Cover Story

India's richest investment banks
By helping some of India's mega-corporations make global-size acquisitions and raise billions through public issues, deal makers are making hay. In the first half of 2007, the top 10 investment banks collected some $441 million in fees. The going can only get better.

2007-07-29

Homing in

With foreign vendors striking big-ticket domestic deals, will their Indian rivals start paying attention to the home market?

BPO time to consolidate?

As scale becomes critical, the bigger BPOs are bulking up by buying captives and other smaller outfits. And like in IT, the top three companies may become the dominant force.

Connecting the next billion

How software giant Microsoft and a few others are working to make computing affordable and relevant to India's poor.

Trends

RCL to be outsourced IT department for SMEs

Most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) cannot afford the services of a full-time IT department, nor make large capital investments in equipment.

Sell, sell, sell cars any which way

By the end of the first week of July, the Maruti Udyog (MUL)  had over 8,000 referrals and had sold over 2,100 vehicles.

Maruti's rural push

Maruti Udyog (MUL) has grown sales by 17.1 per cent in the first quarter of the current financial year to 169,669 units.

Where are the price cuts?

The prices of several popular consumer imports, particularly electronics, have not declined in tandem with the rising rupee.

Tapping the diabetes economy

 India is already the diabetes capital of the world and accounts for almost 20 per cent of the world's diabetic population.

Surfing the outsourcing boom

After a successful 29-year stint with hp, the 63-year-old Suresh Rajpal, former President and CEO of Hewlett-Packard India has floated a string of new ventures with mixed results.

Food coupons for ration cards?

The coupons could enable the government to target the nearly Rs 25,700-crore food subsidy more accurately.

Economy watch

The gradual decline in the rate of inflation is expected to lead to a softening of interest rates.

Numbers of note

India's space budget is Rs 45,000 crore in the 11th Five-Year Plan.

Hic hic hurray

Wealth managers flock to Kolkata

According to the survey by National Council for Applied Economic Research (NCAER), Delhi and Mumbai continue to be the major centres of wealth in India.

Don't blame the left

Senior ministers are holding up important reform measures.

Instan Tip

The fortnight's burning question: Is the Doha round of the WTO talks doomed to failure?

"Bud invents a beer only for India"

Stephen J. Burrows, president & CEO, Anheuser-Busch, Asia Pacific, was in Mumbai recently to announce the company's foray into the Indian market.

Top Mind

Top of mind

Apple iPhone is a mixed bag. It's Apple's latest device.

Policy Watch

P-watch

A bird's eye view of what's hot and what's not on the government's policy radar.

P-watch column

The why, what and how-to of policy making.

News Maker

Newsmaker: R.S. Sharma

For R.S. Sharma, 56, who recently took over as CMD of ONGC, the appointment was as challenging as finding oil.

Noted

Now, IT gets harder

Indian IT went from $5 billion to near $50 billion in just a decade. But growth hereon will need vastly different strategies.

Jobs

Hitting the mark

The 4th quarterly Business Today-TeamLease Employment Outlook Survey shows that the bullishness of the previous three quarters has remained constant.

Upwardly mobile

There's a surge in jobs for telecom value-added services.

Help, Tarun!

Tarun Sheth answers queries related to your career.

Editorial

Flipside of deal making

In the corporate world, there are two types of people who like big-ticket deals. One, the CEOs and, the other, the investment bankers.

Indian IT is on song

The Indian IT sector is expected to clock revenues of $50 billion, a growth of 30 per cent, this year.

Nip this in the bud, proactively

India's image has changed now. Currently, India is seen as a knowledge superpower on the brink of global economic and political superpowerdom.

People

Untiring quest

The avid traveller is set to hang up his boots at work, but wants to visit Antarctica some time soon.

Reporters Diary

Karnataka's Nandigram

A proposed SEZ, 20 km from Bangalore's new international airport, comes under sustained fire from farmers' lobbies and the opposition, but the government and developer refute any underhand deals. 

Leadership Spotlight

Grand old man of India Inc.

B.K. Birla, the grand old man of the Birla clan, prefers to maintain a low profile.

Current

Beyond 15K

You'll be rich in the long term, but watch out for gremlins now.

Working up a lather

Wipro Consumer is now India's third-largest FMCG company.

No pie in the sky

Kochi to Singapore at Rs 1,600? That's without the taxes.

Exit Danone, enter Kraft?

Danone may find a taker for its stake in Britannia.

On the right track

Players running container trains are crunching delivery times.

Shifting gear

Ashok Leyland is taking the JV route into "sunrise" areas.

The value hunters

India's mega-corps are becoming PE players.

Open sesame

SBI forms a holding company for non-banking activities.

Taking off: second airports

Several Indian cities will have a second airport by 2010.

The Buffett disciple

Mohnish Pabrai invests and gives away like Warren Buffett.

Statistical comfort?

Magically, the HIV infected population in India halves.

A castle in the air

That's literally what Lanco is planning in Hyderabad.

A house for Mr Ambani

Ambani's 27-storey partly-built condo is under threat.

His own broadcaster

Cornered, Neo Sports decides to go solo.

Toon boom

Walt Disney will co-produce animation films out of India.

Ball by (eye)ball

Online cricket coverage grabs viewers and advertisers.

Magic pill

Now, a contraceptive that can reduce acne and facial hair.

Pushing the right button

Legrand makes India the "epicentre" of its growth plans.

Talent hunt

Potential for CRAMS is huge, but where's the manpower?

Taking the rap

Hip-hop is passé, Reebok seeks a more universal message.

Emotional connect

Societe Generale Consumer Finance opts for Kolkata.

Book

Surviving Wal-Mart

A former Wal-Mart strategist tells you how to survive and thrive in a world dominated by the retail giant.

Printed Circuit

A TV? A Computer? It's a Laptop

HP's Dragon is powerful, but it could do with more juice.

Treadmill

Two tweaked moves

Dumb-bells can be used to work out your upper and lower bodies and may, in fact, be much better at helping you strengthen and build your muscles.

Back of the Book

Delightful spread

If variety is the spice of life, then food courts are the flavour of the season. We present some of the most popular food courts across six cities that offer delectable cuisine and a peppy ambience.

Two tweaked moves

Dumb-bells can be used to work out your upper and lower bodies and may, in fact, be much better at helping you strengthen and build your muscles.

Features

Southern superstar Rajinikanth's latest flick Sivaji: The Boss promises to be the biggest blockbuster ever, with projected box office takings of Rs 350 crore in India and abroad. What makes the ageing star a global phenomenon?

Big banks, big mop-ups

ICICI Bank, SBI and a host of other banks have mobilised thousands of crores or plan to do so soon. But given their growth momentum, they will probably have to come back for more.

What's eating Indian advertising?

Advertising for the chewing gum may have bagged numerous awards, but the country's agencies-despite robust growth in recent times - would appear to have little reason to smile.

Big pharma's patent push

Generic drugs will continue to dominate the Indian pharma market over the next five years, but multinational companies are lobbying to shape patent laws to protect their profitability over the long term. How far will they succeed?

Money

Balancing the risks

More families today are exposed to different risks when creating wealth. How to manage them?

It's a big hit

Multiplexes are poised for rapid growth. But watch the valuations.

Lay a solid foundation

For higher studies, don't ponder over the money situation. Education loans are handy, and cheap.

Top of the class

Private banking has a lot to offer, if you have the moolah that is.

The treasure hunt

IPOs are better placed to deliver returns, if you pick and choose carefully enough.

Idle way to wealth

Liquid funds have a new avatar. Park your savings here.

Editors note

From The Editor

Investment banks, which typically earn fees and commissions that are in proportion to the size of deals they broker or issues they manage, have seen a big boost to their earnings in recent months.