Pradipta Mukherjee And Gautam Chakravorthy In Kolkata, Mumbai

Stories by Pradipta Mukherjee And Gautam Chakravorthy In Kolkata, Mumbai

Shop till you drop, all at home

Shop till you drop, all at home

Rediff.com   31 Aug 2009

TV moghuls are ramping up the home shopping segment as it sees 35 per cent annual growth. While shopping on TV has been available for years now, a majority of Indian shoppers still prefer to touch and feel before buying a product.

Bata: Putting the best foot forward

Bata: Putting the best foot forward

Rediff.com   31 Aug 2009

BATA is expanding fast through large-format stores and increasing its focus on institutional business.

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 see surge in pre-placement offers

B-schools see surge in pre-placement offers

Rediff.com   19 Aug 2009

In 2008, any question about job offers drew grim looks from B-school students and professors. This year, the smiles are back. The premier Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other prominent B-schools like XLRI Jamshedpur are confident that 2009 will be better than 2008.

The secret behind Perfetti's success in India

The secret behind Perfetti's success in India

Rediff.com   18 Aug 2009

Globally, Perfetti Van Melle ranks third in the confectionery sweepstakes after Mars and Cadbury. But in India, it leads the pack with a 25 per cent share of the Rs 3,000-crore (Rs 30 billion) per annum market

Giving mobiles added value smart idea

Giving mobiles added value smart idea

Rediff.com   17 Aug 2009

For 33-year-old Amit Lakhmani, the chief executive officer of Kolkata-based wireless and internet value-added service provider Max Mobility, embarking on a business outside of the then booming manufacturing and services sector was a natural choice.

Tata does not need UK aid for JLR

Tata does not need UK aid for JLR

Rediff.com   12 Aug 2009

Fraught four-month-long negotiation between Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover and the United Kingdom government over a loan guarantee ended in an anti-climax on Tuesday, with the Mumbai-headquartered automobile maker announcing that it has secured loans from commercial banks and would not need any support from the UK government.

Weak rains may drain FMCG revival

Weak rains may drain FMCG revival

Rediff.com   12 Aug 2009

With the rural segment accounting for 60 per cent of sales for fast moving consumer goods companies and 40-50 per cent for consumer durables manufacturers, the government's admission of sowing having fallen almost 20 per cent due to the weak monsoon, and declaring 161 districts as drought-prone, has put these sectors under a cloud.

IT majors prepare plan in line with demand revival

IT majors prepare plan in line with demand revival

Rediff.com   10 Aug 2009

These companies are also reinforcing their product line, changing product offerings, focusing on 'recession-proof' sectors like pharma and healthcare, education, telecom and utilities to tide over the dip in volumes.

Realtors see rise in commercial inquiries

Realtors see rise in commercial inquiries

Rediff.com   4 Aug 2009

This upturn comes soon after an earlier stalling of demand. In February, DLF, the country's largest property developer, said it had stalled construction on 16 million sq ft of commercial space (retail and office) due to lack of demand. So, too, with other developers like Unitech, Parsvnath and Raheja, who either stalled or slowed the construction of their commercial properties because of a demand-supply mismatch.

Delhi Metro seeks ban on Gammon

Delhi Metro seeks ban on Gammon

Rediff.com   29 Jul 2009

Tuesday's move, announced at a press conference in the capital, comes a little over a month after an accident killed six workers at a metro construction site on July 12. The accident, the latest in a series over the past year, raised public outrage and prompted Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's widely respected chief E Sreedharan to submit his resignation, which the state government declined to accept.

ITC Foods: Racks to riches

ITC Foods: Racks to riches

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2009

After the initial struggle, ITC Foods is finally making its presence felt through its parent's distribution muscle.

GE plans $6 billion rural push

GE plans $6 billion rural push

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2009

GE India, the $2.8 billion industrial giant, plans to invest $6 billion till 2015 in medical systems, services and IT tailor-made for rural India. Also, GE, the parent company, is looking at making India the sourcing hub for aerospace parts and healthcare products and is in the process of developing a supply chain for this.

Radio stations croon their way into cyberia

Radio stations croon their way into cyberia

Rediff.com   13 Jul 2009

Given the cut-throat competition in the FM radio space, radio companies are always on the look out for newer, untapped areas. And perhaps that is the reason why major radio stations such as Big FM, RadioCity and Fever FM have descended on the World Wide Web as well as the mobile platform.

Air India offers staff leave without pay

Air India offers staff leave without pay

Rediff.com   26 Jun 2009

The scheme allows a permanent employee to take leave for up to two years without pay or allowances and return to join at the same level where he or she left. The decision comes a few days after the unions suggested several schemes, including leave without pay to cut costs while maintaining the interests of the employees. In Mumbai, the airline announced it has set up a committee comprising representatives of the management and the unions to turn around the airline.

What Nilekani, and the new ID system, will do

What Nilekani, and the new ID system, will do

Rediff.com   26 Jun 2009

Nandan Nilekani will have the responsibility to lay down plans and policies to implement the Unique Identity card scheme and shall own and operate the UID database. The authority was notified on January 28 this year as an attached office under the aegis of the Planning Commission with an initial core team of 115 officials and staff. The scheme will be implemented in three years.

After DLF, now Rahejas want to surrender SEZ

After DLF, now Rahejas want to surrender SEZ

Rediff.com   15 Jun 2009

Real estate developer K Raheja Universal Private Ltd wants to scrap one of their notified special economic zones and also surrender a part of another zone, citing lack of demand from the information technology sector.

Problem of plenty for QIPs

Problem of plenty for QIPs

Rediff.com   10 Jun 2009

It's actually a problem of plenty for investors now. Buoyed by the success of the three companies that sold their QIP issues within a day of opening, as many as 32 companies have joined the queue, hoping to raise a combined Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion).

Realty speculators face lock-in clauses

Realty speculators face lock-in clauses

Rediff.com   29 May 2009

Speculators often leveraged volume discounts on property purchases to re-sell them at prices lower than those available to individual buyers. This created problems for realtors when demand slowed, since it put pressure on them to take a hit on margins and lower prices still further. The lock-ins are expected to be introduced mostly for mid-income projects that offer prices 20 to 30 per cent below the market and, therefore, attract more undercutting from bulk discount buyers.

Realty ready to roar again

Realty ready to roar again

Rediff.com   25 May 2009

Developers in the past year have restructured debt, sold non-core assets and tweaked the product mix, helping push up sales. This has encouraged investors to buy stocks of real estate companies and motivate analysts to revise price targets and upgrade the outlook on the sector. Reflecting the positive sentiment, the Bombay Stock Exchange Realty Index rose 58 per cent in the past month, outpacing the benchmark Sensitive index's gain of 27 per cent.