumbai) is the present Chairman of the Tata Group, India's largest conglomerate established by earlier generations of his family.
Ratan Tata was born into the wealthy and famous Tata family of Mumbai. He was born to Soonoo and Naval Hormusji Tata, a Gujarati-speaking Parsi family. Ratan is the great grandson of Tata group founder Jamsedji Tata. Ratan's childhood was troubled, his parents separating in the mid-1940s, when he was about seven and his younger brother Jimmy was five. His mother moved out and both Ratan and his brother were raised by their grandmother Lady Navajbai.
He was schooled at the Campion School, Mumbai and graduated from Cornell University in 1962 with a degree in Architecture and Structural Engineering.
Ratan joined the Tata Group in December 1962, when he was sent to Jamshedpur to work at Tata Steel. He worked on the floor along with other blue-collar employees, shovelling limestone and handling the blast furnaces.
In 1971, Ratan was appointed the Director-in-Charge of The National Radio & Electronics Company Limited (Nelco), a company that was in dire financial difficulty. Ratan suggested that the company invest in developing high-technology products, rather than in consumer electronics. J.R.D. was reluctant due to the historical financial performance of Nelco which had never even paid regular dividends. Further, Nelco had 2% market share in the consumer electronics market and a loss margin of 40% of sales when Ratan took over. Nonetheless, J. R. D. followed Ratan's suggestions.
From 1972 to 1975, Nelco eventually grew to have a market share of 20%, and recovered its losses. In 1975 however, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency, which led to an economic recession. This was followed by union problems in 1977, so even after demand improved, production did not keep up. Finally, the Tatas confronted the unions and, following a strike, a lockout was imposed for seven months. Ratan continued to believe in the fundamental soundness of Nelco, but the venture did not survive.
In 1977, Ratan was entrusted with Empress Mills, a textile mill controlled by the Tatas. When he took charge of the company, it was one of the few sick units in the Tata group. Ratan managed to turn it around and even declared a dividend. However, competition from less labour-intensive enterprises had made a number of companies unviable, including those like the Empress which had large labour contingents and had spent too little on modernisation. On Ratan's insistence, some investment was made, but it did not suffice. As the market for coarse and medium cotton cloth (which was all that the Empress produced) turned adverse, the Empress began to accumulate heavier losses. Bombay House, the Tata headquarters, was unwilling to divert funds from other group companies into an undertaking which would need to be nursed for a long time. So, some Tata directors, chiefly Nani Palkhivala, took the line that the Tatas should liquidate the mill, which was finally closed down in 1986. Ratan was severely disappointed with the decision, and in a later interview with the Hindustan Times would claim that the Empress had needed just Rs 50 lakhs to turn it around.
In 1981, Ratan was named Chairman of Tata Industries, the Group's other holding company, where he became responsible for transforming it into the Group's strategy think-tank and a promoter of new ventures in high-technology businesses.
In 1991, he took over as group chairman from J.R.D. Tata, pushing out the old guard and ushering in younger managers. Since then, he has been instrumental in reshaping the fortunes of the Tata Group, which today has the largest market capitalization of any business house on the Indian Stock Market.
Under Ratan's guidance, Tata Consultancy Services went public and Tata Motors was listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In 1998, Tata Motors introduced his brainchild, the Tata Indica.
On January 31st, 2007, under the chairmanship of Ratan Tata, Tata Sons successfully acquired Corus Group, an Anglo-Dutch steel and aluminium producer. With the acquisition, Ratan Tata became a celebrated personality in Indian corporate business culture. The merger created the fifth largest steel producing entity in the world.
Ratan Tata's dream was to manufacture a car costing Rs 100,000 (1998: approx. US$2,200; today US$2,528). He realized his dream by launching the car in New Delhi Auto Expo on January 10, 2008. Three models of the Nano were announced, and Ratan Tata delivered on his commitment to developing a car costing only 1 lakh rupees, adding that "a promise is a promise," referring to his earlier promise to deliver this car at the said cost.
On March 26, 2008, Tata Motors under Ratan Tata bought over Jaguar & Land Rover from Ford Motor Company. The icons of British Luxury, Jaguar and Land Rover were acquired for £1.15 billion ($2.3 billion).
Ratan Tata, a shy man, he rarely features in the society glossies, drives himself to work in a Tata car and has lived for years in a book-crammed, dog-filled bachelor flat in Mumbai's Colaba district.
Awards and Recognition
On the occasion of India's 50th Republic Day on 26 January 2000, Ratan Tata was honoured with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest decoration that may be awarded to a civilian. On 26 January 2008 he was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian decoration. He will be among one of the recipients of the NASSCOM Global Leadership Awards-2008 to be given away at a ceremony on February 14 in Mumbai. Ratan Tata accepted the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy in 2007 on behalf of the Tata family.
Ratan Tata serves in senior capacities in various organisations in India and he is a member of the Prime Minister's Council on Trade and Industry. In March 2006 Tata was honoured by Cornell University as the 26th Robert S. Hatfield Fellow in Economic Education, considered the highest honor the university awards to distinguished individuals from the corporate sector.
Ratan Tata's foreign affiliations include membership of the international advisory boards of the Mitsubishi Corporation, the American International Group, JP Morgan Chase and Booz Allen Hamilton. He is also a member of the board of trustees of the RAND Corporation, and of his alma maters: Cornell University and the University of Southern California. He also serves as a board member on the Republic of South Africa's International Investment Council and is an Asia-Pacific advisory committee member for the New York Stock Exchange. Tata is on the board of governors of the East-West Center, the advisory board of RAND's Center for Asia Pacific Policy and serves on the programme board of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's India AIDS initiative. In February 2004, Ratan Tata was conferred the title of honorary economic advisor to Hangzhou city in the Zhejiang province of China.
He recently received an honorary doctorate from the London School of Economics and listed among the 25 most powerful people in business named by Fortune magazine in November 2007.
Monday, October 12, 2009
BIOGRAPHY OF MUKESH AMBANI
BIOGRAPHY OF MUKESH AMBANI A GREAT BUSINESS PERSONALITY
Born: April 19, 1957
Achievement: Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, India's largest private sector company; Chosen as ET Business Leader of the Year 2006; Ranked 42nd among the World's Most Respected Business Leaders and second among the four Indian CEOs featured in a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and published in Financial Times, London, November 2004.
Mukesh Ambani is the face of new emerging India. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, India's largest private sector company.
Mukesh Ambani was born on April 19, 1957 in Mumbai. His father Dhirubhai Ambani was then a small businessman who later on rose to become one of the legends of Indian industry. Mukesh Ambani did his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from University of Bombay and Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University, USA.
Mukesh Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and was the brain behind Reliance's backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals. During the process of backward integration, Mukesh Ambani led the creation of 51 new, world-class manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that raised Reliance's manufacturing capacities manifold.
World's largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar is the brainchild of Mukesh Ambani. He was also the incharge of Dhirubhai's dream project Reliance Infocomm. But after the split in the Reliance Empire, Reliance Infocomm went to his brother Anil Ambani. Mukesh Ambani is now planning to enter retail sector in a big way. He has plans to establish big retail stores all over the country. Recently, he also entered into an agreement with Haryana Government to establish a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with an investment running into thousands of crores.
Mukesh Ambani has many achievements and honours to his name. Mukesh Ambani was chosen as the ET Business leader of the Year 2006. He was ranked 42nd among the World's Most Respected Business Leaders and second among the four Indian CEOs featured in a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and published in Financial Times, London, November 2004. He was conferred the World Communication Award for the Most Influential Person in Telecommunications in 2004 by Total Telecom, October, 2004. Mukesh Ambani was also conferred the Asia Society Leadership Award by the Asia Society, Washington D.C., USA,
Born: April 19, 1957
Achievement: Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, India's largest private sector company; Chosen as ET Business Leader of the Year 2006; Ranked 42nd among the World's Most Respected Business Leaders and second among the four Indian CEOs featured in a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and published in Financial Times, London, November 2004.
Mukesh Ambani is the face of new emerging India. He is the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Limited, India's largest private sector company.
Mukesh Ambani was born on April 19, 1957 in Mumbai. His father Dhirubhai Ambani was then a small businessman who later on rose to become one of the legends of Indian industry. Mukesh Ambani did his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from University of Bombay and Masters in Business Administration from Stanford University, USA.
Mukesh Ambani joined Reliance in 1981 and was the brain behind Reliance's backward integration from textiles into polyester fibres and further into petrochemicals. During the process of backward integration, Mukesh Ambani led the creation of 51 new, world-class manufacturing facilities involving diverse technologies that raised Reliance's manufacturing capacities manifold.
World's largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar is the brainchild of Mukesh Ambani. He was also the incharge of Dhirubhai's dream project Reliance Infocomm. But after the split in the Reliance Empire, Reliance Infocomm went to his brother Anil Ambani. Mukesh Ambani is now planning to enter retail sector in a big way. He has plans to establish big retail stores all over the country. Recently, he also entered into an agreement with Haryana Government to establish a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with an investment running into thousands of crores.
Mukesh Ambani has many achievements and honours to his name. Mukesh Ambani was chosen as the ET Business leader of the Year 2006. He was ranked 42nd among the World's Most Respected Business Leaders and second among the four Indian CEOs featured in a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers and published in Financial Times, London, November 2004. He was conferred the World Communication Award for the Most Influential Person in Telecommunications in 2004 by Total Telecom, October, 2004. Mukesh Ambani was also conferred the Asia Society Leadership Award by the Asia Society, Washington D.C., USA,
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