Piyali Mandal And Kalpana Pathak

Stories by Piyali Mandal And Kalpana Pathak

4,000 Mumbaikars may switch off R-Infra

4,000 Mumbaikars may switch off R-Infra

Rediff.com   29 Oct 2009

Several commercial and residential customers of Reliance Infrastructure (R-Infra) in Mumbai are planning to shift their electricity connections to Tata Power Company (TPC).

IIMs plan to join hands for overseas foray

IIMs plan to join hands for overseas foray

Rediff.com   22 Oct 2009

Some directors think pooling their resources - financial and faculty - for their international foray makes eminent sense.

Indian IT firms lift lid on hiring

Indian IT firms lift lid on hiring

Rediff.com   13 Oct 2009

IT companies hire an average of 50 students each from engineering campuses and 20 students from management institutes. Headhunters confirm that many of the IT companies have given them mandates for hiring over the next couple of quarters. "We have seen an uptick in the hiring patterns among the IT firms. We ourselves have received good mandates from firms like Infosys and others.

ISB launches 'CEO auction' for its students

ISB launches 'CEO auction' for its students

Rediff.com   8 Sep 2009

ISB has introduced this concept, christened "Shadow a CEO", to mobilise funds for charity and allow its students to work with the Who's Who of India Inc for a day. Some 16 CEOs have agreed to participate. "We not only want to put the money generated for benefit of the society, but also let our students experience the joy of operating with a CEO for a day," said Ajit Rangnekar, Dean of ISB.

Nokia to sell mini laptop at Rs 40,000

Nokia to sell mini laptop at Rs 40,000

Rediff.com   2 Sep 2009

Putting to rest speculations over the price of its recently launched Mini booklet 3G, Finnish handset major Nokia on Wednesday said it will retail globally the personal computer at 575 euro (about Rs 40,000).

IIT faculty seeks Rs 15,000 pay hike

IIT faculty seeks Rs 15,000 pay hike

Rediff.com   26 Aug 2009

The suggestion for this special pay was part of a memorandum that the All India IIT Faculty Federation submitted to the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD) on August 23, stating that the pay structure proposed is unacceptable and a threat to the IIT system.

B-schools going the ISB way!

B-schools going the ISB way!

Rediff.com   8 Aug 2009

Wary of the policing by the All India Council for Technical Education -- the body that regulates technical education in the country -- more and more management schools are going the Indian School of Business way, opting for one-year management programmes and registering themselves as private limited entities under the Companies Act, 1956.

Finance firms defer hiring, students worried

Finance firms defer hiring, students worried

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2009

McKinsey, RBS postpone placements by three to six months

Mukesh's pipeline firm to seek tax break

Mukesh's pipeline firm to seek tax break

Rediff.com   17 Jul 2009

Reliance Gas Transportation India Ltd, the pipeline company wholly owned by Reliance Industries promoter Mukesh Ambani, has decided to write to the finance ministry, seeking a restoration of profit-linked tax benefits the Budget has replaced with an investment-linked tax break.

Swine flu worries hotel, tourism players

Swine flu worries hotel, tourism players

Rediff.com   22 Jun 2009

With the monsoon season to begin and hotels hoping for a robust business at leisure destinations, swine flu could play spoilsport for the hotels, said industry players. At leisure destinations, international tourists form around 35 per cent of the clientele, with around 20-25 per cent coming from the US alone. Last year, tourist arrival in the country was 5.37 million, a fifth of whom stayed in five star hotels.

IITs in talks with investment cos to sell patents

IITs in talks with investment cos to sell patents

Rediff.com   8 Jun 2009

IIT Bombay, for instance, recently joined hands with Intellectual Ventures to seek support in marketing and licensing patents the institute holds.

India has no plan to shelve IPI gas pipeline

India has no plan to shelve IPI gas pipeline

Rediff.com   26 May 2009

The Indian government, said a senior official, wishes to take talks forward on the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.

Cairn open to buying ONGC's 30% stake

Cairn open to buying ONGC's 30% stake

Rediff.com   15 May 2009

Cairn India is open to buying the 30 per cent stake that government-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation owns in its oil block in Rajasthan. Cairn India is the operator of the block, with 70 per cent ownership currently.

Laid off overseas, IIM grads seek institute help

Laid off overseas, IIM grads seek institute help

Rediff.com   13 May 2009

Both IIM-Bangalore and IIM-Calcutta confirmed the development. "We have received placement requests from some students from the 2006-08 batch. We are trying to approach companies at a personal level and help these students get placed," confirmed a professor from IIM Bangalore.

IOC may tie up with US lab to produce biofuel

IOC may tie up with US lab to produce biofuel

Rediff.com   12 May 2009

The government-owned Indian Oil Corporation is tying up with US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory for a pilot project to produce second generation biofuel. This biofuel -- essentailly bio-ethanol -- would be produced from cellulosic biomass or degradable agricultural waste or wood.

How RIL plans to hedge risk

How RIL plans to hedge risk

Rediff.com   24 Apr 2009

"With RIL commissioning its second refinery last December, the total capacity of the (Jamnagar) complex will go up to 1.24 million barrels a day, exposing it to international vagaries. By surrendering the EOU status of one refinery and maintaining that of the other, the company will be able to hedge its risks," said an industry veteran. EOU status for RIL's second refinery currently ends in March 2010.

RIL, GAIL to lay pipeline for K-G gas

RIL, GAIL to lay pipeline for K-G gas

Rediff.com   15 Apr 2009

It would be complete by 2012 with a total investment of over Rs 11,300 crore, including an estimated Rs 2,300 crore from RIL and Rs 9,000 crore from GAIL. Analysts say refineries -- Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Chennai Petroleum Corporation, Essar, Indian Oil Corporation, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation and Bharat Petroleum Corporation -- located in the vicinity of these pipelines would benefit as they would be able to substitute costly fuel oil with cheaper gas.

The man behind RIL's KG achievement

The man behind RIL's KG achievement

Rediff.com   6 Apr 2009

P M S Prasad has been part of Mukesh Ambani's A-team for the last 25 years. The 55-year-old engineer, now president and CEO (petroleum), Reliance Industries, joined the company in 1984, when it was building a captive power plant at Patalganga, 70 kilometres north of Mumbai.

RIL to pump out K-G gas in a month

RIL to pump out K-G gas in a month

Rediff.com   13 Mar 2009

RIL has been using gas from GAIL during the past three months to test-fire the 1,440-km east-west pipeline, India's longest, from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to Bharuch in Gujarat. Only 100 km of the pipeline remains to be test-fired. It will transport gas from the world's largest gas discovery at the Krishna-Godavari basin in the Bay of Bengal to Jamnagar in Gujarat, where it has set up the world's largest petroleum refinery.

B-schools to hike number of seats

B-schools to hike number of seats

Rediff.com   12 Mar 2009

Despite a troubled job market that could continue for another year or more, many B-schools are looking at expanding the number of seats by up to 50 per cent and launching new programmes. B-schools maintain the demand for good students will remain even in a troubled job market and the student pool and programme portfolio need to be expanded. "Besides, when these students pass out in the next two years, the market will be better," said a director from one of the institutes.