By agencies
Thursday, November 27, 2008
MUMBAI: Over 101 people are reported to have been killed and more than 900 are reported injured as unidentified groups of gunmen opened fire in at least four places across south Mumbai on Wednesday night.
Terrorists used heavy machine guns, including AK-47s, and grenades to strike at the city's most high-profile targets - the hyper-busy CST (formerly VT) rail terminus; the landmark Taj Hotel at the Gateway and the luxury Oberoi Trident at Nariman Point; the domestic airport at Santa Cruz; the Cama and GT hospitals near CST; the Metro Adlabs multiplex and Mazgaon Dockyard -- killing at least 80 and sending more than 900 to hospital, according to latest reports.
The firings, which is reported to be still continuing, have taken a tragic toll on the city's top police brass: The high-profile chief of the anti-terror squad Hemant Karkare was killed; Mumbai's additional commissioner of police (east) Ashok Kamte was gunned down outside the Metro; and celebrated encounter specialist Vijay Salaskar was also killed.
The attacks appeared to be aimed at getting international attention as the terrorists took upto 40 British nationals and other foreigners hostage in three hotels - Taj, Oberoi and Trident. The chairman of Hindustan Unilever Harish Manwani and CEO of the company Nitin Paranjpe were among the guests trapped at the Oberoi. All the internal board members of the multinational giant were reported to be holed up in the Oberoi hotel.
Mumbai Police Commissioner Hasan Ghafoor said the attacks were suspected to be "coordinated terrorist acts", and added that automatic weapons like AK-47 and AK-56 and semi-automatic rifles were apparently used. Most of the injured were policemen.
It appeared that small groups of heavily armed terrorists sneaked into busy public places, mostly in south Mumbai, leading to a scare in the metropolis that has been a target of terror attacks in recent years.
Police official said suspected terrorists opened fire at police and paramilitary forces outside the Hotel Taj Intercontinental in south Mumbai between 10.15 p.m. and 10.30 p.m.
The police officials, who refused to speak on record because it was too early to confirm anything, said firing was on near the five-star hotel where around 2,000 guests and staff were stranded. The body of a foreign woman guest was recovered from the Taj Hotel and two terrorists were holed up inside the building, a police official said. At least 90 percent portion of the 22-storey building was plunged into darkness as authorities cut off power in a precautionary measure.
Minutes later, bullets were fired near the Hotel Trident (previously known as Hotel Oberoi) - another five-star hotel barely a kilometre away from the Taj. At least 1,000 tourists were inside the hotel, which is in a high-security zone and lies just behind the Air India and Maharashtra legislature buildings. Suspected terrorists also opened indiscriminate firing near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (previously known as Victoria Terminus), the headquarters of the Central Railway, which is a world heritage building and remains crowded almost throughout the day.
A terrorist was hiding inside the railway terminus where thousands of people have been evacuated. As a precautionary measure, authorities suspended suburban and other railway services.
Later in the night, two bomb blasts, one in Vile Parle, a residential suburb in north Mumbai, and another in Mazgaon, also injured an unspecified number of people, the police officials said. The blast in Vile Parle occurred in a taxi, which was blown into pieces. There was a firing reported from the Bade Miya Street behind the Hotel Taj. All roads linking south Mumbai with the rest of the metropolis were barricaded. Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh urged people to maintain peace and calm even as a Red Alert was sounded across Maharashtra state.
Four major terrorist attacks have occurred in India's financial capital Mumbai in the last 15 years. Following is a chronology of the major terrorist attacks here:
* Nov 26, 2008: Several killed and many more injured in seven terror attacks targeting mostly foreigners' hangout places.
* July 11, 2006: More than 200 people killed in seven blasts on suburban trains and stations.
* Aug 25, 2003: 46 people killed in two blasts including one near the Gateway of India.
* March 12, 1993: A series of bomb blasts left 257 dead and around 700 injured.
Buildings attacked included the Bombay Stock Exchange, hotels, theatres, passport office, Air India building and Sahar Airport.
However news reports in Thursday afternoon, citing A N Roy, Director General of Police, said that all the hostages held in Taj Hotel were rescued by Indian forces.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
England cancels India tour: reports
Updated at: 1134 PST, Thursday, November 27, 2008 NEW DELHI: England has canceled its cricket tour of India in the wake of terror attacks that have killed at least 101 people in Mumbai. While the English squad remained in Cuttack, where it lost Wednesday night to go 5-0 down in a seven match limited-overs series, England and Wales Cricket Board officials met Thursday morning with the Board of Control for Cricket in India.The Indian news agency reported that the tour, which still had two limited-overs internationals and two test matches remaining on the itinerary _, had been canceled.A high-ranking BCCI official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to comment to the media, told the media that the tour had been canceled and a formal statement would be released later Thursday. The Champions League Twenty20 tournament, due to start next Wednesday in Mumbai, could also be scrapped. Officials were not available to comment, but Australian and English provincial clubs had already postponed leaving for India.
India’s Index Futures, Rupee Forwards Fall After Terror Attacks
By Chen Shiyin and Pooja Thakur
Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- India’s stock index futures and rupee forwards fell while credit-default swaps rose after militants killed 101 people in Mumbai, taking hostages in the nation’s first terrorist attack against foreigners.
S&P CNX Nifty Index futures for November delivery dropped 2.4 percent in Singapore, the most since Nov. 19. Contracts that protect against the debt of government-controlled State Bank of India Ltd. rose 15 basis points to 412.5 in Hong Kong, according to Morgan Stanley’s prices, the first increase since Nov. 20, while forwards on the currency that trade outside the country fell 0.3 percent, the first drop in five days.
Stocks, bonds and currencies trading were halted in Mumbai after the assault, which injured 287. The attacks may hurt investor confidence in a country where the global economic slowdown caused the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index or Sensex to fall a record 56 percent this year.
“It is worrying that the targets were foreigners and businessmen,” said Ajay Bodke, who helps manage the equivalent of $872 million at IDFC Assets Management Co. in Mumbai. “We will see a ripple effect in terms of investor sentiment as the terrorist attack was in the financial hub and in iconic places. India needs to deal with this with an iron hand.”
Both the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange may resume trading as early as tomorrow, along with bond, foreign exchange, commodities and money markets, bourse officials and the central bank said, without providing further updates.
‘Bounce Back’
The attacks on the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi hotels are increasing concerns among some investors that economic growth is slowing. While Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram last week said economic growth will “bounce back” to 9 percent next year, the International Monetary Fund predicted a 6.3 percent expansion for 2009.
Overseas funds sold a net 3.12 billion rupees ($63 million) of Indian stocks on Nov. 24, increasing outflows from equities this year to $13.5 billion, the nation’s market regulator said.
Nifty futures retreated 64.5 to 2,685 at the close of Singapore trading, after falling as much as 4.9 percent. Most indexes climbed in Asia today, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index advancing 1.8 percent.
The futures contract, based on the 50 stocks on the underlying S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., added 4.1 percent in Mumbai yesterday.
Reliance, Indiabulls Fall
Shares of Indian companies including State Bank of India and Reliance Industries Ltd. traded overseas fell. Global depositary receipts of the government-owned bank dropped 3.1 percent to 33 euros in Frankfurt trading, a one-month low. Reliance, India’s biggest company by value, slipped 6.7 percent to 33.90 euros.
Among India-linked shares traded in Singapore, Indiabulls Properties Investment Trust fell 11 percent to 16 cents at the close, the biggest drop since Nov. 17. Ascendas India Trust, an owner of industrial properties in India, dropped 7.5 percent to 43.5 Singapore cents. iShares MSCI India, an exchange traded fund, declined 1.9 percent to $3.09, halting three days of gains.
Mark Mobius said Templeton Asset Management remains bullish on Indian stocks after the attacks, on the expectation they will fail to derail expansion.
“It’s possible that once the market opens there will be a number of people who’d want to get out because of what’s happening,” Mobius, who oversees more than $24 billion in emerging-market stocks as chairman at San Mateo, California-based Templeton, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. “A lot of selling has already taken place so there might not be that much left.”
Infosys, Mercator Rise
Some Indian stocks traded overseas have risen. Infosys Technologies Ltd., second-largest computer-services provider, rose 5.6 percent to 18.74 euros in Frankfurt trading, while Mercator Lines Ltd., the only Indian shipping company to trade in Singapore, gained 3.7 percent to 14 Singapore cents, the highest since Nov. 17.
Non-deliverable forwards on India’s rupee retreated 0.3 percent to 49.90 per dollar. Forwards are agreements in which assets are bought and sold at current prices for delivery at a later specified time and date. Non-deliverable contracts are settled in dollars.
The rupee is the third-worst performer among Asia’s 10 most- active currencies outside Japan after falling 20 percent this year. It gained 1.1 percent to 49.435 per dollar yesterday in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
‘Knee-Jerk Selling’
The attack “might be an excuse for some knee-jerk selling,” said V. Anantha-Nageswaran, chief investment officer for Asia Pacific at Bank Julius Baer (Singapore) Ltd., which manages $350 billion in assets worldwide. “Our views on India have been cautious even before this, primarily because of the global slowdown, the current account deficit.”
The cost of protecting corporate bonds from default rose in India. Credit-default swaps on ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s second- largest lender, were last quoted 15 basis points higher at 715, according to Morgan Stanley. A basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, is worth $1,000 on a swap protecting $10 million of debt.
India last shut its stock and bond markets in July 2005 after monsoon rains disrupted Mumbai and other areas in the western state of Maharashtra. Trading of shares had been temporarily disrupted in 1993 after a series of explosions in the city killed at least 70 people, the last time the exchange was shut because of a terrorist attack.
Hostages
About 40 people were being held hostage at the hotels, the Press Trust of India reported. A little-known Islamist group called the Deccan Mujahadeen claimed responsibility for the attacks, the report said.
The Sensex has tumbled 57 percent since rising to a record high of 20,873.33 on Jan. 8. The gauge had climbed for the previous six years, on speculation that economic expansion will drive profit growth for the nation’s companies.
India’s 10-year bonds gained yesterday, pushing yields to 7.1 percent, the lowest since January 2006 as a drop in crude oil prices fanned speculation inflation will slow. Takahira Ogawa, a Singapore-based director at Standard & Poor’s, said today the shootings and blasts won’t affect India’s sovereign rating.
Local-currency bonds are the best performers this year among 10 Asian debt markets outside Japan, returning 11.5 percent, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. They are rated BBB- by Standard & Poor’s, the lowest investment grade.
Interest-rate swap rates have almost halved from a record level reached in June. The five-year swap rate, a fixed rate paid to receive a floating rate, fell to 5.74 percent yesterday from a record of 10.57 percent in June. Overnight money-market rates have fallen to less than a third of the 19-month high of 20 percent reached on Oct. 31 as the central bank cut borrowing costs. The Reserve Bank of India has lowered its key repurchase rate by 1.5 percentage points since Oct. 20.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net; Pooja Thakur in Mumbai at pthakur@bloomberg.net
Nov. 27 (Bloomberg) -- India’s stock index futures and rupee forwards fell while credit-default swaps rose after militants killed 101 people in Mumbai, taking hostages in the nation’s first terrorist attack against foreigners.
S&P CNX Nifty Index futures for November delivery dropped 2.4 percent in Singapore, the most since Nov. 19. Contracts that protect against the debt of government-controlled State Bank of India Ltd. rose 15 basis points to 412.5 in Hong Kong, according to Morgan Stanley’s prices, the first increase since Nov. 20, while forwards on the currency that trade outside the country fell 0.3 percent, the first drop in five days.
Stocks, bonds and currencies trading were halted in Mumbai after the assault, which injured 287. The attacks may hurt investor confidence in a country where the global economic slowdown caused the benchmark Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitive Index or Sensex to fall a record 56 percent this year.
“It is worrying that the targets were foreigners and businessmen,” said Ajay Bodke, who helps manage the equivalent of $872 million at IDFC Assets Management Co. in Mumbai. “We will see a ripple effect in terms of investor sentiment as the terrorist attack was in the financial hub and in iconic places. India needs to deal with this with an iron hand.”
Both the Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange may resume trading as early as tomorrow, along with bond, foreign exchange, commodities and money markets, bourse officials and the central bank said, without providing further updates.
‘Bounce Back’
The attacks on the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower and Oberoi hotels are increasing concerns among some investors that economic growth is slowing. While Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram last week said economic growth will “bounce back” to 9 percent next year, the International Monetary Fund predicted a 6.3 percent expansion for 2009.
Overseas funds sold a net 3.12 billion rupees ($63 million) of Indian stocks on Nov. 24, increasing outflows from equities this year to $13.5 billion, the nation’s market regulator said.
Nifty futures retreated 64.5 to 2,685 at the close of Singapore trading, after falling as much as 4.9 percent. Most indexes climbed in Asia today, with the MSCI Asia-Pacific Index advancing 1.8 percent.
The futures contract, based on the 50 stocks on the underlying S&P CNX Nifty Index on the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd., added 4.1 percent in Mumbai yesterday.
Reliance, Indiabulls Fall
Shares of Indian companies including State Bank of India and Reliance Industries Ltd. traded overseas fell. Global depositary receipts of the government-owned bank dropped 3.1 percent to 33 euros in Frankfurt trading, a one-month low. Reliance, India’s biggest company by value, slipped 6.7 percent to 33.90 euros.
Among India-linked shares traded in Singapore, Indiabulls Properties Investment Trust fell 11 percent to 16 cents at the close, the biggest drop since Nov. 17. Ascendas India Trust, an owner of industrial properties in India, dropped 7.5 percent to 43.5 Singapore cents. iShares MSCI India, an exchange traded fund, declined 1.9 percent to $3.09, halting three days of gains.
Mark Mobius said Templeton Asset Management remains bullish on Indian stocks after the attacks, on the expectation they will fail to derail expansion.
“It’s possible that once the market opens there will be a number of people who’d want to get out because of what’s happening,” Mobius, who oversees more than $24 billion in emerging-market stocks as chairman at San Mateo, California-based Templeton, said today in a Bloomberg Television interview. “A lot of selling has already taken place so there might not be that much left.”
Infosys, Mercator Rise
Some Indian stocks traded overseas have risen. Infosys Technologies Ltd., second-largest computer-services provider, rose 5.6 percent to 18.74 euros in Frankfurt trading, while Mercator Lines Ltd., the only Indian shipping company to trade in Singapore, gained 3.7 percent to 14 Singapore cents, the highest since Nov. 17.
Non-deliverable forwards on India’s rupee retreated 0.3 percent to 49.90 per dollar. Forwards are agreements in which assets are bought and sold at current prices for delivery at a later specified time and date. Non-deliverable contracts are settled in dollars.
The rupee is the third-worst performer among Asia’s 10 most- active currencies outside Japan after falling 20 percent this year. It gained 1.1 percent to 49.435 per dollar yesterday in Mumbai, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
‘Knee-Jerk Selling’
The attack “might be an excuse for some knee-jerk selling,” said V. Anantha-Nageswaran, chief investment officer for Asia Pacific at Bank Julius Baer (Singapore) Ltd., which manages $350 billion in assets worldwide. “Our views on India have been cautious even before this, primarily because of the global slowdown, the current account deficit.”
The cost of protecting corporate bonds from default rose in India. Credit-default swaps on ICICI Bank Ltd., India’s second- largest lender, were last quoted 15 basis points higher at 715, according to Morgan Stanley. A basis point, or 0.01 percentage point, is worth $1,000 on a swap protecting $10 million of debt.
India last shut its stock and bond markets in July 2005 after monsoon rains disrupted Mumbai and other areas in the western state of Maharashtra. Trading of shares had been temporarily disrupted in 1993 after a series of explosions in the city killed at least 70 people, the last time the exchange was shut because of a terrorist attack.
Hostages
About 40 people were being held hostage at the hotels, the Press Trust of India reported. A little-known Islamist group called the Deccan Mujahadeen claimed responsibility for the attacks, the report said.
The Sensex has tumbled 57 percent since rising to a record high of 20,873.33 on Jan. 8. The gauge had climbed for the previous six years, on speculation that economic expansion will drive profit growth for the nation’s companies.
India’s 10-year bonds gained yesterday, pushing yields to 7.1 percent, the lowest since January 2006 as a drop in crude oil prices fanned speculation inflation will slow. Takahira Ogawa, a Singapore-based director at Standard & Poor’s, said today the shootings and blasts won’t affect India’s sovereign rating.
Local-currency bonds are the best performers this year among 10 Asian debt markets outside Japan, returning 11.5 percent, according to HSBC Holdings Plc. They are rated BBB- by Standard & Poor’s, the lowest investment grade.
Interest-rate swap rates have almost halved from a record level reached in June. The five-year swap rate, a fixed rate paid to receive a floating rate, fell to 5.74 percent yesterday from a record of 10.57 percent in June. Overnight money-market rates have fallen to less than a third of the 19-month high of 20 percent reached on Oct. 31 as the central bank cut borrowing costs. The Reserve Bank of India has lowered its key repurchase rate by 1.5 percentage points since Oct. 20.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chen Shiyin in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net; Pooja Thakur in Mumbai at pthakur@bloomberg.net
India tops in retail shrinkage
By siliconindia news bureau
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
India: The second annual Global Retail Theft Barometer 2008 Survey, covering 920 large retailers across 36 countries has rated India with the highest shrinkage rate at 3.10 percent this year, an increase of 6.9 percent over last year. The study, prepared by the Centre for Retail Research, Nottingham, England and funded by Checkpoint Systems, which develops shrink-management solutions, has put India in the top position amongst countries worldwide, closely followed by Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia.
"In India, most retailers do not consider shrinkage as a major concern. Unfortunately it is an accepted fact. They do not realize that it is killing their bottom-line directly."
According to the report, the countries with the highest shrinkage this year were India (shrinkage 3.10 percent of retail sales), Mexico (1.68 percent), Thailand (1.59 percent), South Africa (1.59 percent) and Malaysia (1.53 percent). The lowest rates of shrinkage were found in Japan, Austria and Switzerland (all 1.01 percent), Germany (1.10 percent) and Denmark (1.20 percent).
The total shrinkage in India in 2008 is $2.543 billion which is equivalent to 3.10 percent of retail sales -an increase of 6.9 percent as compared to 2007, when the figure was 2.9 percent. Of the external shrinkages in India, customer theft contributed to around 44.7 percent of shrinkage losses, employee theft was responsible for 23.7 percent as compared to 8.4 percent by suppliers or vendors. The remaining 23.2 percent was contributed by administrative errors. Further among the internal retail theft; merchandise theft was thought to be responsible for 27.8 percent of internal fraud, whereas cash, coupons, vouchers or gift cards contribute 32.0 percent of internal fraud, refund fraud and false markdowns contribute 14.6 percent of internal fraud with a collusion of 19.1 percent. Besides this large financial frauds were responsible for 6.5 percent of the internal retail theft of 2008.
The total costs of retail crime and waste loss in Asia-Pacific was $15,405 million with the largest source of loss being dishonest customers contributing to $7,897 million. This is closely followed by employee thefts amounting to $3,503 million followed by supplier and vendor crime contributing to $1,160 million. The survey also reported that internal or administrative error including accounting mistakes, pricing errors and process failures contributed to $2,845 million.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
India: The second annual Global Retail Theft Barometer 2008 Survey, covering 920 large retailers across 36 countries has rated India with the highest shrinkage rate at 3.10 percent this year, an increase of 6.9 percent over last year. The study, prepared by the Centre for Retail Research, Nottingham, England and funded by Checkpoint Systems, which develops shrink-management solutions, has put India in the top position amongst countries worldwide, closely followed by Thailand, South Africa and Malaysia.
"In India, most retailers do not consider shrinkage as a major concern. Unfortunately it is an accepted fact. They do not realize that it is killing their bottom-line directly."
According to the report, the countries with the highest shrinkage this year were India (shrinkage 3.10 percent of retail sales), Mexico (1.68 percent), Thailand (1.59 percent), South Africa (1.59 percent) and Malaysia (1.53 percent). The lowest rates of shrinkage were found in Japan, Austria and Switzerland (all 1.01 percent), Germany (1.10 percent) and Denmark (1.20 percent).
The total shrinkage in India in 2008 is $2.543 billion which is equivalent to 3.10 percent of retail sales -an increase of 6.9 percent as compared to 2007, when the figure was 2.9 percent. Of the external shrinkages in India, customer theft contributed to around 44.7 percent of shrinkage losses, employee theft was responsible for 23.7 percent as compared to 8.4 percent by suppliers or vendors. The remaining 23.2 percent was contributed by administrative errors. Further among the internal retail theft; merchandise theft was thought to be responsible for 27.8 percent of internal fraud, whereas cash, coupons, vouchers or gift cards contribute 32.0 percent of internal fraud, refund fraud and false markdowns contribute 14.6 percent of internal fraud with a collusion of 19.1 percent. Besides this large financial frauds were responsible for 6.5 percent of the internal retail theft of 2008.
The total costs of retail crime and waste loss in Asia-Pacific was $15,405 million with the largest source of loss being dishonest customers contributing to $7,897 million. This is closely followed by employee thefts amounting to $3,503 million followed by supplier and vendor crime contributing to $1,160 million. The survey also reported that internal or administrative error including accounting mistakes, pricing errors and process failures contributed to $2,845 million.
Friday, November 7, 2008
Straight from the Gut: A rags to riches story of two techie brothers
Friday, November 7, 2008
Bangalore: From the humble environs of the village in which they were born to the sophisticated corporate world, successfully breaking the shackles of poverty that ruined the mirth of their boyhood, the two brothers - Kumar Srinivasan as the General Manager, Vice President of Technology and Head of Amazon Bangalore Center and Kalyan Raman as the CEO of Global Scholar - today reign the corporate world.
The Cost of Being Poor
On Diwali morning in 1987 Kumar Srinivasan woke up just as he did every day. His biggest Diwali gift was waiting for him. "My brother gave me Rs. 10 and he was budgeting this for the last 3 months," r ecalls Kumar.
With no breakfast, he used to walk 10-12 kms everyday to go to school. Luckily for him, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.G. Ramachandran had introduced Midday Meal Scheme for school children in the state. "That's why my mom always voted for MGR's party," quips Kumar. While he looked forward to the much-needed meal-sambar bath with a few pieces of carrot and tomato, Kumar would stay back after all students had left to wash the vessels. This would earn him an extra plate of meal, which he promptly packed and brought home. Sometime he would give it to his younger brother in whose school the scheme was yet to be introduced, and sometimes the morsel of food would be lunch for his sister next day. His childhood memories still bear the imprints of a household bonded by the pressures of poverty.
Kumar's family lived in such abject poverty that they reached a point when they had nothing left in the house that could be sold to meet the next day's expenses. It was then that his mother decided to sell the only ceiling fan left in the house. Selling the fan would buy them food for another one full week. "The situation was so miserable that I remember my mother selling our stainless steel plates, in which we would eat, for 50 paise," narrates Kumar.
"I still remember passing down the clothes to my younger brothers. The trousers that the youngest one used to wear to go to school had more white patches on it than its original blue color because of the stitches," nostalgically says Kumar's elder brother Kalyan Raman (Kal). His energy and passion are very obvious in his words. And it is this energy and passion that were a common trait amongst all the siblings. He says, "We never felt we were poor. Even though we weren't all that happy, we were peaceful because we always lived on hope. The beauty of hope is that when you have nothing else left to lean upon, you get used to be peaceful. You wait for miracles to happen. Waiting for miracles helps remain hopeful," says Kal.
Their mother made a bold call early on saying, "I want every kid to be educated to the best of their abilities. Nobody is going to discontinue education and take a job for a short term gain. If we have to suffer for a few years, so be it." Many of their relatives thought otherwise. They saw no need for all the kids to go to school. Her stubbornness to send children to school only meant that relatives would stop helping. It didn't matter much to her.
Later on in life, Kal steps into Anna University. Best students from elite schools across the state used to come there to study, and here was a kid from the village trying to compete with them. "It was not daunting, but it was excitin
g to me," says Kal. However, it was not a happy sign to see his classmates coming to college on bicycles, bikes, or cars. Some were wearing double bull shirts and the latest branded jeans or shoes out in the market. Kal couldn't get the money to buy or do whatever he wanted. "I struggled," he notes.
While he was in Anna University, like other hostel students, he would need money for his basic expenses. A postman would come to the hostel block during lunch break, sit in a prominent place and read out names of students who had received money orders from their parents. "Senthil...Rs 500; Arasu...Rs 200; Chandra...Rs 1,000; Selvam; and so on." The students would walk up, collect the money, and tip the postman with Rs 5 or 10, as they pleased. The postman would never ever call out 'Kalyan Raman'. After the roll call, as the happy students dispersed, the postman would silently walk up to Kal and handover the Rs. 2.50 money order his mother would have sent with love. "Receiving such a meager amount would look bad for an engineering student. The postman was so thoughtful that he would not call my name as it would hurt my self respect. Even if I offered 25 paise as a friendly tip he would not accept it," recalls Kal. The thoughtful postman would only pat on his back and say, "Kalyan, study well." But the money order his mother sent him reminded Kal of a number of things and kindled his spirits, and perhaps was one of the main reasons behind what Kal has achieved today.
With almost zero money, Kal became the biggest defaulter for not paying the mess fees. The cook in the kitchen had learnt about Kal's poor condition. He would say, "I know I am not supposed to give you food but come after everyone is done with." There were several days when Kal had no food to eat. He would be eagerly waiting to grab food when day scholars at college offered him a portion of the food that they had brought from home. "It was a survival game," says Kal.
Kal is today the CEO of GlobalScholar.com, which offers an online tutoring platform, where parents and students can safely connect with trusted educators who provide one-on-one tutoring, homework help, or self-paced learning.
Kumar Follows Kal
Meanwhile Kumar completed his B.Sc. in Physics, and on his brother's advice he landed in Chennai and joined SSI for Diploma in Computers. He then went to the U.S. to join his brother. He is currently is the General Manager and Vice President responsible for a business unit, while being the head of the India center. However, Kumar doesn't agree to the fact that he has achieved a lot in a short span of 10 years of his professional life. "Go, look at the Facebook CEO, he is just 23. I am 13 years behind already. Everyday I think I am very much behind and need to catch up with the rest of the world," he says. In Kumar's spirit and daring attitude to perform you cannot fail to see a mirror image of Kal.
Kal remarks, as he narrates couplets in Tamil: Kodithu Kodithy Varumai Kodithu Athaninum Kodithu Illamayil Varumai. It says: Poverty is very cruel; more cruel is the poverty in youth. "Poverty and richness can either be a catalyst or
could be a burden to get better. It all depends on the mindset. It has everything to do with the fire in the belly or having the wings of fire. There are examples of people getting repressed and depressed by poverty and unable to get anywhere. Willing to do whatever it takes and wanting to prove a point, wanting to make a difference, wanting to be known for something that's what differentiates. Poverty just pushes the goals farther and makes the struggle to achieve interesting, from the view point of others. It creates its own challenges. I don't think, it either hurts or helps if the person doesn't have that fire within him."
When Kal's dad passed away, he used to tell his mother, "Don't worry mother. Some day we (children) will make so much of money that you wouldn't even know what to do with." She did believe in his words. "Neither of us had any clue as to how it will come to pass," quips Kal. And he definitely kept his promise.
To read the full story, please check http://www.thesmarttechie.com/magazine/fullstory.php/WIOB985704495
Bangalore: From the humble environs of the village in which they were born to the sophisticated corporate world, successfully breaking the shackles of poverty that ruined the mirth of their boyhood, the two brothers - Kumar Srinivasan as the General Manager, Vice President of Technology and Head of Amazon Bangalore Center and Kalyan Raman as the CEO of Global Scholar - today reign the corporate world.
The Cost of Being Poor
On Diwali morning in 1987 Kumar Srinivasan woke up just as he did every day. His biggest Diwali gift was waiting for him. "My brother gave me Rs. 10 and he was budgeting this for the last 3 months," r ecalls Kumar.
With no breakfast, he used to walk 10-12 kms everyday to go to school. Luckily for him, the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M.G. Ramachandran had introduced Midday Meal Scheme for school children in the state. "That's why my mom always voted for MGR's party," quips Kumar. While he looked forward to the much-needed meal-sambar bath with a few pieces of carrot and tomato, Kumar would stay back after all students had left to wash the vessels. This would earn him an extra plate of meal, which he promptly packed and brought home. Sometime he would give it to his younger brother in whose school the scheme was yet to be introduced, and sometimes the morsel of food would be lunch for his sister next day. His childhood memories still bear the imprints of a household bonded by the pressures of poverty.
Kumar's family lived in such abject poverty that they reached a point when they had nothing left in the house that could be sold to meet the next day's expenses. It was then that his mother decided to sell the only ceiling fan left in the house. Selling the fan would buy them food for another one full week. "The situation was so miserable that I remember my mother selling our stainless steel plates, in which we would eat, for 50 paise," narrates Kumar.
"I still remember passing down the clothes to my younger brothers. The trousers that the youngest one used to wear to go to school had more white patches on it than its original blue color because of the stitches," nostalgically says Kumar's elder brother Kalyan Raman (Kal). His energy and passion are very obvious in his words. And it is this energy and passion that were a common trait amongst all the siblings. He says, "We never felt we were poor. Even though we weren't all that happy, we were peaceful because we always lived on hope. The beauty of hope is that when you have nothing else left to lean upon, you get used to be peaceful. You wait for miracles to happen. Waiting for miracles helps remain hopeful," says Kal.
Their mother made a bold call early on saying, "I want every kid to be educated to the best of their abilities. Nobody is going to discontinue education and take a job for a short term gain. If we have to suffer for a few years, so be it." Many of their relatives thought otherwise. They saw no need for all the kids to go to school. Her stubbornness to send children to school only meant that relatives would stop helping. It didn't matter much to her.
Later on in life, Kal steps into Anna University. Best students from elite schools across the state used to come there to study, and here was a kid from the village trying to compete with them. "It was not daunting, but it was excitin
g to me," says Kal. However, it was not a happy sign to see his classmates coming to college on bicycles, bikes, or cars. Some were wearing double bull shirts and the latest branded jeans or shoes out in the market. Kal couldn't get the money to buy or do whatever he wanted. "I struggled," he notes.
While he was in Anna University, like other hostel students, he would need money for his basic expenses. A postman would come to the hostel block during lunch break, sit in a prominent place and read out names of students who had received money orders from their parents. "Senthil...Rs 500; Arasu...Rs 200; Chandra...Rs 1,000; Selvam; and so on." The students would walk up, collect the money, and tip the postman with Rs 5 or 10, as they pleased. The postman would never ever call out 'Kalyan Raman'. After the roll call, as the happy students dispersed, the postman would silently walk up to Kal and handover the Rs. 2.50 money order his mother would have sent with love. "Receiving such a meager amount would look bad for an engineering student. The postman was so thoughtful that he would not call my name as it would hurt my self respect. Even if I offered 25 paise as a friendly tip he would not accept it," recalls Kal. The thoughtful postman would only pat on his back and say, "Kalyan, study well." But the money order his mother sent him reminded Kal of a number of things and kindled his spirits, and perhaps was one of the main reasons behind what Kal has achieved today.
With almost zero money, Kal became the biggest defaulter for not paying the mess fees. The cook in the kitchen had learnt about Kal's poor condition. He would say, "I know I am not supposed to give you food but come after everyone is done with." There were several days when Kal had no food to eat. He would be eagerly waiting to grab food when day scholars at college offered him a portion of the food that they had brought from home. "It was a survival game," says Kal.
Kal is today the CEO of GlobalScholar.com, which offers an online tutoring platform, where parents and students can safely connect with trusted educators who provide one-on-one tutoring, homework help, or self-paced learning.
Kumar Follows Kal
Meanwhile Kumar completed his B.Sc. in Physics, and on his brother's advice he landed in Chennai and joined SSI for Diploma in Computers. He then went to the U.S. to join his brother. He is currently is the General Manager and Vice President responsible for a business unit, while being the head of the India center. However, Kumar doesn't agree to the fact that he has achieved a lot in a short span of 10 years of his professional life. "Go, look at the Facebook CEO, he is just 23. I am 13 years behind already. Everyday I think I am very much behind and need to catch up with the rest of the world," he says. In Kumar's spirit and daring attitude to perform you cannot fail to see a mirror image of Kal.
Kal remarks, as he narrates couplets in Tamil: Kodithu Kodithy Varumai Kodithu Athaninum Kodithu Illamayil Varumai. It says: Poverty is very cruel; more cruel is the poverty in youth. "Poverty and richness can either be a catalyst or
could be a burden to get better. It all depends on the mindset. It has everything to do with the fire in the belly or having the wings of fire. There are examples of people getting repressed and depressed by poverty and unable to get anywhere. Willing to do whatever it takes and wanting to prove a point, wanting to make a difference, wanting to be known for something that's what differentiates. Poverty just pushes the goals farther and makes the struggle to achieve interesting, from the view point of others. It creates its own challenges. I don't think, it either hurts or helps if the person doesn't have that fire within him."
When Kal's dad passed away, he used to tell his mother, "Don't worry mother. Some day we (children) will make so much of money that you wouldn't even know what to do with." She did believe in his words. "Neither of us had any clue as to how it will come to pass," quips Kal. And he definitely kept his promise.
To read the full story, please check http://www.thesmarttechie.com/magazine/fullstory.php/WIOB985704495
Monday, November 3, 2008
Many NRIs think of return, but see no prospect
By IANS
Sunday, November 2, 2008
New Delhi: Ajit Singh, an investment adviser in Boston working for one of Europe's largest commercial banks, had it all good a year ago. Engaged to be married later this year, he now finds that his big fat Indian wedding has been called off, while his great American dream has come crashing down.
"The girl's parents called off the wedding when they heard about people losing jobs in the US. They were no longer sure about the stability of my job," Singh told IANS over phone from Boston.
His situation, perhaps, isn't as bad as it was for Karthik Rajaram, a Los Angeles-based financial adviser, who recently killed five members of his family and himself after his finances were wiped out in the stock market crash.
There is no place like home - this is a cliche that is appealing to a host of non-resident Indians in the US and Europe these days as they look for prospects back home, fearing large-scale job losses in the lands of their dreams.
But the opportunities in India are no brighter.
Kunal Banerjee, chief executive of headhunting firm Absolute HR Services, says cases like that of Ajit Singh were not isolated, as the number of jobless people in the US touched 9.77 million in September, the highest in 16 years, and has been worsening with each passing day.
"The number of resumes from people wanting to come back has doubled. The hardest hit are the ones employed in financial and IT services," Banerjee told IANS.
"It is too early to comment on whether we will witness a mass exodus. The actual picture, I guess, will get clearer by mid-November or so when companies start to gauge the real impact of the meltdown."
Kris Lakshmikanth, chief executive and managing director of the Bangalore-based staffing agency Head Hunters India, also feels that non-resident Indians will start coming back to India in droves.
"We have seen a more than 100 percent jump in NRI resumes since July," he said.
"The US and other Western economies are in bad shape and jobs will continue to disappear. The US unemployment rate, which is around six percent currently, could reach double digits by the first quarter of 2009."
Top executives at headhunting firms said the type of visa, especially to the US, was also a determinant of how quickly or in what desperation people will make that trip back home.
"A lot of them to the US, for example, have gone on H1-B or L-1 visas. Software companies typically sponsor these visas. But since their margins are under severe pressure, they have started laying off people," he said.
"For H1-B cases, the visas stand null and void and the person would have to come back un"
Among the Indians expected to return are students. Typically, they are allowed a year-long period to work in the US or Britain once they finish their graduate or postgraduate studies. But with no jobs around, they may not have much of an alternative.
Yet, there are many who still favour the US over their homeland as they have bought houses, raised families and have come to believe in the American dream - like the New Jersey-based T.K. Sebastian, an executive in the finance department of a medium enterprise.
"There are no takers for my house. I can't sell it for less than what I bought it for. I still have loans to repay. Going back to India doesn't make sense to me, anyway. I hope the crisis will not last for ever."
But the situation is no better in India. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), in fact, said seven key industries, including banking and IT, would see companies shed as much as 25 percent of the workforce.
Although the chamber later retracted the analysis, it clearly reflected what the underlying sentiment was in the country's corporate sector which has been reeling under a liquidity crisis and a lack of demand.
"There is a clear danger of fresh investments, incremental employment and additional exports getting affected in the months ahead," Rajeev Chandrasekhar, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), had warned.
"Companies do not want to admit yet. A lot of them who had hired staff in large numbers are asking candidates not to join," said Banerjee. "This is especially true for IT firms that earned considerable revenues from financial services."
Sunday, November 2, 2008
New Delhi: Ajit Singh, an investment adviser in Boston working for one of Europe's largest commercial banks, had it all good a year ago. Engaged to be married later this year, he now finds that his big fat Indian wedding has been called off, while his great American dream has come crashing down.
"The girl's parents called off the wedding when they heard about people losing jobs in the US. They were no longer sure about the stability of my job," Singh told IANS over phone from Boston.
His situation, perhaps, isn't as bad as it was for Karthik Rajaram, a Los Angeles-based financial adviser, who recently killed five members of his family and himself after his finances were wiped out in the stock market crash.
There is no place like home - this is a cliche that is appealing to a host of non-resident Indians in the US and Europe these days as they look for prospects back home, fearing large-scale job losses in the lands of their dreams.
But the opportunities in India are no brighter.
Kunal Banerjee, chief executive of headhunting firm Absolute HR Services, says cases like that of Ajit Singh were not isolated, as the number of jobless people in the US touched 9.77 million in September, the highest in 16 years, and has been worsening with each passing day.
"The number of resumes from people wanting to come back has doubled. The hardest hit are the ones employed in financial and IT services," Banerjee told IANS.
"It is too early to comment on whether we will witness a mass exodus. The actual picture, I guess, will get clearer by mid-November or so when companies start to gauge the real impact of the meltdown."
Kris Lakshmikanth, chief executive and managing director of the Bangalore-based staffing agency Head Hunters India, also feels that non-resident Indians will start coming back to India in droves.
"We have seen a more than 100 percent jump in NRI resumes since July," he said.
"The US and other Western economies are in bad shape and jobs will continue to disappear. The US unemployment rate, which is around six percent currently, could reach double digits by the first quarter of 2009."
Top executives at headhunting firms said the type of visa, especially to the US, was also a determinant of how quickly or in what desperation people will make that trip back home.
"A lot of them to the US, for example, have gone on H1-B or L-1 visas. Software companies typically sponsor these visas. But since their margins are under severe pressure, they have started laying off people," he said.
"For H1-B cases, the visas stand null and void and the person would have to come back un"
Among the Indians expected to return are students. Typically, they are allowed a year-long period to work in the US or Britain once they finish their graduate or postgraduate studies. But with no jobs around, they may not have much of an alternative.
Yet, there are many who still favour the US over their homeland as they have bought houses, raised families and have come to believe in the American dream - like the New Jersey-based T.K. Sebastian, an executive in the finance department of a medium enterprise.
"There are no takers for my house. I can't sell it for less than what I bought it for. I still have loans to repay. Going back to India doesn't make sense to me, anyway. I hope the crisis will not last for ever."
But the situation is no better in India. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), in fact, said seven key industries, including banking and IT, would see companies shed as much as 25 percent of the workforce.
Although the chamber later retracted the analysis, it clearly reflected what the underlying sentiment was in the country's corporate sector which has been reeling under a liquidity crisis and a lack of demand.
"There is a clear danger of fresh investments, incremental employment and additional exports getting affected in the months ahead," Rajeev Chandrasekhar, president of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), had warned.
"Companies do not want to admit yet. A lot of them who had hired staff in large numbers are asking candidates not to join," said Banerjee. "This is especially true for IT firms that earned considerable revenues from financial services."
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Aliens Group bags Green Platinum Pre-certification
Rated by
Hyderabad, October 22, 2008: Aliens Group, leading Real Estate Company in
IGBC is a not-for-profit organization and also the certifying body for Green Buildings in
Speaking on the occasion Mr. Hari Challa, MD Aliens Group said, "It is a matter of great pride that the award recognizes our Eco- Friendly initiatives. We believe in self governance and are aware about our responsibility towards the society and environment. What makes me proud is - what we are building today is not at the cost of tomorrow."
Mr S Srinivas, Principal Counsellor of IGBC said, "We are happy to see Aliens Group contributing towards building a Green India. We are delighted to review their designs, which we found to be the best in class. It surely is a giant leap for the industry."
Aliens Group strives on their Intelligent Living Concept and this is a Silver Lining for them. It boasts about the use of the most Eco-Friendly concepts in Aliens Space Station-1. Healthy Environment, Energy Efficiency and Water Conservation are the main 'green' features of the development. They are contemplating to develop more 'green townships' in the coming future.
As the thought leaders of the 'Intelligent living' concept, they apply the new age phenomenon of 'maximised spaces and minimised hassles' to satisfy the most conscientious buyers of today's generation.
About Aliens group:
Aliens Group (www.aliensgroup.in)is a construction and infrastructure company headquartered in
They are Young, They Dream Big. In a short span of four years, Aliens Group is amongst the Top Real Estate Players in
In their endeavor towards achieving the vision of 'urban revolution', Aliens Group is creating an institution that thrives in a 'leading by speed' environment with a passion for growth through customer delight.
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