The Economy

Media Outlook India Publication

Towards execellence in business journalismAugust 25, 2012 Volume 1 Issue 5 Pages 64 ` 50

www.theeconomy.in

Daignosing Success

Saga of Khadi

The Rise of India

Manifestation of Mankind

THE ECONOMY

2 The Economy August 25 2012


Never forget marketing

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business -- none knows this better than a small business owner like you. When you started your small enterprise, you did

a lot of it. You spared no effort to check the industry, match competition, and find the right pricing. You advertised wher-ever possible, sent press releases, exhibited at trade shows . . . did everything to set your sales on fire. And finally, your firm got past a lucrative revenue target. Here after this point a surprising thing happens with many small businesses. They get busy with selling, but start ignoring all other aspects of marketing, and as a result, gradually over time their market-ing becomes dull, boring and irrelevant. This is a big mistake, and unfortunately a common one among small and medium enterprises. Only a handful of small firms make a constant effort to keep their marketing afresh and alive. When you started your business, you did focus so much on marketing because it was a matter of survival. Now you have come a long way, now you have a strong customer base and a strong brand, so why do you need to bother much about marketing? I'll tell you why -- it's because marketing shouldn't be viewed as a matter of survival. Neither marketing is something you need to take care of only when something goes wrong with your business. Marketing needs regular and sustained nour-ishment. Taking customers for granted is a big mistake. Also, today you may have a lots of happy customers, but this is not the end of the journey. This is the beginning. At every step you take from this point on, marketing will be your constant companion. Ongoing marketing not only secures your com-pany's future but also helps you shape and synchronize your existing customers' perception about who you are and what you do while your company is constantly improving. Market-ing is not something you start today and forget tomorrow, but a continuous process. As long as your business exists, you have to evaluate your target customers, adjust your mes-sages, and refresh your marketing accordingly. In the world of business, it's dangerous to think that you have achieved 'just enough'. Successful companies never stop marketing -- they plant seeds now to reap harvest next season.

Monish MohananEditor & Publisher

Editor & Publisher : Monish Mohanan CEO : Janeesh JalalVice President : Manu K GBrand Manager : Dominic Savio MDeputy Editor : Tarun NarayanSr. Correspontent : Sumi PReporter : Shyama NairCorporate Communication : Liji LucasArt Editor : Rudhra Illustration : Sanil ChirayilMarketing : Aneesh V MCirculation : TomyPhotographs : Binoy : ShinoyOverseasCorrespontent : Siji Varghese

Corporate Office

Media Outlook India PublicationMayur Business Centre,Pullepady Jn., Chittoor Road,Kochi-682 035India.Tel: +91 484 4019087Mob: 9747551573, 9645830812Email: [email protected] [email protected]: wwwtheeconomy.in

Bureau Office

Media Outlook India PublicationTower House, Convent RoadThrivananthapuram-695 001Tel: +91 9995037470



www.theeconomy.in

Daignosing Success

Saga of Khadi

The Rise of India


THE ECONOMY


Never forget marketing

Marketing is the lifeblood of any business -- none knows this better than a small business owner like you. When you started your small enterprise, you did

a lot of it. You spared no effort to check the industry, match competition, and find the right pricing. You advertised wher-ever possible, sent press releases, exhibited at trade shows . . . did everything to set your sales on fire. And finally, your firm got past a lucrative revenue target. Here after this point a surprising thing happens with many small businesses. They get busy with selling, but start ignoring all other aspects of marketing, and as a result, gradually over time their market-ing becomes dull, boring and irrelevant. This is a big mistake, and unfortunately a common one among small and medium enterprises. Only a handful of small firms make a constant effort to keep their marketing afresh and alive. When you started your business, you did focus so much on marketing because it was a matter of survival. Now you have come a long way, now you have a strong customer base and a strong brand, so why do you need to bother much about marketing? I'll tell you why -- it's because marketing shouldn't be viewed as a matter of survival. Neither marketing is something you need to take care of only when something goes wrong with your business. Marketing needs regular and sustained nour-ishment. Taking customers for granted is a big mistake. Also, today you may have a lots of happy customers, but this is not the end of the journey. This is the beginning. At every step you take from this point on, marketing will be your constant companion. Ongoing marketing not only secures your com-pany's future but also helps you shape and synchronize your existing customers' perception about who you are and what you do while your company is constantly improving. Market-ing is not something you start today and forget tomorrow, but a continuous process. As long as your business exists, you have to evaluate your target customers, adjust your mes-sages, and refresh your marketing accordingly. In the world of business, it's dangerous to think that you have achieved 'just enough'. Successful companies never stop marketing -- they plant seeds now to reap harvest next season.

Monish MohananEditor & Publisher

Editor & Publisher : Monish Mohanan CEO : Janeesh JalalVice President : Manu K GBrand Manager : Dominic Savio MDeputy Editor : Tarun NarayanSr. Correspontent : Sumi PReporter : Shyama NairCorporate Communication : Liji LucasArt Editor : Rudhra Illustration : Sanil ChirayilMarketing : Aneesh V MCirculation : TomyPhotographs : Binoy : ShinoyOverseasCorrespontent : Siji Varghese

Corporate Office

Media Outlook India PublicationMayur Business Centre,Pullepady Jn., Chittoor Road,Kochi-682 035India.Tel: +91 484 4019087Mob: 9747551573, 9645830812Email: [email protected] [email protected]: wwwtheeconomy.in

Bureau Office

Media Outlook India PublicationTower House, Convent RoadThrivananthapuram-695 001Tel: +91 9995037470



www.theeconomy.in

Daignosing Success

Saga of Khadi

The Rise of India


THE ECONOMY


In this issue


26

58

Daignosing SuccessThe health care industry is still at its nascent stage, may be in next 10years we can see an upward boom in the health care industry. In the cities where you see quite a lot of healthcare facilities, health insurance when you are an OPD hasn’t come in yet, so for things like individual consultation of a doctor is not covered in the insurance.

Emerging Trend of Holistic growthNurturing, Shaping and Development of a child to bring about the outcomes desired by parents and the society as a whole has always been the sole objective of Educa-tional Institutions, however their techniques and method-ology differs.

Spot Light

Cover Story World Watch

Life Style

Tourism

Info-tech Biz Slot

The Rise of India Not so swift. The dramatic open-ing of India’s hidebound economy, substantial improvements in India-U.S. relations, and rapid, sustained economic growth for well over a decade have led most analysts and policymakers to conclude that India will easily emerge as one of the world’s great powers in the 21st century

Saga of KhadiKhadi has been very much popular-ized as it is designed in new ways. Now in market jeans made of khadi are also available. As years pass by you can see the improvisation in the production market of khadi both in our state and in our country.

12

The blitz of EmiratesThe concerted repression of democracy activ-ists on the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia, the first among equals in the peninsula, has been ruthless against any suggestion of demo-cratic reform.

Foreseeing Kerala TourismPrivate investors are playing a major role in the tourism sector. Without them the sector seems void, to strengthen them government took all possible initiatives to encourage private inves-tors like giving subsidies.

34

A thespian who’s taken on the literary arena K M Sidhique is a Malayalam film actor, pro-ducer. He began his career in late 1980s per-forming in miniature roles, and from then on into performing various types of prominent roles. In 2011 he launched the lifestyle maga-zine named ‘Family Face book’, taking a deviation from being versatile entertainer, into becoming the editor of a life style magazine.

Layoffs in the US is a boon for Indian IT?IT biggies like Wipro, Infosys and HCL, long accused of stealing jobs in the US, are mak-ing efforts to increase their local presence not just in the US, but in countries like Germany, Canada and the UK. India’s largest software major Tata Consultancy Services is planning to recruit around 2000 locals this year.

40

14

48

16


In this issue


26

58

Daignosing SuccessThe health care industry is still at its nascent stage, may be in next 10years we can see an upward boom in the health care industry. In the cities where you see quite a lot of healthcare facilities, health insurance when you are an OPD hasn’t come in yet, so for things like individual consultation of a doctor is not covered in the insurance.

Emerging Trend of Holistic growthNurturing, Shaping and Development of a child to bring about the outcomes desired by parents and the society as a whole has always been the sole objective of Educa-tional Institutions, however their techniques and method-ology differs.

Spot Light

Cover Story World Watch

Life Style

Tourism

Info-tech Biz Slot

The Rise of India Not so swift. The dramatic open-ing of India’s hidebound economy, substantial improvements in India-U.S. relations, and rapid, sustained economic growth for well over a decade have led most analysts and policymakers to conclude that India will easily emerge as one of the world’s great powers in the 21st century

Saga of KhadiKhadi has been very much popular-ized as it is designed in new ways. Now in market jeans made of khadi are also available. As years pass by you can see the improvisation in the production market of khadi both in our state and in our country.

12

The blitz of EmiratesThe concerted repression of democracy activ-ists on the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia, the first among equals in the peninsula, has been ruthless against any suggestion of demo-cratic reform.

Foreseeing Kerala TourismPrivate investors are playing a major role in the tourism sector. Without them the sector seems void, to strengthen them government took all possible initiatives to encourage private inves-tors like giving subsidies.

34

A thespian who’s taken on the literary arena K M Sidhique is a Malayalam film actor, pro-ducer. He began his career in late 1980s per-forming in miniature roles, and from then on into performing various types of prominent roles. In 2011 he launched the lifestyle maga-zine named ‘Family Face book’, taking a deviation from being versatile entertainer, into becoming the editor of a life style magazine.

Layoffs in the US is a boon for Indian IT?IT biggies like Wipro, Infosys and HCL, long accused of stealing jobs in the US, are mak-ing efforts to increase their local presence not just in the US, but in countries like Germany, Canada and the UK. India’s largest software major Tata Consultancy Services is planning to recruit around 2000 locals this year.

40

14

48

16


ECONOMY

Even as resistance to global capitalism builds, it tends to be accompanied by gloomy

perceptions that grand socialist visions of the future are no longer possible. But there is much more dynamism within the global left than is often perceived, with varie-gated moves away from tired ideas of all kinds. Left movements in different parts of the world increas-

ingly transcend the traditional so-cialist paradigm, with its emphasis on centralised government control over an undifferentiated mass of workers, to incorporate more explicit emphasis on the rights and concerns of women, ethnic minori-ties, tribal communities and other marginalised groups, as well as rec-ognition of ecological constraints and the social necessity of respect-

ing nature.Seven common threads appear in the emerging left, in what are otherwise distinct political formations and dissimilar socio-economic contexts. These are not always "new" ideas – more often than not, they are old ideas that appear new simply be-cause of the changing context and the collective failure of memory.The first is the attitude to what

The Left in India: Emerging, enduring or evolving?


constitutes democracy. Unlike earlier socialist formulations, which saw all institutions of the bourgeois state as inherently and deeply tainted, the emerging left has shown a much greater willingness to engage with formal democratic processes such as elections, referendums, laws deliver-ing rights, and judicial processes.Radical governments in Latin America derive their legitimacy from ballot boxes, and in other countries the emerging left is often the greatest champion of formal democratic in-stitutions, the most concerned about their corruption and manipulation by entrenched interests and corpo-rate power. There is strong support for new democratic experiments in popular deliberation and consensus building, and greater rejection of top-down models of party organisation, with respect for a plurality of opin-ions within the left.The second relatively "new" feature is the rejection of overcentralisation. The centralising, homogenising state was a central element of actu-ally existing socialism throughout much of the 20th century. Of course, there are good reasons for the socialist celebration of largeness: the need for social co-ordination of investment, especially large-scale investment, as well as state direction of the redistribution of wealth and income. But the new aim is to find the right balance between large and small, according to context. There is greater emphasis on the need to generate or enhance the viability of small-scale production, and a reaction against past attempts at centralised control over all aspects of material life, which have been experienced as rigid, inflexible,

hierarchical and lacking in account-ability.This requires a more complex ap-proach to a third area: property rights. Earlier models of socialism wanted to do away with all private property. But emerging left think-ing is vague or ambivalent about private property, disliking it when it is seen as monopolising or highly concentrated (for example, in the form of multinational corporations), but otherwise not just accepting of it, but even – as in the case of small producers – actively encouraging it.The fourth new tendency is that of speaking in the language of "rights" – not seen in the individualistic sense of libertarian philosophy, but more broadly defined in terms of en-titlements and recognising the need for the social and political voice of citizens, communities and groups to be heard.Fifth, the emerging left goes far beyond traditional left paradigms in recognising the different and possibly overlapping social and cultural identi-ties that shape economic, political and social realities. It is now realised that addressing issues only in class terms is not sufficient, and many strands of the emerging left are now much more explicitly (even dominantly) concerned with addressing the in-equalities, oppression and exploitation associated with social attributes, race, community, and so on.Divergent from this is a sixth area, gender, which represents the most significant of these social/material attributes. A changed attitude to the woman question – and, associated with this, a more complex under-standing of the nature of exploitation – are features of many such emerg-

ing left movements. That's not to say patriarchy has suddenly disappeared from the ranks of leftist organisations and movements – unfortunately, this is clearly a longer struggle. But the wider perception of the ways the gender construction of society affects both men and women in so many as-pects of their lives has now become – explicitly, if not always in practice – a more serious concern among the emerging left.Finally, society's relationship with nature is undergoing much more comprehensive interrogation than ever before. Traditional Marxists tended to be technology fans, to the point where the requirements of an organic and sustainable attitude to nature were rarely factored into discussions about accumulation and productive expansion. All this has changed quite dramatically in the re-cent past. Today, many of those who call themselves socialists see envi-ronmental conservation, the protec-tion of ecosystems, biodiversity and the integrity of a country's genetic assets, the prevention of environ-mental damage, and the recovery of degraded natural spaces as matters of public interest and strategy.The fundamental premises of socialism remain: the unequal, exploitative and oppressive nature of capitalism; the capacity of hu-man beings to change society and thereby alter their own future in a progressive direction; and the neces-sity of collective organisation to do so. The fecundity of the socialist alternatives cropping up in different parts of the world suggests that – whatever we may think to the con-trary – socialism has lost nothing of its dynamism and excitement.

ECONOMY

Despite widespread percep-tion that lack of policy actions is leading to In-

dia’s sharp economic descend, the country’s performance continues to be broadly in line with its peers. Rather than being the cause of all that ails India, ‘policy paralysis’ seems to reflect the shortcomings of the extant political system, pub-lic policy making processes and corporate practices.The Indian economy is currently going through a rough phase. The real growth, at 6.5 per cent, has slumped close to the decadal low. Inflation, which averaged over 9 per cent over the past 30-months, is the worst in nearly two decades. During the last fiscal, India’s foreign trade and external cur-rent account deficits were 56 per cent and 70 per cent higher than their respective previous all-time highs. Public finance in India is at disarray. In the past eight years, government borrowing has jumped 600 per cent. Meanwhile, India’s sovereign credit rating outlook has been downgraded.Currently, there is a broad-based despondency that the situation in India is going to get worse and it

would perhaps be quite some time before things start improving. The near consensus view is that India’s fall from being the shining exam-ple of high growth to the current comatose state is largely due to public policy inaction, or in popu-lar terms ‘policy paralysis’.I certainly do not want to argue ei-ther that there has not been serious slowdown in public policy actions in India or a slowdown in policy action does not impact macroeco-nomic performance. Yet, I want to highlight four issues on the so called policy paralysis, which run contrary to the prevailing consen-sus.First, according to popular percep-tion, since the initiation of eco-nomic reforms, especially during the last decade, India has been the second fastest growing economy of the world, next only to China. This, however, is a gross exaggera-tion. According to the World Bank data, since 1992, when India initi-ated market-oriented reforms, only in 4 out of 20 years the country has been the second fastest growing among the 50 largest economies in the world – twice in the 1990s (1998 and 1999) and twice in the

last decade (2007 and 2009). Dur-ing the same period, China has been the fastest growing country in 14 years (see graph below). Equally interesting is the fact that during the heyday of economic

reforms, 2003-07, India’s median rank was four, while it has been three in the past three years (see table below). Therefore, accelera-tion of India’s real growth to 9.2 per cent during 2003-07 as well as deceleration to 8.2 per cent during 2009-11 needs to be seen from a cross-country perspective. It seems that buoyancy of the global econo-my during 2003-07 and downturn during 2009-11 played major roles in dictating India’s growth trajec-tory. A solely policy activism/paralysis-centric analysis misses this essential point.Second, the proponents of policy paralysis in India largely cite examples of the government’s in-ability to push reforms in the area such as foreign direct investment on multi-brand retail, aviation and insurance or pension reform. These certainly are important reform issues. The real issue, however, is whether all that ails the Indian economy would mark a course-correction if government carries forward these reforms? I do not think so. In the mid-1990s, when India’s median growth started de-celerating from 7.6 per cent during

A symptom, not the syndromeThe policy paralysis seems to reflect the shortcomings of India’s current multi-party parliamentary system

Policy paralysis:


1994-96 to around 4.0 per cent, there were lots of clamour from the Indian intelligentsia and indus-try that the lack of capital account convertibility, labour reforms and absence of exit policy were hold-ing back India’s growth. Not much has changed on these issues since then. Yet, India was able to clock 9.3 per cent growth during 2003-07.Third, the perception of policy pa-ralysis is palpable. In some sense, the inability of the central govern-ment to push a hike in retail prices of diesel since July 2011, despite large under-recovery by the oil marketing companies and build-up of oil subsidy requirements epitomises the problem. Yet, policy paralysis seems to be the symptom rather than the disease itself. Con-tinued fractured mandates at the Centre for the past 20 years, the consequent need for coalition gov-ernment, and the lack of consensus

among major political parties (in-cluding among coalition partners on major issues, shifting stance of individual parties on same/related issues and one-upmanship among political parties in rolling out populist policies) are some of the factors which are deterring the government from adopting politi-cally difficult reform measures. The policy paralysis, therefore, seems to reflect the shortcom-ings of India’s current multi-party parliamentary system and not the other way around.Four, the term policy paralysis gives the impression that the blame of the current impasse sits squarely with the public authorities and the public, in general, and private entrepreneurs, in particular, are bearing the brunt of it. This is far from the reality. In the post-reform period, India has ostensively moved away from the ‘License-Permit Raj’. The recent high pro-

file graft charges, however, allege that in exchange of illegal gratifi-cations of mammoth proportions, even the highest rungs of public policy authorities including min-isters and bureaucrats are obliging private entrepreneurs not only in faster clearance of their applica-tions but also to circumvent extant rules and laws in accessing scarce national resources. The prosecu-tion and incarceration of numerous prominent personalities (including ministers, legislative members, bureaucrats and corporate bigwigs) in such graft-related issues, and the public backlash against corruption cases seem to have set in motion disinclination of public authorities from taking any decision that can even remotely raise allegations of corruptions. The resultant situation is being called policy paralysis, while it, in equal measures, refl ects the festering state of public pol-icy as well as corporate practices.


BIz SLOT


As Gandhiji has always said, Khadi is not a mere piece of cloth, it is an

ideology. Khadi is a national cloth material which is world widely accepted by the new younger gen-erations in our country. Khadi be-fore independence was considered as the fabric of the political lead-ers and the rural people. But now it has found its way into the world of the fashion conscious people. The current situation is that the demand is more than the supply.

Earlier khadi was available only in khadi cotton later it took on to various varieties of khadi like khadi silk and khadi wool, which makes it a fashionable fabric. “Khadi has been very much popularized as it is designed in new ways. Now in market jeans made of khadi are also available. As years pass by you can see the improvisation in the production market of khadi both in our state and in our country,” says CN Balakrishnan, who is the Minis-

ter for Co-operation along taking the responsibilities of Khadi and Village Industries in Kerala. He added that Khadi and Vil-lage Industries are a medium for making the rural economy strong and they have huge potential for creating employment. Therefore, it is necessary for them to give it a maximum encouragement. He added that Khadi production is spread all over India, mostly in villages and small town. Yearly India produces ` 600 crore worth

Khadi Head office, Avinissery

Saga of Khadi


of Khadi and has garnered sales worth ` 900 crore. During the festival season like Onam and Ramzan expo’s are conducted. KVIC is planning various proj-ects to increase the use of Khadi and village industries products in India as well as abroad. At pres-ent they are focusing on market-ing the brand Khadi. KVIC also planning to produce readymade garments with modern looks. KVIC also giving special focus on the designing aspect and at-tractive packaging of Khadi and other products to target the youth segment of the country.Production of Khadi to be mod-ernized as the way Khadi is pro-duced on traditional charkhas and it gives employment to so many people. Technical up grada-tion reduces the man power and KVIC have no plans to take it up. KVIC also looking into market-ing Khadi in foreign countries. KVIC have planned to open two plazas in western countries. Right now Khadi is exported to many countries like China, Japan, USA, England, Russia, Ger-many, Canada and many more. The demand for Khadi there has increased so far, as Khadi is considered to be eco-friendly apparel. Presently India exports

around 200 crore worth of Khadi and Village Industries product. Looking forward to earn more recognition and better market Indian Khadi and cottage in-dustry items in the domestic market, the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) is considering setting up of new Khadi plazas and modernizing the existing Khadi outlets. CN explained that the commission has proposed to set up 20 Khadi plazas in the country with an outlay of around ` 500 million. KVIC would provide financial assistance of ` 25 million to each of the 20 plazas to be set up in different cities of the country like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahemdabad, Bangalore and Kolkata. Besides, KVIC even proposes to set up two such plazas outside the country on a trial basis. Presently though the countries for opening overseas plazas have not been fi-nalized. He added that in addition to setting up plazas, KVIC is also planning to upgrade its existing 5000 Khadi stores across the country by giving them a modern look. KVIC would also focus on better designing and packaging.Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries, Kerala & Minister for Co-operation CN Balakrishnan

said that the government will try to re-organize the activities of the Khadi and Rural Industries Board in order to create more job opportunities for the rural people. The government would also exert pressure on the Union govern-ment to extend the changes that had taken place in the other sec-tors in the Khadi too. The cost of production of Khadi items should be reduced so that these could complete in the market. The biggest challenge is to ener-gize the Khadi institutes to move with the changing times and trends. KVIC is planning to give training of marketing and new design production to the people connected with khadi industry. Right now KVIC have 32 train-ing institutes and will open 10 new institutes across India. Pres-ently over one million people in more than 200,000 villages here depend on Khadi industry for their livelihood.

CN BalakrishnanMinister for Co-operation

Saga of KhadiBy Shyama Nair

BIz SLOT


The managing director and CEO of Metropolis health-care ltd, Ms Ameera Shah

Patel is truly an inspiring woman; she started her incredible journey from a single pathology laboratory into a fully integrated multinational chain of 100 diagnostic centers and 600 collection centers across 4 countries. In the past 10 years, Metropolis has stretched out into many lines like Clinical Research, Hospital Lab Management and Wellness Solutions and is always innovating and adopting cutting edge technologies and services. She is highly appreciated in the health-care industry and has been voted by GE/Modern Medicare as “The Young entrepreneur of the Year” in 2006. She was also awarded “The Young Achiever of the year” at the CMO Asia Awards in 2010, and she is just getting started. In less than a decade she built metropolis from a single lab into a multi lab company, starting out with no structure or brand, she built it brick by brick, along with her father and the team, for me this was right up my alley and I very much enjoyed creating, today when I walk down the memory lane the journey has been nothing short of exhilarating says Ameera. Initially there were a few challeng-es, firstly we had no frame of path to follow or replicate. We were the innovators in this industry in terms of creating a chain of standardized

pathology laboratory, which was a new concept in India, luckily I think we hit the nail in the head and found a model that was very suc-cessful. on the personal side being a non medical person, very young and being a female in a male domi-nating health care industry, I think that was definitely a challenge, finding ways to be taken seriously and to be respected for my knowl-edge was a challenge in the early years, but of course once you are knowledgeable and you are able to add value and I think then nobody can deny your performance and achievement, she says thoughtfully The time in the last 10years, we didn’t have much financial resourc-es, we weren’t backed by a big parent company, we didn’t inherit a lot of family wealth, we really had to be innovative in ways to actu-ally expand and because it was a small business with small profit, there wasn’t a big availability to do much expansion so what we decided to follow was the model of partnership, where we find other pathologists who have also run their labs very successfully in their cities and find a way to merge them into metropolis business and part-ner with them in equity and then integrate into a larger chain.I think for me metropolis is like my baby where literally I’ve built it brick by brick, seen it grow from one lab so it’s not difficult to stay passionate about my business ,

what I do to keep it interesting and keep myself constantly challenged is to do two things. One is to keep learning and I think it’s very impor-tant because at some point in time, successful entrepreneurs start to feel like they know it all and what we strived to do was to keep the learning going. Simultaneously it constantly challenging and innovat-ing to think what we can do next, last 3-4years I’ve spent a lot of my time in consolidating the business, making sure we are focusing on profit, quality and the fundamental system processes, now my focus really is where we are going to be and where we want to be 2020 and that’s the phase I am currently in says Ameera.The health care industry is still at its nascent stage, may be in next 10years we can see an upward boom in the health care industry. In the cities where you see quite a lot of healthcare facilities, health insurance when you are an OPD hasn’t come in yet, so for things like individual consultation of a doctor is not covered in the insur-ance. So certainly there is a long way to go, I think we will see the volumes come in once health care insurance penetrates more. And secondly most health care compa-nies are focused more on metros and very few people have gone down to other regions and I as-sume in the next 5-10 years we will see a lot of that happening where

Daignosing SuccessBy Liji lucas


total India would become a prime or predominant area for expansion for the health care industry says Ameera with confidence.However what makes Metropolis unique is the combination of own-ership and management, today hav-ing a pathologist as the chairman, who has set the philosophy and the principles of the company, and at the same time having myself who has grown up with metropolis, but has a business background as the MD and CEO, so I think it is a very interesting blend of experience and youth. And then is the culture we built in the organisation, we built in a culture of total transpar-ency which means that the patients interest comes first in our mind, we focus on providing the best quality, best experience for the customers, as much as we think with our head, we work with our heart, our com-passion, the way we conduct our business comes from our heart and that I think is very hard to replicate in an organisation and that all re-sults in the best experience for the customers.Indeed, Ameera makes it appear too easy, but she has had her share of hard times, needless to say she was voted “The Young entrepre-neur of the Year” and many more. It obviously feels good to be rec-ognized for your efforts and it is a recognition not only of me but of what my team is doing in the company. Our organisation has also won a lot of awards; Metropolis was voted the best diagnostic services and also won the best wellness brand award. We

feel the joy wining the awards but the joy we feel on a day to day ba-sis when a patient comes to us and says, ‘your accurate results have saved my life’ those words I admit carry more meaning says Ameera.Our motto is to pursue brilliance, the profits will follow. We have the leading chain of labs in the emerging markets of India, south Asia, Middle East and Africa. In future we plan to expand metropolis in 2 directions, we will continue to grow intensely in northern east of India, and also expand internationally in the Af-rican market, and we plan to expand vertically in different divi-sions in India, and also plan to get into other aspects of health-care asserts Ameera.

BIz SLOT


The managing director and CEO of Metropolis health-care ltd, Ms Ameera Shah

Patel is truly an inspiring woman; she started her incredible journey from a single pathology laboratory into a fully integrated multinational chain of 100 diagnostic centers and 600 collection centers across 4 countries. In the past 10 years, Metropolis has stretched out into many lines like Clinical Research, Hospital Lab Management and Wellness Solutions and is always innovating and adopting cutting edge technologies and services. She is highly appreciated in the health-care industry and has been voted by GE/Modern Medicare as “The Young entrepreneur of the Year” in 2006. She was also awarded “The Young Achiever of the year” at the CMO Asia Awards in 2010, and she is just getting started. In less than a decade she built metropolis from a single lab into a multi lab company, starting out with no structure or brand, she built it brick by brick, along with her father and the team, for me this was right up my alley and I very much enjoyed creating, today when I walk down the memory lane the journey has been nothing short of exhilarating says Ameera. Initially there were a few challeng-es, firstly we had no frame of path to follow or replicate. We were the innovators in this industry in terms of creating a chain of standardized

pathology laboratory, which was a new concept in India, luckily I think we hit the nail in the head and found a model that was very suc-cessful. on the personal side being a non medical person, very young and being a female in a male domi-nating health care industry, I think that was definitely a challenge, finding ways to be taken seriously and to be respected for my knowl-edge was a challenge in the early years, but of course once you are knowledgeable and you are able to add value and I think then nobody can deny your performance and achievement, she says thoughtfully The time in the last 10years, we didn’t have much financial resourc-es, we weren’t backed by a big parent company, we didn’t inherit a lot of family wealth, we really had to be innovative in ways to actu-ally expand and because it was a small business with small profit, there wasn’t a big availability to do much expansion so what we decided to follow was the model of partnership, where we find other pathologists who have also run their labs very successfully in their cities and find a way to merge them into metropolis business and part-ner with them in equity and then integrate into a larger chain.I think for me metropolis is like my baby where literally I’ve built it brick by brick, seen it grow from one lab so it’s not difficult to stay passionate about my business ,

what I do to keep it interesting and keep myself constantly challenged is to do two things. One is to keep learning and I think it’s very impor-tant because at some point in time, successful entrepreneurs start to feel like they know it all and what we strived to do was to keep the learning going. Simultaneously it constantly challenging and innovat-ing to think what we can do next, last 3-4years I’ve spent a lot of my time in consolidating the business, making sure we are focusing on profit, quality and the fundamental system processes, now my focus really is where we are going to be and where we want to be 2020 and that’s the phase I am currently in says Ameera.The health care industry is still at its nascent stage, may be in next 10years we can see an upward boom in the health care industry. In the cities where you see quite a lot of healthcare facilities, health insurance when you are an OPD hasn’t come in yet, so for things like individual consultation of a doctor is not covered in the insur-ance. So certainly there is a long way to go, I think we will see the volumes come in once health care insurance penetrates more. And secondly most health care compa-nies are focused more on metros and very few people have gone down to other regions and I as-sume in the next 5-10 years we will see a lot of that happening where

Daignosing SuccessBy Liji lucas


total India would become a prime or predominant area for expansion for the health care industry says Ameera with confidence.However what makes Metropolis unique is the combination of own-ership and management, today hav-ing a pathologist as the chairman, who has set the philosophy and the principles of the company, and at the same time having myself who has grown up with metropolis, but has a business background as the MD and CEO, so I think it is a very interesting blend of experience and youth. And then is the culture we built in the organisation, we built in a culture of total transpar-ency which means that the patients interest comes first in our mind, we focus on providing the best quality, best experience for the customers, as much as we think with our head, we work with our heart, our com-passion, the way we conduct our business comes from our heart and that I think is very hard to replicate in an organisation and that all re-sults in the best experience for the customers.Indeed, Ameera makes it appear too easy, but she has had her share of hard times, needless to say she was voted “The Young entrepre-neur of the Year” and many more. It obviously feels good to be rec-ognized for your efforts and it is a recognition not only of me but of what my team is doing in the company. Our organisation has also won a lot of awards; Metropolis was voted the best diagnostic services and also won the best wellness brand award. We

feel the joy wining the awards but the joy we feel on a day to day ba-sis when a patient comes to us and says, ‘your accurate results have saved my life’ those words I admit carry more meaning says Ameera.Our motto is to pursue brilliance, the profits will follow. We have the leading chain of labs in the emerging markets of India, south Asia, Middle East and Africa. In future we plan to expand metropolis in 2 directions, we will continue to grow intensely in northern east of India, and also expand internationally in the Af-rican market, and we plan to expand vertically in different divi-sions in India, and also plan to get into other aspects of health-care asserts Ameera.

SPOT LIGHT


Nurturing, Shaping and Development of a child to bring about the outcomes

desired by parents and the soci-ety as a whole has always been the sole objective of Educational Institutions, however their tech-niques and methodology differs. Working primarily on Academic front and showing signs of im-provement and development in grades brought many institutions into the category of elite haven for learning. But of late, the ambit of learning has spread its wings and not merely confined to academ-ics as the only tool to measure the performance of a child. With the world rapidly turning into a single unit, as better known as Global Village, the education has wit-nessed a paradigm shift from mere Classroom Teaching and Aca-demics to Holistic Development, especially in developing nations like India.The strongly growing emphasis on Holistic Development, Overall De-velopment, All-round Development and some related terms is quite evi-dent from the communication sent out by the schools, particularly the upcoming contemporary ones. But the main questions that arise that why Holistic Development, the key elements of Holistic Development and how serious are the schools to-wards this concept in practice. The complete focus towards excellence

at academics undoubtedly yielded effective results and paved way for promising career but unfortu-nately overlooked other aspects equally important and vital for real growth. On the contrary, focus on holistic development is a deliberate and conscious attempt to prepare younger generations towards not only facing and handling issues at global platform but to have a positive outlook and tolerance towards different cultures, values, traditions, ethics and social norms existing across the globe.We are discussing holistic de-velopment, but what are the key elements that help developing the overall personality of a child and how Educational Institutes are helping to achieve the objec-tives. . Of course, Academics still plays a pivotal role in Education System across the globe as it is one of the ways to explore the world. With advent of technology and innovative methods of teach-ing and learning, academics itself is not solely dependent on and confined to text books and theo-retical knowledge. In fact academ-ics through out-of-box methods of learning has become an important key element of Holistic Develop-ment. The schools, of late, have constituted separate teams to evolve different techniques of in-novative and experiential learning methods. Academics gradually is

coming out of the classrooms and taking form as a concept of Learn-ing by Doing.Besides that, Overall Develop-ment in true terms indicates towards imbibing of different attributes in the child to make him a better and responsible be-ing. Sports, till a few years back was simply lim-ited to games session and a way to rejuve-nate the young brains follow-ing a simple saying ‘Healthy body has a healthy mind’. But slowly and gradu-ally, sports has be-come one of the most effec-tive ways not only to turn a child into healthy being but imbibe positive characteristics of team spirit, tolerance, balance, endur-ance and sportsman spirit which are needed the most in today’s competitive world where working in a diversified team is inevitable. In addition to this, range of sports has come up as a full-time career

Emerging Trend of Holistic growth


that offers both recognition and benefits, both in monetary and non-monetary terms.Many Educational Institutes have realized this fact and growing need and the increasing role of sports in the growing years of

children and the sincere ini-tiatives taken and en-

couragement given by Educational

Groups is commend-

able. Many schools have set-up in-house Sports

Acad-emies

and many of them

are manned and managed by

experts and coaches from different parts of the

globe. The elite Football Clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United are looking to India as the next destination for talent hunt.A person without an understand-ing of Art and Literature is some-what lacking at creative front. The feelings, emotions and inclination towards different form of arts like Dance, Music, Theatre, Painting

and many more of diverse nature adds meaning and enhances the scope of thinking and perform-ing in a creative manner. They add new perspectives to the life especially at the growing age and certainly help in becoming a better human.Moreover, inculcating feeling of empathy towards all living be-ings, environment and surround-ings makes a child more sensitive towards such issues of concern. Many Educational Institutes have come forward and there is equal emphasis on such recreational activities to make the younger ones sensitive towards such form of arts, recreation and matters of global concern. During our times, the exposure was limited and so was the time to think and act about such genuine concerns like Environmental degradation. Of late, it has become an integral part of the routine and curriculum of majority of the schools. The steps taken are practical and pragmatic and hence have succeeded in increasing the level of participa-tion and involvement of students in a big way and is simply not confined to classrooms and hence their exposure to such issues and form of arts make them sensible, better and responsible denizens of the Blue Planet Earth.The boundary-less world has brought cultures from every nook

and corner closer and the interac-tion has increased manifolds. The movement of people from dif-ferent parts of the world related to work has surged and domina-tion of MNCs, the teams work-ing on different projects come from different social and cultural backgrounds and many of the team members face the problem of adjustments and working with cohesion. Educational Institutions of late, have taken certain ap-preciable steps to bridge this gap and have associated international exposure with learning.Many Educational Institutions have gone ahead and take their students even to places like NASA, China and many countries across Europe. There are many such Educational Institutions that have launched Student Exchange Programs so that the children may get an opportunity of studying and learning with their counterparts from other parts of the world and learn things with a difference.But one notable area of devel-opment worth mentioning and adulating is exposure to social concerns in the nation and across the world. During recent years, the Educational Institutions have taken steps to encourage the no-tion of imbibing the feeling of oneness and sense of belonging with the underprivileged sections of the society.

SPOT LIGHT


Nurturing, Shaping and Development of a child to bring about the outcomes

desired by parents and the soci-ety as a whole has always been the sole objective of Educational Institutions, however their tech-niques and methodology differs. Working primarily on Academic front and showing signs of im-provement and development in grades brought many institutions into the category of elite haven for learning. But of late, the ambit of learning has spread its wings and not merely confined to academ-ics as the only tool to measure the performance of a child. With the world rapidly turning into a single unit, as better known as Global Village, the education has wit-nessed a paradigm shift from mere Classroom Teaching and Aca-demics to Holistic Development, especially in developing nations like India.The strongly growing emphasis on Holistic Development, Overall De-velopment, All-round Development and some related terms is quite evi-dent from the communication sent out by the schools, particularly the upcoming contemporary ones. But the main questions that arise that why Holistic Development, the key elements of Holistic Development and how serious are the schools to-wards this concept in practice. The complete focus towards excellence

at academics undoubtedly yielded effective results and paved way for promising career but unfortu-nately overlooked other aspects equally important and vital for real growth. On the contrary, focus on holistic development is a deliberate and conscious attempt to prepare younger generations towards not only facing and handling issues at global platform but to have a positive outlook and tolerance towards different cultures, values, traditions, ethics and social norms existing across the globe.We are discussing holistic de-velopment, but what are the key elements that help developing the overall personality of a child and how Educational Institutes are helping to achieve the objec-tives. . Of course, Academics still plays a pivotal role in Education System across the globe as it is one of the ways to explore the world. With advent of technology and innovative methods of teach-ing and learning, academics itself is not solely dependent on and confined to text books and theo-retical knowledge. In fact academ-ics through out-of-box methods of learning has become an important key element of Holistic Develop-ment. The schools, of late, have constituted separate teams to evolve different techniques of in-novative and experiential learning methods. Academics gradually is

coming out of the classrooms and taking form as a concept of Learn-ing by Doing.Besides that, Overall Develop-ment in true terms indicates towards imbibing of different attributes in the child to make him a better and responsible be-ing. Sports, till a few years back was simply lim-ited to games session and a way to rejuve-nate the young brains follow-ing a simple saying ‘Healthy body has a healthy mind’. But slowly and gradu-ally, sports has be-come one of the most effec-tive ways not only to turn a child into healthy being but imbibe positive characteristics of team spirit, tolerance, balance, endur-ance and sportsman spirit which are needed the most in today’s competitive world where working in a diversified team is inevitable. In addition to this, range of sports has come up as a full-time career

Emerging Trend of Holistic growth


that offers both recognition and benefits, both in monetary and non-monetary terms.Many Educational Institutes have realized this fact and growing need and the increasing role of sports in the growing years of

children and the sincere ini-tiatives taken and en-

couragement given by Educational

Groups is commend-

able. Many schools have set-up in-house Sports

Acad-emies

and many of them

are manned and managed by

experts and coaches from different parts of the

globe. The elite Football Clubs like Barcelona, Manchester United are looking to India as the next destination for talent hunt.A person without an understand-ing of Art and Literature is some-what lacking at creative front. The feelings, emotions and inclination towards different form of arts like Dance, Music, Theatre, Painting

and many more of diverse nature adds meaning and enhances the scope of thinking and perform-ing in a creative manner. They add new perspectives to the life especially at the growing age and certainly help in becoming a better human.Moreover, inculcating feeling of empathy towards all living be-ings, environment and surround-ings makes a child more sensitive towards such issues of concern. Many Educational Institutes have come forward and there is equal emphasis on such recreational activities to make the younger ones sensitive towards such form of arts, recreation and matters of global concern. During our times, the exposure was limited and so was the time to think and act about such genuine concerns like Environmental degradation. Of late, it has become an integral part of the routine and curriculum of majority of the schools. The steps taken are practical and pragmatic and hence have succeeded in increasing the level of participa-tion and involvement of students in a big way and is simply not confined to classrooms and hence their exposure to such issues and form of arts make them sensible, better and responsible denizens of the Blue Planet Earth.The boundary-less world has brought cultures from every nook

and corner closer and the interac-tion has increased manifolds. The movement of people from dif-ferent parts of the world related to work has surged and domina-tion of MNCs, the teams work-ing on different projects come from different social and cultural backgrounds and many of the team members face the problem of adjustments and working with cohesion. Educational Institutions of late, have taken certain ap-preciable steps to bridge this gap and have associated international exposure with learning.Many Educational Institutions have gone ahead and take their students even to places like NASA, China and many countries across Europe. There are many such Educational Institutions that have launched Student Exchange Programs so that the children may get an opportunity of studying and learning with their counterparts from other parts of the world and learn things with a difference.But one notable area of devel-opment worth mentioning and adulating is exposure to social concerns in the nation and across the world. During recent years, the Educational Institutions have taken steps to encourage the no-tion of imbibing the feeling of oneness and sense of belonging with the underprivileged sections of the society.


SPOT LIGHT

Europe and the West are considered the “de-veloped” world, while

countries such as China are said to be “developing.” But such mentalities don’t really match the respective realities of wealth, in all its meanings. From one point of view, Europe is rich, but also down and out. Similarly, China can be seen as prosperous, but poor at the same time.The word “developed” has always been synon-ymous

with “rich,” while the words “de-veloping” or “emerging” are often a polite way of saying “poor.” In the past decade, and in particular after the outbreak of the financial crisis, the meaning of these terms has changed a great deal. Now “developed” is actually reminis-cent of “financial hardship” or “declining,” whereas “develop-ing” or “emerging” means “awash

with cash.”

Even if the division be-

tween the developed and the developing or

emerging coun-tries remains

broadly unchanged, the defini-tion of “rich country” and “poor country” is rapidly evolving and ever more difficult to define. This decoupling is partly due to the fact that the definition of “devel-oped country” implies a much wider scope, not just economic where other factors must be be taken into account such as the cultural level, the general level of health… etc. Wealth is but one of these elements. A country can be developed, but not necessarily rich. In other words, economical-ly-speaking it might qualify as “decent” but not wealthy, just like having a better education might increase one’s income, but is nev-er a guarantee. Yet some devel-oped countries insist on regarding themselves as rich, and they act as such consistently. Meanwhile, certain developing or emerging countries insist on considering themselves as poor, and make de-cisions and act accordingly. This might sound odd, but in fact such modes of thinking help to ex-plain how countries rise and fall. Rather than arguing who is de-veloped or not, one might as well

Wealth of nations: the modern illusions of

economic growth change the perspective and talk about rich and poor.So what happens when a rich coun-try considers itself as poor and a poor country regards itself as rich?

The Chinese modelTake China as an example. After a long period of being ravaged by foreign occupation as well as civil wars, it opened up its economy as late as the 1980s, so it still maintains the mentality of a poor country. China lacks a sense of security and is particularly cautious in focusing on saving for a rainy day and preparing for emergencies. It is very wary in the management of its treasury, and favors saving over spending. Such a tendency has become a sort of subconscious in-stinct. China maintains and defends its currency at a low and pegged exchange rate so as to assist export growth and bring in more and more foreign currency. In the past three decades, its poor country state of mind has helped China build a long-lasting positive international balance of payments and accumu-lating vast foreign exchange re-serves. This has proved quite useful in the global financial crisis. Even

though the average living standard in China is not yet high, in terms of treasury China is already one of the world’s richest nations. Western European countries have had a very different experience from China’s during the same period. Even the two World Wars that brought colos-sal economic losses did not change their deep-rooted mentality of being rich countries. They went on developing the same consumption habits and lifestyle that they were accustomed to. While these coun-tries’ output and exports are in fact insufficient to maintain their high living standards, they raise their internal and external borrowing to make up for the deficit.In living standards, most European countries remain at a “developed” level. Basic necessities such as wa-ter, electricity, telecommunications, education and health care are read-ily available to the general public.But in terms of state finances, many of the European countries are find-ing themselves trapped in a crisis, and even moving toward poverty. The surge of unemployment in Greece and Spain shows that in the

next few years their average national living standard will have to be painfully low-ered. Their rich country mentality is unfortunately not keeping up with the reality of their economic recession.However; this doesn’t mean China’s poor country mentality is definitely superior. It has its own is-sues. China is no longer a poor country, but it isn’t yet developed either. Exces-sive saving has deprived its people of a higher living standard and prevented them from developing their potential.



SPOT LIGHT

Europe and the West are considered the “de-veloped” world, while

countries such as China are said to be “developing.” But such mentalities don’t really match the respective realities of wealth, in all its meanings. From one point of view, Europe is rich, but also down and out. Similarly, China can be seen as prosperous, but poor at the same time.The word “developed” has always been synon-ymous

with “rich,” while the words “de-veloping” or “emerging” are often a polite way of saying “poor.” In the past decade, and in particular after the outbreak of the financial crisis, the meaning of these terms has changed a great deal. Now “developed” is actually reminis-cent of “financial hardship” or “declining,” whereas “develop-ing” or “emerging” means “awash

with cash.”

Even if the division be-

tween the developed and the developing or

emerging coun-tries remains

broadly unchanged, the defini-tion of “rich country” and “poor country” is rapidly evolving and ever more difficult to define. This decoupling is partly due to the fact that the definition of “devel-oped country” implies a much wider scope, not just economic where other factors must be be taken into account such as the cultural level, the general level of health… etc. Wealth is but one of these elements. A country can be developed, but not necessarily rich. In other words, economical-ly-speaking it might qualify as “decent” but not wealthy, just like having a better education might increase one’s income, but is nev-er a guarantee. Yet some devel-oped countries insist on regarding themselves as rich, and they act as such consistently. Meanwhile, certain developing or emerging countries insist on considering themselves as poor, and make de-cisions and act accordingly. This might sound odd, but in fact such modes of thinking help to ex-plain how countries rise and fall. Rather than arguing who is de-veloped or not, one might as well

Wealth of nations: the modern illusions of

economic growth change the perspective and talk about rich and poor.So what happens when a rich coun-try considers itself as poor and a poor country regards itself as rich?

The Chinese modelTake China as an example. After a long period of being ravaged by foreign occupation as well as civil wars, it opened up its economy as late as the 1980s, so it still maintains the mentality of a poor country. China lacks a sense of security and is particularly cautious in focusing on saving for a rainy day and preparing for emergencies. It is very wary in the management of its treasury, and favors saving over spending. Such a tendency has become a sort of subconscious in-stinct. China maintains and defends its currency at a low and pegged exchange rate so as to assist export growth and bring in more and more foreign currency. In the past three decades, its poor country state of mind has helped China build a long-lasting positive international balance of payments and accumu-lating vast foreign exchange re-serves. This has proved quite useful in the global financial crisis. Even

though the average living standard in China is not yet high, in terms of treasury China is already one of the world’s richest nations. Western European countries have had a very different experience from China’s during the same period. Even the two World Wars that brought colos-sal economic losses did not change their deep-rooted mentality of being rich countries. They went on developing the same consumption habits and lifestyle that they were accustomed to. While these coun-tries’ output and exports are in fact insufficient to maintain their high living standards, they raise their internal and external borrowing to make up for the deficit.In living standards, most European countries remain at a “developed” level. Basic necessities such as wa-ter, electricity, telecommunications, education and health care are read-ily available to the general public.But in terms of state finances, many of the European countries are find-ing themselves trapped in a crisis, and even moving toward poverty. The surge of unemployment in Greece and Spain shows that in the

next few years their average national living standard will have to be painfully low-ered. Their rich country mentality is unfortunately not keeping up with the reality of their economic recession.However; this doesn’t mean China’s poor country mentality is definitely superior. It has its own is-sues. China is no longer a poor country, but it isn’t yet developed either. Exces-sive saving has deprived its people of a higher living standard and prevented them from developing their potential.


For centuries the ‘Fourth Estate’ invisibly binds the diverse culture and prop the

society, became the voice of the common people metamorphosed knowingly or unknowingly that leads to strengthening the human-kind. Channels, the epitome of new generation media accomplish synonymous endeavor. In a conver-sation with The Economy,Kairali Channels’ Executive Director, T.R Ajayan responds spontane-ously, the genuine and reflective attitude of Malayalam Communica-tion Channels that evolve into the ‘Manifestation of Mankind’. What are the possibilities of me-

dia space in Kerala? What are the recent trends including print and visual media? How Malayalam communications channels differ from others?Kerala is one of the most literate states in our country, with more than 20 channels having cutting edge competence. The people with their exceedingly literate sense are capable enough to endure rational media. So it is to be believed that every media has its own space in this soil. Malayalam Communication Chan-nels manifests its uniqueness in its motive by becoming voice to the voiceless and cater the needs of common people. It is more like

a service to the society rather than a business. Kairali TV, People TV and WE, crave to reach the people of the state than going after the hype.

On your perspec-tive, how can you define a channel, its accountability towards the society and how it can re-late to the common people?The sense of

accountability of the media is dematerialised; the most stories they filed are premature, making a deviation from the real problems. We stand firm to ferret out the truth

of the news and report it without filtering its significance. We up-hold the partiality that became the voice of the destitute and forges the poorer strata of the society and strengthen them. Our channel is in the forefront to portray the public opinion.

Can you please tell us about the transition of readership culture to viewership? How do you promote your channel?Both readers and viewers sustain in a parallel way and will not surpass the other. The experiences we at-tain through reading differ while we are seeing a thing. So transition remains forever. Our channels supplements lots of programmes with different vibes like Mampazham, Pravasilokam,

Nerkazhakal, Patturumal which we are getting large applause. We are not supposed to compete with the other channels’ paranoiac version of serials.

Do you think there is a healthy competition prevailing among channels all over? There is competition prevailing among channels, but I am afraid to say it is healthy enough. Our state is crowded with channels, so the ‘struggle for existence’ is persist-ing. The channels’ sole revenue is propped up by the advertisements which is about 900 crore assigned to the state is to be shared using their advertisement tricks.We attempt our best without com-promising the values, for us our channel servers the society.

What is the economic existence of channels, who were its sharehold-ers?We have three channels like Kaira-li, People TV and We. Our prime source of income is Kairali TV, we wish to People TV get more localised. We have a base of 2,50000 shareholders from different walks of life, which even etched a mark in the history of Media in Kerala. Our soar-ing growth statistics of channels predicts its posterity.

How do you re-spond to the utiliza-tion FDI to Indian Media?Our policy opposes FDI; we stand for

the common people. Our chan-nels are not yet listed on the share market.

How do you wish to interpret your channel a private or a public one?Our channels have a strong foun-dation with 2,50000 shareholders, that means the channel is for the people. We stand with the common people, tried hard to wipe their tears.

What is the rationale behind plac-ing a celebrity as its chairman?Mamooty is the chairman, more than a versatile artist; he is abreast of technology and very much cur-rent in it. We are obliged to have such a person who exemplifies his talent in leadership.

Do you have any further diversifi-cation in posterity?Our expansion plan includes Kairali Arabia, exclusively for the Middle East and a 24*7 Health channel. We applied, not yet con-firmed when it will get aired.


MEDIA TALK


T.R Ajayan, Executive Director


By Sumi P

For centuries the ‘Fourth Estate’ invisibly binds the diverse culture and prop the

society, became the voice of the common people metamorphosed knowingly or unknowingly that leads to strengthening the human-kind. Channels, the epitome of new generation media accomplish synonymous endeavor. In a conver-sation with The Economy,Kairali Channels’ Executive Director, T.R Ajayan responds spontane-ously, the genuine and reflective attitude of Malayalam Communica-tion Channels that evolve into the ‘Manifestation of Mankind’. What are the possibilities of me-

dia space in Kerala? What are the recent trends including print and visual media? How Malayalam communications channels differ from others?Kerala is one of the most literate states in our country, with more than 20 channels having cutting edge competence. The people with their exceedingly literate sense are capable enough to endure rational media. So it is to be believed that every media has its own space in this soil. Malayalam Communication Chan-nels manifests its uniqueness in its motive by becoming voice to the voiceless and cater the needs of common people. It is more like

a service to the society rather than a business. Kairali TV, People TV and WE, crave to reach the people of the state than going after the hype.

On your perspec-tive, how can you define a channel, its accountability towards the society and how it can re-late to the common people?The sense of

accountability of the media is dematerialised; the most stories they filed are premature, making a deviation from the real problems. We stand firm to ferret out the truth

of the news and report it without filtering its significance. We up-hold the partiality that became the voice of the destitute and forges the poorer strata of the society and strengthen them. Our channel is in the forefront to portray the public opinion.

Can you please tell us about the transition of readership culture to viewership? How do you promote your channel?Both readers and viewers sustain in a parallel way and will not surpass the other. The experiences we at-tain through reading differ while we are seeing a thing. So transition remains forever. Our channels supplements lots of programmes with different vibes like Mampazham, Pravasilokam,

Nerkazhakal, Patturumal which we are getting large applause. We are not supposed to compete with the other channels’ paranoiac version of serials.

Do you think there is a healthy competition prevailing among channels all over? There is competition prevailing among channels, but I am afraid to say it is healthy enough. Our state is crowded with channels, so the ‘struggle for existence’ is persist-ing. The channels’ sole revenue is propped up by the advertisements which is about 900 crore assigned to the state is to be shared using their advertisement tricks.We attempt our best without com-promising the values, for us our channel servers the society.

What is the economic existence of channels, who were its sharehold-ers?We have three channels like Kaira-li, People TV and We. Our prime source of income is Kairali TV, we wish to People TV get more localised. We have a base of 2,50000 shareholders from different walks of life, which even etched a mark in the history of Media in Kerala. Our soar-ing growth statistics of channels predicts its posterity.

How do you re-spond to the utiliza-tion FDI to Indian Media?Our policy opposes FDI; we stand for

the common people. Our chan-nels are not yet listed on the share market.

How do you wish to interpret your channel a private or a public one?Our channels have a strong foun-dation with 2,50000 shareholders, that means the channel is for the people. We stand with the common people, tried hard to wipe their tears.

What is the rationale behind plac-ing a celebrity as its chairman?Mamooty is the chairman, more than a versatile artist; he is abreast of technology and very much cur-rent in it. We are obliged to have such a person who exemplifies his talent in leadership.

Do you have any further diversifi-cation in posterity?Our expansion plan includes Kairali Arabia, exclusively for the Middle East and a 24*7 Health channel. We applied, not yet con-firmed when it will get aired.


MEDIA TALK


T.R Ajayan, Executive Director


By Sumi P

IIM Kozhikode became the first to get the operational autono-my” How do you evaluate this

and what make IIMK differ from other IIMs in India?There is a specific functional autonomy in terms of appoint-ment of chairman of its board of governors, directors, making our students composition of subjects what the institute desires. We were also given the autonomy in terms of appointments of person-nel or professionals based on the market requirements. All these put together to form the architecture of autonomy. IIM-Kozhikode has been instrumental in doing lot of changes in the way IIM system have perceive, in terms of gender diversity, programs with underpriv-ileged, first international accredita-tion from AMBA. IIM-K is the first IIM in the country to go digital.

IIMK tie up with Leeds B-School is it part of academic collaboration with foreign university?We have been having this academic collaboration quiet some time.

We realized that this collaboration will link us with other ideal space, how business education happens in world at large. We have intel-lectuals visiting from Yale, Harvard and NASA. Our basic mission is to globalize Indian thought, which helps to balance agility with stabil-ity, hi-tech with hi-touch, equity with excellence.

Do you have any plan to start cam-pus abroad?The geography doesn’t matter anymore. There is no need to start a brick and mortar campus abroad, where there is a large electronic infrastructure available. We have a new continent called Internet, which has no geography, can con-sistently exchange the ideas. So we have the campus which have multi location, multiple agencies are con-nected to it. I am going abroad in terms of ideas through cyber space.

You said 35% of women in school, what make you feel women better managers?In a broad sense the world is

moved into the future, the kind of jobs you did. It is important to real-ize that those jobs involve balanc-ing of multiple states, complicity of situation, balancing multiple priority, sensitivity, emotional resonance, commitment to ecology will be important. Women tend to have these qualities much more. One fundamental difference, how women lead and men lead, men like to lead from the top to bot-tom, whereas women lead from the centre. This centre is connected to every field. The new model of organization of the future will give attention to the nucleus at the centre to the periphery, because technology has flattened the hi-erarchies. So the women find it a natural space for them to migrate.

How do you encourage entrepre-neurs?Entrepreneurs are creative people like a poet or a painter; they will become entrepreneurs by virtue of their heart. We create context for them to flourish. Entrepreneurial energy is already in the system. For students in school we facilitate the process, did right structures and op-portunities, connect them to estab-lished entrepreneurs and give them insight, input training.

You made GIFT possible, this year you come up with long term wom-an empowerment programme for high potential women. What is the intention behind this?


EDUCATION

Minister for Social Welfare, Dr. K M Muneer conceived the idea; IIM-K is an institution that looks gender diversity a serious issue. Actor Revathy flagged off the mar-athon. To create an aspiration that make women realize that the world is changing, India is also chang-ing. This centaury largely belongs to them, and they don’t have to be constrained by social and political barriers. In 10 years, India attains its third position in economy. 50 percent of its population cannot afford to sit at home. IIM –K is giv-ing exposure to the right talented girls, and giving them the skills. We are giving 20 scholar-ships to best per-forming students every year; of these 50 per-cent

were girls although our composi-tion is 35:65. If you give them equal opportunity they will do better. India needs to give women access, opportunity and aspiration, they will do better

Tell us about the diversity that you bring in subject profile of students?The analytical quantitative capa-bilities of engineering students are good for cracking the test. But when it comes to managing people, managerial complexity these numbers will not help, you need other kind of capabilities. We wanted diversity of subjects, and wanted learning more interesting

and meaningful. We have students from Medicine, architecture, arts, science, and commerce. So IIM class room is a mix of sub-

ject diversity, gender diversity and different nationality and even 10 percent international students. For the firt time CAT is going interna-tionally competing with GMAT.

Mr. Narayana Murthy said that the American Universities focus on solving problem and relating theo-ries with reality. Both these aspects lack in Indian education. How do you respond to this?I totally agree with Narayana Murthy, but he did not have IIMs in mind. IIMs are fairly practical. The Indian system


IIMK: A venue for self discoveryBy Sumi P

Dr. Debashis Chatterjee is a man of few words. Widely acclaimed as one of the prominent thought leaders, Dr. Chatterjee’s speeches have evoked soul stirring respons-es from intellectual circles worldwide. In a candid conversation with The Economy, Dr. Chatterjee deliberates on an array of topics”

IIM Kozhikode became the first to get the operational autono-my” How do you evaluate this

and what make IIMK differ from other IIMs in India?There is a specific functional autonomy in terms of appoint-ment of chairman of its board of governors, directors, making our students composition of subjects what the institute desires. We were also given the autonomy in terms of appointments of person-nel or professionals based on the market requirements. All these put together to form the architecture of autonomy. IIM-Kozhikode has been instrumental in doing lot of changes in the way IIM system have perceive, in terms of gender diversity, programs with underpriv-ileged, first international accredita-tion from AMBA. IIM-K is the first IIM in the country to go digital.

IIMK tie up with Leeds B-School is it part of academic collaboration with foreign university?We have been having this academic collaboration quiet some time.

We realized that this collaboration will link us with other ideal space, how business education happens in world at large. We have intel-lectuals visiting from Yale, Harvard and NASA. Our basic mission is to globalize Indian thought, which helps to balance agility with stabil-ity, hi-tech with hi-touch, equity with excellence.

Do you have any plan to start cam-pus abroad?The geography doesn’t matter anymore. There is no need to start a brick and mortar campus abroad, where there is a large electronic infrastructure available. We have a new continent called Internet, which has no geography, can con-sistently exchange the ideas. So we have the campus which have multi location, multiple agencies are con-nected to it. I am going abroad in terms of ideas through cyber space.

You said 35% of women in school, what make you feel women better managers?In a broad sense the world is

moved into the future, the kind of jobs you did. It is important to real-ize that those jobs involve balanc-ing of multiple states, complicity of situation, balancing multiple priority, sensitivity, emotional resonance, commitment to ecology will be important. Women tend to have these qualities much more. One fundamental difference, how women lead and men lead, men like to lead from the top to bot-tom, whereas women lead from the centre. This centre is connected to every field. The new model of organization of the future will give attention to the nucleus at the centre to the periphery, because technology has flattened the hi-erarchies. So the women find it a natural space for them to migrate.

How do you encourage entrepre-neurs?Entrepreneurs are creative people like a poet or a painter; they will become entrepreneurs by virtue of their heart. We create context for them to flourish. Entrepreneurial energy is already in the system. For students in school we facilitate the process, did right structures and op-portunities, connect them to estab-lished entrepreneurs and give them insight, input training.

You made GIFT possible, this year you come up with long term wom-an empowerment programme for high potential women. What is the intention behind this?


EDUCATION

Minister for Social Welfare, Dr. K M Muneer conceived the idea; IIM-K is an institution that looks gender diversity a serious issue. Actor Revathy flagged off the mar-athon. To create an aspiration that make women realize that the world is changing, India is also chang-ing. This centaury largely belongs to them, and they don’t have to be constrained by social and political barriers. In 10 years, India attains its third position in economy. 50 percent of its population cannot afford to sit at home. IIM –K is giv-ing exposure to the right talented girls, and giving them the skills. We are giving 20 scholar-ships to best per-forming students every year; of these 50 per-cent

were girls although our composi-tion is 35:65. If you give them equal opportunity they will do better. India needs to give women access, opportunity and aspiration, they will do better

Tell us about the diversity that you bring in subject profile of students?The analytical quantitative capa-bilities of engineering students are good for cracking the test. But when it comes to managing people, managerial complexity these numbers will not help, you need other kind of capabilities. We wanted diversity of subjects, and wanted learning more interesting

and meaningful. We have students from Medicine, architecture, arts, science, and commerce. So IIM class room is a mix of sub-

ject diversity, gender diversity and different nationality and even 10 percent international students. For the firt time CAT is going interna-tionally competing with GMAT.

Mr. Narayana Murthy said that the American Universities focus on solving problem and relating theo-ries with reality. Both these aspects lack in Indian education. How do you respond to this?I totally agree with Narayana Murthy, but he did not have IIMs in mind. IIMs are fairly practical. The Indian system


IIMK: A venue for self discoveryBy Sumi P

Dr. Debashis Chatterjee is a man of few words. Widely acclaimed as one of the prominent thought leaders, Dr. Chatterjee’s speeches have evoked soul stirring respons-es from intellectual circles worldwide. In a candid conversation with The Economy, Dr. Chatterjee deliberates on an array of topics”

was largely based on conceptual knowledge but that is changing very quickly. All these institutions are of-fering very much pragmatic courses. I think connecting to guarantee is very critical. However things are getting changed in near future.

‘Mushrooming of B-schools will affect the quality of management education’. How do you evaluate?It diminishes the mushrooms not the quality of education. When the students did not connect their edu-cation with job prosperity, they will have abandoned the school. Large numbers of engineering colleges have been closed down recently, same will happen to management schools. If they don’t live up to the expectations of students and don’t provide the value for money, it will close down.

Inconsistency in the economic sector constraints the recruit-ment op-portunity i.e, the students lost multiple choice. What are the

agendas that IIM-K set to over-come?Economy is always fluctuating. But it is good for students, it make them to be more competitive. Re-cession help us to test our capabil-ity. Even in this recession we have lots of job offers, seven percent in increase in salary... So recession will separate capable from inca-pable and it also helps you to have more realistic appraisal of yourself and our future

How do you inculcate your aca-demic and professional talent into IIMK?We are always looking for multi di-mensionality. I always think myself as a student of life. You are created by the universe so you have to cre-ate something in life. Only way we have to leave a mark is, you have

to be unique. So to translate the desire for multidimensional-ity, you can be a painter and a manager. These are as-pects of many facets of life which enriches the experi-ence of life. In IIM K, we

have professors for Litera-ture, History and professor for Social Transformation of India all these will enrich our

classroom, and helps you to be a fully

functional human

being.

Tell us about your books………….?I have finished the book called Timeless Leadership. It got en-dorsement from Narayana Murthy.This book will publish in United States and Sigapore in June. This book is dedicated to Lord Guru-vayoor Appan. This book is saying that corporate Kuruksheta is now in India and it is the battle of the minds and one who will win the corporate war will the mind. We will soon have a global edition including an edition in Russia.

What are the future developmental plans that have been sketch out for IIM Kozhikode?I want this institution to be on extra ordinary impact. We are not just talking about finishing a curriculum. Our students are our creations. They should go out and take the mission out. We want our students to run for government, run MNCs, do some-thing for themselves and be success-ful in different dimensions. Hope-fully we will be measured, we have a vision for 2047, IIM-K will be 50 years old and independent India will be 100 years. There will be a legiti-mate place for IIMK

Do you have message to IIM aspi-rants?IIMs are great institutions our intake is one out of 600 applica-tions. My message is for those who can’t make it, IIM is not the limit of the world, there are many op-portunity waiting outside. Our job is value for many and value for money. Those 360 who make it I’ll congratulate them, and those who are not make it, they still have the hunger for the achievement and be truthful in you.


EDUCATION


was largely based on conceptual knowledge but that is changing very quickly. All these institutions are of-fering very much pragmatic courses. I think connecting to guarantee is very critical. However things are getting changed in near future.

‘Mushrooming of B-schools will affect the quality of management education’. How do you evaluate?It diminishes the mushrooms not the quality of education. When the students did not connect their edu-cation with job prosperity, they will have abandoned the school. Large numbers of engineering colleges have been closed down recently, same will happen to management schools. If they don’t live up to the expectations of students and don’t provide the value for money, it will close down.

Inconsistency in the economic sector constraints the recruit-ment op-portunity i.e, the students lost multiple choice. What are the

agendas that IIM-K set to over-come?Economy is always fluctuating. But it is good for students, it make them to be more competitive. Re-cession help us to test our capabil-ity. Even in this recession we have lots of job offers, seven percent in increase in salary... So recession will separate capable from inca-pable and it also helps you to have more realistic appraisal of yourself and our future

How do you inculcate your aca-demic and professional talent into IIMK?We are always looking for multi di-mensionality. I always think myself as a student of life. You are created by the universe so you have to cre-ate something in life. Only way we have to leave a mark is, you have

to be unique. So to translate the desire for multidimensional-ity, you can be a painter and a manager. These are as-pects of many facets of life which enriches the experi-ence of life. In IIM K, we

have professors for Litera-ture, History and professor for Social Transformation of India all these will enrich our

classroom, and helps you to be a fully

functional human

being.

Tell us about your books………….?I have finished the book called Timeless Leadership. It got en-dorsement from Narayana Murthy.This book will publish in United States and Sigapore in June. This book is dedicated to Lord Guru-vayoor Appan. This book is saying that corporate Kuruksheta is now in India and it is the battle of the minds and one who will win the corporate war will the mind. We will soon have a global edition including an edition in Russia.

What are the future developmental plans that have been sketch out for IIM Kozhikode?I want this institution to be on extra ordinary impact. We are not just talking about finishing a curriculum. Our students are our creations. They should go out and take the mission out. We want our students to run for government, run MNCs, do some-thing for themselves and be success-ful in different dimensions. Hope-fully we will be measured, we have a vision for 2047, IIM-K will be 50 years old and independent India will be 100 years. There will be a legiti-mate place for IIMK

Do you have message to IIM aspi-rants?IIMs are great institutions our intake is one out of 600 applica-tions. My message is for those who can’t make it, IIM is not the limit of the world, there are many op-portunity waiting outside. Our job is value for many and value for money. Those 360 who make it I’ll congratulate them, and those who are not make it, they still have the hunger for the achievement and be truthful in you.


EDUCATION


COVER STORY

Not so swift. The dramatic opening of India's hide-bound economy, substan-

tial improvements in India-U.S. relations, and rapid, sustained economic growth for well over a decade have led most analysts and policymakers to conclude that India will easily emerge as one of the world's great powers in the 21st century. In 2010 while visit-ing India, U.S. President Barack Obama said, "India is not just a rising power; India has already

risen." And just a few weeks ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called India a "linchpin" in the U.S. "pivot" to Asia, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the U.S.-India tie as a "critical bilateral relationship."Certainly, there has been reason for such optimism. Until the recent global economic downturn, the Indian economy was the second-fastest-growing in the world, reaching a rate of 9.8 percent in October 2009. Poverty dropped 5

percentage points between 2004 and 2009, according to the widely accepted Indian National Sample Survey. Meanwhile, Indian firms have been going global. In 2006, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal purchased the French com-pany Arcelor, creating the world's largest mining and steel firm. In 2008, the Indian conglomerate Tata purchased the iconic British Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford. And, despite some uncertainty now hovering over India's investment

“India Will Be the World’s Next Great Power.”


climate, key global firms continue to bet on India. In late June, Coca-Cola, which had left India in the early 1970s, decided to invest $5 billion by 2020. Similarly, Swedish furniture retailer Ikea announced that it would invest almost $2 bil-lion in the next few years.On foreign policy, India has shown growing global aspirations -- and capabilities. It is the fifth-largest player in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Afghanistan, and its reach extends well beyond its neighbor-hood. At the recent G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged $20 bil-lion to an endowment designed to shore up the IMF's lending capac-ity.Unfortunately, the fascination with India's growing econom-ic clout and foreign-policy overtures has glossed over its insti-tutional limits, the many quirks of its political culture, and the significant economic and social challenges it faces. To cite but one example, at least 30 percent of Indian agricultural pro-duce spoils because the country has failed to develop a viable supply chain. Foreign investors could al-leviate, if not solve, that problem. But thanks to the intransigence of a small number of political parties and organized interest groups, India has refused to open its markets to outsid-ers. Until India can meet basic challenges like this,

its greatness will

remain a matter of rhetoric, not fact.

"India's Growth Is Inevitable."When India began to liberalize its economy after the 1991 financial crisis, many analysts concluded that the country was on a glide path to growth. The sheer size of India's market, its wealth of entrepreneur-ial talent, and its functioning legal system all seemed to herald eco-nomic success.Sadly, these sunny assessments overlooked key hurdles. Many Indian politicians

remained wedded to an

anach-ronistic

model of state-led

growth. Pow-erful groups with

vested interests in the existing economic order from

well-subsidized farmers to well-entrenched industrial

labor unions -- opposed reform. And the rise of

coalition poli-tics, with

all their uncer-tainties,

threatened coherent government action. These factors have now come together to create a perfect storm for India.In the last quarter, India's economy grew at a mere 5.3 percent -- its worst performance in nearly a decade. In April, industrial growth was a paltry 0.1 percent. Many Indian policymakers are attributing this downturn to the European fis-cal crisis and the global economic slowdown. But the real problems confronting the Indian economy are indigenous.Indian politicians of all ideolo-gies have supported unsustainable spending in an effort to placate the country's increasingly politically mobilized population. Farmers in significant parts of India pay little or nothing for electricity, but officials refuse to challenge their subsidies. Politicians fret about raising gasoline prices for fear that the middle class will revolt. And to avoid student unrest, they have allowed the university system to reach a breaking point, because the fee structure cannot meet even a fraction of operating costs. The result of all this pandering has been a fiscal deficit of about 6 percent of GDP.India's leadership has also failed to reform the country's behemoth public sector. For example, the state-owned Air India requires

routine infusions of cash, but the govern-ment refuses to privatize the company lest it anger

COVER STORY


COVER STORY

Not so swift. The dramatic opening of India's hide-bound economy, substan-

tial improvements in India-U.S. relations, and rapid, sustained economic growth for well over a decade have led most analysts and policymakers to conclude that India will easily emerge as one of the world's great powers in the 21st century. In 2010 while visit-ing India, U.S. President Barack Obama said, "India is not just a rising power; India has already

risen." And just a few weeks ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta called India a "linchpin" in the U.S. "pivot" to Asia, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described the U.S.-India tie as a "critical bilateral relationship."Certainly, there has been reason for such optimism. Until the recent global economic downturn, the Indian economy was the second-fastest-growing in the world, reaching a rate of 9.8 percent in October 2009. Poverty dropped 5

percentage points between 2004 and 2009, according to the widely accepted Indian National Sample Survey. Meanwhile, Indian firms have been going global. In 2006, Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal purchased the French com-pany Arcelor, creating the world's largest mining and steel firm. In 2008, the Indian conglomerate Tata purchased the iconic British Jaguar and Land Rover brands from Ford. And, despite some uncertainty now hovering over India's investment

“India Will Be the World’s Next Great Power.”


climate, key global firms continue to bet on India. In late June, Coca-Cola, which had left India in the early 1970s, decided to invest $5 billion by 2020. Similarly, Swedish furniture retailer Ikea announced that it would invest almost $2 bil-lion in the next few years.On foreign policy, India has shown growing global aspirations -- and capabilities. It is the fifth-largest player in the reconstruction of war-ravaged Afghanistan, and its reach extends well beyond its neighbor-hood. At the recent G-20 summit in Los Cabos, Mexico, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh pledged $20 bil-lion to an endowment designed to shore up the IMF's lending capac-ity.Unfortunately, the fascination with India's growing econom-ic clout and foreign-policy overtures has glossed over its insti-tutional limits, the many quirks of its political culture, and the significant economic and social challenges it faces. To cite but one example, at least 30 percent of Indian agricultural pro-duce spoils because the country has failed to develop a viable supply chain. Foreign investors could al-leviate, if not solve, that problem. But thanks to the intransigence of a small number of political parties and organized interest groups, India has refused to open its markets to outsid-ers. Until India can meet basic challenges like this,

its greatness will

remain a matter of rhetoric, not fact.

"India's Growth Is Inevitable."When India began to liberalize its economy after the 1991 financial crisis, many analysts concluded that the country was on a glide path to growth. The sheer size of India's market, its wealth of entrepreneur-ial talent, and its functioning legal system all seemed to herald eco-nomic success.Sadly, these sunny assessments overlooked key hurdles. Many Indian politicians

remained wedded to an

anach-ronistic

model of state-led

growth. Pow-erful groups with

vested interests in the existing economic order from

well-subsidized farmers to well-entrenched industrial

labor unions -- opposed reform. And the rise of

coalition poli-tics, with

all their uncer-tainties,

threatened coherent government action. These factors have now come together to create a perfect storm for India.In the last quarter, India's economy grew at a mere 5.3 percent -- its worst performance in nearly a decade. In April, industrial growth was a paltry 0.1 percent. Many Indian policymakers are attributing this downturn to the European fis-cal crisis and the global economic slowdown. But the real problems confronting the Indian economy are indigenous.Indian politicians of all ideolo-gies have supported unsustainable spending in an effort to placate the country's increasingly politically mobilized population. Farmers in significant parts of India pay little or nothing for electricity, but officials refuse to challenge their subsidies. Politicians fret about raising gasoline prices for fear that the middle class will revolt. And to avoid student unrest, they have allowed the university system to reach a breaking point, because the fee structure cannot meet even a fraction of operating costs. The result of all this pandering has been a fiscal deficit of about 6 percent of GDP.India's leadership has also failed to reform the country's behemoth public sector. For example, the state-owned Air India requires

routine infusions of cash, but the govern-ment refuses to privatize the company lest it anger

COVER STORY


COVER STORYorganized labor. On the flip side, entrepreneurs are hobbled by antiquated legal regimes and idiosyncratic rule-making. Outdated land-acquisition laws have stopped a range of indus-trial projects, and quirky policy shifts have undermined growing fields like telecommunications.What's more, some analysts are now arguing that the absence of transparent regulatory and legal frameworks has opened new vistas of corruption. Indeed, the lack of a clearly defined legal regime led to an ad hoc auction of the 2G spec-trum in 2008. The flawed auction may have cost the treasury as much as $40 billion, according to an independent government watchdog. A new scandal is brewing which suggests that in 2004 state-owned coal seams were sold at well-be-low-market prices. Unsurprisingly, the specter of legal uncertainty combined with rampant corruption has had a chilling effect on foreign investment. All this makes India's future growth seem far from as-sured.

"India Can Help Contain China."Hardly. Because of its longstanding disputes with Beijing, U.S. policy-makers have hoped that New Delhi would join Washington in balanc-ing against China. But though India has had significant quarrels with China, it remains extremely skepti-cal of the U.S. "pivot" to Asia and of playing any part in an American strategy of containment. Many In-dian elites fear that joining the U.S.

ef-fort would

simply provoke China's wrath, and their obsessive concern with policy independence, deeply rooted in India's political culture of nonalignment, reinforces the un-willingness to make common cause with the United States.But it was India's reluctance to throw in its lot with the West that left it virtually defenseless when China attacked in 1962. A border dispute had erupted several years earlier over Chinese claims on what India deemed to be its terri-tory. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had limited de-fense spending because he believed it would divert critical resources from economic development and belie his staunch commitment to nonalignment. When the battle-hardened People's Liberation Army attacked, the Indian military was grossly unprepared. Soldiers without appropriate clothing, weap-ons, or training were rushed to the front, and large numbers died from frostbite and high-altitude ailments before they even had a chance to fight. The border dispute has never been re-solved. In fact, over the past couple of years, China has actually expanded its territorial claims to include the entire

Indian northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.Sino-Indian differences extend into a number of other arenas as well. Beijing categorically refuses to accept the legitimacy of India's nuclear weapons pro-

gram (which was begun in response to China's), and it tried to scuttle the 2008 U.S.- India civil- ian nuclear agree-ment. Fur-thermore, beyond its longstanding alliance with Pakistan, China is now developing re-lationships with the smaller South

Asian


countries and subtly encourag-ing anti-Indian sentiment in them. For example, as India has failed to resolve a series of ongoing dif-ferences with Bangladesh, China has quickly stepped in to improve Bangladesh's infrastructure.Globally, China and India have begun to compete for long-term oil and natural gas contracts -- and India has been losing. Several years ago, the Angolan government rescinded an agreement with India to develop some offshore oil blocks after China offered it a $200 mil-lion line of credit. More recently, China sternly warned the overseas arm of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. against prospecting for hydrocarbons off the coast of Vietnam. None of these tensions is

likely to abate anytime soon, especially

because India re-

mains acutely depen-

dent

on external energy sources.Despite these significant conflicts, Indian officials have resisted a closer partnership with the United

States. In addition to concerns about losing their freedom of ac-tion, Indian policymakers fear that U.S. policy will change with every election. The United States may be pivoting to Asia now, but if it changes its mind in the future and tries to accommodate Beijing, it will leave India in the lurch, sub-ject to Chinese intimidation. So, for now, India is hedging its bets.

"Tensions With Pakistan Have Eased."Not really. In recent months, there has been a minor thaw in India-Pakistan relations, but the two countries remain far apart on the critical question that has bedeviled their relations since independence: the disputed status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. That rivalry will only intensify as the United States and the NATO-led Interna-tional Security Assistance Force withdraw from Afghanistan. The Pakistani military establishment's obsession with "strategic depth"

against India has not

abated, nor has its commitment to

install a pliant regime in Afghani-stan post-2014. India's political leadership, which has made signifi-cant economic, strategic, and diplo-matic investments in Afghanistan,

is equally unlikely to cede ground for fear that a neo-Taliban regime will emerge.Consequently, relations are likely to cool markedly in the near fu-ture. And a return to the periodic crises that dogged India-Pakistan relations in the 1980s and 1990s will be distracting and expen-sive. India's military mobilization against Pakistan in the wake of the December 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament cost the country approximately $1 billion. Until tensions abate, India will have to remain vigilant along its western border, increase its military spending, and focus its diplomatic energies on keeping the peace. It will remain tied to its neighbor, and its aspirations to transcend regional politics will remain unfulfilled."India Will Be a Good Global Citizen."Perhaps. Some scholars argue that states are more likely to accept global standards of behavior as they become more powerful and gain a stake in world affairs. The evidence, however, is distinctly mixed, and India is likely to march to the beat of its own drummer. In some arenas it will play a helpful

role; in others it will

remain as recalcitrant as ever.

For example, it will be reasonably forthcoming on nonproliferation is-sues now that it is, for all practical


COVER STORYorganized labor. On the flip side, entrepreneurs are hobbled by antiquated legal regimes and idiosyncratic rule-making. Outdated land-acquisition laws have stopped a range of indus-trial projects, and quirky policy shifts have undermined growing fields like telecommunications.What's more, some analysts are now arguing that the absence of transparent regulatory and legal frameworks has opened new vistas of corruption. Indeed, the lack of a clearly defined legal regime led to an ad hoc auction of the 2G spec-trum in 2008. The flawed auction may have cost the treasury as much as $40 billion, according to an independent government watchdog. A new scandal is brewing which suggests that in 2004 state-owned coal seams were sold at well-be-low-market prices. Unsurprisingly, the specter of legal uncertainty combined with rampant corruption has had a chilling effect on foreign investment. All this makes India's future growth seem far from as-sured.

"India Can Help Contain China."Hardly. Because of its longstanding disputes with Beijing, U.S. policy-makers have hoped that New Delhi would join Washington in balanc-ing against China. But though India has had significant quarrels with China, it remains extremely skepti-cal of the U.S. "pivot" to Asia and of playing any part in an American strategy of containment. Many In-dian elites fear that joining the U.S.

ef-fort would

simply provoke China's wrath, and their obsessive concern with policy independence, deeply rooted in India's political culture of nonalignment, reinforces the un-willingness to make common cause with the United States.But it was India's reluctance to throw in its lot with the West that left it virtually defenseless when China attacked in 1962. A border dispute had erupted several years earlier over Chinese claims on what India deemed to be its terri-tory. Nevertheless, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had limited de-fense spending because he believed it would divert critical resources from economic development and belie his staunch commitment to nonalignment. When the battle-hardened People's Liberation Army attacked, the Indian military was grossly unprepared. Soldiers without appropriate clothing, weap-ons, or training were rushed to the front, and large numbers died from frostbite and high-altitude ailments before they even had a chance to fight. The border dispute has never been re-solved. In fact, over the past couple of years, China has actually expanded its territorial claims to include the entire

Indian northeastern state of Arunachal Pradesh.Sino-Indian differences extend into a number of other arenas as well. Beijing categorically refuses to accept the legitimacy of India's nuclear weapons pro-

gram (which was begun in response to China's), and it tried to scuttle the 2008 U.S.- India civil- ian nuclear agree-ment. Fur-thermore, beyond its longstanding alliance with Pakistan, China is now developing re-lationships with the smaller South

Asian


countries and subtly encourag-ing anti-Indian sentiment in them. For example, as India has failed to resolve a series of ongoing dif-ferences with Bangladesh, China has quickly stepped in to improve Bangladesh's infrastructure.Globally, China and India have begun to compete for long-term oil and natural gas contracts -- and India has been losing. Several years ago, the Angolan government rescinded an agreement with India to develop some offshore oil blocks after China offered it a $200 mil-lion line of credit. More recently, China sternly warned the overseas arm of India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp. against prospecting for hydrocarbons off the coast of Vietnam. None of these tensions is

likely to abate anytime soon, especially

because India re-

mains acutely depen-

dent

on external energy sources.Despite these significant conflicts, Indian officials have resisted a closer partnership with the United

States. In addition to concerns about losing their freedom of ac-tion, Indian policymakers fear that U.S. policy will change with every election. The United States may be pivoting to Asia now, but if it changes its mind in the future and tries to accommodate Beijing, it will leave India in the lurch, sub-ject to Chinese intimidation. So, for now, India is hedging its bets.

"Tensions With Pakistan Have Eased."Not really. In recent months, there has been a minor thaw in India-Pakistan relations, but the two countries remain far apart on the critical question that has bedeviled their relations since independence: the disputed status of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. That rivalry will only intensify as the United States and the NATO-led Interna-tional Security Assistance Force withdraw from Afghanistan. The Pakistani military establishment's obsession with "strategic depth"

against India has not

abated, nor has its commitment to

install a pliant regime in Afghani-stan post-2014. India's political leadership, which has made signifi-cant economic, strategic, and diplo-matic investments in Afghanistan,

is equally unlikely to cede ground for fear that a neo-Taliban regime will emerge.Consequently, relations are likely to cool markedly in the near fu-ture. And a return to the periodic crises that dogged India-Pakistan relations in the 1980s and 1990s will be distracting and expen-sive. India's military mobilization against Pakistan in the wake of the December 2001 terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament cost the country approximately $1 billion. Until tensions abate, India will have to remain vigilant along its western border, increase its military spending, and focus its diplomatic energies on keeping the peace. It will remain tied to its neighbor, and its aspirations to transcend regional politics will remain unfulfilled."India Will Be a Good Global Citizen."Perhaps. Some scholars argue that states are more likely to accept global standards of behavior as they become more powerful and gain a stake in world affairs. The evidence, however, is distinctly mixed, and India is likely to march to the beat of its own drummer. In some arenas it will play a helpful

role; in others it will

remain as recalcitrant as ever.

For example, it will be reasonably forthcoming on nonproliferation is-sues now that it is, for all practical



purposes, a nuclear weapons state. If China and Pakistan are willing to accept limits on production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, India might well support a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty. By contrast, it would be foolish to count on India in global climate change discussions. India's policy-makers assert, with some justifica-tion, that the advanced industrial world is responsible for the bulk of anthropogenic climate change. Simultaneously, they contend that India can't afford to subordinate economic growth to carbon reduc-tion. As then-Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, said in 2009, "In the United States and the devel-oped world, emissions are lifestyle emissions. For [India], emissions are develop-mental emissions." Furthermore, India argues that its per capita emissions will remain well below those of advanced industrialized states for decades to come. That argument may well be flawed, but it has a lot of political traction in

India.Nor will India yield much ground on global trade negotiations un-less its concerns about agricultural subsidies in the advanced industrial world and trade in services indus-tries are met. Given its size, India wields much clout in this arena, and Indian negotiators can be unyielding. Even if India achieves the international status it seeks, it may not always act in concert with Western powers.

"India Can Be America's Most Useful Ally."Probably not. Both U.S. President Bill Clinton and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee claimed that India and the United States were "natural allies." For Clinton, this characterization was a deft tactic to paper over important differences. He recognized India's status anxiety and saw that friendly rhetoric might yield quick divi-

dends. Vajpayee's use of the term was equally instrumental. From his standpoint, aligning with the United States could help isolate Pakistan. And there were genuine reasons for cooperation: common democratic values, a shared fight against Islamist terrorism, and common concern about Chinese revanchism.However, a significant segment of the Indian public insists that the country retain full independence in foreign affairs, and India's policy-makers rarely lose an opportunity to underscore this concern. As Prime Minister Singh said in a ma-jor address to India's armed forces, "We must therefore consolidate our own strategic autonomy and inde-pendence of thought and action." That attitude is a significant bar-rier to cooperation. Consequently, despite a convergence of interests, it may prove exceedingly difficult to forge an institutional partnership with the United States.Given the values and concerns it shares with the United States,


India's resistance to closer collabo-ration is bizarre. After all, during a significant part of the Cold War, despite profound ideological differ-ences and a professed commitment to nonalignment, India was for all practical purposes a Soviet ally -- a relationship codified in the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation. But, today, two decades after the Cold War's end, Indian elites have again inexpli-cably taken refuge in the idea of nonalignment, under the guise of "strategic autonomy." In consider-able part, the intellectual establish-ment's lack of imagination stems from its paucity of trained interna-tional affairs specialists. Shocking though it may seem, in a country of over a billion people, perhaps only a dozen or so political analysts are of truly global stature.Other factors are also likely to con-strain partnership with the United States. India's political order has become increasingly federalized, and despite the existence of at least two national parties, it is unlikely

that either will be able to form a national government of its own in the foreseeable future. That means India's ruling party will be forced to pursue a compromise foreign policy. Thanks to the exigencies of coalition politics, for example, the United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi has been forced to shelve a decision to allow investment from foreign multibrand retail stores like Wal-Mart. Simi-larly, a carefully negotiated water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh also fell prey to the demands of a fractious coalition partner.Finally, the United States and India cannot paper over some fundamen-tal differences of interest. The two countries remain at odds over how best to deal with Iran's apparent quest for nuclear weapons. Even though most Indian policymakers view Iran's nuclear pursuit with concern, they will not endorse uni-lateral military action against the country. India remains dependent on Iranian oil and natural gas, it has a substantial Shiite population, and,

above all, it is extremely uncom-fortable with the unilateral exercise of U.S. military power against recalcitrant regimes.In fact, India becomes particularly concerned when regimes are forc-ibly ousted because of their human rights records, as in NATO's action against Libya. In considerable part, this fear stems from India's own domestic infirmities and its uneven record in suppressing domestic in-surgencies. Admittedly, the notion that any country would militarily target India over its human rights record seems far-fetched, but the concern nevertheless animates In-dian thinking about the subject.Undoubtedly, the India of today is a far cry from the poverty-stricken, militarily weak, socially frac-tured, and diplomatically isolated country of the Cold War. Never-theless, unless its leadership can tackle problems from corruption to bureaucratic stagnation to politi-cal dysfunction, its hope for global standing in the 21st century will remain just a hope.


purposes, a nuclear weapons state. If China and Pakistan are willing to accept limits on production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, India might well support a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty. By contrast, it would be foolish to count on India in global climate change discussions. India's policy-makers assert, with some justifica-tion, that the advanced industrial world is responsible for the bulk of anthropogenic climate change. Simultaneously, they contend that India can't afford to subordinate economic growth to carbon reduc-tion. As then-Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, said in 2009, "In the United States and the devel-oped world, emissions are lifestyle emissions. For [India], emissions are develop-mental emissions." Furthermore, India argues that its per capita emissions will remain well below those of advanced industrialized states for decades to come. That argument may well be flawed, but it has a lot of political traction in

India.Nor will India yield much ground on global trade negotiations un-less its concerns about agricultural subsidies in the advanced industrial world and trade in services indus-tries are met. Given its size, India wields much clout in this arena, and Indian negotiators can be unyielding. Even if India achieves the international status it seeks, it may not always act in concert with Western powers.

"India Can Be America's Most Useful Ally."Probably not. Both U.S. President Bill Clinton and Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee claimed that India and the United States were "natural allies." For Clinton, this characterization was a deft tactic to paper over important differences. He recognized India's status anxiety and saw that friendly rhetoric might yield quick divi-

dends. Vajpayee's use of the term was equally instrumental. From his standpoint, aligning with the United States could help isolate Pakistan. And there were genuine reasons for cooperation: common democratic values, a shared fight against Islamist terrorism, and common concern about Chinese revanchism.However, a significant segment of the Indian public insists that the country retain full independence in foreign affairs, and India's policy-makers rarely lose an opportunity to underscore this concern. As Prime Minister Singh said in a ma-jor address to India's armed forces, "We must therefore consolidate our own strategic autonomy and inde-pendence of thought and action." That attitude is a significant bar-rier to cooperation. Consequently, despite a convergence of interests, it may prove exceedingly difficult to forge an institutional partnership with the United States.Given the values and concerns it shares with the United States,


India's resistance to closer collabo-ration is bizarre. After all, during a significant part of the Cold War, despite profound ideological differ-ences and a professed commitment to nonalignment, India was for all practical purposes a Soviet ally -- a relationship codified in the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship, and Cooperation. But, today, two decades after the Cold War's end, Indian elites have again inexpli-cably taken refuge in the idea of nonalignment, under the guise of "strategic autonomy." In consider-able part, the intellectual establish-ment's lack of imagination stems from its paucity of trained interna-tional affairs specialists. Shocking though it may seem, in a country of over a billion people, perhaps only a dozen or so political analysts are of truly global stature.Other factors are also likely to con-strain partnership with the United States. India's political order has become increasingly federalized, and despite the existence of at least two national parties, it is unlikely

that either will be able to form a national government of its own in the foreseeable future. That means India's ruling party will be forced to pursue a compromise foreign policy. Thanks to the exigencies of coalition politics, for example, the United Progressive Alliance government in New Delhi has been forced to shelve a decision to allow investment from foreign multibrand retail stores like Wal-Mart. Simi-larly, a carefully negotiated water-sharing agreement with Bangladesh also fell prey to the demands of a fractious coalition partner.Finally, the United States and India cannot paper over some fundamen-tal differences of interest. The two countries remain at odds over how best to deal with Iran's apparent quest for nuclear weapons. Even though most Indian policymakers view Iran's nuclear pursuit with concern, they will not endorse uni-lateral military action against the country. India remains dependent on Iranian oil and natural gas, it has a substantial Shiite population, and,

above all, it is extremely uncom-fortable with the unilateral exercise of U.S. military power against recalcitrant regimes.In fact, India becomes particularly concerned when regimes are forc-ibly ousted because of their human rights records, as in NATO's action against Libya. In considerable part, this fear stems from India's own domestic infirmities and its uneven record in suppressing domestic in-surgencies. Admittedly, the notion that any country would militarily target India over its human rights record seems far-fetched, but the concern nevertheless animates In-dian thinking about the subject.Undoubtedly, the India of today is a far cry from the poverty-stricken, militarily weak, socially frac-tured, and diplomatically isolated country of the Cold War. Never-theless, unless its leadership can tackle problems from corruption to bureaucratic stagnation to politi-cal dysfunction, its hope for global standing in the 21st century will remain just a hope.

Established two decades ago in Goa, Heera Group is completely engaged in dif-

ferent business activities like real estate, hospitality, and education. Heera Constructions has formulat-ed the concept of a “home” for sev-eral people. The success of Heera Constructions is built on three pillars – Quality, Economy, and Comfort. In an interview with The Economy, Dr AR Babu, Managing Director of Heera Constructions expressed that a home is not just a house, but an expression of one’s individuality, a home has a soul, a character and a personality all its own. And we are always driven by this principle. After complet-ing B.com he took up a diploma in Construction Manage-ment and then later was honored with a Doctorate in Construction Manage-ment by the University of Honolulu, US.

You are basically from Goa, what make Heera Group differ from others?Heera Group is my own effort, no partners are involved. I would always

prefer that what business you do, do it alone. I started my career in Goa by entering into the world of real estate expanding it to the hos-pitality and education sector. New project of Geethanjali Jewellery is going on which will be opened shortly. Geethanjali is an interna-tional known shop which supplies diamonds all over here.We should be able to change along with the circumstances change. Heera believes that home is not just a place, but an expression of one’s individuality. We give importance to the client’s needs. The three pillars – quality, economy, and comfort in which Heera construc-tion relies to achieve the client’s need. Facilities like well-equipped

fitness centre, children’s play area, reticulated gas connection, air-con-ditioned lobby, proximity censor entry card, swimming pool, jogging track etc make these projects differ-ent and add value for money.

In your opinion how customers dif-fer as years pass by?Previously people preferred large flats but now a day’s everyone prefer small flats with all facilities include. The customer looks out the economy factor along with the quality of a flat.

What role do you think the govern-ment can play to enhance the real estate scene?Till the date government has not

taken any interest and not brought any schemes that will do anything in the real estate sector. Present gov-ernment has promised but not yet done anything. If our government can do any-thing in real estate sector is to improve road, electricity and water supply. If these three are done then develop-ment will take place auto-matically.


PROPERTY TALK


As an entrepreneur what all chal-lenges are you facing at present?No one make us do something that’s the nature of a common man. When we do something they try to point out the negative aspects of that instead of pointing out the positive side. As an entrepreneur I am not only facing difficulties from common man but also from the politicians and media too.

What’s your advice to the people who want to invest in real estate?It is a good thing if a person wants to invest money in real estate as it never goes down. If you are invest-ing in real estate it will double.

What are the award and acclama-tions that you have received?Heera Constructions have won the world-renowned century Interna-tional Quality Era Award (CQE) in the Gold category for 2012 at the International Convention held on March 11, 2012 by Business Initia-tive Directions (BID). In 2003 at the Indo-Nepal Confer-ence on “India-Nepal Friendship and Economic Cooperation” held at Kathmandu, I bagged the Interna-tional Gold Star Millennium Award for achievements made in the real estate sector. Besides I was hon-ored with several other awards.

What is your outlook for the real estate industry?In real estate one cannot stand without accepting the client’s need and all. Be truthful to what you do, satisfy the client’s need. And you can come up well in this field. Another factor which plays a major role is selection of location.

How do you implement Interna-tional ideas in the projects?I use to adapt the ideas and concept of them and then merge with our culture and climate. With western ideas we implement the unique combination of natural beauty and luxurious lifestyle.

How will the Heera Group of 2014 be different from the Heera Group of today?You can expect something different. According to the change of client’s needs and circumstances we do

change.Dr AR Babu believes that Heera apartments are made to satisfy vary-ing customer satisfaction. Projects like Four Pillars at Killippalam and Heera Dreams at Sreekariyam in Thiruvananthapuram are focused on the buyers who like luxurious life at affordable price. Heera Golden Hills, Heera Crescent, Heera Blue Bells, Heera Lake Front and Heera Towers are the projects situated in the heart of the city. Heera Info City, another hi-tech project is one of the largest technology hubs in the city.

Heera: Casting Dreams to Reality

Established two decades ago in Goa, Heera Group is completely engaged in dif-

ferent business activities like real estate, hospitality, and education. Heera Constructions has formulat-ed the concept of a “home” for sev-eral people. The success of Heera Constructions is built on three pillars – Quality, Economy, and Comfort. In an interview with The Economy, Dr AR Babu, Managing Director of Heera Constructions expressed that a home is not just a house, but an expression of one’s individuality, a home has a soul, a character and a personality all its own. And we are always driven by this principle. After complet-ing B.com he took up a diploma in Construction Manage-ment and then later was honored with a Doctorate in Construction Manage-ment by the University of Honolulu, US.

You are basically from Goa, what make Heera Group differ from others?Heera Group is my own effort, no partners are involved. I would always

prefer that what business you do, do it alone. I started my career in Goa by entering into the world of real estate expanding it to the hos-pitality and education sector. New project of Geethanjali Jewellery is going on which will be opened shortly. Geethanjali is an interna-tional known shop which supplies diamonds all over here.We should be able to change along with the circumstances change. Heera believes that home is not just a place, but an expression of one’s individuality. We give importance to the client’s needs. The three pillars – quality, economy, and comfort in which Heera construc-tion relies to achieve the client’s need. Facilities like well-equipped

fitness centre, children’s play area, reticulated gas connection, air-con-ditioned lobby, proximity censor entry card, swimming pool, jogging track etc make these projects differ-ent and add value for money.

In your opinion how customers dif-fer as years pass by?Previously people preferred large flats but now a day’s everyone prefer small flats with all facilities include. The customer looks out the economy factor along with the quality of a flat.

What role do you think the govern-ment can play to enhance the real estate scene?Till the date government has not

taken any interest and not brought any schemes that will do anything in the real estate sector. Present gov-ernment has promised but not yet done anything. If our government can do any-thing in real estate sector is to improve road, electricity and water supply. If these three are done then develop-ment will take place auto-matically.


PROPERTY TALK


As an entrepreneur what all chal-lenges are you facing at present?No one make us do something that’s the nature of a common man. When we do something they try to point out the negative aspects of that instead of pointing out the positive side. As an entrepreneur I am not only facing difficulties from common man but also from the politicians and media too.

What’s your advice to the people who want to invest in real estate?It is a good thing if a person wants to invest money in real estate as it never goes down. If you are invest-ing in real estate it will double.

What are the award and acclama-tions that you have received?Heera Constructions have won the world-renowned century Interna-tional Quality Era Award (CQE) in the Gold category for 2012 at the International Convention held on March 11, 2012 by Business Initia-tive Directions (BID). In 2003 at the Indo-Nepal Confer-ence on “India-Nepal Friendship and Economic Cooperation” held at Kathmandu, I bagged the Interna-tional Gold Star Millennium Award for achievements made in the real estate sector. Besides I was hon-ored with several other awards.

What is your outlook for the real estate industry?In real estate one cannot stand without accepting the client’s need and all. Be truthful to what you do, satisfy the client’s need. And you can come up well in this field. Another factor which plays a major role is selection of location.

How do you implement Interna-tional ideas in the projects?I use to adapt the ideas and concept of them and then merge with our culture and climate. With western ideas we implement the unique combination of natural beauty and luxurious lifestyle.

How will the Heera Group of 2014 be different from the Heera Group of today?You can expect something different. According to the change of client’s needs and circumstances we do

change.Dr AR Babu believes that Heera apartments are made to satisfy vary-ing customer satisfaction. Projects like Four Pillars at Killippalam and Heera Dreams at Sreekariyam in Thiruvananthapuram are focused on the buyers who like luxurious life at affordable price. Heera Golden Hills, Heera Crescent, Heera Blue Bells, Heera Lake Front and Heera Towers are the projects situated in the heart of the city. Heera Info City, another hi-tech project is one of the largest technology hubs in the city.

Heera: Casting Dreams to Reality

WORLD WATCH


The concerted repression of democracy activists on the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi

Arabia, the first among equals in the peninsula, has been ruth-less against any suggestion of democratic reform. Most recently, the Saudi authorities arrested the Qatif-based cleric Nimr al-Nimr, shooting him in the leg and killing several people during the operation in the village of al-Awwamiyya. Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz said that al-Nimr is “the spreader of sedition” and “a man

of dubious scholarship and dubious mental condition, and the issues he raises and speaks about show a de-ficiency or imbalance of the mind.” In the Kingdom, to champion democracy is a mental illness. Al-Nimr is not alone. The authorities have arrested Ra’if Badawi, editor of Free Saudi Liberals, and activ-ists such as Mohammed al-Shak-ouri of Qatif, the hotbed of unrest. The Saudis cleverly use blasphemy laws to hit the democracy activ-ists hard. The activists are “those who have gone astray”, and it is the

truncheon that is tasked with bring-ing them back to their senses.For a year, the Bahraini authori-ties have been unrelenting in their crackdown against democracy campaigners. Most recently Na-beel Rajab, the head of the Bah-rain Centre for Human Rights, a veteran of the al-Khalifa prisons, was arrested for an insulting tweet. On June 22, about thirty activists of the al-Wefaq party, led by their leader Sheikh Ali Salman, marched east of Manama with flowers in hand. The police fired tear gas and


sound bombs, injuring most of the demonstrators. Things are so bad in Bahrain that the UN Human Rights Council passed a declaration calling on King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to implement the recom-mendations of his own appointed Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. Unsurprisingly, the United States, the United Kingdom and seven European Union states (including Sweden) sat silently and did not endorse the declaration.Matters have taken a turn for the worse in the United Arab Emirates (of the seven emirates in this union the most famous are Dubai and Abu Dhabi). There the authorities have shown no mercy to al-Islah, the Association of Reform and Social Guidance. Since March of this year, the UAE has arrested at least fifty activists, including the human rights lawyers Mohammed al-Roken and Mohammed Man-soori as well as Khaifa al-Nu`aimi, a young blogger and twitter user. The attack on al-Islah began in De-cember 2011, when the full enthu-siasm of the Arab Spring reached the gilded cities. The government promptly arrested its main leaders, and stripped seven of them of their UAE citizenship. The UAE Seven, as they fashioned themselves, released a statement calling for reforms “in the legislative author-

ity so as to prepare the climate for a wholesome parliamentary election.” Nothing of the sort has happened, and indeed the crush-ing blow to the activists has been swifter and more powerful.On July 24, University of Shar-jah law professor and a former judge, Ahmed Yusuf al-zaabi, was sentenced to twelve months in prison for fraud. The government alleged that he had impersonated someone else (his passport said he was a judge even as he had been dismissed from the bench for his support of the 2003 call for politi-cal reforms). The recent arrests are a piece of this general policy of in-tolerance for political diversity, and for any call to reform. On August 1, Human Rights Watch’s Joe Stork called upon the US and Britain to “speak out clearly, in public as well as in meetings with UAE officials, about this draconian response to the mildest calls for modest democratic reforms.” There is silence from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said, in February 2011, that the US would “support citizens working to make their governments more open, transparent and ac-countable.” The asterix to that state-ment said the following: “citizens of the Gulf need not apply.”Arab Desert Democracy.John Harris, the architect of Dubai,

wrote in a 1971 master plan that the UAE’s political system was a “traditional Arab desert democracy [which] grants the leader ultimate authority” (this is quoted in Ahmed Kanna’s fabulous 2011 book Dubai: The City as Corporation). The term “desert democracy” had become clichéd by the 1970s. In 1967, Time ran a story on Kuwait as the “desert democracy,” a title the magazine reused in 1978 for its story on Saudi Arabia. The idea of “desert democracy” refers to the Gulf monarchies allowance of a majlis, a council, to offer advice to the monarch, at the same time as the oil-rich monarchs pledge to provide transfer payments to the citizens for their good behavior (in 1985 the leader of the illegal Saudi Communist Party said that these pay-ments made the Saudi workers “the favorites of fortune”). If this basic compact is violated by the call for greater democracy, for instance, the monarch is enshrined to crack down. It is almost as if the Gulf Arab mon-archs had read their Bernard Lewis, the venerable Princeton professor, whose What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Modernity and Islam in the Middle East (2001) notes that the “Middle Easterners created a democracy without freedom.” All the usual Orientalist props come tum-bling in: tribal society, Arab faction-

The blitz of Emirates

WORLD WATCH


The concerted repression of democracy activists on the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi

Arabia, the first among equals in the peninsula, has been ruth-less against any suggestion of democratic reform. Most recently, the Saudi authorities arrested the Qatif-based cleric Nimr al-Nimr, shooting him in the leg and killing several people during the operation in the village of al-Awwamiyya. Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz said that al-Nimr is “the spreader of sedition” and “a man

of dubious scholarship and dubious mental condition, and the issues he raises and speaks about show a de-ficiency or imbalance of the mind.” In the Kingdom, to champion democracy is a mental illness. Al-Nimr is not alone. The authorities have arrested Ra’if Badawi, editor of Free Saudi Liberals, and activ-ists such as Mohammed al-Shak-ouri of Qatif, the hotbed of unrest. The Saudis cleverly use blasphemy laws to hit the democracy activ-ists hard. The activists are “those who have gone astray”, and it is the

truncheon that is tasked with bring-ing them back to their senses.For a year, the Bahraini authori-ties have been unrelenting in their crackdown against democracy campaigners. Most recently Na-beel Rajab, the head of the Bah-rain Centre for Human Rights, a veteran of the al-Khalifa prisons, was arrested for an insulting tweet. On June 22, about thirty activists of the al-Wefaq party, led by their leader Sheikh Ali Salman, marched east of Manama with flowers in hand. The police fired tear gas and


sound bombs, injuring most of the demonstrators. Things are so bad in Bahrain that the UN Human Rights Council passed a declaration calling on King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to implement the recom-mendations of his own appointed Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry. Unsurprisingly, the United States, the United Kingdom and seven European Union states (including Sweden) sat silently and did not endorse the declaration.Matters have taken a turn for the worse in the United Arab Emirates (of the seven emirates in this union the most famous are Dubai and Abu Dhabi). There the authorities have shown no mercy to al-Islah, the Association of Reform and Social Guidance. Since March of this year, the UAE has arrested at least fifty activists, including the human rights lawyers Mohammed al-Roken and Mohammed Man-soori as well as Khaifa al-Nu`aimi, a young blogger and twitter user. The attack on al-Islah began in De-cember 2011, when the full enthu-siasm of the Arab Spring reached the gilded cities. The government promptly arrested its main leaders, and stripped seven of them of their UAE citizenship. The UAE Seven, as they fashioned themselves, released a statement calling for reforms “in the legislative author-

ity so as to prepare the climate for a wholesome parliamentary election.” Nothing of the sort has happened, and indeed the crush-ing blow to the activists has been swifter and more powerful.On July 24, University of Shar-jah law professor and a former judge, Ahmed Yusuf al-zaabi, was sentenced to twelve months in prison for fraud. The government alleged that he had impersonated someone else (his passport said he was a judge even as he had been dismissed from the bench for his support of the 2003 call for politi-cal reforms). The recent arrests are a piece of this general policy of in-tolerance for political diversity, and for any call to reform. On August 1, Human Rights Watch’s Joe Stork called upon the US and Britain to “speak out clearly, in public as well as in meetings with UAE officials, about this draconian response to the mildest calls for modest democratic reforms.” There is silence from US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who said, in February 2011, that the US would “support citizens working to make their governments more open, transparent and ac-countable.” The asterix to that state-ment said the following: “citizens of the Gulf need not apply.”Arab Desert Democracy.John Harris, the architect of Dubai,

wrote in a 1971 master plan that the UAE’s political system was a “traditional Arab desert democracy [which] grants the leader ultimate authority” (this is quoted in Ahmed Kanna’s fabulous 2011 book Dubai: The City as Corporation). The term “desert democracy” had become clichéd by the 1970s. In 1967, Time ran a story on Kuwait as the “desert democracy,” a title the magazine reused in 1978 for its story on Saudi Arabia. The idea of “desert democracy” refers to the Gulf monarchies allowance of a majlis, a council, to offer advice to the monarch, at the same time as the oil-rich monarchs pledge to provide transfer payments to the citizens for their good behavior (in 1985 the leader of the illegal Saudi Communist Party said that these pay-ments made the Saudi workers “the favorites of fortune”). If this basic compact is violated by the call for greater democracy, for instance, the monarch is enshrined to crack down. It is almost as if the Gulf Arab mon-archs had read their Bernard Lewis, the venerable Princeton professor, whose What Went Wrong? The Clash Between Modernity and Islam in the Middle East (2001) notes that the “Middle Easterners created a democracy without freedom.” All the usual Orientalist props come tum-bling in: tribal society, Arab faction-

The blitz of Emirates

WORLD WACH


alism and so on.The fog of culture is convenient, but it does blind one to much simpler explanations. The emirs of the Gulf have no interest in sharing power with their people who might ask embarrassing questions about the extravagant living of the royal families off the petro-dollars. No

elite willingly submits to democra-cy, the “most shameless thing in the world,” as Edmund Burke put it. It has been piously hoped since the 1950s that the “next generation” of the Gulf Arabs will be more moderate then their forbearers, that distance from their Bedouin tents will turn them into Liberals. The Saudi King Abdulla is 87, his crown prince Salman is 77 and sick. Their younger descendants have not shown any eagerness to move a reform agenda. The costs would be catastrophic to their fam-ily’s control of the wealth. The US

government is well aware of this situation. A 1996 State Department cable points out that the “Royals still seem more adept at squander-ing than accumulating wealth… As long as the royal family views (Saudi Arabia) and its oil wealth as Al Saud Inc., the thousand of princes and princesses will see it as

their birthright to receive dividend payments and raid the till.” Reform is a distraction to their plunder.US Ambassador James Smith wrote to Secretary Clinton in February 2010 that the US-Saudi relation-ship has “proven durable.” Much the same has been said of the US and European relationship with the rest of the Gulf. Oil is of course key, but it is not the only thing. Political control through the military bases is equally important. Of the many bases, the most significant are the Naval Support Activity Station in Bahrain, the air base at al-Dhafra

in the UAE, and the air base at al-Udeid in Qatar. Democracy and other such illusions can be squan-dered by the West to forge a realistic alliance with the Gulf Arabs who share, as Ambassador Smith put it, “a common view of threats posed by terrorism and extremism [and] the dangers posed by Iran.” One of

Iran’s great threats is its attempt to export its style of Islamic democra-cy, anathema to the Gulf Arab mon-archies. The US has lined up behind aristocracy against democracy.The power of the Gulf sovereigns is increasing, although the sover-eigns are less stable. The people have already been through the stages of al-mithaq (the pact) and al-hiwar (the dialogue). Far more is wanted. Night descends. The mukhabarat (political police) and the mutaween (religious police) are on the move. There is gunfire. There are shreaks. There is silence.

Finding a cute flash drive for his girlfriend’s birthday proved more difficult than

Doug Stienstra imagined. At the time a student at The University of Iowa, Stienstra searched the mall and the internet, disappointed to find that the nontraditional flash drives on the market were unattractive and over-priced. So he took a DIY approach: He bought a fuzzy finger puppet from a toy store and glued it to a standard USB drive. The gift was a hit.“All of her friends loved the flash drive and started asking him to make one for them,” recalls Stienstra.In 2010 he used the resources at the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory on campus to launch a business producing and selling the fuzzy finger-puppet drives he now calls Flash Pals (the original name was dataBabies). The drives come in a variety of safari animal designs, and a portion of proceeds from each sale is donated to wild-life charities, reflecting Stienstra’s love of animals and desire to run a socially responsible business.

“He think it’s great that able to use his business to have an impact on something he passionate about,” Stienstra invested $2,500 in his startup, using cash awards from business-plan and elevator-pitch competitions to cover the cost of trademarks, UPC codes and web design. Additional funding covered production for 640 units. Stienstra not only sold the drives for $20 through his website, but he also offered them on eBay and in gift shops and bookstores in Iowa City.At first Stienstra did the manufac-turing in his room, attaching finger puppets with glue. “It took hours and hours to as-semble them by hand,” he recalls. “[But] when he tested the market, there was clearly a demand, so he kept at it.”After graduating last spring, Stien-stra moved to Austin, Texas. He worked with a small-business class at Austin Community College (ACC) and sought out investors to expand the business. When his initial inventory almost sold out late last year, the accidental entre-

preneur knew he needed to change his business model if he wanted it to be sustainable.With the help of $5,000 in capi-tal from investor Scott Goyette, an entrepreneur and management professor at ACC, Stienstra began outsourcing the suppliers of Flash Pals to China (manufacturing is done in the U.S.), which allows him to produce more units for less. He still sells the drives (now priced at $29.95 each) online and through local retailers, but is also negotiat-ing contracts with national retailers.“From the minute He saw the busi-ness plan and started crunching the numbers, he knew Doug was onto something,” Goyette says. “The creative, simple design had obvious marketing potential.”Now that Stienstra has seen the sales potential among his target market–tween and teen girls–he is envisioning new markets for Flash Pals. He’s considering doing branded drives featuring college mascots or pitching the products to zoos and wildlife nonprofits as fundraising incentives.

WORLD WATCH


Success in a Flash

WORLD WACH


alism and so on.The fog of culture is convenient, but it does blind one to much simpler explanations. The emirs of the Gulf have no interest in sharing power with their people who might ask embarrassing questions about the extravagant living of the royal families off the petro-dollars. No

elite willingly submits to democra-cy, the “most shameless thing in the world,” as Edmund Burke put it. It has been piously hoped since the 1950s that the “next generation” of the Gulf Arabs will be more moderate then their forbearers, that distance from their Bedouin tents will turn them into Liberals. The Saudi King Abdulla is 87, his crown prince Salman is 77 and sick. Their younger descendants have not shown any eagerness to move a reform agenda. The costs would be catastrophic to their fam-ily’s control of the wealth. The US

government is well aware of this situation. A 1996 State Department cable points out that the “Royals still seem more adept at squander-ing than accumulating wealth… As long as the royal family views (Saudi Arabia) and its oil wealth as Al Saud Inc., the thousand of princes and princesses will see it as

their birthright to receive dividend payments and raid the till.” Reform is a distraction to their plunder.US Ambassador James Smith wrote to Secretary Clinton in February 2010 that the US-Saudi relation-ship has “proven durable.” Much the same has been said of the US and European relationship with the rest of the Gulf. Oil is of course key, but it is not the only thing. Political control through the military bases is equally important. Of the many bases, the most significant are the Naval Support Activity Station in Bahrain, the air base at al-Dhafra

in the UAE, and the air base at al-Udeid in Qatar. Democracy and other such illusions can be squan-dered by the West to forge a realistic alliance with the Gulf Arabs who share, as Ambassador Smith put it, “a common view of threats posed by terrorism and extremism [and] the dangers posed by Iran.” One of

Iran’s great threats is its attempt to export its style of Islamic democra-cy, anathema to the Gulf Arab mon-archies. The US has lined up behind aristocracy against democracy.The power of the Gulf sovereigns is increasing, although the sover-eigns are less stable. The people have already been through the stages of al-mithaq (the pact) and al-hiwar (the dialogue). Far more is wanted. Night descends. The mukhabarat (political police) and the mutaween (religious police) are on the move. There is gunfire. There are shreaks. There is silence.

Finding a cute flash drive for his girlfriend’s birthday proved more difficult than

Doug Stienstra imagined. At the time a student at The University of Iowa, Stienstra searched the mall and the internet, disappointed to find that the nontraditional flash drives on the market were unattractive and over-priced. So he took a DIY approach: He bought a fuzzy finger puppet from a toy store and glued it to a standard USB drive. The gift was a hit.“All of her friends loved the flash drive and started asking him to make one for them,” recalls Stienstra.In 2010 he used the resources at the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory on campus to launch a business producing and selling the fuzzy finger-puppet drives he now calls Flash Pals (the original name was dataBabies). The drives come in a variety of safari animal designs, and a portion of proceeds from each sale is donated to wild-life charities, reflecting Stienstra’s love of animals and desire to run a socially responsible business.

“He think it’s great that able to use his business to have an impact on something he passionate about,” Stienstra invested $2,500 in his startup, using cash awards from business-plan and elevator-pitch competitions to cover the cost of trademarks, UPC codes and web design. Additional funding covered production for 640 units. Stienstra not only sold the drives for $20 through his website, but he also offered them on eBay and in gift shops and bookstores in Iowa City.At first Stienstra did the manufac-turing in his room, attaching finger puppets with glue. “It took hours and hours to as-semble them by hand,” he recalls. “[But] when he tested the market, there was clearly a demand, so he kept at it.”After graduating last spring, Stien-stra moved to Austin, Texas. He worked with a small-business class at Austin Community College (ACC) and sought out investors to expand the business. When his initial inventory almost sold out late last year, the accidental entre-

preneur knew he needed to change his business model if he wanted it to be sustainable.With the help of $5,000 in capi-tal from investor Scott Goyette, an entrepreneur and management professor at ACC, Stienstra began outsourcing the suppliers of Flash Pals to China (manufacturing is done in the U.S.), which allows him to produce more units for less. He still sells the drives (now priced at $29.95 each) online and through local retailers, but is also negotiat-ing contracts with national retailers.“From the minute He saw the busi-ness plan and started crunching the numbers, he knew Doug was onto something,” Goyette says. “The creative, simple design had obvious marketing potential.”Now that Stienstra has seen the sales potential among his target market–tween and teen girls–he is envisioning new markets for Flash Pals. He’s considering doing branded drives featuring college mascots or pitching the products to zoos and wildlife nonprofits as fundraising incentives.

WORLD WATCH


Success in a Flash

INFOCUz


Chatime, a Taiwanese bubble tea shop, open its first Indian outlet in

New Delhi, the capital of the South Asian country to tap the younger generation through the Taiwan specialty beverage also known as pearl milk tea. After the opening of a first outlet in the Metropolis shopping center, Chatime has a plan to set up another in Gurgaon, about 30 km south of the capital, in the near future. In addition, Cha-time, which currently operates more than 750 outlets in about 50 cities in 15 countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, China, Singa-pore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, said is aiming to open 150 outlets overall in India over the next five years. Wang

Yiao-huei, chairman of the La Kaffa International Co., which owns Chatime, told that the country has a long history of tea drinking and has great potential for growth of new tea drinks like bubble tea, adding that Chatime

is targeting the 15-30 age group. India-based Alchemist Group, which serves as the agent for Chatime’s tea products, said all of tea and other ingredients for Chatime’s Indian outlets will be imported directly from Taiwan.

Tata Global Beverage Ltd (formerly Tata

Tea) has acquired the balance 49 per cent stake of SuntyCo Holding Limited, the owner of the ‘Grand’ branded tea and coffee business in Russia,

for an undisclosed amount, as per a stock market disclosure. The Tata group firm had acquired 51 per cent in the Russian firm along with European Bank for Reconstruction & Development three years ago from Alex-

ander Borisov. Ac-cording to Tata Global Beverage’s annual re-port for FY12, the firm held majority stake in SuntyCo, but had effective voting power of 27.5 per cent. Ka-hutara Holdings Lim-ited, a 65 per cent sub-

Taiwanese bubble tea shop to

enter the Indian market

Tata Global Beverages acquires Russian firm SuntyCOIn March 2012, Tata Global’s arm had issued a notice to exercise the call op-tion to acquire the remaining 49% of Suntyco Holding.


sidiary of Tata Global Beverages, which held 51 per cent in Suntyco Holding, had an irrevocable call option and Celeste Assets (promot-er of SuntyCo) had an irrevocable put option to buy/sell the balance 49 per cent in Suntyco Holding, to be exercised in full in March 2012 or March 2013 or March 2014. The put and call option price was based on an agreed formula linked to the past cash profits. In March 2012, Kahutara Holdings had issued a notice to exercise the call option to acquire the remaining 49 per cent of Suntyco Holding, held by Celeste Assets Limited. This acqui-sition now gives a better leeway to Tata Global Beverage to expand its tea as well as coffee business in the Russian market. Grand has largely been focused on smaller cities in Russia and with Tatas muscle power and expertise in beverage field, the deal opened the vast lesser explored market for hot beverages in Russia. Tata

Global Beverage, together with its public listed subsidiary Tata Cof-fee, is one of the biggest global players in the tea and coffee busi-ness. It was also one of the first Indian companies to look at large interna-tional business play with acquisition of Tetley over a decade ago. It al-ready generates almost three fourth of its total revenues outside India

and the Russian deal can be seen as part of the strategy of international expansion. Back home, the firm had recently formed a joint venture with US-based iconic brand Starbucks to open coffee retail chain in India. Tata Global has also been rais-ing stake in some other firms such as Mount Everest Mineral Water, which sells premium packaged wa-ter brand Himalayan.

A report released by Citi Private Wealth and Knight Frank has put Singapore on top of wealth charts

based on the GDP per capita. The report estimates the GDP of this tiny city is more than Norway, United States, Hong Kong as well as Switzerland. It is revealed from the report the GDP per capita of Singa-pore was $56,532USD in 2010 where as that of Norway was $51,226USD, for U.S. it was $45,511USD and Hong Kong was $45,301USD. The report predicts that the tiny country will be able to hold the position by 2050. Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea will closely be followed behind. Over the next four years time the country will see an increase of 67 percent in centa-millionaires.

A Wealth Report Puts Singapore As World’s Richest Country

INFOCUz


Chatime, a Taiwanese bubble tea shop, open its first Indian outlet in

New Delhi, the capital of the South Asian country to tap the younger generation through the Taiwan specialty beverage also known as pearl milk tea. After the opening of a first outlet in the Metropolis shopping center, Chatime has a plan to set up another in Gurgaon, about 30 km south of the capital, in the near future. In addition, Cha-time, which currently operates more than 750 outlets in about 50 cities in 15 countries around the world, including the United States, Australia, China, Singa-pore, the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia, said is aiming to open 150 outlets overall in India over the next five years. Wang

Yiao-huei, chairman of the La Kaffa International Co., which owns Chatime, told that the country has a long history of tea drinking and has great potential for growth of new tea drinks like bubble tea, adding that Chatime

is targeting the 15-30 age group. India-based Alchemist Group, which serves as the agent for Chatime’s tea products, said all of tea and other ingredients for Chatime’s Indian outlets will be imported directly from Taiwan.

Tata Global Beverage Ltd (formerly Tata

Tea) has acquired the balance 49 per cent stake of SuntyCo Holding Limited, the owner of the ‘Grand’ branded tea and coffee business in Russia,

for an undisclosed amount, as per a stock market disclosure. The Tata group firm had acquired 51 per cent in the Russian firm along with European Bank for Reconstruction & Development three years ago from Alex-

ander Borisov. Ac-cording to Tata Global Beverage’s annual re-port for FY12, the firm held majority stake in SuntyCo, but had effective voting power of 27.5 per cent. Ka-hutara Holdings Lim-ited, a 65 per cent sub-

Taiwanese bubble tea shop to

enter the Indian market

Tata Global Beverages acquires Russian firm SuntyCOIn March 2012, Tata Global’s arm had issued a notice to exercise the call op-tion to acquire the remaining 49% of Suntyco Holding.


sidiary of Tata Global Beverages, which held 51 per cent in Suntyco Holding, had an irrevocable call option and Celeste Assets (promot-er of SuntyCo) had an irrevocable put option to buy/sell the balance 49 per cent in Suntyco Holding, to be exercised in full in March 2012 or March 2013 or March 2014. The put and call option price was based on an agreed formula linked to the past cash profits. In March 2012, Kahutara Holdings had issued a notice to exercise the call option to acquire the remaining 49 per cent of Suntyco Holding, held by Celeste Assets Limited. This acqui-sition now gives a better leeway to Tata Global Beverage to expand its tea as well as coffee business in the Russian market. Grand has largely been focused on smaller cities in Russia and with Tatas muscle power and expertise in beverage field, the deal opened the vast lesser explored market for hot beverages in Russia. Tata

Global Beverage, together with its public listed subsidiary Tata Cof-fee, is one of the biggest global players in the tea and coffee busi-ness. It was also one of the first Indian companies to look at large interna-tional business play with acquisition of Tetley over a decade ago. It al-ready generates almost three fourth of its total revenues outside India

and the Russian deal can be seen as part of the strategy of international expansion. Back home, the firm had recently formed a joint venture with US-based iconic brand Starbucks to open coffee retail chain in India. Tata Global has also been rais-ing stake in some other firms such as Mount Everest Mineral Water, which sells premium packaged wa-ter brand Himalayan.

A report released by Citi Private Wealth and Knight Frank has put Singapore on top of wealth charts

based on the GDP per capita. The report estimates the GDP of this tiny city is more than Norway, United States, Hong Kong as well as Switzerland. It is revealed from the report the GDP per capita of Singa-pore was $56,532USD in 2010 where as that of Norway was $51,226USD, for U.S. it was $45,511USD and Hong Kong was $45,301USD. The report predicts that the tiny country will be able to hold the position by 2050. Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea will closely be followed behind. Over the next four years time the country will see an increase of 67 percent in centa-millionaires.

A Wealth Report Puts Singapore As World’s Richest Country

INFO-TECH


Layoffs in theUS is a boon for

Indian IT?

The Gold Rush began in California over 150 years ago. It made some people

very rich, but most people who were a part of it were only en-

riched by the experience. Today, the state is making people dream again – but this time it’s silicon, not gold, that’s making them see big. The half-metal is used to

make computer chips and is not to be confused with the silicone of breast implants - although there’s plenty of that out here too. South of San Francisco,

Angst of facebook: waiting

for the internet fizz to pop

Indian IT companies that are stepping their off-shore presence by increasing the

local hiring in the US due to the latter’s anti-offshoring stand and the rise in visa costs. IT biggies like Wipro, Infosys and HCL, long accused of stealing jobs in the US, are making efforts to increase their local presence not just in the US, but in countries like Germany, Canada and the UK. India’s largest software major Tata Consultancy Services is planning to recruit around 2o00 locals this year, while Wipro’s Premji wants at least 50 percent in the firm’s overseas loca-tions to be locals.Even Infosys, India’s second-larg-est software exporter by sales plans to hire around 2000 US employees in its new centre at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by the end of this year, earlier this month as it is finding it

increasingly hard to secure visas for employees they want to relocate to client locations in the US.Already facing a lawsuit on allega-tions of circumventing visa laws to get workers into the US, Infosys is in desperate need of a makeover and is stepping up hiring, with a presidential elections close on its heels. The Jack Palmer case where a whistleblower sued Infosys, cre-ated a stir in the entire Indian IT industry. Now, even smaller, mid-IT companies do not want to take a chance and prefer local talent for various projects. MindTree, NIIT Technologies and zensar Technolo-gies have an increasing percentage of US locals in their workforce, as they take on staff from clients or acquire firms in the US. Also local

hires have a better understanding of the external environment and cultural nuances of the region, thus strengthening the understanding of customers. Indian IT already supports 280,000 jobs in the US, including 107,000 direct jobs and over 175,000 ancillary jobs, as per a recent study by IT industry body Nasscom. These jobs were created in the last five years. The next five could see a multiple of this. But since hiring locally is almost three times as expensive than sending an Indian national abroad, these companies will slowly start seeing revenue margins taking a hit, forc-ing them to rethink the aggressive margin strategy they play.


Silicon Valley draws men and women from all over the world – all of them hoping to get rich. Since certain Mr. Hewlett and David Packard took $538 starting capital in 1939 and set up a semi-conductor business in a Palo Alto garage, the place has possessed a kind of magic.In the decades that followed, businesses like Intel, AMD, Google and Yahoo were born in the Valley, and since 2004, the new millennium turned the en-thusiasm into real hype when a young man named Mark zuckerberg started making headlines there. zuckerberg, now 28-years-old, had the chutzpa to turn down offers to buy his social network called Facebook for several hundred million dol-lars and then, on May 18, 2012, to go public with a $100 billion IPO. But May 18 could also turn out to be a breaking point, because since that day there has been something damped about the company’s aura. Nobody wants to say it out loud, but the fact is that since going public the value of Facebook shares has been heading south. They are now worth about 50% less.Since then some other high pro-file stock exchange newbies have

bitten the dust. And the uncom-fortable questions are starting to surface. Is social media hype going to turn out to be another bubble? Are billions of dollars of "silly money" going to disappear into thin air again?Facebook itself doesn’t see things that way and has enlarged its premises by taking over offices once occupied by Sun Microsys-tems, which it is in the process of converting. The new offices have the feel of shoes several sizes too

big – Sun had 29,000 employees before its takeover by Oracle, and Facebook currently has 3,500, albeit with the intention of growing that number.The magic number: one billion membersMark zuckerberg, despite the setbacks is still considered something of a saint. The of-fices may be different, but he still has a Q&A session with employees every Friday, many of whom became millionaires after the company went public.

But now they’re worried about their money. There’s a feeling that Facebook has been unfairly treated by the market. After all, the numbers are good, they’ve met expectations – and 955 mil-lion people worldwide use the social network.Some say that maybe the market wanted the magic figure of one billion members. But the reason the stocks fell was actually the lack of future perspectives -- because

despite the large number of users, Facebook has yet to demonstrate how it intends to bring in advertising revenues as more and more users migrate to smart phones and tabletsDespite or maybe because of the wor-ries about Facebook, investors with large amounts of money continue to look for Silicon Valley vehicles

to sink it into. They don’t care if they put it into one or five companies: the goal is to find that rare pearl, maybe the next Facebook, a future zuckerberg.For now though the new ideas out of Silicon Valley continue to amaze and delight. Something about the place and the money seems to bring out the creativity in people. So you end up sitting near a young entrepreneur at Starbucks who’ll tell you that so far the link between social media and regular media hasn’t worked.

INFO-TECH


Layoffs in theUS is a boon for

Indian IT?

The Gold Rush began in California over 150 years ago. It made some people

very rich, but most people who were a part of it were only en-

riched by the experience. Today, the state is making people dream again – but this time it’s silicon, not gold, that’s making them see big. The half-metal is used to

make computer chips and is not to be confused with the silicone of breast implants - although there’s plenty of that out here too. South of San Francisco,

Angst of facebook: waiting

for the internet fizz to pop

Indian IT companies that are stepping their off-shore presence by increasing the

local hiring in the US due to the latter’s anti-offshoring stand and the rise in visa costs. IT biggies like Wipro, Infosys and HCL, long accused of stealing jobs in the US, are making efforts to increase their local presence not just in the US, but in countries like Germany, Canada and the UK. India’s largest software major Tata Consultancy Services is planning to recruit around 2o00 locals this year, while Wipro’s Premji wants at least 50 percent in the firm’s overseas loca-tions to be locals.Even Infosys, India’s second-larg-est software exporter by sales plans to hire around 2000 US employees in its new centre at Milwaukee, Wisconsin, by the end of this year, earlier this month as it is finding it

increasingly hard to secure visas for employees they want to relocate to client locations in the US.Already facing a lawsuit on allega-tions of circumventing visa laws to get workers into the US, Infosys is in desperate need of a makeover and is stepping up hiring, with a presidential elections close on its heels. The Jack Palmer case where a whistleblower sued Infosys, cre-ated a stir in the entire Indian IT industry. Now, even smaller, mid-IT companies do not want to take a chance and prefer local talent for various projects. MindTree, NIIT Technologies and zensar Technolo-gies have an increasing percentage of US locals in their workforce, as they take on staff from clients or acquire firms in the US. Also local

hires have a better understanding of the external environment and cultural nuances of the region, thus strengthening the understanding of customers. Indian IT already supports 280,000 jobs in the US, including 107,000 direct jobs and over 175,000 ancillary jobs, as per a recent study by IT industry body Nasscom. These jobs were created in the last five years. The next five could see a multiple of this. But since hiring locally is almost three times as expensive than sending an Indian national abroad, these companies will slowly start seeing revenue margins taking a hit, forc-ing them to rethink the aggressive margin strategy they play.


Silicon Valley draws men and women from all over the world – all of them hoping to get rich. Since certain Mr. Hewlett and David Packard took $538 starting capital in 1939 and set up a semi-conductor business in a Palo Alto garage, the place has possessed a kind of magic.In the decades that followed, businesses like Intel, AMD, Google and Yahoo were born in the Valley, and since 2004, the new millennium turned the en-thusiasm into real hype when a young man named Mark zuckerberg started making headlines there. zuckerberg, now 28-years-old, had the chutzpa to turn down offers to buy his social network called Facebook for several hundred million dol-lars and then, on May 18, 2012, to go public with a $100 billion IPO. But May 18 could also turn out to be a breaking point, because since that day there has been something damped about the company’s aura. Nobody wants to say it out loud, but the fact is that since going public the value of Facebook shares has been heading south. They are now worth about 50% less.Since then some other high pro-file stock exchange newbies have

bitten the dust. And the uncom-fortable questions are starting to surface. Is social media hype going to turn out to be another bubble? Are billions of dollars of "silly money" going to disappear into thin air again?Facebook itself doesn’t see things that way and has enlarged its premises by taking over offices once occupied by Sun Microsys-tems, which it is in the process of converting. The new offices have the feel of shoes several sizes too

big – Sun had 29,000 employees before its takeover by Oracle, and Facebook currently has 3,500, albeit with the intention of growing that number.The magic number: one billion membersMark zuckerberg, despite the setbacks is still considered something of a saint. The of-fices may be different, but he still has a Q&A session with employees every Friday, many of whom became millionaires after the company went public.

But now they’re worried about their money. There’s a feeling that Facebook has been unfairly treated by the market. After all, the numbers are good, they’ve met expectations – and 955 mil-lion people worldwide use the social network.Some say that maybe the market wanted the magic figure of one billion members. But the reason the stocks fell was actually the lack of future perspectives -- because

despite the large number of users, Facebook has yet to demonstrate how it intends to bring in advertising revenues as more and more users migrate to smart phones and tabletsDespite or maybe because of the wor-ries about Facebook, investors with large amounts of money continue to look for Silicon Valley vehicles

to sink it into. They don’t care if they put it into one or five companies: the goal is to find that rare pearl, maybe the next Facebook, a future zuckerberg.For now though the new ideas out of Silicon Valley continue to amaze and delight. Something about the place and the money seems to bring out the creativity in people. So you end up sitting near a young entrepreneur at Starbucks who’ll tell you that so far the link between social media and regular media hasn’t worked.

State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender of the coun-try, is mulling over a plan

to have its branches open even on Sundays opening branches on Sundays would help improve effi-ciency. Last year, SBI kept all its branches open on public holiday of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2nd to compensate for a day's business loss because of a tech-nical glitch. Opening branches on Sundays will allow the bank to attract the new-age working class customers where both the husband and wife are in work, and struggle to do banking transactions

during the working days. It may be noted here that SBI counts on its

huge piles of savings account de-posits (38 per cent) for higher mar-gins. However, if SBI made such a move, it would be interesting to know how bank employee unions,

which went on two-day strike across the country last week to protest reform measures in the banking sector, take to such a proposal. Many private banks already keep their select branches open on Sundays to help busy customer do banking

transactions. However, the emer-gence of new technologies, such

as Internet banking, has decreased the need.

42 The Economy August 25 2012 41 The Economy August 25 2012

India’s capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India

(SEBI) and banking regula-tor Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has give their approval to the Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd to launch cur-rency options on its platform. The company received the approval from Sebi-RBI after fours since it launched currency derivatives trad-ing platform. The company had a turnover of about ` 13,500 crore in the currency

derivatives segment. It has a market share of 43.6 per cent and the NSE and United Stock Exchange (USE) are the only two other stock ex-changes that offer the service. MCX-SX is controlled by Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the country’s biggest commodity bourse. The com-pany has already received its approval from SEBI for SX to deal in equity and equity futures & options, interest rate futures and wholesale debt segments.

Canara Bank, the public sec-tor lender has bagged IDRBT Best Bank Award for its use

of technology for financial inclusion. CMD of the bank, S Raman, formally received the award from the RBI Gover-nor D Subbarao at an event organized in Hyderabad by the Institute for Develop-ment & Research in Banking Technol-ogy. On standalone basis, the bank has posted a rise of 6.80% in its net profit at ` 775.24 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 as compared to ` 725.85 crore for the same quarter in the previ-ous year. Total income has increased by 18.91% at ` 9165.47 crore for quarter under review as compared to ` 7707.59 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

SBI management mulls plan to keep branches open on Sundays

Sebi, RBI approve currency options on MCX

Canara Bank bags award for tech use

23

BANKING & FINANCE

State Bank of India (SBI), the largest lender of the coun-try, is mulling over a plan

to have its branches open even on Sundays opening branches on Sundays would help improve effi-ciency. Last year, SBI kept all its branches open on public holiday of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2nd to compensate for a day's business loss because of a tech-nical glitch. Opening branches on Sundays will allow the bank to attract the new-age working class customers where both the husband and wife are in work, and struggle to do banking transactions

during the working days. It may be noted here that SBI counts on its

huge piles of savings account de-posits (38 per cent) for higher mar-gins. However, if SBI made such a move, it would be interesting to know how bank employee unions,

which went on two-day strike across the country last week to protest reform measures in the banking sector, take to such a proposal. Many private banks already keep their select branches open on Sundays to help busy customer do banking

transactions. However, the emer-gence of new technologies, such

as Internet banking, has decreased the need.


India’s capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India

(SEBI) and banking regula-tor Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has give their approval to the Multi Commodity Exchange Ltd to launch cur-rency options on its platform. The company received the approval from Sebi-RBI after fours since it launched currency derivatives trad-ing platform. The company had a turnover of about ` 13,500 crore in the currency

derivatives segment. It has a market share of 43.6 per cent and the NSE and United Stock Exchange (USE) are the only two other stock ex-changes that offer the service. MCX-SX is controlled by Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX), the country’s biggest commodity bourse. The com-pany has already received its approval from SEBI for SX to deal in equity and equity futures & options, interest rate futures and wholesale debt segments.

Canara Bank, the public sec-tor lender has bagged IDRBT Best Bank Award for its use

of technology for financial inclusion. CMD of the bank, S Raman, formally received the award from the RBI Gover-nor D Subbarao at an event organized in Hyderabad by the Institute for Develop-ment & Research in Banking Technol-ogy. On standalone basis, the bank has posted a rise of 6.80% in its net profit at ` 775.24 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2012 as compared to ` 725.85 crore for the same quarter in the previ-ous year. Total income has increased by 18.91% at ` 9165.47 crore for quarter under review as compared to ` 7707.59 crore for the quarter ended June 30, 2011.

SBI management mulls plan to keep branches open on Sundays

Sebi, RBI approve currency options on MCX

Canara Bank bags award for tech use

23

AUTO FOCUS

With a jaw dropping price tag of ` 3.85 crore ex-showroom

Mumbai, the British marquee has brought their conqueror to India. Presenting the Aston Martin Vanquish! Buoyed by a strong response to its sports cars in India, iconic British super sports carmaker Aston Martin rolled out yet another super grand tourer called 'Vanquish', expanding its portfolio at the higher end. At an ex-Mumbai showroom price of ` 3.85-crore, the Vanquish is the most expensive Aston on Indian roads barring One-77, which, with a price tag of ` 25 crore, has been gobbled up by just one uber-rich Indian. The Vanquish is the fifth car in Aston Mar-tin's India portfolio. The other cars in the portfolio are the Vantage (in

the ` 1.8-2.75-crore price range), the Rapide (` 3.25-3.3 crore), the DB9 (` 2.9 crore) and the DBS (` 3.7 crore). If the British carmaker has opted to bring a brand priced at the top end of the spectrum, it's because over three-fourths of its sales in India come from the higher priced models"The initial belief was that we will sell a lot of entry-level cars like Vantage and a few of the high-end variants, but it has turned out to be the other way around. Cars retailing at upward of ` 2.5-3 crore account for 80% of the 40-odd cars," Lalit Choud-hary, director, Performance Cars, the official importer of Aston Martin cars.

The super grand tourer does not have any direct competition but, in terms of price points, will take on the sportier Ferrari models like the 458 and the F-12 and the Lamborghini Aventador. The ex-clusive luxury car segment priced above ` 1.5 crore has the likes of Porsche, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Aston Martin, Rolls Royce and Bentley battling for a share of the well-heeled Indian's ample wal-let. The segment has more than doubled in the last 18 months to 200 units a year with entry of Aston Martin, Ferrari and Mase-rati into the country. just like the overall market, super sports cars have been hit by the slowdown.

Aston Martin launches Vanquish in India


AUTO FOCUz


MRF F2000 unveiled in ChennaiIndian tyre maker MRF

Tyres has launched an all-new single-seater racing series featuring F2000 cars with the opening round to be held as a support race for the Indian Grand Prix at Buddh Inter-national Circuit on October 26-28. The carbon-fibre, Formula 3-spec

Dallara chassis which was demon-strated by

Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan in downtown Chennai, is powered by a 2.0-litre, 210 bhp Renault powerplant mated to a six-speed se-quential gearbox, which will make it the fastest single-make formula series in Asia. A US$100,000 (`. 55.36 lakh) prize fund is on offer as well. The cars have been assembled locally in India by Coimbatore-

based Jayem Automotive, under license from

Dallara. Round

two of the four-round champion-ship will be held as the support race for the first-ever Indian round of the FIA GT1 series at the Buddh Circuit, before returning to Chen-nai for rounds three and four at the Madras Motor Race Track on 1-3 February and 8-10 February re-spectively. A total of ten races will be held – with the support events to include two races per weekend each with Chennai rounds featuring three races apiece.

MRF F2000 unveiled in Chennai

AUTO FOCUz

TOURISM

In the wake of Onam, which is our state festival, how do you see this and what will

the flagship programme your de-partment upholds to woo tourists to the state?It is the most exhilarating occa-sion of the state was all the people of Kerala celebrate Onam with a single mind. This year it will be a naive experience, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy officially inau-gurates the Onam Festival by the 28th of this month in Thiruvan-thapuram and it turns out to a week programme. The diverse customs practicing in different parts like Eranakulam, Kozhikode will be an antithetic empiricism altogether. To ensure the vibes of Onam are re-flected to the grass root level, every Panchayat is sanctioned to lead different programmes.Vallamkali’ and all onam related programmes are promoted with utmost importance. We are expect-ing it to turn out to be a big success this year. Onam is indeed a harbin-ger of tourism season. All tradi-

tional art forms are to be showcased. How do you evaluate Kerala Tourism Policy 2012, how it differs from earlier policies?This year’s policy differ all other earlier policies; this is the first in the his-tory, that policy which includes all the sectors comprehensively to complement the tourism. As if now it is working very well. This year’s policy will complement to accomplish the vision of tourism.How can private investors benefit from Tourism? What are the pos-sibilities in tourism?Private investors are playing a ma-jor role in the tourism sector. With-out them the sector seems void, to strengthen them government took all possible initiatives to encourage private investors like giving sub-sidies. The recent approval of the State Electricity Regulatory Com-mission to standardise the tariffs for Homestays as per the domestic

rates, benefit to foster the sector which will augment a healthy com-petition.How can tourism relate to com-mon people? Responsible tourism is the primary goal of this government. For the past 25 years we have focused the marketing and the infrastructure which had a remarkable outcome,

coextending to this the government took strong measures to promote participato-ry tourism were the common people will be the beneficiaries. How do you iden-tify the market of tourism?Recently we have done a campaign in Scandinavian countries to encour-

age Kerala Tourism, which we are expecting a soaring result. Other important areas this government focus is the Middle East and Aus-tralia which is a naive experience. We have direct connectivity from almost all Middle East countries that should be exploited tactfully and we confidently anticipate a favourable outcome.Domestic tourists are also to be wooed towards the state; the statis-tics shows affirmatively progres-sive every year. All the tourist des-tinations are refurbished for both domestic and international tourists.

Foreseeing Kerela tourism

AP Anil Kumar Kerala Tourism Minister


Kerala Tourism exhibits an escalating growth which will turn to be the backbone of our poster-ity. Kerala Tourism Minister A.P Anil Kumar has put forth numerous thought provoking projects to promote tourism in the State like water spot tour-ism and adventure tourism. His innovative ap-proach along with dedication will fetch more for-eign and domestic tourists for this season.

By Sumi P

What are the steps taken to preserve ecotourism?It is etched in our policies that we are advocating Eco friendly tourism in all sectors. We already have constituted a committee of Ecotourism; strong measures are taken by the government to preserve the integrity of ecosystems.How does the tourism department accelerate in developing new tourist desti-nation?We are keen to explore new tourist destinations all over the state. The state is blessed with water bodies which take the form of backwaters, riv-ers, canals etc. which is being untouched. This government wishes to explore the pos-sibilities of water sports and adventure tourism. The State Tourism Department took strict measures to develop the infrastructure in existing tour-ism destinations simultane-ously to develop new destina-tions. What is the role of tourism department in upcoming Kerala Travel Mart? We want to take KTM to seek an international attention, for that government is playing a major role. The economic backup from government’s part will be about two crore to complement KTM.What are the present draw-backs in the tourism indus-try? How can we revive this? We do have lots of challenges at

present and that we at a haste to revive it. Major challenges confronting are the delaying infrastructure development, indifference in identifying new tourist destinations, and snail pace marketing strate-gies, that we need to over-come. Simultaneous to this, other states and even our neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and China is ex-ploring the tourism avenues with maximum commitment.We took necessary steps to overcome the challenges, for this Central Government is extending wholehearted sup-port. The tourism department is related to all the other frac-tions of the government were we are having a very good rapport. As the part of the tourism policy 2012, we are planning to set up a commit-tee with CM as its Chairman, were all major proposals are to be discussed. Tell us about the future of tourism in the next 25 years? We are foreseeing a tremen-dous growth in this sector. We are one among the first ten hot tourist destinations in the world tourist map. Without any ambiguity I can say tour-ism will became the backbone of our country.


TOURISM

In the wake of Onam, which is our state festival, how do you see this and what will

the flagship programme your de-partment upholds to woo tourists to the state?It is the most exhilarating occa-sion of the state was all the people of Kerala celebrate Onam with a single mind. This year it will be a naive experience, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy officially inau-gurates the Onam Festival by the 28th of this month in Thiruvan-thapuram and it turns out to a week programme. The diverse customs practicing in different parts like Eranakulam, Kozhikode will be an antithetic empiricism altogether. To ensure the vibes of Onam are re-flected to the grass root level, every Panchayat is sanctioned to lead different programmes.Vallamkali’ and all onam related programmes are promoted with utmost importance. We are expect-ing it to turn out to be a big success this year. Onam is indeed a harbin-ger of tourism season. All tradi-

tional art forms are to be showcased. How do you evaluate Kerala Tourism Policy 2012, how it differs from earlier policies?This year’s policy differ all other earlier policies; this is the first in the his-tory, that policy which includes all the sectors comprehensively to complement the tourism. As if now it is working very well. This year’s policy will complement to accomplish the vision of tourism.How can private investors benefit from Tourism? What are the pos-sibilities in tourism?Private investors are playing a ma-jor role in the tourism sector. With-out them the sector seems void, to strengthen them government took all possible initiatives to encourage private investors like giving sub-sidies. The recent approval of the State Electricity Regulatory Com-mission to standardise the tariffs for Homestays as per the domestic

rates, benefit to foster the sector which will augment a healthy com-petition.How can tourism relate to com-mon people? Responsible tourism is the primary goal of this government. For the past 25 years we have focused the marketing and the infrastructure which had a remarkable outcome,

coextending to this the government took strong measures to promote participato-ry tourism were the common people will be the beneficiaries. How do you iden-tify the market of tourism?Recently we have done a campaign in Scandinavian countries to encour-

age Kerala Tourism, which we are expecting a soaring result. Other important areas this government focus is the Middle East and Aus-tralia which is a naive experience. We have direct connectivity from almost all Middle East countries that should be exploited tactfully and we confidently anticipate a favourable outcome.Domestic tourists are also to be wooed towards the state; the statis-tics shows affirmatively progres-sive every year. All the tourist des-tinations are refurbished for both domestic and international tourists.

Foreseeing Kerela tourism

AP Anil Kumar Kerala Tourism Minister


Kerala Tourism exhibits an escalating growth which will turn to be the backbone of our poster-ity. Kerala Tourism Minister A.P Anil Kumar has put forth numerous thought provoking projects to promote tourism in the State like water spot tour-ism and adventure tourism. His innovative ap-proach along with dedication will fetch more for-eign and domestic tourists for this season.

By Sumi P

What are the steps taken to preserve ecotourism?It is etched in our policies that we are advocating Eco friendly tourism in all sectors. We already have constituted a committee of Ecotourism; strong measures are taken by the government to preserve the integrity of ecosystems.How does the tourism department accelerate in developing new tourist desti-nation?We are keen to explore new tourist destinations all over the state. The state is blessed with water bodies which take the form of backwaters, riv-ers, canals etc. which is being untouched. This government wishes to explore the pos-sibilities of water sports and adventure tourism. The State Tourism Department took strict measures to develop the infrastructure in existing tour-ism destinations simultane-ously to develop new destina-tions. What is the role of tourism department in upcoming Kerala Travel Mart? We want to take KTM to seek an international attention, for that government is playing a major role. The economic backup from government’s part will be about two crore to complement KTM.What are the present draw-backs in the tourism indus-try? How can we revive this? We do have lots of challenges at

present and that we at a haste to revive it. Major challenges confronting are the delaying infrastructure development, indifference in identifying new tourist destinations, and snail pace marketing strate-gies, that we need to over-come. Simultaneous to this, other states and even our neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka and China is ex-ploring the tourism avenues with maximum commitment.We took necessary steps to overcome the challenges, for this Central Government is extending wholehearted sup-port. The tourism department is related to all the other frac-tions of the government were we are having a very good rapport. As the part of the tourism policy 2012, we are planning to set up a commit-tee with CM as its Chairman, were all major proposals are to be discussed. Tell us about the future of tourism in the next 25 years? We are foreseeing a tremen-dous growth in this sector. We are one among the first ten hot tourist destinations in the world tourist map. Without any ambiguity I can say tour-ism will became the backbone of our country.


TOURISM


The eccentric offerings at Baumhaushotel Solling in Uslar, Germany, sleep

six people each and come with a toilet and balcony. Others have flat-screen TVs and slate bath-tubs. They also happen to be 10 meters off the ground. Check out these tree house hotels. They have names like “Sternengucker” (Star Watcher), “Freiraum” (Freedom) and “Baumtraum” (Tree Dream). Altogether, there are seven of these insulated, heated tree houses along the forest’s edge in Germany’s Weser Uplands. Some of them are linked by stairways, and each can accommodate two to six guests – plus dogs. Pets, like their owners, are welcome year round. Lying in bed in Sternengucker you really

can watch the stars – there’s even a telescope on hand if you want to do some serious observing. Freiraum offers guests a double bed that, with the help of a crank, can be moved outside to the balcony.Welcome to Baumhaushotel Solling in Uslar. The whole area surrounding the little settlement is a paradise for nature lovers and canoeists. The hotel itself offers guests a sun terrace and BBQ op-tions on the grounds, along with communal showering facilities. All this costs 150 euros per person, per night, breakfast included. There’s a 25-euro surcharge on weekends, with 16 euros for every further person over the age of 13. Children over seven pay 8 euros.Baumhaushotel Solling, Germany’s first tree house hotel, opened in

2005 in Kulturinsel Einsiedel just north of Görlitz in the state of Saxony. It features eight eccentri-cally and extremely artistically designed tree houses perched eight to 10 meters up in forest trees. Each house can accom-modate six guests, and has a small liv-ing area, a sleeping nook, and toilet. Most also have a balcony.The comfort-minded will wish to avoid the cold outdoor “shock shower” in the morning (in-stead of toweling off afterwards, guests are en-


couraged to let the breeze dry them) and book one of the three tree houses with indoor bath and shower. In its defense, the shock

option does offer su-perb valley views and the sight of the rising sun.A highlight here is the lush, healthy break-fast buffet included in the 227 euro family price, which covers

two adults and two kids.In Rosenberg, in the state of Baden-Württem-berg, the Wipfel-glück tree house hotel group runs seven houses on stilts that for ecological rea-sons don’t have

running water. Water for the sinks is provided by jerry can, and there are dry toilets -- although complete sanitary facilities at a nearby camp-ing ground may be used by tree house guests.The group presently has another tree house hotel nestled in oak trees in Mönchberg east of Frankfurt. That facility boasts a Kneipp bath. The Wipfelglück group plans to build up to 10 tree house hotels in Germany. It charges from 79 euros per person (including breakfast), with children between 3 and 16 paying only 39 euros. Sleeping with wolvesJust launched in April is the luxuri-ous TreeInn in Dörverden-Barme between Bremen and Hannover. This is basically a sleek design house el-evated five meters above ground with picture windows and a huge roof ter-race offering a view of a reserve that is also home to wolves.The house can accommodate three

people, and among its amenities are a flat screen TV, minibar, wireless Internet, flush toilets, and a whirl-pool. Guests can order meals to be delivered to the house. Breakfast is included in the summer rate of 350 euros per night. The winter rate is 250 euros. In Bad zwischenahn, in Ammer-land in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 40 minutes from the North Sea,Hidden Treehouse Resorts runs four tree house suites built from larch wood and other organic ma-terials on stilts in an oak and beech forest.Each “allergy friendly” suite of 39 square meters can accommodate four guests. The floor heating, designer bathtub made of slate, Egyptian cotton bed linens, wire-less Internet and more almost make you lose sight of the fact that you are perched four meters off the ground and that you can see deer and pheasants when you look out the windows.

High-end tree-house hotels from germany

TOURISM


The eccentric offerings at Baumhaushotel Solling in Uslar, Germany, sleep

six people each and come with a toilet and balcony. Others have flat-screen TVs and slate bath-tubs. They also happen to be 10 meters off the ground. Check out these tree house hotels. They have names like “Sternengucker” (Star Watcher), “Freiraum” (Freedom) and “Baumtraum” (Tree Dream). Altogether, there are seven of these insulated, heated tree houses along the forest’s edge in Germany’s Weser Uplands. Some of them are linked by stairways, and each can accommodate two to six guests – plus dogs. Pets, like their owners, are welcome year round. Lying in bed in Sternengucker you really

can watch the stars – there’s even a telescope on hand if you want to do some serious observing. Freiraum offers guests a double bed that, with the help of a crank, can be moved outside to the balcony.Welcome to Baumhaushotel Solling in Uslar. The whole area surrounding the little settlement is a paradise for nature lovers and canoeists. The hotel itself offers guests a sun terrace and BBQ op-tions on the grounds, along with communal showering facilities. All this costs 150 euros per person, per night, breakfast included. There’s a 25-euro surcharge on weekends, with 16 euros for every further person over the age of 13. Children over seven pay 8 euros.Baumhaushotel Solling, Germany’s first tree house hotel, opened in

2005 in Kulturinsel Einsiedel just north of Görlitz in the state of Saxony. It features eight eccentri-cally and extremely artistically designed tree houses perched eight to 10 meters up in forest trees. Each house can accom-modate six guests, and has a small liv-ing area, a sleeping nook, and toilet. Most also have a balcony.The comfort-minded will wish to avoid the cold outdoor “shock shower” in the morning (in-stead of toweling off afterwards, guests are en-


couraged to let the breeze dry them) and book one of the three tree houses with indoor bath and shower. In its defense, the shock

option does offer su-perb valley views and the sight of the rising sun.A highlight here is the lush, healthy break-fast buffet included in the 227 euro family price, which covers

two adults and two kids.In Rosenberg, in the state of Baden-Württem-berg, the Wipfel-glück tree house hotel group runs seven houses on stilts that for ecological rea-sons don’t have

running water. Water for the sinks is provided by jerry can, and there are dry toilets -- although complete sanitary facilities at a nearby camp-ing ground may be used by tree house guests.The group presently has another tree house hotel nestled in oak trees in Mönchberg east of Frankfurt. That facility boasts a Kneipp bath. The Wipfelglück group plans to build up to 10 tree house hotels in Germany. It charges from 79 euros per person (including breakfast), with children between 3 and 16 paying only 39 euros. Sleeping with wolvesJust launched in April is the luxuri-ous TreeInn in Dörverden-Barme between Bremen and Hannover. This is basically a sleek design house el-evated five meters above ground with picture windows and a huge roof ter-race offering a view of a reserve that is also home to wolves.The house can accommodate three

people, and among its amenities are a flat screen TV, minibar, wireless Internet, flush toilets, and a whirl-pool. Guests can order meals to be delivered to the house. Breakfast is included in the summer rate of 350 euros per night. The winter rate is 250 euros. In Bad zwischenahn, in Ammer-land in Lower Saxony, Germany, about 40 minutes from the North Sea,Hidden Treehouse Resorts runs four tree house suites built from larch wood and other organic ma-terials on stilts in an oak and beech forest.Each “allergy friendly” suite of 39 square meters can accommodate four guests. The floor heating, designer bathtub made of slate, Egyptian cotton bed linens, wire-less Internet and more almost make you lose sight of the fact that you are perched four meters off the ground and that you can see deer and pheasants when you look out the windows.

High-end tree-house hotels from germany

TOURISM

RR Holiday Homes is a distinguished endeavour in hospitality. Without this Kerala tourism seems incomplete. Rajashekharan Nair dexterous managerial skill soars attains RR Holiday Homes into a successful venture

Uday Samudra – A tryst with nature52 The Economy August 25 2012 53 The Economy August 25 2012

TOURISM

RR Holiday Homes is a distinguished endeavour in hospitality. Without this Kerala tourism seems incomplete. Rajashekharan Nair dexterous managerial skill soars attains RR Holiday Homes into a successful venture

Uday Samudra – A tryst with nature52 The Economy August 25 2012 53 The Economy August 25 2012


TOURISM

is only achieved, when a hotel or a resort combines the tradition of its host community, with exceptional service, luxurious living condi-tions and incredible attention to detail. This distinction has elevat-ed UDS Kovalam into the upper rank of hotels for sophisticated travellers, from around the globe.

Spread across in four acres by the sea, UDS Kovalam is noted for the tranquil atmosphere it offers to the guests. This beach side hotel comes with 207 units of accommodation facilities and they comprise three Presidential Suites, Deluxe Suites, Exotica Atrium.Each unit is beautifully appointed, spacious and decorated with an excellent view of the sea, swim-ming pool and garden.

Christened Marigold, Hibiscus and Bougainvillea, UDS Kova-lam’s three Presidential Suites are exquisitely finished and offer a breathtaking view and a list of unmatched facilities. They come with a large living and a dining area, a separate guest restroom, a reception area and a spacious bal-cony facing the sea. All rooms are equipped with modern commu-nication amenities, mini bar and Jacuzzi, adding more spice to the luxurious stay at the UDS’ Presi-

dential Suites. While its Deluxe Suite Rooms are air conditioned, luxuriously finished and supplied with branded amenities, its Suite rooms are known for their elegant Scandinavian designs and classic decor.

If you are the one, who likes to be away from the crowd, then opt Exotica Atrium, which offer panoramic view of the swim-ming pool and backwaters, for the accommodation. Situated in an eco friendly zone and near to the pool side dining facility, these rooms are priced in the medium range. You also have another op-tion in Exotica, for your stay at UDS Kovalam. It offers premium accommodation, where you can enjoy an unhindered view of the sea and the pool.

To offer a pleasant stay, UDS Kovalam has in it a number of multi-cuisine restaurants, offering a lavish and an elaborate a la carte and buffet spreads for breakfast, lunch, dinner and special occa-sions. At the restaurants you can savour your delicious food listen-ing to the live band. One option for dining is Cafe Charlie, UDS’ exclusive western model cof-fee shop. This coffee shop offers a variety of European culinary

delights, in a casual and intimate setting. Here, you can dine out-doors, enjoying panoramic views and fresh sea breezes.

At UDS Kovalam, you can also dine at its multi-cuisine restaurant Grass Hopper, discovering the exotic blend of Chinese, Conti-nental, Italian, Mughal and Kerala cuisines, in a traditional ambience. Set in a lively atmosphere, the restaurant offers all kinds of culi-nary delights. Grass Hopper also provides the view of the gleam-ing swimming pool, surrounding green lawn and bewitching beach beyond.

If sea food is your craving, head to Aqua Marine, for a sea food fiesta. Aqua Marine serves a host of mouth-watering Kerala sea food delicacies and here you can savour delicious prawns, shrimps, cuttlefish and lobsters. UDS Kovalam also houses a lounge, its snack bar that serves pizza, burger, sandwich, etc., and a grill, its unique restaurant that serves sea food grills and continental delicacies.

Other than quality accommo-dation and dining options, UDS Kovalam also offers ample infra-structure to make your stay at the hotel a memorable one. In fact the

The voluptuous beauty of Arabian Sea along with enchanting greenery refur-

bishes Kovalam a perfect location to woo tourists toward the south-ern tip of the Malabar Coast. A beach with unearthly charm, a high rock promontory, a calm bay of blue waters, sight of the waves lashing on the rocks natu-rally constructs Kovalam beach bewitched travellers. Kovalam contemplates with richly gilded antithetic hospitality ventures. It is also finding a new sig-nificance in the light of several Ayurvedic salons, and recupera-tion and regeneration resorts which provide a wide variety of Ayurvedic treatments for tourists. Kovalam would have turned into an international tourist spot, had heroic expeditions of a few, who braved against all

odds to realise their personal dreams in their native place, and would not have culminated in set-ting up a strong hospitality sector in this beach destination.

An epitome of traditional hos-pitality, right at the heart of world renowned beach village of Kova-lam, Uday Samudra is hardly 15 minutes away from Trivandrum International Airport and a stone throw away from the beach front. The exuberant hospitality of-fered by the angelic beauties of UDS throws a wind of relaxation to people who came from globe across. With its sleek and stylish design, Uday Samudra Leisure Beach is nothing less than a gold-en feather in the cap of Kovalam Beach. Located just 15 metres from the sea, this four star hotel can well be categorised into desti-

nation in itself. Its philosophy of combining the best elements of incomparable lifestyle with the convenience of today’s modern world through exceptional stan-dards of luxury, elegance and services, is well reflected in its products and services and has put the Uday Samudra Beach Hotel, popularly known as UDS, at the top position in Kovalam.

Overlooking the sea front, UDS Kovalam is characterized by the charming coconut grove. Adding to its attraction are the pool and the beach side dining facilities. This intimate, modern beach side hotel offers majestic views and relaxed luxury. Ev-erything at UDS Kovalam, the ambience, people, spa, cuisine and its whole philosophy, is dedicated to your personal well-ness, in a luxurious environment. Since the landscaping has its own serenity, as it features harmony of a defined architecture, spacious lawns, blue water pools, you can feel your stresses starting to flut-

ter away. Rajashekharan Nair, MD, RR Holiday Homes, who owns UDS Kova-lam, explains they believe

that true world-class status

55 The Economy August 25 201254 The Economy August 25 2012


TOURISM

is only achieved, when a hotel or a resort combines the tradition of its host community, with exceptional service, luxurious living condi-tions and incredible attention to detail. This distinction has elevat-ed UDS Kovalam into the upper rank of hotels for sophisticated travellers, from around the globe.

Spread across in four acres by the sea, UDS Kovalam is noted for the tranquil atmosphere it offers to the guests. This beach side hotel comes with 207 units of accommodation facilities and they comprise three Presidential Suites, Deluxe Suites, Exotica Atrium.Each unit is beautifully appointed, spacious and decorated with an excellent view of the sea, swim-ming pool and garden.

Christened Marigold, Hibiscus and Bougainvillea, UDS Kova-lam’s three Presidential Suites are exquisitely finished and offer a breathtaking view and a list of unmatched facilities. They come with a large living and a dining area, a separate guest restroom, a reception area and a spacious bal-cony facing the sea. All rooms are equipped with modern commu-nication amenities, mini bar and Jacuzzi, adding more spice to the luxurious stay at the UDS’ Presi-

dential Suites. While its Deluxe Suite Rooms are air conditioned, luxuriously finished and supplied with branded amenities, its Suite rooms are known for their elegant Scandinavian designs and classic decor.

If you are the one, who likes to be away from the crowd, then opt Exotica Atrium, which offer panoramic view of the swim-ming pool and backwaters, for the accommodation. Situated in an eco friendly zone and near to the pool side dining facility, these rooms are priced in the medium range. You also have another op-tion in Exotica, for your stay at UDS Kovalam. It offers premium accommodation, where you can enjoy an unhindered view of the sea and the pool.

To offer a pleasant stay, UDS Kovalam has in it a number of multi-cuisine restaurants, offering a lavish and an elaborate a la carte and buffet spreads for breakfast, lunch, dinner and special occa-sions. At the restaurants you can savour your delicious food listen-ing to the live band. One option for dining is Cafe Charlie, UDS’ exclusive western model cof-fee shop. This coffee shop offers a variety of European culinary

delights, in a casual and intimate setting. Here, you can dine out-doors, enjoying panoramic views and fresh sea breezes.

At UDS Kovalam, you can also dine at its multi-cuisine restaurant Grass Hopper, discovering the exotic blend of Chinese, Conti-nental, Italian, Mughal and Kerala cuisines, in a traditional ambience. Set in a lively atmosphere, the restaurant offers all kinds of culi-nary delights. Grass Hopper also provides the view of the gleam-ing swimming pool, surrounding green lawn and bewitching beach beyond.

If sea food is your craving, head to Aqua Marine, for a sea food fiesta. Aqua Marine serves a host of mouth-watering Kerala sea food delicacies and here you can savour delicious prawns, shrimps, cuttlefish and lobsters. UDS Kovalam also houses a lounge, its snack bar that serves pizza, burger, sandwich, etc., and a grill, its unique restaurant that serves sea food grills and continental delicacies.

Other than quality accommo-dation and dining options, UDS Kovalam also offers ample infra-structure to make your stay at the hotel a memorable one. In fact the

The voluptuous beauty of Arabian Sea along with enchanting greenery refur-

bishes Kovalam a perfect location to woo tourists toward the south-ern tip of the Malabar Coast. A beach with unearthly charm, a high rock promontory, a calm bay of blue waters, sight of the waves lashing on the rocks natu-rally constructs Kovalam beach bewitched travellers. Kovalam contemplates with richly gilded antithetic hospitality ventures. It is also finding a new sig-nificance in the light of several Ayurvedic salons, and recupera-tion and regeneration resorts which provide a wide variety of Ayurvedic treatments for tourists. Kovalam would have turned into an international tourist spot, had heroic expeditions of a few, who braved against all

odds to realise their personal dreams in their native place, and would not have culminated in set-ting up a strong hospitality sector in this beach destination.

An epitome of traditional hos-pitality, right at the heart of world renowned beach village of Kova-lam, Uday Samudra is hardly 15 minutes away from Trivandrum International Airport and a stone throw away from the beach front. The exuberant hospitality of-fered by the angelic beauties of UDS throws a wind of relaxation to people who came from globe across. With its sleek and stylish design, Uday Samudra Leisure Beach is nothing less than a gold-en feather in the cap of Kovalam Beach. Located just 15 metres from the sea, this four star hotel can well be categorised into desti-

nation in itself. Its philosophy of combining the best elements of incomparable lifestyle with the convenience of today’s modern world through exceptional stan-dards of luxury, elegance and services, is well reflected in its products and services and has put the Uday Samudra Beach Hotel, popularly known as UDS, at the top position in Kovalam.

Overlooking the sea front, UDS Kovalam is characterized by the charming coconut grove. Adding to its attraction are the pool and the beach side dining facilities. This intimate, modern beach side hotel offers majestic views and relaxed luxury. Ev-erything at UDS Kovalam, the ambience, people, spa, cuisine and its whole philosophy, is dedicated to your personal well-ness, in a luxurious environment. Since the landscaping has its own serenity, as it features harmony of a defined architecture, spacious lawns, blue water pools, you can feel your stresses starting to flut-

ter away. Rajashekharan Nair, MD, RR Holiday Homes, who owns UDS Kova-lam, explains they believe

that true world-class status


TOURISM

only hotel in the God’s own coun-try with three magnificent swim-ming pools facing the sea. The pool side sunken bar will allow you to enjoy your drinks, while utilising the pool to your taste.

To cater the growing need for

wellness/health tourism, UDS Kovalam houses an Ocean Spa, an Ayur Ashram, a health club and a beauty parlour. At Ocean Spa, you can experience the soothing natu-ral and traditional techniques of Thai healing, while Ayur Ashram

provides all the age old techniques of ayurveda, including ayurvedic massage, herbal treatments, and rejuvenation therapy.

After cementing his place in Mumbai, Rajashekharan Nair returned to Kerala. If the destiny

had forced him to go to Mumbai penniless, it was with grit and determination that he returned to Kerala. His hardships and episodes of life in Mumbai had taught him many lessons and turned him into a man of clear vision.

Today, with over three decades of experience in the hospitality sector and several accomplished

projects to his credit, Rajashek-haran Nair can well be re-

garded as a synonymous for success. He oper-ates four hotels in

Mumbai, under Nair Estate and Hotels and one brand in Kerala, under RR Holiday Homes. Having established UDS Kova-

lam as a preferred destination for travellers across the globe, moves are now on to build his

space in God’s own country’s hos-pitality sector, with a new project at Shankhumugham and eyeing destinations such Alleppey and Wagamon, to launch new projects.

Uday Suites, the only 4 Star Business Class Airport Hotel at Shankhumugham balances the style and hospitality of an intimate hotel with the space and comfort of elegantly appointed luxury

suites, specializing in stays of a week or more. Uday Suites is the new addition to the World Luxury Hotel Award winning Uday Samudra family. The majestic construction, the garden and the large pool creates a calm and idyl-lic ambience. The multi cuisine restaurant offers an elaborate a la carte and buffet spreads for break-fast, lunch, dinner and special occasions. With a personalized ser-vice from a well-trained staff, we make it a memorable experience.

The modern stylish design of Uday Suites creates a dynamic blend of a resort and a business ho-tel, making it unique. Uday Suites helps achieve a business traveller’s dream – combining work and plea-sure. Ayurveda Spa, health club

and pool gives immense relaxation possibilities to a traveller.

By venturing into the educa-tion and flight catering fields, Rajashekharan Nair has clear intentions to diversify his business into different horizons. One of the major projects in the pipeline is a convention centre, with a capacity to accommodate more than 2000 people, at Kowdiar, near the golf club, Thiruvananthapuram. Next project is a catering college in the capital city of Kerala. Rajashekharan Nair, the embodi-ment of hospitality, was comple-mented by his dedicated family members. RR Holiday Homes is more than a disposition to his devotion towards the hospitality sector.

AchievementsWorld Luxury Hotel Award,

2010, 2011 & 2012Kerala Tourism Award for Best Product,

2009Kerala Tourism Award for Best Four Star Hotel,

2009


TOURISM

only hotel in the God’s own coun-try with three magnificent swim-ming pools facing the sea. The pool side sunken bar will allow you to enjoy your drinks, while utilising the pool to your taste.

To cater the growing need for

wellness/health tourism, UDS Kovalam houses an Ocean Spa, an Ayur Ashram, a health club and a beauty parlour. At Ocean Spa, you can experience the soothing natu-ral and traditional techniques of Thai healing, while Ayur Ashram

provides all the age old techniques of ayurveda, including ayurvedic massage, herbal treatments, and rejuvenation therapy.

After cementing his place in Mumbai, Rajashekharan Nair returned to Kerala. If the destiny

had forced him to go to Mumbai penniless, it was with grit and determination that he returned to Kerala. His hardships and episodes of life in Mumbai had taught him many lessons and turned him into a man of clear vision.

Today, with over three decades of experience in the hospitality sector and several accomplished

projects to his credit, Rajashek-haran Nair can well be re-

garded as a synonymous for success. He oper-ates four hotels in

Mumbai, under Nair Estate and Hotels and one brand in Kerala, under RR Holiday Homes. Having established UDS Kova-

lam as a preferred destination for travellers across the globe, moves are now on to build his

space in God’s own country’s hos-pitality sector, with a new project at Shankhumugham and eyeing destinations such Alleppey and Wagamon, to launch new projects.

Uday Suites, the only 4 Star Business Class Airport Hotel at Shankhumugham balances the style and hospitality of an intimate hotel with the space and comfort of elegantly appointed luxury

suites, specializing in stays of a week or more. Uday Suites is the new addition to the World Luxury Hotel Award winning Uday Samudra family. The majestic construction, the garden and the large pool creates a calm and idyl-lic ambience. The multi cuisine restaurant offers an elaborate a la carte and buffet spreads for break-fast, lunch, dinner and special occasions. With a personalized ser-vice from a well-trained staff, we make it a memorable experience.

The modern stylish design of Uday Suites creates a dynamic blend of a resort and a business ho-tel, making it unique. Uday Suites helps achieve a business traveller’s dream – combining work and plea-sure. Ayurveda Spa, health club

and pool gives immense relaxation possibilities to a traveller.

By venturing into the educa-tion and flight catering fields, Rajashekharan Nair has clear intentions to diversify his business into different horizons. One of the major projects in the pipeline is a convention centre, with a capacity to accommodate more than 2000 people, at Kowdiar, near the golf club, Thiruvananthapuram. Next project is a catering college in the capital city of Kerala. Rajashekharan Nair, the embodi-ment of hospitality, was comple-mented by his dedicated family members. RR Holiday Homes is more than a disposition to his devotion towards the hospitality sector.

AchievementsWorld Luxury Hotel Award,

2010, 2011 & 2012Kerala Tourism Award for Best Product,

2009Kerala Tourism Award for Best Four Star Hotel,

2009



K M Sidhique is a Malay-alam film

actor, producer. He began his career in late 1980s perform-ing in miniature roles, and from then on into performing various types of prominent roles. In 2011 he launched the lifestyle maga-zine named ‘Family Face book’, taking a deviation from

being versatile enter-tainer, into becoming the editor of a life style magazine…. “Family Face book

is Kerala's or argu-ably India's first, fully devoted celebrity-centric magazine covering the

extra-professional lives of the celebrities; their varied fasci-nations and interests beyond the realm of their profession”. The 100 page glossy Malayalam magazine promise to bring in a new reading experience for celebrity news buff.

At what point did you realize that paving your way to a dif-ferent field was an option for

you? A conscious choice you made?

I truly believe I am born

for a purpose, To put across some-thing different yet interesting was a long overdue and cherished dream; I am not a person who has a struc-tured plan about life, and I don’t infact know what I would be doing in future, I have endless respect for people who write, and I believe that is what gave birth to the idea of ‘family face book magazine’ it was a risk taken, but If you’re going to play safe, the chances are you are never going to get there. You have to go ahead and jump off the end of the diving board at some point. You’re going to find yourself, and you’re going to find whether or not you can do it. I always try to do things differently, even the roles I play in movies, I make sure I bring in a variation. Because after my life here is done, I wish to be not only reminisced by my movie charac-ters, I want to go that extra mile.

You went into publishing after over two decades of been an actor, and you excelled it, what gave you the confidence and desire?I am cynical when I think of do-ing something, I think about the negative side first, all the hitch and downside which will come along with it, I also make certain that I do not publicize it until the thought is executed, I started the preparation for the magazine about 3 years ago, back in 2007 when the concept of magazine was only a thought in my head, I discussed


LIFESTYLE

with a lot of people about both the positive and negative aspects of it, my only confidence was that being an actor who has been in the film industry for a few decades now, it wouldn’t be backbreaking to get an interview of my colleagues , if you take our marketing side for instance, luckily we have not face any problem to date, the reason may be because of my identity as an actor. I have had no interaction with any of the advertisers till date; the only attempt from my part was attending a function at the Kerala Advertising Agency Association where I was invited as the guest, and in my opinion it helped, it gave me an opportunity to interact with a lot of marketing executives from different firms and also with people from the advertising agencies.

How did you introduce the idea of ‘family facebook’? What is the main focus and purpose of the magazine content?I believe that the quality of the magazine play a very important role, we have a lot of Malayalam film magazines but the paper qual-ity of these magazines are way below par compared to the Bolly-wood and others. I had felt a need for such a magazine for years and it was only recently that I decided to initiate one of my own venture, my motive was not profit but I wanted to do something that people would

distinguish, echoing the sentiments reflecting in the magazine, and that too in Malayalam language with an international paper quality. There are scores of cinema based maga-zine in our language but a fully ce-lebrity centric magazine, I thought was a different concept.

You are on a success journey as an actor and now as the managing director and a publisher, how do you feel?As a publisher I should have been facing a tough time initially but fortunate-ly for

me, it has been a smooth ride, the funds started coming in from 4th issue and we started getting adver-tisements, the magazine is reaching its profitable level. We entertain feedback from people and we also take their suggestions seriously and work on it. I write very less in the editor’s note and that mostly are personal experiences, It’s probably to be expected that been an actor, when it comes to writing, I would find myself drawing on convention-al situ- ations and ideas I

have


A thespain who’s taken on the literary arenaBy Liji lucas


K M Sidhique is a Malay-alam film

actor, producer. He began his career in late 1980s perform-ing in miniature roles, and from then on into performing various types of prominent roles. In 2011 he launched the lifestyle maga-zine named ‘Family Face book’, taking a deviation from

being versatile enter-tainer, into becoming the editor of a life style magazine…. “Family Face book

is Kerala's or argu-ably India's first, fully devoted celebrity-centric magazine covering the

extra-professional lives of the celebrities; their varied fasci-nations and interests beyond the realm of their profession”. The 100 page glossy Malayalam magazine promise to bring in a new reading experience for celebrity news buff.

At what point did you realize that paving your way to a dif-ferent field was an option for

you? A conscious choice you made?

I truly believe I am born

for a purpose, To put across some-thing different yet interesting was a long overdue and cherished dream; I am not a person who has a struc-tured plan about life, and I don’t infact know what I would be doing in future, I have endless respect for people who write, and I believe that is what gave birth to the idea of ‘family face book magazine’ it was a risk taken, but If you’re going to play safe, the chances are you are never going to get there. You have to go ahead and jump off the end of the diving board at some point. You’re going to find yourself, and you’re going to find whether or not you can do it. I always try to do things differently, even the roles I play in movies, I make sure I bring in a variation. Because after my life here is done, I wish to be not only reminisced by my movie charac-ters, I want to go that extra mile.

You went into publishing after over two decades of been an actor, and you excelled it, what gave you the confidence and desire?I am cynical when I think of do-ing something, I think about the negative side first, all the hitch and downside which will come along with it, I also make certain that I do not publicize it until the thought is executed, I started the preparation for the magazine about 3 years ago, back in 2007 when the concept of magazine was only a thought in my head, I discussed


LIFESTYLE

with a lot of people about both the positive and negative aspects of it, my only confidence was that being an actor who has been in the film industry for a few decades now, it wouldn’t be backbreaking to get an interview of my colleagues , if you take our marketing side for instance, luckily we have not face any problem to date, the reason may be because of my identity as an actor. I have had no interaction with any of the advertisers till date; the only attempt from my part was attending a function at the Kerala Advertising Agency Association where I was invited as the guest, and in my opinion it helped, it gave me an opportunity to interact with a lot of marketing executives from different firms and also with people from the advertising agencies.

How did you introduce the idea of ‘family facebook’? What is the main focus and purpose of the magazine content?I believe that the quality of the magazine play a very important role, we have a lot of Malayalam film magazines but the paper qual-ity of these magazines are way below par compared to the Bolly-wood and others. I had felt a need for such a magazine for years and it was only recently that I decided to initiate one of my own venture, my motive was not profit but I wanted to do something that people would

distinguish, echoing the sentiments reflecting in the magazine, and that too in Malayalam language with an international paper quality. There are scores of cinema based maga-zine in our language but a fully ce-lebrity centric magazine, I thought was a different concept.

You are on a success journey as an actor and now as the managing director and a publisher, how do you feel?As a publisher I should have been facing a tough time initially but fortunate-ly for

me, it has been a smooth ride, the funds started coming in from 4th issue and we started getting adver-tisements, the magazine is reaching its profitable level. We entertain feedback from people and we also take their suggestions seriously and work on it. I write very less in the editor’s note and that mostly are personal experiences, It’s probably to be expected that been an actor, when it comes to writing, I would find myself drawing on convention-al situ- ations and ideas I

have


A thespain who’s taken on the literary arenaBy Liji lucas


For only $98 you too can smell like a…book. I am guess-ing it is probably a new book, cause we all know what old books smell like. Steidl, a print and design company,

has created “Paper Passion,” an actual perfume that smells like books.Paper passion fragrance by geza schoen, gerhard steidl and wallpaper magazine, with packaging by karl lagerfeld and steidl. this perfume is created from a passion and a twisting plot to put the particular bouquet of fresly printed books in a bottle. "the smell of a freshly printed book is the best smell in the world." karl lagerfeld hidden inside the pages of the book, paper passion is accompanied by texts from karl lagerfeld, gunter grass, geza schoen and tony chambers.

A Perfume that Smells like a Book

LIFESTYLE

come across in my career. It’s equally to be expected that the old axiom “write what you know”. Well, I feel writing is actually much suited to my personality, dis-turbingly so. I didn't realize quite how much I would enjoy it. The appreciation from people has only encouraged me to do more and bet-ter each time.

Do you ever get involved in edit-ing?There is a head for each section, be it editorial or marketing. Of course putting the magazine together is the big part of the monthly chal-lenge. It’s a monthly challenge that just about every magazine faces, I never interrupt their work, I don’t involve myself much in the edit-ing process, we get to together sometimes to have a very friendly discussion about how to make each issue better than the last.

How did you introduce the idea of ‘family facebook’? What is the main focus and purpose of the magazine content? In the beginning the team and I had a discussion about naming the mag-azine; the fact that it is a “book” that unveils the many “faces” of celebs gelled well with the idea of

adding the ‘facebook’ tag to the name. In our indus-try, there are so many stars who are big-time celebrities and sev-

eral other celebrities whose stories never reach the public, the idea was to bring out the stories about such stars as well. And the name ‘face book’ suited perfectly, I wanted it to be magazine everyone could read, with polished look and glamorous but not vulgar photos, a book people would be willing to put down in their living room, and thus the name ‘family face book’.

What similarities or differences do you feel in approaching the cre-ativity of both acting and been an editor?I believe there is creativity in both acting and being an editor of a magazine, even in films, when a character is introduced to an ac-tor, there is always some contributions from his side, we only get a skeleton of a charac-ter from the direc-tor, but the way one construe it, is the ac-tors creativity. I believe without creativity one cannot be an actor and of

course one need to highly creative in this field too.

What vision do you have for ‘fam-ily facebook’ in future, say five years from now? Do you plan to go for an English edition of the magazine for the readers world-wide?I am looking forward to see this magazine go a long way; I want to change the conventional notion about who becomes a celebrity, people when they go through the magazine should feel the balance of quality in all the different features and Anecdotes of memoirs, trav-elogues, recipes and fashion tips. I was not highly ambitious when I entered the film industry, but as I started getting superior roles, my aspiration changed for even more likewise my desire for the maga-zine might change with time, may be I’d like to launch a couple or more magazines of different genre but at present my desire is for the magazine to do well and be noticed among common man.At the moment I have not consid-

ered starting an English edition. I understand

it’s a totally different process. Till date I have not thought about it, but wish to continue in Malayalam itself.


LIFESTYLE


For only $98 you too can smell like a…book. I am guess-ing it is probably a new book, cause we all know what old books smell like. Steidl, a print and design company,

has created “Paper Passion,” an actual perfume that smells like books.Paper passion fragrance by geza schoen, gerhard steidl and wallpaper magazine, with packaging by karl lagerfeld and steidl. this perfume is created from a passion and a twisting plot to put the particular bouquet of fresly printed books in a bottle. "the smell of a freshly printed book is the best smell in the world." karl lagerfeld hidden inside the pages of the book, paper passion is accompanied by texts from karl lagerfeld, gunter grass, geza schoen and tony chambers.

A Perfume that Smells like a Book

LIFESTYLE

come across in my career. It’s equally to be expected that the old axiom “write what you know”. Well, I feel writing is actually much suited to my personality, dis-turbingly so. I didn't realize quite how much I would enjoy it. The appreciation from people has only encouraged me to do more and bet-ter each time.

Do you ever get involved in edit-ing?There is a head for each section, be it editorial or marketing. Of course putting the magazine together is the big part of the monthly chal-lenge. It’s a monthly challenge that just about every magazine faces, I never interrupt their work, I don’t involve myself much in the edit-ing process, we get to together sometimes to have a very friendly discussion about how to make each issue better than the last.

How did you introduce the idea of ‘family facebook’? What is the main focus and purpose of the magazine content? In the beginning the team and I had a discussion about naming the mag-azine; the fact that it is a “book” that unveils the many “faces” of celebs gelled well with the idea of

adding the ‘facebook’ tag to the name. In our indus-try, there are so many stars who are big-time celebrities and sev-

eral other celebrities whose stories never reach the public, the idea was to bring out the stories about such stars as well. And the name ‘face book’ suited perfectly, I wanted it to be magazine everyone could read, with polished look and glamorous but not vulgar photos, a book people would be willing to put down in their living room, and thus the name ‘family face book’.

What similarities or differences do you feel in approaching the cre-ativity of both acting and been an editor?I believe there is creativity in both acting and being an editor of a magazine, even in films, when a character is introduced to an ac-tor, there is always some contributions from his side, we only get a skeleton of a charac-ter from the direc-tor, but the way one construe it, is the ac-tors creativity. I believe without creativity one cannot be an actor and of

course one need to highly creative in this field too.

What vision do you have for ‘fam-ily facebook’ in future, say five years from now? Do you plan to go for an English edition of the magazine for the readers world-wide?I am looking forward to see this magazine go a long way; I want to change the conventional notion about who becomes a celebrity, people when they go through the magazine should feel the balance of quality in all the different features and Anecdotes of memoirs, trav-elogues, recipes and fashion tips. I was not highly ambitious when I entered the film industry, but as I started getting superior roles, my aspiration changed for even more likewise my desire for the maga-zine might change with time, may be I’d like to launch a couple or more magazines of different genre but at present my desire is for the magazine to do well and be noticed among common man.At the moment I have not consid-

ered starting an English edition. I understand

it’s a totally different process. Till date I have not thought about it, but wish to continue in Malayalam itself.


LIFESTYLE

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How can your organization best capitalize on emerging trends in India?

Send your answer to [email protected]

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The Rise of India


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