Jet Airways chief operating officer Peter Luethi and its general manager, "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.
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.
‘‘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.
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.
In 2003, T.N. Shanbhag received the Padmashree award and Shanbhag's Strand Book Stall is now in Bombay and Bangalore.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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
“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.
"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.
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.
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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
NOV. 5, 2005: The head of editorial operations in Asia for Reuters captivated a crowd of nearly 40 journalism professionals and students from Columbia University Thursday evening in an intimate conversation that touched on prospering Asian markets, technology advancements, Reuters Asia and an upbeat analysis of journalism. The event, held at Reuters US headquarters in Times Square, was sponsored by SAJA, the South Asian Journalists Association. Chaitanya Kalbag discussed the enormous potential in Asia, including two of the world’s largest growth markets, India and China. He said technology has continued to develop in Korea, Japan, and China, and at Reuters, where the markets of consumer television, news content on mobile phones, podcasting and citizen journalism are expanding.
With further developments in technology, Kalbag said Reuters will continue to concentrate on financial product and news that adheres to the company’s standards of accuracy, speed and freedom from bias. Those standards are often challenged in Asia where the world’s major news events and overarching economic picture continue
to unfold, he said.
Complexity of stories only places a higher demand on professional journalists trained in schools and Reuters graduate programs, Kalbag said. There is demand in Reuters for journalists with language skills in Mandarin, Thai, Korean, and Japanese, and
opportunities for those who speak English in Singapore, Hong Kong,
the Philippines, India, Australia and elsewhere.
In spite of the cyclical nature of journalism and current naysayers, Kalbag finished by saying that as long as there is a need to tell a story in an objective and truthful way, journalists will serve an important function. He invited journalism students to consider
Reuters in their career plans, and offered to accept clip packages.
CHAITANYA KALBAG BIO
Managing Editor, Head of Editorial Operations, Asia
Chaitanya Kalbag joined Reuters in 1983 as a correspondent in New Delhi, India. He moved to Manila in 1987 and in 1988 became a Chief Sub-editor on the Hong Kong economic desk. In 1991 he moved to Tokyo and in 1993 he was appointed Editor, News Production, Japan. His next post as Editor, News Production Asia was based in Hong Kong. There he was responsible for the quality of all text news output from Asia including output from all editing desks.
In 1997 he became Bureau Chief, India where he was responsible for all text, television and pictures coverage from India, Nepal and Bhutan. He then became Managing Director, Reuters India Limited and Manager South Asia, based in Mumbai. In this role he was the senior Reuters company official for all eight South Asian countries including Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
He took on his current role in July 2000 and heads all text, television and pictures news operations in Asia. He is also responsible for the recruitment, safety and security, and career development of nearly 600 journalists in 33 bureaus in 22 countries stretching from Afghanistan to New Zealand. Prior to joining Reuters, he worked in Bombay for a small Indian newspaper, then went on to edit and produce Transindia, a monthly newsmagazine for Indians living in the United States. He moved to New Delhi in 1978, and held senior writing positions at two magazinesNew Delhi and India Today. He won the Rajika Kripalani Young Journalist Award in 1977, the Sanskriti Award for Journalism for 1982, and the India Today-PUCL Human Rights Reporting Award in 1983. He was included in An Anthology of Bombay Poetry, 1977.
Mangalore: The ministry of human resource development has selected Mohini Appaji Naik from the city, for the national award for child welfare 2003-04. Mohini Naik, is the founder of Mangalajyothi Integrated School at Vamanjoor on the outskirts of the city.
Arjun Singh, minister for human resource development, will present the award to Mohini Naik, on the occasion of Children’s Day on Monday November 14, at New Delhi.
The award carries a cash prize of Rs 1 lac for individuals, and Rs 3 lac for institutions.
From humble and modest beginnings, the Kamats Hotels India Ltd (KHIL) has created a unique mark for itself in the Indian hospitality industry with its environmentally sensitive hotels. "A clear vision along with determination and hard work have gone a long way in helping the group achieve successful results. They have helped lay down the foundation of the most successful restaurant chain and now a hotel major," Kamat asserts.
Of course, the brand equity of 'Kamats' has also gone up substantially over the years, with due credit to its eco-strategy. Kamat says, "Marketing and positioning of the property is an important aspect of the hospitality industry. Unto us was born a brand, unknown so far in the continent of Asia - a green hotel - environmentally sensitive, right from brick to paper and concerned about every little need of its guests."
The ‘Ecotel’ Brand
In its efforts to position this brand, it was proved that 87 per cent of international travellers patronise green hotels. This led to the need to tie up with HVS Eco Services of New York-based HVS International, to undertake specific environmental programmes. These programmes were designed to lower operating costs and increase revenues and evaluate the hotel's environmental performance in various areas. Needless to say, The Orchid - as it is aptly named - was awarded the prestigious 'Ecotel' certification', which is the hallmark of environmentally-sensitive hotels. "It became the first hotel in Asia to obtain the coveted certification," Kamat proudly exclaims.
"Our prime strategy has been to enhance the guest experience while setting new standards in conserving natural resources, educating, enlightening and motivating our staff and cultivating community relationships," Kamat says. The 42 international awards and the recent ISO 14001 certification reiterate these efforts of The Orchid.
Spreading The Message
Taking its environmental initiatives further, KHIL has entered into an MoU with HVS Eco Services (the certifying agency for environmentally-sensitive hotels) to facilitate the growth of Ecotels in Asia, and particularly India.
This will be done through its sister concern Concept Hospitality Ltd, which will operate on the certification and marketing the brand. In this process, four properties (Hotel Rodas and Lotus Suites in Mumbai, Uppal's Orchid in New Delhi and Jungle Lodges Resorts in Bangalore - a Government of Karnataka undertaking) have already opted for the certification.
"Guests form an integral part of our environmental campaign and our strategy has been successful on account of them. We have provided opportunities to our guests to be a part of our environmental programmes such as newspapers on request. Newspapers are delivered only on request, in a cloth bag instead of a plastic bag. Only about 50 per cent of our guests prefer a newspaper delivered to their rooms, which shows an increasing level of awareness," Kamat says. To translate this in terms of actual saving, he calculates that of the 2,31,960 check-ins that the hotel has witnessed so far, it has prevented the use of an equal number of plastic bags.
Another way the Ecotel does its bit is by informing guests about its energy saving programme at the time of check-in. All rooms have an eco button on the master control panel that increases the air-conditioned temperature by two degrees over a period of two hours. "Our Building Management System shows us the number of guest's participating in this programme, which averages at around 30 per cent daily. There are specially designed certificates and rewards for our 'eco-guests', which are mailed to their hometown," Kamat says.
Captilising on the growing trend of budget hotels, KHIL is the third Indian hotel company to venture into the mid-market budget segment. It will soon unveil its new no-frills eco-friendly hotel brand 'Kamfotel' in the country, starting with Maharashtra.
