Seasonal Magazine December 2013

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VOLUME 12 ISSUE 12 DECEMBER 2013

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Seasonal

EDITORIAL

MAGAZINE

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the biggest rush of them all…

Vol 12 Issue 12 December 2013

Managing Editor Jason D Pavoratti Editor John Antony Director (Finance) Ceena Senior Editorial Coordinator Jacob Deva Senior Correspondent Bina Menon Creative Visualizer Bijohns Varghese Photographer Anish Aloysious Correspondents Bombay: Rashmi Prakash Hyderabad: Iqbal Siddiqui Delhi: Anurag Dixit Director (Technical) John Antony Publisher Jason D

Was it for the premiere of Ram-Leela? Nope. Was it for a high CAT score? No. Was it for grabbing land or competitor’s market-share? No, not even that. The biggest rush historically has been the rush to serve.

Serve others. What a noble thought. Narendra Modi wants to do that. Rahul Gandhi wants to do that. Mulayam Singh Yadav wants to do that. In back-to-back election rallies, these leaders are bellowing - “I want to serve. Let me serve. Only I can serve.”

There are many more such leaders in secret out there, but who are still to take their audacity to that lofty level.

By that very thought - I should serve - these would- be-leaders, sorry, would-be-servants assume two things. One is that those whom they aspire to serve - including other aspiring servants - are way inferior to them in capabilities. The second is that they are fully qualified for the job.

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In short, they became leaders through superhuman achievements for the masses they aspired to serve. And not ironically through either the much-vaunted democratic process, or polarizing fascism.

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Congress had a glorious 30-year old history even before Gandhi landed from South Africa in 1915. The movement had stalwarts like Bal Gangadhar Tilak and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, both of whom even Gandhi looked upon as mentors.

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But then Gandhi would start to grow in popularity, not through his words, but through his deeds that moved millions. Gandhi’s leadership stature was such that he would leave Congress at will, based on serious issues, and come back stronger years later when the rest of them came to accept his position.

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Gandhi was greater than Congress. When his nominee was squarely beaten by Subhas Chandra Bose to win a second-term as Congress President, he just kept quiet. But Bose would soon enough prove to Congress that his policies were not at all compatible with ahimsa, resulting in mass resignations of all top leaders of Congress.

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Gandhi’s ability to make inroads into any community’s mindset was also legendary.

But it was again not through words but deeds. He spearheaded the Khilafat Movement in India, coupled it with the Indian freedom struggle, and thus not only became loved

by Muslims across the country, but brought the Muslim community into the forefront of the freedom struggle.

Congress was where Gandhi was, and not vice versa.

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Page 2

The first was true with leaders like Gandhi and Nehru. Because, they became leaders by galvanizing millions of despairing people against the world’s largest empire of their times, and that too, adhering to an impossible strategy as non-violence. They went into the jail - often for months and years - before their followers went, and they often endured more than their followers.

Despite not being a Dalit himself, he would take on the formidable Dalit leader Dr. BR Ambedkar on how to go about empowering Dalits. Independent historians would vouch that Gandhi was as effective a leader of Dalits as Ambedkar, and more popular among the majority of Dalits across India. His role in inspiring fellow Hindus to stop regarding Dalits as untouchables, is second to none.

Gandhi was also noted for his ability to include different thought-movements like capitalism, socialism, communism, radicalism etc inside the Congress as far as possible, and even in building difficult consensus with other political parties of seemingly different ideologies.

Gandhi built bridges between Hindus and Muslims, Dalits and Upper Castes, Socialists and Capitalists, Moderates and Radicals, like no other leader has ever done before.

- can be entrusted to just anyone above 25 years old regardless of his qualification and experience?

It is an issue of governing 127 crore people and meeting at least their basic aspirations, which in itself is diverse. It is even foolish to assume that one man can do all that. If somebody is claiming so, it is nothing other than foolish bravado. The task calls for the collective efforts of the finest leaders among us.

So, even if Gandhi had claimed that he was superior in capabilities to those whom he yearned to serve, not even his ideological enemies would have objected. Such was the man’s sheer capability to bring together diverse communities, hold them together to attempt the impossible, and succeed against all odds.

It is another matter that Gandhi never claimed any personal superiority over anyone.

But see the level of contrast with the current rush to serve.

Who appointed them as Prime Ministers in waiting? Have they led any mass movement for any social cause apart from election rallies? Have they ironed out differences between communities? Have they built bridges?

The second assumption of these would-be-leaders, sorry again, would-be-servants, is even more preposterous. It is that they are fully qualified for the job.

It is a fact that any Indian above 25 can become an MP and even the Prime Minister. No qualifications are asked for.

But isn’t it high-time that this constitutional provision is recognized for being outdated?

If State Bank of India can’t be entrusted to just anyone above 25, if LIC of India can’t be entrusted to just anyone without any qualification, if TCS can’t be entrusted with just any CEO, what on earth makes us believe that Government of India - which is much larger than all these entities combined

Today, the situation is such that thousands of fine leaders in the government, corporate, and public sectors are being governed by politicians who neither have enabling qualifications nor experience. Such bureaucrats, managers, economists, engineers, lawyers, doctors etc if brought together can solve every one of this nation’s problems, unlike half-baked politicians who are fumbling in the dark and accusing each other.

But the best of the world is not fumbling like us. Just take a look at Obama’s Cabinet: John Kerry (Yale) , Jack Lew (Harvard), Eric Holder (Columbia), Sally Jewell (University of Washington), Tom Vilsack (Albany Law School), Penny Pritzker (Stanford), Thomas Perez (Harvard), Chuck Hagel (University of Nebraska), Kathleen Sebelius (University of Kansas), Shaun Donovan (Harvard), Anthony Foxx (University of New York), Ernest Moniz (Stanford), Arne Duncan (Harvard), Eric Shinseki (Duke University), and Rand Beers (University of Michigan).

Almost none are without a postgraduate degree from a reputed University, and most of them have career graphs that is much more than the graph of a yesteryears’ American career politician. This is despite this team being one of the youngest ever teams to govern America. Obama himself did his higher education at Columbia and Harvard, was an outstanding graduate, and worked impressively in academics, community, law, & business careers before getting interested in mainstream politics. In short, members of Team Obama are all politicians but also respected professionals in diverse fields including science, healthcare, education, law, military, and business. With merit to back. Accomplishments to claim.

Still, facing tough - often non partisan - battles in Senate and Congress for getting approved.

Times have changed. Nations have changed. The challenges of today are not the challenges of the Churchill/Roosevelt/ Gandhi/Nehru era. What we need is professional management, accountable management of this nation.

In fact, either Congress or BJP can win the upcoming elections in a landslide fashion if they start a campaign about creating a professional Cabinet for the first time, handpicking stalwarts solely on merit.

But with too many unqualified and inexperienced leaders too eager to serve, that will take some more time in this nation.

John Antony

Page3

Contents

3 Contrarian Time Management Tricks for Entrep reneurs For any entrepreneur, especially those with other responsibilities, like school, a day job or family, being a master of time management is a necessity.

Scores Past Halftime

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Before Sachin Tendulkar, there was Anil Gurav When Sachin Tendulkar started out, Anil Gurav was Mumbai's brightest star offering him tips and once a bat.

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7 Ways to Win Every Argument or Negotiation Stephen Key is one of world's most celebrated product inventors, who later turned out to be a successful entrepreneur as well as bestselling author..

How He Remains a Leader in Demand The Steve Jobs We Never Knew

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Seasonal Magazine

Page 4

Seasonal Magazine interviews KM Chandrasekhar ex-IAS, who was for long India’s topmost bureaucrat. Known equally for his efficiency, transparency, courage, and gentlemanly manners, Chandrasekhar is still in demand despite retiring after several extensions.

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High BP? Try Being More Happy

Strategies for Reinventing Yourself: The Wisdom of James Altucher

A new research has found that a synthetic gene module controlled by the happiness hormone dopamine produces an agent that lowers blood pressure. This finding opens up new avenues for..

Inventing Illnesses to Sell Medicines Prof. BM Hegde, a cardiologist and former Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University, writes about the systematic way in which pharmaceutical industry sort of invents diseases to sell their new drugs.

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15 Cancer Symptoms MEN IGNORE Routine checks can find cancer early. But men are notorious foot-draggers when it comes to visiting the doctor. These symptoms..

HEALTH

High BP? Try Being More Happy new research has found that a synthetic gene module controlled by the happiness hormone dopamine produces an agent that lowers blood pressure.

This finding opens up new avenues for therapies that are remote-controlled via the subsconscious.

The endogenous hormone dopamine triggers feelings of happiness.

While its release is induced, among other things, by the "feel-good" classics sex, drugs or food, the brain does not content itself with a kick; it remembers the state of happiness and keeps wanting to achieve it again. Dopamine enables us to make the "right" decisions in order to experience even more moments of happiness.

Now, a team of researchers headed by ETH-Zurich professor Martin Fussenegger from the Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering

Dopamine enables us to make the "right" decisions in order to experience even more moments of happiness.

(D-BSSE) in Basel has discovered a way to use the body's dopamine system therapeutically.

The researchers have created a new genetic module that can be controlled via dopamine.

The feel-good messenger molecule activates the module depending on the dosage. In response to an increase in the dopamine level in the blood, the module produces the desired active agent.

The module consists of several biological components of the human organism, which are interconnected to form a synthetic signalling cascade. Dopamine receptors are found at the beginning of the cascade as sensors. A particular agent is produced as an end product: either a model protein called SEAP or ANP, a powerful vasodilator lowering blood pressure.

Based on the experiments, the researchers were able to demonstrate that dopamine is not only formed in the brain in corresponding feel-good situations, but also in nerves in the vegetative system, the so-called sympathetic nervous system, which are closely knit around blood vessels.

SM

Seasonal Magazine

INTERVIEW INTERVIEW & FEATURE BY Jaison D & John Antony

HOW HE REMAINS A LEADER IN DEMAND

Seasonal Magazine interviews KM Chandrasekhar ex-IAS, who was for long India’s topmost bureaucrat. Known equally for his efficiency, transparency, courage, and gentlemanly manners, Chandrasekhar is still in demand despite retiring after several extensions: Seasonal Magazine

Page 8

we go by Victor Hugo’s wit that, “Forty is the old age of youth; fifty the youth of old age,” KM Chandrasekhar is still very much in the youth of his old age. But so are many of his peers, including heavyweights like Vinod Rai and Duvvuri Subbarao. They are even younger, belonging to the famed ‘72 batch of IAS, as against Chandrasekhar’s ‘70 batch. But when they were about to retire, nobody was waiting for them with requests to join, like Kerala Chief Minister was waiting for Chandrasekhar, armed with a unanimous State Cabinet decision to welcome him. Maybe a small part of the riddle was that luminaries like Rai and Subbarao were not too keen to come down from their glorified posts and occupy something relatively low-key like a small state’s Planning Board Vice Chairmanship. But surely, a greater part of the riddle is that KM Chandrasekhar is uniquely in demand. In fact, he has always been in demand. That is why India’s Civil Service Rules were amended a record three-times to give extensions to Chandrasekhar’s tenure as India’s Cabinet Secretary. Secondly, it is obvious that Chandrasekhar had no qualms working in a lower-post, postretirement. That reveals a rare quality that speaks volumes about his character.

As India’s Cabinet Secretary, he was above in protocol to even the country’s three Chiefs of Military Staff. Directly reporting to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet Secretary is the senior-most civil servant in the Government of India, who heads the Cabinet Secretariat, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), and the Civil Services Board, as well as all civil services under the rules of business of the GoI. So, there is no doubt that Chandrasekhar has voluntarily come down more than a notch, when he chose to heed Kerala’s request for help. But why is he so much in demand even after retirement age and multiple extensions? Theodore Roosevelt, one of America’s greatest Presidents ever, would have given a ready answer - “Old age is like everything else. To make a success of it, you’ve got to start young.” KM Chandrasekhar was blessed to have as his father Kesava Menon who was Chairman of India’s Railway Service

KM Chandrasekhar is still very much in the youth of his old age.

But so are many of his peers, including heavyweights like Vinod Rai and Duvvuri Subbarao. They are even younger. But when they were about to retire, nobody was waiting for them with requests to join, like Kerala Chief Minister was waiting for Chandrasekhar, armed with a unanimous State Cabinet decision to welcome him.

Commission. Born in Kerala, and brought up largely in Delhi, young Chandrasekhar was an academically bright boy. He attended Delhi’s famed St. Stephen’s College where he did BA (Honours) in Economics. Later, he did MA (History) from University of Delhi, and went abroad for MA (Management Studies) from University of Leeds, United Kingdom. One hallmark of Chandrasekhar’s IAS career was that he has left his mark of efficiency in whatever small and large assignments came his way. A Kerala cadre IAS officer, he has embraced opportunities across the spectrum, whether it is in Kerala, at the Centre, or overseas. Some of his noted assignments include Director of Fisheries, Kerala; Managing Director, Civil Supplies, Kerala; Chairman, Spices Board of India; Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce; Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of India, Brussels; Ambassador & Permanent Representative of India to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Geneva; and Revenue Secretary, Government of India. He also knows industry inside-out, as he has been either Chairman, CEO, or Director of over 40 public as well as private companies. While serving as Revenue Secretary, he was instrumental in ensuring consistently high revenue collection and for ushering in systemic changes in revenue administration, procedures and policy. He was wellliked by both UPA and NDA camps due to his effectiveness, with Vajpayee appointing this IAS officer as Ambassador to WTO by overcoming stiff resistance from IFS camp, and Dr. Manmohan Singh selecting and

extending his tenure as Cabinet Secretary thrice. Senior officers who are super-efficient like Chandrasekhar normally tend to be tough taskmasters known more for their arrogance and roughness. But KM was known and loved by everyone for his gentlemanly and understated power. He was PM’s trouble-shooter more than once. It was he who spearheaded the action-plan for UPA-II’s first 100 days, even before the Government was sworn in, which attracted widespread appreciation. It is another story that UPA-II started fumbling soon after the first 100 days, when the impact of the global financial meltdown started becoming felt. Again, to clean up the Commonwealth Games mess of Kalmadi & Co, it was KM Chandrasekhar whom Dr. Singh handpicked and gave overarching powers, which was yet another job KM executed with elan. But there were limits. When the 2G probe came up before JPC, Chandrasekhar was determined that he would disclose his earlier recommendation to PM that Rs. 35,000 crore could be potentially collected as entry fees if an auction was resorted to. But if anybody though that it was due to a falling out with PM, nothing could be farther from the truth.

KM was just being transparent with what PM had requested him to study, and what the study’s outcome was.

There was no overt political stances from Chandrasekhar. Later, when Supreme Court itself clarified that revenue maximization through auction was not the sole route to ’common good’, Chandrasekhar was candid and non-attached enough to appreciate it. In fact, this transparency was evident throughout our interview with him.

Unlike most other senior IAS officers we had interviewed, no question was out of bounds with him. He answers precisely and with logic, like someone who has nothing to hide but everything only to share. While we listened to this retired but still-in-service civil servant’s answers to our probing questions regarding issues past, present, and future, that his work has helped influence, we realized why philosopher Thomas Carlyle once remarked that, “Old age is not a matter for sorrow. It is matter for thanks if we have left our work done behind us.”

Seasonal Magazine

Seasonal Magazine in conversation with KM Chandrasekhar, former Cabinet Secretary, and current Vice-Chairman of Kerala State Planning Board: Your father was Chairman of Railway Service Commission. How much were you inspired from that exposure to pursue a role in India’s bureaucracy?

In the late 60’s and in the 70’s, government was the dominant player in the economy and polity. Job opportunities in other sectors were limited. Also, the general belief prevailed that government jobs are the safest and the best. There was a tendency therefore for academically strong young men and women to gravitate towards government jobs.

This was particularly visible in a place like Delhi which was at that time a city dominated by government functionaries and government offices. Of course, my father did want me to enter the civil service and this played an important role in my decision.

You have studied at leading colleges in India like St. Stephen’s, Delhi University, and University of Leeds, UK. How far would you give weightage to your education, in your career, and how important was your subjects - history and management - in your success?

While academic background helps, I am of the opinion that, in government, one learns far more on the job. Government jobs even now give a great deal of freedom to be creative and effective. Also, the Indian Administrative Service gives the officer an opportunity to work in a wide variety of jobs and to deal with changing environments and changing economic and political philosophies.

One, therefore, learns to adapt to situations fast and to react quickly.

If the Raghuram Rajan Committee report gets implemented, will the Central assistance to Kerala fall to 0.38% from the current 1.5-2.5%?

How are you countering Rajan Committee’s findings?

The Chief Minister has already Seasonal Magazine

written to the Prime Minister, expressing his apprehensions regarding the report of the Committee. As far as I know, similar letters have gone from the Chief Ministers of Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The 14th Finance Commission has already been constituted and is working on allocation of resources to States on the basis of parameters determined after extensive consultation with the States as well as Central Government. I have read somewhere that the Committee report is under the consideration of the Planning Commission which has serious reservations regarding the recommendations made. At this point, therefore, I do not think that there is any likelihood of the report being implemented.

I think the major concern really is that vested interests, both political and commercial, have a tendency to block

developmental programmes. The

single most important requirement for the State is the

convergence of all shades of opinion in favour of development.

You have been well-settled now as Kerala State Planning Board’s Vice Chairman. How would you assess the top-three challenges faced by the state, especially based on your last two years‘ experiences?

I think the major concern really is that vested interests, both political and commercial, have a tendency to block developmental programmes.

The single most important requirement for the State is the convergence of all shades of opinion in favour of development. Unless this happens, the State, which has the potential to rival even many of the developed countries in terms of growth and productivity, will not be able to move forward with sufficient momentum. We have problems relating to infrastructure, skill development, higher standards in education, an aging population, lifestyle diseases and so on, but the

most important requirement is consensus on development.

Were you happy when the KM Chandrasekhar Committee report on FIIs/QFIs were accepted by SEBI? But in lieu of implementing global standards, has come in simplified KYC norms and no need for pre-registration. Don’t you think that due to this black money of Indian origin can easily be invested in India anonymously?

Even with the existing regime, it is said that SEBI has no way to know who all are the real investors behind many FIIs?

I was neither happy nor unhappy as this is only one of many reports that I have prepared and submitted during my career. The KYC requirements have only been put on par with other growing countries.

“Black money” is not dealt with by

"The Prime Minister had specifically asked me to look at only revenue issues relating to 2G spectrum. There was no direction to look at other issues, which were under consideration of other Departments and the PMO."

SEBI; it is dealt with by the Department of Revenue through its organs, the Directorate of Enforcement, the Financial Intelligence Unit and the Investigation Wing of the Income Tax Department. In recent years, the Department of Revenue has substantially strengthened its capacity to deal with the problem of black money. Banks are required to submit details of large transactions as well as suspicious transactions. The Income Tax Act also has provisions to trace expenditures to incomes through annual information reports.

The Department has made substantial progress in establishing a strong computer base. Besides, India has become a member of the Financial Action Task Force, comprising of all major countries and has also signed bilateral agreements with many countries for exchange of information.

How do you assess the prospects of the planned Aeropolis Project near Thiruvananthapuram International Airport?

The feasibility report for the aeropolis project near Trivandrum is being prepared by the KSIDC. You had deposed before the JPC that you had written to PM Dr. Manmohan Singh that a total of Rs. 35,000 crore could be collected as entry fees to 22 circles in 2G allocation. But the allocation subsequently went for less than one-twentieth of that amount.

Were you unhappy with that development? But don’t you think such cheap allocation aided the mobile telecom boom in this country since 2007-08, resulting in cheaper call rates for the masses?

The Prime Minister had specifically asked me to look at only revenue issues relating to 2G spectrum. There was no direction to look at other issues, which were under consideration of other Departments and the PMO. My estimation was based on factors like inflation over the last six years (since 2001), increase in the quantum of spectrum allocated and increase in teledensity. With

regard to the second part of your question, the Supreme Court has already gone into it in response to the Special Reference made by the President of India. In Para 112 of the Hon’ble Supreme Court’s decision, the Court says, “The overarching and underlying principle governing ‘distribution’ [of natural resources] is furtherance of common good.” It goes on to say in the same paragraph, “Distribution has broad contours and cannot be limited to meaning only one method, i.e. auction. It envisages all such methods available for distribution/allocation of natural resources which ultimately subserve the common good. “In para 119, the Hon’ble Court says, “The norm of ‘common good’ has to be understood and appreciated in a holistic manner. It is obvious that the manner in which the common good is best subserved is not a matter that can be measured by any constitutional yardstick – it would depend on the economic and political philosophy of the government.

Revenue maximization is not the only way in which the common good can be subserved.”

Do you agree with CAG’s view that there was a huge loss to the nation due to 2G allocation? If there was a loss, was it just presumptive?

Wasn’t the government just following TRAI recommendations?

This matter is under consideration of Parliament, which has appointed a Joint Parliamentary Committee.

According to media reports that I have come across, the JPC has already finalized its recommendations.

You were once regarded as India’s most powerful bureaucrat, getting extensions, as well as over-riding powers in corrective initiatives like in Commonwealth Games. You were also instrumental in coming out with the first 100-day work plan for UPA-II Government. How do you regard such far reaching powers, and were you subsequently disappointed by Government’s later day performance?

I did not at any time feel particularly “powerful”. Through out Seasonal Magazine

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HOW HE REMAINS A LEADER IN DEMAND my career, I have endeavored to do my best in respect of any task that was assigned to me. Sometimes, one succeeds, while, at others, there is a perception of loss. I agree with Ambassador Robert D. Blackwill, who, in a recent online publication of the Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, wrote, “If the Duke of Wellington never lost a battle, most generals do and so will you. Expect periodic policy defeats and energetically move on to the next challenge.”

You were a staunch opponent of including CBI, NIA, and NatGrid from RTI. What was the rationale, and where does this issue stand today? Do you think RTI has the potential to be misused?

As far as I understand, all intelligence and investigative agencies that deal with matters involving national security are exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act. This is required in order to maintain a certain level of secrecy in matters that have serious implications in respect of the security of the country.

I have always held that the Right to Information Act is a landmark legislation but it could be misused particularly by giving wrong interpretations to decisions taken by the administration in good faith. In my view, to protect innocent victims, there is need for a strong Privacy Act and also that provisions relating to defamation in the existing law should be strengthened so that misuse of the RTI Act can be curbed.

A recently released book, 'The Siege', on 26/11 Mumbai terrorist attack, by British investigative journalists Adrian Levy and Cathy Scott-Clark claims that you as Cabinet Secretary as well as the then Joint Secretary (Internal Security) warned NSG Chief Jyoti Dutt against mobilisation of their forces without orders, and that it contributed to a delayed response

by NSG. Is there any truth in this allegation?

I never met the authors you mentioned. I do not recall ever having told Jyoti Dutt to de-mobilize; on the other hand I told him to be prepared for action. It would have been foolish on my part to ask him to de-mobilize.

The Maharashtra State Government initially wanted the support of Marine Commandos, located in Mumbai, who were mobilized with the help of the then Chief of Naval Staff. The dimensions of the problem were then not entirely clear. Later, I suggested to the Chief Secretary that NSG may be deployed. He agreed with my suggestion and also assured the necessary logistic support, whereupon I told Dutt to proceed.

What have been Kerala State Planning Board’s main recommendations under your tenure, that you would like to see implemented?

I think Kerala is the only State which came out openly with an assessment of performance of Departments under the Results Framework Documents system. I think this is being given high priority by the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary. Besides, we are putting in place systems for real time evaluation of Plan performance as well as performance of Local Self Government institutions. A system of awards has also been instituted to encourage government departments and organizations to do better and achieve their targets.

The Planning Board is essentially an advisory body. Its recommendations are encapsulated in the Approach Paper to the 12th Plan, the Annual Plans that are prepared each year and the Perspective Plan 2030 which is now available on Government and Planning Board websites for public comment. The Planning Board has also played a role in revising guidelines for ensuring greater flexibility and procedural simplicity in implementation of projects by Local Self Government institutions. It has put in place systems for Plan monitoring, assessment and evaluation. It looks at issues of critical importance in the area of infrastructure, such as power, coastal shipping, inland waterways, railway systems and others. It has set up a Project Financing Cell with the intention of finding external resources for the State’s development. It is in the process of creating a mechanism for identifying the most backward Blocks in the State for special attention on the lines of the Nanjundappa Committee set up by the Karnataka Government in the year 2000. The Planning Board endeavors to work in close collaboration with Government Departments and Government organizations.

"I think Kerala is the only State which came out openly with an assessment of performance of Departments under the Results Framework Documents system. I think this is being given high priority by the Chief Minister and the Chief Secretary."

Having worked with politicians all your life, both at the state and central level, how confident are you regarding the integrity and commitment of our leading politicians of major parties? Do they really meddle in the activities of honest bureaucrats?

I have worked quite closely with politicians and got on famously with most of them. I have also learnt a lot from some senior Ministers both in the State and at the Centre. I cannot say that I was under pressure to do something which was incorrect or legally improper.

You have been a great proponent of productivity and target-based action plans for bureaucrats. How does Kerala fare in this regard?

SM

Seasonal Magazine

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HEALTHCARE

Inventing Illness to Sell Medicines Prof. BM Hegde, a cardiologist and former Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University, writes about the systematic way in which pharmaceutical industry sort of invents diseases to sell their new drugs. Prof. Hegde writes from his own experiences in India as well as inspired by the works of international peers, most notably Professor John PA Ioannidis of Stanford University, a much respected member of the American medical scene, who has been pioneering the work to expose these medical frauds successfully.

have known of many tricks of the trade of the pharmaceutical lobby but not this one till very recently although I had a hunch that this could be there. At the same time, I am happy that there are people with some conscience pricking them before death at least. Of late, when one opens any newspaper or journal there are articles on a recent disease in children by name ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) and our paediatricians bend over backwards to make the diagnosis and start our children on dangerous chemical drugs at that tender age.

Now comes the bombshell. American psychiatrist, Dr. Leon Eisenberg (87), made a statement to a German magazine, Der Spiegel, a couple of months before his death that ADHD is a fictitious disease which they put together for the benefit of drug companies in the new disease classification in the American Psychiatry Association’s DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases).

In his book, Inventing Diseases, Professor Jerg Blech, another German, gives a graphic description of hypertension having been discovered as a disease needing drug treatment through the German plan of Well Man clinics in nice air-conditioned vans, Seasonal Magazine

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“Honesty is the best policy when there is money in it.” Mark Twain.

with beautiful nurses, parked around Church squares and shopping malls to give people a free check-up, a dangerous activity when one feels healthy and happy.

death rate of cervical cancer,” admitted Dr. Harper at that time, refuting a proGardasil piece published by Slate.

“Gardasil has been associated with at least as many serious adverse events as there are deaths from cervical cancer developing each year.”

Any one that walks in becomes a patient. Actually, it was Leon Eisenberg who once asked his new brilliant resident who is a patient? Pat came the reply: A man/woman who sees any doctor becomes a patient! What rattled Leon further was the answer to his second query: When does that person become normal again? “Rarely ever, if ever, was the answer.” Maybe, this is the reason that pricked his conscience.

There is no proof or test to find out exactly what chemicals are “out of balance” in the brain for ADHD or any other disorder. Most of those drugs are unnecessary as they are known to provoke suicide and homicide. “Since that DMS conference in 1968, Dr. Eisenberg’s contribution to mental disease by invention and committee consensus has resulted in drugging millions of children from preschool age through high school. It is currently estimated that up to 20 % of children from nursery school and kindergarten through high school and in foster homes have been prescribed Ritalin.

Commonly prescribed for kids “diagnosed” or better still, labelled with ADHD, Ritalin was tested a little over a decade ago by the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL). The BNL study determined that Ritalin is pharmacologically similar to cocaine with perhaps even worse brain damaging potential,” writes Mike Adams in his recent blog.

Dr. Irwin Savodnik, Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine, was of the opinion that “the very vocabulary of psychiatry is now defined at all levels by the pharmaceutical industry.” This racket has been going on ever since and has been able to get even health insurance to cover their dark deeds.

Vaccination is another fertile ground for the industry where most of what it sells has dubious value. Lead researcher, Dr. Diane Harper, who was instrumental in creating Gardasil, and

Dr. Harper dropped a bombshell when she told reporters that the public health benefit of getting vaccinated with Gardasil “is nothing,” adding the vaccine has led to “no reduction in cervical cancers.” She quickly withdrew her statements saying the media has distorted her story, almost on the lines of Indian politicians!

Prof. BM Hegde cervarix, admitted back in 2009 that the vaccines were essentially useless and more dangerous than the very conditions they were hailed as preventing and treating? A 2009 article published by CBS News, in fact, which is still available online, reveals the truth about these vaccines.

One particular quote, which was pulled out, using the Wayback Machine, reveals that both Gardasil and Cervarix do nothing to prevent cervical cancer, which is their primary claim to fame.

“The rate of serious adverse events [from Gardasil] is on a par with the

American psychiatrist, Dr. Leon Eisenberg (87), made a statement to media,a couple of months before his death that 'Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder' (ADHD) is a fictitious disease which they put together for the benefit of drug companies in the new disease classification in the American Psychiatry Association’s DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Diseases)!

Dr. Harper went on to admit that deaths from Gardasil had been underreported by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has given the illusion that the vaccine is somehow safe. The vast majority of HPV infections resolve themselves on their own within a year and nearly all of them within two years. She also admitted that an extremely small number of people experience symptoms from infection.

Millions of young girls and now even boys, some as young as nine years old, have received the vaccine since 2006.

Some of what she said then is still on line.

Recently, Dr. Puliyal from New Delhi, an expert in this field, exposed the myth of another childhood vaccine, the pentavalent vaccine. But that does not seem to stir the conscience of our greedy powers that be! When I just retired as Vice-Chancellor of Manipal University in 2003, the Deputy Commissioner of Udupi district wanted me to retract an article of mine on polio dangers for malnourished children, which information had, by then, even entered the British Pharmacopoeia. As I refused to do that, he made my colleagues in the university release a paper statement that “I had forgotten my medicine and people should not give heed to my article as the whole university was fully with the government in vaccinating even the malnourished children!” They obliged him, I cannot but pity those statements and our commitment to truth in medical science.

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AUTO

Europe Gets Second Honda CR-V Diesel, Will India Get First Diesel Soon? arlier, there was only the 2.2 litre version in diesel. The CR-V 1.6 iDTEC is available in two-wheel drive with manual transmission and offers a surprising combination of performance as well as low CO2 emissions (119g/ km) and fuel consumption. The new advertising campaign aims to tackle preconceptions about SUVs by emphasising the unexpected qualities of the CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC.

very proud of our latest campaign. With the CR-V we have always set out to combine the best elements of a car and an SUV. For the CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC, we have achieved a perfect balance between the efficiency of a car and the functionality and security of an SUV whilst offering great driving performance.

This advertising campaign is a celebration of the innovation of the Honda brand which can make the unexpected happen through the ingenuity of its engineering.”

The campaign uses the strap line “An impossible, made possible” and shows the CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC travelling through a series of optical illusions, each seeming impossible. Each illusion is shattered, making the link between the in-camera trick and the seemingly impossible qualities of the CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC. Martin Moll, Head of European Marketing, Honda Motor Europe, says, “We are

The new CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC builds on the momentum of the successful launch of the 4th generation CR-V in Autumn 2012. Honda’s Earth Dreams Technology 1.6 i-DTEC engine has been specifically designed for the European market. The CR-V 1.6 i-DTEC is built exclusively for Europe at Honda’s production facility in Swindon and follows the Civic 1.6 iDTEC, which was launched in January 2013.

Honda is not only going more diesel with CR-V, but reducing engine size even smaller to the new CR-V's 1.6 i-DTEC.

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FAMILY

8 Things Wives Should Never Tell Husbands Ladies here are eight things you should never say to your prince charming...

I told you so!

Your husband may have done something really foolish by not listening to your advice. But, that does not mean you must nag him all day. Nagging him will only create rifts between you two, so avoid doing so. “I told you so” is a weapon that makes your husband hang his head in shame. So, use it wisely, ladies!

You are just like your father/mother With this statement not only are you hurting him, but also insulting your inlaws. You may not see eye-to-eye with your in-laws, but that does not mean you belittle him or them. Family is a very sensitive subject for any person. You would certainly not like it if he drags your parent's names into his arguements.

So remember, never bring family members into your private fights.

Fine!

A single word which hits your husband like a nuclear weapon is “fine”. It is a negative ‘yes’ which shows your

extreme displeasure at something. It indicates that you are boiling with anger and are not letting out the steam. So, avoid using this word and talk things with him. Husbands prefer their wives shouting and letting out their anger rather than letting them simmer with rage.

My mom warned me that you would turn out like this These words not just insult your husband but can hurt his self-esteem too.

So, never bring in your family’s opinions about your husband into an argument.

You always do this!

This is a heartbreaking sentence which will hurt your husband a lot. If your husband’s actions bother you and get you perturbed, then be frank and ask him not to do it again. When you can clear differences peacefully, there is no point in yelling, right?

Can you do anything right?

Your husband may be having a bad day in office or may be just down in the dumps. So, this statement will really make him feel terrible and worthless. If you are unhappy with a repair job that your spouse has just performed, then just keep mum.

When he is not around, call the repairman and get the work done.

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Do we really have to invite him over?

You may absolutely loathe your husband’s friends, but you must learn not to make your disapproval so apparent. Would you give up your girlfriends for your partner? You would not, right? So, do not expect him to give up on his college buddies either. One thing you can do if you cannot absolutely stand your husband’s friends is that encourage them for a boy’s night out. You can always catch up on a movie or indulge in some shopping.

You bought me that?

Many a times, when husbands decide to go out shopping for their wives, they end up purchasing absolutely hideous and unnecessary things. But, instead of complaining, learn to look at the brighter side of things. Your husband is definitely a lot better than millions of others who do not even bother to surprise their wives. So, paste a smile on your face, give your husband a hug and always remember, SM it is the thought that counts.

TECH BUSINESS

iPhone 5S Retails at $850, Costs Just $191 to Make hile the iPhone 5S includes a handful of new features that set it apart from Apple’s previous model, the actual cost to make the phone hasn’t changed very much, according to a new study.

An IHS teardown of the new smartphone found that the components that make up a 16GB iPhone 5S cost $190.70.

Manufacturing costs add another $8, bringing the total production cost to $198.70.

In comparison, the iPhone 5, which hit the market a year ago, cost $197 to make.

Andrew Rassweiler, IHS’ senior director for cost benchmarking services, noted that the 5S includes features new to the smartphone world, such as a 64-bit apps processor and a fingerprint identification sensor, without a significant jump in costs. The research firm also dissected a 16-gigabyte iPhone 5C, a cheaper version of the 5S, and put its total production cost at $173.45, including $7 in manufacturing costs. Rassweiler said the 5C is basically an iPhone 5 wrapped in plastic, noting that it has basically the same

features, but benefits from typical component price drops, along with its cheaper plastic enclosure.

The 5C has a starting sticker price of $549, but will sell for $99 with a two-year wireless contract. It’s Apple’s leastexpensive iPhone ever and is an effort to boost sales in China and other areas where people don’t have as much money to spend on new gadgets as they do in the US and Europe. But critics have said that the phone is still too expensive to sell well in emerging markets.

IHS said that while it costs substantially less to produce an iPhone 5C than it did an iPhone 5, those costs are still on the high side.

It added that in order to merit the low-end smartphone pricing of $400 that many industry observers had expected, while maintaining typical Apple profit margins, the company would need to reduce its 5C production costs to about $130. Monday Apple reported that it sold 9 million of the two new models since their launch on Friday - its strongest iPhone launch ever - and that demand was exceeding supply.

SM

Despite Apple charging obnoxious profit margins, millions of fanboys have no problem in grabbing the costliest iPhone ever, thanks to clever branding and bundling options with telecom carriers.

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3

LEADERSHIP

THE STEVE JOBS WE NEVER KNEW

Everyone "knows" Steve Jobs, or thinks they do, in the sense that we saw him do those legendary onstage product launches of the iPhone and the iPad. But what was Jobs like when he was off stage, when he wasn't changing history with Steve Wozniak, Bill Gates, Jony Ive and Tim Cook? There's an amazing thread on Quora, the question-and-answer site, for people to tell stories of the times they "randomly" met Steve Jobs. Here is a collection of the best incidents from the Quora thread, as well as even more legendary anecdotes about the innovator.

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ETHICAL STEVE JOBS When an Apple iPad ad spoke about Freedom from Porn, ace journalist Ryan Tate shot off a midnight email - while half drunk - to Steve Jobs, stating: "I don't want freedom from porn. Porn is just fine." To which Jobs' reply came in midnight itself, stating: "You might care more about porn when you have kids."

Apple doesn't allow pornographic apps on iPhone and iPad, but as in any netconnected device you can access any site through a browser. Industry insiders say Jobs hated the idea of making money through porn, and that was why he resisted pornographic apps.

ANGRY

STEVE JOBS This person told Jobs he would "ruin" Apple. Michell Smith tells this story: Prior to his return to Apple, it was obvious that the company was in trouble. Larry Ellison had floated the idea of a hostile takeover of the company, but it seemed to some of us Apple watchers that then-CEO Gil Amelio's turnaround plan might work.

I wrote an impassioned email to Steve at Pixar, pleading with him to find something else to do with his time.

"Please," I implored him, "don't come back to Apple, you'll ruin it."‌ And then he wrote the words I'll never forget: "You may be right. But if I succeed, remember to look in the mirror and call yourself an asshole for me."

SIMPLE

STEVE JOBS A childhood friend of Jobs pretended he didn't recognize him. Jack Heringer was a childhood friend of Jobs from early 1960s, but they parted company when they went to different middle schools. Then, in 1976, they met in a store: He showed up, recognized me and called me over. "Aren't you Jack Heringer from grammar school?" he asked. And, in that millisecond, my life's single most regretful experience occurred. I replied, " Yes that's me...and WHO ARE YOU?" I pretended I didn't

remember him at all. I have been kicking myself forever since!!!!!!!!!

ACTIVIST STEVE JOBS

Jobs met this woman who was smoking at dinner and did not like it one bit.

William Matthies and five others had dinner with Jobs in the early 1980s in New York: Dinner was over and while we waited for desert, Ann lit up a cigarette (remember this was the early '80's in NYC), holding it away and blowing smoke away from the rest of us at the table. Steve, who was seated next to Ann, gave no indication that this bothered him. He simply went on talking animatedly as he had all dinner.

At one point Ann put her lit cigarette in an ashtray the opposite side of Steve.

He never looked at it but must have seen her put it down because without so much as a glance toward her or the cigarette, without breaking from whatever topic he was currently holding forth on at that moment, he reached across her, picked the cigarette up from the ashtray, and dropped it in her half full water glass. I can still see the stunned looks on everyone's face except Steve who continued to educate the rest of us on...I have no idea.

STINGY

STEVE JOBS The day Jobs argued at the checkout at Whole Foods. Roy Pereira bumped into Jobs while doing the groceries: I bumped into Steve at the Palo Alto Whole Foods near both of our homes.

He was in front of me in line paying for his groceries. It was the express checkout and he was wearing his traditional black turtle-neck. This was back in the early 2000s. Here was a very wealthy, smart guy arguing with the cashier about what the correct change was for his purchase. He was demanding that he got another quarter ($0.25) for his change. This discussion went on for several minutes and held up the line so much that everyone behind him (including us) were getting annoyed.

APPRECIATIVE STEVE JOBS

The time Jobs got excited by Excel in 1985. Randall Edwards met Jobs at an IT conference: I had to get back to work so I headed out of the hotel into a nearby hotel where my car was parked. I pressed the button for the elevator, the doors opened and there was ... Steve Jobs! I told him how much I enjoyed his presentation and shook his hand. He asked me what I did and I told him I was an IT Consultant. He told me about this amazing software that Microsoft was working on called "Excel". It is going to be phenomenal and that I should check it out. I told him I would.

ARROGANT YET TALENTED STEVE JOBS "Boy, what a dick," I remember thinking, but...In the mid-1990s, after Jobs was kicked out of Apple and went to work at NeXT, ace developer Ramin Firoozye who was then heading a startup got a meeting with Jobs: He walked in 1/2 hour late, put his feet up on the table and asked me what I had. I introduced myself and mentioned that a couple of the engineers were ex-Apple people...For the next half an hour he went on to rant pretty much non-stop... about the arrogance of Apple (!!!), the quality of their products, and anything unsavory you could think of. There were a lot of 'you Apple people' in there. I tried to break in and mention that we weren't really related to Apple (except the demo was running on a Mac Powerbook) but there was no stopping him. "Boy, what a dick," I remember thinking. It went on and on.‌ Then he comes back in. I was sitting down. He gets in front of the whiteboard and starts drawing notes. For the next I-don'tknow-how-long he mapped out precisely how the product could be rolled out, the strategy for taking it to market, how it should be positioned, what other parts would be needed to fill in the gaps, all the way down to the features that should be taken out or Seasonal Magazine

added. It was the most amazing, useful, spot-on, and entertaining display of product management erudition I'd ever seen. He completely understood the product, the space, and what it could be used for.

MOCKER STEVE JOBS

The day Jobs visited a rival electronics store across the street from Apple in 2007. Mark Young remembers Jobs' appearance at the Helio store in 2007, located in Palo Alto across street from the Apple Store. Jobs had poked his head in once and the store staff did not recognize him: Two weeks later, the same manager was inside the store giving a demo of the amazing Helio smartphone to some prospective customers when he was interrupted by someone at the door. It was the same guy in the black turtleneck and blue jeans. “You guys STILL just don't get it, do you???” the guy said in an elevated voice from the entrance of the store. Then before the manager could respond, the guy was gone again. The manager was visibly annoyed and said to his customers “Who is this guy and who the hell does he think he is???”

“That's the founder of Apple,” replied the customers.

CAR REPAIRER

STEVE JOBS

This guy's car broke down outside Jobs' house. Tim Smith knew his car was in front of the Jobs family house but tried to play it cool: So Steve comes out. ... so Jobs actually sits down in the Alpine and tries to crank it – with his kid sitting behind him. To no avail. ... The car didn’t start. ... Steve said something like “piece of shit” as he got out, and walked back into the house. Classic Steve – he was right.

EXPLOITER STEVE JOBS

Jobs used this guy's fan mail in an iPad product demo. Chaitanya Pandit wrote jobs an email: I went home and before Seasonal Magazine

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going to bed wrote a short email to Steve about how an iPad got a girl interested in me and almost forgot about it until. ... Days later, it was his WWDC keynote and I was following a few live blogs that night as I always do (I was GMT +5:30), then suddenly I saw something that was very familiar, it was my email that Steve displayed on the huge screen behind him. He said “It is magical, I know it because I got this email: I was sitting in a café with my iPad, and it got a girl interested in me!.”

“So there’s proof.”

SERVICE GUY

STEVE JOBS

This guy got a customer service phone call from Jobs when his computer was broke. Matt McCoy couldn't get any joy out of Apple customer service when his MacBook wouldn't work properly, so he randomly emailed Jobs: The next day I got a call from Palo Alto. Me: "Hello?"

Caller: "Hey Matt. This is Steve Jobs. I just wanted to let you know that I got your email and we are going to do everything we can to recover your missing hard drive. Me: "Whoa... thank you!"

Caller: "I'm going to pass you on to my assistant, and he's going to take care of

you from here. We'll get you taken care of. Hold." Then the call was transferred to a guy named "Tim". I'm still not sure what Tim's last name was... is it even possible that it was Tim Cook? I don't know what Tim's history is at Apple.

UNRECOGNIZED STEVE JOBS

The day Jobs ate unrecognized at an Indian restaurant. Anurag Wadehra was at a restaurant: So, it was with great amusement, we watched Steve raise his hand several times to attract the attention of the waiter, who summarily ignored him. As the only white guy in the restaurant, we thought he would be instantly recognized and served with special attention. Instead, he had the worst table in the house. A bored waiter passed plastic menu cards at his family without giving a second glance.

Eventually, he did get served with the mass efficiency of an overworked staff.

And, no one bothered him during his dinner either. My wife and I observed in awe as Steve and his family enjoyed a quiet meal in the riotous, inexpensive place in the heart of Silicon Valley. It dawned on us that no one in the restaurant had recognized Steve in his low key attire and a stubble. At the end, when no one came to his table to present

the check, Steve rose up, dropped a few cash notes on the table and walked out, as the server wiped his table. Just then, the manager walked by, and I asked him, "Did you know that was Steve Jobs?". He smiled and gave me the Indian head shake - a cross between yes and no. To this day, I don't know what he meant.

RECRUITER STEVE JOBS

The day Jobs met a recruiter for Sun Microsystems. Bill Lee: In 1988, I was self-employed as a recruiter and had referred a number of candidates to Steve at NeXT Computer, which he subsequently hired. I had also worked at Sun Microsystems as a contract recruiter. In September of that year, Steve invited me to his offices on Deer Creek Road in Palo Alto for an informal interview. He was 45 minutes late. As soon as Steve led me into his office and closed the door, he turned and said, "You recruited for Sun and Sun hires shitty people." "Well," I retorted, "You hired the ones Sun didn't want." At that point, Steve cracked a big smile and exclaimed, "TouchĂŠ!"

PRIVATE STEVE JOBS

This man discovered Jobs was on email as early as 1989. Phillip Remaker recalls: When I was at the University of Pennsylvania in 1989, some sales folks from NeXT did a demo of the NeXT Cube to some students at the Distributed Systems Lab. I noted on their business cards that NeXT email addresses were of the form firtname lastname@next.com. On a lark, I shot off a note to Steve_Jobs@next.com asking if he read his own email and expressing my fanboy sentiments. Here was his reply. Phil: Yes, I do have an Internet address. Please help me by not spreading this fact around indiscriminately....Thanks for the feedback. I'm glad you like our little machine. Take care, Steve Jobs.

STEVE JOBS

THE CUSTOMER Jobs goes to the repair store just like everyone else. Andrew Gerber-Duffy remembers: I was in the Sony Style store at the Stanford Mall. I can't remember what it was I was buying.

As I was waiting in the checkout line, I realized that Steve was 2 people ahead of me. He was wearing his usual black turtleneck and faded blue jeans.

He was holding a projector. "So I'd like to get this repaired," he said to the obviously bored cashier. To my surprise, the man at the counter seemed totally oblivious to his identity.

"Okay," he responded, "what name do you want it under for pickup?" "Just put it under Steve," he said.

PLAIN PRACTICAL

STEVE JOBS

The day Jobs explained why he improved the cafeteria food at Apple.

Gavin Cook worked at one of Apple's biggest clients. At a formal meeting, he asked: "Hi Steve, So how did changing your company cafeteria effect the company culture?"... and with that Steve was off..."It.. It, had nothing to do with company culture! The stuff they were feeding us was slop!" "And you know hardly any one was eating here, and when they go off campus they don't go for an hour, they are gone for an hour and a half or two hours, So less work is getting done. And when they are out in a restaurant talking about their projects, people overhear things." "So I called my friend who was an executive chef and asked him what it would take for

"You might care more about porn when you have kids," Jobs replied to a journalist who didn't agree with iPad's 'Freedom from Porn' campaign.

him to come work here and fix it. He said he wanted a wood burning pizza oven and I said 'Done!' So now our cafe staff are company employees and when the engineers have to work late we can have the cafe stay open. Now we have vegetarian options and more variety.

With better food people stay on campus and interact with each other more."

ACCIDENT PRONE

STEVE JOBS

The day Jobs was nearly killed in the parking lot at Apple. An anonymous reader posted this at Quora: I may or may not have been a passenger in a car that may or may not have nearly hit a certain person who may or may not have been Steve Jobs as he walked across the parking lot of an Apple Campus in California. He may or may not have held up his hand, winced, then smiled and waved as those of us who may or may not have been Apple employees in the car looked on in complete shock, too terrified to wave back. He may or may not have jogged out of harm's way at that point, while we may or may not have just sat there, stunned. We may or may not have switched drivers for the rest of our training week out there.

STRANGE STEVE JOBS

This couple asked Jobs to settle a bet over how the Macintosh was named.

Bill Sheppard's wife had long maintained the name came from a contest for school students: We approached Steve and asked if he could settle a marital dispute for us. Without any hint of a smile he responded "if I can have one of your children" (which didn't come across at all creepy, though I see as I write this that it could be interpreted that way). We offered the dog (he wasn't interested), then my wife told the story of the naming contest. Steve said that Apple had a large marketing department to do things like pick names for their computers, and it was absurd to think they'd leave that to fifth graders.

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SELF-HELP

Strategies for Reinventing Yourself: The Wisdom of James Altucher

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Perhaps no other 45-year old has seen the highs and lows of life, as much as James Altucher. A masterly engineer and salesman during the dotcom era, he almost became a billionaire, but soon lost it all and was battling suicidal tendencies. ames Altucher is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur, and bestselling author. He has founded or cofounded over 20 companies, including Reset Inc. and StockPickr and claims to have failed at 17 of them. He has published 11 books, and is a frequent contributor to publications including The Financial Times, TheStreet.com, TechCrunch, Seeking Alpha, Thought Catalog, and The Huffington Post. Altucher attended

Cornell University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in computer science in 1989. He later attended Carnegie Mellon University as a doctoral candidate in the same discipline.

Altucher's first job after graduating was with HBO, in their IT department. At one point, he hosted an HBO program, III:am, where he roamed the streets of New York late at night interviewing secret night residents of the city.

Altucher's entrepreneurial career began in 1996 when he founded Reset Inc., a

website design firm, while still working for HBO. His clients included the American Express, Time Warner, BMG, and Universal. In 1998, he left HBO and sold Reset Inc. for approximately $10 million, and used the proceeds to fund his new internet investments. According to Altucher, he began this period with $15 million in the bank and within two years had lost it all, which led him to reevaluate his approach to business and to life.

During this time, Jim Cramer of TheStreet.com hired him to write about stocks and Altucher began trading for hedge funds. From 2002-2005 he traded for several hedge funds and from 2004-2006, ran a fund of hedge funds. In 2006 Altucher founded the financial social network StockPickr.

The website is a community based trading website which offers stock picks from amateur investors, a discussion forum, a stock market blog and thousands of professional stock portfolios. The website was named among Time Magazine's 50 Best Websites of 2007, and sold to TheStreet.com the same year for $10 million. He was a seed investor in Buddy Media, which later sold to Salesforce.com for $745 million.

Currently, Altucher is Managing Director of Formula Capital, an asset management firm. Altucher has written 11 books, both self and big-six published. Altucher's 2011 book, 'I Was Blind But Now I See', reached No. 1 in Amazon.com's motivational books section for 2011. Altucher's writing appears in such publications as the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, TheStreet.com, Forbes, Yahoo Finance, TechCrunch, ThoughtCatalog, and Fidelity.com. He has appeared on CNBC, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, Bloomberg TV, and CNN Radio. Altucher launched his blog, Altucher Confidential, in October 2010. Though he had to be shamelessly forced to write a personal blog by a friend, in the first year, the blog had over 5 million page views, due to his uniquely frank writing style. Altucher's 2013 book 'Choose Yourself', debuted on the Wall Street Journal BestsellingBooks list.

Here is one of the latest blockbuster essays from James Altucher on reinventing yourself, in the form of a cheat sheet: Seasonal Magazine

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The Wisdom of James Altucher Here are the rules: I’ve been at zero a few times, come back a few times, and done it over and over. I’ve started entire new careers. People who knew me then, don’t me now. And so on.

I’ve had to change careers several times. Sometimes because my interests changed. Sometimes because all bridges have been burned beyond recognition, sometimes because I desperately needed money. And sometimes just because I hated everyone in my old career or they hated me.

There are other ways to reinvent yourself, so take what I say with a grain of salt. This is what worked for me.

I’ve seen it work for maybe a few hundred other people. Through interviews, through people writing me letters, through the course of the past 20 years. You can try it or not.

A) Reinvention never stops.

Every day you reinvent yourself.

You’re always in motion. But you decide every day: forward or backward.

B) You start from scratch.

3. Everything is a mentor.

If you are a zero, and have passion for reinvention, then everything you look at will be a metaphor for what you want to do. The tree you see, with roots you don’t, with underground water that feeds it, is a metaphor for computer programming if you connect the dots. And everything you look at, you will connect the dots.

E) Don’t worry if you don’t have passion for anything.

You have passion for your health.

Start there. Take baby steps. You don’t need a passion to succeed. Do what you do with love and success is a natural symptom.

Every label you claim you have from before is just vanity. You were a doctor? You were Ivy League? You had millions? You had a family?

Nobody cares. You lost everything.

You’re a zero. Don’t try to say you’re anything else.

F) Time it takes to reinvent yourself: five years.

C) You need a mentor.

Year Two: you know who you need to talk to and network with. You’re Doing every day. You finally know what the monopoly board looks like in your new endeavors.

Else, you’ll sink to the bottom.

Someone has to show you how to move and breathe. But don’t worry about finding a mentor (see below).

D) Three types of mentors 1. Direct. Someone who is in front of you who will show you how they did it. What is “it”? Wait. By the way, mentors aren’t like that old Japanese guy in “The Karate Kid.” Ultimately most mentors will hate you.

2. Indirect. Books. Movies. You can outsource 90 percent of mentorship to books and other materials. 200-500 books equals one good mentor. People ask me, “What Seasonal Magazine

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is a good book to read?” I never know the answer. There are 200-500 good books to read. I would throw in inspirational books. Whatever are your beliefs, underline them through reading every day.

Here’s a description of the five years: Year One: you’re flailing and reading everything and just starting to DO.

Year Three: you’re good enough to start making money. It might not be a living yet.

Year Four: you’re making a good living Year Five: you’re making wealth Sometimes I get frustrated in years 14. I say, “why isn’t it happening yet?” and I punch the floor and hurt my hand and throw a coconut on the floor in a weird ritual. That’s okay.

Just keep going. Or stop and pick a new field. It doesn’t matter.

Eventually you’re dead and then it’s hard to reinvent yourself.

G) If you do this faster or slower then you are doing something wrong.

Google is a good example.

H) It’s not about the money.

But money is a decent measuring stick.

When people say “it’s not about the money” they should make sure they have a different measuring stick.

“What about just doing what you love?” There will be many days when you don’t love what you are doing. If you are doing it just for love then it will take much much longer than five years.

Happiness is just a positive perception from our brain. Some days you will be unhappy. Our brain is a tool we use. It’s not who we are.

I) When can you say, “I do X!” where X is your new career?

Today.

J) When can I start doing X? Today. If you want to paint, then buy a canvas and paints today, start buying 500 books one at a time, and start painting.

If you want to write do these three things: 1. Read 2. Write 3. Take your favorite author and type your favorite story of his word for

word. Wonder to yourself why he wrote each word. He’s your mentor today.

If you want to start a business, start spec-ing out the idea for your business. Reinvention starts today.

Every day.

K) How do I make money?

By year three you’ve put in 5,0007,000 hours. That’s good enough to be in the top 200-300 in the world in anything. The top 200 in almost any field makes a living.

By year three you will know how to make money. By year four you will scale that up and make a living. Some people stop at year four.

L) By year five you’re in the top 30-50 so can make wealth.

M) What is “it”? How do I know what I should do?

Whatever area you feel like reading 500 books about. Go to the bookstore and find it. If you get bored three months later go back to the bookstore.

It’s okay to get disillusioned. That’s what failure is about. Success is better than failure but the biggest lessons are found in failure.

Very important: There’s no rush. You will reinvent yourself many times in an interesting life. You will fail to reinvent many times. That’s fun also.

Many reinventions make your life a book of stories instead of a textbook.

archaeology or 11th-century warfare?

Repeat all of the steps above, and then in year five you will make wealth. We have no idea how. Don’t look to find the end of the road when you are still at the very first step.

P) What if my family wants me to be an accountant?

How many years of your life did you promise your family? Ten years?

Your whole life? Then wait until the next life. The good thing is: you get to choose.

W) What if I have no skills at all?

Read “B” again.

X) What if I have no degree or I have a useless degree?

Read “B” again.

Y) What if I have to focus on paying down my debt and mortgage?

Read “R” again.

Q) My mentor wants me to do it HIS way.

Albert Einstein was on the outside looking in. Nobody in the establishment would even hire him.

That’s fine. Learn HIS way. Then do it YOUR way. With respect.

Hopefully nobody has a gun to your head. Then you have to do it their way until the gun is put down.

R) My spouse is worried about who will support/take care of kids?

Then after you work 16 hours a day, seven days a week being a janitor, use your spare time to reinvent.

Someone who is reinventing ALWAYS has spare time. Part of reinvention is collecting little bits and pieces of time and re-carving them the way you want them to be.

S) What if my friends think I’m crazy?

That’s why reinvention happens every day.

T) What if I want to be an astronaut?

Make interesting choices and you will have an interesting biography.

Read this post again in two or three years when you are broke and jobless and nobody likes you.

Choose freedom over family.

Freedom over preconceptions.

Freedom over government. Freedom over people-pleasing. Then you will be pleased.

Some people want the story of their life to be a textbook. For better or worse, mine is a book of stories.

N) The choices you make today will be in your biography tomorrow.

betraying a partner?

What friends?

That’s not a reinvention. That’s a specific job. If you like “outer space” there are many careers. Richard Branson wanted to be an astronaut and started Virgin Galactic.

N1) The choices you make today will be in your biology tomorrow.

U) What if I like to go out drinking and partying?

O) What if I like something obscure? Like biblical

V) What if I’m busy cheating on my husband or wife or

Read this post again in a year.

Z) How come I always feel like I’m on the outside looking in?

Everyone feels like a fraud at some point. The highest form of creativity is born out of skepticism.

AA) I can’t read 500 books.

What one book should I read for inspiration?

Give up.

BB) What if I’m too sick to reinvent?

Reinvention will boost every healthy chemical in your body: serotonin, dopamine, oxytocin. Keep moving forward and you might not get healthy but you will get healthier.

Don’t use health as an excuse.

Finally, reinvent your health first.

Sleep more hours. Eat better.

Exercise. These are key steps to reinvention.

CC) What if my last partner screwed me and I’m still suing him?

Stop litigating and never think about him again. Half the problem was you, not him.

DD) What if I’m going to jail?

Perfect. Reread “B.” Read a lot of books in jail.

EE) What if I’m shy?

Make your weaknesses your Seasonal Magazine

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The Wisdom of James Altucher RR) What if I get scared?

strengths. Introverts listen better, focus better, and have ways of being more endearing.

Sleep 8-9 hours a day and never gossip. Sleep is the No. 1 key to successful health. It’s not the only key. It’s just No. 1. Some people write to me and say, “I only need four hours of sleep” or “in my country sleeping means laziness.” Well, those people will fail and die young.

FF) What if I can’t wait five years?

If you plan on being alive in five years then you might as well start today.

GG) How should I network?

Make concentric circles. You’re at the middle. The next circle is friends and family. The next circle is online communities. The circle after that is meetups and coffees. The circle after that is conferences and thought leaders.

The circle after that is mentors. The circle after that is customers and wealth-creators. Start making your way through the circles.

HH) What happens when I have ego about what I do?

In 6-12 months you’ll be back at “B” II) What if I’m passionate about two things? What if I can’t decide?

Combine them and you’ll be the best in the world at the combination.

JJ) What if I’m so excited I want to teach what I’m learning?

Start teaching on YouTube. Start with an audience of one and see if it builds up.

KK) What if I want to make money while I sleep?

In year four, start outsourcing what you do.

LL) How do I meet mentors and though leaders?

Once you have enough knowledge (after 100-200 books), write down 10 ideas for 20 different potential mentors.

None of them will respond. Write down 10 more ideas for 20 new mentors. Repeat every week.

Put together a newsletter for everyone who doesn’t respond. Keep repeating until someone responds. Blog about your learning efforts. Build Seasonal Magazine

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community around you being an expert.

MM) What if I can’t come up with ideas?

Then keep practicing coming up with ideas. The idea muscle atrophies. You have to build it up.

It’s hard for me to touch my toes if I haven’t been doing it every day. I have to do it every day for a while before I can easily touch my toes.

Don’t expect to come up with good ideas on day one.

NN) What else should I read?

AFTER books, read websites, forums, magazines. But most of that is garbage.

OO) What if I do everything you say but it still doesn’t seem like it’s working?

It will work. Just wait. Keep reinventing every day.

Don’t try and find the end of the road. You can’t see it in the fog. But you can see the next step and you do know that if you take that next step eventually you get to the end of the road.

What about gossip? The brain biologically wants to have 150 friends. Then when you are with one of your friends you can gossip about any of the other 150. If you don’t have 150 friends then the brain wants to read gossip magazines until it thinks it has 150 friends.

Don’t be as stupid as your brain.

SS) What if I keep feeling like nothing ever works out for me?

Spend 10 minutes a day practicing gratitude. Don’t suppress the fear.

Notice the anger.

But also allow yourself to be grateful for the things you do have. Anger is never inspirational but gratitude is.

Gratitude is the bridge between your world and the parallel universe where all creative ideas live.

TT) What if I have to deal with personal bullshit all the time?

Find new people to be around.

Someone who is reinventing herself will constantly find people to try and bring her down. The brain is scared of reinvention because it might not be safe.

Biologically, the brain wants you to be safe and reinvention is a risk. So it will throw people in your path who will try to stop you.

PP) What if I get depressed?

Learn how to say “no.”

Sit in silence for one hour a day. You need to get back to your core.

UU) What if I’m happy at my cubicle job?

If you think this sounds stupid then don’t do it. Stay depressed.

Good luck.

QQ) What if I don’t have time to sit in silence?

Then sit in silence for two hours a day. This is not meditation. This is just sitting.

VV) Why should I trust you – you’ve failed so many times?

Don’t trust me.

WW) Will you be my mentor?

You’ve just read this post.

SM

STRANGE

Now, Some Microsoft Investors Want to Fire Bill Gates hree of the top 20 investors in Microsoft Corp are lobbying the board to press for Bill Gates to step down as chairman of the software company he co-founded 38 years ago, according to people familiar with matter.

While Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has been under pressure for years to improve the company's performance and share price, this appears to be the first time that major shareholders are taking aim at Gates, who remains one of the most respected and influential figures in technology.

A representative for Microsoft declined to comment There is no indication that Microsoft's board would heed the wishes of the three investors, who collectively hold more than 5 percent of the company's stock, according to the sources. They requested the identity of the investors be kept anonymous because the discussions were private.

Gates owns about 4.5 percent of the $277 billion company and is its largest individual shareholder.

The three investors are concerned that Gates' role as chairman effectively blocks the adoption of new strategies and would limit the power of a new

chief executive to make substantial changes. In particular, they point to Gates' role on the special committee searching for Ballmer's successor.

They are also worried that Gates - who spends most of his time on his philanthropic foundation - wields power out of proportion to his declining shareholding. Gates, who owned 49 percent of Microsoft before it went public in 1986, sells about 80 million Microsoft shares a year under a pre-set plan, which if continued would leave him with no financial stake in the company by 2018.

He lowered his profile at Microsoft after he handed the CEO role to Ballmer in 2000, giving up his day-to-day work there in 2008 to focus on the $38 billion Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

In August, Ballmer said he would retire within 12 months, amid pressure from activist fund manager ValueAct Capital Management.

Microsoft is now looking for a new CEO, though its board has said Ballmer's strategy will go forward. He has focused on making devices, such as the Surface tablet and Xbox gaming console, and turning key software into services provided over the Internet.

Some investors say that a new chief should not be bound by that strategy.

News that some investors were pushing for Gates' ouster as chairman provoked mixed reactions from other shareholders.

"Replacing the old guard with some fresh eyes can provide the oxygen needed to properly evaluate their corporate strategy."

"This is long overdue," said Todd Lowenstein, a portfolio manager at HighMark Capital Management, which owns Microsoft shares. "Replacing the old guard with some fresh eyes can provide the oxygen needed to properly evaluate their corporate strategy."

Kim Caughey Forrest, senior analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group, suggested now was not the time for Microsoft to ditch Gates, and that he could even play a larger role.

"I've thought that the company has been missing a technology visionary," she said. "Bill (Gates) would fit the bill."

Microsoft is still one of the world's most valuable technology companies, making a net profit of $22 billion last fiscal year. But its core Windows computing operating system, and to a lesser extent the Office software suite, are under pressure from the decline in personal computers as smartphones and tablets grow more popular.

Shares of Microsoft have been essentially static for a decade, and the company has lost ground to Apple Inc and Google Inc in the move toward mobile computing.

One of the sources said Gates was one of the technology industry's greatest pioneers, but the investors felt he was more effective as chief executive than as chairman.

SM

Seasonal Magazine

PARENTING

Regular Bedtimes Key to Well Behaved Kids regular bedtime might guarantee more than a good night's sleep for both kids and their parents - it turns out that a regular bedtime can make for a better-behaved child, new research suggests.

When 7-year-olds had irregular bedtimes, they were more likely to have behavior problems than their peers with a consistent time for their nightly shut-eye. And, the study also found that the longer a child had been able to go to bed at different times each night, the worse his or her behavior problems were. "Irregular bedtimes were linked to behavioral difficulties, and these effects appeared to accumulate through early childhood," said the study's lead author, Yvonne Kelly, a professor of lifecourse epidemiology at University College London.

"We also found that the effects appeared to be reversible children who changed from not having, to having, regular bedtimes showed improvements in behaviors, and vice versa," she added.

Kelly and her colleagues reviewed data on more than 10,000 7-yearolds who were enrolled in the U.K. Millennium Cohort Study. Details on the children's bedtimes were collected when they were 3, 5 and 7 years old. At the same time that sleep findings were collected, researchers asked teachers and mothers to rate the children's behaviors. The behavior survey Seasonal Magazine

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included 25 questions.

Kids with irregular bedtimes had more behavioral problems than did children with regular bedtimes, according to both their teachers and their mothers. The children's mothers rated the children with irregular bedtimes as having slightly more behavior problems than did the teachers.

The longer a child had an irregular bedtime, the greater the behavioral difficulties. On average, a child who had an irregular bedtime at one time-point in the study increased his or her score on the behavioral difficulties scale by about a halfpoint. If that child had an irregular bedtime at two time-points during the study, the score increased by about 1 point. If the child had an irregular bedtime at all three timepoints during the study, the score increased by just over 2 points.

"A half-point corresponds to a 'small' effect. Irregular bedtimes at two ages, and all three ages, corresponded to a 1- and 2-point difference in behavior scores.

These effect sizes would have 'moderate' clinical significance," said Kelly when asked if these score differences would make a noticeable difference in a child's behavior. The good news from the study is that if you switch your child to a regular bedtime from an irregular bedtime schedule, your child's behavior will likely improve.

The reverse is also true. If a child with a regular bedtime switches to an irregular one, behavior will likely worsen, the researchers noted.

Kelly said irregular bedtimes could contribute to behavior problems in several ways. "First, switching bedtimes from night to night interferes with circadian rhythms [the body clock] and induces a state akin to jet lag. Second, disrupted sleep interferes with processes to do with brain maturation," she explained.

Dr. Ruby Roy, a pediatrician at La Rabida Children's Hospital in Chicago, agreed that several reasons may contribute to a connection between irregular bedtimes and behavior problems.

"When kids don't have structure and predictability, they have anxiety," Roy said. "Kids naturally want to push boundaries, and when they don't have boundaries, it causes anxiety and acting out. A lack of sleep can also cause behavior problems, and some of these kids may only be going to sleep when they're passing out from exhaustion, which means they won't get enough sleep," she explained.

"Kids probably sleep better with regular bedtimes and when they have established bedtime routines," Roy added.

Kelly concluded: "Getting regular routines around bedtimes appears to be important for children's behavioral development. But, there are lots of other influential factors, too. So we shouldn't get too hung up about children having the same bedtime every single night." The study was published online Oct. 14 and in the November print issue of the journal Pediatrics.

A half-point corresponds to a 'small' effect. Irregular bedtimes at two ages, and all three ages, corresponded to a 1- and 2-point difference in behavior scores.

The longer a child had an irregular bedtime, the greater the behavioral difficulties. On average, a child who had an irregular bedtime at one timepoint in the study increased his or her score on the behavioral difficulties scale by about a half-point.

"Kids naturally want to push boundaries, and when they don't have boundaries, it causes anxiety and acting out.

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SPORTS

NARAIN ON F1 TECH, COCKPIT LIFE hen I was first asked to describe the experience of driving a Formula 1 car, I was at a loss for words. How can you put down something so surreal, thrilling and scarcely believable - the feel of driving an F1 car - in black and white? But I decided to take a stab at it, so you’re the judge!

Four Wheels and a Steering Yes. That’s about the only common thing between a road car and a Formula 1 car. And I’m not just talking about your humble hatches and sedans, but even thoroughbred supercars like Ferraris and Lamborghinis, or even the Bugatti Veyron for that matter. Even though a lot of technology from F1 eventually makes it to road cars, the extremely focused, purpose-built nature of an F1 car is impossible to match. In its pursuit to lap a circuit as fast as possible, performance is the overriding factor and there are no compromises.

In that sense, everything is really extreme, so an F1 Seasonal Magazine

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designer doesn’t need to worry about airconditioning, lumbar support or ride comfort. The basic formula is simple lightweight, lots of power and the most critical factor which sets F1 apart from other categories of racing - aerodynamics. Combine these three in the right proportions and you get a sub-12 second 0300kph acceleration time.

That’s 300kph, Not 100!

For comparison’s sake, an average hatch-back will do well to get to a 100 under 12 seconds, whereas even the most powerful of supercars will struggle to get to 300 under 25 seconds. Even the mighty 1000bhp Veyron takes 19.7 seconds. And mind you, an F1 car has only 750-odd horses to play with. So where does the performance come from? The answer is in the three factors mentioned before. Weight (or lack thereof!) is one of the prime contributors. While a Bugatti may have 1000bhp, it still has a portly 1.8 tonnes to lug around.

So, even though an F1 car produces 250 fewer horses, the weight of 650kg (and that includes the driver!) puts it at a massive advantage when it comes to what

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is known as the power to weight ratio, which, to a large extent, decides the straight-line performance of a car. And then there’s the engine itself which is easily the epitome of automobile engineering technology hardly surprising since F1 is the pinnacle of motorsport after all.

Even though going into each nitty-gritty of the amazing 2.4-litre V8s is impossible with the word limit I’ve been given, a simple comparison will give you an idea of its bonkers potential.

Did You Say 2.4 Litres?

Yes, nowadays your average luxury sedan may come with a similar cubic capacity (cc) engine, but whereas a 2400cc Accord or a Camry will produce maybe 200bhp, an F1 engine with the same capacity makes a staggering 750bhp and that is with loads of restrictions which includes the requirement to use normal pump fuel and ban on super exotic metals like titanium amongst other things to cut costs.

How? Simply put, it is just crazy engineering; aggressive engine designed to operate at extremely high engine rpm nowadays F1 engines are restricted (so to speak!) to an 18,000 rpm redline. An average road car comes with a sub-7000rpm limiter (on an empty road, try accelerating in first gear and see how far the needle goes on the rpm counter), and road cars that can go past 9000rpm can be counted on fingertips.

Considering that, the heart of a Formula 1 car is truly an engineering marvel.

Then, there’s the seven-speed gearbox, operated by paddles behind the steering wheel. I know what you’re thinking loads of cars have paddle-operated transmissions nowadays, but still they’re not even close to an F1 gearbox in terms of sophistication.

Made out of carbon-titanium, an F1 gear-box is capable of withstanding an exceptionally high amount of abuse like hard downshifts from seventh to first in a couple of seconds, and torturous upshifts while clattering over the kerbs during acceleration. For example, in Seasonal Magazine

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Monaco, there are around 4300 gearshifts during the 78-lap, 300-odd km race.

subsystems integrated into it, a Formula1 steering wheel can cost a cool `25 lakh!

A road car will have to do several thousand kilometres to get to the same number of down-shifts, and they won’t even be 10 per cent as violent! All this hardware is nestled in a bespoke carbon-fibre chassis, which is designed to offer the best weight distribution and suspension geometry for exemplary handling.

Eye-Popping Performance

Steering Wheel a Marvel On a road car, the steering wheel is a means of controlling the front wheels, but in an F1 car, it is literally the command centre of a spaceship.

On an average, an F1 car can brake to a complete standstill from over 200kph in less than 65 metres. But to get that sort of performance from the brakes, the driver needs to hit the brake pedal with almost 120kg of force. May sound easy for those pumping out leg presses at the gym, but remember we need to do it several times over a lap and for over 90 minutes continuously, using just the left foot.

The corresponding G-force, which sometimes can be over 4.5 times that of gravity, can sometimes force a tear from your eye and The corresponding splatter it onto the G-force, which visor. Don’t try this during your commute sometimes can be over though you’d be lucky 4.5 times that of gravity, to stop from 100kph in that distance, if you can sometimes force a manage to keep the tear from your eye and wheels pointing in the right direction, that is. splatter it onto the visor.

Even the tyres are radically different you need to warm them up and get Including the rotary switches, buttons them to around 100-degrees before they and paddles, there can be up to 32 start gripping. A normal road-car tyre individual controls on the wheel! And, will never see those kinds of while you may have a little digital temperatures in its lifetime, unless you readout that shows odometer, trip and do a standstill burnout that is! It isn’t maybe fuel efficiency, an F1 car has skill; it is just that the equipment is approximately 10 options for displays designed for performance. To get the including speed, KERS, split lap times, maximum performance out of that gears display and so on. This allows us equipment is a different ball game, to adjust a myriad of settings on the car though. For instance, if you’re lucky while driving. enough to find yourself behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car unprepared, let me For example, we can play around with assure you that you will not even be able the brake bias to change the way to get the car out of the pit garage, let brakes work on front and rear wheels alone get out on the track and get close on the move! In fact, it is a switch to the limit of the car. which you can see drivers frequently The point is that you need a lot of training fiddle with in on board shots as some and go through a lot of steps if you want corners may require different to handle any cutting edge hardware and percentage of rear and front braking F1 is as good as it gets when it comes to force compared to the others. automobile engineering.

Considering the amount of engineering SM

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HEALTH

15 CANCER SYMPTOMS MEN IGNORE

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Routine checks can find cancer early. But men are notorious foot-draggers when it comes to visiting the doctor. Leonard Lichtenfeld, MD, is deputy chief medical officer for the national office of the American Cancer Society. According to Lichtenfeld, men often need to be pushed by women to get screened for cancer.

That’s unfortunate. Routine preventive care can find cancer and other diseases in their early stages. When cancer is found early, there are more options for treatment. That means there are also better chances for a cure. Some cancer symptoms in men are specific. They involve certain body parts and may point directly to the possibility of cancer. Other symptoms are vague. For instance, pain that affects many body parts could have many explanations. It may or may not be a sign of cancer. But you can’t rule cancer out without seeing a doctor.

These symptoms mean no more procrastinating. Men, heed these possible clues and find cancer early, when it’s more treatable. Experts say that men could benefit greatly by being alert to certain cancer symptoms that require a trip to the doctor’s office sooner rather than later.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 1:

Breast Mass

If you’re like most men, you’ve probably never considered the possibility of having breast cancer.

Although it’s not common, it is possible. “Any new mass in the breast area of a man needs to be checked out by a physician,” Lichtenfeld says.

In addition, the American Cancer Society identifies several other worrisome signs involving the breast that men as well as women should take note of. They include: · Skin dimpling or puckering · Nipple retraction · Redness or scaling of the nipple or breast skin · Nipple discharge When you consult your physician about any of these signs, expect him to take a careful history and do a physical exam. Then, depending on the findings, the doctor may order a mammogram, a biopsy, or other tests.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 2:

Pain

As they age, people often complain of increasing aches and pains. But pain, as vague as it may be, can be an early symptom of some cancers. Most pain complaints, though, are not from cancer.

Any pain that persists, according to the American Cancer Society, should be checked out by your physician. The doctor should take a careful history, get

more details, and then decide whether further testing is necessary. If it’s not cancer, you will still benefit from the visit to the office. That’s because the doctor can work with you to find out what’s causing the pain and determine the proper treatment.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 3:

Changes in the Testicles

Testicular cancer occurs most often in men aged 20 to 39. The American Cancer Society recommends that men get a testicular exam by a doctor as part of a routine cancer-related checkup.

Some doctors also suggest a monthly self-exam.

Evan Y. Yu , MD, is assistant professor of medicine at the University of Washington and assistant member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. Yu tells WebMD that being aware of troublesome testicular symptoms between examinations is wise. “Any change in the size of the testicles, such as growth or shrinkage,” Yu says, “should be a concern.”

In addition, any swelling, lump, or feeling of heaviness in the scrotum should not be ignored. Some testicular cancers occur very quickly. So early detection is especially crucial. ”If you feel a hard lump of coal [in your testicle], get it checked right away,” Yu says. Your doctor should do a testicular exam and an overall assessment of your health. If cancer is suspected, blood tests may be ordered. You may also undergo an ultrasound examination of

your scrotum, and your doctor may decide to do a biopsy. A biopsy may require the removal of the entire testicle.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 4:

Changes in the Lymph Nodes

If you notice a lump or swelling in the lymph nodes under your armpit or in your neck or anywhere else it could be a reason for concern, says Hannah Linden, MD. Linden is a medical oncologist and an associate professor of medicine at the University of Washington School of Medicine. She is also a joint associate member of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. “If you have a lymph node that gets progressively larger, and it’s been longer than a month, see a doctor,” she says.

Your doctor should examine you and determine any associated issues that could explain the lymph node enlargement, such as infection. If there is no infection, a doctor will typically order a biopsy.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 5:

Fever

If you’ve got an unexplained fever, it may indicate cancer. Fever, though, might also be a sign of pneumonia or some other illness or infection that needs treatment.

Most cancers will cause fever at some point. Often, fever occurs after the cancer has spread from its original site and invaded another part of the body.

Fever can also be caused by blood cancers such as lymphoma or leukemia, according to the American Cancer Society.

It’s best not to ignore a fever that can’t be explained. Check with your doctor to find out what might be causing the fever and to determine its proper treatment.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 6:

Weight Loss Without Trying

Unexpected weight loss is a concern, Lichtenfeld says. “Most of us don’t lose weight easily.” He’s talking about Seasonal Magazine

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15 CANCER SYMPTOMS MEN IGNORE more than simply a few pounds from a stepped up exercise program or to eating less because of a busy schedule.

If a man loses more than 10% of his body weight in a time period of 3 to 6 months, it’s time to see the doctor, he says. Your doctor should do a general physical exam, ask you questions about your diet and exercise, and ask about other symptoms. Based on that information, the doctor will decide what other tests are needed.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 7:

Gnawing Abdominal Pain and Depression “Any man (or woman) who’s got a pain in the abdomen and is feeling depressed needs a checkup,” says Lichtenfeld. Experts have found a link between depression and pancreatic cancer. Other symptoms of pancreas cancer may include jaundice, a change in stool color often gray a darkening of the urine. Itching over the whole body may also occur.

Expect your doctor to do a careful physical exam and take a history. The doctor should order tests such as an ultrasound, a CT scan or both, as well as other laboratory tests.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 8:

Fatigue

Fatigue is another vague symptom that could point to cancer in men. But many other problems could cause fatigue as well. Like fever, fatigue can set in after the cancer has grown. But according to the American Cancer Society, it may also happen early in cancers such as leukemia, colon cancer, or stomach cancer.

If you often feel extremely tired and you don’t get better with rest, check with your doctor. The doctor should evaluate the fatigue along with any other symptoms in order to determine its cause and the proper treatment.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 9:

Persistent Cough Coughs are expected, of course, with Seasonal Magazine

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colds, the flu, and allergies. They are also sometimes a side effect of a medication. But a very prolonged cough defined as lasting more than three or four weeks or a change in a cough should not be ignored, says Ranit Mishori, MD, assistant professor and director of the family medicine clerkship at Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C. Those cough patterns warrant a visit to the doctor. They could be a symptom of cancer, or they could indicate some other problem such as chronic bronchitis or acid reflux.

Your doctor should take a careful history, examine your throat, listen to your lungs, determine their function with a spirometry test, and, if you are a smoker, order X-rays. Once the reason for the coughing is identified, the doctor will work with you to determine a treatment plan.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 10:

Difficulty Swallowing Some men may report trouble swallowing but then ignore it, Lichtenfeld says. “Over time, they change their diet to a more liquid diet.

They start to drink more soup.” But swallowing difficulties, he says, may be a sign of a GI cancer, such as cancer of the esophagus.

Let your doctor know if you are having trouble swallowing. Your doctor should take a careful history and possibly order a chest X-ray and a barium swallow. The doctor may also send you to a specialist for an upper GI endoscopy to examine your esophagus and upper GI tract.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 11:

Changes in the Skin You should be alert to not only changes in moles - a well-known sign of potential skin cancer - but also changes in skin pigmentation, says Mary Daly, MD. Daly is an oncologist and head of the department of clinical genetics at

the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia.

Daly also says that suddenly developing bleeding on your skin or excessive scaling are reasons to check with your doctor. It’s difficult to say how long is too long to observe skin changes, but most experts say not to wait longer than several weeks.

To find out what’s causing the skin changes, your doctor should take a careful history and perform a careful physical exam. The doctor may also order a biopsy to rule out cancer.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 12:

Blood Where It Shouldn’t Be “Anytime you see blood coming from a body part where you’ve never seen it before, see a doctor,” Lichtenfeld says. “If you start coughing up blood, spitting up blood, have blood in the bowel or in the urine, it’s time for a doctor visit.”

Mishori says it’s a mistake to assume blood in the stool is simply from a hemorrhoid. “It could be colon cancer,” he says.

Your doctor should ask you questions about your symptoms. The doctor may also order tests such as a colonoscopy. This is an examination of the colon using a long flexible tube with a camera on one end. The purpose of a colonoscopy is to identify any signs of cancer or precancer or identify any other causes of the bleeding.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 13:

Mouth Changes If you smoke or chew tobacco, you need to be especially alert for any white patches inside your mouth or white spots on your tongue. Those changes may indicate leukoplakia, a precancerous area that can occur with ongoing irritation. This condition can progress to oral cancer. You should report the changes to your doctor or dentist. The dentist or doctor should take a careful history, examine the

changes, and then decide what other tests might be needed.

Cancer Symptom in Men No. 14:

Urinary Problems As men age, urinary problems become more frequent, says Yu. Those problems include the following: The urge to urinate more often,especially at night A sense of urgency A feeling of not completely emptying the bladder An inability to start the urine stream Urine leaking when laughing or coughing A weakening of the urine stream “Every man will develop these problems as he gets older,” Yu says. “But once you notice these symptoms, you should seek medical attention.” That’s especially true if the symptoms get worse. Your doctor should do a digital rectal exam, which will tell him whether the prostate gland is enlarged or has nodules on it.

The prostate gland often enlarges as a man ages. It’s most often caused by a noncancerous condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. Your doctor may discuss doing a blood test to check the level of prostate-specific antigen or PSA. PSA is a protein produced by the prostate gland, and the test is used to help determine the possibility of prostate cancer. If the doctor notices abnormalities in the prostate or if the PSA is higher than it should be, your doctor may refer you to a urologist and perhaps order a biopsy.

Prostate cancer may be present even with a normal PSA level.

Cancer Symptom in

Men No. 15: Indigestion Many men, especially as they get older, think “heart attack” when they get bad indigestion. But persistent indigestion may point to cancer of the esophagus, throat, or stomach. Persistent or worsening indigestion should be reported to your doctor. Your doctor should take a careful history and ask questions about the indigestion episodes. Based on the history and your answers to the questions, the doctor will decide what tests are needed.

CANCER MYTHS AND FACTS 1. If you get cancer it’s usually because someone in your family had cancer a.True b.False Ans: False. Half of men and one-third of women will get cancer at some point. But only about 1 in 20 cases is linked to genes from parents. The bottom line: Doctors aren’t sure why some people get cancer and others don’t. It’s not just about your genes.

dogs and lunchmeat, are more likely to get colon cancer. The link isn’t completely clear, but it might be because of nitrites. Those are chemicals added to food to stop bacteria and preserve color. Red meat also is linked to colon cancer. In general, limit the amount of red meat you eat. Instead choose other sources of protein, such as chicken, fish, or beans.

2. Heavy drinking can raise your chances of getting cancer a True b. False Ans: True. Drinking alcohol may make you more likely to get mouth, liver, colon, breast, and other cancers.

It doesn’t matter if you prefer beer, wine, or liquor. It’s how much you drink that counts. The more you drink, the higher the risk. If you drink, limit yourself to two drinks a day if you’re a man and one a day if you’re a woman.

6. Which of these may help ease nausea in people getting cancer treatment? a. Acupuncture b.Ear candling c.

Magnetic Therapy Ans: a. Acupuncture. Acupuncture can help with nausea and vomiting from chemotherapy. It can also help people who have mouth dryness from radiation therapy. If you are being treated for cancer and want to try acupuncture, let your doctor know.

3. Artificial sweeteners can cause Cancer a.True b.False Ans: False. There’s no evidence that the sweeteners in those little pink, blue, yellow, or green packets cause cancer. Studies don’t show a link between aspartame (blue), saccharin (pink), or sucralose (yellow) and cancer in people. Newer sugar substitutes, such as sorbitol and stevia (green), also appear to be safe.

7. For most cancers a biopsy can cause cancer cells to spread. a. True b.False Ans: False. During a biopsy, a doctor takes a small sample of tissue from your body to check it for cancer.

With most cancers, it’s very unlikely that this procedure will cause cancer to spread. Ovarian cancer is an exception. Doctors don’t usually do a biopsy of an ovary because that could spread cancer cells. If your doctor suspects cancer, he or she may remove the entire ovary instead.

4. Antiperspirants make you more likely to get breast cancer Ans: False. It’s safe to use antiperspirant or deodorant. There are no strong studies and very little evidence to show that you have a greater chance of getting breast cancer if you use antiperspirants.

5. Which Food is linked to Colon Cancer? a. Tofu, b. Lunchmeat, c. Oysters Ans: Lunchmeat. People who eat a lot of processed meats, such as hot

8. What can you do to lower your chance of getting cancer? a.Avoid Stress b.Nothing c.Exercise Ans: Exercise, along with healthy eating and managing your weight, can make you less likely to get certain cancers, including breast and colon cancer. Still, even if you are active, get any routine cancer screenings that your doctor recommends.

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MANAGEMENT

3 Contrarian Time Ma Tricks for Entreprene Have a to-don’t list.

Know your responsibilities.

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Utilize SMART goals.

anagement eurs or any entrepreneur, especially those with other responsibilities, like school, a day job or family, being a master of time management is a necessity. As a second-year student at Babson College in Wellesley, Mass., I am constantly juggling the challenges of schoolwork, while simultaneously trying to get my media-publishing website Back to Black off the ground.

For a while, it felt like there are were not enough hours in a day, weeks in a month, and months in a year to do it all. Tasks, big and small, became so overwhelming, procrastination seemed like the best alternative. I knew in order to make it all work, I had to get my act together. So I became organized and starting making every second count. For those struggling with the balancing act, here are some time management tips I learned:

1) Have a to-don’t list.

All my life I’ve heard everyone say, “You need a to-do list.” How about a to-don’t list? Same concept as a to-do list, but instead, you write down all things you should not be doing. We all have our triggers that can make it tempting to stop doing our work. Some people fall prey to friends wanting to hang out, while others get distracted with social media. What should a todon’t list include? I recommend writing down all of the people, places and things that deter you from your goals and devise a strategy for dodging these distractions. Building this list is going to challenge you to be both self-aware

and honest with yourself but will help you stay focused. There are apps for everything these days and time management is no exception. If you need to block out distracting websites try Chrome's StayFocused. If you just get distracted with social media sites like Twitter or Facebook, you could try Anti-Social. You can also monitor your productivity levels while on the computer with RescueTime.

2) Know your responsibilities.

Everyone has roles in life be it a student, parent or an artist. You need to make sure you define your role and what it means to you and others. By doing so,

All my life I’ve heard everyone say, “You need a to-do list.” How about a todon’t list? Same concept as a to-do list, but instead, you write down all things you should not be doing.

Everyone has roles in life be it a student, parent or an artist. You need to make sure you define your role and what it means to you and others.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be involved in a bunch of tasks to be deemed successful.

By Michelene Wilkerson

you understand how to leverage your decision-making process to become more advanced in those roles. For example, my roles include being a student, aspiring entrepreneur, mentor and head of civic engagement for my black student union. With so little time, I make sure I have a clear definition of what these roles entail, so I know not to accept offers that don't correlate with my objectives. If you say yes too much then all you are doing is spreading yourself thin on things that will not help you grow. On the contrary, accepting opportunities that align with the things you do can be fulfilling and perhaps open doors for the future. That said, make sure you monitor how many offers you accept, so you do not burn out.

3) Utilize SMART goals.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to be involved in a bunch of tasks to be deemed successful. You just need to be smart about how you use your time, making sure activities are relevant and will advance your roles and goals.

I follow the advice I learned in school and approach each task using the SMART method. Every task I set needs to be Specific to a role, is Measurable, be Attainable considering my resources, is Realistic pertaining to my schedule and has a set completion Time.

Purchasing a project planner or storing your tasks on an e-calendar can help you stay organized. As an entrepreneur, you should do things to advance your goals every day. There will be times you fall off track, but when that happens, just dust yourself off and continue doing what you need to do.

SM Seasonal Magazine

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COVERSTORY

Q2 vs. Q3 H1 vs. H2 Growth vs. Inflation Rupee vs. Dollar Winners vs. Survivors Hope vs. Despair

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opens with a bang and ends with a whimper. Not only Q2 but all quarters.

This time around, it started with Infy’s boom and ended with SBI’s sob. In fact, Infosys started one end of this trend - publishing results soon after the reporting period ends - long back when it became super-confident about its own capabilities including its transparency. It is remarkable that despite coughing out Rs. 214 crore to US SEC to settle alleged visa fraud recently, and despite being outsmarted by TCS for many quarters, Infy is continuing this great tradition. And in this Q2, back-as-de-factoCEO Murthy had all the reasons to deliver results in time - helped also by rupee’s fall, Infosys had great numbers to share. Apart from Infosys, the beginning point of the results timeline is nowadays shared by new claimants for the high-transparency high-growth philosophy. IndusInd Bank is the perfect example of recent times. The other end of the quarterly results timeline has had many claimants historically. Their philosophy has been simple. If our results are bad, wait the maximum before burdening our beloved shareholders with the damning news. That way, at least the wait of the fan boys for the next quarter - where fan boys expect a turnaround - is reduced. Because, by the time these kind of companies come up with their Q2, it would have been time for Infosys and IndusInd to sound their Q3! Traditionally, this end of the timeline has been an overcrowded space. In fact, if SEBI - like a school principal - hadn’t mandated that all listed companies should go home with their progress reports within 45 days, many companies wouldn’t have bothered to show their progress cards to their parents a.k.a. shareholders. That explains the mad rush at BSE/NSE around November 15th which was the deadline this time around to file Q2 numbers. The week ending November 15th usually witnesses the famed penny stocks of our times - the Cals Refineries and the Karuturi Globals of the market filing their results. So, what is a company like State Bank of India doing by publishing its results on

November 13th? In this age of ATMs and core banking is it that difficult to publish quarterly results within a week’s time for a bank, even if it is too big, even if it is ‘too big to fail‘?

Mind you, if there is one business today that is capable of knowing where it stands today, where it’s financials stands at this right moment, it is banking. There must be some kind of a red switch at SBI’s headquarters, which when pressed should reveal Q2 results on September 30th itself. But what if those who are privileged to press that switch and see the results, won’t share it with fan boys nor critics? Jokes aside, it is not only a case with SBI, but with most banks, NBFCs, tech firms, and practically any company that is technologically up-to-date. The technology today is as such. But sadly, regulations today, is not as sharp. Earlier, companies had to publish audited quarterly results within 60 days. But since the last regulatory change, companies have to publish only un-audited results within 45 days, and audited results can take any time, with the only condition being that it has to be published as soon as Board of Directors approve the audited numbers. Needless to say, since that change, the bulk of what we are seeing today as quarterly numbers are un-audited figures. One of the most often repeated jokes in stock discussion forums is still funny. “Why is ABC Company not publishing its quarterly numbers?,” asks a novice. To which, a fan-boy-turned-bittercritic of ABC replies, “Wait, cooking takes time!” Despite all these criticisms, quarterly numbers are the most relevant marketmovers of our times. What is Q2 after all?

It is basically the most important cue to how Q3, Q4, and beyond will pan out.

Seasonal Magazine dissects the Q2 numbers of over 50 companies in diverse sectors. You will find here not only winners, but remarkable losers as well. Because, sometimes it makes sense to identify the hopeless losers too, to see if there can be a turnaround in the distant horizon. And needless to say, stocks are best bought low, and sold high, and not vice versa.

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Puravankara Battles Rem Confident of High Momen Bangalor e ba sed rreal eal eest st ate de avank ar a Pr ojec Bangalore based sta devveloper Pur Pura ankar ara Projec ojectts ha hass post ed 10 per cen ea se in cconsolida onsolida evenue during Julyposted perc entt incr increa ease onsolidatted rre Sep 13-14 ccompar ompar ed with the ccorr orr esponding quartter o off 20 2013-14 ompared Septtember quar orre he leading rrealt ealt or ving br ands lik e Pur period o evious yyear ear having brands like Purvva off pr pre ear.. TThe ealtor or,, ha and Pr oviden t, is ccon on fiden ther momen tum in the ccoming oming Pro vident, onfiden fidentt o off fur further momentum quar s, with an eeyye on doubling it s, eevven while the rreal eal itss sale sales, quartter ers, tic eable slo wdo wn. est ate sec down. sta secttor is witne witnesssing a no notic ticeable slow Purva’s performance is impressive, as there is no doubt that on a pan-India basis, the real estate sector is going through a serious slowdown. Two of the nation’s top five real estate companies - DLF Ltd and Oberoi Realty Ltd - reported a drop in sales in the September quarter, reflecting a tepid property market - the result of a slowing economy and declining home buyer and corporate interest. While DLF’s sales dropped by 4.1%, Oberoi’s revenue dropped by 26.7%.

Puravankara Projects posted 10 percent increase in consolidated revenue at Rs 300.8 crore during JulySeptember quarter of 2013-14 against Rs 273.7 crore in the corresponding period of previous year. Area sold increased by 21 percent for the quarter ended September 30, entailing 0.82 million sq ft compared to 0.68 million sq ft during the corresponding quarter last year. Sale value for the quarter was Rs 358.2 crore, representing a 47 percent increase from Rs 243.1 crore in the quarter ended September 30, 2012. Ravi Puravankara, Chairman and Managing Director, Puravankara Seasonal Magazine

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Projects, said, "Our financial performance is testament to the tenacity of the Puravankara and Provident business models. We remain steadfastly committed to debt reduction, quick inventory turnaround, expedited launches and sales. Macroeconomic vagaries notwithstanding, growth prospects across many micromarkets and customer segments augur well for real-estate prospects in the upcoming quarters." However, like its peers, Puravankara too witnessed a fall in net profit this quarter. The company reported 8 percent fall in consolidated net profit at Rs 46 crore for second quarter of this fiscal. It posted a net profit of Rs 50.2 crore in the year-ago period. The net profit fell due to lower share of profit from associate companies. Provident Housing is a major subsidiary of Puravankara that focuses on the affordable housing segment. The fall in net profit has been a consistent trend this quarter in the realty sector, with yet another affected company being Mahindra Lifespace Developers. The trend is not surprising as according to real estate consultant

+10% Sales YoY

Ravi Puravankara

markably in Q2, ntum in the Fiscal Jones Lang LaSalle India (JLL), the pan-India inventory of residential stock is now well above the comfort level of 14-15 months. This is close to the levels of 2007, when the residential real estate market’s inventories were at an all-time high.

However, here too, Puravankara has a natural advantage. Compared to Mumbai’s inventory of close to 48 months, Purva’s home turf of Bangalore has only an inventory of 25 months, according to the JLL report.

Chairman Ravi’s focus on micromarkets is perhaps best illustrated by Hebbal in Bangalore. The company is making the best use of the emergence of real estate hubs like Hebbal in the

city. Hebbal is situated 10 km from Majestic and 25 km from Bangalore International Airport along the junction of the busy BangaloreHyderabad Highway and Outer Ring Road. It is estimated that during the last 5 years, around 70,000 to 1 lakh high-paying jobs were created in and around Hebbal in parks like Manyata Tech Park and Kirloskar Business Park, as well as in companies like L&T Engineering Solutions. With Hebbal already home to multi-national companies like Cognizant, IBM, Fidelity, ANZ, Monsanto and Nokia, and with five more mega IT Parks now under construction expected to add 1.72 million sq. ft. of commercial

Ashish Puravankara

space within the coming years, Hebbal holds considerable more potential for residential development.

As a developer native to Bangalore, Purva holds the best chance to exploit such potential. Bangalore's residential market has seen absorption levels increasing in recent years unlike other frontline cities like Mumbai and NCR-Delhi. Property absorption level has increase 22 per cent in the first half of 2013 mainly driven by homes in the mid income group.

Puravankara’s twin strategies of Purva and Provident brands clearly fits into this momentum. According to Jackbastian Nazareth, Group CEO, Puravankara Projects, "Southern market is resilient as compared to other geographies like in Mumbai and NCR, as property cost is still affordable here. We have also not seen substantial increase in prices in South. We expect to double our sale in coming months. Purva plans to launch approximately 10.87 million square feet this fiscal across South.

Jackbastian K Nazareth Seasonal Magazine

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Asian Paints Surprises in Traditionally Weak Q2, Market Eyes Strong Q3 Almost every analyst was caught on the wrong foot on Asian Paints Q2. India's largest and Asia's third largest paint company was expected to post only single digit growth but surprised the market with high double digit growth.

The 'Sell' recommendations prior to the result too was not surprising as Asian Paints has always been one of the most expensive stocks in the country. But post the result, expensive got even more expensive. Asian is now trading at 45 times trailing twelve months earnings, and its market cap is four times its revenues. One year forward P/E is 3035 times, and one would have to look at FY'16 P/E to comfort oneself at 25 times!

One reason for the seemingly mindless bullishness on the stock is the fact that while Q2 has always been a traditionally weak quarter for paints, the third-quarter always tends to be favourable. Asian Paints which was founded in 1942 by four entrepreneurs, is still controlled by four families of Choksey, Choksi, Dani, and Vakil, but professionally managed and led by KBS Anand as MD & CEO. Asian Paints operates in 17 countries and has 25 paint manufacturing facilities in the world servicing consumers in over

+37% YoY

65 countries. The company today has a formidable number of worldwide subsidiaries including Berger, SCIB, Apco Coatings, Taubmans, as well as two JVs with US based PPG Group. The reported strong numbers in second quarter (July-September), is beating street estimates on every parameter.

Consolidated net profit grew 36.76 percent year-on-year to Rs 327 crore and income from operations rose 18.3 percent to Rs 3,114.7 crore in the quarter gone by. "The decorative paints business in India fared very well and registered good double digits volume growth. Good growth was witnessed across geographies especially in Tier 2 and Tier

HDFC Grows, But Slower in Q2, Hurt by Corporate Exposure to Hirco India's largest non-banking housing finance company, HDFC, continued to record growth amidst a weak realty market. HDFC continued its policy of increasing individual loans, and limiting corporate/developer loans, in this past quarter too. It is battling a serious slow down in metro cities by focusing on suburban markets around metros as well as tier-II cities. NPAs are slightly up due to a large exposure to developer Hirco (an associate of Seasonal Magazine

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Hiranandani) for their Mumbai and Chennai projects. The Housing Finance company's second quarter (JulySeptember) matched expectations with the standalone net profit rising 10 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,266.33 crore. Net interest income increased 14 percent on yearly basis to Rs 1,579 crore in the quarter gone by. Income from operations grew 13.2 percent to Rs 5,859.19 crore during September quarter from Rs 5,175.34 crore in a year

3 cities, said KBS Anand, MD and CEO. Profit was partially boosted by other income that increased to Rs 45.4 crore in second quarter from Rs 21.6 crore in a year ago period. Other income included Rs 25.75 crore being the dividend received from its wholly owned subsidiary, Asian Paints International, Mauritius. Consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation & amortisation (EBITDA) increased 33 percent on yearly basis to Rs 480 crore and EBITDA margin spiked 1.8 percent Yo-Y to 15.6 percent in the quarter gone by. "Industrial coatings business continues to be affected by the economic slowdown and automotive coatings growth was subdued due to lower demand in the auto sector," Anand said.

The board of directors approved a payment of interim dividend of Rs 1.1 per share for the year ended March 31, 2014. Meanwhile, Asian Paints International (APIL), a subsidiary firm, acquired an additional stake of 25.72 percent in its subsidiary Berger International, Singapore (BIL) during the quarter. It also announced voluntary unconditional cash offer to acquire balance 24.18 percent stake of BIL with an intention to delist from Singapore Exchange. As on October 18, the shareholding of APIL in BIL is 94.9 percent. Asian Paints bought 51 percent stake in kitchen solutions provider Sleek International (Sleek) for a consideration of Rs 120 crore in September quarter.

+10% YoY ago period. Dividend and profit on sale of investments declined to Rs 257.25 crore during second quarter from Rs 288.58 crore in a corresponding quarter of previous year. Total assets of the housing finance company increased 17 percent year-on-year to Rs 2.12 lakh crore in the quarter gone by while the loan book rose 19 percent to Rs 1.85 lakh crore as on September 30.

Individual loan book, which comprises 70 percent of the total loan book,

Federal Bank's Q2 PAT rises 5%, But Net NPAs Jump YoY and QoQ

+5% YoY

Country's largest traditional private sector bank, Federal Bank, based in Kerala, has successfully come out from the rut it entered in Q1, but YoY growth in PAT was still a modest 5%. The sharp recovery in share prices was also aided by a stock-split from Rs. 10 Face Value to Rs. 2 FV. The private sector lender beat street estimates as its second quarter (July-September) profit after tax rose 5 percent yearon-year (113.7 percent sequentially) to Rs 226 crore on improved margins. Net interest income increased by 8.4 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 548.4 crore. Asset quality and net interest margin of the bank improved in the quarter gone by while provisions fell 5 percent to Rs 128 crore in second quarter from Rs 134.5 crore in a year ago period. Net interest margin climbed 17 basis points Y-o-Y to 3.30 percent. Gross non-performing assets (GNPAs) declined 1.1 percent sequentially (up 2 percent year-on-year) to Rs 1,466 crore while net NPAs jumped 10 percent Q-o-Q (up 68 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 411.4 crore in second quarter. Gross NPAs slipped 12 bps Q-o-Q (down 44 bps Y-o-Y) to 3.39 percent while net NPAs increased 7 bps Q-o-Q (up 23 bps Y-o-Y) to 0.98 percent in the quarter gone by. Other income increased 2.8 percent on yearly basis to Rs 143.4 crore in September quarter, but core other income (excluding trading gains and recovery from written off accounts) jumped 10.2 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 128.4 crore. Deposits grew 14.69 percent while net advances jumped 16.3 percent year-onyear. NRE deposits surged 55.5 percent Y-o-Y.

climbed 29 percent including loans sold in last one-year. "We are on target to achieve loan growth of 18-20 percent in FY14," Keki Mistry, vice-chairman & CEO said. Gross non-performing loans stood at Rs 1,473 crore as on September 30, which is equivalent to 0.79 percent of the loan portfolio (0.77 percent in a year ago period) and based on a six-month overdue basis, it is 0.42 percent of the loan portfolio (0.48 percent in previous year). Provision for contingencies were Rs 1,811 crores as on September 30, of which Rs 536 crore is on account of non-performing assets and the balance Rs 1,275 crore is in respect of general provisioning on

standard loans and other provisions, HDFC said in its release. Unrealised gains on HDFC’s listed investments were Rs 28,938 crore, excluding the appreciation in the value of unlisted investments. For the period of six months ended September 30, consolidated profit after tax increased 26 percent year-on-year to Rs 3,598.27 crore. Spread on loans over the cost of borrowings for six months stood at 2.24 percent and net interest margin for the same period was 4.1 percent. "Margins will remain stable above 4 percent and spreads will remain in the range of 2.2-2.3 percent," Keki Mistry said.

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BANK OF INDIA SURPRIS AS INNOVATIVE STRATEG ank of India has surprised the market by not only improving its bottomline beyond expectations, but by a sharp improvement in its asset quality unlike some of its peers. The results has come as a further vindication for the contrarian strategies of Chairperson VR Iyer who took over leadership of the Mumbai headquartered lender during the last December quarter. Bank of India's second quarter (JulySeptember) net profit has doubled to Rs 622 crore from Rs 302 crore in a year ago period. The market, stunned by the results, took the public sector lender's stock up by 21.47% on October 31st, the results day. The result has come as a huge inspiration for BoI as it is preparing in full swing, as the host, for the prestigious Bancon 2013, IBA's annual banking conference. Iyer's biggest strength is the fact that she is a realistic leader, even if that makes her a contrarian CMD in her industry. For example, Iyer has been candid enough to admit that Bank of India like most of its public sector peers faces an uphill task in both credit growth as well as in deposit mobilization. As another instance, While everyone is harping on retail loans to be the next gamechanger in public sector banking sphere, she forecasts that retail loans alone won’t be enough to replace the volumes of large corporate loans that PSBs like BoI are known for. Bank of India has also created one of the Seasonal Magazine

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SES MARKET, GIES DELIVER most comprehensive recovery mechanisms for addressing defaulters. This works under the direct supervision of CMD VR Iyer and Executive Directors BP Sharma, Arun Shrivastava, and R. Koteeswaran. This includes appointing over 5000 Business Correspondents for communicating with and recovering from thousands of small rural defaulters, as well as more stringent methods for addressing wilful corporate defaulters. The bank had set up Debt Recovery Branches, and is actively pursuing even written-off accounts.

Like a few of its peers, BoI has indicated that it won’t leave no stone unturned in its pursuit of recovery from large wilful defaulters, including methods like name-andshame strategies. All these strategies have effectively helped BoI in reversing asset quality degradation.

Gross non-performing advances (NPAs) as a percentage of gross advances fell 11 basis points sequentially (down 49 bps on yearly basis) to 2.93 percent. Net NPAs as a percentage of net advances dropped 25 bps Q-o-Q (down 19 bps Y-o-Y) to 1.85 percent in three-month period ended September 2013. Provisions and contingencies declined 20.6 percent year-on-year (up 77.5 percent quarter-on-quarter) to Rs 1,232 crore during second quarter. At the same time, the large-sized PSU lender is not allowing a slack in its diligence.

In fact, Provision coverage ratio has improved to 63.29 percent as on September 30 as against 60.97

+106% YoY

The latest quarterly results is all the more impressive as despite being driven by other income and lower provisions, the performance is despite a sharp jump in tax expenses. There is also a noticeable improvement in BoI asset quality.

percent in June quarter. Chairperson VR Iyer’s strategies are now hinging on increasing the profitability of BoI. Towards this end, the credit/deposit ratio is being improved to ultimately reach an ambitious 78%. Towards this objective, BoI is following a sixprong strategy that includes emphasis on CASA growth, expansion of SME, Retail and Rural Businesses, focus on Credit Monitoring and Recovery, inclusive growth through Financial Inclusion, progress on IT Enabled Services for better customer satisfaction, and focused attention on Human Resources. The latest quarterly results is all the more impressive as despite being driven by other income and lower provisions, the performance is despite a sharp jump in tax expenses. Net interest income, the difference between interest earned and interest expended, grew 15 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,527 crore during September quarter. While other income of the public sector lender increased to Rs 1,100 crore from Rs 894 crore Y-oY, Tax expenses surged to Rs 248.43 crore from Rs 0.10 crore during the same period. Bank of India is bullish on growing its international business too. BoI is now in operation across 20 countries with 51 offices outside the country. One more branch was opened in Tanzania during last fiscal, while the representative office in Johannesburg was upgraded to branch. The Bank now plans to open subsidiaries in Canada, Brazil, & Botswana, while a representative office will be set up in Myanmar.

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Dewan Housing, Latest Jhunjhunwala Bet, Performs Well Dewan Housing Finance Corporation is the latest stock to catch the fancy of ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. On 18th October, Jhunjhunwala bought 25 lakh equity shares amounting to 1.94 percent of total paid-up equity capital of the Mumbai-based Dewan Housing Finance Company, taking the market by surprise, because though it is a value-buy, the stock has been dogged by perception problems due to deep troubles at cousin realty firm HDIL. DHFL claims to be the second-largest private housing finance firm behind HDFC (without counting LIC Housing Finance which is technically a private firm), but is really neck-to-neck with another private firm, Indiabulls Housing Finance. However, unlike all these players, Dewan Housing specializes in giving housing loans to the lower and middle income groups in semi-urban and rural areas, which is a more lucrative business due to higher interest rates. Though the buy by Jhunjhunwala was enough to make the stock reverse its direction, further move up will be challenging. Dewan Housing Finance Corporation has

+50% YoY

reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 1,166.82 crore and a net profit of Rs 129.14 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 0.38 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 817.87 crore and net profit was Rs 85.85 crore.

+33% YoY

Kewal Kiran Performs Well in Q2 Kewal Kiran Clothing Limited (KKCL), which produces noted apparel brands, Killer, Easies, LawmanPg3, & Integriti, has put up a good show in Q2. The manufacturer, based in Mumbai, is known for producing western wear for men and women, which are largely manufactured inhouse. KKCL has consumers in Asia, Middle East and CIS. The company designs, manufactures and markets branded jeans, and a wide range of other apparel products. Kewal Kiran is also offering two franchise retail chain options - the larger K-Lounge and the smaller Addictions. KKCL has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 116.55 crore and a net profit of Rs 23.53 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 1.63 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 91.69 crore and net profit was Rs 17.65 crore, and other income Rs 2.82 crore.

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Indiabulls Securities Survives Broking Rut

+101% YoY

Indiabulls Securities Ltd, one of India's mediumsized capital markets companies providing securities broking and advisory services, has come up with a reasonable performance in Q2. Indiabulls Securities also provides depository services, equity research services and IPO distribution to its clients and offers commodities trading through a separate company. These services are provided both through on-line and off-line distribution channels. However, Indiabulls Securities has not been severely affected by the recently revealed NSEL scam that shook biggies like Motilal Oswal and IIFL. Indiabulls Securities has reported a consolidated sales turnover of Rs 67.87 crore and a net profit of Rs 24.10 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 4.32 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the consolidated sales turnover was Rs 40.04 crore and net profit was Rs 12.02 crore, and other income Rs 7.34 crore.

+96% YoY

CRISIL Q3 Profit rises 93% on Exceptional Gains, But RJ Cutting Stake Signalling Tough Times Admired rating agency, CRISIL, which has become a division of Standard & Poor's, has seen ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala cutting stake after holding for more than 10 years, and reaping great profits. Rating agency CRISIL's third quarter (July-September) consolidated net profit climbed 93.3 percent sequentially (95.6 percent year-onyear) to Rs 117 crore on account of exceptional gain of Rs 66 crore on sale of stake in IISL. The firm sold its entire equity stake (49 percent) in India Index Services & Products (IISL), a joint venture with National Stock Exchange, for a total consideration of Rs 100 crore.

"Exceptional item for the quarter represents profit of Rs 99.36 crore on a standalone basis and Rs 65.88 crore on a consolidated basis net of accumulated reserves," the company said in its release. Consolidated net sales grew 7.7 percent Q-o-Q (5.7 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 286.40 crore in the quarter gone by. The lower growth in revenues was due to extreme volatility in the Indian financial markets, coupled with high interest rates and a decline in economic growth, according to the company. The rating agency declared an interim dividend of Rs 3 per share for the financial year ending December 31, 2013.

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THE SILVER LININGS IN UNION BANK’S PERFORMA here is no doubt that Union Bank of India’s Q2 results have disappointed the street. The Mumbai based lender’s second quarter profit after tax fell 62 percent year-on-year to Rs 208 crore. But beyond that headline number, are there silver linings in the horizon? The last one-month’s price-performance of the stock - which stands at around 8% up - clearly hints at these strengths despite the headline fall in net profit. In fact, on quite a few core metrics, the largesized public sector lender has fared very well in Q2. Advances grew impressively by 25.7% YoY and 7.2% QoQ. Deposits grew even better by 27% YoY, driven by strong growth in term deposits. The growth in advances was healthy in nature as the chief contributors were retail growth at 28.5%, MSME growth at 41.4%, and agri growth at 27.1%, even while credit uptake by PSU firms, witnessed a slowdown. This kind of performance is very impressive of Union Bank as the lender’s traditional portfolio was more skewed towards large corporate and PSU accounts, rather than retail.

This corporate focus legacy has also been the main factor affecting Union Bank of India’s bottomline during the last few quarters, due to asset quality concerns in corporate and PSU accounts. However, the newfound resurgence in safer sectors like retail, MSME, & agriculture shows that Chairman D Sarkar’s strategies towards this end have started yielding noticeable results. Dissection of deposit growth also shows healthy Seasonal Magazine

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Advances grew impressively by 25.7% YoY and 7.2% QoQ. Deposits grew even better by 27% YoY, driven by strong growth in term deposits. The growth in advances was healthy in nature as the chief contributors were retail growth at 28.5%, MSME growth at 41.4%, and agri growth at 27.1%.

trends. CASA deposits has increased by 18% YoY taking the CASA to 28.2%. But the bank realizes that there is much more room for growth in deposits. That is why, effective from November 11 th , Union Bank has revised fixed deposit rates on select maturity by up to 1.25 per cent. Fixed deposits between 46 days to 120 days would now fetch 0.25 per cent higher interest rate of 7.50 per cent against existing 7.25 per cent, while in the slab of 31 to 45 days, interest rate is increased by 1.25 per cent to 6 per cent.

+6% NII YoY

ANCE

Suresh Kumar Jain, ED D Sarkar, Chairman

K. Subrahmanyam, ED

Rakesh Sethi, ED

The move is intended to increase the retail term deposit base of the bank.

However, the bank is also playing it safe with longer term deposits. That is why it has reduced the interest rate on deposit for 5 to 7 years maturity by 0.25 per cent. Another highlight from Q2 is that non-interest income has grown by 12% YoY, due to reasonable fee income growth. Net interest income of the bank has also risen by 6 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,954 crore in the threemonth period ended September 2013.

Going forward, Chairman Sarkar and his top management team comprising of Executive Directors Suresh Kumar Jain, K. Subrahmanyam, & Rakesh Sethi, have chalked out a tailor-made strategy for Union, even if it means taking a contrarian position with peers sometimes. For instance, the bank is refraining from raising lending rates for now, unlike peers like SBI and HDFC Bank that have raised their base rates by 20 basis points recently. The slide in Q2 net profit was largely due

to a jump in provisions and contingencies by 92 percent on yearly basis (up 37 percent sequentially) to Rs 937 crore. However, not all of this was due to NPAs. The bank has set aside more money to cover for pension, gratuity and wage revision of employees as well as a provision on losses on bond investments. Union Bank restructured loans worth Rs 1530 crore, mainly driven by power, SEBs, steel and textile. As and when the economy revives, and these sectors show a sharp improvement, Union Bank is poised for a fast revival. It is also noteworthy that in the bank’s large portfolio, only a few large accounts are showing asset quality strains. Union Bank is also preparing itself for the good times ahead by planning for raising equity capital by Rs. 1997 crore through preferential/QIP/Rights basis, of which Government of India has already committed for a Rs. 500 crore participation.

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Brigade Enterprises' Q2 Sales Down, But Profits Reasonably Up

+28% YoY

Bangalore headquartered Brigade Enterprises has achieved profit growth even amidst a tough situation for realty that dented its sales. Brigade has completed over 100 residential, commercial, retail and hospitality projects, covering over 20 million sft of developable area, during its existence. Many more projects are in different stages of conceptualisation and creation, in different cities in South India. These include luxury apartments, integrated enclaves, state-of-the-art software and retail facilities, serviced residences, resorts, clubs, schools, 5-star hotels, a convention centre, hospital and an SEZ. Brigade Enterprises has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 171.56 crore and a net profit of Rs 19.02 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 9.27 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 184.58 crore and net profit was Rs 14.84 crore, and other income Rs 3.88 crore.

Mahindra Finance Performs Strongly, Despite Soaring Provisions, Lower Other Income Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services Limited (MMFSL), which goes by the brand name of Mahindra Finance, is one of India’s leading Rural NBFCs headquartered in Mumbai. Belonging to the Mahindra stable led by Anand Mahindra, and headed by Ramesh Iyer as MD, it is amongst the top tractor financer in India and offers Vehicle Financing, SME Financing, Housing Finance, Personal Loans, Insurance Broking, Mutual Fund Distribution, and Fixed Deposits. Recently Mahindra Finance had opted out from the race for a banking licence. Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services' second quarter (JulySeptember) standalone profit after tax grew 18 percent yearon-year to Rs 221 crore and net interest income rose 29 percent to Rs 678 crore. Provisions increased 51 percent year-on-year to Rs 126 crore in the quarter gone by. Other income was lower at Rs 9.6 crore during September quarter as against Rs 13.5 crore in a year ago period. On consolidated basis, profit after tax of the non-banking finance company jumped 21 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 232.5 crore and net interest income rose 30 percent to Rs 738 crore in second quarter.

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+18% YoY

Whirlpool of India Struggles in Q2 Whirlpool of India, a leading manufacturer of Refrigerators, Washing Machines, Air Conditioners, Microwave Ovens, Water Purifiers, Home Power, Induction Cooktops, and a wide range of Built-In appliances, has been struggling in the country against the onslaught of Korean majors Samsung and LG. Globally, however, Whirlpool is still the largest home appliances company.

The firm which ventured into the Indian market in late 80s through a tieup with TVS, strengthened its presence in the 90s by buying out Kelvinator. The consumer durables firm has reported a 41.72 percent decline in net profit to Rs 16.54 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013, on account of fall in sales. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 28.38 crore for the same period previous fiscal. Net sales of the company fell to Rs 586.48 crore for the quarter under review from Rs 611.17 crore for the same period last year. In the first half of the fiscal, company's net profit declined 28.84 percent to Rs 66.13 crore as against Rs 92.94 crore in the year-ago period. Net sales in H1 also declined to Rs 1,442.37 crore as against Rs 1,483.30 crore in the same period last year.

JK Lakshmi Cement's Q2 Reflects Cement Sector Woes

-42% YoY

-80% YoY

JK Lakshmi Cement, one of the large cement manufacturers of India, belonging to the Delhi-based JK Group headed by Hari Shankar Singhania, has posted disappointing results. The company belongs to the business group whose other firms are JK Tyre, JK Papers, Fenner India, and JK Risk Managers & Insurance Brokers.

JK Lakshmi Cement disappointed the street with the second quarter (July-September) net profit plunging 80 percent year-onyear to Rs 10.3 crore, impacted by the steep fall in cement prices coupled with increase in freight costs. "The fall in cement demand, especially from the infrastructure and realty sectors is a cause of concern for the profitability," the company said in its release.

Revenue from operations declined to Rs 449 crore during September quarter from Rs 491.4 crore in a year ago period.

Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) halved to Rs 56 crore from Rs 113 crore and EBITDA margin too halved to 12.5 percent as against 23 percent during the same period. JK Lakshmi said production and sales increased 7 percent during the quarter despite depressed market in the company's marketing areas of north and west, where it has strong exposure. Its capacity will be more than doubled to 11.3 million tonne by end of FY15 from present capacity of 5.7 million tonne after completion of greenfield project at Durg, expansion of grinding capacity at Haryana, augmentation of Kiln I at Jaykaypuram and solar project in Rajasthan.

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PRESTIGE ESTATES DELIVERS OUTPERFORMANCE Prestige proves that a superior business model and robust quality management can help in surviving the current challenges in the realty sector. Under Chairman Irfan Razack’s leadership, the leading developer of South India has even exceeded its guidance on many fronts on a half-yearly basis. angalore headquartered Prestige Estates Projects has posted impressive numbers for Q2, even amidst a difficult time for the realty sector. The Bangalore headquartered developer is active in various segments like Residential, Commercial, Retail, Leisure & Hospitality. The results have come as a strong vindication for the superior business model and quality management pioneered by its Chairman & Managing Director Irfan Razack. Having completed 168 Projects spanning a total developed area of over 51 million sqft, Prestige has 65 ongoing projects comprising around 54.45 million sqft & 28 upcoming projects, totalling 33.94 million sqft, which include apartment enclaves, shopping malls and corporate structures. Prestige Estates Projects has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 475.30 crore and a net profit of Rs 77.62 crore for the quarter ended Sep ’13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 28.81 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 241.41 crore and net profit was Rs 45.69 crore, and other income Rs 19.49 crore. Prestige has projects in Seasonal Magazine

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Irfan Razack, Chairman & MD

+70% YoY

Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Mangalore. Prestige has sold 1,193 Residential units and 0.11 million square feet of commercial space, aggregating to 1.95 million square feet amounting to Rs.11,497 million of sales in Q2. The average realization of Rs. 5,876 per Sft is up by 15% as compared to the average realization achieved for the corresponding previous year’s quarter (QII – FY12-13) of Rs. 5090 per Sft, indicating strong demand for Prestige’s offerings. The developer registered total new leasing of 0.79 million square feet up by 46% as compared to the total new leasing for the corresponding previous year’s quarter (QII – FY12-13) of 0.54 million sqft. Prestige’s net Collections for the quarter aggregated to Rs.6,198 million, up by 23% as compared to the corresponding previous year’s quarter’s (Q2 – FY12-13) collection of Rs. 5,050 million. Venkat K Narayana, Executive Director & CFO at Prestige informed that the

company’s performance is exceeding its own guidance for the fiscal on many fronts, as well as adhering to the guidance on the remaining aspects. To ensure a high level of transparency and investor confidence, the Company had set out guidance values at the beginning of the fiscal. A comparison of the performance of Prestige against the guidance for the half year ended 30 September 2013 shows that HalfYearly Sales has achieved 53% of annual guidance; turnover has achieved 51% of guidance; collections has achieved 53%; launches in million sg ft has achieved 76%; leasing in million sq ft has clocked 61%; and exit rental income has clocked 87%. Also, both consolidated and standalone debtequity ratio guidances for the full year of 0.70 and 0.45 have nearly been achieved with current ratios standing at 0.69 and 0.40 respectively. One strength of Prestige’s operations that is unique and apparent is their consistently increasing lease rental income that sustains their cash flows.

One strength of Prestige’s operations that is unique and apparent is their consistently increasing lease rental income that sustains their cash flows.

Venkat K Narayana, Executive Director & CFO Seasonal Magazine

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Petronet LNG Q2 Hit Ironically By Kochi Terminal Getting Operational Strange are the ways in which even long-term positive developments can affect the fortunes of a company in the short-term. Petronet LNG has commissioned its 5 MMTPA Kochi LNG terminal in September quarter, which is a strong positive development. But for the short-term, it is going to bleed the importer and seller of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to local firms. The new 5-million tonne import terminal at Kochi boosted its depreciation charge by 27.7% and interest burden by 22% from the year-ago levels. This led to a 40% drop in profit before tax and close to 42% at the net profit level, thanks to a rise in the effective tax rate. The capacity utilisation at the new Kochi import terminal is going to be a big worry for the company due to the lack of adequate pipeline connectivity. The expected commissioning of the KochiMangalore pipeline has been pushed to October 2014, compared to May 2014 earlier. There is no clarity on the Mangalore-Bangalore pipeline too. Until these pipelines become functional, the Kochi terminal's capacity utilisation will remain below 10%. This will depress corporate earnings due to higher depreciation and interest costs. During the JulySeptember'13 period, the Kochi terminal incurred a loss of Rs 32 crore before tax, even though the terminal has been recognised as an asset in the books of accounts only from September 10, 2013. Its existing business was affected by rupee volatility which resulted in a lower demand for imported natural gas leading to a 9% y-o-y drop in volumes to 123 trillion British thermal units (tBtu). The state-run importer

-19% QoQ of liquefied natural gas, disappointed street with its opeational performance in second quarter (July-September), but revenues came in above expectations. Net profit fell 19 percent sequentially to Rs 182 crore in the quarter gone by.

Net sales grew 12.8 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 9,449 crore in September quarter from Rs 8,377 crore in June quarter. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) declined 3.6 percent Q-o-Q to Rs 319 crore and EBITDA margin slipped 50 basis points on sequential basis to 3.4 percent.

Orbit Corporation Slips Into Red in Q2 Mumbai based leading developer, Orbit Corporation continues to be dogged by challenges including high debt. Led by Chairman Ravi Kiran Aggarwal and MD & CEO Pujit Aggarwal, who share a combined experience of over two decades in real estate development, Orbit has been specializing in luxury homes in some of the costliest realty markets in India. Chairman Ravi entered the real estate sector in 1989 in the satellite township of Navi Mumbai.

OCL later tapped redevelopment opportunities in Mumbai, specifically in the premium locales of South Mumbai like Napeansea Road, Gamdevi, Prarthana Samaj, Tardeo and Lower Parel. Currently, it is pursuing more than ten projects, both in South Mumbai and outside of this premium region. Orbit Corporation has reported a consolidated sales turnover of Rs 31.97 crore and a net loss of Rs 26.10 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 3.01 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the consolidated sales turnover was Rs 100.70 crore and net profit was Rs 8.11 crore, and other income Rs 2.75 crore.

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Net Loss

L&T Blames Indian Economy for Poor Q2, But Future Seems Challenging with Low-Margin Orders Dominating The slowdown in the domestic economy reflected in Larsen & Toubro 's second quarter (July-September) earnings, as net profit fell 14 percent year-on-year to Rs 978 crore, and sales rose a modest 10 percent to Rs 14509 crore. "Investment climate in the economy is yet to show sign of recovery.

Deferral of new projects and delayed decision making / execution features the weak performance of the core sector this far," the company said in its release. The company's order intake rose 27 percent to Rs 26533 during the quarter, but margins were under pressure. Quarterly operating profit was flat at Rs 1405 crore, while operating margins slipped to 9.7 percent from 10.7 percent. Bottomline got an added boost from other income of Rs 449 crore, compared to Rs 331 crore last year. The margin pressure is largely due to increasing share of international orders, where profitability is lower.

"International order inflow more than doubled contributing 43 percent of the total order inflow on the back of a few orders for large projects in the Middle East. The major orders came from infrastructure and hydrocarbon segments," the company said in its release. However, the company may still have to look overseas to boost its order book, given the weakness in the domestic economy. The infrastructure division, which accounts for roughly half of gross revenues, earned Rs 7181 crore, up 36 percent year-on-year. Operating margins inched to 13.3 percent from 12.4 percent, largely on lower commodity prices. Revenues from the hydrocarbon segment declined 9 percent year-on-year to Rs 2131 crore, with the company attributing it to "lower opening order book and delayed order inflows." The company said it would continue to focus on emerging prospects in the Middle East and other select international markets as part of its twin strategy to hedge against domestic slow down and attain global competitiveness.

-14% YoY

-52% YoY

UltraTech Q2 Falls Sharply, Even as Firm Expands by Taking Over Jaypee Unit India's largest cement maker UltraTech Cement disappointed the street on every parameter with its second quarter (JulySeptember) earnings. The Aditya Birla Group company belongs to the Grasim Industries stable, and has been in the news recently for taking over a unit from rival Jaypee Associates', as well as for the Group Chairman Kumarmangalam Birla being named in an FIR in the coal scam investigation by CBI. UltraTech is also India's largest exporter of cement clinker, which is the heavily traded pre-Portland form of the building material. Net profit fell 52 percent year-on-year - higher than expected - to Rs 264.1 crore, impacted mainly by lower selling prices and subdued demand. "Cement demand remained sluggish on account of prolonged monsoon and low take-off from the infrastructure and housing sectors," the company said in its release. Rupee depreciation and high diesel cost also had an impact on earnings. Net sales dropped 4.2 percent to Rs 4,502.1 crore in second quarter from Rs 4,699.4 crore in a year ago period. Earning before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) slipped 34.3 percent on yearly basis to Rs 660 crore and operating profit margin declined 670 basis points Y-o-Y to 14.7 percent in the quarter gone by. "The outlook continues to remain challenging. Demand growth in FY14 is likely to be around 5 percent, though in the long term growth is likely to be over 8 percent," the Aditya Birla group company said. The combined domestic cement and clinker sales remained unchanged at 9.1 million tonne while white cement and wall care putty sales increased to 2.75 lakh metric tonne (lmt) from 2.39 lmt in a year ago period. Meanwhile, UltraTech Cement agreed to purchase debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates' Gujarat cement unit having a capacity of 4.8 million tonnes for Rs 3,800 crore in September . Gujarat cement unit comprises of an integrated cement unit at Sewagram and grinding unit at Wankbori. "With this acquisition of 4.8 million tonnes per annum, the company's current capacity increases to 59 million tonnes per annum. With projects underway it will stand raised to 70 million tonnes by 2015," UltraTech Cement Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla had said after announcement of the deal in September.

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Britannia Delivers Tasty Q2 for Investors Britannia Industries reported 65.68 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 97.64 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013. The company had posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 58.93 crore for the same period previous fiscal. Company's net sales increased to Rs 1,740.48 crore in the July-September quarter, up 12.82 percent from Rs 1,542.67 crore during the same period last year. Overall expenses during the quarter stood at Rs 1,615.95 crore, up 8.79 percent as against Rs 1,485.27 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

+66% YoY

UCO Bank Stuns Street, As Retail Focus Start Delivering Chairman Arun Kaul's strategies and patience are finally delivering.

Retail has started performing while corporate business has been curtailed.

Public sector lender UCO Bank surprised the street with second quarter net profit rising a whopping 3.85 times year-on-year to Rs 400 crore, driven by strong retail banking operations and MAT credit, despite higher provisions. Net interest income of the bank grew 55 percent to Rs 1,569.4 crore in three-month period ended September 2013 from Rs 1,013 crore in a year-ago quarter. Revenues from its retail banking operations jumped 48.7 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,554 crore while corporate/wholesale banking operations segment fell 14 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,990.6 crore in the quarter gone by. The bank has recognised minimum alternate tax credit to the extent of Rs 90.09 crore for the quarter and Rs 237.51 crore for the period of six-month ended September 2013. Gross non-performing advances (NPAs) climbed 26 basis points sequentially (up 44 bps on yearly basis) to 5.32 percent while net NPAs declined 2 bps Q-o-Q (but up 19 bps Y-o-Y) to 3.13 percent during second quarter. Provisions and contingencies rose 2.3 percent Q-o-Q (up 27 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 758.7 crore in the quarter ended September 2013. Other income more than halved to Rs 209.2 crore during second quarter from Rs 462 crore in first quarter FY14. Other income in a year ago period was Rs 213 crore.

During the same period, capital adequacy ratio (as per Basel III norms) declined sequentially to 12.31 percent from 12.80 percent.

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+286% YoY

Reliance Power Net Profit Up, But Profitability Down Sharply

+5% YoY

Reliance Power's second quarter consolidated net profit increased 5 percent year-on-year to Rs 252 crore and net sales climbed 22.4 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 1,320.6 crore. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 9.7 percent on yearly basis to Rs 431 crore and operating profit margin dropped 380 basis points Y-o-Y to 32.6 percent in the quarter gone by. During the quarter, Rosa power plant of 1,200 MW was operated at availability of over 90 percent.

Reliance Power says the second unit of 660 megawatt of Sasan UMPP of 3960 MW is likely to be commissioned in current month and 100 MW concentrated solar power project at Rajasthan is expected to start in FY14. Its 660 MW Butibori project in Maharasthra has signed PPA with Reliance Infrastructure for 25 years.

Eicher Motors Posts Robust Performance Eicher Motors posted 62.74 percent rise in consolidated net profit at Rs 107.43 crore for the third quarter ended September 30, 2013. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 66.01 crore during the same period of previous year.

Net sales of the company rose to Rs 1,661.64 crore during the third quarter, compared to Rs 1,470.70 crore during the same period of last year. The company follows January-

December financial year. On a standalone basis, the company posted a net profit of Rs 61.79 crore for the third quarter, as against Rs 32.97 crore in the same period of previous year. Eicher Motors' performance has been in sharp contrast to the domestic operations of Tata Motors as well as Ashok Leyland. Eicher also own a winner in bike maker Royal Enfield, maker of the iconic Bullet. It also has a joint venture with international truck major, volvo.

+63% YoY

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+20% YoY

Glenmark Pharma Performs Reasonably in Q2

Glenmark Pharma's second quarter profit after tax rose 20% on a QoQ basis. But on an year-on-year basis, profits fell 2 percent to Rs 157.3 crore, impacted by higher finance cost and higher tax outflow. Finance cost increased to Rs 48 crore from Rs 38 crore and tax expenses jumped to Rs 63 crore from Rs 47 crore yearon-year. Revenue of the healthcare company grew 17 percent on yearly basis to Rs 1,463 crore, driven by US and India businesses. US generics business rose 29.5 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 558 crore while revenues from Europe surged 33 percent to Rs 52 crore in the quarter gone by. Sales from formulations business in India jumped 21.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 417 crore, which was much higher than industry average.

"Although the operating environment continues to remain challenging in emerging markets, we are reasonably confident of continuing on the same growth trajectory," said Glenn Saldanha, chairman & MD. Generics business reported a growth of 22.5 percent on yearly basis at Rs 710.6 crore and speciality formulations grew 9.7 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 740 crore (excluding licensing income) during September quarter. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation soared 8 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 261.2 crore while operating profit margin declined 150 basis points year-on-year to 17.8 percent in the quarter gone by.

SBT Q2 Profits Dive Down, As NPAs Worsen

-59% YoY

State Bank of Travancore (SBT), an associate bank of State Bank of India (SBI), reported 59 percent decline in net profit to Rs 55.34 crore for the July-September quarter of 2013-14 fiscal. It had posted a net profit of Rs 135.63 crore for the same period of last fiscal. The total income in the period under review increased to Rs 2,566.09 crore from Rs 2203.92 crore in the year-ago period. During the first half of the current fiscal, the bank's net profit slipped by 24 percent at Rs 241 crore as against Rs 317.07 crore in the same period last year. The total income rose to Rs 5,183.14 crore in the first six months from Rs 4,445.91 crore in the year-ago period. As of September 30, 2013, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of the bank was 3.50 percent of gross advances, as against 2.98 percent year a year ago. Its net non-performing assets during Q2, 2013-14 rose to 2.07 percent from 1.74 percent.

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+71% YoY

Tata Motors Further Proves It is More JLR and Less Tata India's largest commercial vehicle manufacturer Tata Motors surprised market on every parameter with the second quarter consolidated net profit surging nearly 71 percent year-on-year on Jaguar Land Rover boost. However, standalone business continued posting losses amid weak economic environment. A 31 percent growth in PAT was despite weak environment in India business which was more than offset by increase in wholesale

volumes and richer product and market mix at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR). Consolidated net profit increased to Rs 3,542 crore during September quarter from Rs 2,074 crore in a year ago period.

Revenues increased 31.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 56,882 crore in three-month period ended September 2013. During the same period, consolidated earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 62 percent year-on-year to Rs 8,635 crore. Operating profit margin expanded 300 basis points to 15.2 percent. It reported a forex loss of Rs 72 crore during September quarter as against gain of Rs 15.3 crore in a year ago period. Standalone business (which includes commercial and passenger vehicles) remained weak for another quarter, posting a loss of Rs 803.5 crore for the quarter ended September 2013 as against loss of Rs 867 crore in a year ago period. Operating profit margin of the standalone business stood at 2 percent, impacted by competitive pressures on pricing in certain segments.

Total sales volume of commercial vehicle space in the quarter stood at 1.5 lakh units, a decline of 32.5 percent compared to corresponding quarter of last fiscal. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) JLR, which was acquired by Tata Motors in June 2008 from Ford Motor Company for USD 2.3 billion, continued to boost consolidated profits of the company. Net profit grew a whopping 66.2 percent year-on-year to £507 million and revenue jumped 40.3 percent Y-o-Y to £ 4,612 million in the quarter gone by.

Margin was far better than the street forecast at 17.8 percent for the quarter ended September 2013, a growth of 300 basis points compared to a year ago period. EBITDA spiked over 69 percent Y-o-Y to £ 823 million during the same period. Strong growth in revenues and operational performance was supported by launch of new Range Rover Sport, new Range Rover and Jaguar F-TYPE. US and China (accounting for 45 percent of JLR volumes) markets saw good demand in the quarter gone by. In fact, proportion of China in total volume has gone up to 24.3 percent in September from 21.6 percent in June quarter.

Vijaya Bank Q2 Net Profit Rises, Despite Higher Provisioning

+10% YoY

PSU lender Vijaya Bank's second quarter net profit grew 10.4 percent year-on-year to Rs 136.2 crore, despite higher provisions. Net interest income rose 29.2 percent on yearly basis to Rs 581.5 crore in three-month period ended September 2013. Provisions climbed 48 percent sequentially (up 23 percent year-on-year) to Rs 131.7 crore in the quarter gone by. Provision coverage ratio stood at 63.17 percent as on September 30. Gross non-performing advances (NPAs) jumped 35 basis points Q-o-Q (down 40 bps Y-o-Y) to 2.77 percent while net NPAs increased 30 bps Q-o-Q (down 15 bps Y-o-Y) to 1.75 percent during second quarter. During the quarter, the bank transferred SLR securities with book value of Rs 3,975.57 crore from AFS/ HTF categories and fully recognised securities transfer loss of Rs 77.01 crore. The bank also made adhoc provision of Rs 35 crore towards arrears of wage revision, effective from November 1, 2012, pending negotiation by IBA. Capital adequacy ratio (as per Basel III norms) improved to 10.63 percent from 10.56 percent on sequential basis.

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Allahabad Bank Q2 Net Rises, As Some NPAs Get Sold to ARC Public sector lender Allahabad Bank's second quarter net profit grew 18 percent year-on-year to Rs 276 crore as its other income more than doubled to Rs 696 crore from Rs 302 crore during the same period. The reason for the jump was that the bank sold loans over Rs 700 crore to the ARC and earned around Rs 350 crore on account of it. Net interest income rose 12 percent on yearly basis to Rs 1,309 crore in three-month period ended September 2013. Net interest margin slipped marginally to 2.75 percent from 2.83 percent sequentially in second quarter. Gross nonperforming assets (NPAs) as a percentage of gross

advances expanded 16 basis points on sequential basis (up 199 bps on yearly basis) to 4.94 percent while net NPAs as a percentage of net advances declined 4 bps Qo-Q (up 173 basis points Y-o-Y) to 3.83 percent during September quarter. Provisions and contingencies increased 60 percent year-on-year (up 67 percent quarter-on-quarter) to Rs 742.2 crore in the quarter gone by. Provision coverage ratio stood at 45.99 percent as on September 30. The bank says current and saving account (CASA) has improved to 31 percent from 29 percent Q-o-Q and retail lending grew 17 percent Y-o-Y.

+18% YoY

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START-UP

Why Google Bought this Indians-led Start-up for Rs. 240 Crore he legend of Indian tech start-ups in Silicon Valley is alive and ticking. The latest to generate wow and flutter is a nifty gesture-reading company that Google swallowed recently for $40 million.

By Silicon Valley standards, $40 million is chump change: Sabeer Bhatia sold Hotmail to Microsoft for $400 million nearly two decades ago; Cisco acquired cloud-controlled Wi-Fi provider Meraki, co-founded by Sanjit Biswas, for $1.2 billion in 2012. But what is striking about Flutter is its playful ethos - in more than one sense - that suggests that you can be mirthful and yet make a mark and moolah in the world’s greatest tech ecosystem.

The story goes that Flutter’s cofounders Navneet Dalal and Mehul Nariyawala were slouching around in a butt-meets-couch state watching Netflix when inspiration struck. “On that historic day in 2010, Flutter was born to fight and defeat the evil that we could no longer stand. Our mission is to arm you with the superpower of flutter so that you too can join the fight against unnatural user interfaces,” they would later declare grandly on their cartoonish website redolent of superhero comics. Shorn of verbiage, what they meant was they didn’t even want to use a keyboard or trackpad or mouse or remote control to play or stop programs on screens - just hand gestures, a wave of the palm, should suffice.

If this sounds insufferably lazy - the invention of the remote control alone led to generations of couch potatoes think of the possible upside: from waving down the volume of a device when the phone rings to beating carpal tunnel syndrome. And that’s just the start. Eventually, say the founders, they

Navneet Dalal

“ We are thrilled to announce that we will be continuing our research at Google. We share Google’s passion for 10x thinking, and we’re excited to add their rocket fuel to our journey.

”

Mehul Nariyawala

want Flutter to power the eyes of our devices - in the same way that Siri functions as the iPhone’s ears.

Not that motion sensors are a new idea.

Microsoft, Samsung and other companies have pioneered the technology. But whereas existing gesture-control software is only available on certain devices or requires special hardware, Flutter harnesses a regular webcam. Anyone can download the free software, released in an “ alpha” testing phase last month for Macs, to control the play-and-pause functions on iTunes, YouTube, Netflix, Spotify and other apps.

Dalal, who grew up in Chandigarh and went to engineering school in Delhi before graduating from Grenoble in France, is chuffed about the buy-out.

“We are thrilled to announce that we will be continuing our research at Google. We share Google’s passion for 10x thinking, and we’re excited to add their rocket fuel to our journey,” he says. The core team of Flutter - Ankit Mohan, Varun Gulshan, Rahul Garg, in addition to the two co-founders - is mostly from India giving further fillip to the saga of Indian start-ups in Silicon Valley. By some accounts, more than a quarter of Silicon Valley start-ups are founded by people of Indian or Chinese origin, with Indians dominating.

SM

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HCC Turns Around in Q2, Aided by Other Income Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) is back in black as the company reported a standalone net profit of Rs 31.60 crore for the quarter ended September 30, aided by onetime gain on account of settlement with an undisclosed creditor. The leading construction firm had reported a net loss of Rs 17.87 crore in the corresponding quarter of 201213 fiscal. Net sales of the company were up 5.14 percent at Rs 908.72 crore in September 2013 quarter vis-a-vis Rs 864.26 crore of the Q2FY'13. Its expenditure, at Rs 838.22 crore, amounted to over 92 percent of its net sales. The company's other income, which also included settlement amount from the creditor, rose by over three times to Rs 112.29 crore in the last quarter as against Rs 34.81 crore of the Q2FY'13. Other income for the quarter ending September 30, 2013 include amount no longer payable of Rs 81.50 crore pursuant to a settlement arrived with creditor and interest on income tax refund of Rs 5.44 crore. Its order backlog is at Rs 12,861 crore excluding L1 (lowest bidder) contracts worth Rs 2,265 crore. Commenting on the results, HCC chief financial officer Praveen Sood said, "HCC is making all possible efforts in its control to sustain its performance during this challenging period. Focus on cost rationalisation, effective liability management and sustained operational efficiency have contributed to the performance in the second quarter." On the performances of its

Positive Turnaround YoY

subsidiaries, HCC said that Switzerland-based subsidiary Steiner AG has registered a revenue of CHF 410.7 million (Rs 2603 crore). During the last quarter, it bagged orders worth CHF 33.8 million (Rs 232.7 crore)and has secured orders for more than CHF 200 million (Rs 1376.8 crore), where the contracts are yet to be signed. Talking about Lavasa Corporation, HCC said that development in Dasve and Mugaon towns has picked up pace and till date around 520 residential units have been completed and handing over the possession is in progress. Around 4.5 lakh tourists visited Lavasa during last six months with average hotel occupancy of 70 percent. Three leading organisations have signed agreements for setting up commercial establishments in the city. Another subsidiary, HCC Infrastructure has achieved 72 percent and 59 percent progress respectively in the packages 3 and 4 of the NH 34 concession in West Bengal and commissioning date is expected within next few months.

Besides, toll rates at the Dhule Palesner Highway (NH3) have been revised from September 13, 2013.

+28% YoY

LIC Housing Finance Records Good Performance in Q2 LIC Housing Finance has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 2,246.51 crore and a net profit of Rs 310.07 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 55.90 crore. For the quarter ended September 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 1,840.04 crore and net profit was Rs 243.06 crore, and other income Rs 21.83 crore. LIC Housing Finance, promoted by life insurance giant LIC, is the second largest housing finance NBFC in the country, behind HDFC.

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Dhanlaxmi Bank Faces its September Jinx, Slips Back to Red

Net Loss

Muthoot Finance Q2 Net Down, As Gold Loan Sector Struggles

Dhanlaxmi Bank has reported its results for the quarter ended Sep '13. Standalone Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter was Rs 336.86 crore and net loss was Rs 1.85 crore. Other income for the quarter was Rs 14.66 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the Standalone Net Interest Income (NII) was Rs 313.87 crore and net loss was Rs 18.62 crore., and other income Rs 21.99 crore. Kerala based Dhanlaxmi Bank is one of the smallest listed private banks in the country, despite being one of the oldest.

-21% YoY

Gold financing company Muthoot Finance has reported a 21.2 percent decline in net profit at Rs 211 crore for the second quarter ended September 30. The Kerala-based company had reported net profit at Rs 268 crore during the same period of previous year. For the half-year ending September 30, 2013, the profit after tax slipped by 21 percent to Rs 405 crore from Rs 514 crore registered during the same period of previous year. The total income for the quarter ending September 30, 2013 marginally declined by 1 percent to Rs 1,302 crore from Rs 1,316 crore. For the half-year ended September 30, 2013, the net profit of the company dipped to Rs 2,588 crore from Rs 2,610 crore. Muthoot Finance managing director George Alexander Muthoot said regulatory uncertainty poses bigger challenge to large NBFCs in the sector and there is no level playing field with banks as well as unorganised sector. "We continue to appraise the regulator the adverse impact of the regulations. While we recognise the fact that there is need to bring better governance systems across the industry, larger institutions who have taken pain to popularise and played a major role to bring better standards in the business mode should not be unduly squeezed", he said.

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-35% YoY

SBI's Net Profit Down Sharply, NII Continues to Rise State Bank of India’s second quarter net profit fell 35 percent year-on-year to Rs 2375 crore.

Net interest income rose around 12 percent to Rs 12,252 crore, but so did non-performing assets (NPAs). Gross NPAs climbed to 5.64 percent from 5.56 percent in the June quarter, while net NPAs inched up to 2.91 percent from 2.83 percent. Broadly, the numbers reflect the continuing gloom in the economy, considering SBI’s leadership position in the banking sector.

Fresh slippages declined to Rs 8365 crore from Rs 13,766 crore quarter-on-quarter. But recovery of bad loans too declined sharply at Rs 1414 crore, compared to Rs 4064 crore the previous year. The bank had to write off Rs 1253 crore worth of loans during the quarter, and upgraded the category of Rs 2383 crore worth of loans.

Canara Bank's Asset Quality Improves, But Net Profit Down Marginally

+12% NII YoY Public sector lender Canara Bank's second quarter net profit fell 5.3 percent year-onyear to Rs 625 crore, but asset quality improves on sequential basis. Net interest income rose 12 percent on a yearly basis to Rs 2,191 crore in three-month period ended September 2013. Asset quality as well as provisions declined during the quarter compared a previous quarter.

Gross non-performing advances (NPAs) slipped 27 basis points quarter-on-quarter (up 6 bps year-on-year) to 2.64 percent while net NPAs dropped 18 bps Q-o-Q (up 18 bps Y-o-Y) to 2.30 percent in the quarter gone by. Provisions and contingencies declined 26.4 percent Q-oQ (up 60 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 674 crore during September quarter. Operating expenses (including employee cost) jumped 20 percent to Rs 1,539 crore in second quarter from Rs 1,283 crore in corresponding quarter of last fiscal.

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Bank of Baroda Survives Tough Situation in Q2, Other Income Growth Helps Public sector lender Bank of Baroda's July-September quarter net profit fell 10.25 percent year-on-year to Rs 1,168 crore, despite higher other income, lower tax expenses and provisions. Net interest income rose over 1 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,895 crore in three-month period ended September 2013. Other income of the bank jumped 17.6 percent on yearly basis to Rs 974 crore during the quarter. Tax expense dropped significantly to Rs 80 crore from Rs 250.3 crore in June quarter and Rs 422 crore in a year ago period. Provisions and contingencies declined sequentially 15.4 percent (up 33.2 percent year-on-year) to Rs 861 crore in the quarter gone by. Provision coverage ratio stood at 61.68 percent as of September 30. Asset quality slighly worsened on a Q-o-Q basis. Gross nonperforming advances (NPA) as a percentage of gross advances increased 16 basis points Q-o-Q (up 117 bps Y-o-Y) to 3.15 percent while in absolute term, gross NPAs jumped 11.5 percent on sequential basis (up 85 percent on yearly basis) to Rs 10,888 crore during September quarter. Net NPAs as a percentage of net advances grew 17 bps Q-o-Q (up 104 bps Y-o-Y) to 1.86 percent and in absolute term, that rose 16 percent sequentially (up 165 percent year-on-year) to Rs 6,315 crore in second quarter.

The bank says net slippages were lower sequentially and the current trend of slippages will continue. Domestic slippages were Rs 1,611 crore for the quarter as against Rs 1,835 crore in June quarter while international slippages were Rs 252 crore during the quarter, of which Rs 130 crore were due to forex volatility. Restructured loans were Rs 1,484 crore in September quarter as against Rs 1,997 crore in June quarter. Loans worth Rs 717 crore slipped into NPAs in restructured accounts. Total restructured loans stands at Rs 26,600 crore as on September 30. Bank of Baroda expects an improved trend in asset quality. Capital adequacy ratio (as per Basel III) was 12.07 percent in second quarter as against 12.46 percent in first quarter of financial year 2013-14.

Flat QoQ

+10% NII YoY

PNB Q2 Net Profit More Than Halves, But NII Up 10% India's second largest public sector lender Punjab National Bank (PNB) disappointed market with its second quarter falling 52.6 percent year-on-year to Rs 505.5 crore - the lowest in last six years - dented by higher provisions on depreciation in investment.

Net interest income grew 10 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 4,015.5 crore in three-month period ended September 2013, supported by higher revenues from treasury and retail banking operations. Net interest income registered above Rs 4,000 crore-mark for the first time in bank's history. During the same period, revenues from treasury operations increased 10.4 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,807.43 crore and retail banking grew 12 percent to Rs 3,196.76 crore while corporate/wholesale banking fell 4 percent to Rs 5,525.52 crore.

Provisions and contingencies jumped 78 percent on a sequential basis (up 77 percent on yearly basis) to Rs 1,899 crore in the quarter gone by. Provision coverage ratio increased Q-o-Q to 55.27 percent as on September 30 from 54.67 percent in June 30. Net interest margin of the bank declined to 3.47 percent during September quarter from 3.52 percent in June quarter. CMD KR Kamath said operating expenses of the bank soared 17.7 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 2,380 crore due to rise in accounting costs. Gross non-performing advances (NPAs) expanded 30 basis points Q-oQ (up 48 bps Y-o-Y to 5.14 percent while net NPAs grew 9 bps Q-o-Q (up 38 bps Y-o-Y) to 3.07 percent in the quarter gone by.

In absolute terms, gross NPAs jumped 9.5 percent Q-o-Q (up 18 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 16,526.3 crore while net NPAs rose 6 percent Q-o-Q (up 22 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 9,609 crore during September quarter. "Fresh slippages were Rs 2,009 crore during the quarter whereas the bank restructured assets worth Rs 2,768 crore during the quarter and Rs 5,427 crore during April-September period," Kamath said. Total restructured book stands at Rs 34,816 crore as of September-end and recoveries during the quarter were Rs 1,064 crore, he added. Capital adequacy ratio (as per Basel III norms) stood at 11.62 percent in the quarter ended September 2013 from 11.79 percent in June quarter. According to him, the bank will get Rs 500 crore capital infusion from the government.

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Reliance Communication Struggles in Q2, But Posts Huge Profit on Provision Write-Back Telecom operator Reliance Communications' second quarter consolidated net profit jumped over sixfold quarter-on-quarter to Rs 675 crore, driven by provision write back. The company, during the quarter, reassessed the requirement of maintaining balance of Rs 441 crore of provision of business restructuring created pursuant to the schemes of amalgamation approved by High Court in financial year 2006-07.

The board determined that it is no longer required to maintain provision, hence that amount credited to other income.

Consolidated revenues declined nearly a percent on sequential basis to Rs 5,361 crore in the quarter gone by. Voice revenue stood at Rs 3,384 crore and non-voice revenue at Rs 1,018 crore during the quarter. The company

+562% YoY

performed on bottomline as well as on operational front, but topline was a miss. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased 9 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 1,854 crore and operating profit margin expanded 320 basis points Qo-Q to 34.6 percent during second quarter. Average revenue per user (ARPU) fell 7 percent quarter-onquarter to Rs 120 while revenue per minute dropped 5 percent Q-o-Q to 43.4 paise in the quarter gone by. Total minutes of usage declined 3.8 percent on sequential basis to 101.5 billion minutes due to seasonality factors, which was higher compared to competitor Bharti Airtel (down 3 percent) and lower compared to Idea Cellular (down 5.8 percent).

City Union Bank Q2 Net Up Marginally, But Asset Quality Worsens Dramatically

-7% QoQ

Private sector lender City Union Bank's second quarter net profit grew 5 percent year-on-year to Rs 84.4 crore due to minimum alternate tax writeback of Rs 31.7 crore, but asset quality worsened further. Net interest income jumped 27 percent Yo-Y to Rs 190 crore in three-month-period ended September 2013. During the same period, revenues from treasury operations increased 29.5 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 130.8 crore and retail banking rose 31.5 percent to Rs 426.3 crore while revenues from corporate/wholesale banking fell 14.3 percent to Rs 144 crore in the quarter gone by. Operating expenses of the bank rose over 29 percent to Rs 110.8 crore from Rs 85.52 crore year-on-year.

Gross non-performing advances (NPA) jumped 41 basis points on sequential basis (up 42 bps on yearly basis) to 1.66 percent while net NPAs surged 20 bps Q-o-Q (up 23 bps Y-o-Y) to 0.83 percent in the quarter ended September 2013. Provisions and contingencies spiked 330 percent sequentially (up 216.4 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 88.2 crore during second quarter. Capital adequacy ratio (as per Basel III norms) increased to 14.3 percent as against 13.1 percent quarter-on-quarter.

Finolex Cables Records Strong Show in Q2 Punjab & Sind Bank

Posts Poor Show in Q2, As Provisions and Contigencies Soar

Finolex Cables has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 593.13 crore and a net profit of Rs 79.98 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 31.12 crore.

For the quarter ended September 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 585.98 crore and net profit was Rs 57.46 crore, and other income Rs 14.75 crore. Finolex Cables is one of the largest cable manufacturers in the country.

+39% YoY

OBC NII Up in Q2, Net Profit, Other Income Dip Oriental Bank of Commerce has reported its results for the quarter ended Sep '13.

Standalone Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter was Rs 4,675.84 crore and net profit was Rs 251.41 crore. Other income for the quarter was Rs 311.87 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the Standalone Net Interest Income (NII) was Rs 4414.58 crore and net profit was Rs 302.19 crore., and other income Rs 406.79 crore.

+6% NII YoY

IFCI Records Higher Sales and Profits in Q2 IFCI today reported 7.1 percent rise in net profit at Rs 140.31 crore for the second quarter ended September 30, 2013-14 fiscal. The company had posted net profit of Rs 131.01 crore during the JulySeptember quarter in the previous fiscal, 2012-13. Total income of the company during Q2, 2013-14 increased to Rs 756.95 crore from Rs 709.74 crore a year earlier. The public sector financial firm IFCI caters to the long-term funding needs of the industrial sector.

+7% YoY

Punjab & Sind Bank reported 63.3 percent drop in net profit to Rs 42.96 crore for the July-September quarter on account of rise in provisions against bad loans. The public sector bank had posted a net profit of Rs 117.07 crore for the same period of last fiscal.

Provisions and contingencies during the quarter rose nearly three-fold to Rs 187.38 crore as compared to Rs 64.82 crore in the same quarter a year ago.

The total income increased to Rs 1,980.38 crore, from Rs 1,885.75 crore in the year-ago period. Even operating profit fell to Rs 172.04 crore in the September quarter, as against Rs 202.49 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. As of September 30, 2013, bank's portfolio quality deteriorated, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rising to 4.12 percent of gross advances, as against 2.17 percent a year ago. Its net non-performing assets during the second quarter rose to 2.98 percent from 1.58 percent in the period a year earlier. Total business of the bank as on September 30, stood at Rs 1,29,745 crore from Rs 1,15,636 crore at end of second quarter of previous fiscal, registering a marginal growth of 12.20 percent. The board of the bank has approved issue of shares on preferential basis to the tune of Rs 100 crore. Meanwhile, the bank has introduced a new special deposit scheme for 222 days.

-63% YoY Seasonal Magazine

Apollo Tyres Q2 Profit Growth Strong, Cooper Tire Ambiguity Continues

+44% YoY

Apollo Tyres reported 44.19 percent increase in net profit at Rs 219.47 crore for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, on the back of improved product mix. The company had reported a net profit of Rs 152.2 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Apollo Tyres' net sales in the quarter under review was at Rs 3,433.46 crore, an increase of 1.73 percent as compared to Rs 3,374.82 crore in the same period last year.

Commenting on the company's performance during the quarter, Apollo Tyres chairman Onkar S Kanwar said: "Our focused efforts towards improving our product and customer mix across geographies is showing its results, and is also evident from our improved bottomline despite the challenging circumstances." Elaborating further, he said: "In India, which is our largest market, while there is no upswing in the demand from the OEs, the healthy demand in the replacement market, especially for our products, has helped us to hold on to our topline." Overall expenses in the quarter were at Rs 3,115.32 crore, an increase of 0.52 percent, compared with Rs 3,099.14 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Apollo Tyres had recently received a favourable 'partial ruling' from a US court in its dispute with Cooper Tire over their proposed USD 2.5-billion merger agreement and stated it is committed to finding a 'sensible way forward'. In June, Apollo had announced to acquire Cooper Tire & Rubber Co in an allcash transaction and the merged entity was billed to become the seventh largest tyre maker in the world.

Hotel Leela's Loss Widens Even Further Hotel Leela Venture reported that its net loss widened to Rs 135.18 crore in the second quarter ended September 30 on account of higher finance costs and expenses. The company had posted a net loss of Rs 92.49 crore a year earlier. Net sales rose to Rs 154.13 crore, up 16.29 percent from Rs 132.53 crore a year ago, it said.

Finance costs rose to Rs 127.43 crore from Rs 75.03 crore while expenses climbed to Rs 188.57 crore as against Rs 154 crore previously.

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Loss Widens

Sobha Developers Perform Reasonably in Q2, To Enter Kochi Market This Fiscal Realty firm Sobha Developers reported 13 percent increase in consolidated net profit at Rs 56.6 crore for the quarter ended September 30 on higher sales. The company had posted Rs 50.1 crore profit in the year-ago period. Total Income has increased by 31 percent at Rs 544.5 crore for second quarter of this fiscal from Rs 416.2 crore in corresponding period of last fiscal. As of September 30th 2013, Sobha has completed 88 real estate projects and 234 contractual projects covering about 57.87 million square feet of area. The Company currently has 45 ongoing residential projects aggregating to 27.77 million square feet of developable area and 19.35 million square feet of saleable area, and 38 ongoing contractual projects aggregating to 11.11 million square feet of area. Founded by noted entrepreneur PNC Menon and currently led by Ravi Menon as Chairman, Sobha has made a footprint in 24 cities and 13 states across India. Commenting on the results, Sobha Developers Vice Chairman and Managing Director JC Sharma said the company has performed better despite the economy growing below 5 percent, concerns on high interest rates, continuing inflationary pressures and the steep depreciation of

Indian Rupee. "We have sold 1 million sq ft of new space compared to 0.95 million sq ft in the same quarter last year. The sales value in Q2'14 has increased to Rs 632.3 crore from Rs 527.4 crore in Q2'13," he said. Average price realisation has increased to Rs 6,304 per sq ft from Rs 5,575 per sq ft a year ago. "Our performance in the first half of this financial year has also been credible with revenues increasing by 18 percent YoY, PBT and PAT by 21 percent and 12 percent respectively". On growth plans, Sharma said the company would launch 12.38 million sq ft area in existing markets during next three to four quarters. The company also plans to enter the Kochi market in Kerala during this financial year. With the help of existing inventory and the new launches planned in the coming quarters, he expressed confidence that the guidance set for the current fiscal will be achieved. "There is no denying that the headwinds prevailing in the real estate sector is perturbing. We continue to believe that our superior quality products supported by timely delivery and exemplary customer relationship management will aid in continuous and sustained growth as reflected in the H1'14 performance," Sharma said.

+13% YoY

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J&K Bank Q2 Net Up, But Not Enough to Save H1 Jammu and Kashmir Bank reported 12.2 percent increase in net profit to Rs 302.66 crore for the July-September quarter. The lender had posted a net profit of Rs 269.53 crore for the same period of last fiscal. The total income during the quarter increased to Rs 1,749.22 crore, from Rs 1591.51 crore in the year-ago period.Operating profit increased to Rs 496.48 crore in the September quarter, as against Rs 422.58 crore in the same period of the previous fiscal. During the first half of the curent fiscal, the bank's net profit declined by 18.4 percent to Rs 610.56 crore, as against Rs 515.62 crore in H1, 2012-13. Total income rose to Rs 3,465.89 crore in the first six months of this fiscal from Rs 3,161.04 crore in the year-ago period. As of September 30, 2013, bank's portfolio quality deteriorated, with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) rising to 1.69 percent of gross advances, as against 1.59 percent year a year ago. Its net non-performing assets during the second quarter rose to 0.19 percent from 0.16 percent in the period a year earlier.

+12% YoY

Bhartiya International Delivers Strong Performance in Q2 Bhartiya International has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 105.57 crore and a net profit of Rs 4.63 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 0.73 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 72.17 crore and net profit was Rs 3.87 crore, and other income Rs 0.59 crore. One of India's largest leather goods exporters, Bhartiya International is also one of the promoters of the upcoming Bhartiya City, Bangalore, one of the largest integrated townships in India.

+20% YoY Seasonal Magazine

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Muthoot Capital Services Sales Higher, Profit Up Marginally Muthoot Capital Services has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 37.38 crore and a net profit of Rs 5.13 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 0.21 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 24.24 crore and net profit was Rs 5.07 crore, and other income Rs 0.39 crore. Muthoot Capital Services is a listed NBFC belonging to the financial conglomerate, Muthoot Pappachan Group, having the unlisted gold loan major Muthoot Fincorp as its largest operation.

ONGC Performs Well in Q2, Depite Higher Subsidy Burden State-controlled Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) reported strong sequential growth in second quarter numbers with the net profit growing 51 percent to Rs 6,064 crore. Net sales rose 16 percent quarter-on-quarter to Rs 22,312 crore and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation grew 17 percent Q-o-Q to Rs 9,930 crore in three-month period ended September 2013. ONGC shared under-recoveries of pubilc sector oil marketing companies by subsidising crude oil, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene worth Rs 13,796 crore for the September quarter as against Rs 12,330 crore in a year ago period. ONGC's profit would have increased by Rs 7,621 crore during the quarter if it had not paid subsidy to oil marketing companies. Other income of the company jumped 24 percent on a sequential basis to Rs 1,483 crore while tax expenses surged 71 percent to Rs 3,025 crore during the same period.

+51% QoQ

+1% QoQ

Dena Bank's Net Profit Dives Down, But NII and Other Income Up Dena Bank has reported its results for the quarter ended Sep '13. Standalone Net Interest Income (NII) for the quarter was Rs 2,450.09 crore and net profit was Rs 107.38 crore. Other income for the quarter was Rs 149.85 crore. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the Standalone Net Interest Income (NII) was Rs 2193.97 crore and net profit was Rs 239.64 crore., and other income Rs 133.87 crore. Dena Bank is one of the smaller PSU banks in country, smaller than Vijaya Bank, but larger than SBI subsidiaries SBT, SBBJ, & SBM.

+12% NII YoY Seasonal Magazine

Tech Mahindra in Momentum, Post Satyam Merger

GIC Housing Puts Up Good Q2 Show GIC Housing Finance has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 154.48 crore and a net profit of Rs 24.71 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. For the quarter ended Sep 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 136.54 crore and net profit was Rs 23.15 crore. GIC Housing Finance is a medium-sized player in the sector, promoted by state-owned general insurance firms.

+58% YoY Country's fifth largest software services exporter Tech Mahindra matched expectations with the second quarter consolidated net profit growing 4.7 percent sequentially (up 57.6 percent on yearly basis) to Rs 718 crore, despite forex loss and lower other income. Consolidated revenue jumped 16.3 percent quarter-on-quarter (up 35.4 percent year-on-year) to Rs 4,771 crore in three-month period ended September 2013, which was higher compared to its peers. "The winning trio for us this quarter - growth across verticals, regions and practices reflects the Tech Mahindra’s new found energy and alignment to win large deals, as well as participate with customers in their transformation journey," CP Gurnani, managing director and CEO said. Its sequential dollar revenue growth of 4.7 percent (17.6 percent Y-o-Y) was better compared to peers Infosys (3.8 percent), HCL Technologies (3.5 percent) and Wipro (2.7 percent), but lower than TCS (5.4 percent). Tech Mahindra's dollar revenue increased to USD 758 million from USD 724 million on sequential basis. In fact, all IT companies reported strong earnings in the quarter gone by, owing to rupee depreciation and recovery in the US and Europe.

"Europe is looking better. We are seeing greater traction in Australia and Africa," the company's management said. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation surged 28.6 percent Q-o-Q (up 46.8 percent Y-o-Y) to Rs 1,111 crore and operating profit margin expanded 215 basis points on sequential basis to 23.2 percent. The software firm added nine clients during the quarter, including one client of USD 20 million and 2 clients of 10 million each. Active clients increased to 576 in Q2FY14 from 567 in Q1FY14. The attrition rate was higher at 16 percent during second quarter as against 15 percent in previous quarter while utilisation rate declined to 75 percent as against 76 percent Q-o-Q. The company reduced its debt by Rs 412 crore to Rs 335 crore as of September 30.

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+7% YoY

Shalimar Paints' Sales Down, But Net Profit Rises Reasonably Shalimar Paints has reported a standalone sales turnover of Rs 122.19 crore and a net profit of Rs 4.13 crore for the quarter ended Sep '13. Other income for the quarter was Rs 1.39 crore. For the quarter ended September 2012 the standalone sales turnover was Rs 124.52 crore and net profit was Rs 2.79 crore. Shalimar is a medium-sized player in the paint sector, positioned between giants like Asian Paints and smaller firms like Jenson Nicholson.

+48% YoY

STRANGE

Google Earth Helps Indian Find Home After 26 Years ith the help of 26 year-old memories and Google Earth, Saroo Brierly finds his family again.

Some 26 years after falling asleep in a train car and ending up more than 1,500 kilometers away from everything he knew, Saroo Munshi Khan (now Brierly) has found his way home.

On the Google blog, the company tells the story of Saroo, who at the age of 5 found himself separated from his home and family. While he was taken to an orphanage and adopted by an

Australian family from Tasmania, he always thought of the home he left.

Technology, and 26 year-old memories, would help him find a way back. Google writes that in 2011, Saroo used Google Earth to determine where he came from. "Using the ruler feature in Google Earth, he mapped out a search radius by making an educated guess about how far he traveled by train. After countless hours of scouring this area of Google Earth imagery, he came upon a proverbial needle in a haystack."

As the story goes, Saroo spotted a landmark that he tracked to other

Using Google Earth, Saroo spotted a landmark that he tracked to other landmarks that he remembered from his childhood. Eventually, those landmarks led him to a familiar neighborhood that matched his memory.

landmarks that he remembered from his childhood. Eventually, those landmarks led him to a familiar neighborhood that matched his memory.

In 2012, Saroo went to Khandwa, India. With the help of locals in the area, he found his way home to his mother and surviving brother and sister, a reunion powered by technology, memory, and a bit of luck.

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ON A HIGHER ORBIT Indian Gurdeep Singh Pall is New Corporate VP of Skype Microsoft has appointed India-born Gurdeep Singh Pall as the corporate vice president of Skype, a popular and free international voiceover and messaging service and Lync communications product. He will replace the Mark Gillett. Gurdeep Singh Pall, now 46, was born in Chandigarh. He completed his engineering degree in computer science from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani. He also holds a master's degree in computer science from the University of Oregon.

He has more than 20 patents (in process or approved) in networking, VoIP and collaboration areas. He joined in Microsoft Company in January 1990 as a software design engineer.He was named one of the "15 Innovators & Influencers Who Will Make A Difference" in 2008 by Information Week. He co-authored "Institutional Memory Goes Digital", which was published by Harvard Business Review as part of Breakthrough Ideas for 2009 and subsequently presented at the World Economic Forum 2009 in Davos.

Justice Shah is New Law Commission Chairman Former Delhi High Court Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah has been appointed as the new chairman of the 20th Law Commission of India. Justice Shah succeeds Justice DK Jain who resigned last month to take over as the President of National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. A lawyer from Solapur, Maharashtra, Justice Shah has also served in the Bombay High Court.

Satish Agnihotri is New Secretary of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy Satish B. Agnihotri, Director General (Acquisition), Ministry of Defence, has been appointed as Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Agnihotri, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the 1980 batch (Orissa cadre), will succeed Ratan P Watal.

Sunita Sharma is New CEO of LIC Housing Finance

SB Nayar is New CMD at IIFCL

Life Insurance Corp of India has appointed Sunita Sharma as the new managing director and chief executive director of its mortgage loan arm - LIC Housing Finance. Sharma, the first women CEO of the non-banking finance company, will succeed V K Sharma who was elevated to the post of managing director of LIC last week.

Prior to this assignment, Sharma was executive director of investments at LIC looking after the areas of equity research and risk management. In a career spanning over three decades in the insurance company, she has handled various assignments like personnel, new business, policy servicing, finance & acounts, and estates.

The government on Friday appointed S.B. Nayar as chairman and managing director (CMD) of India Infrastructure Finance Co. Ltd (IIFCL), a state-owned firm that funds infrastructure projects. Nayar, who currently heads IFCI Ltd, another state-owned financier, will have a term of three years, the government said in a notification. Nayar, who was deputy managing director at State Bank of India prior to his appointment at IFCI, was the second choice for the post.

But the appointments committee of the Union cabinet had earlier rejected the candidature of Deepak Bagla of 3i Venture Fund, the first choice of the finance ministry.

With Nayar’s appointment, IFCI’s board will have to look for a managing director and chief executive officer.

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HIGHER ORBIT GK Pillai is New Chairman of MCX-SX

Monojit Ray is New Head of Contract Advertising Monojit Ray has been appointed as General Manager and Vice President of Contract’s Bangalore office with immediate effect. He takes over from Anitha Krishnan, who has been associated with Contract for 10 years and has led the Bangalore office for the last three years. Ray has in the past worked with Ogilvy, Rediffusion, Everest, Radio City and Autocop. This is his second stint in Bangalore; in his first, he was instrumental in the launch of ING Vysya Life Insurance and has also handled accounts such as McDowell’s, UB Group, Airtel and Deutsche Software. His career has

The troubled Financial Technologiespromoted stock exchange, MCX-SX, has appointed former Union Home Secretary G.K. Pillai as its Chairman.

Also, former acting Chairman of the Life Insurance Corportion, Thomas Mathew T., has been appointed as the Vice-Chairman. spanned from managing Sachin Tendulkar’s first major advertising assignment with Philips, to handling the Asian Paints Sharad Shamman Puja Awards in Kolkata. He has also been instrumental in launching the first private basic telephony brand, Tata Teleservices, in Hyderabad.

Usha Ananthasubramanian is First Chairperson of Bharatiya Mahila Bank The government has appointed Usha Ananthasubramanian as the chairperson and managing mirector of Bharatiya Mahila Bank, the first all-women bank.

She started her career in the actuarial department with LIC and banking career in February 1982 as a specialist officer in the planning stream of Bank of Baroda. Before joining BMB, she was an executive director with Punjab National Bank (PNB). The government approved Rs. 1,000 crore seed capital for the women-focused public sector bank, announced by Finance Minister P Chidambaram in his budget speech. One of the key objectives of the bank is to focus on the banking needs of women and promote economic empowerment.

Ratan Watal is India's New Expenditure Secretary Ratan P Watal, a senior IAS officer was appointed as the Secretary of Department of Expenditure in the Union Ministry of Finance. He will be a successor of RS Gujral, an officer of the 1979 of Haryana cadre, who will retire from the post on 30 November 2013. Ratan P Watal is an IAS officer of 1978 batch of Andhra Pradesh Cadre.

At present he is serving as the Secretary in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Meanwhile, he has been appointed in the Department of Expenditure with immediate effect as the Officer on Special Duty (OSD).

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Devendra Bhushan Gupta is New UPSC Secretary Senior IAS officer Devendra Bhushan Gupta has been appointed as Secretary in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Gupta is a 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Gupta, who is presently serving in his cadre, will be mandated with responsibilities of administrative matters of the UPSC which conducts prestigious civil services examination to select IAS, IPS and IFS among others.

Siddharth Tiwari to be New Chief Economic Advisor The government is likely to appoint Siddharth Tiwari as the chief economic advisor, replacing Raghuram Rajan, who became the governor of Reserve Bank of India in September this year.

Tiwari, a senior IMF official, will have a tenure of three years, said people involved in the appointment process.bTiwari is currently director of the strategy, policy and review department, according to the IMF website. The department is responsible for developing IMF policies and overseeing their implementation at the country level, said the website. Tiwari is also responsible for coordinating IMF's activities with bodies such as the G8 and G20. The CEA is responsible for supervising the writing of the Economic Survey, a prestigious document presented to Parliament just before the budget, which describes the government's thinking on the economy.

The economic division is responsible for preparing monthly and half-yearly economic reports. The budget will be an interim one because of elections, leaving it to the next government to present a full budget. While the position

is not particularly powerful compared with other arms of the finance ministry such as the revenue department, the post has acquired a high profile because of Rajan, a renowned economist. In case of Rajan, the CEA position was widely regarded as a stepping stone to RBI governorship. Kaushik Basu, who preceded Rajan, is also a well-known economist. Basu is currently World Bank's chief economist. Previous occupants of the position include famous policymakers such as Bimal Jalan, a former RBI governor, and

Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the deputy chairman of Planning Commission.

Tiwari, who has served in IMF's AsiaPacific, Africa and European departments, is a post-graduate from the London School of Economics and a PhD from the University of Chicago.

Tiwari has been with IMF for over 24 years and was the secretary at the multilateral agency before assuming his current role. He has closely worked with former IMF managing director Dominique Strauss Kahn, who lost his job after a sex scandal.

Parvinder Sohi Behuria is New Secretary General of NHRC Parvinder Sohi Behuria, a senior IRS officer was appointed as the Secretary General of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Behuria was appointed in the rank and pay of the secretary. She is the successor of Ashok Sahu, a 1975 batch officer of Indian Economic Service, following his retirement. She is a 1977 batch IRS (Income Tax) officer. At present, she is the Member (Revenue) in Central Board of Direct Taxes under the Department of Revenue.

Prem Narain is New Secretary of Ministry of Overseas Affairs The government has appointed Prem Narain as the Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry in place of Rajiv Mehrishi, who is now new Fertilisers Secretary. According to an official release, Mehrishi, a 1978 batch IAS officer, was shifted from the Overseas Indian Affairs Ministry to the Department of Fertilisers as Secretary in place of Sudhir Mital who retires this month end.

Narain, a 1978 batch IAS officer of Uttar Pradesh cadre, was on a compulsory wait in Women and Child Development ministry.

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HIGHER ORBIT

Saurabh Varma is New CEO of Leo Burnett India Arvind Sharma, global ad agency Leo Burnett’s long-standing chairman and CEO of the India subcontinent, is moving on. Saurabh Varma, regional chief strategy officer of the network’s APAC office, will helm India operations. Varma will report to Jarek Ziebinski, president, Leo Burnett Asia Pacific. While Sharma is said to be leaving to pursue business interests outside of the industry, he will be available as a strategic advisor until July 2014. Nitish Mukherjee, director on the board of the company, will play a key role in this transition as a strategic consultant.Tom Bernardin, chairman and CEO, Leo Burnett Worldwide, made the announcements in Mumbai recently.

VS Parthasarathy is New CFO for Mahindra & Mahindra Mahindra & Mahindra has appointed VS Parthasarathy as their Chief Financial Officer. Parthasarathy will begin his term and take charge of all the financial operations by November 14, 2013. He was appointed to this post after the Executive Director & Group Chief Financial Officer - Bharat Doshi called it a day during a board meeting of company. Doshi's phenomenal career spanned of 40 years of service, which also included his tenure of 21 years as an Executive Director of Mahindra & Mahindra.

Anant Maheshwari is New President of Honeywell India Honeywell has appointed Anant Maheshwari, the Managing Director of Honeywell Automation India Ltd (HAIL), as its new President of Honeywell India. Honeywell Automation India Ltd informed BSE that Anant Maheshwari has accepted a new position in Honeywell as President, Honeywell India, and will be based in Gurgaon. In this role, Maheshwari will succeed Jim Bujold, who has resigned as a Director of HAIL with effect from November 11, 2013 as he moves to a new role as President, Southeast Asia, Honeywell. The Directors have passed a resolution appointing Vikas Chadha as an

Rizwan Shaikh is new GM of Fairmont Jaipur Fairmont Hotels and Resorts has appointed Rizwan Shaikh as General Manager of its property in Jaipur. In his new capacity, Shaikh will be responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of Fairmont Jaipur. Shaikh holds an Executive Masters of Business Administration from the Institute of Management & Information Science, Bhubasneswar, India. He completed a Hotel Management course from the National Council for Catering and Technology and Advance Management Programme from the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta. He is currently completing a Masters of Business Law from the National Law University of India. Shaikh has over 17 years experience of working in the luxury hotel space including Sterling Holiday Resorts, Ooty; Holiday Inn, Goa; Oberoi Hotels and Resorts at the Trident Hilton Bhubaneswar; Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai; and Four Seasons Hotel Singapore.

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Additional Director with effect from November 11, 2013, to be designated as the Managing Director, HAIL, with effect from January 1, 2014, subject to the approval of the company's shareholders in its forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Jai Kishan is New GM Operations for NHCC/HICC Jai Kishan has been appointed as the General Manager Operations for Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre (NHCC) and Hyderabad International Convention Centre recently. Hyderabad International Convention Centre (HICC) is managed

by Accor and jointly owned by Emaar Properties PJSC Dubai and Andhra Pradesh Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Ltd. HICC is the first purpose-built and state-of-the-art convention facility, the first of its kind in South Asia. HICC in every aspect, be it infrastructure, services or technology, compares with the best in the world. It has an internal hall measuring 6,480 square meters, which can be partitioned into six smaller halls. The pre-function foyer area itself exceeds 6400 square meters. HICC is proud to be the winner of the ‘Best Convention Centre’ National Tourism Award by Incredible India for three years in a row. Novotel Hyderabad Convention Centre adjacent to HICC is a 5-star 287 rooms hotel, built to suit the requirements of the discerning business traveler. Kishan is a well rounded hotelier with more than 17 years of work experience in Hospitality Industry spanning India, Switzerland, Taiwan, Singapore and Australia.

Air Marshal Arup Raha to be New IAF Chief Air Marshal Arup Raha will take over as the next chief of the Indian Air Force on December 31, 2013 after the retirement of Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne. Air Marshal Raha is currently serving as the IAF vice-chief. He joined IAF in December 1974 in the Fighter Stream. During a career spanning over 39 years, he has held various command, staff and instructional appointments in the force. He has served as Air Attache at the Indian embassy in Ukraine and commanded the Central Air Command and the Western Air Command. Raha is the seniormost three-star officer in the force and has been the frontrunner for the post. He has a rich experience of over 3,400 hours of flying fighter aircraft of different types.

JNU Professor is New President of Indian Sociological Society Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Anand Kumar has been unanimously elected as the president of Indian Sociological Society (ISS), a prestigious association of sociologists from across the country. Prof Kumar has a career spanning over four decades. Besides being a sociologist, he is also regarded as one of the finest political thinkers, a respected commentator and having a distinguished career in political activism starting with the popular JP Movement.

Prof Kumar has studied at BHU, JNU and University of Chicago. He has been a recipient of academic honours from ICCR, DAAD, Nehru - Fulbright programme and served as visiting professor in Germany, Austria and the US in the last decade. His works include State and Society in India, Nation Building in India, India Chronic Poverty Report, Quest for Participatory Democracy, Tibet Sourcebook, and Understanding Globalization and Emerging India.

Prof Hangloo is New Kalyani University VC Rattan Lal Hangloo, senior faculty in Department of History at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), has been appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of Kalyani University in West Bengal for a term of four years. Rattan Lal Hangloo, who obtained his doctoral degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, is an eminent historian & specialist on Indian and Central Asia History, Politics and Culture, and Kashmir Affairs. He hails from Hanglalgund village in Anantnag district of Southern Kashmir Province of India. He has been serving the University of Hyderabad for 25 years in different capacities. He was Professor and Head, Department of History at UoH. He was also the Chief Proctor of the University.

He has already served as the Chair of Indian Studies at the University of West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago, and has been awarded several prestigious fellowships.

He has published over 100 papers in national and international journals and more than half-a-dozen books. The University of Kalyani was established in 1960 and is offering 23 post-graduate programmes under various faculties.

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HIGHER ORBIT Ranga Puranik is New President of Persistent Systems

Gaurav Banerjee is New GM at STAR India Gaurav Banerjee has been appointed as the general manager in STAR India for its flagship Hindi general entertainment channel, Star Plus. Banerjee had been the executive vice-president (content strategy) at STAR India earlier and now he will be replacing Nachiket Pantvaidya. Pantvaidya left the organization in September as he is joining Multi Screen Media Motion Pictures. Banerjee will be reporting to Sanjay Gupta, COO at STAR India. He was responsible for developing and giving a shape to content strategy for Life OK and Star Plus at his last post.

He has worked in popular shows like Mahadev, Diya aur Baati Hum and Sasural Genda Phool. The career of Banerjee began with STAR as a executive editor of prime time news for the 9 pm news in Star News.

Persistent Systems said recently that its President and Head of Global Sales Hari Haran has quit the company to pursue other interests. Ranga Puranik, who has been Executive Vice-President of new initiatives on the BSE-listed company for over three years, has replaced Haran. Puranik will serve as the head of the company’s US entity and lead the company’s sales and marketing efforts globally, as per a press statement.

Puranik holds an MBA from Kellogg School of Management and a Bachelor of Engineering - Electronics & Communication from Karnataka University.

Kaushik Mukherjee is New Chief Secretary of Karnataka Additional Chief Secretary Kaushik Mukherjee has been appointed as Karnataka Chief Secretary, officials said today. He is replacing S V Ranganath, who is retiring from service on superannuation. Born on September 8, 1955 in West Bengal, Mukherjee holds ME and BE in Electrical Engineering and has served in various administrative capacities in the State Government. Rnganathan's had been given extensions twice, first on the direction of Election Commission of India and then by the Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, after he formed the government. Ranganath has a wide experience with seven chief ministers, under whom he worked directly.

He was Joint Secretary to Ramakrishna Hegde, Principal Secretary to S M Krishna, N Dharam Singh, Secretary to M Veerappa Moily and H D Deve Gowda, H D Kumaraswamy and the Chief Secretary in the Siddaramaiah government.

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Grace Koshie is First Woman Director of Federal Bank Grace Elizabeth Koshie has joined the Board of Federal Bank as the first lady Director in the Kerala headquartered lender. The bank becomes one of the few listed companies which has complied with the latest regulatory directions in the Companies Act, 2013, which requires a lady Director to be on the Board of Directors. Grace Koshie, a postgraduate Economics graduate specialising in Econometrics and Monetary Economics from Bombay University, joined Reserve Bank of India in 1976 as a Direct Recruit in Grade B. Before joining Reserve Bank, she had worked as a lecturer in Sophia College, Mumbai. As Secretary to the Central Board of RBI she was responsible for central bank governance and related compliance matters and had also served as RBI nominee Director on the Boards of Dena Bank and Corporation Bank.

VK Sharma and Usha Sangwan are New MDs at LIC

Pankaj Razdan is New MD & CEO of Birla Sun Life Insurance Pankaj Razdan was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Birla Sun Life Insurance (BSLI), life insurance arm of Aditya Birla Group. He has 20 years of financial services industry experience across various functions and multiple lines of business. Razdan joined in Aditya Birla Financial Services Group in 2007. He was earlier the managing director of ICICI Prudential.

Bharat Suresh Joshi is New British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai Bharat Suresh Joshi was appointed as British Deputy High Commissioner in Chennai. He will succeed Mike Nithavrianakis. Bharat Suresh Joshi was born in Croydon, UK. He joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1995. He has had diplomatic postings to Gambia, Dhaka and Qatar.

He is the first person of Indian origin to represent the British mission in Chennai. It is an indication of the growing influence and spread of the diaspora in the UK.

Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) has announced the appointment of two managing directors – V.K.Sharma and Usha Sangwan. Vijay Kumar Sharma has been Managing Director & CEO, LIC Housing Finance Ltd (LIC HFL), a premier housing finance provider in the country with loan portfolio exceeding Rs 83, 000 crore. He has held important positions as Zonal Manager In-charge of Southern Zone (Tamilnadu, Kerala), Executive Director of Pension & Group Schemes.

Usha Sangwan joined LIC in 1981 as a Direct Recruit Officer. This is the first time LIC is getting a woman MD. She holds a Master’s Degree in Economics and a Post Graduate Diploma in Human Resource Management. Prior to taking charge as MD, she was Executive Director, Corporate Communications, LIC of India. In LIC she has worked in almost all core areas of life Insurance including Marketing, Operations, Personnel, Housing Finance, Group Business, Direct Marketing, International Operations and Corporate Communications. Prior to being Executive Director, Corporate Communications she was Executive Director (Direct Marketing).

PS Raghavan is New Russian Ambassador PS Raghvan was appointed as the next Ambassador of India to Russia. At present, Raghvan, the IFS of 1979 batch is serving as the current Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

He will succeed Ajai Malhotra, who will retire on 30 November 2013.

Raghvan is expected to join the assignment shortly.

Sanjiv Kapoor is New COO of SpiceJet Kalanithi Maran-promoted low-cost airline SpiceJet has appointed Sanjiv Kapoor as its new chief operating officer. A company filing to the stock exchanges announcing his appointment stated that Kapoor brings with him a wealth of experience in the airline industry, starting in 1996 with Northwest Airlines in the US where he worked in several roles including corporate finance, business planning, procurement and operations. Key posts at the airline had been lying vacant since its CEO Neil Raymond Mills resigned from the company in July this year, immediately weeks after the airline’s chief commercial officer Harish Moideen Kutty called it a day. Kapoor had also worked with Bain and Co, a world renowned consulting firm as a leader in its airline practice, working with several large global carriers at board level on transformational projects.

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BUSINESS

7 Ways to Win Every Argument or Negotiation Stephen Key is one of world's most celebrated product inventors, who later turned out to be a successful entrepreneur as well as best-selling author on entrepreneurship. Here is Stephen Key's strategies on winning arguments and negotiations: ntrepreneurs are passionate people. We want to be heard. But often, knowing when to shut up can benefit you immensely. Cultivating your ability to hold your tongue is important. Make no mistake, this is something I still struggle with every day.

But after twenty years of wishing I’d just kept quiet that one time - here's my advice:

1. Remember, it’s not personal.

It’s business. A few years ago, I sued a major toy company who I thought had infringed on one of my patented technologies. Looking back, I think we could have settled the dispute quickly if cooler heads had prevailed. But I became emotional and so did they. The conflict ended up in federal court after dragging on for three years, which took an enormous toll on me. It's best not to make decisions when you're emotional.

Step back and ask yourself: Is this the best course of action or am I just upset right now?

2. Pick up the phone.

It’s always easier to miscommunicate over email. You’ll strengthen your relationships by clarifying what you and the person you're in contact with really mean simply by picking up the phone. I have Seasonal Magazine

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By Stephen Key misinterpreted what people have written to me in emails on many occasions. When it comes to sensitive issues in particular talk it out; don't just email.

3. Hit “delete. ” The idea that anyone can win an argument over the Internet is laughable.

For whatever reason, some people enjoy using their anonymity to be rude and insulting. It’s taken me many years, but I think the best way to respond to my haters is by not saying anything at all.

Even if you’re calm, collected and reasonable, whatever you write will only fuel the fire. There are just too many people who get a kick out of riling others up. If you choose not to engage, you’ll be surprised how quickly the conversation dies. And, try to have a sense of humor! Usually, I’m enraged when I first read hateful comments, but later I find them kind of funny.

4. Let go of the need to have the last word.

It’s better to fly under the radar. You may feel great about getting in one last jab, but more likely than not, someone else is going to remember your flippant comment long after you do and it will come back to haunt you. It’s just not worth it. I was surprised to hear Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks and an investor on Shark Tank, laugh at the SEC on TV and in the media after he was accused of insider trading and found not guilty.

That didn’t seem wise. If they had an eye on him before, well, they probably still do now. Gloating is unattractive.

5. Embrace the idea that sometimes, less is more.

We’ve all been in meetings where someone asks a simple question and the person in charge goes on and on unnecessarily in response. Remember that most questions can be answered simply. Remind yourself. Everyone you work with will appreciate your ability to be concise. And frankly, it’s also

polite. We like the sound of our own voices more than other people do.

6. Realize that certain opinions are best left unspoken.

Yes, everyone is entitled to an opinion.

But that doesn’t mean we need to offer all of ours up. The other day, Martha Stewart declared that she doesn’t think bloggers are experts. Okay, Martha.

Sure, that’s your opinion. But I think that was foolish of her, because I’m guessing there are many, many bloggers who help promote her lifestyle brand.

What purpose did undermining them serve her? I’m not sure. But it may end up hurting her business. She needs bloggers and influencers as much as everyone else does to push her brand.

7. Get comfortable with awkward silences.

When it comes to the art of negotiation, I’ve learned a simple truth: Never speak first. After I explicitly state what it is I want, I clam up. When we’re uncomfortable with an awkward silence, it’s tempting to fill it quickly, but if you do, you might end up saying something without thinking it through.

I’ve discovered that the first person to speak usually loses the argument. So make your point, be confident and force yourself to wait for a response. I hope these tips help you as much as they’ve helped me.

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PHOTO ESSAY

More Indian Than an Indian Steve McCurry

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He first came to India 35 years ago and he’s been back around 90 times. teve McCurry has been a professional photographer for more than 30 years. A member of Magnum Photos since 1986, he has been recognized with some of the most prestigious awards in the industry, including the Robert Capa Gold Medal, the National Press Photographers Award and an unprecedented four first prize awards from the World Press Photo contest. He was given the first Leica Hall of Fame Award in 2011. Born on February 24, 1950 this American photojournalist is best known for his photograph, "Afghan Girl" that originally appeared in National Geographic magazine. He had attended Penn State University, and originally planned to study cinematography and filmmaking, but ended up getting a degree in theater arts and graduating in 1974. He became interested in photography when he started taking pictures for the Penn State newspaper The Daily Collegian.

After working in Pennsylvania for two years, he left for India to freelance. It was here that McCurry learned to watch and wait on life. “If you wait,” he realized, “people will forget your camera and the soul will drift up into view.”

However, his blockbuster career was launched when, disguised in native garb, he crossed the Pakistan border into rebel-controlled areas of Afghanistan just before the Soviet invasion. When he emerged, he had rolls of film sewn into his clothes. Those images, which were published around the world, were among the first to show the conflict. His coverage won the Robert Capa Gold Medal for Best Photographic Reporting from Abroad, an award dedicated to photographers exhibiting exceptional courage and enterprise. McCurry continued to cover armed conflicts, including the Iran-Iraq War, Lebanon Civil War, the Cambodian Civil War, the Islamic insurgency in the Philippines, the Gulf War and the Afghan Civil War. His work has been featured worldwide in magazines and he is a frequent contributor to National Geographic. McCurry focuses on the human consequences of war, not only showing what war impresses on the landscape, but rather, on the human face. “Most of my images are

grounded in people. I look for the unguarded moment, the essential soul peeking out, experience etched on a person’s face. I try to convey what it is like to be that person, a person caught in a broader landscape, that you could call the human condition.” McCurry took his most recognized portrait, "Afghan Girl", in a refugee camp near Peshawar, Pakistan. The image itself was named as "the most recognized photograph" in the history of the National Geographic magazine and her face became famous as the cover photograph on the June 1985 issue. The photo has also been widely used on Amnesty International brochures, posters, and calendars. The identity of the "Afghan Girl" remained unknown for over 17 years until McCurry and a National Geographic team located the woman, Sharbat Gula, in 2002. McCurry said, “Her skin is weathered; there are wrinkles now, but she is as striking as she was all those years ago.” Although McCurry shoots both in digital and film, his admitted preference is for transparency film.

Eastman Kodak let him shoot the last ever produced roll of Kodachrome transparency film, which was processed in July 2010 by Dwayne's Photo in Parsons, Kansas and will be housed at the George Eastman House. Most of the photos, excluding a few near-duplicates, have been published on the Internet by Vanity Fair. "I shot it for 30 years and I have several hundred thousand pictures on Kodachrome in my archive. I'm trying to shoot 36 pictures that act as some kind of wrap up – to mark the passing of Kodachrome. It was a wonderful film," McCurry had opined then. As he releases a retrospective book - 'Untold: The Stories Behind the Photographs

by Steve McCurry' - on the stories behind his images, the legendary photographer examines why India still fascinates him so much and what he’d like to do here next.

For some one who has photographed Indians ranging from Amitabh Bachchan to Aishwarya Rai to the man on the street, he has obviously seen more of India than any Indian, and also knows more about India than many Indians.

Here is the insight in his own words, accompanied by his photographs of India and the world: Seasonal Magazine

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More Indian Than an Indian How It Began The first time I came to India was 35 years ago in February 1978, when I landed in Delhi. I had travelled to Europe, Africa and the Middle East by then, and I felt like it was time to go to India. I’d saved some money, so I bought a couple of hundred rolls of film and headed off to India. I remember it was about 4:00 in the morning as I went down to the hotel it was next to Nirula’s in Connaught Place. It was a bit disorienting. Everything felt so new.

Next, I went to Mussoorie, the hill station north of Dehradun, and I remember being so surprised at how cold it was I didn’t have any warm clothes. And then it snowed. Suddenly, my preconceptions of India were

‘Agra’

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turned on their heads.

By the time I arrived in India, I had been taking photographs fairly seriously for four or five years. I had been working as a local newspaper photographer in Philadelphia, and I quit that job to travel and tell bigger stories with my camera.

I knew I had to leave home. Being a good photographer doesn’t necessarily mean you travel to distant places, but I needed to get out of my comfort zone and explore things. I was very curious about how people lived in different parts of the world. I stayed up in Mussoorie for several days before heading back. I travelled everywhere by train and road in 1978. The only time I actually flew was when I went from Patna to Kathmandu and back. I went to Madras by train, took a bus to

Madurai, a bus to Bangalore, a bus to Goa, a truck to Bombay, a train back to Delhi, then up to Shimla and then on to Ladakh. I was travelling looking around for stories, just wanting to get familiar with the culture and the terrain and the people.

Before I arrived I’d thought of India as being homogenous, but I found such a range here in terms of climate and terrain – there are deserts and there are tropical forests and the Himalayas.

And a variety of ethnicities, from Buddhists in Ladakh to Sufi Muslims in Kashmir, plus a large Christian and Hindu population. There was the spectrum of people living in a very ancient way and people living in a more modern way. There was extreme wealth and extreme poverty. Not that

these extremes didn’t exist in other countries, but they seemed to be much more dramatic in India, which was rich and diverse in ways that other places weren’t.

I’ve now been back to India over 80 or 90 times and seen much more of it than the average Indian has. In that time, I’ve travelled all over the country to work on stories such as the one on the monsoon, the Indian railways, Kashmir, Tibetans and Buddhism. I’ve also worked in Europe, Africa, South America and other places in the world, but most of my time has been spent in South Asia.

I always aspired to work for National Geographic magazine. I wanted a global audience for my photographs. I think they now have over 30 foreign editions, but at the time I started working in India, there were a lot of Indians who subscribed to National Geographic and you could buy it at newsstands. That was the kind of global viewer I had in mind.

In the two years that I spent on the subcontinent during that first trip, I kept pitching stories to magazines on various aspects of India, and I went on a couple of assignments in Pakistan

‘India’

‘Agra’

More Indian Than an Indian

‘Bengal’ and a couple more in Afghanistan before the Russian invasion, after which my work became more internationally recognized.

The Toughest Assignment What I find most special about light on the subcontinent is its unusual quality during the monsoon. With the clouds, the rain and the dramatic light, it’s a time that is very distinctive, very different.

Having already witnessed the monsoon on the subcontinent twice in the two years I spent there from 1978 to 1980, I thought this could be a very dramatic story to tell because India’s economy, especially back in the late ’70s, was based much more heavily on agriculture. As a child, I had seen the work of Brian Brake for a story on Seasonal Magazine

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‘Aishwarya Rai’ ‘Goa’

the monsoon in LIFE magazine. I really wanted to reinvent that story and do it in my own way. I imagined a story about how a country depended on these great seasonal rains to give it life. In some places, the heat would build up until the rains were welcomed with relief; but if it rained too much there would be floods, and if the rains failed altogether there would be disaster.

I pitched the story to National Geographic and I worked on it for nearly a year beginning in the spring of 1983, travelling through almost a dozen countries, including India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, China, Indonesia and Australia. The region I explored stretched from Afghanistan to Burma, and from Tibet in the north to Sri Lanka in the south.

I was also working on my ‘India by Rail’ story at the same time, photographing in places like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh,

Rajasthan, Gujarat and Goa. It was inspired by Paul Theroux’s book The Great Railway Bazaar (1975), where I was trying to photograph the train system in South Asia. India’s train stations seemed like a microcosm of the country.

The monsoon story, which was published as a book in 1988, was the most exciting and probably my toughest ever assignment in the subcontinent. I would race to where the action was but by the time I got there, it would often be over. Running around to get to the right place at the right time was frustrating and photographing in the rain was quite a challenge. Working in flooded streets was also difficult and dangerous.

I spent four days in Porbandar on the Gujarat coast wading around the streets in chest or waist-deep water.

Water that was filled with bloated Seasonal Magazine

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More Indian Than an Indian ‘Jodhpur’

animal carcasses and other waste material. Every night when I returned to my flooded hotel, empty except for a night watchman, I would wash my shriveled feet in disinfectant. To my horror, about three-quarters of the city was underwater – people were living on their roofs, they had no fresh water and no food. But it was fascinating how people could persevere through these situations and actually cope and do well under such difficult circumstances. That story was a defining experience for me.

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Why I Keep Coming Back After all these years and all these trips to India, it doesn’t feel like I’m stepping back in time anymore. To its credit, India has a very distinct culture and way of doing things even as the world becomes more global.

Take Singapore, for example. There are a lot of wonderful things about Singapore and it’s great for international business, but it’s hard to identify what is unique to Singapore. Whereas in India, that

‘Kashmir’

Indian character or Indian-ness is very strong and you feel this strong pride in its cultural identity with the music, the food, the cinema, the literature and the way people dress.

‘Cambodia’

With globalization, there’s an irrefutable trend towards homogeneity. Take Delhi, where I first landed – the main shopping area was Connaught Place.

The individual vendors and the momn-pop shops that have been there for a hundred years are going away, and what’s left are these cookie cutter chain businesses. A shopping mall in India and a shopping mall in, say, Belgium or Kansas City, have a sameness to them. There’s no denying the fact that the new Delhi airport is identical to virtually a thousand airports around the world. It’s inevitable. We’re all merging, becoming homogenous in

what we eat, the music we listen to.

New architecture in India is no different than it is in Norway or Cape Town or Montevideo or Auckland.

I don’t know if this makes it harder for me to tell meaningful stories about India, because what remains arresting in visual terms is that there’s still a tremendous amount of street life here.

There’s so much in India that you don’t see to the same extent in Europe or the US – people working, eating, sleeping on the streets. There’s a lot more human activity that you have access to and that’s the one thing that’s so wonderful about walking around in a city or a village. Human behavior and how people relate to each other, to the environment and to animals is much more visible in India than in other places.

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More Indian Than an Indian

‘Amitabh Bachchan’ What I look for in subjects is not what they’re wearing but the character in somebody’s face. In the end it’s all about the person, a face that tells an interesting story. You don’t want to rely solely on attire – I’m interested in human stories and human behavior, and the personality of the person I’m photographing.

It’s interesting because when we look back in 50 years, our work will be a testament to the way we were. In New York, 50 or 70 years ago, all men wore hats. Today, no one does unless it’s for the cold. In India, you didn’t have to be Sikh or Rajasthani to wear headgear.

But today it’s not easy to spot a turban, even in a small town.

We’ll look back and marvel at our past, at a vanishing way of life. And we’ll be surprised and amused at how we once were, with a local culture that was unique.

What I’m Excited About Next The last story I worked on in India, about four years ago, was on the Rabari, a semi-nomadic shepherd community based in Rajasthan and Seasonal Magazine

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Gujarat. They seasonally take their flocks of animals to graze and look for water, but this way of life is changing too because of roads and fences and urbanization. There used to be all these wide, open spaces, but now these people have to walk down the side of a highway. It’s becoming very complicated, or even impossible, to take a herd of cattle down such routes.

It’s a vanishing way of life.

There are other projects I’d like to work on in India, particularly in Calcutta. You have a real sense of the past in Calcutta, and you also have a very strong sense of Bengali culture. It’s a teeming city with a wonderful chaos.

You have so many people coming onto the streets and it remains visually rich – the Durga puja statues are a unique thing in the world. The colonial architecture that’s still there transports you to another time. You don’t get that in a lot of places anymore. If Calcutta was in China, they would have torn all that down and you’d have aluminum and glass in its place. But Calcutta has retained its unique personality.

Another thing I’d still like to do in India is to take a road, a long highway.

Travelling through the country on this one route, it would be fascinating to see how life is along this particular thread that runs through India. Writers and photographers have been taking road trips and writing about their journeys since the beginning of time, but I think that it would be a nice way to explore the range of cultures and the different levels of society. The journey and the people you meet along the way become an interesting tale to be told.

People value my work now, but I don’t feel any different today than I did 20 or 30 years ago. It’s wonderful and I appreciate people responding to my work, because in the end, I want to communicate and tell stories. I think writers and photographers want to share their view of the world. We want to take note of the things that fascinate us and show it to people and say that this was the most remarkable thing I saw. Or take something poignant or profound and share that. We probably wouldn’t write or photograph if we were alone in the world, because then, who would see it? Who would care?

(Text from Grist Media)

SM

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BUSINESS IN-FOCUS

Joyalukkas Group Defying Gravity, To Cross 100 Showrooms in 10 Countries Soon There is no doubt that gold retailing business in India has been coming down year-onyear during the past few months, but Joyalukkas is apparently defying this gravity by continuing with its expansion spree. However, there is a clear shift in strategy, with each new location selected with ever more care than ever before.

The Group is also strengthening its diversifications into malls and chartered airlines.

asically a Middle East and South India based gold retailer, Joyalukkas recently launched what would be the beginning of a careful expansion into major North Indian markets as well as an international expansion outside of Middle East.

Joyalukkas’ first jewellery showrooms in Gujarat - at Vadodara and Ahmedabad - have been recently inaugurated by their global brand ambassador and Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan.

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VIPs as well as key leaders of the Group - Joy Alukkas, Chairman & MD, PP Jose, Executive Director, and PD Jose, Deputy General Manager, Gold.

Following the signature Joyalukkas large format designs, the showrooms at both Vadodara and Ahmedabad will be home to over 1 million designs across a range of gold, diamond, precious stones, polki platinum and pearl jewellery.

This expansion takes the Joyalukkas Group into a new orbit, and away from the overcrowded and saturated retail market in the South.

The next two North Indian outlets are being planned at Surat and Rajkot, which will come up in this fiscal itself. Ten more showrooms are being planned in the next year, with two in Mumbai, and one each in Pune and Kolkata. Of the other six showrooms, five would be in Andhra Pradesh and one in Karnataka.

Joyalukkas’ investment per outlet is around Rs. 60 crore, making this an impressive expansion plan, given the challenging environment for gold retailing in India. But Chairman Joy Alukkas is unfazed as he expects his branded and

VADODARA

professional chain offering innovations like Clear Price Tag (CPT) to garner market share.

markets, where there is a sizeable Asian population, with priority for cities with high Indian population.

On the overseas front, Joyalukkas’ next two stops will be New York and Qatar. Another showroom is also coming up in Malaysia. The noted retailer eventually plans to target all the largest international

The Joyalukkas Group is also pursuing major diversifications into malls and chartered flights.

Branded as ‘Mall of Joy’, the first one will be unveiled in Thrissur in Kerala this year. Another five malls

will soon be coming up at Kochi, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Palakkad, & Thiruvananthapuram. One ‘Mall of Joy’ is also being planned at Dubai.

The malls will have an area of 1.5-2 lakh sq ft and will deliver an “upgraded wedding concept” offering all marriage-related essentials under one roof. Its retail mix will feature two anchor stores, namely, jewellery and silks. The others will range from fashion and clothing, cosmetics, watches, footwear, crockery, coffee shop, restaurant, beauty parlour etc.

Ample parking area will be provided at all malls.

To augment its chartered flight operations, the Group is also acquiring two more long-haul aircrafts which will be introduced this year. The first one to arrive seats 8 passengers and can travel 2,000 nautical miles at one go.

AHMEDABAD

The Indian operations clocked Rs. 4000 crore in revenues last fiscal, while the overseas operations recorded Rs. 6000 crore. Next year, Joyalukkas is planning to grow at least by 20% to reach an overall turnover of Rs. 12,000 crore.

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INSURANCE

IS LIC PLANNING TO STAY AHEAD? It is still outperforming private players. It is still India’s largest institutional investor. But with no comparable peers to benchmark itself to, is LIC really performing to its potential? The question becomes all the more relevant as LIC is running its massive insurance and investment businesses with the hard-earned savings of millions of individual Indians and their families. ife Insurance Corporation of India is continuing to perform better than private sector peers. But the Government owned life insurer may be heading to face more challenging times.

Even though LIC continued to outpace private insurers in the first half of this fiscal (H1), the gap is narrowing. While 23 private sector players’ premium income grew 4.55 percent in H1, LIC’s grew higher at 7.26%.

The relatively small gap in growth percentages is even more visible in absolute terms, as private insurers’ premium income of Rs. 12,150 crore Seasonal Magazine

is starting to look not too small compared with LIC’s Rs. 37,906 crore.

LIC also can’t take comfort from the fact that it is one against 23 players.

Most of them are small players, and the private life insuring industry is really dominated by a handful of formidable players like ICICI Prudential, HDFC Standard Life, SBI Life, & Reliance Life.

The rest of the pack are much smaller in size, like Sahara Life, Edelweiss Tokio, Future Generali etc, which offer not much in competition to LIC, and where growth has also been muted.

In contrast, one of the larger players,

Reliance Life, has performed impressively in H1, managing to grow their premium collection by nearly 80%, from Rs. 570 crore to Rs. 1022 crore. Though the rise can largely be attributed to growth in group premium, LIC can’t afford to ignore it, as individual policies has been facing stronger headwinds in recent years.

Even though Reliance Life’s performance is unique, with all other private majors - ICICI Prudential, HDFC Standard Life, & SBI Life witnessing declines in premium growth, their pedigree and operational reach can’t be underestimated, as all three are backed by some of the largest private and public sector banks in the country.

If all of them start getting their act together, LIC will be in for a challenging time. Because unlike LIC, where the brand recall is just once or twice in a policy’s lifespan, or at the

most yearly, the customers of these bancassurance firms interact with the parent bank at least on a weekly basis, through various channels like ATM, PoS, Credit Card, Netbanking, Mobile Alerts, or even branch visits.

What that boils down to is the fact that LIC has to be much more aggressive in its branding activities. Instead, what prospective customers find is that

Even though LIC continued to outpace private insurers in the first half of this fiscal (H1), the gap is narrowing.

private players are much more aggressive in branding and marketing communication.

LIC is currently playing to its strengths of greater trust and early mover advantage. Maybe some large players, like say Reliance Life ,doesn’t enjoy the trust level of LIC. But what about banks like SBI, ICICI, & HDFC? Most customers would agree that all of them are at least as trusted as LIC in their own core domain of banking. So, it is only a matter of time that their insurance operations too catch up with LIC on the trust factor.

As an aside, it is remarkable that even a private insurer like Reliance Life which doesn’t enjoy the trustworthiness of a major bank as parent, is doing the maximum it can, i.e. pursue gr owth in group insurance where trust requirement is relatively low.

In short, as years roll on, Life Insurance

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Corporation of India will get only diminishing returns from the trust factor. That the other pillar of its current momentum - early mover advantage - will also be lost progressively, is a no-brainer.

Another famed operational advantage of LIC viz. its uniquely massive agent army also has the possibility of not only losing its edge, but even becoming a liability. Times are changing rapidly, and tech enabled sales and self-service channels like web, mobile, and high-traffic thirdparty insurance portals can render the agent workforce irrelevant. Also, the bancassurance players like SBI, ICICI, & HDFC already have a captive prospect base, which make direct selling and bundling much easier.

LIC of India also needs to ensure that it doesn’t botch up on the trust factor, as it has another dimension to its operation - stock market investments - tha t holds the potential to wreak havoc on this trust.

Ever since the global economic meltdown hit India in late 2008, LIC has been proactively supporting the government, its PSUs, and its PSU banks by way of equity and debt participation. In recent quarters this has crossed all limits, with expectations from LIC rising, for bailing out everything from PSU/PSB share sale plans to PSU bank bond sales.

The latest instance of this has been LIC mopping up most of the Basel III compliant debt bonds sold by PSU banks in recent quarters. Most institutional investors have been shying away from these bonds due to the perceived higher risk and ambiguity of these new instruments.

Participation in equities and bonds, for anything other than sustainable profits, can prove to be deadly in the long run.

Deadly not only for the investor - LIC of India - but for the millions of ordinary Indians who have entrusted LIC with their hard-earned savings.

One serious misstep from the part of the government or LIC can erode the trust factor for ever.

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Sushobhan Sarker , MD

V K Sharma, MD This is also another domain where LIC should be doing more branding and communication than its peers as not only are any of them as big investors as LIC, but being private players their investments are more likely to be purely returns-generating. Through such branding exercises, LIC can put across their transparent investment decisions, to allay such public fears.

Even if a serious trust deficit doesn’t happen from the part of LIC, not basing investment decisions on pure sustainable returns-generation, can strike at LIC’s competitiveness. In fact, it has already started happening.

Despite being the largest investor in the Indian equity market, LIC is not

LIC is currently playing to its strengths of greater trust and early mover advantage.

S.B. Mainak , MD

Usha Sangwan, MD able to market a highly attractive market-linked policy for the public to invest in.

LIC has, of course, been successful in Indian equity markets. But how much of it has been due to its sheer size? With no comparable peer to benchmark, answering that question becomes pretty difficult.

LIC holds the potential to be India’s most returns-generating investor. That is what Warren Buffet has done in the US markets - funnel insurance money from Berkshire Hathway’s insurance business into general equities and bonds in the most discerning way.

As Buffet himself says, there is no business like insurance for its sheer cash-cow nature. While Berkshire Hathway is listed, LIC is not. Even then LIC has the greater incentive to perform. Because by turning into one of the world’s best institutional investors, LIC can market better market-linked policies, strengthening the cash-flow, and that can be the beginning of a new virtuous cycle that none can beat.

INSURANCE

National Insurance Continues its Award Winning Performance

Since the last four years, the country’s oldest general insurance company has also become one of the fastest growing. No wonder then that more and more prestigious industry awards get bestowed on NIC. The main reason for this performance is that under the guidance of leaders like Chairman NSR Chandraprasad and Executive Director AV Girija Kumar, NIC has kept abreast of the competition in not only superior products but superior delivery. olkata-based general insurer, National Insurance Company (NIC), has in the past four fiscals undergone a turnaround, recording benchmarks, amongst others - the industry’s highest growth and accretion.

In the recent fiscal i.e. 2012-13, NIC recorded its Highest PBT ever of Rs. 859 crores, with Rs. 9185 crores premium and accretion of more than Rs. 1300 crores.

National Insurance also enjoys Crisil rating of AAA. Due to its outstanding performance, NIC has been conferred some of the highest corporate awards such as the JD Power Asia Pacific 2010 “Highest in Customer Satisfaction” Award; “Top PSU for Customer Service” (HT-MaRS Survey of India’s Best Medical Insurers).

NSR Chandraprasad, Chairman

NIC is the only general insurance company in India to receive two years in succession the prestigious NDTV Business Leadership Award 2011 and 2012 in the Non Life Insurer category.

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Also for the second time in succession NIC has been awarded the India Insurance Awards: Under –served Market Penetration Award 2013 for reaching insurance to the unrepresented and under served markets and citizenry.

NIC was conferred the award for the Best Insurance Company in Public Sector in the 2nd IPE Institute of Public Enterprise BFSI Awards ceremony held on 29th June 2013.

That NIC has performed well even in a more and more competitive environment is noteworthy. The main reason for this performance is that under the guidance of leaders like Chairman NSR Chandraprasad and Executive Director AV Girija Kumar, NIC has kept abreast of the competition in not only superior products but superior delivery.

NSR Chandraprasad CMD, in recognition of his contribution, was awarded the SKOCH Person of the Year Award as well as the Indian Insurance Awards’ ‘Industry’s Champion for General Insurance’ Award 2013.

The best examples of such innovative products come from National’s health portfolio itself. Apart from the usual Mediclaim policy, NIC has two additional, well-thought of products Parivar Mediclaim and Overseas Mediclaim.

Mediclaim - Employment & Studies’ comes to the aid of those pursuing either studies or employment in foreign lands.

The basic Mediclaim Policy from NIC is also an impressive one. The policy covers hospitalization expenses reasonably and necessarily incurred for treatment of diseases or injury sustained by the insured persons during the policy period. It also covers 140+ day care procedures and surgeries.

NIC’s Parivar Mediclaim policy provides protection to families against the financial burden of treatment in hospitals for diseases and accidental injury. It is a floater policy where the entire family consisting of self, spouse, & two dependent children are covered under a single floater sum insured.

National Insurance also leads its peers when it comes to formulating impressive policies in the other pivotal segment of general insurance viz. Motor Insurance, which accounts for an even larger pie of the total business than health insurance. NIC has tailor-made products for both cars as well as twowheelers, and this has been a booming sector due to the underlying auto boom which has translated to higher premiums. NIC has made strong strategic tie-ups with most major car and bike manufacturers.

Even the Overseas Mediclaim Policy from NIC is quite tailor-made for diverse requirements. While ‘Overseas Mediclaim - Business & Holiday’ helps those who are either on business, holiday, or corporate frequent visits, another version called ‘Overseas

NIC also has significant products and presence in all other general insurance segments like Personal Insurance, Rural Insurance, Industrial Risk Insurance, & Commercial Risk Insurance. National’s products like Householders Policy, Personal Accident Policy, Gramin

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Highest PBT ever of Rs. 859 crores, with Rs. 9185 crores premium and accretion of more than Rs. 1300 crores.

Suraksha Bhima, Gramin Suswastha Bhima, Machinery Insurance, Electronic Equipment Insurance, Fire & Special Perils Insurance, & Shopkeepers Insurance are all welldesigned policies in these sectors.

National also shines when it comes to delivery, both personal as well as online. NIC has more than 1340 offices including more than 373 Business Centres across India, employing more than 15000 skilled employees.

Recently, NIC has also started expanding its micro office architecture into unrepresented rural areas, which are manned by just one officer, but does almost all the work of a conventional office.

NIC’s impressive online foray has resulted in a robust and versatile system by which not only premium payments but purchase of new policies as well as renewals can be done entirely online.

Payment methods are quite versatile including net banking, credit card, debit card, NEFT/RTGS, swipe cards at select offices etc.

No wonder then that National Insurance has bagged ‘Best in Service’ awards in the Motor and Health sectors of General Insurance, apart from numerous other awards.

NIC is now all set to zoom ahead in general insurance, if not for anything else, for their updated products in the health insurance sector. India is a country where only 15% of the population has some kind of health insurance, and where still 86% of all medical expenses are met out-ofpocket. This gives National unimaginable room for growth.

National’s ideals of Prompt Service, Hassle Free Process, & Fair Settlement is readily appreciated by people seeking general insurance, especially health insurance, as these three values are what customers are really looking for from an insurer. More than 16 million customers generate more than a billion dollar in premiums for National, for pursuing such ideals.

KERALA’S BIGGEST EVER ENTREPRENEURSHIP MEET ochi To host the 2nd edition of TiEcon Kerala 2013, the biggest gathering of entrepreneurs in Kerala. 2000 delegates and 100 speakers to participate. Theme is ‘Prosperity Through Entrepreneurship’. Vision is to promote ‘An entrepreneur in every home’. Bernard A. Harris Jr. NASA Astronaut & Apollo Mission Commander to be the Chief Guest.

TiE Kerala, the state chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a global organization engaged in promoting entrepreneurship through mentoring, networking and education, is hosting the 2nd Edition of TiEcon Kerala 2013 on December 13th & 14th 2013 at the Le Meridien Convention Centre, Kochi. About 2000 delegates from across the state and outside will attend the conference which will be inaugurated by Oommen Chandy, Hon. Chief Minister of Kerala. More than 100 eminent speakers comprising leading entrepreneurs, industrialists, professionals ,venture capitalists, educationalists, mentors and management experts from the county and abroad are expected to address delegates in different sessions spread over two days, C Balagopal, Founder President of TiE Kerala and A V George, Steering Committee Chairman of TiEcon Kerala 2013 said here today.

TiEcon Kerala 2013 has chosen theme ‘Prosperity through Entrepreneurship’. The State Bank of India is the sponsoring organization and the Department of Industries and IT, Government of Kerala is the Strategic Partner of the conference, they informed.

Speaking on the occasion John K Paul, President of TiE Kerala said ‘TiE Kerala which has just completed tenth year of its active presence in the state,

feel confident that with the perceptible change of mindset in people, especially among youth towards entrepreneurship and the more entrepreneur friendly initiatives of the successive state Governments in recent years, the conference would be herald a new era in Kerala’s development’.

‘TiE Kerala would also unfold its vision for the state emphasizing on ‘an entrepreneur in every home’ by 2020,highlighting the increasing importance of entrepreneurship in creating economic prosperity and the need for youth to become more job creators instead of job seekers’ he announced.

Welcoming the Kerala Government’s declaration of September 12th as the Entrepreneurship Day John informed that it is an important milestone in the path of entrepreneurship development in the state and TiE actively supported the move by all members addressing students of selected professional colleges across the state on the day’.

The philanthropic mission of TiE is to inspire and nurture next highpotential entrepreneurs with the aim of driving innovation and job-creation across industries. With this in view the chapter constantly evolves suitable and effective entrepreneurship programs that attract, inspire, develop and support future entrepreneurs’ John added.

The conference will discuss opportunities and challenges thrown up both in traditional and new areas by the entrepreneurship age. Many prominent entrepreneurs from variety of sectors will share their ideas and rich experience with delegates.

Mentoring Sessions for new entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalists’ Counseling, Networking Opportunities etc are other important features of the conference. There will also be a business plan contest for professional college students and the winners will have an opportunity to present their plans investors.

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FASHION

Kochi Fashion Week Entertains s the curtains were drawn on the Kingfisher ULTRA Kochi Fashion Week, designers AD Singh, Ishita Singh & Aslam Khan presented the perfect ode to Kochi’s biggest and most premium fashion showcase.

AD Singh, known for his stylish bridal and evening wear, began the night with his collection focusing on fashion’s continuing passion for shine, sheen and crystal gleam. The garments were encrusted with Swarovski crystals resulting in flamboyant ultrafeminine bridal couture. The range comprised a varied trousseau – rich gowns, lehenghas & anarkalis.

Bollywood actress, Manjari Phadnis walked the ramp as the showstopper adding further sensuality to the show.

The next show by Ishita Singh was inspired by the old world charm of her home town - Hyderabad. While in line

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with her mantra of Indian sensibility, style and simplicity, Ishita infused newness into her collection with chic elements of shine & hues. The treasures of Hyderabad’s by lanes were seen in the bangles & shoes while the royalty was represented by touches of velvet. Insisting on creating clothes which will never go out of fashion, her pieces can be mixed and matched throughout the season. Preethi Chauhan, Miss Universe Finalist 2013 walked the ramp in great élan dressed in a gorgeous flowing creation.

Continuing the momentum of high fashion, Aslam Khan presented a tailored couture collection of contemporary cuts and bright colors.

Style diva Meera Chopra, Bollywood Actress left the audience spellbound as she modeled the highlight piece from the collection.

Day 3 of the Kingfisher ULTRA Kochi Fashion Week saw a host of

spectacular designs and patterns ranging from ethnic couture to resort wear. Designers Jattinn Kochhar, Sagar Tenali & Sanjana Jon wowed the crowd as they presented their exquisite collections.

Jattinn Kochhar set the tempo for the evening with his collection ‘Right now, Right here’ inspired by a happy childhood. A mélange of easy, free flowing and draped gowns, midis, toga dresses teamed with knit turbans in pop shades of happiness such as lemon, kiwi, tangerine & fuschia. Ex- Miss India Natasha Suri was the perfect showstopper as she carried off her chic outfit with great panache.

The second show presented by Hyderabad based designer Sagar Tenali featured his signature line of Couture & Prêt for men and women. Anarkalis, Lehengas and Sherwanis in a contemporary mix of modern cuts, traditional colours and intricate embroidery bore testament to his excellent craftsmanship and high attention to detail. The high energy show was brought to a finish by the beautiful actress, Sweta Menon who walked the ramp in a rich ethnic creation.

Bringing the day to a close, was humanitarian & designer Sanjana Jon. She will exhibit designs that imbibe the spirit of ethnic Kerala and go back to the state’s traditional textile roots. She dedicated her show to the cause of raising awareness for ‘Save the Girl Child’ campaign.

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GADGETS

Should You Upgrade to a New Android 4.4 KitKat Device?

The KitKat update to the Android OS brings some visual changes, including more immersive graphics, as well as deeper integration with Google's intelligent assistant, Google Now, among other changes and improvements. Here's a list of the top-10 new features of Android 4.4.KitKat, to help you decide whether to upgrade to a KitKat device.

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1. User Interface Tweaks: Android 4.4 KitKat offers a translucent menu bar located at the bottom of the screen, and new transition effects when you open the app launcher. The OS offers fullscreen wallpapers with preview and the wallpapers now extend through the notification tray as well, in addition to the navigation buttons.

The new OS brings a more immersive experience by hiding the status bar and navigation buttons when the user is reading a book, or playing a game or watching a movie. They can just swipe the edge of the screen to bring back the status bar and navigation buttons on KitKat. The lock-screen widgets for music and movies apps now also offer the option to seek and jump to a specific part. The Quick Settings notifications menu toggles also add a 'location settings' toggle. A new Emoji keyboard for emoticons has also been included in the native Google Keyboard. Android 4.4 KitKat will also show full-screen album and movie art if content is being streamed to another device such as a Chromecast.

2. New Dialler, Caller ID: The new phone app now automatically prioritises the users' contacts based on the people they talk to the most. Users can also search for nearby places and businesses, contacts, or people in their Google Apps domain directly from the Phone app. If they get a call from a phone number that is not saved in their contacts, the phone will look for matches from businesses with a local listing on Google Maps.

3. Unified Hangouts Messaging App: As we reported a few days back, Android 4.4 brings acallid.jpg new unified messaging app, with Hangouts getting SMS and MMS integration, in addition to offering instant messaging through Google accounts (erstwhile Google Talk). Hangouts now also allows users to share their location and send animated GIFs.

4. Smarter Google Now Integration: While the voice-activated always-on search assistant was first seen in the Moto X, Android 4.4 extends it to the Nexus 5, allowing users to just say "OK Google" when in the home screen to launch the Google Now assistant and do a voice search, send a text, get directions or even play a song. Google Now can be launched by simply swiping to the left instead of swiping from the bottom, at least on the Nexus 5. It's not clear if the feature would reach other Android 4.4 devices. Google also says, that in the coming weeks, it's enhancing Google Now with new card types that bring information about contextual topics that interest users such as updates from a favourite website or blog.

5. Better Support for Cloud Printing: Users will now be able to print photos, documents, and web pages from their phone or tablet through any printer connected to Google Cloud Print, HP ePrint printers, and via other printers that have apps in the Google Play Store.

Android 4.4 offers native platform support for printing, and includes APIs for managing printing and adding new types of printer support, according to Google. "Users can discover available printers, change paper sizes, choose specific pages to print, and print almost any kind of document, image, or file," mentions Google in the OS release notes.

6. Chrome WebView: Android apps that feature web content now use Chrome to render web components accurately and quickly.

Chromium WebView supports HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript. It supports most of the HTML5 features available in Chrome for Android 30.

7. Step Detector, Counter: Android 4.4 brings platform support for two new composite sensors,kk-sensorsruntastic-n5.jpg step detector and step counter allowing users to track steps

when they're walking, running, or climbing stairs, via apps and hardware that offer the feature. The Nexus 5 offers the two sensors and Google says it's working with its chipset partners to bring them to new devices as soon as possible.

8. Enhanced Connectivity: Android 4.4 also brings support for the Message Access Profile (MAP) enabling Bluetooth-enabled cars to exchange messages with Android devices. It also supports Bluetooth HID over GATT (HOGP) offering apps a low-latency link with low-power peripheral devices such as mice, joysticks, and keyboards. Android 4.4 also introduces platform support for built-in IR blasters, and a new API and system service for developers to build apps that can leverage them. This means the IR Blaster, present in the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One will now be usable. Android 4.4 also supports WiFi Tunneled Direct Link Setup (TDLS), a way to stream media and other data faster between devices already on the same Wi-Fi network.

9. Better Accessibility: Android 4.4 offers system-wide preferences for 'closed captioning'.

Apps that offer video can access the user's captioning settings and adjust the display of the captions as per the user's preferences.

10. Screen Recording: Android 4.4 offers support for screen recording, and includes a screen recording utility that lets users capture video as they use the device and store it as an MP4 file.

This also allows developers, reviewers and end-users to create walkthroughs and tutorials for apps, testing materials, and marketing videos, among others. So, these were the most exciting features of the new OS. Google's Nexus 5 is already being shipped with Android 4.4, KitKat, and the OS will soon be available on the Nexus 4, Nexus 7, Nexus 10, the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One Google Play edition devices in the coming weeks.

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CRICKET

Before Sachin, there was Anil

When Sachin Tendulkar started out, Anil Gurav was Mumbai's brightest star, offering him tips and once a bat. As Sachin calls it a day, Bharat Sundaresan meets the man who disappeared into the shadows. ar, far away from Wankhede Stadium and even further away from the man who is the cynosure of it, in a 200sq ft cramped dwelling with paint peeling off the walls, lurks another Sachin story.

of beyond in Mumbai parlance, 26 stations away from Churchgate if you board a slow train. To get there though is only the beginning of the ordeal.

While the main market area in this outlying suburb bustles with activity, the only way to 'Tulinge Naka' is via a treacherous potholed road.

On most days, at most hours, on a bare rickety bed here, in Mumbai's Nalasopara, you can find Anil Gurav.

The smell of cheap alcohol rests around him, as do years of pain in his wild, staring, glazed eyes. It's his memory that remains the sharpest, particularly so these days. And as the Tendulkar story draws to a glorious end, these memories have been flooding back to Gurav: of how it was he who had once been the chosen one, of being called the Viv Richards of Mumbai, the next big thing from the city since Sunil Gavaskar, of playing with that curly haired boy from Bandra who had always been so talented, of teaching him a few tricks, and of once, long, long ago, lending a cricket bat with which the boy would hit his first competitive century one of a historic many.

Deep down in one of its narrowest lanes, lies a "landmark", 'Trimbak Bungalow', in reality as dilapidated as its neighbouring slums. A walk past a few tattered shanties, side-stepping dog faeces and an overflowing drain, leads one to Kholi No. 5.

Gurav also remembers every bitter detail about how he lost his own way, partly to many things beyond his control. Particularly a brother who strayed to the other, darker side of Mumbai. Nalasopara itself is the back Seasonal Magazine

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There are some in the locality who are aware Gurav was once a cricketer. His achievements they know of only vaguely. To most, Gurav is what he seems: a 48-year-old incorrigible drunk striving to keep his family together.

There was a time though when it was on his stumps that famed coach Ramakant Achrekar had placed a coin first a sign in Mumbai cricket circles that meant you were the chosen one.

Before Sachin, there was Gurav.

As he tells his story, we are constantly interrupted, by nosy neighbours either peeping through the window or the open door. Some smile wryly. Some shake their head in disgust. Some even dismiss his story as an inebriated rant.

Gurav ignores them.

The boys mockingly invite Gurav to participate in their cricket matches before slandering him. And they speak in whispers about how he will go to any extent for his next drink even if it means cleaning gutters or selling off the trophies and medals he once won. He keeps on talking.

Things were a lot different 25 years ago, says Gurav, his eyes giving away little, except when they light up as he describes a shot with a flick of his wrists or recalls one of his many aggressive knocks. That was when the stylish righthander would set off a buzz every time he arrived at the crease. When Gurav cut the ball, it would slice through the grass. Every hook shot that he sent sailing over the outfield from under his nose would invoke raptures of applause.

In mid-'80s the murmurs were that the maidans were witnessing the arrival of the next big thing from Mumbai since Sunil Gavaskar.

Among the ardent fans were Sachin and Vinod Kambli, who would often spend hours watching Gurav bat in the nets or were asked to observe his stroke-play by their coach. "Sachin loved my cut and hook shot. He also took a few tips regarding how to go about playing with as much power as me," says Gurav.

Former Mumbai cricketer and a Sachin confidant, Rajesh Sutar, remembers that everyone from Achrekar's nets thought it would be Gurav among them who would go on to play for India. "He was called the Viv Richards of Mumbai at that point. Even Sachin used to admire his batting a lot," Sutar says.

They also remember that he had the audacity to overrule coach Achrekar's stringent rules and continue playing

tennis-ball tournaments.

Mangesh Bhalekar, another noted maidan coach, remembers people bunking work to watch Gurav take an opposition attack apart.

Even as Sachin began stealing some of his thunder, Gurav remained the star of Mumbai's upcoming batting talent, representing Bombay Schools and the Bombay U-19 team.

Talking about the time he lent Sachin his bat, Gurav says: "I was his captain at Sassanian (the cricket club). He wanted to use my bat but was too shy to ask me directly. The request came through Ramesh Parab (now the international scorer at Wankhede), and I told Sachin he could use it provided he made a big score. He said, 'I will sir', and went on to score a century with my

SG bat," he says.

He also was blessed in a way, everything happened at the right time for him.

Most importantly, he had a great background, "says Gurav.

"Background is everything," he adds, after a pause.

A deep breath later, his stained teeth breaking into a huge smile, Gurav says: "Imagine Sachin called me 'sir' back then."

Gurav's highest score came for Bombay Schools, 135, in a crunch match, where he overshadowed the likes of Sulakshan Kulkarni, the current Mumbai coach, and a few others who would go on to play Ranji Trophy.

His story, of course, would take a completely different tangent. And as he fell from grace, it would coincide with the rise of Sachin.

"Sachin was always special. He had all the shots and a great temperament. He also was blessed in a way, everything happened at the right time for him. Most importantly, he had a great background," says Gurav. "Background is everything," he adds, after a pause.

Gurav should know. Around the time he was scoring his big hits in the maidan, younger brother Ajit was climbing the ranks elsewhere as a sharp-shooter for a famous local gang in Parel, where the Guravs originally hail from. As Gurav moved from Western Railway to New India Assurance for better cricketing opportunities, Ajit rose into the upper echelons of crime, bringing the city police in hot pursuit.

The association would prove costly, says Gurav, notwithstanding all the laurels he was earning in the field. A top police officer who later became very well-known, he says, kept picking him and his mother up in their search for Ajit.

"He would question my mother and me repeatedly and then take us away. They would beat us up, me more than her.

Luckily I still had a name in the cricket circuit, and someone would come to my help. But not before they had left me in no condition to stand," Gurav shudders.

Mother Sumitra, who lives with Gurav and his family, points to her swollen knees, before breaking down. "Anil could at least get away because someone would recognise him or he would show them a few photos of his Seasonal Magazine

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cricketing achievements. I had no such option. They would keep me for days, even up to a month," she claims.

Gurav reels off the names of the police stations he was taken to. While he still played cricket at this time, it got more and more difficult to keep up with the game. "I was afraid every time I walked out to the field," he recalls. "I didn't know when they would come for me."

Finally, desperate to distance himself from his brother, Gurav and his mother moved to Nalasopara in early 1990s.

They hoped that the police wouldn't find them there. "After a while, they caught up with us there too," he says.

While Ajit would also land up at times, mostly in the middle of the night, to meet their mother, Gurav says he "just ignored his presence".

The memories of what happened after one such visit still haunt him. "They came in five vehicles, some 20-odd cops, and surrounded the place. I was having dinner and before I knew it, there were two revolvers placed on either side of my head. They had never laid eyes on Ajit so they presumed I was him.

They dragged my mother and me away.

Somehow my brother escaped yet again," he recalls.

This time Gurav was made to spend a night in lock-up and sleep on the cold floor with criminals for company. "I was tied upside down and beaten. They broke my leg. The torture was inconceivable," he says.

As he remembers that night "mother had made mutton that day," he whispers Gurav suddenly clutches his head and starts rubbing his temples. His eyes redden, though there are no tears.

By 1994, Gurav had made a name for himself at New India Assurance (NIA), and using some influence there, he finally convinced the police that he had no ties with his brother anymore. That was the end of the police pursuit, say the mother and son.

In Mumbai Police records, Ajit remains untraceable and still wanted. Gurav and Sumitra claim to have not seen him in years.

While those nightly knocks ended, by Seasonal Magazine

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that time Gurav's cricketing career was also over. He took to heavy drinking.

While he continued to work as a clerk at NIA, his life was now in a free fall.

Gurav remembers avoiding any contact with Achrekar, the man who first spotted the cricketing spark in him, as he did in several of his legendary pupils.

However, five years ago, he did bump into Achrekar at a local match. "It was in the afternoon and I was drunk. We didn't acknowledge each other for a while and then he suddenly signalled to me, asking me to join him. All he said was, 'Khelaayla shikavle mee, daaru pyaayla naahi (I taught you how to bat, I don't remember having taught you how to drink). What have you done to your life?'," recalls Gurav, shutting his eyes.

Sutar admits that family problems played a huge role in Gurav's downfall, but he also recollects his former teammate failing to perform to his potential on the big stage. "The sad part is that when it was needed the most, Gurav missed out. He was a prolific runscorer but whenever any selector came

Former Mumbai cricketer and a Sachin confidant, Rajesh Sutar, remembers that everyone from Achrekar's nets thought it would be Gurav among them who would go on to play for India. "He was called the Viv Richards of Mumbai at that point. Even Sachin used to admire his batting a lot," Sutar says.

to watch him, he never scored big runs," he says.

That's another piercing memory for Gurav. It was an inter-Railways match between Western and Northern in 1986 at Karnail Singh Stadium in Delhi. "The selectors were there and told me I was one century away from being picked for the Railways Ranji team. I raced to 84 and was confident, and then just lost my nerve. The leg-spinner was Durga Prasad and I jumped out of my crease and attempted a shot that I never used to, an ugly hoick over mid-wicket, missed the ball and was stumped. That shot still haunts me in my sleep. That shot changed my life," says Gurav.

He diligently preserves now the remaining proof of what could have been holding on to all his certificates and newspaper cuttings of all the matches where his name is mentioned, some kept in files but most of them folded under his mattress.

In that small house, that's his sanctuary.

Talking about his wife Anita, Gurav lights an imaginary fire, adding she is

"aag (fire)". His sons have only heard stories of Gurav's cricketing days, stories that miserably pale both in the harsh light of their surroundings and the harsher light of the missed possibilities.

Yash, 10, is too young to say as much, but Aniket, 18 Gurav says without much bitterness long gave up on him.

Aniket is gone for most part of the day from home, returning only around midnight. He scored 85 per cent in his recent Class XII examinations, Gurav adds proudly. "I am pursuing a banking and insurance degree from MMK College in Bandra. By 3 pm I'm at Nariman Point for a traineeship at NIA, from where I leave at around 8.30 pm.

I got the job through my father's reference but I don't talk to him. I have gone through his paper-cuttings a few times but I don't think much of them," Aniket says.

The sport the 18-year-old was closer to was chess, in which he won several competitions across Nalasopara.

Alone in that home, with only his indulgent mother for company, regret hangs almost constantly around Gurav.

"When I was at the peak of my powers, I always made the right choices with the bat. Didn't matter who the bowler was or where he was bowling, I always knew which shot to play and which ball to leave. Unfortunately I made all the wrong choices in my life off the field," he shrugs.

"I always had good friends like Sachin," Gurav adds. "But I chose to be with the wrong ones, and look where it's left me."

He did run into Sachin once after he began his descent. On a rare occasion

that he had donned cricketing whites, he ran into him at the Islam Gymkhana at Marine Lines, in the early 1990s.

"I was just leaving the ground when I saw this melee. Sachin was getting into his car, with some 10 security guys holding back the crowd. Somehow he spotted me, and called me over. We could only speak for a couple of minutes, but he asked me to come over to his house," recalls Gurav.

A few days later, he went to La Mer, Sachin's old residence, only to be told that the cricketer had left for England the previous evening.

"My main intention was to take my bat back. The SG one that he never returned. That was the only bat I ever owned in my life. I hope to meet him after retirement and ask him to return it, since he's not using it," he says.

Gurav also hangs on to the hope of starting over himself, having signed up for the Alcoholics Anonymous programme in Nalasopara. "One at a time, one at a time," he repeats a slogan learnt from his first AA meeting.

He is confident of sticking to what he has been told, to wake up each morning and convince himself not to drink that day, and to keep going like that.

But then the day drags on and, away from the flashlights of Wankhede, the shadows creep in long and fast. Gurav suddenly asks for some money, "Aaj aapke naam pe ek 90 ml (Today a toast to you for 90 ml)."

You are not surprised. That penny on Gurav's stumps dropped a long time ago.

(Credit : Indian Express)

SM

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LUXURY Michael K or Kor orss honor honorss World FFood ood Da Dayy with mon th-long global month-long initia tiv e tto o fight hunger initiativ tive Luxury fashion brand designer, Michael Kors, is dedicating the entire month of October to fight hunger. On World Food Day, October 16, Michael Kors teams took to the streets outside six stores in five major cities to give away Watch Hunger Stop T-shirts. In each of the cities - New York, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Hong Kong – all that T-shirt recipients had to do was enter the participating store, get into a photo both (actually, a Phhhoto Station) and have their picture taken. The Phhhoto images were streamed live all day and evening on billboards in New York City’s Times Square and on Kors’ dedicated microsite, WatchHungerStop.com. The image (an animated GIF) was also sent to participants via text and shared over social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter using #WatchHungerStop. To further support fundraising efforts that began last spring, when Michael Kors announced a longterm partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), customers in Michael Kors retail stores around the world can add a $5, $10 or $25 donation to WFP to their purchases for the month of October. Stores will also prominently feature the 100 Series watch, specially designed by Michael Kors to support WFP. For each watch sold, 100 children in a hunger-stricken area receive a nutritious meal. “The response to Watch Hunger Stop has been amazing,” says the designer. “We delivered one and a half million meals to children in less than six months, and we’ve only just begun. Our hope for World Food Day is to get people talking about hunger, and about the many ways they can help address the problem.

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So theb y’s Hong K ong Sotheb theby’s Kong se orld rrec ec or d ffor or setts a w world ecor ord any whit e diamond a white att auc tion uction Sotheby’s Hong Kong has set a new world auction record for any white diamond when it sold a magnificent 118.28-carat oval D-colour Flawless diamond for HK$238.68 million (US$30.06 million). Discovered in 2011 from the deep mines in Southern Africa, the 299 carat rough of the diamond was one of the largest and most beautiful diamond roughs found in recent years.

Carefully and meticulously worked over a period of months, the resulting stone was the largest D colour Flawless diamond ever to appear at auction.

Est ee LLa auder in tr oduc es stee intr troduc oduce eC olor C ello Sho ne w Pur new Pure Color Cello Shotts Estee Lauder’s new Pure Color Cello Shots gives a new way of adding colour to your personality. This collection of soft gels and water-light finishes washes lips and illuminates cheeks with a subtle glow of fresh colour for a look of radiant, effervescent beauty. Designed to brighten and excite, the Pure Color Cheek Rush is a lightweight, innovative, transparent gel that provides cheeks with a pop of sheer, juicy colour for a fresh-faced look. The waterbased formula leaves cheeks feeling hydrated through an infusion of natural extracts and moisturizing ingredients. Oilfree and non-acnegenic as well as dermatologist and ophthalmologist-tested, Pure Color Cheek Rush is packaged in a shade-matched, high-gloss finish pump bottle with a silk-screened golden collar and Estée Lauder logo.

Moe Moett Henne Hennesssy ates & Wine Est Winess sta Moët Hennessy India has announced the launch of Chandon Brut and Chandon Brut Rosé, two sparkling wines made from grapes grown in the Nashik region, India.

Chandon will be the first offering from Moët Hennessy Estates & Wines to be produced in and especially for India. The wines are available at INR 1200 for Chandon Brut and INR 1400 for Chandon Brut Rosé, and can be seen at select wine retailers, hotels, restaurants and bars in the city. Following the launch in Mumbai, the wines will be introduced in New Delhi in November 2013 and all other major cities across India through 2014. Moët Hennessy has invested in a state-of-theart green field winery in Dindori, a subregion of the Nashik district, known for growing high-quality grapes.

Lanc ôme la unche ancôme launche unchess Visionnair eY eux and isionnaire Yeux Tein isionnair e eintt V Visionnair isionnaire With the success of Lancome’s Visionnaire serum, the brand now takes the range a step further to recreate beautiful skin, by launching two new products: Visionnaire Yeux and Teint Visionnaire Visionnaire Yeux is the first eye contour care to incorporate the LR2412 molecule to provide immediate and long terms effectiveness against dark circles and wrinkles. Suitable for all skin types, Visionnaire Yeux also corrects, brightens and smoothens the eye area.

Teint Visionnaire foundation also contains the LR2414 molecule and flawlessly evens out the complexion and improves the appearances of pores and wrinkles. Comprising of a correcting concealer as well, it combines perfect coverage and natural finish. Time to add that extra charm to your face!

Paul&Shark’s Herit age Heritage Logo ccollec ollec tion no w in ollection now st or es stor ore

Paying tribute to understated luxury in its FW13 collection, Paul&Shark’s Heritage Logo Collection is an expression of the most traditional spirit of the brand with its three-coloured logo. It takes us back to the classics that the brand has been known for, while offering a great interpretation to this concept. The Heritage Logo Collection combines cloth and nylon with knitted edges and down padding. Ultra-light leather is a key feature this season. This collection is mainly presented in navy blue. The small patch of logo in navy blue becomes the most prominent icon, complemented by navy auxiliary materials in different fabrics to bring out the sedate and grand air of the piece that is typically Paul&Shark.

Fendi pr esen pre sentts the BeBague BeBaguettte bag Fendi has created the BeBaguette bag, a reinterpretation of the iconic Baguette which was born in 1997, soon becoming a rage since the beginning. It is modern and bold thanks to its compact shape and the wise use of materials and colours, like the funny orange shearling version. The front pocket reinforces the metropolitan look of the BeBaguette. The bag has versatility by becoming a pochette in the evening yet also being a day bag with a long chain strap available both in gold and silver. Savoir faire and exclusive leathers, like the very soft and precious nappa, the coloured shearling and the luxury version in black croco, makes it a bag both for an elegant and feminine woman and for an urban chic girl.

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LUXURY A. LLange ange & Soehne is re-la unching LLange ange 1 TTourbillon ourbillon e-launching perpe tual ccalendar alendar in perpetual Handw erk sk unst Handwerk erksk skunst A. Lange & Söhne is re-launching its horological opus magnum in a special Handwerkskunst edition limited to 15 timepieces. The Lange 1 Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar Handwerkskunst combines two classic complications with the typical design of A. Lange & Söhne’s most famous wristwatch: the Lange 1.

Intelligently arranged around the time indications, the calendar displays with the patented peripheral month ring deliver a host of information at a single glance: date, day, month, leap year, and moon phase. A decisive asset: all perpetual calendar displays advance instantaneously. They are so harmoniously integrated in the dial architecture that it takes a second look to grasp the technical complexity of this horological masterpiece. To assure crisp legibility, the refined tourbillon mechanism with the patented stop function can be observed only on the

Fendi ccelebr elebr ates the 30th elebra anniv er sar equin anniver ersar saryy o off the P Pequin pa ed patttern with limit limited edition sungla sess sunglassse Consisting of multiple little twinkles, the Pequin pattern is unique and proprietary to Fendi. Reintroduced on the 2011 runway, it will be heavily communicated and integrated into all elements of Fendi's product categories in support of Pequin's 30th anniversary this year. The limited edition styling of FS5298R and FS5299R sunglasses, featuring the Pequin design adorned in Swarovski crystals, has therefore been launched. The luminous pattern comes to life through a complex Swarovski crystal laser technique applied to a base covered in gold dust. Making it shinier is the fact that the two styles of glasses hold 220 and 326 Swarovski crystals on the temples!

caseback side. One of the most beautiful creations by the watchmaker, the white gold dial is decorated with a rare combination of tremblage and relief engraving techniques.

Manish Malho tr a la unche ond st or e in Mumbai Malhotr tra launche unchess his sec second stor ore Expanding his presence, Indian designer Manish Malhotra has now launched his second store in Mumbai. Located in Khar West, the store will exclusively house the designer's diffusion line for men and women. This two-storied store is spread over 6000 sq.ft. The decor is contemporary, and the primary colours used are grey and gold, which add an aura of elegance. The collection includes lehengas, saris, a lighter luxe line of

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colour-blocked tunics with pants, cape tunics, sherwani jackets, ghagras and sharara pants for women. Men can choose from a range of bandgalas, shirts and kurtas. The collection showcases works such as Kashmiri, chikankari, and phulkari, which have been important to Mr Malhotra’s creations in the recent past. Coordinates: Shivraj Heights, Corner of 14th Road & Linking Road, Next To Raj Kumar Jewellers, Khar West, Mumbai.

The LLeela eela P alac es, Ho Palac alace Hottels empinski and R esor Re sortts & K Kempinski Ho ee tto o Hottels mutually agr agree end their allianc e alliance The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts and Kempinski Hotels have mutually agreed to bring the companies’ fruitful 25-year relationship to a close. Following a progressive phase-out which began in 2012, the agreement will allow The Leela to further consolidate its sales and marketing network, while facilitating Kempinski Hotels’ direct penetration of the Indian market. Capt. CP Krishnan Nair, Chairman Emeritus and Founder Chairman, The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts said: “The strong cooperation enjoyed by the two luxury brands over more than two decades has immensely benefited both The Leela and Kempinski, and helped significantly increase brand awareness globally and in the Indian market.”

The Leela Palaces Hotels and Resorts

Kiehl’s la unche launche unchess Skin Rescuer in India ttoo help corr ec orrec ectt visible signs ooff For those with busy everyday lives, filled with pressures of balancing work, family and finances, stress is here to stay. To counteract that, Kiehl’s has found a solution to stress. The new Kiehl’s Skin Rescuer Stress-Minimizing Daily Hydrator utilises efficient ingredients Mannose and Rosa Gallica which help address and reduce skin’s visible response to stress. Rosa Gallica Extract, sourced from the petals of the Rosa Gallica flower, limits the release of stress signals, in turn minimizing inflammatory responses like redness, blotchiness and fatigued skin, thus breaking the stress cycle. Mannose strengthens and reinforces the skin barrier, making it less vulnerable to future, inevitable stress, while Squalane, which is naturally-derived from olives, is highly compatible with the natural oils in skin, instantly restoring and replenishing the skin barrier, and protecting skin from dehydration. The formulation also uses Chamomile Extract, which helps soothe and calm skin.

Glycerin and Shea Butter, on the other hand, keep the skin supple and hydrated.

Time to grab that little magical bottle!

So theb y’s ina ugur al Sotheb theby’s inaugur ugural auc tion o ea sur es uction off tr trea easur sure fr om Imperial India from om attr ac from trac actts bidding fr ar ound the w orld around world

Est ée LLa auder la unche stée launche unchess Da dv anc ed Dayywear A Adv dvanc anced Multi-Pr otec tion Multi-Pro ection An ti-O xidan Anti-O ti-Oxidan xidantt UV De Deffense SPF 50

Sotheby’s inaugural auction of Art of Imperial India held in London attracted bidding from around the globe, achieving a total of £1,837,925 or 182,598,304 INR (est. £1.5-2.1m). Over 90 exquisite objects exemplifying the broad artistic traditions of Imperial India were presented for sale, encompassing almost 500 years of every kind of decorative art produced in the region. The star lot of the sale, a rare enamelled and bejewelled gold pandan box, sold to a bidder in the auction room for £662,500 or 65,819,539 INR, more than double its pre-sale high estimate. An important group of 11 works relating to Tipu Sultan were also highly-sought after, selling for a combined amount of £389,425 or 38,689,470 INR.

Understanding the importance of highlevel SPF protection, Estée Lauder has introduced the new DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant UV Defense SPF 50. Defending skin powerfully, this comprehensive, powerful UV Base features broad spectrum SPF 50 sunscreen to help skin resist the first signs of ageing as well as DayWear’s signature Super Anti-Oxidant Complex for powerful protection against every key type of free radical damage. The sheer, lightweight formula absorbs easily and invisibly into skin and can be worn either alone, over moisturizer or under foundation. Ideal for all skin types, DayWear Advanced Multi-Protection Anti-Oxidant UV Defense SPF 50 protects skin, lightly hydrates and helps skin regain its youthful radiance.

This proprietary complex of skinessential anti-oxidants, which includes Vitamins C & E, Eukarion and EGT, is proven to help defend against all major types of free radicals that can lead to premature aging.

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ECONOMY

Overseas Indians Who Send Maximum Forex to India he money sent by non-resident Indians to their families back home in India is important. At a time when the Indian rupee was in a free fall, remittances in foreign exchange from non-resident Indians grew rapidly. This helped the rupee stabilize and regain some strength.

India is the biggest recipient of foreign remittances from non-residents. In 2012, non-resident Indians wired $71 billion to India. At a time when India owed a significantly high amount of foreign currency to the world due to rising imports of oil and gold, these remittances came as a relief. Exports are another source of income in foreign exchange for a country.

However, India’s current account deficit rose sharply as exports fell too. This resulted in the rupee falling.

Foreign remittances continued to grow steadily.

Kerala receives the highest amount of foreign remittances among Indian states at $11.3 billion in 2012, according to UAE Exchange, an Abu Dhabi based company that claims a 10% market share in

global remittances to India. The firm noticed that nonresident Indians borrowed money in UAE and remitted it to India.

Tamil Nadu comes second accounting for 13% of remittances, followed by Punjab at 6%. Tier III cities in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are also witnessing a significant rise in remittances. The growth in these states is as high as 25%, according to UAE Exchange.

For the quarter to June 2013, remittances were at $16.4 billion, the highest in five straight quarters, according to Reserve Bank of India data. A weak rupee is expected to drive further remittances to India.

“Inflation has to be controlled in India,” said Promoth Manghat, VP-Global Operations, UAE Exchange while calling the economic slowdown in India ‘a temporary phase’.

Global remittances stood at around $414 billion in 2012, according to the World Bank data. In 2013, worldwide remittances are expected to go up to $550 billion. The World Bank predicts that this could go up to $700 billion by 2016.

Seasonal Magazine

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