Business Today - India’s No.1 Business Magazine

EDUCATION

EVENTS

MUSIC

PRINTING

WELFARE

f o r m a n a g i n g t o m o r r o w

SEPT. 9, 2007

COVER STORY


	Premji's Global March In less than two years, Wipro's Azim Premji has snapped up 11 different companies, mostly abroad. Why is the tech czar in a tearing hurry? It's all part of his grand plan to make the soaps-to-software Wipro a truly global corporation. BT SPECIAL: AVIATION Patchy Flight Despite the recent round of consolidation, Indian aviation's troubles are far from over. Read More Wind Under Their Wings With low-cost carriers becoming part of full-service airlines, there's hope that the industry will soar into the profit zone. But things can still go wrong. Read More Beyond The Horizon Private Indian carriers are keen to get a piece of international travel, simply because it's a growing market and that's where the money is. Read More

BT SPECIAL: AVIATION

Wanted: Better Infrastructure

Overcrowded and inadequate terminals, delayed flights
and a lack of space for
parking planes are just
some of the problems
plaguing the Indian aviation sector. The good news
is that things may begin to change for the better
from next year.
Read More

A Battle of Two
As elsewhere in the world,
Airbus and Boeing remain
the two big aircraft vendors in India, but a few smaller
players are also angling for a share of the market.
Read More

REPORTER'S DIARY
Justice At
The Doorstep
India's first mobile court
begins with high expectations and, surprisingly, meets
them as well. more...


	FEATURES


	How the House Came Down Lending in the US housing market to people with poor credit profiles took the wind out of Wall Street-and has resulted in money being sucked out of markets worldwide. more...		Make Mine Subprime Even as bankers in the US run scared of subprime borrowers, those in India are going out of their way to woo them. more...



	Towering Power Telecom operators are hiving off their infrastructure into separate companies, which are commanding heady valuations. Why are they worth so much? more...		A Deal For Survival Indian brokerages are roping in foreign partners to compete in a market that's both booming and fiercely competitive. more...




	First Movers In The Second Tier Few marketers can afford to ignore the non-metros, but there are those who are seeing the virtues of starting with the small towns. The big cities can wait. more...		Beyond Bengal A clutch of mid-tier Bengal-based companies like Linc Pens, Xenitis and Khadim, among others, are going national. Can they succeed in the bigger arena in the face of cut-throat competition? more...




	To advertise in Business Today click here



	FROM INDIA

	FROM OUTSIDE INDIA
	Air Mail
	Online Version








Credit Cards: What Next? Major banks have quietly turned up the heat on credit card holders with a hike in interest rates over the past few months. Market leaders like ICICI Bank, SBI Cards and ABN Amro have raised rates after reviewing their cost of funds or due to a routine need to align with the industry. ICICI Bank, the largest credit card issuer in India with over 7.5 million live cards, has hiked interest rates from 2.9 per cent to 3.15 per cent. This would mean an annual increase of almost 3 per cent.

Road to Rural Finance How do India and China, two of the fastest emerging economies, compare in rural finance? While China's commercial banks have, since 1994, gradually withdrawn from the countryside as part of their reforms process, Indian banks have rationalised and reformed but not actually withdrawn significantly. Also, China's niche financial institutions-town and village banks-micro-credit companies and NGO microfinance institutions (MFIS) are of recent origin. India, by contrast, has an extensive network of regional rural banks.

Business In Britain Asian, especially Indian entrepreneurs, are thriving and continue to attract headlines. The contribution of Indian origin to British business far outweighs their numbers. A recent study found this contribution to be growing three times faster than the economy as a whole. These entrepreneurs often attribute their achievements to their dual identity, which blends aspects of their Indian heritage with the British business culture in which they have thrived. A look at India's impact on British business.

Trade Tunes India and Pakistan have decided to increase bilateral trade by six times to $10 billion (Rs 41,000 crore) by 2010. They have also agreed to ease barriers that hamper commerce. To strengthen ties, both countries have allowed banks in each nation to open branches in the other. The State Bank of India and the Bank of India will open branches in Pakistan and the National Bank of Pakistan will open a branch in India. Besides this, the trade basket will be increased and transport links will be improved.





	MONEY		JOBS TODAY


	Where To Invest Now? It's all happening out there-declining interest rates, tumbling stock markets and gold and real estate prices going nowhere. Is there a safe haven? more...		Virtual Workforce Dotcoms are booming once again, and so are internet jobs. more...

	BOOKEND		BACK OF THE BOOK


	A Chronicle of Our Times N.K. Singh's book delights and disappoints in equal measure. more...		The Thrill Factories Running amusement parks is no child's play. It takes smarts, hard work and a bit of luck, as investors across India are discovering. more...
	PEOPLE		COLUMNS


	People Starring Yahoo India's former MD, George Zacharias; R. Balakrishnan, National Creative Head of Lowe India; Former MD and CEO of Ananda Bazar Patrika Group's Pramath Raj Sinha; Standard Chartered Bank's Regional CEO for South Asia Jaspal Bindra; Future Group's Consultant S. Ravindranath; and Kuldeep Goyal, CMD, BSNL. more...		Leadership Spotlight K.V. Kamath MD and CEO, ICICI Bank


	TRENDS		CURRENT


	Goodbye Reforms? The impasse over the Indo-US N-deal may stall any further reforms till the 2009 general elections. more... Instan Tip The fortnight's burning question. more... Q&A: Mike Zafirovski more... Gujarat on Top, Again more... Money Laundering Clouds Loom over India more... A House in London, Sydney, Florida, Anyone? more... IT Companies Target SMEs in Smaller Centres more... Higher ADR Prices Open Up Arbitrage Opportunity more... Football is Grabbing Eyeballs and Ad Revenue more... Privately-placed Debt Funds Gaining Traction more... Stellar Show more... Kidwai Targets $1 Billion in Profits more... Computers Get Cool more... Top of Mind more... Economy Watch more... Policy Watch A bird's eye view of what's hot and what's not on the government's policy radar. more... P-Watch Column The why, what and how-to of policy making.. more... Newsmaker This fortnight's star is Malvinder Mohan Singh. more... Numbers of Note more... NOTED more... PIO TV Goes Digital more... Aaj Tak Expands Reach in UK more...		Workshop Of The World India is where the action is in steel. more... In Top Gear Mahindra Renault's Logan has been quick off the blocks. more... Bad English? International music finds more takers. more... An Air of Resignation Why is Yahoo losing CEOs- globally and at home? more... Partners in Profit SingTel's riding on Bharti's heady growth. more... This World Isn't Flat Does IPTV have an edge over cable and DTH? more... Dunlop's Property Play The tyre maker is busy sorting out land issues. more... Bye Bye Celluloid? An Essel Group venture pursues digital cinema. more... Taking Guard The ICL gets its team. Now it needs fans. more... Pharma's Big Opportunity A McKinsey report projects $20 bn in revenues by 2015. more... The Natives Get It Can a desi design firm take on global competition? You bet. more... Bungling with Black Gold The Coal Ministry has turned coal allocations into a mess. more... Wal-Mart's Spartan Plans The retail behemoth plans austere operations in India. more... Good Game of Bridge Why gas pricing is a game of cards for the Minister. more... FM's Great Clean-Up P. Chidambaram wants dubious tax shelters to go. more... DLF After The IPO One of the things it plans to do: shift focus back on Delhi. more... Grapes of Growth Champagne Indage is creating a global wine cellar. more... Walking on Water? Tata Tea aims to be a global beverages company. more... On the Milk Route For Nestle, will fortified powder do better than an additive? more... The Global Show Indian production house focusses on original formats. more... Turn On, Tune In Will MSN-WorldSpace tie-up benefit both parties? more... Reining in the Rupee Restrictions on ECBs won't help too much. more... Jharkhand Underground The state government plans to flag off mines tourism. more... Land Bank A real estate intermediary who promises transparency. more...


		HOME \| EDITORIAL \| COVER STORY \| FEATURES \| TRENDS \| BOOKEND \| MONEY BT SPECIAL \| BOOKS \| COLUMN \| JOBS TODAY \| PEOPLE
		Partners: BT-Mercer-TNS—The Best Companies To Work For In India INDIA TODAY \| INDIA TODAY TRAVEL PLUS \| BT EVENTS ARCHIVES \| CARE TODAY \| MUSIC TODAY \| ART TODAY \| SYNDICATIONS TODAY © LIVING MEDIA INDIA LTD