Author Chris Zook on what it takes to achieve profitable growth and what lies beneath ‘the core’ of all companies.

In a bid to take their delicacies to a larger audience, Bengal’s sweet makers are adding a dash of international flavour.

By giving small loans to poor people, this entrepreneur is transforming rural India like never before.

It’s called the elixir of life. Not without reason: Farmers are getting a new lease of life cultivating tulsi the organic way. 

The image of the moustachetwirling, pot-bellied man from the South who tilts perilously at the nearest nine yards of fabric he can espy is slowly but surely fading away. Say hello to the trendy, brandconscious southern male who’s raring to go on a bender.

Ranganath ‘Rangu’ Salgame hit the headlines two years ago when, as the India head for Cisco, he persuaded his bosses to commit a massive $1.1 billion (Rs 4,400 crore) investment to the country’s operations.

SEBI has given its nod for new derivative products. What does it mean for you?

Investors have been lukewarm to the FMCG and pharma sectors. But the future looks brighter than the immediate past.

Ten years ago, Barry Bateman realised, there was space for a new global consumer finance brand. A decade down the line, Fidelity International is managing assets of $299.4 billion outside the America with a sizeable presence in Asia-Pacific. As Bateman explains, India and China will be Fidelity’s growth drivers over the next 15-20 years.

Check out Business Today's annual listing of companies you need to keep your eye on.

With a booming economy minting millionaires, the demand for wealth managers has jumped. Result: Managing wealth was never so rewarding.

Six months of survey and analysis, 94 final participants, and hundreds of days of reporting is what it took to bring you stories of India's best employers. Best companies in pictures

The best location for a luxury brand isn’t a five-star hotel, but a site cheek-by-jowl with it. That is what Italian fashion label Gucci concluded when launching its first India store.

Relief is at hand for those advertisers who want to be part of cricket, but find participation difficult due to the stiff rates charged for live action.

Expect the unexpected. While the economy continues with its upward march quarter after quarter, the latest BT-TeamLease Employment Outlook Survey reveals that the business confidence and employment prospects are at an all-time low in the last one year.BT-TeamLease Survey in graphics

With a market value of Rs 29,000 crore and a net worth of Rs 8,000 crore, the eight-year-old Indiabulls group has sky-high ambitions. Property development and consumer finance are the current thrust areas. Retailing, insurance, banking, mutual funds, power and telecom are on the cards.

The emergence of large retail chains has come as a boon for SMEs. They are freed from the hassles of marketing their products, and retailers get ready suppliers for a range of items.

The market for semiconductors in India will almost double to $5.49 billion by 2009, says a new Frost & Sullivan report. What does that mean for the local chip industry? BT brought together a panel of experts to get the answers.

It's well known for its insurance ventures with the Tatas (and arguably better known for being Manchester United's principal sponsor). Now, however, the world's largest insurer is going the whole hog in the Indian financial services arena, with forays into mutual funds, real estate funds, mortgage guarantee and asset reconstruction.

Few marketers can afford to ignore the non-metros, but there are those who are seeing the virtues of starting with the small towns. The big cities can wait.