Shobhana Subramanian, Priyanka Joshi And Leslie D'Monte

Stories by Shobhana Subramanian, Priyanka Joshi And Leslie D'Monte

Why Dabur needed Fem

Why Dabur needed Fem

Rediff.com   25 Nov 2008

Fem Care is a good addition to the portfolio because Dabur didn't have a presence in the skin care space. What Fem Care brings to the table is a strong product portfolio -- comprising bleaches, hair removing creams and liquid soaps -- which is complementary to Dabur's Gulabari skin-care range.

Sprint mulls managing Indian WiMax networks

Sprint mulls managing Indian WiMax networks

Rediff.com   19 Nov 2008

"While telecom operators may get a licence for spectrum and have the money to build networks, they may not necessarily have the management skills. We are in talks to explore possibilities of knowledge transfer and help operators build capacities by lowering entry barriers," said Barry West, CTO, Sprint, and president, Xohm. Globally, Sprint is not doing well. It is now banking on WiMax to boost its revenues.

Dragged down by financial leveraging

Dragged down by financial leveraging

Rediff.com   7 Nov 2008

Obviously, with the larger corporations in a bit of a spot, ancillaries and vendors are feeling the pinch; others too are finding the going tough. Over the past five years financial leverage helped earnings; it will now work the other way, says Shobhana Subramanian.

Cybercrime, phishing flourish as markets falter

Cybercrime, phishing flourish as markets falter

Rediff.com   24 Oct 2008

Sample this. Five cyber-thieves, allegedly part of a network that hacked into the account of a Noida businessman, were nabbed today for a Rs 1.66 crore (Rs 16.6-million) cyber hack. They used Internet banking to transfer the money from the businessman's account with the Punjab National Bank's Noida branch to their own account.

How to hook and retain customers

How to hook and retain customers

Rediff.com   20 Oct 2008

Reliance Life's virtual office has become the focal point of real-time interactions for its customers, agents and employees. It offers consumers the ability to review insurance claims and manage their plans; perform online transactions, such as ordering policies; access a consolidated, interactive snapshot of their retirement plans; and receive personalised health and investment news.

Why she has total faith in ICICI Bank

Why she has total faith in ICICI Bank

Rediff.com   14 Oct 2008

Such is her faith in ICICI Bank, its joint MD continues to invest all her savings in the bank's stock and remains unfazed by the hammering it has taken.

Will shareholders speak up, please?

Will shareholders speak up, please?

Rediff.com   10 Oct 2008

Even big public sector investors such as LIC that have very large stakes in companies haven't been known to voice their concerns. If institutions came together to air their grievances in public; that would put more pressure on managements to make more disclosures and do things the right way, says Shobhana Subramaniam.

Free group SMSes from Google soon

Free group SMSes from Google soon

Rediff.com   7 Oct 2008

Google is testing its SMS channel in India and intends to launch it to global audiences later. It supports English, Hindi, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada languages. It was fully conceptualised by Google India Labs. Prasad Ram, head (R&D), Google India, says, "The SMS channel is in line with our endeavour to connect the 250 million mobile subscribers who have no access to information."

A quizmaster and an entrepreneur

A quizmaster and an entrepreneur

Rediff.com   30 Sep 2008

One was a journalist, the other was trying to make a career out of theatre and quizzing. Siddhartha Basu and Anita Kaul Basu are entrepreneurs, who redefined television viewing in India.

SAP takes centre stage with HCL, Infosys' bid for

SAP takes centre stage with HCL, Infosys' bid for

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2008

With India's two leading IT outsourcing companies, Infosys and HCL Technologies, vying to acquire the UK-based consulting firm Axon, SAP implementation is back in focus.

IT firms fish for overseas acquisitions

IT firms fish for overseas acquisitions

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2008

Eyeing to make 8 buys to meet their revenue guidance.

Have India Inc's overseas buyouts worked?

Have India Inc's overseas buyouts worked?

Rediff.com   29 Sep 2008

Indian companies have done stunning acquisitions in the recent past. It was widely expected that with their frugal managerial practices, they would soon be able to recover the money spent in these acquisitions. While it has worked in several cases, in some cases it hasn't.

Google phone to hit Indian stores in December

Google phone to hit Indian stores in December

Rediff.com   26 Sep 2008

The price, however, will be higher than the US debut tag of around Rs 8,200 ($179). Ajay Sharma, country manager, HTC (India), told Business Standard: "We would prefer a mobile operator tie-up to introduce the Google phone in India in December."

Tata Motors: Losing speed

Tata Motors: Losing speed

Rediff.com   24 Sep 2008

With the US economy in a downturn, it could be a while before the Jaguar and Land Rover business turns around. For the first half of 2008, JLR has posted losses of $383 million on sales of $ 7.07 billion, a disclosure that saw the Tata Motors stock fall 5 per cent on September 23.

Google entices phone users with voice search

Google entices phone users with voice search

Rediff.com   22 Sep 2008

Internet search giant Google hopes to hook the millions of cellular phone subscribers in India who do not use data or SMS-based services with its voice-based search. It is conducting pilot projects in Hyderabad and Delhi, and is expected to roll out more in Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata shortly. The company is expected to add audio playback for search queries on local news and entertainment.

Need a small, cheap, effective laptop?

Need a small, cheap, effective laptop?

Rediff.com   4 Sep 2008

You have two new options -- Asus's Eee PC 1000H and Acer's Aspire One. Both, says Priyanka Joshi, are worth your attention.

iPhone price may fall 15%

iPhone price may fall 15%

Rediff.com   1 Sep 2008

A week after Apple began selling iPhone in India, experts believe that the iconic phone is ready to become cheaper by more than 15 per cent to boost sales in the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market.

Brands latch on to mobile advertisements

Brands latch on to mobile advertisements

Rediff.com   20 Aug 2008

When mKhoj, a mobile advertising platform, launched a mobile campaign for Reebok, little could it dream of 40 million targeted impressions, in just over six weeks, of the ad. But it did precisely that.

Tech toys rule at the Games

Tech toys rule at the Games

Rediff.com   18 Aug 2008

The Olympics have come a long way since the first one in Athens where athletes alone mattered. Over a century later, technology too is helping athletes at the 2008 Beijing Olympics games to smash records.

How GAIL made profits

How GAIL made profits

Rediff.com   9 Aug 2008

The company, distributed lower volumes of petrochemicals but that was made up with price increases. It was the same for LPG where realisations improved by about 40 per cent on account of higher prices but volumes fell marginally.