AAKASH TABLET PROBLEMS

What went wrong with the Aakash Tablet

Published on Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 10:50 |  Source : Forbes India

Updated at Wed, Jun 27, 2012 at 10:56  

Seema Singh/ Forbes India

The disastrous Aakash project has expunged India's dream of developing the world's cheapest computing device. And questions remain unanswered

Imagine for a moment you're a scientist looking at a stubborn problem - in this case, a mass of a few hundred million poor, uneducated people. To lift them out of poverty, friends who study economics tell you the first thing you ought to do is offer them access to affordable education. And that if you can, you'll achieve three things. Create a better world; create an incredibly compelling business; and perhaps get a stab at immortality. 

There are two ways to go about the problem. The first, you reckon you ought to think through the problem. That means look at the world around you, tinker with ideas, figure what works best, and build a cost-effective solution that eventually helps achieve the objectives stated above.

The second is a pig-headed one. Look at how others around the world are attempting to crack the problem; call in the global media; tell them a tablet-like device with a touch screen can be built and sold at USD 35; another matter altogether you’ve got no clue how to go about it or why; and then try your damndest best for a stab at glory. In any case, as long as the problem is cracked, who gives a damn?

With the benefit of hindsight, it is now obvious the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) chose the pig-headed option. What else explains the fact that almost two years ago, the ministry announced it is in the middle of developing a low-cost computing device for students that would cost just USD 35? And that when complete, a global tender for five million units of the device would be floated? The blitz that accompanied the announcement had the world in a tizzy.

A little less than a year later, in February 2011, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Jodhpur, which had taken upon itself the onus to decide what specifications this animal would run on, put out a global tender to build the first 10,000 units. In return for these services, the institution received Rs 47 crore from the government. DataWind, a 12-year-old Canadian company with subsidiaries in the UK and India won the contract, produced a prototype built to spec, and Kapil Sibal, the minister in charge of MHRD, unveiled Aakash, the world’s cheapest computing device.

To put it mildly, the prototype was a disaster. Some phones in the market worked faster than this contraption. The battery couldn’t last two hours if a user tried to play video files on it. The touch screen, well, wasn’t “touchy” enough. And things got ugly between IIT Jodhpur and DataWind. Sibal finally stepped in and in early April this year announced that an upgraded version of the device will be made available by May. 

As this story goes to press, we’re in the middle of June. Aakash-2 is still being tested by C-DAC in Thiruvananthapuram; IIT Bombay has been appointed the new nodal institution to drive the project and officials there claim 100,000 units will be supplied for pilot tests by October this year. 
On its part, DataWind claims the 100,000 units have already been supplied to the institute. Nobody seems to have a clue what the truth is. What we know is this: Similar computing devices with superior capabilities are being brought out of Chinese factories by the thousands; India seems to have lost the plot; and what could have been an incredibly compelling story is now a stillborn.

The race to build the world’s cheapest computing device started when the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project was announced in 2005. Headed by Nicholas Negroponte, best known as the founder of MIT’s Media Labs, it was a non-profit entity and funded by global majors like AMD, Google and Nortel among others. The central theme to this idea was to build a laptop that would cost no more than USD 100. 

But Negroponte was not a pig-headed man. He was clear that while keeping costs low was important, it wasn’t the central objective. Instead, it was to make sure technology and resources could be delivered to schools in the least developed countries. He wasn’t hung up on the USD 100 number. He knew that costs could go up by USD 30-40 or even USD 100. For various reasons though, a laptop at USD 100 was the number that stuck in the minds of people across the world - including NK Sinha, joint secretary at the MHRD.

While the OLPC project has gone through many ups and downs including funders backing out, NK Sinha proposed the MHRD develop a laptop at USD 10 - one-tenth of the price the OLPC had proposed. .....................................

..............http://www.moneycontrol.com/news/features/what-went-wrong-aakash-tablet_722104.html

Infy-NarayaMurty, Sibulal..PAYCUT...CONDITIONS..

27 JUN, 2012, 07.09AM IST, HARSIMRAN JULKA & DEVINA SENGUPTA,ET BUREAU Amid tough market conditions IT honchos like SD Shibulal, Vishnu R Dusad, Arvind Thakur, NRN Murthy take a pay cut
NEW DELHI | BANGALORE: Chief executive officers of most software companies took a pay cut last year, involving a steep decline for many, as they tried to lead by example in the middle of a tough market environment.

This was especially true for the CEOs who are also founders of companies, such as SD Shibulal of Infosys, whose total compensation fell about 30% to 91 lakh in 2011-12 compared with a year ago.

Human resources experts believe the pay for top executives of IT and business process outsourcing companies is likely to fall further this year because the gains from the rupee's steep depreciation cannot continue to compensate for a decline in market conditions.

"No one can afford to defer increments for staff while the CEO gets a raise. Austerity steps have to be flagged off first by the founding member or CEO," said Kunal Banerjie, CEO of Pune-based executive search firm Absolute HR International.

Software industry grouping Nasscom has projected that growth in fiscal year 2012-13 will slow considerably, to between 11% and 14%, with some suggesting that even this forecast is optimistic.

It is not the first time that senior executives at Infosys, which announced a salary freeze and a cut in variable pay in April, are seeing a decline in compensation. In 2008, a dismal year, board members had to forego 60% of their variable pay.

"The Infosys leadership has always led from the front and the reduction in our CEO compensation is a simple reflection of our variable pay structure, which is tightly linked to company performance," it said in a statement.

Other than Infosys, the top software services companies have not announced a salary freeze so far this year for their staff.

At Nucleus Software, CEO Vishnu Dusad saw his salary decline by nearly two-thirds to Rs 69.7 lakh in 2011-12, in what he described as a 'token cut' that does not impact the company too much. "But for others, it's an indication to all stakeholders that the market does not look very well and we have to buckle up," he said. Arvind Thakur of NIIT Technologies opted for a 3% salary cut. Thakur said CEOs taking pay cuts this year even if the company is doing well "might spook investors".

The CEOs of better-performing software companies in the top tier - Tata Consultancy Services and Cognizant - saw their rewards increase. Including the bonus, the total pay of TCS' N Chandrasekharan increased almost 50% to Rs 8 crore. Francesco D'Souza of Cognizant received a 5% increase in base salary to $566,500 and a 10% higher bonus.

SR Manjunath, head of human resources at Bangalore-based NetApp, said he does not expect a blanket dip in CEO salaries in the services sector; rather, it will be company- and individual-specific. "Companies that are into services have the salaries of CEOs linked to profitability. For product companies, there is no linkage and it is driven by a different set of performance objectives."

PRANAB THE GREAT

26 JUN, 2012, 04.21AM IST, ABHEEK BARMAN,ET BUREAU 

Why the Opposition’s claim that Pranab Mukherjee was a lousy finance minister is wrong

Today, Pranab Mukherjee will bow out of active politics and stake claim to the largely-ceremonial office of President of India. The opposition BJP, which has no chance of getting a candidate of its choice elected toRashtrapati Bhavan has started its catcalls, labelling Mukherjee as one of the worst finance ministers in recent history. 

It argues first that, under Pranab, India's growth fell off a cliff. Second, during Pranab's tenure, finance ministry mandarins clawed back many discretionary powers to probe businesses, powers they had lost in previous years.

Third, that Pranab's March Budget, which clarified that overseas companies had to pay capital gains tax if they traded in Indian assets, has scared off foreign investors. 

Each of these claims is bunk. First, take a look at India's growth since reforms began in 1991-92. That year was a disaster, because the outgoing government had left a pile of debt to be paid off from empty coffers and the war in the Gulf messed up our oil economy. But over the next 13 years or so, the economy bounced back, growing at an average of 6-6.5% every year. 

Then, during three years from 2006 to 2008, India seemed to shift gears and growth jumped to 9%-plus. People assumed that this was the new normal, but they were wrong. What happened around the world during those years was the growth of an enormous bubble in everything from copper and oil to stocks and real estate. This bubble affected every country that had functioning markets. 

Though India tries to protect its markets from financial volatility, it wasn't immune to global trends: higher asset prices drove up wages and bonuses, investors flush with cash pumped money into any snake oil or wind energy project that was pitched to them. India's growth depends more on government and private investment than on consumption, so when investments soared, so did growth. 

When the air finally whooshed out of the bubble in 2009, the world economy fell off a cliff. That was the year Pranab took over as finance minister and he played copybook policy. He dropped tax rates and pumped money into many sectors. Instead of falling off a cliff as the US and Europe did, India's growth rate merely dipped to 6.7%, and then rose to 8%-plus for two years after that. 

Today, India is growing at its average post-reform rate, not at the bubble rate. This is not the hallmark of a failed finance minister but of a successful one. 

Investments are key to India's growth. When we went bust in 1990-91, investments were around 25% of the size of the economy. Today, they are a healthy 35% of the economy, off the heady peak of 38% during the bubble year of 2007-08, but respectable nevertheless. 

The Opposition now says that under Pranab, the finance ministry has taken on huge powers to probe dodgy transactions by businesses. These powers, they argue, can be misused to harass people and extort money from them. 

The argument is hypocritical. For years, the Opposition, especially the Bharatiya Janata Party, has screamed about mythical trillions of dollars in secret overseas accounts, allegedly salted away from India. It has asked for these transactions to be probed and the money brought back. 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/comments-analysis/why-the-oppositions-claim-that-pranab-mukherjee-was-a-lousy-finance-minister-is-wrong/articleshow/14398766.cms

NIFTY strength gains, momentum weakens…

The Indian markets are displaying very good strength in building the bottom but the rapid rise of the top is not getting the support from the buyers. The Buyers are more willing to buy and accumulate the blue chip stocks at bottom level of Nifty at 4800-4900. The same kind of buying support is not coming at the higher level despite of some good news flowing into the streets.

The Indian economy is more independently dependant on the RAIN GOD. Our success story is built on the local consumption and the production. Still we are an agrarian country despite of our good number of export figures being supported from the IT and other manufacturing sectors.

Now our oil bill is mounting and the current account deficit is enlarging. The strengthening of dollar against Euro (for a different reason, happened) also encouraged gaining strength against other currencies. The Rupee   depreciation rather encouraged/accepted by the economy experts (to a level upto Rs54) from the 48-49 rage. For now the traders are heavily betting on the fall.  The situation turned so bad that now fire fighting measures are happening from North block and RBI to save Rupee slide.

The Nifty technically in bulls grip and heading towards the higher range, though it is difficult to cross the hurdles around 5350-80 level. The bottom support right now holding at 5050 level. The Markets may wait for some good news from Europe and US by staying between 4950-5280 levels.

The rupee fall definitely helps the IT and ITES companies. The billing pressure due to Euro crisis can be seen after second quarter. Most of the IT companies might have booked the profits when Rupee around 55. Now the situation has worsened. But for new contracts and Pharma companies the profits will increase as they enjoy the fall.

The economy is doing well on the back of the earlier stimulus measures taken across the globe. So the Indian economy also enjoyed the injected money flow. Now the momentum is slowing down and the expansion plans are shelved or deferred for want of support.

The steel companies are expecting a price rise and Coal India is also planning to rise prices.

The worlds largest furniture maker IKEA is planning to invest Rs10,000 crs.

Suzlon sold China unit for Rs 300 cr.

The POSCO land allotment in Odissa still finding space in headlines.

RINL prefers to delay the listing.

The US bank Wells Fargo plans to swift jobs to India due to cost effectiveness, Where as Barclays India plans to trim its size of work force.

Pranab last working day as FM may send some positive signals to markets to improve the sentiment.

THE STOCK MARKETS GEARED UP??????

24 JUN, 2012, 06.50AM IST, SWAMINATHAN S ANKLESARIA AIYAR,TNN Bad news: World is sliding into a new recession


Many rich countries have struggled for three years to emerge fully from the Great Recession of 2008-09 . Alas, the world is slipping into a new recession. No global authority has dared say so, but the writing is on the wall.

A classic lead indicator of a global recession is a crash in commodity prices, which is evident today.

Brent crude, the benchmark variety that determines Gulf oil prices for India, has fallen from $125/barrel in January to barely $ 90/barrel. Major global commodity indices have slumped over 20%. Mittal and Tata are closing some global steel plants because of falling demand. Prices of non-ferrous metals, cotton, coal and iron ore have crashed.

This reflects decelerating or falling GDP growth across the globe, and growing realization that conditions will remain depressed for some time. Europe has long been a troubled zone, but the US economy is stalling while ominous negative signs emanate from China.

The Eurozone was predicted to have a mild recession starting October 2011 and ending by the summer of 2012. The region slid down in the October-December quarter and then, thanks to a good German performance, stabilized in the January-March quarter. But the latest data show European growth plummeting in the April-June quarter, with even German factories suffering the sharpest contraction since June 2009. The UK, which is outside the Eurozone , is deeply in double-dip recession.

Optimists think that even if rich countries get into trouble, the strength and resilience of fast-growing emerging markets - above all China - will stem the rot. Alas, China is slowing down too. The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index shows that Chinese manufacturing has actually fallen in May and June.

China's slowdown has hit Japan, which depends on exports to that destination. Japan is now running trade deficits month after the month, for the first time in decades. This is a game-changer .

The global fall in commodity prices has sent shock waves through all countries that prospered by riding the commodity boom, including Brazil and Russia. India, a net commodity importer, should gain from falling prices. Yet its GDP growth has plummeted too.

There is a standard remedy for recessions . Governments cut interest rates, provide easy money, and run large fiscal deficits to revive demand. Alas, these strategies have very limited scope today because the world is already replete with loose monetary and fiscal policies thanks to attempts to regain momentum after the 2008-09 Great Recession.

Interest rates are at or below 1% in Europe, Japan and the US. The US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank (ECB) have injected trillions of dollars and euros respectively into their regions, breaking all records in easy money.

Narayana Hrudayalaya HEALTH CARE PLAN

24 JUN, 2012, 09.13AM IST, TNN 

Get a cardiologist’s opinion for just Rs 10

AHMEDABAD: Think corporate hospital and you think of consultation fee that can burn a hole in the pocket of middle- and lower middle-class patients. However, Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH), a corporate hospital giant from south India that has recently set up base in Ahmedabad, has announced that people can take a specialist doctor's opinion for just Rs 10!

The OPD where people will be charged Rs 10 for consulting medical, cardiology, paediatric, surgery and other specialist consultants is called 'Jan Hitaay' OPD. The service was formally launched by Member of Parliament (MP) Harin Pathak on Saturday.

Hospital officials said that the 'Jan Hitaay' OPD has been launched to make quality healthcare affordable to the common man. "People who do not have money to spend on specialist need not go only to the government hospitals. We aim to provide quality healthcare to people at affordable costs in a corporate setup" , said an official of NH Hospital.

Under the 'Jan Hitaay' programme, super specialist's consultation and medical investigation will also be offered at a discounted rate.

Narayana Hrudayalaya was inaugurated in Ahmedabad in May. Under the phase-I of the Health City project, a 300-bed healthcare facility has been set up, which offers all kind of medical services such as advanced cardiology unit, cardiac surgical unit for adults and children along with orthopedic, neurosciences , urology, nephrology, critical care and medicine, pediatrics , gynaecology, gastro sciences, advance diagnostics like 1.5 Tesla MRI & 64 Slice CT Scan and Mammography.

Narayana Hrudayalaya is also in the process of setting up a 5,000-bed Health City with a medical college and nursing and paramedical educational institution in the 37 acre campus situated at Rakhiyal.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/healthcare/biotech/healthcare/get-a-cardiologists-opinion-for-just-rs-10/articleshow/14368612.cms

Monsoon's impact on Indian economy

NEW DELHI | Sat Jun 23, 2012 1:02pm IST

(Reuters) - The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecast an average monsoon in 2012, retaining its earlier forecast in April.

CLASSIFICATION

An average or normal monsoon means rainfall between 96 and 104 percent of a 50-year average of 89 centimetres during a four-month season from June, India's weather office says. Rainfall below 90 percent of the average is considered a drought.

ARRIVAL

The monsoon season starts with the arrival of the rains on the southern Kerala coast around June 1. Its progress triggers planting of summer crops.

PROGRESS

After hitting the south coast, it takes about a week to cover the coffee, tea and rubber growing areas of south India. It spreads to the rice areas of eastern parts in the first 10 days. It usually covers half of the country in the first fortnight and enters the oilseed-producing areas of central India in the third week of June. Cotton areas in the western region get rains by the first week of July. It covers entire country by mid-July.

Half of India's farm output comes from crops planted during the first half of the June-September season.

Here are some facts on the monsoon and its impact:

CROPS

RICE -- Farmers sow paddy at the start of the monsoon in June and the key areas are in the east and south. The crop is heavily dependent on rains for irrigation.

A bumper harvest last year led the government to lift a four year ban on exports and rainfall within the average will erase any chance of a return of the export ban for the world's second largest producer of the grain after China.

SUGARCANE: An average monsoon will help the world's top sugar producer after Brazil to keep its free export policy on sugar in the new season from October 1.

OTHERS: Corn, lentils, oilseeds and cotton -- important crops in western and central India -- have some dependency on the seasonal rains. India remains a net importer of lentils and cooking oils and domestic output can alter overseas purchases. An average rainfall could allow the world's second biggest producer of cotton continue with its free policy on overseas sale.

ECONOMY AND MARKETS

-- The monsoon rains are vital for farm output and economic growth in India, the world's second-biggest producer of rice, wheat, sugar and cotton. Farm sector shares for about 15 percent of India's nearly $2 trillion economy, Asia's third biggest.

-- India is largely self-sufficient in major foodgrains such as rice and wheat, but drought can send the country to global markets. In 2009, India had to import sugar, sending global prices to record highs and pushing up inflation.

- Higher farm output would rein in food prices and help the government to take steps to cut the fiscal deficit and farm subsidies. India's food inflation rose to 10.66 percent in May from 10.18 percent in April, latest figures show.

-- A stronger economic outlook can lift sentiment in equity markets, mainly of companies selling products in rural areas, including consumer goods and automobiles.

-- Monsoon rains impact demand for gold in India, the world's top consumer of the metal, as purchases get a boost when farming incomes rise amid high crop output.

IRRIGATION, POWER

-- Monsoon rains replenish reservoirs and lift ground-water levels, allowing better irrigation and more hydropower output.

-- Higher rainfall can cut demand for subsidised diesel, which is used to pump water from wells for irrigation and makes up for about 40 percent of India's oil products demand.

(Reporting by Ratnajyoti Dutta in NEW DELHI)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/23/india-monsoon-factbox-idINDEE85L0BL20120623

BUILD or COLLAPSE !!!

Five ways to avoid being the 'bad boss'

Look within

A lot of bosses don't even realise where they are going wrong. It could be wasting time, using company property for personal purposes or even having an exaggerated idea of one's capabilities. "It's important to realise where the gaps are. You need to get proper feedback and work on that. Unfortunately, a lot of times, realisation only comes when it hurts you," says Sangeeta Lala, senior V-P , TeamLease Services.

Keep learning

When bosses give up on continuously educating themselves, even subordinates become aware of this. "Bosses need to stay current and updated. Otherwise, they become inadequate . You can learn by reading, doing projects, even getting mentored," says Yashwant Mahadik, VP HR, Indian subcontinent at Philips.

Set subordinates free

One of the major derailing factors is when managers become too possessive and don't let go of their talent. Says Mahadik: "When you don't get support from a manager, it usually ends up disengaging a very good employee . Instead, every manager should set himself a target for growing and exporting talent out of the team and measuring personal success on the basis of that. If an organisation starts measuring managers on successes like that, it leads to a lot of positive behavioural changes."

Be sensitive

Bosses who have crossed a certain stage of life often tend to become insensitive to the needs of those currently in that stage. Often, a boss doesn't take it well when a younger person in the team has issues at home or has to leave at short notice for some reason like an unwell child. "Never forget there are life-cycle needs of people. Be sensitive, empathetic and don't compare them to yours," says Mahadik.

Do a reality check

No one ever wants to give bad news to the boss, which is how he or she ends up insulated from reality; unaware of what is going on. It's important to create an open culture where employees can share even unpleasant information without fear.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/features/et-slideshows/five-ways-to-avoid-being-the-bad-boss/five-ways-to-avoid-being-the-bad-boss/quickiearticleshow/14142196.cms

INDIA-INSIDER TRADING STORY----

18 JUN, 2012, 06.26AM IST, PARTHA SINHA,TNN 

Insider trading is rampant on Dalal Street

MUMBAI: Rajat Gupta's conviction for insider trading may have reinforced the strictness of US laws, but back home ask any broker, dealer, analyst, securities lawyer or even someone in the stock market regulator-and everyone will accept that it is not only rampant on Dalal Street but also interlinked with stock trading. 
Insider trading has been a longstanding affair in India, say market veterans. It was branded as illegal only about two decades ago after the regulator Sebi (Securities and Exchange Board of India) enacted the Prohibition of Insider Trading Regulations, 1992. Earlier , insider information was considered a prized possession by most on the Street, say veterans . During 2010-11 , Sebi initiated 28 enforcement cases in which insider trading was the main allegation, compared to just 10 in 2009-10 , according to the regulator's annual reports. Its annual report for 2011-12 is due in August. 
One of the most common indications of insider trading is the spike in stock prices ahead of some important corporate announcement, especially mergers and acquisitions , says Sandeep Parekh, a former head of legal and enforcement departments at Sebi , who now runs a securities law firm. 
Earlier, phone calls, emails and internet chats were the preferred mode of communication for sharing information . Lately, messages through Blackberry (BBM), which cannot be tracked to the source and the recipient once the communication is deleted from the handset, has emerged as the preferred medium among market players. 
In India, enforcement against insider trading is not very effective. However, lately Sebi has been taking steps using market data analytics tools and acting on leads from other government agencies like the I-T department,Enforcement Directorate, CBI and others to crack down on errant market players. For example, on a reference from the I-T department in 2010, Sebi indicted market operator Sanjay Dangi and some related entities for various securities law violations, including insider trading. 
The market regulator has set up an integrated market surveillance system (IMSS) and a data warehousing and business intelligence systemboth together capable of generating and recognizing patterns from stock prices and volumes to detect crimes like insider trading, front-running , etc. 
Soon after the Raj Rajaratnam-Rajat Gupta insider trading case became public, Sebi had approached the government for powers to tap phone calls for suspected insider trading and other securities frauds. 

However, the government did not agree, although some recent reports said that Sebi may finally get access to phone call records of people suspected of insider trading and other market-related illegal activities . The need of the hour, according to market players, is not only the use of the latest tracking technologies to crack down on such unscrupulous people on the Street, but also to set some reasonable timeframe to close these cases. 

INSIDE STORY 
1998 | Hindustan Unilever-Brooke Bond Lipton India 
HUL (then HLL) allegedly bought about 8 lakh shares of Brooke Bond Lipton just days before the merger of the two. Sebi charged HUL and some top company officials with insider trading 
STATUS: Probe ongoing 
2001 | J E Talaulicar and Dilip Pendse, Tata Finance 
Talaulicar, also chairman of Niskalp Investment, a TFL subsidiary at that time, was found to have illegally traded in TFL shares before the company's rights issue in 2001. Pendse allegedly helped Talaulicar 
STATUS: Some entities fined, other nonmonetary penalties imposed 

2007 | Reliance Industries 
RIL accused of trading in shares, futures of Reliance Petroleum before its merger with RIL 
STATUS: Probe ongoing 
2010 | Nilesh Kapadia, a dealer at HDFC Mutual Fund 
Kapadia helped his associates buy stocks ahead of the fund house, thus causing Rs 2.4-crore loss to investors 
STATUS: Some entities fined, other non-monetary penalties imposed 
2010 | Sanjay Dangi, a market operator, and others 
Dangi found to have manipulated stock prices of several companies - in some cases in connivance with the promoters 
STATUS: Some entities fined, other non-monetary penalties imposed 
2012 | Manoj Gaur and others, JP Associates 
Sebi slapped a fine of Rs 70 lakh on Gaur and others for dealing in company's shares when they had unpublished information about the firm 
STATUS: Probe ongoing

Jhunjhunwala's -- not India's Buffett--41st on India's Rich List

FACTBOX-Jhunjhunwala's top holdings

Fri Jun 15, 2012 2:57am IST

MUMBAI, June 15 (Reuters) - Billionaire investor Rakesh

Jhunjhunwala has made a fortune and attracted a large following

in India with his bold bets on domestic stocks. Many call him

'India's Warren Buffett'. Unlike the famed Omaha investor,

Jhunjhunwala is a fan of leverage, which perhaps best defines

his investment strategy.   

Following are the top six holdings held by Jhunjhunwala,

based on stock exchange filings.  

 COMPANY                     STAKE (%)    YTD PERFORMANCE

                                         (to June 13) (%)

 Aptech                            32.19           +10.6

 A2Z Maintenance                   19.10           +20.5

 Viceroy Hotels                    11.2            +42.4

 Autoline Inds                     10.25           +73.4

 Zen Technologies                  10.1            +17.7

 Titan Industries                  10.0            +27.5

For comparison, the NSE index, or Nifty, is up 10.7

percent so far this year. 

"I'm Jhunjhunwala", not India's Buffett

By Rafael Nam and Abhishek Vishnoi

MUMBAI | Fri Jun 15, 2012 12:27pm IST

(Reuters) - India's best known stock investor, billionaire Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, doesn't much like the moniker of 'India's Warren Buffett'.

"It's not a fitting comparison. In terms of wealth and success and maturity, he's far, far ahead," says Jhunjhunwala in an interview at his office in a prime location in Mumbai overlooking the Arabian Sea.

Much like the famed Omaha investor, Jhunjhunwala has made a fortune from some savvy investments - Forbes magazine puts his net worth at $1.1 billion, ranking him 41st on India's rich list - but the similarities end there. Dressed simply in a white shirt and grey pants, he draws heavily on a cigarette, burps loudly, tells ribald jokes and peppers his interview with the cliches and one-liners that have become his stock-in-trade.

The 51-year-old has the brash confidence of a self-made man - he built his fortune from an early bet on Tata Tea - and of a risk-taking investor.

"I'm not a clone of anybody. I'm Rakesh Jhunjhunwala," he booms. "I've lived the world on my own terms. I do what I enjoy. I enjoy what I do."

Unlike Buffett, Jhunjhunwala has been an advocate of leverage, which he has often used in his career and perhaps best defines his big, bold bet investment philosophy.

"See, I'm a risk taker," he says. "If I feel very opinionated, I can really put the money on the table. I don't think too much deep research is needed. I don't go into analysis paralysis," he says. "All you need is common sense."

(Also know about Jhunjhunwala's top holdings, click here)

VIRTUE OF RISK

"Trend is your friend," he quips, adding that at a time of intense global market volatility he is fully invested, yet cautious about adding too much risk. He has, however, extolled the virtue of risk and profited from being able to make big contrarian bets - as he did in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States.

Markets, he says, have priced in a Greek exit from the euro zone, but the bigger concerns are about other vulnerable single currency members, a United States that's "on steroids" and a "crisis of governance" in India. "When there's doom and gloom, don't forget there's darkness before dawn," he says.

Despite the concerns over weak governance, he's still a believer in the India story that has made him rich. "When a child is sick, the mother is concerned. It doesn't mean the child's going to die," he says.

In a country that reveres its gurus, Jhunjhunwala, with his large frame and small glasses, would be easy to parody - there is a fake blog that lampoons the investor's life - but thousands hang on his every market move.

"Many clients ask when we recommend stocks whether Rakesh has bought it, and what he's holding," said Chirag Shah, assistant vice president for dealing at broker Bonanza Portfolio. "People follow him like anything. Whenever they come to know that he's taken a stake in a stock, they try to invest in it."

For the record, he's bullish on retail, financial services, agriculture and software services, but he declines to elaborate.

A BUMPER CUPPA

Jhunjhunwala's passion for playing the market began as a teenager, prompted by his father, a government tax official, pointing out stocks that would react to the day's news.

He made his first big profit by borrowing what in 1986 was a sizeable sum to buy 5,000 shares in Tata Tea, confident that the markets had under-estimated the potential of a company looking to grow at a time of rising yield production. He trebled his money within months. "I was apprehensive, but if you don't have confidence, you shouldn't come to the stock market. You have to risk," he recalls.

Better, bigger investments followed, including a leveraged bet in the late 1980s on iron ore exporter Sesa Goa (SESA.NS). He bought the stock at 60-65 rupees each and sold at 2,200 rupees.

His timing has been fortuitous. The Bombay Stock Exchange, Asia's oldest, introduced the benchmark Sensex in 1986 and markets developed swiftly after economic liberalisation five years later. "I'm the right person at the right place with the right attitude," he says. "If the Sensex had not gone up 100 times from when I started, I could not have been successful."

The index has dropped more than 9 percent in the past 16 weeks as India's economic growth stutters, prompting a warning from Standard & Poor's that its credit rating could be downgraded to junk status because of political inaction.

RARE BREED

Today, Jhunjhunwala presides over his investment firm Rare Enterprises, named using his and his wife's initials, which has a dozen or so employees whose sole job is to help him make his market bets. "This isn't a fund. I have no money other than my own and my wife's," he says. "She's my only client. I don't manage anybody's money except hers."

Jhunjhunwala's office has three monitor screens and an ashtray. There is a large conference table, statues of Ganesha, and framed copies of Jhunjhunwala's 10 Commandments for Investing and 10 Commandments for Trading.

Some of the commandments are slightly misspelt, but that wouldn't seem to matter to him. "Even if my wealth is 20 percent of what it is today, I'd smoke the same cigarette, drink the same whisky, drive the same car, have the same office, the same house, wear the same clothes, have the same wallet, eat the same food," he says. "Money is not anything which is going to affect me, or the way I live."

He says he will give away a quarter of his wealth.

Jhunjhunwala may not take the trappings of his work too seriously, but he is dedicated to trading, and portraits of well-known investors Peter Lynch and John Templeton hang in the company's offices. There is also a bound collection of his speeches covering his investment methodology, such as evaluating corporate price-to-earnings ratios - a hark-back to his studies in chartered accountancy. He also includes a prayer from the Dalai Lama, and an eclectic compilation of quotations from Shakespeare and Voltaire to George Soros and Buffett.

MIDAS TOUCH?

His financial disciples continue to be swayed by his track record. Shares in A2Z Maintenance and Engineering Services (ATOZ.NS) jumped as much as 11 percent on May 23 after he and his wife disclosed buying 2.65 million shares of the company.

Do all his investments turn to gold? He's not saying. He does not report his holdings as a private investor, or dwell on past mistakes.

"People will only know of my good side, and not the mistakes I've made. I know what my mistakes have been, and what they've cost me financially. But I'm not bothered about that because I only look at the end results," he said.

Jhunjhunwala has no plans to leave his business to his three children or burning ambition to found a financial conglomerate, unlike other Indian billionaires such as Uday Kotak, who started small but went on to build Kotak Mahindra Bank (KTKM.NS).

"All I've known is trading and investing. I don't want to do anything else in life," says Jhunjhunwala. "I'll call it quits the day I die."

(Additional reporting by Divya Chowdhury; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/06/15/india-jhunjhunwala-buffett-idINDEE85D0JX20120615        

RAJAT GUPTA…INSIDER...MONEY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

17 JUN, 2012, 02.22AM IST, 

Why didn't Rajat Gupta plead guilty?

By: Bennett Voyles
In his mind Rajat Gupta had to know the odds were against him.In the movies, the defendant often wins. In real life, charges are dismissed only 8 or 9% of the time, and only 1% of defendants are found not guilty.
Most cases don't even make it to trial: in 2010, 89% of defendants settled with the prosecutor, according to the United States Bureau of Justice Statistics. Generally, defendants get a much shorter sentence in return for their guilty plea. 
In Gupta's particular case, the fact that 15 others charged in the same insider-trading scheme had already been sentenced an average of three-and-a-half years in prison did not bode well - particularly as Raj Rajaratnam, president of the Galleon Group, to whom Gupta had allegedly passed secrets right after board meetings at Goldman Sachs and Procter & Gamble, had been sentenced in October 2011 to 11 years in prison, reportedly the longest single term ever meted for insider trading in the US. 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/why-didnt-rajat-gupta-plead-guilty/articleshow/14186941.cms

17 JUN, 2012, 12.19AM IST, 

Stone cold in court, Rajat Gupta faces an American winter

NEW YORK: The calm, collected demeanour on Rajat Gupta's face broke briefly on Wednesday, the last day of his four-week long trial. Overcome with a sudden burst of emotion, perhaps with remorse of seeing his eldest daughter Geetanjali Gupta exposed to the quagmire of the courtroom's histrionics, he wept briefly as she testified on his behalf. -----------------

---------The Fallen Star 
Walking to and out of the Manhattan Federal Courtsince his trial started last month on May 21, Gupta, 63, could easily have been mistaken for taking a casual jaunt after attending a boardroom meeting. Immaculately dressed in tailored suits and expensive silk ties, he looked his usual confident self, a suave man who knew his exact self-worth, and the world at large. 

At the trial, Gupta's personal banker testified, to show that Gupta did not have any need for nefarious dealings to churn money, that his total family assets were around $130 million, including three lavish homes in Westport, Connecticut, Colorado and Florida. ……….

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/stone-cold-in-court-rajat-gupta-faces-an-american-winter/articleshow/14186759.cms

16 JUN, 2012, 10.29AM IST, REUTERS 

Rajat Gupta found guilty of Wall Street insider trading, faces 25 yrs in jail

NEW YORK: Rajat Gupta, a consummate business insider who once sat on the board of Goldman Sachs Group Inc, was convicted on Friday of leaking secrets about the investment bank at the height of the financial crisis, a major victory for prosecutors seeking to root out illicit trading on Wall Street.
A Manhattan federal court jury delivered the verdict on its second day of deliberations, finding Gupta fed stock tips to his hedge fund manager friend Raj Rajaratnamgleaned from confidential Goldman board meetings. He was found guilty of four of six criminal counts and could face a prison term of up to 25 years…..

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/rajat-gupta-found-guilty-of-wall-street-insider-trading-faces-25-yrs-in-jail/articleshow/14153636.cms

15 JUN, 2012, 10.21PM IST, PTI 

Rajat Gupta: From lofty board room to lowly jail cell

NEW YORK: From being born into a middle-class family in Kolkata to reaching the stellar heights of the highly competitive world of Corporate America, the story of Indian American Rajat Gupta is nothing short of legendary. 
With a career graph that could make the best burn with envy, Gupta, who boasts of posts like head of consultancy giant McKinsey, board seats atGoldman Sachs and Procter and Gamble and special adviser to the United Nations, among other things, has done what not many could have done in his 63 years of life. 
A US court held Gupta guilty of providing insider information to Galleon hedge fund founder and friend Raj Rajaratnam, in one of America's biggest insider trading cases. 

Born in Maniktala in Kolkata, son of a freedom fighter- turned-journalist father and a school teacher mother, Gupta was orphaned at the age of 18. 

Ranking 15 in the IIT entrance exam of 1966, Gupta was admitted to IIT Delhi on a scholarship from where he did his B-Tech in Mechanical Engineering. 
He then came to the United States for a graduate degree and finished top of his class at the prestigious Harvard Business School where he studied on a scholarship. 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international-business/rajat-gupta-from-lofty-board-room-to-lowly-jail-cell/articleshow/14154962.cms