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Thursday, December 15, 2005

On Vacation - Sorry for the late post

Hi...All,

Sorry for the late post. I am on a month long vacation (whole of Dec) to India & will start posting once I am back.

A Very Happy New Year To You All.

Regards.

Friday, December 02, 2005

Business India names KV Kamath as Businessman of the Year

K.V. Kamath, Chairman and Managing Director of ICICI Bank, has been selected as Businessman of the Year 2005, by Business India.

He was selected for this coveted distinction, now in its 24th year, by an eminent jury, which met recently in Mumbai. As is the tradition at Business India, the jury was chaired by Business India's Businessman of the Year 2004, S. Ramadorai, CEO, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

He is credited with the transformation of ICICI from a development finance institution to a full-fledged commercial bank, now India's second largest after the State Bank of India. Kamath took charge as Managing Director and CEO of ICICI in 1996, from his respected predecessor N.Vaghul who remains non-executive chairman. Since then, he has worked relentlessly towards making the institution a savvy and tech-enabled financial powerhouse.

The mega reverse merger of ICICI Ltd with ICICI Bank in 2002 coupled with a host of strategic initiatives helped ICICI dramatically redraw its business boundaries.

Today ICICI has evolved into a well-recognized brand offering a slew of retail finance products backed by robust distribution channels. It has a network of 590 branches and over 2000 ATMs which cater to its 14 million customers. Additionally, it is building a global footprint with subsidiaries in the United Kingdom, Canada and Russia and branches in Singapore and Bahrain. With an asset base of Rs 1,89,218 crore ICICI continues to grow at a scorching pace.

Driven To Excel

The explosion in use of consumer electronic products, computers and digitization of data has lead to an increased need for storage. In India too, enterprises - both multinationals and others, have experienced a growth in their storage needs.

Yogesh Kamat, Country Manager and Simon Lee, Director - marketing APAC, Maxtor, spoke about advanced digital storage technology in the hard disc drive space, its market status and the company's new offerings for enterprises.

"As the world goes digital, the need to store data increases. Demand for computer storage is being driven not only by the conversion of manual data to electronic data, but also by new data that is being created as a result of new technologies such as the internet, enterprise and server demands, and an increase in the demand for PCs and notebook drives," said Kamat.

iting factors leading to an increased demand in the Indian hard disk drive market, Kamat said, "One obvious reason is that high-power and storage-heavy applications today demand additional storage space. Moreover the vast amount of non-magnetic data provides a large window of opportunity for the hard disk industry."

"Other factors include the decreasing cost per megabyte, the low installed base of these solutions and the transition in the amount and type of data that is to be stored and managed," he added.

Another important contributor lowering hard drive factory cost is a fall in the amount of components to build disk drive units of high capacity, he felt.

System integrators and IT managers are defining new areas of opportunities for high capacity disk drives. To help IT managers build and maintain their storage systems, Maxtor has recently come up with its new offering - which is specifically designed for use in multi-drive environments and storage arrays.

On the new introduction, Lee informed that the drive brings together a host of new advanced features and technology to help system IT managers build and maintain their storage systems. The features are designed to maximize performance and improve data integrity and ease of use in reference storage, data protection and cost-sensitive enterprise applications.

Also the procuct enables the drive to withstand higher rotational vibration from adjacent drives and also has accelerated error recovery that completes commands within 15 seconds, without reduced data integrity, making it ideal for RAID applications.

Lee informed that interoperability between Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) and SATA makes the MaXLine family the ideal complement to its SAS drives, providing customers the broadest range of capacity and performance for their enterprise storage needs. The SAS interface allows SAS and SATA disk drives to be configured in the same enclosure, enabling customers to mix and match high-performance

With an emphasis on quality, technology, staying competitive and time to market, the company's products have made significant inroads in the Banking, Finance and Telecom segments.

Restaurant chain of Kamat won the best in the Indian category

Restaurants offering Indian cuisines, satisfying the taste buds of Arab and expatriate populations in Gulf countries, should improve their upscale ratings for its wider acceptance, renowned chef Sanjeev Kapoor has said.

Celebrity chef and television personality Sanjeev Kapoor of 'Khana Khazana' told entrepreneurs running Indian restaurants in Oman that besides good food they should consider ambience and service.

Kapoor, who was the chief guest at the Best Restaurant Awards 2005 in Muscat yesterday, lauded the efforts to recognise the best in the hospitality business.

The restaurant chain of Kamat won the best in the Indian category based on voting by customers during the poll for the award sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism in partnership with Oman Air and Hotel InterContinental.

One of its kind

It's Kindness Week from Dec 5 to 11, so go ahead and be nice!

Have you been kind to someone today? Because if you haven't there's still time — Kindness Week will be celebrated from December 5-11 and Kindness Day on December 8.

A small organisation spearheaded by Vile Parle resident Vasant Kalbag started the concept with the message —Kindness Unlimited.

"A week like this is celebrated internationally, we decided to celebrate it locally too. During the Kindness Week, we plan to hold various activities.

Apart from sending out posters and flyers, we also plan to hold an activity which we call 'Pass It On'. This will have us giving out cards to students in various schools and asking them to do three kind acts.

Of the three acts, one must be directed towards oneself, the second for the environment and the third for a stranger," says Kalbag. "Also each day has a specific quality to it like — forgiveness, tolerance, etc," he says.

Lopa Vyas, a trustee of the group says that a little kindness goes a long way. "Besides school children, we are also planning to take the initiative to various colleges and corporate houses," she says.

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Yellow Pages to have bilingual index

GETIT Infomediary Ltd, the largest publisher of official telephone directories in the country, proposed to introduce bilingual index for its yellow Pages, a senior company executive said today.

Since there was no significant demand for the local language directories and Yellow Pages, the company would make the index bilingual, K Dwarakanath Kini, GETIT general manager, (operations) told reporters here.

Kini, who was here to release the 12th edition of Coimbatore GETIT Yellow Pages and Corporate Pages, said the company, publishing Yellow Pages in 28 cities, is bringing out five million directory copies annually, contributing to about 80 per cent of all official telephone directories in India.

Yellow Pages has over 20 million users and 72,000 advertisers, across the country, he said.

With presence in six districts in Tamil Nadu, besides Pondicherry, the company would expand its operations in Erode and Tiruchirappalli in a month's time, Kini said.

Jayakumar Ramadoss, vice-chairman, CII, Coimbatore, released the first copy of Coimbatore Yellow Pages, which has 1,880 categories and over 18,300 business listings. (Agencies)

Rajasthan to brew more beer

Beer-brewing capacity in Rajasthan is set to increase because of the change in the retailing policy initiated by the state government since April this year.
Starting this financial year, the Rajasthan government moved over to a licence-based retailing of alcoholic beverages against the earlier auction-based system.
Though confirmation from state government sources was unavailable, industry sources said tax revenue collected from the sale of beer in Rajastan had increased to Rs 117 crore during the first six months of this financial year against Rs 55 crore collected during the same period last year. Tax collection from the sale of IMFL has also increased to Rs 156 crore during the first six months.
While the tax revenues from sales of alcoholic beverages had doubled during the first half of this financial year, existing breweries in the state are looking at expanding capacity, apart from the two greenfiled projects taking shape there.

Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Jet Airways set to soar higher

Jet Airways chief operating officer Peter Luethi and its general manager,
(South India), U Shenoy, at the launch meet of daily flights to Singapore
in Chennai

U Harish Shenoy, general manager, South India, said within six months of the launch of Chennai - Kuala Lumpur, Jet Airways would be kicking off daily flights to Singapore as southern region had received good traffic flow to the SAARC region.

Syndicate Bank managers’ meet

A managers’ conference of all 74 branches of Syndicate Bank regional office Mangalore was held Saturday in the city. Syndicate Bank deputy general manager K U Shanbhag asked the branch heads and the staff not to be complacent with past achievements and said they should gear up efforts collectively to achieve the corporate objectives.

The conference was inaugurated by Udupi general manager D N Kamath and said branch managers should be prepared themselves in the ever changing banking scenario. Gurupur branch manager S Paneer Selvam, Bengre branch manager M Yashwanth Devadiga and others were present at the programme.

Dhruva to provide applications to Cricinfo

Leading gaming company Dhruva Interactive, on Tuesday, announced an exclusive tie-up with Wisden Group’s Cricinfo, to provide cutting edge cricket products and applications to mobile phone users across the world.

The bouquet of applications will be launched globally during the India-Pakistan cricket series in January next year. Rajesh Rao, CEO of the Bangalore-based company said Dhruva’s tie-up with Cricinfo and Wisden would enable it to develop a series of never-before-seen applications for mobile phones.

“We are extremely excited to offer signature content that will extend the cricketing experience to our consumers’ handsets.”

Rao said drawing on Cricinfo’s experience as the world’s leading provider of cricket content and Dhruva Interactive’s expertise as the country’s foremost gaming Company, this exclusive partnership was going to change the way users experience cricket content on wireless devices.

Cricinfo India Pvt Ltd is part of the Wisden Group, the world’s leading publisher of cricket content both on the web and in print. Cricinfo, which hosts the largest cricket website in the world www.cricinfo.com has established itself as the number one destination for cricket on the web with more than 15 million users.

Mallya keen on alcohol retail foray

Chairman of United Breweries group Vijay Mallya on Monday said that his company was keen to enter into the alcohol retail sector.

"We are planning to foray into the alcohol retailing sector as there are good bargains and we are drawing plans," Mallya said while attending the 'IIM-A Conclave' in Ahmedabad .

He however did not elaborate on these plans. On the aviation sector Mallaya, who owns Kingfisher airlines, said that the company was planning to acquire $5 billion worth aircraft by 2010 for his airlines.

Mallaya, also a Member of Parliament, said that he would soon set up a training centre for pilots, cabin and ground staff.

The flamboyant entrepreneur said that his airlines was looking towards establishing connectivity with economically sound towns like Ludhiana and Guwahati, where he said the maximum number of Mercedes cars were being sold in the country.

Mallya leaves all in ‘high spirits’

What happens when Vijay Mallya delivers an extempore speech in a dry State? It leaves every one in ‘high spirits’, obviously.

The charming liquor baron, had young aspiring managers gathered for IIM-A’s Confluence stand up, clap and cheer out loud, the minute he entered the auditorium. It was his first ever visit to the city and he spoke of his own making, being accountable for oneself and how important it was to think out of the box.

Infused with humour and tongue-in-cheek remarks (‘‘The difference between others and me is that I am more shameless’’), Mallya’s address was, as expected, the most entertaining one at the Confluence. ‘‘I love visiting campuses and truly believe in young blood,’’ was how the UB group chairman opened his innings.

‘‘Let me begin by saying what I shouldn’t,’’ he said eliciting another round of applause. Though born into a wealthy family, Mallya said, he ‘‘learnt what it meant to shed comfort and illusions of a family of haves and get a feel of have-nots’’ when he ‘‘was sent to Barauni and Shahjahanpur’’ and had to toil for Rs 400 per month. But the real task came in when he was one fine day, after his father’s death, made the UB group chairman. ‘‘I was written off...by media...by businessmen...and dubbed flamboyant because I loved fast cars, wristwatches and parties. But then, at 20, should I have attended Swami Chinmayananda’s bhajans?’’ he said continuing, ‘‘ And then suddenly I am called a ‘playboy’. Everyday, every newspaper said the future of UB is doomed.’’

Gradually, coming to terms with the hard fact that he had ‘‘no elder to turn to’’, ‘‘I told myself I gotta do it and I will do it my way!’’.

He said one has to invite oneself to bear the responsibility and urged students to trust instincts and have the courage of conviction. He said B-schools only launch one into the business world, but one has to try and create an experience that’s one’s own. ‘‘Even under most difficult circumstances, be it through family, government, policies, workplace, there’s always a way to go ahead. And the way is to think out-of-the-box!’’ Talking about the genesis of Kingfisher, the ‘‘Indian superbrand’’, he said that having sold brands ‘‘that never excited me’’, I got my inspiration when I ‘‘stumbled upon Kingfisher in the company’s archives.’’ ‘‘The cheekiness of a bird going near water and plucking fish made sense to me. And I finally got a brand that had life in it,’’ he said. Even Kingfisher Airlines was the result of thinking out-of-the-box. ‘‘It is very difficult for Jet Airways to replicate the inflight entertainment we have in our aircraft. Superior value at an affordable price is how we’ve positioned ourselves,’’ he quipped.

He even took a dig at Chief Minister Narendra Modi saying, ‘‘I told him please allow alcohol, you’ll earn two-and-half-thousand crores by mere excise revenues. You could use it for poverty alleviation, improving infrastructure, etc. But he said ‘We have to follow principles of Mahatma’. And he calls himself progressive!’’

Managing business was never easy especially when there are ‘‘these silly arguments from excise departments’’! ‘‘Once our licence got cancelled because DD telecast a cricket match held in Sharjah stadium which had our banners all around. And the argument was that the entire Delhi saw it! I told them go prosecute Doordarshan, why me!’’ he said triggering off a roar of laughter.

He said it was important to never get cast in a mould and stand out in the crowd. ‘‘Don’t trust mere pieces of paper and calculations. Believe in your judgement. And the judgement stems from self-confidence which comes only when you are accountable for yourself,’’ Mallya signed off in style.

Konkani in Schools from Next Academic Year - R V Deshpande

It is indeed good news to all Konkani speaking people. It is like a long cherished dream being realized. State cooperative minister R V Deshpande announced that Konkani would be implemented as third optional language in the primary schools from the next academic year.

He was speaking at the 'Mhan Monis Ek Mulakhat' programme organized by Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy here on Sunday November 28. He said that the language will be taught from class VI and directorate of textbooks will prepare textbooks for the same.

He hailed the Konkani speaking people's contribution to the society especially in the field of education, health and banking citing the example of TMA Pai of Manipal.

P Dayanand Pai, noted entrepreneur and managing director of "Century Building Construction" and Joe Lobo, director of ICCR, Bangalore were honoured on the occasion by the minister.

President of Karnataka Konkani Sahitya Academy, Eric Ozario who presided over the function said that it is a welcome move by the government to introduce Konkani as optional language in the schools. "Regarding the script I do not think that there should be any problem. Teaching in Devnagari or Roman script will not benefit the students of the state as they use Kannada script. Kannada is the language used in the state for education and therefore Konkani books too will have Kannada script," he added.

Academy registrar Dr Duggappa Kajekar proposed the vote of thanks.

Later Eric Ozario and group and M S Kamat and group entertained the crowd with Konkani songs.

Monday, November 28, 2005

Stranded with books

In 2003, T.N. Shanbhag received the Padmashree award and Shanbhag's Strand Book Stall is now in Bombay and Bangalore.


After shutting its doors to the last movie patron nearly 13 years ago, the erstwhile Strand Cinema is finally going to be rebuilt. And along with the revival of movie history, a dark corner on the first floor of the building will restore some of Mumbai’s book culture — incidentally, the famous eponymous Strand Book Store had its origins here.

From 1948 to 1954 a small kiosk set up at the theatre sold around 1000 to 1500 books to the city’s elite as they emerged from their English movies. Later, the 750 sq foot Strand Book Stall opened in Mumbai’s Fort area. And the fairy tale has grown ever since.

During that era, owner T N Shanbag was studying economics at Mumbai’s St Xavier’s College on a scholarship. Strapped for cash, he would save Rs 5 every week and indulge in seven-eight Penguin books to keep him going (They cost Rs 12 anna then).

“I became a book lover when I was 13-14. When I came to Bombay I constantly visited this large bookstore and bought books from there. The Penguin’s and Pelicans were the cheapest and I stocked up on them. They revolutionised book reading with their cheap no-frill paperbacks.”

But once when the dishevelled student was entering the store to browse for his collection, an overbearing staffer humiliated him.

“He refused to let me enter. He thought I was cheap and said that if I wanted a book I had to ask for it from outside. I wanted to browse and see what was new in the market. How could I do that, if I wasn’t even allowed entry?,” he says still sounding annoyed.

That’s when Shanbag resolved that he would open a bookstore of his own and stock affordable titles and encourage browsing. “I was so upset by the incident I went to an Irani restaurant next door and cried. I just couldn’t understand why anybody would stop someone else from reading.

Knowledge is supposed to be shared, not bought and sold,” he added.

The affable Shanbag managed to save Rs 450 from his scholarship money by the time he was 18 and set out to realise his dream.

“Once when I was walking out of Strand cinema after watching Lawrence Olivia’s Hamlet, I noticed a small vacant corner in the building. Struck by an idea, I immediately asked Keki Modi (the then owner) if he could rent the space for a book store,” the vociferous reader said.

“Keki asked me how much rent I could afford and I honestly told him that I only had Rs 450 in my pocket. He realised that I was an enthusiastic kid and let me use the space. Once I started making some money I paid him Rs 100 rent per month. I sold my first book on November 20, 1948 — Winston Churchill’s War Memoirs, Volume 1”

Shanbag would set up shop by 2.30 pm (the first show was on at 3.30 and close down at 10 pm when the last show had started). Being a reader himself, he would stock hard to find titles because he knew their real worth. “I was a reader selling to a reader, not a businessman,” he said. “You could go to much bigger stores across the city and you wouldn’t find half the titles I stocked even then.”

And though Shanbag could watch most of his movies for free while at the theatre ( one of his favourite movie watched at Strand remains Lawrence of Arabia) he preferred to sit on his lone chair and read.

“Through word of mouth people heard of the fact that there was this little book store at Strand Cinema that stored rare titles. I had the likes of Aditya Birla, Gayatri Devi and even Jawaharlal Nehru come into my store — I recommended 23 books to him and he bought them all. For years after that every time I visited Delhi, I took books for him.”

The legend of course continues today. The store has moved to Firoshima Mehta Road, but the subtle language of sharing knowledge and uninterrupted browsing continues. Shanbag hasn’t been to a theatre in 25 years, but as he says, “With 6,500 books in my personal collection, who has the time?”

Public sector banks need to change work ethos: SBI chief

Senior managers of Indian public sector banks attending a leadership session at the Kellogg School of Management were told that they had to change their work ethos radically to survive the inevitable entry of foreign banks.

Ashok K Kini, State Bank of India managing director, stressed inertia could be a threat to survival. A competitive, globalised environment and younger, more demanding customers had led to a shift in the qualities that customers valued the most - from trust to efficiency.

"We cannot seek comfort in avoiding reality," said Kini, "we have to get away from the (present) state of denial."

Kini did not mince his words. "If I am a 25-year-old in India, I am no longer enamoured of nationalised (public sector) banks," he said. "For too long, we have lived on the trust symbol. The profile of the new account holders today is worrisome. They do not trust us anymore. Five years from now, you could have a major crisis (in public sector banks)."

"The young bank customer today is looking for modernity, sparkle and efficiency. They have high aspirations, and we have to match those aspirations. Everybody is aspiring to become Narayana Murthy (chairman of Infosys) or Azim Premji (chairman of Wipro). The young are also looking for an environment where they are respected."

The Indian banking sector, he said, had been left behind in the march towards global competitiveness. "Worldwide, the banking system is a symbol of efficiency. But modern banking has not even touched the fringes of the public sector banking system (in India). Most senior managers in public sector banks are content with the 'quarterly fix' - they cannot think beyond the quarterly results. But are we planning for the future?"

"In the State Bank, we have 200,000 employees. We have not exploited their talent. Most foreign banks have automated to the extent that you do not come in contact with a teller. In our banks, we have the luxury of having people the clients can deal with, something we need to exploit," Kini said.

Kini cited the example of a State Bank employee with a master's degree who, for over two decades, did nothing beyond punching customers' passbooks. "The organisation has to bring conditions where the individual can thrive," he said.

The process of effective leadership is not about maintaining status quo, Kini said. "I have a big problem with the command and control system in our banks. Large well run organisations are run by leaders at all levels. Many of our rules today encourage people to take decisions only on setlines. Moreover, internal communication in the public sector is negligible. You don't talk to people, you talk down to them," he said.

Kini also asked the managers to do the unthinkable. "I know this may seem like heresy, but to be an effective leader, you may have to take on (the ethos) of your own organisation. Banking is about risk. Your staff will know that if you, as the boss, don't take risks, the price of failure is very high."

Kini said that effective leadership should move from being "transactional to a transformational one".

"Banks exist at the front line (the tellers) for over 95 per cent of customers. I suggest that when the bank makes a mistake, we apologise. An institutional apology has never been heard of in banks. If the 15,000 State Bank tellers start apologising to customers for errors, two things will happen - the staff's ownership in the organisation will go up, for he or she is apologising on behalf of the bank, and personal responsibility will go up. We want the front line (the tellers) to start thinking about customers, not the head office, first."

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Doctor of Science Honour for Dr U R Rao from Technological University


Former president of Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Dr U R Rao will be bestowed with prestigious Doctor of Science honour by Shri Visweswaraya Technological University here on its graduation day on February 13, 2006.

long with Dr U R Rao, Sam Pitroda, An inventor, a technocrat, and a social thinker too will be honoured with the Doctor of Science honour by the technical varsity.

Both the persons have contributed immensely to the vision of modern India. While one has for long been the face of Indian space activities, the other could be called as the father of telecommunication sector of the country.

Dr U R Rao

Space News, a very popular space weekly published from the US, has ranked Prof U R Rao among the top ten international personalities who have made a difference in civil, commerce and military space in the world since 1989. Prof Rao, former Chairman of ISRO is widely regarded as the man who guided India to the status of major space power, the Weekly says in its August 23, 2004 issue. During his tenure, India developed its own communication satellites, weather satellites, high resolution imaging satellites and a polar satellite launch vehicle.

It may be noted that Prof Rao was unanimously elected to preside over the United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNISPACE-III) held in Vienna in July 1999. The Government of India awarded ‘Padma Bhushan’ to Dr Rao in 1976.

A K Nair award presented to Leeladhar

KANNUR: The ‘A K Nair memorial award’, instituted by the North Malabar Chamber of Commerce, was presented to the Deputy Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, Vittaldas Leeladhar, honouring him as the ‘illustrious banker of the decade from Kerala’ by veteran journalist T V R Shenoy on Saturday.

Captain C P Krishnan Nair, chairman of the Leela Group distributed scholarship to children of weavers at the function.

C Jayachandran, president of the NMCC, presided over the function. P P Lakshmanan and C H Aboobacker Haji, former presidents of the NMCC, offered felicitations.

Earlier B Maheshchandra Baliga, honorary secretary of the chamber, welcomed the gathering. B P Rauf, vice-president of the chamber, proposed a vote of thanks.

Saturday, November 26, 2005

Kinfotech Branches Out Into Retail

Bangalore-based Kinfotech, specializing in security and storage solutions, has set up two retail outlets called Software Duniya and Children's Software.

These outlets are located in an IT Mall in Resthouse Road, a commercial area in Bangalore. IT Mall is said to be the first of its kind in Bangalore, and is designed to contain 64 shops.

According to M. Prabhakar Kini, managing director of Kinfotech, the two outlets have been started on an initial investment of Rs 20 lakh under the name of Firstbest IT Mart and the investment may increase in the coming months. Kini clarified that this venture would be completely disassociated from Kinfotech.

He said that Kinfotech will not pump in any money into the new venture, and it will be completely debt-free.

The one-stop shop venture is going to be self-contained, stocking a whole range of software cutting across age-groups. Kini said that he expects to break even only after two years, and that entering the retail space was a natural progression.

Kini is promoting sales in the retail outlets by offering a 20 percent discount on prices of the products.

Kini has also started a training institute called Firstbest School of Marketing in Gandhi Bazaar, Bangalore. This venture he hopes would help tide over the shortage of sales and marketing personnel among the IT channel.

The institute will be providing diploma courses in IT marketing, which is designed to enable aspirants to understand the needs of the market. The institute promises its students placements at the end of the courses. Kini also added that if any student fails to get employment within three months of his finishing the course, Firstbest would refund 50 percent of the course fee.

Friday, November 25, 2005

New Konkani Tabloid 'Goencho Ulo' in Roman Script Launched

A new Konkani tabloid "Goencho Ulo" in Roman Script launched on Thursday.

The first editorial of the newly-launched Konkani tabloid in Roman script written by Joel D'Souza.

The ten-page tabloid [6 colour pages + 2 B/W pages] is issued free to the konkani reading public all over Goa. Currently it is planned as a fortnightly. The promoters hope to raise funds to keep it that way. It will be self-financing or cease to exist. The onus is on all who love the language and want the script to generate advertisement revenue. The initial push came from Rs.30,000/- sent by Ben Antao.

"Anink ek panvl, anink ek divli pettli." meaning "One more step, one more lamp is lit." is the title of the front page edit.

Nayak is BS Banker of the Year

UTI Bank biggest player in loan syndication mkt, and has 3rd largest ATM network in India.

P Jayendra Nayak, chairman and managing director of the UTI Bank, has been chosen Business Standard’s Banker of the Year award for 2004-05. He was selected on the basis of UTI Bank’s track record under his stewardship and a poll of senior Business Standard editors.

Nayak has used the cutting edge of technology and his people skills to catapult a small new private bank into the big league. Today it is the biggest player in the loan syndication market and has the third largest ATM network among all banks in India. About 95 per cent of its retail cash transactions are carried through its 1,565 ATMs across the country.

Business Standard’s Banking Annual, released with today’s edition, takes a close look at the success story of the UTI Bank. Nayak took over as the CMD on January 1, 2000. Over the last five years, the UTI Bank has shown a phenomenal growth in every aspect of business.

For instance, its asset base has grown from Rs 6,669 crore in March 2000 to Rs 46,000 crore in March 2005. Similarly, its loan book has grown from Rs 3,500 crore to Rs 15,600 crore and net profit from Rs 51 crore to Rs 225 crore during the period.

Judging from the qualitative parameters, it is head and shoulders above competition. Its average return on equity (RoE) over the last five years is 28.54 per cent, much above its peers in the private sector.

Similarly, the five-year compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of UTI Bank’s net worth is 58.66 per cent, interest income 44.28 per cent and fee income 49.18 per cent — again, much higher than other banks.

The five-year CAGR of UTI Bank’s net profit is 45.72 per cent; assets 41.44 per cent; advances 34.79 per cent; investment 46.46 per cent; total deposits 40.85 per cent and demand deposits 65.44 per cent — spectacular by any yardstick.

The Banking Annual also covers a round table discussion with the chief executives of 10 leading banks on whether there is a retail banking bubble.

The findings of the round table are an eye opener. Even though there is no bubble, most of the bankers admit that there are concerns like asset-liability mismatches and growing non-performing assets in certain segments of retail loans.

Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Canara Bank Founder’s Day celebrated

KOZHIKODE: The regional office of the Canara Bank organised a procession on Saturday, to mark the Founder’s Day celebration. Inspector-General of Police (North) M.N. Krishna Moorthy flagged off the march at the Police Club.

The procession, which ended at Chalappuram branch, was attended by Canara Bank staff from various branches in the city. Besides, 100-odd students of the Physical Education College here also participated in the programme.

Assistant General Manager K.G.P. Shenoy unveiled the bust of bank founder A. Subbarao Pai at Chalappuram branch. Mathrubhumi managing editor P.V. Chandran, Canara Bank divisional manager R. Vinod Murari, Physical Education College principal N. Suleksh and S.V. Venkitaraman spoke.

Kaun Banega 'Konkani' - TV Game on 'Konkani TV'

It is interesting to learn that India's most popular events are coming to Mangalore too. There is no resemblance of 'Crorepathi' or sort. Mandd Sobhann's Konkani TV will bring the person who has maximum knowledge in Konkani!

Konkani's first TV game show 'Kaun Banega Konakni' on Mangalore's 'Konkani TV' will give a chance to a person who born before 01/01/1990 to win 10 pounds of gold along with a title 'Konkani'.

What is this game all about?

It's a simple TV game. One should have good knowledge of Konkani words. It's a type of Konkani quiz, like one is playing at 'Kaun Banega Crorepathi' by Big B.

This opportunity will be available the first 100 registrants only. If you or your friend or known person is interested to participate in this TV game show, simply call Kalangann at 0824-2232239 or 2230489 or email at manddsobhann@kalaangann.com.

Registration forms are available at: Jerosa Company, Balmatta Medicals, Favourite Collections Bendurwell, Patrao Stationery Urwa, Viola International Padil, Friends International Kulshekar, Cons Bakery Padavinangady, Kalaangann Kulshekar.

Subsidy scheme for films shot in Goa

The Goa Government has approved a scheme to provide Goan producers with 50 per cent subsidy on inputs up to a maximum of Rs 20 lakh to encourage indigenous film talent in Konkani, Marathi, English and Hindi.

Tacking to mediapersons after the Cabinet approved the scheme on the eve of the 36th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here, Chief Minister, Pratapsingh Rane, said adequate budgetary provision would be made for the purpose.

Under the scheme, applicable for only domicile Goans with 15 years of minimum stay in the island State, producers should shoot at least half of the film in Goan locales.

The scheme would be brought under the purview of the State Department of Information and Publicity.

Rane said he was happy with the works now underway for the IFFI beginning here on November 24.

Leadership Fairfax honors special seven

Leadership Fairfax Inc. (LFI), U.S.A presented awards to five individuals and two organizations at its ninth annual Northern Virginia Leadership Awards Gala Nov. 4 at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly.

Sudhakar Shenoy

Sudhakar Shenoy, CEO and founder for IMC, received the Community Trustee Business Award. LFI recognized Shenoy for his contributions in shaping the regional technology business community by being actively involved on numerous regional and statewide boards and commissions, such as the Center for Innovative Technology and the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Shenoy’s passion for technology and its role in the evolution of education led to IMC’s partnership with Kent Gardens Elementary School in McLean and the creation of a distance-learning lab.

Other nominees were: the Arlie Center, for integrating responsible environmental practices into its business operation, and Hinge, for its history of giving back to the community with volunteer work and in-kind services.

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

Banks, cos increasing cyber safety in India, says Kamath

With India becoming a major business process outsourcing (BPO) hub for financial back office operations, banks and corporates are focusing on positioning the country as the world's most cyber safe place.

This was stated by ICICI Bank's, MD and CEO, KV Kamath at the inaugration of the Cyber Safety Week 2005 organised by Nasscom and the Mumbai Police. Mr Kamath also pointed out that with the increasing emphasis on alternate banking channels like automated teller machines (ATMs), credit cards and internet banking, ensuring the security of a transaction is a bipartite responsibility, that is, the onus lies with both, banks and customers in ensuring data protection. Aditya Birla Group's chairman, Mr Birla said one needed more effective law enforcement, especially due to the transnational nature of the businesses done today.

Nasscom's president, Kiran Karnik said that the association was planning to set-up a self regulatory authority (SRA) for member coporates, which would be the authority to ensure that firms adopted best practices in cyber safety, beyond the ambiut of existing laws. Membership to the SRA would become a benchmark for coprorates to get business from overseas.

Ajay Naik - towards Popularizing the Ghazal Format in Konkani Music


The prelude of Konkani 'Ghazals' programme was presented by Ajay Naik, in a programme called ‘Ghazal Rang’ held at Ponda, on November 20.

The evening of Ghazals, which touched the hearts of music-lovers, was inaugurated by well-known Ghazal singer of Mumbai, Bhimrao Panchale, by lighting the traditional lamp, which also gave light to the ghazals' stepping into the Konkani realm.

Ghazals, which have been sung in Urdu, Hindi, Gujarat and Marathi all these years, would now also be heard in Konkani now on, as the concept designed by Ajay Naik, to give a boost to Ghazal writings and singing in Goa, got a good feedback on the first show…

It was the golden day for the field of Konkani literature and music, when the sound of first show of konkani Gajals in Goa, pealed in the hall of Rajiv Kala Mandir at Ponda.

‘It's unfortunate that I couldn’t speak in Konkani. It’s such a sweet language that Ghazals could be formed in an easy way, but the writers will have to take keen interest in learning the methods of Ghazal writing and will have to take proper steps towards it. Next time when I come for any programme in Goa, I will definitely speak in Konkani,’ said Bhimarao Panchale while speaking on the occasion.

Singer Ajay Naik, along with singer Pandurang Shirodkar, Sharmila Allawani and Gayatri Ghatwal sang the Ghazals of noted writers and poets late Bakibab Borkar, Madhav Borkar, Nagesh Karmali, Goa Konkani Academy president Pundalik Naik, Rajay Pawar and Prakash Padgaonkar, who brought the Ghazal-writing culture into Konkani.

The 13 soft tracks of Konkani Ghazals made people to appreciate the concept of Ajay Naik, as it was presented in a big way, for the first time in Goa.


"Eating Out" By Behram Contractor

Udipi Boarding

Who's afraid of zunka bhakar or savouring the cheapest lunch in Mumbai

Life is not half as people make it out to be. At the Udipi Boarding at Fort Market, for the very affordable sum of Rs.11, on this day and at this hour, you may have a full meal of chapattis, rice, two vegetables, pulses, rasam, sambar, butter milk, pappad, even an unlimited quantity of mango pickle.

With my late and lamented friend, M. L. Kamath, as stylishly Udipi a gentleman as you could have found, I used to walk every afternoon from Bori Bunder to Fort Market for lunch at the Udipi Boarding. I am talking about some 15 years back, a little more_food at the Udipi Boarding was much cheaper then. But at Rs.11, it is not exactly exorbitant now. And, possibly, for its volume and variety, the cheapest lunch that you can get in Mumbai today. Thank you, very much.

Let met give the exact location. It is two buildings away from the municipal Fort Market, going down Minto Road towards the GPO. First, you will pass Special Anand Bhuvan, same owners, then reach Udipi Boarding-Pure Vegetarian Meals, to give its full name. Do not expect an imposing restaurant; in fact, very definitely a poor country cousin. A counter at the entrance, with a hand-written notice declaring: "Mind your belongings", functional tables and benches,, a menu on the wall, a garlanded picture of Sundindru Tirth Swamiji, guru of the Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, am open kitchen, occupying almost half the premises, two basins with liquid soap thoughtfully provided to get the coconut oil off the hands. That's all.

Lunch is between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., there is no dinner. If you go around 1 p.m., you will have to stand in a queue, at its longest extending down the steps and on to the pavement. But such is the loyalty of its regulars that they do not mind standing in a queue. In any case, the turnover is fast. The consumption of a full meal takes an average of seven minutes. Seated at the counter. In overall charge is young Vivek Shenoy, who, in the tradition of Udipi restaurateurs, personally goes to the Byculla Market every morning and buys the vegetables. This in spite of the fact that the Fort Market is next door, because the Byculla one has fresher and cheaper vegetables.

Now, for some house rules. As you enter, from the elder Mr. Shenoy you buy your lunch coupon at Rs.11. If you want Dahi with your lunch, you buy a Rs.12 coupon. And if you want any extra helpings, you buy extra coupons at Rs.2 per extra item. Then, after you have bought the extra coupons, in case you do not use them, on your way out after the meal, you return them at the counter and get your cash back.

The other day, when I reacquainted myself with Udipi Boarding, I went there by noon, when the place was comparatively empty, and I bought the Rs.12 coupon, which entitled me to the dahi. Plus, a Rs.2 coupon for the tupa. I will explain tupa later. Let us get down to the meal. First, a waiter brought a tumbler of butter milk and a bowl of dahi. Then the thali came: Two chapattis, thin, neither oily nor dry, two round cups of rice (surti kolum, bought in New Bombay), diced boiled beetroots, slightly lemony, shredded cabbage, green peas in a medium gravy, a bowl of lemon rasam, a fried pappad, a dash of mango pickle. There was no limit on the rasam and sambar. I had two extra bowls of the rasam, lifted the bowl up and put it to my lips, peppery peppery hot, the best mulligatawny in the world, it brought tears to my eyes as it trickled down my throat. Each day there is a rasam, please note. On Mondays, it is kokum rasam, Tuesdays mixed masalas, followed by channa, lemon, tomato (I like that), and horse radish. The ingredients are boiled, crushed, the juice extracted from them, then water and spices added, a vaghar made in coconut oil, and served. On Wednesdays, the water that is used for boiling the channas, is used for boiling the channas, is used for the rasam.

Coconut oil is used in all the Udipi cooking, it is what mustard oil is to Bengal. If you want me to be more specific, Udipi Boarding uses Kamori Coconut Oil. The restaurant has an aroma of coconut oil, a pleasant aroma, one that makes a hungry man more hungry, if I may add. The restaurant also makes all its own spices, with fresh coconut added to them. Garlic is used in the vegetables but not in dals. The dal, known locally as dalithay, is served on Mondays and Fridays. It is a tur dal, the tarka is given with hing, rye, curry patta and adrak sauted in coconut oil and then poured on the dal.

Yes, the tupa. I gave the waiter my Rs.2 coupon and in a small thimble of a vessel he brought me pure home-made (in this case, restaurant-made) ghee. The thimble was placed on top of one of my cups of rice. It is the practice. After I had finished with the chapattis and the vegetable, I turned the thimble over and poured it on one of the cups of rice, mixed it well inside with my hands, so that each grain of rice hopefully had a little ghee on it, then poured some sambar on it, remassaged the rice, and ate it. In between, I bit on the pappad. On the second cup of rice, I spooned the dahi, blended it well into the rice, added the mango pickle to it, and ate. The I had my last bowl of rasam, which is both an appetiser and a digestive, drank my tumbler of buttermilk, and went to the basin and cleaned my hands with the liquid soap.

There is no sweet. Says Mr. Vivek Shenoy: "Where is the time for it." But still, on special festival days, the restaurant serves payasam, that most delicious of desserts. And that is on the house. The special festival days include Nagpanchmi, Gudipadva, Divali, and the restaurant's anniversary day, February 16.

In my poorer days, I was grateful that restaurants like the Udipi Boarding were around. Now, in my half-rich-half-poor days, my gratitude continues. And what I say is: With our Gaud Saraswat Brahmin friends from Udipi serving us a full meal (kolum rice, wheat chapattis and all) for Rs.11, who is afraid of zunkha bhakar.

Monday, November 21, 2005

Devanagiri for Konkani favoured

The statement of Konkani Sahitya Parishad president Eric Ozario here that Kannada script should be used by Konkani writers in the State has led to a debate on the issue.

Mr. Ozario said a survey revealed that 69 per cent of Konkani-speaking people in the State preferred Kannada script for the language.

In 33 of 34 Konkani books published in the State last year, Kannada script has been used.

Mahableshwar Sail, a noted Konkani novelist and Kendra Sahitya Academy Award winner, who supports Devanagari script for Konkani, said Konakni-speaking people are spread in Maharastra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala.

The Konkani writers of these States use the scripts of the languages of respective States.

Bigger market

Harmonious relationship can be established only when the languages has a common script. Common script naturally expands the market for Konkani books.

He said the question before Konkani people is to establish their independent identity.

He said Marathi and Hindi too did not have their own script.

When they could adopt Devanagari as their script why not the Konkani-speaking people? he asked.

Konkani Yuva Mahotsav : Dec 2-4

Karnataka Konkani Sahithya Academy in association with the Konkani Yuva Awaz will organise ‘Konkani Yuva Mahotsav 2005’ at Kalaangann, Shaktinagar in Mangalore from December 2 to 4.

Addressing a press meet here on Monday, Karnataka Konkani Sahithya Academy President Eric Ozario said even though this is a Konkani Mahotsav, participation is open to all.

Competitions will be held in three categories, viz PU college section (December 2); College section (Dec 3) and Open to all section (Dec 4). All the technical colleges, professional colleges, post graduate centres come under college section. In open to all section, participants between the age group of 15 and 40 years can participate.

Stating that each section will have five contests, he said it is essential that a team representing a college/or an organisation must compete in all the contests like solo singing, group singing, group dance and skit. Songs must be in Konkani- of any dialect. The skit must have a minimum of six and maximum of 10 actors and dialogues or commentary or narration must be in Konkani only. Compering must be done only in Konkani.

He said each participating team will be allotted 25 minutes which includes performing time, announcement time, stage setting and stage clearing.

Winners will receive Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 cash respectively along with the trophies.

The team which receives highest points will be given ‘Best Konkani Youth Team’ award along with Rs 5,550 cash. More than 2,000 youth from Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasargod districts are expected to participate in the event, Mr Ozario added.

Academy Registrar Dugappa Kajekar was present.

Scrap Urdu, Konkani Academies

Noted writer and former vice-chancellor of University of Mysore Prof D Jaware Gowda on Wednesday asked the State Government to scrap Karnataka Urdu Academy and Konkani Academy for their ‘anti-Kannada’ activities.

Speaking at Kannada Rajyostava celebrations organised by Indian Institute of Languages and felicitation to Rajyostava Award winner Prof Lingadevaru Halimane in Mysore, he said though translation of Urdu and Konkani works into Kannada is a primary function of these Academies, they have neglected it.

Mr Gowda said that there is no point in having a separate Academy for Konkani language, as Kannada is being used as its script.

He said that there is a need to bring out a separate dictionary on words used by tribals and setting up a museum for preserving instruments being used by tri
bals for their folklore.

Saturday, November 19, 2005

Check out the new Section!!

Hi..All,

I have added a new Section "Help Me Konkanis!!" , where once Konkani can help other Konkani.
Any suggestion/comments/articles, please email it to konkaniworld@hotmail.com

Regards,

The World of GSB Konkani!!

Now, money goes mobile

State Bank of India and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay, have come together to launch an innovative mobile payment option in India—the SBI Visa prepaid card. mChq, a mobile-to-mobile payment option platform, will power these cards. They will first be introduced only for Airtel subscribers at IIT Bombay.

“We are changing the concept of money and payment,” said Ashok Kini, Managing Director & Group Executive (National Banking), SBI. The initiative enables merchants to use their mobile phone as a secure point of sale (POS) terminal, and cardholders to use their handsets as a payment mechanism eliminating the need for a physical card and a POS terminal.

Observed Uttam Nayak, Deputy Country Manager, South Asia, Visa International, “mChq leads to an increase in acceptance of cards at merchant locations which do not currently have the physical infrastructure to accept Visa payment cards. The unique feature of this initiative is that it attracts the segment of the population that’s presently not covered by conventional payment mechanisms of the service. It is expected to increase card penetration and usage, and empower the Indian customer.” The transaction process of mChq is similar to a normal payment card. Mobile subscribers have to use an mChq-enabled SIM card for it to work.

According to Anurag Gupta, CEO, A.Little.World, the back-end operator of mChq platforms and the technology and service provider, “SBI’s reach, and the marketing of Airtel and Visa, will contribute to the potential of the mChq system to succeed as the payment option of the new millennium.”

India has potential in food market: Dr Bhat

“India has potential to introduce food and cosmetic natural flavouring agents to the western world as the world market is looking for it,” noted Karnataka Bio-diversity Board Joint Director Dr Sathyanarayana Bhat.

Delivering the key-note address at the State-level seminar on ‘Concept of beauty: In the light of cosmetics and perfumes,’ organised by the Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies and Research in Sanskrit of Canara College here on Friday, he said vedic and post-vedic wisdom speaks significance of aroma and flowers in the prevention and management of diseases as well as promotion of positive health, mind and body.

“Beauty is the perfection of all including visual, physical, physiological and emotional aspect of human being,” he said and added that discovery of mirror is the first evidence of beauty concept. Dr Bhat said sandal was one of the commonest plant used by the Jain munis and Hindu sages. The ‘thilaka’ of sandal paste over the forehead is not just for symbolic but for its beneficiary effects.

“In the folklore, we find ample examples of aroma and use of flowers. Tulasi and Bilva leaves are commonly used for daily prayers (rituals) not just for customary practice but for therapeutic values. The rare traces of elements and chemicals present in such substances could enter the human body even through the nail beds while plucking which is enough to produce therapeutic effects,” he said.

Ancient methods

“Gums and resins of trees were used both externally on the body and thorough fumigation is the best example of ancient method of aroma therapeutics,” Dr Bhat added and said flowers of Ixora Coccinia which is used abundantly in the ‘Bhutha’ worship rituals has an important medicinal values.

He said in Naga and Siri worship flowers of ‘Areca catechu’ is widely used. The very concept of such rituals are closely inter-woven with the fertility and hormonal health of the society, particularly women. Areca flower is rich in tannins which rejuvenates skin and other vital organs of the body. He said Tulu literature, especially parddanas provide descriptions on how to keep fit, healthy and young.

Inaugurating the seminar, Mangalore University Vice-Chancellor (Acting) Prof B Thimme Gowda said the deliberations and observations of the seminar should provide new avenues to the production of perfumes and cosmetics in the Indian context.

Stating that achievement in science and technology is a marvellous progress made by the man, he said the problems of air and water pollution, drug addiction, alcoholism are the result of unimaginable applications of existing science by human beings. Canara Bank Senior Manager Hariram Shenoy released journal ‘Samskrita Tarangini,’ on the occasion. Canara High School Association President Basti Narayana Shenoy, Centre for Inter-Disciplinary Studies and Research in Sanskrit of Canara College Professor and Director Dr G N Bhat were present.

Rural development through education


Dr. S.S Kalbag ( - Aug 2003)

Dr. S S Kalbag has devoted 20 years of his life to educating the rural youngster, and found an enriching life for himself too in the process.

He rejects the educational system as we know it. His emphasis is on learning while doing in real life. He believes that working with your hands is what teaches you best. And he has translated his convictions into reality at the Vigyan Ashram in Pabal in Maharashtra.

Dr. S S Kalbag has devoted 20 years of his life to educating the rural youngster. His education is of a different kind, eliminating the formal structure of a classroom, blackboard and books, and incorporating the wisdom of life, experience, and hands-on work. He regards science to be sacred and the inculcation of a scientific temperament to be a holy quest. The recipient of the 1996 Jamnalal Bajaj Award for services to the rural community, 74-year-old Kalbag gave up a lucrative career to pursue his vision of education – an education that would enhance the life of a village child and ensure against his migration to the city. In all these years of pursuit of his mission, he has been blessed with the unstinting support of his wife Mira.

Kalbag grew up in an ‘engineering environment’ and it was back then in his childhood itself that he picked up his yen for tinkering with tools. His father migrated to Mumbai in 1903 and set up his home in near wilderness. He had to install his own water and power connections and take care of the sanitation works, etc. As Kalbag helped his father with all these chores, he developed a natural liking to do things with his own hands. He even had a laboratory set up at home, where he experimented with all kinds of devices. This passion for engineering continued all through his life, and more than that, it gave him a different perspective of how learning and education should be.

“I benefited from the way I learned things – by actually doing them. This was not something I learned in school. Later on, when I looked back at my childhood, I realised how incongruous our education system was, and I felt I must pass on to others my way of hands-on education,” says Kalbag. While this lingered in the back of his mind, he went on to obtain B. Tech and an M. Tech degrees in Mumbai, before proceeding to the University of Illinois, Urbana for his doctorate in Food Technology. He returned to India and took up his first job at the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore.

“I was 27 then. I decided that for 27 years, I had been a student, and so, another 27 years I would give to be a householder (Grihasthashram). Then I shall enter the phase of Vanaprasthashram and devote the rest of my life to the service of mankind,” he says, explaining his philosophy.

He married Mira, joined Hindustan Lever Ltd and rose to become the head of the Engineering Division. All along, he was firming up on his plans to work in the field of education. His premise that working with the hand stimulates the intellect received statistical backing by a survey he conducted among the street urchins in Mumbai under the aegis of the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, TIFR. The kids were smart and could manage a range of tasks efficiently, yet they did not do well in the schools they attended, because the syllabus did not match their skills. “I thought the way they learned things – from life itself – was the right way. But of course, the syllabus in the corporation-run schools would not change to accommodate my views. That was when someone suggested I should meet J P Naik and Chitra Naik of the Indian Institute of Education, Pune,” he says.

On discussing with the Naiks their philosophy of education, Kalbag realised he had found a partner in thinking. In 1981, he and Mira visited the night schools run by the IIE in five different areas. They were also on the lookout of a place to set base and begin their work. Eventually they narrowed in on Pabal, off the Pune-Ahmednagar highway. The place was drought-prone, like many parts of India outside the monsoon season. Kalbag wanted a place that was away from any major city and Pabal, ideally, was away from the highway and would not easily become a suburb of Pune. Trekking through the villages around Pabal for seven days, he gauged the response of the local residents to his ideas of education. He finally decided he had found his place and submitted a formal project to the Department of Science and Technology in 1981. Work in Vigyan Ashram commenced in January 1983.

The beginning was simple -– imparting multi-skill training, developing a problem-solving attitude, and stimulating the intellect. The education system as we know it today, Kalbag concluded, is inefficient. It teaches very little. For example, a child of two has learned at least one language by herself, effortlessly. In 10 years of schooling, how many more languages does she pick up? He points out that nearly 90% of children enrolling in primary schools do not cross the matriculation level. We may be led to assume that this is the percentage of duds in our systems. Yet, it is these very ‘dropouts’ who build our houses, repair our cars, run most of the sma industries, farm the lands. How do they manage to do so much?

"I call this the natural system of learning as ‘learning while doing work in real life situations'", elaborates the new-age teacher. The aim of Vigyan Ashram is to identify the core of this system and graft it into our existing educational patterns to make it equally efficient. Consequently, Kalbag and his team of like-minded individuals developed a system called Rural Development through Education System (RDES).

This is mainly education through development work - giving paid services to the community and using this as a means of education that imparts hands-on training in all skills relevant to rural areas. The RDES exists in both a formal mode (8-10th standards in schools) as well as in a non-formal mode as a one year course targetted at school dropouts (post 8th standard). The formal course is recognised by the State Education Board for SSC (Maharashtra) and there are about 20 schools implementing this in different parts of the state. The course for dropouts (post 8th standard) helps the students learn in real life situations in the areas of Home-Health, Agriculture-Animal Husbandry, Engineering and Energy-Enviroment. Necessary theoretical briefing is also included. Students also earn by taking jobs on contract. The course is fully residential and awards a diploma from the National Institute of Open Schooling, (MHRD, Delhi)

The Ashram's campus, built by staff and students themselves, includes dome houses, a mini tractor, and water-prospecting machines. It encompasses Kalbag’s vision of a 21st century school being a group o self-supporting industries that provide hands-on experiences to students, while they are absorbing theoretical information through self study using computers and the Internet. All this happens under the supervision of a ‘Guru’ who looks after the value system in all the life transaction. "We want our students to start their own enterprises in their villags and thus reduce the migration to cities. There are many who have done that and are running their industries successfully. But these are not my success stories, they are their own. My success story will be when the system runs without me", insists the 74-year-old man.

The Ashram also embodies the basic tenet that Kalbag and Mira follow in their personal lives - high thinking and simple living. Llife here is hard; water is scarce, power erratic. But it is rich with the satisfaction of having learned to do things with one’s own hands, and armed with the knowledge this education will actually bring in a livelihood as well.

Friday, November 18, 2005

ICICI chief defends India's banking regulations

ICICI Bank chairman K.V. Kamath has defended rules preventing foreign investors from buying Indian banks, saying international banks had lost ground to domestic rivals not because of regulatory hurdles, but because they had underestimated the local banks.

"Typically, people say India is closed to foreign banks. I do not agree with that at all," Kamath told the Financial Times, London.

"If I look at the countries around the world, India is honestly more open than most," he said.

The leading British financial newspaper said foreign banks, led by Citibank, HSBC and Standard Chartered, had been expanding in India, drawn by its fast-growing middle class and rising corporate sector.

Alongside China, India is regarded as one of the world's most promising markets for international financial services groups, it said.

However, the report said, the foreign banks' hopes of expanding through acquisition were dashed this year when the Reserve Bank of India announced that a foreign bank with an existing presence in the country was prohibited from owning more than five percent of a domestic bank. The rule is set to be reviewed in 2009.

International lenders are allowed to open branches in the country, but they account for a fraction of India's total commercial banking network because of tight government restrictions on branch expansion.

Kamath told the newspaper that foreign lenders faced "a steep slope" as they had "ceded territories to the domestic banks", including ICICI.

A decade ago, when ICICI and some of its peers in private-sector banking were establishing themselves, the foreign banks had the upper hand, he said.

"They blinked. When we set up, they thought ICICI was not serious. They could have easily blocked entry for us. They were strong. They had the products. They had the distribution. They took us a little lightly," he told the daily.

His comments came as ICICI opened its first branch in Hong Kong this week as part of an international growth drive. Kamath said ICICI's Hong Kong office would be used as a hub to serve Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and China.

Adnyaa rule the roost

Adnyaa Naik confirmed her reputation as one of India's leading junior talents in the Tata AIG Life Super Series Tennis Tournament, pocketing the girls' under-16 and under-14 singles titles.

Girls: U-16 singles: Adnyaa Naik (Mah) bt Garima Vatwani (Dli) 6-1, 6-1; U-14 singles: Adnyaa Naik (Mah) bt M Divija (AP) 6-3, 6-3;

Chhattisgarh: S Rama Naik takes oath as Chief Justice of HC

Raipur: Various modalities would be worked out to clear the pendency of cases, S Rama Naik, who took oath as the new chief justice of Chhattisgarh High Court, said today.

"Currently there are eight judges and about 70,000 cases pending in the state High Court," Justice Naik told reporters immediately after his oath.

Considering pendency various modalities would be worked out to reduce that, and downsizing the number of cases would be one of his top priority, he said Steps would be taken to increase the strength of the bench, Justice Naik said.

Asking for constructive cooperation from media to reduce number of cases, he said the press should mould the opinion of the people that the court is not the only place to settle cases.

Earlier in a function this evening, Governor Lt Gen Krishna Mohan Seth administered oath of office to justice Naik.

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Mallya to shop for $2.1bn at Dubai air show

Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher Airlines is likely to order 30 jets and 20 turbo-propelled aircraft at the Dubai air show, starting Sunday. All aircraft will be used on domestic routes.

With a seating capacity of 175 — the standard for domestic flights — each jet carries a price tag of $60 million (about Rs 273 crore). Adding the prices of 20 turbo-propelled aircraft, costing $15 million (about Rs 68 crore) each, Mallya will have to carry a $2.1-billion (about Rs 9,600 crore) purse to Dubai.

"We are announcing two major deals at the Dubai air show for the jets and turbo-propelled aircraft. This is part of our network expansion plan," said Mallya, chairman, Kingfisher Airlines. He did not give details.

This will be the second major order placed by Kingfisher in six months. At the Paris air show in June this year, the airline had placed orders for 15 aircraft, including five A 380s, whose total list price was about $5 billion (about Rs 22,800 crore).

The company wanted to acquire turbo-propelled aircraft — cheaper to operate than jets — as part of its plan to tap markets with lesser traffic.

"Some of the turbo-propelled aircraft will be based in the Northeast to service the region and others will look at southern Indian regional markets," Mallya said. He said Kingfisher Airlines, since its launch in May this year, had managed to grab a 6.1 per cent share of the market.

"We expect the trend to continue and gain more market share. We started with four flights a day and now have 52. We will need more aircraft to back our growth," he said. Mallya also said Kingfisher Airlines had bid for acquiring an equity stake in Air Sahara and was still in the race. He had recently talked of a $100-million bid.

Sources said there could be big orders at Dubai from other Indian carriers too.

Wednesday, November 16, 2005

51% professionals seek a new job

With options in the job market growing and the economy booming, as many as 51 per cent of the working population is looking for newer career options despite having a stable and secure job, a survey has revealed.

While 27 per cent of the qualified professionals were looking for their first career break, 14 per cent chose to remain unemployed but not settle for anything less, says an Internet poll conducted by Monster India, part of the global online careers and recruitment site Monster.

The survey was a part of Monster Meter, an ongoing series of online polls that gauge users' opinion on a variety of topics relating to careers and the workplace, a company release said on Tuesday.

More than 20,000 votes cast by the Web site's users was made the basis of the survey with only one vote per user being counted toward the final tabulation.

Terming it as a clear case of supply and demand in the job market, Monster Asia vice president marketing Dhruv Shenoy said: "Members of the workforce today command more bargaining power than ever before and the market dynamics are there to support them."

The survey also found that 8 per cent were looking for advice about development in the current roles.

On the reasons for the pattern, Shenoy said the company believes employees were seeking better options outside their current roles for a variety of reasons including a better pay package, more challenging role or simply just a change.

"But the fact is employees are restless today and no more prepared to settle for anything less in their lives," he said.

ICICI in China prefers business over investments

India's ICICI Bank Ltd., a latecomer to the greater China market, prefers cooperative agreements with mainland lenders rather than direct investments, Chief Executive K.V. Kamath said on Tuesday.

The lender, India's second-largest, opened its first Hong Kong branch on Tuesday and sees great opportunities in greater China, which its executives said is expected to have trade with India of up to $18 billion this year.

The bank has branches in London, Canada and Singapore but before opening the Hong Kong branch had only a representative office in China, to which foreign lenders are flocking to the country's strong economy and $1.7 trillion in personal savings.

"Singapore was probably a better known market for US and we went there first," Kamath said at a media briefing, adding that the bank soon realised Hong Kong was the gateway to North Asia.

"It took us a little longer (to enter the Chinese market) than it should have, but we scale up pretty fast so better late than never," he said.

Bank of America Corp., HSBC Holdings Plc. and a host of other banks have spent billions of dollars investing in Chinese lenders but ICICI would prefer to spend money on its own operations, Kamath said.

"China becomes a business opportunity, rather than an investment opportunity," he said.

ICICI has correspondent banking links with Bank of Communications Co., Bank of China and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, three of the country's five biggest lenders.

The bank's Hong Kong branch will focus on serving its Indian clients with operations in the territory, and ICICI just signed a business cooperation agreement to provide its client with service through the China branches of Bank of East Asia Ltd.

"Follow the customer is the core strategy," Kamath said. "The pace at which (India-China trade) is growing is something that every banker needs to take seriously."

FIBA: IND - Punjab Men and Southern Railway women win All-India tournament

Federation Cup Champions Central Excise, Kerala lost to Punjab in the finals of United Phosphorous Ltd Savio Cup All-India Basketball Tournament, which concluded at the floodlit court of the Don Bosco School, Matunga in Mumbai on 12th November 2005.

The combination of power and speed that the Punjab players had displayed throughout the tournament, climaxed in the men's final against Central Excise, Kochi on Saturday.

Talwinderjit Singh, who had represented India in the FIBA ASIA Championship for men recently held in Doha, Qatar, was easily the star of the tournament and the toast of the Punjab team, impressing everyone with his skills.

Punjab outplayed Central Excise 113-77 in a one sided contest.

In the women section Southern Railways thrashed Maharashtra 75-44 overcoming an erratic first quarter.

Both Southern Railway and Punjab played to a plan and that was to neutralize the opposition's top player.

Southern gave the Maharashtra skipper Manisha Kaprekar absolutely no space to play her usual sharp-shooting skills while Punjab blocked out Central Excise's "danger man" 6 feet 8 inches tall Subhash Shenoy, and took control of the match in the first quarter itself.

With Shenoy neutralized by Yadwinder Singh and Jasjot Singh, the Excise players were totally rattled and left the game open for Talwinderjit Singh and Snehpal Singh to dazzle the crowd with their fast breaks and flashy passing.

Yadwinder, who sunk four three-pointers and was superb in both offensive and defensive rebound collection, scored 25 points. Hareesh of Central Excise, Kerala top scored with 30 points.

FINAL RESULTS:

Women: Southern Railway 75 (Renjini Peter 21, Geethu Anna Jose 16) bt Maharashtra 44 (Indu S 20).

Men: Punjab 113 (Yadwinder Singh 25, Talwinderjit Singh 25, Snehpal Singh 26) bt Central Excise 77 (Hareesh 30, Santosh John 11).

Taking the lead

WHEN everyone is rolling up their sleeves to take on the competitive world, the Marathi medium schools in the city are ensuring they stay in the reckoning.

The prizes their students win in national and international competition stand testimony to the efforts. "Each child has a potential. We try and provide enough opportunity and environment so that they can find their area of interest. Once we identify his interest, he is exposed to every aspect of it, he is allowed to pursue his interest and participate in competitions," opines Suman Shenoy, principal of Dynan Prabodhini School, Nigdi.

At SNDT Kanyashala, Kothrud, students are even given a feel of the functioning of the State assembly. "We have an election where the students elect a Chief Minister and a deputy. Several students are good at sports and cultural activities and we do encourage them to participate in competitions. They are also told stories as a part of imparting values,’’ says Madhuri Gosavi, principal of Kanyashala.

Following an education pattern that helps their students remain at par with students of English medium schools, a medium of instruction which is semi-English (standard V to VIII) and from standard VIII to X, in Hindi makes students well-versed in languages, she adds.

In project-based curriculum Marathi medium schools are not an inch behind their English counterparts. "We emphasise on projects here so that a student who lags behind in academics can prove his mettle in fields like sports and culture. Our ‘special sports project’ has been formed mostly keeping this in mind. We believe through excelling in sports, a student will feel confident to prove himself in studies too. And this has proven true with so many of our students," says Shenoy taking pride in her three students who were selected for international yoga competition. Students here are regular participants in science and cyber olympiads. "You never know where a child’s talent lie. So we have sports, technical department and computer department for a child to fit himself suitably.

"There is a general belief that students of Marathi medium are not as good as those of English medium schools. But there is absolutely no base to it. Our students are equally talented and have proven themselves bright in different capacities," observes Alka Jadhav, principal of St Andrews High School, Camp. "Our students have won several prizes in drawing and music contests. We also have environmental studies, story-telling sessions, and value education through songs and drama. They are encouraged to pursue their areas of interest by participating in inter-school competitions," she adds.

Taking the lead

WHEN everyone is rolling up their sleeves to take on the competitive world, the Marathi medium schools in the city are ensuring they stay in the reckoning.

The prizes their students win in national and international competition stand testimony to the efforts. "Each child has a potential. We try and provide enough opportunity and environment so that they can find their area of interest. Once we identify his interest, he is exposed to every aspect of it, he is allowed to pursue his interest and participate in competitions," opines Suman Shenoy, principal of Dynan Prabodhini School, Nigdi.


At SNDT Kanyashala, Kothrud, students are even given a feel of the functioning of the State assembly. "We have an election where the students elect a Chief Minister and a deputy. Several students are good at sports and cultural activities and we do encourage them to participate in competitions. They are also told stories as a part of imparting values,’’ says Madhuri Gosavi, principal of Kanyashala.

Following an education pattern that helps their students remain at par with students of English medium schools, a medium of instruction which is semi-English (standard V to VIII) and from standard VIII to X, in Hindi makes students well-versed in languages, she adds.

In project-based curriculum Marathi medium schools are not an inch behind their English counterparts. "We emphasise on projects here so that a student who lags behind in academics can prove his mettle in fields like sports and culture. Our ‘special sports project’ has been formed mostly keeping this in mind. We believe through excelling in sports, a student will feel confident to prove himself in studies too. And this has proven true with so many of our students," says Shenoy taking pride in her three students who were selected for international yoga competition. Students here are regular participants in science and cyber olympiads. "You never know where a child’s talent lie. So we have sports, technical department and computer department for a child to fit himself suitably.

"There is a general belief that students of Marathi medium are not as good as those of English medium schools. But there is absolutely no base to it. Our students are equally talented and have proven themselves bright in different capacities," observes Alka Jadhav, principal of St Andrews High School, Camp. "Our students have won several prizes in drawing and music contests. We also have environmental studies, story-telling sessions, and value education through songs and drama. They are encouraged to pursue their areas of interest by participating in inter-school competitions," she adds.

Konkani Yuva Mahotsav

Karnataka Konkani Sahithya Academy in association with the Konkani Yuva Awaz will organise ‘Konkani Yuva Mahotsav 2005’ at Kalaangann, Shaktinagar in Mangalore from December 2 to 4.

Addressing a press meet here on Monday, Karnataka Konkani Sahithya Academy President Eric Ozario said even though this is a Konkani Mahotsav, participation is open to all.

Competitions will be held in three categories, viz PU college section (December 2); College section (Dec 3) and Open to all section (Dec 4). All the technical colleges, professional colleges, post graduate centres come under college section. In open to all section, participants between the age group of 15 and 40 years can participate.

Stating that each section will have five contests, he said it is essential that a team representing a college/or an organisation must compete in all the contests like solo singing, group singing, group dance and skit. Songs must be in Konkani- of any dialect. The skit must have a minimum of six and maximum of 10 actors and dialogues or commentary or narration must be in Konkani only. Compering must be done only in Konkani.

He said each participating team will be allotted 25 minutes which includes performing time, announcement time, stage setting and stage clearing.

Winners will receive Rs 5,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 2,000 cash respectively along with the trophies.

The team which receives highest points will be given ‘Best Konkani Youth Team’ award along with Rs 5,550 cash. More than 2,000 youth from Uttara Kannada, Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Kasargod districts are expected to participate in the event, Ozario added.

Academy Registrar Dugappa Kajekar was present.

Sunday, November 13, 2005

CE to take on Punjab in final

MUMBAI: Subhash Shenoy's versatile performance piloted Cochin Customs into the men's final of the United Phosphorous-sponsored Savio Cup all-India basketball on Friday. The Kerala side defeated

Western Railway 100-73 at the Don Bosco School floodlit courts. Maharashtra riding on a fine show by Manisha Kapekar, entered the women's final. It beat India Juniors 67-47 to set up a title clash with Southern Railway.

Punjab was given a fright by North Western Railway before scraping past 77-69 in the last two minutes.

The scores: Men: Central Excise and Customs (Cochin) 100 (Subhash Shenoy 32, R. Manoj 20) bt Western Railway 73 (Trideep Rai 27, Rahul Dev Tyagi 22).