Innholdsfortegnelse for March 28, 2016 i India Today

India Today has had a long association with the Mallyas. In 1982, we featured Vittal Mallya on our cover as one of India’s Growth Kings. Vittal, already the leader of the beer, liquor and processed foods industries, was a simple, austere, meticulous businessman who travelled to office in his Fiat even while a Mercedes Benz was parked at home. His untimely demise in 1983 put his 28-year-old son Vijay in the hot seat. A race-car driver, a horse owner, a dashing international playboy who loved the good life, Vijay Mallya could not have been more different from his father. In 1986, in an interview with INDIA TODAY, he proclaimed: “I know I have the image of being a spoilt kid, but in 20 years I will be known as a…

SOLAR SUPPORT The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagaran Manch has so far doggedly opposed the Modi government on key economic issues. Now, however, it has thrown its weight behind the government’s solar thrust. An SJM sub-group, the Bharat Solar Power Development Forum, launched last year, has called for anti-dumping duties on imported solar cells and modules, a move that could boost domestic solar industry players. The forum has held 10 meetings across the country, two of which were attended by Union minister for new and renewable energy Piyush Goyal. A number of CEOs of indigenous solar companies too have participated. The SJM is also working on a strategy to make the government’s solar mission successful. SEXIST TALK Nandamuri Balakrishna, the actor-son of TDP founder N.T. Rama Rao, knows what it means to…

1 Provided high-end services (like baggage valets) and free giveaways (like earphones) but charged passengers mid- to low-end prices 2 Acquisition of lossmaking Air Deccan at high price. Lack of synergy between the two. 3 Record high prices of aviation turbine fuel, high taxes on the same 4 Despite Mallya’s connections, airline was outmanoeuvred in terms of navigating the regulatory landscape 5 Style over substance, a race to grab No. 1 slot as per market share rather than focus on profitability…

ENEMY PROPERTY ACT, 1968 1 DEFINED ‘ENEMY’ AS a country and its citizens who committed external aggression against India but did not include Indian citizens 2 PERMITTED SALE OF enemy property by the Custodian only if it was in the interest of preserving the property or to secure maintenance of the enemy or his family in India 3 PERMITTED TRANSFER OF enemy property by an enemy. However, the Central Government had power to declare the transaction null and void if it was against public interest, or if it was to evade vesting of property in the Custodian 2016 BILL 1 EXPANDS THE DEFINITION of ‘enemy’ to include legal heirs of enemies even if they are Indian citizens or citizens of a country that is not an enemy country 2 PROVIDES…

MAMATA BANERJEE, 61, Trinamool Congress Hoping for a landslide win, riding development plank and populist schemes. Congress-Left alliance likely to pose a tough challenge SURYA KANTA MISHRA, 67, CPI(M) Chief architect of seatsharing deal with Congress. Known for his humour and cool, he has emerged as CPI(M) poster boy. ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY, 59, Congress State Congress chief convinced high command of alliance with Left. Held on to fiefdom Murshidabad in 2011 and 2014 despite TMC sweep. DILIP GHOSH, 51, BJP RSS hardliner, looking to polarise Hindu votes by taking strong stand against dissent in universities such as JNU and JU. But got little traction, even within party. Swing Factors 1 Congress-Left seat-sharing will consolidate antiincumbency vote, likely to be decisive in 76 seats 2 Minorities, 25% of voters. 7% swing…

Former Union home and finance minister P. Chidambaram has a new book out, Standing Guard: A Year in Opposition. He talks to Associate Editor Shweta Punj on the ‘changing narrative’ of India under the NDA government while presenting a scathing critique of its handling of the polity and economy. Excerpts: In the book we find a shift in narrative from economics to issues like governance and politics. Did you plan it that way? When I started writing, I meant to write mainly on economics. But as the year rolled by, the narrative changed. Today, the narrative is no longer development, it is intolerance. But the government says it’s the Opposition that is not letting them function? GST is the only important bill blocked by the Congress. And it’s not stalled, we…

CANNES-DO DUDE Aditya Vikram Sengupta is the first Indian headed to Cannes. The young Bengali filmmaker, whose Asha Jaoar Majhe won the national award for best first feature, will take his second feature, Memories and my Mother, to producers at Cannes Cinefoundation. Like his first, this too is set in Kolkata. SHORT STINT Documentary filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia, known for the nati onal award-winning Miss Lovely, moves from Dhaka to the Dubai art summit with the short, Events on a Cloud Chamber. Featuring the ren owned Akbar Padamsee, Ahlu walia, along with Jhaveri Contemporary Gallery, presents a recreated version of the artist’s lost 1970 film which featured geometric drawings. NO WAITING She made quite a statement in the indie Margarita, with a Straw. Now Sayani Gupta will be seen in three…

This is a collaboration made in design heaven. Arttd'inox has tied up with product designers Sahil and Sarthak. The result? Beautiful functional works of art. The stainless steel product line finds inspiration in Gujarat and is therefore further divided into the Ajrakh, Adalaj, Kutch and Sarafa collections. Featured here is the Kutch Almirah, where the designers have reinterpreted the age old mud relief mirror work onto steel by the use of a modern day technique, metal etching. PRICE on request; AT www.arttdinox.com…

NETRI TRIVEDI WAS born with theatre running in her veins. Her mother was a folk artist and father, an active member of theatre clubs. It became a ritual for Trivedi at a young age, to attend plays and play practices. It was, however, when the actor turned five and had to replace another child in a school play, that Trivedi had her first brush with acting. Today, the actor is a household name coutesy her widely popular film Chhello Divas (2015). This coming of age movie, dubbed as one of the first urban Gujarati movie, shows the highs and lows of college life. Trivedi’s role as Esha in the movie, an introvert who is bullied by a guy, is one she can hardly relate to. “People from theatre scene knew…

Aishwarya Vishwanath THE REAL GREEN CAFÉ DOES THE THOUGHT OF healthy food conjure up images of bland, tasteless fare? Or are you among those who thinks a burger is incomplete without cheese? The Real Green Café changes these perceptions and gives popular foods a health and a vegan twist. So, burgers come with whole wheat buns and air-fried patties while frankies are rolled in gluten-free wholemeal rotis. “Vegans are perceived to be missing out on tasty food and our cafe aims to break these misconceptions and offers them with an option to enjoy wholesome healthy vegan food,” says Aishwarya Vishwanath, 26, who founded Real Green Café, Pune’s first vegan café in 2015. Her love for animals made her turn vegan five years ago when she was in the UK. “When…

The Modi government sheds its pro-rich tag with a big rural push “The 2016 budget has placed a renewed focus on the farming sector in a bid to revive agricultural growth and improve farm income at a time when rural India is passing through a protracted phase of distress.” RAMESH SINHA, Gurgaon The Black Spot The existence of a large trafficking network that traps vulnerable women and forces them into prostitution is a blot on the progressive image of Kerala. It also goes to show how the lustre of the Gulf is used to lure women. Compounding matters is the fact that the traffickers not only have police personnel on their rolls but also connections to airports outside Kerala. Despite the government’s apathy, the police should be applauded for the…

On March 5, 2016, China’s premier, Li Keqiang, unveiled the government’s economic blueprint for the next five years. Approved on March 16 in Beijing by the National People’s Congress, or Parliament, the blueprint details a new, lower annual growth target of 6.5 per cent, and a plan to transform the older growth model by building an economy led by innovation and domestic consumption. Statistics released earlier this year show India’s GDP growth rate in the last year has exceeded that of China, which grew 6.9 per cent in 2015—the slowest since 1990. Most economists believe this situation will remain the same for this year and the next as well. Over the past decade, China’s economic growth rate has mostly been ahead of India’s, but now the situation is entirely the…

When assembly election results in five states—Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Kerala— are announced on May 19, the national political discourse may not witness a dramatic shift, unlike after the post-Bihar assembly poll results. These elections are unlikely to alter the ruling NDA’s position in the Rajya Sabha—often blamed for the Narendra Modi government’s failure to push through the reforms agenda, thanks to the majority Opposition parties enjoy. But the results of May 19 will certainly determine the strategic course of three major political parties in India— the Congress, the BJP and the Left. Two of the five states going to polls are ruled by the Congress, while in the other two, the two national parties—the Congress and BJP—are, at best, marginal players. The Left is seeking a…

J. JAYALALITHAA, 68, AIADMK Three-time CM hoping for a second consecutive term courtesy many poor-oriented schemes. Lacklustre Opposition helping her cause. M.K. STALIN, 63, DMK Backed by alliance partners Congress and IUML, has been trying to reinvent himself as modern, young leader, trading veshti and white shirt for trousers and Tees VIJAYAKANTH, 63, DMDK Though DMK, BJP and People’s Welfare Front wan ted to tie up with the founder of the second largest party in 2011, he decided to go solo ANMBUMANI RAMADOSS, 47, PMK Ex-Union health minister has projected himself as CM aspirant to widen party support base; dependent on his Vanniyar caste base Swing Factors 1 Jaya sops and goodies likely to neutralise anti-incumbency 2 The success of DMKCongress alliance depends on smart seat sharing 3 A multi-cornered…

1 Veteran Ashok Gehlot hopes to make a comeback as chief minister after next assembly elections and is working hard to retain his hold among loyalists and not let them swing towards Pilot 2 Pilot inherited a near-dead party with just 24 MLAs in the assembly and no MP in the Lok Sabha. Keeping workers upbeat is a very difficult task. 3 BJP in power is a united face but Congress in Opposition is not. Raje is taking off well in time for next elections, making his task tough. 4 His appreciation of Congress government’s policies only helps Gehlot. He must present his vision and agenda for governance by next year to counter Raje’s strength and project himself as an alternative.…

MADAN MITRA Former transport and sports minister and an accused in the Sar adha scam, he started the practice of distributing dole to clubs SADHAN PANDE The consumer a­airs minister is a patron of many clubs in north Kolkata. Generous with handouts and recommending jobs. SUJIT BASU The Bidhannagar MLA’s a patron of the big-budget Durga pujas. His boys create mayhem during Bidhannagar municipality polls. fellowship. ARUP BISWAS The sports minister’s constituency, Tollygunge , has seen the maximum number of clubs getting dole, some 49 of them KAKOLI G. DASTIDAR The Lok Sabha MP from Barasat is a patron of a number of clubs. Grants funds for organising di­erent festivals and programmes.suspended his fellowship. SUDIP BANERJEE The Kolkata North MP is a generous patron of a number of clubs. Even…

Show Stopper Bridging the gap between craft and art is Frazer and Haws' new collection, Art Inspiration. Designed to be the centre of attention in any room, titled Lamp Agatha, a lady’s face on the surface of a morano glass vase is set off by a bunch of flowers; the entire piece is handcrafted in silver sterling with 24-karat gold gilt. PRICE ₹78,600; AT A-265, Defence Colony, New Delhi Flower Shower This year, the floral trend is making waves. Keeping up with this is furnishings company Alhambra. The brand's new Country Garden collection taking inspiration from blooms in a botanical garden. It is available in six designs ranging from modern to classic patterns and styles. PRICE ₹4,000 to ₹7,000 (width 140 cm), ₹7,680 to ₹10,205 (double width); AT www.rrdecor.com To…

A product without character or a room devoid of colour is like a flower without any fragrance. Thankfully, be it furniture, lights, restaurants, galleries or homes, architect and designer India Mahdavi’s designs are not only full of colour and character, they also have je ne sais quoi that special quality that makes everything she touches stand out. Interestingly, she grew up wanting to be a filmmaker (she would go see three movies a day); perhaps this is why the spaces she designs or the products she makes have a dramatic, almost theatrical quality to them. "Everything can be a source of inspiration, the photos I take, a movie, music, a book, colours around me or even a person in my team," says Mahdavi, who spoke about her work at the…

TRIPLE WHAMMY POOJA CHAURUSHI, 25, Triathlete THE SEA HAD ALWAYS ATTRACTED POOJA CHAURUSHI, THE TRAITHLON gold medallist from Surat who dreams of becoming a naval officer one day. Even at a young age, Chaurushi loved a good challenge and took up swimming and Bharatnatyam as extracurricular activities. When she was nine, her swimming coach realised her potential to become a competitive swimmer and urged her parents to put her into the sport. Since then Chaurushi has never looked back. Swimming was her gateway to entering the Triathlon world. It is essentially a three-stage competition that requires the competitors to swim, race and cycle. Till she was 15 years-old, Chaurushi had only competed in swimming. In 2006, at the National Aquathlon Championship in Bhopal, she was asked by the local organisers…

ACCORDING TO HER Klout score, that checks influence a person has through her social media platforms, Aditi Rawal is giving stiff competition to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the most influential social media personality in the region. If you are on Instagram, Snapchat or Facebook, chances are that you are already acquainted with this ex radio jockey and social media infotainer. “Ask my friends from college and they’ll tell you that I was born to entertain,” says a vivacious Rawal. In 2007, Rawal’s expertise of knowing Ahmedabad inside out scored her a job with a local FM channel. This was the time when Rawal first started using her influence as a radio personality to reach out to her audience. Now with 16000 followers on Twitter, 90,000 on Instagram and 2,80,000…

Buttons serve a functional purpose in everyday life. But for designer and gaduate from the National Institute of Design, Anuj Sharma, 42, they can be reimagined beyond their utility. Sharma is among the breed of new age designers who are taking the unconventional route towards creating wearable art. With his label, Button Masala, he hopes to lend his unique vision to his clothes. The store has opened at the quaint Project Cafe that is increasingly becoming popular with the artists in Ahmedabad. The clothes, largely free flowing silhouettes have not been stitched, rather “constructed with the help of buttons and rubber bands,” says the designer. Endorsing this economical technique of creating clothes that require no tools and machinery, Sharma believes that it is “a sustainable and unique concept. The garment…

Sajjani Nair THE SECRET CHEF EACH TIME A WHITE FORD Figo with the Secret Chef Board pulls into the neighbourhood, food lovers know what's in store—a treat for the senses from Sajjani Nair’s kitchen. From chicken roulade to pancakes, there’s something special each time the 42-yearold home chef-entrepreneur takes off on her ‘spin night’. “When I started cooking for people, it was just a shot in the dark. And before I knew it, three years was up,” says Nair, who set up the Secret Chef Next Door, three years ago. After a brief stint with the Pune Gourmet Club and the Pune Wine Tasting Festival, Nair wanted to bring “global food to the neighbourhood.” SOMETHING SPECIAL Every week, there’s something special on the menu and people can order even one…

“I Am the Best Ambassador For My Brand.” Vijay Mallya Q. Are you living up to the image of your brand or is your brand living up to the image of Vijay Mallya? A. Well, I live my brand. I’m the best ambassador for my brand. It really does not matter which one comes first as long as the brand works. Q. Having spent four years in Rajya Sabha, what is your take? Can you do things for Karnataka in Parliament? A. Well, let me put it this way. I’m a person who promotes the concept of accountability to a great extent and I’ve spoken in the Parliament and reinforced the need for accountability. Q. There is a perception that Kingfisher Airlines is losing money and UB’s finances are threatened?…

USL: 3.99% of which 52.83% is pledged (making the effective stake 1.88%) ₹665.5 crore UB: 32.29% valued at Rs 6,898.4 crore (of which 47.68% is pledged), making effective wealth ₹3,609 crore UBHL: 26.93% (of which 28.83% is pledged) ₹27.2 crore Mangalore Chemicals & Fertilisers Ltd: 21.9% (of which 26.65% is pledged) ₹87.3 crore UB Engineering: 40.7% valued at ₹5.5 crore Figures are based on public holdings in listed companies alone. Calculated at March 4, 2016 prices. Mallya’s holdings are calculated as on Dec 31, 2015. UB Engineering data as on Sep 30, 2015. Source: Business Today DWINDLING FINANCES (UBHL: Holding company for KF, real estate) Figures are in rupee crore. Revenue and Profit/loss for the year ending March 31, 2015. Source: Company reports…

TARUN GOGOI, 79, Congress Three-time CM, hoping for a fourth term. But antiincumbency is high and he is without chief strategist Himanta Sarma. SARBANANDA SONOWAL, 53, BJP Party’s tribal face, its CM candidate. Got IMDT Act repealed in apex court. Icon of strong sentiment against Bangladeshi immigrants. HIMANTA BISWA SARMA, 47, BJP The former Congressman was chief architect of three consecutive vistories for the party in the state. Now employing his skills for BJP. BADRUDDIN AJMAL, 66, AIUDF The perfume baron hopes to cash in on Muslim votes which have drifted away from the Congress following the 2012 BTAD riots Swing Factors 1 Anti-incumbency high against 15 years of Congress rule 2 Barring AIUDF, opposition forces have joined hands under one umbrella 3 AIUDF rise and sympathy for Bangladeshi settlers…

OOMMEN CHANDY, 72, Congress Chief campaigner for UDF will project himself as action man for development. But scandals like solar scam have dented image of government. V.M. SUDHEERAN, 67, Congress PCC chief would try to check vote drain from Ezhava community. He will play crucial role in the selection of candidates. PINARAYI VIJAYAN, 72, CPI(M) Aspires to become CM if LDF wins. Will play crucial role in selection of candidates and management of Christian and Muslim vote banks. V.S. ACHUTHANANDAN, 92, CPI(M) LDF’s star campaigner who can attract crowds cutting across age groups. Planning to contest from Malampuzha, if party allows him. Swing Factors 1 Anti-incumbency and factional feud for Congress. Deep shadow of scandals. 2 VS-Vijayan rivalry threatens to nullify antiincumbency wave 3 New liquor policy may go against…

Commission the AP Fibre Grid along power distribution lines to make highspeed internet available everywhere in the state at an aordable cost by July 2016 Build a Super Fab Lab of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Centre for Bits and Atoms at Visakhapatnam by 2018 Open a naval shipbuilding facility at Rambilli, 70 km from Visakhapatnam, with an initial investment of Rs 5,000 crore by Anil Ambani’s ADA Group Allow the Essel Group, along with China-based Golden Concord Holdings, to set up a solar panel manufacturing facility and a 10,000-acre smart industrial park Convert 1,258 post o.ces in AP with fullfledged core banking operations to make the state the first to have seamless connectivity at all post o.ces by April 2016 Join hands with Krishnapatnam Port Company Ltd and Petrogas…

WHAT’S OUT LAST DAYS OF THE DHOTI That four-metre-long piece of white fabric is on its last legs. No politician born after the 1930s, except for Rajnath Singh, P. Chidambaram and that caught-in-a-timewarp tribe from Kerala and TN can be seen wearing the dhoti (or mundu or veshti) anymore. WATCH WATCHING What do Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Devendra Fadnavis and Amit Shah have in common? They are among politicians who eschew watches (thanks to cellphones). Women leaders, however, are watch proud: be it Sonia Gandhi or Sushma Swaraj, Smriti Irani or Jayalalithaa, Mayawati or Mamata Banerjee. 1920s-1930s The regulation knee-length shorts was not something new. It was part of the dress code of the British police and the army in India. 1924 Knee-length black pants with khaki shirt and topi…

Do-it-yourself (DIY). These three words when strung together are at once empowering, inspiring and creative. The best part about such projects? They give you a chance to experiment and take your space from banal to beautiful, functional to fantastic and weird to wonderful. So, to begin with, here is a guide on how to create a terrarium in just ten minutes. As an added bonus, there's a quick-fix, easy-to-make tea cup garden. Also, since a couch anchors the entire living space, it is the foundation piece that you style the look of your drawing room around. It’s the furniture version of spanx—bland and boring, but holds everything together; and just like the iconic garment you can use it as a base layer to create diverse looks. Read on to unlock…

USING THE HANDLE OF A skipping rope as a makeshift mic, three-year-old Himali Vyas Naik was in the middle of her rendition of a Bollywood song, when a neighbour saw her sing and informed her mother of her “good sense of sur and taal”. The next day she was enrolled for formal training and twenty four years later, there has been no looking back for the singer and composer from Ahmedabad. Trained in Mewati and Banaras Gharanas of Indian classical music, Naik, who is also a graduate in English Literature, found that she had an insatiable appetite for learning different forms of music. A formative influence was that of composer AR Rahman, whose song, Kehta hai mera dil from the movie Jeans had a profound impact on her. “Out of…

IT'S INSIDE THE COR porate boardroom, where the gender ratio is usually skewed in favour of men, that Neeru Sharma, co-founder and director of Infibeam, an e-commerce conglomerate, feels the most comfortable. “I never faced discrimination at work, infact I feel being a woman has blessed me with qualities of time management, multitasking and discipline,” says the entrepreneur and mother of two girls. In 2005, when Sharma decided to get married, she was already a successful computer engineer with a resume that boasted work experience at companies like Tata Consultancy and Alcatel Lucent. But the desire to remain a student led her to apply to management programmes in various colleges abroad. “The three months after marriage, when everyone is enjoying their honeymoon, my husband and I were busy preparing for…

CULTURE CURRY Arjun Chowdhry THETRAVELLING CHEF LAST YEAR, PUNE’S gourmands ere treated to a “highly bespoke” Spanish meal whipped up by a team of young chefs from San Sebastian. Soon after, The Ship, a popular hangout in Kalyaninagar, hosted Spanish Sunday brunches for those who couldn’t make it earlier. “The idea is to bring exquisite recipes from offbeat locations and serve them up in a casual environment, with a splash of adventure,” says Arjun Chowdhry, 30, the brain behind the Travelling Chef, which organised these offbeat pop ups. A retail strategy and operations professional, he started the venture in 2012 to create customsied dining experiences for food lovers. Over the past three years, Chowdhry, who is the co-founder of Monsoon Winds that organises wine festivals, has set up pop-up food…

Dashmit Singh Chhabra SOCIAL CLINIC THE SOCIAL CLINIC HELPS YOU find a cure for your hunger in a quirky OPD-themed restaurant that brings in wheelchairs as seats, white washed walls, beakers and test-tubes, all the essentials in a medical centre. The restaurant is part of an innovative theme venture called madness which has the OPD-themed Social Clinic, a vibrant club called Donkey's Arse with quirky decor and a children's recreation centre called Superheroes. What makes it stand out is the close attention to detail, right from the bright lighting and a wipe-clean floor to the serving platters that remind you of kidney trays, beakers and injection syringes. “It’s a place of surprise where you can experience things you are usually afraid of with a smile on your lips, and enjoy…