Innholdsfortegnelse for September 27, 2015 i Business Today

In 2003, Business Today started a new survey – to identify the most powerful women in Indian business. The idea was to choose and celebrate women who had reached the pinnacle of corporations and banks and were directing their destinies. Since then, this annual survey has become one of our most popular listings. Over the years, we have refined our methodology and have also started applying far more rigour to choose our final 25 winners from a list of over 150 women achievers in the corporate world. Every year, the list sees several new entrants as more women make it to the pinnacle of their organisations. A few women drop out of the list because they have either retired or moved away professionally. And in some cases, some ladies have…

A sure shot recipe for social success is to talk food. A whopping 25 per cent of posts on social networks are on food, drinks, cooking and nutrition. On Instagram #foodporn is one of the most trending hashtags. Whole communities have come up on Facebook to exchange recipes and food tips. So is it any surprise that standalone food-based social networks are cooking up a storm? Food Talk India, a digital food community with 400,000 users, has just attracted seed funding to the tune of half a million dollars from a private investor. Set up in 2013, Food Talk India, which dishes out engaging content on Facebook, Viber, Twitter and Instagram, is now using the funding to launch its own hyper local dish discovery mobile app – Food Talk Plus.…

"More than a transportation space, an elevator is the heart of a building. Elevators provide continuity with the architecture and design of a building. It is a shared space, an experience that contributes to building occupants' quality of life. The combination of functionality and style is important in Toshiba's product designs and we are setting new benchmarks for the elevator experience with customised interior designs and smart functionality that reinforce the elevator cab's role as a valuable room in the core of the building. At TJEI, we are committed to providing safe and efficient vertical transportation through our innovative, state-of-the-art global product range. In addition to our high-quality products, our customised solutions and unparalleled after-sales service support set us apart."…

Nita Ambani, 51 Director, Reliance Industries WHY SHE MATTERS: As director on the board of India’s largest private sector company, she leads India’s biggest CSR outlay of over `1,500 crore annually. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Power means to empower people. To see that society progresses. Whether you empower your family, you empower society, empower leaders, empower teachers, where you see it truly making changes is when you empower the youth. BUSINESS IDOL: Every day, the one person who was a wonder to watch was my father-in-law. Just his grit and determination in everything he did. His positive spirit in creating things and making a change inspires me even today. I am on the board for the CSR,” says Nita Ambani, director, Reliance Industries. That may be the bare truth, but…

Ipsita Dasgupta, 38 Chief Commercial Officer, GE South Asia WHY SHE MATTERS: She is responsible for business and market strategy for South Asia. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: My family fuels my optimism, energy and passion. BUSINESS IDOL: The GE engineers, who invent, design and build products. They are our smartest people and have the ability to see and connect things before we even think about their existence. She can start her day with a conversation about deep-sea drilling and end it with a talk about infant mortality; and in the middle of the day there can be a discussion or two about locomotive engines. “Being in manufacturing is the most amazing experience in the world. It’s unique, it’s exciting, and you learn every single moment,” says Ipsita Dasgupta, Chief Commercial…

Neelam Dhawan, 55 Managing Director, Hewlett-Packard India Neelam Dhawan, draped in a brown saree, paced herself onto the stage as soon as Whistle Baja, the film Heropanti’s hit tune, died down. She welcomed tech professionals at HP’s World Tour event in Mumbai earlier this year, and proceeded to deliver a well-structured speech. Dhawan spoke of India’s changing demographics, the impatience of the young and the need for companies to keep pace with their expectations. “The future of India is not going to waste time standing in lines,” she said. She then cut to what she described as the new business opportunity — smart cities. “Smart cities will be the biggest transformation that will impact business,” she said. If US rival IBM can go hammer and tongs at smart cities, can…

Shanti Ekambaram, 53 President, Consumer Banking, Kotak Mahindra Bank WHY SHE MATTERS: She is driving digital innovations at Kotak which integrate conventional banking with social media WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Integrity and work ethics. It is important for people to love what they do. On the personal front, my family matters to me the most. I also feel that it is important to give back to the society in whatever small ways one can. BUSINESS IDOL: I have been inspired by various people, companies and events at different points of time. My biggest inspiration comes from my team. There have been two vital changes in Shanti Ekambaram’s professional life in the last 18 months. First, after 23 years in investment and corporate banking at Kotak Mahindra Bank, the last 11…

Meher Pudumjee, 48 Chairperson, Thermax WHY SHE MATTERS: Envisions strategy and good practices of one of India’s biggest capital goods companies WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Integrity – if I have made some commitments, am I keeping to them? If I have set some standards of excellence, am I sticking to those standards? BUSINESS IDOL: J.R.D. Tata, in terms of his ideals of doing the right things It was a small buy, but a critical one. On July 15, Pune-headquartered Thermax, a `4,845-crore company that provides products and solutions in heating, cooling, power, water and waste management to core industries like power, steel, and cement, and petrochemicals, informed the Bombay Stock Exchange that it had acquired 33 per cent stake in Pune-based First Energy, a 42-crore (2014 revenues) company. First Energy…

Galgotias University has been envisioned as an institution of teaching and learning excellence and is modeled after the education systems and processes at the world's finest universities, we set out to build an education institution of stature. Today the Galgotias University has over 10,000 students in its various graduate, post graduate programs and research programs in the field of Engineering & Technology, Business Administration, Media & Communication Studies, Humanities & Social Sciences, Architecture, Nursing, Pharmacy & Applied Sciences. The key difference at Galgotias University is industry-integration and guidance. Industry integration is hugely built into the syllabus, pedagogies, faculty orientation and education processes across the entire education span. Galgotias University uses the industry-guidance mantra intensively through various models of university-industry partnership ranging across accreditations, MoU arrangements and academic alliances. These integration…

Pallavi Shroff, 59 Managing Partner, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co WHY SHE MATTERS: Rated in Band I by Chambers & Partners, the most respected evaluator of legal services across the world. SAM & Co is the only firm ranked in Band I in the Competition/ Anti-Trust Practice Area in India, a practice headed by Shroff. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: The firm and family. “Luckily, they are intertwined. It’s a blessing.” BUSINESS IDOL: Father-in-law Suresh S. Shroff. “He taught me to strategise. I would tell him every day: ‘Papa, I did this in court,’ and he would say, ‘But have you thought of these five things?’ That is how I started thinking laterally, learning to strategise.” When Nestle India wanted to challenge the notices on Maggi noodles sent to it earlier…

Nishi Vasudeva, 60 CMD, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd WHY SHE MATTERS: She heads India’s fourth largest company by revenues, a company she has taken to record profitability. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Collaboration between different functions and different levels of employees. BUSINESS IDOL: R. Ramanathan, manager of an LPG project when she joined the company, who taught her the nuances of the business; and S.N. Mathur, her first boss, who taught her to look beyond her own function. Many, many years ago, a young woman working in Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) learned that a senior official of the company had predicted she would never go beyond middle management. But she went further, much further. Today, Nishi Vasudeva, an IIM Calcutta graduate and daughter of a railway employee who migrated to…

During the past year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team have made a strong pitch to investors to “Make in India”. According to Daniel J. Meckstroth, VP and chief economist as well as council director of the MAPI Purchasing Council, China’s share of world manufacturing was 22.4 per cent in 2012 (up from 2.3 per cent in 1992) compared to 2.1 per cent for India. Can India achieve similar success in the manufacturing sector? A recent Bloomberg article reported that hourly wages in India and China in 2014 were $0.92 and $3.52 respectively. MNCs with strong manufacturing operations in China, however, find it difficult to move elsewhere. First, the Chinese market size is so big that manufacturing in the country becomes an imperative. Second, the ecosystem productivity in China…

It’s easy to get overawed by a man of many avatars like Elon Musk. However, US business technology writer Ashlee Vance has done an exceptional job of keeping his journalistic instincts alive and kicking right through the book by not projecting him as a corporate deity that many such biographies would do inevitably. Instead, Vance who, like Musk, was born in South Africa, has made it a point to be irreverential: “… Musk can come off as shy and borderline awkward. His South African accent remains present but fading, and the charm of it is not enough to offset the halting nature of Musk’s speech pattern. Like many an engineer or physicist, Musk will pause while fishing around for exact phrasing, and he’ll often go rumbling down an esoteric, scientific…

Rallying Support Gujarat, for long peaceful and marching ahead with rapid industrialisation, is now on the boil. HARDIK PATEL’s rallying cry is that the Patidar community, comprising 15 per cent of the state population, needs the OBC tag and the benefits of reservation that go with it. Patel, 22, is fast turning out to be an astute politician too, seeking support from Jat leaders in Delhi, who have been demanding inclusion in the Central OBC list, and speaking in Hindi to reach a wider audience. Over the years, the OBC list in Gujarat – with 27 per cent reservation – has gone up to 146. It remains to be seen whether Patel can force recalibration of the reservation policy but he has shaken up the establishment. Patel’s voice may find…

The Indian festive season is traditionally a time when developers gear up for increasing property buying activity in most markets because this period is considered auspicious for real estate purchase. Many households pinpoint this time for upgrading to more spacious and better-located homes, and even investors are driven by the traditional sentiment as this is a time considered ideal for wealth creation. The residential market in many cities is currently flush with options for property seekers, as it is emerging from a prolonged period of slow buying activity. Sentiment has improved to some extent and both buyers and investors are investigating their options. Among the many possibilities for investors, apartments in emerging locations are ideal as prices tend to be lower and usually backed by discounts during the festive season,…

Your credit score not only showcases your financial habits but also your character. That is why financial institutions check your credit report whenever you apply for a loan. Credit scores are also considered when you go to buy a telecom connection or apply for a new job. A credit score is a number based on an analysis of your credit history (which credit bureaus source from financial institutions). It is a three-digit number between 300 and 900. It is based on your credit history and gives the lender an idea about how likely is it that you will repay the loan. A score of 750 and above is considered good. Most people realise the need to have a good credit score at the time of applying for a loan or…

Mind-boggling Collections This refers to your special issue on luxury (September 13). Well, luxury means different things to different people. I tried a Google search on “luxury” images and the results included a gold-plated shower-head, Rolls-Royce Phantom, a jewel-studded palm tree and a villa exterior – just to name a few. “Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity,” according to Coco Chanel. Says US fashion designer Michael Kors: “For me, true luxury can be caviar or a day with no meetings, no appointments and no schedule.” All said and done, I feel when the common man is feeling the pinch of high inflation, the BT team seems to be enjoying an awesome sense of humour by coming out with…

Dial M for Support If Apple has Siri, and Amazon has Echo, can Facebook be left far behind? The world’s largest social network has unveiled M, a virtual assistant built into its Messenger app that will find any information you seek. Powered by artificial intelligence, it’s trained and supervised by people – a sort of hybrid virtual assistant. You can ask it to do almost anything – be it order some exotic drink, or throw a dinner party or deal with some services company. M is a rather cheery assistant by the way – it comes preloaded with jokes and inspirational quotes. Still Headhunting For over three months now, Twitter has been searching a new CEO to replace Dick Costolo, who stepped down in June. A little birdie suggests that…

"We at K. Raheja Corp., the creator of 2000+ residential projects and a 25 million square feet world-class business ecosystem, aim to provide premium realty infrastructure at par with international standards. We pioneered the concept of self-contained townships and commercial business districts with all formats like residential apartments, office spaces, retail and entertainment, virtually making it a mini city with mega comforts", says Shabbir Kanchwala - Senior Vice President at K. Raheja Corp. "We dream to reform modern-day living. We offer comfort and safety - a dream of the new class of consumers, a style that encompasses the whole range of consumption pattern of the young and the upcoming consumers." The vision of the company, says Kanchwala, is to be a major infrastructure and growth driver for the development of…

Deepika Arora, 35 Regional VP(Eurasia), Wyndham Hotel Group WHY SHE MATTERS: She heads one of the fastest growing hospitality chains in the country. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: She quotes Maya Angelou: “I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Today, I feel proud that in my own little way I’m making a positive difference in the lives of people around me. BUSINESS IDOL: Arianna Huffington, founder of Huffington Post. Friends and colleagues were most surprised when Deepika Arora quit the Hilton Hotel chain, where she was Director (Development) for India, to join Wyndham Hotels Group as its Vice President (International Development) for India in 2010. She was offered the job at a hospitality…

Anuradha Desai, 52 Chairperson, Venkateshwara Hatcheries Group Venkateshwara Hatcheries shot to fame – or infamy, depending on how you look at it – in November 2010, when it bought English Premier League football team Blackburn Rovers. One of only five teams to have ever won the Premier League, Blackburn was quickly relegated from the League after the deal following poor performance. Manager after manager was sacked, and Venky’s got a reputation of being poor managers with abysmal understanding of football. While that may or may not be off the mark, what is certain is that Venkateshwara Hatcheries sure understands its core business – poultry and all else associated with it. And much of that credit would go to the group’s Chairperson, Anuradha Desai. Desai, a lawyer by education, took over…

Anita Dongre, 51 Chief Creative Officer, House of Anita Dongre WHY SHE MATTERS: Marrying traditional Indian art with contemporary fashion. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Integrity and passion. BUSINESS IDOL: India’s traditional artisans. It’s a long cherished dream coming true,” says Anita Dongre, adding that Grassroot, which was launched in August 2015, is a culmination of everything that she stands for, lived by and believes in: earth-, eco- and animal-friendly. Dongre says among all her creations, Grassroot is the closest to her heart. “I always wanted to do something with traditional Indian crafts which are so real, earthy and rich. I wanted to restore the handicraft and heirloom tradition of India, and it is just that.” Fiscal 2014/15 was also about growth and consolidation. She renamed her company, AND Designs India,…

Vinita Gupta, 47 Chief Executive Officer, Lupin WHY SHE MATTERS: Heads Lupin’s international business, including the US, Europe, West Asia, Africa, and Latin America, and the mergers and acquisition strategy within these geographies WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Work is most important to Vinita. However, striking a work-life balance to make time for her 10-year-old son, while nurturing Lupin’s global business is also central to the 47-year-old mother BUSINESS IDOL: Father and Lupin founder Chairman D.B. Gupta, who, she says, is the most difficult person to convince when it comes to business decisions, especially on the mergers and acquisitions front The Lupin CEO’s infectious enthusiasm has taken the third-largest Indian drug company to a new level. Today, it is the only Asian company to figure in the list of top 10…

Priya Nair, 43 Executive Director, Home Care Hindustan Unilever WHY SHE MATTERS: Heads the largest revenue earning division of FMCG giant HUL WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Creating a socially impactful business BUSINESS IDOL: Has been inspired by many business heroes It has been 20 years since Priya Nair joined the ranks of the 30,805-crore FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever (HUL). She cut her teeth in the organisation as a management trainee. The 43-year-old has been groomed by stalwarts like Nitin Paranjpe and Harish Manwani. Indeed, it is evident that Nair has been a great student and has learnt the importance of building a socially relevant business from her mentors. Nair, who made it to the management committee of the FMCG company just last year, says that the game changer for her…

Chitra Ramkrishna, 52 Managing Director & CEO, National Stock Exchange of India WHY SHE MATTERS: She heads India’s biggest stock exchange. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Ethics and transparency. BUSINESS IDOL: All-time greats like Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela. Chitra Ramkrishna says she was lucky to have good bosses, she was just there when the National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) was being formed and “volunteered” to join, she relies a lot on her second line (of management), her job is nowhere as complex as the RBI governor’s, she’s not a financial wizard… But the fact that Ramkrishna, the daughter of a middle-class accountant, heads the NSE as its Managing Director and CEO, makes her one of the most powerful people in Indian business. Regardless of gender. According to the World Federation…

Suneeta Reddy, 56 Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd WHY SHE MATTERS: Leads India’s biggest healthcare service provider. Has aggressive expansion plans over the next couple of years. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Sweating existing assets even more. Continue to enhance the leadership position of Apollo in the healthcare sector. BUSINESS IDOL: Her father Prathap C. Reddy, who started the hospital chain. She also admires N. Vaghul, who is on the board, for “his clear and insightful thinking” as well as Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev for his spiritual guidance. Suneeta Reddy has always been the bean counter in the family that runs India’s biggest health-care service provider. The Managing Director of Apollo Hospitals Enterprise Ltd (AHEL) has solid numbers to back her credentials. In the little over a year under her leadership,…

Sangita Singh, 46 CEO - Healthcare and Life Sciences division, Wipro WHY SHE MATTERS: Her division has been growing 40 per cent faster than the average company growth rate. Also, with life-sciences providers under cost pressure to deliver more with less and big pharma struggling to keep their R&D pipeline going, it is a good opportunity for players like Wipro. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Delivering value to customers. Taking HLS division to $1 billion in size through organic and inorganic growth over the next one year. BUSINESS IDOL: Azim Premji, Chairman of Wipro, for building a ‘fair, ethical and growth-driven organisation.’ How many top executives come to mind when one thinks of those who doubled revenues of the divisions they headed, especially at a time when their company overall grew…

Geetu Verma, 48 Executive Director, Foods, Hindustan Unilever WHY SHE MATTERS: She gave HUL’s food business a new focus. She has increased the contribution of the food business to overall revenues by 25 per cent, WHAT MATTERS TO HER: To create a food DNA and culture in the organisation Geetu Verma, Executive Director (Foods), Hindustan Unilever (HUL), likes to call herself a “food innovator” who specialises in creating the most delectable breakfast delicacies. “I make the best sandwiches and the most innovative spreads and dips,” she says. Her latest creation is a noodles omelette with a stuffing of HUL’s own Knorr soupy noodles. Verma’s innovator instincts have ensured that the `30,805-crore fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) company has got back its much-needed focus on food. When Verma quit PepsiCo to…

Rising Tides takes a fresh look at a world that is shrinking and transforming. The author, Liam Fox, has done a global reality check on the trade possibilities, economic growth, and the triggers for instability. If you want to read a book on the global political situation, the emerging threats and some probable solutions, this is it! It’s a fairly gripping book, especially considering the geopolitical issues and the historical context. Fox, for instance, tries to find out the reason why Pakistan and India, with a shared history of 200 years of British rule, followed such different trajectories. A whole section is devoted to understanding countries like Pakistan – described as a potentially failing state – and “unstable” and “crazy” North Korea. After all, in a globalised world, Fox says,…

Intel dominates the PC and laptop markets, and both are shrinking. What is Intel’s strategy to grow in a post-PC era? The PC market is challenging, rather than shrinking. There is reason to be confident in growth prospects with the launch of Windows 10, as well as our 6th Generation Core (‘Skylake’). Our overall strategy is to build on core assets like the PC and move into new, adjacent markets such as the Internet of Things (IoT), all the while continuing our leadership through the power of Moore’s Law. Considering that Intel might be running up against the limitations of Moore’s Law (which states that processor speed doubles every two years while costs halve), how do you intend to address this technology challenge? We have recently reached product qualification for…

The festival season in India is considered to be auspicious for making new purchases and investments. As a result, many people tend to enter into real estate transactions, which are typically big ticket in nature. A few developers plan their project launches to coincide with the festival season. Some developers try to lure the consumer by offering discounts, low or zero down-payment options, and subvention schemes. Freebies like gold coins or holidays at foreign locations are some other attractions offered during the period. Lenders, too, offer special home loan schemes during this period. No wonder, then, that the season usually witnesses the highest number of sales, almost 20-25 per cent more than the rest of the year. That said, buyers need to exercise caution and do their research before purchasing…

After 2008 there was a drop in the sales of unit-linked products (ULIPs). What is the scenario now? Given the buoyancy in equity markets and improving economic sentiment, there has been an uptake in ULIP sales across the industry. Considering the lower charge structures of ULIPs and virtually no exit barriers, it is not surprising to see a surge in demand of these products. However, insurance is a protection-cum-long-term-savings product that caters to specific life-stage needs of customers. There are many product categories that cater to ‘investment and wealth creation’ needs of the customers but none can offer advantage of protection along with benefit of sustained, disciplined savings and structured solution for customers’ long-term savings needs as insurance products do. At Future Generali, we have witnessed a strong positive movement…

INTERVIEW “Online education is casual, that is the challenge” Serial entrepreneur Ronnie Screwvala and Mayank Kumar, former investment professional at venture firm Bertelsmann India Investments, speak with Taslima Khan about their new education venture UpGrad. businesstoday.in/upgrad-screwvala “Will take on India when we consider ourselves ready” Neeraj Chauhan, co-founder and CEO, Obi Worldphone, and a serial entrepreneur who has run IT and telecom distribution companies, explains the strategy of the new Obi brand to Manu Kaushik. businesstoday.in/obi-chauhan NEWS Mega trade pact RECP to miss 2015 deadline businesstoday.in/recp-deadline Chinese smartphone vendor Meizu MX5 launched for `19,999 businesstoday.in/meizu-mx5 Plantronics launches two wireless Bluetooth headsets in India businesstoday.in/plantronics-headsets Odisha unveils new industrial policy businesstoday.in/odisha-policy Mercedes to launch AMG GT later this year for `3 crore businesstoday.in/mercedes-amg Alcatel OneTouch launches its first tablet POP 8S…

Around 48 per cent of the Indian population is female, but the proportion of total female population that is economically active is at 30% This is among the lowest in the world. China is better than India on this score. Equally worrying is the fact that while 30 per cent of the junior level employees are women, the number drops to 11% if we look at senior level or leadership roles in India Inc. Women employees get far less pay than their male counterparts. The highest gap in average gross hourly wage is in healthcare and manufacturing sectors At a time Skilling India is top priority, more women are jobless as compared to men and the ratio worsens for more educated youths URBAN - YOUTH UNEMPLOYMENT RATE (%) IN INDIA…

Urban areas have been recognised as "engines of inclusive economic growth". Today, in the 21st century, we have reached a critical juncture where mega-growth of the manufacturing and services sectors in countries like Japan, China, India and other fast developing Asian and South American nations has led to hyper-paced urbanisation. Post-independence, urbanisation in India increased at a very high pace and today, of the 121 crore Indians, 83.3 crore live in rural areas while 37.7 crore stay in urban areas, i.e approximately 32% of the population. No wonder this is becoming a barrier for balanced, equitable and inclusive development. It puts pressure on the finite number of resources leading to shortage of amenities such as water supply, sanitation, electricity and infrastructure. Along with widening of cities and towns, urbanisation creates…

Arundhati Bhattacharya, 59 Chairman, State Bank of India WHY SHE MATTERS: Heads the largest bank in India as the first woman chairperson in the bank’s 208-year old history WHAT MATTERS TO HER: To make SBI more nimble footed, financially strong and digitally savvy to appeal to the younger customers BUSINESS IDOL: She draws inspiration from her mother and aunt, who braved many challenges in life and are self-made Top banker Arundhati Bhattacharya, 59, rarely stumbles over words. That too to clinch a sale. In September 1996, when she moved to the US on a transfer posting, juggling audit functions and settling the family, she had experienced a rare buyer’s dilemma. The SBI honcho had to step into a New York street to buy a perambulator for her daughter. But when…

Tanya Dubash, 48 Executive Director and Chief Brand Officer, Godrej Group WHY SHE MATTERS: She is spearheading transformation of the 118-year-old Godrej into a young and aspirational brand. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Humility. She even listens to junior employees and then takes decisions. BUSINESS IDOL: Father and Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej. At the Godrej family home, business is the most talked about topic at dinner time. Years ago, when conversation veered towards how the century-old family business was being looked upon as an ageing brand, Tanya Dubash, the eldest daughter of Godrej Group Chairman Adi Godrej, quickly got into action. The company’s myriad businesses – from locks to soaps and mosquito repellents to real estate – were touching the lives of 400 million Indians. The Godrej name was considered…

Aruna Jayanthi, 52 Chief Executive Officer, Capgemini India WHY SHE MATTERS: One of the most powerful leaders in the IT services industry. After the IGATE merger, she will be responsible for an 85,000-strong team. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: Integrity. A team that walks the talk, follows high ethical standards of the organisation and meets expectations of customers. Hates shortcuts or compromises. BUSINESS IDOL: Every person who has the grit and determination to overcome odds and fight for success. Every person fighting for a bigger cause than his or her own ecosystem. Aruna Jayanthi, CEO, Capgemini India, has her hands full. Capgemini recently acquired IGATE, a US-listed technology and services company with revenues of € 10.57 billion in 2014, which will make Capgemini’s India arm one of the largest MNC IT…

Radhika Piramal, 37 Managing Director, VIP Industries WHY SHE MATTERS: She is trying to make luggage fashionable and hip at a time when the category is growing slowly. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: My father had the foresight to build VIP as the market leader way back in the 70s when there was less competition. My job is to maintain the leadership position. The way to do it is to have a good brand portfolio with customer segmentation, so that we can appeal to people with different tastes. BUSINESS IDOL: Warren Buffett. Her role model in business is Warren Buffett, the US business magnate and mercurial investor. What she likes most about him is his ability to excel in whatever he does. When Radhika Piramal took over as Managing Director of…

Kirthiga Reddy, 44 Managing Director, Facebook India The day Kirthiga Reddy spoke with this writer was a significant one for Facebook – a billion people accessed the social media site that day. By any measure, that is an incredible statistic. For the record, Facebook has 1.49 billion monthly active users worldwide as of June 2015. India, with 132 million users, is close to 9 per cent of that. And Reddy, an engineer and Stanford MBA, is looking to leverage it by going beyond plain vanilla advertising. “Market share is won and lost at times of transition,” she says, referring to the consumer shift of media consumption to digital and mobile. “And we are focused on working with advertisers and businesses, in helping them grow their business in this period of…

Aisha de Sequeira, 45 Co-Country Head & Head of Investment Banking, Morgan Stanley India WHY SHE MATTERS: The bank has been bagging one billion-dollar deal after another in spite of the slowdown. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: The older I get, the more I want to do things that have an impact both within the community as well as the organisation I work for. Giving back is critical. I have always been very troubled by the issue of accident of birth that can so dramatically change your life. At this stage of my life, I want to help, be it through education or mentoring. BUSINESS IDOL: Steve Jobs. I have always felt fortunate to have lived when he was around, to have seen innovation and excellence come together. The most inspiring…

Jyotsna Suri, 63 Chairperson, Lalit Suri Hospitality WHY SHE MATTERS: She leads one of India’s largest privately owned hotel chains and also heads industry group FICCI. WHAT MATTERS TO HER: My life’s mantra is to never give up. No matter what life throws at me, I take it as a challenge and overcome it. As a professional, what matters to me the most is integrity, honesty, respect for individuals, devotion to duty and minimum wastage. BUSINESS IDOL: My husband. His vision, foresight, generosity, and time management skills were truly admirable, as was his utmost faith in me Most people would find holding down one full-time job hard enough. But Jyotsna Suri, Chairperson and Managing Director of Bharat Hotels, which runs The Lalit Suri Hospitality group, is straddling two challenging assignments,…

VINITA BALI Former Managing Director, Britannia Industries Not only did she quadruple Britannia’s revenue from 1,615 crore in 2005/06 to 6,342 crore when she exited the company in 2013/14, Vinita Bali, 60, also made biscuits more nutritious. Right from the NutriChoice range to milk bikis and bread, Bali made sure all of them are fortified with minerals. “We knew that biscuits are an excellent carrier of micronutrients… we combined this with the stark reality of malnutrition and decided to fortify several brands with micronutrients,” she told BT earlier. Now, every biscuit maker has forayed into the category. Her passion to make the world free from malnutrition continues. She is on the board of several organisations such as Scaling Up Nutrition, an initiative of the United Nations and Global Alliance for…

BAG IT OR JUNK IT: Best smartphone under `10,000. RATING: 4.5/5 PRICE: 9,999 PLUS: Camera with laser focus, performance MINUS: No full HD display Last year, Asus returned to the Indian smart-phone market with its Zenfone range. Opting for the online-only strategy, the company received a great response and now has the complete range of ZenFone 2 smartphones. ZenFone 2 Laser is aimed at photography enthusiasts without hurting their pocket. Designed along the lines of the flagship ZenFone 2, the ZenFone 2 Laser boasts a 5.5inch HD display with Corning Gorilla Glass 4 protection. The Asus brand is displayed on the top, while the back, home and multitasking keys are at the bottom of the display. The phone has a slightly curved rear and curved corners. The power key has…

Move Your Bus By Ron Clark Simon & Schuster Price: 350 Bestselling author and award-winning educator comes with an accessible, uplifting business parable in this book BUSINESS BESTSELLERS* Zero to One By Peter Thiel Random House Price: 499 Thinking, Fast and Slow By Daniel Kahneman Penguin Price: 499 Elon Musk By Ashlee Vance Virgin Books Price: 699 Arise, Awake By Rashmi Bansal Westland Books Price: 200 Steve Jobs By Walter Isaacson Little, Brown Book Group Price: 550 *Top books by sales for August 16-29, 2015; Includes only books released after July 1, 2014; Information provided by amazon.in…

September heralds the start of festive season. It is the time of the year when people want to make new investments and purchases. To cash in on the sentiment, property developers come up with discounts and schemes to attract buyers, offering freebies such as gold coins, car, holiday trip and modular kitchen. However, this year, with sales slowing, developers are under a lot of pressure to clear inventory. To encourage people to buy, they have been coming out with various schemes and even negotiating prices with potential buyers. Not just developers. Banks and other lenders, too, try to cash in on the festival fervour by giving loans on easy terms. For example, with HDFC Bank recently slashed its base rate by 35 basis points (bps) to 9.35 per cent and…

• Co-owners of the property have to be joint borrowers while all the joint borrowers need not be co-owners • Both applicants need to submit all necessary documents • Make sure credit scores of joint applicants do not show delinquencies and defaults • If your credit score is low, make efforts to improve it before you apply for a loan • The repayment record of a joint home loan reflects in the credit score of all co-borrowers • Default in payment by any partner can impact eligibility for any loan in the future • For tax purposes, it is best to procure a home-sharing agreement, detailing the ownership proportion on a stamp paper as legal proof of ownership • In case of parents and siblings the loan tenure is limited…