Saturday, March 31, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES, 31/03/07



  1. Mumbai University to be listed in Bombay Stock Exchange.

  2. RBI ups key rates,loans to be costlier.

  3. India dreams of building own global luxury brands.

  4. Tamil Nadu bandh hits normal life.

  5. England beat Ireland by 48 runs.

  6. Tendulkar recieves flak from Ian Chappell,advices him to quit.

  7. Lambhargini to launch 'Gellardo' in India,priced at Rs.2.2Crore.

Friday, March 30, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES,30/03/07



  1. SC puts OBC reservation on hold.

  2. Videocon pulls off ads feauturing Dhoni & Dravid.

  3. 3 get life for lynching Sikhs in 1984 riots.

  4. Sealing drive resumes in Delhi.

  5. Pepsi pulls off Rs.350 Crore Blue Billion ad blitz.

  6. Satyam signs $200M deal with US based applied materials Inc.

  7. Wipro to open 3rd delivery centre in China to cater to MNC clients.

  8. Kumble to say adieu to ODI cricket.

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES,27/03/07




  1. Three convicted in 1984 sikh riot case.

  2. Manjunath gets justice.death sentence to one and life imprisonment to 7 others.

  3. WC- the host fighting against the defending champion today.

  4. Intel to buold 2.5 billion dollar chip plant in China.

Monday, March 26, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES, 26/03/2007



  1. India booted out of world cup.

  2. India,US to finalise nuclear deal today.

  3. BSNL plans to invest Rs.60,000 crores in 3 years.

  4. Japan shocked by giant earthquake.

  5. Shilpa Shetty to run for charity in London Marathon.

  6. ASTRA missile tested after a long gap;test fired from Chandipur-on- sea.

  7. Mumbai shakes with Shakira.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES, 25/03/07



  1. Orissa clocks Rs.418crore revenue surplus.

  2. Australia outplays SouthAfrica in world cup cricket.

  3. ICC to investigate the betting angle in woolmer's case.

  4. Telgi sentenced to 10 year life term.

  5. Indian Navy to base for UAV(Unmanned Aerial Vehicle)s in Andaman.

  6. Indira Nooyi the India Abroad Person of the year for 2006.

Literary Quiz-The New Sunday Express


Dear All,


Please find the "The New Sunday Express"-"Literary Quiz" questions and their answers dated March25,2007.


Questions:-



  1. Who is India's first graphic novelist?

  2. On whose graphic novel is the film 300 based?

  3. For what is the Orange Broadband Prize awarded annually?

  4. Which heavy metal band released a musical intrepretation of Coleridge's 'The Rhyme of the ancient mariner'?

  5. The biography of which actress has been recently penned by Bhawana Somaaya?

Answers:-



  1. Sarnath Banerjee

  2. Frank Miller

  3. For the best novel by a female writer

  4. Iron maiden heavy metal band

  5. Hema Malini

Saturday, March 24, 2007

BRAND EQUITY QUIZ-07-BANGALURU & CHENNAI

Dear All,

Some good questions from Brand Equity Quiz-2007 ,regional round held at Bangaluru & Chennai.Derek had come up with some nice questions as follows,

1.What’s common between a UK-based charity, a Spanish clothing chain, a South African low-cost airline and something that mummy gives me to eat?
Ans:-(Mango)
Mango is a UK registered charity. Our mission is to strengthen the financial management of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs).
Mango clothing chain which is famous retailer in Spain.
Mango is an internet-based low-cost airline operating in South Africa, and is wholly owned by South African Airways. It competes directly with the likes of rivals Kulula and 1Time.

2.What a "BORQINI" was?
Ans:-(A bikini for Arabs)

3.What is a freemium?
Ans:-(The freemium business model works by offering basic services for free, while charging a premium for advanced or special features. The word freemium is a portmanteau created by combining the two aspects of the business model: free + premium[1]. The business model has gained popularity with Web 2.0 companies[2].)

4.What is a prosumer?
Ans:-(This word is becoming fairly common but can be confusing, as it has two meanings. It was coined in 1980 by the futurist Alvin Toffler — in his book The Third Wave — as a blend of producer and consumer. He used it to describe a possible future type of consumer who would become involved in the design and manufacture of products, so they could be made to individual specification. He argued that we would then no longer be a passive market upon which industry dumped consumer goods but a part of the creative process.)

5.What was Al Ries's famous four letter wordanswer when asked "what's the size of the market when you are launching a product?
Ans:-(Zero,since markets do not exist but have to be built.)

6.Why did HLL call Dalda,Dalda?
Ans:-(Since the first dealer Dada added a "L" for Levers to the name.)



DAILY HEADLINES, 24/03/07


1. India virtually out of world cup after its pathetic show against the Lankans.


2. Nobel laureate, Wangari Muta Matahi was presented Jawaharlal Nehru Award for international understanding.


3. Justice for Manjunaath: 8 held guilty.


4. Dabur India looks to snap up 60% in singapore based company UNZA.


5. Rs.106 crore package for Gujurat riot victims.


6. Eminent writer in Oriya literature Pratibha Ray gets "Padmashree".

INDIAN TEAM-A BUNCH OF PAPER TIGERS

Dear All,

"One Indian is better than ten Japaneese; however ten Japanese are better than 100 Indians”. This is what many people in the corporate arena feel about Indians being good individually but failing as a team. The best case let for proving this will be Indian cricket team who were demolished by the alacrity of Lankan cricket team.Let us analyse each and every character of this case let.

Dhoni only fires in Indian pitches or while riding his motor bikes, not while representing his nation in cricket matches. The Indian captain was very low at risk taking ability in all these matches. The fear of loosing was much heavier than the burning desire to win. It is being said that "Leaders are dealers of hope”. But Dravid himself was hopeless during the matches and the body language was very defensive. He was waiting for the competitors to make a mistake. Why Shehwag, Yuvaraj were not given the ball in the last match? This is a million dollar question.

Once again ,going by the past successful records, he preferred Harbhajan who was not getting wickets in stead of Anil Kumble,who has the ability to turn around the matches in his team's favour.He also played a devil's role in case of Yuvraj's run out.

The so called world famous master blaster is a demi-god and had become an integral part of International cricket record book. However always fails to deliver in crucial matches though a great success against minnows like Bermuda. Still Guru Chappel’s "Perform or Perish”, is not applicable in his case. I believe many a Indians will agree with me that any other sportsman in his place would have immediately declared his retirement after such performances in the recent past. Such experienced players should have led from the front in cricket matches. Unfortunately he led from front in getting advertising assignments. I believe companies like ITC should immediately remove him as brand endorser of "sachin's fit-kit” biscuit which is a virtual mis-fit in this case.

Tendulkar may be a good batsman but not a great player like his Australian or West-Indian counterpart. A good player score well for himself. In the other hand, great players play well under pressure and prove their excellence. That is why, Brian Lara or Ricky Ponting are considered as better players by many a critics. They are "Match Winner’s although not having the distinction of "maximum number Of Man of the Match Award” winners like Sachin.These players play quality cricket against quality teams.

At this juncture, the Indian team is not eligible to play international cricket.Thus they should be banned of playing cricket till a result oriented next generation team is ready to roar and deliver.Let the selection committee groom the under19 players and give chance to budding talents.The non-performers should pay a price for their irresponsiblity.There should be a performance based incentive scheme for match winners which will encourage them to do well further.

All the members of Indian cricket team must do a self-appraisal. The older players need to retire and pave the way for young generation of players who are waiting for a berth in the national team.BCCI should concentrate in grass root level cricket tournaments. The internal politics should be avoided.

The print and electronic media are requested not to glorify mediocre achievements and building a facade around Indian fans. They should minimise the kind of attention given to them and turning them from single match performer to all time celebrities. May be it will have an impact on their TRP ratings but will make the cricketers focusing on playing techniques than cat-walk techniques.

The coach and captain must try to imbibe patriotism into player's blood and make them more responsible to live up to billions of fan's expectations. Importance of ethics needs to be explained to the players, so that they keep themselves at an arm’s length from match-fixing and bookers.

Or else the future of Indian cricket is bleak.

Warm regards,

Mr.Bay Leaf

***Please feel free to post your comments.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Do you know........

. WORLD WATER DAY-22nd March

. WORLD FORESTRY DAY-23rd March

Thursday, March 22, 2007

SHAPE UP, OR SHIP OUT

1.His mandate for group companies was clear: shape up, or ship out; be among the top three players in your business or get out of it.Identify the famous Business Leader?

Ans:-Ratan Tata,When he sold off Tata Oil Mills Company in 1993 people said he had no stomach for competition. When he exited ACC, India's leading cement company, people said he was frittering away his heritage. When he decided to build India's first indigenous car, analysts predicted ruin. Ratan Tata has proved all his critics wrong.

Warm regards,

Mr.Bay Leaf

DAILY HEADLINES


1.Woolmer's death plot thicken.

2.Sri Lanka thrashes Bangladesh in World Cup cricket match.

3.NTPC's maiden project in Assam to roll out by year end.

4.ONGC remodels Tripura power plant.

5.Orissa cadre IAS officer Anita Agnihotri returns literary award to WB govt over Nandigram issue.

6.XLRI trains men in uniform to answer corporate calls.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

NEUTRON JACK


1.He is known as the Neutron Jack in the corporate world.Identify and why is he known so?

Ans:-Jack Welch.

In his persuit to change and streamline the company, over 100,000 GE jobs were terminated. For this, he earned the nickname Neutron Jack (in reference to the nuetron bomb), the guy who removed the people but left the buildings standing.

In return, GE had increased its market capital tremendously.

After retirement, Welch is enjoying his new role as author. He has written two books, including Jack: Straight from the Gut (2001), and his most recent, Winning (2005).

What is wrong with our teaching?


What's wrong with our Teaching?

I was going through this special issue of "India Today" highlighting on the shortcomings of Indian teaching system in schools,colleges & varsities.Thought of sharing my learning with you.

Albert Einstein once said that:-"I never teach my pupils;I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn".

However our faulty teaching methodoly only creates some muggers who are not having a desire to acquire knowledge rather running after percentages.So that subsequently their parents can talk about their son/daughter's achievements in dinner parties.

The problem with our education system is that it is too bulky and students are made to learn too much,too fast.The teachers need to understand that ultimately,the goal of education is not to cover the syllabus but to uncover knowledge which is yet to happen.

"The problem is that our teachers are of the 'Chalk & Talk' type.But we have to make learning much more interactive at all levels starting from kindergarten.The laboratory approach in Mathematics,Languages and Science works far better than the text book method".

*** NCERT Steering Committee for Curriculum Reforms

Thought:-"What I hear, I forget,What I see, I remember,What I do, I understand".by Confucious

Precisely the teachers need to move from teaching-for-exams to teaching-for-understanding.

Warm regards,

Mr.Bay Leaf

DAILY HEADLINES, 21/03/07


1.WC:SA,Kiwis reach super 8.

2.Woolmer's death suspicious:Jamaica police.

3.Computing pioneer John Backud dies at 82.

4.Essar telecom get into an agreement with VIRGIN for co-branding in its retail outlets namely"The Mobile Store".

5.Ganga among the dying rivers:WWF

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES, 20/03/07

1.India surged ahead to the second spot in Group 'B' after their record 257-run win over Bermuda in the cricket World Cup.

2.Naseem Ashraf has resigned as Chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board in the wake of Pakistan's early exit from the World Cup.

3.Barclays is in talks to buy ABN AMRO, the biggest Dutch bank, in what would be the world's largest financial-services acquisition.

4.Coke to open 'red lounges' across India.

5.POSCO's $12 billion steel plant in Orissa is facing threat with a fresh stand-off with farmers, unwilling to give up their land.

Monday, March 19, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES,19/03/06


1.Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer is no more.Inzamam hangs his one-day boots.

2.Lord Swraj Paul-promoted Caparo Group is likely to invest about Rs 850 crore, which includes setting up of greenfield plants and acquisitions.

3.South Korean media reports about the world’s largest steel maker Arcelor Mittal eyeing a hostile takeover bid for Posco, the third largest steel company in the world, have been denied by both companies.

4.India witnesses partial solar eclipse.

5.Nandigram:Police to be withdrawn.

Friday, March 16, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES


1.World Cup: Sri Lanka rip apart Burmuda.

2.Maoist kills 50 cops in chattisgarh.

3.Sarin strikes deal with Ruias.

4.UTI Bank to loose identity.

5.Mumbai 39th among global financial hubs.

6.Reliance to use GAIL network to reach customers.

DAILY HEADLINES, 15/03/06


1.15 KILLED AND 60 INJURED IN nandigram police firing.

2.WORLD CUP:AUSTRALIA BEATS SCOTLAND,KENYA BEATS CANADA.

3.CBI FILES REPORT IN COURT IN QUATROCHI'S EXTRADITION PROCESS.

4.TWO ARRESTED IN SAMJHAUTA BLAST CASE.

5.ITC TO INVEST RS.150 CRORE FOR FORAY INTO SNACKS BUISINESS.

6.INDIA BECOMES THIRD LARGEST TELECOM GIANT.

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES



1.West Indies win the world cup opener against Pakistan by 54 runs.

2.India 5th on Asia's most corrupt list.

3.NRIs in Dubai hawala net.

4.Left,DMK spar over varsity bill.

5.World population to hit 9.2B by 2050.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

DAILY HEADLINES, 13/03/07



1.Pakistan & WestIndies get the world cup rolling.

2.Snow fall disrupts normal life in Kashmir,15 dead.

3.Supreme Court declines Mulayam Singh Yadav's plea to stay CBI probe till UP assembly polls.

4."GAIL" turns spiritual to be competitive.Sri Sri Ravishankar of Art Of Living .

5.Italy's Lavazzo to invest Rs.600 crore in Barista.

6.Bharti Airtel to invest $8bn by 2010.

7.Khaleda Zia's son arrested in graft charges.

Monday, March 12, 2007

Kwiz Pakodah-1

Dear All,

I was going through the Indians who are listed in recent Forbe's billionaire list.Thought of knowing more about it.That is why did some research and came out with formulating these questions.Hope it will enrich our knowledge.

The question style is known as "up the ladder".There are three options given.If you answer only using the first clue,that fetches you 30 points,with first and second clues you can get 20 points,however with all three clues if you answer the question,it will give you 10 points only.

All the best.

Post your feedbacks on the web.

Warm regards,

Manas Nayak,
09937099883.

KWIZ PAKODAH


1. Identify the person?

a. Nehru affectionately called him the"India's buccaneer".


b. He is the founder of Kalinga Prize, that UNESCO has been conferring on, for excellency in the field of science.


c. Indonesia conferred the highest civilian award, Bhumi Putra to this valiant personality and even it is heard that the Indonesia government offered a huge land to him which he returned back politely.

Ans:-(Biju Patnaik)

2. Identify the person?

a. His personal philosophy is: “ No place or job should be shabby or looked down upon”.

b. In the year 1970, the largest nationally and internationally recognised pan-India social service outfit with 60,000 volunteers on the rolls who work to promote human rights, environmental sanitation, health and hygiene, non-conventional sources of energy, waste management and social reforms through education, training and awareness campaign was founded by him.

c. He was given Padma Bhusan award and is considered as the founder of sanitation movement.

Ans:- (Dr.Bindheswar Pathak,who founded Sulabh International)

3. Identify the organisation?

a. This is a women's organisation of the women, by the women and for the women. It was started in 1959(15th March), with 7 lady members with a borrowed sum of Rs. 80/- at Girgaum in Mumbai. This is recognized by Khadi & Village Industries Commission (KVIC).

b. Recevied Award from Khadi & Village Industries Commission as
'Best Village Industries Institution' for the period 1998 - 1999 to 2000 – 2001. Also, The Economic Times Award given to the Institution for Corporate
Excellence "Business Woman Of the Year" on 6th September 2002.Only woman can become member of this organization.

c. It created some of the global and national brands namely Lijjat papad, Sasa detergent etc. (Photograph of a boy 'Babla - eating papad alongwith Bunny Rabbit with papad in hand' is very popular.)

Ans :-( Shri Mahila Griha Udyog)

4. Identify the Organisation?

a. In 1977, its General Secretary, Ela Bhatt, was awarded prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award and this brought international recognition to it.

b. It was born in 1972 as a trade union of self employed women. It grew out of the Textile Labour Association, TLA, India’s oldest and largest union of textile workers founded in 1920 by a woman, Anasuya Sarabhai.

c. They have a newsletter called “Anasooya” through which they propagate the message to organise women workers for full emploreliance. Full employment means employment whereby workers obtain work security, income security, food security and social security (at least health care, child care and shelter).

Ans :-( SEWA-Self Employed Women’s Association)

5. Identify the person?

a. He found this institution where credit is a cost effective weapon to fight poverty and it serves as a catalyst in the overall development of socio-economic scenario. He is well known worldwide as “banker to the poor”.

b. He launched a political party,namely “Nagarik Shakti”.The party name translates as "Citizens' Power."

c. He is the brainchild behind the unique concept of micro credit and the Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize to him for the year 2006.

Ans: - (Muhammad Yunus)

6. Identify the person?

a. Jack Welch, the legendary CEO of General Electric who has elaborated his role for developing and implementing his expansion plan in India in his book "Jack-Straight from the Gut", where the key role played by him in the birth of the company-GE Medical Systems is well acknowledged. He was also appointed National Advisor of GE in 1989 and continued in this position till 1993 when he was elevated as a member of GE's National Advisory Board in New York.

b. His company pioneered the lease model of transacting commercial property in the country. It’s Golf and Country Club is the first night golfing facility in the country and is among the top 100 golf courses in the world. His company houses many fortune 500 companies. These include GE, Microsoft, McKinsey & Company, British Airways, Pepsi, Nestle, Glaxo Smithkline Beecham, IBM, Nokia and Canon.

c. His group had taken Shahrukh Khan as the brand ambassador. “Building India” is the punch line of his company. The logo of the company carries nine equilateral triangles .He is rank five in the Richest Indian’s list issued by Forbes recently.He joined his father-in-law's Delhi Land & Finance in 1971.

Ans: - (Kushal Pal Singh)

7. Identify the person?

a. A commerce graduate and a diploma holder in mechanical engineering, he originally hails from Gujarat and is presently based in Pune, Maharashtra. He was earlier into textiles. He started his textile business in Gujarat. But he found that the prospects stunted due to infrastructural bottlenecks. The biggest of them all was the cost and unavailability of power, which formed a high proportion of operating expenses of textile industry. In 1994, he formed his company and gradually quit textiles.

b. He was named the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2006. In March acquired Hansen Transmissions, Belgian maker of wind turbine gearboxes. He is also building a rotor-blade factory in Minnesota and has invested $60m in a factory in Tianjin, China. He is poised to make India a wind-power export hub.

c. Early in the millennium, his company commissioned its Vankusawade wind park in the Satara District of India’s Maharashtra state – which at 201 MW of capacity, ranked as Asia's largest on completion. He is rank eight in the Richest Indian’s list issued by Forbes recently.

Ans: - (Tulsi Tanti)

Daily Headlines, 12/03/07


1.INSAT-4B launched successfully.

2.9th Cricket World Cup begins.

3.Bangladesh to sign TIFA(Trade and Investment Framework Agreement) with US.

4."Namesake" gets rave reviews in US.

5.Italy's Lavazzo to invest Rs.600 crore in Barista.

6.Kalyan Singh to lead BJP alliance with JD-U & Apna Dal in UP assembly elections.

Daily Headlines,11-03-07


1.Vishwanathan Anand scales to no.1 position in chess.

2.Yashodhararaje Scindia wins Gwalior Lok Sabha bypolls.

3.Two IIM-C students bag Rs.1.2Crore packages from investment bank.

4.Kolkata-Dhaka train service from 14th April.

5.MTNL in race for landline phone services in Dubai.

6.IOC to buy French company in Congo for $1.5 billion.

7.Shilpa Shetty will be the star attraction on commonwealth day.

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Do you know ONGC???


Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) (incorporated on June 23, 1993) is a public sector petroleum company in India. It is a Fortune Global 500 company, and contributes 77% of India's crude oil production and 81 % of India's natural gas production. It is the highest profit making corporation in India. It was set up as a commission on August 14, 1956. Indian government holds 74.14% equity stake in this company.
• ONGC is engaged in exploration and production activities. It is involved in exploring and exploiting hydrocarbons in 26 sedimentary basins of India. It produces about 30% of India's crude oil. It owns and operates more than 11,000 kilometers of pipelines in India. Right now it's the largest company in terms of market cap in india.
• ONGCians won 8 out of the 10 golds that India secured at the 15th Asian Games,Doha,2006.
• ONGC has featured in the 2006 list of Fortune Global 500 companies at position 402.
• ONGC – with a market capitalization of US$ 41.9 billion on 31st March 2006 - has gone up in the 10th annual Financial Times Global 500 listing of the world’s largest companies. ONGC is at the 158th position; its rank last year was 192.