tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27374161891745917672011-11-28T05:43:28.766+05:30I teach in B-schools after working for 22 years in general insurance, television media and practising as a C.A. My passion is to write beyond finance about matters relevant to India. I follow what my heart says and writing here will be no exception. My vision is to be a writer chasing excellence. I have always been a learner and wish to remain the same. I have graduated from St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata and studied at Calcutta Boys’ School, two of the best institutions in India.Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.comBlogger3741100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-45962333063211239892011-05-10T23:00:00.001+05:302011-05-10T23:04:56.794+05:30

This was part of a discussion in which I participated at a different place. But since what I learned from it is very relevant I would like to share it with my readers here. The topic of discussion here is about good behaviour, morals, ethics and social work being a part of the course curriculum. But is that enough? The applications in real life is what our society is more concerned with. I need

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-50134054704304149852011-05-08T21:16:00.000+05:302011-05-08T21:16:34.013+05:30

One of my friends says that MBA is now routinely accepted as the graduate management degree. But is it worth the time, money and effort? After several years of working your way up the career ladder, what can an MBA do for you? I have made an attempt to answer this here. Business schools in India are doing big business. From 1991 since LPG, the country is flush with funds in the hands of parents.

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-59983266036752405332011-05-08T21:11:00.000+05:302011-05-08T21:11:30.264+05:30

Steven Paul Jobs is an American business magnate and inventor. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Apple. Jobs also previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney. He was credited in the 1995 movie Toy Story as an executive producer. In the late 1970s

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-79933320664578490312011-05-08T20:37:00.001+05:302011-05-08T20:37:52.277+05:30

Steve Jobs gives employees a little speech when they're promoted to Vice President at Apple, according to Adam Lashinsky in a new article in Fortune that's not online yet. Lashinsky calls it the "Difference Between the Janitor and the Vice President." Jobs tells the VP that if the garbage in his office is not being emptied regularly for some reason, he would ask the janitor what the problem is.

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-16757969273164190082011-05-07T23:22:00.000+05:302011-05-07T23:22:21.462+05:30

Having just the right attitude is the start. You need ideas...a lot of ideas, if I may add... which will work. Even that wont be enough. Last but not the least you need money. If you have the right mix of these three chances are you may become a successful entrepreneur. Attitude, some people have said, is the most important personal characteristic. Something that cannot be trained. Either you

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-34150335593576707062011-05-06T00:31:00.001+05:302011-05-06T00:31:08.808+05:30

I would like to thank one of my friends for asking this very relevant question. I would be answering the question and at the same time look into the problems business schools are facing as a result of which we hardly have any good faculties left. The hallmark of the MBA course is that after completion the students are ready to serve the industry. They do not just carry a certficate unlike many

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-77528049688151458162011-05-05T19:17:00.000+05:302011-05-05T19:17:30.452+05:30

So you have an idea for a business -- one that you believe has the potential to alter the industry. You put together a straightforward proposition, raised the necessary capital, gathered a team and publicized your new venture by every means available. What happens next? It's time to deliver on your promises. And the only difference between merely satisfactory delivery and great delivery is

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-75225266128959113312011-05-05T19:04:00.001+05:302011-05-05T19:09:47.127+05:30

Richard Branson is the founder of the Virgin Group and companies such as Virgin Atlantic, Virgin America, Virgin Mobile and Virgin Active. He is the author of "Business Stripped Bare: Adventures of a Global Entrepreneur." The celebrated entrepreneur shares advice on staying inspired while executing on new ideas. Q: How do you maintain your motivation to generate new ideas and execute them? A

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-68244401276770263402011-05-03T06:01:00.001+05:302011-05-03T06:03:04.964+05:30

I read in a recent interview of Mr.Vijay Govindrajan, noted management author, about this concept which he has elaborated in his new book, "The Rules for Strategic Innovators" and an article in HBR, "How GE is Disrupting Itself." I would like my readers who are aware about this to enlighten us. GE has implemented this long time back and I understand that Tata Motors with its Nano model has also

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-36175466995844466062011-05-02T16:17:00.003+05:302011-05-02T16:22:27.943+05:30

Michael E. Porter is the Bishop William Lawrence University Professor at Harvard University. He is a frequent contributor to Harvard Business Review and a six-time McKinsey Award winner. Mark R. Kramer co-founded FSG, a global social impact consulting firm, with Professor Porter and is its managing director. He is also a senior fellow of the CSR initiative at Harvard’s Kennedy School of

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-32382556244035937672011-05-02T16:10:00.004+05:302011-05-02T16:14:09.978+05:30

In 1979, Harvard Business Review published “How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy” by a young economist and associate professor, Michael E. Porter. It was his first HBR article, and it started a revolution in the strategy field. In subsequent decades, Porter has brought his signature economic rigor to the study of

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-88271528735031168312011-05-02T16:00:00.001+05:302011-05-02T16:01:34.972+05:30

Companies can't survive without innovating. But most put far more emphasis on generating Big Ideas than on executing them--turning ideas into actual breakthrough products, services, and process improvements. That's because "ideating" is energizing and glamorous. By contrast, execution seems like humdrum, behind-the-scenes dirty work. But without execution, Big Ideas go nowhere. In The

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-29871881596796712382011-05-01T23:06:00.000+05:302011-05-01T23:06:06.132+05:30

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today issued a showcause notice to Citibank India for the Rs 400-crore fraud by one of its employees at the bank’s branch in Gurgaon. According to sources, if the bank failed to provide a satisfactory response, it may be fined as much as Rs 65 lakh. Sources, however, said the penalty could be reduced, depending on the bank’s response to the showcause notice.

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-33123341653778174202011-05-01T22:46:00.001+05:302011-05-01T22:49:15.304+05:30

IT bellwether and India's second largest software exporter rejigged its management on Saturday and announced banker KV Kamath as its new chairman. KV Kamath will succeed NR Narayana Murthy who is one of the founding members of the company. The over $6-billion Infosys Technologies has also appointed current CEO S Gopalakrishnan as the executive co-chairman and promoted chief operating officer (COO

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-10506411627293311912011-05-01T22:40:00.000+05:302011-05-01T22:40:42.096+05:30

It was a middle-class Indian’s dream and today after 30 years, Infosys has changed the way people look at India. Seven Indian men took the risk to think out of the box and it paid off. Thirty years on, Infosys is India’s most reputed company and is one of the best known brands in the global market. On this day, NR Narayan Murthy and his six colleagues who worked with Patni Computer Systems,

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-42688047435665186032011-05-01T21:56:00.000+05:302011-05-01T21:56:29.518+05:30

Amid growing concerns over flow of black money into the country, India and Mauritius have agreed on convening a meeting of Joint Working group to renegotiate 28-year-old Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) treaty between the two countries. This was stated by President Pratibha Patil while talking to reporters on board the special plane during her return from the five-day visit to the

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-53989697686849142652011-04-25T19:37:00.004+05:302011-04-26T22:50:13.074+05:30

The following is the presentation I have recently made of a research paper at a national conference on management and technology - “Restructuring Of Global Economy: Challenges Ahead,” Introductionn  After belatedly opening the insurance sector in 2000, we have still not been able to sustain global competitiveness.n  The growth has been restricted. FDI has been kept at only 26% by the policy

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-9550179517537659312011-04-07T00:11:00.000+05:302011-04-07T00:11:31.811+05:30

The opening up of the Indian insurance industry and its consequent privatization and globalization took place belatedly in the year 2000 ten years after liberalization started in the Indian economy in 1991. But even after a decade we have not been able to achieve much and make any headway in general insurance to sustain global competitiveness. The government wanted competition in insurance, both

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-19992765912879471032010-10-30T19:45:00.001+05:302010-10-30T19:47:42.899+05:30

I discuss this from the current Indian perspective. There are many things which even after being taught at home, then at school, at college and at the university, many people love to forget for their own benefit. But does that mean that ethics in finance should not be taught? Let us analyse a recent financial scam which speaks of corruption to the tune of thousands of crores of rupees at the

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-51865775874603101772010-10-30T19:27:00.000+05:302010-10-30T19:27:23.774+05:30

One young academically excellent person went to apply for a managerial position in a big company. He passed the first interview, the director conducted the last interview and made the last decision. The director discovered from the CV, that the youth's academic result is excellent all the way, from the secondary school until the postgraduate research, never has a year he did not score.The

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-73932025393253064542010-10-29T10:04:00.000+05:302010-10-29T10:04:42.136+05:30

It is not only the presence of Chinese troops in PoK and Gilgit-Baltistan region that New Delhi is worried about. The growing economic interest of Chinese companies, particularly in key infrastructure projects located in these areas, is an equal cause for concern among the security establishment here, which fears that Pakistan is encouraging Chinese investment to dilute India’s claim over PoK.

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-19839252124284206552010-10-17T10:49:00.020+05:302010-10-17T11:04:31.193+05:30

'The China-Pakistan strategic calculus is particularly dominant in this narrative. It is a marriage literally made in the Karakorams.' Why does China worry India's diplomats? Nikhil Lakshman listens in: How to deal with an "more assertive, more muscular" China represents a huge challenge for Indian diplomats and the country, sources in India's ministry for external affairs (MEA)  revealed

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-30784839147519442882010-08-03T08:32:00.000+05:302010-08-03T08:32:06.401+05:30

For some time now, there has been discussion on how the internet is impacting the spread of information, but the idea was dramatised this week when WikiLeaks, a Sweden-based website, released over 90,000 classified documents of the US military pertaining to the war in Afghanistan. These military logs, covering the period between January 2004 and December 2009, reveal details on the deaths of

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-83780938045643464192010-08-03T08:26:00.000+05:302010-08-03T08:26:29.382+05:30

The country’s most shocking terrorist outrage — 26/11 — has resulted in a conviction in 18 months. The country’s biggest corporate scandal — the Rs 7,000-and-odd crore Satyam fraud — hasn’t even got to the trial stage during the same timespan. And this, when the prime accused, B Ramalinga Raju, started it all with a confession. What does this say about our political-executive-judicial system?

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-6698324252340325282010-08-03T08:17:00.000+05:302010-08-03T08:17:34.081+05:30

When 12-year-old Gunjan Malik, a class VII student, did a copy-paste job on junk food for a class assignment on lifestyle diseases, she didn’t think much of it. That was until her teacher pulled her up for internet plagiarism — lifting chunks of text off the internet and passing it off as her own. She was asked to redo her assignment. While Malik is cursing the plagiarism detection software that

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-21455678832196423832010-08-03T08:07:00.000+05:302010-08-03T08:07:13.244+05:30

Women’s precarious rights in Afghanistan have begun seeping away. Girls’ schools are closing; working women are threatened; advocates are attacked; and terrified families are increasingly confining their daughters to home. For women, instability, as much as the Taliban themselves, is the enemy. Women are casualties of the fighting, not only in the already conservative and embattled Pashtun south

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-84758422930037714612010-08-03T07:58:00.000+05:302010-08-03T07:58:22.437+05:30

In view of increasing instances of violation of medical ethics, and malpractice by doctors, the government is in the process of making specific provisions in the law to make all such acts, a punishable offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The health ministry has proposed amendments in the Drugs and Cosmetics Act to plug the loopholes in present laws that let doctors escape. A separate

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-32316782180666487962010-08-03T07:51:00.000+05:302010-08-03T07:51:16.983+05:30

“Grow old with me. The best is yet to be. Face the setting sun, when the day is done...” John Lennon. Senior citizens are coming out of their loneliness by giving life — and married life — a second chance. An Ahmedabad-based organisation, Vinamulya Mulya Sewa, is giving them an opportunity to do so by organising ‘swayamvar’ for the never married, divorcees, widows and widowers under the banner ‘

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-51990858020973858102010-08-03T07:46:00.000+05:302010-08-03T07:46:59.519+05:30

An Experiment Which Introduces IB Curriculum To Municipal Schools In a successful experiment in Ahmedabad, Pascal Chazot, a French Parliamentarian and his wife, Anju Musafir (Indian) adopted a municipal school, turning it into a leading institution with an international curriculum on offer. The couple now wants to replicate this success in other Indian cities, including Mumbai. “It was a joint

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-49967620554298173662010-08-03T07:42:00.000+05:302010-08-03T07:42:30.080+05:30

After the UK firm, AM Films Ltd, which is caught in a corruption scandal over irregular financial transactions with the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee here, it is now the turn of an Australian firm to come under the scanner. According to sources, the Australian firm which had bagged the contracts for the opening and closing ceremonies had inserted certain additional works into the

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-35697755572146846782010-07-31T15:26:00.000+05:302010-07-31T15:26:42.374+05:30

For four decades now, British author Frederick Forsyth has kept adrenaline levels of millions of his readers pumped up with his pulsating spy thrillers and breathless, best-selling narratives of political assassinations. His first novel, The Day of the Jackal, which he says he wrote “for the money” when he was down and out in London, became a cult classic and, later, a film under Fred Zinneman’s

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-51425159074948832202010-07-30T09:20:00.000+05:302010-07-30T09:20:51.162+05:30

Disconcertingly, the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) did not discuss China’s controversial plan to build two new atomic power stations in Pakistan in its annual five-day meeting held in New Zealand. Apparently, the matter did come up but was not placed on the formal agenda. Earlier, Beijing was requested several times to clarify its position on this plan, but had not bothered to reply. A statement

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-72991574726631335062010-07-30T09:16:00.000+05:302010-07-30T09:16:20.210+05:30

There’s something rotten in Denmark and it’s not just the criminal loss of food grains being wasted in our granaries. The entire system of storage and distribution of food grains is itself rotten as is the way the public distribution system works. In over 60 years, a fair and equitable system still eludes us and corruption and apathy are seemingly in control. Successive Central and state

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-55433215677583102372010-07-29T15:17:00.000+05:302010-07-29T15:17:53.757+05:30

Sunil Kumar, an Indian American management guru, has been named the new head of the University of Chicago's prestigious Booth School of Business. Currently the senior associate dean of academic affairs at Stanford University's Graduate School of Business, Kumar, 42, succeeds Edward Snyder, who stepped down in June and will run the Yale School of Management, in New Haven, Connecticut, starting

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-37804640931508758002010-07-29T09:41:00.000+05:302010-07-29T09:41:17.599+05:30

An event management company blacklisted by the National Games Organising Committee (NGOC) and facing a vigilance inquiry will be involved in producing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) to be held in Delhi in October. Wizcraft International, which is among the five event management companies handling the CWG ceremonies, has been accused by the Vigilance Department

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-15917722934986189772010-07-29T09:35:00.000+05:302010-07-29T09:35:32.741+05:30

Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, used its 'rural' location to justify an illegal and secret quota it kept aside for staff wards for over four decades, twice rejecting calls from within the IIT community to scrap the reservation. The quota was critical to retain teachers who other institutions — including other IITs — were trying to poach, the IIT Kharagpur Board of Governors (BoG)

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-38451334226237521092010-07-29T09:28:00.000+05:302010-07-29T09:28:45.302+05:30

Biraj Patnaik is the Principal Adviser to the Supreme Court Commissioners in the Right to Food case. I congratulate him for writing this powerful piece in Hindustan Times yesterday. At the same time I would like our readers to think about what is happening in India which we are proud to call very much our own place.  Do you have any answers?  My friend, the American public intellectual, David

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-3486273770889003122010-07-29T09:18:00.000+05:302010-07-29T09:18:11.174+05:30

In 1998, the price of onions — Rs 60 a kg — was instrumental in bringing down the BJP government in Delhi. Beer doesn’t quite compete with onions in the consumption menu, but the price of the happy hour drink has gone up in leaps and froth. Could this rise signal a mutiny among the citizens of the nation’s capital? In April, we started paying Rs 5-10 more per bottle across brands. That hurt, but

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-58330389364160935642010-07-29T09:11:00.000+05:302010-07-29T09:11:23.288+05:30

There is an acceptance in Washington that the present role it has allowed Pakistan to assume in the Afghanistan war has to change. The dozens of US military intelligence documents leaked on the internet reporting that the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence was assisting and guiding the Afghan Taliban have helped confirm what has long been suspected. And it comes soon after the US was already

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-84689604866820276502010-07-26T16:06:00.001+05:302010-07-26T16:08:55.450+05:30

Who is Lee Brower? Lee Brower is a multigenerational wealth expert and founder of The Quadrant Living Experience, LLC, an internationally recognized educational and philanthropic organization teaching a radically successful system called The Brower Quadrant. A noted authority on helping prestigious families create enduring legacies that flourish generation after generation, he is also an

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-53891532017292748052010-07-26T11:07:00.000+05:302010-07-26T11:07:35.818+05:30

When I was growing up in one of the better schools of Delhi, it was most common to see teachers slapping students. Scales being broken on our knuckles was as common a sight too, and as early as in class fifth, though luckily I always escaped. When I reached class sixth, I wasn’t that lucky. In one of the sculpture classes, an assistant came around and with his hard hands, slapped me hard on my

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-69664762433574442382010-07-25T17:55:00.000+05:302010-07-25T17:55:21.571+05:30

Christian D. Larson was an outstanding and highly influential early New Thought leader and teacher as well as a prolific writer of New Thought books. He believed that people have tremendous latent powers, which could be harnessed for success with the proper attitude. He is of Norwegian origin and was born in Iowa in 1874. He attended Iowa State College and a theological school. In his early

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-61393262389348003682010-07-25T10:49:00.000+05:302010-07-25T10:49:55.839+05:30

There are a number of reasons why bad teaching has not been eliminated even from the top business schools in India. The main one is also the simplest: there are not enough good professors in the country to cover the teaching needs of business schools. This means that business schools are in a constant battle to poach each other’s top professors, offering them either huge salaries or substantial

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-65455067940668111112010-07-25T09:28:00.009+05:302010-07-25T09:50:11.897+05:30

William Deresiewicz (born 1964), formerly an associate professor of English at Yale University until 2008, is a widely published literary critic. His criticism directed at a popular audience appears in The Nation, The American Scholar, the London Review of Books, and The New York Times. More often than not controversial, his negative reviews of Terry Eagleton, Zadie Smith and Richard Powers drew

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-37681491377429910802010-07-24T21:01:00.000+05:302010-07-24T21:01:34.992+05:30

Archana Jahagirdar has been a journalist for almost 20 years having worked for some of the most prestigious names in the media business like The Times of India, Outlook and India Today. Her last full-time assignment was with the Business Standard where she also wrote a column on luxury and fashion. She has done her Masters and Bachelors in English Literature from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-75919538733219004532010-07-24T20:45:00.001+05:302010-07-24T20:49:03.140+05:30

A day after a group of villagers refused to join an anti-government rally and chased away Maoists, the rebels on Saturday killed a headmaster of a school in Jhargram for not allowing his students to take part in another rally in West Midnapore district. Rabindranath Mahto (45) was about to leave Indrabani Primary School at about 3 pm after the school hours when six suspected Maoists came in three

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-53187817851972008882010-07-23T09:18:00.000+05:302010-07-23T09:18:29.961+05:30

I write articles, stories and many other things which interest me. You can have a look at the categories on the right to understand what I like. At the same time whenever I read something (and I read a lot) and I like it I publish it here with suitable credit. Readers who have been following this place know how to find it. But for those of you who are new double click the title and you will find

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-59815706750852861572010-07-16T14:32:00.000+05:302010-07-16T14:32:41.406+05:30

There are many things that you can do in life to make it extraordinary and there are ways to do it. They will definitely support you in creating the results you want; in your career, your relationships, your finances, your health—in every area of your life. Decide clearly, specifically and positively what you want. Be honest with yourself and others. Be responsible for your results no matter

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-39788567771013188972010-07-16T14:27:00.000+05:302010-07-16T14:27:45.294+05:30

Long-term relationships are often formed at work. The evolution of quality relationships is very normal and an important part of a healthy workplace. In the best workplaces, employers recognize that people want to forge quality relationships with their coworkers, and that company allegiance can be built from such relationships. The development of trusting relationships is a significant emotional

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-42815493773030245522010-07-16T14:22:00.001+05:302010-07-16T14:23:32.145+05:30

The International Organization for Standardization identifies the following principles of risk management. Risk management should: create value. be an integral part of organizational processes. be part of decision making. explicitly address uncertainty. be systematic and structured. be based on the best available information. be tailored. take into account human factors. be transparent and

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-25893933425317108022010-07-08T17:34:00.001+05:302010-07-08T17:36:02.551+05:30

The results of the 14th India Today annual survey of the top colleges in India were declared last week. The poll ranked 1,500 colleges in the streams of science, arts, commerce, medicine, engineering and law. Today we take a look at the top 10 commerce colleges in the country and what sets them apart from the hundreds of others. Moving up one slot to take top spot is St Xavier's College, Kolkata.

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-60970700444838167632010-07-08T17:15:00.002+05:302010-07-08T17:21:10.535+05:30

There is a perception among several individuals that having paid taxes via TDS (tax deducted at source), filing of returns is not important, because after all, the government's main objective is to ensure that its tax kitty is getting the revenue due to it. This is a misconception and it is essential to know that it is our constitutional obligation to file tax returns when required to do so. So

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-28126163210280182472010-07-08T16:59:00.000+05:302010-07-08T16:59:25.079+05:30

The army being out in force in Srinagar for the first time in, perhaps, two decades, is a measure of how serious the situation is in the Kashmir Valley. What is alarming is that the Indian security forces who have successfully battled domestic and foreign militants are finding it difficult to take on a movement that has the appearance of a popular protest. While there is no doubt that there are

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-65228531320308535952010-07-08T16:52:00.000+05:302010-07-08T16:52:52.636+05:30

After bringing a rail line close to the Indian border with Tibet, China is now gearing to push a rail link across the Karakorams into Pakistan through the Gilgit-Baltistan region that is part of the original state of Jammu and Kashmir. As the first rail link across the Great Himalayas, the line running nearly 700 km from the historic Kashgar city in Xinjiang province to Havelian near Rawalpindi

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-28697488998991398642010-07-06T14:38:00.001+05:302010-07-06T14:39:29.559+05:30

Vineet Nayar is the Chief Executive Officer of HCL Technologies Ltd., a leading global IT Services Company. Vineet Nayar’s Employees First, Customers Second (EFCS) is a first person CEO’s account of the transformation of their enterprise. The book is a refreshing and frank look at the challenges facing leaders looking to transform their company, culture and employees. Nayar discusses his

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-79007909818212636122010-07-05T17:51:00.000+05:302010-07-05T17:51:08.636+05:30

Have you ever noticed that the colour of Santa Claus’ suit is the exact same red as the label for Coke? “That’s not a coincidence; the Coca-Cola Company holds a patent on the colour. The consequence of being exposed to messages associating Coke with things like Christmas is that when we see the logo on a Coca-Cola can, we feel good, and these positive emotions augment the taste of the soda,”

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-42689390552977951012010-07-05T17:36:00.001+05:302010-07-05T17:37:06.976+05:30

Suresh Paryani's Start-up Provides You With An Executive Assistant Minus The Baggage Of Upkeep That’s what you will do, once you hear the price dynamics at which you can get a personal assistant. Thanks to Suresh Paryani, former leasing officer with a leading land bank listed entity, who has launched a personal assistant (PA) service provider, Big Help. The firm can provide you an executive

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-71922315594819183982010-07-05T09:33:00.000+05:302010-07-05T09:33:12.226+05:30

Chennai is home to global and Indian auto majors like BMW, Ford, Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Ashok Leyland, TVS Group, et cetera. It also has almost 35 per cent of India's share of auto ancillary units. So why has Chennai emerged as the Detroit of South Asia? There are many reasons, not the least of which is the Tamil Nadu government's investment-friendly industrial policy. With an impressive

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-21856925341737849102010-07-05T09:22:00.000+05:302010-07-05T09:22:36.962+05:30

Anand Kumar's Super 30, a coaching institute in Patna which prepares 30 poor kids for the Indian Institute of Technology entrance exam free of cost, has achieved iconic stature because of its success rate. A Ganesh Nadar met Anand Kumar, the fiery and idealistic teacher-founder as we continue our series on Extraordinary Indians. They are a troika of very young, simple and humble teachers led by

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-21076437866760413112010-07-05T08:19:00.000+05:302010-07-05T08:19:03.201+05:30

Do you agree that for most of us at some point in life, one of the biggest challenges was to overcome the fear of public speaking? Do ensure that your words are always understood. Think of the last really memorable talk or presentation that you attended. Now, was that easy to do, or did you really have to rack your brains to remember one? Sadly, too many presentations are easy to forget. And

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-48457058821162616982010-06-26T21:18:00.000+05:302010-06-26T21:18:00.978+05:30

About The Author: Paul Krugman joined The New York Times in 1999 as a columnist on the Op-Ed Page and continues as professor of Economics and International Affairs at Princeton University. Mr. Krugman received his B.A. from Yale University in 1974 and his Ph.D. from MIT in 1977. He has taught at Yale, MIT and Stanford. At MIT he became the Ford International Professor of Economics. Mr. Krugman is

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-71662340947411880252010-06-26T20:59:00.000+05:302010-06-26T20:59:38.059+05:30

US lawmakers hammered out a historic overhaul of financial regulations as dawn broke over the nation's capital on Friday, handing president Barack Obama a major domestic policy victory on the eve of a global summit devoted to financial reform. In a marathon session of more than 21 hours, congressional negotiators agreed to a rewrite of Wall Street rules that may crimp the industry's profits and

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-21671798411196046652010-06-26T20:46:00.000+05:302010-06-26T20:46:12.138+05:30

Shaina Singh was in a hurry to catch her flight to Delhi. The airport was unusually crowded. A large group of teenagers had come to bid their friend adieu. Fumbling with her flight tickets and business meeting documents, she pushed her way through and managed to queue up at the check-in counter just in time. There she opened her long-rectangular wallet, which she used while travelling.

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-37974865398951348762010-06-25T23:07:00.001+05:302010-06-25T23:08:38.342+05:30

A one-man opposition party – that’s what comes to my mind when I think about R K Laxman. For over 50 years, he has captured Indian politics, politicians, and their impact on the common man, in his cartoons. It is impossible to imagine the Times of India without his pocket cartoons tucked away in the corner of the front page, or his single-panel political commentary that reflected the political

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-30139183781546984052010-06-25T23:02:00.000+05:302010-06-25T23:02:26.220+05:30

A few weeks ago, I was afflicted by a nasty ailment. Reader's block. Try as I might, I was unable to concentrate on a book - any book - for more than a paragraph or two, sometimes not even that much. The last time this happened to me was, as I recall, eons ago, after studying for a grueling bachelor's degree. (In commerce, in case anyone's asking). Then, of course, it was because of reading too

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-62497446541701727292010-06-25T22:56:00.000+05:302010-06-25T22:56:48.106+05:30

It’s amazing how sometimes we’re overwhelmed by the simple pleasures of life. Like a few words of reassurance, a compliment, a look of the eyes that tells you it’s one of genuine concern, a squeeze of the hand, a kiss, a hug or even a phone call. It’s a pity that we often overlook them in our daily grind and look for more expensive means to tackle our depression, insecurity, self-doubt, self pity

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-85277517823537054232010-06-25T22:41:00.000+05:302010-06-25T22:41:40.231+05:30

Bhimashankar Cliffs in Karjat near Mumbai Backwater in Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra Amboli Ghat, Konkan, Sindhudurg District, Maharshtra Doodhsagar Waterfalls in Goa Ganaptipule Beach, Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra Ganaptipule Beach, Ratnagiri District Jog Falls, Vitla, near Mangalore, Karnataka Karwar Beach, KarnatakaMalwan, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra Marleshwar Waterfalls,

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-81345983931533820292010-06-25T13:05:00.000+05:302010-06-25T13:05:30.261+05:30

Mr. Vijay Govindarajan has written this to me. For the last ten years, my partner Chris Trimble and I have studied one critical question: What are the best practices for executing an innovation initiative? Execution is the poor stepchild of the innovation challenge. People love to engage in the hunt for the big idea, but let's face it, an idea is only a starting point.  We published the article

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-61205430519878972142010-06-25T12:50:00.000+05:302010-06-25T12:50:07.299+05:30

Barely 24 hours after she was sworn in as the first woman prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Persad-Bissessar donned a life jacket and waded into the flood waters to tour areas affected by torrential rains sweeping across the Caribbean. A devout Hindu, she swore on the Bhagavad Gita - the Hindu holy book - to do her duty to her people. Even as congratulations poured in from around the world,

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-25329338387476860492010-06-25T12:21:00.002+05:302010-06-25T12:23:55.193+05:30

But right now, Bradley Birkenfeld is mopping prison floors while serving term for his part in the Swiss bank's conspiracy. He was once a UBS AG banker who handled a $200 million investment for a billionaire client, now makes 12 cents an hour mopping floors at the federal prison in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Sleeping in a bunk bed in a dormitory-style building with 35 other inmates is far from

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-3486667290908507182010-06-25T11:52:00.000+05:302010-06-25T11:52:04.482+05:30

INS Tarkash, the second of the three follow-on Talwar-class stealth frigates, has been launched from a shipyard in Russia and will soon undergo sea trials. The launch ceremony at the Yantar Shipyard in Kaliningrad was performed yesterday by Ramma Dewan, wife of Indian Navy vice chief Vice Admiral DK Dewan. It was attended among others by the Kaliningrad Region governor and the Russian Federation

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-70079222607394044852010-06-25T11:40:00.002+05:302010-06-25T11:56:32.246+05:30

Or, How three young MBA-s set Four Fountains Flowing. Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad — most youngsters would do anything to get the combination on their resumes, for it opens doors such as few others do. But once in a while, one comes across somebody who’s been there, done that and still thought nothing of leaving the comfortable, high-paying

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-29973091391302974672010-06-24T08:15:00.002+05:302010-06-24T08:23:08.686+05:30

"One hundred years from now, I expect the Tatas to be much bigger than it is now. "More importantly, I hope the group comes to be regarded as being the best in India... best in the manner in which we operate, best in the products we deliver, and best in our value systems and ethics. "Having said that, I hope that a hundred years from now we will spread our wings far beyond India." The brighest

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-61055676575863833612010-06-24T07:57:00.001+05:302010-06-24T07:58:46.893+05:30

Retired CEO and Chairman of General Electric Jack Welch speaks to students at the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, April 12, 2005. Back in the early 1980s, soon after Jack Welch was named chief executive officer of General Electric, he unleashed such a torrent of layoffs that the media dubbed him 'Neutron Jack'. The moniker was

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-28728668108359981302010-06-23T22:14:00.001+05:302010-06-23T22:15:48.345+05:30

Romeo must die. And so must Juliet, if she and her star-crossed lover happen to belong to different castes -- or to the same gotra -- and decide to get married. So-called 'honour killings' have become a macabre trend: a new incident is reported almost every day in some part of north India. What is the reason behind this new killer epidemic? It's often remarked that though India has only one

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-318638156798275582010-06-23T22:05:00.000+05:302010-06-23T22:05:43.287+05:30

China will make public its plans to help Pakistan build two nuclear reactors at the meeting of the Nuclear Suppliers Group in New Zealand on Thursday, a Chinese official has said. The announcement shows that Beijing's approach to the issue of regional security remains unchanged even after the visits by foreign minister S.M.Krishna and President Pratibha Patil to Beijing. "The move might actually

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-69930140875062564282010-06-23T21:39:00.000+05:302010-06-23T21:39:26.043+05:30

At a meeting in Sweden recently of young people from around the world, a Nigerian woman shared the grief of her people. She said that, every year for the past 20 years, large quantities of oil, as much as that leaking into the Gulf of Mexico from the broken BP oil rig, have been spilling in her country from an MNC’s leaking pipelines and broken rigs. The waterways have become completely

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-71352477448001792132010-06-23T21:22:00.000+05:302010-06-23T21:22:16.067+05:30

When it comes to appearing for a job interview, we all prepare ourselves by finding out about our potential employers, but at times we are asked an off-the-wall question that leaves us stumped. In order to help us prepare for such questions, Glassdoor.com, a two-year-old Sausalito, Calif. website that bills itself as "the TripAdvisor for careers", compiled a list of some of the top oddball

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-74828848192578103272010-06-23T21:13:00.000+05:302010-06-23T21:13:39.240+05:30

Books are at risk of being "swept away" by a world of new technology and moving images which are increasingly winning the competition for children's attention, says British playwright Tom Stoppard. Stoppard, who has written for television, radio and film, also warned the study of humanities was being neglected in favour of science. "The printed word is no longer as in demand as when I was of the

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-41936219228681273522010-06-22T22:04:00.000+05:302010-06-22T22:04:23.271+05:30

As a first-generation serial entrepreneur who has since morphed into an academic researcher on globalisation, innovation and education, Vivek Wadhwa can speak on the subject with passion born of first-hand experience. In an interview to DNA, the senior research associate with the Labour and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School and executive in residence/adjunct professor at the Pratt School of

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-6687830366095634882010-06-22T21:56:00.000+05:302010-06-22T21:56:04.747+05:30

We are in India well used to blaming the government and politicians for our problems. And of course, they usually deserve it as well. But recently, for fear of being labelled a communist or a leftie or even, by a person of perhaps advancing years, a “pinko” — all these being deeply insulting terms in these times of liberalisation and economic well-being — we often refrain from taking on business

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-54820882435473800552010-06-22T21:46:00.000+05:302010-06-22T21:46:48.232+05:30

Recently I had occasion to address more than 500 post-graduate students from different institutions. When they were asked how many trusted the media — print and electronic — less than 10 hands went up. Similar questions in the eighties had evoked a much larger positive response. At that time, some newspapers used to proclaim readership figures that were six times as much as circulation. Today,

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-59106086359644517412010-06-22T21:11:00.000+05:302010-06-22T21:11:20.629+05:30

Washington, DC Metro Station on a cold January morning in 2007. The man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time approximately two thousand people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-62336101280191223382010-06-21T22:56:00.000+05:302010-06-21T22:56:33.646+05:30

In 1593, a botanist named Carolus Clusius introduced the tulip plant to Holland, after bringing it back from a trip to (what is now) Turkey. The Dutch people first became enamored, and then obsessed with tulips – and the value of tulips soared in that society to absurd levels. An article on this episode in history provided examples of how high the value of a tulip had risen. A rare “Viceroy” bulb

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-73006117764850963762010-06-20T22:05:00.001+05:302010-06-20T22:07:00.696+05:30

I have stayed in Darjeeling from 1965 to1968 when my dad was working there. I studied in Mount Hermon School up to Class VI. I would like to write about this place popularly known as the "queen of the hill stations." This is the first part of a series I would be writing. I hope my readers enjoy it and I would be happy if they let us know more about this beautiful place. Darjeeling is in a small

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-12262856942432841882010-06-20T21:20:00.000+05:302010-06-20T21:20:44.094+05:30

Sunday, 20th June is a red-letter day. And I have just realized it is Father’s Day. A day to say thank you to the man who, along with my mother brought me into this world. I agree with my colleague Tenzin that I don’t need a ‘special’ day to say thank you to my father. He is my support system. To me, he is the coolest, strongest and the purest soul alive in this highly artificial world. He has an

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-37103647126562866412010-06-20T21:16:00.000+05:302010-06-20T21:16:35.814+05:30

He plays a perfect lover on-screen and off screen he is the best dad. Describing a father's role, Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan says dads are usually seen as rule-breakers and risk-takers with their kids. 'Someone rightly said, 'Any man can be a father, but it takes time to be a dad'. And that someone was just right,' said Shah Rukh who has two children - son Aryan and daughter Suhana. '

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-72401218655670891232010-06-20T21:07:00.000+05:302010-06-20T21:07:02.067+05:30

Having qualified for the June 24 final, India captain Mahender Singh Dhoni expressed happiness over his side's sensational three-wicket victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Asia Cup cricket tournament on Saturday night at Dambulla, Sri Lanka. "Overall we are very happy with our performance. The bowlers did well to restrict Pakistan to 267 after they had got off to a good start. Then, Gautam

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-58477762501633836532010-06-20T20:44:00.000+05:302010-06-20T20:44:17.173+05:30

It's Your Future What all organisations need are people, at all levels, who are focused on success. It is said that; “There are three types of businesses; Those that make things happen;Those that watch things happen;Those that wonder what happened.” (Anonymous) Yet, business success or failure is dependent on the people within these organisations. Hence if the quote is true for organisations it

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-2008643912023629092010-06-20T17:37:00.000+05:302010-06-20T17:37:13.914+05:30

"If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition condusive to your goal." - Norman Vincent Peale "Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere." - Albert Einstein "There's always the motivation of wanting to win. Everybody has that. But a champion needs, in his or her attitude, a motivation above and beyond winning."

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-4748904896607111022010-06-20T17:03:00.000+05:302010-06-20T17:03:53.345+05:30

"Experience is not what happens to you. It is what you do with what happens to you" - Aldous Huxley "Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment" - Bob Packwood "There is only one thing more painful than learning from experience and that is not learning from experience" - Archibald MacLeish "Learn all you can from the mistakes of others. You won't have time to make

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-67142284993572435932010-06-20T14:00:00.000+05:302010-06-20T14:00:51.049+05:30

There was a time when the competitive advantage that Japan had built in key industries like automobiles and electronics led to a world-wide scramble to understand the Japanese way of doing things. Everyone was researching Japanese management and the era produced a plethora of books on the subject, such as mega bestseller, The Toyota Way. Since then, the lessons of lean manufacturing have been

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-64309934974395117732010-06-20T13:47:00.000+05:302010-06-20T13:47:55.074+05:30

India will oppose all attempts by China to ‘grandfather’ two more nuclear reactors to its pre-2004 deal for civil nuclear cooperation with Pakistan. According to senior government officials, India may not be a member of the NSG, which is meeting in New Zealand next week, but it will diplomatically oppose such a move as it is a Chinese “afterthought and a knee-jerk reaction” to India’s nuclear

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-476142377364782512010-06-20T13:37:00.000+05:302010-06-20T13:37:58.138+05:30

Mamata triumphs at a time when mass leaders are becoming extinct. The crumpled sari is decidedly unaesthetic. So is the untidy hair and rough speech. But then if you are a lone woman without patronage or godfathers or family lineage, fighting a brutal Left Front machine for twenty years, perhaps you can't afford the luxury of being a bhadramahila(genteel woman). Mamata Banerjee may be the object

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-65198644083404227542010-06-20T12:54:00.000+05:302010-06-20T12:54:36.651+05:30

Britain on Friday banned from entering the country an Indian preacher who has expressed radical views about Islam, including some that appear to justify acts of terrorism. Conservative Home Secretary (interior minister) Theresa May said she had barred Zakir Naik, a 44-year-old television preacher based in Mumbai, for inflammatory remarks he was known to have made in the past. Naik had been due to

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-56451240732194070512010-06-19T22:20:00.000+05:302010-06-19T22:20:02.209+05:30

Sixty years after independence, the caste question looms large in our consciousness. Far from being abolished, the caste system is at the centre of many debates of the day. Whether it is the larger question of the importance of caste in electoral politics, reservations, whether caste should be part of the census or not or the outrage over the Khap panchayat's actions, it is clear that caste is an

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-10306651294607999072010-06-19T22:14:00.000+05:302010-06-19T22:14:48.750+05:30

It's amazing how much power a single word wields. It's a simple two letter word No that keeps redefining our politics every time. Look at West Bengal. Whether Mamata finally delivers or not on the expectations of the people out there, one thing's clear. It's the electorate's unequivocal No to the Left that has won her the recent elections and told the CPM three decades later that it's time to

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-89575678317020048372010-06-19T22:07:00.000+05:302010-06-19T22:07:38.187+05:30

Toyota Motor Corp has stopped production at its main factory in China after a strike at its plastic parts supplier, the carmaker said on Saturday, the latest in a series of labour disputes across the country. Widening discontent among an estimated 130 million strong pool of migrant workers, whose toil has powered China's growth, threatens to undermine the government's legitimacy and erode the

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-3531016772684601382010-06-19T21:59:00.000+05:302010-06-19T21:59:59.934+05:30

What’s this brouhaha all about? Loss of heritage? For nearly 70 years the 12 "priceless" Tagore paintings that were recently auctioned by Sotheby’s for Rs 10.9 crore were lying with the Dartington Hall Trust and not a single voice was raised from India to claim them. Perhaps no one even had knowledge of their existence. Yes, what can be rued is that the works could have fetched higher prices. And

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737416189174591767.post-29244621661334326362010-06-19T21:45:00.000+05:302010-06-19T21:45:42.728+05:30

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan says caning was a 'regular feature' in his school, but he strongly opposes the practice. 'I must admit that caning was a regular feature during our stay in the school...As students, we did not resist or fight against it. It was part of our curriculum in a sense and I think we were better off with it than without. Indeed, there were occasions when we opted for

Suprio Ghataknoreply@blogger.com0